Bermuda v Bahamas International Series Wrap

The Bermuda national men’s team played host to their counterparts from Bahamas this weekend for a five-game friendly series, with one fifty-over clash and four T20 games played over four days on the beautiful mid-Atlantic island .

For the Bermuda Cricket Board, the series was arranged as a test event, both off and on the field, to help it prepare for hosting the ICC Twenty20 World Cup Americas Regional qualifier tournament next month, where it will play alongside the USA, Canada and the Cayman Islands.

Accordingly, the first three games were held at White Hill Field in Sandys Parish in the western end of Bermuda, which is to be used as the second venue for the WT20 qualifiers, with the last two held at the National Sports Centre in Devonshire just outside the capital Hamilton.

On the pitch, coach Herbie Bascombe assembled a large squad of both senior and junior players for the series, with the aim of giving as many players as possible a taste of international cricket ahead of selecting a smaller squad for the WT20 qualifiers.

For the Bahamas, the games presented a rare opportunity to play international cricket as they look to build the sport’s profile back home and move up the ICC rankings.

Day 1 – Fifty-Over International

The first game was held on Thursday 25th July at White Hill. Batting first, the hosts amassed 269/7 from their 50 overs, led by an imperious century from big opener Treadwell Gibbons, whose enjoyment at reaching three figures was cut short as he retired hurt immediately afterwards, hobbling off to a fine ovation from teammates, opponents and spectators alike.

White Hill Field during the 50-over clash. Photograph by Neil Joynson
The scoreboard at White Hill marks the century and retirement of Bermuda’s Treadwell Gibbons. Photograph by Neil Joynson

He was assisted by Pierre Smith who notched a fifty in an opening partnership of 137 with Gibbons, and a 22-ball 37 from 18-year old Dalin Richardson, Bermuda’s Under 19 captain, fresh from scoring a half century for the U-19s against Argentina in Canada a couple of weeks ago. For the Bahamas, captain Gregory Taylor notched three Bermudian wickets, as did Randolph Fox.

In their reply the Bahamas were blasted out for 107 in just 25.4 overs, with Ryan Tappin top scoring on 24. With the ball, Bermuda were led by quick bowlers Mackih McGowan (4-29) and Kwasi James (3-19).

Scorecard here

Day 2 – Twenty20 games #1 and #2

The next day, White Hill saw attention switch to the shorter format of the game, with two T20s, although despite both Bermuda and Bahamas being accredited by the ICC, and the ICC’s decision to grant all 20-over games between member associations full T20I status, these games were not granted that full status.

However, that did little to dampen their importance to both sides. This is the format Bermuda will be focusing on most ahead of the all-important ICC qualifier next month, and it is the format that will allow Bahamas to gain official status for the first time at some stage in their future.

In the morning game, Bahamas batted first and struggled to 73 all out from 14.5 overs, with Tappin again top scoring on 25. Captain Greg Taylor indicated after the game that his side had very little experience playing on a turf wicket, and struggled with the slow pace of the track. Bermuda selected in their XI their star all-rounder Kamau Leverock, back home for a stint from his place with Nottinghamshire second XI in England. He claimed 4 wickets for 22 runs with the ball, but even this was outshone by teammate Dion Stovall who returned the astonishing figures of 4-2 off 2 overs!

Bermuda quickly knocked off their target of 74 in just 6.2 overs, but not before Greg Irving got the big wicket of Leverock for a second ball duck!

The Bahamas fared much better in the afternoon game, bringing up 136/8 off their 20 overs batting first, led by a fine 60 from Marc Taylor, younger brother of Greg. Charles Trott highlighted the bowling figures for the hosts, with 3-16. In the second innings, Bermuda overcame the target in 14.2 overs, with half centuries for Terryn Fray (56) and Oronde Bascome (52*).

The Taylor brothers, Marc and Greg, bat for Bahamas in the 2nd T20. Photograph by Neil Joynson.

