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The four latest teams to gain ODI status have been integrated into the ICC team rankings for ODIs, effective June 1, 2018. Scotland and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have slotted into 13th and 14th places respectively, while Netherlands and Nepal will be added after they’ve played four more ODIs (teams need to play a minimum number of ODIs to get a ranking). The addition of these teams did not affect the standings of the 12 Test-playing nations above them on the table.

The ICC ODI rankings

• 1 England (125 points)

• 2 India (122)

• 3 South Africa (113)

• 4 New Zealand (112)

• 5 Australia (104)

• 6 Pakistan (102)

• 7 Bangladesh (93)

• 8 Sri Lanka (77)

• 9 West Indies (69)

• 10 Afghanistan (63)

• 11 Zimbabwe (55)

• 12 Ireland (38)

• 13 Scotland (28)

• 14 UAE (18)

Netherlands secured ODI status by winning the World Cricket League Championship last year, while Scotland, Nepal and UAE earned ODI status by finishing as the leading Associates (along with Netherlands) at the World Cup Qualifier 2018.The introduction of these four teams means that any matches they play against each other or the 12 other ODI teams now count for rating points, which will influence their ranking. The initial rankings for the four new teams are based on games played – under various criteria – since May 2015. For all teams on the rankings, matches played between 1 May, 2015, and 30 April, 2017, will be weighted at 50%, while matches played after 1 May, 2017, will be weighted at 100%.

Dale Steyn bowled 102 overs last month, 29.3 more than in his last two years in Test cricket, in a bid to prove that he is ready for the rigours of the international game once again. Steyn last played for South Africa six months ago, in the New Year’s Test against India, where he was returning from 13 months on the sidelines after shoulder surgery and injured his heel.His career was thought to be hanging by a thread but he has been determined to keep going and is on the verge of yet another comeback in Sri Lanka next week. Steyn has been included in South Africa’s Test squad, which only comprises four fast bowlers and so he is likely to start the Galle match, which begins on July 12. He is the only one of the quartet of quicks – Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander and Lungi Ngidi are the other three – with recent match time.While Ngidi played in the IPL, Rabada – who was recovering from a stress fracture – and Philander, have not been involved in any competitive cricket since the Australia Test series ended in early April. Steyn, meanwhile, has played five games for Hampshire, three List A fixtures and two county championship matches, and has got better with each one.Steyn conceded 80 runs in his first match, against Somerset, and only managed the wicket of former Titans’ team-mate Roelof van der Merwe in his 10 overs, but that performance was the equivalent of a loosener. In his next outing, Steyn bowled 26 overs in the county fixture against Surrey, which Hampshire lost by an innings and 58 runs, so he didn’t get the chance to bowl again. He was much more controlled in his second limited-overs’ match and took 1 for 34 in seven overs against Yorkshire and then sent down 29 and 21 overs in a first-class match against Yorkshire, where he also finished with 5 for 66 in the first innings.Among his victims was Cheteshwar Pujara, whom he dismissed with the red and the white ball. Steyn also played in the Royal London One-Day Cup final, where Hampshire successfully defended 330. He took 1 for 56 in nine overs and declared his time at the club a success.And now, Steyn wants much more. “A hundred Test matches would be amazing and 500 wickets would be incredible,” Steyn told ESPNcricinfo.Steyn would need to play both Tests against Sri Lanka, the five in the home summer against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and at least one more season in 2019-2020 – when South Africa are due to tour India and host England – to get to 100 Tests. He needs 81 wickets to reach 500, but only three to break Shaun Pollock’s record as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker. Steyn has previously joked that he no longer wants to think about the landmark, because it has taken so long for him to get there, but as it becomes ever-closer, doubtless it will be on his mind.So will his other aim – being part of a South African side that challenges for the World Cup. Steyn has set his sights on the tournament, but has not been named in South Africa’s ODI squad to play in Sri Lanka, which leaves his white-ball future uncertain.South Africa will play 21 matches between August and March, but will only look at fielding a side that resembles their World Cup XI in the last 10 matches, home series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. That means Steyn still has a chance to play in the World Cup, but, for now, will have to try and play as much shorter-format cricket domestically as possible.

