Squads and fixtures announced for Pepsi ICC WCL Div. 6 in Malaysia

Tournament will take place in Kuala Lumpur from 17-24 September
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the 14-man squads for the six teams - Nigeria, Kuwait, Fiji, Guernsey, Jersey and Malaysia - participating in Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 6 (WCL Div. 6) next month in Malaysia.The finalists of the event, which will be played from 17 to 24 September, will be promoted to Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 5 which will be staged in Singapore in early 2012.The tournament will be played on three grounds in Kuala Lumpur, Kinrara Oval, Selangor Turf Club and Bayuemas Oval. These venues were also used for the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup which was held in Malaysia in 2008.The full squads are as follows:Fiji: Joe Rika (captain), Viliame Yabaki, Iniasi Cakacaka, Sakaraia Lomani, Kitione Tavo, Sekove Ravoka, Jikoi Kida, Colin Rika, Waisake Tukana, Josefa Baleicicia, Tasheed Tawheed, Maciu Gauna, Joji Bulabalavu, Mohammed Khan.Guernsey: Stuart Le Provost (captain), Gary Rich, Tom Kimber, Jeremy Frith, James Nussbaumer, Ben Ferbrache, David Hooper, Tim Ravenscroft, Ross Kneller, Chris van Vliet, Stuart Bisson, Lee Savident, Adam Martel, GH Smit Jersey: Peter Gough (captain), Ed Farley, Thomas Minty, Sam de la Haye, Charles Perchard, James Faudemer, Ben Stevens, Anthony Hawkins-Kay, Ben Silva, Dean Morrison, Alex Cooke, Paul Connolly, Corey Bisson, Daniel GartonKuwait: Hisham Mirza (captain), Sibtain Raza, Muhammad Amin, Abid Mushtaq, Aamir Javed, Irfan Bhatti, Ahsan Naseer, Azmatullah Nazeer, Abdullah, Mohammad Murad, Sharjeel Tahir, Jagath Roshantha, Saud QamarMalaysia: Suhan Kumar Alagaratanam (captain), Sureah Navaratnam, Rakesh Madhavan, Hammad Ullah Khan, Hassan Ghulam Muhammad, Ahmad Faiz Noor, Shukri Abdul Rahim, Eszrafiq Azis, Abdul Rashid Ahad, Shafiq Sharf, Faris Almas-Lee Rosmanizam, Aminudin Ramly, Shahrulnizam Yusof, Hiran Brahman RalalageNigeria: Endurance Ofem (captain), Ademola Onikoya, Obejide Bejide, Varun Behani, Chukwu James, Ramit Gill, Joshua Ogunlola, Saheed Akolade, Segun Olayinka, Chibuike Iteogu, Seun Odeku, Lekan Awolowo, Seye Olympio, Kunle AdegbolaThe full schedule for WCL Div. 6 is as follows:Fixtures15 September - Team Arrivals16 September - Practice17 September - Guernsey v Jersey (Kinrara Oval), Malaysia v Kuwait (Selangor Turf Club), Fiji v Nigeria (Bayuemas Oval)18 September - Malaysia v Nigeria (Kinrara Oval), Kuwait v Jersey (Selangor Turf Club), Guernsey v Fiji (Bayuemas Oval)19 September - Reserve Day20 September - Malaysia v Fiji (Kinrara Oval), Jersey v Nigeria (Selangor Turf Club), Kuwait v Guernsey (Bayuemas Oval)21 September - Fiji v Kuwait (Kinrara Oval), Nigeria v Guernsey (Selangor Turf Club), Malaysia v Jersey (Bayuemas Oval)22 September - Reserve Day23 September - Malaysia v Guernsey (Kinrara Oval), Jersey v Fiji (Selangor Turf Club), Nigeria v Kuwait (Bayuemas Oval)24 September - Final (Kinrara Oval), 3rd/4th Play-off (Selangor Turf Club), 5th/6th Play-off (Bayuemas Oval)All matches are scheduled to start at 1030 local timeNotes: If you are interested in receiving information on the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 6 or attending the event as an accredited member of the media, please contact Lucy Benjamin on lucy.benjamin@icc-cricket.com.

