England v India Test Series Preview

England’s cricketers swap the white ball for the red and the red kit for the white, when they switch back from limited overs to Tests for the visit of India for a whopping five-match series. The first Test gets underway at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday.

 

England, so strong in ODIs, are a team in transition in the longer format, and are facing one of the most consistently strong teams of recent times, so it’s hard to predict whether home advantage will make them favourites or not.  India certainly won’t think so.

Either way it promises to be a fascinating few weeks. Here is my quickfire stats preview of the series ahead!

Fixtures

  • 1st Test – Wednesday 1st August, Edbaston, Birmingham
  • 2nd Test – Thursday 9th August, Lord’s, London
  • 3rd Test – Saturday 16th August, Trent Bridge, Nottingham
  • 4th Test – Thursday 30th August, Rose Bowl, Southampton
  • 5th Test – Saturday 7th September, The Oval, London

Team & Player Rankings

  • India are ranked number one in the world in Tests, England fifth.
  • India’s skipper Virat Kohli is ranked the world’s second best Test batsman
  • England’s skipper Joe Root is ranked the world’s third best Test batsman
  • India’s Cheteshwar Pujara is ranked the world’s sixth best Test batsman
  • England’s Jimmy Anderson is ranked the world’s best Test bowler
  • India’s Ravindra Jadeja is ranked the world’s second best Test bowler, and second best Test allrounder
  • India’s Ravichandran Ashwin is ranked the world’s fifth best bowler and fourth best Test allrounder
  • England’s Ben Stokes is ranked the world’s sixth best allrounder.

Overall Test Records

  • England play their 1000th Test Match in the first game of the series. They have won 357, lost 291 and drawn 345.
  • At home England have played 510 Tests – W213, L119, D178
  • India have played 522 Tests – W145, L160, D216 – and one tied Test!
  • Away from home, India have played 257 Tests –W46, L108, D103

Head to Head records

  • The sides have played 117 Tests against each other – England 43, India 25, Draw 49
  • In England, there have been 57 Tests – India winning just 6 to England’s 30, with 21 draws.

Personal Milestones/Records in sight

Alastair Cook (England)

Chef will make his 157th Test appearance, moving him into outright seventh place in the all-time world rankings, and relegating Australian Allan Border to eighth.

Cook is currently 6th in the all –time Test run-scorers list with 12,145 to his name. 256 more (a big ask in one Test admittedly, but certainly doable over the series) will see him move past Kumar Sangakkara into fifth.

Stuart Broad (England)

The Nottinghamshire man currently sits in twelfth place worldwide for Test wickets taken – with 417 scalps to his name. A five-for will see him move past the South Africa Pair of Dale Steyn and Shaun Pollock (both on 421) and into the top ten.

With the bat, Broad has seemingly been on the edge of breaking 3,000 Test runs for an eternity, but now just needs 24 runs to bring up the mark.

Joe Root (England)

England’s skipper needs just 40 runs to bring up 6.000 in Tests.

Ben Stokes (England)

Durham all-rounder looking for two wickets to notch up 100 in Tests.

Murali Vijay (India)

India’s opening batsman needs just 93 runs to mark 4,000 in Tests.

Ajinka Rahane (India)

Rahane will be looking for 107 runs to move past the 3,000 Test runs marker.

Ishant Sharma (India)

Big quick Ishant currently has 238 Test wickets in his ledger, enough for eighth place among Indians. Five wickets will see him dislodge Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and move into seventh.

Netherlands v Nepal – ODI series preview

Following on from their highly symbolic, if rain-soaked, T20I at Lord’s on Sunday, more history beckons for Nepal on Wednesday when they make their ODI debut against the Netherlands in the first of a two game series being played out at the VRA Cricket Ground in Amstelveen.

Above: The VRA stadium in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.

Nepal qualified for status by beating Papua New Guinea at the CWC Qulaifier in Zimbabwe in March, dislodging their Oceanic opponents from the ICC’s strictly limited status club in the process.

They will become the 24th side to appear in ODIs, (or 27th if you also include the Asia XI, Africa XI and ICC World XI sides that the powers that be have sought to give official status to over the years).

