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ESPNcricinfo’s guide to the four teams vying to emerge out of the Asia Cup’s qualifying group

Alagappan Muthu18-Feb-2016

Qualifying round – format and fixtures

Afghanistan, Oman, Hong Kong and UAE will play a single round-robin stage where each team plays three matches. The top team will advance to the main event starting on February 23. In case two teams finish with the same points total, their net run rates will be used as tiebreaker.
Feb-19 Afghanistan v UAE, Fatullah
Feb 19 Hong Kong v Oman, Fatullah
Feb 20 Afghanistan v Oman, Fatullah
Feb 21 Hong Kong v UAE, Fatullah
Feb 22 Afghanistan v Hong Kong, Mirpur
Feb 22 UAE v Oman, Mirpur

Afghanistan

A maiden Asia Cup appearance was the result of wowing a very small but influential crowd. Successful talks with the BCCI and the SLC placed Afghanistan as the fifth member in the 2014 edition and the team shook the world, beating hosts Bangladesh and registering their first win against a Test-playing nation. This time, Asghar Stanikzai and his men don’t need the leg up. They will get the chance to make their own arguments in the qualifying leg of the Asia Cup 2016, and are favourites to win it.The squad is as strong as any Afghanistan have had. Shapoor Zadran returns and that tall glass of protein shake will also invigorate Dawlat Zadran, whose 18 wickets at an average of 15.50 since January 2015 puts him second on the global wicket-takers’ list in T20s. Mohammad Shahzad has been reliable and electric. Former captain Mohammad Nabi has kept his form up in the Pakistan Super League, while palling around with his Quetta Gladiators team-mates Kevin Pietersen and Kumar Sangakkara. The experience he has gained will come in handy for Afghanistan – Samiullah Shenwari will be key in this regard as well – considering they have dropped former captain Nawroz Mangal.Watch out for: That first big hoick from Mohammad Shahzad which leaves the bowler on the fritz. Sometimes even the best laid plans end up about as clever as a lion tamer learning his craft by watching cat videos on YouTube. His brute strength can be a daunting prospect to face first up, as Zimbabwe found out when he smashed 118 off 67 balls, the highest score by an Associate batsman in T20Is.Form Guide (Last five completed T20Is): WWWWL. They won back-to-back series, away and in the UAE, over Zimbabwe in 2015-16.Amjad Javed will play a crucial role with bat and ball for UAE•Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Not new to the Asia Cup, but would like to savor the novelty of winning a game in the tournament. UAE have had four tries – in 2004 and 2008 – and none have been successful. Back then it was all going in a downward trajectory, but recently they’ve managed to swing up a few times. Two days ago, they squared a two-match T20I series after going 1-0 down against Ireland by defending 133.They may not be a bunch of superstars, nor can they make the competition nervous simply by rocking up for work, but they are an industrious team with a tendency to surprise. Take Shaiman Anwar for example: he finished as the top-scorer from the Associates at the 2015 World Cup – 311 runs, six more than Virat Kohli. Pinning performances like that for longer, with other departments, especially their fielding, dovetailing together has been a virtue UAE are yet to master.Watch out for: Amjad Javed left his home shores with the words, “if God would give me the chance to play cricket for UAE, I wanted to become like Imran Khan.” As luck would have it, he is playing cricket for UAE, well into his 30s, as an allrounder, and is now their captain. He has the mettle to withstand the pressure of a collapse in the middle order, as he showed against West Indies in the World Cup, and can summon the kind of discipline with his medium-pace to have an economy rate under 8 in Twenty20 cricket.Form Guide (Last five completed T20Is): WLWLW, which comes after a string of six straight lossesHong Kong’s Mark Chapman is the second youngest batsman to score an ODI century on debut•ICC/Sportsfile

The qualifying group in numbers

• Mohammad Shahzad’s strike rate of 155 in the Powerplay overs against Associate teams is the best among all batsmen who have faced 150 or more balls

• Mark Chapman is the highest run-getter for Hong Kong in T20Is, with 286 runs in 12 innings

• Amjad Javed is one of only two players to score a half-century for UAE in T20Is, and his 76 against Scotland is their highest score

