SMITH TO HAVE SURGERY ON ELBOW INJURY

SYDNEY : Former Australia captain Steve Smith will serve out the remainder of his 12-month ban from international and state cricket recuperating from surgery on his injured elbow, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Saturday. The 29-year-old, banned with his vice captain David Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft for his part in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, returned from the Bangladesh Premier League on Saturday for scans on the injured joint. A CA spokesman said Smith would require an operation on Tuesday to repair a ligament in his right elbow and would be in a brace for six weeks after that with a period of rehabilitation to follow. That will take him up to the end of his ban on March 28 after which Australia were hoping to bring him back into the

ODI and Test teams ahead of the World Cup and Ashes series.

England Lions arrive with mix of youth, experience

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The England Lions team, which will land here early on Sunday, consists of a bunch of veterans and aspirants. The visitors are scheduled to play five one-dayers here and a four-day match at the picturesque Wayanad Cricket stadium, all against the India A team. The 50-over matches will be held here on January 23, 25, 27, 29 and 31 at the Greenfield Stadium, while the four-day match begins on February 7. The veterans are all in the coaching team, which consists of Zimbabwean opener Andy Flower, who is the head coach. Those under him include former opener Jonathan Trott, spinner Peter Such and wicket-keeper Bruce French. The squad includes Sam Billings, Ben Ducket and Ollie Pope, who have donned English colours.