Josh Hazlewood is out of the fifth Investec Test and for the seventh time on this and the previous West Indies tour Peter Siddle’s claims appear likely to be ignored by the selectors, opening the way for Pat Cummins to resume his Test career.The coach Darren Lehmann has been moved to explain why Hazlewood will not be playing, but a cloud remains over how the most experienced seam bowler in the tour party has not been used even once on this trip, even as England have prepared a succession of green, seaming surfaces ideally suited to Siddle’s skills.Siddle was understood to be utterly bereft about his omission for the Trent Bridge Test, and confided to his former captain Ricky Ponting that he felt his last chance to play for Australia had gone. The pitch for the Oval Test looks likely to provide similar levels of assistance to the bowlers, but with the Ashes gone it is likely that Cummins will be chosen alongside Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc.The captain Michael Clarke said that Siddle remained in contention to play, and that at the age of 30 he should not be discarded as an Australian pace bowler. “Sidds is still working extremely hard and continues to get better,” Clarke said. “He’s played a few of the practice games and probably hasn’t got as many wickets as he would’ve liked.”But he’s certainly in contention for this Test match. He might’ve had a niggle after the tour game so the medical staff have tried to look after that. He bowled fine yesterday, I faced him in the nets and he bowled really well. Sidds is only 30 so I think he’s got plenty of time left in him, and he’s been a big part of the Australian Test team over a period of time.”Siddle has not played a Test since the first match of last summer in Adelaide when he bowled poorly while battling illness. Hazlewood has been preferred in each match since then, and Siddle was not awarded a Cricket Australia contract despite being chosen for this tour. The pitches in England seemed to create the ideal scenario for his inclusion as a consistent seam and swing bowler of much experience.Hazlewood, meanwhile, has struggled to maintain consistency, and Lehmann and the selection chairman Rod Marsh were seen in lengthy conversation with him in Northamptonshire. Lehmann said it had been decided that the least experienced member of the bowling attack needed rest before niggles became larger issues.”Josh has played six Tests since the West Indies tour and the last nine Tests for Australia, as well as playing an important part in the World Cup,” Lehmann said. “He has managed to get through this period without any major injury which is pleasing, though currently he does have some niggling problems that we would like to manage. As such, he was not considered for selection for the 5th Test.”On his return to Australia his niggles will be investigated further and he will work with our coaches, and our medical and fitness staff to have him prepared for the next series he is selected to play in.”Lehmann’s clarification leaves Cummins very much in line to play, resuming his Test career nearly four years after he made a memorable debut against South Africa in Johannesburg, taking the Man-of-the-Match award in a narrow victory on a helpful pitch for bowlers. According to Clarke, The Oval looks to be another such surface.”It still looks pretty green from the boundary so I imagine it will look even greener up close,” Clarke said. “It’s going to be another really tough Test match for the batters, but we just have to find a way to fight our backsides off, whether it goes two days or three days I’d just like us to be on the right side of that two or three days.”Mitchell Marsh has also firmed to return to the side ahead of his brother Shaun, after the latter was seen in deep conversation with Rod Marsh during Australia’s final training session.

Rajshahi

Where they finished last seasonFifthBig PictureIt looks like an anomaly for Bangladesh’s most successful first-class team to start in the second tier of the competition, but Rajshahi played poorly in the 2014-15 season, and will have to make do this season with not being in contention for the title.For Farhad Hossain, Farhad Reza and Jahurul Islam, it will still be an opportunity to make it to next season’s first tier in style. There will also be expectations from the likes of Mizanur Rahman, Delwar Hossain and Muktar Ali to keep the team balanced.Mushfiqur Rahim will lead in the first game but, like all the other Bangladesh regulars, he cannot be expected to turn up for Rajshahi for more than a few matches.Key playerFarhad Hossain has been one of the leading run-makers in Bangladesh’s domestic cricket for nearly a decade but has never knocked the doors of the senior team hard enough. This season could be an opportunity for him to impress the selectors enough to get a place in the A team.Below the radarTouhid Tareq scored five fifties after being added late to the Rajshahi squad last season, and also did well for Surjo Tarun club in the Dhaka First Division Cricket League.What they say“We are understandably disappointed with last season but we hope to remain mentally strong and ensure Tier 1 next season.”

