Australia are likely to tour Bangladesh in 2017 to play a two-Test series that had been postponed last year due to security concerns.

Mohammad Isam27-Apr-2016Australia are likely to tour Bangladesh in 2017 to play the two-Test series that had been postponed last year due to security concerns.The teams were set to play in Dhaka in October 2015, but Cricket Australia received a government advisory about threats to Australian interest in Bangladesh two days before the players’ departure. The BCB promised VVIP security in an effort to salvage the tour, but were unsuccessful. The Australian Under-19s had also withdrawn from the World Cup that was held in Bangladesh at the start of 2016.On Tuesday, Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland, who had made the pull out public last year, said they were keen to resume ties. “We’ve had discussions offline with the Bangladesh Cricket Board. They know and understand that we’re absolutely committed to playing that [postponed] tour, obviously subject to security matters that we need to go through in preparation for that tour. But we’re very much looking forward to getting back to Bangladesh and playing cricket over there.”BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury also told ESPNcricinfo that, “after discussions with Cricket Australia, we are at the final stages of finalising the commitment for their tour to Bangladesh next year, and we will announce the tour dates once everything is confirmed.”It is understood that the two Tests could be held immediately after the 2017 Champions Trophy in England, which runs from June 1 to 18, although cricket in Bangladesh is not usually played in the months between May and October.

Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has announced he is retiring from limited-overs cricket in order to focus on the remainder of his Test career

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Apr-2016Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has announced his retirement from limited-overs cricket in order to focus on the remainder of his Test career. Herath informed Sri Lanka Cricket of his decision to step away from the shorter formats in the past week, and the board has since accepted his decision.”In the next eight months or so, we’re scheduled to play something like 12 Test matches,” Herath said. “I think retiring from the shorter formats is the right move, because that will allow young players to be groomed for the next World Cup, as well as lowering my workload and letting me concentrate on Tests.”Herath, 38, has played with injuries in both knees over the past few years, and was largely only picked for limited-overs cricket in the approach to, and in major tournaments, in which he has played a significant role.He has 74 wickets from 71 ODIs, but will be remembered more fondly for his impact in T20 internationals. Herath played a key role in Sri Lanka’s victorious 2014 World T20 campaign, delivering the side’s spell of that tournament. His 5 wickets for 3 runs in a virtual quarter-final against New Zealand is arguably the best-ever T20 bowling performance. He was also effective in the semi-final and final of that tournament, and had also been incisive in the 2012 World T20 semi-final, against Pakistan, where he claimed 3 for 25. Overall, he has 18 T20I wickets from 17 matches.”In T20, the two spells I remember fondly are my 5 for 3 against New Zealand, and the 3 for 20-odd against Pakistan at Khettarama,” Herath said. “I haven’t taken any five-wicket hauls in ODIs, but I bowled well in that tri-series final against India, in the Caribbean in 2013. I took 4 for 20 in that game, though we went on to lose. I also have good memories of the 2011 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand (he took 1 for 31).”Most recently, Herath played in every match of Sri Lanka’s recent 2016 World T20 campaign, and his retirement will leave the likes of Jeffrey Vandersay and Sachithra Senanayake vying to become the team’s first-choice short-format spinner. Herath himself will shift focus to the three-Test series in England, in May and June, for which preparation begins on Monday.”Sri Lanka Cricket wishes Mr. Herath nothing but the best as he continues to play cricket in his chosen discipline, and in all future endeavours,” a board release said.

Australia batsman Usman Khawaja has said that the shattering death of Phillip Hughes and his Muslim faith has contributed to a more balanced outlook on the game

