Shaheen Afridi will play for Hampshire in next year's Vitality Blast.

Shaheen, who has become an important part of Pakistan's seam attack in all formats over the past 18 months, is expected to be available for the duration of the T20 competition as an overseas player.

"I am delighted to sign with Hampshire for the upcoming Vitality Blast competition," Shaheen said. "I have always enjoyed playing in England in front of the fantastic fans and I look forward to joining this historic club for my first experience of county cricket."

The 19-year-old Shaheen had a particularly enjoyable time on English pitches earlier this year, claiming the best figures for Pakistan in a World Cup with 6 for 35 against Bangladesh at Lord's in July. Those figures were also the best of the tournament as he finished with 16 wickets at an average of 14.63.

An imposing and accurate left-arm paceman, Afridi burst onto the international scene in April 2018 when he earned a T20I call-up for Pakistan's series against West Indies. He also made his Test and ODI debuts last year. In 29 limited-overs internationals, Shaheen has taken 54 wickets at an average of 21.02, including 14 wickets from 10 T20Is at 20.57.

Hampshire Director of Cricket, Giles White, said: "A lot of the best sides in T20 cricket possess a very good bowling attack and Shaheen adds an extra dimension to the group we have, offering excellent accuracy, pace and lots of variations. He's an emerging young talent in world cricket so we're delighted to have him on board for next summer's Vitality Blast."

Ireland's Test schedule for 2020 has suffered a further blow, with the confirmation that Sri Lanka have postponed their scheduled one-off Test match in February.

The news comes just days after Ireland were forced to cancel their home Test against Bangladesh, due to what their CEO Warren Deutrom described as the "financial headwinds" being faced by the board since their accession to Test status.

According to a SLC press release, the Ireland tour has been postponed because it had not been an original part of the board's broadcast agreement, which was signed long before Ireland became an ICC Full Member.

A new date for the tour will be announced in due course, once SLC has agreed a new broadcast deal. Their current deal, signed with Ten Sports for an estimated US$60 million in 2013, is.due to expire next year

Under the original schedule, Ireland had been due to tour Sri Lanka in January and Febuary 2020, with a one-off Test scheduled in Galle from February 8 to 12.

It would have been Ireland's first Test against Sri Lanka and only their third in all, after previous fixtures against Pakistan in Malahide in 2018, Afghanistan in Dehradun and England at Lord's last summer.

Ireland are widely expected to cancel a proposed Test against Afghanistan in March as well, with a focus on T20I fixtures instead in the build-up to next year's T20 World Cup in Australia.

ALSO READ: 'Financial headwinds' cause Bangladesh cancellation

According to the Future Tours Programme, Ireland are also due to play a Test in Zimbabwe in April, as well as five T20Is, but those matches have not been confirmed either. They will travel to West Indies in January, for three T20Is and three ODIs, but no Test.

Speaking about the financial issues facing Irish cricket earlier this week, Deutrom said that "tough decisions" needed to be made.

"The first area of prioritisation for 2020, has been white-ball cricket over red ball," Deutrom said in a statement on the Cricket Ireland website. "Like all Irish cricket fans, we would love nothing more than to be competing on all three fronts - Tests, ODIs and T20Is."

Unfortunately, with Ireland's fixtures falling outside the World Test Championship, Deutrom said that the overheads associated with Test cricket could not be justified in the short term.

On the Bangladesh cancellation, he said: "As the Test does not form part of the World Test Championship, the one-off match lacks context. For effectively a 'friendly', the expected costs for hosting the Test would be over €1 million, with little expectation of creating revenue streams to cover the costs of hosting."

Iain Nairn, captain of the England Physical Disability team, has announced his retirement from international cricket after a seven-year career.

Nairn, 39, who plays with a prosthetic right leg, led England to victory in the T20 World Series in 2015, which was organised by the Red Cross as the first global Physical Disability Cricket tournament ever staged.

In 2019, he guided England to the final of the Physical Disability World Series in Worcester - a tournament that showed the extent to which PD cricket has grown since Nairn's first involvement seven years ago.

"I'm so fortunate to have experienced everything I have for England and I'm also jealous of the lads who will continue to do it, but the time is right for me to go out while still being a valued member of the team and knowing I've got an exciting future at home," Nairn said.

"We've now got four people under the age of 20 who are mainstays in the team, but even now the 'old hands' are only reaching their mid-20s. If they can get towards my age and still be playing, they're going to have another 13 years left of playing for England and it's exciting to think where disability cricket will be in 13 years' time given the steps we've made in the last seven.

