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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details6:06

Arnold: Zimbabwe were tactically superior to Sri Lanka

A lively 121-run stand for the sixth wicket between Asela Gunaratne and Niroshan Dickwella was the centerpiece of a great escape for the hosts, and a sapping defeat for a daring Zimbabwe side.Zimbabwe had never beaten Sri Lanka, of course, but also, the 388 they had set had also never been chased either by Sri Lanka, or by anyone on the island. In the end, Sri Lanka achieved the target with four wickets in hand – Gunaratne having prodded his team sensibly onward. He was on 80 when the winning runs were hit. Dickwella had made 81. Graeme Cremer, who had raised Zimbabwe’s hopes when he dismissed both Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews within the first hour of play, was left with four wickets to his name, as his team failed to claim the chances that might have punctured Sri Lanka’s resurgence. Once the initial disappointment fades, however, Zimbabwe may reflect that they have played with incredible courage here, and at least have that ODI series trophy to take home with them.Three denied or missed wicket opportunities, all of them involving wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva, will haunt Zimbabwe. First, with Dickwella on 37 and Sri Lanka on 237 for 5, Chakabva whipped off the bails and appealed, after Dickwella had overbalanced, missing a ball from Sikandar Raza. It was a close decision: no part of the crease was visible behind Dickwella’s boot. However, no part of the boot appeared to be behind the crease either, so on balance Dickwella should have been given out. But third umpire Chettithody Shamshuddin would rule him not out, and Dickwella would go on produce one of the game’s definitive performances.Zimbabwe should have had Dickwella again on 63, when Sean Williams induced an edge with a sliding delivery, only for Chakabva – who had kept immaculately until then – to fumble the chance. Sri Lanka had at the time been 102 runs from the target. Finally, after Dickwella had eventually been dismissed, Gunaratne would also be reprieved by Chakabva. Running down the track at Cremer on 54, Gunaratne failed to reach the pitch of the ball, and had it turn and beat him down the leg side. Chakabva could not gather cleanly, and Gunaratne made it back into the crease. Had he been out at that point, Sri Lanka would have been seven down, with Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera new at the crease, 50 runs still to get.But aside from that indiscretion, Gunaratne was a calming influence on the chase. He was always on the lookout for risk-free runs, rarely failing to take the most sensible option on offer, hitting boundaries only off the wayward balls, and running hard for his partner – strained hamstring and all. Where others were largely reliant on the sweep for their runs, Gunaratne also had in his repertoire the short-arm pull, which could fetch him runs in a wide arc between midwicket and fine leg. While he was at the crease, there was a steadiness to the chase.Niroshan Dickwella was put down by Regis Chakabva on 63•AFP

Not for Dickwella, however, was restraint or control. He swept and reverse-swept merrily, often venturing down the pitch to the spinners, and getting pad or boot to ball on the occasions he could not hit it with his bat. His innings featured only six fours, but that is partly because the energy and ambition he brought to the crease forced Zimbabwe to post more men on the fence than they would ideally have liked. Even before lunch, the rhythm with which Zimbabwe’s bowlers had operated in the early overs, seemed slightly upset.As the stand with Gunaratne grew after the break, nerves appeared to enter Zimbabwe’s game for the first time in two days. Dickwella brought up his fifty off the 69th delivery he faced, clubbing Chris Mpofu to the midwicket fence. He slowed down after the milestone, but had nevertheless changed the outlook of the match. He was caught behind off the glove attempting to reverse-sweep Sean Williams, but Sri Lanka needed only 64 at that stage, and in the end, no further wickets fell. Dilruwan Perera contributed a shaky 29. It would be enough.But how Zimbabwe had shaken Sri Lanka in the morning. Mendis, who had batted with such assurance on day four, attempted to sweep a wide and full Cremer delivery, and wound up sending a top edge to mid-on. That was only the sixth over of the day. When Angelo Mathews then chipped a return catch to Cremer eight overs later, with 185 runs still to get, the chase was in crisis. Zimbabwe ringed the new men, and only an innings as risk-riddled as Dickwella’s could loosen their grip on this game.Relief will be Sri Lanka’s first emotion to the victory, but perhaps there will also be contentment that three of their less experienced players played important roles in the chase. Gunaratne and Dickwella have 12 Tests between them, and the only other man to cross fifty was 22-year old Mendis. While the bowling attack requires substantial inspection, the batting, at least appears in half-decent shape.

