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Aravinda de Silva steps down from SLC role

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Aravinda de Silva has decided to resign from the SLC cricket committee, of which he was chairman, 13 months after he took on the role. A board release said de Silva will step down on June 30 due to “personal commitments that would hinder his availability and time investment in the Committee further”.”It is understandable that [de Silva] needs to prioritise his personal commitments,” board president Thilanga Sumathipala said. “He has supported the strategic vision of this administration and been vastly instrumental in many of the developments we have made.”We intend to continue to engage Aravinda’s expertise in our key cricketing activities on a consultancy basis,” Sumathipala added.During his time in the committee, de Silva had been among the more influential SLC figures, overseeing, in particular, a re-order of SLC’s coaching structure. However, his clout is also understood to have waned in recent months, with SLC having appointed other officials to advise the national team. De Silva had also twice served as chief selector – most recently in an interim stint last year, when his selection panel picked the squad for the World T20.

Dickwella out of series with hairline fracture

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Wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI series against Bangladesh after suffering a hairline fracture in his left hand.Dickwella had sustained the injury on Sunday, at training. Though it was originally thought to be a minor injury, he had had trouble gripping his bat on Monday. Subsequent X-rays then confirmed the fracture.Team manager Asanka Gurusinha said that while the injury was “minor” it may take “a couple of weeks” to fully heal, which also puts Dickwella in doubt for the T20 internationals that follow the ODIs. Dickwella had also been unavailable for the first ODI of the series, thanks to the suspension he picked up for dissent, during the T20 series in Australia.Though it is a batsman that exits the squad, Sri Lanka have called up offspinner Dilruwan Perera, and strengthened the seam battery through the inclusion of Nuwan Kulasekara and Nuwan Pradeep as well. Those changes are likely a reflection of the outcome of Saturday’s match, in which Sri Lanka’s attack was ineffective – especially at the death overs – as Bangladesh scored 324 in their 90-run win.Kulasekara had played in Sri Lanka’s 0-5 ODI defeat in South Africa in January and February, but had had mixed results in that series. He has 195 ODI wickets, however, and will be the most experienced bowler in the squad by a distance.

'Experience-wise it was 10 out of 10' – de Villiers

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While AB de Villiers graded the conditions at Seddon Park as a “0 out of 10” as far as Champions Trophy preparation goes, he gave the match itself full marks for demanding a fight from South Africa ahead of the major tournament. After cruising past Sri Lanka 5-0 at home, South Africa were looking for more of a challenge from New Zealand and that’s exactly what the got in a closely-fought, low-scoring game in Hamilton. And they managed to get home in what were “the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in”, according to de Villiers.”Experience-wise it was 10 out of 10 to be put under pressure like that with the bat in hand. Conditions-wise? Zero out of 10. I don’t think we’re going to face any conditions like that in the UK,” de Villiers said.Both sides were surprised by the amount of turn, although South Africa’s decision to play both specialist spinners suggest they were expecting things to be on the slower side. But Imran Tahir went wicketless and conceded a run a ball, and Tabraiz Shamsi’s sole scalp cost 39 runs. So there were few hints that Michael Santner, Ish Sodhi and then Tim Southee, who bowled what were essentially fast offcutters towards the end, would cause so much trouble.”I didn’t see the ball turn that much when we bowled,” de Villiers said. “Early on with the new ball it wasn’t so bad, but it’s easy to say that now. It would have sounded like an excuse if we’d lost.”After an 88-run opening stand between Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock, South Africa were well-set but they lost 5 for 39 in the middle period of the chase and an eerily familiar falter seemed in their future. Bar de Villiers, the big men were all dismissed and it was up to a 20-year-old Andile Phehlukwayo to hold his nerve and help his captain score 50 off the final seven overs. Even de Villiers himself wondered if the game was gone.”Not for a second were we in control,” de Villiers said. “Our two openers gave us a really good foundation, but I felt they were the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in.”De Villiers knew if he hung around until the end, South Africa would be in with a chance. “I decided to stay patient and take it as deep as we can and then maybe we’ll get close,” he said. But he also knew he would need some help. He had to trust Phehlukwayo; he would have known he could.The young allrounder partnered David Miler in giving South Africa a memorable win over Australia last October, showing maturity beyond his years. He has also showed an ability to hit hard – and took sixes off both Trent Boult and Tim Southee as proof – and although he rarely gets the opportunity to finish games, South Africa now know that he can. “He was hitting it pretty sweet. It was very impressive the way Andile played. There is a lot of talent in that young man,” de Villiers said. “He was one of the very few guys tonight who could pick up the pace of the wicket and he played it under his eyes. I was very impressed with him.”As impressed, perhaps, as with the form the side is currently in. South Africa have equalled their best winning streak with a 12th victory in succession and are building up steam ahead of the Champions Trophy. Even though they insist the numbers don’t mean too much, there’s no doubt it’s still a nice thing to have achieved. “We don’t play for those kind of records but it’s a nice one to have. We are very aware of it. We are only human and will lose one. That’s the nature of the beast. So we’ll go to Christchurch, hopefully play a good game and make it another one,” de Villiers said. “That was a great win for us. But there’s lots of games left in the series and we know it’s nowhere near done.”