Sylhet

Where they finished last seasonSixthBig pictureSylhet won only one game last season but observers said they were a much-improved side, as reflected in the four drawn games they contested. More improvement is expected from a team that is steadily building on young talent.The older hands of Rajin Saleh, Alok Kapali and Enamul Haque jnr will still be expected to do most of the work, while the likes of Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Abul Hasan and Sayem Alam – Rajin’s younger brother – are going to be eyed by scouts of the BPL, DPL and selectors for the Bangladesh A side.Key playerEnamul Haque jnr is Bangladesh’s leading wicket-taker at the first-class level and almost every season, he is among the top wicket-takers. The left-arm spinner last played Test cricket in 2013, but he can be expected to take another batch of wickets this season.Below the radarAbu Jayed is a 22-year old pace bowler who relies on seam movement and some swing. He is three wickets short of 100 first-class wickets and is a real below-the-radar performer at the domestic level because he is hardly regarded by the cricket authorities.

Barisal

Where they finished last seasonSeventhBig pictureBarisal are one of two teams not to have won a match last season. They usually suffer from a lack of players in the pipeline, though players like Shahriar Nafees and Sohag Gazi have regularly performed for them.Barisal were happy with how they batted last year, with Nafees, Mosaddek Hossain and Fazle Mahmud having impressive seasons. Mahmud will captain the side in the absence of Kamrul Islam Rabbi, the young pace bowler who is likely to have Bangladesh A commitments. The return of left-arm spinner Monir Hossain, who is a Barisal stalwart, will help Gazi bowl with a bit more freedom, while Nasum Ahmed, the left-arm spinner, will be expected to do a holding role.Key playerNafees will bat with renewed vigor after doing well last season. He hasn’t been on the Bangladesh team’s radar for quite some time but like many of the senior players on the circuit, he will be expected to push for a place.Below the radarFazle Mahmud is a useful all-round cricketer who opens the batting and bowls left-arm spin. He has the potential but has never really made a big splash in domestic cricket.What they say“We batted very well last season so we will hope to do better this season.”

Chittagong

Where they finished last seasonEighthBig PictureChittagong finished at the bottom of the points table last season and have frustrated many with their domestic performances. They haven’t done very well in terms of contributing players to the national side – after Tamim Iqbal and Nazimuddin, not one Chittagong player has gone on to play for Bangladesh.There is hope, however, as many cricket academies are springing up in the port city. A good performance in the NCL can encourage local coaches and upcoming players.Tasamul Haque, Irfan Sukkur and Nazimuddin did well with the bat last year while Iftekhar Sajjad was the only bowler to take more than 10 wickets in the season for Chittagong.Key playerTasamul Haque has been in the High Performance camp and is known to be a smart batsman. Last season, he was the team’s top-scorer with more than 500 runs. He is, however, not a local player, as he hails from Dhaka.Below the radarIrfan Sukkur is a left-handed batsman and wicketkeeper. He performed well for the side last season, and is being seen as an important player in their bid to make it to the top.

ScorecardJake Lehmann made the only 50-plus score of the game•Cricket Australia

Critical contributions by Daniel Worrall and Jake Lehmann allowed South Australia to squeeze past Victoria in another low-scoring Matador Cup encounter at Bankstown Oval.Chasing 198 to win, the Bushrangers were rounded up for 181, having never established their innings due to Worrall’s early dismissals of Aaron Finch and Cameron White.No Redbacks bowler claimed more than three wickets, but a very even contribution in the field was enough to shut out a vastly more experienced Victorian XI, of which only Scott Boland had never been chosen in an Australian squad. Kane Richardson and Joe Mennie were exceptionally stingy, while Callum Ferguson chimed in with the important wicket of Peter Handscomb.A late stand of 59 between John Hastings and James Pattinson had threatened to take the Bushrangers to victory, but the left-arm spinner Tom Andrews tempted Hastings to loft a catch to Richardson in the deep, with the Bushrangers tail unable to muster the remaining runs.The Redbacks had been in trouble early after James Pattinson’s swift yorker had Travis Head lbw in the very first over, but the left-handed Lehmann added vital lower-order runs with Adam Zampa and Mennie. Those partnerships ensured that the Redbacks would have something near 200 to defend, and on a sluggish pitch they defended it grandly.Redbacks’ third win in five games mean they are one win short of qualifying for the competition finals, and face the fledgling Cricket Australia XI in their last qualifying fixture.

