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Brett Lee’s career is on the rocks due to a series of injuries but he has set his sights on continuing till next year’s World Cup in the subcontinent

Cricinfo staff11-Jul-2010Brett Lee’s career is on the rocks due to a series of injuries but he has set his sights on continuing till next year’s World Cup in the subcontinent. Lee has not turned out for Australia in more than eight months and retired from Tests earlier this year in a bid to prolong his career.”To me a World Cup in India in 2011, because of my love for India and the stuff I do over there, it would be a great way to finish, I would have thought,” AAP quoted Lee as saying.He missed last year’s Ashes due to a side strain, and had been worried he couldn’t ever bowl again after an elbow surgery last December. Lee also broke his thumb four matches into his comeback during the IPL, before a muscle strain in his forearm forced him to sit out the World Twenty20.Despite the many setbacks and the impressive performances of newcomers like Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris on the international stage, Lee said his career wasn’t over. He said his fitness was at a level that made him consider trying to play in the recent ODI series in England.”I’ve been training hard and I probably could have pushed to go over to England, but I thought I wanted to get a really good base behind me and get some stuff done in the gym and get my fitness up to a level that I’m very happy with,” he said. “Then looking forward to probably the next two to three months to do a comeback and sort of take it from there.”Australia’s next limited-overs assignment is on a tour of India in October.

Patil and Reddy shared five wickets among them to restrict Pakistan to just 105

S Sudarshanan06-Oct-2024India’s net run rate (NRR) ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 game against Pakistan was -2.90. They had to win and win big against Pakistan for that to become positive and move up in the points table. On a hot afternoon in Dubai, though, India achieved only one of those tasks – beating Pakistan by six wickets to earn two points and open the account with a sluggish chase.The win was set up by Arundhati Reddy and Shreyanka Patil, who combined for five of the eight wickets Pakistan lost. Pakistan huffed and puffed to 105 on the back of Nida Dar’s 28. But on a slow, spin-friendly surface, Pakistan also used their spinners well and denied India the launchpad: they eventually got home in the 19th over with only five fours hit – three by Shafali Verma and one each by Harmanpreet Kaur and S Sajana, playing for the injured Pooja Vastrakar. Back at her familiar No. 4 spot after being promoted to one-down in the opening game, Harmanpreet was the only India batter with a strike rate over 100, in the top six.

Pakistan show early intent

On the eve of the contest, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana spoke about using the power game to hit hard at their rivals. The openers tried to use their feet in a bid to walk the talk after Pakistan opted to bat. Gull Feroza tried to use her feet to counter Renuka Singh’s swing but was undone in the opening over. Muneeba Ali also used the crease so much that the runs hardly justify those. She used even the slightest of width to go over the in-field, like she did twice against Renuka inside the powerplay.Richa Ghosh took a stunner to dismiss Fatima Sana•ICC/Getty Images

Reddy-powered India ‘turn’ the tide

In the absence of Vastrakar, who was out with a niggle, Reddy had to shoulder additional seam-bowling responsibility and was brought on in the fourth over of the game. Immediately she induced a false stroke, with Sidra Amin chipping one towards mid-off. In her next over, Reddy delivered the perfect blow, getting Muneeba to scoop one straight to short fine leg only for S Asha to grass a sitter. A couple of balls later, though, Reddy struck by having Omaima Sohail miscue one to mid-off.A few quiet overs saw Muneeba being stifled, and Patil pounced on the chance to get among the wickets. Anticipating a charge from the Pakistan opener, she threw one wider outside off, past which Muneeba walked and Richa Ghosh did the rest. Dar found it slightly tough to keep the scorecard ticking on her own and losing partners regularly did not help.Reddy first trapped Aliya Riaz in front – the DRS not coming to the Pakistan allrounder’s aid after Hawk-Eye showed it to be clipping leg – before Patil dismissed Tuba Hassan for a three-ball duck. Sana showed a bit of intent and struck successive fours off Asha but fell to a terrific catch by Ghosh. She looked to slog the legspinner out of the ground but Ghosh dived to her right to pluck a one-handed stunner. Reddy then bowled Dar to pick up her third.

