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Malinga T20 captain, Mathews vice-captain, Chandimal third in line

Lasith Malinga, if fit, will captain Sri Lanka at the World T20, Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed. SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala: “Angelo Mathews will be the vice-captain and Dinesh Chandimal his deputy. “These three players have been given the responsibility to work together and build the national team. They have a colossal amount of experience and ability to build the team.”
Malinga, who will miss the upcoming T20s in India as he recuperates from a knee injury, will lead in the Asia Cup as well if he regains fitness in time. Chandimal will captain in India in his absence.

Sri Lanka’s new coach, Graham Ford, who is set to begin his second stint with the team, has cautioned against expecting quick fixes. The team, he said, is in transition, so he expects the job to be challenging.”Sri Lanka is in the early part of a rebuilding phase, so don’t expect any quick fixes,” Ford said on arrival in Sri Lanka. “I am very aware what a huge challenge it is. A lot of hard work needs to be done. It’s very important that this team building is done on a very solid foundation, so patience is required.”I know there is an abundance of talent within the system, but it is about identifying those who have got the mental toughness to go on and become consistent players and match-winners at international level.”Jerome Jayaratne, Sri Lanka Cricket’s head of coaching, who took charge of the team on a temporary basis when Marvan Atapattu resigned as coach in Sri Lanka, is expected to be appointed full-time assistant coach. Ford said it was important to draw on his experience, and for the entire Sri Lankan cricket set-up to work together.”It’s quite a long process which is required. A lot of hard work, not just for me but all involved, particularly Jerome who has been involved in Sri Lanka cricket for a long time, knows the players so well and has a wealth of knowledge technically and tactically.”It’s important to have his input, and also to have the selectors and the board all working together to ensure the long-term process can take place so that we can take Sri Lanka back to the top of the international stage.”Jayaratne also expected to play the role of team manager, a position previously held by Jeryl Woutersz.Ford’s first assignment is the three-match T20 international series in India, which he said would be a tough beginning but one he could use to find out how good the team is at present.SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala said Ford was one of 12 coaches his board interviewed for the post, and he was confident they had made the right choice. “We have secured the services of one of the best coaches in the world,” Sumathipala said. “We have appointed him for 45 months [from February 1] so that he covers the 2019 World Cup in England, where he has first-hand knowledge of the conditions having coached the counties.”Sumathipala also thanked Kumar Sangakkara for playing a pivotal role in securing the services of Ford from English county Surrey, which Sangakkara represents.

ScorecardSussex chipped away at Sri Lanka A’s first innings score of 225 on the second drizzly day at Hove, with Richard Montgomerie notching a solid 52.Resuming on 39, Montgomerie bought up his fifty but shortly after was trapped leg-before by Gayan Wijekoon, the left-armer, who was economical during his 11 overs in conceding 25 runs.Michael Yardy was still there, however, nudging and chivvying Sussex past 150 while sharing in a useful third-wicket stand of 50 with Luke Wright. While Yardy was distinctly pedestrian in his anchor-like 46, Wright took the aggressive route and clobbered five fours in his 36 before Kaushal Lokuarachchi trapped him lbw.Lokuarachchi, the 25-year-old legspinner, then removed Michael Thornley shortly before the rain curtailed the day’s play. With more rain forecast, and the match entering its third and final day tomorrow, there seems little chance of a result.

Jacques Kallis has promised his side will show no mercy to Zimbabwe in their forthcoming three-match ODI series, due to begin at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein on Friday.Kallis, standing in for Graeme Smith as captain, said his side will play as hard against Zimbabwe as they would against Australia as South Africa begin a season that will culminate with the World Cup in the West Indies next April.Kallis was quoted on a South African website as saying that the series would be ideal for a group of players, including himself, who have been out of action for a while. “This series is especially valuable for the players who have not been in action for a while. This is a good way for them to get back into things.”Kallis, who returns to international cricket after missing the tour to Sri Lanka with an elbow injury, confirmed that everything the Proteas do from now on would be with the World Cup tournament firmly in mind. Kallis has also had a bout of flu and was one of three players who did not participate in the team’s fitness tests at the University of the Free State on Wednesday.Kallis said he had just about shaken off a cold and that the elbow injury that had kept him out of the game was not troubling him much any more. “I have hit a few balls that were thrown to me. The high-intensity net practices during the next few days will be the real test. I believe I’ll be ready.”Mickey Arthur, South Africa coach, said the series would be useful for the Champions Trophy. “I expect Zimbabwe to be very competitive, but we are going to focus on our own performance. One could use these fixtures as practice matches, but we would rather ensure that our combinations and match-plans are in place for India.”South Africa will also play the Lions and the Titans after the three outings against Zimbabwe and then three matches in Indian before their first match of the tournament on October 15, against New Zealand. “We are going to play these two matches according to international one-day rules. They are part of the training camp in Pretoria before we leave for India.”One can practise in the nets as much as you want to, but it’s not the same as out in the middle. I want the lads to train with consequences. If you play the ball down someone’s throat in the nets, you continue batting. If you do so in a match situation, you have to go and take a shower. I want the players to train under pressure.”Shaun Pollock, with a sore calf, and AB de Villiers missed the fitness tests. Pollock was injured in a Twenty20 match while De Villiers has a minor foot injury. Smith, meanwhile is still recovering from ankle surgery and trained away from the rest of the team, watched by the team’s physiotherapist, Shane Jabaar.

