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Netherlands will play a T20I quadrangular series in Oman from 8 to 18 February next year before travelling to India to play a number of first-class sides

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2018Netherlands have included uncapped offspinner Leon Turmaine and seamer Sebastiaan Braat in their squad for their tour of India in February-March next year. Netherlands will play a T20I quadrangular series, involving Oman, Ireland, and Scotland in Oman, from 8 to 18 February before travelling to India to play a number of first-class sides.

Squads

For Oman tour: Pieter Seelaar (capt), Wesley Barresi, Ben Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards, Timm van der Gugten, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Shane Snater, Roelof van der Merwe, Tobias Visée, Sikander Zulfiqar
For India tour: Pieter Seelaar (capt), Wesley Barresi, Sebastiaan Braat, Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards, Vivian Kingma, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Hidde Overdijk, Leon Turmaine, Tobias Visée, Saqib Zulfiqar, Sikander Zulfiqar

County players Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe and Timm van der Gugten were all named in the T20I squad for the Oman tour, while Michael Rippon and Logan van Beek, who represent Otago and Wellington respectively in New Zealand’s domestic circuit, were left out.The decision is likely to have resulted from a scheduling clash with the Plunket Shield, New Zealand’s premier first-class competition, which is slated to run until March 20. While Rippon had played two ODIs for Netherlands, against Nepal, in August this year, van Beek hasn’t represented Netherlands in two years, having last played in a T20I against Bangladesh in the 2016 World T20.However, Netherlands will be bolstered by the presence of the county quartet, each of whom is seasoned in the limited-overs formats.None among ten Doeschate, van Meekeren, van der Merwe, van der Gugten, van Beek and Rippon was selected for the India tour, though. Travelling alongside the Braat-Turmaine duo are Hidde Overdjik (1 T20I), Saqib Zulfiqar (2 T20Is), and Sikander Zulfiqar (5 T20Is). Left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar will captain both squads.In preparation for the twin assignments, a number of players will travel to La Manga in Spain for a training camp in January 2019.

Having established a massive first-innings lead, Karnataka pummeled UP with the bat again, as their openers played out an unbroken 262-run partnership

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2017R Samarth and Mayank Agarwal struck centuries on the final day, as a drawn game against Uttar Pradesh ensured Karnataka‘s place in the knockouts on the basis of first-innings points. The Karnataka openers put up an unbroken stand of 262, after their bowlers had established up a first-innings lead of 324. The three points they earned put them at the top of the Group A table with 26 points; with Delhi on 23, the massive lead the two teams have in points have ensured their passage to the knockouts.UP’s response to Karnataka’s mammoth 655 had floundered on the third day itself, as they lost five wickets by stumps. The overnight pair of Rinku Singh and wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav couldn’t go on to build a big partnership, with Rinku dismissed in the fifth over of the day for 73. Left to bat with the tail, Upendra stitched a useful ninth-wicket partnership of 40 with Ankit Rajpoot (19) to lift Uttar Pradesh over 300. Upendra was eventually unbeaten on 49, with UP dismissed for 331.Karnataka then put up another dominating show with the bat. Dismissed for 16 in the first innings, Samarth capitalized on the opportunity to bring up his third century of this Ranji season. His 126 came off 183 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. At the other end, Agarwal scored his third century in as many games, pairing a 90 in the first innings with 133 off 171 balls. The pair scored at close to 4.5 runs an over.Ambati Rayudu’s unbeaten 52 anchored Hyderabad‘s chase of 142 in their four-wicket win over Assam in Guwahati.Assam’s seamers, Arup Das and Rajjakuddin Ahmed had lifted the side’s hopes of defending a small total by rooting out Hyderabad’s top order for 18 within the first seven overs. Sixteen-year-old legspinner Riyan Parag’s two wickets then reduced Hyderabad to 69 for 5 before Rayudu and Akash Bhandari comfortably secured the win.Earlier, Assam had resumed their second innings from 300 for 7, and the overnight batsman Amit Sinha went on to complete his second first-class century. However, the lack of partners at the other end meant that Sinha could help Assam add only 31 runs to their overnight total.

