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Nottinghamshire fall short of knock-outs as Dan Christian says farewell

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Durham beaten as Duckett, Clarke combine but hopes fade for hosts

ECB Reporters Network01-Jul-2022Nottinghamshire 184 for 6 (Duckett 53*, Clarke 51) beat Durham 183 for 8 by four wickets Nottinghamshire Outlaws’ last desperate hopes of a seventh successive T20 quarter-final berth finally vanished despite a comfortable victory over Durham Jets by four wickets in the Vitality Blast at Trent Bridge. Amongst other things, they needed a tie, no less, in Leicester to retain any hope but Leicester just refused to oblige.It was at least a rousing farewell for Dan Christian, their departing veteran captain who led the Outlaws to T20 glory in 2017 and 2020. He could revel in watching 51 from 30 balls for Joe Clarke and Ben Duckett’s unbeaten 53 from 34 that helped bring success at the gallop with three overs to spare.Christian’s fellow Australian and opposite number, Ashton Turner, threatened to upstage things earlier with a rapid 33 as Durham’s third wicket added 54 in five overs but Steven Mullaney removed him and two new batters in four balls as the Jets backfired.From 98 for five with 51 balls to come, Michael Jones, the opener, reached 41 until brilliantly caught on the mid-wicket rope by Mullaney off Jake Ball and Durham finished with 183 for eight, late-order hitting bringing 70 from the final six overs. It proved far from enough.The evening had started painfully when the opening delivery, from Ball, cut back to strike Graham Clark flush in the box, flooring him and causing a three-minute delay for treatment. Durham, already out of quarter-final contention, chose to bat but lost Clark, slicing his drive for 14, and Ollie Robinson, who skied a swipe to the keeper, as Ball conceded only four in the fifth over.But in the later charge, Brydon Carse, batting at No.7, was dropped off Ball when twelve before surging to 25 from 17 balls when becoming Lyndon James’s maiden T20 scalp, whilst Ned Eckersley finished unbeaten with 23 from a dozen balls. Andrew Tye hit two sixes in his not-out 13.Even by the second over of the reply, however, with Liam Trevaskis taken for 19, the target seeemed less than daunting. The left-arm spinner had revenge of sorts when Alex Hales top-edged a sweep to go for 26 but the Outlaws had struck as many sixes in the reply’s first 47 balls as the Jets managed in their entire innings.Clarke, who had creamed 53 with Hales in 26 balls for the first wicket on a typically good Nottingham pitch with short boundaries inviting mayhem, then added another 55 in 35 balls with Duckett.Eventually miscueing against a leg-break from the Australian, Nathan Sowter, Clarke gave way to Mullaney, another victim of spin when soon stumped by Robinson off Trevaskis next over. James arrived to send his third and fifth balls for six off Carse and at the end of an over that cost 16, only 46 were needed from the final 42 balls.James fell smiting for 20 but, maintaining the tempo, Tom Moores hit his first four balls for boundaries until magnificently caught by Sowter who took the ball jumping on the boundary, threw it up before crossing the rope then grasped it again back on the field. Dramatic, indeed. But not enough, even though Sol Budinger fell stumped with three needed.

Vasavada, Jani, Jackson put Saurashtra in control of Ranji Trophy final

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Four half-centuries in Saurashtra’s innings, thus far, have put Bengal on the back foot