Scorecard Game #1 here

Scorecards Game #2 here

Day 3 – Twenty20 games #3 and #4

Saturday 27th July was a rest fay for the visitors, with most of the Bermuda team playing in trial matches for Somerset and St Georges ahead of the domestic classic Cup Match next week, so it was not until Sunday that the teams met again in two more T20s. These games were played at the impressive North field at the National Sports Centre.

The crowd watches on at the National Sports Centre. Photograph by Neil Joynson

There was heavy rain ahead of the morning game which didn’t help the track, and Bahamas again struggled to 72/9 which Bermuda easily chased down scoring 73/2.

In the final T20 of the series on Sunday afternoon, Bahamas again batted first and showing some signs of fatigue from an arduous few days, limped along to 62/9 from 19 overs, hampered by an injury to key batsman Tappin who was forced to retire on 10. Dennis Brangman topped the bowling figures for the hosts with 3-12, and opening bat Gibbons chipped in with 2 wickets as well.

Bermuda chased their final target easily, with opener Allan Douglas hitting a fine 31 from 20 balls before falling c&b to Randolph Fox. Fittingly, it was left to first day centurion Gibbons to hit the winning runs sealing a 5-0 series win for the Gombey Warriors.

Scorecard Game #3 – tbc

Scorecard Game #4 here

Bermuda’s Treadwell Gibbons hits the winning runs in the final T20. Photograph by Neil Joynson
The two teams share a handshake at the end of the tour. Photograph by Neil Joynson

Pakistan v New Zealand – T20I Series Preview

What do bears, bats, and squirrels have in common with the New Zealand cricket team? They all go into hibernation over winter of course!

The BlackCaps have not played a single day of competitive cricket in any format since the 3rd of April, a gap of nigh-on seven whole months. In the modern age of packed international schedules, this seems like a strange anomaly, and you’d be forgiven for having forgotten what Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and their cohorts look like!

Above: a bear emerging from hibernation, or is it Kane Williamson?!

But the wait is nearly over for us to reacquaint ourselves with the friendlier type of Antipodean cricketer, as Williamson leads his men out of their long winter hiatus, and into an all-format tour of the UAE to play Pakistan in three T20Is , three ODIs and three Tests.

The T20s are up first, starting on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, with the remaining two games on Friday and Sunday in Dubai.

After the recent Pakistan-Australia series was played out for a giant Tuc-cracker trophy, we await with baited breath to see what comedy cup the sponsors come up with for this series – maybe a giant pavlova in honour of the visitors?!

Whatever form the trophy takes, getting their hands on it will present a daunting challenge for New Zealand, especially allowing for the lack of match practice and the unfamiliar conditions in the Middle East. Pakistan are on a high – the number one ranked T20 side in the world have just wrapped up a crushing 3-0 series win over the Australians, and have only lost four of their last thirty games in the format, stretching back over 2-and-a-half years.

By contrast, New Zealand, ranked fifth, have only won two games out of their last eight and lost a three-match home series against Pakistan 2-1 at home at the beginning of the year. They have also been rocked by the absence through injury of opening batsman Martin Guptill – the leading run-scorer in mens’ T20 international history. His loss will be keenly felt.

A tough ask then for the BlackCaps, but hopefully they put up more of a challenge than Australia did, and we can see some close contests unfold in the UAE.

There are a number of individual statistical milestones within reach for players of both sides over the three-game series:

Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

Already having made more T20 International appearances than anyone else, Malik has a chance to overtake the absent Guptill and move top of the run-scorers list too. Having scored 2153 runs in T20Is, he leapfrogged another Kiwi, Brendon McCullum, into second in the last of the three recent games against Australia – and would need 119 runs here to take Guptill’s crown.

Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan)

Teammate Hafeez is currently tenth on that list with 1775 runs – and needs just 18 runs to overtake Australia’s suspended David Warner and move into ninth. 84 runs would see him move ahead of JP Duminy into eighth.

Ross Taylor (New Zealand)

Veteran Taylor has notched up 14,963 runs for New Zealand across all formats, needing just 37 to reach a very impressive 15,000 mark.

