West Indies coach Stuart Law said the lack of bounce in Bridgetown was “heartbreaking”, given his side’s fast-bowling talent

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2017West Indies coach Stuart Law is deeply disappointed with the Bridgetown pitch, on which his team registered a stirring 106-run victory against Pakistan this week. The track, Law said, suited Pakistan more and left him “heartbroken” for his quick bowlers. Praising his side for winning convincingly despite that, he said the victory came as a result of the hard work they put in but do not often get credit for.”I wasn’t expecting what we turned up to see,” Law said. “If we can’t get a good coverage of grass in a tropical climate, there is something wrong. It wasn’t the sort of pitch we would have liked, I know that Pakistan were licking their lips when they saw it because it was a bit like a Pakistani pitch.”Day two when we were bowling, bouncers were landing five metres short of the keeper. We’ve got boys who bowl 90 miles an hour, and to see the ball do that is heartbreaking, particularly on day two. You expect it on day four, day five, no problem. But to get through the game the way we did, in those conditions, which suited the opposition more so, very proud of the effort.”West Indies’ victory brought the series level at 1-1, with one Test left to play. In the first Test, they fell to a seven-wicket defeat after collapsing in their second innings to 152. Here, they conceded the first-innings lead, before a second-innings seven-for from legspinner Yasir Shah left Pakistan chasing 188. Shannon Gabriel, with help from 20-year-old Alzarri Joseph and captain Jason Holder, made sure they did not get close.Law said the work Gabriel puts in behind the scenes to be fit and ready for the games needed applauding. “He just improves every time he goes out there. Not [just] his effort on the field, that’s unquestionable, but behind the scenes, which people don’t see. He goes to lengths to see he’s right and in perfect physical condition every time he goes out on the field.”He has had injury problems, but physio CJ Clarke is working tirelessly with him. Even away from the Test-match scene, he gets in early, works hard with him. And Shannon is very diligent with his preparation. When you’ve got a guy who can bowl 90+, you want to make sure you’re looking after him, and then he produces like he did this Test, that was just outstanding work.”Much like Gabriel, Law said many in the team put in a lot of hard work away from the public eye. He said there was no shortage of talent, but improvement would only come with more exposure to Test cricket – of the playing XI in Bridgetown, only Kraigg Brathwaite has played more than 30 Tests. “They’ve got the talent, that’s for sure. It’s one thing having talent, but when you couple that with experience, you become a formidable opponent. At the moment there’s not a lot of experience in our dressing room.”The experience is coming. We’ve seen in difficult conditions, playing against the best legspinner in the world [we won]. He got seven wickets but a lot of boys coped with him pretty well. To keep him out for as long as we did, I think [it] shows that we are learning.”From the first Test match we changed a few technical things with our batsmen, it seemed to work for the right handers. The work ethic…if someone says the West Indies boys don’t work hard enough, they don’t know what they’re talking about. The boys are pretty proud of their effort, leading up to this Test match and during it, to strive for that perfect game, to strive for errors to be eradicated… We’re going in the right direction.”The series decider will begin on May 10 in Dominica.

England face the prospect of having to manage Ben Stokes’ knee injury through the Champions Trophy