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England Development XI wins series 2-1

Scotland U18 v England Development XI (game 2) 24th August 2011The England development team again won the toss and batted first in game two of the series. Hassan and Jackson opened the batting and progressed to 65 in the 16th over before the latter was stumped by Alex Baum off the bowling of Andrew Umeed for 18. What followed was a hugely impressive partnership of 151 between Rehan Hassan of Essex and Jack Winslade of Surrey as the pair punished any bad balls from the Scottish bowlers and rotated the strike well which took the score to an imposing 216 in the 44th over when Winslade was caught by Umeed off Shillington for a fine 74 off 84 balls. Wickets in hand allowed the English team to capitalise on their batting powerplay to finish their 50 overs on 284 for 7 In reply the Scottish openers Andrew Umeed and captain Ross McLean had made a solid start when a heavy downpour forced the players off the field with Scotland 16 without loss. On resumption the target was revised under Duckworth Lewis to set the Scots a stiff target of a further 170 runs from 22 remaining overs. The task was made even more difficult due to boundaries being hard to come by with the outfield slowed by the wet conditions. However, the Scottish batsman made a brave attempt to chase down the runs with several batsmen getting started, but none being able to kick on towards a match winning contribution. The partnership between Peter Ross (27) and Sam Page (31) looked like it may take Scotland close, but home victory hopes were extinguished when Page was brilliantly caught by Stone on the long off boundary when the ball looked to be clearing the ropes. England won the match by a margin of 31 runs under D/L/

Scotland U18 v England Development XI (game 3) - 25th August 2011

The final game of the series between Scotland U18s and the English Development XI saw the Scots gain a measure of revenge for defeats earlier in the week with a hard earned 32 run victory. Scotland batted first having won the toss with several batsmen again getting starts but failing to go on to a significant score. Henry Edward (33), Sam Page (21) and Pete Ross (19) all looked in control before perishing in their attempts to keep the scoreboard moving against the spin dominated England attack. When Dani Chaudhry (6) was caught at mid wicket off the bowling of Hassan the Scotland innings was in danger of subsiding at 119 for 6. However, a fine partnership between Tom McBride and Alex Baum regained a degree of control for the Scots before Baum (26) was caught at long-on just before the batting powerplay was taken. McBride continued to play the low-risk cricket required in partnership with 15 year old Will Edwards and 16 year old Alex Anderson to take the total to 222 when McBride was run-out off the last ball of the innings for a well compiled 52.England lost an early wicket in reply when McKay was caught at cover by Page from the bowling off spinner Anderson who had opened the bowling on a wearing surface. Partnerships of 38 and 36 between Cousens and Rhodes, then Rhodes and Sohail put England in the driving seat, but wickets from McLean and Omar Afridi plus a run out saw the game evenly balanced with England 93 for 4. Oli Stone then joined Webster and England again looked to be favourites as they progressed to 133 when Webster was caught at deep mid wicket by Will Edwards off the bowling of Anderson. The England innings then stumbled to 159 for 9 in the face of some accurate Scottish bowling, before Winslade and Hassan offered some resistance with a last wicket partnership of 30. However, Hassan was then caught at cover by Page off the bowling of Omar Afridi to seal a Scotland win by 32 runs.

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Europe Women's cricketers take part in MCC YC elite programme

