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An application by Danish Kaneria to have his life ban imposed by the ECB overturned has been dismissed as “totally without merit” by the UK’s Court of Appeal.Kaneria was banned for life by the ECB in 2012 in relation to the Mervyn Westfield spot-fixing case. The suspension is applicable globally under any board affiliated to the ICC, although Kaneria, who has repeatedly denied involvement in corruption, has played T20 cricket in the USA.In May, Kaneria appealed to the UK Commercial Court and was rejected and today a judge in the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal, the Rt Hon Sir Stanley Burnton, threw out Kaneria’s latest attempt to have his ban overturned.He also ruled that Kaneria could not request this decision to be reconsidered and an ECB statement said that “Kaneria has exhausted all the legal options available to him to appeal a life ban imposed for his role in spot-fixing while playing for Essex.”However, ESPNcricinfo understands that Kaneria is still considering other options – possibly involving the European Courts or the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) – although his long-running appeals have been extremely costly and he may not be able to fund any further attempts even if they exist.An appeal under the ECB’s regulations was unsuccessful last year but Kaneria continued to pursue the case through the Commercial Court, a subdivision of the High Court that deals with business disputes. Costs of £100,000 imposed upon Kaneria were also upheld by Justice Hamblen, who ruled that the ECB had not exceeded its powers in imposing the ban.Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said: “The ECB welcomes today’s decision to dismiss the application by Mr Kaneria to appeal the life ban imposed for his corrupt activity. Mr Kaneria acted as a recruiter of potential ‘spot-fixers’ and used his seniority and international experience to target and corrupt a young and vulnerable player.”It is high time that Mr Kaneria came clean about his involvement in these corrupt activities and stopped misleading the Pakistan cricket fans and wider public with his empty protestations of innocence.”We once again urge him to apologise publicly for his past actions and to start the process of redeeming himself by supporting the Pakistan Cricket Board’s anti-corruption initiatives and assisting the police and law enforcement bodies in the Asian subcontinent with the vital job of exposing and cutting off the primary source of cricket corruption.”

Victoria batsman Marcus Stoinis, Queensland allrounder Michael Neser and New South Wales fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu have all been added to the Australia A squad to take on South Africa A in a pair of four-day matches in Townsville. Matthew Wade has also joined the group and will play as a batsman only, with Peter Nevill to keep wicket.The four changes have been forced by the call-ups of James Faulkner and Ben Cutting for Australia’s one-day tour of Zimbabwe, as well as the injuries to Chris Lynn (shoulder) and Josh Hazlewood (side strain), who were all originally chosen in the squad. Moises Henriques has been promoted to captain the side, with Faulkner having originally been named for the job.Legspinner Cameron Boyce, who has been part of the Australia A squad for their four-day games against India A and the one-day quadrangular series that followed, will also stay on with the group as an extra player. The two four-day games against South Africa begin on August 7 and August 14 respectively.Australia A squad Phillip Hughes, Marcus Stoinis, Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson, Peter Forrest, Matthew Wade, Peter Nevill (wk), Moises Henriques (capt), Steve O’Keefe, Michael Neser, Jason Behrendorff, Chadd Sayers, Gurinder Sandhu, Cameron Boyce.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA comprehensive win over Southern Express and Northern Knights’ win over Mumbai Indians lifted Lahore Lions into the main draw of the Champions League T20. Lions had bettered their chances of qualifying after the big win in the first game of the day but their progress also depended on the result of the game between Knights and Mumbai and the New Zealand team’s six-wicket win smoothed the road for Lions.At the toss, Express captain Jehan Mubarak had said that he had chosen to bowl because he preferred chasing a target with the qualification at stake, and had aimed to restrict Lions to a total in the range of 130-140. Those goals, however, came undone in the last five overs of the Lions innings against an attacking innings from Mohammad Hafeez, who blasted 67 off 40 balls.Lions went into their last five overs on 89 for 3 before Hafeez changed gears. He blasted Seekkuge Prasanna for a four and three successive sixes off the first four balls of the 16th over, which went for 25. The Lions captain followed that up with a few more big hits and brought up the 150 for the side with a six and four off Charith Jayampathi in the 19th over. By the time the innings ended at 164 for 6, 75 had come off the last five overs.Express needed one of their top-order batsmen to replicate the kind of innings Hafeez had played but their challenge began withering away soon, as Aizaz Cheema reduced them to 36 for 3. An already weakened innings stumbled along to an early finish as Express lost four wickets for six runs, including Mubarak who had struck a brisk 35.Cheema, who missed out on a hat-trick for the third successive match in the tournament, finished with 3 for 15 and was well supported by Wahab Riaz and Adnan Rasool as Express folded for 109 in 18 overs.Lions dominated thoroughly with the ball but they lacked fluency in the first half of their batting innings. Until the 15th over, the Express bowlers had done a good job of restraining the batsmen, specially after Farveez Maharoof’s strikes in successive overs.Lions’ opening pair of Umar Siddiq, promoted up the order in place of Nasir Jamshed, and Ahmed Shehzad had made a confident start before Maharoof landed the first breakthrough, enticing a dab from Siddiq that was caught by wicketkeeper Kusal Perera. Maharoof’s next over turned out to be even better with the wickets of Shehzad and Jamshed, both batsmen out to poor shots. The next seven overs saw Lions score just 37 runs as Hafeez and Saad Nasim focused on rebuilding the innings and set up a flourish at the end.

