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Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Denesh Ramdin steered his side to a slender three-wicket win after legspinner Keron Cottoy rocked their middle order in the chase of 112

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKeron Cottoy bowled 13 dot balls and took four wickets•Caribbean Premier LeagueGuyana Amazon Warriors captain Denesh Ramdin steered his side to a slender three-wicket win after legspinner Keron Cottoy rocked their middle order in the chase of 112. After Sunil Narine’s 3 for 6 restricted St Lucia Zouks to 111 for 7, Warriors were reduced from 59 for 1 to 87 for 8 before Ramdin’s unbeaten 39 led Amazon Warriors to second place in the points table, one point behind Barbados Tridents.Amazon Warriors were given a strong start by Lendl Simmons and Ramdin after opener Assad Fudadin fell in the third over. Simmons and Ramdin put on 40 runs to bring the required run rate down to 4.41 but Cottoy struck twice in three balls in the ninth over, having Simmons caught at long-on for 31 and Brad Hodge caught and bowled for a duck. Amazon Warriors were dented further when Umar Akmal was adjudged lbw in Cottoy’s next over despite a very thick inside edge. Cottoy came back in the 13th over to knock over Christopher Barnwell’s off stump with a yorker to finish with 4 for 18 from four overs, his best T20 figures.Amazon Warriors made things worse by inflicting two run-outs on themselves. First David Wiese fell to a direct hit from mid-on, for a duck, and seven balls later Narine ran for an overthrow Ramdin did not want after the wicketkeeper failed to collect a throw from long leg. Ramdin, on 24, was now left with the tail to wipe off the remaining 25 runs in six overs. He found an able partner in Veerasammy Permaul who survived ten deliveries in their stand of 25. Ramdin eased their nerves with two consecutive fours in the beginning of the 17th over and Permaul later sealed their nervous win with a six over the wide long-on boundary, with two overs to spare.Earlier, Zouks were put in to bat and their flow of runs was stalled when Narine came on in the eighth over to dismiss Andre Fletcher and Delorn Johnson off consecutive balls. He also trapped Kevin Pietersen lbw for 24 in his next over. Only Henry Davids’ unbeaten 25 off 34 and Jerome Taylor’s run-a-ball 20 pushed their score past 100 after they were 63 for 5 in the 12th over, but it did not prove to be enough.

Gabriel Jesus and Co had an afternoon to forget as the Gunners posted their first draw of the season at St Mary's

Arsenal saw their eight-game winning run in all competitions come to an end as they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at struggling Southampton.

The points extends the Gunners' lead at the top of the Premier League table to two points over Manchester City, but Mikel Arteta will know his side threw away the chance of a ninth successive victory.

It looked like they would be cruising to another win when Granit Xhaka swept in a stunning half-volley after just 11 minutes to open the scoring.

But the visitors wasted several chances to extend their lead, with Gabriel Jesus the main culprit, and the misses were to prove costly in the second half.

Arsenal were sloppy after the interval, just as they were at Leeds last weekend, and this time they were punished when Mohamed Elyounoussi played in Stuart Armstrong to equalise.

Getty ImagesThe Winners

Winner: Granit Xhaka

Xhaka stealing the headlines is becoming all too familiar now.

This was another fine performance from the midfielder, who must be in the running for Arsenal's player of the season so far.

His finish was exceptional and takes his tally for the campaign to four, more than he has amassed in each of his last three seasons combined.

It was also the first time he has scored in competitive games since he netted against Hull City and Nottingham Forest in 2016.

Winner: Ben White

It will be laughable if Ben White doesn't make the England squad.

Gareth Southgate may be blessed with right-back options, but there is no one playing better football in that position than White right now.

He was good again against Southampton and looks like he has been playing the right-back role for years, rather than just a couple of months.

White's run and cross for Xhaka's goal was excellent and his all-round performance was typical of what he has been producing since the start of the campaign.

Winner: Kieran Tierney

It's been a frustrating season so far for Kieran Tierney, who has had to watch Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu move ahead of him in the pecking order.

But this could be the game that sees Tierney come back into the Premier League starting XI.

Arteta once again started Tomiyasu at left-back after his strong recent performances on the left-hand side of the defence.

But the Japan international really struggled, especially in the second half, and you wonder if Mikel Arteta might opt to restore Tierney to the lineup against Nottingham Forest next weekend, if Zinchenko continues to be unavailable.