Alan Gardner28-May-2017England face the prospect of having to manage Ben Stokes’ knee injury through the Champions Trophy, with the allrounder admitting the team’s medical staff is unclear on the full extent of the problem. Stokes has been rested from the final ODI of the series with South Africa, along with Chris Woakes andMoeen Ali, with England calling up Steven Finn, Toby Roland-Jones and Liam Dawson as replacements.Stokes has been experiencing pain in his left knee when bowling and is due to go for a scan in the coming days. He was named Man of the Match after scoring 101 and taking 1 for 12 in England’s series-sealing victory at the Ageas Bowl on Saturday, but sent down just five overs across two matches against South Africa and said afterwards that the injury remains something of a mystery.”It’s just my delivery stride, a little bit of sensation running up the side of my knee,” he said. “Batting, running around the field, everything like that is fine. We’re managing it as well as we can with our physios and doctors, and myself. It’s an injury I’ve had before and sometimes will just go away – there are good days and bad days, I could wake up tomorrow and it be completely gone. We’ll just have to monitor it over the next few days.”Stokes required surgery to repair a cartilage tear in the same knee last year, after injuring it during the Test series with Sri Lanka, and was out for several weeks. He said he was not sure if the current problem was related. “It comes and goes, on certain days I don’t know if it’s going to be good or not. We only really find out how it is when I start bowling.”Although Stokes is expected to be fit for England’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh on Thursday, the problem is bound to cause concerns about his workload, given his importance in balancing the one-day side. He has spent much of the last two months playing his first season at the IPL, where he featured in 12 matches for Rising Pune Supergiant.”We’re going to get a few more scans, to get a bit more of an idea about what’s happening. Then the doctors, physios, strength and conditioning coaches have a clear idea of what we can do to counteract it and maybe take the problem away, which is obviously what I want and what the medical staff wants. So hopefully it will become a bit clearer.Eoin Morgan, England’s captain, admitted the aim was to try and “build up” Stokes’ knee to get him through the Champions Trophy and said the decision to only give him three overs in the second ODI, which went down to the final ball, was part of such planning.”We’re constantly monitoring him and trying to manage him as best as we can,” Morgan said. “There was a very similar game this time last year when he played against Pakistan and only bowled a few overs with the same injury, we’re trying to build it up again with the Champions Trophy in mind. It’s a very strange injury, he aggravates it when he bowls, in his delivery stride. He’s good to play as a batsman if need be but obviously we want Ben Stokes the allrounder.”Woakes, who took four wickets in England’s 72-run win at Headingley on Wednesday, missed the second ODI with a tight quad. He and Moeen, who was Man of the Match in the first ODI but has picked up a groin niggle, are also expected to be fit for England’s Champions Trophy campaign.

An impressive debut from Dawid Malan helped England seal the T20 series over South Africa with a 19-run victory at Cardiff

The Report by George Dobell in Cardiff25-Jun-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMason Crane was overjoyed at claiming AB de Villiers as a maiden international wicket•Getty Images

An impressive debut from Dawid Malan helped England seal the T20 series over South Africa with a 19-run victory at Cardiff.Malan, the fourth England debutant in the series, contributed a classy 78 to help his new team cope with the absence of their captain, Eoin Morgan, and take the three-match series 2-1.Morgan had decided to leave himself out in order to provide another opportunity for England to take a look at some of their fringe players. Specifically, he said they were keen to provide another game for Liam Livingstone, who endured a nervous debut at Taunton.And while some ticket-holders were upset at the lack of star players in the England side – Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali were among those to be rested for this series, while Jonny Bairstow had returned to Yorkshire to prepare for the day-night Championship fixtures starting on Monday – Morgan’s decision might have helped England build some depth ahead of a typically relentless winter schedule during which resources will be stretched.Malan, in particular, took advantage in a strikingly assured performance. Having left his first ball outside off stump, he pulled his second – from the distinctly sharp Morne Morkel – for six to kick-start an innings that displayed timing, power and an ability to improvise. It was, by some distance, the highest score by an England player on T20I debut.He was not the only new-ish player to impress. Mason Crane, back in the side after making his debut in Southampton, survived an early assault at the hands of AB de Villiers in a display that hinted at a wonderfully calm temperament. At one stage, de Villiers, who was playing his final match of the tour, swept Crane for 16 in three balls – two sixes and a four – but the young legspinner retained his nerve and his flight and, by the end of the over, had de Villiers well held by Alex Hales on the square-leg fence as he attempted a repeat. Crane, whose celebrations of his maiden international wicket were something to behold, finished his spell by conceding just two from his final over.”He handled it really well,” de Villiers said of Crane afterwards. “He was always the one to get after, but he stuck to his guns. Well played to him.”Livingstone, however, was unable to take advantage of his second outing. He would have been the man to miss out had Morgan played, and might have wished he had after falling first ball as he went across his stumps and attempted to scoop over the leg side.There was also no debut for Craig Overton. Despite England having intimated that all their new faces would win an opportunity at some point during the series, Overton – who was declared fully sit – was not utilised. It left Somerset’s director of cricket, Matt Maynard, unimpressed. He tweeted that he was “gutted” for Overton and then added “#brokenword”.”We couldn’t get him in today,” Morgan said. “We wanted to retain our seamers from the second game who bowled well. Craig is aware and all is fine.”Perhaps, had England failed to win, they would have been criticised for their decision to rotate to the extent they did. But with impressive performances over the series from the likes of Malan, Crane, Bairstow and Tom Curran, who again looked to have the skills and temperament to thrive at this level, England will feel it was a worthwhile experiment. It is probably also fair to suggest that, while both sides would have wanted to win this game, it was hardly the most meaningful confrontation either has played even this month. The calls for greater context for such matches are certain to increase.”We recognise the series as a big opportunity to have a look at a younger group of players,” Eoin Morgan told Sky Sports. “It’s an important part of our development and our success in 50-over cricket and T20 has been down to the strength in depth we’ve had in the side. We’ve always had a lot of competition in the playing XI.”Ideally, I would play, yes. Given the rotation system that we have had in the past, it’s unfortunate. If it was a case where I could go on and captain, I would. But this is an important part of our development for this series. You have to look to the long-term.”Besides, Malan looked every inch an international-quality player. British-born but raised in South Africa, his debut has come relatively late – he is aged 29 – but he has put himself at the head of the queue of those pressing for places.Here he added 105 in 63 balls with Hales, who survived a simple chance to Andile Phehlukwayo on 10, bringing up his fifty with a beautifully-played scoop to the boundary off Imran Tahir, while a driven straight six off Morkel also caught the eye.South Africa’s fielding was oddly fallible, though. De Villiers reckoned they “gave away around 20 runs” which, considering the margin of defeat, was crucial. “We let ourselves down in the field,” he said.Once the pair were parted, England fell away against some excellent death bowling from South Africa. England managed only 54 from the final 39 balls of their innings, culminating in a spell where they lost five wickets for 14 runs from 13 balls against Dane Paterson, who was twice on a hat-trick, and Phehlukwayo.But only for a moment, when de Villiers was partnered by JJ Smuts, did it appear South Africa might get close. With Liam Plunkett again bowling at sharp pace and gaining some assistance for his back-of-a-length bowling from the River Taff End, South Africa subsided to 91 for 6 in the 14th over.Phehlukwayo and Mangaliso Mosehle narrowed the margin with some impressive strokeplay – Willey was plundered for 34 from his final couple of overs – but once de Villiers had gone, there was only ever likely to be one result.

Adil Rashid returned a career-best 4 for 19 at Headingley to send Yorkshire top of North Group and condemn Durham to their sixth straight defeat

ECB Reporters Network26-Jul-2017Yorkshire maintained their strong pursuit of a quarter-final berth in the NatWest T20 Blast with another home win, this time against beleaguered Durham as they routinely defended a 153 target.While Yorkshire claimed their fourth win in seven games this season to sit top of the North Group on 10 points, Durham fell to a sixth straight defeat – their worst run in a T20 season.The Vikings have won their last three matches at Headingley in six days, beating Birmingham and Worcestershire before this 24-run win.They smashed 233 for 6 to beat the Rapids on Sunday, with visiting batsman Ross Whiteley smashing six sixes in an over.But this game was different. Played on a sluggish pitch, the bowlers dominated in both innings, with Yorkshire’s Adil Rashid taking a career-best 4 for 19 from his four overs.The Vikings could only post 152 for 8, a total which looked way beyond the Jets despite having taken 10 off the first over of the chase.They reached 25 for 2 after six overs and 51 for 3 at halfway before slipping to 128 for 7.The Vikings have now won their last eight Blast home games dating back to early last year.Adil Rashid returned career-best figures•Getty Images

At the innings break, Durham were well in this fixture having bowled impressively.They reduced Yorkshire to 1 for 2 in the second over as openers Adam Lyth and Tom Kohler-Cadmore both fell. Paul Collingwood finished with 3 for 32 from his four overs, while captain Paul Coughlin returned 2 for 27.David Willey top-scored with 44, including four sixes, but Shaun Marsh’s 36 was next best by some distance as wickets fell all too regularly.Collingwood had Peter Handscomb stumped for seven in the 12th over before bowling Marsh and getting Rashid caught at deep mid-wicket in the space of four balls.Durham’s chase started well with 10 off the first over from Willey, but both openers then fell in the space of two balls. Graham Clark was caught at deep square off Willey and Cameron Steel caught at slip off Tim Bresnan, whose first two overs were maidens.Rashid then really put the game beyond Durham. He had Collingwood well caught at deep square-leg in the 10th over before bowling Michael Richardson with a googly in the 12th.When he had Paul Coughlin caught at wide long-on and Jack Burnham stumped in the space of four balls in the 14th, his last over, the visitors were 73 for 6.Yorkshire, meanwhile, have confirmed the overseas signing of Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed for the final five group games of the Blast plus the knockout stages if they get there. Sarfraz replaces Handscomb, who played his final home game tonight. Handscomb faces Birmingham and Notts this weekend before returning to Australia ahead of a potential Test tour of Bangladesh next month.

