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Ian Holland shines with bat and ball, Mohammad Abbas takes nine as hosts roll Middlesex by 249 runs

Alan Gardner18-Apr-2021Having wrapped up the spoils from this game a minute or two before the scheduled lunch break on day four, Hampshire’s players were able to belt out their victory song in the dressing room and sit back to drink in the moment – perhaps even enjoy a beer in the sunshine, too, given it is practically government-mandated now.There were no home fans around to enjoy the scene, but the Ageas Bowl nevertheless basked in a summery sense of optimism as James Vince walked down the steps to reflect on a second emphatic victory in a row. Not since 2004 have Hampshire won their opening two games of a Championship season. That year, Shane Warne’s side saw off Durham and Leicestershire in a couple of low-scorers, on their way to promotion from Division Two. The following summer, they finished as runners-up to Nottinghamshire by two-and-a-half points – as close as Hampshire have come in recent times to hoisting the Championship pennant last raised in these parts back in 1973.Vince, of course, will not be looking that far ahead. Squinting impassively in the bright April sun, he was happy to praise his players for two dominant displays against Leicestershire and Middlesex, before concluding: “Delighted with the start, but I’ll be boring and say on to the next game.”That is perfectly reasonable, with the first goal for all of the sides competing in this year’s Championship being to secure a top-two finish in their conference and qualification for Division One. Already Hampshire and Gloucestershire have pulled out in front, and the two will meet here next week for a contest that will give further indication of each team’s relative strength.Related

• Simon Harmer delivers on final-day threat to hand Essex stunning turnaround against Durham

• James Bracey shows temperament, talent to hand Gloucestershire victory at Somerset

• Mohammad Abbas hat-trick and six-for leaves Middlesex feeling abashed

There’s no doubting that Hampshire are in rare form, though. Five of their top six have already scored hundreds, while the new-ball pairing of Kyle Abbott and Mohammad Abbas – whose exemplary match showing of 31-16-39-9 was chiefly responsible for cracking open the game against Middlesex – looks as potent as any in the country. Factor in Ian Holland’s burgeoning utility as an allrounder, and the spin options provided by Liam Dawson and Mason Crane, and the first XI has depth and variety.There is also the prospect of Keith Barker, the experienced left-arm seamer, returning to fitness in the next couple of weeks; and while Aneurin Donald has suffered a setback in his recovery from knee surgery, Cameron Steel has signed on loan from Durham for April and May, having impressed with a century for Hampshire’s 2nd XI in a friendly against Surrey.”It’s good signs. With the ball everyone’s contributing, and with the bat pretty much everyone’s made a contribution now,” Vince said. “We know here the pitches can get flat and we’ve got to work hard, but with the balance of side we’ve got, with two spinners and four very good seamers, we do feel like we’ve got all conditions covered.”Vince pinpointed his side’s efforts in the first innings as key to victory here, after the batsmen were made to work hard by a strong Middlesex attack. “Making 300 on a pitch that started off pretty tough for batting and got progressively easier as the game went on, that effort on the first day set the whole game up,” he said.A double-Dutchie breakthrough on the final morning, with Holland’s medium-pace accounting for both overnight batsmen, Robbie White and Martin Andersson, before the arrival of the second new ball, quickly extinguished any faint hopes Middlesex had of dragging out the contest. Abbas could not quite conjure a tenth wicket to cap his home debut, but Abbott accounted for Nos. 8 and 9 before Dawson ended a stubborn last-wicket stand.”Over the last few years we have built more belief in the side,” Vince said. “Everyone within the group here knows what we’re capable of, but I guess other counties and people around the country might start to see we’ve had two big wins and expect us to do that more often.”It’s been our goal over a decent period of time, where we’ve not been up there competing in four-day cricket as we’ve wanted to do. The last three or four years there’s been a big push to try to get into a position where we are competing. We’re only two games in, so I don’t want to say too much at the minute, but everyone in the dressing room and at the club is really enthusiastic about doing well in red-ball cricket. It’s been a good start, we’ll see if we can sustain it.”For Middlesex, who threw away a commanding position in their opening match against Somerset, back-to-back defeats already threaten to stymie their hopes for the season. Stand-in captain Steve Eskinazi, who will hand over the reins to Peter Handscomb for next week’s London derby – pending a negative Covid test for the Australia batsman – said players had been “on the verge of tears” during a team debrief following Friday’s disastrous 79 all out, and called for a response against Surrey.”We’ve spoken about honesty for a lot of pre-season, spoken about our culture, and just like we were very happy to talk about how well we played on the first day here and last week, we had to sit down and take accountability and responsibility,” he said. “It was unbelievably confronting for the group of players in that room, hugely emotional. It means a lot to everyone in the dressing room, and if anyone out there doesn’t believe that, they’re kidding themselves, because if they were in there they would have seen people on the verge of tears.”We came out and we showed character in the fourth innings, I was massively proud of the work we put in there. There can be no hangover in county cricket, as we start again in four days’ time. If we can bridge the gap between our good and our poor cricket, I don’t think we’re far off at all.”

