All posts by csb10.top

Vidarbha continued to surge, beating Bengal by a bonus point to move to the top of the Group D standings in Kalyani. Bengal, who were made to follow-on, fared slightly better in the second dig to post 306 on the back of significant contributions from Wriddhiman Saha (97) and Sudip Chatterjee (82).Lalit Yadav, the Vidarbha fast bowler, picked up four wickets while Aditya Sarvate had three to hasten Bengal’s slide. Sanjay Ramaswamy and Faiz Fazal, who put up a record opening stand in the first innings, knocked off the 15-run target in 1.3 overs to pocket seven full points. Bengal, who have just one win in four games, are placed fourth and are clustered closely behind Punjab and Himachal.Goa captain Sagun Kamat made an unbeaten 57 but the side managed only 128 for 4 in 50 overs, chasing 184 against Services at the Palam ground in Delhi. The visitors, however, walked away with three points by virtue of gaining the first-innings lead.Resuming their second innings on 108 for 3, Services collapsed to 190 all out with only overnight batsman Ravi Chauhan (55) passing 30. Left-arm spinner Darshan Misal wreaked the innings with career-best returns of 7 for 68.Seamer Diwesh Pathania (3 for 37) then jolted Goa’s top order and Nitin Tanwar got rid of Misal for a duck, but Kamat and Amogh Sunil Desai, who had scored a fifty in Goa’s first innings, hung on to avert a collapse.

England can challenge without Stokes – Starc

Mitchell Starc is not convinced England’s challenge for the Ashes will be derailed in the event that Ben Stokes does not make it onto the plane for the tour of Australia. As parallel police and ECB investigations continue into events outside a Bristol nightclub involving Stokes and Alex Hales last week, Starc said Stokes greatly aided England’s balance but was not their only key player.
“I’m sure they can [challenge without Stokes],” Starc said. “They’ve got those experienced guys up the top, he probably makes their team a bit more balanced but he’s not the be all and end all of their team. There’s plenty of other guys we need to worry about, some experienced bowlers, some experienced batsmen up the top, they bat quite deep as well when you’ve got Moeen Ali coming in at No. 8 and [Chris] Woakes at No. 9.
“I think everyone in world cricket knows how good Ben is, it’s yet to be seen whether he’s on a plane. If he does come then we know how good a player he is and how he makes that team much more balanced. So if he’s not there it’s a big blow for them, good for us, but I’m sure we’ll assess that when they get on a plane.
“It’s not for us to worry about, I’m sure they’ll deal with it whichever way they choose, whether he’s a part of the group or not, but for us it’s getting some good cricket leading into the summer and hopefully playing some decent cricket heading into that Test selection.”

