Rossington moves to Northamptonshire

Adam Rossington has completed a permanent move to Northamptonshire as they continue their rebuilding after being relegated from Division One. Rossington, 21, asked to be released from his Middlesex contract early after spending the second half of the 2014 season on loan at Wantage Road.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rossington, who came through Middlesex's Academy, took the gloves from Ben Duckett in the Championship and topped Northamptonshire's averages, scoring a century and two fifties, as they finished bottom of the table. He also impressed in limited-overs cricket, scoring 400 runs across the two short formats.

"I would like to thank Middlesex and Angus Fraser for allowing me to leave my contract a year early," Rossington said. "It's never an easy decision to leave the club you have played at since you were six but I feel it's the right move for me at this moment in time in order to play first-team cricket on a regular basis.

"I'd like to pass on my thanks to all the players I have played with and I'd also like to thank Mark Ramprakash, Jack Russell and everyone at the Academy for all their time and effort over the years. I wish Middlesex all the best."

Rossington, a former England U-19s wicketkeeper, was given his Middlesex debut in 2010 but made the majority of his 40 first-team appearances in T20 competition.

Middlesex's director of cricket, Angus Fraser, said: "It is sad for the club when a product of its own youth system moves on to another county but John Simpson remains Middlesex's number one keeper, which has not allowed Adam the exposure to first eleven cricket he is looking for. Adam is an extremely talented young cricketer and we all hope his career blossoms and he fulfils his potential at Northants."

Northamptonshire have already signed another young batsman in Josh Cobb from Leicestershire, and released several experienced players after suffering a chastening return to Division One for the first time in a decade. Alex Wakely, who missed the 2014 season with injury, has taken over the captaincy from Stephen Peters.

Gale given further two-match ban

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale has been banned for the first two matches of the 2015 season after the ECB opted not to hold a formal hearing into allegations that he racially abused Ashwell Prince. Gale has admitted to "improper" conduct and will be required to take part in an anger management course.

The announcement amounts to an agreement between Yorkshire and the ECB that, while Gale's behaviour was unpleasant, he need not be branded a racist. Having conceded that his words "could have caused offence", Gale will miss the champion county match against MCC in Abu Dhabi and the first match of Yorkshire's Championship defence.

ESPNcricinfo had previously revealed that Gale's ban would be extended in return for the ECB sidelining the racial element of the case. Gale incurred an automatic two-match ban, due to a previous disciplinary breach, after being charged with a Level 2 offence for comments made to Prince in the Roses match at Old Trafford.

According to a statement from the ECB's Cricket Disciplinary Commision, Gale "acknowledges and deeply regrets that the words he used caused any offence and, in particular, that they could have caused offence as a result of the reference to the nationality of the person to whom they were made. Mr Gale wishes to express that this was absolutely not his intention."

Gale is understood to have sworn at Prince over the Lancashire batsman's time-wasting, telling him to "f*** off back to your own country, you Kolpak f******". Yorkshire rallied in response, giving Gale their full backing and bringing in lawyers to fight the case. As well as what is effectively a four-match ban, Gale was forced to miss the presentation of the Championship trophy after Yorkshire won the title at Trent Bridge.

Narine withdrawn by WICB from India tour

Croft: I'm not surprised about Narine

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has decided to withdraw offspinner Sunil Narine from the entire India tour. A WICB spokesperson confirmed to ESPNCricinfo that Narine was being called back home after the CLT20 banned him from bowling having called his action illegal.

Clive Lloyd, the chairman of the West Indies selection panel, had said on Friday that the decision on whether Narine would remain in India for West Indies' upcoming limited-overs series' would be made in consultation with the WICB "in a day or so". Narine was suspended from bowling in the Champions League Twenty20 on Thursday, and is ineligible to play in the tournament's final on Saturday.

Suggesting that corrective measures to his action, if any were needed, should have been made earlier, Lloyd questioned the timing of Narine's suspension, saying the decision could be "destroying" to Narine and affect the team's chances on the forthcoming tour of India and in the World Cup.

From October 8, West Indies will play five ODIs and a T20 against India, before three Tests. Narine's bowling ban is restricted only to the Champions League and other BCCI-run tournaments like the IPL, but the decision to remove him from the tour means scrutiny on him has now extended into international cricket as well.

"I am very disappointed because he is an exciting cricketer," Lloyd said on Friday, at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, where West Indies played a warm-up game. Lloyd made his comments before the decision had been taken. "The point is, just like [Muttiah] Muralitharan, because your action is different, doesn't mean that you are throwing.

"We have to take a look at things and assess the situation. We don't want to make any rash decision as such. We will discuss it. The board [WICB] will probably take it from there. We will have to inform the board. We can't take decisions just like that. They have to be informed."

The West Indies squad leaves Mumbai on October 6 for Kochi, which will host the first ODI on October 8.

Lloyd said the WICB and the West Indies team management had been told that Narine would be under the scanner in India by a source whose identity he would not disclose. "Before we came here we were told that they were going to call Narine, so it's quite obvious that something must have been said somewhere," he said. "I really can't tell you that [who it was] but I can tell you it's a highly reliable source, because we have to make contingency plans for things like that just in case it happens," Lloyd said, adding that the West Indies cricket fraternity would back Narine.

Lamenting the timing of the suspension, "just before an important series against India and the World Cup that follows", Lloyd said he could not really understand the need to raise questions over the legality of Narine's action when "he has been bowling in the same manner" for years.

"He has been bowling over the years with the same sort of action. Now all of a sudden it has changed. What has changed, I don't know," Lloyd said. "You can't just ban him from bowling just before an important tour like this and with the World Cup coming up. It destroys the individual's ability as such and I think you may end up destroying someone's career.

"This guy has been doing well playing for KKR for the last three years. If you look at his action, he has been doing pretty much the same and I want to know what is it that has been found that they ban him and not say something like, 'Listen, you have a bit of a problem and you have to rectify it.'"

Lloyd compared the situation with that of Pakistan offspinner Saeed Ajmal, who has been suspended from bowling in international cricket. "All of a sudden, this guy [Narine] who is supposed to be one of the best bowlers around - like Ajmal for that matter, how many Test wickets does Ajmal have? - and all of a sudden his bowling action is suspect. My point is something should be done before all this comes to this point.

"It can destroy a team. You want to know if this is being orchestrated because if you lose your main bowler then it puts some pressure on the selectors and the team and so on."

Lloyd also questioned the Champions League T20 regulations and procedure, which has proven to be rather ambiguous.

"Nobody has told us anything. Nobody has written a letter. That is the thing about it. Something should be said to us. We are left high and dry. All of a sudden, the guy is not playing in a tournament he has played for the last three years. What are you then saying about the tournament then? Are you saying that the tournament has probably previously allowed people who have got bad actions to play?"

Asked if the ICC, which has been tightlipped over the issue since it doesn't govern the Champions League, should step in and get in touch with the WICB, Lloyd sad he hoped it happened soon. "I think it's wrong the way they have gone about it and I have been involved in the ICC for years [as a match referee and technical committee chief] and I think you cannot just ban a guy just like that. This is a guy who has played for us all over the world, not only in the West Indies. All of a sudden, this guy has got a suspect action. I am not happy, I would like to strongly say that."

Kumar Dharmasena, a leading umpire on the ICC Elite Panel, has been involved in three of the four cases of suspect actions being reported in Champions League. So, Lloyd said, he was not sure if that indirectly meant Narine would be reported in international cricket.

With the ICC taking a hard stance on illegal actions in the last six months, the WICB was likely to be wary. Ian Gould, another Elite Panel umpire, will be one of the match officials for the ODI series in India. Gould was among the umpires who reported offspinners Sachithra Senanayake and Ajmal, both of whom were later banned from bowling in international cricket, earlier this year.

Grayson questions umpires on Ajmal

Paul Grayson, the Essex head coach, said English umpires should have called Saeed Ajmal for chucking this season.

Ajmal played a key role in helping Worcestershire to promotion in the County Championship but Grayson said his Essex side would have won promotion instead if umpires had been brave enough to report Ajmal.

In nine Championship matches this season, Ajmal's action was not officially questioned and he helped Worcestershire to five victories and four draws with key performances that saw his side top the Division Two table for most of the season, much to the surprise of most observers.

But on international duty for Pakistan, Ajmal's action was reported almost immediately on their tour of Sri Lanka and he was subsequently banned from bowling by the ICC.

"I wish one of our English umpires had the bravery to call him early season," Grayson said, having seen his side fall eight points short of second-placed Worcestershire. "He's been called for chucking; it's illegal.

"Speaking to a lot of umpires on the circuit, they all talk about him chucking it, but whether they had that support from the ECB; I'm not sure why they weren't prepared to call him."

It was thought Ajmal would merely prop up Worcestershire who were largely expected to struggle in the Championship last season. But instead his 63 wickets 16.47 saw Worcestershire only miss out on the Division Two title during the final round of the season.

"I've no doubt that if Worcestershire didn't have Ajmal, we would have gone up this year," Grayson told BBC Essex. "They've struggled in the second half of the season when he was supposed to be away with Pakistan.

"I don't want to sound like we're being bitter, but I do believe we should have gone up this year."

2014 was the second year in succession Essex have finished third in the table having entered the final round of matches with a chance of promotion. It consigned them to a fifth year in Division Two having been relegated in 2010.

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes subsequently said the club would welcome back Ajmal to New Road next season if he is cleared to bowl again by the ICC.

Can Cooper barrel into contention?

Tom Cooper is in elite company. His one-day international average of 48.80 is higher than that of Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke and Dean Jones. It's not quite up to Michael Bevan levels, and of current Australians George Bailey is also ahead of him, but there is no doubt that Cooper's figures are impressive.

The only thing is, all his runs have been scored for the Netherlands. That in turn means the majority have come against other associate nations - his top five scores all been at the expense of either Afghanistan or Scotland. There was an unbeaten World Cup fifty against West Indies in 2011, and 47 against England in the same tournament, but opportunities against top nations are scarce.

Cooper hopes that will change one day, for as much as he has learnt from going Dutch, he would rather wear the yellow of Australia than the orange of the Netherlands. Or, better still, a baggy green. To that end, he hopes that 2014-15 will be a repeat of his strong 2013-14 season, a summer in which he was second only to Marcus North on the Sheffield Shield run tally with 881 at 51.82.

But first comes the Matador Cup, the one-day tournament that begins on Saturday and runs through most of October. Cooper was among the top 10 run scorers in the competition last year, with 294 at 49.00, and his efforts across both formats earned him an Australia A call-up this winter. Now he has to ensure that last year was not an anomaly.