Hong Kong

Another alumni of Asia Cups past (2004 and 2008), although digging into the yearbook would show them to be the pimply-faced kid photographed with eyes half-closed. Hong Kong weren’t defeated so much as dismantled in four matches; they batted second every time and fell over 100 runs short each time. Their first order of business may well be to not look so out of place this time.They are not really all that far from accomplishing that. They beat Bangladesh, memorably, at the 2014 World T20, and then beat Afghanistan in a last-ball thriller at the World T20 qualifier last July to punch their ticket for the 2016 event. They’ve built themselves a home ground in Mong Kok, and the team registered wins in the first-ever ODI and T20I played there. Those are signs of growth, and this year’s Asia Cup will test how much further Hong Kong are willing to reach.Watch out for: In most Associate teams, expatriates provides considerable firepower but Hong Kong have found that in a homegrown talent – Mark Chapman. Born to a father from New Zealand and a Chinese mother, Chapman, the second-youngest batsman to score an ODI hundred on debut, is an exciting prospect. Still only 21 – he was 20 when he struck that unbeaten 124 against UAE in Dubai – he has the chance not only to build his team’s success but also to increase the local following for cricket in Hong Kong.Form Guide (Last five completed T20Is): LWWWL. They have a 2-1 advantage over AfghanistanMunis Ansari doesn’t quite gallop to the crease in the same way, but his slingy action has earned him the nickname ‘Malinga’•ICC/Sportsfile

Oman

The debutants, but lots of them should feel reasonably at home. The Oman team is built around players who were born in India and Pakistan. They are still very new to cricket – a debut in 2002 and 50 Twenty20 matches till date – but there have been a few momentous ones. Like back-to-back upsets in the World T20 Qualifier: Oman beat Netherlands and stunned Afghanistan a day later, paving the way to gaining a place in the T20I rankings.Jatinder Singh, the 26-year old batsman, provides the bulwark at No. 3 and was Oman’s top-scorer in the World T20 qualifier. They are not short on spin resources either. Aamir Kaleem, the vice-captain, Ajay Lalcheta and Zeeshan Maqsood are all left-arm spinners – fitting for a tournament in Bangladesh, whose best player also practices the same art.Form Guide (Last five completed T20Is): LLLWL. They haven’t played a single T20I since November 2015, though.Watch out for Munis Ansari a.k.a Malinga. The 29-year old seamer doesn’t quite gallop to the crease, but the slingy arm has led Oman to some shock victories. His T20I best of 4 for 15 came against Netherlands, who were bundled out for 135 in the World T20 Qualifier. Oman overhauled it with six wickets to spare.

Eoin Morgan will captain England Lions in a two-day match against the Australians at Wantage Road

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013Eoin Morgan will captain England Lions in a two-day match against the Australians at Wantage Road starting on August 16, with the side including three players – Keith Barker, Luke Wells and Alex Lees – who will be making their Lions debut.Morgan has had disjointed season so far, firstly due to his participation in the IPL and then because of a finger injury he sustained during the Champions Trophy. He has played just one County Championship match in 2013 and has drifted down the pecking order of candidates for the Test team.Lees, 20, is the latest on the production line of batsmen from Yorkshire to progress through the England set-up. Earlier this season Lees hit an unbeaten 275 against Derbyshire and is averaging 59.12 from six Championship matches.Wells, who plays for Sussex, is another opener enjoying a solid season, with 732 runs at 40.66 including two hundreds, while showing the ability to bat for long periods of time.Barker, meanwhile, is enjoying a notable all-round campaign with the defending champions Warwickshire, where he is part of their formidable pace attack. Although he has had a truncated summer due to injury he has taken 25 wickets at 18.64 in the Championship alongside scoring 292 runs at 48.66.Moeen Ali, the Worcestershire batsman who is one of just three players to cross 1000 first-class runs this season (the others being Chris Rogers and Joe Root), is rewarded for his form. The team also includes regular Lions representatives Gary Ballance, Jos Buttler, James Harris, Simon Kerrigan and Ben Stokes.Northamptonshire were the original opponents for the match but they have qualified for Friends Life t20 Finals Day. Now some of England’s fringe players will have the chance to face the Australians before another set of Lions cricketers play Bangladesh A in a one-day series next week. The presence of these Lions fixtures during a vital period of the county season has created some unease around the circuit.Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: “With the Friends Life t20 Finals Day running over the weekend of this fixture, we have been unable to select from any of the sides involved in that competition for obvious reasons, plus there are a number of other domestic fixtures that run very close to this Lions game, so for practical reasons we had to recognise that a number of counties’ players were unavailable.”As is always the case with these fixtures, they are an excellent marker for judging the level of these players at a very high international standard and we look forward to seeing the team perform strongly against the Australian opposition.”England Lions XI: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Gary Ballance, Keith Barker, Jos Buttler, James Harris, Simon Kerrigan, Alex Lees, Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, Luke Wells

