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USWNT midfielder Sam Coffey has explained why she wore Becky Sauerbrunn's No. 4 jersey for her team's 2-1 friendly win over China.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

USWNT beat China in friendlyCoffey takes over No. 4 shirtScored in victory for hostsWHAT HAPPENED?

The USWNT came from behind to beat China 2-1 in a friendly in Texas. Coffey, who took over Sauerbrunn's No. 4 shirt for the game, curled home a fine equaliser to net her first international goal for the Stars and Stripes. Jaedyn Shaw then followed up with the winner on her first-ever USWNT start to make it a good night for Twila Kilgore's side.

AdvertisementTHE EXPLANATION

There was no Sauerbrunn in the USWNT squad for the game, with the veteran defender missing out alongside other big names such as Alex Morgan, Alyssa Naeher, and Crystal Dunn. Interim coach Kilgore instead went for a youthful roster for the two friendlies with China. The absences allowed Coffey to take on the No. 4 shirt, although she also admitted after the game she had asked the long-time captain for permission.

GettyWHAT COFFEY SAID

Coffey told : "I would never pick it without addressing Rebecca! So I reached out to her and I was like, ‘Hey, would you mind if I wore this? I’d love to just honor you and channel your energy. Obviously, Becky is my teammate, but she's also a hero of mine and someone I look up to. I told her after the game, ‘This means that you scored an international goal.’ And she was like, ‘Oh, is that how it works?’"

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DID YOU KNOW?

Coffey is the fifth different player to score her first USWNT goal in 2023. The last year more players scored their first goal was in 2013 (6).

Zimbabwe Cricket has confirmed the upcoming tour to Pakistan against the advice of the country’s Sports and Recreation Commission

Firdose Moonda17-May-20154:18

Raja: Need to applaud Zimbabwe Cricket’s effort

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has confirmed the upcoming tour to Pakistan against the advice of the country’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC). The board’s final decision comes after three days of debate, which began on Thursday when ZC issued a press release suspending the tour and 20 minutes later sent an email retracting it. In the interim, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had told journalists that ZC had been in contact with it and had reassured that the tour would take place as scheduled.The ICC, meanwhile, has decided not to appoint its match officials for the series after receiving a report from its security consultant. It had already made provision for the PCB to use its own umpires and match referees in such a case.ESPNcricinfo understands that Zimbabwe’s players were made to sign indemnity forms after their country’s foreign affairs ministry advised that a visit to Pakistan would not be safe. As a result, the SRC would not give permission for the tour to take place unless the players were going of their own accord, as the forms now state.Aleem Dar, Tiffin among officials for series

With the ICC refusing to send its own officials for the tour, the Pakistan Cricket Board released its list of match officials for the two T20 internationals and three ODIs. The list includes Aleem Dar, who is a part of the ICC’s Elite Panel, will officiate in the first ODI, while Zimbabwe umpire Russell Tiffin will be an on-field umpire for all three ODIs. The other officiating umpires are Ahsan Raza, Shozab Raza, Ahmed Shahab and Khalid Mahmood. Azhar Khan has been named match referee for all games.
Ahsan Raza was injured during the terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team in 2009, and had to undergo surgery to repair a collapsed lung and a damaged liver.

Several players were hesitant to make the trip, with a few even considering pulling out, but concerns over the impact that would have on the future of their careers forced them to change their minds. All 16 squad members, which includes six returnees and one new cap, have agreed to travel to Pakistan for the two T20 and three ODI series which begins on May 22.The visit makes Zimbabwe the first Test-playing nation to tour Pakistan since 2009, when an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus resulted in the suspension of international cricket from Pakistan. Afghanistan and Kenya have both toured Pakistan in that time, without incident.Zimbabwe have been promised VIP security which includes armed guards, an armed vehicle escort and helicopter monitoring of their travel in Lahore, the only city they will visit. An advance delegation of ZC officials visited Pakistan in the first week of May for a thorough explanation of the measures that had been put in place to protect the players and were satisfied with what they were shown.Despite that, the international player body FICA said their security report revealed that the risks of touring Pakistan were “unmanageable.”The series will be Zimbabwe’s first post the 2015 World Cup and first without Brendan Taylor in seven years.

