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Controversial pacer Shoaib Akhtar and the Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) got a sigh of relief when the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) named New Zealand’s Brian Hastings asmatch referee for next month’s Test series between Pakistanand Bangladesh.The ICC also appointed Englishman John Hampshire andZimbabwean Russel Tiffin as umpires for the Dhaka andChittagong Tests.Pakistan leave for Dhaka on Jan 2 for two Tests and threeone-day internationals. It will be Pakistan’s maiden Testtour against the newest Test nation who got into the ICCfold last year.The three ICC officials are some of the few who have notraised any suspicion against the bowling action of Shoaib,rated as one of the quickest in the world.Shoaib, who has been reported twice this year, faces a oneyear suspension if reported again after the PCB decided notto utilize the services of Michael Holding as bowlingadvisor in accordance with Stage 2.However, Inzamam-ul-Haq doesn’t have happy memories ofHastings who fined him 50 per cent of his match fee duringthe home series against Sri Lanka in March 2000 for accusingthe opponents of sledging.

Gavin Hamilton turned in a tremendous all round performance to bring Yorkshire Phoenix a sensational 49-run victory over Sussex Sharks at Scarborough yesterday which took them six points clear at the top of Division One of the Norwich Union National League.It was Yorkshire’s fifth consecutive win in the competition and the only side who can rob them of the title if they beat Kent Spitfires at Canterbury on Tuesday are Gloucestershire Gladiators who play the two matches they have in hand over the next two days.Hamilton blasted a career-best 57 not out off 58 balls with six fours and two sixes as Yorkshire reached 192 for eight off their 45 overs, the biggest contribution coming from Darren Lehmann who held the first half of the batting together while hammering 80 from only 99 deliveries with seven boundaries.But it was an incredible second spell with the ball by Hamilton which dramatically turned the tables on Sussex who seemed to be cruising it until their last eight wickets crashed for a mere 28 runs in seven overs.Hamilton began the rout by bowling Michael Bevan for a faultless 67 off 69 balls with seven fours and a six and he compiled his runs during a superb third wicket stand of 113 in 26 overs with Chris Adams. Adams was run out going for a second when he could not beat substitute fielder Vic Craven’s throw to the wicketkeeper and Hamilton rapidly mopped up to end with splendid figures of five for 34.There were five ducks in the Sussex innings and Yorkshire openers David Byas and Simon Widdup also failed to get off the mark but Lehmann and then Hamilton came to the rescue.

West Ham travel to Anfield this evening in the hope of pulling off an impressive double over Liverpool, having beaten the Carabao Cup winners 3-2 at the London Stadium earlier this season.

However, David Moyes is without four players – Angelo Ogbonna (knee), Arthur Masuaku (knee), Vladimir Coufal (hernia) and Andriy Yarmolenko (compassionate leave) – while Ryan Fredericks (groin) is also a doubt.

Tomas Soucek suffered a deep cut above his left eye against Southampton and was initially considered a doubt, but after seemingly making himself available for selection via social media, it is expected that he will be in the squad later.

With all that in mind, here is our predicted West Ham line-up for this evening:

We expect Moyes to deploy the same 3-4-1-2 formation he has used in the last two games, particularly to counter the threat of Liverpool’s full-backs and front three in an effort to contain them and hit them on the break.

The 58-year-old is likely to make just two changes from the team which lost at Southampton in the FA Cup in midweek, with Alphonse Areola dropping out of the team in place of Lukasz Fabianski, and Aaron Cresswell coming in for Issa Diop.

On-loan Areola – who was once described by his former Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel as “exceptional” – had a night to forget on Wednesday, conceding three goals and making just one save, with SofaScore giving him a match rating of 5.9, while Cresswell missed out through injury.

He and Fabianski return, with Diop and Areola dropping to the bench, while Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson retain their places in the team.

Ben Johnson and Pablo Fornals continue as makeshift wing-backs, with Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek marshalling the midfield, and Manuel Lanzini just behind Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio.

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The likes of Nikola Vlasic and Said Benrahma will likely be called upon to provide a spark off the bench, while the leadership and experience of Mark Noble could prove crucial should he come on as a substitute to help the Hammers protect a lead or gain a draw.

