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The Trinidad quartet of Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons and Samuel Badree has been picked by the West Indies selectors to play in the T20 segment of the limited-overs series against Pakistan. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the four players are part of a squad picked for the first two contests of the four-match series.The T20 series starts on March 26 in Barbados with the following three matches to be played in Trinidad on March 30, April 1 and 2.It is understood that all the four players were informed on their selection on Wednesday, by WICB selection committee head Courtney Browne. It is not clear whether the four will feature in the final two games of the T20 series, which will end three days before the IPL begins. All the four players are part of various franchises in the IPL.West Indies’ last T20 series was also against Pakistan, in the UAE last September.With the exception of Simmons, the players in question all featured, although West Indies lost the three-match series 3-0. Simmons has not played for West Indies since featuring in the two-match T20 series against India last August in Fort Lauderdale.Based on the WICB policy to pick only players who featured in the Regional Super50, none of the four players are expected be available for selection for the ODI segment of the Pakistan series which follows the T20 series. Although the senior WICB staff comprising team director Jimmy Adams and chief selector Courtney Browne have indicated that the board is likely to review its selection policy, it is fair to assume that none between Pollard, Narine, Simmons and Badree will be picked for the three-match ODI series.Despite his lean recent form, Carlos Brathwaite is expected to lead West Indies in the T20 series against Pakistan. It remains to be seen whether the selectors would bring back former West Indies captain Darren Sammy, whose last assignment was winning the World T20 crown in Kolkata last year. Sammy was instrumental in Peshawar Zalmi winning the PSL earlier this month and says he has not yet given up hope of making a West Indies comeback in limited-overs cricket.”I’m only retired from Test cricket,” Sammy said after participating in the recently concluded Hong Kong T20 Blitz. “I’m not retired from limited-overs cricket. I’m available for selection. We have a series coming up against Pakistan, [I’m] available for that and wherever my services are needed.”

Zimbabwe squad

Graeme Cremer (capt), PJ Moor (wk), Ryan Burl, Tarisai Musakanda, Sikandar Raza, Malcolm Waller, Elton Chigumbura, Wellington Masakadza, Donald Tiripano, Tendai Chatara, Christopher Mpofu, Nathan Waller, Craig Ervine, Solomon Mire, Carl Mumba, Richard Ngarava

Richard Ngarava, the uncapped left-arm pacer, and Carl Mumba have been added to Zimbabwe’s squad for the home ODI series against Afghanistan in Harare, beginning on Thursday.Ngarava first impressed in the Under-19 World Cup early last year when he took five wickets in as many matches, including 4 for 10 in nine overs against South Africa. Ngarava was also at the receiving end of the Mankad dismissal at the same event, when he was the last man out as West Indies pacer Keemo Paul whipped off the bails at the non-striker’s end to run him out and seal the win with a quarter-final spot at stake. More recently, Ngarava made his List A debut in the five-match series against Afghanistan A, and in his second match in the same series took 3 for 24.Mumba, the 21-year-old right-arm pacer, earned his maiden Test and ODI caps last year when Sri Lanka visited the country. He had a lacklustre start to his debut Test, taking 1 for 101 in 24 overs, but hit back with four scalps in the second innings. In his only ODI, he conceded 31 runs in four overs without picking up a wicket. Mumba was also part of the series against Afghanistan A and snared a five-wicket haul in the second ODI, albeit in a losing effort.The two pacers join the 14-man squad that was named last week; two spots had been left open until the end of the domestic List A competition, the Pro50 Championship, which concluded on Sunday. Zimbabwe face Afghanistan in five ODIs across 11 days. All the matches are scheduled to take place at the Harare Sports Club.