Umar Gul has been called up to the ODI squad for the remainder of the series against Sri Lanka in the UAE. He will join the team on December 22, the day of the third match

Umar Farooq21-Dec-2013Umar Gul, the Pakistan fast bowler, will return to international cricket following a nine-month injury layoff, after the selectors included him in the squad for the remainder of the ODI series against Sri Lanka in the UAE. He will join the squad on Sunday, ahead of the third of five matches.”The national selection committee in consultation with the tour selection committee has decided to send Umar Gul to UAE as part of national ODI squad,” the PCB said. “He will join the Pakistan team on December 22.”The decision to pick Gul was made after Pakistan lost the second ODI in Dubai by six wickets despite posting 284, due to sloppy bowling in the death overs. Following the defeat, which left the series 1-1, Pakistan’s captain Misbah-ul-Haq immediately expressed concern about the lack of experience among his bowlers.Gul sustained a knee injury in March during the second ODI against South Africa in Centurion, and missed five series since, including the Champions Trophy. Following the injury, he travelled to Australia for surgery and after six weeks of rest, began his rehabilitation. He eased himself back into competitive cricket by featuring in List A matches in October and went on to play the Department Twenty20 Cup for Habib Bank, but his form remained unimpressive.Gul was to make a return against South Africa in October after regaining full fitness, but lacked match practice and continued his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. He subsequently failed a fitness Test before the announcement of the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series, and was asked to continue playing domestic cricket to regain his rhythm and form. He did that by taking 11 wickets against Port Qasim Authority in the President’s Trophy.

The one-off Twenty20 match between South Africa and India, to be played in Johannesburg on March 30, has left the majority of nine IPL franchises aggrieved

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Mar-2012Players on the run

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Albie Morkel
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, Jacques Kallis, Marchant de Lange
Pune Warriors: Robin Uthappa, Ashok Dinda, Rahul Sharma, Wayne Parnell, Allan Donald (bowling coach), Paddy Upton (mental conditioning coach)
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Richard Levy, Robin Peterson
Delhi Daredevils: Irfan Pathan, Morne Morkel
Kings XI Punjab: Praveen Kumar
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Vinay Kumar, AB de Villiers
Deccan Chargers: Dale Steyn, JP Duminy, Rusty Theron
Rajasthan Royals: Johan Botha