Shashank Kishore17-Feb-2023Stumps Bengal’s Ranji Trophy aspirations have taken a massive jolt with Saurashtra pulling away from their clutches slowly but surely on a leaden second day of the final at Eden Gardens.The match appeared to be on an even keel when Bengal, having been bowled out for a paltry 174, had Saurashtra fighting for survival at 109 for 4. Then they ran into Sheldon Jackson and Arpit Vasavada, who put together 95 to steady the innings.After Jackson fell for 59, letting aggression get the better of him in mistiming a pull to deep square leg, Vasavada flicked a switch and focused on crease occupation to blunt the bowling on a deck that had generous swing and seam movement on offer all day.Unlike Saurashtra, Bengal’s fast bowlers struggled for consistency and paid the price. This played into the hands of Chirag Jani, who used every opportunity to put the loose ball away to quickly race away to a half-century, before slowing down in the last half hour, in a bid to try and return undefeated on Saturday.Jani’s unbroken stand with Vasavada was worth 113, and as Bengal trudged off at the end of a long day, dejected and left to rue what could’ve been had they been more consistent.The morning began with a lot of promise for Bengal as Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep repeatedly troubled nightwatchman Chetan Sakariya in the air and off the pitch. In the first half hour alone, Sakariya was beaten thrice on the inside edge, hit on the box, roughed up by a bouncer and survived a close chance.Harvik Desai, though, was solid and brought up his half-century with a neat little flick. However, he didn’t last long and was superbly removed by Mukesh. After subjecting him to a succession of away-going deliveries, Mukesh had him lbw with a nip-backer with Harvik playing all around it.Five overs later, Ishan Porel got into the act as he struck in his very first over. After troubling Sakariya with two rib-ticklers, he had him rooted to the crease and playing inside the line of a delivery that hit the seam and nipped away to hit top of off. Bengal were now a boisterous bunch and smelt a real opportunity.Like he did in the semi-final against Karnataka, Jackson, coming off a match-winning 160, kept Bengal interested as he played some stylish drives on the up from time to time. In trying to stick with his attacking mantra, Jackson also ensured Saurashtra kept chugging along at a fair clip to eat into the deficit.Bengal were unlucky not have Jackson on 19 when a mistimed pull off Akash Deep landed short of deep square. Saurashtra were 134 for 4 at that point. But that was the only little blot in Jackson’s counterattack.After lunch, Bengal returned to try and rough him up with short balls but couldn’t sustain it long enough for them to build any kind of pressure. By the time they dismissed Jackson, Bengal’s mood was more of relief than ecstasy at having broken a key partnership.Vasavada grounded the bowlers and negated any threat they may have posed by playing copy book cricket, seemingly intent on playing late, leaving deliveries and eliminating any little risk he may have taken while he was batting with Jackson.Where Bengal lost wickets in clumps, Saurashtra were far more cautious and solid. As their pace trio of Mukesh, Akash and Porel grew tired, Saurashtra feasted on the more-friendly medium pacer Akash Ghatak and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, who failed to get any purchase off the pitch.Jani brought in the confidence of making a backs-to-the-wall 72 and 77 in the two knockout games coming into the final, and showed he was every bit effective as a regular batter would be. His two big wickets of Anustup Majumdar and Abishek Porel had helped Saurashtra crack make key breakthroughs with the ball. Now his innings had a deflating effect on Bengal, who know they have possibly one roll of the dice left to make some sort of a comeback in this match.A second title in three seasons can’t seem closer. If and when the moment arrives, it could yet be a fitting prize for both Saurashtra and one of their favourite sons, Cheteshwar Pujara, who is celebrating a special century of his own in faraway New Delhi.

Injured Mitchell Marsh to miss opening ODI; Inglis tests positive for Covid

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Australia are hopeful Marsh will return to play later in the series, Inglis isolates for five days, while Matt Renshaw is flown in as cover

Tristan Lavalette28-Mar-2022Australia’s already depleted white-ball squad suffered two more blows when Mitchell Marsh was ruled out of the opening ODI with a hip flexor injury and wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis tested positive for Covid on Monday*. Australia are hopeful Marsh will return to play later in the series, and Inglis will isolate for five days before returning to the squad, which will make him miss the second ODI as well.All other members of the squad returned negative results following routine daily testing. Australia has flown in Queensland batter Matt Renshaw as cover and will join the group after completing three days of isolation in Lahore. Renshaw has played 11 Tests for Australia, the last of which was in 2018, but has yet to play an ODI or T20I.Emerging star Cameron Green is set to be Marsh’s replacement for the opening ODI on Tuesday in Lahore.Marsh’s scans in Lahore on Monday revealed his left-hip injury, which he had sustained during fielding drills on Sunday. “Scans confirmed the injury was a low-grade hip flexor strain. Marsh will be managed clinically with a view to potentially returning to play later in the series,” a Cricket Australia statement said later on Monday.The T20 World Cup hero’s likely absence will challenge an inexperienced Australia’s depth with a number of key players unavailable after a gruelling triumph in the recently concluded historic Test series, the first played between the teams in Pakistan since 1998.Marsh, who has played 63 ODIs since debuting in 2011, was tipped to bat in the top order while also providing useful seam bowling for a team missing spearheads Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. His Player-of-the-Match performance in the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand was the last time Marsh played for Australia after being a reserve squad member during the Pakistan Test series and the Ashes.Related

