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England’s leading players will be made available for the first couple of weeks of The Hundred, as well as the tournament’s final

George Dobell09-Aug-2019The ECB is set to confirm a window for The Hundred which will allow England’s best-known players to participate in the first few games of the tournament next summer.A 13-day window in England’s international schedule will enable some England stars to participate early in the tournament, giving it a better chance to attract public interest. Several games in the tournament will be shown free-to-air on the BBC.The first match in the competition will be played on Friday July 17 (the day after England play Australia in an ODI) with two games on each of the following days. The final will be held on August 15, with a reserve day in case of rain. England players are also expected to be made available for the final.The new format could have implications on the legislation that allows foreign players to participate in it, with the ECB having second thoughts over a request to the Home Office to change the eligibility for work permit criteria specifically for the competition. The ECB have now asked the Home Office to grant work permits for all competitions if players have “played 20 ICC Full Member country domestic T20 matches between October 2017 – September 2019 (appearances are aggregated across all ICC Full Member T20 competitions)”, in addition to the existing criteria which relate to international appearances. The Home Office have yet to confirm that criterion but are highly likely to do so.The ECB has also relented on a previous decision to bar cricketers unqualified for England from next season’s 50-over competition. While they had said previously the tournament should be viewed as a “development competition” – with no overseas players eligible to participate – they have subsequently had a change of heart on the grounds that the standard of the competition, which is taking place at the same time as The Hundred, could be diluted beyond an acceptable level. As a consequence, one unqualified player will be allowed per team, per game.In recognition of the crowded schedule and the time required to register players, counties will be permitted to increase the number of overseas players registered at any particular time from the start of next year. It will not affect the number permitted to play in each game – which will remain two in T20 and one in the Championship – but next season counties will be allowed to have three overseas players registered at any one time in recognition of the crowded schedule and the time required to register players.In a new look to the English season, the first Test of the summer of 2020 will start on June 4, with the final one starting on August 20. The schedule will also see a return to more T20 Blast games taking place on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays – the counties’ favoured days for the tournament – with 105 of the 126 fixtures played on those days. The first round of Championship cricket will start on April 13; the final round is scheduled to finish on September 30.The ECB are expected to announce in the coming weeks that there will be limited-overs games between the National Counties – the new name for the Minor Counties – and the first-class counties ahead of the 50-over competition that starts in mid-July, though games between counties and university centres are to have their status downgraded.

One day after their historic win over India, Bangladesh limited Thailand to 60 in 20 overs to set up a massive nine-wicket win

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsICC/Getty Images

One day after picking up their first win over India in women’s international cricket, Bangladesh demolished Thailand by nine wickets to register their third successive victory in the Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur. The win was fashioned by their bowling strength as they restricted Thailand to 60 for 8 in 20 overs. Bangladsh ran down the target with 11.1 overs to spare.Salma Khatun, the Bangladesh captain, led that stellar performance with 2 for 6 in four overs, while Nahida Akter, the left-arm spinner, took 2 for 10 from her four overs.Thailand were a miserable 39 for 7 when their best partnership of the innings came – 21 runs between Sirintra Saengsakaorat and the captain Sornnarin Tippoch. They were two of only three Thailand batsmen to make double-figures; Nattaya Boochatham, who top-scored with 15.Each of Bangladesh’s bowlers took at least a wicket each, with Jahanara Alam, who opened the bowling, proving to be the most expensive, going at five an over.The chase began with wicket in the second over – but Ayasha Rahman and Nigar Sultana put on an unbeaten 54-run stand at a run a ball to steer the team home. Both women made identical contributions, finishing on 25 each, with Rahman sealing the win with a six.