In Twenty20 Internationals he has 1415, so 85 more will see him become the third Kiwi to 1500.

Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

The Kiwi skipper for his part has 11,810 runs in all formats for the Blackcaps, which sees him in fifth place amongst his countrymen. Nathan Astle’s 11,866 is just 57 runs away from being usurped.

Tim Southee (New Zealand)

Quick bowler Southee has 62 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals, enough for joint eleventh place all-time, alongside South Africa’s Imran Tahir. A series haul of just six wickets here however could see him rocket up to sixth place – leaving Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, as well as Ajantha Menthis, Nuwan Kulasekara and Stuart Broad, in his wake!

South Africa v Zimbabwe – Twenty20 International Series Preview

Fresh from finishing off a 3-0 ODI series sweep against their African neighbours Zimbabwe on Saturday, the South African men’s team now face a three game T20 International series against the same opponents.

Like the ODI series, the matches are to be played at some of South Africa’s “lesser” provincial grounds – the first at Buffalo Park in East London on Tuesday, and the second and third at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom and Willowmoore Park in Benoni.

Above: Buffalo Park (East London) and Senwes Park (Potchefstroom)

Although Zimbabwe showed some fight in the ODI series, especially the final game in Paarl, the Proteas will once again be strong favourites. Zimbabwe have lost their last eight T20 internationals dating back to June 2016, leading to them being ranked 12th in the format, behind Scotland. By contrast, South Africa are ranked sixth, although themselves are coming off a T20 loss to Sri Lanka in August, and a 2-1 series defeat to India earlier this year.

Zimbabwe have never actually beaten their neighbours in the shortest format, although they have only played three games together, so not a great smaple size. In fact this series will double the number of times the side have met!

Zimbabwe will once again have some of their most important players back in the squad, including Brendan Taylor, but are still missing former captain Graeme Cremer and all-rounder Sikander Raza following their falling out with the governing body.

For their part, South Africa will use the series to further explore their squad depth, and could hand debuts to two uncapped players in their squad – Gihahn Cloete and Rassie van der Dussen.

Aside from the potential debutants, there are a number of significant milestones for us to keep an eye on as the week unfolds.

Firstly, a little trivia in that the third game in Benoni will be the 700th Twenty20 International match with full ICC status worldwide. That number is likely to grow rapidly from 1 January 2019 of course, when all T20s between associate or full members of the ICC will be granted full T20 status.

Hamilton Masakadza (Zimbabwe)

Zimbabwe’s skipper is already his country’s leading T20 appearance maker and run scorer, and needs just six runs to reach 1,500 runs in the format.

JP Duminy (South Africa)

All rounder Duminy, if selected for two of the three series games, will overtake the retired AB de Villiers as the Proteas’ leading T20 international appearance maker. He is currently on 77 caps to de Villiers’ 78.

Imran Tahir (South Afrca)

One of the best short format bowlers in the world, Imran Tahir is just tow arms-outstretched wheeling celebrations away from becoming the Proteas’ leading wicket taker in the T20 format, overtaking Dale Steyn’s 58 scalps.

Afghanistan v Bangladesh – T20I Series preview

In  two weeks Afghanistan will follow Ireland into the ranks of Test playing nations, when they make their bow in the prestigious format against India in Bengalaru. Ahead of that much anticipated game, the Afghans last assignment as a non-Test team will be a three match Twenty20 International series against Bangladesh, which gets underway on Sunday 3rd June.

All three games, with the second and third matches taking place on Tuesday and Thursday, are being held in Afghanistan’s defacto home in India. These will be the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehardun’s first ever internationals having opened in December 2016. It will become the 51st stadium in India to host official international games.

Above: The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehardun makes its debut international appearance in the series.

The series also marks the first bilateral engagement between the two countires. In fact, they have only ever met once before in a Twenty20 International – Bangladesh running out the winners in a first round game at the 2014 World Twenty20 tournament in Dhaka.

As well as “home” advantage, form in the shortest format would also appear to be on Afghanistan’s side heading into the series. They have won two of their last three series – in Sharjah against Zimbabwe in February this year and against Ireland at Greater Noida in India last year. Sandwiched between those wins was a 3-0 series loss to the West Indies in the Caribbean.

For their part, Bangladesh lost to India in the final of their most recent tournament – the Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-Series held in Sri Lanka – and have in fact only won four of their last twenty T20 Internationals. That poor form sees them ranked a lowly tenth in the format, compared to Afghanistan’s eighth.

So a keenly fought series awaits. There are a few significant milestones in reach for players of both sides:

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)

The Tigers’ captain Shakib is ranked third in the world for T20I all-rounders, and is in sight of a very significant all-round record in this series.

Sitting on 498 international wickets across all formats, he needs just two to bring up 500. If he does, he will join a very exclusive club of just two other players (Shahid Afridi of Pakistan and South Africa legend Jacques Kallis) to notch up both 10,000 international runs and 500 wickets.

Shakib will also be playing his 300th International for Bangladesh across formats in the first game.

Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh)

By strange coincidence, Bangladesh’s opening batsman is also playing his 300th international in the first game -although not all of his have come wearing the green cap/helmet of Bangladesh, having also played a number of times in the last twelve months for the ICC World XI. Indeed he played for the ICC representative side earlier this week as a teammate of Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan who he now lines up against.

For both teams he has scored a total of 1,442 Twenty20 International career runs, so will be looking for just 58 ore to bring up 1,500.

Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

It’s hard to believe legspinner Rashid Khan is still a teenager, such has been his impact in international cricket since he made his Afghanistan debut as a 16-year old in 2015. Sought after the world over in franchise cricket, Khan has taken 149 international wickets for Afghanistan and the ICC World XI combined, and 49 in Twenty20s – so needs just one more to bring up the 150 / 50 respectively.

Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan)

The Afghans’ flamboyant keeper-batsman will be looking to make big strides up the rankings of international Twenty20 cricket’s all time run-scorers.

His 1816 career runs in the format currently have him in eighth place in the world, but 74 runs in the series will see him rocket up to fourth – leaving South African JP Duminy (7th on 1822), India’s Rohit Sharma (6th, 1852), Shoaib Malik of Pakistan (5th, 1887) and Sri Lankan Tilakaratne Dilshan (4th, 1889) in his wake.

Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan)

Allrounder Nabi can make similar moves up the bowling charts. His 61 T20I wickets are enough for 10th place worldwide currently, but six more scalps in Dehardun will see him march up to sixth.

New Zealand’s Tim Southee (9th, 62 wickets), Englishman Stuart Broad (8th, 65) and the Sri Lankan pair Ajantha Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara (Joint 6th, 66) are the men in his sights.

Sabbir Rahman (Bangladesh)

Currently having 893, batsman Sabbir needs 107 runs to become the fourth Bangladeshi (after Shakib, Tamin and Mushfiqur Rahim) to bring up 1,000 Twebty20 international runs.

Potential Debutants

There are two uncapped players in the Afghanistan squad who may make their Twenty20 debuts if chosen – Harzat Zazai and Darwish Rasool could become the 39th and 40th men to represent their country in the shortest format.

Pakistan v West Indies T20I Series Preview

Pakistan take another step in the process of permanently bringing international cricket back to their homeland this week, when they host the West Indies in a three-game T20 International series at Karachi’s National Stadium.

It is well documented that Pakistan have been forced to hold the vast majority of their “home” cricket outside their own country since a 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team. Recently however, signs are good that this may not be the case for much longer. Following the ICC sending a World XI to Lahore for  three game series in September last year, Sri Lanka visited for one T20 at the same venue a month later. This series is significant not only because it is the first full bilateral series against a fellow Full Member to be hosted in the country since 2015, but it is the first at a venue outside Lahore for 9 years. Positive progress indeed.

The series is also intriguing as it pits the ICC’s top ranked T20 side in Pakistan against the current format world champions. Pakistan have won their last six T20 series, whilst West Indies have slipped a little since their World Twenty20 Cup win a couple of years back, and are now ranked fifth. However, confidence will be high from their success in qualifying for the 50-over world cup earlier this month, and a close series awaits.

