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The Pakistan Cricket Board has sought legal advice on whether Mohammad Amir can get a visa to travel with the national side to New Zealand in January. Amir served three months in jail for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing case and New Zealand has rules against granting visas to individuals with criminal convictions.New Zealand’s immigration authority, on its website, states that “People with criminal convictions or who have provided false or misleading information will not be granted a visa unless a character waiver is granted.” It further specifies that, “In the case of character waivers, each application is considered on its individual merits and taking into account, for example, the seriousness of an offence, number of offences and how long ago the event/s occurred.”Amir’s visa for England was rejected last year and the PCB suspects that his case for the New Zealand series will be weak. ESPNcricinfo understands that PCB has engaged legal advice from England and has taken Amir’s lawyer on board in case there is a need to present evidence again.Amir was recently named in a 26-member squad for a conditioning camp and could be selected for the first time in five years for Pakistan’s upcoming limited-overs series in New Zealand. He completed his educational rehabilitation programme after serving a five-year ban for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.In November 2011, Amir – along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif – was sentenced in a London Court on charges conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat at gambling after a plot was uncovered in a sting operation to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test against England in 2010.Amir was given a six-month jail sentence and served half of it at the Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset. In January this year, Amir was allowed to return to cricket ahead of schedule by the ICC. His five-year suspension period formally ended on September 1.

Dennico Hollis: Bermuda’s batting star © Eddie Norfolk

Bermuda and Cayman Islands notched victories on the opening day of the Americas Under-19 qualifiers, as Bermuda eased past the Bahamas by 195 runs while Cayman Islands powered to a ten-wicket win over Argentina.Dennico Hollis’s fine 76 provided Bermuda’s platform, pushing them to an impressive 300 for 8 from their 50 overs. Bahamas’ reply began solidly but they stalled to spinner Tamauri Tucker, who blitzed their middle order with a brilliant spell of 6 for 9 from 6.4 overs. The last eight wickets fell for just nine runs as Bahamas were bowled out for 105.Argentina slipped to a disappointing 126 from 28.1 overs as Sacha de Alvis took 5 for 16 – including the key wicket of Augusto Mustafa (36), the opening batsman. Ramon Sealey (76 not out) and Zachary McLaughlin (25 not out) took Cayman Islands to a thumping win, racing to their target in 19 overs.The tournament winners qualify for the Under-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next February.

The ECB have announced England’s international schedule for the 2007 season, in which they host West Indies for four Tests and India for three.The warm-up matches for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean begin on March 5, the tournament ending on April 28 – a mere two weeks from the start of England’s international season. The West Indies play the opening Test of the summer – at Lord’s, as is the tradition – on May 17. The Test series is followed by two back-to-back Twenty20 matches at The Oval and three further ODIs.The first of three Tests against India begin on July 19, after which there are seven one-dayers – three of which will be floodlit.”We have an exciting programme of international cricket planned in 2007 with series against two ‘big-draw’ teams in West Indies and India,” John Carr, the ECB director of cricket operations said.”[The] ECB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have had a long-standing agreement that India’s tour to the UK would directly reciprocate the three Test matches and seven one-day internationals played by England in India earlier this year.”ECB is delighted to have secured the agreement of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to play a four-match Test series and a three-match one-day series that enables us to present this exciting seven-Test and ten-ODI international match programme for the 2007 season.”

Australia will play the first international Twenty20 match when they face Pakistan under lights at Adelaide Oval on January 13.Cricket Australia (CA) will use the 20-over-a-side exhibition to provide fans, sponsors and administrators with a closer look at the concept, which has been used successfully in England and South Africa. “Twenty-over cricket has proved to be popular in various domestic markets overseas, and we’re certainly keeping abreast of its progress,” the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said.Sutherland said CA had no immediate plans to develop a domestic series because there was no organised international competition. “If this changes and international Twenty20 cricket becomes a reality, we will want to be the number one nation at it,” he said.Australia is also scheduled to play Twenty20 matches against New Zealand in February and England on the Ashes tour next year.

