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Sunil Narine has been included in the West Indies squads for the ODIs and T20Is in Sri Lanka, after having opted out of their World Cup campaign because of issues with his action

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-20151:21

Narine returns from international hiatus

Offspinner Sunil Narine has been included in the West Indies squads for the ODIs and T20Is in Sri Lanka in October, after having opted out of their 2015 World Cup campaign because of issues with his action. There were eight changes from the squad that travelled to Australia and New Zealand: Chris Gayle was out of both squads after having a back surgery, but Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Sulieman Benn, Sheldon Cottrell, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, and Dwayne Smith were omitted from the ODI set up.The players included in the ODI squad were: Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Andre Fletcher, Jason Mohammed, and Ravi Rampaul. Narine and Darren Bravo, withdrawn from the World Cup squad, made comebacks. Bravo, who had injured his hamstring during that tournament, was also in the T20I squad.

Changes in the squads

ODIs
In: Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Andre Fletcher, Jason Mohammed, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine and Darren Bravo
Out: Chris Gayle Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Sulieman Benn, Sheldon Cottrell, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, Dwayne Smith
T20Is
In: Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Jerome Taylor
Out: Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Ashley Nurse, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith

Allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard continued to be kept out of the ODI set-up, a decision that was revealed beforehand by Phil Simmons, who was later suspended as West Indies coach for saying there had been outside interference in the selection of the squad. Both players, however, were included in the T20I squad.The selectors dropped a lot of the players who fared poorly in the World Cup, where West Indies struggled during the group stages and were beaten heavily by New Zealand in the quarterfinal.Allrounder Smith made only 93 runs in six matches during the World Cup and was hardly used as a bowler, while batsman Lendl Simmons scored 173 in five innings, of which 102 came in the defeat against Ireland. Allrounder Sammy also had an ordinary tournament – 177 runs in five innings and only one wicket in 28 overs. Simmons and Smith were also missing from the T20I squad, having been part of West Indies’ previous Twenty20 matches in South Africa before the World Cup.Fast bowler Roach and left-arm spinner Benn played three matches each in the World Cup. Roach took only one wicket and went for 6.81 runs an over, while Benn claimed two and conceded 6.34 an over. Miller, another left-arm spinner, played only the one game in the tournament, while fast bowler Cottrell had sat on the bench throughout the campaign. Cottrell and Benn were also cut from the T20I squad.Rampaul, a fast bowler, made a comeback in both formats after not even being included in the list of 30 probables for the World Cup; his last game for West Indies was during the aborted tour of India in October 2014. Legspinner Bishoo has not played an ODI or T20I for West Indies since October 2011, while wicketkeeper-batsman Fletcher has not played an ODI since May 2010. Allrounder Mohammed, who bowls part-time offspin, has played only one ODI, in December 2011.Blackwood has not yet made his ODI debut, while Brathwaite had been left out of the World Cup squad after playing the preceding series in South Africa in January. Brathwaite, however, was dropped from the T20I squad after having been part of the tour to South Africa. Offspinner Ashley Nurse was the other player dropped from the T20I squad.The four other players included in the T20I squad after missing the matches in South Africa were legspinner Samuel Badree, fast bowler Jerome Taylor, and batsmen Jonathan Carter and Johnson Charles.Narine has not played international cricket since he was reported for a suspect action during the 2014 Champions League T20 and barred from bowling for Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of that tournament. He underwent remedial work and was included in West Indies’ World Cup squad, but pulled out of the competition to give himself more time to work on his action. Narine once again ran into trouble with his action during the 2015 IPL after the World Cup, and was given a final warning, though sanctions during the CLT20 and the IPL are not applicable to international cricket.The limited-overs leg of the tour of Sri Lanka comes after the two-Test series and begins with the first of three ODIs on November 1. West Indies will be coached by the selector and former fast bowler Eldine Baptiste, after Phil Simmons’ suspension.ODI squad: Jason Holder (capt), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome TaylorT20I squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor

With PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan set to meet BCCI president Shashank Manohar in New Delhi on Monday, there is expectation that a decision will be made on India’s proposed bilateral series with Pakistan in DecemberWith PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan set to me