Australia’s spearhead Mitchell Starc is intent on “terrorising” England’s top order in the forthcoming Ashes after the fashion of Mitchell Johnson, as he reaches the end of an injury rehabilitation far less rushed than his previous spell on the sidelines.Following the emergence of a foot stress injury during the Test tour of India in March, Starc was placed on an expedited recovery programme to ensure his availability for the Champions Trophy in England in May, whereupon the still-healing foot was aggravated – though not re-fractured – by the rapid return. By Starc’s admission, that decision followed plenty of “risk versus reward” discussions between himself, Cricket Australia medical staff and selectors, but this time around he has enjoyed more leisurely progress.It’s been around two weeks now since Starc first started bowling off his long run in the SCG nets for New South Wales, and he is set to take his improving rhythm and swing to Hurstville Oval on Friday to turn out in the domestic limited-overs tournament. That appearance will be Starc’s first on his road to the Gabba, where he quite likes the idea of emulating Johnson’s feats in 2013-14.”It’s a very different Australian team and an opportunity for a few of the younger, less experienced guys to get on top of them much like Mitch did to some of their batsmen through that series [in 2013-14],” Starc said in Sydney. “They’ve got [Joe] Root and [Alastair] Cook up the top who’ve played a lot of cricket and probably their main guys with the bat, the guys in the top order around them are pretty inexperienced and hopefully we can exploit that in our conditions and if we can, really get on top of them in the first Test like Mitch did a couple of years ago.”This time we’ve got a few guys who can bowl pretty quick and bowl some good bouncers, and we’ve got a really solid attack who complement each other. If it’s not me, you’ve got Pat Cummins bowling fast bouncers, you’ve got Josh Hazlewood bowling consistent line and length, so much like that attack did when Jono took all those wickets, I think we complement each other really well. You throw in Jackson Bird, [Nathan] Coulter-Nile’s bowling well as well, so five really good guys there, Patto [James Pattinson] if he’s fit to go.”We’ve got a really good attack there, it’s not down to one person, everyone will like to bowl like Jono and terrorise the Poms like he did and take 1000 wickets in a series, but the great thing for us is we’ve got a young group that complement each other really nicely.”Starc provided an insight as to the sometimes elusive nature of bowling fast when he said he was not sure how quick he would be to begin with for NSW, but he has no qualms about charging in to the crease after a sturdy rehabilitation period.”It’s been great to have the time to progress it really nicely and gradually rather than having to throw all these things in over four weeks and having to get back to play,” he said. “I’ll be trying to bowl fast. Whether that happens straight away is yet to be seen, but I won’t be holding back. Looking forward to playing cricket again and trying to terrorise a few batsmen, take a few wickets and contribute to a few NSW wins.”Heading into England we knew there was still some stuff going on with the foot, it hadn’t healed properly. It didn’t re-fracture so it was a good result in the end, but I still had a lot of pain in there. This time it’s feeling really good, it’s feeling strong, there’s no pain in there doing any bowling, and that extended time to make sure it was right and progress through different stages of running and strength stuff before having to bowl has really left me in a good position heading into the summer, which I’ll hopefully play a big part in.”If it was a Test series I probably wouldn’t have played [Champions Trophy], the fact it was England and one-dayers in a major tournament … there were a lot of conversations with the medicos about risk versus reward, it didn’t re-fracture but there was a bit of pain in there. We needed the break after, but it’s worked out really well to be 100% heading into the summer. It didn’t go to plan in the Champions Trophy but it’s good to go now.”Cricket Australia/Getty Images

A few questions surround the makeup of Australia’s Test XI for Brisbane, not least the middle order where major doubts surround the No. 6 batting or allrounder position, and the identity of the wicketkeeper. While adamant that Nathan Lyon had to play as the nation’s No. 1 spin bowler, Starc suggested there might be room to squeeze himself, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson into the same team, provided all were performing with the bat.”I think you’ve got to pick him [Lyon], it’s just whether you can balance a team with four quicks around him and whether guys like Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and myself can bat well enough to fit us all into the balance of the team,” Starc said. “You’ve got to pick Nathan, he’s bowling so well and he’s a big part of our team, not only with experience but his numbers speak for themselves as well. I don’t think you can’t play him. You’ve got to play him in all the Test matches.”There’s always been chats about it, not so much the batting to squeeze us all in the team, just to help the team out whether you end up with a collapse at the top, or a bit like Mitch and Hadds [Brad Haddin] had to do in the last Ashes a few times was bat really well to put big totals on the board, that’s what the conversations more so are about, contributing with the bat because we do have the ability to do that. That does help being able to squeeze the four bowlers in when we can bat. Maybe we can get to the point where we can squeeze in.”Sadly for Pattinson, his recovery from recurring back trouble has struck another hurdle, placing his availability for the three Sheffield Shield rounds before the Ashes opener in considerable doubt. “Three of them we know are on track, but James Pattinson’s had a little bit of a setback,” the fast bowling coach David Saker said in India. “We’re not sure how bad it is at the moment.”Starc indicated he had been pencilled in to play the first two of those Shield rounds if fit, with the third to depend upon how much bowling he had been required to do up to that point.

