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Usman Khawaja believes he can bat anywhere in Australia’s top-order if he were to get an Ashes call-up but he says a middle-order place would make more sense than opening.The Queensland captain has started the Sheffield Shield season in exceptional form, with back-to-back centuries, and calls for him to return to the Test side for the first time since the 2019 Ashes series have been growing louder and louder.Khawaja has another chance to impress selectors at the Gabba on Wednesday when Queensland host Western Australia in a Shield clash, but he is already expected to be named in Australia’s extended Ashes squad ahead of the three-day intra-squad trial game scheduled for December 1-3 in Brisbane. The team for the Ashes opener will be selected from there.There have also been calls for Khawaja to open in the first Test at the Gabba. However, Khawaja himself downplayed that suggestion given he has opened just three times in 29 first-class innings since the 2019 Ashes tour for returns of 30, 4 and 2. His last 14 innings have been played exclusively at No.4 for Queensland.”If you’re talking about me opening, and what not, but I’ve been batting four for Queensland for the last two years,” Khawaja said. “So for me batting, if there’s a spot at five it’s as likely as opening the batting. It probably makes more sense in some respects. So for me, I think I’ve talked to selectors about it, I’ve told them I can bat anywhere along the order.”Khawaja does have an outstanding record opening the batting in Test cricket from a small sample size. He’s opened in seven innings across five Test matches in Australia and the UAE, scoring two centuries and two half-centuries at an average of 96.80. One of those centuries was in a pink-ball Test under lights against South Africa in Adelaide in 2016.He last opened in a Test in Sydney in 2019 before losing his place in the side during the 2019 Ashes after Marnus Labuschagne took his spot at No.3 following three consecutive half-centuries, having come in as Steven Smith’s concussion replacement at Lord’s.Khawaja is flattered by the support and well wishes he has received from people who want to see him back in the Test side, but he is content even if he isn’t recalled.”It’s just lovely to see all the support I’ve been getting from, you know, online, social media, just people coming up to me,” Khawaja said. “It’s nice to see, but for me, honestly, I guess I’ve been through the grind.”I played Test cricket. I haven’t. I’ve been playing professional cricket now for 14-odd years. I’m in a really good spot. And I have a lovely family, a beautiful wife, and a beautiful daughter. I’m really enjoying my life at the moment. I’ve got a lot of things to be grateful for.”I’d love to play for Australia. If it happens, if it doesn’t, honestly, it’s not in my thinking because I’m out here trying to score runs for Queensland.”Khawaja couldn’t resist the urge to poke fun at some criticism levelled at him by former Australian captain Ian Chappell, who told Channel Nine he didn’t think Khawaja was a good enough player at Test level to warrant a recall.”To me, it’s water off a duck’s back honestly, as Chappelli will have his opinions,” Khawaja said. “I guess you just have to, as a player, just concentrate on things you’re good at. I mean Chappelli is not even the best player in his family. So if I’m going to take advice I might take it from his younger brother maybe [laughing], who I get along with very well too, GC [Greg Chappell]. He’s a legend.”Khawaja was excited about the announcement that Australia will do a full tour of Pakistan early next year, given Khawaja was born there and recently played in the Pakistan Super League in the UAE.”It’s amazing, fingers crossed everything goes well,” Khawaja said. “I know CA is going to send a couple of people over in the not too distant future to just have a view of Pakistan.”It’s massive for Pakistan cricket, something they haven’t had for such a long time, a country that absolutely loves cricket. Even though [I was] born in Pakistan, for me, it’s just about spreading the beautiful game of cricket.”

Big picture

Super Over, anyone?By the time England and New Zealand take the field for another World Cup encounter, 850 days will have elapsed since the craziest contest of the lot. Plenty has happened since that extraordinary day at Lord’s in July 2019 – a global pandemic, for starters, not to mention New Zealand’s own trophy capture in the World Test Championship final – but time does little to diminish the wave upon wave of drama that we were privileged to witness that afternoon.Both teams are bound to claim that those events at Lord’s will have little impact on this rematch, on a different continent, in a different format, at a different stage of the competition, and with largely different sides too – there may be as few as five survivors each in the XIs that take the field this time out. And yet, here we are once again. An elite generation of players from both nations have been drawn together in the knock-out stages of another global tournament. It would be quite a feat of single-mindedness if their thoughts managed not to wander at some stage in the narrative.Will England, in particular, have cause to rue a wealth of significant absentees? Their injury list for this tournament was already bulging, but somehow – even without the services of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, the two most iconic stars of that 2019 clash – they had pulled together a balanced and hotly competitive outfit, fit to mix it with the very best on show for the past fortnight.The England players gather after a wicket•AFP/Getty Images

