Yorkshire suffered a 14-run defeat to Northamptonshire under the Duckworth-Lewis method in their Friends Provident t20 clash at Headingley – but the home side were struggling even before the weather closed in

13-Jun-2010

ScorecardYorkshire suffered a 14-run defeat to Northamptonshire under the Duckworth-Lewis method in their Friends Provident t20 clash at Headingley – but the home side were struggling even before the weather closed in. Replying to the Steelbacks’ modest 151 for 7 the hosts were 51 for 4 after 7.5 overs and falling well behind the required rate.Yorkshire’s innings started badly when Jacques Rudolph fell to a great diving catch at long on in the first over from Chaminda Vaas and it became 16 for two as skipper Andrew Gale drove to wide mid-off and become the first of three victims for paceman Jack Brooks.Herschelle Gibbs moved to 19 with a straight six off Brooks but steered his next ball into the hands of wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien and although Anthony McGrath looked in sound form batting became increasingly difficult in dreadful light. Gerard Brophy held out his bat at Brooks to give O’Brien another catch but before new batsman Jonny Bairstow could face his first ball the rain came down and soon waterlogged the ground, man-of-the-match Brooks finishing with 3 for 24.Northamptonshire, who chose to bat first, were given a fine start by Lou Vincent and Vaas, who figured in an opening stand of 49 inside six overs, the Kiwi top-scoring with 38 off 31 balls with two fours and two sixes. Steve Patterson broke the partnership by having Vaas caught for 20 by Gale who held on to a fierce drive as he flung himself to his left at deep mid-on.From that point on, the initiative swung Yorkshire’s way as a result of some good bowling, particularly from Adil Rashid and Richard Pyrah who put a stranglehold on the overs in the middle of the innings. Once again Rashid was in excellent form with his leg-spin and he claimed three wickets for the third consecutive match while giving away only 23 runs.Pyrah was even more economical, conceding just 19 runs from his four overs. He also captured the all-important wicket of Vincent with a great ball which seamed away and found the edge before ending up in the gloves of wicketkeeper Brophy. Andrew Hall scored a valuable unbeaten 31 off 19 balls with four boundaries and Willey added late impetus to the innings with two fours and a six in his 19 which came from a dozen deliveries.

Darren Maddy scored 88 from 42 balls as Warwickshire crushed Northants by eight wickets at Edgbaston

03-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Darren Maddy made a triumphant return to short-format cricket as Warwickshire launched their Friends Provident t20 campaign with an eight-wicket win against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston.After missing last year’s Twenty20 Cup because of a knee injury, the former Leicestershire allrounder thrashed 88 – including 11 fours and six sixes – from 42 balls as Warwickshire charged home with 5.5 overs to spare.A withering assault on Andrew Hall took Maddy to 50 from only 27 deliveries. Having smashed two sixes and four when the South African entered he attack, he followed up with 18 in his second over.Northants’ total of 147 for 5 proved to be well below-par. Warwickshire scooted to 50 in the fifth over and reached 100 in the ninth. If anything, the loss of pinch-hitter Neil Carter, run out by Nicky Boje, speeded up the victory.Jim Troughton, although outpaced by the inspired Maddy, contributed 39 to a stand of 116 from 53 balls and finished unbeaten with 41 after his partner had holed out to long off in the 12th over.Northamptonshire’s batting also centred on a player returning to Twenty20 cricket. A calf injury sidelined Mal Loye last year, and now back with his first county after seven seasons with Lancashire, he cracked seven fours and a six from 48 balls.Reaching fifty for the ninth time in Twenty20, he saw his side through to 98 for 3 in the 14th over before he was deceived in the flight and bowled by Imran Tahir for 54.The Pakistan-born leg spinner was the one bowler to seriously put the brakes on Northamptonshire when taking 3 for 14 without conceding a boundary in his four overs.Loye and Niall O’Brien, the latter patched up for this competition after breaking his left index finger, made 29 in an opening partnership of 65 before Ant Botha held a one-handed catch at cover in Tahir’s first over.Boje, smartly stumped by young keeper Richard Johnson, was another victim for Tahir and the first four wickets went to spin with Rob White caught at long-on off Botha

