Monday, June 10, 2019
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Sunday, October 27, 2013
ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14 Fixtures
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Cox's Bazaar dropped as World T20 venue
Cox's Bazaar has been dropped as a venue for the 2014 World T20 to be
held in Bangladesh between March 16 and April 6. Sylhet, another venue
considered doubtful due to ongoing work at the stadium, has been
retained.
On Sunday, the ICC announced that Sylhet would host all first-round
fixtures of the Women's World T20 and a few group matches of the World
T20, along with Mirpur and Chittagong. All six knockout matches will be
played in Mirpur.
Sylhet and Cox's Bazaar were in doubt
because of ongoing development in the stadiums and were given an
extension by the ICC till November 30, after accepting Bangladesh
Cricket Board's request. The original deadline for the completion of the
stadiums was September 30.
Campbell Jamieson, the ICC general manager - commercial, said he was
confident of Bangladesh hosting a tournament successfully, like they
have in the past. "Bangladesh hosted the ICC Champions Trophy in 1998
[then known as the ICC KnockOut] and most recently the World Cup 2011,
along with India and Sri Lanka. Following the legacies of these two
successful events, as well as the U-19 World Cup 2004, I'm confident
that Bangladesh will once again produce a world-class tournament."
The format for the World T20 has been modified to accommodate 16 teams
in this edition, as compared to 12 in the last edition. The top eight
sides of the ICC's T20 team rankings as on October 8, 2012 have been
given direct entry into the Super 10 stage. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, who
finished outside the top eight, will compete with six other qualifying
teams in the first round from March 16 to 21 for the remaining two
places in the Super 10 groups.
The eight teams in the first round have been divided into two groups of
four teams each with table-toppers progressing to the next stage. The
six qualifying teams to join the first round will be decided at the end
of the World T20 qualifiers to be held in the UAE between November 15
and 30. If Bangladesh reach the Super 10 stage, they will play all their
matches in Mirpur, facing West Indies, India, Pakistan and Australia.
The Super 10 stage will commence with a match between India and Pakistan
in Mirpur on March 21. West Indies will begin their title defence on
March 23 against India in Mirpur and will play the rest of their group
matches against Pakistan, Australia and a qualifying team.
The women's teams, increased from eight to ten, have been divided into
two groups of five teams each. Australia, the women's T20 defending
champions, will start their campaign for a third title against New
Zealand on March 23. The knockout games for both tournaments will be
played on the same day at the same venue.
Super 10 Groups
Group 1: Sri Lanka, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Qualifier 1
Group 2: West Indies, India, Pakistan, Australia, Qualifier 2
Group 1: Sri Lanka, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Qualifier 1
Group 2: West Indies, India, Pakistan, Australia, Qualifier 2
Women's Groups:
Group A: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Ireland
Group B:England, West Indies, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
Group A: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Ireland
Group B:England, West Indies, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Underprepared pitch causes concern
An underprepared pitch is the biggest concern ahead of the second Test between Zimbabwe and Pakistan starting on Tuesday in Harare. The groundsmen have just two-and-a-half days after the first Test to prepare the surface after being informed last Thursday that the fixture would be moved from Bulawayo, and both Hamilton Masakadza and Misbah-ul-Haq expect a tough time in the middle.
"It's going to get a lot worse, a lot quicker," said Masakadza, who stood in as captain in the first Test and has played most of his domestic cricket at Harare Sports Club. "It's going to be tough for the groundsman with such a short turnaround and the spinners will definitely come into play much more in the second innings."
Turn was always predicted as a factor for the second Test, which was due to be played at Bulawayo's Queens Club, a venue known for its flat, dry strip. However, Zimbabwe Cricket announced the match would be moved to Harare because Queens was "not in a condition to host a Test," but ESPNcricinfo has learned the change in venue was actually a cost-cutting measure. Cash-strapped ZC will save more than US$50,000 in travel and hotel costs by playing the entire series of two Twenty20s, three ODIs and two Tests in Harare.
The strip being readied for the second Test is the one on the extreme right, when looking at the field from the clubhouse end of the ground. It was not used this summer and staff had begun rolling it during the ODIs against Pakistan in preparation for the domestic season.
Grant Flower, the Zimbabwe batting coach, could not recall playing any international cricket on that pitch but said he had seen it in use during the domestic twenty-over competition some time ago. While he thought the first-Test pitch "played very well," he was also concerned about what the second one would do. "We know they will have something ready for us, we just don't know what to expect."
Groundstaff at Harare Sports Club have hosted back-to-back Tests before, as recently as six months ago. Bangladesh played two Tests at the venue between April 17 and 29. The first match went only four days which left four days of preparation for the second Test and it seemed enough. Spin was not a huge factor in the second match and 1,221 runs were scored with a highest total of 391 in the first innings.
Masakadza does not think run-scoring will be as easy this time, especially with the quality of the Pakistan spinners. Saeed Ajmal took 11 wickets in the first Test and Abdur Rehman claimed four. Prosper Utseya's five took the total number of spinners' scalps to 20 out of the 39 wickets that fell.
