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Australia’s selectors and board will deliberate overnight on the choice of captain for Wednesday’s second Test at the Gabba, after Michael Clarke’s frank admission about his clouded future gave all parties reason for pause

Daniel Brettig14-Dec-20143:38

Who can replace unfit Clarke?

Lehmann lauds Lyon

The metaphor was a little mixed but the sentiment was not. Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann spoke warmly of Nathan Lyon’s fifth day efforts in Adelaide, suggested his fourth-innings breakout performance would be the catalyst for many more.
“The big thing is the carrot of not bowling teams out on the last day and he dispelled that,” Lehmann said. “Really pleased for him. It was an emotional day for him.”
Lehmann and the spin coach John Davison worked closely with Lyon at breaks in play on day five, after he also spoke with Shane Warne before play. Lyon can be slow to accept new ideas, but adapted well in Adelaide.
“We told him to bowl around the wicket for a couple of overs [after tea], which was nice,” Lehmann said. “I think he might have had an opportunity there as well. He bowled really well from over the wicket as well but sometimes you have got to change. That is the pleasing thing, that he’s starting to learn the game.”
As former South Australia cricketers, Davison and Lehmann were both confident that wickets would come in a rush at some point of day five. “Lucky enough to have played a bit of cricket in Adelaide, so you know that it does change very quickly in Adelaide the last two days,” Lehmann said. “It is about doing the basics we have been doing all game but knowing it is a bit harder to get 160 in a session. If you can open up an end and get a new bat in, wickets can fall quickly. But credit to India for way they played. Kohli and Vijay were unbelievable.”

Australia’s selectors and board will deliberate overnight on the choice of captain for Wednesday’s second Test at the Gabba, after Michael Clarke’s frank admission about his clouded future gave all parties reason for pause.The longtime deputy Brad Haddin took up the role when Clarke was indisposed by another hamstring injury on the final day in Adelaide, and had been mooted earlier this summer by the team performance manager Pat Howard as his preferred recommendation for stand-in leader.However the uncertain nature of Clarke’s return date beyond the end of the India series, plus the burgeoning leadership skills of Steven Smith in particular, leave the selectors and board to ponder whether now is the time to be thinking longer term than Haddin, given the fact the wicketkeeper has planned for next year’s World Cup and Ashes tour but no further. The coach Darren Lehmann said discussions may stretch beyond Haddin.”He brings experience and his knowledge of the game – really pleased with what he did on the last afternoon,” Lehmann said. “From our point of view we will have to work that out as a selection panel and then go to the board and see what they say. There’s always change, isn’t there, sometimes, you never know.”It will be a case of getting ready for Brisbane with a short turnaround of three days. Outstanding Test match, India were fantastic as well, but we have to move on reasonably quickly, and get prepared for life without the captain for the next few Test matches. I think he will be back. You have your fingers crossed. We will wait and see.”Smith, David Warner and Shane Watson all took turns manoeuvring fielders and cajoling bowlers after tea on day five in Adelaide, where an eight-wicket denouement concluded what Lehmann called “probably the best” Test match he had been involved in. A probable compromise between present and future would be the appointment of Haddin as captain and Smith as deputy, the same roles they shared on the Australia A tour of England in 2013.Clarke was included in Australia’s World Cup preliminary squad of 30, and Lehmann said the selectors had perused tournament regulations, which would allow him to be replaced should his back or hamstring issues rear yet again.”We have already looked at those rules, that’s not the case,” Lehmann said when asked if a pre-existing physical issue would preclude Clarke’s replacement. “For me, we want him fully fit. He knows he has to be fully fit for one-day cricket.”He was magnificent in this Test match and he has been magnificent the last few weeks with what’s happened with our team and what has happened with Phillip and his family. He needs to get it right. He knows that. We know that. One day cricket is an explosive game and we need guys fully fit all the time.”Fitness will also be a point of discussion for Australia’s pacemen, after all of Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle looked short of their best in Adelaide. Josh Hazlewood is waiting in the wings, while Mitchell Starc has also been added to the squad for the Gabba. Siddle battled a stomach bug during the early part of the match, while Harris was understandably somewhat ginger in his first Test match after extensive knee surgery.”I don’t know, I literally don’t know, he’s just come back in the side,” Lehmann admitted when asked whether Harris could be back up for Brisbane. “You’d like to think so at the Gabba. Having said that if they are not 100% they won’t play. We might need to [make changes].”We will see how they pull up. If they are 100% they will play. A couple of them are sore but the next day or two will tell. [Siddle] was a little bit unwell first innings. Second innings it was the nature of the game. He bowled tightly which is what we need from him. Getting some more wickets if possible. He knows that but he is doing everything he can behind the scenes.”Another man in the spotlight during the match was the opener Chris Rogers, who has not passed 50 in four Test matches since making a stubborn rearguard hundred against South Africa in Port Elizabeth. While agreeing he needed to find some runs, Lehmann spoke strongly of Rogers’ value as an equable partner for Warner and a useful character around the team.”The thing is he is a great foil for David Warner,” Lehmann said. “That’s what I do like, and we like that as a selection panel. But like everyone, you’ve got to make some runs. He knows he’s got to make some runs. There is no hiding from the fact.”But he has put on some really good partnerships with David Warner over the last 18 months and been a great foil behind the scenes, a lot of things you guys don’t see. So we are really pleased where he’s at, we’d obviously like him to make some more runs though.”