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has named Bhawana Ghimire as its chief executive, while Prakash Maharjan was appointed as finance manager. The lack of a full-time paid administrator, as ICC administration statute 2.1 requires, had put Nepal on a warning list in June. However, with Ghimire’s appointment, CAN have avoided a potential suspension.”Ghimire will, among other things, be in charge of managing the day to day affairs of CAN, coordinating and communicating with the ICC and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and managing sponsorships for the national team,” Uttam Karmacharya, the acting general secretary of CAN, said.Ghimire and Maharjan are on provisional contracts which will be confirmed after they complete six months. They will assume office on Saturday.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Ghimire said, “I intend to put in place systems which will help in the seamless functioning of CAN, which will be to the benefit of all stakeholders involved.”CAN have been on thin ice for a while. In addition to the ICC warning, head coach Pubudu Dassanayake had left the country with unresolved issues around his contract in June. The previous administration had invited scrutiny from the Commission for Investigation into Abuse of Authority. The players too have had issues with the board and boycotted the domestic one-day tournament over a pay dispute in April. Tarini Bikram Shah, the acting president of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), had remarked that things were “in a state of turmoil.”However, with Ghimire and Maharjan coming on board and Dassanayake having rejoined as coach till June 2015, things are looking up.”The recent issues can mostly be put down to mis-communication,” Ghimire said. “Going forward, we will ensure that cricket in Nepal is run in as professional a manner as possible.”Ghimire, whose association with the game included playing college cricket, hopes to work with the BCCI to generate the necessary infrastructure to help Nepal cricket progress.”The first step must be to set up an international quality cricket ground in Kathmandu. I plan to hold hands with the BCCI and set up such a facility with their assistance, technical and otherwise.”My first aim is to ensure that Nepal plays in next year’s Duleep Trophy. Nepal has about four million people of Indian origin, which is among the highest in the world. With support from the BCCI, Indian clubs and regional academies, Nepal can graduate from playing T20Is to receiving ODI status.”Brian Lara recently played a match at Wormsley, in Rwanda colours, to generate funds for the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation, a charity established to build an international cricket stadium in Kigali, the Rwandan capital. We need similar initiatives for Nepal.”Charity games in Nepal, between India and Pakistan, or even involving teams from the Indian Premier League, will go a long way in helping Nepal cricket.”Ghimire has a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Wales. She has worked with Punjab National Bank in London and then with a wealth management company in Bahrain, where she was also involved in work relating to Formula One, the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga.”My stint with Western Gulf Advisory in Bahrain gave me an understanding of sports management, handling of players and the requirements at the highest level,” she said.”Nepal is known as the Land of Buddha and the Everest, but now I also want us to be known for Nepalese cricket.”Ghimire and Maharjan received their formal appointment letters today, but CAN had issued the order on Saturday. Afterwards, a function was held to felicitate the Nepal players and the support staff for their performance in the World T20. A prize of 1,50,000 Nepali Rupees was awarded to each member.