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The chances of AB de Villiers featuring in this year’s T20 World Cup have dimmed, with Cricket South Africa stating that he has decided “once and for all, that his retirement will remain final”.Related

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de Villiers retired from all international cricket in May 2018, but has been active in franchise T20 competitions. Last month, when he was playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021, it emerged that he was in discussions with South Africa coach Mark Boucher over a possible comeback with a view towards featuring in the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in October-November in India.On Tuesday, CSA announced in a release that discussions with de Villiers have concluded. There was little other detail on this development, with the release largely focusing on the squads that have been named for South Africa’s upcoming Test and T20I tour of the West Indies.At the time when de Villiers revealed he had been in talks with Boucher, he had sounded enthusiastic about the prospect of a South Africa comeback.”Last year, he asked me if I would be interested. And I said, ‘absolutely’. And come the end of the IPL, we will have a look at where we are at with regards to my form and my fitness,” de Villiers had said.”Also, the situation with his team – he’s got to look at his guys who have been performing well over the last while. If there’s no space for me, so be it. If I can slot in there, it will be fantastic if all those things fall in place. Waiting for [the chat with] Bouchy towards the end of the IPL, and we will then plan accordingly.”Ever since his sudden retirement announcement in 2018, talk of a comeback has constantly surrounded de Villiers. He came closest to ending his retirement on the eve of the 2019 ODI World Cup, when he made a last-minute offer of an international return, but was rebuffed by the then team management.Hopes of a de Villiers comeback had intensified after a new leadership group including director of cricket Graeme Smith and coach Mark Boucher – both former international team-mates of de Villiers – took over the national team’s reins towards the end of 2019, but those hopes now seem extinguished.de Villiers, 37, is among South Africa’s greatest-ever batters, their fourth-highest run-getter in Test cricket and their second-highest in ODIs and T20Is. He remains one of the world’s finest T20 players, and was in red-hot form during IPL 2021 before the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic brought the tournament to a premature halt, scoring 207 runs in six innings at an average of 51.75 and a strike rate of 164.28.

The PCB has approached the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to host the remaining games of the rescheduled 2021 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the UAE. The original plan had been to play the matches in Karachi, but the PCB has decided against it following a request from the six franchises as well as advice from the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC), which asked the board to avoid playing in Karachi because of the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.Upon the franchises’ request to move the matches out of Pakistan, the PCB met with all the teams via video conference to discuss the financial implications of postponing the tournament. The PCB has agreed to look beyond Karachi, with UAE as a preferred venue for the games. The UAE was where the PSL began, its inaugural edition in 2016 held there while international cricket was not taking place in Pakistan.Karachi had originally been announced as the venue for the tournament and even till last week, the PCB was proceeding on the basis that tournament would be held there, with the board making arrangements for a hotel. But earlier this week, the PCB met with the NCOC, whose forecast of the Covid situation in Pakistan over the next 20 days wasn’t reassuring. The NCOC informed the PCB there might be a rise in cases post-Eid, and that the government might subsequently enforce a stricter lockdown in the country. Already a nationwide lockdown has begun from today, to be in place until May 15.”We had an interactive and productive meeting in which we considered a number of factors,” Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, said. “While the UAE has emerged as a preferred venue, a number of challenges remain, which will be worked through over the coming days. We remain committed to doing everything possible to complete the HBL PSL 6.”The tournament was initially slated to start from June, but with the change of venue, the PCB will work on a revised schedule. The window to host the tournament is unlikely to alter too much though, as Pakistan are scheduled to begin a tour of England from June 23. Though the PCB and PSL have both agreed to playing in UAE, a final confirmation will be made only when the franchises give their approval upon seeing the revised opportunity costs of playing abroad.”The PCB will carry out a detailed financial and risk assessment as well as cost analysis before reporting back to the franchises, who will then review before a decision on the event venue is confirmed,” the PCB said.As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the franchises had written a letter to the board last week, asking for the tournament to be played in the Emirates.The 2021 edition of the PSL was suspended after 14 games – played between February 20 and March 3, all in Karachi – following an outbreak of cases among players and support staff. After a date for resumption was finalised – June 2 to June 20 – the franchises took part in a replacement draft to plug holes in their line-ups because a number of overseas players would not be able to take part in the games on the new dates.The changed situation with the pandemic, however, made franchises nervous about the situation, which led to them approaching the PCB.Pakistan, meanwhile, has announced a decision to curtail inbound flights to the country from May 5 to May 20.A move to the UAE would not be without its own logistical and operational issues, though. Flights to the country from Pakistan are currently operating at a severely reduced frequency. And June is not a month in which top-level cricket is often played in the UAE, because of the oppressive heat at that time of the year.