The one-off Twenty20 match between South Africa and India, to be played in Johannesburg on March 30, has left the majority of nine IPL franchises aggrieved. To get their preparations in place, team officials say they require a window of at least a week before the league begins.Even before the announcement of the Twenty20 fixture, IPL franchises considered their hands tied already, a packed international schedule also coinciding with the end of the domestic seasons in India and South Africa.The match, which Cricket South Africa announced would be an annual fixture, could leave a bunch of players exhausted as it comes at the back of long seasons for India and South Africa. The Twenty20 game to be played at the Wanderers comes three days after South Africa finish their tour of New Zealand with three back-to-back Tests, a week after the Asia Cup, and four days before the start of the IPL in Chennai on April 4. The match also comes close on the heels of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament (ending on March 27) and the MiWAY Cup (final on April 1), the domestic Twenty20 tournaments for India and South Africa respectively.MS Dhoni will lead a 15-member Indian squad for the one-off Twenty20 International, while at least ten South Africans belonging to the various IPL franchises are expected to take part. The South African squad is yet to be announced.In terms of numbers, the teams that would bear the maximum brunt from the Twenty20 are Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders; as many as five players from each of those two teams could feature in the India v South Africa game. Next are Pune Warriors, who have four of their players travelling for the match along with the coaching pair of Allan Donald and Paddy Upton. In fact, each of the nine franchises has at least one player in the match.”It disrupts the team schedule,” a franchise official told ESPNcricinfo. “You are going to be travelling for two days to go there and come back. Some of the players might be jet-lagged by the time they start playing.” Compounding the problem for some players would be the captains’ need to travel to Chennai on April 3 to sign the spirit of cricket document.Gautam Gambhir, the Knight Riders captain, would travel to Johannesburg on March 29, return to India on March 31. He is likely to rush to Kolkata, practice for a day or two, fulfil franchise promotion activities, and then slip in and out of Chennai on April 3 for the captains meet. On April 5, he will walk out for the toss in the Knight Riders’ season-opener against Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens.”You want to get the players at least a week before the tournament, otherwise it becomes difficult as your planning goes haywire. Ideally you would like to start the camp two weeks before the tournament. But with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 finishing only on Mach 27, it becomes an issue,” another franchise official said.An official from another franchise said a big hurdle during the previous four IPL seasons was that it took time for a diverse bunch of players to come together and understand each other. “You are trying to get 30 players from different parts of the world to group, but it becomes very difficult to get them together and ask them to gel in a matter of a few days.”Considering the Twenty20 is going to be an annual fixture, the consensus among the franchises is there should be a clear window of at least a week, if not two, for the players to join the camp. “If you have 10-day camp you can make some plans at least, play some practice matches to devise a few strategies and understand player strengths and weaknesses. But with this match, that is not possible entirely,” a franchise official said.The shortage of time also means that the problems regarding acclimatisation for overseas players only gets more difficult. “It is also about conditions. There are players who are coming from New Zealand and South Africa where the pitches are all bouncy and suddenly they find themselves on flatter tracks,” another franchise official said.There seems to be no solution, with various franchise officials saying their hands are tied and they would have to make do by working with the remaining players. “We cannot help it. What can we do? You can’t play the match after the IPL as the conditions are not favourable in South Africa. The only option is players will rush in and there will be too many things that would need to be done quickly.”

The question of scheduling a Twenty20 domestic tournament directly at odds with Australia’s Test preparations for the Australia-India Tests had Michael Hussey stumped

Alex Malcolm15-Dec-2011Michael Hussey has always been a diplomat. In school-yard terms you would describe him as the teacher’s pet, always sitting at the front of class, answering every question as perfectly as he can, eager to please, keen to say and do the right things. But the question of scheduling a Twenty20 domestic tournament directly at odds with Australia’s Test preparations for the Australia-India Tests had him stumped.”It’s a difficult one. I think . . . I think it’s err . . . I think, I don’t know what I think really.” Hussey said in a confused tone. He knew what he wanted to say. He just had to word it as carefully as he could.”I really want to be a part of the Test team,” Hussey said with clarity. “I love the traditional Test matches like the Boxing Day Test and the New Year’s Test. Obviously playing in my home Test match is really special as well. So, for me, that’s the No.1 priority.”With the amount of injuries that have been around the team in the last few months it does make you a little bit nervous that if you do have injuries to the Australian Test team, that we might be picking players that have only been playing Twenty20 cricket.”It is maybe a small concern. But from a Twenty20 point of view it is the ideal time to be playing the game with school holidays on and trying to get as many new kids down to the ground. And it’s important for us players to really engage with the young kids out there as well. It’s probably not ideal. But we’ve just got to live with it.”That was as controversial a comment as you could get from Hussey. You could tell in his own mind he was wrestling with the concept of promoting the game to a wider audience, whilst protecting the integrity of its traditional form.His Perth Scorcher team-mate Shaun Marsh is an example of an injured player possibly returning to the Test side through Twenty20 cricket.Marsh, still battling a bulging disc in his back, was hopeful he could play in a Big Bash League fixture for Perth, in Melbourne on December 22, in order to prove his fitness for the Boxing Day Test. Whether such an audition will be enough was another question.”I’m not too sure,” Marsh said. “I guess it would give me the confidence if I got through that game, that I could play in a Test match. Obviously Twenty20 is pretty quick and it would be nice to spend a bit of time out in the middle, but like I said, I’m not a selector, I’m not too sure what they’re thinking.”Switching from the shortest format to the longest version without any lead-in is not a new concept for Hussey. His sole preparation for Australia’s two-test Tour of India in 2010 was to participate for Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League in South Africa. Chennai’s success in that tournament forced Hussey into a more awkward situation than the present, which is a one-off outing for the Scorchers, against the Hobart Hurricanes at the WACA on Sunday, followed by the Boxing Day Test on December 26.”For me personally it’s only one game. We’ve had Test matches in Sri Lanka, South Africa, two Test matches against New Zealand so I think we’re still, pretty much, in Test mode. I don’t think one Twenty20 game will affect the preparation too much,” Hussey said.But he admitted it was not an easy task given his previous experiences.”I found it tough playing Test match cricket, a few years ago, and then going straight to a Twenty20 tournament. It took me a good couple of weeks to fully adapt to Twenty20 mode from Test match mode. So I guess I’m not expecting any miracles out here on Sunday. As I said, I’ll just go out there and enjoy it. If things go well, great, if not, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”

