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Mohammad Amir may have spent five years in the wilderness, but Pakistan chief selector Haroon Rasheed has said he is ‘still better’ than most of the competition.Amir became eligible for national selection within four months of completing an ICC ban for spot-fixing. Rasheed told ESPNcricinfo he was assessed solely on his cricketing skill. “As a selector what we see is the overall ability, skills, form, fitness and performance so this is all we have taken into account before considering him for the New Zealand tour. He is still better than most of those who played in last five years. We have seen him performing at domestic level and he has stood out. But now we want to assess him at the international level and see how well he can deliver.”Fourteen fast bowlers (including bowling all-rounders) have made debuts across formats for Pakistan since Amir’s five-year suspension in 2010. In that time, only Wahab Riaz has made a case for a permanent place in the XI across formats. Fellow left-arm seamer Junaid Khan had a promising start to his career, but his threat has diminished greatly and has not been part of a Pakistan team since June. Umar Gul has had a tough time with injuries; he is still pushing for a comeback. Rahat Ali has been a workhorse at times, but is not an automatic selection. Imran Khan and Mohammad Irfan have fitness concerns.Pakistan chief selector Haroon Rasheed on Mohammad Amir: “We are not undermining other players and forcing him [back] but there is always a difference between normal and extraordinary players.”•AFP

Amir, 23, resumed his career in March playing grade two cricket in Pakistan, after the ICC allowed an early return to cricket. He moved onto grade one and caught further attention in the Bangladesh Premier League where he picked up 14 wickets in nine matches at an average of 12.64.”We are not undermining other players and forcing him [back] but there is always a difference between normal and extraordinary players,” Rasheed said of Amir. “We are not axing anyone to bring him in. They are all part of the circuit and part and parcel of our planning.”But about Amir, it’s not just his bowling but his all-round ability. He is good fielder and can bat with surety. Had he kept on playing in last five years he could have been developed into an established allrounder. We have good bowlers but they are not known for their batting. I don’t want to point to anyone, but we need our players to cover all the three dimensions of the game.”Amir has a top score of 73 against New Zealand in ODIs, and has a couple of fifties in first-class cricket as well.”Pakistan hasn’t been really a bad ODI team,” Rasheed said, “What has been hampering them is the fielding and fitness. Skill was never really a problem. So we want to pick a boy who has everything and as a selector we have seen something in him.”Pakistan’s one-day team is in transition, and the inconsistency in selection has not helped their cause. They have had four selection committees in three years. And following the retirements of Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi after the World Cup 2015, there was a widespread revamp with Azhar Ali appointed as ODI captain.”One thing is certain, we didn’t have readymade back-up sitting behind. We know we have tons of players performing in the domestic circuit, scoring heavily and taking wickets and after the World Cup, we wanted to give all of them a chance and test their potential.”Now the experimentation is over and we came to understand that most of them lacked the temperament, confidence and the fitness. We have told them [that] and sent them back to domestic cricket to work on their limitations. At the same time we have stuck with some of them and given them a longer run in the national team.”Rasheed also stressed on the need to give players a longer stint in the team, to help them gain experience and settle into the team set-up.”We definitely have to digest failure and we are throwing our full confidence behind the players we have selected after extensive experimentation for almost an entire year. Realistically, we may be behind the rest of the cricketing world in ODIs but we have to stick with the boys and let them gain experience.”The team for Pakistan’s limited-overs tour of New Zealand will likely be announced by Saturday, since they fly out on January 10.

Dinanath Ramnarine has accused Bruce Aanensen, the WICB chief executive, of a ‘negative management style’ © Trinidad & Tobago Express

