Afghanistan prevailed in a rain-affected game at Colombo, with Canada falling 8 runs behind the required Duckworth/Lewis score as they reached 96 for 2 in 12 overs. Afghanistan's total of 185 for 5 was thanks largely to the efforts of Karim Sadiq, who top-scored with 67 on Twenty20 debut before two powerful cameos by captain Nowroz Mangal and Mohammad Shahzad boosted Afghanistan's total.

Sadiq and Noor Ali got the better of Canada's bowling attack in the first of the Afghan innings, cruising to 76 in the tenth over before Ali picked out Rizwan Cheema off Sunil Dhaniram's left-arm spin. Sadiq proceeded to his half-century, clearing the boundary twice along the way, but with almost seven overs remaining in the innings he fell to Khurram Chohan.

Chohan also accounted for Raees Ahmadzai before Mangal and Shahzad went ballistic, thrashing 44 runs in under three overs. Both were dismissed in consecutive overs, but by then the damage had been done and Canada faced the prospect of a stiff run chase.

Cheema, opening the batting with Trevin Bastiampillai, lofted five sixes in his 39 to set the pace of Canada's innings before he was trapped lbw by legspinner Samiullah Shenwari. With his dismissal Canada's innings lost momentum, however, and Abdool Samal and captain Ashish Bagai failed to hit a single boundary in their 27-run partnership. With 90 runs required off the final eight overs the match looked set for an explosive denouement, but the weather intervened to seal the result in Afghanistan's favour.

The second game of the Kenya Twenty20 Tri-Series between Uganda and Scotland ended in dramatic fashion, with the scores tied before Jan Stander sealed a win for Scotland in the Super Over. Arthur Kyobe carried his bat in Uganda's run chase with an unbeaten 51, but Ryan Watson's last gasp dismissal of Dennis Tabby ensured the match went to the one-over eliminator.

Uganda recovered well from their mauling at the hands of Kenya in the first match of the series to restrict Scotland to 109 for 8. Tabby removed opener Fraser Watts and Kyle Coetzer in his opening spell, but Scotland still looked set for a decent total when they reached 66 for 3 in their first 10 overs.

They stumbled against Uganda's spin in the second half of their innings, however, with the 16-year-old Henry Ssenyondo picking up three wickets for just 20 runs. Frank Nsubuga showed his experience, stemming the flow of runs and picking up the important scalps of Gavin Hamilton and Watson, while Deusdedit Muhumuza's medium pace also proved frugal.

With his fellow opener Roger Mukasa falling in the first over, Kyobe played a lone hand for most of Uganda's innings. Captain Akbar Baig joined him to provide a brief spell of stability, but Ross Lyons and Majid Haq worked steadily through the Ugandan middle order before Ssenyondo and Kyobe swung the match back Uganda's way with the largest partnership of either innings. Their 44 took Uganda to 99 before Haq bowled Ssenyondo to spark panic in the Ugandan ranks.

With only 11 runs needed in four overs, Watson and Richie Berrington's nerveless death bowling got the better of Uganda's tail, and with Tabby dismissed off the final ball of the innings the match was taken into a Super Over. Haq kept Uganda to just six runs in their over before Stander sealed the result by smashing Nsubuga for a boundary with two balls to spare.

Scorecard

The Kenyan spinners made light work of a young Uganda line-up in the opening fixture of the Kenya tri-series Twenty20 tournament at the Gymkhana Club Ground in Nairobi. The event, which also features Scotland is an important warm-up for the Twenty20 Qualifier, staged in Dubai and Abu Dubai, which starts next month.

Kenya were once one of the strongest Associate countries but have struggled in recent years and were beaten at home by Scotland in the Intercontinental Cup on January 28. Today they were comfortable winners as disciplined bowling by experienced offspinner James Kamande (2 for 18) and left-arm spinner Kiren Varaiya (2 for 9) choked the Ugandan middle order and restricted the total to123 for 9 from the twenty overs.

Roger Mukasa, the opening batsman, and captain Akbar Baig were the only batsmen to threaten some resistance, as Musaka stroked four boundaries from his 14 deliveries, before he fizzled out, trapped in front by Kamande for 23. Baig tried to steady things with a more patient 23 before he fell in the same way to the same bowler.

A glut of early wickets would have been the only way for Uganda to get themselves back into the game but it wasn't to be as veteran opener Steve Tikilo and David Obuya put on 66 for the first wicket. After Obuya fell for 23, Tikilo completed his 23rd one-day international fifty before falling for 63 from 44 deliveries.

Alex Obanda (31 not out) and captain Maurice Ouma (2 not out) saw the Kenyan's home and they will no doubt face a sterner challenge when they meet Scotland on February 1.

