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ScorecardVernon Philander’s batting prowess boosted Sussex•Getty Images

An unbroken last wicket partnership of 75 between Vernon Philander and Danny Briggs frustrated Leicestershire after the Foxes had looked set to take a big first innings lead on the second day of their championship match against Sussex.Australian seamer Clint McKay took four wickets as Leicestershire reduced the visitors to 201-9, replying to the home team’s first innings 340.But Philander, playing his last match for Sussex before returning to South Africa, hit a fine half-century, and Briggs gave him impressively determined support before bad light saw play end with 7.2 overs remaining in the day.Sussex had been under pressure from the start of their innings, after Zak Chappell bowled acting captain Chris Nash with a delivery which seamed back in to the right-hander, as well as keeping a touch low.McKay then won two leg before decisions in as many balls, Luke Wells with a delivery which would have gone on to hit off-stump, and Stiaan van Zyl on the back foot to a ball that would have hit middle.Luke Wright and Harry Finch had added 65 for the fourth wicket before Wright, who had hit eight fours in going to 36, tried to pull a delivery from Ben Raine which also kept low, and lost his off-stump.The bounce was becoming increasingly unpredictable, and Michael Burgess, formerly of Leicestershire, never looked comfortable before going leg before to McKay.Finch, who had battled his way through to a half-century, was bowled by a Raine delivery that straightened to hit the top of off-stump, and David Wiese, having been bowled by a Chappell no-ball, could not make the most of his reprieve, edging another Chappell delivery to wicket-keeper Ned Eckersley.Chris Jordan was fortunate to edge McKay just short of Paul Horton at first slip, but the all-rounder began to settle and with Philander, took the visitors to within reach of the follow-on target of 191 at tea. Shortly after the break, however, Jordan drove at McKay without getting to the pitch of the ball and was brilliantly caught by Tom Wells diving to his left at cover.Jofra Archer hooked a Dieter Klein bouncer straight to Mark Pettini at deep square leg, but Philander and Briggs played with rather more restraint in seeing their side through a further 25 overs before play ended.Earlier the Foxes had lost their last three wickets in adding just 18 to their overnight score of 322-7. Chris Jordan, wicket-less on the first day, had Chappell caught off at mid-off by Nash off a leading edge before McKay wafted outside off-stump to give Michael Burgess a simple catch behind the stumps.Having pulled Jordan dismissively to the midwicket boundary, Mark Cosgrove, on 128, then failed to clear mid-off with an attempted lofted drive.

Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been charged by the ICC for violating the anti-doping code. Shahzad was tested on January 17 at the ICC Academy in Dubai, in an out-of-competition test, and the sample was analysed at a WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City. It was found to contain a prohibited substance, Clenbuterol, according to the ICC.As per the ICC’s anti-doping regulations, Shahzad will be provisionally suspended 12 days after issuing the notice of charges being laid – that is, from April 26. He has the right to request that his B sample be tested within five days from the notice, and to challenge the suspension within 12 days. If he challenges the suspension, a hearing will take place and the suspension will not be imposed till the outcome of the hearing is known.Shahzad also has to respond to the charge withing 14 days. If he does not respond, it will be considered to be an admission of guilt.The big-hitting Shahzad, who has played 58 ODIs and 58 T20Is, was last seen in action during Afghanistan’s series against Ireland in Greater Noida, India. In December 2016, he was named the Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year by the ICC, for the period running September 2015 to 2016.

Warwickshire look set to be without fast bowler Olly Stone for longer than originally anticipated in a delay that will bring inevitable disquiet about his long-term prospects.Stone, signed from Northants towards the end of 2016, damaged his anterior cruciate ligaments last June after falling awkwardly when celebrating the wicket of Moeen Ali.It was originally feared he would be out of cricket for around 12-months but now appears that such an estimation was optimistic.Warwickshire still hope that Stone will play some part in the 2017 season, but they are determined not to rush him and are even phlegmatic about the possibility he may not play his first game for them until 2018.”The important thing is that we give him every chance to make a full recovery,” Warwickshire’s first team coach, Jim Troughton, told ESPNcricinfo. “We hope he will play a part this year, but if it takes longer than that, so be it. We’re not going to risk his long-term career prospects by trying to hurry him.”It is a bitterly disappointing development for Stone, a player of huge potential, Warwickshire saw him as the outstanding fast bowling prospect in the English game when they signed him in the face of competition from eight other clubs last year. To be sidelined for so long from such a freak injury is a cruel blow.Warwickshire are also likely to be without Jeetan Patel for a few weeks. The club are resigned to him being named in New Zealand’s ICC Champions Trophy squad and, as a result expect him to miss at least one Championship game as well as some key matches in the Royal London Cup.They hope that New Zealand might be persuaded to allow him to miss some warm-up games ahead of the tournament, but it seems unavoidable that he will miss the Championship game away at Hampshire – where spin is likely to play a major role – and, if they get that far, the quarter and semi-finals of the Royal London. Warwickshire are the defending champions in that competition.In his place, Warwickshire are likely to provide more opportunities for leg-spinner Josh Poysden and left-arm spinner Sunny Singh.

