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Head pulls out of Yorkshire deal

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Travis Head will no longer be representing Yorkshire in this summer’s NatWest T20 Blast competition due to international commitments.Head has been called up by Australia A for their forthcoming tour of South Africa from mid-July to early August.The left-handed batsman has been named in both squads, and he will captain Australia A in the one-day tri series with the A sides of South Africa and India.Yorklshire are currently assessing their options in terms of an overseas replacement to join Peter Handscomb in the Yorkshire ranks.This is the second blow for a county in 24 hours: Andrew Tye, another Australian, pulled out of Gloucestershire’s NatWest Blast squad on Thursday because of a shoulder complaint.

Smith and Windward bowlers overwhelm Jamaica

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An unbeaten first-innings century from Devon Smith, coupled with Kyle Mayers and Shane Shillingford’s resounding returns, piloted Windward Islands to an eight-wicket victory inside three days over Jamaica at the Arnos Vale Ground.Jamaica’s decision to bat received little validation from their batsmen as they were bowled out for a paltry 56 in 19.4 overs. Only two of their batsmen got into double-figures, with wicketkeeper Devon Thomas registering a top score of 15. Their undoing was spearheaded by the fast-bowling duo of Mayers (6 for 29) and Delorn Johnson (4 for 26).Windward’s reply was led by Smith’s unbeaten 253-ball 100. His second ton in three matches, and 29th overall, all but nullified opposition captain Nikita Miller’s 5 for 58 and secured a lead of 167 for his side. That began to look match-winning as soon as Mayers picked up two wickets in successive overs to reduce Jamaica to 21 for 2. Offspinner Shane Shillingford then took over, picking up his 37th first-class five-wicket haul and finishing with 7 for 91. Raul Palmer, with 46 off 128 balls, and Fabian Allen, with 77 off 95 balls, were the strongest sources of the Jamaican resistance as they were bowled out for 262.Left with a target of 96, Windward were able to win despite Smith retiring hurt and Tyrone Theophile (36) and Jerlani Robinson (19) losing their wickets.Two half-centuries and a match haul of 9 for 42 from Roshon Primus helped Trinidad and Tobago hammer Barbados by 130 runs at Kensington OvalBatting at No. 7 Primus lifted T&T from 122 for 5 to 196 in the first innings with an 80-ball 60 – his third first-class fifty. It was the only notable contribution besides a 53-run second-wicket stand between Amir Jangoo (32) and Isaiah Rajah’s (38) and at that point it seemed like Barbados had the upper hand with Kevin Stoute and Justin Greaves taking seven wickets between them.But then they slumped to 34 for 6 in their first innings with Primus doing the star turn again as he removed three of the top five batsmen for single-digit scores. Stoute (81) and Kenroy Williams (46) tried to wrest the initiative back with a 90-run stand for the seventh wicket but Primus’ returns of 4 for 21 along with Bryan Charles’ 3 for 32 bowled Barbados out for 168 and gave T&T a 28-run lead.T&T wicketkeeper Jangoo then plundered seven fours and two sixes to amass a top score of 71 off 131 balls in the second innings, while Primus chipped in with a 62-ball 51, before Greaves’ 5 for 63 ended the T&T innings at 211.Set a target of 240, Barbados plummeted from 62 for 4 to 78 for 9 within the space of eight overs, with Primus taking 5 for 21. No batsman scored more than 20 as Barbados were bowled out for 109 in 40 overs.

Harris and Dean put Victoria on top

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ScorecardFor the second time in his career, Marcus Harris scored a century in a Sheffield Shield final•Getty Images

Openers Marcus Harris and Travis Dean gave Victoria the perfect start in their push to complete a hat-trick of Sheffield Shield titles, setting up a strong first day with the bat for the Bushrangers. Harris scored his second century of the Shield season and Dean fell just short of doing the same, but their 224-run opening stand put Victoria on the path to a hefty total against South Australia.At stumps on the first day in Alice Springs, Victoria had moved along to 3 for 322, with Rob Quiney on 44 and Cameron White on 7. It brought an end to a tough day in the field for the Redbacks, who are searching for their first Shield title in more than two decades. However, they had brought some of the misery on themselves through a lacklustre fielding display, with both Harris and Dean given lives.Harris was first dropped on 54 when he edged Joe Mennie to first slip, where Daniel Worrall put down a sitter; Harris had another let-off on 59 when a drive off Chadd Sayers skewed to backward point, where Jake Lehmann dropped a harder opportunity. In between those two misses, Callum Ferguson at gully also grassed a chance to give Dean a reprieve.South Australia also missed a couple of run-out opportunities, and the Victorians made the Redbacks pay for their sloppy work, raising the second-highest opening stand of this Sheffield Shield summer. Harris brought up his hundred and in his first season for Victoria continued to build his reputation as a big-game player: in the 2014-15 final he had made 81 and 158* for Western Australia to be Man of the Match.The partnership ended only when Dean was bowled by a well-flighted delivery from Adam Zampa for 94, and Harris fell in the next over for 120 when he drove at Sayers and was caught by Mennie at gully, but Rob Quiney and Aaron Finch continued to frustrate the Redbacks with a 72-run stand that came to an end when Finch was lbw to Sayers for 38. But at stumps, Victoria remained firmly in control of the contest.

Jayasuriya exposes Lions' frailties against spin

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Sri Lanka A 187 for 6 (Jayasuriya 83) beat England Lions 184 (Bell-Drummond 51, Jayasuriya 5-35) by four wickets
ScorecardShehan Jayasuriya starred with bat and ball in a comfortable Sri Lanka victory•AFP

Beneath the shadow of Elephant Rock, England Lions produced the sort of under-par display that even an elephant would want to forget in a hurry. There are some Lions on this tour, batsmen and bowlers alike, who will hope the selectors also have an uncharacteristic attack of amnesia about the events of the past week as Sri Lanka A have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.Sri Lanka’s tormenter with bat and ball was Shehan Jayasuriya, stocky and bearded, whose offspin in his home country has only ever been regarded as serviceable, but who took 5 for 35 as the Lions managed 184 in a sub-standard batting display. Jayasuriya completed a thoroughly satisfying day with a doughty, run-a-ball 83. His follow-up was needed, too, Sri Lanka A’s sense of superiority being somewhat tarnished when they lost six wickets in overhauling an untaxing target with 13 overs to spare.To his credit, Jayasuriya has won a smattering of full caps over the past two years and he does have a habit of tormenting touring teams: he also took five wickets against the Australians at the P Sara stadium in July. Steve O’Keefe took five wickets in the same match and has done all right for himself since.Jayasuriya also caught the attention when he moved last season from Colombo to the less fashionable outstation club, Chilaw Marians, a fishing town on Sri Lanka’s north-west coast – although they play their games closer to the capital, near the airport. Nevertheless, players normally move in the opposite direction but, if Jayasuriya helps to build the status of cricket outside the main centres, it will be a thoroughly good thing. It proved a successful move: Chilaw finished second in the league and Jayasuriya scored 853 runs at 47, but even at club level his impact as a bowler was limited.For the second match in a row, therefore, England Lions fell to a slow bowler regarded as serviceable but rarely seen as a matchwinner. In the second match in Dambulla, the skipper, Milinda Siriwardana, another spin bowler of limited reputation, took four.Now it was Jayasuriya’s turn to prosper – two wickets held at slip, two at leg slip and, to begin the procession, Keaton Jennings slicing to long off as he never quite locked on to a slower, wider delivery. Throughout the tour, whether over four days or one, the captain has got a start then got out.Only Ben Duckett, who set up the innings with some brief, low-slung pillaging before he was yorked by Asitha Fernando, making room to drive, and Daniel Bell-Drummond, who provided a reflective half-century while wickets fell around him, could draw some satisfaction from this Lions batting display.Bell-Drummond has received intense tuition about playing spin bowling from Graham Thorpe and Andy Flower in Dubai in the past two winters, and he knocked the ball around contentedly, but even he will have been frustrated by his edged drive to slip the over after he reached fifty.The rest was a sorry affair. Jayasuriya took wickets in successive balls when he removed Tom Alsop, who cut a ball too close to him after ignoring a chance to cut earlier in the over, and Liam Livingstone for a duck. Livingstone’s first-baller as he deflected to leg slip came after three exhausting innings in little more than a week so at least he could get out of the sun for a while. Jeffrey Vandersay made a legspinner bounce to have Joe Clarke caught at slip before Jayasuriya returned at the media end to defeat Ben Foakes on the sweep and remove Sam Curran, beaten in the flight, at first slip.The Lions were purposeful in the field and, when Sri Lanka lost their third wicket at 95, in the 22nd over, they were actually worse off at the same stage. But Jayasuriya’s range grew with every over, finishing with a fusillade of blows against Curran and Livingstone before falling to a lofted off-drive in the manner of a man who felt the match was as good as won.That confidence might have wobbled briefly when England’s spinners, Ollie Rayner and Livingstone, then took a wicket apiece, but a decent crowd in a ground starved of top-level cricket were able to celebrate the finish they wanted.On three occasions, twice in Dambulla and now in Kurunegala, the Lions have been thoroughly outplayed on low, slow turners. England’s capitulation in India when they fell 4-0 in the Test series and were also beaten in both one-day formats, deepened concern about their slow-bowling resources.There are no easy remedies. A lack of top-class county spinners, it seems, has also naturally led to a generation of batsmen unpracticed in the art of playing slow bowling. The toss regulations introduced last season, which gave the visiting side first option to bowl, should help by controlling the reliance on green seamers, but it is a constant challenge to raise standards.With three matches gone, hindsight suggests that it might have been wise for Tom Westley to remain with the squad after his success in the four-day matches. The departure of Tom Curran to join England’s senior squad in the Caribbean was also unfortunate for the Lions because he was the seam bowler most adept at the change-ups so beneficial on such surfaces.With the series won, Sri Lanka will take the chance to blood many others in Colombo. Danushka Gunathilaka has already joined the senior squad which faces Bangladesh in the first Test in Galle on Tuesday. They arrive with tales of a Lions side struggling to compete.One English-born spinner is having a happy close-season, however. Mason Crane, the Hampshire legspinner, might conceivably have been on this trip, but instead he is playing Sydney grade cricket on an ECB Overseas Placement and receiving tuition from the former Australian leggie Stuart MacGill. With three seven-fors for Gordon to his name, he has been called into the New South Wales squad to face South Australia at the SCG and could become the first overseas player to represent NSW since Imran Khan in 1984.