Eoin Morgan largely exonerated his batsmen despite a record-breaking collapse at the start of the third ODI against South Africa.England were 20 for 6 after 30 deliveries – the first time in history a side has lost six wickets in the first five overs of an ODI – as they struggled against a fine attack in conditions offering assistance to bowlers. While Jonny Bairstow engineered a partial recovery, he could not prevent England slipping to their first defeat in nine ODIs.But Morgan, the England captain, felt the wicket was more to blame than the batsmen and praised South Africa’s seamers – Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell – for harnessing conditions expertly.Suggesting the pitch was not suitable for ODI cricket, Morgan hinted that the toss – which was won by South Africa’s captain, AB de Villiers – was disproportionately important and went a long way towards deciding the game.”I’d be disappointed if we did come across surfaces like that in the ICC Champions Trophy,” Morgan said. “To win or lose the game on the toss in a major tournament is hard to take. Any side batting first has the potential to lose the game.”I don’t think it was an ODI wicket. It makes it one-sided which I don’t think is good for anybody. There was a lot of live, green grass on the wicket.”We saw the shots they played when they batted. We couldn’t play shots like that early this morning.”But South Africa bowled beautifully. They did not give us anything to hit and if they did we managed to nick it. Credit goes to South Africa, they came back really well.”While Morgan did accept that England might do well to reflect on the platform they built at the start of their innings in the second ODI in Southampton – they were 42 for 1 at the end of the first 10-over Powerplay- he did not think his batsmen had taken an overly aggressive approach in conditions that might have necessitated a more calculated game plan.”You earn the right to play positive cricket,” he said. “And we do need to keep our feet on the ground. But we didn’t play too aggressively. A lot of our shots were defensive shots. When it moves around like that, you nick the half-volleys.”The good news for England is that they can expect much more batting-friendly conditions on the grounds used for their Champions Trophy game. But there may be some disquiet in the camp if they find themselves inserted on an overcast morning on a pitch showing any sign of moisture.Still, Morgan is unlikely to admit any such fears at this stage – his team has been built on a commitment to attacking cricket that will only be inhibited by doubts – and will instead hope his batsmen can put this reverse out of their mind and continue to play the fearless cricket that has served them so well in recent months.Morgan also hinted that England will keep faith with Jason Roy in their Champions Trophy side.Roy endured a miserable series against South Africa, scoring just 13 runs in three innings. And with Bairstow continuing his fine run of form with another half-century – his third in his four most recent ODI innings – there might be a temptation to bring him into the side in place of Roy.But despite admitting telling Bairstow he was not selected was “the hardest thing,” Morgan remains committed to selecting Roy for the start of the Champions Trophy and agreed that last minute changes to the side – something of a characteristic of England going into global tournaments in recent times – might send out an unhelpful message.”It’s the hardest thing telling Jonny he’s not playing when he’s done nothing wrong and he scores a huge amount of runs,” Morgan said. “I’m very, very impressed by him. He never lets us down. Whenever he comes in he scores runs and he continues to bang on the door.”But as regards selection, Jason is the No.1 pick at the moment. Him and Alex Hales have been our 1 and 2 for quite a long time. They have had ups and downs but ultimately they have played in the fashion that we have played as a team and they have been very important to that.”England remain confident that all the first choice players who missed this match will be fit for Thursday’s opening Champions Trophy encounter against Bangladesh. Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes could, according to Morgan, have played on Monday if required, while the seamers, Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett, were just rested to ensure they remain fresh. Chris Woakes, too, was said to have “pulled up really well” with Morgan anticipating he will be “fully fit for Thursday.”Whether, in the case of Stokes, that means as an allrounder or a specialist batsman remains to be seen. Such is his long-term importance to England, they will be loathe to risk his fitness.”He can run around in the field like a mad man,” the coach, Trevor Bayliss, told Sky Sports. “And when he got his hundred over the weekend, he didn’t even feel it. I’s just when he’s bowling at full tilt. Hopefully that means it’s not much and hopefully an extra day or two and it’ll come good.He’s a very important part of the team. He brings energy to the team. And, as we saw, he can hold his position in the team as a batter as well, so I’m sure he’ll be there on Thursday.”

Faisal Hasnain, the outgoing chief financial officer of the ICC, is set to become the new managing director of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC). Hasnain will take over from Wilfred Mukondiwa who will step down from his position in June as he has reached the age of retirement.The ICC announced Hasnain was leaving in December 2016, having worked at the organisation for 12 years over two stints. He has been replaced at the game’s governing body by Ankur Khanna, who was the CFO at an Indian airline. Over the years in his role at the ICC Hasnain worked closely with ZC.”While we regret losing Mr Mukondiwa’s active leadership and guidance, the board is pleased to appoint Mr Hasnain to the role of managing director,” ZC chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said. “We believe his impressive résumé, experience and desire to succeed equip him well for the challenges ahead, and we are confident that he will build upon the strong foundation that Mr Mukondiwa is leaving.”Mukondiwa, 64, joined the ZC in 2003, as general manager for human resources and domestic cricket, and over the years has also worked as board secretary and deputy managing director. He has been in the current role since 2012.”I have had an enriching experience at ZC and in the sporting industry in general,” Mukondiwa said. “My tenure was punctuated with various challenges which I believe, if all stakeholders were united and shared a common sense of purpose, are not insurmountable but of a temporary nature. In that regard, it is gratifying to see the player base growing and young players coming into the limelight. This is a positive development for the future.”

A year after he first took on the role of a batting consultant, with England for the World T20, Mahela Jayawardene, the former Sri Lanka captain, returns to India for his first full-fledged coaching assignment, with two-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians.Jayawardene, who replaces Ricky Ponting as the head coach, is still a sought-after franchise cricketer; his latest stint was with Karachi Kings at the Pakistan Super League last month. Prior to that, he represented Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League. It is this experience of playing in various T20 leagues that Jayawardene hopes to share with his Mumbai players. Although he was mindful of not overdoing it.”I think playing around the world in different conditions do help, the number of games and all that, but obviously coaching is a different role altogether,” he said. “I think I need to step back and let the players play try and prepare, give them the freedom to go and express themselves”Practically we will discuss a lot of things behind the scenes. We have got a great coaching staff to help them out, we will give them as many as challenges as possible to go out there and execute. It’s very exciting to have a very talented group of players to work with which is great.”Among the things, Jayawardene said he was looking forward to working with Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma. “I think Rohit is a very instinctive player, naturally gifted. He just goes with the flow and he creates his opportunities and I think that suits quite well when you are a T20 captain because you need to react to situations out there in the middle pretty quickly and probably try and stay a couple of overs ahead.”He has been captaining MI for the last four-five years and he is showing that. At a young age he has taken a bigger role and done that. It is important to have that versatility as well relaxed and calm demeanour. There are are a lot of things that happen, not just on the field, but a lot of things that happen around that as well, so to keep perspective and handle that so that is demands of a modern T20 captain these days.”Mumbai have a number of players returning either from injury or playing after a long break. Mitchell Johnson, whom they bought at the auction, last played in the BBL in January, while Lasith Malinga has only just come back to international cricket after spending a year out of the game with an injured knee. These are two examples which Jayawardene cited while underling the importance of managing workloads.”Sometimes it is good, but sometimes it can be a disadvantage because they have not had much practice of matches,” Jayawardene said. “They just play Big Bash and then a long lay-off. Lasith is coming back after injuries, so we wanted him to play as many games, so he will play two more T20s [against Bangladesh] before he arrives here, which is good. With different players, it is going to be different how you want to manage them. At the same time, our schedule, we get eight games in 16 or 18 days which includes travel. That is something we need to be mindful of.”The experience factor does count because these players have played enough cricket to realise what they need to do. Preparation wise, it should be fine. We need to make sure that all our best players are on the park and it is going to be a tough season. Every team wants to win, that’s how everyone goes through and we will make sure we manage everyone properly.”

Joe Root admits he was shocked by his first experience of Test cricket in Australia but has promised he will be much better prepared when England return for the Ashes at the end of the year.Root, England’s newly appointed Test captain, went to Australia in 2013-14 as a 22-year-old with a growing reputation as England’s finest young batsman. But by the end of the series he had been dropped, England had been defeated 5-0 and he concedes he was “caught cold” by the hostility of the experience.Greeted by abusive crowds, even more abusive opponents and an excellent fast-bowling attack led by Mitchell Johnson, Australia provided a far from gentle welcome. And while Root managed 87 in the second innings in Adelaide, it was the only time he reached 30 and he was dropped, with a series average of 27.42, after the fourth Test.”That first Test match at Brisbane, when I walked out to bat, I think it did it hit me quite hard,” Root said. “It was like I walked into a conservatory door: I was not aware at all that it was there.”For large periods of that trip, I was spending my time and energy working on things that other people said I needed to work on; getting forward; a bigger stride; getting into the ball. But in reality, they were bowling 95mph bouncers, so it was pointless.”But I will be slightly more aware this time. I won’t be caught cold. I know what to expect from what can be quite a hostile environment.”Root is determined that other young players – and Haseeb Hameed would appear to be a prime example – should not be similarly exposed this time.Joe Root: “I won’t be caught cold in Australia”•BRUT Sport Style

