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Zimbabwe will host Afghanistan in Bulawayo later this month for a tour that comprises five ODIs and two T20Is

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2015

Series schedule

1st ODI – Oct 16
2nd ODI – Oct 18
3rd ODI – Oct 20
4th ODI – Oct 22
5th ODI – Oct 24
1st T20I – Oct 27
2nd T20I – Oct 29

Zimbabwe will host Afghanistan in Bulawayo later this month for a tour that comprises five ODIs and two T20Is. Afghanistan are expected to arrive in Bulawayo on October 13. It will be their second tour of Zimbabwe after they played four ODIs and two four-day games there last year, the series ending deadlocked at 2-2 and 1-1.”As we push through our commitment to have our national side play as many international games as possible, we are pleased to have Afghanistan touring, just a few days after we will have played host to Ireland in the latest of a busy season that has also seen India, New Zealand and Pakistan in Zimbabwe,” Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, said.”The last time Afghanistan were here, they were no pushovers and we shared the spoils in the hard-fought series. This time around, we hope for victory so that we repay the thousands of cricket lovers who always turn up at Queens in support of Zimbabwe.”All games will be played at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

The improvement in Milinda Siriwardana’s bowling may allow Sri Lanka to explore new combinations in their ODI side, vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne has said

Andrew Fidel Fernando31-Oct-2015The improvement in Milinda Siriwardana’s bowling may allow Sri Lanka to explore new combinations in their ODI side, vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne said. It was largely Siriwardana’s batting that saw him elevated to the national team, but both Thirimanne and captain Angelo Mathews have now spoken of Siriwardana’s growing skill with the ball.Siriwardana has three wickets at an average of 26.33 in the five ODIs he has played so far. He was more impressive in the recent Test series against West Indies, in which he claimed seven wickets at 17.71. Tillakaratne Dilshan has provided a part-time spin option for Sri Lanka, but if both he and Siriwardana play, the hosts will have an offspinner and a left-arm spinner in their top seven.”I think the main thing we’ve been impressed with is Milinda’s bowling,” Thirimanne said. “We all knew he has got talent with the bat, but he has improved a lot in his bowling. It’s a big advantage when it comes to the one-day side. We haven’t had a spinning allrounder in the last few years.”In addition to Dilshan and Siriwardana, Sri Lanka also have frontline spinners Ajantha Mendis, Sachithra Senanayake and Jeffrey Vandersay in the squad. West Indies had lost 27 wickets to spin during the Test series, but Thirimanne expected stiffer resistance in the ODIs.”We are hopeful that our spinners and slow bowlers will give us the advantage,” he said. “But we can’t take the West Indies team lightly. They didn’t play the Tests well, but the one day team is quite strong overall. There are a lot of players who can change a match in that team.”Sri Lanka have three uncapped players in their squad, two of whom may play in the first ODI. Dinesh Chandimal’s one-match suspension may allow both Shehan Jayasuriya and Danushka Gunathilaka to enter the XI.”I think we’ll need to work out what our best combination is during this series,” Thirimanne said. “After the World Cup a lot of seniors left. We then played the Pakistan team, and if you take our batting line-up or our bowling line-up, we aren’t that settled. This series will help figure out a settled side.”Thirimanne himself had been dropped from the second Test in Colombo, after a long sequence of modest scores in that format. He will bat at No.3 on Sunday, however, having averaged 40.81 in ODIs this year.”I wasn’t successful in Tests. But if you look at my record, I’ve played very differently in Tests and one-dayers. I’ve done well in ODIs, but haven’t been able to replicate that in Tests. I don’t know why that is, but I’m expecting to go to the middle and score runs. There are times when scoring runs is difficult, but the best thing to do is enjoy the game.”

Defending champions Wellington started their Georgie Pie campaign with a seven-wicket win against Canterbury in a rain-hit match at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2015Defending champions Wellington started their Georgie Pie campaign with a seven-wicket win against Canterbury in a rain-hit match at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Wellington’s top order starred in the 15-overs-a-side match as they chased down 135 with two balls to spare.Rain had reduced the overs even before the match begun and Canterbury were given a strong start by opener and captain Ronnie Hira’s 36-ball 44, after they were put in. He stitched a crucial stand of 53 runs in five overs with Peter Fulton (25) that gave them the impetus for a strong total. However, they lost three more wickets before reaching 100 and a 13-ball 23 from Andrew Ellis took them to 134 for 5.Wellington were off to flying start with an opening stand of 37 in inly 3.2 overs, including 21 runs off the third over, between Michael Pollard and Michael Papps. Pollard had contributed only six runs to the partnership and his dismissal in the fourth over was Wellington’s only stutter. Craig Cachopa’s 37 off 32 then led the chase with Stephen Murdoch (40*) even after Papps fell for a quickfire 22-ball 39, with four fours and two sixes, and when Cachopa was run-out, Wellington needed 14 from the last over. Murdoch started off with a six off Ellis’ first ball, and Matt Taylor struck one too two balls later, to ease it down and claim four points.

