ICC T20 World CUP

[brod]

The ICC T20 World Cup qualifiers start tomorrow in UAE, with the two finalists going through to the ICC T20 World Cup in Apri and May.

In addition to featuring the six Associate and Affiliate teams with ODI status - Ireland, Canada, Kenya, the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Scotland - it will also include the host team and the United States of America (USA).

[brod]

New Zealand's selectors have named five uncapped players in a 30-man probables squad for the upcoming World Twenty20 in the West Indies starting next month.

The squad, which will be reduced to 15 players by the end of March, features the Northern Districts pair of Brent Arnel and Bradley Scott, Canterbury's Rob Nicol and Shanan Stewart, and Central Districts' Kieran Noema-Barnett after solid performances in the domestic competition this summer.

NZ SquadBrent Arnel, Shane Bond, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Brendon Diamanti, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins, Jamie How, Peter Ingram, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Peter McGlashan, Andy McKay, Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Aaron Redmond, Jesse Ryder, Bradley Scott, Mathew Sinclair, Tim Southee, Shanan Stewart, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori

[brod]

Pakistan's selectors have taken the unusual step of naming a 15-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 without naming a captain. The squad, which includes Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers - players recently fined and put on probation by the board - has also been named well before the ICC deadline for naming final squads.

There are recalls for Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt and Mohammad Hafeez while Hammad Azam, the U19 allrounder, has been rewarded for a fine performance in New Zealand in the World Cup. Little else about the squad is a surprise and as expected Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan are not in the squad, beginning in effect the year-long bans handed out to them by the board.

Squad: Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Hammad Azam, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal.

Reserves: Shahzaib Hasan, Mohammad Sami, Raza Hasan, Naveed Yasin, Sarfraz Ahmed.

[brod]

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has trimmed the initial squad of 30 for the World Twenty20 2010 to be played in the Caribbean next month to 18, with the final squad of 15 to be announced on March 30

Squad for ICC World Twenty20: Graeme Smith (capt), Jacques Kallis (vice-capt), Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Ryan McLaren, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Juan Theron, Roelof van der Merwe

[brod]

Jamaican wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh jnr has been included in West Indies' provisional 30-member squad for the World Twenty20 to be staged in the Caribbean late next month.

The wicketkeeper's slot is something of a worry for new coach Ottis Gibson, following Denesh Ramdin's disappointing performances in the recent matches against Australia and Zimbabwe. Besides Baugh and Ramdin, the other in the running for the position are Andre Fletcher, Chadwick Walton and Devon Thomas.

West Indies probables for the 2010 World Twenty20: Lionel Baker, Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh jnr, David Bernard jnr, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Royston Crandon, Travis Dowlin, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Nikita Miller, Runako Morton, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor, Devon Thomas, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton

[brod]

Sri Lanka's selectors have included right-hander Jeevantha Kulatunga in the probables squad for the upcoming World Twenty20 in the Caribbean after overlooking him for the 30-man team initially. A media release from SLC on Thursday said, "Jeevantha was included into the squad considering his outstanding performance in the recently concluded Bank of Ceylon Inter-Provincial Twenty20 tournament."

Kulatunga, 36, was one of most prolific batsmen in the tournament and played an integral part in helping Wayamba to the title. He was adjudged the Player of the Tournament after scoring 277 runs at 69.25, which included the only century of the series - his unbeaten 104 was the fastest Twenty20 century recorded in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka probables squad for the 2010 World Twenty20: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Kapugedara, Angelo Mathews, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Thissara Perera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Suraj Randiv, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilan Thushara, Chanaka Welegedara, Suranga Lakmal, Farveez Maharoof, Isuru Udana, Malinga Bandara, Mahela Udawatte, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Kaushal Silva, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga, Jeewan Mendis, Nuwan Zoysa, Jeevantha Kulatunga

[brod]

Ireland have named a full-strength squad for the World Twenty20 in West Indies with Boyd Rankin, the tall pace bowler, fit again after a foot injury to take his place in the 15-man party led by William Porterfield.

Squad William Porterfield (capt), Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Gary Kidd, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Andrew White, Gary Wilson

[brod]

The Pakistan Cricket Board ended weeks of uncertainty, by appointing Shahid Afridi to lead the country's campaign to defend the World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean from the end of next month. Afridi will once again take up the role he was given last year, after Younis Khan stepped away from the format, though he has for now only been handed the role for the duration of the tournament.

[brod]

Karnataka fast bowler Vinay Kumar is the only new face in India's 15-man squad for the World Twenty20, while legspinner Piyush Chawla returns to the national side after nearly two years. With both Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra declared fit, the rest of the squad pick themselves, Rohit Sharma retaining his place under massive pressure from Virat Kolhi through ODI runs, and Manish Pandey through a bumper Ranji season and impressive showing in the IPL. Vinay has edged out Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth, both part of India's last Twenty20 squad.

Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma

[brod]

Andy Blignaut is set to return to international cricket after a hiatus of almost five years after Associated Press reported his inclusion in Zimbabwe's squad for the World Twenty20 in West Indies.

His inclusion completes a remarkable return by Blignaut, 31, who was one of the 'rebel' cricketers whose row with Zimbabwe's cricket board resulted in the sacking of 15 senior white players in 2004. He subsequently returned to the side, and had been tipped as a potential national captain, but then walked out again in 2006 over after a disagreement about money owed to him by the board.

Zimbabwe squad Prosper Utseya (capt), Brendan Taylor, Charles Coventry, Andy Blignaut, Hamilton Masakadza, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Greg Lamb, Elton Chigumbura, Vusi Sibanda, Ray Price, Graeme Cremer, Chamu Chibhabha, Chris Mpofu, Timycen Maruma, Craig Ervine

[the joker]

The Aussie squad is:
Michael Clarke (NSW) - Captain
Cameron White (VIC) - Vice-captain
Daniel Christian (SA)
Brad Haddin (NSW)
Nathan Hauritz (NSW)
David Hussey (VIC)
Mike Hussey (WA)
Mitchell Johnson (WA)
Brett Lee (NSW)
Dirk Nannes (VIC)
Tim Paine (TAS)
Steven Smith (NSW)
Shaun Tait (SA)
David Warner (NSW)
Shane Watson (NSW)

Commenting on the men’s squad, NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch said;

“We’ve been preparing hard for this tournament since the last event and we’re pleased with the squad’s performance in recent games, under the captaincy of Michael Clarke. The squad has a good mix of experience and exciting young talent and is capable, at its best, of playing competitive and entertaining Twenty20 cricket.

“While Brett Lee hasn’t played the amount of cricket we would’ve liked him to in preparation for this World Cup, at his best he is one of the best Twenty20 cricketers in the world. He also has the opportunity of continuing to play in the IPL as preparation for this tournament. Ryan Harris is extremely unlucky to miss selection given his strong performances in all forms of the game in recent times for Australia.

“Dan Christian had limited opportunities in the lead-up to this selection but we see him an exciting Twenty20 cricketer with his all-round skills with bat and ball.

“Travis Birt is also unlucky to miss selection. He also had limited opportunity leading up to selection but we’ve gone with Mike Hussey who brings great international experience and is in fantastic form in all formats of the game right now. We’ve also added Tim Paine to give us cover in case of injury to Brad Haddin and of course, Tim’s ability with the bat, which saw him have a great KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, more than warrants his selection.”

[tnt]

How could they select Lee ?
They already have Tait, Johnson and Nannes .
Hopes, Harris, McDonald, etc etc etc all unlucky

[brod]

How could they select Lee ?
They already have Tait, Johnson and Nannes .
Hopes, Harris, McDonald, etc etc etc all unlucky

Absolute JOKE picking Lee.
He is one game (0/39 - 4 overs) back from a long term injury and we are picking him for a World Cup starting in one month..JOKE

[wycbloods]

It is a joke that Lee has been selected for this on the back of one game.

[CoverKing]

Im happy with the selection of Brett Lee. Great net bowler IMO throughout the world cup! Wont be a regular in the side

[brod]

Mohammad Ashraful, who was dropped from all squads for the recent home series against England, has been recalled to Bangladesh's 15-member squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies in April-May. There are no new faces in the squad, but two players who made their international debuts against England, batsman Jahurul Islam and left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo, have also been included.

Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (vice-capt/wk), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Syed Rasel, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Jahurul Islam (wk)

[brod]

Im happy with the selection of Brett Lee. Great net bowler IMO throughout the world cup! Wont be a regular in the side

Waste of an airfare for a net bowler

[bloods08]

Ryan Harris is definitely unlucky. Probably our most in form bowler in all forms of cricket at the moment.

[CoverKing]

Im happy with the selection of Brett Lee. Great net bowler IMO throughout the world cup! Wont be a regular in the side

Waste of an airfare for a net bowler

Lets be honest though, Johnson, Tait and Nannes will all play ahead of Lee. They will have Steven Smith bat at 8 IMO, with the last 8 overs (assuming 12 are completed by the above quicks) to be bowled by Smith, Watson, D.Hussey, Clarke.

IMO the fourth quick is irrelevant and i think Lee deserves to be playing. Harris has not done enough in his t20 career for mine. I do realise Lee has not played for a long time, but he is still a quality bowler, and 4 over spells will not trouble him, infact the longer spells in the nets could be more trouble!

[Pidge]

McDonald needs to be at least in the squad. Bowlers that are smart in varying pace and mixing it up with cutters and slower balls are quite effective in T20 Cricket.