Chris Woakes pointed to misfortune suffered by the injured pair Jofra Archer and Olly Stone as one of the reasons he finds himself in contention for Ashes selection this summer.

Archer was ruled out of contention with a stress fracture to his elbow sustained playing for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, while Stone will miss at least the first Test with a hamstring injury.

Woakes had himself missed over a year of first-class cricket following knee surgery before returning to play for Warwickshire earlier in the summer.

The 34-year-old has been recalled to Brendon McCullum’s England side for the match against Ireland at Lord’s which begins on Thursday – his first home Test appearance since he featured against the West Indies in June 2020.

The seamer took six for 17 on his last appearance against Ireland back in 2019 and is hoping another strong performance could kick open the door to Ashes selection.

“If you’d have asked me a month or two ago whether I’d even be in this squad – probably not, really,” said Woakes. “Looking at the pool of fast bowlers that were available, you stick Jofra (Archer) and Olly Stone in the mix as well, I might not have been. Their misfortune means I’m here.

“But that’s the game, isn’t it? Injuries happen and things do change quite quickly. All part of my prep this summer was to miss IPL, play some county cricket for Warwickshire and try and get myself in the space where, if I was to get the call, then I’m ready. Thankfully it’s worked out nicely for myself.”

Lord’s has been a fruitful ground for Woakes, playing host to his only Test hundred against India in 2018 as well as being the setting for three five-wicket hauls.

After a year in injury limbo, he spoke of his gratitude at being having given the chance to put himself in contention for the Ashes – the first Test of which is at Edgbaston in June – and an opportunity to banish memories of the 4-0 series defeat in Australia during the 2020-21 edition.

“I suppose (it has been limbo) in a way,” he said. “Last summer wasn’t nice, because I tried to put the surgery off. I didn’t want to have it until it was a last resort, but it did get to the stage where it was last resort.

“It wasn’t serious surgery, but you never know how you’re going to come back from it, especially as it was the front knee, bowler’s knee.

“Thankfully, the surgeon did a good job, I’ve healed nicely and it’s pretty good. It was a tough summer but the winter well from a white-ball perspective so I’m looking forward to this summer.

“Without a shadow of a doubt (there were dark moments), you go through days when you’re injured and you see cricket going on, not just England, any cricket with Warwickshire as well, you want to be a part of that.

“I think the older you get and the more cricket you miss, you think it’s an opportunity missed. To miss a whole summer was not ideal, and there are moments where you do get a bit dark, not overly dark.

“But it’s that feeling that you’re losing valuable time to be playing cricket, making memories and making the most of your career.”

Half-centuries from Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Joshua Da Silva and Raymon Reifer have put the West Indies “A” in a solid position after the first day of their third four-day “Test” match against Bangladesh “A” at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Monday.

The tourists currently find themselves 320-6 off 82 overs after winning the toss and batting first.

Chanderpaul led the way with 83 off 160 balls, hitting nine fours and a six in the process. The 26-year-old also made 83 in the first game.

Da Silva, the Captain, was much more proactive for his 82. His knock came off 94 balls and included 12 fours and a pair of sixes.

Alick Athanaze also chipped in with a well-compiled 59 off 66 balls including seven fours and two sixes while Reifer ended the day 56* off 90 balls including six fours and a six. Kevin Sinclair (22*) is currently partnering Reifer in the middle.

Nasum Ahmed has, so far, taken 3-92 off 26 overs for the hosts while Musfik Hasan has taken 2-50 in 13 overs.

West Indies “A” lead the series 1-0.

Ravindra Jadeja was the hero as the Chennai Super Kings beat the Gujarat Titans by five-wickets in the final of the 2023 Indian Premier League at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday

The Titans, after being put in to bat by the Super Kings, made an imposing 214-4 off their 20 overs.

Sai Sudharsan made an extremely composed 47-ball 96 for the Titans including eight fours and six sixes while Wriddhiman Saha made 54 off 39 balls earlier.

A prolonged rain-delay with CSK 4-0 after just three balls meant that, upon the return, they needed a revised target of 171 in 15 overs.