South Africa’s batting coach Neil Mckenzie wants his team to add another 60-70 runs to set an imposing fourth-innings target for New Zealand but admits there may not be enough time to do so given the weather and the scoring rates in the match

Firdose Moonda in Dunedin11-Mar-2017South Africa will look for a lead of around 250 if they are to force the result their way in the Dunedin Test, but they have acknowledged that time may not be on their side. Apart from the possibility of rain shortening or completely washing out the final day, the slow scoring rates which have dominated this Test mean that the visitors may not be able to set a target they are comfortable defending and leave themselves enough overs to bowl New Zealand out a second time.”We definitely want another 60 or 70 more runs. It’s about dictating terms,” Neil McKenzie, South Africa’s batting coach, said. “The runs are not just going to come in 10 overs – that’s the nature of the wicket. We’ll have to graft up front. If we can look to take the lead beyond 260 or 270, then dictate when we are going to declare and have a look at them. I’m sure in their dressing room they will be saying that if they can get a few early and run through us, they could chase 220 or 230. Thirty or 40 runs on this sort of wicket makes a huge difference.”New Zealand are similarly skeptical about things speeding up as they go in search of a win. “We might rock and roll them, we might not,” Jeetan Patel, New Zealand’s offspinner, said. “We may take three hours to bowl them out but it leaves an opportunity to win a Test match and the excitement of that is massive. They (the team) probably need that little bit of confidence to keep going with their season.”Patel was particularly pleased with New Zealand’s bowling effort in keeping the scoring rate down even though they did not take all of their chances. “To keep them to 230 over that many overs, is pretty special. The guys need a pat on the back for what they did today,” he said.That New Zealand did it in the absence of Trent Boult, who has a sore hip, only makes Patel prouder. “That’s why I say these guys are an amazing bunch,” Patel said. “They find a way. Look at Wagner’s last spell, it was just as potent as his first. Maybe not so much with the pace or the kilometres on the screen but with the questions that he asked.”Myself, Mitchell Santner, Jimmy Neeshan, we’ve all got roles to play and that’s where we just pick up the slack. We’ve just got to find a way to get over the line and that’s all that matters.”Although Patel did not go as far as to say New Zealand would take a psychological advantage from a draw – if that is how this match ends up – he did say the team’s first innings lead was “a little win by itself”. McKenzie dead-batted any such suggestion.Neil McKenzie, South Africa’s batting coach, believes Quinton de Kock’s struggles against spin will make him a better, smarter player•Getty Images

“The Test has asked questions of both sides and both have stood up reasonably well. I don’t think any side, if there is no play tomorrow, will take any momentum or any extra one-ups into the next Test match,” McKenzie said. “A lot of the batters have got starts and got runs under their belt,. The bowlers have got a couple of wickets and Keshav Maharaj has got his maiden five-for, which will give him a bit of confidence. A lot of the New Zealand guys have also got something out of it.”With conditions expected to remain similar throughout the series, South Africa may use this match to ponder the make-up of their squad, which only includes one specialist spinner at the moment in Maharaj. New Zealand have showed that a second would not go amiss and even though South Africa may not need one for Wellington, they may call for a second spinner for the final match in Hamilton, which starts from March 25.”There is talk, given the nature of Hamilton, and having played the one-day games there and see the turn that was offered,” McKenzie said. “We are blessed with quite a few options so we will see how the next couple of days pan out. I don’t think Wellington will turn as much as Hamilton so we’ll have a couple of days to sort things out.”If South Africa send for reinforcements, they will likely choose between offspinner Dane Piedt, left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi or could even recall legspiner Imran Tahir, who has not played a Test since December 2015.What they won’t look for just yet is someone to give Quinton de Kock lessons on how to play spin. De Kock has been dismissed four times by Patel in as many innings, but McKenzie is confident he can turn that around. “It happens in Test cricket. I’m not too worried. Jeetan Patel is a serious player,” McKenzie said. “I have played against him and watched him bowl, he’s played county cricket for years and is a seasoned professional. He’s a quality performer playing against a quality batsman, but I’m sure Quinton will overcome most obstacles. He will think about it and come back a smarter, better player.”

A look at how the IPL teams stack up before the IPL auction, what their purses look like, and how they could spend the money available to them

