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BCB will also seek the opinion of the players for the tour comprising three T20Is and two Tests in January-February

Mohammad Isam14-Dec-2019BCB president Nazmul Hassan is hopeful that the Bangladesh team will get security clearance from the government to tour Pakistan next month for a series comprising three T20Is and two Tests. However, he also said that there remained a couple of more steps that needed to be taken before a final decision could be arrived at.Last week, BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury had said that the board was expecting a decision from the government imminently, but that time was running out. However, Hassan struck a more positive tone on Saturday.”We had written to the government about our security clearance for Pakistan,” Hassan said. “We had sent a women’s team and an Under-16 team previously. We don’t have the clearance for the senior men’s team yet. Security is paramount even if it is for an Under-12 side. It is going to be the same for everyone, which is why I believe that we are likely to get the security clearance.”Bangladeshi sides have toured Pakistan in the recent past, but the men’s team haven’t done so since 2008. Seven years ago they were close to deciding on a tour to Pakistan, only for the AHM Mustafa Kamal-led BCB to pull out shortly after the decision to tour was taken.Hassan has said that after the government announces their decision, it would be up to the BCB to speak to the players who could decide for themselves whether they were keen to tour or not. BCB director Akram Khan has already suggested splitting the tour so that the Tests could be played later.”The government had sent their security team, so once we get the clearance we can tell you our decision. After the security clearance, we also must ask the cricketers, whose opinion is important.”We also have to consider the board’s decision, but we are at the final stages of our decision. I think we will know about it in the next 4-5 days,” said Hassan.The tour comprises of three T20Is, scheduled to be held in Lahore on January 23, 25 and 27, and two Tests, which are slated to be held in Rawalpindi and Karachi.

Attack leader has not played competitively since aggravating calf injury in August

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2019James Anderson is set to bowl in a match situation for the first time since August, after being declared “in a great place” by head coach, Chris Silverwood, ahead of England’s first warm-up match of their tour of South Africa.Anderson has not played competitively since aggravating a calf injury after bowling just four overs of the first Test against Australia at Edgbaston on August 1, a match that England went on to lose by 251 runs in his absence.However, he has been acclimatising at a fast-bowling camp in Potchefstroom for the past fortnight, having also worked with Manchester City’s training staff during the off-season, in a bid to overcome an issue that he first encountered while bowling for Lancashire in a county fixture in July.And, with the first Test against South Africa looming in Centurion on Boxing Day, Silverwood is increasingly confident that England’s attack leader will be fit to resume a Test career in which he has claimed 575 wickets in 149 matches to date.”Jimmy Anderson is absolutely flying at the moment, he’s in a great place,” Silverwood told reporters in Benoni, on the eve of a two-day non-first-class warm-up against a South Africa Invitational XI, in which several members of England’s squad will be given a chance to stretch their legs.That number, however, will not include the newly crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Ben Stokes, who is due to fly into Johannesburg after the match has begun, having attended Sunday night’s ceremony in Aberdeen.Nor will Mark Wood be put through his paces just yet. He too has been at the training camp in Potchefstroom, having missed the Ashes due to a side strain sustained while bowling in the World Cup final. But Silverwood warned that his comeback will be postponed until the New Year.”Woody, we’ve got to be a little bit patient with,” he said. “We are looking at somewhere around the third Test [at Port Elizabeth on January 16] but we’ll be guided by how his body pulls up as well.”England arrived in South Africa off the back of an arduous tour of New Zealand, in which their bowlers struggled for penetration in the two-Test series, claiming just 21 wickets all told in a 1-0 defeat.ALSO READ: Ben Stokes crowned as Sports Personality of the YearSilverwood, however, is optimistic that South Africa’s wickets will be better suited to his attack, including Jofra Archer, who claimed two wickets at 104.50 in New Zealand, but whom he insisted was fit and raring to go.”There’s a bit more bounce here,” Silverwood said. “A bit more pace in the wickets will suit our bowlers. But the bowlers as a unit have worked so hard on finding ways to get 20 wickets, it’s been a struggle at times but that’s something to work on.”It’s something we are working on constantly,” he added. “We really want to drive forward the Test team, and in New Zealand we were looking at new ways of doing things. It was a great learning curve in New Zealand and we’ll keep pushing on from that.”One man who did make a positive impression in New Zealand, albeit in the second Test, was the captain Joe Root, who had gone into the match under intense pressure – not least for his captaincy – but responded with a hard-earned innings of 226.”It certainly settled the form issue,” said Silverwood. “To get a double was great for him and great for us as a team, and obviously puts him on the front foot coming here, and from a captaincy point of view, he’s learning moving forward and doing well.”More generally, Silverwood had a simple formula for further success from England: “We need to get more first-innings runs, and as soon as we do that, we’ll be very hard to beat.”However, he promised no complacency going into the South Africa series, against an opposition who were beaten by Sri Lanka in their most recent home series, and were routed 3-0 by India in October.Off the field, CSA have been beset with controversy, but with Mark Boucher newly installed as head coach, Silverwood expects a side who prove very tough to break down.”[Boucher] was a fine player, and I’m looking forward to what’s going to be a very hard-fought contest,” he said. “South Africa are a proud nation, we’ve seen that in other sports, and I think it’s going to be a hard fought contest.”From our point of view, complacency is one thing we won’t have going forward, we expect South Africa to come back hard, in all departments and with hunger.”

