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Just when it seemed reliable pitches were now the norm, Edgbaston turned nasty, 18 wickets fell in the day and batsmen took some painful blows

Jon Culley at Edgbaston09-May-2016
ScorecardIan Bell’s hamstring injury seems to make him a non-starter in the first Test•Getty ImagesSo much for flat pitches. Just when it seemed batsmen might be able to look forward to some good old-fashioned shirt fronts, thanks to the decision to allow visiting teams to bowl first if they fancy it, the one cut for this match has been a proper package of unpredictability, and painfully so at times.There were 18 wickets on the second day and at least six instances of players being hit on various parts of the body. Tom Abell, Peter Trego and, earlier, Keith Barker, were all left with throbbing fingers, Chris Rogers took blows to the ribs and midriff and Lewis Gregory had to have treatment as a ball from an apologetic Boyd Rankin reared up and struck him on the helmet.It was a wonder Ian Bell’s hamstring, which has almost certainly ruled out any possible Test recall against Sri Lanka next week, was not superseded as the injury story of the day.If Somerset were left a little battered and bruised, Warwickshire look like being on the wrong end of the result. Bowled out for 152 in reply to 295, their tall pace quartet in turn shot Somerset out for 178 but a target of 322 to achieve a first win of the season looks a tall order, unless the pitch flattens out appreciably.Trego’s 51, which supplemented his 94 on day one, was by some margin the best Somerset score and its merits were applauded with gusto on the visitors’ balcony. It was a characteristically aggressive innings from the combative all-rounder, and though he described the pitch as “scary” he confessed to enjoying the challenge hugely.”There are some quite decent sized cracks so there is a little bit of uneven bounce and sideways movement and when someone is bowling a very hard projectile at you at 85mph and you don’t really know how it is going to behave off the pitch, that’s a pretty scary proposition,” he said.”When a few of the guys get hit on the gloves and hit in the body, that sets the batsmen on the back foot and creates a little bit of doubt and mistakes creep in.”But to be honest I quite like playing on wickets like that. It gets the juices flowing and you know there is going to be a potential result. Wearing a couple is part of the gig. A couple of guys who ducked into some relatively full deliveries that were not played particularly well but some balls bounced alarmingly and that’s fantastic for me.”Abes (Tom Abell) played magnificently well on day one with support from myself but we played and missed at a lot of balls and it was one of those wickets where you could easily be rolled for 150 and that played out in Warwickshire’s innings.”In fairness, it could be argued that the behaviour of the pitch was a factor in no more than a handful of dismissals. Rogers, never comfortable, fended a short ball to short leg and the one that had Jim Allenby caught at second slip climbed on him but the full, straight ball was as effective a weapon as any. It was too good for James Hildreth, for example, who had his middle stump uprooted first ball by Chris Woakes.There were a few batsmen, too, who were architects of their own demise.Bell, who had missed the whole of the last session and a little more after feeling his left hamstring in the field on day one, came in unaccompanied at five down but never looked comfortable and the immediate thought was that it would not be long before he asked for a runner. In the event, he did not need one. After despatching a glorious cover drive for four off Trego, he attempted to dab the next delivery to third man but was never in control of the shot and instead gave Allenby a low catch at first slip.The diagnosis on the ground was that Bell had a grade one tear. He was due to have a scan after close of play but even if the damage is revealed as no worse, he can expect to miss next week’s match against Nottinghamshire at the very least. A recall to Test match duty seems therefore to be ruled out, at least in the short term.Bell was the fourth man out in the morning session as Warwickshire stumbled from 27-2 overnight to 107-6 at lunch. Jonathan Trott had pulled Gregory loosely to midwicket, Sam Hain was undone attempting to play across one from the same bowler and Tim Ambrose thin-edged a cut, Ryan Davies, the England Under-19 wicketkeeper recruited from Kent, taking a good diving catch.Varun Chopra played soundly for his 56 but only Chris Woakes was able to stick with him for more than a few overs.Somerset’s batsmen looked hardly more secure. Abell, after his first-day hundred, was gone for just two this time and after the departures of Marcus Trescothick and then Hildreth left them 23-3, there seemed to be a nervousness about the batting that suggested the pitch was playing on a few minds.Trego countered this with aggression and for him it paid off. After Allenby was dismissed at 53-4, Somerset’s progress to 151-8 would not have happened without it. Trego struck sxi fours before top-edging a pull as Jeetan Patel claimed the 28th wicket of the match, and the 16th of the day, and the first to fall to spin.Useful runs from the Overton twins swelled Somerset’s lead and Warwickshire were left to negotiate two overs before the close. But for the forecast of rain, a three-day finish would be guaranteed.