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“He’s injured his hip-flexor, we think, at training. We are going to have to wait and see what that looks like but I don’t think he’ll be available for the series based on how he was feeling yesterday,” Finch told reporters on Monday morning.”He sustained that in a fielding drill, it was a high intensity, lateral movement drill and he bent down to pick it up one-handed and went to throw and felt a twinge.”Green, who has played just one ODI on his fledgling career, is set to take his Western Australia team-mate’s place on the back of an encouraging Test series where he averaged 51.67 batting at No. 6 and took three wickets with his probing seam bowling.The 22-year-old played a particularly important role in Australia’s series-deciding third Test victory with a vital 79 in the first innings and he claimed the big wicket of in-form opener Abdullah Shafique early on day five.”Cam will play and probably bat in that middle-order role,” Finch said. “We’ve seen he’s a super talented cricketer. He’s someone who has been quite consistent in his Test career, his impact with the bat and ball can’t be understated. Really excited for Cam to get that opportunity.”Even though they are undermanned, Finch said it was a welcome opportunity for Australia to test their depth with an eye towards next year’s ODI World Cup in India. It’s been a barren run for Australia, who last played an ODI in July 2021 against West Indies and they have only played four since December 2020.”It’s about trying to build the depth of the squad and build experience in players,” he said. “It’s a really good opportunity. With every decision we make there is one eye towards the 50-over World Cup and to tie everything back to that is really important.”Having memorably claimed the Test series, Australia are hoping to complete a momentous tour with success in the white-ball leg which involves three ODIs and a one-off T20I to be played entirely in Lahore.”Our goal 100% is to win this series,” Finch said. “We still feel like we have a squad to do that even though it is inexperienced at times that can be a blessing because you have guys who can play freely and express themselves.”*1205 GMT: The story was updated after Cricket Australia issued a statement.

Shimron Hetmyer leaves IPL 2022 for the birth of his child

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“My stuff is still left in the room,” the 25-year old said, indicating that he will be returning to India to see out the rest of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2022Shimron Hetmyer has left the Rajasthan Royals to return home to Guyana for the birth of his first child. “My stuff is still left in the room,” the 25-year old said, indicating that he will be returning to India to see out the rest of the IPL. Royals are in third place and are looking like one of the better placed teams to make the playoffs which are set to begin on May 24.Hetmyer has been a huge contributor to the Royals’ surge up the points table. As the team’s finisher, he has scored 291 runs at an average of 72 (he has remained unbeaten in seven out of 11 innings). A more telling statistic of his influence is his death-overs (17-20) strike rate. At 214.28, he is among the top-five most destructive finishers this season (min 30 balls).

Hetmyer left Mumbai on Sunday morning on the back of another high-impact cameo – 31 not out off 16 balls against Punjab Kings that helped seal a chase of 190. James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Rassie van der Dussen and Nathan Coulter-Nile are all likely to be in the mix to take his spot in the batting order.Royals have three games left in the league stage – Delhi Capitals on May 11, Lucknow Super Giants on May 15 and Chennai Super Kings on May 20.

Australia's spin-bowling consultant Fawad Ahmed tests positive for Covid-19

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He was part of Lahore Qalandars’ squad at the recently concluded PSL

Danyal Rasool02-Mar-2022Australia’s spin-bowling consultant Fawad Ahmed has tested positive for Covid-19 and started his five-day isolation period. A media release from Cricket Australia stated he was experiencing mild symptoms and would leave isolation only after returning two negative results.Fawad, who was born in Pakistan and played three ODIs and two T20Is for Australia, was part of Lahore Qalandars’ squad at the recently concluded Pakistan Super League. He arrived at the Australia team hotel on Monday, where he was due to start his role as the spin-bowling consultant.Fawad was tested immediately upon arrival, and returned a positive result. It is believed he did not interact with anyone from the Australian travelling party before testing positive. ESPNcricinfo understands all of Australia’s squad and touring party underwent Covid tests today, returning negative results.Fawad, who had also tested positive for Covid-19 at the PSL last year, is the second person to be impacted by Covid-19 on this tour. Earlier this week, Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf – also part of Qalandars’ setup – tested positive and was ruled out of the first Test.The first Test begins on Friday in Rawalpindi, which will be the first international match for Australia in Pakistan in 24 years.

