Surrey confirm Kohli deal as India's captain gets licence to warm up for England

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Surrey have confirmed the signing of India's captain Virat Kohli for the month of June so ending months of anticipation that he would use the county circuit to warm up for the Test series against England.

Kohli will become the fourth Test-eligible Indian player in county cricket this year with fellow batsman Cheteshwar Pujara currently at Yorkshire and seamers Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron representing Division Two clubs Sussex and Leicestershire respectively.

Although there have been a few voices decrying the fact that Surrey have given Kohli useful acclimatisation ahead of India's Test series in the country this summer, the vast majority of followers of England's professional circuit will welcome the additional publicity and status it is bound to bring.

Kohli will be available for all Surrey cricket throughout the month, beginning with Royal London Cup 50-over matches against Middlesex - an opening match at Lord's for India's captain - and Glamorgan and three Championship matches against Hampshire, Somerset and, finally, Yorkshire where there will not be a guest house room to be had in Scarborough.

Kohli's presence in county cricket owes much to the attitude of India's Committee of Administrators, headed by Vinod Rai. Rai had prepared the ground for Surrey's announcement by confirming that India players would not be forced to play in a one-off Test against Afghanistan against their wishes.

"Afghanistan is playing versus India and not Virat Kohli. No player (Cheteshwar Pujara especially) will be called back from UK to play versus Afghanistan. Priority is England and to do well there, so, whatever it takes," Rai said.

England will hope that this will signal a general softening of India's resistance to their leading stars playing professional cricket in England if and when the opportunity arises.

Kohli said: "It has long been an ambition of mine to play county cricket and I am thankful to Alec Stewart and Surrey for allowing me the opportunity to join them during their 2018 season. I can't wait to get to the Kia Oval."

Stewart, Surrey's Director of Cricket, added: "We are thrilled to have signed the biggest name in world cricket for the month of June. Playing and training alongside Virat will be a massive benefit for our players who will have the opportunity to learn so much from him.

"At a time when there is much discussion around the future of county cricket, the arrival of Virat should give our domestic game a massive boost and positive exposure around the cricketing world which in turn can benefit every county."

Surrey, the wealthiest professional club in England, are making a habit of such marquee signings. Kumar Sangakkara had an outstanding summer in 2017, averaging 106.50 as he made eight centuries and three half-centuries in 13 innings.

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New Zealand women call up Watkin, Bezuidenhout for England tour

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Jess Watkin, the 19-year old Central Districts allrounder, and Bernadine Bezuidenhout, the former South African international, have been called up to the New Zealand women squad for their upcoming tour of England and Ireland. The duo was included in a 15-member squad that will play ODIs against England and Ireland, as well as a T20 tri-series featuring New Zealand, England and South Africa.

"Jess and Bernadine are tremendous talents with lots of potential," Kirsty Bond, the national selector, said. "They're aggressive players who possess a broad skillset and that allows them to adapt to changing game situations quickly."

Watkin, who smashed a 123-ball double-century for Central Districts against Wellington at the National Women's Under-21 tournament in December, has won the Central Hinds' young-player-of-the-year award in successive seasons.

"Jess is a special player who we've been keeping an eye on since she debuted domestically in 2013," Bond said. "She's an explosive batter who hits the ball hard, and is a more than useful offspin option, so she offers us great versatility. We've also been impressed by the work she's done on her fitness and physical conditioning over the past season."

Bezuidenhout, who switched camp from South Africa following her relocation to Christchurch in 2015, became eligible for selection after the expiration of a two-year residential stand-down in August 2017. In a six-month international career for South Africa, she played four ODIs and seven T20Is.

"Bernadine's an exciting player and proved her talent by topping the women's domestic T20 runs table this season," Bond said. "She's an innovative player with a wide skillset, and, like Jess, plays that aggressive style of cricket which we believe we need going forward. Bernadine's also an excellent athlete who's good in the park, and that aligns with our intention to build a multi-faceted team unit, particularly for T20 cricket."

The squad will get together for a training camp in Lincoln from May 12 to 15 before departing for Dublin on June 1. The tour will begin with a one-off T20I against Ireland. The teams will then face off in three ODIs, which will be followed by the T20 tri-series. The tour will then conclude with a three-match ODI series against England in July.

New Zealand women squad: Suzie Bates (capt), Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sophie Devine, Kate Ebrahim, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Katey Martin, Anna Peterson, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin

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Northeast finger injury hits England ambitions

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Hampshire 41 for 0 v Essex
Scorecard

Hampshire and Essex could only manage an hour's play before rain stunted progress during the first day of their Specsavers County Championship fixture at the Ageas Bowl.