Daniel Brettig01-Jun-2016Usman Khawaja has always batted with a certain grace. His languid movements and supple wrists have combined for a visual style that suggests ease and peace, and a sense of time to spare enjoyed by only the very best players.But until fairly recently, the image was also something of an illusion. Khawaja’s technique may have looked smooth, but inside his head turmoil and worry raged. He was unsure of his place in the game, and his future in the Australian team. This fretfulness played out over a handful of Test matches that reaped only two half centuries and many slim scores.Ahead of Australia’s triangular series against the West Indies and South Africa, Khawaja has spoken of how the shattering death of Phillip Hughes contributed to a more balanced outlook on the game, and how his Muslim faith has helped him to retain it. The proof of Khawaja’s development can be found in his performance, peeling off century after century last summer and winning an all-format place in Australia’s plans.”We obviously lost Hughesy and I did my knee in the space of two weeks, so it was a pretty rough time,” Khawaja told reporters in Guyana. “So you just sort of learn to let go a little bit.”When I first came into the Australian team I wanted to make such a good impression and to do so much and so well, which is normal for a young kid. Now I’m just more relaxed about it all. What’s meant to be is meant to be.”I train really hard, I do the right things at training, and then when the game time comes I just try and compete and if it’s good enough, it’s good enough. If it’s not, so be it.”Cricket Australia has highlighted Khawaja’s Pakistani background and Muslim belief as signs of the game’s diverse future down under, but the man himself has been reticent at times to speak of a personal faith. However his development as a cricketer links directly to the sense of peace and perspective it gives him these days, meaning Khawaja was this time a little more expansive.”The game can be quite tough at times and stressful and emotional,” he said. “So you have to find a way to bring yourself back to your centre. Everyone does that in different ways. I have my own way and I do it because you play so much cricket and so much is going on, you can sometimes forget about that sort of stuff. It’s a good question because it happens a lot.”I pray. That’s what keeps me centred. The number one most important thing in my life is religion. That comes first and that helps me with everything else, cricket included. I haven’t become any more religious. I think I’ve just found a happy medium of religion helping me with life in general.”It sort of happens when something as big as what happened a couple of years ago with Hughesy happens. I think everyone took it in a different way. Everyone finds different avenues and aspects so that’s one big one for me.”In the Caribbean, Khawaja will again be pitched into a contest for places in the batting order, as the likes of Aaron Finch, David Warner and the captain Steven Smith all lay claim to places in the top three. Once upon a time this may have worried Khawaja, bringing anxiety and nerves close to the surface and clouding his method with the bat.But this time it will be more likely he takes events in his stride, whether cuffing balls to the boundary or running drinks for others. It’s not the end of the world, after all.”Obviously I love opening but I know that Finchy and Davey have been doing it for a while too, so I understand that and I’m glad to be part of this team,” Khawaja said. “I wasn’t around at all last year or the year before that, so I don’t look that far ahead. All that stuff has no bearing on me, it’s the selectors and coaches, they make those decisions and I just try to go out there and play cricket to the best of my ability. I’d be happy to play anywhere in the top order, but we’ve got a lot of very good players here too, so it just depends what happens.”

Rohit Sharma spoke highly of incoming India head coach Anil Kumble, describing the former India captain as an “inspiring” figure from whom he had learnt a lot

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2016India batsman Rohit Sharma has spoken highly of the side’s new head coach Anil Kumble, describing the former India captain as an “inspiring” figure from whom he had learnt a lot.Rohit played alongside Kumble towards the end of the legspinner’s India career. The two renewed their professional relationship when Kumble served as Mumbai Indians’ team mentor from 2013 to 2015, a period during which the team won two IPL titles and a Champions League T20 title. Kumble’s first assignment as India coach is the four-Test series in the West Indies in July and August.”I have two [three] years of experience [with him] at Mumbai Indians and I know the kind of things we spoke about. I was the captain and he was the coach and mentor of the team. I got to learn a lot from him,” Rohit said at an event in Mumbai. “I was fortunate enough to play with him during the last months before he retired. I remember in 2008, I was part of the Test squad to Sri Lanka and he was the captain. And he always had this attitude of never giving up, which as a young player is so inspiring.”You have to keep fighting no matter what. If the game is slipping away from your hands, don’t give up till the last ball is bowled. That’s how he played his cricket. You get the feeling that he was someone who wouldn’t let go too easily. That’s the kind of message that he wanted to send across. That’s the kind of message we also want as young players. He’s very inspiring.”Rohit was also full of praise for Ravi Shastri, whose 18-month tenure as India team director came to an end after the World T20 earlier this year. Shastri had been appointed to the role in August 2014, after India’s dismal loss in the Test series in England. During Shastri’s tenure, India made it to the semi-finals of successive global events – the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20 – and briefly occupied the No. 1 Test ranking earlier this year. Shastri had applied for the position of head coach in June, but his application was ultimately unsuccessful as Kumble was chosen.”[Shastri] took up the responsibility when we were in a shambles,” Rohit said. “As soon as he came, he created a positive atmosphere around us.”Rohit added that Shastri had been “a big influence on Indian cricket for the past 18 months.”

