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Former Sri Lanka opener Avishka Gunawardene has been appointed coach of the Sri Lanka A team, and former senior team coach Roy Dias will take up a similar role with the Under-19 side

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2016Former Sri Lanka opener Avishka Gunawardene has been appointed coach of the Sri Lanka A team, while former senior team coach Roy Dias will take up a similar role with the Under-19 side. Both teams are scheduled to tour England in July, while the Sri Lanka U-19 team will also tour South Africa later.Gunawardene is part of Sri Lanka Cricket’s coaching panel and, until recently, was assistant coach of the U-19 team. He played six Tests and 61 ODIs between 1998 and 2006, scoring one century against West Indies in the ICC knockout in 2000. He is also remembered for his 53 against South Africa in the semi-final of the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, where Sri Lanka lost by one wicket.Dias, who played 20 Tests and 58 ODIs between 1979 and 1987, was appointed Sri Lanka coach in 1998 before he took up the role with Oman and Nepal. Dias coached Nepal’s junior and senior sides.Sri Lanka A will play two four-day games against Pakistan A from July 3, followed by a 50-over tri-series between the two teams and England A from July 18. Sri Lanka U-19 will play two Youth Tests against England U-19 from July 26, while the three-match Youth ODI series starts from August 10.

Division One leaders Middlesex are well placed to claim their third successive win after another bowler-dominated day at Hove

Press Association11-May-2015
ScorecardBen Brown top-scored with 46 for Sussex as the bowlers continued to thrive in Hove•Getty Images

Division One leaders Middlesex are well placed to claim their third successive win after another bowler-dominated day at Hove. Twelve wickets fell on a second day that ended with 21 overs unused after a sea fret rolled in.Middlesex closed on 126 for 6, having extended their overall lead to 203 after dismissing Sussex for 192 earlier in the day. No player has yet passed 50 in the match (although there have been 112 extras) and that statistic looks unlikely to change with batsmen on both sides struggling to combat a pitch of erratic bounce that is unlikely to get any easier.Sussex were indebted to Ben Brown’s counterattacking 46 for keeping their first-innings deficit to manageable proportions and although Middlesex slumped to 68 for 4 and then 102 for 6, Ollie Rayner defied his former team-mates with an unbeaten 19 before the mists descended.Sussex were hampered by the absence of their leading wicket-taker Ajmal Shahzad, who suffered an arm injury on the first day. In his absence Ollie Robinson took three wickets to take his tally on his home debut to seven, which just about kept Sussex in contention.Batting again with a precious lead of 77, Middlesex lost Nick Gubbins in Robinson’s first over when he edged an outswinger before Steve Magoffin reaped an instant reward for a change of ends when he plucked out Sam Robson’s off stump.Middlesex lost two wickets with the score on 68. Substitute fielder Simon Harmer ran out Nick Compton with an underarm throw from the covers and James Franklin completed a pair off the next ball when Magoffin had him taken at second slip.Robinson’s lifter accounted for Neil Dexter and Mike Yardy claimed his third slip catch of the innings shortly after tea when Adam Voges drove at another Robinson delivery that spat up off a length. Rayner and John Simpson survived for six overs before the players went off.Earlier, Sussex’s first innings had been something of a procession once skipper Ed Joyce shovelled a leg-side ball from James Harris to long leg in the second over of the day. Luke Wright briefly flourished with five boundaries in his 26 but it needed Brown to give the total some respectability. He attacked vigorously after lunch, hitting eight boundaries in a stand of 31 for the ninth wicket with Shahzad, who offered solid support despite being clearly inconvenienced by his injury.Brown gave Rayner his second wicket with a tame catch down the leg side while the pick of the Middlesex seamers was Toby Roland-Jones, who found the right length and was unfortunate to only finish with two wickets.

The ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Pallekele will be the first played with the altered playing conditions

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Pallekele31-Oct-2012The ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Pallekele will be the first played with the altered playing conditions, and Ross Taylor said it was important for his team to get used to them as fast as possible.Under the tweaked playing conditions, there will be only two blocks of fielding restrictions: the first ten overs, when a maximum of two fielders can be placed outside the 30-yard circle, and a second block of five overs – the batting Powerplay, when three fielders are allowed outside the circle – that needs to be completed by the 40th over. The bowling Powerplay has been done away with. During non-Powerplay overs, a maximum of four fielders can be placed outside the circle, a reduction from the earlier five.”These new rules, the players and I guess the officials will need to adjust quickly,” Taylor said. “It’s more a mindset change, for our batsmen. We’ve got to get ourselves in and keep wickets in hand, and capitalise in the last ten overs. With the new rules and the two new balls, it is difficult for whichever team does bat first, but if you can get a good total on the board, under lights it can be difficult as well.”New Zealand had one fitness concern ahead of Thursday’s contest, with fast bowler Adam Milne not turning up for practice on the eve of the game. “He [Milne] has picked up a bug and been out with it for the last couple of days,” Taylor said. “He won’t be in consideration for this match but hopefully he comes right and he’ll be in consideration for the match in Colombo.”The weather in Pallekele remained a concern after rain washed out the Twenty20 between the sides on Tuesday. New Zealand’s innings was reduced to 14 overs and they struggled to 74 for 7, and Sri Lanka made 6 for 0 in two overs before the game was abandoned.”Tomorrow is a new day. We played a little bit out there last night, it’s going to be a tough wicket for the batsmen,” Taylor said. “I feel sorry for the groundsman. It wasn’t an ideal wicket for a Twenty20 match and it was very damp. In saying that, we didn’t apply ourselves as well as we would have liked.”They did put balls in the right areas but it was very tough to score, and it shows you what kind of wicket it was when we set them 72 in 14 overs. It would have still been a tough chase and we would have been in the match.”Considering the weather and the state of the pitch, Taylor said the toss would play an important role in the first ODI. New Zealand had lost it in the Twenty20 and were put in to bat.

Geoff Marsh, the former Australia batsman and coach, has confirmed discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket about the possibility of becoming national coach

Daniel Brettig10-Sep-2011Geoff Marsh, the former Australia batsman and coach, has confirmed discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket about the possibility of becoming national coach.In Pallekele to witness his son Shaun’s century on Test debut, Marsh has been weighing up the possibility of taking over the position vacated by Trevor Bayliss following the 2011 World Cup. Sri Lanka has since been under interim coaches, first Bayliss’ assistant Stuart Law in England and then the former Sri Lanka fast bowler Rumesh Ratnayake in this series against AustraliaGraham Ford, the former South Africa coach, was also sounded out about the role but reportedly declined. Marsh said that his former Australia team-mate Tom Moody, who coached Sri Lanka before Bayliss, had also been engaged in discussions.”They had a word but nothing’s come of it. I’m here totally focused on the Test match, but they’ve had a word to quite a few people,” Marsh said.”Definitely nothing formal, no. I may consider it but we’ll just see how things go. You’ve got the IPL and all that to take into consideration, a lot of things, there’s my job back at home. So they’ve spoken to Tom Moody and a whole heap of people, so we’ll see how that all pans out.”Marsh played 50 Tests for Australia and then coached the national team for four years. He also worked as the coach of Zimbabwe and is presently with the IPL franchise Pune Warriors.The Sri Lankans have not won in nine Tests since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan. They appear in need of a strong hand in the backroom to deliver stability and direction to a team that is in transition following the loss of Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. The batsmen in particular failed to give a worthy account of themselves against Australia, rolled for 105 and 174 in two first innings in Galle and Pallekele.

