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The evidence presented against Sharjeel Khan for the alleged corruption charges against him is “insufficient”, according to his lawyer Shaigan Ijaz. In the second hearing of the case against him, the PCB presented the evidence in front of three-man tribunal the board had formed, and provided the material to the player and his counsel, who need to submit the response by May 5.

Latif challenges constitution of tribunal

Khalid Latif filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court before the hearing on Friday, challenging the constitution of the PCB’s three-man tribunal headed by retired Justice Asghar Haider. The petition, however, was dismissed after a few hours, making the player appear before the tribunal.

“They have presented the evidences to the tribunal that contain statements of witnesses and some recording of interviews they had done during the investigations,” Sharjeel’s counsel said. “I want to insist to my media friends that everybody is innocent until or unless proven guilty. Sharjeel Khan is our national asset and our national team player and until the matter is in proceeding and until things are not proved, he is innocent. We will assess the evidence in detail but we understand that these are insufficient.”Similarly, Khalid Latif appeared before the tribunal along with his lawyer and was handed over the evidences. He also needs to respond by May 5.Sharjeel and Latif were charged by the PCB for alleged breaches of its Anti Corruption Code, during the second season of the PSL in the UAE. The PCB had charged the duo for breaching various articles under Clause 2, for attempts to corrupt a game, and for failing to disclose suspect approaches. Both had challenged the harges and a tribunal was formed to hear their cases.The specific articles both are alleged to have violated are: 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.4.4 and 2.4.5. In addition, Latif is alleged to have breached 2.1.4. Both players had denied some of the alleged breaches they were accused of but admitted to at least one of the more minor charges that was related to not reporting the corrupt approaches.The charges are mainly centred on the opening game of the second season of the PSL, as well as activities around it, in Dubai. Islamabad United had registered a comfortable seven-wicket win, by the D/L method, over Peshawar Zalmi. Sharjeel was dismissed for 1 off four balls and Latif did not play the game. Both players were provisionally suspended by the PCB and were sent home with immediate effect.

ScorecardAshar Zaidi plundered 72 off 40 balls to lift Essex to a matchwinning total•Getty Images