"The biggest part of it, for me, is seeing the development of their interpersonal skills and their personalities outside of the game. A lot of disabled people don't have high self-worth or self-confidence, and we've seen those things really develop in this group over the last seven years.

"Seeing individuals achieving personal success is as much part of the game as it is them scoring 50s and taking wickets. I would encourage anyone with a disability to have a look at disability sport as a way to improving their lives and health."

Ian Salisbury, Head Coach of the England Physical Disability team, said: "Iain has been a fantastic servant to English cricket and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with him over the past few years.

"The phrase 'model professional' springs to mind, but let's remember that Iain, like all of our disability cricketers, has balanced a full-time job and his family commitments throughout his England career.

"His attitude towards sport, captaincy and life is exemplary and he has been an incredible role model. He is not only a fantastic cricketer, but also a fantastic human being who is the epitome of 'anything is possible', and I'm lucky to have a friend for life.

Ian Martin, ECB Head of Disability Cricket, said: "I want to express my huge gratitude to Iain and congratulate him on such a fantastic international career. "While we work to provide our England Disability Cricket teams with the best possible opportunities, it's really down to people like Iain performing to a high standard on the pitch that we're able to grow the game in the UK and around the world.

"His passion for the sport and for the team is remarkable and the work he does to promote awareness of disability cricket is inspirational. Iain has led from the front in his five years of captaincy, during which the standard of physical disability cricket has raised immensely.

"I'm sure that even in retirement, Iain will continue to be a positive force for cricket in this country and our PD players will continue to build on the foundations he has laid."

Promotion: AW readers can attend the two-day Birmingham event for free

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Whether you are an enthusiast or a beginner, this is a great way to kick-start your new year resolutions and prepare for the 2020 running season, with over 250 brands offering advice and discounts.

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Scottish record-holder is pre-selected for the 26.2-mile event in Sapporo

Callum Hawkins has been pre-selected to race for Great Britain in next year’s Olympic Games marathon.

The 27-year-old ran a Scottish record of 2:08:14 in London earlier this year before finishing fourth at the IAAF World Championships in Doha and will look to improve on the ninth place he achieved on his Olympic debut in Rio in 2016 when he lines up in Sapporo on August 9.

Doha marked the second successive World Championships marathon in which Hawkins has finished fourth as he also secured that result in London in 2017.

“British Athletics have taken the opportunity to pre-select him seven months in advance of Tokyo 2020 in order to give him the best possible preparation to compete for a medal,” the national governing body said when announcing Hawkins’ pre-selection.

British Athletics will officially select Hawkins for nomination to the British Olympic Association following the final marathon selection meeting on April 28, provided he has demonstrated form and fitness prior to the meeting taking place.

Despite the fine marathon performances of the likes of Charlotte Purdue, Steph Twell and Jess Piasecki this year, no British women have been pre-selected and attention will now turn to the Virgin Money London Marathon on April 26, which acts as British Athletics’ official marathon trial for the Olympic Games.

The top two finishers there are guaranteed selection as long as they have also achieved the qualifying standard of 2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women.

Hawkins does not look set to be joined by Mo Farah on the GB men’s marathon team as the four-time Olympic champion announced his track return last month, with his sights on defending his 10,000m title in Tokyo.

Yow rocks Rodriguez as Malaysia stun Colombia
By HOWARD HARDING – Squash Mad International Correspondent

After being demoted to 15th seeds on the eve of the event, Switzerland stunned hosts USA in the final qualifying round of the WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship in Washington DC to guarantee themselves a top 12 finish for the first time.

The team then dedicated their success to Nicolas Müller, the country’s long-time number one who was forced to return home the day before the event started following the sudden death of his mother.

A total of 23 nations are competing in the 26th edition of the biennial World Squash Federation championships, hosted by US Squash, at Squash On Fire, the new state-of-the-art eight-court facility in the US capital.

Underdogs Switzerland took on USA on the all-glass showcourt at Squash on Fire. The home side, promoted to 12th seeds on the eve of the event, were eager to justify their new seeding and claim their place in the knockout stage of the championship featuring the top 12 nations.

The two countries last faced each other in 2011 when USA emerged triumphant by a 2/1 margin.

Team number one Dimitri Steinmann put the Swiss ahead after beating US champion Todd Harrity 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-5, before New Yorker Andrew Douglas levelled the tie for the hosts by overcoming Robin Gadola in four games.