Graeme Swann, the England offspinner, wanted to pull out of the fourth one-day international at Lord’s on Monday following Ijaz Butt’s claim that England took money to lose the previous match at The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2010Graeme Swann, the England offspinner, wanted to pull out of the fourth one-day international at Lord’s on Monday following Ijaz Butt’s claim that England took money to lose the previous match at The Oval. It was only after extensive negotiations between the ECB and the players that the game went ahead, but Swann has revealed the players were ready to take drastic action.Andrew Strauss was involved in meetings that went into the early hours of Monday morning with the board and the Professional Cricketers’ Association before the decision was taken to continue the one-day series. The ECB issued strongly worded statements in response to Butt’s outburst and are still set on pursuing legal action against the Pakistan board chairman unless he makes a public apology for claiming England took “enormous amounts of money” to lose at The Oval.”I couldn’t wait for those games to end and get the hell out of there. It was a dreadful experience and one I never want to experience again,” Swann told . “In fact, I didn’t want to play at all in the one-dayer on Monday. I won’t lie about that – I was dead against playing. And I wasn’t alone, plenty of other players had strong reservations.”But Straussy, who has been brilliant throughout this episode, persuaded us the best thing we could do was get on with it as a team and make sure we won the series. He was proved to be right.”Swann, who took 11 wickets at 19.00 during the series which England won 3-2 with a 121-run success at the Rose Bowl, insisted it was no empty threat from the players about taking Butt to court over his claims.”I want to say I agree 100 per cent with the decision to send a letter on behalf of the England team demanding an apology from PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. If we do not receive a satisfactory response, we will start legal proceedings,” Swann said. “Mr Butt’s comments about bookmakers claiming we deliberately lost the third one-dayer in return for ‘enormous amounts of money’ were as offensive as they could possibly be. They went against everything I stand for as a professional sportsman.”We felt powerless as players because as soon as somebody says something like that and it is read by cricket followers, our name is sullied. You can’t go around accusing people and pointing fingers with completely unsubstantiated claims. In the civilised world, it is not something that should happen. I hope Mr Butt sees sense and retracts his claims or there must be severe consequences for him.”

They gave the hosts a 93-run first-innings lead, which Pakistan grew to 202 courtesy Shan Masood’s fifty

Danyal Rasool18-Jan-2025Noman Ali and Sajid Khan put on a spin-bowling masterclass on a surface they found to their tastes, taking nine of the ten wickets to skittle West Indies out for 137 in less than a session. Either side of that, Pakistan fared better with the bat, putting up 230 in the first innings despite a collapse after Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan’s 141-run stand was broken.But they pulled away from the visitors in the final session with a commanding second-innings show with the bat. That was spearheaded by their captain Shan Masood, whose half-century drove Pakistan’s lead to 202 with seven wickets still in hand. The dominant story of a day when 19 wickets fell, though, came in the middle session, where West Indies had little answer to Noman and Sajid, who bowled all but 14 deliveries of their innings.Sajid started the dismantling in just his second over when he dismissed Mikyle Louis and Keacy Carty off successive balls, even as Carty fell thanks to a superb slip catch from Mohammad Hurraira. By the end of his third over, Sajid had four wickets as West Indies floundered, unable to either defend or attack against an unerringly accurate spin duo.Noman joined the fun, getting drift and turn to clip the edge of Justin Greaves’ off stump. It was the first of five wickets for the left-armer, who was beginning to get huge rip off the barely formed footmarks.As the innings proceeded, West Indies began to adopt a more bellicose outlook, trying to swindle some runs along the way. But there was limited success as multiple batters dragged it on to their stumps, before the final two partnerships flourished. Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican began to play belligerent shots, with Warrican utilising the back of the bat while playing the reverse sweeps a handful of times.Shan Masood was adept against spin bowling•AFP/Getty Images

