Independent panel to enquire into Gambhir-Bhaskar spat

The DDCA will set up an independent enquiry committee to investigate into the spat between Gautam Gambhir and Delhi coach KP Bhaskar. Gambhir had accused Bhaskar of “creating an atmosphere of uncertainty” among the team’s youngsters.It is understood that both parties agreed to the creation of such a panel after retired Justice Vikramjit Sen, the DDCA administrator, met with Gambhir, Bhaskar and Delhi manager Shankar Saini on Friday morning at the Feroz Shah Kotla.The composition of the committee was not known and no time-frame was given for the completion of the enquiry. Bhaskar refused to elaborate on the spat but said he was not the first person to be at the “receiving end”. “There have been eight other instances which have happened. It’s unfortunate that I was at the receiving end this time,” Bhaskar told ESPNcricinfo.” I respect Justice Sen and I have full trust in his judgment and wisdom.”While Gambhir admitted to having an argument with Bhaskar after Delhi’s Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh on Monday, he denied that he had abused the coach as had been stated in a few news reports. Gambhir was particularly critical of Bhaskar’s handling of the exclusions of batsmen Unmukt Chand and Nitish Rana during the Vijay Hazare Trophy.”If protecting a youngster is a crime, I am guilty. If making 20-22-year-olds feel secure in an insecure environment is a crime, then I am guilty. But I could not have let this man (Bhaskar) play with careers of young players like Unmukt Chand and Nitish Rana,” Gambhir had told PTI on Tuesday.Gambhir had also said he was trying to provide security to the youngsters, and that he didn’t want them to face the insecurities he did. “There has been a culture in Delhi cricket about making players insecure. I have myself faced that when I was a youngster. When I got into the Ranji Trophy team, I was made to feel insecure. Then only I had decided, if I ever take charge I will never make young boys feel insecure.”

Wildermuth ton helps Queensland to big lead

ScorecardFile photo – Marnus Labuschagne fell short of a hundred•Getty Images

Allrounder Jack Wildermuth scored his second first-class century as Queensland continued to dominate their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland on the second day in Hobart. At stumps, the Tigers were 0 for 20 in their second innings with openers Alex Doolan on 8 and Jake Hancock on 7, but they trailed by 267 runs after Queensland piled on 437.The morning began with the Bulls on 2 for 131 and Marnus Labuschagne, who already had a half-century, moved along to what looked like becoming his third first-class hundred. However, on 96 he pushed at a shortish delivery outside off stump from James Faulkner and was caught behind.Queensland were 5 for 226, but they had plenty of batting left. Wicketkeeper James Peirson made 42 and Wildermuth registered his first hundred of the Shield season to take his run tally for the campaign past 500. He fell for 110, bowled by Cameron Stevenson, but Ben Cutting smashed a quick 68 off 50 balls to lift Queensland’s total even further.

