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Match facts

Friday, January 8, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1600GMT)Sikandar Raza wasn’t among the runs in the ODI series, but a move up the order could help him find some form•AFP

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Over the course of one tour of Zimbabwe and a return series on neutral ground, Afghanistan have notched up a number of firsts: ODI and T20 series wins over a Test-playing opponent, and now a place in the top ten of the ODI ranking list. At the start of the T20 series, they will be full of confidence. After all, they already sit ninth in the T20 rankings, a whole five places above Zimbabwe.During their tour of Zimbabwe, Afghanistan made a number of changes between the ODI and T20 series, bringing in specialists such as Usman Ghani and Gulbadin Naib. This time around they included Naib in their eleven for the final ODI – with spectacular results – and might make more changes still for the first T20I, with plenty of options in their 21-player squad.Though they eventually lost the ODI series, Zimbabwe did impressively to draw level from 2-0 down. The inclusion of Neville Madziva gave their seam attack some thrust with the new ball, while their senior players – particularly Hamilton Masakadza and Graeme Cremer – stepped up with some excellent performances at crunch times. Despite Zimbabwe’s poor T20 record overall, and though Afghanistan enjoy this format more than any other, this series should be as competitive as the ODIs were.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan WWLWW
Zimbabwe WLLLL

In the spotlight

He didn’t feature in the ODI series – and hasn’t played in that format since the World Cup last year – but Usman Ghani is expected to resume his place at the top of the order in Afghanistan’s T20 side. Ghani likes to play his shots, and already has two half-centuries in five T20I innings, including a 45-ball 69 against Zimbabwe in October.Sikandar Raza had a poor ODI series, with a highest score of 29 in five innings, but that came in the final game, off 23 balls. That little glimpse of form could serve him well, particularly if he moves up the order to open as he usually does in T20 cricket.

Team news

Afghanistan tend to play plenty of specialists in the shortest format, and plenty of changes can be expected from the ODI series, with the likes of Usman Ghani and Shafiqullah expected to feature.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Usman Ghani, 3 Mohammad Nabi, 4 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 5 Gulbadin Naib, 6 Karim Sadiq, 7 Shafiqullah, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mirwais Ashraf, 10 Dawlat Zadran, 11 Amir HamzaSikandar Raza seems likely to move up the order to resume his usual spot in the T20 line-up. The fitness status of Craig Ervine, who scored 73 in the second ODI but hasn’t featured since, is not known yet. Malcolm Waller will probably remain in the side if Ervine continues to miss out.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Sikandar Raza, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Malcolm Waller, 7 Peter Moor, 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Neville Madziva, 11 Tendai Chisoro

Pitch and conditions

Afghanistan chased 249 to win the fifth ODI, but conditions in Sharjah have otherwise favoured the team batting first. An 8pm start, however, should even up the game, with both new-ball attacks likely to get a bit of help under lights.

Stats and trivia

• Afghanistan have won 21 of the 36 T20Is they have played so far, but have only beaten one Test-playing team, Zimbabwe.
• Among batsmen with 500 or more runs in T20Is, Elton Chigumbura is one of only three – Aaron Finch and Darren Sammy are the others – with a strike rate of over 150.

Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, said his team would take heart from the efforts of Darren Bravo, Kraigg Brathwaite and also James Pattinson in trying to regather from a humiliating defeat to Australia in the first Test in Hobart.Bravo and Brathwaite excelled with a pair of fine innings that stood in stark contrast to the horrid returns of the rest of the batting order, and Holder said their example had to be the starting point for his side’s preparation for the second Test in Melbourne from Boxing Day.”I think you need to look at inspiring performances, like how Darren Bravo played,” Holder said. “He just showed that once he applied himself and spent some time in the middle that runs could be made out there.””The way Kraigg Brathwaite played in the second innings [was impressive], a real fighting innings. He pushed for a hundred but unfortunately didn’t get it. We just need to look at those inspiring performances, and probably look back to performances where we’ve done well in the past, and just try to relive those moments and bring it into this Test series.”Holder was also disappointed with their work at the start of the Hobart Test, when they conceded 438 runs for only three wickets in 89 overs.”Obviously we weren’t good enough on the first day, plain and simple. We didn’t bowl well, we didn’t string enough good balls in pretty good areas long enough, and as a result they were scoring pretty rapidly from the get go. We obviously need to highlight that area and work on it before the second Test match.”But there are ways to recover from a bad first impression, as Pattinson did. Returning from injury and with a reworked action, he was unable to take any wickets in the first innings. But second time around, he fired out five West Indian batsmen.”Pattinson showed you can come back in the second innings and produce those kinds of spells,” Holder said. “That’s what good bowlers show, the ability to bounce back after not having the best start. We can take a page from his book and start to turn things around.”The results haven’t gone my way and it’s been tough times. But I can think back, that for a number of years West Indies cricket has been like this. I’m not making any excuses for anybody, but at the end of the day it’s a situation most of us have found ourselves in [before].”We need to find a way to pick ourselves up and turn things around. The only way we can turn it around is by performances.”

The race for the three available semi-final places in the MTN Domestic Championship went down to the wire with the Cape Cobras nabbing the final spot despite defeat against the Dolphins.The Cobras went down by 56 runs in Durban to hand the Dolphins a bonus point, but it wasn’t enough because of their inferior win record and the Cobras went through on the back of their six victories. The Cobras now play the Titans at Centurion Park while the other semi-final is between the Warriors and the Eagles.The crucial match of the final week came in Cape Town when the Cobras handed out the Titans’ only defeat of the round-robin stage. They recovered from 73 for 5 with an unbeaten stand of 124 between Andrew Puttick (87 not out) and Ryan Canning (64 not out).The Cobras had become the latest victim of an improving Zimbabwe team when they fell to a three-wicket defeat in Paarl where Regis Chakabva hit a match-winning 71. Zimbabwe finished the tournament on a strong note when they beat the Eagles by two wickets off the final ball in a thrilling encounter. Tatenda Taibu hit an unbeaten 98 and he managed to score 14 off the final over. The defeat meant the Eagles missed out on a home semi-final.The Warriors secured their home semi-final with a six-wicket against the Lions after playing their last five matches in eight days. The Lions ended a miserable tournament bottom of the table.

Surrey were celebrating at Old Trafford today after retaining the countychampionship. But they did not play like champs on the opening day of thefinal match, allowing Lancashire to fight back from 154-7 to reach a total of323.Even coach Keith Medlycott admitted: “It wasn’t one of our bestperformances. There was a lack of basics – and we have excelled in doing thebasics all season.”But it was a mere blemish on another triumphant season for AdamHollioake’s side and, appropriately, it was the Surrey captain who clinchedit, with a brilliant slip catch to dismiss Sourav Ganguly. That earned Surreytheir first bonus point, the only one they needed to retain the title.

As the champagne flowed in the Surrey dressing-room, Medlycott touched onthe factors behind Surrey’s success, saying: “I’ve heard a lot of talk aboutSurrey’s showboats and you tend to get that when you are becoming asuccessful side. It means you are doing something right and people areprobably fearful of you.”We are a quality squad. We can pick from 18 or 20 players and they canall come into first-class cricket and produce match-winning performances.The majority of the side are in their prime and that usually lasts three orfour years.”On the influence of Hollioake, he said: “I can use a boxing term for him.If we get a side down he knows how to knock them out – that makes him afantastic leader.”Saqlain Mushtaq claimed 4-81 from 34 overs on a hard, shiny pitch – thesort on which England might have to face him in Pakistan – but Warren Heggfollowed up his century against Leicester last weekend with another actingcaptain’s innings for Lancashire, hammering an unbeaten 93.Surrey lost a couple of early wickets and Hollioake was hurt by a ballfrom Glen Chapple but he recovered to lead his side to 28-2 before acceptingthe championship pennant and going to the other Old Trafford with histeam-mates to watch Manchester United’s European tie.

