Queensland bundled out South Australia’s last six wickets for 54 runs to make sure they did not have to bat again, and sealed an innings-and-14-run win in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2015
ScorecardChris Hartley took two catches on the last day to make a new first-class record for Queensland with 521 dismissals•Cricket Australia

Queensland bundled out South Australia’s last six wickets for 54 runs to make sure they did not have to bat again, and sealed an innings-and-14-run win in Brisbane. Debutant Billy Stanlake and James Hopes took four-fors to finish the match with seven and eight wickets respectively as South Australia were dismissed for 235.Continuing from their overnight 181 for 4 with a trail of 68 runs, SA lost Alex Ross in the first over of the day to Hopes and Tom Cooper (44) also fell to Stanlake seven overs later, after they crossed 200. Tim Ludeman and Adam Zampa resisted with double-digit scores but Marnus Labuschagne broke the stand before the last three wickets were wiped out for 14 runs in 21 balls. Hopes finished with match figures of 8 for 85 and also scored 57 at No. 8 for Queensland.Wicketkeeper Chris Hartley took two more catches to finish with ten in the match, taking his first-class career tally to 521, a record Queensland, by overtaking Wade Seccombe’s 519.”[The record] reminds me that I’ve been playing for a while,” Hartley said. “It’s a good indication of how your fast bowlers are going. We had a lot of guys taking catches behind the wicket.”

Tony de Zorzi has been named captain of the South Africa team that will look to defend its crown at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in January-February 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2015Tony de Zorzi has been named captain of the South Africa team that will look to defend its crown at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in January-February 2016.The announcement was made during the gala dinner organised by Cricket South Africa in Port Elizabeth. “Well done to all the players selected into the U-19 World Cup squad. This is a formative start to what can turn out to be a memorable tournament as defending champions and ultimately a career as a professional cricketer.” Haroon Lorgat, CSA’s chief executive, said.”It is worth recalling that Kagiso Rabada was the bowling spearhead of our previous campaign and we all know the impressive strides he has made since then to represent the Proteas with distinction. The opportunity is there for you all to begin to live your dreams and to travel in the knowledge that you not only have the CSA Family right behind you but indeed the entire nation.”Lawrence Mahatlane, the former assistant coach of Lions who took over the coaching duties of the Under-19 national team from Ray Jennings last year, was confident that he had the right squad to defend their title.”It has been a very exciting process,” he said. “We have a lot of players that we have tried out and given a lot of international exposure to. I think the fact that majority of the team has been to Bangladesh already can only serve us in good stead. It’s been tough at times, there are a few young men who will be very disappointed that they will not be going to the World Cup, but I believe that we have picked a really good side, a very well-balanced side that will represent our country well.”The squad will assemble in Stellenbosch for a four-day preparatory tournament from January 4, before flying out to Bangladesh later in the month. South Africa are grouped alongside Bangladesh, Scotland and Namibia, and will open their campaign against the hosts in Chittagong on January 27.Squad: Tony de Zorzi (capt), Ziyaad Abrahams, Dean Foxcroft, Dayyaan Galiem, Willie Ludick, Wandile Makwethu, Conner McKerr, Rivaldo Moonsamy, Wiaan Mulder, Luke Philander, Farhaan Sayanvala, Lutho Sipamla, Liam Smith, Kyle Verreynne and Sean Whitehead.

Rangpur Riders inflicted three timely run-outs and then batted well to beat Dhaka Dynamites by six wickets

The Report by Mohammad Isam06-Dec-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Jahurul Islam steered Rangpur Riders’ chase of 136•Associated Press