"It doesn't matter if you do well one year and not the next," Cooper told ESPNcricinfo. "The challenge for me this year is to go out and do it all again. I had some decent form in the Australia A series and now just chomping at the bit to get into the season and hopefully re-enact what happened last year."

Cooper's Australia A selection led to an unbeaten one-day century in Darwin, and a pair of first-class half-centuries against South Africa A in Townsville. But he knows that big hundreds are required to take his game to the next level, the kind of scores his South Australia team-mate Phillip Hughes keeps accumulating match after match, season after season.

"That's where I'd like to take my game," Cooper said. "It's just a matter of consistently scoring those runs and once you get a start, turn them into big scores. There's no better example than what Hughesy has done over the last couple of months and forcing his way back into the side. It's unbelievable what he's done. It makes you want to do it yourself."

But there are some things Cooper has done that Hughes has not: played in a World Cup and a World T20. They were opportunities that arrived through the fact that his mother, Berni, is from the Netherlands. In fact, it was her idea that Cooper apply for an EU passport to make it easier to travel in Europe and perhaps play county cricket, and from there he was rapidly propelled into the Dutch side.

"I had no idea up until six or seven years ago, Mum mentioned the idea more for the travel side of things than cricket," he said. "It's been a great opportunity to play in a couple of World Cups and experience things that not many people get to experience in their life. It doesn't get any bigger on the world stage than that.

"Just to compete against the best teams in the world, if you play against South Africa and see how AB de Villiers goes about his game, and just being there watching them play and prepare, and getting to rate yourself at that level. If you do well it gives you a lot of confidence to know what you're doing and that you're somewhere around the mark."

The tournament nature of the World Cup will be reflected in the Matador Cup again this year; it begins on Saturday, when South Australia take on New South Wales at Allan Border Field in Brisbane, and defending champions Queensland host Victoria at the Gabba. Then for the next three weeks, it's all one-day cricket before the Sheffield Shield begins on October 31.

Given Cooper's success in the Shield last summer, and the fact that new Test batsmen such as George Bailey and Alex Doolan have failed to fully grasp their opportunities, it is not out of the question that he could find himself in contention for a baggy green over the next year. If that were to happen, he would have to forgo the Dutch orange, but it would not be a hard decision to make.

"As a kid it's always been a dream to play for Australia," he said "I've been fortunate that I've been able to have so many experiences with the Dutch and get a taste of it. But as a kid, playing for Australia was that No.1 goal that I wanted to do and still want to do."

Mills declines 'attractive' Essex offer

Tymal Mills, the left-arm fast bowler, has turned down an "attractive" new contract with Essex.

He has had an injury-hit career since making his debut against the Sri Lankans in 2011, managing just 29 first-class matches to date where he has taken 52 wickets at 35.59 although has often been touted as an England prospect.

In 2013 he gave England a scare when he struck Graeme Swann on the hand during the warm-up match involving Essex and was also taken to Australia to bowl in the nets at the start of the return Ashes in an attempt to prepare for facing Mitchell Johnson.

Mills made six Championship match appearances in 2014 before a back injury in late July limited him to just one subsequent outing.

"It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to leave Essex. I want to thank the club for giving me my introduction into professional cricket and in particular to John Childs, for my time spent on the Academy, and then Chris Silverwood, who has helped me no end since turning Professional.

"I am excited for the next chapter in my career and wish the club all the best moving forward."

Paul Grayson, the Essex head coach, told the club's website: "We are of course disappointed that Tymal has decided to leave the club, especially as he is one of our own from the Essex Academy.

"There was an attractive new contract offer on the table for him but he has decided to reject and continue his career with a new club."

Marshall 57 sets up series-clinching win

Bangladesh A 239 (Marshall 57, Litton 46, Muzarabani 4-33) beat Zimbabwe A 208 (Sibanda 37, Waller 52) by 32 runs
Scorecard

Bangladesh A clinched the three-match unofficial ODI series over Zimbabwe A with a 31-run win in Fatullah. They made a successful comeback to win 2-1, going down by 17 runs in the first game and winning the second one by six wickets.

Batting first, the home side were bowled out for 239 runs in 50 overs with captain Marshall Ayub scoring 57 off 78 balls with six fours. After the openers Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das added exactly 50 for the first wicket, Marshall saw three more wickets fall until joined by Mosaddek Hossain in the 28th over.

They added a 54 for the fifth wicket before Marshall was out 61 balls into the partnership. Mosaddek made 25 while Farhad Reza and Nurul Hasan contributed 32 and 19 respectively. For Zimbabwe, pace bowler Taurai Muzarabani took four wickets while Tafadzwa Kamungozi picked up two.

In reply, Zimbabwe A slipped to 68 for 4 in the 17th over and the innings never had any momentum as only one batsman carried past 50 and no one put together a decent partnership until the ninth-wicket pair of Luke Jongwe and Tafadzwa Kamungozi added 44 runs. Malcolm Waller top-scored with 52 while Jongwe made an unbeaten run-a-ball 35. Elias Sunny and Mominul Haque took three wickets each for Bangladesh A.

Rohit set to miss West Indies ODIs

Rohit Sharma, who missed the Champions League Twenty20 due to multiple injuries, will be unavailable for the limited-overs' leg of India's home series against the West Indies. Rohit is likely to be available for the three-Test series, starting October 30, that follows the five ODIs and one-off T20.

