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Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies captain, has been suspended for one match after being fined a second time within 12 months for maintaining a slow over-rate. He will miss the crucial tri-series match against Sri Lanka on Sunday.West Indies were ruled one over short of the target at the end of match against India in Port-of-Spain for which the match referee, Jeff Crowe, fined Bravo 20% of his match fee and his team members, 10% of their match fees.”The captains were informed of their respective positions relating to over-rate breaches before the start of the series,” Crowe said. “On Friday, the umpires had kept Dwayne [Bravo] informed throughout the innings about the position regarding over-rates, and more so when his side fell behind.”The charge was laid by on-field umpires Nigel Llong and Peter Nero, as well as third umpire Nigel Duguid and fourth umpire Joel Wilson, with Bravo pleading guilty.It was the second such offence for Bravo after he was fined for a slow over-rate during the Champions Trophy match against South Africa on June 14.Virat Kohli was also slapped with a similar fine after India’s match against Sri Lanka in Kingston.

In each of their recent major-tournament campaigns, Sri Lanka’s greatest strength has lain in their attack. Diverse, persistent, occasionally vicious, opposition batsmen have been unsettled by unorthodoxy and discipline in equal parts. As the team prepares for its Champions Trophy opener in Cardiff, though, they will know they are light on mystique in this tournament.Lasith Malinga’s round-arm remains an oddity, but it is hardly unfamiliar now, given the amount of limited-overs cricket he plays around the world. Sachithra Senanayake also has a growing bag of slow-bowling tricks, but the two men Sri Lanka left out – Ajantha Mendis and Akila Dananjaya – are far more enigmatic. The remainder of Sri Lanka’s bowling options, from nagging right-arm seamers Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, to Rangana Herath’s left-arm orthodox, pose challenges opponents have encountered before.And, by almost any standard, Nuwan Kulasekara is a run-of-the-mill bowler. Rarely exceeding 130kph, with a whippy action and a commitment to line, length and movement above all else, he has often been the dependable, but unremarkable cog in Sri Lanka’s attack. While team-mates gambled for wickets, Kulasekara’s role was to hold one end down. For a while, he was so good at it – he became the top-ranked ODI bowler in 2008.In 2013, though, Kulasekara finds his mandate altered significantly. Now a senior in the bowling unit, he has been called on to pick up the slack where Malinga can no longer be as effective. In the years before a new ball was used at each end, Sri Lanka had built a reputation as one of the best death-bowling outfits in the world, thanks to their spearhead’s ability to use reverse-swing. But a shift in the rules has brought a change in Malinga’s fortunes and even he admits his figures have suffered in the last 18 months. With the ball swinging conventionally for longer, however, the new rule suits Kulasekara’s game just fine.”The rule affects different people in different ways,” Kulasekara said. “I think there is more pressure on me now, to get wickets. Lasith is probably the best limited-overs bowler in the world, so if batsmen try to play him safely and attack me, I have a chance to get wickets. My strength is to swing the ball, so I’m expected to get those early breakthroughs.”In the past year, Kulasekara has added an away-seamer to his repertoire, to go with a straighter one and his stock ball, the inswinger. He had been in outstanding form in Australia early in the year, when he annihilated the Australia top order on a hot, muggy Brisbane day, taking 5 for 22, but his record in colder climes has not befit his ability. In five matches in England he only has a single victim to his name, and although he went wicketless in both Sri Lanka’s warm-up matches, he remains hopeful he can be as impactful in the Champions Trophy as he has