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said that it will be “unfair” to judge Virat Kohli’s captaincy credentials on the basis of one Test. In the absence of the injured MS Dhoni, Kohli will be leading India in the first Test of the four-match series against Australia at Brisbane from December 4. Dhoni is expected to be fit in time for the second Test in Adelaide from December 12.”Dhoni’s absence gives Virat the opportunity to show that he leads maybe differently,” Dravid told ESPNcricinfo. “I still think it’s going to be Dhoni’s side, he has been announced captain. It’s just a nice opportunity for Virat and a great feeling, every time you get the opportunity to lead your country in a Test match, it’s a great thrill and Virat will really enjoy that.”Having observed Kohli closely over his career Dravid believes he is the “obvious candidate” to take over the job from Dhoni in the long run but it will “depend on his batting.” According to Dravid, “I think he’s (Kohli) got a good cricket brain. From what we’ve seen a little bit in the IPL and one-day cricket, he’s willing to make things happen. He’s spent quite a bit of time learning from Dhoni. He’s been in the side for a while now. If he can bat well in Test matches and have that certainty about himself as a player, then I have no doubt that he’s the obvious candidate to take over from Dhoni once he’s finished.”While Kohli has bounced back in recent weeks with some impressive knocks in ODIs against West Indies and Sri Lanka, he had a wretched run on the tour of England. In 10 innings over five Test matches, Kohli made just 134 runs. Dravid believes the challenge of having to lead the team will do Kohli “a world of good.””Maybe it will take his mind away from thinking about his own batting, he will have other stuff to think about and it’s only for one match,” he said. “Rather than be consumed by his own thoughts and scoring runs he will have to think about other things which sometimes can be a pretty good thing. Hopefully, he’s learnt his lessons. Having said that Virat has scored a hundred in Australia as well so he’s the most experienced of that young middle order.”Among the 18-man squad named for the series are two new faces in opening batsman KL Rahul and legspinner Karn Sharma. Dravid had in fact selected both while naming his preferred squad for the series on ESPNcricinfo on November 3. While he concedes that both are unlikely to make the cut for the playing XI immediately, Dravid doesn’t expect them to merely make up the numbers.”If you pick people to go on tour, you have to have the belief that they are good enough to replace people in the side,” he said. “On my first tour, I didn’t play the first Test match through injuries and lack of form of other people, Sourav and myself got an opportunity in the second Test and were able to cash in. Anyone picked on tour, you should believe are good enough not only to play but also have an impact.”While Dravid had left Suresh Raina out of his 16-man squad, the selectors have included him in the 18-member unit they have named for the tour. Although one school of thought suggests Raina has been included to give him an early feel of the conditions in Australia ahead of the World Cup, Dravid disagrees.”Suresh has been to Australia many times before with the one-day team. I don’t think there was a need to get him used to the conditions thinking ahead to a World Cup,” he said. “I believe he has been picked to replace someone in the middle order if they go out of form or gets injured. The team likes Raina, he gives so much on the field, he’s a brilliant slip fielder, it’s an area India struggled in England, he can give you a few overs of off-spin. It’s a chance for him to resurrect his career, I am sure that he can play well in Test cricket where his record isn’t as good.”In fact the size of the touring party doesn’t sit too well with Dravid as well who is of the view that “16 players would have sufficed” for the series. “With the domestic season on in India, some of the players picked would be better off having played four-day cricket,” he said. “If there were injuries you almost want people coming in having played cricket rather than cold, not having played matches for whatever length it might be. You might find cases that some of the guys have been on tour for a month and half and not having played a single game. Maybe the selectors felt they needed that back up, they were covering for a few injuries.”

