Let us look at some of the most-discussed cricket stories on the news on 4 July.
Third ODI: England denied whitewash against Sri Lanka by weather
Persistent rain showed mercy to Sri Lanka as their third ODI against England was washed out in Bristol. Eoin Morgan’s England won the ODI series 2-0 after securing a 3-0 sweep in the T20Is earlier in the tour.
Sri Lanka were left reeling at 63/5 after being put in. Apart from Dasun Shanaka (48*), no Sri Lanka batter scored in excess of 20 before they were bowled out for 166 in 41. 1 overs.
In another complete England bowling performance, Tom Curran was pick of the bowlers with 4-35. Chris Woakes (2-28) and David Willey (2-36) claimed two wickets each before rain played spoilsport in the contest.
Seven Bangladeshi players to miss start of LPL 2
Seven Bangladeshi players, who have registered their names in the draft of the Lanka Premier League 2, will be unavailable from the start of the tournament due to national commitments. They are Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar.
Bangladesh will have a five-match T20I series against Australia from 2 to 8 August in Dhaka, while the LPL is scheduled to begin on 30 July and will run till 22 August.
England retain 16-member squad for Pakistan ODIs
The ECB has named an unchanged 16-member squad, who just played against Sri Lanka, for the three-match ODI series against Pakistan. Ben Stokes has not been picked in the roster despite his return to domestic cricket, while Jos Buttler will be unavailable for the calf injury he sustained during the opening T20I match against Sri Lanka.
England will play a three-match ODI and T20I series against Pakistan, starting 8 July in Cardiff.
England squad for Pakistan ODIs: Eoin Morgan (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jason Roy, Joe Root, Sam Billings, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, David Willey, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Liam Dawson, George Garton, Tom Banton.
T20 World Cup conditions will be similar to the Caribbean: Boucher
Mark Boucher expects the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting 17 October in Oman and the UAE, will be similar to South Africa’s recently-concluded T20I series against West Indies St George’s, Grenada. Under Boucher’s coaching, South Africa edged past West Indies 3-2 in the five-match series.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Boucher said spinners will be key for each side in the T20I World Cup and batting is not going to be easy against them: ‘It’s going to be tough to bat on especially at the back end, like we saw here. We will have an idea of what scores are going to be by watching the IPL and then taking a look and assess how the wickets are playing during the beginning part of the World Cup. I suspect spinners will play a massive role.’
The team totals were between 160 and 170 for each of the five South Africa-West Indies T20Is at the same venue, while the team batting first won four out of them.