Tag: ODI

Bangladesh v Zimbabwe ODI Series Preview

Still smarting from being blanked across six games in South Africa, Zimbabwe have travelled to Bangladesh for three ODIs and two Tests, with the first ODI taking place on Sunday in Mirpur. The remaining two games will be played in Chittagong.

Zimbabwe, ranked eleventh in ODIs, are on the back of a ten-game losing streak having lost 3-0 in South Africa, 5-0 at home to Pakistan, and most heartbreakingly losing the last two games of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier at home against the UAE and West Indies, which snatched qualification from their grasp in sickening fashion.

Bangladesh for their part have made it to the finals of two multi-team tournaments this year – the Asia Cup in the UAE and a home tri-series featuring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – but lost both. Sandwiched in the middle of those tournaments was an ODI series win in the West Indies. They are ranked seventh in ODIs, and this is traditionally the format they have had the most success with, and they will again start favourites here.

As well as form, history is not on Zimbabwe’s side either. These two sides have a shared story, with their elevation through the ranks of recognition and status in world cricket having taken a similar path, and have played each other a staggering 69 times in ODIs. Bangladesh have taken out 41 of them to Zimbabwe’s 28, and the visitors have only won 2 out of the last 20 matches played in Bangladesh.

Zimbabwe may though take some comfort from the team news ahead of the series. Bangladesh are without two of their strongest and most decorated players in Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, both out injured. Zimbabwe though have welcomed back influential all-rounder Sikandar Raza to their ranks after he resolved his contract impasse with Zimbabwe Cricket. With Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams and Craig Ervine also back in the squad, they are almost at full strength for the first time in a long time – only missing former skipper Graeme Cremer, who is still nursing an injury.

An interesting series awaits for the two side and there are some personal milestones to keep a watch for for players of both sides:

Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh)

The Tigers’ wicketkeeper needs just 40 runs to bring up 10,000 across all formats for his country, and become just the third Bangladeshi after Shakib and Tamim to do so.

Elton Chigumubura (Zimbabwe)

Veteran all rounder Elton could be in for a spot of flower-collecting in the series!

He has appeared in 211 ODIs (including 3 for the Africa XI) making him the third most capped Zimbabwean in the format, If he appear in all three games of this series he will surpass Andy Flower and move into second.

With the ball, he has taken 101 ODI wickets (with six coming in those Africa XI games) which sees him as the fifth highest wicket-taking Zimbabwean. Four wickets in the series will see him overtake Andy’s brother Grant Flower  and move into fourth.

 

India v West Indies – ODI Series Preview

Fresh from completing a rather one-sided series sweep against West Indies in Tests, India now turn their attention to a five-game ODI series against the same opposition.

The first game is a day-night affair  – as are all matches in the series – to be played at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati in Assam state on Sunday. Subsequent matches are to be played out in Visakhapatam, Pune, Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium and, after some controversy, the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvanathapuram, which will host its maiden ODI.

Above, the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvanathapuram was eventually confirmed as the venue for the fifth ODI on November 1st.

Wherever the games are held over India’s vast landmass, it certainly seems on paper that West Indies have a Himalayas-esque mountain to climb if they are to get anything from the series. Everything – rankings, form, squad experience, home advantage – seems stacked against Jason Holder’s men, and you suspect India will not be happy with anything less than a first ever clean-sweep over their Caribbean visitors.

India are buoyed by the return of their mighty captain Virat Kohli, who was rested for the Asia Cup campaign in the UAE, and have a strong squad for the series. India have named a XII for the first game already, with recent Test debutant keeper Rishabh Pant likely to make his ODI debut as a batsman. MS Dhoni keeps the gloves, and the only decision would appear to be between Khaleel Ahmed and Mohammed Shami as the final seamer.

West Indies are not in such a luxurious position. Firstly, their coach Stuart Law is suspended for the first two matches of the series for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct in the second test earlier this month. His squad contains no fewer than four potential international debutants – Oshane Thomas, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Fabian Allen and Obed McCoy – and is missing big names like the Bravos, Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle, who continues to manage his workload/bank balance ahead of the World Cup next year.

India are ranked second in ODIs and have won eleven of their fifteen 50-over games this year – winning 5-1 in South Africa and taking home the Asia Cup either side of a 2-1 series defeat to the only side ranked higher than them in the format, England.

By contrast, West Indies lost a three match series at home to Bangladesh last time out, their only ODIs this year aside from the Cricket World Cup Qualifier where they narrowly squeaked through to England 2019. Their ranking of ninth is not an injustice.