The entire tour is likely to last only a fortnight and will take place in December 2019

Danyal Rasool26-Oct-2019Test match cricket is likely to make a return to Pakistan in December 2019 with the PCB putting forward Rawalpindi and Karachi as possible venues for the two-match series against Sri Lanka.ESPNcricinfo understands progress has been made with regards to ensuring the Test series takes place in Pakistan – the first of its kind since 2009 – with the board just awaiting the go-ahead from Sri Lanka Cricket. As for the players themselves, it is not yet clear which, if any, are reluctant to tour.As per the PCB’s proposed schedule, the Test series will last only a fortnight, roughly the same amount of time Sri Lanka were in the country for a limited-overs tour earlier this year. They played three ODIs in Karachi and two T20Is in Lahore between September 27 and October 10, and though several of their senior players pulled out, the fact it went off without a hitch, plus the better-than-expected results for what was called a second-string team, may have convinced some of them to travel to Pakistan again.The decision to schedule a Test in Rawalpindi, which last hosted five-day cricket when India toured in 2004, would represent the first expansion of cricket beyond the major hubs of Lahore and Karachi. That Lahore has been overlooked as a venue for the series is something of a surprise, though it is believed the lack of daylight hours and the high likelihood of seasonal smog were the major reasons for the PCB looking elsewhere.The last completed Test to be played in Pakistan took place in Karachi, which will host the second game of this series, should it go ahead. The last recorded Test in Pakistan was the one that was abandoned after two days in Lahore, following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009.

Central Districts broke their three-match losing streak with a seven-wicket win against Otago, while Auckland scraped home by one run against Canterbury