Taylor and Boult wrest trophy for NZ

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRoss Taylor was fluent throughout his innings of 101 balls, striking 13 fours•Getty Images

This was some sort of day for New Zealand. Ross Taylor equalled Nathan Astle’s record for the most ODI hundreds for New Zealand. Trent Boult completed a career-best six-wicket haul. New Zealand regained the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. They jumped to No.3 on the ODI rankings and wrapped up an eighth consecutive bilateral one-day series win at home. And they did it all in front of a sell-out crowd at Seddon Park.They also did it in a fashion that would have pleased some of their cheekier fans: getting Australia’s hopes up, and then dashing them. Set 282 for victory, Australia looked sunk when Marcus Stoinis holed out to leave the tail-enders needing 84 off 65 balls, but Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins plundered 31 from a pair of Mitchell Santner overs and the required rate fell back towards a run a ball. New Zealand fans became suddenly nervous.But all Kane Williamson needed to do was call on Boult, whose pace and bounce forced a false shot from Cummins, who was caught at midwicket. In his next over, Boult bowled to a plan set up by Williamson, who had placed a floating third slip, and Adam Zampa’s steer found the man perfectly. Five balls later, Boult finished the job by bowling Josh Hazlewood. It left Boult with 6 for 33 from his ten overs, and New Zealand with a 24-run win and the trophy.The fortunes of the teams had fluctuated all day. New Zealand looked set for a huge total batting first, lost their way, and then smashed 30 off their final two overs to reach a competitive but far from daunting 281 for 9. Australia’s chase was looking good while Aaron Finch and Travis Head ticked the score along in the first 20 overs, but a run of wickets put them on the back foot. Yet not until Boult’s late wickets could New Zealand feel safe.By the barest of margins, Australia held on to the No.1 ODI ranking, although they may yet lose it in the coming week if South Africa continue to dominate in their home series against Sri Lanka. Australia sorely missed their captain and vice-captain, Steven Smith and David Warner, in this series; while there were contributions from their top-order replacements, none were sufficient to set up a win. Here, it was a pair of fifties from Finch and Head.A fine piece of fielding from Santner in the deep led to the run-out of Shaun Marsh early in Australia’s chase, and Peter Handscomb chopped on to Boult for a duck to leave Australia at 44 for 2. Finch and Head put on 75 for the third wicket before Finch holed out to deep midwicket off Williamson’s spin for 56, and spin continued to trouble Australia when Santner had Glenn Maxwell caught behind in the next over for a duck.Head was the victim of a fine boundary-line catch from Dean Brownlie off Boult on 53 and, in a fore-runner of Williamson’s floating-slip plan that later foiled Zampa, James Faulkner fell to exactly the same ploy for a duck to leave Australia wobbling at 174 for 6. Stoinis struck four fours and a six but it was a mere cameo compared to his starring role in Auckland, and when he was caught at long-on off Santner, it was all left up to Australia’s bowlers.Starc remained unbeaten on 29 as the Australians fell 24 runs short, and he was left to wonder what might have been. In the final over of New Zealand’s innings, he rattled the stumps of Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson with the first two balls, but then let slip a waist-high no-ball that allowed Santner to come on strike and club two fours and a six from the final three deliveries. It was just the late boost New Zealand needed.Taylor and Brownlie had given them a fine start but from 162 for 2 at the 30-over mark, New Zealand lost a string of wickets and much momentum, and managed only 119 runs from their final 20 overs. As things turned out, that was enough. The key man was Taylor, whose 16th ODI hundred brought him level with Astle as New Zealand’s all-time most prolific ODI century-maker.Taylor walked to the crease in the 15th over with opener Brownlie already on 36; Taylor scored his own runs so freely that he beat Brownlie to the half-century. Taylor was particularly strong on the cut shot and brought up his fifty from 44 deliveries; in the next over, Brownlie raised his half-century – his first in ODI cricket – from his 65th ball.Brownlie, playing his first international since 2014, had proven a very effective replacement for the injured Martin Guptill, but on 63 he fell when he drove at a fullish, wide ball from Faulkner and was adjudged caught-behind on review. That began a difficult period for New Zealand, who lost Neil Broom to another edge behind off Faulkner for 8, and then Colin Munro, who couldn’t find his rhythm, drove a catch to mid-off for 3.The middle-order problems continued as James Neesham chopped on off the bowling of Hazlewood for 1, and New Zealand by this stage were wobbling at 209 for 6 in the 41st over. But Santner managed to keep his wicket intact and allowed Taylor to move to a 96-ball hundred with a thick edge through third man for four off Mitchell Starc, though he was caught swiping to leg off Faulkner in the next over for 107.Although the innings had started poorly for New Zealand when Tom Latham, in the third over, flicked a leg-side delivery from Starc straight into the hands of Hazlewood at fine leg for an eight-ball duck, the next two partnerships steadied New Zealand well. Kane Williamson (37) put on 70 with Brownlie before the Taylor-Brownlie stand, which was worth 100.Against an Australian outfit minus their two best batsmen, New Zealand’s efforts were enough. The day, the series, and the trophy were theirs.

