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Ajmal Shahzad, the former England seamer who was released by Yorkshire in controversial circumstances last week, has joined Lancashire.Shahzad was made available to other counties after Yorkshire’s chairman Colin Graves accused him of not being a team player. He has moved to Lancashire on a loan deal until the end of the season with a view to agreeing a more permanent contract at a later date.The attraction for Lancashire is obvious. The defending champions have lost three of their first four games and currently find themselves just four points off the bottom of the division one championship table.Shgahzad tweeted: “Great feeling to be back into cricket today! Appreciate Lancashire for having me on a loan agreement till the end of the season.”Lancashire’s cricket director Mike Watkinson said: “With Tom Smith being ruled out for at least a month after tearing a hamstring and Pakistan set to announce this week their squad for a series in Sri Lanka this summer, which could mean us missing out on bringing Junaid back, the availability of a hugely talented and experienced bowler comes at a good time for us.”Although Shahzad’s first-class record is modest – he has a bowling average of 33.80 and an underwhelming economy rate in both limited-overs formats – he has long been seen as a cricketer of rich potential and Lancashire will hope that Peter Moores’ sympathetic man management will coax the best out of him. Shahzad has played one Test, 11 ODIs and three T20Is for England.”We are delighted to bring a bowler of Ajmal’s quality into our squad,” Moores said. “He will join a strong seam attack, giving us the depth needed to compete on all fronts. He is known for his competitive nature, which will fit perfectly into the set-up at Lancashire.”As if the failure to harness Shahzad’s potential was not painful enough, the fact that the player has joined their keenest rivals will sting some at Yorkshire, a deal also brokered by a former Lancashire player, Neil Fairbrother, who is Shahzad’s agent.Eight years ago he became the first Yorkshire-born cricketer of Pakistani background to represent Yorkshire and is the first Yorkshire player to move to Lancashire since David Byas did so in 2002.Shahzad had also interested Sussex, Somerset and Surrey, among others, and his quick tour of England last week to talk to potential suitors emphasised that many counties did not share Yorkshire’s reservations about his talent or commitment.Yorkshire’s relationship with Shahzad deteriorated over time because in his eyes they were insisting that he bowled out of character, insisting on a disciplined – he thought regimented – approach with little forgiveness for experimentation. Moores’ challenge is to integrate a dedicated but strong-willed cricketer with an appetite for innovation into a team pattern.Yorkshire sought to e nsure that Shahzad left on a happy note with the county’s official Twitter feed stating: “Wishing @AJShahzad all best with Lanky! Real shame it didn’t work out at #yccc. Both parties on different cricket pages but a genuine talent. Ajmal had different thoughts on how his cricket should go than club. He wasn’t happy. Threatened positive atmosphere in squad. No one at club is happy that Ajmal has gone and we do genuinely wish him well.”

Michael Clarke, the Australia captain, has joined IPL franchise Pune Warriors. On Tuesday, Sourav Ganguly, the Warriors captain and mentor, had said Clarke was close to signing a contract which would be valid for the next two seasons. On Wednesday, the deal was confirmed by the IPL.Ganguly, who was appointed captain for this season in the absence of Yuvraj Singh, said having Clarke on board would bolster the Warriors in all departments of the game.”He can bat and he can bowl. He is a big player,” Ganguly told ESPNcricinfo.Clarke had, in 2009, pulled out of the IPL auction, citing Australia’s busy schedule, and has never played in the competition. In fact the only domestic Twenty20 games he has played were way back in 2004, for Hampshire in England. He also retired from Twenty20 internationals in January 2011 in order to focus on ODIs and Tests. Asked why Warriors were interested in Clarke, despite his lack of T20 experience, Ganguly said Clarke had the talent and was considering a return to Twenty20 cricket.”It is his ability,” Ganguly said. “He also wants to re-start playing Twenty20 cricket.”Clarke had acknowledged that his manager was in talks with the franchise but said a decision would be arrived at in due course. Clarke landed in the Caribbean on Monday to join the Australia squad. He is still recovering from a hamstring injury suffered during the CB Series, but is expected to play in the warm-up match ahead of the three-Test series against West Indies.Clarke will only feature in the second half of the Warriors’ campaign, as the West Indies tour finishes at the end of the April.Warriors are now left with just one more overseas slot to fill. Ganguly also confirmed that the franchise had opened talks with Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh opener, but it was too early to say anything definitive. “We are still chatting to Tamim,” Ganguly said.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Match facts