South Australia enter the Ryobi Cup final hoping to break a 25-year drought, while Tasmania are playing their fourth final in five years

Brydon Coverdale24-Feb-2012South Australia have not won the Ryobi Cup. They never won the Ford Ranger Ranger Cup. Nor the ING Cup, the Mercantile Mutual Cup or the FAI Cup. It’s so long since their last triumph in the state one-day competition that it was called the McDonald’s Cup at the time. That’s five name-changes ago. The season was 1986-87. David Hookes was the state’s captain. Glenn Bishop made a century in the final.And Darren Berry was a 17-year-old, still two years away from making his state debut. Now he is South Australia’s coach, the man responsible for steering the Redbacks to what could be a drought-breaking achievement when they take on Tasmania in the decider on Saturday. Last summer, Berry helped deliver the state their first silverware in 15 years with a win in the Big Bash final.Two titles in two years would be a real sign of improvement for the Redbacks, although they remain winless in the Sheffield Shield this season. They enter the match with three of the top five Ryobi Cup run scorers this summer – Michael Klinger, Tom Cooper and Callum Ferguson – and in the knowledge that they are hosting the match at a ground where they have been undefeated in this campaign.”Not being arrogant about it, but we’re expecting to win,” Berry told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve been the top team all year, we’ve won four games at the Adelaide Oval, our expectation is to win. Anything short of that would be a disappointment.”It’s been too long between drinks. It has been a long, long time. Then again, last year when I came across with the Twenty20 it had been a long time since they’d had some silverware and we got 28,000 people here last year to the final. Adelaide sporting people normally turn out for a big occasion. I hope they do Saturday night.”The Redbacks are certainly hoping for a big, partisan crowd. The SACA has decided to open the gates and allow free entry, and the prospect of seeing their state win a title might not be the only reason fans will turn out. There is also the chance to see Ricky Ponting play his first state final since the 1993-94 Sheffield Shield decider.The availability of Ponting is about as big an inclusion as a domestic side could hope for. One of the major challenges for Berry and the South Australia bowling coach Joe Dawes is to make an inexperienced bowling attack believe that Ponting is just another batsman, and is vulnerable like all others. To that end, his poor run in the ODI side over the past fortnight will be mentioned.”We would probably prefer that Ricky was still in the Australian side,” Berry said. “But he’s here and he’s a right-hand batsman that we just have to dismiss and at the moment, he’s showing some frailties in his game and in his technique so he’s as gettable as anybody.”But we have enormous respect for him and last time he batted on the Adelaide Oval he got a few. We just need to factor in that in his last five one-day innings he hasn’t got past 10. We always say that we need to play the game, not the name. Nathan Lyon is champing at the bit. He’s got a good relationship with Punter and I know he’s desperately keen, he’d love to get him out.”Tasmania will be a difficult opponent, and Berry conceded he would have preferred to face another team in the final. This will be the fourth one-day decider in five years for the Tigers, who won in 2007-08 and in 2009-10. Unlike the Redbacks, they have few men who have dominated with either bat or ball this season, but instead have a consistent group in which every player has pulled his weight.”I’ve got enormous respect for Tasmania, for [coach] Tim Coyle and what he’s done with this group over the last four years,” Berry said. “What they are is they’re well-drilled, they know one another really well, they’ve got a really good team camaraderie – the things we are trying to instil here in Adelaide with this group.”Tasmania have only two players who have scored more than 200 runs in the campaign, Ed Cowan and the captain George Bailey, and likewise there has been no standout in their attack. But a solid bowling group consisting of Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, Luke Butterworth, Ben Laughlin and Jason Krejza won’t be daunted by South Australia.”They’ve got a very good batting line-up, they’re very solid at the top of the order and have some very solid players through the middle and lower order where they can score quickly,” Coyle said. “They’ve always had a pretty heavy reliance on spin bowling and they’ve got quality spinners. Nathan Lyon is an outstanding one-day bowler and Aaron O’Brien the same. It’s a very good team and they’re highly respected by us.”But we go to Adelaide knowing that we’ve got nothing to lose. We’ve played in a lot of finals lately and we’re pretty used to it. There’s definitely a home-ground advantage. There’ll be a big crowd there, the gates are open free of charge. There’s a bit of pressure there with a big crowd to play in front of. We’ll go in with a free spirit and with the big inclusion of Ricky Ponting.”The match begins at 1.45pm in Adelaide on Saturday.South Australia Michael Klinger (capt), Daniel Harris, Callum Ferguson, Tom Cooper, Theo Doropoulos, James Smith, Cameron Borgas, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Aaron O’Brien, Joe Mennie, Nathan Lyon, Jake Haberfield, Gary Putland.Tasmania Ed Cowan, Jon Wells, Ricky Ponting, Mark Cosgrove, George Bailey (capt), Matt Johnston, Luke Butterworth, James Faulkner, Ashton May, Brady Jones (wk), Jason Krejza, Ben Laughlin, Jackson Bird.