Tom Westley’s hard-hitting 93 off 98 balls helped set up Essex’s 25-run victory in their first Royal London Cup match of the season.Westley shared partnerships of 103 with Alastair Cook for the second wicket and 60 with Varun Chopra for the third as Essex threatened at one stage to run riot.But they were pegged back mid-innings and were grateful to Ashar Zaidi’s entertaining unbeaten 40-ball 72, which included four sixes, his highest List A score for Essex, for taking their score beyond 300.Behind the run-rate throughout, Hampshire were always in the game while James Vince (68) and George Bailey (67) were at the wicket in a stand of 91 for the third wicket. Once they departed Hampshire fell further adrift and finished 26 runs short.It hadn’t started well for Essex, put in by Hampshire. Third ball, an inswinger from Reece Topley caught Nick Browne in no man’s land and bowled him. It proved costly as both Cook and Westley went on the offensive. The former England captain drove Kyle Abbott for two fours and Westley pulled Topley disdainfully through midwicket.Westley hit Topley out of the attack with three fours in four balls, the second of them through midwicket bringing up the 50 in the ninth over. Westley’s own half-century came up off 45 balls with eight fours before a sweep off Mason Crane took the partnership to 100 in the 18th over.But three runs later Cook departed when he moved down the pitch, while taking a step back to leg, and completely missing one from Liam Dawson.Chopra reverse-swept and nurdled his way to 26 before he nibbled at one from Abbott and was caught by a tumbling Lewis McManus. Five balls later and Westley’s bludgeoning innings was over, caught magnificently at midwicket by Bailey off Dawson.Ravi Bopara struck a six off Dawson, the pick of Hampshire’s attack, but was fifth out soon after, lbw to Crane for 10, before Ryan ten Doeschate was run out, scampering a quick single off and not beating Crane’s throw.Adam Wheater and Zaidi improvised in a partnership of 42 for the seventh wicket, Wheater’s ramp shot off Gareth Berg earning a pat on the back from the bowler, and Zaidi going down on one knee to carve Crane over midwicket for six. But then Wheater played across one from Sean Ervine and lost his leg stump.It was left to Zaidi to take Essex over the 300 mark with a spectacular exhibition of swashbuckling batting. He cleared the catering tent at midwicket off Ervine for a second six and reached a 30-ball half-century with an unorthodox third six over third man.Hampshire’s chase after 305 started just as Essex’s had done. Michael Carberry got an inside edge to Neil Wagner’s fifth ball and turned to see the off-bail on the ground, his second first-over dismissal in successive innings. Hampshire had only progressed to 36 in the eighth over when Tom Alsop lost his middle stump to one that swung in late from Matt Quinn.Vince set about the recovery and hit both Quinn and Wagner off his back-foot for trademark boundaries square on the offside while Bailey opened up with straight sixes over the sightscreen off Simon Harmer and ten Doeschate.Vince’s fifty came up from 56 balls at the same time as the 50 partnership with Bailey. The stand was eventually broken when Vince gave a return catch to Bopara. Bailey took up the cudgels and duly reached his half-century from 47 balls.Dawson gave support in a 55-run partnership before he was run out trying a single to Browne at wide mid-off. Next ball Wagner had Bailey caught behind and suddenly Hampshire had slipped from 182 for 3 to 182 for 5 with 17 overs left.Hampshire needed 87 off 66 balls, 79 off 53 and 63 off 42, but Ervine struck Quinn over midwicket for a six that brought up the fifty stand with McManus. But Ervine, the non-striker, was caught of his ground shortly after by ten Doeschate to make it six down for 242.The Essex captain then claimed Gareth Berg to a caught-and-bowled and McManus to a catch on the long-leg boundary. Wagner wrapped things up with two wickets in two balls, having Abbott caught at long leg and Crane bowled to finish with 4 for 41.

Sri Lanka squad

Upul Tharanga (capt), Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vikum Sanjaya, Thisara Perera, Sachith Pathirana, Seekkuge Prassanna, Lakshan Sandakan
In: Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Thisara Perera
Out: Chaturanga de Silva, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lahiru Madushanka, Jeffrey Vandersay, Sandun Weerakkody

Kusal Perera and Thisara Perera were recalled to Sri Lanka’s ODI squad against Bangladesh, but captain Angelo Mathews continued to remain unavailable due to injury. Other additions in the ODI squad included opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka – fresh from an excellent run for Sri Lanka A – but there was no place for either seam bowler Nuwan Kulasekara or legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay.Upul Tharanga, who was stand-in captain during their 0-5 ODI whitewash in South Africa, will continue to lead the side in Mathews’ absence. While the management had hoped that Mathews would regain fitness in time for this series, the hamstring tear he sustained during the T20I series in South Africa continued to ail him.Both Pereras have returned to the ODI outfit after showing decent form in the ODI leg of the England Lions’ recent tour of Sri Lanka. Thisara had hit a match-winning 56 not out off 35 in the first unofficial ODI, and taken 2 for 17 in the second. Kusal, meanwhile, had struck two fifties in the three games he played.It was Gunathilaka, however, who headlined that series, with scores of 64, 121 not out, 44 and 51. He returned to the ODI squad after missing the South Africa series with a back complaint and his presence will create additional competition for the opening position. In addition to Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera, Tharanga and Niroshan Dickwella have all recently opened the batting in limited-overs cricket.Sri Lanka’s selectors have unusually selected just one specialist spinner in the 15-man squad, giving Lakshan Sandakan that place, but omitting the likes of Amila Aponso and Vandersay. Allrounders Sachith Pathirana, Asela Gunaratne, and Dhananjaya de Silva are capable slow bowlers however. Left-arm spinning allrounder Chaturanga de Silva, who was picked for that series in South Africa, has been omitted.On the seam-bowling front, Suranga Lakmal appears likely to lead the attack, with Lahiru Kumara and Vikum Sanjaya were also picked. Lasith Malinga has made his comeback from injury in the T20 format, but is yet to reappear in ODIs.The first of three ODIs is scheduled to be played in Dambulla, on March 25.