A broken window of the Australia team bus is “believed” to have been caused by a small rock or stone thrown at the bus when the players were returning to the hotel on Monday evening in Chittagong. No player was injured, Cricket Australia confirmed. The incident is under investigation while security has been increased on the team’s route to the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.”On route back to the hotel last night a window on the Australian team bus was broken. No one was injured in the incident,” Cricket Australia’s security manager Sean Carroll said. “Team security personnel are currently in discussion with local authorities while they investigate the cause, which is believed to have come from a small rock or stone.”Bangladesh authorities are taking the incident seriously and security has been increased on the route.”To date we have been happy with security measures that have been in place and we are comfortable with the response from the Bangladesh authorities and the increased security presence we have been provided in light of the incident.”The BCB issued a statement after the lunch break on Tuesday to say it was treating the matter with “utmost seriousness” and a “high-power” committee had been formed by the concerned security agencies to investigate the matter. The statement also said the Australian team had expressed its “satisfaction and comfort” with the beefed up security measures after Monday’s incident.ESPNcricinfo has learned the BCB authorities believe that street children may have thrown something at the bus.Both teams reached the ground safely on Tuesday morning for the second day’s play after Bangladesh were 253 for 6 at the end of the first day.

The BCCI has nominated Cheteshwar Pujara and Harmanpreet Kaur for the Arjuna Award, PTI has reported.Pujara was the cornerstone of India’s 13-Test home season, which they swept, having scored 1316 runs – the highest-ever aggregate for an Indian batsman in a single Test season. Pujara, 30, passed 4000 runs on Thursday, the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the SSC in Colombo. It was Pujara’s 50th Test.Harmanpreet was an even easier choice as she has been India’s best batsman in limited-overs cricket. She played a significant role in India’s T20 series victory in Australia early last year. She also played a role in India’s Women’s Asia Cup triumph later that year. She also became the first India women’s cricketer to be signed by an overseas Twenty20 franchise, representing Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), where she had some great performances. More recently, her unbeaten 171 against Australia vaulted India into their first Women’s World Cup final since 2005.”We have sent Cheteshwar and Harmanpreet’s name for the Arjuna award. The names have been forwarded to the Ministry of Sports,” a senior office-bearer told . “Both have been exceptional performers during last season and were unanimous choice from our end.”There has been no nomination from BCCI for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

Joe Clarke is back to his scintillating best [file picture]•Getty Images

Veteran Paul Collingwood scored his maiden T20 century but was upstaged by a player nearly half his age in Joe Clarke as Worcestershire Rapids overpowered Durham Jets by eight wickets at New Road.Collingwood, 41, reached three figures in the final over of the Jets innings off 57 balls with four sixes and nine fours. It surpassed his previous best T20 score of 79 for England against the West Indies at the Oval a decade ago in June 2007.Collingwood also became the first Durham player to score a century in the short format of the game as they amassed 201-2 in their 20 overs after being put into bat.But England Lions batsman Clarke gave another demonstration of his considerable potential as the Rapids chased down their target with 11 balls to spare.The 21-year-old reached his first T20 ton off only 45 balls with six sixes and 10 fours and sparked a standing ovation as he helped to lift the gloom of a difficult start to the campaign. He finished unbeaten on 124 from 53 balls with eight sixes and 12 fours.Collingwood made the home side pay dearly for dropping him on four with the normally reliable Brett D’Oliveira spilling the chance at point off former Durham all-rounder John Hastings.Collingwood ended with 108 not out and his second and third wicket partnerships with Graham Clark – 106 in 10 overs – and skipper Paul Coughlin – an unbroken 92 in eight overs – were both records in matches against Worcestershire.It was another chastening experience for the Rapids attack despite the tonic of Hastings dismissing Cameron Steel (2) – caught at short fine leg – from his first delivery.The Rapids handed a T20 debut to paceman Josh Tongue who had taken four wickets on his first appearance for England Under-19s in the opening ‘Test’ v India Under-19s at Chesterfield.He bowled a tidy opening over but then Clark and Collingwood, profiting from his escape, cut loose to such an extent that the powerplay reaslised 63 runs.Clark completed his half century off just 26 balls with five sixes and then Collingwood lofted young paceman Pat Brown over long on to bring up the 100 in the 11th over.Clarke (52) holed out to long off attempting another big hit against D’Oliveira who was the only bowler to stem the tide of boundaries.He returned the excellent figures of 1-16 from his four overs but Collingwood found another able ally in Coughlin as 61 came from the final five overs.The Rapids needed a quickfire start – and it was provided by Joe Clarke and Hastings. Clarke collected three fours and a six in an over from Coughlin costing 20 as the fifty came up in the fifth over.The Rapids reached 65-0 at the end of the powerplay but Collingwood came into the attack and his first ball accounted for Hastings (24) who perished at deep mid wicket.Clarke has been a revelation in the opening role after Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s departure to Yorkshire left a vancancy at the top of the order. He completed his third half century in the last five T20 innings with his third six – off spinner Ryan Pringle.Ben Cox was equally effective in helping Clarke plunder 97 off only eight overs for the second wicket before he was caught at long-off off ther bowling of Barry McCarthy for 43Clarke went to his 100 with six over long on off James Weighell and then sealed victory in double quick time

