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Somerset sign former Warwickshire opener until end of 2023 season

Matt Roller22-Jul-2022Andy Umeed, the former Warwickshire opener, has become the first graduate of the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) scheme to sign a multi-year contract with a county after agreeing a deal with Somerset until the end of the 2023 season.SACA describes itself as an “intervention programme designed to tackle the inequalities highlighted by research regarding the lack of British South Asian representation in professional cricket” and was launched in full this season in partnership with Birmingham City University.The research underpinning the scheme shows that 30% of recreational cricketers in England and Wales are British South Asian, compared to only 5% of professional British male players. A SACA XI has played regular fixtures against county second XIs this season and a number of players have earned county trials as a result.Umeed trialled for Yorkshire this season after making 77 against their second team and has now earned a contract with Somerset which runs until the end of next season. Somerset have struggled with the bat this season and Umeed will effectively replace James Hildreth, who is expected to retire at the end of the year and has not played in the Championship since May.He becomes the second SACA graduate to sign a professional contract after Kashif Ali, who played seven games for Worcestershire in the T20 Blast and has signed a deal that runs until the end of this season.​”I’m really grateful for this opportunity and it means everything to me,” Umeed, 26, said. “Being a cricketer is all I’ve ever wanted to do. My journey has highlighted how much I love playing cricket. Being out of the game has given me perspective and made me realise just how lucky I am to be able to keep pursuing my dream.”There have been ups and downs in my career so far, but this goes to show that if you keep doing your best and work hard then the rewards will come.”The South Asian Cricket Academy have helped me a lot. They’ve given me the opportunity to train through the winter and given me access to quality coaches. That has helped me to bridge that gap between club cricket and the professional game.”Related

• Rain prevents Somerset's victory charge against Yorkshire

• Matt Milnes stars as defending champions Warwickshire slide to heavy defeat

• Surrey consolidate top spot after Overton's 'day-hawk' gambit

• Umeed records second slowest century in Championship history

• SACA set up to help British Asian players into county cricket

Andy Hurry, Somerset’s director of cricket, said: “We have been impressed with what we have seen from Andy during his time with us this summer. Andy’s story is a great reflection of his determination to succeed.”Having had the opportunity to observe him within the Second XI Championship this summer, where his assuredness, approach and method to scoring runs has impressed both coaches and fellow players, we are delighted he has agreed to join the club and we look forward to seeing his journey within the game continue to evolve”.Meanwhile, Tom Banton has hinted that he will extend his stay at the club, having been linked with a move away. Banton’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season but he told the club’s YouTube stream during their game against Yorkshire: “There’s only one club I’ll be at next year so don’t worry.”I’ve been signing stuff in the crowd and I’ve heard all sorts. I’m only ever going to be at one club. I think it had to be addressed because everywhere I went it was getting asked. Don’t worry.”

Former England Lions wicketkeeper-batter has impressed in Championship and Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2022Tom Alsop has joined Sussex on a full-time basis after impressing in the first two months of a season-long loan from Hampshire.Alsop, the wicketkeeper-batter and former England Lions player, has averaged 31.30 in the early stages of the County Championship season, including a hundred against Middlesex, and hit 65 off 30 balls on his T20 debut for the club against Kent last week.Related

• Duffy signs short-term Kent contract to ease injury crisis

• Tattersall, Brook guide Yorkshire to victory as Notts wobble

• Alsop inflicts third straight defeat on defending champions Kent

• Alsop, Orr give Sussex the edge against Middlesex

• Alsop signs for Sussex on season-long loan

“To sign permanently for Sussex is great news,” Alsop said. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with Sussex and I’m glad that I have made a decent start to the season in both formats of the game.”I’d like to thank Hampshire and I’d like to say a massive thank you to the coaching staff at Sussex for believing in me and to everybody else who has made me feel at home so quickly.”Alsop was a product of Hampshire’s pathway system and played 146 games for them across formats, with his innings of 72 in the 2018 Royal London Cup final – which Hampshire won – among his best moments for the club.His form as a young player earned him England Lions call-ups in 2016-17, and Giles White, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said he had made “a significant contribution across all formats”.Sussex said in a statement that Alsop had signed a two-year permanent deal which will become active upon the completion of his loan deal in November.

Ross Taylor will postpone his birthday celebrations as he races to be fit for the deciding ODI against England in Christchurch

Andrew McGlashan in Dunedin07-Mar-20181:57

‘Magnificent’ Taylor levels one-day series

Ross Taylor will postpone his birthday celebrations as he races to be fit for the deciding ODI against England in Christchurch after suffering a recurrence of his leg injury during his monumental 181 in Dunedin.Diving for the crease on 109, Taylor appeared to aggravate the quad injury that kept him out of the Wellington match although the exact diagnosis will not be known until Thursday. He also suffered cramp, but after being strapped up by the physio was able to see New Zealand to a memorable series-levelling chase.Taylor, who will be 34 on Thursday, has been carrying a special bottle of wine around with him ready to mark the occasion – but those plans are now being put on hold, with isotonic drinks the main order of the next 48 hours.”I’m not plugging my birthday, but I did have a very nice bottle of wine in my suitcase which I was going to open but, damn it, don’t think I can have it if I’m to give myself any chance of playing on Saturday,” Taylor said.Taylor added that he felt the same pain he suffered in Mount Maunganui when he went down earlier in the series following a series of blows on his legs in Hamilton and during practice, suggesting it was more of a dead-leg issue than a strain. Whether this latest problem is more serious remains to be seen, but the turnaround to Christchurch is just three days.”We’ll just wait and see,” he said. “I’ll give myself the best chance of playing.”His feat at University Oval was still sinking in shortly after the victory but he said the innings “has to be up there” among his best. He walked in at 2 for 2, with both openers dismissed for ducks, but started to rebuild alongside Kane Williamson before the major stand of 187 with Tom Latham.It was as that fourth-wicket stand reached about 80 that Taylor really believed the chase was on, aided by the short boundaries which meant the risks of going for the ropes were reduced, while also making a concerted effort to go after Adil Rashid.”Once we got to about 160-170 I thought if we batted really well we were a chance,” Taylor said. “Until then it was just about batting and trying to get a position from where we could win. I thought we were ahead of the game when Colin de Grandhomme came out, he only got 20 but it was a great cameo which meant we could take it deep without taking risks.”If you lose three wickets in the first 10 you more often than not lose the game so we were able to tick that off, then get a little momentum. We wanted to be a little more attacking against Rashid and I think we did that well today. They had to bring other bowlers back, spin was always going to play a big part and if we could nudge it around it gave us a chance.”Taylor’s century was the decisive innings of the match, but the game turned when England collapsed to lost 8 for 46 after Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root had added 190 for the second wicket. At that point England were on target for well over 350 – a chase that Taylor said would have been “unrealistic from 2 for 2″ – but instead they barely batted out the overs.Eoin Morgan insisted it wasn’t an example of aiming too high – similar to his comments after the 2015 meeting between these sides where England were bowled out for 302 at the Ageas Bowl with overs to spare – but acknowledged it had been a poor effort at building on an ideal base from the top order.”I’m a big fan of over-ambition,” he said. “We’ve scored 400 twice, again earning the right. When two guys play out of their skin to do that, we’ve got to put the cream on the cake and the cherry on top. We were miles away from it today. Our skill level wasn’t good enough to take risks that early – whereas it should be.”This was a different style collapse to the ones England have suffered previously at the start of their innings – 20 for 6 against South Africa at Lord’s and 8 for 5 against Australia in Adelaide – and Morgan said he wouldn’t be overly concerned unless it becomes a pattern.”We’ve certainly had collapses of the top order – in the first 10, we’ve been four or five down,” he said. “But certainly when we’ve earned the right to push for a 370 score, we’ve not had a collapse like that. Normally one of us has come off.”That’s the way the batting order lines up, and that’s the way our template looks. If it continues to be a pattern we’ll look into it deeply. But everybody walking off, it’s hurting deep that we’ve not been able to capitalise on that.”

