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1st one-dayer
A Standard Bank National Academy side completed a 2-0 limited-overs series win over Australia’s Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre. In the first match, the South Africans chased down 275 with two wickets to spare while in the second they trumped the tourists by 111 runs.On Sunday, the Australians won the toss and thanks to impressive fifties from Adam Voges (66) and Cullen Bailey (63), finished on 274 for 8 in 50 overs. Voges and Bailey put on 121 for the fourth wicket but following their dismissals the lower order failed to build on the momentum. For the home side, Pepler Sandri was the most successful bowler with 3 for 61. Robert Frylinck and Keegan Africa, both KwaZulu Natal bowlers, finished with two wickets each.In response, the South Africans lost Riel de Kock (7) and Heino Kuhn (4) before Gauteng’s Blake Sniman smashed 60 from 65 balls to wrest the initiative. Farhann Behardien (62) and Corne Linde (54) chipped in to help the hosts over the finish line. For Australia, George Bailey and Ben Edmondson took three wickets a piece.2nd one-dayer
The South Africans chose to bat this time but lost the openers cheaply again to Brett Dorey and Edmondson. Dean Elgar, the East State left-handed batsman, came to the rescue with 77 from 100 balls while Behardien continued his good form with a powerful 112, comprising ten fours and three sixes. South Africa finished on 268 for 8 with Edmondson returning a fine 6 for 32 from his ten overs.In response, Australia could only limp to 157 after Hillroy Paulse’s superb 5 for 28 kept the batsmen in check. Voges (57) was Australia’s top scorer but not even his batting could prevent South Africa from winning the match.The Australians’ next fixture is a four-day match starting on Thursday.

New Zealand 196 for 2 (Vincent 66, Fleming 46) beat Zimbabwe Board XI 193 for 8 (Taylor 49) by eight wickets
ScorecardAn opening partnership of 108 by Stephen Fleming and Lou Vincent guided New Zealand to an easy eight-wicket win with almost 25 overs to spare in a warm-up match at Bulawayo.Andy Blignaut won the toss and elected to bat, but Chamunorwa Chibhabha soon fell for a 25-ball duck, and Vusumuzi Sibanda departed for 6 soon after. A 57-run stand for the third wicket between Stuart Carlisle (24) and Craig Wishart (35) brought some hope for the home side but both fell to Scott Styris, holing out to Daniel Vettori at mid off.Brendan Taylor went for 49 when he lofted Jeetan Patel only to be brilliantly taken by Vettori on the boundary. Charles Coventry scored a quick 15 off 21 balls, smashing two fours and one six, before Vettori bowled him round his legs. Blignaut hit two fours and the same number of sixes before Patel bowled him for 24 and Gavin Ewing hit an unbeaten19 runs off just 11 balls with two fours and two sixes. Andre Adams was the pick of the bowlers with 1 for 12 off nine overs.Vincent and Fleming never wasted time and smashed the Zimbabwe Board XI bowlers all over the park, scoring at over ten an over. Vincent raced to his half century off 30 balls with nine fours and one six. Blignaut and Waddington Mwayenga got a hammering and offspinner Ewing had to be introduced into the attack as early as the eighth over.New Zealand lost their first wicket when Fleming cut Ewing to Chibhabha at backward point for 46, but that did not check the scoring as Craig McMillan joined Vincent. The Board XI were gifted their second wicket, courtesty of a dubious leg before wicket decision by Manny Mhlanga who adjudged Vincent lbw to an Antony Ireland full toss for 66.But by then New Zealand were 143 for 2 and McMillan and Hamish Marshall guided them to victory with 24.5 overs to spare.Zimbabwe limped to a disappointing 193 for 8, and that never challenged a New Zealand side who coasted to victory without breaking sweat. Andre Adams was the pick of the bowlers, taking 1 for 12 off nine overs.