Earlier this week, Surrey knocked Middlesex out of the Royal London One-Day Cup at Lord’s. Now, with Middlesex at the summit of the Championship, Jason Roy has left Surrey bent on another act of sabotage

Tim Wigmore at Lord's04-Aug-2016
ScorecardJason Roy transferred his white-ball form with aplomb•Getty Images

Three weeks ago, Lord’s played host to Pakistan toppling England in one of the great Test matches of recent years. Now the legions of seats, which had been so enthralled by Misbah-ul-Haq’s press-ups and Yasir Shah’s legspin, lay mostly vacant, even with Middlesex eyeing up their first title since 1993.Yet there was much to admire in the opening day of the London Derby, and much of the best of it came from the bat of Jason Roy. A little after tea, as the clouds were beginning to dominate the sky above Lord’s, Roy unfurled consecutive off-drives against Toby Roland-Jones. The first went a little to mid-off’s right, the second a little to his left. Both were pristine shots that went all along the ground for four. Any of the thousands of batsmen who have played first-class cricket at Lord’s would have been proud to claim them as their own.The same was true of this entire innings: 110 runs, made at a sprightly rate but without recourse to slogging, that served as a magnificent riposte to those that imagine him merely a brawny limited-overs specialist. Roy has the technique and range of shots to be so much more, all of which makes his recent run of first-class innings – single-figure scores in six of his previous seven innings, including a pair of ducks in his last two – all the more infuriating.”I’ve found it hard to switch between the three formats this year, but I know I’m not the only one,” Roy said. “Your mindset’s completely different. I’ve tried to keep my movements the same and that’s the hardest thing.”After all the changes, it is to the continuity in his method that Roy credits his success. Last Friday night he made a rollicking 120 not out in a T20 game against Kent at a sold-out Oval. On Monday, only incessant rain denied him the chance to convert his unbeaten 93 against Glamorgan in the one-day cup into another century. After such success, a duck against Middlesex in the one-day cup on Tuesday notwithstanding, it made no sense to reinvent his game for red-ball cricket. Had the rain just come a few minutes later against Glamorgan, Roy would have made a trio of centuries in three different formats in a week, believed to be an unprecedented achievement in professional cricket.”My method is now very similar – it never used to be,” he said. “It was tough going in with a different mindset and different way of batting: it was pretty silly. I just went in and treated it like a 50-over game and got myself in. You’re allowed a bit more time in Championship cricket so if they bowled a maiden at me I wasn’t under pressure. That was the only difference.”I almost enjoy it more in the longer format because I’m not under that pressure to score at six, seven, eight, nine an over: I can just bat. Maybe putting myself under too much pressure, expecting myself to score a million runs is something that I’ve tried to deal with.”Even if this was only Roy’s first first-class century of the summer, and just the seventh of his career, England are excited by the prospect of his transferring his penchant for limited overs destruction into the Test arena.Trevor Bayliss has said he could envisage Roy soon playing Tests. “He’s spoken to me and told me to score as many runs as I can. Obviously volume of runs speaks louder than anything. Unfortunately I haven’t got the volume that I’d have liked but this is a start.”Indeed it is. And to all those who enjoyed a dreamy flick to square leg off Tim Murtagh, immediately followed by a gun-barrel straight drive, both for four – like a salsa dancer, Roy’s best work was done in pairs – the possibilities in England whites seemed tantalising. England are hardly short of middle-order aggressors but Roy in this vein loses nothing by comparison to Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler or Ben Stokes.If his first-class returns in 2016 remain underwhelming – 440 runs at 31.42 apiece do not immediately speak of a Test player – he might soon be a test case for whether Bayliss is willing, as he claims, to pick players for Test cricket largely on their ODI form. His last 11 ODI innings have included three exuberant hundreds.Yet there was much more to Surrey’s resolve than Roy. Rory Burns displayed skill to withstand Murtagh with the new ball, and then gave notice of his own expanded game. The compactness he is always associated with was all on display, but the drives, cuts and nudges to the leg side were timed so serenely that his pace lost little by comparison with Roy.And Ben Foakes, unobtrusive and playing unusually straight – three drives passed only a few inches to the umpire’s right before reaching the ropes – ensured that Surrey ended the day not shy of 400, a commendable effort on a pitch with more life than for some of Middlesex’s early season games here.Earlier this week, Surrey knocked Middlesex out of the Royal London One-Day Cup at Lord’s. Now, with Middlesex at the summit of the Championship, Roy has left Surrey bent on another act of sabotage.