Sri Lanka’s batting was not good. That much is clear, right? In fact, we’re being diplomatic. It was awful. England’s bowling was decent, and the pitch was not exactly a flatbed, and yet, even despite all that, 111 for 7 was still a pathetic total. One that was always going to be run down, even if Sri Lanka had a good first seven overs with the ball.Sri Lanka’s batsmen repeatedly struggled for timing. Imagine a T20 innings in which only two players hit boundaries. Only Kusal Mendis (who hit a run-a-ball 39) and Isuru Udana (who made 19 not out off 14), found the rope – four fours and two sixes between them.England stuttered early in their response, slipping to 36 for 4 in the seventh over, but they bat so deep that their victory never really seemed at risk. Liam Livingstone and Sam Billings put on 54 off 48 balls for the fifth wicket, and essentially made the game safe for the hosts.England’s Powerplay dominanceAs Sri Lanka had made a poor score in the first T20I, and given their reliance on their top four, the Powerplay was always going to be a good indication of how this game was going to go. Once again, the visitors failed, this time, almost embarrassingly. First, Danushka Gunathilaka was run out attemping a quick single – Sam Curran booting the ball into the stumps like a babier-faced David Beckham to find the batsman short of his ground.In Curran’s next over, Avishka Fernando attempted to hook the bowler but holed out to deep square leg – the fielder having to run in several metres to complete the catch. Kusal Perera and Mendis attempted desperately to hit boundaries after that, trying to make something of the Powerplay overs. But their timing was woeful. And Sri Lanka were 26 for 2 after six overs.The Mark Wood ExpressOn a surface offering pace and carry, Mark Wood was quick and menacing. In his first over he was already into the high 140s kph/90mph range, and troubled Mendis, whose outside edge he beat. In later overs, he cranked it up to 150kph/93mph, and in the 14th over of the innings, he dismissed Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella off successive balls – the first off a big top edge that wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow settled under, and the second off a leading edge that went to cover. He finished with figures of 2 for 18 from his four overs.Billings and Livingstone see England homeSri Lanka had an excellent first seven overs with the ball too. In fact, at one point in the seventh over, the visitors had England 36 for 4 – Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Isuru Udana and Wanindu Hasaranga all having struck once apiece.But so modest was the required rate that Billings and Livingstone had the luxury of building steadily. They were watchful initially, only hitting out against the truly bad balls. As rain began to fall over Cardiff, they collected safe runs into the outfield to get England ahead of the DLS par score.The rain caused a long delay, cutting their innings short by two overs, but the target never seemed daunting. They cruised towards it – Livingstone remaining not out on 29 off 26 as Curran hit the winning runs after Billings became a second wicket for Hasaranga.