Scotland’s Leigh Kasperek and Ireland’s Shauna Kavanagh took part in the MCC YC elite programme, in partnership with the ICC Development Programme, during their time they kept an account of their experiences.Week 1 The MCC YC elite programme allows the women to train every day with full access to the facilities at Lords. To be given the opportunity to train with the YC’s for 2 weeks is a “once in a lifetime experience” and we were extremely grateful and excited; whilst nervous at the same time at the prospect of training with some of the best women cricketers in the world. Our journey began when we arrived in London Heathrow on a Monday afternoon, we travelled together to the Danubius hotel where we would stay for the duration of our 2 weeks; it was an excellent location as it overlooks Lords. We spent Monday getting acquainted with each other, resting and preparing for the week ahead.Our Lords experience began with meeting ICC Regional Performance Officer, Philip Hudson who gave us a tour of the stadium which was overwhelming. To say Lord’s and its surroundings are unbelievable is an understatement. The YCs training is based in the indoor facilities and on the nursery ground; we had Tuesday afternoon to use whichever facilities we wanted.We decided to do a gym session before doing some bowling machine work and some live net practices. We finished up about 4pm, and took in some of the game that was taking place on the nursery ground. There were ex-professionals playing along with two of the YC girls.On Wednesday morning we made our way to Lords at 10am and met with Alan Duncan who is a Level 4 Coach and manages the YC Women’s team. Alan introduced us to all the players, who were all extremely friendly and made us feel very much at ease. We began Wednesday’s training with an hour and a half fitness session, which is always a good way to break the ice! It was actually a very enjoyable fitness session, well as enjoyable as fitness can be.After this, we headed outside to do some outdoor nets on grass wickets, which we never get to, train on at home! After net sessions, there was lunch and the girls were given the rest of the day off. We decided to do some fielding to make the most out of the oppourtunity and some of the girls decided to join in with us. It was a great day and gave us a taste of what the next week and half would have in store for us.Thursday training included a double net session and a fielding session. The first net session lasted about 2 hours and took place on the older grass wickets outside which had been in use for the last 8 days because of the Test - followed by the Middlesex games. Jodie Fields, the Australian Women’s captain was training with YCs for the day and gave us both plenty of advice and guidance. The fielding session was an hour long and of high intensity and broke up the two net sessions. We started the next net session at 3pm on newly prepared wickets. Middlesex and Derbyshire had been training on the Nursery Ground beside us all day ahead of their CB40 match that was to take place that afternoon. We finished up at half 4 and were free for the day, so decided to head over to the stands and watch the game.Match day We had both been asked to play for MCC against Premier League team Bath C.C. When we arrived we were greeted by Charlie Russell, our Captain for the day and former MCC YC member. Bath C.C was a lovely ground and we were both eager to get playing. The challenge of the day was understanding how after a whole day of cricket, it could end up as a draw...a declaration match as it was known. We were put in to bat; Leigh was in at number 4 and Shauna at 6. We were both confident about getting the opportunity to bat with unlimited overs but nervous at the prospect of it. Hannah Phelps and Alice MacCleod - both MCC YC students - set about given us a brilliant start before both being dismissed, Hannah on 49.Leigh was in and batting with Seonaid, a steady partnership was built of 90 before Seonaid departed. This brought 'Steamer' into the crease, some lusty blows from her increased the run rate and declaration was in sight. Leigh was out for 59 and Shauna was in. A clever flighted ball had Shauna stumped for 2, but all for the cause of scoring quickly. So we amassed 250, a good score and one we were confident of defending. Although, the Bath batters could play for time and block out a draw confused we both were. We were hoping that a result would form so we set about trying our hardest to win the match.Although Bath were short of England's Fran Wilson, talk for the day had been on Elwyn Campbell, an experience batter and one to be wary off. So we were surprised when she was dismissed for under double figures by Wales opening bowler, Hannah Zaman. Bath's intentions were clear from then on, wickets were hard to come by. Shauna the quickest bowler for the MCC had an aggressive field with 3 slips and a gully. She was unfortunate not to pick up any wickets, but her fiery spell created many opportunities. A surprise introduction of Leigh’s spin brought about two wickets but mainly due to the pressure the other bowlers had put on the Bath Wanderers. Bath’s number 4 had amassed 70 before time was up. We hadn't managed to break through Bath's lower batting order and the match was a draw.It was a great experience for the both of us. We learnt a lot from the match and although it ended up in a draw, we both agreed that we liked the format. Playing only limited over matches at home, we don't always get the chance to build an innings or be really aggressive with our bowling. What an excellent way to finish our first week with the YC's.

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Argentina take the first victory at the ICC Americas U15 South

In the first match of the ICC Americas U15 Southern Division Championship, Argentina won the toss and elected to bat. Ramiro Escobar and Mateo Mendi put on a valuable 82 runs for the first wicket in the face of solid opening spells from Luis Paredes and James King. The fall of Mendi saw Captain Lautaro Musiani enter to take the Peruvian attack apart. He scored 132 runs from only 46 balls before being dismissed. However, there was no respite for Peru as eventual ‘Man of the Match’ Mateo Arrighi, continued in his captain’s wake and ‘plastered’ the bowlers to all corners of the wonderful Markham College field and at the end of 40 overs had remained not out on 203 runs from only 84 deliveries including 21 sixes. Paredes (3-59) and King (1-35), from their 8 overs, were the best of the Peruvian attack.Peru’s response was hampered by some excellent bowling from Martin Peralta who finished with 3-19 from his opening spell of 3 overs. None of the Peruvian batsmen were able to cope with the Argentina attack and the punishment ended with Gonzalo Husain taking 2-1 from 1.5 overs and Peru ended all out for 40 from only 13.5 overs.Tomorrow sees Peru take on Chile and they will be hoping that they can improve on today’s performance.

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Pakistan cricket team arrives in Zimbabwe

BULAWAYO: The Pakistan cricket team will begin its tour of Zimbabwe on Sunday with a match against Zimbabwe XI, Geo News reported Saturday.The cricket team led by Misbah-ul-Haq will practice at the Bulawayo stadium on Saturday. Pakistan will play one Test against Zimbabwe which will begin from the first of September. Three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) will be played on the 8, 11 and 14 of September while two Twenty20 matches will be played on 16 and 18 September in Harare.

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USA Claim the ICC Americas U15 Northern Championship

Another sunny prairie day in Winnipeg as the last game of the ICC Americas U15 Northern Division wraps up in the Manitoban capital. Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat scoring 22 runs off of the first over which was aided by 13 wides. A 53 runs opening stand between Keishun Smith (11) and Alex Dore (51) set the pace for a huge total for the boys from Bermuda. However, they lost wickets at regular intervals as the middle collapsed and Bermuda was bowled out for 174 runs in 34 overs. Delray Rawlings with 18 runs and Joshua Commissiong with 16 showed some resilience. Gayan Ferdinands was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets for 30 runs. Manula Adihetly helped out with 3 wickets for 39 runs. In reply Canada started off well with a first wicket stand of 31 runs before Kurt Ramdath was out caught by Perrozi off the bowling of Rawlings for 13 runs. Canada lost three more quick wickets and was reeling at 54 for 4 wickets. Abraash Khan and Miraj Patel consolidated for the fifth wicket and took the score to 106 before A Khan was out for 18 runs. Patel carried the attack to the Bermudans only to be out caught for 41 runs when the score was 136. Canada was eventually bowled out for 154 runs.