Six members of India’s last Test squad will be part of the teams that meet in the Duleep Trophy final from September 10 to 14 in Greater Noida

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2016Six members of India’s last Test squad will be part of the teams that meet in the Duleep Trophy final from September 10 to 14 in Greater Noida. Apart from Cheteshwar Pujara, who is already part of the India Blue side, the selectors have included Shikhar Dhawan, Stuart Binny and Amit Mishra in the India Red squad and Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja in the India Blue squad.Both teams reached the final after victories – on the basis of first-innings lead, in India Blue’s case – over India Green in the round-robin stage. The match between India Red and India Blue was drawn, with only 78.2 overs possible over four rain-hit days.The selection will serve two important purposes for the Test players – it will provide them match practice with the home series against New Zealand starting on September 22, and also allow them to provide the BCCI feedback after playing with the pink ball under floodlights.India Red: Abhinav Mukund, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudip Chatterjee, Gurkeerat Singh, Yuvraj Singh (capt), Ankush Bains (wk), Stuart Binny, Akshay Wakhare, Kuldeep Yadav, Amit Mishra, Nathu Singh, Anureet Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Nitish Rana, Pradeep SangwanIndia Blue: Gautam Gambhir (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Siddhesh Lad, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Parvez Rasool, Suryakumar Yadav, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Pankaj Singh, Abhimanyu Mithun, Sheldon Jackson, Hanuma Vihari

Trevor Barber, the New Zealand batsman who played one Test match at the Basin Reserve in 1956, has died in Christchurch at the age of 90

Brydon Coverdale10-Aug-2015Trevor Barber, the New Zealand batsman who played one Test match at the Basin Reserve in 1956, has died in Christchurch at the age of 90. Barber had been New Zealand’s oldest living Test cricketer; the oldest now is his former Wellington team-mate and the man who captained Barber in his only Test match, the 87-year-old John Reid.A dashing batsman who liked playing his shots, Barber was called up for the third Test against West Indies in 1956 when Bert Sutcliffe was unavailable due to ill-health. West Indies batted first and Barber had the distinction of catching out Garry Sobers while fielding at gully, in what was the first wicket of the match.”It was going past and I threw the hands up – I was a bit of a show-off,” Barber told ESPNcricinfo earlier this year. “John Reid was bowling and he said ‘that’s a nice way to start your career’.”However, with the bat he was unable to have a great enough impact to retain his place in the side, and was out to Sonny Ramadhin in both innings, for 12 and 5. Barber’s attacking approach to batting would perhaps have suited the modern game, but against West Indies it brought his downfall in both innings of his Test match.”Today I might have got away with it,” Barber said. “But I went for sweeps to the leg side off short balls in both innings. My understanding as a captain and also as a batsman was that the first thing you’d do when you go out there is dominate the bowlers. Don’t let the bowlers get on top of you. Get behind the line of flight, bat straight, and when they bowl one off the wicket, give it a go. I did that and I got bloody caught at square leg.”Barber was 30 at the time of his Test appearance, and was captain of Wellington in the Plunket Shield competition. His first-class career began in 1945-46 and finished in 1959-60, but it brought him only one century, and 2002 runs at an average of 23.01. Contemporary reports described him as “a swashbuckler” who, especially early in his career, was more concerned with the joy of batsmanship than playing long innings.”A cricketer more of the pre-war era always on the lookout to thrash the bowling with off-drives, lofted shots to the boundary, pulls to square-leg and square-cuts which often caused fieldsmen to wince when trying to stop them, Barber was always scoring runs attractively, but also losing his wicket rather easily,” a article said in 1957.Barber captained Wellington to the Plunket Shield title in 1956-57 and also led Central Districts later in his career. A part-time wicketkeeper who enjoyed assessing a batsman’s weaknesses, Barber said captaincy was one of the parts of the game he found most satisfying.”It’s lovely to have some control of the game, and also the players,” he said. “I used to have quite a number of discussions with the players before we’d go out and play. I’d say this player has a weakness here, I want you Bob Blair to bowl on a length just outside his leg stumps, and I reckon we can get him.”I always remember on one occasion down at Dunedin, I said to John Reid, who was bowling to Sutcliffe, I said ‘I think he’s got a weakness on the leg glance, I’m going to field at leg gully and you bowl down leg’. We got him for a duck! It’s those little things.”Born in Otaki in 1925, Barber was raised on a dairy farm and learnt the game from his father.”I remember in the backyard he used to put out a kerosene tin,” he said. “I used to have a bat and he’d throw the ball to me. He’d say ‘go on, hit it over my head’. He made me very keen.”After his playing career ended, Barber worked with the Shell oil company and was responsible for its sponsorship of sporting events including the New Zealand Golf Open and the domestic cricket competition, which became known as the Shell Trophy. It continued a lifelong love of cricket.”I still follow it with interest,” Barber said earlier this year. “It’s just amazing how much the game has changed from my time. We only played Test cricket and Plunket Shield. Now there’s T20 and 50-over, it’s bash and slash. It might have suited me. When you see blokes like McCullum and Williamson doing so well, it’s marvellous.”

