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Shaharyar Khan has said the PCB wants the FTP to be drawn up by the ICC, as was the case previously, instead of the new system by which series are scheduled via bilateral agreements

Umar Farooq26-Nov-2015Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, has said the board wants the Future Tours Programme to be drawn up by the ICC, as was the case previously, instead of the new system by which series are scheduled via bilateral agreements. Khan stressed that this was essential for equality among the Full Members, and one of the main reasons why the PCB had vehemently opposed the constitutional revamping of the ICC last year.Khan’s comments come in wake of the new ICC chairman Shashank Manohar criticising the imbalance of power within cricket’s governing body because of last year’s revamp. Manohar, who replaced the out-of-favour N Srinivasan before his scheduled term was over, called the revamp “bullying”. He said there were several faults in the ICC that he hoped to rectify during his term as chairman, which ends in June 2016.Khan agreed with Manohar, pointing out to ESPNcricinfo that the PCB was the main opponent of the move when it was proposed. “We have two basic principles: everyone should be equal, and the FTP should be carefully handled. It should have the previous formula with ICC arranging series and not bilateral arrangements. Otherwise we are letting some countries suffer – some countries that don’t want to play the minor ones because playing them isn’t a lucrative deal.”Khan said that the PCB was outvoted 9-1 during the revamp by the other Full Members. He said the ICC wanted to present a united front on the revamp and offered Pakistan “lucrative series” against India as compensation. “They said we are already outvoted by 9-1, but look we want to show the world a unanimous decision. Then they offered us very lucrative series against India, as you know six series between 2015 and 2023,” Khan said. “Then we signed an agreement [for the series] before we agreed to sign the new constitution.”It was obvious that we were a reluctant supporter of the Big Three. Many people interpreted that this was because of the relations between India and Pakistan. It is always perceived that whatever we do, they oppose it, and whatever they do, we oppose. But this is not really correct as the boards have always had cordial relations. We opposed it because the Big Three should not monopolise the cricketing ties with each other – they were anticipating playing only lucrative series and countries like Zimbabwe, New Zealand were left to find their own bilateral series which obviously are not as lucrative.”Khan said he was encouraged by Manohar’s comments, even as the PCB is negotiating on the terms of the first of those six promised bilateral series with the BCCI. He expected the BCCI to honour that agreement.”We still feel that the Big Three formula is not ideal, but since we have signed it we will go along with this and be faithful to it. We signed on the basis that India will play us – that was the agreement. So we expect to play. But if there is any move initiated to revise the constitution to a more democratic formula, we will of course support it.”The PCB’s opposition to the revamp was led by the then chairman Zaka Ashraf. “The formula was clearly violating the principle of equality and with such a big international organisation, everyone should be equally treated rather than allowing the big ones to dictate everything,” Ashraf said.”The entire revamp was never really discussed, just brought in and forced on every board or else they would be isolated. Everyone obviously wants to play and they [the ones who opposed the proposals] were given lucrative offers to get to them on their [the Big Three’s] sides.”

Marsh will return at No. 3 against West Indies but initially as a batter-only after an ankle injury

Alex Malcolm04-Oct-20222:48

Hodge: Green might go on to become one of the best Australia has produced

Mitchell Marsh is set to return at No. 3 for Australia but as a batter only in the first T20I against West Indies as he continues to recover from his ankle injury, while Marcus Stoinis is expected to be fit for Sunday’s opening T20I against England, with the pair of allrounders vital to the balance of their World Cup side.Captain Aaron Finch confirmed that both men were tracking well for the World Cup after missing the recent tour of India meaning that it looks unlikely there will be an opening for Cameron Green.However, Finch did note that Stoinis’ absence from this two-game series against West Indies and Marsh’s inability to bowl could change the structure of the side in the short term, given they will have fewer bowling options in their top seven, but he was adamant Marsh would play as a specialist batter.Related

• Finch batting at No. 4 leaves Australia with more questions than answers

• Is Green too good not to pick and who misses out for David?

