O'Keefe pleased to be back in action after calf injury

Australia left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who is set to return from a lengthy injury layoff in the Tests in Sri Lanka later this month, has said a stint at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai helped him get warmed up for the series. O’Keefe, who last turned out for Australia in a Test against West Indies in Sydney in January, had been nursing a calf injury. He trained with 16 other Australians in Chennai for a week from July 4, including others from the squad for the Sri Lanka series: Joe Burns, Peter Nevill and Jackson Bird.”It was a really good opportunity to – a lot of the main guys had already been in the West Indies and had sort of acclimatised being able to play on slow wickets [in the Caribbean]. So for myself, Jackson Bird, Peter Nevill and Joe Burns, it was a really good opportunity to acclimatise and get used to what will probably be similar conditions in Sri Lanka,” O’Keefe said after the Australia players arrived in Sri Lanka.O’Keefe has not played competitive cricket since February, when he represented New South Wales against Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield. Training in Chennai offered him a chance to get relatively match fit, he said. “We were fortunate enough to be able to train with the MRF fast bowlers. We were also able to get a game in. For myself, I haven’t played for about four months, so it was great to be able to get 90 overs in these conditions and bowl 20 overs in a game scenario. It’s a really invaluable experience which puts me in a good position to turn up [in Sri Lanka] and hit the ground running.”We’ve got a really good, extended, pre-season, pre-tour before we play our first game, so I feel like I’m in a pretty good position, like the other guys are as well. I missed the end of the Shield season. I had plenty of time to get fit and go away from the game, but now I’m hungry and ready to play.”Australia have over two weeks before the first Test starts in Pallekele on July 26, which gives them ample time to familiarise themselves with the conditions. O’Keefe acknowledged two spinners could come into play in these conditions, and said he was happy to bowl alongside Australia’s first-choice Test spinner Nathan Lyon.”Steve Smith, the captain, always talks about being adaptable and assessing conditions as quickly as possible. I guess in these conditions, they’re going to spin a little bit more than at home, but that poses a whole different challenge in itself: how quickly you bowl, what kind of shape you put in the ball […] We’ve got 16 days before the first game, so we’ve got plenty of time to try a few things out, get yourself in a good place. And look, if there’s a need for two spinners, myself and Gazza [Nathan Lyon] are here, and I’ll be ready to go.”

BCCI issues guidelines to states to tackle age-fudging

In its drive to fight age-fudging at the junior level the BCCI has asked all state associations to apply regulations more stringently while admitting players at the Under-19 level. Starting from the 2016-17 season, players who enter competitive cricket at the Under-19 level will need to submit at least three documents to attest their date of birth, while the age-verification programme [AVP] and the Tanner-Whitehouse 3 method [TW3] to test bone maturity will continue to be implemented at the Under-16 level.”There are some cricketers who enter at the Under-19 age-group level. Such players should submit at least three documents to support their date of birth if they are to be considered to participate in the Under-19 tournaments directly without having entered the BCCI circuit at the Under-16 level,” Ajay Shirke, the BCCI secretary, said in an e-mail to the state associations on July 1.The move came after the BCCI decided last month, during a working committee meeting, that players who have represented India in one Under-19 World Cup cannot take part in another edition of the tournament, even if they meet the age criteria to do so.Age-fudging has always been a controversial topic and was in the headlines last December after former India captain Rahul Dravid, in his MAK Pataudi Memorial lecture, said the “scourge of overage players” in junior cricket was no different to “fixing and corruption.”Despite its efforts, the BCCI has been largely unsuccessful in tackling age-fudging and players have faked birth certificates to gain entry into junior cricket. According to Shirke, it was the responsibility of the state associations to put an end to the problem of fake certificates. “You are requested to discourage cricketers who submit birth certificates issued just a few years before,” his email said. “As per the Government of India rules, the birth has to be registered within one year of the birth of the child.”In 2012 the BCCI decided to adopt the Tanner-Whitehouse 3 method [TW3], which determines the age of a child based on the growth of bones in the hand, especially the wrist. The margin of error in this method is six months. Prior to that the BCCI had relied on the Greulich & Pyle method [GP method] at a certified hospital, but the margin of error in this method could be up to two years. In 2012, the BCCI also introduced the age-verification programme [AVP], which is overseen by Dr Vece Paes, a former Olympic hockey player and one of the leading sports medicine specialists in the country.Shirke said that both methods will be used to ensure player eligibility at the Under-16 level. “Under-16 is the formal entry point for players participating in the BCCI Junior Tournaments and they have to undergo age verification process to be eligible. The age-verification process involves bone rating – TW3 method. Only those who pass the bone rating are eligible to play in the Under-16 tournaments.”

