Hat-trick Hall hurries Northamptonshire win

ScorecardNorthamptonshire captain Andrew Hall took a hat-trick as his side claimed an emphatic 10-wicket win over County Championship Division Two leaders Glamorgan with a day to spare at Wantage Road.Hall, who finished with figures of 4 for 49, dismissed Ben Wright, Glamorgan captain Jamie Dalrymple and Jim Allenby in consecutive balls in the afternoon session to claim Northants’ first hat-trick in first-class cricket since 1980.Australian opener Mark Cosgrove provided some resistance with 115 off 138 balls but the visitors were bowled out for 325 following on and Northants easily chased down their modest target of 39 to boost their own promotion hopes.Northants began the day by asking Glamorgan, who they had dismissed in less than two sessions on day two for 207, to bat again. Unlike in their first innings, however, the opening pair of Gareth Rees and Cosgrove got the visitors off to a solid start with Cosgrove batting aggressively.Rees made 14 before smashing Jack Brooks to James Middlebrook at backward point to end an opening partnership of 58. Cosgrove went on to reach his half-century off 64 balls and Tom Maynard rapidly made one of his own off 57 deliveries as he passed his previous best four-day score of 51 not out against Derbyshire in Cardiff last year.Glamorgan raced to 153 for 1 at lunch, but Nicky Boje broke up a second-wicket stand of 109 in the third over of the afternoon session when he forced Maynard (64) to edge to Hall at slip. Cosgrove was relentless, however, and the Australian made his second century of the season off 114 balls.Then Hall worked his magic in the 47th over when Wright, who blasted 33 off as many balls, top-edged his delivery straight to David Sales at point. Then, with his next two balls, he forced Dalrymple then Allenby to edge to wicketkeeper David Murphy to equal Richard Williams’ feat against Gloucestershire 30 years ago.The same combination then ended Cosgrove’s superb knock with Murphy also snapping up fellow keeper Mark Wallace (20) off David Lucas. The eighth-wicket pairing of James Harris and Dean Cosker ensured Northants would have to bat again as Glamorgan reached tea on 296 for 7, nine runs ahead.Harris made 39 before edging Middlebrook to Murphy, who took his fifth catch of the innings before David Harrison (15) was caught by Hall at first slip off Elton Chigumbura. Will Owen was then run out without facing a ball by Sales at cover and Northants openers Stephen Peters and Ben Howgego, on 17 and 23 not out saw them to a comprehensive 10-wicket victory, with Peters reaching 1,000 first-class runs this season.

Swann thanks Flower for 'joyous' approach

Graeme Swann has credited the coach Andy Flower as the architect of England’s rise over the past 18 months, after they earned bragging rights over Australia in all three formats. England’s ODI win at Old Trafford on Sunday handed them the series, and over the past year they have also taken the Ashes from Australia and beaten them in a World Twenty20 final.Although the Australian line-up is undermanned, with Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle all injured, they would still find it devastating to concede a series whitewash over the next week. That would be a major achievement for England, who over the past decade have won fewer than 30% of their ODIs against Australia.”The satisfying thing for us is that we sat down 18 months ago and said we want to be number one in all formats and asked how are we going to do it,” Swann said. “We have plotted our way to this point and everything has gone well. We have won the Ashes, won the World T20 and won this series after just three games, which you might expect against some teams but possibly not Australia, which is testament to the way we are playing.”The great thing Andy Flower had done is to instill a confidence in everyone to back their natural ability and perform on the big stage like they do in the county games. That was exemplified in the T20 the way we went out, not with carefree abandon, but it was certainly almost a joyous approach compared with how England teams have approached T20 the previous three years.”England’s confidence has been apparent over the past week, especially in the way their bowlers have built pressure on Australia’s experienced middle order. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey have failed to have an impact in this series, while Cameron White and Michael Clarke have each played one good innings without being able to make it a match-winning effort.James Anderson has led a miserly pace attack, while the spin of Swann and Michael Yardy has kept the Australians tied down during the middle overs. Swann collected four wickets at Old Trafford and said he enjoyed being able to attack Australia in tandem with a fellow slow bowler.”I think it is a formula [playing two spinners] that should work in all one-day cricket,” Swann said. “I’m in favour of bowling as many spinners as you can, especially in Twenty20. The way Yards bowled in the World Twenty20 got him into this one-day squad and he has been exceptional in these three games.”While Swann joked that England should be the No.1 team in the world now, having beaten the side ranked the best in ODIs, he brushed off suggestions that a clean sweep could give England an edge for the Ashes. Each team has two Test series to play before the battle for the urn, by which time Swann believes this result will be long forgotten.”It is a completely different game,” Swann said. “When you look in our changing room there are only three, four or five players involved in the Test team. For us to win this series is great but once November 20 comes round it wouldn’t matter if it this is 5-0 to us or 5-0 to Australia, no one would give a monkey’s. That first ball at Brisbane it is a whole new ball game.”

