Sri Lanka look to avoid 0-3 drubbing

Match facts

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)

	Thisara Perera's form hasn't quite continued in the T20 series© Associated Press  Enlarge

Big Picture

Sri Lanka's players might have often heard that the sport they play is a great leveller, but they might not have thought the highs and lows could come in such quick succession. Four nights after Sri Lanka had embarrassed South Africa 4-1, they are pondering their own humiliation. The world's top-ranked Twenty20 side is one game away from being whitewashed at home. If they fail on Tuesday, they will lose that ranking and slip to third, behind Pakistan and South Africa, who will rise from fifth.

The scripts for both games so far were remarkably similar, and make Sri Lanka's problem clear. South Africa batted first, stumbled early, then surged late. Sri Lanka also lost early wickets, but were kept in the hunt by Kumar Sangakkara. In the end he could not compensate for his team-mates' impotence and South Africa won handily. Sri Lanka's young batsmen have been under pressure throughout the tour, and have largely misfired. If they cannot muster a performance worthy of the faith afforded in them by the selectors, the team will have cause to embark on some soul searching.

Their opponents, meanwhile, have finally come to terms with the pace of the pitches in Sri Lanka and seem to also have managed to get a grip on Ajantha Mendis' variations. South Africa have been rejuvenated in the field under Faf du Plessis, who has had a knack for using his bowlers cleverly, and Imran Tahir's insertion has also given the attack a dimension that it lacked in the ODIs.

Though the word "revenge" has grown unfashionable in sport, South Africa will be out to make their tour's outlook a little more even, with a third commanding performance. The toss will be important again, but for the first time since arriving in Sri Lanka, they might even be favourites to win the match.

Form guide

(most recent first, last five completed matches)
Sri Lanka: LLWWW
South Africa: WWLWL

Players to watch

Thisara Perera was effective with both bat and ball in the ODI series, but has only bowled one over in the Twenty20 series, and has not been at his explosive best with the bat. There is talk that he is the most underutilised player in the Sri Lanka team, batting as low as he does, but if he is to move further up, he will have to play match-winning cameos with more consistency than he manages now.

David Miller has been among South Africa's more comfortable batsmen in Sri Lanka's conditions throughout the tour, and has not been too shy to attack the same spinners who wreaked havoc on the men around him. His 36 off 21 in the last match lifted South Africa to their first challenging total of the tour, and he may be key to their hopes again, if the misfiring top order falls cheaply.

Pitch and conditions

The Hambantota Stadium's evening gusts had a major effect on Sunday, with batsmen picking certain areas of the ground to hit to, and swing bowlers benefiting from some extra assistance. The wind has been a feature of the ground since its debut, as has the pitch that has proven difficult for batsmen. 
The weather is expected to be fine for the match.

Team news

It is difficult to predict whether Sri Lanka will stick with their plan to play only three senior batsmen. The prospect of being whitewashed might spur them to play their best XI, but Kusal Perera also showed signs of reclaiming some form in his 21 in the last match, when he was given wrongly given out. There is also a chance Lahiru Thirimanne is the man to make way.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2. Mahela Jayawardene/Kusal Perera, 3. Dinesh Chandimal (c), 4. Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5. Angelo Mathews, 6. Lahiru Thirimanne, 7. Thisara Perera, 8. Nuwan Kulasekara, 9. Sachithra Senanayake, 10. Lasith Malinga, 11. Ajantha Mendis

South Africa will not want to meddle with their attack, and though Henry Davids and Quinton de Kock have not scored runs at the top of the order, they are likely to remain in the side as well.

South Africa (probable): 1. Quinton de Kock (wk), 2. Henry Davids, 3. Faf du Plessis (c), 4. JP Duminy, 5. AB de Villiers, 6. David Miller, 7. David Wiese, 8. Wayne Parnell, 9. Morne Morkel, 10. Lonwabo Tsotsobe, 11. Imran Tahir

Stats and trivia

• Kumar Sangakkara is the leading run-scorer (98 runs) in this series, just as in the last one. Sri Lanka also have the leading wicket-taker, in Sachithra Senanayake (five wickets)
• In six Twenty20s in Hambantota, the side batting first has lost only once - when South Africa played Zimbabwe in the last WorldTwenty20
  Quotes
  "The plan against their spinners was to be confident and try and unsettle them. Even though they might get wickets, we still tried to unsettle them. I think it's working. We played Mendis really well in the last two games."
  