So, a potential banana-peel for India to navigate as they continue to hone their side ahead of the World Cup, and a daunting opportunity for an inexperienced West Indies side in unfamiliar conditions. Let’s hope they put up a fight, and make an interesting series of it over the next 11 days.

Aside from the big picture issues, there are a number of personal milestones to keep an eye on:

Virat Kohli (India)

Superstar captain Kohli returns to take the reins from stand-in Rohit Sharma for this series. He currently has 9,779 runs in the fifty-over format, needing just 221 to become the 13th man worldwide and fifth Indian (after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and teammate MS Dhoni) to reach 10,000. If he gets there he will be by some conformable margin the quickest batsman ever to do so.

Shikhar Dhawan (India)

Dropped from the Test side, opener Dhawan has a point to prove, and a milestone to reach to boot. He needs 177 runs in the series to notch up 5,000 for his county in One Day Internationals.

Ravindra Jadeja (India)

Another batting milestone in sights for an Indian batsman – all rounder Jadeja looking for 38 runs to bring up 2,000 in ODIs.

MS Dhoni (India)

Veteran keeper and former skipper Dhoni is, as noted above, one of only 12 men to score more than 10,000 ODI runs. His 10.123 so far see him in twelfth spot, so he’ll be keen to score the 168 runs he needs to surpass Sri Lanka’s Tilakaratne Dilshan and move into eleventh.

Mohammed Shami (India)

With 91 wickets currently in his ledger, Shami needs just nine to bring up 100 for his country.

Marlon Samuels (West Indies)

Unlike some of his other high profile colleagues, all rounder Marlon Samuels has made himself available for the series. Should he be selected on Sunday in Guwahati, it will mark his 200th appearance for the Windies in ODIs.

Sri Lanka v England ODI Series Preview

The England mens’ side start their two-month long, all-format tour of Sri Lanka on Wednesday evening, when the first One Day International gets underway in the central city of Dambulla.

There are five ODIs in total to be played, with the first two at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, followed by two in Pallekele, Kandy before the series draws to a close at the R Premadasa Stadium in the capital Colombo. This is wet season in Sri Lanka, and rain is likely to be a factor as the series unfolds, much as it was in England’s warm up – with one of two practice games washed out completely and the other shortened by the weather.

Above: The Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, host to the first two ODIs.

England’s lack of match practice in the monsoonal sub-continental conditions will do little to dampen their status as hot favourites however. They enter the series as the world’s top ranked ODI side – a remarkable turnaround from the last time they visited Sri Lankan shores in late 2014. That series ended with a 5-2 loss to their hosts, and famously cost Alastair Cook his ODI captaincy job and his place in the squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that followed in early 2015 to boot.

England left that World Cup with their tails between their legs after a humiliating group stage exit, that included  a heavy defeat to the Lankans, only for this to usher in a meteoric change in fortunes in the 50 over game. Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan’s side have won their last eight bilateral series engagements – although they lost the semi-final in their home Champions Trophy to Pakistan and suffered a defeat in a one-off game to associate nation Scotland in between those victories. They have broken record after record during this rise, and can boast a settled side that is devoid of any obvious weaknesses. Their only real problem is fitting in all their world-class 50-over players into one starting XI!

Sri Lanka must look at their guests with envy. Once a swashbuckling side that everyone loved in ODIs and which found itself in two World Cup finals in recent years, winning one – they have since fallen on seriously hard times, and are ranked a lowly eighth in the format.

The Lions have lost three quarters of their last forty ODIs, recently suffering a series defeat to South Africa and crashing out of the Asia Cup at the group stage with defeats to Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Like Cook before him four years ago, that exit cost Angelo Mathews his job as captain and saw him booted from the squad for desserts. Dinesh Chandimal returns from injury and suspension to take the captaincy reins, the latest in a long-line of players to be tasked with skippering the islanders over the last couple of years.

One thing that isn’t on England’s side is history. They have only ever won one bilateral series in the unfamiliar conditions of Sri Lanka, back in 2007, and Sri Lanka’s overall record in matches between the sides at home is fifteen wins to England’s six. Their fans will be hoping that the cricketing gods will be reading from the history books rather than the form guides over the next couple of weeks!

With the two sides using the series to fine-tune their plans ahead of next year’s World Cup, a fascinating battle is on the cards.

There are also a number of significant personal milestones up for grabs for players of both sides:

Jonny Bairstow (England)

Likely to open the batting, YJB is in line for no less than three batting milestones in the series.

