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Mohammad Yousuf has ruled himself out of contention for the second Test against England at Edgbaston, after arriving in the country less than 24 hours before the start of the match on Friday. Yousuf missed Pakistan’s final practice on Thursday afternoon as he rested up in the team hotel following a flight from Lahore, and always looked like a doubtful starter despite Pakistan’s desperation to get back into the series following their 354-run hammering at Trent Bridge.”I have just arrived after a long flight. I will not be training. I will wait for the management to tell me what their plan is,” Yousuf had told Cricinfo immediately after arriving in Birmingham.Later in the evening he had a short and informal meeting over a cup of tea with the tour selection committee comprising Salman Butt (captain), Waqar Younis (coach) and Yawar Saeed (team manager) at the team hotel. “Considering the heavy monsoon across Pakistan Yousuf told us that he could not practice outdoors for the last 10-15 days,” Butt told Cricinfo. “So obviously we felt that was not enough match preparation.”Butt added that Yousuf can now set his sights on the third Test at The Oval beginning on August 18. “He can relax for now and steadily get back into the groove in the next week and also during the two-day practice game against Worcester,” Butt said. Asked if he was a certainty for the final two Tests, Butt said a player with Yousuf’s pedigree would walk into any team if he was fit.After the heavy defeat in Nottingham, Butt came out in support of his young batsmen – Azhar Ali and Umar Amin – only to be told moments later that Yousuf had agreed to come out of retirement following an SOS call to join the squad. During his press conference prior to the meeting, Butt said he was comfortable having Yousuf back, but had needed to be convinced of his mental state as much as his form before the Test started.”I am sure he would’ve picked up the bat at some point because even he knows he is coming to play a Test match,” Butt said. “He has to tell me what kind of physical state he is in because it has been a quite a lot of travel for him.””I would love to have the guy with the most runs in Pakistan and the most hundreds by any Pakistani batsmen,” he added. “I would definitely like to use his experience. But it will depend on what kind of state he is in because I don’t want to be unfair to anyone. It is a professional outfit, you’ve got to get people going when they say they are 100 percent ready for it.”Butt admitted it was a far from ideal situation for the team to have to complete their final training with such a key position still up in the air, especially at a time when they are trying to level the series.”Everybody knows that this is the type of show that has been coming out of Pakistan previously as well as recently,” he said. “This is something that can change. It should be more pre-planned and people should know beforehand who is going to come, who is going to play, but players really don’t have a choice. [But] it happens with other teams as well. Yes, it happens to Pakistan more often.”Though Yousuf brings with him a wealth of experience and class there remains the danger of rekindling the destructive atmosphere that developed during the tour of Australia where Yousuf was captain and Pakistan lost every match. Butt, though, wants to start afresh rather than think about the past.”If he can do us something good that will be good for the team,” he said. “And there is also a chance for the youngsters to go to him, speak to him and get something from his experience and benefit from that. I hope that his presence has a good effect on the rest of the guys especially the young batsmen.”

Dale Richards, the 33-year-old opener from Barbados, has said he has “nothing to lose” and will be under no pressure when he faces the new ball in the third Test against South Africa at Bridgetown, beginning on June 26.Richards is one of only two openers in West Indies’ 13-man squad and is certain to play his third Test – his first against top-flight opposition. Richards’ first two Test opportunities were against Bangladesh in 2009, when several first-choice players went on strike.”I only have two Test matches under my belt but at the end of the day, at 33 years old, there is nothing to lose. It’s just about getting out there and doing my bits,” Richards said. “A lot of people write off a lot of guys at 30 but I think when you get to that age, you understand batting more. I don’t go in the game with any sort of pressure.”Richards was included in the squad at the expense of Guyana opener Travis Dowlin, who scored only 4, 1 and 10 in three innings during the first two Tests. Richards had played a part in the ODI series against South Africa and scored 157 runs at an average of 39.25, with two half-centuries in four innings.”In the Digicel one-day series I backed myself and batted positively,” Richards said. “This is Test cricket so I need to spend some time at the top of the order along with Chris [Gayle], but I think we should come out and play some very positive cricket. Some positive cricket will really help the people in the Caribbean.”West Indies trail 0-1 in the three-Test series and the Barbados contest is their final opportunity to salvage a win in the home series against the South Africans. Gayle’s men lost the Twenty20 series 0-2, the ODIs 0-5 and drew the second Test after losing the first by 163 runs.