ScorecardKevin Pietersen soaked up the adulation once more•Getty Images

Kevin Pietersen hit four sixes in an over as he made an explosive return to domestic cricket for Surrey in the NatWest T20 Blast.The 37-year-old’s 52 off 35 balls – his highest score in 22 games for Surrey in the format – helped his side to victory by ten runs, their third win in five South Group games in front of a 23,508 crowd at the Kia Oval.Defending a total of 150 for 9 on a stodgy, two-paced pitch, Surrey restricted Essex to 140 for 7, although Pietersen was unable to field during because of a calf strain. Surrey said it was too early to assess whether he would recover in time for Friday’s game against Middlesex.Pietersen was playing his first domestic match for nearly two years and aiming to improve on a modest competition average for Surrey of 22.30. That looked unlikely in the 10th over when he picked out deep mid-wicket with a slog sweep but Dan Lawrence dropped a straightforward catch, to the obvious frustration of the unlucky bowler Ashar Zaidi, when Pietersen had made 12.

Pietersen takes the strain

Kevin Pietersen: I absolutely loved being back out there. It was a date in my diary I had looked forward to for a very long time so to get there and do what I did and help the boys get the victory was magnificent.
“My calf is a little bit sore and, at 37, I know my body. If I had gone out there and started sprinting I could have done a lot of damage to it. I want to play on Friday against Middlesex but if I need to pull up I will.
“It was just nice to be batting, manipulating the field and keeping things ticking over. Hitting sixes is a by-product of the art of batting and I still love the art of batting.

Earlier, Pietersen reverse-hit his fifth ball from Simon Harmer for his first boundary but it was in the South African off-spinner’s third over that he made Essex pay for dropping him, hitting the first two deliveries for six into the crowd at long on and repeating the shots off the final two balls of an over which cost 26 runs and forced Harmer, the leading wicket-taker in the County Championship this season, out of the attack.Pietersen added 43 with Dominic Sibley in the most productive stand of the Surrey innings and he also launched Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate back over his head for his fifth six before holing out to long on off Paul Walter in the 16th over, three balls after reaching his 40th half-century in T20.Finch made 21 in an opening stand of 40 in four overs with England’s Jason Roy, but both fell victim to Mohammad Amir who was the pick of a disciplined Essex attack with 2 for 13 while Walter picked up three wickets in 12 balls to finish with 3 for 24.Essex began their chase confidently, but after openers Varun Chopra (27) and Dan Lawrence (24) were parted in the seventh over with the score on 47 no Essex batsman was able to play with the freedom Pietersen had shown earlier.Surrey captain Gareth Batty picked up Tom Westley (17), courtesy of a smart stumping by Kumar Sangakkara, who was keeping wicket for the first time in England since 2014, and Adam Wheater off successive balls and when Jade Dernbach had Ravi Bopara held at long off for 24 it left ten Doeschate too much to do.He struck boundaries off Jade Dernbach to leave Essex needing 19 to win off the final over but the impressive Tom Curran held his nerve and conceded just eight runs.

Scorecard1:00

County Championship Round-up: Stoneman goes big for Surrey

Mark Stoneman scored a chanceless unbeaten 181 to continue his impressive form for new county Surrey as they took the first-day honours against Essex at Guildford.The 29-year-old left-hander’s third century since he moved to the club from Durham last winter helped them reach 353 for 5 after they had been put in by Essex in the battle between two sides looking to put pressure on Division One leaders Hampshire.Stoneman still has ambitions to play for England and is certainly the in-form opener in the country at the moment. Former England captain Alastair Cook, who had the best view in the house at first slip, would have been impressed with the quality of Stoneman’s ball-striking, particularly square of the wicket and through the off side.He did not offer a chance against an Essex attack depleted by the absence of seamer Matt Quinn for much of a rain-shortened day after he went off with back spasms.Stoneman watched three partners depart at the other end before sharing a stand of 186 in 41 overs with Dominic Sibley, whose 69 was his third Championship half-century of the season, to alter the course of the day.Jamie Porter had claimed two wickets with the new ball, including Kumar Sangakkara for just four, to help reduce Surrey to 89 for 3 after morning rain had delayed the start until 1.10pm.Porter claimed his 150th first-class wicket when Rory Burns swished outside off stump before picking up Sangakkara, who came into the game with 876 first-class runs already this season but aimed an expansive drive at Porter and fell for just four. With Neil Wagner drawing Scott Borthwick forward and finding the edge Essex would have been pleased with their early work.But Stoneman was soon into his stride. He collected leg-side sixes off Porter and off-spinner Simon Harmer, who bowled 17 overs either side of tea, and 15 boundaries in a 118-ball hundred which he reached shortly after tea.Mark Stoneman struck his third hundred of the summer•Getty Images

His next 50 came off 55 deliveries and he passed his previous best for Surrey, 165 against Warwickshire in the opening game of the season, when he drove a ball from Ravi Bopara back past the bowler to the boundary.Sibley was starting to plck up the pace, having reached 50 off 99 balls, when Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate dragged Surrey back with two wickets in successive overs.Sibley, who hit nine fours and two sixes, was caught behind off ten Doeschate’s sixth ball and in his next over he trapped former Essex team-mate Ben Foakes leg before as he played across the line.But Sam Curran gave Stoneman excellent support and reached a 54-ball half-century with his tenth boundary in the last over of the day. The pair have added 73 for the sixth wicket so far, Stoneman having so far faced 221 balls with 21 fours and two sixes.

Younis Khan has joined Misbah-ul-Haq in retiring from international cricket at the end of the tour of the West Indies in April and May. He announced his decision in Karachi on Saturday, two days after Misbah did likewise in Lahore, bringing an end to a 17-year Test career.”People are calling me and asking me not to make any announcement to leave but now is the time,” Younis, 39, said in Karachi. “A time comes in every player’s life when he has to decide and I always tried my best to serve my county with my head high. No player always remains fit, the motivation never remains the same, so this is the time when Younis should leave the field after the upcoming series in West Indies.”The exits of Younis and Misbah after the three Tests in the Caribbean will cost the Pakistan team more than 190 matches worth of experience. Younis heads into the series 23 runs short of becoming the first Pakistan batsman to score 10,000 Test runs. Misbah, nearly 43, needs 49 for 5000.”I always tried to be a good ambassador and serve my country to take it one step forward,” Younis said. “If I’ve ever made a mistake in my career, if I’ve forgotten something, or done something wrong, please think of me as one of your own and forgive me, ignore me and let’s move on.”This isn’t something sudden, this was always building up and few of my close friends knew it. Although I had a plan to retire after surpassing Javed bhai’s [Miandad] runs record, then I was motivated to complete 10,000 runs so I have decided to get them. The reason I announced it beforehand was people start asking me for more, they could then ask me to take 11,000 or 12,000 or I may start thinking about reaching Sachin’s 15,000 runs. Humans can never be satisfied but I am not of an age to make it that far, so I want people to respect my decision and allow me to fulfil my future plans.”Though Younis and Misbah leave on their own terms – unusual for Pakistan cricket – it is reasonable to think that eventually, a decision could have been forced upon them. It is understood the chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq was keen for both to retire after the West Indies tour, allowing them a proper farewell and a chance for Younis to get to 10,000. Inzamam wants to build a younger side around a new Test captain and felt this was the time to do it.Younis Khan made his debut in 2000 and now averages 53 in Test cricket•Getty Images