Rangpur Riders inflicted three timely run-outs and then batted well to beat Dhaka Dynamites by six wickets. The win meant that Rangpur, Comilla Victorians and Barisal Bulls now have 10 points each on the table, while Dhaka are in fourth place with six points, and still need to strengthen their lead over Chittagong Vikings and Sylhet Super Stars, who have four points each.The fielding was the main difference between the two sides. Dhaka misfielded several times, especially Sohail Khan at the boundary, while Rangpur made sure that their bowling wasn’t going to be the only thing attacking Dhaka as they limited the side to 135 for 7. Jahurul Islam was in charge of the chase for most of the time, ending with an unbeaten 35 off 26 balls with four boundaries.When Rangpur’s chase began, however, there were plenty of plays and misses from the Rangpur openers – Soumya Sarkar and Lendl Simmons – in the first six overs. Soumya hit just the two fours and a magnificent pull off Sohail Khan in the fifth over but in the following over, Abul Hasan had him caught at mid-off as he attempted to bunt the medium-pacer. Simmons was caught at point off the same bowler, after making only 18. Rangpur’s chase received a further jolt when, in the 12th over, Mustafizur Rahman duped Shakib Al Hasan to give a catch to mid-on to make the score 74 for 3.Sammy had a terrible time at the start of his innings, missing deliveries against Mustafizur and Abul, but just as things were getting tougher for Rangpur, Shykat Ali was given a third over with 54 needed off 42 balls. Sammy struck two fours and Jahurul got one past the wicketkeeper to take 16 runs off the over. In the next over, the pair combined to hit Sohail Khan for three fours in a 15-run over. The target came down to 23 off 30 balls.Mohammad Irfan had Sammy drag one on to the stumps after making a 21-ball 23, with 17 needed off the last 24 balls. Jahurul kept his cool and, with Thisara Perera, made sure the win was achieved with 10 balls to spare.When Dhaka decided to bat, the 45-run, fourth-wicket partnership between Nasir Hossain and Kumar Sangakkara was the best part of their batting. That partnership helped the side overcome a sluggish start after they had slipped to 39 for 3 in the seventh over. Shadman Islam was the first to go, run out by Soumya Sarkar’s direct hit in the fourth over. Shamsur Rahman was struck in front against Shakib, before Shykat, impressive while hitting the two fours and the six, holed out at long-off for 18.Sangakkara and Nasir worked on picking the singles and twos, and occasionally found the boundary; the stand-out shot was Sangakkara’s inside-out six over cover off Mohammad Nabi in the 11th over. The partnership had the potential to push the total past the 150-mark, especially after Arafat Sunny dropped Sangakkara on 29 but, off the very next ball, Shakib’s direct hit from short midwicket found the batsman inches short of the crease.Nasir made a 28-ball 30 and, after Sangakkara’s dismissal, tried to push the run-rate. He even struck a six off Sunny but was gone next ball after the bowler turned it and beat Nasir’s charge. Ryan ten Doeschate swept one straight down deep square-leg’s throat in the 18th over before Mosaddek Hossain was run out trying to run a bye after Thisara Perera bowled a wide at the end of the penultimate over.Apart from Sunny’s two-wicket haul and the three run-outs, Sammy and Shakib had one wicket each.

Defending a par score of 163, UP snatched control and never lost it in the middle overs as left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav and legspinner Piyush Chawla beguiled the opposition with variations

The Report by Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai20-Jan-2016Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Kuldeep Yadav and his variations were too much for Baroda•ICC