Essex 341 and 254 for 4 drew with Kent 474 and 204
Scorecard
Tom Westley followed up his first-innings hundred with an unbeaten fifty in the second•Getty Images

Essex were forced to settle for a draw against Kent after being presented with a victory target of 338 in a minimum of 78 overs at Chelmsford. The hosts closed on 254 for 4 after they opted for a safety-first approach following the dismissal of number five Ryan ten Doeschate.He arrived in the 50th over with 188 still required but was unable to produce the fireworks needed to mount any sort of challenge. The Dutchman made only 13 from 17 deliveries before he was trapped leg before by Azhar Mahmood, leaving Tom Westley and captain Mark Pettini to drop anchor.Kent even had time to send down additional overs but they were unable to separate the fifth-wicket pair. Westley followed up his century in the first innings with an unbeaten 58 that spanned 122 deliveries and brought him seven boundaries. Pettini finished on 40 not out.Earlier England opener Alastair Cook, without moving into top gear, made a sedate 72 containing half-a-dozen boundaries before his defences were breached by occasional leg-spinner Joe Denly.Denly also removed Jaik Mickleburgh, trapped lbw victim when sweeping, while James Hockley had Billy Godleman caught at slip to end a first-wicket partnership of 52. Soon afterwards Hockley withdrew from the action with a pulled hamstring.Kent had earlier lost their remaining wickets for 54 runs after resuming on 150 for 5. The first two were claimed by David Masters, Matt Coles and Hockley the batsmen, during a four-over spell before a shin problem prevented him continuing.That paved the way for leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to claim the three remaining wickets, including that of Sam Northeast, who scored 71 to record his second half-century of the game.Northeast put up a simple catch to Tim Philips at point, before Makhaya Ntini was trapped lbw with the next delivery as Kent were bowled out for 204. Earlier Kaneria had also accounted for Mahmood on his way to figures of 4 for 68 from 24 overs.Kent emerged with 11 points from the game and are still looking for their first championship win of the campaign. Essex claimed eight points.

Batsmen Aditya Mishra and Clain Williams have been added to USA’s squad for their three upcoming games against Jamaica at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. Their inclusion follows the withdrawal of two players, Sushil Nadkarni and Rashard Marshall, due to work commitments. However, both will return to represent USA in Americas Regional Division One Tournament in Bermuda at the end o the month.”It’s a great feeling to represent the national side, to get to play against a very good team,” Mishra told Dreamcricket.com. “I think it’s the result of all the effort that I’m putting in and I’m glad that I made it so I’m very happy.”Mishra, 28, had also represented Karnataka in India’s domestic circuit in 2001-02.Williams, 29, played just one game in the World Cricket League Division Five Tournament and was often used as a substitute fielder.USA will play three games against Jamaica, including a 50-over game.USA squad: Steve Massiah (capt), Ashhar Mehdi (wk), Carl Wright (wk), Timroy Allen, Orlando Baker, Lennox Cush, Muhammad Ghous, Adrian Gordon, Moazzam Imtiaz, Bilal Khan, Aditya Mishra, Andy Mohammed, Aditya Thyagarajan, Clain Williams.

New Zealand will play three Twenty20s against Sri Lanka in the USA next month in an effort to spread the game into a new market. The series will be the first time full ICC members have played in the country and New Zealand are hoping to make annual visits following a partnership between New Zealand Cricket and USA Cricket.The matches will occur in Lauderhill, Florida, which is about 30 miles from Miami, from May 20-23. There is an estimated 15 million cricket fans in the USA and Don Lockerbie, the USA Cricket chief executive, said the best teams in the world needed to play in the country for the game to grow.”We want to demonstrate to the American public just how exciting the T20 format is,” he said. “Cricket is already popular here but has lacked major media coverage. This inaugural series is the first step to reverse this situation.”Justin Vaughan, New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive, said New Zealand wanted to develop the sport in the USA. “We are looking at ways of helping USA Cricket grow the game both professionally and at the grassroots,” he said. “This T20 series is the first of many initiatives between our two cricket boards and we envisage the Black Caps playing in the USA on an annual basis.”Sri Lanka, who have promised to send their best team, and New Zealand will head to the USA following the World Twenty20, which starts next week in the Caribbean. The games are scheduled for May 20, 22 and 23 at the Central Broward County Regional Park Cricket Stadium. It has a capacity of 20,000 and is the only ICC-approved cricket stadium in North America.”The historic event will provide great exposure for cricket with some of the world’s top players on show here,” Gladstone Dainty, USA Cricket’s president, said. “USA Cricket has worked hard to bring this event about.”

