From nowhere, Essex are a team on the charge, moving from the foot of South Group to second in the space of a week

Will Macpherson12-Jun-2015
ScorecardShaun Tait was in the wickets for Essex•Getty Images

Essex have the look of a team on the charge. Half of their eight T20 Blast group fixtures have passed and, while their first five yielded three defeats, a trio of wins have come in the last eight days – a clinical, calculated disposal of Surrey, Thursday’s choking of Gloucestershire, and now, the most convincing of the lot, a start-to-finish demolition by the seaside.Sussex, as mightily disappointing as they may have been, were dispatched with 20 balls to spare with a ruthless aloofness. Those eight days have seen Essex travel seven places north, from bottom to second in the South Group.Skipper Ryan ten Doeschate was not required to bat or bowl, yet quietly played a blinder. Conditions were curious; Hove’s has been a notably worrisome square of late and this track, which was also used for Sussex’s Championship defeat to Hampshire earlier in the week, looked one to set a score on.

Insights

Ryan ten Doeschate’s canny manipulation of his all-seam attack meant Sussex’s batsmen never settled. Masters and Bopara each bowled three-over spells from the Cromwell Road End, but otherwise it was all change. The pace of Tait and Topley was preserved by one-over bursts while Bopara, whose action is rather less taxing on the body, sped through his overs – another factor in not allowing the batsman to settle – and was particularly difficult to get away; his four overs – including the last of the innings – didn’t leak a single boundary. – Will Macpherson

But the weather was all funk: humid but not hot, mizzly, murky and muggy and the Dutchman elected to bowl. The sight of swing from the first ball of the match, from Reece Topley, will have left him feeling pangs of vindication, which will have steadily grown as his fine evening wore on.As Topley and co reduced Sussex to 140 for 9 – the 20 balls Essex didn’t use in hauling this down tells you how sub-par it was – ten Doeschate made no fewer than 14 bowling changes, while not calling on the services of Jesse Ryder, Tom Westley or himself.The attack was balanced and tough to get away. No Sussex batsman, even the slipperiest of the stylists, Mahela Jayawardene, who was run out off the last ball of the innings chasing a 54th run, ever looked in.Reece Topley and Shaun Tait provide an aggressive, pacey left-right-goodnight combination; David Masters and Graham Napier sauntered in and served up guile and experience; while Ravi Bopara, whose run-up seemed to get slower and shorter but delivery cannier and more mysterious with every ball, once more proved both unhittable and a wicket-taking threat.The loud speaker and in-house DJ are a crucial part of the limited-overs experience these days. At Hove, dodgy tunes are as ubiquitous as the sight of a man dressed as a Shark doing silly things between innings (catching high balls this time).This season, for the first time, however, Sussex batsmen walk to the crease to the sounds of their own, personally selected songs. There are some curious choices; openers and old-hands Luke Wright and Chris Nash proudly parade to “YMCA” and it didn’t get any better with tracks from Tinie Tempah and Jason Derulo featuring among the younger members of the squad.The performances when they reached the crease were no prettier. Nash and Wright started breezily enough, with Topley’s third and sixth deliveries sent to the fence through mid-off and at backward point, and Wright welcoming Napier with a trio of fours in the match’s third over.But when both fell in the space of ten balls – Wright slashing Topley to point and Nash mistiming a pull, an innings long procession was triggered, with just Jayawardena standing firm. The Sri Lankan’s timing was not right and wickets and Essex intelligence starved him of the strike – he faced just 41 of the 91 deliveries he was at the crease.He still managed to tick along, scooping and dabbing classily behind square and once gloriously flicking Tait over fine-leg following a punch down the ground.The dismissals were universally soft. Jayawardena must have despaired as Craig Cachopa was deceived, and bowled, by one from Bopara that may have stayed low; Machan skied Napier to mid-on; Ben Brown slapped to cover as Sussex’s horrible stall was confirmed. Inevitably, the tail were no better.Essex didn’t make it look nearly as difficult to time the ball. Jesse Ryder gave some early customary timber and, when he departed, Mark Pettini – who starred on Thursday against Gloucestershire – and in-form Tom Westley refused to panic.Pettini was fluent from the off, but Westley struggled early, showing patience and calm, before freeing the arms when in. His first two singles – of his seventh and 12th legal deliveries – were agonising scuffs clear of legside fielders and he had just two just of 14 before motoring, driving beautifully straight and through the covers. Eventually both fell, Wright taking a brilliant catch at point to dismiss Westley off Yardy, and Pettini finding extra cover off Chris Liddle.The performance of Tymal Mills will give both sides plenty to ponder. Ryder sent his first ball over square leg and out of the ground, literally, and his third was into the stands at point. But he came back impressively, castling the Kiwi with a slower delivery with his fourth.Plays and misses were rife as his spell went on, while impressive pace, and variations thereof, as well as the sight of him setting his own field and celebrating with aggression, were also pleasing. Frustrating, however, were the wides – six in all – and that continuing tendency to spray it around. Plenty, then, of the reasons Sussex signed him. Plenty, too, of the reasons Essex let him go.

