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'Pace is our main weapon' – Steyn

Dale Steyn thinks having several bowlers who can bowl quick has benefited South Africa in Indian conditions

Firdose Moonda21-Oct-2015A deep breath, a soft touch, a shrill sound: sometimes the most powerful things are the simplest, and that’s the strategy South Africa’s attack has stuck to in India. They have stuck to their natural strength of speed, which has proven successful in various circumstances.”The major thing about our quick bowlers is that all three bowl over 140,” Dale Steyn said. “When the guys are steaming in and bowling quickly at 145 plus, pace on the ball makes it really tough especially in these conditions. As soon as it gets to the 25th-30th over where the ball gets really soft and the wicket starts to crumble a bit, it’s really difficult to get the quicker bowlers away. Pace is the main weapon.”It’s no surprise then that South Africa’s quickest bowler, Morne Morkel, who regularly reaches speeds above 150, leads the wicket-takers’ charts. After his four-for in Rajkot, Morkel sits with seven scalps at 18.85 and has demonstrated how generating awkward bounce at pace can be successful, especially towards the end of an innings when batsmen are looking to go big.MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane all fell to the Morkel short ball as they sought to slog him over deep midwicket but only managed to find a fielder, which has been the other component of the bowler’s success. This series is the first one taking place in India under the new playing conditions, which allow for five fielders outside the circle, one more than previously. That has given teams the scope to station an extra man on the boundary and cover a wider area just behind square or straight down the ground.”With the extra man out, you can cover that midwicket area,” Steyn said. “In the World Cup, you couldn’t have that man out, so you had to bring either fine leg or third man up and guys were able to cut or paddle but now you are left with only one shot: you have to slog over midwicket and if there is a guy out there, its either six or it’s out.”The 2015 World Cup threatened to redefine the last 10 overs of innings as a free-for-all in batting terms, with teams regularly plundering in excess of 100 runs in that period. Now, according to Steyn, the balance has been restored and it is allowing teams to defend scores in those end exchanges, as South Africa have done twice in the series so far. “It makes a more even contest between bat and ball so teams cant just run away with it from the 40th to the 50th over. You really have to think and you have to play extraordinary shots,” Steyn said.But you also have to think and bowl extraordinarily because the yorker is not the only delivery teams are turning to at the end. “If you run in and bowl yorkers and you miss your length, especially to a guy like MS [Dhoni], he is going to hit you out of the park. There is no easier delivery to face than a half volley,” Steyn said. “On these wickets here, where it really slows down, you can use your bounce and slower cutter and hard length delivery.”The best exponent of that kind of variation has been Kagiso Rabada, South Africa’s 20-year-old tearaway who is proving a handful at the death. Rabada has taken to responsibility with ease and is challenging Steyn as the man to watch in the South African attack, which Steyn does not seem to mind at all.”I think he is great, he has got a great attitude and he has everything that a fast bowler needs. He has got pace, he has got a good build, he is tall, quite an intimidating kind of guy and he asks a lot of questions in the nets. He is asking the right questions and he’ll just improve all the time,” Steyn said. “Every time he takes the ball, it’s exciting to watch him bowl, every one just sits up in their seats when he comes to bowl so he has got that attention around him already. He is going to have a wonderful career.” Especially if he keeps bowling quickly.

Ajinkya Rahane gets Grade A contract

He might not be a sure starter in India’s limited-overs XIs nowadays, but Ajinkya Rahane has been given a Grade A BCCI central contract, which carries a retainer of Rs 1 crore

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2015He might not be a sure starter in India’s limited-overs XIs nowadays, but Ajinkya Rahane has been given a Grade A BCCI central contract. It is an elite group: only four players have made it to Grade A, others being Test captain Virat Kohli, limited-overs captain MS Dhoni and offspinner R Ashwin.Rahane was the captain when India went to Zimbabwe without Dhoni and Kohli. Rahane had an excellent year with runs in Australia, both in Tests and at the World Cup, to go with his previous year where he scored runs in South Africa and England. Grade A carried a Rs 1 crore retainer.