In other news: West Ham handed huge injury boost pre-Liverpool as exciting Rush Green image emerges

	‘What was really pleasing to me was the fact that the senior players all supported me during the tour’ – Bravo © Getty Images

Dwayne Bravo, West Indies’ stand-in captain, has blamed injuries to key players for the team’s disappointing showing on the tour of South Africa recently. West Indies conceded the three-Test series 2-1 after winning the first in Port Elizabeth, squared the Twenty20 internationals 1-1 and lost all five one-dayers.West Indies missed the services of regular captain Chris Gayle after he suffered a broken thumb during the second Test in Cape Town and was sent home after the first one-dayer. Bravo himself had injury worries after picking up a side strain during the Test series while Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor also suffered setbacks.”We were unfortunate in that there were injuries to many of our key players and this really hampered us down there,” Bravo told . “We have no control of this, so we just had to do what we could have in the situation. I think the players who competed there did well and one must recognise this.”Bravo, who was the given the vice-captaincy despite his inexperience as a captain with his native Trinidad, appreciated the constant support and advice from his team-mates.”I thought that I did well with the captaincy,” he said. “What was really pleasing to me was the fact that the senior players all supported me during the tour. Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin came to me over and over with advice and this was really good.”West Indies’ next assignment is a short home series against Sri Lanka in March-April, which includes three one-dayers and two Tests, followed by Australia’s visit. The Australians play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international, and Bravo was confident the players would be well-prepared for those challenges.”Currently there is a lot of cricket being played in the West Indies and the players have no excuses, as far as not having ideal preparations is concerned. Sri Lanka and Australia are obviously up there at the top of the rankings but once we play to our potential, we can give them a real fight.”

Shane Bond has been the best fast bowler in the world for the last few months, according to Kumar Sangakkara © Getty Images

If there had been a pre-tournament poll of matches to whet the appetite, it’s a safe bet that New Zealand against Sri Lanka – two nations overshadowed to the point of parody by brasher neighbours – would not have set many pulses racing. Suddenly, however, their clash in Grenada on Thursday is being viewed in a very different light. It’s not inconceivable that this match could be a dress rehearsal for the semi-finals or even beyond. Such is the skill and variety on display in both squads that either team would make a worthy, and popular, World Cup winner.Sri Lanka, for their part, are determined to approach this contest with the same joie de vivre that they have shown throughout the tournament. Four months ago, they travelled to the greentops of New Zealand and drew 1-1 and 2-2 in the Test and ODI series respectively, carrying the fight to the Kiwis in a manner that few subcontinental sides have managed in such alien conditions. Nothing fazed them then, and it’s not about to now.”We’re going to compete every step of the way and play our Sri Lankan brand of cricket,” said Kumar Sangakkara, who was unafraid to hark back to his country’s legendary 1996 World Cup-winning squad for inspiration. “We have an attitude where we’ve managed to balance our aggression with a professional approach. Even leaving the ball with positive intent is a show of aggression to the opposition.”Most of the times we’ve gone wrong, we’ve tried to change our game, but we’ve realised that’s a bit foolish. When we won the World Cup we played a unique brand of cricket and that’s how we play now against any side – but particularly a side like New Zealand who, if we can put pressure on their bowlers at the start, then a formidable total can be built up.”So far it is New Zealand who have enjoyed the smoother of the two campaigns. They have never been less than in control of their six matches to date, although having seen off both Ireland and Bangladesh, as well as the below-par England and West Indies, they are acutely aware that the challenge is about to get rather more intense.”Our toughest test is these three games coming up,” said Daniel Vettori, whose team still has two other semi-final candidates, South Africa and Australia, waiting in the pipeline. “We can control our own destiny if we win tomorrow. If we want to go on and win [the World Cup] we know that we’re going to have to beat one of these three teams, either in a final or a semi-final, so it’s a good wake-up call and a realisation that we’ve got to play well.”New Zealand’s task, however, has been made all the less arduous by the news that Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s sling-shotting spearhead, will not be playing. He has sustained a grade two tear of his ankle ligament, and could well be forced to miss the remainder of the Super Eights campaign. “He is very keen to play, but we have told him ‘No’,” Michael Tissera, the team manager, said. “He suffered the injury the day before yesterday, and we sent him to Jamaica for a scan. We hope he will be fit for the games against Australia and Ireland [next week].”

New Zealand will be relieved they will not have to face the injured Lasith Malinga © Getty Images

