Rangana Herath magical Spell Helps To Achieve Innings Victory For Sri Lanka Against West Indies

Spinner ends match with ten wickets as West Indies beaten by innings and six runs after lunch on Day 4

Rangana Herath finished with ten wickets in the match as Sri Lanka eased to an innings and six runs victory over the West Indies, an hour and 15 minutes after lunch on the fourth day of the first Test in Galle on Saturday (October 17).
 
Herath took 4 for 79 as the West Indies was bowled out for 227 all out in the second innings at the Galle International Stadium, finishing with match-figures of 10 for 147, the fifth time the left-arm spinner has taken 10 wickets in a match. Herath had taken 6 for 68 in the first innings with a dazzling display that forced the West Indies to follow on after being all out for 251. Sri Lanka had made 484 in its only innings, driven by centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne (186) and Dinesh Chandimal (151).
 
On the fourth day, the Caribbean side had resumed on 67 for 2, but by lunch, it had slipped to 156 for 6.
 
The West Indies innings struggled to gather momentum from the start, with Devendra Bishoo, the nightwatchman, caught by Angelo Mathews off the bowling of Herath with the score at just 74. The very next ball, Herath trapped Marlon Samuels leg before.
 
Though the spinner missed out on a hat-trick, Sri Lanka strengthened its position with Darren Bravo (31) falling to a peach of a swinger by Nuwan Pradeep that edged back to Kusal Janith Perera behind the stumps.
 
Denesh Ramdin was next to fall, caught at slip off the bowling of Milinda Siriwardana.
 
Jermaine Blackwood kept up a manful resistance, making 92 off 135 balls with three sixes and 10 fours, before becoming the last man to fall, holing out off Dhammika Prasad in the 69th over.
 
Before that, Herath had captured his tenth wicket of the match, getting Kemar Roach out stumped in a passage of play that ended a brief fightback initiated by Blackwood and Jason Holder, the West Indies captain. The two put on 36 runs for the seventh wicket on either side of the lunch break, but once Holder was run out by Mathews, the end was near, with West Indies going from 172 for 6 to 189 for 9.
 
Blackwood hit out in the last-wicket stand with Shannon Gabriel as West Indies came close to making Sri Lanka bat again, but he fell eight short of a century, with the home side competing an innings win.

Source: ICC

Karunaratne Puts Sri Lanka In Strong Position With His Cleaver Century

Opener's unbeaten 135 and an unbroken 149-run stand with Chandimal takes home team to 250 for 2 on opening day of first Test against West Indies

Sri Lanka, riding on a third Test century from Dimuth Karunaratne, the opening batsman, made a strong start to the first Test against West Indies, reaching 250 for 2 at close of play on the opening day. 
 
Karunaratne was unbeaten on 135 and had Dinesh Chandimal (72 not out) for company at stumps on a hot Wednesday (October 14) at Galle International Stadium. 
 
West Indies' pacers bowled a probing line and length early on after Angelo Mathews won the toss and opted to bat. But Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva gave Sri Lanka a steady start through a 56-run opening-wicket stand out of which Silva contributed 17. Kemar Roach broke the partnership just before lunch when a full-length ball close to off stump induced an edge from Silva and Denesh Ramdin, the wicketkeeper, held on.
  
Lahiru Thirimanne got a reprieve when Darren Bravo dropped him in the slips when he was on 6. But that did not prove too costly as Thirimanne fell three overs later when he mistimed a lofted shot off Devendra Bishoo, the legspinner, that was held at short mid-wicket by Rajendra Chandrika, the substitute fielder.
 
That brought Karunaratne and Chandimal together. Their unbroken third-wicket association has been worth 149 so far. 

Karunaratne showed a few signs of aggression in the final session of the day. He raised his century in style by lofting Bishoo over mid-wicket. That remains his only six so far, in addition to ten fours. 
 
After the promising start, West Indies' bowlers were made to work hard in tough conditions. They frequently asked questions of Sri Lanka's batsmen but did not find much luck. Between them, Marlon Samuels and Bishoo, the spinners, bowled 40 of the overs on the day.