Run-scoring was below three an over on average throughout the Test, partly as a result of disciplined bowling and conservative tactics but also because the surface slowed. With patient batting a skill that still needs to be honed by the younger players on both sides, Misbah said he is worried about the temperament his team will need to show if they are to whitewash their hosts. "The pitch (is a) really big concern for us," Misbah said. "It's going to be tricky but we need to be prepared - especially mentally prepared - and we need to be professional."
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Zimbabwe chase history amid gloom
Zimbabwe's shock win in the first ODI was their first against Pakistan
in 15 years, but now the beleaguered team has a chance to go one better -
a win in one of the remaining two matches will give Zimbabwe their
first bilateral series win against a top side since beating New Zealand
2-1, 12 years ago. The win on Tuesday gave Zimbabwe a chance to
celebrate amid the gloom; a series win would inject some much-needed
faith.
Zimbabwe coach Andy Waller said the success was the fruit of two months
of hard work, during which the team has attempted to fine-tune its game
plan of the top order making sure they lay the platform for the
stroke-makers in the middle order. The manner in which the top three
handled the chase in the first part exemplified the team's methods and
Zimbabwe will pin their hopes on the three to do the same at least one
more time.
The batting plan has seemed to work in the last few matches and the
bowling has been steady for the conditions, but Zimbabwe need to focus
some attention on the fielding. Once one of the best fielding sides,
Zimbabwe's fielding has withered away. Had they taken all the chances
that came their way on Tuesday, they could have restricted Pakistan to
an even lower score. Waller said that one of his goals is to take
Zimbabwe's fielding to the level it used to be in the '90s and the team
is working hard towards it, but poor performances during the matches
pull the team back.
The fielding didn't hurt Zimbabwe on Tuesday as Pakistan made a few
errors of their own. Apart from losing the tempo during their batting
and the sloppy fielding towards the end of the match, Pakistan misread
the pitch and batted first on a surface that Masakadza later said "gets
better in the afternoon". They are armed with the knowledge now and
Zimbabwe expect Pakistan to come back harder at them. But Pakistan can
be the most beatable of the top sides and unbeatable on the same day.
They are the Harvey Dent of cricket: which side turns up on a day seems
to be a result of an imaginary coin toss.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Taylor, Tremlett, Panesar recalled
James Taylor, Chris Tremlett and Monty Panesar have all been included in an expanded 14-man squad for the third Investec Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Steven Finn, who was left out at Lord's in favour of Tim Bresnan, and Graham Onions have been dropped, while Kevin Pietersen is included with his calf injury, which is progressing well, due to be assessed closer to the match.
The recalls for Tremlett, who last played for England against Pakistan in the UAE early last year, and Panesar reflect the conditions that are expected at Old Trafford where traditionally, pace, bounce and spin come to the fore. However, it remains unlikely that England will tinker with the bowling attack that was so impressive at Lord's.
Tremlett's return is a significant blow for Finn, who was in the three-man pace attack just two Tests ago but does not even feature in a 14-man squad now. He has been working on technical aspects of his run-up and delivery for most of the year and in Test cricket has rarely looked completely comfortable.
Tremlett trained with the England squad during the Lord's Test as he continues to build up his workload during the season after missing the majority of 2012 with a series of injuries, the most serious of them being to his back. England are keen to have him available for the Ashes in Australia later this year after the impact he had during the 2010-11 series.
Last month, he told ESPNcricinfo that he was confident his body would now allow him to get through Test matches again. "If I was picked for a Test tomorrow I'd be confident," he said. "If you had asked me that three games into the season, my honest answer would have been that I'm not ready to play Test cricket. But now I have some games under my belt, I have my confidence back. I feel I'm ready now. I've no doubt."
Panesar, the other bowler brought into the squad, remains England's second spinner in Test cricket despite a difficult tour of New Zealand where he had to take on the main role in Graeme Swann's absence. He enjoyed some success against the Australians at Hove with 3 for 70, which followed a five-wicket haul against Middlesex, although his overall Championship returns this season are a modest 21 wickets at 40.09.
Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: "Chris Tremlett has worked hard to regain fitness and form following a couple of injuries and his performances for Surrey this season have been very encouraging. Including an additional spinner in Monty Panesar who has plenty of international experience provides Alastair Cook and Andy Flower with a number of options.
"Kevin Pietersen is continuing his recovery from a calf strain and he will be assessed by the medical team closer to the start of the Test and we have therefore included an extra batsman in James Taylor who has been in good form for Nottinghamshire this season." Miller said. Taylor is currently playing for Sussex against the Australians in the tour match at Hove.
It would be a quirk of fate if it were to be Taylor who replaced Pietersen, given the stories that emerged following his Test debut against South Africa, at Headingley last year, where he had an extended partnership with Pietersen, although may not have overly impressed his senior team-mate.
After being abruptly dropped after his two appearances against South Africa, and not even named in the England performance squad at the start of the season, Taylor was told to churn out the runs at domestic level and work on some technical flaws which concerned the selectors, specifically his ability to handle deliveries outside off stump.
His performances for Nottinghamshire, where he has made 824 runs at 58.85 in the Championship, mean he has done all he can at county level to make the selectors consider him again.
Squad Alastair Cook (capt), Joe Root, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, James Taylor, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Monty Panesar
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