Tag: Twenty20

South Africa v Zimbabwe – Twenty20 International Series Preview

Fresh from finishing off a 3-0 ODI series sweep against their African neighbours Zimbabwe on Saturday, the South African men’s team now face a three game T20 International series against the same opponents.

Like the ODI series, the matches are to be played at some of South Africa’s “lesser” provincial grounds – the first at Buffalo Park in East London on Tuesday, and the second and third at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom and Willowmoore Park in Benoni.

Above: Buffalo Park (East London) and Senwes Park (Potchefstroom)

Although Zimbabwe showed some fight in the ODI series, especially the final game in Paarl, the Proteas will once again be strong favourites. Zimbabwe have lost their last eight T20 internationals dating back to June 2016, leading to them being ranked 12th in the format, behind Scotland. By contrast, South Africa are ranked sixth, although themselves are coming off a T20 loss to Sri Lanka in August, and a 2-1 series defeat to India earlier this year.

Zimbabwe have never actually beaten their neighbours in the shortest format, although they have only played three games together, so not a great smaple size. In fact this series will double the number of times the side have met!

Zimbabwe will once again have some of their most important players back in the squad, including Brendan Taylor, but are still missing former captain Graeme Cremer and all-rounder Sikander Raza following their falling out with the governing body.

For their part, South Africa will use the series to further explore their squad depth, and could hand debuts to two uncapped players in their squad – Gihahn Cloete and Rassie van der Dussen.

Aside from the potential debutants, there are a number of significant milestones for us to keep an eye on as the week unfolds.

Firstly, a little trivia in that the third game in Benoni will be the 700th Twenty20 International match with full ICC status worldwide. That number is likely to grow rapidly from 1 January 2019 of course, when all T20s between associate or full members of the ICC will be granted full T20 status.

Hamilton Masakadza (Zimbabwe)

Zimbabwe’s skipper is already his country’s leading T20 appearance maker and run scorer, and needs just six runs to reach 1,500 runs in the format.

JP Duminy (South Africa)

All rounder Duminy, if selected for two of the three series games, will overtake the retired AB de Villiers as the Proteas’ leading T20 international appearance maker. He is currently on 77 caps to de Villiers’ 78.

Imran Tahir (South Afrca)

One of the best short format bowlers in the world, Imran Tahir is just tow arms-outstretched wheeling celebrations away from becoming the Proteas’ leading wicket taker in the T20 format, overtaking Dale Steyn’s 58 scalps.

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

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.

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.

Pakistan v West Indies T20I Series Preview

Pakistan take another step in the process of permanently bringing international cricket back to their homeland this week, when they host the West Indies in a three-game T20 International series at Karachi’s National Stadium.

It is well documented that Pakistan have been forced to hold the vast majority of their “home” cricket outside their own country since a 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team. Recently however, signs are good that this may not be the case for much longer. Following the ICC sending a World XI to Lahore for  three game series in September last year, Sri Lanka visited for one T20 at the same venue a month later. This series is significant not only because it is the first full bilateral series against a fellow Full Member to be hosted in the country since 2015, but it is the first at a venue outside Lahore for 9 years. Positive progress indeed.

The series is also intriguing as it pits the ICC’s top ranked T20 side in Pakistan against the current format world champions. Pakistan have won their last six T20 series, whilst West Indies have slipped a little since their World Twenty20 Cup win a couple of years back, and are now ranked fifth. However, confidence will be high from their success in qualifying for the 50-over world cup earlier this month, and a close series awaits.

Both sides have named squads with a mix of experience and new faces. There are as many eight potential 20-over debutants in the two squads. The players looking to make their bow in the format (and in many cases in all international cricket) are Odean Smith, Veersammy Permaul, Keemo Paul and Andre McCarthy for the visitors, and Shaheen Afridi, Rahat Ali, Asif Ali and Hussain Talat for the hosts.

Among the more experienced players, there are a few personal milestones to keep an eye out for over the next week:

Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

All-rounder Shoaib Malik’s 1821 runs in Twenty20 internationals are enough to see him currently sit in seventh place in the world all-time. JP Duminy is just one run ahead in sixth, and Rohit Sharma and Tilikaratne Dilshan are also within reach. 68 runs are all he needs to move up to fourth place past all of the aforementioned.