West Indies coach hails Chris Gayle as the best one-day player in the world and backs his side for success in the ODI series with England

David Hopps14-Jun-2012Chris Gayle was strolling around in Tino Best’s shirt ahead of West Indies’ opening NatWest Series international against England. Best might have the surname but Gayle has the reputation. “BEST” communicated emphatically enough that, after a 15-month absence, West Indies’ most domineering batsman is back in the fold.With Gayle one of a host of destructive batsmen back for West Indies for the one-day leg of the tour and Kevin Pietersen having entered premature retirement from England limited-overs duty, it is possible to present West Indies, after their recent drawn series against Australia, as strong favourites, only for the usual tale of unsettled weather to bring England hopes of swing and seam and a potential get-out clause.England would be well advised to protect their sanity by not studying too many statistics on six-hitting. There might be more to winning a cricket match than hitting a long ball, but the comparisons are striking. Draw up a likely West Indies top seven and they have hit 418 sixes in ODIs. Compare England’s top seven and they barely muster 100. Gayle has hit more than the whole of the England side put together.It is hard to imagine England debating in the bar who hits the biggest sixes; it would probably be frowned on as a sign of immaturity. According to Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, they do it all the time. “We have always talked about who hits the biggest sixes,” Gibson said before listing eight contenders for the prize. Not surprisingly, when pressed he named Gayle as the most dangerous hitter of all. “Gayle is the best one-day batsman in the world and most destructive so my money will always be on him when it comes to hitting the biggest sixes.”Gayle’s return has certainly been well timed for Hampshire. Their renaming of the Rose Bowl in a six-year deal with Ageas has been crucial boost at a time of great financial hardship; ticket sales also quickened the moment Gayle made his peace with West Indies, ensuring a near-capacity 14,000 crowd.This is a very different West Indies side than the one that despite its impressive spirit was largely outplayed in the Test series. Gibson expects “about eight changes” adding: “At the start of the tour I said the one-day series provides us with our best chance of success and we still believe that. We believe we have got a great chance of winning games in this series.”Gayle is a world class player and will strengthen us. He has always been a bit of a joker and prankster around the dressing room. He is his normal self and the team has always integrated guys very well. That has not changed. He has fitted in well and is raring to go.”Gayle’s stand-off with the West Indies board has been so prolonged that Gibson would be naive not to recognise that his reintroduction to the squad has needed careful handling. But as England would testify in Pietersen’s absence, if handling a star player can be awkward, compensating for their absence can be harder still.”Gayle has had his say,” he said. “He said what he wanted to say and got things off his chest. He has seen the new environment. He has seen what we are trying to do. I am sure that coming back he will buy into it. We have spoken and he is very much on board with what is going on.”It’s a big thing to lose your best player. KP has been good in the last two one-day series and they were trialling him at the top of the order. It seemed it was going to work but now they have to put someone else in that spot and hope that person has the form KP had. Bell is very different and he is also a very capable replacement. We know we still have to work to get him out.”Nothing KP does takes me by surprise. He is his own man and does what he wants to do whenever he wants to do it. That is his character. I am sort of surprised he is in such good form and chose to walk away from a format he likes.”I kept playing until I was 38 because I loved game so much. It is disappointing to see a great player walking away from the game at a young age. But he is his own man and he makes his own calls. When he is sitting at home watching on TV he might miss it.”Ravi Bopara has rarely looked more hangdog before turning out for England. It could be that his endless run of misfortune makes him fear that, at 27, his international career is slipping away, not that he admits it, or it could just be that he expects to bat No. 4 in the first ODI against West Indies at West End on Saturday. Somebody told Bopara that he was batting in the “glamour position”. Problem position would have been more accurate.With Pietersen’s retirement, England’s 50-over plans are based around a top order of Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott, all very fine players, but all unlikely to leave Bopara with too much slack when he comes in to bat. The onus could be on Bopara to play enterprisingly from the outset and his career suggests that he prefers time to settle in.Bell is fulfilling the opener’s role that Bopara himself would have preferred to get: “Opening is not a bad role for him with the field up and his sweet timing of the ball,” he said. “He can pierce those gaps like anyone and we’ve got to back him.”Bopara’s task is to perform ably enough in one-day cricket against West Indies and Australia over the next month to regain his Test place against South Africa. Jonny Bairstow’s troubled start at No. 6 gives him the opportunity. “It would be great if I could score heavily in this series and the Australian series,” Bopara said. “It would put me in a good place. I’m not worried about the players coming through. I know what I’m capable of. My Test career is in my own hands.”

