Pakistan have replaced batsman Khurram Manzoor with Ahmed Shehzad in their World T20 squad

Umar Farooq07-Mar-20164:14

Bazid: No alternatives to Shehzad for Pakistan

Pakistan have replaced batsman Khurram Manzoor with Ahmed Shehzad in their World T20 squad, with chief selector Haroon Rasheed admitting that Manzoor’s inclusion was a gamble that “backfired” in the Asia Cup.Based on the Asia Cup performances, there had been a lot of deliberation among the selectors at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. The top order was the main concern with Mohammad Hafeez, Manzoor and Sharjeel Khan combining for just 94 runs in Pakistan’s four games in the tournament. To address the batting issues, the selectors brought back the experienced Shehzad, who was earlier dropped for his inconsistency. He won his place back with his performance in the Pakistan Super League, where he scored 290 runs in ten games at a strike-rate of 143.56, including a half-century in the final.

Pakistan’s World T20 squad

Shahid Afridi (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz

“The inclusion of Khurram backfired and as a chief selector I take full responsibility,” Haroon Rasheed told ESPNcricinfo. “Call it an error of judgement or whatever, but we all have seen him scoring runs in domestic cricket and we gave him a chance. He didn’t grab it, it’s up to the player to justify his selection and in his case he didn’t. We gambled on [Shoaib] Malik last year and it paid off.”Now when we look around for who is going to replace Khurram, we don’t really have a serious contender, but Ahmed at least has some experience under his belt. He did show some form in PSL too, otherwise we haven’t seen any other [impressive] opening batsman.”There were suggestions that Salman Butt might be added to the squad but the idea was shot down; the board is not ready to reintegrate the former captain into the squad so soon after the end of his ban for spot-fixing in 2010. Butt, though, is “eligible” to play international cricket and recently scored 536 runs at 107.20 to finish second highest run-scorer in the National One-Day Cup behind Kamran Akmal. But captain Shahid Afridi opposed Butt’s selection and that along with the PCB’s lack of interest in bringing him back at this point meant Shehzad got the nod.There were also murmurs of Afridi’s place in the team being in question but he has been retained. He is set to call time on his international career at the end of the World T20 and his form was another major worry to come out of the Asia Cup; he scored only two runs in two innings there, and claimed two wickets from three bowling innings, continuing his year-long dip in form (17 T20s for 173 runs at 12.35 and 12 wickets at 35.41). During the Asia Cup he remained a mere shadow of his former self, reportedly skipping team meetings, training sessions and press conferences as well as having his on-field captaincy scrutinised, especially the way he used his bowlers.PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan had previously hinted at a change in leadership for the World T20 but with just a few days left for Pakistan’s tournament to begin the board decided against such a move. “I understand there is a lot of criticism but I am not going to change anything one week before the major tournament in India,” Khan recently said. “Afridi will remain captain unless he himself pulls out of the job. He has been serving Pakistan from the last 15 years. There are problems in his captaincy which can’t be mended, especially at a time when his career is about to be end.”

In his 23rd season as a first-class cricketer, Marcus Trescothick became Somerset’s second-highest run-scorer of all time

Vithushan Ehantharajah at The Oval25-Apr-2016
ScorecardMarcus Trescothick notched a half-century, having passed Peter Wight on Somerset’s run-scoring list•Getty Images