Faf du Plessis on his team's increasing confidence against Sri Lanka's slow bowlers.
  
  "That they didn't do well against the spinners in the ODI and Ajantha is a very good bowler in T20 cricket. That's why he bowled his full quota."
  Dinesh Chandimal on why Ajantha Mendis bowled out in the second match, despite going for 39 and taking no wickets, yet Thisara Perera was unused.

Cricket retreats to dark ages

Last year, the ICC legalised day-night Test cricket. It didn't seem to matter that a suitable ball had not been found. By the letter of the law, agreement between two countries is all that is required. If Pakistan and Bangladesh feel like playing from 6pm in Dubai with an orange ball, they can. If West Indies and New Zealand want to play from 2pm in St Lucia with a pink ball, that's allowed. Cricket wants to modernise at any cost, appeal to a wider audience. A television audience.

Perhaps cricket can start by satisfying the audience it already has. And they were far from satisfied on Sunday evening. The Ashes is Test cricket's shop window and over the past four days at Old Trafford, the players have delivered an enticing product. But at 4.25pm, Tony Hill and Marais Erasmus unilaterally put up the 'closed' sign. It was, they said, for the good of the players. Someone could have got hurt. But every ball lost from the match hurt the Australians far more than any James Anderson might have sent down in the gloom.

And it can only be the Australia batsmen they were worried about. That became clear when Erasmus confirmed that play would have continued had England bowled spin. The shadow, then, was not enough to endanger England's fielders, or the umpires themselves. A vicious Michael Clarke drive would have sent the red ball flying towards them as quickly off Graeme Swann as it would have off Anderson. No, this had to be about the safety of the batsmen.

The playing conditions stipulate that the umpires can abandon play when the light is "so bad that there is obvious and foreseeable risk to the safety of any player or umpire". But Australia's No. 9, Ryan Harris, didn't have much trouble handling Anderson when he faced what became the last few deliveries of the day. Clarke was seeing the ball fine. He made that clear to the umpires at length during an animated discussion after they had made their call.

"When we start losing it completely from square leg, we give the skipper an option, as we did out here, to bowl spin and he didn't want to do that," Hill said. Of course Alastair Cook didn't bowl spin. He is not an idiot. Every delivery lost from the match tightens England's grip on the urn. He'd have been happy with an 11.01am abandonment.

"For a while there the England fielders were asking about the light and the possibility for when they bat," Erasmus said. "It was fine, but it kept on dropping and dropping then we eventually told the captain to bowl spin and he decided not to which pushed our hand. There was a safety issue and we can't carry on."

Of course they could have carried on, and should have. Cricket wants to modernise but these judgements, these arbitrary decisions not to play, do nothing but hurt the game. Traditionally, batsmen were offered the choice of playing on or leaving the field due to bad light. But in 2010 the ICC altered the rule, in part so that batsmen could not make tactical decisions to go off. The change has sent cricket further back into the dark ages.

Handing control to the umpires is a common-sense approach only if the umpires use common sense. And there has been precious little of that shown by the officials in this series. Of course, if the abandonment costs Australia a chance at regaining the urn, it will do so only because of their own failings at Trent Bridge and Lord's. That is why they are in this position.

But the half hour lost on Sunday - rain arrived at 5pm - could make all the difference in a contest that might go to the wire on day five. Thirty minutes of moderate dullness could cast a gloom over the Tests at Chester-le-Street and The Oval if they become dead rubbers.

There was a frustrating postscript: from 7 to 8pm the sun was shining at Old Trafford and the rain had well and truly cleared. The conditions were perfect for cricket. But by then, the players and umpires were back at their hotels, perhaps with a tray of room service. If they had the TV on, they might have been watching themselves on replay, while millions of viewers could have been seeing them live in prime time.

The ICC seems to have a laissez faire approach to the day-night Test prospect. Perhaps it could throw a little of that flexibility the way of old-fashioned red-ball Tests.

Bad light then rain hits Australia's chances

Australia 527 for 7 dec and 172 for 7 (Clarke 30*, Harris 0*) lead England 368 (Pietersen 113, Cook 62, Bell 60, Siddle 4-63, Starc 3-76) by 331 runs

	David Warner gave Australia impetus at the start of their second innings © Getty Images  Enlarge

Australia's captain Michael Clarke was far from alone in fuming as the umpires made the unilateral decision to take the teams off for bad light with the tourists leading by 331 runs on the fourth evening of the Old Trafford Test. To widespread incredulity around the ground and the world, Tony Hill and Marais Erasmusjudged conditions to be unsafe for play, maintaining the officials' unedifyingly scene-stealing role in this series.

