Cricket news round-up – 11 June: Yuvraj Singh retires; South Africa vs West Indies washed out

Yuvraj Singh announced retirement from all forms of international cricket. Rain stopped the World Cup match between South Africa and West Indies. And Shakib Al Hasan may miss the match against Sri Lanka today due to injury.

Yuvraj Singh retires

Yuvraj Singh called a day on his illustrious international as well as IPL career with immediate effect. He made the announcement in a press conference in Mumbai. However, he has kept the door open for other T20 leagues.

Yuvraj had made his international debut in 2000 during the Champions Trophy in Nairobi and played a memorable 84 against Australia in his first outing.

With time he established himself as one of the pillars for the limited overs, finally cementing a place in 2005-06. His six sixes in a Stuart Broad over during the inaugural World T20 in 2007 became part of Indian cricket folklore. Yuvraj’s all-around performance during India’s victorious 2011 World Cup campaign earned him the ‘Player-of-the-Tournament’ award.

Immediately after the World Cup, Yuvraj survived a long battle with cancer to return to the national team against all odds. However, his fitness was impacted and he could never make himself regular in the Indian team.

Rain plays spoilsport in Southampton

Persistent rain in Southampton forced the umpires to abandon the 15th World Cup match between South Africa and West Indies. Only 7.3 overs of play was possible and Sheldon Cottrell’s brilliant first spell put West Indies on top as South Africa were 27/2.

Unfortunately, Jason Holder and his men could not press on as the play was stopped for almost six hours before it was finally called off. The rain relented several times but the breaks were not enough to prepare the outfield.

The teams earned a point each, which means South Africa have only 1 point from 4 matches. Even winning all 5 remaining fixtures may not be enough for a semi-final spot. West Indies, on the other hand, probably missed a golden chance .

West Indies will meet the hosts England at the same venue on Friday whereas South Africa will travel to Cardiff to play their next encounter against Afghanistan.

Bangladesh face jolt ahead of 16th World Cup Match

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will meet each other in Bristol today for the 16th match of the ICC World Cup. However, there is a significant chance of rain throughout the day and it is almost certain that part of the game will be impacted by the weather.

Sri Lanka’s previous match against Pakistan was also abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled. They will like to have some action for their batsmen to come back to form. Bangladesh, on the other hand, are at the bottom half of the table despite some spirited cricket.

For Bangladesh, there are some concerns regarding Shakib Al Hasan, who suffered a quadriceps injury during their last game against England. Shakib has been their best batsman this World Cup, and his absence will be a huge blow for them. They may have to call up Liton Das or Sabbir Rahman as a replacement.

Khaled Mahmud, Bangladesh Technical manager said: “It looks like a Grade 1 strain. We are not yet sure whether he can play tomorrow. It doesn’t look so serious. Shakib was fine yesterday, but seemed to be feeling it a bit more today.”

Sri Lanka A win 3rd ODI

Sri Lanka A finally tasted success as they beat India A in the third unofficial ODI by 6 wickets in DLS method. India posted a strong 291/8 based on an enterprising 129 off 125 balls from Prashant Chopra, his 5th List A century. Deepak Hooda provided support with his 64-ball 53.

Niroshan Dickwella (62) and Sangeeth Cooray (88) then provided a good start. Cooray anchored the innings and later played a key partnership with Shehan Jayasuriya (65*). There was a rain delay around the 40th over and once the game resumed the revised target was 266. Jayasuriya chased it down along with Dasun Shanaka (36 in 22) with more than 2 overs to spare.

County Championship updates

No play was possible in the matches between Kent and Somerset, Yorkshire and Surrey, and Leicestershire and Middlesex.

At Chester-le-Street, however, Durham were reduced to 18/4, then 46/5, then 81/7 by Northamptonshire. But Ben Raine (75*) and Brydon Carse (47*) batted till stumps, taking Durham to 209/7. Ben Sanderson took 3/39, Matt Coles 2/37, and Nathan Buck 2/54.

At New Road, Lancashire bowled out Worcestershire for 98 on a truncated day. James Anderson (4/24) and Graham Onions (4/55) ran through the top order, while Saqib Mahmood chipped in with 2/8. Ed Barnard (32*) provided the only resistance for the hosts.