New Zealand fast bowler Ben Sears will have a stint in Victoria Premier cricket in Melbourne as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.He will play six games – five T20s and a 50-over one-dayer – for Melbourne University Cricket Club with the hope he will then be available for the start of the Super Smash competition with Wellington in late December. Should Sears be fit he will be in New Zealand’s plans for the T20 World Cup in February.Related

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Sears, 27, has been sidelined since the T20I series against Australia in early October having had a previous hamstring injury which ruled him out of the Champions Trophy in February. The decision has been made to send him to Melbourne due to a lack of short-form cricket currently being played in New Zealand with the Plunket Shield taking place.”Ben has missed a large portion of cricket in two out of the last three summers, so it was important for him to get as much cricket as possible on grass wickets leading into his Super Smash return,” New Zealand coach Rob Walter said.”He’s a big part of our future plans and with an important period of T20 cricket ahead of us, we want to ensure Ben has the safest and most appropriate return to play plan in place. He’s been progressing well and we’re looking forward to seeing how he gets on in Melbourne.”Sears, who has played one Test, four ODIs and 22 T20Is, is one of a number of New Zealand’s quicks who have recently been sidelined. Will O’Rourke is continuing his recovery from a back stress fracture, Lockie Ferguson has had a hamstring problem and Adam Milne an ankle injury. Kyle Jamieson, meanwhile, is having his comeback from a back injury carefully managed.Their has depth has been on show in recent white-ball series against West Indies and England with Jacon Duffy, Zak Foulkes and Blair Tickner all impressing.

Among the themes of India’s tour of Sri Lanka was the chumminess of the two sides even in difficult bio-bubble situations. Hardik Pandya went viral in Sri Lanka when he was seen singing their national anthem. He had also given fellow seam-bowling allrounder Chamika Karunaratne – who describes Pandya as a role model – one of his bats. At another point in the series, India coach Rahul Dravid was seen having a brief conversation with Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka.And finally, ahead of the third T20I, Shikhar Dhawan was addressing a whole bunch of Sri Lanka players as they huddled in the outfield. After his team had sewn up the series against a depleted India side, Shanaka revealed a little of what he had hoped to get out of the interaction with Dhawan.”Shikhar is a player who has played [for] 10 years, and has a lot of experience,” Shanaka said. “What he has to say about making game plans, and situation handling is something that’s important for all of us to hear – for me as a captain, and the rest of the team.Related

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“He’s someone who’s mastered even his breathing pattern. I thought if we could speak with a player like him, our players would get some sort of knowledge about how to raise our game. We get advice from our former players too, but this was a chance to hear from a current player with a lot of experience. I’m grateful to him for that chance.”But Shanaka mentioned that the conversation with Dravid earlier on in the series was more general.”I talked with Dravid about how the India players approach their innings,” he said. “They are really positive from the moment they get into the ground, and I asked him a lot of the questions we also asked Shikhar.”Sri Lanka were ultimately able to win the T20I series 2-1, thanks in no small part to legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who claimed seven wickets and maintained an economy rate of 5.58 across his 12 overs in the series. During the course of the past week, he also became the second-ranked T20I bowler in the world.”He’s a player who has matured really quickly,” Shanaka said of Hasaranga. “I don’t think No. 2 is enough for him, he’s someone who should be at No. 1. I think he’ll get there quickly.”

Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the remainder of England’s Test series with India after tearing his right calf muscle.Broad underwent an MRI scan in London on Wednesday, which revealed the tear, suffered when he appeared to slip during a light warm-up jog ahead of training at Lord’s on the previous day.Saqib Mahmood has been called up to England’s squad as cover ahead of the second of five Tests starting at Lord’s on Thursday, and could be in line for a surprise debut with James Anderson also an injury doubt.Anderson missed training on Wednesday morning, and ESPNcricinfo understands he is suffering from a tight quad. The decision was precautionary, but it could leave England without both of their senior seamers heading into the second Test. He did appear for a ten-minute work-out on the main square later in the afternoon, bowling at half-pace though without apparent discomfort, with bowling coach Jon Lewis and the medical staff in attendance.Broad, 35, will miss what would have been his 150th Test after he was unable to put weight on his left foot. If both England seamers are ruled out, it would be only the second home Test to feature neither Anderson nor Broad since 2007.Related