West Indies’ proposed tour to Pakistan for two T20Is in mid-March is off the table, multiple sources have confirmed to ESPNcricinfo. The WICB rejected the PCB’s proposal for the tour after receiving advice on security from the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations. The WICB has also cancelled an expected security recce, which was planned for later this month. The two boards, however, continue to discuss the possibility of two T20 internationals in Florida on March 19 and 20.It is understood that earlier this week the West Indies Players Association wrote to FICA, seeking advice on the current security situation in Pakistan. FICA reportedly gave WIPA the latest security advisory from its security consultants, Eastern Star International, who provide security for various international boards including the ECB, Cricket Australia, New Zealand Cricket and the ICC.In the report, FICA warned that the risk level in Pakistan remains “at an extremely elevated state” and that “an acceptable level of participant security and safety cannot be expected or guaranteed”. Earlier this month, FICA’s report on player safety and security strongly discouraged players from traveling to Lahore for the Pakistan Super League final, scheduled for March 5.According to the proposal, Lahore was likely to host the two matches on March 18 and 19, followed by two matches in Florida, which are still being discussed and are likely to go ahead.On Wednesday, the WICB released the schedule of Pakistan’s seven-week tour of the Caribbean, beginning from March, which comprises two T20Is, three ODIs and three Tests across five venues. As per the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP), four Tests had been originally slated for this series, but one Test was dropped from the itinerary to accommodate the proposed tour of Pakistan and the T20Is in the USA.West Indies are the third team – after Ireland and Sri Lanka – to reject travelling to Pakistan in the last two years.In 2015, Zimbabwe became the first the first Test-playing nation to tour Pakistan since 2009, when an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus resulted in the suspension of international cricket from Pakistan. The ICC, however, had refused to send its match officials for the series. The PCB appointed its own match officials, and hoped the Zimbabwe series would serve as a stepping stone to reviving international cricket in the country. That ambition, however, suffered a setback when a suicide attack took place near the Gaddafi Stadium during the second ODI. Zimbabwe, though, played the third and final ODI two days later and completed the tour.The PCB remains firm in its plan to host the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore on March 5, and has drawn up contingency plans to replace those overseas players unwilling to travel to the country due to security reasons. The board has decided to hold a new draft in the last week of February to bring in foreign players who will be willing to travel to Pakistan in place of those who will opt out.

It was a somewhat incongruous sight on day one in Brisbane: a West Indies legend attending a Test between Australia and Pakistan. Had Sir Garry Sobers, currently on a speaking tour in Australia, stayed at the Gabba a few days more, he would have witnessed Asad Shafiq break a 43-year-old record set by Sobers himself.As Asad steered the tail and led Pakistan’s fightback in a marathon final session on day four, he also passed Sobers’ tally of eight centuries from No. 6.The technically proficient Shafiq, who had never batted at six before making his Test debut, has made the most of his position down the order, becoming something of a specialist at guiding the bowlers through difficult periods at the crease.”He always batted brilliantly with the tail,” his team-mate Azhar Ali said after play. “He always loved to bat up the order, but he performed for us at number six. Especially scoring [nine] centuries at number six is not easy.”Our lower order didn’t really have very good averages, but he bats with them very well and he scored [nine] hundreds, it’s a very special achievement. He has scored a lot of runs also, he’s averaging 40-plus, which is a very good achievement.”It seemed as though the chance to break Sobers’ record had passed Shafiq by when he was promoted up the order for Pakistan’s fourth Test against England in August and scored a century from No. 4. But the emergence of Babar Azam, combined with his own form tapering off, meant Shafiq moved back to his original Test batting position.”He’s a special player. I’ve always rated him as a very fine player, because batting at No. 6 is never easy,” Azhar said. “But as a team plan, he started batting [up the order], but again the team manager thinks that this is our best combination. As team players we always are willing to play wherever our team needs. He’s a brilliant player who can bat at any number. Hopefully he gets his number soon.”He bats at number six really well. He could be probably better than any of us [there]. That’s probably the reason he got back at number six. Sometimes you have to make decisions according to the situation, according to the team plan. That’s why I went to open the batting, because of the requirement of the team. It’s a team game, so we’re all happy with what the team demands of us.”Pakistan’s chase so far – described by the Australia bowling coach, David Saker, as “heroic” – could hardly have been foreseen by the most optimistic of their supporters, given how fragile they appeared in the first innings. Azhar said Mickey Arthur and Misbah-ul-Haq had instilled confidence in their players, telling them to take the fight to the Australians.”Before we started today, the discussion was to back ourselves, and back our ability to score runs in these conditions,” Azhar said. “First innings, it didn’t go to plan and you can easily doubt your techniques and ability to score runs in these conditions.”But the message from the captain and the coach was to back yourself. I think everyone batted with a lot of determination and a lot of skills. As a unit, we’re really happy how this day has gone.”It’s never easy to chase that big a total, but we certainly made a very good effort, especially the way Younis Khan batted – he came back into form, which is very important; he’s a senior player and is always there to perform for us.”Asad was struggling for runs and he came back with a bang and in the dressing room we really enjoyed his innings and the way he batted. It was a really special knock. Also special contributions from Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz, the way they showed the determination. It will really help us get more confidence going through the series.”Pakistan came tantalisingly close to finishing the extended session with three wickets still in hand, but Jackson Bird claimed the wicket of Wahab Riaz in the final over of the day. Pakistan went to stumps needing 108 runs more.”Obviously the wicket in the last over really hurt,” Azhar said. “It still would have been a big task, but it looks a bit bigger now because we have only two wickets. But still Asad is there, so we have hopes that if he carries on – and Yasir Shah and Rahat [Ali] can bat with him as long as they can – we can actually get closer at least.”

