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SYDNEY – All-rounder Andrew Flintoff will return home from England’stroubled cricket tour of Australia after failing to overcome a groininjury.The 25-year-old underwent a double hernia operation in September anddespite playing England’s three one-day warm-up matches, he failed toprove his fitness.Flintoff will return home to work with the England Cricket Board’s chiefmedical officer in a bid to regain his fitness in time for next year’sWorld Cup in South Africa.Flintoff has had numerous scans in Australia but experts have failed topinpoint what is wrong.

Hernia surgery for Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan before next month’s triangular one-day cricket series in Australia will rule him out of playing here.Team management favours immediate medical treatment to ensure Muralitharan is fit for next year’s World Cup to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.The Sri Lankan cricket board today officially announced Muralitharan has a hernia and could miss the tour of Australia.”We know that he has hernia problem. The issue is how serious it is,” said Charnika Munasinghe, a spokeswoman for the sport’s national governing body. He will have more medical tests, and “when he will undergo surgery will depend on the findings,” she said.Muralitharan first reported hernia problems during the first Test in South Africa last week, but Munasinghe said the champion spinner wasn’t in much pain and would compete in the second Test against South Africa before going home.Any surgery would be pre-emptive, but would rule Muralitharan out of the limited overs series in South Africa and the subsequent three-nation tournament in Australia against England and the world no.1 Australians.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)’s management has decided against renewing contracts of three current Test cricketers.All-rounders Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood and batsman Yousuf Youhana, all of whom were on PIA’s payroll since 1999, were not given fresh contracts after their previous ones expired last month.Instead, PIA has opted to sign on young batsman Bazid Khan, son of ex-Test captain Majid, slow left-armer Azam Hussain and left-hander opener Kamran Sajid.Razzaq, Azhar and Youhana who were drawing Group Six salaries plus other perks, had not played regularly for the national carrier in the national cricket championships for a variety of reasons.Tight international schedule was one major factor. But on the other hand, even when available, they seldom responded to the call and failed torepresent PIA in key matches.This has been a major complaint from other departments as well who often feel let down by their star players. After all, these organization were dishing out handsome package to the top cricketers on a monthly basis.Razzaq, for instance, had barely featured in 10-12 first-class and one-day matches during his three-year spell with PIA.Saeed Anwar, the Test reject, is another player who has not been a regular in the ADBP team despite being on its payroll for more than a decade.PIA, arguably the most star-studded side on domestic circuit, still has the likes of Wasim Akram (Group Eight), Moin Khan (Group Six) – both employed on permanent basis – Saqlain Mushtaq (Group Six – contractual), Faisal Iqbal, Shoaib Malik, Fazle Akbar and Mohammad Zahid in their cricket squad.

FAISALABAD, Sept 18: Rain curtailed play on the second day just as Pakistan ‘A’ were batting themselves into a position of strength against Sri Lanka ‘A’ in the first Test at Iqbal Stadium here Wednesday.Shortly before tea Pakistan ‘A’ had reached 149 for two in reply to the visitors’ first innings score of 183 when play was halted as soon as Faisal Iqbal was out for 54.Umpires Aleem Dar and Nadeem Ghauri finally decided to end play for the day at 4.05pm as the rain got heavier.Imran Farhat was an early casualty after the home team had resumed at 32 for no loss. He was caught at the wicket, by Charith Fernando off medium-pacer Chamila Gamage, after adding just six to his overnight 13.Fellow left-hander Taufiq Umar, however, prospered in the company of skipper Faisal Iqbal. The pair shared a stand of 101 in almost 40 overs before Faisal was caught by Michael Vandort off pacer Sujeeva de Silva. His 133-ball innings was laced with four fours and one six.Taufiq, who has so far faced 150 deliveries, struck eight boundaries.Scoreboard SRI LANKA ‘A’ (1st Innings) 183 (D.A. Gunawardena 60; Danish Kaneria 5-42, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan 4-49).PAKISTAN ‘A’ (1st Innings, overnight 32-0):Imran Farhat c Fernando b Gamage 19Taufiq Umar not out 68Faisal Iqbal c Vandort b de Silva 54EXTRAS: (B-2, W-1, NB-5) 8TOTAL: (for two wkts, 55.2 overs) 149TO BAT: Hasan Raza, Asim Kamal, Moin Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Irfanuddin, Danish Kaneria, Umar Gul.BOWLING (to-date): De Silva 13.2-1-37-1 (5nb); Mirando 10-4-22-0 (1w); Samaraweera 14-3-31-0; Lokuarachchi 6-1-36-0; Gamage 12-3-21-1.