Incoming coach should understand our culture – Dhoni

MS Dhoni has said the incoming coach of the Indian team needs to understand the players’ cultures and backgrounds to establish a good working relationship. Dhoni felt language wasn’t a barrier when he was asked if an Indian coach was desirable to ease bottlenecks in communication. One of the stipulations stated by the BCCI in its recruitment process for India’s head coach states: “It is desirable to communicate in Hindi and other regional Indian languages.””If you see the kind of players coming in, English, I don’t think, is a big barrier,” Dhoni said. “The other players in the team take the initiative, too. If someone doesn’t understand something, they ask ‘What does this mean?’ I feel it [knowledge of Hindi] can be [one of the] criteria, but it can’t be the only criteria.”More than Hindi, English, one who understands our culture and our upbringing, the one who understands these sort of things, he will always be better with us. In the past, too, these things have been important, and the coaches who have understood us better, it has made a difference at the ground level.”Dhoni said appointing the right candidate also depended on the options available, considering India’s hectic calendar. Former cricketers like Stephen Fleming and Ricky Ponting, who have coached IPL franchises successfully, have shied away from international assignments because of the amount of time they are required to spend away from home.”What is important is from a team’s requirement, what it needs. According to that, we have to select whoever is the best available,” Dhoni said. “It’s not like everyone wants to be the coach [and] there’s a reason behind it – you have your own family. It’s not like we are playing for six months and not playing for two months. We keep playing.”[For a] lot of international coaches, the problem is that we play a lot of cricket. From an availability point of view, we will have to see what is the best option and best for the team. One of the most important things is that they understand our culture.”The BCCI began the search for a head coach after the contracts of India team director Ravi Shastri, batting coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach B Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar – who were with the team since the ODI series in England in 2014 – expired after the World T20 in March. Bangar, however, was appointed coach for India’s tour of Zimbabwe, and Abhay Sharma, who most recently worked with the India Under-19s and A teams, was named fielding coach for the tour.The board has set June 10 as the deadline for candidates to apply for the role of India’s head coach, with the aim of appointing new long-term coaches by the time Virat Kohli’s team reaches the Caribbean for a four-Test series against West Indies, scheduled in July-August.

De Villiers best current batsman – Kohli

Virat Kohli has acknowledged AB de Villiers as the best current batsman, and lauded his composure under pressure after the South African’s 47-ball 79 helped Royal Challengers Bangalore qualify for their first IPL final since 2011. Royal Challengers had slumped to 68 for 6 in their chase of 159 against Gujarat Lions in the first Qualifier before de Villiers shared an unbroken 91-run stand with Iqbal Abdulla to carry his side home with 10 balls to spare.”Unbelievable, can’t believe I’m the winning captain,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “That should end a lot of debates as to who is the best going around. No question about it.”Come the big game, the big man stands up. I just bow down to him, that was probably one of the best knocks under pressure I’ve seen. So composed, taking Iqbal Abdulla along. He was really motivated to do it for the team. I’m really happy for him, I’m really happy for the whole team. Special credit to Iqbal as well, the way he got stuck with AB, that crucial partnership. That was wonderful composure to see from a young guy.”After having lost five of their first seven games, Royal Challengers were languishing in the bottom half of the table before winning six of their final seven matches, including a knockout game against Delhi Daredevils, to finish second in the league stage.”We have been playing good cricket coming into the playoffs, the guys wanted the opportunity,” Kohli said. “We’ve been speaking of guys wanting to step up every game. The top order didn’t do well. But AB, the class batsman that he is, I could see the opposition was worried about him, they wanted him out pretty badly because they know what he can do.”The first Qualifier was played on an atypical Bangalore pitch with the ball holding up in the surface and assisting the spinners. Kohli said a thin drizzle during the chase also helped Royal Challengers.”It did play a bit slow in the first half of the first innings. Second half it settled nicely. I wasn’t too unhappy about the few showers in between, it settled the wicket. The ball didn’t turn so much, it didn’t stop in the end. But high pressure game it doesn’t matter, you could be playing on a cement wicket. You need composure and that’s what AB de Villiers is.”