increasingly been at home.”I haven’t been getting the ball out as well as I would have liked, and I’m not at my best when it comes to rhythm. That happens from time to time. We had got slow pitches in Birmingham [in the warm-up games] – the ball didn’t swing a lot. Sometimes when it is this cold, it doesn’t swing as well, so I haven’t been able to make the ball do what I hoped for. We have a few more practice sessions before the tournament, and I’ll be working hard with Chaminda Vaas to work those issues out and get back to my top rhythm. He has a lot of experience here, so I will have a good chat to him and try to correct it.”While Kulasekara has failed to find his best in England, Sri Lanka’s next-best swing bowler has prospered in the practice matches. Shaminda Eranga, who has previously impressed in England for the A team, took two wickets in each match despite not having the use of the new ball. With another right-arm seamer, Dilhara Lokuhettige, also in the squad, there is heat on Kulasekara to rediscover form quickly, but he has also enjoyed being part of a six-man pace unit on tour – an oddity for a Sri Lankan squad.”Actually we fast bowlers get together and try to figure out a collective strategy. With the new fielding restrictions, it’s not easy to bowl at the end of an innings. We all have different strengths, so we have ideas about what fields should be set and where to bowl, and we’re learning from each other and the bowling coach.”Sri Lanka lost both practice matches largely due to the bowlers’ indiscipline on flat Edgbaston wickets – even when the batsmen set up a massive total in the first game against India. Sri Lanka do not play any group matches in Birmingham, and Kulasekara feels the match results are not indicative of the team’s chances in the tournament.”Who wins or loses doesn’t really have a big effect. It’s a practice match so we’re changing bowlers around, rather than sticking to a plan, and when our batsmen are going well we retire them and so on. We tried to give everyone a chance, but there will be a big shift in our approach in the actual matches. We learnt a lot from these games, but the results won’t mean much.”Kulasekara has been a fixture in Sri Lanka’s ODI side, and it is unlikely two poor practice matches will change that, at least as far as their opening game against New Zealand. If the swing that has eluded his fingers thus far can define his cricket again, Sri Lanka will once more feel they have an attack that can carry them far into the tournament, unorthodox or not.

Moments after Mumbai Indians won their first IPL title, Sachin Tendulkar announced he had played his last IPL. He didn’t say if he will play the Champions League T20.The last ball Tendulkar played in the IPL didn’t come in the victory in the final, but a fortnight ago in a league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. That ball was sent over long-on for a six, but in the process Tendulkar also injured himself. He retired-hurt after that, and didn’t recover in time to play another Mumbai game.”This is my last IPL,” Tendulkar announced casually in a TV interview after the win. “This has been a fantastic season. I thought our third IPL season was the best before this.”I think this is the right time to stop playing the IPL. I am 40. Got to accept it. I had decided this was my last season.”In 78 IPL matches, Tendulkar scored 2334 runs at an average of 34.83 and a strike rate of 119.81. He scored one century and 13 half-centuries. When asked if he was tempted to play the first match of the next season as a defending champion in front of his home crowd in Mumbai, Tendulkar said he was happy with his decision. “This is the best point to say ‘thank you very much’ to all the supporters and well-wishers,” he said.Tendulkar had announced his ODI retirement towards the end of the last year. With the IPL retirement, the Champions League remains the only cricket he might play other than first-class. The India players’ next first-class assignment is the Ranji Trophy at the end of the year, before the national team goes to South Africa for a full tour.