March 8, Adelaide
Start time 1350 (0320 GMT)Last Man Standing: Tillakaratne Dilshan remains the key man in the last match of a testing series•AFP

Big Picture

When the triangular made a comeback this Australian summer, there was trepidation around it. After all, it was going to involve 12 ODIs before the best-of-three finals series between sides that were used to playing each other. Familiarity between India and Sri Lanka has borne boredom for a long time now, and on top of that Australia had a strong mental hold over India after a summer full of Test-bashing.More than a month later, though, we have had an entertaining triangular series, which has stretched the two remaining teams to their last possible sinew. Two new balls, the new Powerplay regulations, the new strictness against runners and substitutes, a little bit of spice on the pitches, the physical demands of playing on big and soft outfields, have all worked a treat too. The only disappointment has been the occasional low attendance.Fittingly, it’s Sri Lanka and Australia, the fitter sides who have played better cricket, who are the last teams standing. Australia extended their domination of India, and Sri Lanka showed they enjoyed being here – they have enjoyed their cricket, they have fought longer and harder. Battles are to be seen on both sides.Sri Lanka have lost Thisara Perera, and Farveez Maharoof and Angelo Mathews are struggling with a sore back and calf respectively. Added to that are a few bandaged hands in the side. Australia have had to reshape their bowling almost completely during this tournament. Michael Clarke has done two hamstrings to add to his back trouble, ruling him out of this match and, potentially, the ODIs in the West Indies too. David Warner is fighting a groin strain. Brett Lee is playing despite a broken foot. The two sides are staggering every bit like heavyweights in the last round of a bout, but are desperate not to end up on the losing side. Expect them to bring their best – whatever is left available to them – to this one final night.

Form guide

Australia LWLWL (Most recent first)
Sri Lanka WLWLW

In the spotlight

With his performance on Tuesday, Tillakaratne Dilshan became only the second player in ODI history to open both the bowling and batting, finish his quota of 10 overs, and then score a century too. Sri Lanka won’t mind an encore.Matthew Wade‘s keeping has come under severe pressure towards the end of the tournament, with dropped catches to his credit in both the finals. With the bat, though, he has provided two good starts, taking the pressure off Warner, letting him settle into long innings. Wade continues to enjoy the trust of the captain, but if he does get another start with the bat he will dearly love to make it count in a bigger way.

Team news

After the second final, Clarke said Warner was fully fit otherwise they wouldn’t have played him. Warner responded with a century, and on that evidence should be available for the third final. With Clarke ruled out, Shane Watson will captain and Peter Forrest should slot back in to the middle order. George Bailey has also been called up as a contingency.The bowling on slower surfaces remains a big worry for Australia, and they have called up local boy Nathan Lyon, who bowled a good spell in the domestic one-day competition final at the same venue about a week ago. James Pattinson is unavailable for the third final due to a glute strain. It remains to be seen if Lyon or Ben Hilfenhaus replaces him.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Matthew Wade (wk), 3 Shane Watson (capt), 4 Peter Forrest, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 David Hussey, 7 Daniel Christian, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Nathan Lyon/Ben Hilfenhaus, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.Angelo Mathews is still recovering from a calf injury, and Sri Lanka will leave the decision to play him or not open till the last minute. However, captain Mahela Jayawardene said the decision will not be an emotional one, and that he will be picked only if he is 100% fit. If Mathews does recover in time, he will bring more balance to a side that relied on Dilshan to bowl the fifth bowler’s quote on Tuesday night.Lasith Malinga struggled with his groin towards the end of his spell on Tuesday, but he came back to bowl another over, the last one, and should be available pending a fitness test.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Upul Tharanga, 7 Chamara Kapugedara/Angelo Mathews, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Rangana Herath.