Nepal are one of the sport’s fastest growing associate nation, and the match will be followed by millions back home who have really taken to the sport since their side’s meteroic rise through the ranks gathered pace in recent years.

By contrast, the Netherlands will be playing their 80th ODI, although the first since 2014, having regained status they lost back then by winning the 2015-2017 World Cricket League. Their overall record is 28 wins to 44 losses.

The Netherlands won the sides’ latest meeting in 50-over cricket, the seventh place play-off in the aforementioned CWC Qualifies in Zimbabwe – a match which bizarrely was not granted official ODI status despite both sides having already secured their place amongst the chosen few by the time it was played. Such are the byzantine machinations of the ICC!

Given this is Nepal’s first ever ODI series, there are few official ODI stats to feast upon here. Not that either sets of fans will care one iota – they are just happy to be back on the ICC’s weirdly defined next to top table!

For what it is worth, only five of the Netherlands squad have featured in an official ODI before, with a couple potentially in line for personal milestones if they go big in the two-game series:

Wesley Barresi (Netherlands)

With an ODI century already to his name, a couple more could see top order batsman Barresi become the seventh Dutchman to 1,000 runs in the format. He currently has 783.

Pieter Seelaar (Netherlands)

Skipper Seelaar has 42 ODI wickets, so eight in the series will see him notch up 50, and be the third Netherlands player to do so. Five wickets will see him overtake Peter Borren and move into third place for his country in wickets.

West Indies v Bangladesh T20I series – quickfire stats preview

Fresh from securing a first overseas bilateral ODI series triumph since 2009 with a win at the ground at the weekend, Bangladesh return to the Warner Park stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts on Tuesday evening for the first of three T20 Internationals against the West Indies.

The West Indies are reigning world champions in the format, but currently only ranked seventh in the world, although this is still three places higher than their visitors. With the West Indies having comfortably won the Test series, and the Tigers taking revenge in their preferred ODIs, overall bragging rights are at stake over the next week.

The sides have met six times previously in the format, with the West Indies leading 3-2, and one no result. Bangladesh have never won on West Indies home soil.

The series is also intriguing for the fact that the second and third matches will take place at the Central Broward Regional Park stadium in Lauderhill, Florida rather than in the West Indies’ traditional Caribbean homelands. With the limited overs tour having started with ODIs in Guyana in South America, this may well be the first ever international tour to take in two continental landmasses!

Above: The Central Broward Regional Park stadium in Lauderhill, Florida.

Some other quick stats and milestones to watch out for over the week:

Shakib Al Hasan

The Tigers’ skipper currenrly has 77 T20I wickets to his name, enough for fifth place in the world. 8 wickets in the series will see move to 85 and a share of third place alongside Pakistani pair Saaed Ajmal and Umar Gul.

Marlon Samuels

The seemingly ageless Jamaican has 1,573 Twenty20 International runs in his ledger, the second highest by a West Indian. With top placed Chris Gayle rested for his series, Marlon needs just 35 runs to move past the Universe Boss into first place.

Tamim Iqbal

Fresh from two centuries in the Tiger’s ODI series win, opener Tamim will be confident of notching up the 10 runs he needs to be the first Bangladeshi to 1,500 runs in T20Is.

Samuel Badree

Spinner Badree’s 56 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals currently see him in 17th place worldwide. So close are the rankings above him that just seven wickets in the series will see him dislodge New Zealand’s Tim Southee from the top ten.

Nepal vs Netherlands T20I Preview

Nepal make their official full international status return on Sunday, when they face the Netherlands in a T20 International at Lord’s in London.

The game is the final match of a triple-header played that day at the venerable ground in St John’s Wood. Both sides will face an MCC XI led by Mahela Jayawardene earlier in the day in what promises to be a thrilling day for fans of associate cricket, and especially for the two countries concerned.

The game is the latest landmark in Nepal’s rise as a cricketing nation. Enjoying feverish support at home, the national side has risen through the Associate ranks on the field whilst facing turmoil off it, with its governing body having been suspended by the ICC.  They have been in official T20I status wilderness since 2015 when they played the last of their eleven official international in the format.