From 66 for 8 at one stage, West Indies added 71 for the last two wickets. After Motie and Warrican had a partnership of 25, it was only during the last-wicket stand between Warrican and Jayden Seales when West Indies dominated the spinners. Both batters connected cleanly as they hit the spinners over cow corner for multiple sixes.That forced Pakistan into bringing on Abrar Ahmed for the first time. Eventually, Abrar did end the partnership, but only after the pair had plundered 46 runs off 21 balls. Seales failed to pick up a googly and miscued it straight up, as Rizwan took the catch and ended the punchy counterattack.If West Indies thought that their collapse against spin meant they too would be among the wickets in the final session, Masood and Hurraira soon disabused them off that notion. Seales, whose pace and seam movement had made him the surprise pick of the bowlers on the first day, reprised his potent threat but without the wickets that would reflect this in the scorecard.Masood, meanwhile, was proactive in his use of the feet, and adept against spin bowling, eager to attack and expand the lead even further before the day was done. Some untidiness crept into the bowling; there were 12 byes as the spin became as tricky to handle for the bowlers as it was for the batters. But Warrican was dangerous with the one that carried on with the arm, and got both his wickets that way – Hurraira at first, before Babar Azam played for the spin and found himself rapped in front of middle.West Indies were unfortunate not to snare Kamran Ghulam too when a miscued sweep struck him on the arm as he got down low. The umpire raised the finger, although HawkEye, incongruously, projected the ball to be rising well above the stumps.Jomel Warrican took three wickets in the first innings, before hitting 31* with the bat•PCB

As if to compensate, West Indies were gifted the wicket of Masood. He called for a run and didn’t quite realise that Ghulam was well down the pitch in response, and found himself stranded in the middle of the pitch. Thus, Masood was left with little chance of getting to the non-striker’s end, before Warrican whipped the bails off.Earlier, during the morning session, West Indies took four wickets for 13 runs to trigger a Pakistan collapse. That started by breaking the stand between Shakeel and Rizwan, leaving West Indies two wickets away from wrapping the hosts up. Shakeel and Rizwan had begun with the same authority with which they had ended the first day. But once Kevin Sinclair snared Shakeel 16 short of what would have been his fifth Test hundred, Pakistan’s resistance melted away.Only a punchy rearguard partnership between Sajid and Khurram Shahzad prevented West Indies from running through the innings even sooner, but Pakistan were still bowled out for 230 on the stroke of lunch.West Indies had begun the day by sticking to disciplined and tight lines, at one point conceding six runs in seven overs as Seales and Warrican locked in. But neither batter offered up chances during this time, and when Pakistan negotiated the first hour without loss, West Indies were in danger of being shut out of the game.Saud Shakeel fell 16 short of what would have been his fifth Test hundred•AFP/Getty Images

But the first ball after drinks brought joy for West Indies. Sinclair lured Shakeel forward before getting the ball to grip, and then taking his edge. As if it had been forgotten, the pitch suddenly began to remind everyone how hostile it could be to batters against quality spin, as the ball hissed and spat off the surface.Salman Ali Agha was deceived in the flight from Warrican to drag on before Pakistan imploded. A bizarre mix-up between Rizwan and Noman saw the former turn his back on Noman to leave him unsuccessfully scrambling to return to the non-striker’s end. But an attempted reverse sweep off the next delivery ended Rizwan’s own innings, as a sharp review from West Indies finished Rizwan’s innings on 71.It was only an entertaining stand from Sajid and Shahzad that saw a few more runs flow for Pakistan, before the innings petered out. Sajid launched Sinclair over cow corner for six amid a little flurry as Pakistan added 25 quickfire runs. But Warrican returned to fold the innings, making short work of both, as West Indies took the last six wickets for 43 runs in a session of two halves. It was a harbinger for the rest of the day, when the wicket-taking continued unabated.