Spectators at The Oval spent much of the day moving in and out of cover. Those that remained after the third rain delay deserve credit: only a matter of miles away, hail was falling in the capital. While that threat failed to make its way south, those hearty few might not have minded after seeing Marcus Trescothick further cement his legend in domestic folklore. In his 23rd season as a first-class cricketer, he became Somerset’s second-highest run-scorer of all time.Many knew it was coming. When Tom Curran was guided down to third man for four to move Trescothick on to 13, Tom Abell made a note of shaking hands with the 40-year-old, who passed Peter Wight’s total of 16,965 with the boundary. Neither Curran nor Abell had been born when Trescothick made his first-class debut in 1993.Now only Harold Gimblett stands in his way. But with more than 4000 runs needed to topple the 1953 Cricketer of the Year, second might have to do.It is still a baffling achievement, quite frankly. Looking through Trescothick’s first-class numbers requires a few double-takes. It seems inevitable that by the end of the season he will have passed 24,000 first-class runs. If those runs are as easy to come by as they were at The Oval, where he brought up his 177th score of 50 or more, then 25,000 is well within reach.There is a temptation to watch each aspect of Trescothick’s game still on public display – the effortless straight drives with Dalek-like footwork or the caresses through backward point that belie the tree-trunk willow and Popeye forearms – and sink back into “what ifs”. What if his Test career hadn’t been cut short? What if this otherworldly opener was saved from the very human troubles that affected him?But here he is, aged 40, still playing the game he loves, still achieving and getting things done. The only noticeable difference is that he now requires four eyes to do so. Somerset started their first innings 463 behind but you could not tell there were any external forces affecting Trescothick, now batting in spectacles, and the matter at hand.Surrey’s opening duo of Tom Curran and Mark Footitt started a bit too wide but, when they eventually got their lines right, Trescothick pulled out his patented curtain-rail leave. On a handful of occasions, Curran, having moved to around the wicket, thought he had the left-hander beaten. But Trescothick was simply moving his bat inside the line of the ball. It was a feather in Curran’s cap that Trescothick did not score off 32 of the 37 balls he sent his way. Footitt and Ravi Rampaul were not quite so lucky.While Footitt would bag the only Somerset wicket of the day – Abell hooking high to Arun Harinath at deep square leg – he was also hit for three fours in an over by Trescothick, the first of which brought up his fifty from 75 balls, before being cut ferociously over backward point for the innings’ first six. Rampaul, too, was not allowed to settle as he was carted through point when offering a bit of width.The morning session was a peculiar mishmash of Surrey trying and failing to make their last five wickets count and Somerset curtailing them while dropping catches.Zafar Ansari, who was let-off the previous evening on 28, was shelled yet again with 42 to his name. He would go on to complete his half-century off 111 balls before offering a third chance with his 112th, which Trescothick managed to hold at second slip. Curran and Gareth Batty were both run out through indecision and fine work by Roelof van der Merwe, respectively, before Footitt found cover to round off a lower-order collapse of 5 for 69.From the wreckage, Tim Groenewald emerged with 5 for 94 – his second five-wicket haul for Somerset. Ryan Davies, in his first season after signing from Kent, took his first Championship catch for the county when Ben Foakes nicked behind for the first wicket of the day.When stumps was eventually called after a lot of back and forth between the players, umpires and the ground staff, 43 overs had been lost. Trescothick and Chris Rogers reconvene on Tuesday, still 364 behind but knowing that the weather has given them a helping hand in saving this match.

Edgbaston and Lord’s are in pole position to host the first floodlit Test in England against West Indies in 2017

George Dobell27-May-2016The summer of 2017 could see the first day-night Test staged in England, with Lord’s and Edgbaston the most likely venues.Both venues are keen, in theory, to explore the possibility of staging an August Test against West Indies under lights. The final decision whether and where a floodlit game is played will be made by the ECB.”We have talked about it internally,” Warwickshire chief executive, Neil Snowball, told ESPNcricinfo, “and we do think it is worth considering.”A key part of the attraction for Warwickshire would be the novelty. Under normal circumstances, they might expect a Test against West Indies to prove a relatively tough sell and feel that staging it under lights could help attract a larger audience.It is also believed that Birmingham City Council, who have a long-standing relationship with Warwickshire and helped fund the redevelopment of Edgbaston, would be supportive of the initiative in the hope that it brought exposure and revenue to the area.”There is a lot to be considered,” Snowball said, “such as the pitch, the dew, the ball and many other factors. But if we can work those things out and the ECB agree, it is an attractive possibility.”The MCC, who have an excellent record of selling games against most opposition, also have a history of spearheading the experimentation into day-night cricket and are expected to discuss the issue at up-coming committee meetings in June.While Lord’s is limited to 15 days of floodlight usage a year – any time the floodlights are raised constitutes a usage – to appease local residents, they would expect to allocate 10 of those days to the two Tests they host each season. A spokesman confirmed they were interested in the idea, but stressed that any decision would be made by the ECB.There is another Test against West Indies allocated for Headingley, but Yorkshire have not held serious discussions about the possibility of hosting a floodlit Test and would not do so until the exact dates for the series have been announced when a proper assessment of climate issues could be made.The summer of 2017 also sees England host the ICC Champions Trophy (starting on June 1 and finishing on June 18), a four-Test series against South Africa and then the three Test series against West Indies.Australia hosted the first day-night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide in November and England are expected to play at least one day-night Test during the next Ashes tour in 2017-18.The ECB chairman, Colin Graves, recently told the BBC he would “love to see day-night cricket” and the ECB have raised the idea of playing the second Test on the tour of Bangladesh in October under lights.While it seems unlikely that such an agreement can be reached in time for that tour, it does seem that the first day-night Test involving England is likely to occur within the next 18 months.

