Mike Smith admits that there have been times in recent months when he thought he might not play cricket again.But Gloucestershire’s left-arm opening bowler and former England man, widely regarded as the foremost exponent of swing bowling in domestic cricket, told CricInfo that he is now optimistic that he’ll be back in action at the start of the 2002 season.”I’ve had a couple of injections, but they’ve not worked,” Smith said. “Thenext step is to see a surgeon. But I’m quite optimistic now. It is the sort of injury that many footballers suffer from – an inflamed bone that pulls on the tendons.”I did it last July, but carried on as I thought it would probably go in acouple of weeks. In retrospect that wasn’t such a good idea. It could have been career threatening and there is no short-term cure, but things seem to be a bit better now.”I’ve a year left on my contract, and the option for a further one so I’ve acouple of good years left in me yet.”The Australians’ return to England brings back memories of Smith’s solitary Test against them, when they were last here in 1997.”They’re even better than when I played against them. I think Lee is animprovement on Reiffel, and Gilchrist – though perhaps not as good a ‘keeper – makes their batting even more dangerous. Mark Taylor was a bit out of form then too, so they do look a fair bit stronger now.”And does an Ashes series make him recall his own Test career? “It’s come up a few times, especially with regard to my benefit. In fact there’s a picture of ‘it’ in the brochure,” he says ruefully.The ‘it’ that he refers too is, of course, the moment that Graham Thorpe dropped Matthew Elliott on 32 in the Test at Headingley in 1997. Elliott went on to hit a match-winning 199 and that first Test wicket never did come.But Smith isn’t the type to mope. “I look back with pure enjoyment. It didn’t go particularly well on the field, but I’ve played for England and that’s a massive achievement and honour,” he says with refreshing enthusiasm.But doesn’t he reflect on what might have been? “I was never going to play 50 Tests for England,” he says modestly. “I’m not particularly quick and I don’t benefit from the bounce of the taller guys.”Smith was rated as the top English one-day bowler in county cricket for the 2000 season and only Glenn McGrath beat him overall. Many people feel – Gloucestershire supporters in particular – that he could have had a greater role to play at international level.”Oh, I think the door is shut now,” he admits with his customary frankness.”I’m too old. I’ll be 34 at the start of next year. Although I feel I could still do a good job I expect the onus is on building for the 2003 World Cup and I’ll be getting on a bit by then.”And he has some advice for the England selectors too. “They should be looking at guys like Jon Lewis. He’s developed into a fine bowler, and after a successful A Tour, we all hoped he’d win a call-up this summer.”Smith is sympathetic to Lewis’ current injury plight and believes that thecall-up for Somerset’s Richard Johnson – deserved though it was – might well have gone to Lewis had he been fit.”It’s a terrible blow for him, it really is. He was the victim of the dominoeffect. He had to take up my share of overs and suffered a stress fracturepartly as a result. And that means the club are without another leading bowler. It has been a frustrating year.”There were some raised eyebrows around the circuit when the speed cameras were introduced for one-day games. They showed Smith to be consistently around 82 mph – much quicker than was formerly believed.”That didn’t surprise me at all. Because I’m not tall I may not get the eye-catching bounce, but the ball speed is measured through the air, so skiddy bowlers like me can be deceptive.”He admits that life as a spectator hasn’t been particularly easy. “At the start watching was hard, and the final of the B & H at Lord’s was really terrible [Gloucestershire lost to Surrey]. I haven’t been to all the away games, but I have been watching when I can. Now it’s fine. I’m a pretty calm individual and if there’s nothing I can do about it I don’t worry.”Smith is a local favourite at Gloucestershire, and is enjoying a benefitseason this year. “I’ve been overwhelmed by the support I’ve received. Peoplehave told me to take my time and make sure I come back fully fit. They’ve been great.”And the future? “I’ve been studying for a law degree, so that is where my future lies. But not just yet.”

