India are without many seniors in the side which will bring the teams together a little closer in what could be a competitive series

The Preview by Liam Brickhill in Harare09-Jul-2015

Match facts

Friday, July 10
Start time 9.00 am local time (0700 GMT)

Big picture

In comparison to the Ashes hype that greeted Australia’s arrival in England, the build-up to India’s short tour of Zimbabwe has seemed distinctly provincial. It has not helped that a number of the Indian players are virtually unknown to Zimbabwe’s cricket-watching public.
The absence of several seniors from this side will also bring these two teams, from opposite ends of cricket’s spectrum, a little closer together. Friday’s ODI is the first in what could be a competitive series.Which is not to say that India aren’t still favourites, and there’s plenty to motivate this group. The seven members of the squad who were also present during the one-day defeats to Bangladesh will sense an opportunity to move on. There is a middle-order position up for grabs in the side, a handful of keen young bowlers, and clear value to be gained from a good tour for players such as Stuart Binny and M Vijay.Zimbabwe, on the other hand, were eminently watchable against Pakistan in May and even without Brendan Taylor, the batsmen have shown themselves to be a dynamic unit who could profit from an inexperienced Indian bowling attack, with the exception of Harbhajan Singh. Zimbabwe’s own bowling attack is missing the key figure of Tendai Chatara, who is still recuperating from a broken leg, though the conditions will probably favour slower bowlers anyway.With so much cricket planned for the remainder of the year, this series marks an important starting point for Zimbabwe. A competitive showing here could set them up nicely to meet the challenges to come in the next few months. This will also be the first match under the new ODI playing conditions, which do away with compulsory close catchers in the first 10 overs, remove the batting Powerplay, allow five fielders outside the 30-yard circle in the last 10 overs of an ODI innings and Free Hits for all no-balls.

Form guide

Zimbabwe: LLLLL
India: WLLLW

In the spotlight

Stuart Binny‘s IPL performances suggest a player capable of fulfilling India’s search for an ODI allrounder, but at 31, he has only played 10 ODIs. Time is running out for Binny to cement his place in India’s side in the long term, and these matches could provide a necessary platform for him to showcase his talent with bat and ball.Sikandar Raza‘s role in Zimbabwe’s one-day side has undergone something of a metamorphosis. He started off as an opener but he has been moved down the order into a finishing role, and made a century batting at No. 5 in Pakistan. His offspin bowling, once modestly part-time, has also progressed and he’ll have an all-round role to play in any Zimbabwean success.

Team news

Craig Ervine’s hamstring niggle has kept him out of contention for a slot in Zimbabwe’s middle order, but there are still a number of batsmen vying for a position there. Malcolm Waller looked in good form during Zimbabwe’s practice matches last week, while Regis Chakabva and Richmond Mutumbami are jostling for the solitary wicketkeeping slot, and staked an equal claim by sharing a century partnership during the practice matches, with Mutumbami being the incumbent.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Elton Chigumbura, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Tinashe Panyangara, 11 Brian Vitori.With so many empty slots to fill, India have plenty of freedom in the assembly of their playing XI. Manoj Tiwary’s experience in the position means he’ll probably open with M Vijay, while the presence of Stuart Binny provides balance to the bowling attack.India (probable): 1 Murali Vijay, 2 Manoj Tiwary, 3 Ajinkya Rahane (captain), 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 Robin Uthappa (wk), 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Dhawal Kulkarni

Pitch and conditions

Winter pitches in Zimbabwe tend to be very dry, and often play slow and low. Local knowledge suggests there may not be a huge amount of turn, but that spinners will still play a leading role in restricting scoring. That’s not to say that the quicks will have nothing to do – the very early starts to these games mean that during the first hour the ball will still nip and seam around.

Stats and trivia

>

• Zimbabwe’s squad has played a combined 986 one-day internationals. India’s ODI experience tallies up at 479.
• India and Zimbabwe have met 57 times in ODIs, with India winning 45 and Zimbabwe 10. There have been two tied matches between the teams.