Mashrafe Mortaza has said he sees a bright future for Bangladesh, provided young players are given the right environment to develop. The limited-overs captain completes 15 years in international cricket on Tuesday, becoming the longest-serving international cricketer in the country’s Test status era.Mashrafe, who made his debut against Zimbabwe in November 2001, said that the players also must remain eager to perform, and focus on hard work to bring out their individual potential.”I am sure that Bangladesh will achieve many things in the next 15 years,” Mashrafe told ESPNcricinfo. “We have to take care of the players, and by that I mean we have to create an environment for them. We have to keep them in the right process. The players also need to remain hungry.”We will achieve things in 15 years that we cannot imagine now. But, for it to happen, we have to head in the right direction. It is not that we didn’t have talented players in the past, but they were wasted. There has to be hard work to make use of the talent. If we can do these things properly, we will get better.”Mashrafe, who is seen as a vital cog in Bangladesh’s ODI success over the last two years, predicted that Bangladesh’s Test team would improve significantly, especially after having figured out a way to compete against teams like England, whom they beat in a Test match last week.”Our Test ranking will get much better in the coming years. We need to have specific targets since now we have also realised that we can win Tests in home conditions. We had done the same in ODIs, so I believe that the boys will do better. We will have a higher win percentage at home.”Mashrafe added that a strong group of fast bowlers would also help the team when they played overseas, which should be part of their long-term planning. “We have good fast bowlers so we also have a better chance of doing well abroad. But there has to be long-term planning. Our coaching staff, including those in the High Performance programme, are preparing them to that tune.”Meanwhile, senior batsman Tamim Iqbal said that Mashrafe’s presence had been a significant boon to Bangladesh cricket over the past 15 years.”In our Bangladesh team, Mashrafe is the character who fulfills the team. He plays a big role by being the elder brother, friend and father figure,” Tamim said. “He may be just five years older than most of us, but I see that many see him as a father figure. I know a lot of guys who will take the direction Mashrafe tells them to.”His presence is very important. You cannot buy his character with a million dollars, nor by being the captain or a performer. He is such a character, everyone is drawn to him. I would say that his character played a massive role in raising our cricket to this stage.”

Warwickshire hope to have completed the recruitment of Ashley Giles as director of cricket by the end of the week.As ESPNcricinfo revealed at the time, Giles was the club’s first choice when they made the decision to sack Dougie Brown at the end of the season.Giles is currently director of cricket at Lancashire, however, and is contracted to the club until the end of the 2017 season.Negotiations between the two clubs are understood to be on-going with Warwickshire expected to pay compensation to Lancashire in return for Giles’ release.It would be a surprise if his release is not granted, though. While the news is a substantial inconvenience to Lancashire, there is respect for Giles’ personal circumstances – there have been some health issues within his family and he currently spends much of his time living out of a hotel room in Manchester – and an acceptance that, if he wants to be elsewhere, he is no longer the man for the club. Glen Chapple would appear to be particularly well placed to replace Giles.If the move is not completed soon – perhaps even by the end of the week – Warwickshire are expected to abandon the attempt and appoint another candidate. ESPNcricinfo understands that Richard Pybus, who is currently director of cricket with West Indies but has been linked with a string of county jobs in recent times, and Dav Whatmore, who oversaw Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup victory, have already been informally interviewed. If Giles is deemed unobtainable, one of them will be offered the role.The new director of cricket will be expected to lead the process of finding a new head coach for the side. If Giles is appointed that is very likely to be Jim Troughton. Troughton was club captain and Giles the coach when Warwickshire won the County Championship in 2012.

