Cricket news roundup – 22nd March 2019: Cameron Bancroft to lead Durham

Durham have named Cameron Bancroft as their new captain for the upcoming season; Kane Williamson has won the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal; the schedule for the ODI tri-series in Ireland in May have been announced; and England Women completed their whitewash over Sri Lanka Women.

Glory for the prodigal son

Cricket Australia had banned Cameron Bancroft for nine months following the ball-tampering scandal at Cape Town in early 2018. Bancroft returned to domestic cricket but failed to find a way back to the international side even after the ban was lifted.

However, his credentials were acknowledged by Durham, who named him captain for the County Championship and Royal London Cup for the 2019 season. Bancroft will replace Durham’s long-standing captain Paul Collingwood, who had announced retirement at the end of last season.

Williamson honoured

Kane Williamson was honoured with the prestigious Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for Player of the Year at the ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards last night. Williamson was also named International Test Player and won the Redpath Cup for First-Class Batting.

Other winners included in Amelia Kerr, Ross Taylor, Sophie Devine, and Colin Munro for international cricket, and Natalie Dodd, Devon Conway, Frankie Mackay, Tom Bruce, and Trent Boult for domestic cricket. Kerr also won the Phyl Blacker Cup for Women’s Domestic Bowling.

Schedule for Ireland tri-series announced

Ireland will host West Indies and Bangladesh for a triangular ODI series, one of the last to be played before the World Cup, of which Ireland will not be a part.

Starting May 5, the tournament will be played in Round Robin League format with every side playing every other twice. Malahide, where the final will be played on May 17, and Clontarf, will be the two venues.

The start of the tournament will clash with the business end of the IPL, which will prevent some West Indian stars – Gayle, Lewis, Russell, Pollard, Narine, Brathwaite, Hetmyer, Pooran, and Thomas – from participating in the tournament, though they may be available if their teams do not qualify for the IPL Playoffs. There has been no similar update for Shakib, the only Bangladeshi to feature in the IPL.

England Women complete whitewash

England Women inflicted a 3-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka Women with a resounding 8-wicket at FTZ Sports Complex (BOI), Katunayake.

The hosts, 52/4 at one stage, recovered somewhat to reach 174, thanks to Harshitha Madavi’s career-best of 42 and cameos from Hansima Karunaratne and Oshadi Ranasinghe. Anya Shrubsole, Kate Cross, and Alex Hartley picked up two wickets apiece.

Amy Jones (76 in 58 balls) and Tammy Beaumont (63 in 66) then sealed the match with an opening stand of 126 in 109 balls. Shashikala Siriwardene did bowl both of them, but it was never going to be enough. Laura Winfield saw them home with 143 balls to spare.