AdvertisementGettyThe Losers

Loser: Gabriel Jesus

Jesus has had such a good season so far for Arsenal, but he had an off day here.

The Brazilian had several opportunities to extend Arsenal's lead and couldn't take any of them.

He's now gone five games without a goal in all competitions and that will be a concern for Arteta.

Jesus had one big chance when he went through one on one in the second half, but he never looked confident and his shot was eventually blocked.

It proved to be a costly miss as Southampton got their equaliser soon after.

Loser: Takehiro Tomiyasu

The Japan international has adapted well to the left-back role, having been asked to play out of position by Mikel Arteta in the absence of Oleksandr Zinchenko.

But this was a tough afternoon for Tomiyasu, who was put under a lot of pressure in the second half as Southampton looked to get back into the game.

The hosts targeted him a bit and it was no surprise to see Arteta make a change, bringing on Tierney and moving Tomiyasu back to his natural position on the right side of the back four.

Loser: Robert Jones

You know the referee is bad when he infuriates both sides.

Jones had an absolute stinker, making questionable decisions throughout the contest.

None more so than in the first half when he decided to book Bukayo Saka for diving when the Arsenal winger went down as he was racing through on goal.

Whether it was a foul was debatable, but there was clearly enough contact from two Southampton defenders for Saka to go down.

It was an awful decision from Jones to show the 21-year-old a yellow card, but one that summed up his performance.

GettyArsenal Ratings: Defence

Aaron Ramsdale (6/10):

Did well to cope with Southampton's set pieces.

Ben White (7/10):

Good again. Great assist for Xhaka's goal.

William Saliba (6/10):

Couple of sloppy moments, uncharacteristic for him.

Gabriel Magalhaes (7/10):

Dealt with Southampton's aerial bombardment well.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (5/10):

Really struggled during the early moments of the second half.

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GettyMidfield

Thomas Partey (6/10):

Not at his best. Never really got control of the game.

Granit Xhaka (7/10):

Another excellent finish.

Martin Odegaard (6/10):

Couple of excellent passes to create chances for Jesus, but should have done better himself in front of goal.

Ricardo Pepi continued his remarkable run of scoring off the bench as PSV's USMNT contingent played their part in a 7-1 rout of PEC Zwolle.

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PSV thump Zwolle 7-1Pepi scores off bench againUS players star in win GettyWHAT HAPPENED?

PSV moved one step closer to winning the Eredivisie with an emphatic win on the road, thanks to a Luuk de Jong hat-trick, a brace from Johan Bakayoko, an own-goal from Sam Kersen, and a late strike from substitute Pepi. The league leaders, who conceded through Eliano Reijnders to make it 2-1, were also helped by assists from American stars Malik Tillman and Sergino Dest on Saturday. Incidentally, according to Opta, only Twente's Ricky van Wolfswinkel (seven) has scored more goals than Pepi (six) off the bench this season in the top 10 European leagues.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

This win took PSV 13 points clear of second-placed Feyenoord in the Dutch top-flight with just 11 games remaining. Remarkably, Peter Bosz's side have dropped just four points in the league this season, with the Dutch giants winning 21 of their 23 games this season.

Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?

PSV won the Johan Cruyff Shield last August, beating last season's league winners Feyenoord 1-0 in a match where the victors in the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup meet. The Dutch outfit, who lost in this season's KNVB Beker to Feyenoord, are also into the last 16 of the Champions League where they face Borussia Dortmund.

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WHAT NEXT?

PSV are next in league action on March 3 when they host title contenders Feyenoord in a top of the table clash, before travelling to Go Ahead Eagles five days later. The second leg of their Champions League clash with Dortmund is on March 13, with the tie currently at 1-1.

Darren Sammy is confident the big-hitters can give West Indies an advantage in their opening match against India

