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Australia have kept the door open for carrying Pat Cummins through the early stages of the T20 World Cup if it allows him to play a role later in the tournament, in a similar manner to how they kept an injured Travis Head part of the 2023 ODI World Cup, which enabled him to have a decisive impact.Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Tim David were all included in Australia’s squad for next month’s T20 World Cup provided they prove their fitness. Cummins has been rested since his one-off Ashes appearance in Adelaide having overcome a lumbar stress injury in his back; Hazlewood is recovering from an Achilles injury; David picked up a hamstring problem which has ended his BBL.George Bailey, the chair of selectors, was confident that Hazlewood and David would be fit for the World Cup and was hopeful that a further scan for Cummins at the end of January, which would show the effects of his Ashes workload, would provide good news.Related

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“I don’t think they [Cummins and Hazlewood] will be available for the Pakistan series [three T20Is in January], but I think both should be online [for the World Cup],” Bailey told reporters at the SCG. “Patty might be a bit later, that might be a similar sort of situation to Travis Head in the 50-over World Cup, where there’s an entry point at some point. Hopefully we can manage and carry a squad until that point. I think Hoff [Hazlewood] should be right by the start, think Tim David should be right by the start.”Bailey conceded that things would need to fall into place for Cummins to be given the early stages of the tournament to recover with, potentially, an eye on the Super Eights. Australia face Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the first round with all their matches being staged in Sri Lanka, which could aid the cause.”You might get pushed into a corner where you can’t, and you might need to make adjustments in the squad,” Bailey said. “We were close to that having to be the case with Travis. It’s got a fit… but I guess the beauty is potentially Colombo and Kandy you might be in a position where you can set the team up in different ways.”We’ve obviously got some good all-round skills there, some good spin options. There’s different ways of structuring up the team where that might work out pretty naturally.”The spinners referenced by Bailey include left-armers Matt Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly alongside the established due of Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell. Kuhnemann has yet to take a T20I wicket in four matches while Connolly, who provides another all-round option, has one. Connolly is currently impressing for Perth Scorchers in the BBL and was named despite not featuring in recent T20I series against South Africa, New Zealand and India.”It’s a nice skill set [left-arm spin] over there, and [there’s] some flexibility of where he can bat,” Bailey said. “So if you do want to throw that into the mix as a secondary spin option, [he] spins the ball the other way, if you’re going to be using your offspin options.”He’s continued to grow. I think the exposure that he’s had in international cricket’s been excellent for him, and he’s had some exposure in different roles as well. I just think every time he’s done that, it hasn’t always been good success, necessarily, but he’s a good learner. Just loving seeing him get the opportunity to bat quite high for the Scorchers and also getting plenty of overs.”Cooper Connolly is currently impressing for Perth Scorchers in the BBL and was named despite not featuring in recent T20I series•Getty Images

Bailey also cited the ability of both Connolly and Kuhnemann to bowl inside the powerplay. “[That] is something that we haven’t traditionally done a lot of,” Bailey said. “I think both those guys have got that skillset, so that allows you to create some space elsewhere to be able to line up certain bowlers and continue to keep Zamps in his space.”A trade-off the selectors have made, for now, is the absence of left-arm pace with Ben Dwarshuis not making the cut, as Xavier Bartlett took the last quick-bowling spot, although Bailey confirmed Dwarshuis would be “firmly in the mix” should either Cummins or Hazlewood not make it. With Mitchell Starc retired from T20Is and Spencer Johnson injured, Dwarshuis had provided the variety with good success against West Indies and New Zealand last year.”It’s great variety and it’s different, so I think any time you can add that to your attack it’s a nice point of difference,” Bailey said. “But there still has to be a high skill level there that comes with it. I don’t think you use it just because of the fact it’s a variety, so it’s a bit of a balance.”Bailey added that the squad for the Pakistan series, which leads into the World Cup, could involve some consideration of players involved in the BBL finals.

