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Sri Lanka ODI squad

Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chanaka Welegedara, Dhammika Prasad
Stand by: Thilan Samaraweera

Hours after Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka captain from all three formats, the country’s new selection panel appointed former captain Mahela Jayawardene in his place to lead the ODI squad to Australia for the tri-series in February involving the hosts and India. Angelo Mathews remains the vice-captain of the 15-member squad which also includes Dilshan.Jayawardene was ODI captain from 2004 till 2009 (he took over as Test captain in 2006). He resigned in 2009, saying he wanted his successor to have sufficient time to build the team for the 2011 World Cup. Kumar Sangakkara took over from Jayawardene but stepped down after leading Sri Lanka to the final of the World Cup. Dilshan led Sri Lanka for nine months after the World Cup, but resigned on Monday following series defeats in both Tests and ODIs in all his four assignments.Jayawardene has led Sri Lanka in 97 ODIs, winning 57 and losing 35. Whether Jayawardene is handed the Test captaincy as well remains to be seen; Sri Lanka’s next Test series begins only in the last week of March against England at home.Farveez Maharoof, the bowling allrounder, and Chanaka Welegedara, the fast bowler, were recalled after having last played an ODI for Sri Lanka back in June 2010. The duo were the only changes from the squad for the recent ODI series in South Africa, in place of Kosala Kulasekara and Dilhara Fernando. Thilan Samaraweera, who was ignored for the South Africa ODIs, was put on stand-by.Maharoof was the leading run-scorer in Tier A of the 50-over domestic Premier Limited Over Tournament 2011-12 with 219 runs from six games at an average of 43.80 for the Nondescripts Cricket Club. He also picked up 10 wickets in the tournament at 17.00 and an economy rate of four. Welegedara has been a regular member of the Test side of late, and has now been rewarded with a place in the limited-overs squad as well.Rangana Herath and the offspinner Sachithra Senanayake, who debuted against South Africa recently, will form the spin attack. There was no place for Suraj Randiv, who last played an ODI against Australia in August 2011.

When play finished early on day three of the Railways v Saurashtra Ranji Trophy game, the devil it was established, was not residing in the Karnail Singh Stadium track that had consumed 40 wickets in just over two days and a bit. It was to be found in the home team, Railways, whose season “started and finished poorly, sandwiched with good cricket in between,” according to their captain Sanjay Bangar.When the race for the Ranji knockouts begins to get tighter, it is often alleged, the Karnail minefields begin to materialise and then, only the toss matters. Bangar, one of the more seasoned men in first-class cricket, rejected the stereotype constructed about his home ground. “The toss didn’t really matter in this match, did it? It didn’t make for a runaway game. We negated the advantage,” he said. “We know the history of the wicket and that it begins to slow down as every day passes. Even after that [first-innings collapse] a target of 245 was gettable.”Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who is working his way back into the national selectors’ line of vision, did not criticise the conditions either. “It’s a challenging wicket, a bowling paradise if you like. But it’s not dangerous, it’s not a minefield or anything like that. You have to be patient, apply yourself, wait for loose balls and punish them.” Pujara was one of only four batsmen to cross 30 in the entire match.On Wednesday, Saurashtra coach Debu Mitra had been reprimanded for letting rip in public about the surface where 18 wickets had fallen on the day. At the finish on day three, Mitra abstained from qualitative assessments about the pitch and said instead that his side had “played better [than the opposition], according to the [requirements] track.”The 97-run defeat to Saurashtra brought to a halt Railways’ Ranji season, which had involved five of seven matches at home, at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Previously this year, the venue has witnessed totals of 483, 347, 521, 525 and 379. If there is any indication to be got from the totals of Railways v Sautrashtra’s match – 175, 81, 152 and 149 – it is that matches here turn into quick on the draw shoot-outs of skill and temperament. “Speak to any of the players who have excelled here and they have all said it is difficult for stroke play,” Bangar said. “It has a history of being very difficult to get runs here.””On this track, you have to be there [at the crease] for some time to know what the wicket is all about which they [the batsmen] didn’t do,” said the somewhat placated Mitra. The time occupied by the Railways in their response to 175 was a mere 24.5 overs. With Ravindra Jadeja picking up 10 wickets wickets and the Man-of-the-Match award, Railways’ felt the absence of their most experienced spinner, Murali Kartik, who pulled out of the game due to an injury.The Karnail pitch, Railways loyalists say, often turns into a double-edged sword for the groundsman. Abhay Sharma, the Railways coach, said the tight three-day turnaround between Ranji matches and the Delhi winter had made it difficult for the surface to be watered correctly. “In this weather, a shirt won’t dry in a day, how can a wicket be watered properly? If it is watered enough, it won’t dry. If it’s not watered, then it will crumble. It’s not the groundsman’s fault really.”Surfaces of the kind found at the Karnail, Bangar said, are easily tarred. “If there’s grass and the ball swings five degrees then that’s a good wicket, but if it’s like this then it gets vicious turn. For some reason no one likes to think of a turning wicket with the same parameters as you do a wicket where the ball seams.”

Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) played out a dramatic tie at the Gaddafi Stadium. Chasing 191, WAPDA looked to have the match in hand at 113 for 1 but reckoned without Mohammad Aslam and Fahad Masood. Aslam, a left-arm spinner, removed Asif Khan for 51 to end a 113-run partnership with Ahmed Said (62) and three quick wickets followed to reduce the batting side to 129 for 5. With only 51 to get though, WAPDA were still the favourites but the bowlers kept pegging away. A sixth wicket fell on 146 and two more on 176 and 177, with Aslam and Mahood taking five of the seven wickets that had fallen till then. Suddenly, it was anyone’s game.With two wickets in hand, WAPDA battled back, taking their team to 190 and levelling the scores. But just when it looked like they would seal a thrilling win, Ayaz Tasawwar was caught off Masood for 10. Last man Zeeshan Nadir played out five balls but the fightback was completed when Aslam bowled No.10 Imran Khan for a 14-ball duck with the first ball of his 28th over. When the dust settled, WAPDA had lost their last nine wickets for 77 runs. Aslam ended up with figures of 4 for 85 while Masood took 3 for 34.Anwar Ali gave table-toppers Pakistan International Airlines a stunning victory as State Bank of Pakistan crumbled for 40 in their second-innings to lose by 189 runs in Islamabad. Set 240 to win, SBP had no answer for Anwar, who ripped out the top five batsmen for just 35. The wickets tumbled even faster after that, with Anwar grabbing three more as PIA wrapped up a win that looked unlikely when they led by just 12 with only five wickets in hand on the third day. Anwar finished with 8 for 16 from 10 remarkable overs, giving him match figures of 13 for 85, both career bests.Karachi Blues needed just 11.1 overs to complete a comfortable 305-run win over Rawalpindi at the National Stadium in Karachi. Having begun the day on 87 for 5, Rawalpindi’s middle and lower order showed little interest in delaying the inevitable, choosing to try to attack the bowling instead, and perished in quick time. Offspinner Atif Maqbool was the best of the bowlers, with 3 for 30.In Lahore, Fawad Alam’s assured innings gave National Bank of Pakistan a five-wicket win over Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited. NBP stuttered briefly when they lost two early wickets on the final day, before Alam and Aqeel Anjum (21) added 60 for the fourth wicket. Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal fell for a duck but No.7 Qaiser Abbas was in no mood to hang around. He smashed seven fours as he raced to 31 from 14 balls to overhaul the target of 199. Alam was unbeaten on 47 from 56 balls.

