A round-up of the World Cup warm-up matches played on February 8 in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2011Kenya won their second successive warm-up game, chasing down Ireland‘s 176 despite losing seven wickets in the end at the ICC Global Cricket Academy. Maurice Ouma led the chase with a patient half-century after Seren Waters and David Obuya had given Kenya a quick start, putting on 46 inside nine overs. Andre Botha, who was the pick of the Irish bowlers, dismissed the openers but Ouma found enough support in Collins Obuya and Rakep Patel to take Kenya closer. A clutch of wickets fell towards the end, but Kenya finally closed out the game in the 46th over.The fact that Ireland managed what they did was largely due to Ed Joyce. He rebuilt the innings in the company of the tail after Kenya’s seam attack had run through seven Irish batsmen for 63 runs. Nehemiah Odhiambo, Peter Ongondo, Elijah Otieno and Thomas Odoyo were more than a handful, and despite a steady start at 52 for 2, Ireland lost the next five wickets for 11. But Joyce and Andrew White dug in to take them past 100, and the tail managed to play out all but one of the 50 overs to guide them to 176, which proved too little in the end.After the win against Afghanistan two days ago, this victory will further boost Kenya’s confidence that would have been dented heavily after they lost all five games to sides comprising mostly of age-group players on their recent tour of Indian state Gujarat.Zimbabwe made short work of Netherlands at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, rustling up 249 and then blowing Netherlands away for 134. Brendan Taylor made another half-century at the top of the order, and there were also useful contributions from Tatenda Taibu and Regis Chakabva. But Mudassar Bukhari and Bernard Loots took some quick wickets as Zimbabwe slipped to 158 for 7 at one stage. Graeme Cremer responded with a run-a-ball 42, and together with Prosper Utseya and Shingirai Masakadza took Zimbabwe to the brink of 250.Chris Mpofu and Elton Chigumbura tore through Netherlands after Ed Rainsford had provided an early breakthrough, taking six wickets between them. Netherlands lost regular wickets and were never in the game, getting bowled out for 134 in the 34th over. Opener Alexei Kervezee’s 33 was the highest score for them. Bukhari hammered two sixes in his 28 and Bradley Kruger three fours in his 22, but there was not much else to cheer about.Afghanistan shot out Canada for 105, and then chased down the target with more than 26 overs to spare in Dubai. Hamid Hassan, the Afghanistan captain, and Shapoor Zadran almost ended the match as a contest soon after Canada chose to bat, sending back half the side with eight runs on the board. But Khurram Chohan and Jimmy Hansra stuck in to make twenties, and Balaji Rao and Harvir Baidwan took Canada just past 100. Mirwais Ashraf ensured Canada didn’t have too much of a recovery, taking 4 for 39.Canada’s bowlers tried gamely, but there weren’t enough runs to defend. Asghar Stanikzai made a quick 27, and the others chipped in as Afghanistan won comfortably with five wickets remaining.

Kumar Sangakkara has said Sri Lanka’s lack of practice at the country’s World Cup venues, which are yet to be completed, will rob them of some home advantage during the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2011Kumar Sangakkara has said Sri Lanka’s lack of practice at the country’s World Cup venues, which are yet to be completed, will rob them of some home advantage during the tournament. Construction delays have prevented Sri Lanka from training at the new stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele.”We would love to train at all the grounds [in Sri Lanka], but we need to have the proper facilities to train,” Sangakkara told after beating West Indies on Sunday, in Sri Lanka’s last international fixture before the World Cup. “We need to have side [practice] wickets and gyms at the venues, otherwise it is difficult.”We’ve accepted the fact that we’ll have to play World Cup matches on those grounds without knowing the conditions too well.” Sri Lanka have, however, played a rain-marred Test against West Indies recently at Pallekele.Hambantota and Pallekele will host five Group A matches in all, with Sri Lanka featuring in two of them, one at each of the grounds. After the ICC delegation’s final inspection of the stadiums on January 22, Sri Lanka’s World Cup director Suraj Dandeniya had said the stadium at Pallekele was 99.9% complete, while the “finishing touches at Hambantota, the roofs and the roads leading to the stadium” were pending.Sangakkara said the players were happy with the facilities at Sri Lanka’s third World Cup venue – the renovated R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo – where the squad has played a few domestic matches recently. “We’ve got to prepare as well as we can in the two weeks [before the tournament begins] with the best facilities and those facilities are here in Colombo.”
Sri Lanka play their first match at Hambantota on February 20 against Canada.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third game of the 2011 World Cup between Sri Lanka and Canada in Hambantota