We shut some people up, but it's one Test win – Starc

Australia’s premier fast bowlers are used to carrying a heavy load. In the period before their bounce back during the home summer, when Australia’s batting line up collapsed in a Pune-India fashion with alarming regularity, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, in particular, have toiled long and hard in the middle.Even during the series against Pakistan, their workloads were significant: they each bowled 56 overs in the first Test in Brisbane. The only Test of the Australian summer in which they bowled less than 42 overs each was in Australia’s massive defeat by South Africa in Hobart.So for Starc and Hazlewood to only bowl two overs each in the second innings in Pune, and 11 and nine for the match, was the cricket equivalent of putting your feet up on the table and leaning back while all your mates fetch you cold beers. Time to collect.”It’s amazing,” said Starc. “I think it’s making up for the summer Josh and I had. The spinners bowled really well and the pitch didn’t have much in it for Josh and me. There was very minimal natural swing because it was so abrasive and it didn’t really go too much reverse. But when Steve’s [O’Keefe] taking that many wickets and Nathan’s [Lyon] bowling really well there’s not really much need for us on that wicket.”But Starc expects he’ll be required for heavier duties in Bangalore, particularly after Australia’s spinners were able to exploit the ragging Pune pitch which backfired on India so spectacularly.”I can’t see it being too bouncy or quick because it’s a weakness of the Indian batters,” said Starc. “We’ll probably see it not turning as much as this wicket has or breaking up as quickly. I think we’ll probably see a wicket similar to maybe the England series they had over here where it’s probably flatter and there’s some really big first innings totals and the game happens a bit quicker towards the end. It’s a smaller ground but a bit better of a wicket than what we’ve seen here in Pune.”But even on a Pune pitch offering him little, Starc produced a ripper of a delivery to dismiss Cheteshwar Pujara, the ball rearing up off the back of a length area and catching the glove as Pujara tried to defend. If there’s any bounce to be found in M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Starc will seek it out.”It’s probably something not many batsmen like, especially the guys over in the subcontinent, where they’re not used to those faster or bouncier wickets. So we can get up around their nose every now and again,” Starc said. “A lot of teams have showed that it’s not an area that the India batsmen like most. Hopefully there’s a little bit of bounce in the Bangalore wicket or the wickets to come in this series and we can try and exploit that as well.”While Pujara’s first-innings dismissal was a key moment in the match, the wicket of Virat Kohli is the most highly coveted by his former Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate – he had him caught at first slip, chasing after a wide delivery. However, Starc admits there was an element of luck in his dismissal.”If you look closely at the ball it was supposed to come back in, so it was a bit of luck there. It was his first couple of balls at the crease so he was probably going a little too hard. Not one I’ll be giving back anytime soon, that’s for sure.Australia’s pacers enjoyed a rare deficit in workload, but Mitchell Starc expects that to change in the second Test•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

“I had a bit of a chuckle the ball before and while I was fielding at long-on and and he was in the dugout. Nice to get that one early in the series. He’s a class player, we all know that. He’s scored a mountain of runs already this year. I’m sure he’ll come back bigger and stronger in the next Test and be wary of the Virat comeback.”With Australia’s spinners dominating the first Test on such an abrasive wicket, there was little opportunity for reverse swing to come into the equation for Australia’s quicks but Starc believes it could be a key factor in the second Test and an area in which Australia can improve.”Obviously we’ll wait until we get there to see what the conditions are like but I’m sure it will be a pretty dry wicket again, so that’ll probably help reverse swing there and it’s something we’ll be working hard at all the time in the nets,” said Starc.”We know we’ve got huge reverse swing every time we’ve got it here in India, so we’ll have a look at what the wicket has got for us. It’s about looking after that shine on an abrasive square. And if it’s not going to spin as much in Bangalore, we’re going to have to make sure we’re using that reverse swing to make up for not as much spin as we’ve seen here in Pune.”For Starc, the lead in to Bangalore couldn’t be much better. It’s been a long time since he’s been able to go into a second Test this physically fresh and off the back of such a confidence-boosting victory that has silenced the doubters.”Obviously we’ve come here as a group believing we can win, and I think everyone has written us off and expected India to win,” said Starc. “So to shut a few people up and really show that this young team is here to play – and we’ve adapted really well in our lead-up – has been great for the group. But it’s one Test win, it’s not a series win yet so we’ll be doing all we can. Especially in the next Test in Bangalore. It’s going to be pretty special for this young group [if we pull it off].”

A big cloud hangs over my head – Russell

Andre Russell is praying and hoping that the independent anti-doping tribunal does not ban him for missing out on filing his whereabouts on three occasions in 2015. The three-member tribunal will deliver the verdict in Kingston on Tuesday.If found guilty, Russell could face a maximum ban of up to two years under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules. Missing three tests in 12-month period amounts to a failed dope test under the WADA guidelines.”It’s been stressing and hard playing cricket and all that’s in the back of your head. But at the end of the day you have to do what you have to do,” Russell told . “It’s like a big cloud over my head. If I get a ban then definitely I’m out of cricket [during the period of the suspension]; I mean all formats. So I’d just love to know I’m back and I can represent Jamaica Tallawahs, West Indies, and all the other teams I play for in the world.”Honestly, I’m being positive and I haven’t been thinking about anything else that I want to do apart from playing cricket; doing what I love. I have so many fans out there and they would be disappointed, just as I would be. I just want to remain positive at the moment. I think I can [avoid a suspension] with the help of God; I think it’s out of my control, so I just have to wait on what happens on Tuesday.”In March 2016, Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) pressed a legal charge against Russell for failing to provide his whereabouts between January and July 2015. According to JADCO Russell had failed to file his whereabouts on January 1, July 1 and July 25 that year despite several reminders over email, phone and letters.In his defence, Russell told the tribunal that he had not been properly trained to file the whereabouts, and that he had authorised his agent and travel agent to file his whereabouts since he was busy with cricket commitments.The three-member tribunal comprising Hugh Faulkner, Dr Marjorie Vassell and Dixeth Palmer, a former Jamaica cricketer, has been deliberating on the case for a long time and even delayed the original verdict date last December.Russell, who is recovering from a left hamstring injury which forced him out midway through the Big Bash League in Australia earlier this month, tested his fitness last Saturday when he turned to play a league game for St Catherine’s Cricket Club. He ended up with three wickets which played a role in his team’s victory.Last July, while playing for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League, Russell had said it had been “depressing” for him to carry on playing while the hearings were on. Ahead of the hearing, he hoped his prayers would be answered.”As I said in the team meeting to the guys, I just would love for them to say a prayer for me, and I’ve been praying for myself as well,” he said. “I have faith (in) the work that my lawyers put out… I think they summed up things very well.”