Fisher, Atkinson give Surrey the edge in de facto season showdown

, are more amenable to a reduction, though their members seem minded to disagree.The folly of it all is that this final also serves as a reminder of the wrangle for sporting integrity. This is the first time Surrey and Nottinghamshire have met this season, the pitfall of squaring a 10-team top division into 14 fixtures. Should they both end the season in the top-two spots, it would be the fourth season in a row that county champions and runners-up have squared up just the once.It is a quirk of circumstance given the previous three runners-up have all been different (Lancashire 2022, Essex 2023, Hampshire 2024). And a reflection of Surrey’s dominance and robust squad depth that they’ve prevailed in each of those previous seasons – traits which are no less apparent coming into the final eight days of this summer.Gus Atkinson, now England’s more than Surrey’s, was typically incisive for his 4 for 41. He is likely to be utilised as a load-bearing bowler for the winter’s Ashes, and got the ball rolling with the early removal of Nottinghamshire skipper Haseeb Hameed. But it was Matthew Fisher, brought in to cover for Atkinson’s international duties (and, as it turned out, absences through injury) who ended up leading the line with 5 for 61, his first five-wicket haul for Surrey after four previous such hauls for Yorkshire.Gus Atkinson made the breakthrough in the morning session•Getty Images for Surrey CCC

Fisher’s move down from Headingley to south London was a familiar story – a player hoping a new challenge will reignite a career that had looks to have struck a ceiling. By and large, it has, even if the numbers do not quite tell that story.It took nine innings for Fisher to reach double-figures for his new club, at the end of June, despite stitching together some good spells in that period. His efforts spoke of the promise that had brought about his one and only Test cap, on an unforgiving Bridgetown pitch and in even more unforgiving circumstances, given that he featured on that trip as a (premature) replacement for Stuart Broad and James Anderson.Now that that pair have finally left the scene, the likes of Atkinson and Nottinghamshire quick Josh Tongue have shunted Fisher down the pecking order, to the extent his winter remains free. Could a Lions spot on this winter’s tour of Australia be in the offing? As England look for insurance with their quicks, and with Brendon McCullum confirming that that trip will play a key back-up role for the Ashes, it would make a lot of sense.Fisher was undoubtedly Surrey’s best with the Kookaburra ball – more so than South Australian Dan Worrall who was reared on them – and has added consistency and endurance to his naturally hard length and knack of challenging both edges of the bat.He was originally introduced after 20 overs as the fifth bowler used, by which point Nottinghamshire had made it to 51 for 1. After a five-over spell from the Vauxhall End, he switched to the Micky Stewart Pavillion End and earned a much-needed breakthrough ten balls later.Profitting from extra juice from that end, Fisher went wide on the crease from around the wicket, angling into Freddie McCann then leaving him, clipping the edge on the way. A second leftie was sent back soon after when Ben Slater, composed for his 50 from 95 deliveries, fell victim to a better version of the McCann delivery; fuller, straighter, leaving Slater powerless while doing the needful of protecting his off stump just in case.Those dismissals were the first two of the final eight to fall for just 142, but the collapse felt avoidable. Joe Clarke had played engagingly for 29 before needlessly chasing a wide delivery from Atkinson with an angled bat. Brett Hutton’s unbeaten 30, while motivated by an imminent end to Nottinghamshire’s first innings, demonstrated that the surface still rewarded application, having last been used against Somerset at the end of April.South African keeper-batter Kyle Verreynne was slowly compiling before Fisher, tighter to the stumps, nipped one into middle from an initial line outside off, for a plumb lbw. Though he did receive a bit of tap as Nottinghamshire swung from the hip in pursuit of bonus points – Hutton deposited him over square leg for the innings’ only six – rewards duly came. Tongue’s booming drive brought a fifth catch for Ben Foakes, before Pennington’s wild hack left his front shin unguarded for a second leg-before.Fisher barely celebrated, jarring his right knee as he turned sharply to appeal to the umpire. He soon shook that off, leading the team back into the dressing room, ball aloft. Whatever is to come in the County Championship, both this season and next, Fisher’s present and immediate future looks far more assured.