Michael Clarke is expected to be ruled out of the Gabba Test but may have to repair his relations with Cricket Australia and the national selectors•Getty Images

Michael Clarke is likely to lose his fight to play in the first Test against India but faces a far bigger and more significant struggle to regain the trust of Cricket Australia and its selectors following the events of the past week, which have seen the captain and the board at odds over his fitness.Clarke’s single-minded quest to play in the first Test of the summer has left a trail of equal parts confused and furious CA officials, coaches and selectors in its wake, while the contrivances of the grade game he had chosen to prove his availability are now under investigation. It remains to be seen whether the selectors, including the chairman Rod Marsh and the coach Darren Lehmann, can still work with him.An announcement ruling Clarke out of the Gabba was expected on Tuesday, but was put to one side by events at the SCG, where Phillip Hughes was felled by a bouncer and taken to hospital for emergency surgery. Clarke drove to St Vincent’s Hospital to be at Hughes’ side, but only after being asked to explain why he had defied the selectors over how he would prove his fitness for Brisbane.James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, will ask for a “please explain” from Clarke about why he continued to plan for a grade appearance with Western Suburbs this Saturday despite advice to the contrary from the national selectors.”I will speak to Michael and others who have been involved in the process to make sure I understand where these things have gone awry,” Sutherland told .”It’s not really appropriate for me to go into any more detail. All I can say is I am concerned that there are some mixed messages coming out of Cricket Australia in the last 24 hours or so and I want to understand why things have fallen off the rails a bit there.”ESPNcricinfo understands that Clarke had been informed as early as Wednesday last week of the selectors’ desire to have him play the two-day match against the Indians at Adelaide Oval from Friday. Yet Western Suburbs still went into the club fixture intent on making sure Clarke could bat in Sydney on the second Saturday.The efforts of the club’s captain Jeff Cook to ensure this eventuality took an extreme form, declaring at 0 for 17 and effectively surrendering the first innings to Paramatta. That day’s events are to be investigated by Cricket New South Wales at the conclusion of the round.After the weekend’s events, Clarke was to be named by the selectors in the squad for the Gabba on the condition that he proved his fitness by playing in Adelaide. But Clarke still hung on to the view that he should be allowed to test his hamstring out via the Sydney grade game.So when the chairman of selectors Rod Marsh announced the team and stated that the captain needed to play the two-day game, Clarke was at the SCG preparing on a schedule that would have him ready to appear for Western Suburbs on Saturday. He then said as much later that afternoon at a promotional appearance in Sydney, directly contradicting the words of Marsh.On Tuesday morning, Clarke did so again, saying he still expected to be fit for Brisbane. “I really hope I’m fit and I’m there to captain Australia,” Clarke said on Nine’s . “If I’m not, then I think Brad Haddin the vice-captain should definitely takeover the captaincy.Clarke went on to say that he had no plans to retire in the next 12 months. “My goal is to continue to play for Australia for a lot longer; I love both forms of the game. I want to continue to play both forms of the game.”Once you get past the age of 30, I think naturally there’s always talk about who’s going to be next, how long you play for. I probably experienced the other side of that as vice-captain. People should be looking and thinking about who is going to take that role once I’m either dropped or not selected, or I retire.”Experienced players, coaches and officials around the country have not seen anything quite like the events of the past week.