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2010Kieran Noema-Barnett scored the fastest half-century in New Zealand domestic Twenty20 cricket to help Central Districts break their three-match losing streak. Chasing Otago’s 175, Noema-Barnett smashed 57 off 18 to take Central Districts home with 15 balls to spare at Queen’s Park in Invercargill. It was his first half-century in Twenty20 cricket. Central Districts got off to a quick start in their chase thanks to George Worker’s 43 and were on course when Noema-Barnett came in at 100 for 2. He decided not to leave it till the last over as he smashed six sixes of the hapless Otago bowlers. Neil Broom and wicketkeeper Derek de Boorder had got Otago to a competitive total with their unbeaten seventh-wicket partnership of 79 off 38. Michael Yardy, the England left-arm spinner, and seamer Adam Milne took two wickets each to reduce Otago to 96 for 6 before Broom and de Boorder’s partnership. Central Distrcits move up to third in the table after the win while Otago are rooted to the bottom, having lost all four of their games.Auckland scraped to a one-run win at the Village Green in Christchurch after Ryan ten Doeschate failed to hit the required boundary off the last ball for Canterbury. Doeschate, who plays for Netherlands, had brought Canterbury close in their chase of 156 and finished with 51 not out off 41. Auckland had reached their total thanks to opener Jimmy Adams’ 45 off 37 and some late hitting from Colin Munro, who scored 33 off 16. They were helped by Canterbury’s bowlers, who gave away seven runs in wides. In their chase, Canterbury lost two early wickets before Doeschate and opener Rob Nicol put together a 55-run partnership. But once Nicol was out, Auckland got another quick wicket and managed to keep a lid on the runs to take the victory. Auckland move to joint top of the table with the win.It was one-way traffic at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, as half-centuries from wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan and Brad Hodge, the Australia batsman, gave Nothern Districts a 54-run victory over Wellington. Hodge had got the visitors off to a swift start with his 51 off 32, and then McGlashan’s 66 off 31 and Anton Devcich’s 48 off 30 kept the run-rate up to take them to a total of 201. Wellington’s response never kicked off and they were bowled out in 19.5 overs. Jesse Ryder, who missed New Zealand’s ODI series in India with a calf injury, was out for four in the third over and the wickets kept tumbling after that. Left-arm seamer Bradley Scott took 3 for 32 for Northern Districts, as they move up to joint top of the table.

The Indian batsman says that he has turned down ‘lucrative offers’ from overseas leagues to play top-tier cricket in India

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2019Ambati Rayudu’s decision to come out of retirement has widely been described as a U-turn, but according to the batsman, it was nothing of the sort. He has turned down “lucrative offers” to play in overseas leagues, he said, and his top priority is now to “get runs for Hyderabad” in the Indian domestic circuit.”I declined lucrative offers to play in T10 and T20 leagues in Canada and other countries. I have come out of retirement for well-wishers,” he told . “It is not a U-turn as for good reasons I believe I have good amount of cricket left in me. My top priority is now to get runs for Hyderabad.”It has been a strange few months for Rayudu. He had retired from first-class cricket last year to focus on his white-ball career, and was soon announced as India’s first-choice No. 4 batsman for the World Cup by none other than Virat Kohli. He was, however, left out of the World Cup squad in favour of Vijay Shankar and slotted in the list of standby players. If that wasn’t bad enough, when Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay picked up injuries, Rishabh Pant and then Mayank Agarwal – the latter wasn’t even in the list of standbys – travelled to England to join the squad. Rayudu announced his retirement soon after, but has over the past week withdrawn his announcement and reached out to Hyderabad Cricket Association, who have also been welcoming.Rayudu said that being ignored for the World Cup was “shocking”. “I had worked very hard to be ready for the World Cup. I quit red-ball cricket for the World Cup. I was extremely fit and doing the role, which the team asked me to do at No. 4 and suddenly when you are not in the team, it was shocking,” he said. “There was no communication from the team members also.”Was it a matter of poor form, or did not playing first-class cricket hurt his chances?”The main reason was that I wanted myself to be fully fit and fresh for the World Cup. I didn’t regret that move and my sole intention was to do well in World Cup then,” he said of quitting the longer format. “I don’t agree that since I didn’t play in Ranji Trophy, I didn’t get runs for India.”In fact, I had a very, very good tour of New Zealand [a couple of 40s and a 90 in the ODIs]. Of course, it took a game or two to get back to my form. I was the highest run-getter in New Zealand. I was happy with the way I was batting and shaping up. It was unfortunate that [the selectors] had different combinations in mind and that didn’t work out for me.”As for Hyderabad, they have left the door open for Rayudu, with Noel David, the chief selector, saying that Rayudu had “at least five years of cricket” left in him, and hoping that Rayudu would help groom the next lot of players.If he does return to the side, however, Rayudu wants the environment to change from the current one, where, he says, “the Hyderabad colours are for sale”.”It is time there is a good ambience and there should be no pressure on the players. The best team should be selected. I feel that the players are playing under pressure. The infighting in the association is not good for cricket. Sadly, I feel the Hyderabad colours are for sale and it is important the players should perform to earn a place in the team,” he said. “I remember when I had to score a lot of runs to get into the team, whether it was Under-16, Under-19 or Under-22. We were not sure of our places because the competition was very high.”It is different now. I feel sad sometimes when deserving players are overlooked while others get into the team. It is very painful.”
Once back, despite everything, Rayudu might even want to throw his hat in the ring to be the Hyderabad captain.”It is good to lead the side. Red-ball captaincy is crucial as it needs a lot of tactical acumen. I can talk to selectors on captaincy,” he said. “At this stage of my career, I have nothing to prove to anyone. My goal is to take Hyderabad to a new high. We are a young team, which is exciting. I’m part of so many teams. I know how the winning culture would be and I want that in the Hyderabad team whether it is through captaincy or not.”For me, it is not a comeback although I had announced the retirement when it was an off-season. It is important that there is a good environment in Hyderabad cricket. The players should be given confidence and there should not be any sense of insecurity. There was never deficit of talent in Hyderabad.”