Dinesh Ramdin (West Indies)

The Windies keeper currently has 51 dismissals in the shortest format, enough for joint fifth in the world alongside Umar Akmal and Mushfiqur Rahim. Two more will see him move clear of those, and also past Afghanistan’s cult hero keeper Mohammad Shahzad into fourth.

Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-Series Trophy Preview

Twenty20 International Tri-Series between Full Members are like the proverbial London buses – you wait ages, and then two come along straight after each other! Hot on the heels of Australia, New Zealand and England making history with the first such series earlier this year, now the subcontinent teams are getting in on the act. The tournament is being held to mark 70 years of Sri Lankan independence.

Sri Lanka plays hosts to the Nidahas Trophy starting on Tuesday 6th March. The series features India and Bangladesh alongside the hosts, with each of the three sides playing each other twice, followed by a final. All games take place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

India will be strong favourites, despite resting key members of their first choice team like skipper Virat Kohli and legendary keeper MS Dhoni. They are ranked third in the world in T20 Internationals, hosts Sri Lanka eighth, and Bangladesh down in tenth. India are also in much better form having won their last three T20 International series (against South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand).

For their part, the hosts’ last two series were against their current opponents, having beaten Bangladesh and lost to India in recent times. Bangladesh will also have to overcome their record of never having beaten India in a T20 international.

All three sides are without their first choice T20 captain in this tournament. The hosts’ skipper Angelo Mathews is out injured, as is Bangladesh’s leader, Shakib Al Hasan. The teams will be led instead by Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Chandimal and Mahmudullah respectively.

With a slightly inexperienced squad having been named by India, there are potential international debuts for allrounders Deepak Hooda and Vijay Shankar.

Aside from that, there are a number of potential personal milestones to watch out for as the tournament unfolds:

Rohit Sharma (India)

India’s stand-in captain has 74 Twenty20 Intermational caps, seeing him in eleventh place in the world all-time rankings. If India make it to the final, and Rohit pays every game, he will rocket up to eighth place in that list. New Zealand’s Martin Guptill and the two South Africans JP Duminy and AB de Villiers are the men in sight.

Rohit currently has 1,679 runs to his name in the format, which sees him in tenth place in the world all-time. He could move up four or five places in this list during the tournament. JP Duminy currently sits in fifth place on 1,822 runs, less than 150 ahead. Umar Akmal, David Warner, Mohammad Shahzad and Shoaib Malik are the others potentially in reach.

Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka)

All=rounder Perera is in reach of milestones with both the bat and ball during this tournament. He needs 136 runs to become the fifth Sri Lankan to score 1,000 runs in the format. With the ball, he needs just one wicket to notch up 50.

Mahmudullah (Bangladesh)

Bangladesh’s captain is 79 runs shy of 1,000 Twenty20 International runs. He will become just the third Bangladeshi to do so if he succeeds.

Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh)

Rahim has 48 dimissals (23 catches, 25 stumpings) to his name in the format, enough for 7th place worldwide. Five more in the series would see him move up to fourth past Denesh Ramdin, Umar Akmal and Mohammad Shahzad.

Pakistan v Sri Lanka – T20I series preview

With the dust now settled on Sri Lanka’s one-sided and often embarrassing 5-0 series defeat to Pakistan in the UAE, attention turns to the shortest form of the game, and a chance of redemption for the islanders.

The two sides play a three game T20I series over the course of four days and two countries – with the first two games to be held this Thursday and Friday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the capital of Pakstan’s adopted cricketing home. All eyes however are likely to be on the third fixture, slated as it is to be played out in Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium, back home in Pakistan.

International cricket returned to Pakistan earlier this year after a long hiatus, when the ICC sent a representative World XI side to play three Twenty20 games, and granted them full international status. The matches were played without incident, and paved the way for Sri Lanka to become the first full international side to play on Pakistan soil since Zimbabwe in 2015. Prior to Zimbabwe’s visit, Pakistan had not played a single game at home since 2009, following a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus, so the fact that it is the Sri Lankans that are the visitors for this historic occasion is even more remarkable.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, not everyone in the Sri Lankan camp was comfortable with returning to the scene of such a traumatic event, with white ball captain Upul Tharanga and several top players (as well as head coach Nic Pothas) choosing not to travel to Pakistan. Sri Lanka Cricket then decided that if players boycotted the Lahore fixture, then they would not be considered for the first two games in Abu Dhabi either – which means that their squad for this entire series has a very inexperienced look about it.

Stand in captain Thisara Perera – who was Sri Lanka’s sole representative in the World XI squad in September, and so had no qualms about leading his country back to Lahore – will remarkably become Sri Lanka’s seventh captain across all formats since June this year. Perera has 60 Twenty20 caps to his name, while the rest of his 16-man squad (which includes five potential T20 international debutants) have a total of just 75 between them.

The much changed squad largely renders Sri Lanka’s recent T20 form irrelevant. For what it is worth, they have won their last two series away from home 2-1, against Australia and South Africa. Pakistan for their part are coming off a 2-1 series win in the World XI series and a 3-1 win in the West Indies earlier in the year.

There are a couple of players with personal milestones in their sights to watch out for as the series unfolds this week:

Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

With 89 caps to his name, the evergreen all-rounder is international cricket’s second highest Twenty20 appearance holder, behind countryman Shahid Afridi’s 98.

His 1,719 runs in the format are enough for sixth place in the world all-time standings. He sits just 60 run behind Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad in fifth, 87 behind New Zealand opener Martin Guptill in fourth, and 134 behind India’s captain fantastic Virat Kohli in third.

Malik will have the chance to play three full games before Guptill and Kohli commence battle in their own T20 series over in India next Wednesday, so will be confident of moving into that world top three, even if it is only temporarily.

Mohammed Hafeez (Pakistan)

Fellow Pakistani all-rounder Hafeez has 78 international caps in the game’s shortest format, enough for 6th place. If he plays all three games, he will move to 81 which will see him overtake India’s MS Dhoni (temporarily) and Sri Lanka’s Tilikaratne Dilshan and move into fourth place on the ladder.

Run wise, his 1,619 career runs see him sit in tenth place in the world. South Africa’s JP Duminy is in ninth on 1,683, but will be captaining South Africa in a series against Bangladesh at the same time as this series is being played, so may remain out of reach. Countryman Umar Akmal’s 1,690 and Australia’s David Warner’s 1,696 however should be catchable.

With ball in hand, Hafeez has taken 46 Twenty20 wickets, so is just four short of his half century. He perhaps only has this series to get there, as his bowling action was reported to the ICC for the third time as being illegal during the one-day series, and hence he must submit to testing after ther series and faces another bowling ban.

Independence Cup – Pakistan v ICC World XI T20I Series Preview

International cricket returns to Pakistan on Tuesday for only the second time since 2009. Eight years ago, a terrorist attack against the visiting Sri Lankan team sent shock-waves around the cricketing world, and sent Pakistan into exile. Apart from Zimbabwe, who visited two years ago for a limited overs series, no team has been keen to visit due to security concerns, and Pakistan have been forced to play their home games in the United Arab Emirates for eight long years.

This week’s Independence Cup series marks a hopeful beginning of the end to that exile. The ICC, much to its credit, has arranged a three-match T20 International series between Pakistan and a World XI comprising players from seven countries. All three games are to played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The ICC team, led by ex-England head coach Andy Flower, contains a number of current internationals of the highest quality, and the matches have been granted official T20 International status, so the games have an added gravitas beyond their symbolic nature.

The 14-man ICC World XI squad is captained by South Africa’s Faf du Plessis and comprises the following players:

Faf du Plessis (South Africa, Captain), Hashim Amla (South Africa), Samuel Badree (West Indies), George Bailey (Australia), Paul Collingwood (England), Ben Cutting (Australia), Grant Elliot (New Zealand), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), David Miller (South Africa), Morne Morkel (South Africa), Tim Paine (Australia, Wicketkeeper), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka), Darren Sammy (West Indies) and Imran Tahir (South Africa)

The matches are seen as the first baby steps towards Pakistan regularly hosting other nations again on home soil, a progression given a further boost with the news today that Sri Lanka will play one game of their T20 series against Pakistan in Lahore rather than the UAE later this year. Given it was Sri Lanka that were attacked back in 2009, this is a remarkable gesture from the islanders, and will be greeted with glee in Pakistan.

The ICC World XI as a team will be playing its first official T20 Internationals and first games in any format since 2005, when a previous incarnation played three ODIs and one “Super Test” against Australia – a series which unlike this one was ill thought out and poorly attended by the locals in Australia.