India’s strange chase

For India to get their NRR in the positive, they had to overhaul the 106-run target in 11.2 overs. However, India endured a boundary-less powerplay, with Shafali and Smriti Mandhana struggling to put away spin. Mandhana hit some crisp strokes but found the fielders in nine of the ten balls leading to her dismissal. In a bid to break free, she chipped one tamely to backward point.On cue, Sana kept spin on for 13 of the first 15 overs. They frustrated Shafali with lack of speed, as a result of which, she missed putting some of the juicy full tosses away. India ended their boundary drought in the eighth over when Shafali welcomed Tuba with a pull through midwicket. She hit a couple of more fours before holing out to long-on.At the other end, Jemimah Rodrigues – batting at No. 3 ahead of Harmanpreet – kept manoeuvring the field and helping India inch closer. However, boundaries were hard to come by and, when India lost her and Ghosh off successive balls, it seemed Pakistan could do the unthinkable. Harmanpreet then almost saw India home in the company of Deepti Sharma. However, she sprained her neck while turning awkwardly to avoid being stumped and walked back retired hurt. Sajana then came out to hit the winning four that helped India maintain their upper hand over Pakistan in women’s T20Is.

Reddy reprimanded

India fast bowler Reddy has been reprimanded for breaching level one of the ICC Code of Conduct in the game on Sunday. She was found guilty and as a result, handed a demerit point.Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”The incident occurred in the 20th over of Pakistan’s innings, when Reddy, after dismissing allrounder Nida Dar, gestured in the direction of the pavilion.

The left hander was dropped for the final game of last season and has had a lean time since his brief Test career

Andrew McGlashan08-May-2023Kurtis Patterson will not be New South Wales Sheffield Shield captain next season with incoming coach Greg Shipperd hoping a return to the ranks will help revive his batting.Patterson, who played two Tests for Australia in 2019, took on the NSW role ahead of the 2021-22 season when he replaced Peter Nevill. They finished fourth in the Shield that season before ending bottom last summer with Patterson dropped for the final match against South Australia.Overall he averaged 29.78 last season with one century and scored just two hundreds during his time as captain.Related

• Siddle in, Holland out amid Victoria changes

• Greg Shipperd handed task of lifting New South Wales off the bottom

• Sams opts for T20 route, Green earns NSW contract

Since his brief Test appearances, where he made a century in his second outing against Sri Lanka in Canberra, Patterson has struggled to make runs consistently with just three first-class hundreds in the next four seasons.”That was a disappointing finish for the season for Kurtis,” Shipperd said. “I’ve had contact with him today and we’ve identified some areas of his game and thinking. Losing the captaincy will allow him to concentrate fully on performing at his best.”You can get consumed by captaincy and he gave it a terrific shot I’ve got to say while I was there, it was team first and him second. We can flip that balance around next season and make sure we get him back playing as well as he’s ever played.”Moises Henriques stepped in as captain the final Shield game of last season but Shipperd said he and Greg Mail, NSW’s head of performance, still needed to work through who would take the role permanently.”That’s a really important discussion to have,” he said. “We do have some candidates that I think could comfortably do the job so it’s about when I get up to Sydney next, sitting down with Greg and the team and those candidates and make sure we get the best decision out of it.”More broadly, Shipperd acknowledged it was the batting that really needed to lift for NSW although he had been encouraged by some late-season performances from younger players Ryan Hackney, Jack Edwards and Blake MacDonald – the latter earning his first contract. However, of those to play more than three matches, allrounder Chris Green topped the averages at 41.42.”It’s a complicated judgement when you are just looking at figures,” Shipperd said. “I, like others, was a little bit alarmed that our younger batting group were tracking along in the mid-20s as averages.”In my discussions with the players I was quite frank in terms of suggesting that success in first-class level is averaging above 40 with the capacity to have an out season and averaging over 60. So setting the bar quite high for those players and it was pleasing that four of them in response in the back end of the season averaged over 40, but that’s just the start.”Shipperd also hoped that NSW would be able to play a greater proportion of their home Shield matches at the SCG so there was more of a home-ground feel to being in Sydney. The T20 World Cup last season restricted how much it could be used in the first half of the summer but for a number of years the team has regularly gone to suburban and intra-state grounds.The players now have a permanent training base at the new Cricket Central facility which opened last season and there are plans for it to host top-level state matches. Following his retirement, Trent Copeland noted he had never had his own locker throughout his career.”Essentially we have had no home ground, no training facility that is always our own,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s now changed. Then we’re playing one to three games at the SCG and then grade grounds and country grounds where we stand there at the toss and we have no idea essentially on how to build a game plan, what to do at the toss or even a best guess on what the pitch is going to play like, versus our opposition that are walking into the same venue every game. So these are a few of the little challenges that I think are going to start to be naturally fixed.”

