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The T20I series to begin Pakistan’s tour of West Indies has been extended from two to four matches, beginning in Barbados on March 26

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2017Pakistan’s tour of West Indies has been extended by two T20Is with a total of four now scheduled between Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago to kick off the start of Pakistan’s seven-week tour of the Caribbean. The additional fixtures have also caused a shift in dates for the first of the originally scheduled pair of T20Is.The tour itinerary originally comprised two T20Is, three ODIs and three Tests starting with a T20I in Trinidad & Tobago on March 31. The tour will now begin in Barbados on March 26 with the first of the now four T20Is. The other additional T20I will then take place on March 30 in Trinidad while the third T20I is pushed back to April 1.The WICB had looked into possibly staging both of the additional T20Is in Lauderhill, Florida on March 25 and 26 and according to an ESPNcricinfo source, a deposit was placed with stadium officials at the Central Broward Regional Park to reserve the facility for those two dates. However, the source indicated that there were concerns over the ability of Pakistan’s squad to get US visas processed on short notice and the decision was made to schedule the additional T20Is inside the Caribbean.This is only the second time a four-match T20I series has been scheduled between Full Members. The first took place between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe at Khulna in January 2016.

Alviro Petersen hit a match-winning half-century as Somerset made it maximum points from their first two Friends Life t20 games with a six-wicket victory over Northamptonshire at Taunton.

07-Jul-2013Somerset 155-4 (Petersen 64*, Trego 41, Willey 2-19) beat Northamptonshire 152-7 (Willey 47, Thomas 3-33) by three runs
ScorecardMarcus Trescothick has suffered two successive first-ballers for Somerset but he could celebrate victory all the same•Getty Images

Alviro Petersen hit a match-winning half-century as Somerset made it maximum points from their first two Friends Life t20 games with a six-wicket victory over Northamptonshire at Taunton.The hosts reached a target of 153 with seven balls to spare with Petersen finishing unbeaten on 64 off 35 balls having struck seven fours and two sixes.Peter Trego contributed 41 for the victors, while David Willey was the pick of the Northamptonshire attack with two for 19 from four overs.Willey was also the mainstay of his side’s batting after they had won the toss in glorious sunshine. He made 47, but the visitors found it difficult to gain momentum as Alfonso Thomas claimed 3 for 33.Yasir Arafat had set the tone for a tight Somerset bowling effort by making the first over of the Northants innings a maiden to Richard Levi. By the end of the six powerplay overs the visitors were 29 for one as Steve Kirby and Thomas maintained a grip.Former Somerset player Cameron White and skipper Alex Wakely both carelessly gifted catches to cover and it was left to Willey, who announced his intentions by pulling his first ball for Kirby over mid-wicket for six, to bolster the Northamptonshire total. He faced only 29 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes, but lacked support.Northamptonshire’s total looked 30 below par in such ideal batting conditions and Somerset paced their reply perfectly, despite losing skipper Marcus Trescothick for his second duck in as many games, caught at slip off a Willey lifter.It was 50 for two when Craig Kieswetter was caught at long-on to give Willey another wicket, but Trego and Petersen then added 40 in less than five overs while taking few risks.Trego was never at his most fluent and eventually fell lbw to the left-arm spin of Graeme White, having faced 42 balls and hit four boundaries and a six.Petersen scored off virtually every ball he faced and accelerated just when the situation demanded. Jos Buttler helped supply the finishing touch after James
Hildreth had been run out.

David Masters carried his Championship haul of wickets to 71 for the season as
Essex gained the upper hand against Gloucestershire on the second day of the
County Championship match at Colchester’s Castle Park

