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Ngidi says both teams will be equally under pressure if they are looking to win the World Cup

Mohammad Isam26-Oct-2022Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has deflected attention, and some of the pressure, towards South Africa, their opponents on Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground. South Africa had to contend with just one point after rain halted their chase against Zimbabwe in Hobart earlier in the week.Although T20 is a volatile format, recent form and results tell you that South Africa are competing against Pakistan for the second semi-final spot from Group 2, with India favourites to take the other one. Shakib, therefore, didn’t miss the opportunity to remind his opponents what is at stake for them. He also said that Bangladesh’s ODI series win against South Africa earlier this year will give them confidence ahead of the game.”It is a very important match for both sides but for South Africa, who would have expected two points from their first game, this is a do-or-die match,” Shakib said. “They will be under some pressure. We have a win under our belt, and now we will be playing at a ground that normally aids the spinners. The ICC usually tries to produce true wickets in the World Cup so that everyone gets help.”They have a number of world-class players in their side, but we will try to the best of our ability. We have some good memories against them recently, albeit in another format. It will certainly help us mentally. We want to be clear-minded and enjoy the game. We are hopeful of a big crowd since Sydney has a huge Bangladeshi population.”But according to South Africa seamer Lungi Ngidi, both sides will be equally under pressure. He also said that South Africa would look to attack Bangladesh with their seamers.”Think everyone is under pressure in this tournament if you are looking to win,” Ngidi said. “Their claim that we will be hungry to win, that’s definitely true. Obviously, we would have loved a win in the first game and we know now what pressure we have in terms of going forward in the tournament. But to say we are under pressure, I would say it’s pretty equal if you are looking to win the World Cup.”At the moment we are just playing to our strengths. From the games we’ve watched, we have seen that pace has been the most successful, so we are going with our strengths. We would like to attack the Bangladesh side with our strength and that is the pace. Depending on how they handle that, guess we’ll see tomorrow, but all in all we are running with what we are good at.”Bangladesh didn’t fare that well against Netherlands in their nine-run win, with their fast bowlers bailing them out after yet another indifferent batting performance. Shakib, however, said that Bangladesh have the personnel to produce another “heroic” effort against South Africa.”T20 is a game of momentum, so it is important to maintain it,” he said. “T20s also don’t allow you to have a number of performers like Tests and ODIs. But the performance has to be a big one. Tomorrow is going to be another opportunity for one of our 11 to be a hero.”I believe our openers can bat for 20 overs. Or, why can’t our bowlers again take ten wickets? We will go with an open mind. We want to enjoy the match. We want to be aggressive. We want to end the game with a smile on our faces.”Shakib is hopeful that Bangladesh can take down South Africa’s pace attack, especially after openers Soumya Sarkar and Najmul Hossain Shanto gave them a brisk start against Netherlands, adding 43 in 5.1 overs for the first wicket.”The opening stand will give us confidence. Both openers were quite positive [against Netherlands], which was more important than the runs they scored. We should play with more freedom now.”We have played against the South African pacers recently. We know what they can do, and we have been successful in ODIs. I think we can counter their plans and have the upper hand.”He also lauded the Bangladesh pace attack, particularly Taskin Ahmed for his strong showing against Netherlands. It has been one of the better years for Bangladeshi fast bowlers, having led from the front in wins in New Zealand and South Africa.”[Taskin] is one of the leaders now after Mashrafe’s exit. He has done tremendously well in the last two years for Bangladesh. He is leading by example.”We have a very good fast bowling group in all three formats. I can’t be more proud of how they have improved themselves and come this far, and it is showing in the results. I hope they continue their form in this World Cup.”