Shane Watson’s greater experience of England and his capacity to bowl some of the kinds of spells Ryan Harris might have delivered for Australia appears set to squeeze him into the first Test team ahead of Mitchell Marsh

Daniel Brettig in Cardiff06-Jul-2015Shane Watson’s greater experience of England and his capacity to bowl some of the kinds of spells Ryan Harris might have delivered for Australia appears set to squeeze him into the first Test team ahead of Mitchell Marsh, as part of a bowling attack the assistant coach Craig McDermott still calls the best in the world.While the younger Marsh has turned plenty of heads with his bold batting on tour, the Australian team’s decision-makers still feel Watson offers more security as a bowler. Without Harris, the control Watson can offer with miserly spells and swing of both conventional and reverse varieties will be even more highly valued.McDermott, on his first Ashes tour since leaving the 1993 trip early due to a life-threatening twisted bowel, said that while Marsh’s bowling was improving, Watson still had something of an edge. “With the fourth seamer only bowling 10-15 overs tops depending on how they’re bowling and how the other guys are going, his control is excellent,” McDermott said. “He’s a lot more experienced and has been around for a long time so you’d expect his control and everything else to be better.”Mitch is still developing. He’s got some pace back; the No. 1 thing we were chasing for from him was to get some speed up. Him obviously being nervous with his injuries throughout the summer in Australia and wanting to stay on the paddock made him back off a little bit I think. Now he’s our No. 1 man over the 2km time trial and all that sort of stuff he’s got his fitness back, he’s lost some weight and he’s got his pace back up.”He’s actually swinging the ball nicely now, he bowled a lot better in the second innings in Essex than the first innings and also Canterbury. So considering he hasn’t had a lot of four-day cricket bowling it’s a work in progress but he’s coming on nicely.”Shane Watson appears in line to pip Mitchell Marsh for a place in the first Test•Getty Images

While Australia’s order of preference for pace bowlers has been shaken up considerably by Harris’ exit, it remains likely that Peter Siddle will miss out on a place in the team unless the selectors plump for the unlikely option of choosing four fast men in addition to Watson. At the very least, Siddle’s quality bowling in Canterbury, Chelmsford and the Cardiff nets is keeping Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson on their toes.”It’s disappointing for him but we’ve got to find someone else to do the job he does and I’m sure four of the guys we’ve got are quite capable of doing that,” McDermott said. “Peter Siddle’s bowled very well in the last couple of games, the other guys are getting back into their work, and Jono’s bowling quicker here than he has for a while I think and swinging the ball nicely. So those four frontline guys are all in the mix and if we don’t play four it’ll be a tough selection call.”Everyone who’s been through the World Cup and to the IPL in particular took a bit of time to get back into their work. Jono’s arm path has got a bit better over here, a bit higher and he’s got his seam in a better position, and he’s just got a real spring in his step at the minute, so that’s good for us and hopefully not good for the Poms.”Starcy and Josh basically had two and a half weeks off from game time, so just took a little bit of time to get back into their rhythm and bowling. They both bowled very well in the second innings in Essex, so we’re pretty happy with their preparation, and Sidds bowled well in both games and his pace got better as well.”Two of the vagaries of English conditions are the swing extractable from the Dukes ball and the smaller dimensions of the grounds, meaning runs can accrue quickly if bowlers get too greedy in their search for a “glory ball”. McDermott espoused the virtues of balance, and did not mind the thought of a new, more aggressive England going out searching for deliveries bowled in the fourth stump channel.”We’ve got to bowl our good lines and lengths which we did in Australia in the last series, and we stuck to our game plan,” he said. “You don’t want to attack too much, but you need still to attack. Our game with our bowling and fielding is to be attacking and aggressive, that’s the Australian way and the only way we know how to play.”The boys this morning were swinging the ball a lot. So it’s making sure you don’t get too greedy and using the crease to get your lines correct and make the batsmen play. If we do get a lot of swing we can use the crease to maximise that, and that’s pretty important for our attack and certainly Sidds is one who uses the crease well. The other guys do as well, but he uses it as good as anyone.”We’ve got a bowling attack that suits pretty much every facet of cricket, whether it’s a reverse wicket or a wicket that turns with seven left-handers is good for Lyono, and obviously if the wicket’s got green grass on it and goes through a bit, even if it’s a bit slower, the wicket’s still going to seam if it’s got some grass on it. Our attack is really well placed for whatever we get dished up.”