Former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi has been named Oman’s spin-bowling coach ahead of the World T20 next year in India.

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2015Former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi has been named Oman’s spin-bowling coach ahead of the team’s maiden World T20 appearance in India next year. Joshi will join head coach Duleep Mendis as part of Oman’s support staff.”It gives me an opportunity to work with an international team in such a big event,” Joshi told the . Joshi said he and Mendis would share their collective experience of bowling and playing spin with Oman’s players.”I believe a coach should be able to demonstrate (in practice sessions) what he teaches,” he said. “Duleep Mendis is the head coach and we can both relate a lot on how to play and bowl spin. Eventually it would help the team to be aware of the nuances of slow bowling.”Oman will begin their preparations from December 20 with a 10-day camp in Rajkot. They are grouped with Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands in the World T20 qualifying round, and will play their matches in Dharamsala. The winner of the group will advance to the Super 10 stage.Oman’s most recent international engagement was their tour to UAE in November, where they beat Hong Kong 2-1 in a three-match T20 series and lost both their matches against Afghanistan. They also lost a T20 match to UAE on that tour.Oman’s next high-profile assignment is the four-team Asia Cup T20 qualifier in Bangladesh, which also features Afghanistan, UAE and Hong Kong. One of the associate teams will advance to the main draw involving the region’s four Full Member teams.

Afghanistan opener Mohammad Shahzad’s whirlwind 118 last night has lifted him 12 places to No. 8 in the ICC rankings for T20 batsmen. His team-mate and fast bowler Dawlat Zadran is ranked at No. 8 as well among the bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2016

ICC T20I rankings

Top 10 batsmen:1. Aaron Finch (Aus), 2 Virat Kohli (Ind), 3 Alex Hales (Eng), 4 Faf du Plessis (SA), 5 Chris Gayle (WI), 6 Martin Guptill (NZ), 7 Brendon McCullum (NZ), 8 Mohammad Shahzad (Afg), 9 Kusal Perera (SL), 10 Eoin Morgan (Eng)
Top 10 bowlers: 1 Samuel Badree (WI), 2 R Ashwin (Ind), 3 Sachithra Senanayake (SL), 4 Shahid Afridi (Pak), 5 Mitchell Starc (Aus), 6 Lasith Malinga (SL), 7 Imran Tahir (SA), 8 Dawlat Zadran (Afg), 9 Nuwan Kulasekara (SL), 10 Shakib Al Hasan (Ban)

Less than a week ago Afghanistan confirmed their place among the top 10 teams in the world, as rated by the ICC. Now they have a representative each in the top 10 batsmen and bowlers rankings in Twenty20 cricket.Mohammad Shahzad struck 118 off 67 balls last night – the highest score by an Associate player in T20Is and the fourth highest overall – to claim a career-best eighth spot. It is his first time breaking into the top 10 for the batsmen’s rankings and has 681 points, only three behind Brendon McCullum. Shahzad has played in 13 T20Is since the start of 2015 and struck 448 runs, the most by any batsman in that time period.Dawlat Zadran is their other big mover. He has taken 18 wickets from his last 10 matches, which makes him the most successful fast bowler since January 2015. He is now ranked No. 8 with 636 points, four shy of Imran Tahir and 21 behind Lasith Malinga.Afghanistan are placed ninth in the team rankings for Twenty20 cricket with 80 points, above Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and just below India. The top seven teams are separated by only four points with West Indies at No. 1.