“I could just tell by his body language for the rest of his innings that night that he knew he made a mistake”

Alex Malcolm12-Jan-20201:29

Playing in India the biggest challenge in white-ball cricket – Richardson

Marcus Stoinis is still coming to terms with the regret he feels for the homophobic slur directed at Kane Richardson in the BBL which led to him being fined AUD7500 (USD 5200) earlier this month.The incident happened when the Melbourne Stars faced the Melbourne Renegades on January 4 with Stoinis pleading guilty to the Cricket Australia code of conduct level two charge of using personally abusive language and apologising to Richardson.Ahead of the ODI series in India, Richardson said Stoinis had “looked more angry than I have ever seen” but did not know what had sparked the outburst.Other than a brief line in the statement after the fine was handed out, Stoinis had not spoken about the incident but addressed it after his record-breaking 147 not out against the Sydney Sixers at the MCG on Sunday.”There’s absolutely no excuses,” Stoinis told reporters. “I mean he’s a good mate, and he over the last couple of games we’ve played I think he’s wound me up a few times, [but] it’s absolutely no excuse to use words like that. And that’s what he was trying to do. He was trying to get a reaction out of me and that sort of thing and unfortunately, I took that bait and went too far and that’s not acceptable.”I’ve spoken to Kane but then even more than that, I think it’s not the type of person I am. It’s not who I want to be and I understand it’s out of line. It’s not how I was raised. And I’m not proud of it, but I guess I’ve just gonna cop that on the chin and, and roll with it now. And also, look, hopefully other people learn from my mistake.”And unfortunately, that’s all we can do. I guess you can’t take anything back. You’ve just got to show it by your actions from going forward.”Richardson said it was normal for Stoinis and him to exchange words when playing against each other. The two have played a lot of cricket together for Australia and were both part of Australia’s 2019 World Cup campaign, and have often sparred verbally in domestic cricket. However, Richardson said this was different from what he had experienced in the past.”We always talk, we’re both competitors,” Richardson said in Mumbai. “It was just a bit of harmless banter about what was going on on the field and the way he goes about it. I always want to have a chat to him about that. It was just harmless cricket chat. For some reason, he reacted the way he did. You would have to ask him why; it was really out of character. He looked more angry than I have ever seen him. I’m not sure what he was thinking. The learning has to be that it never happens again.”Richardson said Stoinis had contacted him the following morning and while he was not personally offended, he reiterated the words of Australia coach Justin Langer in saying that it was unacceptable for any player to use those words moving forward, particularly as it was the second such incident this season after Australia Test quick James Pattinson was suspended following a similar code of conduct charge in December.”Yeah, a little WhatsApp the morning after, but not a whole lot of conversation about it,” Richardson said. “He realised he made a mistake. I could just tell by his body language for the rest of his innings that night that he knew he made a mistake. I didn’t need an apology for myself, he didn’t offend me. It’s what he said that offended so many people. It was more just his actions and everyone’s actions, we can’t afford to have that happen again.”

Follow all the action from the IPL 2019 auction, as it happens

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2018

Tom Westley and Mark Stoneman will have three Championship matches to further their Ashes case, while Dawid Malan will play two following the T20I against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-20173:14