Indian pace spearhead Javagal Srinath should be fit in three weeks,noted orthopaedic surgeon Dr HPC Khincha indicated in Bangalore onMonday.Dr Khincha ruled out the speedster’s injury was “serious.””He may not be able to bat or field for three weeks,” said Khincha,whom Srinath consulted on Sunday, immediately after he flew back homefrom Sri Lanka where he suffered a fracture in the little finger ofhis left hand in the Galle Test.”That he has bowled in a match after getting injured is a good sign.Srinath has a fracture of the left fifth metacarpal bone joining thelittle finger and the wrist,” he said.The Indian speedster had suffered the injury after being struck by aDilharo Fernando delivery in the first innings in last week’s GalleTest in Sri Lanka. Srinath did not bat again in the match but grabbedfive wickets in the first innings.That Srinath should be fit in three weeks’ will come as a relief tothe Indian team dogged by injury woes. Apart from the speedster, otherkey players missing from the side due to injuries are SachinTendulkar, VVS Laxman, Ashish Nehra and Anil Kumble.

* India’s top pacemen to train under LilleeThe fast bowlers in the Indian team for the upcoming one-day triseries have all been told by Indian coach John Wright to undergo aspecial training stint with legendary fast bowler Dennis Lillee at theChennai-based MRF Pace foundation. Senior quick Javagal Srinath hasthough been allowed to stay back at Bangalore.”Venkatesh Prasad, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Reetinder Singh Sodhiand Harvinder Singh will undergo a special stint under the watchfuleyes of (Australian pace guru) Dennis Lillee at Chennai from September14-17,” BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele told cricketnext.com.”Wright had advised us on this matter at the selection committeemeeting (to pick the squad at Mumbai on September 7), but at that timeLillee’s scheduled arrival had not been finalised,” he added.Prasad, Khan, Nehra and Sodhi have all been named in the 15-man squadfor South Africa. Harvinder is reportedly one among the five stand-byswho could get a call-up if one of the main players is found to beunfit.It must be remembered that a column on appeared on CricInfo, dated 4September 2001, that advocated this very move.* Mumbai HC dismisses claim challenging clothing sponsorship contractThe Mumbai High Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeal filed by GayatriArts, a city-based company, challenging the BCCI’s decision to awardclothing sponsorship for international matches for the next threeyears to the International Management Group (IMG). Gayathri Arts hadcontended that the contract be scrapped as they had made the highestbid of Rs 90 crore. But Justices Ajit Shah and Sharad Bobde dismissedthe appeal as they found that no contract was concluded between BCCIand the company.* BCCI name manager for SA tourDr MK Bhargawa of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association has beennamed the manager of the India team for South Africa, according to areport in cricketnext.com. “The president has decided that Dr Bhargawawill be the manager,” BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele told the site. DrBhargawa had managed the team when India visited Australia in1999-2000.”Yes, there was some talk that Shivlal Yadav (former Test off spinnerand national selector and current secretary of the Hyderabad CricketAssociation) may be sent as manager, but finally the president haschosen Dr Bhargawa”, Lele added.* Young bowler in hospital after being hit on the eyeK Kaushik, a 19-year-old medium pacer, playing in the Moin-Ud-Dowlahtournament lost an eye after being hit by a full-blooded drive onTuesday.Kaushik, appearing for Districts XI on Tuesday, was bowling to SudhirWankhede of the Railways when the latter stepped out and smashed adrive straight back at him. It hit Kaushik on his left eye after hefailed to get out of harm’s way. He was immediately shifted to ahospital where doctors operated upon him. They could not howeverconfirm whether the youngster would regain his vision.

AUCKLAND, NZ – All eyes are on star all-rounder Chris Cairns as the NewZealand cricket selectors consider their Test squad for the tour ofAustralia.With the tour of Pakistan almost certain to be cancelled in the comingdays, Sir Richard Hadlee’s panel is faced with re-selecting the squadfor Australia within the next three weeks.That would allow the players time to prepare for a build-up which couldbegin as early as October 23, and a touring schedule which starts inBrisbane on November 1.Cairns hasn’t played for New Zealand in nearly a year – going back aone-day international against South Africa last November – but waspoised to create the biggest re-shuffle in the squad picked for theaborted Pakistan tour.The 31-year-old was on the recovery trail after undergoing surgery torelieve a patella tendonitis problem in his right knee and was showingencouraging signs of being available for the Australian series.NZC fitness adviser Warren Frost said today Cairns was making steadyprogress towards a full recovery and was hopeful he would be availablefor selection.”Our goal is to try to have him right for Australia but we wouldn’t letthat goal over-ride the player’s best interests,” Frost said.”At the moment Chris is ‘smashing’ his leg, which involves working hardon his strength. Three times a week he’s bowling about eight overs offhalf a run-up, and he’s now running on grass as opposed to the gymnasiumtreadmill.”The only other lingering question is whether Hadlee’s panel will againoverlook batsman Matt Horne, whose 29-Test career has so far realisedfour centuries, including an innings of 133 in the third Test at Hobartin 1997-98.Horne struggled in his most recent Test against Zimbabwe in Wellingtonin December, when he compiled one and nought.He had a successful tour of India with New Zealand A, and can point tosome reasonable success in the international arena and a first-classaverage of 41.

A fine opening stand of 221 between Graeme Smith and Andrew Puttick put Nashua WP in the driving seat at the end of the first days play in the Supersport Series match against luckless Boland at BOE Park in Paarl.WP skipper HD Ackerman won the toss on a placid pitch and elected to bat first. His decision was vindicated as WP reached 306/2 at the end of day one thanks mainly to centuries from Smith and Puttick. At the end Puttick was undefeated on 142 runs. Smith who dominted the latter stages of the parnership with Puttick was dismissed for 122. The other WP batter back in the hut was last weekends hero Jonathan Trott who fell to a brilliant catch at mid wicket.The Boland bowlers struggled the entire day without much success.

Sat 13 Apr to Mon 15 Apr UCCE Cardiff UCCE (TAUNTON) (3 days)Wed 24 Apr to Sat 27 Apr CCH Sussex (Hove) (4 days)Sun 28 Apr BHC Warwicks (Edgbaston) (1 day)Tue 30 Apr BHC Glamorgan (TAUNTON) (1 day)Fri 3 May BHC Northants (TAUNTON) (1 day)Sun 5 May BHC Gloucester (Bristol) (1 day)Mon 6 May BHC Worcester (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 8 May to Sat 11 May CCH Yorkshire (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 12 May NUL Yorkshire (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 15 May to Sat 18 May CCH Leicester (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 19 May NUL Worcester (New Road) (1 day)Tue 21 May OR Wed 22 May P BHC ** Benson & Hedges ** (1 day)Fri 24 May to Mon 27 May CCH Surrey (AMP Oval) (4 days)Wed 29 May CGT Yorks CB (Scarborough) (1 day)Thu 6 Jun OR Fri 7 Jun P BHC ** Benson & Hedges ** (1 day)Sun 9 Jun NUL Warwicks (Edgbaston) (1 day)Wed 12 Jun to Sat 15 Jun CCH Hampshire (BATH) (4 days)Sun 16 Jun NUL Leicester (BATH) (1 day)Tue 18 Jun OR Wed 19 Jun P CGT *** CGT Trophy *** (1 day)Fri 21 Jun P Sri Lanka (TAUNTON) (1 day)Sat 22 Jun P BHC ** Benson & Hedges ** (1 day)Sun 23 Jun P Sri Lanka (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 26 Jun to Sat 29 Jun CCH Warwicks (Edgbaston) (4 days)Sun 30 Jun NUL Glamorgan (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 3 Jul to Sat 6 Jul CCH Surrey (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 7 Jul NUL Worcester (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 10 Jul to Sat 13 Jul CCH Yorkshire (Scarborough) (4 days)Sun 14 Jul NUL Yorkshire (Scarborough) (1 day)Tue 16 Jul OR Wed 17 Jul P CGT *** CGT Trophy *** (1 day)Fri 19 Jul to Mon 22 Jul CCH Sussex (TAUNTON) (4 days)Wed 24 Jul to Sat 27 Jul W. Indies ‘A’ (TAUNTON) (4 days)Wed 31 Jul OR Thu 1 Aug P CGT *** CGT Trophy *** (1 day)Sat 3 Aug NUL Glamorgan (Cardiff) (1 day)Wed 7 Aug to Sat 10 Aug CCH Kent (Canterbury) (4 days)Sun 11 Aug NUL Kent (Canterbury) (1 day)Wed 14 Aug to Sat 17 Aug WOMEN’S TEST Eng v Ind (TAUNTON) (4 days)Wed 14 Aug to Sat 17 Aug CCH Hampshire (Rose Bowl) (4 days)Sun 18 Aug NUL Notts (Trentbridge) (1 day)Mon 19 Aug F NUL Notts (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 21 Aug to Sat 24 Aug CCH Warwicks (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 25 Aug NUL Warwicks (TAUNTON) (1 day)Tue 27 Aug to Fri 30 Aug CCH Lancashire (tbc) (4 days)Thu 29 Aug U19 ODI Eng v India (TAUNTON) (1 day)Fri 30 Aug U19 ODI Eng v India (TAUNTON) (1 day)Sat 31 Aug P CGT *** CGT Trophy *** (1 day)Sun 1 Sep or Mon 2 Sep NUL Durham (Riverside) (1 day)Wed 4 Sep to Sat 7 Sep CCH Kent (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 8 Sep NUL Kent (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 11 Sep F NUL Leicester (Grace Road) (1 day)Thu 12 Sep to Sun 15 Sep CCH Leicester (Grace Road) (4 days)Wed 18 Sep to Sat 21 Sep CCH Lancashire (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 22 Sep NUL Durham (TAUNTON) (1 day)F = Floodlit matchP = Possible match

Punjab came roaring back after conceding a crucial first-innings lead of 56 runs to score 397 for three declared, off only 56 overs, against Services in their North Zone Ranji match at Amritsar on Friday.The day began with Services’ revelation of the season, 19-year-old Yashpal Singh, giving a pasting to the Punjab bowling attack and scoring a superb 202. He reached his maiden double century in style with a delectable leg-glance for four off left-arm spinner Babloo Kumar. He thus made the most of a life he got on 141 when Sandeep Sawal dropped him at mid-on off Babloo Kumar. Yashpal Singh also demolished Dinesh Mongia’s bowling, scoring 28 runs in the 102nd over. The sequence of balls in the over read: 6,4,0,6,6,6.Stung by Services’ reply, Punjab’s batsmen launched an attack on the mediocre Services bowling line up. Pankaj Dharmani played another scintillating knock of 127 not out. He showed immense patience and, later, some pluck, going after the bowlers and helping himself to seven boundaries and three sixes. This was Dharmani’s third consecutive century and second of the match. His average in the first two matches of the season is now a staggering 352.Yuvraj Singh played a characteristically breezy knock of 90 in just 77 balls. His innings was peppered with 10 hits to the fence and a six. Punjab’s run-machine Dinesh Mongia also scored a quickfire 73 off 44 balls. He went after left-arm spinner Arun Sharma and hoicked him for two sixes on the trot. Later he thumped strike bowler Sudhakar Ghag for a six and a couple of boundaries. Reetinder Singh Sodhi chipped in with a valuable 40 not out.In reply, Services were 13 for one in 10 overs. Set a target of 342, they have to knock off the required runs in 90 overs on Day Four.Sangram Singh hits courageous centuryA defiant knock of 100 from Sangram Singh and a 179-run third-wicket partnership between Singh and Rajiv Nayyar (97) helped host Himachal Pradesh build a huge total of 345 for 7 declared in their second innings. Their declaration thus set a target of 303 for Jammu and Kashmir on the third day of the North Zone Ranji tie at Mandi on Friday.Resuming overnight at 73 for two, Nayyar and Singh steadily carried the score to 223, when Sangram was finally bowled by Ashwani Gupta just after completing his century. Nayyar was also bowled by Ashwani Gupta at 242 for four.Captain Varinder Sharma (51) and Amit Sharma (51*) were able to push the score to 320, placing the host team in a comfortable position. The skipper declared the innings at 345 for 7 after Shakti Singh (0) and Ashok Kumar Thakur (4) were dismissed cheaply. Jagtar Singh, Ashwani Gupta and Raju Sharma took two wickets each conceding 118, 58 and 31 runs respectively.While Varinder Sharma’s 51 was studded with eight fours, Sangram Singh hit 14 boundaries in his century knock, a good illustration of his strokeplay and attitude. Nayyar, equally controlled, hit 15 fours.Jammu and Kashmir were 38 without loss at stumps, with Ranjit Bali (13*)and Raju Sharma (18*) at the crease.Haryana collapse in second inningsRiding on the devastating spells of Delhi bowlers Abhishek Sharma and Sarandeep Singh, who claimed three wickets each, the hosts tightened their grip over Haryana to sniff victory on the penultimate day of the North Zone Ranji match at Delhi.Resuming at an overnight score of 288 for seven, Delhi added 39 runs to take a slender first-innings lead. Nitin Aggarwal was Haryana’s most successful bowler, taking 4-56, while Amit Mishra claimed 3-82.After conceding a thin 11-run lead to Delhi, the visitors began their second essay on a weak note as they lost their opener Padamjeet Shehrawat (24) for a score of 41.Four runs later, Haryana faced two successive jolts when batsmen Ishan Ganda (4) and Parinder Sharma (0) became victims of Abhishek Sharma. Struggling at 45 for three, Chetan Sharma and Shafiq Khan showed their composure and negotiated the bowling well to keep the scoreboard ticking. The pair added 69 runs for the fifth wicket before Sharma was caught by Pradeep Chawla off Amit Bhandari for 35.Shafiq waged a lone battle as no batsman displayed enough patience to stay at a wicket that was friendly to them. With the scoreboard reading 167 for five, Shafiq was caught by Akash Chopra off Abhishek Sharma. He made the highest score of the innings, 71, with the help of 11 hits to the fence and one six.In a span of 13 runs, the visiting team lost three batsmen, all trapped legbefore by Sarandeep Singh. Abhishek Sharma returned figures of 3-31 while Sarandeep claimed 3-57.At the close of play, Haryana were struggling on 180 for eight in their second innings, with Ajay Ratra and Gaurav Vashisht unbeaten on 30 and two respectively.

Chris Drum, the 27-year-old Auckland medium-fast bowler, worked up good speed while he was demolishing the touring Bangladesh cricket side with his ten-wicket bag at Eden Park Outer Oval, but have to move even more smartly on Tuesday morning.Drum has been included in the New Zealand 12 preparing for the first Test against Bangladesh starting at WestpacTrust Park on Tuesday. However, he is aware of the public (and perhaps untimely) statement by Sir Richard Hadlee, the chairman of selectors, that Drum is most likely to be 12th man for the Test.Drum has taken that comment on the chin, but is also aware that Auckland are starting a State Championship four-day match against Otago at Carisbrook, and Drum would prefer action at Carisbrook to being supercargo at Hamilton.”Things are working toward getting me to Dunedin,” said Drum today, his ten-wicket smile still spread over his handsome face. “I will have to stay in Hamilton until Tuesday morning in case something goes wrong with the team, but if I am not wanted I will get to Dunedin as quickly as possible.”Drum was delighted with his first ten-wicket bag for Auckland not so much because he was playing against inexperienced batsmen, but because he worked to a good line and kept up his pace very well – his match figures were 39.3 overs, 16 maidens, 66 runs, 10 wickets.It also convinced Drum, in his first four-day match of the season, that all his annoying past aches and injuries had gone, especially the damaged A/C joint which took him out of his comeback Test against Pakistan last season.”I was able to give it 10 weeks rest before I tried bowling again, and it seems to be holding up very well.”Getting 10 wickets in an Auckland win gave me a real buzz, and I am delighted that I feel fully fit, and am in the Test team frame again.”

Sri Lanka’s five-man selection panel has picked two uncapped players in a14-man squad for the Janashakthi National Test series against Zimbabwestarting next Thursday.Matara born fast bowler Prabath Nissanka, 21, who made his limited oversdebut in Sharjah in October and played in one game during the recentlycompleted LG Abans tri-series, comes into squad in place of fast bowlingall-rounder Suresh Perera.Middle order batsman Chamara Silva is introduced into the squad afterMichael Vandort broke a finger in his left hand whilst training with hisclub. Vandort is expected to be available for selection in time for thesecond Test in Kandy.The 22-year-old right-hander, who has played eight One-Day Internationals,celebrated his call-up with a brilliant century (127 from 118 balls) againstthe Zimbabweans in their three day warm-up game, but will only play in thefirst Test if there is an injury to one of the established top six.Leggie Upul Chandana is left out, partly because he failed to impress duringthe LG Abans series, but also because the selectors, with one eye on theupcoming overseas tours, are keen to return to a fast bowler focusedstrategy during this series.So, left-arm spinner Niroshan Bandaratillake, who remains in the squaddespite claiming just four wickets in the West Indies series, is unlikely toplay.Nissanka and Charitha Buddika will compete for the third fast bowlers slot,but Buddika, who made his Test debut against West Indies in Galle, remainsthe leading contender with his recent good form and greater reliability.Sri Lanka:Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, RusselArnold, Kumar Sangakkara, Hashan Tillakaratne, Chamara Silva, ThilanSamaraweera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, CharithaBuddika Fernando, Prabath Nissanka, Niroshan Bandaratillake

Christchurch’s weather has been much better behaved in the latter part of this week and if it remains that way the stage is set for a thrilling opening to the ICC Under-19 World Cup at Bert Sutcliffe Oval when host New Zealand meet Sri Lanka in the tournament opener.Both teams have had victories in the warm-up games available to them in the rain-affected build-up, New Zealand over Pakistan and Sri Lanka over England.It is a tough task for the New Zealanders, apart from the fact they are playing at home in front of local supporters, they also have to live with the fact that the CLEAR Black Caps are performing so well in Australia, the national side are the defending ICC KnockOut champions and the women are the holders of the CricInfo Women’s World Cup.That realistically should not be a problem as they settle into the tournament because they have enough else to think about.Qualifying for the Super League part of the programme is top of the list. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are in one of the tougher pools with Zimbabwe the other Test-playing nation in their group while Namibia is expected to be a tough competitor.No slip-ups can be afforded.New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch said losing one of the planned warm-up games was a disappointment and unlike some other sides, New Zealand’s opening game of the tournament meant it had no time for another warm-up game today.Greatbatch said he was very keen to see his team of talented young players perform as naturally as they could with some helpful structures in place so they maximise their opportunities.”We don’t want to stifle their flair but there is a fine line. We would have liked another game.”We have three Test-playing nations in our pool so we can’t take any game lightly,” he said.The Auckland pool where India, South Africa, Bangladesh and Canada meet is the other pool with three Test-playing nations in it.Pakistan and England are joined by Papua New Guinea and Nepal in the second Christchurch pool while Australia and the West Indies are in Dunedin along with Scotland and Kenya.Other pool play begins in all three venues on Sunday.”We need to be urgent in what we do and we need to do the basics right,” Greatbatch said.New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Martin Snedden spoke to the side when it first assembled in Christchurch and reminded them of the methods the senior New Zealand team used when they took part for the first time in the tri-series in Australia in the summer of 1980/81.”They used a policy of hitting straight, bowling straight, containing the opposition and fielding precisely and if they could do that consistently they knew they would go close,” he said.Sri Lankan coach Owen Mottau said the weather had been frustrating for his side but there was nothing that could be done about that. His players were also having to adapt to cooler conditions than those they were used to.”I don’t think out boys have seen such green wickets. The ball doesn’t seem to spin that much but it is a matter of coping with the conditions. That is what they Under-19 tournament is all about, they’ve got to learn to think about it,” he said.The Sri Lankan side was made up of schoolboys. They were a good fielding side and they bowled reasonably well.”If our batting clicks that would make us very competitive.”Expectations in Sri Lanka are high, but they are high whenever Sri Lankan teams play. Our first goal is to make the Super League, we’re not thinking past that,” Mottau said.Teams will be chosen from:New Zealand: Ross Taylor (captain), Simon Allen, Michael Bates, Peter Borren, Neil Broom, Leighton Burtt, Brook Hatwell, Stephen Murdoch, Rob Nicol, Iain Robertson, Jesse Ryder, Ian Sandbrook, Jordan Sheed, Richard Sherlock.Sri Lanka: Dhammika Niroshana, Jeewan Mendis, Kanchana Gunawardene, Chandra Kumara, Chatrith Fernando, Damith Indika, Eashan Abeysinghe, Chrishanth Perera, Lasith Fernando, Upul Tharanga, Prasad Ranwaka, Lakpriya Wijesiriwardene, Mohamed Maharoof, Dammika Prasad.The full programme of games for the weekend is (all games start at 10.30am):Saturday: Group B – New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Bert Sutcliffe Oval. Sunday: Group A – Bangladesh v South Africa, Colin Maiden Park No 1, Auckland; Group B – Zimbabwe v Namibia, Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Christchurch; Group C – Pakistan v Papua New Guina, Lincoln Green, Christchurch; Group D – Australia v Kenya, Carisbrook, Dunedin.