Rohit was initially ruled out for four weeks, which meant he could have recovered in time for the last two ODIs and the T20 game. But though his fractured finger has healed, it is understood he will take three more weeks to recover from his shoulder injury. Sharma is being monitored by BCCI physios at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

It is also understood that neither the player nor the selectors are willing to rush him back to international cricket considering the major assignments that follow the West Indies series. The selectors and the team management believe Rohit will be a vital cog during India's winter tour to Australia and the World Cup to be staged in Australia and New Zealand in February-March. As a result, he will not be considered for selection for the first leg of the series against West Indies. The ODI and T20 squads will be named on October 4.

Ajinkya Rahane, who scored his maiden ODI century while filling in for Rohit in England, should continue to partner Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order, while the selectors are likely to persist with Murali Vijay as the back-up opener.

Rohit could be asked to prove his match fitness before he is selected for the Test series. If he recovers as per schedule, Rohit could feature in the Duleep Trophy semi-final if West Zone beat East Zone in their quarterfinal. If West Zone do not qualify for the Duleep semis, Rohit might be selected in the Board President's XI, which will face the West Indians in a three-day tour game in Kanpur from October 25.

Rohit played only one of India's five Tests in England and had to cut short his tour after fracturing his finger in the field during the second ODI.

Bird, Arafat sign for Hampshire

Hampshire have announced two overseas signings for 2015, with Jackson Bird joining for the first half of the season and Yasir Arafat set to play limited-overs cricket.

Bird, who has played three Tests for Australia, will be available in all formats for three months ahead of his potential involvement in the Ashes. His ability to swing the red ball will be valuable in April and May, with Hampshire returning to Division One of the Championship. Bird was due to play for Northamptonshire this season but was prevented from appearing by injury.

Arafat will make Hampshire his sixth county - equalling Marcus North's record for an overseas player - and be available for Royal London Cup and T20 Blast games. Arafat played for Sussex in 2014 and has previously turned out for Kent, Lancashire, Somerset and Surrey.

The former Pakistan international, a regular in T20 competitions around the world, is married to an Englishwoman and lives in Kent but Giles White, Hampshire's director of cricket, suggested Arafat's "qualification status may allow him to play as a local during his time with us".

"We're delighted to have Jackson and Yasir on board for next season - they will both add a lot of quality to our bowling attack and hopefully they will help us build on a successful 2014 season," White said.

"Jackson comes highly recommended and at a time of the year that is likely to suit his style of bowling, we are looking forward to having him about and hope he has a positive influence on our return to Division One. Yasir has the flexibility to play all of our one-day cricket, boasts an excellent record and has committed to the club for further campaigns."

South Africa seamer Kyle Abbott played a big role in Hampshire's 2014 promotion campaign, taking 36 wickets at 20.33, and Hampshire could attempt to re-sign him for the second half of next season. Abbott's availability will be dependent on his involvement with South Africa, who are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka and Bangladesh during the English season.

"Kyle Abbott is someone we will continue to keep in touch with as he fitted into the group exceptionally well this year and has voiced a desire to return if international commitments allow," White said.

Umpire Ghouse dies aged 83

Mohammad Ghouse, who officiated in eight Tests and two ODIs in the 1970s and '80s, died in Chennai on Monday.

Ghouse, 83, made his first-class debut as an umpire in a Ranji Trophy match in 1968-69 and went on to officiate over 18 seasons. His first Test as an official was in his hometown, between India and New Zealand, in 1975-76.

Ghouse officiated at a time when the system of neutral umpires didn't exist. As a result, he was involved in a controversy when England protested against his appointment for the Mumbai Test in the winter of 1981. When India objected to David Constant's appointment for the first Test in England the following year, it was considered to be payback from the Indian establishment.

After Ghouse retired as an umpire, he served as the chairman of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's umpires sub-committee and as a BCCI match referee. On behalf of TNCA members, president N Srinivasan expressed "profound sorrow and grief" at his demise.

Prince set to play on for Lancashire

Ashwell Prince, the former South Africa batsman, is set to reverse his decision to retire and instead play on with Lancashire in 2015. Prince, who was Lancashire's leading run-scorer this season despite their relegation, had previously announced that this would be his final campaign.

"As a player, you feel partly responsible for going down," he told the Manchester Evening News. "There's still a bit of fight left in the old boy so I'd like to help the club get back to where they belong."

Prince's Lancashire team-mates had been attempting to get him to change his mind after another season topping the county's Championship run-scoring list. He has scored more than 4000 runs for Lancashire since first representing them in 2009 and made his highest first-class score of 257 not out against Northamptonshire at Old Trafford in June.

Having not played a Test for South Africa since 2011, Prince was able to return to Lancashire as a Kolpak player in 2013 on a two-year deal. His status was at the bottom of an ongoing disciplinary case involving the Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale, who is accused of racially abusing Prince.

The controversy surrounding the ECB's pursuit of Gale has not deterred Prince, who had announced his planned retirement in March, from changing his mind.

"When you arrive in April, having had five back-to-back seasons home and away, it's quite taxing on the body," Prince said. "At the start of the summer, I was quite tired. I thought, at the end of the season, that's definitely going to be it. But I'd like to think there's a bit of life left. There's definitely some fight left."

