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Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, will rejoin the team in England before the fourth Test at The Oval after passing a fitness test conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board.The PCB’s director of cricket, Saleem Altaf, told , “He bowled nine to ten overs at full stretch, pain-free and hassle-free.”Asif returned home before the first Test at Lord’s due to an elbow injury, forcing Pakistan to field a depleted pace attack, with the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Naved-ul-Hasan. Pakistan are yet to bowl England out in the two Tests so far, and in the first day’s play in the third Test at Headingley yesterday, England finished on a healthy 347 for 6. His return should boost Pakistan’s bowling attack tremendously.Asif will have the chance to gain some match practice in a three-day match against West Indies A Shenley starting August 12. Pakistan are trailing England 0-1 in the four-Test series and Asif said that Shoaib’s possible return should propel Pakistan. “I just hope that Shoaib Akhtar is also fit to play at The Oval and, hopefully, we can bring Pakistan back into the series,” Asif said. “I felt comfortable bowling today and the flow was there. I should be able fit to play the final Test.”When asked about the prospect of Shoaib Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan returning for The Oval, Altaf said that they are yet to recover from their respective injuries and the five-match one-day series that follows the Tests would be a more realistic target.

Simon Katich believes Phil Jaques should partner Matthew Hayden in next month’s first Test, but the opener insists it is too early for him to be a certain selection. Jaques scored a second-innings 167 in the Pura Cup match against Western Australia this week to out-point his rival Chris Rogers, who made 9 and 17.Katich, the New South Wales captain, expects his “run machine” to be at the Gabba when Australia play Sri Lanka from November 8. “We’re going to find it hard to replace him if he gets picked, but obviously 160-odd thoroughly deserves selection,” Katich told AAP. “But not only that, what he’s done in the last four or five seasons. He’s been a run machine, both here and in England, so he thoroughly deserves his chance if he gets it.”Jaques, who has played two Tests, was more cautious about his prospects and said a promotion was “too early to call”. “It’s out of my hands,” he said. “I put a score on the board in the first couple of games, which I was asked to do, and we’ll just see what happens.”He will have another opportunity to impress when New South Wales host Queensland in the Pura Cup from October 26. Injuries will make Jaques’ task slightly easier as Andy Bichel, Shane Watson and Michael Kasprowicz will be absent. “Each of those players is making progress,” Ray Phillips, the Queensland selection chairman, said. “We expect them to come under consideration for the tour match against Sri Lanka.”The internationals Hayden, Andrew Symonds, Mitchell Johnson and James Hopes will bolster the Bulls after returning from the one-day series in India. They will replace Aaron Nye, Greg Moller, Chris Swan and Ben Cutting, who played in the first-innings win over Tasmania.Bichel missed the first round of Queensland fixtures with a shoulder problem and realises the injury could be career-threatening if it does not respond to treatment. “There is no doubt that is the worst-case scenario,” Bichel said in the . “But I am confident I can get back.”He said it could be two weeks before he is bowling again, putting him in danger of missing Queensland’s tour game against Sri Lanka starting on November 2. “It is a bit of a setback,” he said. “At this stage it is not as good as we would like it.”Martin Love has been chosen in Queensland’s 2nd XI squad to travel to Perth as part of his comeback from knee surgery while Watson (hamstring) and Kasprowicz (calf) are expected to be eased through the club system. The Bulls kept the same FR Cup side that lost the opening match to Tasmania for the contest with New South Wales at the SCG on Wednesday. The Blues also did not make any changes to their squad.Queensland FR Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Ryan Broad, Aaron Nye, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Michael Buchanan, Chris Simpson, Chris Hartley (wk), Ashley Noffke, Nathan Reardon, Scott Brant, Grant Sullivan.New South Wales FR Cup squad Phil Jaques, Ed Cowan, Simon Katich (capt), Peter Forrest, Dominic Thornely, Stephen O’Keefe, Daniel Smith (wk), Grant Lambert, Nathan Hauritz, Matthew Nicholson, Doug Bollinger, Mark Cameron.Queensland Pura Cup squad Matthew Hayden, Ryan Broad, Clinton Perren, Jimmy Maher (capt), Andrew Symonds, James Hopes, Chris Hartley (wk), Chris Simpson, Ashley Noffke, Mitchell Johnson, Daniel Doran, Grant Sullivan.