Baroness Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, the former captain of the England Women’s cricket team, and one of the pioneers of the global game, has died at the age of 77.Heyhoe-Flint played 22 Tests and 23 ODIs between 1960 and 1979, and took over as captain in 1966. However, it is as a driving force for women’s equality in sport that she will be most remembered.Her crowning glory came at the 1973 Women’s World Cup, when she led England to victory in the inaugural tournament, having been instrumental in setting the competition up in the first place.According to legend, the concept was inspired by a bottle of “very good brandy” that she had shared with the future owner of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jack Hayward, as the pair sat down to sketch out an event that would pre-date the men’s World Cup by a full two years.Her initiative came at a time when women still took the field in short skirts, were barred from entering the Long Room at Lord’s (the final, and decisive round-robin match, against Australia, was played at Edgbaston as a consequence), and were still some four decades away from the dawn of the professional era now enjoyed by England’s modern crop of women’s players.Clare Connor, a successor of Heyhoe-Flint’s as England captain, led the tributes from the ECB, where she now serves as head of women’s cricket.”This is overwhelmingly sudden and sad news. It is hard to find the words to fully pay tribute to Rachael. She was so special, so ever-present and now she has gone – but her impact can never be forgotten.”She was my friend and mentor and inspiration. And I am not alone; her impact, kindness and support was widely felt by so many.”Rachael was one of our sport’s true pioneers and it is no exaggeration to say that she paved the way for the progress enjoyed by recent generations of female cricketers. I will always remember and continue to be inspired by her fortitude, her deep love of the game and her wicked, wonderful sense of humour. We are all in her debt on this very sad day.”After retirement, Heyhoe-Flint continued in the pioneering spirit, and was one of the driving forces behind the seismic vote at MCC in 1998 that finally allowed women members to be admitted to the club.In 1999, she was one of ten original female Honorary Life Members, and went on to become the first woman to be elected on to the MCC Committee in 2004, and served a second three-year term between 2008 and 2011. She was also the first female player to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2010.MCC President Matthew Fleming said: “This is a terribly sad day for everyone involved in cricket and all of us at MCC. Rachael Heyhoe-Flint was a pioneer of women’s cricket.”She was the first global superstar in the women’s game and her overall contribution to MCC, cricket and sport in general was immense.”Her impact on MCC, be it through events on the field or in the Committee Room, was immeasurable and her enthusiasm, wisdom and gentleness of character will be missed by everyone with whom she came into contact. We all loved her.”Outside of cricket, she was a major force at her hometown club of Wolverhampton Wanderers, where she worked in the PR department from 1990 and served on the board between 1997 and 2003, before being appointed vice-president.Ben Heyhoe Flint, Rachael’s son, spoke on behalf of her family. “We’re deeply saddened by the passing of Mum, and yet we’re filled with immense pride as we now look back on her achievements in government, cricket, football, charity and community on which she had such a profound influence.”She tackled all of the above at full speed, showing us how grace, a cheeky sense of humour – and tenacity – can break glass ceilings. We hope that we all can continue the legacy that she leaves behind.”The MCC flag on the Clock Tower at Lord’s has been lowered to half-mast as a mark of respect.

Match Abandoned
ScorecardFile photo – Dean Brownlie’s 43 included three fours and two sixes•PA Photos

Northern Districts and Central Districts shared two points each after rain caused their Super Smash match to be abandoned in New Plymouth.Only 20 overs were bowled in the match, that too with two interruptions. After Seth Rance’s double-strike in the second over reduced Northern Districts to 8 for 2, opener Dean Brownlie added 40 runs for the third wicket with Corey Anderson (13). After Anderson was removed by Marty Kain, Brownlie fell two overs later but Daryl Mitchell scored a 37-ball 34 to make sure Northern Districts reached 137 after 20 overs. Rain stopped play in the 12th and 20th over, and poor weather forced the second innings to be abandoned entirely.After two games, both teams were on six points, having won each of first games in the tournament.