Abhishek Purohit in Dhaka22-Mar-20143:45

We have plenty of T20 experience – Sammy

It is no secret that West Indies sometimes love hitting fours and sixes to the point where they can ignore the need to rotate the strike. It is a habit that has hurt them often in limited overs cricket and Suresh Raina said India would be looking to target that on Sunday.”They are a completely different team, they have players who can hits sixes,” Raina said. “They do not know much of rotating the strike against spinners, with ones and twos. It is important we put early pressure.”Darren Sammy’s response to Raina’s opinion was one of casual indifference: “We don’t care much about what Raina thinks. If he thinks we are only six-hitters, then stop us from hitting sixes.”West Indies, the defending champions, the entertainers and a team with some of the leading lights of the T20 format are here. And while Sammy admitted there is pressure going into the tournament with their title on the line, he also said he was pleased that he had at his disposal a balanced, “very good” team.”We have top T20 players who have played around the world. We have [Chris] Gayle, [Sunil] Narine, [Dwayne] Bravo, all of them have a lot of experience playing T20. With the two openers, we have guys who can give us great impetus in the first six overs. Then we have Marlon [Samuels], Bravo and myself to finish the innings.Darren Sammy was confident his top order, led by Chris Gayle, would give impetus to their innings•Getty Images”The good thing about our team is that we don’t rely on any one player. We have at least four, five, six potential match-winners in our side. Spin will play an important part in this tournament and the team which can handle spin better will come out victorious but I am quite happy about the team we have here. In the short format, the bulk of the runs will come from the top four or five batsmen and I think we are very strong at the top of the order with Marlon, Simmons, me and Bravo.”If you look at our bowling unit, we have Narine who is, to me, the No 1 bowler in this format, (Samuel) Badree, Bravo, and we have a young guy called Krishmar Santokie who could have a great impact in this tournament. He is the leading T20 bowler in the Caribbean and he has played in the Caribbean T20 league and taken a lot of wickets. Most of his wickets are clean-bowled and lbws. He has a lot of variation, not quick, but you will see. You have to see him to know exactly what I mean when he gets his opportunity. So we are happy with the balance of our side. And yes, we are a very good team especially in this format.”For Sammy, the one major change from 2012 is that his players are more experienced. He admitted, however, that the team will still need the big players to step up and help West Indies make it two in two.”There is always pressure. We are the defending champions,” Sammy said. “This time our players are a lot more experienced, the last time our key players had a brilliant tournament. And the key was even though someone did not perform in a match we stuck together as a team. I think this time it is even more important that we have our key guys perform consistently. As a team, we now have more belief that we could come out there and defend the trophy.”Several West Indies players are important cogs for their IPL franchises, and Raina mentioned that India knew the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents. Sammy, though, did not think that familiarity was necessarily an advantage.”Cricket is a game of shifting confidence. You can know your opponent from the last time you have played but he went back and worked on his game,” Sammy said. “To me it is about going out there and using the conditions right, rather than looking at the other’s game. In this time and age they have footage everywhere. You can see the last match played by any cricketer and come up with a formula you think might work. But we have a general idea of what their side is and what they are capable of.”

Yorkshire remain top of the Championship and as they reflect on a tense and ultimately frustrating final day at Headingley