The BCCI’s next course of action in response to the Lodha Committee’s report is expected to be delayed as its state units have sought more time to discuss the recommendations. A BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo that president Shashank Manohar had informally suggested convening a special general meeting – effectively the board’s first official reaction to the report – on February 15, but it is all but ruled out as an SGM requires a 21-day notice period.It is understood that the BCCI’s legal committee, headed by PS Raman and comprising Abhay Apte and DVVS Somayajulu, is slated to meet on February 7, but with the state associations unlikely to put forth any concrete suggestions by then very little is expected to come out of the meeting. The legal committee had earlier met with Manohar and Thakur on January 17, but a source privy to the meeting said it was “inconclusive.””It was agreed at the meeting that there were issues that needed rectifying, and that we needed state associations to come on board,” the source said. He added the BCCI agreed with the Lodha Committee’s observations on transparency, proper upkeep of accounts and the need for election officers and an Ombudsman. “But there are other issues that needed to be discussed threadbare, and that’s why it is a time-consuming process. The president [Manohar] is very keen to resolve it, but at the same time there are logistical difficulties.”After the report was made public on January 4, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur had asked state associations to convene their internal meetings and discuss the recommendations before January 31, but most of them have pointed out that a document of such wide scope and serious implications couldn’t be rushed. “Studying the report is at least a three-month job, if you aren’t doing anything else that is,” the BCCI official said. “We need to time to study, internalise and discuss without bias before adopting or rejecting it in toto, or adopting parts of it.”Some units like the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association have already conducted a meeting of its executive committee, but have given its members more time to present their thoughts on the recommendations. Mumbai Cricket Association, among the first state bodies to react to the report, said it would accept the recommendations “made for transparency and ethics,” but has subsequently not discussed it at its AGM recently.Officials of the MCA and Hyderabad Cricket Association have spoken of the need to have their legal experts study the report. “We need a good lawyer to go through it,” HCA secretary John Manoj said. “I have already informally asked Anurag Thakur for more time. We are having our EC [Executive Committee] meeting [today], and after that we will formally write to the secretary tomorrow requesting for a time of 30 to 45 days.” Other associations which haven’t made formal requests are expected to follow suit in the coming days.Rajesh Verma, secretary of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association, attributed a busy domestic schedule as another reason for the delay. “This is the time when all the tournaments are at their peak. There are zonal tournaments till the 31st in Ranchi,” he said. “We are also hosting the Sri Lanka women’s team for an ODI and T20 series, so we will form our own ideas and collectively look at the report soon.”However, Aditya Verma, secretary of Cricket Association of Bihar and the petitioner in the IPL spot-fixing case, has contended that the BCCI was deliberately trying to drag its feet on the issue. “Surely they are delaying it,” he said. “At present, why would BCCI want to implement these recommendations with the interests of many of its members at stake?”Verma has filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking full implementation of the Lodha Committee report. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justice R Banumathi has agreed to hear the plea.

The former West Indies and Kent cricketer, Hartley Alleyne, an acclaimed coach at St Edmund’s School in Canterbury, is to have his case reviewed by the Home Office. Alleyne still faces imminent deportation after being refused a work permit but now the Home Office could yet allow him to stay.Alleyne, who completed an NVQ in sports coaching to satisfy immigration officials, is being backed in his bid to stay in the country by Canterbury’s MP, Julian Brazier, who branded that decision “appalling” and “utter madness”. Brazier confirmed he had received a letter from Home Office minister Liam Byrne announcing a review.”I welcome the fact that they are reviewing the case again,” said Brazier. “I will continue to press for a successful outcome for this most deserving man.”Alleyne, who has lived in England for 29 years, sayes he has been boosted by the latest development: “This news has brought a smile to my face,” he told the . “I only hope that the Home Office officials who will be reviewing my case can find it in their hearts to let me stay here and allow me to continue what I love doing and that is coaching kids.”His original application, in 2005, was turned down because he did not hold an NVQ Level 3 coaching certificate. He then obtained the qualification while working as a sports coach and resident boarding assistant at St Edmund’s School in Canterbury. His application was, however, rejected.He has an English wife and three children. “To me England is my home,” he said in September, “and Barbados is a place that I return to every now and again for a holiday. I have given so much of myself to this country and have helped to teach kids cricket and help them make a good start in life.”

Ashley Giles, the England left-arm spinner, has flown home to England and will play no further part of the Ashes following news that his wife, Stine, is suffering from a brain tumour.Jamie Dalrymple, the Middlesex allrounder, has been drafted in from the England Academy in Perth. He is the second Academy player to join the senior squad after Ed Joyce replaced Marcus Trescothick who flew home at the beginning of the tour.”The news came to me [last night] that his wife had a bit of a problem,” Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, said. “And it was confirmed that it could be a potentially very serious problem, so he asked to go home. Our thoughts and sympathy are with him and he flew out this morning. We’ve called up Jamie Dalrymple and he’ll join up with us on the Melbourne leg.””I’ve been involved with England for seven years and I rate him probably the most professional cricketer I’ve dealt with in England, or in the top three,” added Fletcher. “He really wanted to play, he got upset when he wasn’t, but he came back and took the flak. And so this news must be hard, but he handled it very very well. When he left last night, we wished them well, and hope everything turns out fine for the family.On a day when England’s Ashes hopes were brutally extinguished this is a further blow to their morale.