The opener admitted, however, that some players who were part of the 3-0 defeat on the previous India tour might be carrying ‘a bit of baggage’

Liam Brickhill25-Sep-2019South Africa might still be carrying “a bit of baggage” from their last trip to India, opening batsman Aiden Markram has said. Markram wasn’t in the set-up last time around, but several members of the current touring party were part of the team that lost the Test series 3-0 four years ago. Despite the challenges ahead, Markram insisted that South Africa would not be dwelling on the difficulty of the conditions in India.”I remember watching that series a few years ago and it looked incredibly difficult,” Markram said. “I’m sure there’s a bit of baggage that certain players that were on that tour might still be carrying but that’s completely fine. I think it’s never an easy tour coming to anywhere in the subcontinent, let alone India. It’s full of challenges, but if we can conquer those challenges it will be really rewarding.”

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Fresh from a hundred against India A, Markram is aiming to “nit-pick at those positives” that come from time at the crease, but expects conditions in the upcoming Test series to be very different.”There’s always a couple of positives from spending time at the crease. I’m trying to nit-pick at those positives and take as much as I can from those knocks,” Markram said. “Preparation going into this series is gonna be massive and each little bit that we can take going into the series will help.”Markram is likely to open the batting for South Africa in the upcoming three-match series against India, starting on October 2 in Visakhapatnam, He tuned up for that challenge by top-scoring with 161 in Mysore last week.Aiden Markram lets one go•AFP

His runs meant South Africa A were able to draw the game, having slumped to a seven-wicket defeat in the first four-day game in Thiruvananthapuram.”From a personal perspective, it was nice to spend time out in the middle,” Markram said. “I think the wickets we get [in the Tests] will be a lot different to the wickets we got in the A series. But like I said, it’s nice to spend time out there. And in the field as well, it was nice for us as fielders to be on our feet for long periods of time and for our bowlers to bowl plenty of spells in these hot conditions. We took a lot from the A side games and we’re ready to go in the Test matches.”The guys are positive and upbeat and we’re maintaining really good language in the change room, really strong language. At the end of the day, we’re not going to harp on about conditions. We pretty much know what to expect and we just need to get the job done.”Markram is returning to a Test squad that has been shaken up by the retirements of some high-profile personnel, with Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn both bowing out. While players of that calibre undoubtedly leave a massive hole to fill, Markram said that the changes have been invigorating for the team environment.”It’s nice to be back in the camp,” he said. “There’s a lot of new faces and it’s exciting times with the change of staff and quite a few new players as well. There’s lots of new and refreshing energy in the camp and the guys look to be in good spirits so we’re looking forward to the series.”Before the three-Test series begins in October, South Africa will play a three-day warm-up match against a Board President’s XI starting on Thursday in Vizianagaram.

Just what must Louie Barry do to get a shot of first-team football at Aston Villa?

The 17-year-old was the talk of the town earlier this year when he scored the club’s only goal in Villa’s FA Cup defeat to Liverpool, when Dean Smith’s side was chock full of academy talents.

But that break-out moment has yet to result in any action for the senior side, with Barry even yet to make the match-day squad in the Premier League this season.

That has led to former Villa man Lee Hendrie to question why Barry has yet to be given a real opportunity in the first-team, insisting that he could have plenty to offer even as a second-half substitute for Smith.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “I’m really disappointed that he hasn’t featured, not even really on the bench since that Liverpool game with the fabulous goal that he scored. He reminds me of a young Michael Owen in the fact that he’s very slight, small, but he’s very quick, and I’m surprised that he hasn’t been given a bit more of a chance since that game.”

“I just feel that he should now be getting into the first-team squad, being on the bench and getting thrown on for the last 20 minutes, relieving a bit of pressure, just because he’s got that pace that he can burn off.”

On Wednesday, the teenager staked his claim once again, smashing in a superb hat-trick for Villa in their FA Youth Cup clash against Burton Albion, whom they thrashed 9-0.

Barry appears to have all the tools in his locker to be a real sensation for Villa, with club’s academy manager, Mark Harrison, saying: “He is still a very young man but as he’s developed, he’s always been one player that you always recognise as having outstanding attributes. He’s got a fantastic mentality, he’s desperate to do well for this football club.”

Barry’s style of play is something that Villa fans will surely be excited about too, with Harrison adding: “As a player, his real strength is his work rate, he’s constantly pressurising the opposition when they are on the ball, looking to create opportunities for himself to nick the ball high up the pitch.

“He is quick, and looks to play off the shoulders of the defenders, always looking for space behind them to be able to run into. He’s good in 1v1s and scores a lot of goals from balls in behind that he can run onto. He’s very much in the mould of a Jamie Vardy.”

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All he needs is an opportunity, and Wednesday’s hat-trick should send a huge message to Smith about why he deserves it sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, this fresh report has exposed a worrying Dean Smith mistake…

Andy Walker believes that Glasgow Rangers would jump at the chance to be involved in the European Super League.

Walker says Gers would jump at European Super League

On Sunday, 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs decided to breakaway and form a European Super League (BBC).

Speaking to Sky Sports, Walker believes that Rangers and their fierce city rivals Celtic would have jumped at the chance to join the organisation if they had been invited. He said:

“It’s a real tough decision for both but you need to be realistic.

“I’ve been listening to Celtic and Rangers trying to get away from football for the best part of 20 years.

“So if you were to put this to any senior person at Celtic or Rangers, they will want to know what it’s all about. They will want to know how much money that they can generate, especially for Rangers given their perilous financial position.

“They will want to know what’s happening to the Champions League qualifiers next season. What does it mean? How much money can they get?

“Look at what winning the Scottish Premiership next season brings. It brings immediate access to the Champions League.

“If all that is off the table, then there is a financial landscape that you have to look at that is so serious.

“But let’s not kid ourselves. Celtic and Rangers would want to be involved in this.”

Walker added that it would be “absolute hypocrisy” from board members of either Glasgow club to say that they would not want to be part of the European Super League, with both clubs having in the past being linked with the possibility of a potential move to England or to an ‘Atlantic League’ (Sky Sports).

Up for debate

On the one hand, you can certainly see how the owners of both clubs would be eager to earn a slice of the pie. The deal is said to be worth £4.6bn, with each side receiving £310m (The Times) for entering. For Rangers, that is an amount of money they could only dream of otherwise.

