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Japan’s captain Masaomi Kobayshi looks ahead to the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 7 that begins in Botswana next week

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2011How has the side been preparing for WCL Div. 7?
We have been looking forward to this tournament since the completion of our previous tournament in Guernsey in 2009. We have undergone regular camps and established high standard domestic competitions to develop the players as a group and as individuals. The squad was narrowed down in January, and we have had two camps a month and individual training on other weekends. Unfortunately, as a result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11 this year, we were not able to have our scheduled camps or overseas tour that month. However, in April, we have been able to hold our scheduled camps and I believe that this is the best prepared that we have been for an international tournament. I’m delighted that we will compete at the tournament at our best. We have improved individually and as a group in fitness, technique, and tactically and we are all very much looking forward to the tournament.What do you know about the conditions in Gaborone and do you think your side will be well suited to those conditions?
We understand the pitches are permanent hard wickets, which is what we are used to playing on in Japan. We also understand that the altitude is extremely high which is why we have been working hard on our fitness levels. We will be learning more about the conditions when we arrive, but this will not change how we want to play. Whatever the conditions, we will just believe in ourselves, express ourselves and play to the best of our abilities.There are only four expatriate players in the Japan side while the rest are all native Japanese – how does your development programme work to have such a strong native Japanese element?
In the last 10 years, Japanese cricket has come a long way. New grounds, sponsors, junior development initiatives, and better coaches have all contributed to the development of cricket in Japan. The JCA has worked very hard for its fantastic achievements and that has inspired the players to work hard at training and performing well at tournaments. Encouraging youngsters to take up the sport as well as excellent coaches and improved facilities have contributed to our development and we are seeing players such as Raheel Kano who is amongst the first generation of players coming through the whole participation pathway established 10 years ago. The new generation of young talented players have created a dynamic team environment and we are all very excited get out onto the field and play.Who are the players to watch in your side for this event? We`ve heard good things about Raheel Kano from the U19s, what does he bring to the side?
Yes Raheel is an exciting young leg spinner who has come through the participation programme. Like the other youngsters in the team he plays the game in an exciting way and expresses himself out on the field which is great. A number of youngsters have come into the side in recent times and have gelled really well with the experienced players. However, I believe that we are a well balanced team where everyone contributes, all 14 players and team management. Team work has been an essential weapon for us. Japan is not a team of one star player, but of a great group of players who are proud to represent their country, play as hard as they can, and bring the best out of each other.You`ve obviously faced Nigeria before but what is your knowledge of the other sides in the tournament and have you played any of them recently?
We played Norway and Nigeria in the World Cricket League Division 5 in 2008. Our match against Botswana in that tournament was washed out, but we did see them play. We have heard about Germany and Kuwait from the Vanuatu players who played them in Division 8. All countries have good teams, but we will concentrate on our game plan and do our best.Finally, the JCA have set up `Cricket for Smiles` – can you tell us a little bit about this initiative and also about what it means to you as a captain of the national cricket team and its importance?
As a group we were all upset and touched by the events of 11 March. Some of our players had family in the area and it was a very emotional time for them. We wanted to do something as a group and as an organisation to contribute to the people of the Sendai region in a positive way. A lot of schools have been wiped out and the kids involved have nothing. The idea of the initiative is to introduce cricket to over 200 schools that have been badly affected and provide them with cricket equipment.It is upsetting to watch your county men struggle at a time like this and if we can help in anyway and use cricket to allow the children to smile again then I think it is great! We are looking for sponsorship for `Cricket for Smiles` and your support would be greatly appreciated. For more information of how to donate to this worthy cause log in online www.cricket.or.jp/cricketforsmilesAll sports people dream to represent their country in their chosen sport and I was no different. The fact that I am now seen as a leader is even better. I am lucky enough to have done it before and every time I walk out onto the field as captain of Japan is a special moment for me.

