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Kumar Sangakkara has asked for teams to be given equal opportunity in Test cricket, saying the dwindling number of five-day matches Sri Lanka were playing was limiting their ambitions

Cricinfo staff22-May-2010Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan captain, has asked for teams to be given equal opportunity in Test cricket, saying the dwindling number of five-day matches Sri Lanka were playing was limiting their ambitions. Sangakkara welcomed the idea of a world Test championship and said teams should be given the chance of playing a minimum number of Tests in a year.”It’s great to have a Test championship but I believe that all sides should have an equal opportunity to play Test matches,” Sangakkara told in Florida, where Sri Lanka are playing two Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand. “This year we are lucky that India wants to come and play Test matches but the opportunity for Sri Lankan players to fulfil their Test ambitions are getting more and more limited.”Since their tour of Australia in 2007, Sri Lanka have not played a Test series outside the subcontinent. They haven’t been to South Africa for a Test tour since 2002 and the Tests in 2011 will be their first in England in five years.”Sides must be given the opportunity to play a minimum number of Test matches and the Future Tours Programme must be reorganised so some of the best sides tour more than just once in five years,” Sangakkara said. “There was once talk of playing a Test championship without Sri Lanka in the first year at a time when we were number two in the Test rankings. These are the inconsistencies they must address.”Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka batsman, echoed his captain’s views. “I think we need to think a bit more about Test cricket, you need to make sure all the teams are going to play eight to ten matches a year minimum, and then you can strike that balance,” he said. “I have only played four Test matches in my entire career in Australia; that’s in 12 years of playing.”

Several ICC officials have visited Pakistan to inspect arrangements and, it is understood, the PCB has received positive feedback

Danyal Rasool10-Jun-2024The PCB has proposed a February 19 start to the Champions Trophy next year in Pakistan. ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB has pencilled the tournament to be played from February 19 to March 9, across Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore. Karachi will host three games, including the tournament opener as well as a semi-final, while Lahore plays host to seven, including the final. The other semi-final will be one of five contests to take place at Pindi Cricket Ground.Several ICC officials have visited Pakistan to inspect arrangements to host the first ICC tournament in Pakistan since the 1996 World Cup. They include security and event officials as well as chief pitch inspector Andy Atkinson, and it is understood the PCB has received positive feedback from the ICC concerning logistics and arrangement, allowing it to press ahead with its plans.The current dates, should they be finalised, mean the last third of the tournament will he held during Ramadan, just as the knockout stage of the PSL was last year. Some knockout games in Karachi saw an extremely low turnout during Ramadan. The PCB did try and accommodate for that by moving start times to a later 9pm, though with the Champions Trophy being an ODI tournament, that will not be possible. That means large parts of games will take place during the sunrise to sunset window where players observing Ramadan cannot eat or drink.As ESPNcricinfo reported earlier, every game involving India at the tournament is slated to take place in Lahore. This means one semi-final will be moved from Karachi or Rawalpindi to Lahore should India qualify for the last four. Basing India in one city is thought to have been proposed because it avoids what could be considerable logistical and security complications around their travel. Additionally, by being based in Lahore, which is close to the Wagah border crossing between the two countries, it allows Indian fans a relatively easier option to visit.As ever the main question in the run-up to the event will surround India’s participation. The Indian team has not played in Pakistan since the Asia Cup in 2008, and there has been no bilateral series between the two since a white-ball visit by Pakistan in 2012-13. When the PCB hosted the Asia Cup last year, the workaround involved deploying a hybrid model that saw the bulk of the games – including all of India’s – take place in Sri Lanka with the final, which India won, held in Colombo. The BCCI has maintained the decision to travel to Pakistan rests in the hands of the Indian government.Every side other than India involved in the upcoming Champions Trophy has travelled to Pakistan since cricket returned to the country in 2015. Pakistan will also host an ODI tri-series featuring South Africa and New Zealand before the tournament.Pakistan are the defending champions, having won the last Champions Trophy in 2017.