Imad-Qasim heroics in vain as Karachi Kings slide to seventh straight loss

Danyal Rasool14-Feb-2022
Islamabad United were the side beset by injuries, but the insult was all Karachi Kings’. It went much, much deeper than anyone might have believed six overs before the death, and took a third umpire’s decision on a marginal run-out to settle the outcome. But for the Kings, the result in the end was no different to their previous six games: a defeat. They become the first PSL side to lose their first seven PSL games, and the first to be eliminated from this year’s competition. But in the end, the story of United’s one-run win was much too dramatic to be reduced to mere numbers.Chasing 192, Kings were given a boost when two key United bowlers – Shadab Khan and Zeeshan Zameer – were forced off the field with injuries, leading to Asif Ali needing to bowl three overs, and taking two wickets in his first over. It was some generous fielding from United at the death and a spirited stand between Imad Wasim and Qasim Akram that even made this game a contest, but several cameos from United with the bat meant they had just about enough runs to ensure their profligacy wasn’t punished.It came down to a nail-biting final over from Waqas Maqsood, in which Kings needed eight. A boundary off the second ball brought it down to a run-a-ball, but two wickets took the game right down to the final delivery, off which the Kings needed two. Chris Jordan spooned it back to Maqsood, who somehow dropped it, but managed to gather and effect a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Jordan was inches short of the popping crease that would have guaranteed the Kings a Super Over, and United had just about clung on to victory in a game they should have sealed long ago.United had major problems throughout their defence of 191 with Shadab and Zameer missing, and for much of the first ten overs, the Kings needed to bide their time, stay in the game, and target whoever bowled the other three overs. But when Asif Ali, who had a grand total of two career T20 wickets, stepped up, he removed Sharjeel off a rank long-hop with his first ball, and cleaned up Mohammad Nabi four deliveries later. The Kings were 80 for 5, and the game seemed done and dusted.But Pakistan U-19 captain Qasim and Imad struck up a glorious counterattacking partnership that put their side on the brink of victory. Qasim rode his luck to score an unbeaten 51 off 26, while Imad Wasim smashed 55 off 28, both capitalising on United losing their discipline on the field. No fewer than half-a-dozen catches were shelled, and ones were allowed to turn into two and four as the nerves tightened while the runs flowed freely. Hasan Ali was at the receiving end of another death-overs pasting; he was smashed for 16 runs in the penultimate over that left Qasim with so little to work with.If you’ve seen United bat once, you’ve probably seen them bat every time. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Muhammad Akhlaq fell early, but that didn’t deter them from continuing to go after the bowling. Once more, there wasn’t one outstanding contributor to their total, but five batters scored between 22 and 34, all at strike rates in excess of 130. Faheem Ashraf (29* off 10) and Asif Ali (28 off 11) blitzed a 57 off a combined 21 balls at the death as United walloped 78 off the final six overs. A couple of hours later, they would need every single one of those as they just about held off a resurgent Kings side, and shored up their own hopes of playoff qualification in the process.