The Preview by Sahil Dutta19-Feb-2011

Match Facts

February 20, Hambantota
Start time 14:30 local time (09:00 GMT)
Ashish Bagai and his side can prove Associates have a role in World Cups with a good showing against Sri Lanka•AFP

Big Picture

Sri Lanka begin their World Cup campaign – the first in Asia since they stunned the world 16 years ago – against Group A minnows Canada. With a team forged around much of the same group of players that made it to the final in the Caribbean last time around, Sri Lanka start as one of the tournament’s fancied sides. Canada – a team of immigrants, expats and five home-grown former Under-19 stars – have had a good run in the warm-up against Netherlands and England but will need a World Cup miracle to beat Kumar Sangakkara’s side.Sri Lanka’s home record is imposing but the surroundings of Hambantota are almost as unfamiliar to them as they are to the visitors. A new pitch at a new stadium, the captains have been keen to praise the look of both. The state of pitches at this tournament is already shaping up into a bone of contention, and set against the fiasco at Eden Gardens, the Sri Lankan board should be credited for getting the stadium ready in time.The last time these two met in the World Cup, Canada slumped to the lowest World Cup score in history. The entire cricketing infrastructure in Canada has improved since then, with players centrally contracted for the first time and big sponsors like Reebok jumping on board. Upsets have been hard-wired out of the format for this World Cup, and with the ICC taking it a step further next time by expelling Associate nations altogether, a competitive show from Canada would do wonders to the minnows’ case for inclusion.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WWLWW
Canada: LWWWL

Pitch and conditions

The Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium has not yet hosted a full international match so the pitch in Hambantota is something of an unknown quantity. There were concerns when the pitch produced a low-scoring ‘A’ match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but at the time the curator insisted his pitch was not to blame. After practicing at the ground Sangakkara was happy, saying “the wicket looked fantastic and the conditions were beautiful for cricket”. The Sri Lankan weather has been anything but for recent series and there were a few clouds circling on the eve of the game, which could mean an early outing for Duckworth and Lewis, in their fourth World Cup.

Watch out for…

There is still something about the 50-over format that promotes unqualified utility players, who are unable to hold their place in either discipline. England have Luke Wright, while Australia have John Hastings. Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews is the model the rest are chasing. In the last 12 months Mathews has averaged 54.50 with the bat, 32.90 with the ball, and has been a lynchpin behind the celebrated duo of Sangakkara and Mehela Jayawardene.After his exploits against England, there is one Canadian that everyone will be looking out for: Gun batsman Rizwan Cheema. The Pakistan-born’s ODI strike-rate of 119.4 beats even Shahid Afridi for crazed slugging. Faced with Lasith Malinga’s slingers and Muttiah Muralitharan his task is less than straightforward, but alongside the youngsters in the side and captain Ashish Bagai, he could be the prime contributor of runs.

Team news

Sri Lanka’s top-order is settled and the only contention is over the last bowling place. Ajantha Mendis’ star has faded as his mystery unravelled with exposure so he competes with the Rangana Herath for the second spinner’s role. If the damp conditions prompt another paceman, however, Thisara Perera might come up on the blindside to take the final bowling spot.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Dilhara Fernando, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Lasith MalingaCanada have banked on their youngsters to support their array of more experience imports and will be hoping Hiral Patel and Nitish Kumar can come good.Canada (probable): 1 John Davison, 2 Hiral Patel, 3 Nitish Kumar, 4 Ashish Bagai (capt & wk), 5 Jimmy Hansra, 6 Rizwan Cheema, 7 Zubin Surkari, 8 Khurram Chohan, 9 Balaji Rao, 10 Henry Osinde, 11 Harvir Baidwan.