• Cummins wary of burning Green but 'huge demand' inevitable as IPL question looms

• Hetmyer dropped from West Indies World Cup squad over missed flight

“Hundred percent, yeah,” Finch said. “He’s made that No. 3 spot his own in T20 cricket and I think the way that he played in the lead-up and then through the World Cup [last year] is so important for the way that we want to play and gives us a lot of flexibility through that middle order.”I think he had his second bowl yesterday and he felt really good. He pulled up well from it. So that’s a really positive sign. I think for the balance of the side, it’s better when they’re both bowling because you can get caught a little bit short if you go in with five bowlers. But we’ll work that out.”Marsh last played on August 28 in an ODI against Zimbabwe. He missed the three-match series against New Zealand and the three T20Is against India and did not bowl at all while recovering in Perth in September.Finch explained that the decision to leave Stoinis in Perth was a logistical one given the short turnaround time between the two matches against West Indies in Queensland. The second game is at the Gabba on Friday while the first of three matches against England is in Perth on Sunday. The team will have a five-hour flight across the country on Saturday after playing on Friday night.”He’s at a level where we think that he’ll be fully fit for that first game against England,” Finch said. “We were just conscious of the travel with a quick turnaround…it can be quite a high-risk game for some guys with some soft tissue injuries so he’s just still planning and preparing there. He’s such an important part of our side and the make-up of it, especially with his bowling.”Mitchell Marsh was back with the Australia squad•Getty Images

The Green question is a vexing one for Australia. He is currently not in the 15-player World Cup squad but is with the team in Queensland and available to play on Wednesday. If Stoinis and Marsh are fully fit there is almost no chance he can come into the 15, according to Finch.”I don’t think so,” Finch said. “It’s just one of those things. He had a really good tour of India. It was good for him to get an opportunity to open the batting so he’ll get more opportunities. I think he’ll get an opportunity at some point in this series. Obviously his batting is exceptional and he shows a lot with the ball. He keeps improving every time he gets an opportunity but over the next few weeks, he’ll get a run no doubt.”It leaves Australia contemplating playing five specialist bowlers at Metricon Stadium on Wednesday. It is something they have barely done since abandoning the strategy ahead of last year’s World Cup. But Glenn Maxwell is the only genuine bowling option in the top seven with Marsh unavailable to bowl and Stoinis absent, unless either Green, Daniel Sams or Sean Abbott slot in.If that does happen it would need to be the expense of Steven Smith or Tim David, given David Warner will return to the top to partner Finch and Marsh is at No. 3.”It’s never easy when you’re trying to balance up the side, particularly when the allrounders aren’t fully fit at the moment,” Finch said. “So that gives us an opportunity to keep tinkering with the squad. We feel as though we’ve got our best XI in the back of our mind, but it’s just not everyone’s 100% fit at the moment.”But we’ve still got a little bit of time for that over the next two and a half weeks. There’s five games plus the warm-up game against India. I think it’s important that we keep making sure that we’re giving ourselves enough options, because if something does happen in the World Cup the last thing you want is to be caught short in playing only one style of team or only one structure of team.”Mitchell Starc is fully fit after resting from the India tour due a minor knee issue. Ashton Agar remains in Perth with Stoinis as he also recovers from a side issue. Kane Richardson is back training with the squad but won’t play against West Indies.

Players not being able to sustain the amount of cricket they’re being expected to play will force changes, ICC chair believes

Osman Samiuddin27-Jul-2022The growing, unsustainable burden on players could eventually force boards into making the global cricket calendar a more manageable one, according to ICC chairman Greg Barclay.Barclay was speaking after the conclusion of the ICC’s AGM where the Future Tours Programme (FTP) has been going through the final stages before it is published, and where a major thread of discussion among members has been around the balance in the calendar between T20 leagues and international cricket.More relevantly, he was speaking just over a week after Ben Stokes, the England Test captain, decided to retire from ODI cricket, at just 31, blaming what he said was an unsustainable workload. Stokes’ decision came 16 months out from England’s defence of their World Cup title, which he was vital in securing in 2019.Related