The four sports channels – ESPN-Star, Zee, Sony and Prasar Bharti – have submitted their bids to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for four-year telecast rights of international and domestic matches in India. According to the , Ten Sports, the Dubai-based channel, has withdrawn from the telecast race. The board has fixed the floor price at US$2.14 million for each day of cricket.The bids will be submitted to the marketing committee of the board, who will examine them in a two-stage process. “The marketing committee will study the technical tender and only the bids of those who qualify will be opened,” Ratnakar Shetty, the executive secretary of the BCCI, said to NDTV. “There are some qualifications in the tender form itself which have been mentioned. And all the parties are aware of what the qualifications are.”With the board having included a three-year experience clause in the tender, it remains to be seen whether Zee will be considered eligible for the contract. However, Ashish Kaul, the senior vice-president of Zee Telefilms, had other ideas about Zee’s eligibility. “… that is why we went to the court in the first place,” he said, “because we do not believe that in a fair and a just bidding process such hurdles should be placed.”The telecast rights were fought over in court last year when Zee, who had initially won them, filed a case against the board’s decision to cancel the tender process in the Supreme Court. The appeal was, however, dismissed by the court after a protracted court battle.

The ICC has given Zimbabwe’s rebel cricketers until Wednesday to agree to go to arbitration with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, and while they are likely to do so, serious concerns remain among them about the process.Their biggest worry – as it has been since the idea was first mooted – is that the ZCU will simply ignore the findings of the arbitration should they go against its entrenched policy. Talking to the players, the names of Ozais Bvute, Max Ebrahim and Tavengwa Mukuhlani are regularly mentioned as being the major obstacles to a resolution to the dispute – all three are seen as intransigent perpetrators of entrenched hardline policies.The other concern is that the whole process could become very expensive. Neither side has bottomless pockets, but given that the ZCU does receive substantial funding from the ICC, it is probably in a better position to get involved in a drawn-out legal battle than the players.The rebels’ attitude to the board has been hardened by reports that the ZCU has approached some of the younger players and offered them large sums of money to return to the fold. One of them said that this was little more than an attempt to bribe them to come back, and so to enable to board to claim that their return was proof that all was well inside Zimbabwe.They stress, however, that this is not the case. And concern at the ZCU’s attempts to take over all aspects of cricket in Zimbabwe grows. While the ZCU has been publicly quiet in recent weeks, behind the scenes it has been maneuvering to repress regional boards who have been opposing it. Earlier this month we reported how Mukuhlani had effectively hijacked the Mashonaland annual general meeting to prevent the election of officials less supportive of the ZCU.The constitution of the ZCU board remains a major stumbling block in a satisfactory resolution of the dispute. The players feel that has effectively become a self-electing elite, unaccountable to anyone.The rebels reiterate that they are against all forms of discrimination, which includes the stipulation of numbers representing each race in the team, in the board itself, and at every level of the game. They believe in selection on merit in every area, and black domination – eventually, and on merit – is both inevitable and desirable.Chris Venturas, the players’ lawyer, has spent the last few days in England collecting his clients’ opinions, and he is expected to go back to the ICC shortly before the 1600GMT Wednesday deadline.