Sidharth Monga05-Feb-20162:56

IPL auction 2016 explainer

The fact file

Squad composition: The squad size has been fixed to a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 27. Franchises may have a maximum of nine overseas players. There is no requirement that an IPL squad must contain players from the franchise’s catchment area.
Cost and contract: Teams cannot spend more than INR 66 crore each on their squad. This purse has been reduced by players retained and already traded, and by the way of the player draft for the two new teams. Every player bought at the 2016 auction will be on a one-year contract with the franchise having the option to extend the term for one more year.
Player retention: The window of player retention and trading closed on December 31. Daredevils and Sunrisers let go off the most players, and so now have the biggest chunk of their purse available: Daredevils INR 37.15 crore, Sunrisers INR 30.15 crore. As the two new teams didn’t have any players to begin with, they were allowed to pick five players each for a fixed price at the draft; they now have INR 27 crore each remaining in their purse.
Composition of the pool: Of the 351 players up for auction, 230 are Indian. Two are from ICC associate nations: Irish allrounder Kevin O’Brien base-priced at Rs 30 lakh and Canadian allrounder Nikhil Dutta at Rs 10 lakh. Of the 351 players, 219 are uncapped; 204 of these uncapped players are Indian. Among the 130 players who have been capped by ICC Full Members, Australians outnumber Indians by 29 to 26. As expected West Indies follow closely with 20, followed by South Africa and Sri Lanka’s 18 and 16.

Big Picture

On Friday India announced their squad for the World T20. While the chairman of selectors has started to take questions to explain his panel’s choices nowadays, the process is still not even half a patch on the grand spectacle of team selections: the IPL auction. A total of 351 players will be put up for sale. Teams will fight over the players in public, they will reject some because they have either valued themselves at a base price that is too high or they are not considered important enough. Only a maximum of 116 out of the 351 will be bought. A minimum of 28 must be picked up. Not more than 36 non-Indians can be bought.There will be steals, there will be ridiculous amounts of money thrown around – at least seemingly – inexplicably, you won’t be able to ask the franchises to make sense of it… but this, by the virtue of the sheer money involved, will draw the interest of many, not least those who will be playing cricket on the same day: New Zealand v Australia, South Africa v England, the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy, and the two T20 leagues in the Gulf.Of big interest will be how the two new teams – Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants – and Delhi Daredevils, who have once again decided to overhaul their squad at the auction, go.

Marquee players

There are nine marquee players: Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen, Yuvraj Singh, Dale Steyn, Aaron Finch, Martin Guptill and Dwayne Smith. Only five of them have set their base price at Rs 2 crore*. Steyn is happy to begin his auction at Rs 1.5 crore, Finch at Rs 1 crore, and Guptill and Smith want to see how high they can soar from the starting point of Rs 50 lakh. Seven players outside the marquee list have their base price at Rs 2 crore: Michael Hussey, Dhawal Kulkarni, Kane Richardson, Sanju Samson, Dinesh Karthik, Stuart Binny and Mitchell Marsh. The lowest base price is Rs 10 lakh.

How the teams stack up

Delhi Daredevils
Players retained: 13; five foreigners
Auction purse remaining: Rs 37.15 crore
Can buy a maximum 14 players including four non-Indians. Can make do with as few as three players. If Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami are both fit by the time the IPL starts, they already have a decent attack with Nathan Coulter-Nile, Amit Mishra, Imran Tahir and Shahbaz Nadeem also retained. It’s the batsmen they will be after, to team up with Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy and Shreyas Iyer.Gujarat Lions
Players picked up at the draft: Five; three foreigners

Auction purse remaining: Rs 27 crore
Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner and Dwayne Bravo can be the nucleus of a really strong T20 team, but they will need to build the rest of the squad in just Rs 27 crore. They can’t be looking at more than two big-name signings, perhaps a batsman and a bowler each. Their acumen will come through in how they pick the less famous.Kings XI Punjab

Players retained: 14; four foreigners
Auction purse remaining: Rs 23 crore
They have the big-hitting capabilities of Glenn Maxwell, David Miller and Shaun Marsh, but they are in need of big-name bowlers to partner Axar Patel and Mitchell Johnson. Indian batsmen too will be on their agenda. They are likely to vie for Shane Watson and Dale Steyn. Not to mention they released George Bailey, which means they need a new captain.Kolkata Knight Riders
Players retained: 15; six foreigners
Auction purse remaining: Rs 17.95 crore
Ever since they spent big in 2010, Knight Riders have been a settled unit. Ten of the 11 players that played their last match remain in the squad. Their big loss is Jacques Kallis. They have one allrounder in Andre Russell, but they could go after Shane Watson in a big way if that’s the only player they can buy. And they need just one more to constitute an IPL squad.Mumbai Indians
Players retained: 19; six foreigners
Auction purse remaining: Rs 14.40 crore
The defending champions have retained the XI that won the final. Jasprit Bumrah, another retainee, didn’t even play that final. They will be the kids at school who have finished their homework with the potential of disrupting others or putting their heads down and studying extra. They might want to look at a possible back-up for Lasith Malinga, whose fitness cannot always be relied upon.Rising Pune Supergiants
Players picked up at the draft: Five; two foreigners
Auction purse remaining: Rs 27 crore
Fast bowlers. Bowlers with long run-ups. Yet another MS Dhoni team will go to the selection table looking for fast bowlers. Dale Steyn and Mustafizur Rahman are some of the bigger names they might be interested in, but mostly they will be the ones looking for smart buys just like Lions.Royal Challengers Bangalore
Players retained: 14; five foreigners
Auction purse remaining: Rs 21.62 crore
What Royal Challengers have: dazzling stroke-makers in AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli; the best white-ball quick in the world, Mitchell Starc; tearaways Adam Milne and Varun Aaron. What Royal Challengers don’t have: A title, and a balanced squad. They have a decent amount left in their purse to go in for allrounders and bowlers, and we know money available with Royal Challengers makes for a fun auction. How far will they go for Yuvraj Singh?Sunrisers Hyderabad
Players retained: 15; five foreigners
Auction purse remaining: Rs 30.15 crore
They have always been short on Indian hitters; the money saved by letting Dale Steyn go could come in handy. They could even just go for a big hitter from outside India. Kevin Pietersen might be high on their list.

Following on after they could only muster 256 in reply to India’s 503, Sri Lanka’s No. 8 Ramesh Medis and No. 11 Lakshan Jayasinghe held firm till close of play to save the game

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-2013
ScorecardFile Photo: Vijay Zol’s 173 powered India Under-19s to 503 for 7 in the first innings•ICC/Getty

Sri Lanka’s final-wicket partnership withstood 55 balls to salvage a draw against India in Dambulla. Following on after they could only muster 256 in the first innings in reply to India’s 503 – a total courtesy a magnificent 173 from captain Vijay Zol – Sri Lanka’s No. 8 Ramesh Medis and No. 11 Lakshan Jayasinghe held firm till close of play.India were asked to bat first and their top five all passed fifty. Shubham Khajuria dominated a 79-run opening partnership, striking 10 fours during an innings of 52 off 61 balls, while his partner Akhil Herwadkar collected his 71 runs at a more sedate pace. But India’s innings revolved around Zol’s century, which included 21 fours and two sixes. He and Sanju Samson, who made 89, put India on top with a third-wicket partnership of 200 runs. Samson was denied a century by Chamika Karunaratne, who also accounted for Zol and finished as Sri Lanka’s best bowler with four wickets. Shreyas Iyer chipped in with 65 as India declared at 503 for 7.Sri Lanka needed one of their batsmen to emulate Zol, but their top score was a patient 76 from Kavindu Kulasekara. Having begun gingerly, they lost Kusal Mendis in the eighth over, before opener Hashan Dumindu and Kulasekara steadied the innings. Kuldeep Yadav, who picked up four wickets in the innings, broke their 76-run stand for the second wicket. Minod Bhanuka was the only other batsman to cross fifty but after he became the fourth wicket to fall with the score at 197, India wrapped up remaining batsmen for an additional 59 runs and invited Sri Lanka to follow-on.Mendis fell early again and was followed by Kulasekara in the 13th over. Iyer compounded Sri Lanka’s problems by removing Dumindu and Bhanuka off successive balls before Sri Lanka recovered through Sadeera Samarawickrama, whose 88 off 141 balls included 15 fours and a six.But the home side were staring at defeat when Samawickrama fell, soon after notching up Sri Lanka’s only century partnership in the match with Thilaksha Sumanasiri. Sumanasiri’s half-century continued the resistance, though, and he ate away enough time before he fell for 62 off 133 balls for the last-wicket pair to hold on till the end of day’s play.