• Zimbabwe, Ireland, Afghanistan look up to ICC working group to address lack of Tests

• New FICA report highlights T20 shift from country to club

• Full Members concerned over idea of nine overseas players per XI in UAE league

• ICC: 'The volume of ODIs and T20Is in the calendar is very much up to every member'

• ICC FTP: Bangladesh land Test and ODI jackpot in 2023-2027 cycle

The new FTP, from 2023-2027, has not been made public yet, though ESPNcricinfo has a copy of a near-complete draft. The calendar, as it stands, is marked by an unrelenting schedule of ICC events and bilateral cricket and, increasingly, unofficial windows which are being earmarked by boards for their own T20 leagues; that is apart from a two-and-a-month window for the IPL, which is all but formalised.”The fact is that we have a limited amount of time in the calendar,” Barclay said. “There’s 365 days in a year, there’s more cricket being played through ICC events, through bilateral cricket, a proliferation of T20 leagues so there is a lot of pressure on that calendar. Are we at a tipping point?”I’m not sure but it is an issue for members to work their way through. There’s a lot of cricket to fit in there and it’s simply not all going to fit. It’s not an issue so much for this organisation [the ICC], but certainly for members to try and work their way through optimum outcomes is going to be a challenge.”What they also need to take into account is that the players themselves will simply not be able to sustain the amount of cricket they’re probably going to be expected to play so that’s going to force some changes as well.”The ICC believes it has witnessed a strong commitment to the international game among members at this AGM. But for a growing number of members that commitment is clearly tussling with a newfound zeal for their own domestic products, whether a T20 league or the Hundred. Both CA and ECB have carved out – or tried to – little windows for the BBL and the Hundred in this FTP.”There are a number of members who are putting particular attention on their domestic leagues,” Geoff Allardice, the ICC CEO said. “The one thing over the last few days is the commitment to international cricket and bilateral cricket is as strong as it has ever been. But each of them has to manage that balance between domestic competitions, their international schedules and the management of their players. Each of those boards is in a slightly different situation. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to that balancing situation and each country attacks it slightly differently.”If something does eventually give way, the speculation has been on ODI cricket. Without the context of the Super League in the next cycle, the format is back to being a bilateral staple. But that has not been evident just yet, and not in the draft version of the FTP.”We talked a fair bit about the structure,” Allardice said. “One of the things about the three formats and the way they are incorporated in the FTP is that members and fans in countries have slightly different preferences for formats. At this stage, there was some discussion about the mix of formats, not specifically ODIs in the calendar. Countries are still scheduling a healthy number of ODIs as well in their FTPs, so in the FTP you won’t see significant changes to the number of ODIs, or proportion being played.”The Super League has been scrapped because the 2027 World Cup has been expanded into a 14-team event; that has rendered a 13-team Super League redundant. The current cycle of the league has been hit by severe disruptions because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has prevented it from really taking off.That might be rectified as we approach the end of league, with nine months still left, a number of series still to be played out and a number of big-name teams potentially having to play a qualifier to get into the 2023 World Cup.One of those could be South Africa, who did not help their own cause by pulling out of a three-match ODI series against Australia, in order to get their own T20 league off the ground. The ICC had no say in the fate of that series, and is not yet clear on how points will be awarded, but is looking forward to a tight fight for qualification towards the end.”We’ve still got nine months in the window available to complete the Super League,” Allardice said. “The ICC’s role in that competition is to say here are the eight teams you are playing against. The timing of those series and how those series are scheduled is between the two members to resolve.”We saw the announcement by CA and CSA and as we head to the end of the competition we will deal with that. Whether Australia and South Africa have come to some arrangement around making up some series – there may be some discussions still going on – the competition still has nine months to run and we’ll be dealing with [how the points are to be awarded] towards the end.”The ODI Super League was a way to provide context to ODIs. It has another nine months to play out and I’m sure as we approach cut-off date, the last couple of spots in 2023 will become quite exciting.”