Quotes

“I’ve brought a few ideas with me, and I’ve got my own style of captaincy, but I’ve learned a lot from Dhoni under his captaincy.”
“The hardware is there, you’ve seen it, it’s the software that they’ve got to work on.”

The doors of Indian cricket remain shut on Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila, after BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said the penalties imposed would not be lifted

Gaurav Kalra and Nagraj Gollapudi27-Jul-20154:16

Anurag Thakur: “I haven’t received any representations from these players, so as of now the ban stays.”

The doors of Indian cricket remain shut on Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila, after BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said the penalties imposed by the board on the three former Rajasthan Royals players for their involvement in spot-fixing in IPL 2013 would not be lifted. Thakur’s comments came on a day when the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) appealed to the BCCI to lift the life ban on Sreesanth, who hails from that state.Though a Delhi trial court had dropped the charges against the players levied under the MCOCA act, a law passed by the Maharashtra government to tackle organised crime syndicates, on grounds of insufficient evidence, Thakur said the BCCI’s decision had been made after an independent investigation.”Criminal proceedings are entirely different to the disciplinary proceedings. The decision has been taken by the BCCI’s disciplinary committee, not by a court of law,” Thakur told ESPNcricinfo. “Action has been taken against the players on the report of our anti-corruption unit. As per the BCCI rules and regulations, the ban on these players will stay.”Sreesanth and Chavan were banned for life by the BCCI, while Chandila’s penalty is still pending because he failed to face the disciplinary panel due to personal reasons, though he too was found guilty for the same breaches as his team-mates.Immediately after the court dropped the charges, Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila had expressed relief and hope of returning to play cricket, and there was support from players’ home states.On Monday KCA president TC Mathew told ESPNcricinfo that he had written to the BCCI asking Sreesanth be given permission to play for Kerala. “Based on the judgement of the Delhi court, we have written to the BCCI asking them that his ban be lifted. He has given his best while playing for India and if the court has exonerated him, the BCCI should also reconsider its decision.”However, Thakur said the BCCI would not change its mind, though he said the players were free to approach a higher court to challenge the ban. He also made it clear that no player had approached the board directly. “Any Indian citizen can go to a court of law if they are not happy with any decision. Delhi police will go to the higher court to challenge the lower court verdict. I haven’t received any representations from these players, so as of now the ban stays.”Thakur said the BCCI had faced turbulence in recent years with corruption scandals taking up most of the administrators’ time. “In the last few years there were certain decisions that had been taken for which the board has to pay. The image of the board has been tarnished in the past few years.”One of those issues was the 2013 IPL betting scandal, which resulted in the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Panel suspending the owners of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals – India Cements and Jaipur India Pvt Ltd – for two years. In an immediate response, the BCCI set up a working group to make recommendations on the way forward for the IPL to the board’s working committee within six weeks.Thakur, who is part of the five-member working group, said the BCCI wanted to study the Lodha panel order and did not want to arrive at any decision in haste. “We have made it clear that we will implement the verdict in toto. The working group has been formed so we can take a well-informed, well-thought decision, for the well being of cricket. The Mudgal commission took a year to come out with their report. Lodha committee took six months. We have sought only six weeks to speak to various stakeholders before implementing the report.”When asked specifically whether there was enough evidence established by the Lodha panel to terminate the Super Kings and Royals franchises, Thakur said the BCCI’s primary concern was the welfare of the players involved. “The Lodha committee has looked into each and every aspect of the situation. They have suspended the teams for two years. At the same time BCCI working group is looking into the details of how to implement it so that our players, especially the domestic players, should not suffer because of this verdict.”

Warwickshire retained their outside chance of qualifying for the Royal London Cup quarter-finals with a four-wicket win over Sussex at Rugby School.