William Porterfield will lead an experienced Ireland squad for the upcoming World Twenty20 in India, with as many as five players ready to take part in their fifth tournament.Porterfield, who also captained the team during their inaugural World T20 in England in 2009, will be joined by Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson as well as the O’Brien brothers Kevin and Niall in the 15-man squad. Boyd Rankin, who recently returned to the Ireland fold after playing seven ODIs, two T20Is and one Test for England in 2013-14, has also been included in the squad; he picked up six wickets in an Intercontinental Cup clash against Papua New Guinea last week.”We are really looking forward to this World Cup, particularly with the return of Boyd Rankin,” Alan Lewis, Ireland’s chairman of selectors, said. “He gives our attack so much more balance and potency, as seen in our Intercontinental Cup win last week.”As such a consistent performer I am also delighted to see Tim Murtagh in the squad for an event like this particularly as he missed the 2015 World Cup is such disappointing circumstances.”These are the events that players want to excel in so hopefully with the lead time involved and the energy the team always show we can emerge out on top of the group in the first phase.”Ireland, who are in the same qualifying group as Netherlands, Oman and Bangladesh, will begin their campaign against Oman on March 9, in Dharamsala.”The squad has got a real balance to it, with that blend of youth and experience that every coach likes. Ireland are now regular performers on the world stage so there’s no fear or intimidation factors,” John Bracewell, the head coach, said. “We will be well prepared for the competition, as we’re currently playing Papua New Guinea, will take on the UAE later this week, and will be India for a training camp ahead of the competition.”It’s another great chance for the squad to showcase Irish cricket to a global audience, and the guys are determined to prove they belong at the top level of the sport.”Ireland squad: William Porterfield (capt), Andrew Balbirnie, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Andrew Poynter, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

Shrinking playing areas and the discolouration of white balls in one-day matches are some of the issues Mark Taylor hopes to raise with the ICC’s new cricket committee. One of four Australians one the committee – the others are Tim May, Tom Moody and Simon Taufel – Taylor believes it is a good move to have input from all sectors of the game.”The ICC wanted people a bit more involved in the game than just having two delegates from each member country,” Taylor told . “They want people who see it from different points of view.”The 13-member group will meet for the first time at Dubai later this month and Taylor anticipated lively discussion on several issues. “One thing we’re all trying to get right is the white ball in one-day cricket,” he said. “That is something I’m sure will spark a lot of debate.”There has already been quite a bit of chat in cricket circles about that. Whether we should use a new ball from each end or change the ball at a given time during the innings just to make it easier for people to see.”Taylor was also keen to address the perception that batsmen now had too much of an advantage because boundaries had been brought in more and more in recent years. “It seems to me we’re one of the very few sports I can think of where the venue has got smaller and yet the players are hitting the ball further,” he said. “If you look at golf they’re hitting the ball further, but they’re making the courses longer.”We seem to have gone the other way with ropes and the standardisation of grounds. We’re making the boundaries shorter and yet the players are faster and fitter than during my time in the game and are hitting the ball further. I’m not so sure that’s good for the bowlers.”Taufel, who has been named the ICC’s Umpire of the Year for the last three years, hopes to use his position on the committee to push for the removal of restrictions on umpires officiating in Tests involving their own country. Taufel said there was so much scrutiny of umpires these days that such a rule was no longer necessary.”We’ve now reached a stage where we’ve gone beyond the possibility of bias,” Taufel told the ABC. “We’re just as professional as we can be and there is no room for bias. We’re all judged on our performances by the video and so maybe that perception of bias can now be overlooked.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Rayad Emrit picked up two wickets and slammed a 28-ball 54 to stun Dhaka Dynamites•BCCI