Sri Lanka 713 for 3 dec beat Zimbabwe 228 and 231 by an innings and 254 runs
ScorecardPreview – Zimbabwe face another uphill struggleDay 1
Bulletin – Ebrahim’s 70 lifts Zimbabwe to 228Day 2
Bulletin – Atapattu and Sangakkara pile on a record standDay 3
Bulletin – Sri Lanka show no mercy
Verdict – Whatever this was, it wasn’t Test cricket
Quotes – Disappointed I didn’t get more, says Sangakkara
News – Ebrahim banned for one match
Day 4
Bulletin – Sri Lanka complete victory by a massive margin

The Somerset County Cricket Club Appeal Year was officially launched this week when Club chairman Giles Clarke handed over a cheque for £5000 to chief executive Peter Anderson.

Photo © Somerset

Since his appointment as chairman in December, Mr Clarke, who is vastly experienced in the business world, has wasted no time in setting about his task of helping the club to become financially independent by recruiting Ian Botham one of the county’s greatest cricketer to spearhead the 2003 membership drive.Sitting looking out across the County Ground shortly after the launch Mr Clarke spoke of his vision for Somerset. He told me: “This club should be open to all and we are keen to have every facet of the community in the West Country associated with it. We are the first class opportunity for young players across the region, so supporting our Academy is vital.”He continued: “This appeal is to strengthen the club’s balance sheet and the funds that are raised this year will go towards achieving this.”Regarding his task as chairman Mr Clarke said that a business plan had been drawn up that listed several major objectives.He told me: “We want success on the playing field and to achieve this we need to ensure that the club has the best coaches and the best possible resources. Secondly we want to win the County Championship, and that will be a tough target. Thirdly we want to have the finest facilities for our loyal supporters here at the County Ground and we need a good wicket to play cricket on, and these all cost money.”He went on: “We have had a very successful start to the sponsorship campaign, and these are the first steps towards the club achieving financial independence, that doesn’t rely upon the E.C.B. hand out.”He concluded: “Our attention is focussed upon helping to get the clubs assets in a position so they generate enough income to pay for the high quality players and staff and coaches needed to achieve our objectives. We have to set ourselves high targets for the solid financial management of the club and we must get the economics right to achieve this.”The Somerset Appeal Year gets underway on Friday April 4th with an opening lunch that will be held at the County Ground, when former Ciderman Roy Palmer, who is now a first class umpire will be the guest speaker.Regarding the new chairman of the club Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson said: “The appointment of Giles Clarke and Andy Nash has provided us with a new direction. You can quite easily see why the pair of them have been successful in their business careers. They are ambitious and are connected with a lot of people who could be good for the club. They are risk takers and ruthless.”Mr Anderson continued: “From my own point of view I have always felt that I needed to keep a brake on the activities of the club because of the financial situation. We perhaps haven’t always been as ambitious as we should have either on or off the field, and I must say that they have changed my attitude in certain areas.The most important thing that we do is play cricket and Giles and Andy Nash have made it very plain what the team and the coaches have to achieve.”He concluded; “Giles Clarke has been very busy in the corporate sector pushing the club’s case that it could be a very valuable tool in their marketing strategy, and this is already having results.”The new chairman may have only been in post for a few months but in that short time he has already started to achieve a considerable amount for the club.He is well aware of tough task that lies ahead, but his undoubted enthusiasm for the game and for the county he holds so dear to his heart is clear to anybody who meets him.If the response there has already been to recruiting Ian Botham to spearhead the 2003 is anything to go by Mr Clarke will be successful in achieving his aim of making Somerset a financially independent club and that will be of benefit to all concerned with cricket in the county.