David Hopps at Headingley10-Jul-2014
ScorecardMichael Richardson gave Yorkshire a headache again although fell short of his hundred•Getty ImagesYorkshire remain top of the Championship and, as they reflect on their failure to break stubborn Durham resistance on a tense final day at Headingley, they will at least console themselves that they have seen the last this season of Michael Richardson.Just the sight of Richardson is enough to send their bowlers queasy in the stomach. He bats with a dedicated, upstanding air – and, as the son of the ICC chief executive, somebody would have blabbed by now if he was not that type – but as far as Yorkshire are concerned those virtues are wearing thin. They have outplayed the defending champions twice this season and they do not have a victory to show for it.Richardson’s maiden Championship hundred at Scarborough turned the Championship in Durham’s favour last season, he took another off the Yorkshire attack at Chester-le-Street earlier this season and only the most one-eyed observer would have resented him making a third as he intervened to Yorkshire’s despair yet again.Instead, he had 95 from 165 balls when Jack Brooks exploded his middle stump, but the gamest of innings had done enough to secure a draw and stymie Yorkshire’s Championship challenge in the process. His average against Yorkshire now stands at 85. Pressure stiffens his resolve and when his own captain, Paul Collingwood, remarked after three days that a pitch was full of holes then he did not need reminding that, in his own words, Durham were “staring down the barrel”.Yorkshire must have feared their wickets column would never quite add up on the third evening when Adil Rashid assessed their challenge. A couple of wickets a session should do it, was the gist of Rashid’s message. Durham began the day one down; Yorkshire got their couple of wickets a session, and even added one for good measure. Durham finished with eight down: do the math. Yorkshire supporters yearning for another Championship should demand an emergency Ofsted inspection of arithmetical standards in Yorkshire schools.Yorkshire’s lead was 136 at start of play so runs were important but even so, considering Collingwood’s remarks, it was a surprise that Rashid did not bowl to more attacking fields until later in the day; it seemed a perfect time for a bit of psychological pressure. He was solid and he beat the outside edge intermittently but rarely suggested that he could be a matchwinner. He is an improving cricketer. He is not yet an England spinner. Nobody is.Yorkshire eventually took a big wicket in the morning when Mark Stoneman stalked off cursing Adam Lyth’s lbw decision, 86 to his name. Rashid added Gordon Muchall. But at 2.30pm, Durham took the lead with six wickets left and 49 overs left to bat. A desultory cry of “Come on Yorkshire” disturbed a stiflingly hot day. It was a call of creeping desperation, the sort of call that has become common on Yorkshire grounds when Richardson comes into bat.Richardson’s partnership with Collingwood reached 44 before Brigadier Block fenced at one that bounced and turned from Rashid. One of those holes, no doubt, betraying the man who had dared to mention them. But Richardson remained unshakeable. When he stole a legside single off Tim Bresnan in mid-afternoon, a lone cry of “Have A Collection” rent the air. He was scoring rather more quickly, if surreptitiously, than that.Up above, the jet2 planes glimmered in deep blue skies as they flew into Leeds/Bradford airport. This time there would be no cocky “We have begun our descent into Leeds/Bradford where the temperature is 14C and raining” from the crew, bringing groans of contentment from passengers as their belief was confirmed that every penny spent on 35C temperatures in Malaga was worth it. “It’s been beautiful here,” is the cruellest thing you can say to anybody back from holiday.Still, Yorkshire’s supporters hoped. When Paul Coughlin became the eighth wicket to fall, a bronzed, bare-chested supporter – almost a Malaga refugee – scratched his chest so excitedly he might have bled at the prospect of victory. Durham were 93 ahead with a minimum 23 overs left. But it was the last wicket they managed as Phil Mustard’s well-paced half-century took Durham to safety.Yorkshire dropped four catches, all of them challenging. Bresnan would have hoped to hang on to a diving chance at short extra when Richardson was 27; Jonny Bairstow had a very difficult leg-side chance off the glove when Richardson was 36. The two after tea were less costly, Bairstow failing to grasp another.Bresnan was solid, but unspectacular, which must have influenced the decision by his captain, Andrew Gale, not to give him the second new ball. England discard or not, he needed to earn the chance. Instead, he returned with the match virtually dead and the PA announcer gave his name with a resigned air. By then, it might have suited his mood.

Canada will tour Zimbabwe early next year for four fifty-over matches which will form part of Zimbabwe’s preparation for the 2015 World Cup and ahead of Canada’s WCL Division 2 campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2014Canada will tour Zimbabwe early next year for four fifty-over matches which will form part of Zimbabwe’s preparation for the 2015 World Cup and ahead of Canada’s World Cricket League Division 2 campaign.All the matches will take place at Harare Sports Club between January 6 and 12 and Zimbabwe will field an A squad, coached by former first-class player Shepherd Makunura. Stuart Matsikenyeri, who last played for Zimbabwe in 2012, is part of the squad.The games will afford Zimbabwe’s new coach, expected to be named later this week, an opportunity to assess candidates for the World Cup squad which must be named by January 7. Dav Whatmore, the former Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan coach, is the frontrunner for the job. Whatmore arrived in Harare late Sunday and hoped to seal the deal early this week.He will inherit a team that has recently returned from an 8-0 blanking in Bangladesh after losing all three Tests and five ODIs and which has little more than a month to prepare for the World Cup. Should Whatmore get the job, he will hold a training camp in Dubai, where it may be possible for other warm-up fixtures to be arranged in addition to the Canada fixtures.Canada, who lost ODI status in February, have never toured Zimbabwe and only played against them twice. They lost both games – one a tri-series fixture in Port-of-Spain in 2006 and the other a group stage match at the 2011 World Cup – although those matches were against a full Zimbabwe international side and not an A team.Canada failed to qualify for the 2015 World Cup but will use the visit to Zimbabwe as preparation for their WCL Division Two tournament which will take place in Namibia from January 17 to 24.There, Canada will play the hosts, Kenya, Netherlands, Nepal and Uganda with winner going through to the Intercontinental Cup and the World Cricket League Championship, which would be a step to regaining their ODI badge.