Andrew McGlashan provides the Plays of the Day from the second day at Old Trafford

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford05-Jun-2010Ball of the day

Old Trafford has a decent history of spinners producing some special deliveries. Shane Warne tops the list in 1993, but Ashley Giles’ ball to Damien Martyn in 2005 wasn’t too shabby while Monty Panesar has managed a few good ones as well. However, Shakib Al Hasan’s delivery to remove Ian Bell can stand proud among the best as he turned one from leg stump to take the top of off against a batsman well set on 128. For a moment it was unclear what had happened because Shakib, in complete contrast to when he removed Kevin Pietersen on the first day, barely acknowledged the dismissal after being frustrated by his team’s bowling during the morning.Sequence of the day

Tamim Iqbal was at it again. Not content with his memorable display at Lord’s he again put England’s attack to the sword with another hundred of the highest quality. He probably wishes he could play England all the time because his current sequence stands at six scores over fifty in seven innings. When he passed fifty he became the first Bangladesh batsman to make five half-centuries in consecutive innings. But he wasn’t finished there and when he cut Graeme Swann through point to reach three figures he became the first to hit back-to-back Test hundreds as well. Only two of his countrymen have managed two hundreds in their entire careers.Stand of the day

Century opening stands have been like London buses for Bangladesh.
Wait ages for one, then two come along at once. They have only had four in their Test history, but the last couple have been back-to-back (unsurprisingly for the first time) after Tamim and Imrul Kayes followed their 185 at Lord’s with 126 at Old Trafford. They are a highly contrasting pair – but the best opening combinations so often are – with Kayes happy to follow in Tamim’s slipstream.Plan of the day

England, though, are convinced that Kayes doesn’t play the short ball well. The idea was set in their mind when he was bounced out on a shirtfront by Stuart Broad at Chittagong and they continue to bang the ball in. And even though Kayes has been tough to shift, he has fallen to the short-ball plan in all three innings of this series. At Lord’s he fended to slip and short leg and here, against Steven Finn, he picked out long leg with precision as he top-edged a hook. It was again impressive execution from Finn, in the first over of his second spell, and a vital breakthrough for England who were really struggling.Relief of the day

It was a rare wicketless Test for Graeme Swann at Lord’s, but having seen Shakib and Abdur Razzak turn the ball square expectation was squarely on his shoulders this time around. However, his barren spell went on a little longer still as Tamim and Kayes played him well during their opening stand and it was delight mixed with relief when he got one to take Junaid Siddique’s edge through to Matt Prior. Swann was then back in the groove and produced a lovely ball to remove Jahurul Islam. By the close he had another five-wicket haul.Spell of the day

A 12-ball 5 and an opening spell of six overs for 35 meant a quiet start to Ajmal Shahzad’s Test career, but that didn’t last. Recalled late in the day with the ball reverse-swinging he showed what has caught the eye of Andy Flower as he ripped out three wickets in 16 balls as Bangladesh crumbled. His first Test wicket didn’t come from his best ball, as Mohammad Ashraful cut to backward point, but the two deliveries to castle Mahmudullah and Shafiul Islam were high-quality late swingers that would have dismissed many batsmen.

Australia spinner available for four matches after T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2024Ashton Agar has joined Northamptonshire for four Vitality Blast games, as a short-term replacement for Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza.Agar, who has been named in Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign, will join the squad after the completion of the tournament, and will replace Raza when he heads off on national duty for Zimbabwe in their series against India.”I’m delighted to be joining the Steelbacks in the Blast this year,” Agar said. “There’s a really exciting mix of players in the squad and hopefully we’re in a really strong position in the table when I join.”Agar, 30, was a member of Australia’s victorious squad in the 2021 T20 World Cup, and has also been a Big Bash League winner with Perth Scorchers.He has claimed 48 wickets in 47 T20Is for Australia, with best figures of 6 for 30 against New Zealand at Wellington in 2021.”Ashton is a remarkable player with a real ability to change and win matches,” John Sadler, Northamptonshire’s head coach, said. “He’s got a winning mindset, has played at the highest level and we’re delighted to get someone of his calibre to the club.””Hopefully he can contribute some good performances and win us some games when he joins up with us.”Agar’s first game will be on July 5 and his last game will be away to Durham on July 14, at which point Raza will return for the final two group fixtures.”We’ve got a real like-for-like replacement in Ashton which is great, so we’re pleased with the business we’ve done.”Obviously the Zimbabwe series was announced after we signed Sikandar which is a shame but we’ve still got him for eight games at the start, then for the last two games and we’re very excited about that.”