South Africa have handed out contracts to 14 women cricketers, expanding the pool from six

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2014South Africa have handed out contracts to 14 women cricketers, expanding the pool from six. All of them who were given contracts, excluding KwaZulu-Natal’s Nadine Moodley, have been picked for the Twenty20s in England and Ireland next month. Boland offspinner Sunette Loubser is the only one who didn’t get a contract but made the tour.New contracts: Suné Luus (Northerns), Lizelle Lee (North West), Moseline Daniels (Western Province), Chloe Tryon (KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Ayabonga Khaka (Border), Nadine Moodley (KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Bernadine Bezuidenhout (Western Province) and Andrie Steyn (Northerns).Contracts renewed: Mignon du Preez (capt, Northerns), Marcia Letsoalo (Northerns), Dané van Niekerk (Eastern Province), Shabnim Ismail (Western Province), Marizanne Kapp (Eastern Province) and Trisha Chetty (KwaZulu-Natal Coastal).”I believe that this latest awarding of eight contracts will be a fundamental step in assisting the Momentum Proteas Women’s team to realise their goal of being one of the top four countries in world cricket,” CSA general manager of cricket Corrie van Zyl said. “This now means that the squad that will be going on tour to England will be the first fully contracted women’s cricket squad in South African history and that is something that we are all proud of. “The England and Ireland tour is set for the first week of September.Squad: Mignon du Preez (capt), Trisha Chetty (vice-capt), Moseline Daniels, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Lizelle Lee, Matshipi Letsoalo, Sunette Loubsher, Sune Luus, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Chloe Tyron, Andrei Tyron, Dane van Niekerk

Elton Chigumbura has said that Prosper Utseya’s positivity with the bat played a big part in Zimbabwe’s historic win against Australia

Liam Brickhill in Harare31-Aug-2014What do you say to a man who has just sealed a once-in-a-generation victory over the top-ranked one-day side in the world? Elton Chigumbura’s first words to Prosper Utseya after the offspinner shellacked Mitchell Starc over deep midwicket for six were a plain and simple: “Well done!””[Prosper] doesn’t normally play like that but he was positive,” Chigumbura added. “Even before the innings he said ‘I’m going to be positive today. It played a big part in us winning this game.”Utseya dominated the 55-run stand eighth-wicket stand that took Zimbabwe home, swiping his way to an unbeaten 30 from 28 deliveries even as the normally more adventurous Chigumbura reined in his attacking instincts.”We just had to bat 50 overs and stay calm,” Chigumbura said. “My role was just to support Prosper because he was being more positive than I was. I knew if I could bat until the end we would have a good chance.”Chigumbura reflected proudly on the history made by Zimbabwe today, the embattled side having struggled through the early matches of this series, and the one-dayers against South Africa that preceded the tri-series.”It was a proud moment for everyone, for Zimbabwe Cricket and even for Zimbabwe because it’s been more than 30 years since we beat Australia,” he said.Moments such as these can play a strong role in bringing a team together, and Chigumbura insisted that Zimbabwe would celebrate exactly as they play: as a team. “We play for each other and for the nation, whoever is in the squad is part of the team. No matter if it’s the coach or the assistant, we play as a team,” he said.