The BCCI’s contract list for 2015-16

Men’s players
Grade A (Rs 1 crore): MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane
In: Ajinkya Rahane
Out: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suresh Raina
Grade B (Rs 50 lakh): Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammed Shami
In: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suresh Raina
Out: Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha
Grade C (Rs 25 lakh): Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, Stuart Binny, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohit Sharma, Varun Aaron, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Dhawal Kulkarni, Harbhajan Singh, S Aravind
In: Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, S Aravind
Out: Pankaj Singh, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Parvez Rasool, Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav
Women’s players
Grade A (Rs 15 lakh): Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, Thirush Kamini
Grade B (Rs 10 lakh): Smriti Mandhana, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Veda Krishnamurthy, Niranjana Nagarajan, Poonam Raut

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was India’s Player of the Series in England in 2014, has been relegated to Grade B as has Suresh Raina. Bhuvneshwar hasn’t been able to replicate his form from the previous year after his return from injury. Since he was given a Grade A contract last year, Raina has made another unsuccessful attempt at a Test comeback, and has had an average time in the ODIs.Test openers M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu, and fast bowlers Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami retained their Grade B contracts, which carry a Rs 50 lakh retainer.Ravindra Jadeja, who has made a successful comeback to Tests with the Man of the Match award in Mohali, went down from Grade B to Grade C. After a shoulder injury, he had an indifferent time in international cricket, which led to his being dropped from all formats after the ODIs in Bangladesh in June. Another Grade B contract holder, Pragyan Ojha, whose action came under the spotlight before he came back to domestic cricket with corrections, was not given any contract.The total number of contracts went down from 32 to 26. Pankaj Singh, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Parvez Rasool, Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav lost their contracts. Harbhajan Singh and S Aravind were given Grade C contracts, whose retainer is Rs 25 lakh. Naman Ojha, who made his test debut in Sri Lanka, missed out on a contract as well.Women cricketers were awarded contracts for the first time, with Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur and Thirush Kamini bracketed in Grade A that carries a retainer of Rs 15 lakh. Seven other players were handed Grade B contracts of Rs 10 lakh each.Last year the BCCI had not announced the various retainer fees for the various grades because there had not been an AGM owing to the impasse over IPL corruption issues. The retainer fees have not gone up from what they were in 2013.

SL close in on lead after Chameera's five

Dushmantha Chameera’s bouncers punched massive holes in the New Zealand batting line-up and left Sri Lanka with a great chance of securing a first-innings lead in Hamilton

The Report by Alagappan Muthu18-Dec-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFlying high: Dushmantha Chameera was unstoppable in a spell of 6-3-4-3•Getty Images

