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The winner of this clash will advance to the 2018 Test challenge, a four-match series against the bottom-ranked Test side

The Preview by Peter Della Penna27-Mar-2017

Match facts

March 28-31, 2017
Start time 1000 local (0430 GMT)Ed Joyce (in pic) needs 84 runs to reach 1000 runs in the Intercontinental Cup.•ICC/Saleem Sanghati

Big picture

When the Intercontinental Cup was initiated by the ICC as part of their global development programme, the concept of an Associate using the competition as a vehicle to vie for Test status was a pipe dream. Thirteen years on, it’s a prospect both Afghanistan and Ireland are faced with; the winner of the current Intercontinental Cup edition will take another step closer to cricket’s ultimate dream.Much discussion recently have pegged a double bump up for both sides, but that will depend on ICC’s reforms being approved, a long-drawn process if history is any indication. For now, only the champion of the Intercontinental Cup will advance to the 2018 Test Challenge, a four-match series against the bottom-ranked Test side, currently Zimbabwe.As such, the stakes remain high in the four-day showdown in Greater Noida, particularly since the format has undergone a slight tweak. Unlike previously where the top two sides met in a final at a neutral venue, the group topper after seven rounds will be declared the winner this time around. Therefore, it’s fair to say this clash will have plenty riding on it, perhaps more than any of the six previous finals have.If Afghanistan claim the full 20 points – six for a first-innings lead and 14 more for an outright win – they will sneak past Ireland by a point into the tournament lead. Their final two games are against Hong Kong and UAE, currently placed last. An Ireland loss would mean they’d be in an uphill battle to surge past Afghanistan since they arguably have the toughest remaining slate of any team in the competition – against Netherlands and Scotland.A full 20-point for Ireland win though would put them in a virtually unassailable position, up 39 points with only 40 left on offer for Afghanistan in the final two rounds. Ireland may also be content to play for a draw away from home, a result that would give them a minimum of three points to maintain their lead on the overall table.Though currently second and 19 points behind Ireland, momentum is on Afghanistan’s side. A thumping 10-wicket demolition of Ireland in the final of the Desert T20 Challenge has been followed by a 3-0 T20I sweep and a 3-2 ODI series win this month over the same opponent. In between the Desert T20 and hosting Ireland, they had another 3-2 ODI series win over Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe.Ireland, who have won four of the last five Intercontinental Cups, have been consistent in the tournament at least. This time around, they have stormed not only to four wins in four matches, but have also claimed full points including a pair of wins by innings margins. All set then for a cracker.

Form guide

Afghanistan LDWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Ireland WWWWW

In the spotlight

Rashid Khan has never taken the field for Afghanistan in the I-Cup. However, he took 12 for 122 on his first-class debut against England Lions in December to dispel any doubts over his capabilities in long-form cricket. Rashid was the leading wicket-taker in both the T20I and ODI series ahead of this with nine and 16 respectively across eight matches.Ireland’s Ed Joyce is the leading scorer in the competition with 592 runs in six innings. The bulk of that output came in a pair of double-century knocks against UAE and Namibia in June and October 2015. He kept up that form in limited-overs cricket against Afghanistan in the summer of 2016, finishing as the leading scorer in the home four-ODI series with 339 runs. However, he’s had a much leaner run since arriving in Greater Noida, making just 137 runs in five ODIs.

Team news

Zahir Khan, the left-arm wristspinner who is tied with George Dockrell for most wickets in the tournament, is one of several expected changes from the limited-overs leg as Afghanistan may produce a three-pronged spin attack: Zahir, Rashid and Mohammad Nabi.Afghanistan (probable XI): 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Javed Ahmadi, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Nasir Jamal, 5 Asghar Stanikzai (capt.), 6 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Dawlat Zadran, 10 Yamin Ahmadzai, 11 Zahir KhanIreland’s lack of depth will be further tested by the absence of Kevin O’Brien, who flew home after suffering a hamstring injury in the fourth ODI. Boyd Rankin missed the T20I and ODI series with a back problem he has battled since the Desert T20 in January. If Rankin can’t go, Ireland may opt for offspinning allrounder Andy McBrine rather than specialist legspinner Jacob Mulder or medium pacer Peter Chase. That would leave Tim Murtagh and Craig Young as the two seam options.Ireland (probable XI): 1 William Porterfield (capt.), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 John Anderson, 5 Niall O’Brien (wk), 6 Andy Balbirnie, 7 Gary Wilson, 8 Andy McBrine/Jacob Mulder, 9 George Dockrell, 10 Tim Murtagh, 11 Craig Young/Boyd Rankin