Swiss No.2 Reiko Peter, eager to make up for his defeat to USA in the 2011 championship, battled for 36 minutes against Chris Hanson to secure the 15-13, 11-9, 11-8 victory which earned his country its best ever finish – and denied USA their anticipated place in the top 12.

When it was pointed out to Pascal Bruhin that the success would lead to their best ever finish, the Switzerland team manager and coach said: “We were talking about this before we got here – getting to the knockout stages and the top 12 would be the best we have ever done. We are really happy.

“This really belongs to Nici and Bettina his Mum. We wanted to do it for him: he was in our team for 13 years. He’s our number one. He’s a great guy and his family is so wonderful and it was really important for us to show him that we can stand up for him.

“I really want to dedicate this to the family Mueller – they are so important to us. Nici has been our front-runner for us for almost a decade. He is a role model for all our juniors.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the boys tonight – what they have achieved is fantastic.”

The battle between Malaysia and Colombia would decide second place in Pool C, behind France, and a last 12 finish. Malaysian No.1 Eain Yow Ng, the 21-year-old world No.31, faced experienced Colombian Miguel Rodriguez, the former world No.4, for the first time. It was a blistering encounter in which the young Malaysian established a two-game lead before squandering three match-balls in the third to allow the ‘Colombian Cannonball’ to extend the match into a fourth game.

But Yow held his nerve to close out the match 11-9, 13-11, 13-15, 11-8 after 61 minutes, then sat back while his team-mate Mohd Syafiq Kamal clinched victory with an 11-6, 13-15, 11-8, 11-9 win over Colombian No.3 Ronald Palomino.

“I know Yow can raise his level when he puts on the Malaysian shirt – it’s something he did for us last year at the Asian Games last year, when he beat Leo (Au) in the decider,” said Malaysian coach Andrew Cross. “He can put in those kind of performances. To beat a guy who’s been up at the top of the world rankings is impressive. It was great that he got us off to a great start.

“I thought he’d won it when he was 10-7 up in the third – and there were three pretty easy drop shots that he missed. But he really got back into it – it really was the performance of the day!

“Syafiq could then play with a little but less pressure than if we’d been one down. There are no easy matches in this team event. I thought he handled it OK. It was nice to have it wrapped up two love.

“That was what we wanted to do – make sure of a finish in the top 12. Originally, of course we had USA in our pool and that would have been tough – and Colombia represented a different challenge. We knew Colombia was going to be our match.”

Fourth seeds New Zealand came back from a shock earlier defeat by Scotland to despatch Singapore 3/0 in Pool D – event newcomer Lwamba Chileshe ensuring the win they needed to make the top 12 by beating the Singapore No.3 Brandon Tan 11-7, 11-6, 11-0.

“I was really excited coming into the match,” said African-born 20-year-old Chileshe afterwards. “I just really wanted to play my best performance, I was a bit nervous at the start but I just tried to concentrate on my game and I’m really happy with my performance. It feels great to wear the fern for the first time at senior level.

“Everyone has been looking after me really well and has been giving me advice on what to do and what not to do. I’m a pretty consistent guy.”

When reminded of his team’s surprise defeat 24 hours earlier, NZ coach Glen Wilson said: “We shrugged that one off pretty quickly and focussed on the next one. The way the draw is set up means that you do get a second chance – it just means that we’re having to play a last 16 match tomorrow.

“We’ll have a good chat tonight about tomorrow’s matches – but we won’t know who we get until after the managers’ meeting tonight at 10pm. We’ll be looking forward to a good performance tomorrow – hopefully the boys can perform well for New Zealand and get the win.”

After earlier wins over Canada and Wales, former champions England clinched their position at the top of Pool B with a comfortable 3/0 victory against Nigeria – team top string Adrian Waller beating Babatunde Ajagbe 11-7, 11-5, 12-10 before number three Declan James also defeated Adewale Amao in straight games.

“The first job was to top the group – which helps in the draw for later on in the knockout stage – and we get a rest day now,” said England national coach David Campion. “We can relax for now and look at the draw later on, then start to plan and prepare for Thursday.

“There’s a different dynamic in the team now – we’ve got Adrian who’s our No.1 player and Declan who only a couple of months ago was our top player. We’re here with four very good players and it helps having players like James (Willstrop) and Daryl (Selby) who have had that experience of being in these key situations before and are very good at raising their level when the big matches are on.

“And Adrian had a fantastic result yesterday against Joel (Makin) and it’s good to have him here in good form.

“Most teams have got at least two players who are highly-ranked and any of those teams are a danger.”