18-Aug-2011
Scorecard
David Masters carried his Championship haul of wickets to 71 for the season as
Essex gained the upper hand against Gloucestershire on the second day of the
County Championship match at Colchester’s Castle Park.The 33-year-old paceman, the leading wicket-taker in the country, took four
wickets for 50 runs as the visitors finished on 176 for 6 in reply to their
opponents’ total of 363 all out.Masters’ nagging accuracy and ability to extract lift made him a difficult
proposition and he was on course to register his sixth haul of five wickets or
more in an innings until rain arrived to end play at 3pm.It came with Gloucestershire still requiring a further 38 runs to avoid the
follow-on – far from a straightforward task on a lively pitch. Masters struck in his second over by getting rid of Hamish Marshall with the help of Tom Westley at second slip.Then, after lunch, he had Chris Taylor caught behind before removing brothers
Alex and Will Gidman with successive deliveries. The dismissal of Alex Gidman was not without incident. After the visiting skipper was given out lbw when he had scored 29 – which included two sixes in one over from off-spinner Tom Westley – he moved forward to remonstrate with
umpire Steve Gale for a few seconds before turning and heading back to the
pavilion.Gale had yesterday reversed his decision after giving Essex century maker Ryan
ten Doeschate out caught behind. It was an unsavoury incident and no doubt one which will be reported to the appropriate authorities. Certainly it took some of the gloss off a fine effort
from Kane Williamson.The New Zealander batted with an assurance his colleagues failed to match and
was within sight of a century when Graham Napier trapped him on the back foot
for 83. It was an effort which spanned 107 balls and included 10 fours.Napier had earlier got rid of opener Chris Dent – with Westley again accepting
a slip catch – but it was the evergreen Masters who claimed the day’s honours.Earlier in the day, Jon Lewis claimed the final Essex wicket after the home
side had resumed on 359 for 9. Tom Craddock was bowled to give the fast bowler figures of four for 46 from 15.5 overs and his dismissal left ten Doeschate unbeaten with 124, which
contained 10 fours and one six and spread over 182 deliveries.

Cricinfo looks ahead to the what essentially now is a two-match ODI series between India and Australia

The Preview by Sriram Veera19-Oct-2010

Match Facts

Wednesday, October 20, Visakhapatnam

Start time 14:30 (09:00 GMT)Can Ravindra Jadeja cement his ODI spot with good performances?•AFP

The Big Picture

This is the series for lesser-known players to make a name for themselves and grab a permanent spot in the one-day team, that is, if the weather would allow them. The first ODI was washed out and it’s very humid in Visakhapatnam, but showers have only been forecast for Thursday, the day after the match. If the dark clouds can stay away on the match day, however, youngsters like R Ashwin, Mitchell Starc and Ravindra Jadeja will breathe easy.The continuing presence of Jadeja in the playing XI has baffled many an Indian fan. Here are his stats: A bowling average of 41.55 and a batting average of 31.47 at a strike rate of 76.97. He hasn’t sparkled with the bat or the ball with any consistency; the best (only?) thing going for him is his economy rate in ODIs: 4.84. MS Dhoni has pointed out what he thinks Jadeja should do: “For a player like him, it is very important to contribute with the bat and ball. He has to do a bit more with the bat.”His bowling has increasingly been backed by his captain: he has bowled his full quota of 10 overs nine times and seven of those occasions have come in 2010. His direct competition until recently was Yusuf Pathan: Yusuf’s strike rate is over 100 but he averages just 22.11. His bowling average is 40.66, slightly better than Jadeja, but his economy rate of 5.75 is almost a run higher.Is R Ashwin the man, then, to replace Jadeja? Ashwin is a much better bowler than Jadeja, and has a lower economy rate when you compare their performances in domestic circuit. In more than half of those matches, Ashwin had yet to use his new tools, like the carom ball; he is a more complete bowler now. Jadeja’s batting is better than Ashwin’s, but he lacks the skills to demolish a good attack. So it will come to what the team management needs from the player who fills that spot: is it a bowler who can bat a bit or batsman who can bowl? Ashwin fulfills the first requirement while Jadeja hasn’t quite managed to fill the second. Both will play in this series and the one against New Zealand, which should help the selectors to decide between them, or perhaps even go back to Yusuf, for the World Cup.Australia too have a few youngsters in the squad and one of them, Mitchell Starc, might get his chance tomorrow as Doug Bollinger is a doubtful starter. “Obviously I’d love him [Bollinger] to play both these one-dayers but I think we also need to be smart with what we’ve got coming up,” Michael Clarke said today. If Bollinger doesn’t play, Starc might make his debut. Those who have followed his career rate him very highly. He has a pre-release load-up like Mitchell Johnson but gets more bounce. He even has a first-class fifty. The experts reckon he is a bit raw now but is likely to put up a stiff fight to his more established team-mates in a year’s time.This series also will reveal the position of Shaun Marsh in the team. Will he play as an opener? If not, he will have to fight with the talented Callum Ferguson for a spot in the middle-order.