The Celtic fringe is rising. After the successes enjoyed by Scotland in their debut season of National League cricket, today it was Ireland’s turn to shine – and they did it in style with a romping ten-wicket win against a dishevelled Zimbabwe side at the Civil Service ground at Stormont.Jason Molins, Ireland’s captain, led from the front as he smashed 107 not out from 101 balls with 14 fours and two sixes – the first century for Ireland against a touring team since Andrew Dunlop’s against South Africa in 1998. And with the help of their adopted Aussie, Jeremy Bray (67 not out), the Irish cruised to their first victory over a touring team since their famous crushing of West Indies in 1969.The fact that Ireland won with over 16 overs to spare emphasises how much of a stroll it was for Molins and Bray. They both made light of the heavy outfield and were in command all the way. Molins, in particular, dominated the bowling, driving and pulling powerfully and being particularly severe on Gary Brent, who clearly had not yet acclimatized.Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe’s acting captain, called on eight bowlers in search of a breakthrough, but none of them, not even the three who played in the last Test against England, could make any inroads.But it was a different story for the Irish bowlers as Paul Mooney and Gary Neely struck early on to reduce Zimbabwe to an embarrassing 12 for 3. Dion Ebrahim (52) and Stuart Matsikenyeri (50) did then engineer a recovery of sorts, but Zimbabwe’s eventual total of 182 was never going to be enough.The weather conditions were as variable as the Zimbabwe batting – a bit of drizzle, a bit of warm sun, but mostly overcast. For the Zimbabweans, the worst was first. Douglas Marillier drove optimistically at the third ball of the innings and Paul Mooney knocked his leg stump out of the ground, without a run on the board. Charles Coventry followed suit in Mooney’s next over, before Richie Sims was caught in the slips off Neely for the second duck in the innings.Disaster loomed, but Ebrahim and Matsikenyeri engineered a recovery by adding 96 for the fourth wicket. Ebrahim dug in without looking convincing, as he had done in the Riverside Test, while Matsikenyeri played with the ease and technique he shows in Zimbabwe domestic cricket but rarely against international opposition.Matsikenyeri was the first to reach his half-century, but then became over-ambitious and was easily stumped off Andrew White. Ebrahim also suffered a loss of concentration, bowled by Kyle McCallan as he attempted a forcing stroke off the back foot, and when Sean Ervine was slow to respond to Tatenda Taibu’s call for a quick single, Zimbabwe were back in the bog at 133 for 6.It was once again left to Taibu, captain for this brief leg of the tour, to salvage the innings. He found a useful partner in Travis Friend, who contributed some big hits in his 22. But when Friend was caught behind, the end came in a familiar flurry. Gary Brent was superbly caught and bowled by Andre Botha without scoring, and then Taibu (35) was caught at fine leg off Botha attempting a Marillier-esque scoop over the keeper. Waddington Mwayenga was last man out, caught off Neilly in the final over, to complete a poor performance and pave the way for another humiliating defeat ahead of the NatWest Series.

Durham captain Jon Lewis was three short of his second century of the season when his side closed the first day on 215 for two against Worcestershire at Chester-le-Street.Play began 90 minutes late following rain and Lewis batted through the day, hitting 15 fours off 255 balls.Without a half-century in his previous 11 Championship innings, Lewis had only one narrow escape. On 21 he took evasive action against a short ball from Andy Bichel and edged it just over the slips.He had to work hard against Bichel and Alamgir Sheriyar, with the left-armer conceding only 26 runs in 18 overs. But the third seamer, Chris Liptrot, was the weak link in the attack, going for five runs an over.England Under-19 left-hander Gary Pratt contributed an impressive 37 to a stand of 85, only seven short of Durham’s highest opening stand of the season.Only nine runs came off the first nine overs before Liptrot came on and Pratt quickly hit him for three of his six fours, two of them racing through the covers off successive balls.Pratt fell lbw trying to whip Liptrot through the leg side then Martin Love shared a stand of 53 before he was snared by David Leatherdale.Coming on after tea, the medium-pacer struck in his third over when Love pushed forward and edged to wicket-keeper Steve Rhodes for 26.Leatherdale posed no problems for Paul Collingwood, who quickly cracked him for three fours on his way to 41 not out.

New South Wales 281 & 8 for 563 dec beat Victoria 216 & 370 (Jewell 99, White 57, Crosthwaite 50, Casson 4-128) by 258 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