Pitch and conditions

Afghanistan’s spinners took 16 of the 20 wickets in an innings and 36 run win over Namibia in the only I-Cup game at this venue. Spinners dominated throughout the just completed ODI series, highlighted by Rashid and Paul Stirling taking 6-fors in the same match. Slow bowlers are expected to continue prospering. Fitness levels will be tested with temperatures expected to hover around 40 degrees.

Stats and trivia

• Ireland captain William Porterfield needs 47 runs to pass Andrew White as his country’s all-time leading scorer in the I-Cup. Porterfield has 1506 runs in 21 matches, which puts him seventh overall behind Kenya’s Steve Tikolo (1918 runs).
• Ed Joyce needs 84 runs to reach 1000 runs in the Intercontinental Cup. He’d be the second-fastest to the mark if he gets there. Ryan ten Doeschate took just seven matches to cross 1000 I-Cup runs for the Netherlands.
• Mohammad Nabi needs three more wickets to surpass Hamid Hassan for the most by an Afghanistan bowler in the I-Cup. Nabi has 53 in 17 games. Three wickets will also take him into 10th position for most wickets by a bowler in the tournament’s history. Former Ireland captain Trent Johnston is number one with 91 wickets in 25 matches.

Quotes

“I feel this will be the best and most important game in the entire Intercontinental Cup league as both teams can top the league. Our strength is spin bowling and most of our batsmen are in good form. It’s a matter of performing well on the day.”
“It will be a big test for us – the conditions, the turning surface against a side that has a lot of spinners. We’ve been here for three or four weeks, played a lot of cricket on the same ground, so we could not have asked for better preparation.”

Kane Williamson, playing his first match of the season, made an imperious 89 off 51 balls and propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad to their fourth win in four home matches

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu19-Apr-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:16

Hogg: Dehi should have batted Morris higher up

Kane Williamson, playing his first match of the season, made an imperious 89 off 51 balls and propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad to their fourth win in four home matches.Williamson was named New Zealand’s T20 international player of the year last month and yet he could not break into Sunrisers’ XI until their sixth game. This was probably because his record in the IPL doesn’t match up to his usual standards. Before today, Williamson had only one six in eight IPL innings. On Wednesday, he hit five times as many on a used pitch to lead Sunrisers to 191 for 4.Delhi Daredevils put up a good fight, led by Shreyas Iyer ‘s riveting 50 off 31 balls with five fours and two sixes. But even he could do little against an equation that eventually read 24 off the last over. Siddharth Kaul was asked to finish the match off but he was smacked for six second ball. The seamer recovered by bowling two dots and getting rid of Angelo Mathews to secure a 15-run win.Dealing with a two-paced pitch
On a track where some balls stopped on the batsmen while others skidded on, run-scoring was not easy. David Warner was dismissed for his first single-digit score in 19 T20 innings as a bouncer from Chris Morris came on slower than he expected. Jayant Yadav’s accurate non-turning offbreaks gave Sunrisers no breathing space at the other end. They managed only 39 for 1 in the first six overs.The enforcer
Williamson, coming in place of Mohammad Nabi, became handy for Sunrisers. After getting set, he smashed back-to-back sixes off Mathews and began changing the pace of the game. Suddenly, Sunrisers had hustled 52 in five overs between the seventh and the 11th.Williamson raised his second IPL fifty off 33 balls and surged into top gear. He took legspinner Amit Mishra for 21 runs off nine balls. He exploited any gap the Daredevils left unprotected. In the ninth over, seeing Zaheer Khan posting his boundary riders on the off side and leaving fine leg up, he walked across his stumps and scooped the ball away.The anchor
Shikhar Dhawan, having hit the first ball of the match for four, was happy in Williamson’s slipstream. Together they put on Sunrisers’ 10th century partnership and the first not involving Warner. Only after the stand was broken did he try something fancy. A full delivery from Mathews in the 18th over was almost helicoptered over the midwicket boundary. Just as he looked set to bat through the innings, Morris dismissed him for 70 off 50 balls. It was Dhawan’s third-highest score for Sunrisers in the IPL.Kane Williamson led the way for Sunrisers Hyderabad•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Samson, Nair set Delhi up
Mohammed Siraj, playing his first IPL match, got lucky when Sam Billings chipped a leg-stump half-volley straight to short midwicket. Sanju Samson and Karun Nair, however, showed him no such mercy. Samson picked up a length ball and flicked it with the angle over the long-on boundary, while Nair drove a wide half-volley through the covers. He then reached his first 30-plus score in 15 innings across all formats, since the triple-century in Chennai, when he launched Moises Henriques over long-off for a six. By then, Daredevils were 80 for 1 in nine overs.The slowdown
Sunrisers then prised out two wickets from nowhere. Vijay Shankar, the substitute fielder, speared a flat throw from long-on to run Nair out for 33. Rishabh Pant then wasted his promotion to No. 4, hoicking a Yuvraj Singh full ball from outside off to long-on. Only 18 runs came off the next three overs as the asking rate ballooned past 12. Samson attempted to prick the balloon, but only skewed a slower ball from Siraj to cover.Iyer’s late rearguard
Daredevils’ hope rested in Iyer now and he fanned them with two sixes off legspinner Rashid Khan who ended with 0 for 33 in four overs. Mathews, sent ahead of the in-form Morris, however, laboured to 31 off 23 balls. Ultimately, Morris, who has a strike-rate of 238.7 this season, did not face a single ball.Sunrisers, though, might have been worried when Kaul conceded 13 off the 18th over and later when Iyer carved a reverse-swinging yorker from Bhuvneshwar for a four. But Kaul bounced back in the final over to hand Daredevils their third defeat.