Mexico win despite Ben Smith ton

ScorecardMexico beat Costa Rica by three wickets with more than 14 overs to spare in the opening game of the Americas Division Four tournament in Mexico City on Monday.This was despite the efforts of Man-of-the-Match, Ben Smith, who hit 104 from 127 balls to provide the base for Costa Rica’s 186 from 46.5 overs. Smith struck two sixes and 12 boundaries in his stay which lasted for all but the first four balls of the Costa Rican innings. Smith entered in the first over when Barry Ashworth was bowled, and flourished while all around him succumbed to Tushar Gupta (5 for 32) and Tarun Sharma (2 for 28 from 10 overs).At one stage, Costa Rica were 13 for 4 and then 41 for 5 before Richard Illingworth and Sam Arthur survived long enough with Smith to enable 34 for the sixth wicket and 47 for the seventh wicket to be added. Garth Tweedale (10) and David Crisp (11) were the only batsmen apart from Smith to reach double figures, however their contributions and 36 wides were enough for Costa Rica to reach 186 from 46.5 overs.Mexico began their run chase in an attacking mindset, notching 59 in nine overs before losing James Garrity who was bowled after hitting 34 in 30 balls including five fours. When Tarundeep Singh was caught by Ashworth for a solid 33, Mexico were 91 for 3 after 17 overs – on target in terms of run-rate but in need of a partnership of substance.That came from Tarun Sharma (45 from 58 balls including a six and four boundaries) who put on 51 with Theodore Wucherpfennig (14). Cameos from Hugh van Belle (14 from 13 balls) and Roger Sherman (23 from 21 balls) allowed Mexico to ease home with 14.5 overs to spare. Tim Baker was Costa Rica’s main wicket-taker, removing Mexico’s first three in returning 3 for 43.On Tuesday, Falkland Islands play their first match against Costa Rica.