Form guide

(most recent first)

India LWLWL
Australia WWLLL

Watch out for…

David Warner is yet to learn how to construct a long innings. “Due to the volume of twenty20 cricket I have played over the past year, being able to actually play myself in and build an innings is something I am not all that used to,” he wrote recently. These two games offer him an opportunity to do it in on the international stage. We know he has the power-packed shots; does he have the skill to build an innings? We shall soon find out.Ashish Nehra ‘s confidence is his strength. He was in the wilderness for more than two years but every time you met him, he would say it was just matter of getting fit and he would be back into the Indian team. To him, it was never a question about his skill; it was just his body that was playing truant. Ever since his return he has been Dhoni’s go-to man under pressure. It’s Nehra who bowls in the batting Powerplay, its Nehra who bowls in the end overs and its Nehra who often has to take the wicket with the new ball too. It would be very interesting to see how he fares against his nemesis – Australia.

Team news

Shikhar Dhawan will make his ODI debut and Dhoni has already said that Saurabh Tiwary is likely to get one game in this series.India (probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Virat Kohli/Rohit Sharma, 6 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Munaf Patel.Doug Bollinger is yet to fully recover from the abdominal strain that ruled him out of the Bangalore Test. He bowled for the first time in the training today and his fitness will be assessed on the morning of the match before they make a call. Fast bowler Mitchell Starc is likely to make his debut in case Bollinger misses out.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 Shaun Marsh/Callum Ferguson, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Cameron White, 7 Steve Smith, 8 James Hopes, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Doug Bollinger/Mitchell Starc.

Pitch and conditions

It’s currently prickly hot with high humidity indicating that rain might be just around the corner.

Stats and trivia

• The beautiful stadium, located on the National Highway 5, has hosted just two ODIs. This is where MS Dhoni announced himself with a violent 123-ball 148 against Pakistan. Sri Lanka’s Chamara Silva is the only other centurion on this ground.
• Nehra averages a very respectable 30.54 in ODIs, but it would be an understatement to say that he has struggled against Australia. In 12 games against them, he has an average of 51.75 and an economy rate of 6.14.
• Cameron White’s stats get better against India. He averages about 36 with the bat but against India it jumps to 42.16 from seven games. His strike rate against India is 84.61 which is higher than his career strike rate and he has also hit eight sixes – about 22% of his total sixes – against India.
• India have a poor record of chasing against Australia: They have lost 34 games and won only 17 while batting second against them.
  

  Quotes

  “We’ve still managed to enjoy it, to be honest. Plenty of time in the gym together but now we’re keen to get back on the cricket field. One benefit of not playing too much cricket is a lot of guys have been able to do their fitness work”
  
  .”It will be a big learning curve for all youngsters. It’s very important to live in the present… Small and basic things that needs to be done correctly to make a mark at the big level. I won’t put extra pressure on them.”
  .

Ross Taylor, the Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman, has said he’s happy playing the floater’s role in the line-up

Siddarth Ravindran06-Apr-2010Ross Taylor, the Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman, has said he’s happy playing the floater’s role in the line-up. He usually slots in at No. 4 spot in New Zealand’s Twenty20 batting order, but has been used in every position between No. 3 and No. 6 by Bangalore.”My job is to adjust to different slots. My role with the New Zealand team is a bit different from what I have with Bangalore. I am enjoying it,” Taylor said at the team hotel in Bangalore. “Depending on where I bat – either top three or four, five or six – my role changes. Whether you need 120 runs or 220 runs, you need to know your role and play accordingly.”Barely four days after completing a Test series against Australia, Taylor turned out for his first IPL match of the season on Sunday. He said the amount of cricket being played eased the switch between formats. “We play all formats each year and there is more of chop and change and you get used to it and you adjust with the transition period.”He was also unperturbed by the short gap between the end of the IPL and the start of the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies – the IPL finals are on April 25, and New Zealand take on Sri Lanka five days later. “The only issue would be jetlag I guess. You can’t get any better preparation than playing Twenty20 cricket. Maybe you could have some warm-up games in the Caribbean but the quality you get at the IPL is good.”Taylor’s six-hitting has made him something of a cult hero to Bangalore fans. During the Champions League last year, crowds at the Chinnaswamy were frequently clamouring for him to come out to bat. “I got a good reception here in the first year but I wasn’t expecting the reception I got (for the Champions League),” he said. “It was an amazing
feeling to hear people chant your name.”That popularity should translate into big money at the next IPL auction, but the future of New Zealand’s players will decided by the new central contracts that will come in place once the existing ones end in July. Negotiations are currently on between New Zealand players’ association and the board, with worries that the higher financial incentive offered by the IPL could lead to more freelance cricketers.”We have always had central contracts. Obviously the time our New Zealand season finishes in March, early April, it sort of clashes with the IPL. I guess in international cricket we will find the space and I hope we get to play in the IPL.” Taylor said. “New Zealand Cricket are trying their best to retain their players. We don’t get paid as well as other players and the money we get in IPL far outweighs what we get in New Zealand.”