The Champions Trophy could be scrapped after the 2021 tournament in India, and could even be abolished after next year’s event, in England

Tim Wigmore23-Jun-2016The future of the ICC Champions Trophy is back in doubt. It is understood that the tournament is highly likely to be scrapped after the 2021 tournament, in India, and could even be abolished after next year’s tournament, in England, should a new ODI league be introduced from 2019.The Champions Trophy was originally meant to be scrapped after the 2013 edition, but the huge commercial success of that year’s tournament in England led to it being retained, at the expense of the World Test Championship that had been scheduled for 2017.However, now the tournament faces being a victim of the ICC’s ongoing review of the structure of international cricket. Under the latest proposals an ODI league, of 13 nations, is being planned from 2019, culminating in a play-off between the leading two sides in 2022.It is felt that, with an ODI league alongside the World Cup, a third 50-over tournament would be superfluous, adding unnecessarily to the schedule and risking confusion among casual fans by creating three winners of 50-over international tournaments in the space of 24 months.Although the Champions Trophy has proved hugely popular, in part due to its condensed nature – 15 matches will be played over 18 days in next year’s competition – the ICC has never been enamoured with having two marquee tournaments in 50-over cricket alongside the World Twenty20, and had planned to scrap the tournament as far back as 2011.Over seven editions, and despite the concise nature of the tournament, the Champions Trophy has struggled to build up a clear identity. An additional factor is the anticipated return of the World T20 to a two-year cycle. That proposal is likely to be ratified at the forthcoming ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh.As part of the ICC’s proposals for reforms to the schedule of the international game, it is envisaged that structured competitions – ICC global events, and the leagues in Test and ODI cricket – would take up less than six months a year, creating ample time for countries to organise extra bilateral cricket, such as the Ashes, and for players to participate in domestic T20 leagues.The commercial implications of scrapping the Champions Trophy are not a great concern. This is because the extra value of a biennial WT20 would more than offset the costs of its removal.Indeed, it is understood that senior figures from the ICC have recently met with Star Sports in Dubai to discuss the future of ICC events and whether to retain the Champions Trophy.It is possible that, as part of the negotiations for Star Sports to broadcast the two extra WT20s in this broadcasting cycle, scheduled for 2018 and 2022, they would agree for the 2021 Champions Trophy to be scrapped.If it was agreed that the 2021 Champions Trophy would not take place, India, the scheduled hosts for that tournament, would be well-placed to host another WT20, in 2022 or 2024, instead.