Left-arm wristspinner takes 3 for 11 as Glamorgan fall short in run chase

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2020Birmingham Bears made it back-to-back Vitality Blast wins with a 13-run victory over Glamorgan in a low-scoring contest at Edgbaston.On a cool, grey evening, the Bears were restricted to 142 for nine by an accurate visiting attack led by paceman Timm van der Gugten and spinner Prem Sisodiya.Only captain Will Rhodes, with a T20-best 46, batted with any fluency until a late flurry from Olly Stone, with 22 not out from 18 balls, gave his side something to bowl at.Glamorgan then mustered only 129 for eight in reply as Tim Bresnan caused early damage before wristspinner Jake Lintott delivered a superb spell of 4-0-11-3, the fourth-most economical full spell for the Bears in T20 cricket. Birmingham chose to bat but found life difficult against a disciplined display from Glamorgan’s bowlers. Dom Sibley’s return to county duty brought a first-ball duck when he chipped a return catch to Sisodiya. After a tidy start from the spinners, paceman van der Gugten and Ruaidhri Smith each struck in their first overs, having Ed Pollock caught behind and Sam Hain trapped lbw respectively.Adam Hose struck four fours in a 20-ball 23 but then, tied down in a Salter over that had brought only four singles, lifted a full toss to long-off.After Salter and Sisodiya each struck again to dismiss Michael Burgess and Bresnan, Rhodes and Henry Brookes injected some momentum with a stand of 36 in 25 balls. Rhodes batted with intelligence and skill but perished when the Bears took a self-inflicted wound. Brookes called for an impossible second run and the captain was beaten by van der Gugten’s throw.Van der Gugten, who had pooped a big Bears party three days earlier by bowling Ian Bell ten runs short of a century on his last first-class appearance, then added the wicket of Brookes, who skied to mid-off.The Bears were in deep trouble at 118 for eight but Stone supervised some crucial tail-wagging that hep the game alive.Glamorgan’s reply was hit early by a triple blow from Bresnan who bowled his spell straight through from the Birmingham End. Nick Selman, David Lloyd and Chris Cooke paid the price for attacking good balls when they sent up catches into the infield.Andy Balbirnie looked dangerous on his way to 30 but swept Lintott to deep square-leg. The spinner took a stinging return catch to end Marchant de Lange’s counter-attack before it had begun and then spun one on to Callum Taylor’s stumps.From a promising 79 for 4, suddenly Glamorgan were 83 for 8 and the run-rate required soon escalated beyond the tail’s reach.

Canada needed to restrict USA to 211 if they were to regain ODI status, but USA’s last-wicket pair denied them with a boundary in the final over