Yusuf Pathan, the India allrounder, has become the first Indian male cricketer to sign a deal with an overseas franchise-based T20 league. On Saturday, he was unveiled by Kowloon Cantons for the second edition of the Hong Kong Twenty20 League, which is scheduled to run from March 8 to 12.Yusuf is the third big signing for Kowloon Cantons, who have already picked up Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and England’s Tymal Mills, apart from Scotland’s Calum MacLeod. Other marquee signings for the league include Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan, West Indies’ Darren Sammy, New Zealand’s James Franklin and the former South Africa offspinner Johan Botha.Michael Clarke, the former Australia captain, had represented Cantons as a marquee player last year.Tim Cutler, chief executive of Cricket Hong Hong, thanked the BCCI for clearing Yusuf’s participation in the tournament and said his presence will be a big boost for the game in the country.”This is amazing news and we are very appreciative of the BCCI in granting this NOC [Non Objection Certificate],” he said. “This will go a long way to help the development of the sport in the region and with even more stars still to be announced this is shaping up to be a superb tournament that will be enjoyed by millions across the world.”The tireless work of the Cantons should also be acknowledged. Without the tenacity of [Cantons CEO] Urvashi Sethi-Sodhi this simply would not have happened and it is great to see the Cantons again lifting the event to greater heights with their hard work.”Yusuf confirmed that he received an NOC from both the BCCI as well as the Baroda Cricket Association.Yusuf, who has represented Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, has scored 2761 runs over the nine IPL seasons, and is among the top-15 run-getters. Yusuf is the current record holder for the fastest IPL fifty – he scored a 15-ball half-century against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2014 edition. In 2010, he also scored a 37-ball century against Mumbai Indians, the then fastest IPL century.The five-team event also includes Galaxy Gladiators Lantau, City Kaitak, Hong Kong Island United and Hung Hom Jaguars. The first four days will see playoff matches between each of the teams, following which the top two will progress to the final on March 12.

Half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir and and Shikhar Dhawan helped North Zone canter to a nine-wicket win over South Zone in Mumbai. Chasing 174, Dhawan (50 off 38 balls) and Gambhir (81 off 51 balls) put on 103 for the opening wicket in 11.4 overs to set the platform.Dhawan, who began in scratchy fashion, found his touch with three fours in successive deliveries off S Aravind in the fourth over to kickstart the chase. After Dhawan charged out to M Ashwin and missed his googly to be stumped, Gambhir and Rishabh Pant (33* off 19 balls) raised 61 runs in 5.5 overs. With 10 runs needed for a win, Gambhir was yorked by Aravind, but North Zone wouldn’t be denied as Pant closed out the game with a six off Vinay Kumar, the South Zone captain.Things didn’t initially seem to go North Zone’s way after Harbhajan Singh elected to bowl first. The Agarwals – Tanmay and Mayank – blazed to 51 in 5.3 overs before Mayank Dagar struck twice in the space of three overs. Harbhajan claimed wicket-keeper Vishnu Vinod in between Dagar’s strikes, the eighth over.From 65 for 3, Ricky Bhui (50 of 37) and Hanuma Vihari put on 54 in six overs. After Ashish Nehra dismissed Vihari, Bhui and Vijay Shankar (34* off 15 balls) kept the tempo up as South Zone took their total past 170. Nehra and Dagar finished with two wickets each.Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik who missed the game because of a bereavement in the family is expected to return ahead of the next game against East Zone on February 15.Harpreet Singh knocked off 62 runs in 42 balls•Associated Press