Clarke's disgust was as clear as the barely concealed relief of his opposite number Alastair Cook, for England need only a draw in Manchester to retain the Ashes. Rain arrived subsequently to end the day, but the umpires' enthusiasm to get the combatants off the ground cost 30 minutes of possible play, a figure that may prove critical should the skies clear enough on the final day to allow a full allotment of overs.

Speaking to the host broadcasters, Hill and Erasmus stated that they had deemed conditions unsafe, even though Australia had been motoring along at close to six runs per over. They also revealed they had asked Cook to bowl spin, a request England's captain understandably refused given the series scenario. Clarke remonstrated at length when asked to depart, but under current ICC regulations had no say in the matter.

No side has chased more than 294 to win in the fourth innings at the ground, but Clarke appeared to be pushing towards a lead of around 350 with more than 30 overs still scheduled to be bowled on the fourth evening. The hosts had reduced Australia's chances of forcing the victory they need to keep the series alive with doughty lower order batting on the fourth morning, but were then conspicuous in their time-wasting tactics in the field.

Matt Prior and Stuart Broad put together a critical stand of 58 that averted the follow-on, before the last man James Anderson aided England's wicketkeeper in another pesky union that pared back the tourists' first innings advantage to 159. From there England played the situation with pragmatism but little imagination, letting their over rate sag and then being happy when Hill and Erasmus made a ruling that left spectators almost as nonplussed as Clarke himself.

A series of cameos by Chris Rogers, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Shane Watson and Steve Smith had kept Australia's runs ticking over, though a wicket fell every time they threatened to go from a canter to a charge. Watson's absence at the top of the order reflected his lack of batting confidence in the first innings, but also allowed Warner the chance to make a decent contribution to the match after his brief and less than illustrious visit to the middle on the second day.

Rogers appeared fluent again but sacrificed his wicket to an attempted ODI dab towards third man, resulting only in an edge off Broad, well held by Prior. Warner played with good sense after lunch, finding gaps on the offside and behind square leg, though England felt they had him snicking a Broad bouncer behind. A referral was used, but amid scant evidence to overturn the original decision Warner stayed, leading to a petulant reaction by Cook's men.

Eventually Warner would fall, hooking into the hands of his Birmingham Walkabout target Joe Root at deep square leg. Khawaja played neatly until being bowled around his legs by a Swann delivery that drifted and spun, Watson made his usual start before upper cutting to third man, and Smith unfurled a pair of handsome lofted straight drives before falling victim to a run out as Clarke forgot to run the first one hard.

Broad and Prior resumed in the morning with a simple goal - avoid the follow-on and then let a bleak weather forecast conspire with them to thwart Australia. Clarke opened up with a weary-looking Ryan Harris, his usual vim sapped by the previous day. Prior and Broad seemed wise to this and attacked, while at the other end Broad kept Nathan Lyon out.

Runs accrued quickly, to a combination of decent shots and fortunate edges, the vacant third slip region getting particular attention. Australia's lead was quickly diminished, and with a slashing Broad drive off Harris the follow-on was saved. Now sensing his primary task had been achieved, Broad had no qualms about turning on his heels to the pavilion after Lyon procured the thinnest of edges through to Brad Haddin.

Prior continued to attack and was dropped at shortish midwicket by a lunging Smith from Lyon. Graeme Swann did not last long, also walking after doing well to inside edge a searing delivery in Siddle's first over of the morning, but Prior and Anderson then did their best to prolong England's innings and thus reduce the time available for Australia.

This resulted in some curious shot choices and equally odd field settings, the crowd growing restless as Prior farmed the strike and Anderson looked safe enough against the few deliveries he did have to face. Drinks arrived after 67 runs had been added for the loss of two wickets - a ledger most favourable to England.

Prior did not last too much longer, skying Siddle to hand him a deserved fourth wicket. From there Cook's team would take on a decidedly defensive if not outright cynical posture, until Hill and Erasmus joined them in reducing the chances of an outright result.