Mohammad Ashraful still harbours hopes of playing for Bangladesh again after his five-year ban for involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League officially ends on August 13. Henceforth, he will become eligible for international cricket and the BPL, having already been allowed to play in Bangladesh’s domestic competitions on the same day in 2016.Ashraful is delighted to be making the return, saying he had been waiting for this day for the last five years.”I have been waiting for August 13, 2018 for a long time now,” Ashraful told ESPNcricinfo. “It has been more than five years since the day I admitted my involvement. Although I have played domestic cricket in the last two seasons, there is now nothing preventing me from being eligible for national selection. Playing for Bangladesh again will be my greatest achievement.”

Mohammad Ashraful’s ban: a timeline

• May 31, 2013 A: BCB investigates allegations
  June 4, 2013: BCB indefinitely suspends Ashraful. Later that day, Ashraful admits to fixing during the 2013 BPL

• January 18, 2014: BPL anti-corruption tribunal begins hearing

• June 2, 2014: Ashraful plays in unofficial US tournament
  June 18, 2014: BCB bans Ashraful for eight years
  July 22, 2014: Ashraful appeals against ban
  September 29, 2014: BCB’s disciplinary panel reduces Ashraful’s ban to five years

• October 21, 2014: BCB unsuccessfully appeal against Ashraful’s ban reduction
  August 13, 2016:Ashraful’s ban from domestic cricket ends
  August 13, 2018: Ashraful becomes eligible to play all international and BPL cricket

The highlight in these two seasons has been his five List-A centuries in the 2017-18 Dhaka Premier League. He is only the second batsman to do so in a single List-A tournament; the other being Alviro Peterson in the 2015-16 Momentum One-Day Cup on South Africa’s domestic circuit.He has averaged 47.63 in 23 List-A games since the ban was lifted, but his first-class form hasn’t been as good – a 21.85 batting average in 13 matches, with just one century. “The first season after my return wasn’t great but I did well in the 2017-18 season. I hope to do even better in the coming seasons,” he said.”Now I can be considered for selection through my performance. I have already gone through a month-long training programme and after August 15, I will go into pre-season training leading into the upcoming season’s National Cricket League.”In June 2014, the BPL’s anti-corruption tribunal had banned Ashraful for eight years and fined him BDT 10 lakh (USD 12,000 approx). In September that year, the BCB’s disciplinary panel reduced the ban to five years, with the last two of those years suspended. The BCB and ICC unsuccessfully appealed against the ban reduction. The reduction was subject to his participation in a BCB or ICC anti-corruption education and training programme. Accordingly, Ashraful took part in an anti-corruption programme and during the 2015 BPL, appeared in awareness videos shown to players and officials.

Ben Stokes has been described as “mocking” a gay couple and speaking with “a spiteful” and “angry tone” by a witness in his trial in Bristol.Andrew Cunningham, a 37-year-old door supervisor at the Mbargo nightclub in the city, alleged that Stokes abused him and a gay couple having been refused entry to the club in the early hours of the morning on September 25 on the second day of Stokes’ trial for affray. Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale are facing the same charges.The jury was also shown CCTV footage that both Cunningham, the head doorman at the club, and PC Daniel Adams, the officer in the case, suggest shows Stokes flicking a cigarette butt at the head of one the gay men, William O’Connor.”He got a bit verbally abusive to myself,” Cunningham said. “First he mentioned my teeth. I have four front gold teeth. He told me I looked like a c***. I replied ‘thanks very much.'”Then he mentioned my tattoos and how shit they all are. He just looked at me and said my tattoos were shit and to look at my job. [He had] Quite a spiteful tone; quite an angry tone.”Cunningham then went on to describe how “the ginger guy… started to take the mick out of the gay couple.””They’re quite extravagant people,” Cunningham said of O’Connor and his friend Kai Barry. “Their mannerisms are not like everybody else’s.”The ginger guy picked up on this and started to take the mick. He changed his voice to talk like them. He started to mimic their actions. He just made noises to sound like them. He made hand gestures. If you hear them speak, they’re quite high-pitched guys. Quite effeminate guys. He made noises to try and copy them. Just making stupid sounds.”They just stood to the side. I don’t think they were impressed but they didn’t say anything.”When he flicked the cigarette I intervened. It didn’t hit anyone. But it was aimed in their direction. That’s when I stepped in, cos they hadn’t done anything wrong. They’re only little guys. I said ‘If you want to start on someone, start on me.'”He wouldn’t look at me or acknowledge I was there then.”Under cross-examination, Gordon Cole QC, representing Stokes, pointed out what he suggested were various inconsistencies with Cunningham’s evidence. It appears Cunningham or his colleagues did let in other visitors to the nightclub after 2am (CCTV footage shows O’Connor entering the club at 2.07am) while his claim that he had never seen the footage before conflicted with a statement given to the police on November 23 in which he said he had been shown it.PC Adams, the officer in the case, also admitted, under cross-examination, that “there may be another explanation” for the purported v-sign allegedly directed at the doormen and accepted that, “on the whole” Stokes’ interaction with the gay couple “seems light-hearted” and that “there is laughter” in the six or so minutes they are shown interacting with Stokes outside the club.The case continues.