Lancashire, champions in 2011, were relegated the following season and went straight back down this year after winning Division Two. The club have yet to appoint a successor as coach to Peter Moores and may also have to replace Glen Chapple as captain, if the 40-year-old decides to retire. They will, however, be able to build their batting around the ever-reliable Prince for another season.

"It's not going to be easy," Prince said. "There's been some big clubs trying to get back up into the first division. Fortunately, the last time we went down, we came straight back up."

Sunil Narine reported for suspect action

Kolkata Knight Riders offspinner Sunil Narine has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action following his side's 36-run win over Dolphins in the Champions League Twenty20 Group A match on Monday evening in Hyderabad.

The charge was laid by on-field umpires Anil Chaudhary and Chettihody Shamshuddin along with third umpire Kumar Dharmasena and specifically relates to Narine's quicker ball. Under CLT20 guidelines, Narine may request for an official assessment from the BCCI's suspect bowling action committee. Narine has been placed on the tournament's 'warning list' but will still be able to play. However, if he is reported again while still on the warning list, he will be suspended from bowling for the remainder of the tournament.

Narine claimed figures of 3 for 33 in his four-over spell during the win over Dolphins. The Knight Riders next match will be in the tournament semi-finals on October 2. He is the fourth bowler to be reported during the tournament, joining Mohammed Hafeez and Adnan Rasool of Lahore Lions and Prenelan Subrayen of Dolphins. Being reported in the CLT20 has no impact on a bowler's participation in international cricket.

Narine is currently the leading wicket-taker in this year's CLT20 with 11 wickets in four games at an average of 7.45, also the best in the tournament. He also has the most wickets in the six-year history of the CLT20, accumulating 38 in 19 matches, eight more than Dwayne Bravo and Doug Bollinger. Narine's career bowling average of 8.81 in the CLT20 is almost a full eight runs better than Lasith Malinga, the next best bowler on the list who holds average of 16.40 for his 25 wickets, while Narine's CLT20 career economy rate of 4.61 is more than a full run better than Brett Lee in second place at 5.71.

Chakabva ton sets up Zimbabwe A win

Zimbabwe A 253 for 6 (Chakabva 132, Sibanda 52) beat Bangladesh A 236 (Islam 66, Sarkar 56, Kamungozi 4-24) by 17 runs
Scorecard

Regis Chakabva's maiden List A century helped Zimbabwe A to a 17-run win over Bangladesh A in the first one-day match in Fatullah. This is the visiting side's first win on tour after going down 2-0 in the two-match unofficial Test series.

Chakabva's 132 off 144 balls, with 13 boundaries and three sixes, was the backbone and enforcer of Zimbabwe A's 253 for 6 in 50 overs.

During his stay, Chakabva added 83 for the opening wicket with Brian Chari, 42 with Timycen Maruma for the third wicket and 120 for the fifth wicket with the captain Vusi Sibanda, who struck 52 off 67 balls with four boundaries and a six.

The home side were dealt an early blow when Abul Hasan, making a comeback from a back injury that put him out for 18 months, had to go off after bowling just 2.5 overs due to a neck injury. Legpsinner Jubair Hossain and Mominul Haque took two wickets each.

In reply, Bangladesh lost most of their top order by the 11th over, after which one of the openers, Soumya Sarkar added 63 for the fourth wicket with Naeem Islam. Sarkar made 56 off 80 balls while Islam top scored with an 85-ball 66 that had five boundaries. Islam added 56 for the fifth wicket with Mosaddek Hossain who fell short of a fifty by just one run.

He added 70 rapid runs for the seventh wicket with Elias Sunny but once the latter fell in the 48th over, Bangladesh A had a mini-collapse that stalled the momentum created by Sunny and Mosaddek and ultimately cost them.

For Zimbabwe A, legbreak bowler Tafadzwa Kamungozi took four wickets while Tawanda Mupariwa and Cuthbert Musoko also chipped in with three and two wickets respectively.

BCB allows Nadir Shah to officiate in match

The Bangladesh Cricket Board allowed umpire Nadir Shah to officiate in a domestic T20 match on September 28, 18 months after giving him a ten-year ban on allegations of corruption. Shah stood in the semi-final of the Dhaka First Division Cricket League T20 competition, a BCB-run tournament.

Shah had been banned in March 2013 based on charges alleged by a TV sting operation in 2012.

The BCB said that, during the last four months, it had been awaiting an ICC directive on Shah, although it did not announce a lifting of the ban.

The ICC, on the other hand, said it had nothing to do with the BCB's decision to ban Shah. An ICC spokesman said: "Nadir Shah was banned for 10 years by the Bangladesh Cricket Board and not by the ICC. This is neither an issue of the ICC nor its ACSU.‎ The ban has been imposed by the BCB, so it is an issue for it."

Sailab Hossain Tutul, member-secretary of the BCB's umpires committee, said there was no ICC restriction on Shah and the board had informed the ACSU that he would be allowed to umpire in domestic matches. "There was no ICC restriction on him. It was the BCB's suspension and the BCB has withdrawn it," Tutul said. "The BCB withdrew the ban on him in the board meeting after the World T20 [in May].

"We had informed ACSU in February-March this year that we are allowing him to umpire in domestic [cricket]. But they didn't reply. The [BCB's] executive board withdrew it. He wanted mercy. He was considered for his length of service."