Virat Kohli admitted England, with their batting strength and approach at home, will be the team to beat in the Champions Trophy

Andrew Miller25-May-2017Prudence got the better of him, and he chose to turn in for a much-needed kip, but Virat Kohli’s first instinct upon checking into India’s team hotel in London on Thursday morning had been to go for a walk and a coffee, and savour the freedom that comes to all Indian cricketers when they escape the goldfish-bowl lifestyle of their subcontinental superstardom.”I love walking by myself, not having people around at all,” Kohli told reporters shortly after the team’s arrival from Mumbai. “I love travelling away from home, and getting some normal time, which I’m not really able to do back home, because there’s so much attention on you all the time.”These were not the words of a cricketer harbouring any angst about travelling to England in the current climate. On the contrary, despite describing Monday night’s terrorist attack in Manchester as “really saddening and disturbing”, it was hard to ignore the note of genuine excitement in Kohli’s voice as he faced up to the challenge of leading India for the first time in a global tournament – and, moreover, defending a trophy that he helped them to win in the last edition of the tournament four years ago.Kohli’s formidable record in all formats and all conditions remains tarnished, in some people’s eyes at least, by his failure to adapt to seaming conditions on the 2014 Test tour of England – although he reiterated he was not seeking “vengeance” for his modest tally of 134 runs in 10 innings on that trip.Less well remembered, although brought sharply back into focus as he posed for the cameras with the trophy back in his mitts, was his winning contribution against England 12 months earlier, when his 43 from 34 balls proved the difference between the two teams in the 2013 Champions Trophy final at Edgbaston.England may forever wonder how they failed to seal the deal on that occasion, after bringing their requirement down to 20 runs from 16 balls in a rain-reduced contest, before squandering four wickets for three runs in a 14-ball horror show. Nevertheless, the scenes of euphoria that greeted India’s victory that night reinforced Kohli’s reasons for relishing a return to familiar shores.’They are pretty hard to get past, and that’s going to be a challenge for every other team in the Champions Trophy as well’ – Virat Kohli on England•AFP

