Tag Futebol

Gazi Ashraf Hossain said they decided to not make any tweaks after a conversation with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe

Mohammad Isam25-May-2024Bangladesh chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain is keeping the faith in the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup keeping in mind the ICC’s May 25 deadline to submit the final squads for the tournament. Bangladesh had the opportunity to make changes after they lost the first two T20Is – and hence the series – against USA in Texas with the same squad.”After speaking to the captain [Najmul Hossain Shanto] and coach [Chandika Hathurusinghe], we decided to keep this squad,” Ashraf said. “We are hoping they do well in the T20 World Cup. We are keeping faith in the existing squad. We never expected that the team will start the tour with a series loss [against USA]. But that’s the reality. We have another 12 days in hand. We have to get out of this disappointment. They know that if the team does well in the World Cup, this will be forgotten quickly.”Ashraf was speaking at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka where the BCB called up 21 players for the Bangladesh Tigers’ training camp from May 26. Ashraf said the camp includes six players designated as T20 World Cup reserves although Mohammad Saifuddin has opted out for the first two weeks due to a family emergency.Related

• Rishad Hossain, a package Bangladesh don't understand but can't ignore

• Injured Taskin Ahmed named in Bangladesh's T20 World Cup squad

• Ali Khan, Monank Patel take USA to historic series win over Bangladesh

“Since nobody was in training, we started the Bangladesh Tigers’ camp. We are keeping some players ready for white-ball cricket so that when facing a crisis, we can send replacements,” he said. “They are all World Cup standbys. (Anamul Haque) Bijoy is there if there’s a crisis around Litton (Das). (Nurul Hasan) Sohan is there for Jaker Ali. Khaled, (Parvez Hossain) Emon, Nasum (Ahmed) and (Mehidy Hasan) Miraz are also in the camp. Nasum was suffering from jaundice, so he might join the players in the Sylhet phase next month.”Saifuddin has been given a leave till June 10. He is attending to a family situation. He was one of the six players asked to join the Bangladesh Tigers’ training camp. We will now prepare Khaled with the others.”Bangladesh’s opening batting combination has been under scrutiny this year, particularly with Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar looking out of form. Tanzid Hasan has been the only opener to have scored a little consistently although he has played only six T20Is since his T20I debut against Zimbabwe earlier this month.Ashraf said they are not looking for a makeshift opening option just yet because he feels it is a specialist’s job. He said they should be able to pick openers from those who did well in the BPL this year.”Facing the new ball is a challenge everywhere, so you won’t see many teams nowadays sending makeshift openers,” he said. “Unless they really have to. Cricket has moved on from using pinch hitters.”We are supposed to have 24 openers playing in the BPL, if you consider each team having a reserve opener apart from the regular pair. I don’t think it is a good practice if we have to think about a makeshift.”Ashraf also informed that Taskin Ahmed, who suffered a side strain earlier this month, could be training properly from June 5. “Taskin could start light training from June 1. He is recovering quicker than expected. He could be bowling with a full run-up from June 5,” he said.Bangladesh, in Group D, open their T20 World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka on June 7 in Dallas before heading to New York to play South Africa (June 10), and then to St Vincent to take on Netherlands (June 13) and Nepal (June 16). They will also play two warm- up games, against USA on May 28, and opposite India on June 1 before the main tournament.

Bangladesh squad for T20 World Cup

:Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Taskin Ahmed (vice-capt), Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Tanvir Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan
Traveling reserves: Hasan Mahmud, Afif Hossain

Simon Harmer collected another five-wicket haul but Yorkshire mustered 208 before taking three Essex wickets