Veteran Paul Collingwood scored his maiden T20 century but was upstaged by a player nearly half his age in Joe Clarke as Worcestershire Rapids overpowered Durham Jets

ECB Reporters Network30-Jul-2017Joe Clarke is back to his scintillating best [file picture]•Getty Images

Veteran Paul Collingwood scored his maiden T20 century but was upstaged by a player nearly half his age in Joe Clarke as Worcestershire Rapids overpowered Durham Jets by eight wickets at New Road.Collingwood, 41, reached three figures in the final over of the Jets innings off 57 balls with four sixes and nine fours. It surpassed his previous best T20 score of 79 for England against the West Indies at the Oval a decade ago in June 2007.Collingwood also became the first Durham player to score a century in the short format of the game as they amassed 201-2 in their 20 overs after being put into bat.But England Lions batsman Clarke gave another demonstration of his considerable potential as the Rapids chased down their target with 11 balls to spare.The 21-year-old reached his first T20 ton off only 45 balls with six sixes and 10 fours and sparked a standing ovation as he helped to lift the gloom of a difficult start to the campaign. He finished unbeaten on 124 from 53 balls with eight sixes and 12 fours.Collingwood made the home side pay dearly for dropping him on four with the normally reliable Brett D’Oliveira spilling the chance at point off former Durham all-rounder John Hastings.Collingwood ended with 108 not out and his second and third wicket partnerships with Graham Clark – 106 in 10 overs – and skipper Paul Coughlin – an unbroken 92 in eight overs – were both records in matches against Worcestershire.It was another chastening experience for the Rapids attack despite the tonic of Hastings dismissing Cameron Steel (2) – caught at short fine leg – from his first delivery.The Rapids handed a T20 debut to paceman Josh Tongue who had taken four wickets on his first appearance for England Under-19s in the opening ‘Test’ v India Under-19s at Chesterfield.He bowled a tidy opening over but then Clark and Collingwood, profiting from his escape, cut loose to such an extent that the powerplay reaslised 63 runs.Clark completed his half century off just 26 balls with five sixes and then Collingwood lofted young paceman Pat Brown over long on to bring up the 100 in the 11th over.Clarke (52) holed out to long off attempting another big hit against D’Oliveira who was the only bowler to stem the tide of boundaries.He returned the excellent figures of 1-16 from his four overs but Collingwood found another able ally in Coughlin as 61 came from the final five overs.
The Rapids needed a quickfire start – and it was provided by Joe Clarke and Hastings. Clarke collected three fours and a six in an over from Coughlin costing 20 as the fifty came up in the fifth over.The Rapids reached 65-0 at the end of the powerplay but Collingwood came into the attack and his first ball accounted for Hastings (24) who perished at deep mid wicket.Clarke has been a revelation in the opening role after Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s departure to Yorkshire left a vancancy at the top of the order. He completed his third half century in the last five T20 innings with his third six – off spinner Ryan Pringle.Ben Cox was equally effective in helping Clarke plunder 97 off only eight overs for the second wicket before he was caught at long-off off ther bowling of Barry McCarthy for 43Clarke went to his 100 with six over long on off James Weighell and then sealed victory in double quick time

A round-up of the second day’s action at the JLT One-Day Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2017
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Marnus Labuschagne helped steer Queensland to a four-wicket win, but also became the first fielder penalised under cricket’s new rule against “fake fielding”.The Cricket Australia XI received five penalty runs after Param Uppal drove a ball towards mid-off, where Labuschagne dived and missed the ball, but faked a throw that led to Uppal initially turning back from the run he had started. However, once Uppal realised the ball had passed Labuschagne, he completed the run.The MCC’s new Law 41.5 states that: “it is unfair for any fielder wilfully to attempt, by word or action, to distract, deceive or obstruct either batsman after the striker has received the ball”. The umpires have the discretion to award five penalty runs if they determine that such deception is wilful.In a paper summarising the Law changes, the MCC stated specifically that mock fielding, “where a fielder feigns to field the ball and/or feigns to throw a non-existent ball in an attempt to prevent the batsmen running”, was regarded as unfair and was a target of this new Law. Although the MCC’s revised Laws come into effect from October 1, the JLT Cup’s playing conditions reflect the upcoming changes.The penalty runs helped the Cricket Australia XI to 7 for 279 in the match at Allan Border Field in Brisbane – Max Bryant top-scored with 60 and Ben Pengelley contributed 53. However, the CA XI were unable to complete their second consecutive victory, as Queensland reached their target with nine balls remaining.Labuschagne, who was named Player of the Tournament in last year’s one-day domestic competition, made 61 from 62 balls in the successful chase. Matt Renshaw top-scored with 67, Joe Burns made 49 and Ben Cutting struck a brisk 39 from 25 balls towards the end of the chase.Shaun Marsh was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 132•Getty Images