By degrees, however, that enviable depth has been challenged as the sharp end approaches. First it was Tymal Mills, going lame with a thigh strain midway through a gripping tussle with Sri Lanka in Sharjah. No-one can claim to be a like-for-like for Archer, but through the addition of his own finely tuned skill-sets, particularly at the death, Mills had gone a long way towards mitigating that loss. With all due respect to the fit-again Mark Wood, his subtleties – or lack thereof – don’t offer England quite the same versatility.Related

• Who should replace Roy, and who will Buttler's opening partner be?

• Tactics board: Moeen's role, NZ's batting strategy and Sodhi's England match-up

• Moeen riding confidence wave as England chase twin white-ball glory

• Williamson wary of England's depth despite Roy, Mills absence

But then, perhaps more devastatingly still, came the popped calf that caused Jason Roy to limp out of the campaign, midway through a sprinted single against South Africa. Roy is perhaps the great unquantifiable on England’s card – arguably Eoin Morgan’s favourite team-mate, given his wholehearted commitment to gung-ho, selfless aggression. Take his gallop-and-thwack against Josh Hazlewood in the group stage for instance – a fierce slap through wide long-on to hit Australia’s most probing seamer off his length from the very first ball he faced. Roy made just 22 from 20 balls on that occasion, but the agenda had been set, and Jos Buttler at the other end was in the perfect mood to capitalise.In spite of all this, New Zealand will be perfectly happy once more to slot into the role of underdog in Abu Dhabi. In spite of all the evidence that India presented in their abject defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand in Dubai, there may be a sense once again that England will be grateful not to have to face Virat Kohli’s men in a knock-out, just as was the case in the 2019 final when New Zealand again had been the side to oust them in the previous round.Such a narrative does eternal, and wearying, disservice to New Zealand’s proud record in ICC events. Finalists in each of the last 50-over events, semi-finalists so often before that that you thought they might have shaken off the “dark horses” tag some time around 1992. But it has always suited their agenda to be under-estimated. That’s unlikely to change now.Besides, New Zealand have an array of weapons, particularly in their bowling stocks, to put the squeeze on any opponents. In Trent Boult, they have a bona fide T20 star, a masterful operator at the top and tail of an innings; in Tim Southee they have a resurgent seam specialist – much like his opposite number Chris Woakes, sometimes experience really does trump all else. Conversely, Ish Sodhi and Mitch Santner have proven that excellence in this format doesn’t always need to be refracted through a franchise-league prism for the full spectrum of skills to become apparent.New Zealand’s main challenge in recent days has been less their opponents, and more the context of a gruelling three matches in five days in the heat of the desert afternoon. In a distant echo of England’s own progression to the knockouts in 2019, they faced three must-win matches in a row to guard against elimination, and while there was physical exhaustion to contend with, their minds stayed unwavering in a series of faultless wins against Scotland, Namibia and Afghanistan. The challenge is about to be cranked up a notch. But Kane Williamson’s men know better than many global outfits about keeping their eyes on the prize.Ish Sodhi celebrates after getting Gulbadin Naib•Getty Images

Form guide

England LWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWWL

In the spotlight

Who could be more driven for redemption thanMartin Guptill, Mr “Barest of Margins” himself? His crestfallen visage at Lord’s is now etched into the sport’s lore, but quite apart from the neatness of that particular narrative, here is a player whose form so far in the tournament – 176 runs at 35.20 and a strike-rate of 131.34, with no score below 17 – implies that he’s braced for a break-out. His long-levered approach allows him to gather momentum the longer he stays in situ.Moeen Ali arguably has a similar point to prove, given the tailing-off in form that led to his omission from the 2019 final. But in Sharjah, he was a significant beneficiary of Roy’s misfortune, as he was promoted to No.3 with a license to pick up his free-flowing tempo, and he delivered with an agenda-setting 37 from 27. As a trophy-winner with Chennai Super Kings on these same pitches a month ago, he has the confidence and know-how to be the match-winner that England need. His powerplay offspin has been a revelation too… to England if not to his IPL peers, who you sense may have known his true value in this format long before his fellow countrymen.