Madhya Pradesh batsman Harpreet Singh’s 42-ball 62 powered Central Zone to a comfortable six-wicket win over West Zone in the opening game at the Wankhede Stadium. They chased down 161 with 10 balls to spare. Harpreet, who hit four sixes and two fours, was dismissed by Irfan Pathan in the 18th over, but his 79-run association in 7.3 overs with Mahesh Rawat (30 not out off 22 balls) for the fourth wicket had already put the game out of West Zone’s reach.Central Zone didn’t have to chase more than what they did was a result of a good bowling effort after captain Naman Ojha elected to field. West Zone got off to a decent start courtesy the Gujarat duo of captain Parthiv Patel and Priyank Panchal, but Parthiv’s dismissal in the fourth over resulted in the fall of three more wickets in the next four overs. Having lost the cream of their batting line-up – Parthiv, Panchal, Shreyas Iyer and Kedar Jadhav – West Zone were wilting at 48 for 4 and slumped further when Irfan Pathan was run out in the 11th over.The rescue act came via Aditya Tare (40 off 33) and Deepak Hooda, who added 47 in 5.3 overs. Despite left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary removing Tare in the 16th over, Hooda continued to attack and finished with an unbeaten 49 off 26 balls, including four sixes, to muster a competitive total. While seamers Choudhary and Amit Mishra picked up five wickets between them, legspinner Karn Sharma (1 for 24) and left-arm spinner Sohraab Dhaliwal (1-21) bowled tight spells as well.Ojha was named captain after Suresh Raina pulled out of the tournament. Central Zone coach Harvinder Singh Sodhi said Raina’s unavailability was communicated via an email sent on February 10 by Bhoopinder Singh Bhatti, the secretary of the Vidarbha Cricket Association. According to Sodhi, no reason for Raina’s withdrawal was mentioned in the mail.

Moeen Ali has opted out of participating in the second season of the Pakistan Super League for what the league said was for a pilgrimage for Umrah although the official line stated just “personal reasons”.*Moeen, who is currently in India with England’s limited-overs squad, was named yesterday as a replacement for Carlos Brathwaite in the Quetta Gladiators squad. He had been negotiating through his agent as to his exact availability when the clash of priorities became apparent.Quetta were quickly informed of his change of plans, and Moeen has now been replaced by the veteran Australian, Brad Hodge, who represented Peshawar Zalmi in last season’s inaugural tournament.”Moeen Ali is a top player and a great person,” read a tweet from the franchise. “We respect his decision to honour his family commitment first. Good Luck Moeen.”Faisal Mirza, who is in charge of player recruitment for the PSL, tweeted on Tuesday: “Between the time he declared availability and the Draft his plan to MashaAllah go to family Umrah got finalised. Naturally the team said ok.”It is not the first time that Moeen has performed a swift U-turn when it comes to T20 league availability. Last year, he put himself forward for the IPL auction, only to withdraw hours later after the ECB expressed concerns about his workload.As England’s premier spin-bowling allrounder, Moeen played 41 matches for England across all three formats in 2016, including all 17 of their Test matches. He faces an even more intense workload in 2017, with England hosting the Champions Trophy in June, as well as multi-format series against South Africa and West Indies ahead of the Ashes tour in October.Moeen, a devout Muslim, first performed umrah in November 2009, and credited the “inspirational’ experience for a flying start to his county season with Worcestershire the following year.”I think I came back nice and fresh after that,” he said at the time. “It makes a person strong and it was a chance to just get away from cricket.”The second season of the PSL gets underway in the UAE on Feb 9, with the final scheduled to take place in Lahore on March 7.*January 25, 1300GMT: the story was updated to reflect the PSL reference to Umrah