Shahid Afridi has pleaded guilty to the charges in the showcause notice sent to him by the Pakistan Cricket Board and expressed willingness to face disciplinary action

Osman Samiuddin01-Jun-2011Shahid Afridi has replied to the PCB’s showcause notice and accepted that he has violated the code of conduct, further stating his willingness to face whatever disciplinary action will come his way.”We have received Shahid Afridi’s reply and he has accepted violation of the code of conduct,” Nadeem Sarwar, the PCB media manager, told ESPNcricinfo. It is believed that while accepting the breaches in the reply, Afridi explained the cause of his actions and specifically, going to the media and announcing his retirement. Afridi is said to have been upset about learning of his removal from the ODI captaincy through media reports and so responded by going to the media first himself.ESPNcricinfo also understands Afridi has expressed a desire that his situation with Hampshire be resolved. Afridi was due to play for the county in the Friends Life t20 but the PCB revoked his No-Objection Certificate leading to, for the moment, a suspension of his registration as an overseas player by the ECB. The ECB and PCB have been in touch through a busy day, and sources close to Afridi say there is a possibility the deal could still go ahead if the boards come to a resolution, though PCB officials insist it will not be as straightforward as that.Hampshire are understandably keen to come to a resolution as quickly as possible. “The club would like to make it clear that although we respect this decision we have been, and continue to, urge the PCB to rethink this matter, and we are keen to have Shahid playing for the Royals at some point in the season,” said a statement released by them on Wednesday – the day their Twenty20 campaign began with a match against Somerset at The Rose Bowl.As far as the reply is concerned, the board’s legal advisor will now be consulted over its contents before a way forward emerges. Though the advisor, Taffazul Rizvi, has not yet received the letter, he said the act of the response and acceptance doesn’t condone the breach itself. “When you accept or own an act, that is tantamount to a mitigating circumstance for a disciplinary tribunal while passing a judgment,” he told ESPNcricinfo. Essentially, the disciplinary process will now be carried out to its legal and logical end, which could mean the board appointing an inquiry officer to investigate the matter further.On Thursday, in any case, the board will officially begin to look into the root cause of the whole affair: Afridi’s spat with coach Waqar Younis. Board officials will meet Waqar first and discuss issues arising from the management report of the tour to the Caribbean. It was during the ODIs that Afridi and Waqar clashed over selection, one dressing room dispute in particular that officials are concerned about, which was leaked out to the media. Intikhab Alam, the team manager who tried to mediate between the two on tour, will also be interviewed. Once that is out of the way, the Afridi issue will come back on the agenda, presumably with more background information in the bag.Beyond that the picture remains unclear. Afridi has stressed his retirement is conditional and not permanent, though earlier today he said again that he would not play under this administration. One senior board official told ESPNcricinfo that they still considered Afridi an asset to the national side but insisted that he go through the entire disciplinary procedure for a list of breaches and be punished if necessary.

