England need to avoid any sense of “doom and gloom” after their ten-wicket defeat in Brisbane and focus on trying to level the series in Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-20170:46

Swann: England batsmen need to learn from Smith

England need to avoid any sense of “doom and gloom” after their ten-wicket defeat in Brisbane and focus on trying to level the series in Adelaide, according to former spinner Graeme Swann, who also dismissed the idea that any of the top order have a problem playing the short ball.Having got themselves into a strong first-innings position, at 246 for 4 on the second morning, England suffered the first of two lower-order collapses. A slide of 6 for 56 was sparked by Dawid Malan hooking a bouncer to deep square leg, while England’s second innings began with Alastair Cook being caught at fine leg taking on a Josh Hazlewood bouncer. Australia’s quicks then finished off the tail again by claiming the last four wickets for 10 runs.However, Swann said he didn’t believe this was a major issue for England to try and rectify before the day-night Test at Adelaide, starting on Saturday. Having had first-hand experience of trying to combat a fired-up Mitchell Johnson in 2013-14, Swann also suggested England should have little to fear about facing Australia’s “overhyped” attack this time around.”I don’t think it’s a problem for the whole England team – of course numbers nine, ten and eleven struggle against it [the short ball],” Swann told ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t think you’re going to do anything that’s going to change that in a week. I think England should bowl short at the Australian tail, because they’re no better at it.”I know that Alastair Cook was surprised by a very good Josh Hazlewood bouncer in the second innings, caught on the boundary, but I don’t think the top order have got that many problems. The one guy I thought would have an issue was Moeen Ali, coming into this series, but I think he played it with aplomb yesterday, so I’m not overly fussed.”Despite only managing to post 302, England had sight of a first-innings lead when reducing Australia to 209 for 7, only for Steven Smith’s masterful 141 not out to shift the momentum. England then stuttered to 195 second time around, before Australia’s openers knocked off their target, but Swann felt there were positives to draw on.Dawid Malan turns his head away from a short delivery•Getty Images

“I know a lot of people are bleating and blaring – especially the English, we like to moan about everything, we like to think it’s all doom and gloom. It’s not all doom and gloom. We got ourselves into positions in this game where we could have easily won the Test match. It all fell away quite drastically halfway through day four and Australia were able to canter home in the end. For long periods of the first innings, especially, the Australians didn’t have a clue what to do with the ball, so there are plenty of positives to draw on.”I think it’s a different proposition to four years ago with Mitchell Johnson, who was genuinely quick – three or four yards quicker than anyone on show here. It’s quite funny actually, the way Australia have overhyped this pace attack. Before the first Test, there was a picture of the three of them [Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins] in the newspaper saying, ‘Our most feared attack ever’, and then had pictures of other Australian pace attacks, one of which involved Shaun Tait, Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath – I can tell you what, Shaun Tait, Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath were a lot more fearsome than these three.”Aside from the controversy around Jonny Bairstow’s conduct earlier in the tour, England’s problems have been compounded by a finger injury suffered by Moeen. Swann said a cut finger was “not the end of the world” for a spinner but Moeen had to come up with a way of coping by the time the second Test begins.”They need more from Moeen Ali with the ball – with the bat he was brilliant in this match. I think that split on his finger, because he’s not a natural bowler, he hasn’t bowled a lot of overs in the past, he’s not used to it, he hasn’t got a mechanism to deal with that. Guys who just bowl spin and bat down the order, they know how to deal with it. It’s probably the first time in his career he’s come across that, so he’ll need to sort something out quickly.”

Mark Wood looks set to remain with the England squad for the rest of the Ashes tour after impressing in the warm-up match in Perth

George Dobell at Richardson Park10-Dec-2017
ScorecardMark Wood struck twice in the morning•Getty Images

