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A victory over Scotland would not only get their 2015-17 campaign back on track, it would be somewhat historic: Netherlands have never beaten Scotland in five I-Cup matches

Peter Della Penna07-Sep-2015The second round of the 2015-17 Intercontinental Cup begins on Tuesday in the Hague, where World T20 Qualifier co-champions Netherlands and Scotland square off.Netherlands might have more riding on the game considering their first-round defeat to Papua New Guinea, who had chased down a fourth-innings target of 305 to win on their first-class debut in June. A victory over Scotland would not only get the hosts’ 2015-17 campaign back on track, it would be somewhat historic: they have never beaten Scotland in five I-Cup matches, with three draws sandwiched around two losses. Scotland won by an innings and 59 runs in 2007 in Aberdeen. Three years later, despite captain Peter Borren’s century, Netherlands suffered a four-wicket loss at Deventer.Borren, though, is hoping to reverse his side’s fortunes starting tomorrow. “Our four-day cricket has been a disappointment to me for some time,” he said on the eve of the game. “Our white-ball cricket has been great, but we haven’t cracked the longer version. Four-day cricket is difficult, I would love to see an improvement in the mental application that the format requires. Other than the 20 points, I would really love to see our batters spend entire sessions at the crease and to see our bowlers come back hard in their third spells of the day.”Scotland come into the match looking to overtake joint leaders Ireland and Namibia, each of whom claimed a full 20 points with wins over UAE and Hong Kong in the first round. Scotland, though, had to settle for first-innings points against Afghanistan in a rain-marred draw at Stirling.Captain Preston Mommsen top-scored with 77 in the first innings and has been in solid form all summer. Mommsen stressed it was important to capitalise in the early rounds of the Intercontinental Cup to gain as many points as possible in the quest for Test status.”Indeed, this competition now creates a pathway to Test cricket, so every game we play, every point we can take, will be crucial to us moving closer to Test cricket,” Mommsen said. “We have to remain focused on playing solid and consistent cricket. There’s no point looking too far ahead, but, of course, that remains a bigger goal for this team.”Scotland will receive a strong boost with several players, who were absent this summer, returning to the squad. Foremost among them is Matt Machan, with 892 runs at an average of 42.47 in the County Championship this season, including three centuries and a career-best 192 in July. On the bowling front, Josh Davey, whose 15 wickets at the World Cup was the best by a Scottish player, also comes back into the four-day squad.”We have some special talent coming through, especially with the ball, so we’re looking forward to seeing how our younger players develop over the next few years as they start to get more and more opportunities,” Mommsen said. “This is a team that definitely has the skills and ability to play a winning brand of cricket in the longer version of the game. It’s been very positive, and we’ve shown a lot of intent. There’s no reason why certain aspects of our white-ball game cannot be transferred into our four-day cricket. We have an exciting squad and we will continue to adopt that style of cricket.”While Mommsen’s side has been bolstered, Borren’s will be depleted. Michael Swart will not be among Netherlands’ number and Ben Cooper takes his place. The elder Cooper, Tom, remains tied to Somerset till the end of the month. Timm van der Gugten, who has been on the fringes of the Tasmania state side in Australia, is a key withdrawal after taking 6 for 29 in the first innings of the loss to Papua New Guinea.So Paul van Meekeren will shoulder the extra responsibility, leading the seam-bowling unit alongside Mudassar Bukhari, while 20-year-old Vivian Kingma is a candidate to fill van der Gugten’s spot. Roelof van der Merwe, who became eligible shortly before the World Twenty20 Qualifier but did not play against PNG, has been included for this series.The forecast in The Hague is clear and sunny throughout the week, which means that the likelihood of a draw due to weather interruptions is unlikely.Netherlands (probable): 1 Stephan Myburgh, 2 Michael Rippon, 3 Ben Cooper, 4 Max O’Dowd, 5 Wesley Barresi (wk), 6 Peter Borren (capt.), 7 Roelof van der Merwe, 8 Mudassar Bukhari 9 Pieter Seelaar, 10 Paul van Meekeren, 11 Vivian KingmaScotland (probable): 1 Kyle Coetzer, 2 Hamish Gardiner, 3 Preston Mommsen, 4 Matt Machan, 5 Richie Berrington, 6 Matthew Cross (wk), 7 Josh Davey, 8 Con de Lange, 9 Rob Taylor, 10 Safyaan Sharif, 11 Alasdair Evans

