Injured Dilshan out of West Indies tri-series

Upul Tharanga will replace the injured Tillakaratne Dilshan in Sri Lanka’s squad for the tri-series in West Indies, while Ajantha Mendis also got a recall at Thisara Perera’s expense. Scans after Thursday’s Champions Trophy semi-final against India showed Dilshan had suffered a second-degree tear to his right medial calf muscle and will be in recovery for four to six weeks. The injury also put him in doubt for South Africa’s limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, which begins on July 20.Mendis has been increasingly regarded a Twenty20 specialist, and has not played an ODI for Sri Lanka since January. His inclusion strengthened Sri Lanka’s spin resources on tour, with Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake and Jeevan Mendis also traveling. Perera’s exclusion was a surprise, though, and Dilhara Lokuhettige, who has been with the team in the UK without having played a match, will remain in the squad as they head to the Caribbean.Perera has been a fixture of Sri Lanka’s limited-overs sides in the last 18 months, but made only 15 runs in two innings in the Champions Trophy, and bowled eight overs for no wicket. Tharanga has also been out of the side since January, but had an encouraging season of first-class cricket, in which he averaged 66.66 in 14 innings.Dilshan tore his calf in the fourth over of Sri Lanka’s innings, after he had struck Umesh Yadav for two boundaries. Though he took painkillers, he was unable to continue batting and retired hurt in the next over. He returned in the penultimate over of the innings, but hobbled between the wickets during his stay, and did not take the field as Sri Lanka failed in their attempt to defend 181.The tri-series in the West Indies will feature India, as well as the hosts, and begins on June 28.Squad: Angelo Mathews (capt), Kusal Perera, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal (vc), Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeevan Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis.

Cummins, Cotterrell make it to West Indies A

Fast bowlers Miguel Cummins and Sheldon Cotterrell and wicketkeeper Jahmar Hamilton are set to make their debuts for West Indies A when they take on a touring Sri Lanka A in June.Cummins, 22, was instrumental in helping Barbados win the Regional Four-Day Tournament this season. He claimed 35 wickets at 14.77, with two nine-fors in three matches, the second of which was in the final.Jamaica’s Cotterrell, 23, has 35 wickets at first-class level and Hamilton, 22, has struck one century and five fifties for Leeward Islands.All three players had featured in last year’s Sagicor West Indies High Performance Centre squad.The squad will be captained by Kirk Edwards.* The tour includes two four-day matches beginning on June 5 in St Kitts, two Twenty20s and three one-dayers.Squad: Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cotterrell, Miguel Cummins, Narsingh Deonarine, Kirk Edwards (capt), Assad Fudadin, Shannon Gabriel, Jahmar Hamilton, Leon Johnson, Nikita Miller, Veerasammy Permaul (vice-capt), Chadwick Walton* – May 31, 2013, 1630 GMT – The story was updated with news of Edwards being named captain

India's sports bill draft to be ready by June 30, says minister

India’s sports minister Jitendra Singh, who is “embarrassed and sad” about the alleged spot-fixing in the IPL, has said the sports bill that is currently being drafted should be ready in full by June 30. Speaking to television channel CNN IBN, Singh said: “I feel it’s very important for a very strict law, that processes are implemented not only in cricket but in other sports also. Cricket has just been exposed, but there might be things happening in other sports too. I think it is very important to put in safeguards against these.”The International Olympic Committee (IOC), Singh said, had been roped in to help draft the bill. “The biggest achievement we have done is we have got IOC on board to help us draft the sports bill. The sports bill is being drafted, Justice Mudgal is drafting it.”For the first time we’ve brought in sportspersons, we’ve brought in lawyers who fight for sport, we’ve brought in people from all walks of life into the committee to draft the sports bill. And we’ve given them a deadline – June 30 – to draft the sports bill.”In wake of the alleged fixing, India’s law minister Kapil Sibal had met Singh earlier in the week to discuss the bill. Then, Sibal had said past instances of fixing in sports in India, where attempts to prosecute the perpetrators failed due to lack of legislation dealing solely with the issue, proved it was necessary to work on such a law.The three Rajasthan Royals cricketers currently in custody – Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – have been charged under three sections of the Indian Penal Code that deal with cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.In other developments, the income tax department of India has reportedly initiated a probe into the and illegal cash transactions involved in the alleged spot-fixing, and will interrogate the cricketers and bookies being detained about the same.

