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Ranjit Fernando has been appointed to replace Charith Senanayake as the manager of the Sri Lanka team for the tours of South Africa and Australia

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Dec-2016Former wicketkeeper-batsman Ranjit Fernando has been appointed manager of the Sri Lanka team for the tours of South Africa and Australia. Fernando will replace Charith Senanayake, who held the position for most of this year.Fernando’s appointment is one of three changes to Sri Lanka’s support staff. Neither long-time physiotherapist Steve Mount, nor fielding coach Nick Pothas, will be with the Test side in South Africa. Mount, SLC’s secretary has confirmed, will end his tenure with the team on December 15, while Pothas has been temporarily reassigned to the Under-19 squad as it prepares for the Youth Asia Cup at home.The board has appointed Ajantha Wattegama in place of Mount, and Manoj Abeywickrama as fielding coach, though these appointments are not understood to be permanent. Both these men had already been on the board’s payroll.Though the board has said Senanayake’s replacement is part of a “rotation policy”, and that he remains a board employee ostensibly until the end of his contractual term next September, its relationship with Senanayake appears to have deteriorated. Senanayake himself has expressed surprise, disappointment and concern over his sudden removal.”We in the organisation – the board and executive committee members – have brought in a policy where we appoint a manager on a rotational basis; on a tour-by-tour basis,” SLC CEO Ashley de Silva said. “Not only the manager, but the other support staff will also be appointed on a rotational basis.”The rotation policy, the board says, has been adopted in order to groom homegrown talent for long-term work with the national team. However, the board has also perceived the existing support staff’s supposed over-familiarity with the players also to be a concern.Fernando, the new manager, meanwhile, has served in that capacity before, and has a reputation for being one of the most knowledgeable and even-handed figures in Sri Lanka cricket.Sri Lanka depart on December 10 for their tour of South Africa, where they will play three Tests, three T20s and five ODIs there.

Litton Das is set to replace the injured Najmul Hossain Shanto in Bangladesh’s XI

Karthik Krishnaswamy05-Sep-20233:13

How will Bangladesh deal with Shanto’s absence?

Big picture: Teams share complicated relationship

Talk of rivalries has dominated the Asia Cup. India-Pakistan. Pakistan-Afghanistan. The derby. Heck, you could even throw in the Rohit derby.Here’s another sizzling rivalry to kick off the Super Four stage. Pakistan and Bangladesh have endured a long and complicated relationship on and off the field, and Wednesday will be their first ODI meeting since the 2019 World Cup.It was against Pakistan, of course, that Bangladesh had their breakthrough moment as a cricketing nation. It was also against Pakistan, however, that they experienced their most protracted struggle to turn the gains from that breakthrough into results on the field. Between Northampton 1999 and Mirpur 2015, Bangladesh beat every other opposition at least once in international cricket, but lost 40 straight games to Pakistan. Some of those defeats were genuine heartbreaks, not least those in the Asia Cups of 2012 and 2014.They have turned a corner since then, certainly in ODIs where they’ve beaten Pakistan four times in their last five meetings. Pakistan have dominated the rivalry since then, in Tests and T20Is, but those results will have little bearing on Wednesday’s match since the 50-overs format is where Bangladesh are at their strongest.You’d have to count Pakistan as favourites since they’re playing at home and seem to have every base covered as befits the world’s No. 1 ODI side. Bangladesh, already weakened by injuries to key players, are now also without Najmul Hossain Shanto, their most in-form batter. But they’re a smart, experienced group who know their way around ODI cricket, and they’re familiar with the conditions with Lahore, having pulled off a rousing win there over Afghanistan on Sunday. Expect them to be well-prepared and ready for whatever Pakistan have to throw at them.

Form guide

Pakistan WWWWL (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)

Bangladesh WLWLLCan Fakhar Zaman make a big score against Bangladesh?•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Fakhar Zaman and Shoriful Islam

Since scoring three hundreds on the bounce against New Zealand in May, Fakhar Zaman has made 19, 14, 33, 2, 30, 27 and 14 in his last seven ODI innings. If he gets in against Bangladesh, he’ll try his hardest to make sure he stays in.It’s early days yet, but Shoriful Islam has a terrific record after 19 ODIs, with 30 wickets at an average of 24.93. The left-arm quick is fresh off a three-wicket haul against Afghanistan, and could cause Pakistan’s top order problems if he can get the new ball moving around.