Harbhajan Singh has said that he is looking to make a fresh start and is not depending on his past laurels

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2012Harbhajan Singh, who is back in the India Twenty20 squad for the upcoming New Zealand series and the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka after spending more than a year out of the team, has said that he is looking to make a fresh start and is not depending on his past laurels.”It’s always tough when you are out,” Harbhajan told . “Making a comeback is tougher than earning your maiden international call. It involves a lot of things. When you’re out, you get injured and then again out. It’s always been challenging.”You cannot live in the past glory. For anyone, it does not depend what you’ve done in the past but what you do in the present and future.”Harbhajan’s last international appearance was in the Trent Bridge Test during India’s tour of England in August 2011. A spate of injuries and a dip in form thereafter left him out of reckoning from the national squad. After below par returns during the IPL, Harbhajan set out for a stint playing county cricket for Essex, which helped him get his confidence back. After the news of his selection, he starred in a pro-40 match for Essex with a five-wicket haul.”I won’t say it was frustrating but at times it’s difficult not being part of the side for so long. But you’re used to the set up. Not only me, it can happen to anyone. You are always going to have ups and downs. But when you get the opportunity, you have to stand up and take it in your stride.”Harbhajan said that the upcoming Twenty20s are going to herald a new chapter in his career. “I had the willpower and the desire to wear the India jersey again – it’s the biggest thing for me. It makes me proud,” he said. “It’s not that I was dropped for the first time last year. But it has been for the longest period of time. It makes you feel as if you are doing it for the first time.””I was ready to work hard and take challenge. You get your family and friends’ support, but at the end of the day you’re all alone fighting it out there in the middle. With Almighty’s help, I’m here again and now I’m looking forward towards doing well.”

