Joins another uncapped player, Mohammad Rizwan, in the Pakistan squad for the series beginning from November 17

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-20160:59

Two new faces for Pakistan

Sharjeel Khan, the opening batsman, has earned a maiden call-up to the Pakistan Test squad for the tour of New Zealand.Sharjeel, 27, has been a regular presence for Pakistan at the top of the order in limited-overs cricket in 2016, having scored a bruising 152 off 86 balls against Ireland in August.Sharjeel has 4853 first-class runs at an average of 37.91 with 11 hundreds and 21 fifties. He came into contention for Test cricket after scoring 96 and 82 not out in successive innings in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Pakistan’s 16-man Test squad

Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan
In: Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Rizwan
Out: Zulfiqar Babar

Another uncapped player was among the 16 that were chosen, middle-order batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who was with the team in England in July 2016, but was left out for the subsequent Tests against West Indies in the UAE.Zulfiqar Babar was dropped. With neither Christchurch nor Hamilton – the venues for the two Tests against New Zealand – known for producing turning pitches, Pakistan were content to partner Yasir Shah with left-arm spinning allrounder Mohammad Nawaz, who made his debut in Pakistan’s first day-night Test earlier this month; his first-class credentials include three centuries and 49 wickets from 31 matches. Zulfiqar, though the better bowler stats-wise, only averages 16 with the bat in first-class cricket.Pakistan have tried six opening combinations since the start of 2015, including playing the final Test of the England tour and the entire West Indies series with only one specialist – Sami Aslam, who has been retained. Azhar Ali was promoted up the order and scored his maiden triple-century from that position in October. But with Sharjeel – who has opened the batting in all but two of his 76 first-class matches – coming into the squad, Azhar could return to his usual No. 3 position.Younis Khan, captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq – touted as one of Pakistan’s most technically proficient batsmen – and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed make for a strong middle order. There is also Babar Azam, who made his Test debut in October following three successive ODI centuries.On the fast bowling front, Pakistan have three left-arm quicks in Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir and Rahat Ali, to go with right-arm seamers Sohail Khan and Imran Khan.

Trevor Hohns has been named as Australia’s interim chairman of selectors, while Greg Chappell will serve on the panel temporarily following Rod Marsh’s departure

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-20163:48

Coverdale: Search for long-term selectors important

Greg Chappell will join Australia’s national selection panel and Trevor Hohns will serve as chairman, after the departure of Rod Marsh from the role on Wednesday. Both appointments have been made on an interim basis only, following an extraordinary meeting of the Cricket Australia board on Wednesday night.Hohns has served on the national selection panel since 2014 in his current tenure, but previously sat on the panel from 1993 to 2006, including 10 years as chairman. Initially, he had continued in his role as Queensland’s state talent manager while also serving on the national panel, but will now relinquish that job to focus full-time on selection duties.Chappell has had two previous stints as a national selector, first from 1984 to 1988, shortly after his retirement as a player, and again from 2010 to 2011, before he took up the role of Cricket Australia’s national talent manager. Chappell will step aside from that position while he serves as an interim national selector.”It is vital that Australian cricket finds the best candidate for this role,” Cricket Australia’s chairman David Peever said. “Trevor is highly experienced as a selector, and will ensure we place our best players on the field this summer while we seek a permanent replacement for Rod.”Greg has been instrumental in restructuring our youth pathway program, driving the National Performance Squad, the introduction of a CA XI squad in the domestic one-day cup and creating clear pathways for talented youth in Australian cricket to aspire to wear the baggy green. His in-depth knowledge of up-and-coming talent in the Australian system will be invaluable.”The board will now begin a search for permanent national selectors, with no deadline having been set. Marsh’s tenure was originally to have ended in June next year.

Haseeb Hameed admits he was “taken aback” to be told he had to leave the tour of India, but says he used that realisation as an excuse to meet one of his heroes, Virat Kohli

George Dobell in Mumbai08-Dec-20162:00

Archive – ‘What stands out about Hameed is his age’

