Smith, Warner return for Oz World Cup defence

Melbourne: The return of Steve Smith and David Warner to Australia’s squad for the ODI World Cup came as little surprise on Monday but selectors still managed to cause a stir by omitting strike bowler Josh Hazlewood and in-form batsman Peter Handscomb.

Squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa. 

Karachi
Hafeez clears fitness test, back in World Cup contention

Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez cleared the fitness test on Monday, making him a top contender for a spot in the World Cup squad. Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that it conducted fitness tests of the 23 World Cup probables but didn’t reveal the results. However, it is learnt that except for all-rounder Emad Wasim and batsman Abid Ali, all the other players passed the Yo-Yo test.

Dhaka
Shakib called back from IPL for World Cup camp 

Bangladesh will ask all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan to return from the IPL and join the team’s World Cup preparation camp next week, the nation’s cricket board said. Shakib is currently in India with his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

New Delhi
Sporting Club in Om Nath memorial quarterfinals 

Kuldeep Hooda and Ekansh Dobal hit half-centuries to help Sporting Cricket Club beat LB Shastri Cricket Club by 46 runs and enter the quarterfinals of the 29th All India Om Nath Sood Memorial Cricket Tournament.

Brief Scores: Sporting Cricket Club: 301/7 in 40 overs (A Yadav 61, K Hooda 60*, E Dobal 51, R Rathi 43; K Singh 2/50, V Dixit 2/61); LB Shastri Cricket Club: 255 all out in 39.4 overs (S Chikara 80, A Juyal 55, Ziya-ul-haq 35*; V Panchal 3/61, P Yadav 2/27, K Hooda 2/29).  — Agencies