West Indies A have made five changes to their squad for the one-day series against Bangladesh A from the side that won the two-match unofficial Test series 1-0. Danza Hyatt, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell are among the players who have been left out, which will make them available for selection for West Indies for their one-day series in India. Hyatt and Russell have been regular members of West Indies’ limited-over squads, while offspinner Narine impressed for Trinidad & Tobago in the Champions League T20 and played a major part with the bat in West Indies A’s victory against Bangladesh A at Gros Islet.The players added to the squad are Leon Johnson, the left-hand batsman from Guyana, Justin Guillen, the opener from Trinidad, Garey Mathurin, the left-arm spinner from Windward Islands, Jason Holder, the fast bowler from Barbados and Delorn Johnson, the allrounder from Windward Islands.West Indies A will play thee 50-over matches against Bangladesh A, with the first on November 23 in St. Vincent.Squad: Veerasammy Permaul (capt.), Nkrumah Bonner, Carlos Brathwaite, Sharmarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Kyle Corbin, Shannon Gabriel, Justin Guillen, Jason Holder, Delorn Johnson, Leon Johnson, Garey Mathurin, Devon Thomas (wk)

Australia’s acting chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, does not believe Mitchell Johnson should be dropped from the Test side for the upcoming series in South Africa. Johnson has been axed from the Twenty20 squad to take on South Africa next month but was retained in the one-day outfit, while the Test squad is yet to be named.Depending on when Cricket Australia appoints its new selectors, the Test touring party could yet be chosen by the interim panel led by Hilditch. Johnson was far from his best during the recent tour of Sri Lanka but he enjoys the conditions in South Africa, where he swung the ball and found awkward bounce on the previous Test tour in early 2009.”In Twenty20 cricket I think his form’s not been the best,” Hilditch said. “Mitch is disappointed. Obviously I’ve spoken to him about it. Sri Lanka was tough for him. The reality is he didn’t do quite what we wanted in Sri Lanka. They were very difficult conditions for him and the way he bowls.”Probably the best he’s ever bowled was against South Africa three years ago when we played there and won. I think he’ll be looking forward to the South African conditions and I think he’ll do really well. From my perspective he’s not under any threat at all [to be dropped from the Test side].”The Twenty20 squad also did not feature the offspinner Nathan Lyon, who made his name in the format for South Australia last summer. Lyon made his Test debut in Sri Lanka and is likely to retain his spot for the South African Tests, but the selectors instead went for Steve O’Keefe and Steven Smith in the T20 side.”At the moment we’re concentrating on him in Test match cricket,” Hilditch said of Lyon. “But obviously he’ll want to push his path to be part of all three forms of the game. We’re really happy with the way he went in Sri Lanka. We’re just not sure that he’s ready and hard enough to play three forms of the game internationally, so we’ll concentrate on Test match cricket for the moment.”As he gets more accustomed to the hard grind of playing international cricket I’m sure he’ll want to push to play in all three forms. I don’t think it’s an unhealthy thing either to have three spinners in three different forms of the game because they’re all pushing hard and they’re all getting international experience, so that’s a good thing as well.”The squad is likely to be the last, with the possible exception of the Test squad for South Africa, picked by Hilditch and his panel. He said it was one of the most exciting groups he had ever chosen, with the inclusion of two teenagers: Mitchell Marsh and Pat Cummins.”I think this is one of the most exciting squads we’ve ever announced,” Hilditch said. “You haven’t seen young players of that sort of ability being added to a squad. You’ve got Patrick Cummins at 18 playing both forms of the game for Australia. A fast bowler with immense ability – it’s really exciting.”Mitchell Marsh is only in the Twenty20 squad but pushed hard for the one-day squad as well. These young players we think can be champions of the game and that’s what we’re trying to find at the moment.”We’re all as a panel pretty excited about what we’ve just done. I think the addition of these young players – I’ve never been part of picking a squad as young as this and picking a squad that has so many young talented players. These young players are ready to go and that’s fantastic. I reckon it’s been a long time since we’ve been in that position in international cricket and there’s still a lot of good young players who aren’t in these squads that deserve that opportunity.”