Australia 459 for 5 dec & 106 for 0 (Hughes 86*) beat New Zealand 157 & 407 (McCullum 104, McIntosh 83, Vettori 77) by 10 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Phillip Hughes raced Australia to victory with 86 not out, but he will probably have to make way for Shane Watson in the second Test•Getty Images

It took Australia longer than they expected, but Phillip Hughes’ final-day blast allowed them to finish off New Zealand and gain a 1-0 lead heading into the final Test in Hamilton on Saturday. Brendon McCullum’s inspired 104 forced the visitors to chase 106, a target they achieved without loss before lunch thanks to Hughes’ aggressive 86 off 75 balls.After spending time in the field over four days, Ryan Harris, the debutant, sealed a quick finish of New Zealand’s second innings, taking 4 for 77 as the hosts were dismissed for 407. Hughes, who grabbed 12 fours and a six, was then in a hurry to end the game and sped to the 10-wicket victory in 23 overs. It was left to Simon Katich, who played the anchor with 18, to take the winning single on the final ball before lunch.The upbeat display will give Hughes confidence for the next Test he plays, but he will probably have to wait as he is seat-warming for the injured Shane Watson in this game. Daniel Vettori came on and his first delivery was hit by Hughes through cover for four and his fourth effort went for six to midwicket. Hughes charged down the wicket, wasn’t put off by not being near the pitch of the ball, and swiped it flat and so hard that it came back damaged after hitting the bitumen in the car park.Hughes had collected 10 from the opening over of the innings from Chris Martin and added another 10 from Vettori’s first six offerings. He followed that with a trio of boundaries off Martin – an on-drive, a glide through the cordon and a straight drive – and was dropped at second slip by Tim McIntosh off Brent Arnel.The chance didn’t concern Hughes, who was playing his seventh Test, and in the same over he brought up his half-century from 43 balls. Cut boundaries continued to come easily in his best five-day performance since his debut tour of South Africa last year.New Zealand used up both their umpiring reviews in two overs early in the innings, but neither Martin’s appeal against Hughes nor Arnel’s shout against Katich were overturned by the third umpire. Katich’s was closer, with the ball tracking showing it hitting the top of the bails, but it was not decisive enough to change Asad Rauf’s not-out call.Following their courageous fight on the fourth day, New Zealand were unable to repeat their resistance. McCullum, the main obstacle, was removed in the fourth over after bringing up his fifth Test century almost instantly. He sliced behind point from the second ball of the morning to go to 98 and gained a thick edge to third man from Bollinger’s next effort for another boundary.The celebration included ripping off his helmet and raising his arms to the dressing room, but it wasn’t long before he pushed on to the back foot and edged Harris to Michael Clarke. There weren’t many people at the ground but they were all appreciative of McCullum’s performance, which included 13 fours and one six from his 187 balls. The innings showed McCullum’s ability to mix long periods of defence with bouts of attacking brilliance and gave his side some short-lived hopeNew Zealand began on 369 for 6, holding a lead of 67, and after losing their last specialist batsman the job was left to Daryl Tuffey and his bowling team-mates. Tim Southee gave Harris his third wicket when nicking to Clarke without scoring and Brent Arnel (3) was lbw in Harris’ next over.Harris had a chance for a five-wicket haul when Tuffey drove hard back at him but the ball went down in his follow-through. Mitchell Johnson ended the innings by bowling Martin, leaving Tuffey stranded after contributing a valuable 47, as the hosts lost 4 for 38 in less than an hour. Tuffey’s effort was even more admirable considering he was carrying a fractured hand – he was hit by Johnson – that is likely to keep him out for at least a month.Harris collected six wickets for the game while Nathan Hauritz had 3 for 119 from 49 overs in the second innings after spending most of yesterday bowling into the gale-force wind. After the awful weather on Sunday, the conditions were clear and sunny, which was a shame for the hosts who wanted some more rain. New Zealand were forced to follow-on after scoring 157 on Saturday and produced a strong performance to get so far ahead, but they will need two solid innings if they are to trouble the tourists in Hamilton.

