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Shahid Afridi has joined Karachi Kings as “president”, according to the franchise. He is likely to feature for the team as a player, too, in the third edition of Pakistan Super League in 2018, though this is yet to be confirmed; the PSL’s trading window ahead of the next edition is yet to open. Last month Afridi had announced on Twitter that he had left Peshawar Zalmi after two years with the franchise.ESPNcricinfo understands that Afridi is likely to be traded between Peshawar and Karachi as part of the formalities later this year. For now, Karachi Kings owner Salman Iqbal confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Afridi had joined his franchise as president.Afridi had tweeted on March 25 that he was “announcing my end of service as president & player of Peshawar Zalmi Team due to my personal reasons”. He said it was “time for another” team. Following his tweets, Peshawar’s owner, Javed Afridi, told ESPNcricinfo that he was “clueless” in the matter. Later, it was learnt that Afridi had parted ways from the franchise over disagreements with the owner.”There are things that I don’t want to bring in media but Javed’s vision has changed with the time,” Afridi said on a TV show on Geo News. “I don’t want to become a hindrance to Javed’s goal and vision, because I have my own foundation and a lot of other things. So I can not fullfil his commitments and want to focus on my things as well. I wanted to announce it after the PSL final, but I had couple of commitments with Zalmi, so I waited for the right time.”Afridi, who is based in Karachi but was born in Khyber Agency, had talked about the importance of Peshawar Zalmi to his local region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a day before his Twitter announcment. “We have not created the Peshawar Zalmi team to play just a month’s cricket in the PSL and then sit at home,” Afridi had said. “Our work goes beyond the cricket field and we want to change the lives of the underprivileged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”Peshawar Zalmi won the PSL title in 2017, defeating Quetta Gladiators in the final held at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Afridi had missed the final with a finger injury that he picked up during the playoffs in the UAE. In all, in ten matches in PSL 2017, he had scored 177 runs at 25.28 with a strike rate of 173.52, and taken two wickets with an economy rate of 6.75. He had captained the franchise in the inaugural edition of the tournament, before handing over to Darren Sammy this year.

Ravindra Jadeja has climbed one place to join R Ashwin at No.1 in the ICC rankings for Test bowlers in what is the first instance of two spinners jointly claiming the top spot.

Top five bowlers in Tests

1. Ravindra Jadeja – 892 points
1. R Ashwin – 892 points
3. Josh Hazlewood – 863 points
4. Rangana Herath – 827 points
5. Kagiso Rabada – 821 points

Jadeja’s seven wickets, including a first-innings six-for, in the second Test against Australia helped him occupy the top rank and assured India the No.1 spot in the ICC Test Team rankings for the annual April 1 cut-off.He shares the top spot with Ashwin, whose eight-wicket haul took him past Bishan Bedi as the fifth-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests with 269 scalps. However, Ashwin’s poor returns with the bat – 20 in the last four innings – meant he has dropped behind Shakib Al Hasan on the list of Test allrounders.The last time two bowlers shared the No.1 rank was in April 2008, when Dale Steyn and Muttiah Muralitharan were at 897 points. Jadeja and Ashwin are currently at 892 points each, and lead Australia’s Josh Hazlewood at No. 3 by 29 points.In the rankings for Test batsmen, Virat Kohli lost his second spot to Joe Root after managing only 40 in his last two Tests. Steven Smith maintained his reign at the top for the 77th Test, edging past Ricky Ponting’s 76 matches as the third longest stint at the top among Australians after Steve Waugh (94) and Don Bradman (93).

Scorecard
Shubman Gill anchored India’s chase with an unbeaten 138•PTI

Shubman Gill’s maiden hundred and an accurate bowling display from India Under-19’s bowlers, led by legspinner Rahul Chahar and left-arm spinner Anukul Roy, propped the hosts to a thumping seven-wicket win against England U-19s at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Chasing 215, India rode on 17-year-old Gill’s 157-ball 138, an innings that featured 17 fours and two sixes, to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.Gill began India’s chase in sprightly fashion, hitting three boundaries in the first over. England’s bowling attack missed the accuracy of Matthew Fisher, who sat out with a niggle, as the openers capitalised on plenty of run-scoring options off their wayward lines. Gill’s timing on a slow surface was impeccable. On a quick outfield, all he needed to do was find the gaps. He played the ball discernibly late, a marked improvement from the first two games, where he was dismissed as a result of hard hands through the line. He struck two sixes in his innings, a flat-batted slap over mid-off off a free hit and a pull over square leg.India raced past 50 in the seventh over, forcing Max Holden, the stand-in captain for Fisher, to turn to spin early. The move worked for England: Delray Rawlins had Himanshu Rana caught behind, edging a cut and Priyam Garg trapped in front off a non-turning delivery. Left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White, one of three inclusions for England, then had Salman Khan lbw, reducing India to 101 for 3.Thereafter, Harvik Desai and Gill combined to put on an unbeaten 115-run partnership to ease India home with 35 balls to spare. England’s bowling lacked penetration and depth, their lines were inconsistent, and the fielding was substandard. As the afternoon wore on, their frustration grew. Rawlins and Jack Blatherwick were involved in verbal squabbles with Gill, forcing the umpires to intervene.England’s day didn’t begin well either. After opting to bat, Holden continued his run of wretched scores on this tour. He was dismissed for eight in the fourth over off fast bowler Heramb Parab. After Henry Brook was caught for 12, George Bartlett and Rawlins, who was promoted to No. 4, were responsible for England’s rebuild.Both batsmen were fluent from the outset. Bartlett in particular, was strong off his wrists, finding the boundary – he hit six fours and a six – with ease on a sluggish pitch. However, as the spinners were introduced and the field spread, Bartlett found run-scoring increasingly tougher. Chahar troubled him by dragging his length back, extracting just enough turn. Bartlett survived a close lbw appeal off Chahar in the 22nd over, and was stumped in the next, attempting to heave a ball he wasn’t close to.Like the rest of the series, Rawlins had no such trouble against the spinners, continually using his feet and cross-batted strokes to push the score along. He hit 11 fours and two sixes – some were bludgeoned, some a result of deft touch. He hit two boundaries in the 43rd over, a six over long-off and a four over midwicket, to move to 96. The next ball, however, he reverse-swept Roy to short third man, missing his second century in three games by a few feet.Wicketkeeper Ollie Pope missed a cut off a slider and Will Jacks was acrobatically taken by Chahar at midwicket. A score of 171 for 3 quickly turned to 200 for 7 as England’s lower order struggled to find fluency against India’s spinners. Chahar returned towards the end to pick up three wickets, two of which were stumpings off wild slogs, capping a fine effort in the field.