West Indies finally claimed ownership of an entire day’s play and it came via a defiant double-century partnership between the two most patient batsmen in the line-up, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brendan Nash

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran 20-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outShivnarine Chanderpaul and Brendan Nash crashed South Africa’s party with a stand of 220•Associated Press

West Indies finally claimed ownership of an entire day’s play and it came via a defiant double-century partnership between the two most patient batsmen in the line-up, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brendan Nash. The pair hit counter-attacking centuries to negate the aggression of the seamers and blunt out anything the slower bowlers dished out on what continued to be an unresponsive surface. West Indies breezed past the follow-on mark and redressed the balance after two days of toil in the field.What was impressive from West Indies’ point of view was the willingness to stick it out for as long as possible. South Africa had them on a leash on a slow morning, but the hosts didn’t allow the pressure of two hours of attritional cricket to get to their heads and try anything silly. In that sense, West Indies were lucky that Nash and Chanderpaul were around to guide them. They may not match each other stance for stance or stroke for stroke, but in terms of temperament, they’re on par. Their understanding of each other’s game was evident in the way they kept pushing the scoring with singles and twos.There was greater freedom of expression in the batting once Nash walked in after lunch. The batsmen were prepared to reach out to deliveries wide of the off stump and also exploit the wide gaps on the on side if the bowlers dropped it short. Before lunch, Chanderpaul looked circumspect outside his off stump against Morne Morkel. When Dale Steyn banged one in short, Chanderpaul took his eyes off and copped a blow on the grill.After initially exercising caution outside his off stump, Chanderpaul started reaching out to the fuller ones shaping away, opening the face of the bat to glide it through the off side. Paul Harris hardly got any turn or bounce and Chanderpaul swept him powerfully behind square leg to bring up his fifty. There was a backward short leg in place for the spinner, but he was unemployed through the day.Chanderpaul was also lucky to have a like-minded partner in Nash, back in his familiar No.5 position. He began by swatting Jacques Kallis past midwicket and didn’t appear to be too bothered about the packed off-side field, which included two slips and two gullys. Morkel was guilty of giving width and Nash obliged by spanking fours past backward point off the front foot. Apart from a few edges to slip, some of which went for four, it was a neat innings.The docile surface had no demons in it to worry the batsmen and Chanderpaul exploited that by regularly shuffling across the stumps to either flick the full-pitched balls or pull the short deliveries. Nash too wasn’t afraid to swat away the short deliveries and that seemed to wind up an exasperated Steyn, who had a few words to say to him.Nash’s strength was primarily on the off side. Morkel was ineffective against him as Nash brought out the horizontal bat shots to steer the ball past gully. When he bowled it even shorter, Nash slashed over third man. Harris came round the wicket but Nash rocked back and cut him for fours in front of square.He raced towards his century with a slash over slip off Steyn and biffed one past midwicket to reach three figures for the second time in his career, watched by his family in the stands. He had added 220 with Chanderpaul before AB de Villiers sent him back with a sharp bit of fielding, effecting a direct hit from gully.Chanderpaul too progressed towards his century by milking the spinners, even employing the slog sweep. He reached his 22nd century with a square drive to point, and at the fag end of the day, brought up his 150. Dwayne Bravo played a quiet little supporting act after Nash’s fall, adding an unbeaten 53 with Chanderpaul.The pace of cricket was in contrast to the morning session, when only 40 runs were scored. Though South Africa didn’t run through the top order as they would have hoped, they succeeded in applying pressure with their probing line outside off stump, backed by intelligent field placements. Boundary balls were few and far between as the seamers kept shaping the ball away with an expectant slip cordon and close catchers like silly mid-off waiting for a mistake.Soon after reaching his fifty, Chris Gayle was out dragging a full ball from Morkel on to his stumps without any foot movement. The patient Narsingh Deonarine steered towards point at the stroke of lunch to bring up a workmanlike fifty. Having spent enough time getting his eye in, Deonarine pressed the pedal after lunch against the slower pace of Kallis. A few whiplashes over the off side gave the innings much-needed impetus but he soon caused his own downfall when, cramped for room trying to cut Steyn from round the wicket, he chopped it onto his stumps. It was similar to Gayle’s dismissal, but in this instance it was more a wrong choice of shot.Deonarine and Gayle would have punished themselves for not converting their fifties. Nash and Chanderpaul ensured they didn’t make the same mistake.