Bangladesh look to turn around listless bowling show

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The visitors have not found a way to curb the dominance of South Africa’s batsmen and are in danger of ending up with a 0-3 series scoreline

The Preview by Mohammad Isam21-Oct-2017

Big Picture

Sunday’s ODI in East London is set to be the last match in the format for South Africa and Bangladesh in 2017, and they will each eye a good finish, although the game holds a little more importance for Bangladesh, who are trailing 0-2 in the series. While Bangladesh will look to salvage a win, South Africa will want to finish with their second series-sweep of the year.The hosts’ dominance has been driven by their batting. The first two ODIs saw AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock make the most of opportunities. While Amla and de Kock made hundreds in the first ODI in Kimberley, setting up a record opening partnership in the process, the second match belonged to de Villiers, who brought up his personal best of 176 off only 104 deliveries.Shakib Al Hasan’s quick wickets had given Bangladesh some hope in Paarl but once de Villiers began accelerating, particularly after crossing 100, there was little Bangladesh could do to stop him. Rubel Hossain dismissed de Villiers to bring some respite but the match highlighted once again the visitors’ struggles with the ball on this tour – they took a total of 13 wickets across three innings in the Test series, and only six in the two ODIs.Bangladesh’s batting hasn’t been as dismal but it hasn’t won them matches either. Mushfiqur Rahim has scored 170 runs and has been dismissed once, while Imrul Kayes has struck his first fifty this year in Paarl. The rest, however, have fallen after getting starts. One of the batsmen who may suffer as a result of this inconsistency is Liton Das, who could be replaced by Soumya Sarkar.South Africa’s bowling has done just about enough to keep Bangladesh quiet in both matches. Kagiso Rabada constantly pushed them back with his pace, movement and bounce while Imran Tahir and Andile Phehlukwayo have also been among the wickets.

Form guide

South Africa WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Bangladesh LLLWL

In the spotlight

In Paarl, JP Duminy turned the strike over to a belligerent de Villiers, contributing 27 runs in a partnership of 117. However, once de Villiers was dismissed in the 48th over, Duminy could not find the big shots to boost South Africa further. He hit only one six in his run-a-ball 30 and will hope to set things right in the third ODI, if given the chance.After scoring 93 runs in the Test series, and fending off questions on his captaincy, Mushfiqur Rahim has had a better time in the ODIs with scores of 110 not out and 60. He needs another 51 runs to bring up his most productive bilateral ODI series, surpassing the 220 runs he made against Pakistan in 2015.

Team news

Amla has been rested and his replacement, Aiden Markram, could be in line for an ODI debut. Temba Bavuma is another contender for that spot. Wiaan Mulder, the 19-year-old allrounder, could replace Dwaine Pretorius. David Miller, who had missed the second ODI because of a groin injury, will undergo a late fitness test on Sunday morning to determine his availability.South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram/Temba Bavuma, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller/Farhaan Behardien, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Wiaan Mulder, 9 Dane Paterson, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran TahirWith Tamim Iqbal ruled out, Bangladesh could promote Shakib to No 3 and replace Liton Das with Soumya Sarkar. Nasir Hossain could also be replaced by Mehidy Hasan or Mohammad Saifuddin, depending on how the Bangladesh team management read the track at Buffalo Park.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Imrul Kayes, 2 Soumya Sarkar/Liton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Mohammad Saifuddin/Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Taskin Ahmed

Pitch and conditions

The average score batting first at the reputedly slow-and-low Buffalo Park pitches this year has been 254. But only teams who have scored 300-plus have won matches batting first. The weather forecast predicts a dry day in East London.