Fast bowler Kyle Abbott, who led South Africa to a 4-0 lead with a four-wicket haul in his first appearance for the side in four months, has said it’s “tough” not being a regular member of the team. With the hosts resting three first-choice bowlers – Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir – for the dead rubber in Port Elizabeth, Abbott got a game and produced a Man-of-the-Match performance.”It’s tough not knowing when you are going to get a game,” he said. “The key is to still tick the boxes at practice and when those opportunities come, there is no time for questioning out there, ‘have I done the work’? Coming up against a quality batting line-up like Australia, you need to stay on top of your game even if you are not playing.”Having dominated Australia in the four games so far, Abbott said the hosts will look for more of the same in Cape Town to become the first team to whitewash Australia in a five-match ODI series.”We can’t even begin to think what it might be like on Wednesday night if it does happen. It has been phenomenal,” he said. “We celebrated well on Wednesday night after winning the series and that was the big challenge today, to put in another performance knowing that the series was secured and not take our foot of the gas. We did that pretty well. Coming up to Wednesday, I don’t think we will do anything differently. We will stick to what we’ve done that’s won us four games and hopefully make it five and make some history.Abbott also said it was a challenge dealing with the wind at his new home ground, having moved from Dolphins to Warriors.”Rhythm was difficult with the contrasting ends,” he said. “From the top end, running with the wind and downhill, you almost felt like you were going past your run-up and then from the other way, you struggled, sometimes not knowing whether you will get to the crease. It was quite a challenge. We trained for the last two days with the wind. We knew it was going to be like that.”

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has said the board is being “arm-twisted” on two fronts: as a result of the Lodha committee’s recommendations for structural reform, and due to the change at the top of the ICC, where Shashank Manohar has taken charge as the independent chairman. Thakur also took exception to Manohar’s remarks that his priorities lay with the ICC and not the BCCI. Manohar had suggested that it wasn’t his responsibility but that of the BCCI representative to look after the board’s interest at the ICC table.”I think these [Lodha] recommendations and [the] change in ICC [regime] are arm-twisting BCCI both at home and at the ICC which is not good for Indian cricket,” Thakur said. “The situation of BCCI – a global leader till the recommendation of the Lodha committee… now with the new ICC regime they are trying to sideline the BCCI, one of the most important stakeholders in global cricket today. Just [because of] one recommendation, we are not taken seriously.”Thakur, who is in Greater Noida to watch the final of the Duleep Trophy, told reporters that the BCCI, by virtue of being a “global leader”, had an obligation to look after the interest of smaller boards. He reiterated the BCCI’s concerns over the budget for next year’s Champions Trophy in England, which the Indian board felt was three times as much as what was allotted to India for the World T20 earlier this year.”Yes, BCCI should look after its interests, but BCCI does not only limit itself to look after BCCI’s interests,” Thakur said. “If he [Manohar] is saying that he has got nothing to do with the BCCI, BCCI is one of the 105 members and one of the most important stakeholders of the ICC today. And, that is why we have raised the issue – when the others kept mum – that we want to go through the Champions Trophy budget.”Compare the World [T20] Cup with the Champions Trophy – we had 56 matches, Champions Trophy has close to 15 matches; we had eight venues, they had only three venues; it was a 49-day event and the Champions Trophy is only a 20-day event. So the per-match cost is three times higher. Every single penny saved is every single penny earned, not only for BCCI but for 105 countries.”When you talk about the two-tier Test system, BCCI could have got benefits by joining hands with those associations like Australia and England, but we stood by countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and to an extent like West Indies.”Thakur questioned Manohar’s motives for amending the ICC constitution, which played a part in his being elected unopposed as the first independent chairman of the world body. He contended that Manohar hadn’t taken all members into confidence before the amendments were made.”Mr Shashank Manohar was on the board to make certain changes, amendments. As the president of the board he should have taken into confidence all the BCCI members which he did not,” he said. “The amendments were made and he became the independent chairman. Once he has become the independent chairman, he left the BCCI when BCCI needed him the most.”