Test cricket’s thrill escalates with a fast bowler on the prowl and Dushmantha Chameera had his best day in the jungle against New Zealand in Hamilton. His maiden five-for tore through their batting line-up and all that was left was the final wicket pair, staring at a deficit of 60 runs.It was his spell right after lunch that became the fulcrum on which the match spun. Sri Lanka had been in slumber for much of the first session. They took 13.1 overs for 28 runs, and lost three wickets to be bowled out for 292, and then spent the rest of the morning like a lightweight boxer thrown in a heavyweight fight – working within limitations and hoping for a mistake. After lunch, however, Sri Lanka did that thing all underdogs try and do. They punched and punched and punched, and were close to knocking their opponent out.New Zealand lost five wickets for 72 runs in the second session and that slide began once Angelo Mathews woke up to the fact that he had the fastest bowler in the match. Chameera bounced Tom Latham out in minutes. Would the same tactic work against the No. 2-ranked batsman in the world? Yes, Kane Williamson was caught at deep square leg for 1. Would it work against a world-record holder? Ross Taylor, who had struck 290 against Australia last month, bagged a duck. Chameera, with three Tests’ experience behind him, had hustled New Zealand’s in-form batsmen back into the dressing room and 81 for 0 became 89 for 4.BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner did their best to fight, keeping each other company for 19 overs and scoring 40 runs. Both batsmen managed the short ball better, though Sri Lanka helped them by underusing their main threat. They faced only 10 deliveries from Chameera, who was put on ice for 21 overs after tea in addition to a 20-over wait to get his first ball of the match.Perhaps it was a case of injury management. Sri Lanka’s quicks have a history of breaking down, and it may have weighed on Mathews’ mind. Chameera is a case study himself – after making just as startling an impression on Test debut in July, he spent the next few weeks out with a side strain.That was the last thing on anyone’s mind when he bowled seven overs at a stretch before tea, getting the ball around the batsman’s ear, and rarely missed his mark. His fastest delivery of 146 kph came in the sixth over of the spell.By the time Chameera was done, McCullum may well have been nursing a bruised hand considering all the fending he had to do. Taylor and Williamson may be nursing bruised egos, and Latham would have suffered the most pain watching it all from the dressing room because it was his wicket that derailed the innings. He had surveyed the change in field – short leg and leg slip installed close, deep square leg and long leg posted back – and yet the first short ball he got, he tucked it to Dimuth Karunaratne’s hands at leg slip.Martin Guptill had just completed a pretty fifty, but next ball he was caught at slip trying to slog Rangana Herath for a six, when long-on was back.The short-ball attack was continued by Nuwan Pradeep who got McCullum to top edge a hook to the boundary rider at fine leg, but he had overstepped by an inch. Sri Lanka looked to their senior to be their savior again, and Herath had McCullum inside edging to silly point seven balls after his reprieve. Kusal Mendis was the man under the lid, staying low and reaching to his right to claim a sharp catch minutes before tea.Until then the day had gone New Zealand’s way. There were only three Sri Lanka wickets standing when play began half an hour early and the slips were lined up like a shooting gallery, only these targets wanted to be hit. In humid conditions and with the seamers deciding to plant six balls on the same spot, business was booming. Their biggest scalp came within the first half hour.Latham moved to his right to hold on to a low catch and Mathews, who had passed 4000 Test runs, was walking back having added only 14 to his overnight 63. Mathews felt like he had to play Southee’s angle into him from wide of the crease, and though he did so with soft hands, New Zealand’s cordon had moved up since the first day when one catch fell short of Taylor at first slip.Another reminder of the first day occurred when a Neil Wagner bouncer struck Suranga Lakmal’s right shoulder and then dropped onto the base of middle stump. Again the bails did not fall, but it didn’t cost New Zealand much. Wagner tried the short ball again and Lakmal fended a catch to gully. Bracewell, as he had done in Dunedin, picked up the last wicket of the Sri Lanka innings.New Zealand’s openers began steadily in their 81-run stand. With the sun beating down on a glorious day in Hamilton, the sideways movement was diminished. Guptill and Latham spent the first nine overs working that out – 19 runs, with only three fours. Having sussed the conditions, the openers took 42 runs off the next 11 overs, with nine fours and two sixes.The bounce and pace in the pitch, however, was outstanding. So Sri Lanka simply set their tearaway loose.

Depleted Bangladesh eye another series win

Zimbabwe could bring back their designated captain Elton Chigumbura along with Sikander Raza and Luke Jongwe in must-win third T20I

The Preview by Mohammad Isam19-Jan-2016

Match facts

January 20, 2015
Start time 1500 local (0900 GMT)Bangladesh are a step away from their second successive T20I series win over Zimbabwe•AFP

Big Picture

It is becoming increasingly difficult to predict playing XIs from both sides, who aren’t afraid to tinker with their combinations in their quest to narrow down on an ideal combination going into the World T20 in India.Both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have to play in the preliminary round, also featuring Oman, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Scotland, Ireland and Netherlands, with the top two teams progressing. That means, both sides will want to throw the younger players into the deep end, to see how they acclimatise to the pressure. That Bangladesh are sitting pretty with a 2-0 lead means the time is ripe for them to unleash their bench strength. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, are still smarting from their series loss to Afghanistan in the UAE. Ordinary performances in the first two games means they are running out of time.They rested the designated captain Elton Chigumbura among three players in the last game. It remains to be seen if they are brought back in at a crunch time. That apart, they will also need impact players like Sikandar Raza and Luke Jongwe to come good if they are to challenge the hosts in conditions as subcontinental as they can get.With Bangladesh missing Mushfiqur Rahim due to a hamstring injury, even as Mustafizur Rahman and Al-Amin Hossain, their best seamers on show in the first two games, have been rested, Zimbabwe will hope to cash in on the relative inexperience of some of the Bangladesh players. Among them, Sabbir Rahman will be keenly followed after his impressive outing in the previous game that also earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)