ScorecardTom Cooper lifted Somerset with 84 of 40 balls but the rain was decisive aspect•PA Photos

A brilliant unbeaten 84 from Somerset batsman Tom Cooper proved in vain as Glamorgan won their rain-curtailed NatWest T20 Blast match by two runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in Cardiff on Saturday.Cooper smashed six sixes and five fours in his 40-ball innings and a sixth-wicket stand of 74 from 4.4 overs with Lewis Gregory helped Somerset to 159 for 5 from their 20 overs.Glamorgan had reached 43 for 1 when the rain arrived in the sixth over of their reply, which was enough to give them a two-run Duckworth-Lewis victory.Overcast skies and a damp outfield combined to make scoring difficult inside the Somerset Powerplay and Glamorgan bowlers Michael Hogan and Wayne Parnell were producing swing and seam which made boundaries very hard to come by.At the end of the first six overs Somerset were 19 for 2, having lost both openers. Marcus Trescothick departed in the first over and Jim Allenby in the fifth as Parnell returned figures of 2 for 16 off his full allocation.Hogan was even more economical, conceding 14 runs off his four overs. Craig Meschede, on loan with Glamorgan from Somerset, then picked up with the wicket of Peter Trego who under-edged a ball through to the wicketkeeper.That brought together James Hildreth and Cooper, who put on 47 runs in 5.3 overs. When Hildreth departed having made 28 from 31 deliveries, Cooper played a lone hand at the death as he plundered no fewer than six maximums in his blistering innings.A cameo from Gregory saw him score 16 as he combined with Cooper as they scored freely in the closing stages of Somerset’s innings. It was an incredible display of clean hitting from Cooper who went from 27 to 84 in just 18 balls.He was particularly brutal in his treatment of the bowling of Meschede and Graham Wagg, who could not find a way to keep him from scoring boundaries at will.The fielding from Glamorgan became ragged under this onslaught as Meschede, Hogan and Jacques Rudolph all dropped catches, although the latter two were very tough.Having struggled with the ball and in the field, Meschede managed to make a telling contribution with the bat.Opening the batting with Rudolph, he got Glamorgan off to a flying start with 18 runs off just eight balls before he was caught in the deep off the bowling of Sohail Tanvir.That quickfire innings was enough to see Glamorgan get ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis target and stay there when the rain arrived.

A five-wicket haul from the legspinner Sune Luus helped South Africa Women beat Pakistan Women by three wickets in the second ODI in Sharjah and level the series 1-1 with one match left

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Dane van Niekerk guided South Africa home with an unbeaten 34•Getty ImagesA five-wicket haul from the legspinner Sune Luus helped South Africa Women beat Pakistan Women by three wickets in the second ODI in Sharjah and level the series 1-1 with one match left. Having chosen to bat, Pakistan were 23 for 2 before a 49-run partnership between Javeria Khan and Nain Abidi lifted them to a relatively solid position. But the batting fell away thereafter, with the last eight wickets falling for 61 runs. In addition to her five wickets, Luus also ran out Nida Dar. While the rest of her team collapsed around her, Pakistan captain Sana Mir battled on to finish unbeaten on 35.Left-arm spinner Anam Amin rocked South Africa’s chase, with the wickets of Nadine Moodley and Bernadine Bezuidenhout off the first two balls of the fifth over. They slipped further to 28 for 3 before Trisha Chetty and Lizelle Lee steadied the innings with a 47-run fourth-wicket stand. Amin dismissed both of them – and eventually finished with figures of 4 for 9 from her full quota of 10 overs – and the medium-pacer Kainat Imtiaz struck two late blows, but Dane van Niekerk guided South Africa home with eight balls remaining.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTom Beaton secured victory for the Renegades with his 16-ball 31•Getty Images