You suspect that poor attendances are not going to be an issue in Lahore, where the series has brought unbounded joy to local fans, so long starved of the chance to see their national side in the flesh rather than beamed in from Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan have named a full strength squad, and are treating the series seriously. These are their first games in any format since they sensationally won the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June, so it will be a triumphant homecoming for a team regarded as heroes in their homeland.  They are in form in the shortest format too with their last outing in T20s in April this year seeing them beat world T20 champions West Indies 3-1 in an unusually long four games series held in Trinidad and Barbados.

With the games having official ICC T20I status, players’ statistics will count to their overall career records and rankings. Personal milestones will of course take a back seat, given the larger significance of the games being held, but nonetheless there are a few players to keep an eye on:

Morne Morkel (ICC World XI, South Africa)

With 46 T20I wickets in his column, Morkel he’ll be out for four more to notch up 50.

The big South African quick will also play for his third official international side if selected – having also represented his country and the Africa XI side in an official ODI series against an Asia XI in 2007.

(Incidentally, he won’t be the first player to be able to claim this honour surprisingly, as a number of players in that Africa XI v Asia XI series also played in the ICC World XI Super Series in 2005, such as Shahid Afridi, Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock.)

David Miller (ICC World XI, South Africa)

BIg hitting middle-order batsman Miller currently has 846 runs in the shortest format of the game, so will be looking for 154 across the three games to reach 1,000.

Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

All rounder Shoaib currently has 1,625 T20 International runs to his name, enough for ninth place in the world all-time. He’ll be confident of moving a few places up the top ten list with South Africa’s JP Duminy (1,683), Australia’s David Warner (1,686) and countryman Umar Akmal (1690) well within his sights.

Imran Tahir (ICC World XI, South Africa)

Currently ranked second in the world in the ICC T20I bowler rankings, exuberant spinner Imran Tahir has taken 55 wickets in the twenty over game, enough for 12th place in the world all-time. Afghanistan’s Mohammed Nabi sits in ninth on 59, with New Zealand’s Nathan McCullum and Tahir’s fellow South African Dale Steyn in joint tenth place on 58. Tahir will be confident he can overhaul all three in this series.

 

Sri Lanka v India – only T20 International Preview

Tomorrow’s T20 International at the R Premadasa Stadium in Khettarma, Colombo represents last orders at the last chance saloon for Sri Lanka.

Having lost their home Test series against India 3-0, and followed it up with a 5-0 drubbing in the ODI series that followed, the Lions are staring down the barrel of an unprecedented home cross-series whitewash by their northerly neighbours.

India will be string favourites such is the form they are in, and such is the malaise that Sri Lankan cricket finds itself in. Riddled by injury, suspension, and resignations of captains and selectors alike, this has not been a few weeks to remember for the islanders, and they must be looking forward to this portion of their season ending.

The only glimmer of hope is that they have had marginally more success in the shortest format of the game, having beaten admittedly weakened Australian and South African sides in recent times.

India by contrast are rampant, racking up all manner of records in the Tests and ODIs that preceded this game. If they do make it a 9-0 series clean-sweep, they will match a record set by Australia when they beat Pakistan by a similar margin across all three formats in 2010.

History between the sides in this format doesn’t bode well for Sri Lanka either – of the ten games played, India lead 6-4, whilst their hosts have never beaten India at home.

So plenty to play for – a record and a clean-sweep in the sights for the visitors, while the Lions will be out to save their pride.

From an individual player persepective, its no surprise that India’s two superstars will be the ones to keep watch of:

Virat Kohli (India)

India’s supreme leader and inspirational batsman plays his 50th T20 International in Colombo.

He currently sits in fifth place in the all-time T20I run-makers list with 1748 runs to his name. 32 runs will see him leapfrog Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad into fourth place, while a score of 59 will see him move one notch higher to third, past New Zealand opener Martin Guptill.

MS Dhoni (India)

Fresh from breaking Kumar Sangakkara’s world ODI stumping record with his 100th such dismissal in the last ODI (also his 300th game in that format), former captain Dhoni has more dismissal and appearance records in his sights.

This will be MS’s 78th T20 International game, moving him up into joint fifth place all-time, alongside Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez.

In this format, Dhoni has racked up 66 dismissals – 43 catches and 23 stumpings. Four more will see him move to 70, and enough for a share of the world record with South African megastar AB de Villiers.