T-20 Worlcup Warmup Matches Shedule

Pakistan, led by dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi, will arrive in the Caribbeans next week, with their eyes firmly set on the T20 title.




However, they have not been able to manage tough warm-up games ahead of the World Cup and will end up playing a Windward XI comprising West Indian hopefuls and Zimbabwe.



Meanwhile, England both games are in Barbados, on April 28 and 29 respectively, before they start their Group D campaign against hosts West Indies in Guyana on 3 May.



India are the only team to opt against playing any warm-up matches, while Sri Lanka will play just one. Their decisions may have been influenced by many of their players’ involvement in the Indian Premier League, which does not finish until April 25.



Captain Paul Collingwood is one of five England players who will feature in the IPL, along with Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara and Michael Lumb.



Australia are to prepare for the event by taking on Zimbabwe and the Windwards XI in St Lucia, which is also the venue for their opening Group A match against Pakistan on 3 May.



Unlike England, West Indies play their warm-up games - against Afghanistan and New Zealand - in the same location as their Group D fixtures, Guyana.



The upcoming tournament in the Windies was originally scheduled to be a 50-over Champions Trophy, but it was shortened to a World Twenty20 after the 2008 Champions Trophy was postponed by 12 months because of security concerns in Pakistan. It was eventually played in South Africa in September 2009.



ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said at the time: “Although the World Twenty20 is to be held every second year, we decided to hold two on the trot to set the calendar right and ensure a better spread of tournaments.

Australia Monitoring security situation in India

New Zealand has no plans to cancel its cricket tour of India and the Australian team is still on track for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi despite a double bomb blast at an Indian Premier League stadium in Bangalore overnight.




Cricket Australia said it was closely monitoring the security situation in India after two small bombs exploded outside Chinnaswamy Stadium just before a match between Bangalore and Mumbai on Saturday, injuring 14 people and panicking fans.

latest Cricket News(IPL semi finals shifted to Mumbai from Banglore)

The semi-finals of the Indian Premier League were shifted from Bangalore on Sunday, after police defused three bombs outside a stadium.




The semi-final matches, scheduled to be played on April 21 and 22, will now be played in Mumbai’s D.Y. Patil stadium, Indian Premier League (IPL) organisers said.



Indian police defused three bombs in Bangalore and were examining possible terror links, officials said, a day after 14 people were wounded in two small blasts.



Bombs set by timer devices went off outside a packed Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore minutes before a match in the IPL which features many foreign players, was due to begin on Saturday.