Both sides have named squads with a mix of experience and new faces. There are as many eight potential 20-over debutants in the two squads. The players looking to make their bow in the format (and in many cases in all international cricket) are Odean Smith, Veersammy Permaul, Keemo Paul and Andre McCarthy for the visitors, and Shaheen Afridi, Rahat Ali, Asif Ali and Hussain Talat for the hosts.

Among the more experienced players, there are a few personal milestones to keep an eye out for over the next week:

Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

All-rounder Shoaib Malik’s 1821 runs in Twenty20 internationals are enough to see him currently sit in seventh place in the world all-time. JP Duminy is just one run ahead in sixth, and Rohit Sharma and Tilikaratne Dilshan are also within reach. 68 runs are all he needs to move up to fourth place past all of the aforementioned.

Dinesh Ramdin (West Indies)

The Windies keeper currently has 51 dismissals in the shortest format, enough for joint fifth in the world alongside Umar Akmal and Mushfiqur Rahim. Two more will see him move clear of those, and also past Afghanistan’s cult hero keeper Mohammad Shahzad into fourth.

Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-Series Trophy Preview

Twenty20 International Tri-Series between Full Members are like the proverbial London buses – you wait ages, and then two come along straight after each other! Hot on the heels of Australia, New Zealand and England making history with the first such series earlier this year, now the subcontinent teams are getting in on the act. The tournament is being held to mark 70 years of Sri Lankan independence.

Sri Lanka plays hosts to the Nidahas Trophy starting on Tuesday 6th March. The series features India and Bangladesh alongside the hosts, with each of the three sides playing each other twice, followed by a final. All games take place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

India will be strong favourites, despite resting key members of their first choice team like skipper Virat Kohli and legendary keeper MS Dhoni. They are ranked third in the world in T20 Internationals, hosts Sri Lanka eighth, and Bangladesh down in tenth. India are also in much better form having won their last three T20 International series (against South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand).

For their part, the hosts’ last two series were against their current opponents, having beaten Bangladesh and lost to India in recent times. Bangladesh will also have to overcome their record of never having beaten India in a T20 international.

All three sides are without their first choice T20 captain in this tournament. The hosts’ skipper Angelo Mathews is out injured, as is Bangladesh’s leader, Shakib Al Hasan. The teams will be led instead by Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Chandimal and Mahmudullah respectively.

With a slightly inexperienced squad having been named by India, there are potential international debuts for allrounders Deepak Hooda and Vijay Shankar.

Aside from that, there are a number of potential personal milestones to watch out for as the tournament unfolds:

Rohit Sharma (India)

India’s stand-in captain has 74 Twenty20 Intermational caps, seeing him in eleventh place in the world all-time rankings. If India make it to the final, and Rohit pays every game, he will rocket up to eighth place in that list. New Zealand’s Martin Guptill and the two South Africans JP Duminy and AB de Villiers are the men in sight.

Rohit currently has 1,679 runs to his name in the format, which sees him in tenth place in the world all-time. He could move up four or five places in this list during the tournament. JP Duminy currently sits in fifth place on 1,822 runs, less than 150 ahead. Umar Akmal, David Warner, Mohammad Shahzad and Shoaib Malik are the others potentially in reach.

Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka)

All=rounder Perera is in reach of milestones with both the bat and ball during this tournament. He needs 136 runs to become the fifth Sri Lankan to score 1,000 runs in the format. With the ball, he needs just one wicket to notch up 50.

Mahmudullah (Bangladesh)

Bangladesh’s captain is 79 runs shy of 1,000 Twenty20 International runs. He will become just the third Bangladeshi to do so if he succeeds.

Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh)

Rahim has 48 dimissals (23 catches, 25 stumpings) to his name in the format, enough for 7th place worldwide. Five more in the series would see him move up to fourth past Denesh Ramdin, Umar Akmal and Mohammad Shahzad.