Mohsin Khan, the former Pakistan batsman, has been appointed chairman of selectors by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Mohsin, 54, will begin his duties “with immediate effect”, the board said in a statement.Mohammad Ilyas, Salim Jaffer and Azhar Khan will continue as regular members while Asif Baloch and Farrukh Zaman will continue as co-opted members of the Selection Committee.Mohsin played 48 Tests, scoring 2709 runs at 37.10, and also has 1877 runs in 75 ODIs at 26.81. He made his international debut in an ODI against West Indies in March 1977 and played for Pakistan till 1986.His appointment followed Iqbal Qasim’s resignation in January as Pakistan’s chief selector, following the side’s disastrous tour of Australia. The team was whitewashed in both the Test and ODI series in one of Pakistan’s most dispiriting campaigns in recent years.Mohsin becomes the third Pakistan chief selector in less than a year (the fourth if a temporary stint by Wasim Bari last year is included), following on from Qasim and Abdul Qadir, who also resigned last year as Pakistan were on their way to winning the World Twenty20.It is believed Mohsin’s role will be that of a full-time selector and thus a paid post, as opposed to Qasim’s stint, which was an honorary one. During the administration of Nasim Ashraf, Mohsin was a board regional director, based in Karachi.Surprisingly, he has not been given a specific timeframe just yet. “There is no specific period for Mohsin’s tenure, as it all depends on the circumstances,” Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, told . “The PCB has also appointed Iqbal Qasim till the 2011 World Cup. But he had to resign. Therefore, Mohsin will continue till the next decision.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsUmar Gul took three wickets but it turned into Australia’s night•Getty Images

Shaun Tait proved he can still be a force at international level as he helpedAustralia to a tense two-run win that completed a clean-sweep across allthree formats against Pakistan this summer. Tait bowled the fastest ballever recorded in Australia and grabbed 3 for 13 including the key wicketof Kamran Akmal, who had threatened to end Australia’s streak withhis highest Twenty20 score.Pakistan’s trip has been notable for terrible fielding and the inabilityto capitalise whenever they got on top of Australia. This time their fieldingwas sharper than it had been at any stage over the past couple of monthsbut their failure to keep Australia down remained a major issue. Despitedismissing Australia for 127 and being on track at 4 for 98 in the 15th over,they found a way to lose.The problems began when Kamran chipped to mid-on for 64 from 33 balls tohand Tait his third wicket. Steven Smith then delivered two important breakthroughson debut when he had Fawad Alam caught at slip and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan stumped,and the wickets kept tumbling. In the end, Pakistan needed 10 from the finalShane Watson over. Umar Akmal was on strike, having been the key after theloss of his brother, but when he holed out from the first ball the resultwas all but sealed.It was a shame that Kamran’s team-mates couldn’t reward him after he ledan impressive fightback when the visitors had stumbled to 2 for 10. Kamranwas a one-man resistance movement and raced to a 25-ball half-century, thequickest ever by a Pakistan batsman in a Twenty20 international.His fifty came up with a typically muscular pull for six off Dirk Nannesand at the time Pakistan were 4 for 81 and no other batsman in their line-uphad reached double figures. It was an incredible turnaround for a man whowas dropped from both the Test and ODI sides during the tour and had a bestinternational score of 34 in any format on the trip.In a match where Tait broke the 160kph barrier and his new-ball partner Nanneswas fast and accurate, the first-change Mitchell Johnson was a welcome reliefand Kamran helped blast 20 off Johnson’s first over. Despite the supportof his brother Umar (21), there wasn’t enough of a spread in the runsfrom the rest of the Pakistanis.The trouble began with the quick loss of both the openers. Nannes’ firstover was a maiden that included the run-out of Imran Nazir as the pressurebuilt, and Tait didn’t drop below 150kph in his opening spell. He hit 160.7kph,which was the fastest ball recorded in Australia, and from a 152kph offeringhad Imran Farhat caught at slip for 8.That undid much of the good work from Pakistan in the field after they dismissedAustralia with eight balls to spare, with David Hussey holding things together during an unbeaten 40. Only twice in a 20-over match had Australiascored less than their 127 and it was thanks to great bowling from Umar Guland a sharp fielding effort from his team-mates. Three run-outs hurt Australiabadly, including two that resulted in flat, accurate throws from the outfieldfrom Umar Akmal.But the most impressive was Fawad’s effort to get rid of Cameron Whitefor 4. A Gul short ball lobbed off White’s body to point where Fawad tookthe catch, but while the umpire was turning down the appeal, White wanderedout of his crease and was brilliantly snared by a smart throw.It was the second good thing that Fawad did in the field after he held asharp chance at point to send Michael Clarke on his way for 32 from 26 balls.Clarke’s innings was useful but didn’t exactly disprove the doubters whobelieve he is unsuited to Twenty20 cricket.He began in promising enough fashion with a cracking cut for four from hisfirst delivery but there was only one more boundary and most of his runscame from scrambled ones and twos. Neither of Australia’s debutants had inningsto remember – Travis Birt was out second ball when he missed a paddle sweepand was bowled, and Smith was bowled by Rana’s slower delivery for8.The Twenty20 specialist David Warner made a handy 24 but his dismissal sparkeda mini-collapse of 5 for 27. The last of those wickets was Brad Haddin, stumpeddown the leg side. It was one of several good things Kamran did for the match.He simply didn’t have enough support with the bat.