Arthur Morris inducted into ICC hall of fame

Arthur Morris, the late Australia batsman, has been inducted as the 82nd player into the ICC hall of fame. He played 46 Tests and was the highest scorer among Don Bradman’s “Invincibles” in the 1948 Ashes. Noted for his elegance at the crease, the left-handed opener was also a destructive presence, averaging 46.48 with 12 hundreds and a top score of 206. He died in Sydney in August 2015, aged 93.Judith Morris received a personalised cap celebrating her husband’s contributions from Steve Waugh, another member of the ICC hall of fame, at tea during the New Year’s Test at the SCG. “It is a great honour to be receiving this award, which brings in a flood of memories along with it,” she said.Among them might have been how Morris had struck hundreds in his first two first-class innings – or his 155, 122 and 124 not out in consecutive innings in his first Test series. He was at the other end when Bradman made a duck in his final innings at The Oval and finished with 196, which helped Australia to an innings victory and did not give Bradman the chance to lift his average into three-figures. selected Morris as one of their cricketers of the year in 1948 and said he had an “air of complete composure” and that “he combined unusual defensive qualities with the ability to decide early in the ball’s flight what his stroke shall be”. He was named in Australia’s team of the century in 2000, and in the following year, he was inducted into the Australian hall of fame.Tuesday marked an occasion for more praise for Morris. “Cricket has developed over the years and decades due to the contribution of players who entertained the crowds with their attractive game and made contests memorable due to their steely resolve. Arthur Morris was one such cricketer and that is why he is remembered even so many years after he played the game,” Waugh said.Morris’ form tapered away towards the end of his career, coinciding with Sid Barnes, his long-time opener partner, getting into problems with the administrators. He played the last of his 46 Tests in June 1955.”He spent a long period in the motor trade, then played a significant part in the introduction of tenpin bowling to Australia, before finishing in PR,” Morris’ obituary in says of his life after retirement. “He remained an honoured guest at cricket grounds everywhere, his dignity never puffing up into pomposity, thanks to an acute sense of the ironic and the whimsical. He was appointed MBE in 1974, and was a member of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust for 22 years. Three days before he died, the Arthur Morris Gates were unveiled as a tribute to his long association with the SCG.”