Stats and trivia

  • De Villiers’ whirlwind 176 was his 25th ODI hundred, one less than Amla’s century tally.
  • Rubel needs three wickets to become the fifth Bangladesh bowler to take 100 ODI wickets
  • In five List A matches this year in Buffalo Park, teams batting first lost the match on three occasions.
  • Sunday’s match will be Mashrafe Mortaza’s 50th as captain in ODIs. Only Shakib Al Hasan and Habibul Bashar have captained Bangladesh in 50 or more ODIs before.

Quote

“We have put a lot of focus on what we are trying to achieve and fortunately for us we have blown them away in all departments. It doesn’t take away what is going to happen tomorrow, I still believe that Bangladesh will come out and try to prove a point and try to get back into this tour.”
“It is still possible [to do well] but if we go about our job the way we played the last two matches, things become harder.”

Stuart Broad relishing 'insight' into Australia as Troy Cooley joins England Ashes preparations

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England’s 2005 Ashes-winning bowling coach links up with squad ahead of first Test

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2021Stuart Broad hopes that the appointment of Troy Cooley as a consultant fast-bowling coach ahead of next month’s first Test at Brisbane will help provide England’s bowlers with vital “one-percenters” in their quest to regain the Ashes on Australian soil.Cooley, who helped to mould England’s four-pronged pace attack that won the Ashes in 2005, has been heavily involved with Cricket Australia since then, including a stint as caretaker coach in South Africa in 2011, and assistant to Justin Langer in the last Ashes campaign in England in 2019.His involvement with the England set-up got underway this week during the rain-affected three-day intra-squad match at Redlands, Brisbane, and he will continue to work under Jon Lewis, the ECB’s Elite Pace Bowling Coach until the first Test, when he will then assist the England Lions seamers in their four-day match against Australia A, starting on December 9.And Broad, who is embarking on his fourth Ashes series in Australia, says the opportunity to glean some vital insight on Australia’s batters from Cooley will be invaluable.”[Cooley] arrived when we got out of quarantine [on] Saturday, but he’s with us for a decent period of time,” Broad told cricket.com.au. “Really looking forward to picking his brain on Australian conditions, and Australian players, to be honest.””He’s been in their setup for a long period of time, through development and at the top level. He can give us great insight into Australian batters’ mentality; what they’re looking to do, where they’re looking to score, where they don’t like the ball, how (we should) be around them – whether you talk to them, whether you ignore them, whether you sledge them … can you annoy them enough to make a mistake?Related

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“All this sort of detail, we’ll be picking Troy’s brain, because anything you can get – even a one-percenter on someone – will be really useful for us. You need all that sort of stuff to win in Australia. You need to be at the top of your game at all times, and find little chinks in the opposition’s armoury.”Broad and James Anderson, who first played an Ashes Test on the 2006-07 tour, are the only two England players with prior experience of a series victory in Australia – although Broad himself played a limited role in the 3-1 win in 2010-11 after sustaining a side strain during the second Test.”It’s great to have someone with Troy’s expertise and experience supporting our Ashes prep and also working closely with our Lions pace bowlers,” said Mo Bobat, the ECB Performance Director. “Troy’s understanding of what it takes to be successful in Australian conditions is second to none, and the players are sure to benefit hugely.”No play was possible on the second day of England’s warm-up match against England Lions. The senior squad will resume on 98 for 0 on day three, with Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed unbeaten on 39 and 53 respectively.

Kohli becomes second Indian to 900 Test-ranking points

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In the bowlers rankings, James Anderson reclaimed the top spot from Kagiso Rabada, who now trails the England seamer by 15 points