Uttar Pradesh brushed Baroda aside to win their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by 38 runs. Defending a par score of 163, UP snatched control and never lost it in the middle overs as left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav and legspinner Piyush Chawla beguiled the opposition with variations.Having made the final in 2013-14, UP were hungry to put their name on the trophy. Baroda, two-time champions, elected to field and would have fancied a third title. They had been victors at the Wankhede stadium in two Super League matches and as they had done then, Baroda were chasing again. But UP proved smarter and emerged champions with a flawless record this season – nine matches, nine victories.Although Baroda had got off to a brisk start, scoring 20 runs off the first two overs, the key was to maintain that tempo. Kedar Devdhar, who had hit three boundaries in Amit Mishra’s first over could not resist a short, wide delivery outside the off stump and paid the price by cutting into the hands of Akshdeep Nath at point.In walked Hardik Pandya, one of the headline makers in the tournament. He began with two sweetly timed straight drives to bookend an over from Amit Mishra. Pandya had played possibly the innings of the tournament, an explosive 46-ball 86 against Vidarbha in Baroda’s first Super League match at the same ground. Today Baroda would have expected the same from the allrounder, but he was all at sea against Kuldeep.Facing the first ball from Kuldeep, Pandya failed to read the googly and was hit in the box. Next ball, a casual wristy push against a back-of-a-length delivery went straight into the hands of the bowler. The strong crowd, which took advantage of free entry in the eastern section of the Wankhede, heaved a loud sigh of disappointment as they were expecting fireworks from Pandya.Suresh Raina, the UP captain, operated Chawla and Kuldeep in tandem in the middle overs, which were fast-paced and left the Baroda batsmen stranded . Not just teammates at UP, both spinners also play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. They knew their plan well. It was simply to keep the runs down; Chawla, one of the highest wicket-takers among Indian bowlers in Twenty20 cricket, said he had never seen a team score 60 runs off the last five overs.In the eight overs they bowled together Chawla (4-0-16-0) and Kuldeep (4-0-12-2) conceded only 28 runs while taking two wickets. Both bowlers mixed their deliveries well, disguised their googlies expertly and left the Baroda batsmen in a daze. Even the pair of hard hitting allrounders – Yusuf Pathan and Deepak Hooda – looked puzzled and totally inept at pushing the run rate.Hooda had scored a good half century in the previous must-win match against Mumbai, but had failed to finish the game as Baroda’s tail huffed and puffed to pull off a late victory. Today too, Hooda, playing from deep in the crease, tried to loft Kuldeep over long on, but only managed to get the ball as far as Prashant Gupta in the deep.But the biggest embarrassment was Yusuf. Once known to turn matches on its head with his big hits, Yusuf’s utter helplessness against the UP spinners exposed him completely.Once the bulwark of any team he played for, Yusuf was at sea against the spinners. He failed to move his feet, failed to clear the boundaries and in the end chewed up 27 deliveries while making only 14 runs without any boundaries, before he bottom-edged against Amit Mishra and was caught brilliantly behind the wicket by Eklavya Dwivedi, who dived to his wrong side.Although Irfan Pathan started off with a clipped four to the midwicket boundary the asking rate was beyond his reach and he too returned to the dugout quickly. The one-sided nature of the contest was evident from the last-over equation, which left Baroda needing an impossible 48 runs from six balls.Apart from Chawla and Kuldeep, UP’s other two heroes were Raina and opener Prashant Gupta. The left-right combination’s 60-run partnership for the second wicket set a strong base for UP. Raina proved the key batsman. Despite not being in dazzling form, he remained solid throughout and wrapped up the UP innings with a lapped six off Irfan.Aside from their batting, Baroda would also rue some sloppy cricket on the field. Gupta, UP’s highest runmaker (49), earned an early life when Munaf Patel forced an outside edge when he was on five. But Pinal Shah did not move to his right in time and spilled the catch. Then, when Gupta was in his 20s he spooned an easy catch to short midwicket, once again off Munaf. This time, the bowler had overstepped.Gupta rushed towards the 50 mark but one run short of the landmark he attempted a sweep against a full delivery fired in by left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt and was trapped leg before. Two balls later Dwivedi attempted a paddle against Bhatt and fell in the same fashion. It was now up to to Raina to hold fort and he did not disappoint.

Twenty20 captain Lasith Malinga and vice-captain Angelo Mathews are back from injury for Sri Lanka, for the Asia Cup and the World T20 that follows

Andrew Fidel Fernando18-Feb-20163:04

Arnold: ‘Sri Lanka can worry fancied teams’

Twenty20 captain Lasith Malinga, vice-captain Angelo Mathews and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara are back from injury for Sri Lanka, for the Asia Cup and the World T20 that follows. All three players were included in the identical 15-man squads named for both tournaments. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who had missed Sri Lanka’s three-match T20 series in India, also made a return.

Sri Lanka squad for World T20 and Asia Cup

Lasith Malinga (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Niroshan Dickwella, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milinda Siriwardana, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dushmantha Chameera, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Jeffrey Vandersay
In: Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Shehan Jayasuriya, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara
Out: Dilhara Fernando, Seekuge Prasanna, Danushka Gunathilaka, Asela Gunaratne, Kasun Rajitha, Binura Fernando

Wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella has also been named, while the likes of Lahiru Thirimanne and Danushka Gunathilaka missed out. Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, offspinning allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya, and seam-bowling allrounder Dasun Shanaka find places in the squads, but Seekkuge Prasanna and Kasun Rajitha – who played in the recent T20 series in India – have been overlooked.The spin-bowling contingent features Herath, Sachithra Senanayake and Vandersay, while Milinda Siriwardana’s left-arm spin and Jayasuriya’s offspin is also available. The seam attack is spearheaded by captain Malinga; Kulasekara, Dushmantha Chameera and Thisara Perera are in tow.On the batting front, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mathews provide experience to the top seven, but the XI also looks likely to feature batsmen as yet unproven in this format. Shanaka and Jayasuriya have played four and five T20 internationals respectively, and even Dinesh Chandimal has not established himself in the format yet, averaging less than 15 in 28 T20 international innings.Dickwella, 22, has also played only two T20 internationals, and did not break through to double figures in those outings. He will be among those contending to partner Dilshan at the top of the order, with Kusal Perera suspended due to a doping charge. Dickwella is coming off strong domestic season, having hit 189 runs at a strike rate of 173.39, in six innings, during the recent Super T20 Provincial Tournament.Thirimanne had played a significant role in the previous World T20 campaign, even top-scoring in the semi-final against West Indies, but the paucity of his recent Test results has seemingly seen him fall out of favour with the selectors. He had, however, averaged more than 43 in ODIs last year – though he did not play T20 internationals.The selectors have also backed the experience of Herath, despite mild concerns over his fielding. With Malinga, Kulasekara and Senanayake also in the squad, much of the bowling unit that had been vital to Sri Lanka’s 2014 World T20 victory, remains in place. Dilhara Fernando, who played his first international match since 2012 in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, does not find a place.Sri Lanka begin their Asia Cup defence in Mirpur on February 25, and their World T20 campaign starts in Kolkata, on March 17.

With an in-form batting line-up and a varied bowling attack, Afghanistan hold the aces against Zimbabwe in the knockout clash in Nagpur

The Preview by Firdose Moonda11-Mar-2016

Match facts

Saturday, March 12, 2016
Start time 1500 local (0930GMT)

Big Picture

A week hasn’t even passed yet in the World Twenty20, but a final is already in the offing. Well, a final of sorts.Zimbabwe and Afghanistan face each other in a shootout for a place in the main draw, after two wins each. The Full Member, though, isn’t the favourite. Afghanistan are ranked ninth, two places above Zimbabwe, and hold the advantage. Zimbabwe have never beaten Afghanistan in T20 internationals in four attempts. Zimbabwe’s performance has been sloppy this tournament, but they scrambled to wins over Hong Kong and Scotland. Afghanistan’s wins, on the other hand, have been more emphatic.Afghanistan have hit rhythm with a batting line-up in which everybody has contributed, supporting a largely varied attack. Zimbabwe are still searching for theirs. Their most in-form batsman, captain Hamilton Masakadza, has been run-out in both matches and the top order hasn’t provided bright starts for the middle order to build on. Zimbabwe’s bowling is their stronger suit, but they tend to let things drift. Zimbabwe need to step up in all departments if they are to put it across Afghanistan. Neutral fans are likely to back Afghanistan, the darlings of global events in recent years, and a side with the potential to topple Full Members.

Form guide

(last five completed games most recent first)

ZimbabweWWWWL
Afghanistan WWWWL

In the spotlight

Afghanistan’s top three have been aggressive upfront with scores 68 for 0 and 79 for 1 in the first ten overs of their previous two matches, but they will face their biggest challenge in Zimbabwe’s seamers who have the craft to tie down the batsmen in the opening passages. In their two matches, Zimbabwe had reduced the opposition to 48 for 2 and 61 for 5 at the halfway stage. Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali Zadran and Asghar Stanikzai will have to be wary of the threat posed by the seamers as well as left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza.

Team news

Zimbabwe have stuck to the same XI for both matches, but they may consider strengthening their batting by adding either wicketkeeper-batsman Peter Moor or allrounder Chamu Chibhabha in the middle order. They may have to leave out Malcolm Waller to do that. Vusi Sibanda, who needed four stitches on his chin, and did not take the field in the chase, after colliding with Hamilton while attempting a quick single on Thursday, has been passed fit to play.Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 4 Sean Williams, 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Peter Moor/Chamu Chibhabha/Malcolm Waller, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Donald Tiripano, 9 Wellington Masakadza, 10 Tinashe Panyangara, 11 Tendai ChataraHamid Hassan replaced Amir Hamza in the Afghanistan XI that beat Hong Kong but the side may be tempted to recall the left-arm spinner on these sluggish tracks.Afghanistan: (probable) 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Noor Ali Zadran, 3 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 4 Mohammad Nabi,5 Gulbaddin Naib, 6 Shafiqullah, 7 Dawlat Zadran, 8 Najibullah Zadran, 9 Samiullah Shemwari, 10 Rashid Khan, 11 Hamid Hassan/Amir Hamza

Pitch and conditions

The Nagpur surface seemed to slow down from Tuesday to Thursday. So if the trend continues, run-scoring will be more difficult on Saturday, although Afghanistan’s batting line-up is in form. Of more interest will be the crowd. Tuesday’s opener had taken place in front of a sparse crowd (182 approximately) and things went bad on Thursday, when some fans were locked out of the stadium because of a ticketing fiasco. Since this is the first match on a weekend, the turnout may increase. Saturday will also be a furnace in Nagpur with temperatures set to hit 40 degrees.