Source: ICC

West Indies And Pakistan Looking High Position Ahead Of ICC Women's Championship

In all, the sides will play four ODI’s in St. Lucia, with the opening game on Friday the only clash that will not count towards the ICC Women’s Championship

“I know this series will be competitive”, says West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor
 
West Indies has a chance to join Australia at the top of the ICC Women’s Championship table if it can blank Pakistan when they go head to head in round four of the ICC Women’s Championship, which starts in St. Lucia on Friday.

A 3-0 series victory would elevate Stafanie Taylor’s side, which currently lies a point clear of England in third position, to the top of the table. A 2-1 win for the hosts would also see it progress and leapfrog second-placed South Africa, and in that scenario Sana Mir’s team would also move up to fourth place. In the event of a 3-0 away victory for Pakistan, it would move into second place on 14 points.

In all, the sides will play four ODI’s in St. Lucia, with the opening game on Friday the only clash that will not count towards the ICC Women’s Championship, which is a qualifying tournament for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, which is being participated in by Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies.
 
The top four sides from the ICC Women’s Championship will gain automatic qualification for the event proper which is to be staged in England, while the bottom four sides will get a final chance of qualification through the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in 2017. The tournament structure sees each team will play each other in one home or away series that will include three ODIs over a two and a half year period. As such, each side is guaranteed at least 21 ODIs over the tournament period.

In welcoming Pakistan to the Caribbean ahead of the start of the series, West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor also outlined her side’s ambitions to progress up the rankings. “I would like to welcome Pakistan to the West Indies and we are extremely excited as we look forward with anticipation to this upcoming series”, she said. 

“The ICC Women’s Championship has been an excellent initiative and it has given the top eight countries an opportunity to participate against each other. I know this series will be competitive; ultimately our aim is to move up the rankings and as such we plan to dominate at home, thereby achieving a clean sweep.”

Pakistan captain Sana Mir added: “We know that the West Indies will be difficult opponents, but we travel with confidence and we’re keen to get some points to enable us to move up the ICC Women’s Championship table. We have a good blend of youth and experience and it will be a superb challenge for our younger players, especially in conditions which are a whole lot different than what we are used to.

“The West Indies are a strong side with some outstanding individuals right across their team. You only need to look at their standing in the rankings to see that. So it will be a good test and one we’re indeed excited about it.”

In the ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for Bowlers, the top 10 features three West Indies players with second-placed Anisa Mohammed holding a 13-point lead over off-spinner Taylor. Shanel Daley lies in 11th position and will be aiming to reduce Dane van Niekerk’s 11-point advantage, while Tremayne Smartt (18th) is three appearances short of the 50-cap mark and the only other player inside the top 20. Pakistan duo Asmavia Iqbal and Nida Dar are tied for 22nd place, while the other bowlers set to feature in the series are Shakera Selman (22nd), Bismah Maroof (47th) and Anam Amin (48th), who trails Maroof by six points.

West Indies head into the series with the highest ranked batters in the latest ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for Batters on either side in sixth-placed Taylor and Deandra Dottin (ninth). The highest ranked Pakistan batter is Bismah Maroof (12th) whose next ODI will be her 75thappearance for her country. Other batters who are likely to feature in the series are Kycia Knight (28th), Nain Abidi (31st) and Hayley Matthews (35th). In total, 28 points and six places separate Merissa Aguilleira (42nd), Sana Mir (44th) and Asmavia Iqbal (48th) who will all be eyeing an improvement in their rankings.

Taylor continues to lead the all-rounders’ ranking and holds a strong advantage over Australia’s Ellyse Perry.