Arun Venugopal19-Oct-2015With PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan set to meet BCCI president Shashank Manohar in Mumbai on Monday, there is expectation that a decision will be made on India’s proposed bilateral series with Pakistan in December.According to a report, Shaharyar, accompanied by PCB executive committee head Najam Sethi, will meet Manohar and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur along with other government officials.”The PCB is mentally prepared to even settle for a shorter series but want it to be Pakistan’s home series and in the UAE,” a PCB source was quoted as saying by .Meanwhile, it is understood that the BCCI, as reported by ESPNcricinfo on Saturday, had discussed the possibility of a tri-series featuring Pakistan and Bangladesh in its working committee meeting, but was apprehensive about the viability of non-India games played in India.”The BCCI does intend to promote tri-series, but non-India games are not attracting revenue and BCCI’s cost of production is so high it’s not remunerative. We’re trying to work out how it can be done,” a BCCI member privy to the discussions told ESPNcricinfo.He also said that should Bangladesh be the third team in the tournament certain games would have to be played in the country. “If Bangladesh were to be involved, then we’ll have to work out things in a way where Bangladesh’s matches will have to be played in Bangladesh,” he said.BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that although his board hadn’t received any proposal about the tri-series from the BCCI, there were informal discussions. “It was not a formal proposal. We had a discussion about matches,” Chowdhury told reporters in Dhaka.”Since we have a slot [after December 15], the possibility of it [tri-series] cannot be ignored,” Chowdhury said. “The host country will decide who will be the participating nations. Not just the BCCI, we spoke with a few other boards too regarding playing some matches in December. It can be at home or away.”

Peter Siddle has let out his frustration following his first match as captain of Victoria, annoyed that his team was the only side playing for the win in their match with Western Australia at the MCG

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2015Peter Siddle has let out his frustration following his first match as captain of Victoria, annoyed that his team was the only side playing for the win in their match with Western Australia at the MCG. The Bushrangers set the Warriors 390 for victory late on the third day and while Victoria fell two wickets short of a win, Western Australia were still 108 runs short when stumps was called.Western Australia opener Will Bosisto scored his maiden first-class century and finished with 108 from 288 deliveries, and the Warriors scored at just 2.66 per over. It was Siddle’s first game in charge of any team at first-class, List A or T20 level, having stepped into the captaincy after Matthew Wade broke his collarbone shortly before the match started.”We were always going to bowl all day. They didn’t have a crack at all for four days,” Siddle told reporters after the match. “It was up to us to run the game the whole match. We gave them a couple of generous declarations. We gave them plenty of opportunities and they didn’t take any of them.”When you’ve played four hard days of cricket and you’re the only team playing out there, it does make it hard. You come here to play against an opposition and you’re pretty much playing a match by yourself out there. That’s the disappointing thing.”Victoria’s push for victory on the final day included some interesting field placements: at one stage Siddle set two catchers in helmets in short slips positions when James Pattinson was bowling. But his push for wickets was stifled by the Western Australia batsmen, and the Warriors coach Justin Langer defended his team’s approach to the final day’s play.”It’s none of Sids’ business how we play our cricket, as it’s none of our business how they play their cricket,” Langer said. “We had to fight hard. We’ve got kids … it’s pretty rich for him to carry on about how we play our cricket. They have got an incredibly senior team, an international team. He’ll probably be a bit stroppy because they didn’t get the points against a very young WA team.”

Lalit Modi, the founder of the IPL, is set to launch a £1.5 million fraud claim against Chris Cairns, the former New Zealand allrounder who was last week found not guilty of perjury at Southwark Crown Court

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2015Lalit Modi, the founder of the IPL, is set to launch a £1.5 million fraud claim against Chris Cairns, the former New Zealand allrounder who was last week found not guilty of perjury at Southwark Crown Court.Modi was successfully sued by Cairns at the High Court in 2012, an action that stemmed from an infamous tweet two years earlier, in which he stated that Cairns had been omitted from that year’s IPL draft due to his previous history of match-fixing in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League.In the course of the High Court hearing, at the end of which Cairns was awarded £90,000 and Modi was ordered to pay costs of £1.4 million, Cairns stated that he had “never cheated at cricket and would never contemplate doing so”, words that formed the basis of the Crown Prosecution’s perjury allegation.Despite Cairns’ acquittal, new evidence came to light during the nine-week perjury trial, with both Brendon McCullum, the current New Zealand captain, and Lou Vincent, the former batsman, testifying in court that they had been approached by Cairns to fix matches.A civil case requires a lower standard of proof than a criminal case and so, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph, Modi’s lawyers are seeking to overturn the original libel verdict and sue him instead for fraud.Cairns would be required to appear in person, although neither McCullum nor Vincent would be expected to travel back to the UK as they both live outside the jurisdiction of the court.Asked about the prospect of a further legal battle with Modi, Cairns told Newstalk ZB radio in New Zealand: “In the words of [Winston] Churchill, it is not the end. It is not the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning.”I think a man with his means and his power, he lurks out there and I have to be very, very conscious of that. I will take stock and deal with that situation and, if it does come about, I will take it in my stride.”