It’s more than 100 years since two brothers played Test cricket for different countries. If James Pattinson progresses as the Australian selectors hope, he and his brother Darren might one day rewrite that record

Brydon Coverdale16-Jun-2010It’s more than 100 years since two brothers played Test cricket for different countries. If James Pattinson progresses as the Australian selectors hope, he and his brother Darren might one day join the Trotts of Australia and England and the Hearnes of England and South Africa, who achieved the feat in the 1800s.Darren was born in the UK and despite being raised in Australia, was famously plucked from county cricket for a Test against South Africa in 2008. When Darren was a boy, the family moved to Melbourne, where James was born.The younger sibling has only an Australian passport, and will this month represent Australia A against Sri Lanka A in Queensland. James is 11 years younger than Darren and has always looked up to his big brother, but will let him know about it if he ever gets the call-up for Australia.”He always gives me crap about playing Test cricket, so hopefully I can play Tests and get more than one Test in so I can give it back to him,” James told Cricinfo. “But I think it’s better to play for Australia than England, so I’ll give him that one as well.”James turned 20 last month and is still a relative newcomer to state cricket, having played only 11 matches for Victoria across all formats. A fast bowler who can swing the ball at pace, he announced himself last December with 6 for 48 in a one-day game against New South Wales.His selection for Australia A was originally for the one-day games only, but he was added to the four-day squad when Josh Hazlewood was called in to the ODI group to tour England. It will be another milestone in the promising career of James Pattinson, whose skills were honed in a backyard in Melbourne against a much older brother.”He was pretty tough,” James said of Darren. “He never used to take a backward step. He used to tape the tennis ball right up and try to hit me in the head, which he did a couple of times. It probably wasn’t funny for me, but it was for him.”He always used to smack me around a bit. I remember when he got a bit older and he had a girlfriend, I didn’t really like that much. She was taking away from him playing cricket with me. We got out there most days when he’d get home from a hard day at work, I used to be on his back – ‘let’s play cricket’. I always used to get my way.”A decade later, the siblings found themselves in a Victorian team together. Having taken the now traditional path through under-age representative teams, it was no surprise that James eventually found his way into state cricket.Things panned out quite differently for Darren, who worked as a roof tiler before an unexpected call-up for Victoria four years ago. Their father John was also a roof tiler, as was his dad before him, and James might well have followed in the family business had cricket not intervened.”I used to be on the roof since I was about 14, trying to help Dad out,” he said. “I probably would have ended up going in that direction if it wasn’t for cricket. I probably would have continued the family tradition.”Instead, James will be doing all he can to impress the selectors when the Australia A series begins in Brisbane on Friday. He had his wisdom teeth out last week but will be fine to play. After all those years of copping a taped tennis ball to the head, what’s a little bit more pain.

The governments of Australia, the United Kingdom, India and New Zealand have put out restrictions on travelling to Bangladesh

Mohammad Isam11-Aug-2024The Bangladesh government is making last-ditch attempts through the United Nations (UN) to keep hosting rights for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup. Asif Mahmud, the youth and sports adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, said that it will speak to the UN about the countries that have put out travel restrictions on their citizens travelling to Bangladesh.On Saturday, the ICC informed the participating boards that it is still monitoring the situation in Bangladesh, and that it will consider all options, including moving the tournament elsewhere. As it stands, the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom (England and Scotland), India and New Zealand have either asked their citizens not to travel to Bangladesh or discouraged them from doing so.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the BCB considers this as its biggest barrier to the hosting of the tournament. Travel bans or restriction announcements can only be lifted by the respective governments, and cricket boards have little influence over them.”There are travel restrictions for some countries and so we will speak with the United Nations,” Mahmud said. “There are some issues regarding security and infrastructure and we will talk in this regard with professor Yunus [chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government]. He is a sports lover and hope that he can resolve the matter.”Related

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The uncertainty regarding the World Cup comes at a time when the BCB is also going through a major crisis. Their president, Nazmul Hassan, also the former sports minister, has gone missing since the fall of the Awami League government on August 5. Several directors, who have direct or indirect political connections, are also untraceable.Mahmud said that he had discussed the possibility of an interim body to run the BCB, but he was aware of the board’s need for autonomy in its decision-making.”The BCB president is missing. Of course, for a federation to function, all of its organs need to work. The president holds an important responsibility and he is absent. The BCB is an autonomous federation and we cannot give them any decision.”We have suggested to the BCB directors to look at how to resolve the issue within the ICC’s legal framework. They will report to us later on whether to appoint someone for an interim period. We will continue the process in this regard.”We want to make required changes but at the same time we need to follow a process. We don’t want to change the person; rather, we want to change the system so that whoever comes in by following that system, corruption cannot come in and we want to take steps so that we can make a permanent solution.”

‘We lack in planning’ – Former BCB secretary calls for change

There is a growing call for reform in the BCB within the cricket community in Bangladesh, with former BCB general secretary Syed Ashraful Huq also joining in.Huq, who is regarded as one of the main architects of Bangladesh cricket, especially for his involvement in bringing ICC Full Membership to the BCB in 2000, said that the BCB’s functioning has been disappointing.”The BCB needs reform,” Haq said. “We gained Full Membership in 2000 but apart from some infrastructural development, we haven’t seen much improvement in our performance in the last 24 years. BCB doesn’t own a cricket ground, for instance. We lack in planning, and even when we have a plan, nobody has delivered on it.”BCB officials don’t lack in experience. Many of the directors are involved for 20-30 years, so their failure is quite disappointing.”

Unbeaten 66 from 25 balls sees his side home and hands Bears their third straight loss

ECB Reporters Network07-Jun-2023A stunning onslaught from captain Leus du Plooy lifted Derbyshire Falcons to a thrilling six-wicket Vitality Blast win over Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.After the Bears piled up 203 for 7, du Plooy smashed an unbeaten 66 from 25 balls to see his side to 207 for 4 with three balls to spare.Sam Hain’s unbeaten 79 from 36 balls in the Bears innings contained some breathtaking hitting but was trumped by du Plooy’s masterclass.After openers Luis Reece (57) and Haider Ali (48) added 96 in ten overs to set the perfect foundation for the big run chase, du Plooy built a memorable victory on it with an exhilarating display of hitting which brought him five sixes and four fours.England all-rounder Chris Woakes was socked for 51 in his four overs as the Falcons side completed a quickfire double over the Bears and handed them their third successive defeat.The first half of the Bears innings did not go to their plan after they chose to bat. Rob Yates made a perky 21 but leg-spinner Mattie McKiernan bowled potential big-hitters Moeen Ali and Glenn Maxwell through indeterminate shots before they could inflict any damage and also castled Alex Davies for a sketchy 26.Hain batted beautifully but needed support and found it from Dan Mousley and, after Mousley was bowled through a lap by Zak Chappell, from Woakes, who transformed the innings with 23 from 11 balls in a dazzling stand of 48 in 18 balls with Hain.Woakes was yorked by Zaman Khan but Hain was at his most destructive in the closing overs, thumping 36 from his last eight balls faced.The Falcons faced a testing target but, after riding their luck early on, Reece and Haider Ali played sweetly to raise 50 from 33 balls. They set down the perfect platform before being parted in scruffy fashion when Haider Ali charged and missed at Danny Briggs. Davies missed the stumping at the first attempt but, with the batter down the track, had time to complete it second time round.Moeen, playing his penultimate game for the Bears before he departs on Ashes duty, applied a brake with an astute spell which brought the wicket of Reece, bowled through a slog sweep. As the required rate escalated, and Wayne Madsen suffered a rare failure when he holed out to Mousley, the pressure increased on the Falcons.Du Plooy went to the crease with that pressure at its height. He needed to hit brilliantly from his first ball – and did so to take his side to a victory which tightens the North Group table right up.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison offers Warne’s family a state funeral

Alex Malcolm05-Mar-2022The Great Southern Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is set to be renamed the SK Warne stand in perpetuity following the sudden death of Australian cricket legend Shane Warne at the age of 52.Warne died while on holiday in Thailand on Friday leading to a global outpouring of tributes and emotion.On a grey dreary Saturday in Melbourne, not dissimilar to the one where Warne claimed his 700th Test wicket in front of adoring fans in the Southern Stand at the MCG on Boxing Day 2006, Melburnians gathered around his statue outside the Members’ at the MCG to lay flowers, cricket balls, beers, pies and cigarettes as a tribute to Warne.Related