Pitch and conditions

The heat in Adelaide has relented, but the pitch remains slow and should behave as it did on Tuesday, if not even slower. Expect another gruelling match.

Stats and trivia

• On the three previous occasions since 1990 that the third final has been required, Australia have always won, twice against South Africa (1993-94 and 1997-98) and once against Sri Lanka (2005-06).
• Sri Lanka’s win over Australia on Tuesday, with 34 balls to spare, was the most comfortable chase of a 270-plus total in all ODIs against Australia.
• Warner is the only batsman to have scored two centuries in the finals series in Australia. Dilshan stands a chance to emulate him.

Quotes

“No excuse for our performance in the field. We let ourselves down in the field, and our bowling was quite poor once again. We’ve got a couple of days to turn things around.”
“We can laugh about it [dropped catches] obviously, because we had a very comfortable win today [Tuesday]. But it would have definitely cost the match and the tournament, so we need to make sure we don’t make huge mistakes in the last game.”
Edited by Nikita Bastian

Mashrafe Mortaza has reported to his franchise an approach from a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). His franchise, Dhaka Gladiators, say they have informed the BPL of the approach.”I have told my team management [about the approach] and I’m sure they will do the right thing,” Mashrafe told ESPNcricinfo. Gladiators media manager Minhaz Uddin Khan confirmed the report and said the franchise had passed on the information to the BPL.The story was first reported in Thursday morning’s Dhaka papers, which included a quote from Mashrafe saying he would step down from the team captaincy if he suspected any irregularities once the tournament got underway.The reports said Mashrafe was asked to provide information on whether he would play certain matches and even whether he’d be wearing his sunglasses or cap. In exchange, he was told, he would be paid 15-20% of the earnings from the spot-betting.However, there is some confusion over the details of the approach – the date and place – and which officials are in the loop regarding this. Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, who is an advisor to the Gladiators, told ESPNcricinfo that he informed BPL governing council chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain of the incident on Tuesday; however, the league’s secretary Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir said on Thursday morning he was not aware of any such report and had learned of it in the papers.”We have found out after reading the newspaper reports. I don’t understand why he went to the press first before telling us. There’s a proper process for all this,” Alamgir said. “If he had reported it to us, we would have started investigation right away. But even now, we will talk to Mashrafe and take his official statement.”Alamgir confirmed that an ICC ACSU officer is already in Dhaka for the BPL and will be made aware of this new information. “The protocol is for the player to report to the BPL governing council or for the franchise owners to report to BPL. None of them have done that before the news was published in the media. I will also tell our ACSU officer about the incident and we’ll conduct whatever is necessary in this situation.”

ScorecardFile photo: BJ Watling, playing as wicketkeeper for New Zealand XI, scored 84•Getty Images

BJ Watling’s focus in the tour game may be to prove that he is good enough with the gloves to be New Zealand’s full-time Test wicketkeeper, but a stodgy 84 would not have hurt his confidence. Watling’s innings was crucial to helping New Zealand XI recover from 59 for 4 to 272 for 7 declared. Watling stayed at the wicket for almost four hours, and forged partnerships with Daniel Vettori and Sam Wells, the allrounder from Otago.Vettori counterattacked from one end, while Watling held up the order, and his 49 off 63 balls helped negate some of the early damage the Zimbabweans’ medium-pacers had done. After Vettori was dismissed by Elton Chigumbura, Wells played the role of the aggressor, racing to 65 off 85 balls with seven fours and a six. Watling stayed firm at one end, but missed out on a century when he was run out, with the score on 272, at which point New Zealand XI declared.Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, has been talking about a green pitch for the one-off Test in Napier, which he thinks will suit his fast bowlers. But it was the tourists’ medium-pacers who found success with the new ball in Gisborne. Kyle Jarvis trapped Michael Bracewell lbw for a duck in the third over and Brian Vitori got Kruger van Wyk, who is competing with Watling for the keeper’s position in the New Zealand Test side, to edge behind for 5.The first and second change bowlers also found success: Keegan Meth bowled Ross Taylor, and Shingi Masakadza dismissed Kane Williamson caught behind. Ross Taylor has struggled for form with the bat lately, and volunteered to play the practice match to get into Test mode, after playing in the HRV Cup. However, he only lasted 11 balls in the first innings, before getting bowled for 7.The Zimbabweans’ openers got to 39 for 0 after the hosts declared with 14 overs still to play on the first day, perhaps in the hope that their top-order batsmen will get another chance in the three-day game.