ScorecardKithuruwan Vithanage struck his fourth consecutive fifty-plus score on this tour•Getty Images

Kithuruwan Vithanage’s 120 off 104 balls had set Sri Lanka A on track to chase down New Zealand A’s 305, but a dramatic late collapse sparked by Adam Milne saw the hosts prevail by 15 runs at Hagley Oval. The victory gives New Zealand A a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.Sri Lanka A had required 29 runs from 33 balls and had six wickets in hand before Vithanage was caught off Milne’s bowling. They had batted deep, with Niroshan Dickwella and Chaturanga de Silva coming in at No. 7 and 8, but the visitors lost six wickets for 13 runs nonetheless. Milne claimed two more late wickets to finish with the game’s best figures of 3 for 49. Four Sri Lanka A dismissals, including two of the last five, had been run-outs.Earlier, a brisk 132-run fourth wicket stand between Michael Bracewell and Henry Nicholls had formed the body of New Zealand A’s total. Bracewell top-scored for his side hitting a 72-ball 83 that featured two sixes and seven fours. Nicholls remained unbeaten on 79 from 65, as he and Colin Munro combined to hit 35 runs from the last 23 balls of the innings. Michael Pollard and Grant Worker had contributed 54 and 40 respectively, while seamer Kasun Rajitha claimed 2 for 63 for the visitors.The chase had begun well for Sri Lanka A when Vithanage struck up a 119-run second-wicket stand with opener Danushka Gunathilaka. Both men have been on form on tour, having scored four consecutive fifty-plus scores. Vithanage also shared a 58-run stand with Chamara Kapugedara, but could not see his team through to the target. Milne’s charge left the visitors needing victories from the two coming unofficial ODIs in Lincoln to level the series.

ScorecardMalcolm Waller smashed the fastest fifty by a Zimbabwe player in international cricket•AFP

Finally a contest, eleven days and four matches into Zimbabwe’s tour of Bangladesh. The first T20 went down to the wire but it was still Bangladesh who prevailed, winning by four wickets in Mirpur. Malcolm Waller and Graeme Cremer offered a fight on behalf of Zimbabwe, but ultimately 131 wasn’t a big enough score for the bowlers to work with.Waller got into a six-hitting mode that dug the visitors out from a hole, and later it was Cremer whose double-wicket over gave Bangladesh something to think about at 80 for 5. Liton Das and Mahmudullah and later Mashrafe Mortaza, though, ensured the win with two short but vital partnerships for the sixth and seventh wickets. Mashrafe finished off the contest with a straight smack over the bowler’s head in the 18th over.Zimbabwe were inserted and by the ninth over, they were four down. The openers Sikandar Raza and Regis Chakabva fell within the first nine balls of the innings before their best hitter Elton Chigumbura, and their best batsman of the year, Sean Williams, got out with the score reading only 38.Raza was dismissed in the first over, giving Liton Das an easy catch at mid-off. Chakabva premeditated a scoop but Al-Amin Hossain changed his length at the last moment to have him flap at a short ball, looping it to Mushfiqur Rahim. In the next over, Mashrafe got his opposite number by getting one to rush past his defenses. Williams was then bowled by Nasir Hossain, who celebrated by blowing a kiss to the heavens. He had managed only one boundary in his 21-ball 15.What happened next was hardly predictable, given how the Zimbabwe batsmen have fared on this tour. Waller suddenly exploded in the most spectacular way. The straight boundaries on both sides had been pulled in by a few metres but most of Waller’s blows cleared the ropes by a long way.Jubair Hossain, playing his first-ever T20 game at any level, bowled one extremely short ball which nearly bounced twice as Waller smashed his first six. He clubbed the next ball for a huge six over midwicket and the Waller machine was up and rumbling. Jubair conceded 17 in that first over but Nasir had more trouble in the next over. Waller took all 20 runs, with two fours and two sixes, the second of which was parried over the ropes by Tamim Iqbal.Waller soon reached his fifty off 20 balls, the fastest for a Zimbabwe batsmen in international cricket, eclipsing the 21-ball fifties of Dougie Marillier, Chigumbura and Williams. Mahmudullah then ended the 67-run fifth wicket stand by bowling Craig Ervine for 20.Jubair was brought back for a second over and much to his relief, he got rid of Luke Jongwe and Neville Madziva. Waller was finally sent back to the pavilion in the 18th over when he holed out to deep midwicket off Mustafizur Rahman. He finished with 68 off 31 balls with four fours and the six sixes. Mustafizur wrapped up the innings with three balls to spare when he had Tinashe Panyangara lbw. Mashrafe, Al-Amin, Mustafizur and Jubair all took two wickets apiece while Mahmudullah and Nasir claimed one each.Bangladesh didn’t have a great start either, after Anamul Haque, in his first international match since the World Cup, fell run out in the first over, courtesy Raza’s brilliant stop at cover. Sabbir Rahman, promoted to No. 3, crashed three boundaries but was undone for 18 off 16 balls, after Ervine too a good diving catch at midwicket in the sixth over.Mushfiqur Rahim, though, got out to the worst ball, top-edging a long hop from Cremer in the next over. Tamim, who was was watching all of this from the other end, batted quite sedately after the fall of Sabbir. Nasir joined Tamim and hit the first six of the innings by creaming Williams over long-on He even got a boundary off Cremer’s next over but was out lbw next ball. Tamim was also dismissed lbw in the same over, despite gesturing that he had hit the ball.Bangladesh slipped to 80 for five in the eleventh over but Mahmudullah and Liton combined to put the hosts back on track. They added 38 runs for the sixth with before Liton guided Chisoro to short third-man for 17, in the 16th over. Mashrafe and Mahmudullah, however, finished the chase with 14 balls to spare.

Mickey Arthur, the former Australia coach, has been shortlisted for the vacant role as Essex’s head coach. Arthur is included on an interview list of five coaches that also includes the county’s bowling coach, Chris Silverwood, former Essex and Australia batsman Stuart Law, Andy Moles and Paul Nixon.Arthur, Law and Moles are three coaches with international experience and it is Arthur’s pedigree which is the more immediately obvious, involving not only Australia but also South Africa where he spent five years in charge and briefly took them to No. 1 in the Test rankings.One sticking point in discussions with Arthur could concern the extent of his power and, indeed, the salary that goes with it. Essex are of the few counties that have resisted the general move from coaches to directors of cricket, preferring to control costs and invest a certain amount of responsibility in the traditional cricket committee structure.Following a successful tenure as South Africa’s coach from 2005, when he formed a tight bond with his captain Graeme Smith, he was appointed to the Australia role following their home Ashes defeat in 2010-11.Although he won 10 of his 19 Tests in charge, he fell out with many of his senior players, particularly during the notorious homework saga in India in 2012-13, and was replaced by Darren Lehmann just three weeks before the first Test at Trent Bridge in July 2013.Since then, he has worked in both the Caribbean Premier League, where he coached Jamaica Tallawahs, and the Bangladesh Premier League, where he is currently in charge of Dhaka Dynamites. In 2014, he was linked with the Sri Lanka vacancy. Arthur also has experience of domestic cricket in South Africa, with Eastern Cape, and Australia, where he coached Western Australia.Moles has had coaching stints with Kenya, Scotland, New Zealand and Afghanistan but since his long playing career with Warwickshire ended in 1997 he has failed to win a major coaching role in England.Law’s reputation as a strong-willed, fiercely independent individual would suggest him as an intriguing gamble. He is currently working with Bangladesh’s U-19s, having previously coached the full side. His previous position was with Queensland between 2013 and 2015.Nixon, a former England wicketkeeper, has little coaching experience; Silverwood is respected by the Essex dressing room and undertook a caretaker role in late season after the removal of Paul Grayson in dependable fashion.Essex were consistently one of the most successful limited-overs sides in England under the guidance of Grayson, but they were repeatedly unable to translate that record into trophies.Quarter-final defeats in the NatWest Blast and the Royal London Cup – as well as a more predictable failed promotion challenge caused primarily by a lack of bowling depth – led Grayson to be removed in late season after Ronnie Irani, a former England and Essex allrounder, was installed as chairman of the cricket committee.

Chris Adams struck a captain’s innings of 100 runs off 95 balls to powerSussex Sharks to a 43 runs win at Wantage for only their second National League success this summer.Chris Adams hammered a quickfire century as Sussex Sharks overcameNorthamptonshire Steelbacks by 43 runs at Wantage Road — only their secondNational League success of the season.Adams put on 98 with Tony Cottey (47) following the departure of openerRichard Montgomerie. Then Michael Bevan and Will House hit 58 runs in the last 24 balls to shatter the opposition. The Australian’s whirlwind 54 from 29 balls included two sixes and six fours: House was even more devasting in hammering 26 runs from ten deliveries.For a while Northamptonshire countered effectively thanks to Matthew Hayden(45) and Graeme Swann (30) putting on 47 runs at fractionally under two runs a ball. At 132-2 with 15 overs remaining the game was not lost. then David Sales, who had smashed 35 runs from forty balls, Matthew Hayden and Jeff Cook were out in the space of 14 balls. When Kirtley knocked back Adrian Rollins’ middle-stump after his 51 runs stand with David Ripley the match was as good as over.

Hyderabad advanced to the semifinals of the KSCA DiamondJubilee tournament for the Coromandel Cement Trophy beatingIndia Cements by four wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium inBangalore today. The match was put off by a day as a mark ofrespect to S Nijalingappa, former Chief Minister of Karnatakawho died on Tuesday. Rain once again cast its shadow over thematch after India Cements were dismissed for 182 from thepenultimate ball of the 50th over. The revised target forHyderabad was 146 from 40 overs and they were home with nineballs to spare.Hyderabad won the toss and invited their opponents to pad up.India Cements struggled at the beginning as Hyderabad seambowler Mohiudeen (3/39) grabbed three quick wickets. Theirbest batsman Sridharan Sharath fell for 12 to leave them indire straits at 38/4. When the seventh wicket fell at 90 inthe 31st over it looked as though the innings would be wrappedup soon. But Sadashiva Iyer and MR Shrinivas put up somestubborn resistance in a seventh wicket stand of 75 whichhelped them reach a position of some respectability.Wicketkeeper Iyer finished unbeaten on 61 off 102 ballswithout a single boundary which showed how difficult the goinghad been.All the Hyderabad batsmen chipped in with the top score beingAnirudh Singh’s 26. Shivaji Yadav (18 not out) and SantoshYadav (21) added 41 for the sixth wicket to take Hyderabad tothe doorstep of victory before the latter was out with justone run needed. Test left arm spinner Murali Karthik and MRShrinivas took two wickets apiece for the losers.In the three day semifinals beginning August 11, Hyderabadtake on Chemplast at the RSI Sports Ground while India Pistonsplay Indian Airlines at the Chinnaswamy stadium.

A record 96 run last wicket stand between Harbhajan Singh and Bharat Bhushan puthosts Punjab in a commanding position in their Ranji Trophy North Zoneencounter against Haryana at Amritsar on Sunday. Off spinnerHarbhajan, not particularly known for his prowess with the bat, strucka breezy career-best 84 as his part of the bargain, besides snatching a wicketlate in the day to leave Haryana very much on the defensive.When Punjab resumed at 281/3, medium pacer Vineet Jain dismissedDinesh Mongia off the first ball of the day. The 23 year oldlefthander who just last week caned the Jammu & Kashmir attack for anunbeaten 308, had no such success on this occasion, falling for 12.Reetinder Sodhi’s first three scoring strokes were boundaries but hisominous intent was not converted into a big score. The allrounder fellfor 25 to offspinner Pankaj Thakur who also removed wicketkeeperHarminder Jugnu cheaply.Pankaj Dharmani had showed great fortitude in moving to 89 (178 balls,12 fours) and his departure right on the heels of Jugnu at 359 was agrave setback for Punjab. Two more wickets fell before Harbhajan andBhushan joined hands. In just over two hours, the duo added 96 withHarbhajan being much the dominant partner, belting 8 fours and 3 sixesin his 102 ball knock. It took part time off spinner Sanjay Dalal toget rid of him with the score at 486, Bhushan returning undefeated on30. Jain and Thakur were rewarded with three wickets apiece.In reply Haryana closed at 41/1, the casualty being opener JasvirSingh for 16. Play ended five overs early due to bad light. P Sehrawat and Ishan Ganda will resume battle on Monday as Haryana strive to wipe out the imposing first innings deficit.

Hosts Assam took a stranglehold of the proceedings in their East ZoneRanji Trophy clash against Bihar at the Tinsukia District SportsAssociation Ground on Friday. After Bihar were trundled out for 85,the Assamese overhauled their tally before the day was out, but notbefore losing their entire top-order in the process, closing at 122/5.The visitors won the toss and elected to take first strike, only tolose Nikhilesh Ranjan to the second ball of the match, bowled byGautam Dutta. For good measure, Dutta in his third over also toppledthe stumps of the other opener Mohinder Singh Dhoni. Bihar neverrecovered from that horror start as the other opening bowler JavedZaman got into the act, collecting the next three scalps. The Biharmiddle order crumbled from 45/3 to 46/6 in the space of three overs.Sukhbinder Singh proceeded to finish off the tail, terminating theinnings for 85 in the 43rd over, but it was Zaman who collected thebest figures of 4/39. In an innings that contained five ducks, onedrop Aamir Hashmi’s 27 was top-score.Assam openers PK Das and SB Saikia knocked off forty for the firstwicket inside ten overs. A series of setbacks from thereon impededfurther progress as four wickets tumbled in quick succession to leavethe hosts at 69/4, Kunjan Saran and Nikhilesh Ranjan sharing the fourwickets equally between them. Rajesh Bora and Ganesh Kumar added 45for the fifth wicket before Bihar pulled back a late wicket when theformer was stumped for 33. With fifteen overs remaining, the match wassuspended at 4.07 pm due to bad light, Assam holding a 37 runadvantage with five wickets in hand.