Even the mother of James and Hamish Marshall has said she has trouble telling them apart on the cricket pitch. They were born within 15 minutes of each other, have the same noticeable hairstyle and, according to those who know, have very similar personalities. So it was only fitting that they both scored centuries on the same day, albeit 150 miles apart in Bristol and Chelmsford.James said that even umpire Peter Willey and Essex fast bowler Alex Tudor didn’t realise who was who when he got to the crease. “I got out there and [they] thought I was Hamish. They didn’t realise that Hamish was a twin.” James was the first born, but was beaten to three figures by his brother. “He got there first this time,” said James.It is an insight into the changing state of the game that one came for an international side and the other a county with the player turning out under an Irish passport. While James is preparing to take over from Stephen Fleming at No. 3 for New Zealand, Hamish has turned his back on the international game after limited chances in search of financial security through county cricket and a stint in the Indian Cricket League.In the context of New Zealand’s future it is James’ innings which is most important. His team needed it, too, after they slipped to 96 for 4 against a steady Essex attack. But if the visitors had subsided against a county side, confidence would have taken a huge hit going into the final warm-up match and the Test series.”It’s nice to get a hundred early in the tour. I was just pleased with the way I constructed the innings on a surface that wasn’t easy to bat on,” said James. “There were a lot of shots that probably weren’t on today and you had to be mentally strong not to bring those out.””There will be a few calls home tonight,” Hamish told the at Bristol. “Dad is away duck shooting at the moment so I’m not sure when he will find out what has happened, but the rest of the family will be very happy.”Jamie and I are good mates and only wish the best for one another. He will be delighted to have got a big score so close to the first Test. I haven’t managed to speak to him yet, but I will this evening. I can’t recall us ever getting so many runs on the same day before at any level.”Not that James’ innings means all is right for New Zealand. Far from it. The five Indian Premier League players made 65 runs between them, showing that for all the talk about being match-ready after playing Twenty20 it will take time to adjust to a chilly English spring.”It’s not easy to come straight into conditions where it is seaming around and blaze the ball,” said James. “They will be working hard and maybe need to do a little bit of catch up. But they are class players and it shouldn’t take them long to get used to the conditions.”

Three South African players will attempt to play in the inaugural Masters Champions League without signed NOCs from their national body, Cricket South Africa. Richard Levi, Rory Kleinveldt and Robin Peterson have all been denied NOCs because the MCL clashes with South African domestic fixtures. A fourth player, Alviro Petersen, also did not receive an NOC, and will not be traveling to the UAE because he is contractually bound to play for Highveld Lions, his South African franchise.Petersen tweeted his situation on Monday. “Its with regret that I announce that @HighveldLions CEO & Board denied me an NOC to play in @MCL2020UAE . My team mate Mc Kenzie got his NOC.”Petersen retired from international cricket in January 2015 but remains contracted to the Lions franchise, for whom he scored a double-hundred in the most recent round of first-class matches. For any player to receive an NOC, their franchise has to agree and then apply to CSA for a final signature. The Lions’ CEO Greg Fredericks told ESPNcricinfo that they chose not to do this after discussions with the coach and selectors in which they decided the franchise needs Petersen for upcoming fixtures.McKenzie has a different and smaller agreement with Lions, which will expire at the end of the 2015-16 summer. He only played in the List A competition this season after retiring from first-class cricket at the end of last season. Although that tournament is yet to conclude, the Lions have deemed him surplus to requirements, paving way for his NOC.The situation with the Levi, Kleinveldt and Peterson is different. None of them have publicly announced their retirement from international cricket but an insider told ESPNcricinfo that all of them have written to CSA to state that it is not their intention to play international cricket anymore.Their franchise, the Cobras, applied to CSA for their NOCs but CSA has refused to grant them because they felt the players are needed in the domestic competition.Levi is a Kolpak player who has a contract with the Cobras under which he is bound to play for them in the T20 competition and the play-offs of the one-day cup. His contract also contains a clause that he will be released for one T20 league, should an opportunity arise. He chose the MCL ahead of the PSL. While the T20 competition is already over in South Africa, the playoffs for the one-day cup take place at the end of February and do not clash with the MCL.Kleinveldt and Peterson, who last played for South Africa in 2013 and 2014 respectively, are also contracted to the Cobras and have been playing across all formats for the franchise. A source revealed that CSA refused to release them because, “it’s important that the strength of the domestic game is looked after.” While Peterson and Levi are already in the UAE, Kleinveldt is expected to travel on Tuesday.The MCL may still refuse to allow these players to take part in the tournament without a signed NOC from CSA.