CSK’s formidable opening pair of Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad continued their excellent form this season, putting on 74 for the first wicket before Gaikwad went for a 16-ball 26. Conway, who top scored for the Super Kings went, soon after, for a 25-ball 47.

In the end, an unbeaten 22-run partnership between Shivam Dube (32*) and Ravindra Jadeja (15*) handed Chennai their fifth IPL title, putting them alongside the Mumbai Indians at the top of the pile.

The match came down to the last two deliveries, with Jadeja facing pacer Mohit Sharma needing 10 to win.

He hit the fifth ball of the final over for a straight six before clipping the final ball down to the fine leg boundary to secure the win.

Sharma tried his best with the ball, taking 3-36 from his three overs while Noor Ahmad took 2-17 from his three.

Brendon McCullum is excited about the “magic” that could occur in the Ashes and has promised England will not move away from their aggressive approach at the first sign of danger.

England begin an eagerly-anticipated summer with a one-off Test against Ireland at Lord’s on Thursday, but already much of the discourse is around the upcoming series with Australia.

After a string of poor showings both on home soil and Down Under, the script book was ripped up this time last year when Rob Key, managing director of men’s cricket at the England and Wales Cricket Board, decided to pair captain Ben Stokes and head coach McCullum together to revitalise red-ball cricket in this country.

The results were devastating with ‘Bazball’ taking the nation by storm with run-rates going through the roof, draws being discarded and the pressure of losing taken away, but the perennial question throughout England’s run of 10 wins from 12 Tests has been, can it be taken into the high-pressure stakes of an Ashes series?

McCullum said: “It’s a challenge, but it’s an exciting challenge.

“The more that’s at stake, the more it’s important to keep it simple and relaxed, to do what gives you your greatest chance.

“At the first sign of trouble you can’t run away from it, or at the first sign of all the eyeballs in the world watching you, you can’t run away from what’s been most successful for you.

“That’s when you should be at your clearest, keep things as simple as possible and that will be the message right throughout.”

Former New Zealand wicket-keeper McCullum is no stranger to battles with Australia, but modestly and perhaps unfairly suggested he was only good enough to scrap against teams wearing the baggy greens.

That is not the case for his England side, the 41-year-old insists.

“I’m not as good as these guys are, so you always felt like you were scrapping for something rather than being able to go toe to toe with them (Australia),” McCullum added.

“The ability to go toe-to-toe with a good side is where the magic happens.

“I think we’ve got the quality in our team and they’ve got the quality in their team to be a heavyweight contest so I’m excited about that.

“There’s so much excitement about what’s coming and there’s so much uncertainty for everyone and that’s where I think the real magic has the opportunity to come out. so we’re just excited about it.”

England’s ‘Bazball’ approach has been heavily debated since it arrived on the scene and at its height, Stokes’ side were scoring at 5.50 runs per over in Pakistan during the winter.

Whether or not that can be replicated remains to be seen, but McCullum does feel they should only get more consistent with time.

“To be fair, there’s some stuff we did last year that I didn’t really think was achievable but the guys were able to do it,” he admitted.

“If you are present and clear of mind, you’re able to make good decisions because you’re not worried about the outcome as such, you’re just able to adapt to what’s required.

“There will be periods where we’ll have to absorb pressure. It may also be that we’ll be able to put the handle down a bit more and achieve what we did last summer. We’ll just wait and see.”

A key part of England’s philosophy is a relaxed environment and spending quality time together, which occurred on Sunday when the team linked up for the first time – since the New Zealand series in February – for a round of golf at the Grove in Hertfordshire.

After facing Ireland this week, England will have 11 days before the Ashes opener at Edgbaston on June 16, but that will not be spent exclusively together, with a mixture of days off, training and some “quality time” arranged before the battle for the urn begins.

McCullum stated: “I think it’s a good build-up, I think it’s perfect.”

One man not set to be involved is Ben Foakes after he was left out of the Ireland Test in favour of the fit-again Jonny Bairstow, who will don the gloves and try to replicate his stunning 2022 form where he hit six hundreds.

“Well, I mean he’s an incredible player,” McCullum said of Bairstow.

“He’s a rare commodity and he’s able to do some things that other people just can’t.