A four-wicket haul from Shakib Al Hasan sent the Melbourne Renegades on their way to a five-wicket victory against the Brisbane Heat at the Docklands Stadium. Shakib contributed 4 for 13 with his left-arm spin to wreck the Heat’s middle order, as the visitors were bundled out for 80 inside 18 overs.The Heat, having been inserted, never really got going in their innings, as James Pattinson dismissed Jimmy Peirson and Joe Burns with his first two deliveries. Ben Cutting was the team’s top scorer with 30, and Peter Forrest chipped in with 22, but the team’s next highest source of runs were the nine extras conceded by the Renegades’ bowlers. In all, the Heat could manage only five fours and a six throughout their innings, as Peter Siddle, Shakib, Fawad Ahmed and Nathan Rimmington all went at under six an over.It appeared that the Renegades would be heading towards a straightforward win, but the hosts did not begin their chase convincingly, as their top three batsmen departed to the dugout within five overs. Renegades could have fallen further back had Stephen Parry not spilled an easy catch from Ben Rohrer when the batsman was still on 0.The Heat fought back with two more quick wickets – Callum Ferguson and Shakib – but they were made to rue their missed opportunity to get rid of Rohrer, as he and Tom Beaton halted the slide and guided the team home in 14 overs. Beaton was the more aggressive foil in the pair’s unbroken 42-run stand, muscling two fours and sixes each during his 16-ball 31, while Rohrer’s 25 was mainly composed of singles and twos to keep the score ticking.The defeat was the Heat’s sixth from seven matches, keeping them rooted to the bottom of the table.

تحدث كارلو أنشيلوتي مدرب ريال مدريد في مؤتمر صحفي اليوم الجمعة، قبل مواجهة إشبيلية في منافسات الدوري الإسباني.

ويحل ريال مدريد ضيفًا على إشبيلية غدًا السبت، ضمن منافسات الدوري الإسباني “الليجا”. 

وقال أنشيلوتي: “الفريق بخير، لقد عادوا بحالة جيدة، الجميع متاح، بما في ذلك ألابا الذي تعافى من إصابته، كانت لدينا مشكلة صغيرة مع سيبايوس ولن يكون متاحًا، ستكون مباراة صعبة، أسبوع مهم، نحن بخير ونريد أن نحصل على بداية جيدة للأسبوع”.

وعن مواجهة سيرجيو راموس كخصم، أفاد: “أحب رؤيته وأحييه، لدي مودة خاصة وإذا كنت هنا اليوم فذلك بسبب سيرجيو راموس، إذا لم يسجل الهدف في النهائي، فمن المحتمل ألا أكون هنا”.

وواصل: “الجميع معجب به للغاية وستكون مباراة جيدة، لديه الكثير من الجودة وسيقدم مباراة جيدة، إذا سجل هدفًا، وهو ما آمل ألا يحدث، فيمكنه أن يفعل ما يريده”.

وانتقل أنشيلوتي للحديث عن لاعبيه، وأضاف بشأن أردا جولر: “إنه جيد جدًا لكنه يفتقر إلى بعض الجاهزية، إنه لاعب هجوم، وليس مهاجمًا وهو أشبه ببيلينجهام، صانع ألعاب، يمكنه اللعب على الجناح أيضًا”.

وعن تأثير التوقف الدولي، استطرد: “هناك أشياء كثيرة تقلقني لأن إشبيلية مباراة تتطلب منا الكثير، ستكون مباراة معقدة، لكنني قلق أكثر لأننا نسينا الأشياء الجيدة التي فعلناها قبل الاستراحة، الآن يمكننا العودة بنفس المستوى”.

وحول جاهزية روديجر، بعد مشاركته مع ألمانيا في مباراتين كاملتين بفترة التوقف الدولي علّق: “أعتقد أننا جميعًا أنانيون بعض الشيء، كل شخص لديه دوره وأنا لا أحب الخوض فيه، إذا اعتقدوا أن روديجر يجب أن يلعب فلن نشكو من ذلك، ما يمكننا أن نشكو منه هو جدول المباريات وهو مزدحم للغاية”.

وبشأن خوضه المباراة رقم 1300، علّق: “أنا سعيد جدًا في ريال مدريد، أنا أناني بعض الشيء لأنه ضروري في العمل، إذا كنت أرغب في التجديد أم لا؟ لا أتحدث عن مستقبلي”.

وحول تصريحات رودريجو إنه لا يحب اللعب كلاعب تسعة، أردف أنشيلوتي: “من المهم أن تعرف أين يريد اللاعب أن يلعب، لم أضع أبدًا أي شخص في مركز لا يحبه، ولكن في بعض الأحيان بسبب متطلبات الفريق يجب على شخص ما أن يضحي بنفسه”.

