Sri Lanka’s last win in a bilateral ODI series against a full member was in November 2015 if their win over Ireland (who were recently granted full ICC membership) in June 2016 is not to be seriously considered.

Since that win over West Indies at home Sri Lanka has struggled to perform consistently in this format and it shows in their current rankings where they are placed eighth and struggling to avoid qualifying for the 2019 Cricket World Cup where only the top eight ranked teams automatically qualify and, the teams ranked lower than eight will have to come through a qualifying tournament.

A series win over Zimbabwe who are ranked lower than Sri Lanka will not fetch them many points but help them to marginally improve their points rankings as only three points separate Sri Lanka and seventh and sixth placed Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Today’s game is a must-win for Zimbabwe if they are to keep the series alive. They began on a high chasing down the highest total ever by a winning team in Sri Lanka – 317 in the first ODI at Galle by scoring 322-4, but have been outplayed in the next two matches with Sri Lanka raising their bar to win by seven wickets and by eight wickets.

“It’s very important for us to win this series. I don’t want any complacency creeping in and we want to finish it off,” said Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews.

“What we need is consistency. We can’t score 300 everyday. We can lose one or two games, but if we bat well every day that’s great. Some days we don’t do well. If we want to improve we need to be consistent,” he said.

Mathews praised the batting efforts of openers Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka who made their maiden ODI centuries in laying the foundation for Sri Lanka’s successful run chase of 311 with a double century partnership.

“It’s very pleasing to see the way they batted. Very encouraging to see them not getting 50s and 60s and throwing it away. They did exactly what the team wanted. Pity they couldn’t finish it through, but that was good job,” said Mathews.

“We have backed him to bat the way he wants. We have told him that when he gets a 30 or 40 to bat long and everyone will benefit. It looks like everyone is learning. Niroshan is a fearless cricketer and he wants to take on all the bowlers, great attitude to have.”

With the crosswinds and a flat batting pitch the bowlers of both sides had a tough day on Thursday. The conditions are not expected to change today and another high scoring game is on the cards.

Sri Lanka will be without Nuwan Pradeep their most consistent bowler in the series although his efforts are not reflected by the figures. Pradeep has strained his right quadricep during the seventh over of the 3rd ODI on Thursday and has been ruled out of the series. Veteran fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara has been drafted into the squad in his place along with another young fast bowler Asitha Fernando who impressed at the recently concluded Super Provincial tournament with 12 wickets in 6 games at 30.75. Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer blamed his bowlers for allowing Sri Lanka chase down 311 and win.

“On the bowling side we need to bowl better. I thought we bowled both sides of the wicket. We needed to go shorter or fuller. There’s not much you can change in one day. We will keep positives and try and stay positive. Try and restrict them,” said Cremer.

Zimbabwe were also let down by some crucial catches being dropped where Dickwella and Gunathilaka were let off early within the space of two balls. The positive for them was the return to form of opener Hamilton Masakadza who scored his fifth ODI century and laid the foundation for Zimbabwe’s total which in the end proved to be insufficient. – ST

Smith’s side depart for a tour of South Africa on Tuesday, with pacemen Starc and Josh Hazlewood both rested from the five-match ODI series that starts next week.

But Starc won’t be putting his feet up in a traditional sense.

The left-armer required 30 stitches after a freak fielding accident at training last week, when he slashed his leg on a stump that had been dug into the ground.

Starc held the catch but Smith was among shocked teammates to see the resultant deep gash that prompted medical staff to call an ambulance.

“It wasn’t nice at all. It was probably one of the most gruesome things I’ve ever seen,” Smith said on Monday.

“He was aware it (the stump) was there. It was just one of those things, you go for the ball and sort of almost block everything out. As he was catching it, a few us were saying ‘no, just don’t go for it’.

“He wasn’t overly impressed … he was about to have a bit of a rest and chill out, they’re the kind of things you don’t want happening.

“It wasn’t great but I’m sure in a couple of weeks he’ll be ok and back into things .. we’re confident he’ll be ok for the first Test.”

Starc was expected to play a handful of games for NSW in the second half of the domestic one-day competition, which starts on October 1.

The express paceman, who will be in a knee brace for a further fortnight, will now instead aim to be ready for the Blues’ Sheffield Shield opener that begins on October 25.