Group A

ScorecardFile photo: Dinesh Karthik and Abhinav Mukund added 90 for the third wicket to help Tamil Nadu recover from a rocky start•ESPNcricinfo

Jaffer suffers finger injury

Match facts

December 26-30, 2014, Port Elizabeth
Start time 1030 local (0830 GMT)

Big Picture

After an innings and 220-run victory in Centurion, few will argue with Hashim Amla’s assessment that it is “difficult to fault anything in the last performance.” There may be individuals in the South African XI, such as the top three batsman and the recalled Imran Tahir, who will want to make statements which speak to their own ability, but as a collective unit, South Africa will only want more of the same to close out the series against West Indies before they get to 2015.Denesh Ramdin’s pleas for a better all-round showing from his team reveals exactly the opposite. He asked for “consistency” in all departments, which means the bowlers need to be tighter and batsman show better temperament.There is no better place to ask them to do that than Port Elizabeth. Not only is it the scene of West Indies’ only Test win in South Africa, but is a gentler surface which could go some way to evening out the contest. After being dominated from the second hour at SuperSport Park, if West Indies can “give the Proteas” a fight in Ramdin’s words, they will be on the right track.With the teams seemingly running their own race, interest in the series has been low but St George’s Park still hopes to deliver a sizeable crowd and a vibrant atmosphere to add to South Africa’s holiday spirit.

Form guide

Denesh Ramdin has called for a better all-round showing from his team for the second Test•AFP

(last five matches, most recent first) South Africa WWDWL
West Indies LWWLW

In the spotlight

Nevermind second-season syndrome – when a player is closely watched following a successful start to his career – Stiaan van Zyl will experience second-Test syndrome. He could not have had a better start to his career with a century on debut and now find himself no longer the newbie in the side. South Africa are set to blood a new batsman in a line-up which has already been through a fair amount of transition and van Zyl, with form on his side, will form a key part of holding the middle-order together.The Jerome Taylor of December 2007 was quick and incisive and one of the architects of West Indies’ only win over South Africa at home. The Jerome Taylor of December 2014 was none of those things. In Centurion, Taylor was wayward and struggled to find his rhythm. When the leader of the attack could not find direction, it was difficult for the rest to get their bearings. Taylor needs to get it right for himself and the rest of the pack, and hope he can revive the success of seven years ago to give West Indies a fighting chance.

Team news

Another Test, another South African debutant. Temba Bavuma is likely to step into the spot left vacant by Quinton de Kock’s injury as South Africa seem set to stick to their seven-batsmen strategy. AB de Villiers will be tasked with keeping wicket. A spinner is essential in Port Elizabeth and after Robin Peterson’s injury, Imran Tahir will make a comeback, displacing Kyle Abbott.South Africa (probable) 1 Alviro Petersen, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Hashim Amla (capt), 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Stiaan van Zyl, 7 Temba Bavuma, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran TahirOnly one of the West Indies’ two replacement players has arrived in South Africa. Seamer Kenroy Peters is in the country while Narsingh Deonarine still awaits a transit visa for the UK before he can make the trip. That may not disrupt West Indies’ plans too much. They are likely to stick to the same batting line-up that did duty in Centurion with a change in the attack. Shannon Gabriel should come in for Kemar Roach.West Indies (probable) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Leon Johnson, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Jermaine Blackwood, 7 Denesh Ramdin (capt, wk), 8 Jerome Taylor, 9 Shannon Gabriel, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Pitch and conditions

Port Elizabeth has been described as the closest you will get to the to the Caribbean in South Africa, at least in terms of cricketing conditions, because of the slow surface and festive atmosphere. In the lead-up to the match, a significant amount of grass was left on that strip but that will likely disappear by the morning of the game. Despite the absence of express pace and carry patient, disciplined batting will be rewarded and as was evident during the Test against Australia earlier this year, if reverse swing can be found, it can be prove dangerous at this venue. But both sides will hope the weather plays ball. Boxing Day is expected to be cooler than the current mid-20s temperatures and rain is forecast for the remaining four days.