Mervyn Westfield has attacked English cricket for failing to protect him after the ECB won its legal battle to force him to testify at Danish Kaneria’s appeal hearing against a life ban for corruption.Westfield, in a statement made through his legal team as Kaneria’s appeal began on Monday morning, sought to shift blame onto Essex, the ECB and the Professional Cricketers Association for not intervening earlier to stop the spot-fixing scam which led to him serving a jail sentence and being banned from first-class cricket for five years.”I have heard that Essex County Cricket Club, together with the English Cricket Board and the Professional Cricketers Association were fully aware of the situation I was falling into but stood back until my involvement reached the point of my guilty conviction,” he said. “No-one wished to protect me at any stage. Where was their duty of care to me as a member of their staff?”Neither Westfield not his lawyers have offered evidence for his contention that the authorities could have intervened earlier to prevent the scam in which he agreed to underperform in a one-day match for Essex against Durham in September 2009.Angus Porter, chief executive of the PCA, rejected the suggestion that the authorities had prior notice of the spot-fixing plot, calling Westfield “bitter” and “confused” and expressing regret that he had refused to take part in a proposed rehabilitation process.Westfield claimed the ECB had taken a “hostile route” which has included gaining a High Court order for his appearance at the hearing, which is being held in private at the London Court of International Arbitration and it is expected to last until Thursday. Westfield is giving evidence today and that part of the hearing could extend into Tuesday.”I am here today not because of the summons, nor because of any other party,” Westfield said in a statement issued through his lawyer, Yasin Patel, who also represented Salman Butt. “My family have stood by me throughout the torture I have been made to live with this.”No one else has given me any support despite all the promises a year ago. I am here to bring to an end the pain and suffering that I am forced to continuously suffer and in the hope that after today my family and I will never be subjected to the humiliation and hurt we have gone through in the last three years.”The ECB feared that without Westfield’s testimony the case against Kaneria – the most successful spinner in Pakistan’s Test history – would collapse. Kaneria’s legal team had argued that unless Westfield appeared at the tribunal, and was subjected to cross examination, his evidence would be inadmissible. That would have increased the possibility that Kaneria would be cleared and free to return to cricket only one year after being banned.Kaneria spoke to ESPNcricinfo during a break in proceedings at the International Disputes Resolution Centre in Fleet Street. He said of the original case: “The evidence was not strong, it’s one man’s word against another man’s word and you can’t cut a man’s hands off with that as evidence. How can they take my livelihood with one man’s word against another? Only almighty God can judge me and Inshallah he will look after me, I have faith. I would be happy to bowl for Pakistan again. I would love to do it.”Westfield remains angry with the ECB and the PCA. He feels that his penalty was a harsh one – he spent two months in prison and was banned from the first-class game for five years and the recreational game for three – and that it does not reflect that he cooperated with the investigating authorities, pleaded guilty and gave evidence against Kaneria.Porter, whose leadership of the PCA has coincided with a growing commitment to educate players about the danger of betting-related corruption, told ESPNcricinfo. “He is a terribly bitter young man who feels he has been let down. I hope he reflects he’s in this position because he got himself into this position.”We have made efforts to made to help him with his rehabilitation but ultimately they have been unsuccessful. He has refused our attempts to have a full and open discussion with him. We were prepared to use him for some filming as part of our anti-corruption training and we could have helped with the cost of retraining.”I understand why the ECB did what they did. I think all of us feel strongly that Danish Kaneria should face the consequences of his actions.”On the claim that others knew about what was happening, Porter said: “Hand on heart, the first any of us at the PCA knew about this was when the players came forward. It does pre-date my arrival at the PCA but I have never, at any stage, heard any suggestion that anyone knew what was going on until it was reported.”His language is confused in the statement and I’m honestly not sure exactly what he means, but it strikes me as a very strange thing to say at this stage.”Nigel Hilliard, the Essex chairman, had no comment when contacted.Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, was banned from the game for life and charged £100,000 in costs by an ECB panel in June 2012 for his part in the spot-fixing case involving Westfield.He had been found guilty of inducing his former Essex team-mate to underperform in a limited-overs game in 2009 and of bringing the game into disrepute. Westfield pleaded guilty at the trial and did not face cross-examination.As all boards under the governance of the ICC have an agreement to mirror bans imposed in such circumstances, Kaneria’s ban has been effective worldwide.