Pooran, Powell half-centuries in vain as WI still search for their first win of the tour

Sidharth Monga18-Feb-20221:09

Jaffer: Pant should continue to bat at No. 5

Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar defended 36 off the last three overs on a dewy ground and small boundaries to seal India’s series win with one match to go. Thanks to a slow start chasing 187, West Indies were to maintain a run rate of two a ball for the last nine overs. Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell pulled it off for six overs, but Harshal and Bhunveshwar denied them in the last three overs.Harshal began the turnaround with just eight off the 18th over, Bhuvneshwar followed it up with a four-run 19th over that also got Pooran out, and Harshal closed it out calmly. That India had those extra 10 or so runs to play with was down to the finish provided by Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer, who took 88 off the last seven overs after a middle-overs slowdown in which Roston Chase took three wickets for 25.If India’s problem was the middle overs, West Indies’ openers played just over a fourth of the innings between them for only 34 runs. West Indies managed only 96 runs in boundaries to India’s 108.Intent (but also struggle) at the top
India have long been criticised for conservative batting at the top of the order but of late they have all been more assertive. All three of Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Kohli looked for boundaries every half chance they got. Kishan struggled against the moving ball from Sheldon Cottrell, scoring just two off 10; Rohit didn’t find his usual timing, getting 19 off 18; but Kohli raced away, taking 29 off the first 18 balls he played. India were 49 for 1 after the powerplay.Chase pulls India back
Roston Chase played the last match only because Jason Holder was not available, but his figures of 4-0-14-2 kept him in even when Holder came back. He got into his work immediately. The pitch gripped a little, and he used his changes of pace and trajectory well.It was going to be interesting if Kohli would continue with the same intent – he hardly attempts boundaries off spin in the middle overs – but that is probably a question for another day as wickets fell around him and he probably had to delay the second assault. Rohit looked to slog a slot ball but this scrambled-seam ball didn’t turn and took a thick outside edge. Suryakumar Yadav provided a return catch as the ball stopped and turned.Kohli scored 23 off the last 23 balls he faced, getting to his fifty courtesy a drop the first time he attempted a boundary off spin post powerplay. In the same over, though, Chase spun one through the gate to make it 106 for 4 in the 14th over.Pant, Iyer provide big finish
Both these left-hand batters began with a boundary first ball. The dew was setting in, the spin overs were done. They had to propel India now. Kieron Pollard tried to slip in one over of the fifth bowler, but Pant didn’t let him, taking 14 off that 15th over. Holder and Cottrell returned to concede 15 and 13. All of a sudden, not just the fifth bowler, the two main bowlers looked under threat.1:03

Rishabh Pant: ‘We’re focused on giving chances to players where we see them fit for the team’

Shepherd does damage control
Enter Romario Shepherd, whose first over went for 15 inside the powerplay. He used the wide yorkers and changes of pace well to frustrate the two left-hand batters. The 18th over went for 12 but also just one boundary, which encouraged Pollard to give him the 20th, ahead of Cottrell. No boundary came off the last over.The slow start
 
With the ball still dry, India were spot on with the ball. Bhuvneshwar and Deepak Chahar moved the ball, Yuzvendra Chahal bowled two overs in the powerplay, and Ravi Bishnoi took on the challenge of bowling with the wetter ball. West Indies’ problem was the amount of time their openers spent in the middle. Brandon King faced 30 balls for 22, Kyle Mayers nine off 10. The legspinners perhaps did West Indies a favour, getting them out.The Pooran-Powell show
Like Pant and Iyer, Powell and Pooran put up a hitting exhibition. Memories of the 2016 World Cup semi-final must have haunted India as even good overs began to go for around 12 if they made even half a mistake. Pooran was more versatile, using the area behind square too, and Powell was pure power. In the 17th over, they hit Chahar for a six each to undo any gains made by Bishnoi and Bhuvneshwar in their previous overs.The finish
Harshal had the big challenge of bowling two overs in the last three, but he began with a plan: no pace and wide of the batters’ reach. Despite a last-ball four, he had bowled the best over of the second half of the innings. Bhuvneshwar was about to go one better, following the same formula, but also mixing in two yorkers, one wide and one straight. No boundary in that over meant Harshal had 24 to defend.Memories of another match – at the same venue – from the 2016 World Cup came back when, needing four sixes off the last four balls, Powell hit the first two out of the ground. On both occasions, Harshal went against the plan that had worked: bowled pace and on the stumps. The fifth ball was wide and off-pace, sealing a satisfactory win.

