Josh Davey will be a key bowler for Scotland © Peter Della Penna Scotland will play T20Is against UAE and Netherlands in Dubai as part of their preparations for the World T20. The matches on February 4 and 5 will take place as Scotland head home from their current tour of Hong Kong. They will also face a County XI – expected to be an amalgamation of cricketers who will…
India-Bangladesh clash to kick off Asia Cup
India and Bangladesh will kick off this year’s edition of the Asia Cup © AFP India and Bangladesh will kick-off the main round of the Asia Cup on February 24, but the weekend clashes may garner more attention. India and Pakistan play each other the following Saturday and hosts Bangladesh takes on Sri Lanka, the current title holders, on Sunday. The tournament will be played in Twenty20 format for the…
Somerset return for Gayle
[embedded content] Big-hitting West Indian Chris Gayle will play in the NatWest T20 Blast again this year after re-signing for Somerset on a six-match deal from June 1. The brutal opening batsman took the competition by storm in 2015, smacking a century and two fifties in amassing 328 runs in just three innings. And Somerset will be hoping Gayle can cause the same type of carnage this time around when…
England U19s aiming to emulate Class of '98
When England Under-19s begin their World Cup campaign against Fiji today, they will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of the triumphant Class of ’98. Owais Shah’s young side opened the tournament in South Africa with a four-wicket win over New Zealand in what proved to be a dress rehearsal for the final. Graham Napier, who went on to become a key player for Essex, told ecb.co.uk that England went into…
Experience of playing South Africa in the past helped – Shanto
“We didn’t want to think of this as a World Cup game and get overawed by the occasion.” © ICC There is a bit of fire about Liam Smith. Perhaps it was the pent up adrenaline after completing his first hundred at the under-19 level, or maybe even cramps on his leg that was bothering him. Or it just could be that South Africa’s 43-run loss to Bangladesh was hurting…
Stokes the fulcrum for England's future
Bringing in the balance: Ben Stokes can change games with bat and ball © AFP In the end, Ben Stokes was the key difference between the teams. It was not just his runs and wickets that earned him the Man of the Series award in South Africa. You could argue that, despite being England’s top-scorer in the series, more than half of them came in the draw in Cape Town….
Gayle returns to Somerset for T20 Blast
Chris Gayle had a controversial season at the Big Bash in Australia © Getty Images Chris Gayle will return to Somerset for a six-match stint in the NatWest T20 Blast during June. It will bring him back to a club where Chris Rogers, who was outspoken in his criticism of Gayle following the BBL controversy involving his TV interview with Mel McLaughlin, is the County Championship captain although Rogers will…
One eye on fielding, another on 2004 repeat for Pakistan
Batting and bowling apart, much of Pakistan’s focus at the training session for a better part of three hours was on their fielding ahead of their tournament opener against Afghanistan © International Cricket Council “Come on yaar, don’t drop so many catches,” screams Pakistan’s Shadab Khan as he pulls, slogs and slog sweeps from close to the cordoned-off pitch to give his team-mates some catching practice. There are three fielders…
Shahid Yousuf ton leads Islamabad into final
Islamabad 232 for 3 (Shahid Yousuf 100*, Ali Sarfraz 48, Sarmad Bhatti 44*) beat Khan Research Laboratories 231 for 9 (Shoaib Ahmed 74, Saeed Anwar Jr. 54, Hasan Ali 4-28) by seven wicketsScorecard File photo – Shahid Yousuf struck 14 fours in his unbeaten 89-ball 100 An unbeaten 89-ball 100 from Shahid Yousuf helped Islamabad romp into the final with a seven-wicket win over Khan Research Laboratories at the Gaddafi…
Lawrence credits county experience for record-breaking 174
File photo: Dan Lawrence struck 174 off 150 balls, the highest score ever recorded in Under-19 World Cup history © Getty Images When he was dismissed in the final over, England opener Dan Lawrence did not know that his 174 was the second-highest in 11 years of Under-19 World Cups and only six runs short of the highest ever in Youth ODIs. He was simply delighted that it helped the…