Team news: Litton set to replace Shanto

Pakistan played the same XI in both their group games, but start the Super 4s with one change. They’ve left out Mohammad Nawaz for the Bangladesh game, and in comes Faheem Ashraf, the medium-pacer, who was included in the XI on the eve of the fixture. Pakistan’s decision to leave left-arm spinner Nawaz out could be because of the many left-hand batters in the Bangladesh line-up.Pakistan: 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Agha Salman, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Naseem Shah, 11 Haris Rauf.Litton Das, who has recovered from the illness that kept him out of the group stage, is expected to walk back into the top order in place of Shanto. It will be interesting to see if he opens, or if Mehidy Hasan Miraz remains there after his century against Afghanistan.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 3 Litton Das, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Towhid Hridoy, 7 Shamim Hossain, 8 Afif Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Hasan Mahmud.

Pitch and conditions

Conditions at the Gaddafi Stadium tend to be batting-friendly, with the last five ODIs here producing three 300-plus first-innings totals as well as Sri Lanka’s 291 against Afghanistan on Tuesday. The weather is expected to be hot and dry, with temperatures in the mid-30s Celsius.

Stats and trivia

• Bangladesh are yet to beat Pakistan in Pakistan in any format. They have lost each of their meetings in 11 ODIs, five Tests and three T20Is.
• Shaheen Shah Afridi (22.39) has the best average of all Pakistan bowlers with at least 50 ODI wickets ahead of Sarfraz Nawaz (23.22), Wasim Akram (23.52) and Waqar Younis (23.84).
• Mohammad Rizwan is one catch short of 50 as a keeper in ODIs. He has also taken 12 catches as a fielder.

Alex Hales has been added to the England squad and looks set to return to the side for the final ODI against West Indies

George Dobell07-Mar-2017Alex Hales has been added to the England squad and looks set to return to the side for the final ODI against West Indies. Hales, who was not selected originally due to a hand injury sustained during the series in India, joined the tour party to continue his rehab in Antigua.He has now been officially added to the squad, which means he will come into contention for Thursday’s match in Barbados. England lead the three-match series 2-0.”Hales has now been passed fit by the medics and he’s practised well over the last few days,” Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, told the BBC. “So he’s officially in the squad now for Thursday’s game, which is good news.”We always knew that Hales would join us. Even if he wasn’t available to play, we were always going to bring him here so we had him as part of the group.”Hales’ availability is not good news for Sam Billings. While Billings made a half-century in the first ODI – his second half-century in three ODI innings at that stage – he was unable to convert his start into the formidable contribution that might have kept Hales out of the side. Billings was out first ball in the second ODI.There is little doubt that Hales remains England’s first choice opening partner for Jason Roy. He made 171 against Pakistan in August – England’s highest individual ODI score and his fourth century within 12 months.Jake Ball may also come back into contention for the final game. Ball injured his knee during the warm-up games in St Kitts and was not considered for selection for the first two ODIs. He will train on Wednesday, although it may well be that Steven Finn retains his place.The England squad, many of whom have their families with them now, enjoyed a rest day in Barbados on Tuesday.

Bawne had refused to leave the field after his dismissal against Services, causing a 15-minute delay

Shashank Kishore23-Jan-2025Maharashtra batter Ankit Bawne has been handed a one-match suspension for dissent. The decision was communicated to the team ahead of the side’s Ranji Trophy sixth round Group A fixture against Baroda in Nashik.Bawne’s refusal to leave the field after being given out in their fifth-round game against Services, prior to the white-ball season, created a flutter, even though there appeared to be conclusive evidence that the ball had bounced before Shubham Rohilla completed the catch at slip off left-arm spinner Amit Shukla.Bawne, who was the stand-in captain in that game, couldn’t opt to review the decision as the match was only on a livestream and not televised, which meant there was no infrastructure for DRS to be in place. His refusal to leave the field led to play being suspended for nearly 15 minutes, before the game resumed upon the intervention of match referee Amit Sharma and Maharashtra coach Sulakshan Kulkarni.Related

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After the incident, Kulkarni had lashed out at the umpiring standards in domestic cricket. “Players are subject to fines and reprimand, what about proper assessment of umpires,” he had said. “Why do the same erring umpires continue to officiate and play spoilsport? When there are blunders of this nature, the anger is justified.”At the time, Maharashtra’s regular captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, too, had posted replays of the dismissal. Gaikwad was playing for India A in Australia at the time.Bawne has been Maharashtra’s leading run-scorer this season, with 361 runs from five matches at an average of 51.57. He has scored one century and two fifties.Maharashtra are second from bottom in Group A and are already out of the reckoning for a playoff berth as they can reach a maximum of 22 points. As things stand, there are already two teams in the pool – Baroda and J&K – with more points.

Sarah Aley, the star of the Women’s BBL and the tournament’s highest wicket-taker this year, may become the fourth-oldest Australian women to debut in a T20I after she was added to Australia’s squad for the T20Is against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2017Thirty-two-year-old Sarah Aley has been added to Australia Women’s T20I squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand on February 17. She was called in as cover for Lauren Cheatle, who sustained an injury to her shoulder during training last week.Aley – who finished as the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Women’s Big Bash League – would be the fourth-oldest Australian woman to make a T20I debut if she plays, behind Cathryn Fitzpatrick (37), Belinda Clark (34) and Lisa Keightley (34).She was the player of the match during the WBBL final. In 10 matches in the tournament, Aley took 19 wickets with three three-wicket hauls, including 4 for 23 in the final.National selector Shawn Flegler said Aley’s consistent performances in both the 50-over and 20-over versions have earned her a spot in Australia’s squad. “Sarah had yet another consistent season in both the T20 and 50-over competitions this season and there’s no doubt she has earned her selection,” Flegler said. “She has got a wealth of experience and we know that if the opportunity arises she will be able to perform the role she’s given. You always know what you are going to get with Sarah.”Cheatle is expected to be available for the second and third matches of the series. The three-match T20I series starts in Melbourne, before moving to Geelong and finishing in Adelaide on February 22.

They need to win the two ODIs to give themselves the best chance of qualifying directly for the World Cup in India

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2023Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have been selected in a full-strength South Africa squad to play two crucial ODIs against Netherlands on March 31 in Benoni and April 1 in Johannesburg. Both fast bowlers were rested from the recent ODI series against West Indies, which was drawn 1-1 with one match washed out.This series will be the first time South Africa are facing Netherlands since they lost to them and were eliminated from the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. If South Africa win both ODIs without over-rate penalties, they will qualify directly for the World Cup in India this year if Ireland lose at least one ODI against Bangladesh in a three-match series in May.South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma will have a fitness test on Tuesday to make sure he has recovered from the hamstring niggle he picked up during his hundred in the second ODI against West Indies on March 18.”We have named our strongest possible squad for these games given the importance of these matches in the context of qualifying for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup,” South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter said. “We have a job to do and I am confident that with this group of players we can get the job done.”With the second ODI on April 2, Quinton de Kock (Lucknow Super Giants), Marco Jansen (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Heinrich Klaasen (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Sisanda Magala (Chennai Super Kings), Aiden Markram (Sunrisers Hyderabad), David Miller (Gujarat Titans), Lungi Ngidi (Delhi Capitals), Anrich Nortje (Delhi Capitals), and Kagiso Rabada (Punjab Kings) will be able to join their IPL franchises only on April 3 at the earliest.South Africa squad for Netherlands ODIs: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen

Rising Pune Supergiants have lost two games since their win in the tournament opener, and require a victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore to get their campaign back on track

The Preview by Nikhil Kalro21-Apr-2016

Match facts

Friday, April 22, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Big picture

Rising Pune Supergiants’ inaugural IPL season got off to the perfect start with a thumping win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener. Supergiants have lost two games since, and require a victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore to revive their campaign.Royal Challengers, who also won their first game before losing two consecutively, have depended on a strong top order to mask their bowling fragility. Chris Gayle, who did not feature against Mumbai Indians, having flown to Jamaica to be with his partner for the birth of their first child, will miss this game too. Till Gayle returns, Royal Challengers could persist with KL Rahul opening and Travis Head at No. 5.Royal Challengers have failed to find a settled bowling combination. Barring Harshal Patel, no other specialist bowler has played all three games. West Indies legspinner Samuel Badree has been ruled out of the tournament after failing to recover from an injured shoulder, and has been replaced by the South African chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi.Supergiants haven’t found their best combination either. It isn’t often that MS Dhoni makes wholesale changes after two matches – Supergiants made three against Kings XI Punjab, including drafting in Thisara Perera and Irfan Pathan for Mitchell Marsh and Rajat Bhatia as like-for-like replacements. The batting has been held together by Faf du Plessis’ consistency (170 runs in three matches), but a misfiring middle order has been shown up. Supergiants have the personnel, but need to perform consistently to bid for a playoffs spot.