An unbroken last wicket stand of 109 in 39 overs between Martin Bicknell and Ian Salisbury, steered champions Surrey to one of the most remarkable results in their history at Grace Road.Set an improbable target of 536 to win their CricInfo Championship clash with Leicestershire, the visitors finished on 478 for nine – their highest ever fourth innings score in a first-class match.While a win was never really on the cards a draw seemed just as unlikely when Surrey were 190 for six in the 59th over on Friday evening and then 369 for nine in the 113th over.But Salisbury, who bravely volunteered to bat despite a suspected broken toe, joined Bicknell in a last-wicket partnership which denied the home side what had looked a certain win and extended Surrey’s unbeaten run in the Championship to 19 matches.Bicknell made a season’s best 85 off 133 balls with 12 fours and Salisbury 30 off 128 balls with two fours. With Alex Tudor and Gary Butcher having put on 128 for the seventh wicket, it meant that Leicestershire took only three wickets for 288 runs in the last 93 overs of the game.It was a memorable effort from the Surrey tail, but Leicestershire won’t have been happy with their bowling performance. Although the pitch became virtually lifeless and offered little assistance, too often the bowling was wayward in both length and direction.Three stoppages for rain also helped Surrey’s cause with 28 overs lost on the day. Even so Leicestershire should have done better than take only three wickets for 197 runs in the 68 overs that were bowled.Daniel Marsh bowled Butcher early on, Tudor had his off stump knocked back by Phil DeFreitas in the last over before lunch having made 86, and Devon Malcolm dismissed Jonathan Batty early in the afternoon.But Bicknell and Salisbury rarely looked in trouble after that. The only real drama came in the penultimate over when Darren Maddy held a catch at slip when Bicknell fenced at a ball from James Ormond. Leicestershire’s celebrations were cut short when umpire Vanburn Holder decided the batsman had been hit on the forearm rather than the glove.

Everton manager Frank Lampard has revealed a massive team news boost ahead of the Toffees’ clash against West Ham on Sunday.

What’s the latest?

Taking to Friday’s press conference ahead of the clash at the London Stadium, the 43-year-old provided an update on Dominic Calvert-Lewin which will be music to Evertonian ears.

Speaking to the club’s official website about the 25-year-old, Lampard said: “He’s in a really good place. The break has been positive for Dominic (Calvert-Lewin).

“We’ve worked well, really closely with him over the past couple of weeks. Without putting unnecessary pressure on him, because it’s tough to be a striker with expectation. He’s in a really good place.”

Huge boost for Everton

Lampard’s latest update regarding Calvert-Lewin comes as a huge boost for Everton. The Toffees have often struggled in front of goal this season and, with just 29 goals in the Premier League, find themselves ranked as the joint-fourth lowest scorers in the top flight.

It is clear that Everton have missed their 25-year-old talisman this season, as indeed any team would be badly affected if they had to do without a player who netted 16 goals in his most recent league campaign and began this term with three in as many matches before injury struck.

Extra clarification of how poor Everton’s goalscoring numbers have been this season comes in the form of Liverpool superstar; Mohamed Salah. So far this season, the Egyptian has 30 goal contributions to his name, in the form of 20 goals and 10 assists. In other words, he has been involved in more goals on his own than Everton have scored as a team this season, a stat which will no doubt infuriate Toffees fans.

Lampard’s side find themselves in a precarious position in the table and will need all help they can get if they are to avoid relegation to the Championship.

Calvert-Lewin’s return also adds some enhancements which cannot be quantified, such as his ability to act as a focal point and create space for a team-mate, or his ability to hold up the ball in the attacking third; giving his team-mates the chance to make runs out wide. Whilst his end product should certainly aid Everton in their hunt for Premier League survival, his playing style as an out-and-out physical striker could indeed prove to be the difference between staying up and going down for the Toffees.

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His impending return is undoubtedly a huge boost for Everton and will eave Lampard ecstatic ahead of a testing fixture this weekend against Europa League quarter-finalists West Ham.

In other news – Everton must finally unleash £19.8m “freak of a talent” who has been “destroyed”