Zimbabwe aim to stall Bangladesh's Bulawayo success story

Match facts

May 3, Bulawayo
Start time 0900 (0700 GMT)Unsurprisingly, Brendan Taylor has been Zimbabwe’s mainstay in ODI batting in recent months•WICB Media/Randy Brooks Photo

Big Picture

As it had been before the Test series, Bangladesh are slightly ahead of Zimbabwe leading up to the ODI series in terms of form, recent results and experience. But the 1-1 scoreline after nine absorbing days in Harare means the “favourites on paper” theory is not applicable to these two teams.Mushfiqur Rahim’s side should carry some momentum from the 143-run win in the second Test. The most encouraging sign for them has been the middle-order bouncing back from a wretched time in the first match. Mushfiqur, Shakib Al Hasan and Nasir Hossain have scored two fifties each, while Tamim Iqbal has shown he can still bring out his A-game despite a thumb injury.The visitors’ bowling too has more edge to it. Robiul Islam was adjudged Man of the Series for his 15 wickets, brought mostly through accuracy and the regular use of the outswinger. He will have to bring a bit more of his skills into this format, one he hasn’t played yet at international level. Robiul is expected to make his debut alongside Shamsur Rahman, who’s likely to open with Tamim at some stage of the limited-overs leg of the tour.Zimbabwe have April 17 to 20 to look back at. They crushed Bangladesh by 335 runs in those four days, with superb showing from captain Brendan Taylor and quick Kyle Jarvis. The likes of Malcolm Waller, Graeme Cremer and Shingi Masakadza also had important roles to play in the win. There were several positives in that game, and they would do well to bring that attitude into this ODI series.They have a poor record at the Queens Sports Club against Bangladesh, though, winning two out of eight completed games. They have two legspinners in the squad in Natsai Mushangwe and Tino Mutombodzi, and that could be prove to be an advantage over Bangladesh this time around.The first game of the ODI series promises much, simply because both sets of players mostly have attacking mindsets. Though Bangladesh have won and drawn the two ODI series they have played this season, Zimbabwe are their closest rival in the international game and hence there is bound to be nerves.

Form guide

Zimbabwe: LLLLL (completed games, most recent results first)
Bangladesh: WLWLL

Players to watch

A century in the second Test was a much-needed boost for Hamilton Masakadza. He was forceful during the unbeaten 111 too, and the same would be expected of him in the first ODI; Zimbabwe would be keen to see their No. 3 get some runs, given their openers’ ordinary scores off late.A Man-of-the-Series performance in the Test series is enough to win Robiul Islam his first ODI cap. He has been a revelation on the tour so far, and will be expected to bring out the same levels of accuracy in the ODIs.

Team news

Regis Chakabva could continue opening with Vusi Sibanda, though Sikandar Raza has been kept in the squad. Legspinner Natsai Mushangwe was impressive in the West Indies, and is likely to play ahead of Prosper Utseya, while Brian Vitori could also make a comeback.Zimbabwe (possible) 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Regis Chakabva/Sikandar Raza, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Natsai Mushangwe, 9 Shingi Masakadza, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Brian Vitori.Opener Jahurul Islam’s ordinary run in the Test series could see him make way for newcomer Shamsur Rahman, who could make his ODI debut alongside Robiul Islam. It would be tempting to play three seamers, in which case Mahmudullah could miss out.Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Shamsur Rahman, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah/Ziaur Rahman, 8 Sohag Gazi, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Robiul Islam.

Pitch and conditions

Being Bangladesh’s happy hunting ground, the Bulawayo pitch must be more like those produced in the subcontinent; it will remain slow and may turn later in the game. The cooler climate will make it a more pleasant affair for both teams.

Stats and trivia

  • Bangladesh have won in Bulawayo six times in 10 ODIs. Level with England, they are most successful visiting team at this venue
  • The last ODI century by a Zimbabwe player was 18 months ago, by Brendan Taylor. He has scored the last five tons for his country in this format
  • Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak are the highest run-getter and wicket-taker in Zimbabwe-Bangladesh ODIs

Quotes

“The start is important, so we need to do well in the first game. We have great memories of Bulawayo, so we will do well there.”
“Our top four batters have got the potential to score hundreds and that is big for us. We have got some quality, experienced spinners like they have. In the West Indies I think our bowlers bowled really well and contained some dynamic batsmen so we can take a lot out of that.”