The ECB has invited Graeme Swann to work with England’s best young spinners.Swann, who claimed 255 wickets in his 60 Tests and was arguably England’s best offspinner since Jim Laker, has been contacted by Peter Such, the ECB’s lead spin bowling coach, and asked to work with England Under-19s and those in contention for a Lions place. It is understood Swann will undertake several sessions at Loughborough, not far from his Nottingham home, ahead of the winter tours.Alastair Cook recently brushed off questions about Swann’s involvement as a coach, suggesting he was too busy with his media commitments. Swann works for the both the BBC and BT Sport, but he has often expressed an interest in helping where he can and frequently bemoaned the fact that, while England’s batsmen and seam bowlers have specialist coaches with them throughout series home and away, spin bowlers receive less help.The ECB recently hired Saqlain Mushtaq to work with the Test squad’s spinners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, for a few days ahead of the Old Trafford Test and hopes to use him again in the near future. In the past, Daniel Vettori, the former New Zealand spinner, has been used in a similar role, while Mushtaq Ahmed worked with the England team on a consultancy basis for a couple of years.While Saqlain is expected to work with England’s Test spinners at the start of their winter tours – potentially travelling to Bangladesh if that tour goes ahead – it is thought he may struggle to gain a visa to India.The involvement of Swann would be the latest in a raft of measures the ECB has implemented in an attempt to encourage the development of spin bowlers in England. As well as allowing opposition captains the opportunity to bowl first in the County Championship in 2016, a move designed to disincentive counties preparing pitches providing extravagant assistance to seam bowlers, it has been noticeable that young spinners have been invited to bowl at England’s Test players in the nets ahead of each Test of the summer. Mason Crane, the 19-year-old Hampshire legspinner, has been in the nets at the Kia Oval this week.The issue is likely to become more contentious in the coming months as England face seven Tests in Asia. While England’s two main spinners, Swann and Monty Panesar, claimed 37 wickets between them as England defeated India in India in 2012 (nobody on either side took more than Swann’s 20 wickets in the series), when they return to the country in November it will be Moeen and Rashid who are relied upon to provide the bulk of the spin bowling.

Match facts

Saturday, August 27, 2016
Start time 1000 local (1400 GMT)2:13

Fans in the USA want to be a part of history in Florida

Big Picture

Despite the format’s popularity, it is fair to say bilateral Twenty20 internationals are not the newest fad in town. The sheer amount of effort and perseverance required to win a Test match gives importance to even dead rubbers. Bilateral ODIs are still a series, and 100 overs is a long enough duration for narratives to develop. Twenty20, more than any other format, needs a larger context: two points that might push you up a league table or a win that might save you from elimination from a World T20. Bilateral T20 series are played either at the end or start of a long tour almost as an afterthought; they are usually so unimportant that teams hardly bother with getting visas for their T20 specialists.However, these two, to be played over a weekend in Lauderhill in Florida, between world champions West Indies and the team they beat in the World T20 semi-final, India, are different. They carry an important context. While this is not the first time international cricket is being played in America, India v West Indies – two teams with a large expat following there – is way bigger than New Zealand playing Sri Lanka or West Indies.Cricket economy mostly runs around India. So when India go to America with all their delegates, when they sell the TV rights, when they sell the trophy rights, it becomes a big experiment for the future of cricket. This could even be a test run for a second IPL, a mini version, in America going forward; CPL has already had a stint in America that can’t be termed unsuccessful.While these two matches are huge for the cricket economy and its globalisation – in terms of staging and not participation – the cricket carries more subtext than your usual bilateral Twenty20 internationals. Who can forget Darren Sammy’s impassioned speech after he led West Indies to their second World T20 title? Well, the WICB wants you to forget the man himself. He has been dropped despite his stellar performance in the CPL. Leading them now is Carlos “remember the name” Brathwaite.West Indies’ T20 success is down to their individual professionalism rather than the administration. Dropping an inspirational leader such as Sammy is not the first time the establishment has been less than conducive to their best performance; can they continue to excel regardless?India’s leader, on the other hand, is a man much relieved because he is not playing Tests anymore, but that means whatever limited-overs cricket he leads India in becomes extra important for him. He has not tasted first-hand the joys of beating Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies in Tests recently. Over the last year the two highlights for him have been the Asia Cup win and perhaps the Twenty20 series win in Australia. When a player doesn’t get chances in all formats, his shortcomings in the only formats he plays can get magnified. The home series defeat to South Africa, and his failure at finishing off a chase against Zimbabwe means people will keep raising questions if he is going to be around for the 2019 World Cup.