Pietersen, Bell steady England response

Tea England 211 for 4 (Pietersen 78*, Bell 51*) trail Australia 527 for 7 dec by 316 runs

	Kevin Pietersen began scratchily but started to look more comfortable as his innings went on © PA Photos  Enlarge

Fearless strokeplay by Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell, plus a critical moment of indecision by Australia, allowed England to wriggle free of the tourists' clutches on the third afternoon of the Old Trafford Test. Pietersen was at his bold best against Nathan Lyon, but would have been out lbw had Michael Clarke assented to Shane Watson's opinion that his old-ball inswinger was bound for the stumps when the batsman had 62.

Australia had both their reviews intact but a series ledger of two correct referrals out of 15 had to have had an impact on their lack of confidence. So Pietersen stayed, and was able to push on to tea in Bell's company, a wicketless session passing as the partnership reached 101 in quick time. Both batsmen offered glimpses of their very best, Bell pristine through the cover and gully regions while Pietersen struck straight and through the leg side with his typically singular power.

Their calculated attack on Lyon and the waywardness of Starc ensured that the earlier control exerted by Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle in particular was lost. England began to think more optimistically of batting for long enough to ensure they will return the Ashes, needing only a draw in Manchester to make sure of it.

Recovered from an apparent stomach bug, Harris opened up for Clarke alongside Siddle. Their early overs were relentlessly probing, offering only the most occasional scoring chances for Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, neither of whom looked comfortable despite a ball that was no longer new and a pitch possessing few demons.

Trott, who had begun the series in grand touch, was particularly scratchy, becalmed in much the same way Joe Root had been the previous night. Unable to get off strike, or hit the middle of the bat, Trott ultimately succumbed while doing his best not to play a shot at all, edging to Clarke at second slip while trying to leave Harris.

Pietersen's first few deliveries were no more convincing, as he fiddled loosely at balls zinging past him outside off stump as though wanting to offer a nick to the Australian cordon. Harris nearly burst a yorker through Pietersen also, but the entry of Starc and Watson to the bowling attack - while Lyon was oddly given only two overs - allowed a little pressure to be relaxed.

With Pietersen scoring freely and Cook carrying on stoically, England appeared set to reach lunch without further loss. But 12 minutes before the break a Starc delivery angling towards Cook's hip drew a fine leg glance and a rasping catch by Haddin, clasping the chance in the tip of his right glove as he dived full length. In the dying moments of the session Bell may have given up the thinnest of edges to Haddin off Starc, but only Australia's wicketkeeper went up for the catch.

That moment did not linger too much in Australian minds, but there was to be another midway through the afternoon. Pietersen and Bell had counterattacked confidently and fruitfully, their chief achievement the removal of Lyon from the attack despite Australia's offspinner bowling well on a pitch that offered turn and bounce. Twice Pietersen lofted Lyon for six and Bell followed up with one of his own, and not once could the bowler be said to have offered up something to hit.

Nonetheless, his withdrawal left Clarke searching for wickets, but when Watson found a hint of swing after replacing Lyon, the moment of success passed without the captain realising it. Pietersen had lurched forward and across to play through midwicket, and though Watson seemed adamant in his appeal Haddin and Clarke suggested the ball was swerving down the leg side.

But Hawk-Eye revealed it to be hitting leg stump squarely enough for Tony Hill's verdict to be overturned, and the sight of Darren Lehmann raising a glum finger from the balcony left Clarke pondering whether his moment had passed. Certainly there were few other glimmers offered by Pietersen and Bell, both well entrenched by the time the interval arrived and already taking some shine off the second new ball.

Pakistan to host Sri Lanka in UAE

Pakistan will host Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between December 2013 and January 2014 for a bilateral series that includes three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s. The series, the second bilateral contest between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the UAE, will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

The T20s and ODIs have been scheduled before the Tests. The T20s will be played on December 11 and 13 in Dubai, while Sharjah will host the first ODI on December 18. The last two ODIs will be played in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan will take on Afghanistan in a T20 match before the start of the Sri Lanka series, although the venue for the match has not yet been announced.

The first Test has been scheduled for December 31 in Dubai, while Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will host the second and third Tests, from January 8 and January 16.