Play was delayed by 30 minutes after two members of England support staff and two family members returned positive Covid tests

Alex Malcolm27-Dec-2021Two members of England’s support staff and two family members of the support staff returned positive Covid-19 rapid antigen tests before play on day two of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The match has continued as scheduled after all the players tested negative with rapid tests although there are now questions about how the series might play out from here.Play was delayed by 30 minutes when the England team was delayed arriving at the ground due to the entire squad needing to be tested following the positive cases. There will be a full round of PCR tests on the England touring squad later on Monday while extra precautions will be taken during play.”Cricket Australia has been informed that two members of the England cricket team’s support staff and two of their family members have returned a positive Covid-19 Rapid Antigen Test,” a CA statement said.”The affected individuals are currently isolating. The entire playing group and all other support staff have undertaken Rapid Antigen Tests this morning and all have tested negative. The England cricket team will also have PCR tests today, and both teams will take extra precautions throughout play. Both playing squads remain unchanged.”There is currently no further impact on fans or other parts of the venue. Cricket Australia and the MCC will continue to monitor the situation and follow the endorsed Victorian Government Covid-Safe Event Plan.”Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley spoke shortly after play began on day two and was confident the game and the series could continue.”They’ll go undergo PCR tests,” Hockley said. “We’ll work on the basis of all the available information that we have. But certainly the medical advisers, on the basis of this morning’s precaution, they felt it appropriate to continue with the match.”New South Wales recorded 6,324 new Covid cases on Monday from 97,241 tests on Boxing Day. Hockley was confident the fourth Test in Sydney, starting on January 5, was not in danger despite the higher case numbers there.”No, I don’t think so,” Hockley said. “I think we’ve shown that we’ve got great confidence in the protocols. They are increasing case numbers in New South Wales and in Sydney. We’ve got an exclusive property for the playing group. We are flying there by charter. This is something that we’re all having to live with. So again, [we’re] just extremely appreciative to the medical staff, both squads, both sets of playing groups for adhering to the protocols which are designed to keep everybody safe.”The players eventually arrived and began their warm-up in dribs and drabs but did stand in a semi-socially distanced huddle in the middle at one point. The Australians were unaffected having arrived at the ground at their normal time and begun their warm-ups in the nets.The Victoria government announced there were 1999 new positive Covid cases from 57,818 statewide tests done on Boxing Day. But the rules in Victoria are different to what was experienced in South Australia when Pat Cummins was ruled out of the second Test in Adelaide due to being a close contact of a Covid case on the eve of the Test match. Despite returning negative tests Cummins was forced to isolate for seven days due to the rules set out by the SA health department. In Melbourne, close contacts only have to isolate until returning a negative test.Meanwhile, Australian television broadcaster Channel Seven had to completely replace their commentary team on day two in Melbourne after it was confirmed that one of their team had returned a positive Covid test. Seven Network Head of Sport Lewis Martin confirmed that the main commentary team, which includes Ricky Ponting and Sir Ian Botham are isolating and would not be part of the broadcast until they return negative PCR tests. Seven’s BBL commentary team have stepped in to fill the breach.”The Seven Network confirms it is responding after a member of staff working on the Ashes broadcast at the MCG tested positive to Covid-19 on Sunday night,” Martin said. “The staff member was asymptomatic at the time of testing and has been in self-isolation since the moment the positive result was returned.”Seven is activating its Covid measures to ensure the health and safety of all staff, as well as the broader community, and is working in line with all relevant guidelines and regulations. We are working closely with the MCG operational team and Cricket Australia.”Just as the broader community is experiencing, we have Covid response scenarios in place to ensure the impact on Seven’s broadcast is limited.”

The 38-year-old pace bowler will end an 18-year international career with a T20I against New Zealand in Delhi on November 1

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-20172:39

Not easy being a fast bowler at 38-39 – Nehra

Ashish Nehra will end his 18-year international career with the T20I against New Zealand on November 1 at his home ground, the Feroz Shah Kotla. The 38-year-old Nehra was one of the few remaining active internationals among those who began their career in the 1990s. He is also set to retire from domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League, which played a key role in paving the way for his international comeback in 2016.Through his career, Nehra had to fight injuries. It was a marvel he played as long as he did after 12 surgeries and many other small setbacks. He often jokes that the injuries aren’t on his body, but that his body is stuck somewhere among the injuries. Nehra’s many comebacks and his awareness of his body is spoken of as an example by his contemporaries. Despite all the injuries, he made comebacks at important junctures: he was a World Cup winner in 2011 and led India’s attack to the semi-finals of the World T20 in 2016.Nehra made his international debut in a Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo in February 1999, and for a few years was a consistent presence in India’s limited-overs line-ups. He was a critical part of India’s run to the final of the 2003 World Cup. His 6 for 23 against England in that event – even as he fought illness and vomited on the sidelines – remain the best figures by an Indian in World Cups.Injuries soon struck. Between September 2005 and June 2009, Nehra did not play a single international match for India, but returned in the lead-up to the 2011 World Cup. Even in that tournament, he broke his finger while going for the catch of Pakistan’s last hope, Misbah-ul-Haq, in the semi-final. He missed the final.Nehra returned to domestic cricket for the 2011-12 season and continued to play for Delhi and zonal teams in first-class and List A competitions, while also playing the IPL. He turned out for four franchises between 2012 and 2016: Pune Warriors, Delhi Daredevils, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. His most impressive season came with Super Kings in 2015, when he picked up 22 wickets to finish among the top five wicket-takers in that edition. That performance went some way towards his selection for the T20Is in Australia in January 2016, and the World T20 thereafter.When fit, Nehra was considered one of the smartest quicks to have played for India. Alongside Zaheer Khan, he was a mentor for many young fast bowlers. In a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo, he admitted he wasn’t sure “how long I can play for”. While this retirement announcement was largely expected, he didn’t rule out some sort of coaching role in the future as he likes to “share experience”.The most telling statement in the interview was: “The only one thing that is not happy that I am still playing is my body. I can play for another couple of years but it isn’t easy for a fast bowler at 38-39, especially considering the state of my body. At times when I wake up, especially in the winter in Delhi, my knees are so sore, it is half an hour before I can even leave my bed and am able to walk. I have had four surgeries in my ankle, plus my knee is always sore. But again, after half an hour or so I say to myself that I have to do it.”Nehra is yet to feature in the ongoing T20I series against Australia, with India having picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah in the first two matches. It is unlikely India will tinker with the combination for the series-decider on Friday.

Punjab made Services follow-on whereas Vidarbha took a first-innings lead against Himachal Pradesh

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2017Bengal have almost confirmed a place in the knockouts after they took a first-innings lead of 69 runs against Goa on the third day in Kolkata. After scoring 379, Bengal’s Ashok Dinda took a five-for to restrict Goa to 310. On second place in Group D with 20 points ahead of Punjab’s 15, Bengal were leading by 177 runs with seven wickets in hand and will progress with 23 points even if they draw against Goa and Punjab register an innings win against Services.Resuming on 191 for 5, Goa’s overnight batsman Amogh Desai scored an unbeaten 103 – his sixth first-class hundred – to take Goa past 300, as wickets fell at the other end. Keenan Vaz stretched his overnight score from 40 to 60 before being dismissed by Dinda. Kanishk Seth (3-77) took the next two wickets off consecutive deliveries before Heramb Parab (29) put on 52 for the ninth wicket with Desai. Bur Dinda bowled Parab and to complete his 25th five-for in first-class matches and Goa wrapped up for 310 soon.In their second innings, Bengal lost opener Abhishek Raman in the fifth over. Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sudip Chatterjee then added 58 runs for the second wicket but seamer Felix Alemao trapped Chatterjee lbw for 35. Following captain Manoj Tiwary’s wicket for 8, Shreevats Goswami (15*) and Easwaran (20*) took Bengal to 108 for 3 at stumps.Services face the prospect of an innings defeat as they still trail Punjab by 212 runs after following-on on the third day in Amritsar. After being bowled out for 315 in the first innings, they ended the third day on 118 for 3.In reply to Punjab’s massive total of 645 for 6 dec, Services resumed on their overnight score of 130 for 4 and lost three middle-order wickets for 53 runs to Manpreet Gony, who finished with a five-for. They were reeling at 188 for 7 but were boosted by a lower-order charge from Vikas Yadav (71 off 97 balls) and Diwesh Pathania (68 off 48 balls), as they added 83 runs for the eighth wicket. Following Pathania’s wicket, Vikas went on to stretch the total past 300, before they were bowled out in 71.2 overs.Trailing by 345 runs, they were made to follow-on and lost their top three batsmen in a span of 17 overs to Taruwar Kohli and Siddarth Kaul, who was later picked in the India ODI side for the Sri Lanka series. However, captain Rahul Singh and Ravi Chauhan’s unbeaten 69-run partnership helped the side recover, as the duo will look to fight it out to avoid a defeat on the last day.Captain Faiz Fazal converted his century into a double-hundred to help Vidarbha take a 103-run first-innings lead against Himachal Pradesh on the third day in Nagpur. After losing his overnight partner Sanjay Ramaswamy for 115 that ended the opening stand of 264, Fazal added a 101-run stand with Wasim Jaffer (47 off 84 balls). A collapse was triggered by Himachal seamers Rishi Dhawan (4 for 96) and Akshay Chauhan, who shared six wickets between them, to reduce Vidarbha from 381 for 2 to 456 all out. Fazal’s was the third wicket and started the collapse as no other batsman after Jaffer crossed 20.Himachal finished the day on 70 for 3 in their second innings, trailing by 33 runs, after Rajneesh Gurbani dismissed two of their top three batsmen. Nikhil Gangta (9*) and captain Sumeet Verma (10*) at the crease.

Middlesex CEO frustrated as club’s hopes of qualification take a hit in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2021A Covid-19 outbreak in the Gloucestershire squad has led to the cancellation of their Royal London Cup clash with Middlesex at Radlett on Sunday, after the visitors were forced to put all but one member of their playing staff into isolation.The news, which was confirmed by the ECB on Sunday evening, is the latest outbreak to impact the county schedule, following Kent’s fielding of a team of second XI and club players against Sussex in the County Championship last month, and the mid-match cancellation of Essex’s visit to Derbyshire, which effectively ended Essex’s hopes of defending their twin red-ball titles.The Gloucestershire outbreak was greeted with frustration by Middlesex’s chief executive, Andrew Cornish, given the impact that the shared points could have on his side’s hopes of reaching the knock-out stages of the Royal London Cup. Middlesex are currently seventh in Group A, with two wins from six.”Middlesex Cricket is extremely disappointed to hear of the cancellation of this fixture, which has a massive impact on our hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Royal London Cup,” Cornish said.”Whilst we have every sympathy with Gloucestershire’s situation, as we all endeavour to handle the impact of Covid on our playing groups, as a Club Middlesex have taken every possible step to mitigate any Covid risk to our players, and to hear that our opponents tomorrow are only able to field one player not in isolation is extremely disappointing.”In discussions with the ECB we have made every effort to get tomorrow’s game on, to no avail, and to have our campaign impacted in this way is saddening.”We will continue to discuss this situation with the ECB in the hope of a more satisfactory resolution for Middlesex Cricket.”In a statement, the ECB confirmed that Gloucestershire’s squad members would be required to self-isolate in accordance with the UK government’s existing test-and-trace protocols, and that under Playing Condition 16.11.4.5, Group A of the Royal London Cup will now be decided on an “average points per completed match” basis.Middlesex will be issuing refunds to all spectators who have pre-purchased tickets and paid for car parking to Sunday’s game.”Our thanks go to all Middlesex members and supporters who were due to attend the fixture who will sadly miss out on the opportunity to watch us in action,” Cornish added. “It’s a real shame that with so little cricket to enjoy this summer in person, you are now unable to do so tomorrow, in what promised to be a thrilling encounter.”

The Pakistan bowling consultant was scheduled to leave the squad after the first Test anyway, but has had to change his plans

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2021Vernon Philander, the former South Africa quick who is a bowling consultant with the Pakistan team currently on tour in Bangladesh, will leave the squad bubble in Chattogram tomorrow, the fourth day of the ongoing first Test, and fly back early on Tuesday because of the “shutdown of flight operations” in his home country following the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant there.Philander was, in any case, scheduled to leave for South Africa at the end of the first of two Tests, but, as a PCB media statement said at the end of the third day’s play on Sunday, he has had to change his plans because of the worsening Covid-19 situation. Concerns around a new variant, called Omicron, has already disrupted the cricket schedule in South Africa, and could impact it further in the coming days.Related