India's tricky early relationship with DRS

First dates are hard, and the one India are having with DRS has thrown up its share of adorable and awkward moments.Batting for the first time in front of his home crowd in a Test match, Cheteshwar Pujara used the system to overturn an lbw decision against him and score a “special century” in front of his family and friends. That high, however, dissipated in the second innings when he was again caught in front of the stumps again but did not realise the ball had pitched outside leg. His wingman M Vijay was no help, and his coach Anil Kumble gave him an earful for not being brave enough to take the plunge. Poor Pujara.In Visakhapatnam, India’s difficulties in judging when to use the system came out in the span of three balls from Moeen Ali. A ripping offbreak took Wriddhiman Saha’s pad and after an eternity Kumar Dharmasena raised his finger. Perhaps the delay encouraged Saha to review, but replays showed it was three reds.Ravindra Jadeja should have reviewed his lbw decision•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Two deliveries later, Ravindra Jadeja went forward to defend the second ball he faced, expecting turn from Moeen bowling around the stumps. Instead he was met by a full delivery that held its line and struck him low on the front pad. Dharmasena upheld the appeal for lbw, and it was time to engage the temptress.Jadeja strode down the pitch to get some advice from R Ashwin, his partner, who wasn’t sure it was a good idea. India now had only one review left. But they had just lost one of their best lower-order batsmen. It was probably worth the gamble. When the replays came on, it confirmed as much, with the ball missing leg stump by a whisker.England and DRS have had a much longer fling, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they do not have their own issues. Alastair Cook, in the first morning of the series, was given out lbw after he missed a flick to a delivery from Jadeja that seemed like it would clearly miss leg stump. Here too the non-striker was consulted, but Haseeb Hameed, the 19-year old on Test debut, had enough to worry about without having to calculate the ball’s trajectory.India managed a happy ending though. Jayant Yadav, on debut, struck Moeen on the pads in the first over after drinks in the final session. The batsman had come down the track, but the offspinner had seen that he hadn’t really covered that much distance and more importantly the ball had straightened. Umpire Dharmasena had ruled against the on-field appeal but Jayant knew a debut wicket was only a ‘T’ sign away and convinced his captain to go for a review.The ball pitched in line, hit the batsman on middle and went on to hit leg stump, three reds when so often in such cases the umpire’s call comes into play. The Indians’ celebrations – Virat Kohli, who just about raised his bat on scoring a century earlier, was punching the air in triumph – were indicative of an unfamiliar job very well done.

Copeland six-for keeps New South Wales on top


ScorecardTrent Copeland picked up 6 for 54 (file photo)•Getty Images

Trent Copeland completed a six-wicket haul as New South Wales continued to dominate on the third day against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval. Copeland picked up 6 for 54 in the Tasmania first innings and then claimed another wicket late in the day as the Tigers set out on what seemed an extremely unlikely chase of 415.The morning began with Tasmania on 5 for 107 in their first innings and although teenage wicketkeeper Jake Doran provided some fight with 66, the Tigers had no real answer to the quality of the New South Wales seam attack. Tasmania were bowled out for 209 and Copeland finished with his sixth first-class bag of at least six wickets.New South Wales then set about extending their lead quickly to set a target, and Ed Cowan struck a brisk unbeaten 66 from 73 balls before the declaration came at 1 for 128. By stumps, Tasmania were already 1 for 24 in their chase after Copeland bowled Jordan Silk for 1. Ben Dunk was on 14 and George Bailey had 7, and Tasmania needed another 391 to win.

Bairstow prepared to queue up despite match-winning knock

The Supersub experiment, which made Vikram Solanki a little piece of cricket history in 2005 when he was the first used, came and went from one-day internationals after less than a year, but Jonny Bairstow’s one-day career is reviving the memories.For the second time in two seasons he replaced Jos Buttler – one of the biggest pairs of shoes to fill in one-day cricket – and produced a match-winning performance. Last year against New Zealand, at Chester-le-Street, he struck an unbeaten 83 to secure a series victory, in his first ODI innings for nearly three years, but at least on that occasion he had fair warning that he would be needed when called in as cover for Buttler who had split his webbing.On Thursday, at his home ground of Headingley, he had “about 32 minutes” before walking out with the gloves after Buttler pulled up lame in warm-ups. A few minutes more, after the toss, and England would either have had to patch up Buttler or ask for permission from Pakistan to replace him.Bairstow was very tidy behind the stumps – he was especially sharp against Chris Jordan’s late yorkers – and then contributed a measured 61 off 83 balls, the second half-century of his bitty one-day career, to ensure England turned around a potentially problematic 72 for 4 into another comfortable victory.Yet it is entirely possible, should Buttler be fit for the final match in Cardiff, and he was rated a good chance to be available, that Bairstow will be back carrying the drinks on Sunday.”I don’t really get a choice, do I? It’s the decision they make,” Bairstow said. “It’s beyond my pay grade, selection and who bats where.”I’ll be desperately disappointed. But that’s me as a person, the will to play for England in any format going. When you’re left out of the side, it’s not very nice – and when you get in, you want to assess that opportunity and take it by the nuts and crack on.”All Bairstow’s one-day opportunities since the last World Cup have come when other players have been rested or injured. Earlier this season he played the whole one-day series against Sri Lanka – albeit batting just three times – because Ben Stokes was unavailable and last year played three times against Australia when Buttler was given a break.He watched on from the Trent Bridge dressing room as England racked up 444 for 3 – as did his key ally in this match, Stokes, but at least he was in the XI – and while he acknowledged the enviable options that are helping produce England’s eye-catching displays it does not make missing out any easier.”It’s a special group of players, and we believe we can go a long way in world competitions and series,” he said. “But naturally, I’m frustrated not to be in that XI week in week out.”Every time I get an opportunity I want to try to impress, and that’s all I can do. Opportunities at the moment are a bit few and far between. You’ve just got to take it on the chin, crack on and hope you take the opportunity when it does come along.”Adding to the significance of the moment for Bairstow, his Man-of-the-Match performance came on his late father’s birthday. After the game, he tweeted a picture in front of the Yorkshire capped players board with the message: “Delighted with today… Special day! Happy Birthday Dad… That’s one for you!”

Australia rope in Muralitharan as consultant ahead of Sri Lanka Tests

Muttiah Muralitharan has become the second former Sri Lanka cricketer to work with Australia’s players ahead of the upcoming Test series on the island. Captain Steven Smith confirmed Murali had begun to work with Australia’s spinners in their training sessions in Colombo, where the team arrived last weekend. Murali is expected to continue in this consulting role until the start of the first Test, in Pallekele. Some Australia players had also worked with former Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who is presently coaching at the National Cricket Academy in Brisbane.”Murali’s got a lot of experience in Sri Lanka,” Smith said. “He took a truckload of wickets. It’s great to have someone like that helping our spinners in this series – to give us that insight. He’s been really good around the group so far, and he’s enjoying his time with us.”

SL’s injury concerns continue

Ongoing injuries will continue to affect Sri Lanka’s bowling stocks through the Australia tour, with Dushmantha Chameera ruled out of the forthcoming series with the same stress injury that had seen him withdraw from the England tour. Angelo Mathews said the team was also still waiting on Dhammika Prasad’s shoulder injury to heal.
“Dhammika’s situation is not 100% yet, but he’ll start bowling very soon,” he said. “Dushmantha Chameera won’t be available.”
Sri Lanka is also waiting on legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who is yet to play a Test, but had been in contention for a Test cap following an encouraging start in the limited-overs formats.
“We’re not quite sure yet about Vandersay,” Mathews said. “He tried to bowl a couple of sessions and he suffered quite a bit in the third session and had to stop bowling. The physio is working with him, but he’s looking unlikely.”

Australia had previously hired Murali in a short-term consulting role ahead of their Test series against Pakistan, in the UAE, in 2014. Both offspinner Nathan Lyon and left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who are on the Sri Lanka tour, had worked with Murali on that occasion. He has had two training sessions with the Australia team in this stint so far.”Murali has been fantastic around the guys,” Australia coach Darren Lehmann said. “Murali loves the game of cricket, so I’m sure he’d work well with other teams as well – he’s a fantastic coach.”Also equipping Australia with knowledge of Sri Lankan conditions is batting consultant Stuart Law, who worked as Sri Lanka’s assistant coach from 2009 to 2011 and also briefly as the interim head coach. Law will be with the Australia side through the tour. The visitors’ first and only practice match against a Sri Lanka Board XI will begin on July 18 – seven days after the team arrived on the island.”We made a choice to come a little bit earlier,” Lehmann said. “Steven likes the extra time. That’s the best thing for all the guys for this tour – it’s a tough tour, as we know. Stuart Law has spent some time here and has some expertise. To have him and Murali to talk about the way the wickets might play in Kandy, Colombo and Galle, and how Sri Lanka play and how we should play, has been great.”There had been consternation within SLC earlier in the year, when Mahela Jayawardene worked with England ahead of the World T20, but Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was less perturbed by Murali’s appointment.”Well he’s a professional and he’s into coaching now,” Mathews said. “I think helping Australia out with insight – he’s got so much experience – it will be a great help for them to get some advice.”The first of three Tests begins in Pallekele on July 26. The series is unusually beginning in Kandy in order to get the Pallekele Test out of the way before the – a Buddhist festival – season begins in the city.

