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Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar Anjum have been recalled for the first two one-day internationals against Bangladesh, but there is no room for Shoaib Akhtar in a near-full-strength Pakistan squad. Three finds from the ODI series against Zimbabwe at home recently – Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz – were handed another opportunity to impress, while there was a recall for Bazid Khan after a fine Pentangular Cup.Gul, who travelled to Australia for a medical check-up on a longstanding back problem that prevented him from taking any part in the Test series against India last year, and Iftikhar – who had a poor series against Zimbabwe – return from injury to boost the bowling. With Mohammad Asif ruled out and Shoaib waiting to be cleared by the PCB’s disciplinary committee, Pakistan’s bowling attack also included Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan and allrounders Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi, who make up the spin quotient.Bazid, who played one Test and three ODIs in 2004-05, finished as the Pentangular Cup’s second-highest run-scorer with 522 at 74.57, including three hundreds.In the ODIs against Zimbabwe, Pakistan tried out opener Jamshed and bowlers Sohail Khan – who shot to fame in his debut first-class season by grabbing 91 wickets – and Riaz, among other young hopefuls. Jamshed impressed with 197 runs at 39.40 as did the two bowlers. Both wicketkeepers from that series, Kamran Akmal and Sarfraz Ahmed, have been retained.While announcing the 16-man squad Salahuddin Ahmed, head of the selection committee, said that players such as Yasir Hameed, Yasir Arafat, Faisal Iqbal, Naumanullah, Abdur Rauf, Kamran Hussain, Junaid Zia, Yasir Ali, Umair Khan – who have all performed well on the domestic circuit – would be considered for the next three ODIs.The five-match series runs from April 6 to April 20.Pakistan squad Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Fawad Alam, Bazid Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk).

Cricket’s determination to reassert itself as England’s national summer sport has received a fillip with the release of record attendance figures since the ECB was founded 18 years ago.Professional cricket in England, at both domestic and international level, attracted 2,328,000 spectators in 2015 – and much of that impetus has come from a rejuvenating county system which has returned record attendances across all three formats since ECB records began.In county cricket more than 1.5 million people attended LV=County Championship, Royal London One-Day Cup and NatWest T20 Blast matches combined and all three competitions recorded increased total attendances year-on-year. For the first time, more spectators watched T20 cricket than England internationals.International attendances were also up – by 75,000 on 2014 – despite all five Investec Ashes Test matches finishing inside four days – in a summer also enhanced by an attractive New Zealand side and sell-out Women’s internationals.

On the up

• More than 560,000 fans watched England in Investec Test matches; 193,000 in Royal London ODIs and 31,000 in NatWest International T20s.

• 513,000 people watched LV =County Championship matches – up from 495,000 last year.

• More than 200,000 people attended the 72 Royal London One-Day Cup matches – an increase of around 500 per match on the previous year.

Such optimistic figures come while debates continue over the restructuring of the county game with the intention of making it more relevant to modern-day needs, financially more stable and able to equip England with a steady supply of international cricketers who can succeed across all three formats.England and Wales will stake the 2017 Champions Trophy and the World Cup two years later and the tournaments are regarded as critical in bringing the sort of lift to the game that was experienced in the 2005 Ashes series.They come, too, with negotiations underway for the next round of TV contracts, with BT expected to be a big player alongside Sky, but with the BBC looking more financially-strapped than ever when it comes to sporty, so reducing options in the free-to-air market.The growth in attendances on England’s professional circuit will also persuade traditionalists to argue for the retention of the 18-county format. Change in county cricket does not come easily – unlike tinkering – and the counties have won assurances that there will be no major changes ahead before the new TV deals come into being.But a deeper analysis of the figures will, perhaps inevitably, reveal winners and losers – suggesting that if revolution is off the agenda, for the moment at least, evolution is quickening. The fact that only 11 of the 18 first-class counties achieved gains in T20 attendances provides further proof that the financial gap between the Haves and the Have Nots may be widening and that England’s professional circuit, by enabling the best to flourish, might eventually deliver a successful elite capable of winning the TV deals that are vital to the game’s financial health.Much of the recent domestic growth is being driven by the increasingly powerful Test match counties – Surrey, for example, in the NatWest Blast, where big crowds at Kia Oval provides the sort of atmosphere that can be marketed worldwide or Yorkshire, where two Championship wins in succession have reawakened loyalties towards first-class cricket’s oldest competition.Hampshire are claiming that they are one of only two counties to record an increase in all three domestic competitions in 2015, Yorkshire being the other.Of the seven countries whose T20 crowds did not increase with the overall trend, three counties – Somerset, Sussex and Essex – have been playing to capacity crowds for some time. Glamorgan suffered by having an inbalance of home fixtures in May. Northants are known to be in financial disarray. One of the big losers was Durham, who are struggling to attract big crowds to Chester-le-Street for internationals and county fixtures.The story was not just about the international grounds, however, with Kent also showing notable signs of stirring after many years ion the doldrums on the back of a vibrant, young T20 side.The commitment to ground improvements over the past decade might have put county finances under strain – collective debts are estimated at £170m – but it has delivered venues, both big and small, more able to meet modern needs.Tom Harrison, ECB’s chief executive, said: “Across the summer attendances grew for each of the county competitions as well as the international games. These figures reflect a big effort by the counties, our international venues and partners to enhance the match-day experience, improve facilities and make our cricket grounds as fan-friendly and accessible as possible.”They are all good signs and there are big opportunities ahead. We know that there’s more that can be done to draw people to watch and play cricket and further improve standards across the game.”