Hampshire batsman Neil McKenzie made light of bowler-friendly conditions to frustrate Gloucestershire on the second day of their Division Two match

07-Aug-2012
ScorecardHampshire batsman Neil McKenzie made light of bowler-friendly conditions to frustrate Gloucestershire on the second day of their Division Two match. Facing a youthful seam attack in the cold and damp, the 36-year-old served up defiance aplenty to post an unbeaten half-century as Hampshire reached 104 for 2 in reply to Gloucestershire’s 271 on a rain-interrupted day in which 63 overs were lost.Adopting attack as the best form of defence, McKenzie helped himself to nine boundaries on his way to 52 not out from 84 balls and shared in a stand of 79 for the second wicket with Bilal Shafayat to suggest promotion-chasing Hampshire can build a significant first-innings lead in improving overhead conditions when play resumes on Wednesday.Recruited as a short-term replacement for the injured Michael Carberry, the former South Africa international was picked ahead of young England Lions batsman James Vince, to the disappointment of chairman of selectors, Geoff Miller, who travelled on to Old Trafford to monitor other prospects rather than remain in Bristol.Given that Hampshire’s priority is to achieve promotion back to Division One, the decision to include the experienced McKenzie at the top of the order made sense and he more than justified his selection.The right-hander was unfazed by the low cloud and light drizzle that proved such a deterrent to spectators. Prepared to bide his time and wait for the bad ball, McKenzie proved especially strong on the leg side, opting to take the game to Gloucestershire’s bowlers after Jimmy Adams had departed for 9, caught behind fending at a rising delivery from Ian Saxelby.Quite content to drop anchor and see off the new ball, Shafayat served as a perfect foil, grafting his way to 20 from 51 balls. Desperate to break the partnership, Gloucestershire skipper Alex Gidman called on Benny Howell and the former Hampshire player duly obliged, having Shafayat held by Rob Nicol at second slip off his 14th delivery.Sensing an opportunity to apply pressure, Gloucestershire were then frustrated by the rain, which caused play to be abandoned for the rest of the day.Resuming on 265 for 8, Gloucestershire’s tail offered precious little resistance when play finally began after a delay of 45 minutes in the morning. Richard Coughtrie represented the home side’s last chance of garnering a third batting bonus point and he had added just three runs to his overnight score when he was pinned lbw by James Tomlinson for 26.Kabir Ali had David Payne caught behind in the very next over to wrap up the innings, the former England seamer finishing with figures of 3 for 69.

A round-up of the first day’s matches in the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2011In a thrilling finish, Joshua Hall hit the penultimate ball of Ireland Under-19s’ innings for four to give them a one-wicket victory against United States of America Under-19 on the opening day of the ICC Under-19 World Cup qualifying tournament in Dublin. After stuttering early in their chase of 178, Ireland had recovered through a couple of solid lower-order partnerships and had brought the equation down to six runs required off 21 balls with three wickets in hand. But a wicket fell in the 47th over and then Adam Coughlan, who had led Ireland’s recovery, was trapped lbw by seamer Mital Patel to bring USA back into the game. Ireland needed just three runs off 15 balls then but then next 13 deliveries yielded just one run before Hall’s boundary.USA had managed their total of 177 thanks to some lower order contributions after they were 82 for 5 at one stage. Jodhbir Singh was their top-scorer with 36. In the chase, Ireland collapsed to 86 for 6 before Coughlan and Graeme McCarter began the comeback.Nepal Under-19s spinners Rahul Vishwakarma and Prithu Baskota ran through Afghanistan Under-19s batting line-up to deliver their team a win. Nepal had been bowled out for 154 in 44.3 overs but left-armer Vishwakarma’s 4 for 23 and offspinner Baskota’s 3 for 19 helped them skittle Afghanistan for 112. Afghanistan had made a decent beginning to their chase with Hashmatullah Shaidi and Shir Shirzai putting together a 53-run stand for the second wicket. After that though, wickets fell in clusters, and in the end the victory margin was 42 runs. Nepal had reached their total thanks mainly to opener Subash Khakurel’s steady 54, the only half-century in the match.Canada Under-19 prevailed in a closely-fought encounter against Scotland Under-19 in Dublin. They were boosted by a century from opener Nitish Kumar, who smashed 11 fours and two sixes in his 93-ball knock. Nitish’s partnership of 78 with Kyle Edghill and a quickfire 44 from Rayyan Pathan, off just 24 balls, took Canada to a challenging 212 in 35 overs.Seamer Jobanjot Singh’s early strikes hurt Scotland in their response but the middle order stepped up. Freddie Coleman made a quick 36, Mathew Cross made scored 21 at better than a run a ball, Peter Ross contributed 43 and Aman Bailwal gave Scotland hope by top-scoring with 63. With Bailwal at the crease, Scotland were very much in it but when he fell with the score on 201 in the penultimate over, the lower order didn’t last long and the innings folded for 206 with two balls to spare. Jobanjot finished with four wickets.Namibia Under-19 eased to an 89-run win over Papua New Guinea Under-19 at the Hills Cricket Club Ground. There was no standout performer in Namibia innings but the team was helped by a series of valuable contributions: a quick 49 from opener Justin Baard, a steady 44 from captain Stephen Baard, 44 from Zhivago Groenewald who smashed four sixes and an unbeaten 33 from Christopher Coombe. The effort propelled Namibia to 232, a score their bowlers comfortably defended. Coombe and Groenewald shared six wickets in the chase and an unbeaten 41 from Toua Tom at No.9 was the only significant resistance from a PNG batsman. PNG were bowled out for 143.Kenya Under-19 thrashed Vanuatu Under-19 at the Merrion Cricket Club Ground. Opener Kennedy Ochieng made 85 and was assisted by Duncan Allan, who made 47 in 38 balls, and a half-century from wicketkeeper Irfan Karim. Their contributions took Kenya to 238 for 4 in 38 overs, and proved too much for Vanuatu. Allan struck two early blows in the chase and though the middle order attempted a recovery, the target proved well beyond the batsmen. Nalin Nipiko top-scored with 25, but the batting could not withstand the offspin of Rahul Vishram, who took 4 for 9. Vanuatu were skittled out for just 102.

The Bombay High Court has reserved its judgement on the petition filed by suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi against the BCCI until Thursday

Cricinfo staff14-Jul-2010The Bombay High Court has reserved its judgement on the petition filed by suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi against the BCCI until Thursday, a day before Modi is supposed to appear before the board’s disciplinary committee. Modi had asked the court to quash the BCCI’s proceedings against him.The court heard arguments from both sides today. According to the , Modi’s lawyer Virag Tulzhapurkar argued that his client cannot expect an “impartial and honest” decision from the disciplinary committee. “[The] decision of this committee is a foregone conclusion,” Tulzhapurkar said.Modi wants the court to appoint a mutually acceptable and independent person, or panel, to judge his case. He has already demanded the removal of interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin from the committee, claiming Amin holds a grudge against him for revealing that he was part of a failed bid for one of the two new IPL franchises.The other two members of the committee are board vice-presidents Arun Jaitley and Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who replaced Manohar. At the hearing, Tulzhapurkar said Jaitley should not be on the panel either because he had voted to ratify the charges against Modi at the board’s special general body meeting on July 3.Modi moved the High Court against the BCCI last week following the board’s vote to ratify the charges against him and refer them to its disciplinary committee.Modi was suspended immediately following the conclusion of IPL 3 and charged with financial irregularities relating to the bidding process for IPL franchises, the mid-over ad sales and the sale of theatrical rights. He was also charged with colluding to set up a rebel league in England. Modi had repeatedly accused Manohar and Srinivasan of harbouring personal grudges against him, and insisted neither of them should be involved in deciding his case.

Uncapped Bilal Sami, Darwish Rasooli and Abdul Malik also named for Afghanistan’s first bilateral ODI series against SA