Play was originally delayed by half an hour due to overnight rain, before Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate asked Hampshire to bat without a toss.

Thick grey skies and floodlights overhead hinted at good bowling conditions, but a sand-coloured wicket suggested slightly easier going for the batsmen.

And so it proved as Hampshire openers Jimmy Adams and Joe Weatherley navigated the 15 overs bowled with relative comfort. Both struck four boundaries each, with Weatherley particularly strong through the offside.

Academy graduate Weatherley, who replaced the injured Sam Northeast in the side, scored 22 in the shorted session, with Adams unbeaten on a patient 19 when play was abandoned soon after 2:30pm.

Northeast, a winter recruit from Kent, was forced out of the match having suffered a suspected fractured finger during a training session on Thursday.

Hampshire will wait to receive further scans before releasing any update on Northeast - who scored a classy century against Surrey last week - but the injury puts a dent in his hopes of pressing for an England call-up following his impressive display at The Oval.

Essex were able to call on Alastair Cook for the first time this season, along with namesake Sam, and while the former stood untroubled at first slip, the latter provided a few testing deliveries on his return from a cracked finger.

Meanwhile, Simon Harmer is fed up with the rain, having suffered a wash-out in the opening round of fixtures at Yorkshire.

"We had four days of it in Headingley so for the weather to be back is frustrating but it seems like a decent wicket and hopefully we can make the most of it over the next three days," Harmer said. "We always knew they were going to come out and be very circumspect and we also knew the rain was going to come in at some stage."

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Tammy Beaumont's kit and England caps recovered after theft

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Tammy Beaumont, the England batsman who was named Player of the Tournament at the 2017 World Cup, has had her cricket kit and England caps recovered after they were stolen from her car.

Appealing for help after the break in, Beaumont tweeted that while the theft of her kit could leave her struggling at practice on Tuesday it was the loss of her caps to mark 50th appearances in ODIs and T20Is were was "most upsetting".

A short while later she posted again to say that Leicestershire Police had found the kit dumped in a nearby field with all her possessions still inside.

Good news tweeps! My kit was found by @leicspolice dumped in a field all my cricket kit still inside! Thanks for all the messages! https://t.co/ddrGPnLI1F

— Tammy Beaumont (@Tammy_Beaumont) April 28, 2018

Beaumont was the leading scorer at last year's World Cup with 410 runs at 45.55 as England won the tournament in a thrilling final against India at Lord's.

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England Overtake India To Reclaim Top Spot After January 2013

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• इंग्लैंड को 2014-15 सत्र को काउंटिंग से हटा देने का फायदा मिला है। तब इंग्लैंड ने 25 में से 7 वनडे ही जीते थे।
• आईसीसी ने ताजा रैंकिंग में 2015-16 और 2016-17 को 50 फीसदी ही गिना गया है।

दुबई.इंटरनेशनल क्रिकेट काउंसिल (आईसीसी) की सालाना वनडे रैंकिंग में इंग्लैंड ने 8 अंक हासिल कर भारत को दूसरे स्थान पर धकेल दिया है। इंग्लैंड जनवरी 2013 के बाद पहली बार रैंकिंग में टॉप पर पहुंचा है। इंग्लैंड को यह उपलब्धि लगातार 6 वनडे सीरीज जीतने पर हासिल हुई। उसने 2017 में भी हुई चैम्पियंस ट्रॉफी का सेमीफाइनल भी खेला था। 2019 में इंग्लैंड में ही आईसीसी वर्ल्ड कप होना है। इससे पहले उसे स्कॉटलैंड, ऑस्ट्रेलिया और इंग्लैंड के साथ सीरीज खेलनी है।

ऑस्ट्रेलिया को हुआ 8 अंक का नुकसान

- इंग्लैंड के 125 और भारत के 122 अंक हैं। इससे पहले दक्षिण अफ्रीका दूसरे स्थान पर था। अब वह 4 अंक गंवाकर तीसरे स्थान पर फिसल गया है।

- दक्षिण अफ्रीका के 113 अंक हैं। अन्य किसी देश की रैंकिंग में कोई बदलाव नहीं हुआ है। हालांकि उनके अंकों में जरूर बदलाव हुआ है।