Wicketkeeper batsman Dane Vilas will lead South Africa A’s four-day squad while left-hand batsman Dean Elgar will captain the 50-overs team on the tour of India

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2015Wicketkeeper batsman Dane Vilas will lead South Africa A’s four-day squad while left-hand batsman Dean Elgar will captain the 50-overs team on the tour of India.While Elgar and Vilas are also part of South Africa’s Test squad for the tour of Bangladesh in July, the A team includes Omphile Ramela, Keshav Maharaj and Dane Paterson, who were rewarded for their good showing in the domestic season.South Africa A will play a triangular limited-overs series against India A and Australia A. The limited-overs series will be followed by two four-day unofficial Test matches against India A.”A number of relative newcomers to the Proteas have been included in the South Africa A squads and, with the Proteas due to tour India later this year, this tour will give them invaluable experience of Indian playing conditions,” South Africa A coach Vinnie Barnes said.Four-day squad: Dane Vilas (capt), Temba Bavuma, Gihahn Cloete, Theunis de Bruyn, Marchant de Lange, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Omphile Ramela, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Stiaan van Zyl, Hardus Viljoen, David Wiese50-overs squad: Dean Elgar (capt), Cody Chetty, Theunis de Bruyn, Marchant de Lange, Cameron Delport, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Eddie Leie, Keshav Maharaj, Omphile Ramela, Mthokozisi Shezi, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Dane Vilas, David Wiese, Khaya Zondo

Faisal Iqbal has said that he is ready to prove his worth in the upcoming Tests against Zimbabwe, should he get the chance

Umar Farooq29-Aug-2013Another tour, another opportunity and more hope for middle-order batsman Faisal Iqbal to find his identity within the Pakistan team. Since his debut in 2001, Faisal operated mostly as a “replacement player”, in the shadow of Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq, and was never able to cement his place in the team.He has played 26 Test matches over the past 12 years. He last played for Pakistan in 2010 but was part of the Test squad for last one year without being part of the playing XI. He was retained in the squad for the two-match Test series against Zimbabwe but uncertainty looms over his chances to play. Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq ahead of Iqbal in the pecking order to occupy the middle-order spots, while Mohammad Hafeez and Khurram Manzoor will mostly be preferred to open the innings. Should he get the chance, the Zimbabwe Tests, he knows, could be crucial for his career.”I always have been treated as a replacement in past. I was actually groomed to take over from Inzamam or Yousuf once they were done with their careers, but unfortunately I have been deprived,” Iqbal told ESPNcricinfo. “For most of my career, since my [international] debut, I have kept waiting for a proper slot so that I could play as a permanent player, and I am obviously disappointed. But I am always optimistic and ready to grab the chance.”It would be great to get games in succession to prove myself. I obviously won’t be looking at Zimbabwe as an easy opponent as, for a batsman, it’s all about one good ball. They are after all an international side and every run is important against them. I have plenty of experience and even scored an ODI hundred in Zimbabwe, so things won’t be alien for me.”Iqbal, who is a nephew of former captain Javed Miandad, had a prolific career at junior level, from his time with the Under-15s. But his time with the seniors has, for the most part, been overshadowed by allegations of nepotism, something Faisal describes as a “daunting factor” and one of the major blows for his career.”I might have been victimised in past and things have not been fair for me,” he said. “I am a professional player and have never taken my cricket for granted. I have scored runs on the ground with my own hands, haven’t I?”He has often impressed on comeback: after his first recall in 2002, he scored 83 against Australia; then came 139 against India – the highlight of his career – which helped Pakistan to a 341-run victory in Karachi in 2006. In that fateful series against Sri Lanka in early 2009, he scored a half-century in his first innings back. His problem, though, has been consistency. A lack thereof has resulted in him being repeatedly dropped.Faisal will be hoping to get his chance on September 3, when Pakistan face off against Zimbabwe in Harare for the first of two Tests. This time, he’ll hope to make that good start and go on to build on it.