Stats and trivia

• The last time these teams met at the World Cup, Canada were bowled out for 36 and swept aside by nine wickets in a match that lasted a mere 23.2 overs – the quickest in World Cup history.
• Since making successive hundreds against Pakistan and Bangladesh in Karachi in June 2008, Kumar Sangakkara has played 59 matches, and made 1970 runs at 37.16, without ever passing three figures.
• Canada’s opening batsman, and producer of one of World Cup cricket’s most dazzling centuries – John Davison – is, at 40, the oldest player in the tournament.
  

  Quotes

  “Hard-hitting. I like to hit the ball… Out of the park”
  “You can’t change what other people say about us whether they say that we are good enough to win the tournament or whatever.”

England batsman Ravi Bopara has insisted that Test cricket is “the pinnacle” after putting his county ahead of a lucrative IPL contract in order to strengthen his claims for an England Test spot

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-2011England batsman Ravi Bopara has insisted that Test cricket is “the pinnacle” after putting his county ahead of a lucrative IPL contract in order to strengthen his claims for an England Test spot. Bopara, who made a low-key start to the County Championship for Essex against Kent at Chelmsford, was one of a host of players left unsold during the IPL auction in January.Rajasthan Royals, on the lookout for a replacement for Paul Collingwood, whose knee surgery ruled him out of the Twenty20 tournament, subsequently contacted Bopara with a £100,000 offer but he turned them down in order to focus on his return to the Test side.”It was a tough decision [to turn down IPL offer], but my ambition as a youngster has always been to play Test cricket and to play for my country,” Bopara told . “Not everything’s about money. I’ve got to make sure I fulfil my ambitions and my talent as a cricketer. Although Twenty20 is a very important part of the game, Test cricket is always going to be the pinnacle.”Bopara, whose last Test was against Australia at Headingley in 2009, consulted Ronnie Irani and Graham Gooch prior to making his decision. “It’s important for me to get back into that Test side,” he said. “I recognise this is a great opportunity with a spot available, so I spoke to Graham Gooch and Ronnie Irani and they thought the best decision was for me to stay and perform for Essex and push for selection.””Nothing’s going to get me in that side apart from numbers. Wickets, runs, anything I can contribute to Essex will make a difference in me being selected. Every season is a big season, but this is my opportunity to get back into that team. There are spots available now, and somebody’s got to take it.”The first Test of the English summer is on May 26, against Sri Lanka, and there is a vacancy to be filled in the middle order following Collingwood’s retirement. Eoin Morgan is generally regarded as the favourite for the position having been the spare batsman in Australia, but he will spend the next five weeks at the IPL so a strong start from Bopara in the Championship will keep the selectors interested.Bopara also comes with the advantage of being able to offer some useful overs which would replace the part-time medium pace of Collingwood and supplement a likely four-man attack from England.Gooch, batting coach for England and Essex, agreed that Bopara could only force a return through good returns in the Championship. “I think he has made the right decision,” he said. “He is very motivated to achieve and if he wants to make his mark on the Test side he will only do that with championship runs. He can’t further his cause in the IPL, however many runs he gets.”

Centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Anthony Alleyne gave West Indies Under-19s a 76-run first-innings lead

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2011
ScorecardCenturies from Kraigg Brathwaite and Anthony Alleyne gave West Indies Under-19s a 76-run first-innings lead in their three-day match against Australia Under-19s in Dubai. With only a day to play, a draw is the most likely result, especially since Australia knocked 54 runs off the lead at the end of the day, but West Indies gave themselves a chance by scoring at 4.43 runs an over while accumulating 426.Their captain Brathwaite played the anchor role, scoring 168 not out, and the rest of the team batted around him. Alleyene took just 136 balls for his 106, while Kavem Hodge got a run-a-ball 46. Australia’s legspinner Marc Simonds took the most punishment as his two wickets cost him 144 runs. Seamers Jacob Judd and Corey McMahon took two wickets each.Brathwaite, who has made two first-class centuries, said that his aim was to “bat through the innings”. Every time I get a chance to bat I see it as a golden opportunity. From the start I was looking to bat through the innings and I knew once I did that we would get a good score and get the lead,” he said.”When I went in to bat we were in a spot of trouble,” Alleyene said, “so I decided just to bat around Kraigg and get accustomed to the conditions. I have played a lot with him from Under-13 in Barbados and we are used to batting together. He helped me to relax and we just took it from there.”