ScorecardRahat Ali finished with a match haul of five wickets•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz came to the fore on the final day of the warm-up match in Cairns, taking three wickets to help skittle Cricket Australia for 109 in 27.3 overs and complete a 201-run win for the Pakistanis. Rahat Ali and Mohammad Amir took two wickets each, while Wahab Riaz and Azhar Ali claimed one apiece.The lid had been ripped open by the new-ball pair of Rahat and Amir, who reduced CA XI to 4 for 27 in the chase of 311. Nawaz, who had bowled only five overs in the first innings for no wicket, then claimed the wicket of Matthew Short before going on to add the scalp of Arjun Nair, who top scored with 42, to his bag. No other CA XI batsman made more than 20 against the pink ball in the second innings.”For me to express my skills out there was a good opportunity. It felt good out there, decent deck, and to score some runs was a good, positive end to the game,” Nair said. “For me, it’s about building my own game, so getting runs was a good confidence-booster and something for me to work towards in the future. Batting against quality bowlers like Mohammad Amir, top class, and for us to come against those bowlers was a good experience. It’s about taking this experience and learning.”The third and final day of the practice game had begun with the Pakistanis on 5 for 124, with Azhar Ali unbeaten on 44. Azhar went on to make 82 not out and contributions from the lower-middle order took the score to 6 for 216 before the declaration came.”As a batsman, you want to spend time in the middle and get used to the conditions,” Azhar said. “As a bowler, you have got to get used to the lengths according to the pitch, so everyone tried to get the best out of this game.””And, obviously, playing the pink ball in Australia is different to playing in Dubai. During the night, when the lights come on, it starts to do a bit more. I think we are very satisfied with what we got. The wicket was not as quick as we thought it would be, still it was good time in the middle.Azhar also had a word of appreciation for the fielding. “We really worked hard on our fielding. As a team, we want to improve in that regard. Fielding is really important. In Test matches, if you catch well, you generally end up on the winning side.”Cairns has been a lovely experience. The hospitality has been brilliant. We were welcomed here, and obviously enjoyed the game as well. We’re looking forward to the Gabba. Obviously, it will be hard work, but as a batting unit we’re really confident that we have the capability to deliver in these conditions.”The first Test between Pakistan and Australia – a day-night fixture in Brisbane – begins on December 15.

England’s tour of India is unlikely to be disrupted by the hurdles the BCCI faces in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the ECB. Officials from both boards confirmed there has been no change to their preparations ahead of the series, which starts in Rajkot on November 9.The state associations hosting the five Tests – Saurashtra, Punjab, Andhra, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu – also said they did not foresee any difficulty as long as the England team’s hotel costs, airfare and the daily allowance are taken care of. A representative from one state association even said they would be happy to foot the hotel bill should it come to that.Alastair Cook’s squad had landed in Mumbai on Wednesday, but doubts emerged over whether the series would take place after email exchanges between the BCCI and the Lodha Committee revealed that an MoU had not been signed yet.According to an order passed by the Supreme Court of India on October 21, all contracts that the BCCI enters into have to be cleared by the Lodha Committee, which was appointed by the court to suggest changes to the way the board functions. Matters directly related to cricket though are beyond the Committee’s remit, which was why they had asked the BCCI for more information before giving their approval for the MoU’s signing. On Thursday evening, BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke sent a copy of the blank MoU to the Lodha Committee without mentioning any specifics.To work around the problem, Shirke wrote to Phil Neale, England’s operations manager, on Thursday asking the ECB to pay for its own expenses until further updates. “We are already in India, there is no change to any plans and we are looking forward to the series against India,” an ECB spokesperson said.A top BCCI official said the board already had contracts in place with the hotels that England would be staying at and, as such, lodging expenses shouldn’t prove a problem. “The main issue is their daily allowance has to be cleared. Ultimately it is a large amount,” the official said. “The daily allowance is in the range of GBP 50-75. The England contingent strength is about 30 including the players and support staff. The BCCI will need to calculate the daily allowance for roughly 50 days for the Test series, and that amount will need to be ratified by the committee before the Indian board disburses the amount to ECB.”The BCCI official also said the MoU could be signed once the series starts. “In letter and spirit, we can’t sign it right now because it is part of the list we sent to the Lodha Committee,” the official said. “Unless and until they revert we can’t sign something that we have referred to them. (But) ultimately we hope it will get signed.”In the interim order delivered on October 21, the Supreme Court asked the BCCI to stop distributing funds to its state associations until they instituted the reforms the Lodha Committee had suggested in January.But the state associations that will host the five Tests said they have no trouble taking on routine costs in the course of the matches and can provide security and in-ground hospitality for the England team if the BCCI finds a way to take on the tourists’ hotel charges and daily allowances.Niranjan Shah, secretary of Saurashtra Cricket Association, said he saw no threat to Rajkot’s first-ever Test in under a week’s time. All the preparations, he said, were going on as scheduled, and even added that if SCA has to pay for lodging, it will.Punjab Cricket Association, that will host the third Test, in Mohali, is also going ahead with its preparations. “Will PCA do the match? Yes, PCA will,” the secretary MP Pandove said. “Will PCA pay for the expenses? Yes, PCA will pay for the expenses it is required to pay for. To get the teams here, to pay for their hotels, to pay their daily allowance, that is BCCI’s job. All ground hospitality, all local transport, traffic control, all staging costs, that is our responsibility. That has been the understanding for years now.”Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, which will host the final Test of series in Chennai, will finalise its plan at an executive meeting on November 7. “We will meet only those expenses that the states have to pay,” a TNCA official said. “Payments concerning daily allowances, airfare, hotel bills have to be met by the BCCI. We will take care of ground expenses and team security.”Mumbai Cricket Association, hosting the fourth Test of the series, has said it is ready to host the match, following its managing committee meeting on Friday. Andhra Cricket Association secretary G Ganga Raju, who is also one of the five BCCI vice-presidents, has said the association has enough funds to host England for the second Test, in Visakhapatnam.