Form guide

India WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies WLWWW

In the spotlight

Start time of 10 am on the weekend. Such an early start is okay for a Test or for an ODI, but defeats the whole idea of T20 as evening-time family entertainment. While this could affect the attendance at the stadium – healthy crowd is still important for the organisers – a prime time TV start for the Indian audience is what brings in the money from the broadcasters.Sammy might not be playing these matches, but that can’t spell much relief for the opposition. His replacement is the now-fit Kieron Pollard. He had an indifferent IPL and CPL after missing out on World T20, and will be looking forward to getting back in form.Ajinkya Rahane does not feature in India’s first XI when everybody is fit for a Twenty20 international. While India seem to have dropped Suresh Raina and haven’t bothered with asking Manish Pandey to travel all the way from the A tour of Australia for just two three-hour games, Rahane is likely to get an opportunity to present his case.

Team news

India are likely to draft Mohammed Shami back in looking at his impressive comeback in Tests. Jasprit Bumrah should play. The other quick bowler could be a toss-up between Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav, depending on how much batting they need from the said bowler. It will be interesting to see how Dhoni goes with his spinners given how he wasn’t very trusting of R Ashwin’s offspin in the World T20 and in the IPL.India 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 KL Rahul, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 7 Stuart Binny/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 8 Ravindra Jadeja/Amit Mishra, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed ShamiSunil Narine is back with a cleared action, and should take Sulieman Benn’s place.*West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Andre Fletcher, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Lendl Simmons, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Kieron Pollard, 9 Carlos Brathwaite (capt.), 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Samuel Badree

Pitch and conditions

According to , the 10 inches of rain so far this month in Miami makes it the eighth-wettest August on record. A magnificent lightning show danced across the Fort Lauderdale sky almost non-stop from 7 pm until well after midnight on Thursday. A tropical low currently just north of Haiti and nearing the Bahamas is threatening to develop into the Atlantic tropical season’s eighth named storm as Tropical Storm Hermine. Preliminary forecasts are showing that if it forms into a full-fledged Hurricane, it may be on track to hit south Florida on Sunday.

Stats and trivia

• In 2010 Lauderhill threw up a slow tacky surface, which produced only one score of over 100 in two matches, but there was more T20 entertainment in store in 2012 when West Indies piled on 209 and 177 to beat New Zealand.
• The first-innings scores in the CPL matches in Lauderhill ranged between 206 and 137. Three of the six matches were won by sides batting first.
• Dwayne Bravo is one wicket short of becoming only the third player to reach the double of 1000 runs and 50 wickets in T20Is. Shahid Afridi and Shakib Al Hasan await him at the club.

Quotes

“The only thing that we are doing is that we will prepare as best as we can because India is going to be coming looking for revenge for the semi-final loss and we have to make sure that we are ready for whatever they bring to us.”
“West Indies has always been a tough side, they are the T20 world champions. They are quality cricketers and have shown consistently how good they are and we had a tough match in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup as well. In terms of the quality that we are going to encounter, we are aware of that.”
*18.20GMT, August 26: The preview had erroneously mentioned Denesh Ramdin as part of the West Indies squad.