"The tour itinerary has been approved after consultation between Pakistan Cricket Board and its counterpart Sri Lanka," the PCB said in a statement

Since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009, Pakistan have been forced to play their home series overseas, with UAE being the preferred venue. The last time the two sides played in the UAE in 2011, Pakistan won the ODIs 4-1 and won the Test and T20 series 1-0. Pakistan enjoyed little success on their tour of Sri Lanka in June and July 2012 - the last bilateral series between the teams - losing the Tests (1-0) and ODIs (3-1), while the T20 series was tied.

Fixtures
1st T20I: December 11, Dubai
2nd T20I: December 13, Dubai
1st ODI: December 18, Sharjah
2nd ODI: December 20, Dubai
3rd ODI: December 22, Sharjah
4th ODI: December 25, Abu Dhabi
5th ODI: December 27, Abu Dhabi
1st Test: December 31-January 4, Dubai
2nd Test: January 8-12, Abu Dhabi
3rd Test: January 16-20, Sharjah

Dominant Sri Lanka make it 4-1

Sri Lanka 307 for 4 (Dilshan 99, Sangakkara 75*, Thirimanne 68) beat South Africa 179 (De Villiers 51, Lakmal 3-24, Mendis 3-36) 

South Africa suffered a fifth successive sub-standard batting performance in Sri Lanka to concede the final match in the series - a dead rubber - to opposition who have shown their superiority. Throughout the 12-day contest, Sri Lanka batted with more authority and bowled with more intent and just to emphasise that, they did both even better today despite resting three senior players.

Tillakaratne Dilshan followed up his century in the previous match with 99 and shared in a second-wicket stand of 163 with Lahiru Thirimanne who found confidence with a half-century, while Kumar Sangakkara racked up milestones. He overtook Misbah-ul-Haq as the leading run-scorer in ODIs this year and become the top-scorer for Sri Lanka in a bilateral series with 372 runs. With all those accolades, his best mate, Mahela Jayawardene was hardly missed.

Neither was Sri Lanka's marquee fast bowler, Lasith Malinga, or leading spinner Rangana Herath. Their replacements, Suranga Lakmal and Sachithra Senanayake, did the damage with five wickets between them to ensure even the flicker of a challenge South Africa posed was suffocated before it find any oxygen.

Although South Africa have scored more runs in each innings as this series wore on, they were always unlikely to chase down a score of 300-plus. They have a lethargic bowling performance and indifferent showing in the field to thank for being asked to do that.

Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe started well with probing lines outside offstump and had early success. They kept Sri Lanka's scoring rate under four an over and Morkel had Kusal Perera out when the opener bottom-edged to Quinton de Kock.

What South Africa should have used as an opening, Sri Lanka grabbed onto as an opportunity. They moved Thirimanne up the order and he responded by building steadily alongside Dilshan.

They pair gave themselves time against South Africa's ineffectual spin duo so that when Morkel was brought back, he posed little threat. Dilshan reached his half-century with a backfoot drive off him, while Thrimanne's came with a single off Phangiso. By the halfway mark, they were consistently scoring more than four runs an over and had laid enough foundation to up the aggression.

And they did. The very next over, Thirimanne charged Phangiso and drove Morkel with confidence. He could have been stumped for 62 but Quinton de Kock missed the chance. It only cost six runs before JP Duminy took a tumbling catch to see Thirimanne out but illustrated a wider South African problem.

Their fielding was not up to scratch, they didn't back up enough, their throws were wayward and de Villiers' communication in changing his fields was almost non-existent. All this while Sangakkara arrived and smoked Duminy back over his head and hit Morkel of all of his lengths. The three fours that came in the over where off a good length ball, a full one and a short one.

Sangakkara missed out on a century the last time he batted with Dilshan but this time it was Dilshan's turn to suffer that fate. He marched into the 90s with an authoritative pull and lingered on 99 for three balls before he was bowled by a McLaren slower ball.

In celebration of his wicket, South Africa seemed to forget all their plans. Tsotsobe reverted back to short balls and Morkel could not find any workable line or length. His figures were the most expensive of his career. Mathews let loose and Thisara Perera had licence to go wild but it was Sangakkara's presence that made a score over 300 possible.

He smacked 49 runs on the on-side and helped himself to extravagant shots like scoops over de Kock's head. He was largely responsible for the addition of 52 runs in the last five overs and for South Africa's mountain being too high.

They started gallantly, with de Kock showing his promise with powerful cuts, and 32 runs scored off the first five overs. He remained loose outside the offstump and when he left a gap between bat and pad against Senanayake, he was bowled. The 35 he put on with Hashim Amla was South Africa's highest opening stand of the series.