Plucky Peshawar make it two in twoDespite the tired, yet inescapable narrative of departments reigning supreme against regions in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, Peshawar continue to defy the odds in the second round. Fresh from an upset victory in the first round against KRL, they put in another commanding performance as they took down another departmental powerhouse. This time it was HBL who fell victim to Peshawar, who cruised to a six-wicket victory.Peshawar’s start is all the more remarkable for a side completely devoid of big-name talent; the starting eleven does not have a single Test cap. Indeed, there’s only one international cap amongst the eleven, awarded to Sahibzada Farhan, who played a solitary T20I earlier this year. He played a crucial role in the fourth innings, scoring 46 as he put on a century partnership with Ashfaq Ahmed, who was unbeaten on 68, as they chased down what could have been a tricky target of 159.Pitch standards under scrutiny againLast season’s Quaid-e-Azam trophy was replete with complaints of pitches that were not ready for first-class cricket, and it didn’t take too long to have the first two-day finish in the 2018 season. It came at the embattled Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad, the same venue that earned Imran Farhat’s ire and an accusation that a bug infestation there had sent more than half his team to the hospital.It was on the pitch, however, that batsmen struggled to stop the bleeding as wicket after wicket fell on the first day, and well before the second session was up, the home side had been skittled out for 88. In the circumstances, KRL put on a nearly impregnable 176 thanks to a half century by Usman Arshad, doubling the first innings score. Rawalpindi didn’t fare much better the second time around, and as their innings wrapped up for a sorry 118, KRL had only 31 runs to chase down to register their first points on the board. They did so without the loss of a wicket, and before half-time had been reached in this four-day game, it was time to go home.A giant awakes from its slumberTraditional giants SNGCP will have been disappointed with only a draw in the opening round, which saw them fail to get off the mark in terms of points. Wounded into action, they put on a fearsome display in this round, routing FATA by an innings and 52 runs. All the damage was done in the first innings, as Imran Butt and Iftikhar Ahmed scored 111 and 145 respectively to help their side amass 461. And while FATA were spirited in their response, Samiullah scoring a hundred of his own, it wasn’t enough to prevent his side conceding a 195-run lead to Mohammad Hafeez’s men.Hafeez, who was recently omitted from the squad for the Asia Cup that begins on Sunday, had promised he would not retire, and instead earn his place in the national side back through performances on the domestic circuit. He couldn’t have wished for a better start, as in the second innings he took six wickets for 62, helping bowl FATA out for 143 and earning his side an innings win.Butt stars in WAPDA winThere was a time 18 months ago when Salman Butt was on the verge of making a spectacular return to the international side. When the QeA began last year, it was still conceivable he could be called up, depending on how he performed. As it turned out, he had an underwhelming year, Imam-ul-Haq burst onto the scene, and Butt’s moment passed.While the chances of an international call-up look extremely bleak anytime soon, Butt has, to his credit, kept plugging away on the domestic circuit. As captain of WAPDA, he led from the front to help them bounce back from a first round loss against Karachi Whites, scoring 68 and 49 as they beat Multan by 7 wickets. He didn’t top-score in either innings though. Adnan Raees led the charge in the first innings with 91, while wicketkeeper-batsman Ali Shan played arguably the most important knock of the game in the fourth innings, his unbeaten 96 seeing WAPDA comfortably chase down a not inconsiderable target of 175.

India’s newest Test cricketer Shardul Thakur will not take the field for the rest of the day, after having walked off in the morning due to a pain in the groin region. Thakur, who could bowl only 1.4 overs on debut against West Indies in Hyderabad, has gone for scans and an update on his participation for the rest of the Test will be taken after being assessed by the team management.When Thakur’s front foot landed on the bowling crease as he delivered his 10th ball in Test cricket, it seemed to buckle and the pain was immediate. There was no followthrough, and even as he started hobbling on the spot, the physio Patrick Farhart ran out to assess the situation. It didn’t seem like any immediate treatment was done, though. For the most part, both men just spoke to each other before the captain Virat Kohli joined in, but soon Thakur began walking towards the dressing room.It was only half an hour ago that Thakur, 26, was being presented his first Test cap – the 294th Test cricketer for India – by coach Ravi Shastri and he was kissing the India crest, celebrating his rise to five-day cricket after a first-class career that began in November 2012. He had been brought in to the XI for Mohammed Shami, who according to Kohli was rested after playing six consecutive Tests.Thakur had to bail out midway through the Asia Cup in September as well, complaining of a right hip-groin soreness. Although he was back playing cricket 10 days later, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, it seems that now he has aggravated the issue.

