Jamshed determined to make Test comeback

Russell's sixes, Shakib's 6 for 6

ESPNcricinfo presents the top five moments from the inaugural Caribbean Premier League

Australia's era of decline

Fundamental issues remain with how the game is run in Australia, although the country's sporting problems are not restricted to cricket

Signs of development but much to do

Australia's Ashes performance wasn't far off what was expected: a wholehearted, often impressive, bowling attack but an inconsistent batting order, although there are signs of promise

Light fades on Oval party

It was a celebration of England. A celebration for Test cricket. It was loud. It was fun. It was nonsensical.

Swann's swag, and Smiths' success

Also, Bradman's nemesis, most runs in a Test without a century, hundreds in final ODIs, and double-oh partners

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Jamshed determined to make Test comeback

    Being Monty

Rob Steen: There have been many players before Panesar who had to deal with prejudice of all sorts. One way to counter it is to celebrate your difference

    Cooky's mistake, and the turning points of the Ashes

Plus the inevitable obligatory urine jokes, by Dave Podmore

    Swann's swag, and Smiths' success

Ask Steven: Also, Bradman's nemesis, most runs in a Test without a century, and double-oh partners

A tale of two Ashes books

Samir Chopra: Two college professors, of politics and philosophy, in two different continents, connect through their common love of cricket

View the original article here

Jamshed determined to make Test comeback

Russell's sixes, Shakib's 6 for 6

ESPNcricinfo presents the top five moments from the inaugural Caribbean Premier League

Australia's era of decline

Fundamental issues remain with how the game is run in Australia, although the country's sporting problems are not restricted to cricket

Foreign flavour in Caribbean fest

For an inaugural season, the Caribbean Premier League has managed to pull in some of the biggest names in cricket and their impact on the league has been impressive

When Atherton's men broke the hoodoo

The Ashes were long gone and England were in disarray, but a young captain and a greenhorn bowling trio produced a victory to remember

Light fades on Oval party

It was a celebration of England. A celebration for Test cricket. It was loud. It was fun. It was nonsensical.

View the original article here

Jamshed, Irfan left out of Pakistan Test squad

Pakistan have left out Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Irfan from the 15-member Test squad for the tour of Zimbabwe. The other players to miss out from the squad that played in South Africa in February are batsman Haris Sohail, wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, batsman Taufeeq Umar and fast bowler Umar Gul, who is out due to injury. They have been replaced by fast bowlers Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali, along with batsman Imran Farhat (who was not part of the original Test squad in South Africa), batsman Khurram Manzoor and wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal.

Pakistan announced their ODI and T20 squads too, selected by a three-man selection committee contracted to the PCB, but without a chief selector. The announcement was made via a press release without any explanations on the reasons for the changes in the squads, though ESPNcricinfo understands that Irfan has been temporarily relieved from the longer-format, while Jamshed has been restricted to the limited-overs squad to allow 27-year-old Manzoor to assume the opening slot. Manzoor last played for Pakistan during their 2010 tour of Australia.

Irfan's fitness has been a crucial factor in his cricketing life thus far, with concerns over his ability to bowl long spells. He is the tallest cricketer ever to play Test cricket at 7'1", and has played for Pakistan since their December 2012 tour of India. He was retained for both limited-overs squads, besides the three fast bowlers - Junaid Khan, Asad Ali and Anwar Ali. Sarfraz Ahmed, who was part of Pakistan's previous Test squad, lost his spot to Adnan Akmal. Sarfraz was decent behind the stumps, but averaged 13.83 with the bat in three Test matches against South Africa.

Wahab Riaz, who played four ODIs during the recent tour of West Indies, managed to take only two wickets and was subsequently dropped from the one-day and T20 squads, with Anwar Ali replacing him in both formats. Peshawar batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who was also part of the squad in the West Indies, has been left out because of his inclusion in the Pakistan Under-23 squad.