The West Indies national team have called for the resignation of Bruce Aanensen, the WICB’s chief executive who has been in office for less than three months, highlighting what seems an almost irreparable divide between players and officials.In a strongly-worded letter, originally posted on caribbeancricket.com, to Dinanath Ramnarine, the chief executive of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), the players wrote that they were highly offended that Aanensen publicly labelled them as incompetent.”We are now left with the rather difficult situation of determining whether as players we would be able to continue working with Mr. Aanensen,” the letter concluded. “Unfortunately, given the unfair and frankly thoughtless nature of his comments we would not be keen in having any further interaction at a professional level with Mr. Aanensen. From Mr. Aanensen’s comments, for which, significantly, he has made no withdrawals or apologies, we would find it virtually impossible to engage him in any meaningful manner.”Gordon, who leaves office in 12 days, responded to Ramnarine, who forwarded the players’ letter along with a few asides of his own, by saying that he was not satisfied by the letters as there was no justification in the charges made.But he rounded on Ramnarine, accusing him of being “frequently abusive to Deryck Murray [WICB director] and his team at negotiations.” Gordon wrote: “You have stated at meetings with one of our board members and two executives of WICB present that I am a liar. You have since denied saying so, while everyone present heard your comment …”Reacting to the attack by the players, Aanensen said that he was anything but happy about it though he added that his response would be measured and forthcoming at the appropriate time. About the charge of calling the players “incompetent” following the second Test, Aanensen told the : “I had discussions with some of the players long after that interview [in the second Test] was done and I got no sense of animosity from them.” He accused Ramnarine of wanting to unleash an assault on him. “[He] thought that [the players’ letter] was a good support mechanism for his assault.”

MacGill is aware that this summer could become the most important of his career © Getty Images

Stuart MacGill, who picked up a knee injury during Australia’s five-day boot camp in the Queensland bush recently, feels the problem may interfere in his Ashes preparations. MacGill has resumed training for New South Wales after missing the first state practice session, but by his own admission, was more than concerned about an “avoidable” incident at the age of 35.”I’m going to have things go wrong with me this summer, that’s for sure,” MacGill was quoted as saying in the . “I don’t really need to go into a season already carrying something that was probably avoidable.The camp was designed with certain objectives in mind and I’d say those objectives were achieved. I just think we probably could have achieved those goals in a different format.”Having recently recuperated from surgery to his right knee, MacGill conceded that the latest injury left him quite sore. With the Ashes around the corner, MacGill hoped he would fully recover to be a part of Australia’s attempt to win the urn back. “Unfortunately the timing has not been great,” he said. “I am going to ease my way into things, and my intention is to be bowling at my peak and being ready to go when the NSW season starts in four or five weeks. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to take it a little bit slower than I had hoped to at this point.”Ricky Ponting has publicly said once more that England are very susceptible to wrist spin, and MacGill – with 39 wickets in six Tests against them – refused to shirk away from his predicament. “Now is not a time for me to be stepping out of the game because I’m sore. I can’t really afford that in my career. I’m 35, and every day I’m out of the game is shortening my career. I can’t have that. If I’m ever omitted from the team and a second spinner is picked, I want it to be because they are better than me.”

Leicestershire have signed Chris Rogers, the left-handed batsmen from Western Australia, as a replacement for Dinesh Mongia. Mongia has been called up by India for a triangular one-day tournament and he leaves at the end of this week.Rogers, 27, is set to make his debut in the Championship game against Somerset on Friday. Rogers had a successful spell with Derbyshire in the early part of last season before having to return home because of injury.James Whitaker, Leicestershire’s director of cricket, said: “We are delighted to have signed him and he will be with us for whatever period Mongia is away. Chris is a gritty and tenacious top order batsman and I am certain he will do a good job for us. He will make his debut against Somerset providing all the necessary paper work has been completed.”Rogers has a first class average of over 43 and has made 10 centuries. He said: “This is a good opportunity for me and I am really looking forward to it because there is still a lot of cricket to be played this season.”

New South Wales 2 for 212 (Jaques 75, Thornely 70*, S Waugh 50*) beat Tasmania 210 (Watson 56, MacGill 4-55, Nicholson 3-45) by 8 wickets
Scorecard