Gerrie Snyman’s 62 off 35 balls propelled Namibia to a seven-wicket win with 7.1 overs to spare after their bowlers had dismissed USA for a paltry 113

The report by Peter Della Penna in Belfast13-Jul-2015USA struggled to 113 for 8, having wasted another good start from the top order, before they were knocked out by a Gerrie Snyman onslaught. His 62 off 35 balls propelled Namibia to a seven-wicket win with 7.1 overs to spare at Stormont.That frenetic pace proved useful considering the rain theat. The start was delayed by an hour, and Namibia began their chase amid a drizzle. But Snyman and his opening partner Stephen Baard rocketed to 63 for 0 in the Powerplay, ensuring they were well ahead on Duckworth-Lewis in the event the match had to be called after five overs.USA did themselves no favours with their no-ball issues rearing back up. Snyman caught off one when he was only 7. Things got progressively worse. Japen Patel dropped Snyman when the batsman was on 21; the ball tipped over for six. When the opportunity to redeem himself came, Japen misjudged another catch at deep point to give Baard a life on 15.Snyman made the most of his chances, repeatedly smashing the bowlers over mid-on and brought up his fifty in 28 balls. Muhammad Ghous, the USA captain, became so desperate to curtail Snyman that at one point he put six fielders on the leg side before the on-field umpires warned him that it would result in a no-ball.Snyman was eventually caught at long-on off Alex Amsterdam to conclude a 97-run opening stand in 10 overs. The only other wickets to fall came courtesy legspinner Timil Patel. An inside edge from Baard dribbled onto his stumps, while Raymond van Schoor was caught at deep midwicket. Sarel Burger ended the game four balls later with a flick to midwicket, giving Namibia’s net run rate a significant boost in the event of a tiebreaker at the end of the group stage.USA have lost three out of three games now. Today, six of their batsmen fell for single-figures. Only Akeem Dodson with 49 off 41 balls could hold Namibia off. He capitalised on their strategy of bowling short. Four of his eight boundaries came off pull shots and he dominated a 35-run stand with Timothy Surujbally, before Surujbally ran himself out for 3.USA’s innings started to unravel when left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz was introduced in the eighth over. He nabbed Nicholas Standford leg before as the batsman defended down the wrong line. Then Dodson gave it away looking for a glory shot over long-off and was caught by Craig Williams.Dodson’s wicket sparked a collapse – four wickets for 16 runs. Adil Bhatti was foxed by a slower ball from Burger and was pinned in front. Then Namibia’s sharp fielding produced two run-outs. Scholtz’s throw from deep midwicket beat Japen’s dive at the non-striker’s end as he was looking for a second. Ghous called for a suicidal run and third man on the circle found him short by five yards.Amsterdam was the eighth wicket to fall, top edging a pull for 18. Timil and Jasdeep Singh batted out the remaining nine balls to finish unbeaten on 8 and 7 respectively.