Derbyshire’s groundstaff were cleared of any blame after the third day of the LV= County Championship Division Two match against Gloucestershire was abandoned without a ball bowled.

ECB/PA02-Jun-2015
ScorecardThe covers couldn’t stand the wind at Derby•Getty Images

Derbyshire’s groundstaff were cleared of any blame after the third day of the LV= County Championship Division Two match against Gloucestershire was abandoned without a ball bowled. High winds on Monday night had torn a section of the covers, allowing water to saturate a small area where the bowler’s feet land and make it too dangerous for the game to resume.Umpires Tim Robinson and Steve Garrett hoped the area would dry out in the sun and wind but after a fourth inspection at 3.15pm, they decided it was still unfit for play. Both Derbyshire and Gloucestershire backed the decision to call the game off for the day and the teams will now hope for decent weather on Wednesday to try to force a result.”There was a severe weather warning issued for overnight on Monday and when we got to the ground this morning, it wasn’t fit for play,” Derbyshire’s elite performance director Graeme Welch said. “We had a similar problem at Cardiff earlier in the season and that was on a smaller area. This one is where the bowler’s feet are landing and, put it this way, if my bowlers had been due to run in I wouldn’t have wanted them to bowl on that, it’s quite dangerous.”Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson agreed with Welch’s assessment, adding: “It’s one of those situations where it’s no-one’s fault, there was howling wind and rain and you can’t do anything about it. The covers had got blown about with the power of the wind and the footholds were just mud. There was nothing the groundstaff could have done, they tried their best today so hats off to them but that’s the English weather. Who would have thought it was June!”Gloucestershire were in a good position to put Derbyshire under pressure and Dawson added: “It’s frustrating because I think we’ve bowled well and it would have been interesting if we could have got a full day in but we will have a crack and see if we can get a victory tomorrow.”

Dav Whatmore, the Zimbabwe coach, says his side will need time and experience to start converting ability into performance

Liam Brickhill in Harare14-Jul-2015Dav Whatmore knows a thing or two about coaching struggling sides, and coaxing success out of whatever resources are at hand. He masterminded Sri Lanka’s World Cup win in 1996, and sparked a change in Bangladesh’s trajectory when he took over the coaching role there in 2003.He moved into his current position with Zimbabwe less than six weeks before the World Cup earlier this year, and was able to bring enjoyment and cohesion back into the team environment in remarkably quick time. Yet positive results haven’t been forthcoming, and on Tuesday Zimbabwe slipped to a 3-0 series defeat to India despite putting themselves into positions of dominance in all three matches.”That was a hugely disappointing effort in that first game. We honestly thought we should have won that. When you get so close, and you don’t, I think psychologically it becomes a little bit greater when you play the next one. We’ve got the potential, as you can see, we just need to transform our ability into performance, and that comes from here,” Whatmore said, pointing at his head.Though Whatmore prompted “a total 180 in the players’ mindsets” very quickly, according to former captain Brendan Taylor, he insists there is no quick fix for Zimbabwe’s issues.”It doesn’t happen like that,” Whatmore says, clicking his fingers to emphasise the point. “It never does. It takes a bit of time. If you look at the history of Zimbabwe cricket over the last four years, if you’ve done your research you’ll know that we’ve only played a handful of games. And to improve you need to go through certain situations more often. So hopefully boys will learn as quickly as possible, because we are now playing competition which we haven’t had in the past.”It’s okay to say ‘be patient with us’, it’s a cliche but I’m very pleased to have played these three games and we look forward very much to the future matches coming in this calendar year. And we look to improve. So please bear with us, we are trying really hard to get it right and we will need a bit more time. As other sides do.”Zimbabwe have been slightly surprised by the way these pitches have played, as ordinarily Harare Sports Club tracks ease out during the course of the day, particularly in winter. In this series, there has always been something on offer for the bowlers. They “briefly” considered batting first after Elton Chigumbura won his third toss in a row, Whatmore explained, “but this wicket generally gets a lot better than this. It’s sort of misbehaving a little more than what most of us thought. Generally speaking this wicket flattens out a little bit more, but it’s had some life in it right throughout.”India haven’t had it all their way in this series, slipping to 87 for 5 in the first match, losing 6 for 77 in the last 10 overs on Sunday, and wobbling at 82 for 4 today, but Zimbabwe were never able to land the killer blow and, as Whatmore admitted, “we’ve let them off the hook a couple of times”.The problem, for Chigumbura, is a lack of ruthlessness.”It’s just about being ruthless,” he said. “You tend to relax when you are on top, or sometimes some guys realise we’re on top. And also because of not playing many games regularly. I think the more we play the more we could quickly learn from these mistakes.”We need to dig deep when we get into these situations. I think that’s where we’re lacking. We always get into a good position, in almost every series that we play we’ll get one or two chances that we can take with both hands and win the game, but we don’t.”Zimbabwe have a quick turnaround in which to try to set things right before the Twenty20 series starts on Friday, but they can also look forward to an unusually full schedule in the months to come. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, particularly on the psychological aspect of their game, Zimbabwe could yet be another of Whatmore’s success stories.