Match Officials: Gregory Brathwaite, Jacqueline Williams, Joel Wilson
Squads
West Indies (from): Stafanie Taylor (captain), Merissa Aguilleira, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Stacy-Ann King, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt

Pakistan (from): Sana Mir (captain), Nain Abidi, Anam Amin, Sidra Amin, Diana Baig, Nida Dar, Asmavia Iqbal, Marina Iqbal, Sania Iqbal, Iram Javed, Bismah Maroof, Aliya Riaz, Rabiya Shah, Sumaiya Siddiqui, Javeria Wadood, Ayesha Zafar
Forthcoming fixtures

West Indies v Pakistan
16 October – First ODI, St. Lucia
18 October – Second ODI, St. Lucia*
21 October – Third ODI, St. Lucia*
24 October – Fourth ODI, St. Lucia*
*Denotes ICC Women’s Championship fixture
 
Points table:

ICC Women's Championship 2014 - 2016
Teams	P	W	L	Tie	N/R	Points	NRR
Australia	9	8	1	0	0	16	0.922
South Africa	9	5	3	0	1	11	0.097
West Indies	9	5	4	0	0	10	0.382
England	9	4	4	0	1	9	-0.163
Pakistan	9	4	5	0	0	8	-0.145
New Zealand	9	4	5	0	0	8	-0.509
Sri Lanka	9	2	6	0	1	5	-0.232
India	9	2	6	0	1	5	-0.286

 
Note – two points for a win, no point for a loss and one point for a no-result
ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings:
 
The ICC Women's Championship is being contested by the following eight teams who have been seeded according to their rankings following the ICC Women’s World Cup India 2013:
1.     Australia
2.     West Indies
3.     England
4.     New Zealand
5.     Sri Lanka
6.     South Africa
7.     India
8.     Pakistan
 
Following the completion of the round-robin matches, the final standings of the points table will represent each team’s final event ranking, and the top four teams will automatically qualify for the ICC WWC 2017.

ICC Women’s Player Rankings (as on 14 October, ahead of West Indies-Pakistan series):  
Batting
 
Rank     Player                Team     Points     Ave         Highest Ranking
   1          Meg Lanning       Aus        796*!    47.21    796 v Eng at Worcester 2015
   2           Sarah Taylor       Eng        717       40.22    803 v Aus at Chelmsford 2009
   3          C. Edwards          Eng        695       38.21    749 v NZ at Lincoln 2015
   4          Mithali Raj          Ind         679       48.82    839 v Aus at Baroda Vadodar 2004
   5          Suzie Bates          NZ          674       36.54    734 v WI at Kingston 2013
   6          Stafanie Taylor   WI          657       43.26    765 v Ind at St Kitts (WP) 2012
   7          H. Kaur                Ind         643       35.62    678 v SA at Bangalore 2014
   8          Ellyse Perry         Aus        640!      38.86    640 v Eng at Worcester 2015
   9          Deandra Dottin   WI          620       28.73    650 v NZ at Kingston 2013
  10         Alex Blackwell   Aus        570       33.29    683 v Ind at Canberra 2008

Selected Others:
 
Rank    Player                  Team     Points      Ave        Highest Ranking
  12         Bismah Maroof   Pak         551!      25.29    551 v Ban at Karachi 2015
  28         Kycia Knight       WI          398*     20.16    404 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2015
  31         Nain Abidi           Pak         386       19.22    459 v Ire at Dublin 2012
  35         H. Matthews        WI          366*!    37.25    366 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2015
  42         M. Aguilleira       WI          323       18.40    526 v SA at St Kitts (WP) 2013
  44         Sana Mir              Pak         319       15.77    326 v SA at Sharjah 2015
  48         Asmavia Iqbal     Pak         295       13.72    309 v SA at Sharjah 2015

