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Group B might still be the more open of the two groups, but Titans gave their chances of progressing quite a boost with a thumping victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ranchi

The Report by Nikita Bastian28-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDavid Wiese thwarted Sunrisers after their blistering start•BCCI

Group B might still be the more open of the two groups, but Titans gave their chances of progressing quite a boost with a thumping victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ranchi. That didn’t look likely when Shikhar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel were belting some wayward bowling from Titans around in a rapid half-century opening stand, but, as has always been the worry for Sunrisers, their middle-order frailty was exposed and, this time, their bowlers failed to bail them out.Captain Henry Davids, who has been prolific in most domestic games recently, and Jacques Rudolph – who had got into double digits only three times in his previous eight T20 innings – were involved in what was only the second century stand of the main tournament, as Titans chased down 146 without breaking a sweat. Davids took the early initiative, hitting six boundaries in the Powerplay, the highlight being an inside-hit off Dale Steyn over the covers for six. By the time he was dismissed for 64 in the 13th over, Titans needed just 34 more and Rudolph saw them through though he couldn’t secure a half-century. Victory was sealed in the 17th over, with eight wickets to spare.Sunrisers openers had got off to a similarly dominating start after being inserted. In their previous game, against Brisbane Heat, they had done superbly to defend 123, but before that a lack of discipline cost them dearly against Chennai Super Kings. They produced equally errant lines in this match, bowling consistently short and wide. Morne Morkel began with a relatively testing over to Parthiv Patel, angling the ball across him from over the wicket and inducing a couple of plays and misses. He then went round the wicket though, as did most of the bowlers, presumably to change the angle and cramp the two left-hand batsmen for room, but couldn’t pull it off. Dhawan and Parthiv took advantage, lofting the repeated deliveries comfortably outside off stump over the infield.Playing primarily in the air cost Dhawan when he picked out third man in the first over after the Powerplay. Seamer David Wiese was the bowler and, buoyed by that big wicket, he went on to turn the tide of the match. He had Parthiv bowled with a slower ball while hitting across the line and Hanuma Vihari caught brilliantly at midwicket with a well-directed short delivery.The local batsmen continued to disappoint for Sunrisers. After Vihari was out for six, Biplab Samantray was stumped for no score, overbalancing while trying to flick a leg-side delivery. The three big overseas batting options, JP Duminy, Thisara Perera and Darren Sammy, also failed for Sunrisers – after Dhawan was dismissed, they managed just one boundary and 43 runs in 10 overs. Dhawan apart, they lost five more wickets in the same period.A chunk of the credit for those wickets need go to Titans’ sharp fielding. There was Davids’ effort to dismiss Vihari – he had run across from midwicket to square leg and leapt to latch on to the skier – then there was Farhaan Behardien’s spectacular take at long-off. Sammy had muscled the ball flat and hard in his direction, and Behardien must have been left with stinging palms as he jumped to intercept the rocketing ball. Keeper Mangaliso Mosehle then connected with a direct hit to send Perera back. If it hadn’t been for some big hitting by Karn Sharma and Steyn in the final couple of overs – Steyn was particularly brutal on Marchant de Lange in the final over, making room and hitting two fours and two sixes – Titans’ top order would have been even less tested than it was.

An unbeaten 49-ball 95 from Umar Akmal, and a three-wicket haul from Aizaz Cheema were the cornerstones behind Lahore Lions’ 15-run victory against Multan Tigers in Faisalabad

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2015An unbeaten 49-ball 95 from Umar Akmal, and a three-wicket haul from Aizaz Cheema were the cornerstones behind Lahore Lions‘ 15-run victory against Multan Tigers in Faisalabad. With two wins from three matches, Lions are now through to the semi-finals.Lions, opting to bat, were precariously placed at 51 for 3 in the eighth over before Umar and Nasir Jamshed joined hands to launch a late assault. The pair looted 129 off 73 deliveries, helping Lions to 180 for 3. Umar slammed 11 fours and four sixes for his fifty, while Jamshed’s 33 off 27 balls featured two fours and a six.Tigers lost their openers within three overs of the chase – both removed by Cheema – but handy contributions from Kashif Mansha and the captain Gulraiz Sadaf kept the team afloat. Still, Lions ensured that the asking rate remained above 10 an over, putting pressure on Tigers. With 73 required off the last five overs, Naved Yasin went on the attack, blasting 69 off 39 balls, including 21 runs off the penultimate over, but was left with too much to do on his own, as his team could only muster 165 for 5.A three-wicket haul from Mohammad Sami, and a rapid half-century from Shahzaib Hasan powered Karachi Dolphins to a six-wicket win against Faisalabad Wolves. Wolves, choosing to bat, lost their openers inside two overs, but Jahandad Khan’s 54, and his two thriving stands with Misbah-ul-Haq and Asif Ali powered the team to a promising 113 for 3 by the 16th over. However, quick dismissals, including two in an over from Sami, pegged the team back. Wolves lost their last six wickets for just 31 runs to finish on 144 for 9.Dolphins had little trouble chasing down that score, and overhauled the target in 17.5 overs. Shazaib’s 34-ball 59 – a knock which featured two fours and five sixes – set the platform, after which handy twenties from Rameez Raja and Mohamamd Waqas (22*) took the team home.

Andrew Hudson indicated that two more teams in the domestic circuit could provide a greater talent pool for South Africa’s next selection panel to choose the national team from

Firdose Moonda01-Jun-2015South Africa’s next selection panel, which should be finalised at CSA’s board meeting on Tuesday, may need a greater talent pool to choose the national team from, according to outgoing convener Andrew Hudson. South Africa has six franchise teams but Hudson, who spent five years in the job and did not make himself available for reappointment, indicated that two more teams would provide better options, especially in light of the transformation policy.”The guidelines have always been there and we have always adhered to them so that’s not an issue. But what you want is to be giving the selectors a lot of talent, which is as diverse as possible,” Hudson told ESPNcricinfo. “For me, there are too few franchises. We only have 66 players in action every week. I think it would be better to have 88, so we can expose more players to franchise cricket.”Apart from the franchise structure, South Africa has a second-tier of domestic cricket – a semi-professional set-up – which consists of 13 provincial teams that feed into the franchises. As part of CSA’s commitment to transformation, which was reaffirmed when CEO Haroon Lorgat signed an agreement with the South Africa’s sports ministry last week, both the franchise and provincial teams have targets about the number of players of colour they must field in order to get the national team to a state in which it is 50% transformed, although there is no deadline for reaching the national team’s target.For the 2015-16 season, franchises must field at least six players of colour of which three must be black African. That will give the national selectors at least 36 players of colour, of which 18 are black African, to choose from for the national team. In the 2014-15 season, franchises fielded at least five players of colour, of which two were required to be black African, and the results of that process are evident in national selections.Hudson’s final task was to oversee the selection of the South African squad to Bangladesh and the A side to India. South Africa’s Test squad included seven players of colour of which three were black African, the ODI squad also had seven players of colour with two black Africans, while the T20 squad had six players of colour, which included two black Africans. The South Africa A four-day squad had eight players of colour, with three black Africans, and the fifty-over squad had nine players of colour of which five are black African.Analysing squads in those black and white terms, so to speak, creates the danger of labeling some players as quota choices. To guard against that relationship between the selection panel and players is crucial and Hudson hopes his successor will nurture that. “A lot of selection is around managing the players,” Hudson said. “The panel needs to be close to the players and needs to support the team. That’s what the players deserve.”That closeness is something Hudson said he worked on during his tenure, in which he was always willing to explain his choices. He did so for the last time when asked about the squads to Bangladesh, in which South Africa picked four new faces in the Test squad, stuck to a familiar looking 50-over outfit, and had one new player in the T20 side.”The formats are all at different stages which made this an exciting group to pick,” Hudson said. “The Test side is fairly settled but there are a few key changes, the one-day side has a fair amount of time to build for the 2019 World Cup and the T20 squad is eight months away from a World T20, so there’s a lot of focus there.”At Test level, room has been created in the batting line-up with AB de Villiers’ absence on paternity leave creating a temporary gap and Alviro Petersen’s retirement providing the opportunity for someone to stake a more permanent claim. Stiaan van Zyl has been touted for both roles but whether he will cut it as opener is not clear. “Stiaan is not an opener. To play out of position is not easy, especially at the top of the innings,” Hudson said.Instead, Reeza Hendricks has been included despite a lean season ahead of leading run-scorer Stephen Cook and seasoned performer Andrew Puttick. “Reeza has got amazing talent and ability. Both Stephen and Andrew’s domestic form has been great but we have to look to the future.” Cook and Puttick are 32 and 34 respectively, while Hendricks is 25.Age was not a factor in spinner Aaron Phangiso’s case. The 31-year-old has been named in the Test squad, though he is not a regular first-class player, because of conditions in Bangladesh. “It’s from left-field but we thought Phangi, who takes the ball away from the right-hander, could complement someone like JP [Duminy], who takes the ball away from the left-hander,” he said. “Phangi is also a reliable spinner, who can tie up an end while the seamers rotate at the other end.”Phangiso will also feature in the limited-overs matches and legspinner Eddie Leie could make his debut in T20Is, with the selectors planning for the World T20. “Eddie is quite similar to Imran Tahir and we’ve seen how well Imran has done so it will be good to give Eddie an opportunity and see what he can do,” Hudson said. “In time, he may mould himself on Imran.”The only squad with no newcomers is the ODI team, although Ryan McLaren has been welcomed back in an attempt to fill the allrounder’s spot. “That’s something we’ve been looking at for a while,” Hudson said. “Now it will be up to a new convener to find the answer.”Although Hudson is not standing again, the rest of his panel – Hussein Manack, Shafiek Abrahams and Linda Zondi – were all nominated as selectors again. CSA will also decide on a new bowling coach to replace Allan Donald at the meeting on June 2.