The New Zealand coach, Mike Hesson, is under no illusions how brittle his Test side remains but has been buoyed by the one-day series victory against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2013The New Zealand coach, Mike Hesson, is under no illusions how brittle his Test side remains but has been buoyed by the one-day series victory against South Africa.New Zealand were humbled by an innings in both Tests on the tour, which included being bowled out for 45 in Cape Town, before turning their fortunes around with one-day success and they came within a whisker of a whitewash only to lose the final ODI off the last ball.”In Test cricket, we’ve still got a long way to go,” Hesson admitted on his return to New Zealand. “We’re a long way off the pace in Test cricket, we have to acknowledge that, and we know we have a lot of work to do.”Achieving one-day silverware went against recent form for New Zealand who had slipped to ninth in the rankings, but the form of experienced allrounders James Franklin and Grant Elliott, a fantastic hundred from Kane Williamson, and the emergence of Mitchell McClenaghan, the left-arm quick, were the catalysts for gritty performances.”We had a few new faces and a few older ones that came back and they were really keen to make an impact and they did,” Hesson said. “When they came back, they lifted the whole vibe. We were a bit down after the Test series, there was no doubt about that. We were clearly outplayed.”But the work we put in between then and the end of the tour, mentally as much as anything, was pleasing. We attacked that first game with real aggression and I think we stuck at that throughout the whole series.”Hesson’s focus now switches to the visit of England for a full tour which includes three matches in each format, starting with the Twenty20s, and the Tests in March will be another thorough examination of New Zealand’s credentials in the longer format although they should be boosted by the return of Ross Taylor.”The Twenty20 is first and that will be our focus for a start, but we”ll be trying to build on this series,” Hesson said. “We want to improve with every series. We’re not world beaters yet; we’ve played three pretty good games, but we’re looking to improve more in the T20s and leading into the one-dayers.”

Matthew Coles, the Kent seam bowler, has been called up for the rest of the England Lions tour of Sri Lanka after Surrey’s Stuart Meaker pulled out because of a lower back injury

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2012Matthew Coles, the Kent seam bowler, has been called up for the rest of the England Lions tour of Sri Lanka after Surrey’s Stuart Meaker pulled out because of a lower back injury. Meaker is returning to the UK for further assessment in the hope that he will regain fitness in time for the start of the English season.Meaker’s 44 first-class wickets at 22.56 played a central role in Surrey’s late rush to promotion last year and they will be unsettled about his potential absence as they try to re-establish themselves in Division One.The Lions have two more ODI fixtures against Sri Lanka, in Colombo on Friday and Tuesday, followed by a match against an England XI in Dubai on February 10. Coles only has to make the short flight from Chennai where he has been with England’s Performance Programme.Coles, 21, has 61 first-class wickets at an average of 36, and was afflicted by injury during much of Kent’s lacklustre 2011 Division Two season but his return to the side in August led to a belated upturn in fortunes for the county.