“I feel so assured of myself right now knowing someone like Belinda Clark has my back”

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2023Shikha Pandey, the India allrounder, has credited former Australia captain Belinda Clark for making her feel “worthy” and “special” during her time away from the national team.In September 2022, Clark facilitated a three-week stint for Pandey in Brisbane, where she played club cricket. That stint nearly paved way for a maiden Women’s Big Bash deal with Brisbane Heat, but Pandey had to turn it down due to her commitments with Goa, her state team.Four months since a memorable stint in Australia, Pandey’s immediate future looks a lot brighter now. She is set to make a comeback after 15 months, having been included in India’s squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series in South Africa and the T20 World Cup next month.Related

• India pick Shikha Pandey for 2023 Women's T20 World Cup

• Belinda Clark statue adds to cricket greats at the SCG

“The one thing that I like about Belinda is that there was less sympathy and more empathy,” Pandey told Scroll.in. “She listened to my story and then worked with me to set different goals – not just cricket related, but outside the game as well.”We worked on my leadership traits, we discussed different podcasts, we worked on how I could make a difference by being in the state side and she made me feel worthy; special, even.”Pandey highlighted a significant shift in mindset as one of her major takeaways from being mentored by Clark. It helped develop a “squad mentality” by promoting a “more inclusive culture” within the teams she turned up for while being away from the national team.”The sessions that I had with her helped me immensely to bring in changes in my team environment. We brought in the squad mentality, started believing more in positive reinforcement, we understood the importance of creating a psychologically safe environment in which players feel valued, and we also started to celebrate our differences and tried to create a more inclusive culture.”Belinda Clark’s statue at the SCG is the first of a female cricketer anywhere in the world•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

“I remember in one of the early sessions, Belinda said something on the lines of how the situations we are facing don’t define us, but what we choose to do in reply to those situations and the decisions that we take to come out of those situations, define us. She kind of made me realise that I had so much more to offer to the game and giving up was not an option.”Pandey believes those conversations helped her embrace her vulnerabilities and accept her struggles.”She told me that it was okay to be different,” Pandey explained. “As long as I was being me, it was fine. As a professional athlete sometimes you are so scared of struggles and low phases you try not to do anything that could risk your ‘safety’ in a sense.”But she explained that you should be willing to experiment, and you need to understand that you will be vulnerable and that’s okay. It’s okay to fail in the pursuit of excellence, that’s how we grow. We need to learn to own our mistakes. Those conversations opened up a lot of things for me.”I feel so assured of myself right now knowing someone like Belinda Clark has my back. I have kept in touch with her throughout and after I got selected I sent her a message and spoke to her the next day. I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ because she was with me at a very low phase and gave me huge confidence to help build myself back up.”Sometimes when things like non-selection happen you start doubting yourself and your abilities so much that you become your own enemy. Knowing that she is in my corner, that she feels I am really good, helped me more than I can say.”

“Rizwan, Haris, Irfan and Azam are part of the squad because we hope they will be fit for the Ireland series,” Wahab Riaz says

Danyal Rasool02-May-2024Usama Mir and Zaman Khan have missed out on selection for Pakistan’s upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England, while Hasan Ali, who had last played a T20I in 2022, has been called up to the squad. Haris Rauf, who was injured during the PSL, has also been included, even as Agha Salman also returns.The squad, which was announced in a press conference conducted by three members of the selection panel, also sees the return of Mohammad Rizwan, Azam Khan and Irfan Khan, who were ruled out of last month’s series against New Zealand with injuries. However, there is no guarantee yet that the trio – or even Rauf – has yet made a full recovery, with selector Wahab Riaz expressing cautious optimism over their involvement.”Rizwan, Haris, Irfan and Azam are being assessed,” he said. “There is a significant improvement in their fitness. They’re part of the squad because we hope they will be fit for the Ireland series.”Related

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• Are Pakistan stuck in a T20 time warp?

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Pakistan’s squad largely consolidates the group named for the home T20Is against New Zealand, with Usman Khan, Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim keeping their places. Despite late speculation around the potential return of Aamer Jamal, the allrounder does not make the cut, while the freezing out of hard-hitting top-order batter Mohammad Haris also continues.Hasan, who like Jamal is currently playing county cricket for Warwickshire, had his selection attributed by the PCB more to his experience and ICC tournament pedigree rather than current form. Hasan did enjoy a stellar PSL this year with Karachi Kings, for whom he took 14 wickets at an economy of 8.26, but was still not selected for the New Zealand series.His selection appears to be based around belief in his ability beyond just hard numbers, and an opportunity to assess him in Ireland and England before this 18-man squad is whittled down to 15 for the T20 World Cup.Pakistan play three T20Is against Ireland starting May 10, before playing four games against England. The deadline to announce the squad for the T20 World Cup (May 25) is after they play the first T20I against England (May 22).