Earlier, Brett Lee picked up 3 for 18 to restrict Maharajas to a sub-par total

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2023Chris Gayle’s 46-ball 57 made light work of World Giants’ chase of 137 after Brett Lee (3 for 18) bowled a game-changing penultimate over against India Maharajas on Wednesday. World Giants completed the chase with eight balls to spare to complete a routine win in Doha.Gayle was clear about his intent from the start of the innings. He smashed six boundaries in the first three overs to pile misery on Maharajas’ bowlers, and was particularly harsh on Ashok Dinda. In the sixth over, he hit him for 4, 6, 4 and 4 off consecutive deliveries.Shane Watson added to the momentum with some vintage shots in his quickfire cameo. After taking two fours off Pravin Tambe in the seventh over, he smashed stand-in India Maharajas captain Harbhajan Singh for two consecutive boundaries in the next.Tambe temporarily stalled Giants’ cruise, bowling a dream delivery to dismiss Watson as the ball beat him on the outside edge and dislodged the off bail.That dismissal, along with a few wickets as the innings progressed, forced Gayle to take a cautious approach in the chase. Having reached his half-century in 26 balls, he managed only seven in the next 20. His innings was cut short by Suresh Raina, who surprised him with a length ball that didn’t bounce much and trapped him right in front.Even though World Giants continued to lose wickets after that dismissal, cameos from Samit Patel and Morne van Wyk carried them over the line.Earlier, in the absence of their regular captain and in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, India Maharajas were desperate for a strong start. Robin Uthappa, coming off a spectacular fifty on Tuesday, did not look in control against Samit even though he had found a boundary off his second delivery. Two balls later, Samit dismissed him with an arm ball, with the batter mis-hitting it to Aaron Finch at midwicket.Raina tried to increase the scoring rate, hitting Monty Panesar for two back-to-back sixes in the eighth over. First, he picked up a back-of-a-length delivery and pulled it over deep midwicket and then stepped out to smash the next over the bowler’s head.However, Maharajas’ innings followed the pattern of solid partnerships followed by quick wickets throughout. After a 60-run stand between Raina and Manvinder Bisla, they lost Yusuf Pathan and Stuart Binny off consecutive deliveries.Irfan Pathan’s cameo of 25 off 20 balls carried them for a while but Lee’s two wickets in the 19th over restricted them to a sub-par total.

The pitches in the Ashes have made life tricky for batters and there could be a benefit of that

Andrew McGlashan07-Feb-2022Alyssa Healy believes an Ashes series where runs have been hard to come by has set her up well for the ODI World Cup in New Zealand.Healy has not been at her free-flowing best against England with the multi-format series including a pair in the Test match before a brace of hard-fought contributions in the first two ODIs.It is those two performances that have left her confident that her game is in a good place for next month’s World Cup with Australia set to fly to New Zealand two days after the Ashes finishes to undertake their ten-day quarantine.”Probably the best thing that could have happened is these two wickets being a little bit tricky,” Healy said. “The English bowlers are really skillful, they are using the seam really nicely, and not one batter has really flourished in this ODI part of the series. Moons [Beth Mooney] played a beautiful knock but it took her a long while to get going and knowing that making those tough runs early has been the best thing for me.Related

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“Means my shape is good, I’m getting in good positions to keep the really good balls out, and the last two dismissals think I’ve found ways to get myself out which is weird tick of the box if that makes any sense.”Australia toured New Zealand last year and played three ODIs in early April which is the time of the year the World Cup will conclude. Healy made 65, 44 and 46 in those three matches.”Feel like with the conditions [against England] not being perfect for batting it’s been a great test of exactly where things are at and I’m really excited as to how things are tracking,” she said. “Once we get over to New Zealand, if the wickets are similar I know I’m in a good position to dig in but if they are flat I know I’m in a great place to hit the ball like I normally do.”With one game to go of Australia’s home international summer, Healy’s top score is 77 which she made in the first ODI against India in late September. India’s seamers performed really well in that multi-format series while England’s have also caused plenty of challenges during the Ashes with Healy feeling the bowlers have held sway all season.”The wickets here have been really conducive to seam bowling all summer,” she said. “Hasn’t felt like we’ve had a real flat track. From that point of view, I feel like our group and me, in particular, is really well prepared for whatever the wickets might throw at us [at the World Cup].”Healy is also confident that the World Cup will see the best of Ellyse Perry who played the central role in the Ashes-winning victory in Melbourne with three wickets and a well-constructed 40 when most other batters struggled. Perry was left out of the T20Is at the start of the Ashes but remains a formidable ODI and Test cricketer.”That six she hit over mid-off was a shot I’ve never really seen Pez hit before with that shape and flair,” Healy said. “That’s really exciting signs for us leading into a big world tournament that she’s hitting her straps at the right time and probably a bit of concern for other sides around the world.”