South Division winners Somerset were shot out for the lowest Twenty20 score in their history as Kent won their Friends Provident t20 clash by 59 runs at Taunton

18-Jul-2010

ScorecardSouth Division winners Somerset were shot out for the lowest Twenty20 score in their history as Kent won their Friends Provident t20 clash by 59 runs at Taunton.Replying to Kent’s total of 141 all out, the home side could make only 82 as Simon Cook and James Tredwell took three wickets each on the normally batsmen-friendly square. Arul Suppiah top scored with 19 not out.Joe Denly’s 65 for the Spitfires was the game’s only half-century, while Darren Stevens scored 39 and later took two for 23 from his four overs. Alfonso Thomas (three for 21) enhanced his position as the competition’s leading wicket-taker.Kent had already surrendered all hope of reaching the quarter-finals and, despite the shock result, Somerset stayed at the top of the table thanks to Essex losing to Middlesex. They will next face Northamptonshire in the quarter-finals at Taunton. Only Denly and Stevens could make any impression on the Somerset bowling after Kent won the toss. The next highest score was eight.Denly was seventh man out, having done his best to anchor the innings, with nine fours in facing 56 balls, while Stevens provided the brightest batting, hitting a six and five fours in his breezy 26-ball knock. Only 32 runs came off the six power play overs and the end of the innings saw two run-outs and some fine death bowling from Thomas, who got his yorker going to good effect.Somerset looked set to make light of their target when Marcus Trescothick took three fours off the opening over from Stevens but the last ball saw him carelessly flick a catch to deep mid-wicket. That set the tone for his side’s worst batting display of a previously good campaign. Peter Trego also hit three fours in making 15 off 11 balls before being bowled by Stevens.James Hildreth was run out in a mix-up with Craig Kieswetter, who adopted a watchful approach, but still could not play his way back into form. The England wicketkeeper-batsman was stumped driving at Cook for 15, made off 29 deliveries, with uncharacteristic restraint.Cook removed Jos Buttler and Keiron Pollard, who received a rousing ovation on what could prove his last Somerset appearance. The West Indies player flies home for his domestic T20 tournament this week and will only return should the county reach finals day. Somerset’s previous lowest 20-over score was 103.

Pakistan have made four changes – two of them enforced – to the team that played in last week’s defeat against England at Edgbaston

Nagraj Gollapudi at The Oval17-Aug-2010Pakistan have made four changes – two of them forced – to the team that was beaten by England at Edgbaston. Two middle-order batsmen, Shoaib Malik and Umar Amin, have been dropped to make way for Mohammad Yousuf and Yasir Hameed, while the injured pair of Zulqarnain Haider and Umar Gul have been replaced by the squad’s senior wicketkeeper, Kamran Akmal, and debutant left-arm seamer, Wahab Riaz, respectively. It is also likely that Pakistan will open with Hameed and Imran Farhat, with captain and regular opener Salman Butt dropping down to No. 3.While Butt had confirmed during his afternoon press conference that Yousuf and Kamran were in line for recalls, he was cagey about revealing any further news. “We could make six changes because we have six sitting outside, but we will make only the ones required,” he told reporters.Later in the evening, however, during the selection meeting, it was decided that the right-hand batsman, Hameed, would come into the side as an opener. One of the two left-handers, Butt or Imran Farhat, will shift down to No. 3. Butt was likelier to do so given that he is both the captain and struggling for form at the top of the order, with just 16 runs coming from four innings in the first two Tests.”Hameed is an experienced batsman. We just wanted to test the two youngsters [Azhar Ali and Umar Amin] because they have scored well in domestic cricket over the last two years,” a senior official told Cricinfo.Hameed, primarily an opener, returns to the Test arena after a long gap of three years. His last outing was against India in Bangalore at the end of a series in which he logged 158 runs at 26.33 without registering a half-century. But he has an aggressive streak which, if he clicks, can release the pressure of the new ball. At New Road over the weekend he opened with Azhar Ali in the rain-abandoned match against Worcestershire and played a few good strokes in his 27, but generally seemed a little distracted before chasing a wide delivery and edging it to the slips.Though it might seem to be a dicey move to include Hameed, the team management had been left with little alternative after a summer of constant batting failures. The former captain Malik was especially disappointing as he failed to lead by example and a sum of 89 runs in the three Tests in the summer did not give any confidence to the tour selectors to retain him. Amin, who made his debut at Lord’s against Australia in July, showed enthusiasm but was initially defeated by a series of unplayable deliveries, but later he failed to apply himself.On the bowling front Riaz was preferred over the right-armer Tanvir Ahmed because of the prevailing overcast conditions. Riaz, lanky and tall, has enough pace to make the ball bounce and move, something he showed in the practice match against Leicestershire last month. “Both are good bowlers – one is very good new-ball bowler and the other is very good with the old ball,” Butt said earlier in the day.Pakistan 1 Yasir Hameed, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Salman Butt (capt), 4 Azhar Ali, 5 Mohammad Yousuf, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Mohammad Amir, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad Asif

The $6.5m Champions League Twenty20, begins in less than ten days with what organisers are assuring are “robust” anti-corruption and security measures

Sharda Ugra03-Sep-2010Cricket’s most lucrative club competition, the $6.5m Champions League Twenty20, begins in less than ten days with organisers assuring “robust” anti-corruption and security measures. It will be the first multi-nation tournament to be held following the sting operation that led to the ICC’s first-ever use of its provisional suspension clause to suspend the three Pakistan cricketers suspected of spot-fixing.In the aftermath of the sting, seven international cricketers have so far come out and said they had been contacted by illegal bookies, the latest being the Australian David Warner, who said a group of men he found suspicious had approached him in New Delhi last year during the first edition of the CLT20.This year the tournament is being held in South Africa from September 10 to 26, and Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa and a CLT20 governing council member, said that the organisers would be working with the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Securities Unit, “as we would for any major event like a World Cup. The governing council and ICC have put the same plans in place as they would for any event”.Dean Kino, another member of the CLT20 governing council, told ESPNcricinfo that a full allotment of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption officers would be present during the tournament, which is not an ICC event. In addition to the ACSU and regular ground security, the South African firm Nicholls, Steyn & Associates will be on duty at the event dealing with security and anti-corruption issues. Four security agents will be present at every game, between three and four security officers will be attached to every team, and there will be a similar number at every hotel.Kino said the spot-fixing controversy had not caused fresh concerns for the Champions League. “In case of players breaking the code, the same strictures would apply as they do in the ICC’s anti-corruption code”. The CLT20’s code of conduct opens with a 14-point list of offences related to betting, gambling and speculation, bringing the game into disrepute, contriving a result or occurrence of a “cricket event” and “not performing on merits”.”No single player who takes the field in our tournament will not have been educated about corruption and the code of behaviour,” Kino said.In July, Sir Paul Condon, the outgoing head of the ACSU, told Cricinfo in an interview that Twenty20 cricket represented “the biggest challenge to the integrity of cricket for probably 10 years”.According to Condon, the Twenty20 format’s “familiarly heady cocktail of party atmosphere, entertainment, cricket and celebrity” caused some of the “bad old faces who were involved in match-fixing a decade ago to reappear at grounds and hotels to try and get involved again”.Condon brought the security issues around Twenty20 cricket to light when he made a verbal presentation to the ICC executive board last year about IPL 2009 in South Africa. The event had been held without the involvement of the ACSU but the ICC’s security men picked up information about the event from their South African contacts.A senior ICC official who attended the Condon presentation told ESPNcricinfo that the security chief said IPL 2009 had “all kinds of people entering dressing rooms and the use of mobiles and laptops in there, which normally should be forbidden”. The BCCI had asked the ICC for “proof” after which a formal document was sent from the ICC to the Indian board. The ACSU was then included in the conduct of IPL 2010, which was given a clean chit by Condon’s men. There were still security loopholes, however, due to the IPL’s big ticket after-parties where, according to an ICC official, “anyone who could buy tickets, even if they cost $1000, could walk in. The protective environment was just not there.”The IPL after-parties may be banned next year but former India Test cricketer Atul Wassan said several IPL cricketers had told him that they had been approached by strangers trying to befriend them by talking about “making good money”.Wassan refused to name the cricketers making this statement but told ESPNcricinfo, “these are guys who know me well, youngsters in the IPL, assured of a spot on their teams… the people who came up to them were trying to build relationships that they could milk when the player became a star”.Wassan agreed with the claim that Twenty20 cricket attracted illegal betting syndicates looking to make use of the rapid pace and frequent fluctuations in every match. “Never mind only the IPL, any pronto cricket or club cricket is a sitting duck for the illegal betting business.”