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Windhoek26-Apr-2019A record Namibian total propelled by twin centuries from Stephan Baard and JP Kotze took them to a historic win over Hong Kong at Affies Park to clinch ODI status for the tournament hosts, the first time they will be playing one-day internationals since the 2003 World Cup.After sending Namibia in, Hong Kong’s bowling unit did well to restrict Namibia early as Jean Bredenkamp focused on seeing off the new ball before falling in the 15th over for 19. Even after 20 overs, Namibia had only reached 78 for 1, but added 318 off the final 30 overs – and 128 in the last 10 – in an intelligent display of power hitting as Baard, Kotze, JJ Smit and Zane Green utilized the wind at their backs hitting towards the Pavilion End.Baard had brought up his 50 off 78 balls in the 25th over, at which point Kotze was only on 36 after entering at No. 3. But Kotze commenced his onslaught in the 27th off Kinchit Shah’s offspin, smashing him for a four and two sixes. More carnage came against teenage legspinner Jhatavedh Subramanyan in the 32nd as Kotze slammed a brace of fours and sixes off the first four balls to move into the 90s before bringing up a 62-ball ton in the 35th over.Baard took nearly twice the time, bringing up his century off 121 balls in the 41st over, by which stage Kotze was on 148, putting fellow Namibian Gerrie Snyman’s WCL record of 196 made in 2007 at neighboring Wanderers in the crosshairs. But Kotze and Baard fell in the space of four balls across the next two overs, ending a 243-run stand. However, the carnage was far from over as Smit and Green continued to slog away adding an unbroken 103-run stand over the last 46 balls as Namibia finished 16 runs short of the all-time WCL record made by UAE when they scored 412 against Argentina next door at Wanderers in 2007.Hong Kong were actually in far better position than Namibia had been at the 20-over mark as Anshuman Rath made yet another half-century leading Hong Kong in reply with a 132-run second wicket stand with Kinchit Shah. But both fell in the space of 10 balls in the 23rd and 25th over and from there Hong Kong’s chase fizzled.An hour into the day, PNG’s dreams of ODI status appeared to be going up in smoke at 32 for 5. But a miraculous recovery effort from Sese Bau and Kiplin Doriga revived their innings to post a competitive total before a stunning new-ball spell from left-arm seamer Nosaina Pokana rocked Oman as PNG reclaimed the ODI status that they lost at the 2018 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe with a shock win over Oman.Doriga was named Man of the Match for his 65 made from No. 6 before completing five dismissals behind the stumps and a runout in a stunning collapse from Oman to break their 10-match WCL winning streak. PNG benefitted greatly from the injury-enforced absence of Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood while fast bowler Kaleemullah was also rested after Oman had secured a place in the final prior to entering the last day of round-robin play. Doriga and Bau constructed a 129-run sixth-wicket stand that brought the match back to life and set the stage for an incredible turnaround.Set 222 to win, Pokana was on a hat-trick after dismissing Jatinder Singh and Aqib Ilyas on the first two deliveries of the chase. By the end of the ninth over, he had claimed his maiden five-for as Oman fell to 23 for 6, reminiscent of their 24 all out performance against Scotland without Maqsood in February.Stand-in captain Khawar Ali was one of just two batsmen to reach double-figures, having watched helplessly at the non-striker’s end from the start of the chase. Chad Soper followed Pokana’s new-ball spell to wipe out the Oman tail for just 76 to move PNG above Canada on net run rate.Wicketkeeper Srimantha Wijeyeratne looks down in agony as tailender Nosthush Kenjige’s final-over boundary dropped Canada below PNG on net run rate tiebreaker•Peter Della Penna

In cricket’s oldest rivalry, Canada won the battle but lost the war as a 40-run win over USA was soured by a final-over boundary struck by USA No. 11 Nosthush Kenjige that moved Canada below PNG on net run rate.USA’s chase of Canada’s 255 lost its way after the runout of Steven Taylor in the 29th over when he wound up at the same end as Jaskaran Malhotra after Malhotra changed his mind for a possible run pushed into the covers. Malhotra could not carry USA across the line to atone for the runout, driving Nikhil Dutta to extra cover for 50 to make it 159 for 4 in the 38th.After both set batsmen were gone, left-arm seamer Romesh Eranga capitalized to take three quick wickets to make it 191 for 7. By this stage, the calculation was known at Wanderers following the PNG result that Canada needed to hold USA to 211 or less in order to claim the final ODI status slot.Saad bin Zafar returned for a second spell of left-arm spin and had tailenders Saurabh Netravalkar and Ali Khan caught in back-to-back overs to make it 198 for 9. But just as it was against Nepal 14 months earlier on the same ground, Canada could not take the final wicket. Entering the last over, they had two runs left to protect. After Karima Gore took a single off the third ball, Zafar tried to slip in a quicker ball to Kenjige but landed it too short, allowing Kenjige to cut behind point for a boundary. After Kenjige blocked out the last two balls, Zafar kicked the last delivery away in disgust knowing they had missed ODI status in spite of the win.The result took the shine off Navneet Dhaliwal’s century as the opener carried his bat all 50 overs to make 121. But Canada only scored one boundary during a crucial phase from the 41st through the 47th over as Dhaliwal pushed 10 singles off 12 balls in that stretch to go from 90 to 100 despite Canada having seven wickets in hand. Canada added 29 off the last three overs, but the lack of intent in the prior sequence cost them dearly in the end.

