DARYL Mitchell insisted it had been “business as usual” at Worcestershire while remaining tight lipped on the saga surrounding Steve Rhodes.

The New Road club confirmed on Wednesday that director of cricket Rhodes is the subject of disciplinary proceedings without detailing what for.

It followed hot on the heels of an ESPN report claiming Rhodes had hid the fact Australian-born all-rounder Alex Hepburn, 21, had been the subject of a rape investigation relating to an incident on April 1 this year. Hepburn was charged on two counts of rape on November 9.

An ECB spokesperson confirmed Rhodes had been withdrawn from duty with England’s Young Lions squad but there has been no clarification on claims he has been placed on leave by his county.

Your Worcester News has filed two requests with club representatives to speak to chairman Stephen Taylor without success.

Former captain Mitchell politely declined to offer any insight but stressed nothing had changed with regard to the squad's ongoing fitness regime.

“We are only in with the fitness coach at the moment so it is pretty much business as usual,” said Mitchell.

“There is no cricket until January anyway, the same as every other winter so there is no change there.

“Ultimately, it is all about batting and bowling which we will be getting on with after the turn of the year.”

Over in Bangladesh, Ross Whiteley’s Sylhet Sixers need to win their final two matches to have any chance of reaching the knockout stages in the Premier League.

The Worcestershire all-rounder struck 17 not out off 11 balls from number six in his latest outing against Rangpur Riders in Chittagong.

However, Riders reached a 174 target with two balls to spare thanks to 43 from Brendon McCullum and 33 from Ravi Bopara.

Defeat pushed the Sixers down to sixth spot in the seven-team table.

They now have to defeat Chittagong Vikings on Sunday and Comilla Victorians on Wednesday in Dhaka to keep alive their slim hopes. The top four qualify.

Whiteley and the Sixers started the competition in fine form with a hat-trick of victories at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium but since moving away from their home stadium, their fortunes have gone downhill in Dhaka and Chittagong.

The Sixers have lost six of their past seven matches with the other game abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Meanwhile, the county has announced six days of action including a match involving England Lions, a side currently represented by Josh Tongue and Joe Clarke in Australia.

The Lions will take on India A in a four-day match at New Road beginning on July 16.

It will follow on from this summer’s match against South Africa – their final match before the first Test with England.

England Women will take on South Africa Women in a Royal London One-Day International at Worcestershire’s headquarters on June 9.