The game against the Netherlands was granted official T20 International status by the ICC in June after Nepal’s historic qualification as an ODI team was secured at the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. They will make their ODI bow against the Netherlands in Amsterdam next week.

For the Dutch, that ODI series will see their own return to the official 50-over international ranks, having regained their status by virtue of winning the ICC World Cricket League in 2017. They have held T20I status for several years however, and are much more experienced in the format than their opponents here.

Of course, cricket is rather unique in its obsession with status, but the elevations do give this game, and the ODI series that follows it, extra significance.

Both sides have fond memories of Lord’s. The Netherlands famously stunned hosts England in the opening game of the 2009 World T20 at the ground, whilst Nepal famously played the MCC there in 2016.

The match will be the Netherlands’ 50th in the twenty over format, having won 26 and lost 21. For Nepal, this game will be their twelfth official T20I in the record books, although they also had four games abandoned without a ball being bowled (and hence not counting towards official totals) in a ill-fated series against Hong Kong in Sri Lanka in 2015. In their eleven games, they have won three and lost eight.

Remarkably, given Nepal’s nascent status, this will be the fifth official T20I between the two sides – the Netherlands leading 3-1 currently, although Nepal took out their last status meeting in Rotterdam in 2015.

Nepal have named a 15-man squad for the match. Four men have played in all eleven of their team’s official T20Is to date – Basant Regmi, Gyandendra Malla, Sompal Kami and skipper Paras Khadka  – who will all be looking to keep their 100% records alive.

By contrast, there are six potential international debutants in the squad: Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Bhandari, Rohit Kumar, Lalait Rajbanshi and Anil Sah.

If Rohit Kumar is selected, at age 15 years and 331 days he will become the second youngest player to ever play in an official T20 international, after Hong Kong’s Waqas Khan who was 72 days younger when he made his bow – ironically against Nepal – in 2014.

The Netherlands have been buoyed by the late inclusion in the squad of Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate released from county cricket duty, as well as the return to the squad of Otago all-rounder Michael Rippon, able to play during the New Zealand winter. They too have several players in the squad that could make their international debut.

One very intriguing statistical oddity will likely occur during the game. Nepal’s wunderkind legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane is poised to make his T20I debut for his country – but not his debut in the format overall. He made that bow in the recent Hurricane Relief game for the ICC Rest of The World XI vs the West Indies. Given where that game was played, Sandeep will have the unique honour of making his international debut for two separate sides both at Lord’s ! Not bad for a 17 year old!

Above: Sandeep Lamichhane

A fabulous day awaits on Sunday at the home of cricket

Sri Lanka v South Africa – Second Test Preview

South Africa face Sri Lanka in the second and final Test at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club (“SSC”) ground later today, and so sound was their thrashing in the first game last week in Galle, that “test” seems like something of an understatement when describing the challenge that awaits them.

The Proteas scored only 199 runs across their two innings (less than Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne scored by himself) and were annihilated by 278 runs within just two and a half days. Rarely has a number two ranked nation looked so all at sea, torn asunder by the triple Sri Lanka spin attack that took 17 of 20 wickets in a thoroughly one-sided affair.

Not that it ultimately mattered, but Sri Lanka’s own batting in that game, aside from the imperious Karunaratne of course, left much to be desired, so they cannot afford to rest on their laurels. But the islanders will be strong favourites at the SSC, despite their number six ranking in Tests.

They are likely to field an unchanged XI, with Suranga Lakmal continuing to deputise for suspended captain Dinesh Chandimal. The South Africans will need to decide whether to continue with Vernon Philander, who bowled only eleven overs in Galle, or strengthen the batting by bringing in Theunis De Bruyn.

The game in Colombo will be the 27th Test between the two sides, with South Africa leading fourteen to six in wins. In Sri Lanka however, the islanders’ record is much better, having won five of the thirteen Tests played to South Africa’s three. Their record at the SSC is even stronger – Sri Lanka have only lost once in five games against their African foes. The last time the two sides played at this ground was in 2014, with the game ending in a draw.