Welcome of the day
The Johannesburg crowd gave former captain Graeme Smith a particularly unpleasant reception when they booed the announcing of his name on the loudspeaker, but it was Wayne Parnell who received an even nastier hello. Making his return to the international team after a difficult year that was dotted with injury, Parnell was introduced in the sixth over. His extra pace was supposed to the factor that would create a threat on the Wanderers pitch and while he had the gas, he started off without control and as his first ball strayed onto Shaun Marsh’s pads to be sent screaming through midwicket for four. Marsh went one better the next delivery and creamed Parnell over cover for six to give him a rude return to the big stage.Catch of the day
Heino Kuhn had a good game, taking three catches and his athletic effort for the second one would have got him noticed by the selectors. Shaun Marsh got an under edge to a Rusty Theron delivery that went swirling and twirling down towards backward point. Kuhn had scurried over, called for it as the third man came in and was under it in time to pouch it comfortably. Footwork of the day
After three, expensive overs, Parnell redeemed himself, but not with his cricketing skills. Mitchell Marsh attempted to hustle a single after an inside edge of his pads dropped at his feet. Parnell was speedy in his follow through, saw the ball in striking distance, aimed for the stumps and scored. His kick broke the wicket and Cameron White, who was the non-striker, was run out.Anticipation of the day
Smith did not take first guard with Doug Bollinger set to open the bowling so Hashim Amla had to deal with the first six balls from the left-armer. Tension rose as the third over approached, with Smith taking guard. The wait before the first delivery of that over seemed longer than the duration of the match itself and when Bollinger bowled it and Smith got an ugly flick to fine leg for one, a breath could be taken. Later that over, Smith redeemed himself to the Johannesburg crowd with a finely placed shot that went for four. The cheers told him he was being forgiven.Assault of the day
All the big talk around 18-year-old Pat Cummins has turned into big action and the teenager has had some of the best in the world rattled with his skill. In his first over, he beat Smith’s outside edge, got him to pop up a leading edge two balls later and made good use of full, wide deliveries. But it was in his second over that he really got going. First, he removed Colin Ingram off the inside edge, and then persisted with an attacking full line, mixing things up with a slower ball bouncer. The next one was quicker and a confused JP Duminy edged to David Hussey at slip. The result was a double-wicket maiden; good enough at the best of times but exceptional in this format.Firework of the day
Theron and Parnell had pulled South Africa from a required run rate of over 12 to less than a run a ball. They struck five fours and three sixes and took the game away from a stunned Australian attack. Fireworks went up up bigger and higher around the field with every blow, but the most explosive came off Theron’s bat. With six needed to win off the last over, he got down on one knee and mowed Hussey over midwicket to send the Wanderers into a frenzy. The 33,000-strong crowd were on their feet with cries off ‘Ole, Ole’ doing the rounds. Victory had finally come to Johannesburg after the last few internationals here ended in defeat.