ECB/PA17-Aug-2015
ScorecardWilliam Porterfield ensured Warwickshire overcame a stutter in their chase•Getty Images

Warwickshire retained their outside chance of qualifying for the Royal London Cup quarter-finals with a four-wicket win over Sussex at Rugby School.Knowing they needed to beat Sussex, and then Kent at Edgbaston on Wednesday (and also hope that other results go their way), the Bears fulfilled the first part of the equation by extending Sussex’s nightmare Group B campaign.Put in on a good pitch in the elegant, tree-lined setting of Rugby School, Sussex, without a win in the competition, compiled a meagre 217. Only George Bailey built an innings of substance against an accurate attack led by Jeetan Patel and Oliver Hannon-Dalby.Warwickshire then suffered a couple of wobbles but William Porterfield’s skilful 100, his ninth List A century, saw them comfortably home.Sussex’s innings started well enough. Ed Joyce soon lifted Keith Barker to mid-off but Luke Wright and Matt Machan added 50 from 45 balls before the former edged Hannon-Dalby to wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose.Machan lifted Barker over long off for six on his way to 39 but fell lbw attempting to reverse-sweep Ateeq Javid and thereafter only Bailey made much progress against the spinners.Craig Cachopa top-edged a pull at Patel who then took a simple return catch to end a promising innings by 20-year-old Harry Finch, playing only his third List A game.Chris Jordan lifted his back foot and was stumped off Javid and when Luke Wells fell lbw to Patel, the spinners had shared five middle-order wickets for 71 runs to leave Sussex 193 for 7.Boyd Rankin returned to end Bailey’s resistance lbw, Will Beer edged Hannon-Dalby and when Patel took a well-judged boundary catch to remove Chris Liddle off the former Yorkshire seamer, Sussex looked well below par at 217.Warwickshire started badly when Jordan forced Varun Chopra and Jonathan Trott to play on in his first nine balls but Porterfield and Ambrose added 79 to steady the ship. Ambrose fell lbw to Wells and when spinners Wells and Beer removed Laurie Evans and Clarke in five balls, the Bears were awkwardly perched on 130 for 5.But Porterfield found a resolute partner in Javid and their measured sixth-wicket stand of 81 in 105 balls kept Warwickshire’s hopes of a quarter-final place very much alive.

Delhi have named first-class newbies Nitish Rana and Sarang Rawat in their squad to face Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2015Delhi have named first-class newbies Nitish Rana and Sarang Rawat in their squad to face Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy from October 8 to 11. Rana, a 21-year-old left-hand batsman, has played three List A and six Twenty20 matches, while Rawat, a 19-year-old medium-pacer, is yet to make an appearance at the senior level.They will replace batsman Yogesh Nagar and left-arm seamer Pawan Suyal from the team that played the opening game against Rajasthan. Ishant Sharma, who was first left out and then named in the initial squad despite saying he was only available for the second match, is back in the squad proper at the expense of Parvinder Awana, in a like-for-like pace-bowling switch.

Roshan Mahanama, the former Sri Lanka batsman, will step down from the ICC elite match referees panel at the end of the year so that he can spend more time with his family and focus on his business activities in Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2015Roshan Mahanama, the former Sri Lanka batsman, will step down from the ICC elite match referees panel at the end of the year so that he can spend more time with his family and focus on his business activities in Sri Lanka.Mahanama joined the elite panel in 2004 and has refereed in 58 Tests, 222 ODIs and 35 T20Is till date, including in three World Cups and the Champions Trophy 2009.”This has been an extremely difficult decision as I am very passionate about cricket, which has been an integral part of my life for over 40 years as a cricketer, coach and ICC match referee,” Mahanama said. “However, in life a time comes when one has to keep moving forward based on obligations and priorities. My time has come to devote an uninterrupted focus and attention to my family, who made massive sacrifices over the years to enable me to pursue my career for over three decades.”Geoff Allardice, the ICC general manager – cricket, thanked Mahanama for his contributions. “Roshan has been one of the pioneers of the elite panel and has been an integral component during the phase when the referee’s role was evolving,” Allardice said. “Roshan, very efficiently and intelligently, integrated his cricketing knowledge into match management skills to earn huge respect and appreciation from the entire cricketing fraternity.””Roshan’s hallmark as a match referee has been his meticulous preparation and methodical approach,” Vince Van Der Bijl, the ICC senior umpires & referees manager, said. “His efficiency and dedication to the task in serving cricket has shone through his time with the ICC.”