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has hinted at the visitors fielding a four-pronged fast bowling attack for the first Test against England at Lord’s, which starts on Thursday.

Nagraj Gollapudi15-May-2012Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has hinted at fielding a four-pronged fast bowling attack for the first Test against England at Lord’s, which starts on Thursday. The seamer-friendly conditions and the fast recovery of his premier fast bowler Kemar Roach from a “twisted ankle” have given West Indies that option, Gibson revealed, saying he was confident the plan would work.With the forecast predicted to be overcast on the match days, Gibson agreed the team management would think hard before playing offspinner Shane Shillingford. “Based on conditions, early season in England it is possible,” Gibson said about there being enough temptation to play a four-man pace attack.Roach, who became only the sixth West Indies bowler to bag a ten-wicket match haul during during the home Test series against Australia last month, picked up a niggle during the second tour match against England Lions at Northampton. West Indies suffered a ten-wicket defeat as Roach finished with three first-innings wickets and was unable to bowl in the second due to the injury.After the rain had disrupted most of the play in the first tour match at Hove against Sussex, the Lions game was the first proper test for the visitors. Roach, who was the highest wicket-taker in the Frank Worrell Trophy against Australia, was inconsistent during the first innings against the Lions, conceding more than four an over. Nick Compton was his only top-order wicket but he managed some hostile overs during various spells. Ravi Rampaul was the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 79, while Fidel Edwards struggled with his run-up and bowled eight no-balls two of which cost him wickets.Today Roach started with some leg stretches, having decided against participating in the warm-up football but later returned to bowl in the indoor school at Lord’s, after bad weather ruled out any outdoor practice sessions. “Everybody pulled up okay today. Roach was treated twice a day over the last couple of days. He had a little bowl today, bowled six overs, pretty controlled. No complaints at this stage. He is doing okay,” Gibson said.Gibson also brushed aside any scare to Rampaul, who did not bowl much during training. “Ravi just had a stiff neck from sleeping badly; probably staying up too late or playing Playstation. He is fine. And Fidel is fine also. Everything looks all right. All set for Thursday.”Gibson said he was not worried about his captain Darren Sammy having not bowled at all yet in the two tour matches. Sammy did not bowl in the rain-curtailed warm-up match at Hove and then was rested in the second tour match at Northampton. “The captain bowled a lot of balls against Australia, as did Kemar. The decision was made to give him a break, so we wanted have a look at the three seamers bowling together in a game,” Gibson said. But he was happy that Sammy was doing his work in the nets and he was not a concern at all.The one concern that has remained and has kept re-appearing like the dark clouds overhead has been the form of the West Indies top order. In the first innings against the Lions, the top three comprising Adrian Barath, Kieran Powell and Kirk Edwards made an aggregate of 10 runs. In the second innings, Powell scored a resilient century but Barath and Edwards failed again.But Gibson walked up to his players after the first-innings debacle and re-assured the batsmen that they should not brood too much over the failure. “They were a little bit disappointed and I had to step in and say ‘look, you shouldn’t be disappointed’ because if we bowled first in those conditions on the first day, we would have bowled them out for a similar score. That is the reality in England in early May,” Gibson pointed out. If West Indies had won the toss, Gibson was certain, things would have been more positive for West Indies.”We batted in the second innings, and even if Adrian didn’t get runs, Kirk didn’t get any runs, but Kieran Powell played very well and got a hundred, so he is full of confidence now. He has got a smile on his face. Darren Bravo has been playing well for us for the last year-and-a-half; he played well, got two half-centuries. We know what Shiv is going to do in these conditions. Dinesh Ramdin got a good knock. Marlon Samuels got a good knock. So the second innings was more like what we know what we can do. We were 20-odd for 3 in that second innings but we ended scoring 400.”Gibson said that the team think tank had also thought about promoting Chanderpaul from his customary No. 5 to the top order but they wouldn’t try and experiment at such an early stage in the series. But he felt Chanderpaul would support the team’s decision, if the case was made for him to move up the order.”That is something that we have thought about,” Gibson said. “Our batting revolves around Shiv. He is very comfortable at the position that he is at the moment. And he is doing a good job for us. So without trying to upset the batting line-up too much, we’ve decided to leave it as it is at the moment. But it is something that we haven’t completely ruled out.”

The battle to be crowned No. 1 women’s team in the world begins this week when England, India, New Zealand and Australia compete in the Natwest Twenty20 and 50-over quadrangular tournament

Sahil Dutta in Chelmsford22-Jun-2011The battle to be crowned No. 1 women’s team in the world begins this week when England, India, New Zealand and Australia compete in the Natwest Twenty20 and 50-over quadrangular tournament.Two years ago England were undisputedly the best side, winning the World Twenty20 and World Cup in the same year, as well as retaining the women’s Ashes. Since then other sides have improved while injuries and loss of form have seen England rejoin the rest of the pack.They had a poor World Twenty20 in West Indies last year, falling out at the group stage, while Australia took the trophy after beating New Zealand in the final. England also then lost their hold on the Ashes when Australia won a one-off Test in Sydney at the beginning of the year.Despite the slips, Charlotte Edwards, England’s captain, is confident her side can turn things around and is looking forward to putting on a good show when the Twenty20-leg starts on Thursday, against New Zealand in Chelmsford.”We have been lacklustre in the last couple of years I guess, but we welcome back a number of players from injury and other things and we’re looking forward to putting on a good show,” she told ESPNcricinfo. “The atmosphere we get for Twenty20 cricket especially is good and hopefully if we get some people at the grounds we can show that we are a good side.”Though Edwards conceded home conditions will help she didn’t feel England could start as favourites. “I don’t think, with the way the teams are now, that anyone can really feel favourites. Especially in Twenty20 cricket where it just takes one good performance to turn things.”These are our home conditions though so I guess that should be something that works in our favour but I’m just looking forward to a good performance from all our players. Gone are the days in women’s cricket where you just needed one strong player to win games; we will need all of our players to claim that title of No. 1.”Australia have a clutch of exciting players and after lifting the World Twenty20 are confident of impressing again. Captain Jodie Fields thinks the experience that many of the players gained in England two years ago will hold the side in good stead.”The girls played really well in the West Indies and the goal here is to come and perform as well and win the tournament. We have our experienced and consistent players like Lisa Sthalekar and Shelley Nitschke who will look to drive our younger players. Meg Lanning, our opener, is one who I expect will come out here and do well.”We’ve been training really hard since coming over here. We’re happy playing both formats and we think we can come here and win both [the Twenty20 and 50-over tournaments], that’s what our aim is.”For local rivals New Zealand, the tournament represents captain Aimee Watkins’ farewell as she’s retiring at the end of the tour. That, though, won’t, be a distraction for her team, Watkins said, but their recent form has been patchy and she says her side will start as underdogs.”I know it’s my last tour and it’s actually quite an exciting time for me but it won’t affect the players,” Watkins said. “We are excited to be here and it’s a great tournament with the best teams. Though I’m confident in all our players I’d say we probably start as underdogs. We play India on Thursday and they have won both their warm-up games while we’ve come out of our off season.”New Zealand have been perpetual bridesmaids; they lost in the final of the last World Twenty20 to Australia, the one before that to England in 2009 and, in the same year, the final of the 50-over World Cup as well.It is an aspect of their game that the team has discussed and Watkins says they have been unable to understand exactly what the problem is. “It’s something we have discussed a lot, with coaches, among ourselves as players, but we can’t put our finger on it.”I don’t think it’s a specific problem really. On the day you need a bit of luck but each time, while we’ve been outplayed by a better side, we haven’t maybe given the best account of ourselves.”One thing that will be in New Zealand’s favour is the weather. Dank, damp and cold, the English summer is more than familiar to New Zealand and Watkins, who has happy memories of England after top-scoring in the 2009 World Twenty20, says the team will relish the conditions. “We love touring here. The weather and conditions suit us and are very familiar.”India will be less impressed with conditions having left the height of summer back home. Yet captain Jhulan Goswami says the exposure is important for the team and thinks the tournament is crucial for their development. “After the World Cups this is the biggest tournament,” said Goswami. “It gives us exposure against the best teams. Obviously some of our players haven’t been here but to be the best you have to play well in all conditions. We are really looking forward to just starting.”