Claire Taylor has fought off stiff competition to scoop England women’s Player of the Year courtesy of strong batting performances in all forms of the game. In an unprecedented winter of success in Australasia, the team retained the Ashes and drew 2-2 in the one-dayers against the world champions Australia, while thumping New Zealand 4-0.Taylor, who topped the Most Valuable Player (MVP) rankings, hit half-centuries both innings of the one-off Ashes Test, while scoring two centuries and two fifties in ODIs in the voting period. She also narrowly missed out on the ICC Player of the Year award last September – which was won by India’s Jhulan Goswami – but said she was “honoured” to have been chosen for the England title.”I’m really looking forward to the next eighteen months,” said Taylor, “with two very exciting competitions in the World Cup and the World Twenty20 as well as the prospect of more Test cricket with the Ashes in 2009.”She has previously attributed her continued success over the last four years to off-field activities such as working as a management consultant and taking up the violin again which has allowed a work-life balance and taken the intensity away from constant cricket.The allrounder Jenny Gunn was second in the rankings, picking up consistent wickets although she missed out on the Ashes Test through injury.England captain Charlotte Edwards was another strong contender, having helped reverse the side’s fortunes in a home defeat against New Zealand to lead them in their campaign abroad amid off-field disruptions in which they lost their coach Mark Dobson and their most experienced player Jane Smit.Edwards also contributed four unbeaten fifties in ODIs, while making 94 in the Ashes, and she took valuable late wickets in the limited-overs format.

James Bruce has announced his retirement from professional cricket to pursue a career in the City.Bruce represented Eton and Durham UCCE before signing for Hampshire as a fast-medium seamer in 2003. He was a member of the side that won the C&G Trophy in 2005 and enjoyed his most successful summers in 2006 and 2007, taking 38 and 39 wickets. He was awarded his county cap in 2006.”The decision to retire has been a decision that I have not made lightly,” said Bruce. “I’ve been gaining work experience in the City over the last three winters with the intention of developing a career for when I had finished playing. Whilst initially I didn’t know when that might be, I was always conscious of the importance of preparing for life after cricket.”The recent work that I have done this winter has made me realise that the transition from sport into the working world is not as easy a process as I originally thought. I have thoroughly enjoyed the work I have been doing and became aware that the longer I left this transition the harder it would be for me to secure a career in exactly what I wanted to do.””Over the last few years Brucey has put an enormous amount of work into getting his body and mind into a position where he has proved a formidable opponent for opposition batters,” Paul Terry, Hampshire’s coach, said. “It’s not an exaggeration to say, in the right conditions, he has become one of the better English-born bowlers. Having witnessed the work he put into his fitness in Perth in the early years, it always gave me a sense of pride to see how well his career had developed – a sentiment shared, no doubt, by all those who have helped him along the way.”In 49 first-class matches, Bruce took 124 wickets at 34.07. In 31 one-day outings his 44 wickets cost 22.18. he had few pretensions as a batsman and his 243 runs came at an average of 7.14.