Glamorgan underlined their mastery of the short-form game in the bucolic surroundings of Old Deer Park by thrashing Middlesex to secure a seventh win in eight completed NatWest T20 Blast matches

ECB Reporters Network08-Jul-2016
ScorecardMark Wallace inspired Glamorgan’s victory•Getty Images

Glamorgan underlined their mastery of the short-form game in the bucolic surroundings of Old Deer Park by thrashing Middlesex to secure a seventh win in eight completed NatWest T20 Blast matches.Glamorgan were on course for victory within eight overs as Middlesex were reduced to 39 for 5. Eoin Morgan and Ryan Higgins both made fifties but 144 for 8 never looked enough and Glamorgan knocked off the runs for the loss of one wicket with 21 balls to spare.Mark Wallace led the way with 69 not out, David Lloyd contributing 49 in a 125-run opening partnership and Colin Ingram finished things emphatically with three successive sixes off Ollie Rayner.Two wins from their remaining five South group matches should now secure Glamorgan a place in the last eight but Middlesex have work to do to join them.Dawid Malan criticised the decision to play at Richmond. “It is frustrating coming from a county ground to a club ground,” he said. “Personally I don’t think professional cricketers should play at club grounds, you never know what wicket you will get. Hopefully we will get to the stage where we won’t have to play on these pitches again.”Middlesex head Division One of the Specsavers County Championship while Glamorgan are bottom of Division Two, but the challenges of T20 cricket are very different to the four-day format and the visitors soon showed why they went into the tie four points clear of their hosts.Shaun Tait is now 33 years’ old, but the Australian is still capable of hurrying batsmen. His first ball knocked over Dawid Malan’s stumps and his sixth was edged by Paul Stirling to wicketkeeper Wallace. MIddlesex’s attempts to rebuild were cut short by three wickets in eight balls, two to Timm van der Guyten.That left Middlesex 39 for 5 in the ninth over and in danger of being dismissed before the after-work crowd had even arrived. Eoin Morgan, fresh from leading England to victory over Sri Lanka this week, eschewed his usual attacking game to rebuild with rookie Higgins.Aside from slapping van der Guyten over mid-off in the tenth over, and a reverse sweep off Dean Cosker in the 12th, Morgan proceeded cautiously. With five overs and a ball remaining Middlesex were 76-5. Morgan signalled the charge, clubbing Graeme Wagg over mid-wicket for six. The next over went for 19, the first of the innings to reap double figures.When Morgan was caught by Aneurin Donald for 58 Higgins, who had made 27 for thrice out previously this season, all in T20, took up the mantle. Wagg’s next over went for 20 as the Zimbabwean-born bat reached the first 50 of his career finishing unbeaten on 57 from 41 balls.The last 31 balls had gone for 78 runs but Middlesex still looked 20-30 runs short. Needing early wickets Malan gave Toby Roland-Jones, newly called into the England Test squad, three overs from the off. However, the breakthrough proved elusive. Roland-Jones did induce a false shot from Wallace, when the batsman was on nine, but the ball looped gently short of point.Wallace took swift advantage, lobbing a high full toss from Fuller for four, and cutting the subsequent free-hit to the same boundary. When the powerplay finished Glamorgan were 56-0 and they never looked back, Ingram finishing the match with three successive sixes of Ollie Rayner.

Entrusted with overseeing the transition at the BCCI, the Lodha Committee aims to ensure that all the recommendations approved by the Supreme Court are carried out by both the board and the state associations concurrently

Sharda Ugra and Nagraj Gollapudi19-Jul-20161:45

How will Lodha recommendations affect BCCI officials?