Aside from Sri Lanka looking to close out a series win, there are number of very significant personal milestones in reach for players of both sides:

Dale Steyn (South Africa)

The Proteas’ demon quick bowler needs just one wicket to surpass Shaun Pollock as his country’s all time leading Test wicket-taker. The pair are currently tied with 421 scalps each.

That is enough for joint tenth place in the world all time list, so should Steyn move past his countryman, he will also dislodge him from that top ten!

Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)

The ageless spinner Herath is one spot ahead of Steyn and Pollock in that wicket-takers list with 423 victims to his name. Richard Hadlee’s 431 is next in Rangana’s sights, eight wickets away. With a spin friendly wicket, and Herath’s record of having notched up nine 10-wicket hauls in his career, it’s a distinct possibility. Moving past Kapil Dev’s 434 into seventh place is not entirely beyond plausibility either!

If he does notch up 10 wickets, he will join Shane Warne in second place all time with ten such hauls. Only his countryman Murali has more – and who knows how many more wickets Herath may have ended up if he hadn’t had to play second-fiddle to him for the early part of his career!

Hashim Amla (South Africa)

Sitting on 8,997 runs, South Africa’s veteran batsman needs just three more runs to become just the third Protea after Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith to notch up 9,000.

Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)

Former skipper Mathews  needs just eight runs to bring up 5.000 in Tests and become just the ninth Sri Lankan to the mark.

 

 

 

Scotland v England – ODI Preview

Scotland get a rare opportunity to face up to the auld enemy on Sunday, when Eoin Morgan’s England side venture north of Hadrian’s wall for a one-off ODI at the historic Grange ground in Edinburgh.

Above: the picturesque pavilion at Edinburgh’s Grange Cricket Club.

Despite being close neighbours, encounters between the two are as rare as a wild haggis sighting. England have visited Scotland on three occasions only since the sides first played against each other in 2008, with two wins for England and a rain-affected no result the outcomes. Their last encounter was in the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2015, where defeating the Scots was one of England’s few bright spots in an otherwise disastrous tournament

It is a shame that England have not treated their fellow UK countrymen with more respect by playing them with more frequency,  but it is a situation that is unlikely to improve, with Scotland having missed out on participating in the inaugural 13-team ODI Championship, and with the ICC’s disgraceful decision to limit the World Cup to only ten teams, opportunities for Scotland against the top sides are going to be difficult to come by.

That is unfortunate as it comes at a time when the game north of the border is going from strength to strength. It is a little over twelve months ago since Scotland recorded their first win over a Full member side, beating Zimbabwe, and they followed that up with a win over Afghanistan and a tie with Zimbabwe in the 2019 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament earlier this year. Scotland only narrowly missed out on qualification having fallen at the last hurdle against Ireland and West Indies – thanks in no small part to two appalling LBW decisions by Australian umpire Paul “Blocker” Wilson. Scotland will be happy to learn that Wilson is nowhere near Edinburgh this week, with local umpire Alan Haggo and South Africa’s Marais Erasmus taking charge.

Despite Scotland’s recent form, England will still be strong favourites – they are the number one ranked ODI side in the world, and are coming off series wins over New Zealand, Australia and West Indies in the last year since losing to eventual champions Pakistan in the semi final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. England will use the game as a warm-up for the visit of Australia for a five game ODI series that starts later this week, but have still sent a strong squad north of the border. All rounders Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes are injured, and regular keeper Jos Buttler is rested ahead of the Australia encounters -but other than that England look formidable opponents for the Saltires.

So with Scotland chasing a first ever win over England, there are also a couple of personal milestones to keep a watch for:

Kyle Coetzer (Scotland)

The Saltires’ skipper is already his country’s leading ODI run scorer, with 1911 runs to his name. An opening batsman, he will play his 50th ODI on Sunday and needs just 89 runs on a pitch renowned for being bat-friendly to become the first Scot to notch up 2,000 runs.

Eoin Morgan (England)

For his part, England’s skipper needs 130 runs to overtake Ian Bell as England’s all time leading ODI run scorer.

West Indies v Sri Lanka – Test Series Preview

Test cricket returns to the Caribbean this week, with the arrival of Sri Lanka for a intriguing series which pitches two inconsistent but improving sides together.