A flu bug that has already laid low Marvan Atapattu, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chaminda Vaas has seriously handicapped Sri Lanka’s preparations for their crucial second-stage Asia Cup encounter with Pakistan.Atapattu, the first to be taken ill as the team travelled to Dambulla last week – the final part of an arduous journey from Australia – was so weak that he was forced to hand the captaincy over to Mahela Jayawardene during Sri Lanka’s 12-run win against India on Sunday night. Both Atapattu and Dilshan are on a course of antibiotics and the management remains hopeful that they will be able to play on Wednesday. Vaas first complained of the bug on Tuesday morning and the seriousness of his condition is not yet known.”There is not really a lot we can do about the situation apart from making sure they take on plenty of fluids and rest,” CJ Clarke, the physiotherapist of the Sri Lankan team, told reporters. “The problem is that the players are very tired after Australia and all the travel, and their resistance to these bugs is therefore very low.”There was better news on Sanath Jayasuriya though, who appears to be recovering well from his side strain, an injury that forced him out of the India match. He resumed bowling on Tuesday morning and should be available for selection.Meanwhile, John Dyson, the coach, was delighted with Sri Lanka’s performance in the first round, an effort that he believes has now set the team up well for the second round.”The team played very well in both games in Dambulla and they are feeling pleased with their game and looking forward to the rest of the tournament,” said Dyson. “It was a good boost for the rest of the tournament. It lifts you up and makes you look forward to the next game. It was difficult to come straight in from Australia as it is a long journey back and when you add the bus drive to Dambulla the guys were pretty tired. They have recovered pretty quickly. They are pretty fit and watch what they eat and make sure they get enough sleep so they were ready to play.”But Dyson remains wary of Pakistan: “Pakistan are a very exciting and dangerous team and they are a side that can do anything and our boys will need to be right on their game.

Sri Lanka’s cricket followers face a television and radio blackout for the Test series in the Caribbean after all three major domestic broadcasters turned down opportunities to bid for the rights to the games.The reason behind the decision is the slump in advertising revenue following the World Cup in March, allied to the plethora of international games which have been broadcast lately. Sri Lanka’s patchy form has also been a factor."The team’s performance has dropped and advertisers are not interested any more,” said Upali Arambewela, a director-general of Rupavahini, the main cricket broadcaster. "They have told us they would now prefer to advertise on our non-cricket programmes.”Wisden CricInfo will be providing ball-by-ball coverage throughout the two-Test series.

Pakistan captain sympathized with his new ball partner Wasim Akramafter the left-armer went wicketless in the Asian Test Championshipopener against Bangladesh.”I think he bowled pretty well and saw a couple of catches dropped ofhis bowling,” Waqar said in the post match conference.”I think I was a bit lucky and got a couple of cheap wickets whileWasim was unfortunate that despite bowling well, he couldn’t get anywickets. But it should not be a concern,” Waqar said.Waqar said it was a great feeling to start the domestic season with acomprehensive and confortable victory and the win, no matter it wasagainst the minnows, would give his boys a world of confidence.”Naturally there is always a room for improvement. When we will sitdown again, we will try to rectify our mistakes. I don’t want to throwthe weaker areas in the background,” the skipper said.Waqar agreed that the opponents were an ordinary lot but emphasizedthat the conditions were difficult. “It was very hot out there,” hesaid.”Bangladesh are new to Test cricket and will surely get better,” hesaid.Bangladesh coach Trevor Chappell and skipper Naimur Rahman werecritical of their batting and blamed it for the defeat.”The conditions were good for batting and I thought it would be hardwork for the bowlers to get the batsmen out. But our batsmen got outthemselves,” the Australian said. But Rahman was even more aggressive.”We should have shown sense in the middle. The top order wasdisappointing and we should have played better. I expected that thebatsmen will learn from their mistakes of the first innings. Butdisappointingly, they didn’t.Chappell opined that his guys felt the pressure of being up against aformidable Pakistan with world class players. However, he played downa magnificent performance by Danish saying he didn’t deserve 12wickets in the match.”It was always an uphill task for Bangladesh although I think Pakistanwas not at its full strength. Danish Kaneria bowled well but he wascertainly not unplayable. But probably he didn’t deserve that manywickets.

