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The British government appears to have ended speculation that it will step in to prevent Zimbabwe from touring England in 2009 and has reiterated its policy of leaving the final decision to the ECB.It had been believed that a harder line towards Zimbabwe under Gordon Brown could lead to the government refusing to grant visas to the Zimbabwe team for the bilateral Test and one-day series. But speaking in a debate in the House of Lords, Lord Malloch-Brown made it clear that no such action would be taken.”The Foreign Secretary and others in this government have made it clear that we do not encourage the ECB to allow Zimbabwe to tour England in 2009 or England to tour Zimbabwe in 2012 if the situation in the country is as it is now,” he said. “We continue to speak to the ECB about these issues but it remains a decision for the board. We have decided that the government can make their position clear, but that it is not for us to intervene directly in this matter.”Lord Morris of Harmsworth, the former TUC leader Bill Morris, was unimpressed. “I was proud that our Prime Minister declined to attend the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon because he did not wish to be in the same room as Mugabe. That was a good start. But if the Prime Minister does not want to be in the same room as Mugabe, is it right to expect our sportsmen and women to be on the same field of play as representatives of that regime? John Howard, as Prime Minister of Australia, gave a clear lead. He said that Australian cricketers would not play against Zimbabwe. If that is good enough for Australia, it should be good enough for the United Kingdom.”Kate Hoey, the former sports minister and chair of the parliamentary all-party committee on Zimbabwe, told Cricinfo that she was surprised at Lord Malloch-Brown’s statement. “It does not seem to reflect the views of Downing Street earlier this year,” she said. “It would be a travesty if we gave visas to any Zimbabwean cricket team to tour and I want to see the prime minister clarify the situation.”I think it would be a good idea if we asked to meet Giles Clarke [the ECB chairman] so that we can exchange views on sporting links with Zimbabwe.”If the government maintains the line suggested by Malloch-Brown then it makes it likely the tour will proceed. It forms part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, and were the ECB not to honour its commitment then it would face multi-million pound fines from the ICC. However, were the series to be scrapped because of government intervention, as happened in Australia and New Zealand, then there would be no such fine.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCameron Bancroft was awarded the Man of the Match for his counterattacking 72•Getty Images

Despite their dominance of the BBL over the years, Perth Scorchers have repeatedly been written off. After they slumped to 2 for 1 in the second over to a formidable Sydney Thunder attack, the Scorchers could probably hear the scepticism reverberating. However, once again, the defending champion’s famed resilience reared and another finals appearance looks assured after a 30-run victory over the Thunder at Spotless Stadium in Sydney.Notching their fourth win of the BBL, the Scorchers pulled a game clear of the Thunder after both teams were deadlocked at second on the ladder.Largely due to contrasting, but highly effective, half centuries from precocious youngsters Cameron Bancroft and Ashton Agar, the Scorchers recovered from the perilous early position to compile 5 for 175 after being sent in to bat.It was a total the highly disciplined Scorchers attack always looked likely to defend. On television commentary, Mark Waugh rated Thunder paceman Andre Russell the “best fast bowler in the competition”. Waugh may have a change of heart after Scorchers spearhead Jason Behrendorff (3 for 26 off 4 overs) again produced a scintillating display claiming the early wickets of Aiden Blizzard and the out-of-form Jacques Kallis to leave the Thunder reeling at 2 for 17 after three overs.Shane Watson, the Thunder’s acting captain in place of an injured Mike Hussey, looked in sparkling form counterattacking young Scorchers paceman Joel Paris, who is set to make his ODI debut against India next week.But Watson fell just when he looked threatening, playing on for 18 to leave the Thunder 3 for 49 in the ninth over.The Thunder’s chase looked forlorn until the powerful Russell produced an extraordinary display of brutish batting. In the ultimate purple patch, Russell smashed five sixes in eight deliveries between overs 12 and 14.The most noteworthy of the bunch was a slog off Behrendorff that astonishingly went 116 metres, just one metre short of Dan Christian’s tournament record.But Behrendorff showed his form, snaring the crucial scalp of Russell, assisted by a clutch catch from Paris after the ball swirled high in the air. Russell compiled a highly entertaining 20-ball 42 but his dismissal effectively ended the Thunder’s hopes, and they eventually finished well short of the target at 9 for 145.A comprehensive victory looked unlikely earlier in the day when the Scorchers struggled mightily with the bat at the beginning of their innings. Much of the Scorchers’ batting had revolved around their opening partnership of Shaun Marsh and Michael Klinger, the Scorchers captain, who was out in the first over for a duck, followed quickly by the dismissal of Marcus Harris.Marsh looked in fine touch compiling 28 with ease, but his dismissal halted the Scorchers’ comeback and left them delicately poised at 3 for 64 in the 11th over. The Scorchers perceived weakness was their inexperienced middle-order, which had hardly batted throughout the tournament due to Klinger and Marsh’s domination.Making a mockery of that perception, Bancroft and Agar combined for Scorchers’ fourth-wicket record partnership of 105 off just 51 balls. Bancroft, a technically correct batsman, played orthodox yet powerfully, particularly through the off side. Smartly, he rotated the strike early in a determined rebuild attempt, and then impressively muscled numerous shots down the ground.In a notable contrast to his teammate, Agar looks ungainly at times with minimal footwork and a wild swing of the bat. But at the core of his burgeoning batting is his attentiveness; Agar watches the ball closely and when in rhythm, morphs into a stylish and powerful batsman. His effervescence was infectious, as the pair scurried between the wickets, rattling the suddenly ragged Thunder.Agar’s cavalier approach netted 68 off 34 balls in his first BBL half-century, while Bancroft scored a 53-ball 72.The impressive performances of their youngsters will well please the Scorchers, who will be without the services of Marsh for the remainder of the BBL.