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier Division matches played on November 25, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2013A century from Gazi Tank Cricketers’ captain Mahmudullah was in vain as the side lost by 54 runs to Mohammedan Sporting Club, squandering a chance to seal their maiden title triumph in the Dhaka Premier Division.With Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club beating Kalabagan Cricket Academy, the last league round game between Gazi Tank and Prime Doleshwar SC on November 27 is a virtual final as both teams have 20 points from their games so far. The team with the most points at the end of the Super League will win the Dhaka Premier Division title.Set a target of 269, Gazi Tank were struggling at 7 for 3 in the fourth over, before Mahmudullah led the side’s recovery. He was involved in key partnerships with opener Imrul Kayes, Ryan Ten Doeschate and Ashar Zaidi for the fourth, fifth and sixth wickets, respectively, before falling a 125-ball 106. Mahmudullah’s second List A hundred included 12 fours and two sixes. His wicket in the 41st over, however, ended Gazi Tank’s resistance and they folded in the 42nd over for 214.Earlier, a 109-run third wicket stand between Upul Tharanga and Samit Patel and a cameo from Mashrafe Mortaza helped Mohammedan SC post 268 for 6. Tharanga and Patel came together at the fall of Shamsur Rahman’s wicket in the 19th over and the pair batted for the next 20 overs, Tharanga scored 62 off 90 balls while Samit Patel was out for 76 off 90 balls. Mortaza, who came in to bat in the 47th over, blasted a 15-ball 37 with six fours and a six before his fall in the last over.Dawid Malan’s fourth List A hundred helped Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club go level on points with Gazi Tank Cricketers in the Super League table, after securing a 15-run win over Kalabagan Cricket Academy in Fatullah.Malan’s 120-ball 123 included eight fours and six sixes, as he helped Prime DSC overcome a shaky start in which their openers, as well as Rony Talukder were all dismissed within 10 overs, leaving the team at 42 for 3. Malan was involved in two big partnerships – an 80-run stand for the fourth wicket with Mominul Haque and a sixth-wicket partnership of 104 runs with Sabbir Rahman – that eventually propelled the team to 287 for 7 in their 50 overs.KCA began poorly with the openers Avishek Mitra and Zakaria Masud both departing after 4.1 overs. They were precariously placed at 7 for 2, but Hamilton Masakadza and Marshall Ayub led the recovery, adding 123 runs in 21.2 overs for the third wicket. KCA were stable at 130 for 2, but Masakadza fell for a run-a-ball 69 in the 26th over, while Ayub lost his wicket for 67 in the 33rd. In between those two dismissals, Abdul Mazid had also been run-out for one to leave KCA at 159 for 5. Sharifullah’s late surge – a 55-ball 72 – was not enough for KCA as Prime DSC restricted them to 272 for 8.Mushfiqur Rahim led Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club’s charge once again, scoring a brisk 82 before Nahidul Islam and Elton Chigumbura took the side to a narrow, two-wicket win over Prime Bank Cricket Club.Chasing a target of 257, Dhanmondi Club were struggling at 73 for 4, before Mushfiqur stepped up and added 107 runs with Tanveer Haider for the fifth wicket. The pair, however, were dismissed in successive overs, Mushfiqur falling for 82 off 74 balls, with the score at 180 for 6. However, Nahidul and Chigumbura added 61 in nearly 10 overs to take the side closer to the target. Chigumbura remained unbeaten on 28 off 35 balls as Dhanmondi edged to victory with three balls to spare.Earlier, half-centuries from Ravi Bopara and Taibur Rahman helped Prime Bank reach 256 for 6 after the side were struggling at 64 for 3. Bopara and Taibur added 114 runs for the fourth wicket and Taibur finished unbeaten on 89 off 103 balls with seven fours and two sixes.