Powell century helps Leeward thump Kent by 105 runs

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Kieran Powell’s third century of the tournament and a three-for from Alzarri Joseph helped Leeward Islands open up a six-point lead in the Group A table, following a 105-run win over Kent in Antigua.Opening the innings, Powell shared half-century stands with Montcin Hodge and Nkrumah Bonner for the first and second wickets respectively, guiding his team to 170 for 2 in the 37th over before he was dismissed. Powell’s 106 came off 111 balls and included five fours and four sixes, and was also his fourth consecutive fifty-plus score. After Powell’s departure, contributions from Rahkeem Cornwall (43 off 28 balls) and Gavin Tonge (28 off 15 balls) pushed the score to 275.Kent were reduced to 60 for 4 by the 15th over before Will Gidman and Alex Blake (44 off 76 balls) added the highest partnership of the innings – 41 for the fifth wicket. Once that stand was broken, they suffered another slump, losing four wickets for 36 runs by the 35th over. They were eventually dismissed for 170 in the 40th over. Apart from Joseph, who took 3 for 62, Jason Campbell and Akeal Hosein picked up two wickets each, with Hosein conceding only 28 runs in his 10 overs.Windward Islands eased to a five-wicket win over West Indies Under-19s, banking on seamer Kyle Mayers’ 4 for 38 and Shane Shillingford’s 3 for 22. The pair ensured that WI U-19s were limited to 207 for 9 after a first-wicket partnership off 88 and promising knocks from openers, Shian Brathwaite (42) and Matthew Patrick (45). Shillingford began WI U-19s’ slide with the wickets of Brathwaite and Bhaskar Yadram before Mayers cut through the middle order. Windward suffered a wobble in their pursuit, but an unbeaten 67 off 78 balls from Sunil Ambris – his fourth half-century of the tournament – saw the side home in the 41st over. Shillingford’s supporting role with the bat, an unbeaten 25 off 16 deliveries, helped him clinch the Player-of-the-Match award.