Sri Lanka breezed into the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy by crushing their former colonial masters by a massive 206 runs.The Netherlands, playing their first official One-Day International since the 1996 World Cup, were bowled out for just 86 after the hosts racked up 292/6 in their innings.Sri Lanka are now expected to play Australia – assuming the world champions defeat Bangladesh – in the second semi-final on September 27.Despite the convincing margin of victory, Sri Lanka will have been disappointed by a lacklustre performance by their middle-order – victory against the formidable Australians will require a significant improvement.Before the game, record scores had been predicted and at one stage they looked set for a total well in excess of 300, but Sri Lanka slipped from 175/1 to 247/5 as they tried to accelerate during the latter part of their innings.But Dutch inexperience was more brutally exposed when they batted. After the first 19 balls of their innings they had lost three wickets with only four runs on the board.They recovered briefly – no doubt breathing a sign of relief as they passed the world’s lowest one-day score, the 38 scored by Zimbabwe last year at the SSC – with No 4 batsman Tim de Leede (31) and Reinout Scholte (12) adding 42 in 61 balls.However, having safely negotiated the fast bowlers, they ran into difficulties against the spinners with off-spinner Kumar Dharmasena, picked ahead of leg-spinner Upul Chandana, finding the edge of Scholte’s bat in his first international over since the Sharjah Cup last April.And after Dharmasena clean bowled Luuk van Troost for a duck and de Leede was athletically caught by wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara off a top edge, Muttiah Muralitharan took just five balls to grab his first wicket.But Sri Lanka’s master spinner did not have it all his way, as the confident Edgar Schiferi (15) confirmed his budding reputation as a fearless stroke-player, crashing a four and six in Muralitharan’s second over.Schiferi’s entertaining resistance though was ended soon after, paving the way for Muralitharan to wrap up the innings to finish with four for 15 from 5.3 overs.Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya had won the toss and batted first, a decision that had annoyed those hoping for an early finish.Jayasuriya was once again in good form, racing to 36 from 36 balls. However, he missed out on another large score when he skewed a catch into the covers, an unexpected dismissal that prompted wild celebrations in the Dutch camp.It was no surprise that Marvan Atapattu – who has built a reputation on cashing in when conditions are favourable and the opposition is weak – made the most of an opportunity to find some form before facing the Australians.The right-hander top scored with 101 from 118 balls, hitting just eight fours along the way. It was his fifth one-day century and his first for 18 months.He added 116 runs in 127 balls with Sangakkara (41) before Sri Lanka started to lose their way.Sangakkara was bowled by off-spinner Adeel Raja, Aravinda de Silva (23) was brilliantly caught by de Leede on the boundary – the catch of the tournament thus far – and Mahela Jayawardene (14) was run out by a direct hit from Bas Zuiderent at cover.Russel Arnold capitalised on a rare chance in the middle, scoring an unbeaten 22 before running out of overs.Earlier, Jaywardene had been involved in the first real controversy created by the ICC’s experiment with technology as he was reprieved by the television umpire Russel Tiffen despite the field umpire David Orchard initially raising his finger after an appeal for lbw.According to the criteria laid down by the ICC for referring lbw decisions, the third umpire can only provide guidance on whether the ball pitched outside leg, whether it hit bat before pad and whether it was too high – not whether it was going to hit the stumps.On this occasion the ball was drifting down the leg-side, but height was not a problem and it didn’t pitch outside leg or hit the bat. Thus, according to the confusing ICC guidelines, Orchard should have raised his finger for the second time.However, whether the correct process had been adhered to or not, the right decision was made in the end, a fact that the experiment’s supporters will only be too happy to point out.

Pakistan distanced itself from the conflict between the game’s controlling body and some of the teams on the players contracts.Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed said Friday that his team would be signing the contract by Monday.”Pakistan considers the ICC as the supreme body and then there is no direct clash of interest between the Pakistan players and ICC over the sponsors of its tournament,” Yawar said.Ausralia, England, India and New Zealand have refused to sign the contracts that have left the four teams on collison course with the ICC.When pointed out Pakistan might not have a direct clash with any of the sponsors in the ICC Champions Trophy and the World Cup where Pepsi is the sponsor but could happen next year when Pepsi’s rival can secure the sponsorship, Yawar said the players contracts was for 30 days before the tournament and 30 days after the tournament. “But yes, this is a issue that we will have to discuss at board level when we return Pakistan.Yawar will be leaving for Cape Town on Aug 27 to attend the managers meeting on the issue. He said he hasn’t seen the agenda of the meeting and was therefore, not in a position to discuss that at this stage.