Mark Wood looks set to remain with the England squad for the rest of the Ashes tour after impressing in the warm-up match in Perth.Wood, currently a member of the England Lions squad, bowled with good pace on the second day of the match. As long as he suffers no reaction in the coming days, the team management hope he will stay with the full squad for the remainder of the Ashes series. While the decision is subject to ratification from ECB officials in London, and Wood might not officially be added to the squad, he is likely to travel to Melbourne and Sydney and could come into selection contention before the end of the series.His inclusion is likely to come too late for him to be considered for the Perth Test, which starts on Thursday. Every indication from the team management suggests England will name an unchanged side for that match, with Wood still reasoning he is at about 90% pace and in need of more overs. He may gain some of them for the Lions in the coming days but, on the evidence of the performance in the warm-up match, he and Tom Curran may well have leapfrogged an out-of-sorts Jake Ball for Test selection.Wood’s bowling was the high point of another trying day as England’s bowlers were thrashed around Richardson Park in Perth by the Cricket Australia XI.Never been to Richardson Park? It’s pretty, for sure. Tree-lined and verdant. But imagine pouring every insect you’ve ever seen into a heated oven. And then imagine climbing in after them. That’s pretty much how it feels. Flies congregate in great numbers to revel in its charms. They must come from miles around to enjoy it. But you suspect few of the England team will look back on it with much fondness.Maybe a sobering day was what they required. But as Travis Dean, a man with a reputation as something of a grafter and currently without a BBL deal, belted a 68-ball century and helped put on 152 in 21 overs for the first wicket, there seemed every chance England might slip to an embarrassing defeat after a series of declarations set up a fourth-innings run chase. Set 294 in 37 overs, the CA XI appeared to be cruising to victory before Curran’s limited-overs skills – his control, his variations and his calm head – ensured they eventually fell 25 runs short and England emerged with a far-from-straightforward draw.It was another dispiriting day for them. Still smarting from the latest self-inflicted wound – the silliness of players pouring drinks on one another just as the team management were urging them to do everything they could to distance themselves from anything that might be construed as adding to the drinking culture – they saw some of their second-string bowlers take ferocious punishment.The spinners suffered most. Jack Leach and Mason Crane conceded 173 from their combined 18.5 overs with Leach – who conceded more than a hundred from his 9.5 overs – only gaining respite when the ball had to be fetched from neighbouring gardens and roads. Yes, the boundary was short and yes, the pitch was flat. But this was all a bit Kerrigan-esque for a prospective England spinner. It won’t have enhanced his prospects, despite taking four wickets as well.Wood, at least, provided reason for some cheer for the decent contingent of England supporters in attendance. He claimed two wickets early on the second morning of the match as Jake Doran, a 21-year-old who is in Tasmania’s Shield side, top-edged a second successive bouncer, before he went wide of the crease and surprised Dean, a member of the Victoria Shield side, with his pace and bounce in bowling him off the elbow. Dean later rated his pace as “right up there” despite the sluggish surface.Wood might have had a couple of wickets early in the CA XI’s second innings, too. But first Dan Lawrence, at slip, put down a straightforward chance offered by William Bosisto before another one just eluded leg gully.In between times, the CA XI declared their first innings 163 behind and gave England 20 overs of batting in order to set a target. While Keaton Jennings, edging one angled across him, failed Moeen Ali looked in fine touch as he struck a quick 47 and Gary Ballance – something of the forgotten man on this tour – made an unbeaten 45 before England’s declaration.If England thought they were going to enjoy a gentle workout as the match ebbed away, they were soon made to think again. Dean, inventive and powerful, thumped 16 fours and two sixes as the last couple of hours proved torrid for England.Crane struggled with his length, Leach lacked the pace or variation to stop batsmen driving him over extra cover and had Ball been asked to hone his long-hop, he would have had an excellent day. Were it not for Curran, gaining just enough movement from a surface that seemed benign for everyone else, CA XI may well have achieved a memorable victory.The improvement in Wood ensured the game was not an entirely wasted exercise for England. And the cameos from Liam Livingstone, who looks an extravagant talent, and to a lesser extent Joe Clarke were also encouraging. But the failure of any of the batsmen to make the significant scores for which they have been asked and the failure of the spinners to suggest any alternative to Moeen was a little disappointing.

It was not quicker, bouncier or scarier than Newlands but the uncharacteristic SuperSport Park pitch has not drawn any criticism from the men who have to play on it. At least, not yet.