Pakistan’s senior players credited the bowlers for the team’s Test victory over Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. After conceding 412 runs in the first innings, Pakistan bowled their opposition out for 141 in the second, leaving their batsmen with only 88 runs needed to win the match.”After the first day, the management worked really hard with the youngsters and the way they came out on the morning of the second day was the major turning point,” Mohammad Hafeez, opening batsman and offspinner said. “The pressure was on the bowling, much more than the batting, and the hard work from our bowlers really made the difference.”Pakistan were made to toil by Tino Mawoyo, who carried his bat through the first innings in the course of scoring 163 in over ten hours. Although he struggled at times, particularly against the spin of Saeed Ajmal, Mawoyo’s marathon knock kept Pakistan on the back foot for most of the first two days and captain Misbah-ul-Haq was pleased to see the fight the team showed from that position. “After the way the match started, with them scoring over 400 runs, I thought it was good to see how we came back.”The comeback started with Hafeez’s quickfire 119, a wonderful package of strokeplay, after two days of placid prodding from Mawoyo. “It was my own plan to bat aggressively against them,” he said. “I feel I have some responsibility as a batsman and I wanted to show that.”After Hafeez departed, Younis Khan planted roots in the pitch, scoring 88 off 265 balls, and steered Pakistan to what turned out to be an important lead. “The pitch slowed down a lot and batting was more difficult,” Hafeez said as an explanation for Younis’ method. “But, it was a good Test pitch and we really enjoyed batting on it.” Younis made his comeback after missing out on the series against West Indies and Misbah said much more can be expected from Younis now that he has, “proved that he is the main man for us.”The rest of the batting, with the exception of Taufeeq Umar who was out in single figures in both innings, also gave a respectable account of themselves. Misbah said they have been working towards building such an innings for almost a year. “Since the series against South Africa last November, we have done well with the bat and we’ve have seen some real improvement,” he said. “Hopefully we will be able to continue to be consistent in future.”Their aims for continuity could be dented by the loss of their coach, Waqar Younis. The win marks Waqar’s last Test as Pakistan coach after 18 months in the job, and Misbah said the team was sorry to see him go. “We had just settle down as a team and started to understand each other, so this will definitely affect the team, but we will have to adjust.”Zimbabwe are in a similar situation, seeking fluency after making their return to Test cricket last month against Bangladesh, following five-year exile. Misbah had kind words for his opponents, praising their development as a Test team. “They played wonderful cricket,” he said. “They put us under pressure and made things difficult for us. Their discipline was good and they will do well in future.”

Scorecard
Andre Adams swished a crucial, unbeaten half-century from No. 9•Getty Images