“I think if he’s able to recapture even a glimpse of the form which he showed last summer, then our side does look really, really strong.”

England head coach Brendon McCullum is confident James Anderson and Ollie Robinson will be fit for the first Ashes Test but has confirmed they will play no part against Ireland this week.

The five-match series against Australia begins on June 16 but England have fitness concerns over a number of their bowlers.

Robinson suffered an ankle issue for Sussex earlier this month and Anderson strained his groin while on Lancashire duty while injury-hit pair Jofra Archer and Olly Stone have experienced elbow and hamstring problems respectively already this summer.

England begin their eagerly anticipated summer with a four-day Test against Ireland at Lord’s on Thursday and while two of their key bowlers will miss out, they should be fine for the Ashes opener at Edgbaston.

“Yeah we’ve got a couple of niggles so we’re just monitoring those at the moment. I guess every team that goes into a series has got a couple of little things that you need to work through, but pretty confident we’ll have a good squad to be able to pick from,” McCullum insisted.

On Robinson and Anderson, he added: “For the first Ashes Test, I think they should be fit.

“They won’t be fit for this one against Ireland. We’ll just have to monitor it over this next sort of while, but we’ve got some great options right throughout the squad.

“When I first took over this job, people said there wasn’t much depth in English cricket and I disagree with that completely.

“I think there is an immense amount of depth and we’ve got plenty of good options throughout the squad.”

Wasim Khan, the International Cricket Council general manager, accepts the landscape of the sport has changed as he urged countries and franchise leagues to find a way to “coexist”.

Jason Roy last week became the first England player to cancel his national contract, an incremental deal worth between £60,000 and £70,000 per year, to pursue an opportunity in Major League Cricket in the United States, where he has reportedly been offered around £300,000 for two seasons.

There has been speculation about the Indian Premier League offering annual contracts while the relevance of bilateral cricket keeps cropping up as internationals are crammed into an already busy programme.

Khan admitted there is no putting the genie back in the bottle as the proliferation of domestic T20 competitions continues but he feels international cricket can live alongside these leagues.

“Obviously the way the schedule is structured now and the emergence of these leagues, there has to be a way for us to coexist,” said Khan, the former chief executive of Leicestershire and Pakistan.

“Nothing is going to be removed so we are going to have to coexist moving forward.”

The growing unease about the possibility of elite talent putting club before country in future hangs over cricket ahead of the final of the World Test Championship happening next week at the Kia Oval.

Khan, who expects “full crowds” for at least the first four days of the contest between India and Australia, thinks the format still holds some relevance and revealed the 12 full member nations have elected to keep hold of the World Test Championship for the next eight-year cycle.

“The members have signed up for the next eight years,” said Khan. “We’ve heard some of the top stars from around the world continually talking about the importance of Test cricket.

“We know that the emergence of these leagues does put pressure on the schedule but we’re confident that at least for the next eight years that continual context will be provided for red-ball cricket.

“It’s important we continue to find an opportunity to coexist, to ensure our schedules moving forward provides something for everybody.”

Ricky Ponting suggested earlier this month the ICC has a role to play in making sure players from smaller nations are well-remunerated in Test cricket so they do not go down the franchise route.

Khan confirmed the former Australia captain’s assertion the issue had been brought up in a Cricket Committee meeting but was taken no further.

“It was perhaps a misquote,” said Khan. “It was raised initially within the ICC Cricket Committee as a discussion point but there was certainly nothing taken forward around payments to players.”

Khan, though, believes it is up to the boards of individual countries how much they pay players, pointing out all full member nations will receive a substantial increase on previous earnings during the new rights cycle from 2024-27.

“The distributions the members will be receiving in the next cycle will be greater than what they received previously,” added Khan. “The payments they pay players is purely down to the members.

“If there are player associations there, they will certainly be negotiating with those, but where there’s not, it’s down to the boards – and particularly with the key players within those boards – to decide what the payment structure looks like moving forward.”

Somerset made it three wins from three at the start of the Vitality Blast after Tom Banton’s belligerent fifty helped them see off Glamorgan by four wickets at Taunton.

Glamorgan lost regular wickets and were all out for 153 in 19.4 overs, with slow left-armer Roelof Van Der Merwe taking three for 24, while Lewis Gregory and Peter Siddle each collected a couple of scalps.

