Cricket news round-up – August 10: Gayle excluded for test against India, Shahzad suspended

West Indies squad for the test series against India has been announced. Adil Rashid will miss the rest of English domestic season due to an injury. Mohammad Shahzad has been suspended by Afghanistan Cricket Board for violating breach of conduct yet again.

No farewell test for Gayle

West Indies squad for the test series against India has been announced.  Chris Gayle has been kept out the team as the selectors have kept faith on the squad that earned a 2-1 series victory over England earlier this year at home. Rahkeem Cornwall is all set to make test debut after taking 260 wickets at 23.90 apiece in 55 first-class matches. Chris Gayle who had played his last test in September 2014, hinted about playing a final test before taking the final call. But his wish has not been granted.

The squad: Jason Holder (c), Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach.

Rashid to miss rest of England domestic season

Adil Rashid has been ruled out of action for at least two months from all formats of cricket. According to an ICC report, a chronic shoulder injury is to be blamed for the same. The 31-year-old sustained the injury during the 2019 ICC World Cup. A scan showed that Rashid would require a sustained period of rehabilitation to recover fully. This means that he will be missing the rest of the England domestic season.

In an announcement on the Yorkshire CC website, Rashid informed, “I’ve had a shoulder problem for a little while and I got through the World Cup with an injection. Obviously, as time has gone on the injection has worn out and, after the World Cup, I started feeling a bit of a pinch in my shoulder. These things can happen and fortunately, it hasn’t happened to me earlier. I’ve played 13-14 years of professional cricket and this is the first time I’ve suffered an injury to my shoulder.”

Shahzad suspended

Mohammad Shahzad has been suspended by the Afghanistan Cricket Board for an indefinite period following a further breach of the ACB Code of Conduct. Mohammad Shahzad was earlier found to have violated conduct during the 2019 IC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales and was sent home from the tournament having played just matches following a ‘disciplinary matter’. The board said, “Mohammad Shahzad did not attend meetings scheduled with the Discipline Committee on 20th and 25th of the last month,” the statement read.

According to the official statement of the board, Mohammad Shahzad has received the punishment for travelling out of the country without seeking permission of the governing body. ACB further added, “The Discipline Committee will meet after Eid-ul Adha holidays to assess the breaches by Mohammad Shahzad and make a decision to be publicized soon. ACB has well-equipped training and practice facilities within the country and Afghan players do not require to travel abroad for such purposes.”

Winnipeg Hawks reach Canada Global T20 Final

Winnipeg Hawks secured a spot in the final of the Canada Global T20 followed by a tight win against Brampton Wolves in Qualifier 2. Hawks will meet Vancouver Knights in the final on August 11.

Man-of-the match Shaiman Anwar and JP Duminy starred in the tricky chase for the Hawks after the Wolves put up 200 runs in 20 overs. Key contributions came from the captain Darren Sammy (33 off 22), Shahid Afridi (32 off 16), Babar Hayat (32 off 24), and Wahab Riyaz (23 off 15). They recovered from 75/4 and added 125 runs in last 11 overs. Hawks captain Rayad Emrit was the most successful bowler and finished with 3/43.

Anwar started the chase at electrifying fashion by scoring 52 off 23 balls with six fours and four sixes. He along with Chris Lynn added 76 runs in first six overs before Anwar was out. Lynn went on to score 35 off 20 balls. Post his dismissal Sunny Sohal (41) and Duminy added 69 runs in quick time. Duminy remained not out for 50 and completed the chase with Dwayne Smith on the final ball of the 20th over.

A big win for Somerset over Kent

Tom Banton’s 51-ball 100 helped Somerset to break their sequence of 11 consecutive defeats to Kent. The young opener blasted his way to his maiden T20 century with nine fours and five sixes. Except for Banton and Captain Tom Abell’s 33-ball 63, no other batsmen from Somerset could reach double digit. Despite that, Somerset posted 206/8 and comfortably defended that to record a win by 55 runs.

Kent started well and reached 50 in 5.2 overs but they started losing wickets and a 200 plus total proved to be out of reach. For Somerset Craig Overton finished with 3/32.