Albie Morkel has become the second South African player in the past one week to consider his international career over. In an interview to the , Morkel admitted he does not see the IPL as an opportunity to stake a claim for a national recall.”By all counts I won’t play for South Africa again, so it’s not a desire of mine to prove anything to anyone,” Morkel wrote. “My focus will be to do my best for CSK and contribute on and off the field.”Last Thursday Ashwell Prince signed a two-year Kolpak deal with Lancashire and yesterday went to Lord’s to confirm the end of his ambitions to play for South Africa.Morkel and Prince both lost their central contracts last month, when CSA announced their 21-player list. Also dropped from the books was Jacques Rudolph, Rusty Theron and the retired Mark Boucher. The four who are still playing were told by convener of selectors Andrew Hudson that they would be considered for the national team if any of them showed exceptional form, but the reassurance has not been a comfort to two of them.Prince, who last played in the Boxing Day Test of 2011, appears to have accepted losing his place in the Test line-up. Mohammed Moosajee, the South Africa team manager who has known Prince throughout his career said that at 35, the batsmen was simply looking for ways to “further his career before retirement,” so that the administrators harbour no hard feelings over his new contract.For Morkel, the situation is a little different. He is regarded as one of the top Twenty20 allrounders in the game, has been called one of the best finishers by MS Dhoni and, on face value, seems to have all the qualities South Africa need in a powerful middle-order hitter in limited-overs. But his numbers do not match his reputation.In ODIs, Morkel averages 23.69 with the bat and 37.98 with the ball and has seldom put in the kind of match-winning performance expected of him. His strike rate in T20s sits at over 142.73, but with South Africa’s constantly changing structure there was never room to use him as an opening bowler and there was not a designated spot in the batting line-up for him.Morkel did not settle into a role, as he did at CSK, and the lack of certainty seemed to impact on his performances. Stephen Fleming alluded to that at the 2012 Champions League when he explained why Morkel’s success in the IPL outweighed his achievements at international level.”He is a bit more secure with us and a bit more in spotlight which may make him more comfortable with CSK in his role,” Fleming said. “When you have got a talented side like South Africa, they try different techniques and tactics all the way through and he may be searching a bit for his role within the side.”The system gave Morkel many years, but not enough successive matches, to find his place and eventually cut him off. Although Hudson did not close the door on Morkel, he left it barely ajar when he said the selectors felt it was time to “move forward,” and had “one or two other options in mind for the limited-overs formats.”Ryan McLaren is the first choice allrounder at the moment but Chris Morris, Morkel’s new team-mate at CSK, is another of the players South Africa are looking to blood in that role. Morkel had nothing but praise for the man whom he may end up facing off against for a place in the starting XI. “Chris has really done well in the last two seasons in South Africa. He is a fierce competitor, bowls fast and can hit the ball long. He will definitely win CSK a few games,” Morkel said.Or his graciousness may just be another sign of how well Morkel has been managed by Fleming and how much he enjoys playing under him. Morkel will meet up with his CSK team-mates after playing in the South African domestic T20 final on Sunday which means he will not be available for their opener against Mumbai Indians on Saturday.

Mike McKenna’s contentious dual role as Cricket Australia’s chief of commercial operations and custodian of its disciplinary codes is expected to be placed under the spotlight as part of the former AFL executive Adrian Anderson’s review of CA integrity.While McKenna’s job as CA’s commercial head and executive in charge of the Big Bash League is not in question, ESPNcricinfo understands there have been mounting concerns within the governing body about the management of disciplinary matters.McKenna has overseen this area since the departure of the former head of cricket, Michael Brown, in 2011, and the move of the former general manager of cricket operations, Geoff Allardice, to the ICC in 2012.Anderson is expected to submit his report into CA’s integrity management by the middle of 2013, with his review to include, according to a CA statement, “anti-doping policies and disciplinary processes, domestic cricket anti-corruption and CA’s involvement in the ICC’s global anti-corruption program”. There is the strong possibility McKenna’s role will be re-shaped, with responsibility for disciplinary process moved elsewhere within the organisation to guard against conflict, and perceptions of conflict.Standards of on-field behaviour during this summer’s BBL degenerated, culminating in the ugly bust-up between Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels at the MCG. As BBL chief and also disciplinary czar, McKenna was in the invidious position of trying to increase the commercial value of the tournament while also having oversight for the code of conduct hearings that had Warne let off with a one game ban and $5000 fine while Marlon Samuels subsequently escaped with a mere reprimand.Other incidents prior to the Warne/Samuels affair were not pursued at all, and while some elements of CA were content to have the BBL publicised by any means, others were unnerved by the appearance of poor player behaviour being effectively condoned. This raised alarms given the tournament’s aggressive marketing towards families and children: CA’s spirit of cricket initiatives were made to appear empty commitments to the conduct of the game.Since the end of the BBL, closer attention has been paid to player behaviour in domestic matches, as demonstrated by CA’s insistence that Ricky Ponting front a hearing and be fined for throwing his bat when dismissed in a limited overs match at the WACA ground on Tuesday. It is expected that all contracted players will be briefed again about their behavioural responsibilities before next summer.”Public faith in the integrity of sports results they see on the playing field is absolutely critical and we want everything we do pressure-tested by an independent specialist expert to be sure we are as good as we can be,” CA chief executive James Sutherland said in announcing the review. “While the timing is coincidental, and while the ACC report had no evidence of cricket concerns, its publication is a timely reminder that no modern elite sport is immune from risk.”Anderson was the AFL’s general manager of operations from 2003 to 2012, responsible for a raft of changes to the governance of the game, its rules and disciplinary procedures. He was instrumental in the revamp of the league tribunal, and in setting up the competition integrity unit that investigated allegations the Melbourne Football Club “tanked” games in 2007.The exit of Anderson from the AFL followed indications that the league’s chief executive Andrew Demetriou had passed him over in order to anoint the former head of commercial operations, Gillon McLachlan, as his future successor.

In the present absence of quality, Australia’s selectors are expected to opt for quantity when they name the squad for the Test tour of India on Thursday.The national selector John Inverarity is set to unveil a 17-man squad for the four Tests, covering as many bases as possible after their initial plans were torn asunder by Michael Hussey’s retirement and Shane Watson’s decision to give up bowling.Inverarity’s blueprint was thrown into a state of further disorganisation by the revelation that David Warner had suffered a fractured thumb while batting in the WACA ground nets on the eve of the squad’s announcement. While Warner is out of the first two ODIs against West Indies as a result, he should be named for India with an asterisk against his name pending his fitness.Apart from the XI that took the field in the third Test against Sri Lanka at the SCG in the first week of January, allrounders Glenn Maxwell and Moises Henriques are both likely to be taken to India, as is the left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty in the role of Nathan Lyon’s understudy and potential partner.Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith are probable inclusions as batsmen, with the duo to compete against Maxwell and Henriques for the final spot in the top seven. Matthew Wade’s position may shuffle between Nos. 7 and 6 depending on circumstances, after he showed a liking for promotion by making a century at the SCG.Brad Haddin will not be chosen as a back-up wicketkeeper for the tour, given the relative ease with which a player may be flown to India in the event of injury, but his place as Wade’s back-up remains unquestioned. Haddin will likely re-take the ODI gloves against West Indies when some members of the India tour party leave early – around February 7.Among the pace bowlers, James Pattinson is set for a recall after having his recovery from a side/rib injury carefully monitored, while Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson in particular can expect to have to put in plenty of exacting spells on unhelpful pitches. Ben Hilfenhaus will not be considered as he recovers from his side strain.Having made his return to the Test team against South Africa and then strengthened his place via a series of intimidatory displays against Sri Lanka, Johnson looms as a pivotal part of the team’s efforts to win in India. The subcontinent has arguably seen the best of Johnson, where his low, slingy action has afforded him useful skid and the occasional hint of reverse swing on otherwise unhelpful surfaces.”It’d be really nice to get an opportunity to play Test cricket in India again,” Johnson said. “I’ve always said it’s a great challenge in India with the conditions over there, the heat, the wickets, the players we come up against. So fingers crossed I get that opportunity, but first and foremost is these one-dayers, we need to go out there and really dominate the West Indies.”The experience definitely comes into it, the challenges over in India are very different to what they are here, so hopefully my experience does come into account. But you’ve got to go by form in the end – if you’re performing you should be picked and playing.”Johnson underlined his reticence to be considered an allrounder, despite assuming the role briefly in the SCG Test against Sri Lanka. His unease at being considered a responsible batting part of the top seven provided another reason for the selectors to consider other all-round options for India, namely Henriques and Maxwell.”For me primarily I’m a fast bowler, I want to go out there and bowl fast, take wickets and do a good job for our team,” Johnson said. “The batting side, it is a bit of a bonus for me, I do love my batting and want to have that allrounder status, but the way it’s worked for me is if I focus on my bowling and then chip in with runs at the end, we’ve got a good tail. I do get talked into the allrounder role at times, but I like to do the best job with the bat that I can.”Possible squad: Michael Clarke (capt), Jackson Bird, Ed Cowan, Xavier Doherty, Moises Henriques, Phillip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Shane Watson.