A round-up of the Victory Day T20 Cup matches that took place on December 23, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2013Abahani picked up their first win in the Victory Day T20 competition, beating Mohammedan Sporting Club by 77 runs. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim starred with the bat to lead them to the comfortable victory.Batting first, Abahani posted 172 for 8 in 20 overs, with Mushfiqur making 59 off 38 balls. He hit eight fours and a six, adding 70 runs for the third wicket with Soumya Sarkar, who made a 33-ball 37. Later, Ziaur Rahman smashed three sixes in his 24 off 11 balls to take Abahani to 172.The Abahani bowlers combined well to bowl out Mohammedan for just 95 runs in 14.2 overs. Subashis Roy, Farhad Reza, Nabil Samad and Suhrawadi Shuvo took two wickets each.Prime Bank Cricket Club also picked up their first win of the competition, trouncing UCB-BCB XI by seven wickets. Pace bowler Shahadat Hossain starred with the ball while Sabbir Rahman scored a half-century.Batting first, UCB-BCB XI were kept down to 123 for 8 in 20 overs, with Marshall Ayub top-scoring with 40 off 30 balls. Shahadat took three wickets, including the prized scalp of captain Tamim Iqbal for five. He later removed Muktar Ali and Delwar Hossain.Sabbir was unbeaten on 50 off 41 balls with six fours and a six. Shakib made second highest with 33 off 25 balls with two fours.

[ad_pod ]Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to state their desire to see Selhurst Park favourite Scott Dann remain at the club, amid reported interest from 19th placed Fulham, according to Bleacher Report’s football insider Dean Jones on Twitter.The Eagles defender has only recently recovered from a serious knee injury sustained in the 0-0 draw against Manchester City at Selhurst Park last season, and has made just two starts in the current campaign in the FA Cup games against Grimsby and Tottenham – he performed excellently in both games, playing 90 minutes and keeping two clean sheets, as per Transfermarkt.However, given his undoubted quality, the 31-year-old perhaps deserves to be starting week in, week out, and he probably would be but for the formidable partnership of Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins.Which player with “no potential” has just been named Crystal Palace’s worst ever January signing? Find out in the video below…As a result, relegation threatened Fulham are interested in bringing him to Craven Cottage to solve their defensive woes according to Dean Jones, although fans of the Eagles aren’t too up for the idea of seeing such a pivotal figure depart the club, if their reactions on Twitter are anything to go by…

Kevin Pietersen has claimed that he almost missed the back-to-back Ashes series due to the knee injury he sustained in New Zealand

George Dobell at Old Trafford03-Aug-2013Kevin Pietersen has claimed that he almost missed England’s back-to-back Ashes series due to the knee injury he sustained in New Zealand.Pietersen bruised his right knee during fielding practice in New Zealand in the middle of March and, after being forced out of the tour, missed the return series in England, the entire IPL season and the Champions Trophy. He returned, for Surrey, on June 21.Now Pietersen has suggested he considered surgery to combat the injury and that, despite having recovered enough to play, he still suffers pain in the knee and will be obliged to continue rehabilitation on it for the rest of his career.”If I’d had surgery I’d have been out for nine months,” Pietersen said. “It was a big decision. My knee was a shambles. I could have had surgery but the Ashes means too much.”Everyone wants to play in the Ashes. Everyone who has ever played cricket wants to play in the Ashes. It’s the big stage.”I like to perform on the big stage when the team need me. I like to stand up and be counted. As an English or Australian player your career is defined in how you play in Ashes cricket.”I think I’ll be in rehab for the rest of my career with my knee. I still get pain sometimes. I have sore calves; I have sore hamstrings. I’m an old man. But I should be OK if I keep being as professional [with rehab] as I have been over the last three-and-a-half-months.”Pietersen’s comments are something of a surprise. It had been understood that the bruising of his knee, an impact rather than a wear-and-tear injury, had been fully resolved and that it had been decided some time ago that rest was a perfectly adequate solution. But Pietersen’s words suggest the injury may have been worse than previously believed and raise some questions about his long-term future in the game.Pietersen recorded his 23rd Test century during the day – only Alastair Cook, who has 25, has scored more for England – and sustained England’s hopes of salvaging a draw from the game. He also overtook Graham Gooch in the course of the innings to become the highest run-scorer in all formats of international cricket for England.He was unfortunate to be given out, too. While there is little doubt that the delivery from Mitchell Starc that trapped him leg before pitched in line and would have hit the stumps, Pietersen’s review should have seen the TV umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, overturn the on-field decision. There was a suggestion of Hot Spot on Pietersen’s bat and audio evidence to suggest an edge.It left England, by stumps, requiring 34 more runs to avoid the follow-on with only three wickets in hand. But while Pietersen admitted England still had some hard work ahead, he was determined not to moan about the decision and insisted they could still win the game.”It’s all part of the cycle of life,” a phlegmatic Pietersen said. “Some days things are good for you and some days they are not. You just have to accept that.”I don’t like to upset a dressing room by throwing and kicking things as other people have to bat and it doesn’t help them.”We’re still in a spot of bother in the game, but if we can avoid the follow-on anything can happen still. We wanted to keep their fast bowlers in the field all day – we made them work hard – but we can draw or even win this game still. If our engine room apply themselves tomorrow and we get close to their total there is no reason why we can’t.”