Taskin Ahmed is all set to have his bowling action reassessed by the ICC on September 8 in Brisbane, according to the BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Yunus

Mohammad Isam20-Aug-2016Taskin Ahmed is all set to have his bowling action reassessed by the ICC on September 8 in Brisbane, according to the BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Yunus. Arafat Sunny could also have his reassessment on the same date.Yunus said that former India spinner Venkatapathy Raju, in Bangladesh for a short spin-bowling camp, and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha were both convinced that Sunny was ready to have his action tested. The BCB wanted both bowlers to be given the green-light before the England series in early October.”The test date is most probably September 8 in Brisbane,” Yunus said. “If that happens, we are hoping to get him [Taskin] cleared in the following 10-12 days. We are hopeful about him in the test; we feel that he has rectified his bowling action.”Arafat Sunny worked with Venkatapathy Raju and Chandika Hathurusingha recently. They are convinced that Sunny is ready for the ICC assessment along with Taskin’s. The two might go to Brisbane together.”Taskin and Sunny were suspended from bowling after their actions were found to be illegal during the World T20 this year. It was a body-blow to Bangladesh’s campaign, and the BCB took a chance by appealing the ICC’s decision on Taskin but the decision was upheld.Both players took part in the domestic one-day competition while working to correct their actions under local coaches.Yunus also said that Sanjit Saha, who was reported for a suspect bowling action during the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, is now in the clear in domestic cricket. He was among the five bowlers cleared by the BCB’s bowling-action review committee last week.”Sanjit Saha’s action has changed considerably, and he is bowling within four-five degrees,” Yunus said. “Whether he will remain effective will be visible only when he starts playing matches. He can play domestic cricket but in order to play international cricket, he will first need to clear ICC’s assessment.”

Billy Godleman staged a one-man roadblock but Essex remain on course to boost their promotion chances after Derbyshire were forced to follow-on in the Division Two match at Derby

ECB Reporters Network15-Aug-2016
ScorecardBilly Godleman defied his former county•Getty Images

Billy Godleman staged a one-man roadblock but Essex remain on course to boost their promotion chances after Derbyshire were forced to follow-on in the Division Two match at Derby. The former Essex batsman frustrated the bowlers for 55 overs to score 100 and Wayne Madsen completed 1000 Championship runs for the season but the home side closed day three facing defeat on 213 for 5, still trailing by 152 runs.Essex would have fancied their chances of wrapping up victory with a day to spare after Graham Napier, with 4 for 28, and Ravi Bopara had polished off Derbyshire’s first innings before lunch.The home side had showed fight from the first ball of the morning, with Alex Mellor and Matt Critchley taking their seventh wicket stand to 70 in 25 overs before Napier broke through. Mellor had been dropped by Tom Westley at second slip in the previous over but failed to add to his 44 when he edged a ball that moved away enough to give James Foster the first of two victims before lunch.Napier produced an unplayable inswinging yorker to bowl Tom Milnes first ball but Critchley negotiated the hat-trick ball before he steered Bopara to gully. When Bopara defeated Callum Parkinson’s defensive push, Essex had run through Derbyshire in less than 66 overs but they encountered greater resistance after enforcing the follow-on with a flat pitch and cloudless skies assisting the home side’s rearguard.Godleman and Ben Slater negotiated a tricky five overs before lunch and then batted well into the afternoon before Napier, who switched to the City End, had Slater taken low at second slip by Westley. But Essex had to wait another 30 overs for their next success as Alex Hughes joined Godleman, who cut Jamie Porter for four to reach 50 and then drove Westley over long-off for six.Hughes concentrated on survival, facing 99 balls for his 23, before he chased a wide one from Paul Walter, and the wicket Essex most wanted came three overs later. Godleman cut Walter for three to reach his third hundred of the season but, in the next over, he was lbw to Napier and Essex struck two more blows in the closing overs.Madsen had pulled Bopara for four to reach his milestone but was squared-up by Will Rhodes and snared at third slip for 37 and, without addition to the score, Bopara forced Neil Broom to play on for 13 in the penultimate over.