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2024Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan is set to be back in ODIs for the first time since the World Cup last October-November, after being named in the 17-member squad to face South Africa in the upcoming three-match series in the UAE.However, Afghanistan continue to miss the services of mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is still recovering from a sprain in the index finger of his right hand, even as they left out wristspinner Noor Ahmad. Chief selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil said offspinner AM Ghazanfar, who had made his ODI debut in March, “will cover” for Mujeeb against South Africa.But Rashid’s return helps make up for Mujeeb and Noor’s absence. Rashid was ruled out of Afghanistan’s ongoing one-off Test against New Zealand, with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) saying he can’t play red-ball cricket till he gets medical clearance due to an “ongoing injury”.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rashid had undergone back surgery after last year’s World Cup, and was thus out of action for four months, during which time he missed entire assignments against UAE, India and Sri Lanka, and ODIs against Ireland. That apart, Rashid also had to withdraw from the BBL, PSL and the SA20, before finally returning to action in the Ireland T20Is this March.Since his surgery, Rashid has only played T20s, following up his comeback series with the IPL, T20 World Cup, MLC, the Hundred, and the Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL), Afghanistan’s domestic T20 competition. But after back trouble, Rashid also injured his hamstring while playing for Trent Rockets in the Hundred, as a result missing the last week of the competition, before facing back issues again at the SCL, where he played three games.Meanwhile, Afghanistan have also called up uncapped medium-pace bowler Bilal Sami, and top-order batters Darwish Rasooli and Abdul Malik for the ODIs against South Africa. While Rasooli has played seven T20Is and Malik has played two Tests, Sami is yet to represent Afghanistan in any format.According to an ACB release, Malik was called up to act as cover for the injured opening batter Ibrahim Zadran, whose ankle sprain first forced him to miss the one-off Test against New Zealand, and now rules him out of the ODIs against South Africa.The three-match ODI series begins on September 18, with all games to be played in Sharjah. This will be the first time that Afghanistan and South Africa will be facing-off in a bilateral ODI series, having only met at the 2019 and 2023 World Cups before.For Afghanistan, this series will serve as preparation for the Champions Trophy early next year, for which they qualified for the first time by finishing sixth in the league stage of the 2023 World Cup.

Afghanistan squad for South Africa ODIs

Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran, Fareed Ahmad

Also, Cricket Scotland announces annual contracts, offering them to women cricketers for the first time

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2023Scotland have recalled pace bowlers Alasdair Evans and Adrian Neill for the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.Last week, Evans signed a professional contract with Cricket Scotland for the 2023-2024 season. Now he is in line to play his first ODI since October 2021.Those were the only two changes from the side that lifted the Cricket World Cup League 2 trophy in February. They replaced Liam Naylor and Kyle Coetzer, who retired from international cricket in March. The 15-member squad will be led by Richie Berrington.Related

• Doug Watson named Scotland's interim head coach

• Paul, Motie named in West Indies squad for World Cup Qualifier

According to a Cricket Scotland release, “a number of players with county contracts were considered for selection but were unavailable due to their commitments in domestic cricket during the early part of the summer”.”I think there’s a good mixture in this squad of youth and senior players who’ve been around a while – the likes of Richie [Berrington] and George [Munsey], as well as some exciting young talent in Jack Jarvis and Chris McBride,” Scotland’s interim head coach Doug Watson said.”It’s moving into winter over there [in Zimbabwe] just now, and the conditions are changing, and will be quite spin-friendly, but the key thing will be for us to adapt to the conditions and approach the games the way we want to play them.”Watson has a new backroom staff for the tournament. Graeme Beghin (batting & fielding lead) and Glenn Pocknall (bowling lead) will act as assistant coaches, with Gavin Cross joining the tour as physiotherapist.The squad will fly to Pretoria in South Africa on Saturday, June 3, for a pre-tournament training camp. They will also play two warm-up games against Nepal and Netherlands, before travelling on to Zimbabwe.Scotland will be among ten teams in the Qualifiers fighting for two spots in the ODI World Cup in India later this year. The eight others – apart from hosts Zimbabwe – are West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Oman, Nepal, USA and UAE.Scotland squad: Richie Berrington (capt), Matthew Cross, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Jack Jarvis, Michael Leask, Tom Mackintosh, Chris McBride, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Adrian Neill, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Mark WattKatherine Fraser was one of the nine women cricketers who signed annual contracts last week•ICC via Getty

Cricket Scotland offers annual contracts to women cricketers for first time

On May 10, Cricket Scotland announced men’s and women’s contracts for the 2023-24 season. It was the first time that paid contracts were offered to women players.This builds on the introduction in 2021 to pay equal match fees to men’s and women’s players.In all, fourteen men and nine women cricketers signed contracts, with varying bands recognising the needs of players and the organisation. The contracts run from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.Men’s contracts: Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Ally Evans, Chris Greaves, Jack Jarvis, Michael Leask, Chris McBride, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Liam Naylor, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Mark WattWomen’s contracts: Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Priyanaz Chatterji, Katherine Fraser, Lorna Jack, Ailsa Lister, Megan McColl, Orla Montgomery, Hannah Rainey, Ellen Watson