Firdose Moonda in Centurion13-Jan-2018It was not quicker, bouncier or scarier than Newlands but the uncharacteristic SuperSport Park pitch has not drawn any criticism from the men who have to play on it. At least, not yet.With turn from day one, this usually spin-free surface has done the one thing captain Faf du Plessis did not want and has already brought India’s spinner R Ashwin into the game. Ashwin’s three wickets have already had some impact but exactly how much of a say both he and Keshav Maharaj will have on this game may ultimately affect the assessment of groundsman Bryan Bloy’s maiden Test strip.”I feel the wicket did spin a bit but it was not outrageous. It was very slow and there was bounce, sometimes people watching the game mistake bounce for big spin,” Ashwin said.The bounce will be particularly important to the hosts, who see that as being key in allowing them to exploit home advantage. “In terms of bowling, we have got taller bowlers who are used to the conditions and it would be interesting to see how the Indians bat and make an assessment,” Aiden Markram, who top-scored with 94 said. “We’ve got taller bowlers than what the Indians have. That is the only difference I see.”Markram plays his domestic cricket for Titans and knows the Centurion pitch well. He admitted this strip was slower than usual. “It was a little bit different. Generally, there is good pace and bounce. It is still there but it lacked the extra pace that the usual wicket at Supersport is like,” Markram said. “But there is just about enough in it for both batsmen and bowlers. It is a wicket where the contest is always happening. Ideally, we would have liked to have it quicker but I don’t think it’s something bad.”Markram admitted South Africa “didn’t expect there would be so much assistance for him (Ashwin)”, which made him a tricky prospect first up. “He was difficult to face but he is difficult to face on a flat wicket as well. It will be interesting to see if the pitch does get harder or if it will continue to spin or if it spun like that because of grass covering,” Markram said.Pre-match, both teams considered playing all-pace attacks with Ashwin expecting to be benched until the eve of the match. “Two days from the game, it looked like we are going to play an all-seam attack. And then when we walked into the ground yesterday, it was white in colour, the grass was coming off. All of a sudden I really had to pull myself back and think I am in the game now,” Ashwin said. “Today morning when we came to the ground, it looked like a wicket that was really flat and had to have a spinner in the game. Personally, from my side of it, I was very happy that the grass was taken off, if not I think it would have been all-seam attack.”South Africa were also seriously considering leaving Maharaj out and going all guns blazing with a five-pronged pack. In hindsight, that would have been a grave error, even though Bloy told ESPNcricinfo that he expects the pitch to quicken up on the second and third days, something Ashwin agreed with. “I found it to be a bit damp and it was very slow. The new ball isn’t doing a lot actually and the pitch is actually flattening out and spin is going out of the surface a lot more. I think days two and three will be a very good batting day,” Ashwin said.Because this surface has elements of the unknown, it’s difficult to tell what a good first-innings total will be but Markam would like to see South Africa get at least 70 more runs before bowling at SuperSport Park. “Anything above 350 would be good but we would like to push to 400,” he said.

Sri Lanka ended their Bangladesh tour in style, crushing the hosts by 75 runs to wrap up the T20 series 2-0

The Report by Mohammad Isam18-Feb-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAssociated Press

Sri Lanka ended their Bangladesh tour in style, crushing the hosts by 75 runs to wrap up the T20 series 2-0. Kusal Mendis, who has been Sri Lanka’s most dominant batsman across formats in the last four weeks, starred again with 70 off 42 balls to propel the visitors to 210 for 4. Shehan Madushanka, who was playing his second T20I, and the spinners then skittled Bangladesh for 135 in the chase.After being sent in, Sri Lanka amassed their highest total against Bangladesh and fifth highest overall. Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka had set the base with a 98-run opening stand before Upul Tharanga and Dasun Shanaka plundered 45 in 19 balls to provide the finishing kick.Mendis continued from where he had left off in Mirpur and went after the Bangladesh bowlers from the first over. He punished debutants Abu Jayed and Mahedi Hasan in the early exchanges before lofting left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam over his head for a six in the fourth over.Gunathilaka, who was dropped twice on 15 and 28, contributed 42 in a 98-run opening stand, before part-time seamer Soumya Sarkar had him holing out to long-off in his first over.Mendis, who had brought up a 29-ball fifty, then ceded the stage to Thisara Perera, who was promoted to No. 3. Thisara laid into Sarkar, hitting three boundaries in the 14th over, including a six over the sight screen. He added 51 off 27 balls with Mendis before he was caught at long-off too.An over later, Mendis top-edged a pull to deep midwicket, but Tharanga and Shanaka sustained the momentum. Tharanga slammed Jayed for two fours and a six, back-to-back, in the 18th over before Shanaka took four boundaries off Mustafizur Rahman in the next over. Tharanga fell for 25 in the last over of the innings but Shanaka’s unbeaten 30 off 11 balls helped Sri Lanka finish strongly.Sri Lanka then built on their surge by picking up three wickets in the first three overs of the chase. Akila Dananjaya had Sarkar top-edging a catch to Jeevan Mendis at point while Madushanka removed both Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun in the same over.When Tamim Iqbal became debutant Amila Aponso’s maiden international wicket, Bangladesh were 59 for 4. Jeevan Mendis then trapped Ariful Haque for 2 in the next over to extend Bangladesh’s misery.Mahmudullah fought with 41 off 31 balls and added 42 for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Saifuddin. The end, however, was swift for Bangladesh: they lost their last five wickets 25 runs to be bowled out in 18.4 overs. Gunathilaka had applied the finishing touches by dismissing Mustafizur and Jayed in four balls.