A fracture has ruled Leigh Kasperek out for eight weeks, including six qualification games

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2016New Zealand Women offspinner Leigh Kasperek has been sidelined for a minimum of eight weeks with a broken finger. X-rays confirmed she sustained an avulsion fracture to her right index finger while training in South Africa last week for the seven-match ODI series which starts on October 8. Kasperek will miss that series as well as New Zealand’s home series against Pakistan in November.Auckland allrounder Maddy Green, who also bowls offspin, will replace Kasperek for the South Africa tour. Green, who last played for New Zealand in July 2015, has played eight ODIs so far but has only one wicket to her name. She is yet to score an international fifty.”We do feel our bowling stocks are quite well covered,” coach Haidee Tiffen said. “Maddy provides cover if we do need it, but we’ve also already got the experience of [off-spinning allrounder] Amy Satterthwaite who now steps up into that bowling role for us, as well as [legspinners] Sam Curtis and Erin Bermingham up our sleeves. And, of course, the class of Morna Nielsen.”While it’s obviously extremely disappointing for Leigh, and we wish her a swift recovery, she returns to Dunedin safe in the knowledge that the team has had very good preparation here and a really good lead-in.”Kasperek, who made her international debut last year, has been one of the leading bowlers for New Zealand. She was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the World T20 in India earlier this year, with nine scalps from five matches and an economy rate of 4.91.New Zealand will miss Kasperek for the six ODIs that will count for the ICC Women’s Championship to qualify directly for next year’s World Cup. Australia, who have already qualified, lead the table (30 points) followed by West Indies (20) and England (19). New Zealand lie fourth on the table with 16 points.

Upon learning that it may take too long for the equipment to arrive in India, the BCCI has decided to go ahead with DRS without HotSpot against England

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2016Although the BCCI has agreed to use DRS for the five Tests against England starting on November 9, HotSpot will not be among the tools available.The last time India played in a series with DRS – also against England, in 2011 – they were not impressed with HotSpot. Ravi Shastri, who had been a commentator at the time, had famously said, “HotSpot has gone cold.” Its absence now, however, is the result of logistical issues.It is understood that about a month ago the BCCI had asked HotSpot proprietors if they could provide the equipment for HotSpot and Realtime Snicko. At the time, the board hadn’t made up its mind over the use of DRS, but was happy to include the technologies as a broadcast tool.However, the BCCI was told it would take at least until the middle of November to transport the hardware to India. And that was not a guarantee either. There was a worst-case scenario which suggested the BCCI would have to wait until mid-February to have HotSpot and Realtime Snicko in working order. This was because the cameras used for HotSpot are military-grade and their shipping required special permission from the Australian government.So considering the first Test against England is scheduled to begin on November 9, the BCCI has decided to use DRS minus HotSpot.The presence of UltraEdge, however, should help make sure DRS deliberations are as accurate as possible. The technology is used to determine exactly when and what part of the bat or batsman the ball has struck, and its use was a contributing factor in convincing the BCCI to use DRS. “UltraEdge also ensures that post-impact balls do not affect the predicted path or impact point and hence the accuracy has been improved,” the board had said last week.UltraEdge will now be used in detection of edges on caught-behind dismissals and bat-pad catches, and to determine whether a batsman had hit the ball in lbw scenarios.

Cameos from Darren Sammy and Umar Akmal late in Rajshahi Kings’ innings gave them enough momentum to beat Rangpur Riders by 12 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Sammy’s 18-ball 44, along with Umar Akmal saw them add 70 runs in the last 37 balls•BCB

Rajshahi Kings’ bowlers latched on to the momentum of Darren Sammy’s late assault to defend 162 and beat Rangpur Riders by 12 runs. Rajshahi rose from 94 for 5 to post 162 thanks to a 70-run partnership between Sammy and Umar Akmal for the sixth wicket, which came off only 37 deliveries. That was sufficient to put Rangpur under pressure, given their most successful chase in this season was 126.Losing Mohammad Shahzad in the seventh over was a blow for Rangpur but Mohammad Mithun and Nasir Jamshed led a brief recovery, adding 40 runs for the second wicket. Mithun waged a lone battle after Jamshed fell, and then watched as Soumya Sarkar, Anwar Ali and Liam Dawson were dismissed, leaving the score at 119 for 5 in the 17th over. With a six over long-on, Mithun reached his fifty in the 18th over, and Rangpur went into the last two overs needing 28.Mohammad Sami, however, bowled a tight penultimate over, giving away just three singles. Mithun slammed his fourth six in the final over but his unbeaten 64 off 36 balls was not enough to take Rangpur over the line.Earlier, Rajshahi’s innings got off to a rollicking start as Sabbir Rahman struck four boundaries and a six before falling in the seventh over for a 24-ball 31. Rangpur fought back in the next seven overs to reduce Rajshahi to 94 for 5.Sammy and Akmal hit a flurry of boundaries, taking 17, 15 and 23 off the last three overs. Sammy struck three fours and four sixes – over long-off, square-leg and midwicket – in his unbeaten 44 off 18 balls, while Akmal hammered two fours and a six in his 33 not out