“I am very excited to be playing as captain in my first major ICC competition,” he said. “As far as the team goes, we won last time because our fast bowlers did very well, our spinners were strong and our opening batsman did well.”They were the main three factors. This year the team is a lot fitter, the cricketers are a lot more mature because that was a very young group four years ago. It has gained a lot of experience in the last three or four years. I love the tournament because it represents a challenge from the [word] go.”And few sides look better placed to mount a challenge than the hosts themselves. Even in victory on home soil earlier this year, Kohli saw at first hand the formidable power and never-say-die attitude of an England ODI batting line-up that currently ranks among the most potent in the world game.In consecutive ODIs at Pune, Cuttack and Kolkata in January, England amassed totals of 350 for 7, 366 for 8 and 321 for 8, and yet somehow finished up losing the series 2-1, thanks in part to Kohli’s magisterial 122 from 105 balls in the opening fixture. But they have not let up either side of that set-back, pounding nine 300-plus scores on the last ten occasions in which they have batted first.”I think England are a very, very balanced side,” Kohli said. “One of the two best balanced sides in the world at the moment. They bat right down to 9 or 10, they are all explosive players, five or six guys can bat and bowl, and they are gun fielders as well.In ODIs, Virat Kohli has had a stellar run in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy, including a sensational ton in the first ODI against England in Pune•AFP

“We experienced that in India, they are pretty hard to get past, and that’s something that is going to be a challenge for every other team in the Champions Trophy as well. We always related to England as a very strong Test team, but in last two or three years post [the 2015] World Cup, they’ve really changed the way they play their cricket.”I don’t think they’ve scored anything less than 330 now, which moves the game on pretty rapidly. It is indeed a challenge for all sides that play against them. Credit to them for shaping their short-format cricket so well, and I’m sure they’ll be eager to go a long way in this tournament as well.”Last year, against Pakistan at Trent Bridge, England raised their bar even further by posting a record total of 444 for 3. Asked if he thought England had any weaknesses going into the tournament, Kohli had to concede: “Not at the moment, especially in their conditions, they are pretty strong.”When a side plays in that manner for so long, when it doesn’t click it goes against you pretty quickly,” he added. “But they have managed to continue that mindset pretty well, I don’t see anyone taking a backwards step at any stage of the game, and that is pretty amazing to see.”For the whole batting line-up to play like that is pretty rare. You always have two or three guys playing through the innings, but for them it’s all about attack, throughout the 50 overs which is exciting for the fans and challenging for the opposition. You have to be on top of your game to get past a team like that.”

Mahela Jayawardene has effectively ended his playing career in Bangladesh after being signed for two seasons as head coach of BPL franchise Khulna Titans

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2017Mahela Jayawardene has effectively ended his playing career in Bangladesh after being signed for two seasons as head coach of BPL franchise Khulna Titans. Jayawardene featured in two games for Dhaka Dynamites alongside his former Sri Lankan team-mate Kumar Sangakkara in 2016.Jayawardene’s signing comes a week after he coached Mumbai Indians to an IPL crown in his first season with the franchise. The former Sri Lankan captain takes over the mantle from Stuart Law, the former Australia batsman who recently took over as head coach of West Indies.”I enjoyed playing in the BPL last year and that has given me a great insight into what will be required to be successful in the 2017 tournament,” Jayawardene said in a statement. “BPL is an exciting tournament for Bangladesh, as well the region as a whole, and I am excited to be partnering with one of the most respected and forward-thinking franchises.”Kazi Inam Ahmed, Khulna’s managing director, said that the franchise can only benefit from the expertise of a cricketer of Jayawardene’s stature. “We are excited to have Mahela Jayawardane join the Titans as head coach for next two editions of BPL,” Ahmed said. “He has always been a great leader on the field and has won big tournaments for Sri Lanka.”We were thrilled to see him win the IPL recently as the coach of the Mumbai Indians. I am sure all of us Titans will learn a lot from him and the tournament will be enriched by his presence.”The 2017 edition is slated to start on November 4, with Sylhet likely to join the ranks and make it an eight-team event. The players’ draft is likely to be held on September 16 in Dhaka.

Jack Taylor’s hundred was the latest stitch in a Cheltenham tapestry of Hammond, Zaheer and many more

Paul Edwards at Cheltenham09-Jul-2017Gloucestershire 343 for 8 (Taylor 118*, Dent 65, Mustard 50; Barnard 4-67) vs Worcestershire
ScorecardJack Taylor’s hundred added to Cheltenham’s history•Getty Images