The Delhi Daredevils batsman said Ponting’s aggression has already helped the team build a mindset around winning T20 games

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2018Delhi Daredevils coach Ricky Ponting’s aggression and urge to win has already given “goosebumps” in the team camp, according to batsman Shreyas Iyer.”He’s very aggressive and has a positive frame of mind,” Iyer said on Monday during the team camp. “When he gave a speech to all of us on the first day, it gave us goosebumps. His frame of mind was naturally about winning, everyone comes in and we talk a lot about process. When he came in, he had just one mindset at the time: that to win and he elaborated a lot on that.”He asks us to play our own game and not necessarily change our technique or skill. He has his way of preparing youngsters. It has just been three or four days since he has come in, we will get to learn a lot.”Iyer said Ponting’s approach to T20s was in stark contrast to that of Rahul Dravid, Daredevils’ former mentor. “Dravid is calm and cool, he likes to follow the process and nurture the kids. Ponting is opposite, but their frame of mind is the same. Both are equally good in their own way.”Iyer said the younger players would also benefit from the “tremendous experience” of their captain Gautam Gambhir. “It would be helpful to the team, since he has won two IPL titles,” Iyer said. “He’s really good in building the rapport with the youngsters. It will be a great learning experience to play under him.”On his own form, Iyer said having played a tournament in Mumbai prior to the IPL helped him find his tempo to a T20 innings. “It really helped me in terms of how to plan and build my innings,” Iyer said. “Considering the side we have right now, it will help me personally. I hope I will be able to carry forward the same experience in the IPL as well.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the opening one-day international between South Africa and Sri Lanka

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan27-Jan-2017

Match Facts

January 28, 2017
Start time 10.00am local (0800GMT)

Big Picture

There has been a shift in mood for Sri Lanka’s tour over the last few days. Despite losing Angelo Mathews they impressively secured the T20 series – their first piece of silverware in South Africa – with a heart-stopping chase at Newlands. A trip that was threatening to be forgettable has been given a new lease of life.However, this one-day series could be a significantly greater challenge. After AB de Villiers’ return for the final T20 – where it looked like he’d never been away, despite Russell Domingo saying he was as nervous as on debut – a host of other big guns are back following their post-Test-series break.A side that includes Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis and Kagiso Rabada – alongside de Villiers – has a daunting look about it. The last time they played ODIs, they steamrollered Australia 5-0 who earlier in the year had managed to upend Sri Lanka at home. Such is the batting strength now available that stand-in T20 captain Farhaan Behardien is unlikely to make the starting XI.Sri Lanka will hope that their mixture of spin and medium-pace can have a similar impact as it did in the T20s where they managed to keep a leash on South Africa’s batting. Left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan remains a trump card, while Nuwan Kulasekara brought his experience to show.For both these sides, this series marks the start of serious preparations for the Champions Trophy and they meet in their opening match of the tournament at The Oval on June 3. Time to lay down a marker.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa WWWWW

Sri LankaWWLWL

In the spotlight

Once Kagiso Rabada found his range in the Test series he was too much for the Sri Lanka batsmen to handle. The South Africa management is wary of his workload, without wanting to wrap him in cotton wool, and he has had a couple of weeks to recharge his batteries. He went for over 80 in his last two ODIs against Australia so he’ll be keen for a more thrifty display. It is a shame we won’t get to see him operate alongside Lungi Ngidi after he was ruled out of the series.Sri Lanka will have their third captain of the tour after Upul Tharanga was handed the armband ahead of Dinesh Chandimal following Mathews’ injury. It is a role Tharanga performed in Zimbabwe last year when Sri Lanka won the tri-series. It feels as though Tharanga has been around forever – his debut came in 2005 – and while he has frustrated Sri Lanka supporters as much as thrilled them he has an impressive 13 ODI hundreds. He was used in the middle order in Zimbabwe, but opened in the deciding T20.Quinton de Kock is one of a host of big names to return after a short break•AFP