“I think it’s very important that the guys that haven’t been there get a good idea of what it can be like,” he said. “They shouldn’t be afraid of it. They should try to embrace it and enjoy it. It’s not always easy to enjoy it, but that tour is a great opportunity for this team.”I think I’ve done all my learning from that tour already. I came back from it and thought: just strengthen all the things that have served you very well for long periods of time and slowly but surely work on the rest of it. From that I gained a lot of confidence. It was a really good way, from being in quite a difficult spot, of feeling good again.”If England are to win in Australia, Root knows that he will have to score heavily. So, odd though it may sound, he says the piece of advice he has most taken to heart since he became captain, is to ensure his own game is in order.”I’ve had a lot of people provide quite similar advice,” he said. “But the one thing that’s really stuck out is ‘just make sure you look after your own game and concentrate on scoring as many runs as possible.'”That might come across as quite selfish. But I think it’s going to be very important for me, mentally as well, to put in the work and set the right example when the opportunities arise.”He doesn’t have to look far to find examples of talented young batsmen who appear to have thrived with the responsibility of leadership. Steve Smith, in particular, has batted exceptionally well in recent times, with Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson also highly impressive.”They are great examples of taking that responsibility and making it a real asset to their games,” Root said. “It’s a good opportunity for me to do exactly the same. Over the last couple of years my consistency has been fantastic. But between 50 and 100 there have been far too many occasions when I have got out.”On a few occasions I have been got out, but the majority of the time it has been a lapse of concentration and that’s not good enough. I’m going to have to make sure that moving forward I set a really good example by going on and trying to make sure I make the most of those good starts and be a little bit more ruthless.”In the past, the more responsibility I’ve been given, I’ve generally responded well to it. Hopefully that will be the same.”Root has enjoyed success in home Ashes series, but his maiden tour of Australia was another story•Getty Images

Root is also confident that, while his England will play tough cricket – “There have occasions in the past when we probably have folded a little too easily,” he admitted – they will be able to retain good relationships with their opponents.”I don’t think there was too much bad blood in our series against India,” he said. “There were a few of our guys who were quite passionate and vocal and Virat and a few of his guys were the same. If you understand and respect that and you don’t take it too far and make it personal then I don’t know what the issue is.”There’s nothing wrong with going and having a beer after the game. It is quite nice actually, if someone has really laid into you for five weeks and then you go up to them with a beer and make them feel really uncomfortable. It’s quite good when you can ask them some difficult questions like ‘how’s the missus? How’s the kids?’ And see how they respond to it.”It is good that we are open to that as a side and hopefully other teams are as well.”Joe Root and James Anderson were speaking on behalf of BRUT Sport Style, the new fragrance from men’s grooming brand BRUT