Stats and trivia

• Afghanistan have won 16 of their last 20 T20 matches, dating back to March 2014, including four victories over Zimbabwe.
• Zimbabwe have never beaten Afghanistan in a T20 and have lost eight of the 14 ODIs they have played against them.

Quotes

“They just want to make a mark in world cricket and prove people wrong, and [prove] that they are good enough to play at this level. They have done everything right; they have played aggressively in this format to give themselves the best chance. More often than not, when you are aggressive in this format, you will come up trumps. Not many expected Afghanistan to [beat us] – they are forever underdogs and you are different when you are an underdog.”

Tony Cozier, the West Indian cricket writer, commentator and journalist, has died in his hometown of Barbados at the age of 75 after an illness

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-20168:40

Holding: Cozier was the doyen of WI cricket

Tony Cozier, the West Indian cricket writer, commentator and journalist, has died in his home country, Barbados, at the age of 75 after an illness. He had been admitted to hospital on May 3 for tests related to infections in the neck and legs.Cozier began writing on cricket as a teenager in 1958 and, despite not having played the game at a high level, he became one of its most distinguished voices. His last column on these pages was published on May 1.

Lloyd: ‘His was the pen which wrote of our exploits’

“In the 70s and 80s when we did extremely well, he was the voice and was the eyes through which people saw our game. He was the voice they listened to, his was the pen which wrote of our exploits,” Clive Lloyd, former West Indies captain and current chairman of selectors, told CMC. “We didn’t have too many other journalists travelling with us, so Tony covered the game and did it very well.
I did my first book with him and it was a pleasure to be associated with him over the years. He saw West Indies cricket grow and blossom and has been in all eras of our cricket. We have lost a great man. He left some wonderful memories with us and his voice will be remembered forever around the world.”

“Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Tony Cozier today,” the ICC said on Twitter. “One of the truly great voices of cricket. A huge loss for the cricket community.”The WICB’s tribute hailed Cozier’s service to the game: “The lifelong work of Tony Cozier centred around West Indies cricket and he made a lasting contribution to the game. He ensured that West Indies cricket fans all around the world received information and knowledge about their beloved team and their favourite players. His life was dedicated to the game in the Caribbean and we salute him for his outstanding work.”He was not just a great journalist, but also a great ambassador. He represented West Indies wherever he went. He educated people around the world about our cricket, our people, our culture and who we are. His voice was strong and echoed around the cricket world. He enjoyed West Indies victories and shared the pain when we lost. He gave a lifetime of dedicated service and will be remembered by all who came into contact with him.”Cozier, whose father Jimmy was also a cricket writer, began his commentary career during Australia’s tour of West Indies in 1965. Over five decades, Cozier grew into an accomplished media professional across mediums all over the world. He worked in radio and television, wrote
books, and was published in newspapers, magazines and on the internet.He edited the between 1970 and 1991, and in 1978 wrote the acclaimed book, . In 2011, the MCC awarded Cozier life membership for his services to the game.It was estimated that Cozier was among the most prolific watchers of Test cricket anywhere. Wisden in 2003 reported that he had watched 266 Tests in his 40-odd years of covering the game up to that point.Sambit Bal, ESPNcricinfo’s editor-in-chief, said Cozier was one of the most credible voices in West Indies cricket. “To say Tony loved cricket would be somewhat shallow: cricket was his life, and it was a life of great distinction. He cared for the game deeply and absolutely, and his heart bled for West Indian cricket, which he served as a broadcaster, writer and conscience-keeper for five decades. His was the most credible voice from the region and, in the last decade-and-a-half, an anguished one. He gave the game as much as he got from it and it can safely be said that he will be impossible to replace, on ESPNcricinfo and elsewhere.”Cozier is survived by wife Jillian, his daughter Natalie and his son Craig, who had returned from India where he was working as a television producer for the IPL to be with his father.