Pakistan’s domestic players who are currently representing city cricket associations in the QEA Trophy have asked the PCB to resume the regional central contracts system

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2010Pakistan’s domestic players who are currently representing city cricket associations in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy have asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to resume the regional central contracts system, in order to ensure their livelihood through the off season.This year’s QEA Trophy features 22 teams – 9 departmental and 13 regional – divided into two leagues. During former PCB chairman Nasim Ahsraf’s reign, players in the regional sides were given central contracts, a practice that has been done away with in recent years, along with a reduction in the match fees.”The top players from the associations leave their regional sides in order to play for departments so how can you expect the regions to maintain their level of performances every year?” asked a president of one of the leading associations. “The standard of associations can only be gauged if there are different leagues for associations and departments. You cannot expect a region to defeat departmental sides in every match. There is a big difference of quality.”The earlier contracts system had three categories, with the top level getting Rs 20,000 ($ 233) per month, and the next grades earning Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively. The monetary motivation, according to Karachi Blues player Tabish Nawab, encouraged players to pursue cricket in Pakistan instead of looking for more lucrative options abroad.”There has been a trend in Pakistan that most of our cricketers aim to play just five matches anyhow, in order to be eligible to play in Britain,” Nawab told the News. “Subconsciously, they neglect the main priority of performing well to represent the country. The feeling of nationalism dies once money becomes the first priority.”While the players are abroad they have to do job five days a week, and the remaining two days they have to play for their respective clubs. Thus their fitness level does not remain the same and players get injured. Cricket has become a profession and the board needs to understand that there is a dire need to invest in the game for domestic players as well. In today’s world money has become a necessity. In such lowly pay structure, you cannot expect that a player can have top quality cricket gear, a healthy diet to maintain his fitness at the same time. We need to end the financial uncertainty surrounding our players so that they only think about cricket which will eventually help Pakistan.”

USA will face Afghanistan for the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament, which begins February 9 in the UAE

Cricinfo staff03-Feb-2010As the Associate nations prepare for the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament, which begins February 9 in the UAE, there is one fixture in Group A that jumps out at you. In perhaps the most intriguing sporting match-up of recent times, USA will face Afghanistan.It’s a match that will reverberate beyond the cricketing world as people try to imbue it with a progressive significance. Amidst all kinds of domestic turmoil Afghanistan have risen rapidly to become one of the best Associate nations and they will be desperate to secure a berth in the main World Twenty20, which takes place in West Indies in April.They were within a whisker of qualifying for the 50-over World Cup last year and have impressed in the Intercontinental Cup, beating defending champions Ireland and the Netherlands.”The match against the USA will be an interesting and exciting one,” said Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal. “But it will just be another game of cricket in which both the sides will try as hard as possible hard to emerge winner. Like any other opponent, we respect the USA and know we cannot afford to be complacent against them.”Initially, we started off with a reputation of being a good Twenty20 side because this is the format that is played and popular in Afghanistan. But in the last 18 months, we have shown that we can adopt and excel in any format. Personally, I believe we are a better Twenty20 side simply because we have more experience in the shortest version of the game.”Our group is a tough one with Ireland and Scotland having loads of international experience. But I am quite optimistic that after narrowly missing out on next year’s 50-over World Cup, we’ll be able to qualify for the World Twenty20. We just need a good start in the tournament and our big boys need to fire throughout the next week.”For their part, the USA comes to this event plenty to prove. Having fallen down the rankings in recent years they only made it to the qualifiers as a wildcard entry, along with hosts United Arab Emirates.”We are feeling very positive and very confident,” said USA captain Steve Massiah. “Judging from the way we played in the last tournament, which was the Americas Cup, we feel good. We want to make the most of the opportunity to play in this event and we are all looking forward to it.”Keen observers will notice the name of Lennox Cush in the USA team, he was in the Stanford Superstars squad that defeated England in 2008, and Massiah wants to draw on his experience. “Lennox is very important as he has had the opportunity to play a lot of Twenty20 cricket and was part of that Stanford squad. He is very experienced and hopefully this will rub off on the other players.”