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2018On the day he was named cricketer and captain of the year at the ICC awards, Virat Kohli became the second India batsman, after Sunil Gavaskar, to scale 900 points in the Test rankings for batsmen. The India captain vaulted from 880 points to 900 following his 153 against South Africa in the Centurion Test.Gavaskar had reached 916 points after he scored a remarkable 221 in his 50th Test at the Oval in 1979. In all, Kohli is the 31st batsman to 900 points in the Test rankings. Donald Bradman leads the list with 961 points followed by current Australia captain Steven Smith (947), who has drawn comparisons with Bradman after peeling off 687 runs in the Ashes series. In terms of Test averages, Smith is placed just below Bradman.Smith is currently 47 points ahead of Kohli and 66 ahead of the third-placed Joe Root. Hashim Amla, who made 82 and set up South Africa for a first-innings lead in Centurion, moved from tenth to eighth, while his captain Faf du Plessis jumped two places up to a career-best 12th.In the bowlers rankings, James Anderson reclaimed the top spot from Kagiso Rabada, who took four wickets in Centurion. The South Africa quick, who lost his top spot after only one Test, now trails Anderson by 15 points. India fast bowler Mohammed Shami, meanwhile, moved two places up to 17th after claiming a match haul of five wickets in Centurion.

Fifteen wickets fall on low-scoring day in Alice Springs

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ESPNcricinfo’s wrap of the first day of the Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia in Alice Springs

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Fawad Ahmed took 3 for 14 in his first Sheffield Shield game for nearly a year•Getty Images

Fawad Ahmed enjoyed his return to Sheffield Shield cricket for the first time in nearly a year, collecting 3 for 14 as Victoria skittled Western Australia for 146 in Alice Springs. However, at stumps on the first day, the Bushrangers had also stumbled with the bat and were 5 for 106, still trailing by 40 runs, with Daniel Christian on 5 and Chris Tremain yet to score.Jason Behrendorff and David Moody had picked up two wickets each, but it was D’Arcy Short who picked up the key wicket of Marcus Stoinis for 46 in the last few overs before stumps. Earlier, the Warriors had suffered a top-order collapse to be 4 for 17, with Cameron Bancroft, Jon Wells and Adam Voges all falling for ducks.Ashton Turner (59) and Short (42) ensured the Warriors pushed their score up past 100, but the legspin of Fawad then ripped through the lower order. It was Fawad’s first Shield game since March last year, and he struck with his first delivery when he had Josh Inglis trapped lbw, before adding two more wickets.

Amir ruled out of one-day series with shin injury

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Amir resumed bowling on the second day in Dubai but was soon forced off the field again and sent for scans

Osman Samiuddin07-Oct-2017Pakistan have been dealt a serious short-term blow with Mohammad Amir ruled out of bowling in the ongoing second Test as well as the one-day series against Sri Lanka. Amir picked up a stress-related injury of his right shin and has been advised rest for the next two to three weeks.Amir initially went off the field towards the end of the first evening of the Test, halfway through his 17th over. He was under observation overnight as the management initially said he was suffering from pain in his left shin.He arrived with the team for the second day and came on to bowl in the 11th over of the afternoon. But after struggling through three overs, during which he looked visibly troubled and at one stage required an ice pack, he went off again. This time he was taken for an MRI scan, which revealed the extent of the injury to his right shin.The sequence of events will raise questions about why he wasn’t taken for a scan earlier and why he was allowed to bowl at all on the second day.”The fast bowler has been advised two to three weeks rest after he underwent an MRI scan today following complains of pain in his right shin,” a PCB statement said. “Amir will not bowl in the ongoing Test match at the Dubai Cricket Stadium but would be available to bat.”That leaves Pakistan, already struggling with the ball in this Test, a bowler short going ahead – with only one specialist spinner and with Wahab Riaz enduring his own problems at one stage with his run-up. Their chances of rescuing their unbeaten home record of ten years, and seven in the UAE, stand considerably reduced.It also caps a miserable tour for Amir, who went wicketless in the first Test in Abu Dhabi, and picked up just one in the first innings here. He bowled well in brief patches, though coaching staff were concerned with his inability to find fuller lengths.The impact on Pakistan’s Test side will not be so important beyond this match – Pakistan do not play another Test until May next year when they tour England for a two-Test series. But his absence in the five-match ODI and three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka will be felt.He was their standout bowler in the Champions Trophy final in June against India, a three-wicket burst at the top of the order instrumental in Pakistan’s win. And he has, since his return from a five-year ban, made a substantial contribution to the 50-over side, taking 30 wickets in 21 ODIs.

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