England’s motivation for this summer is to claim the Test series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that eluded them in their last campaigns against each team

Andrew Miller22-Apr-2016You’d have thought that Ben Stokes would be sick of the sight of batsmen teeing off after the agonies he endured at the hands of Carlos Brathwaite in the World T20 final in Kolkata earlier this month.And yet, after spending the morning in the company of Joe Root at Woburn Golf Course in Buckinghamshire, it is safe to surmise that Stokes – and the rest of the England team – have parked that near-miss in India and are ready to take the positives (as only sportsmen can) into their next international assignment: the Test series against Sri Lanka that gets underway next month.”I’d been back in the country for about eight or nine days before I realised I wanted to get back to training,” said Stokes, whose hectic round of sponsors’ engagements in recent days – from a game of street cricket in Soho to a bout of WWE in Newcastle and now to an Investec golf day – reflects the extent to which his and England’s exploits, in victory and defeat, have captured the imagination this winter.Though the winter ended in a manner that Stokes will not wish to dwell on for too much longer – with his head in his hands and Brathwaite’s fourth six in a row disappearing into the Eden Gardens stands – England’s shortcomings in that contest cannot detract from the sense that a real team ethic has been forged in the course of 18 extraordinary months.”The amount of people who’ve said how excited they were by the World Cup, and how we should be proud of what we achieved, it was a lot more than I thought it would be,” said Root. “That is really nice to see. That puts a smile on your face and gives us a lot of confidence.”The squads vary from format to format, and the captains too, with Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan taking charge of red- and white-ball cricket respectively. However, Stokes and Root have been integral players throughout, from England’s reboot in limited-overs cricket to their hard-earned Test series wins against Australia and South Africa. Root in particular believes that the confidence forged in one format can be carried across to the others.”It’s a completely different playing XI, but we are implementing how we want to play in all three formats,” he said. “Cooky has been like Morgs in reminding us that we got here by playing in this way for our counties and through the last 18 months, so let’s keep trying to push that. We don’t want to get to a certain level and stop, we want to keep trying to improve and play positive and aggressive cricket.”Teeing off: Stokes prepares to unleash at Woburn•Investec

“In one-day cricket, I think perceptions have been changed for a while now,” he added. “We’ve said previously we’ve got inexperience and we are going to make mistakes, but we want to play a certain way and everyone’s committed to doing that.”We won’t get it right every time, but the more we do that, we’ll get better and better, and we’ll learn along the way, both from getting it right and getting it wrong. Hopefully throughout this summer we’ll get more consistent and become a really strong side.”England’s motivation for this summer, said Root, was to claim the Test series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that eluded them in their last campaigns against each team – at home to Sri Lanka in 2014 and in the UAE against Pakistan last winter. That, he added, would complete a clean sweep of the trophies available to England in Test cricket, and help to propel them towards another of their goals – the reclaiming of the No.1 Test ranking that they last held in 2011-12.”Of course, that is obviously a main goal of ours,” he added. “But as with anything, you can look miles ahead and fall miles short, so you have to take it very slowly. If we win both series it would be a huge achievement.”England’s batting line-up for the first Test against Sri Lanka, at Headingley on May 19, may be significantly altered from the team that was beaten in the fourth and final Test against South Africa at Centurion in January. Not only are they now looking for a replacement for James Taylor, who was sadly forced to retire last week with a serious heart condition, there is talk of Root – the best batsman in the team – being pushed up the order to No. 3, from where he will be better placed to influence the course of an innings.”Who knows?” said Root, who averages more than 65 at positions 4 and 5, from where he has scored eight of his nine Test hundreds. “There have been lots of runs scored in the County Championship so far, but I’ve not had any conversations with the coaches yet about batting orders. I feel pretty settled at 4 but if they want to change things up, I’m sure we’ll have a discussion and see what’s best for the side.”One man who would prefer Root to stay exactly where he is, however, is Stokes, who has played some of his finest innings alongside his team-mate at four-down – not least their game-changing stand of 161 in the Lord’s Test against New Zealand last summer.”His record at 4 and 5 has been incredible,” said Stokes. “I’d personally like him to stay at 4 as he’s been so successful. When we’ve got off to bad starts, he’s come in and still kept the run-rate going, and also it would mean he’s closer to where I’m batting, and I enjoy batting with him.”The reason for their success as a partnership, Stokes added, was their shared sense of enjoyment and relaxation in the heat of the battle.”Some players are very keen and switched on when they are batting in the middle,” he said. “That is them. They stay with themselves in their own bubble, and you know that and respect that, you let them do what they want.”But me and Joe are very similar in the middle – having a laugh, not taking things too seriously, letting things go on. It lets us both play our natural games, which we want to do anyway, but it almost frees us up even more. I know Rooty scores quick, he knows I score quickly. We don’t put any pressure on each other.”As for Root himself, he finished the World T20 as one of the most talked-about young cricketers in the game, with most commentators agreeing it is a three-way shoot-out between him, India’s Virat Kohli and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson when it comes to identifying the best current batsman in the world.The player himself, however, only has eyes for the team cause. “You hear stuff and it’s nice when people say nice things about you, but it’s about scoring runs, isn’t it?” he said. “It’s not about personal gain. It’s about winning games of cricket and being part of something really special with your team-mates. By contributing runs, hopefully that will bring all that stuff along.”Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For more on Investec private banking, visit investec.co.uk/banking

