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Fixtures against No. 1-ranked Test side to be played at Lord’s and Edgbaston

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2021England will play a two-Test series against New Zealand this summer, with the ECB confirming fixtures at Lord’s and Edgbaston in June.New Zealand will be the fourth touring country hosted by England in 2021, with limited-overs series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan ahead of a five-Test encounter with India.The possibility of New Zealand or Ireland being invited to play Test cricket had previously been floated in the event that the ICC World Test Championship final, to be held at Lord’s, was cancelled. That fixture remains in the calendar but without a set date.

Additional 2021 fixtures

• 1st LV= Insurance Test vs NZ – Lord’s, June 2-6

• 2nd LV= Insurance Test vs NZ – Edgbaston, June 10-14

• 1st Vitality T20I vs SL – Cardiff, June 23

• 2nd Vitality T20I vs SL – Cardiff, June 24

• 3rd Vitality T20I vs SL – Ageas Bowl, June 26

New Zealand last played a Test in England in 2015, when the series was drawn 1-1. The Lord’s fixture will see them return to the scene of the dramatic World Cup final tie between the teams in 2019.”The prospect of our England men’s team taking on the world’s two top-ranked Test nations in New Zealand and India this summer is something for us all to savour,” ECB chief executive officer, Tom Harrison, said.Three T20Is against Sri Lanka have also been firmed up, with games at Cardiff and the Ageas Bowl ahead of a three-match ODI series starting in Durham on June 29. Pakistan will then arrive for ODIs and T20Is, before the Tests against India begin on August 4.The ECB is hoping to be able to host crowds during the summer, with ticket ballots now open, after the entire 2020 international schedule was played behind doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.England’s Visually Impaired team are also due to host Australia for the Ashes in 2021, but that series remains subject to Covid-19 assessments. Multi-format series for England Women against South Africa and New Zealand are also in the pipeline.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are looking to win their first international game in more than a year

Madushka Balasuriya03-Mar-2021

Big Picture

Men’s international cricket is back in the Caribbean. The last time Sri Lanka visited was for a three-match Test series, which ended with both sides sharing the spoils. The last time the West Indies hosted Sri Lanka for a bilateral limited-overs series was way back in 2008, while the most recent contest between the two sides was in Sri Lanka, almost exactly a year ago – a two-match T20I series, which West Indies swept comfortably. That was the last bit of cricket either of these sides played before Covid-19 brought a halt to pretty much everything.Since then, Sri Lanka haven’t fared all that well in the limited cricket they’ve played. Test series defeats to England and South Africa, while not totally unexpected, nevertheless added a touch more doom to the gloom considering the nature of those losses.Related

• SLC says Chaminda Vaas 'holding the game to ransom' after fast bowling coach's resignation

• Angelo Mathews to be Sri Lanka's stand-in captain for T20I series in West Indies

• Phil Simmons: Sri Lanka series first step to finalise 'make-up of our team' for T20 World Cup

• Chris Gayle on West Indies comeback: 'Want to get three T20 titles under my belt'

Then there’s the small matter of Sri Lanka’s build-up to this series, which has been chaotic to put it mildly. With several senior players missing, either through injury or a lack of match-fitness following Covid-related time away from training, the number of available experienced campaigners in the squad can be counted on one hand. Their captain Dasun Shanaka, meanwhile, who was fortunate enough to avoid any of these issues, misses out because he couldn’t sort his visa out on time. And then there’s the issue of the team’s fast-bowling coach pulling out from the tour at the eleventh hour over a pay dispute – which the country’s sports minister has openly stated would impact the younger players on tour. And this is without even touching on the fact that Sri Lanka haven’t won a game of cricket in the past year.While West Indies haven’t done all that much better in recent times, their recent Test series win in Bangladesh will see them come in as easily the more buoyant outfit – in fact, the many fresh faces in the Lankan line-up would do well in taking inspiration from their opponents’ highly improbable victory with a second-string outfit.For both teams, though, with the 2021 T20 World Cup edging closer, the series will serve as much for building confidence as it will for working out their best combinations.