While announcing the calendar for the forthcoming domestic season well in advance, the BCCI has omitted Duleep Trophy for 2015-16 season

Amol Karhadkar20-Jul-2015While announcing the calendar for the forthcoming domestic season well in advance, the BCCI has omitted Duleep Trophy for 2015-16 season. According to a top BCCI executive, the inter-zonal first-class tournament has been left out for only one year.

Groups for inter-state tournaments

Ranji Trophy
Group A: Odisha, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assam, Bengal, Haryana, Vidarbha, Delhi, Karnataka
Group B: Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Mumbai, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Railways, Andhra
Group C: Jharkhand, Saurashtra, Hyderabad, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Services, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir
Vijay Hazare Trophy (domestic one-day competition)
Group A: Punjab, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Rajasthan, Services, Hyderabad [Host association: Hyderabad]
Group B: Karnataka, Railways, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Haryana [Host association: Karnataka]
Group C: Odisha, Vidarbha, Delhi, Baroda, Andhra, Tripura, Maharashtra [Host association: Delhi]
Group D: Bengal, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Saurashtra, Madhya Pradesh [Host association: Saurashtra]
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (domestic T20 competition)
Group A: Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Hyderabad, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Vidarbha [Host association: Vidarbha]
Group B: Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Saurashtra, Tripura, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir [Host association: Kerala]
Group C: Madhya Pradesh, Andhra, Delhi, Railways, Baroda, Assam, Goa [Host association: Baroda]
Group D: Mumbai, Odisha, Karnataka, Services, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra [Host association: Odisha]

“It is not cancelled or removed. It is deferred to the start of the next season,” Dr MV Sridhar, general manager of cricket operations, BCCI, told ESPNcricinfo. “Since it has been decided to plan domestic calendar taking India’s international calendar into consideration, it was decided that rather than overlapping the Duleep Trophy with the World Twenty20 in March, it would be apt to postpone it to the start of the 2016-17 season. Since India are set to play 16 Test matches in 2016-17, first-class cricket would get priority and the Duleep Trophy will be played at the start of the season.”For the last three domestic seasons, Duleep Trophy served as the season-opening tournament in October. But with the BCCI opting to advance the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to avoid a clash with the Indian Premier League, the Duleep Trophy was dropped out of the calendar.Whether cancelled, or removed or postponed, the fact remains that the BCCI has preferred to host one-day and T20 tournaments over the Duleep Trophy, which till early 2000s used to be India’s premier selection tournament. With the Indian team starting to play international cricket virtually round-the-clock, the Duleep Trophy lost its shine and became a platform for fringe players to make a case for selection.Duleep Trophy isn’t the only tournament to have borne the brunt of BCCI’s restructuring. The Deodhar Trophy will be played as a three-team tournament for the second season. The domestic one-day winning team will compete for the trophy against two teams chosen by the national selectors. It would mean that the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy is as good as scrapped. The last two editions of Challenger Trophy were played in the same format as the revised Deodhar Trophy.Even in the past, the BCCI has scrapped domestic tournaments for a season or two. After staging the inaugural Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2006-07, the BCCI had not organised it for the next two years citing lack of a suitable slot in the calendar.