New Zealand have to become better at reacting to pressure situations ahead of the Champions Trophy according to their coach Mike Hesson. In the deciding ODI against South Africa at Eden Park they limped to 149 all out which led to their first home series defeat since 2014.The Auckland performance followed being turned over for 112 in Wellington earlier in the series, and though the collapses came against an impressive South Africa attack, and were balanced against a match-winning first-innings in Christchurch and the Martin Guptill-inspired chase, there was a sense of vulnerability outside of the big three in Guptill, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor.Hesson hinted that there had been an honest appraisal in the aftermath on Saturday’s defeat, but said the fact the team had pushed South Africa, the No. 1 ODI side, close was a commendable effort.”You don’t want to state the obvious but sometimes you have to. When we were under pressure the way we responded wasn’t where were wanted to be,” Hesson said. “I thought we were in a bit clumsy with the bat, some of our decision-making under pressure – from some exceptional bowling – was disappointing.”It was a heck of a series and a bit of a ding-dong battled against the world No. 1. Wellington was quite different in terms of the surface, that was more nip, but we got put under pressure by a good side and weren’t able to deal with that. We’ll need to improve in terms of soaking up pressure which two or three times this summer we haven’t done as well as we’d have liked.”New Zealand had beaten Bangladesh and Australia on home soil this season and their last series reversal at home was against South Africa in 2014. They have now only beaten South Africa in two out of ten bilateral one-day series, but they did bring an end to their 12-match winning run which had been formed on the back of home whitewashes over Australia and Sri Lanka.”This was a lost opportunity, that would be a fair reflection,” Hesson said. “But most people will acknowledge that we’ve gone toe-to-toe with the best side in the world which many haven’t been able to do for a long time. We fell at the last hurdle, but all in all we’ve played some pretty good cricket.”New Zealand’s next one-day cricket is a tri-series in Ireland during May before the Champions Trophy in which they will be missing the IPL-based players. Hesson said that those matches would be important in answering some lingering questions, topping the list being who will take the keeping gloves between Tom Latham and Luke Ronchi.Hesson all-but guaranteed they would both be in the squad, and praised the pair’s work behind the stumps, but there is a curse on New Zealand’s glovemen in terms of runs: not since Ronchi’s unbeaten 170 in early 2015 has their wicketkeeper reached an ODI fifty.”Both Tom and Luke are highly likely to be involved. The series in Ireland will be crucial to get a pecking order,” he said. “I’ve been delighted with the wicketkeeping of both, but no doubt both are short of runs and that’s something Tom and Luke are well aware of, probably more than anyone. It’s not long ago that Tom was a really good performer for us at the top of the order. We know they are high quality players but have had a tough period.”

Sridharan Sriram, the former India left-arm spinning allrounder, will mentor Australia’s legion of slow bowlers on their upcoming Test tour of India. Sriram has worked with Australia’s spinners on previous occasions, including on last year’s tour of Sri Lanka and in the World Twenty20 in India earlier in 2016, and he was also engaged for the tour of Bangladesh that was ultimately postponed.Sriram will travel with the squad to Dubai on January 29 for their training camp at the ICC Academy, and will then work with the side through the four-Test tour that follows. Australia have picked four specialist spinners for the series – Nathan Lyon, Steve O’Keefe, Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson – as well as spinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell.”Sri has worked with us on a number of occasions now all across our pathway system and he is currently in Dubai with our Under-16 team providing his expertise on sub-continental conditions,” Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s executive general manager of team performance, said.”He knows our players very well and has a wealth of knowledge on the conditions that our players will face in India.”Sriram’s presence on the India tour has been preferred to that of spin consultant John Davison, who has a good working relationship with Lyon but travels only sporadically with the team.Australia have also called on England left-armer Monty Panesar to help them prepare for the India series. Panesar has been playing club cricket in Sydney this summer and is set to travel to the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane this week to offer spin advice.