Steve Waugh left the one-day arena with a breezy 50

Stuart MacGill, airbrushed out of the one-day picture by Australia’s selectors, picked up 4 for 55 as New South Wales marked the Waugh twins’ final appearance in coloured clothing with a crushing eight-wicket victory over Tasmania at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Chasing a modest 211, New South Wales rampaged to their target in just 26.1 overs, inspired by Phil Jaques’s 44-ball 75, and an unbeaten 70 from Dominic Thornely. But 4753 spectators saved their loudest cheers for Steve Waugh, who slammed eight fours and a six in a 44-ball 50 not out.”It’s nice, Sydney’s a good place to get a few runs, there was a good crowd today so it was enjoyable,” said Waugh, whose team were already out of contention to defend their ING Cup title. “It would have been nice for Mark to have a hit at the end,” he added.Asked if he was tempted to push Mark up the order, he grinned and replied, “Not really, no. The other guys are going well. Phil Jaques is going really well. There was a temptation to open with the Waugh brothers but you can’t mess around too much with everyone.”MacGill’s four-wicket haul moved him just one wicket behind Western Australia’s Jo Angel on the alltime domestic bowling list with 93 victims from 46 one-day matches. Angel needed 74 games for his 94 scalps. MacGill, who wasn’t even in contention for the one-dayers in Sri Lanka, finished the ING Cup season with unmatched figures of 20 wickets at 15.9.After his first over went for ten, he found his rhythm to dismiss Daniel Marsh, George Bailey, Shannon Tubb and Scott Kremerskothen. Tasmania owed their total to Shane Watson (56) and Michael Di Venuto (46), but with Matthew Nicholson (3 for 45) also among the wickets, the innings was a stop-start affair.Jaques ensured that the match would be a no-contest by thrashing a 31-ball half-century, second this year only to Stuart Law’s 26-ball effort for Queensland at Hobart.MacGill hasn’t played ODIs for Australia since winning three caps in 1999-2000, but his performance at the SCG was special enough to merit leading the side in at the interval, despite the day being set up for the Waugh twins. Mark didn’t get a bat, but Steve signed off on the right note, albeit in a match that meant very little as far as the big picture was concerned.