New South Wales became the Pura Cup champions for the third time in six years with a 258-run win over Victoria after Beau Casson grabbed four wickets on the fifth day. Nick Jewell looked set to pick up a consolation century but his dismissal for 99 was indicative of Victoria’s season – so near and yet so far.The Bushrangers were consistent enough to make all three domestic finals, however for the second summer in a row they had to settle only for the Twenty20 title. The Blues, on the other hand, had a terrible limited-overs campaign yet completed the Pura Cup undefeated and deserved the triumph.Even without their Australian stars returning for the decider, New South Wales would have been hard to beat. As it was, Brett Lee picked up five wickets and made 97 in his first Pura Cup final, Stuart Clark grabbed handy victims and Michael Clarke contributed a useful 64.The Blues had batted Victoria out of the contest on the fourth day and they began the final morning wondering only if they would secure the title with a victory or a home draw. They knew how the Bushrangers felt as New South Wales started the fifth day of last year’s decider 567 behind, with ten wickets in hand away from home against Tasmania; Victoria had eight wickets up their sleeve and were down by 532.It looked like being a quick kill when David Hussey (31) drove Lee to cover in the first over of the morning without adding to his overnight score. However, Jewell and Cameron White combined for a handy 115-run stand, Adam Crosthwaite chipped in with a half-century, Bryce McGain posted his highest first-class score and the last pair, Dirk Nannes and Shane Harwood, combined for 52 to extend the match to within ten minutes of tea.Casson bowled 29.3 overs unchanged on the fifth day and finished the job with McGain caught at bat-pad for 25 before finally trapping Nannes lbw for 32. New South Wales celebrated and as their major contributors, including the captain, Man of the Match and Player of the Series, Simon Katich, and the centurion Phillip Hughes, grabbed stumps, the injured Doug Bollinger and those who made way for the international stars, such as Mark Cameron, joined the fun on the SCG.Katich made 86 and 92 and passed the all-time record for most runs in a season during the decider, but said the only thing that mattered was the title. “The main thing is we’ve got this trophy in the cabinet,” Katich said. “It’s nice to have done well but this is what means the most. I’m just so proud of the boys.”The Blues had endured a longer wait for the party than they anticipated after White and Jewell frustrated the hosts through most of the first session. White entertained the crowd with consecutive sixes pulled and slog-swept off Casson before he skied a catch to mid-on on 57, giving Clark a wicket in his first over of the day.That started a mini-collapse as Casson had Andrew McDonald (4) caught at silly point and Jewell was lbw to Clark from the last ball before the break. It was a disappointing end for Jewell, who wanted a healthy score to help him confirm his spot as Victoria’s No. 1 opener for 2008-09 after averaging 31.31 for the season before this innings.He was in a more positive frame of mind than usual, freed of the burden of expectation as Victoria knew they could not win the match. Jewell narrowly missed his first six of the summer when he pulled Stuart MacGill marginally short of the midwicket boundary, and he cover-drove and flicked through the legside with confidence.Like Jewell, Crosthwaite could not afford to throw his wicket away as he aimed to stay in front of Matthew Wade as Victoria’s preferred wicketkeeper. He helped himself to 50 – he previously had only one half-century from a first-class career spanning four seasons – before Casson’s wrist-spinner stayed low and struck the stumps.The win was the 45th domestic first-class title for New South Wales – the first 42 were Sheffield Shields and the remaining three were Pura Cups. They will return in 2008-09 as defending champions of a competition that will have either a completely new name or an old familiar one, as the Pura Cup is farewelled and the Sheffield Shield could be reinstated.

Shimron Hetmyer has been named captain of West Indies for the Under-19 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh in January-February 2016.Hetmyer, who was also featured in the 2014 edition of the tournament in the United Arab Emirates, is one of two players along with Alzarri Joseph, the pacer, to have first-class experience.Hetmyer made his first-class debut for Guyana in April 2014, and has played five matches since. Joseph, meanwhile, made his debut for Leeward Islands and has picked up 17 wickets in five matches, with a best of 7 for 46.”We have put together a group of players we believe will perform for the West Indies,” said Clive Lloyd, the WICB chairman of selectors. “We see them as future Test cricketers for the West Indies and this tour is an opportunity for them to be exposed at the international level against strong opposition.”West Indies are placed in Group C alongside England, Fiji and Zimbabwe. They open their campaign on January 29 against Fiji in Chittagong.Prior to the tournament, West Indies will play Bangladesh Under-19 in a three-match series as part of their preparation for the World Cup.Squad: Shimron Hetmyer (capt), Keemo Paul, Kacey Carty, Shahid Crooks, Michael Frew, Jyd Goolie, Tevin Imlach, Ryan John, Alzarri Joseph, Kirstan Kallicharan, Obed McCoy, Gidron Pope, Odean Smith, Shamar Springer, Emmanuel Stewart

Officials from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have distanced themselves from the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Shafqat Naghmi, PCB’s chief operating officer, indicated the matter was the concern of the Indian board.”The ICL is happening in another country so it is not our business,” said Naghmi. The ICL was launched by India’s Essel Group earlier this year. However, Naghmi admitted that the PCB might get involved if some players contracted by the Board are approached by the organisers of the ICL.”If some former [Pakistani] cricketer or a player who doesn’t have a contract with the PCB decides to play in the series then we have no way to legally bound him against going to India.”However, if any player contracted by us wants to go there then that would be a different case.”The PCB has not yet announced its list of contracted players for the upcoming season.The ICL has generated controversy in India, with the BCCI revoking the pensions of players associating with the league. Kapil Dev is one of the former players to have joined the league, and has publicly criticised the BCCI for treating the ICL as a potential rival.