At the time of going to press, it is somewhat unclear whether this will be a two or three match series. Originally scheduled for three, with the final match slated to be a day/night affair at Bridgetown’s storied Kensington Oval, there has been much speculation that one Test may be shelved or converted into an ODI in a cost cutting measure aimed at helping the cash-strapped Cricket West Indies governing body.

For now, we’ll assume it stays as planned, with the first Test starting on Wednesday June 6th at Trinidad’s Queen’s Park Oval, and followed up by a visit to the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia before the pink ball match up in Barbados finishes things off.

Both sides have shown sparks of recovery in the longest format over the last 12 months or so. The hosts have been in the doldrums for many years in Test cricket, riven by player strikes and at best baffling management by the governing body, but in recent times they have won a series in Zimbabwe and won individual tests against both England and Pakistan away from home under the leadership of young all-rounder captain Jason Holder.

The visitors meanwhile have won series in Bangladesh and in the UAE against Pakistan, with a loss to India in between. The Sri Lankans are the higher-ranked side (6th to the Windies 9th) and may well find the slow wickets in the Caribbean to their taste.

The Sri Lankans have had injury worries ahead of the tour, with opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratane and fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera out injured. Their squad contains as many as four uncapped players as a result – bowlers Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha and Jeffrey Vandersay plus batsman Mahela Udawatte.

The hosts meanwhile have recalled Devon Smith after a Test absence of three years,  and may hand a debut to 20yr old Anguillan keeper-batsman Jahmar Hamilton.

From a personal player perspective there are a few milestones to watch out for as the series unfolds:

Kemar Roach (West Indies)

Fast bowler Roach is enjoyinga bit of a renaissance of late, and needs just three wickets to bring up 150 in Tests.

Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies)

The opening batsman needs just 80 runs to mark 3,000 in Tests.

Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)

Former captain Mathews currenty has 4,914 career Test runs in his ledger, needing 86 more to reach 5,000. If he can manage 190 runs in the series, he will move past Sri Lankan legend Arjuna Ranatunga into 8th place for his country.

Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)

The ageless spinner Herath’s 415 Test wickets see him in 12th place in the world all-time – having been overhauled by England’s Stuart Broad this week. Broad and Harbajhan Singh share tenth place on 417, with South Africans Shaun Pollock and Dale Steyn in 8th and 9th on 421 and 419 respectively. Rangana will have all in his sights!

 

Afghanistan v Bangladesh – T20I Series preview

In  two weeks Afghanistan will follow Ireland into the ranks of Test playing nations, when they make their bow in the prestigious format against India in Bengalaru. Ahead of that much anticipated game, the Afghans last assignment as a non-Test team will be a three match Twenty20 International series against Bangladesh, which gets underway on Sunday 3rd June.

All three games, with the second and third matches taking place on Tuesday and Thursday, are being held in Afghanistan’s defacto home in India. These will be the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehardun’s first ever internationals having opened in December 2016. It will become the 51st stadium in India to host official international games.

Above: The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehardun makes its debut international appearance in the series.

The series also marks the first bilateral engagement between the two countires. In fact, they have only ever met once before in a Twenty20 International – Bangladesh running out the winners in a first round game at the 2014 World Twenty20 tournament in Dhaka.

As well as “home” advantage, form in the shortest format would also appear to be on Afghanistan’s side heading into the series. They have won two of their last three series – in Sharjah against Zimbabwe in February this year and against Ireland at Greater Noida in India last year. Sandwiched between those wins was a 3-0 series loss to the West Indies in the Caribbean.

For their part, Bangladesh lost to India in the final of their most recent tournament – the Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-Series held in Sri Lanka – and have in fact only won four of their last twenty T20 Internationals. That poor form sees them ranked a lowly tenth in the format, compared to Afghanistan’s eighth.

So a keenly fought series awaits. There are a few significant milestones in reach for players of both sides:

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)

The Tigers’ captain Shakib is ranked third in the world for T20I all-rounders, and is in sight of a very significant all-round record in this series.