- वर्ल्ड चैम्पियन ऑस्ट्रेलिया को 8 अंक का नुकसान हुआ है। उसके 104 अंक हैं। उसके चैम्पियंस ट्रॉफी विजेता पाकिस्तान से सिर्फ 1 अंक अधिक हैं। पाकिस्तान को 6 अंकों का फायदा हुआ है।

टेस्ट रैंकिंग में भारत शीर्ष पर बरकरार
- टेस्ट रैंकिंग में भारत का शीर्ष पर बरकरार है। उसके 125 रेटिंग अंक हैं। इंग्लैंड 98 रेटिंग अंकों के साथ पांचवें स्थान पर है।
- टी-20 रैंकिंग में पाकिस्तान 130 अंक के साथ शीर्ष पर है। ऑस्ट्रेलिया (126 अंक) और भारत (123 अंक) तीसरे स्थान पर है।
- टी-20 रैंकिंग में पहले 7 स्थान पर कोई बदलाव नहीं हुआ है। हालांकि अफगानिस्तान ने श्रीलंका को पीछे छोड़ते हुए टॉप 8 में जगह बना ली है।
- वुमेन्स रैंकिंग में ऑस्ट्रेलिया टॉप पर है। इंग्लैंड दूसरे और न्यूजीलैंड तीसरे नंबर पर हैं। वहीं भारतीय महिलाएं 115 अंक के साथ चौथे स्थान पर है।

आईसीसी वनडे रैंकिंग

टीमें	मैच	रेटिंग अंक
इंग्लैंड	42	125 (+8)
भारत	45	122 (-1)
दक्षिण अफ्रीका	34	113 (-4)
न्यूजीलैंड	41	112 (-2)
ऑस्ट्रेलिया	32	104 (-8)
पाकिस्तान	32	102 (+6)
बांग्लादेश	24	93 (+3)
श्रीलंका	43	77 (-7)
वेस्टइंडीज	29	69 (-5)
अफगानिस्तान	28	63 (+5)
जिम्बाब्वे	37	55 (+4)
आयरलैंड	20	38 (-3)

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England cement white-ball rise with No.1 ODI ranking

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England's burgeoning status as a white-ball team has been confirmed by their ascent to the top of the latest ICC one-day rankings, with India slipping to No.2 on the list.

England's ascent to the top spot was cemented by two impressive away victories this winter - they beat Australia 4-1 in January before seeing off New Zealand 3-2 in March.

• 1. England 125 (+8)
  2. India 122 (-1)
  3. South Africa 113 (-4)
  4. New Zealand 112 (-2)
  5. Australia 104 (-8)
  6. Pakistan 102 (+6)

• 7. Bangladesh 93 (+3)
  8. Sri Lanka 77 (-7)
  9. Windies 69 (-5)
  10. Afghanistan 63 (+5)
  11. Zimbabwe 55 (+4)
  12. Ireland 38 (-3)

However, they owe much of their rise to the removal from the permutations of their dismal run of form in 2014-15, when they won just seven out of 25 ODIs and bombed out of the World Cup at the group stages following an infamous defeat against Bangladesh at Adelaide.

That 2014-15 season, which also featured the removal of Alastair Cook as ODI captain in the wake of a losing tour of Sri Lanka, is now widely recognised as a watershed moment for English cricket.

Eoin Morgan's appointment as captain was unable to salvage their World Cup campaign, but England's form in the subsequent home summer was revelatory. Against New Zealand at Edgbaston, in their first completed fixture of the post-World Cup era, England posted their first 400-plus total in ODIs, and have made 300 or more in 27 of their 60 completed innings.

England, who last topped the ODI rankings in January 2013, have gained eight points and moved to 125 points. India, who were at the top before the update, have lost a solitary point and are in second place with a total of 122 points.

South Africa, who were second, have dropped down to third place after losing four points, from 117 to 113, leaving them nine points adrift of India and only one point ahead of fourth- placed New Zealand.

The remaining places remain unchanged, confirming that the current top 10 ranked sides are the ones who will be playing at next year's World Cup in England. However, there have been some significant changes in points.

World champions Australia have lost eight points to go down to 104 in fifth position and are only two points ahead Pakistan, last year's Champions Trophy winners, who have gained six points.

In other changes, Bangladesh (93 points) have gained three points, Sri Lanka (77) have lost seven points, the Windies (69) have lost five points, Afghanistan (63) have gained five points, Zimbabwe (55) have gained four points and 12th-placed Ireland (38) have lost three points.

In the T20I rankings, led by Pakistan, there is no change in the top seven places but Afghanistan are now ahead of Sri Lanka in eighth slot.

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