Play-offs for the top 12 places begin today (Wednesday), the draw as follows:

1st – 12th place play-offs:
[1] EGYPT bye
[10] MALAYSIA v [5] GERMANY
[9] SCOTLAND bye
[6] HONG KONG CHINA v [11] WALES
[15] SWITZERLAND v [8] SPAIN
[3] FRANCE bye
[7] AUSTRALIA v [4] NEW ZEALAND
[2] ENGLAND bye 

WSF World Team Squash Championship, Squash On Fire, Washington DC, USA.

Third and final qualifying round – Pool A:
[15] SWITZERLAND bt [12] USA 2/1
Dimitri Steinmann bt Todd Harrity 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-5 (47m)
Robin Gadola lost to Andrew Douglas 8-11, 11-5, 6-11, 6-11 (42m)
Reiko Peter bt Chris Hanson 15-13, 11-9, 11-8 (36m)
Final positions: 1 Egypt, 2 Switzerland, 3 USA

Pool B:
[2] ENGLAND bt [23] NIGERIA 3/0
Adrian Waller bt Babatunde Ajagbe 11-7, 11-5, 12-10 (31m)
Declan James bt Adewale Amao 11-2, 11-3, 11-1 (24m)
James Willstrop bt Sodiq Taiwo 14-12, 11-7, 11-5 (26m)
[11] WALES bt [14] CANADA 2/1
Joel Makin bt Shawn Delierre 11-9, 11-1, 11-6 (28m)
Emyr Evans bt Nick Sachvie 11-7, 17-15, 11-4 (51m)
Peter Creed lost to Michael McCue 5-11, 5-11, 10-12 (33m)
Final positions: 1 England, 2 Wales, 3 Canada, 4 Nigeria

Pool C:
[3] FRANCE bt [22] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 3/0
Gregoire Marche bt Ko Youngjo 12-10, 11-1, 11-7 (28m)
Baptiste Masotti bt Joong-Won Hwang 11-4, 11-9, 11-5 (26m)
Mathieu Castagnet bt Chang-Wook Woo 11-3, 11-4, 11-9 (25m)
[10] MALAYSIA bt [13] COLOMBIA 2/1
Eain Yow Ng bt Miguel Rodriguez 11-9, 13-11, 13-15, 11-8 (61m)
Mohd Syafiq Kamal bt Ronald Palomino 11-6, 13-15, 11-8, 11-9 (55m)
Ivan Yuen lost to Juan Camilo Vargas 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 10-12 (57m)
Final positions: 1 France, 2 Malaysia, 3 Colombia, 4 Republic of Korea

Pool D:
[4] NEW ZEALAND bt [20] SINGAPORE 3/0
Paul Coll bt Samuel Kang 11-6, 11-5, 11-2 (31m)
Lwamba Chileshe bt Brandon Tan 11-7, 11-6, 11-0 (23m)
Campbell Grayson bt Chua Man Tong 11-3, 11-2, 11-6 (26m)
[9] SCOTLAND bt [18] IRELAND 3/0
Greg Lobban bt Sean Conroy 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)
Rory Stewart bt Steve Richardson 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 11-2 (41m)
Alan Clyne bt Oisin Logan 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (36m)
Final positions: 1 Scotland, 2 New Zealand, 3 Ireland, 4 Singapore

Pool E:
[5] GERMANY bt [19] SOUTH AFRICA 3/0
Simon Rösner bt Jean-Pierre Brits 11-1, 11-1, 11-4 (25m)
Valentin Rapp bt Dylan Groenewald 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)
Raphael Kandra bt Gary Wheadon 11-3, 13-11, 11-6 (32m)
[8] SPAIN bt [16] ARGENTINA 3/0
Borja Golan bt Robertino Pezzota 11-3, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5 (42m)
Carlos Cornes bt Jeremías Azaña 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 (30m)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu bt Gonzalo Miranda 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 (23m)
Final positions: 1 Spain, 2 Germany, 3 Argentina, 4 South Africa

Pool F:
[7] AUSTRALIA bt [17] JAMAICA 3/0
Cameron Pilley bt Lewis Walters 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (27m)
Zac Alexander bt Tahjia Lumley 11-4, 11-7, 11-3 (25m)
Rex Hedrick bt Bruce Burrowes 11-3, 11-5, 11-3 (17m)
[6] HONG KONG CHINA bt [21] KUWAIT 3/0
Leo Au bt Ammar Altamimi 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (44m)
Henry Leung bt Ali Alramezi 11-3, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 (54m)
Yip Tsz Fung bt Abdullah Al Muzayen 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 1-5 ret. (25m)
Final positions: 1 Hong Kong China, 2 Australia, 3 Kuwait, 4 Jamaica

Action from the WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship continues today (December 18) at 12 noon local time (GMT-5) with all matches shown live on the official Facebook page of the Men’s World Team Championship.