ScorecardJamie Overton produced an impressive opening spell•Getty Images

If you were to judge by the statistics, Jamie Overton shouldn’t enter into the thoughts of the England selectors. He went into this game averaging 37.19 for his first-class wickets, after all. Will Gidman, by comparison, has taken his first-class wickets at an average of 23.28.But who is more likely to win England an Ashes Test? And there are moments, just moments, when everything clicks together and Overton looks a terrific prospect. Blessed with height and pace, he also has the ability to gain movement. Put that together and you have a bowler who can overcome flat surfaces and good line-ups; the sort of bowler who might have been made for Australian surfaces.He enjoyed such a moment on the first day of this Championship match at Taunton. His five-over spell accounted for both Warwickshire openers and contained a number of all but unplayable deliveries that pitched on off and straightened to beat the bat of Jonathan Trott.While it’s true that Warwickshire’s openers – Ian Westwood and Andy Umeed – are not quite up the standard of those England will face in Australia, the balls that dismissed them were reward for fine bowling. Westwood, hit on the body earlier in the over as he attempted to pull one that was on him quicker than he anticipated, played on as he attempted to force one on off stump that may have bounced a little more than he expected, before Umeed was yorked – and perhaps beaten for pace – by one that may have left the batsman just a little in the air.The only boundaries he conceded – two of them – came off the edge of the bat: the first when Trott played one down and past the slips and the second when Ian Bell cut over the cordon. While there were still a couple of leg stump deliveries that, another day, might have been punished, it was a spell – albeit a relatively short one – that hinted at improving consistency.Somerset would, no doubt, have wanted Overton to bowl a bit more at Trott and Bell when they came to the crease. But a five-over spell is probably plenty for a bowler of such pace and, in a side containing only three seamers (and Peter Trego has yet to take a Championship wicket this season), they wouldn’t have wanted to exhaust him too early in the game.His brother, Craig, soon accounted for Bell, anyway. A demanding spell, not as quick as Jamie but perhaps more consistent, brought an attempted back-foot force that flew high to second slip where Marcus Trescothick plucked down a sharp catch.But it was, not for the first time, Jamie who had caught the eye. And, with James Anderson injured again – and those injuries are starting to come with ominous frequency – Overton’s performance will not have gone unnoticed by the selectors.He impressed Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, last year. Bayliss was at Edgbaston last May when Overton utilised a slightly uneven surface – it was rated poor by the umpires – to such an extent that there was talk of the match being abandoned for a while.Presented by an England bowler offering the skills that Australia have in abundance – pace, height and aggression – Bayliss was said to be much taken with what he saw and, had Overton not suffered a stress fracture, he might have pushed for further recognition already. These are early days and slim pickings on which to judge – rain washed out most of the first day here – but Jamie Overton’s attributes are not common and he certainly has the potential to go a long way in the game.”That has to be one of the best spells that I have bowled since I came back from injury,” Overton said afterwards. “I want to bowl in short, sharp spells and as long as I don’t go for 10 an over, I’m pretty happy. Today I think I went for less than four an over so I was pleased with that.”I’ve worked hard on my control and today I think I made the batsmen have to play me. I’m using my bouncer sensibly now – and batsmen now know that I have got one to bowl – so it’s a very handy weapon to have.”While Somerset will have been delighted with his performance, they might have been a little concerned at the lack of spin. Despite playing this match on a surface used in a couple of limited-overs games, there was little if any assistance for Jack Leach (who was presented his count cap by former Somerset and England spinner Vic Marks during the day) and Dominic Bess. Bess dismissed Bell and Trott in successive deliveries on Championship debut last year but here was taken for three boundaries – two cover drives and a pull – from Trott as he struggled to find the appropriate length.It’s an important game for both sides. Currently at the foot of the table – Somerset have played one game fewer – it may well prove to have a bearing on the relegation situation at the end of the season. Warwickshire, anticipating a spinning surface, awarded a Championship debut to left-arm spinner Sunny Singh and a first-class debut to seamer Grant Thornton, who is only on a three-month contract with the club but who impressed in white ball cricket. Chris Wright is recovering from injury.Sam Hain and Umeed were also recalled with William Porterfield on international duty and Ateeq Javid dropped. Warwickshire also announced they have signed a 17-year-old seamer, Henry Brookes, on a three-season deal.While nobody could argue with the early decision to abandon play – there has been torrential rain and hail in Taunton – there was an odd disruption earlier in the day. It transpires that there is an ECB directive that strongly advises umpires to ensure the playing area is vacated by everyone – including the groundstaff – should there be any thunder and lightning in the vicinity.So, despite sunshine, play was delayed in early afternoon as the directive suggests that, once the gap between thunder and lightning becomes more frequent than 40 seconds, the playing surface should be cleared for a minimum of 30 minutes. The fact that the stands at Taunton were well populated by bemused spectators who are, presumably, equally at risk of lightning strikes, appears to have escaped the attention of which ever official came up with the guidelines.

