Hamilton Masakadza
IT looks set to be another exciting year for international cricket, starting in May when the Sri Lankan team arrives for their English tour.
The first Test match will be at Headingley in Leeds, continuing on to Riverside in Durham, before ending up at Lords. This will be followed by seven one-day internationals for the Sri Lankan side; two against Ireland and five against England. On July 5, they will play their only T20 match against England at Southampton’s Rose Bowl.
The West Indies Tri-Series is set to feature the West Indies on their home turf, plus Australia and South Africa in a series of one-day internationals throughout June. Elsewhere, India will be up against Zimbabwe and the West Indies, and in July, August and September it will be Pakistan’s turn to come up against England and Ireland in a series of Test matches and ODIs.
Australia will then be playing in Sri Lanka, New Zealand in Zimbabwe and South Africa, Pakistan in Ireland, and Bangladesh in India.
The schedule obviously shows England facing a dual sub-continental challenge from Sri Lanka and Pakistan. England’s recent Ashes triumph will see them going out to bat with a good deal of justified confidence, and their supporters will certainly be right behind them once again.
Nevertheless, they will face some tough competition, particularly from the Sri Lankan side, which is currently ranked number one in T20 international cricket.
Last year saw Sri Lanka defeat England 1-0 in the test series and 3-2 in the ODIs, so the home side will certainly be motivated to get their own back. The Sri Lankan and Pakistani communities in England will be rooting for their teams, which should contribute to an exciting and lively atmosphere at all the English matches.
South Africa, unsurprisingly, were crowned test cricket champions for the third year running in 2015, but 2016’s winners and losers are harder to predict. However, Australia currently look like this year’s favourites, with India and South Africa close behind. New Zealand and England shouldn’t be discounted either; the former played a surprisingly strong game last year, and as previously mentioned, Alistair Cook’s boys currently have the form and determination to take them all the way if fate is on their side.
England’s Joe Root is being tipped for leading run scorer, if for no other reason than England is down to play many more test matches this season than any other team. As long as he stays in good shape, Root will simply have more opportunities than any other player, though India’s Virat Kohli is another man to watch.
Also in India, bowler Ravi Ashwin looks set to hold on to his title of leading wicket taker. Bangladesh, the West Indies and Zimbabwe all look likely to fall beneath his mighty off-breaks and spinning carom balls.
New Zealand’s Kane Williamson is a batsman who is on the up. The 25-year-old already has 13 international test match centuries under his belt, starting with his very first test match in 2010.
He also has seven centuries scored at one-day internationals, and should provide some heart-stopping moments over the season ahead.
Nobody is necessarily claiming Zimbabwe to be favourites in 2016’s international cricket fixtures, but they are certainly worth keeping an eye on. Their January T20 series against Bangladesh ended in a 2-2 draw overall, but Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Masakadza scored an incredible 222 runs across the series, setting a world record for the most runs scored in a T20 bilateral series.
He has since replaced Elton Chigumbura as team captain. Zimbabwe always plays a strong match, even when outclassed, so cricket fans are guaranteed an exciting game. Wherever they ultimately finish, this is a team worth watching, and with Masakadza at the helm, they look set to go from strength to strength. – Business Day