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Broad’s injury comes after a fallow first Test in which he went wicketless in India’s first innings before finding a better rhythm second-time around, claiming KL Rahul’s wicket on the fourth evening before rain washed out an intriguing final day. He currently has 524 wickets at 27.84 in his 149 Tests to date, placing him sixth on the all-time Test wicket-takers list.”Things can change so quickly,” Broad wrote on Instagram. “During the warm-up, I jumped a hurdle, landed a bit awkwardly on my right ankle, then the next step felt like I’d been whipped by a rope as hard as you can imagine on the back of my leg. All so innocuous. Season over and gutted to miss this India Test series but a huge focus on Australia now.”Going to take my time, no rush, baby steps and be the fittest I can be heading out there. Big focus is my brain. I’ll be watching every ball from my sofa hoping to see runs and wickets in the glorious Lord’s sunshine.”Mahmood, who impressed for England’s white-ball squad in the recent series against Pakistan, was set to link up with the squad at Lord’s on Wednesday. Moeen Ali is expected to return to the side to provide England with a spin option, while Mark Wood – unused in the first Test – is likely to join Ollie Robinson among the frontline seamers, with Sam Curran set to be retained in a more conventional allrounder’s role. That would leave Mahmood and Craig Overton, the Somerset allrounder, as fast-bowling cover, with one of the two replacing Anderson in the event he is ruled out.Chris Woakes (bruised heel) and Ben Stokes (personal reasons) are also unavailable for the second Test, leaving England facing the prospect of fielding a second-choice seam attack. Either way, with Jofra Archer now ruled out until after this winter’s Ashes and Olly Stone confirming on the BBC on Tuesday that he is unlikely to return to bowling for six months after his latest stress fracture, Mahmood now seems increasingly likely to make his Test debut at some stage this summer, with a view to testing his readiness for a role in Australia.Saqib Mahmood is back at Lord’s with the England squad after being called up as cover•PA Photos/Getty Images

He claimed nine wickets at 13.66 in England’s 3-0 series win in the ODIs against Pakistan in July, after being called up as part of an emergency squad following a Covid outbreak in England’s original party, and retained his place for the subsequent T20I series, where he picked up a further four wickets at 28.00.He has since been one of the star bowlers in the first season of the Hundred, with five wickets at 22.40 for Oval Invincibles, though now looks set to miss their final two group games as they push for a play-off berth.England have also announced that their offspinner Dom Bess will return to Yorkshire to compete in the Royal London Cup, after being released from the Test squad following Moeen’s inclusion.

Sam Robson scored a career-best 253 and Robbie White his second successive century as Middlesex piled up the highest total in their history.White was unbeaten on 110 when Middlesex declared on 676 for 5 on day two of their LV = Insurance County Championship match at Hove.It was the sixth-biggest total Sussex have conceded in their history and highest for 21 years, but openers Tom Haines and Ali Orr enjoyed benign conditions too, taking their side to 103 without loss at stumps.Haines passed fifty for the seventh time this season and at stumps he was unbeaten on 73, which included 11 fours, with Orr 17 not out.Related

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Much of the day had been spent ticking off records as Middlesex, who had resumed on 400 for 2, batted Sussex out of the game.Sussex’s bowlers stuck manfully to their task, but the pitch has offered little assistance and the three wickets they did take came from misjudgements by the batters.Robson moved to his double-hundred in the sixth over of the day with a boundary off Henry Crocombe and then accelerated, with his next 50 runs coming off 55 balls and taking him past his previous best of 231 against Warwickshire in 2013. It was a mild surprise when he tried to hit off-spinner Jack Carson through mid-wicket and gave Tom Haines, running across from mid-off, a catch. Robson had faced 356 balls and hit one six and 30 fours.Carson picked up a second wicket before lunch when Max Holden was taken at bat-pad for one but White and Martin Andersson sentenced Sussex to more suffering in the baking heat during the afternoon, as they added 174 for the fifth wicket.They went past Middlesex’s previous highest score of 642 for 3 against Hampshire at Southampton in 1923 and just before tea White, who made his maiden century against Derbyshire at Lord’s last week, took a boundary off Haines to reach his 100.Andersson had played more fluently and looked on course for a century of his own but on 88 he tried to hit Delray Rawlins over the top and couldn’t clear long on. That was four balls before tea, but Middlesex opted to finish the over after the interval before Orr and Haines could run off to put their pads on after 161 overs in the field. White’s runs came from 193 deliveries with six fours.