Guptill, Phillips tons push Auckland to top of table

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Centuries from openers Martin Guptill and Glenn Phillips were just enough for Auckland to scrape to a four-run D/L win against Central Districts, a result that pushed them to the top of the Ford Trophy points table. After Auckland were asked to bat at the Eden Park No. 2, Guptill (112 off 105) and Phillips (102 off 89) thwacked their way to a 208-run stand in just 27.5 overs, before both were dismissed in quick succession off the bowling of Blair Tickner. Sean Solia’s 57-ball 70 and brisk cameos from Mark Chapman (43 off 28) and Robert O’Donnell (44 off 33) helped Auckland pile on 392 for 3.Central Districts lost Jesse Ryder for 1 in the third over, but kept pace with the asking rate. George Worker put on stands of 74 and 125 with Tom Bruce and Dane Cleaver respectively. Cleaver followed up Bruce’s 34-ball 50 with 77 off just 50 balls, an innings that featured seven fours and four sixes. Worker struck his ninth List A ton, and was unbeaten on 107 when rain came down. After a 13-minute interruption, play resumed without a reduction of overs. Soon after, however, heavy rain forced the game to be called off with Central Districts four runs short.In the only match not affected by rain in the round, Northern Districts beat Otago by 125 runs in Whangarei. Their win was set up by fifties from Dean Brownlie and Tim Seifert, before 19-year-old Zak Gibson took a career-best 4 for 31 to run through Otago’s batting line-up.Otago, who were set a target of 260, were reduced to 42 for 6 in the 13th over. Gibson claimed four wickets in his first four overs. Scott Kuggeleijn (2 for 31) and Ish Sodhi (2 for 30) were also among the wickets. Wicketkeeper-batsman Derek de Boorder top-scored with 43 at No. 8, but his was the only major contribution as Otago folded for 134 in the 39th over.Earlier, Brownlie scored 71 as he put on 57 for the opening wicket with Bharat Popli and 55 for the fourth with Daryl Mitchell. But Netherlands international Michael Rippon, a left-arm wristspinner took 3 for 36, and medium-pacer Christi Viljoen returned figures of 3 for 45 to keep things tight. Seifert (56 off 50) was the only other batsman who could get past 30. He put on 56 for the seventh wicket with Brett Hampton (29), before they lost four wickets in five balls to be bowled out for 259 in the last over.Hamish Bennett’s figures of 3 for 9 helped Wellington beat Canterbury by 10 runs (D/L method) in their rain-curtailed fixture at the Basin Reserve.Wellington were put into bat before the match was reduced to 27 overs a side. They were 35 for 2 in the 11th over, when Tom Blundell – who is part of the New Zealand ODI squad for the Chappell-Hadlee series – scored 32, and combined with Scott Borthwick (38), before falling with the score on 66 in the 16th over. Thereon, Wellington scored 100 runs off 69 deliveries thanks to Matt Taylor’s unbeaten 43 off 22, to post 166 for 6. Logan van Beek and Tim Johnston took two wickets each for Canterbury.In reply, Canterbury were reduced to 12 for 3 in the fifth over, Bennett taking all three in consecutive overs. Opener Jack Boyle put on 54 with Todd Astle (26) for the fourth wicket. Wickets off consecutive overs, including that of Boyle for 68, set Canterbury back. They slammed 11 off the next three balls as the rain came down, and were 123 for 6 in 22.2 overs – 10 short of the par score – when play was stopped.