A lower-order collapse cost South Australia after half-centuries from Jake Weatherald and Callum Ferguson had given them a fighting chance of saving the match

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2018Getty Images

A lower-order collapse from South Australia has handed Western Australia victory in the final Sheffield Shield match of the home-and-away season.The Redbacks, 1 for 7 overnight, were tasked with batting out the final day for a draw after the Warriors had set the impossible target of 525 to win.Jake Weatherald and Callum Ferguson went a long way to achieving that goal, posting a 123-run partnership for the second wicket in 39.1 overs before Weatherald fell to Marcus Stoinis for 62.Unperturbed, Ferguson found another capable ally in Travis Head and the pair reached the 60-over mark comfortably. But Head’s dismissal, caught and bowled by Ashton Agar for 47, triggered the Redbacks demise.Jake Lehmann and Alex Ross both fell cheaply before left-arm quick Joel Paris found Ferguson’s outside edge on 92 with a ball that angled in and shaped away from round the wicket.That left Alex Carey and tail nearly 30 overs to survive. Carey lasted just under 13 more overs at the crease before he fell to a top edge attempting a sweep off Agar.The last three also fell to spin in the fading light. Nick Winter edged D’Arcy Short to second slip while defending with five men around the bat. Daniel Worrall played a bizarre slog-sweep moments later only to meekly pop up a top edge to slip to end the match.Agar and Paris both finished with three wickets while Hilton Cartwright was named man of the match for his scores of 83 and 111 not out.

Mohammad Amir has come to an agreement with Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur that is likely to see him play less Test cricket

Umar Farooq26-Mar-2018Mohammad Amir is considering shortening his Test career in a bid to extend his international playing days. The fast bowler has come to an agreement in principle with Pakistan’s head coach, Mickey Arthur, which will see Amir’s workload being managed in the future, and it is likely that it will reduce the number of Tests he appears in.Amir, 25, has played 30 Tests since his debut nearly nine years ago, but he didn’t play any cricket for five of those years when he was serving a ban for his part in the Lord’s spot-fix in 2010. He was 18 at the time, had played 14 Tests and become the youngest bowler to take 50 Test wickets. Had he not taken part in the fix and been banned it is likely he would have played a majority of Pakistan’s 43 Tests in the interim.Since his international return at the start of 2016, he has added 16 Tests and though his record may not stand out – 44 wickets at 37.25 – he has been a regular for Pakistan in all three formats. Added to stints in county cricket and T20 leagues and it is no surprise he is starting to feel the toll. He has bowled the most international overs for any Pakistan bowler since his return (864.3 overs) across all formats, sixth among fast bowlers worldwide – none of the others returned, however, from five years out of top-flight sport.”Cricket is different since 2010 and if you look back I have lost five precious years of my career,” Amir told ESPNcricinfo. “Just imagine had I played in all those years, the count could have been 70-80 Tests.”I can’t roll back that lost time but I can manage my workload to extend my career as much as I can. With every passing day I’m getting older and I know fans want me to play. But if you look rationally I’m human and not an iron man. My passion is still there and I want to be there for fans, serving the country for a long time. I have played 30 Tests so far. I think in the next few years I might miss a few and possibly I might end up with 50 Tests.1:58

Ban to burnout?

