SL need fast-bowling allrounders for World Cup - Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lanka chief selector, has outlined the team's need for fast-bowling allrounders for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, if they are to repeat the success they had in the T20 version in Bangladesh.

"Conditions are different to what we had in Bangladesh and we need to find good fast bowling all-rounders," Jayasuriya said. "We have about 25 ODIs from now until the World Cup and we need to identify the players who will make the final squad and give them the maximum exposure in these matches."

Sri Lanka's preparations for the ODI World Cup kick off with the tour of Ireland and England in May during which they are scheduled to play seven ODIs apart from Tests and T20s. They will play another three ODIs in July when South Africa tour the country.

Sri Lanka are currently on a high, having secured both the Asia Cup as well as the World T20 in the last couple of months. But Jayasuriya was saddened that after doing all the leg work to get Paul Farbrace as the coach, Farbrace turned his back on the team by going back to England. As a result, Sri Lanka cricket in a bit of a quandary with less than a week remaining to appoint his successor for the important tour to England.

"That has been the biggest disappointment for me since I assumed the post of chief selector one-and-a-half years ago," Jayasuriya said. "We were doing so well with Farbrace, it is a bitter pill to swallow losing him to England, a country where we are due to make a tour. He knows all our strengths and weaknesses and England will certainly be ready for us, but I am sure our coaches with the help of the senior players will be able to counter that successfully."

Since Jayasuriya took over as chief selector he has gradually changed the pattern of the selectors who are no longer left idle, but are given the task of watching matches from school (under-19) through to national level.

"We had to change the whole concept of what the past selection committees had been doing and the results are showing," Jayasuriya said. "I have this habit of keeping fit since my playing days and I train with the national team. This way I have built a good rapport with the players as well as the coaches and I know exactly what they require and what needs to be done."

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Anderson benefitting from Zaheer, Kumble

Anderson turns to Zaheer, Kumble for tips
Corey Anderson has said that Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble had provided him with advice and support on bowling and facing up to spinners. Anderson was purchased by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 4.5 crore ($ 750,000) in the auction and has so far scored just 59 runs from three games in his debut season.

The allrounder, who bowls left-arm medium-pace is yet to pick up a wicket, however, and he has turned to Zaheer Khan for advice.

"I have spoken to Zak a few times and he is a master in what he does. He is so good to have in the team and him specially being a left-armer obviously helps," Anderson told iplt20.com. "At the moment my bowling is not coming out quite like I would want to but I guess it is just the beginning."

Kumble, meanwhile, has been helping Anderson prepare for the challenge of playing spin on friendly tracks and Anderson says the experience of facing quality spinners in this tournament will also help him in international cricket.

"He [Kumble] has been of great help. Facing quality spinners in the competition is of massive help. I am playing some of the best spinners in the world," he said. "I also face quality spinners in the nets and this will definitely help me to play spin bowling better in the matches to come."

'Still trying to learn' - Hilfenhaus
Chennai Super Kings' Ben Hilfenhaus has said that working with younger bowlers like Ishwar Pandey and Mohit Sharma helped him learn and improve in the IPL.

"In this game you are always learning. I am still trying to learn things and you never know everything about this game," Hilfenhaus said. "Sometimes by actually thinking about their game or my game I learn in the process. Hopefully I continue to keep improving and go from there."

The Australian pacer also praised the two Indian bowlers: "They both are developing really well and they have stood up in the first initial days of the tournament and done well."

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Sunrisers look for bowling boost

Match facts

April 27, 2014
Start time 1830 local (1430 GMT, 2000 IST)

	Amit Mishra is one short of a 100 wickets in the IPL © BCCI Enlarge

Big Picture

First points are always good. But just a day after registering their first win in this IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad are faced with the worrying prospect of facing a red-hot Chennai Super Kings machinery that, just like every season, is steam-rolling other teams into submission. Sunrisers' top three clicked for the first time in the match against Delhi Daredevils, bettering their previous-best total of this season by 51 runs, but life is not likely to be as comfortable against the yellows.

Shikhar Dhawan, Aaron Finch and David Warner, all got vital runs to boost their confidence but there were extended periods in the match against Daredevils when they looked short on fluency. The good news for Sunrisers is that they rode those spells as how the three perform against the impressive trio of Super Kings seamers and their steady spinners is going to be critical for them.