ScorecardFile photo: Kamlesh Makvana picked up 7 for 100 to run through Jammu & Kashmir’s line-up•K Sivaraman

Saurashtra wrapped up an innings and 63-run victory against Jammu & Kashmir to book their spot in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals, thanks to a seven-for from offspinner Kamlesh Makvana. Saurashtra, who had ridden on a century from Sheldon Jackson and fifties from Samarth Vyas and Jaydev Unadkat, eventually ended their innings on 497, earning a lead of 359 runs. J&K, who had folded for 138 in their first innings, once again lost wickets in a hump in their second, falling to 89 for 4. Ian Dev Singh held the innings together by scoring a brisk 127, but no other batsman gave him company at the other end to forge a threatening partnership. Makvana collected 7 for 100 to run through the line-up and bowl J&K out for 296.
ScorecardJharkhand were on course to qualifying for the knockouts, as Saurabh Tiwary’s unbeaten double-hundred earned the team a big lead, before the bowlers reduced Hyderabad to 169 for 6 in their second innings. Four more wickets on day four in Uppal will mean Jharkhand will join Saurashtra from Group C in the knockout stage. Jharkhand, who began the day at 360 for 6, declared for 388 for 8 soon after Tiwary, the overnight batsman, reached his double-hundred, meaning that Hyderabad needed to score at least 243 to make the visitors bat again. Those plans were thrown into disarray, as Hyderabad lost wickets at key intervals. Despite a half-century from Bavanaka Sandeep, three blows towards the end of the day meant the team was staring at defeat. Rahul Shukla and Shahbaz Nadeem picked up two wickets apiece.
ScorecardServices took firm control of their clash in Tripura, after bowling Tripura out for 229 and enforcing the follow on, though they are now out of the running for a place in the knockouts. Tripura, who began the day at 45 for 1, failed to gather any momentum in their innings and lost wickets at regular intervals, with Diwesh Pathania (3 for 49), Muzzaffaruddin Khalid (2 for 62) and Anshul Gupta (2 for 11) making key strikes. Saurabh Das, the No.8 batsman, was the team’s highest scorer with 53, but it was not enough to drag Tripura anywhere close to Services’ first-innings total of 512, as the hosts folded for 229. After being asked to bat again, Tripura saw out the last three overs of the day in their second innings without any damage.