Team news

Ngidi will not be replaced in the South Africa squad so that leaves 14 to pick from. Chris Morris’ recall adds another all-round option and de Villiers said that the rain that was around Port Elizabeth on Friday ruled out the chance of a second frontline spinner.South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Andile Phehlukwayo, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran TahirSri Lanka made some late changes to the squad that was originally announced. Despite his heroics in the T20, Seekkuge Prasanna has been replaced by legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay while Isuru Udana, the left-armer, also makes way. They will need to decide whether to use Tharanga in the opening position where he has had most of his one-day success. If they want some extra pace, Lahiru Kumara is an option – he has yet to play any List A one-day games.*Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella, 2 Dhananjaya de Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Upul Tharanga (capt), 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Chaturanga de Silva, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Jeffrey Vandersay/Lahiru Kumara

Pitch and conditions

Sri Lanka had high hopes in the Test series that Port Elizabeth would be the surface to suit them best, but it was left well-grassed on orders from the home side. The pitches do, however, tend to be on the slower side for one-dayers. There are some showers forecast for the first part of the day.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have not played an ODI at Port Elizabeth since their 2003 World Cup semi-final against Australia
• In the last ODI South Africa played, against Australia in Cape Town, Rilee Rossouw scored 122. He has since joined Hampshire on a Kolpak deal.
• Such is the inexperience in Sri Lanka’s squad that Kulasekara is the third-highest run-scorer behind Tharanga and Chandimal

Quotes

“Even though we feel that we are a more talented and a more skillful and a better group of players than Sri Lanka, we know they are very dangerous at the moment, being very motivated with lots of young talent that can come good at certain times. We are very aware of that.”
*January 27, 1300GMT: This story was updated to reflect Sri Lanka’s squad changes

Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, has said that Bangladesh’s two-Test series against Zimbabwe, scheduled originally for January 2016, will be shelved to keep the team’s focus on T20Is

Mohammad Isam21-Dec-2015Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, has said that Bangladesh’s two-Test series against Zimbabwe, scheduled originally for January 2016, will be shelved to keep the team’s focus on T20Is. Hassan did not mention when the series will be now be held, but said the period after the World T20 was in discussion.”It is necessary for us to prepare for the Asia Cup T20 and the World T20 which are two important tournaments,” he said. “Many of our T20 players aren’t in the T20 squad so if we play Test cricket at that time, they won’t be able to prepare.” The BCB, however, is yet to announce any international or domestic T20 tournament between the end of the BPL and the start of the Asia Cup, which they will host.The two-Test series was part of Zimbabwe’s full tour to Bangladesh, but after Australia postponed their Test series in October, the BCB forwarded the limited-overs matches from the Zimbabwe series to November. Bangladesh won the ODI series 3-0, and the two teams shared the two-match T20I series 1-1.Back in August, the BCB had already cut one Test from this series to prepare for the World T20. In October, the two Tests scheduled for January were forwarded to November, but a week later, the BCB changed the format of the series to include just ODIs and T20Is.

Nathan McCullum, the New Zealand allrounder, will join Glamorgan as their second overseas player for this year’s Friends Life t20

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2013Nathan McCullum, the New Zealand allrounder, will join Glamorgan as their second overseas player for this year’s Friends Life t20, after Dirk Nannes pulled out due to injury. McCullum is currently in England as part of New Zealand’s Champions Trophy squad.”I’m looking forward to joining up with the Glamorgan squad at the end of this month,” he said. “I’ve spent a bit of time in Cardiff over the past few weeks and have enjoyed playing at the SWALEC Stadium. Spin bowling plays an important role in T20 cricket and I hope to be able to help the team progress to the knock-out stages.”Glamorgan’s head of elite performance, Matthew Mott, said: “We are delighted to have secured Nathan’s services for this year’s Friends Life t20 competition. He is an experienced T20 cricketer and we believe he will be a valuable addition to our squad.”Nannes, the former Australia bowler, was forced to withdraw from his deal after suffering a back injury during the IPL. McCullum, who’s brother Brendon has also previously played for Glamorgan, will join limited-overs captain Marcus North as the team’s overseas signings.