Rest of Sri Lanka rode on an all-round performance from Nuwan Kulasekara to secure a second comprehensive victory in the List-A tri-series in Pallekele, defeating Sri Lanka A by 58 runs in a low-scoring match

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2013
ScorecardNuwan Kulasekara put up an all-round show with the bat and ball to set up Rest of Sri Lanka’s win•ICC/GettyRest of Sri Lanka rode on an all-round performance from Nuwan Kulasekara to secure a second comprehensive victory in the List-A tri-series in Pallekele, defeating Sri Lanka A by 58 runs in a low-scoring match. Both sides ran into trouble early on, against the fast bowlers on a seaming track. However, after having top-scored for Rest SL with 61, Kulasekara combined with Chanaka Welegedara to demolish Sri Lanka A’s top order within the first four overs of their innings, reducing them to 6 for 5 – a position from which they never recovered. They were eventually dismissed for 146 in the 38th over, chasing a target of 205.Kulasekara arrived at the crease with the score at 87 for 6 after Dinesh Chandimal fell, the only batsman to reach a score of 20 among the top five batsmen. Chamara Kapugedara and Rangana Herath were unable to assist Kulasekara in the recovery, but he found support in No.10 batsman Shaminda Eranga, who survived for 43 balls and contributed 33 to their 68-run partnership, the most substantial stand of the match. When Eranga fell with the score at 175, Kulasekara added 29 more with Chanaka Welegedara to take the score past 200, before falling to left-arm pacer Vimukthi Perera, who had also accounted for Shehan Jayasuriya, Lahiru Thirimanne and Milinda Siriwardene earlier in the innings. Right-armers Suranga Lakmal and Ishan Jayaratne shared five wickets between them.Welegedara struck for Rest of Sri Lanka before the opposition had scored a run. Kulasekara bowled a maiden in the first over and picked up Dilshan Munaweera and Kithuruwan Vithanage in the next. That double strike was followed by another wicket from Welegedara, and his consecutive wickets effectively sealed Sri Lanka A’s fate.Sri Lanka A captain Angelo Perera attempted to rebuild alongside a sedate Jayaratne, who hit 2 from 25 balls, but he lost his partner to a run-out before losing his own wicket to Shaminda Eranga, with the team score on 56.As in Rest SL’s innings, an ageing ball somewhat negated the threat of the seam bowlers as the innings wore on, and Seekkuge Prasanna and Suranga Lakmal hit 23 and 38 not out respectively coming in at No. 9 and 10. Vimukthi Perera combined with Lakmal to add 55 for the last wicket.

West Indies women opened the West Indies Tri-Nation with a convincing 23-run victory over New Zealand women, thanks largely to Deandra Dottin’s 52 and Anisa Mohammed’s 5 for 12

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Anisa Mohammed took a second T20-career five-wicket haul•ICC/Solaris ImagesWest Indies Women opened the West Indies Tri-Nation with a convincing 23-run victory over New Zealand Women, thanks largely to Deandra Dottin’s 52 and Anisa Mohammed’s 5 for 12. West Indies elected to bat, but were quickly in trouble at 18 for 3 inside six overs. Kyshona Knight and Dottin began to rebuild with a 51-run partnership for the fourth wicket, before Sian Ruck dismissed Knight on 20. Stacy-Ann King hit 12 off 8 to lift West Indies to 104 for 6 in their 20 overs.West Indies needed a strong performance from their bowlers to defend that score, and they delivered. New Zealand faced a similar situation when they were left at 15 for 3 with a couple of top-order run-outs. Then came the spin threat of Mohammed. Only Amy Satterthwaite and Rachel Priest reached double figures as Mohammed rocked the New Zealand line-up with 5 for 12, her second T20-career five-wicket haul. New Zealand could only muster 81 before they were bowled out with an over to spare.New Zealand take on England in the next game, on October 16.