The Indian board (BCCI) has decided to “infuse new, young blood” in its team of umpires to improve the standard of umpiring in the country – which has come under the scanner in the current IPL tournament – and has asked state associations to nominate four candidates each, including at least two former first class players, to appear for an examination that will be held in July.”We have decided to revive the examination that, I believe, has not been held for a while. The idea is to infuse new, young blood and improve the standard of umpiring here,” Niranjan Shah, BCCI, secretary, told Cricinfo.”The umpires who have done poorly or have been found below average may not be posted in important matches,” MP Pandove, the BCCI joint secretary, said in a press release. The decision to conduct the examination in Mumbai was among the few taken during a meeting of the BCCI’s umpires committee on Monday.S Venkataraghavan, the former India captain and BCCI’s director of umpires, will redraw the list of 30 “best umpires” to be on the board’s Elite panel, based on their performance last season that was assessed through video analysis during matches. The BCCI will also monitor the performance of its Elite panel over the next season to identity and promote potential candidates for the ICC’s panel, Pandove said.Apart from Venkatraghavan, Shah and Pandove, the BCCI’s umpires committee comprises representatives of the five zones and Stanley Saldhana, the game development manager.India have not been represented on the ICC’s Elite panel of umpires since Venkatraghavan retired in 2004. The standard of Indian umpiring has been tested during the current season of the IPL, with the cricket of a much higher profile than in a regular domestic tournament. The shortcomings were shown up by the incident involving Sourav Ganguly and umpire G A Prathapkumar, in which the umpire referred a catch to the third umpire after Ganguly, given out, had complained.

First Division

Marcus Trescothick inspired a far more resilient batting performance from Somerset on the second day against Hampshire at Taunton, the hosts moving to 159 for 1 at stumps to reduce their deficit to 74. Hampshire were dismissed for 359 with John Crawley moving from his overnight 78 to 104, while Michael Lumb made 76. Ben Phillips finally made the breakthrough to dismiss Crawley, who had barely offered a chance, forcing a thick edge low to Trescothick at second slip. Lumb and Nic Pothas then put on 48 before Pothas – who injured his calf earlier in the day – fell to the first ball after lunch. His replacement, Michael Brown, was also injured, forcing Hampshire to call on Tom Burrows, a Second XI wicketkeeper. Somerset, who limped to a hopeless 126 in the first innings, fought resiliently at their second chance with Trescothick and Neil Edwards putting on 83 for the first wicket. Edwards fell to a full-toss from Greg Lamb for an even fifty from 69 balls but Trescothick was still standing on 62 at stumps, which included six fours and a six into the River Tone.Fifties from Ryan McLaren and Yasir Arafat handed Kent the most unlikely of first innings leads over Nottinghamshire on the second day at Trent Bridge, but the home side raced to 106 for 2 at stumps to regain the lead by 70 runs. After their disastrous top-order capitulation yesterday, in which they were reduced to 5 for 4, Kent found resistance in their lower-order with McLaren cracking a vital 57, sharing in an eighth-wicket stand of 67 with Arafat as the visitors defied Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad. Sidebottom remained predictably accurate – picking up 1 for 11 in eight overs in the morning – but McLaren was strong on the drive, particularly off Broad, while Arafat tucked into Samit Patel in his 70-ball fifty. Sidebottom continued to probe and picked up his fifth wicket when Robbie Joseph edged to slip, but Kent had gained an invaluable 68-run cushion. However, after the early loss of Will Jefferson, Matthew Wood regained the momentum for Nottinghamshire with an 89-ball fifty and the hosts lead by 70 with two days to go.Click here for John Ward’s report from Old Trafford where Andrew Flintoff bagged a pair for Lancashire, before nipping out three quick Durham wickets.