England’s Test captain has not played T20 format in over a year

Matt Roller25-Aug-2020Joe Root is set to play his first T20 since May 2019 and his first for Yorkshire in more than two years on Thursday night, as he begins his push for inclusion in England’s 2021 T20 World Cup squad.Root said last week he would be “trying to play as much cricket as I can this summer” and highlighted his desire to play in T20 Blast Finals Day on October 3. Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale confirmed after play was abandoned in the Roses Bob Willis Trophy match on Tuesday that Root would be available for the televised opener at home to Nottinghamshire, following the conclusion of the third Test against Pakistan.”I spoke to Rooty last night [Tuesday], and he’s chomping at the bit,” Gale told the ECB Reporters Network. “He’s got a point to prove not being in the England T20 set-up, which is a good thing for us.”I’m not quite sure how many games he will play [but] he’s definitely going to play on Thursday. England are making a selection on the Australian T20 series on Sunday night, so he might play on Sunday and Monday as well.”Everything’s a bit up in the air. I just see anything as a bonus because we didn’t expect to have him at all.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the majority of England’s Test squad will be made available to play for their counties in the opening round of Blast games, though some seamers may be instructed to rest ahead of September’s white-ball series against Australia.ALSO READ: South Africa snub leaves Root facing T20 World Cup lock-outRoot was England’s leading run-scorer in the 2016 World T20 with 249 runs in six innings, making a crucial 83 off 44 balls in the group stage against South Africa and top-scoring with 54 off 36 in the final against West Indies.But he has fallen out of their first-choice top seven in the four years since, losing his place during the home series against India in 2018 and not featuring in their last three squads in the format. He played seven games for Sydney Thunder in the 2018-19 Big Bash in an attempt to prove his short-form credentials, but managed only 99 runs.He had seemed unlikely to make the squad for the scheduled 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, but that tournament’s postponement may open the door for him to return.While Root’s T20 record against spin is underwhelming, he is seen as one of their best players of slow bowling: he averages 73 against it in his ODI career and was impressive against West Indies’ Samuel Badree and Sulieman Benn in the 2016 tournament. With the next T20 World Cup now in India, his skillset against the turning ball makes him a more attractive pick.England appeared to know six members of their strongest top seven during their 2-1 win in South Africa earlier this year, in the form of Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, but both Dawid Malan and Joe Denly were unconvincing while batting out of position at No. 5. Those two, plus Sam Billings, Tom Banton and Lewis Gregory, are in line for opportunities to impress in the three-match T20I series against Pakistan, with Buttler and Stokes both unavailable for selection.