A Shaun Marsh century and the tumble of the last seven New South Wales wickets for 58 delivered victory to Western Australia in the domestic limited overs match at the WACA Ground.Marsh, dropped from the Australian Test team earlier this year, batted throughout WA’s 50 overs for an unbeaten 132, gaining support from Jon Wells and Cameron Bancroft. Gurinder Sandhu plucked four wickets for the visitors.In reply, NSW appeared to be cruising to their target via fluent innings from Kurtis Patterson, the captain Moises Henriques and the former Test opener Ed Cowan. However, none were able to go on to three figures, as a trickle of wickets grew into a match-turning rush.Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye and Jhye Richardson shared the wickets for the Warriors, leading to the Blues’ last man Mickey Edwards to be bowled by the second ball of the final over with the Blues still nine runs short.

Chief selector Graeme Labrooy says likely to be clear picture of who is willing to travel to Pakistan by Friday

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Oct-2017Sri Lanka players who refuse to travel to Lahore will not be considered for the other two T20s in the series.The board is presently attempting to convince as many players as possible that a 24-hour trip to Pakistan would not be unsafe, but in the interim has indicated to the selectors that only those willing to travel should play in the two preceding matches in Abu Dhabi.”The understanding is that we choose the same squad for the series, in fairness to the players who have put their hands up for the Lahore match,” chief selector Graeme Labrooy said. That decision, however, came from board and sports ministry, rather than the selectors themselves.If the board sticks to this policy of picking just one squad for the series, Sri Lanka are likely to have a new captain across the three matches – Upul Tharanga has already conveyed unwillingness to play in Lahore. The series may also become an opportunity for fringe players to make their case for further selection. Already, a rough pattern appears to be emerging, where players who have had sporadic opportunities to play for Sri Lanka are more willing to go to Lahore than those who have had longer international careers.”At the moment the board is talking to each of the players individually, so the selectors don’t know exactly who is available now,” Labrooy said. “But we should know that by Friday morning. Two SLC executive committee members have been contacting the players.”The Lahore match, on October 29, will be Sri Lanka’s first in Pakistan since gunmen attacked the team bus in 2009, also in Lahore.

Gujarat secured their first-innings lead against Kerala while Tajinder Singh’s maiden first-class century shored up Rajasthan

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2017Ravindra Jadeja’s double-century underpinned Saurashtra’s dominant batting performance against Jammu & Kashmir in Rajkot. Jadeja, who was unbeaten on 150 overnight, struck another 51 runs, while Snell Patel, who resumed on 31, ended up with 94 as Saurashtra racked up 624 for 7 before declaring their innings. Jammu & Kashmir openers Ahmed Bandy and Shubham Khajuria could not build on starts, while Pranav Gupta and Ian Dev Singh were sent back cheaply. The side finished on 103 for 4, with Parvez Rasool, their captain, unbeaten on 23. The left-arm-spinning Jadejas – Ravindra and Dharmendrasinh – combined to take all four wickets, the latter accounting for three of them.Chirag Gandhi’s unbeaten 91 gave Gujarat the first-innings lead against Kerala in Nadiad. Gujarat began the day on 60 for 2 in response to Kerala’s first-innings 208. With Gujarat at 164 for 6, either team could have taken the lead, but Gandhi ensured the hosts would be that team, striking 12 fours and a six in his 142-ball knock. He found support from Rujul Bhatt with whom he added 90 runs for the seventh wicket. Gandhi is in the middle of an unbroken last-wicket stand of 28 with Siddharth Desai, who is yet to contribute a run. MD Nidheesh and Jalaj Saxena took three wickets each for Kerala.Tajinder Singh’s maiden first-class century shored up Rajasthan to 423 in their first innings against Jharkhand at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Tajinder resumed on 66 in the company of the overnight centurion Amitkumar Gautam, who scored just four more before being dismissed. Tajinder finished with 134 with the help of 18 fours and a six before becoming the ninth man dismissed. Rajasthan were also aided by contributions of 35 from their captain Pankaj Singh at No. 10 and an unbeaten 18 from their No. 11 Khaleel Ahmed. Jharkhand lost their openers early to be reduced to 15 for 2 before Saurabh Tiwary (56*) and Virat Singh (28*) rescued them with an unbroken 82-run stand.

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators had asked the BCCI to hold a meeting before the ICC workshop, given the importance of the FTP on the agenda, but the board has failed to meet the date

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2017The BCCI has called its emergent Special General Meeting (SGM) on December 11, which means the meeting will take place after the ICC workshop that will be held on December 7-8, in Singapore to discuss the minutiae of the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2019 to 2023. The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) had asked the BCCI to convene the meeting before the ICC workshop because the FTP was one of the three important agendas, but the BCCI has failed to meet that date. The agenda for the SGM will now be the settlement of the dispute concerning the Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise and the revocation of the suspension of Rajasthan Cricket Association.”The BCCI has convened a Special General Meeting (SGM) on Dec. 11, 2017 in New Delhi at 12.30 PM under the instruction of Mr. CK Khanna, Acting President and as per the directions from the Committee of Administrators,” a board release on Tuesday said, without expanding on the agenda.In the absence of a general body debate over the FTP, despite the request from the CoA on November 15 through an email to Khanna, the committee gave its nod to the board’s plan of the FTP designed by CEO Rahul Johri. At the workshop, the Full Member countries will chalk out a week-by-week plan for the FTP, extending from post-2019 World Cup till 2023. Apart from the global events, the FTP will cover the Test and ODI Leagues, which start in the next two years. It is understood that there has been resistance among the BCCI office bearers and the general body against rushing through with the FTP without “time and documents to study and deliberate on the item”.As per the BCCI’s existing constitution, the president can call for the SGM with a 21-day notice period. However, he also has the power to reduce the notice period to 10 days, which the CoA had asked Khanna to do.The important topic for the SGM now remains the litigation involving the Kochi Tuskers. The BCCI needs to decide whether, and how much, it should pay the owners of the franchise, whose agreement was terminated in 2011, two seasons after it came into existence. The BCCI had also encashed the bank guarantee of INR 153.34 crores at the time of termination, which the owners contested in the court. The court asked the matter to be settled via arbitration.In 2016 the Kochi owners won the arbitration case, which said that the board would not only refund the bank guarantee amount encashed by them, but also pay an additional INR 384.83 crore towards compensation for termination of the franchise. Subsequently, the BCCI’s attempts to resolve the issue amicably failed as the Kochi owners wanted compensation upwards of INR 1000 crore. During the SGM in May, Amitabh Choudhury, BCCI secretary, told the members that the BCCI might negotiate a settlement soon. In October, the IPL governing council resolved that the BCCI was left with no choice but pay the compensation. The CoA now awaits the members’ collective call on the subject.

The Pakistan fast bowler suffered the injury during his stint with Khulna Titans during the Bangladesh Premier League last month

Umar Farooq20-Dec-2017Fast bowler Junaid Khan has been ruled out for four weeks due to a stress fracture of the foot, a setback for the Pakistan team ahead of their limited-overs tour to New Zealand. Junaid fractured his right foot during the Bangladesh Premier League in November.He reportedly hit a ball onto his foot while playing for Khulna Titans in the BPL, and the latest assessment confirmed an unhealed stress fracture, for which the Pakistan Cricket Board’s medical panel – headed by Dr Sohail Saleem – advised the 27-year-old bowler another four weeks’ rest.Pakistan’s five-ODI series in New Zealand begins on January 6, with the three T20Is set to be played between January 22 and 28. The Pakistan selectors are expected to announce a squad later this week, with the team’s departure scheduled for December 26. Junaid is the second injury concern for selectors after Usman Shinwari, another left-arm quick, was sidelined by a stress fracture of the back last month.The injuries could boost the comeback prospects of fast bowlers Mohammad Irfan and Sohail Khan. Irfan was barred from all forms of cricket for a year – with six months suspended – in March, after failing to report details of two approaches to corrupt the game. He returned to competitive cricket in September, but has not played international cricket since September 2016.The injury means Junaid’s likely T20 comeback is set to be delayed. The bowler, who last played a T20I in 2014 and a Test in 2015, has struggled with injury in the past. In 2014, he missed matches on the tour of New Zealand due to a thigh injury and was later ruled out of the 2015 World Cup, before making a return again later that year on the tour of Bangladesh. He made a comeback to the ODI side on the tour of Australia in January this year, replacing Irfan who returned due to the death of his mother. Junaid has since gone on to play 14 of the side’s 18 ODIs in 2017, sharing the new ball with Mohammad Amir.