Legspinner Todd Astle took 7 for 78 on the third day to dismiss Sri Lanka A for 234 in their second innings, leaving New Zealand A with only 19 to chase

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Todd Astle took the second ten-wicket haul of his first-class career•Associated Press

Legspinner Todd Astle took 7 for 78 on the third day to dismiss Sri Lanka A for 234 in their second innings, leaving New Zealand A with only 19 to chase, which they did to secure victory with a day to spare in Lincoln. Astle’s performance gave him match figures of 11 for 133, his second ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket.The stage for Astle had been laid by a strong batting performance from New Zealand A in their first innings. Not only did they score big, they also scored quick. Dean Brownlie made 113 off 151 balls, and Henry Nicholls 137 off 152, to go with half-centuries from Jeet Raval, Will Young and Derek de Boorder. Sri Lanka A legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay ran through the lower order to finish with 5 for 128, but not before the hosts had amassed 519 at 4.37 per over to take a first-innings lead of 216.The Sri Lankans were steadily eating into that deficit in their second innings, with Minod Bhanuka and Kithuruwan Vithanage adding 110 for the second wicket. From 134 for 1, however, the visitors collapsed, with Astle and fellow legspinner Ish Sodhi running through the middle and lower order. Sri Lanka A were dismissed for 234 in 59.1 overs, and New Zealand A chased the target of 19 with nine wickets in hand.Astle had also taken four wickets in Sri Lanka A’s first innings, spinning through the middle order to help dismiss the visitors for 303, when they looked like getting more at one stage. His performance ensured that New Zealand A won all the matches in the series.

Mohammad Hafeez has said he will not share a dressing room with any player who has tarnished the image of Pakistan cricket

Umar Farooq21-Nov-20151:00

Not playing with Amir, says Hafeez

Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan batsman, has said he will not share a dressing room with any player who has tarnished the image of Pakistan cricket. His declaration comes after an Urdu newspaper, , reported that Hafeez had turned down a lucrative offer from Bangladesh Premier League franchise Chittagong Vikings to play in BPL 2015-16, because Chittagong have Mohammad Amir in their squad.”I am not against any individuals,” Hafeez told ESPNcricinfo. “It is about the image of Pakistan cricket. I cannot play with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country. But, yes, if any other team offered me the contract with good money I could definitely play the BPL. Otherwise I prefer playing for my domestic team, SNGPL, in Quaid-e-Azam trophy at home.”This is my personal opinion and this is not just about Pakistani players, it’s about all players. We play for the public and entertain them with a sporting spirit, and once someone abuses the role he has to play in the game… I cannot play and share a dressing room with such players who have abused the spirit of the game.”It was reported by the newspaper that Hafeez turned down an offer of around Rs 10 million from Chittagong. The franchise, however, denied extending any offer to the batsman. He was not selected in the drafting process while other Pakistan players were chosen in the draft and big-name players like Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi were signed outside the draft.Hafeez said he had received the offer through an agent, without revealing any names – he said he does not have an exclusive agent but the offer came through various sources. “I didn’t get a direct offer from the BPL team but some agent came up with the offer and I turned it down only because I didn’t want to share a dressing room with that player,” Hafeez said. “Otherwise I am open to playing for any other team.”This is the first time a player from the Pakistan team has publicly objected to playing with a tainted player. There have been reports that Ahmed Shehzad had previously objected to playing with Amir as well, but Test captain Misbah has been seen mingling with Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif at National Cricket Academy nets in Lahore. PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan also previously said that there were some players who did not want to play with these three, who had been found guilty of spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test of 2010, but had their bans lifted this year as per ICC protocol.Misbah said Hafeez was welcome to his personal opinion, but he felt the BPL would be a good gauge to see how Amir measures up against top-class players after returning to domestic cricket this year. “It is pretty much his personal decision,” Misbah said. “[But] I think a better judge of that is the ICC and PCB. And especially the audience, the supporters, they really need to decide.”For Amir, I think it’s good for him. He has been playing domestic cricket, so it’s a tournament where he can share the experience of some of the international players and see where he is at the moment.”