Ranjit Saini, Cricket Canada's interim president, has told Cricinfo the real solution to developing Associate countries was to get their sides to play against high-profile opposition.

"Sponsors want to be seen and we didn't have enough domestic TV and newspaper coverage to offer that. From our perspective, how do we get a Shahid Afridi or Sachin Tendulkar to Canada?"

In almost three years since the 2007 World Cup, Canada have only met a Full Member twice, both games coming against West Indies in August 2008.

Saini feels, given the competition with other countries as well, it's the responsibility of the ICC to ensure Associates get attractive fixtures. "Every country wants India to play, every country wants big players to play against them, but if the ICC and the Full Member nations sees value and want cricket in the smaller countries then a solution will have to be reached.

"If we don't get full member nations to play against us then we will continue to struggle."

The squads for the World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in Dubai and Abu Dubai between February 9 and 15 have been announced.

The tournament will see 17 matches take place in the five days, played Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City, where the final will be staged.

At stake are two places in the World Twenty20 which takes places in the West Indies from April 30 to May16. The winner of the UAE event will join South Africa and India in Group C while the losing finalist will join Group D which includes the West Indies and England.

All eyes will be on Afghanistan, who's stellar performances over the last ten months have reverberated around the cricketing world and beyond. While they narrowly missed qualification for the 50-over World Cup 2011 in April, they have been in good form at the Intercontinental Cup. Most recently they displayed flair and resilience to defeat defending champions Ireland, and also recorded a come-from-behind, one-wicket victory over the Netherlands in August 2009.

Ireland, who have been pushing for full-member status, remain one of the strongest associate sides and their squad includes 13 players from the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, where they defeated Bangladesh by six wickets and qualified for the Super Eights.

The Netherlands, who caused the major upset of the 2009 tournament when they defeated England in the opening match, will be without captain Jeroen Smith's this time round but will still be looking to impress.

Afghanistan Dawlat Ahmadzai, Hameed Hasan, Karim Khan Sadiq, Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai, Mohamamd Shahzad Mohammadi, Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil, Merwais Ashraf, Nawroz Khan Mangal, Noor Ali Noori, Obaidullah Konary, Raees Ahmadzai, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Shahpoor Zardan and Samiullah Shinwari.

Canada Harvir Baidwan, Ashish Bagai, Geoff Barnett, Umar Bhatti, Ian Billcliff, Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan, John Davison, Sunil Dhaniram, Shaheed Keshvani, Usman Limbada, Henry Osinde, Abdool Samad and Saad Bin Zafar.

Ireland Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Peter Connell, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Gary Kidd, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Paul Striling, Andrew White and Gary Wilson.

Kenya James Kamande, Lameck Ngoche, Nehemiah Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Nelson Odhiambo, Otieno Ondik, Elijah Otieno, Maurice Ouma, Rakep Patel, Steve Tikolo and Hiren Varaiya.

Netherlands Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan van Bunge, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom de Grooth, Mark Jonkman, Muhammad Kashif, Alexei Kervezee, Atse Buurman, Timothy Gruijters, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski and Bas Zuiderent.

Scotland Richie Berrington,, Kyle Coezter, Gordon Drummond, Gordon Goudie, Gavin Hamilton, Majid Haq, Ross Lyons, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Simon Smith, Jan Stander, Ryan Watson and Fraser Watts.

UAE Fayyaz Ahmed, Saqib Ali, Arfan Haider, Mohamed Iqbal, Amjad Javed, Khurram Khan, Mois Shahid Malik, Naeemuddin, Qadar Nawaz, Ahmed Raza, Abdul Rehman, Shoaib Sarwar, Mohammad Tauqir and Qassim Zubair.

USA Timroy Allen, Imran Awan, Orlando Baker, Lennox Cush, Kevin Darlington, Sudesh Dhaniram, Glenmore Hall, Rashard Marshall, Steve Massiah, Sushil Nadkarni, Usman Shuja, Aditya Thyagarajan and Saurabh Verma Carl Wright.

Zimbabwe Cricket has invited Namibia to take part in its revamped Twenty20 competition.

Click here for more.

We have all become used to the hyperbole of most press releases, but Cricket Canada's interim president Ranjit Saini raised the bar to a new level with a message to the media surrounding the streaming of a Twenty20 match between Canada and Sri Lanka A.

"We at Cricket Canada are now getting ready to move forward and take the leap of faith and welcome the entire cricket world to land and help us grow. We have created a complete world in itself. Canada is a global community and each one of you will feel at home."

And from there Saini really warmed to his task.

"We are a humble and confident society. Innovation and determination are our natural traits. We are a noble nation and a perfect society. We made the first supersonic aircraft of the world, invented insulin and are leaders in robotics. A natural resource rich country that leads peace missions around the globe."