Bangladesh leave out Mehidy for Asia Cup; Nurul, Saif return to the squad

The Bangladesh selectors have recalled wicketkeeper-batter Nurul Hasan and allrounder Saif Hassan in the senior men’s squad for the Asia Cup next month. There was however no place for Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mohammad Naim, who were both part of the Bangladesh side that beat Pakistan 2-1 last month.The same 16-member squad will play in the three-match T20I series against the Netherlands starting on August 30. Mehidy would have missed the Netherlands matches due to personal reasons, but he also lost his place for the Asia Cup. Mehidy, the new ODI captain, returned to the T20I side after Bangladesh’s 2-1 defeat against UAE, but didn’t make a big impact. He has been named among the four standby players.Bangladesh squad for Asia Cup•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Naim couldn’t convert his domestic T20 form into international runs. He had scores of 32*, 3 and 10 in the three T20Is against Pakistan. Naim also didn’t perform well enough for Bangladesh A side in the Top End T20s in Darwin, Australia.Nurul’s last T20I was in the World Cup in 2022, when he made just 41 runs in five innings. He gained better form during the 2024-25 season in which he scored 513 runs at a strike rate of 132.90 across the Bangladesh Premier League, National Cricket League and the Global Super League. The 31-year-old Nurul had also led Rangpur Riders to the inaugural GSL title in 2024.Both Nurul and Saif are playing the Top End T20s. Saif struck a half-century against the Pakistan Shaheens, and 45 against the Melbourne Stars Academy. Nurul got couple of thirties in the five matches.Related

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Soumya Sarkar, Tanvir Islam and Hasan Mahmud are the others on the standby list.Bangladesh will play the three T20Is against Netherlands on August 30, and September 1 and 3. Their Asia Cup campaign starts against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi on September 11.

Bangladesh squad for Asia Cup and Netherlands T20Is:

Litton Das (capt, wk), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad SaifuddinIN: Saif Hassan, Nurul Hasan
OUT: Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Naim

Nat Sciver-Brunt lands first blow as England seal series opener

England 143 for 6 (Sciver-Brunt 59, Jones 31, Marx 3-19, de Klerk 2-20) beat South Africa 142 for 5 (de Klerk 29*, Dean 2-21) by four wicketsNat Sciver-Brunt brought up her 15th T20I half-century – the most by any non-opening batter in the women’s game – and ensured England took the opening honours on their tour of South Africa. She eclipsed an excellent allround effort by Nadine de Klerk, who scored a 19-ball 29 to push South Africa over 140 and took 2 for 20 to keep South Africa in it, but their bowling inexperience showed.In an XI without Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka, who are both being rested for this series, South Africa’s discipline was under the microscope. Sune Luus opened the bowling for the first time in a T20I, and was one of three bowlers to concede at more than six runs an over. South Africa may also be disappointed with their batting effort. While six of their top seven got starts, no-one kicked on and they had no half-century stands.England, despite a sometimes messy effort in the field, put it together where it mattered most. Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones put on 50 for the fifth wicket, which was the key to their successful chase.Wolvaardt starts well but England get the openers early South Africa’s opening pair of Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits picked up from where they left off at the T20 World Cup, with a typically industrious start. Wolvaardt found the boundary off the second ball when Sciver-Brunt strayed down leg to be clipped behind square, where a misfield gave her four. She went on to cream Lauren Bell through the covers and smear Sophie Ecclestone over midwicket for two more boundaries in successive overs while Tazmin Brits only faced five balls in the first three overs. Wolvaardt looked dangerous until she advanced on Charlie Dean, missed a straight one and was bowled. Brits started to find her touch and took on Ecclestone with a confident sweep but her ambition got the better of her. Like Wolvaardt, Brits danced down the track and was beaten for pace, which gave Jones a simple stumping.England’s fielding: The ridiculous and the sublime Perhaps it was not quite that extreme but England’s full range was on display in the mid-section of South Africa’s innings. There were shades of their drops against West Indies in the T20 World Cup semi-final when an Anneke Bosch chance slipped through Sciver-Brunt’s fingers at deep backward square. Bosch, on 13, swung at a Sarah Glenn delivery and hit it with the wind, which may have been what foxed Sciver-Brunt despite being in a good position to take the catch. That only cost England five runs before Bosch was bowled by Freya Kemp. In the next over, Ecclestone timed her movements well to take the catch that dismissed Sune Luus for a duck. Luus, who only has one 50 from her last 15 T20I innings, hit Dean in the air to mid-off, where Ecclestone had to move left and jump to take a sharp catch, and did so with ease.De Klerk’s cameo South Africa’s hundred came up in the 16th over, when the 36-run stand between Annerie Dercksen and Nondumiso Shangase was broken, which gave de Klerk four overs to show off her finishing skills. Her first boundary was a strong sweep off Bell but she was kept quiet until the last ball of the penultimate over when she hit Ecclestone’s final ball to fine leg. De Klerk took control in the last over when she hit Bell for two more boundaries in an 18-run over, to finish unbeaten on 29 off 16 balls. Her 42-run sixth-wicket partnership with Dercksen was South Africa’s highest of the match and pushed them over 140.Sophie Ecclestone takes the plaudits after catching Sune Luus•Gallo Images/Getty Images