Haseeb Hameed admits he was “taken aback” to be told he had to leave the tour of India, but says he used that realisation as an excuse to meet one of his heroes, Virat Kohli, at the end of last week’s third Test in Mohali.Hameed, who is now in Mumbai as a spectator having had an operation on a badly broken finger in the UK, said he was “devastated” to learn the severity of the injury and tried to plead with the coaches to let him play on with the use of painkillers.But a dressing-room encounter with Kohli helped to assuage the disappointment of the injury, as he overcame his initial reticence to pick the brains of a player whom he found to be “open, honest and humble”.”I actually took Moeen Ali with me,” Hameed said. “After I found out I was going home, I said as a bit of a joke, let’s see if we can get hold of Virat for a couple of minutes.”He’s probably the most sought-after man in world cricket at the minute. I didn’t want to miss that opportunity. Within a couple of minutes he came out. He was great. He said ‘I’m happy to do that, now or later, whenever you want’. He was very obliging.”I was just trying to get an insight into the way he goes about his business: what he thinks, because that’s what sets him apart from other players in the world.”The look on his face when he walked out and got runs… I could tell straightaway that he means business and then he went on and delivered.
“I was just trying to get into his mind as much as anything, and he was great: very open and honest. A lot of people see him as this aggressive, borderline-arrogant sort of person on the field, but I think it is pure passion and his desire to win that comes out on the field.”Off the field he’s very humble, I found, and very open with me. I was very grateful for that.”Hameed had clearly made an impression on India’s captain, both on debut at Visakhapatnam, where he batted for 50 overs in the second innings to lead England’s rearguard, and then at Mohali, where he came in at No.8 after suffering his injury, and counterattacked bravely to make an unbeaten 59.After adapting his technique to take the pressure off his injured digit, Hameed had been confident of using the downtime between the third and fourth Tests to regain sufficient fitness to complete his maiden series. England’s medical team, however, had other ideas.Taking a bow: Haseeb Hameed impressed during his debut series•Getty Images

“When I was told I had to go home, I was pretty taken aback,” he said. “I didn’t expect it.”The day before my brother said ‘when will you recover from the break?’ and I said before the next Test. The swelling will go down and I’ll be fine because we’ve got an eight-day break.”But then to hear that I had to go home to have surgery… It did hit me. I was pretty devastated at the time.”I tried to persuade the coaches and the doctor to find a way to work around it. I asked if I could just take some painkillers and strap it up and get on with it in the games. But for the long-term benefit, it just felt better for me to get the surgery done. I’m sure that’s the case. Now it’s just a case of getting myself ready for the English season.”Hameed departed safe in the knowledge that he had made a fine impression at the start of his Test career. While he has only played three Tests, the composure he demonstrated – particularly when batting in that second innings at Mohali – suggested that England had found a long-term partner for Alastair Cook, and a talent that could serve them well for years to come.”I was quite determined it wasn’t going to get to me,” he said. “Obviously if you have a break it’s going to be painful, but I just had to put that to one side and give it my best shot and not let that affect me.”That was partly the reason why I had a couple of nets beforehand: to make sure I was ready. I found that, by trying to get my finger on the bat, it was probably causing me more pain and it felt quite restrictive. So I felt it was better to just hold the bat as hard as I could with the three other fingers. The physio actually said that most of the grip strength comes from the little finger, hence why I found it difficult to start off with. But the more I batted, the more I felt comfortable with it. It went all right.”He hopes to be able to start batting again in six or seven weeks. But, while he admits he has “mixed emotions” about watching his new team play without him, he will watch both this game and the final Test of the series in Chennai from the stands with the family who have been with him every step of this tour and long, long before it.”I’m very close to my family,” he said. “They obviously love the game and they’ve watched me since I was a young lad, so it was only fair for them to come out and watch me play.”Making my debut in my dad’s home state [Gujarat]… things fell into place quite nicely. Every time I went out to bat I was more confident and felt more comfortable.”I’m sure there’s something better in store for me out there because of this injury. I’m a big believer in tough times bringing out the best in you.”

Pakistan’s Test captain has said a change of captaincy won’t make as much difference to Pakistan’s cricket as an overhaul of the domestic system

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2017

PCB invites current and former players to conference

Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, will conduct a round-table conference with current and former players on March 6 and 7 in Lahore to discuss ways to improve the performances of Pakistan’s senior and junior teams. The conference will be chaired by Inzamam-ul-Haq, the chief selector, and Mudassar Nazar, director academies. Mushtaq Ahmed, the NCA head coach, will serve as co-ordinator.
Current and former players invited to the conference include Imran Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Bari, Shoaib Akhtar, Aamir Sohail, Javed Miandad, Rashid Latif, Ramiz Raja, Moin Khan, Abdul Qadir, Aaqib Javed, Iqbal Qasim, Bazid Khan and Saeed Ajmal.
The five main topics of discussion are improving team performance, domestic structure, improvement of pitches, coaching of national and junior teams, and encouraging of foreign teams to tour Pakistan.

Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has said a change of captaincy won’t make as much difference to Pakistan’s cricket as an overhaul of the domestic system will.Misbah’s comments come at a time when the PCB is set to overhaul Pakistan’s team, following recent tours of New Zealand and Australia where they lost five straight Test matches and managed only one victory in the ODIs. At the forefront of this agenda seems to be the removal of Azhar Ali as the ODI captain and the appointment of one captain – most likely Sarfraz Ahmed – across all formats, although this is subject to Misbah stepping down as Test captain himself. However, Misbah doesn’t believe Pakistan’s problems will end there.”Make anyone captain – Azhar or Sarfraz – but unless we solve our problem deep down, whoever comes in will face problems,” Misbah said in Faisalabad on Wednesday. “We have to improve domestic cricket and groom talent. If we want to do well in England, Australia and South Africa, we have to give the players maximum experience of playing there. If a player keeps on playing here [in Asia] and all of a sudden does a tour of Australia or South Africa after six years, it will be difficult for him [to perform].”Pakistan’s domestic cricket has often been a subject of revamp and the standard of pitches and the ball have also been inconsistent, while the focus on fitness has also been in question. When asked if the Pakistan Super League (PSL) might offer some resolve, Misbah said it wasn’t feasible to expect that.”Don’t start thinking that there will be change in the team after PSL,” he said. “I think we have to improve [the domestic structure] overall. It is just a tournament. Obviously players will come from it and it will give them exposure, [but] otherwise we have to do a lot of work. We have to bring our domestic cricket close to international standards for whatever talent comes through from the Under-16s and Under-19s. We have to prepare better pitches and improve the standards of our cricket in domestic set-up.”Misbah has been under pressure amid suggestions from cricketing quarters in the country that he should retire. However, he is keen to assess his batting and hunger for the game as he leads Islamabad United, the defending champions, during the PSL’s second edition in the UAE.”We need consistency in the thinking of our nation, and then there will be consistency in our team,” he said. “If your thinking is not consistent and it changes after one match, then the team’s performance will also be like that.”If you are talking about me – I retired one year ago, but at that time the whole nation said I should keep on touring. Now the whole nation is saying that I should be ashamed of myself and go. If you do such things, nobody will be ready to become captain. It’s not necessary you win every series, it’s not necessary you perform in every series. One can put in his best effort. Our views change if you don’t perform in four matches, despite performing for six years.”

Sussex have confirmed that Ross Taylor will re-join them as an overseas player for the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast

George Dobell31-Jan-2017Sussex have confirmed that Ross Taylor will re-join them as an overseas player for the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast.Taylor, the former New Zealand captain, was by some distance the most productive Sussex batsman in the competition last year. He scored 394 runs, at an average of 56.28 and strike-rate of 133.10, with his highest score of 93 not out coming in victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol, taking just 48 deliveries and including eight sixes. Eleven men scored more runs in the competition in 2016, but none of them had as high an average or played as few games.Despite Taylor’s form, Sussex failed to progress beyond the group stages of the competition. His return, alongside the long-term signings of Stiaan van Zyl and David Wiese (both as Kolpak registrations; Wiese also had a spell at the club in 2016) and Laurie Evans, a destructive T20 batsman from Warwickshire, should strengthen them.Taylor will be available for the entire T20 campaign which, in 2017, does not start until July.”We are thrilled to have Ross joining us for the T20 competition,” Mark Davis, the Sussex head coach, said. “He was outstanding in the competition last season and to have him back is brilliant for the club. Not only is Ross a world class player but a fantastic role model to our younger players.”

Sri Lanka batsman Niroshan Dickwella has been suspended for two limited-overs matches after a Code of Conduct breach during Sunday’s Twenty20 win over Australia in Geelong

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2017Sri Lanka batsman Niroshan Dickwella has been suspended for two limited-overs matches after a Code of Conduct breach during Sunday’s Twenty20 win over Australia in Geelong. Dickwella will therefore miss Wednesday’s final match in the T20 series at Adelaide Oval, having been found guilty of showing dissent at an umpire’s decision.Umpire Simon Fry gave Dickwella out caught-behind when the batsman tried to scoop a delivery from James Faulkner over the wicketkeeper during the third over of Sri Lanka’s chase. Replays showed the ball had struck Dickwella’s shoulder rather than his bat.The ICC said in a statement that after he was given out, Dickwella “paused to view the replay, kicked the turf and looked at his shoulder for a prolonged period of time.”The punishment for his Code of Conduct breach was a fine of 30% of his match fee and two demerit points, but those demerit points were enough to bring a suspension.During the fourth ODI against South Africa in Cape Town earlier this month, Dickwella had accrued three demerit points following an incident in which he and Kagiso Rabada made contact on the field, and his five demerit points have thus been converted into a suspension for two limited-overs games.Australia’s wicketkeeper, Tim Paine, has also been fined 15% of his match fee over a related Code of Conduct breach, for what the ICC described as using “inappropriate words” after Dickwella was given out.