KL Rahul blitzed his way to an unbeaten 98 off 42 balls as Punjab Kings mowed down 135 in 13 overs, but it could all still be too late for the side. With the win, Punjab Kings leapfrogged Mumbai Indians to fifth, but they have too many permutations and combinations to contend with and need many things to go their way to make the playoffs, making progress appear unlikely.Kings go short; CSK go slow
Mohammed Shami’s fifth ball thudded into Ruturaj Gaikwad’s gloves and discomfited him. Arshdeep Singh then targetted Gaikwad’s left shoulder with a similar sharp lifter and had him miscuing a pull to midwicket for 12 off 14 balls. Moeen Ali had to contend with the short stuff as well: after Shami pushed him back, Arshdeep swung one away from the left-hander to have him nicking off in the last over of the powerplay.

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By the time Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu were also bested by short balls, Super Kings were 42 for 4 in the ninth over. MS Dhoni threatened to break free when he crunched a legbreak from Ravi Bishnoi to the cover boundary, but the spinner struck back to take out Dhoni with a wrong’un.Fabulous Faf
Kings XI’s attack subdued Ravindra Jadeja as well, keeping him to 15 off 17 balls, but Faf du Plessis got on top of them in the slog overs. After reaching 50 off 46 balls, du Plessis looked spent, but quickly jumped into top gear, walloping three fours and two sixes in his next eight balls. du Plessis also lined up Shami, who had looked unhittable in the powerplay, before the quick pounded the pitch once again and had the batter top-edging a pull for 76 off 55 balls.Rahul on a roll
Super Kings had smashed 52 off their last five overs to give their attack something to bowl at, but Punjab Kings hit nearly as many (51) in the powerplay itself to regain control. With Punjab Kings needing to win big (and needing other results go their way), Rahul went on a boundary-hitting spree from the get-go – like he used to do back in the day. He was particularly brutal on Deepak Chahar, taking him for 34 off just 12 balls. Josh Hazlewood briefly shook up Rahul when he struck him on the helmet, but the Kings captain overcame that blow and also took him to the cleaners in the powerplay.Rahul surged to his half-century off 25 balls, and eventually finished the chase with a six, his eighth overall on Thursday, handing Super Kings their third successive defeat.

The BBC has dropped Michael Vaughan from its coverage of the upcoming Ashes series in Australia, and BT Sport may yet follow suit, after he was named in the Azeem Rafiq racism probe.Vaughan, the former England captain turned commentator, was stood down from his BBC Radio 5 Live show earlier this month after it emerged that he was the subject of a complaint by Rafiq in Yorkshire’s report into Rafiq’s allegations of racism at the club.On Wednesday, the BBC released a statement saying that Vaughan would also not be involved in its “wider coverage of the sport at the moment”.”While he is involved in a significant story in cricket, for editorial reasons we do not believe that it would be appropriate for Michael Vaughan to have a role in our Ashes team or wider coverage of the sport at the moment,” the BBC statement said.”We require our contributors to talk about relevant topics and his involvement in the Yorkshire story represents a conflict of interest.”Related