Former USACA presidential candidate Mahammad Qureshi has made the initial steps towards the creation of another governing body to rival both the USA Cricket Association and the American Cricket Federation. Qureshi, the chief executive and founder of Cricket Council USA, announced the appointment of six CCUSA regional directors on Tuesday, including several former USACA administrators.CCUSA officially classifies itself as a “sports and entertainment management organization” with its annual US Open T20 tournament held in Florida every December since 2008 for a cash purse ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. The announcement of eight regional bodies modelled on USACA’s eight administrative regions, followed by the appointment of the six regional directors, appears to be a thinly-disguised move at posing a challenge to USACA’s status as the ICC’s officially recognised national governing body in the USA.”CCUSA has always been determined to be a leader in player development, and all the affiliated regions share that vision,” Qureshi said in a press release on Tuesday. “We’re thrilled to work together to enhance the future of cricket in United States of America and build a pathway to a national team success at world stage.”Among the appointees announced are former longtime USACA board member Krish Prasad from New York, former USACA South East Regional administrator and current South Florida Cricket Alliance president Melton Taylor, former USACA Central West regional director Mustafa Hemani from Texas and former USACA selector Dawood Ahmed from Washington, D.C. Crucially, though, from a governance standpoint, CCUSA has no constitution and no annual general meeting with an election to decide these positions, which are ICC requirements.”The Regional Directors for Cricket Council USA were offered the position based on their achievements relating to cricket throughout the years,” Sofian Qamar, CCUSA’s vice-president of operations, told ESPNcricinfo via e-mail when asked about the appointment process for the regional directors.CCUSA’s business affairs have had ties with controversial figures in recent years. Banned Pakistan player Danish Kaneria was allowed to play at the 2013 US Open T20. Former CCUSA vice-president and US Open T20 tournament director Jeff Miller – who ran the US Open T20 tournament in 2010, 2011 and 2013 – pleaded guilty last summer in Florida to a second-degree felony charge of grand theft relating to an initial arrest on felony mortgage fraud charges in 2009.Florida-based Qureshi, who ran unsuccessfully for executive board positions in the last three USACA elections – including two failed presidential runs against Gladstone Dainty in 2008 and 2012 – filed for Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy in 2011 with more than $30 million in debts at the time, according to local Florida media reports. However, CCUSA’s tournaments have continued to draw consistent interest and participation from clubs all around the country and Qureshi maintains a loyal following.Notably, the language in CCUSA’s recent releases has put extra emphasis on their role in the development of cricket through the hosting and management of various T20 tournaments around the country. The ICC changed the language in its Associate membership criteria in January so that its member governing body no longer has to be the “sole” governing body in the country but rather the governing body that is responsible for the “administration, management and development of cricket in the country.”In the absence of a letter from the country’s national olympic committee certifying it as the recognised governing body, the ICC maintains discretion to make a final judgment. ICC chief executive David Richardson recently told ESPNcricinfo though that the ICC viewpoint is that all factions must come together in order for cricket to move forward in the USA rather than the ICC choosing between the USACA, ACF or a third party such as CCUSA.

The ECB has announced the six host teams for the inaugural Women’s Cricket Super League which will take place during the English season.There will be three teams in the south – one based with Surrey at The Oval, another with Hampshire and a third in the South West – two in the north with Lancashire and Yorkshire and one in the Midlands run by Loughborough University. The South West features a joint bid between Somerset and Gloucestershire, while a joint Middlesex/MCC bid missed out for the one London-based team.The six teams have been awarded hosting rights for the period 2016-19. To begin with it the WCSL will feature just T20 but 50-over cricket will be included in the future.John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, said: “Having submitted a joint bid with Middlesex, naturally MCC is disappointed with today’s outcome. Hopefully the club can play an active part in the tournament in the years ahead.”Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, said: “This is a key day in the creation of the Women’s Cricket Super League – we have now secured the six hosts for the start of the competition this summer.”It is pleasing to see so much diverse and innovative partnership working across the cricket and educational landscapes and that the six chosen hosts provide such a strong geographical spread. To have seven First Class counties, five Non-First Class counties and three universities involved, demonstrates how collaborative, imaginative and wide-ranging this project is.”