Once upon a time, the one-day international tri-series was a highlight of Australia’s cricket summer. You need only catch a World Series Classics replay on Fox Sports to be reminded that the stands were usually heaving with scantily-clad men and women, kids holding home-made banners, and if it’s a match from the early 1980s, terry-towelling hats. Tony Greig and Bill Lawry would be calling the action with such fervour that you’d think each game had the World Cup riding on it.How times change. The triangular series is gone, although it was resurrected last summer with India and Sri Lanka in the country, and the crowds don’t flock to 50-over cricket in anything like the numbers they used to. Twenty20 internationals and the Big Bash League have been brought in with the aim of attracting the younger fans, Test cricket remains the premier format, and one-day internationals are left searching for relevance.It is into this environment that an Australian outfit led by George Bailey and lacking drawcards like David Warner and Shane Watson will venture on Friday, taking on Sri Lanka in a series that two years from the next World Cup, has little riding on it. The broadcasters, Channel Nine, have voiced their displeasure at the lack of big names in Australia’s side, although they might change their tune if Aaron Finch tees off on debut.”I can probably understand it coming from Channel Nine,” Bailey said in Melbourne on Thursday. “I think they’re about to go into negotiations for the TV rights. I think that was a pretty tactical move to try to talk down one-day cricket and what the Australian team’s putting out. But it’s still called the Australian cricket team.”On Friday, the Channel Nine cameramen will do their best to focus on the most densely populated stands at the MCG, but there will be huge numbers of empty seats as well. When Australia and Sri Lanka met at the MCG in a one-day game earlier this year the crowd was approximately 29,000, while only 19,000 turned up when they played at the same venue the summer before. By contrast, the BBL Melbourne derby attracted 46,000 fans last weekend.”I might have a bit of a left-field view but I think the way sport is shown on TV now is so good and you get so much information thrown at you that the better it gets delivered to your couch, the less reasons there are to leave and watch it at a ground,” Bailey said. “Big Bash is popular because it goes for three hours and it fits in nicely. There’s no doubt one-day cricket takes a bit longer, and I think Test matches are becoming a real event in themselves.”It’s as much about the spectacle as the event itself and the cricket. One-day cricket, as far as crowds go, will be challenged at different times. But I still think the actual cricket itself is very good. There is always going to be a huge element of luck in T20 and I think Test cricket will always be the ultimate test, and I think one-day cricket certainly sits nicely in the middle of those two.”If the last couple of ODIs between the sides at the MCG are any indication, the Melbourne crowd will feature plenty of Sri Lankan supporters from the city’s large ex-pat population. Despite the format’s battling status in Australia, 50-over cricket remains immensely popular in Sri Lanka, and the team’s captain Mahela Jayawardene said he was confident that if the series started well, it would find an audience.”There’s been a lot of cricket played in the summer, and West Indies are coming, there is the Big Bash,” Jayawardene said. “But I think there’s certainly a lot of interest in world cricket for the 50-over game. For players it will still be exciting, trying to push yourself, but once you play a few good games [the fans] will get into it. I think it’s all about how the series is going to start and how exciting it is going to be.”We’ve got a really big appetite for 50-over cricket [in Sri Lanka]. I think that’s something that drives the national team a lot. They [the Sri Lankan public] enjoy their one-day cricket and T20 cricket a lot more than Test cricket. We don’t get big crowds for our Test matches … but in one-day cricket they definitely get behind the team, they have a good time and enjoy their one-day cricket.”These five matches will also be the first in Australia to be held under