Team news

So how do England replace the irreplaceable? Jonny Bairstow is the obvious contender to return to the top in Roy’s stead, but the ever-scrutinised Dawid Malan – an entirely different type of batter – might yet get the promotion, and a chance to make his mark on a tournament in which he’s yet really to stand out, for better or worse. Malan’s durable attitude to T20 batting might yet prove a useful insurance policy if England lose the toss and have to set a target, for it’s been notable how he was shunted down the order for two very contrasting chases against West Indies (56) and South Africa (190) – once again Moeen, carded at No. 6 or 7, is liable to float up the order in such circumstances, especially if there’s spin to be attacked. Sam Billings is the worthy understudy in the middle order, although an alternative might be to use Roy’s absence as an excuse to add an extra bowling option in David Willey’s left-arm. He rarely dies wondering in the six-hitting stakes either and Morgan suggested that a late call would be made depending on conditions.England (probable): 1 Jos Buttler (wk), 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Sam Billings/David Willey, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark WoodJonny Bairstow is likely to be pushed up to open in the semi-final•Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Kane Williamson’s long-term elbow complaint remains a “bit of a challenge” for New Zealand’s captain, but it’s not going to derail him from the task at hand. New Zealand boast a settled XI that has grown into the campaign since that early loss to Pakistan. Adam Milne came in for Tim Seifert for their subsequent win over India, and they have since made it four in a row with no alterations.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Daryl Mitchell, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway (wk), 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 James Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Adam Milne, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Trent Boult.

Pitch and conditions

The build-up to this contest has been tragically overshadowed by news of the death of Mohan Singh, the chief curator of the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. His surfaces have been among the tournament’s best for batting so far, particularly in recent contests, with three first-innings totals of 189 or more in the last five games – including India’s 210 for 2 against Afghanistan, the highest at any of the three grounds in the main event. More of the same might be in prospect on a pitch that Santner has already predicted will be “tough” for bowlers. Pitch No. 7 will be in use for this marquee fixture, previous used for South Africa vs Bangladesh and Namibia vs Pakistan in the Super 12s. The strip is central, meaning no markedly short boundary on either side to target in the match-ups.

Stats and trivia

Samad Fallah has received a no-objection certificate from Uttarakhand and is now eligible to return to his home state Maharashtra for the upcoming 2021-22 Indian domestic season. He has made himself available for selection in all three formats.Fallah, 36, played for Uttarakhand during the truncated 2020-21 season, which included only white-ball cricket because of the Covid-19 pandemic. He was Uttarakhand’s joint-highest wicket-taker during the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy, with seven strikes in six games at an average of 28.57. He also played four of the team’s five matches during the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, picking up two wickets while returning an economy rate of 8.28.Fallah, who made his Maharashtra debut in 2007-08, is the most prolific left-arm seamer in the history of the Ranji Trophy, with 272 wickets at an average of 28.56. His tally puts him one wicket above Saurashtra’s Jaydev Unadkat. Hiralal Gaekwad, whose Ranji Trophy career stretched from 1941 to 1963, picked up 278 wickets, but he bowled a mixture of left-arm spin and seam. Apart from 287 first-class wickets overall, Fallah has picked up 75 in List A cricket and 62 in T20s.During his peak years, Fallah was the leader of a strong Maharashtra pace attack that also included Anupam Sanklecha, Domnic Muthuswami and Shrikant Mundhe. Their best collective effort came in 2013-14, when they combined to propel Maharashtra to their first Ranji Trophy final in 21 years, which they eventually lost to Karnataka.Fallah’s brightest moment during that season came on the first day of the semi-final in Indore, when he picked up 7 for 58 to help bowl Bengal out for 114.

A new finals series has been introduced for the WBBL, which will reward the team finishing top of the group stage with direct entry into the final while the teams in second to fourth will battle to join them in two play-off matches.The new conclusion to the competition is a trimmed-down version of the five-match finals series that was introduced into the BBL two years ago with the tight time frame between the end of the group matches and the final on November 27 not allowing for such a long run of play-off matches.The first-placed team will earn hosting rights for the final – providing the Covid-19 situation and border restrictions allow – with third and fourth playing the Eliminator on November 24 followed by the second-placed team facing the winner of the Eliminator in the Challenger final on November 25.Both play-off matches will be hosted at the home ground of the team that finishes second in the regular season if restrictions permit.The tournament will also have a new title sponsor with Weber Barbecues taking over from sports brand Rebel.The previous structure saw two traditional semi-finals with first playing fourth and second taking on third to decide the finalists. Last season, Melbourne Stars topped the group stage and won their semi-final before being toppled by Sydney Thunder, who finished third in the table, in the final.”The new Weber WBBL|07 Finals format adds more incentive than ever to finishing on top of the table after the 56-game regular season,” Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia’s general manager of Big Bash Leagues said.Cricket Australia