Entrusted with overseeing the transition at the BCCI, the Lodha Committee aims to ensure that all the recommendations approved by the Supreme Court are carried out by both the board and the state associations concurrently.In the following six months, both the BCCI and the state associations will need to clean up their house and refurbish it based on the various recommendations. Secretary of the Lodha Committee, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, warned that if the BCCI or the states were to violate any of the rules laid out in the Lodha report, they would be guilty of contempt of court.”If either the BCCI or the state associations choose to take steps now which are inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the committee’s bylaws which have been approved by the court, then they will be guilty of contempt of court,” Sankaranarayanan told ESPNcricinfo.”The duty cast upon the Lodha Committee, the BCCI as well as all the state associations has commenced yesterday with the judgement.”In a historical verdict on Monday morning, the two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justice Ibrahim Kallifullah, accepted most of the recommendations made by the Lodha Committee. The court said the recommendations were binding not just on the BCCI, but also on the state associations, and both had up to six months to implement the recommendations.This, it could be interpreted, will render possible forthcoming state association elections in contempt and should they be held at all, their results null and void.Office bearers and officials at both the BCCI and the states have been slow to react, stating they would study the order before deciding the next step. That next step, it is understood, might not be theirs anymore – the Lodha Committee is likely to go into the minutiae of every state association in order to ensure that every recommendation will be adhered to and due administrative changes are put in place by the time the six-month deadline is completed.The committee would not want to be seen as being slow by merely observing what the BCCI and the states are doing in the next six months. The resulting message that could go out to the states is that the only way they could remain Full Members is by adhering to the new rules laid out in the Lodha report and carrying out the constitutional amendments ordered by the court. So if Delhi and District Cricket Association wants to continue to be a Full Member, it will need to get rid of proxy voting, the biggest malaise affecting one of the oldest cricket associations in the country.Similarly, if any state association is holding elections before the court deadline expires, the Lodha Committee has the powers to dictate to the state whether it can actually go to polls, or if the results can be frozen, if the candidate(s) qualify to stand for elections or not.There have been questions on whether the BCCI and the states might need to rewrite their respective constitutions and bylaws. However, it is understood the Supreme Court has already approved both the memorandum of rules as well as the bylaws that were written and submitted to it by the Lodha Committee, which appears to indicate that the BCCI will, as party to the judgement already made, accept a new constitution.

Team and individual competition records were broken as Loughborough Lightning sealed their place in the finals of the Kia Super League by beating Surrey Stars

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2016
ScorecardDane van Niekerk’s 91 was the highest individual score of the competition (file photo)•IDI/Getty Images

Team and individual competition records were broken as Loughborough Lightning sealed their place in the finals of the Kia Super League by beating Surrey Stars.South Africa international Dane van Niekerk hit 91 off just 64 balls, including 13 fours and three sixes, beating the previous competition record innings of 90 not out by Surrey’s Natalie Sciver, as Lightning ran up 168 for 6. That too was a record, the previous highest innings score in the competition being the 164 made by Lancashire Thunder, also at Loughborough University’s Haslegrave ground.”I’ve been struggling with form, but I knew it was a really good track and I had to take my chance,” said van Niekerk, who came into the match having scored just 19 runs in her previous three innings. “Going into the finals it’s nice to have a few runs and for the team to have a bit of momentum.”Surrey skipper Sciver chose to bowl after winning the toss, but may have already regretting her decision when Lightning openers Georgia Elwiss and Van Niekerk brought up the 50 in the seventh over.Van Niekerk looked in good touch from the start. Consecutive boundaries stroked through the off side off the pace bowling of Marizanne Kapp, along with a huge straight six clubbed the left-arm spin of Alex Hartley, were the pick of the 23-year-old’s shots in a half-century made from 41 balls.Hartley, bowling with a nice loop, did pick up a wicket, Elwiss failing to clear long-off, but Van Niekerk appeared unstoppable. A reverse paddle was followed by a reverse scoop for boundaries before Rene Farrell was deposited over midwicket for another six.Sophie Devine edged a catch behind driving at a wide delivery, but just as the first century of the competition seemed Van Niekerk’s for the taking, she pulled Kapp hard to midwicket, where Sciver took a fine catch running in from the boundary.Inevitably, perhaps, van Niekerk then took a wicket in her first over of legspin, the third of the Surrey reply, courtesy of some sharp work behind the stumps by Amy Jones when Bryony Smith dragged her back foot. In her following over she had Cordelia Griffith caught and bowled, but the key wickets as far as Loughborough were concerned were those of Sciver and fellow England international Tammy Beaumont.Sciver had made just 12 when she top-edged Elwiss towards short third man, where Rebecca Grundy took the catch on the edge of the circle. Beaumont was beginning to threaten on 27 when she was run out by a direct hit – by van Niekerk, naturally. In the circumstances it came as no surprise when she added a fine boundary catch to her contribution.”It was a good score but we were never really out of it on that track, so of course we’re disappointed,” Sciver said. “It’s been a great competition, playing under pressure can only help develop our games. The crowds have been great and it shows how popular women’s domestic cricket is becoming. We just wish we were going to Finals Day!”