However, it would be detrimental to the most important stakeholders the 55-time Scottish champions possess – the fans. Despite playing in a league which is often lacking in competition and with generally few aspirations of European success, the Gers’ fanbase has remained loyal, even as they were demoted to the fourth division of Scottish football after entering administration. Such a decision would alienate those supporters, and despite what Walker might say, it feels unlikely that the owners would be willing to take such a risk.

In other news, find out why Davie Provan has slammed this Rangers player.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 270 career appearances, believes that losing Jamaal Lascelles through injury will be a big blow for Newcastle United, but hopes they have other leaders in the squad.

Steve Bruce delivered the disappointing news in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Burnley clash that he will be without his captain for what appears to be the remainder of the season, in a match that could give them some serious breathing space from 18th-placed Fulham.

During Callum Wilson’s latest injury, Lascelles has been the club’s top scorer with two headers against Aston Villa and Wolves respectively with both goals earning the Magpies a point in each match.

Speaking on how big of a blow losing Lascelles will be for Newcastle but how he hopes they will have other leaders ready to step up, Howey told FFC:

“Obviously it is a blow losing your skipper, but you’d like to think that there are some more leaders in the group.

“It just came out of nowhere, because there wasn’t any mention of an injury and then all of a sudden, he’s got this stress fracture, which is a blow.”

Lascelles has been an ever-present when fit under Bruce, having featured 19 times in the Premier League this season.

The 26-year old was appointed captain during their last season in the Championship when eyebrows were raised, considering he was just 22-years old at the time, with Rafa Benitez claiming he had a big character and was a leader in the changing room.

When the transfer window opens this summer there should be a number of priorities on the agenda for Wolves.

They will need to sign a new striker after struggling with Raul Jimenez’s injury while they will need to beef up their midfield too.

In a normal season, you’d be able to rely on the midfield pairing of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho to set the tone.

Neves has thrived this term by scoring five goals in the Premier League but one man who has defined inconsistency is his partner in crime; Moutinho.

The Portuguese veteran has looked off the pace and had to wait until February to finally register a goal involvement. His form has been sluggish and due to that, Wolves reporter Tim Spiers thinks this could be his final season as a regular in the starting XI.

With that in mind, another midfielder would go down nicely this summer.

Wolves have long had Ainsley Maitland-Niles on their radar and he seems a perfect fit, not only for the starting XI but the manager too.

The England international has been touted at a massive £30m but if they can lure him back to the Midlands after his loan spell with West Brom expires, it would be great business.

First and foremost, Maitland-Niles is versatile. He’d suit Wolves’ system down to the ground given his ability to play at wing-back while he has become a threat from midfield now as well.

What Ruben Neves has been lacking in recent years is a dynamic option next to him. Moutinho is rather one dimensional at the age of 34 while Leander Dendoncker’s approach to the game is more about defence.

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It’s evident they have a number of midfielders who are quite similar. Maitland-Niles, however, would give them a very different threat.

He has the ability to defend, winning 2.2 tackles per game this season, while he is also a presence in the final third, epitomising the box-to-box role in the middle of the park.

Neves has long been the quarterback of Nuno’s team but he has lacked a more mobile presence with energy and tenacity next to him in order to transition defence into attack more quickly.

The Portugal international can spray passes and take shots from distance but his ball-carrying leaves plenty to be desired.

For instance, Neves has managed just 0.3 dribbles per match this season. Maitland-Niles, on the other hand, has registered 1.4 per game.

That’s a tally that only four players at Wolves have bettered this campaign; Adama Traore, Pedro Neto, Nelson Semedo and Daniel Podence.

On that basis, it’s clear to see why he’s been labelled a “weapon” by BT Sport pundit Chris Sutton.

This acquisition would benefit Wolves plenty and it could just squeeze even more out of the radiant Neves.

AND in other news, Forget MGW: Wolves must unleash rarely-seen 18 y/o who creates “things out of nothing”…