Cape Cobras had the best bowler – Mthokozisi Shezi with 5 for 34 – and the top scorer of the game – Wayne Parnell with 74 not out – but they still fell 12 short of Warriors in East London

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2015
ScorecardCape Cobras had the best bowler – Mthokozisi Shezi with 5 for 34 – and the top scorer of the game – Wayne Parnell with 74 not out – but they still fell 12 short of Warriors in East London.Warriors cobbled together a total of 153 for 8 after choosing to bat, the innings stuttering as only three batsmen made it past 20. JJ Smuts’ unbeaten 61 off 40 balls was their best score, while Colin Ackerman’s 34 was second highest. Shezi ran through the middle and lower order, striking twice in two different overs to cripple the innings.Cobras opened with Parnell once again and he made 74 off 60 balls, batting through the innings. He got very little support though and there was a steady fall of wickets at the other end. Justin Kemp’s 20 was the next best score for Cobras and a low scoring rate deprived the chase of momentum. Five Warriors bowlers picked up wickets, with Andrew Birch returning best figures of 3 for 28.

Australia will need to overcome the panic that set in against spin in the middle overs if they are to overcome an Indian side that has gained in belief

The Preview by Sidharth Monga28-Jan-2016

Match facts

January 29, 2016
Start time 1938 local (0838 GMT)3:44

Agarkar: India would hope for spin-friendly MCG

Big Picture

On their Republic Day, India went all retro to dampen the Australia Day spirit a little. There was Ashish Nehra, there was Yuvraj Singh, and there was control, which must seem like a substance of vintage for Indian fans when it comes to limited-overs cricket.India might be on to something because it wasn’t all vintage: youngster Jasprit Bumrah began the turnaround with the ball, and then the spinners capitalised. With the bat, India did not even need Yuvraj, for Virat Kohli set the tempo and also took India to the finish. Some might say they have already found the core of their World T20 side, but such optimism will be ill-founded should Yuvraj and Hardik Pandya not be in the batting form expected of the specialist big hitters.As the game shortened, Australia found that their superior physicality in the field and running between the wickets counted for a little less, and India emerged a much better opponent than they were in the ODIs. The bowling experiment with Shaun Tait might well continue, but they will feel the need to be more efficient with the bat. The biggest issue will be the panic-stricken shots they chose to play as opposed to picking the singles and twos when the spinners bowled well in the middle overs. A batting line-up that is keeping Usman Khawaja out is expected to do better.

Form guide

Australia: LLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India: WLLLW

In the spotlight

After the defeat in Adelaide, Aaron Finch claimed responsibility for the wickets of David Warner and Steve Smith because he said he had put pressure on them by slowing down. However, when he got out, Finch was 44 off 33, which was not a bad strike rate in that chase. Batsmen who back themselves push their strike rates up in no time in T20 cricket, but Finch tried shots that were too adventurous and may feel under pressure keeping in mind he is the captain. Plus there is Khawaja gunning for a place at the top of the order.R Ashwin’s first over, bowled with the new ball, went for 17 runs, but he made a superb comeback with the next three, taking the big wickets of Finch and Watson. This will come as a relief for India’s No. 1 spinner who found himself out of the XI for three of the five ODIs. With confidence under his belt, Ashwin could be a threat for Australia.

Team news

If Glenn Maxwell returns, it might be just the fillip Australia need in their middle order. With Warner and Smith leaving the squad to prepare for the tour of New Zealand, Travis Head and Chris Lynn may yet have a lifeline. It could also mean Watson returns to the top of the order and Shaun Marsh gets a game. On the bowling side, the Tait experiment is unlikely to end after just the one game.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch (capt.), 2 Shane Watson, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Chris Lynn, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Travis Head , 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Nathan Lyon/ Cameron Boyce, 10 Kane Richardson/ John Hastings, 11 Shaun Tait.India are likely to persist with the XI that gave them a comprehensive win in Adelaide.India (possible) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Pitch and conditions

By now we should stop asking the question around pitch and conditions in Australia. Expect runs at MCG too, but watch out for the odd shower.