Bangladesh: WWLWL
Zimbabwe: LLLLW

In the spotlight

With Mushfiqur out of the series, Nurul Hasan, who impressed in the Bangladesh Premier League, will now have a lot more focus on his batting as well. But his main job would be to keep things clean behind the stumps.Malcolm Waller did well in the last T20 series in Bangladesh and also had his moments in the BPL, but hasn’t really come up with a blinding knock in this series. Zimbabwe will look at him to provide a late flourish.

Teams news

Although Imrul Kayes has remained in the squad, it is likely that newcomer Mosaddek Hossain will come in place of Mushfiqur, while three out of Taskin Ahmed, Muktar Ali, Mohammad Shahid and Abu Hider are likely to get a place in the XI. Bangladesh: (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Muktar Ali, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Abu HiderWith the series on the line, Zimbabwe could bring back their regular captain Chigumbura along with senior members Sikandar Raza and Luke Jongwe. Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Sikandar Raza, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Wellington Masakadza, 11 Taurai Muzarabani

Pitch and conditions

Favorable batting conditions are likely to continue. Both sides have started well with the bat, but haven’t been able to finish off the innings. The team batting second will have the advantage of dew, as it would allow the ball to slide onto the bat nicely, while making life difficult for the spinners.

Stats and trivia

  • If Bangladesh hand debuts to three players, it will be the first time since December 2012, against West Indies. The uncapped players are Abu Hider, Mohammad Shahid, Mosaddek Hossain and Muktar Ali.
  • In the previous game, Hamilton Masakadza became the first Zimbabwean to reach 3000 runs in T20s.

Quote

“Like we always do, we will try to win tomorrow. If we play our own game we will definitely win. We are not talking about a series win right now.”

BBL hasn't divided Australia loyalties

Australia’s cricketers are adamant that international fixtures should retain primacy over the BBL, despite a growing tide of questions about the availability of players for the knockout phase of the T20 tournament in its most successful season yet