اقرأ أيضًا | تشافي يدعم تصريحات لابورتا ضد ريال مدريد ويقارن بين عقوبة ناتشو وليفاندوفسكي

وأوضح: “مثل تشواميني، كامافينجا، رودريجو، إنه مهاجم كامل، يمكنه القيام بأشياء كثيرة، فكرتي هي متطلبات الفريق ثم الفرد، لم يخبرني أحد أنه لا يستطيع اللعب في المركز الذي أقول له، مرة واحدة لقد وضعت راموس كمحور، ولم يعجبه ذلك، لكنها كانت مطالب الفريق”.

وبشأن الحديث عن وجود غرفة فار موازية للغرفة الرسمية، رد أنشيلوتي: “لا أعرف إذام كان هناك أم لا، لا أريد أن أتحدث عن ذلك، هناك قضايا أكثر أهمية”.

وفيما يتعلق بحديث خوان لابورتا رئيس برشلونة عن المجتمع المدريدي وتلقي ريال مدريد للدعم ونفوذهم الإعلامي، أشار أنشيلوتي: “لقد سمعت ذلك ولكني أعتقد أن ما قلته من قبل، عندما تحدثت عن العنصرية، ليس علينا أن نحول تركيزنا، كل هذا وسيلة لتشتيت اللقطة”.

وعن جاهزية فينيسيوس جونيور ورودريجو وفالفيردي بعد مشاركتهم في تصفيات أمريكا الجنوبية المؤهلة لكأس العالم، أتم: “يبدو أنهم تعافوا جيدًا، وأنهم في حالة جيدة، ولكن ما أعتقده الآن هو أنهم مستعدون لبدء التدريب”.

علق أيمن يونس لاعب الزمالك الأسبق والمحلل الفني الحالي، على تعادل فريقه السابق أمام بيراميدز، وذلك خلال المباراة التي جمعت بين الفريقين مساء اليوم ببطولة الدوري المصري.

الزمالك تعادل أمام بيراميدز إيجابيا بهدفين لمثليهما، على ملعب الدفاع الجوي، في إطار مباريات الجولة الأولى من عمر بطولة الدوري.

وقال أيمن يونس في تصريحات تليفزيونية عبر قناة “أون تايم سبورتس”: “انتفاضة للزمالك لمدة 10 دقائق وسط الـ 90 دقيقة، لماذا هذه الشخصية وتعطي فرصة للمنافس يفوز عليك نفسيًا؟ وكان من الممكن أن يحرز هدفًا واثنين وثلاثة، مغامرة كان من الممكن أن تكون مخزية، لكن بالتبديلات عادت السيطرة للزمالك”.

طالع | بطولات يكشف تفاصيل اشتباكات مباراة الزمالك وبيراميدز

وأضاف: “أوسوريو قدم 45 دقيقة في الشوط الأول سيئة جدًا، وبعد ذلك أجرى تغييرات أعطت شيء من القوة، الزمالك كان محظوظًا أن المباراة حدث فيها هذا التحول”.

وأتم: “بيراميدز أهدر فرصًا في الشوط الأول كانت كفيلة بأن تنهي المباراة لكنه عوقب في الشوط الثاني، المباراة كانت مليئة بالمفاجآت، نتيجة تكاد تكون مرضية لجمهور الزمالك بسبب ظروف القلعة البيضاء، ما حدث انتفاضة ومعجزة”.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras está na final do Mundial sub-17 pelo segundo ano seguido. Atual campeão da competição, a equipe derrotou o Betis por 1 a 0 nesta quarta-feira e fará a decisão às 7h (horário de Brasília) de sábado, contra o espanhol Leganés, que eliminou o Real Madrid. O torneio é disputado no estádio La Aldehuela, em Fuenlabrada, próximo a Madri, na Espanha.

A partida desta quinta-feira foi decidida em cobrança de falta do meia-atacante Gabriel Silva, já no segundo tempo. Na outra semifinal do principal torneio da categoria, o Leganés superou o Real Madrid pelo mesmo placar.

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O Verdão chega à final com 100% de aproveitamento, acumulandoquatro vitórias, nove gols marcados e somente dois sofridos. O atacante Fabrício balançou as redes três vezes e é o artilheiro da equipe.

O jogo de sábado será o segundo diante do Leganés, vencido pelo Palmeiras por 3 a 0 na fase de grupos. Também nesta fase, o time bateu o Periso, outra equipe da Espanha, por 3 a 1. Nas quartas de final, na terça-feira, o eliminado foi o JEF United, do Japão, derrotado por 2 a 1. Além deles, Real Madrid e Betis, disputaram o torneio o Altinordu, da Turquia, o Atlético de Madri e o Deportivo Cali, da Colômbia.