South Africa have named an unchanged squad for the last two Tests of the home series against England

Firdose Moonda08-Jan-20161:35

Selectors keep faith in South Africa squad

South Africa’s selectors have kept faith in the squad that drew the Newlands’ Test and named an unchanged 16 for the remaining two matches against England. They also largely stuck with the same ODI squad that beat India 3-2 last November, with left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso left out and batsman Rilee Rossouw brought back in. AB de Villiers will lead both sides after taking over from Hashim Amla as Test captain.That meant no space for specialist opening batsman Stephen Cook in the Test squad, which suggests out of form Stiaan van Zyl will have another opportunity to take ownership of the role. Vernon Philander, who has been sidelined with torn ankle ligaments, also does not appear to be in line for an international comeback until at least the end of February, and offspinner Simon Harmer also misses out.”We were highly encouraged by the performance put up at Newlands. The very fact that they were nearly able to force a win after conceding 600 runs on the first innings speaks volumes for the character of this group of players,” said Linda Zondi, South Africa’s selection panel convener. “We feel we have all our bases covered and also the options that will enable the team to exploit whatever conditions they encounter at the Wanderers Stadium and at SuperSport Park.”Both venues promise fast, bouncy surfaces with good carry so South Africa’s hopes will be pinned on Dale Steyn being fit after he missed four of the last six Tests with injury. At the conclusion of the Newlands match, Steyn was said to be 50-50 and team management will reassess his status when the squad regroups in Johannesburg on Monday. If he is fit, they will have to leave out either Chris Morris or Kagiso Rabada.Should Steyn still be struggling, South Africa have options. Kyle Abbott has fully recovered from a hamstring niggle while Hardus Viljoen, who plays his domestic cricket for the Johannesburg-based Lions franchise and knows the Wanderers well, has also been retained in the squad. South Africa have thus also left open the possibility of playing four quicks.Changes to the batting department appear unlikely as the only reserve batsman in the squad, Rossouw, is not a specialist opener and the only place open would be in the top two. Van Zyl has scored just 52 runs in this last seven innings as an opener but is holding on to his place.After Faf du Plessis regained form in Cape Town and Temba Bavuma showed what he is capable of in the middle order, JP Duminy will find it difficult to find his way back into the XI. He made a strong case for comeback though, with a double hundred for the Cobras against the Lions in Paarl in the first-class competition. In the same match, discarded wicketkeeper Dane Vilas scored 150 to remind the selectors that Quinton de Kock is not the only option available to them. For now, they don’t seem to think so.Test squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl, Hardus ViljoenODI squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn

AB de Villiers has dropped another hint that he is willing to stay on as South Africa’s long-term Test captain, after his new-look team completed an impressive 280-run victory

