Cricket news round-up – 24 July: Malinga to bring down curtains on ODI career; Anderson ruled out of Test

Sri Lanka’s first ODI against Bangladesh on Friday, 26 July, will be Lasith Malinga’s last after the veteran conveyed to SLC his decision to retire from the format. Elsewhere, Jimmy Anderson was sidelined for the four-day Test against Ireland, Shubman Gill was saddened by the selectors’ snub, and plenty of runs were scored in the T20 Blast. 

Malinga to retire after first Bangladesh ODI

Sri Lanka pace ace Lasith Malinga has decided to draw curtains on his storied ODI career after the first match against Bangladesh on Friday, 26 July.

Dimuth Karunaratne, the Sri Lanka captain, revealed the development on Tuesday, and Sri Lanka Cricket later confirmed it in their release.

“Lasith Malinga is an exceptional player, who has contributed immensely to the game of cricket in Sri Lanka,” Shammi Silva, the SLC president, said. “His departure from ODI cricket opens up a door for young bowlers to come and emulate what Malinga has done while playing for the country.”

Malinga will continue playing T20Is for Sri Lanka.

Anderson ruled out of Ireland Test

Jimmy Anderson has been ruled out of England’s Lord’s Test again Ireland after he failed to recover from a calf injury.

Anderson did his calf earlier this month during a county clash for Lancashire against Durham – MRI scans laterrevealed a tear, but despite that, the England selectors named him in the squad for the Ireland Test, in anticipation of a quick recovery.

However, Anderson will take no part in the Lord’s Test, starting on Wednesday, 24 July, with Joe Root, the England captain, saying they didn’t want Anderson carrying a niggle into the Ashes series, commencing in Edgbaston on 1 August.

Gill admits disappointment at selectors’ snub

Shubman Gill impressed for India A in the Caribbean – he was Player of the Series in the one-dayers after being top-scorer – but still found no place in the senior limited-overs squads set to tour the West Indies.

Gill admitted he was expecting to be selected for any one of the squads, and said there was disappointment he didn’t feature in any. “I was waiting for the Indian senior team to be announced on Sunday and I expected to be selected for at least one of the squads,” Gill told CricketNext.

“It was disappointing not to get picked but I am not going to spend time thinking over it. I’ll keep scoring runs and performing to the best of my ability to impress the selectors.”

Gill will next play in the three four-day matches in the Caribbean.

Qatar keep qualification hopes alive

Qatar managed a surprise four-wicket victory over Nepal in the T20 World Cup Asia Final to keep their hopes of qualification to the main tournament alive.

Nepal opted to bat, but were restricted to 122 in 20 overs, despite DS Airee’s 34. Inam-ul-Haq’s 32-ball 41 powered Qatar’s chase as they crossed the target in 19.2 overs.

The other match of the day – between Singapore and Kuwait – was washed out without a ball bowled.

County Championship round-up

Gloucestershire, having bowled out Worcestershire for 293, surged to a 210-run lead at the end of day three, scoring 149/8 by stumps with Ryan Higgins’ 35-ball 36 the highest score of the day.

T20 Blast round-up

In a high-scoring clash in Leicester, Yorkshire beat Leicestershire by 54 runs after scoring 255/2 in 20 overs – Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored a 54-ball 96, supported by Adam Lyth (69 off 35) and Nicholas Pooran (67 off 28). Leicestershire did well to score 201/4 in response, with Arron Lilley (47 off 24) and Lewis Hill (49 off 28) powering the chase, but their target was too high on the day.

Elsewhere, Middlesex saw off Surrey by 37 runs in the London derby. Dawid Malan scored a 57-ball 117 to set up the victory, helping Middlesex post 209/3. Surrey managed 172/9 in their outing, Ollie Pope’s 31-ball 47 their highest score.