I don’t feel vindicated because I had nothing to proveStephen Mangongo, the Zimbabwe coach

Stephen Mangongo, Zimbabwe’s coach, has come under a fair bit of criticism since taking charge of the national side ahead of their series against South Africa. Some if it seemed warranted as his play-for-your-place mantra translated into a series of performances during which the top order seemed unable to either express themselves freely or occupy the crease. While one victory does not make a coaching legacy, today’s win will take a great deal of pressure off both the team and their coach.”I don’t feel vindicated because I had nothing to prove,” Mangongo said. “I was just doing my job. We’ve still got our feet on the ground. In the next game we’re playing no. 2 in the world. It’s a tall order. We have to play out of our skins when we play the best in the world. We are a work in progress, and we hope to continue to improve and get better.”The victory over Australia was Zimbabwe’s first in 31 years, and Mangongo acknowledged that wins of this sort are uncommon for his team. “There’s been other occasions where Zimbabwe have pulled these odd wins, and I think it ranks as one of those times,” Mangongo said. “We are also very pragmatic. It’s not many times that we’re going to beat no. 1, no. 2 in the world, so when it does happen I’m sure those positive people in Zimbabwe feel happy about it.””There are a lot of positive Zimbabweans who love sport. I’m sure you heard all the singing and the joyous, momentous occasion when Zimbabwe won and I’m sure those positive people are very happy that their team managed to win the game.”

Meg Lanning has been confirmed as Australia’s one-day international captain and will succeed Jodie Fields, who announced her retirement on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2014Meg Lanning has been confirmed as Australia’s one-day international captain and will succeed Jodie Fields, who announced her retirement on Thursday. Alex Blackwell has been named as the vice-captain under Lanning, who led Australia to the World T20 title in Bangladesh earlier this year.Lanning, now 22, had also stepped in as interim captain during the Ashes series earlier this year, making her the youngest person, male or female, ever to captain an Australia national cricket side. Julie Savage, the chair of the women’s national selection panel, said Lanning was widely respected by her team-mates and the team management.”As a young captain, Meg performed extremely well in the recent 2014 women’s Ashes series and the 2014 Women’s World T20 in Bangladesh,” Savage said. “During her time as T20 captain Meg proved her leadership skills and capability. She has very good tactical ability, is an aspirational leader and manages relationships well. She is also widely respected by her peers and team management.”Alex [Blackwell] is a very experienced leader within the team. When she has previously held the positions of captain and vice-captain, Alex has demonstrated proven leadership capacity. Alex has played an important mentoring role for Meg during the early phases of her captaincy. She will continue to be a great support to Meg. Their skill sets complement each other and will allow the group to reach their potential.”Lanning said that while she had a lot to learn about captaincy, she was looking forward to the challenge. “I think we’ve got a great group together and it is certainly a privilege to lead your country,” Lanning said. “I think I still have a lot to learn so it’s a good challenge and something that I’m really looking forward to and hopefully we can have some good team success.”

he Pakistan Cricket Board will conduct an internal investigation after a few national players participated in exhibition T20 matches in the United States of America alongside banned legspinner Danish Kaneria