The 20-year old fast-bowling allrounder first caught the eye in the Under-19 World Cup last year and has since made strong strides

Mohammad Isam01-Apr-2017Allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin has received a maiden-call up to the Bangladesh squad for the two-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in Colombo from April 4. The 16-member team also included offspinner Mehedi Hasan and left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam, who too were yet to represent their country in the shortest format.

Bangladesh T20I squad

Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Subashis Roy, Sunzamul Islam, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin
In: Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehedi Hasan, Sunzamul Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin
Out: Rubel Hossain, Shuvagata Hom, Taijul Islam

Saifuddin, a 20-year old fast bowler and a handy left-handed lower-order batsman, was flown into Colombo last week to play in the practice match. He picked up nine wickets from nine matches in his first BPL season last year playing for Comilla Victorians. He has played more than twice as many games in first-class cricket for Chittagong, tallying 48 wickets at an average of 31.10, and has struck six fifties as well. He first caught the selectors’ eye in the Under-19 World Cup which was held in Bangladesh in 2016.Mushfiqur Rahim rounded off the list of players coming into the squad that last played against New Zealand in January. Mushfiqur had missed that series having sustained a hamstring injury. Mehedi too has done enough to become a regular fixture in Bangladesh’s limited-overs teams while the uncapped Sunzamul received their first ODI call-ups during this Sri Lanka tour but is yet to get a game.Fast bowler Rubel Hossain, offspinner Shuvagata Hom and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, who had been part of the team in New Zealand, have been excluded.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jordan Clark are two deeply contrasting cricketers, but on a gloomy day at Kia Oval they forged a wonderful alliance to change the complexion of the opening day

Tim Wigmore at Kia Oval14-Apr-2017
Scorecard
Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jordan Clark are two deeply contrasting cricketers, but on a gloomy day at Kia Oval they forged a wonderful alliance to change the complexion of the opening day. While Chanderpaul neared his 74th first-class hundred, Clark scored a long-awaited maiden ton, brought up with a towering hook for six off Mark Footitt: a shot in keeping with the spirit of élan that infused this innings.In a cricketing world in flux, the sight of Chanderpaul furiously knocking a bail with his bat to take guard has a reassuring familiarity. Some were underwhelmed at his recruitment for a summer in which he will turn 43. This, though, was the sort of crisis for which he was signed, after Lancashire lost half their side before lunch.Chanderpaul’s response was to do as Chanderpaul does: playing the ball late and with great care and, above all, knowing when not to play it, dangling his bat inside the line as if to tease the bowler. With Clark, who gallivanted to his century by advancing from 82 to his hundred in the space of five balls from Footitt, he forged a match-turning alliance.Where the left-hander Chanderpaul batted in his own gilded cage, inoculated from the changing face of the sport, right-hander Clark bristled with intent, breezily overtaking his partner in spite of giving him a 62-ball head start. Where Chanderpaul favoured precise late cuts, glides and flick, Clark preferred to sweep against spin or thunder drives or hooks against pace.Where Chanderpaul resolved to keep the ball on the ground, save for one clip over mid-on, Clark is not the sort to be perturbed by the presence of fielders, and harrumphed two straight sixes against spin before the hook over square leg off Footitt that led to his moment of delight.”It’s pretty hard to describe right now,” he said, elated, after play. “If I try and survive it’s not one of my strengths. If I come out and play with intent, but don’t play rashly, it’s going to work better for me.”The only pressure that comes with batting with Chanderpaul is you’ve got such an experienced bloke at the other end it makes you work harder because you can’t throw your wicket away – you’ve seen him bat for days. You’ve got to put your foot down and bat with him in partnership.”Here was a reminder that this is a game for all sorts. And in adding an unbroken 172 to lift Lancashire from the debris of 122 for 6, Clark and Chanderpaul let Lancashire lay claim to shading the opening day.Four years ago, Clark hit six sixes in an over in a Roses 2nd XI match. Broad-shouldered and lacking neither shots or the confidence to play them, he is a cricketer ideally suited to Twenty20; indeed, he had to wait four years between his T20 debut and his first-class bow.Surrey, though, are well-aware that Clark is determined to be viewed as more than just a limited-overs cricketer. For the third season in a row he scored a half-century at The Oval – three of his five first-class scores of 50 or more have come here. Some of his shots – a square drive off Tom Curran, an imperious short-arm jab through mid-on off Sam Curran, and the disdain with which he hooked Footitt in the last throes of the day – hinted at talent too great to be batting at No. 8. On the first day for 18 years on which all first-class counties played Championship cricket simultaneously, it was Clark who made the solitary century in the land.What gratitude Liam Livingstone must feel. Captaining Lancashire for the first time, he had opted against inserting Surrey, and, undeterred by an overcast morning and Surrey’s potent pace attack, decided to bat first.The conditions demanded Haseeb Hameed’s adhesiveness; instead, he wafted at his second delivery to be caught behind off Sam Curran. Bowling an immaculate line, elder brother Tom soon elicited Luke Procter to poke to second slip too.Six days on from dismantling Warwickshire with 6 for 14 at this ground, there was anticipation and fascination in seeing Footitt bowl again. He was indeed utterly compelling throughout. Three wickets came in a first spell that interspersed balls sprayed around with those of great peril, embodied by four byes down the leg side coming the ball before Alex Davies was lbw, playing across his pad to an inswinger that jagged late.Livingstone shaped to counterpunch in response to the early wickets; a scampered single to mid-on would have run out Chanderpaul with a direct hit. Two balls after flicking Footitt for four, Livingstone clipped a delivery straight to square leg, so disgusted with himself that he started walking off as soon as he hit the shot.It was the sort of shot one could never imagine Chanderpaul playing. Here he erred only in edging Tom Curran to second slip on 47, where Scott Borthwick, whose pyrotechnics in the position last week had gone viral, shelled the chance. As Footitt toiled under floodlights at the end of this truncated but intriguing day, Surrey had even more reason to rue their moment of generosity.