Form Guide

West Indies: LLWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: LLLLLWanindu Hasaranga brings Sri Lanka both wicket-taking legspin and handy lower-order hitting•SLC

In the spotlight

Wanindu Hasaranga was undoubtedly the breakout star of the Lanka Premier League at the tail end of last year. While his effectiveness in the recently concluded Test series against England and South Africa showed his shortcomings in the longest format, his impact in the shorter variants cannot be understated. He topped the wicket charts with 17 at 1.29, while conceding less than a run a ball, and scored his 127 runs at a strike rate of 160.75. With his legspin and his hitting down the order, he has positioned himself as a genuine match-winner.Chris Gayle is back in the West Indies’ T20 set-up after an absence of almost two years. In his two outings for the Quetta Gladiators in the PSL earlier this month, Gayle looked close to his devastating best. He has since spoken of his desire to help West Indies win another T20 World Cup, even if it means batting down the order. Even at the age of 41, a fit and motivated Gayle is a boon for almost any side.

Team news

While several big names have missed out from the squad, much of Sri Lanka’s team still picks itself – though it does mean coach Mickey Arthur has some options in terms of giving some of the young players game time. In the build up to the game he spoke of the pitch potentially aiding spin, and with that in mind, Ramesh Mendis with his flighted offbreaks and prowess with the bat could be a handy inclusion.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Oshada Fernando, 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Ramesh Mendis, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Nuwan Pradeep, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Akila Dananjaya.Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell and Shimron Hetmyer – all three played a key role in West Indies’ T20I series win in Sri Lanka last year, and all three miss out having failed a fitness test. This has meant recalls for the likes of Fidel Edwards, Jason Holder, Dwayne Bravo and Gayle – all of whom bring experience in spades. With head coach Phil Simmons stating that rotation would be kept to a minimum with one eye on the World Cup, it’s also likely that spinners Akeal Hosein and Fabian Allen will see game time.West Indies (possible): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Kieron Pollard (capt), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Fabian Allen, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Dwayne Bravo, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Fidel Edwards.Fabian Allen and Kieron Pollard are expected to play key roles in West Indies’ middle order•Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

The Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua are known for its asymmetrical boundaries, which means bowlers from both sides will have to watch their lines particularly closely. The pitch itself is expected to take some turn, which will suit both sides in preparation for potentially similar surfaces at the T20 World Cup in India later this year.

Stats and trivia

• Chris Gayle last played a T20I in March 2019. West Indies have played 18 matches since then.
• Sri Lanka won six of their first seven T20Is against West Indies (losing only the 2012 World T20 final during this run). They have lost each of the last four meetings since.
• Sri Lanka have not won a match in a year. They have lost six games in that time: four Tests (two each to South Africa and England), and the two T20Is against West Indies in March 2020.
• West Indies have won five and lost seven of their T20Is under Kieron Pollard.

Quotes

“It is an opportunity for some young players to step up, now that we are short of our regular players. I can’t wait to see these young guys get out there and do the job, and show us what they’ve got. The team morale is excellent; the guys are just so good, they just get on and do the work.”
“We see what Chris Gayle did in his last IPL stint. He shows that both with the bat and on the field, he looks fitter and feels better and he is still hitting the ball as we want to see him do it. We’ve seen Fidel in the last CPL and we have seen that he can still muster over 90mph with his searing yorkers. So it is great to have the two of them with us.”