It has emerged that Craig Overton, the Somerset allrounder who was banned for two games at the end of last season after accumulating nine penalty points, allegedly told Sussex’s Ashar Zaidi to “go back to your own f***ing country”.Overton denied the claims – made by umpire Alex Wharf and Zaidi’s team-mate Michael Yardy – but was charged with a Level One offence for “using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting and/or making an obscene gesture” during Somerset’s Championship fixture at Hove in September. He subsequently missed the final game of the season and still has one match left to serve.The decision by the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission to pursue the lowest level of offence, reported by the , contrasts with its handling of the case involving Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale in 2014. Gale was given a further two-match ban after using the term “Kolpak” when arguing with Lancashire’s Ashwell Prince; while batting in a Championship match at Old Trafford, Gale told Prince to “f*** off back to your country you Kolpak f***er”.A Level Two charge was initially brought against Gale by the umpires, resulting in a two-match ban, and he was then given a further punishment by the CDC for bringing the game into disrepute. Gale missed the match at Trent Bridge in which Yorkshire clinched the title and was also barred from lifting the trophy.Overton, who was named in the England Performance Programme the same month, escaped a similar fate. He was spoken to at the time by Wharf and the other standing umpire, Ian Gould, along with ECB cricket liaison officer Graham Cowdrey and Somerset’s head coach, Matthew Maynard. Overton subsequently played no further part in the game, with the club saying he had suffered a hand injury.On Thursday evening, Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire’s head coach, indicated the club had questions for the ECB. “There is a strong chance that @YorkshireCCC will be seeking clarification on this,” he wrote on Twitter. Gale, meanwhile, tweeted a link to the Guardian, saying: “Interesting article, take a read…”The ECB has rejected any suggestion of impropriety in the process concerning Overton, stressing that the CDC is “an independent body which operates at arm’s length”.The governing body said in a statement: “Following the incident, the on-field umpires sought advice from the ECB’s Cricket Department who referred the matter directly to the Chairman of the Cricket Discipline Commission, Mr Gerard Elias, QC.”After reviewing the umpires’ report, the Chairman of the CDC gave clear guidance that this should be reported as a Level One offence and no further action should be taken. The automatic penalty for a Level One offence was subsequently applied and this took Craig Overton to nine points, the threshold for an automatic suspension.”The Cricket Discipline Commission is an independent body which operates at arm’s length from ECB. Craig Overton’s selection for the EPP squad would have played no part whatsoever in the CDC’s ruling in this matter.”ECB refutes any suggestion of interference or bias in the proper disciplinary process.”Zaidi, who was born in Pakistan but played for Sussex using a British passport, is understood not to have heard the comment directed towards him. It was included in reports made by Wharf and Yardy, who was standing at the non-striker’s end, afterwards.After submissions were made by all parties, the CDC brought a Level One charge against Overton, which, as his third breach of the season, triggered an automatic ban.According to the ECB’s regulations, a Level Three charge covers “using language or gesture that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person’s race, religion or belief, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation or background”.Overton and his twin brother Jamie have been identified as England stars of the future. Both were called up to the ODI squad during the summer and Jamie is currently involved with the Lions’ T20 series with Pakistan A in the UAE.

‘Test cricket is more important than one-day cricket – it’s tougher’ © Bipin Patel

He hasn’t played a Test for India in over a year but, after his ebullient half-century against England Lions last week, Yuvraj Singh is confident that he will get his chance, even if it means waiting a little while longer.”It’s been frustrating,” Yuvraj told reporters at Lord’s ahead of the first Test against England on Thursday, “but you need to understand that the players before me have played a lot of cricket and deserve their place. My time will come and I will keep working on my game.”With the middle-order packed, Yuvraj will get a chance at Lord’s only if India decide to saddle Dinesh Karthik with opening and keeping duties and drop Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his favour.For a batsman who made such a barnstorming entry into one-day cricket, it comes as somewhat of a surprise to hear him rate Test cricket over its shorter counterpart. It is, he feels, the greater challenge of the two.”The ball seams in a lot of places – you’ve got to make sure you know what’s going to happen and prepare for it,” he said. “Test cricket is more important than one-day cricket – it’s tougher. When you do well in Tests [it makes] you feel confident in one-day cricket.”In one place you get seam, in one place you get bounce and you’ve just got to prepare yourself for it.”Yuvraj and his team-mates will no doubt be quietly smiling that England’s bounciest bowler, Steve Harmison, will play no part in the series after undergoing a hernia operation yesterday. And, if picked for his 20th Test, Yuvraj insists he is sufficiently prepared.”I am pretty young at the moment, I believe in myself and I know I can make it to the big stage,” he said. “Whatever game I play, I just need to go there and do my best. Any opportunity I get, I just have to go out there and perform.”I’ve still to time on my side and I’m sure that in a couple of months or whatever time, I’m sure it will come.”