Both sides could hand out debuts during the series as they look to firm up combinations ahead of next year’s main event

Andrew McGlashan19-Jul-2025

Big picture: T20 World Cup preparation begins amid a farewell

This series marks the beginning of something – the build towards next year’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka – but the first two matches are also an ending: Andre Russell will retire from international cricket after the Jamaica leg of matches, another member of the powerhouse West Indies T20 era who has called time.Russell was part of both the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup triumphs for West Indies, one of finest hours coming in the latter of those when he made vital runs against India and claimed nine wickets in the tournament. It took a while for Russell to click in T20Is: until the end of 2015 he averaged 11.52 with the bat (strike-rate 122.01) and 48.90 with the ball from 33 matches. Since then, in 49 matches, he has averaged 28.63 with a strike-rate of 177.11 and claimed 50 wickets at 26.56.Related

• Australia to trial new combinations as T20 World Cup build-up begins

• Russell rates 2016 T20 World Cup innings against India as his best moment

But he won’t be around for an attempt at a third World Cup title, instead opting to bow out on his home ground at Sabina Park where he can expect a hero’s welcome over the next few days.For two matches, Russell will be part of a West Indies’ batting order that, on paper, looks more formidable than the Test line up that recently crumbled for 27 albeit they are also without Nicholas Pooran who recently ended his international career. However, they have won just two of their last 16 T20Is including 3-0 sweeps against Bangladesh and England.Meanwhile, Australia have been light on T20s since the last World Cup with just nine schedule matches (one of which against England was abandoned) but this series begins a run of 16 fixtures leading into the next edition. This isn’t a full-strength squad with Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc rested – all of whom will likely feature in the World Cup – but it retains many of the key T20 personnel and is an important opportunity for captain Mitchell Marsh to bring the side together.4:10

Russell: I want to win and finish on a high

Form guide

West Indies WLLLL
Australia WWWLW

In the spotlight: Evin Lewis and Mitchell Owen

Moving away from Russell for a moment, Evin Lewis will have some fond memories of Sabina Park. In the only other T20I he has played at the venue he hammered 125 not out off 62 balls against India in 2017. His most recent T20I innings brought 91 off 44 balls against Ireland. In four matches against Australia, which all came in 2021, he has made 139 runs at a strike-rate of 182.89 – his highest against any side he has faced more than once.Mitchell Owen has been confirmed for his international debut. There will be a lot of interest in how he performs following a standout BBL last season which included his breathtaking century in the final. A squeeze for batting spots at the top of the order means his chance will come in the middle order. “Just looking at the top order and the talent and the skill and the experience that we have there. If I get given an opportunity, I don’t really care where it is. I’m just happy to be playing for this team,” Owen said.Eighteen-year-old Jewel Andrew is in West Indies’ squad•Global Super League via Getty Images

Team news: Race from Guyana for WI players; Owen to debut

Jewel Andrew and Jediah Blades are uncapped at T20I level while Matthew Forde will become Russell’s replacement. Seven members of the squad have been playing for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Global Super League, the final of which only finished on Friday night, and it’s understood their journey to Jamaica may involve a private jet so they can reach on Saturday.West Indies squad: Shai Hope (capt), Jewel Andrew, Jediah Blades, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario ShepherdMatt Short has been ruled out of the series with a side strain and Tim David sits out the opening match as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Jake Fraser-McGurk, a late addition to the squad, gets the chance to open and Cooper Connolly slots into the middle order.Australia: 1 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Josh Inglis (wk), 4 Cameron Green, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Owen, 7 Cooper Connolly, 8 Ben Dwarshius, 9 Sean Abbott, 10 Nathan Ellis, 11 Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions

It remains to be seen how the white ball reacts under the Sabina Park floodlights compared to the pink one, but there is unlikely to be as much grass left on the pitch as there was for the Test match. There is the chance of a shower or two.

Stats and trivia

• These are the first day-night T20Is at Sabina Park following the recent installation of the floodlights which enabled it to host the pink-ball Test.
• The head-to-head between the teams in T20Is is all square: 11-11. However, West Indies have won only one of the last six.
• Former captain Rovman Powell needs 25 runs to overtake Chris Gayle as West Indies’ second-leading run-scorer in T20Is

The left hander will be the spare batter against West Indies after winning the selection race

AAP11-Jan-20241:30

Michael Clarke not concerned by ageing Australia Test side

After being recalled to Australia’s Test squad, batter Matt Renshaw has been left musing on how the last six months has been “a weird time”, but also the best of times, for him.Renshaw is not in the playing XI, but has been named in the 13-man squad as the spare batter for the first Test against the West Indies, starting in Adelaide on January 17, edging out fellow red-ball openers Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft who were also in the mix.Related

• Bancroft has no concerns over relationships with Australia's bowlers

• Smith to open, Green to bat No.4, Renshaw added to squad

• No ghosts of 2018: overlooking Bancroft 'purely a cricketing decision'

When David Warner announced in the middle of last year that he would retire from Test cricket after the recently concluded Pakistan series, the race was on to find his successor, with Steven Smith now confirmed as opener after being elevated from No. 4.But the 27-year-old Renshaw is just happy to be back in the Test environment, after learning a lot about himself since last being part of the squad during the Test series in India last year.”It is really nice and a lot of hard work has gone into that. It has been a weird six months since Davey said what he said but I have just tried to enjoy my cricket,” Renshaw explained. “That is the big one for me. As much as all this stuff has been looming over my head, I play my best when I am having fun.”Obviously, people come and go. That’s the way cricket is but I’ve just tried to enjoy my cricket…whether that is for Australia A, Prime Minister’s XI, Queensland and in county cricket as well.”Matt Renshaw had a brief return to the Test side last year•Getty Images

Renshaw has scored 1566 first-class runs at an average of 52.20, with seven centuries, since July 1, 2022. They are impressive figures and reveal his consistency.His selection is a message from selectors that he is the next cab off the rank if he can stay on his upward trajectory. The opening position that could have been his has been taken by Smith, rather than a regular red-ball opener.Smith volunteered to move up from No. 4 but Renshaw is not kicking stones. It is a move he understands.”He averages 60 in Test cricket. He is the best player in the world. It gets Cam [Green] in the team as well and we all know what Cam is capable of,” he said. “Selectors talked about the top six batters in the country and there is no doubt those six guys are. It is just about me trying to learn from them while I am in the squad.”We have got amazing players in the team but I’ve had a little nibble at Test cricket already. I know what it is like to score a hundred, and how that feels. I jut want to try and get that enjoyment and be myself around the Test team.”Renshaw was just 20 when he scored 184, his sole Test century, against Pakistan in Sydney.”I feel a completely different player. I look back at that and I think I was very naïve with cricket,” he said. “I came in wet behind the ears and hadn’t really had much experience with what the game can do. I’ve learned from that…tried to get better with that and tried to improve myself as a cricketer.”That’s all-round with my game knowledge and probably some technical aspects. I look back at my technique then and it probably wasn’t that pretty. It is still probably not that pretty, but I feel like I have ironed out a few things I needed to.”