Andrew Flintoff was content with his return to first-class cricket but insisted that his fragile left ankle will require constant supervision for the rest of his career.Flintoff’s ankle was operated on over the winter and he made his comeback for Lancashire in their drawn match against Surrey at The Oval over the past four days. He only made 23 with the bat but returned the encouraging figures of 1 for 72 from 28 steady overs in Surrey’s mammoth 537 for 5 declared.”From a fitness point of view I thought I kept my pace up all the way through my spells, maybe there is a little bit more in there but not a great deal,” Flintoff said at The Oval, when the fourth and final day was washed out. “It was quite a placid pitch and it was about focusing on getting it in the right areas given the players they’ve got in their team.”I have always been confident coming back but when you’ve had four operations you have a bit more knowledge about your ankle. I just turned up here to play a game of cricket under no concern about how my fitness was going to be.”I just turned up here to play a game of cricket under no concern about how my fitness was going to be.”In the past, Flintoff has rushed his comeback from ankle surgery. Combined with his heavy workload this has caused a recurrence of the injury but, this time round, he hopes it might be fourth time lucky.”Coming out of the operation, hopefully it is cured clinically but then probably from a workload point of view – I have come back from the previous operations and played for a period of time – maybe if I played for a period of time, for 10 or 12 months, and break the cycle of bowling 150 overs, 200 overs and breaking down I will be happy,” he said. “But I am going to have to keep working on my ankle, my left leg and calf in particular.”So I will probably be on some sort of rehab programme now for the rest of my career.”With the first Test against New Zealand only a month away, Flintoff admitted his keenness to be selected but remained cautious about his chances.”I would love to be involved on May 15, there is obviously no change there, but I know I have to perform,” he said. “It’s nice to get 28 overs under my belt and bowl quite nicely but I have to score some runs as well, which I am working hard to do and fully aware of.”