Women’s Cricket Super League hosts

Hampshire Cricket with partners: Berkshire Cricket Ltd, Dorset Cricket Board, Isle of Wight Cricket Board, Oxfordshire Cricket, Southampton Solent University, Sussex Cricket Ltd, Wiltshire Cricket Ltd
Lancashire County Cricket Board with partners: Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire County Cricket Club Foundation
Loughborough University
South West: Somerset County Cricket Club, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, University of Exeter
Surrey County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Clare Conner, the director of women’s cricket, added: “Our vision for the Women’s Cricket Super League is to create an exciting, dynamic and high quality domestic women’s game in England, where the world’s best players come together to drive performance standards and to inspire women and girls to love cricket.”All six of the confirmed hosts have passionately demonstrated that they share this aspiration and we are now really excited to work with them to deliver this next stage in the evolution of women’s cricket in this country.”The WSL follows the introduction of the Women’s Big Bash in Australia. That tournament is run in conjunction with the men’s BBL, but the WCSL is not directly linked to the men’s domestic structure.”Whilst there are similarities in the drivers behind the Women’s Cricket Super League and Women’s Big Bash League – wanting to further raise standards of performance and encourage participation – they are very different in their identity and formation,” Connor said.”The WBBL is an extension of the men’s Big Bash League, and it has benefited in terms of infrastructure, operations, personnel and brand recognition, amongst other things. The WCSL is an entirely new proposition for cricket in this country. It’s a fresh chapter for the sport and we are all hugely excited that the women’s game is pioneering it.”Sussex claim to have given more opportunities to female cricketers in their Academy than any other first-class county. They said their decision to support Hampshire rather than put in their own bid was for “strategic reasons”.The tournament will be run from July 30 to August 14 with each team playing each other home and away with the top four sides reaching Finals Day.

Cricket Australia has confirmed it would consider a proposal by Allen Stanford to participate in the $23 million Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies next year. The tournament though is yet to be approved by the ICC, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) or ESPN, which has a broadcast agreement with the ICC.According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, Australia need to complete a Test and ODI series in the Caribbean by June 30, 2008. “Were the West Indies Cricket Board to reach an accommodation on a Twenty20 tournament with the ICC and they were in a position to supply us with more specific detail on any Twenty20 tournament, then we’d be happy to consider it,” a Cricket Australia spokesman told . “And that would be on the understanding that we need to move on to our next commitment on the Future Tours programme out of the Caribbean by June 30.” reported Stanford had approached Australia last year for a week-long Twenty20 knockout also involving India, South Africa and Sri Lanka. The winners would then take on the Stanford Super Stars, a West Indian XI consisting of the best players in the inter-island domestic Twenty20 tournament. The West Indies board met the ICC last week to discuss the event and the issues of payment and the countries involved.

The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) has plans to invite foreign players to play for the state this season though Ajay Shirke, the MCA president, denied media reports that Australian players like Matthew Hayden and Stuart MacGill had been considered for contracts.”We are definitely considering outside players,” Shirke told Cricinfo. “In fact we planned to hire some last year too but could not because of many constraints. But I would like to say that we have not finalised any names yet.”What they did achieve last year was hiring Darren Holder, a performance analyst who had worked with Australia’s coach John Buchanan, as Maharashtra’s coach and director of cricket. Maharashtra finished sixth in the Ranji Trophy last year with two wins in seven games.”If the county circuit can have foreigners playing for them and making it more competitive, then why not us?” Shirke told . “Money has never been an issue and will never be. What is the point in saving money in the bank? We get a good amount from the BCCI and it is better if we put it to use.”Speaking to Cricinfo, Shirke clarified the amount that would be paid to overseas players. “Maharashtra already has a gradation policy in place since last year. It will be a substantial amount with the BCCI offering one lakh as match fees, apart from the MCA contract.” The amount, though will vary, depending on the “statistics and performance” of different players, Shirke added.Niranjan Shah, the Indian board secretary, was also receptive to the idea. “We want to bring in foreign players to play some of the Ranji Trophy matches,” Shah said in Ahmedabad on Sunday. “We want to generate interest among the masses regarding Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. We wish that more and more people go to watch these matches.”The last time overseas stars adorned the Indian domestic circuit was in the 1940s and ’60s when first Dennis Compton and then the West Indies fast bowlers Roy Gilchrist and Lester King played.