Former Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has said captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s positive intent and calmness were the principal factors in Pakistan’s rise to No. 1 in Tests. He added that this was a time when every Pakistani could rejoice and feel proud of the team’s achievements.Pakistan recently squared their four-match Test series in England – even as Australia were whitewashed 3-0 by Sri Lanka – to move into the No. 2 position and put the heat on India. After India’s fourth Test against West Indies ended in a draw, Pakistan assumed top spot with 111 points, with India slipping to second place with 110.”It’s a proud moment for the whole nation,” Waqar told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a huge moment for Misbah and for the entire team, as all the hard work finally paid off. It’s always the ultimate dream to become the No. 1 team in the world, and there is no team other than Pakistan that deserves to be at the top. They suffered a lot in last seven-eight years but they have played outstanding cricket all along.”There were a lot of problems in the background – those controversies and especially cricket not being played in the country and the boys being always on the road and away from home. So that is the major part I feel the team should be proud off. We kept moving forward after every hurdle, never stayed down and kept on fighting against all odds. That struggle makes this a remarkable moment for the country.”Waqar had two stints with Pakistan as head coach. Between March 2010 and August 2011, he oversaw five series, of which one was won, one was lost and three were drawn. During his second spell, between May 2012 and April 2016, the team won four series, drew one and lost one, results that laid a solid foundation in the team’s run to the top. Waqar was replaced as head coach by Mickey Arthur, who joined the team 10 days before the recent England tour.”I am honestly touched and, no, it’s not about taking credit for what I have done. I would rather give full credit to Misbah-ul-Haq, who has shown resilience against his critics and never spoke a harsh word when things were going wrong. People were crushing him down because of his style of play, but now I think those people should be proud as Pakistanis. What else could you want from him? He did everything in his own way and, whether or not people like his way, it is working for the country and has taken us to the top of the world. What else do you want to achieve?”It was Misbah’s honesty and good intent that made a huge difference. His positive intentions and his characteristics are outstanding. His calmness – I have never seen him cursing his critics. Even though former and current players let him down, he never responded. But look what he has achieved. This is the kind of thing that made him the best. Pakistan is the team that deserves to be the No. 1 side.”Pakistan, in the 1990s, had bigger names on paper, many of whom went on to achieve great individual feats for the country. Apart from Waqar himself, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Saeed Anwar and Shoaib Akhtar were among the biggest names Pakistan has produced in its cricketing history. But that Pakistan side still did not achieve what the present lot has done – climbing to the pinnacle of the Test rankings.”We were very good individually and were different,” Waqar said of the teams that he had played in. “It’s not like we didn’t win much, but we were not the No. 1 team. That is why I feel more proud of this present team. Because this team is more gelled, know their role and are very well settled. Of course, these are not yet great players – none apart from Younis Khan has reached that mark – but they have done what we in the ’90s were not able to do. This team could easily have fallen short of greatness, but they have achieved it with their hard work and unity.”We struggled to step up in limited-overs cricket, which has a reason as well; we didn’t change ourselves to adapt to modern cricket. But in Tests it is relatively easier to rise, because it hasn’t changed that much. Test cricket has been played for 150 years and it has always been played in one spirit and one style of game. It was easy and of course our experienced players like Younis Khan, Misbah, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq in the last few years have all contributed really well.”In recent times, there are so many players who have come through my era. Players like Saeed Ajmal, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Yasir Shah have done a great job to take Pakistan to certain level and it gives me immense happiness for them as I feel like a father figure to them. It gives me goosebumps thinking about what they have achieved. I hope they continue this for long, and keep the country’s name up and alive at the top of the world.”

Hampshire and England batsman Michael Carberry is to undergo tests this week amid concerns over the condition that six years ago caused potentially life-threatening blood clots to form in one of his lungs.Carberry had felt unwell last week and has been left out of Hampshire’s current County Championship match against Warwickshire so that he can see a specialist as promptly as possible, with his county unwilling to take any chances with his health.”He has had a problem that has not cleared up in the way we had hoped so his going to have some tests done,” the Hampshire first-team coach Dale Benkenstein said.”We are hoping to have him back for the T20 matches later in the week but in view of what has happened to him in the past we do not want to take any risks with him.”It is a little bit worrying but hopefully the tests will show that everything is fine.”Carberry has to take medication to control the condition, which emerged after he had suffered attacks of breathlessness while fielding and batting. He was diagnosed with two blood clots on a lung in November 2010 and did not play again until July of the following year.