A round-up of the fifth day’s action at ICC World Cricket League Division Five in Jersey

Peter Della Penna in Jersey 25-May-2016Allrounder Ben Stevens nabbed his second straight Man of the Match award, following up 2 for 22 with the ball by steering Jersey’s chase with an unbeaten 67 in a seven-wicket win over Channel Islands rivals Guernsey at St Martin.The result put both teams at 3-1, behind 4-0 Oman, though Guernsey remains ahead of Jersey on the net run rate tiebreaker with a +0.069 advantage. Guernsey faces Oman on the last day of pool play and, barring a dramatic upset by Nigeria over Jersey, needs to beat Oman to stay alive for promotion and force a three-way tie at 4-1 for the two promotion berths available.Jersey won the toss at Farmers Field and captain Peter Gough opted to give Guernsey first strike. Despite a few edges that failed to carry to the slips cordon in the first three overs, Guernsey openers Matthew Stokes and GH Smith coasted through the first 15 overs in a promising half-century stand. It ended when Rob McBey struck midway through his second spell, beating Smit for pace with a short ball as an attempted pull ballooned to Nat Watkins at mid-on for 28.Two overs later, McBey snared Oliver Newey with a low full toss that struck low on the pads for an easy lbw decision before capping his 3 for 41 with the key scalp of Matthew Stokes for 36, brilliantly taken down the leg side by Jake Dunford standing up to the stumps. Stokes’ score wound up being Guernsey’s best output on the day as a steady procession followed back to the pavilion.Stevens and fellow left-arm spinning allrounder Watkins wiped out the middle order with Watkins claiming 3 for 29 in eight overs. Guernsey captain Jamie Nussbaumer’s dismissal was a microcosm of Guernsey’s limp batting effort, scooping a half-hearted drive back to Watkins for 14. Two balls later, Watkins pinned Oliver Nightingale on the crease with a full delivery for a duck to make it 97 for 6 in the 26th over and a Jersey rout was on in full force.Guernsey was eventually bowled out for 149 in 42.2 overs, forcing Jersey to bat for eight overs before lunch. Watkins opened with Gough and was dropped on four but only added one more run before he was castled by Nussbaumer. In the final over before the break, Stevens had yet to score when he went to pull Nussbaumer but was through the shot early and looked to have possibly edged one off the back of his bat through to wicketkeeper Jason Martin – who came up with a spectacular one-handed diving effort to his left – but was given not out to leave Guernsey distraught as Jersey went into the interval at 16 for 1.Guernsey applied strong pressure after play resumed with Gough finally succumbing in the 16th to a mistimed pull off Luke Nussbaumer, which found Smit backpedaling at mid-on for 20 to make it 33 for 2. At that stage Stevens was stuck in a rut on 6 off 36 balls, but the arrival of Jonty Jenner at the crease paired with a tactical switch to spin by Guernsey allowed Stevens to settle. Two balls into left-arm spinner Max Ellis’ second over, Stevens stepped down the track to loft him over the sightscreen for six and from there he batted fluently for the rest of his innings.Jenner made for an excellent partner, pushing hard with his running between the wickets in making 41 off 50 balls. The two shared an 88-run stand with Jenner falling just before Stevens brought up his 50 off 90 balls. A four and a single through the covers by Stevens off David Hooper brought scores level before a wide down leg ended the match with 10.1 overs to spare.Oman maintained their perfect record with a resounding nine-wicket win over Tanzania at St Saviour. Zeeshan Maqsood top-scored for the third match in a row and unbeaten for his second straight dig, ending 62 not out off 57 balls in Oman’s chase of Tanzania’s 94 which was overhauled in 17.4 overs.Left-arm spinning allrounder Aamir Kaleem took 5 for 23 to set up the short chase after Oman sent Tanzania in at the toss. Tanzania stand-in captain Shaheed Dhanani made 32, one of only three players to reach double-figures in Tanzania’s paltry total. He was ninth man out for Kaleem’s fourth wicket before a five-for was completed four balls later as Tanzania lasted 32.5 overs in a game ending before the lunch break.Vanuatu notched their first win of the tournament to keep alive hopes of avoiding relegation, defeating Nigeria by 110 runs. Patrick Matautaava, who missed Tuesday’s loss to Oman with a left quadriceps injury, came back into the lineup to score a crucial 60 off 43 balls at No. 7, dominating a 71-run sixth-wicket stand with captain Andrew Mansale after Vanuatu were teetering at 118 for 5 in the 34th over. An undisciplined bowling effort from Nigeria added 33 extras to Vanuatu’s total of 227.No one in the top seven made more than 12 as Callum Blake and Apolinaire Stephen made the most of the new ball for Vanuatu to reduce Nigeria to 66 for 7. Nigeria captain Kunle Adegbola made 42 at No. 8 to prevent his side from being bowled out for under 100 for the third match in a row. He fell to Mansale for the eighth wicket before Blake returned to clean up the rest of the tail, finishing with 4 for 26.

