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In a severe blow for Bangladesh with the World Cup less than two months away, fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza has injured his right knee again while batting for his club Abahani in a Dhaka Premier Division League match. The final report of an MRI scan performed on Tuesday confirmed that there has been a near complete tear of the reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament graft on his right knee.The provisional report following the scan had suggested just a partial tear of the reconstructed ligament of Mortaza’s knee, according to Bangladesh Cricket Board sports physician Dr. Md Manirul Amin.The injury proved rather more serious, however, and following consultations with Dr. M Ali, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and knee specialist in Apollo Hospitals Dhaka, Dr. David Young, an orthopaedic surgeon with Melbourne Orthopaedic Group, and Dr. Bidyut Saha, a consultant radiologist also in Apollo Hospitals, a ‘conservative management’ programme was decided upon.This is is the non-surgical line of treatment for the injury, involving physical therapy and use of a knee brace. It will also include rest for 10 days, a review after three days, medication, administering ice on the affected area and constant monitoring. Young, as per a board release, expected Mortaza to be back batting in the nets in three weeks, and bowling in four weeks.Young had performed surgery on Mortaza in August 2009 after the fast bowler hurt his right knee during the first Test against the West Indies at St. Vincent in July that year. Mortaza, who has battled numerous injuries throughout his career, hasn’t played a Test since then.An ankle problem ruled him out for most of the recent home one-day series against New Zealand which Bangladesh won 4-0. He came back for the five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe but said after the first two games that he needed more match practice to get his rhythm back.He seemed to be regaining his touch with three wickets during tight spells in the last two games of that series, but the extent of his latest injury is likely to determine whether he is able to lead Bangladesh’s attack during the World Cup. The BCB has indicated that it will not make any further statements on the injury for the time-being.”The Board hopes that everyone will respect the privacy of Masrafe Bin Mortaza during this very important rehabilitation period,” read a BCB statement. “Mortaza has been a model of courage and willpower throughout his career and can only benefit from moral support and encouragement.”

Afghanistan coach Rashid Latif has said that his side has the self-belief to win the ICC Intercontinental Cup final against Scotland which begins on December 2 at the Dubai Sports City International Cricket Stadium. The two teams qualified after finishing first and second in the seven-team league phase.”They [Afghanistan] hate to lose and are mentally very tough,” Latif said. “This team has a lot of self-belief. They play aggressive and positive cricket – that is the strength of this Afghanistan team.”Scotland, who won the inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, lost their league game against Afghanistan by 229 runs. Afghanistan, who have enjoyed a fairytale run in cricket over the past two years, recently won the silver in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, and Scotland coach Peter Steindel said his team would be the underdogs in the final.”Afghanistan deserve the favourites tag,” Steindel said. “We have been competitive and overall are a workmanlike team. We will continue to work on delivering a strong performance. It has been a two-year cycle. We have targeted this competition as one of the areas for us to do well.”Scotland had earned a walkover against Zimbabwe XI after they decided to forfeit the fixture, which allowed Scotland to move ahead on the points table and qualify for the Dubai final. “Most of our squad haven’t played in those conditions before,” Steindel said. “It will be a great opportunity for them to become better cricketers. How quickly we adapt to the conditions will be a challenge that we need to overcome. But if you are in the right mental state and fight hard you can overcome any sort of challenge that comes in the way.”ICC Intercontinental Cup squadsAfghanistan: Nawroz Mangal (captain), Karim Sadiq, Asghar Stanikzai, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shinwari, Shapoor Zadran, Shabir Noori, Shehzad Mohammadi, Aftab Alam, Batin Shah, Abdullah Mazari, Mohammed Nabi, Mirwais Ashraf, Mohammed Sami Agha, Afzar Zazai, Najeeb Zadran, Gulbodin Naib, Khaliq Dad Noori.Scotland:Gordon Drummond (captain), Kyle Coetzer, Neil McCallum, Richie Berrington, Majid Haq, Fraser Watts, Simon Smith, Gordon Goudie, Ross Lyons, Preston Mommsen, Matthew Parker, Gregor Maiden, Ryan Flannigan, Stuart Chalmers.

