Sri Lanka fast-bowling spearhead Lasith Malinga will be doubtful of participating in the forthcoming ICC World Cup which starts in less than 5 months as he has undergone an ankle surgery and has suggested grooming another young fast bowler yet has pledged to be back in time as the 3rd week of September reported another injury around the world of cricket when Shane Watson was ruled out of the UAE tour.
West Indies complete 2-0 whitewash over Bangladesh
Sulieman Benn claimed five wickets as West Indies humiliated Bangladesh by 296 runs in the second Test and their 500th Test to register a dominating 2-0 series win at St Lucia last week.
Chasing 488 to win, Bangladesh collapsed from 158 for three to 192 all-out as West Indies produced another dominating performance. Shiv Chanderpaul was the star performer for the hosts as he was undefeated in both innings scoring 84* and 101* respectively. Kemar Roach bowled a fierce spell in the 1st innings as he took 5 wickets to dismantle the visitors for only 161 after West Indies scored 380 in their 1st innings.
Chief Scores:
West Indies (1st inn) – 380 all out in 124 overs: Shivnarine Chanderpaul 84*, Kraigg Brathwaite 63, Leon Johnson 66, Al-Amin Hossain 3/80.
Bangladesh (1st inn) – 161 all out in 62.3 overs: Mahamadullah 53, Tamim Iqbal 48, Kemar Roach 5/42.
West Indies (2nd inn) – 269/4 declared in 77 overs: Kriagg Braithwaite 45, Leon Johnson 41, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 101*, Jermaine Blackwood 66*, Mahmudullah 2/64.
Bangladesh (2nd inn) – 192 all out in 77.4 overs: Tamim Iqbal 64, Mominul Haque 56, Suleiman Benn 5/72, Jerome Taylor 3/39.
Man of the Match: Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Man of the Series: Kraigg Brathwaite
Watson to miss UAE tour due to injury
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has been ruled out of the forthcoming tour of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the cricket series against Pakistan that includes two Tests, three ODIs and a Twenty20 international which starts on October 5th.
Cricket Australian (CA) announced that Watson has been ruled out after suffering a setback during his ankle injury rehabilitation. Tasmanian Ben Hilfenhaus has been drafted in as a replacement for Watson in the Test squad, while South Australian Kane Richardson will take Watson’s place in the Twenty20 and One-Day International squads.
Atapattu shortlisted for Sri Lanka head coach job
Sri Lanka’s interim head coach, Marvan Atapattu, is one among two names short-listed to take over as head coach of the national team on a permanent basis. Sri Lanka Cricket in a media release, stated that Atapattu was one of the short-listed candidates while it did not reveal the other name but according to reliable sources, the other candidate is former England batsman, Mark Ramprakash.
“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that at the meeting held today it was decided to shortlist 2 candidates for the above post which included Marvan Attapattu,” stated the release.
Lasith Malinga out of cricket for 16 weeks
Sri Lanka’s preparations for the upcoming 2015 Cricket World Cup, to be jointly co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, has received a major jolt with news coming in that ace pacer, Lasith Malinga, will undergo an Arthroscopy surgery on his troublesome left ankle. The surgery is expected to keep him out of action for a minimum period of four months, thereby ruling him out of any meaningful cricket before the biggest tournament of the sport.
“Malinga will leave for Australia on Saturday morning as we are keen to see him recover as early as possible for the World Cup. Obviously, he is one of the most crucial players for Sri Lanka’s chances,” Chief selector, Sanath Jayasuriya told Daily Mirror last week.
Sri Lanka is scheduled to play seven ODIs against England in November before embarking on a tour of New Zealand just before the World Cup. Team physiotherapist, Steve Mount, has revealed that Malinga has been suffering from “long term issue with chronic left ankle pain” due to “a combination of cartilage degeneration, excessive bone in the joint, and bone marrow ocedema”.
Alastair Cook confirmed as England ODI Captain for the ICC World Cup in 2015
Alastair Cook is set to be confirmed as England’s prospective World Cup captain when the selectors announce their squad to travel first to Sri Lanka for seven one-day internationals. Cook spent almost the entire home summer under pressure, initially as leader of the Test team and then in ODIs after England struggled against Sri Lanka and more so India.
Adnan Rasool’s action reported
Lahore Lions bowler Adnan Rasool has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action during a CLT20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders. The bowler was reported by on-field umpires Kumar Dharamsena and C. Shamshuddin, along with third umpire Anil Chaudhary at the conclusion of the match. Under the CLT20 Suspected Illegal Bowling Action policy, Rasool may request an Official Assessment from the BCCI Suspect Bowling Action Committee.
PCB penalize Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi for poor fitness
The Pakistan Cricket Board has penalized Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Abdul Rehman and Hasan Reza for failing to reach the levels of fitness required under their contracts.
“Yes we have started this process and in the initial stage Afridi, Akmal, Rehman and Reza Hasan will have 25 percent of their monthly salaries deducted as a penalty,” the PCB’s media manager, Agha Akbar, told Reuters on 22nd of September.
Champions League T20 round up
The Lucrative Champions League T20 tournament 2014 commenced last week in India with 10 of the best domestic T20 outfits taking part in 2 separate groups.
9 matches have been played during the week with IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders and IPL runner-up Kings XI Punjab being the only unbeaten teams after the end of 3rd week of September. Kolkata and Chennai lead the points table in group A while Hobart Hurricanes and Kings XI take the top spots in group B.