If the first Test match played at Cardiff is now remembered for some over-my-dead-body batting on the final day, the second will be remembered for an extraordinary collapse

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2011If the first Test match played at Cardiff is now remembered for some over-my-dead-body batting on the final day, the second will be remembered for an extraordinary collapse. Tillakaratne Dilshan was at a loss to explain how Sri Lanka slumped to defeat on a day which began with the odds of an England win twice as long as it was in the famous Headingley Test of 1981.”I can’t believe we got out in just 25 overs with such a good batting line-up like we have,” he said after the morale-sapping innings-and-14-run defeat. “We lost the match because we batted really badly today.”Dilshan called for better performances from his senior batsmen, who have been the constant in a season of change for Sri Lankan cricket. “We knew looking forward in the morning that they would declare, everyone knew that after Bell’s hundred they would declare but I cannot explain what happened,” he said.”Our batting line-up has guys like Mahela [Jayawardene] Kumar [Sangakkara], Thilan [Samaraweera] and myself. We are experienced players and we need to regroup as soon as possible and come back for the next Test on Friday.”His two best batsmen had arrived in England a week after the rest of the squad due to IPL commitments, but Dilshan insisted that wasn’t a factor in the defeat. “Mahela and Sanga came here late but they can adjust quickly to this format of the game, but unfortunately things went wrong.”He also said that the pitch had remained good for batting on the final day. “It was a very good wicket with a little bit of turn and a bit of bounce, it was a very good track. In the last two days it was good for batting, but we didn’t bat well, that was the main issue, but it was really good for Test cricket.”Though he was distraught with the defeat, Dilshan said the immediate focus was on preparing the team for the Lord’s Test starting Friday. “I am really calm, I can’t be angry. We have to regroup and talk about it and try and get the maximum out of the young players and learn from the experience.”He admitted restoring the spirit won’t be easy after the completely unexpected defeat. “It will be difficult to forget this Test match but we have to stick together as a team, do whatever we can outside of cricket to get together and forget about everything.”We have experienced players. We can regroup and come back for the Lord’s Test in a positive mind and then we can play some good cricket there.”

Kent batted out for a forgettable County Championship draw in their rain-affected second division clash with Derbyshire in Canterbury

27-May-2011
ScorecardKent batted out for a forgettable County Championship draw in their rain-affected second division clash with Derbyshire in Canterbury.Kent banked nine points to the visitors’ 11 after Derbyshire opted to extend their overall lead to 364 before declaring on 256 for 4 soon after lunch. Having been set an impossible last-afternoon winning target of 365 from a minimum 58 overs – an asking rate of 6.29 an over – Kent reached 94 for two amongst the rain breaks before shaking hands on a draw at 5pm.Home skipper Rob Key anchored the innings with an unbeaten 59 from 78 balls, his second-best score of the campaign to date, while Martin van Jaarsveld enjoyed a 38-minute net in the middle for an unbeaten 12.The home reply started badly when Joe Denly, back in the side following a three-week lay-off with a fractured thumb, followed his first innings of five with a fifth-ball duck in the second. The right-hander had his middle stump uprooted by a Tim Groenewald off-cutter that darted through the gate.After another break for rain that led to an early tea interval, Kent regrouped through Key and Sam Northeast to add 61 for their second wicket before Northeast, in aiming to leg-glance against Tony Palladino, edged through to the wicketkeeper to fall for 21.The last day started with Derbyshire’s first-innings centurions Wayne Madsen and Usman Khawaja back in tandem as the east midlands side resumed on their overnight score of 85 for one.Khawaja, who will fly home to Australia tonight for his country’s A-team tour of Zimbabwe, reached 36 before he became his side’s first casualty when edging a defensive push against Azhar Mahmood to the wicketkeeper.Madsen, fresh from scoring 140 here during the opening two days, reached 71 from 111 balls before failing to get on top of a cut shot at Neil Saker and picking out Northeast at point. Dan Redfern and Wes Durston then featured in a fourth-wicket stand of 93 in 21.1 overs, each ultimately scoring a 50 from 61 and 88 balls respectively.Redfern went soon after lunch after the left-hander skied a leg-side slog against James Tredwell to make it 236 for four. Luke Sutton’s declaration followed 30 runs on and just after Durston had reached his half-century.

Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to not tour the West Indies has made him concede the top spot in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen to Jacques Kallis, as he has lost ratings points for missing the first Test in Kingston

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2011Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to not tour the West Indies has made him concede the top spot in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen to Jacques Kallis, who also continues to be the top-ranked allrounder.A player loses 1% of his ratings points for every Test he misses, so Tendulkar will lose more points because he will miss the remaining two Tests against West Indies. He will begin next month’s Test series in England in second place, though, as there is some gap between him and Kumar Sangakkara, who is third.Rahul Dravid returned to the top 20 for the first time since November 2010 after his match-winning century at Sabina Park. He earned 45 ratings points, which lifted him nine places to No. 20, after he had slipped following a poor home series against New Zealand in November 2010. VVS Laxman, who had a twin failure in Kingston, dropped out of the top 10, falling five places to No. 13.Ishant Sharma, who took six wickets in Kingston, moved up three places to No. 11 in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers. Dale Steyn continues to be the top-ranked Test bowler, followed by Graeme Swann and James Anderson.

The dates for the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals have been announced with Somerset’s trip to Nottinghamshire on August 7 the pick of the games

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2011The dates for the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals have been announced with Somerset’s trip to Nottinghamshire on August 7 the pick of the games.After a frenzied final round of the group stages, where qualifying positions were far from settled going into the games, the eight quarter-finalists can now begin their preparations in earnest.Leicestershire will host Kent at Grace Road on August 6 with Hampshire and Durham meeting at the Rose Bowl a day later in the only afternoon fixture of the four games. Sussex will meet Lancashire at Hove on August 8.Somerset were runners up to Hampshire in last year’s tournament and in their summer of near-misses came second to Nottinghamshire on the last day of the Championship season in 2010. They will get a chance to atone for that when the two sides meet at Trent Bridge.Leicestershire are having a difficult Championship season, sitting at the foot of Division Two, but have made the quarters of the t20 for the first time since 2006. Lancashire are scrapping for a bigger prize – the Championship – and have the chance to reach Twenty20 finals day when they meet 2009 t20 winners Sussex.

Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has said he is firmly in support of whatever measures are taken to improve cricket in the country despite the uncertainty over his future

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2011Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has said he is firmly in support of whatever measures are taken to improve cricket in the country despite the uncertainty over his future because of the recommendations made in the Don Argus report.”The review’s been done with the sole purpose of improving and getting Australian cricket back to where we want to be, at No.1, and that’s what we’re all about as a team and especially in my role as coach, that’s what I’m all about,” Nielsen said in Colombo on the eve of the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka. “I’m supportive of this process; I just need some time to ensure that we go through this process and get all the information before we start making too much comment.”The Argus report recommended that the coach’s role be expanded to make him the leader of the overall coaching strategy for Australian cricket. The coach, along with the captain, will also be part of the five-member selection panel. However, it is not certain that Nielsen will be the man to fill the expanded role. Jack Clarke, CA’s chairman, said “in a restructure, you don’t just give someone the job in a new role” but added that Nielsen was welcome to re-apply for the role.”I think the most important thing is it’s been an exhaustive look at how we’re going to get Australian cricket back to where it wants to be, No.1 in all forms of the game,” Nielsen said. “You don’t do that by skirting around the edges and having nice, feel-good looks at things and hoping you’re going to fix things up by doing them the same way. We are 100,000% behind Australia being the best cricket team in the world and we’re going to start that process by winning again tomorrow and pushing on from there.”Michael Clarke, Australia’s Test and ODI captain, said that one of the major aspects of the Argus report was its emphasis on the necessity for an improvement in communication. “The positive from that is it allows the communication between selectors and players to be very clear now,” he said. “It allows me to give the player the consistent feedback the player is probably searching for and to let him know the reasons for his selection or non-selection. It certainly makes me more accountable now and I look forward to the challenge.”Another fallout of the Argus report was the removal of Greg Chappell, the national talent manager, from the selection committee. According to the , Chappell was banned from the Australian dressing room while the team was batting, because he was a disconcerting influence. Clarke, however, said he had no problems with Chappell.”My communications with Greg have been fantastic. He’s been open and honest with me and I’ve been able to do the same back in return,” he said. “My relationship with all the selectors has been fantastic and I’m certain that will continue.”