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Victoria’s minister for tourism and sport, Martin Pakula, confirmed that he had consulted with Victoria premier Daniel Andrews, MCC Trust chairman Steve Bracks and MCC CEO Stuart Fox and they had resolved to honour Warne by renaming the Southern Stand in his honour.”We will be renaming the Great Southern Stand the S.K. Warne stand and we’ll be doing that as soon as we possibly can,” Pakula said. “I can think of no finer tribute to the greatest cricketer this state has produced than to rename the stand the S.K. Warne stand and no matter whatever happens to that stand in the future whether it’s rebuilt, refurbished, renovated, it will remain the S.K. Warne stand in perpetuity because his legend will live in perpetuity.”Cricket Victoria is also looking at ways it can honour Warne as there were already plans to potentially rename a stand at the Junction Oval in his name prior to his passing.Premier Andrews and Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison have also contacted the Warne family to offer a state funeral but the family has been given some time to work out what they would like to do.Cricket Australia chairman Dr Lachlan Henderson confirmed he had spoken to the Prime Minister directly on Saturday regarding Warne and believed renaming the Southern Stand at the MCG was a fitting tribute.”That would seem a very appropriate acknowledgement of Shane Warne,” Henderson said. “He’s been an icon of the game, obviously with St Kilda Cricket Club, Victoria, our Australian team for so many years. He also played cricket all around the world. So it’s a very fitting tribute.”Right here this morning, driving past a junior cricket ground in Victoria, I saw a young leg-spin bowler bowl a beautifully flighted ball that beat the bat and I’m sure someone was looking down on that young bowler as he embarks on his career.”The Australia women’s team wore two black armbands in memory of Warne, and Rod Marsh, who also passed away Friday, and observed a minute’s silence ahead of their Women’s World Cup opener against England in New Zealand. England also wore a black armband in tribute to both men.Henderson confirmed that Australia’s men’s team, who wore a black armband and observed a minute’s silence ahead of day one of the first Test with Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Friday in memory of Marsh, would do the same for Warne ahead of day two on Saturday.

England legspinner believes she caught virus from man who bumped into her at shops

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2020Sarah Glenn was understandably daunted by the prospect of spending a fortnight alone in a hotel room ahead of her WBBL debut.But she also fully understands the importance of serving Australia’s mandatory isolation period, having been laid low in April by Covid-19, which she believes she contracted after a man she thinks was drunk bumped into her while she was shopping for food.Legspinner Glenn was recently named the Professional Cricketers’ Association Women’s Player of the Year after her breakthrough T20 series against West Indies, which England won 5-0.Glenn was snapped up by Perth Scorchers – the club England head coach Lisa Keightley took to two WBBL finals – for the tournament starting in Sydney on October 25, continuing an eventful year in which she cemented her status at international level and spent nearly two months recovering from Covid-19 after that chance encounter at the supermarket.ALSO READ: Future is bright for England with spin triplets on the riseHaving returned to her parents’ Derbyshire home from the T20 World Cup, held in Australia in February and March, Glenn was careful to protect her family from the illness, only leaving the house to walk the dog. It was when she ventured out to do the weekly food shopping that she believes she was infected by the virus.”I had to get out of the house one day and we needed a food shop so I offered,” Glenn told the . “I came across this bloke who bumped into me and laughed. I think he was drunk. Me and the lady at the till were in shock.”I felt really uncomfortable. It was my first and only shopping experience in lockdown and it was awful. He bumped into me again, so I walked out. I came home so angry. I said to my parents, ‘If I get ill next week I’m going to be fuming’. And there I was next week in bed. It was not great.”Sarah Glenn has emerged as a formidable part of England’s spin attack•Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

An antibody test later confirmed that Glenn had Covid-19. While her parents tested negative, Glenn said it took her a long time to recover.”It really opened my eyes and I start to get angry when young people say, ‘Oh we will be fine’. No. I’m a fit young athlete and I was a bit worried,” Glenn said. “I had a couple of bad nights so I get annoyed by that. I did not realise how much it affected your lungs and it took me a long time to get over it.”Following her recovery, Glenn was the leading wicket-taker in England’s home series against West Indies, where she built a successful partnership with left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone.Preparing to emerge from isolation in Adelaide on Sunday, after using an exercise bike to keep her fitness levels up and spending her time studying for her sports science degree, Glenn’s outlook was upbeat.”It’s not too bad,” Glenn said. “When the bloke helped me to the room with my stuff and said, ‘Right we will see you in two weeks’, the anxiety hit me. But I feel settled now. It is the new normal and I see it as a real positive.”

