The ICC World T20 champions, Sri Lanka claimed their rightful place as the number 1 ranked T20 team after India lost their only T20 international by 3 runs against the hosts, England during the starting week of September.
Meanwhile Faf Du Plessis became the first player to score four 90+ scores in ODI history as he pioneered South Africa to the tri-series victory beating Australia and Zimbabwe.
South Africa clinch tri-series beating Australia in the final
Dale Steyn ripped the heart out of Australia’s batting with some fierce bowling and Faf du Plessis came within a whisker of yet another century as South Africa cruised to a six-wicket victory to clinch the triangular series cricket trophy in Harare last week.
Steyn swung the ball reversely at pace to rip out three quick wickets and record figures of 4 for 35 as Australia were limited to 217 for 9 in their 50 overs. Du Plessis then fell four runs short of what would have been his fourth century of the series as the Proteas chased down their target with 55 balls to spare in front of a packed crowd.
Root ton helps England save the white-wash
Joe Root’s hundred in his first one-day international at his Yorkshire home ground laid the platform for England’s much-needed 41-run win over India at Headingley on September 5th.
India still won the series 3-1 but England’s victory in the finale meant they avoided being whitewashed by the world champions. Root’s 113 was the cornerstone of England’s 294 for seven, their best ODI total of the season. India faltered in their pursuit of 295, with Ravindra Jadeja’s dashing 87 at number seven too late to turn the tide and when he was last man out they had been dismissed for 253.
England beat India by 3 runs in a dramatic T20
India’s long tour of England ended on a heartbreaking note as England held their nerve to pull off a thrilling three run victory in the only T20 International on Sunday at Edgbaston.
Chasing a competitive 181, India needed 17 runs in the final over of the match but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni could not steer the team home in a contest that went down to the wire at Edgbaston. India ended at 177 for 5 after England posted 180 for seven, thanks to their skipper Eoin Morgan’s 71 runs off 31 balls.
McMillan named NZ batting coach
Former international Craig McMillan was confirmed as New Zealand`s batting coach last week after assuming the role on a temporary basis earlier this year. McMillan, who played 55 Tests and 197 one-day internationals for the Black Caps, has been given a two-year contract, New Zealand Cricket said in a statement. The 37-year-old worked as batting coach for the Black Caps tour of the West Indies in July and New Zealand A`s recently completed tour of England.
Aaron Finch named Australia new T20 captain
Australia have named swashbuckling opening batsman Aaron Finch as the captain of the Twenty20 cricket team, replacing George Bailey after he stood down to concentrate on longer forms of the game with an eye to adding to his five test caps.
Finch shattered the world record for the highest T20 international innings last year when he blasted 156 runs off 63 balls to guide Australia to victory over England in Southampton. The 27-year-old also made his one-day international debut last year and has an average of 37.85 from his 28 matches, with a strike rate of 87.65.
Australia announces squads for the UAE tour
Australia announced their Test, ODI and T20 squads for the middle-east tour against Pakistan.
Australia will play two Tests, three ODI’s and a sole Twenty20 against Pakistan in the UAE in October and early November.
Test squad
Michael Clarke (captain), Alex Doolan, Phillip Hughes, Brad Haddin, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve O’Keefe, Mitchell Johnson, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson
ODI squad
Michael Clarke (captain), Sean Abbott, George Bailey, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson
T20 squad
Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Cameron Boyce, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson
Lahore Lions issued Indian Visa
Lahore Lions have been cleared by the Indian government to play in the Champions League Twenty20, with the Pakistan franchise issued visas and likely to arrive in India within the week as the CLT20 qualifying stage commences on the 13th of September.
Mathews bags top honours at Dialog SLC awards 2014
Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews has capped off his tremendous last 12 months in both Test and ODI cricket with the Cricketer of the Year award at the Dialog Sri Lanka Cricket Awards. In addition to that, Mathews also took home the ODI batsman & ODI all-rounder prizes and shared the Test batsman award with Kumar Sangakkara.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who took 60 wickets from 10 Tests in the qualifying period, deservedly got the Best Test bowler award for the third year in a row.
Lasith Malinga, who captained Sri Lanka to their inaugural ICC World T20 title, was rated as the Best bowler in both the ODI and T20 category. Kusal Janith Perera was named as the Best T20 batsman while young wicketkeeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella was awarded the Emerging Player of the Year award. In his 3 Tests so far, he has already taken 12 catches and affected a couple of stumpings, not to forget his impressive 72 on debut.
Andy Moles named new Afghanistan coach
Former New Zealand coach and England player Andy Moles took charge of the Afghanistan national team replacing Pakistan’s Kabir Khan, who resigned last week citing family reasons.
The announcement comes ahead of the World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand from February to March in 2015, with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) looking to the Englishman’s international experience to help the fast-rising team.