The viewing figures for last month’s T20 Finals Day at Edgbaston were 10 per cent down on the previous lowest recorded in 2013, and 498,000 worse than the highest recorded in 2005

Freddie Wilde10-Sep-2015This season’s NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day registered the day’s worst UK broadcast viewership since the competition began in 2003. Coming just a fortnight before county chiefs are expected to confirm ECB proposals that will preserve the existing structure of the competition, this news will intensify opposition to doing so.According to the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB), Finals Day at Edgbaston on August 29 attracted an overall average audience of 388,000 on Sky Sports – 159,000 for the semi-finals and 229,000 for the final programme between Lancashire and Northamptonshire. The figure is 10 per cent down on the previous lowest Finals Day in 2013, and 498,000 worse than the highest recorded in 2005.When approached to comment the ECB was keen to point out that individual-day viewing figures are highly susceptible to rival attractions – such as in this instance: Mo Farah winning 5,000 metres gold at the World Athletics Championships, the third week of the Premier League football season and the launch episode of X Factor – and should be interpreted with caution. But in this case the figures are representative of a broader trend that has seen the past two seasons of the T20 Blast record the lowest average viewing figures as a whole in the competition’s 13-year history.Although aggregate attendances for this season’s event totalled a record 827,654, a rise of 17 per cent on 2014 and Finals Day itself attracted a record attendance of 24,357, the competition’s television appeal appears to be at best stagnating and at worst declining.ESPNcricinfo

The 2015 season saw 37 matches broadcast and a slight rise in average audience of 140,216, almost 3000 higher than 2014 but the two figures are considerably lower than the average across all 13 seasons and significantly lower than audiences recorded in the early seasons of the competition. Indeed, the average viewership of this season’s final has been bettered by group-stage matches on 15 occasions in the past.The ECB has reportedly tried to persuade its member counties to vote through a city-based T20 competition this season, thought to be favoured by broadcasters. But after facing considerable opposition to the idea the counties are likely to confirm ECB proposals for the existing structure to be preserved, albeit shifted to a block period in the school summer holidays. Historically TV viewership has been at its peak when the tournament has been played in a block rather than spread out across the summer as it has been in the past two seasons.The current structure, adopted in 2014, was formulated on the back of an extensive survey of existing cricket fans which showed fans preferred regular Friday night scheduling of matches (which became known as “appointment to view”) so that they could plan and budget for attendance. While this has increased the number of people watching live at the grounds it appears to have had a detrimental effect on television audiences.The ECB was keen to reiterate the record attendances this season and boasted of a growing digital audience, with its T20 Blast-related video views exceeding 3.5 million. A spokesperson for the ECB reaffirmed the board’s partnership with Sky, welcoming the quality and breadth of their coverage. Sky Sports meanwhile did not reject BARB’s figures when approached for comment but pointed to a growing digital audience not included in BARB’s data.Given that the Big Bash League in Australia is now broadcast on free-to-air channel Network Ten, comparisons with the T20 Blast, broadcast on a subscription channel, would be unfair. However, it should be noted that before moving to Network Ten the BBL spent two seasons on Fox Sports where it broke Australian subscription records, registering average audiences of 282,000 and 233,000 in a country with a population roughly a third the size of the UK.The impressive viewing figures on Fox improved Cricket Australia’s chances of getting the BBL on to free-to-air television, which was achieved in 2013 when Network Ten signed a five-year deal worth $100 million.

Queensland had the better of a sluggish pitch at Blacktown Oval to defeat Victoria in an attritional, low scoring Matador Cup match

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2015
ScorecardPeter Forrest’s 71-ball 57 formed the base for Queensland’s winning total of 209•Getty Images

Queensland had the better of a sluggish pitch at Blacktown Oval to defeat Victoria in an attritional, low scoring Matador Cup match.The Bushrangers captain Matthew Wade sent the Bulls in to bat in western Sydney and would have been content when the Queenslanders were only able to cobble a tally of 209 all out.However, a Bulls bowling collective led with typical thrift by the former captain James Hopes was able to corral the Bushrangers so successfully that only Wade was able to score his runs at anything like the rate required without giving his wicket away cheaply.James Pattinson also hinted at his immense batting ability in the most productive partnership of the innings, but it was too little, too late after the Bushrangers had slid to 7 for 79.The Bulls owed much to their stand-in captain Peter Forrest, who played with admirable composure for his 57 from 71 balls, pulling together much of Queensland’s score with the help of a restrained Nathan Reardon.At the time of his dismissal the Bushrangers would have felt happy with their work, but as it turned out the Queenslanders had already made one more run than Wade’s men would manage.

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.