Yorkshire have maintained their dominance of the Frizzell Women’s CountyChampionship by winning the competition for the eleventh time in twelve years at Cambridge today. The team, which includes three regular England internationals, Captain Melissa Reynard, Clare Taylor and young bowler Laura Spragg, secured their win after all matches were abandoned today due to rain.Kent gain promotion from Division Two to Division One having been relegated last year, and Hampshire will move from Division Three to take their place next year.Northamptonshire enter the competition for the first time in Division Three having won the Emerging Counties tournament last week, and will replace Wiltshire.Melissa Reynard said “it was disappointing not to play Berkshire today as it would have been a great game, but we won all our matches and the team have performed really well”.England selectors will name the England Test squad tomorrow to face India in a two match Test Series, starting at Shenley on 8th August.The Final Tables

Division OneTeam Played Won Lost PointsYorkshire 3 3 0 81.5Berkshire 3 2 1 70.5Sussex 3 2 1 66Nottinghamshire 3 1 2 54Surrey 3 1 2 49Staffordshire 3 0 3 40Division TwoTeam Played Won Lost PointsKent 3 3 0 84.5Lancashire 3 3 0 80.5Hertfordshire 3 2 1 68Somerset 3 1 2 52Middlesex 3 0 3 42.5Derbyshire 3 0 3 41Division ThreeTeam Played Won Lost PointsHampshire 3 3 0 82.5Warwickshire 3 2 1 68.5Cheshire 3 2 1 68Essex 3 1 2 55.5Durham 3 1 2 54Wiltshire 3 0 3 36

All Frizzell Women’s County Championship matches are one-day 50 overs per side. There are three divisions of six teams in the tournament, which is run on a round robin basis within each division, with relegation and promotion for the teams finishing top and bottom. All matches took place at University Grounds, Cambridge from Saturday 27th – Wednesday 31st July.

Deepti Sharma’s failed slog-sweep at the stroke of lunch on day four was just the kind of cautionary tale Smriti Mandhana had bemoaned a day earlier, after she herself “threw” her wicket away in the same innings, at the same juncture.Sharma’s wicket in the last over of the opening session triggered a second collapse for India in as many innings, as they plummeted from 171 for 2 to 199 for 7. The cream of the batting gone – captain Mithali Raj and her deputy Harmanpreet Kaur, the Nos. 5 and 6, fell for 4 and 8 respectively – the visitors were staring at being bowled out for a lead inadequate to avert a maiden defeat in Tests in England.Related

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The slip in concentration, or so it appeared, was arguably the only error from debutant Sharma in a painstakingly built, gritty maiden Test half-century that bought India crucial time following on, facing a 156-run deficit. The 241 balls across the two innings Sharma faced were the most by an Indian debutant in women’s Tests. Without her solid 29 not out at No. 7 in the first innings, India may have had a bigger follow-on tally to wipe out, not least exposing their openers sooner for a second outing, in overcast conditions.”Deepti was one of the better players from the first innings who was in form, and who was already settled there [being not out in first innings],” Raj said of the rationale behind promoting Deepti to No. 3 in the second innings. “And she did play her role [very well].”Part of the quintet of Indian debutants in the Test – their first appearance in the format since November 2014 – Sharma, a white-ball regular with over a 100 caps and a title-winning stint at the now-defunct KSL T20 league in the UK, was one of the architects of India’s hard-earned draw in Bristol.”When I had batted in the first innings, I picked up confidence,” Sharma, 23, said at the post-match press conference. “All I focused on at the time was playing close to the body. When I was sent at one-down [in the second innings], I walked in with a different kind of a confidence to approach the day, session by session and according to the messages I was receiving [from the dressing room].”Test match is about patience. You have to play with that one quality – in batting as well as bowling. I have received a lot of messages from my family. Tomorrow [Sunday] is also Father’s Day, and my daddy has also sent me congratulatory messages.”Deepti Sharma scored 83 runs on Test debut•Getty Images

A left-hand batter and right-arm fingerspinner, Sharma had earlier made an imprint with the ball. With fellow offspinner and debutant Sneh Rana, she had orchestrated a final-session collapse on day one, returning 3 for 65 in the first innings.”It’s been a special experience for me, this Test match, and my team members have also supported me, as has [Shiv Sunder] Das sir (the batting coach) with my batting at the nets. Ramesh [Powar] sir (the head coach) helped me with my bowling, so I was able to perform well in both departments.”At the virtual media interaction after the match, both Sharma and Rana, whose unbeaten 80 at No. 8 left the England attack deflated in the thrilling closing session of the match, spoke of the tactical dynamics of that phase, most of which was caught by the stump mic.”The England players were quipping something or the other after every ball, every over,” Sharma said. “So I made sure I didn’t heed any of that. They were deliberately coming close to us, trying to distract us. So as partners we were communicating after every ball so that we stay focused on the game.”Making her first appearance for India after five years, Rana, who became the first Indian – male or female – to take a four-four and score a fifty on Test debut, said she too zoned out all noise during her 104-run ninth-wicket stand with wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia.Taniya Bhatia and Sneh Rana shared a crucial rearguard partnership for the ninth wicket•Getty Images

“We just told each other that England were trying to say and do a lot of things to distract us, so were not paying any attention to that,” Rana said. “Taniya and I kept talking to each other after every ball, from a distance or up close. We kept motivating each other and said that we have to get this done.”One of the success stories of the match, Rana’s performance earned her praise from her Railways and India captain.”Sneh Rana is sure coming back after five years but that girl has clearly had good couple of domestic seasons,” Raj said of Rana’s vital contributions in the lower order, including a 41-run stand with Shikha Pandey that lasted nearly 16 overs. “I’m sure she walked in with loads of confidence. She played very, very sensibly, along with Taniya and Shikha Pandey. That partnership was very, very crucial for us, after losing Harman and Punam Raut at that stage.”So, I’m mightily impressed with all the debutants because right from Shafali to Deepti, Sneh, Pooja Vastrakar and Taniya Bhatia, they’ve all really done well.”See, we need to understand that they don’t have the experience and you can’t really bombard them with too many inputs about how to play in these situations and all you can do is give them a lot of confidence that they need to believe in their ability.”The draw ensured India’s streak of five unbeaten Tests was intact. The overall gains, Raj said, were far more.”Psychologically, I think, it’s a big boost [managing a draw after the fightback and splitting the points],” Raj said. “It definitely will put England on the back foot, clearly because they now know that even though the main batters have not performed, there’s this lower-middle order who stood up. So, the Indian batting line-up goes deep now. It’s not just the top order, the lower-middle order can also turn in match-winning partnerships.”This draw will also help the Indians because they take a lot of confidence from here that there are not just one- or two match-winners but they themselves, if they put their mind to it, can be the match-winners for India. In any format. I think that’s a great way to start the series. From a situation at tea, where we were literally looking at a defeat – to come to a draw, that clearly shows that the girls are not ready to give up. They are ready to fight [till the last]. That is something we were trying to build in our team environment. We’ll take this forward from here so that the team grows from strength to strength, in not just one format but each time we take the field.”With India due to play six limited-overs matches on this tour, starting June 27, and with a tour of Australia scheduled for September-October, the escape scripted by the Indians on Sunday, Raj hoped, would hold them in good stead in the near future.”The biggest learning from this for India is that there are other players who can step up and deliver for the team what was required after the collapse in the first innings… These girls have shown that even with the lack of practice with the red ball or in the longer format, they can stand up and perform for India, and that confidence is what we will be carrying into the next game.”I know it’s a pink-ball Test [in Australia]… But the mental space that these young girls will be in after today’s performance will have a very positive impact moving into [our preparation] for the pink-ball Test.”