Paceman Alan Mullally prolonged his sizzling vein of form with another fivewicket haul today for Hampshire on the opening day of the CountyChampionship clash with Leicestershire at Southampton.The left armer claimed the wickets of Darren Maddy (8) and Ben Smith (5) inhis first spell of the day to have the visitors at a shaky 28/2 beforereturning later in the afternoon to remove Vince Wells (22), DominicWilliamson (4) and Neil Burns (0) as Leicestershire battled to a stumpsscore of 265/9 after losing the toss.Following his fourteen wicket haul against Derbyshire last week, Mullally(5/84) was always likely to be the man to whom Hampshire looked forinspiration in the absence of Shane Warne. To that end, he did not let histeam down. He bowled with control in helpfully overcast conditions,seaming the ball both ways and maintaining an excellent line to keep theinjury-hit Leicestershire batting line-up under consistent pressure.Dimitri Mascarenhas (2/59) also performed well, snaring the vital wicketsof Aftab Habib (61) – dismissed with the very first ball after the playershad returned to the field after a rain delay in mid-afternoon – and DarrenStevens (12).Leicestershire, which had entered the match with Chris Lewis, James Ormond,Phil DeFreitas and Anil Kumble all missing from its line-up, meanwhilerelied largely on three players for its end of day position. Habib’scombination of resolute defence against straight deliveries and strongdriving of anything loose earned him the honour of being the top scorer forhis team for far from the first time this season.Jonathan Dakin (60) also showed his usual fluency before being dismissed in the second last over of the day, while opener Iain Sutcliffe (53) helped to hold things steady at the top after the two early wickets had fallen at the other end. In assembling his first half century of the summer, Sutcliffe formed a half of the best partnership of the innings – one of ninety-two with Habib for the third wicket.Dakin was also involved in a crucial partnership, finding unlikely support in the form of number ten Carl Crowe (26*) to raise a priceless seventy-one runs for the ninth wicket just when Mullally seemed ready to work his way right through the bottom half of a batting list again.

Tendulkar recovering from injury
The Indian Premier League is nearly half over but its biggest draw Sachin Tendulkar is yet to play a game because of a groin injury. However, he is optimistic of joining the resurgent Mumbai Indians soon. “I can tell you roughly that I’m targetting the next match [against Chennai on May 14], Sachin said while watching Mumbai play Rajasthan from the sidelines. “If I’m in the middle, I should be able to compete, for if I’m not able to compete, I’ll be letting the team down.”Charu out, Brijesh in
After five defeats, a visibly rattled Bangalore Royal Challengers are wielding the axe. The first victim is Charu Sharma, the CEO of the franchise, who was held responsible for the team’s poor performance. Sources close to the team claim he was asked to step down by Vijay Mallya, the franchise owner, but the team spokesperson however said he stepped down due to “personal reasons.” Sharma has been replaced by Brijesh Patel, the former India Test player and secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association. The players are reportedly shocked by this move. The question is, who’s next?Was slap-gate premeditated?
According to a report in the , Sudhir Nanavati, the BCCI’s commissioner to look into the slapping incident involving Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth, told its sources in the Indian board that the attack seemed to have been premeditated. This was supposedly based on the reaction of the Mumbai Indians’ coach, Lalchand Rajput, immediately after the incident. Navanati, however, denied making such a statement. “The report that appeared in a newspaper is completely false. I can tell you I neither saw him [Rajput] neither clapping nor laughing when Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth from the video footage shown to me yesterday”, Nanavati told Cricinfo.No more games for DY Patil?
The 40 km commute from the team hotel to the DY Patil Stadium in Nerul is getting to the Mumbai players and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has stepped in, suggesting Mumbai’s last two matches – on May 14 and 16 – be moved to the Wankhede Stadium. The franchise owners, Reliance Industries Limited, are yet to confirm the move. Today’s game against Rajasthan Royals, however, stays at the DY Patil stadium.Fat wallets
Players can look forward to bigger earnings once the second season of the IPL gets underway, with the governing council deciding to scrap the $5 million cap on earnings. The move was prompted by the success of the current season, and players can look forward to an increase of upto a massive $15 million. “I can tell you that our players would already be the highest-paid across any sport in the world,” Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, was quoted as saying in .One more chance
Harbhajan Singh, who has been banned for 11 IPL matches for slapping Sreesanth after an IPL match in Mohali, has appealed to the Indian board to give him “one final chance” before taking further disciplinary action against him. “Along with accepting my most sincere and heartfelt apologies over this incident, I would like to appeal to the board’s sense of fairplay and ask for one final chance before taking any disciplinary action against me over this incident,” Harbhajan said a letter to the BCCI. The disciplinary hearing will be conducted commissioner Sudhir Nanavati, who was appointed by the BCCI, in Ahmedabad.

