IPL LIVE BLOG

Proteas eager to adapt to Sri Lankan conditions The Proteas’ first call to action at the ICC World Twenty20 will be adapting to the conditions ahead of their opening Group C encounter against Zimbabwe in Hambantota on Thursday. The Proteas held their first practice session of the tournament at the Colts Cricket Ground on Sunday afternoon and got a feel for the climate, which can be challenging at times. “It’s very humid here at the moment,” Morne Morkel said. “It’s almost similar to Chennai and we expect the conditions to be fairly the same.” The players will look to steadily build their intensity as the week unfolds, and will start on Monday when they play a warm-up match against New Zealand at the Colts Cricket Ground in Colombo. “We play a game against New Zealand and for us that is the business day of the tournament, we need to work on our basics and find our feet. We have played a lot of cricket over the past few years in the sub-continent so we can’t use that as an excuse, we...

Test match cricket: the highest level of the sport.   For many cricketers this is an unreachable level, for others it can take many years before they start to flourish in this rarefied environment. But, for a select few, a test match debut can provide a memorable success, a personal triumph, and a great platform to build on. The top five test match batting debuts are listed below. Image courtesy of Rikx - http://www.flickr.com/photos/95438214@N00/ Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji – 216 runs This Indian prince made his test debut for England in 1896, when test matches consisted of three days play, in a match that what would ultimately end in defeat. Australia batted first and amassed a total of 412.  England hit back with a reply of 231, of which Ranjitsinhji, or Ranji as he was commonly known, made a steady 62.  England were then forced to follow on and this is where he made his landmark century, scoring 154 runs, over half of England's second innings total, as...