Tutul also said that Shah had been assigned the match soon after he arrived in Bangladesh after spending three months in the US.

"There was no cricket in the interim [since May]," he said. "When the domestic season began here, he was abroad. We gave him this opportunity as soon as he arrived back in the country. From now on, he will get more matches to officiate."

Shah was given a standing ovation by the match referee, scorers, umpires, players and officials of Indira Road Krira Chakra and BKSP in the semi-final. He said that Tutul had informed him of the lifting of the ban last June, while he has also received a letter from Bangladesh Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association (BCUSA) which informed him of the BCB's decision.

"I am still waiting for the letter from BCB," Shah told ESPNcricinfo. "But I got a letter from the umpires association (BCUSA) which helped me umpire in California earlier this year. Back in June, Tutul called me to say that my ban has been lifted by the BCB."

Shah's ban had come after a sting broadcast by India TV, claimed to have "exposed" several first-class umpires from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan who were allegedly willing to give decisions favouring players for a fee. In the sting conducted in July and August 2012, the reporters claimed to belong to a sports management company and promised the umpires officiating assignments in events of all kinds around the world, largely domestic Twenty20 leagues.

All three national boards announced investigations following the broadcast. The BCB conducted a detailed investigation into the matter, with two committees being formed, after which Shah was banned and another Bangladeshi umpire was acquitted.

Knights and Lions seal big wins

Some parts of South Africa skipped straight over spring into summer with temperatures soaring to 30 degrees in the first few weeks of September. The same did not apply to surfaces for the opening round of the first-class competition, which was played on spicy pitches which allowed fast bowlers to dominate the early exchanges.

In Bloemfontein, the Knights survived being sliced down to 32 for 8 in their first innings to beat the Warriors by 128 runs, thanks to a strong all-round showing from 21-year old Corne Dry, and a century from wicket-keeper batsman Rudi Second.

Andrew Birch, Wayne Parnell and Basheer Walters took advantage of ample movement on offer in the usually placid Chevrolet Park pitch to cripple the Knights. Only one of their top eight managed to get into double figures and five were dismissed without scoring before Dry and Quinton Friend staged a recovery. They put on 98 runs for the ninth-wicket and both scored half-centuries in quick time, but the Knights were still dismissed for a below par score of 140.

They would have felt substantially better about their total when they had the Warriors 88 for 9 before the first day was over. Dry helped himself to a five-for while for Warriors, only Colin Ingram managed a respectable score of 24. Overnight, the Warriors trailed by four runs and they added only one before being dismissed early on the second day.

Conditions improved for batting as the match went on and the Knights coped better in their second essay. Rilee Rossouw scored 44, but the innings was built around Second, who became the competition's first centurion. The Knights' tail wagged again with Friend partnering Second to put on 75 for the ninth-wicket.

The Warriors lost Parnell to a shoulder injury, but their offspinner Simon Harmer was among the wickets. They were set a tough target of 331 but with plenty of time left in the game, would have wanted to give themselves a chance to get close. At 36 for 3, that seemed out of the question. Dry took two of the first three wickets and it was then up to Werner Coetsee to finish off. Only JJ Smuts resisted with 62, and the Warriors lost inside three days.

In Johannesburg , the Titans dragged the Jukskei derby into a fourth day but were outplayed by a strong Lions pack. Quicks Hardus Viljoen and Chris Morris shared 15 wickets between them to ensure the Titans were unable to get over 200 in either innings. Viljoen seven-for in the second innings, included 6 for 25 in 50 balls on the fourth morning and saw him share the Man-of-the-Match award with Quinton de Kock who produced half-centuries in both innings.

The Wanderers did not prove too dangerous early on. The Lions had a solid start through half-centuries from Stephen Cook, Temba Bavuma and de Kock, despite Marchant de Lange's three wickets. Although none of their batsmen got into three figures, they all contributed to a total of 401 of which Under-19 World Cup winner Kagiso Rabada scored 48.

Lions seized the advantage midway through the second day when Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Viljoen and Morris dismissed the Titans top-order. At 47 for 4, the Titans did not have the start they wanted from Test opener Dean Elgar, and had to rely on Farhaan Behardien to marshal the middle order. Behardien had support from Mangaliso Mosehle and Roelof van der Merwe, but Morris' four-for gave the Lions a 204-run first innings lead.

The Titans threatened a mini comeback when they kept the Lions 37 for 4, but de Kock and Thami Tsolekile recovered well and scored briskly to allow the Lions to declare on 155 for 5 on the third day. The Titans were 50 for 4 overnight, again without substantial contributions from their top order and it was only a matter of time before Lions secured the win on the final day.

Viljoen ensured it did not take too long. He took all six wickets, leaving Behardien stranded on 71. Mosehle was the only other batsmen among the runs and managed 42 but the Titans have to work to do ahead of their meeting with the Warriors next week. The other match sees the two victors from this weekend, the Lions and Knights, face off in Potchefstroom.

All-round Peshawar Panthers clinch T20 title

Peshawar Panthers 134 for 3 (Iftikhar 50*) beat Lahore Lions 133 for 9 (Imam-ul-Haq 52*, Wali 3-30) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Peshawar Panthers put in a fine all-round showing to defeat Lahore Lions by seven wickets in the final of the Haier T20 Cup. Panthers finish the tournament unbeaten.