O Palmeiras foi campeão no ano passado goleando o Real Madrid na final, por 4 a 2. Alcançou o título com cinco vitórias, um empate, 29 gols marcados (melhor ataque) e somente sete sofridos. O atacante Gabriel Veron foi eleito o melhor jogador do torneio e terminou como artilheiro, com nove gols.

Se derrotar o Leganés, no sábado, e conquistar mais um Mundial sub-17, o Palmeiras chegará já a 16 títulos nas categorias de base nesta temporada. Dessas, seria a nona conquista no exterior.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:00

Croft: Superlative hitting by Sammy

West Indies outmuscled England to win the T20 series 2-0 with one to play courtesy of a five-wicket win with seven balls to spare at Kensington Oval. England worked hard to hang in the game, especially with the ball, but West Indies struck 11 sixes to England’s six and ultimately their extra power proved impossible to contain.The big beast, Chris Gayle, who only a few days ago had been wondering about the state of his glutes, commandeered West Indies’ innings with five gluteus maximuses, three of them flying onto the roof of the stands and out of the ground. James Tredwell risked a cricked neck as he watched three sail skywards, but still only conceded 27: the West Indies, did not bother themselves with too many singles.But Ravi Bopara, at his most sagacious with the ball, turned in a commendable spell, 10 runs conceded from four overs of devil’s confetti to equal England’s most economical full spell in T20. He had Gayle outwitted, chopping on for 36 from 30 balls. West Indies, having patted Bopara back with no sense of urgency, had seven wickets intact and 37 to get from four overs, but the immensity of the task suddenly dawned on them when Tim Bresnan dismissed Marlon Samuels and Andre Russell to leg-side catches in successive balls.Krishmar Santokie claimed his best T20 international figures of 4 for 21•Getty Images

The final fusillade came from Darren Sammy, an unbeaten 30 from only nine balls with the rope cleared three times: so much for a tricky target of 31 from the last three overs. “Good momentum… we’re looking good,” said Sammy. Nobody could question that. He mullered some attempted yorkers from Jade Dernbach and Bresnan over the ropes and he will go to Bangladesh as a captain content about his own game.The statistical advantage of batting first in T20Is at this ground – 11 wins from 14 before now – is not quite as daunting as it was. England’s recognisably dud start – 26 for 3 in five overs – had much to do with that.This match, well contested unlike West Indies’ 27-run victory two days earlier, probably illustrated what awaits these sides in World T20 in Bangladesh. West Indies, the defending champions, will produce most of the crowd-pleasing moments; England, champions before them, will sneak little advantages where they can, and hope to win matches on the blindside.Without West Indies-style power at their disposal, England have little to be relaxed about, but there is always the Jos stick to turn to. Jos Buttler hit out with good effect, replacing the stench of another top-order collapse with something more appealingly scented. His 67 from 43 balls was his best in T20Is and such is his growing importance to this England side, it was surprising to reflect that this was only his second T20 half-century, his speciality until recently being limited to violent forays down the order.It is a fair assumption that as England have agonised about how to gather themselves ahead of World T20, Krishmar Santokie, a 29-year-old Jamaican, has not occupied their thoughts. But it was Santokie who returned 4 for 21 in only his fourth T20 and who collected the Man-of-the-Match award while much of the crowd chatted about the six-hitting exploits of Gayle and Sammy.Santokie was the none-too-tall left-arm seamer who had replaced Sunil Narine, West Indies’ star bowling asset for the World T20, but rested after he had tested his strained knee gingerly alongside the physio in a manner that will have done nothing to calm West Indies’ fears about his fitness, even if Sammy optimistically predicted that he might be back for the final match on Thursday.But Santokie proved to be a wily old bird. First there was the devilish low full toss which Michael Lumb played all around to be lbw (there were theories he might have got a nick but he should have middled it). Then Moeen Ali played so far outside a slower offcutter he was not in the same parish. He returned late in the innings with two more body blows, not just adding Buttler but also dismissing Bopara, who miscued to long-off.Moeen was one of two England debutants as they rebalanced their seam-dominated side in the opening match – Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Stephen Parry was the other – but England’s stand-in captain Eoin Morgan, in charge in place of Stuart Broad, who has tendonitis in his knee, rejected suggestions that England had particular problems against spin, suggesting that they have struggled at the top of the innings “regardless of what we have faced.” Morgan did fall to spin, his top-edged sweep against Samuel Badree plopping to deep square leg.There was much desperate thrashing by Buttler and Alex Hales before it got better, most comically when Ramdin dropped Hales on 15 when he called for a skier heading down to third man and failed to lay a glove on the ball. Hales and Buttler eventually found a release, extending their stand to 76 in nine overs – Sammy’s solitary over, which cost 17, their major solace.Hales fell in the deep for 40, a nodding acquaintance with his best form, no more than that, and a prolonged shower disrupted England’s innings with Buttler in full swing. Even though they scrambled 43 from the last 33 deliveries a workaday total proved to be within West Indies’ range.