Comilla’s win earlier in the day against Sylhet made this game inconsequential in the race for the last four, but No. 9 Rayad Emrit’s unbeaten 54 gave Barisal Bulls a two-wicket win over Dhaka Dynamites, as well as much-needed confidence before Saturday’s Eliminator between the same two teams.Dhaka seemed well on course for victory when Suhrawadi Shuvo became Mosharraf Hossain’s third wicket in the 17th over, with Barisal slumping to 94 for 8. Emrit, though, struck two sixes in the same over to reduce the equation to 29 needed off three overs.Nine runs were taken in the next over, leaving Emrit and Nikhil Dutta needing 20 off the last two. After taking three singles and a double, Emrit swung Farhad Reza for a four past short fine-leg, but crucially took a single off the last ball.Irfan’s first ball of the last over went for four and when Emrit took a single off the next ball, he reached 50 off 27 balls. Dutta ran a bye next ball before Emrit carved the fourth ball past the point fielder for a four, sealing the win. Emrit took off in ecstasy while Dhaka were left scratching their heads, especially as they had dominated most of the game.Both teams had rested four players each, including Kumar Sangakkara for Dhaka and Chris Gayle for Barisal. It gave opportunities to younger players and Mosaddek Hossain, playing on his 20th birthday, made Dhaka’s top score with 30 off 31 balls while Dutta, playing his first match in the BPL, took 3 for 18.Mohammad Irfan struck in the third over of Barisal’s chase when he had Rony Talukdar caught behind for four, after striking him with a bouncer. Nabil Samad then had Brendan Taylor leg-before for 3 and Mahmudullah bowled for 1, before Mosaddek Hossain took the big wicket of Evin Lewis, caught at long-off for 9.Sabbir Rahman was then trapped lbw by Mosharraf, although the ball appeared to be heading down the leg side. Soon after, Mohammad Hafeez took an excellent running catch, coming forward from long-off, from a Sohag Gazi miscue in the 12th over, as Barisal slipped to 59 for 6. Mehedi Maruf was batting well, attacking and picking singles at will, but he ran past a Mosharraf delivery in the 14th over to be stumped, seemingly ending any hopes of a Barisal win. His 41-ball 37 had three fours and two big sixes over midwicket.Earlier, Dutta foxed an advancing Hafeez with a wide delivery that was only toe-ended to cover for a simple catch. Hafeez had made 25 off 27 balls, helped by four fours. In his next over, Dutta bowled Malcolm Waller with a delivery that dipped late on the batsman who was trying to slog him. Nasir Hossain finally connected a slog off Dutta, but was caught at deep midwicket in the bowler’s third over. Dutta finished with figures of 3 for 18 from four overs.Mosaddek, who struck a four and a six in his 31-ball innings, came to the crease at this point and added 33 runs for the fifth wicket with Ryan ten Doeschate, who made 22 and was caught at cover off Emrit. There was a second wicket in store for Emrit in the final over of the innings, when he clean bowled Shykat Ali. Emrit would also have the last word with the bat.

Loots Bosman, the South Africa opening batsman, has been suspended for one domestic match after being found guilty of “unbecoming or detrimental” conduct by Cricket South Africa.Bosman was withdrawn from South Africa’s World Twenty20 squad with a back injury, but he angrily denied he was anything other than fit to play. In the newspaper , he accused Mickey Arthur, the national coach, of lying.The reports said the first specialist Bosman visited had said he should recover in time to play in the tournament. A second opinion recommended that he did not play for six weeks. Arthur found Bosman’s reaction and comments to the whole affair “shocking”, but defended himself and the procedures he followed.”I have the findings of the leading neurosurgeon in the land. How can I argue against that?” he said. “Does Loots not realise that there is a possibility that he could be paralysed?”Bosman is suspended suspended for the Eagles’ match against the Dolphins in Durban from October 11 to 14.

Comeback medium pacer Shahid Nazir is aware he doesn’t have the pace of Shoaib Akhtar but promises that Pakistan can expect him to live up to expectations in England this summer.”It is a great challenge for me to fill in for Shoaib Akhtar,” the 28-year-old said in an interview on Friday after being preferred over Rao Iftikhar and Mohammad Khalil as a replacement for the injured Shoaib in the 16-man Pakistan squad for the series against England.”There is no doubt that Shoaib is among the world’s fastest bowlers and is somebody who takes a lot of wickets. But I have a lot of confidence in my abilities and believe that I can play a useful role for my team in England,” said Shahid, who last played a Test for Pakistan way back in 1999.Shahid said his absence from Test cricket has not affected his abilities as a medium pacer. “I have been regularly playing competitive cricket in Pakistan and abroad and in fact never lost hope of playing for Pakistan again,” he said.Shahid is one of the five fast bowlers selected for the tour of England and might spend most of the tour on the sidelines. The player hopes it won’t happen. “I am anxiously waiting for the opportunity to be in the playing line-up,” he said.Shahid was not even part of the 21-man preliminary squad Pakistan selected for the tour of England last month.But his forceful showing on the domestic circuit last season, Shoaib’s injury and Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq’s strong support paved the way for his return to the national team.Shahid added that he has ample experience of playing in England and hopes that it would be of some use for Pakistan.The Faisalabad-born player made his international debut for Pakistan in 1996 but has since played in just eight Tests and 17 One-day Internationals (ODIs).