The New Zealand legspinner had gone unsold at the auction

Shashank Kishore26-Feb-2021Ish Sodhi, the New Zealand legspinner, will feature in IPL 2021 in a managerial role. After going unsold at the auction, he has now been signed as the team liaison officer by the Rajasthan Royals, a franchise he played for in 2018 and 2019.In this new role, Sodhi will work closely with Kumar Sangakkara, the team’s new Director of Cricket, and Jake Lush McCrum, the chief operating officer, thereby contributing “both towards cricket and operations vertical”.”The Royals are an innovative, dynamic franchise that plays an entertaining brand of cricket, and I am delighted to rejoin my IPL family to work across the board,” he said in a statement.The role is slightly different from the one he was supposed to play in IPL 2020 – that of a spin consultant and operations executive. However, he couldn’t take up the role because the IPL’s change of schedule from the regular April-May window to mid-September clashed with New Zealand’s domestic season and the birth of his first child.”Last year I expressed my interest in exploring the management side of the franchise, and the Royals management team was very supportive, offering me a role to enable me to begin my off-field journey,” he said. “I’m looking forward to supporting the coaches and the business operations of the team through which I’ll really develop my cricketing and management skills.”In eight games across two seasons for the Royals, Sodhi picked up nine at an economy of 6.69. While he isn’t part of New Zealand’s Test plans now, he’s still on their radar for limited-overs cricket and is currently part of the squad for the five-match T20I series at home against Australia.He’s also active in a few other T20 leagues, particularly in the CPL, where he currently represents St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. Overall, Sodhi has 180 wickets in 166 T20 matches, with a best of 6 for 11 for the Adelaide Strikers against the Sydney Thunder in BBL 2017-18.

The venue will have a capacity of 10,000 and include a range of public facilities plus a new indoor cricket centre

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2021Final designs for the redevelopment of the WACA have been revealed as the ground becomes a boutique venue with a capacity of 10,000.The project has been in the works since Perth Stadium became the new venue in the city for men’s internationals and the BBL.The WACA will remain an international accredited venue and will have the ability to expand capacity to 15,000 with temporary seating when required. It was one of the host grounds for last year’s women’s T20 World Cup and continues to be the home for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, Marsh Cup and WNCL as well as hosting Perth Scorchers in the WBBL.The Inverarity and Prindiville stands will be removed to make way for one central pavilion on the northern end of the ground. The redevelopment will include a ten-lane indoor cricket and multi-sport centre, various public facilities and a new museum, and could yet also house a swimming pool although that remains under discussion. The playing area will also be lengthened to accommodate Australian Rules Football among other sports.The work is earmarked to start before the 2021-22 season and be completed by 2024. The ground will be able to continue to host matches while the work is taking place.”We’re excited to share the schematic design of the WACA Ground Improvement Project that showcase the much-needed revitalisation of the iconic home of cricket in WA into a year-round community destination for all to enjoy,” WACA chairman Tuck Waldron said. “The transformation of this world-famous ground will have significant benefits for our great game and the needs of the wider community now and into the future, and will play a key role in activating the East Perth precinct.”Cricket Australia interim CEO Nick Hockley added: “This will be a truly world-class facility that will greatly benefit cricket in the West and Australian Cricket more generally.”

Pair put on 239 for third wicket as hosts overhaul 355 target on final day

ECB Reporters Network25-Apr-2021Northamptonshire 364 (Rossington 76, Berg 69) and 357 for 3 (Vasconcelos 185*, Keogh 126) beat Glamorgan 407 (Cooke 136, Lloyd 65, Carlson 54) and 311 for 5 declared (Selman 69, Carlson 59, Cooke 57*, Root 56) by seven wicketsRicardo Vasconcelos and Rob Keogh conjured up centuries as Northamptonshire miraculously chased down 355 in 72.4 overs to beat Glamorgan by seven wickets in an LV= Insurance County Championship humdinger.Vasconcelos and Keogh put on 239 for the third wicket, individually scoring 185 not out and 126, as Northants completed the third-highest successful fourth-innings chase in their history.Glamorgan had given themselves 79 overs to bowl their hosts out on a pitch which had got flatter, having declared on 311 for 5 – after half-centuries from Nick Selman, Billy Root, Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke.But Vasconcelos lead the charge with his highest first-class score to tick off the runs with more than six overs to spare to hand Northants 23 points and their first win of the season, while Glamorgan remain winless.Glamorgan boosted their lead from 248 to 354 runs in 70 minutes of aggressive batting from Cooke, Carlson and Callum Taylor. Cooke and Carlson set the tone with a 111-run stand in 122 balls as both reached half-centuries, in 62 and 69 balls, to go with their 136 and 54 respectively from the first innings.Carlson departed when he was caught at deep third man, but Taylor joined Cooke to add 31 more runs in the face of defensive Northants bowling and fields before the declaration 40 minutes before lunch.A mixture of attacking fields and intent from Vasconcelos, and to a lesser extent Ben Curran, meant that Northants flew out the blocks. The opening pair sped to 81 in 17.4 overs to open up the seemingly unlikely possibility of victory, with Vasconcelos reaching his half-century in 50 balls, via a tricky catching chance at second slip.Curran was lbw to a nicely flighted delivery from spinner Taylor, before Charlie Thurston guided James Weighell to Andy Balbirnie at first slip.But those wickets in successive overs proved to be a temporary stumbling block when Keogh joined Vasconcelos and the run-rate accelerated – 55 runs flowed in the following eight overs.Ricardo Vasconcelos celebrates as he seals Northants’ run chase•Kyle Andrews