There are still some limited-overs internationals and T20 leagues, on the anvil, but the charismatic West Indies opener is done with World Cups

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2019He opened the batting, and scored an 18-ball 7. He bowled six overs and picked up a wicket. He strutted around the Headingley turf, mostly with a big smile on his face, and threw in as much drama as possible into pouching a sitter on the field and, if that wasn’t enough, proceeded to do six push-ups. And after West Indies had beaten Afghanistan to finish their World Cup 2019 campaign, Chris Gayle confirmed – again – that as far as World Cups were concerned, he was done.”It’s a brilliant privilege and honour to represent West Indies in five World Cups (2003 to 2019),” he then told Brett Lee and Dean Jones, among others, while speaking to the host broadcaster. “Disappointed to end the World Cup without making it to the final four, but at the same time, I’m grateful to actually be here. A lot has happened behind the scenes, (and) to actually be here is fantastic. To finish off with a win is fantastic for me.”We have a great bunch, some great youngsters as well and it’s up to them to lift West Indies cricket from here on. I will still be around, and give my input to West Indies cricket. I still have a few more games left as well, so we’ll see what happens. The World Cup (form and results wise) wasn’t the one I wanted from a personal point of view, but at the same time, you can’t complain too much. It’s one of those things.”In February this year, Gayle had declared that he would be done with ODIs after the World Cup, but during the tournament he offered the possibility of playing on for a bit longer. When asked if that reconsideration would stretch to playing another World Cup, Gayle played along.

Most memorable WC moment

“In the last World Cup, I hit a double century against Zimbabwe. It was my best World Cup, I would say. To be able to get a double-century in a World Cup, I think that’s a fantastic achievement. I didn’t get a century in this one, but I can’t complain. I enjoyed this World Cup as much as I enjoy each and every World Cup.”

“Should I give it some thought,” he said with a big laugh. “Yes, it is my last World Cup. Unless they can give me two years to rest and I can come back in two years’ time again. It’s definitely my last World Cup. Like I said, life goes on. The game has done a lot for me and I’m privileged to be part of another World Cup.”It is possible [to play the 2023 edition] if I put in the work, but I don’t intend to put my body on the line. As you can see, I’m struggling a bit. Four years is a long way off, and I’m not considering another World Cup, to be honest with you.”Gayle, who picked up one of the match balls – “a prized possession” – did express regret at not winning the trophy, but acknowledged the support of his team-mates, who let him do things his way. “All the guys rallied around me, and the support from the youngsters was fantastic,” Gayle said. “I can’t really fault anyone, but I must commend the staff as well for the work ethic they’ve actually put in for the youngsters and myself.”Life goes on, it’s one of those things. Words can’t explain what I feel right now.”There were moments in the World Cup when some of the West Indian youngsters gave enough indications to suggest cricket in the Caribbean has a bright future. Nicholas Pooran, Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer with the bat, and Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas created a splash.”The future definitely looks bright,” Gayle agreed. “Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Pooran as well – those guys will carry the flag and make sure West Indies cricket is back where it belongs. It’s just for them to actually take ownership and take responsibility out there in the middle.”We have a young captain as well, Jason Holder, he’s been around five years now. These guys will need to rally around West Indies cricket as long as possible, and I’m looking forward to (watching them in) the next World Cup as well.”I’ll be telling the youngsters to demolish bowlers.”Gayle, meanwhile, will continue to play franchise cricket, and expects to be in the mix for the tour of India later in the year, and “then hopefully we’ll see what happens later on in the year.”Gayle has finished with 1186 runs from 35 World Cup matches, sixth in the list of most prolific run-getters in the marquee event and second among West Indians behind Brian Lara’s mark of 1225. The 2019 edition had Gayle in patchy form, with 242 runs in eight innings and two half-centuries, scored at a strike rate of 88.32.