When you’re next in a book store, look out for . That is the title of a book Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, is threatening to write, presumably to shed light on some of the decisions made in South African cricket that have been questioned in the aftermath of back-to-back series losses.As expected when defeats are analysed, everything from selection to the make-up of the support staff will come under scrutiny and, with South Africa being shot out for their two lowest totals since readmission over the last two series, the absence of a batting coach has been glaring. But Domingo explained it was not for lack of trying.”Everybody thinks we have not been looking for a batting coach but we’ve been trying for the last year,” he said. “Every team’s got it. England have got one, Australia have got one, India have got one. We’ve offered the position to quite a few people and we offered the position whilst things were going well not whilst we’ve been bowled out for 80 and 90.”In the near future, South Africa hope one of the people they have offered the job to will take it. “We’ve been looking for somebody and we’ve got somebody in mind. We are waiting for him to commit to us. We’ve had a few people who said they were interested but they wouldn’t commit to it simply because traveling is not that fun when you are away from your family for a long time and when there is a lot of pressure and a lot of criticism you are faced with when things don’t go well. It’s probably easier to say it and write about it than to actually get down and do it.”Domingo did not reveal who the “somebody” was and was not asked whether former captain Graeme Smith could be the man, although that seems unlikely. Smith became the fourth batting consultant in Domingo’s tenure, after Gary Kirsten, Mike Hussey and Lance Klusener, when he was roped in for a net session ahead of the Newlands Test. Hashim Amla, captain at the time, thought Smith had signed on for the full series but his commentary commitments prevented him from doing that.So continued a drawn-out saga which started when Smith suggested there was unhappiness in the team camp in Durban, where the first Test was played, before being pulled into the tent. Once back out, following the Johannesburg Test, Smith said everybody should be questioned, including team management.One South Africa player, Dean Elgar, moved quickly to defend the back room, who he said deserved a lot of praise. AB de Villiers, who was criticised in the media by selector and commentator Ashwell Prince, remembered how when some former players were active, they said they would “never become like that” and take shots at the team.Against the waves of attack, the South Africa squad stood firm, which pleased Domingo even more than the consolation win in the final Test against England.”The main thing I take out of it was the way side responded to a lot of noise that has come from the public and the media,” he said. “When you have one or two bad series, everybody makes you sound like you are the worst players and the worst coaches in the world which is not necessarily the case.”That’s why when you do have one or two good series you are not necessarily the best side in the world and the best coaches in the world. You’ve got to keep a balance. Our players have maintained their composure really well through some tough times. To play the way they have played these last couple of days makes the coaching staff really proud because it has been a tough series.”The Centurion win may silence some of those sounds but even if it doesn’t, Domingo has learned to shut most of it out. “When you’re losing, there’s always going to be a lot of noise so you’ve just got to believe what you are doing as a team is good enough to withstand that,” he said. “Hopefully this performance will quieten that noise until something else comes up.”There may be another six months before that something else actually happens because that is the gap between Tests for South Africa. In that time, despite inactivity, South Africa hope to be able to find some of what they had before, which Domingo somewhat enviously pointed out England have now.”England are very fortunate that they have what South Africa had a year or two ago – four frontline seamers and a spinner,” Domingo said. “South Africa don’t have someone like Ben Stokes who scores hundreds and takes five-wicket hauls. Jacques Kallis used to do that. Their bowling all-round strength is a massive factor. Bowlers win you games and that has been the difference as far as I’m concerned – they have sustained the pressure a lot better than we did throughout the series.”Questions over the lack of a South African allrounder since Kallis have also swirled. Perhaps Domingo’s book will have some answers.