Stats and trivia

• Virat Kohli now has 10 scores of fifty or more in Twenty20 internationals, the most for an Indian. Overall only four other batsmen have reached fifty more often: Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and David Warner.
• Australia have managed to win only one Twenty20 international after conceding 160 runs when bowing first. The success came way back in the semi-final of the 2010 World T20.
• Tait’s 4-0-45-0 were his worst figures in T20 international cricket.

Quotes

“During those middle overs, I think a lot of us get carried away with trying to play a lot of big shots and not actually trying to take advantage of the big fields in Australia.”
“I think it’s important to have players like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina who can bowl and bat. If you have too many one-dimensional players, especially in your top order, then it becomes very difficult if somebody has a bad day”

New Zealand’s Under-19s will look to emulate the adventurous style of the country’s senior team, their captain Josh Finnie has said

Mohammad Isam21-Jan-2016New Zealand’s Under-19s will look to emulate the adventurous style of the country’s senior team, their captain Josh Finnie has said.

High security for the tournament

Bangladesh has employed high and unprecedented security measures for the Under-19 World Cup, with team buses being escorted by multiple police cars. The team hotel in Dhaka has been virtually sealed off, with very few people allowed to even stand near the entrance, which is filled with security personnel from several government agencies.
“I haven’t seen anything like this before,” Jack Tector, Ireland Under-19s’ captain, said. “But I think we are told that the Irish government had sent people over to investigate. They spoke to the Bangladesh government. Once they deemed it was safe to come, we were more than happy to go. We are comfortable.”
The same thought was echoed by Scotland captain Neil Flack: “I think terrorist threats can happen to anybody at any time. We are going to have the most security in this tournament. We just got off the bus. We had about eight or nine vehicles. It can be one of the safest places in the world.”

“We are trying to base our strategy at the way they go about it,” Finnie said. “The [2015] World Cup brought a pretty good feel to playing cricket in New Zealand. It wasn’t really recognised as a major sport there for a while but over the past year or so it has really captivated the nation. We are looking to do what they did.”Finnie said New Zealand’s preparation for the Under-19 World Cup had been boosted by the time the team spent in Dubai, where they took part in a tri-nation tournament that also featured the Under-19 sides from Pakistan and Australia. He said the highlight of that competition for New Zealand was the century scored by Christian Leopard in the final match, which Pakistan won by 31 runs. Leopard walked in with New Zealand 67 for 5 chasing 280, and smashed 116 off 71 balls.”We have just been in Dubai and found out how we are not too fazed with batting on those wickets,” Finnie said. “We faced a lot of spin there.”It was pretty special watching that [innings] from the sidelines. We were in the dumps there with five or six down and thought the day might be over early but he just played his natural game.”With Australia pulling out of the Under-19 World Cup due to security concerns, Ireland have been drafted into the tournament. Finnie said New Zealand – who are in Ireland’s group – would treat them with respect.”Obviously we are not too sure what Ireland are like,” he said. “We have to treat them same as anyone else coming into the game by thinking they will be like any big name.”Seated next to Finnie at the press conference, Ireland captain Jack Tector narrated how his team got to know about their unexpected entry into the World Cup.”It has obviously been quite a manic few weeks,” Tector said. “Basically on Christmas day an article came out from an Australian journalist and we saw that Australia were considering pulling out. And then ten days after that, we got an email from Cricket Ireland asking for our availability when it was confirmed that Australia had pulled out. We had to get out our schools and universities, but had no problem there, and five days later we are in Dubai. It has been quite an exciting few weeks.”When asked how Ireland’s Under-19s would cope with the unique challenge of playing in front of a live TV audience, against India, Tector said they would want to make a day of it.”We haven’t talked that much about this but it will be quite nerve-wracking on the day,” he said. “But to play on television we have to make the most of it. We have to play a good game against India but it is a massive opportunity to represent Ireland and hopefully the country will be watching us.”