Busy season good chance to improve ODI ranking – McCollum

Thursday’s showdown at Malahide against Sri Lanka will be the first of 11 ODIs for Ireland in a busy fixture list through the end of September. Cricket Ireland chairman Ross McCollum said that though the fan build up to the Sri Lanka series had been positive, commercial success was not the biggest priority for the series, but rather getting an opportunity to improve Ireland’s ranking on the 12-team ODI table.”First and foremost, it’s been great to get these games, and hopefully, we’ll play between 12 and 15 ODIs this year, which is a significant change compared to what we’ve played in the past,” McCollum told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s important that we get as many people as we can, but for us, it’s all about playing the games. Playing the games is extremely important to us, not just because of the 12-team ODI system at the moment, but it’s for our players to play against that level of competition. That needs to continue for us to improve.”Hopefully, we’ll get good weather, good cricket and we’ll have a good day. The support for Ireland has always been pretty positive and pretty good, so hopefully that won’t change. I know there has been a lot of support from the Asian community in Dublin, so hopefully we’ll get a large crowd there. For us, it’s always good to play in front of a good crowd, because it certainly adds to the atmosphere and adds to Cricket Ireland’s coffers, no doubt.”Ireland’s most recent fixtures came in the World T20, where they suffered an upset defeat at the hands of Oman in their opening group fixture, and ultimately went winless to fall short of qualifying for the main draw. Though the performance fell short of expectations, McCollum said that confidence remained high coming into the Sri Lanka matches, keeping in mind Ireland’s performance at the 50-over World Cup in 2015, when they defeated West Indies.”I think everybody is well aware that our performance in the T20 World Cup was probably not what we expected,” McCollum said. “There’s no doubt about that and there’s nobody more aware of that than the actual players and the squad themselves. I don’t think they have points to prove, because in ODI cricket, they’ve played very well and people forget how well we did in the World Cup 12, 14, 15 months ago. But the players look forward to these types of games and they’re always out to prove themselves against this quality of opposition.”Aside from Ireland’s two matches against Sri Lanka, their home slate also includes a five-ODI series against Afghanistan and two ODIs against Pakistan. A return series against Afghanistan is tentatively scheduled to be held early next year, and McCollum said the possibility of ODIs or T20s against UAE or Oman could potentially be packaged as part of an Asia tour, though cost would be the deciding factor.Ross McCollum said Cricket Ireland could consider scheduling matches against countries like Oman and UAE as part of an Asia tour•International Cricket Council

“The ICC, certainly with regard to the Afghanistan matches, they’ve helped considerably or else they wouldn’t have happened, so we’d be hopeful of that going forward over the next two to three years,” McCollum said. “It’s something that we’re very conscious of, because for Ireland to get to where they are now, we’ve been helped by other Full Members along the way.”Certainly, I’m of the view that where there is an opportunity for us to do that and it’s financially viable, then yes, we would assist with regard to that. A lot of it depends on where we are, who is available, and how much it’s going to cost. Even though we have nothing set in stone with regard to UAE or Oman and countries like that and playing against them, I certainly would be quite positive that it’s something we would look at.”Ireland have already confirmed a tri-series against New Zealand and Bangladesh for 2017’s home summer, and McCollum said they were currently in negotiations for a series against Zimbabwe. McCollum acknowledged that getting to eighth place on the ODI table for the September 2017 cutoff date for 2019 World Cup qualification would be “extremely challenging” due to Ireland’s current standing on the ODI table – in 12th place with 42 points, which is 52 behind eighth-placed West Indies – but said it was equally important for Ireland to stay competitive against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in the event that they have to face off against them in a 2018 World Cup Qualifier.”We’re going to be down in South Africa in September,” McCollum said. “We will play South Africa and Australia when we’re down there because they have an ODI series, so they’re basically using us as preparation for that, which we’re quite happy to accommodate with. We’re working on some more fixtures before the end of the year, but that has not been confirmed. Since the start of the 12-team ODI system, we’ve engaged with all of the Full Members with regards to matches building through to 2017 and 2018.”Hopefully we’ll have something against Zimbabwe in the not-too-distant future. It’s great playing marquee matches against all the big nations, but we still have to look after our world ranking and make sure we’re competitive at that level. So for us, the Afghanistan matches are absolutely key.”