England’s former Ashes-winning captain, Michael Vaughan, believes that Ricky Ponting’s reign as Australia skipper will be over if he fails to recapture the urn in the forthcoming series.Australia’s troubled build-up to the Ashes received another setback on Wednesday night, as they succumbed to a remarkable one-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in the first ODI at Melbourne, despite having at one stage had their opponents on the ropes at 107 for 8.Although Ponting was not involved in that match, having passed the captaincy over to Michael Clarke, the result was nevertheless their sixth consecutive defeat in all international cricket, dating back to Pakistan’s victory at Headingley in the second Test back in July, and also encompassing last month’s barren tour of India.Vaughan, who has been as vocal in the build-up to this year’s Ashes as he was silent ahead of the last tour in 2006-07, when injury forced him onto the sidelines during Australia’s 5-0 whitewash, believes that every new set-back is a boost for England, who have been quietly building towards Friday’s first warm-up match against Western Australia, having arrived in Perth over the weekend.”Another knock of confidence,” wrote Vaughan on Twitter in the aftermath of the MCG match. “Lots of people seem to be taking great pleasure from the fact Australia keep losing… long may it continue…”Ponting was in charge during the whitewash four years ago, but his reputation was badly dented last summer, as he became the first Australian captain since Billy Murdoch in the 19th Century to lose two Ashes series in England. In Vaughan’s opinion, there is no way he can stay in the job if he fails to make amends in the coming series.”If he loses the series he will go,” said Vaughan. “He has lost the Ashes twice and hasn’t won an Ashes in England either. Obviously he won the 06-07 Ashes 5-0 but he had a better team to manage those days but now he has a team that is almost back in the ranks of normal cricket teams.”His record in Australia is phenomenal but he will have to be at his best, both as a captain and as a batsman, to put England under pressure,” added Vaughan. “It’s harder being a captain when you don’t have the ammunition in your bowling attack that includes the likes of Warne, McGrath and Gillespie.”He doesn’t have the X-factor bowlers who can change games. That puts your batsmen under a lot more pressure because they know that you have to get lots more runs to give your bowlers something to bowl at. If they’d have got 300 a few years ago, they knew that Warne and McGrath would get them back in the game, but now they need 400 plus to really put England under pressure.”Warne, for his part, hit back in the war of words when he suggested to Vaughan, via Twitter, that he shouldn’t get too carried away just yet. “yeah yeah yeah, whatever bud [sic],” he wrote. “Your ( poms ) are very cocky at present , Mmmmm could end in tears for you all, just chill !”

Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, believes that if his Test side can win the series in South Africa, they could be regarded as one of India’s greatest Test teams. In an extensive interview with ESPNcricinfo, Kirsten said it would be great to win in South Africa, but that the side didn’t need to prove anything.”We don’t need to justify it to anyone,” Kirsten said. “The performances speak loud: 23 Tests, two losses, 12 wins. When you look at the performances of the five top-ranked Test teams over the two years, you know why India are at the top.”But to remain the top-ranked team, we need to continue performing. If we do win in South Africa, then you can start talking about one of the greatest Test teams India have ever produced.”Kirsten, a former South Africa opener, knows it is not going to be easy. “South Africa are very tough to beat at home as India are to beat in India,” he said. “The wickets really suit the pace bowlers.”He dismissed suggestions that India’s batsmen are susceptible to short bowling, though. “It is all about players hitting form at the right time. I certainly don’t think that any opposition can use that as an out-and-out strategy to undo the Indian Test batting line-up. There is too much experience in this team now.”Also the Indian fast bowlers are good themselves on helpful wickets – Sreesanth, Ishant [Sharma] and Zak [Zaheer Khan] are a good bowling attack… This Test series will be a defining moment for us.”Be that as it may, followers of Indian cricket have been living in trepidation about the team’s possible fortunes once the big three in the middle order retire. Kirsten, though, said that none of them has spoken to him of retirement. He said that when Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar decide to call it a day, it is bound to be a big blow, but India will do well if they make sure the farewells are not too close together.”There is no inclination of any of them retiring,” Kirsten said. “And I always ask them. They are certainly not in any rush. Look, if Rahul Dravid decides to retire, it is a major blow. Just like when [somebody like] Jacques Kallis decides to retire, it is a major blow for any team.”There are enough young guys there but it will take them few years. There might be a rebuilding phase in India in two years’ time.”Kirsten sounded hopeful of India’s future after the big three. “There are some really good young players,” he said. “You will have [Virender] Sehwag, [Gautam] Gambhir, [MS] Dhoni, [Suresh] Raina, along with the likes of [Murali] Vijay and [Cheteshwar] Pujara and others. Yes, you might miss out on a Laxman batting in a crucial situation to win you a game – that experience – but someone like Suresh Raina has done it plenty of times in one-dayers, so there is no reason why he can’t transfer that into the Test match arena.”More than the retirements, which is a natural transition, Kirsten was concerned with the side’s injury management, especially outside the squad on national duty. “I think it is important that we continue to monitor players when they get injured. Maybe a physical conditioning co-ordinator between the NCA and the team, who operates as a link, could be a good idea in the future. In this way the players will have a programme set up for their rehabilitation rather than them making the decision to go to the NCA. It is difficult for the team management to monitor players whilst on the road – our focus is always on preparing the players for the next game.”With Anil Kumble’s appointment [as director of the NCA], I’m looking forward to creating some dialogue around this to work out the most effective system.”Read part one of the interview here