Pictures courtesy of WSF

Serie A chief executive Luigi De Siervo has apologised for the league's widely criticised anti-racism campaign which featured three side-by-side paintings of apes under the slogan "No to Racism."

The league has come in for heavy criticism from its own clubs and anti-racism organisation Fare Network, after publishing the paintings produced by Italian artist Simone Fugazzoto. The artwork was set to be exhibited permanently at the entrance of the league's headquarters in order to "underline the commitment of the world of football against all forms of discrimination."

Fugazzotto defended the artwork, stating that he "sought to turn around the words of racists," but the league's chief executive has admitted the campaign was wide of the mark and that a new proposition will be put forward early next year.

"I express sincere apologies for the artwork that was presented yesterday, I realised it was inappropriate," De Siervo said in a statement.

"What cannot be questioned is the strong and constant condemnation by Serie A against all forms of discrimination and racism, and we are committed to eradicate this from our beloved league.

"The league is working on its official anti-racism campaign, which cannot be identified with Simone Fugazzotto's work, and will be presented by the end of February."

The row over the campaign comes less than two weeks after Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku and Roma's Chris Smalling condemned a front page from Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport previewing the Serie A clash between the two sides. The page featured images of Lukaku and Smalling alongside the headline "Black Friday."

Roma and AC Milan banned the publication from attending its matches for the rest of 2019.

Takumi Minamino will undergo a medical at Liverpool on Wednesday ahead of his £7.25 million January transfer from Austrian champions FC Salzburg, with manager Jurgen Klopp planning to hand the forward his debut against Everton in the FA Cup on Jan 5.

Sources told ESPN how Liverpool beat Premier League rivals Manchester United to the Japan international's signature by triggering the 24-year-old's release clause following their Champions League victory against Salzburg last Tuesday.

And with the Austrian Bundesliga having closed down for its winter break, Minamino has flown into Liverpool in order to complete his medical and paperwork in time for his registration to be processed as soon as the January transfer window opens in England on Jan 1.

Although Liverpool face Sheffield United at Anfield on Jan 2., Klopp is not considering Minamino in his plans to face Chris Wilder's team. But with Merseyside neighbours Everton due at Anfield three days later in the FA Cup third round, Klopp is keen for Minamino to kick-start his Liverpool career against the Goodison Park outfit.

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With Klopp and the bulk of Liverpool's medical staff in Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup -- Liverpool face Mexican club Monterrey in the semifinal in Doha on Wednesday -- Minamino will undergo his medical at the club's Melwood training base under the supervision of the medical team who remained in England for the Carabao Cup quarterfinal defeat at Aston Villa on Tuesday.

West Indies won the toss again and inserted India in a must-win contest for the hosts in the three-ODI series. It was a big advantage for the visitors as pitches tend to quicken up in the night and dew becomes a factor too.

West Indies made two changes to their winning combination. The return of Evin Lewis strengthened their batting further, and legpsinner Hayden Walsh made way for debutant left-arm spinner Khary Pierre.

India resisted the temptation of playing both the wristspinners together. They have been reluctant to play them both in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who can bat at No. 8. In this case, though, it is possible they didn't want to end up with two wristspinners should they lose the toss and have to bowl in wet conditions. However, they did strengthen their bowling, leaving out allrounder Shivam Dube for Shardul Thakur.

India 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Kuldeep Yadav

West Indies 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Shai Hope (wk), 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt.), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Khary Pierre, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Jacques Kallis will join South Africa's backroom staff as a batting consultant for the summer, completing the support staff of the new regime. Kallis and Charl Langeveldt, who opted out of a two-year-deal with Bangladesh after just five months to take on the role of bowling coach, have been confirmed as being part of Mark Boucher's staff.

That brings the total number of former internationals involved to five with Graeme Smith in the role of director of cricket for the next three months, Boucher as head coach until 2023, Kallis and Langeveldt as batting and bowling consultants respectively, and Ashwell Prince in charge of the South African A side.

South Africa's men's team are currently at a training camp in Pretoria, preparing for a four-Test series against England which starts on Boxing Day. The squad for the first two Tests was named on Monday and includes six uncapped players.