There are grounds of which hardly a stick remains from three decades ago; then there is Cheltenham which, from most angles, looks much as it did when Wally Hammond cover-drove his path to glory and that wily Bolshevik Charlie Parker spun teams to perdition in summers from silent films.Perhaps that is one reason people return to the festival and the fortnight remains profitable. While Jack Taylor was making a fine unbeaten hundred, people enjoyed a glass under the limes, much as they did when Zaheer Abbas was wristing the ball to the marquees. At few grounds does immediacy give way so gracefully to timelessness; at fewer still is cricket as much the context as the centrepiece.Yet if you forget the immediacy, you are prey to nostalgia and the preservation of the past in aspic. So let us record that on an afternoon of woolsack clouds Taylor did his best to blunt Worcestershire’s hope of promotion with a century which contained some thunderous cracks towards the many tents as well as rather quieter periods when he was respecting and reassessing the bowling.The pivotal ball of the day was bowled by Josh Tongue in the 49th over when Taylor looked to play to leg but only edged a two-handed chance straight to third slip where Joe Clarke dropped the catch. The reprieved batsman had made 16 and he celebrated his fortune by taking two fours and a straight six off George Rhodes’ next over. Most of the crowd relaxed into their enjoyment and the hills towards Winchcombe were tinged with blue and rich in memories.Taylor’s measured assault on Joe Leach’s attack seemed only distantly connected to a first session in which Gloucestershire had lost four wickets for 87 runs in 30 overs. So keen had been the spectators’ anticipation of collapse that they were hustling like poolside Germans for the best seats at the College Ground this morning and one could see their point. After all, 25 wickets had fallen on the first day of the match against Glamorgan, and when Cameron Bancroft was leg before, barely playing a shot to Joe Leach’s first ball of the match, we readied ourselves for something similar.And readied ourselves to no good purpose as things turned out. The pitch had little to do with last week’s processions and this wicket was true enough to allow Will Tavaré to drive John Hastings to cover point in the second over before picking his next ball up for six over square leg, the ball thudding into the aptly-named Optimum hoarding.Worcestershire’s next three wickets could all be explained by bowlers’ merit or the batsmen’s errors. Tavaré pushed forward at Leach but only nicked a low catch to Ben Cox behind the wicket; Gareth Roderick skied an ill-judged pull off Ed Barnard to John Hastings in the gully; and Graeme van Buuren effected a quite horrid poke outside the off stump which merely gave the off-spinner Rhodes a wicket and Cox another victim.That left Gloucestershire on 85 for 4 a few minutes before lunch with the majority of those runs having come from Chris Dent, whose frequent cover-driving rattled the advertising boards in front of the marquees sponsored by Old Patesians and Charlton Kings Club. The inhabitants of both refuges toasted Dent’s strokes with their morning sharpeners.The middle session of the day was dominated by Gloucestershire’s batsmen. Dent reached his fifty with a single off Brett D’Oliveira and Phil Mustard celebrated the achievement later in the over by pulling an outrageous long hop to the Members’ Marquee. But the pair’s brief restorative partnership ended when Dent was leg before to Barnard for 65, the ball cutting in off the pitch and the batsman walking before Russell Evans gave his decision.Three further wickets were to fall but none of them affected the fresh momentum of the innings. Mustard was content to support Taylor and took 125 balls over his half-century before being bowled through the gate when driving loosely at Barnard, whose four wickets accurately reflected his value to Leach’s attack. Tongue, on the other hand, had two chances dropped and was ill-served by figures of 1 for 61. There was, though, never a time when all bowlers came alike to Gloucestershire’s batsmen.Tongue’s labours finally received some sort of reward when Kieran Noema-Barnett could only glove a well-pitched short ball to Cox but the evening session was further enlivened by an 89-run stand for the eighth between Taylor and Craig Miles. The latter looked a candidate to be caught at short leg at any moment but he included a pulled six off Hastings in his 39 runs.The new ball was taken by Leach and frequently dispatched by Taylor, who reached his 122-ball century with a straight drive off the Worcestershire skipper which was as fine as anything we saw all day. The excellent Cox took his fourth catch to remove Miles and give Barnard another wicket yet David Payne kept Taylor company until close of play by which time the mood of the crowd had changed utterly from their morning apprehension.The day ended, as have hundreds at this precious festival, with the players being welcomed back into the broad shadow of the pavilion. Taylor led them, of course, on an evening when his first century of the season had set up a match Worcestershire must seek to win. Yet there were better reasons than even achievement and anticipation to make one feel at peace with the world this Sunday evening. If the sight of a swallow curving towards Cleeve Hill and the soaring glories of Prothero’s chapel do not lift our spirits, there is something wrong with us.