Warwickshire look to Dom Sibley on 95 not out to avoid following on

ECB Reporters Network15-May-2019A searing post-tea burst from Kyle Abbott put Hampshire in command against Warwickshire on the second day of their County Championship clash at Edgbaston.After Hampshire were lifted to a solid 354 by Tom Alsop’s classy, career-best 150 off 317 balls, including 23 fours, the home side’s reply advanced smoothly enough to 135 for three before Abbott’s blast of three wickets for four runs in eight balls.Suddenly, the follow-on figure of 204 was far from a formality for Warwickshire and they still have work to do to reach it, having closed the second day on 184 for 7.Against a rampant and raucous Hampshire side, the injury-ravaged Bears were left leaning heavily on Dominic Sibley. The former Surrey opener, who has scored centuries in each of his previous five first-class matches, went into stumps five short of another.In the morning session, Hampshire added 63 to their overnight 291 for 6. They advanced to 327 without further loss before Jeetan Patel took the last four wickets in 33 balls.The Bears’ captain finished with 6 for 94, his 35th first-class haul of five-or-more wickets, after Gareth Berg fired back a fierce return catch, Alsop skied to mid-off, Abbott played on and former Warwickshire player Keith Barker edged behind.In reply, Warwickshire lost three wickets in the afternoon session. Will Rhodes edged an excellent ball from Abbot to second slip where Joe Weatherley took a smart catch before debutant Rob Yates’ maiden first-class innings was ended by a ripper from Liam Dawson. Having opened his first-class account with a sumptuous cover-driven four off Abbott, Yates offered no stroke to Dawson’s second delivery only to see it turn in a long way to strike off-stump.Sibley and Adam Hose began to retrench but, having added 40, were separated in the last over before tea when Fidel Edwards speared a yorker through Hose’s defence.Liam Banks settled alongside Sibley to add 47 in 17 overs but then came Abbott’s purple patch – a textbook example of aggressive, straight fast-bowling. He bowled Banks through the gate then removed Alex Thomson, who offered no shot, and Tim Ambrose lbw with successive balls.That left Warwickshire still 59 short of the follow on figure with four wickets left. Sibley and Craig Miles added 26 but Edwards, brought back fresh just before the close, had the latter caught at short leg.

South Africa opener Dean Elgar has answered a late call to stand in for the injured Mitchell Marsh at Surrey

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2018Surrey have signed South Africa’s Dean Elgar as an overseas player for the first couple of months of the county season.Elgar, who had a brief spell at the club in 2015, is expected to be available for the club’s first County Championship game of the season; a match against Hampshire that starts on April 20.While Elgar will be unavailable for a Championship match against Worcestershire in May – he has a commitment elsewhere – he is expected to play in all Surrey’s other games before the end of May.Elgar replaces Mitchell Marsh, the club’s original choice of overseas player, who requires surgery on his ankle. A hugely experienced batsman, Elgar has represented South Africa in 49 Tests and is currently placed at No. 8 in the ICC’s Test rankings. As well as previous experience with Somerset, who he represented in 2013 (when he averaged 40 in the Championship) and 2017 (when he averaged 47), Elgar recently carried his bat in the Cape Town Test. That made him one of just two men – Desmond Haynes is the other – to have carried their bat three times in a Test.”Given the news that Mitch Marsh will need ankle surgery, to be able to bring someone of Dean’s calibre to the club, at such short notice, for the first period of the season is a real bonus,” Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said.”We know Dean well after his time with us in 2015 and his international quality and experience will be a real asset. We look forward to welcoming him to the Kia Oval.”

South Africa advanced determinedly towards a 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka by taking just 17 overs to dismiss the opposition on the third morning

The Report by Alan Gardner14-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDuanne Olivier claimed five wickets in the match on debut•Gallo Images

