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All rounder Thilan Samaraweera has been retained as the captain of Sri LankaA team to take on Pakistan A in the three match One Day series, which startsat De Soyza Park Stadium, Moratuwa on Saturday.Samaraweera performed remarkable well in the three Match Test series wherehe claimed 21 wickets at 14.09 apiece. Apart from his impressive bowling thecaptain scored 94 runs in five innings, averaging 23.Other than the captain, Avishka Gunawardene, Chamara Silva, TillakarathneDilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Suresh Perera, Akalanka Ganegama, and NiroshanBandarathillake all have played in the senior side.With the triangular series against India and New Zealand close at hand, theselectors will be keen to pick up few players who could move up the ladder.Suresh Perera, back after a long period of injury, will be keen to press hisclaims for the national team while Avishka Gunawardene is a strong contenderto get back to the side after his powerful batting in the three-Test Aseries. He is though not even in the 24-man training squad for thetriangular series.Jehan Mubarak, who was not selected to play in the three unofficial TestMatches, gets a chance while Muthumudalige Pushpakumara who was the 12th manin the first and the last Test Matches gets an overdue chance.The full squad:Thilan Samaraweera, Avishka Gunawardene, Shantha Kalavitigoda, JehanMubarak, Chamara Silva, T.M.Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Suresh Perera,Sajeeva Weerakoon, Akalanka Ganegama, Dinusha Fernando, Upeka Fernando,Gayan Wijekoon, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Niroshan Bandarathillake.

Australian speedster Jason Gillespie has been selected to spearhead South Australia’s attack when it opens its ING Cup season in Perth next week.International commitments limited Gillespie, 26, to a total of just six matches with the Redbacks last summer.But, with a successful Ashes tour of England behind him and with five weeks still remaining before the First Test against New Zealand, he becomes a welcome re-inclusion for the day-night match against Western Australia on 12 October.Gillespie heads a strong pace attack that also includes Paul Wilson, Brett Swain, Mark Harrity and Paul Rofe, while the slow bowling options will be led by left arm orthodox bowler Brad Young, another player making a return after a long absence.Young, the state’s premier spinner, was sidelined in November last year when he sustained ligament damage to his knee during training. He underwent a full knee reconstruction immediately, before returning to play Lancashire League cricket in the Australian off-season.The South Australians have named a balanced squad, continuing to show faith in many of the players who took the state within a whisker of a finals appearance last season. Back from successful county seasons with Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire respectively, Darren Lehmann and Greg Blewett will again fill the side’s leadership positions.The Redbacks’ pre-season has included a two-day stopover in the Victorian country town of Mildura as well as the start of a series of intrastate league fixtures. Two matches against Tasmania were also scheduled, but the first of those – which was due to be played today – was abandoned because of a wet outfield at Adelaide’s Park 25.The full South Australian side is: Darren Lehmann (c), Greg Blewett (v/c), David Fitzgerald, Jason Gillespie, Ryan Harris, Mark Harrity, Ben Johnson, Graham Manou, Paul Rofe, Brett Swain, Jeff Vaughan, Paul Wilson, Brad Young.

John Crawley struck his second century in a week and Michael Gough took fourwickets in innings for the first time in over a year in the Division Onechampionship match between Lancashire and Durham at Manchester.Crawley, who had made 120 against Somerset at Taunton at the weekend, hit 117 to take Lancashire to 265-2 in response to Durham’s 370. Then occasional off-spinner Gough dismissed Crawley and Saurav Ganguly to add to previous victimsMichael Atherton and Neil Fairbrother. By the close Lancashire were still 71runs in arrears on 299-4.
Resuming today at 355-9 the tenth-wicket partnership of Neil Killeen and Simon Brown prolonged their stand to 45 runs (a record last-wicket stand for Durham against Lancashire). Brown was caught eventually off Glenn Chapple leaving Killeen not out 38.Atherton and Crawley got the Lancashire innings off to their second first-wicket century partnership in as many innings – on this occasion it was 135. The former England captain passed fifty by hitting Simon Katich for his sixth boundary from 132 deliveries and went on to 64 when he was caught by Jon Lewis at short-leg off Gough.With Fairbrother out six overs later Ganguly and Crawley added another 108 runs (this, too, was their second consecutive century stand). The latter attained his century with eight boundaries from 229 deliveries in 275 minutes.The more fluent Ganguly went to his fifty off 62 balls with five fours and one six. Crawley’s concentration seemed to be disturbed when he swept a ball which hit Lewis painfully in the back of the head and in the next over he was caught by Gough from his own bowling. When Ganguly was out Graham Lloyd and Warren Hegg took Lancashire through to the end of the day.

