The month of May promises some interesting fare. The cream of the International players will be busy playing Indian Premier League in India while Sri Lanka will be testing their skills and temperament in Ireland and England.
Further, Associate Asian cricket nations are vying for the Asian Cricket Council Premier League 2014 in Malaysia and this segment will set out to bring you a weekly summary of the action from the sport we all love so much.
Sri Lanka rout Ireland by 79 runs
Touring Sri Lanka got the better of the hosts Ireland by 79 runs in the 1st ODI of the 2 match ODI series in Dublin. Sri Lanka’s inexperienced batting order put up a par score of 219 for 8 wickets in 50 overs under chilly conditions. Ireland was never in the chase after losing 2 wickets within the first five overs. Ajantha Mendis used all the tricks in the bag to rip through the Irish middle order and the improving fast bowler Suranga Lakmal led the bowling attack with his disciplined bowling effort. Ireland skipper William Porterfield was inspiring with the bat for hosts scoring 37 runs opening the inning. Sri Lanka will take on Ireland at the same venue on 8th of May in the 2nd ODI game.
Sangakkara’s Duck for Durham
Sri Lankan batting maestro Kumar Sangakkara opted out of IPL 7 with the intention of playing England County Cricket to prepare himself for the upcoming test series. Kumar Sangakkara’s first outing with his new club in England did not favor the legend of the new generation as his innings was limited to only 2 balls when Ryan Sidebottom got the better of Sri Lanka’s honorary gentlemen.
Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab lead IPL 7 points table
MS Dhoni’s Chennai team and Kings XI Punjab team led by George Bailey are securing the two top spots of the IPL 7 points table after the tournament shifted to India from UAE. World’s most lucrative T20 league is gathering momentum as all the teams are firing all cylinders to reach the play-offs. ‘Mr. 360’ AB De Villiers played a stunning knock of 89 runs in just 41 balls and the 42 year old leg spinner Pravin Tambe’s hat-trick was the most notable performance during the 1st week of May in IPL 7
Afghanistan, Nepal and Oman in the front
There is also the 50-over competition, the Asian Cricket Council Premier League 2014 featuring six teams of the Associate countries in Asia; Nepal, Oman, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and UAE, the latter 3 which have ODI status. The week long competition comprises 15 matches, with all teams playing each other. Asia’s associate giant Afghanistan have won 3 matches out of 4 games while losing to hosts Malaysia by 3 wickets in the surprise of the tournament so far. Impressive Nepal and Oman have also registered 3 wins out of 4 matches. The last edition of the Asian Cricket Council Premier League was in 2012. The title was shared by UAE and Nepal after a tie. It will be very interesting in the upcoming week to see who will overcome all obstacles and win the trophy.
Kallis in; Tsotsobe out
One of the world’s best all-rounders Jacques Kallis has been assured of a place in the South Africa ODI Squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in July. According to reports South Africa’s convener of selectors Andrew Hudson has confirmed that Jacques Kallis is still a possiblity in South Africa’s plans for 2015 cricket world cup. Left arm seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe has been ruled out of the tour to Sri Lanka in July to facilitate his recovery from an ankle surgery that took place last month.
Stuart Broad to miss Sri Lanka limited overs leg
Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the one-day series against Sri Lanka due to his ongoing knee problem and may be forced to give up England’s Twenty20 captaincy in an attempt to prolong his career across all forms of the game.
‘I want to play in all forms but with seven back-to-back Tests this summer building up to next year’s Ashes and a World Cup in Australia coming up, if you’re going to miss any cricket it has to be Twenty20s or maybe ODIs.’ said Broad in an interview with Daily Mail. Stuart Broad is expected to be fit for the 1st Test at Lords on June 12th.
New Zealand criminalize match-fixing
The New Zealand government has amended its Crimes Act 1961 to include match-fixing in it to give “greater certainty to law enforcement agencies and international sporting bodies”. While current legislation might have covered match-fixing under other felonies such as fraud, this amendment will be for the first time directly claiming match-fixing as a crime.
Waqar Younis appointed Pakistan head coach
The Pakistan Cricket Board has given cricket great Waqar Younis a second shot as coach of the national team for a period of two years. Younis was the coach for 18 months until 2011 after coaching the Pakistan team to the 2011 World Cup semi-finals. Waqar resigned for personal reasons soon after India lifted ICC world cup after 28 years.
Shane Jurgensen quit Bangladesh head coach position
Shane Jurgensen has been released with immediate effect from his contract as Bangladesh coach by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Jurgensen had resigned in late April but it was assumed he would stay in the job till the end of the proposed ODI series against India in June giving enough time for a replacement but The board, however, announced on 5th of May that he will be leaving immediately.