Ahmedabad has been chosen as the venue for the third Test between India and Sri Lanka, after Kanpur opted out of the race. This also means Mohali, and not Ahmedabad, will host a Test against England. This was decided after a meeting of the Tour Programme and Fixtures Committee in Mumbai.According to the original schedule, Kanpur was slated to host the third Test against Sri Lanka from December 18 to 22. However, with the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, which hosts matches at Kanpur, and the municipal authorities, who actually own the Green Park ground, involved in a dispute, the third tie has been moved out of Kanpur.This also means that, according to the rotation policy followed by the Indian board to allot matches, Mohali will now get the Test against England which was originally scheduled to go to Ahmedabad. The one-day international between India and England which was supposed to be played at Mohali will now be shifted to Jamshedpur.Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, also announced that the Asia Cup tournament, scheduled to be held in Pakistan from February 16-28, had been called off. The Indian board had made the request to postpone the tournament due to the team’s packed itinerary. Pawar said that the tournament will be held at a “mutually convenient” date.

Former Test batsman Martin Love has been left out of Queensland’s one-day cricket side after struggling to return from a finger injury. Love returned to the Bulls outfit in the Pura Cup loss to Victoria this week but failed in both innings and the selectors want to see him have more match practice to get back into form.Wade Seccombe, the wicketkeeper, and allrounder James Hopes have both been named in the team to play Tasmania on January 2 but must first pass fitness tests. Seccombe has been sidelined with a broken foot while Hopes has a severely bruised hand that restricted him during the 156-run loss to Victoria at the Gabba.Queensland squad
Jimmy Maher (capt), James Hopes, Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Brendan Nash, Wade Seccombe, Andy Bichel, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Hauritz, Shane Jurgensen.

Sri Lanka’s attorney-general has ordered the arrest of Thilanga Sumathipala, the cricket-board president and the chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom, for alleged passport fraud, according to newspaper reports on Saturday.According to The Island newspaper, the attorney-general’s order, issued on Thursday night, follows a criminal investigation into Sumathipala’s involvement with an underworld gang leader called Dhammika Amarasinghe.The CID investigation was prompted by a series of newspaper articles during recent weeks published by another newspaper, the Sunday Leader, which alleged that Sumathipala had helped Amarasinghe obtain a fake passport.Sumathipala was also alleged by the newspaper, which passed on evidence to the police, to have authorised the use of cricket-board funds to help finance Amarasinghe’s trip to the UK to watch the 1999 World Cup.Sumathipala has strenously denied any involvement with Amarasinghe, claiming that the allegations are merely a cynical and malicious attempt to smear his reputation. Amarasinghe, currently being held in remand, stands accused of several contract killings and attempted assassinations, including the attempted murder of the Sunday Leader‘s editor Lasantha Wickramatunge in 1998.The attorney-general’s decision to issue a warrant for Sumathipala’s arrest followed the receipt of a CID report last week. Detectives visited his residence at midnight on Thursday but his whereabouts remained unknown on Friday night.Sumathipala was elected as board president for a third term in June, after winning landslide support among the member clubs that make up the board.