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2014The Pakistan Cricket Board will conduct an internal investigation after a few national players participated in exhibition T20 matches in the United States of America alongside banned legspinner Danish Kaneria. The investigation is aimed at finding how the players participated in the matches, which are not organised by the USACA, without a No Objection Certificate from the board and played the game with a banned player.Kaneria was handed a life ban by the ECB in 2012 for spot-fixing and the ban prevents him from playing in matches under the ECB’s jurisdiction. Kaneria, however, has been participating in exhibition T20 leagues in the United States and played a match with Wahab Riaz and Nasir Jamshed last week in Houston, Texas. Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq and Shahzaib Hasan are also under investigation.””We are looking into how these players featured in these matches – authorised or unauthorised – without our permission,” Subhan Ahmed, PCB’s COO told .It is a common occurrence for a few Pakistan players to feature in pop-up T20 tournaments across the United States, which are organised locally and are unofficial in nature. Kaneria has participated in such tournaments before.The legspinner was banned for his role in a spot-fixing case during a 2009 county match between Essex and Durham.

MMM College of Commerce (Pune) entered the final after holding their nerve to beat Jain Bangalore by seven runs in the second semi-final at Sector 16 Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2014
ScorecardMMM College of Commerce (Pune) entered the final after holding their nerve to beat Jain Bangalore by seven runs in the second semi-final at Sector 16 Stadium.Chasing 156, Jain Bangalore lost two wickets in the 10th over, bowled by offspinner Naushad Shaikh, to find themselves 61 for 4 at the halfway mark. From there, opener Suraj Sampath and A Majid moved the score to 111 for 4 at the end of the 17th over. This left them needing 45 from 18 balls.Majid then proceeded to hit Shaikh for two fours and two sixes to bring the equation down to 23 from the last two overs. But after Majid holed out to long-off, first ball of the 19th over, Bangalore struggled to meet the asking rate, and even Sampath, who had crossed 50 by that stage, couldn’t find the big shots. Jain Bangalore, needing 19 off the last over, managed only 11.Batting first after winning the toss, MMMCC Pune coasted at over 10 an over through the first six overs, during which time Vishant More and Avdhoot Dandekar put on 44 in 23 balls. But Suchith Jagadeesh pegged them back with a three-wicket haul, before Shubham Ranjane and Tushar Shrivastav scored quickfire 22s to power MMMCC to 155 for 8.

The Supreme Court has turned down N Srinivasan’s reinstatement request, and has revealed that he is one of the 13 named in the sealed envelope submitted to it by the Justice Mudgal committee