• 'Courageous' Taijul Islam delivers for Bangladesh, again, when most needed

• Women's WC qualifier in Zimbabwe called off

• SA vs Netherlands: Last two ODIs postponed

After South Africa and Netherlands had to split points because of the weather in the first ODI of their series, the second and third games were postponed, and in nearby Zimbabwe, the women’s ODI World Cup qualifying event had to be called off – and subsequently cancelled altogether – following travel restrictions being imposed on large parts of southern Africa. An India A team is currently on tour in South Africa, and that series is going to continue as planned, because India has so far not imposed any restrictions on travel to and from southern Africa.The senior Indian men’s side is also scheduled to travel to South Africa in December for a series of three Tests, three ODIs and four T20Is, and the status of that tour is also, for the moment, unchanged. But if the borders close between now and December 8-9, when the Indians are expected to fly out, the prospect of the tour taking place will be severely diminished.News of the Omicron variant became public on Tuesday, November 23, and cases in the Gauteng province of South Africa, where the Netherlands series was taking place, have increased several-fold since. Although South Africa is reporting around 2000 new cases a day, there are concerns this will rise exponentially and stricter regulations are due to be introduced soon. South Africa is currently on Level 1 of 5 of its restrictions, the most lenient since the pandemic began, and the Netherlands ODI was the first time since March 2020 that cricket was played in front of a limited crowd.

Guyana Amazon Warriors have featured in three CPL finals and lost each one of them. Their captain Martin Guptill hopes this year’s squad, which includes Afghanistan’s star legspinner Rashid Khan, can go all the way

Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill05-Aug-20172:18

‘This year’s a clean slate for Guyana’ – Guptill

Ahead of Guyana Amazon Warriors’ first training session in Florida prior to their season-opening match against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, a reunion of sorts took place in front of the pavilion. Star legspinner Rashid Khan was in the middle or being interviewed when his Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody appeared behind the camera.The two embraced and spent a few minutes catching up before Amazon Warriors captain Martin Guptill appeared. As Guptill entered the conversation, Moody jokingly offered a piece of friendly advice. “When the s*** hits the fan, just give this guy the ball and he’ll sort everything out.”As Rashid chuckled, Guptill replied, “Mate, I can’t wait to give him the ball as early I can every game.”Such is the excitement with the arrival of Rashid, one of the CPL’s first two Afghanistan players along with Patriots allrounder Mohammad Nabi, Guptill is one of many with high expectations from Rashid to help them not only reach the CPL final for a fourth time, but actually win it in 2017.”Everyone talks about how we’ve been in three finals and lost three finals but at the end of the day that’s cricket,” Guptill told ESPNcricinfo in Lauderhill. “You’re not gonna win every game you play. We played some pretty incredible cricket up to that and unfortunately we played our worst game in the final.”Along with Guptill, the highly anticipated arrival of Rashid is expected to play a major role in the team’s fortunes. Aside from his exploits with Sunrisers in the spring, he began his summer with a sensational tour of the West Indies, which included 7 for 18 in the opening ODI win in St Lucia.”The squad looks a little different to last year but we’ve got some pretty exciting young cricketers coming,” Guptill said. “Rashid Khan, you know what he did in the IPL this year and what he’s done for Afghanistan. It’s extremely exciting and I can’t wait to watch the likes of him get the ball in hand and see what he can do in a couple of days’ time.”Aside from Rashid, who replaces Guyana’s leading wicket-taker from 2016 in Adam Zampa, several other changes have happened on the batting side. The biggest is the injury blow to Chris Lynn, the CPL’s leading scorer from last year who was ruled out due to upcoming shoulder surgery. Chadwick Walton is expected to take over in the opening slot alongside Guptill while Babar Azam has arrived as Lynn’s replacement. Another who may be a big-hitting X-factor is the American Steven Taylor, who has come over after two years with Barbados Tridents.”I opened the batting a couple of times with Chadwick [in Guyana]. He didn’t score too many runs but we started to get a little bit of an understanding of how each other bats, the running between the wickets and the communication and things. That’s going to come pretty quickly in a couple of days time, I’m hoping anyway. Chaddy’s got a great cricket brain on him, the way he thinks about the game and the way he communicates with other players is exciting for us.”Steven Taylor I think got 60-odd in one game down there and batted extremely well on a tough wicket. I was impressed with watching him play and I think it was the first time I’d seen him bat so it was pretty exciting and you know he’s going to get some decent opportunities in this tournament I think. The way he strikes the ball is pretty incredible. To do all the training he needs to with probably less facilities than other countries around the world is pretty awesome and I’m excited to see how he goes in this tournament.”Guptill also picked out Jason Mohammed as a key middle-order contributor and said that if the new arrivals can find chemistry and gel with the established core, which includes opening bowler Sohail Tanvir, he was positive about the team’s chances.”If we get the chance again to play in the final, it’s just about seizing the moment and seizing the opportunity and just enjoying it,” Guptill said. “It was hard to watch the final last year from afar but it’s a completely different year this year and I’m sure we can go all the way.”