Former Bangladesh player Mazharul Haque dies of heart attack

Former Bangladesh cricketer Mazharul Haque died of a heart attack on Wednesday. Mazharul, 32, collapsed while playing badminton in his hometown of Narayanganj, and died by the time he reached the hospital.One of his friends, Raju, had been with him at the time. He said that Mazharul had completed his evening exercise before getting ready to play badminton at nine ‘o’clock. “He was standing near the court where I was playing. Suddenly he collapsed… we took him to the hospital immediately, but the doctors declared him dead,” Raju said.Mazharul played just one ODI, against Australia in the 2002 Champions Trophy. He played first-class cricket till 2004, after which he worked in several areas, including the Bangladesh Cricket Board, where he was the tournament manager. Most recently he had worked for an education website.Known for his strong technique and powerful shots square of the wicket, Mazharul was one of the most talented batsmen of his generation. He was a hit in the age-group structure, as well as the Dhaka Premier League. He was one of the first Bangladeshi entrants in the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Australia in 1999.Mazharul is survived by his wife and four-year old daughter.

Bonus point win for Knights

ScorecardRapid half-centuries by Rilee Rossouw and Dean Elgar helped Knights seal a bonus-point win against Dolphins in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge. Chasing a modest target of 132, Knights lost Loots Bosman in the first over, but Rossouw and Elgar put up an unbeaten 127-run stand and overhauled the target in the 16th over. Both batsmen stayed unbeaten on 61.Dolphins chose to bat first and scored 46 for the first wicket, but economical spells by Nicky Boje and Malusi Siboto kept the scoring in check. Khayelihle Zondo and Vaughn van Jaarsveld were the only two batsmen to get past 30 as the team was restricted to 131. Johan van der Wath picked up two wickets for 29.It was Dolphins fourth loss in the competition.

West Indies hold their nerve for final spot

Scorecard Deandra Dottin’s half-century was crucial to West Indies achieving a fighting total•ICC/Solaris Images

A spirited West Indies stormed into their first World Cup final with a massive win over five-time champions Australia in their last Super Six match at the MIG Ground in Mumbai. The margin of victory – eight runs – was not massive but the result put defending champions England and last edition’s runners-up New Zealand out of contention for a place in the final. The win is also West Indies’ first against Australia, who had been unbeaten in this World Cup.Defending 164, the odds were against West Indies as Australia were comfortably placed at 130 for 4 and needed 35 runs from more than 11 overs. But three quick wickets, of Alex Blackwell, Jodie Fields and Julie Hunter, in the space of 14 balls turned the match on its head. West Indies, led by Shanel Daley and Stafanie Taylor, lifted their bowling and fielding, taking the last six wickets, which included three run-outs, for 26 runs.It looked like Australia would cruise to victory when Blackwell and Fields had stabilised the innings from 89 for 4. West Indies had not given up and once Blackwell was given lbw in Taylor’s third spell, they went for the kill. Five balls later, in the last Powerplay over, Fields took the risk of going over mid-off but handed an easy catch to Juliana Nero. And before the new batsman, Julie Hunter, could get a grasp of the situation, she was run out by an accurate throw from Anisa Mohammed.With 34 to win off nine overs, Daley had an over left and Taylor had two. Aguilleira decided to go with Taylor and she targeted the inexperienced Renee Chappell, who fell to another lbw decision. Erin Osborne scored two consecutive boundaries and brought the equation to 14 from 22. A misfield in the next over gave her four more runs and Australia a chance to breathe. However, if bowling was not working, West Indies did it with their fielding. Confusion between Osborne and Megan Schutt and another accurate throw reduced Australia to 156 for 9. Now Daley had the ball and when Osborne tried to scoop her over the keeper, it took an edge and ballooned into Aguillera’s gloves to seal the victory for West Indies.What followed were scenes and steps the West Indies players would not have rehearsed for. It was the longest walk back for Osborne and Ferling, and the West Indies players were sprinting all over the ground in the sun.When West Indies had chosen to bat, Australia’s pace attack didn’t let them breathe much. The opening bowlers had been effective in every match; the highest opening partnership against them being 11 and West Indies were not treated differently. Their first wicket fell on 17. While Julie Hunter kept the run rate in check with her precision, Schutt struck twice in her first spell from the other end when she had Juliana Nero edging to the wicketkeeper and trapped Shemaine Campbelle lbw for a duck. Natasha McLean, meanwhile, found boundaries through the covers.There was no sign of Taylor until then as Kyshona Knight joined McLean and Australia replied with their first bowling change, introducing Holly Ferling. She trapped McLean, who had done the bulk of the scoring, in her first over – a maiden. Taylor came in at No. 5 but Ferling’s fiery spell had just begun. She struck twice in three overs and was dominating with her pace and bounce. Ferling and Schutt made sure only one West Indies batsman out of their top six scored in double digits.West Indies were reeling at 59 for 5 in the 19th over and their only hope of putting up a respectable score was Deandra Dottin. At No. 7, she did not seem perturbed by the fall of wickets, unleashing three boundaries in her first five balls to ease the nerves a little bit.Lisa Sthalekar took the next wicket, of Aguilleira, who had supported Dottin in a 27-run partnership. Schutt returned for her second spell and struck with the wicket of Shanel Daley, who played-on to her second ball.The fall of wickets was halted by Dottin and 17-year old Shaquana Quintyne. While Dottin kept the score ticking, Quintyne made sure she rotated the strike and did not play any reckless shots. Dottin’s two fours through the off-side in the 29th over brought up the team’s hundred, and she soon brought up her 50 from 54 balls.When the Powerplay started in the 36th over, all eyes were on Dottin. After a powerful four off the first ball she faced, she came down the track to Osborne, missed the ball completely and was bowled. Australia would have restricted West Indies to under 150 had it not been for Quintyne and Anisa Mohammed, and the 15 wides bowled conceded. Tremayne Smartt struck two boundaries at the end before she was caught at point, which ended the West Indies innings.