Scotland raced to their second win of the 2009-10 Intercontinental Cup on the 4th day at Nairobi Gymkhana despite Maurice Ouma's battling century. Scotland made light work of their target, with Douglas Lockhart and Ewan Chalmers sealing an eight-wicket win just after lunch after Dewald Nel's maiden first-class five-for wrapped up the Kenyan tail.

Kenya began the morning session in a dire position, with a slim 73-run lead and only three wickets still standing. Ouma, on 106 overnight, continued in a positive vein while Elijah Otieno, who has no pretensions as a batsman, gave him admirable support at the other end. The pair added 31 runs in just over 15 overs before Otieno, who had survived for 71 balls, edged Nel through to wicketkeeper Simon Smith.

His dismissal broke Kenya's resistance, with Ouma falling in Nel's next over for a hard-fought 130 - his best effort in first-class cricket. James Ngoche, in his debut game for the national side, was dismissed soon after as Kenya folded for 323 to set Scotland a paltry 109 for victory.

An early wicket could have put some pressure on the Scottish side, but it was not to be as Lockhart and Kyle Coetzer eased to 70 before Ngoche found Coetzer's edge. Qasim Sheikh, the first innings centurion, was run out without scoring this time round, but with only 31 runs still needed the result was already all but sealed. The experienced Lockhart went to his half century, while Chalmers cracked four boundaries in his short innings to wrap the game up in the 33rd over.

This win takes Scotland to the top of the points table, six points clear of second-placed Afghanistan. They will now remain in Kenya for the one-day tri-series, with Uganda being the third participant, before heading to the United Arab Emirates for the World Twenty20 qualifiers in February.

With the Under-19 World Cup reaching its climax, Ranjit Saini, Cricket Canada's interim president, has insisted his country will be ready to host the 2012 edition, despite concerns the country does not have the necessary 12 grounds demanded by the ICC.

In 2009 Kenya were controversially stripped of hosting rights to the 2010 Under-19 World Cup after the ICC claimed its grounds would not be ready in time. The decision caused anger in Kenya and claims the move owed more to commercial pressures than logistical ones.

At the moment Canada could face similar treatment, but Saini said that redevelopment will take place in time. "We have the necessary 12 grounds, but some need upgrading and we will be approaching the government for a grant. This will deliver the infrastructure upgrade that Canadian cricket needs. The city of Toronto has accepted it so we're confident. I think we have a good chance."

Tony Munro

Nepal will be without two of its best batsmen, Paresh Lohani and Sharad Vesawkar, when it hosts the World Cricket League Division Five tournament next month.

Lohani, the 29-year-old opener, has made himself unavailable, while Vesawkar, a 21 year-old middle-order batsman, has been omitted due to what sources have described as ‘poor health and form’.

“I cannot attend the closed-camp training due to my personal reasons and I don’t think it’s fair to contend for a position in the national team without training,” Lohani was quoted in the Cricket Nepal website.

Vesawkar was the only player not retained from the squad which finished fifth at the Asian Cricket Council Twenty20 tournament in the United Arab Emirates after scoring 11 runs in his three innings.

The WCL Division Five will be played from February 20 to 27 and feature Fiji, Bahrain, Jersey, Nepal, Singapore and United States.

Nepal squad: Paras Khadka (capt.), Gyanendra Malla (vice-capt.), Binod Kumar Das,
Dipendra Chaudhary, Shakti Prasad Gauchan, Mahaboob Alam, Basant Regmi, Mahesh Kumar Chhetri, Naresh Bahadur Budhaayer, Binod Bhandari, Sanjam Regmi, Amrit Bhattarai, Anil Kumar Mandal, Rahul Kumar Vishwakarma.

Tony Munro

Uganda were agonisingly close to scoring their first win of their four-match tour of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but lost the second Twenty20 match to the home side by two runs in Dubai on Wednesday.

In the team for his slow left-armers, tailender Henry Ssenyondo faced the last ball from Qasim Zubair needing three to win, attempted to pull off good length delivery but missed and was bowled to hand UAE victory.

A win for Uganda had seemed likely when Frank Nsubuga (3 for 9) and Ronald Ssemanda (2 for 18) limited UAE to 112 for nine. Opener Arfan Haider (20) was his team's top scorer, as the hosts never got going.

In their reply, Uganda lost wickets at regular intervals but even when skipper Akbar Baig was run out for 12, leaving Uganda at 65 for five, they still only needed 48 balls from 54 balls. Benjamin Musoke (32) was driving the surge towards the target, but when he was bowled by Ahmed Raza, the last of the recognised batsmen was gone and Uganda were 96 for seven.

UAE 112 (Arfan Haider 20; Frank Nsubuga 3 for 9, Ronald Ssemanda 2 for 18)beat Uganda 110 (Benjamin Musoke 31) by two runs

Tony Munro

It was a new format, but the outcome was the same with United Arab Emirates (UAE) maintaining their superiority over Uganda, winning the first Twenty20 in Dubai on Tuesday by eight wickets.

Uganda rebounded from the early loss of captain Akbar Baig (3) thanks to experienced pair Roger Mukasa and Frank Nsubuga who put on 55 in eight overs before Mukasa (29 from 29 balls) was bowled by Fayyaz Ahmed leaving Uganda at 58 for 2.

Ahmed, the Gujarat-born slow left-armer, took the key top-order wickets of Mukasa, Arthur Kyobe and Frank Nsubuga to return 3 for 18 from his four overs. Veteran allrounder Benjamin Musoke chipped in with a breezy 22 from 16 balls which included two fours but received little support as Uganda finished on 119 for seven.

There was a brief hiccup in the UAE reply when young Ugandan fast bowler, Dennis Tabby, removed openers, Mohammad Iqbal and Arfan Haider (both for 11), reducing UAE to 24 for 2.

Haider's innings set the tone for the rest of his team; he hit a six and a four before he was dismissed. Saqib Ali and Khurram Khan continued in kind, smashing 96 runs in 12.1 overs to ease UAE home with 4.1 overs to spare. Along the way, Saqib struck three fours and a six while Khurram hit five fours.

The final game between the teams is a Twenty20 on Wednesday.

Uganda 119 for 7 (RG Mukasa 29, AS Kyobe 31, B Musoke 22; Fayyaz Ahmed 3 for 18, Qadir 2 for 29) lost to UAE 120 for 2 (Saqib 44*, Khurram 46*, D Tabby 2 for 10.

Cricket Canada has outlined ambitious plans to become a centre for staging international matches as part of a bid to raise the profile of the game, and a scheme for an indoor event features highly.

"We are working on investment in our infrastructure, money from government, and in addition we want some good international fixtures," Ranjit Saini, Cricket Canada's interim president, told Cricinfo. "We want to create a unique Canadian cricket event that people can look forward to every year.

"Annually we could have an event in the SkyDome [the Rogers Centre in Toronto], trying to create a mix of entertainment and cricket, that cricket lovers throughout the world can look forward to.

"It could be a sixes tournament like Hong Kong or could be Twenty20 as well, but we want to bring in an entertainment angle to it - perhaps with audience participation in some respect - but it's very early planning so that's all I'd want to say at this stage."

Canada has a difficult task attracting international cricket, not least because of the long winters when the country is covered in snow, but Saini felt that this could work to their advantage.

"We'd want something for the coming year. There are two proposals, one for summer and one for winter. My preference is for winter, because we're covered under snow and there could be real excitement with an indoor event, recognised throughout the world as a unique fixture."

Despite the ambitious idea, Saini is yet to make approaches to potential partners. "We haven't spoken to formally to any cricket board or TV company as yet, but we had an initial meeting with some interested parties in India on December 16."

Uganda held off a spirited bowling display from United Arab Emirates to ensure their match ended in a draw on the fourth day at Abu Dhabi. Arshad Ali's hundred, with able support from Saqib Ali's fluent 77, had allowed UAE to declare at 282 for 9 to set Uganda an unlikely target of 271 to chase in their second innings.

Amjad Javed, Qasim Zubair and Shoaib Sarwar then combined to reduce Uganda to 36 for 5 less than 20 overs into the innings, but Ronald Ssemanda and Frank Nsubuga's impregnable defences salvaged a draw.

Click here for the full report.

Afghanistan pulled off their second win in the Intercontinental Cup, defeating defending champions Ireland by seven wickets to propel themselves to the top of the table.

Click here for the full story.

Canada lost their opening match of their stay in Sri Lanka, going down by six wickets to a Sri Lanka A team who cruised to their target of 180 with almost 18 overs to spare.

Canada managed 175 for 9 in their 50 overs, and even that represented a recovery from 75 for 5. The Sri Lankans started briskly and never let up, Gihan Rupasinghe leading the way with an unbeaten 74.

Tony Munro

UAE 50 for 1 (Arfan 29*, Iqbal 12) beat Uganda 49 (Ben Musoke 12, Nawaz 4-16, Amjad 2-23, Ahmed Raza 2-2) by nine wickets

United Arab Emirates (UAE) thrashed Uganda by nine wickets and with 44 overs to spare, in the first one-day match at the Sharjah Cricket Ground on Monday. Being put in, Uganda crumbled to 49 all out in 29.4 overs with allrounder Benjamin Musoke (12) the only batsman to reach double figures. Dubai-born bowler Amjad Javed caused early inroads removing experienced opener Roger Mukasa and captain Asad Baig to reduce Uganda to 10 for 2. Fellow opening bowler Qadar Nawaz, making his one-day debut, then capitalised to take 4 for 16 from 10 overs.