Stats and trivia

• Dale Steyn needs two wickets to surpass Makhaya Ntini as South Africa’s second-highest wicket-taker, and 11 wickets to reach 400
• AB de Villiers is set to break the record for the most consecutive Test appearances, surpassing Adam Gilchrist. Currently, they have both made 96 successive starts and the Port Elizabeth Test will be de Villiers’ 97th
• St George’s Park is the venue of West Indies’ only Test win in South Africa, in December 2007. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels and Jerome Taylor are the only members of that victorious team in this squad

Quotes

“We know it’s going to be a slightly different surface – a little more batsman-friendly but maybe we won’t have run rates as high as in Centurion. We’ve had a couple of days off and guys are pretty fresh. Hopefully we can set the tone early on.”
“The atmosphere has been fantastic. We can only control things on the field. We are professional players and once we go out there we need to put in a performance. “

World cricket was there in 1999, 2003 and 2007, and AB de Villiers thinks it may be there again, at least in some senses. Although the South Africa captain does not envisage his own side fighting for tournament survival, he does see Australia looming as a dominant force on the global stage again, and he would like to stop them himself if he can.”Obviously the Aussies are the No.1 in the world at the moment in the shorter format. They’re playing at home, which brings a different dimension to the whole thing, maybe a little bit of extra pressure,” de Villiers said at South Africa’s arrival press conference in Christchurch on Thursday. “But we’re certainly one of the favorites. There’s no hiding from that fact. We enjoy being one of the best teams in the world. We’ve beaten the Aussies not too long ago in Zimbabwe, so to have that kind of confidence that we can be the best team in the world, and at the tournament we’ve got the opportunity to prove it, gives us great opportunity.”South Africa beat Australia in the final of a tri-angular series in Harare last August, but lost a bilateral series 1-4 in Australia last November. Since that Zimbabwe series, Australia have been on a hot streak , winning 11 of their last 12 completed ODIs, including victories in every match of a series involving England and India. While that cannot be equated with victories at World Cups, it bodes well for the team who dominated world cricket in the early 2000s, something de Villiers has personally experienced.De Villiers is the only member of the current South Africa squad who played at the 2007 World Cup, where Australia’s authority was firmly stamped. South Africa were stubbed out of the group stage match against Australia, and annihilated in the semi-final to add to their ghosts of tournaments past. On that occasion, it was not a choke; South Africa were wholly outplayed. De Villiers, though, said those memories will have no impact on this campaign.”I think I’m the only guy that was there back in 2007. So it’s a whole different feel on the team. I have my personal lessons that I’ve learnt from the past, that I’ve learnt in every single game that I play, not only World Cups. It’s just another tournament. It’s an important tournament, but it’s just another tournament. That’s probably the biggest lesson that I’ve learnt,” he said. “I played really good cricket in the last World Cup, and I feel confident going into this one. The boys all feel very confident.”South Africa’s group has been identified as the easier of the two, not least because they avoid both host counties. Apart from Australia, de Villiers also expects New Zealand to be one of the teams to beat. “They look like a formidable team at the moment, a very dangerous side,” he said. “I think McCullum is a wonderful captain and he leads the team really well.”Many would the same of de Villiers. Since taking over the captaincy, his own numbers have soared , with his average with the armband sitting at 66.72 from 60 matches compared to an overall average of 52.16. Eight of his 19 centuries have come in that time, including the fastest century in ODI cricket, off 31-balls against West Indies in Johannesburg. He cited the team culture, rather than the leadership, as the reason behind his recent success.”I very often get credit for winning games, but I feel very confident with the team that I have. There’s a lot of maturity on our team, a lot of respect, which is more important in this side for each other, and we really enjoy each other’s successes,” he said. “I think those things are the most important things. I feel very comfortable as a captain captaining the team at the moment. It makes it very easy for me.”Will it get more difficult with the expectant eyes of millions of South Africans, including a sports minister who asked the team not return as a “bunch of losers,” watching them? Not at all, says de Villiers.”He (The minister) always says that in all his press conferences so we’re pretty used to that,” he said. “Look, our country expect a lot from our sports people, and we’re expected to come here and win the tournament. We understand that, and obviously there’s pressure that comes with comments like that, but we don’t mind that. We’re here to win.”Will it get more difficult with the looming threat of Australian hegemony? The next two months will hold the answer.