Thunder gain momentum with Hurricanes rout

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe Hobart Hurricanes batsmen, save George Bailey, failed to help themselves at a raucous Bellerive Oval•Cricket Australia

Before this tournament, the Sydney Thunder general manager Nick Cummins indicated that the defending champions needed to attack BBL06 as though they were the bottom team.Having started with four consecutive defeats, they had no choice but to follow this dictum. Two wins later, the Thunder will have a few other sides looking over their shoulders.This was a comfortable victory over the Hobart Hurricanes at a raucous Bellerive Oval, made all the more significant for the identities of the principal contributors: Fawad Ahmed, Carlos Brathwaite, James Vince and Shane Watson.Containing interestsLegspin is an inherently attacking art, devised to fool batsmen and harvest wickets for the price of a few boundaries. However, the truncated nature of T20 means economy can be as valuable as incisiveness, as Fawad amply showed on the same ground where he prospered for Victoria in the 2015 Sheffield Shield final.Conceding just 19 from four overs, Fawad sapped much of any potential momentum from the Hurricanes’ innings, following up from the early wickets procured by Clint McKay and Pat Cummins in the first two overs of the innings. His accuracy also meant a rare expensive outing for Chris Green was not overly damaging, and kept George Bailey from spreading his wings too far in the most spinal innings from among Hobart’s batsmen.Carlos Brathwaite contributed to Sydney Thunder’s win with two wickets on debut•Getty Images

Taking chargeWatson is the only man left from the powerful Khawaja-Kallis-Hussey-Watson quartet that drove the Thunder so far towards a maiden BBL title last summer. Early in this tournament he was absent through injury, much as the Thunder themselves were unable to offer the sort of presence expected.But a superb return catch to account for Kevin Pietersen in the narrow home win over Melbourne Stars marked Watson’s first major contribution to the campaign, and here he followed up with an innings to not only secure victory but also add to the Thunder’s problematic net run-rate. In the space of 31 balls he struck five sixes, a haul not quite in Chris Lynn territory but still two more than the Hurricanes managed in their entire innings.New dogs, old tricksHaving lost Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell to England and injury respectively, the Thunder needed swift returns for their investments in their replacements James Vince and Brathwaite; both came to the party in welcome ways.Brathwaite’s fast medium lacks Russell’s potential for the explosive, but he made up for the pace differential with canny slower balls to deceive first Dan Christian and then Jon Wells. Vince then put together a smart introductory innings, helping to pile up 58 without loss from the opening Powerplay and effectively muting the Hurricanes and their decidedly partisan crowd. The Thunder are still in with a chance, and Brathwaite and Vince did plenty to keep them there.

Marlon Samuels' 55* carries Comilla home

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMarlon Samuels hit his second fifty of the competition to steer Comilla home•BCB

Comilla Victorians dented Rajshahi Kings’ charge towards a last-four finish, beating them by eight wickets with eight balls to spare. Young allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin took three wickets to help restrict Rajshahi to 124 for 7 before Marlon Samuels struck an unbeaten 55 off 41 to complete a convincing chase.The win took Comilla to six points on the table, still well behind Rajshahi, on 10. With two rounds of matches to go, Rajshahi will be engaged in a closely-contested battle with Rangpur Riders, also on 10 points, and Khulna Titans, on 12 points, as the race for semi-final berths tightens.Comilla opener Imrul Kayes holed out to deep square leg in the fourth over of the chase, giving Rajshahi a sniff. But Ahmed Shehzad and Marlon Samuels held sway thereafter, adding 90 off 69 for the second wicket. Shehzad struck four fours and a six in his 45-ball 46, while Samuels hit two fours and four sixes in what was his second fifty of the competition.Shehzad was dismissed with 19 runs left for victory, but Samuels and Khalid Latif steered the chase home with no further losses.Earlier, Saifuddin removed the dangerous Samit Patel in the ninth over before dismissing Mehedi Hasan and Rajshahi captain Darren Sammy in the 12th over, reducing them to 59 for 6. Comilla captain Mashrafe Mortaza picked up two wickets while Nabil Samad and Rashid Khan took one each.Only James Franklin, making his first BPL appearance, stood out among the Rajshahi batsmen, making an unbeaten 44 off 31 that included two fours and three sixes. He struck two of those sixes in the last over, bowled by Shahadat Hossain, that cost Comilla 24 runs. In the end, even that late charge proved too little for Rajshahi.