Elgar replaces injured Amla in ODI squad

Injured batsman Hashim Amla has been withdrawn from South Africa’s squad for the final ODI against New Zealand. Dean Elgar has been called up to provide cover. Amla had missed the second ODI in Kimberley as well with a quad-muscle strain.”Hashim has been withdrawn from the last ODI because we felt it would be a 50-50 call with his quad strain going into the match and we didn’t want to risk him with the Test match against Pakistan less than a week away,” team manager Mohammad Moosajee told .Elgar has played five ODIs since making his debut against England last year, and scored a maiden Test hundred against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth earlier this month.Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson will also miss the final ODI. Peterson received stitches for a split webbing on his right hand that he suffered during the second ODI, which South Africa lost and thereby conceded the series.”Robin split the webbing of the last digit of his right hand while trying to field a ball off his own bowling in the eighth over of his spell,” Moosajee said. “He needed stitches, and will not be able to take part in the final game.”South Africa have another left-arm spinner, Aaron Phangiso, in the squad, though he is yet to play an ODI. The final match will be played in Potchefstroom on Friday.

Amla hundred puts South Africa on top

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHashim Amla did what he does so often – score a hundred•Getty Images

For significant parts of the opening day in Port Elizabeth, New Zealand pushed South Africa reasonably hard, which is much more than happened last week at Newlands. There were spells of testing bowling, a fair amount of playing and missing and some blows for the batsmen to take. However, the final scoreline, anchored by Hashim Amla’s 19th Test hundred, is a story of South Africa dominance on a surface that certainly was not placid.Whether South Africa’s bowlers would have got more out of the pitch in the first session will remain unknown, but Brendon McCullum certainly looked relieved when he did not have to make a decision at the toss when the coin fell Graeme Smith’s way. Few expect New Zealand to draw level in the series, but they needed to build on the improvement shown after the horrid start in Cape Town when McCullum won the toss, chose to bat and they were bundled out for 45.Without putting South Africa on the back foot at any stage they at least ensured it was not one-way traffic. They bowled better before lunch than one wicket suggested, although struggled to build pressure with a steady supply of loose deliveries, and the first hour of the afternoon brought the significant blows of Smith and Jacques Kallis to leave South Africa 137 for 3.The key moment of the day, though, came a few moments later when Amla, 48, failed to keep a back-cut down against Trent Boult but Kane Williamson could not hold on at gully. During New Zealand’s tour of Sri Lanka late last year, Williamson held some stunning catches. This one was tough, but easier than those – and one New Zealand desperately needed to take. From there, Amla’s century felt inevitable.Three balls later he went to his fifty with a square cut, and it was the same shot that took him to a hundred during the final session from 187 balls. It was not Amla at his most flamboyant, as was the case in Australia on occasion, and for that New Zealand’s bowlers deserve some credit even if the finishing touch was still often missing with a boundary-ball offered to keep the scoreboard moving. Neither is patience a problem for Amla and he was happy to wait, rather than try to manufacture too much on the first day.Amla’s catch was not the only missed opportunity for New Zealand. Facing the second new ball, Faf du Plessis gloved Boult down the leg side but was given not out. After some deliberation McCullum did not review only for HotSpot to clearly show the touch. Du Plessis, much to the amusement of the South Africa changing room, tried his hardest not to let on what had happened. He also had some problems against Jeetan Patel with one edge falling tantalisingly short of McCullum at slip.

Smart stats

  • Hashim Amla’s century is his 19th in Tests. He is fourth on the list of South African batsmen with the most Test hundreds. Jacques Kallis is on top with 44 centuries.

  • Amla’s average of 88.50 is the third-highest among batsmen with 750-plus runs against New Zealand. Wally Hammond is on top with an average of 112.77.