He is set to join the team ahead of Yorkshire’s game against Somerset starting September 8

Shashank Kishore04-Sep-2025India opener Mayank Agarwal is set to join Yorkshire on a short-term deal for the remainder of the County Championship.Agarwal, who is expected to link up with the squad ahead of their match against Somerset on Taunton starting September 8, will play three matches in all before returning to India in time for the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. This will be Agarwal’s first county stint.He was most-recently in action at the Maharaja T20 Trophy, Karnataka’s flagship T20 tournament. Prior to that, he was part of an IPL-title winning campaign with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after being signed as a late replacement for the injured Devdutt Padikkal.Agarwal, 34, is no stranger to England, having been on two tours previously with the Test side – in 2021-22 and for the World Test Championship final against Australia in June 2023.He had been in line to open during the 2021-22 tour, which India drew 2-2, but was ruled out prior to the series opener due to concussion. He has also been on two tours with the India A team.Agarwal, currently Karnataka’s all-format captain, comes with rich first-class experience. He has 8050 runs in 190 innings at an average of 43.98 with 18 hundreds and 44 half-centuries.In all, Agarwal has hit 1488 Test runs in 36 innings at an average of 41.33, with four Test centuries, including a best of 243 against South Africa. He played the most recent of his 21 Tests in March 2022 against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru.Other prominent Indians to feature in the UK domestic season this year are Khaleel Ahmed (Essex), Tilak Varma (Hampshire), Yuzvendra Chahal (Northants), Ishan Kishan (Notts) and Sai Kishore (Surrey). Jaydev Unadkat is set to join Sussex this month.

The league clashes with the English summer but players on white-ball-only county deals might be given permission to play

Matt Roller21-Mar-2023Alex Hales remains hopeful of featuring in the inaugural season of Major League Cricket (MLC) despite concerns that English cricketers might not be given No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to play in the new US league.ESPNcricinfo understands that Hales has been in talks with MLC franchises about his availability for the tournament, but several teams are worried that the ECB could block NOCs since the new league takes place during the English summer.While centrally contracted England players appear unlikely to be granted NOCs, players on white-ball-only deals with their respective counties – like Hales – are expected to be given permission to play in the US if they sign contracts.Related

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MLC is due to be played from July 13 to 30 and mainly clashes with the County Championship. The Vitality Blast’s Finals Day – which involves only four counties – takes place on July 15, and players involved would miss the start of the competition.For players without central contracts, NOCs are granted by counties in the first instance, with ECB providing formal sign-off. These have previously been granted to white-ball specialists looking to play overseas leagues during the English season, for both the IPL and the CPL.The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) believes MLC should be treated in the same manner as other leagues that take place during the English summer, “via the principle established in county and ECB central contracts,” a spokesperson said. “Ultimately, it is up to the employers’ discretion in-season, unless the player is on a specific white-ball version of the standard contract.”Hales’ contract with his county, Nottinghamshire, runs until the end of their season in this year’s T20 Blast. His only other existing contract within the English game is with Trent Rockets in the Hundred, which starts on August 1 – two days after the MLC final – and if signed, he would return to the UK the day before the Rockets’ opening fixture.Other English white-ball specialists without central contracts who could make themselves available for MLC include Richard Gleeson, Tymal Mills and Will Smeed. At this stage, it appears unlikely that players on all-format deals would request to miss County Championship fixtures in order to play in the US.Some players are waiting to see whether their counties reach the knockout stages of the Blast, and will only make themselves available for MLC – potentially as replacement signings – if they are not involved in Finals Day.If the length of MLC seasons expands in future years, as anticipated, some players could make themselves unavailable for some or all of the Blast season in order to sign more lucrative contracts in the US than counties can offer.Overseas players are signed directly by MLC franchises, rather than through a draft system, and top salaries are believed to be in the region of $150,000 (USD). Quinton de Kock, Aaron Finch, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mitchell Marsh, Anrich Nortje and Marcus Stoinis have all been announced as direct signings.And MLC has already had a direct impact on the Hundred. ESPNcricinfo understands that Nortje has pulled out of Thursday’s draft since his contract in the US is worth more, pro rata, than the most lucrative £125,000 (GBP) deals on offer in the Hundred.