More important perhaps is going to be how Sunrisers' bowlers deal with Super Kings' batsmen. The sight of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum can send sepulchral chill waves among bowlers early, so a lot will depend on if Dale Steyn raises his game a notch. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been impressive and can draw on the success he had against Smith in the recent World T20 match. Big efforts will also be needed from their stars from last season - legspinners Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma.

Super Kings, on the other hand, are a confident bunch. Their batting is firing, their bowling doesn't have any weaknesses their fielding remains one of the best in the tournament and they have never lost a game to Sunrisers. They just need to ensure no complacency sets in.

Watch out for

Amit Mishra spun an un-breachable web around batsmen during the recent Asia Cup and in the first round of matches in the World T20, fuelling questions about why he was not regular in the national side in the first place. But after overstepping once during the semi-final against South Africa, something has gone amiss. He is not able to control the flow of runs. He went wicketless against Daredevils and was torn apart in the match before that too. It's a big game now and Dhawan needs his trump card to find his mojo again.

Faf du Plessis is the only Super Kings batsman in top four not to score a half-century till now. But apart from one match - against Rajasthan Royals - the lack of runs from his bat hasn't really affected the team as the openers have been brilliant. There is no immediate threat to his place in the team - MS Dhoni likes to stick to his XI - but du Plessis needs some runs to fortify the team's batting further.

Stats and trivia

• Amit Mishra is one short of becoming the only second bowler in the IPL to collect 100 wickets. The only other bowler to do so is Lasith Malinga
• Chennai Super Kings have picked up 30 wickets, the most this season. Royal Challengers Bangalore are second, with 20 wickets.

Devashish Fuloria is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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Sri Lanka U17s on verge of big win

Sri Lanka U17 vs England U17 - Three Day Test Match Sri Lanka junior cubs put up an stunning performance on day 2 as they are well in sight of a stunning outright win over the visiting England under 17 team at the end of day 2 in their 3 day match at Colts grounds.

Overnight batsman, Wanindu Hasaranga De Silva and Malinga Amarasinghe who were unbeaten on 24 and 38 continued to torment the English bowling attack to pieces as both batsman stroked unbeaten centuries to dominate the England bowling unit. Sri Lanka were 296 for 4 wickets before the start of the second day's play and both batsman batted for another 32 overs to score their centuries and take the Sri Lanka score to 456 before they declared the innings. Richmondite Wanindu remained unbeaten on 102 while his Nalandian partner Malinga scored 107 runs without conceding his wicket. Earlier on day 1, Avishka Fernando hammered an elegant century for the hosts. After being left to dry on the field, English boys could not pull up their socks in the batting department as they were blown were for only 79 runs after batting 60 overs. Malinga Amarasinghe captured three wickets while his new ball partner Peterite Manelka De Silva was accounted for 3 wickets. Hameed Hussain was the only batsman to negotiate the Sri Lankan bowling as he made 35 runs. Left arm spinner Damitha Silva took 2 wickets to wipe out the tail. After being asked to follow on, England U17s lost another wicket without scoring a run to inflict more salt to their wound. With the 3 day's play to come, Sri Lankans are on the verge of a memorable win with only 9 wickets left to take on Saturday. England boys would find Sri Lankan climate and bowlers hard to tackle on day 3 to survive this mighty onslaught. SL U17 – 456/4 declared in 111 overs : Avishka Fernando 134, Malinga Amarasinghe 107*, Wanidu Hasaranga 102*, Kaveen Bandara 76, Jared Warner 2/63. ENG U17 - 79 all out in 60.2 overs : Hameed Hussain 35, Malinga Amarasinghe 3/10, Manelka De Silva 3/10, Damith Silva 2/2. ENG U 17 (2 inn) – 0/1 in 2.2 overs.

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Newell replaces Giles as selector

Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire's director of cricket, is to succeed Ashley Giles as a member of the England selection panel. Giles was overlooked for the England head coach's position, losing his job in charge of the limited-overs teams as a result, and he has now decided he will no longer continue as a selector. Giles had been a selector since 2008, at first combining the role with being Warwickshire's director of cricket. He was made England's limited-overs coach at the end of 2012, with Andy Flower focusing on the Test team, but lost out to Peter Moores during the ECB's recruitment process to appoint a successor to Flower who would regain control across all three formats. Newell, who was also interviewed for the head coach's position, he will join the selection panel with immediate effect, working alongside James Whitaker, Angus Fraser and Moores. Like Fraser, who is Middlesex's director of cricket, and Giles before him, Newell will retain his county role. "Ashley Giles has informed ECB today that he intends to step down from the panel and I would like to thank him for all his hard work and dedication to the England cause over the past six years both as a selector, and more recently as our limited-overs coach," Whitaker said. "We welcome Mick to the panel and his passion, cricketing knowledge and in-depth understanding of our county game will be invaluable as we seek to identify potential international talent and develop outstanding England teams across all three formats of the game." Newell is the longest-serving coach on the county circuit, having been in charge at Trent Bridge since 2002. He has twice led Nottinghamshire to the Championship title and last season saw his team lift the YB40 trophy at Lord's. Newell has also coached the England Lions and England U-19 teams, and in 2012 he was linked with the Bangladesh job, despite never having played international cricket. Newell said: "It's a tremendous privilege and a great honour to be invited to join the England selection panel and I am really looking forward to working more closely with James, Peter and Angus. I would also like to thank Nottinghamshire CCC for their support in allowing me to take on this role and play a part in shaping the future direction of the England team." © ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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USACA, ACF asked by ICC to prove membership

The feud between the USA Cricket Association and the American Cricket Federation has taken a new twist, as both governing bodies have been asked to supply letters of allegiance from their members to the ICC. The ACF was created out of the ashes of the 2012 USACA election and their membership has grown to the point where they formally sought recognition in February from the ICC as a national governing body. Since 2012, there has been a lack of clarity between the number of leagues the USACA has claimed to be its members, and those which actually are, particularly with respect to those who haven't paid annual membership dues to USACA in the last three years. The ICC's request for USACA and ACF to supply confirmation letters could play a deciding factor in the ongoing dispute in order to decide which body is legitimately in control of cricket in the USA. Having two national governing bodies could potentially result in an ICC suspension for the USA, a fate that occurred in both 2005 and 2007. According to the recently-released minutes from USACA's last board meeting on March 23, ICC president Alan Isaac sent a letter dated March 11 to USACA president Gladstone Dainty requesting updated information on a series of topics including USACA's current membership. USACA board member John Thickett sent a notice to all USACA member leagues requesting them to provide a letter to USACA chief executive Darren Beazley, to pass on to the ICC, in which the USACA member leagues confirm USACA as the sole governing body for cricket in the USA. ESPNcricinfo has obtained communication from an ACF member league in which ACF chief executive Jamie Harrison reached out to ACF members on March 29, asking for each ACF league to supply a similar letter confirming ACF as the governing body for cricket in the USA. "As part of the process by which a new national governing body will be certified for the United States, the ICC has requested that each ACF member league submit a letter asserting that it recognizes the ACF as the USA's national governing body," Harrison wrote to his members. The communication is an indication that the ICC is willing to step in to mediate the dispute that is growing between the two factions. USACA is currently the ICC recognized governing body for cricket in the USA, but the ACF has grown considerably in the last 12 months as more and more member leagues have left USACA to join the upstart ACF. This includes America's largest league, the 72-team Commonwealth Cricket League in New York City. USACA continues to claim on its website that it has 52 member leagues, but those figures are dated 2012, before USACA disenfranchised 32 member leagues ahead of the 2012 election. A dozen of those leagues have since joined ACF while many others have stopped paying membership fees to USACA. Seven leagues that were not previously affiliated with USACA have also joined the ACF. A separate layer also exists with leagues like the Southern California Cricket Association, which has hedged its bets by paying membership fees to both organizations while the dispute over national governing body superiority is ironed out. SCCA hosted the inaugural ACF National Championship in 2012, but has still maintained USACA membership in an effort to allow their star players to remain eligible for selection to the USA national team. Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo's USA correspondent. @PeterDellaPenna RSS Feeds: Peter Della Penna

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Dwyer resigns as Bangladesh trainer

Bangladesh trainer David Dwyer has stepped down from his position after 14 months on the job. Akram Khan, the BCB's Cricket Operations Committee Chairman, confirmed the receipt of the resignation letter two days ago. Dwyer is understood to have asked for immediate release. He joined Bangladesh as the head of strength and conditioning in February last year, a week before the team left on a tour of Sri Lanka. Like the rest of the coaching staff, Dwyer's contract was due to expire after the 2015 World Cup. "He has done a great job for the Bangladesh team," Akram said. "It is up to the board to accept his resignation, but I think we have to start looking for a new trainer immediately. We have a lot of cricket ahead." Bangladesh's next assignment is a three-match ODI series against India in mid-June. The tour schedule, however, hasn't been confirmed. © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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