Harold Ghosh, the former Eastern Punjab, Northern Punjab and Railways batsman, has died in Jalandhar at the age of 75. Ghosh played first-class cricket for 24 years between 1951 and 1975; he was a left-hand batsman and bowled left-arm spin. In 72 first-class games, Ghosh scored 2599 runs at 26.79 and hit four centuries. He also picked up 29 wickets at 30.68.M.P Pandove, the secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association, condoled Ghosh’s death.

The Sri Lanka sports minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, has said that the Sri Lanka players would be paid 65% of their dues within the next two weeks, while the balance amount would be paid by January 15 next year.”We will be able to complete the full payment by January,” Altuthgamage told the Sri Lankan parliament on Tuesday.Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has not paid their players their salaries since the 2011 World Cup ended in April after running up debts of US$32.5 million to finance the building of two international cricket stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, and to renovate the ground in Colombo, for the World Cup.Aluthgamage said that the ICC had agreed to pay US$2 million to SLC and that the coach and players would be paid out of those funds. The Sri Lankan Cricketers’ Association (SLCA) has contacted the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) seeking assistance over the delay in the cricketers’ salaries for series following the World Cup this year.South Africa’s cricketers lent their support to the Sri Lanka players ahead of the upcoming bilateral series between the sides, saying it was a credit to the Sri Lanka team that they had kept going, but the issue needed to be resolved soon.Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, said the board had told him they would try and sort out the payments within the next week. ” We discussed with the Cricket Association last week and they promised it will be sorted out before the Test match, Dilshan told reporters at a press conference in Benoni. “I can’t push more than that. I’m here to play cricket. I have to focus on that.”Dilshan also thanked the South Africa players and FICA for their support. “It [statement by SA cricketers] has definitely helped. Thanks to Graeme Smith and AB [de Villiers] for giving a statement, and to FICA.”Sri Lanka have struggled since the World Cup, losing Test and ODI series to Australia, England and Pakistan. But Dilshan said he didn’t think that the payment saga had affected his team’s performances. “We try to play good cricket. Everyone wants to play cricket. We are not worried about payments. We know it is important but we have come here [South Africa] to play cricket. That’s the main target as a team.”