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Responding in a post on Instagram, Vaughan admitted he was “very disappointed” at the decision, and would “miss working with great colleagues & friends”.However, he confirmed that he will still be a part of the Ashes coverage in his TV role with Fox Cricket in Australia, which is also due to be heard in the UK, following BT Sport’s decision not to send a bespoke commentary team.”The issues facing cricket are bigger than any individual case,” Vaughan added. “I want to be part of the solution, listening, educating myself and helping to make it a more welcoming sport for all.”Now, however, BT Sport too are considering Vaughan’s place in their plans, with a spokesman confirming that the decision to share the Australian host broadcasting feed – originally made “as a result of Covid and travel restrictions” – was now under review.”The recent report presented to UK Parliament uncovering institutional racism within cricket and specifically Yorkshire County Cricket Club is extremely disappointing and a concern for all,” the BT Sport spokesman added. “Given these recent events we are reviewing and discussing our commentary plans with Cricket Australia.”The issue stems from Rafiq’s allegation that Vaughan had noted the inclusion of four players of Asian heritage in the Yorkshire side playing a county fixture against Nottinghamshire in 2009 and said: “There are too many of you lot; we need to do something about it.” Vaughan has denied the allegations against him.Rafiq’s account was supported by former Pakistan bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and England leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who said they heard the comment.Appearing before a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee hearing last week, Rafiq said: “I think it’s important on Michael [Vaughan] that we don’t make it all about Michael. It was a long time ago, Michael might not remember it as I said about earlier because it doesn’t mean anything. But three of us remember it.”Vaughan joined the BBC’s Test Match Special radio team as a summariser in 2009.

The SLC has confirmed that spectators will be allowed up to 50% of stadium capacity for the second edition of the Lanka Premier League, starting on Sunday.Fans entering the stadium will need to be double vaccinated, with a period of at least two weeks having elapsed since receiving their second dose, Arjuna De Silva, the head of SLC’s medical committee, revealed on Thursday. The board said that the tickets will be available for online purchase in the coming days.Related

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“We have had discussions right along with the Ministry of Health, and they have agreed to give us 50% spectators,” Arjuna said at a media briefing ahead of the tournament. “There is a new variant [Omicron], but that is immaterial, as we always follow the health guidelines. We are asking for spectators who have been double vaccinated for at least two weeks.”The ongoing Test series between Sri Lanka and the West Indies is the first instance of fans being allowed in a stadium in Sri Lanka since the pandemic last year.Sri Lanka’s bio-bubble protocols were successful during the last year’s LPL, with no Covid-19 cases detected during the tournament – two cases were reported before its start. All the matches took place at a single venue last year. This time around, though, most of the games – including the playoffs – will take place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with the action switching to Hambantota for the start of the Eliminator and the final.”There could be a problem when moving from venue to venue,” Arjuna said. “That was the problem faced during the IPL, though that was also because many teams had to fly to different venues. But we’re confident we can keep the bubble secure.”As per the Covid protocols, players will be tested every five days during the competition. Before entering the bubble, a player who is already in the country must do a PCR test 48 hours prior, and quarantine himself for 24 hours. Double vaccinated (by an SL/WHO-recognised vaccine) foreign players and local players flying in from abroad will be required to show a negative PCR test 48 hours before arrival, as well as an on-arrival PCR. They will also need to quarantine for three days after that.Most of the protocols will remain the same for the non-vaccinated players too, except the quarantine period, which will be extended to six days. They will also need to undergo both a PCR and antigen test before entering the bubble.”This is just to further ensure the safety of the players and the security of the bubble,” Arjuna said.SLC will also be obtaining the services of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit, along with the Sri Lankan sports ministry’s anti-corruption officers, to oversee the tournament.”There are three anti-corruption officers, nominated by the ICC. There were anti-corruption officers last year as well,” SLC CEO Ashley De Silva said.When asked if there had been any anti-corruption breaches reported during the inaugural edition, Ashley said: “We have not been notified of any approaches last year. But we do have their [ICC] anti-corruption unit and the anti-corruption unit from the ministry [of sport] officiating in this year’s tournament.”Although the inaugural edition of LPL had largely been deemed a success, the lead-up to the second season has faced significant hurdles. The tournament was postponed twice to avoid clashes with other T20 leagues around the world. And of the five franchises that competed in the first edition, three have been terminated by organisers, including the Jaffna Stallions franchise, who had won the first season. Colombo and Dambulla franchises are the other two to have been terminated.Upon the defending champions’ exit, the Stallions owners alleged mismanagement and a lack of transparency within the league. Earlier this week, the former owner of the Dambulla Giants made similar allegations.