Sitting on 498 international wickets across all formats, he needs just two to bring up 500. If he does, he will join a very exclusive club of just two other players (Shahid Afridi of Pakistan and South Africa legend Jacques Kallis) to notch up both 10,000 international runs and 500 wickets.

Shakib will also be playing his 300th International for Bangladesh across formats in the first game.

Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh)

By strange coincidence, Bangladesh’s opening batsman is also playing his 300th international in the first game -although not all of his have come wearing the green cap/helmet of Bangladesh, having also played a number of times in the last twelve months for the ICC World XI. Indeed he played for the ICC representative side earlier this week as a teammate of Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan who he now lines up against.

For both teams he has scored a total of 1,442 Twenty20 International career runs, so will be looking for just 58 ore to bring up 1,500.

Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

It’s hard to believe legspinner Rashid Khan is still a teenager, such has been his impact in international cricket since he made his Afghanistan debut as a 16-year old in 2015. Sought after the world over in franchise cricket, Khan has taken 149 international wickets for Afghanistan and the ICC World XI combined, and 49 in Twenty20s – so needs just one more to bring up the 150 / 50 respectively.

Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan)

The Afghans’ flamboyant keeper-batsman will be looking to make big strides up the rankings of international Twenty20 cricket’s all time run-scorers.

His 1816 career runs in the format currently have him in eighth place in the world, but 74 runs in the series will see him rocket up to fourth – leaving South African JP Duminy (7th on 1822), India’s Rohit Sharma (6th, 1852), Shoaib Malik of Pakistan (5th, 1887) and Sri Lankan Tilakaratne Dilshan (4th, 1889) in his wake.

Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan)

Allrounder Nabi can make similar moves up the bowling charts. His 61 T20I wickets are enough for 10th place worldwide currently, but six more scalps in Dehardun will see him march up to sixth.

New Zealand’s Tim Southee (9th, 62 wickets), Englishman Stuart Broad (8th, 65) and the Sri Lankan pair Ajantha Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara (Joint 6th, 66) are the men in his sights.

Sabbir Rahman (Bangladesh)

Currently having 893, batsman Sabbir needs 107 runs to become the fourth Bangladeshi (after Shakib, Tamin and Mushfiqur Rahim) to bring up 1,000 Twebty20 international runs.

Potential Debutants

There are two uncapped players in the Afghanistan squad who may make their Twenty20 debuts if chosen – Harzat Zazai and Darwish Rasool could become the 39th and 40th men to represent their country in the shortest format.

England v Pakistan – Second Test – quickfire stats preview

England face Pakistan in the second and final Test of the series at Headingley, with Pakistan having won the first Test by a whopping nine wickets.

I previewed the series in detail here, but ahead of the second Test, keep an eye out for these stats and milestones:

Joe Root (England) – needs 85 runs to bring up 6,000 in Tests

Stuart Broad (England) – after a pair in the first Test, Broad still needs 26 runs to bring up 3,000 in Tests, and become the fifth player of all-time to reach that mark alongside taking 400 Test wickets

Alastair Cook (England) – will break Allan Border’s world record by appearing in his 154th consecutive Test match.

Ben Stokes (England) – needs 2 wickets to bring up 100 career Test wickets, although he faces a fitness battle to be included in the XI having had a scan on his hamstring.

ICC World XI v West Indies Preview

Over the course of just two weeks in September 2017, the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean were battered by two of the strongest storms to hit the region in living memory, Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The destruction across various islands  was widespread, with homes, businesses and vital tourist infrastructure destroyed.

Cricket, a religion in these parts, was not spared the storms’ wrath, with many grounds left badly damaged.

The ICC, recognising the key role sport can play in rebuilding communities’ spirits following a disaster, has arranged a one-off charity T20 international match between an ICC World XI and the West Indies national side to raise funds to help rebuild several of those stadiums in need of significant repair. The match takes place at Lord’s in London on Thursday May 31st.

Funds raised from the match will be directed to five particularly badly affected stadiums in the region:

  • Ronald Webster Park in Anguilla,
  • Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua,
  • Windsor Park Stadium in Dominica,
  • A.O. Shirley Recreation Ground in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands; and
  • Carib Lumber Ball Park in St Maarten.