Durham, their title challenge under pressure after Lancashire knocked them off top spot last week, face a difficult task if they are to emerge from this match with a win after 2010 champions Nottinghamshire let it be known that while the Championship may have slipped from their grasp they can still play a role in determining which way this year’s contest goes.Nottinghamshire, who restricted Somerset to just six points from their rain-affected draw at Taunton last week, made Durham suffer this time as Riki Wessels and Andre Adams mastered difficult conditions to leave Phil Mustard’s side to chase a challenging 321 in the fourth innings.Wessels scored 84 from 68 deliveries, his highest score since joining Notts earlier in the season, before Adams, batting with his customary all-or-nothing approach, hit seven fours and two sixes in a 48-ball unbeaten 53, an innings that may have taken the game away from Durham, who had done themselves no favours earlier in the day by failing to secure a single batting bonus point.Adams, whose 68 wickets with his canny swing bowling were the key to Notts winning the title in 2010, has been a revelation with the bat this season.The 36-year-old New Zealander, who had managed only two half-centuries in four seasons at Trent Bridge before this one, has hit five during the current campaign and his aggregate of 508 first-class runs includes a staggering 174 in sixes, of which he has hit 29.In an illustration of his phenomenal hitting power, he managed to clear the enormous boundary on the Fox Road side with one huge blow off Callum Thorp that sailed over the head of a hapless boundary fielder and landed several rows back.Mitch Claydon finished with five wickets for 54 but Durham missed their absentees, with Steve Harmison, who might have been deadly on this track, missing through injury and Graham Onions and Ben Stokes on England duty.At the start of the day, Durham had been their own worst enemies after resuming their innings at three down for 44. Dale Benkenstein and Ian Blackwell put on 91 for the fifth wicket, yet from 135 for 4 they somehow failed to pick up a single batting point.Within two balls of the start they were four down without addition. After Luke Fletcher had completed the over left unfinished on Monday evening, Andre Adams fed Paul Collingwood a gentle away-swinger that the former England all-rounder, with negligible foot movement, edged to third slip.Thus Benkenstein and Blackwell were left with a substantial rebuilding job on a pitch that, while no minefield, was not without hazards, mainly caused by the inconsistency of bounce. It might have prompted some batsmen to proceed with caution but these two decided attack was the better option and had added 91 in 20.1 overs before the former pushed at a ball from Fletcher that climbed on him and Steven Mullaney took the catch at second slip, diving across first, denying Benkenstein a half-century.Mullaney then dropped a chance offered by Phil Mustard on 12 for which he again needed to fling himself. It was a difficult one but he had both hands on it, and Durham would have been 149 for 5.But it was a let-off rather wasted by the visitors with more than a hint of carelessness given that this is such a crucial match in their quest to take the title back from Nottinghamshire. The guilty party was Blackwell, who had looked ominously well set when he completed a run-a-ball half-century but, with lunch only minutes away and Notts turning for the first time to Graeme White, somewhat threw his wicket away, giving the charge to his fellow left-armer spinner’s sixth delivery but succeeding only in smacking the ball straight back at him.White took a stunning catch, but then he needed to; had he missed he would probably have woken up in the Queen’s Medical Centre, minus several teeth.The 24-year-old former Northamptonshire bowler is given few opportunities in first-class cricket. Indeed, this is only his 13th first-class match and he is playing here only because Samit Patel is unavailable. Yet, despite being under pressure not to waste his chance, he produced an intelligent spell, limited to just 32 balls but yielding three wickets as he and Adams combined to finish off the Durham innings.White found some turn to have Mustard caught off bat and pad, then Adams moved the ball away enough for Mark Wood and then Mitch Claydon to edge into the slips before Callum Thorp, having taken a lavish swing-and-miss at White, was so casual about getting back into his crease that Chris Read was granted as easy a stumping as he will make. With only five more runs needed for a batting point, it was a brainless dismissal.From Durham’s viewpoint, Notts’ second innings started in the best possible way when Alex Hales, the first-innings centurion, fell first ball, following one from Claydon that climbed on him and edging to wicketkeeper Mustard. Karl Turner, released by Durham last season, perished to the same combination, driving loosely.Darren Bravo, as in the first innings, shaped as if he would make an impact, but after a relatively watchful 30, hit straight to Benkenstein at mid-off.Steven Mullaney fell to another ball that climbed from the pavilion end as he nudged a catch to second slip but Wessels took a heavy toll on Ian Blackwell as well as the debutant Mark Wood, who at least could claim a measure of revenge, although only by association, when Benkenstein held on to a second catch – this time a brilliant, leaping one-handed effort – at midwicket.Paul Franks was bowled by Claydon, as was White, who offered no shot, but just as Durham began to contemplate a target in the 250 range, Adams began to change the picture. With support at first from Chris Read, who became a fifth victim for Claydon when he slashed at a wide delivery to be caught behind, and then Darren Pattinson, who added a valuable 15 after being dropped by the ‘keeper on one, the veteran all-rounder did enough damage perhaps to have ended Durham’s hopes of a third title in four years.

ScorecardJessica Cameron celebrates removing Sarah Taylor as England’s top-order were flattened by Australia•Getty Images

England’s run of six successive wins came to an end as they were blown away by Australia, who coasted to victory with seven wickets and 90 balls to spare after bundling England out for 168 at Lord’s. With both teams assured of places in the quadrangular final at Wormsley on Thursday the match had nothing more than bragging rights at stake but Australia will take heart from piercing England’s bubble.In a dominating performance Shelley Nitschke, Meg Lanning and Alex Blackwell led the chase but the bulk of the work was done by the bowlers, who made Charlotte Edwards’ decision to bat first backfire horribly. Edwards and Danielle Wyatt were pinned back by accurate new-ball bowling and England had just 18 on the board when Edwards was dismissed for 2, from 27 balls, in the eighth over.Laura Marsh fell one over later for 3 and Wyatt and Claire Taylor fell in the 11th and 12th overs to leave England floundering at 26 for 4. Clea Smith and Sarah Coyte shared the four wickets evenly and England were unable to rally. Lydia Greenway continued her good form, making 34 and sharing partnerships of 28 with Sarah Taylor and 42 with Arran Brindle, but wickets kept falling. When Heather Knight was out for 13 England were 127 for 8 and 150 looked a luxury but Holly Colvin (29) and Danielle Hazell (19) carried them over the mark.A target of 168 was always going to be difficult to defend and Nitschke and Lanning did the key job of preventing the early wickets England needed to get back in the game. Instead they solidly built an opening stand of 54 that shut the home side out. Lanning was the more positive of the two, striking nine boundaries in her 40-ball 43 while Nitschke dropped anchor.Leah Poulton fell to Wyatt for a duck but Blackwell rushed the chase to its conclusion with eight boundaries in her half-century. Nitschke was run out after reaching her fifty but by that stage Australia were as good as home. It was England’s first loss of the international summer, but all will be forgotten if they win the decider.

Whangarei’s Cobham Oval has been handed its first international fixture, a Waitangi Day ODI against Zimbabwe next summer. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has released its home schedule for 2011-12, and the four Tests against Zimbabwe and South Africa have been allocated to Napier, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington, while Christchurch was ruled out due to AMI Stadium’s earthquake damage.”Unfortunately we have not been able to allocate any matches to AMI Stadium, in Christchurch,” Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of NZC, said. “Following damage to AMI Stadium from the February earthquakes and subsequent uncertainty about timelines for remediation due to ongoing aftershocks, Vbase advised New Zealand Cricket that it could not absolutely guarantee that the venue would be available to host international cricket in the coming season.”In the latest start to an international summer in New Zealand for 17 years, the opening clash is the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Napier’s McLean Park, beginning on January 26. The window between the final Test against Australia in Hobart from December 9-13 and the Napier match could allow New Zealand’s international players to play almost all of the domestic Twenty20 tournament, which is likely to run in December and January.The Zimbabwe Test is followed by ODIs in Dunedin, Whangarei and Napier, and two Twenty20s in Auckland and Hamilton. Justin Vaughan, the chief executive officer of NZC, said it was good to see Cobham Oval win its first New Zealand match after being approved as an international venue by the ICC earlier this week.”It is pleasing to be able to reward Northland Cricket by allocating an ODI to Cobham Oval,” Vaughan said. “It is a credit to their hard work and I know they are thrilled to host Zimbabwe in February.”The schedule is also good news for fans in Dunedin, with University Oval back on the international circuit following improvement works last summer. The venue will host an ODI against Zimbabwe and the first Test against South Africa, beginning on March 11, before the series moves on to Seddon Park from March 15-19 and the Basin Reserve from March 23-27.Ross Taylor, the new captain of New Zealand, said the summer would be a tough one for his team, with nine matches against the strong South African outfit. “It will be a very challenging summer of international cricket and we are looking forward to taking on South Africa and Zimbabwe at home in front of our fans,” Taylor said. “South Africa is currently ranked second in world Test rankings so the three-Test series against them will be an excellent gauge of our progress.”New Zealand v ZimbabweJanuary 26-30: Only Test, McLean Park, NapierFebruary 3: 1st ODI, University Oval, DunedinFebruary 6: 2nd ODI, Cobham Oval, WhangareiFebruary 9: 3rd ODI, McLean Park, NapierFebruary 12: 1st Twenty20, Eden Park, AucklandFebruary 14: 2nd Twenty20, Seddon Park, HamiltonNew Zealand v South AfricaFebruary 17: 1st Twenty20, Westpac Stadium, WellingtonFebruary 19: 2nd Twenty20, Seddon Park, HamiltonFebruary 22: 3rd Twenty20, Eden Park, AucklandFebruary 25: 1st ODI, Westpac Stadium, WellingtonFebruary 29, 2nd ODI: McLean Park, NapierMarch 3: 3rd ODI, Eden Park, AucklandMarch 7-11: 1st Test, University Oval, DunedinMarch 15-19: 2nd Test, Seddon Park, HamiltonMarch 23-27: 3rd Test, Basin Reserve, Wellington