Phil Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, has said his bowlers have done well to keep India’s batsmen quiet on day two of the Sabina Park Test. India, 126 for 1 overnight, went to stumps 358 for 5, with a lead of 162.”Usually, you average a day to be 270 in Test cricket with 90 full overs and we have restricted them, especially with [KL] Rahul going the way he was and then the skipper [Virat Kohli] later. Restricting them to 230 (232) in 90 (88) overs shows there’s improvement from Antigua.”He went on to elaborate on this point, saying his bowlers were learning to be patient.”I think they learned today what we have been talking about for the last six months, about being patient in Test cricket. And when the wicket isn’t assisting like this one, you have to be patient and then the pressure that you build from patience will get you wickets. I think what I have learned that they are listening sometimes. I hope they are listening all the time. They are seeking patience now, they are trying to hold these world-class batsmen [back].”Midway through the day, the debutant fast bowler Miguel Cummins pulled up after bowling a wide in his 16th over of the innings, and went off the field clutching the back of his thigh. Simmons said Cummins had suffered from cramps, and hoped he would be fit to resume bowling on the third day.”He had a lot of cramps today,” Simmons said. “I can’t tell you why because I’m not a doctor. But yeah, we basically played with two quicks today. Hopefully he will be better tomorrow and do his job.”When the second new ball became available, India had a new batsman at the crease in Kohli, but West Indies chose not to take it immediately, instead waiting until the start of the post-tea session, by which time 11 more overs had elapsed.Asked about this, Simmons’ response was terse. “I haven’t spoken with the captain, so I don’t know.”Jason Holder, the captain, had chosen to bat despite the first-day pitch sporting a fair covering of grass and looking like it was moist underneath. Simmons said he had made the right decision, and the batsmen had failed to do their job.”Batsmen are supposed to bat,” he said. “I didn’t think there was any threat in the wicket yesterday. So I would bat first again.”Simmons hoped his bowlers would continue to bowl as they had done on day two.”The only thing we can do is to come tomorrow again and work hard to get the wickets that we have to. And then the batsmen have got to stand up because the bowlers have stood up today and hopefully they will stand up again tomorrow morning and we get the wickets we need. It’s up to the batsmen to stand up now.”Simmons expected India’s spinners, who took six wickets in West Indies’ first innings, to remain a threat in the second innings as well.”It’s definite,” he said. “[R] Ashwin is the No.1 bowler in the word. He is going to be difficult on any wicket you play him on, let alone a wicket that’s turning and has some bounce too. It’s going to be difficult but that’s what Test cricket is about. If it’s not difficult it won’t be called Test cricket. The batsmen know that they have to come and make sure that they put their heads down and they have to work hard against both spinners.”Rain is forecast on the three remaining days of the match, but Simmons said he wasn’t hoping for the weather gods to intervene just yet, and still had some hope that his players could turn the game around.”I don’t think we need them yet,” he said. “I will tell you on the fourth day if we need it on fifth day. The wicket is still playing very well so it’s up to the batsmen to get their heads down and get some runs.”

Schedule

Sept 30: England arrive in Dhaka
Oct 4: Warm-up one-dayer, Fatullah
Oct 7: 1st ODI, Dhaka
Oct 9: 2nd ODI, Dhaka
Oct 12: 3rd ODI, Chittagong
Oct 14-17 Two two-day warm-up matches, Chittagong
Oct 20-24: 1st Test, Chittagong
Oct 28-November 1: 2nd Test, Dhaka

England are set to tour Bangladesh for the first time since 2010 for two Tests and three ODIs in October.In their third multi-format tour to the country, England, who are likely to arrive in Dhaka on September 30, will start with a warm-up one-day match in Fatullah on October 4.The first two ODIs will be played on October 7 and 9 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. The teams will travel to Chittagong for the third.The visitors have been given back-to-back two-day warm-up games at the MA Aziz Stadium before the first Test begins on October 20 in Chittagong. The second Test will be held in Dhaka from October 28.Having played only T20s this year so far, this will be Bangladesh’s first ODI and Test series since last November. England will depart for their tour of India on November 2.*11.40am GMT, June 28: The full schedule was added, including the warm-up fixtures in Chittagong.