David Hopps at Chelmsford07-Jul-2019If any county had a right to come to Chelmsford this season with preconceptions about the frenzied cricket that was surely bound to ensue it was Yorkshire. They managed to collapse to 50 all out here last year, an experience so maddening for their coach, Andrew Gale, that he reflected this week that at one point he asked the coach driver if he could put his bag on the bus.The Yorkshire coach was parked up with its doors open during the morning session, presumably just in case Gale decided to make a run for it, but he stayed put on the balcony to watch Yorkshire dash to 208 at more than four an over.Don’t scoff – that’s the highest first-innings score in nine attempts at Chelmsford in a season where Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter have reigned supreme, although Essex’s response to be 122 for 3 at the close made them marginally the happier of the two sides. All this came, incidentally, after Yorkshire’s captain Steve Patterson won his 11th successive Championship toss (when tosses have been necessary), a sequence with odds of 2048-1.Last season’s match produced a staggering turnaround. Yorkshire restricted their first-innings deficit to 92, Jonny Bairstow was promoted to open the batting in gung-ho fashion, Harry Brook followed up with a maiden Championship hundred (still his only hundred) on the second day and Yorkshire wrapped up the game on the third morning.Yorkshire’s preconceptions that this match will follow a similar course were justifiable enough because a dry pitch seamed and turned all day, but Alastair Cook has helped fashion two of Essex’s four victories here – against Kent and Somerset – by providing method alongside the madness, so it is not the only way to go.Harmer has exposed the fallibility of county batsmen against top-level spin all season and he duly returned 5 for 76 in 18.3 overs – his sixth five-for of the season, his Championship tally now swollen to 54 wickets at 17.05 – but Brook played him as enterprisingly as anyone, showing decisive footwork in making 46 from 60 balls on the ground where he made his greatest impact.Brook, a former England Under-19 captain, was playing here in place of Jack Leaning, who made a pair earlier in the week at Scarborough. Brook began the season as an opener, where he played most of his age-group cricket, but he has a decent range of strokes and has a look of the middle order about him. As about 98% of batsmen in the country fit that description perhaps that should be no surprise.Not that coming it at No. 5 exactly saw the shine off the ball. He took guard with Yorkshire 43 for 3 in the ninth over. Porter had two, Adam Lyth driving a wide, overpitched ball to cover and Will Fraine caught at the wicket after a quickfire 29. Gary Ballance had been cunningly silenced by Peter Siddle, who bowled him behind his legs, leg stump, as he shuffled back and across the crease.Tom Kohler-Cadmore then succumbed to a big-turning long hop to give Harmer his first wicket, but Yorkshire countered with an enterprising stand of 59 in 12 by Brook and Jonny Tattersall. Harmer was briefly repulsed, but he bowled Brook on the outside edge to instigate lunch and struck again with his first ball after the resumption when Tattersall cut to the wicketkeeper.Harmer ended the next salvage operation, too – 49 for the seventh wicket between Matt Fisher, who was playing because David Willey pulled out for personal reasons, and Keshav Maharaj. Both survived chances, but two lbw decisions silenced them, with Maharaj so befuddled in the flight that he attempted a stand-up sweep to a yorker. His task as the match progresses will be to match his fellow South African, Harmer. It will not be easy.Harmer is now only three wickets short of his 57 victims last summer and with five matches remaining after this one needs only 21 wickets to surpass his tally when Essex won the Championship in 2017.Tom Westley’s second Championship fifty of the season stabilised Essex, but Yorkshire will be happy to have seen the back of Cook, caught at the wicket off Patterson. Patterson might never be ennobled in the Queen’s New Year Honours, but he knows how to bowl on a pitch like this. The odds on the wicket then? Considerably less than 2048-1.

South African bowling all-rounder to play seven matches when competition resumes

ESPNcricinfo staff07-May-2019Wiaan Mulder has signed with Kent for a stint in the County Championship, starting later this month.Bowling all-rounder Mulder has played one Test for South Africa, in Sri Lanka’s historic series-clinching victory at Port Elizabeth in February. He will play seven county games, starting with Kent’s second match after the competition resumes, against Surrey at Beckenham from May 20, and ending at Hampshire from July 13.Kent won their only Championship match for the season so far, an eight-wicket victory over Warwickshire. They suffered a terrible run of injuries during their Royal London Cup campaign, where they have won two of their seven games and lost four. Captain Sam Billings has been ruled out for the rest of the season after dislocating his shoulder while fielding in a Royal London Cup match and vice-captain Joe Denly is with the England squad for the one-day series against Pakistan.Mulder played the first of his 10 ODIs for South Africa as an 18-year-old, taking 1 for 32 off eight overs against Bangladesh in October, 2017.In first-class cricket, he has taken 66 wickets from 22 matches at an average of just 22.93 with best bowling figures in an innings of 7 for 25 in only his second first-class appearance for the Lions against the Dolphins in 2016. Usually batting at No. 5 or 6, Mulder also averages 39.50 with the bat in first-class cricket with a high score of 146 in Bloemfontein in January.”I have always wanted to play county cricket and I am stoked to be joining a top-division side such as Kent,” Mulder said. “I’m fully focused on proving my abilities at this high level and hope to contribute to success at this historic club.”Kent director of cricket, Paul Downton, said: “With Sam Billings and Joe Denly unavailable for differing reasons, Wiaan’s ability to bowl a heavy ball and bat in the top six will be a huge asset to the side as we look to establish ourselves in Division One following our exciting win at Edgbaston earlier this season.”

Khulna Titans ran down a 161-run target with 10 balls to spare to rise to second position in the 2017-18 BPL, beating Chittagong Vikings by five wickets

The Report by Mohammad Isam17-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBCB

Khulna Titans ran down a 161-run target with 10 balls to spare to rise to second position in the 2017-18 Bangladesh Premier League, beating Chittagong Vikings by five wickets. It was the fourth defeat in six matches for Chittagong, who are quickly slipping out of the reckoning for a spot in the knockouts.Rilee Rossouw razed Chittagong in the early parts of the chase, hammering 49 off 26 balls. Rossouw was part of a middle-overs slide that saw Khulna lose three wickets for 25 runs, before Mahmudullah and Ariful Haque added 70 runs for the fifth wicket. Ariful, who made 34 off 24 balls, fell with 12 runs required, but Carlos Brathwaite tonked a four and a six to level the scores. Mahmudullah then scorched a four through cow corner to hit the winning runs and stay unbeaten on 48 off 35 balls.Earlier, Anamul Haque top-scored for Chittagong with 62 after they were put in to bat. Like Khulna, Chittagong lost ground, moving from 101 for 1 to 107 for 4. Stiaan van Zyl and Najibullah Zadran then shared a 50-run stand for the fifth wicket to lift Chittagong to 160 for 5 in 20 overs.Zadran made 24 off 16 balls, while van Zyl was unbeaten on a 15-ball 23. Abu Jayed was Khulna’s most impressive bowler, finishing with 3 for 26, although he very well could have had five. In a shoddy fielding performance, Khulna dropped six catches, Mahmudullah, the captain, culpable of four of those lapses.Anamul makes his chance countAnamul Haque’s lack of batting opportunities in the tournament ended when he walked out at No. 3 with 19 overs left in the innings. He started out by offsetting the early loss of his captain Luke Ronchi with a 95-run second-wicket stand with Soumya Sarkar. In the process, Anamul raised his first fifty in T20 cricket since November last year. His brace of pulled sixes against Shafiul Islam and a straight one off Carlos Brathwaite especially stood out.Three overs after reaching his fifty, Anamul nicked off to the wicketkeeper, finishing with 62 off 47 balls. His innings was a study in contrast to that of his partner Sarkar, who clawed to 32 off 34 balls, and survived a number of chances before being caught at long-on.Hard handsKhulna’s horrid day on the field began in the first ball of the match, when Rossouw spilt a tough offering from Ronchi. Fortunately for Khulna, the Chittagong captain got out later that same over when he skied a catch to Mahmudullah at mid-on.Then, in the 11th over, Mahmudullah let Sarkar’s reverse-sweep burst right through his fingers at square-leg. Sarkar survived two more chances in the 13th over. Ariful Haque put down an extremely tough chance after being slightly late to get around the ball. Sarkar persisted with the reverse sweep and sent one straight to Mahmudullah three deliveries later only for the captain to shell it again.More lapses followed in the slog overs. Jayed had two chances go down off his bowling in the 18th over. First, Michael Klinger dropped Najibullah Zadran at extra cover, before Mahmudullah couldn’t close his fingers on Stiaan van Zyl’s uppish shot at mid-on despite timing his jump well.The six-heavy initiationPlaying their first match, van Zyl and Zadran created an immediate impact with their big hits. They struck two sixes each in the last four overs, Zadran clearing the cover and long-off boundaries while van Zyl went comfortably over midwicket and long-off. It meant Chittagong managed a decent recovery, collecting 44 runs in their last four overs.Rossouw’s early burstThe first six of the chase took just two balls coming, Rossouw blasting Sikandar Raza over long-on. Khulna started the chase requiring a little more than eight an over, but Rossouw slashed it down to under 7.5 in just four overs. Rossouw was relentless in his assault, regardless of reprieves and wickets at the other end. Michael Klinger fell in the second over, playing against the turn of Sunzamul Islam’s left-arm spin, but Rossouw responded with a brace of fours against Taskin Ahmed in the next over. Ronchi missed a stumping chance when Rossouw, on 30, charged down to Islam; Rossouw’s response was a swept four through square leg and a straight six over the bowler’s head. It took an arm ball from Al-Amin to end his charge, as it skidded on to beat the inside edge and clatter the stumps.Mahmudullah, Ariful settle chaseWhen Nazmul Hossain Shanto fell halfway through the 10th over, beautifully caught by Tanbir Hayder off his own bowling, Khulna were wobbling at 79 for 4. Mahmudullah, however, had just settled in nicely, having crunched a straight six in the previous over, sent down by Al-Amin.With Ariful supporting him ably, Mahmudullah rebuilt Khulna’s innings quickly. Apart from finding timely boundaries, the duo ran the singles hard and kept the score ticking, a rare sight for a Bangladesh pair. With 44 needed off the last five overs, Ariful hit Hayder for back-to-back sixes to bring the equation down to just over a run a ball. That ended up being the turning point as the balance never tilted thereafter. Ariful followed it up by slogging Jordan over midwicket to bring the equation down to 18 off the final three, before Brathwaite hastened their march towards the finish line.