Daniel Brettig23-Jan-2016Australia’s cricketers are adamant that international fixtures should retain primacy over the Big Bash League, despite a growing tide of questions about the availability of players for the knockout phase of the Twenty20 tournament in what has become its most successful season yet.John Hastings, James Faulkner and the injured Glenn Maxwell are all unavailable for the Melbourne Stars ahead of Sunday’s BBL final against the Sydney Thunder, who are in the fortunate position of not having any Australian players on ODI duty. There have been greater murmurings than ever before about the logic of quarantining national team players from the BBL, particularly for dead rubber ODI matches against India.However Hastings, the Australian captain Steven Smith and the T20 international captain Aaron Finch have spoken strongly in favour of international cricket’s undiminished standing as the pinnacle of their careers. Hastings even went as far as arguing that a blurring of the line between international duty and BBL commitments would set a dangerous precedent for the Australian game. Other international sides, not least West Indies, have been riven by this issue.”I hope it doesn’t get to that case because for me the pinnacle is representing your country,” Hastings said of a scenario where BBL duty took precedence. “The Big Bash has been fantastic, it’s growing from strength to strength and that’s excellent for cricket in this country. But if we get to that stage we’re going in the wrong direction.”I’m not sure whether or not they can find a window to have that in the international summer. I’d love to be playing for the Melbourne Stars, but any chance you get to represent your country is the pinnacle. So for me it’s very much focused on trying to get through this next game, have 5-0, then look ahead to the Twenty20 internationals.”While Hastings and Faulkner will carry on with national duty, the Australian selectors chose to rest Kane Richardson from the fifth ODI in Sydney with future international assignments in mind. Richardson’s Adelaide Strikers had been knocked out in the semi-finals of the BBL, and it is clear that future T20 and ODI assignments against India, New Zealand and South Africa were the major factors in resting him.Smith said that there was communication between BBL clubs and the national selectors about availability, and noted that some compromises had been made, like choosing Nathan Lyon for the latter part of the ODI series after he had played a few matches for the Sydney Sixers. But he also stated that there was no pressure on the selectors or the captain to concede ground to the BBL.”As far as I’m concerned it’s having the best team available to win the game for Australia, for me the BBL’s irrelevant,” Smith said. “I want my team to do what we can to win every series we play in. We have been pretty fair, we’ve released a couple of guys to play in the Big Bash when they haven’t been playing.”For me it’s about making sure we’ve got the guys to do the job for Australia. [The BBL] is run beautifully. It’s at a good time of the year for guys to play white-ball cricket. I’m happy with where everything’s at.”Perhaps the greatest factor in allowing the currently balanced state of affairs to exist is how the BBL and its clubs remain under the ultimate control of Cricket Australia. While private ownership was touted at the start of the tournament six years ago, and has re-emerged as a thought bubble this summer, ownership of the BBL allows CA to work its levers effectively without having to deal with indignant private owners over international availability.By extension, the game’s administrators are also able to ensure that the BBL remains a competition designed to grow cricket’s audience in Australia and to complement the international schedule, rather than cannibalising it. Having invested much in creating the competition, CA’s decision makers are confident that they don’t need to worry about making Australian players more available to the BBL, for it has proven that it can stand up without them.”I think every player is on the same page, they’d love to be a part of the BBL finals,” Finch said. “But at the same time I think no one would give up playing cricket for Australia for a second to play for a franchise-based side, so is there a better way they can work it out? I’m not sure what the answer is to that because I think the window is quite small to fit a BBL type setup in.”When you’re looking at getting the best international players in the world available for it as well, I think that’s also a big contributor to the timing. And while it would be lovely to play in the finals – although Renegades weren’t there – at the same time no one is going to miss playing for Australia.”

Essex pull off Wahab Riaz coup

Essex have pulled off a marquee signing for the NatWest T20 Blast campaign with the signing of the Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2016Essex have pulled off a marquee signing for the NatWest T20 Blast campaign with the signing of the Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz.Riaz will feature in seven matches for the Essex Eagles, before being replaced by the New Zealander Adam Milne.Riaz went into the Pakistan Super League with 106 Twenty20 wickets at an impressive average of 22.21, and has had spells with Kent Spitfires and Surrey in the past.Head Coach Chris Silverwood said “We are pleased to have Wahab joining the squad for the first half of the NatWest T20 Blast season. He will add a different dimension to our bowling attack, being a left armer and bowling with real pace.”We are looking at this competition with confidence. We need to improve our performance from the past few seasons, and drive our limited-overs cricket forward. Wahab’s signing helps us with this.”Essex have been perennial nearly-men in limited-overs competitions, reaching a host opf quarter-finals in recent times without going on to land a top prize, but there is a fresh sense of ambition under their new chairman of cricket Ronnie Irani.

Tremain's four pins NSW down

Chris Tremain’s four wickets helped Victoria restrict New South Wales to 8 for 262 after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Traeger Park in Alice Springs

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2016
ScorecardVictoria did well under tranquil skies in Alice Springs•Getty Images

Chris Tremain’s four wickets helped Victoria restrict New South Wales to 8 for 262 after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Traeger Park in Alice Springs.The Bushrangers are fighting to preserve a narrow lead at the top of the points table and thus ensure the competition final is also played in the Red Centre.Tremain and the left-arm spinner Jon Holland (2 for 72) were among the wickets, both sides choosing twin spin on a slow surface. The Blues have named Arjun Nair alongside Nathan Lyon, while Holland joined Fawad Ahmed for the Bushrangers.Victoria had looked capable of bowling the Blues out cheaply when Ben Rohrer was fourth man out for the visitors with only 69 runs on the board, but a 110-run stand between Kurtis Patterson and Ryan Carters allowed NSW to gain a foothold.Patterson’s assured 82 off 174 balls maintained a strong recent run of scoring since the Big Bash League break, though he would have been disappointed to fall to Holland’s left-arm spin when within sight of a hundred.Carters also added a useful 69, and NSW will hope for some tail-end resistance from Nair and Lyon when play resumes.