Match facts

March 13, 2015
Start time 1400 local (0100 GMT)

Big Picture

For both these teams a place in the quarter-finals is safe – New Zealand courtesy of a serene run through the tournament and Bangladesh after their seismic victory over England in Adelaide. Now there is a final chance for fine-tuning before the knockouts. While New Zealand are assured of topping the group, a win for Bangladesh will push them past Sri Lanka, meaning they will avoid facing defending champions India in the quarter-final.Despite Bangladesh’s performance against England the home side remain strong favourites for this match. Bangladesh have never beaten New Zealand in New Zealand, and the co-hosts are on an ODI winning streak of seven.But this hasn’t quite been a seamless few days between matches for New Zealand. A sickness bug has taken down three players, with Kane Williamson the last to recover, while Adam Milne has been nursing a sore shoulder. Still, they are minor blips in a smooth campaign.For Bangladesh this is a brief return across the Tasman before heading back to Australia for the quarter-final. “We’ve proved a point,” said Ruwan Kalpage, their spin bowling coach, when the team arrived in Hamilton. Their performance against England was notable for its calmness and efficiency, led by Mahmudullah’s hundred followed by the all-round bowling performance. The quarter-finals was their initial target at this tournament, now they are looking at greater deeds.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWWW
Bangladesh WWLWW

In the spotlight

Will we see New Zealand’s middle order under pressure? Only against Australia have they been threatened, and it nearly proved too much. Ross Taylor remains short of form, while Grant Elliott has faced 94 balls in the tournament and Luke Ronchi 36. New Zealand insist they are not into box-ticking, but if a situation arises that gives these players a significant role it would be no bad thing.Rubel Hossain is the man of the moment, and should have been the Man of the Match against England. It was his twin double-strikes, first to remove Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan and later Stuart Broad and James Anderson, which condemned England. He will also have fond memories of facing New Zealand having taken 6 for 26, including a hat-trick, in Dhaka in October 2013.

Teams news

Brendon McCullum could not confirm his side with doubts remaining over Milne. He said that would err on the side of caution – Mitchell McClenaghan would be the favourite to replace him if required. Kane Williamson has overcome his sickness.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Adam Milne/Mitchell McClenaghan, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent BoultMashrafe Mortaza has been suffering from a sore throat and a decision on whether he plays will be taken on the day of the game. Significantly, Mortaza is sitting on an over-rate warning after being docked following the England match and if the team were slow again in Hamilton he would miss the quarter-final. Chandika Hathurusingha, the coach, suggested that the balance of the attack would remain the same with Arafat Sunny retaining his place.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Arafat Sunny, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Taskin Ahmed

Pitch and conditions

India had no issues chasing down 260 against Ireland and it should be a challenging pitch for the bowlers. But New Zealand have had no problems so far finding swing when others have not. Hathurusingha did not think the pitch would aid spinners much – saying it was quite hard with a good covering of grass – although R Ashwin and Suresh Raina bowled well for India against Ireland. It was a damp day on Thursday but the forecast for the game is much better, although being under covers could change the pitch’s characteristics a little.

Stats and trivia

• If New Zealand win it will be the first time they have progressed to the knockouts of a World Cup unbeaten
• When the sides met for a Test on this ground in 2010 Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill added 339 for the sixth wicket
• On home soil Bangladesh have won the last seven completed ODIs against New Zealand

Quotes

“For us it’s just about winning and however you can get that job done is important. We’ve had the ability to bowl teams out for under 200 and when we have batted first we managed to get over 300.”
“Confidence is high because we have qualified for the quarter-final, that’s one of the goals we had. The guys had been confident throughout but that win against England has given us a little more freedom to do things.”