Rajeev Shukla has said there has been a proposal to adopt the DRS minus the referrals for lbw decisions in IPL 2016

Arun Venugopal29-Jan-2016In what is a significant departure from its stubborn resistance to the Decision Review System, the BCCI has initiated discussions about the use of the system in IPL 2016. Rajeev Shukla, the chairman of the IPL governing council, said there has been a proposal to adopt the system minus the referrals for lbw decisions.A member of the IPL governing council, who present at the meeting in Mumbai on Friday, said the discussions were still at a preliminary stage. “This [discussion on introducing DRS] came up a few years ago as well, when the ICC insisted that we try it. But it met with a lot of opposition,” he said. “Now, we are looking at the option of using it again, without the lbw element. Of course, there needs to be a lot of technical discussion on this before we go forward. This will continued to be discussed in subsequent meetings.”The BCCI’s change of heart – it has come a long way since the time former president N Srinivasan labelled it a “faulty” system – appears to have been prompted by the recent softening of stance by the Indian team towards the system. While Test captain Virat Kohli said during the Bangladesh tour last year that he was open to discussing the matter with his team, R Ashwin said he wouldn’t mind a DRS without an umpire’s call.”Personally speaking, I don’t agree with the concept of umpire’s call,” Ashwin had told ESPNcricinfo. “Cricketers are not rocket scientists. Let’s keep it that simple. Do you think in 15 seconds the captain standing at mid-off will be able to say it is not umpire’s call? If you want to make the game a better place, either trust the technology completely or don’t.”MS Dhoni, the limited-overs captain, had briefly suggested during the Brisbane Test in late 2014 at a kinder view towards the DRS if it wasn’t used to justify the decision of the umpires. But, during the recent ODI series against Australia, India could have overturned the decision – had DRS been in place – to reprieve George Bailey, who went on to score a match-winning hundred in Perth.Dhoni reiterated his general mistrust of the DRS rule. “It could have [changed the course of the match] but at the same time we need to push the umpires to make the right decisions,” he had said. “You have to see how many 50-50 decisions don’t go in our favour. It always happens, then you have to take it. But I am still not convinced about DRS.”Dhoni also felt there were too many variables involved for the teams to factor in while using the system. “There are quite a few deviations,” he had observed. “Even the makers agree that can happen. Now you have to also take into account whether it was given not out or out. If it was given out it needs to touch the stump [for the decision to remain out]; if it was not out it needs to hit half the stump [to be given out]. That itself makes the variable too big. In cricket every inch, every millimetre, matters.”Dave Richardson, the ICC chief executive, had said in June last year that he was confident of getting the BCCI on board, with the technology being perfected over time.”Ideally we want to be uniform but we are not there yet. What Geoff [Allardice, ICC general manager] is arranging is the testing of the technology so that everyone believes and trusts what the technology is supposed to be delivering is accurate and reliable,” he said. “Once we get over that hurdle, the confidence in the DRS will grow and eventually we will end up with everybody accepting it.India have used DRS only twice in a bilateral series. The first of those was on the tour of Sri Lanka in 2008, where the team felt most of the 50-50 decisions went against them. Three years later, in England, the system was partially adopted with only the hot spot and audio technology being used.

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka believes that beating England in the quarter-final gives his side the edge over India in the Under-19 World Cup’s semi-final on Tuesday

Mohammad Isam08-Feb-2016″I told [Dinesh] Chandimal that the present Under-19 side is better than the one he played in [2008].”Sri Lanka Under-19s coach Roger Wijesuriya had a big smile on his face as he explained the quality of the present team that will face India in the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup on Tuesday.Wijesuriya felt there’s no shortage of talent now, as was the case when he was coach in 2008. “To tell you frankly, from our junior level there are a lot of talented cricketers who may come up,” he said. “That’s how it has been always. When I coached the Under-19 team in the 2008 World Cup, that’s the lot is playing now – the Dinesh Chandimals and others. Out of 15 players, at least 11 players have played for Sri Lanka or Sri Lanka ‘A’.”Those who played international cricket are Sachith Pathirana, Ashan Priyanjan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dilshan Munaweera, Angelo Perera and Chandimal.Wijesuriya said that before coming to Bangladesh, the Under-19s’ players were also given pep-talks by some of Sri Lanka’s most successful international stars. “Before we came here, we had a lot of sessions with a lot of senior players like Lasith Malinga, Kumar Dharmasena and Sanath Jayasuriya. In Sri Lanka, we are very close to each other. There is no boundary as such,” he said.The advice seems to have come handy for captain Charith Asalanka, as he has been one of the team’s leading players, scoring two fifties in his 194 runs at 48.50 so far.Shammu Ashan, Avishka Fernando, Vishad Randika, and Kaveen Bandara have all done a good job with the bat while legspinner Wanidu Hasaranga, left-arm spinners Thilan Nimesh and Damitha Silva and seamer Asitha Fernando have done it with the ball. Kamindu Mendis has had a fine all-round presence too.Asalanka felt beating England in the quarter-final meant they had the edge over India, who crushed Namibia at the same stage.”It is an advantage for us. India played Namibia in quarterfinals whereas we played England. They are such different teams. We know India’s strengths and weaknesses. It will be advantageous for us. Beating England was the best win for us. We did a good job with our bowling and fielding. We are in really good form.”He also said that India can expect to face a lot of spinners, which means the pace bowlers would have little to do but be economical. “There is not much of support for pacers in these subcontinent pitches. Spinners need to bowl a major part of the overs. I tell the pacers to give me the basics–bowl economically. I tell spinners to take wickets and put pressure on the batsman. There is support from the pitch,” he said.Asalanka added that he knows when Kamindu Mendis will switch to left-arm orthodox or right-arm off-spin, and sets the field for the ambidextrous spinner. “He decides [what he wants to bowl]. When right-hander comes he bowls left-arm and when left-hander comes he bowls right-arm. I know what fields to set for him,” he said.