Pakistan squad for Ireland and England T20Is

Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan

Chamindu Wickramasinghe has retained his place in both ODI and T20I squads

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Nov-2024Kusal Perera has been included in Sri Lanka ODI squad to play New Zealand, as has seamer Mohamed Shiraz.Kusal Perera has not played an ODI in almost a year, but has made this squad on the strength of his 55 not out in a T20I against West Indies. Shiraz, 29, has been an excellent domestic performer, taking 84 wickets at 18.75 in List A cricket, but has so far bowled only four overs in internationals.On the T20I front, Sri Lanka have retained the exact squad they had had for the series against West Indies, which they won 2-1. Newcomer Chamindu Wickramasinghe – an allrounder – has kept his place in both squads.Dinesh Chandimal has also retained his place in the T20I squad. He hasn’t played any international white-ball cricket since 2022, but has been impressive in domestic competitions since.The core of Sri Lanka’s batting group remains unchanged, the likes of Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, and Asalanka himself likely to be part of the top five. In T20Is, Sri Lanka have a middle-order hitter in Bhanuka Rajapaksa. In ODIs, they have more of an accumulating batter in Janith Liyanage, who can also contribute with his seam bowling.The spin contingent also consist of the regulars, Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, with Jeffrey Vandersay and Dunith Wellalage also making both squads.There are differences on the seam-bowling front, however. Slingers Matheesha Pathirana and Nuwan Thushara are only in the T20I squad, as is Binura Fernando. Left-armer Dilshan Madushanka and Shiraz are ODI bowlers who don’t make the T20 outfit. Asitha Fernando is in both.Four of the matches – three T20Is and one ODI – will be played in Dambulla. The other two ODIs will be in Pallekele. The series begins on November 9.T20I squad: Charith Asalanka (capt.), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Binura Fernando, Asitha FernandoODI squad: Charith Asalanka (capt.), Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Nishan Madushka, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Mohamed Shiraz

Victory keeps mathematical hopes of quarter-finals alive, although results must go their way

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay17-Jul-2025Worcestershire Rapids retained their sliver of a hope of Vitality Blast qualification with a 45-run win over Notts Outlaws at Visit Worcestershire New Road.The Rapids amassed a hefty 206 for seven thanks to punchy contributions from the top five, led by Ethan Brookes (57 from 20 balls) and Brett D’Oliveira (46, 36). Dillon Pennington took 3 for 34.The Outlaws replied with 161 all out (Tom Moores 57 from 29, Matt Montgomery 47 from 22, Brookes 3 for 30) to suffer a defeat which leaves their qualification hopes also hanging by a thread. The Outlaws must beat Lancashire Lightning tomorrow and hope that Warwickshire Bears and Leicestershire Foxes lose. The Rapids, meanwhile, their group games over, need the Bears, Foxes and Outlaws to lose, accompanied by the required seismic shift in net run-rate.Both sides require a highly unlikely cocktail of results from the final round of games. After their erratic campaigns, it’s highly likely that neither will figure in the quarter-finals.The Rapids were put in but Isaac Mohammed (27, 15) delivered a vibrant start before he was superbly held on the deep mid-wicket boundary by Calvin Harrison, so close to the Ladies Pavilion that he could have had a cake.D’Oliveira and Kashif Ali kept the tempo high with a stand of 62 from 39 balls. Kashif (34, 21) lifted Liam Patterson-White to long-on and D’Oliveira steered Pennington to slip but Brookes and Adam Hose bashed 59 from 28 balls.Hose (33, 21) lifted Pennington to long off but Brookes struck the ball beautifully to thunder to an 18-ball half-century. He took his side past 200 with 16 from three balls from Sams in the final over.The Outlaws’ chase suffered early damage when Freddie McCann sliced a slog at the eighth ball, from Khurram Shahzad, to cover and Jack Haynes was brilliantly caught by Blast debutant Ben Gibbons at long on. Gibbons took a simpler catch from a failed Joe Clarke scoop off Shahzad and when Moises Henriques skewed Brookes to backward point, The Outlaws were 49 for four and in a pickle.Montgomery kept his side in contention by flailing a six and nine fours. The South African was starting to worry the home fans and had taken 19 from a Ben Allison over before lifting the last ball of it to deep cover.Brookes’ happy day continued when he had Sams and Patterson-White caught off successive balls. Moore peered through the gloaming to biff a 27-ball half-century but his departure, to another fine boundary catch, this time by Hose, effectively ended the content.Both these teams still harbour a vestigial hope of qualification but both are likely to be sitting at home in quarter-final week pondering what might have been with a bit more consistency.