Teenager Tess Flintoff smashed the fastest WBBL half-century off 16 balls before Sasha Moloney picked up 4 for 24 to help Stars beat Adelaide Strikers

AAP02-Nov-2022Teenager Tess Flintoff has smashed the WBBL record for the fastest half-century in the competition’s history to power Melbourne Stars to a 22-run win over Adelaide Strikers.The allrounder blasted an unbeaten 51 from only 16 balls at North Sydney Oval on Wednesday. Flintoff broke the previous mark – 22 balls – by smashing a six off the final ball of the innings to push Stars to 5 for 186 after Strikers elected to field first.The 19-year-old’s blistering career-best knock consisted of six fours and three sixes. Flintoff had not been required to bat in Stars’ past three matches, but her most recent innings was an unbeaten 40 against the Perth Scorchers on October 20.Australia allrounder Ashleigh Gardner and South African Lizelle Lee shared the previous record for fastest WBBL half-century, with both reaching the mark in the same game back in 2017.England batters Alice Capsey and Lauren Winfield-Hill also played important roles in the Stars’ big total sharing an 81-run stand for the second wicket.Flintoff’s match-winning knock proved too much for Adelaide to overcome, with Strikers finishing their 20 overs on 8 for 164. Australia star Tahlia McGrath’s troubled run with the bat continued, with Strikers’ captain out for just 1 following two ducks in as many games.Adelaide had solid contributions from Katie Mack, Bridget Patterson and Laura Wolvaardt as Sasha Moloney was the pick of Stars bowlers claiming 4 for 24.It was just Stars’ second win of the tournament, with Adelaide remaining in third on the table with four victories.

Boucher will still face a disciplinary hearing in May over charges of gross misconduct

Firdose Moonda08-Feb-2022Cricket South Africa are unlikely to take further action on the manner in which Director of Cricket (DOC) Graeme Smith and men’s head coach Mark Boucher were appointed despite the Social Justice and Nation-Building report citing irregularities in their hiring. Speaking to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture, CSA board chair Lawson Naidoo explained that because Smith and Boucher’s appointments were rubber-stamped by the previous board, no further investigation will be undertaken.Boucher will still face a disciplinary hearing in May over charges of gross misconduct, while Smith is in arbitration with CSA over other matters raised at the SJN.”The DOC and head coach were appointed in December 2019 under the previous board. It is clear from the (SJN) report that there were irregularities in those processes. Those appointments were subsequently endorsed and ratified by the then board. Our hands are tied in terms of those processes,” Naidoo said.Smith was approached for the job of DOC in August 2019, by former CSA CEO Thabang Moroe, who has since been dismissed. He was interviewed in November that year but withdrew his interest in the job five days later, citing lack of confidence in CSA’s administration. When Moroe was suspended in December 2019, Smith was appointed in interim capacity for three months before signing on as an independent contractor over the last two years. His contract expires at the end of March. The SJN found that the process of headhunting Smith despite other candidates being interviewed was flawed, but CSA’s previous board approved this process so no further action can be taken.Part of Smith’s remit was to appoint South Africa’s head coach and support staff. All the candidates were headhunted with Boucher contracted until 2023 alongside Charl Langeveldt (bowling coach) and Justin Ontong (fielding coach). Enoch Nkwe, who was interim team director at the time, was named assistant coach and resigned last year. CSA’s previous board approved all these appointments. The SJN report has found fault with Boucher being preferred to Nkwe and called it unfair discrimination, but no mention was made of Langeveldt or Ontong. It appears that none of these processes will be further investigated.Key men: [L to R] Graeme Smith, Enoch Nkwe, Mark Boucher and Linda Zondi•AFP via Getty Images