Ottis Gibson was named man-of-the-match as Durham wrapped up victory over Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy final on Sunday leaving Shane Warne’s dreams of a domestic title shattered.Durham needed just 38 minutes to clinch a 125-run victory at an almost-empty Lord’s after the conclusion of the final had been held over from Saturday because of rain. Hampshire were already facing an uphill task when they resumed on 158 for five in reply to 312 for five and were eventually all out for 187 at the end of the 41st over.Former West Indies seamer Gibson, 38, who began the Hampshire reply with wickets off the first two balls and then dismissed dangerman Kevin Pietersen as well, was the star performer.”Unbelievable,” said Gibson who took 10 wickets in an innings against Hampshire in a county championship match earlier in the summer. “But we’ve got four games left and if I’m going to get through them I’m going to have to cut down on the celebrations a little bit.”Durham’s Paul Collingwood, England’s one-day skipper, was delighted to finally see his county clinch a first major domestic title. “We’ve had lots of ups and downs at the club – just after I joined in 1996 I think we won one game all season – but we learned a lot and it pulled us together as a team.”Warne, Hampshire’s captain had been greeted with a no-ball bouncer by old foe Collingwood, but it was Liam Plunkett who bowled the Australian for five to end the innings. Shivnarine Chanderpaul had top-scored for Durham with 78 on his 33rd birthday.”I hate losing and this is right up there,” said Warne. “But Durham just played better and I think this could inspire us to achieve some special things.”

Wellington v Central Districts Day 3
New Zealand hopeful Michael Mason tore through the Wellington lower order on a rain-shortened day to leave this match delicately poised with a day to play. The third day ended early with rain and bad light but not before Wellington picked up the vital wickets of Jamie How (9) and Mathew Sinclair. Central, chasing 227 for victory, require another 175 runs on a pitch that has proved difficult to score heavily on. Mason, with 4 for 44 from 18.2 overs, was the best of the bowlers but Wellington will be disappointed with their total. All the top-order batsmen bar nightwatchman Jeetan Patel made starts but only Michael Parlane (53) passed 50.Auckland v Otago Day 2
Big scores from Tim McIntosh and Rob Nicol might have lit the fuse, but it was Andre Adams who provided the pyrotechnics on day two of this match at the neutral venue of Lincoln, just outside of Christchurch.Adams, batting at No. 8, hit 10 fours and a staggering eight sixes in his unbeaten 117 off 94 balls to allow Auckland the luxury of declaring with more than 600 runs. Otago will know the feeling well, having declared on 601 for 9 in their opening match against Canterbury last week. Adams’s innings completely overshadowed the meritorious, though sedate by comparison, 160 from Nicol. McIntosh took his overnight 173 to 205 before being dismissed and Reece Young hit 79.In reply Otago were in dire trouble, losing three quick wickets. Adams removed the promising Jordan Sheed for 1 and Aaron Redmond for a duck while Chris Martin removed the in-form Craig Cumming for 7.Cantebury v Norhern Districts Day 2
Shanan Stewart guided Canterbury to first-innings points in this low-scoring match. No Canterbury batsman passed 50 – Craig McMillan top scored with 42 – but Stewart’s 26 not out, batting lower than normal at No. 8, was the difference between the sides. The most notable feature of a dull day, however, was the return of former New Zealand bowler Daryl Tuffey, who impressed with 3 for 61 from 24 overs. Mark Orchard took 4 for 33, also off 24 overs.

Richie Benaud, the former Australian captain, has urged Shane Warne to prolong his Testcareer until the next Ashes series in England in 2009.Warne, the most successful bowler in Test history with 651 wickets in 133 games, will turn 40 during that tour. “I was talking to him the other day and said to him ‘You can do this’,” Benaud toldBBC TV. “He is bowling better now than I’ve seen him for years and years. It’s been wonderful to watch.”Warne took 40 wickets in a losing cause during this summer’s Ashes series and earlier this week established a new record for the most Test wickets in a calendar year when he surpassed Dennis Lillee’s total of 85 in 1981.Benaud believes if Warne continues his policy of not playing one-day internationals, despite pressure for him to relent in time for next year’s World Cup, he will still be a force to be reckoned with when they next visit England. “I told him ‘They thought they’d seen the back of you, now why don’t you give some serious thought to going across there for the next Ashes battle?’.”He looked at me for a long time and just turned and said ‘Thanks’, though whether that’s ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ or ‘Thanks, thanks’, I don’t know,” said Benaud, who called time on his own Test career at the age of 33. Warne had a number of injuries between 1998 and 2001, and was banned for a year in 2003 after failing a drugs test.But he remains at the peak of his powers and confirmed he wants to help Australia regain the Ashes on home soil next winter. “My record in my last 40-50 Tests has probably been better than at any stage of my career,” he said recently. “If I’m enjoying my cricket and bowling injury-free, then I hope I am playing in the next Ashes series. I have no immediate plans to retire. I’m enjoying my cricket, simple as that.”