13-member committee suggests “removing bilateral ODIs, other than in the one year preceding each World Cup”

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2023The MCC has suggested limiting men’s bilateral ODI cricket after the 2027 World Cup, questioning the value the format adds to an already jam-packed calendar.The MCC’s World Cricket Committee met on the sidelines of the recent Ashes Test at Lord’s and have come to the conclusion that in a world of growing franchise T20 tournaments around the year, something has to give.The 13-member committee, led by former England captain Mike Gatting, is hopeful that “a scarcity of ODI cricket would increase the quality, achieved by removing bilateral ODIs, other than in the one year preceding each World Cup. This would, as a consequence, also create much-needed space in the global cricketing calendar.”The ICC and its various members have been grappling with this situation for a while now. Jason Roy is foregoing a part of his incremental contract with England to play in the US’s Major League Cricket (MLC). Trent Boult gave up a central contract with New Zealand last year, and the IPL has expanded into a two-month window with its franchises buying teams in other leagues as well, leading to the prospect of players being offered year-round T20 contracts.Related

• Wasim Khan: International cricket must find a way to 'co-exist' with T20 leagues

• Will IPL franchise owners swallow international cricket whole?

The FTP for 2023-27 is more or less set. “Nothing is going to be removed,” Wasim Khan, the ICC’s general manager of cricket said in May. But he also highlighted that, going forward, the international game needs to find a way to co-exist with the ever-increasing number of T20 leagues.

MCC wants to know how much it really costs to host a Test match

Test cricket faces challenges of its own. The widely-held belief is that only a few countries don’t lose money hosting a five-day game. In 2017, for example, Zimbabwe were exploring the possibility of playing a majority of their matches away from home because of these very concerns. To address this, the MCC’s World Cricket Committee has asked the ICC to undertake an audit of the Test game with the view to setting up a “Test fund”.”This audit of operational costs [of hosting a Test match] versus commercial return would help the ICC identify nations in need of support in order to sustain a Test match programme,” an MCC press release on Tuesday said. This need could be subsequently addressed via a separate Test fund, established to “protect the sanctity of Test match cricket.”The ICC established a Test fund after the Big Three boards of the BCCI, ECB and CA took administrative control of the game’s governance in 2014. That, however, did not last long.Gatting, who is on his way out as committee chair, added: “In many ways, cricket is growing and, on the surface, seems financially strong. However, we are increasingly seeing a game which focuses on a powerful few, as opposed to a democratic and inclusive approach for the benefit of the whole sport.”It’s time for the global game to reset. Too often, member nations are finding themselves living hand to mouth with their cricketing operations, versus having a long-term, viable strategy in place that future-proofs the game in their country, both financially and in terms of participation.”We are currently at the commencement of a new ICC Future Tours Programme and financing cycle, and we would recommend further evidence of the requisite funding being directly apportioned to the strategic needs of cricket.”The World Cricket Committee also advised the setting up of a “substantial and ringfenced fund” solely for growing women’s cricket, the money from which can be “allocated on a required basis to full member and associate nations who, amongst other key initiatives, fully commit to their women’s pathway and national team. The WCC also believes that in order to qualify as a full ICC member, each nation must be required to commit to investing in both men’s and women’s cricket and field a national women’s team.”