Moin Ashraf turned in Yorkshire’s best bowling figures of the season and Alex Blake registered his maiden first-class century for Kent as the two sides continued their battle for supremacy

15-Sep-2010

ScorecardMoin Ashraf bowled Matt Coles to reach his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket on a rain-interrupted day at Headingley•Getty Images

Moin Ashraf turned in Yorkshire’s best bowling figures of the season and Alex Blake registered his maiden first-class century for Kent as the two sides continued their battle for supremacy on another rain-hit day in the County Championship match at Headingley.Blake’s unbeaten 105 helped to stretch Kent’s first innings to 302 and his tenth wicket stand of 41 with Dewald Nel brought their side the third batting bonus point, which kept them in with a chance of avoiding relegation from the top flight.Kent finished with an overall lead of 41 and by the close Yorkshire had reached 51 for 1 to go ten runs in front. Now they must force a win on the final day of the season to see if it is sufficient to clinch the Championship title for the first time since 2001.Drizzle, followed by a heavier burst of rain, meant only four overs were possible before 3.40pm when 38 overs still remained but in that initial period there was just sufficient time for 21-year-old Blake, a student at Leeds Met University, to add the ten runs to his overnight score which he needed to complete his maiden half-century from 80 balls with ten boundaries.On the re-start, Ashraf continued his outstanding form of the previous day by taking two wickets in three balls and his final figures of 5 for 32 were Yorkshire’s best in the Championship this term, beating team-mate Steve Patterson’s 5 for 50 against Essex at Scarborough.Simon Cook fell lbw to Adil Rashid’s googly to make Kent 261 for 9 but while Nel held firm, Blake unleashed some stunning cover drives off both Patterson and Ajmal Shahzad. He was also severe on Rashid, thrashing him for three consecutive boundaries, the second hurrying him to his century off 142 balls with 17 fours and the next bringing up the 300.Kent had achieved another crucial batting point and the innings was then quickly wrapped up by Patterson who trapped Nel lbw. Adam Lyth and Jacques Rudolph began to whittle away at the deficit but there was a life for Lyth on 19 when he edged Cook and a low chance was put down by James Tredwell at first slip.Tredwell made amends in the very next over by gaining an lbw decision over Rudolph and as he departed for 13 he was applauded off the field by Lyth, so fuelling speculation that this could be the South African’s last appearance for his adopted county, although he still has a year to run on his contract.Yorkshire were still a run behind at the fall of the wicket but Lyth and McGrath just had time to put them in front and leave everything depending on what happens at Headingley and elsewhere on the final riveting day of the season.

Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson will be back on duty next week after being picked for the three-match one-day series against Sri Lanka

