Surrey all-rounder Zafar Ansari has undergone a minor procedure on his thumb while paceman Jade Dernbach and left-arm spinner Freddie van den Bergh will miss the start of the new Specsavers County Championship campaign through injury. Ansari was tipped to make his England Test debut after his inclusion in the squad for their series versus Pakistan but suffered a disclocated left thumb against Lancashire which ruled him out. The 24-year-old…

Toss Hong Kong chose to bat v AfghanistanLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details Hong Kong need nothing short of victory to give themselves any chance of pulling off a miracle in the qualifying stages of the World T20 © AFP Tanwir Afzal won the toss and Hong Kong elected to bat in their must-win World T20 clash against Afghanistan at the VCA Stadium. Afghanistan boosted their pace-bowling stocks by including comeback…

Emerging all-rounder Zak Chappell has signed a contract extension at Leicestershire. The 19-year-old will now remain at the Fischer County Ground, Grace Road until at least the end of the 2017 campaign. Chappell hit the headlines last season when he struck 96 from number 10 on his Leicestershire first-class debut, against Derbyshire in their last County Championship match. Elite performance director Andrew McDonald said: “Zak is a highly-talented young cricketer…

Hong Kong opt to bat v AfghanistanScorecard and ball-by-ball details Hong Kong need nothing short of victory to give themselves any chance of pulling off a miracle in the qualifying stages of the World T20 © AFP Tanwir Afzal won the toss as Hong Kong elected to bat in their must-win World Twenty20 qualifiers clash against Afghanistan at the VCA Stadium. Afghanistan boosted their pace bowling stocks by including comeback…

Match facts Friday, March 11, 2016Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT) Ireland will fall by the wayside should they lose to Bangladesh © Associated Press Big Picture The format of the qualifying stages of the World T20 means that Ireland have one step out of the door already, following their shock two-wicket defeat to Oman on Wednesday. But given how Bangladesh too were rattled by the Netherlands despite the eight-run…

Oman’s players celebrate their win against Ireland © International Cricket Council Match facts Friday, March 11, 2016, DharamsalaStart time 1500 local (0930 GMT) Big Picture “The lad at the back end played really well,” said William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, after his side’s defeat to Oman. Everybody knows the “lad” now. The 37-year-old marketing manager of an Indian restaurant in Oman. Bespectacled and the antithesis of a modern athlete, Amir…

Spinner Wellington Masakadza took 4-28 as Zimbabwe ended Scotland’s ICC World Twenty20 ambitions with an 11-run victory in Nagpur. The Scots, who needed a win to harbour any hopes of progressing to the Super 10 stage of the competition after losing their opening match against Afghanistan, suffered a top-order collapse in pursuit of 148 for victory. Richie Berrington, Preston Mommsen and Josh Davey made a game of it as the…

File photo – Alok Kapali’s contributions with bat and ball helped East Zone to a thrilling win © AFP East Zone beat North Zone by four wickets in a dramatic last session at the Sheikh Kamal Ground in Cox’s Bazar. East Zone chased down 139 in 22.1 overs, after play was extended by 13 minutes after the mandatory last hour ended at 4.43pm. They were in trouble at 37 for…