Australia seal nervy chase after Chandimal ton

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:48

By the Numbers

There were reasons for Sri Lankan fans to cheer at the third ODI in Dambulla. But the result wasn’t one of them. On a day when Tillakaratne Dilshan was farewelled from one-day international cricket, and Dinesh Chandimal scored his fourth ODI hundred, Australia held on for a tense victory that gave them a 2-1 series lead with two to play – and gave David Warner a 100% success rate as an international captain.Not that it was all smooth sailing. Chasing 227, Australia relatively cruised most of the way. At 187 for 4 they needed only 40 more runs, with George Bailey and Matthew Wade both well set, but suddenly Sri Lanka’s spinners came into the game. Four wickets fell in quick time and it was beginning to look like Australia might find a way to throw it away. It was Adam Zampa who struck the winning runs, a boundary behind point off Amila Aponso, and a single five balls later.It wasn’t any old single – it was cut in the air towards extra cover, where Dilruwan Perera hurled himself into the air to try for a one-handed catch. The ball didn’t stick, and the result was sealed: a two-wicket win, though with four overs remaining. That Sri Lanka came that close to pulling the rug out from under Australia was a fine effort, given the solid way the chase unfolded through two key partnerships.In the absence of captain Steven Smith, who had flown home for a rest, Australia needed a leader to steer the chase. It would not be Warner, who fell in the fifth over to a terrific diving catch from Dilshan at point off Mathews. Nor would it be Aaron Finch, lbw to Aponso for a brisk 30, nor Shaun Marsh, caught by a diving Chandimal at mid-off off Mathews for 1.The man was Bailey, the most experienced ODI player in the side. He set about building a 62-run partnership with Travis Head, and then an 81-run stand with Wade that took Australia to within sight of their victory. It wasn’t always easy; Sri Lanka’s spinners were always a threat, but they needed more runs to defend, their own batting having been disappointing earlier in the day.Head played a mature innings of 36 that ended when he went back to cut Dilruwan, only to see the ball skid on to his stumps. And Wade, a consistent performer this series, contributed 42 before he missed a sweep and was stumped off the same bowler. That was the wicket that precipitated Australia’s collapse, though as it happened they were by then just close enough to get over the line.The Sri Lankan crowd came alive as the spinners crowded Australia’s batsmen. Bailey simply missed a legbreak from Seekkuge Prasanna and was bowled for 70, then in the next over James Faulkner holed out to deep square leg off Aponso. The Finisher was finished, but Australia weren’t quite yet. Mitchell Starc sent Prasanna over long-on for six but was caught in the next over trying for another off Dhananjaya de Silva. Zampa walked to the crease with five runs still needed, and he got them, with John Hastings unbeaten at the other end.Sri Lanka’s own innings – all out for 226 in the 50th over – never quite looked like enough. Wickets fell regularly throughout the innings, the only half-century partnership a 73-run combination between Chandimal and Dilshan. Zampa was again a key weapon, collecting 3 for 38 from his 10 overs, and there were two victims each for Starc, Faulkner and Hastings.The innings was built around Chandimal’s fourth ODI hundred. Of late in one-day cricket, Chandimal has been batting like he’s Keanu Reeves in , afraid something terrible will happen if he drops below 50. He did so, marginally, in the second ODI in Colombo, where his 48 ended his hopes of becoming the first Sri Lankan to make six consecutive one-day international fifties. But in Dambulla he was back. His last seven ODI innings now read: 52, 62, 63, 53, 80*, 48 and 102.Chandimal’s approach was simple: push the ball into the gaps and rotate the strike. Repeat, and repeat. That method brought him 56 singles, although he managed seven boundaries as well, driving when the fast men overpitched or punishing them for bowling too straight. His half-century came up with a deft dab for four wide of the wicketkeeper off Hastings from his 66th ball.His primary support came from Dilshan, the retiring hero who struck five fours on his way to an enterprising 42. But the dream of a big farewell innings ended when Dilshan whacked a Zampa full toss to midwicket and was well caught by Bailey. To the applause of players and fans, Dilshan walked off with a bow fitting for the entertainer that he was, the owner of 10,290 ODI runs, the 11th-highest tally in history.Sri Lanka’s other batsmen were disappointing. For the second time in the series Starc struck in the first over of the innings, bowling Danushka Gunathilaka, and the total wobbled to 23 for 2 when Kusal Mendis edged Josh Hazlewood to slip for 4. The wickets fell with regularity again after Dilshan departed.Mathews was lbw for 2 to Zampa, who had pitched the ball on leg and straightened it just enough. Marsh ran and jumped to his left at mid-on to snare de Silva for 12 off Faulkner, and also held one in the deep when Thisara Perera holed out off Hastings for 9. In between those takes, Starc’s brutal inswinging yorker accounted for Kusal Perera, who kept one out but could not manage two and saw his stumps rattled on 11.Prasanna picked out deep midwicket off Zampa and Dilruwan added 17 before chipping a catch to midwicket off Hastings, which left Chandimal nervously hoping the No.11 Aponso could help him reach triple figures. He did so, and the Sri Lankan fans roared. The final result was not so pleasing for them.