Kent bowlers destroy Durham

ScorecardSo far, the Championship season has been notable for results and those who have been on the wrong end of more than they have won are already wondering how they will make up lost ground. Yet it is not yet safe to predict who may beat whom.Kent, who slipped to the bottom of the First Division after their defeat at home to Durham last week, have come back so well that the return fixture at The Riverside may well provide them with instant revenge. At the end of day one, they lead by 184 runs, with Darren Stevens one run away from a third century of the season.Durham’s problems in a season bedevilled by injuries do not seem to be going away, moreover. Ian Blackwell, whose bowling and batting are key strengths, is missing with a calf injury that may sideline him for several weeks and now Ben Stokes, the 18-year-old whose sensational run-scoring form has been a feature of the last couple of weeks, faces a lay-off after spraining an ankle in the field.And yet Durham’s decision to bat first on what looked a decent-enough four-day strip was apparently made in the confident belief that a corner had been turned. Needless to say, all out for 121 was not the outcome envisaged.Did Phil Mustard, in his second match as captain, misread the pitch? Given that Jack Birkenshaw, the duty pitch inspector, saw nothing untoward, it would difficult to make that argument. More likely he underestimated the influence of swing, although as a factor in shaping the course of a cricket match, of course, the movement of the ball in the air is directly related to how well the bowlers harness it and how well the batsmen counter it.In this instance, Kent’s bowlers were good, Durham’s batsmen not so good. Makhaya Ntini, in his last match of his stint with the hop county, looked the class act that he is, rarely allowing his opponents the relief of a poor delivery. He took four of the wickets, although on this occasion he was outshone by Amjad Khan, who tended to bowl a little too wide of off stump initially but once he had locked his sights on the stumps became very difficult to play.Ntini struck first, dismissing Michael di Venuto and Steve Borthwick in the space of four balls in his fifth over, a double-wicket maiden. Di Venuto pushed hard at an away-swinger and the ball flew off the edge at speed but Martin van Jaarsveld took a good catch in front of his face. Three balls later, wicketkeeper Geraint Jones pouched a thinner edge to dismiss Borthwick.Khan followed up in the next over, bringing one back to have Kyle Coetzer leg before, and when he then produced a peach of a delivery that swung very late as Dale Benkenstein pushed through the line, inducing an edge to third slip, Durham had gone from 24 without loss to 27 for 4 in the space of 22 balls.The 29-year-old Khan would dearly love to add to the one Test cap he has won so far and chose a good moment to show his capabilities, with England selector James Whitaker looking on. In his ninth over, he reduced the home side to 50 for 6, benefiting from Gareth Breese hitting a loose shot straight to Joe Denly at cover before Mustard misread an inswinger and was leg before offering no stroke.Stokes, brimming with confidence after two hundreds in his last three innings, looked to have it in him to arrest the slide and one cover drive off Khan, hit with timing and authority, demonstrated his potential. But there was quality, too, in Kent’s bowling today and Ntini, who bowled unchanged, produced a fine ball that found bounce and movement to have him caught at third slip.But for late runs from Mitch Claydon and Chris Rushworth, it might have been worse still for the champions. Khan, who wrapped up the innings by trapping Steve Harmison in front, finished with 5 for 43, Ntini 4 for 53.The injury to Stokes came early in Kent’s reply, the youngster gamely giving chase to deny Rob Key a boundary but going over on his ankle as he stopped the ball just in front of the rope. Fears of a break proved unfounded, happily, but the sprain will need rest, which may rule him out of batting with a runner in the second innings.Key and Joe Denly put on 71 for the first wicket, their progress aided by a poor opening spell from Harmison, who conceded 41 in the first four overs, including four leg-side wides, as he struggled to control his line.Durham clawed their way back to a degree when Liam Plunkett replaced Harmison and removed both openers in his second and third overs as Key edged to third slip and Denly to second and the afternoon session ended well for the home side.Geraint Jones hit a wide ball from Claydon straight to cover, Sam Northeast went leg before to the same bowler and Scott Borthwick took a superb catch at point off a full-blooded cut by Martin van Jaarsveld, giving Harmison the first of two wickets made possible by brilliant catches, the other by Plunkett in the gully to dismiss Alex Blake. Blake, incidentally, is the player who will give way to James Tredwell when the Kent spinner joins this match after attending the Downing Street reception for England’s victorious Twenty20 team.But from 146 for 5 at tea, Kent added 159 in the last session as Stevens took control. It was a day when aggressive strokeplay seemed to be the approach most likely to profit and Stevens is no mean exponent of such tactics. By the close he had hit 17 fours and three sixes and Kent are in a strong position.

Shillingford, Pascal put West Indies A on top

West Indies A 51 for 0 trail Zimbabwe 183 (Taibu 86, Shillingford 4-48, Pascal 3-28) by 132 runs
ScorecardTatenda Taibu stood tall amid the ruins with an unbeaten 86•AFP

West Indies A were on top of Zimbabwe, racing to 51 for 0 in 10 overs after restricting the visitors to 183 on the opening day of their four-day first-class match at Queen’s Park Stadium.Zimbabwe owed their score to an unbeaten 86 from Tatenda Taibu, who waged a lone battle as his team-mates fell by the wayside. Shane Shillingford, with 4 for 48, and Nelon Pascal, with a three-wicket haul, led the charge for the hosts, as only three batsmen managed to enter double digits.After two early losses, Zimbabwe’s innings was partially restored by 50-plus stands for the third and fourth wickets. Chamu Chibhabha and Craig Ervine contributed 40 and 22, but after their dismissals Zimbabwe collapsed in a heap, with Shillingford running through the lower order, the last seven wickets falling for 61 runs. Taibu stood tall through it all, hammering 10 fours from 129 balls to give the bowlers something to work with.Openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Justin Guillen then took the hosts off the block in a hurry. Brathwaite was unbeaten on 26 with five fours, while Guillen struck two fours and a towering six over midwicket in his 21.

New franchises will make profits – Lalit Modi

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, has expressed surprise at the staggering bid amounts for the two new franchises but was confident the investment in the new teams would yield profits for the respective owners.The Sahara group, the biggest patron of sports in the country, won the rights to the Pune franchise for US$370m. The other new franchise is a consortium of five companies called Rendezvous Sports World, which bid US$333.33m for Kochi. The cost of the two franchises exceeds the total value of the original eight franchises.”I was indeed a little bit surprised by the amount. Honestly speaking, I thought the winning bid would be USD 300-320 million. So it was USD 40-50 million higher than my expectation. The bidders must have done their numbers well,” Modi was quoted as saying by . “We are just two years old and every team that has been run well must be making a profit. If not, they are probably marginally short of it.”Subrata Roy, the chief of the Sahara group, said the value of his bid for Pune was justified though he wasn’t sure when the franchise would break even. “Right from the Indian Premier League’s first match this season, the eyeballs it has got is huge worldwide,” Roy told The Economic Times. “Naturally, the valuations have risen exponentially from what it was three years ago. So, we believe the bid we placed is justified. While there will be operating profits from year one, there will be no cash flow. It’s difficult to say by when we will break even.”Roy had initially planned to bid for Lucknow as a new franchise, but Pune’s infrastructure for cricket and the Sahara-built township of Aamby Valley, located in the city, prompted the final decision. “We did want to bid for Lucknow but we were advised by the Indian Premier League to consider bidding for Pune as it made sense in terms of logistics and infrastructure,” Roy said. “The new stadium coming up in Pune is one of the world’s best. Also we have the advantage of cross-leveraging the resources of Aamby Valley.”Roy also told the that “a few Indian cricketers had suggested that Sahara should buy an IPL team.” “Since we share an emotional bond with these players, we had to buy a team. Soon, we will start planning and by September everything will be in place for sure.” He added that Sahara had not bid in the first auction because of stringent clauses in the tender document.Following the success of the first two seasons, Modi said the IPL brand was gaining popularity across the globe and adding more patrons to its existing fan base. The scope for expansion, he said, was greater given the potential for greater revenue compared to many other sporting leagues. “Sports is one of the leading businesses of the world today. English Premier League, NFL, NBA, Spanish League, Bundesliga — these capture the imagination of the youth and the people. Build a strong base and your future is defined.”We already have some pluses. Across the world, the major cost is of infrastructure and players’ salary. Here you get the stadium pretty much free and there is a cap on players’ salary as well.”Merchandising and ticketing are two other revenue sources. The ticketing revenue of all teams have gone up six-seven folds. With YouTube and Google in the picture, fan base is increasing across the world.”The IPL, now having expanded to 10 franchises, could feature 94 games next year if it retains its current format. When asked if the increasing workload would exact a heavy toll on the players, Modi said: “See, you have 300 matches in EPL every season. I don’t see any fatigue factor. Currently every team plays 14 matches, they will play 18 from next year. We are cutting down on the travelling. It’s travelling which is the biggest issue, not playing matches.”We are aiming to be like the NBA and NFL and the day is not far, considering how we are going.”

Vettori in doubt for Auckland

Daniel Vettori is in danger of missing Saturday’s second ODI against Australia with a nagging neck injury. Vettori, who sat out the dramatic opening victory, was unable to bat or bowl at training in Auckland on Friday and is hoping the problem improves dramatically overnight.”I got through the fielding session well but I didn’t bat today so I’m just going to leave it until the last possible minute,” Vettori said after training. “I’ve had this injury for about 13 years. It flares up and down occasionally. I’m just hoping I wake up feeling good in the morning.”Nathan McCullum, the offspinner, is expected to come in for Vettori if he doesn’t make it, a move which would give Ross Taylor his second match in charge. New Zealand are already without Jacob Oram, who hurt his knee on Wednesday and is expected to be out for up to a month.The Chappell-Hadlee Series had a heated opening when Mitchell Johnson and Scott Styris bumped heads late in the first game. Johnson was fined 60% of his match fee and Styris had to pay 15% in an incident giving extra spice to the contests.”We’re going to make sure we try to play it in the right spirit of the game without crossing that line,” Vettori said. “A lot of people enjoy that intensity. We’ve just got to make sure it doesn’t go too far. It’s the responsibility of both teams and both captains to make sure it doesn’t happen.”Shane Watson said Ricky Ponting had spoken to the team about behavior. “It’s an important part because we want to make sure that we are competitive but we don’t step over the line,” Watson said. “Ricky had a chat to us after the game to let us know that there is a line and no matter what we can’t cross it.”So that’s just something that Ricky and the coaching and the support staff are always talking to us about. We can’t afford for anyone to get suspended or get fined because it’s not in the spirit of the game. People enjoy watching two guys in the battle. That’s what everyone loves to see.”

Captains laud Razzaq onslaught

Spectacular scoring feats aren’t exactly a novelty in Twenty20 cricket, but both England’s captain, Paul Collingwood, and his opposite number, Shoaib Malik, had to concede that Abdul Razzaq’s ferocious late onslaught in the second Twenty20 in Dubai had taken the breath away. From an uncompromising position of 78 for 5 after 13 overs, Razzaq turned the contest on its head with a brilliant unbeaten 46 from 18 balls, including five sweetly struck sixes that left no room for equivocation.”There’s no shame in losing like that,” said Collingwood. “We’re disappointed because we’ve lost, but sometimes players play innings that deserve to win the game for their country. [Razzaq] put his heart into the innings and struck the ball cleanly from ball one, and sometimes there’s not a lot you can do as a fielding unit to stop a guy like that.”Malik, for his part, used the word “awesome” on at least six separate occasions to sum up an innings that ended Pakistan’s ignominious run of 10 defeats in a row, in all formats, that stretches back to their tour of New Zealand before Christmas. “We needed this performance before the T20 World Cup, because we were struggling before these two matches,” he said. “The way our boys played was awesome to see, and his hitting was absolutely clean and marvellous. He’s one of the best players in our team.””When I went to the crease I was very confident,” said Razzaq, who shared in a match-turning stand of 48 in four overs with Fawad Alam. “I was telling Fawad we should win this one. I was saying ‘you can, you will’ and we did. The team needed that, to hit the ball hard. Thankfully I hit, I think, five sixes because the team needed that to get victory.”England now head off to Bangladesh for three ODIs and two Tests, meaning that the Twenty20 format will be put on the back-burner until the squad reconvenes in the Caribbean for the World Twenty20. With consecutive shared series against South Africa in November and now Pakistan in February, Collingwood is confident that they are ready to put on a decent performance in April and May, starting with a tricky group that includes Ireland and West Indies.”We’ve done some great stuff, and there’s a lot of positives to take out of the game,” he said. “Kevin Pietersen looked at his best again, which is crucial for England, and we’ve done some fantastic stuff in the last few games so the boys should be very proud. They’ve been working on their skills and we feel we are moving forward in this format of the game, but it just took that last five or six overs for one batsman to turn it around, and you take your hat off to him. It was pure hitting and it was very hard to bowl at him.”One man who bore the brunt of Razzaq’s onslaught was England’s debutant, Ajmal Shahzad, who had a night to remember, for all manner of reasons. His first over was the stuff of schoolboy dreams, as he rebounded from a first-ball boundary to scalp both of Pakistan’s openers in the space of three balls, but the denouement was disappointing, as Razzaq smoked him into the stands for two match-sealing sixes.”He’s come in against the world’s best Twenty side, and it’s not easy when you’re bowling against guys like that,” said Collingwood. “But he’s got the talent, he’s certainly got the pace, and also the aggression to go with it. When you’ve got a combination like that you learn all the time, and he’ll learn a hell of a lot from this experience tonight. I know he enjoyed it, which is a good thing. He certainly didn’t shy away from it, and he’s got all the attributes.”Joe Denly, on the other hand, is looking like a man in need of a break from the front line, after adding a torturous 5 from 10 balls to a Twenty20 tally that now reads 20 runs in five innings. With Somerset’s hard-hitting Craig Kieswetter now competing for a place in the ODIs in Bangladesh, it’s highly possible that England will have themselves another new opening combination in place by the time the World Twenty20 gets underway.”I’m sure he’s disappointed with his form,” said Collingwood, when asked about Denly. “We’ve seen what he can do in county cricket, and his domestic record is very good. Batting at the top of the order is a confidence thing, and [he needs] one innings when he gets it away, to get the ball rolling. But Joe is a three-dimensional cricketer. He bowls useful legspin, and he’s a great lad to have in the dressing room. Let’s hope his form turns around.”