Match facts

Sunday, September 19
Start time 1330 (1130 GMT)

Big Picture

Neil McKenzie has been in good touch in the Champions League•Getty Images

South Australia’s qualification to the semi-finals has made it a crucial Sunday for the other four teams in Group B. If the Lions lose to Guyana and Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore, the last group game between the Lions and Bangalore will become a virtual quarter-final, with net run-rate also coming into play. The Lions would want to avoid that situation with a win at the Wanderers over a Guyana side that has struggled in its first two games.It is hard to believe that this is the same side that beat Trinidad & Tobago on their way to the Caribbean T20 title less than two months ago. T&T had an unbeaten run to the final of the inaugural Champions League last year with a style of play that was distinctly Caribbean. The only thing distinct about Guyana has been their inability to compete with the IPL sides, who themselves haven’t done well against better opposition. Defeat will put Guyana on the flight back home and even a win will barely keep them alive, given their woeful net run-rate.While the batting that clicked in the Caribbean T20 – particularly Travis Dowlin, Jonathan Foo and Sewnarine Chattergoon – looked out of touch against Bangalore, the bowling was mauled by Mumbai’s Kieron Pollard. It will be hard for Guyana to recover from that thrashing within three days.Weekend scheduling means the Lions have had six days off after their previous match. Their bowlers have gone for almost nine an over so far, putting pressure on the batting. And but for Shane Burger’s twin strikes against Mumbai, they might well have been in a situation similar to Guyana’s. Still, the home team will start as clear favourites tomorrow.

Team news

Shane Burger missed the match against South Australia due to injury and should be back for this game.Lions (probable): 1 Alviro Petersen (capt), 2 Jonathan Vandiar, 3 Richard Cameron, 4 Vaughan van Jaarsveld, 5 Neil McKenzie, 6 Robert Frylinck, 7 Zander de Bruyn, 8 Thami Tsolekile (wk), 9 Shane Burger, 10 Aaron Phangiso, 11 Ethan O’ReillyFast bowler Paul Wintz replaced offspinner Lennox Cush in the previous match, and was smashed for 46 runs in four overs. Cush should regain his place in the XI.Guyana (possible): 1 Travis Dowlin, 2 Sewnarine Chattergoon, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan (capt), 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Chistopher Barnwell, 6 Robert Crandon, 7 Jonathan Foo, 8 Derwin Christian (wk), 9 Lennox Cush, 10 Esuan Crandon, 11 Devendra Bishoo

Watch out for …

Guyana are heavily dependent on Ramnaresh Sarwan, their only world-class batsman, and he knows it. He has to fire if Guyana are to have even a remote chance of winning.Neil McKenzie delighted with his strokeplay against Mumbai and was looking good against South Australia till a brilliant piece of fielding led to his run-out. Guyana’s bowling should not pose too many worries.

Key contests

Devendra Bishoo v Lions’ batting: The legspinner was Man-of-the-Series in the Caribbean T20 and took three wickets against Mumbai, including that of Sachin Tendulkar. How the South Africans tackle him could determine Guyana’s chances.

Stats and trivia

• Travis Dowlin has made five of the six half-centuries for Guyana in T20s.
• Neil McKenzie has made the most T20 runs for Lions, 914 from 36 games at a strike rate of 123.34.