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir all offered closing submissions via their lawyers on the 21st day of the spot-fixing trial in London on Wednesday, as all three hope and pray that the judge will spare them a jail sentence.It was perhaps the most explosive day yet in the trial that has spanned almost five weeks, as the agent at the centre of the fixing scandal Mazhar Majeed and Amir appeared in the dock for the first time, having pleaded guilty at an earlier pre-trial.After Majeed said Butt had initially introduced him to the subject of arranging spot-fixing and having also heard that Majeed apparently paid £77,000 to the three players for the fix, the lawyers of the three players looked to gain sympathy from the judge Justice Cooke.Amir’s statement, read out to the court by his lawyer Henry Blaxland QC, was the most heartfelt and remorseful. Amir spoke of how proud he was the first time he was handed his Pakistan shirt and that he wanted to sleep in it.”First I want to apologise to Pakistan and to everyone that cricket is important to,” Amir said, via his lawyer who read from a prepared statement. “I do know how much damage this has done to the game, a game which I love more than anything else in the world.”I did decide many months ago that I wanted to admit that I deliberately threw two no-balls at the Lord’s Test last summer. But I know this was very late and I want to apologise for not saying it before. I didn’t find the courage to do it at the beginning, and I know very well that made everything much more difficult.”Last year was the most amazing year of my life but also it was the worst year. I got myself into a situation that I didn’t understand. I panicked and did the wrong thing. I don’t want to blame anyone else. I didn’t want money at all, I didn’t bowl the no-balls because of money. I got trapped and in the end it was because of my own stupidity.”My dream was to be the best cricketer in the world. I’m a competitive sportsman and those two no-balls were the only moments in my cricketing life where I have not performed to the very best of my ability. And they were not moments I felt happy to be part of.”Butt’s lawyer Ali Bajwa QC spoke of how his client had been very different in his behaviour over the last 24 hours since his guilty verdict was handed down and had not eaten or slept in that time. Butt has been immaculately dressed and groomed over the trial but did actually look slightly dishevelled by his own standards, unshaven and drawn. Butt’s wife gave birth to their second son an hour before his verdict was read.”He’s lost the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team and this was a job he had for five weeks, they won two Tests, and this was the greatest honour of his life,” Bajwa said, adding that he has since been banned by the ICC for five years and is now “close to unemployable”.”He has gone from a national hero to a figure of contempt and his ignominy is complete,” Bajwa said. “He does not want to be the cause of his family’s suffering. He now has only his liberty and his family left to lose.” Bajwa asked, apart from the obvious deterrent aspect, what would a prison sentence achieve? “Please do not make my family suffer any more.”Asif’s plea was similar. His lawyer Alexander Milne spoke of how Asif had gone into debt by travelling to England four times at his own expense, since his arrest, to consult with lawyers. Milne spoke of how he was without his wife and baby daughter and that since his ICC ban, he was basically finished as a cricketer and he should be allowed to return to Pakistan to attempt to somehow rebuild his reputation in his country.”Mr Asif has been punished, punished and punished again,” Milne told the judge. He also alluded to the fact that Asif “had thrown away everything”, was almost washed up as a player having been handed a five-year ICC ban and didn’t need to be punished further with a custodial sentence.”He will be 29 in a month and after five years out of the game, a comeback then would seem out of the question,” adding, “he leaves here a broken man.”

Mahmudullah, who missed the Twenty20 against West Indies on Tuesday with a viral fever, has not been named in Bangladesh’s 15-man squad for the three-match ODI series that follows. He will join the squad during the course of the series though, a Bangladesh Cricket Board release stated, if he recovers from his illness.Apart from vice-captain Mahmudullah, the only other omission from the Twenty20 squad is Elias Sunny, an allrounder who had impressed with his left-arm spin in the recent Bangladesh Board Cup. Instead, left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo, batsman Shahriar Nafees and allrounder Shuvagoto Hom have been brought in. The board had earlier said that fast bowler Shahadat Hossain was being considered for the one-day series, but he did not make the cut.The first ODI of the three-match series is on October 13 in Dhaka.Squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan, Alok Kapali, Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Shahriar Nafees, Shuvagoto Hom.

India’s Supreme Court has cleared the way for N Srinivasan to take over as BCCI president later this month. It has, however, said its decision is subject to the outcome of a separate petition challenging his election.Justices Aftab Alam and RM Lodha ruled that if Srinivasan was stopped from becoming president now, it would amount to deciding the outcome of the petition, which is being looked at by a larger bench of the Supreme Court.The petition was filed by AC Muthiah, a former BCCI president, based on the grounds that in April, a two-judge bench returned a split verdict on whether there was a conflict of interest concerning Srinivasan’s ownership of the Chennai Super Kings while being an office-bearer of the board.At that time Justices JM Panchal and Gyan Sudha Mishra had disagreed on the legality of the amendment to the BCCI constitution allowing Srinivasan to be part-owner of the Chennai Super Kings while being a serving member of the board.The BCCI had amended clause 6.2.4 of the regulations for players, team officials, umpires and administrators in September 2008, shortly after the first season of the IPL. Before the amendment the clause read: “No administrator shall have, directly or indirectly, any commercial interest in the matches and events conducted by the board.” After the change, it read: “No administrator shall have directly or indirectly any commercial interest in any of the events of the BCCI, excluding IPL, Champions League and Twenty20.”Muthiah’s argument was that the exclusion of IPL and Twenty20 events was made specifically to benefit Srinivasan. In September 2010, Justice Mishra had suggested Srinivasan resign from his position in the board.