“I went to the coach and captain myself and told them that you can drop me because I haven’t performed”

Danyal Rasool09-Feb-2023The PCB’s controversial decision to drop Mohammad Rizwan for Sarfaraz Ahmed for the two-Test series against New Zealand was among the biggest talking points throughout the series. Rizwan, however, said he felt that, on current form, he “didn’t deserve to play” for Pakistan at the time.”You can ask the head coach Saqlain Mushtaq what I told him after the end of the England Test series,” Rizwan told in an interview. “I personally thought that since I wasn’t able to perform, I didn’t deserve to play in the next series.”In his last half dozen Tests, Rizwan had suffered a downturn in his form with the bat, scoring 262 runs in 12 innings without a half-century at an average of 21.83. That was significantly down from his career batting average (38.13), though it was believed his quality behind the stumps gave him enough protection from omission.But soon after the PCB chairman Ramiz Raja was removed in a dramatic overhaul, changes were felt on the pitch, too. Rizwan was replaced by Sarfaraz, playing his first Test match in over three years. While concerns over his wicketkeeping linger – there were a slew of dropped catches and missed stumpings across both Tests – his form with the bat was not in question. He was the highest run-scorer in the series with 335, scoring three half-centuries and a hundred on the final day of the second Test to ensure Pakistan escaped with a draw. He would go on to be named the Player of the Series.”I was happy to see Sarfaraz perform because that is what I wanted,” Rizwan said. “Sarfaraz has been performing in domestic and deserves his chance now. I asked for his inclusion. Whoever performs best for Pakistan deserves to play.”Some players said that every player goes through this phase and you can’t sit on the bench based on few failures. But I went to the coach and captain myself and told them that you can drop me because I haven’t performed. Two players are witnesses to this conversation.”This wasn’t the first time Rizwan’s benching raised eyebrows. He was famously left on the bench for much of his time at Karachi Kings, playing just seven times across his last two years with the franchise. Upon moving to Multan Sultans in 2021, he was appointed captain and led the side to their maiden PSL trophy, finishing as the second highest run-scorer in the competition.Rizwan defended his former franchise’s decision. “I was never hurt when I was benched during the PSL in the past. I thought they [Karachi Kings] were honest with the team, and it was the team’s requirement at the time to keep me on the bench.”Rizwan remains with Multan, whom he will captain for the third successive season when the PSL gets underway on February 13.

England’s stand-in coach expects “caged tigers” Stokes and Broad to make a mark in the SCG Test

Andrew McGlashan04-Jan-2022Pat Cummins continues to bask in the glory of retaining the Ashes in ruthless fashion, but has also lent a sympathetic ear to England’s off-field challenges with Covid-19, even as the visitors’ stand-in coach Graham Thorpe hoped that cricket could find a more sustainable way to deal with the ongoing challenges.Related

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England have had to prepare for the Sydney Test with a threadbare coaching staff, with four members, including head coach Chris Silverwood, isolating back in Melbourne after Covid was initially detected among family members that are part of the touring group.”They’ve sacrificed quite a lot to come over here,” Cummins said. “Two weeks’ quarantine, time away from families, some restrictions on what they can do, opposed to pre-pandemic. They’ve had some positive cases, the coach being away from this game, it’s been really tough for them. We are really thankful they are out here as part of the series.”Australia have also been impacted, with Travis Head ruled out of the fourth Test after testing positive, but that remains the only case in the camp even though Cummins was forced to miss the second Test in Adelaide after being deemed a close contact. Under the current government guidelines, he would have been free to play.Both teams wanted to avoid biosecure bubbles for this series and Cricket Australia has resisted tightening restrictions beyond their level-four protocols, which mean players can still dine outside and maintain a degree of freedom but that has brought additional risk, especially in Melbourne and Sydney.England’s hopes of bolstering resources by bringing in Adam Hollioake, who lives on the Gold Coast, were scuppered when he was also deemed a close contact and had to isolate. It has meant everyone has had to chip in with different roles, including the physios and analyst helping with fielding drills and players giving plenty of throwdowns. On Monday, Joe Root called on his players to use the adversity as motivation as they try to regain some pride after three thrashings saw the Ashes decided inside 12 days.Thorpe, who has taken charge in Silverwood’s absence, supported by James Foster and Ant Botha, admitted there had been distractions for the players. Numbers have skyrocketed in New South Wales in the last couple of weeks with over 20,000 per day and the squad has been tested daily since the first cases were detected in Melbourne, although that is now set to be relaxed somewhat.”[Covid] has always been lingering in the back and it has been distracting,” Thorpe said. “Not knowing whether you’ll be moving into the next venue, or whether your family is going to be in a hotel room for seven to ten days, similar with players. The constant testing day-in, day-out is a distraction.”I’d like to think we can find a better way around it in the future. I do understand it. Australia is in a very different situation. I’d like to think cricket can find a way around it because England have played a lot of cricket as well. A lot of our players have been in these environments for quite a while. Being able to look after their mental state of mind is very important.”Thorpe expects “caged tigers” Ben Stokes (in pic) and Stuart Broad ” to put in a performance” at the SCG•Getty Images