Aaron Phangiso is set to make his first international appearance since remodelling his bowling action less than two weeks ago when South Africa face West Indies in Nagpur

Firdose Moonda22-Mar-2016Aaron Phangiso is set to make his first international appearance since remodelling his bowling action less than two weeks ago when South Africa face West Indies in Nagpur.Phangiso is one of only two specialist spinners in the squad and with JP Duminy, who performs the role of part offspinner, ruled out with a hamstring injury, South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo indicated the selectors would have no choice but to play Phangiso.”It’s definitely a wicket where you need to play two frontline spinners. Spin is going to be important here and we are fortunate that we have two quality spinners in Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso, I’m confident that both of them will get game time on Friday,” Domingo said.There was a rush to get Phangiso’s action cleared before the World T20 – he was only passed a couple of days before the squad left for India – but despite that, and his limited recent match time of just two warm-up games, Domingo remained confident of his readiness.”We have a good squad of players and whoever steps in knows that everyone supports and backs him 100%. Anyone of these 15 players in the squad are good enough to come in and do the job for us,” he said.Phangiso’s inclusion will likely mean that South Africa have to shorten their line-up which could become a concern in Duminy’s absence and on a pitch Domingo thinks will be difficult to score off.”JP is a big player for us. He is one of our main batters and is in good form, not having him is a big blow and does upset the balance of the side. We have some quality batsmen in our line-up who have played in these conditions before and have had success under these conditions. Whatever wicket they do prepare will be the same for both sides so it’s no major issue for us.”On the flip side, that means South Africa’s bowlers, who leaked runs in Mumbai, may enjoy something of a reprieve. “We have played on two great wickets in Mumbai, our batters were happy with that but I think our bowlers will be happy to play on this wicket where runs will be harder to come by,” Domingo said.

AB de Villiers, South Africa’s Test captain, has voiced concerns over the day-night Test in Adelaide and has suggested that a few Australia players may also be reluctant about the match

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2016AB de Villiers, South Africa’s Test captain, has voiced concerns over the day-night match in Adelaide and has suggested that a few Australia players may also be reluctant to go ahead with the game.The third Test of the series between Australia and South Africa has been allotted to Adelaide between November 24 and 28, according to the 2016-17 summer fixtures released by Cricket Australia, but there is no confirmation yet on whether this will be a day-night game. With the possibility of a No. 1 Test ranking at stake in the match, de Villiers said that that a day-night game could be “fundamental change” to the itinerary.”At the moment, we are not too keen on playing in the proposed day-night Test match due to a few concerns that have come from a number of sources involved in the maiden Test played last year,” he told . “We had a meeting with Steven Smith and some of the Australian players when they toured here earlier this year, and the consensus from our talks were that there are just too many unknowns. Players from both teams were reluctant to go ahead with it.”South Africa and Australia have a great cricketing rivalry, and this is a series that we value. We could well be playing for an opportunity to regain the No.1 Test ranking, so playing a day-night match is a fundamental change to the itinerary.The first ever day-night Test, between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide last year, was dominated by quick bowlers and ended in three days with a three-wicket win for the hosts. De Villiers raised doubts about the durability of the pink-ball used in the format, and said that alterations to the pitch, to reduce wear and tear on the ball, were also a significant factor.”The pink ball has had some issues with how it responds to 80 overs of Test cricket and that is one of the key issues that we feel plays a big role in the success of the day-night Test,” De Villiers said. “The pitch also had to be ‘doctored’ to minimise the abrasive wear and tear to the pink ball, which seems to happen quicker than the red ball, and this is also an area we feel is a big factor in the run of play.”De Villiers did not believe that a practice match could help his side adjust to the pink ball: “I don’t think it (warm-up game) will. I don’t think it’s something that you acclimatize to in one match and the intensity of an international cricket match also brings in other factors which are hard to replicate in a warm-up match.”South Africa fast-bowler Dale Steyn, meanwhile, said he is keen to play a day-night Test in his career. “I don’t want to go through my whole career without playing a day-night game,” Steyn told in Rajkot where he is playing the IPL . “How cool are they? I thought it looked awesome when New Zealand and Australia played one. It looked entertaining, there was a big crowd. The ball is pink – it’s something different. You want to test your skills with that whole thing and it’s very exciting.”

ECB Reporters Network20-May-2016
ScorecardDaniel Bell-Drummond continued his excellent batting form•Getty Images

Kent Spitfires launched their NatWest T20 Blast campaign in style by romping to an eight-wicket win over Somerset in Canterbury.Last season’s quarter-finalists made light work of the run chase as they pursued Somerset’s spanking 197 for 7 to land victory with 16 balls to spare.The hosts were given a stunning start to their innings by in-form Daniel Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly, who posted 150 for the first wicket in 12.3 overs – a Kent record T20 partnership for any wicket against any county.Kent spinner Fabian Cowdrey, who finished with 3 for 18 including the vital scalp of Peter Trego, said the victory should send shockwaves through the group.”We didn’t have either of our overseas players tonight yet we knocked off 200 to win comfortably,” he said. “It was an incredible win and I hope people start to take us seriously now. Either way, we’ll keep playing without fear and putting results on the board.”In front of a 5,000 crowd at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Kent’s openers dismantled the Somerset attack with boundaries to all parts of the ground.Bell-Drummond, the England Lions’ batsman who is approaching 600 first-class runs for the season already, led the way with an unbeaten 83 off 47 balls. He hit 10 fours and a brace of sixes.Having taken 22 off one over from former Kent seamer Yasir Arafat, Bell-Drummond was dropped in the deep on 34, but never looked back thereafter, taking the man-of-the-match award after clubbing the winning boundary.Denly, fresh from a first-class, career-best 206* against Northamptonshire this week, holed out for an excellent 75 from 38 balls, then Kent skipper Sam Northeast (27) edged to short third man with the finishing line in sight, but Bell-Drummond saw Spitfires home.Batting first after winning the toss Somerset made a mixed start. They lost Johann Myburgh (5) to the seventh ball of the match when he tamely drove the first ball of the second over, from David Griffiths to Darren Stevens at mid-off.The dismissal bought together former Kent all-rounder Peter Trego and his skipper Jim Allenby, who combined to set the tempo for the visitor’s innings with a second-wicket stand of 134 inside 12 overs.Allenby took three successive boundaries off Matt Coles while Trego heaved a leg-side six off James Tredwell that pitched into the building site that by next summer will be retirement flats – Canterbury’s OAP’s may well be in the firing line come June 2017.Somerset reached 53 for 1 at the end of the six powerplay overs and by the first ball of the 11th over Allenby and Trego had raised a century stand with an Allenby six over long-on off Stevens.Allenby raised his 50 from 32 balls, while Trego reached the milestone off only 26 deliveries at which point the West Country County looked set fair for a score in excess of 220.It was the introduction of Cowdrey, the loopy left-arm spinner, that changed the course of the night. With his uncle Graham, the former Kent batsman and ECB cricket liaison officer watching from the stands, the 23-year-old produced a golden-arm spell.Cowdrey had Trego (57), Ryan Davies (5) and Jamie Overton (9) all caught in the deep while, at the other end, Coles accounted for Leask (8) to a catch at long-on.Kent’s attack bowled superbly at the death as Griffiths cleaned up Roelof van der Merwe (9) and Claydon denied Allenby (91) his ton by pegging back off stump with a full ball via the toe-end of the bat.The Somerset skipper faced 59 balls, hit 10 fours and three sixes, but his efforts proved inadequate and all in vain as Kent romped home.Kent’s team plans had been thrown into disarray at the start of the night when New Zealand top-order bat Tom Latham – who was also due to keep wicket – strained his ankle during the warm-ups and pulled out to be replaced by Adam Rouse.