When UAE batted, another debutant made an impact as Arfan Haider belted 29 from 18 balls including thee fours and two sixes to propel UAE past Uganda's total in just six overs. Deusdedit Muhumza, in his first match for Uganda, took the consolation wicket of Mohammad Iqbal.

The two teams play the second match of the series in Dubai on Tuesday, with the last game scheduled the following day.

Tony Munro

Afghanistan, Nepal and Hong Kong are the latest non-Test countries to indicate they will apply for inclusion in the cricket section of the Asian Games in Guangzhou in November.

Potential participants must apply to the Asian Cricket Council to take part in the men's and women's tournaments, to be played using the Twenty20 format.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are expected to field teams, although there is doubt their squads will be full strength. As the hosts, China are an automatic inclusion, while Japan had earlier said they will apply.

Eligibility is restricted to passport holders. The Asian Hong Kong Cricket Association General Manager, Danny Lai, told the Asian Cricket Council website this wouldn't be a problem for the men's team. "We will have no problems, all the Pakistanis have Hong Kong passports,” he said. “The best of the Under-19s currently in New Zealand for the World Cup will feature as well as the seniors in the squad we send to Guangzhou."

Afghanistan and India's Under-21 sides have withdrawn from the South Asian Games cricket tournament. The decisions mean only three Test teams remain - Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - along with two others - Maldives and Nepal. They will play a round-robin competition with the top two teams playing off. The tournament starts on January 31 and run to February 7.

Tony Munro

Uganda and United Arab Emirates (UAE) will contest the outright lead in the ICC Intercontinental Shield when their four-day match begins in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Both teams won their only matches in the tournament, Uganda beating Bermuda by seven wickets last August in Bermuda and UAE defeating Namibia by four wickets in Windhoek last month.

UAE are arguably favourites on the basis of home advantage and recent form.

The teams:

Uganda: Akbar Baig (capt), Arthur Ziraba, Lawrence Sematimba, Benjamin Musoke, Davis Arinaitwe, Roger Mukasa, Arthur Kyobe, Frank Nsubuga, Waiswa Charles, Dennis Tabby, Ronald Ssemanda

UAE: Khurram Khan (Capt), Arfan Haider, Arshad Ali, Saqib Ali, Naeemuddin Aslam, Abdul Rehman, Fayyaz Ahmed, Amjad Javed, Qasim Zubair, Moiz Shahid, Shoaib Sarwar

Fiji and Samoa will contest the Women's Challenge Series between February 2 and 5 in Apia, Samoa to determine the team that shall complete the pool for the 2010 ICC
EAP Women's Cricket Trophy. The winner is to be determined in a three game 50-over
series to be played at the pristine Samoa Gardens Ovals in Apia, Samoa.

ICC EAP Tournament Manager Nick Frayne commented, "This series is an extremely
important one and the first of its kind in the EAP Region. This is the beginning of the pathway
for the EAP teams to hopefully progress all the way to the next ICC Women's
World Cup."

Fiji has already commenced preparations for the encounter, hosting the inaugural Cricket Fiji Women's Cricket Championship over five days from January 12 in Suva, Fiji. The tournament boasts five teams from across Fiji, and the national squad to contest Samoa shall be selected from this group following the tournament's close.

Hosts Japan and defending champions Papua New Guinea have already booked their places to the 2010 ICC EAP Women's Cricket Trophy to be held in Sano City, Japan between 4 and 8 May. This will be the first time that the EAP Region has had more than two teams contest a Women's Regional Tournament, and with Tonga, Indonesia and several other EAP
Members continuing to grow the women's game these numbers are sure to increase.

The Moce Islanders have won the inaugural National Women’s Cricket Championship despite a slight hiccup on the final day.

Moce lost their final game against Suva Flying Angels but still managed to lead the points tally at the end of the week long tournament. The game was a nail biter with Suva winning the toss and electing to bat first. Sera Kaukiono (17) and Luanne Rika (17) opened the batting and got Suva off to a good start before Kaukiono smashed a ball to square leg only to see the fielder hold the hottest of chances. Iva Volavola (16) batted patiently in the middle order to help steer her team to a competitive total of 103. Mereia Tilau was the pick of the Moce bowlers taking 5 for 21 while Ana Maidela also chipped in with three wickets.

The win looked all but assured for Suva as they raced through the top order to leave Moce struggling at 39 for 8, but the Islanders were not done yet. Miriam Talatoka was part of two partnerships that each put on 30 to bring Moce within striking distance of victory. However, when Luanne Rika bowled Talatoka for 28 the Moce innings was finished just four runs short of their target.

Despite the loss, Moce finished ahead of Suva thanks to their extra bonus points accrued during the tournament, ensuring they would take the first National Women’s Championship back to the Lau Islands.

At the Army Barracks Ground, Nadi Jetsetters recorded their second win of the tournament by outclassing Veimataqali on the final day.After winning the toss and electing to bat the runs were shared equally among the batsmen as they amassed an impressive 206. Makalesi Mada top scored with 24 while opener Makerita Tuidraki set the basis for the innings with 23. Ana Topati and Talei Soko each claimed three wickets for Veimataqali.

The Veimataqali bats never really got going in the run chase as they were dismissed for 35, giving the Jetsetters a 171-run victory. Mareta Vuadrea was the best of the Nadi bowlers taking 6 for 13 from her seven overs. The win pushed Nadi to eight points, level with Suva but the Jetsetters finished ahead of the Angles on net run rate.

Tony Munro

Tony Munro

It is possibly the remotest cricket outpost in the world, and its national team is set to travel by ship to take the field for the first time.

St. Helena, with a population of 4000, is located about midway between Africa and South America. It boasts of a ten-team league, but no airport, and plans to send a squad to a Twenty20 tournament in Montserrat later this year.

When St. Helena’s officials attended the ICC Centenary Ball in London last year, they got there by the most direct route, a two-week South Atlantic voyage aboard the RMS St. Helena which stops in Tenerife.

The British Government recently delayed plans, yet again, to build an airport on the island, which is situated around 1700 km west of Luanda, Angola.

Should plans for St.Helena to make its ICC debut in 2011 at the Africa Third Division tournament come off, the team will most likely jump aboard the ship on its southbound journey via Ascension Island to Cape Town - eight days in all.

Barbara George, the secretary of the St. Helena Cricket Association, says that while there have been matches played against visiting Royal Navy ships, there has never previously been a need to pick an elite squad to represent the island.

"My guess is the team or squad will be chosen from a pool of the best players on the island and at present would be dominated by players from the three top teams – Levelwood C, Jamestown B and St Matthews A, with the remaining made up from the other teams."

The ICC has confirmed that the ICC Intercontinental Cup match between Afghanistan and Ireland, due to be played in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, has been moved forward by two days. It will now be played from January 21 to 24 at the same venue.

With presidential elections due to take place on January 26, which had originally been scheduled as the final day of the game, Sri Lanka Cricket requested the move for reasons of security and logistics.

The leading Associates’ itineraries for the first six months of 2010 have been announced by the ICC, and once again they show the difficulty faced by the boards to secure fixtures against Full Members.

Canada
They arrive in Sri Lanka next week for almost three weeks of preparations ahead of the ICC World Cup Twenty20 Qualifier, and their time there includes a short Twenty20 series involving Afghanistan and Ireland. After the T20 Qualifiers they remain in the UAE where they again meet Afghanistan, this time in two ODIs, followed by an Intercontinental Cup tie.

They are scheduled to be in Jamaica on early April to play an ODI and T20 game against West Indies. In May, they take part in the Americas Division One competition in Bermuda.

As with all sides in the T20 Qualifiers, if they make it through to the main tournament they will be in the USA at a training camp from April 18 to 23 with the event in the Caribbean following on.

Ireland

Like Canada, they kick off in Sri Lanka, albeit for a fortnight, during which time they play Afghanistan in the Intercontinental Cup before heading to the UAE for the T20 Qualifiers. In early April they too will be in Jamaica, playing a four-dayer against the national side and then one ODI and three Twenty20s against West Indies.

When they return to home they have an ODI against Australia in Belfast on June 17 but will not be involved in any of English cricket’s domestic competitions after opting not to accept the ECB’s invitation.

Kenya

While the main tournament is the T20 Qualifiers, there are two Intercontinental Cup matches against Scotland (January 25-28) and Netherlands (February 20-23).

The Scotland match is followed by a Twenty20 tri-series between the two and Uganda, while the Netherlands game is followed by two ODIs.

Netherlands

The Dutch have opted to prepare for the T20 Qualifiers in India, travelling to Kenya after the competition (see above). From April 15 they have a busy itinerary with matches in England’s new 40-over competition, their invitation coming as a result of the Irish’s absence.

On June 10 they host Scotland in the Intercontinental Cup and then play them in a one-off ODI.

Scotland

The Intercontinental Cup game in Nairobi is preceded by a few days in Kenya and then the T20 tri-series also involving Uganda.

They too are in the English 40-over competition before meeting Netherlands in the Intercontinental Cup. A one-off ODI against England takes place in Edinburgh on June 19.

Afghanistan

After time a busy time in Sri Lanka (see above) where they will also play Sri Lanka A in T20 and limited-overs matches, they meet Canada in two ODIs and an Intercontinental Cup game in Dubai after the T20 Qualifiers. After that, at present they have nothing else arranged.

USA’s preparations for the ICC Under-19 World Cup came unstuck as they were beaten by Hong Kong in a warm-up match. Afgahnistan, who beat Hong Kong earlier in the week, lost to a Canterbury A team, while Canada lost to an Auckland XI.

USA only managed 182 for 9 after they chose to bat, their efforts not aided by three run outs. Hong Kong raced to 186 for 4 in 32.2 overs with captain Jamie Atkinson blasting 100 off 86 deliveries. He added 156 at almost a run-a-ball with Ashish Gadhia (59).

Afghanistan went down to a five-wicket loss to Canterbury A, being bowled out for 169 after a promising start. Canterbury eased to victory in 32.2 overs, opener Kereyn Ambler leading the way with 70 off 77 balls.

Auckland XI made 171 for 6 in a match reduced to 33 overs-a-side by rain. Canada struggled to keep on top of a stiff asking rate and finished on 148 for 7, although a fifty from Ruvindu Gunasekara gave them some cause for optimism.

This was the last round of unofficial warm-ups as the teams all head to Christchurch for the tournament’s official opening on Sunday. Two days of official warm-ups follow before the first batch of proper games on Friday, January 15.

Tony Munro

East Asia-Pacific (EA-P) has put in a strong batting performance to go close in its two-day Australian Country Championships match against Western Australia in Albury on Friday.

Chasing a formidable 314, all of the EA-P top-order made double-figures, with Papua New Guinea's Chris Amini (69) and captain Andrew Mansale (65) making half-centuries, only to fall 11 runs short. The regional team batted out its entire 100 overs, giving the players valuable experience in accumulating an innings.

The team has a rest day tomorrow before playing competition leaders, Northern Territory in a two-day game starting on Sunday.

Scores
Western Australia 313 (S Lomani 3-47, W Gavera 2-60, L Nou 2-60) defeated East Asia-Pacific 302-9 (C Amini 69, A Mansale 65, V V Morea 42, J Baba 31)

Tony Munro

East Asia-Pacific (EAP) is staring at a run-chase of 314 after having Western Australia 5 for 45 on the first day of its fifth round two-day game in the Australian Country Championship in Albury on Thursday.

When Fijian Sakaria Lomani had WA captain Rodney Ford trapped lbw for 2, EAP seemed assured of at least a first-innings victory with the Sandgropers decimated.

However, WA's Matt Fink and Nick Willis combined to add 76 runs to start a miraculous rescue. At the end of the day's play, Willis was unbeaten on 130 and WA was all-out for 313.

Earlier, Lomani and Nou had ripped through the top-order taking 4 for 7.

The task will be a strenuous test of the EA-P batsmen's ability to build an innings, given the vast majority of their domestic cricket is limited-overs matches.

Western Australia Country 314 (S Lomani 3-47, L Nou 2-60, W Gavera 2-60)

Tony Munro

After their win over South Australia, East Asia-Pacific (EAP) was given a stark reality check, losing its one-day match to New South Wales by eight wickets in the Australian Country Championships in Bethangra on Tuesday.

NSW cantered home, needing just 31.4 overs to overtake the EAP total of 174 all out, which included another good innings from Papua New Guinea batsman, Assad Vala (29). It was enough to put Vala in third place among run-scorers at the Championships.

East Asia-Pacific 173 (VV Morea 25, A Vala 29, L Noa 25) lost to New South Wales 174 for 2 (C Amini 1-36, W Gavera 1-37)

Points: NSW Country 5 EAP 0

Tony Munro

East Asia-Pacific (EAP) has won its first game of this year's Australian Country Championships, beating South Australia by 66 runs in Albury on Monday.

A combination of another good bowling display and a crucial 86-run partnership between Chris Amini and Assad Vala gave the combined team a lift, three games into its campaign.

Defending 186, EAP had South Australia in early trouble at 3-46 before Andrew Mansale (3-21) and Loa Nou (3-22) ripped through the middle order to prevent any chance of a recovery.

Amini (51) and Vala (50) earlier combined to rescue EAP from a disastrous 3-38 after Masaomi Kobayashi, Vani Vagi Morea and Mansale fell cheaply. The Papua New Guineans combined to lift EAP to 4 for 124. Vanuatu all-rounder Patrick Matautau again proved his worth with a valuable cameo of 32 as EAP reached 187 from 44.5 overs. Amini, Vala and Matautau were the only batsmen to reach double-figures.
The composite side's next match is against New South Wales on Tuesday before it has a rest day.