Speculation of retirement had not followed Younis like it did for Misbah, but the lack of a big score until the third Test in Sydney, where Younis made an unbeaten 175, did raise the question. Younis had said then that his future depended on what the team wanted from him.Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur knew that pressure would mount quickly on Younis and Misbah, especially if results did not go Pakistan’s way. The situation Pakistan wanted to avoid was both leaving at the same time. Arthur said during Pakistan’s tour of Australia that in an ideal world, he would want them to stagger their exits so that the impact on younger batsmen in the side could be more carefully managed. Younis and Misbah had a significant influence on the development of players like Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq.When asked how Pakistan would cope with him and Misbah leaving at the same time, Younis expressed confidence that Pakistan would be able to move on.”In the past these things were said, what Pakistan will do with big stars leaving, it will be difficult ahead … but life never stops for anyone, it needs to move on,” he said. “When I came in I shared the dressing room with players like Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, Inzamam, Wasim, Saeed Anwar and I thought what will happen if they fade away. All pressure will come on us as junior players.”But after two to three years Pakistan still did wonders, like in 2009 I won the World T20 with youngsters around me … I think Sarfraz [Ahmed] has a chance here to stand up and take the Pakistan team forward and we should think this way.”Younis has played 115 Tests, having made his debut in 2000, and has 9977 runs at an average of 53.06 with 34 hundreds, the most for a Pakistan batsman. His best Test score – 313 against Sri Lanka in 2009 – is the third highest for Pakistan, after Hanif Mohammad’s 337 and Inzamam-ul-Haq’s 329. He was recently named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, following his contribution in Pakistan’s 2-2 drawn series in England last summer.

USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake has said that revamping the team’s middle-order batting is a key area of focus in the squad’s preparation for ICC World Cricket League Division Three, which begins May 23 in Uganda. Dassanayake indicated that several former first-class players who came into the team’s recent four-day camp in Houston, Texas – Ibrahim Khaleel, Camilus Alexander and Roy Silva – have strong chances of filling those roles.”We need to get the middle-order batting right,” Dassanayake told ESPNcricinfo. “We struggled in Division Four and that cannot go on. Batting 50 overs, it’s a different art.”These players are used to playing T20 cricket a lot and struggle sometimes to spend time in the longer version. There are lots of good new faces in the last four days and I’m pretty sure a few of these new players will cover those spots.”We’re confident how we are going to go about in Division Three. Some of the gaps that I had to fill, I think it’s kind of a clear thing we’re going to get some good players to cover those spots. We had three experienced players here – Camilus Alexander, Roy Silva and Ibrahim Khaleel. All three of them are top-class players who have played a lot of cricket. Still we haven’t decided anything but I think that experience, we need it to build our middle order.”One other player who stood out during the camp in Texas was Nosthush Kenjige. The left-arm spinner was the leading wicket-taker in the camp with eight in three trial matches. Among his victims were USA captain Steven Taylor twice, Khaleel, Silva, and USA batsmen Nicholas Standford and Akeem Dodson, who was recently taken by Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League draft.Kenjige, 26, was born in Alabama but his family moved to India in his youth. He played most of his developmental cricket in the Karnataka system but returned to the USA in 2015, settling in New York. He was ineligible to play for USA at WCL Division Four last year, despite being an American citizen, due to additional residency criteria the ICC mandates for WCL tournaments. Kenjige has since fulfilled the criteria.In preparation for Division Three, Kenjige travelled to South Africa earlier this year to spend a month training with the Knights first-class franchise and playing club cricket on the weekends. During his time there he was able to work with coach Nicky Boje to sharpen his skills and Dassanayake says he is expecting the spinner to play a significant role for USA going forward.”When I speak about Nosh, I’m very happy about him because he’s one of the guys who has really put work under him in the last three months,” Dassanayake said. “He was one of the guys who followed the fitness programme really well and he has been tremendous improvement in fitness in the last three months, so that has helped him get his fielding right. Skill-wise, he has been going around the world and playing cricket and I see a lot of improvement in his bowling as well.”Overall if I had to analyse the whole team and where the USA team wants to go, I’m looking to build the cricketing culture, a good unit playing together knowing their roles and working hard to improve every day and I would say Nosh is one of the guys who is going to help that system. He’s a different character, really committed to the team and his game. It was very impressive what he has done in the last four days and I think there is so much room for him to improve as well. I’m 100% sure the way he’s going forward and looking at his work ethic, he’s going to be a big asset in the future.”Another squad camp is planned to be held in Houston from April 6 to 9 with the squad trimmed from the 45 players who attended the most recent camp down to 18 before the final 14 are selected to tour South Africa and Uganda in May.Dassanayake said he will focus considerable time on improving the team’s fitness, which was one area that some members of the squad fell behind in during the camp.”Mainly, from Division Four, I was looking to build up the middle order and also the fielding and fitness,” Dassananyake said. “The fitness part, actually the whole group was working for the last three months and I saw lots of improvements with everybody. Fielding, unfortunately some of these players don’t have that opportunity to field on faster outfields on quality grounds, but all the top players have got the idea of the level we are thinking of playing.”There are lots of improvements and also a lot of weak areas. We have two and a half months to work on those things to get ready for Division Three.

Trent Boult has been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa in Wellington with the leg injury he sustained in Dunedin.Boult did not bowl after tea on the fourth day of the opening Test – when he was one of just two frontline seamers alongside Neil Wagner – and even with the final day’s play being washed out there has not been enough time for him to recover.Tim Southee, who was left out in Dunedin to allow New Zealand to accommodate two spinners, will replace Boult although the final XI will not be named until the morning. A twin-spin attack would appear unlikely – the last time New Zealand did that at the Basin Reserve was in 2000 – which leaves Mitchell Santner vulnerable to either Colin de Grandhomnme, who would be a straight swap at No. 8, or Matt Henry who lengthen the tail.”Injuries are part and parcel of cricket,” Southee said. “He has had a big workload with five one-dayers and a big four days in the Test match in Dunedin. Trent being one of the fittest guys in the side does everything he possibly can to keep himself fit, so it’s unfortunate that it has come but I am sure he will be right come Hamilton.”It is the second Test Boult has missed this season after he sat out the Hamilton match against Pakistan with a knee injury.Boult’s absence means New Zealand have lost two of their most experienced players with Ross Taylor having also been ruled out with his calf injury. Neil Broom will make his debut at No. 5. “There’s still a couple of question marks over a couple of players,” Southee said.Faf du Plessis said: “He’s a fantastic bowler and a huge loss for them. But anyone who plays international cricket is dangerous so I assume someone like Matt Henry [will come in] and Tim Southee didn’t play the previous game is a high quality bowler. They’ve still got enough resources. This wicket won’t take as much spin as the last one so I’m expecting they’ll play one spinner.”