Chickenpox victim Nathan Bracken could play for New South Wales against Victoria later this week – but at least one of the Blues’ ailing batters might miss out.Paceman Bracken bowled only eight overs in South Australia’s second innings of the four day Pura Cup cricket match which ended in Adelaide yesterday.With fellow quicks Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath on international one day duty, the faltering Blues badly need Bracken on board for the Pura Cup match against the Bushrangers starting in Sydney on Friday.Bracken, who was diagnosed with chickenpox on day three of the game in Adelaide, should be named in the NSW team on Tuesday, though a shadow player willbe put on standby.”He (Bracken) will be under some scrutiny until probably as late as Thursday night before the game,” NSW chairman of selectors John Benaud said.”At this stage, the suggestion is that he should be fit, that it is a mild dose of chickenpox so we can only wait and see on that.”Bracken’s illness was the latest setback for an NSW team which struggled over the last two months after making a strong start to the season.Benaud said middle order batsman Graeme Rummans and Matthew Phelps were exerting pressure on a misfiring Blues batting line-up that included an out of sortsMichael Slater.While much had been written about the ex-Test opener’s lean trot, Benaud said the discarded international wouldn’t be treated differently to any other player.”Just because he is a former Test player, I don’t think that really changes the equation at all – he’s just another member of the team who is under pressure,” Benaud said.NSW emerged without a point from its last three Pura Cup games and looked likely to drop to fourth place after the current round.In the ING Cup one day tournament, early season pacesetter NSW dropped to third after losing three of its last four fixtures.NSW dropped Darren Lehmann three times during his quick-fire century in Adelaide and Benaud was also concerned about a batting line-up which struggled with the exception of youngster Michael Clarke.Benaud stressed NSW was still very much in the hunt for finals spots in both formats but acknowledged the Blues needed to improve significantly following its 67 run outright loss in Adelaide.”We need to lift our game fairly substantially. I think our fielding and batting in the last game it would be fair to say was ordinary,” Benaud said.

On Sunday, the last day of the North Zone Ranji Trophy tie betweenServices and Haryana at the Air Force Station Ground in New Delhi, thefinal result was a draw in spite of a stunning batting display byHaryana captain Parinder Sharma.Services started the day on 312/9 in their first innings trailingbehind Haryana’s first innings score of 389. In the fourth over of themorning Services were all out for 327 giving Haryana a lead of 62.Haryana wanted to force an outright victory and went on the offensive.Their second innings was a kamikaze effort. Captain Parinder Sharmahit a whirlwind unbeaten 103 off 72 balls including 12 fours and asix. Wickets fell at the other end like nine pins but Parinder Sharmawas riding his luck to glory.S Dalal (20) and Jasvir Singh (25) were the only batsmen to giveParinder some kind of support. As soon as Parinder reached his centuryHaryana declared their second innings on 176/8 in 26.2 overs.Services had their task cut out. They were set 239 in 56 overs for awin. The match was poised for a close finish. So it did. At closeServices were 152/7 clinging on to dear life. Haryana tried their bestto force the issue through Pankaj Thakur 2/45 and Amit Mishra 3/69.Services owe their three points to Harish Bhaskar (30) and SarabjitSingh (51). Haryana collected five points thanks to their firstinnings lead.

Kasun Rajitha, a 22-year-old seamer from Badureliya Sports Club, has been picked in both the four-day and one-day squads for Sri Lanka A’s tour of New Zealand in October. Rajitha has played only seven first-class matches, and has taken just six wickets at an average of 81.83 in the Premier League Tournament. However, match figures of 7 for 106 in the recent tour match against the Indians have helped earn him a place in both squads.Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay and opening batsman Dhananjaya de Silva, who debuted in the recent T20 series against Pakistan, also find places in both squads. Seamer Lahiru Gamage, wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, and middle-order batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage, who have all played for Sri Lanka in the past, also feature in both squads. Batsman Ashan Priyanjan has been named captain of both teams.Vishwa Fernando, the 23-year-old left-arm seamer who is in the Sri Lanka squad for the ongoing Test series against India, has been named in the four-day squad only. Chamara Kapugedara, meanwhile, is in the squad for the one-dayers.Left-arm chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan, who has been among the top five wicket-takers in to successive domestic seasons, and had also been in a Sri Lanka ODI squad last year, does not find a place in either squad.Sri Lanka A play four unofficial ODIs and two unofficial Tests against New Zealand A. Their tour begins in Lincoln on October 1, with two warm-up encounters against New Zealand Cricket’s winter training squad.Sri Lanka A unofficial Test squad: Ashan Priyanjan (capt.), Dananjaya De Silva, Udara Jayasundara, Minod Bhanuka, Niroshan Dickwella, Roshen Silva, Asela Gunaratne, Angelo Jayasinghe, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Nisala Tharaka, Lahiru Gamage, Jeffrey Vandersay, Amila Aponso, Kithuruwan VithanageSri Lanka A unofficial ODI squad: Ashan Priyanjan (capt.), Dananjaya De Silva, Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Shehan Jayasuriya, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedara, Lahiru Madushanka, Chaturanga De Silva, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Gamage, Kasun Rajitha, Binura Fernando, Nisala Tharaka