ICC chief executive David Richardson has sympathised with Pakistan’s ongoing struggle to bring international cricket back to their country

Umar Farooq21-Sep-2016ICC chief executive David Richardson has sympathised with Pakistan’s ongoing struggle to bring international cricket back to their country. He was in Lahore on Wednesday to present Misbah-ul-Haq with the Test mace for Pakistan being ranked the No. 1 team in the world.Barring one series, Pakistan have not been able to host Full Members at home since the attack on a touring Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009. Zimbabwe had visited in 2015 for a limited-overs series, but during the second ODI on May 29, there had been a “suicide attack” on the outer edge of the three tiers of security that was in place. Zimbabwe left the country only after completing the tour though.”The fact is that ICC is keen for everybody to play international cricket, including Pakistan,” Richardson said. “The more teams we can have the better. However, circumstances around the world really have gotten quite difficult, from a security point of view and Pakistan has probably been the hardest hit than any other country. The ICC members have always tried to support Pakistan by making sure that they are willing to play Pakistan in the UAE and elsewhere to keep cricket going at least internationally even though it’s not in Pakistan.”On a personal level, Richardson felt the measures the PCB and the government have put in place made it safe for teams to come and play.”It’s actually quite easy for you to convince me that international cricket returns to Pakistan, but unfortunately it’s not me or the ICC that needs to be convinced,” Richardson said. “It’s the security experts, it’s the security consultants who are advising the players who are advising the teams and that’s really out of our control. I know that the Pakistan government and the PCB are doing whatever they can to try and persuade the people and make security situation better in Pakistan. Pretty soon we’ll get to a situation where teams are willing to play international cricket in Pakistan.”The PCB relies heavily on the government to arrange security for the visiting teams, but it has bought four bulletproof buses as part of the efforts to provide the “best possible” protection for players visiting the country.In this seven-year isolation, the PCB has suffered financially, having to arrange matches in the UAE and missing out on bilateral series against India. This prompted PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to suggest the board should receive a “higher percentage of the income” from matches against India at ICC events. Richardson confirmed the ICC received the application and that it would be up for discussion in an upcoming meeting.”We take every application seriously on those lines,” he said. “It came late in the day [during ICC annual conference in July] but we will discuss it in the financial committee meeting next month in October and then in the board. ICC members are actually renewing the whole financial model of international cricket at the moment and certainly the PCB’s request will be considered.”

Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh’s Test captain, has said coach Chandika Hathurusingha gave Tamim Iqbal the role of “helping” the bowlers closely during the last session of the Dhaka Test against England