Dobell: England still don’t know their best XI for Ashes tour

Stuart Broad will have a scan on the heel problem which troubled him during the Lord’s Test before a decision is taken on whether he will play again this season, but James Anderson won’t take the field again until the Ashes tour having been rested from Lancashire’s remaining County Championship fixtures.Broad has previously had issues with the fat pad in his heel, most seriously on the tour of India in 2012-13, and missed the pink-ball round of County Championship matches earlier this season with the problem recurring before the Test series against South Africa. However, he was able to play a full part in the seven Test matches against them and West Indies.He left the field briefly on the opening day of the final Test against West Indies but was able to bowl when called upon by Joe Root throughout the match. Overall, the 2017 season was Broad’s least productive home summer since his first full season in 2008 as he claimed 20 wickets at 33.90, although he did move into second on England’s all-time list ahead of Ian Botham.His new-ball partner, Anderson, who climbed to No. 1 in the world rankings on Sunday, certainly won’t bowl another competitive delivery until early November when England begin their warm-up matches in Australia. He completed a memorable performance at Lord’s with a career-best 7 for 42 having claimed his 500th Test wicket on the second evening when he bowled Kraigg Brathwaite.Among other players who have been on Test duty for England, the batsmen sweating on their places for the Ashes tour will get further chances to impress the selectors over the closing weeks of the season. Tom Westley is available for all Essex’s remaining matches as they aim to clinch the County Championship – something they could do this week against Warwickshire if Lancashire slip up – while Mark Stoneman will play Surrey’s remaining fixtures.Dawid Malan, who made two half-centuries against West Indies after a tough start in the South Africa series, will miss this week’s Championship match against Hampshire as he is in the England T20 squad but will be available for Middlesex’s final two matches.Legspinner Mason Crane, who is tipped for a place on the Ashes tour, will hope for the opportunity to get a significant number of overs under his belt for Hampshire in the closing weeks of the season. He was part of the England squad throughout the West Indies series but his chances of a debut at Lord’s were scuppered by seam-friendly conditions and the 1-1 scoreline.Warwickshire, who are trying to stave off relegation, have the boost of Chris Woakes’ availability against Essex before he joins up with the ODI squad. Having been left out of the one-day squad, Steven Finn and Mark Wood will be able to further their Ashes ambitions with Middlesex and Durham respectively. Middlesex will also have Toby Roland-Jones for all their remaining matches.The Ashes squad is due to be named after the end of the final round of Championship matches on September 28.

Steve O’Keefe picked up his second five-for in the match as Sri Lankan XI were bowled out for 82 to give the Australians victory by an innings and 162 runs on the third day of their tour fixture at P Sara Oval

Andrew Fidel Fernando at P Sara Oval20-Jul-2016
ScorecardSteve O’Keefe’s performance raised Australia’s likelihood of fielding a dual-spin attack for the first Test•AFP

Australia’s spinners will move into the Test series well-heeled and confident, after setting in motion a dramatic collapse that yielded seven wickets for 33 runs on the third and final day of their tour fixture, at the P Sara Oval. On a surface that had begun to take fast turn, Steve O’Keefe collected his second five-wicket haul of the match, in only 6.5 overs. At the other end, Nathan Lyon tuned up with 2 for 14 from five overs; Sri Lankan XI were dismissed for 83 as Australians completed an innings-and-162-run victory.”We’ll definitely take a lot of confidence out of the victory,” Lyon said after the match. “Steve Smith came in today and said: ‘Let’s really make a statement.’ Taking nine wickets in a session to close out a first-class win is a pretty big statement.”Having become Australia’s highest scorer as well, in a morning session in which he shared a 58-run stand for the tenth wicket with Jackson Bird, O’Keefe was especially effective against the right-handers in the Sri Lankan side. He pitched on middle and leg, then spun the ball past the defence of Asela Gunaratne to rattle off stump and claim his first wicket. Later in that over, Shehan Jayasuriya was out sweeping to Bird at deep square leg.Dasun Shanaka was caught behind off O’Keefe and the tailenders fell lbw or bowled to his straighter, quicker deliveries. In addition to the 78 not out with the bat, O’Keefe collected match figures of 10 for 64, raising Australia’s likelihood of fielding a dual-spin attack for the first Test.Lyon was more subdued in the match, and had actually been expensive on the first day, when he was reported to have fallen ill. Despite his figures, he said he was bowling well, and felt well-prepared for his second Test tour of Sri Lanka, which he begins now as a senior player.”I’m the only one to have played Test-match cricket over here out of the bowlers,” Lyon said. “It was good for all our bowlers to get out here and adapt to conditions. A lot of us are coming off white-ball cricket. It’s good to spend some time out there and get some long overs under our belt. I’ve felt I’ve grown a lot on and off the field since that 2011 tour to Sri Lanka. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”The Sri Lankan XI will be disappointed at the abject collapse, and Milinda Siriwardana will perhaps reflect most on the missed opportunity. He was caught for 2 off Lyon, but will have wanted at least a half-century to firm up a place in the Sri Lanka Test squad. Shanaka has not made a strong case for inclusion either, collecting middling returns with both bat and ball.Before the slow bowlers closed out the match, Mitchell Starc had taken two early wickets with full deliveries. He bowled wicketkeeper-batsman Manoj Sarathchandra, and had Oshada Fernando caught at slip.Madawa Warnapura did not bat for the Sri Lankan XI, having sustained an injury to his hand while fielding on the previous day.

Adelaide Oval will host the first-ever day-night Test against New Zealand in November and a T20 against India on Australia Day next year, with Cricket Australia announcing its international and domestic schedule for the 2015-16 season

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2015Adelaide Oval will host the first-ever day-night Test against New Zealand in November and a T20 against India on Australia Day next year, with Cricket Australia announcing its international and domestic schedule for the 2015-16 season.

Australia 2015-16 at home

v NEW ZEALAND
Nov 5-9 1st Test, Brisbane
Nov 13-17 2nd Test, Perth
Nov 27-Dec 1 3rd Test, Adelaide

v WEST INDIES
Dec 10-14 1st Test, Hobart
Dec 26-30 2nd Test, Melbourne
Jan 3-7 3rd Test, Sydney

v INDIA
Jan 12 1st ODI, Perth
Jan 15 2nd ODI, Brisbane
Jan 17 3rd ODI, Melbourne
Jan 20 4th ODI, Canberra
Jan 23 5th ODI, Sydney
Jan 26 1st T20, Adelaide
Jan 29 2nd T20, Melbourne
Jan 31 3rd T20, Sydney

New Zealand will kick off the international summer with the first Test in Brisbane and the second in Perth before the day-night encounter in Adelaide. That will be followed by another three-Test series, with Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney hosting West Indies in December and January.India will then travel to Australia for a series of five ODIs in Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. India will also play three T20s in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, where the SCG will host its first T20 international since February 2010, as part of a new seven-year agreement between CA, Cricket New South Wales and the SCG Trust that will see the SCG play host to all international cricket in the state from this summer.Australia Women will also take on India Women in three ODIs and three T20s during the same period as the men. The T20s will be played as double-headers prior to the men’s matches and will be broadcast live.The Sheffield Shield will be taken outside Australia for the first time with a match between New South Wales and Western Australia to be played in Lincoln, New Zealand. The match will be used as preparation by the Test side for the return series in New Zealand in February.The first round of the Shield will involve day-night matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart in the last week of October ahead of the day-night Test.Also in February, New South Wales and South Australia will play a Shield match in Coffs Harbour as a tribute to the late Phillip Hughes.The Matador BBQs One-Day Cup will kickstart the domestic season in October and will be played at five grounds in Sydney.The schedules for the Big Bash League, starting on December 17, and the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League, beginning on December 5, will be announced later this week.”The ICC Cricket World Cup was the biggest sporting event in our country since the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000,” said Mike McKenna, the CA executive general manager of operations.”Many Australians come from non-cricketing cultures and the World Cup was a great chance for the game to showcase itself and earn new fans from all parts of our increasingly diverse community.”We want to build on this great momentum. Following the World Cup, we are determined that local Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Afghan, Sri Lankan and other overseas-born fans who packed Australia’s grounds with good-humoured noise and colour are able to maintain their passion for cricket as part of their adopted Australian lifestyles.”This summer promises to be another history-making season for cricket in Australia. Test cricket will be played in every state including an inaugural day-night Test match between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide, a step designed to make following the cricket much easier for fans to attend the game or watch on television.”

Shahriar Nafees’ century, the first by a Bangladeshi batsman in Twenty20s, provided a boost to his team, and the tournament