Despite West Indies’ ever-increasing woes, there’s still a series on the line. It can’t be won at 1-2, but a loss can be averted

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit07-Jan-2014Match factsWednesday, January 8, 2014
14:00 local (01:00 GMT)Are West Indies up for the last fight?•West Indies Cricket BoardBig PictureIt’s been a terrible two months on the road for West Indies. The injuries have piled up as quickly and as scarily as the losses. The ODI captain flew in to New Zealand and spoke about a lack of unity in the side that had lost two Tests and saved the third with help from rain and his brother.The under-fire Test captain somehow came up with two backs-to-the-wall, match-winning knocks – both in ODIs – one each in Visakhapatnam and Auckland. Those innings gave West Indies their only win each on the tours of India and New Zealand.The Test captain then slipped out of contention on a wet outfield in Queenstown, following which Corey Anderson pummeled West Indies for the fastest ODI hundred. Ravi Rampaul became the seventh first-choice player unavailable when he pulled out of the Nelson game with a broken finger.How many of the remaining few fit players will be praying for rain in Hamilton? Rain is expected this night in the city but there is no more than a 20-30% chance of it during the match. Probably all of the West Indies players will just want to leave this wet, cruel summer as soon as possible and head home to the Caribbean. But there’s still a series on the line. It can’t be won at 1-2, but a loss can be averted.If West Indies fail to win in Hamilton, New Zealand will have another series in their pocket, to go with unexpected victories in the past year in South Africa and England, and a 1-1 result in Sri Lanka with a second-string side. While these signify their under-rated prowess as a one-day outfit, the 0-3 wipeout in Bangladesh stands out as a sudden, but not entirely surprising, blip. It is that missing consistency that they will want to achieve. The selectors have put their faith in this group of players and said they want to keep them together. It is up to the players to repay that with a series win in Hamilton before the tougher contests against India.Form guideNew Zealand WWLLW (last five completed matches)
West Indies LLWLW
In the spotlightThe difference between the two sides begins right at the top. Jesse Ryder has absorbed the emotion and hype around his much-awaited return – and an unfortunate duck in his comeback innings – to crack a 46-ball century in Queenstown and a breezy 47 in Nelson. Johnson Charles didn’t have to make a comeback; he’s had a sustained run at the top of the order since the Champions Trophy. He didn’t have a bad 2013, but his returns have tapered off since the India tour – 42, 12, 11, 9, 0 and 0. Given the tattered state the side finds itself in, Charles will have to show some responsibility.Team newsWest Indies will have 13 players to choose from as opposed to 12 for the Nelson game. The allrounder Andre Russell joined the squad on Monday for the Twenty20s and will be considered for selection for the Hamilton ODI. With Denesh Ramdin saying the pitch had some grass, Russell could replace Nikita Miller.West Indies (probable) 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Chadwick Walton/Kieran Powell, 3 Kirk Edwards, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Narsingh Deonarine, 8 Andre Russell/Nikita Miller, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Jason Holder, 11 Tino BestWith the series at stake, New Zealand should stick to the XI that played in Nelson.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Jesse Ryder, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt), 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi, (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Kyle MillsStats and trivia Dwayne Bravo has made the most runs, 111, and taken the most wickets, six, for West Indies this series The three top run-getters for New Zealand in the series – Corey Anderson, Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum – all have strike-rates well above 100 – 198.76, 143.80 and 127.27Quotes”It’s difficult but Bravo (Dwayne) has been motivating us in bringing a relaxed atmosphere to the dressing room so that we play our natural Caribbean style of cricket. “

“There’s a lot of talented guys sitting on the sidelines. That’s always healthy – if you’re not performing, then someone will come in and have a crack. I think we’re all pushing each other and it’s a good culture; we’re all happy when someone succeeds.”