After collapsing to 143 all out, which was largely down to some loose batting outside the off-stump, and conceding a massive first-innings lead in the process on the second day, Bangladesh seemed to make more of an effort to leave balls outside off on Monday in Sylhet. For a shot-a-minute batting pair that is reflective of the larger mindset of a batting unit still suffering from limited-overs hangover, it was a discernible change.Liton tightening up his outside off play, in particular, must be encouraging for a Bangladesh team looking to minimise damage in a chase of 321. Liton left 10 out of the 38 balls he faced, having left just four out of 25 in the first innings.Against the disciplined fast bowling of Kyle Jarvis and Tendai Chatara, it was the sort of batting that coach Steve Rhodes wanted to see so desperately. Even so, Liton and Imrul have done it for just 61 balls, and have all of the fourth day to negotiate with similar discipline.Rhodes said that the remaining 295 runs, particularly with 10 wickets in hand, are attainable. “It is wonderful to get through tonight,” he said. “We have a little platform. The ball is a bit older. We have got 10 wickets in hand. The boys are happy. The captain is happy. He did a good job out there today in marshalling the troops. He said some nice things about what we need to do. We are in a positive frame of mind, but we also know we have a big challenge on our hands.”Today, Liton [Das] and Imrul [Kayes] showed that they were very capable against two bowlers who did very well in the first innings. If you can get through those bowlers, there are definitely ways of scoring those runs. We are looking at a couple of very good partnerships. If we can achieve it, we can win the game. Chasing a score that is the highest score in the game is very difficult, but it is achievable.”Rhodes said that the pitch doesn’t have too many demons, which may make batting easier than it is usually on the fourth day. “The good thing is, it is not a raging turner. It is not turning every ball. The odd ball turns. As long as you don’t let that worry you too much, you can certainly play against spin on that wicket,” he said.Rhodes, however, admitted that they had misread the surface in the days leading up to the game, believing that it would turn a lot more than it did. “The wicket surprised us a little bit. The ends were extremely dry leading up to the Test. The middle was little bit more together, but it got drier and drier as the first day neared. We felt that there would be a lot of spin but it hasn’t happened.”I believe against Sri Lanka in Chittagong, there was a similar situation when everyone thought it would spin but it didn’t. It is spinning, but infrequently. Generally, you should be able to score off most deliveries.”Reading wickets is not easy. Sometimes, even with lots of experience, you can get it slightly wrong. We thought this wicket would turn a lot more, so we probably misread it slightly.”Misreading the pitch also led to Bangladesh choosing a third spinner, leaving Abu Jayed as the lone fast bowler. Rhodes said that the line-up lost balance because of this decision, but that it was the batsmen’s performance in the first innings that put them in a difficult situation.”I am desperate to get a couple of quicker bowlers to play for Bangladesh. It would be great for them then to be able to go overseas and have some experience from playing here. We were desperate to do it as a side, but as it turned out, when it came to the final call, it really came down to the wicket.”We felt that the best chance was to go with the one pace bowler and three spinners. It wasn’t a balanced side. It wasn’t a balanced attack. You could argue it was a 50-50 call; thankfully, we have taken 20 wickets. The reason we are in a slight hole is because of our first innings batting. We need to put it right.”