The row over England’s scheduled World Cup match in Harare took a new turn when the players’ representative, Richard Bevan, managing director of the Professional Cricketers Association, read out a statement on their behalf. The headline is that the England cricketers have made an “urgent request” that their World Cup match against Zimbabwe scheduled to be played in Harare on February 13th should be switched to South Africa.He reported that there is a highly volatile situation in Zimbabwe – a fact that was made plain during a recent meeting between players’ representatives, the England and Wales Cricket Board and Government officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.As a result, Bevan said, “The players today have requested an urgent review of their scheduled match against Zimbabwe in Harare on 13 February.”Without doubt the issues have been weighing heavily on the players minds, taking into account moral, political and contractual aspects.”The minutes of the recent meeting highlighted the concerns about security in Harare, including a firebomb attack on a political party’s office, the report by the Mayor of Harare that he could not guarantee security and reports from police that they had uncovered an arms cache allegedly for the use of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s opponents against England cricketers.Bevan added that the England players were concerned about the people of Zimbabwe and, in particular, Mugabe’s opponents who might well be targeted by the authorities.While this statement might be seen as a direct challenge to the ECB, it was stressed that the players are aware of the ECB’s situation and they are keen to support the board. However, they are definite that they want the match moved and for the Zimbabwe Cricket Union to be paid compensation.It was pointed out that the World Cup organisers have said that a final decision about the venue can be made as late as February 9th, and so ask that “a fresh review of security be made immediately.”They add, “We are keen to take as much time as necessary to ensure the right decision is made.”While acknowledging the difficult position in which the ECB finds itself, Bevan, on behalf of the players, had no such sympathy for the Government.”Much of the pressure on all parties could have been eased by a more decisive role from government. There have been no economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, or sporting sanctions and diplomatic ties have not been severed.”This was a theme taken up by ECB chief executive Tim Lamb when answering questions after the PCA statement had been read out. He went on to outline the ECB’s continuing position.”As things stand at the moment, the ECB supports the stance of the ICC, which is that matches should only be relocated to South Africa if there are genuine grounds for believing the safety of players or officials is under threat.”There will be a meeting by tele-conference this Thursday when the ECB’s chairman David Morgan will be representing us and there will be an update on security.”Lamb also underlined the fact that, despite the players’ statement, the match is still on.”What the players have not said today is that they are refusing to play the match. They have urged the ICC to move the match. There is this further opportunity on Thursday that we could review thatdecision.”He was asked if he was not embarrassed that it was the players who were issuing the statement and not the ECB and whether it was the duty of the board to back the England team rather than rigidly adhere to the ICC line. Lamb was in no doubt with his reply.”I have already had a long conversation with Malcolm Speed who is aware of the thrust of the statement from the players. I will have to discuss this with my chairman and he, or I, may decide we have to consult with the ECB Management Board before Thursday’s meeting but certainly we will take on board the players’ concerns.”We will listen carefully to what the players have to say. I’m sure that David Morgan will bear all this in mind when he takes part in the tele-conference on Thursday morning.”ICC chief executive, Malcolm Speed, responded to today’s announcement by the England players by saying that their concerns would be aired at the next ICC board meeting, scheduled for later this week.He said, "The process is in place for the English players, through their board, to have this issue discussed and debated."As recently as last Friday, the ICC board, including the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, David Morgan, met to consider this issue and no member sought to present any argument to the board to move the game."The ECB will have the opportunity to argue its case later this week during the ICC board teleconference which will again discuss the games scheduled for Zimbabwe and Kenya."Speed stressed that the only grounds for a change in venue would be the safety and security issues."The ICC is an international sporting organisation with 84 members with a variety of cultures, beliefs and political systems."Its members are in place to make judgments on cricket administration and not to take a political stance on foreign policy issues. This is the role and responsibility of governments."Many months ago, the ICC Executive Board discussed this issue and all members, including the ECB, endorsed this position. Of course, should the ECB wish to have this approach reviewed, it will be entitled to argue the case at the meeting on Friday."We are committed to monitoring the safety and security of players and officials in Zimbabwe and this is being done on a daily basis."To do this we have in place an effective system that will allow us to make a proper, fact-based assessment on the safety issues that each team will be faced with in Zimbabwe."There is in place a properly resourced and highly skilled Security Directorate that is responsible for the safety of all teams."The Directorate has put in place a thorough system to identify, assess and manage any safety and security issues and the tournament will see unprecedented levels of security for all games."The ICC has also now visited Zimbabwe on several occasions to assess the safety issues first-hand, visiting and listening to a number of diplomatic officials from the countries scheduled to play there as well as to a number of relevant stakeholders."In addition, the ICC has appointed an independent firm of international security advisers to provide its expert view on the situation in Zimbabwe."This thorough process allows the ICC to make a proper assessment of the safety and security risks to players and officials based on the expert advice of a range of well-qualified safety experts."As it currently stands, based on this expert advice the ICC board continues to see no reason to move the games. Should the situation change there is in place the system to alert the ICC to this and a proper decision making process to deal with any need to relocate games."Meanwhile, momentum is gathering to have all World Cup matches moved to South Africa. The Australians are due in Bulawayo on February 24th, but there is already a suggestion that they are unhappy about fulfilling the fixture.Asked if there was concern in the Australian camp about the situation, captain Ricky Ponting said, “There’s a little bit. I think there always will be.”I haven’t thought much about it yet. I don’t know what to expect until we get there, if we’re going. That decision is probably up in the air a little bit.”We’ll speak more about it over the next few days and probably when we get to South Africa work a few things out there.”The Australians forfeited a fixture in the 1996 World Cup in Sri Lanka, as well as declining to tour Zimbabwe in 2001.An Australian Cricket Board spokesman said: “We reserve the right not to go there right up until the last minute. Even if we arrive at the airport and have to fly out straight away we will.”There is still concern over the security situation in Nairobi, with New Zealand paying particular attention to the findings of the ICC security delegation.All this points to more problems for cricket. Should England, Australia and New Zealand decide against playing their matches in Zimbabwe and Kenya while the likes of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka fulfil such fixtures, there are several factions ready to point to a widening racial split in world cricket and exploit the situation for their own unsavoury ends.

Ed: Maria Naureen is our correspondent from Karachi, a FM 101 radio talk-show host, cricket radio commentator and sports journalist

According to Italian journalist Rudy Galetti on Twitter, West Ham are interested in signing FC Nantes attacking midfielder Ludovic Blas. 

The lowdown: Highly-coveted

The 24-year-old ace has been a wanted man throughout a fledgeling career in France, with Liverpool, Inter Milan and Lyon all linked whilst still at academy club Guingamp.

Since then, the creative Frenchman has made the move to fellow Ligue 1 club Nantes for £7.20million (Transfermarkt), scoring 30 times and providing eight assists in 99 total appearances for La Maison Jaune.