Should Starc suffer any setbacks in his recovery he will be racing the clock to be fit by November 3, when Australia’s three-Test series against South Africa starts in Perth.

In sharp contrast Smith is feeling refreshed after he was sent home to rest during a recent ODI series in Sri Lanka, much to the consternation of many former players.

“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion .. we could have got the messaging across a little bit better,” Smith said.

“We knew a fair way out that I was going to be leaving … (but) it shocked a few people.

“It will do me the world of good looking at what’s coming up.”

Smith hoped Australia could gain a mental edge over the Proteas by winning the upcoming ODI series but acknowledged the next few months would feature a lot of tough cricket.

“The South African team probably won’t be too different from the one-dayers to the Test matches,” Smith said.

“It’s a very fiercely-contested series every time you play against South Africa.”

A golden chance to move to the sixth place of ICC ODI rankings beckons Bangladesh as they need to win both of the upcoming home series against Afghanistan and England.

Currently ranked seven, Bangladesh now have 98 rating points, just three points behind the sixth ranked Sri Lanka. Mashrafe and company need to whitewash Afghanistan in three-match series while any margin of victory against England would help them leapfrog Sri Lanka, an ICC press release said.
Despite a series loss against Australia, Sri Lanka has retained its sixth position but has dropped a point to finish on 101 points.
ICC press release stated: “Sri Lanka’s one-point drop will interest seventh-placed Bangladesh, which is now just three points behind its Asian rival and has two upcoming three-match ODI series each against Afghanistan and England coming up. If Bangladesh wins all the three matches against Afghanistan, plus manages a series win against England, then it will achieve its highest-ever ranking of sixth.”
The form of Bangladesh at the home soil provides the players a hope to materialise the dream to move up in the rankings even though they haven’t been playing any ODI matches this year.
Bangladesh so far have been unbeaten in any bilateral ODI series at home yard since December 2014. The dream-run started with the series win against Zimbabwe and then they beat giants like Pakistan, India and South Africa before crushing Zimbabwe again in the last part of 2015.
It is quite possible that Bangladesh could whitewash Afghanistan, the ranked 10th team with 49 points but given the form, England would be tough to beat.
England lately showed how well-composed team they are in the ODI format as they outclassed Pakistan by 4-1 in the just concluded ODI series. They also created a history of making an ODI record 444 runs in a match, indicating they are in the top of their game.
Nonetheless, Bangladesh can hope for the best given their form at their own backyard.

Sri Lanka have called up reinforcements for the five ODIs after their 2-0 hammering in the Tests.

Lahiru Thirimanne, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Kulasekara and, depending on fitness, Lasith Malinga are among a number of players injected into the ODI squad.

But as much as they want to get on the winning side of the ledger McCullum is equally adamant he wants to sign off his illustrious 13-year-career on a winning note.

The opening ODI is on Boxing Day in Christchurch, McCullum’s hometown and where he will play his last international in the second Test against Australia in two months.

“We’ve got a bumper calendar really with Sri Lanka here at the moment, Pakistan to come and finishing off with the Aussies,” he said.

“From a playing point of view and a captain’s point of view, I’m fully committed to playing at the absolute top of my game and make as many contributions as I can.”

Coach Mike Hesson said he does not expect McCullum’s retirement announcement to have an adverse effect on the team.

“We’re expecting the guys to carry on in a similar style of play in terms of how we want to go about things,” Hesson said.

“We will still be quite aggressive in the way we go about the game and we’ll certainly be asking that of our players.”

Nearly half the team beaten by Australia in the World Cup final in March will be missing from the Sri Lanka series.

Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson are injured, Daniel Vettori has retired, Trent Boult is being spelled for the ODI series and Tim Southee is being rested for the first two games.

However, Adam Milne, New Zealand’s quickest bowler and who missed the World Cup final because of a heel injury, returns to the side.

He joins Mitchell McClenaghan, Matt Henry and Doug Bracewell as the pace-bowling options, with the quartet vying for places in the squad to be named for the World Twenty20 in India in March.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was disappointed the way his side folded in the Tests but expected a better showing in the limited overs series.

“Dilshan, Kulasekara and Thirimanne are joining the one-day team and we’ve got a fair bit of experience so we are looking to give them a good run for their money,” he said.