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Taylor eyes number one position

West Indies Stafanie Taylor has chance to claim top spot from India's Mithali Raj at conclusion of upcoming West Indies v Pakistan seriesWest Indies all-rounder Stafanie Taylor has the chance to claim the number one position in the Reliance ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings for batters should the 20-year-old perform well during the upcoming four-match series between West Indies and Pakistan that begins tomorrow in Kingstown, St Vincent.Taylor is only 30 rating points off the top spot which is currently occupied by India's Mithali Raj who has held the position since February 2010.Taylor, who was recently announced in the four-woman short-list for ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC Awards 2011, is now occupying the number one ranking in the Reliance ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings for all-rounders after fellow nominee, Shelley Nitschke of Australia, retired from the game vacating the position she had occupied for some time.Taylor's team-mate Deandra Dottin will be hoping for a strong performance in the series to help her rise up from 13th position while opposition batter Javeria Khan, currently the highest ranked Pakistan batter, will be eager to break into the top 20 from her current position in 32nd place.In the Reliance ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings for bowlers, the list is currently topped by Australia's Lisa Sthalekar after the retirement of Nitschke and Taylor has the opportunity to rise up this table too. The off-spinner from Jamaica is currently ranked sixth while her team-mate Anisa Mohammed is in eighth position and both women will be hoping for good performances in St Vincent to help increase their ratings points.Pakistan captain Sana Mir is in 17th place in the bowling rankings and the 25-year-old spinner will be hopeful of a good series in the West Indies while also wanting to see her fellow bowlers, Qanita Jalil (31st) and Asmavia Iqbal (35th) join her in the top 20. Upcoming ODI fixtures
28 Aug - West Indies v Pakistan, Kingstown
30 Aug ? West Indies v Pakistan, Kingstown
1 Sept - West Indies v Pakistan, Kingstown
3 Sept - West Indies v Pakistan, Kingstown

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India sneak 5-run win over Kent in rain-truncated match

Joe Denly's century went in vain as India eked out a thrilling five-run win over Kent in a rain-curtailed 20-over-a-side practice match at the St Lawrence ground.With the win over Kent, India registered its second victory on English soil.The Indians had earlier defeated Sussex by six wickets in their first limited overs practice match at Hove on Thursday.Chasing India's competitive 164 for six, Denly turned out to be the lone warrior for Kent with the bat as he anchored the hosts innings with a 68-ball 100.Martin van Jaarsveld and Darren Stevens tried hard to give Denly support from the other end with an identical 17 but once the centurion departed Kent's chase fell apart and the home team could only manage 159 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs.Left-arm seamer RP Singh shone with the ball for India picking up two wickets for 36 runs while Munaf Patel (1/22) and R Ashwin (1/30) scalped a wicket each.Earlier, sent into bat Virat Kohli slammed a quickfire 78 to help India post a competitive 164 for six.Kohli started from where he left against Sussex on Thursday, and notched up his second half century of the tour in just 52 balls with the help of seven boundaries and three towering sixes.India's other half centurion against Sussex, Rohit Sharma gave Kohli good support from the other end with a run-a-ball 30.The duo shared 69 runs for the fourth wicket off just 48 deliveries to lay the foundation for India's score, especially after the visitors lost both the openers Parthiv Patel (1) and Rahul Dravid (15) - cheaply.Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin played a good hand down the order with a 12-ball 23, but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina once again failed with the bat.It was the Doni's first-ball duck which sent tongues wagging at a packed St Lawrence ground.Dhoni had just arrived at 132 for four in the 17th over when he slammed his first ball from spinner James Tredwell hard but uppishly at mid-on to take the wind out of Indian innings.A ball before, Kohli was run out after he was pushed for a non-existent second run by Raina, whose poor form continued as he could score just four before being bowled by Tredwell.Torrential rains had earlier forced the 50-over-a-side match to be reduced to a Twenty20 fixture.Sent into bat, India lost openers Parthiv and Dravid with the scoreboard reading 53.While Parthiv edged one to wicket-keeper Geraint Jones, Dravid offered a difficult catch to Tredwell at mid-on off left-arm pacer Adam Ball.For Kent, Tredwell turned out to be the pick of the bowlers picking up two wickets for 18 runs.