Ottis Gibson will take over as West Indies coach in time for the home series against Zimbabwe later this month. The WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire has confirmed reports that Gibson left his post as England’s bowling coach to take up the vacancy created by the sacking of John Dyson last year.”Ottis will begin his appointment from the start of the home series against Zimbabwe,” Hilaire said in a CBC Radio interview. “I think we need to take Ottis’ appointment in stride. He will be the head coach of the WICB, and not just head coach of the senior team. He will have responsibility for coaching right across all of our representative cricket teams.”This will give him an opportunity to stamp a particular style of coaching a West Indies way across all the teams. This is really important because by the time our players reach the senior team, they should be the finished article, and they really ought to be focussing mainly on their strategy, tactics, how they win games, and being able to execute.”Gibson approached the ECB on Monday and asked to be released from his contract so that he could take up the new role. “Ottis has been a valuable member of my management team and we will all be sorry to see him leave,” Andy Flower, the head coach, said. “However we recognise that being offered the chance to be head coach of your country was an offer that would be hard for Ottis to resist. We wish him well in the future.”The interim West Indies coach David Williams will remain in charge for the one-day tour of Australia, which starts over the next week, before becoming Gibson’s assistant. The Zimbabwe series begins with a Twenty20 international in Trinidad on February 28 and Hilaire said it was important to give Gibson time to stamp his mark on the team.”I think this has to be a long-term project,” he said. “This is not a short-term project. We are not asking Ottis to turn around the West Indies fortunes and make them a winning team overnight. There has to be a gradual chain of development.”A fast-bowling allrounder during his playing days, Gibson represented West Indies in two Tests and 15 one-day internationals, and had a long first-class career in the Caribbean, South Africa and England. He coached within the ECB academy system before taking on the role as England’s bowling coach in 2007.”I will always be grateful to the ECB for the opportunities they gave me as a bowling coach and in particular to Peter Moores for offering the role,” Gibson said. “I would like to thank Andy Flower as well for all the advice, encouragement and support he has given me in the last year. It was a privilege to be a part of such an outstanding and successful team.”I am really excited about the new challenge and I am very happy to be involved in West Indies cricket again. West Indies cricket has always been my passion. I was excited as a player to represent the West Indies and I am honoured to be appointed as the head coach.”It is a privilege and I am really looking forward to working with the West Indies and everyone involved in West Indies cricket. I fully understand what cricket means to the people of the region and I hope in time we can make cricket in the West Indies strong again.”Hilaire added that Gibson’s experience made him the best candidate as West Indies aim to rebuild after another fractious period where there remain ongoing issues between the board and the players.”We hope that with him responsible for all coaching, he can start outlining to the coaches of all our teams the kind of players and approaches he wants from the players to ensure there is a clear career pathway as they move from the junior ranks to the senior team.”He is a new era coach, and someone who has been exposed to all of the technologies and new approaches to coaching. We are hoping that he will bring to this task, an understanding of West Indies cricket. He will have all requisite knowledge and skills.”

Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s captain, is aiming to hold India to a draw in the upcoming first Test starting January 17 in Chittagong. Bangladesh have not played a Test since July and have been fed a steady diet of one-day matches since, but Shakib did not believe the team would be rusty ahead of what will be their toughest series since January of last year.”I think the battle between India and Bangladesh this time will be an interesting one because the opponents have a long batting line-up while we have a few quality bowlers. However, we don’t bother much about the result of the match,” he told reporters during a training session in Chittagong. “But a draw will be good for us. I am confident that we will have a good chance if we can score 700 runs in the two innings.”Bangladesh’s last Test assignment, against a severely depleted West Indies, saw them win their first overseas series. That contest was highlighted by good bowling, especially from the spinners. Since that series, Bangladesh have played only limited-overs cricket, which included a series win over Zimbabwe at home and a winless streak in the recent tri-series featuring India and Sri Lanka.”It is true we didn’t play a Test match for quite sometime, but hopefully that won’t pose any major problem for us to adapt to the Test mould,” said Shakib. “We batted well in the last ODIs of the tri-nation series and want to show improvement in our game in the field, not through words.”