Banton helped Somerset off to a flyer by putting on 69 in 5.3 overs alongside Will Smeed, who was out for 28 off 14 balls, while there were also cameos from Tom Kohler-Cadmore (19) and Tom Abell (22).

Banton’s 54 from just 28 balls contained nine fours and one six to break the back of the chase, with Ben Green and Craig Overton sealing a win with 5.1 overs to spare in front of a near full-house crowd.

Alex Lees’ brilliant career-best 90 from 53 balls helped secure back-to-back wins for Durham and extended Yorkshire’s winless start to the season with a 28-run victory at Headingley.

Captain Lees blended timing with power against his former club to lead Durham to a commanding total of 217 for three, with Ollie Robinson also thumping an unbeaten 64 from 30 deliveries.

Adam Lyth bristled with intent at the outset of the chase with 24 off eight balls but Yorkshire’s pursuit fizzled out and they finished on 189 for seven, with Ben Raine taking three for 27.

Tom Alsop’s unbeaten 51 off 42 deliveries and a classy 28-ball 48 from Michael Burgess swept Sussex to a five-wicket victory over Surrey off the penultimate ball at the Kia Oval.

Sussex veteran Ravi Bopara rolled back the years with three for 18 as Surrey were skittled for 148 after 19.3 overs, where Sunil Narine top-scored for the hosts with 29 off 18 deliveries.

Sussex slipped to 56 for four in the 11th over before a 77-run stand in 47 balls between Alsop and Burgess put them in the driving seat. They still needed 10 from the final over but Alsop got them home.

Kycia Knight starred with an unbeaten half-century as Barbados defeated the Leeward Islands by eight wickets to claim the CWI Women’s T20 Blaze title, adding to their Super 50 crown won last week.

The Leewards batted first at Warner Park on Saturday, making 121-5 off their 20 overs thanks to a 50-ball 33* from Divya Saxena.

Theanny Herbert-Mayers was the best bowler on the day for the Bajans with figures of 2-12 from her four overs.

The Barbados chase was then anchored be an 80-run opening stand between Knight and Aaliyah Alleyne who made 32.

In the end, Barbados claimed victory in 17.3 overs, reaching 122-2. Knight faced 51 balls for her 66*, hitting nine boundaries.

At St. Paul’s Sports Complex, Guyana won an extraordinary match against Trinidad & Tobago by one run to secure second place.

Guyana took first strike and were bowled out for a horrendous 39 in 19.3 overs with only skipper Shemaine Campbelle reaching double figures with 13 against an excellent four-over spell from Anisa Mohammed which saw her claim four wickets while conceding just five runs.

Steffie Soogrim and Shalini Samaroo also bowled eight overs between them, taking 2-7 and 2-10, respectively.

Then, amazingly, Guyana was able to defend the paltry total, bowling out T&T for 38 in 18.4 overs.

Mandy Mangru led the way with the ball with 4-11 from 3.4 overs while Ashmini Munisar took 2-8 from three overs.

At Conaree Sports Club, the Windward Islands beat Jamaica by six wickets.

Jamaica made 102-6 off their 20 overs batting first. Keneshia Ferron led the way with 32 off 41 balls while captain Stafanie Taylor made 22.

Afy Fletcher took 2-11 off her four overs for the Windwards.

The Windwards then needed only 17 overs to overhaul Jamaica’s total, reaching 103-4.

Zaida James led the way with 28 while Fletcher got 23.

The final points table saw Barbados and Guyana level on 16 points, followed by the Windwards (12), Jamaica (8), Trinidad & Tobago (8) and the Leewards (0).

Australian women’s captain Meg Lanning has been ruled out of the summer’s Ashes tour due to medical reasons.

A statement from Cricket Australia said Lanning, 31, who returned to cricket in January after a six-month mental health break, has been “withdrawn from the squad due to a medical issue which requires management from home”.

Cricket Australia’s women’s cricket performance boss Shawn Flegler said: “It’s an unfortunate setback for Meg and she’s obviously disappointed to have been ruled out of the Ashes; it’s a significant series for the team and she’ll be missed, but she understands the need to put her health first.