Mohammad Isam03-Nov-2016Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh’s Test captain, has said coach Chandika Hathurusingha gave Tamim Iqbal the role of “helping” the bowlers closely during the last session of the Dhaka Test against England. He said that the four senior players in the field – himself, Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah – were given specific roles and told to lead the team from the front.Parallel to Bangladesh’s 108-run victory last Sunday, there had been ongoing speculation about Mushfiqur’s captaincy after it appeared that Tamim was in charge of making bowling and fielding changes in the 22.5 overs after lunch in which Bangladesh took all ten England wickets as they were bowled out for 164. He was in discussions with Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan ahead of every over, and was also setting fields for them.It is highly unlikely for Tamim, despite being Mushfiqur’s deputy, to usurp the role on his own, but Hathurusingha only described what had happened inside the dressing-room during the tea break in an interview this week with ESPNcricinfo, saying he was disappointed after England got to 100 for no loss at the tea interval and told the players to step up to the challenge.Mushfiqur said that other players apart from Tamim, such as Mahmudullah and Mominul Haque, were also tasked with specific roles, which ultimately helped Bangladesh take all ten wickets in one session.”During the tea break, the coach was angry towards the players, which was obvious as we were not able to execute our plans in the middle,” Mushfiqur told the . “The bowlers also struggled to execute. We had a group chat comprising all the senior players and the coach. He told the senior players to step up and take the responsibility. We were given some roles. Tamim was standing at mid-off so that he could help the bowlers closely.”To add to that, close-in fielders like Mominul [Haque] and Mahmudullah Riyad , they were also given roles to distract the batsmen. Shakib and Miraz meanwhile, were given roles as bowlers so that they could get the breakthroughs. With the combination of everyone’s effort, we were able to win the match.”Mushfiqur skirted the notion that he wasn’t in charge of the team, saying the players tried to implement on the field the messages that Hathurusingha sent from the dressing room.”Coach always tells us, whoever has the ball in his hand, he is the captain at that time as only he knows how and what to do in that particular situation and what is the plan,” he said.”So, all the 11 players in the team always try to follow that and whatever message we receive from the coach, we discuss and try to implement that on the field. Especially us, the four senior members of the team, were given instructions to lead from the front and fulfill the responsibilities.”While it doesn’t answer who exactly decided that Mushfiqur should not be in charge of bowling changes and fielding positions, it is clear that there are rumblings about Mushfiqur’s captaincy within the Bangladesh cricket hierarchy. Ever since he lost his limited-overs captaincy to Mashrafe Mortaza in September 2014, Mushfiqur’s leadership in Tests has come under a lot of scrutiny, especially after his defensive approach during the second Test against Pakistan in Dhaka.Mushfiqur said he was still up for all three roles – batting, wicketkeeping and captaining – in the Test arena, though he would accept anything that the board decides for the team’s benefit.”I think I am enjoying all the three roles at the moment,” Mushfiqur said. “If you notice, wicketkeeping has always been my first priority. I have scored a double-hundred in Tests and also kept wickets in the same game. There is always a soft corner for it (keeping).”But if the team management and the board decide that they might get the best outcome by picking someone else and approach me, then I will have to think about it. I will decide which will help my team as we all are part of the team.”BCB president Nazmul Hassan, on the day following the Test, said he was aware of Tamim taking charge of fielding and bowling changes but didn’t want to comment on Mushfiqur’s captaincy, saying he would talk to the incumbent soon.Bangladesh’s next Test series is against New Zealand in January 2017, closely followed by Tests against India and Sri Lanka.

The first four-day match between Pakistan A and Zimbabwe A ended in a draw at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2016

ScorecardFile photo – Peter Moor stood out with 157 in Zimbabwe A’s strong first-innings batting performance•AFP

The first four-day match between Pakistan A and Zimbabwe A ended in a draw at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, as the hosts got some valuable match practice ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka.Zimbabwe A, fielding a full squad of Test players, opted to bat first and were reduced to 193 for 5 before Peter Moor took charge of the game and scored 157, studded with 11 fours and eight sixes. Contributions from Richmond Mutumbami (38) and Graeme Cremer (54) helped Zimbabwe put on 251 for the last five wickets and reach 444. Legspinner Shadab Khan took 4 for 114 and left-arm spinner Mohammad Asghar took 3 for 112 for Pakistan.Pakistan’s response started with the loss of two quick wickets, but opener Zain Abbas scored his second first-class century as he set up partnerships with Shohaib Maqsood (54) and Saad Ali (62) to take them out of trouble. He scored 137 before falling to Cremer, who ended with 4 for 82. Allrounder Fahim Ashraf scored an unbeaten 61 to take Pakistan to 358.Malcolm Waller scored an unbeaten 87 in the second innings that lasted 75.2 overs before Zimbabwe declared on 219 for 5. Sikandar Raza (40) and Craig Ervine (38) managed to get some time in after veteran Hamilton Masakadza got out without scoring. Asghar had an impressive outing once again, taking four of the five wickets that fell.Fakhar Zaman (40*) and Zain Abbas (39*), the Pakistan openers, took them to 72 for no loss before play ended.