“I came to agreement with Mickey and with so much cricket we need to follow a rotation policy so that everyone is fresh and fully fit for the country. His planning ahead of the 2019 World Cup is working very well. I didn’t say I don’t want to play Test cricket but that I want to weave myself in, resting for a few and playing the important games. This is being done by Australia and England, so why not us? We have so many potential bowlers around and all need to be played … it’s not like I will stay forever but whatever time I have I would rather stay with greater impact.”Amir has been fairly fortunate in avoiding major injuries in international cricket, though during his Under-19 days he did suffer a major stress fracture of the back. Since his return he has injured his shin – midway through a Test against Sri Lanka last year – and sustained a side strain during the PSL this season. He was rested by the management during the 2016-17 home series against West Indies and also missed the World XI series in Lahore last year after becoming a father.Rumours had floated last year that Amir was considering giving up Tests altogether, rumours which he denied.”At the end of the day it all comes down to you individually,” he said. “You know your body very well and you know how much your body can sustain.”Sometimes people don’t realise that bowlers need rest and when you go out with injury, if it’s a serious one then you have no future. You fade away and people forget. I have seen many examples in our system, of players who have come and gone.”With so much cricket going on I have be very careful with my body. I have lost enough in my life and this is my profession, I need to be very careful going forward. Fitness is everything and for a fast bowler it’s really tough for me to play everything. A good impactful performance comes with a fitter body and with a fresh state of mind.”

Sunday’s home defeat to KKR has left Royal Challengers Bangalore with just four points at the halfway mark of the league stage

Sreshth Shah in Bengaluru30-Apr-20182:17

‘We had our chances, unfortunately we missed them’ – McCullum

Royal Challengers Bangalore made four changes for their game against Kolkata Knight Riders. Tim Southee finally turned up at the 2018 IPL, while Manan Vohra and M Ashwin were also thrown into the mix. But there was one forced change, and that left a smile on the faces of the KKR bowlers.A viral infection forced AB de Villiers to miss Sunday’s game at the Chinnaswamy, and the void showed in the RCB batting. At 74 for 1 after 9.4 overs, RCB had the platform to launch into the KKR attack. But with only a handful of experienced batsmen to follow, their No. 3 Virat Kohli opted to play cautiously, scoring only 20 runs off his first 18 balls. If de Villiers was playing, Kohli’s approach would perhaps have been different, and RCB might have begun accelerating slightly earlier.There’s also the aspect of mental pressure that KKR did not have to deal with. Instead of having to bowl against two of the world’s most feared T20 batmen, they had to now bowl at just the one.”Yeah, it’s obviously a couple of smiles on the bowler’s faces,” Chris Lynn said, when asked how his team reacted to the news of de Villiers’ absence. “We know AB, in the form he is, is always a dangerous batsman but we couldn’t take the foot off the throat because Baz (Brendon McCullum) is such a good striker of the ball. [We had] a little half-smile but we knew we still had a job at hand.”There were no smiles for RCB, though, who slipped to seventh on the points table after their loss, and when asked if de Villiers was missed, the man who replaced him was quick to agree.”We definitely missed AB de Villiers,” McCullum said. “He’s probably the best player in the world and one of the best we’ve seen in the history of the game, so for him to be absent was a huge blow for us. He’s a tough customer as well, so obviously he’s pretty ill to not take the field today.”He’s desperate to get out there, so hopefully he’ll be back in the next game. He’s such a key player for us, and such a good leader. A good man to have around.”BCCI

RCB would want de Villiers to be fit when they face Mumbai Indians on Tuesday. It’s a virtual must-win for both sides since they’re both tied on four points after seven games. After that the terrain gets tougher since RCB go on the road for four straight away games, but looking ahead, McCullum still believes his team can win the IPL.”It’s tough when you’re losing a few games, and not getting the results you want, but you just have to be strong in your own group’s mind on what you’re trying to achieve,” he said. “Some people may doubt you, none of that matters, you just have to believe amongst your group that you have the ability to be standing there at the end of the competition with a trophy in your hand.”We’re going to go on the road soon, and it’ll be nice to get a win before we get on the road. We’re going to have to do it tough, and that’s our fault because we didn’t get the results earlier.”RCB did this in 2015 and 2016, when they strung together a series of wins to make a late surge into the playoffs. And with two other teams on the same number of points as them, RCB are just one win away from putting pressure on the fifth-placed Rajasthan Royals and fourth-placed KKR.”The environment at RCB is fantastic,” McCullum said. “Now’s the time to stay tight as a unit, delivering on our potential as players, and then transitioning that into points.”With de Villiers expected to be fit for the Tuesday game, perhaps the back end of the season is when RCB will – once again – make their mark.