With England set for non-stop action over the next year and a half, managing the workload of players and coaching staff will be at the forefront of the team’s planning

Andrew McGlashan03-Jul-2016England face their longest and busiest home season next year, followed by an Ashes tour to Australia, and managing the workload of players and coaching staff will be at the forefront of the team’s planning.Trevor Bayliss, the England head coach, confirmed there have been discussions about him taking a break at some stage over the next six months while other members of the backroom staff will also be given the opportunity to rest. Australia’s head coach, Darren Lehmann, missed the recent tri-series in the West Indies and in 2014 Bayliss himself stood in for Lehmann during a T20 series against South Africa.”We have spoken about in the next six months different staff members having a series off here and there, including myself,” Bayliss said. “That hasn’t been finalised just yet but with the staff as well it’s day-in, day-out, a 24-hour job, it may not seem like it at times but you are always thinking about the cricket. There’s always someone on the phone to you. It’s important that the staff get a decent place as well.”Players are often reluctant to concede their place but particularly those who play all three formats face a gruelling schedule. After Pakistan’s tour, England are due to visit Bangladesh – although that tour is now in doubt after the terrorist attacks in Dhaka – and then there are five Tests in India before Christmas.They return to India in January for three ODIs and three T20Is, then have a short tour of the West Indies from late February for three more ODIs – that trip could be a potential opportunity for Bayliss’ break. After West Indies there is a brief pause before England’s home season starts on its earliest-ever date of May 5 with ODIs against Ireland.South Africa then arrive – their tour split by the Champions Trophy – before a full visit by West Indies concludes the 2017 summer which ends on September 29. Ashes tours normally begin around mid-to-late October.England have rested Joe Root, Alex Hales and Moeen Ali – three of the players to appear in the three formats – for the one-off T20I against Sri Lanka at the Ageas Bowl. When fit Ben Stokes is another who would feature in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. Jonny Bairstow and James Vince are now also part of the squad in all formats.Paul Farbrace, the assistant coach, has previously spoken about the depth England now have available without weakening the side – particularly in reference to the one-day side – and while Bayliss said in his mind he was fairly close to knowing his strongest group of players for the Champions Trophy next summer the bench strength would come in useful.”That will be on a case-by-case basis going forward, keeping a bit of an eye on the players,” Bayliss said. “If they are showing any signs of fatigue we will try to find some way of giving them a bit of break. It certainly is an issue these days in the international game. We have a group of players so it is a chance for some of those guys to get a game in the next 12 months and be waiting in the wings if we need them.”