In terms of trying to turn their fortunes around on the field, Thorpe wants to see freedom from the players and made specific reference to Ben Stokes and the recalled Stuart Broad, who has made his displeasure of only playing once in the first three matches clear.”We’ve got a couple of caged tigers coming into this match, Ben being one of them and Stuart Broad is another,” Thorpe said. “They’ll want to put in a performance for themselves and collectively as a team and that’s been our focus over the last few days.”The batting line-up that capitulated for 68 in Melbourne has been given another chance, but Thorpe acknowledged that there were players fighting to keep their positions in the team. While his remit has been wider this week without Silverwood on duty, the major focus has remained on the batters.”You have to be able to find ways of throwing punches back at good bowling attacks,” he said. “I’ve always been one for trying to set up to score (and) then trust your defence if the ball is in the right area. So trying to keep that simple for the players. Also to show some character and fight and have the right attitude when we go on to the pitch this week. That’s absolutely paramount, match Australia for the competitiveness on the pitch.”You get knocked down sometimes in life, you do have to get back up. There’s no hiding place. Some players are trying to establish themselves in the team, that’s an opportunity, some you might say are trying to stay in the team and that’s an opportunity as well.”

The head of NCA believes that come October, the Covid-19 impact will hit Indian cricket more

Shashank Kishore31-Jul-2020Rahul Dravid, the former India captain, has all but ruled out the possibility of a full 2020-21 domestic season in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He stressed on the need for the BCCI to prioritise the tournaments they want to conduct in the limited time frame that could be available from after October-November.For context, a total of 2036 games, across various age groups in the men’s and women’s category, were played during the 2019-20 season. Under normal circumstances, July would have marked the start of the domestic season in India. Many associations, like TNCA and KSCA, have earlier used the window to conduct highly-competitive first-class matches in preparation for the domestic season.With India’s metro cities still under some sort of restrictions post the Covid-19 lockdown, associations have either indefinitely postponed or cancelled their tournaments, leaving hundreds of domestic cricketers uncertain. The National Cricket Academy, which Dravid heads, hasn’t resumed operations, and it’s unclear yet as to when a formal SOP will be released for the resumption of domestic cricket in the country.”Hopefully if we’re able to find a level of cure or vaccine even towards the end of the year, we’ll be in a position to be able to complete, even if not the whole domestic season, but large parts of it,” Dravid said in a webinar hosted by . “Obviously prioritising what that would be is important so that young boys and girls don’t miss out on cricket for a year. We’ve been lucky so far [that the pandemic started in March towards the end of BCCI’s domestic season], but come October, things might start getting stressful.”A few international tournaments have been cancelled and repositioned, and people can always find time and place for that, but once October comes around, that’s when I think it’ll start hitting us more. The next domestic season, for a lot of our young domestic players – juniors, Under-16s, Under-19s and women cricketers – start in October. If we aren’t able to get back to a level of normalcy from then – it could take longer – we’ll see the real impact on our domestic cricket and grassroots cricket. This year is probably more important for someone in his final year of Under-19s, than say for someone who is 23-24.”ALSO READ: England tour cancelled, T20 Challenge in doubt, no selection panel: What’s next for India women?Dravid welcomed the resumption of international cricket with the England-West Indies series last month, but emphasised it may not be easy to create similar biosecure bubbles in domestic or junior cricket. The senior men’s domestic calendar, for example, has 38 teams criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country for matches. In some cases, teams from the North East host matches at neutral venues citing infrastructural challenges. Such conditions will leave BCCI with several logistical challenges in hosting domestic tournaments.”It was nice to watch some live cricket with the England-West Indies series. They did a great job of ensuring the kind of environment they created,” he said. “I heard Jason Holder say much later that it was tough being in that [biosecure] environment for more than two months. But it was important that we got something going, and great that it got going without a hitch. But my worry is that in domestic or junior cricket, it [biobubbles] may not be easy to create.”Dravid also went to great lengths to explain the importance of IPL taking place for the well-being of the cricket ecosystem in India. He was specifically asked about the “BCCI’s desperation to host IPL” at a time when many world events, like the Tokyo Olympics, have been postponed.”I’m sure leagues like the IPL will be able to put in the kind of biosecure environments required, like what EPL, Bundesliga or what ECB did with the England-West Indies series,” he said. “I’m sure every effort will be made to do that. Let’s be honest. There is a lot of revenue that rides with tournaments like the IPL. I know if you’re cynical about it, you can only look at the money that the big players make or maybe the franchises or BCCI make, but where does that money go? It goes down to state associations, in conducting Under-19 and Under-16 tournaments, so a lot of the revenue associated with the game.”The fact of the matter is, none of the domestic sport actually generates any revenue. In fact, it costs a lot of money to hold. So if you want to give young boys and girls the opportunity to play, if you want to give them opportunities to express their talent, money has got to come from somewhere. The reality is, to conduct tournaments and develop high-class athletes, it costs money; there’s a financial element involved.”It’s easy to say we’re conducting [the IPL] it only because of the huge finances riding on it. I would like to think, without compromising on safety and ensuring all the SOPs are in place to conduct a safe and secure tournament, the money generated from the IPL filters all through our sport and helps fund junior and domestic cricket. That is why sporting organisations are keen to conduct these tournaments. They understand if we don’t have that revenue, not only will that tournament suffer but the ripple effect will be felt all the way down.”