ScorecardSomerset crashed to only their second Clydesdale Bank 40 defeat of the season despite a century from England one-day wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter against Worcestershire at New Road.Kieswetter blasted his sixth one-day century from just 97 balls which threatened to take Somerset to an unlikely win, but Worcestershire held their nerve to secure a 49-run victory, their third in a row in the competition since Daryl Mitchell took over as their captain three weeks ago.Somerset’s defeat was not too costly as they had already secured their place in the semi-finals, but they will now need to beat Glamorgan in their final group match at Taunton on Saturday to ensure they have a home tie.Shakib Al Hasan’s aggressive 91 from just 68 balls gave Worcestershire a competitive total of 255 for nine on a used pitch but the Bangladeshi allrounder was unable to bowl or field having suffered a hip injury late in his innings.That did not look like being a handicap to Worcestershire as seamers Alan Richardson and Jack Shantry took two wickets apiece to reduce the visitors to 41 for 5.But Kieswetter led a bold fightback with support from Peter Trego in a sixth-wicket stand of 109 in 21 overs. Kieswetter dominated, straight driving three sixes and placing the ball cleverly in his first century since a one-day international against Bangladesh in Chittagong in February.With England’s squad for the forthcoming Twenty20 and one-day internationals against Pakistan set to be announced, Kieswetter’s commanding century could not have been better timed but it was not enough to save Somerset from defeat.Trego holed out to long off trying to force the pace and Kieswetter was held shortly after he completed his century by Richardson running back from mid-off.Worcestershire had sufficient bowlers to cope without Shakib in the field but they were indebted to him for sustaining an innings that started to sag after the departure of Moeen Ali.Moeen raced to a 54-ball half-century but was bowled off stump driving at Zander de Bruyn when well set. But Shakib played some audacious strokes, including a scooped four over Kieswetter off Ben Phillips, before he was forced to call for a runner after he had on-field treatment for his injury.Shakib was bowled giving himself room against Alfonso Thomas when a century was in sight. Thomas finished with four for 49 but was eclipsed by Shantry, who had dangerman Marcus Trescothick and De Bruyn taken by teenage wicketkeeper Ben Cox in his first spell. Phillips clipped Shantry to midwicket when he returned as Somerset drifted to 206 for 9.

Paul Best will captain England Under-19 in their two Twenty20 engagements against Sri Lanka Under-19 on August 2 and 3. There are three new additions to England’s squad for the games, with Alex Barrow, Adam Rossington and James Thorpe coming in and Michael Bates, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Adam Rouse, Atif Sheikh and Azeem Rafiq left out.A left-arm spinner, Best captained England Under-19 on their tour of Bangladesh in 2009, and was also in charge of Warwickshire’s second eleven that same year. Thorpe, a seam bowler, and Barrow, an opening batsman, are included in an Under-19 squad for the first time.Rafiq was dropped for “inappropriate conduct” after the first Test – for which he was captain – while Bates is on wicketkeeping duty for Hampshire after Nic Pothas’s injury. Bell-Drummond will captain England’s Under-17 squad in their limited-overs match against Sri Lanka Under-19 on August 5 at Sleaford Cricket Club, Lincolnshire, ahead of the first ODI between England Under-19 and Sri Lanka Under-19 at Fenner’s on August 7.”This T20 series provides a great opportunity to showcase the young talent in this country against a very good Sri Lanka Under-19 team,” said coach Adrian Birrell. “Good performances in these matches and the one day series that follows will provide a crucial platform for those players looking to further progress up the ladder in the national set up.”England Twenty20 squad: Paul Best (capt), Alex Barrow, Adam Ball, Jacob Ball, Matthew Dunn, Lewis Gregory, Ateeq Javid, Jack Manuel, David Payne, Adam Rossington, Joe Root, James Thorpe, Luke Wells

India came into the match knowing their bowlers were the weak link, and they performed accordingly. Where they will feel let down, though, is with the star-studded batting. In all, the top seven lasted fewer than 135 overs in both innings put together. There were some irresponsible shots and some fantastic bowling from the opposition. The pitch remained good for batting throughout, even until the last evening when Muttiah Muralitharan had to struggle for 25 overs for his 800th wicket.MS Dhoni, though, chose to concentrate on the opposition’s bowling effort. “Whenever we had some kind of a partnership going, the Sri Lankan bowlers came up with a beautiful delivery to get the batsmen out,” Dhoni said. “Be it the first innings or the second. We had quite a few partnerships in the first innings, also in the second, but some of the deliveries they bowled were really difficult to keep out.”Dhoni reserved special praise for Lasith Malinga. “If you see Malinga, you can’t really say he changes his action to let the ball come in or take it out,” he said. “He bowls in the same areas with the new ball and at times it comes in, at times it goes away. It can be a bit difficult for the opening batsmen, especially when he is bowling the first couple of overs, which he will do more often than not. It was one of those games where the ball fell at the right place.”Steering clear of the shots played by Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman in the first innings, Dhoni spoke about the deliveries that broke a promising partnership between him and Yuvraj Singh. That’s when, he said, India were sent towards defeat. “We had a kind of partnership then, me and Yuvraj Singh in the first innings,” Dhoni said. “We were in a position to avoid the follow-on. After that we would have been in a good position to save the Test match. Murali bowled two really good deliveries and got both of us out. After that, with the follow-on enforced, it was important we kept going. But whenever we got a partnership going, Malinga produced a couple of wickets.”Dhoni wasn’t harsh on his bowling unit. “The wicket was quite flat,” he said. “As a bowling unit, you have to keep putting the pressure on and force the batsman to commit a mistake. Or you come up with brilliant deliveries. Murali and Malinga shared 15 wickets. Murali is a great bowler, and Malinga, because of his action, gets really difficult to play. Apart from that, if you are a bowler with a normal action, if you don’t have much variety in your bowling, it gets really difficult to get the batsmen out once they are set.”Dhoni said his bowlers could have done with some more luck. “We were to some extent unlucky because quite a few edges didn’t carry to slip or didn’t go to slip fielders,” he said. “If you see the boundary percentage, there were quite a few scored between the keeper and the point fielder. It is important to have luck on your side, which never was in this game.”India also missed three half chances and looked flat in the field to go with the average bowling. Sri Lanka took every chance that came their way, including Angelo Mathews’ run-out of VVS Laxman, when the batsman had started to threaten a draw. Mahela Jayawardene was special as usual in the slips, taking four catches off Murali and a special one off Chanaka Welegedara to remove Sehwag in the second innings. India couldn’t be accused of any such effort. Outplayed in every department of play, India’s margin of defeat told an accurate story.