Second Division

Andre Nel blitzed Middlesex’s top-order with 3 for 8 in six deliveries to lift Essex’s spirits on the second day in Chelmsford. Bowling with genuine pace and bounce, he removed Andrew Strauss for 12, Shaun Udal – the nightwatchman – first ball for 0, before condemning Ed Smith to a miserable pair. At stumps, Middlesex led by 114 – a disappointing lead considering the performance of Danny Evans earlier in the day. Evans, the 20-year-old medium-pacer, picked up his maiden five-wicket haul as Essex lost 6 for 27. Only Jason Gallian (56) and Tom Westley, whose grinding 60 spanned nearly three hours, offered much resistance in a stand of 72 before Gallian became Evans’ first victim, caught behind. Westley impressed on the drive but edged the probing Vernon Philander (3 for 45) to slip – and then Evans dominated, taking 4 for 7 in 7.5 overs to pick up 6 for 35. The match, however, remains in the balance.Jonathan Trott hit his first hundred for two years for Warwickshire who gained a slender – but potentially telling – 40-run lead over Derbyshire on the second day at Derby. After losing Ian Westwood early, the big three of Darren Maddy (57), Ian Bell (48) and Trott set about rebuilding Warwickshire’s reply to Derbyshire’s 270. Bell fell in the forties for the third time this season, though he did become the fastest Warwickshire batsmen to reach 5000 first-class runs. Bell’s England colleague Tim Ambrose cricked his neck during a warm-up routine, preventing him batting at No.6, though he did come in later to help Trott to his hundred. Derbyshire’s Tom Lungley took 4 for 8 in 21 balls – James Anyon surviving the hat-trick – to levy the balance, but Warwickshire’s lower-order fell away quickly to leave the match intriguingly poised.

The Wellington allrounder, Grant Elliott, has been named in New Zealand’s 13-man squad for the first Test against England at Hamilton, which starts on Wednesday.Elliott, 28, was born in Johannesburg but has completed his national qualification, and impressed the selectors with 2 for 12 from eight overs and a composed innings of 28 during England’s tour match at Dunedin. He is one of seven players in that match to have been included in the squad, including the seamer Iain O’Brien, who beat his new-ball partner Mark Gillespie to the final place.New Zealand’s selector, Dion Nash, said that Elliott is a solid middle-order batsman and a good bowling option with his ability to swing the ball. He enjoyed a productive season for Wellington in 2006-07, with 361 runs in seven matches at 45.12, including two of his three career centuries. He has been less prolific this year, although he provides the selectors with a handy back-up for their established allrounder, Jacob Oram.””I came for a lifestyle change and also for my cricket, but as soon as I arrived in New Zealand and made it my home, I had aspirations of playing international cricket for New Zealand,” said Elliott after his call-up. “It’s a really tough move to make, because you always grow up thinking you’re going to be a Springbok or a Protea and then you make that change to another country.”Elliott’s allegiance was cemented last winter when he was selected to play for New Zealand A. “When I opened the bag and saw the silver fern that was a real indication that New Zealand’s my home – and I’ll give everything for New Zealand,” he said. “I’m a permanent resident now, I think I can push for my citizenship soon, which I’m quite keen to do. Moving here has been great; New Zealand Cricket have been wonderful, and I consider myself a Kiwi now.”Another notable inclusion in the Test squad is Jamie How, who excelled during New Zealand’s recent one-day series victory with 201 runs at 50.25, including an 86-ball century at Napier. His innings of 65 in the Dunedin warm-up was enough to confirm his place alongside Matthew Bell at the expense of Craig Cumming, with Ross Taylor and Mathew Sinclair also included from the Select XI top-order. The out-of-form Peter Fulton misses out. He has suffered a reoccurrence of a right-knee injury, and will be reassessed prior to the second Test.New Zealand squad 1 Matthew Bell, 2 Jamie How, 3 Stephen Fleming, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Mathew Sinclair, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Iain O’Brien, 11 Chris Martin, 12 Grant Elliott, 13 Jeetan Patel.