Gayle blasts West Indians to eventful tour win

West Indians 5 for 399 (Gayle 146, Dowlin 72, Simmons 70*, Keath 4-71) beat Prime Minister’s XI (Cooper 160*, Miller 3-51) by 90 runs on D/L method
ScorecardChris Gayle has become a favourite in Australia for his huge hitting and was responsible for an easy win in Canberra•Getty Images

Chris Gayle reminded Australian audiences of his power by blasting 146 as the West Indians warmed up with a 90-run win over the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra. The young local team was no chance of passing the visitors’ 5 for 399 – and the target was increased to 403 under the Duckworth-Lewis method – but Tom Cooper’s dashing 160 not out took them to 7 for 312.Gayle has been adored during his time Down Under, which began during last year’s Test series and included a Twenty20 stint with Western Australia, and his brutal skills were on display again as he launched eight sixes around Manuka Oval. There were also 14 fours, including three in a row to start the game, during his 89-ball ride ahead of Sunday’s first one-day international against Australia at the MCG.By the time Gayle exited in the 29th over the tourists were already 234, with Gayle and Travis Dowlin dominating their opponents during a stunning exhibition. Gayle’s fifty arrived in 23 balls and his hundred came in 57 before he hit Alex Keath to Matthew Hayden, the guest captain, at midwicket.Rain interrupted a couple of times to reduce the number of overs to 45 a side, but nothing Hayden did could stop the visitors from exploding. Dowlin, who was also impressive at times during the Test series, fine-tuned with 72 off 85 before his team-mates joined in the run feast. Lendl Simmons, the No.3, reached 70 from 49 and Kieron Pollard, who helped South Australia into the Champions League, showed his muscle with 36 off 17 deliveries.Keath was part of Australia’s Under-19 World Cup win on Saturday and he gained four wickets with his medium pacers while giving up 71 runs in seven overs. In the impossible reply, South Australia’s Cooper did his best during a 120-ball demolition, which included six sixes and 14 fours, but there were no other major contributions in an assignment that was too big.Nikita Miller, the left-arm spinner, chipped in during the middle of the innings and was on a hat-trick when Hayden (13) and John Hastings were stumped in the 33rd over. Miller finished with 3 for 51 off nine and Darren Sammy collected 2 for 37 during a match in which the young Australians were given a lesson by Gayle and his team-mates.

A busy time for Associates

The leading Associates’ itineraries for the first six months of 2010 have been announced by the ICC, and although all all busy, once again they show the difficulty faced by the boards to secure fixtures against Full Members.CanadaThey arrive in Sri Lanka next week for almost three weeks of preparations ahead of the ICC World Cup Twenty20 Qualifier, and their time there includes a short Twenty20 series involving Afghanistan and Ireland. After the T20 Qualifiers they remain in the UAE where they again meet Afghanistan, this time in two ODIs, followed by an Intercontinental Cup tie.They are scheduled to be in Jamaica on early April to play an ODI and T20 game against West Indies. In May, they take part in the Americas Division One competition in Bermuda.As with all sides in the T20 Qualifiers, if they make it through to the main tournament they will be in the USA at a training camp from April 18 to 23 with the event in the Caribbean following on.Ireland
Like Canada, they kick off in Sri Lanka, albeit for a fortnight, during which time they play Afghanistan in the Intercontinental Cup before heading to the UAE for the T20 Qualifiers. In early April they too will be in Jamaica, playing a four-dayer against the national side and then one ODI and three Twenty20s against West Indies.When they return to home they have an ODI against Australia in Belfast on June 17 but will not be involved in any of English cricket’s domestic competitions after opting not to accept the ECB’s invitation.Kenya
While the main tournament is the T20 Qualifiers, there are two Intercontinental Cup matches against Scotland (January 25-28) and Netherlands (February 20-23).The Scotland match is followed by a Twenty20 tri-series between the two and Uganda, while the Netherlands game is followed by two ODIs.Netherlands
The Dutch have opted to prepare for the T20 Qualifiers in India, travelling to Kenya after the competition (see above). From April 15 they have a busy itinerary with matches in England’s new 40-over competition, their invitation coming as a result of the Irish’s absence.On June 10 they host Scotland in the Intercontinental Cup and then play them in a one-off ODI.Scotland
The Intercontinental Cup game in Nairobi is preceded by a few days in Kenya and then the T20 tri-series also involving Uganda.They too are in the English 40-over competition before meeting Netherlands in the Intercontinental Cup. A one-off ODI against England takes place in Edinburgh on June 19.Afghanistan
After time a busy time in Sri Lanka (see above) where they will also play Sri Lanka A in T20 and limited-overs matches, they meet Canada in two ODIs and an Intercontinental Cup game in Dubai after the T20 Qualifiers. After that, at present they have nothing else arranged.

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