Eoin Morgan has revealed that first-hand experience of previous security scares is behind his uncertainty about whether to lead England’s one-day side in Bangladesh

Andrew McGlashan08-Sep-2016Eoin Morgan could be close to confirming his withdrawal from England’s tour of Bangladesh tomorrow, after revealing that first-hand experience of previous security scares have left him questioning whether he wants to lead England’s ODI team in the current climate.Morgan pinpointed two occasions – the 2010 bomb blasts during an IPL game in Bangalore and then political unrest during a stint playing domestic cricket in Bangladesh – that had left him determined not to put himself in such a situation again.He was part of Bangalore Royal Challengers’ squad in 2010 when two blasts struck outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium shortly before the match against Mumbai Indians was due to start. The game eventually went ahead, but later matches in the tournament were moved out of Bangalore.Then, in late 2013, Morgan was having a short spell playing for Gazi Tank Cricketers in the Dhaka Premier Division when pre-election violence was engulfing Bangladesh.”I have been to places before when things have become a distraction and once or twice when that has been security, and when it has been I told myself I would not put myself in that situation again,” Morgan said. “Playing international cricket – or any cricket – is not about worrying about different things, it should be the best time of your life, it should be something that you are looking forward to and wanting to do well in and are able to focus on.”Remembering the previous incidents, Morgan said: “We played an IPL game in Bangalore and a bomb went off in the ground, we immediately left and went straight to the airport. That was one instance, another was Bangladesh, playing domestic cricket, during political elections where things were incredibly violent.”Andrew Strauss, the team director, yesterday urged all England’s players to undertake the tour following the security advice of Reg Dickason. He said anyone who gave up their spot could not be guaranteed to come straight back in, and also made reference to the extra responsibility on the captain.However, recalling his experience of 2008 when he had to confront similar concerns about whether to tour India after the Mumbai terror attacks took place, he empathised with those who are struggling to reach a decision.”Having been through this myself, after the Mumbai bombings, intellectually coming to the decision – ‘if Reg says it’s safe to go somewhere, who am I to say otherwise’ – in hindsight, it looks like a very simple and obvious one.”But it still took me some time to get there at that point, and there’s no reason to expect a lot of these young guys who are going through this for the first time to make an on-the-spot decision.”Any players yet to make up their mind have effectively been given a deadline of Saturday to inform Strauss of their decision. All centrally and incrementally contracted players will have a two-day fitness and appraisal camp at Loughborough starting on Friday. The ODI and Tests squads are due to be named next Friday.