ScorecardRavi Bopara was in fine touch during his 142 against Yorkshire•PA Photos

Essex batsman Ravi Bopara gave a timely reminder to the England selectors by scoring a fine century against leaders Yorkshire on the opening day of the County Championship clash at Chelmsford. With the opening Test against Pakistan just over a week away, the 25-year-old right-hander posted 142 to press his claims for a recall now that Ian Bell is sidelined through injury.Bopara took full advantage of a friendly pitch to stamp his authority on the opening day’s play as Essex reached the close on 353 for 6. He never looked in the slightest trouble in completing his first Championship hundred of the season, having struck half-centuries in his previous two outings.It contained 13 fours and he went on to collect another six before a mistimed hook against paceman Tino Best ended up in the hands of Adil Rashid at square leg. While Bopara was enjoying himself, Alastair Cook failed to capitalise on the conditions.After looking at ease whilst collecting five fours in moving to 44, the England opener was the architect of his own downfall when he slashed a wide delivery from Steve Patterson to provide wicketkeeper Gerard Brophy with an easy catch. Cook’s dismissal came in the over following the departure of Jaik Mickleburgh, who contributed 38 out of an opening stand of 97 before he was bowled by leg-spinner Rashid.When Tom Westley fell leg before to Patterson it meant Essex had lost three wickets in seven overs while moving to 120 at lunch. But Bopara and Matt Walker were to retrieve the situation by adding 80 in 29 overs before the latter was well caught low down at deep mid-wicket by Jonathan Bairstow for 26 to give Rashid another success.But Walker’s exit only signalled the arrival of James Foster to join Bopara in the most lucrative partnership of the day. They warmed to their task by adding 124 in 26 overs, of which Foster made 61, before Oliver Hannon-Dalby had him caught at deep square-leg by Patterson with the second new ball.Bopara was to depart soon afterwards, a few minutes before the close, leaving Grant Flower and Tim Phillips to drop anchor and survive to carry their partnership into the second day. Yorkshire used six bowlers in their toiling attempts to make progress, the most successful being Rashid and Patterson who have so far picked up two wickets each for 74 and 72 respectfully.

New sports minister Hugh Robertson has given a strong hint that the Conservative government will abandon plans to put home Ashes Tests back on free-to-air TV.The previous Labour government appeared to be backing proposals to return cricket to terrestrial TV, which created much opposition from the ECB and counties which feared a major loss of income, but when a decision wasn’t made before the general election there was always a chance the plans would change.Robertson also suggested that the current tough economic conditions mean that sporting bodies should be allowed to maximise their revenues, although he urged them to look at income streams away from the multi-million pound world of TV rights.”The previous Government did this for political purposes but then didn’t include it in their manifesto which is interesting,” Robertson told the Wisden Cricketer website. “Since then the economic situation has deteriorated quite sharply. Big public expenditure cuts will impact in sport so the way to equalise that is to give them [governing bodies] the freedom to market their own rights.”Since 2006 all live England cricket in the UK has been shown on BSkyB with highlights of home internationals available on Five. The recent IPL was shown on ITV4, a digital channel which is available over free platforms.