“Meg will remain at home where she will continue to work with medical staff with the aim to return to playing as soon as possible.

“We ask that Meg’s privacy is respected at this time.”

Wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy will captain the team throughout the Ashes clashes against England with all-rounder Tahlia McGrath as vice-captain.

Lanning, who captained Australia to win the Twenty20 World Cup in March, will not be replaced in the squad with Australia A players touring England at the same and available if needed.

The multi-format Ashes series starts with a one-off Test in Nottingham from June 22 with three T20s and three ODIS.

New West Indies white-ball head coach Daren Sammy has hit back at critics of his hiring as coach.

Sammy, a former West Indies captain who led the regional side to World T20 triumphs in 2012 and 2016, was hired earlier this month as coach of the West Indies ODI and T20I sides despite not having a level 3 coaching certificate.

The former all-rounder previously coached Pakistan Super League (PSL) outfit Peshawar Zalmi in 2020 and 2021 before returning for the 2023 season. He also coached the St. Lucia Kings in the 2022 Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Despite this, critics have said his hiring as Windies head coach sets a bad precedent but the 39-year-old says he is “blocking out the noise” and focusing on the task at hand, returning the West Indies back to the top of the white-ball game.

“I’ve made it known; coaching was not something I aspired to do during my playing days but it’s a role that actually chose me. I’m a work in progress. I am aware of all those things,” Sammy said during a press conference on Friday.

“I understand the challenges ahead of me but I also believe in the impact and the effect that I could have on this generation right now and I will not let my lack of a certificate stop me from taking on the challenges that I know that I’m equipped to handle,” Sammy added before clarifying that he has, in fact, began the process of attaining the certificate.

“I have already started the process to be certified and, during that process, working with the West Indies team, working with further developing myself as a coach in terms of the qualifications needed,” he said.

“Don’t think for one minute that I will ever question myself that I’m not fit to do this job,” Sammy added.

His first two assignments will come next month when the West Indies battle the UAE in three ODIs from June 4-9 before they head to Zimbabwe to take part in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers from June 18-July 9.

An unbeaten half-century from captain Shemaine Campbelle lifted Guyana to a crucial eight-wicket win over defending champions Jamaica in their Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s T20 Blaze match on Thursday.

The stylish right-hander made 50* from 49 balls including five fours and shared an unbroken third wicket stand of exactly 100 with allrounder Shakibi Gajnabi, as the Guyanese successfully chased 110 in the opening match of the triple-header at Warner Park, St Kitts.

Gajnabi supported well with 37 not out from 46 balls and the result was achieved with 12 balls remaining, giving Guyana their third win of the tournament.

Earlier in the day, fast bowler Celina Whyte took 2-11 from her allotted four overs – removing Sheneta Grimmond for six and fellow opener Katana Mentore for two but Campbelle and Gajnabi combined to dominate.

When Jamaica batted captain Stafanie Taylor led the way again with 48 off 49 balls with five fours and one six, as the Jamaicans reached 109-6 from their 20 overs after they won the toss and chose to bat.

Taylor added 55 for the second wicket with Keneshia Ferron (20) and put on 32 for the third wicket with Natasha McLean (27), but their effort was never going to be enough to seriously challenge Guyana. Seam bowler Cherry-Ann Fraser was the pick of the bowlers with 3-18 from three overs.

In the day’s second encounter, Trinidad & Tobago secured a six-wicket win over the Leeward Islands.

Divya Saxena (37) and Jahzara Claxton (36) led the way for the Leewards as they made 120-5 off their 20 overs batting first.

Off-spinner Anisa Mohammed took a pair of wickets in her four overs while conceding only 21 runs while Kirbyina Alexander took 2-15 from three.

Trinidad & Tobago then reached 121-4 with 14 balls to spare thanks to a solid all-round batting effort including contributions from Shunelle Sawh (26), Britney Cooper (21*), Shalini Samaroo (20) and Anisa Mohammed (19*).

The day’s third game saw Super 50 champions Barbados score a dramatic four-wicket win over the Windward Islands off the last ball of the match.