Vettori’s grin spoke volumes when asked how much of a relief his absence would be to New Zealand, although Sangakkara was keen to impress the depth and variety of the bowling attack Sri Lanka still has at its disposal. “I think we are going in with a very balanced attack. In the past we’ve been very spin-heavy, but we have a squad of five fast bowlers, each ready to step up when opportunities present themselves,” he said. “Malinga is important but each has equal importance in our side. If he’s fit or not fit, whoever comes in must do the job and that’s how we approach it.”All the same, Malinga’s absence means that there is only one genuine paceman left in the contest. “He’s been far and away the best fast bowler in the past six or seven months,” Sangakkara said of Shane Bond, the bowler of the tournament to date. “He is one person that you have to respect. You can talk the whole day about Bondy and his outswingers, but the real important thing for us is to be mentally prepared to face that on the day, and overcome the challenge.”Form and fortune favours New Zealand, who are expected to welcome back Ross Taylor in the middle order. However – like their fellow pacemakers, Australia – they have yet to be challenged in their unbeaten run to date. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have already been involved in two of the tightest contests in World Cup history – their one-wicket loss against South Africa, and their two-run win over England.”We didn’t want England to get that close,” Sangakkara said of their thriller in Antigua last week, “but the positive thing from that was that we showed character as a team and individually to step up in that final over. Maybe we have a more rounded perspective for the coming games. But one-day cricket is all about being on the money every single minute. We just have to be as professional as we can.”New Zealand (probable) 1 Peter Fulton, 2 Stephen Fleming (capt), 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Craig McMillan, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Shane Bond, 10 James Franklin, 11 Mark Gillespie.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 6 Chamara Silva, 7 Russel Arnold, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Farveez Maharoof, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Alok Kapali earns a recall to the squad to face Sri Lanka © Getty Images

Bangladesh have named their 20-member squad for the upcoming home Test series against Sri Lanka starting next month. The selectors recalled Alok Kapali, the allrounder and dropped pacers Anwar Hossain Munir and Talha Jubair, according to a statement released by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.Sri Lanka’s tour begins on February 19 and are scheduled to play two tests and three ODIs. The training camp for the selected players will be conducted by Dav Whatmore, the Bangladesh coach, from next Sunday at Mirpur, outside Dhaka, the statement said.Bangladesh squad Habibul Bashar (capt), Khaled Mashud (wk), Shahriar Nafees, Javed Omar, Nafees Iqbal, Rajin Saleh, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Tushar Imran, Mohammad Rafique, Manjarul Islam Rana, Alok Kapali, Enamul Haque, Khaled Mahmud, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tapash Baishya, Syed Rasel, Nazmul Hossain and Shahadat Hossain.

Carrying the drinks might not be an issue for Brett Lee© Getty Images

Brett Lee might miss out on a place for the second Test which starts on Friday, but there are suggestions he might rush home in time to appear for New South Wales against Queensland in the Pura Cup final which starts at Brisbane on the same day.John Buchanan, Australia’s coach, said that consideration was being given to allowing Lee – or Michael Kasprowicz, in the unlikley event that he were to miss out – to fly back for the game. He added that the idea would only be given serious thought were the player’s state to make a formal request.The time difference between Wellington and Brisbane is two-and-a-half hours, but the lack of available flights and problems with connections would mean that the player would miss most of the first day at The Gabba.”In our planning at this stage, we want Brett and Brad [Hodge] to be ready to play the second Test, get the team selected and get the game started, and then let’s have a look at it after that,” Buchanan told reporters. “Queensland and NSW have to make those decisions first of all but our first consideration is the Test match obviously and having the players ready.”If Lee did fly back, it would be to play his first first-class match in almost four months, but New South Wales were less than impressed that the ball had been left in their court. “Why do we have to apply? We’ve made several requests during the year when Brett has been carrying the drinks,” state selector Brian Taber said. “Why should we keep asking when all we get is a brick wall? Let’s get fair dinkum and let common-sense prevail.”Queensland have already said they have no objection to Lee arriving late, but competition rules mean that, unless he was on the ground by the halfway point on the first day, he would not be able to bowl until the second morning.Graham Dixon, Queensland’s chief executive, said that “the underlying thing is we want players to play cricket and we should do our best to enable them to. Having a Brett Lee or a Michael Kasprowicz playing only adds to the Pura Cup final.”Cricket Australia remained tight-lipped, refusing to comment on what it said was a “hypothetical” situation.

Gautam Gambhir will lead the Indian squad in the Emerging Team Trophy, to be played between September 27-October 5 in Sri Lanka.The tournament was delayed by a week so that the organisers could rustle up more venues to host the three teams – India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – in a double round-robin.The tournament is essentially intended to provide international exposure to up-and-coming players without necessarily imposing any age restrictions.Indian squad Gautam Gambhir (capt), Vinayak Mane, Manvinder Bisla, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chougule, Aavishkar Salvi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Lakshmipathy Balaji, Irfan Pathan Jr, Laxmi Rattan Shukla, Sourashish Lahiri, Stuart Binny, Arjun Yadav, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan

New Zealand has played a significant role in the development of Bangladesh’s international advance, but there is likely to be little celebration of that once the National Bank Test series starts in Hamilton on Tuesday.Once the Bangladeshis were in line for Test status their first first-class matches were played in New Zealand.They came to take part in the Conference Cricket series in the 1997/98 season, a programme of games designed to strengthen the first-class programme in New Zealand.Playing against the Northern, Central and Southern Zones that comprised the Conference sides, the visitors were well beaten on each occasion, the first two by an innings and by seven wickets in the third.A match against the New Zealand Academy XI was also lost by an innings.As a newcomer it is interesting to compare their advance with that of New Zealand when it was looking for Test status during the last 10 years of the 1890s and the first 30 years of the 20th Century.New Zealand had tours to Australia (1898/99, 1913/14, 1925/26, 1927/28), to England (1927), while also hosting tours from the MCC (1902/03, 1922/23), Australia (1904/05, 1909/10, 1920/21, 1927/28), New South Wales (1889/90, 1893/94, 1895/96, 1923/24), Victoria (1924/25), Queensland (1896/97), Tasmania (1883/84) as well as Arthur Sims’ Australian team of 1913/14.In that time they played 103 first-class games at home, and 37 overseas for a total of 140 games.Bangladesh, by comparison, has played 20 first-class games (only 10 before their first Test). Seven games of the 20 have been Test matches.New Zealand’s teams won 19 of their first 140 matches and drew 45.Bangladesh has lost 13 of their 20 games with the other seven drawn.They have had a total of 71 days of first-class cricket out of a possible 80.Their Test record reads: v India (2000/01) lost by nine wickets, v Zimbabwe (2001) lost by an innings and 32 runs, v Zimbabwe (2001) lost by eight wickets, v Pakistan (2001) lost by an innings and 264 runs, v Sri Lanka (2001) lost by an innings and 137 runs, v Zimbabwe (2001) drawn, v Zimbabwe (2001) lost by eight wickets.It is going to be a hard road for Bangladesh to establish itself with such limited background.It will be interesting to compare how quickly it can register its first Test victory although its exposure to top level cricket through One-Day Internationals may be the sort of foundation on which the Bangladeshis develop.Yet, even that is not the greatest harbinger of future good fortune for them as in 44 ODIs to date, they have won only three games.Even Kenya, surely the next Test nation, has won seven ODIs out of 37.What makes life even more difficult for the Bangladeshis in New Zealand is that this two-Test series is the first time their players will have been exposed to different conditions to those they have faced in their earlier Test matches.And it won’t come much greener than Hamilton, or Wellington’s Basin Reserve, after the wettest spring and early summer in recent memory.

After, finally, a full day’s play, Hampshire managed to force a draw without undue difficulty against the touring Zimbabwean team, the match finishing 20 minutes early in bright sunshine.Zimbabwe began the day 150 runs ahead of the county side, with four first-innings wickets in hand. Alistair Campbell, on 108 overnight, found it difficult to find his fluency, and his partner Tatenda Taibu made most of the early runs, but the inexperienced Taibu (17 next month) played some of the most impressive strokes – cover drives (off front and back foot) a flick to long leg and a square cut all reaching the boundary.Hampshire were not impressive, with some loose bowling and one or two half chances and three possible run-outs were missed. Taibu (36) was finally adjudged lbw to Francis and now has a first-class average of 47, after scoring 11 not out in his debut match in the West Indies.Campbell drove Charlie van der Gucht for a straight six, and then took a single to reach an unbeaten 150, whereupon he declared with a lead of 233. Hampshire made a steady start to their second innings, reaching 17 without loss at lunch (Jason Laney 8, Giles White 9).The tourists never seriously looked likely to force a victory, due mainly to erratic bowling. Henry Olonga and Neil Johnson were the most disappointing, but altogether there were too many short and wide balls. Laney and White enjoyed the freedom of the extra width and rattled up some quick runs before the bowlers began to get their act together again. They scored 86 together before White unaccountably shouldered arms to `Pommie’ Mbangwa, only to have his off stump sent cartwheeling out of the ground.At the other end Laney sliced a catch off Guy Whittall to Trevor Gripper in the covers, and Hampshire had to dig in again. Will Kendall and Robin Smith played with great care, although the latter got of the mark with a snick of Whittall just too high and wide for second slip to grasp. Both looked tentative and it was a different ball game for a while until Smith suddenly crashed Mbangwa to the extra cover boundary and the tension lifted somewhat. At tea the match was looking safe for them with the score at 111 for 2 (Kendall 9, Smith 12).Smith continued to bat with care in the final session, but still commanded attention with the occasional boundary of unparalleled power. He scored 60 off 114 balls before pushing forward to Johnson, more disciplined in his second spell, and giving a regulation catch to Campbell at second slip. Derek Kendall scored only 2 before driving half-heartedly at Whittall and being caught at the wicket, making Hampshire 214 for 4.Kendall had been batting unspectacularly without getting bogged down, reaching his fifty; eventually he snicked Johnson through the slips for four, taking Hampshire to 234 for 4, which avoided the innings defeat and the teams agreed to call it a day.