Allrounder Nishant Sindhu, who led in Dhull’s absence, has, however, tested positive ahead of the quarter-final against Bangladesh

Sreshth Shah28-Jan-2022India’s Under-19 allrounder Nishant Sindhu will miss the quarter-final against Bangladesh after testing positive for Covid-19. However, India are set to be led by regular captain Yash Dhull on Saturday after he and four others, including vice-captain Shaik Rasheed, returned negative Covid tests. Earlier, the five players were forced to miss two group games after returning positive tests.In another development, Aaradhya Yadav has replaced Vasu Vats in India’s squad ahead of the Bangladesh fixture. Vats has sustained a hamstring injury and will be unable to take any further part in the tournament.Meanwhile, players who test positive at the competition are expected to serve at least seven days of quarantine, which means Sindhu is also likely to be unavailable for the semi-final – against Pakistan or Australia on Wednesday – if India get there.Related

• Two Plate Under-19 World Cup matches cancelled after nine Covid-19 cases in Canada squad

• Yash Dhull and five others forced to miss match against Ireland

• India add Vasu Vats as temporary Covid replacement for Manav Parakh

• Five reserve players to fly out to bolster Covid-hit Indian squad

Despite Sindhu’s absence, the availability of the five previously positive players has bolstered India’s squad. Dhull and Rasheed are expected to slot into a batting line-up that averages nearly 315 runs per innings; Siddarth Yadav and Aaradhya Yadav are up for selection in the playing XI too. So far, Sindhu has played a key role as an economical left-arm spinner, taking four wickets at an average of 14.25 and an economy rate of 2.75.India currently have 21 players to choose from. Sixteen of the 17 from the main squad remain available for selection, along with the five travelling reserves who were flown into the Caribbean following the first Covid-19 outbreak in the squad. If India need to dip into the pool of reserves, they will have to make a formal request to the ICC event technical committee for a temporary change in the squad.Sindhu’s positive result makes it the fourth time that the Under-19 World Cup has been affected by Covid-19. Before the competition started, four Zimbabwe players tested positive before members of the Indian camp also returned positive results. West Indies, too, had to replace two players before their final group match because of Covid in their squad.

The competition’s all-time leading runscorer and Brisbane’s games record-holder not offered a new deal

Alex Malcolm11-May-2022Chris Lynn is looking for a new BBL club after Brisbane Heat made the shock decision to delist the BBL’s all-time leading runscorer after 11 seasons at the club.Queensland Cricket and Brisbane Heat CEO Terry Svenson confirmed on Wednesday that Lynn would not be offered a new contract for next season after another disappointing year where Heat finished seventh.Lynn is the only player in BBL history to have scored more than 3000 runs, having made all of them for Heat in 105 matches but managed just 215 runs in 12 matches last season. He has also captained the club 50 times, more than any other player. Jimmy Peirson took over as captain last summer under new coach Wade Seccombe.”It’s not a decision that has come easily to the Heat by any means,” Svenson said. “Chris Lynn and his feats have made an indelible impression on the club, and his efforts over more than a decade can rightly be said to have had an enormously positive effect on cricket.”We should gratefully acknowledge the influence he has had on a generation of kids who have grown up thrilled by his batting exploits.”His appearance in a teal jumper each year would no doubt be linked by many households to the onset of their holidays, with the BBL being such an integral part of summer holidays.””The Heat wish him nothing but the best for the future as he transitions into another phase of his career and thank him wholeheartedly for his commitment to the game in Queensland.”The decision was made by Queensland and Brisbane Heat’s retention and recruitment committee which includes Svenson, Seccombe, Kirsten Pike, board member Ian Healy, selector Chris Hartley and high-performance general manager Bennett King.Healy, who chairs the committee, said the decision marked the beginning of the next phase at Heat.”Chris Lynn will be missed by thousands, however, the decision we have made as a club is about building on the legacy that he leaves as a foundation player, captain and ambassador for the Heat,” Healy said. “He holds a very special place in our history.”Heat look likely to land Australia Test opener Usman Khawaja after he opted to leave Sydney Thunder for family reasons. Khawaja is Queensland captain and lives in Brisbane with Heat looking a natural fit for him in order to spend more time at home during the BBL over the Christmas and New Year period.