“Not only will teams have a guaranteed path to the Final, they’ll also have the backing of a strong home crowd, with fans given more time to secure their ticket to the Final. The league views the Final as a marquee moment in the summer of Big Bash and we look forward to creating an unmissable event to cap the season.”There remains uncertainty around the start of the tournament which is currently scheduled for October 14 in Sydney. The ongoing lockdown in New South Wales and related border closures means that it will likely be moved.”We are committed to ensuring cricket remains a leading sport for women and girls by holding a full, safe and successful Weber WBBL|07 season,” Dobson said. “We learnt many lessons from staging full WBBL and BBL seasons last summer and are confident of another safe and successful summer ahead.”We’ll continue to work with our clubs, state and territory governments, health authorities and broadcasters in the lead up to the season, which remains on track to begin on October 14.”The international series between Australia and India which precedes the WBBL has been relocated entirely to Queensland with matches to be played on the Gold Coast and in Mackay. The state may now be the favoured starting point for the WBBL given some players will already be located there.Wherever the competition starts, it is likely that players from New South Wales and Victoria will need to quarantine before it begins. Last season, the tournament was played entirely in a Sydney-based hub.

ScorecardLewis Gregory celebrates his maiden Championship hundred•Getty Images

Reigning Specsavers county champions Middlesex appear on course for their fourth successive draw of an uninspired Division One title defence after Somerset enjoyed the best of a sun-kissed second day at Lord’s.As the Middlesex bowlers endured a wicketless morning session, centuries by Dean Elgar and Lewis Gregory allowed the visitors to bat on until well after tea before their declaration on 443 for nine.In the 22 remaining overs of an extended 104-over day that helped make up for Friday’s rain delays, Middlesex went in at stumps to reach the mid-point of the match on 42 without loss – a first innings deficit of 401. Their openers, Nick Compton and Nick Gubbins, endured a stern test to finish unscathed on 19 and 21 respectively.Somerset were indebted to a record sixth-wicket stand between Elgar and Gregory which rescued their side from the depths of 80 for six to the undoubted riches of four batting bonus points.Elgar crunched a season-best 158 while Gregory, in hitting 137, sailed past his previous best – an unbeaten 73 scored against Yorkshire at Headingley last season – to post his maiden first-class century in his 78th innings.The hosts spurned their one and only pre-lunch opportunity whilst gifting a life to Gregory with his score on 31. Fencing at a lifting delivery from Toby Roland-Jones, the right-hander was downed, one-handed at second slip by Ollie Rayner who, moving late to his right, appeared to lose the ball in the backdrop.Soon afterwards, Gregory rubbed salt in Middlesex wounds by plundering consecutive, cover-driven boundaries against Roland-Jones to move to an attractive 84-ball 50 with 10 fours.Elgar, the South Africa Test batsman, posted his second century of the season with a straight six against off-spinner Rayner. The left-hander danced down the pitch to deposit one over the Nursery End ropes and reach the milestone from 186 balls and with 15 fours to go with his maximum. It was the 31st first-class hundred of his career and his first at Lord’s.The pair saw off the second new ball and batted on after lunch to take their side beyond 300. In doing so they created a new sixth-wicket record for Somerset against Middlesex, beating the 196 scored by Peter White and Maurice Tremlett at Bath in 1959.Gregory marched on to secure his maiden first-class hundred with a leg glance against Tom Helm that flew to the ropes in front of the Pavilion. He punched the air, fist-bumped with Elgar and embraced his partner before holding his bat aloft to receive the acclaim for his 186-ball century which included 15 fours.The duo added 249 before Middlesex bagged their first wicket in 70 overs’ play by ending Elgar’s six-and-three-quarter-hour vigil. It needed a beauty to do so – a James Franklin leg-cutter from the Nursery End that held its own against the Lord’s slope to feather the edge and give John Simpson his fourth catch of the match.Gregory added a further 47 in tandem with Josh Davey but finally went after 333 minutes at the crease. Aiming to pull a length ball from Roland-Jones, he top-edged to long leg where Tom Helm pocketed the skier. Gregory faced 231 balls for a score that included 17 fours and a six.Davey muscled a cameo 47 against his former club before top-edging a pull to midwicket to give Helm a second scalp, then Jamie Overton (37) skied to long-on to be caught by 12th man James Harris.Substituting for Roland-Jones, Harris – who has returned from a second rolling-loan stint with Kent – made good ground running in from the ropes for Rayner’s sole wicket of the innings as Somerset declared nine down at 5.10pm. Tim Murtagh, Roland-Jones, Helm and Franklin all claimed two wickets apiece for the weary Middlesex attack.

With three needed off three balls, and a spot in the Vijay Hazare semi-final up for grabs, Aamir Gani pulled off a delightful inside-out cover drive for four to ensure Bengal chased down their target of 319 in style.Gani’s cameo followed sturdy contributions from the top order as Shreevats Goswami (74 off 88 balls), Anustup Majumdar (66 off 59 balls) and Sudip Chatterjee (unbeaten on 60 off 51 balls) all made half-centuries and did an excellent job keeping up with the asking rate.That meant Maharashtra were knocked out of the knockouts, and that Rahul Tripathi (95 off 74 balls) and Nikhil Naik’s (63 off 52 balls) efforts were in vain. They had smashed 109 runs in the last 10 overs to put a strong total on the board, and then their bowlers had pushed Bengal pretty hard in the chase as well. Shrikant Mundhe dismissed the set batsman Majumdar in the 49th over to force the equation to 15 needed off 10 balls with five wickets in hand and Shamshuzama Kasi struck with the third ball of the final over. The next one, however, was smashed for the match-winning boundary.Bengal would have to face the MS Dhoni-led Jharkhand in the semi-final on Friday, a six off his bat making sure his team would be one of the final four. The six-wicket victory though was set up by the bowlers who reduced Vidarbha to 159 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first. Only Ravi Jangid (62 off 87) and Ganesh Satish (35 off 54) made any contributions of note. Rajneesh Gurbani, the No. 9, did his best to make 22 off 70 balls so that Vidarbha at least played out their quota of overs. Considering they were 18 for 4 at one point, that was something of a consolation for Faiz Fazal and his men.Jharkhand’s Monu Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 27. Varun Aaron (1 for 41) and Shahbaz Nadeem was at his stifling best, picking up 1 for 13 from eight overs. Their good work was supported by the batsmen with Ishank Jaggi top-scoring with 41 off 61 balls and remaining unbeaten.

Colin Graves has hailed a “watershed” moment for cricket in England and Wales after the ECB board unanimously agreed to trigger the formal process by which changes to the organisation’s constitution can be agreed.Graves, the ECB chairman, insisted the changes would make “the whole game stronger” and suggested cricket could now “attract a whole new audience” with the creation of an eight-team T20 tournament for 2020.As a result of the board’s decision, all 41 constituent members of the ECB (the 18 first-class counties, the MCC, the Minor Counties Cricket Association and the 21 recreational boards) will now be sent amended Articles of Association to approve. The ECB requires 31 positive responses within 28 days of the date on the letter for the changes to be passed. A non-response is effectively a no vote.The key change relates to the formation of the new competition. Whereas the previous Articles insisted that all 18 first-class counties took part in each of the main competitions run by the ECB, the new Articles will specify that, for the proposed T20 competition only, eight new teams will be permitted to compete and the counties will be excluded.”The ECB board today gave their unanimous support to trigger a formal process to change the game’s Articles of Association and allow a new T20 competition,” Graves said.”Our members have seen the evidence for why the new T20 proposal is the right way to reach new audiences, create new fans and fuel the future of the game.”Together, we can now take a huge opportunity to not only create a deeper engagement with those who currently follow cricket but to attract a whole new audience and ensure the sustainability of our game. This is a watershed moment for us all to make the whole game stronger.”The ECB also announced a fuller review of its Articles of Association, which will cover financial regulations. The process is expected to take around six to nine months with the expectation that it will culminate in a proposal to adopt a new set of Articles at the ECB’s AGM in May 2018. A review of the ECB’s governance structures, to be led by Ian Lovett, deputy chairman of the ECB, will also be undertaken.And, in another sign of the weakening grip of the first-class counties – specifically their members – upon the professional game, the ECB announced its intention to establish new Memorandums of Understanding. Rather than agreeing separate MoUs with the first-class counties, the county boards, the premier leagues and the minor counties, the stated aspiration is “to create a single entity for cricket in each county, in line with the shared strategic framework defined by Cricket Unleashed [the ECB’s five-year plan for the game]”.”Two years ago, on becoming chairman of the ECB, I promised members open discussion, transparency and accountability with my main objective of attracting more revenue into the game to be passed onto its stakeholders,” Graves said.”The Articles and governance reviews I am announcing today are very much part of delivering this vision. Good governance is critical to effective decision-making, minimising risk and protecting reputation. It’s essential for the future success of cricket.”

Will number 13 prove lucky for South Africa? That may depend if they keep on winning. The figure will mark their new record winning streak in one-day internationals if they overcome New Zealand in Christchurch.There have been some impressive displays among those 12 victories. Six times batting first they have posted over 300, and four times over 350; in another they chased down 372; and in eight of the matches they have bowled out the opposition.However, regardless of their current form, they still see improvements to be made. The victory in Hamilton became a nail-biter, as AB de Villiers and Andile Phehlukwayo guided them home with a ball to spare, and was one of their hardest earned of the unbeaten run.”We haven’t played the perfect game yet,” said batting coach Neil McKenzie.”Twelve in row has shown what we have been doing over last year has really worked. The big thing is we’ve got try get to play that perfect game and hopefully that comes in a semi or final. But the blueprint has got to be honed in every game you play.”A semi-final or a final. South Africa crave that global piece of silverware. The perfect game in a semi-final, never mind a final, is something they have been unable to do in 10 of the 11 multi-team tournament semis they have reached. The one success came against Sri Lanka in the 1998 Wills International Cup, the precursor to what is now the Champions Trophy.All the culture camps, all the team spirit, all the victories – no one will really know if it will make a difference until that chance comes up again.De Villiers rated the Hamilton victory was “10 out of 10” for the experience of winning a tight game, but “zero” when it came to conditions, given the pitches in the Champions Trophy are unlikely to turn anywhere near as much.With the Napier match having been shifted to Seddon Park because of the former’s poor drainage, there could yet be another spinning pitch in the offing so the remaining three matches – beginning with Christchurch on Wednesday – perhaps offer the best chance of something closer to English conditions.”All one-day sides gauge themselves on periods where you lead up to a Champions Trophy or pinnacle series,” McKenzie said. “It bodes well for us going to England where we’re going find the same sort of conditions generally.”Although South Africa will not entertain the notion, it would be a useful exercise for them if this series conjured up a deciding match in Auckland early next month. It would still only be for a bilateral victory, but it would at least give them the taste of a winner-takes-all match.

Mushfiqur Rahim has been kept under observation for multiple injuries but it is his thumb that’s more worrying than the blow to the neck he suffered on the fifth day of the first Test. According to team physio Dean Conway, he will need more time to recover from the finger injury.”His finger injury is worse,” Conway told reporters. “The hairline crack that has been found is new. He will need to give more time for this injury.”At the same time however, local doctors have reportedly advised him not to take the field for at least a couple of weeks even though the neck scan revealed no damage. Conway said that Mushfiqur may need at least three weeks to fully recover from the hit on the neck.”Doctors in New Zealand usually advise not playing for three to four weeks. In England they advise not taking the field for two to three weeks. In that regard, Mushfiqur may need three to four weeks to return,” he said.If Mushfiqur does sit out the Christchurch Test, wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan will step up and make his Test debut.

New Zealand allrounder Mitchell Santner will re-join Worcestershire next season with his director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, affirming that he has some “some unfinished business” at New Road.Santner will link up with Rapids for the NatWest T20 Blast, which is now in a condensed midsummer slot, after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy being held in England in June.He will hope that it is a more successful undertaking than last season when he bowled four overs in the opening match against Durham Jets but then suffered a broken finger in the field and was never seen again.Rhodes is delighted to land the services of Santner for a second spell, subject to obtaining the normal visa clearances and a No Objection Certificate from New Zealand Cricket.Rhodes said: “For T20 cricket, people with three disciplines are really exciting. We know spin is a major player for T20 cricket so to have a top spinner is fantastic. We know Mitch can hit the ball out of the ground, because he has done that, but also being a left hander is useful to the composition of our top six – and he is also a great fielder.”There is some unfinished business with Mitch. Last summer he was very unlucky to pick up that finger injury that needed pinning in the first game he played.”We know he is a good player, an international player, but I always like to have signings where people have got something to prove and I think he feels that way so that’s why it is an exciting signing.”Losing Mitch was a massive blow to our hopes of qualifying. We’d had a good start and him playing all those games would have been an extra bonus for us.”Worcestershire have already signed Australian allrounder John Hastings for the 2017 campaign. Hastings’ previous county loyalties have been with Durham but they remain under financial pressure after major restructuring, and an ECB bailout, prevented them from going bankrupt.