Allrounder worried his career could be in trouble once again after experiencing pain in his left knee during a tour game against Pakistan last week

Cricinfo staff27-Nov-2009New Zealand allrounder James Franklin is worried that his injury-hit career could be in trouble once again after he experienced pain in his left knee during a tour game against Pakistan last week.”It’s come like a bolt out of the blue, so naturally I’m pretty nervous because my knees have never been the greatest,” Franklin told the . “The last thing I want to do is spend a long time out of the game again, especially as I’m really enjoying my cricket at the moment. I’ve been happy with my form over the last little while so I don’t need a potential setback like this.”Franklin had patella-tendon surgery on his right knee in November 2007, followed by nine months of rehabilitation. This time, he may have injured the patella tendon in his left knee and ultrasound tests confirmed inflammation in the tendon. Franklin was prescribed a series of blood injections into the tendon to help speed up his recovery. In the past he has been through the same routine for his right knee, but the injections were administered too late to prevent surgery in that case.New Zealand are still recovering from the loss of allrounder Jacob Oram, whose retirement from Tests was forced by injuries. After two years on the sidelines, Franklin made a comeback to the New Zealand Test side in the home series against West Indies late last year. He tried to re-establish himself as an allrounder and scored a fifty against India in Napier.”I haven’t given up hope. I might even try and have a bat in the next day or so and if that goes well I might be able to squeeze a game in for Wellington, possibly just as a batsman, and then go from there,” Franklin said.

Bangladesh haven’t won a game in the last four T20 World Cups, and the skipper wants to end that streak

Mohammad Isam24-Sep-2024Nigar Sultana wants Bangladesh to beat Scotland in their opening match of the women’s T20 World Cup on October 3 and set the tone for the rest of the tournament. Beating Scotland would be a “huge achievement”, she said, since Bangladesh haven’t won a match in their last four World Cup appearances, and have won just one game in five editions.Nigar, however, clarified that Bangladesh were not taking Scotland lightly. “We want to win the first match,” she said. “It will be a huge achievement for the team. The team will get into a flow when that happens. We can then dream of something bigger. We are hungry for it.”Scotland, though, are playing good cricket. Generally teams arrive at the World Cup with a lot of expectations. They won’t let you win easily. They don’t give up without a fight. We are mentally prepared to face those challenges.Related

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“I have played four World Cups but we have never won a game in those editions. The last time we won was in the 2014 tournament [against Sri Lanka]. We have played well in previous editions but playing well only means something when you can win.”Nigar and Bangladesh are dreaming big. They want to challenge England, West Indies and South Africa, the others in their group in the first round, and are hoping to get into the semi-finals.”To play in the semi-final, we have to win against those three teams, too,” Nigar said. “We have different plans against each team. If we can execute our game-plan, then it will good for us. We have defeated South Africa in T20Is [twice in 13 completed matches]. We rarely meet England, only in World Cups, so it might be difficult for them, too. We all know that we have a good spin attack.”The tournament was initially supposed to be held in Bangladesh, but following political unrest in the country in July-August, the ICC relocated it to the UAE.”For a long time, we prepared with the understanding that the World Cup will be held at home,” Nigar said. “It is not in our control, so there’s no point thinking about it anymore. We played in Abu Dhabi in 2021, where the wickets were nice. Sharjah is a new venue for us, but we will play two practice matches, which will give us some idea.”Other teams will face similar challenges, so the faster we can adapt to those challenges, it will help us play better in the tournament’s main matches.”Young Rabeya Khan has been a revelation for Bangladesh in recent times•BCB

Batting a concern for Bangladesh

Bangladesh haven’t done well with the bat in their last two home series, against India and Australia, and also lost to India and Sri Lanka in the women’s Asia Cup earlier this year.Giving Nigar confidence, though, are newcomers like Shathi Rani and the uncapped Taj Nehar, who was picked ahead of the more experienced Rumana Ahmed.”Batting is definitely a concern but we saw some improvements among the batters during the ‘A’ team tour [of Sri Lanka],” she said. “We still believe that we can do well as most of our players have also done well in the domestic tournaments. I hope they continue their form in the World Cup.”We included Taj for the middle-order, although she doesn’t have experience. We saw her in the league [Women’s National Cricket League] where she showed good approach and intent. She can play the big shots. If you have followed our recent international matches, we failed in showing intent. Shathi was the highest run-getter in the league. She can go after the bowling, and you can see those in some of her innings. She can use the powerplay quite well. She has proved herself to come at this stage.”Bangladesh have a strong spin attack that includes left-arm spinner Nahida Akter and 19-year-old legspinner Rabeya Khan. Nigar paid a glowing tribute to young Rabeya, who is the team’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is this year [14 wickets in 12 games]. “Rabeya is one of our finest bowlers. She has taken our team to a different level through her contributions in both formats. She is a great fielder. She is good with the bat too but doesn’t take batting seriously. She is maturing slowly. If there’s someone I rely with the ball in tough situations after Nahida, it is definitely Rabeya.”

Shortly after resigning from his role with Sri Lanka, Silverwood joins Tom Moody’s backroom staff

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2024Chris Silverwood has been appointed to his first job in English cricket since he was sacked as England’s head coach, replacing Azhar Mahmood as one of Tom Moody’s assistants at defending champions Oval Invincibles in the Hundred.Silverwood lost his job in the aftermath of England’s 4-0 defeat in Australia in early 2022 but was only out of work for two months, joining Sri Lanka on a two-year contract. That was later extended to include the recent T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the US, but Silverwood resigned shortly after their group-stage exit, citing a reluctance to spend long periods away from home.Related

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He will now join Moody’s staff at the Invincibles for 2024, ahead of their – and the Hundred’s – opening matchday on Tuesday, against Birmingham Phoenix. Mahmood resigned from his role when he took up a full-time role with Pakistan earlier this year, and Silverwood will join Matt Walker and Jim Troughton in the men’s coaching staff.James Foster, who lost his job as Northern Superchargers coach last year after they won the wooden spoon in the men’s competition, will also return to the Hundred this summer. He has replaced Paul Collingwood as one of Trevor Bayliss’ assistants at London Spirit, with Collingwood unavailable for the start of the tournament while on Test duty with England.The Spirit have added two more assistant coaches to the backroom staff of their women’s team, who are coached by the Australian Ashley Noffke. Ali Maiden, the Yorkshire men’s assistant coach, and Sunrisers’ Marc Broom have both been appointed, and Maiden could be a contender to replace Noffke when he steps down at the end of this season.The most notable coaching appointment in the Hundred this year saw Andrew Flintoff replace Foster as Superchargers head coach in the men’s competition. His first match as a head coach is against Trent Rockets at Headingley on Friday night.