Above: Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica – before and after Hurricane Maria

I admit to playing close attention to this game. I live on an island in the Atlantic hurricane zone and have experienced many strong storms over the years, knowing only too well the destruction and despair they can leave in their wake. Although my home, Bermuda, was spared the worst of the 2017 hurricane season, a lot of my work colleagues and friends in the British Virgin Islands were very badly affected by Irma at the time, and the islands, like so many are still not fully recovered nearly nine months later.  So to see the sport rallying around my island cousins is heartwarming, and I hope the occasion is rightly applauded.

Above: Destruction in Road Town, Tortola, BVI after Hurricane Irma

In order to give the match maximum exposure, the ICC has granted it full T20 International status. As another mark of respect, the fact that the match is being held at Lord’s is a real feather in the cap for the organisers, given that the home of cricket has only previously hosted T20Is as part of the World Twenty20 tournament in 2009.

Fittingly, both teams send strong squads to Lord’s. West Indies include Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels as well as big-hitting Evin Lewis, and a returning Andre Russell. For their part, the ICC side is a mix of experience and youth. Captained by England T20 skipper Eoin Morgan on his home county ground, the  representative squad includes the two most capped T20 internationals of all time (Pakistani pair Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik) as well as Afghanistan’s superstar 19 year-old Rashid Khan and 17-year old Sandeep Lamichhane from Nepal.

Intriguingly, both teams last Twenty20 outings saw series defeats to Pakistan, in Pakistan. An ICC World XI visited Lahore for a three game series last year as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to bring top level cricket back to their home country, losing 2-1 – while the West Indies visited Karachi just last month in a very symbolic tour, which they lost 3-0.

(As an interesting aside, spinner Samuel Badree played in both of those series – for the ICC and West Indies –  and is in the squad again here, playing against an ICC side he represented just a few short months ago!)

The West Indies are current World Twenty champions of course, and will be looking to put on a show in a game that will be very keenly watched back in the Caribbean.

Although the focus will rightly be on fun and fundraising, given that it has full status there are a few interesting statistical milestones to keep an eye out for:

Shahid Afridi (ICC World XI / Pakistan)

Above: Shahid “Boom-Boom” Afridi will appear in T20I number 99.

Boom-Boom Afridi is something of a Twenty20 International legend. He is the format’s most capped international player and will make his 99th appearance in a T2oI in this game, two years after last playing for Pakistan.

He also leads the world in T20I wickets with 97, and needs just three to bring up his century.

Shoaib Malik (ICC World XI / Pakistan)

All rounder Shoaib Malik currently has 1875 international runs in the shortest format – which sees him in fifth place all-time. He needs just 15 to overtake Sri Lanka’s Tilakaratne Dilshan and move into fourth in the world.

Eoin Morgan (ICC World XI / England)

Above: ICC and England skipper, Eoin Morgan.

The ICC’s skipper currently has 1678 T20I runs, and sits eleventh in the world run scorers list. Just 13 will see him break into the top ten, dislodging Pakistan’s Umar Akmal

Morgan will also play for his third recognised international team, having previously played for England and Ireland.

Luke Ronchi (ICC World XI / New Zealand)

Morgan’s feat will be matched by keeper Ronchi, also playing for his third international side after keeping for both Australia and New Zealand previously.

Sandeep Lamichhane (ICC World XI / Nepal)

Above: Nepalese wunderkind, Sandeep Lamichhane

At 17 years of age and fresh from a blistering performance in the IPL, leggie Lamichhane will notch up a world first on Thursday – he will become the first player to make his full recognised international debut for a representative side rather than a national side*. Although he has played for Nepal before, this was only in games which did not have official ODI or T20I status granted by the ICC.

He does have experience at Lord’s though, having played for Nepal in their victory over the MCC in 2016.

(* excludes the East Africa side that appeared in the 1975 World Cup, as this was a designated ICC member association at the time)

Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis (West Indies)

Universe Boss Gayle and big-hitting Lewis are two of just seven men to hit more than one T20I century -one more in this game will see them equal New Zealander Colin Munro’s world record of three.