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2016AB de Villiers has dropped another hint that he is willing to stay on as South Africa’s long-term Test captain, after his new-look team completed an impressive 280-run victory in the fourth and final Test at Centurion.De Villiers, who himself made a pair in the match and has averaged just 9.00 in his two Tests since taking over from Hashim Amla as captain in the aftermath of the second Test at Cape Town, praised the character shown by his players s they secured their first Test victory in ten matches since January 2015.”The guys were very fired up for this Test match,” de Villiers said during the post-match presentations. “It’s been a while since we won a Test match so we are obviously very excited about that and we will enjoy the celebrations afterwards now.”South Africa’s side featured five changes from the seven-wicket defeat in Johannesburg, in which they conceded an insurmountable 2-0 series deficit, and de Villiers singled out one of the new faces, debutant opener Stephen Cook, for particular praise, following his maiden century in the first innings. However, the star of the show was unequivocally Kagiso Rabada, whose match figures of 13 for 144 were the second-best in South Africa’s Test history.”We are very excited about some of the guys coming through and taking their opportunities with both hands,” de Villiers said. “Obviously Kagiso had a fantastic Test match, it doesn’t come around every day that you take 13 wickets in a Test so we are very proud of him, and obviously Temba [Bavuma] and Cooky have played their roles in this Test match, and Temba obviously in the whole series.”It’s a great team performance, coming back from 2-0 against a very solid England team, and we showed a lot of character and hopefully we can build on this now and in the future.”Asked about his own future in Test cricket, amid series-long speculation about his workload, de Villiers implied that he was ready to commit to the leadership, with South Africa’s next Test engagement coming at home against New Zealand in August.”Yeah, I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “I’m keen to move forward and the team is in a really good space, with a few guys coming through and enjoying their cricket. It’s a good place to be in, and it’s a bright future for us.”We’ve got a long way to go, it’s a bit of a rebuilding phase, we’ve lost quite a few players in the last few years, but the guys who’ve come through have shown a lot of character and shown us that they can take the team forward. I think there’s a bright future and we are looking forward to everything that’s going to come our way, and all the challenges.”Rabada followed up his first-innings figures of 7 for 112 with 6 for 32 second time around, including a destructive final-morning spell of 4 for 4 in 21 balls to bundle England out before the drinks break, and was deservedly named Man of the Match.”It was a bit up and down so the key was to hit the deck, bowl in a relatively good area and believe that you’d get your rewards,” he said. “It’s great to be in this environment, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do, and it’s great to play against a quality cricket team.””To take seven wickets this morning in the time that we did probably wasn’t part of my thinking in bed last night,” de Villiers admitted. “We were prepared to go to 5.30pm today and guts it out. They have a few match-winners in their team so we were wary of that, it wasn’t an impossible run-chase.”
Alastair Cook, England’s captain, conceded his side had been second-best throughout the match.”It’s been a disappointing five days, we haven’t quite been on it, pretty much the whole five days,” he said. “We’ve hung in there without ever being able to get on top of South Africa. Credit to them, they played well, but we weren’t quite at the races.”Trevor [Bayliss, the coach] just described it as a limp batting performance, which probably sums it up perfectly.”

Four good years have culminated in Australia’s rise to No. 1 in the Test rankings, but their task now is to extend the lead without the likes of Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and a few others