Bangladesh A coach Heath Streak has termed the five-match tour of India as an ‘important step’ ahead of the two-match Test series at home against Australia, starting October 9. Streak believed that Bangladesh are capable of beating Australia, who find themselves 272 Tests light following the retirements of Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers, Ryan Harris, Brad Haddin, and Shane Watson.”A tour like this is an important step for Bangladesh cricket in its continued learning curve for all formats,” Streak said. “I think everyone knows Bangladesh in Bangladesh are a tough team to beat and I think despite Australia coming, it’s no different.”They got a few inexperienced players and rely pretty heavily on their more senior players like [Steven] Smith. If they don’t play their best cricket and we play to our potential, we can beat Australia, especially in our conditions.”Bangladesh are yet to play a Test in India, but Bangladesh A have previously toured the country in 2001, 2009, and 2012. Streak identified the series as platform to get used to the conditions and build on gains, besides calling for the one-day form of the national team to be transferred to Tests.”[This is a] Very important tour for Bangladesh in terms of their progression”, Streak said. ” We are not looking at the series as a warm up. For us it’s about winning and continuing winning culture.”In a country like India, this is a great opportunity for them to expose themselves to the conditions and gain more experience. Whilst we have performed well in one-day cricket, we have still got big strides to make in the Test arena. It is a good opportunity for Bangladesh to show their improvement in Test cricket as well.”Streak also felt that the the fast-bowling department was well stocked, as it has been bolstered further by the return of Taskin Ahmed from injury. Taskin sustained a tear on his left side before the third ODI against India, but has recovered fully and is set for his first first-class match since February 2013.”[We have] Rubel [Hossain] and Taskin [Ahmed], while Mashrafe [Mortaza] is a very experienced campaigner. Mustafizur [Rahman] has come on the scene and made an impression right from the outset,” Streak said. “We have people like Shafiul [Islam], Al-Amin [Hossain], [Mohammad] Shahid. We have a good group of guys and some really good Under-19s.”This will be the first time Taskin will be playing long-form cricket [after suffering a stress fracture in 2014 and a side tear early this year]”, Streak said. “Taskin, despite the injury bowled the most number of the balls of all Bangladesh bowlers last year [he actually bowled 474 balls across formats in 2015, the fifth-highest among Bangladesh bowlers].”In terms of his preparation, it has been good. We have been maintaining him and we got an important T20 World Cup coming up, which is at the top of the list. Those sort of quick bowlers are important to us and how we manage them is the key.”

Karun Nair, who top-scored in India A’s meagre 135 on the first day in Chennai, has conceded that a total of 200 would have given his team a chance with something for the bowlers to work with. On Wednesday, Varun Aaron looked rusty after missing the first unofficial Test, bowling four no-balls and a wide, and the other bowlers did not fare much better either.Karun, though, believed that the India A bowlers would tighten things up on the second day.”Since the batsmen haven’t got too many runs, I think 200 would have been a good score for the bowlers.” Karun said. “Since the pressure of getting wickets was there, the odd loose delivery was there today. I think we will come back strong tomorrow. We will be more disciplined and bowl better tomorrow.”Karun and Naman Ojha ground 56 in 32.5 overs for the fifth wicket on a pitch that became slower as the day progressed. Karun, however, displayed more assurance, pressing forward to smother the spin and often skipping back to play late-cuts and deft dabs before a lapse in concentration resulted in his dismissal. The last five wickets tumbled for just 21 runs after Karun chipped a full delivery from Andrew Fekete to square leg for a 153-ball 50.Karun was left ruing the opportunity. “I thought I played well but I shouldn’t have got out the time I got out. I should have put my head down. Once I got a fifty, I should have gone on to get a bigger score.”No, nothing of such happened [the ball did not stop on me]. I lost a bit of concentration. I think the wicket in whole was slow, it was turning a bit.”Karun also attributed the regular fall of wickets to the relentless pressure built up by the Australia A bowlers. “We were losing wickets quite regularly,” Karun said. “What they did well was they were very disciplined and patient. They did not give any easy balls. So, it was difficult to take chances against them.”

Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited, the owners of the team which has been suspended for two years in the IPL, has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court asking for the Lodha Committee order to be set aside in so far as it relates to Super Kings. The court subsequently asked both respondents – the BCCI and India Cements – to file a response by August 27.A Super Kings insider confirmed the development, terming the writ as a “substantive challenge to the punishment.”The case is being argued by Dushyant Dave, a senior Delhi-based advocate, who has hitherto not appeared in cases relating to the franchise, has been engaged to pursue the matter. The source also clarified that the affidavit, running to 36 pages, was different from an appeal. Legal experts say that while an interim relief is unlikely at this stage, a notice may be ordered on the BCCI, listed as first respondent, seeking its response.After lying low for more than a month since being suspended by the RM Lodha Committee, Super Kings have made their first move. While sources from Super Kings had all the while suggested their appeal would be contingent to the BCCI working group’s report, the affidavit seems to have taken even those close to the franchise by surprise.Meanwhile, the BCCI working group, studying the Lodha panel verdict, is aware of the Super Kings writ, but a board official said it would not put spanner in their works. He said the working group would not await the court’s decision and instead go ahead with its decision which would be revealed to the BCCI working committee on August 28.The writ, a copy of which is in the possession of ESPNcricinfo, alleges the Lodha Committee order went against the “fundamental principles of natural justice and fair hearing”, and had “led to grave miscarriage of justice.””The Justice Lodha Committee had failed to note that the very reason for appointing a high level committee comprising of former judges of apex court was that they could look into the findings of the Mudgal committee,” Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited, the petitioner, stated in the affidavit.”The Supreme Court had categorically held they were not sitting in appeal over the findings of the Mudgal committee nor were they inclined to look into the materials which were placed before the said committee. The Justice Lodha committee always had the authority to call for the material forming the basis of the justice Mudgal committee reports as observed by the apex court in its recent order dated 7.8.2015.”Having held that the offence under Article 4.1.1 of the Anti Corruption code was extremely grave, at least the degree of culpability of the franchise ought to have been considered by the Committee.”

ScorecardNajibullah Zadran cut loose in the latter stages of his innings•Getty Images

Afghanistan responded to their heavy defeat against Scotland by inflicting a 71-run loss on Ireland which means the final match of the tri-series on Monday will decide who comes out on top.Najibullah Zadran produced the key performance for Afghanistan with his maiden ODI fifty, a 50-ball 83, which revived a stuttering innings and gave them a total that was expertly defended. Zadran did not get to the crease until the 33rd over and initially the fireworks were limited as he moved to 35 at a run-a-ball, before cutting loose between overs 45 and 47 as the three-over period brought 52 runs.Alex Cusack and George Dockrell were the bowlers to suffer. Cusack had previously gone for 22 off seven overs before being dispatched for 35 off two, the majority to Zadran who took his sixes tally to six before top-edging a pull.Zadran’s impact meant Afghanistan added 119 in the last 13 overs of their innings having crept to 100 for 3 after 30 following a testing new-ball spell from Craig Young who had both openers caught behind the wicket. Asghar Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari steadied the innings and Shenwari batted until the 42nd over for a half-century that came off 95 balls.It will be satisfying for the coach, Andy Moles, to see how his batsmen did not panic at the stodgy scoring rate as one of the key aspects he has been trying to instil is to encourage them to keep a clam head in tough situations.Afghanistan also needed a calm head as they began defending the total with Paul Stirling helping Ireland to a brisk start with 36 off 24 balls but his departure, lbw to Hamid Hassan, brought a lull in proceedings as Hassan and Mohammad Nabi built pressure.Ed Joyce was just threatening to break free when he chipped a return catch to Javed Ahmadi and Ireland’s innings was notable for six of the top seven reaching double figures without anyone passing Stirling’s 36.Ireland remain top of the table despite the defeat and a win against Scotland will keep them there, but the margin of the loss has significantly impacted their net run-rate and any size of victory for Scotland – who have a positive net run-rate – will see them take the top spot.

Few would have thought Scotland’s attack would extend the New Zealand batting to such a degree in defence of only 142, but captain Preston Mommsen said he expected chances to be created during the chase. New Zealand won comfortably, in the end, reeling in their target inside 25 overs, but they had lost seven wickets in the process – five of them for 71 runs.”I was pretty confident they’d look to build on their net run rate and try to knock the runs off quickly. At the same time, I knew that could provide opportunities and it did,” Mommsen said. “We had Brendon McCullum dropped early in the innings, before getting him later on, and I think it showed throughout the innings they were looking to score and that provided opportunities. I think we showed we have a skillful attack. When they put the ball in good areas, they got rewards. That shows one of the strengths of the side is our attack and able to take wickets consistently through the innings.”That chance of McCullum came early in the innings, when Scotland could have had the hosts 22 for 2, but they would spill another opportunity later in the innings. Corey Anderson hit one flat to fine leg with the score on 119 for 5, but Iain Wardlaw could not hold on.”I’m pretty happy with the fielding display minus those two chances, but in order for us to beat a team like New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka, we need to hang on to every chance we get. If we create 10 chances, we need to take 10 chances. I feel that’s one way we’re going to be able to beat a Full Member nation. I think we were at about 85% today, so there is some room in the tank. Hopefully in our next game against England we can show a red hot display.”When we dropped Corey Anderson I thought that was a huge moment. But the boys kept coming back, we kept coming back. Then to get Corey out eventually and then obviously Luke Ronchi, we were right in the game. So we were very close today.”Scotland’s batting was brittle on Tuesday, as they lost four wickets for 12 to excellent spells of swing bowling from Trent Boult and Tim Southee, then lost their final six wickets for 33 runs. In between, however, Matt Machan and Richie Berrington had offered some hope of achieving a competitive total, hitting a fifty apiece, and putting on 97 together. They both departed to Anderson short balls in close succession.”I think it was a natural process to consolidate at that stage of the game, and Matt and Richie did exactly that,” Mommsen said. “When they got in the ball was doing a fair bit and they showed great skill to build a platform there. Then once both of them got in, I think they showed the skill that we’re capable of as a batting unit. They’re both pretty disappointed that they couldn’t go on, because they knew it was potentially 100 on the cards for one of them, which would have been a great thing for Scottish cricket.”