It was a sense of deja vu as Devon Conway and Tom Latham seemingly batted West Indies out of the match for the second time in four days’ space. But the visiting openers Brandon King and John Campbell once again put on a defiant stand, taking them to stumps without any damage done and 419 runs away from their target.Conway and Latham, who added 323 runs for the first wicket in the first innings, racked up centuries again as they put on a 192-run opening stand in New Zealand’s second dig, helping them set West Indies 462 on a testing pitch with uneven bounce.Conway and Latham scored their second centuries of the match, becoming the first pair of openers to score twin tons in the same game in all first-class cricket. Their efforts, along with a 72-run partnership off just 37 balls between Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra helped New Zealand extend their dominance, after taking a 155-run first-inning lead earlier in the day by bowling out West Indies for 420.Kavem Hodge, who finished unbeaten on his career-best 123, provided the only two breakthroughs in New Zealand’s second innings, removing the prolific openers thanks to some terrific catching by Jayden Seales in the deep.Tom Latham scored twin centuries in the Test•MB Media/Getty Images

The pitch had deceptive bounce. Where a shooter from Hodge kept so low to Latham that it nearly bounced twice before reaching him, a length ball from Jacob Duffy also reared up on Anderson Phillip to take the shoulder of his blade for the first wicket of the day. The very next ball, a bouncer stayed much lower to crash into Shai Hope’s abdomen – not making matters any better for him after he missed the last two days’ play with food poisoning.The day started off with Duffy removing Phillip and Hope in his first two overs. While Phillip was done in by extra bounce, Hope tried to pull away a proper short ball and top edged it to long leg. But like Phillip, Seales put in a solid rearguard effort to extend West Indies’ resistance.However, Hodge chose to let the tailenders face a large chunk of the bowling. Of the 69 balls Hodge and Seales faced for their 29-run partnership, Seales faced 53. When Ajaz Patel had Seales bowled with a slider, Hodge took a single off the first ball of the next over and Michael Rae had Kemar Roach nicking off next ball to end West Indies’ innings.Roach had walked off injured on the first day and didn’t bowl on the second day. He didn’t bowl during New Zealand’s second innings either.With the awkward bounce even more pronounced when the ball was hard and new, Conway and Latham had to start off watchfully, with Seales looking especially menacing. Conway picked up the first boundary with a glorious cover drive, and soon he started driving through the off side more regularly.The first NZ batter to score a double ton and a century in the same Test, Devon Conway•AFP/Getty Images

While Latham was happy to hang around, Conway took charge of the scoring. If Conway scored through off against the quicks, he used his feet against Roston Chase’s offspin launch him over the leg side. It took him just 63 deliveries to bring up his half-century.Latham soon shifted gears after ambling to 18 off 52 deliveries. His only boundary until then came off an under-edge that went through Tevin Imlach’s legs, but he hit Chase for back-to-back boundaries to start the 21st over. Latham used the sweep to good effect, but also made good use of his feet.When Seales returned to the attack, Latham drove him through the covers first ball before a pick-up pull over fine leg for a six. He then pulled a Glenn Phillips long hop to the long-leg boundary to bring up his half-century off 77 balls.There was a 49-ball period without a boundary after that, during which Conway became the first New Zealand batter to follow up a double-century with a century in the same Test. In the final over before tea, Latham went 6, 4, 4 against Phillips, which included a no-ball, in an 18-run over.The first over after tea brought West Indies some respite as Conway didn’t get enough distance when he tried to launch Hodge over midwicket. Seales ran to his left, grabbing the ball above his head before tossing it in the air and catching it again after crossing the boundary rope and jumping back in.Latham then found the boundary a couple more times en route to a 16th Test century before miscuing a hoick off Hodge that Seales had to dive to catch at deep midwicket.It was an odd day for Williamson. Usually elegant and composed, he kept getting himself into a tangle, especially as he tried to play the reverse-sweep with great abandon. He was getting in position for that shot so early, that on multiple occasions he ended up playing vertical drives down the ground as a left-hander when the bowlers saw him shape up for the reverse and pitched the ball full.Kane Williamson played an innings full of reverse sweeps•Getty Images