Nearly a year after retirement, AB de Villiers said his staggered schedule has worked out well

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2019AB de Villiers’ decision to quit international cricket has made him sharper, the batsman said after putting in a Man-of-the-Match performance during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first win of the season. De Villiers made an unbeaten 59 against Kings XI Punjab, his third fifty in seven games this season. Although that is a decent ratio, de Villiers has failed to get past 20 in four games, a return that has put strain on a Royal Challengers batting order that still depends majorly on his and Virat Kohli’s performances.De Villiers admitted that he had got himself out a couple of times without converting, but said that hadn’t bogged him down.”I’ve got too much respect for the game to be upset about that,” de Villiers said at the post-match presentation in Mohali. “Obviously I want to be there at the end every time, winning games for the team. I’ve hit the ball well, I’ve got in many times, and I just haven’t gotten far on a few occasions. But as I said, I’ve got too much respect for the game of cricket to get ahead of myself and get too hard on myself. You’re always just one knock away of from being in that confidence zone and hopefully I’ll maintain this kind of form throughout the tournament now.”Since his retirement in May 2018, de Villiers has played in four T20 tournaments – the Mzansi Super League, the Bangladesh Premier League, the Pakistan Super League, and the IPL. These appearances add up to 28 innings, eight of which have featured single-digit scores. Before this IPL season, he had made only four 50-plus scores during this period.De Villiers suggested that these up-and-down performances were not a consequence of his reduced playing time at the top level and that, if anything, the break has energised him.”That’s [being sharp’s] exactly the reason why I decided not to play international cricket, it’s to be as sharp as I can in other forms of the game around the world. I can’t keep playing 10-11 months a year and keep being sharp after 15 years of international cricket. This kind of tournament, I’m playing every now and then, every 2-3 months. [It] really keeps me energetic. I get to work with university guys back home. With some of the local guys and local youngsters, which really gives me the energy and really motivates me to be better for some of the youngsters back home and be an example for them,” he said.International cricket or not, de Villiers was gushing in his approval of Royal Challengers signing his former team-mate Dale Steyn. With the near-impossible task of keeping a perfect win record from here on to stay in contention for the playoffs, de Villiers said Steyn’s presence would boost the team.”I think it was a fantastic move to get Dale involved,” he said. “We all know what he’s capable of. One thing is for sure, you’ll get 200 percent from him. He’ll give his absolute best every single time he bowls for the team and it’s just going to be great to have a guy of that caliber and another great human being in our team.”Yes, we know what we have to do now – we have to win a lot of games of cricket, but the next step is Mumbai, at the Wankhede staium. We love playing cricket there. We’ll have to do our basics and bowl it up like we did today and hopefully more success is around the corner.”