CPL exposure will help USA cricket – Sangakkara

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The Caribbean Premier League’s initial foray into the USA kicked off on Friday with the arrival of Jamaica Tallawahs at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, six days ahead of the first CPL games to be played in the USA. Tallawahs wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, who captained Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 International played in the USA at the same facility in 2010, has said the CPL could help the growth of cricket in USA.”It’s very exciting to be back,” Sangakkara said at the Tallawahs first press conference in Lauderhill on Friday. “I remember when we played New Zealand here in 2010, [it was] two very competitive games and I think it finished one-all and we enjoyed our time here.”To bring cricket back to Fort Lauderdale, to be here at Broward Park to play again is just about making sure the game is exposed to new viewership, to encourage new spectators to come and watch what happens on a cricket field, to watch the differences between cricket and baseball and to hopefully better understand it and hopefully grow to like it enough to actually experiment playing it.”The first experience for Sangakkara did not provide the fireworks that were billed to new fans, with scores under 100 in three of four innings, and a total of four sixes hit during the two games. Two years later, West Indies posted 209 for 2 against new Zealand, a record total at the time.However, it has been four years since high-level cricket has been played at the facility. In its absence, soccer has been a primary tenant, resulting in the square being dug up and relaid. New Zealand curator Mark Perham has been brought in to work on the pitches.”The pitch looks pretty good and by the reports that we hear over the years there’s been a lot of improvement done,” Sangakkara said. “A new curator has been doing a lot of hard work trying to get it up to standard and by the scores of the subsequent matches played after we were here it seems all pretty good.”We hope that the crowds do come in and the ordinary American comes in and has a look to see what it’s all about. It could be just a case of curiosity, or it could be that they’ve heard of it before or watched it on TV once or twice maybe but crowd participation is absolutely important to any sport. It’s absolutely vital. That’s what the players play for, to play in front of a packed stadium, having kids and families come and watch. That’s what I think drives us or any sport higher.”Sangakkara toured the USA in November last year as part of the Cricket All-Stars series. The largest crowd of the three games featured 27,000 people at Citi Field in New York City. Although the Central Broward Regional Park has a capacity of 10,000, Sangakkara said it will be as good for the fans due to the facility being designed for cricket.”Either way it’s got to be entertaining,” Sangakkara said. “Whether it’s 10,000 in a small stadium where it feels as if it’s a much larger crowd because it gets noisier and the atmosphere is a little more intense. In baseball stadiums we played in, there were a huge amount of people there but they were far removed from the action because of how the stadium is configured. Either way I think it’s all about getting smiles on their faces, making sure that when they walk away after three and a half hours they walk away with good memories.”

Forty-over Zimbabwe Premier League announced

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In a bid to revive a club system that has become crippled with inactivity, Zimbabwe Cricket have announced a Premier League, but not of the twenty-over variety like many other countries. The Zimbabwe Premier League (ZPL) will be a forty-over competition involving eight clubs and will be played as a conventional league, with no final, and a winner declared after seven rounds.The bulk of the teams come from Zimbabwe’s two main cricketing centres, Harare and Bulawayo. Takashinga Cricket Club, famed for being the breeding ground of some of Zimbabwe’s most notable players, including Tatenda Taibu, Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda, will have two teams called Patriots 1 and Patriots 2, while Rainbow are the club from the capital. Bulawayo’s metro and northern areas will be represented by the Amakhosi and Inkatha teams respectively, and Masvingo’s Southern Lions make up the other standalone side. Manicaland and Mashonaland East will have one team between them, the Eastern Lions, while Mashonaland West and Midlands will play as the Muzvezve Tigers.The league kicks off this Saturday and will continue through Zimbabwe’s Tests against New Zealand in Bulawayo and beyond, as a precursor to the summer. All players not featuring in the internationals but who are part of the national and domestic set-up in Zimbabwe are expected to take part in this competition, which ZC is hoping to use to increase the player pool and grow depth.”The ZPL is a very important competition involving Zimbabwe’s top clubs fighting it out for the national honours,” Givemore Makoni, ZC’s head of cricket affairs, said. “It’s top-notch cricket with all national team players not in the Test side expected to turn out for clubs in the league. This means youngsters will get the chance to play with and against experienced international players, which will quickly bring them through.”Apart from the ZPL, Zimbabwe’s domestic structures continue to include first-class, fifty-over and twenty-over competitions.