Brydon Coverdale24-Feb-20163:18

‘No. 1 a big motivation for us’ – Smith

A small crowd, a quiet Christchurch day in the last week of February, an Australian rise to No.1. It could have been Allan Border overtaking Sunil Gavaskar 23 years ago to become the leading run scorer in Tests. Instead it was Steven Smith’s men nudging ahead of India to become the top-ranked Test side in the world. For Border, it was the culmination of 14 years as a Test batsman; for Smith’s team it feels like the result of four good months.In fact, it is the culmination of four years of cricket, under not only Smith but his predecessor Michael Clarke. The current rankings stretch back to 2012, so they include Australia’s home Ashes whitewash in 2013-14 and their series win in South Africa that followed. After those triumphs Australia briefly jumped to No.1 under Clarke but that lasted a matter of months, and their task now is to not only hold their lead but extend it.And they must do so without Clarke, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Chris Rogers and Ryan Harris, all of whom retired over the course of 2015. Those departures have left Australia with a significantly different looking side under Smith, and while they have started well by winning at home to New Zealand and West Indies and now away in New Zealand, other challenges await.They include a series in Sri Lanka later this year and then home Tests against South Africa and Pakistan, followed by arguably world cricket’s toughest challenge: an away Test series in India. How long Australia can hold the No.1 position remains to be seen, but under Smith and vice-captain David Warner, the initial signs have been good.”A lot of credit has got to be given to the guys who have recently retired as well,” Smith said after winning the second Test at Hagley Oval. “The ranking system goes for quite a while and those guys were quite a big part of our success as an Australian team. Having said that, the guys that have stepped up to the plate since those six big retirements have been outstanding and I’m really proud of the way the boys have been performing.”Such has been the success of Australia this summer that all members of their top five are averaging 50-plus since Smith officially succeeded Clarke as captain. The stars have arguably been Adam Voges and Usman Khawaja, but in the second Test against New Zealand it was Joe Burns who stepped up, earning his first Man-of-the-Match award for his 170 and 65.The value of his patient first-innings century should not be underestimated, given that New Zealand had made such a remarkable start to the Test through Brendon McCullum’s record 54-ball century on the first day. New Zealand reached 370 in their first innings, and it was the first time under Smith that the Australians had needed to fight back from being behind in the match in the early stages.”We did have to fight,” Smith said. “I thought that probably on the first day somewhere around 250-300 would probably be par on that wicket and they really took it away from us in that second session. That’s a credit to the way that both Brendon and Corey Anderson played.”They came out and really took the game on and we didn’t know what to do for a period of time there. But, credit to the guys the way we were able to fight back scoring 500 in our first innings again, I think that really sets the game up for you and I thought the guys responded really well.”Smith was also key to the turnaround, accompanying Burns for much of the second innings and registering his third century of the Test summer. Although Smith was charged with a Code of Conduct breach for his remonstration with umpire Ranmore Martinesz on the fourth day at Hagley Oval, the retiring McCullum said he believed that under Smith the Australians focused on “positive play” rather than verbals.”I think the team plays slightly differently to what they have done previously,” McCullum said. “Most Australian teams play the way their leader is. If you look at Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, they always take on a slight twist. Under Steve Smith, we’ve seen a very similar thing.”This series has been played in great spirits, I think, and the one back in Australia. I think Steve Smith has been a catalyst for that. He plays the game for the right reasons as well. He plays with his heart on his sleeve but he’s a very respectful guy and a wonderful cricketer. They’re No.1 in the world now and a lot of that is to do with his leadership and Darren Lehmann’s as well.”They probably skin the cat slightly differently. The majority of their focus is on positive play rather than necessarily some of the semantics of past eras. They go about their work in a nice manner and they play hard cricket but in the series that we’ve had, I don’t think they’ve ever looked to step over the line.”As a result of the victory in Christchurch, Smith remains undefeated as Test captain, with seven wins and four draws from his 11 games in charge – including when he was standing in for the injured Clarke in 2014-15. Under Smith, Australia have beaten New Zealand in four of five Tests this summer, and McCullum said Australia had the potential to remain at No.1 for some time.”I think so because they’ve got depth as we’ve seen in these two series,” McCullum said. “The bowling line-up in this series is quite different and they’ve all stepped up and that’s the beauty of Australian cricket. They’ve got so much depth that if they can get everyone heading in the same direction and their game-plans are simple, then they’re going to be dangerous no matter what.”That’s why they’ve been able to rise to No. 1 in the world. They’ve also got some outstanding batters, not necessarily the flashiest batters that Australia has produced but they’re churning out runs and when you do that your bowling attack becomes a lot more potent.”

Glenn McGrath, with 563 wickets, holds the for most wickets by a fast bowler in Test cricket but he expects it to be broken by England’s James Anderson, who is currently on 451

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2016Glenn McGrath, with 563 wickets, holds the record for most wickets by a fast bowler in Test cricket but he expects it to be broken by England’s James Anderson.Anderson has been climbing up the leader board since he passed Ian Botham’s tally of 383 wickets against West Indies in April 2015 to become his country’s most successful bowler. His 400th came the following month against New Zealand, and his latest – No. 451 – came during the course of three five-wicket hauls in four innings in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka.Anderson, 33, has played 115 Tests and recently said he hoped to pass 500 wickets – something only two quicks, McGrath and Courtney Walsh, have done – as well as, fitness permitting, prolong his career until the 2019 Ashes series.McGrath became famous for his regular Ashes whitewash predictions in favour of Australia but, in this case, he has backed the Englishman to ultimately surpass him, as he told cricket.com.au: “That’s entirely up to him [Anderson]; if he stays on the park, then he can do that quite easily – and knock me off. And good luck to him. He’s a quality bowler, there’s no doubt about that. When he’s firing and the ball’s swinging, he’s as tough [to face] as any bowler going around.”Anderson was ranked the No. 1 bowler in Tests by the ICC in May and his 295 wickets since 2010 is the highest tally by any bowler over the past six years. That a lot of those wickets came after he turned 30 indicated the effort he has put in to stay fit.”Being a fast bowler is tough on the body, there’s no doubt about it,” McGrath said. “You have to stay fit and strong, and injury free. He’s had a few issues in the past but he’s come back well, and [how long he plays is] up to him now really. I was lucky enough to play through till I was 37, so I’m sure he’s still got plenty of overs left in him.”The positive side of growing older as a fast bowler, according to McGrath, is learning to work batsmen out quicker and understanding the limits of your body better.”You become a little bit more experienced and you know how to go about things,” he said. “You learn how to recover, and out in the middle you know about taking wickets, creating pressure and setting batsmen up. I think you just know yourself better – the way you work and how you work at your best. Anderson would definitely know that now and would be making sure he’s always recovering well.”Anderson is 68 wickets short of his nearest fast-bowling rival, Walsh, and 112 behind McGrath’s mark. He will be hopeful of closing the gap with one Test left in the Sri Lanka series, followed by four home Tests against Pakistan in July and August, then seven Tests in the subcontinent against Bangladesh and India before the end of 2016.

The ECB has delayed the announcement of the West Indian Test and one-day tour parties, and will now unveil its squads on Wednesday afternoon

Wisden Cricinfo staff17-May-2016

The ECB has delayed the announcement of the West Indian Test and one-day tour parties, and will now unveil its squads on Wednesday afternoon. It had been assumed that the selectors would have completed their global consultations over the weekend – involving Duncan Fletcher in South Africa and Rod Marsh in Australia – but they have opted to delay for 24 hours.It could well be that there are one or two last-minute bleep tests to carry out. The bulk of the selectors’ conversation will have been about the fitness – or rather lack of – of their seam bowlers. The main contenders are in various states of unreadiness, and it is not inconceivable than the bulk of the front-line choices could be ruled out on medical grounds.The key man in the whole business of who goes to the West Indies is Peter Gregory, the England doctor. David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, made it clear that no player would make the trip if he couldn’t satisfy Gregory that he was fit.”We have to listen to Peter Gregory and his input will be crucial,” said Graveney. “In view of what has happened last year in Australia, we must be sure that we don’t select players who aren’t going to last. The medical team on tour simply can’t treat ongoing injuries as well as those that are bound to crop up, otherwise it’ll be chaotic.”That leaves three men – Simon Jones, Andrew Caddick and Steve Harmison – sweating by the telephone. Caddick has the most to fear – Graveney said as much – as he has still not resumed bowling following surgery last summer. Jones is reported to be bowling well in the nets but, like Caddick, he is woefully short of any match practice. The selectors will not gamble on both of them, and so Jones’s youth – and the fact that he has at least started bowling – will count in his favour.The questions surrounding Harmison’s suitability are quite different. His fitness is an issue, but perhaps no more than his growing reputation as being a difficult tourist. Stories abound that since his early return from Bangladesh he has been markedly reluctant to fall into line with what England believe is the best rehabilitation for him. Several influential members of the England camp are reported to be less than thrilled with his overall attitude.If all three were to be ruled out, England’s attack looks decidedly weak. Andrew Flintoff is a certainty, James Anderson not far short of being one, and the rest include Matthew Hoggard, Richard Johnson, James Kirtley and Martin Saggers from the autumn tours. It’s not quite scraping the barrel, but with West Indies pace attack in disarray, it will not be a battle of the world-class fast men.The spinners are easy to pick now that Robert Croft has withdrawn his hat from the ring, and the two allrounders – Flintoff and Rikki Clarke – pick themselves in the absence of any realistic alternatives. The same applies to the wicketkeepers.The batting is also more straightforward, with the same six as toured Bangladesh and Sri Lanka almost certain to retain their places.Possible squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain, Graham Thorpe, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Rikki Clarke, Chris Read (wk) Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Gareth Batty, Steve Harmison, Richard Johnson, James Anderson, Simon Jones.

Mustafizur Rahman is set to leave Dhaka on July 13 to finally join Sussex for his first county stint

Mohammad Isam01-Jul-2016Mustafizur Rahman is set to leave Dhaka on July 13 to finally join Sussex for his first county stint. He will be available for four matches each in the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup.BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said Mustafizur’s medical report was positive and he was expecting the UK visa imminently. Mustafizur was recovering from multiple injuries to his right leg, which he sustained during the IPL.”Our medical team gave positive report about his physical condition,” Yunus told . “He is doing fine in training at the moment and we expect him to improve. He will leave for England on July 13 subject to the availability of visa.”Mustafizur’s first match is likely to be Sussex’s home T20 game against Hampshire on July 15. He will be with his new team till at least August 2, when the league stage of the one-day competition ends, and will also be around if they make it to the knockout stages of both tournaments.”I feel better than I was after I came to Dhaka from the IPL. I can bowl now, which I wasn’t able to previously,” Mustafizur said. “It would be good to go to Sussex. I will try to give my best there. I have played one Under-19 game in England in 2013 but had to return home soon after due to an injury.”His arrival will end Sussex’s frustration about his delay, for which they have had to hire David Weise and lately Nuwan Kulasekara as their overseas players.