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-20145:44

Ugra: Precedent set for BCCI to be questioned in public

The Supreme Court has turned down N Srinivasan’s reinstatement request, and has revealed that he is one of the 13 named in the sealed envelope submitted to it by the Justice Mudgal committee. In response to the BCCI counsel CA Sundaram’s argument that the court was responding only to prima facie evidence and not secondary evidence, Justice AK Patnaik for the first time revealed details about the sealed envelope. He said that there were 13 names of “very important personalities in cricket” in the sealed envelope, with Srinivasan’s name being the 13th. There were 12 allegations against Srinivasan with annexures to each of them. “It seems that Mr Srinivasan has not taken the allegations seriously,” he said.Patnaik said Srinivasan “could not come back as BCCI president as long as the probe is on.” A day before the court hearing on Wednesday, Srinivasan had filed an affidavit, asking the court to reconsider its interim order that removed him as the BCCI president while the probe into the alleged corruption in the IPL was on. The court, though, reiterated that a fair probe would not be possible with him discharging any duties inside the BCCI.It further asked the BCCI to come back to the next hearing, on April 22, with constructive corrective measures with regard to how it can ensure a free and fair probe into the IPL corruption scandal. The measures could involve a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe or selecting its own other independent investigators, but it stipulated that the probe had to be conducted by a credible team. If the BCCI was to be given the power to investigate the matter, it had to be done without prejudice and the mandatory condition that “Srinivasan cannot come back.”The court said that “we cannot close our eyes,” but did not impose an independent probe in the matter. “We are not considering a SIT because we don’t want the CBI or the police or the media to throw mud on cricketers,” Patnaik said. “Reputations of cricketers and great names are at stake. What happens to the reputation of the players who are representing the country and Indian cricketers of the future. Cricket has to be clean but institutional autonomy has to be maintained.”There was some relief for the BCCI. Sundar Raman, the chief operating officer (COO) of the IPL, whose future was to be decided by acting BCCI president Sunil Gavaskar, was allowed to continue in his role. Gavaskar stated that he was not in a position to take a decision on Sundar as he knew him in a personal capacity and was unaware of the details of the information that investigating agencies had against Sundar.N Srinivasan’s is one of the 13 names in the sealed envelope, Justice Patnaik said•AFPThe hearing on April 22 will also look into several matters related to the many ramifications of the IPL corruption scandal. Patnaik said the court will look into the amended clause in the BCCI constitution that allowed Srinivasan to own a team in the IPL as well as him being sent as a board nominee to ICC meetings. There is also a possibility that G Sampath Kumar, the Chennai police officer whose deposition formed part of the Mudgal committee’s report, will be asked to depose before the court on April 22. The details of his deposition were found in Mudgal committee member Nilay Dutta’s additional comments to the main report. Dutta is a member of the Assam Cricket Association. Deccan Chargers may also be introduced as part of the arbitration pertaining to the matter of their resurrection.The court will also appoint an , a lawyer who is not part of the case, to report to them about the existence or otherwise of transcripts and recordings of the depositions to the Mudgal committee. So far it is understood that the court has been provided with minutes of the 52 interviews conducted by the panel in the course of its investigation. The BCCI’s counsel had previously contested the Mudgal committee’s findings and had requested for the tapes the findings were based on.The case dates back to June 2013 when the Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma raised charges of conflict of interest in the formation of BCCI’s two-member inquiry panel into the IPL corruption issue. A Bombay High Court ruling later termed the probe panel “illegal”. The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.The Supreme Court then appointed a three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Dutta, in October 2013, to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players. The committee had submitted its findings to the court on February 10.

North Zone trounced East Zone by seven wickets on the third day of their Bangladesh Cricket League match at the BKSP-2 ground in Savar

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2014North Zone trounced East Zone by seven wickets on the third day of their Bangladesh Cricket League match at the BKSP-2 ground in Savar. Taijul Islam, the left-arm spinner, turned the match around with his first ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket, earning him the Player-of-the-Match award.Taijul took seven first-innings wickets as East Zone were bowled out for 270 on the first day. On the third day, he picked up another five-wicket haul to help bowl out East Zone for 139 runs. It left North Zone to score162 with a day and a half to spare. Naeem Islam scored an unbeaten 69 alongside captain Mushfiqur Rahim who was also not out on 29.After East Zone made 270 with Mominul Haque top-scoring with 94, North Zone replied with 248 in their first innings. Farhad Reza and Suhrawadi Shuvo struck fifties to rescue the side after they were reduced to 99 for 6 on the second day. Nabil Samad took 6 for 69 for East Zone but they couldn’t capitalise on the 22-run first innings lead. Apart from Taijul’s 5 for 51, Subashis Roy took four wickets for North Zone.North Zone now lead the table with 30 points while East Zone are on second place with 15 points.

Geoff Marsh has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with Sri Lanka over his sacking as coach of the national team in 2012

Daniel Brettig10-Dec-2013Geoff Marsh, the former Australia vice-captain, has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with Sri Lanka over his sacking as coach of the national team in January 2012.Marsh was relieved of his duties only four months into his tenure as head coach following the tour of South Africa, where Sri Lanka won one of three Tests – their first victory in the country.His exit coincided with a number of changes happening at SLC’s board level, with the captain Tillakaratne Dilshan as well as the selection panel being replaced around that time. Marsh subsequently initiated legal action against SLC for wrongful termination of his contract, lodging his claim via Sri Lankan legal representatives in Colombo in May last year.Upon his return to Australia, Marsh was appointed development coach for Western Australia, where he coached the state’s Futures League and second XI teams, while also overseeing the growth of cricketing talent in the state. His two sons, Shaun and Mitchell, both represented Australia in recent times.Marsh’s manager and solicitor, Stephen Atkinson, said Marsh was pleased to have put the whole issue behind him.”We were successful in negotaiting a settlement prior to the commencement of the trial,” Atkinson said. “Geoff is delighted that this matter has now been resolved and he can fully concentrate on his various coaching roles in Australia and in particular his coaching duties with the Western Warriors.”The South African Graham Ford was chosen to replace Marsh, seeing out his own two-year contract before taking up the coaching job with Surrey in England.Speaking after the settlement was reached, SLC chief executive Ashley de Silva defended the board’s decision to sack Marsh and said: “The committee took the decision at that time, and it was the right one for Sri Lanka cricket.”

A win in one of the remaining two matches will give Zimbabwe their first bilateral series win since beating New Zealand 2-1, 12 years ago

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria28-Aug-2013Match factsThursday, August 29, 2013
Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)Zimbabwe will pin their hopes on their top order again•AFPBig PictureZimbabwe’s shock win in the first ODI was their first against Pakistan in 15 years, but now the beleaguered team has a chance to go one better – a win in one of the remaining two matches will give Zimbabwe their first bilateral series win against a top side since beating New Zealand 2-1, 12 years ago. The win on Tuesday gave Zimbabwe a chance to celebrate amid the gloom; a series win would inject some much-needed faith.Zimbabwe coach Andy Waller said the success was the fruit of two months of hard work, during which the team has attempted to fine-tune its game plan of the top order making sure they lay the platform for the stroke-makers in the middle order. The manner in which the top three handled the chase in the first part exemplified the team’s methods and Zimbabwe will pin their hopes on the three to do the same at least one more time.The batting plan has seemed to work in the last few matches and the bowling has been steady for the conditions, but Zimbabwe need to focus some attention on the fielding. Once one of the best fielding sides, Zimbabwe’s fielding has withered away. Had they taken all the chances that came their way on Tuesday, they could have restricted Pakistan to an even lower score. Waller said that one of his goals is to take Zimbabwe’s fielding to the level it used to be in the ’90s and the team is working hard towards it, but poor performances during the matches pull the team back.The fielding didn’t hurt Zimbabwe on Tuesday as Pakistan made a few errors of their own. Apart from losing the tempo during their batting and the sloppy fielding towards the end of the match, Pakistan misread the pitch and batted first on a surface that Masakadza later said “gets better in the afternoon”. They are armed with the knowledge now and Zimbabwe expect Pakistan to come back harder at them. But Pakistan can be the most beatable of the top sides and unbeatable on the same day. They are the Harvey Dent of cricket: which side turns up on a day seems to be a result of an imaginary coin toss.In the spotlightZimbabwe’s openers, Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda, have been batting together since their school days and that familiarity with each other helped them focus during their century partnership on Tuesday. Masakadza later said that they talked about how their stand was going to be critical for the team’s chances in the chase. The two negated Pakistan’s bowlers with ease and that opening stand will again be crucial to Zimbabwe’s chances.It wasn’t long ago that Shahid Afridi, on his comeback trail, ripped through West Indies with bat and ball. Since that explosive performance, Afridi has gone into a shell. He hardly caused a flutter with the bat in the first ODI when the team needed some late push, while his bowling lacked zip and he was taken for easy runs. Pakistan would hope the allrounder doesn’t wait to fire till his place in the side is in doubt again.Team newsPakistan’s bowling lacked incisiveness on a pitch that flattened out later in the day, so they could consider bringing in Abdur Rehman in place of a batsman.Pakistan (possible) 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Umar Amin, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Haris Sohail/Abdur Rehman, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Mohammad IrfanZimbabwe are unlikely to disturb the team combination that won them a historic match.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 4 Timycen Maruma , 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Tendai Chatara, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Brian Vitori, 11 Tinashe PanyangaraStats and trivia Eleven times in the last 10 years, Zimbabwe openers have registered century stands. Eight of those have involved either Hamilton Masakadza or Vusi Sibanda. If Shahid Afridi’s epic show against West Indies is taken out, he has 163 runs and three wickets from 10 matches this year.