Thilina Kandamby and Angelo Mathews hit half-centuries to help Sri Lanka recover from a top order collapse and post a respectable 212 against England in a Group B match of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, on Friday. Left-hander Kandamby, playing in only his 20th ODI, showed great maturity with a solid knock of 53 from 82 deliveries before he was run out after a misunderstanding with partner Angelo Mathews, who stroked 51 from 70 deliveries.
The West Indies second string side was all at sea against the Pakistan pace battery and bowled out for a paltry 133 in 33.4 overs in the opening Group A match of the ICC Champions Trophy in Johannesburg, on Wednesday. Pakistan left-armer Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul took three for 24 and three for 28 respectively as the inexperienced West Indies batting line-up never looked in contention.
Tillakaratne Dilshan's blistering century was instrumental in Sri Lanka kicking-off their campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy on a winning note at the Centurion on Tuesday. The dashing opener scored 106 off 92 deliveries as Sri Lanka beat No 1-ranked South Africa by 55 runs in a rain-affected opening Group B match.
Australia's group decider with New Zealand will be a tough battle compared to the prospect of facing rank outsiders the United States.
Senior batsman Ramnarseh Sarwan has been dropped from the 13-member West Indies cricket squad for the first three matches of their ODI tri-series against India and Sri Lanka starting June 28.
David Warner's 15-year-old international career came to an end after Australia were knocked out of the T20 World Cup.
Australia, the World's No. 1 One-Day International side, need to work on a number of aspects to improve ahead of next year's ICC Champions Trophy, captain Steve Smith said after they won a triangular series win in the West Indies.
Australia's batsmen fired on all cylinders against India before rain forced the Group A match in the ICC Champions Trophy, at SuperSport Park in Centurion, on Monday, to be abandoned. The players were forced to rush off the field with the scoreboard reading 234 for four after 42.3 overs as heavy rain lashed the stadium.
Eoin Morgan's unbeaten half-century helped England get off to a winning start in the ICC Champions Trophy after an emphatic six-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the Group B match at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, on Friday. 23-year-old Morgan carried England home with his unbeaten knock of 62 from 83 deliveries, inclusive of seven boundaries, as England recovered after a couple of early wickets to coast to 213 for four in 45 overs.
Captain Shahid Afridi has said that Pakistan will play out of their skin against India in their second match on Saturday.
The Malaysian capital will host all the matches of a tri-series involving Australia, India, and West Indies next month.
The experiment of binding the playing surface at the Brabourne stadium with Poly Vinyl Acetate was commended by both captains and players after Sri Lanka's seven-wicket victory over New Zealand.
South Africa recently suffered a 5-0 drubbing in Sri Lanka while West Indies cricket is at a low ebb.
Ryan Hinds will replace the injured Dwayne Smith in the West Indies squad for the ICC Champions Trophy.
The Kiwis left out Scott Styris and Shane Bond, who was ruled out on Sunday itself because of stiffness in the back.
Vikram Solanki struck a watchful 62 but Zimbabwe restricted England to 198 for five before play was abandoned for the day.
West Indies registered a tight five-wicket win over South Africa in their Group B decider of the ICC Champions Trophy.
England advanced to the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals, beating Sri Lanka by 49 runs under\n\nDuckworth-Lewis method after rain ruined play on the reserve day.
New Zealand beat the US by 210 runs at the Oval.
Disney Star is mulling legal actions against Zee Entertainment for backing out from a $1.4 billion sub-licensing agreement for TV broadcast of international cricket matches in India, according to industry sources. This could brew another legal trouble for Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), which is already facing an arbitration plea by Sony Group at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, claiming $90 million for breach of conditions of their merger agreement. Disney Star, an Indian subsidiary of media conglomerate The Walt Disney Company, is working on its strategy over the development, said industry sources.
A two-division league system for Test cricket could be established in three years in a bid to improve standards in the longest form of the game, International Cricket Council chief executive Dave Richardson said on Wednesday.
Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis and ex-Australia wicketkepeer Adam Gilchrist will be inducted into the ICC's Hall of Fame next week.
West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin has been banned for two One-day Internationals for "conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game", the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday.
The former Aus leg-spinner then went on to place a bet with Ganguly, asking him to buy him dinner and wear the Australian jersey if the Aussies would win the June 10 ICC Champions Trophy match against England and he in turn would wear the England jersey if the Poms won.
Australia have now made it to the semi-finals of the global T20 tournament in all its nine editions held so far since 2009 in England.
Buttler had produced a Player of the Match performance in the dramatic 20-run victory over New Zealand