The dues will be paid in three instalments of 25% each on February 3, 7 and 10, the sports minister said in a statement

Mohammad Isam03-Feb-2025Bangladesh’s sports ministry said on Monday that Durbar Rajshahi owner Shafiqur Rahman has vowed to clear the team’s dues to players by February 10. Rahman had earlier said that the dues would be cleared by February 2.On Saturday, Asif Mahmud, the government advisor on matters of sports and youth affairs, said that he had spoken to Rahman, warning him of the consequences if the dues were not cleared. The Bangladesh government has also formed a fact-finding committee to look into the non-payment of players.The ministry issuing a press statement on a matter of the BPL – a tournament organised by the BCB – is unprecedented.Related

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“He [Rahman] accepted his fault and promised to clear all dues of the team in three instalments of 25 percent each on February 3, 7 and 10,” the release said. “He also assured that alongside the players, everyone involved with the team would also receive their payments in each instalment. Otherwise, whatever necessary legal actions will be taken against him.”Even as the franchise continued to miss payment deadlines, the team’s overseas players were left stranded in the team hotel in Dhaka. Mohammad Haris (Pakistan), Aftab Alam (Afghanistan), Mark Deyal (West Indies), Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe) and Miguel Cummins (West Indies) were all waiting for some portion of their payments to come in. A couple of them had been paid 25%, while some haven’t been paid at all. To make things worse for the players, the Rajshahi team bus driver has allegedly said in interviews that he was holding cricketers’ kit bags as ransom as he too hadn’t been paid.Burl was the first to get an air ticket and he left early on Monday. According to a message from the Rajshahi franchise, Haris is scheduled to leave on Monday afternoon while the others have flights scheduled in the next two days.Rajshahi have been dogged by financial problems from the start of this BPL season.Anamul Haque had first claimed that the local players hadn’t received any payments prior to the start of the tournament – they are usually played 25% before the tournament starts. They boycotted a training session in Chattogram last month, while the overseas players boycotted a match. Burl and Haris eventually made themselves available to play and helped them stay in contention for a playoff finish, but they fell short on net run-rate.

Seamer says aggressive gameplans can give her a second wind at back end of career

Valkerie Baynes02-Dec-2022Kate Cross says England Women are ready to embrace a more aggressive approach under the guidance of new head coach Jon Lewis.Upon linking up with his charges at their training base in Loughborough last week, Lewis revealed he wanted them to play less safe and “walk towards the danger” just as he had seen the England Men’s sides do across formats in his previous role as their elite pace bowling coach.It’s an approach that may come naturally to the younger members of the squad, with the likes of Alice Capsey, Freya Kemp, Issy Wong and Lauren Bell all fearlessly grabbing the international opportunities given to them over the summer during the final months of Lisa Keightley’s three-year tenure as head coach.And while Kate Cross, the 31-year-old seamer, believes it will require a “mindset shift” for the team as a whole, she’s all in.”If you’re not willing to move with the times, then you’re going to get stuck behind anyway,” Cross said from Antigua, where the ODI squad is preparing for the first of three matches against West Indies on Sunday.”I’m not daft, I know that people are going to work out how to face me and how to attack me and that’s ultimately going to put pressure on me. So if I can get ahead of that curve now, then that’s pretty handy for me as a player.”How it looks for me might look very different to how it looks for Freya Kemp or Katherine Brunt. That’s where I think Lewy is going to come in and be really clear with our roles in the team, and what that looks like and what is needed from us.”From a bowling point of view, we’ve got such a big unit now and a really exciting unit, that it will be more how we approach the game as a unit, because it’ll be up to the five or six bowlers that are out there to try and bowl teams out. It’s going to be interesting, but I’m really looking forward to it.”Related