Sixteen wickets, 228 runs, 59.3 overs. South Africa’s pace attack delivered a swift and brutal dismemberment to seal victory at the Wanderers inside three days and confirm a 3-0 sweep in the series. Sri Lanka only managed one half-century in the match – although that was an improvement on the second Test – and could not even last long enough for the possibility of a Johannesburg thunderstorm to provide a stay of execution.Faf du Plessis had hesitated to enforce the follow-on in Cape Town but showed no search mercy as the Bullring bayed for blood. Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander started the job, Wayne Parnell and the debutant Duanne Olivier took sadistic pleasure in twisting the knife. Parnell finished with six wickets in the match and Olivier five, heartening performances for South African cricket after a week spent in the shadow of Kolpak.Having capitulated in the morning session to concede a 295-run deficit, Sri Lanka lost a wicket in the second over of their second attempt and needed Dimuth Karunaratne’s 50, as well as some lost-cause humpty for the eighth wicket, to prevent total humiliation. Karunaratne, having avoided a pair, survived being dropped on 16 to record his highest score of the series but there was little resistance forthcoming from elsewhere.South Africa’s bowlers gave an exhibition in how to hunt tentative prey on a fast pitch but some of the catching was just as spectacular. They saved their best efforts in the field for Sri Lanka’s captain, Angelo Mathews, who was dismissed twice in the day. Quinton de Kock had produced a pearler in the first innings but du Plessis surpassed him with another one-handed effort (without the aid of gloves) at second slip, from a fierce, top-edged hack by Mathews, leaping to take the ball high above his head before landing on his knees and roaring like a gladiator over a vanquished opponent.When Rabada burst through to rattle Karunaratne’s stumps shortly before tea – which was put back to make up for time lost on day two – the end was in sight. Suranga Lakmal proceeded to thrash 31 off 26 during a 43-run frolic with Upul Tharanga to take Sri Lanka past their first-innings 131 but another brilliant running catch from JP Duminy ended the fun as Parnell and Olivier shared the last three wickets without conceding a run to seal a hefty innings win.Rabada had been held back until second change in the first innings but this time du Plessis gave the crowd what they wanted. His opening salvo was a beast of a delivery: Kaushal Silva reacted as if bitten by a cobra but could not remove his glove in time as the ball reared at him from a length.Kusal Mendis almost suffered the same fate to his first ball and also edged short of first slip but Sri Lanka made it to lunch one down. Rabada beat Mendis with the regularity of a sheet-metal worker as the close catchers prowled and supporters on the grass banks hooted encouragement; Mendis responded by shifting his stance on to leg stump and trying to come down the pitch to Philander. It was a high-wire act and, after striking five boundaries, Mendis chopped an inswinging delivery from Parnell into the top of off stump.Parnell ought to have had the wicket of Karunaratne earlier in the over but Dean Elgar could not hold a low edge going two-handed to his right from third slip. The second-wicket stand did yield 37 runs but Sri Lanka were trying to construct a cardboard fort in a howling Highveld gale, as Dhananjaya de Silva and Dinesh Chandimal both fell providing catching practice to the slips.During the morning session, South Africa claimed the six wickets they required to make Sri Lanka bat again in just 17 overs. With a lively Wanderers surface at their disposal, Du Plessis judged correctly that his attack had enough left in the tank, having lost some 25 overs on the second evening and with the possibility of rain returning at some point.It had threatened to be a carve up from the moment South Africa had the ball in hand and, without the bad weather to delay them, the bowlers were quickly back into their work. In his second over of the morning, Philander moved the ball seductively away from Chandimal to graze the outside edge and provide a catch for de Kock.Mathews fell to the same manner of dismissal – at least as far as the scorecard was concerned. He had already successfully reviewed Bruce Oxenford’s lbw decision off Philander, saved by a thin inside edge with height also in question, when he fended at a rapid delivery from Rabada that held its line outside off. The edge may have been travelling straight to Hashim Amla at first slip but de Kock got there first, intercepting one-handed at full stretch, a magnificent catch even if it didn’t quite stick cleanly in the glove at the first attempt.Sri Lanka had raised three figures by that point but would not get much further. Olivier claimed his first Test wicket with a venomous bouncer that Rangana Herath could only dolly to square leg via an awkward contortion and a brief flurry of blows from Tharanga could not delay the inevitable.Lakmal chipped Parnell lackadaisically to extra cover and Olivier then achieved some extra bounce from a length to take the shoulder of the bat and extract Tharanga. Nuwan Pradeep was the last to fall, popping a catch back to the bowler; Parnell adjudged to have taken the ball just above the turf after several replays for the third umpire. A few hours later he was celebrating finishing off the Sri Lanka innings for a second time.

India showed they were not one-trick ponies by choosing to field on what turned out to be a proper Test-match first-day pitch and bowling out South Africa for 214

The Report by Sidharth Monga14-Nov-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
2:02