Former Queensland legspinner Cameron Boyce is set to make his debut for Tasmania during the Matador Cup next month, after being named in the Tigers’ 14-man squad for the tournament.Boyce and fellow Queenslander Simon Milenko signed with Tasmania earlier this year and both are part of the Matador Cup squad, which will be captained by Tim Paine. George Bailey is the only Tasmania player in Australia’s ODI squad in South Africa and thus is unavailable for the Matador Cup, while James Faulkner is out due to injury.The squad features two players yet to make their List A debuts: the batsman Beau Webster, who was called into Australia A for two first-class games this year, and the fast bowler Cameron Stevenson. Tasmania coach Dan Marsh said he was pleased with the mix of youth and experience in the squad.”We are looking forward to seeing the start of our debutants journeys with the Tasmanian Tigers,” Marsh said. “We have had a big focus on our skill development this pre-season with [Alex] Doolan, [Jackson] Bird, Stevenson and Webster all putting in some good performances in the trial matches.”Tasmania squad Tim Paine (capt), Xavier Doherty, Ben Dunk, Dominic Michael, Alex Doolan, Jake Doran, Ben McDermott, Beau Webster, Simon Milenko, Hamish Kingston, Cameron Stevenson, Jackson Bird, Andrew Fekete, Cameron Boyce.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt seemed the only thing Dale Steyn’s angry eyes did not have power over was the weather. While the grey clouds gave him swing, and he controlled it so well that South Africa’s total of 263 assumed excellent proportions, they also brought rain which allowed only 22 overs to be bowled on the second day at Kingsmead.New Zealand were 15 for 2 at lunch and they stayed 15 for 2 when play was called off at tea time.The day had begun a little late with South Africa’s tail batting. Trent Boult designed a beauty – away swing that almost bowled Kagiso Rabada around his legs. Tim Southee, playing his first Test in South Africa, kissed the top of leg stump. The man he dismissed, that old pro Steyn, took four balls when New Zealand batted to make clear his having played no Tests in eight months would only serve to embellish his legend. It was a fast-bowling fashion show in Durban.Martin Guptill was distracted by a bevy of outswingers before one moved in and struck the front pad. Steyn whirled around, his veins popping and spit flying in appeal. Umpire Richard Illingworth calmly shook his head in response.”Crack it open, boy,” leered the slip cordon. Tom Latham found himself ganged up on. Then he was sucked in by one that pretended to be a half-volley.Steyn had watched Latham playing with extreme care, making sure his bat didn’t stray too far from his body and committing himself to a shot as late as possible. But a batsman’s instinct is to score runs and that instinct flared up when the second ball of the seventh over was pitched wide. Latham fished outside off. Steyn bagged him, tagged him and would have instagrammed him if he was allowed to.Guptill’s front pad and Steyn’s inswing went out on a second date right in front of middle stump. The romance was so compelling that even umpire Illingworth had to give his blessing.Steyn’s first spell read 6-4-3-2. After a point he felt he was getting too much movement and began bowling cross-seamers to have a better chance at snatching the outside edge. He was on 408 wickets and needed 14 more for the South African record.Into this walked Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, their averages of 10.75 and 11 in South Africa hanging over them along with the dark clouds. They had only played three matches in this country, but they were New Zealand’s two best batsmen. Regrouping on day three with them at the crease may just be the best of a bad situation for the visitors.New Zealand will need some luck though because overcast conditions are forecast on the third day as well and South Africa have an attack capable of exploiting them. Vernon Philander, coming back to Test cricket for the first time since injuring his ankle in November 2015, bustled in to string together balls on a good length and jerk them this way and that. There was one delivery that came down perfectly straight, pitched a few inches in front of Taylor’s front foot and seamed away so sharply it seemed like a freakishly quick legbreak.The stage was … wet after the break. Gloomy conditions – despite the floodlights – meant New Zealand were confined to their dressing room, which they wouldn’t have minded. It was safe indoors, and the All Blacks were thumping the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship.It wasn’t rain that kept the players out for the rest of the day. For the most part the light just wasn’t good enough, leaving the 2543 people at Kingsmead, approximately one-tenth its capacity, equally frustrated. Helpfully, play was called off with an hour remaining for them to scramble and catch the start of the Springboks’ Championship campaign.The outfield in Durban had been relaid in June and a few chunks did come out when fielders slid to retrieve the ball. With more rain expected at night, there was concern over whether it would be ready in time for play to restart tomorrow at 10 am.

The WICB has agreed to release captain Jason Holder, batsman Darren Bravo, allrounder Carlos Brathwaite, legspinner Devendra Bishoo, and wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin for the Caribbean Premier League, starting June 30, which is four days after the tri-series final in Barbados. They can remain with their franchises until July 11, ten days before West Indies’ first Test against India in Antigua.WICB announced a confirmation of the India tour last December, but they released the full itinerary only last week. A possible clash of dates with the CPL had been one of the main reasons for the delay.According to the WICB policy, the head coach and the national selectors had final say in determining whether their players would be free to participate in the CPL. It is understood that head coach Phil Simmons had no objections with his men playing the tournament’s initial stages, provided they returned in time to prepare for the four Tests against India, which are the only Tests in West Indies’ home season.Damien O’Donohoe, the CPL chief executive, welcomed the WICB’s decision and said that the players’ availability would would be a “tremendous boost”.”Our thanks to the West Indies Cricket Board, coach and chairman of selection committee for facilitating the release of the players for the opening weeks of the CPL,” he said. “It’s a tremendous boost for the competition and I have no doubt that each of the players will be motivated to add great value to their squads.”Ramdin, who is part of the onging tri-series against South Africa and Australia, was announced as the replacement for injured fast bowler Fidel Edwards, for St Lucia Zouks. Edwards had suffered a fractured ankle in the lead up to the final day of Hampshire’s County Championship match against Yorkshire at Headingley in April.