new ICC rules that, among other things, prevent captains from placing any more than four fieldsmen outside the circle at any time. The rules aren’t quite as radical as the split-innings experiment Australia trialed in the Ryobi Cup last summer but the game’s governing bodies hope they will lead to more exciting ODIs as the cricket world builds towards the 2015 World Cup.”The rule changes are going to be interesting. We’ve had them for a couple of years at the domestic level,” Bailey said. “My only concern with those is not to continue to make them too batter friendly. I don’t necessarily think higher-scoring games become better games of cricket. An even contest between bat and ball still provides the best games of cricket. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the international players adapt.”I think four [fielders] out has challenged the spinners at a domestic level, but I’ve also seen the best spinners adapt pretty well and still find ways to dominate the game or contribute really well in games. I like the fact that bowlers do get a second bouncer. I like the fact that that leaves a bit more uncertainty in the over. I think they’re interesting rule changes. Anything that provides a little bit of uncertainty, even to make captains or teams think a little bit more on their feet, are good changes for the game.”

Ed Cowan, the Australia opener, has been confirmed as Nottinghamshire’s overseas signing for the first half of the 2013 season. Cowan, who will likely feature in the Ashes against England later in the summer, will be available for seven rounds of the Championship, as well as eight CB40 matches.The move, first reported on ESPNcricinfo, will give Cowan extra time to get used to batting in English conditions ahead of the Ashes. Notts will be his second county, after a stint with Gloucestershire in 2012, and the 30-year-old has also played in England for Scotland and Oxford MCCU. He currently averages 34 in Test cricket after 11 matches, with one century.”I was very keen to play some Division One cricket and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to do that with Nottinghamshire,” Cowan said. “There are a lot of good players at the Club and Trent Bridge is a great venue so I’m hoping to make a good contribution on and off the field.”Nottinghamshire, who finished fifth in Division One in 2012, will look to recruit another overseas player after Cowan’s departure. Last season, Adam Voges filled the overseas role, while David Hussey had previously been linked with a return to the club.Notts’ director of cricket, Mike Newell, said: “Ed has an excellent record in Test cricket and there was an opportunity to sign him for a decent period given that a lot of Australian players were set to spend time in England on an A tour in preparation for the Ashes. Our priority was to find a player who we felt could score a good volume of runs in four day cricket but Ed has a good one day record as well and we’re confident that he can make a difference for us.”

Mashrafe Mortaza has been sidelined for the next three weeks, Mushfiqur Rahim has confirmed. Mortaza missed the fifth ODI with a thigh strain which has put him at risk for the one-off Twenty20 against West Indies on Monday.”Mashrafe bhai’s situation is very risky and we will lose him for a long time if we ask him to play again in this series,” Mushfiqur said. “We want to give him a break, but I am sure he will recover within the next 2-3 weeks. He will get better.”Mashrafe, apparently, played with this injury in the third and fourth ODIs as well, which aggravated the strain. It forced the team to make a last-minute switch by including Shafiul Islam as the only pace bowler in the Bangladesh attack.Mortaza has undergone ten surgeries on both knees in his 11-year international career. “I don’t think he’s a human being. He played the last two matches with pain and I don’t think anyone else could have done what he’s done. Hats off to him,” said Mushfiqur.He made his last major comeback in March to play the Asia Cup, after he broke down with a knee injury a month before the 2011 World Cup. At the time of return, Mashrafe had said he would only be available for limited-overs cricket.He was named in the Twenty20 side for the one-off game against West Indies.