England batter admits to “little blow-up” in dressing room after dismissal with 21 needed

Matt Roller09-Jul-2023Harry Brook described a three-wicket victory against Australia at his home ground Headingley as his best Test win for England, after his innings of 75 off 93 balls underpinned their successful run chase on the fourth day.Having batted at No. 3 in the first innings, deputising for the injured Ollie Pope, Brook returned to his customary No. 5 spot in England’s second innings. They needed a further 158 runs to win with seven wickets remaining when he walked out, but the loss of Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow either side of lunch left him as the last specialist batter standing.Brook added 59 in 73 balls in partnership with Chris Woakes, bringing up a 67-ball half-century and surviving a short-ball barrage from Australia’s seamers. He did eventually fall to a bumper, top-edging Mitchell Starc to cover, then watched anxiously from the dressing room as Mark Wood joined Woakes to drag England over the line.Related

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Asked on Channel Nine how England’s win compared to previous victories he had been a part of, Brook said: “I think that tops it to be honest. To do it in the Ashes, at home on my home ground as well, it was very good… it hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but I’m sure it will after a few drinks.”He admitted to having “a little blow-up” in the changing room after his dismissal, with 21 runs still required, but only had to wait 14 balls for Woakes to hit the winning runs through cover-point and give England their first victory in a men’s Ashes Test since 2019.”It’s a lot more nerve-wracking when you’re sat up there than in the middle,” he told Sky Sports. “I’m not one to blow up when I get in the changing room but I had a little blow-up today. I like getting us over the line and yeah, it was annoying that I didn’t today, but I’m happy we won.”Everybody [in the dressing room] erupted. We only needed about 20 runs, and I had complete and utter faith in Woakesy and Woody. It was tense for a little while but when Woody hit that six, we kind of knew it was on.”He added: “Me and Woakesy were just trying to build a partnership there, just trying to go down in fives: we got it down to 40 and we said, ‘Let’s try and get it down to 35’; then, ‘Let’s try and get it down to 30.’ Then obviously I got out, which made it a bit more nerve-wracking.”[Woakes] has been a phenomenal player for England. Obviously, he hasn’t played as much in the last couple years but to have him back in the side and play a vital part like he has done there is really good.”Brook played tentatively in the first innings, edging Pat Cummins to second slip for 3, and said his dismissal caused him to recommit to his attacking instincts in the second innings. “In the last couple of innings, I feel like I’ve got out being stuck on the crease a little bit,” he said. “I feel like I’m at my best when I’m looking to score and put pressure on the bowler.”I was trying to be a bit more aggressive today. I hate it when I nick off when I get stuck on the crease, so I’d rather get caught at second slip playing a massive drive to be honest, but I’m glad I got a few.”His return to No. 5 owed to Moeen Ali, who approached Brendon McCullum and asked to be promoted on the third evening. “He came up to Brendon and said, ‘I want to have a crack at No. 3 and take these guys on,'” Ben Stokes explained. “It wasn’t necessarily a free hit for us but I loved that, in the pressure of a chase, he wanted to go out and deliver for the team.”Brook admitted that he preferred the switch, though Stokes hinted that it is unlikely to be a permanent solution. “I’ve batted No. 5 for the last four or five years of my career, whether it’s with England or Yorkshire, so I probably feel most comfortable there,” he said. “But I’m happy to just be in the XI.”He has played for Yorkshire since Under-13 level and has spent many years compiling a strong record at Headingley, but this was Brook’s first international match at his home ground in any format. “That’s probably the best part, to be honest,” he told Sky Sports.”I’ll know a lot of people out there in the crowd and to have done it in front of the home crowd is really nice. It always is [loud], whether it’s a T20 Blast game or an England Test match. They’re always good here. But that is the worst part about being a professional cricketer: every single person messages you asking for a ticket.”

Sekhukhune, Mlaba tie down hosts on gusty day in Dublin as Goodall and Bosch breeze past target

Firdose Moonda08-Jun-2022On a day so windy that it was too dangerous for the broadcast cameras to be mounted on the stanchions, it was Ireland who were blown away in the series decider against South Africa. After Ireland took the lead in the opening match on Friday, the contest between the two sides became progressively less intense as South Africa’s bowlers adjusted to the slower, lower surfaces and proved difficult to get away.

