Shahzad, Usman swat aside PNG

March 31, 2017

UAE 292 for 5 (Shahzad 87, Usman 58, Nao 2-47, Soper 2-63) beat Papua New Guinea 210 (Haider 4-49, Raza 3-30) by 82 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details File photo – Muhammad Usman struck six fours and a six © Peter Della Penna Half-centuries from Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad and Muhammad Usman underpinned UAE’s 82-run victory over Papua New Guinea in Abu Dhabi. Mohammad Naveed and captain Rohan Mustafa, meanwhile, made…

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Inconsistent selection leaves Sri Lanka in flux

Play 00:31 Gurusinha targets World Cup qualification Sri Lanka’s inconsistent selection has had a “big effect” on the present state of the ODI team, cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha has said, ahead of the third ODI against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka have rifled through 41 players – five higher than any other international side – since the 2015 World Cup. The team has been especially changeable since Sanath Jayasuriya’s selection committee took…

March 31, 2017
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Bangladesh reject invitation to tour Pakistan

March 31, 2017

Bangladesh last played in Pakistan in July 2008 © AFP Bangladesh have refused to tour Pakistan for a proposed two-match T20I series sometime before July this year. In a bid to bring international cricket back to the country, the Pakistan Cricket Board had extended an invitation to their counterparts in the Bangladesh Cricket Board after they had successfully hosted the PSL final in Lahore three weeks ago. Among the people…

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Kent in talks to sign Milne for Blast

March 31, 2017

Adam Milne has only recently returned to action after almost a year out © IDI/Getty Images New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne is in discussions to play in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast as an overseas player. Milne’s agent has confirmed that, while a number of clubs were interested in signing the 24-year-old, he has only entered into talks with two, one of which ESPNcricinfo understands is Kent. The signing…

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Ashwin to give IPL a miss, Vijay doubtful

Play 01:48 Kalra: Pune will rue not having any frontline Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the India offspinner, is set to miss IPL 2017 for Rising Pune Supergiant because of a sports hernia. Ashwin is likely to be out of action for six to eight weeks, but is expected to regain full fitness ahead of India’s title defence at the Champions Trophy in June. He is scheduled to begin his rehabilitation…

March 31, 2017
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Mashrafe targets greater away success

March 31, 2017

Mashrafe Mortaza wants his boys to keep playing aggressive cricket © Getty Images Bangladesh have recently won two Tests against teams they had never previously beaten, made the knockouts of the World Cup in 2015, won six of their seven most-recent home ODI series, and have unearthed match-winning young bowlers, so it is time to take aim at the next frontier, captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said. His goal: to consistently…

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Inconsistent selection leaves Sri Lanka in flux

Play 00:31 Gurusinha targets World Cup qualification Sri Lanka’s inconsistent selection has had a “big effect” on the present state of the ODI team, cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha has said, ahead of the third ODI against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka have rifled through 41 players – five higher than any other international side – since the 2015 World Cup. The team has been especially changeable since Sanath Jayasuriya’s selection committee took…

March 31, 2017
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Zaheer keen to embrace 'support role'

Play 01:10 Sitting pretty despite the absence of Duminy, De Kock – Zaheer In 2015, Zaheer Khan had announced that he would retire from all forms of cricket after the ninth IPL season. Two years on, he’s set to lead Delhi Daredevils again in their quest for their maiden title, in the tenth edition. Zaheer hasn’t played a competitive game for a year, but believes a shift in roles –…

March 31, 2017
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Bangladesh eye series win, SL an end to losing streak

March 31, 2017

Match Facts April 1, 2017Start time: 0930 local (0400GMT) Kusal Mendis, who hit his maiden century in Dambulla, has shown signs of his desire to be a leading batsman in world cricket © AFP Big Picture Sri Lanka would have felt hard done by after rain ruined the second ODI, when they put up a total of 311. No team had ever won a 50-over game on the island after…

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Pakistan eye knockout punch against dispirited West Indies

March 31, 2017

Match facts April 1, 2017Start time 12:30 local (16:30 GMT) Will West Indies find an answer to Shadab Khan? © Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images Big Picture The 2-0 scoreline may suggest more of the same from the remaining T20 matches this series, but the manner in which Pakistan sneaked over the line in the second game brought the tour to life. It was an encounter West Indies looked to have wrapped…

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