Josh Hazlewood has given his stamp of approval to the Perth Stadium pitch but has also admitted to being puzzled by its characteristics. The pitch has played differently throughout each day of the Test, at times offering considerable assistance to the bowlers – particularly through the aid of cracks and divots – while at others the demons subside and the batsmen regain some advantage.”Yeah it’s a strange one,” Hazlewood said. “You see obviously patches where it’s flying around and hitting the cracks and then for a period it’ll go pretty quiet and it’s manageable to bat.”I think definitely right-armer around the wicket to left-handed batters there’s more cracks on offer. I feel when I’m bowling to all the right-handers it feels a little bit more like a normal wicket, there’s not as many cracks there or up and down but yeah, from time to time it jumps around and then it can calms down.”The morning sessions seems like they’re a little bit better for batting – I’m not sure why – and then as the day goes in I think the cracks might reappear. It’s an interesting one with the drop-in wicket as well so yeah not too sure.”Josh Hazlewood produced a good one to remove Cheteshwar Pujara•Getty Images

Drop-in pitches have largely been panned in Australia for their homogeneity and the loss of individual quirks that characterised each major ground, in the past giving the Gabba it’s quick and bouncy surface or providing the steady deterioration at Adelaide Oval in the manner of a traditional five-day pitch.While the WACA surface has steadily lost its reputation for fearsome pace, there were questions surrounding the nature of the drop-in pitch and the kind of cricket it would produce.The base elements of the Perth Stadium pitches at Gloucester Park, next to the WACA, are characterised by a high clay content, which helps give the surface its extra bounce.Overall, Hazlewood’s verdict was a positive one, and he agreed that it was a fun surface on which to play.”Yeah I think so,” said Hazlewood. “That’s from a bowlers point of view, definitely. But we’ve seen hundreds as well and quite a few guys getting fifties and it’s obviously gone to the fifth day, so there’s plenty there, and I think it’s exciting that things can happen any time of the day and its pretty competitive with bat and ball.”I think if you’re comparing to the WACA, where its obviously not a drop-in at the WACA and the cracks just keep getting bigger and bigger, these have appeared pretty early and I guess haven’t widened too much, if that makes sense. So yeah, it’s definitely different.”

The fourth day witnessed heated conversations between the two captains, Tim Paine and Virat Kohli, in Perth as Australia were strengthening their grip on the match. During the wicketless first session, the captains even came into physical contact when Paine ran down the pitch for a single in the 71st over of the innings. As Paine nudged the first ball of the over towards midwicket for a run, Kohli ran towards the pitch in anticipation of collecting the ball and collided with Paine before the batsman could reach the non-striker’s end. Even as Kohli collected the ball and made his way towards mid-on for the next delivery, Paine followed him for a couple of steps for a few words before umpire Chris Gaffaney interrupted to remind them they were the captains.Kohli to Paine: “I’m not saying a word to you, why are you getting riled up?”
Paine to Kohli: “I’m fine. You’re the one that lost it yesterday, why are you trying to be cool today?”
Chris Gaffaney: “Oi, that’s enough, that’s enough.”
Paine: “We’re allowed to talk.”
Gaffaney: “Nah, nah, come on, play the game. You guys are the captains.”
Paine: “We can have a conversation… there’s no swearing, no…”
Gaffaney: “Tim you’re the captain.”
Paine: “Keep your cool, Virat!”Things heated up between Virat Kohli and Tim Paine in the first session•Getty Images

When Paine was walking off after being dismissed for 37 eight overs later, Kohli said a few more words that made the Australia captain turn around for a reply.Kohli and Paine had earlier been recorded exchanging words after a caught-behind appeal against Australia’s captain was turned down on the third evening. Walking past Paine, Kohli had remarked to his team-mates “If he messes it up, it’s 2-0”, moving Paine to retort “You’ve got to bat first, big head”.

Normally a batsman would be grateful for an extra ball in a T20 match, but not this time. A miscalculation from the on-field umpires led to Michael Klinger being dismissed in controversial circumstances in the BBL match against Sydney Sixers at Perth Stadium.Michael Klinger leaves the field•Getty Images

Facing Ben Dwarshuis in the second over of Perth Scorchers’ chase, Klinger fell to the seventh legal delivery of the over when he upper cut a short ball to third man where Steve O’Keefe held a low catch.The catch went to the third umpire to confirm it was a clean take, meaning there was an extended stoppage in play, and by then the potential of it being a seven-ball over had been spotted by the host broadcaster, but the Laws stated that the dismissal had to stand. A quick tally up of the previous six deliveries confirmed there hadn’t been any no-balls or wides missed.Law 17.5.2 reads: “If the umpire miscounts the number of valid balls, the over as counted by the umpire shall stand.”Cricket Australia issued a statement confirming there was no way to overturn the dismissal, but send they would address the error in their post-match review.A CA spokesperson said: “It appears there was a miscount of balls in the over, and the seventh ball was allowed by umpires. As the ball was bowled it is deemed live and consequently the decision stands. The incident will be followed up in Cricket Australia’s general match review process and feedback will of course be taken on board.”