Manjrekar: The way de Villiers plays spin is remarkable

Virat Kohli’s India showed they were not one-trick ponies, choosing to field on what turned out to be a proper Test-match first-day pitch and bowling out South Africa for 214 in a little over two sessions. The show of intent was clear: on a pitch that looked damp they went in with just the five batsmen, brought in an extra seamer and when they found no help for the quicks, the spinners ran through the hapless visitors. India were on in the field too: every ball was chased down with intent, and there were at least three excellent catches taken.Playing his 100th Test, AB de Villiers put up a workshop to show his team-mates that it was possible to bat in India – scoring 85 off 105 out of the 132 runs that came while he was at the wicket – but R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets each. Ashwin removed Stiaan van Zyl and Faf du Plessis in his first over, the eighth of the day, and Jadeja was responsible for the big wicket of de Villiers. Only some poor running by Imran Tahir and Kyle Abbott denied one of them a five-for.India might have misread the conditions a little, but they certainly did not have enough time to fret over it. This was only the 20th time in 246 Tests in India that a side had decided to field. Bangalore had taken a lot of rain in the week leading up to the Test. Kohli felt there was moisture underneath the surface, and overheads in such weather in Bangalore generally assist movement in the air. Accordingly Kohli brought in Binny ahead of Amit Mishra, retaining Varun Aaron ahead of Umesh Yadav, who had to make way for the returning Ishant Sharma.It will be fair to assume from the first few overs that India expected more from the pitch. Ishant and Binny – opening the bowling – found little bounce or seam movement in what was a comfortable start for the South Africa openers. Before unease could set in, though, Kohli had the luxury of going to Ashwin, who is in such imperious form that South Africa have been playing the man and not the ball.The first ball Ashwin bowled was short of a length and into the pads. As Dean Elgar took an easy single, Ashwin held his hand up in apology to his captain. The standards are high for what is expected of Ashwin nowadays. Immediately he corrected both the line and the length, and for the second time this series van Zyl played a new-ball offbreak from Ashwin for the turn, and was trapped plumb lbw by the actual ball, which only straightened marginally.
In came du Plessis, unsure of his defence, and jumped out of his crease, hoping for something in his reach. Ashwin refused to oblige, the dip on the ball taking it away from du Plessis, who flicked at it hopelessly. Cheteshwar Pujara, at forward short leg, plucked a low one. Du Plessis’ scores in the Tests now read 0, 1 and 0 after 62, 51, 60, 17 and 133 in the ODIs.Aaron went for 12 in his first two overs, but Kohli persisted with him. In his third over, he bowled a length that hit top of the stumps, and then got it to hold the line to square Hashim Amla up and send the off stump cartwheeling. Had Amla been slightly forward, he would have covered the movement, which was slight, but it is quite possible it was Aaron’s pace that kept Amla from pressing forward. The seam on this delivery pointed to fine leg, and yet it moved away.An encouragingly bigger crowd than the one in Mohali gave a warm welcome to de Villiers, and India offered him four overthrows early on. That was pretty much the last freebie he would get. His team-mates, who just needed to be there with him, were just as uncharitable. Just after lunch, Elgar swept Jadeja from his improvised guard of off stump, possibly slightly outside. He had managed a good connection on a similar shot before lunch, but this time he tickled it fine, and onto his own stumps. JP Duminy struggled for 15 in a 42-run partnership before edging Ashwin to slip when playing back: had he pressed forward he would have struggled to get to the pitch anyway because this turned from an in-between length.De Villiers, 44 off 54 now, looked sublime amid chaos. Almost every ball that was slightly loose was put away. The pick of the shots came when he danced down to a 90kmph Jadeja delivery, and managed to drive it through extra cover for four. It is difficult to score runs alone, though. Dane Vilas provided him company for 15 runs in a 39-run partnership, but much like Dale Steyn in Mohali, Vilas lost his head here, stepping out and chipping Jadeja back for a return catch.De Villiers took up the scoring duties exclusively now, manipulating fields that were spread out for him. When he danced down the wicket to Jadeja in the last over before tea, he too was found taking defensive action. The ball lobbed up from around the pad area, and Wriddhiman Saha flew to where the forward short leg would have been to take a stunner. The third umpire confirmed that the low catch was clean, but did not contemplate whether de Villiers had hit the ball. No more replays were shown. Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott added 37 for the ninth wicket to take South Africa to their first 200 in the series, but Binny ended that stand with a brilliant catch running behind and over his shoulder.Just the right time for India openers then to drive the screw in. The first target was for Shikhar Dhawan to get off the mark in the series, and then for the first wicket to reach 20 for the first time in nine Test innings. Then they batted fluently and without pressure, which has been a rare event, with a long time spent on the road. Imran Tahir provided the exclamation mark to South Africa’s day of horror, dropping M Vijay on 21. Dhawan raced away to 45 off 62, the time saved might come in handy should forecasts for rain materialise during the rest of the Test. A word of warning for South Africa: all of Dhawan’s scores of more than 37 have been 81 and upwards.