Klusener seeks arbitration over Dolphins dismissal

Lance Klusener, the former Dolphins coach, is seeking arbitration over his dismissal from the franchise through South Africa’s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration

Firdose Moonda19-Apr-2016Lance Klusener, the former Dolphins coach, is seeking arbitration over his dismissal from the franchise through South Africa’s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The hearing is expected to take place in two weeks’ time.The CCMA is an independent dispute resolution body, not a court of law. It looks at, among other things, unfair dismissals.Klusener confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he is seeking arbitration but declined to discuss the nature of his complaint. “The process is still ongoing, so I cannot say too much,” he said.Dolphins CEO Pete de Wet said, similarly, “I am unable to comment on the process or the likely outcomes.”Klusener was informed that his contract would not be renewed in February and was relieved of his duties immediately, even though the season’s fixtures had not been completed. At the time de Wet said Klusener’s dismissal was purely a “business decision”.Coaching duties were handed over to Yashin Ebrahim, a former Dolphins coach, and Roger Telemachus, who was previously in charge of the Kwa-Zulu Natal provincial side. Ebrahim is known to have applied for the main job. Dolphins are likely to announce their new coach at the same time as Klusener’s hearing is scheduled.The time frame makes it unlikely that Klusener will get his job back, although he remains open to that possibility. He has not had other work since he was sacked, and admitted he would still like to be part of the cricketing structures at the franchise, even as it negotiates difficult times. “I invested a lot of time and effort there,” he said. “So I would be upset if things didn’t work out – not just for me, but for the franchise and cricket as a whole.”Dolphins went trophy-less in the 2015-16 season, finishing fifth out of six teams in both the first-class and the one-day cup, although they reached the final of the 20-over competition. The franchise has also lost several players ahead of next season. Kyle Abbott, who is nationally contracted and can thus choose which franchise he wants to play for, has opted for Warriors, while batsmen Jonathan Vandiar and Daniel Sincuba have signed with Titans.

Narine, Pollard in WI squad for first four tri-series matches

Offspinner Sunil Narine, whose bowling action was cleared by the ICC in April, and allrounder Kieron Pollard have been picked in the West Indies squad for the first four matches of the Tri-Nation series against Australia and South Africa, which starts fro

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2016Offspinner Sunil Narine and allrounder Kieron Pollard, who have not played international cricket since November 2015, have been picked in the West Indies ODI squad for the first four matches of the upcoming tri-series against Australia and South Africa, which starts from June 3.Allrounder Carlos Brathwaite and batsman Marlon Samuels, who played key roles in West Indies’ World T20 triumph in India earlier this year, were also selected. The squad, however, did not include allrounders Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, and Dwayne Bravo, and batsman Chris Gayle, all of whom were not contracted by WICB earlier this year.

Hetmyer, Joseph in WICB President’s XI squad

West Indies Under-19s players Shimron Hetmyer and Alzarri Joseph have been named in the 13-member WICB President’s XI squad that will play a 50-over day-night match against the South Africans on May 29 at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.
Hetmyer captained West Indies U-19s to their first World Cup triumph earlier this year, while Joseph was one of the leading bowlers in the tournament, taking 13 wickets in six matches at an average of 13.76 and an economy rate of 3.31.
Kraigg Brathwaite will captain the squad, which also includes batsmen Evin Lewis and Jermaine Blackwood.
WICB President’s XI squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Jermaine Blackwood, Damion Jacobs, Shane Dowrich, Jason Mohammed, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Jon Russ Jaggesar, Andre McCarthy, Nikita Miller, Rayad Emrit, Delorn Johnson