Bowling
Rank     Player                 Team     Points      Ave    Econ         Highest Ranking
   1          J. Goswami          Ind         765       20.98    3.16      796 v Eng at Chennai 2007
   2          A. Mohammed    WI          672       17.38    3.22      704 v Aus at Sydney 2014
   3          Stafanie Taylor   WI          659       18.14    3.08      768 v NZ at Kingston 2013
   4          Katherine Brunt  Eng        656       23.26    3.37      796 v Ind at Mumbai 2013
   5          Ellyse Perry         Aus        608       24.08    4.25      698 v Ind at Mumbai 2012
   6          Sana Mir              Pak         588       23.80    3.41      610 v SA at Sharjah 2015
   7          Shibnam Ismail   SA          583*     18.40    3.45      595 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2014
   8          Jenny Gunn         Eng        582       27.63    3.77      693 v Ind at Scarborough 2014
   9          D. van Niekerk   SA          579*     16.13    3.24      583 v Ind at Bangalore 2014
  10         Shanel Daley       WI          568       22.09    3.33      664 v NZ at St Kitts (WP) 2014

Selected Others:
 
Rank     Player                  Team      Points      Ave    Econ         Highest Ranking
  18         T.Smartt                              WI          497*     31.00    3.70      524 v NZ at St Kitts (WP) 2014
  22=      Asmavia Iqbal     Pak         442       31.74    4.10      458 v SA at Sharjah 2015
               Nida Dar              Pak         442*     21.09    3.51      463 v Ban at Cox's Bazar 2014
  29         Shakera Selman  WI          405*     25.53    3.36      467 v NZ at St Kitts (WP) 2014
  47         Bismah Maroof   Pak         306*!    21.83    3.58      306 v Ban at Karachi 2015
  48         Anam Amin         Pak         300*!    8.06      2.01      300 v Ban at Karachi 2015

All-rounders
 
Rank     Player                 Team    Points                     Highest Ranking
   1          Stafanie Taylor   WI          433                       560 v NZ at Kingston 2013
   2          Ellyse Perry        Aus        389!                     389 v Eng at Worcester 2015
   3          J. Goswami        Ind         307!                     307 v NZ at Bangalore 2015
   4          D. van Niekerk   SA          281*/*!                  281 v Pak at Sharjah 2015
   5          Suzie Bates        NZ          255!                     255 v Ind at Bangalore 2015

Source : ICC

Confirmed Teams For ICC Champions Trophy 2017

30 September 2017 is the next important cut-off date, which is for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

Bangladesh will return to the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time since 2006 after the eight sides were confirmed for the 2017 tournament, which will be hosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) from 1 to 18 June.

Bangladesh has replaced the West Indies, which finished outside the top eight in ninth position, in the ICC ODI Team Rankings on the 30 September 2015 cut-off date.

The eight sides to play in the short and sharp, nation-versus-nation ICC Champions Trophy 2017 are (in rankings order): world champion Australia, title holder India, 1998 winner South Africa, 2000 champion New Zealand, 2002 co-winner Sri Lanka, host England, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Bangladesh’s last participation in the ICC Champions Trophy was in India, when it featured in the qualifying round. It lost to Sri Lanka (by 37 runs) and the West Indies (by 10 wickets). Its only victory was against Zimbabwe by 101 runs.

Since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Bangladesh cricket has been on a high and has produced very strong performances. It won ODI series against Pakistan, India and South Africa, which has helped it jump from ninth to seventh in the ICC ODI Team Rankings.

The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will be a 15-match tournament, with teams split into two groups of four, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the semi-finals. The groups and the schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy will be announced in due course.

With the sides for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 now confirmed, the next important qualification date in the diaries of the 12 teams on the ICC ODI Team Rankings will be 30 September 2017.

That is the date when the top eight ranked sides on the ICC ODI Team Rankings will earn direct qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to be hosted by the ECB. The bottom four sides will get a second chance to complete the 10-team line-up in the ICC Cricket World Cup when they will be joined by teams from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018.

As such, all bilateral ODI cricket in the lead up to 30 September 2017, including the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, will now have greater importance as only 27 points separate second-ranked India from ninth-ranked West Indies.

ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 30 September 2015, top eight sides have qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017):

Rank   Team             Points

1          Australia         127

2          India               115

3          South Africa    110

4          New Zealand  109

5          Sri Lanka        103

6          England          100

7          Bangladesh     96

8          Pakistan          90

9          West Indies     88

10        Ireland             49

11        Zimbabwe       45

12        Afghanistan    41

Source: ICC