Cricket is an interesting but a funny game. 5th month of the year 2014 is providing many surprises and appointments even though nothing dramatic took place during the 2nd week of May other than England’s county side Essex surprising the touring Sri Lanka in a warm-up game at Chelmsford.
Indian Premier League has reached the business end with three or fewer teams vying for their spot in the play-offs while all-round Afghanistan won the ACC Premier League title.
Essex beat Sri Lanka in a rain-affected tour game
Damp evening on 13th May was not a pleasing night for the touring Sri Lankans as they suffered their first loss on English soil. England skipper Alastair Cook got back to winning ways as he pioneered his county team to a surprise win over Sri Lanka according to the D/L method in a 21 over game. Reigning World T20 Champions failed to chase down 169 in 21 overs after their bowlers took a toll from the Essex batting unit. Dinesh Chandimal showcased positive signs of his true batting class with a well compiled 31 runs in 25 balls to become Sri Lanka’s top scorer in their total of 146.
Sangakkara’s master class at Hove
Kumar Sangakkara took the maximum out of his two match stint for Durham in the LV County Championship with an elegant knock of 159 against Sussex at Hove.
Left handed batting legend from Sri Lanka showcased pure brilliance throughout his inning of 159 as he got acclimatized to the English conditions before he joined his Sri Lanka team for the forthcoming ODI and Test series against the hosts. Batting at number 4, Kumar Sangakkara stroked a remarkable knock of 159 runs in just 267 balls and most importantly batted for 365 minutes on the wicket which was perfect to his cause.
Sri Lanka name full strength squad for England ODIs
Sri Lanka named their best available squad for the forthcoming 5 match ODI series against the hosts England which starts on 22nd of May. The four senior players in Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga and Kumar Sangakkara return to the squad which includes young and promising prospects in Chathuranga De Silva and Ashan Priyanjan.
Full Squad – Angelo Mathews (captain), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Ashan Priyanjan, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Chathuranga De Silva, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Dhammika Prasad.
England announce T20 and ODI squads for the Sri Lanka series
Michael Carberry and Tim Bresnan have been recalled to the England’s T20 and ODI squads for the matches against Sri Lanka which begin next week. Eoin Morgan will captain the one-off T20 with Stuart Broad unavailable.
T20 Squad – Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Ian Bell Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Jos Buttler, Michael Carberry, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Joe Root, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes.
ODI Squad – Alastair Cook (captain), James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Jos Buttler, Michael Carberry, Harry Gurney, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes.
“Sri Lanka has rare opportunity to overcome England at Home” – Aravinda De Silva
1996 world cup hero, Aravinda De Silva believes Sri Lanka will have a great opportunity to beat England at their own nest in the forthcoming tour. “The timing is perfect for Sri Lanka. For some players it will be their last England tour and it’s a great opportunity for those guys to go out on a high.”
According to reports, he believes England skipper Alastair Cook’s time has arrived to get tough in the cricket field. “England are a good side but their confidence is down and Cook really faces a tough job. “
Ramdin named West Indies Test Captain after Darren Sammy retirement
West Indies wicketkeeper batsman Denesh Ramdin has been appointed as the West Indies Test captain for the upcoming home series against New Zealand meanwhile Darren Sammy has announced his retirement from Test cricket after losing the captaincy. Darren Sammy will remain as the T20 captain and Dwayne Bravo will continue to lead the West Indies ODI team.
Afghanistan claim Asian Cricket Council Premier League Tournament 2014
Afghanistan won the ACC Premier League 2014 defeating Nepal by 108 runs in a rain-affected final last league match played at the Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur last Wednesday. Afghanistan secured the title after Oman loss their final game against UAE on the same day. Irfan Ahmed of Hong Kong was named the Player of the Tournament.
Dave Whatmore recruited by ICC
International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed Dave Whatmore as an ICC High Performance coach to help Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland and UAE prepare for cricket’s marquee 50-over event, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand.
Whatmore expressed his views on his new appointment “”I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to work with the leading Associate and Affiliate teams during such a memorable period in world cricket.”
Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore vying hard for the final play-off berth
Indian Premier League 2014 has reached the final phases and the business end of the tournament. Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings have already secured their places in the play-offs while Rajasthan Royals are one or two wins away from insuring their spot in the play-offs. Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians are certainly out of the race to play-offs.
Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to play to their best in the next four games if they are to qualify for the play-offs. Yuvraj Singh and Gautham Ghambhir have outdone the critics with strong performances during the 2nd week of May while all the teams have got a strong liking to chase down mammoth scores on flat surfaces around India.
Mushtaq Ahmed named Pakistan bowling consultant
Mushtaq Ahmed, the former right arm leg-spinner has been named Pakistan’s bowling consultant. Mushtaq Ahmed is coming off his stint with England for 5 years and he won the nod to this appointment ahead of former off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.