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• Shemaine Campbelle and Kycia Knight back in West Indies squad for ODIs against England

Cross is an admirer of how England Men’s red- and white-ball teams have executed the positive ethos promoted by their respective head coaches, Brendon McCullum and Matthew Mott, reacting on her Instagram stories to an ECB post about the Test team’s feats on the opening day in Pakistan, saying: “Changing the game, this team”. And she said the concept wasn’t completely alien to the Women’s group, who had talked about adopting a similar approach under Keightley and captain Heather Knight over the summer.”Personally for me, it’s a really nice time for this to come in,” she added. “It’s getting that second wind in your career. You don’t want to be the old senior pro that is stuck in their ways and just does what they always do. It feels like a really nice time for me personally as well, to be getting that messaging.”The thing that I’ve noticed with the youngsters is just the lack of fear that they have when they play. That’s probably an element of coming in and making debuts in the Hundred and playing in front of big crowds, and having the opportunity to impress people. Sometimes I think players from my generation could have been doing that, but it was a bit behind the scenes, you weren’t on TV, it wasn’t even live-streamed back then.”Those youngsters are just used to that environment. For me, what is exciting is they don’t really care who’s bowling at them or who they’re bowling at, they just go and do their thing. That’s the making of a really exciting team.”The ODIs in Antigua will form part of the ICC Women’s Championship, in which England are yet to get off the mark following their 3-0 defeat by India in September.Cross is not part of the T20I squad staying on – with Brunt, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Sarah Glenn and Wong joining them – for five matches from December 11. She will return home along with Emma Lamb, Alice Davidson-Richards and Tammy Beaumont after the third ODI in a week’s time but for now she is relishing being back in the Caribbean, where she made her international debut in 2013 and where she came as a youngster herself to watch the men play on the 2004 Test tour.”I remember coming out here as a young kid watching [Steve] Harmison and [Matthew] Hoggard bowling on pitches like this and making West Indian players look silly,” she said. “I also did see Brian Lara get 400, so maybe I shouldn’t say that. But I’m a huge cricket fan, I’ve been lucky to come out here and watch England men play, so it’s great to be back here… it’s a special place for me.”

NZ batter replaces Blair Tickner, who has flown home for family reasons

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2024Cam Fletcher, the New Zealand batter, has joined Derbyshire for 11 Vitality Blast fixtures, starting with their East Midlands clash with Nottinghamshire on Friday.Fletcher has yet to make his international debut, but his big-hitting approach has racked up almost 2,000 T20 runs in his career, with 11 half-centuries at a strike-rate of 131.14. He featured in three T20 fixtures for Glamorgan last season, with a best of 57 from 40 balls against Sussex.Last season, he was a part of the Auckland Aces side which won the 2023-24 Super Smash, with Fletcher scoring 180 runs across six innings.Fletcher joins the Falcons as a replacement for fast bowler, Blair Tickner, who will return to New Zealand for family reasons.”I’m looking forward to joining Derbyshire Falcons, the Vitality Blast is an exciting competition and I can’t wait to get started,” Fletcher said. “Mickey Arthur is a world-class coach and the opportunity to work with him is one I’m very excited about.”Head of Cricket, Arthur, added: “We’ve moved quickly to secure a powerful batter in Cam Fletcher, he’s a very exciting player who will add even more firepower to our batting lineup.”He has played in the Vitality Blast before and will give us another option, as we go into a really intense block of fixtures.”

Afghanistan will be particularly concerned by the form of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who endured a rough week in the recently-concluded tri-series

Danyal Rasool08-Sep-20254:10

What was the biggest turning point in Rashid Khan’s career?