Firstly, he needs just 30 runs to score 1000 in ODIs in 2018. Only five Englishmen have managed the feat in a single calendar year before, so it would be a fabulous achievement.

Secondly, 38 runs will notch up 2,000 career runs in ODIs, and finally 71 runs will bring up 6,000 across all formats in his England career.

Jos Buttler (England)

Although Bairstow has the honour for Test matches, Buttler is England’s first choice wicketkeeper in ODIs. He is likely to solidify this status by becoming his country’s leading gloveman statistically during the series –  needing just one dismissal to break Alec Stewart’s record of 173.

When counting just catches, (i.e. not stumpings as well), Jos needs 12 to go past Stewart’s record of 159 for England.

Joe Root (England)

It seems remarkable to think that there were some commentators questioning Joe Root’s place in the ODI side earlier this year, but two consecutive centuries (and one bat-drop!) in the last two ODIs against India in July have put that kind of talk firmly where it belongs!

Overall, Root needs 134 runs to bring up 12,000 across all formats for England.

He also needs 200 runs to bring up 5.000 in ODIs, and a tough-but-not-inconceivable 293 to overtake Paul Collingwood as England’s third highest ODI run-scorer.

Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

Recalled for the Asia Cup, where his performances were one of the few highlights for Sri Lanka, the veteran Malinga the Slinger needs just three wickets in the series to bring up 500 across all formats for his country.

Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett (all England)

Woakes has 109 ODI wickets, enough for joint tenth place in England’s all time rankings, whilst Adil Rashid’s 113 and Liam Plunkett’s 114 see them in eighth and seventh places overall.

All three are breathing heavily down Phil de Freitas’ neck, with his sixth place tally of 115 under serious threat.

With the spin friendly conditions, and Plunkett missing the first two matches due to his wedding, Rashid looks like the favourite to end the series in that sixth spot, while poor old Phil could slip down to ninth!

Rashid (189) and Woakes (188) also need 11 and 12 wickets respectively to bring up 200 each across all formats for England.

Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lankan opener Tharanga currently has 6,936 ODI runs in his ledger, looking for just 64 to notch up 7,000.

Dinesh Chandimal (Sri Lanka)

Across all formats for Sri Lanka, skipper Chandimal has made 7,849 runs – so 151 here will see him to the 8,000 marker.

The 2018 Asia Cup – Preview

The 14th Asia Cup gets underway on Saturday 15th September, in Dubai – a tournament that brings together six Asian sides for the third most prestigious 50-over tournament on the international calendar. It promises to be a closely fought and entertaining tournament!

Above: The 2018 Asia Cup is unveiled in Abu Dhabi

Format

The five ICC full members from the region – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – are joined for the two-week event by Hong Kong, who prevailed from a qualifier event held earlier in the month in Malaysia.

Depsite Hong Kong not currently holding ODI status, the ICC confirmed on Sunday that all games in the tournament will be official ODIs. Incidentally, this is the third time Hong Kong will have been granted temporary ODI status for their appearance in the Asia Cup – the same thing happened in 2004 and 2008.

All games will be played at the Dubai Sports City stadium and the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Above: The Dubai Sports City and Sheikh Zayed stadiums where the tournament will be held.

The first round of the tournament is played in two groups of three on a single round-robin basis, each team playing the others in their group once. In Group A, qualifiers Hong Kong face the big two of India and Pakistan, while Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The top two teams from each group then qualify for a “Super Four” second stage, where all teams play again in a single round-robin format. Results from the first stage do not carry over. The top two from the Super Four qualify for the Final in Dubai on the 28th September.

History

This is the 14th Asia Cup. The first event was also held in the UAE in 1984, although exclusively at Sharjah rather than in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where this event will be held.

India are the most successful Asia Cup team, having won the event six times. Sri Lanka have been crowned Asian champions five times and Pakistan twice. Bangladesh best finish is as runners-up, while Afghanistan are playing in only their second Asia Cup tournament. Even Hong Kong have appeared more than that, having previously featured in the 2004 and 2008 edition.

India are also reigning Asia Cup champions, having won the 2016 competition which was held as a T20I format for the first time. Sri Lanka won the last tournament held in the 50-over format in 2014.

Form and rankings

India will no doubt be favourites again, being the top ranked ODI side in the tournament at 2nd. They will however be without talismanic captain Virat Kohli who is being rested for the tournament, and are coming off an ODI series defeat to England. Prior to that defeat they had thrashed South Africa 5-1 and beat Sri Lanka 2-1.