The selectors also recruited a new batsman, Multan-born Sohaib Maqsood, for the Twenty20 squad. Maqsood finished as one of the leading runs scorers in the President's One-day Cup, where he scored 427 runs at 71.60. He also scored 402 runs at 50.25 in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, and was the top-scorer for WAPDA in the President's Trophy, finishing with 618 runs at 41.20. Anwar Ali, who first gained recognition with his swing bowling during the 2006 Under-19 World Cup, has only played one T20 International against Zimbabwe in 2008.

Moin Khan, whose appointment as chief selector was ruled out by the Islamabad High Court two weeks ago, has been named team manager for the tour. Fast bowling coach Mohammad Akram has also been asked to continue despite his contract running out in the middle of August.

Test squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Asad Shafiq, Khurram Manzoor, Adnan Akmal (wk), Faisal Iqbal, Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil

ODI squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Abdul Rehman, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, Haris Sohail

T20 squad: Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Zulfiqar Babar, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, Haris Sohail

Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. He tweets here

Feeds: Umar Farooq © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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Jamshed, Irfan left out of Pakistan Test squad

Pakistan have left out Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Irfan from the 15-member Test squad for the tour of Zimbabwe. The other players to miss out from the squad that played in South Africa in February are batsman Haris Sohail, wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, batsman Taufeeq Umar and fast bowler Umar Gul, who is out due to injury. They have been replaced by fast bowlers Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali, along with batsman Imran Farhat (who was not part of the original Test squad in South Africa), batsman Khurram Manzoor and wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal.

Pakistan announced their ODI and T20 squads too, selected by a three-man selection committee contracted to the PCB, but without a chief selector. The announcement was made via a press release without any explanations on the reasons for the changes in the squads, though ESPNcricinfo understands that Irfan has been temporarily relieved from the longer-format, while Jamshed has been restricted to the limited-overs squad to allow 27-year-old Manzoor to assume the opening slot. Manzoor last played for Pakistan during their 2010 tour of Australia.

Irfan's fitness has been a crucial factor in his cricketing life thus far, with concerns over his ability to bowl long spells. He is the tallest cricketer ever to play Test cricket at 7'1", and has played for Pakistan since their December 2012 tour of India. He was retained for both limited-overs squads, besides the three fast bowlers - Junaid Khan, Asad Ali and Anwar Ali. Sarfraz Ahmed, who was part of Pakistan's previous Test squad, lost his spot to Adnan Akmal. Sarfraz was decent behind the stumps, but averaged 13.83 with the bat in three Test matches against South Africa.

Wahab Riaz, who played four ODIs during the recent tour of West Indies, managed to take only two wickets and was subsequently dropped from the one-day and T20 squads, with Anwar Ali replacing him in both formats. Peshawar batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who was also part of the squad in the West Indies, has been left out because of his inclusion in the Pakistan Under-23 squad.

The selectors also recruited a new batsman, Multan-born Sohaib Maqsood, for the Twenty20 squad. Maqsood finished as one of the leading runs scorers in the President's One-day Cup, where he scored 427 runs at 71.60. He also scored 402 runs at 50.25 in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, and was the top-scorer for WAPDA in the President's Trophy, finishing with 618 runs at 41.20. Anwar Ali, who first gained recognition with his swing bowling during the 2006 Under-19 World Cup, has only played one T20 International against Zimbabwe in 2008.

Moin Khan, whose appointment as chief selector was ruled out by the Islamabad High Court two weeks ago, has been named team manager for the tour. Fast bowling coach Mohammad Akram has also been asked to continue despite his contract running out in the middle of August.

Test squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Asad Shafiq, Khurram Manzoor, Adnan Akmal (wk), Faisal Iqbal, Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil

ODI squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Abdul Rehman, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, Haris Sohail

T20 squad: Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Zulfiqar Babar, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, Haris Sohail

Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. He tweets here

Feeds: Umar Farooq © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

View the original article here