Nepal scrape to four-wicket win after felling UAE for 114; Canada pick up third straight win after Gunasekera’s gritty half-century

The Report by Peter Della Penna11-Feb-2018Gerhard Erasmus’ resilient half-century resurrected a faltering Namibia chase, lifting them from 65 for 7 to a thrilling two-wicket win in their pursuit of 166 against Oman at the Wanderers Sports Club.Oman seemed well on course to victory as Bilal Khan cut through Namibia’s batting order with his maiden List A five-for. But Erasmus and JJ Smit survived the left-armer’s spell of swing bowling, and constructed a 92-run eighth-wicket stand to pump life back into Namibia’s hopes of promotion into the World Cup Qualifier.Oman had been under pressure when they batted as well, falling to 10 for 3 in the fifth over after being sent in in seam-friendly conditions. As he did a day earlier, when Namibia bowled out Kenya for 83, captain Sarel Burger had a minimum of two slips in place for nearly the entire innings.Jatinder Singh ground out a top-score of 29 off 71 balls – one of five 20-plus scores in the innings – to settle Oman’s early nerves, before a late flurry from the lower order hauled them to a modest total.Oman’s fielding was sloppy early on – and it cost them later as well – as several chances went down, allowing Namibia to reach 44 for 1. Lohan Louwrens had been driving Namibia’s chase early, but should have been out for 23 when he was spilled over the third man rope off Bilal for six. Bilal persisted with a short-ball plan until Louwrens was cramped for room and fended a catch behind to end the 12th over. Bilal struck for the second time in the 14th, beating JP Kotze for pace to send his off stump cartwheeling back.Erasmus entered after Nico Davin fell lbw to offspinner Jay Odedra in the 15th over, with the score on 61 for 4, but could only watch helplessly from the non-striker’s end as Bilal took three more wickets in the space of five balls in the 16th over. Craig Williams flashed an edge through to wicketkeeper-captain Sultan Ahmed, Jan Frylinck was beaten for pace to be trapped leg before, and Sarel Burger edged a drive low to first slip.With storm clouds hovering overhead, Namibia were well behind on Duckworth-Lewis, but Erasmus and Smit calmly blocked out the rest of Bilal’s initial eight-over spell. The pitch slowed down as the innings wore on, offering little to Oman’s spinners as Erasmus resurrected the chase with ones and twos. As the target whittled down to less than 50 in the 39th over, Sultan tossed the ball to Aqib Ilyas for his part-time legspin, but Erasmus swept him for four as the 300 fans in attendance sensed a home victory.A crunching pull from Erasmus off Fayyaz Butt in the 47th over brought up his fifty off 95 balls, and brought the equation down to 12 off 21 balls. Kaleemullah conceded just two in the 48th over, before Smit finally buckled in the 49th, pulling Butt to mid-on and leaving Erasmus to get nine off 10 balls with the tail.Three singles put Erasmus on strike with six to get off the final over. Pacer Mohammad Nadeem was tasked with defending it, bowling with the wind at his back. Erasmus then premeditated a scoop to clear fine leg inside the circle, but he didn’t get the desired elevation. The fielder reached up for the chance, but the ball burst through his hands, and had enough momentum to go for four. Another single to fine leg leveled the scores, before No. 10 Bernard Scholtz slapped a single through cover for the winning run.Sompal Kami’s 4 for 30 helped decimate UAE for 114 as Nepal scraped to a four-wicket win in a weather-affected match at United Cricket Field. Following a two-and-a-half-hour delayed start due to a wet outfield from overnight rain, Nepal won a crucial toss with play reduced to 34 overs a side and sent UAE in on a pitch that has heavily favored early seam movement throughout the tournament.Sunday was no different as UAE were behind the eight-ball throughout the match following Sompal’s opening spell. The short but whippy fast bowler struck with the third ball of the match, bowling Ashfaq Ahmed for a golden duck. Two more strikes by Sompal and Karan KC had UAE 25 for 3 in the eighth over before teenage legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane and captain Paras Khadka tore through the middle order to take 3 for 30 and 2 for 20 respectively. Sompal then returned to finish off the tail as UAE were bowled out in 31 overs.Nepal, who had struggled to chase Namibia’s 138 on day one before creeping over the line by one wicket, needed a half-century from Khadka after another top-order collapse saw them slip to 20 for 3 in the seventh over. Khadka counterattacked with five sixes in his 51 off 48 balls. Sompal then helped out with the bat too, smashing a six off his third ball before ending the match with a three to finish unbeaten on 10 off five balls.Opening batsman Ruvindu Gunasekera overcame a thumb injury to produce a gritty 83 off 99 balls and set up Canada‘s third straight win of Division Two with a 59-run victory over Kenya at Affies Park.Canada had been coasting early at 58 for 1 after being sent in with Gunasekera leading the way on 38 off 28 balls when he received a blow to the left thumb from medium-pacer Nelson Odhiambo that caused his fingernail to nearly come off. After leaving the field for treatment, he returned at 90 for 3 in the 23rd over and proceeded to anchor the rest of the innings, lasting until the third ball of the 49th over before he was eighth out to a rare hit-wicket dismissal trying to swat Nehemiah Odhiambo.Gunasekera’s innings ensured Canada had plenty to defend against a brittle Kenya batting line-up, who crossed 100 for the first time in three attempts at Division Two but still fell well short of the target. Captain Rakep Patel kept hope alive for a comeback with his 32 off 76 balls, but he was run out attempting to steal a single to short third man off Nikhil Dutta’s offspin; he couldn’t beat Navneet Dhaliwal’s relay to Hamza Tariq behind the stumps, and Kenya were 123 for 8. Dhaliwal also took 3 for 15 in eight overs of part-time medium pace to hasten victory.