Pakistan, ranked 5th, will also fancy their chances, being reigning ICC Champions Trophy champions. Since that memorable tournament win, when they beat arch-rivals India in the final, their ODI form has been rather topsy-turvy – blanking Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe 5-0 either side of a 5-0 defeat to New Zealand. They are also playing in “home” conditions, having been largely based in the UAE since 2009.

Bangladesh are ranked 7th in ODIs, and it is arguably their favourite format. They recently beat the West Indies, but prior to that lost to Sri Lanka in the final of their home tri-series also featuring Zimbabwe.

Sri Lanka are ranked 8th , and have also had indifferent form in ODIs of late. They won their last two games against South Africa having already lost the series, but won the Bangladesh tri-series and lost to India.

Afghanistan are ranked 10th. Their last outing was a 2-1 series win over fellow new full member Ireland, and prior to that they won a World Cup Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe that they were a hair’s breadth away from crashing out of at an early stage. Afghanistan have remarkably not played an ODI against an Asian full member side since 2016, so the tournament represents a rare opportunity to test themselves at this level.

Hong Kong famously lost their ODI status at the World Cup Qualifier in March, so don’t have an official ODI ranking. They recovered from a shock first game defeat to Malaysia in the qualifying tournament, but prevailed against ODI status teams Nepal and the UAE to qualify, and will relish their return to the big stage. led by 20 year-old skipper Anshuman Rath (pictured below).

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Stats and Milestones

There are plenty of stats and milestones to keep an eye out for as the tournament unfolds:

Pakistan have played 894 ODIs in their history. If the make it all the way, the final will be their 900th ODI!

Afghanistan have played 170 matches with full international status, winning 99 of them – so they need one more to bring up their century.

Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka)  – Opener Tharanga has scored 6.873 ODI runs, needing 127 in the tournament to bring up 7,000.

Rohit Sharma (India) – Stand-in Indian skipper Rohit is also bearing down on the 7,000 mark, having notched up 6,748 in ODIs in his career to date. A mere 252 will get him across the line.

Mushiqur Rahim (Bangladesh) – The Tigers’ keeper is in line for milestones with both bat and gloves. With the willow he needs 172 runs to notch up 5,000 in ODIs, while he will be looking for 7 dismissals behind the stumps to reach 200 in the 50-over format for his country.

Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) – having been recalled for this tournament, Malinga is in sight of two milestones. He is the Asia Cup’s second highest wicket-taker with 28 victims in the tournament’s history. Only fellow Sri Lankan Murali has more on 30, so three wickets will see Lasith take the crown.

Overall he has taken 492 wickets across all formats for Sri Lanka, so needs just more for a massive 500.

Babar Azam (Pakistan) – Pakistan’s top order batsman needs 27 runs to bring up 2,000 in ODIs.

Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh) – Veteran opener Tamim needs 61 runs to bring up 12,000 across all formats, becoming the first Bangladesh batsman to do so.

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.

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.

2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier

The Road to Lord’s in 2019 swings through southern Africa this week, when the 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament gets underway in Zimbabwe on Sunday morning. Ten countries, four Test nations and six Associates, will do battle for the right to participate in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales.

For many cricket fans, the tournament is a bittersweet one.  A festival of cricket such as this should fill the heart with joy, being that a bounty of 50-over cricket is coming our way over the next three weeks. Yet, it is tainted by controversy, and not a little sadness, from the outset due to the machinations of the sport’s “governing” body, the ICC.

Whilst every other sport in the world is looking to expand and develop interest in more markets, the ICC have infamously decided to head in the opposite direction, driven by greed and TV ratings rather than any genuine love of the sport. Instead of expanding the game’s showcase global event to include more Associate nations, the ICC has decided to all but deny them entry to it at all.

The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup has been slashed to feature just ten teams, down from 14 in the 2011 & 2015 tournaments, and 16 in the 2007 edition. Eight teams have already been guaranteed a place in England next year, leaving the four lowest ranked Full Members and the Associates to scrap for just two remaining qualifying berths. So, for the first time at least two Full Members will not be participating in the World Cup, and it is entirely feasible that no Associate nation will make it all.

That is a crying shame, for the Associates have long been starved of quality opposition against the stronger nations, and the CWC has for many years been the one event where they were afforded that opportunity. That it is taken from them at a time when Associate level cricket is going from strength to strength makes the decision all the more baffling and shameful.

The ICC has granted the two leading Associates of recent years, Ireland and Afghanistan, Full Member status this year, the game is hugely popular in Nepal, whilst Scotland and the Netherlands to name just two have been putting some solid results together on the field and making significant strides to develop infrastructure off it. The time was ripe to really drive growth in these countries, yet all of them could well be looking on from the outside come next year while the bigger teams play a ludicrous 48 games between them over six weeks!

The ICC has also baffling decided not to grant ODI status to two of the teams participating in this month’s tournament, Nepal and the Netherlands, so games featuring those two nations will carry less weight statistically for the teams and their players. Why not simply grant the same ODI status to all games in the tournament, what harm would have ensued? Couple with the again strange decision to not televise or even stream the vast majority of the games, and you start to get the distinct impression that the ICC would prefer that the whole thing wasn’t happening at all!

Ignoring all of that (and I’ll leave my ranting there!) the tournament promises to be an exciting one, with every game counting, some big names of the sport appearing, and the small matter of the ultimate prizes of ICC Cricket World Cup qualification and ODI status at the end.

The format of the tournament is short and sweet compared to the main event it precedes, taking place over just three weeks with as many as four games taking place simultaneously on some days.

The ten teams are divided into two groups of five, each playing the other teams in their group once. The top three sides from each group qualify for the second stage, known as the Super Six. Here, teams’ results against their fellow qualifiers from their group are carried forward from the first round, and the teams play the qualifiers from the other group once each. At the end of this second group, the top two sides qualify for the final and, more importantly, for the 2019 World Cup.

The bottom two sides from each of the two initial groups face play-offs against each other to determine who finishes in seventh to tenth places – these games being of vital importance as the ICC is due to grant ODI status to the top three finishing Associates (plus the Netherlands) for the next four years after the tournament finishes.

So each nation is guaranteed a minimum of six games each, rising to seven for those that qualify for the Super Six, and eight for the finalists.

I preview each group below, as well as marking your cards for some upcoming personal milestones that may be reached as the tournament progresses!

Group A

Group A matches are to be played in the capital Harare, at the Harare Sports Club and the Old Hararians club.

 

West Indies

The Windies arrive at the tournament as one of the joint favourites, being as they are a Full member and with the best pedigree of all ten participating nations. That a twice-World Cup winning side (and current T20 world champion) finds itself needing to qualify at all is a result of some terrible ODI form in the last few years and an impasse with key players that has seen some of the Caribbean’s best cricketers overlooked or self-exiled from selection. They failed to qualify for last year’s Champions Trophy in England, and will be desperate not to miss out in the same country again next year.

They are buoyed for this tournament by the return of several big names to the fold, including self-styled “Universe Boss” Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and quick bowler Kemar Roach.

Some personal milestones to look out for the Windies:

Kemar Roach – Fast bowler Roach needs just one wicket to bring up 100 in ODIs

Jason Holder – the skipper needs nine more wickets to bring up his century in the format.

Marlon Samuels – if the West indies progress all the way to the final, and Samuels plays all eight games along the way, he will move on to 200 ODI appearances.

Ireland

As a then Associate nation, Ireland qualified for the last three World Cups going back to 2007, famously inflicting some of the biggest upsets the tournament has ever seen in the process – beating Pakistan in 2007 and England in 2011. Now a newly-installed Full Member, and with a first Test match taking place in May, the men in green will be highly driven to keep their fine record going and qualify for the big show in neighbouring England.

Recent results have not been as strong, and with an ageing (although highly experienced) squad, one senses qualification may be a battle, but they certainly will not give up on that coveted spot without a fight.

A few key personal marks to watch out for:

Kevin O’Brien – the hero of that famous win against England in 2011 needs just 88 runs to bring up 3,000 in ODIS for Ireland

Niall O’Brien – Kevin’s brother Niall will notch up 100 appearances in ODIs if Ireland qualify for the Super Six, he plays in all games, and Nepal don’t qualify for the Super Six from Group B (because Netherlands and Nepal don’t have ODI status.)

The Netherlands

By virtue of winning the World Cricket League Championship in 2017, the Netherlands have been granted ODI status, commencing after this tournament, and will also participate in the inaugural ICC ODI league alongside the 12 Full members when it kicks off in 2020, guaranteeing them regular games against higher ranked sides.

So exciting times lie ahead for the Dutch, regardless of what happens in Zimbabwe, but nonetheless they will be keen to qualify for the World Cup for the fifth time and first since 2011.

Their squad has been bolstered by the return of several plays playing top-class cricket overseas such as captain Peter Borren, Essex’s County Championship winning captain Ryan ten Doeschate and Roloef van der Merwe.

Papua New Guinea

The Barramundis will be looking to qualify for their first major tournament. A more realistic target might be to hold on to their ODI status by finishing as one of the top 3 associate nations. Form against fellow associates has not been strong of late finishing fourth in the WCL in 2017, being on the wrong side of a bilateral series defeat to Scotland, as well as losing both warm ups in Zimbabwe over the last week, so they will look to improve in the next three weeks.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE secured their spot in the Qualifier by winning the recent WCL Division 2 tournament in Namibia, beating fellow qualifier Nepal in the final. Their main aim in this tournament will be to keep hold of their current ODI status for another four years.

One personal milestone that may be realised comes in the form of Shaiman Anwar, who needs 182 runs to become the first UAE player to notch up 1,000 ODI runs.

Group B

Group B matches take place at in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo at the Queens Sports Club and the Bulawayo Athletic Club.

Zimbabwe

Being a Full member and with the benefit of home advantage, the Zimbabweans will be one of the teams favoured by some to take a coveted qualifying spot for England. Graeme Cremer’s men have had a mixed time of late – winning a bilateral series in Sri Lanka in 2017 but losing against Afghanistan and failing to make it to the final of the Bangladesh tri-series also featuring Sri Lanka.

Their ranks have been bolstered this year by the return from Kolpak stints in England of star keeper-batsman Brendan Taylor and quick bowler Kyle Jarvis, and they will hope that experience and the improved form of Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza will be enough to get them to the final.

A few personal marks that are in play in the tournament:

Sean Williams – recalled to the squad for the tournament, batting all rounder Williams needs just 53 runs to bring up 3,000 in ODIs

Craig Ervine – batsman Ervine needs just nine runs to notch up 2,000.

Hamilton Masakadza – the big opener needs just three ODI appearances to move from sixth place in his country’s appearance list to fourth, passing Alistair Campbell and coach Heath Streak in the process

Afghanistan

It is a sign of their remarkable progress over recent years that Afghanistan are likely favourites for the tournament, having also attained Full Member status in 2017 and looking forward to a maiden Test against India in June.

They have had mixed form in fairness, winning an ODI series against Zimbabwe and drawing in the West Indies in the last 12 months, alongside a series defeat to Ireland in the UAE in late 2017. But they are buoyed by the presence of a phalanx of young and hugely impressive spin bowlers that are more than a match for anyone on their day, especially in Zimbabwe’s likely spin-friendly conditions.

Keep a special eye on the mercurial Rashid Khan

Afghanistan’s vice-captain will, at just 19 years of age, likely become the youngest captain in international cricket history when he deputises for usual skipper Ashgar Stanizkai (out with appendicitis) in the opener against Scotland. Nothing should surprise anyone from Khan, who sits proudly atop the ICC’s ODI and T20I bowler rankings and is courted by franchises the world over, such has been his meteoric rise over the last two years.

Khan also needs just 14 wickets to bring up 100 in ODIs – few would bet against him getting them.

Mohammad Nabi and Dawlat Zadran – fellow bowlers Nabi and Dawlat need 5 and 10 wickets respectively to bring up their 100s too.

Scotland

In the last 12 months, Scotland notched up a bilateral ODI victory over a Full member for the first time, beating Group B rival Zimbabwe in Edinburgh in June 2017. That result and coming second in the WCL to the Netherlands will fill them with confidence that they can at least qualify for the Super Six stage of this tournament – but having appeared in three of the last five ICC world cups, they will be hoping for more.

Kyle Coetzer – already his country’s highest ever ODI-scoring batsman, skipper Coetzer will be looking to add the 277 runs he needs to bring up 2000 for Scotland in ODIs.

Hong Kong

Deprived of top players not available for this tournament, such as JJ Atkinson and Mark Chapman, the latter having opted to now play for New Zealand, Hong Kong’s chief aim will be to emerge with their ODI status intact so they can continue to progress at the highest associate level.

Nepal

One of the fastest upcoming nations in Associate cricket, Nepal secured their berth at this qualifier by finishing second in the WCL Division 2 tournament in Namibia earlier this year.  With huge support at home in the Himalayan nation, obtaining ODI status will be their main goal from this tournament, and with superstar Sandeep Lamichhane, recently awarded an IPL contract, in their ranks few would bet against them causing an upset or two.

India v New Zealand – October 2017 ODI Series Preview

The seemingly endless calendar of men’s international cricket welcomes back a team that has been largely MIA over the past four months, when India hosts the enigmatic Blackcaps of New Zealand for a three-match ODI series. The first game takes place on Sunday in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, with further games to be played in Pune and Kanpur in the coming days.

