Pakistan’s Shehzad provisionally suspended over failed dope test

Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad has been provisionally suspended and charged with violating anti-doping regulations after he tested positive for a prohibited substance in May, the cricket board (PCB) has said. The 26-year-old’s in-competition urine sample, which was collected during the domestic Pakistan Cup tournament in May, tested positive and an independent review board confirmed the result in June.“He has been given till July 18 2018 to advise whether he wishes to have his B Sample tested and till July 27 to respond to the charges levelled in the Notice of Charge,” the PCB said in a statement on its website.“The PCB has also provisionally suspended Ahmed Shehzad pending the outcome of the charges.” Shehzad most recently played for Pakistan in the two-match Twenty20 series in Scotland in June.Sri Lankan spinner Herath contemplating retirement in NovemberSri Lanka’s Rangana Herath might retire from international cricket after the three-match Test series against England in November, the left-arm spinner has said. Herath has notched up 418 wickets in 90 test matches for Sri Lanka and is the country’s highest wicket-taker after Muttiah Muralitharan, who has a staggering 800 test wickets to his name. “Maybe my final series will be the England series later in the year,” the 40-year-old said. “There comes a time for every cricketer, when they have to stop playing. I think that time has come for me.”Herath, who retired from one-day and Twenty20 internationals in 2016, is in the squad for Sri Lanka’s two-match Test series against South Africa, which kicks off today in Galle.With spinners like Dilruwan Perera, Akila Dananjaya and Lakshan Sandakan in the national side, Herath believed Sri Lanka would be in good hands post his retirement.Ponting backs Australian turnaround at World CupAustralia still have the best depth of any cricket nation, former skipper Ricky Ponting has said while backing them to turn around their poor one-day international form in time to defend their World Cup title in England and Wales next year.Five-time World Cup winners Australia were whitewashed 5-0 by hosts England in the ODI series which concluded last month, extending their poor ODI run having won only 16 of their last 18 matches. “There are 16 one-dayers to be played between now and the next World Cup,” the 43-year-old said. “I’ll guarantee you when you put the Australian group of 15 players down on a sheet of paper, that group will line up as good as any other team in the world.”Ponting, who captained Australia in their 2003 and 2007 World Cup victories, said the ODI series against England helped young players to get some games and he believes the team will keep producing great players. “One thing I do know is we’ve got still the best depth of any cricket nation in the world and I will continue to say that,” he added.Australia will host South Africa in November for three ODIs and one Twenty20 and will then host Virat Kohli-led India for three T20s, four test matches and three ODIs.Former England captain Boycott recovering after heart surgeryFormer England Test captain Geoffrey Boycott is recovering after undergoing quadruple heart bypass surgery and will miss commentating on England’s first two tests against India next month. The 77-year-old, who scored 8114 runs in 108 tests and led England in four of them, had the operation on June 27 and spent 10 days recovering in hospital.“The surgeon says the operation was a success and has now allowed him home to recover,” Boycott’s daughter Emma said in a statement on behalf of her father on his official Twitter account. The statement also said that Boycott was hopeful of returning to the commentary box for the third Test of the five-match series between England and India at Nottingham. The first Test starts in Birmingham on Aug. 1.Indian women’s cricket coach quits over ‘training methods’The Indian women’s cricket coach has quit just over year into the job after a string of defeats and apparently alienating players, four months before the World Twenty20. Tushar Arothe, who was instrumental in India reaching the final of the women’s World Cup in England last July, stepped down from his post citing “personal reasons”.But a senior official in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that a few senior players were not happy with Arothe’s style of training. “Some players and selectors met BCCI administrators to convey that they were not comfortable with Arothe’s method of training,” the official said on condition of anonymity.