Big picture: First of three big tasks for Hong Kong

Measured by eyeballs, this is the largest non-ICC international tournament cricket has to offer, even if an opener between Afghanistan and Hong Kong doesn’t help make the case for that argument. But in a tight format, there is little bloat, and Hong Kong have the misfortune of being grouped with three legitimate contenders for the trophy.They have played 16 T20Is this year, but nothing that comes close to the sharp uptick in quality they will need to reckon with in a group that also includes Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They got to the UAE almost three weeks in advance, and booked themselves four warm-up games to get into tune ahead of the tournament: a pair against Oman, as well as two against local club sides. That they split the fixtures with each opposition is perhaps suggestive of their level, as well as the task that lies ahead of them against last year’s T20 World Cup semi-finalists.Related

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• Kaushal Silva on coaching Hong Kong: 'No one is going to hand us anything'

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However, there may not be a better time for Hong Kong to play Rashid Khan’s men. The fixture comes just two days after Afghanistan suffered a bruising defeat in the tri-series final against Pakistan, their batters looking totally ill-equipped against Pakistan’s spinners on a turning track in Sharjah. The emotional toll of that defeat, as well as the quick turnaround, offers Hong Kong a potential opportunity to catch Afghanistan out in Abu Dhabi.Realistically, though, that possibility is remote. Afghanistan are among the best sides in these conditions, and have a win over Pakistan as well as two against UAE from the tri-series under their belt. They boast a well-rounded bowling attack, as well as a batting lineup that combines destructiveness with a more classical poise. They demonstrated their strength in depth by rotating half the side against UAE in a dead rubber before the tri-series final, and still ended up winning. The shorter format and the timing may give Hong Kong the feeling they have a chance, but victory would still make this the greatest upset in Asia Cup history.

Form guide

Afghanistan: LWWWL
Hong Kong: LWWLW15:43

Can Afghanistan make the final of the Asia Cup?

In the spotlight: Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hong Kong’s openers

Afghanistan’s highest profile players are invariably the bowlers, but Rahmanullah Gurbaz bucks that trend. However, Afghanistan’s biggest batting superstar endured a rough week in the recent tri-series, scoring just 98 runs at under 110, 40 of which came in a dead rubber against UAE. The impact of his early dismissals has been somewhat mitigated by the remarkable consistency of Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal, but none have the explosiveness Gurbaz does when in full flow. Simply put, Afghanistan won’t make a deep run without his impact, and a game against Hong Kong represents an ideal opportunity to blast his way back to form.If Afghanistan’s opener has hit a dry patch, that certainly can’t be said for his Hong Kong counterparts Zeeshan Ali and Anshuman Rath. Far and away Hong Kong’s two leading run-scorers, they have demonstrated themselves to be consistent as well as dynamic, with strike rates hovering in the mid 140s. Both boast T20I hundreds this year, while Rath’s consistency, in particular, has made Hong Kong especially dependent on his runs. He has scored a further five half-centuries, and averages just under 50 for the year, the standout innings an unbeaten 59-ball 100 in a mauling of Singapore. Hong Kong need a fast start, and in that department at least, their openers have a track record of taking care of business.

Team news

Since reintroducing Noor Ahmad into their side, Afghanistan have favoured the extra spinner. Expect a similar team to the one that played Pakistan in the final.Afghanistan (possible): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Darwish Rasooli, 5 Karim Janat, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Rashid Khan (capt), 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 AM Ghazanfar, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiHong Kong (possible): 1 Anshuman Rath, 2 Zeeshan Ali (wk), 3 Babar Hayat, 4 Nizakat Khan, 5 Matthew Coetzee, 6 Yasim Murtaza (capt), 7 Ehsan Khan, 8 Aizaz Khan, 9 Ateeq Iqbal, 10 Nasrulla Rana, 11 Ayush ShuklaNoor Ahmad and Afghanistan will be expected to be a formidable force in familiar Abu Dhabi conditions•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

Abu Dhabi is considered slightly less conducive to spin than Dubai, which may dull Afghanistan’s edge marginally. It is expected to be warm and humid in the evening, as is routine in the UAE this time of year.

Stats and trivia

• In 21 years of their presence in the Asia Cup, Hong Kong have lost all 11 matches they have played.
• Afghanistan have a better T20I record in Abu Dhabi – the venue of the match – than at any other ground in the UAE, winning 11 and losing 5. However, they lost their only match against Hong Kong at this venue, in 2015.