Qiana Joseph led the way with a run-a-ball 50 while Malika Edward contributed 20 as the Windwards posted 128-8 off their 20 overs.

Pacers Shamilia Connell and Allison Gordon led the way with the ball for Barbados with 3-16 and 2-20 from their respective four over spells.

The successful Barbados chase was then led by the Knight sisters with Kycia getting 49 at the top of the innings and Kyshona getting 19* including the winning runs. Naijanni Cumberbatch also contributed a crucial 22 as Barbados ended up 121-6 off their 20 overs.

Zaida James took 2-27 from her four overs for the Windwards.

With one round of matches left, Guyana and Barbados are currently level on 12 points with Barbados at the top via head-to-head record. They are followed by the Windwards (8), Trinidad & Tobago (8), Jamaica (8) and the Leewards (0).

On Saturday, Jamaica will take on the Windward Islands, Barbados will face the Leewards and Guyana will face Trinidad & Tobago.

Player of the Match Kevin Sinclair’s five-wicket haul and Brandon King’s half-century, his first useful score on tour so far, steered West Indies ‘A’ to a narrow three-wicket victory over Bangladesh ‘A’ at Syhlet International Stadium on Friday.

Resuming from their overnight score of 274-6, a lead of 166, the hosts only managed to add an additional 23 runs and were bowled out for 297 for a lead of 189. Chasing victory, The West Indies were in trouble at 70-5 before King scored a stabilizing 54 as the West Indies reached 191-7 in 49.5 overs.

Irfan Sukkur, 64 not out and Nayeem Hasan on 14 overnight extended their 65-run partnership to 78 which was broken when Jair McAllister had Hasan caught behind for 17. Sinclair then dismissed Tanzim Hasan Hakib and Sukkur in quick succession for four and 72, respectively, before McAllister ended the innings with the wicket of Khaled Ahmed for 0 with the score at 297.

Sinclair finished with the impressive figures of 5-79 to go with his first innings take of 2-44. McAllister, the Player of the Match in the first drawn unofficial Test, finished with 2-42 while Akeem Jordan took 2-38.

Chasing a target of 190 for victory, the West Indies were in danger of relinquishing their grip on the match, losing their first five wickets for just 70 runs. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Raymon Reifer each scoring 22 before losing their wickets to Saif Hasan. Kirk McKenzie made 12 and Keacy Carty and Alick Athanaze, four each, as the tourists’ run chase faltered.

However, Brandon King, who has had a terrible time of it so far with two consecutive ducks, found some form to help stage a West Indies recovery with a well-played 54 as he and Captain Joshua da Silva added a crucial 76 runs for the sixth wicket.

That stand was ended when King was dismissed by Tanvir Islam with the West Indies’ still 44 runs shy of their target. Things got worse when the bowler also had Sinclair caught behind for four. Da Silva and Akeem Jordan then combined to score the remaining runs. The captain scored an unbeaten 47 for the second time in the match and Akeem Jordan 22 from 20 balls as the West Indies ‘A’ secured victory at 191-7.

Tanvir Islam took 4-52 and Saif Hasan 2-24 in the losing cause.

Cricket Ireland has defended the absence of star bowler Josh Little from next week’s Lord’s Test against England, declaring the match is not “a pinnacle event”.

The 23-year-old left-armer is one of Irish cricket’s hottest properties and landed a deal worth more than £400,000 with Gujarat Titans in this year’s Indian Premier League.

But he will be conspicuous by his absence when his country play just their second Test against England, having requested a break following his busy white-ball schedule.

Champions of Test cricket will see that as a worrying signal at a time when the most prestigious form of the game is being squeezed from all sides by franchise tournaments, but for Ireland the matter is more clearcut.

The World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in June and July is a clear priority and takes precedence over a standalone showpiece at the home of cricket.

CI’s high performance director Richard Holdsworth explained: “What we have to understand is that while we are incredibly proud to go and play against England at Lord’s…it’s a special occasion, but it’s not a pinnacle event.

“Going to a World Cup qualifier where only 10 teams can qualify for the World Cup, that is still the biggest priority in the game as far as we’re concerned. Josh has been on the road for the best part of five months, that in itself is very tiring physically and mentally.