Keogh’s fifty came up in 47 balls, shortly before Vasconcelos raised his bat and bowed to the dressing room after cutting Taylor to the point boundary – the 16th time he’d hit the ropes. It was the South African-born batter’s seventh first-class century.Keogh’s eleventh career ton, and like Vasconcelos his second of the season, came in a spritely 109 balls with a powerful square drive.The 200 stand and Vasconcelos’ 150, brought up with a six over mid-on, were negotiated and met with a standing ovation from the players’ balcony as the finishing line zoomed into sight.Keogh edged David Lloyd behind with 34 runs still needed, but Luke Procter flicked off his legs to secure the win – a victory all the more impressive for Northants having been 76 for 5 in their first innings.

Seamer ends NZ innings as leading wicket-taker after apologising for historic offensive tweets

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2021Graham Thorpe says Ollie Robinson showed “character” on the second day of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s.Robinson’s first day of Test cricket ended with him making an unreserved apology after tweets written by him between 2012 and 2013 emerged which contained sexist and racist material.But despite admitting to being “ashamed” and “embarrassed”, Robinson sustained his impressive on-field performance from the previous day. He demonstrated good skill and control in claiming four wickets in New Zealand’s first innings and, but for a dropped catch by Stuart Broad, would have made it onto the Lord’s honours board.Related

• Ollie Robinson apologises for posting 'racist and sexist' comments on Twitter as a teenager

• Rory Burns-Joe Root stand keeps Test evenly balanced

• Mark Wood is England's point-of-difference bowler

While Thorpe, the England assistant coach, made no attempt to excuse Robinson’s comments, he did praise the manner in which he was able to retain his composure and perform to a high level.Coming into the day with two wickets under his belt, Robinson was, perhaps, buoyed by the positive response given to him by the Lord’s crowd – the announcement of his name earned warm applause from supporters – and he went on to not only take the most wickets in the innings, but record the best economy rate.”It was a tough day for him yesterday,” Thorpe said. “He had to say sorry to the dressing room and he had to say sorry to the world about what he did. So, from that perspective it’s very hard for him. But he knows he made mistakes and that’s why he had to make those apologies.”But in our dressing room, we had to support him as well. And we were really pleased, actually, that he showed good character.”He had to be pretty resilient because of what he’s done. It’s not easy to go back out onto the stage and perform and I thought his level of performance was exceptional in that first innings.”Ollie Robinson roars in celebration after removing Kyle Jamieson•Getty Images

Thorpe also agreed that, in future, more effort should be put into assessing a player’s social media history before their selection by England.”Potentially, yes,” he said. “That’s something that might need to be looked at so days like yesterday don’t happen.”

Australia batter returns home for family reasons, as New Zealand opener replaces him

Matt Roller30-Jun-2021Marnus Labuschagne will return to Australia after the T20 Blast group stages to spend time with his family before a busy home summer, with Glamorgan signing Hamish Rutherford, the New Zealand batter, as a replacement overseas player for the final two months of the county season.Labuschagne has not had the same impact in this season’s County Championship as he did in 2019, when he made 1114 runs in 10 games shortly before his breakthrough as a Test player in that summer’s Ashes series. He had made only 151 runs at 25.16 in his eight innings this season, though has been prolific in the Vitality Blast, scoring 294 runs in six innings to lead the club’s run charts.He is currently self-isolating along with Michael Neser after the pair were identified as potential close contacts with team-mate Nick Selman, and he posted a video of them training with a tennis ball at home on Wednesday.