Joe Root is expected to be available for the opening ODI of the series between England and India after missing the start of the tour to witness the birth of his first child

George Dobell09-Jan-20171:10

Root will be back in time for the first ODI – Morgan

Joe Root is expected to be available for the opening ODI of the series between England and India after missing the start of the tour to witness the birth of his first child.Root, England’s highest rated ODI batsman (he is currently No. 7 in the ICC’s rankings), is expected to fly to India on Wednesday (January 11) having been by his partner’s side as she gave birth to their son. The rest of the squad flew to India on January 5, which was the baby’s due date.England play two warm-up matches in Mumbai on January 10 and 12 before the first ODI in Pune on January 15. While Root’s plans have not been confirmed, the ECB hope he will be able to play in that second warm-up game and anticipate him being available for the first ODI.Speaking at the Brabourne Stadium ahead of Tuesday’s fixture, England’s one-day captain, Eoin Morgan, confirmed that the plan was for Root to slot back into the starting line-up at the earliest opportunity, adding that England’s itinerary in the coming weeks is sufficiently light to allow him plenty of time off before English season begins.”Joe is probably one of three players first on the list to be rested if there is an opportunity,” Morgan said. “We feel certainty given that this is a very short series and we have three weeks at home before the [tour of] West Indies, which is a bit of a light load of a series as well.”We have about two-and-a-half weeks to play three or four games, and then the lead into our summer is pretty casual really, when you look at the international calendar and the opportunity for him to rest.”I think the weigh-up for is international cricket over domestic cricket – the last thing we want to do is rest Joe in an international game and let him go back and play cricket for Yorkshire, feeling that pressure to play cricket for Yorkshire. So, there is always a debate between both, and we feel at the moment there is enough rest in between here and the Champions Trophy for him to feel fresh come the start of June.”Nevertheless, the lack of time available for Root to spend with his new family is symptomatic of the pressures created by England’s busy schedule. Alastair Cook faced a similar journey in October when he flew back to England from Bangladesh to witness the birth of his second child, but was only able to spend a few hours with his family before re-joining the tour in time for the first Test.England’s schedule once the English summer gets fully underway is one of the most intense of all time – they depart for Australia and New Zealand in October and, for those playing all formats, will not return until April – therefore such journeys are likely to become the norm.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first ODI between Pakistan and England in Abu Dhabi

The Preview by Alan Gardner10-Nov-2015

Match facts

November 11, 2015
Start time 3pm local (1100 GMT)