Babar was on 68 when he was struck by a short ball from Ben Stokes and retired hurt

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-20181:43

Babar to miss ‘four to six weeks’ – Pakistan physio

Babar Azam has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against England after fracturing his forearm following the blow he took from Ben Stokes on the second day at Lord’sBabar was on 68 when he was hit on his left arm – he was not wearing an arm guard – and after assessment in the middle he retired hurt. He did not go straight for an x-ray but did not return to bat for the remainder of day. Cliff Deacon, the Pakistan physiotherapist, said an injury like Babar’s would see him out of action around four to six weeks.”We decided we were going to do a precautionary x-ray at the end of the day’s play,” Deacon said. Unfortunately, the x-ray confirmed there was a fracture. The fracture’s in the forearm, it’s one of the two bones in the forearm in the distal third of the arm, just above the wrist. That’s why he couldn’t hold his bat properly.”The Pakistan management have decided not to call up a replacement batsman. The squad includes Usman Salahuddin, Fakhar Zaman and Sami Aslam as spare specialist batsmen.Babar has been billed as Pakistan’s next big batting hope after a strong start to his international career. However, it has been his limited-overs form that has really stood out, with him averaging 53.00 and 51.11 in T20Is and ODIs respectively while his Test numbers have remained more modest.Before this match he was averaging under 25 in Tests, and is yet to score a hundred, making the injury, coming as it did when he was playing so well, all the more ill-timed.

His troublesome right shoulder forces decision; CA want him ready for the domestic one-day competition in September

Melinda Farrell30-Jun-2018Concerns surrounding a shoulder injury caused Australian authorities to deny Chris Lynn a No Objection Certificate for the Global T20 tournament, currently taking place in Toronto.Organisers announced Lynn as a marquee player for Edmonton Royals in the inaugural Canadian competition, but he has been absent for the start of the tournament. ESPNcricinfo understands the decision to deny Lynn a NOC was shared by Cricket Australia, Queensland and Brisbane Heat.Lynn’s long term issues with his troublesome right shoulder flared up when he dislocated it while diving in the field during the Australia’s Tri-Series Final win over New Zealand in February. He had been playing with the issue for some months, despite its severe restrictions on his ability to throw and field.
As a result of the injury, the Australian batsman was ruled out of the Pakistan Super League, where he was signed by Lahore Qalandars, but he was sufficiently recovered to play 16 games in six weeks for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.At the conclusion of the IPL, scans showed Lynn’s shoulder had recovered to the point it was deemed stable and sound and required no surgery. Lynn was, however left out of Australia’s ODI and T20 teams that were whitewashed on the recent tour of England.ESPNcricinfo understands that management decided he needed further rehabilitation in order to recover full range and strength in his shoulder. It is understood there is still a strong chance Lynn will be deemed fit to play for Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League, but CA’s main priority is to have him ready to compete in Australia’s domestic one-day competition, the JLT Cup, in September.A fully-fit Lynn, able to move and dive freely in the field in addition to his powerful batting, would be a major asset for Australia leading into next year’s World Cup.Lynn’s importance to Australia’s ODI side has been heightened after Steven Smith and David Warner were banned for their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. Both players were granted NOCs to compete in the GT20 competition.Far from the only late withdrawal from the tournament, Lynn was replaced by Andre Fletcher in the Edmonton Royals squad. The three Pakistan players called into the squad for the T20I tri-series have been replaced by Anton Devcich at Toronto Nationals, Umar Akmal at Edmonton Royals and Dwayne Smith at Montreal Tigers.Separately, Rumman Raees was replaced by Mohammad Sami in the Nationals squad while South African Christiaan Jonker was replaced by Farhaan Behardien for Montreal Tigers. The three Sri Lankans in the Montreal Tigers squad have been replaced by Moises Henriques, Peter Siddle and Kevon Cooper.