Amla and Duminy put on 25 before Amla also failed to read Senanayake and was plumb lbw. Dumimy padded up to Dilshan and Faf du Plessis' lean run grew longer when was caught. At 69 for 4, South Africa were only headed one way.

De Villiers scored a-run-a-ball 51 but was caught at point on his first attempt to lash out. South Africa they were eventually put out of their misery in the 44th over to hand Sri Lanka a 4-1 win and leave themselves with more questions than answers about the rebuilding of their one-day unit.

Imran Khan Talent Hunt Programme starts next month

PESHAWAR: 

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday announced it will launch the ‘Imran Khan Talent Hunt Programme’ in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) from the end of next month.

Talking to journalists at the Peshawar Press Club, PTI Sports and Culture President Iftikhar Elahi said promising cricketers will be selected at the provincial level and Imran Khan will come to Peshawar to train the players himself.

“PTI Chairman Imran Khan wants to bring the cricket team of K-P at par with the national team,” said Elahi, adding the area has “great talent” but requires training opportunities.

“We will also introduce indoor games after cricket selection,” he added. K-P General Secretary Asif Orakzai said they will select an under-19 team from Peshawar Sports Complex and train the players for three weeks. The chosen team will compete against four other teams, one from each province and Gilgit-Baltistan. The winner would be sent to Tajikistan for further training on the special directives of the party chairman.

ICC World Cup 2015: Pakistan, India to clash on February 15

MELBOURNE: 

Defending champions India will face off against long-time rivals Pakistan, while World Cup co-hosts Australia and New Zealand have been drawn in the same group for the 2015 tournament, officials said yesterday.

The first match of the prestigious one-day tournament will be held in Christchurch, the New Zealand city devastated by an earthquake in 2011, when the locals take on Sri Lanka on February 14.

Later that day, Australia will face Ashes foes England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground — also the venue for the day-night final match of the flagship tournament of the 50-over game on March 29.

“The 2015 tournament will mark 40 years since the first World Cup in 1975 and that history of great contests and heroes helps make the tournament what it is — the most sought-after prize in our increasingly global game,” said ICC chief executive David Richardson.

“I’m absolutely confident that the success of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will further strengthen the status of 50-over cricket as a successful and viable format alongside Tests and Twenty20 Internationals.”

Australia and New Zealand, whose prime ministers attended launches at simultaneous events in Melbourne and Wellington, are grouped with England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and two qualifiers in the contest, held once every four years.

Title-holders India are pooled with Pakistan, South Africa, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and one other qualifying team.

“This is one of the biggest events in world sport,” said Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

“It will help attract cricket fans from around the globe and work as an initiative to  promote Australia and our close friend New Zealand internationally.”

Australia will stage 26 games at grounds in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. New Zealand will host 23 games in seven cities, including Christchurch where international cricket is set to return for the first time since the 6.3-magnitude quake which killed 185 people in 2011.

The tournament will also visit the cities of Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington.

The top four sides from each pool will go through to the knockout stage.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said he was encouraged by the draw.

“We’ve had recent success over both Sri Lanka and England in one-dayers, so to face them and a qualifying team in the first three matches is certainly an encouraging draw for us,” he said.

Ireland has already qualified for the event, but the other three other teams will be determined by the ICC World Cricket League Championship 2011-2013 in October. A qualifier will be hosted in New Zealand in January and February 2014.

Pool A

England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Qualifier 2 (TBD), Qualifier 3 (TBD)

Pool B

South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Qualifier 1 (Ireland), Qualifier 4 (TBD)

I am Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi  – Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi was born on 1 March 1980 in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan, popularly known asShahid Afridi,  is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2012, Afridi played 27 Tests, 334 One Day Internationals, and 46 Twenty20 Internationals  for the Pakistani national team. He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia.

Shahid Afridi is known for his aggressive batting style, and holds the record for the fastest ODI century which he made in his first international innings, as well as scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest scoring over ever in an ODI. He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket. Shahid Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 300 in ODIs. Currently Shahid Afridiis the leading wicket taker in the Twenty20 format taking 53 wickets from 43 matches.Shahid Afridi has signed to play for the Sydney Thunderin Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash league. In June 2009, Shahid Afridi took over the Twenty20 captaincy from Younus Khan, and was later appointed ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup.