Cricket news round-up – December 25: BCB send proposal to PCB for T20I series, Stokes doubtful for next Test

Cricket news round-up – December 25: BCB send proposal to PCB for T20I series, Stokes doubtful for next Test

Ben Stokes England Australia

Bangladesh have shown interest in playing T20Is in Pakistan. Ben Stokes may miss the Boxing Day Test. Adam Zampa gets ready for the third season with Essex.

Bangladesh keen to play three T20Is in Pakistan

Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury informed about sending a proposal to Pakistan Cricket Board as the men’s national side is ready to play three Twenty20 Internationals in Pakistan. On the other hand, Pakistan Cricket Board already informed earlier that they are not keen to play Test series at a neutral venue but the BCB have been in touch for a split series. The idea is to play Tests at a neutral venue and T20Is in Pakistan. Nizamuddin opined,  “You all know there is something called match environment. At the same time, there are players and team management staff, and (members of) our team management staff are from abroad.”

He further added that playing T20Is would help them asses the condition, “And we have to discuss with them regarding staying there for a long period of time before taking a decision. And so we proposed to play three T20Is because if we play there for a shorter period of time, then everyone can do a proper assessment that includes players and team management, so we have given them the proposal thinking in this line.”

Stokes may miss Boxing Day Test

Ben Stokes is in all likelihood going to miss the Boxing Day Test followed by his father’s critical condition. His father, Ged has been admitted in a Johannesburg hospital after suffering serious illness and Stokes is there with the family at this moment. The 64-year-old is a former New Zealand rugby league international and successful coach who took up coaching later with Workington in Cumbria. He went to South Africa to enjoy Test match with family but fell sick on Monday night.

Stuart Broad,  Jofra Archer and Jack Leach who were not featured in both warm-up matches and unsure to play the Test. Now Ben Stoke’s unavailability is another shock to the team. Joe Root, the skipper said, “All I want to do is stress the importance of respecting the privacy of Ben and his family. All the players and the squad want to throw our support behind him. It’s crucial that comes first. We’ve got extra people out here and we feel like we’ve got a good squad to put out a competitive team.”

Zampa rejoins Essex

Adam Zampa has been resigned by Essex for their upcoming Vitality Blast campaign. This will be Zampa’s third consecutive season and the current champions hope have Zampa for a longer association. Zampa on his appointment said, “Last year was amazing. We didn’t start too well but once we got on a roll we were unstoppable. Not many people would have had us down to win it, but we knew what we were capable of, and hopefully, we can repeat that in 2020.”

Zampa was Essex’s highest wicket-taker in the group stage last time and took 12 wickets with an economy of 8.06. Anthony McGrath, Essex’s head coach said, “He’s been excellent for us the last couple of seasons and he’s a great guy to have around the dressing room, so I’m delighted he’s going to be back with us.”

Somerset sign Mathew wade for opening County games

Somerset will get the service of Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade for the opening seven County Championship games. Wade who so far has played 30 Tests for Australia scoring four hundreds is considered to be a specialist bat now after making his comeback to the Test squad. He said, “I got a good taste of English conditions last summer and it’ll be good to come back over and to hopefully contribute to Somerset winning matches in the County Championship.”

Somerset Director of Cricket, Andy Hurry believes that wade’s experience will be an asset for the team. “He is a world class performer, he is extremely driven and he is a leader. He has vast experience and has captained Tasmania as well as leading Victoria to two Sheffield Shields. He was outstanding for Australia this summer with the bat and his record speaks for itself. We are delighted to have secured a player of his calibre for our opening seven County Championship matches of 2020.”