Andrew Caddick, the former England fast bowler, feels Steve Harmison and others in the current national set-up need to return to county cricket to “learn their trade”. Harmison was recently dropped after an abject display in an embarrassing defeat at Hamilton and Caddick believed he should not have been in New Zealand in the first place.”I don’t think Steve Harmison has ever learned his trade at domestic level. I know Stuart Broad hasn’t, and I don’t think Chris Tremlett really has either,” Caddick told the . “I’d like to see a lot more players out there playing at a domestic level, especially at this time of year. You shouldn’t have players like Steve Harmison after a losing Ashes series saying, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, I’m going to wait for Mr Fletcher to tell me what I’m doing’.”What he should have done is turned round and said, ‘I had a shocker, I need to get back, get some overs under my belt, play for Durham and put my name in the hat and say I’m back and this is what I’m prepared to do to get back’. If I was honest, and it’s a harsh thing to say, I wouldn’t pick him against New Zealand. I’d say, ‘Go away and learn your trade again’.”While Geoff Miller, England’s chairman of selectors, has insisted Harmison is part of England’s immediate plans for the forthcoming season, Caddick felt Harmison should focus on the County Championship which starts on Wednesday. “I would not pick Harmison for the first Test with New Zealand. He’s got to sort himself out before he should be considered,” he told the . “Does he want to play international cricket? If he wants to play then he has to play at a very high standard. If he’s not able to do that then sorry, he must not be picked.”Harmison’s has been a troubled career, especially away from home, and a back injury cut short his England summer last year. He was subsequently asked by the England management to prove his fitness and form in the South African domestic circuit and though he returned for the tour of Sri Lanka, he was dropped after the first Test against New Zealand in March.Caddick was critical of the number of players introduced before they were prepared for the demands of the international game, and also voiced a word of caution for Andrew Flintoff. “Freddie now has to spend half a season playing for Lancashire building his strength up and bowling and batting his way back to somewhere near his best,” he said. “Anybody in their right mind is desperate to get him back into the England team as soon as possible. But we must think what is best for English cricket and for Freddie long-term.”Caddick, who took 234 wickets in 62 Tests, also felt the ECB needed to follow Australia’s example of properly grooming bowlers before blooding them at international level.

In a surprise move, Lancashire have announced the signing of former Yorkshire captain, David Byas. Byas made his debut for Yorkshire in 1986 and last season led the county to the first county championship success since 1968. It came as a shock when, no sooner had the title had been secured than the captain announced that he was retiring from first-class cricket.At the time he said: “I have had a wonderful career and playing cricket for Yorkshire has taken me around the world. I wanted to go while I am still at the top. It has been an unforgettable experience and it has been a great honour to captain the side and to lead the side to the first championship title for 33 years.”No-one can take that away from me and it will stay with me forever. I am leaving the team at the top and I sincerely hope it goes from strength to strength from here.”In his time with Yorkshire he scored 14,398 runs at an average of 35.37. He was several times spoken of as a potential Test player, without ever forcing his way into the side, meaning that the championship victory was the pinnacle of his career. That was understood, and Yorkshire even delayed the announcement of a new captain until after Byas had taken the side to Buckingham Palace in November for the traditional presentation of the trophy by HRH Prince Philip.Now his many Yorkshire admirers will find it hard to come to terms with the fact that, not only is he to return to first-class cricket, but he is to move over the Pennines to Yorkshire’s traditional rivals, Lancashire.Cricket manager at Old Trafford, Mike Watkinson, is naturally enough delighted with the move. He said: “Hopefully the signing of David will provide some experienced competition at the top of the batting order. The retirement of Michael Atherton along with Neil Fairbrother’s injury problems have left us looking a little thin in this area. Although we are firmly committed to developing the best young players within the county, the services of David will help provide some short term stability to the squad.”Byas himself explained his reasoning behind the decision. “I was happily retired after a very enjoyable career at Yorkshire culminating in championship success last season, but after a little persuading, I see the prospect as an exciting challenge. I’m looking forward to joining up with the squad and hopefully my experience will complement the promising younger players at the club.”Now 38, the statement from Lancashire specifically referred to the fact that Byas had been signed for the 2002 season. It comes at a time when they are they are in dispute with another experienced middle order batsman, former captain John Crawley who wants to terminate his contract. Byas will bring experience that can be of benefit to younger players and new captain, Warren Hegg.