Pink-ball cricket will mark its debut in Sri Lanka when the first unofficial Test between Sri Lanka A and West Indies A commences at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday.”We have been lagging behind other countries in experimenting with the pink ball, but a start had to be made somewhere,” Sri Lanka Cricket vice-president K Mathivanan said. “With the ICC planning to introduce day-night Test cricket in the near future we should be prepared to face the changes and not lag behind.”Sri Lanka currently use the Australian Kookaburra ball in their domestic tournaments. Mathivanan said the pink ball costed as much as the red ball, priced at LKR 16,000. SLC is also likely to use the pink ball in their forthcoming domestic competition.Sri Lanka A captain Dimuth Karunaratne felt the pink ball doesn’t differ drastically as compared to the red ball. “We have had few practice sessions with the pink ball and found it very much similar to the red ball,” he said. “But with use, pink ball gets a bit strange and the colour fades.”Shamarh Brooks, the West Indies A captain, said the experience of having played with the pink ball should help. “The balls we use in the Caribbean are a bit light in colour, these balls are brighter,” he observed.Pink ball trial aside, the series will also help Sri Lanka’s national selector identify players who can make the Test cut ahead of the tour of Zimbabwe in October-November.Among those fighting for the opening slot are Karunaratne, Roshen Silva and Lahiru Thirimanne. “I think we have a strong team with some drop outs from the national squad. So this is a great chance for all of them to regain their form and perform well for the country,” Karunaratne said, while sidestepping the question about competition for places.Sri Lanka A coach Avishka Gunawardene said the priority was to identify a battery of fast bowlers. “The Zimbabwe and South African tours are coming and we have to find more fast bowlers so we will focus more on the fast bowlers during this series as that is the national side’s need of the hour,” he said. “We have a good balanced side including Under-19 players who performed well at the last Under-19 World Cup.”West Indies will play three four-day matches and three one-dayers during their month-long stay.

ScorecardPakistan A captain Babar Azam led his side’s final-day victory charge•Getty Images

Pakistan A swept to a remarkable eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka A in Worcester, riding on the back of belligerent half-centuries from captain Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel to mow down a target of 148 in 19.1 overs, with time running out on the final day.With a maximum of 23 overs to chase down the target, Pakistan went for the win right from the outset. They were reduced to 37 for 2 in the fifth over as Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Nawaz both fell to new-ball bowler Vishwa Fernando in the quest for quick runs. But Azam (66 not out) and Shakeel (51 not out) then combined for an unbeaten partnership of 111 off 86 balls, hitting eight fours and three sixes between them to complete a thrilling chase.Pakistan’s task could have been easier but for Sri Lanka’s stubborn tenth-wicket partnership in the second innings. Half-centuries from opener Dhananjaya de Silva (88) and captain Ashan Priyanjan (66) had taken them to 309 for 9, before Minod Bhanuka, who scored an unbeaten 54, and Asitha Fernando combined for a 49-run stand that kept Pakistan’s bowlers at bay for 7.3 overs. When Fernando, who contributed just 2, finally perished to give right-arm medium pacer Hasan Ali his fourth wicket of the innings and seventh of the match, Sri Lanka were all out for 358 to set up the pulsating climax.Pakistan’s stranglehold of the match, however, had been established in the first innings. After Sri Lanka opted to bat, Mir Hamza (4 for 62) and Hasan (3 for 70) inflicted the bulk of the damage to bowl the side out for 250, with only Roshen Silva (57) and Udara Jayasundera (53) registering fifties. Pakistan responded by piling on 461 for 8 before declaring. Most of their batsman made solid contributions, with Shakeel top-scoring with 86.Battling a first-innings deficit of 211, Sri Lanka never really managed to claw back. Coming into the final day two down for 83 and still 128 behind, any hopes Sri Lanka may have had of saving the match came crashing down, thanks to a spirited effort from Pakistan.