Lots of focus on green Newlands pitch

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Someone in the know, and we can’t really say which someone in the know, said these words at Newlands on New Year’s Day. They weren’t said quite as robustly as a resolution, nor with as much whimsy as a wish, but with just the right mix of nerves and certainty to be taken seriously.South Africa have asked the groundstaff to leave much more grass on the pitch than usual, as they did in Port Elizabeth. That strip was designed to turn Rangana Herath into Casper the Friendly Ghost and it succeeded. This one is expected to do the same and more. The thick grass covering could aid seam movement, as it did when South Africa played Australia in November 2011 and the ball moved just enough to cause chaos.After South Africa were bowled out for 96 replying to 284, Australia were dismissed for 47. Twenty three wickets fell in the day, the record at a South African ground, as some part of all four innings unfolded. Gary Kirsten, who was South Africa’s coach at the time, left the ground to be with his new-born daughter and when he returned asked if there had been rain because the action had been fast-forwarded so much.The memory of that madness, however, has faded for his successor, Russell Domingo, who was then the assistant. “It was so long ago that I don’t even remember it,” he half-jokingly told journalists on Sunday to play down the prospect of something similar in the next five days. “Those things don’t happen too often. So I can’t see that happening for a while.”Since the beginning of the series against Sri Lanka, Domingo and captain Faf du Plessis have praised South African pitches for providing a fair contest while acknowledging they were also prepared to suit the home side.”I wouldn’t we are say making the most of it [home advantage]. South Africa and Australia are maybe the two places that provide for a fair contest with both bat and ball. It showed in Port Elizabeth, where it did a bit on day one. But then it was really good to bat on and the ball spun a little bit on day three. Our wickets produce good, fair contests,” Domingo said.Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford almost agreed. “I guess home advantage is something you see around the world. Certainly the pitch in Port Elizabeth suited South Africa. It’s exactly what they wanted and not what we wanted,” he said. “This looks pretty similar. Maybe they’ll give it another cut. I think they’ve had pretty dry conditions here for a while. Hopefully there’s not too much moisture in the surface.”Ford was proven right. Despite initial suggestion that no grass would be cut off the pitch, after South Africa’s training session had ended and with Sri Lanka at the ground, there was a bit of trimming going on. It was not known whether the instruction from South Africa had changed, or the threat of a dramatically shortened Test was looming too large.South African administrators would prefer the match went as deep as possible, ideally five days, because Newlands is their best chance of making money on gate-takings. On Friday, over 57,000 tickets had been bought for the match including a capacity 22,000 on the first day and 6,500 for each of the fourth and fifth days.The weather is set to play ball too. Apart from some strong gusts, conditions should be perfect for cricket watching. Depending on which side you are on, perhaps not entirely perfect for playing.

'T20 is my game' – Sabbir Rahman

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Sabbir Rahman started to punch the air every time he struck a six from the time he hit his fourth, during his record-breaking 122 against Barisal Bulls on Sunday. He described the celebration as a ritual that helps him “stay focused”.While it might seem unusual, it probably helps Sabbir. But closer to the truth is probably the fact that Sabbir was playing his favourite format. He said that he knows that a big innings is always around the corner when he is playing in T20s.”T20 is my game,” Sabbir said. “I got into the senior side in 2014 through T20s, and then also into the Test team. I believe it is my format, and I will make a big score, either today or tomorrow. But I am sure someone will break my 61-ball 122.”Shahriar Nafees, who made 63 for Barisal earlier in the game, said that Sabbir’s spectacular innings made him mull whether they could have made more than 192. He said that Sabbir’s wicket made the difference with Rajshahi unable to score the remaining 34 runs in the last four overs.”He is an outstanding talent, an asset for Bangladesh and has been doing well for the country. He is very fit, powerful and a big-hitter. When he was batting, I thought we would have needed 220-230 runs on the board. Sabbir was clearing the boundary quite easily. It is one of the best innings I have seen in this country. But we believed that it is important to win the game regardless of the margin. It wasn’t that easy to bat on that wicket unless you are set.”Despite his innings that beat Chris Gayle’s 116 – the previous highest individual score in the BPL – Sabbir said that winning the game would have made him happier. He said that the batsmen who couldn’t score the nine runs in the last six balls should have taken a different approach rather than trying to go for big hits.”We should have won both close games. I don’t know what our batsmen are thinking in the last over,” he said. “I think we have to be stronger mentally. We could have won the previous game by taking singles rather than going for sixes. I think nine runs off the last six balls was an easy equation.”