Form guide

Rising Pune Supergiants: LLW (most recent matches first)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: LLW

In the spotlight

Ajinkya Rahane is a vital cog in Supergiants’ batting order. He started the season with an unbeaten 66 against Mumbai, but has scored only 30 runs over his next two games. A solid start could help an unsettled middle order come into its own.Shane Watson was the most expensive purchase at the IPL auction (INR 9.5 crores), and his all-round abilities have made a telling difference to the Royal Challengers line-up. He has bowled four overs in all games, taken four wickets, and scored 57 runs at a strike rate of 154.05. With his experience, he will be asked to bowl at crunch times and provide Royal Challengers with impetus towards the end with the bat.

Team news

Supergiants brought in Perera and Pathan against Kings XI, but neither enjoyed a productive game. Dhoni may be forced to make changes again.Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Steven Smith, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Mitchell Marsh/Albie Morkel/Thisara Perera, 7 Rajat Bhatia/Irfan Pathan, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ankit Sharma, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 M AshwinRoyal Challengers made six changes for the match against Mumbai. Head and Rahul’s cameos mean they are likely to retain their place. Iqbal Abdullah picked up three wickets, but conceded 40 off his four overs. Will Yuzvendra Chahal return?Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable) 1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Shane Watson, 5 Travis Head, 6 Sarfaraz Khan, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Kane Richardson, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal/Iqbal Abdullah, 11 Varun Aaron/S Aravind

Pitch and conditions

In the last T20 that Pune hosted, India were bowled out for 101 on a seaming deck against Sri Lanka. The pitch may not be as green as that night, but could retain its seam-friendly nature. There is no rain forecast.

Stats and trivia

• In 15 innings since the start of 2016, MS Dhoni has scored 190 runs at an average of 47.30, with a highest score of 30. He has only been dismissed four times.
• In the same period, Virat Kohli has scored 812 runs in 15 innings with an average of 101.50.

Officials from the BCCI are due to meet with members of the WICB in Florida on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the possibility of staging a series of T20 internationals at the Central Broward Regional Park in Florida next month

Peter Della Penna27-Jul-2016Officials from the BCCI are due to meet with members of the WICB in Florida on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the possibility of staging a series of T20 internationals at the Central Broward Regional Park in Florida next month.According to Duncan Finch, Broward Parks & Recreation Manager, WICB officials contacted him to discuss the availability for potentially hosting two-three T20Is in Florida at the conclusion of the ongoing four-Test series between West Indies and India, which is scheduled to end in Trinidad on August 22.”We had an email inquiring about late-August availability of the stadium by representatives of the WICB last week,” Finch told ESPNcricinfo. “We have August 24 to 27, and they were asking about Sunday, August 28, as well. We would have to cancel a small event to give them the Sunday.”Sources have also confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the WICB has reached out to the ICC for sanctioning permission to host the games in the USA. In 2012, the West Indies board had to go through the USA Cricket Association as the home governing body in America to receive approval to play two T20Is against New Zealand. That power, however, was stripped from USACA as part of the ICC’s decision to suspend the American board in June 2015. If an agreement can be reached, these would be the first Full Member matches in the USA since that 2012 series.The Florida facility will host six Caribbean Premier League games between July 28 and 31. The USA national team is also due to hold selection trial matches from August 1 to 3 to help finalise a 14-man squad for WCL Division Four in October. The square itself only contains four pitches, two of which are being used as center practice wickets for the CPL and the other two reserved for the six CPL matches, which could pose a challenge in terms of making sure there is a wicket prepared to a suitable standard at the stadium should an agreement be reached between the BCCI and WICB. However, the Lauderhill facility is the only ICC-certified ODI stadium in the USA, making it the only possible venue in the country to stage a potential T20I series.While no other cricket is scheduled to be held there until November, the facility is regularly rented out to FC Barcelona, who conducted a series of camps at the facility immediately prior to the CPL. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers, a second division US soccer franchise, also recently signed a contract to make the Central Broward Regional Park their new home stadium and training facility.The Strikers’ first game at the CBRP is August 20 with the next fixture after that scheduled for August 31. Though the cricket square was dug up three years ago and moved 20 yards north to protect it from being damaged by soccer use, the Strikers games could pose problems for maintaining the outfield, which was in poor condition following the FC Barcelona camps in late June and early July. CBRP ground staff have worked around the clock over the past week to improve the state of the outfield leading into the CPL games beginning on Thursday.