Lions had the advantage of winning the toss, and decided to bat. However, their batsmen didn't justify the decision, with most of them struggling for momentum. They went at over a run-a-ball in only one of their six Powerplay overs to start with, and that set the pace for the innings. Kamran Akmal struggled in particular, managing only 4 off 10 before edging behind. He and the other opener, Abid Ali, were dismissed off successive deliveries, by left-arm pacer Taj Wali.

By the halfway stage of their innings, Lions had only got to 55. That they got past the 130-run mark was mainly down to a brisk half-century from No. 3 Imam-ul-Haq. He ended not out on 52 off 41, with six fours, but a lack of support from the other end meant Lions could only manage a below-par 133 for 9.

Panthers' innings was more a team affair, with all of the top order contributing cameos to get the team home with four balls to spare. While No. 3 Iftikhar Ahmed top scored with 50 not out, it was the openers - Rafatullah Mohmand and Israrullah - who had ensured any hopes Lions had of sneaking back into the game were well and truly snuffed out with an explosive start to the chase.

The pair added 43 runs in four overs, hitting ten boundaries between them. By the end of their Powerplay, Panthers needed just 77 more at 5.50 an over, and so it was a canter.

Rogers hopes to finish at Middlesex

Middlesex were able to breathe a sigh of relief after clinging into Division One status, but are now preparing for life without Chris Rogers, their top-order rock, who is likely to miss next season due to international commitments.

However, while the club will need to scour the world for a replacement - no easy task these days - Rogers gave a clear indication that he wanted to see out his first-class days with the county which helped him forge a belated Test career.

Australia have a tour of West Indies next May before travelling to England for the Ashes which will run until late August meaning there is unlikely to be a feasible window for Rogers to play but, speaking after a day spent in various stages of anxiety as his lower order held on at Old Trafford, he reiterated his affinity for Middlesex

"I owe England and county cricket a lot," he said, "I'd like to finish my career here."

At Rogers' age there is always the risk that an international career can end more quickly than a younger player, but he has made four hundreds in 13 Tests since being recalled for the Ashes in England last year and is inked in for Australia's home summer against India.

Angus Fraser, the Middlesex director cricket, admitted the task of replacing Rogers would be a priority in the off-season.

"We've been very lucky we've had Chris for the last four years - he's been magnificent as a player and a captain - but there's a very good chance of him being away next year. We've got to fill that role, which is something that will occupy a lot of our time."

Rogers was comfortably Middlesex's leading run-scorer in the Championship with 1333 at 55.54 although Dawid Malan had a solid season with 1137 at 45.38. Eoin Morgan averaged over 45 from 11 matches, but Sam Robson dipped under 40 after his lean end to the summer.

Rogers referred to a "soft underbelly" being one of Middlesex's problems which could well have been referring to Neil Dexter and Joe Denly who averaged 28.15 and 23.35 respectively with just one hundred between them although Dexter played a role with the ball.

As to how Middlesex were drawn into the relegation tussle after briefly being top following four early wins, Fraser pinpointed an abandoned Championship game against Sussex and their poor white-ball form knocking confidence.

"We didn't play very well in one-day cricket. We weren't appalling, but lost a lot of games - a lot of them narrowly - and it drew real momentum out of the squad," he said. "You suddenly find yourself on the back foot, defending your position all the time, rather than looking to build on things.

"We just got in a bit of a hole, and weren't able to get out of it and win games of cricket. Middlesex's middle order has been questioned a lot of times, but I think we had a period where we didn't bowl as well as we could. The pitches flattened out, and we found it hard to take 20 wickets in a match."

Middlesex will hope that Ravi Patel, the left-arm spinner who had a taste of England Lions this season, continues to develop - although he will need to be given a regular spot in the team, even during early-summer conditions - but they are unlikely to see as much of Steven Finn if his return to England set-up continues to gather pace between now and next April.

Panthers and Lions make way into final

Fast bowler Imran Khan held his nerve in the final over of the match to restrict Sialkot Stallions to just five runs, as Peshawar Panthers won by six runs to make the final.

Chasing 157, Stallions needed 12 off the last over, but Imran's first two deliveries were dot balls. Immediately put on the back foot, Bilawal Bhatti swung around for a big shot, but could only manage a two. Bhatti and Shakeel Ansar exchanged singles with the next two balls, meaning that Bhatti had to hit the last ball for six to tie the game. However, he could only flick a slower ball away to fine leg for another single.

Stallions had done well to recover from a shaky start that saw both Mukhtar Ahmed and Haris Sohail dismissed inside two overs. Shahid Yousuf led a counterattack by striking a 35-ball 56 and adding 80 for the third wicket with Mansoor Amjad. However three quick wickets inside five overs, including that of Yousuf's, hampered Stallions' momentum and the lower-order batsmen could not produce the desired acceleration to guide the team home.

Panthers, having been inserted, had made 156 for 7 from their 20 overs. Their innings was built around crucial knocks from Rafatullah Mohmand (35), Adil Amin (34) and Zohaib Khan (30), which kept the team ticking at more than seven an over. Zohaib later capped off a fine all-round display by picking up two crucial wickets to dent Stallions' chase. With all his bowling partners coming out with expensive figures, seamer Hasan Ali stood out for Stallions and finished with figures of 4-0-21-2.