Peter English26-Oct-2010Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson will be back on duty next week after being picked for the three-match one-day series against Sri Lanka. The trio was rested from the India limited-overs trip and the return of Ponting and Watson means Callum Ferguson and David Warner, who didn’t play in the rain-interrupted campaign, miss out.The surprise inclusion is Xavier Doherty, the left-arm spinner from Tasmania, who comes in following a string of mesmerising displays. He will play in the first game of the series in Melbourne on November 3 and has a chance to impress for a spot at next year’s World Cup.A thoughtful slow bowler, Doherty has even taken the new ball for his state and his tight line makes it difficult for batsmen to attack. He has 103 List A wickets in 85 matches at an average of 28.91.”His interstate one-day performances saw him make the Australia A side this year and he has again started this season impressively,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “A left-arm finger spinner could be important during the World Cup campaign and we are confident Xavier will perform very well if the opportunity presents itself.”Doherty’s selection puts some more pressure on Nathan Hauritz because Steve Smith, the legspinner, is also in the 15-man outfit. Hauritz will miss the opening ODI to play in New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield match against Queensland starting on Sunday.”This is seen as the best preparation for Nathan ahead of a very busy summer,” Hilditch said. Hauritz had a disappointing Test tour of India, but had regained significant drift and turn by the end of the trip.Peter Siddle will continue his comeback from a back stress fracture in the ODIs as part of an inexperienced bowling attack. Johnson is the leader and will also have Mitchell Starc, John Hastings and Clint McKay as support.”We have several key fast bowlers out of the side at present with injury, but this does create a great opportunity for several of our young fast bowlers,” Hilditch said. Doug Bollinger will remain on the sidelines with a stomach injury picked up in India while Ryan Harris continues to battle a knee problem.Brett Lee remains on the outer following elbow surgery, despite insisting he is ready after a handful of grade and state matches. “It’s not something that he’s particularly happy with, he thinks he’s ready to go,” Hilditch said in Adelaide. “But we still feel after a very long period off with injury, and then to come back on pretty limited preparation to what is really three one-day internationals in six days, I think it is just a bit too much at this stage.”Australia squad Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Brad Haddin (wk), Steve Smith, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Clint McKay, Peter Siddle, Xavier Doherty, Mitchell Starc.

The PCB has suspended the stipend contract of runaway wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, the first official sign of its displeasure with the player

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2010The PCB has suspended the stipend contract of runaway wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, the first official sign of its displeasure with the player since his bizarre departure from the Pakistan team hotel in Dubai ahead of the fifth one-dayer against South Africa.Though board officials and advisors have expressed surprise and bemusement over Haider’s actions, they have stopped short of condemning him. Until now the emphasis has been on finding out exactly what happened and getting in touch with Haider.Reports on Wednesday that the board was considering imposing a life-ban on Haider and that the touring management was aware that he had gone to Dubai airport before he flew to London on Monday were both denied by the board.”PCB has suspended the stipend contract of Mr. Zulqarnain Haider for violating terms and conditions of the same,” a board statement said. “A fact-finding committee has been formulated to establish the facts surrounding the incident of Mr. Haider’s disappearance from the team hotel. The committee includes Mr. Subhan Ahmad (PCB), Mr. Intikhab Alam (Manager Pakistan Team) and Maj. Khawaja Najam (Security Manger Pakistan Team). The Committee will meet soon.”The board confirmed that their efforts to contact Haider continue to remain unsuccessful; so far Haider has spoken publicly to only one Pakistan TV channel.The stipend contract is a notch below the central contracts the board hands out every year to a pool of players in and around the national squad. Generally, stipend contracts, worth Rs. 50,000 per month, are offered to younger players on the fringes of national selection.Haider fled from Dubai without informing the team and resurfaced in London on Monday. He later confirmed later that he received threats from unidentified people following his team’s one-wicket win in the fourth ODI against South Africa and was told to get in line for the fifth match. As a result of the threats Haider – who is seeking some sort of protection in the UK – has announced his retirement from cricket. The ICC said that Haider had erred in not informing the ACSU about the approach, but was ready to help the player if he was willing to engage with them.

Jimmy Kamande will lead a 15-man Kenya squad that will play a three-match, 50-over international series against Uganda starting on December 15

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2010Jimmy Kamande will lead a 15-man Kenya squad that will play a three-match, 50-over international series against Uganda starting on December 15 in Mobassa. The other two games will also be played in Mobasa, on December 17 and 19 respectively.Steve Tikolo and Seren Waters were not available for the series because of other commitments, while Thomas Odoyo (knee), Ragheb Aga (shoulder) and Elijah Otieno (back) were not considered due to injuries, Cricket Kenya said in a statement.Tikolo had inspired Kenya to a sweep of their four-game, 50-over, series against the UAE in October.Kenya squad: Jimmy Kamande (capt), Alex Obanda, David Obuya (wk), Collins Obuya, Tanmay Mishra, Rakep Patel, Maurice Ouma, Nehemiah Odhiambo, James Ngoche, Hiren Varaiya, Alfred Luseno, Nelson Odhiambo, Peter Ongondo, Lucas Oluoch