Marlon Samuels has called on the WICB to “compromise” in their selection policy after he was omitted from West Indies’ ODI squad, and suggested he could accept a Kolpak deal in county cricket if an agreement cannot be reached.Samuels, twice man of the match in World T20 finals, was left out of West Indies’ 15-man squad after electing to miss games in the Super 50 competition – the Caribbean regional List A tournament – in order to play in the more lucrative Pakistan Super League. Current WICB policy is that no player will be considered for the international team unless they have made themselves available for the entire regional competition in that format.But Samuels, who claims he was offered double the value of his previous West Indies retainer contract (worth $135,000) to appear in the BPL, argues that the WICB could learn from the example of the boards of New Zealand and England, who allow their players to appear in overseas T20 leagues without it rendering them ineligible for international cricket. Late last year, Samuels was one of the three players – along with Darren Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite – to decline the WICB retainer. It is understood that Samuels was offered a Grade C contract worth $115,000, demoting him from the previous Grade B.”Why can’t I play some games in the PSL and come back and play against England?” Samuels asked in an interview with , a Jamaica-based television network. “I’m not 20. You’re still telling me to miss out on everything. Why can’t you compromise?”The rule they have doesn’t make any sense. You have to compromise. Eoin Morgan, the England captain, is playing in the PSL and then he goes to the Caribbean. Why can’t I do the same? Why play hard ball in everything?”While there is some logic in the WICB stance – they insist that, to retain the strength of their regional competitions, their best players must participate – the reality of the policy has been to deny them many of their best players. Players such as Samuels, who is aged 36, and aware of the diminishing opportunities he may have to earn for his retirement, can earn far more on the T20 circuit than the WICB can afford to pay in retainers. Sunil Narine, ranked third in the ICC’s ODI bowling rankings, is another who has been deemed ineligible.The ECB, by contrast, has actively encouraged some players to take part in the IPL during the county season – they have even allowed the likes of Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes to skip two ODIs against Ireland – reasoning that the benefits of the experience will outweigh the negatives of the dilution of their own domestic product. There might also be an acceptance that the value of central contracts cannot keep pace with the escalation in T20 fees and that, as a result, compromise is required.While Dave Cameron, the president of the WICB, recently stated the board’s selection policy could be reviewed, the selection of the ODI squad to play England suggests there has been no change in the short term.Samuels has not played for West Indies since the Pakistan tour in the UAE last year, and was dropped for the tri-series in Zimbabwe. He was especially surprised at his omission from the three-match ODI series against England given WICB’s recent investment in him when the board paid for his travel to England for his bowling action to be tested. That trip proved fruitful as the ICC cleared Samuels to bowl in international cricket once again.”I didn’t pay for my bowling. ICC didn’t pay for my bowling .The West Indies Cricket Board paid for my bowling. So they invested in my bowling for me to come back to bowl against England. Now I’m going to hear that I’ve to stay and play all the Super50 games.”Incidentally, Samuels ended up playing just one match for Leewards Islands in the Super50 before he left to play in the PSL.Samuels also revealed that he has been offered a three-year Kolpak deal by Derbyshire worth up to £130,000 a season, fuelling concerns that West Indies could be hit by a spate of international retirements of the sort that recently shocked South African cricket. While it is understood he has indicated a reluctance to accept the deal – he would prefer a deal as an overseas player in county cricket, thereby sustaining his hopes of playing international cricket – he has suggested it remains on the table.Samuels asserted that, for him, it is loyalty to West Indies that comes first, which was evident in his 17 years’ service in Caribbean cricket. “I’ve got a Kolpak deal on my plate which I’m contemplating,” he said. “It’s a three-year deal with Derbyshire. Worth probably £120,000-130,000 a year. The money is not the issue at the moment, I’ve been playing international cricket the last 17 years so have set myself the right way. This is about principle, about being loyal. I’ve been a loyal soldier for West Indies cricket and continue to play. I showed some loyalty, so I expect a bit of loyalty. I’m only the one from 2000 still here, sticking round and playing for the West Indies.”Samuels said he was in “no rush” to sign the Derbyshire deal as, after the PSL, he would travel to play another league in Hong Kong and had a “few other deals” in the bag.Samuels is unlikely to be the only Caribbean player attracting interest from England’s first-class counties. Darren Bravo, whose relationship with WICB would appear to be in tatters following a public falling-out with Cameron, is one who is certain to be snapped up if he decides to go that route, while fellow Trinidadian Denesh Ramdin is also understood to be of interest.Ravi Rampaul, the second highest wicket-taker in this year’s Super 50, is already on a Kolpak deal with Surrey, while former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was second in the batting averages, has recently signed a similar deal with Lancashire. Fidel Edwards is also signed to Hampshire as a Kolpak, Other players such as Jofra Archer, Keith Barker and Chris Jordan have also chosen to pursue their careers in England when they could have been eligible for West Indies.

Lou Rowan, the Australian umpire who was at the centre of the 1971 controversy in which England captain Ray Illingworth led his team off the SCG, has died at the age of 91.Rowan officiated in 25 Tests as well as the inaugural one-day international, and was one of Australia’s leading umpire through much of the 1960s. Prior to his death he was also Australia’s oldest living Test umpire, and away from the game he was a former Queensland drug squad detective.He was most remembered for the 1971 Sydney Test, during which Rowan warned England fast bowler John Snow for intimidatory bowling to Australia’s Terry Jenner. After the warning, Snow was grabbed by a member of the crowd while fielding on the boundary, and Illingworth walked his team off the field in protest.Rowan instructed Illingworth that England had to resume play or forfeit the match, and play did indeed continue. In his memoir, titled , Rowan – who also did not give a single lbw to England during five Tests of that series – said he did not regret his actions on that day.”It is not a happy thought that, as an umpire, I might have been the spark to explode Anglo-Australian Test cricket relations to smithereens,” Rowan wrote. “But I have no regrets for my part in the affair; I would act no differently in similar circumstances now, whether at club or international cricket level.”Rowan had also been on the field during another controversial moment earlier in his career, although on that occasion was not an antagonist. Standing in his third Test, at the Gabba in 1963, Rowan was at the other end when his fellow umpire Colin Egar called Ian Meckiff for chucking, effectively ending Meckiff’s career.

Yorkshire have gambled on the anticipated dwindling of Gary Ballance’s Test career, at least in the short term, by appointing him captain in all three formats.Ballance’s appointment represents the first major decision by Yorkshire’s new head coach, Andrew Gale, and ends weeks of conjecture about whether Ballance’s leadership role can remain undisrupted by further England calls.Alex Lees, who was hailed as Yorkshire’s youngest official captain since Lord Hawke, one of the county’s most iconic figures, when he took charge of the limited-overs formats in 2016, has relinquished the role after only one season.Ballance, at 27, still retains the drive to add to his 21 Tests, but he has been omitted from England’s line-up throughout the India series, so much out of contention that it is questionable whether there has been any purpose in him remaining on tour.”When Andrew Gale called me, it was impossible to turn down. Being captain is something that I enjoy doing and hopefully I will do a good job for Yorkshire and follow on from the good work that Galey has done over the years.”I’m experienced now, I have played a bit of cricket over the years, so I have seen how different captains work. I think that I am a calm person and like to think that I have a decent cricket brain. I’m not a massive speaker, but I will be looking to lead by example on the field and get the lads to follow me.”It must be challenging nevertheless to accept a job with total conviction when deep down you are hoping that you might bat so well you will make yourself redundant again in no time.Gale is not blind to the risks but he made no secret of his preference for a captain to cover all formats when he was unveiled as 1st XI coach – indeed, he was not best pleased when his own captaincy career finished in the Championship only – and Ballance was his preferred option from the outset if it was felt that England calls would be limited.Although England’s middle-order remains far from settled, the emergence of Haseeb Hameed and Keaton Jennings does give England more options at the top of the order, with the possibility that Jennings might fill a role at No. 3, and with the Champions Trophy looming in June there is no Test cricket in the first half of the 2017 summer.Although, to the outsider, he might not immediately give off the presence of a leader, Ballance commands great respect in the dressing room with younger players naturally gravitating to him for advice.Gale said: “I wanted to take my time when deciding who to appoint as new Club Captain and Gary is the right man to take the team forward. I am a firm believer in continuity and I am pleased that Gary will captain Yorkshire across all three formats.”Gary is respected on and off the field, has a good cricket brain and knows the direction that we would like to take the team in. He has led from the front for many years with the bat and his experience speaks for itself.”Last season, I missed a game against Nottinghamshire at Scarborough with a back injury and Gary stepped in as captain. He showed great qualities as a leader and I am excited about how he will lead the side in the future.”Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director cricket, has contented himself with an advisory role as Gale, retired for all of a month, made the captaincy call, but Moxon was quick to praise the attributes of Yorkshire’s new leader.”Gary has captained a little bit in the past and has done a really good job,” Moxon said. “He has got the respect of the players and is a very popular member of the dressing room. He is a hugely experienced cricketer now having played international cricket. Tactically he is astute, so he will be very good at that side as well as managing the lads.”For Lees, the emphasis changes to making top-order runs and reviving his reputation as one of the most promising top-order batsmen in the country. Captaincy seemed to have come too early for him, although he did rally Yorkshire in mid-season in the NatWest Blast to the extent that, against expectations, they reached Finals Day.”Galey feels, and I agree, that one captain is the way to go,” Moxon said. “It is an opportunity for Alex to concentrate on his batting and make sure that he is the best batsman that he can be. That is important for his development and for the team if he is stacking the runs up.”We felt that it was only right that he didn’t have any distractions with that in mind and he is very comfortable with that.”

Zac Toumazi, Sussex’s chief executive, will step down from his role at the end of 2016, after four years in the position.Toumazi, who joined Sussex at the start of 2013, oversaw the integration of Sussex’s professional, recreational and community cricket into one organisation, Sussex Cricket Limited, as well as a major overhaul of the ground infrastructure at Hove, including the development of a new media centre.He arrived at Sussex following a career in investment banking, as well as commercial roles at both Hampshire and Surrey and used that experience to help the club to punch above its weight, not least in securing a notable naming-rights deal for what became known as the BrightonandHoveJobs.com (latterly 1st Central) County Ground.However, Sussex’s relegation in 2015 hit the club hard, with the departure of their long-standing coach, Mark Robinson, effectively bringing to an end an era in which they won three County Championship titles in five seasons, including their maiden success in 2003.”It has been a difficult decision to make but I do believe that it is right for me to move on and hand over the reins to a successor,” said Toumazi. “The role of CEO of such a great club has been a privilege and an honour. I have enjoyed my time at Sussex and leave behind an excellent team that is set for the future. Our professional cricket is poised for exciting times ahead under the new management team, our Academy is bearing fruit with the young players coming through the programme, and I am sure that trophies are not too far away.”I take away many fond memories and lasting friendships. A special thank you to our members and partners who have been an absolute delight to interact with and who are always ready to support. I have no doubt that the future is bright for Good Old Sussex by The Sea.”Sussex’s chairman, Jim May, added: “Zac Toumazi has been a very professional and well respected chief executive who has brought great energy to the role and has been a great ambassador for Sussex. Aside from overseeing the ground-breaking formation of Sussex Cricket, Zac has accomplished much including the restructure of our pro-cricket department and has helped drive our commercial business.”He will be rightly remembered as a man with strong values whose interpersonal skills have helped strengthen our relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. Zac has been an excellent chief executive who leaves Sussex with our very best wishes, and, in very good shape for his successor.”

There are ways to move on from “a tough few weeks”, as Alex Hales summed up his recent difficulties, then there is what he managed at Trent Bridge.In his previous 10 innings against Pakistan this season – eight in the Tests and then the first two ODIs – he had made 166 runs, plus an angry visit to the match referee’s office. In the space of 122 deliveries in Nottinghamshire, he plundered 171, England’s highest ODI innings, to break the 23-year-old record of Robin Smith who made an unbeaten 167 against Australia, at Edgbaston, in 1993.Although Hales began this series slowly, with scores of 7 and 14, his one-day form has been impressive for much of the year. He made five consecutive fifty-plus scores against South Africa then hit an unbeaten 133 against Sri Lanka, at Edgbaston, when he and Jason Roy, who also came close to breaking Smith’s record against Sri Lanka at The Oval with 162, put on a record 256.”It’s been a tough few weeks personally. The Test series didn’t go to plan but when it comes to the white ball in the last 12 months I’ve felt in good form,” Hales said. “I was always confident heading into this series and it’s nice to put it right tonight. The summer has had plenty of ups and downs.”I did well against Sri Lanka but didn’t do myself justice against Pakistan. It’s nice to try and sweep that under the rug and try to move forwards.”Hales’ place in the Test side is under scrutiny ahead of the Bangladesh tour – a trip which he admitted remained on his mind as he weighed up whether to travel amid the security situation – but while he is wary of linking his one-day runs to his five-day future, he did say how it had also taken him some time to settle in 50-over cricket.It was not until his 11th ODI innings that he made a half-century and it was his 21st when his maiden century came, against Pakistan, in Abu Dhabi last year.”They’re two very different games, red-ball and white-ball cricket. All I can do is try to score as many runs as I can in the remaining games and keep myself in contention for that spot. Hopefully they back me. It was a tough series but when it came to 50-over cricket it took me 20 games to cement my spot.”Hales was given a life in his innings, on 72, when he pulled Wahab Riaz to deep square leg, only for the TV umpire to indicate, via the trial method of him calling no-balls, that Wahab had overstepped.It was one of a litany of errors by Pakistan which began with a misfield in the opening over of the day. Captain Azhar Ali admitted it was a dire performance which allowed England to rack up a world-record 444 for 3.”We didn’t start well in the field. Once you have three or four fielding lapses straight away it doesn’t send a good message,” Azhar said. “We didn’t set a good tone to start with. There’s no excuse for that.”It’s basic stuff. You expect to field well in every game. We need to raise in all aspects of the game; batting, bowling and fielding. There were lapses everywhere.”The wicket was really good and there were lots of runs in it, but 444 is a bit too much. A few no-balls and fielding lapses really cost us. Once the batsmen start going, it is hard to stop them. In the key times we missed chances, especially the wicket of Hales on 70.”Throughout the early matches of this series the Pakistan players, including the captain, have insisted that they are better than their No. 9 ranking would suggest, but Azhar conceded it is a hard argument to sustain after such a defeat.”I still believe that we are not that bad but we need to learn quickly otherwise we’ll prove ourselves wrong.”They have two matches left to regain some pride, but with England in such form it is hard to see anything other than a whitewash.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:25