Nicole Bolton, Jess Jonassen and Kristen Beams will all be in line for potential Test debuts after they were chosen in Australia’s squad to contest the Women’s Ashes in England this year

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2015Nicole Bolton, Jess Jonassen and Kristen Beams will all be in line for potential Test debuts after they were chosen in Australia’s squad to contest the Women’s Ashes in England this year.The Ashes will be contested over one Test, three ODIs and three Twenty20s. The same 14-player group has been picked for the Test and ODIs, but for the T20s Delissa Kimmince will come in for Bolton.”The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars have some of the world’s leading players in women’s cricket, but the success of the playing group is due to the strong depth of talent and all players consistently contributing,” selection chair Julie Savage said.”Three players – Nicole Bolton, Kristen Beams and Jess Jonassen – selected in the Test squad are in line to make their Test debut. Jess Jonassen will give the team a versatile all-round option having developed from a successful short-form bowler to a match-winning all-rounder with her consistent ability to clear the fence when batting.”Nicole Bolton produced a memorable ODI debut in the last Ashes series in January 2014, bringing up a century at the MCG, and has followed this with a number of big scores, proving she can bat for a very long time with great concentration.”Kristen Beams has come into the group as a mature player having dealt with a previous shoulder injury to produce wonderful results domestically. She is a leg-spin bowler who can be a wicket-taking weapon in a Test match.”Holly Ferling returns to the national line-up after missing the last international summer with a back injury. She’s been training very well at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and will spearhead our pace attack with Ellyse Perry.”Delissa Kimmince comes into our T20 squad as an athletic and explosive all-round player. She will be tricky to bowl to because she has the ability to play innovative shots coupled with traditional stroke play.”England hold the Ashes after winning in Australia in 2013-14.

Toby Roland-Jones and James Harris took four wickets apiece as Middlesex dismissed Hampshire for 176 on the opening day at Lord’s

ECB/PA28-Jun-2015
ScorecardJames Harris’ productive season continued with four wickets on the day he was awarded his county cap•Getty Images

Toby Roland-Jones and James Harris took four wickets apiece as Middlesex dismissed Hampshire for 176 on the opening day of their LV= County Championship Division One match at Lord’s, fully justifying the decision to bowl first.Only Joe Gatting, with a combative unbeaten 64, held up Middlesex for long as Roland-Jones, Harris and Tim Murtagh, who took the other two wickets, worked their way steadily through the Hampshire batting order.By the close Middlesex had replied with 59 without loss in 13 overs, with Paul Stirling the chief aggressor against the new ball with 36 from 34 balls, with seven fours, and Sam Robson also unbeaten on 17. They are already well-placed to press for a fourth Championship win of the campaign.Roland-Jones took four of the first seven Hampshire wickets to fall, for figures of 4 for 60, and Harris polished off the tail to earn himself a return of 4 for 48.Harris, who was awarded his Middlesex county cap during the tea interval, now has 49 first-class wickets this season, with only Lancashire’s Kyle Jarvis and Durham’s Chris Rushworth ahead of him on the national wicket-taking list.Eighteen overs were lost when rain swept in at noon to hold up play until 2.20pm but Hampshire, who were 30 for 2 when the players took an early lunch, then declined further during the afternoon and evening sessions.Roland-Jones took three of the six wickets to fall by tea, at which Hampshire were struggling at 111 for 6 on a well-grassed pitch that offered just enough seam movement to the quicker bowlers.Afterwards, although he lost partners at regular intervals, Gatting decided to counter-attack and he completed a spirited half-century with a six swung effortlessly into the Grandstand off Harris.Gatting, only making his first Championship appearance of the season because of injury to Sean Ervine, faced 86 balls in all and struck seven fours besides. Gatting’s efforts aside, though, it was otherwise pretty much all Middlesex on the opening dayMurtagh made the initial incision with the fourth ball of the match to have out-of-form Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams caught at the wicket for a duck.Sean Terry battled hard to reach 23 before Roland-Jones made one go up the Lord’s slope just enough to have the right-handed opener also caught by John Simpson behind the stumps.In the fourth over after the restart Michael Carberry, offering no stroke on 15, was leg-before to Roland-Jones as he thrust out his front pad to another delivery which seamed back up the slope, and Hampshire were 55 for 4 when James Vince was bowled for 13 driving loosely at Harris in the 21st over.Adam Wheater played a couple of nice shots but on 17 he was bowled shouldering arms to Murtagh, who made one nip back at him – again up the slope.Will Smith was leg-before for 18 pushing half-forward at Roland-Jones in the 40th over as third-placed Middlesex kept up the pressure on the team currently in joint last place alongside Nottinghamshire in the first division table.Gareth Berg, playing against the county he served for seven seasons from 2008, made it to 10 before being brilliantly caught off Roland-Jones by Nick Compton, who flung himself to his left from gully.Danny Briggs edged behind, fencing at Harris, and the same bowler then bowled Brad Wheal for three before ending the Hampshire first innings by having Jackson Bird caught at second slip for 1.

Somerset have signed Roelof van der Merwe on a two-year contract for 2016 and 2017. The 30-year-old has a Dutch passport and is available for all formats as domestic-qualified player.

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jul-2015Somerset have signed Roelof van der Merwe on a two-year contract for 2016 and 2017. The 30-year-old has a Dutch passport and is available for all formats as domestic-qualified player.Van der Merwe, a right-hand batsman and left-arm spinner, is best known in the UK for his role for Somerset in the 2011 T20 Champions League where he scored 179 runs in six innings to help his adopted county to the semi-final. He also played in five matches of the Friends Life t20 that year as Somerset reached the final.His career for his native South Africa was fairly brief, playing 13 ODIs and 13 T20s between 2009 and 2010 but earlier this year, despite success with the Titans franchise – he was the third-highest run-scorer in the Sunfoil Series, South Africa’s first-class competition – decided to throw in his lot with Europe.On receiving his Dutch passport he immediately declared himself available for Netherlands and was included in the squad for the World T20 qualifers, top scoring in the opening match. He now appears to have turned his back on South Africa with this deal for Somerset.”I am extremely pleased that we have been able to sign a player of his class and character,” Somerset director of cricket Matt Maynard said. “During his career he has proven himself to be a player of high quality and in recent years he has developed his batting to make himself a very good top order batsman.”He is a world class fielder, a leader on the pitch and will bring a great energy to the squad. I have worked with him in the past and I can assure the Members and supporters that this is a great signing for us.”Van der Merwe added: “It will be good being back in Taunton. Making it through to the Champions League semi-final was great and for me to be coming back to Somerset to contribute in all forms of the game is awesome. I enjoyed my time in Taunton and I am really looking forward to working with Matt Maynard again. I really enjoyed working with him at St Lucia Zouks and this is an exciting time for me.”

Rory Kleinveldt scored a valuable unbeaten half-century for Northamptonshire assisting his side to avoid the follow-on in their LV= County Championship match with Essex at Chelmsford.

ECB/PA03-Sep-2015
ScorecardRory Kleinveldt contributed with the bat [file picture]•Getty Images

Rory Kleinveldt scored a valuable unbeaten half-century for Northamptonshire assisting his side to avoid the follow-on in their LV=County Championship match with Essex at Chelmsford.The home side finished on 55 for 1 in their second innings and an overall lead of 140 runs and a day left for play but South African Kleinveldt played a major part in frustrating their hopes to make significant progress in this weather-affected game.The visitors had started the day on 143 for 3 still 217 behind Essex and they were soon in trouble losing two wickets in as many balls to Jamie Porter. The 23 year-old promising paceman sent Rob Keogh’s off stump cart-wheeling out of the ground as the batsman departed for 45 and then sent Adam Rossington on his way for a first ball duck to leave Northamptonshire reeling at 151 for 5.Facing the possibility of following-on, the visitors had added 37 for the sixth wicket when Richard Levi , who had scored a confident 31, was struck on a finger by fast bowler Tom Moore and was forced to retire. It was later learned that Levi would take no further part in the match having sustained a broken knuckle.Kleinveldt took his place, playing positively from the start. The third boundary of his innings ensured that the follow-on was averted and together with Josh Cobb, who had played with responsibly, he took the score onto onto 216 when former Leicestershire batsman Cobb drove spinner Aron Nijjar to Moore at long-on.Ollie Stone joined Kleinveldt in a 55 runs stand for the seventh wicket before Jesse Ryder swept up the innings with three wickets in five deliveries. Stone played down the wrong line and was bowled for 22 and both Mohammad Azharullah and Maurice Chambers were pinned in the crease without score.That left Kleinveldt out of partners and unbeaten on 52, his half-century having come from 56 balls with eight boundaries, as the visitors were dismissed for 275.On a day when 34 overs were lost to a combination of bad light and rain, Essex then made sedate progress in their second innings against accurate bowling from the Northants pace attack.Openers Dan Lawrence and Nick Browne had scored a cautious 22 in 14 overs when the latter was well held at second slip by Keogh off the bowling of the impressive Stone for 14.Lawrence, who had been dropped twice on 4 off Kleinveldt was 23 and Tom Westley a fluent 16 when bad light closed in to bring proceedings to a halt for the final time.Both captains will need an enterprising approach if there is to be a positive conclusion tomorrow.

Yorkshire’s captain, Andrew Gale, has criticised England’s decision to omit Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance from the Test squad for the UAE

Alan Gardner16-Sep-2015Yorkshire’s captain, Andrew Gale, has criticised England’s decision to omit Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance from the Test squad for the UAE. Four players from the Championship-winning county were included but Gale said Ballance in particular had been “harshly treated” after being overlooked by the selectors.Ballance became the third-fastest England batsman to score 1000 Test runs earlier this year but was dropped after the second Ashes Test, with Ian Bell moving up to No. 3 and Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow earning a recall. He has now slipped further down the pecking order, with James Taylor included at Ballance’s expense after impressing during the ODIs with Australia.While Ballance has produced scores of 165 and 91 in the Championship in recent weeks, he made a pair against Middlesex as Yorkshire claimed the title at Lord’s. Concerns have been expressed about his back-foot technique – in Yorkshire’s current fixture against Hampshire, being televised on Sky, Ballance was dropped in the gully playing tentatively at Fidel Edwards before being dismissed for 30 – although that may have been less of an issue on the slow surfaces of the UAE.There was no room for Ballance in either the Lions squad to play a T20 series with Pakistan A in the UAE this winter – although the format is not his strongest suit – or the England Performance Programme, which were announced on Wednesday.”I’m gutted for the lads,” Gale said. “I’m so disappointed for Gaz. He’s got an unbelievable record. I think he’s been harshly treated, and I’m really disappointed with the ECB for that.”I strongly disagree with the decision they’ve made. He’s got a proven record at that level, and yet they’ve picked James Taylor ahead of him. As much as I love ‘Titch’, I think Gaz deserves a chance to get back in that squad and prove again what he did before.”He’s a mentally strong lad is Gaz and a pretty level-headed guy. Knowing him as I do, he’ll take it in his stride and come back much stronger.”Lyth scored a century in his second Test but his position as Alastair Cook’s opening partner came under increasing threat during the Ashes, as he averaged just 12.77 with a highest score of 37. Lyth was the leading first-class run-scorer in 2014, with 1619 at 70.39, but only passed 50 once in 13 Test innings against New Zealand and Australia as bowlers targeted a noticeable fragility outside off stump.Alex Hales was the beneficiary, having passed 1000 runs in first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire this season, although England could pursue other options within the squad to open in three Tests against Pakistan.”In terms of Lythy, I thought Michael Carberry summed it up well in a Sky interview when he said someone deserves a really good run in that opener’s spot,” Gale said.”I’m not a fan of chopping and changing. You’ll see with our Yorkshire team this year that I’m a big believer in continuity and backing guys for a certain amount of time. Lythy’s shown that he can perform at that level, and it’s not as if opening batters are falling out of trees and churning runs out week after week like Lythy did last year.”With Lyth and Ballance left out, the number of Yorkshire representatives in the touring squad fell, after six were taken to the Caribbean at the start of the season. Joe Root, England’s highest-ranked batsmen, is a guaranteed starter in the middle order, while Bairstow, Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett retained their places.

Bangladesh Women will be going to Pakistan on September 28, to play two ODIs and two T20s

Mohammad Isam24-Sep-20151:24

Isam: PCB has assured BCB of top-level security

Bangladesh Women squad for the Pakistan tour

Salma Khatun, Jahanara Alam, Farzana Haque Pinki, Rumana Ahmed, Lata Mondal, Ayasha Rahman Shuktara, Panna Ghosh, Sharmin Akter Supta, Fahima Khatun, Shamima Sultana, Ritu Moni, Nigar Sultana, Khadija Tul Kubra, Sharmin Sultana, Nahida Akter
Stand-bys: Sanjida Islam, Sumona Akter

Bangladesh Women will be going to Pakistan on September 28, to play two ODIs and two T20s. All four games will be in Karachi.* It will be the first tour to the country by a representative side from Bangladesh since the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009.BCB president Nazmul Hassan made the announcement at his residence on Thursday, saying the hosts have said they will provide the team with VVIP security.The confirmation came after the Bangladesh government had given the tour the green light through the sports ministry on Tuesday.Earlier this month, a security team from Bangladesh visited Lahore and Karachi to assess the safety arrangements. Karachi’s Southend Cricket Club was put forward as a venue since the players can stay at the ground.”We received the order from the government through the sports ministry,” Hassan said. “Now it is up to us. The Bangladesh team will go on September 27 or 28. We thought Lahore is safer. The previous security team were told about Lahore.”But this time they have included Karachi because in the Southend Cricket Club, they will stay and play. It is a huge plus point. We just have to iron out some of the details. But the women’s team is going. It is final.”Hassan said that the participation of Bangladeshi football and handball teams in events in Pakistan in the last few years suggested that the BCB should also think about sending a team. He said that the security team found security measures “satisfactory” but the BCB asked for the VVIP level of security.”We have been discussing for a long time about sending a women’s team to Pakistan. Football and handball women’s teams went to Pakistan, so since there was a feeling among them that BCB doesn’t want to send a cricket team, we decided to send a strong security team first.”According to their report – an accident can happen anywhere, that’s a different issue – the security measures are satisfactory. We sent them some additional requirements like giving the team VVIP security. They have accepted it. They have also complied with all that we asked of them about crowds, open gates and nearby areas. Now we can say that we don’t have anything to say on the security issue.”He said the BCB’s senior vice-president Mahbubul Anam, women’s wing chairman MA Awal Chowdhury and the board’s security head will accompany the team to Pakistan.Last month, when talk of the tour surfaced, some of the Bangladesh players had expressed unease. The BCB higher-ups, along with a security official from the Bangladesh High Commission in Pakistan, had a discussion with the players earlier this month. It was learned that the players then expressed their satisfaction and agreed to tour Pakistan.This will be the first cricket team sent by the BCB to Pakistan since 2008, when the men’s team last toured. It is a significant step, since Bangladesh reneged on two tours in 2012, which created a breach in the relationship between the two cricket boards.*11.45GMT, September 24: This article was updated once it was confirmed that Karachi will host all the games.

Tharindu Kaushal’s indifferent outing at Galle raised concerns over whether he could become Rangana Herath’s spin-bowling successor, but Herath himself could still play for some time yet

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle17-Oct-2015Tharindu Kaushal’s indifferent outing at Galle raised concerns over whether he could become Rangana Herath’s spin-bowling successor, but Herath himself could still play for some time yet, Angelo Mathews said. Herath played a leading role in a second successive Galle victory for Sri Lanka, this time claiming match figures of 10 for 147.Herath is now 37 (five years older than Dhammika Prasad, who was Sri Lanka’s second-oldest player in this XI) and has said he would assess his future and retirement following next year’s World T20. Mathews had also suggested that Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had more international cricket in them, but both batsmen have now retired, leaving Mathews with a green Test top order.”I believe, Rangana can play few more years because he is also working very hard with our trainer and now he has reduced lot of weight,” Mathews said. “We mustn’t look at his age but at his performance. That said, I accept the fact that other bowlers also should come up. If they want to achieve what Rangana has achieved, they need to work hard.”Among those needing work is Kaushal, who returned figures of 1 for 94 in this Test match. He had been particularly disappointing in the first innings, where he failed to find a consistent length, and proved expensive. He also overstepped six times.Kaushal was recently banned from bowling the doosra, following biomechanical Tests in Chennai. Both Mathews and the Sri Lanka team’s coaches believe he can be penetrative even without that delivery, particularly as he turns the offbreak substantially. However, his lack of control and subtlety appear to be frustrating his career.”Tharindu Kaushal was pretty disappointing – he was not bowling at his best,” Mathews said. “We wanted to go with Kaushal, especially on this wicket. It was a tactical move. We wanted someone who can really give it a rip on this wicket. Unfortunately, he was pretty poor in this game.”He’s still working very hard with spin coach Piyal Wijetunge. We just wanted him to bowl his offspinners on the spot. If he does that, he’s going to get lot more wickets than with his doosra. But he didn’t do that well. He can keep improving.Mathews suggested the team was wary of asking Kaushal to make too many changes so early in his career. “When it comes to pace, he doesn’t change his pace that much. We didn’t want to change him upside down, because the way he bowls, he’s going to get lot of wickets.”Mathews issued glowing praise to the top-order batsmen that formed the bedrock of Sri Lanka’s first innings 484. The top four had had a particularly lean series against India, against whom Sri Lanka did not cross 400. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne made a career-best 186, and for much of that innings batted in the company of Dinesh Chandimal, who hit 151. The pair put on 238 for the third wicket.”We had some individual brilliance to lead us to victory,” Mathews said. “To start off with, Dimuth and Chandimal were brilliant. They batted us to a position where we could hardly lose. After getting 480-odd, it gives the bowlers some cushioning to go out there and enjoy themselves. We haven’t put up a total like that for quite some time.”We can’t keep talking of the past all the time, so we’ve decided to take up the challenge and responsibility. After Sangakkara and Mahela left the team, we needed those guys to stand up and take the responsibility. I’m glad that they did it.”