“I have a lot of confidence in the one dayers.”

One bright spot for Sri Lanka in the failed Test campaign was the emergence of 23-year-old Dushmantha Chameera as a talented quick bowler.

“He’s played just a few games and he’s been absolutely brilliant and he was able to shake the New Zealanders. He’s a great, bright prospect for us going forward,” Mathews said.

“He doesn’t have a lot of seam movement. It’s just that he can bowl fast.

– AFP

“Malinga was originally expected to undergo the test on December 23 but it was postponed by three days on the advice of his doctors,” said chief selector Kapila Wijegunawardene.

Malinga who is struggling to be fit from a bone related injury to his left knee which he sustained during the ODI series against West Indies in October-November is being attended to by consultant physician Dr Arjuna de Silva and consultant rheumatologist Dr Harindu Wijesinghe in consultation with orthopaedic surgeon Dr David Young in Australia.

“Lasith’s injury is not a serious one but he is experiencing some pain. We as selectors have the utmost confidence that he will come through the test and be available for at least the second half of the ODI series,” said Wijegunawardene.

“We know Lasith is a tough character and he has managed himself well in the past even with injuries. However we will not push him too much. We will take a cautious approach as we will need him for the important tournaments ahead like the Asia Cup and the World T20,” he said.

Malinga is the captain of the Sri Lanka T20 side that won the World T20 held in Bangladesh last year and will defend their title in India in March.

Fast bowling all-rounder Thisara Perera has been flown to New Zealand as Malinga’s replacement while Nuwan Kulasekara has taken the place of injured Dhammika Prasad and Kithuruwan Vithanage drafted into the ODI side for Kusal Perera.

Sri Lanka were set a revised target of 163 in 26 overs with the the Duckworth and Lewis system coming into play after West Indies reached 159 for 8 in their 26 overs.

Sri Lanka was on course for a win ,but with the dismissal of Angelo Mathews and a three wicket burst in one over by Sunil Narine saw Sri Lanka drifting towards a certain defeat losing four wickets for 13 runs at one stage. Ajantha Mendis a bowler turned batsman turned the tide of the match towards the host with an unbeaten 21 facing 20 deliveries and achieving victory with a six.

Windies were 40 for 3 in the 15th over when rain intervened, and their middle order comprising Andre Russell (41) and skipper Jason Holder 36 guided them towards their final destination 159 for 8.

Play began around 3.40 pm under lights, and Sri Lanka electing to field after winning the toss got off to a resounding start.z_p28-sccc.jpg

With conditions suitable for pace bowling Lasith Malinga opened with a maiden to Andre Fletcher.

But in the third ball of Suranga Lakmal’s first over he trapped Johnson Charles lbw and Lakmal in his next over forced Marlon Samuels to cut a short ball and Tillekeratne Dilshan at backward point took a tumbling catch. Danushka Gunatileka and Shehan Jayasuriya made their ODI debut, and after five overs each bowled by Malinga and Suranga Lakmal who took the wickets of Andre Fletcher, Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels, spin was introduced in the company of Sachitra Senanayake and Shehan Jayasuriya. In the tenth over.

With the score reading 40 for 3 after 14.3 overs a steady drizzle drove the players into their respective dressing rooms.

The persistence drizzle did not permit the covers to be taken off fully and it was a case of the ground staff covering and uncovering the playing surface from time to time.

However, after a tremendous job by the ground staff, play was possible around 8.30 pm with the overs reduced to 26 overs per side.

Shehan Jayasuriya completing his unfinished over clean bowled Jonathan Carter while cutting. But Andre Russell who displayed his batting prowess in the practice game was quickly on his strides, Russell and Darren Bravo were engaged in a 58 run stand for the fifth wicket and Andre struck a quick fire 41 facing twenty three deliveries with three fours and three sixes to uplift the tempo.

In the quest of quick runs Darren Bravo moved away from his stumps for a big hit and was bowled by Ajantha Mendis, then skipper Jason Holder hit a rapid 36 off thirteen balls with two fours and three sixes as the West indian reached 159 for 8 in 26 overs.

Suranga Lakmal who gave the early break through finished with 3 for 15 and Ajantha Mendis took 2 for 46 in his four overs.