“I don’t know what they are doing,” remarked IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi about Jaipur, his home team, after the first players’ auction in Mumbai on February 20. Of the nearly US$ 42 million that was spent by the eight teams on blockbuster names, Jaipur had spent only around US$ 2.95 million.On Tuesday, after the second auction, Jaipur spent just US$ 385,000 more but emerged with the biggest smile of them all.For a total of US$ 3.35 million – just half a million over what Chennai and Hyderabad spent for MS Dhoni and Andrew Symonds in the first auction – Jaipur’s Rajasthan Royals are looking quite formidable: Shane Warne, Graeme Smith, Younis Khan, Shane Watson, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Kamran Akmal, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Kaif, Munaf Patel, Morne Morkel and Sohail Tanvir.”We have put together a great squad from the two auctions at our price,” Fraser Castellino, the CEO of the franchise, told Cricinfo. “I would call this a victory for us. Other teams have great squads too, but now I believe they may have overspent a bit. We believe we are well-placed now, as good as any of the other teams.”While spending just under three-fourths of the near US$ 5 million that the seven franchises have spent, Jaipur’s strategy of staggering their purchases across the two auctions seems to have worked.”We would like to be called a strategic franchise now,” Castellino said. “After today, few people will say we are a weak team. There were a lot of people who made fun of us last time. What they failed to understand then was we had a clear strategy, and we were as sure as they were that this was serious business.”On Tuesday, Jaipur started the ball rolling by picking up England allrounder Mascarenhas (US$ 100,000), with whom they had been negotiating for the last few days. Hampshire’s Twenty20 specialist was a last-minute addition to the auction after being cleared early on Tuesday morning by the county, which also has Warne on its rolls.Then, they bought Australian allrounder Watson (US$ 125,000), South Africa fast bowler Morkel (US$ 60,000) and Pakistan left-arm seamer Tanvir (US$ 100,000).Explaining the strategy, Castellino said, “Yes, there were good players in the first auction. But we also knew then that there were a lot of good Twenty20 specialists who missed out and who would come into play in the second auction. We targeted them this time, and our strategy has worked.”However, Jaipur could still run into some trouble with the second part of their strategy – tackling the minimum cap of US$ 3.3 million for the first auction in two attempts. While Castellino claimed that the cap covered the entire auction process and included the amount spent in the second auction as well, IPL governing council member IS Bindra told Cricinfo that the penalty for falling short last month “still stands”.”It was very clear early on that the first auction was just the first step,” Castellino said. “All the franchises knew then that there would be a second auction. And as far as we are concerned, we have crossed the minimum cap and adhered to the rules.”Jaipur now plans to rope in some more players from India, some of them through their Cricket Star talent hunt, steered by former India coach Greg Chappell.”We will be taking a few more players from India, especially through our Cricket Star programme through which we are currently talent-spotting across the country,” Castellino said. “If we find some exceptional talent we will fast-track him into the team this season, but there will be somebody from the programme in the team definitely next time.”

The Indian Premier League has advised its eight franchisees to avoid brand conflicts “as far as possible” while using top players on their rolls for team endorsements.The IPL rules specify that each player will have to give ten days to the franchise for team endorsements, which should involve a minimum of three players from the team. But the franchises were reminded by IPL officials at a meeting in Mumbai today to avoid any potential legal hurdles by opting for a safer route.”Why get into those legal hassles, was the common line at the meeting,” a franchise representative who was present at the meeting said. “There is scope for conflict. For instance, we can insist that a top player, who has a personal endorsement with a particular brand, endorse the team which may be associated with a rival brand. And if the player pulls out, he will even have to face a cut in the fee he gets from the team. But we will try to avoid all that.”All the top Indian players have hefty endorsement deals with corporate majors like Pepsi and Reebok while the Australians have global team sponsors like Emirates and Foster’s to deal with.”It’s just the first year and everybody is trying to figure out where things stand, so there will be a spirit of accommodation,” an Indian cricketer, who is part of the IPL, said.The IPL officials, including Lalit Modi, its commissioner, also briefed franchise representatives on the rules governing the marketing and branding opportunities available for the tournament.

Lancashire have signed Neil Wagner as their overseas player for the majority of their 2016 first-class season.Wagner, the New Zealand left-arm seamer, will be available from the start of the County Championship season and will feature primarily in that competition. He will be available until at least the end of July and could be available for the entire season if not required for New Zealand’s tour of South Africa.He has currently taken 67 wickets from his 18 Tests. He has previously had a brief spell in county cricket with Northamptonshire – he came into a struggling side in 2014 and took only 10 first-class wickets in five matches at a cost of 72.80 apiece – and has also played club cricket in the region for Ormskirk in 2008. He claimed five wickets in an over while playing for Otago against Wellington in April 2011.His aggression, stamina and commitment should render him a useful addition to a Lancashire side that was promoted back to Division One at the end of last year. With the top division almost certain to shrink to eight teams (from nine) at the end of 2016, Lancashire will have little opportunity to consolidate.”We are delighted to have brought in Neil Wagner to strengthen our bowling attack,” Lancashire coach, Ashley Giles, said. “Neil is a world class bowler with a tremendous pedigree and having him available for such an extended period will give our Division One campaign a real boost.””I am extremely excited to play for such a great club,” Wagner said. “I have always admired Lancashire, ever since playing in the Liverpool Lancashire league for Ormskirk in 2008.”