What could be the last hurrah for several teams hoping for a chance to reach a World Cup begins on Sunday in Bermuda when World Cricket League Division Three gets underway

Peter Della Penna28-Apr-2013What could be the last hurrah for several teams hoping for a chance to reach a World Cup begins on Sunday in Bermuda when World Cricket League Division Three gets underway. The top two teams in this tournament advance to the 2014 World Cup Qualifier due to be held in New Zealand. With the 2019 World Cup slated to include only 10 teams, World Cup 2015 may be the last chance any of these sides will ever get at making a run at a major 50-over global tournament.Nepal is the hungriest of the six sides in Bermuda looking to devour the likes of Italy, Oman, Uganda, USA and the hosts, Bermuda, in the round-robin event. The country has had traditionally strong junior teams but under the leadership of coach Pubudu Dassanayake, they are finally getting the maximum out of their talent at the senior level. Nepal went undefeated at Division Four in Malaysia last September to earn a spot in Bermuda and they haven’t slowed down one bit since.In October, they earned a share of the Asian Cricket Council Trophy Elite 50-over tournament after tying with the UAE in the final in Sharjah. Four weeks ago in the ACC Twenty20 Cup, they made it to the final on home soil before losing to Afghanistan. They used to be a team that relied heavily on their spin bowlers, but now the batting has caught up, easing the pressure on their captain Paras Khadka.Nepal’s only challenge appears to be whether or not their arsenal of left-arm orthodox spinners – Shakti Gauchan, Basant Regmi and Rahul Vishvakarma – are able to adjust bowling on some of the smaller grounds that may be used in the tournament. Regardless, they are favorites to come out on top in a field that lacks tremendous depth.The second spot available for promotion into the 2014 World Cup Qualifier will most likely be a dogfight between USA and Italy. USA has the advantage of having familiarity with conditions after visiting Bermuda in 2010 for an ICC Americas tournament. They also have recent form on their side with an undefeated run at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament.However, it remains to be seen how the team responds to the absence of Aditya Thyagarajan and Usman Shuja. The two senior players were dropped for the tournament, adding to the weight of responsibility of captain Steve Massiah to perform for USA. He has not scored a century in live competition since 2006, but turned in triple figures for USA in a 186-run win over Uganda on Friday in a warm-up fixture ahead of USA’s first match against Nepal on Sunday.Italy showed how serious they were taking this tournament by being one of the earliest arrivals in Bermuda, landing a full week ahead of the event. Allrounder Peter Petricola will once again be a major factor in the outcome of Italy’s fortunes.Uganda’s heavy defeat to USA in a warm-up match is a strong indication that the African side will struggle. Oman are an underdog as well and a loss at the hands of Kuwait during the ACC Twenty20 Cup last month may be a harbinger of a long week in Bermuda. Under normal circumstances that would be nothing to complain about in a beautiful island nation, but not so much with a spot in the World Cup Qualifier at stake.Traditionally the host sides in World Cricket League play have fared very well, but Bermuda is a side on the decline and they may wind up finding themselves closer to fighting against relegation to Division Four instead of promotion by the end of the eight-day event. They looked ragged last month in Florida and suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of Suriname during the Americas Twenty20 tournament.Making things more difficult for them is the absence of teenagers Kamau Leverock and Joshua Gilbert, who are missing the tournament due to school commitments. It’ll be up to David Hemp and Janeiro Tucker to turn back the clock and relive their form of yesteryear if Bermuda is to have any chance of getting back to the World Cup, which they made in 2007.But five other teams are eager for that chance too and unlike Bermuda none of the others have ever tasted World Cup competition. This week will provide them their first, and possibly last, chance to get there and take on the Full Members in Australia and New Zealand in 2015.