“There are no issues whatsoever.” That is the no-nonsense response of the India captain Virat Kohli to reports that he is at the centre of a rift with coach Anil Kumble

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston03-Jun-2017″There are no issues whatsoever.” That was the no-nonsense response of the India captain Virat Kohli to reports swirling around the team that he is at the centre of a rift with coach Anil Kumble.The story has dominated India’s build-up to their defense of the Champions Trophy, which begins on Sunday with the small matter of a game against Pakistan at Edgbaston. Kohli swatted away any notion, however, that there were differences beyond the ordinary between team members and Kumble.”See, there has been a lot of speculation, and a lot of things being written by people without actually being a part of the changing room, which is very strange. There are no problems whatsoever. The team is totally focused on the Champions Trophy.”Kohli stressed that his relationship with Kumble had been a good one, in a period when India have won every series they have played, apart from one T20I series against West Indies in the USA. “It’s been really good. The whole journey has been good.”He did acknowledge that differences and disagreements could exist in cricket, but said that they were a sign of progress. “In any walk of life there are agreements and disagreements always. If you don’t have knowledge of something, unless I am there myself in a particular situation and I am aware of what is happening, I will not pass any comment. I will not pass any judgment.”I think in India there is a lack of patience. People speculate from a distance. They apply their own idea. And when that thing does not happen nobody admits his mistake. That is why I do not focus on these issues. If you write something you should take the ownership that I was wrong.”These are normal things. Even at home you do not agree on everything with your family. The people who speculate should also think do you agree on everything in every situation. It is not possible. All I can say is if you do not have the knowledge about something do not spread rumours, do not speculate and focus on the cricket.”Reports of a divide between Kohli and Kumble emerged after the BCCI advertised for the coach’s position on May 25, the same day that India landed in England. Then, Kohli had said that he had no problem with the BCCI inviting applications, because Kumble’s one-year term was to end after the Champions Trophy. He had, however, been less than unequivocal in his response to a question about Kumble’s contribution to India’s recent success.Kohli had given feedback to the BCCI expressing concerns about Kumble’s style of coaching, which one board official said had been described as “intimidating”.”As I mentioned before, if something is put in place as a process, I mean, I don’t see why people are creating so many speculations about it,” Kohli said.”It has been followed last time as well, and I didn’t see any issues being created last time. So it is the same process. It is just happening after 12 months. People who even try to tell me about this, I don’t even want to know anything of this sort, because in a tournament that is in focus so much, and it’s such a big stage, a lot of people like to find a lot of rumours flying around, especially before the start of the tournament.”The BCCI, under former president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke had given Kumble a one-year contract. The Committee of Administrators, along with BCCI office bearers and the board chief executive officer Rahul Johri have now advertised for the job with a longer tenure.