However, CSA will continue with the disciplinary action against Boucher, whose dismissal they are seeking over current and historical handling of issues of race. Boucher faces charges over his role in singing a song with the words “brown s***” in fines’ meetings to team-mate Paul Adams in the late 1990s and early 2000s, his handling of the Black Lives Matter movement with the current squad in 2020 and 2021 and his relationship with Nkwe. Boucher’s hearing will take place from May 16 to 20 and he intends to call players involved in the national set-up to testify on his behalf. There has been no announcement on any disciplinary process involving Smith.Related

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Asked by MPs why Boucher and Smith have not been suspended, Naidoo explained that CSA acted on legal advice. “It’s important to state, and this applies to all the legal processes we are involved in, we will follow due process. I can assure the portfolio committee that the board took legal advice on whether that (suspension) was possible and we received the legal opinion from two senior lawyers,” Naidoo said. “They advised us that there was no legal basis to suspend Mark Boucher and Graeme Smith. The board took a unanimous decision not to suspend because it would open us up to unnecessary litigation.”Already, CSA have spent R50 million (US$3.2 million) in legal fees over the last two years. A significant portion of that could have gone into sorting out disciplinary matters. CSA have dismissed former CEO Moroe, former acting CEO Kugandrie Govender, former company secretary Welsh Gwaza, former head of commercial Clive Eksteen and former chief operating officer Naasei Appiah. Most of those cases went to appeals, resulting in a more drawn out process, Eksteen winning against CSA before parting ways and Appiah settling. The sports ministry criticised the costs of ongoing litigation at the organisation. “The department takes a dim view of the money directed away from programs for legal fees,” Vusumuzi Mkhize, the director general of the department of sport said. “We prefer settling outside of court.”Mkize was also asked about the department’s view of the Boucher situation, especially because Boucher is continuing in his role as head coach. “That is not a ministerial responsibility. The minister may not deal with employees of the board unless there has been a clear breakdown of governance,” he said. “We encourage them to move with speed.”The same applies to the CSA’s inability to appoint a permanent CEO, which has dragged on for months. The new board, who were put in place in June, have said it is their “priority,” to fill the role currently occupied by Pholetsi Moseki, but are yet to find a suitable candidate.”In August last year we placed a public advertisement for the CEO and engaged the services of a recruitment company. We received a shortlist of candidates and interviewed them but we were unable to conclude an agreement to appoint anyone at that stage,” Naidoo said. “We have since embarked on a further process with the services of a separate recruitment company. We hope to make an announcement in the next few weeks. We are cognisant that this is the priority of the board. It is a process the board is giving due attention to.”

BCB doctor on finger injury: “We will review the injury after one week, and then determine what to do next”

Mohammad Isam22-Jun-2021Mushfiqur Rahim has picked up a hairline fracture on his left index finger, which he sustained during Abahani Limited’s Dhaka Premier League T20 match against Gazi Group Cricketers on Monday. The scan took place on Tuesday morning, confirming the extent of the injury, which might hurt the Bangladesh national team too, as they get ready for a tour of Zimbabwe.”We did a CT scan on Mushfiq’s hand, which has come up with a hairline fracture on his left index finger,” Dr Debashish Chowdhury, BCB’s chief physician, said. “We have asked him to take a break of one week, but we are hopeful that the recovery won’t take too long. Since it is a hairline fracture. We will review the injury after one week, and then we can determine what to do next.”Related

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• DPL: Shakib and Sabbir incidents overshadow on-field action

Bangladesh are scheduled to leave for Zimbabwe on June 29 to play a one-off Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. There is, however, some uncertainty around the tour after authorities in Zimbabwe stopped sporting activities in the country last week because of the Covid-19 pandemic.The Bangladesh authorities have expressed confidence, though, that the tour would go ahead on schedule, with BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury saying that the board has received positive feedback from Zimbabwe Cricket.Rahim has led Abahani Limited to to the Super League phase of the Dhaka Premier League – they are currently equal on top of the points table on 20 points with Prime Bank Cricket Club. He has been in decent batting form too, having scored 267 runs in 12 innings, with an average of 38.14 and a strike rate of 130.24. They have three more matches to play, so Rahim’s absence could affect their chances.Rahim had earlier informed the BCB that he would be unavailable for the T20I leg of the tour of Zimbabwe, as Bangladesh start a long build-up for the T20 World Cup in October. He has been involved in all formats for Bangladesh since October last year when the BCB held two white-ball tournaments to kick off cricket after the pandemic.