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.”

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.

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.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee has taken steps to build indoor nets and a swimming pool at the R Premadasa Stadium in Khettarama, where the national side conducts much of its training

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Apr-2015Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee has taken steps to build indoor nets and a swimming pool at the R Premadasa Stadium in Khettarama, where the national side conducts much of its training. Khettarama currently has 18 practice pitches, and also houses Sri Lanka’s Max Cricket Academy, but many of these facilities are out of use during the monsoon months.”We’re thinking we would like to start work on the indoor nets and swimming pool by June,” interim chairman Sidath Wettimuny said. “At the moment we don’t have facilities for cricketers who need to train on rainy days, early in the morning or late at night, so an indoor facility is vital. Modern training methods also demand a swimming pool for rehabilitation exercises.”We also think it is essential to have indoor facilities in Pallekele, Dambulla, Hambantota, and to repair the Galle facilities as well, finance permitting. That’s a priority for us.”The interim committee will also take steps to grant pay-rises to first-class cricketers, Wettimuny said. SLC currently pays a daily wage of around 2500 rupees (approx USD $19), but the committee plans to triple this sum. “The idea is to make cricket a livelihood for these players,” Wettimuny said.The reshaping of Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket structure has also been a focus for the committee, with Mahela Jayawardene among those making recommendations to revive a provincial cricket tournament. Wettimuny said any serious restructuring of the domestic system would require significant consultation with SLC’s member clubs and associations, but was necessary for Sri Lanka to remain competitive at the international level.

Darren Sammy will become the 27th player to represent West Indies in 100 one-day matches when he takes the field against Pakistan on Tuesday.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2013Allrounder Darren Sammy will become the 27th player to represent West Indies in 100 one-day matches when he takes the field against Pakistan on Tuesday. On the eve of the second ODI, Sammy confessed to not having thought of such records when he started out, but considered it one of his best moments.”All I really wanted to do was represent the West Indies and give my all on every occasion out there on the field,” he said. “But I will approach it as any other game before, preparing myself both physically and mentally and make sure I am match-ready if selected, for tomorrow’s match. I see this as one of the highlight moments of my career”Having made his debut in 2004, Sammy has scored five half-centuries and has a top-score of 84 off 50 balls at No. 9 against Australia. He has taken 71 wickets at an economy rate of 4.56. His crowning achievement was leading West Indies to the 2012 World Twenty20 title by beating the hosts Sri Lanka in the final in Colombo.West Indies, however, are trailing 0-1 in the ongoing series against Pakistan, having suffered a 126-run defeat on Sunday. The hosts, after restricting Pakistan to 54 for 5 in 21 overs, collapsed spectacularly as Shahid Afridi plundered 76 runs off 55 balls and took 7 for 12.But Sammy, who had captained West Indies to a 2-2 draw against Australia and a 4-1 win against New Zealand in March and July 2012, believed that the team’s return to winning ways was just a matter of piecing together consistent performances.”We have been through times like this before, but someway and somehow we found a way to bounce back,” he said. “We had a good start from the spell Jason [Holder] gave us, but we did not capitalise on that and that is something we really got to improve on, which is driving home the advantage when we have teams in critical positions with our bowling.”Fast bowler Jason Holder, who wrecked Pakistan’s top order with figures of 10-4-13-4, echoed Sammy’s optimism.”Obviously we did not get the result we wanted but I think the guys will be looking to bounce back, while I will be looking to continue the same form by putting the Pakistanis under pressure early.”It was a good pitch to bowl on especially after it dried out. It spun in the second half and like I said, it is not a bad pitch. We just need to apply ourselves a bit more and get the runs.”Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi’s 120-run stand for the sixth wicket eventually took Pakistan to 224. In contrast, West Indies managed only two double-figure partnerships, one of which was for the ninth wicket between Sammy and Sunil Narine, when the match was already all but lost.