قدم نادي بايرن ميونخ عرضًا رسميًا، للتعاقد مع الدولي الإسباني، كيبا أريزابالاجا، حارس مرمى فريق تشيلسي، خلال الانتقالات الصيفية الحالية، بحسب شبكة سكاي سبورتس.

وأكدت الشبكة أن صيغة الصفقة ستكون إعارة لمدة موسم مع خيار الشراء، دون توضيح أي تفاصيل مالية سواء لتشيلسي أو اللاعب نفسه على مدار الموسم.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ذا أثلتيك: بايرن ميونخ يحصل على موافقة توتنهام لضم هاري كين

كان بايرن ميونخ قد أعلن رحيل السويسري يان سومر إلى إنتر ميلان، في صفقة انتقال دائم، بينما رحل الألماني ألكسندر نوبل إلى شتوتجارت لمدة موسم على سبيل الإعارة، كما طالت مدة غياب القائد مانويل نوير.

وأعلن العملاق البافاري في بيان رسمي الإثنين الماضي، خضوع نوير لعملية جراحية، لإزالة بعض المسامير المزروعة في الشظية اليمنى.

وتعرض مانويل نوير بعد انتهاء مشوار منتخب ألمانيا في بطولة كأس العالم قطر 2022، لكسر في الساق أثناء رحلة تزلج على الجليد، في ديسمبر الماضي، وغاب عن بقية الموسم، وكذلك سيغيب عن بداية الموسم الجديد، ويمكن أن تصل المدة إلى نهاية شهر أكتوبر.

على الجانب الآخر، فإن فرصة رحيل كيبا أريزابالاجا كبيرة بعد رحيل إدوارد ميندي إلى الأهلي السعودي، وتعاقد تشيلسي مع روبرت سانشيز حارس مرمى برايتون، ليكون الحارس الأساسي.

Kenya will play seven Twenty20s against Sri Lanka A in Colombo ahead of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers in Dubai

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Oct-2013

Kenya will play seven Twenty20s against Sri Lanka A in Colombo ahead of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers in Dubai. The series, which begins on Sunday after being organised at short notice, will also serve as match practice for several Sri Lanka players, ahead of New Zealand’s limited-overs tour of the country.Sri Lanka Twenty20 captain Dinesh Chandimal will lead the A team, as he did on New Zealand A’s recent tour, with Lahiru Thirimanne named vice-captain. Sri Lanka players Shaminda Eranga, Kusal Perera and Jeevan Mendis have also been named in the 24-man preliminary squad, alongside a host of emerging cricketers, including Akila Dananjaya and Kithuruwan Vithanage.The series will be 42-year-old Steve Tikolo’s first assignment after coming out of retirement for the World Twenty20 Qualifiers, and the team will be led by Collins Obuya. Kenya’s squad for the series includes all of their WT20 Qualifiers players, and two more, in Gurdeep Singh and Emmanuel Bundi.Five of the matches will take place at the Colombo Cricket Club and two at the Nondescripts Cricket Club. The series will end on November 2, with the tight schedule made possible by playing two matches a day, on October 29 and 31, and November 2.The World Twenty20 qualifiers begin on November 15.Kenya squad:
Collins Obuya (capt), Rakep Patel, Morris Ouma, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Hiren Varaiya, Shem Ngoche, Steve Tikolo, Ragheb Aga, Nelson Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Dhiren Gondaria, Thomas Odoyo, Gurdeep Singh, Emmanuel Bundi, Duncan Allan, Irfan KarimSri Lanka A squad:
Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirmanne, Kusal Perera, Mahela Udawatte, Shehan Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Ashan Priyanjan, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Angelo Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Yashodha Lanka, Niroshan Dickwella, Ramith Rambukwella, Chaturanga de Silva, Akila Dhananjaya, Seekkuge Prasanna, Milinda Siriwardene, Isuru Udana, Ishan Jayaratne, Kosala Kulasekara, Lahiru Jayaratne, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Jeevan Mendis, Shaminda Eranga