The first ODI between Bermuda and Netherlands in Amstelveen was abandoned after heavy rain ruled out any chance of play. The second and final match is scheduled for Friday.Earlier this week the two sides had participated in the ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers in Belfast, where Netherlands reached the final and qualified for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup while Bermuda finished last after losing to Canada in the fifth-place play-off.

The one remaining semi-final place in the World Cricket League Division Five went to Afghanistan after Singapore failed to beat Japan by a convincing enough margin to pip them into second place in Group B on net run-rate.Singapore have every right to feel hard done by. Although they finished level on points with the Afghans, their one game which was washed out was against Bahamas, who failed to win any of their matches, while Afghanistan’s was against the unbeaten Jersey side.Singapore started today needing an overwhelming victory against Japan to leapfrog into second place. Their hopes were as good as extinguished before the halfway stage as they struggled to 201 in 35.4 overs. In gathering gloom Japan limped to 67 for 5 before rain brought an early finish with Singapore winning by 52 runs (D/L).In the three Group A matches carried over from yesterday, the two teams already qualified for the semi-finals, Nepal and USA took one point each after their game was washed out. Nepal made 182 but the heavens opened before USA could start their chase.The Nepal captain Binod Das said his team was confident ahead of its semi-final against Afghanistan. “We are upbeat as we have been playing good cricket,” he said. “As a team we are very confident of doing well in the semi-final. One thing we know about Afghanistan is they are inconsistent. They can be world beaters one day and inconsistent other days, so we hope we can have a good day against them.”We are not very aware of these things right now as our focus is on the cricket but we heard yesterday that the country was declared a republic so we are proud of that. The people of Nepal wanted that to happen and if we win this tournament and come back home with the trophy we are going to dedicate the win to the people.”The Afghanistan captain Nowroz Mangal hoped his team would learn from their mistakes and put up an improved performance on Friday. “We are not short of any confidence,” he said. “The biggest motivation for us ahead of tomorrow’s match is if we win it, we will take a big step forward in our quest to play in the World Cup. Every team needs time to adjust to new conditions and after playing four matches here, we know what we need to do tomorrow to swing the match in our favour. If experience is on Nepal’s side, then talent and potential is on our side and tomorrow we just need to pull together a good team effort.”In the other semi-final, USA will meet hosts Jersey. “It’s something to look forward to as if we want to move forward from this tournament into the other league and get to the World Cup then we have look to tomorrow’s game with great anticipation,” Steve Massiah, the USA’s captain, said. “It will be a tough test as Jersey were unbeaten in the preliminary rounds. As both the teams are in good form, I am sure we will have a good game.”Massiah said he was pleased with the performance of his team so far but warned his side of complacency. “It would be unfair to the guys not to be pleased after getting a perfect four from four,” he said. “We don’t fear any opposition and we just try to concentrate on our strengths and realise if we play to our full potential then we will be a hard team to beat. But we have to guard against complacency.”The Jersey captain Matt Hague said: “It should be a really good game as the USA has been in good form and so have we. There is a lot to play for and to get into the final and go to Tanzania would be something really special so we’ll all look forward to it and it should be great.”Hague acknowledged home advantage would be useful, but played down the fact that it would be a big bonus. “I suppose it helps a little bit but all the teams have played over here for a few games now so they should know the conditions,” he said. “FB Fields should be a good batting wicket, so as long as the rain stays away it should be good.”The two finalists will automatically qualify for the World Cricket League Division Four which takes place in Dar Es Salaam in October. The top two there will be promoted to Division Three, with that event held in Argentina in January 2009, and from there the top two will be invited to take part in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in April.In the other Group A matches, Germany beat Norway by six wickets with more than 12 overs to spare after bowling them out for 147, while Vanautu had Mozambique at 88 for 4 when the match was abandoned because of rain.