Mohammad Isam24-Jan-2013Shahriar Nafees had a stunned look in his eyes after he had completed his hundred, the first by a Bangladeshi batsman in Twenty20s. Ordinary performances in the format by him made this innings a bit surprising, but according to his opening partner Lou Vincent, who has scored two centuries in Twenty20s, Nafees looked good for a big one this evening.Vincent and Nafees put together an unbroken 197-run opening stand, a world record for the first innings in a Twenty20 game, and pumped some much needed life into a dull tournament. They hugged each other at the press conference, after hearing it was the first time a team hadn’t lost a wicket in the first innings of a Twenty20 match.”I have never played such an innings, at least not in T20s,” Nafees said. “I didn’t think about reaching a hundred until I had crossed fifty. I just wanted to bat till the end.”Nafees smiled broadly while explaining the final moments of his innings, as he reached his century off 67 balls. “It is a bit unbelievable that I have scored a T20 hundred,” he said.His opening partner Vincent played a major hand in his innings by freeing him up to let him play his own game. Vincent, in his unbeaten 51-ball 89, struck eight sixes, hit long and hard, and he said that batsmen with more strength are far more likely to hit Twenty20 hundreds. “You have to set the tone by utilising the field by hitting boundaries over the top in the first six overs,” Vincent said.”Then you have to build from that. It is always good to get a Twenty20 century. Chris Gayle has nine but that’s pure strength and class. Little guys like us, we have to run real fast.”Nafees, for his part, was resourceful at the crease. He used its depth and placed the ball in gaps in several parts of the ground. He lofted the ball quite a few times too, especially against the spinners, and had three of his boundaries dropping just short of the rope. Nafees has the ability to play all around the wicket, which showed in this innings. His repeated use of the scoop is, however, a new addition.The knock also injected some motivation into his team-mates after they went down in the first three games. Khulna Royal Bengals have finally given their hometown something to cheer about, and Nafees’ century could improve attendances at the ground, a factor that has been a worry for the BPL this year.

A round-up of the second day of the tenth round of matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Division One 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2011Twelve wickets fell on the second day at the Gohati Cricket Stadium in Swabi, after 17 had fallen on the first. At the end of it, Abbottabad were 166 for 9 in their second innings, leading by 159 against Sialkot. The day began with Sialkot on 77 for 7, fighting for a first-innings lead. They inched past Abbottabad’s total of 97 and were dismissed for 104. Ahmed Jamal and Ikramullah Khan took 5 for 42 and 5 for 35 for Abbottabad. Given that so many wickets had fallen, Abbottabad made a steady start in their second innings, with Mohammad Naeem leading them to 67 for 1. Mohammad Abbas, however, then took 5 for 55 and was supported by Prince Abbas and Mohammad Imran, who took two wickets each. Abbottabad slumped to 120 for 8. The captain Khalid Usman remained unbeaten on 50 off 70 balls to give his team a fighting chance by leading them to 166 for 9.Habib Bank Limited and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) fought for the upper hand at the Gaddafi Stadium but, at the end of the second day, neither team had it. Habib Bank had collapsed from a position of strength on the opening day and they lost their last two wickets for the addition of only four runs this morning to finish on 245 in the first innings. Imran Khan took 5 for 57 and Zulfiqar Babar took 4 for 92. Habib Ban, however, ended the day on level terms by reducing WAPDA to 203 for 6 by stumps. The captain Aamer Sajjad made 58 before he was run out but none of his team-mates converted starts.Faisalabad were batting their first innings at the start of the second day against Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground, and they were batting in their second, chasing 255, at the end of it. Resuming on their overnight score of 92 for 8, Faisalabad were dismissed for 106, conceding a first-innings lead of 63. Only three batsman made it into double figures, while Nasrullah Khan took 4 for 41 for Islamabad. After a second-wicket partnership of 67 in their second innings, however, Islamabad also collapsed and were dismissed for 191. Naseer Akram took 4 for 39 for Faisalabad, who then had to make the highest total of the match to win. They ended the day on 32 for 1, needed another 223.Sohail Khan’s 5 for 30 wrecked Rawalpindi for 107 in their first-innings and helped Karachi Blues take a lead of 192 at the National Stadium. Opening batsman Haseeb Asam remained unbeaten on 59, carrying his bat as nine of his ten team-mates were dismissed in single figures. The No. 11 Sadaf Hussain contributed 11. Sohail was supported by Atif Maqbool, who took 3 for 32, and Mohammad Sami, who claimed 2 for 22. Earlier in the day, Karachi Blues had resumed their first innings on 211 for 5. Ahmed Iqbal made 71 as they were dismissed for 299, with Rawalpindi’s Nasir Malik taking 5 for 70.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited ended the second day against National Bank of Pakistan at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground leading by 89 runs in the second innings with nine wickets in hand. They began on 239 for 7 in their first innings but were soon out for 255. NBP’s Wahab Riaz finished with 7 for 74. Wahab then made 36 in the lower order to lift NBP after they had collapsed to 123 for 6. He wasn’t able to take them very far though and NBP were shot out for 201, conceding a lead of 54. ZTBL lost their captain Imran Nazir to finish the day on 35 for 1 in the second innings.Half-centuries from Kashif Siddiq, Adnan Raees and Rameez Aziz helped State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) take a strong lead against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the National Ground. SBP began the day on 77 for 2 and made a strong start. Siddiq made 62, Raees 54 and Aziz 76 to lead SBP to 217 for 3. The rest of the batsmen, however, barely contributed anything and SBP collapsed to 269 all out, with PIA’s Anwar Ali taking 5 for 69. They still managed a 132-run lead, though. Saad Altaf struck twice in PIA’s second innings, reducing them to 30 for 2, before a partnership worth 52 between Sheharyar Ghani Faisal Iqbal steered them further further loss to stumps.

