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The absence of Rising Pune Supergiant, the runner-up in the last IPL, has given rise to an interesting challenge for the tournament organsiers, who have not yet announced the final schedule for the 2018 edition. The IPL has only said that the tournament will commence on April 7 in Mumbai, which will also host the final on May 27.Usually, the eliminator and the second qualifier are held at the home venue of the runner-up in the previous season. By that token, Pune should be the automatic choice. However, ESPNcricinfo understands that some of the other state associations are lobbying to host those two play-off matches. Lucknow and Kolkata are two venues that have been pushed as potential favourites to replace Pune.In a move to eliminate rival states from staking claim, the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) president Abhay Apte sent an e-mail to the IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla on Monday, requesting that the eliminator and the second qualifier be staged in Pune as per norm.In the two-page letter, Apte noted the MCA request was only valid because the IPL had been following an “unwritten rule” of allotting the tournament opener, the Qualifier 1 and the final to the home venue of the defending champions. “For past several years we are observing a practice, which has become an unwritten rule of playing the first (tournament opener), and Qualifier 1 as well as the final match at the venue of last year’s champions and playing the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 matches at the venue of the runners up team,” Apte said in the e-mail. “Pune IPL team (Supergiant) was the runner-up during the last year’s IPL and of course the home venue was Pune. As such, the venue of the last year’s runners-up of IPL team i.e. MCA’s Gahunje, Pune should be the logical choice to stage the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 matches.”Apte pointed out that “history” could not be changed just because the Supergiant team no longer exists.Pune is also the second choice home venue for the Rajasthan Royals, who are awaiting a final verdict from the Rajasthan High Court on whether matches can be staged at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur.

The Wanderers pitch has by no means given an all-clear even though the Test is set to continue after the umpires took the teams off 19 minutes before stumps on day three. The umpires will remain on alert for any other behaviour they might consider dangerous to the safety of the players.The pitch has had extravagant bounce and seam movement throughout, but on day three the umpires were worried about players’ safety. After meetings between the match officials and the captains, and possibly consultation with the ICC, the match referee decided to continue play on day four. ESPNcricinfo understands this was more deferring the decision to the next morning so they could sleep over the decision, understand the ramifications of it, including other sanctions and the fact that India had already courageously fought their way with the bat on this pitch, and hope the pitch settles down on day four. Despite all these considerations, the match referee will not compromise the safety of the players. If it continues to behave dangerously, the match could still be called off.The officials could afford to buy the overnight time because they were losing only 19 minutes. There’s no telling how it might have panned out if a batsman had been hit on the head at, say half past three and not 11 minutes before 5pm. The delivery that led to the suspension of play was a short-pitched delivery from Jasprit Bumrah, which hit Dean Elgar on the helmet, but the umpires had been concerned all day with balls rearing off a length and hitting the batsmen in the ribs, gloves, and thighs.The first time the match officials spoke to the teams about the state of the pitch was during the tea break on day three. According to India’s manager Sunil Subramaniam, the umpires’ concern was that the new ball could behave dangerously. While India’s second innings lasted only one ball with the second new ball, Elgar was hit four times in 8.3 overs of bowling with the new ball in South Africa’s innings.In the captain’s meeting with the match referee, India – in a great position to win the Test and after having braved this difficult pitch – made it clear there was no way they wanted the match to stop. The South Africa manager said they told the match referee they were not going to comment whether the pitch was safe or not, but they were happy to play if the officials deemed the pitch to be safe. The eventual decision still rests with the match referee. There is provision in the law that they could attempt to repair the pitch, if possible, to see if the match can continue, but it can’t be done if it disadvantages one of the teams, which in this case will be India’s fate. So that route is unlikely to be taken.The pitch has come in for harsh criticism from experts and former cricketers covering this series, with Michael Holding calling it a “s**t pitch”, one he would rate 2 on 100.