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Pakistan cricket team leaves for Zimbabwe

LAHORE: The Pakistan cricket team left for Zimbabwe on Thursday, According to details, Pakistan left for Zimbabwe under the captainship of Misbah Ulhaq from Lahore via Abu Dhabi. The national team will play one Test match, three One-Day International matches and two Twenty-20 matches.While talking to the media at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, coach Waqar Younis said that he is hopeful that the team will perform according to the expectations and yield good results despite a one-week training camp. He also expressed his satisfaction over the inclusion of all-rounder Shoaib Malik in the team

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ICC warns Mohammad Amir

MUMBAI: Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Amir has escaped further punishment for flouting his five-year ban by playing for an English amateur side in a league match in June.Amir has been cautioned by the International Cricket Council and warned over his future conduct."Mohammad Amir has been warned and has been provided with further clarification as to the terms of his suspension," an ICC spokesman said.The 19-year-old played for Surrey Cricket League Division One team Addington, prompting the ICC to launch an inquiry.Amir was banned for a minimum of five years along with team mates Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt by an ICC tribunal in February for bowling deliberate no balls during a test match in England last year.The case is currently going through the criminal courts. (Reuters)

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Sri Lanka name squad for 3-Test series against Aussies

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Thursday named two uncapped bowlers, Seekkuge Prasanna and Shaminda Eranga, in a 16-man squad for the three-Test series against Australia starting next week.Leg-spinner Prasanna and fast bowler Eranga got the selectors' nod following their impressive performances in the one-day series, which was won 3-2 by Michael Clarke's Australians.Prasanna, 26, had a successful one-day debut when he dismissed Shaun Marsh and the Hussey brothers, Michael and David, in one over in the fourth match of the series in Colombo last week.Eranga, 25, played a strong role in his team's victory in the third one-dayer in ambantota when he dismissed former skipper Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin to finish with 2-38 on his debut.Eranga is one of the four pacemen in the squad alongside Suranga Lakmal, Dhammika Prasad and Chanaka Welegedara.Sri Lanka also have four frontline spinners to choose from for the first Test which opens at the traditionally spin-friendly Galle International Stadium next Wednesday.Unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis, off-spinner Suraj Randiv and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath are the other slow bowlers in the squad alongside Prasanna.Sri Lanka Cricket, which had originally named a 15-man squad, later added the seasoned Herath to the line-up.Sri Lanka's middle-order, led by former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, will be bolstered by the inclusion of Thilan Samaraweera, who has 4,597 runs in 66 Tests with 12 centuries. The remaining two Tests will be played in Pallekele (September 8-12) and the Sinhalese sports club in Colombo (Sept 16-20).Sri Lanka's Test squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan (captain), Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Prasanna Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Chanaka Welegedara, Dhammika Prasad, Shaminda Eranga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ajantha Mendis.

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ICC announces Test team of the year

LONDON: Sri Lankan, Kumar Sangakkara was named captain and wicketkeeper for the International Cricket Council’s Test team of the year. England dominated the squad with 11 players in the lineup. Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and James Anderson have all been picked by an ICC panel chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd.Dale Steyn makes it into the lineup for the fourth straight year alongside South Africa teammates Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis. India batting great Sachin Tendulkar completes the side. India pace bowler Zaheer Khan was picked as 12th man.Trott and Cook both made it onto four-man shortlists for the Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year awards.The team only includes players from five countries and no Pakistani player has been selected.

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New Zealand Cricket announces 2011-12 women's fixtures

cket dominates the calendar until the New Year with 30 Twenty20 matches and 15 games of 50-over cricket deciding the finalists who will meet on 14 and 15 January 2012. The national competitions finish earlier than usual to accommodate the Rose Bowl series which is pencilled in for late January/early February - Cricket Australia are due to confirm the dates shortly.The White Ferns then meet England in a series that will include a combination of Twenty20 and One Day Internationals with the teams last meeting on New Zealand soil in March 2008.In advance of the international series, England will play three warm-up matches against an emerging players selection from 11 February 2012 with a number of the tourists also likely to take part in the Action Cricket Twenty20 and Action Cricket Cup ahead of the tour.In a boost for women's cricket SKY Sport will broadcast the first three Twenty20 Internationals which are played before the BLACKCAPS take on South Africa at Westpac Stadium, Seddon Park and Eden Park. New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive Justin Vaughan said he is looking forward to a feast of women's cricket in 2011-12, especially the international battles with Australia and England."It's a busy period for women's cricket this coming summer with an intense domestic season followed by the Rose Bowl in Australia and tour by England," Vaughan said."The White Ferns are extremely disappointed with their performance at the recent Quadrangular Series in England and have a very strong focus on improving their position in the world rankings."The team relish playing Australia and certainly have a point to prove after again losing out to their old foe in another closely fought Rose Bowl last year."One of the highlights of the women's calendar will be the tour by England. They have been the most consistent team in women's cricket for several years now and will provide a real challenge for the White Ferns. "It's great that the schedule allows for the White Ferns to join the BLACKCAPS in three televised double headers. It's a good opportunity to showcase women's cricket to a wider audience and highlight that it is not only highly competitive but also entertaining."Live scoring for all matches is available from www.blackcaps.co.nz and MA websites. Action Cricket Twenty20 & Action Cricket Cup * Round five and six of Action Cricket Twenty20 and round there of the Action Cricket Cup will be played at Lincoln * Action Cup final on Saturday 14 January 2012 * Action Cricket Twenty20 final on Sunday 15 January 2012 * Defending champions, Canterbury Magicians, will play home matches at Hagley Oval and Redwood park due to the unavailability of QEII * Three new coaches with Owen Steverson (Northern Spirit), Mike Shrimpton (Central Hinds) and Leigh Kelly (Wellington Blaze) * Former White Fern Katrina Keenan will join Maia Lewis in an assistant coach with the Auckland Hearts England to New Zealand * England last toured New Zealand in 2007-8, winning the ODI series 3-1 * First three Twenty20 internationals are televised double headers before the BLACKCAPS v SA matches * England are current ODI World Champions, 2011 Quadrangular Series Champions (ODI and T20s) and ranked 5th in Twenty20 cricket * England will play three warm-up matches at Lincoln against and emerging players selection * A number of England players are likely to feature in the domestic competitions ahead of their tour

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Ireland's Paul Stirling aims to confirm his status as the best Associate Member batsman

Ireland opener Paul Stirling will be aiming to improve upon his career-best ranking in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen when his side faces England in a One-Day International at Castle Avenue in Dublin on Thursday.Stirling, who has been nominated for the ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards 2011, had claimed 16th position last month in July after scoring a brilliant 113 in a high-scoring thriller at the Grange Cricket Club which Scotland won by five wickets when it successfully chased down a target of 321 with nine balls to spareowever, Stirling's third career century in 32 appearances for Ireland was sufficient to make him the highest-ranked Associate Member batsmen when he leapfrogged Ryan ten Doeschate of the Netherlands. For this achievement, Stirling earned 21 ratings points and rose seven places which put him two places ahead of ten Doeschate who has once again been nominated for the ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year award he previously won in 2008 and 2010 If Stirling shows the same form against England he displayed last month, then the 20-year-old is all set to move further up the order. He is already in good company as he trails 15th-ranked Ricky Ponting of Australia by just 19 points and 10th-ranked Sachin Tendulkar who is ahead only by 32 ratings points.The other Ireland batsman aiming for an upward movement is 27-year-old Kevin O'Brien who sunk England in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 match in Bengaluru by clubbing 13 fours and six sixes in a match-winning113 off 63 balls. O'Brien currently sits in 49th position and can break into the top 30 if he produces another good innings.Captain William Porterfield (67th), Niall O'Brien (79th) and Gary Wilson (81st) are the other Ireland batsmen who will be featuring against the England side which will be led by their former team-mate Eoin Morgan who is in 25th position.In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, former Ireland captain Trent Johnston is the highest-ranked player from the Associate Members in 23rd position. Team-mate and left-arm spinner George Dockrell is in 38th position while tall fast bowler Boyd Rankin is in 56th position.Meanwhile, in the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table, Ireland has an opportunity to move ahead of Zimbabwe in 10th position. However, to achieve this it will have to beat England. If Ireland manages to win its second successive match against England, then it will move from 42 to 49 ratings points – three ahead of Zimbabwe - while England will slip from 106 ratings points to 103.In contrast, if England wins the match then it will earn one ratings point which will put it on 107 while Ireland will lose one rating point and will drop to 41.

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Short-lists announced for LG ICC Awards 2011

Cook and Trott in running for both ICC Cricketer of the Year and ICC Test Cricketer the Year awards at ceremony set for 12 September in LondonAnnual awards to be held in association with FICA England batsmen Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, Hashim Amla of South Africa and last year's ICC Cricketer of the Year Sachin Tendulkar of India have all been short-listed for the top honour at the LG ICC Awards 2011.The votes have now been casted by the independent 25-person academy and these four men are the ones in the running to receive the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year at a glittering ceremony in London on 12 September 2011.In addition, Trott and Cook are also short-listed for the ICC Test Player of the Year alongside England team-mate James Anderson and South Africa's Jacques Kallis at the eighth annual LG ICC Awards, presented in association with the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA).Amla is also in contention for the ICC ODI Player of the Year award and he is short-listed in that category alongside Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, Australia's Shane Watson and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 winner Gautam Gambhir of India.The Twenty20 International (T20I) Performance of the Year sees New Zealand's Tim Southee short-listed alongside England's Tim Bresnan, Australia's Shane Watson and South Africa's JP Duminy.This year's LG ICC Awards includes 10 individual prizes, including the LG People's Choice Award** and also features a newly designed Spirit of Cricket Award which honours a moment by an international player that has most adhered to the Spirit of Cricket. This award is nominated and voted for by the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees and the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.The long-lists were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee Clive Lloyd. The panel also includes former captains Zaheer Abbas of Pakistan and England's Mike Gatting and New Zealand's Danny Morrison and South Africa's Paul Adams.The short-lists were created after the individual player awards were voted for by an academy of 25 highly credentialed cricket personalities from around the world*. The academy includes a host of former players, respected members of the media as well as representatives of the Emirates Elite Panels of ICC Umpires and ICC Match Referees.

The nominations from the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year were decided after a committee of former players, current administrators and journalists created a long-list. This in turn was broken down into a short-list by a separate 25-person voting academy.This year's short-list for the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year sees last year's winner, Australia's Shelley Nitschke, on the list again, alongside West Indies' Stafanie Taylor and England duo of Lydia Greenway and Charlotte Edwards.The David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year award was voted on by the 10 current Test captains and the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees and is partly based on the umpires' performance statistics.The award for the umpire of the year was fittingly named the David Shepherd Trophy last year. The late David Shepherd embodied everything that is good in cricket. In the often serious world of match officiating he brought to it a sparkle, a delight and a humanity that was both engaging and uplifting. He generated respect and warmth from those he met with his humour, humility, empathy, excellent decision-making and professionalism. His umpiring was of the highest quality and the fact he stood in 92 Tests, 172 ODIs and officiated in three ICC Cricket World Cup finals is a testimony to his ability, dedication and sheer enjoyment of umpiring.This year's nominees are 2009 and 2010 ICC Umpire of the Year Aleem Dar and five-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel, along with Austalia's Steve Davis and Ian Gould of England. All four short-listed candidates, coincidentally, were part of the Playing Control Team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final in Mumbai on 2 April 2011.The ICC Emerging Player of the Year nominees short-list features two players from the West Indies - Devendra Bishoo and Darren Bravo - and two from Pakistan, Wahab Riaz and Azhar Ali. To qualify for that award a player must be under the age of 26 at the start of the observation period and have played fewer than five Tests and/or 10 ODIs and/or five T20Is at the start of the voting period.The ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year award serves to recognise and reward the efforts in all international matches of the outstanding cricketers from the teams outside the ICC Full Members.
This year's short-list sees the return of 2008 and 2010 winner, Ryan ten Doeschate of the Netherlands, who is joined by Ireland pair of Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien while Hamid Hassan of Afghanistan rounds off the shortlist for that category.Based on the period between 11 August 2010 and 3 August 2011, the LG ICC Awards 2011 - presented in association with FICA - take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game.That period includes such high-profile events as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the ICC Intercontinental Cup final, several ICC World Cricket Leagues as well as several bilateral Test and ODI series.

The LG ICC Awards ceremony is now in its eighth year and this year it will be held in London, England. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007 and 2009), Dubai (2008) and Bengaluru (2010).


LG ICC Awards 2011


Short-lists of nominees (in alphabetical order)


Individual Awards


Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year

Hashim Amla (SA)

Alastair Cook (Eng)

Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

Jonathan Trott (Eng)


ICC Test Player of the Year

James Anderson (Eng)

Alastair Cook (Eng)

Jacques Kallis (SA)

Jonathan Trott (Eng)


ICC ODI Player of the Year

Hashim Amla (SA)

Gautam Gambhir (Ind)

Kumar Sangakkara (SL)

Shane Watson (Aus)


ICC Emerging Player of the Year

Azhar Ali (Pak)

Devendra Bishoo (WI)

Darren Bravo (WI)

Wahab Riaz (Pak)


ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year

Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned)

Hamid Hassan (Afg)

Kevin O'Brien (Ire)

Paul Stirling (Ire)


ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year

Tim Bresnan (Eng) - 3-10-3-4 v Pakistan, Cardiff, 7 September 2010

JP Duminy (SA) - 96 not out (54b, 10x4, 4x6) v Zimbabwe, Kimberley, 10 October 2010

Tim Southee (NZ) - 4-1-18-5 v Pakistan, Auckland, 26 December 2010

Shane Watson (Aus) - 59 (31b, 6x4, 3x6) v England, Adelaide, 12 January 2011


ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year

Charlotte Edwards (Eng)

Lydia Greenway (Eng)

Shelley Nitschke (Aus)

Stafanie Taylor (WI)


David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year

Aleem Dar

Steve Davis

Ian Gould

Simon Taufel


ICC Spirit of Cricket

MS Dhoni (Ind) - for his recall of Ian Bell during the second Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge, July/August 2011

Jacques Kallis (SA) - for twice during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 walking after clarifying with the opposition fielder if they had caught the ball cleanly


LG People's Choice Award

Hashim Amla (SA)

MS Dhoni (Ind)

Chris Gayle (WI)

Kumar Sangakkara (SL)

Jonathan Trott (Eng)
** The LG People's Choice Award short-list of five players was selected by the Selection Panel. The winner is chosen by cricket fans from across the globe after a month long online voting process that closed on 25 August 2011. *Note: Specifically, the 25-person independent voting academy is made up of:Former cricketers - Andy Bichel (Aus), Naimur Rahman (BD), Aamir Sohail (Pak), Pat Symcox (SA), Nasser Hussein (Eng), Russel Arnold (SL), Robin Singh (Ind), Shane Bond (NZ), Grant Flower (Zim), Desmond Haynes (WI) and John Davison (Can - Associate Representative Cricketer).Media - Greg Buckle (Aus), Abdul Majid Bhatti (Pak), Azad Majumdar (Ban), Kevin McCallum (SA), Stephen Brenkley (Eng), Chris Dhambarage (SL), Ayaz Memon (Ind), Tony Becca (WI), Bryan Waddle (NZ), John Ward (Zim) and KR Nayer (Associate Representative).Representative of Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees– Chris Broad.Representative of Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires– Aleem Dar.Chairman of ICC Cricket Committee - Clive Lloyd.

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Clive Lloyd talks about the LG ICC Awards short-lists

On this week's LG ICC Awards 2011 special ICC Cricket World Radio Show, Chairman of the LG ICC Awards Selection Panel and Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee Clive Lloyd admits choosing the ICC Test Team of the Year 2011 was not an easy task."It was a difficult task this year to choose the teams of the year and also our long-lists as we had a lot of exciting cricket to look at in the observation period. Some excellent performances came from all the teams, we looked at averages and how the teams performed as a unit and I think our panel knowledge helped us to come up with the right team this year for the ICC Test Team of the Year."Because of so many performances this year, someone will inevitably miss out but if you look at our team I think we've got a good balanced side, really truly I think we came out with the right team" says Lloyd who chaired the panel of experts alongside former South Africa spin bowler Paul Adams, former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas, former New Zealand bowler-turned-commentator Danny Morrison and former England batsman Mike Gatting.Based on the period between 11 August 2010 and 3 August 2011, the LG ICC Awards 2011 - presented in association with FICA - take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game."I don't think anyone should be slighted for not being on the short-lists. It was an extremely close run contest this year in all the categories and everyone performed well over the period. Ultimately, you can only have four players in each short-list and the independent voting academy chose the short-lists," adds Lloyd on the recently announced lists. The show can be used in whole or part by radio stations that want free cricket content for editorial use, while the public can also download it straight from www.icc-cricket.com or from iTunes.Also on this week's show, Australia's Shane Watson talks about his nominations in the ICC ODI Player of the Year and ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year categories. The 30-year-old Queenslander also talks about the upcoming series in Sri Lanka and the captaincy of Michael Clarke."I'm very excited. It's always a great honour to be nominated in a couple of categories, let alone being short-listed. I'm not sure how bright my chances are but I'm thrilled to be in the category with three extremely talented players in Hashim Amla, Kumar Sangakkara and Gautam Gambhir, all of whom have had fantastic years," says Watson."My personal highlight for this year was getting 161 against England at the MCG is something I thought I would never achieve. Also, getting 185 against Bangladesh at Sher-e-Bangla in Dhaka in April and breaking Matt Hayden's record knock is something I cherish," adds Watson.Also on the show is West Indies pair of Devendra Bishoo and Stafanie Taylor who have both been short-listed for this year's awards. Bishoo has been short-listed in the category for ICC Emerging Player of the Year while Taylor has been short-listed for the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year award.Bishoo says of the honour: "It was a huge surprise to be announced as one of the players,. I'm really quite nervous about being on the short-list. I've been dedicating myself to my cricket and trying to get wickets throughout the year. Making my debut in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was really something special for me this year."Meanwhile, Taylor says: " It feels great to be short-listed for this year's award and hopefully this time around I have a chance to win. I've worked really hard throughout the year on my game and my ultimate goals are to be number-one in the world on the Reliance ICC ODI Women's Player rankings and to win this ICC award. Hopefully I've done enough this year to win the trophy. Finally, Zimbabwe's captain Brendan Taylor reflects on a positive Test and ODI series victory over Bangladesh recently in Harare and looks ahead to facing Pakistan. "It's nice to see not only spinners Prosper Utseya and Raymond Price but Brian Vitori and Keegan Meth with the new ball too. Nice to see guys playing as a collective unit and giving everything to the team," says Taylor."I think we're mentally prepared to face Pakistan. We had an excellent preparation and it's exciting times and a good chance for some of these guys to shine. We're really excited," adds Taylor.

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