Merv Hughes was a selector until two months ago, but even he was caught off guard by Michael Beer’s call-up for this week’s Perth Test

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2010Merv Hughes was a selector until two months ago, but even he was caught off guard by Michael Beer’s call-up for this week’s Perth Test. The inclusion of the left-arm spinner Beer, who played the first of his five first-class games in October, was a major surprise given the delicate state of the series, which England leads 1-0.”I must admit I was a little bit blown away by it,” Hughes told the . “Having been in the selection system for the last five years you know the process that they watch the games and obviously he’s impressed the selectors at the games he’s played this year. I actually didn’t hear the team. Someone said a left-armer from WA had been picked, I actually thought it might have been Aaron Heal.”The chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, said of the decision that having a left-arm orthodox spinner would be a good option for Australia in the future. The first one they tried, Xavier Doherty, was axed after two Tests, and Steve O’Keefe, who played in the Australia A match against England in November was surprisingly overlooked.”Three weeks ago when he wasn’t picked for the Australian A team they couldn’t have been thinking about him then because they played [Steve] Smith and O’Keefe in that game,” Hughes said. “Michael Beer’s a huge surprise. I would have thought there would have been a couple of players in front of him, but I haven’t seen games this year.”Beer moved to Western Australia from Melbourne during the 2010 off-season and Hughes said during his time as a selector he had not seen him play. However, despite being surprised by the call-up, Hughes said he had no reason to think Beer would not be up to the task if he plays at the WACA.”Since Adelaide everyone’s been crying out for change and when they make a change everyone sits back and asks why,” Hughes said. “We can’t cry out for change then question why it’s been done. Give the kid a chance, I hope he goes really well. I’m surprised but I’m also excited for him.”

USA have announced the squad for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup scheduled for January 15-31, 2010 in New Zealand

Cricinfo staff24-Dec-2009USA have announced their squad for the Under-19 World Cup scheduled for January 15-31, 2010 in New Zealand. The squad prepare for the tournament with an intensive four-day weekend training camp in Florida, under the watchful eyes of USA coaches and former New Zealand player Dipak Patel.The squad is made up from the same group of players who participated in the World Cup Qualifier in Toronto, earlier in September. However Steven Taylor has been added as wicketkeeper-batsman. The team will assemble in San Francisco on January 1, 2010 for departure to New Zealand.On arrival in New Zealand, they will train as guests of New Zealand Cricket at the national training facility until January 9th when they will transfer to the tournament hotel. The squad will play two warm-up matches against India on January 11, and Papua New Guinea on January 12. A recent collaborative agreement between the USA Cricket Association and New Zealand Cricket, was instrumental in the latter facilitating such a welcoming host arrangement for the USA players. New Zealand Cricket coaches will continue to play an integral role in the preparation of the USA squad while in New Zealand.The squad was very focused during the recent training camp and all of the players are eager for the action to begin. According to assistant coach Reginald Benjamin, “For the many years that I have been involved in cricket in America both as a player and a coach this weekend has been the most productive and successful ever.”Squad 1 Shiva Vashishat (Captain), 2 Salman Ahmad, 3 Regis Burton, 4 Ryan Corns, 5 Muhammad Ghous, 6 Naseer Jamali, 7 Abhijit Joshi, 8 Azurdeen Mohammed, 9 Saqib Saleem, 10 Gregory Sewdial, 11 Yash Shah, 12 Hammad Shahid, 13 Sammi Siddiqui, 14 Steven Taylor, 15 Henry Wardley