Now, it would appear that summer interest from the Premier League could be on the horizon.

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The latest: English eyes watching

Taking to Twitter, Galetti has claimed that ‘West Ham are interested’ in signing the former France Under 20 starlet.

There is also admiration from Newcastle United, whilst relegation-threatened Watford have been linked elsewhere.

Galetti states that Nantes ‘evaluate’ Blas, who is under contract until 2024, at ‘around €20million’ (£16.6million).

The verdict: Huge expectations

The 26-cap youth international has recently been hailed as ‘spectacular’ and rated even higher than Premier League superstar Mohamed Salah when it comes to ‘pure talent’ by former Liverpool midfielder Pedro Chirivella (So Foot via Liverpool Echo).

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Blas has scored 12 times and provided two assists in 32 appearances across all competitions so far this season and would add huge versatility to David Moyes’ squad, due to being capable of operating in various attacking roles.

Described as a teenager as a ‘little phenomenon’ by then-teammate Lucas Tousart, the Hammers should be pulling out all the stops in their attempts to add the Frenchman to their ranks.

In other news: West Ham want to sign Championship star. Read more here. 

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNasir Hossain collected three wickets to rattle Chittagong•Raton Gomes/BCB

Dhaka Dynamites bounced back from their defeat on Wednesday, securing a convincing six-wicket win against Chittagong Vikings. In yet another low-scoring encounter, Dhaka’s bowlers showed good control, rolling over Chittagong for 92. The top-order batsmen then complemented the bowlers as Dhaka chased down the target with 17 balls to spare.Chittagong’s innings began on an undesirable note: Tamim Iqbal was given out caught behind despite the ball not grazing the bat or the glove on its way to Kumar Sangakkara. Tamim dragged himself off the field, after which Anamul Haque was out lbw, trying to pull Farhad Reza in the next over.The 19-year old Yasir Ali, however, started off with three fours off Abul Hasan. He drove past cover, over mid-off, and pulled over midwicket to briefly revive the innings. However, he nicked a Mustafizur Rahman cutter behind in the next over.Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a four and a six soon after, but left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain had him lbw for 20. Chittagong promoted Mohammad Amir to No.6 but he made only 2 before chopping on Yasir Shah as Chittagong slumped to 50 for 5 in 8.4 overs. Naeem Islam, playing his first match of the season, hung around with the lower order after Jeevan Mendis (1) and Ziaur Rahman (9) were undone by Nasir Hossain.Naeem launched a six in the 18th over but ran out of partners and finished unbeaten on 29 off 38 balls. Mustafizur and Nasir claimed combined figures of 7.4-1-26-6.Shykat Ali and Shadman Islam, playing his first T20 game, laid a solid foundation, for the chase, with a 45-run opening partnership. Shykat went about his work impressively, the highlight being a pick-up shot that sailed over square leg for a six. However, he holed out to long-on for 23 off 17 balls.Nasir Jamshed then was caught at long-off in the 13th over, for 12, and Nasir was bowled by Naeem two overs later. Shadman, who was largely becalmed early on, then unleashed two square-cuts off Shafiul Islam. The opener fell with his side two runs away from the target but Kumar Sangakkara completed the chase with a pulled four.

The West Indies Players’ Association has expressed concern over the forthcoming A-team tour of Zimbabwe which is due to get underway in early July.Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA chief executive, said that the doubts “resulted from discussions with various stakeholders and persons with intimate knowledge of the existing situation in that country”. He added: “They have spoken of security treats, violation of human rights and a highly volatile situation that could threaten the safety of the players.”WIPA has been placed in a further quandary by media reports that a team has already been selected and that a decision to proceed on this tour will be contingent on the advice the WICB receives from the CARICOM Secretariat. Furthermore, under the Memorandum of Understanding between the WICB and WIPA both parties are required to agree on the tour.”Although WIPA has no knowledge of the team selected, it has, nevertheless, taken the opportunity to speak with some likely candidates and the CARICOM Secretariat about their views on the tour to Zimbabwe. Their input will be critical to WIPA’s determining its final position later this week.”We appreciate the difficulty of this situation for all parties concerned given the importance of such tours for the development of West Indies cricket. However the safety of our players is of paramount importance.”