Phil Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, has praised Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard for their contributions in West Indies’ four-wicket win against South Africa in Providence

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2016Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine were controversial inclusions in West Indies’ squad for the ODI tri-series. They had not played international cricket since November 2015, and did not take part in West Indies’ domestic 50-over competition, which was considered to be one of the WICB’s criteria for selection.The two of them, however, proved the match-winners in the opening game of the tournament, with Narine’s 6 for 27, the best ODI figures by a West Indies spinner, helping bowl South Africa out for 188 and Pollard’s unbeaten, run-a-ball 67 sealing a four-wicket win.Phil Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, praised the pair’s contributions, highlighting Narine’s effort to bounce back from a difficult period, in which he has remodeled his bowling action after it was found to be illegal.”They are the two guys who took the game away from South Africa, and it showed that they’re very important to our cricket,” Simmons said. “Narine himself, coming back from everything he’s been through, to come and perform the way he did today, you have to give him a lot of kudos for his grit and his determination, to come out of where he’s been and to come back and perform like this.”Pollard showed his ball-striking ability by hitting six sixes, but waited for the right moments to play his big shots on a sluggish pitch. West Indies were a slightly shaky 76 for 4 when he walked in and took over.”Pollard’s experience showed there,” Simmons said “His ability to hit the ball but also his experience to guide young [Darren] Bravo and so on through the end. [It] showed in [South Africa’s] innings too, [AB] de Villiers guiding [Rilee] Rossouw. And also, I think we came out and [showed] a little bit more grit and a little bit more determination today.”Simmons was heartened by what he felt was an improved fielding display from his side.”I think, again, the bowling has been fantastic and the fielding is getting to where I would like to see, it’s improving all the time,” he said. “Everybody knows that we can bowl and we can bat, but the fielding in particular has been improving and that has helped in us keeping teams to low scores.”

Fifties from Hayley Matthews and Britney Cooper, followed by a five-wicket haul from fast bowler Deandra Dottin set up West Indies Women’s 16-run win against South Africa Women in East London

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2016
ScorecardFile photo: Hayley Matthews scored 56 off 68 balls, with eight fours•Cricket Australia

Fifties from Hayley Matthews and Britney Cooper, followed by a five-wicket haul from fast bowler Deandra Dottin set up West Indies Women’s 16-run win against South Africa Women in East London.West Indies, opting to bat, lost their opener Shaquana Quintyne early, but a 56-run stand for the third wicket between Matthews and Dottin lifted the team past 100. Matthews top-scored with 56, but both she and Dottin were trapped lbw by Sune Luus in quick succession, pegging the visitors back. Cooper, though, provided West Indies with much-needed impetus, stroking an unbeaten 55 off 66 balls, with six fours and a six. Cooper added 48 runs in the company of Shemaine Campbelle, as West Indies ended with 214 for 7.South Africa’s opener Trisha Chetty made a steady start to the chase, scoring 47, but her dismissal in the 23rd over led to a slide, as quick blows from Dottin and Anisa Mohammed reduced the hosts to 120 for 7. Marizanne Kapp (69*) and Shabnim Ismail (34) put up a brief resistance, combining for a 70-run partnership, but Dottin and Quintyne eventually ran through the tail to bundle South Africa out for 198.Dottin was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 34, her maiden five-wicket haul, while Quintyne and Anisa chipped in with two scalps apiece.