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Can surprise leaders Andover repeat their slick 50-over form in the longer all-day version of ECB Southern Electric Premier League cricket?That’s the burning question on the eve of nine weeks of all-day `time’ matches, which begin with table-topping Andover facing third-placed Bournemouth at London Road, 11 o’clock."We’ve been on fire in the 50-over stuff," says Andover skipper Roger Miller, who hit his first SL century in ten years against Burridge last weekend. "Actually, we could even have won all five games, but playing all-day matches, in which you bat up to 66 overs, is an entirely different ball game."But we are buzzing with confidence just now and are just as eager to win the all-day games as were the 50-over matches," Miller said.Andover may make two changes for the visit of in-form Bournemouth, who beat title holders BAT Sports and Bashley (Rydal) in their last two games.Mark Miller is certain to replace the injured Ian Langdown (hamstring), with the captain pondering on whether to reinstate teenager James Manning, who played for the Hampshire Academy last weekend.Bournemouth expect to have Richard Scott back in a key all-rounders role after missing the ten-wicket mugging of Bashley (Rydal). "We’ve previously encountered a lot of problems bowling teams out in the all-day games," says Bournemouth skipper Matt Swarbrick."But we now have a much more balanced attack, with four seamers and two young left-arm spinners to work with at Andover."The rain of the past few days suggests conditions may favour the bowlers, but we’ve got a fine right/left-arm mix, which should be ideal."Second placed Havant, four points behind Andover, travel to Liphook & Ripsley, who are currently anchored to the basement after one win in five games. Paul Gover is a continued absentee, while Mackie Hobson and Bev Moynan could be missing through work commitments.Bashley (Rydal), knocked out of the ECB Club Championship by Havant just 24 hours after the Bournemouth mauling, must pick up the pieces from a disastrous last weekend."We didn’t apply ourselves at Bournemouth – and it’s happening time after time," groaned skipper Neil Taylor."How we can score 301 one week and then get bowled out for barely 100 the next baffles me."Shaun Lilley, free from wedding engagements, returns against Portsmouth, who travel to the BCG minus influential skipper Raj Maru. Lee Savident leads Portsmouth, who will rely heavily on Matt Keech to cover their spin bowling options.Dave Banks is still troubled by the thumb injury he picked up playing for the Hampshire Board three weeks ago. But he expects to play at South Wilts, where BAT will be looking to build on last year’s stunning all-day form."We won all seven completed `time’ matches and that, without doubt, won us the championship," Banks recalled."We start this summer’s all-day cricket with an identical record to 2001 – played 5, won 3, lost two – so let’s hope for a repeat performance."South Wilts, two points behind BAT, have Russell Rowe again at the forefront of the batting charts – the beefy opener having clocked up 293 runs in five visits to the crease already this season.Burridge have Neil Cunningham and Matt Godwin back against Calmore Sports at Loperwood Park. But Paul Hawkins, who is using his "Hawkie" ball tracking technology at Queen’s Club, is a major doubt.Calmore, who won five of their eight `time’ games last season, expect inspirational skipper Tom Pegler to return, but teenager Paul Cass suffered a back spasm during the Hampshire YCs trip to Guernsey earlier this week.

Just two points separate the top three in Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3, where Hambledon, Purbrook and Alton continue to set the early pace. The trio all won again, with Hambledon inflicting Paultons’ second consecutive defeat, Purbrook edging out Gosport Borough and Alton overhauling Hartley Wintney’s 209-4.Hambledon, relegated from Premier 2 last season, wobbled at 20-2 before cruising past Paultons’ 204-7 at Ridge Meadow.Colin James (85), who forged a 122-run opening partnership with Duncan Park (39), took his tally past the 200 mark and then celebrated when team-mate Paul Wilde trapped Imre Chakrabarti and Rob Norris leg before.Former Hampshire spinner Ian Turner dominated the stage thereafter, hitting an unbeaten 82 and sharing an unbroken century fifth wicket stand with Matt Jones (40) as the Dons eased home.Gosport, struggling in fourth from bottom position, took Purbrook to the wire – the visitors struggling at 125-6 (Will Prozesky 46) against Mark Oxford (4-31) and Nathan Collins (3-47) before Wayne Musselwhite’s key 29 not out took them to 174.A five-wicket blast from Mark Stanley (5-39) had Borough wobbling at 85-6, but John Adams (49) and Richard Edwards (26) almost swung it round as Gosport closed at 168-8.In-form Matt Digweed (71 not out) and Tristan Gregory (41) cashed in against Alton’s below par bowling and fielding but Hartley Wintney were unable to defend 209-4. Michael Heffernan’s clean cut 96 guided the visitors home.Favourites St Cross Symondians bounced back in style from the previous weekend’s surprise defeat at Portsmouth.They were far too strong for newly promoted Redlynch & Hale, with Kiwi Mark Parker hammering an unbeaten 127 in a formidable 254-4 (Marc Rees 57).Spin pair Matt Perry-Lewis (4-22) and Will Marriner (4-26) bowled the Wiltshire border side out for 81.”It was a win we needed after what happened the previous week, but to be honest we weren’t stretched,” confessed Perry-Lewis.Portsmouth continued in a winning vein, with James Scott (3-22), Mike Clark (3-30) and Rick Marston (3-42) bowling Leckford out for 97 at chilly St Helen’s, Southsea.James Moon (42) and Clark (31) earlier cemented Portsmouth’s position, although spinner Andy Cattle deserved better after a 6-28 return in PCC’s 190-9.A seven-wicket defeat by Hursley Park has left Hook & Newnham Basics propping up the table – a century start by Raman Prendergast (64) and John Harris (58) pointing the Park towards their hosts 172-9 (Tom Burns 3-15).Matt Gover was in such a tizz after Havant’s double defeats by Leckford and Purbrook that he vowed not to shave until his team won.But a fortnight’s fluff disappeared from his cheeks after debut centurion Simon Greenfield and JJ Owen – plus a helping hand from 13 year old Stuart Ransley – put previously unbeaten New Milton to flight.Greenfield, who spent most of his 1st XI days occupying Havant’s No 11 slot, has taken to his new second team opening role like a duck to water and was elated at his best ever 117 not out.Jon Owen, who hit an accomplished 60, was a middle-order batsman in his Portsmouth Grammar School days, but he too has added a touch of polish to his batting.The pair pointed Havant to 255-4 before Ransley’s spell of 4-18 (chronicled elsewhere on this page) helped send New Milton crashing to 133 all out (John Dolman 35).Ventnor at long last had something to cheer after whisking Waterlooville out for 105 and winning by seven wickets at Rowlands Avenue.Queenslander Chris Baumann (41) took Ville to 67-0, but the innings fell apart when Keith Jones (4-18) took three wickets in four balls.Neil Dodds (6-21) cleaned up and left former Northwood left-hander Neil Westhorpe (43 not out) and Merrill Capenerhurst (34) to complete the formalities.Smiles too for Bashley, particularly former 1st XI captain Graham Pardey, who has taken over the second team captain’s role from Steve Latimore.Pardey had an immediate impact too, using all his experience to make 63 and ease Bashley from a slightly uncertain 95-4 (Ian Britton 49) to 204-6.Chris Gates (32 not out) proved a most reliable partner as Bashley made sure of a total which was to proved just beyond Flamingo’s reach at 199 all out.

The English county system takes in four major competitions during the course of the northern domestic summer. The oldest and most famous of these is the first-class competition, known this year as the Frizzell County Championship. The other three – the Benson & Hedges Cup, the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, and the Norwich Union League – are all one-day competitions but each assumes a different format.Frizzell County Championship – this is England’s major first-class competition and consists of a series of four-day matches. The 18 county teams are split into two groups – Division One and Division Two – on the basis of their finishing positions the previous season.The top nine counties from last year are joined in battle in Division One; the bottom nine are grouped to form Division Two, as follows:Division One: Kent, Hampshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Yorkshire.Division Two: Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire.The side which finishes at the top of the Division One standings at the end of the season is the winner of the competition.There is also a promotion and relegation component.The three sides which finish at the bottom of Division One are relegated to Division Two for 2003. Conversely, the three sides which end at the top of the Division Two standings are promoted to Division One for 2003.Benson & Hedges Cup – a limited-overs competition which incorporates two separate phases. The county teams are initially divided into three groups of six (as shown below) and take part in a round-robin series of matches against opponents from within those groups.North: Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.Midland/Wales/West: Glamorgan, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.South: Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex.At the end of these matches, the top two teams from each pool go forward to the quarter-finals. Joining them are the two teams which finish third in their groups and attain more points than the other third-placed finisher.The quarter-finals and semi-finals are knockout affairs and precede a Final at Lord’s on 22 June.All of the matches are scheduled as 50-overs-per-side.The 2002 season is scheduled to be the last in which the Benson & Hedges Cup is played. Under a series of recommendations recently adopted by the England and Wales Cricket Board, it is due to be replaced by a 20-over competition at the start of 2003.Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy – sponsored by a major financial services company, this is a straight knockout competition which pits the 18 counties against minor county teams and county board sides, many of which are purely amateur teams. Each of the 18 major county teams receives a bye through to the third round of a competition that could loosely be depicted as cricket’s version of the FA Cup. Like the Benson and Hedges Cup, the matches are played over a total of 100 overs and the Final is contested at Lord’s, although this decider comes far later in the season – on 31 August.Norwich Union League – this is the most time-intensive of all three of the one-day competitions in that its programme lasts from 12 May until 22 September.Complete with coloured clothing, floodlit matches and nicknames for all of the teams, the competition shares a number of traits with many of the world’s major domestic one-day series. Where it differs is in the notion that the matches are 45-over-per-side contests.Like the County Championship, the competition is split into two divisions and promotion and relegation is a feature.Based on the teams’ finishing positions at the end of last summer, the divisions have been configured as follows for 2002:Division One: Durham Dynamos, Glamorgan Dragons, Kent Spitfires, Leicestershire Foxes, Nottinghamshire Outlaws, Somerset Sabres, Warwickshire Bears, Worcestershire Royals and Yorkshire Phoenix.Division Two: Derbyshire Scorpions, Essex Eagles, Gloucestershire Gladiators, Hampshire Hawks, Lancashire Lightning, Middlesex Crusaders, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Surrey Lions, Sussex Sharks.Again, the champion team is the one that ends the season at the head of the Division One standings.

• The 2002 English domestic season commences on 13 April and will conclude on 22 September.

New Zealand are scheduled to face India in the first T20I of a three-match series, in Jaipur, just three days after losing the T20 World Cup final to Australia in Dubai. New Zealand will then kick off their World Test Championship defence with two games in Kanpur and Mumbai. Gary Stead, the coach of the team, called the schedule “tough and challenging”, but there isn’t an option.The Test players, who are not part of the T20I squad, are already in India. The New Zealand support staff will have to juggle with training the Test players in the morning and the T20I group later in the evening while in India.Related

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“It’s the first time that I can remember that we’re so quickly into another series immediately at the back-end of the T20 World Cup,” Stead said. “It’s definitely tough and challenging but it is what is in front of us. We’ve got nine-ten guys in India already, who are preparing for those Test matches, and hopefully we can get up and have a really great performance against India.”Some of New Zealand’s players have had a particularly busy time, in bio-bubbles of varying elasticities in the recent past. Ten of New Zealand’s T20 World Cup squad were part of the IPL too; others like Glenn Phillips and Jimmy Neesham were part of the Hundred prior to that. Phillips had also turned out for Barbados Royals in CPL 2021. Meanwhile, the likes of Martin Guptill, Mark Chapman and Ish Sodhi have also spent extended periods in the UAE bubble after New Zealand abruptly called off the Pakistan tour in September, citing concerns around security.

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During the T20 World Cup, former India T20I captain Virat Kohli had also cautioned against player burnout in trying to “cover up” for cricket lost to Covid-19.New Zealand will also have to make a call on their regular captain Kane Williamson, who has been managing an elbow injury, which flared up during the warm-ups ahead of the T20 World Cup.Meanwhile, there is optimism around Lockie Ferguson’s return to action on the India tour. Ferguson had been sidelined from the entire T20 World Cup with a calf tear, hours before New Zealand’s opener against Pakistan in Sharjah. He has since resumed bowling at the nets in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in addition to training with Tommy Simsek, the physio.”In terms of Lockie, I think he is pretty close,” Stead said. “We will just make sure we get over there, travel okay and there’s no issues like seizing up on the flight or anything like that. But I’d expect that he’s going to be available for selection, which will be fantastic.”With all the guys that are going to prepare for the Test matches, we just have to make that call over there – whether we think it’s in the best interests of them and also in the best interests of the team being that the Test matches are more of our priority, I think, in the next month than what the T20 matches will be.”

What was essentially a dead rubber looked like slipping away from Royal Challengers Bangalore at 55 for 3 halfway into a chase of 165 against Delhi Capitals. But then two catches slipped through the hands of Shreyas Iyer and R Ashwin, and Glenn Maxwell made the most of the lives to set the scene for a blockbuster finish from KS Bharat.It was still anybody’s game when Royal Challengers needed 19 off 12 balls. Anrich Nortje, who had taken out both Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal in his first two overs, stepped up once again, bowling a four-run penultimate over to leave Royal Challengers needing 15 off the final over, bowled by Avesh Khan.

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Maxwell found the boundary off the first ball and followed it with a double to notch up his fourth half-century in his last five innings. The third ball was a terrific inswinging yorker which smashed Maxwell’s boot, but he survived again because this had pitched outside leg stump. A leg-bye put Bharat on strike and the next ball was a swing and a miss. Two off the penultimate ball, thanks to a misfield from Axar Patel in the outfield, eventually left Royal Challengers needing six off the last ball. Avesh went searching for another leg-stump yorker, but ended up bowling a full-toss down the leg side for a wide.Avesh whisked short fine leg back for the last ball and went for another yorker, but it came out as a full-toss again, this time on the stumps. Bharat lined it up and pumped it over long-on to provide a throwback to Arun Karthik’s last-ball six for Royal Challengers in the Champions League T20 a decade ago.Perhaps if Royal Challengers had batted first and adopted a no-holds barred batting approach like Mumbai Indians had done in Abu Dhabi, their slimmest of chances of making the top two might have stayed alive a tad longer. Match practice and fine-tuning aside, the game was dead from the moment they decided to bowl. Next, they will run into Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator, while Capitals will face Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier.The Dhawan-Shaw show
Virat Kohli had thrown the new ball to Maxwell, giving him a crack at Shikhar Dhawan, but the left-hander picked him off for 15 off eight. Prithvi Shaw, who had managed scores of 11, 10, 6, 18 in his first four innings in the UAE this IPL, hit form by driving and punching on the up in the powerplay, which yielded 55 runs overall for Capitals.Shaw also lined up Yuzvendra Chahal for a pair of sixes, but the legspinner dangled one outside the batter’s eyeline and found sharp dip to have him holing out to sweeper cover for 48 off 31 balls. Dhawan too had fallen by then, with Harshal Patel tricking him with his trademark loopy offcutter for 45 off 35 balls.Having copped a George Garton beamer on his shoulder, Dhawan was spotted with an icepack after his dismissal and subsequently he didn’t take the field in the chase.3:53

Gambhir: Bharat did a fabulous job for RCB

The middle order doesn’t show up
After Dhawan and Shaw put on 88 together in the first ten overs, the pitch slowed down, as did the rest of the Capitals batting line-up. They could muster only 76 in the second chunk of their innings, with Mohammed Siraj and the slower bowlers hiding the ball away from their swinging arcs. Dan Christian bounced out Rishabh Pant before Siraj had both Shreyas Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer holing out. Ripal Patel, who had retained his spot in the XI ahead of an overseas option, also couldn’t get the ball away at the death, getting a run-a-ball seven.Bharat, Maxwell punish sloppy Capitals
With the Royal Challengers openers falling cheaply, AB de Villiers came in as early as the third over and began a repair job with a run-a-ball 26. Axar dismissed de Villiers in the tenth over and could’ve got Maxwell (twice) soon after had Ashwin and Iyer had not dropped those chances. Having been reprieved on 6 and 16, Maxwell showed off his range once again, slogging and reverse-slogging his way to an unbeaten 51 off 33.As for Bharat, he was a more sedate presence in the early exchanges against high pace, but then laid into Axar’s left-arm darts, taking him for 25 off just nine balls.With two right-handers in the middle, Ashwin bowled just a solitary over, which cost Capitals 11 runs. Ripal stepped in for Ashwin with his medium-pace, giving up 22 in his three overs. Nortje maintained his machine-line accuracy at the death, but Avesh had a rare off day as Bharat finished off the league phase of IPL 2021 with a last-ball six.

Afghanistan

Less than half an hour after Afghanistan announced their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup on September 9, Rashid Khan stepped down as captain, saying “the selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media”.Squad: Mohammad Nabi (capt), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Karim Janat, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Usman Ghani, Naveen ul Haq, Asghar Afghan, Hamid Hassan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Najibullah Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Shapoor Zadran, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Qais AhmadReserves: Afsar Zazai, Fareed Ahmad

Australia

All Australia’s first-choice players who missed the recent tours of West Indies and Bangladesh have returned for the T20 World Cup in the UAE, while wicketkeeper Josh Inglis has earned a maiden call-up.Squad: Aaron Finch (capt), David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Josh InglisTravelling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams

Bangladesh

Mahmudullah will lead Bangladesh at the 2021 T20 World Cup, with all their major players in the mix with the exception of Tamim Iqbal, who opted out of the tournament recently.Squad: Mahmudullah (capt), Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shamim HossainReserves: Aminul Islam, Rubel Hossain

England

England have recalled Tymal Mills to their squad for the T20 World Cup, but there will be no return for Ben Stokes as the allrounder continues his indefinite break from the game for mental health reasons.Squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark WoodTravelling reserves: Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, James Vince

India

Four years after he was discarded from India’s T20I set-up, R Ashwin has forced his way back in, named in the squad of 15 for the 2021 T20 World Cup. In another surprise move, the BCCI has roped in former captain MS Dhoni as the team mentor specifically for this tournament.Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad ShamiReserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur

Ireland

Uncapped left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Graham Kennedy has been picked in the Andy Balbirnie-led Ireland squad for the forthcoming T20 World Cup.Squad: Andy Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young

Namibia

Former South Africa allrounder David Wiese has been included in Namibia’s squad for this year’s T20 World Cup. This will be Wiese’s second T20 World Cup, five years after his first, for South Africa.Squad: Gerhard Erasmus (capt), Stephan Baard, Karl Birkenstock, Michau du Preez, Jan Frylinck, Zane Green, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Michael van Lingen, David Wiese, Craig Williams, Pikky Ya FranceRyan ten Doeschate is part of Netherlands’ T20 World Cup squad•Peter Della Penna

Netherlands

Netherlands will have the services of a 41-year-old Ryan ten Doeschate at the T20 World Cup. Ten Doeschate was Netherlands’ second-highest scorer as they defended their title in the T20 World Cup qualifiers in 2019 and had then told captain Pieter Seelaar that he would like to play in another World Cup.Squad: Pieter Seelaar (capt), Colin Ackermann (vice-capt), Philippe Boissevain, Bas de Leede, Paul van Meekeren, Ben Cooper, Max O’Dowd, Scott Edwards, Ryan ten Doeschate, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Brandon Glover, Fred Klaassen, Logan van Beek, Stephan Myburgh

New Zealand

Mark Chapman, who represented Hong Kong at the T20 World Cup in 2014 and 2016, has been named in New Zealand’s 15-member squad for the 2021 edition to be played in the UAE and Oman this October-November.Squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne (injury cover)

Oman

Barring two uncapped players in Nestor Dhamba and Ayan Khan, Oman will be fielding an experienced squad at the T20 World Cup starting October 18 in Al Amerat. Veteran allrounder Zeeshan Maqsood will lead the side.Squad: Zeeshan Maqsood (capt), Aqib Ilyas (vice-capt), Jatinder Singh, Khawar Ali, Mohammad Nadeem, Ayan Khan, Suraj Kumar, Sandeep Goud, Nestor Dhamba, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan, Naseem Khushi, Sufyan Mehmood, Fayyaz Butt, Khurram Khan

Pakistan

Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah have both been included in Pakistan’s T20I squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand and England, as well as the 2021 T20 World Cup which begins in October.Squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan (vice-capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Asif Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Azam Khan (wk), Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hasnain.Reserves: Usman Qadir, Shanawaz Dahani, Fakhar Zaman

Papua New Guinea

Assad Vala, the 34-year-old mainstay of Papua New Guinea, will captain the team at their maiden ICC world tournament.Squad: Assad Vala (capt), Charles Amini, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Nosaina Pokana, Kiplin Doriga (wk), Tony Ura, Hiri Hiri, Gaudi Toka, Sese Bau, Damien Ravu, Kabua Vagi-Morea, Simon Atai, Jason Kila, Chad Soper, Jack Gardner

Scotland

Scotland have named Kyle Coetzer the captain of a provisional 17-member squad for next month’s T20 World Cup, while former England batter Jonathan Trott has been roped in as the “batting lead” on their support staff.Squad: Kyle Coetzer (capt), Richard Berrington (vice-capt), Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace (wk), Mark Watt, Brad WhealInjured Temba Bavuma is expected to recover in time to lead South Africa at the tournament•AFP/Getty Images

South Africa

Faf du Plessis has not been included in South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad despite being available to play international white-ball cricket. Imran Tahir and Chris Morris are out as well. Temba Bavuma, who recently had surgery on his broken thumb, is expected to recover in time to lead the team at the marquee tournament.Squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s new mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana has made the T20 World Cup squad, as have top-order batters Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Kamindu Mendis.Squad: Dasun Shanaka (capt), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kamindu Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lahiru Madushanka, Maheesh TheekshanaReserves: Lahiru Kumara, Binura Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Pulina Tharanga

West Indies

Nearly a decade after winning the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, seamer Ravi Rampaul has a chance to add to his title after being picked in West Indies’ 15-member squad for the upcoming edition of the tournament.Squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Nicholas Pooran (vice-capt & wk), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher (wk), Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh JrReserves: Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell, Darren Bravo

Dane Vilas, the former South Africa wicketkeeper, has signed a deal with the Durban-based Dolphins franchise for the 2017-18 season. Vilas, who played six Tests for South Africa and has also signed a Kolpak deal with Lancashire, was based at the Cobras for the last seven seasons.Vilas will add rare international experience to a Dolphins squad that lost several big names ahead of the 2016-17 season. David Miller and Kyle Abbott both left the franchise, leaving Imran Tahir as the only national player in the ranks at the start of last summer. Since then, Andile Phehlukwayo and Keshav Maharaj have both played for South Africa, adding some superstar quality to the outfit.Although Dolphins also have another wicketkeeper on their books in Morne van Wyk, the 38-year old is in the twilight of his career and recently handed the captaincy to Khaya Zondo. With Dolphins also losing Daryn Smit, who has relocated to the UK, Vilas will do the bulk of the keeping duties across all formats. He is not expecting to do the same at his county, where he has been signed primarily as a batsman, thus ensuring his workload does not become excessive across back-to-back seasons.”I will be available to keep for Lancashire if they need me to but they have a young keeper, Alex Davies, who is trying to break into the England ranks, so it will be good to offer assistance where I can,” Vilas said “Signing the Kolpak deal will mean that I will be able to focus on contributing to the Dolphins in all three formats.”Dolphins have also contracted Lwandiswa Zuma, a 20-year-old seamer who was schooled at Maritzburg College, the alma mater of Kevin Pietersen, and a South African under-19 player who was plying his trade at the Bloemfontein-based Knights.In the 2016-17 season, Dolphins, under new coach Grant Morgan, did not win any trophies. They finished fourth in the first-class and one-day cups and fifth in the T20 competition.

Match facts

February 22, 2017
Start time 1920 local (0850 GMT)Big question: How will captain Aaron Finch keep Asela Gunaratne in check?•Getty Images

Big Picture

Adelaide Oval concludes Australia’s home international season the day after the drop-in pitches have been removed from the MCG, and the night before the Test team starts a series in India. These two events say much about how football has encroached upon the traditional Australian season, and also about why the international schedule is in serious need of greater context and better organisation. If there was anything particularly vital about this series, it was the opportunity for numerous players to make a play for contracts in the IPL, given the auction’s timing between games two and three. Logically, the outstanding performer Asela Gunaratne was picked up, while the beanpole Australian fast man Billy Stanlake was also chosen. Ben Dunk, Michael Klinger and Niroshan Dickwella were among the less fortunate.Having won both games from the final ball – albeit rather more dramatically in Geelong than in Melbourne – Sri Lanka will be eager to finish well. Equally, Australia’s makeshift assembly of players will not want to leave their time with the all-star coaching staff of Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting and Jason Gillespie without winning a match. A little like the Australian team that toured India in 1979 immediately before the reintegration of World Series players, many in this group will have very little certainty about when they may next get an opportunity to play for their country, if ever again. That should provide significant motivation even as Adelaide’s ground staff look towards their own schedule for digging up the pitch, and the Test team ponder playing cricket of a very different kind in India.

Form guide

Australia: LLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WWWWL

In the spotlight

Entering this series, Travis Head took on greater responsibility as one of few regular Australian players in the squad. However after two matches he does not have much to show for it, having made a start in Melbourne and faced a mere four balls at Kardinia Oval. In Adelaide he has done many a great deed for the Adelaide Strikers and the Redbacks, and will be out for something more substantial this time around with Australia – he of course made a fine hundred against Pakistan in a January ODI at the ground. “I play well at Adelaide Oval,” he said, “so if I get the opportunity again and if the batters set a platform and give me an opportunity late in the innings, or if I have to come in early, I’m happy with any situation and hopefully I can do a job for the side.”Having been the difference in both matches so far, Asela Gunaratne has something of a target on his back for game three. Most of Australia’s team talk will be spent trying to find a chink in his armour, while spectators and television viewers will have enormous anticipation of what he may do next. His new owners at Mumbai Indians will also be having a close look at their IPL auction investment.Travis Head is looking for a big score on his home ground•Getty Images

Team news

Adam Zampa can expect to be considered for a recall in Adelaide.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Michael Klinger, 3 Ben Dunk, 4 Travis Head, 5 Moises Henriques, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Andrew Tye.Having won the series, Sri Lanka may shuffle their options in the dead rubber., given Niroshan Dickwella received a two-match suspension for showing dissent.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Dilshan Munaweera, 2 Upul Tharanga (capt), 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Asela Gunaratne, 5 Milinda Siriwardana, 6 Chamara Kapugedera, 7 Seekkugge Prasanna, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Vikum Sanjaya.

Pitch and conditions

Adelaide Oval’s drop-in pitch is likely to be batsman-friendly while offering a little bit of nibble for pace and spin alike, due to an even coverage of grass. The forecast is for fine, warm weather.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka’s first T20 international at Adelaide Oval
• Australia are still chasing their first victory over Sri Lanka in a T20 match down under

Quotes

“We don’t need to do too much differently. It’s the small moments in the games. We didn’t finish as well with the bat as we would have liked on Sunday and with the ball, we had great plans but credit to Sri Lanka, they batted well. We’ve got to free the mind and play a positive brand of cricket and hopefully the tide can turn.”

In the last two overs he bowled in Kanpur, Chris Jordan stuck to his plan of bowling yorkers throughout. He bowled 10 of his last 12 balls to MS Dhoni and conceded 16 runs off them, a strike rate of 160. What those numbers don’t tell you is that Dhoni struggled to hit eight of those 10 balls cleanly. The moral victory was Jordan’s.This attacking and fearless bowling style makes him a vital cog in England’s pace attack in the limited-overs formats. It was a testimony of how Jordan has become Eoin Morgan’s go-to bowler in the slog overs, either to pick wickets or limit runs, or often both. It was reminiscent of how Jordan had bowled a barrage of yorkers to Pakistan’s tail in his final two overs at Headingley in September, and a few months before that had helped England defend 171 in the World T20 semi-final against Sri Lanka in Delhi.His first spell there read 2-0-16-1. He then returned to bowl with Sri Lanka needing 40 off 24 balls. He walked away with a fine second spell that read 2-0-12-3. It showed why he was rated highly as an end-overs bowler. Jordan, who addressed the media on the eve of the second T20I in Nagpur, was asked of what it takes to succeed in the end overs. He impressed upon the need to remain calm and have self-belief.”Although T20 cricket can be a fast-paced game, I believe at the back-end of the innings you have to give yourself time,” he said. “You have to try and take the sting out of the game, try to keep a very clear mindset especially when guys are trying to hit you over the ropes every single ball. That calmness and that whole notion of trying to give yourself time is something I try to use and luckily it works.”Plans can change literally every ball because you’re trying to stay one step ahead of the batsman every time, and at the back-end of the innings it could be a lot of commotion. You have to try and stay clear and think about simple things and executing them, that’s what I try to do.”‘Calmness, self-belief key to bowling in end-overs’ – Jordan•Getty Images

Jordan’s yorkers have been a fundamental aspect of his end-overs bowling and are something he falls back on when summoned. Jordan said developing the wide yorker too was a result of increasing his variations to keep the batsmen guessing.”It is a skill that I have worked on very, very hard whether it’s in the nets or actually in games,” Jordan said. “Most batsmen obviously want the ball in their arc and if you bowl at the stumps a lot, that’s in their arc so you’re backing yourself to execute the skill anyway. But I find that with that wide yorker, bowling the ball outside the batsman’s arc even when you do bowl there still has to be some precision with it. I find bowling that ball more often than not buys you some dots and time, and helps you get ahead of the batsman and also pick a wicket in the innings.”It came from first and foremost using variations. When I look at death bowling I think you can’t be predictable, you have to use different variations and that doesn’t necessarily have to be pace, it can be line or length and that’s how I developed that ball. So instead of maybe bowling my slower one more often, I use the variation in line and bowl a wide yorker, straight yorker, at the back end of the innings.”Despite this expertise and the role he played in England’s march to the World T20 final last year, Jordan was dropped for the ODIs against Bangladesh, India, and more recently the three ODIs against West Indies in March. His last ODI series was against Pakistan at home, where he produced figures of 2 for 42 from nine overs and 0 for 52 from 7.2. When asked to self-assess why he had been dropped, Jordan said it was about consistency.”You are always disappointed when you have ambition and then do not get selected,” he stated. “Disappointment is an emotion that I think is warranted. I would want to get back into the ODI and the Test team as soon as possible and am working very hard to do that. But obviously, we have a very good set of players, very strong depth. It will be quite tough getting back in, but I don’t think it is beyond me.”Possibly consistency wasn’t as I’d like it to be and I do set my standards very high,” Jordan said of his exclusion. “If I look at it I can say that my consistency at that particular moment wasn’t to the level I wanted it to be but that’s not to discourage or dishearten me. I do still have opportunities and I hope to push my case to make it back.”Jordan will hope he displays more such impressive efforts, the way he did in Kanpur, in the remaining two T20s of the series and stakes a claim for the Champions Trophy in June at home. After the West Indies tour, England are scheduled to play two ODIs against Ireland and three against South Africa – all in May at home. Jordan said he was looking at every game he would play from now as a “chance to impress and a chance to stake a claim”.

Allrounder Chris Morris is set to return to action for the first time in almost six months in when he turns out for his franchise, Titans, in a first-class fixture against Knights that starts on Thursday. Morris, who last played cricket in July last year, suffered a recurrence of a chronic left knee injury and was given a substantial amount of time off to allow for a full recovery.He has not played for South Africa since June’s Caribbean triangular series, after which he played six matches for Surrey in the NatWest T20 Blast. At the time, he was struggling with the knee problem. When it worsened, he could not be considered for the ODI series against Australia in October. Morris was initially expected to be out for two months but did not turn out for Titans during the T20 competition that ended in December.In his absence, Morris has lost ground to Dwaine Pretorius, who was called up as an injury replacement on South Africa’s Test tour of Australia, and Andile Phehlukwayo, who played in the ODIs against Australia. With a Champions Trophy on the horizon, Morris will be eyeing an international comeback soon, at least in the shorter formats.In Durban, Dolphins will have ODI allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo back for their match against Warriors. Phehlukwayo only played one match of the T20 campaign, in which he suffered a groin injury that kept him out of the rest of the tournament. He played two matches for provincial side Kwa-Zulu Natal in December ahead of his franchise return.