Brits receives demerit point for dissent

South Africa opener Tazmin Brits has received an official reprimand for a Level 1 breach of the ICC’s code of conduct during the third ODI against Ireland. Brits was found to have breached Article 2.8 of the code, which relates to “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match.”
Brits, according to an ICC release, “showed displeasure while staying on at the crease” and “expressed her dissent when she walked past the umpire” after she was adjudged caught behind for 3 in the second over of South Africa’s chase of 105.
Brits admitted to her offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Graham McCrea, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

Ireland made a positive start and were 64 for 2 at the halfway stage of their innings but career-best hauls from Nonkululeko Mlaba and Tumi Sekhukhune, and able support from Nadine de Klerk and Ayabonga Khaka, restricted them to 104 and bowled them out with nine deliveries left in their innings. That total included South Africa’s 11 wides, as the gusts challenged their control of the ball. Ireland were more disciplined and sent down only three wides but South Africa swatted away the score in 13.5 overs.More for Mlaba After opening the bowling in the first two matches in the series – with just one over upfront – left-arm spinner Mlaba was given a second over in the Powerplay after her first cost just two runs. One of them was a wide, and she didn’t bowl to Gaby Lewis, who had taken her on in the first two matches, so with Lewis off strike at the start of the third over, Mlaba continued. She conceded two singles and then had Mary Waldron out lbw to leave Ireland in a shaky position on 11 for 2. She even got rid of Lewis, but only when she returned in the 11th over and had Lewis caught at mid-on, and ended with career-best figures of 2 for 15.Get Gaby on strike Ireland’s stand-in captain did not face any of the first 10 balls of the innings but watched from the other end as her opening partner Leah Paul struggled against Mlaba and was then caught at wide slip off Khaka. Lewis faced two balls off Khaka but was soon back to the non-striker’s end for Mlaba’s second over. After five overs, Lewis had scored only six off 12 balls. She went on to score 23 more runs off the next 20 balls she faced, including five fours and shared in a 54-run second-wicket partnership with Shauna Kavanagh. They set Ireland up well but, as was the case in the previous two matches, Lewis was unable to bat through and her dismissal caused a mini-collapse. Ireland lost their last eight wickets for 39 runs in eight overs to fall away in the second half of their innings.Tazmin’s tirade Without many to defend, Ireland needed an early breakthrough and Jane Macguire got it. She had Tazmin Brits caught behind off her second delivery, which moved away from the right-hander and appeared to take the outside edge. All the Irish players were in celebration, when Brits’ unhappiness became clear. She stood next to the pitch, with her arms outstretched, as if to ask why she had been given out, and then left muttering. She may yet be sanctioned for her disbelief at her dismissal but it did not do too much damage to South Africa’s chances. Good, better, but not yet best Lara Goodall’s promotion to the top of the order saw her dismissed for a duck in the first match this series, score her first T20I half-century in the second and could have seen her bat South Africa to victory in the third. She was two short of fifty, and had played an aggressive knock laced with nine fours, when Anneke Bosch asked her to hustle through for a single but Lewis’ throw came in quickly to Waldron. Goodall was short of her ground when the stumps were broken and her second-wicket stand with Bosch ended on 72, but she left in good spirits. She fist-bumped Bosch before making her way off and smiled as she left the ground, leaving Bosch and Laura Wolvaardt to seal the deal. Bosch was unbeaten on 44 at the end.