  • Amla and Michael Clarke have scored the most centuries (5) since the beginning of 2012. Both batsmen have done so in the same number of matches (12).

  • The 102-run stand between Amla and Faf du Plessis is the third-highest fifth-wicket stand for South Africa against New Zealand and their highest against New Zealand in home Tests.

  • For the 12th time overall and the second time since the start of 2012, South Africa had three fifty-plus stands in among wickets 1-5. The only time they had four fifty-plus stands for wickets 1-5 was in Auckland in 1999.

However, like Amla, du Plessis was hungry to make New Zealand pay for their mistake. He went to his fifty with a crunching pull that cleared deep midwicket and benefited from the second new ball as the extra hardness helped it run away. The fifth-wicket stand was worth 102 by the close. In reality, this was still men against boys.There was early movement on offer in Port Elizabeth’s first Test since 2007. The crowd was not massive although, hopefully, over the weekend that will improve. For their sake it was good that New Zealand could not be blown away in a session again. Alviro Petersen did not survive the opening hour, top edging Doug Bracewell to fine leg when he was not fully committed to the shot.Bracewell was the pick of New Zealand’s seamers and troubled Smith, who was not at his best, including clonking him on the back of the helmet as Smith turned his head away from a bouncer. Smith needed a few minutes to compose himself and was close to being lbw a few moments later. That was a curious piece of cricket: the umpire said not out, McCullum decided not to review and replays showed it was hitting middle but Bracewell had overstepped.Smith’s outside edge was located by all three seamers, but he was good enough to keep the ball short of the slips and benefited from a couple of boundaries to third man. Neil Wagner, the left-armer who was recalled in place of Chris Martin, caused some tricky moments but had a tendency to bowl a touch short.As Smith so often does, he stuck in and reached fifty from 80 balls but then glanced a delivery from Wagner down the leg side. For Wagner it was an emotional wicket against a side that includes former team-mates. His later contest with AB de Villiers, who went past 6000 runs, certainly had an extra level of intrigue.Kallis began with an imperious pull but got an inside edge driving at Bracewell, leaving Amla and de Villiers to ensure there was no significant wobbles in the middle of the day as they consolidated against the workmanlike attack. The pair added 86 for the fourth wicket until de Villiers lazily gave his innings away when he chipped Patel to midwicket. It was a waste from de Villiers, a mistake that Amla was not going to make.

Ryder sets sights on England series

Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, has kept the door open for a return to international cricket for the visit of England which begins with Twenty20 internationals in early February.Ryder, who was dropped after an incident during the one-day series against South Africa last year and has not played since, has a meeting with the coach Mike Hesson on January 29 after the squad return from the tour of South Africa.Ryder said he wanted to take himself out of consideration for the side for a period of time while he worked on various “issues” although he did play in the IPL. This domestic season he has been in impressive form for Wellington in all forms of the game; he has made 558 runs at 69.75 in five Plunket Shield matches, including three hundreds, and has amassed 508 runs in 10 innings during the HRV Cup at a strike rate of 167.65″There is a meeting on the 29th coming up when the coach is back so we’ll see how that goes,” Ryder told New Zealand radio station . “I’m definitely not ruled out for a return for England.”And Ryder, 28, confirmed he still has the desire to play in Test cricket as well as the shorter formats of the game. “Definitely all forms, especially Test cricket. That’s the main goal for me to be a consistent Test player.”Without going into specifics about what he has dealt with over the last 10 months, Ryder believes he will now be able to cope with whatever pressures the game throws at him.”I think I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’ve had a good 11 months off and worked on a lot of stuff…you’re always going to have your failures in cricket. Hopefully I can be a little bit more consistent once I get back to the international stage.”The return of an in-form, and focussed, Ryder would strengthen a brittle New Zealand middle order which was harshly exposed in the two-Test series against South Africa. Ryder has played 18 Tests for New Zealand after making his debut in 2008 and averages 40.93 with a top score of 201. His stop-start international career, hindered by injury and discipline problems, has also restricted him to 39 ODIs and 20 Twenty20s.Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain, was in no doubt that he wanted Ryder back in the side but that the comeback should not be rushed.”We would love to have Jesse in our team. He’s got some issues that he’s dealing with at the moment and he’s making progress. But when he’s fit and healthy and fine in his own space and performing as he is back home he’ll be a vital member of the team.”Ross Taylor, the former captain who also took time away from the team after his controversial sacking, is expected to return for the matches against England. New Zealand were also missing Tim Southee and Daniel Vettori from a first-choice Test side for the series in South Africa.

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