Auty Cup to be contested as three-match 50-over series

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Plans to revive the oldest international cricket rivalry have been confirmed with the USA and Canada set to play three 50-over matches for the KA Auty Cup on October 13, 14 and 16 at Woodley Park in Los Angeles. The Auty Cup has not been played since 2013, in King City, where Canada retained the trophy after securing first-innings points in the drawn two-day match before sweeping a pair of Twenty20s – there was no result in the one scheduled 50-over game then.The matches will serve as key preparation for USA ahead of their participation in ICC World Cricket League Division Four, which begins October 29 at the same venue. The Auty Cup had originally been slated for the weekend of October 22-23, but according to sources the series was mutually decided to be brought up a week in part so that USA can have an extra week of preparation after the Auty Cup and ahead of Division Four.The tentative plan is for members of USA’s squad based outside of Los Angeles to fly in on October 12 and depart the night of the 16th before returning to Los Angeles the following weekend on October 22 for seven days of training and warm-up matches against local Los Angeles club sides leading into their first match of Division Four on October 29. The top two teams in the tournament, which also features Bermuda, Denmark, Italy, Jersey and Oman, will be promoted to WCL Division Three, scheduled for early 2017.”Canada certainly have some very talented players,” USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake, who coached Canada at the 2011 World Cup, said in a press release on Wednesday. “This Auty Cup will be a very good test for our USA team. We are looking forward to the challenge.”For Canada, these are the senior team’s first international matches since the 2015 World T20 Qualifier in Scotland and Ireland, where they went winless to finish last in Group B. It is also the first 50-over matches for Canada since January 2015, when they finished in last place at the six-team Division Two tournament to be relegated to Division Three. Canada is joined in Division Three by Uganda, Singapore and Malaysia.”Cricket Canada is excited about the opportunity to take on the USA again,” Cricket Canada general manager Ingleton Liburd stated in a press release. “We are hoping for some quality 50-over cricket, and hope we can retain the KA Auty Cup while we are on US soil.”The ICC press release announcing the matches also declared that the Auty Cup matches, along with USA and Bermuda’s games at Division Four, will be used to help pick a 15-man squad for an ICC Americas Combined team to participate in the 2017 WICB Nagico Super50 regional tournament. The ICC Americas office had conducted an open trial in Indianapolis last September to help pick a combined team, which featured six USA and nine Canada players, for this year’s tournament.Following the Nagico Super50, six ICC Americas players received Caribbean Premier League contracts, an opportunity which is expected to be offered again for 2017.

Rossington ensures Northants confound sceptics again

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ScorecardAdam Rossington saw Northants to Finals Day•Getty Images

Northamptonshire Steelbacks sealed the second Finals Day spot with a commanding seven-wicket win over Middlesex. “No one likes us and we don’t care” rang out from a few in the Ken Turner Stand, as they rose to embrace more Twenty20 success.While the sentiment seems a tad forced, there is a feeling in this part of the world that many take delight in shedding light on their faults, while applying the dimmer when success comes their way. For the third time in four years, they will command the Edgbaston spotlight.It was a game that boiled down to how both sides operated outside the Powerplay overs. And even that can be caveated by the fact that the Steelbacks, who were all for chasing before Dawid Malan won the toss and opted to set a target, knew they didn’t have to break sweat.That Northants were led to victory by a measured and unbeaten 67 from Adam Rossington will have stung Middlesex supporters. Rossington used to be theirs: a plunderer of runs in the Middlesex second team while the first XI stuttered, hammering away at a door that, ultimately, never fully opened for him.Opportunities came with the white ball, but Middlesex’s ambivalence to limited overs cricket at the time, coupled with John Simpson’s desire to play all forms, meant he was beginning to exist in a void. The cheers of six-and-a-half thousand filled every bit of air above Wantage Road when he helped the final ball of the match around the corner for four.So much of the occasion spoke of being Northants’ night. Two hours before the start, Abington Avenue was at a standstill as members were turned away from the car park as Sky set-up their various trailers across most of the Wantage Road car park behind the Pavilion. “That’s why we don’t invite ’em round,” snarled an attendant.Sky’s cameras, or rather their absence, has been a point of contention in these parts. Despite reaching Finals Day twice in the previous three seasons and starting the 2016 campaign with a bang, this quarter-final was only their third televised match of the season.Originally scheduled for just one – at home against Birmingham Bears – a second came due to a last minute switch, when Yorkshire Vikings needed a win to guarantee a quarter-final spot (or at least that was the Northants slant). It did not take long in this broadcast for viewers to figure out what happens next.Malan, who rattled off an unbeaten 185 off 126 balls for the England Lions in his last innings at Wantage Road, was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Rory Kleinveldt, before Nick Gubbins followed in a similar manner to Richard Gleeson to reduce Middlesex to 10 for 2 in the second over. As a pair, it Kleinveldt and Gleeson’s opening spell, hitting just back of a length with all they could, that scuppered Middlesex’s chances of posting a competitive total.Paul Stirling’s natural instincts were reined in and, when he departed, thoughts turned to George Bailey, who they restricted to a run-a-ball 46, for Gleeson’s second wicket of the innings. Legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna’s 2 for 20 from his four in the middle of the innings – accounting for Stirling and the destructive John Simpson for eight – and regular bowling changes eventually saw Middlesex stumble to 132.It meant that when pressure was built during the opening six overs of Northants’ innings, through dot balls and a packed and expectant off side, it was easily relieved with a six over midwicket from Richard Levi, an exquisite swing into the stand at extra cover from Rossington or consecutive fours muscled down the ground by Josh Cobb.If there was one moment that might have turned the game, it was when Ben Duckett, Northants’ leading T20 Blast run-scorer, was dropped on three after driving aerially to Gubbins stationed at cover to Nathan Sowter, at the end of the eighth over. It was hit low and hard to Gubbins’ right and, given the measly target, the quality of the batsman and the importance of the match, it simply had to be taken.With the first ball of the very next over, Duckett stepped down and flicked James Franklin over midwicket for four to bring up 2,000 runs in all competitions. He would go on to make 29 in a 58-run partnership with Rossington that effectively sealed Northants’ passage to their fourth Finals Day.Given the uncertainty that exists at the club, that is a remarkable feat. Middlesex were shorn of Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan and James Fuller through injury. But Northants, too, have had a plethora of ailments to such an extent that they have spent as much time at a nearby sports therapy clinic as they have in the nets recently. That they have only used 16 players this season is remarkable. “We don’t have any more than that,” remarked Northants skipper Alex Wakely.No doubt some will insist on labelling them as “outsiders” in the lead-up to Edgbaston. But this will be their third appearance at Finals Day in the last four years, winning the competition in 2013 and finishing runners-up in last year’s showpiece. That is far beyond the work of “underdogs”. That’s what you call pedigree.

Mustafizur faces six-month lay-off due to shoulder injury

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Mustafizur Rahman, the Bangladesh left-arm paceman, is facing shoulder surgery early next month which could sideline him for six months. The BCB are currently mulling whether to have the operation in England or Australia, and BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said that a decision on a surgeon will be made by Monday, but that Mustafizur was mentally prepared for the operation.Mustafizur is currently in England having linked up with Sussex after extended delays but his stint came to end last week after two matches when he suffered the shoulder injury. He has seen a specialist in the UK, who recommended that the SLAP (Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior) tear – which involves the ring of cartilage that surrounds the socket of the shoulder joint – could be treated through a surgery, which may rule him out for up to six months. Such a lay-off would rule him out of England’s visit in October and the tour to New Zealand at the end of the year.”In the last few days we have sent his reports to a number of places,” Yunus said. “We want him to be operated under the best surgeons. We have found two specialists in the UK and one in Australia. By Monday we can decide who will operate on Mustafizur’s shoulder. He is mentally prepared for the operation.”This sort of injury usually is treated conservatively but we are not going that way with Mustafizur because the doctors have said that it might recur in the future.”Yunus said that Mustafizur has been BCB’s priority and has always been withdrawn from the game at the onset of any injury. The first such occurance was during the Zimbabwe series in January this year when he was down with an injured shoulder. He also missed much of the Asia Cup and World T20 through a side strain while hamstring and ankle injuries delayed his Sussex stint.”We are taking the best care of Mustafizur. We have always withdrawn him from matches whenever he has complained of any physical problem,” Yunus said. “We haven’t seen him in Test matches that much. He has focused mostly in the shorter versions.”We didn’t send him to the PSL because he had injury. He had offers from the CPL. So that he is not overstressed, we are not letting him play when he has a problem.”