There is no room for Hardik Pandya or Kuldeep Yadav in India’s squad of 20 players, including two players – KL Rahul and Wriddhiman Saha – subject to “fitness clearance”, for the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand and the subsequent five-Test series against England. Pandya and Kuldeep aren’t among the four standby players either.India will play the WTC final from June 18 to 22 in Southampton and the Test series against England from August 4, starting in Nottingham, to September 14, with the last Test scheduled for Manchester.Virat Kohli’s side is expected to leave for England on June 2, and keeping in mind the length of the tour as well as possible contingencies because of the Covid-19 pandemic, India are carrying a total of 24 players, their reserves’ list containing Abhimanyu Easwaran, the opening batter, and three fast bowlers: Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Arzan Nagwaswalla.Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari returned to the squad after missing the recent home Tests against England because of their respective injuries.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rahul underwent surgery for appendicitis in early May after he complained of “severe abdomen pain” during the IPL. At the time, the doctors were understood to have told the Punjab Kings that Rahul would be able to resume all activity in a week’s time.Saha, the other player who has to prove his fitness in time for the tour, tested positive for Covid-19 on May 4, the same day the IPL was postponed indefinitely. Saha, who was a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad, is still in Delhi, where he returned the positive test. It is understood that he will have to undergo 14 days in isolation and be able to move out only after a negative test.Of the players dropped from the squad that played against England at home earlier this year, Pandya did have a question mark over him since he has not bowled regularly for some time now, with Kohli saying he wanted to preserve Pandya the bowler for the Tests in England. He had a shoulder niggle during the IPL, and didn’t bowl at all in the seven matches he played for the Mumbai Indians. He did, however, bowl a nine-over burst in the third and final ODI against England.As for Kuldeep, while he has been a part of the India squad recently, he has not had many games. Of his seven Tests, he has played only one in the last two years – the second Test against England in February this year – in which he got to bowl just 12.2 overs overall, returning 0 for 16 and 2 for 25 as India won by 317 runs. He could have also been left out because the two spinners picked ahead of him – Axar Patel and Washington Sundar – provide better batting options and shorten India’s tail.With Patel making a big splash on Test debut in the England series with a haul of 27 wickets from three games and India mostly preferring one or both of R Ashwin and Jadeja, depending on conditions, Kuldeep’s chances of making the cut took a hit.Among the opening batters, India have the options of Mayank Agarwal and Rahul, who can also double up as middle-order batters should the need arise, apart from the first-choice pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Vihari returned after the hamstring injury he sustained in Sydney and is currently representing Warwickshire in the County Championship in England.For fast-bowling options, the selectors included Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been facing injury issues recently, apart from the more obvious names of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Shami and Mohammed Siraj.Before the latest Covid-19 surge in India which led to the UK government putting India on the red list in April, the BCCI was looking at picking two separate squads with the first batch meant for the WTC final and the second leaving closer to the England tour. That had to change once the circumstances changed.In April, the ECB had announced that the Indians would be arriving with an inflated squad and would play two intra-squad practice matches in July. Those two matches replaced the original warm-up schedule of four-day fixtures between the Indians and India A in July. The ECB, in agreement with BCCI, had postponed the India A tour because of the pandemic.Squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wk; subject to fitness clearance). Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla

ScorecardNed Eckersley held the Leicestershire first innings together•Getty Images

Teenage left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson took three wickets on debut as a depleted Derbyshire attack responded impressively to adversity on the first day of the Specsavers County Championship match against promotion candidates Leicestershire.With pacemen Will Davis and Ben Cotton both injured, and overseas player Hamish Rutherford perhaps surprisingly left out, Derbyshire gave a first-class debut to wicketkeeper Alex Mellor, on loan from Warwickshire, as well as to Parkinson. There were also first first-class appearances of the season for seamers Alex Hughes and Tom Milnes.Foxes’ skipper Mark Cosgrove won the toss and chose to bat, but Milnes struck early, finding the edge of Angus Robson’s bat with a delivery which swung away from the right-hander. Wayne Madsen held a sharp catch low down at third slip.The experienced pairing of Paul Horton and Neil Dexter batted solidly, however, with Dexter looking in particularly good touch. He had hit six fours, mostly driven through the off side, when an uncharacteristic flash at a wide delivery from former Leicestershire allrounder Shiv Thakor shortly before the break saw him edge a catch behind.Leicestershire resumed after lunch on 102 for 2, but 19-year-old Parkinson – twin brother of Lancashire legspinner Matt – first bowled Cosgrove, who went back to a ball which turned and stayed a touch low, for 14, and then had Paul Horton caught behind for 42 with a delivery which bounced more than the opener expected.Thakor then picked up the wicket of Mark Pettini for 13, leg before to a well-pitched up delivery which also stayed a fraction low.A stand of 68 for the sixth wicket between Niall O’Brien and Ned Eckersley saw Leicestershire pick up their first batting bonus point, but O’Brien became the third Leicestershire batsman to reach 40 but fail to go on when he went leg before to the very occasional offspin of Wayne Madsen, playing for turn that was not there.Eckersley looked in good touch, however, and found a positive partner in Clint McKay. The big Australian pulled Thakor for a massive six early in his innings, and had hit 40 from 42 balls in adding 83 with Eckersley for the seventh wicket when he swung and missed at Parkinson, who finished with 3 for 64 from 26 overs.Eckersley was unbeaten at the close, on 73 – comfortably the highest score of the day – made from 160 balls.