Hlubi’s horror start It is only Ayanda Hlubi’s third T20I match so it’s difficult to be too harsh on her but she seemed to struggle with her run-up and rhythm immediately. Her first ball was short and down leg and Maia Bouchier helped it on its way for four. Then, she overstepped. Bouchier popped the free hit up to mid-off (who dropped it, though it didn’t matter), but two balls later, Hlubi overstepped again. And then again. Bouchier could not take advantage of any of the free hits and the over finally ended after nine deliveries with England 11 without loss. Hlubi’s second over was more disciplined but her third cost 22 runs, including another no-ball that was hit for four by Jones, who launched the resultant free hit for the innings’ only six.How low can you go? Buffalo Park is not known for its bounce and tends to get slower and lower as matches go on. That’s exactly what happened through England’s innings as Eliz-Mari Marx, on comeback, took full advantage. When Bouchier premeditated a switch-hit of sorts over backward point, in the fifth over, and missed, Marx bowled her but her came when she was brought back on in the 11th over. Marx stunned England captain Heather Knight, who stayed back in her crease to a full delivery, and inside-edged onto her stumps. England were 65 for 4 in the 11th over, and needed 78 runs inside 10 overs to win.No getting past Nat Sciver-Brunt Some of the others may have looked rusty but Sciver-Brunt was in fine touch as early as the second ball she faced. She punched it off the back foot through the covers to get going. Her ease against South Africa’s spinners saw her score 33 runs off the 31 balls she faced against them and her dominant on-side play meant South Africa could not plug the gaps quickly enough. Sciver-Brunt scored 48 of her 59 runs in the on-side, including five of her seven boundaries. She scored 20 runs off 15 balls in the last five overs, to keep England in touch with the required run-rate and clear the path for a win.

Jordan Silk holds firm for Tasmania after Victoria pile up 428

A fighting unbeaten half-century from Tasmania captain Jordan Silk has kept the visitors in the contest after Victoria threatened to take a massive first-innings lead on the back of a strong all-round day from Mitchell Perry at the Junction Oval.Silk and Beau Webster guided their side to stumps at 201 for 4 after Perry’s unbeaten 58 and two wickets had earlier put Victoria well on top. Following the opening-day centuries from Marcus Harris and Peter Handscomb, Perry added a combined 116 with Fergus O’Neill and Todd Murphy for the eighth and ninth wickets, respectively, on the second morning, before Victoria declared at 428 for 9.Perry struck seven fours and a six in his knocj of 58* to register his third Sheffield Shield half-century, while O’Neill made 36 and Murphy 20 as Tasmania’s bowlers toiled on a Junction surface that flattened out significantly.Both sides have identified that the new ball is the key period, and Tasmania began cautiously in response to try and avoid the same fate that Victoria suffered against the new ball on day one. Opening batters Caleb Jewell and Jake Weatherald added 41 in 19 overs, before Perry broke through with an excellent delivery that just did enough off the seam to catch Jewell’s outside edge for 32.Charlie Wakim also got started, moving to 18, before trying to force Sam Elliott off the back foot. Some extra bounce caught the edge and Sam Harper took a classy diving catch.But catch of the day belonged to Ash Chandrasinghe at short leg. Todd Murphy’s offspin proved very difficult to get away despite very little grip in the surface. Weatherald’s painstaking and uncharacteristic 28 off 101 balls came to an end when Chandrasinghe plucked a stunning reflex catch close in.It left Tasmania 80 for 3 and vulnerable to conceding a big lead. Silk and Jake Doran steadied them with a 63-run stand. But like those before him, Doran failed to kick on, chopping Perry on to his stumps for 33. Silk dug in alongside Webster, as Victoria’s bowlers tried everything possible to create a chance. O’Neill bowled a spell late in the day with three catching midwickets and just two men on the off side at cover and mid-off to try and force a mistake.But Tasmania’s best two players did not take any risks, and guided the visitors past 200 on stumps without any further loss.