“Josh asked us initially if he could have a period of rest ahead of the World Cup qualifier. Our management team and selectors discussed the issue in detail and were amicably in agreement that it was in the best interests of Josh and the team.

“We’ve made it very clear at the beginning of our last strategy that our pinnacle events would be white-ball cricket. A member with the funding we’ve got simply cannot commit to three formats of the game, it’s financially impossible.”

Holdsworth also suggested that Little’s steady diet of T20 cricket in recent times may have meant he was undercooked for the rigours of a Test match.

“Bowling four overs is not good enough to prepare any cricketer to play Test cricket, where he could be bowling 20-plus overs a day in two innings,” he said.

“We didn’t feel physically he was actually going to be ready for that having had no preparation.”

With more domestic leagues than ever before and a lack of financial muscle to match them, Ireland could face further tricky decisions if their first-choice players attract tournament deals.

That is a fact not lost on Holdsworth, who added: “This is a whole new world to us and the players, it’s absolutely going to challenge everybody.

“All our players who’ve played franchise cricket have learned a lot about how we balance that and being the best they can be for Ireland, but it is a challenge.”

Bangladesh ‘A’ staged a fight back against West Indies ‘A’ on the third day of their four-day unofficial Test at Syhlet International Stadium on Thursday.

After bowling the West Indies out for 345, Bangladesh ‘A’, trailing by 108 runs on first innings, reached 274-6 at stumps, for a lead of 166 runs heading into the final day of play on Friday.

The hosts owe their position to half-centuries from opener Shadlam Islam, Shahadat Hossain and Irfan Sukkur, the latter being unbeaten on 64 and who along with Nayeem Hasan have so far added 65 runs for the seventh wicket.

The West Indies ‘A’, resuming from their overnight score of 268-6 with Joshua da Silva on nine and Kevin Sinclair on one, took the score to 329, a stand of 63 for the seventh wicket that was broken when Sinclair was dismissed for 32 by Hasan Sakib, who would eventually take all four West Indies wickets.

Akeem Jordan, Anderson Phillip and Jair McAllister all fell cheaply leaving da Silva high and dry on 47. The West Indies ‘A’ captain was visibly irritated when McAllister went for an ill-advised pull shot and was out caught for a duck first ball of the 97^th over, to be last man out thus denying his captain a chance to achieve another 50.

Hasan Sakib's four wickets came at a cost of 59 runs.

Trailing by 108 on first innings, opener Shadlam Islam made 74 while helping lay the foundation for the Bangladesh ‘A’ fightback. At 51-2 after losing the wickets of Zakir Hasan for 13 and Saif Hasan for 16, Islam featured in a 56-run third wicket partnership with Mohammad Naim, who was eventually dismissed by Sinclair for 28.

The loss of Naim’s wicket brought Shahadat Hossain to the crease and he and Islam further frustrated the West Indies bowlers while putting on 68 for the fourth wicket.

Sinclair eventually broke through trapping Islam for 74 before dismissing Afif Hossain for four as Bangladesh ‘A’ slipped to 180-5. Sinclair picked up his third wicket when he dismissed Shahadat Hossain 50 with the lead at 101.

That would be the last success for the West Indies bowlers for the day as Sukkur and Nayeem Hasan kept the tourists’ attack at bay until the close.

Sinclair’s three wickets cost 76 runs while Akeem Jordan has so far picked up 2-38.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced that following an assessment of a remodeled bowling action, Guyanese fast bowler Ronsford Beaton has been cleared to resume bowling in regional and international cricket.

Beaton’s bowling action was assessed by officials at Loughborough University in England, where it was found to be within acceptable limits.

The assessment was required after Beaton’s action was reported back in March by match officials during the West Indies Championship fourth round match between Guyana Harpy Eagles and Jamaica Scorpions at the Guyana National Stadium.

Following this, an assessment was conducted which found his bowling action to be illegal by officials at Loughborough University.

In line with CWI’s approved process for dealing with illegal bowling actions, Beaton underwent remedial work to remodel his action and video footage was sent to Loughborough University for analysis using an Opinion Report which was conducted earlier this month. The fast bowler has subsequently been cleared to resume bowling.