Sri Lanka have “lost a generation” of cricketers from the national fold, and cannot afford to do so again. Fresh from having presided over Sri Lanka’s largest ever runs defeat in ODIs, stand-in captain Lasith Malinga delivered the aforementioned grim diagnosis.Malinga’s argument is this: where for most of his career he has played in teams comprising mostly of experienced players, he now finds himself in a side where very few have more than 50 ODIs on their record. Eight of Thursday’s XI, for example, have played 37 ODIs or fewer. Of those, a stunning five have played fewer than 10 ODIs.Partly, this is the result of a rash of injuries, but also Malinga says, the failure of a generation of Sri Lankan cricketers.”What I personally think is that our problems are because we lost a generation of players,” Malinga said after the 168-run defeat to India on Thursday. “If that generation was here, we wouldn’t have an inexperienced team like this at international level. We had players like Chamara Silva, Thilina Kandamby, Jehan Mubarak, Malinga Bandara, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Tharanga Paranavitana and Malinda Warnapura.”Those players played about 10 years of domestic cricket by the time they were 29 or 30, and played internationals for two or three years, and then they were out of the international scene. We lost that 10-12 years of experience from them. It’s really hard to get that experience from a fresh-out-of-school cricketer or a club cricketer.”Malinga, in fact, was one of only four cricketers over the age of 30 in Thursday’s XI. Of the other three, Malinda Pushpakumara was making his ODI debut and another, Milinda Siriwardana, was playing his 20th ODI. Only three years ago, Malinga was playing in a side featuring the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, and Rangana Herath.”In previous teams, you had players who had played a 100 ODIs, or at least 50 ODIs,” Malinga said. “When I started playing in 2004, there were seven or eight experienced players in the team. A few years ago we lost that. Now our cricket has declined. We need that – every other team in the world has that experience in their XI.”Like several coaches and management staff, Malinga believed Sri Lanka’s present squad has the ability to become a good team. He prescribed a stable selection policy as perhaps Sri Lanka’s best route back to competitiveness.”A lot of our players are inexperienced at international level, but they get their places because they perform at domestic level,” he said. “I think if we gave some chances to the young players here, we will get players who can play for a long time. If we can give them experience to the team that goes to the 2019 World Cup, then you will have players who have played 30-50 ODIs.”If we keep criticising everyone one by one, we will keep getting these new teams. We have to protect the players we have. The current thinking is always: ‘The player who is in the team is bad, but the one outside deserves a place.’ As a player who has played 14 years international cricket, I think the people who are in the team are there because they are better than those outside.”On his own future, Malinga has given mixed signals. While before this match he suggested he would play for some time yet, even jesting that he would be around until 2023, he raised the possibility of retiring even this year, after this match had been lost. He claimed his 300th ODI wicket in this game, when he had Virat Kohli caught at deep point.”In the Zimbabwe and India series I couldn’t play well. I’ll see where I’m at after this series, and evaluate how long I can play given the way my body is. No matter how experienced I am – if I can’t win a match for the team and do what the team needs, there’s no point in me being here. If I can’t deliver that, then I’ll happily retire.”

Big Picture

Neither of these teams hit their straps during the T20 tri-series, clinching a win apiece, with New Zealand edging into the final then underwhelming with the bat. But this series is a meeting between two confident 50-over outfits. England have had a week to dust themselves down from the T20 setbacks – which has included a couple of days off – and readjust their sights back to the format which is becoming their calling card, while New Zealand have eight victories on the bounce this season.Whenever these sides meet the conversation quickly turns to England’s humiliation at the 2015 World Cup – particularly the shredding in Wellington – and the conversation that ensued between Eoin Morgan and Brendon McCullum, which persuaded the England captain there was only one way to go in 50-over cricket. There was no saving that tournament, but since then England have blazed a trail. It’s a narrative that is likely to be revisited over the next couple of weeks.Thoughts are now turning towards the next World Cup, starting in 15 months in England. There is still time for some tinkering if it’s required, but teams will want to start having a firm idea of the 15 they will use at the tournament. Both teams are probably not far from that position already.There is one notable addition to the England squad from last month with the return of Ben Stokes. Away from the debate about whether he should be on the tour or not, who makes way for his return will be one of the intriguing aspects of the series.West Indies and Pakistan were disappointing opposition earlier in New Zealand’s season, while Australia hit a post-Ashes wall (and picked the wrong side) against England last month. This series promises a more compelling tussle.Ben Stokes bowls in the nets•Getty Images

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWWW
England WLWWW

In the spotlight

Apart from Ben Stokes, okay? Jason Roy started the one-day series in Australia with a bang, his 180 in Melbourne setting a new record for England, but since then his top score has been 49 including three single-figure scores in the T20 tri-series. Yes, mixing formats when looking at statistics is not really the done thing, but it’s all a little hit-or-miss for Roy at the moment. He appears safe despite Stokes’ return and the top-order rejig required, but a significant score early in the series wouldn’t go amiss.This is an important series for Tom Latham who has yet to nail down the wicketkeeper-batsman role, a position New Zealand are struggling to fill in both white-ball formats since the retirement of Luke Ronchi. This season his top score is 37 in seven ODI innings – off the back of a very productive series in India – but he has been given the backing of selector Gavin Larsen (his wicketkeeping has been tidy) and this New Zealand set-up likes to give players an extended run. Still, they won’t want uncertainty over a key position leading into the World Cup.

Team news

Quick bowler Lockie Ferguson has been released from the squad to play in Saturday’s Ford Trophy final for Auckland. Mitchell Santner (knee) and Todd Astle (side) have carried recent injuries with Astle’s still providing the more pressing concern. If he isn’t fit then Ish Sodhi would slot into the side.New Zealand 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Todd Astle, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent BoultBarring a late reaction to his workload, Stokes will return. That means a batsman making way, as England revert to six main bowlers, with Alex Hales seemingly the most vulnerable. Tom Curran and David Willey are likely to contest the final pace-bowling slot with Craig Overton having to wait for his chance.England 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Tom Curran, 11 Mark Wood

Pitch and conditions

It will be a used surface and is expected to get slower as the match progresses. Seddon Park is a venue where spin can come to the fore, although that can be countered by evening dew making the toss a tricky decision. Last year, Martin Guptill plundered 180 off 138 balls to chase down 280 against South Africa with five overs to spare. The forecast for the afternoon and evening is good.

Stats and trivia

• England have won eight of their last nine bilateral ODI series
• Ross Taylor needs 37 runs to reach 7000 in ODIs; Kane Williamson needs 23 to reach 5000 – if he does it in this match the New Zealand captain will be joint fourth-fastest to 5000 runs equal with Brian Lara
• England have lost both their ODIs at this venue: a 10-wicket trouncing in 2008 and a much tighter three-wicket loss in 2013.

Quotes

“They went a long stretch of winning one-day international cricket so they are a strong side particularly at home and we are going to have reproduce similar performances or better than we produced in Australia to win the series.”
“I think we park the T20 for now and focus on a lot of the good one-day cricket we’ve been playing. The plans are fairly different so it’s important we go back to that. We know it’s a tough challenge in England.”

Scotland will host Pakistan for a two-match T20I series in Edinburgh next year. It will mark the first face-off between the two sides in the 20-over format since they met in the group stage of the 2007 World T20 in South Africa, where Shahid Afridi’s all-round performance eased Pakistan to a 51-run win.The series, set to be played in the same week that England arrive for an ODI, also at The Grange, will be the first instance of Scotland hosting a Full Member for a T20I. The fixtures against Pakistan will be held on June 12 and 13.Pakistan’s last visit to Scotland was in 2013 for a two-match ODI series, where they defeated the home side by 96 runs before the second game was abandoned due to rain.Weighing in on the significance of the series, Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer said: “To have the opportunity to take on a hugely talented Pakistan team at home in two T20Is is wonderful news for both the players and our supporters.”With these matches taking place in the same week that we host England in an ODI in Edinburgh it gives us a great chance to show how far we have come as a group in both of these formats of the game.”It also means that, having defeated Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka this year, we have another great chance to take some more Full Member scalps. As a squad we want to test ourselves against the world’s best and, in Pakistan and England, we have two of the current top sides in the world coming to Scotland next summer. Along with the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier taking place in 2018, the year is really starting to look like an exciting one for everyone involved in Scottish cricket.”Like many of the Associate nations, Scotland have struggled to arrange fixtures against Full Members. They face a challenge if they are to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, which has been reduced to 10 teams, but could target the next World T20, in three years’ time, as another opportunity to further their cause.

Jake Ball is giving himself “a great chance to play” in the first Ashes Test, according to England’s assistant coach, Paul Farbrace.Ball looked as if he had slipped out of contention after he sustained a sprained ankle while bowling in the first innings of England’s warm-up match in Adelaide last week. He subsequently left the ground on crutches and was seen wearing a ‘moon boot’ in the last couple of days.Now Farbrace has revealed that the “aggressive” manner in which England’s medical team treated Ball’s injury – which was diagnosed as strained ligaments in his right ankle – might have made it appear worse than it actually is and that he retains realistic hopes of playing in the first Test at the Gabba that starts next Thursday.To that end, he appeared as a substitute fielder in Townsville on Friday and, between further stints as a substitute, will bowl 15 overs in the nets on Saturday in an attempt to prove his fitness.”We wanted Ball to get some time in the field,” Farbrace said. “If he’s going to be available to play next week, he has to spend some time on the field. So we told the umpires Alastair Cook has an upset stomach – and he does have a slightly upset stomach – so Ball can get on the field.”He bowled in the nets today and he will bowl 15 overs in the nets tomorrow. He therefore gives himself a great chance to play next week. He is absolutely, definitely in the mix for the first Test.”England were clearly impressed by Ball in the opening days of the tour. He was, James Anderson apart, the most impressive of the bowlers in Perth where he generated decent pace – Jonny Bairstow, the keeper, said he was the quickest of the England bowlers – and hit a perfect length. It does appear that, if he can prove his fitness, he may be England’s first choice option for the fourth seamer spot.James Anderson also bowled in the nets on Friday and is expected to bowl 15 overs in the nets on Saturday. “We’ve no doubts about him,” Farbrace said.Ball’s re-emergence as an option would appear to spell bad news for Craig Overton. Overton has bowled increasingly well on the tour so far, mixing decent control with a sharp bouncer. England experimented with him bowling round the wicket with a leg gully, short leg and two men out for the hook towards the close on Friday evening and, although it proved an expensive spell, he generated sharp pace from a docile surface.He has had something of a nightmare with the bat, though, thereby losing one of his potential advantages over Ball. Overton was dismissed first ball on Friday, meaning he has been out for a duck in each of his three innings on this tour.”It was a pretty awful dismissal,” Farbrace said. “It was a short ball he should have hit over the trees. But he’s turned it into short leg’s box. Not ideal. You can’t say he’s out of form as he’s only faced 13 balls in three innings.”But he’s here for his bowling – which has been outstanding – and any runs he contributes is a bonus.”Farbrace was not especially impressed by England’s cricket on Friday. While Dawid Malan completed his first century in an England shirt and the side passed 500, Farbrace was disappointed by a series of “soft” dismissals that saw them lost five wickets for 38 runs at one stage.”It was a bit of a mixed day,” he said. “We’ve had two really good days but today we’ve slipped a fraction from the standards we would have expected. We got ourselves in a good position in the game but in terms of going into next week we have not quite been as good as we could have been.”There were one or two soft dismissals. The lads have worked hard – they’re not machines; they make mistakes – so perhaps it’s a good timely reminder that we have to be on our game all the time. It’s quite a good reminder with the Test starting next week that we’ve got to be fully focused every day and every session.”

Big Picture

Bangladesh’s tour is one match away from derailing. After losing by big margins in the Tests, they were expected to be more competitive in the 50-over format. But South Africa strolled to the biggest 10-wicket win in the series opener.Bangladesh haven’t been undone by pace and bounce or fire and fury, but by themselves and a South African side that has stuck to simple game plans. Therefore, it isn’t impossible to find a way out of this mess.In the Tests, Bangladesh didn’t help their cause by bowling first on batsmen-friendly surfaces. In the first ODI in Kimberley, their bowling let them down. Not only did they fail to take a wicket, they also couldn’t apply the slightest hint of pressure on Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock. With an inexperienced seam-bowling group that isn’t getting the kind of assistance they would’ve liked, discipline should be their best option.Bangladesh’s batting is getting better and Mushfiqur Rahim’s hundred in Kimberley provided a much-needed highlight, but they can’t rely on him alone.For South Africa, things have come too easy, perhaps why it’s also difficult to judge their performances. They’d like to be pushed ahead of challenging assignments against India and Australia. New coach Ottis Gibson couldn’t have asked for a gentler landing. He may as well enjoy it while it lasts.

Form guide

South Africa: WLLWL (completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh: LLWLW

In the spotlight

Tamim wary of injured thigh

Even while he prepares to play on Wednesday, Tamim Iqbal is aware that his left thigh is vulnerable: another strain to the muscle could rule him out for at least two months, he said on Tuesday.
“If my fitness test goes well today, I don’t see why I can’t play tomorrow,” Tamim said. “[But] injuries need time. This is not my last match, nor is it Bangladesh’s last tour. If I get injured again [in the same spot], then I will be out for two months which I hope the team management doesn’t want and neither do I.”
He did not play the Kimberley ODI because the physio, Thihan Chandramohan, had advanced him not to, Tamim said. “I was excited to play the last but since there was pain, I took the expert’s advice. I have probably had three batting sessions in the last 15 days, which is not ideal. I am trying to get prepared mentally. But I think I am ready for it, depending on my fitness test.”

AB de Villiers was not needed with the bat and had a barely-there showing in the field on his international return after five months. He’ll be itching to get involved. More pressingly, observers will be anxious to see the effects of him giving up captaincy.Bangladesh’s bowling has been underwhelming all tour, but they can salvage something still. Success in South Africa could do wonders for someone like young Taskin Ahmed . He’s delivered in the past, against India, England and Sri Lanka. Now, it’s just a question of finding the right lengths and bringing in some consistency.

Team news

South Africa could delay experimenting, considering the series hasn’t been won yet. That means allrounder Wiaan Mulder, who was withdrawn from a first-class game to replace the injured Wayne Parnell, Temba Bavuma and Farhaan Behardien may all have to wait their turn. South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt) 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Dane Paterson, 9 Dwaine Pretorius, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran TahirBangladesh are hoping Tamim Iqbal, who couldn’t recover in time for the series opener due to a muscle strain, is fit and available. He could displace Imrul Kayes at the top of the order. However, Imrul may yet be needed if Mushfiqur Rahim, who tweaked a hamstring while scoring his hundred on Sunday, is rested. Shafiul Islam will join the side as cover for Mustafizur Rahman whose twisted ankle is likely to keep him out.Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Liton Das (wk), 3 Shakib al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim/Imrul Kayes, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Taskin Ahmed

Pitch and conditions

With only 10 ODIs played at this venue, it is one of the lesser-known grounds for teams touring South Africa. The surface tends to play slowly and occasionally takes turn. But, like Kimberley, it should hold no demons.Boland Park, the designated home venue for Stellenbosch Kings in The T20 Global League franchise, was revamped in anticipation of the now-postponed tournament. Though the new lights won’t be put to use just yet, the new stands are expected to be packed. After a drizzly build-up, match day should be fine and clear.Stats and Trivia:

• South Africa could go ahead of India on the ODI rankings with a 2-0 series lead.
• Boland Park has not hosted an ODI in more than four years. New Zealand was the last oveseas side to play here, in January 2013.
• The average score batting first is 258. Only two teams have scored more than 300 here: India and South Africa against Kenya and Sri Lanka respectively.

Quotes

“The bowlers haven’t fulfilled expectations on this tour but it doesn’t mean they can’t do it tomorrow.”
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal