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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Shakib Al Hasan scored 79 and then took 2 for 26 in seven overs•Zimbabwe Cricket

Shakib Al Hasan, not for the first time, reaffirmed his position as Bangladesh’s MVP with a sterling display that included runs, wickets and brilliance in the field. His performance helped Bangladesh win their second consecutive game, and though it came a little too late because the series was already lost, it ended a largely dispiriting tour on a motivating note. A determined recovery stand with Mahmudullah, which bore testimony to his hard work and fitness, and a tight spell on a turning track formed the backbone of a comfortable win.The Zimbabwe bowlers, after their captain Brendan Taylor chose to field, lacked consistency in their lines and lengths but did enough to ensure Bangladesh didn’t dominate on a pitch that promised plenty of runs. Spin was to prove the key weapon on this pitch, and the Zimbabwe slow bowlers stepped in to gain the ascendancy.Prosper Utseya bowled a couple of tight overs and Ray Price struck at the right time just as Tamim Iqbal was looking for a release; he mistimed a slog-sweep and was caught. Price then brought an extra fielder inside the circle on the leg side, and almost immediately Mushfiqur Rahim gifted him a catch. Price pushed the fielder back after Shuvagoto Hom was kept quiet for four deliveries, prompting a heave off the fifth that found deep midwicket. Zimbabwe were ahead but Shakib stood in their way.Walking in at No.5, and watching his team slide to 127 for 5 in the 30th over, Shakib was faced with the task of doing justice to a good batting pitch. He initially counterattacked, smashing Price for a massive six followed up by a crunched four off Malcolm Waller. But he had to tone down after losing Mushfiqur Rahim and Shuvagoto in quick succession. Shakib ran hard between the wickets, worked the spinners through the spread-out field, employed the cut, closed the face to play square and drove down the ground with regularity. He went without a boundary for 40 deliveries and yet scored at better than a run-a-ball.Shakib also benefitted from some ill-directed bowling from Zimbabwe in the late overs. He clipped Elton Chigumbura for two fours in the 42nd over, and swung Price and Chris Mpofu through square leg. He should have inflicted the same treatment on a full toss from Keegan Meth, called in for Kyle Jarvis, but was bowled as he shuffled across to paddle it fine. His wicket came after a century stand, with Mahmudullah already having indulged in some enterprising batting in the final Powerplay. Dropped by Price when on 24, Mahmudullah reached his half-century, lofting Mpofu over his head and following up with a scoop for four more, taking his team past 250.The innings ended on an unpleasant note as Nasir Hossain smashed a ball back towards Meth, who didn’t react in time and was struck hard on the mouth. He broke his teeth, was bleeding profusely, and looked in plenty of discomfort. He didn’t come out to bat.Zimbabwe were indisciplined while batting. Taylor, yet again, was out caught behind while playing away from his body. The in-form Vusi Sibanda was a threat to Bangladesh’s defence, striking the ball cleanly, including two massive sixes off the seamers. So it seemed an aberration when he completely miscued an attempted pull off Shakib and it cost him his wicket, triggering a decisive turn of events.Hamilton Masakadza looked assured for the bulk of his stay but was trapped in front when he played across the line to an arm ball from Abdur Razzak. Tatenda Taibu was plumb when he missed a sweep off Shakib. Three wickets had fallen for 14 runs in 23 balls and Zimbabwe were forced to go into rebuilding mode. Forster Mutizwa and Waller kept the fight going, concentrating on working the field and playing the odd aggressive shot.The pair added 67, aided by sloppy fielding from Bangladesh, but was separated by brilliance from Shakib. Though he had hurt a finger on his bowling hand, Shakib dived full length and recovered to return an accurate throw to the wicketkeeper’s end and run out Mutizwa. There was a procession of wickets from there on and Mahmudullah helped himself to three scalps to complete another impressive all-round performance.

VVS Laxman is unconcerned about India’s limited preparation time in England before the first Test and has backed the team to continue their much-improved overseas performance of the past 10 years. The visitors have struggled in their only warm-up match against Somerset with the bowling far from impressive and the batsmen struggling, but Laxman insists international players know how to adjust.Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan – all certain starters at Lord’s – are playing their first first-class match in almost seven months. Zaheer ended wicketless in the first innings, Gambhir fell for 21 and Tendulkar went for 26. Laxman, meanwhile, is sitting out the match having played three back-to-back Tests against West Indies but his team-mates were given the runaround with Somerset piling up 425 for 3 on a flat pitch.Rain also cut into the playing time which meant India were left with little more than one session and a day to take what they can from the game before heading to London.On their previous two tours, however, in West Indies and South Africa, India didn’t have a single practice match before the Test series. In South Africa they came a cropper in the opening Test, being hammered by an innings and 25 runs at Centurion, but in West Indies they won by 63 runs at Sabina Park and that was enough to take the series 1-0.”Because of the hectic nature of international cricket even playing one warm-up is a luxury these days,” Laxman said. “When we went to West Indies we didn’t have a single match before the Tests. We are quite confident and we’ll have good net sessions at Lord’s.”In international cricket with the kind of schedules everyone has you have to be ready for any sort of challenge. Saying that, we have an experienced batting line-up who have played in England before so I’m sure that will be helpful for us come Thursday.”The 1-0 series win in the Caribbean continued India’s much-improved record away from home. They came back to draw 1-1 in South Africa and have also held their own in Australia. On the 2007 tour of England, they won 1-0 and five years previously shared the series, which Laxman believes played an important part in transforming their fortunes outside of India. There was more than a hint of confidence when he wouldn’t single out this tour as harder than others.”Not necessarily but it’s certainly a very challenging tour,” he said. “Any overseas tour is always a challenge and we are all very proud of how we have changed our record abroad. When I started we weren’t very good but we’ve improved a lot. Our mindset has changed.”We got confidence from the 2002 series in England and before that in West Indies where we won at Trinidad, then at Headingley. Those series, and against Australia in 2003, changed our mindset and we started believing in ourselves. It’s given us a lot of pride the way we have performed overseas, both collectively and individually.”Every country offers different challenges. If you look at the wickets in West Indies they were quite tough to bat and when you visit South Africa, New Zealand or Australia they can be tough. They are conditions that are quite alien to you which offer a challenge.”Laxman’s record against England is one blot on his fantastic international record. He averages 34.35 against them without a hundred against his career figure of 47.36. He has, however, had more success against England playing away than on home soil which is something of a surprise. Laxman, though, doesn’t get too hung up on those figures but is looking forward to a chance of boosting his record against an England attack he calls “formidable”.”I don’t have a hundred against them but feel I’ve played some important knocks but not converted them,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed facing the England bowling; it’s always formidable so I’m looking to maintaining my consistency of recent years and playing some important knocks.”They have a very balanced attack with real match-winners,” he said. “But I don’t want to compare and say whether they are the best. It’s going to be a highly challenging series, but we believe that if we play to our potential we can beat anyone.”

Match facts

Saturday, June 25, Bristol
Start time 1430 (1330 GMT)

Big Picture

Stuart Broad: braced for leadership•Getty Images

With 15 months to go until Sri Lanka host the next World Twenty20 in September 2012, England’s preparations for the defence of their title get underway this weekend. Their victorious captain, Paul Collingwood, has been put out to pasture; their point-of-difference seamer, Ryan Sidebottom, has retired to see out his days with Yorkshire. Instead, it’s over to the untested leadership of Stuart Broad, whose first match in charge promises to be a stiff challenge against a hard-hitting Sri Lankan line-up with plenty to prove after an uninspiring performance in the Test series.Broad was not at his best in the Tests either, and despite a brighter finish to the series at the Rose Bowl, his effectiveness was limited in the latter stages by a bruised heel. However, it has been confirmed that he will play, albeit with heavy strapping, and will need to rediscover his A game as he takes charge of a seam attack with limited experience at this level. Chris Woakes impressed with his big-game mentality in Australia, while Jade Dernbach has been there or thereabouts since his shock call-up to the World Cup squad. But neither man has yet featured in a home international.For both sides, there are more questions coming up than can reasonably expect to be answered in a one-off contest. If Broad thinks he’s got it tough, then pity Thilina Kandamby, who will also be making his international captaincy bow in a batting line-up featuring three former skippers in Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya – the latter, of course, a highly contentious selection.Sri Lanka’s bowling will have some bite compared to their toothless showing in the Tests, thanks to Lasith Malinga’s return to the fray. England, meanwhile, suffered a scare in training when their new captain tripped over a medicine ball, of all things. He’s got a bruise to his dignity to go with the one on his heel. But he’s fine.

Form guide (most recent first)

England LWWWW
Sri Lanka WWLLW

The spotlight

Sanath Jayasuriya’s return to international cricket at the age of 41 has not been universally welcomed, least of all by certain members of his own team. However, against Worcestershire on Wednesday he did serve notice of his enduring qualities with a hard-hitting knock of 78 from 60 balls at the top of the order. The political implications of his presence are rife, and have the ability to over-shadow the contest itself. But so long as he can justify his involvement by scoring runs, the edge will be taken off the argument against his inclusion.No player outside the England team has excited more column inches in recent years than Samit Patel, Nottinghamshire’s talented and combative allrounder, whose undeniable abilities have been stymied by his stubborn refusal to keep an eye on his waistline. For season after season, his omission from England’s squads would be followed by an exasperated quote from Geoff Miller or Andy Flower, and there’s no doubt that England would have loved to have him in the subcontinent this winter for an arduous World Cup campaign. Now, at last, he has his chance again. As his Nottinghamshire coach, Mick Newell, told ESPNcricinfo last week: “Good luck … don’t cock it up.”

Team news

A new beginning for England, but the team will have a familiar look to it nonetheless. The forgotten men of England’s World Twenty20 triumph, Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb, are expected to be restored to the top of the order, with Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Luke Wright and Graeme Swann joining Broad among the survivors of that triumph. The changes include Collingwood’s experience making way for Ian Bell’s expertise, while Samit Patel takes on the spinning allrounder role vacated by Michael Yardy.England (probable) 1 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 2 Michael Lumb, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad (capt), 10 Chris Woakes, 11 Jade Dernbach.Still no Tillakaratne Dilshan for Sri Lanka. His squashed thumb, courtesy Chris Tremlett, is taking a long time to heal. Mahela Jayawardene moves up to the top of the order, from where he hopes to kickstart a tour in which he’s been troublingly short of runs. Angelo Mathews, another talent who was sorely missed in the Test series, will slot into the middle order if he comes through a fitness test tomorrow morning.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Mahela Jayawardene, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Thilina Kandamby (capt), 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Nuwan Kulasekera, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Suraj Randiv, 11 Lasith Malinga,

Pitch and conditions

With a day to go until the match there’s a bit of grass on the surface to encourage the seamers, with the prospect of overnight rain to keep things fresh. The match itself is scheduled to be dry.

Stats and trivia

• England and Sri Lanka have faced one another in two previous Twenty20 internationals, most recently in St Lucia during the World Twenty20 semi-final last year.
• England’s seven-wicket victory in that game atoned for their two-wicket loss in their only other encounter, at the Rose Bowl in 2006. Kevin Pietersen is the only England player remaining from that game.
  

  Quotes

  “I always have a mindset when I walk out onto the pitch that I have to think like a captain, I’ve been very fortunate to play under the likes Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood – some brilliant captains – and I’ve learnt a lot. I feel 100% ready to lead the side.”
  Stuart Broad is braced for the challenge that awaits him on Saturday”It is good that I am starting my career captaining at this level with that experience behind me – Mahela, Sanath, Kumar all there. It will be good.”
  Thilina Kandamby is happy to see some familiar faces

Michael Gale and Rafey Syed have been appointed interim first and second vice-presidents respectively of the USA Cricket Association according to USACA President Gladstone Dainty. The move was approved at the board meeting that took place on April 29 to appoint four people to the Cricket Holdings America LLC board of directors.”Their resumes speak for themselves,” Dainty told ESPNcricinfo. “Mr. Syed is a young, bright, articulate, very technologically savvy and hard-working cricketing person.” Syed, who lives in a western suburb of Chicago, had been serving as the secretary of the Central East Region board prior to his USACA appointment.British-born Gale, who lives in Austin, Texas has been involved in recent years trying to encourage youth cricket development with the initiation of the Intercity Cup, a regional tournament played between teams representing Dallas, Houston and Austin.”The thing about Michael is that he is promising to work with the youth programme, especially to coordinate with Jamie Harrison to get more funding for Jamie’s youth programme,” Dainty said, with reference to the US Youth Cricket Association. “Michael has access to some corporate people and some professional sports owners. I find those to be very serious attributes which we’re lacking right now.”The first vice-president position had been vacant since November when Nabeel Ahmed resigned while the second slot opened up at the start of the new year when Manaf Mohamed stepped down from his position on the board to accept a full-time paid position as USACA general manager.However, six months after Don Lockerbie was relieved of his duties as chief executive, there still has not been any progress made toward finding a replacement. Dainty told ESPNcricinfo in December that he hoped to have the position filled “within the next 60 days or so” and said it was a priority for the new year.In a subsequent interview in February, Dainty said, “We won’t hire by March 1, but I’m hoping we will advertise by March 1.” The process appears to be completely stalled now and Dainty did not give any clear indication when that would change.”We haven’t interviewed anybody but this week we’re going to have some conversations with the ICC Global Development Manager about doing some changes,” Dainty said. “We have not formalised the job description for the CEO position but let it be known that we have two full-time employees right now. Who we have as a CEO or as part of our management, I really don’t know what the obsession is. We have Manaf as general manager and we have an administrative assistant.””Hiring other people and putting them in certain positions is dependent upon a funding level and what is it we want to do. We need to be very careful in terms of being too administratively top heavy and putting people in positions and then not really defining what their job is; it becomes difficult for them and to the organisation.”

Stuart Clark, the former Australia pace bowler, has been named the general manager of the Sydney Sixers, one of two New South Wales-based teams in the forthcoming Twenty20 Big Bash League. At the same time John Dyson has been unveiled as the GM of the Sydney Thunder, to be based at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium while the Sixers set up camp at the SCG.Dyson will step down from his present role as the New South Wales state talent manager and chairman of selectors in order to take the position, though Clark is yet to formally announce his retirement from first-class cricket. A week ago Clark had said he was “leaning towards playing cricket”, but in the end decided the administrative role was too attractive to pass up. Clark has been preparing for life after cricket for quite some time, studying commerce to bolster his previous experience in real estate.”I am thrilled to have this chance to be part of the Sydney Sixers and the Big Bash League,” Clark said. “Twenty20 is about embracing new fans and I believe it has the potential to grow cricket in the same way that one-day cricket did. It is the way forward.”Dyson, the former West Indies coach, was similarly enthusiastic about the chance to take a key role in the establishment and growth of a new team, after Cricket Australia’s decree that the T20 league required a marked shift away from traditional state-based identities. As finalists in the 2010-11 domestic competition, the New South Wales side will take a final bow as a T20 entity at the Champions League later this year, alongside the tournament winners South Australia.”I am extremely honoured to have this opportunity,” Dyson said. “There are a lot of challenges ahead for everyone to get this competition up and running. This is a very exciting time for Australian cricket and I am looking forward to a successful inaugural season for the Big Bash League and Sydney Thunder in 2011-12.”Concerns that the league’s organisation is lagging behind will likely be addressed at a Cricket Australia board meeting in Melbourne on Thursday and Friday, after which negotiations should resume with the Australian Cricketers Association over the terms of the new memorandum of understanding for player payments.CA and the ACA met in Melbourne on Tuesday for informal discussions about their differences, though a CA spokesman said the positions of the two bodies remained “180 degrees different from each other”.