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A wicket-keeper batsman Craig Kieswetter has been ruled out for six weeks due to a broken thumb injury in Somerset's County Championship match against Warwickshire. He sustained the injury to his right thumb during the final day in last ball before lunch. Dave Nosworthy, Somerset's director of cricket said: " Obviously this is very disappointing for us at this stage of the campaign and it is also very disappointing for Craig. "This was a freak accident and with him in such good form and in a good frame of mind with the bat and gloves, it has come at a bad time. However, he goes about things in a very professional way and with a good rehabilitation programme already planned we will have him back as soon as possible. "

Victoria wicketkeeper-batsman, Ryan Carters has signed New South Wales for the 2013-14 summer. John Warn, New South Wales chairman said, " Even with seven New South Wales players being contracted to Cricket Australia, Cricket New South Wales has still been able to name a very talented contract list for 2013/14, The addition of Nathan Lyon to our squad to play alongside a group of younger players that are developing rapidly, plus having someone of the ability of Trevor Bayliss to bring the group together, means that we have the depth and experience to challenge in both forms of the game next season. " New South Wales squad: Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins (CA), Michael Clarke (Cricket Australia contract), Brad Haddin (CA), Steve O'Keefe, Josh Lalor, Kurtis Patterson, osh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Scott Henry, Chris Tremain, David Warner (CA), Nathan Lyon (CA), Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, J Daniel Hughes, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu, S...

West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has agreed to play for Somerset in the domestic Twenty20 league if he is available. At present, Gayle plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL). " He's openly saying he would offer Somerset first refusal on his services in the shorter format, " Somerset chairman Andy Nash was quoted as saying by BBC.

The 39-year-old South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs has signed Caribbean Premier League starting from July 29. " I am really looking forward to playing in the first CPL. I love the Caribbean and have great memories of touring there. The people are lovely and although each nation is different, they all have that same warmth and charm that makes everyone want to go there, " said Gibbs. " Many of the West Indies players have become my friends over the years and playing alongside them in their home countries will really be special. " Gibbs joins fellow international stars Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Ross Taylor and Mohammad Hafeez as big-name signings for the tournament. Gibbs in his 15 years of international career played 90 Tests, 248 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 23 T20Is.

West Indies all-rounder Chris Gayle , who created a world records in the Indian Premier League of fastest century in T20 , will stay in his native place Jamaica in Caribbean Premier League , The Twenty20 cricket tournament in the West Indies. Australians Ricky Ponting , Adam Gilchrist and Pakistan's Mohammed Hafeez and New Zealand's Ross Taylor have already been sign CPL but no official announcement has been made about the franchise they will be assigned to. The inaugural CPL will begin from July 29 to Aug 26.

England's right-handed batsman Kevin Pietersen is looking to return to the team for the back-to-back Ashes series between australia and england , though he admitted that his current injury is still hurting him a lot. Pietersen has been ruled out from the squad to the Champions Trophy due to his right knee injury, the Mirror reports. Pietersen said that he is desperate to be play and fit for the Ashes.

Brad Haddin has been named as Australia 's vice-captain for the Ashes tour, while the Tasmanian fast-bowling allrounder James Faulkner has been named in the 16-man squad along with the veteran opener Chris Rogers . Pakistani-born Australian cricketer, Usman Khawaja has retained his place, while Glenn Maxwell, Xavier Doherty and Moises Henriques have been left out from the squad who toured India last month. Australia Ashes squad : Michael Clarke (capt), Brad Haddin (vice-capt, wk), Usman Khawaja, Chris Rogers, David Warner, Ed Cowan, Matthew Wade (wk), James Faulkner, Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Mitchell Starc.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore opener batsman Chris Gayle has set a new record milestone for the fastest century in the history of professional cricket by hitting a ton off just 30 balls against Pune Warriors India in the Indian Premier League season 6. West Indies international, Gayle smashed century in just 30-ball with the help of 11 sixes and 8 boundaries. The fastest in the history of the game. At the end of an innings, Gayle was not out with 175 runs in 66 balls. Gayle stated just after his innings, " I am lost for words myself. It was just one of those days, it was a good wicket. We went berserk in the first 6 overs, it worked out well. Then I decided to play myself a bit in and very happy that it went my way. " The 30-ball ton beats the previous record set by Australia 's Andrew Symonds in 34-ball. The other record is of Shahid Afridi 's 37-ball ton in 50-over cricket for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in 1996. Interesting Stats: Chris ...

The former West Indies captain Viv Richards has joined the Delhi Daredevils as the team's ambassador. He will also play an "advisory role" with the IPL franchise. " I am looking forward to working with the Delhi Daredevils this season, " Richards said.  " I know the team has many players of proven quality and others who have immense talent and hunger to succeed at this level and higher. It will be a great experience for me to be their sounding board and inspire them to deliver quality performances ."

An Australian cricketer Shaun Marsh who plays for Kings XI Punjab in IPL is ready to join the squad. He passed a fitness test in Australia on Friday. Marsh had been recovering from an injury he picked while playing for Australia A in February. " I'm feeling fit and healthy so I can't wait to get back to playing cricket again and am really excited about the next five weeks in the IPL, " Marsh said in a media release issued by Perth Scorchers , his team in the Big Bash . Marsh's recovery will be a bounce back situation for Punjab. He is by far the best batsman in Kings XI Punjab's squad. He has a century and hit the most number of boundaries for Punjab with the best average (45.80), and one of the highest strike-rates in the team.

Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul , has been ruled out for the Champions Trophy due to an injury on his right knee. He sustained the injury during last month just after the Centurion ODI against South Africa and since then he has been sidelined. He will board to Melbourne in May for surgery. " Gul complained of right knee pain during the recently concluded one-day series against South Africa ," a PCB spokesman confirmed. "He was rested for the last two one-dayers for imminent damage to his medial meniscus and bone of the right knee. A later MRI scan confirmed a full thickness tear of the posterior horn of medial meniscus with patchy bone bruising on his right knee."

Netherlands international Alexei Kervezee has taken retirement from international cricket in order to continue his career in county with Worcestershire . Kervezee said, "It's a decision that I haven't taken lightly and have thought long and hard about over the last few months but feel at this time in my career it is right for me in order to pursue my ultimate goal. I want clarity in my mind as to what I'm working to and for, where I want to be and what I need to do to get there. "It's always been an honour and pleasure representing Netherlands Cricket and something I never took lightly. I owe a great deal to Dutch cricket and playing for them is something that I will forever cherish, but at this point in my career I feel I need to focus on my future at Worcestershire." Kervezee has played 49 first-class matches for Worcestershire with an average of 32.93 which includes four hundreds and a top-score of 155. For Netherlands, Kervezee has playe...

Pakistan T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez has signed Caribbean Premier League and become the fourth international 'franchise player'. Hafeez, played 43 T20I matches for Pakistan " The 2010 World T20 allowed me the experience playing T20 in the Caribbean and I am looking forward to playing there once again, " Hafeez said. " The people in the West Indies love their cricket and I am sure the fans will get behind their teams. I also hope that cricket fans back in Pakistan and around the world will follow me during this first CPL season. " The CPL will start on July 29 and run till August 26.

On Thursday evening in the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB skipper Virat Kohli and KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir 's were involved in an ugly on-field spat. It all started during RCB's 10th over, when Kohli was dismissed by Lakshmipathy Balaji and as Kohli turned towards the pavilion , Gambhir said something which made Kohli furious. Suddenly Kohli charged back towards Gambhir and the Gambhir too angrily walked towards Kohli. At the end of the match, RCB won by eight wickets, both Kohli and Gambhir shake hands. During the post-match presentation, Kohli said, " It's done, what is done on the field is done (spat) " Gambhir said, " It happens in the heat of the moment. We don't need to carry it off the field. It is a tough sport, no love lost. " These ugly spat brought back memories of the first edition of IPL, where Harbhajan Singh slap Sreesanth, after Mumbai India...

Sri Lanka have announced their 30-man provisional squad for the ICC Champions Trophy in June this year. The squad have five uncapped players including fast bowler Ishara Jayaratne, batsmen Kithuruwan Vithanage, Shehan Jayasuriya and Angelo Perera and spinner Milinda Siriwardana. Sri Lanka will play their first match of the Champions Trophy against New Zealand at Cardiff on June 9. Squad : Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Angelo Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Thilina Kandamby, Lasith Malinga, Chamara Welegedara, Ishara Jayaratne, Shehan Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedara, Thisara Perera, Shaminda Eranga, Jeevan Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Farveez Maharoof, Seekuge Prasanna, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Milinda Siriwardana, Malinga Bandara.

Three senior players Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, and Harbhajan Singh have been excluded from their list of probables for the Champions Trophy in June this year. India's Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand and allrounder Parvez Rasool has been included for the Champions Trophy Probables. Probables : M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Manoj Tiwary, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Umesh Yadav, Shami Ahmed, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jalaj Saxena, Parvez Rasool, Praveen Kumar, Ishwar Pandey, Irfan Pathan, Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Siddarth Kaul.

The New Zealand batsman, Ross Taylor has signed the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and became the third foreign player after Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist to sign CPL . Six international players of West Indies have already confirmed their participation in this league- Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Marlon Samuels. Taylor said, " I am very excited about playing in the first ever edition of the CPL, As current world champions, West Indies have been a force in T20 cricket over the past couple of years, and CPL should help uncover new international superstars in the mould of Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine. The Caribbean is one of my favourite places to play cricket and with the passionate crowds, great atmosphere and the athletic style of play, I'm looking forward to being a part of this exciting competition. " The CPL will start this year from July 29 to August 26 by six franchise countries:  Antigua & Ba...

Former Australia wicketkeeper, Luke Ronchi has bagged his place to a New Zealand squad for the Champions Trophy starting in June. Daniel Vettori also made a cameback after eight months of an ankle injury. NZ Champions Trophy squad : Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Luke Ronchi, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been included in the 15-man test squad that will take on Zimbabwe in two Tests later this month. Tamim Iqbal has retained his place in the Test squad. Bangladesh Test Squad : Mushfiqur Rahim (c & wk), Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Jahurul Islam, Mohammad Ashraful, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Enamul Haque, Shahadat Hossain, Robiul Islam, Sajidul Islam.

The NSW captain and left-hand batsman Ben Rohrer from Australia signs Delhi Daredevils for this IPL season . He will replace Indian seamer Varun Aaron, The Daredevils' spokesperson confirmed. The 32-year-old Rohrer performed outstanding performance for the Melbourne Renegades in the 2012-13 Big Bash League . In his first-class career for NSW, He scored 1901 runs at 39.60 in 34 matches.

The senior Pakistan batsman, Younis Khan has been left out of a 30-man squad for the Champions Trophy to be held in June. In addition, Allrounder Abdul Razzaq is ignored by the national selectors. The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in England in June. Pakistan are in Group B along with India, South Africa and West Indies. Pakistan preliminary squad: Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, Imran Farhat, Umar Akmal, Hammad Azam, Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik, Umer Amin, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Shahid Afridi, Ehsan Adil, Imran Khan, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema, Abdul Rehman, Rahat Ali, Zulfiqar Babar, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan