Rising Associate v struggling Full Member

Match Facts

March 17, 2014
Start time 1530 local (0930 GMT)

Big Picture

One is a Full Member and one an Associate. That itself tells the story, and also does not. Zimbabwe are probably the poorest advertisement for a Full Member with their chronic struggles - financial, administrative, cricketing. But they continue to be a Full Member. Ireland are probably the best advertisement for an Associate, banging hard on the door of cricket's small and privileged clique with encouraging performances. But they continue to be an Associate. One can argue in favour of changing the status quo in both cases.

In that sense, this is a clash filled with significance, both symbolic and real, for the wider cricketing world. Symbolic because it pits one still included mostly by virtue of being already in against one still excluded mostly by virtue of having never been allowed in.

Real because Bangladesh v Afghanistan and Ireland v Zimbabwe were widely expected to be the two games that would decide who qualifies for the Super 10 stage of the World T20. Bangladesh could have slipped on the banana peel again, like they did in the Asia Cup, but this time, they crushed it. Both Ireland and Zimbabwe will have probably seen that and drawn their lessons from it.

Zimbabwe have endured the embarrassment of a loss to Hong Kong in the warm-ups but rebounded by downing Ireland's fellow Associate high-fliers Afghanistan. Ireland beat Nepal in their first practice game but were then quelled by Bangladesh. Both sides can claim the upper hand on various counts. Zimbabwe have subsisted on training sessions and practice games for months now, while Ireland have recently defeated West Indies in the Caribbean.

Zimbabwe have been to Bangladesh many more times than Ireland have, and their players have been a regular feature in Bangladeshi leagues such as the BPL and the DPL.

Neither side has played in Sylhet, though, and the brand new Sylhet Divisional Stadium would be a fitting location for those seeking to establish a new order to challenge the old, and the old to resist them.

Form guide

Ireland LWWWL
Zimbabwe LLLWL

Watch out for

Zimbabwe have not played international cricket since September, so there is little to go by in terms of current form. Hamilton Masakadza struck 93 off just 52 balls, including seven sixes, against Afghanistan in the warm-up. He likes to take his time in the one-dayers, but once in the mood, he can cause plenty of damage in quick time. He also has three T20 hundreds to his name.

Paul Stirling may not have a hundred in the format, but by the time he falls, he's often set the match up for Ireland with his uninhibited hitting. To have a strike-rate of close to 140 over 84 games takes some doing, and to add to that, he can also be utilised for some overs of offspin, something that Ireland will likely find handy in Bangladesh.

Team news

William Porterfield spoke highly of the young offspinner Andy McBrine, saying he had impressed over the last six weeks in the West Indies and in the warm-up matches. The combination of the experienced George Dockrell and the rookie McBrine could test Zimbabwe, who have tended to struggle against spin in the past.

Ireland 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Andrew Poynter, 5 Gary Wilson (wk), 6 Kevin O'Brien, 7 Max Sorensen, 8 Alex Cusack, 9 Tim Murtagh, 10 George Dockrell, 11 Andy McBrine/Stuart Thompson

Zimbabwe have brought along two legspinners in Tafadzwa Kamungozi and Natsai M'Shangwe. The 26-year old Kamungozi last played for Zimbabwe back in 2006. Sikandar Raza has opened with Hamilton Masakadza in both the warm-up matches. Will Zimbabwe continue with the same pairing or go back to Vusi Sibanda at the top of the order?

Zimbabwe 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Sikandar Raza, 3 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 4 Vusi Sibanda, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Malcolm Waller, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Natsai M'Shangwe/Tafadzwa Kamungozi, 10 Tinashe Panyangara, 10 Tendai Chatara/Brian Vitori/Shingi Masakadza

Stats and trivia

• Ireland beat Zimbabwe in the previous meeting between the two sides, a one-dayer in 2010
• This will be the first T20 between the two sides
• Sylhet will become the 208th international cricket venue

Quotes

"The fact that we haven't played them in a T20 before does not really matter. When you play against each other in international cricket, everyone knows pretty much everyone."
Ireland captain William Porterfield

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Netherlands seek batting turnaround

Match facts

March 17, 2014
Start time 1930 local (1330 GMT)

Big picture

The scene outside the Sylhet Divisional Stadium was typically subcontinental. Long queues stretched outside the ticket windows, heated arguments ensued when someone tried to sneak in, and there were plenty of security personnel. The only difference was that hosts Bangladesh are not going to play in Sylhet.

Try filling a 14000-capacity stadium in India for a game not involving MS Dhoni's side. Then try doing it for a match involving two Associate teams. Good luck with that. This is what makes Bangladeshis probably the most passionate followers of the game on the subcontinent, and by extension, the world. Teams such as Netherlands and UAE could not have got a hungrier audience.

Peter Borren, the Netherlands captain, said at the press conference that no one would recognise his players on the streets of Amsterdam. They might go unnoticed in Sylhet as well, at least for now, but the crowd will nevertheless appreciate what Borren and his men have to offer.

Borren will hope the offerings do not mirror what his batsmen have dished out in the warm-up matches. Against Hong Kong, they were 84 for 3 in the 12th over chasing 128, and collapsed to 100 all out. Against Afghanistan, they were 49 for 2 in the sixth over chasing 122 in 15, and slumped to 86 all out. An exasperated Borren had said he was pi**ed off with his batsmen. There is no reason for him to have that feeling with a varied attack in which up to eight men can be counted upon to contribute.

Netherlands will need all the contributions they can come up with, for as the UAE captain Khurram Khan said, his side are more used to the slow-and-low tracks that Bangladesh usually offers. While a world event is not exactly unfamiliar territory for Netherlands, UAE will be out to enjoy what Khurram called the "biggest moment" for his players when they walk out under lights on Monday evening.

Watch out for

Given their batting woes in the warm-ups, Netherlands will be glad they will have the services of Tom Cooper, who is an injury replacement for Tim Gruijters. Cooper brings with him years of experience in the Australian domestic circuit, which could prove useful in case Netherlands threaten to implode again.

If the Sylhet pitch plays anywhere close to how Dhaka and Chittagong usually do, the veteran left-arm spinner Shadeep Silva, who began his career in Sri Lanka, should enjoy bowling on it. Another veteran is captain Khurram Khan, who at 42 is still his side's leading batsman. Who said T20 is a young man's game?

Teams

Netherlands (from): Peter Borren (capt), Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari, Ben Cooper, Tom Cooper, Tom Heggelman, Ahsan Malik, Vivian Kingma, Stephan Myburgh, Michael Rippon, Pieter Seelaar, Michael Swart, Eric Szwarczynski, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten

UAE (from): Khurram Khan (capt), Ahmed Raza, Amjad Ali, Amjad Javed, Faizan Asif, Manjula Guruge, Kamran Shazad, Moaaz Qazi, Swapnil Patil (wk), Rohan Mustafa, Rohit Singh, Shaiman Anwar, Sharif Asadullah, Vikrant Shetty, Shadeep Silva

Stats and trivia

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Borren vows to make amends for World Cup exit

"No one knows the Netherlands cricket team in Holland," said Peter Borren, the Netherlands captain, responding to a question on cricket having a significantly smaller following compared to football back home. With such a tiny cricket base, Borren said he was proud of what his side had achieved in the past decade, having represented the nation in multiple world tournaments. Failure to qualify for the 2015 World Cup has been a huge setback, though, and Borren hoped his team could prosper enough in the World T20 to show the world that Netherlands cricket had not regressed.

"Cricket is not a very big sport in Holland," Borren said. "Football and hockey are huge. We come here representing a very small cricketing community. We are very proud to do that. We are not going to be walking around in Amsterdam and people recognising us. It is not like (footballer Robin) van Persie or anything like that.

"For us to come and represent Holland on the global stage is a very big achievement actually for Netherlands cricket because it is not a big sport there and we hope that in the last ten years we have had some opportunities to do that. The cricketing community is not so big but Holland has done very well in that sense. We are very proud of what we have done.

"We hope to cause some upsets here, perhaps we can grow the sport a little bit more in Holland then. I guess every time the national team does well and we can get some sort of press coverage back home, that is a real bonus and hopefully we can get more people keen on the game in Holland and we can go from strength to strength from there."

Borren said the importance of the World T20 for Netherlands had increased after the recent World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand, where they finished fourth in their group and lost their ODI status. "The significance of this tournament because of what happened in New Zealand is now greater. It is an opportunity for us in a way to make a bit of a statement that what happened in New Zealand was not a fair reflection of where this team has come in the last three years. It is quite a cut-throat sort of tournament, you can have a bad day and you cannot afford it. We had two of those in New Zealand and I guess that really cost us.

"Coming here straight after is a very good thing for us. As I said, we have a chance to make amends, to prove to people, not just back home in Holland, but in the Associate world, also the world of cricket, that Netherlands cricket has improved in the last three-four years and we are better than what happened in New Zealand."

Borren expected his bowlers to play a big role in helping Netherlands achieve that aim in the World T20. While he hoped his batsmen's struggles in the warm-up games would not affect their performance in the tournament, he said his attack, which includes a left-arm chinaman spinner, could make it difficult for opposition line-ups.

"We have got a lot of variety in our attack actually. It is very easy for me out in the middle as I have eight guys who can bowl and for different batters and wickets, we have got options. It is not necessary that our bowlers have to bowl four overs either. Someone could come on, bowl one over, do the job and get out of there again.

"That is a real bonus for me as a captain. Sometimes it gets difficult in T20 if you have only five-six bowlers. Very happy with our attack, the way we have been going in the last two matches. I think we are going to present a good challenge to the batting opposition in our next three games."

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'We want to do it for our people' - Khadka

On the eve of Holi, the Hindu festival that will be celebrated throughout Nepal, the country's cricket team provided another reason rejoice. Not that they need much excuse. Nepal's cricket following is perhaps more widely known than many of the players, although the captain, Paras Khadka, is making quite a mark at the World T20, where he led his team to an exhilarating victory over Hong Kong on their tournament debut.

Cheered on by a strong contingent of Chittagong-based Nepalis, mostly made up university students, and in front of a global TV audience, Nepal showed their nerve as well as their skill. Khadka described victory as "gift to our people", thousands of whom had turned out to watch the game on big screens in town squares around the country. Holi, known as the festival of colour, will be all the more vibrant because of it.

"That's what we play for, as cricketers, the fan following and the amount of love and support that everybody gives us," he said, "I think it is one of the biggest motivational factors for us to do well. Everywhere we go, all over the world, we get massive support and we want to do it for our people. It's the colour festival back home, so it's one of our gifts to our people. We're pretty happy with what we did today."

Nepal's story has been one for the romantics but the ardour has been known to overtake the players. Attacking strokes abounded, particularly from the openers in a rapid partnership but Nepal were indebted to a cool-headed partnership between Khadka and Gyanendra Malla, two of the team's most experienced players. The innings fell away again after Khadka's departure, with 33 scored off the last 22 balls as Nepal just failed to pass 150.

"That's something we are used to, both of us have been doing it for a very long time so it was nothing new for us," Khadka said of his stand with Malla. "Thankfully we had a very good start, building up the momentum. I still feel we should have got at least 10-15 runs more than we did but in a tournament like this you need to execute everything right.

"Fortunately today Hong Kong didn't have a very good day with the bat but then, if you want to do well in the tournament, I'd say we were short. As batsmen we try to build it up for the latter stages, the finishing wasn't as good as we wanted but as long as we win we'll take it every day."

With the hosts, Bangladesh, next up, Khadka was already eyeing areas for improvement. Nepal's fanbase will be swamped by an equally passionate home crowd on Tuesday - although Khadka said his players would be "only hearing the Nepali supporters" - with the winner taking a significant step towards the second round, after Bangladesh's emphatic win over Afghanistan.

"We have done most things right today but there are still a lot of things we need to do, especially against Bangladesh," Khadka said. "They had a very good day as well so it's a matter of starting all over again."

Jamie Atkinson, Hong Kong's captain, cut a contrasting figure after the game, the disappointment plain to see on his face. He said that the performance "wasn't really a true reflection of Hong Kong cricket", which is probably fair after impressive performances against more-established sides during the warm-ups. Both Hong Kong and Nepal were playing their first T20 internationals, as well as being introduced to the pressure of performing in front of TV audience running into the millions. "In the end it was probably the big stage that got to us," Atkinson said.

"We had a good build up to the match, there was a relaxed feeling in the dressing-room. It was a big game for Hong Kong cricket, as it was for Nepal. In the end they've handled that better than us. There was quite a big crowd for a Hong Kong game and we haven't really experienced that in the past. That contributed a bit. There was always going to be nerves among all the players, being a first T20I for every single player in the team."

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Stokes breaks wrist punching locker

Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the World T20 after breaking his wrist when he punched a locker in the dressing room following his dismissal in the final T20 against West Indies.

He will be replaced for the event by Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, and it is the second enforced change to England's squad following the broken thumb sustained by Joe Root earlier in the tour.

Stokes was dismissed first ball in the third T20, bowled by Krishmar Santokie, and the injury occurred a short while later in the dressing room.

"I am really disappointed to be missing out on going to a World T20 with England," Stokes said. "It was a huge error in judgement following a frustrating tour for me and I deeply regret my behaviour. I would like to wish the team all the very best in Bangladesh."

Stokes' tour with the bat brought scores of 5, 4, 0, 4 and 0 while he also had a very limited role to play with the ball. It has been a rapid decline in fortunes after he was one of the few England players to emerge with any credit from the Ashes tour after scoring a hundred in Perth and putting in some feisty bowling displays.

It is unclear at the moment what the recovery timeframe will be for Stokes and whether he will be available for the start of Durham's County Championship season.

Woakes, meanwhile, has played just four T20s for England, the most recent being against New Zealand, at The Oval, last June. He has claimed two wickets in those matches and has an economy rate of over 10 an over.

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Duncan Fletcher's job safe - BCCI secretary

The India coaching staff, comprising the trio of Duncan Fletcher, Trevor Penney and Joe Dawes has received the "wholehearted" support of the BCCI in the wake of raging criticism in the media recently. In the wake of India's defeats on the overseas tours of South Africa and New Zealand and their early exit from the Asia Cup prompted critics to point fingers at the trio, including former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who said he would give Fletcher a rating of 1.5 on a scale of 10 for his coaching acumen.

"We deny all reports about Fletcher's job being in danger," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told ESPNcricinfo. "Everything will continue as it is. No difference (with regards to the coaching staff). Duncan wanted to continue, and he has our whole-hearted support from BCCI."

Fletcher, who took over as the head coach in 2011 after Gary Kirsten left the position, had signed a one-year extension to his contract last year. Although his contract comes to an end on March 31, both he and the BCCI had mutually agreed earlier to continue till the end of the World T20. Despite the BCCI insisting that it had no plans to oust Fletcher, the speculation in the media has persisted about his future.

But when Fletcher did not land along with the rest of the Indian squad in Dhaka earlier today, and instead went to Chennai to meet BCCI president N Srinivasan and Patel and few other senior board officials, the doubts grew louder about the coach's fate. However Patel silenced all the doubters, denying all claims of the BCCI deciding to sack anyone from the coaching staff.

Asked if the renewal of the coaching staff's contracts were discussed, Patel said it was a routine meeting where the BCCI wanted to take stock of the situation. "It was a normal meeting. Unfortunately due to a busy schedule we could not meet the coaches. Normally what happens is during our one-on-one meetings we (BCCI and coach) discuss what their requirements are and if they need any extra support and all such things. Since we had not met for a while, we decided to call the coaches," Patel said.

An annoyed Patel rubbished speculation brewing in the media and even questioned certain reports. "Who are we to give an ultimatum? And will a person like Duncan listen to us giving any ultimatum? There was no discussion about any such thing," Patel said. "People are using words like summons issued to coaches. Are they culprits to be issued summons?"

However, India captain MS Dhoni had to face the question about Fletcher when he landed in Dhaka for his first press conference ahead of the World T20, having skipped the traditional pre-tour press conference . Asked about the coach's absence, Dhoni refused to answer. The Indian team's media manager even said they were not aware of any meeting between the coach and the BCCI.

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'Organise more Tests for Tests to survive' - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar believes the ICC needs to organise more Tests, if it wants the format to survive

ESPNcricinfo staff March 14, 2014

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"When I think batting, I think about smashing the ball

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Sachin Tendulkar believes the ICC needs to organise more Tests, if it wants the format to survive. At the same time, he feels, no player can be forced to play a Test match, because it is the format that will always catch you out if you are not mentally and technically prepared.

Speaking at the seventh annual ESPNcricinfo awards night, in Mumbai, where he was named Cricketer of the Generation, Tendulkar also pointed out how the game has evolved in recent times, in large part due to the influence of limited-overs cricket. Twenty20 cricket, he said, complements Test cricket.

"The ICC should take notice of it and organise more Test matches if they want Test cricket to survive," Tendulkar said, while accepting his award. "[But] I still believe Test cricket is in good hands, players are producing unbelievable cricket. If you see around the world, most matches have results, very few are drawn, which is probably due to T20s, so the formats are complementing each other. If you want more guys to follow cricket, T20 is an ideal format to introduce people to cricket. Gradually they can progress to one-day cricket and Test cricket."

There's no point forcing Test cricket down throats, Tendulkar said, since that would only eat into the quality of the game. "When it comes to players though, you cannot force someone to like Test cricket. If you are passionate about Test cricket, it has to be from within. And if it doesn't exist in some cases, don't force him, leave him, let him play one-day and T20 cricket. Test cricket is the ultimate format and it's one format where the bowlers are always going to get you out. In Tests, you require planning, vision and execution. It doesn't happen that much in T20 cricket, where you can be a hero in three balls."

The game changed, especially in the second half of his 24-year career, Tendulkar said. He pointed out innovations in field placements, batting and bowling styles. Some of those changes, Tendulkar said, resulted in him curbing his aggression as his career progressed. "The field settings were different. Later on in my career when I walked in to bat and I looked towards point, I thought, 'Point is catching so there's a gap.' But later I realised, 'No, no there's deep point already too'. With time, your style of play too changes. Today the kinds of shots played by batsmen are incredible.

"I saw [Zimbabwe batsman] Andy Flower play the reverse sweep consistently in a Test, he was 10-12 years ahead of his time. Twelve years down the line, it has become quite a common shot: [England captain] Alastair Cook was [in the 200s] at Birmingham, and he, of all people, reverse-swept Amit Mishra. The game has changed.

'In Tests, you require planning, vision and execution ... In T20 cricket, you can be a hero in three balls' © ESPNcricinfo Ltd

"Now consistently you see 300-plus totals, which is because of the rule changes and also due to T20 cricket. Batsmen are prepared to take chances, bowlers have to develop more variations. In the 90s, I don't think anyone bowled the slower ball bouncer like [South Africa pacer] Shaun Pollock did in the latter stage of his career, now it's a regular variation. So maybe 20 years down the line, who knows how the game will be."

Tendulkar was one of three nominees for the award, presented to mark the first generation of the existence of ESPNcricinfo, which has been online since 1993. Tendulkar recalled facing up to the other two, South Africa allrounder Jacques Kallis and Australian legspinner Shane Warne.

Kallis, Tendulkar said, was an ace planner. "His strength has been his focus and concentration. Kallis used to walk to the wicket and he would be looking down, and I used to jokingly tell our bowlers once he has realised which way the blades of the grass are, he is going to make us field for a long time, so get him out before that.

"Kallis pretended that he was tired, just come in there to bowl six balls and go back to the slips and field, but I knew that his effort ball would soon come. I always knew that one special ball was always round the corner and this was all part of his planning and he was about to execute that."

Tendulkar remembered the early days against Warne, when the two became "good friends". "I first played against Warne in 1992 and you could make that Shane was talented, but he wasn't consistent I felt in the first game," he said. "The next encounter against Warne was in Sri Lanka and I was beaten by his flight. But I decided to go for the big one, I picked the length and fortunately that one went for a six. But Warne being a tricky character he walked up to me and try to instigate me, he said something. My habit was to play the shot and walk over towards the square-leg umpire, that was part of my preparation - not that I wanted to not hear what Warne had to say.

"But I caught him after the game, he came to our dressing room, and I asked him 'Warnie, what were you trying to say to me? Now you can tell me.' From then onwards, we became good friends."

Before Tendulkar was presented the award, his former India team-mate and captain Rahul Dravid and the former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe aired their views on his career. "He was the kind of cricketer whose respect you wanted to earn," Dravid said. Crowe said: "[West Indies'] Viv Richards was the greatest batsman I played against and his footwork lasted 15 years. Sachin's lasted a decade longer."

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Gayle hurt by 'mercenary' tag

Chris Gayle has criticised those who are labelling cricketers as T20 mercenaries. He believes that it is an unfair term to players and degrades their standing in the game, warning that harming players' reputations with such labels was "distasteful and unwarranted".

"I've had that said about me in the past and it's hurtful, by my own fans in the Caribbean and some by others. But they need to know that it's always a cricketer's dream to wear his international colours. That term 'mercenary' will hurt cricket," he said. "These same mercenaries are the ones who are representing all the countries in the World T20s who everyone will be supporting so why use that word?"

Gayle's dispute with the WICB took him out the international frame in the past and he understood why the criticism came as he plied his trade in T20 tournaments globally, but he maintained that it was always his aim to return for West Indies.

"I had bills to pay and all cricketers have the same. We still do," he said. "T20 is a good way of earning extra income to secure your future and your family's. Many people don't get that. I'm more comfortable financial-wise now and I'm looking to play West Indies cricket for a few more years."

"All I wanted to do was come back and play for the West Indies. When I wasn't in the team, I had to play T20s to pay the bills and look at what happened in 2012. We won the World T20 and so many players like myself, [Dwayne] Bravo and Sunil Narine gained from our IPL experiences. We have more West Indies players in the IPL now and it's great for [Krishmar] Santokie and Jason Holder to get this experience. And make a living."

Gayle's view was backed by former West Indies opener Desmond Haynes who coached Barbados Tridents in last year's Caribbean Premier League. "You know how hard it was for players like us back in the day to make money off cricket? We had to travel the world on tour and play away from our family for so long," he said. "Relationships, marriages and parenthood struggled. Some of us couldn't see our newborns for a year. But we had to do it. Now, some players can make what we did in a lifetime in just one or two T20 tournaments."

Gayle, now 34, has targeted at least another couple of years at Test level - fitness permitting - and insists his drive to represent West Indies remains strong but added "the T20 label keeps sticking to me" before drawing again on the case of his friend Kevin Pietersen.

"You look at someone like KP," he added. "He could have made money for years now playing T20s but he stuck with England. It's national pride. Now, maybe he will be going out there and be playing more T20s and making big money but no one believes us when players like us say we always want to play for our country first and foremost.

"The game has changed and there's a lot of cricket being played so T20s do clash with tours and such but we can iron and fix this out. Maybe it's all about proper T20 windows, who knows? But I'm sure if England called KP up now he'd jump at the chance to play for his country. That's across the board for players like us. We always would."

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Don't forget our batting - Ramdin

Denesh Ramdin thinks that underestimating West Indies' power hitters will be a severe mistake for the opposition come the World T20 in Bangladesh and they are hoping to reinforce this with strong batting performances in the remaining two T20s against England.

Ramdin said that while many were touting their spin attack as the focal point of the team, especially on the back of an impressive first outing in Barbados, the West Indies batsmen were more than capable of setting the tournament on fire, as they did when they were crowned champions on 2012.

"We are a very good T20 team, with explosive guys at the top and lower order. Chris Gayle back in our team is a boost for us," he said. "Our batting has been letting us down recently but in this format, once the guys get going you know how dangerous they are. We have batting that can chase down any score."

He believes West Indies have an all-round bowling unit that will also be able to stifle their challengers in Bangladesh and, following on from team-mate Marlon Samuels, singled out Samuel Badree as a player that many will be taking note of. He labelled him as "just as mesmerizing" as Sunil Narine, having played alongside Badree for many years in the Trinidad and Tobago team.

"The spin factor is going to be big. Marlon Samuels also did a great job for us in the middle after Sunil came off yesterday. We are in good bowling form. We just need to put runs on the board or restrict teams to as little as possible and chase it down with our powerful batting line-up. We have Ravi Rampaul, [Dwayne] Bravo and of course, Narine, who can defend any total."

On his personal form, he said that it was rewarding to see his glovework improve and be recognised, particularly with three stumpings against England on Sunday, but he added that it was a bigger plus to see his scores stepping up. He said that he was disappointed with his performances behind the stumps in the one-day series but gained some comfort from achieving the milestone of becoming the first West Indies wicketkeeper to score an ODI century.

He also added that it would be dangerous to discount England as they possessed "game-changers" such as Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler. Ramdin said that despite the loss of Kevin Pietersen, which was comparable to "us losing Chris Gayle", England, as past winners of the World T20 in the West Indies in 2010, were well equipped to come back strong and mount a challenge in Bangladesh.

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Pakistan morale lifted by India win - Misbah

While losing the Asia Cup final was a disappointment, Pakistan could take 'a lot of positives' from the tournament, captain Misbah-ul-Haq has said. Among them, was the 'morale-boosting' win against India in the round-robin stage, a victory which meant the team got a warm welcome at the Lahore airport on arrival, being showered with rose petals despite not bringing back the trophy.

"Losing the final was a disappointment, but overall it was a very good tournament and we move on with a lot of positives," Misbah said. "I think the team put in a lot of hard work, the way we won matches. As a team the performance was terrific, but at the same time no doubt it is disappointing that we didn't win the tournament.

The match against India, Misbah said, put Pakistan in the right frame of mind for the World Twenty20. "Winning against India was important because people have a lot of expectations and have lots of interest in it. With such performances, the morale of the team is very good. In this condition, we definitely have a chance [at the World T20]."

Misbah did not take questions on his "slow" batting in the final against Sri Lanka lightly, cutting off one reporter mid-way through his question by saying: "When you are 18 for 3, even big teams also bat like we did in the final to recover."

Pakistan had lost their top three by the fourth over of the game, before Mishah and Fawad Alam were involved in a 122-run stand. Misbah made 65 off 98 balls before being dismissed, while Alam went on to remain 114 not out off 134. Pakistan reached 260 for 5, before Sri Lanka eased home with close to four overs to spare after taking a toll on Pakistan's pacers.

Misbah defended his fast bowlers, saying that the spin- and batting-friendly pitches of the subcontinent made life tough for the pacers. "It wasn't an easy tour, especially for fast bowlers. You know in Asian conditions, it's difficult for fast bowlers.

"Overall if you look, barring one or two bowlers, fast bowlers struggled. Conditions are conducive for spin bowlers and it doesn't help fast bowlers."

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