West Indies looking to draw motivation from 2018 series loss in Bangladesh

Mohammad Isam02-Feb-2021West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite believes improving from their 2018 Test series loss in Bangladesh is their biggest motivation going into the two-Test series starting Wednesday in Chattogram.Back then, West Indies couldn’t go past three days in either of the two Tests, losing the first by 64 runs and the second by an innings and 184 runs, the biggest win in Bangladesh’s Test history.Bangladesh’s four-pronged spin attack took all forty West Indies wickets, with offspinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz snapping up 15 of those, at an average of 14.06. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam took ten wickets, Shakib nine and offspinner Nayeem Hasan took six wickets in his maiden Test series. Shakib especially has had the wood over the West Indies since 2009, with his 46 wickets and seven half-centuries.Brathwaite, who is leading the team in Jason Holder’s absence believes positivity is key against bowlers who’ve had the wood over them in the past.”We lost the series here last time, which is the motivation for us,” Brathwaite said. “I played against these (bowlers) before but some of the guys haven’t (played them). We have seen footage and from a batsman’s point of view, we have our plans in place. We have to be positive, by rotating the strike, looking to be aggressive.”They are quality bowlers, but I think we have the skills to come out on top and get big runs. I am backing the batters. The guys have put in some work, and we all look forward to the challenge. Our bowlers have been doing a good job in the last year and a half, or two years. It is crucial for us to put runs on the board, I think that’ll be key for this West Indies team.”Brathwaite, who is the most experienced cricketer in this squad, said that his opening stand with John Campbell has to lay the foundation for big scores. He said that he will continue to bat in his own way, and try to take away much of the pressure early on.”I think it is key for openers to put on a good partnership, especially here in Bangladesh,” he said. “Big opening partnerships can basically make it easier for guys to come. It would put us in a good position. John is batting well. I really enjoying batting with him. Nothing ever changes for me as an opening batsman. Every time I go to bat, I obviously look to do well. I won’t say that it is added pressure. I try to soak up a lot of the pressure as an opener.”Brathwaite said that he is also relying on the likes of Jermaine Blackwood and Rakheem Cornwall to give him important contributions with bat and ball respectively. “I am 100 per cent confident of each and every guy who plays,” he said. “We have the experience of Jermaine Blackwood who has the experience of 30-odd games. But I look forward to seeing all the top-order batsmen to do well.”Rakheem (Cornwall) did a very good job in the practice game. He created a lot of pressure by bowling dot balls. I think he will do well in this series. He is a quality offspinner. We have to support him in the field, but that’s for every bowler not only Rakheem.”Despite so much talk about spin being the most important factor on the pitches in Chattogram and Dhaka, West Indies could still play three fast bowlers. Brathwaite said that if the fast bowlers can bowl on the stumps, the low bounce could help them.”I still think they will have the role as before. We have some guys with extra pace so I think with the low bounce and correct fields, the pacers have to apply pressure as well. The ball may spin looking at the surface, but I still think pacers can be the attacking option with the ball possibly keeping low.”

Guwahati, Indore and Pune have been finalised as venues for the three T20Is, which will be played in January next year

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2019The ICC’s decision to suspend Zimbabwe has cost them the important tour of India next January, when they were scheduled to play a three-match T20I series. The BCCI has replaced Zimbabwe with Sri Lanka for the series, which will be played on January 5, 7 and 10.”In the wake of Zimbabwe’s suspension by ICC, the BCCI invited Sri Lanka to participate in the three-match series,” the BCCI said in the media release. Guwahati, Indore and Pune have been finalised as venues for the three T20Is.

SL tour of India 2020

1st T20I – Guwahati (Jan 5)
2nd T20I – Indore (Jan 7)
3rd T20I – Pune (Jan 10)

As per the Future Tours Programme (FTP), Zimbabwe were originally scheduled to play one Test and three ODIs in India last March, a tour that never took place. Instead the BCCI negotiated the T20I series with Zimbabwe Cricket.Zimbabwe are also scheduled to play a two-match Test series at home against Sri Lanka in January next year as per the FTP, but it is unclear whether it will take place as planned.The ICC had instructed ZC to “unconditionally” reinstate the board elected in June or risk termination of their membership. The ICC also said it would be discussing the suspension matter at its quarterly meeting in Dubai in October before taking any further decisions.Since the suspension, Zimbabwe have played just one tournament, the recently-concluded T20I tri-series against Afghanistan and hosts Bangladesh.