The surprise element of the tournament has been provided by first-timers, Northern Territory, who have won all three games to lead the tables. EAP stands sixth out of eight contenders.

50-overs match:

East Asia-Pacific 187 (44.5 overs) (C.Amini 51, A.Vala 50, P.Matautaua 32) beat South Australian Country 121 (38 overs) (A.Mansale 3-21, L.Nou 3-22, S Lomani 1-25, W Gavera 1-21) by 66 runs.

Points: EAP 7, South Australia 0

Tony Munro

A good bowling performance was betrayed by equally inept batting as East Asia-Pacific (EAP) lost both their matches on the first day of their Australian Country Championships campaign in Albury on Sunday.

The composite team from the ICC's East Asia-Pacific team restricted Victoria Country to 118 for 3 from their 20 overs as Papua New Guinea players Chris Amini and Willie Gavera each took a wicket and conceded just 20 runs from their four overs. Their countryman Loa Nou had the same analysis except he went wicketless.

In reply EAP folded up in 18.2 overs and fell 18 runs short as Assad Vala top-scored with 49.

Vanuatu's Patrick Matautaua stood out in EAP's second match where they were beaten by Queensland Country by 22 runs in a story similar to the first game. Matautaua led a tight attack taking 3 for 16 from 4 overs, while Willie Gavera with 3 for 20 from 4 overs also impressed.

Again the batting failed in EAP's innings with only Matautaua (28) and his Vanuatu team-mate Andrew Mansale (24) exceeding 20 as four overs went unused.

EAP's next match is against South Australian Country, the team they beat last year.

Game 1 (Twenty20):
Victoria Country 118 for 3 (C.Amini 1-20, W.Gavera 1-20, L Nou 0-20) beat East Asia-Pacific 100 (A.Vala 49, J Baba 13, A.Mansale 12) by 18 runs
Points: Victoria Country 8.18, East Asia-Pacific 1.90.


Game 2 (Twenty20):
Queensland Country 108-9 (P.Matautaua 3-16, W.Gavera 3-20, J.Baba 1-8, C.Amini 1-24) beat East Asia-Pacific 86 (J Baba 14, A Mansale 24, P Matautaua 28) by 22 runs
Points: Queensland Country 4, East Asia-Pacific 0

Tony Munro

The composite ICC East Asia-Pacific (EAP) team will open their Australian Country Championships campaign on Sunday, with Twenty20 matches against Victoria and Queensland in Albury-Wodonga.

The Championships feature combined teams from the rural/non-metropolitan areas from the five Australian mainland states and territories, the Northern Territory, who are appearing for the first time, and the Australian Capital Territory (Canberra).

The event is also a chance for the EAP players to test themselves on turf wickets against experienced, albeit amateur cricketers.

The EAP squad comprises 10 players under the age of 22, one of the youngest they have ever fielded in the seven tournaments it has appeared in. A combination of international retirements and absence through other commitments (Rarua Dikana is preparing the Papua New Guinea (PNG) team for the Under-19 World Cup) has given the squad a youthful look.

The squad will have the benefit of familiarity with seven members all playing together in the PNG team. Vanuatu (3), Fiji (3) and Japan (1) provide the other players.

After Sunday's Twenty20 matches, the team will play two one-dayers and three two-day matches.

East Asia-Pacific: Andrew Mansale (Vanuatu) (capt), Chris Amini (PNG) (vice-capt), Vani Vagi Morea (PNG), Assad Vala (PNG), Jeremiah Nigani (PNG), Pipi Raho (PNG), Loa Nou (PNG), Willie Gavera (PNG), Josefa Rika (Fiji), Josaia Baba (Fiji), Sakaraia Lomani (Fiji), Trevor Langa (Vanuatu), Patrick Matautaava (Vanuatu), Masaomi Kobayashi (Japan); Charlie Burke (ICC) (coach).

Schedule:

January 3 v Victoria (Twenty20), v Queensland (Twenty20); January 4 v South Australia; January 5 v New South Wales; January 7-8 v Western Australia; January 10-11 v Northern Territory; January 13-14 v Australian Capital Territory.

Tony Munro

Four teams have reportedly qualified for the first round of Afghanistan's Inter Provincial 25-over tournament in Jalabad - Laghman, Wardak, Parwan and Herat.

Two games each day are being played on cement pitches in Jalalabad in the qualifying event for Afghanistan's main tournament to be played in May.

The majority of the teams are from the traditional heartland of Afghan cricket, the east, although it is understood teams from Herat in the west, and Helmand have also taken part.

Results of matches will appear once they are confirmed by the Afghanistan Cricket Federation.