Kieron Pollard blitzes Rashid Khan to see Brave home

Kieron Pollard produced a sensational display of hitting to inspire Southern Brave to a thrilling two-wicket win over Trent Rockets at Utilita Bowl and move his side level on points with Oval Invincibles at the top of the table.Pollard had struggled his way to 6 from 14 balls in a contest which appeared to be slipping away from the hosts before he dispatched Rashid Khan for five consecutive sixes in one set.The former Windies captain was run out after making 45 from 23 balls but Chris Jordan held his nerve, hitting the penultimate delivery of the match for four to see Brave home.Brave had been cruising at 43 for 0 in pursuit of 127 but the innings stalled after Alex Davies nicked behind off Sam Cook for a sprightly 28 and Andre Fletcher was cleaned up by a Rashid googly.John Turner, who had to be removed from the attack in his previous match after bowling successive beamers, produced a brilliant spell of fast bowling, taking 3 for 24 including the prize scalp of James Vince for 28, before Pollard turned the match on its head.Earlier, Tom Banton was fast out of the traps for the Rockets, dispatching Akeal Hosein for three fours and a six in the first 10 deliveries. Adam Lyth hit a brace of boundaries in Tymal Mills’ opening over but Banton (30 from 17) holed out to Pollard at long-on in Danny Briggs’ opening set and the Rockets stuttered.Lyth (16) was caught in the deep off Hosein, Briggs had Alex Hales (15) stumped and Jofra Archer dismissed Joe Root (16) with a leg-cutter which took a thick outside edge and flew to Davies, who snaffled a screamer.Mills’ third set proved expensive, leaking three boundaries as Rovman Powell (16) and Lewis Gregory (19) threatened to tee-off, but Jordan dismissed the Windies T20 skipper before Archer, who finished with 2-18, accounted for Gregory with a well-executed slower ball.The Rockets could only manage 10 runs from the final 10 deliveries to finish on 126 for 8, Jordan dismissing Rashid and Luke Wood to finish with 3 for 22 and cap a superb bowling performance from the hosts.Pollard, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “I had to make a play at some point. I was really slow to start but I didn’t think it was a pitch where you could just come in and hit the ball, so I had to really try and calculate and pick my bowler.”I’ve played against Rash a lot and he’s got me out a lot of times so I had to see what was happening but I knew the sort of line and length he was going to bowl. If he bowled full I was going to back my strength which is hitting straight and he bowled three fuller balls and it was right in my arc. I couldn’t stop at that point in time, I had to get maximum. Rash is a world-class bowler but this was just one of the days where I took victory.”

Akeem Jordan replaces injured Jeremiah Louis in WI Test squad

Fast bowler Jeremiah Louis has been ruled out of the final Test between West Indies and England due to a hamstring injury, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced in a statement. The visitors have opted for a like-for-like replacement, bringing Akeem Jordan into the squad.Louis, who did not feature in the first two Tests, picked up the injury during the second Test at Trent Bridge. He will remain with the squad for further treatment. Jordan, who was playing cricket in the UK at the time of his call-up, has already joined the squad and will take part in Wednesday’s training session at Edgbaston.Jordan is yet to make his Test debut but has featured in 19 first-class games, taking 67 wickets since 2022 at an average of 24.10. His performances include two five-wicket hauls with a best innings haul of 5 for 44.Apart from Jordan, West Indies already have Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales and allrounder Jason Holder as their seam-bowling options in the squad. The visitors are 2-0 down in the series, having conceded the Richards-Botham Trophy with one game still to go, after losing at Lord’s by an innings and 114 runs and then at Trent Bridge by 241 runs last week. The third Test gets underway on Friday, July 26.

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