Giant quick signs after fellow Australia international Kane Richardson pulled out of planned T20 stint with Derbyshire

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2019Billy Stanlake, the towering Australia fast bowler, will replace compatriot Kane Richardson as one of Derbyshire’s overseas signings for this season’s Vitality Blast.Richardson was recently called into Australia’s World Cup squad, leading to him pulling out of his planned Derbyshire stint in order to manage his workload. The club have instead recruited Stanlake – who last year pulled out of a T20 deal with Yorkshire on Cricket Australia’s advice – for their Blast campaign alongside New Zealand allrounder Logan van Beek.”Billy is an excellent white-ball bowler and with his height and pace, he has the qualities to trouble batsmen in this format,” Derbyshire’s head of cricket, Dave Houghton, said.”He’s someone we’ve kept an eye on and we’ve been impressed by what we’ve seen. We were disappointed to lose Kane, but I believe we have found a replacement who will not only complement our side, but bring in new skills to keep taking us forward.”We’ve seen improvements already this summer and we want to continue that momentum into the Vitality Blast and reward our supporters with good performances.”Standing at over 2m tall and capable of bowling above 90mph, Stanlake has been capped in both white-ball formats for Australia, taking 25 wickets in 17 T20 internationals. He helped Adelaide Strikers win the Big Bash League in 2017-18 and has also featured at the IPL.His arrival will strengthen the hand of Derbyshire’s new T20 coach, Dominic Cork, who has taken over from John Wright looking to replicate their run to the knockout stages in 2017.”The T20 will come around fast now and I’m looking forward to getting going,” Stanlake said. “It’ll be my first experience of the tournament, and having spoken to the guys I know how important the competition is.”It’s a good side and a quick, bouncy track at Derby, so I hope to use my skills and contribute to performances out in the middle for Derbyshire.”

The fast bowler has admitted surgery is the “only chance I’ve got of getting back to full fitness”

Matt Roller28-Jul-2022Chris Woakes is due to undergo knee surgery on Thursday and faces a race to be fit for the T20 World Cup in Australia.Woakes has not played a full game in any format since England’s tour of the Caribbean in March, reporting a sore knee when he returned to the UK. He said that the injury had “teased” him throughout the summer, and he has been restricted to a single second-team appearance this season.”It’s been a really frustrating summer,” Woakes told the BBC’s . “I came back from the Caribbean at the end of March and had a sore knee. I thought I’d just have a few weeks off and then get back up and running, and it hasn’t quite gone that way.”I’ve really struggled with my knee without really knowing exactly what’s wrong. I’ve finally got to the situation now where really the only chance I’ve got of getting back to full fitness is by going for some surgery.”Woakes did not play a T20 international between 2015 and 2021 but became a key part of England’s plans ahead of last year’s World Cup, taking seven wickets in six matches at the tournament with an economy rate of 7.36.With Jofra Archer, Saqib Mahmood and Mark Wood all expected to miss this year’s tournament in Australia with their respective injuries, England’s seam stocks are depleted, and Woakes said his aim was to be available for selection. However, England will be required to select their provisional squad in mid-September under ICC regulations, and Woakes will have limited opportunities to prove his fitness before then.”Everything that I’m getting from the surgeon who seems to be quite optimistic about it all. He’s saying four to six weeks – more likely to be six than four,” Woakes added. “It all depends really on what they find on the inside but they’re hoping that it’s not going to be anything too drastic. It should be a fairly routine keyhole surgery.”Touch wood, they don’t find anything in there that we’re not [expecting]. I’m pretty excited at the fact that I’m hopefully getting the problem sorted rather than letting this linger on like I have done over the last couple of months which have been really frustrating, to be honest, to miss so much cricket.”It should hopefully be really straightforward rehab and hopefully back – obviously the aim for myself is to be available for selection for that T20 World Cup. Fingers crossed I can be a part of that.”This particular injury has been really frustrating. It’s teased me a little bit. I can do almost everything absolutely fine until a certain level. I get to a stage where I need to bowl at batsmen at full tilt and then it flares up. That’s the annoying thing about this one. It’s not like I can’t do anything, it’s just when I get to that full capacity.”