ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's world No. 1 Twenty20 off-spinner Saeed Ajmal will represent Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League this season. Ajmal will play in the Strikers' first game against Perth Scorchers on Dec. 9 and then may return in Jan. 2013 after playing one-day and Twenty20 series against arch-rival India. Ajmal is the third Pakistani to sign up for BBL this year after Shahid Afridi at Sydney Thunder and Umar Akmal for Sydney Sixers. “I am really excited about playing for the Adelaide Strikers and really happy that I will get the chance to show my talent in the BBL (Big Bash League),” Ajmal said. “I am very keen to meet up with the rest of the boys soon and play my best in the games that I am available, with the hope that Adelaide make the final stages and I can return to help win the competition.” Strikers coach Darren Berry said he hopes to use Ajmal's spin as an attacking weapon on the turning Adelaide Oval pitch. Swann to return home Off-spinner Graeme Swann is returning home from India to spend time with his sick daughter, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Wednesday. Swann will travel back to India in time for England's first Test in Ahmedabad starting on Nov. 15. His absence from the final warm-up match is a further blow to the tourists who already have fitness concerns over fast bowlers Steven Finn and Stuart Broad. Finn has a thigh injury and Broad a bruised heel, leaving them highly unlikely to play in the four-day game against Haryana starting Thursday. “It puts a big question mark over them, that's fairly obvious,” England batting coach Graham Gooch told Sky Sports. “With a bruised heel it is something that can be very annoying and can take time to clear up,” Gooch added. “You've got to see how it goes each day, whether it gets better with the rest — keep checking it and see how it comes on. There's no other way of going about it really.” Sammy confident The return of Chris Gayle and experience of Shivnarine Chanderpaul should give West Indies the edge in their Test series in Bangladesh, the touring side's captain Darren Sammy said Wednesday. The Caribbean team is in Bangladesh to play two Tests, the first starting next week, and five ODIs, its first competitive action since winning the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka last month. “The atmosphere is similar to what we have seen in the Caribbean, most of our guys play in the hot sun and low slow wicket,” Sammy told a news conference. “If we get turning wicket we have world-class spinner in our team, if we get seam, which I highly doubt, we have fast bowler in the team to exploit. And also we have got experienced batting lineup.” — Agencies
