All Cricket News

Graham Onions

England bowler Graham Onions has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh with a back injury.

The Durham paceman picked up the problem during net practice after joining up with the one-day international squad.

Fellow bowler Stuart Broad also has a back injury and is having a fitness test on Wednesday.

Stuart Broad

England seamer Stuart Broad is one step closer to being declared fit for Friday's first Test against Bangladesh.

Broad has been struggling with spasms after injuring his back during the one-day international series.

He was unable to play any part in the three-day warm-up against Bangladesh A but resumed net bowling midway through that match. He bowled a total of 10 overs during England's practice session in Chittagong on Wednesday without feeling any discomfort and will be reassessed on Thursday morning.

Mohammad Yousuf

The Pakistan Cricket Board have banned former captains Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf from the national team for life as part of a stunning crackdown on player indiscipline.

Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul Hasan were also handed one-year bans by the PCB who acted on the advice of a report submitted by a six-member inquiry committee set up to investigate the reasons for Pakistan's abject showing on their recent tour to Australia.

Pakistan lost all their matches on the tour, which was also marred by a ball-tampering row involving Shahid Afridi, who was fined and placed on probation for six months over the incident, while the Akmal brothers, Kamran and Umar, were fined at total of five million rupees (£40,000) on grounds of indiscipline.

Roqibul Hasan

Bangladesh batsman Roqibul Hasan has made a shock decision to retire from all forms of cricket on the eve of the Test series against England.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed the 22-year-old, who was named in the 14-man Test squad on Tuesday, had submitted a letter to the governing body to announce his immediate retirement because of "personal reasons".

The BCB have, however, not accepted the retirement of one of the country's most promising young batsmen.

Sir Ian Botham

Sir Ian Botham believes Andrew Strauss and England have made a "major mistake" in deciding to rest the captain for the ongoing tour of Bangladesh.

Strauss is missing from two Test matches and has already missed a three-match one-day international series. The opening batsman will also take no part in the ICC World Twenty20, having already called time on his career in that format, meaning he will not return to England colours until late May, after a four-month break in which Alastair Cook has stood in as captain.

"Andrew Strauss should be with the England side," said Botham. "He can't be exhausted with his batting - he only averaged 24 in (the winter Test tour of) South Africa. He has been captain for just a year - and with the Ashes round the corner, he should be with the team."

Darren Sammy

West Indies showed Zimbabwe the value of quality seam-up bowling as they dismissed the tourists for 104 to win the third one-day international by 141 runs.

Zimbabwe sent down 41 overs of spin as the hosts posted 245 for nine, a score which, boosted by some lower-order hitting, proved to be more than competitive on a tough St Vincent wicket.

That bowling performance was in stark contrast to that of West Indies, whose spinner Nikita Miller did not even appear until the pace attack had taken nine wickets, including career-best figures of four for 26 from Darren Sammy.

Tillekeratne Dilshan

Twenty20 specialist Tillekeratne Dilshan will play for the Sussex Sharks this summer.

Sussex have announced the signing of the Sri Lanka batsman, who took last year's ICC World Twenty20 by storm with a welter of runs at the top of the order.

Dilshan, whose trademark 'Dilscoop' shot became the talk of cricket last June, has been recruited specifically for Sussex's Friends Provident t20 campaign. The 33-year-old's 317 runs at an average of 52.38 won him the player of the tournament award, for powering Sir Lanka to a Lord's final against Pakistan.

Kevin Pietersen

Ian Bell has backed Kevin Pietersen to end his poor recent run in Bangladesh with the help of his team-mates.

Pietersen has looked a shadow of his dominant best ahead of Friday's first Test, compiling just 69 runs in seven knocks on tour.

"It's difficult to say what KP is thinking exactly but I know the dressing room were very important for me," he said. "I know what it's like, it's a difficult place to be. But when you have the dressing room behind you there's a much easier way through than when you're on your own."

Michael Clarke

Vice-captain Michael Clarke has been named in Australia's Test squad for the tour of New Zealand despite returning home during the current one-day international series due to personal reasons.

The New South Welshman returned to Australia just before the third match of the ODI series on Tuesday with his fiancee Lara Bingle at the centre of a much-publicised nude-photo scandal.

Cricket Australia (CA) have admitted they are still unsure whether the 28-year-old right-hander will return for the two-Test series, which begins in Wellington on March 19, but have named him in a 14-man squad that includes uncapped leg-spinner Steven Smith.

Daryl Harper

Elite umpire Daryl Harper will take no part in the ICC World Twenty20 after an International Cricket Council panel concluded his "general performances" did not merit selection.

The ICC nonetheless insisted in a statement on Wednesday afternoon that Harper's absence is not a consequence of the Australian's part in the decision review system controversy which beset this year's Johannesburg Test between England and South Africa.

An inquiry remains ongoing following the decision not to give Graeme Smith out caught behind on review in an innings which saw the home captain go on to make a century and lead South Africa to a wide-margin and series-levelling victory.