Narine had been reported for a suspect action during West Indies’ tour of Sri Lanka in November last year and was subsequently suspended from bowling in international cricket after his action was found to be illegal. The offspinner was picked in the World T20 squad but pulled out citing “insufficient progress in the rehabilitative work” on his action. The ICC cleared Narine to bowl in April, days before the start of IPL 2016. He has taken seven wickets in eight matches for Kolkata Knight Riders so far in this season at an economy rate of 6.94.Pollard, on the other hand, missed international cricket due to a knee injury he suffered while playing the Ram Slam T20 Challenge in South Africa last November. The injury forced his withdrawal from the World T20, after he was initially named in the squad. Pollard made his return to competitive cricket in IPL 2016, and has scored 198 runs in 12 matches for Mumbai Indians so far with one fifty. He has also bowled six overs in the tournament.The squad for the tri-series also included offspinner Ashley Nurse and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who are uncapped in the ODI format. Nurse has played four T20Is and was a member of the World T20 squad this year, while Gabriel has played 16 Tests and two T20Is since his debut in May 2012.The tri-series will be West Indies’ first ODI assignment since their tour of Sri Lanka last year. West Indies play their first match against South Africa on June 3, followed by a game against Australia on June 5. Both matches will be held in Guyana. Their second round of matches is scheduled for June 13 and 15 in St Kitts.West Indies squad: Jason Holder (capt), Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Shannon Gabriel, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor

Burns stands out as Jarvis dismantles Surrey

Kyle Jarvis continued his and Lancashire’s excellent start to the Specsavers County Championship season with four wickets before lunch and 6 for 70 in all on the opening day against Surrey at Old Trafford

ECB Reporters Network22-May-2016
ScorecardKyle Jarvis struck four times in his first spell•Getty Images

Kyle Jarvis continued his and Lancashire’s excellent start to the Specsavers County Championship season with four wickets before lunch and 6 for 70 in all on the opening day against Surrey at Old Trafford.Surrey, having elected to bat, slipped to 40 for 5 inside 18 overs during a weather-affected day and were later bowled out for 191 inside 62 overs.Jarvis claimed the prized scalp of Kumar Sangakkara, lbw for a duck, during an excellent 10-over opening spell on the way to his third career haul of six wickets or more. They were his best figures in a Lancashire shirt.Surrey opener Rory Burns batted superbly for 92 off 164 balls, but he was last man out to leave the hosts with 12 overs to face before close. They reached 16 without loss.Lancashire are aiming to win their first three home matches in a Championship campaign for the first time since 1952 having beaten Nottinghamshire and Hampshire here already. Victory could take them top of Division One ahead of next week’s Roses fixture at Headingley.Tom Bailey made the first breakthrough at the end of the fifth over when he had Arun Harinath caught behind.Jarvis then removed Sangakkara lbw and had Steven Davies caught behind for ducks in the eighth over before forcing Jason Roy to chip to mid-on for 2 in the 14th.And when Ben Foakes was bowled shouldering arms to one which nipped back in the 18th, Surrey were in all sorts of trouble.Lancashire’s new-ball pair were aided by swing and seam movement, but at least Burns and James Burke were able to stem the tide with a 64-run stand for the sixth wicket either side of lunch.Their partnership was interrupted by a near two-hour rain delay immediately after lunch, and Jarvis made the breakthrough in the 38th over when Burke edged to first slip for 31. Tom Curran followed caught behind as Surrey reached tea at 126 for 7.Burns reached his fourth fifty against Lancashire off 123 balls in the final over of the afternoon and shared 68 for the eighth wicket with Gareth Batty midway through the evening.He combated a hostile post-tea spell from Neil Wagner, who later removed of Batty and Mathew Pillans in the space of three balls in the 58th over to leave the score at 182 for 9.Batty was smartly caught at second slip by Tom Smith and Pillans bowled. Wagner wrapped up the innings when he trapped Burns lbw.Lancashire have included former captain Smith in their side after injury.Smith played in their opening T20 Blast match on Saturday, which was his first appearance since last April following a career-threatening back injury and more recent hamstring problems.He has come in for opener Karl Brown. He bowled nine overs for 27 and opened the batting with Haseeb Hameed. They will begin day two unbeaten on 7 and 5 respectively.

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