New Zealand have not played in any format since their group-stage exit from the Champions Trophy in England way back in June, and Kane Willamson’s men will be chomping at the bit to get back out on the field of play.

There has been no such hiatus for the hosts – since their defeat by Pakistan in the final of the aforementioned Champions Trophy, they have won ODI series in the West Indies 3-1, in Sri Lanka 5-0, and most recently at home to Australia 4-1.

On paper, India are strong favourites for this series – they are in tremendous form and sit top of the ICC ODI rankings. However, whilst the Kiwis may be a little rusty from their lack of competitive cricket, they are no pushovers, as India found when forced their hosts to a 5th game decider in an ODI series in the subcontinent just last year.

Overall, there have been 98 One Day Internationals between the two sides in their history, with India having won exactly half of them. On home soil, India has won 24 of the 32 games played in this format, and will be looking to continue that dominance this week.

They are a number of personal milestones to look out for as the series unfolds:

MS Dhoni (India)

The ageless wicketkeeper has been responsible for 389 dismissals in ODI cricket, comprising a world record 103 stumpings alongside 286 catches. Eleven more in the series will see him become only the fourth gloveman in the history of ODI cricket to notch up 400 dismissals – and would join Kumar Sangakkara, Mark Boucher and Adam Gilchrist in that exclusive club.

Perhaps slightly more unlikely given his batting position and the short nature of the series, Mahendra Singh needs 242 more runs to bring up 10,000 in the 50-over format. If he does mange this, he will become the twelfth batsman to bring up a five-figure career tally, and the fourth Indian.

Virat Kohli (India)

Still only 28, India’s talismanic captain is an ODI run-machine. Kohli currently sits on 8,767 runs in the format, with 233 more seeing him bring up 9,000.

His 30 centuries in 50-over cricket are enough to see him sit in joint second place in the world, alongside Australia’s Ricky Ponting. One more in this series will see him claim second spot for himself as he continues to get closer to countryman Sachin Tendulkar’s world-record 49. Few would bet against Virat getting there eventually in his career.

Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane (India)

Batsmen Dhawan and Rahane are chasing personal runs milestones of their own in the series, with Dhawan sitting 221 runs shy of notching up 4,000, and Rahane 178 away from 3,000.

Jasprit Bumrah (India)

White ball specialist quick bowler Bumrah has already notched up 46 wickets in his short career to date, and will be keen to bring up his fifty in the first game in Mumbai.

Trent Boult (New Zealand)

The Blackcaps’ pace spearhead has 90 ODI wickets to his name, looking for ten in the series to bring up his century of wickets

Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

The Kiwi skipper currently has 4,605 runs in the fifty over format, a tally which sees him sit in ninth place for his country. Exactly 100 runs will see him move past the late great Martin Crowe’s 4704 into eighth place.  Another four runs on top of that will see him edge past Craig McMillan’s 4707 into seventh too.

 

England v West Indies – ODI Series Preview

Following on from an unexpectedly close 2-1 Test series win by the hosts, and success for the visitors in the sole T20 International in Durham over the weekend, the West Indies tour of England draws to a close with a five-match ODI series to be played out in the autumnal chill of late September.

The first game is on Tuesday at Old Trafford in Manchester, and will be followed by matches at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, the County Ground in Bristol and The Oval in south London before finally finishing on 29th September at the Rose Bowl in Southampton – by which time woolly hats, scarves and gloves will no doubt be the order of the day – especially for the visitors!

For England, this will be their first ODI encounter since their surprise and agonising defeat to eventual champions Pakistan in the semi-final of the ICC Trophy held on home soil in June that many pundits expected them to win. Prior to that tournament, England had won the last three ODI series they had played- home wins against the Proteas of South Africa (2-1) in late May and neighbours Ireland (2-0) earlier that month, as well as a 3-0 away win in Antigua and Barbados against their current opponents, the West Indies.

England have made strong progress in white-ball cricket over the last two years, but still only sit fourth on the ICC ODI rankings and that first 50-over major tournament title still eludes them. They will see this series as valuable training ahead of the next World Cup to be held in England in 2019.

As for West Indies, their 50-over form has been much more patchy, and they currently sit ninth in the ODI rankings, outside the automatic qualification spots for the 2019 World Cup. They need a 4-0 or 5-0 series win against England to dislodge Sri Lanka from the last qualification spot and avoid having to go through a qualification tournament to avoid missing out on another major tournament after they failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy.

Prior to their one-off game in Ireland being washed out as a no result a few days ago, the Windies had lost a home series against India 3-1 in late June, only managed a 1-1 drawn series with Afghanistan in St Lucia earlier that month, and lost 2-1 to Pakistan in Guyana in April. They also lost the aforementioned home series against England 3-0.

However, since all of those series, there has been a thaw in relations between a number of senior players and the Cricket West Indies board which sees several big names return to the squad for this series and which they will hope will generate a turn around in fortunes in 50-over cricket. The effect of the return of Jamaicans Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Jerome Taylor will be intriguing to watch, and hopefully result in a close series befitting of the West Indies of old.

It is those three returning Jamaican veterans who headline the potential personal milestone for the West Indies side too:

Chris Gayle (West Indies)

Big hitting self-styled “Universe Boss” Gayle currently sits in joint eighth place worldwide for ODI centuries alongside India’s Sourav Ganguly and Sri Lankan Tilakaratne Dilshan. All three have 22 centuries to their name in the format, and one more will see the big man claim that eighth spot all for himself.

He also has 17,972 runs for West Indies across all three formats of the game, needing just 28 more to notch up his 18,000.

Marlon Samuels (West Indies)

Expect salutes a-plenty if all rounder Samuels makes an appearance, as it will be his 188th in ODI colours for West Indies, enough to take him past the legendary Sir Vivian Richards and into eighth place for his national side.

Jerome Taylor (West Indies)

Taylor’s 126 ODI wickets are enough to see him tenth in the West Indies’ all time list – five more will see him overtake fellow quick Mervyn Dillon and move into ninth place.

Eoin Morgan (England)

Captain Morgan may be a beverage that hails from the visitors’ neck of the woods, but it is England’s skipper who will be looking to raise a glass to personal success. He has scored 5,028 runs for England in ODIs (excluding the runs he scored for Ireland before switching allegiance) and needs just 65 to move past Paul Collingwood into second place all-time for his adopted country. Only Ian Bell has scored more.

Joe Root (England)

England’s Test captain will be looking for the 45 runs he needs to move past Graeme Hick’s 3,846 in ODI cricket, and in the process move into his country’s top ten all-time.

Jos Buttler (England)

India’s MS Dhoni recently became the first keeper from any country to notch up 100 stumpings in ODI cricket -so it’s perhaps surprising that Buttler is England’s joint leading disturber of the bails in ODIs with just 15 to his name, alongside Alec Stewart. One more bit of nifty glove-work behind the wickets will see him become a national record holder in his own right!

 

 

Sri Lanka v India – 1st ODI Preview

Having convincingly lost the recent Test series against India 3-0, Sri Lanka will be looking for a change of fortune as focus shifts to the white ball. The first of a five match bilateral ODI series takes place on Sunday 20th August at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla in the centre of Sri Lanka.

India will undoubtedly start as strong favourites, being ranked third in in the ICC ODI team rankings, as compared to their hosts’ lowly eighth position. Sri Lanka are also still smarting from the shock 3-2 series defeat to even lower ranked Zimbabwe that resulted in the resignation of their captain Angelo Mathews, while India easily dealt with the West Indies 3-1 in their most recent ODI encounter.

That said, there is the small matter of the fact that the last time the two sides met, the islanders stunned their neighbours with a shock win in a ICC Champions Trophy group stage clash at The Oval.

New Captain Upul Tharanga’s men also have added incentive in the series. Only the top eight sides in the ODI rankings as at 30 September 2017 qualifying automatically for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England. Sri Lanka will be looking for two wins out of five to ensure they secure that final eighth spot ahead of the West Indies, regardless of how the Windies perform in their upcoming series against England later in the summer.

From a personal player point of view, there are one or two very significant personal milestones to watch out for:

Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

If selected as anticipated, Sri Lanka’s leading fast bowler will play in his 200th ODI for his country, becoming the 13th player from the island to do so.

He also currently has 298 ODI wickets, so two more in Dambulla will see him become the fourth Sri Lankan after Murali, Chaminda Vaas and Sanith Jayasuriya to bring up the milestone, and only the 13th worldwide.

MS Dhoni (India)

Much has been made in recent days of the Indian chairman of selectors MSK Prasad’s comments that Dhoni’s playing days in the national side may be numbered, but the wily ex=skipper will firmly believe he has a few more games in him just yet.

One number he will be keeping an eye on is Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara’s world record of 99 ODI stumpings. MS sits just two behind on 97, and will be keen to claim that record for himself before the tap on the shoulder finally does come.