A four-wicket burst from left-arm pacer Mohammad Aftab meant it will be Lahore Lions who take on Panthers in the final on Sunday. He knocked the top off the Multan Tigers' batting, to put his team on their way to a nine-run win, on the same day the other Lahore Lions team enjoyed success at the Champions League T20.

Aftab claimed four of the top five Tigers' batsmen to reduce them to 35 for 4 in a steep chase of 180. While a couple of partnerships of 40-something followed, the damage done at the top was enough to hold off Tigers. Rizwan Haider with 42 off 25 and Naved Yasin with a more sedate 39 off 31 were the biggest contributors for Tigers.

Fast bowler Mohammad Irfan had jolted Lions in the very first over, earlier on, getting Abid Ali for a duck. However half-centuries from Kamran Akmal and Imam-ul-Haq made sure the innings stayed on track. The pair added 114 in 11 overs, with Akmal top scoring with 77 off 43. His innings included 11 fours and three sixes, and set Lions on their way to 179 for 7, which proved to be enough in the end.

Super Kings move closer to semifinals with 13-run win

Chennai Super Kings 155 for 6 (Jadeja 44*, Dhoni 35) beat Perth Scorchers 142 for 7 (Coulter-Nile 30, Ashwin 3-20) by 13 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Having made a slow start on a slow Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch, a late-overs blitz from Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni muscled Chennai Super Kings to what proved an amply defendable target, and moved the team a step closer to a semi-final spot. From 69 for 4 at the end of the 14th over, Super Kings more than doubled their score, clouting 86 runs off a ragged Perth Scorchers attack in their last six overs.

That point on, there were no more swings in momentum. From the moment Craig Simmons under-edged a slog into Dhoni's gloves in the third over of Scorchers' chase, wickets fell regularly. With dew barely making an appearance under the lights, the pitch remained sluggish, and the scoring rate was somnolent.

Scorchers made 35 in the Powerplay overs, and were still going along at under six an over at the 10-over mark. By then, they had lost Mitchell Marsh, probably the batsman Super Kings feared the most in the line-up. Having been caught behind off a no-ball in the ninth over, he top-edged a sweep against R Ashwin in the tenth, holing out at deep square leg.

Scorchers had beaten Dolphins in their first match of the tournament courtesy Marsh, who had struck back-to-back sixes when 12 had been required off the last two balls of their run-chase. The only glimmer that Scorchers would be able to force a similar finish came when Ashton Turner and Nathan Coulter-Nile added 50 for the sixth wicket in 33 balls, leaving them needing 33 from 13 balls, but then Turner was run-out trying to sneak a bye, and Mohit Sharma and Dwayne Bravo sealed a comfortable win for Super Kings with their slower balls in the last two overs.

For most part, Super Kings' batsmen had struggled just as much after they were sent in by Adam Voges, the Scorchers captain. The dismissals of their openers - Brendon McCullum chopping Joel Paris on, Dwayne Smith slogging across the line of a slower ball - spoke of their difficulty in coming to terms with the pitch, and the loss of Suresh Raina to a run-out sucked out even more momentum.

The spinners tied down Mithun Manhas and Dwayne Bravo - Brad Hogg looked particularly difficult to get away, with the batsmen straining to pick his variations - and the pair added 23 in 34 painstaking deliveries. Jadeja's entry, following Manhas' dismissal in the 12th over, didn't immediately spark Super Kings to life: their boundary drought, which began early in the sixth over, lasted till Bravo swung Turner away over the midwicket boundary off the first ball of the 15th over. He lofted him down the ground for four and was bowled immediately after, but those two big blows signalled the start of Super Kings' revival.

Dhoni swatted an Arafat full-toss away for a big six over the leg side in the 17th over and Hogg, who had seemed unhittable till then, went for 14 in his final over as Jadeja charged him and swung him over long-off and wide of long-on for a four and a six.

Super Kings' run-rate, though, was still just six an over, and it took a truly gargantuan over for 150 to even become a speck on the horizon. It came off the bowling of Arafat, who lost his length and lost the plot. Twenty-seven came off the over, the last three balls of which Dhoni sent sailing over the leg side boundary. The second of these sixes disappeared over the roof of the stadium and the word 'immeasurable' appeared on the big screen. The person keying in the text was referring to the distance of the hit; he or she might as well have been talking about its game-changing impact.

Hafeez reported for suspect action

Lahore Lions offspinner Mohammad Hafeez has been reported for a suspect bowling action by the umpires, following the team's Champions League T20 match against Dolphins in Bangalore on Saturday evening. Dolphins offspinner Prenelan Subrayen was also reported.

Under Champions League guidelines, both players could request for an official assessment from the BCCI's suspect bowling action committee. For now, while they can continue to play for their teams without assessment, they have been placed on the tournament's 'warning list' as per its rules. If they are reported again, while still on the warning list, the players will be suspended from bowling in the tournament - and in any cricket organised by the BCCI - until their actions are cleared.

The reports were made by umpires Kumar Dharamsena, Vineet Kulkarni and Anil Chaudhary, who had officiated in the Dolphins-Lions match. Both bowlers had opened the bowling for their sides and gone on to bowl a full quota of four overs. While Hafeez claimed 2 for 18 as Lions successfully defended 164, Subrayen did not pick up wicket while conceding 39 runs.

Earlier Lions' Adnan Rasool, another offspinner, had also been reported. He has continued to turn out for his team.

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