Midlands took a firm grip on the second day of their match against Manicaland at Mutare Sports Club. With a powerful 172 by England tour discard Craig Wishart to the fore, they ran up a total of 458 for five wickets by the close, a lead of 77 already with five wickets still in hand.The Manicaland innings lasted only 11 minutes on the second morning, as first Alec Taylor was caught at slip off Travis Friend for 40, and then last man Leon Soma was trapped lbw by Dirk Viljoen for 1, leaving Justin Lewis unbeaten with 6. The total was 381, satisfactory but by no means outstanding on a good pitch. Viljoen, with three for 27, returned the best bowling figures, while left-arm spinner Ian Coulson was surprisingly not given an over.Vusi Sibanda got Midlands off to a cracking start, pulling Soma for four and six in his first over when he pitched short. A fuller length quietened him, although he did play one fine drive off Brent over the covers for four. Terry Duffin was less flamboyant, and made 12 before edging a ball from Blessing Mahwire to the keeper, walking without waiting for the umpire’s decision.Sibanda continued to play some sparkling strokes, especially drives on the off side, but still showed occasional faulty stroke selection. Five penalty runs were awarded for a drive for three by Sibanda, as the fielder’s hat fell off and he then flicked the ball back on to it.Douglas Marillier never got going, scoring only 3 before a lazy shot cost him his middle stump. Sibanda’s cameo came to an end at 48 – his second-best score in first-class cricket – with a straight-forward edge off Brent to the keeper. Midlands were 83 for three and the innings was at the crossroads.Craig Wishart, who took 16 balls to get off the mark, and Sean Ervine dug in, but some loose balls from Alec Taylor and Richie Sims gave some welcome relief and several boundaries just before lunch.Afterwards the torture started for Manicaland. Wishart and Ervine batted with increasing confidence; Ervine reached 48 and looked likely to reach his fifty first until Stuart Matsikenyeri came on to bowl his gentle off-breaks and Wishart hit two fours and a six in four balls to reach the landmark.They continued throughout the afternoon session, making batting look easy. Most of Wishart’s runs came from drives in front of the wicket, while Ervine used a wider range of strokes. They were in the nineties together, and at one stage there appeared to be the rare situation of having two batsmen in on 99 at the same time. Ervine had the bowling, and a classic off-drive to the boundary brought up his century. However, the scorers had temporarily missed a single to Wishart in his fifties, and he had already reached three figures unknown to anybody until the error was found during the tea interval.Ervine celebrated with two sixes in an over off Richie Sims, one a massive hit into the bush far behind the sightscreen. Wishart, who had been temporarily starved of the bowling, finally stole a single to bring up what was thought to be his century. He faced 102 balls for the genuine one, against 127 by Ervine who had most of the bowling. The stand of 242 came to an end on the stroke of tea when Ervine cut a ball firmly to backward point where it was held by Dylan de Beer.Wishart, 103 at tea, continued as if determined to ram a point down the selectors’ throats. Still selecting his shots well, he drove Leon Soma straight into the stumps at the far end, but so powerful was his stroke that it burst through the middle of them and reached the long-on boundary. Shortly afterwards he reached 150, having passed his previous best of 144, and then went through a quiet period to gather his breath. The Manicaland total was now behind them and at the other end Viljoen was accumulating steadily.He speeded up later, but just failed to reach the close, flashing at Brent to be caught at the wicket, ironically equalling his 172 against Namibia in the World Cup. But at 457 for five Midlands were well on top. Alester Maregwede (1) held out with Viljoen (57) until the close.