Big Picture

You have to zoom out a long way to get the wide angle on this series. England’s newly professed love for one-day internationals is focused on winning more than just hearts when the Champions Trophy and World Cup roll around on home soil in 2017 and 2019. Pakistan narrowly avoided being squeezed out by Bangladesh at the Champions Trophy cut-off six weeks ago (West Indies were the team to miss out) and they are also at the start of a new cycle under the captaincy of Azhar Ali.His tenure began with a first ever bilateral series loss against Bangladesh but Pakistan have since pulled out of their tailspin by beating Zimbabwe at home – amid emotions as heightened as the security – and away, as well as winning in Sri Lanka for the first time since 2006. New faces such as Mohammad Rizwan and Bilal Asif have made good impressions (and the latter has also had his action cleared), while the return of Younis Khan, so impressive against England in the Test series, gives Pakistan a wealth of experience to call upon.Younis has not played since the World Cup but should win his 265th ODI cap, alongside Mohammad Hafeez (169 ODI appearances) and Shoaib Malik (227) in Pakistan’s middle order. The only England player who comes close to those totals is the captain, Eoin Morgan, who has played 151 (of which 23 were for Ireland); Jos Buttler – who made his debut against Pakistan in the UAE three-and-a-half years ago – is next on the list with 61.In some senses, though, this young England team have already gone to places their predecessors never did. England’s first total of more than 400 was achieved during the summer, against New Zealand at Edgbaston, and their highest successful chase a few games later. Although a 3-2 defeat against Australia followed, Morgan will be intent upon consolidating the gains made, even if performances in this series are unlikely to have much of a bearing on the next two global 50-over tournaments (for reference, see England’s 4-0 win in the UAE in 2012).There are, of course, the rankings to bind all this together and, despite their improvements, sixth-placed England are actually being steadily reeled in by Bangladesh, in No. 7. Pakistan, a place below at No. 8, can’t catch either yet but a win would help ease them away from West Indies in the race for an automatic spot at the 2019 World Cup.Jos Buttler has been passed fit after a finger injury suffered in England’s warm-up win over Hong Kong•Getty Images

Form guide

Pakistan: WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England: LWWLL

In the spotlight

He has only scored one ODI hundred since 2008 and admits he is looking for the right moment to retire but that is all the more reason to marvel at Younis Khan‘s latest comeback. Younis criticised the decision to leave him out after the World Cup, though he clearly does not have the ambition of making it to England in 2019, and has said since his recall that he wants to “leave on my own terms and conditions”. The evidence of the Test series, when he became Pakistan’s record run-scorer, suggests that he is in good shape to take control of his destiny.Morgan’s health has been a source of concern since he suffered concussion in his previous appearance but, when it comes to the more prosaic business of playing form, Jos Buttler is the focus of attention. Rested midway through the ODI series against Australia, then dropped for the final Test against Pakistan, Buttler has endured the most difficult spell of his international career to date. It is less than six months since he scored a 66-ball ODI hundred against New Zealand (marginally slower than his England record) and the hope is a return to limited-overs colours will free him up.

Team news

The recall for Younis might force Rizwan out of the XI, despite a solid start to his international career, with Pakistan’s main issue being how best to balance the side. Asif looks the prime candidate to support Yasir Shah in the spin department but Malik, fresh from Test retirement and career-best figures with the ball, filled that role in the warm-up against Nepal, allowing an for an extra batsman in Babar Azam. Azhar missed the final ODI of the tour of Zimbabwe with the toe injury that kept him out of the first two Tests against England but will resume at the top of the order.Pakistan (probable): 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Bilal Asif/Mohammad Rizwan/Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Anwar Ali, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Mohammad IrfanMorgan is set to play his first competitive match since being hit on the head by Mitchell Starc back in September. Buttler has been passed fit after suffering a finger injury in England’s warm-up win over Hong Kong and will retake the gloves from Jonny Bairstow, while the absence of Ben Stokes – who hurt his collarbone during the third Test but would have sat out this series anyway – means James Taylor should stay in the XI despite Joe Root’s return after he was rested against Australia. Liam Plunkett and Chris Jordan are the other pace-bowling options in the squad.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 James Taylor, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

Both sides will be hoping for a livelier surface than that on which the Test took place, and last year New Zealand made scores of 299 for 5 and 275 for 4 batting first in Abu Dhabi – though fielding restrictions have been changed again since then. An afternoon start should mean cooler temperatures and the challenge of chasing under lights.

Stats and trivia

• England have won seven of nine ODIs against Pakistan in the UAE
• Of the 15 players who took part in England’s series whitewash in 2012, only Morgan and Buttler remain (though Steven Finn would have been involved but for injury)
• Shoaib Malik needs 10 runs to become the ninth Pakistani to score 6000 in ODIs

Quotes

“We’ll try to dominate with the bat, especially the spinners who haven’t bowled much in the subcontinent and UAE conditions.”
“White-ball cricket is something he prides himself on. In the last four years, he’s been outstanding and has shown glimpses of world-class ability.”