Even when he was trying to slog it away or skip down the ground, he was struggling to get any rhythm, but managed to keep the scoreboard ticking. He managed one six and two fours, his only boundaries in a quick knock of 40 off 37 balls.Rachin, meanwhile, found it easier to take on Chase and Hodge, consistently lofting them in the region between midwicket and long-off.King and Campbell had put on 111 in the first innings, and the duo once again gave West Indies team a platform to build on. Even though there is a long time to go in the game, that West Indies will begin the fifth day with all 10 wickets in hand will give them a big boost.Campbell started out watchfully, while King was more enterprising against the new ball. By the time Campbell got off the mark off the 21st ball he faced, King had raced to 35 off 27 with a handful of drives on the off side.However, as the ball got softer and New Zealand switched to spin, even King reined in his instincts and along with Campbell, played the session out, setting up a fifth day where the game could go any way.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

In one of the most gripping Tests in recent memory, little could separate India and South Africa as the crumbling pitch at Kanpur produced another enthralling day. Punch followed counter-punch in a match that had all the makings of a classic, and it took a masterful innings from Sourav Ganguly to give India a slender 23-run advantage.A fizzer of a pitch made way for a gripping encounter, one where nobody could afford to miss even a ball. Just when the bowling side appeared to have sized up the situation, a partnership would thwart them; just when the batsmen appeared to be well set, a snorter of a delivery would upset plans. South Africa’s lethal fast bowlers jousted with India’s tenacious batting line-up but none could get past Ganguly, who chose the right moment to produce an unforgettable innings.He walked in a few moments after Morne Morkel had unleashed a most venomous jaffa, one that injured Rahul Dravid before dismissing him. A couple of overs later he watched Morkel nip out Laxman with one that swung in and straightened. This was an uphill task against a potent bowling attack on a spiteful pitch. So composed was Ganguly’s response, so assured his shot selection, that it was difficult to believe that he was batting on the same surface.He cover-drove with assurance and handled – or manhandled – Paul Harris, the left-arm spinner, with a bit of contempt. Harris tried to keep the runs down in between bowling grenades but Ganguly’s 39 deliveries against him saw a scoring rate of a run-a-ball. Makhaya Ntini’s reverse-swing briefly troubled him but the rapacious pull that he uncorked, towards the end of the day, had the bowler looking on in disbelief.The nine fours and a six drew the gasps but it was his scampered singles that frustrated the fielders more. There were cheeky moments too – a glide that bisected the slips and a shovel off Harris that soared over midwicket – which left Graeme Smith huffing and puffing. He seemed to have won a mini battle too: a constant look out for the single led to South Africa muffing simple stops in the field.He shared two vital partnerships. Yuvraj Singh’s in-your-face approach put off the bowlers for a while – Dale Steyn was riled up enough to enter into a verbal duel – before Mahendra Singh Dhoni filled the breach. Both sized up the match situation early, hurrying singles and putting away the boundary-balls, but both were responsible for their dismissals – Yuvraj sweeping in the air and Dhoni rushing down the track as if in a last over of an ODI.

The nature of the surface and the quality of attack made life difficult for the batsmen. Not only did they need to draw on their technical expertise but also show the temperament to forget about what happened before. Virender Sehwag was rooted to the crease to one that came in but it won’t be out of place to say that the jaffa that beat him two balls earlier – after hitting a big crack – played on his mind.Dravid’s ability to play late came in handy – a couple of full deliveries were squirted to the third man region for four – and he often took his bottom hand off the bat-handle to prevent a meaty edge. But his 106-ball resistance ended with a lethal ball – one that took off from a good length, clattered the glove and ballooned to gully.Laxman was more fluent. He struck the fast bowlers crisply – the highlight being the three consecutive fours off Morne Morkel in the 15th over. He had a life on 43, when an edge off Harris eluded Jacques Kallis’ grasp at first slip, but he fell after bringing up his half-century when a ripper from Morkel swung in and straightened, knocking back off stump.India needed a few more lucky breaks – Yuvraj looked plumb when part-time offspinner Hashim Amla trapped him in front, and Ganguly saw Neil McKenzie put down a hard chance when on 40 – but that is exactly the kind of openings a team would look for in such conditions. It’s been a game of fractions, and it may well come down to which team blinks first.

Bangladesh have omitted wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim from the 14-member squad for the three-ODI series against South Africa. The selectors have named four uncapped players in the squad, including Rahim’s replacement Dhiman Ghosh, middle-order batsmen Raqibul Hasan and Nazimuddin, and left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain.Since his unbeaten match-winning half-century against India in the World Cup last year, Rahim has struggled with the bat, scoring just four runs in his last five one-dayers. That lean trot includes three consecutive ducks, prompting the selectors to give Ghosh an opportunity. Syed Rasel, the left-arm medium-pace bowler who had missed most of the Bangladesh’s New Zealand tour due to a dislocated left collar bone, has also been recalled.”Rahim is out of form so we decided to give him a break,” said Rafiqul Alam, the chairman of selectors. “Dhiman is an aggressive batsman who is in good form. He has been playing for the A Team and Academy Team regularly and his wicketkeeping has also improved. We think he can be quite destructive as a batsman in the one-day form of the game.”Aftab Ahmed, the middle-order batsman, has also been ruled out after sustaining a head injury during the second Test in Chittagong. Aftab was forced to retire hurt after a miscued hook off Jacques Kallis struck him flush on the helmet. He was kept under observation and was unable to come out to bat in the second innings.”It will take Ahmed another four to five days to recover from the injury,” Alam said. “Nazimuddin’s style of batting is similar to Ahmed. He is also an attacking batsman so we decided to give him a chance.”We also considered Mahmudullah Riyad as an allrounder but Mosharraf Hossain got in through the sheer weight of his performance in the domestic, A Team and Academy matches.”The first ODI is on Sunday, while the next two will be played in Mirpur on March 12 and 14.Squad: Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Nazim Uddin, Shahriar Nafees, Shakib Al Hasan, Dhiman Ghosh (wk), Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mosharraf Hossain, Syed Rasel, Farhad Reza, Raqibul Hasan.

Delhi is in danger of losing the second T20I between India and Sri Lanka on February 12 should it not produce requisite clearances from government agencies soon. BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur confirmed that an email was sent to the DDCA in this regard.”The BCCI has given them time till tomorrow [to respond to the email],” Thakur told ESPNcricinfo. “We can’t wait for a very long time.” He named Kanpur, Ranchi and Hyderabad as possible alternatives if Delhi failed to obtain the clearances in time. Delhi has also been allotted four matches, including a semifinal, in the World T20 beginning in March. Thakur, however, said the prevailing situation didn’t endanger Delhi’s status as a World T20 host. “This has no connection [to the World T20].”DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda said he was hopeful of securing the clearances in two days. “Since today is a holiday we will reply to the BCCI tomorrow explaining our position.”There was a similar cloud hanging over the fate of the fourth Test between India and South Africa in December, before the Delhi High Court stepped in to provide interim relief by asking the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to provide provisional clearance to the DDCA.There have also been reports of the DDCA being in arrears of payments towards expenses made during the South Africa Test. According to , the DDCA owed Embassy Caterers Rs 11.5 lakh, and had also undertaken expenses worth Rs 41 lakh on repair/installation work on seats and printing tickets. Manchanda, though, denied the claims and said payments to vendors had already been made.However, Justice Mukul Mudgal, who was appointed by the Delhi High Court to oversee the conduct of the Delhi Test between India and South Africa, and also the activities of the DDCA in the process of securing permanent clearances for the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, has not signed the bills yet. “I am still scrutinising it,” he told ESPNcricinfo, but refused to go into the specifics.DDCA’s fresh round of troubles come barely a week after Mudgal submitted a scathing report on the association’s lack of transparency and mismanagement to a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court. The report pointed to the absence of records which hampered transparency, and delay in payments to vendors.”For the previous matches, no records were available to indicate how quotations were invited, how the vendors to whom work was allotted were selected, how the competitiveness of the rates was ascertained,” Mudgal noted. “There were no minutes, or record of the tender committee or committees set up for different tasks. There were no agreements with the selected vendors in the past available for perusal.”Many vendors complained that their bills for earlier matches organised during the last 2-3 years were not cleared. This resulted in a large number of vendors not bidding and others quoting higher rates to cover the risk of huge delays in getting payment.”The report had also revealed the DDCA hadn’t filed a balance sheet for 2014-15.