Category Uncategorized

Her late onslaught with the bat changed the mood of the game after Stars’ bowlers had been on top

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2023Charli Knott produced a decisive all-round contribution as Brisbane Heat confirmed their standing as the early-season pacesetters in the WBBL with victory over Melbourne Stars to make it four wins from four.Knott gave a stuttering Heat batting performance, which had included just eight runs off the two power surge overs, a late boost with 31 off 14 balls. She dominated a stand of 43 alongside Georgia Voll that enabled 51 runs to come from the last five overs.Opening the bowling, she then gave Heat the ideal start as a viciously-spinning offbreak ripped through Sophia Dunkley to leave the England batter perplexed at what had happened.Heat’s spinners had a major say in the chase with Knott, Sarah Glenn and captain Jess Jonassen taking six wickets between them.Glenn claimed the huge wicket of Meg Lanning when she missed a sweep while Jonassen removed Maia Bouchier with a low caught-and-bowled opportunity. Knott’s second wicket came courtesy of a stunning running catch at deep square leg by Nicola Hancock to haul in Nicole Faltum’s powerfully struck sweep.While Alice Capsey remained there was hope for Stars, but when she was stumped off Jonassen for a 43-ball 52 there was too much left to do despite Kim Garth’s best efforts.Heat had made a strong start with the bat and reached 49 without loss in the sixth over before Ellie Johnston, playing in place of the rested Georgia Redmayne, top-edged a short ball from young quick Milly Illingworth having pulled her for six earlier in the over.Grace Harris couldn’t quite find her stride before playing across a full delivery from the impressive Annabel Sutherland. Stars continued to chip away with the ball and at 99 for 5 in the 16th they were on top, but Heat’s late flourish changed the complexion.

“I’ve made the decision take a step back to enable me to spend time focusing on myself,” Australia’s captain said

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2022Australia captain Meg Lanning will take an indefinite break from the game for personal reasons.It means Lanning, who recently led Australia to the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games to follow their T20 and ODI World Cup titles in 2020 and 2022, will miss the Hundred where she would have played for Trent Rockets. Australia’s domestic season starts in late September with the WNCL ahead of the WBBL in October. Kim Garth, the Ireland allrounder, will replace Lanning in the Rockets squad.Australia’s next series is an away T20I tour of India in mid-December ahead of hosting Pakistan next January before the T20 World Cup in South Africa.”After a busy couple of years, I’ve made the decision to take a step back to enable me to spend time focusing on myself,” Lanning said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the support of CA and my team-mates and ask that my privacy is respected during this time.”Cricket Australia’s head of performance, women’s cricket, Shawn Flegler said: “We’re proud of Meg for acknowledging that she needs a break and will continue to support her during this time.”She’s been an incredible contributor to Australian cricket over the last decade, achieving remarkable feats both individually and as part of the team, and has been a brilliant role model for young kids.”The welfare of our players is always our number one priority, and we’ll continue to work with Meg to ensure she gets the support and space she needs.”Melbourne Stars general manager Blair Crouch said: “We’re fully supportive of Meg’s desire to have a break from cricket and we will give her all the time, support and space she needs.”Lanning made her international debut in 2010 and was named captain as a 21-year-old in 2014. She has led the team in 171 matches across all formats with 135 victories. Since 2017 she has only missed five internationals.

Meg Lanning’s team will ramp up their preparations over the next week ahead of the T20I series

Andrew McGlashan20-Mar-2021There could be some fiercely-contested training sessions among the Australia squad in New Zealand over the coming days as players stake their claims for a spot in the side for the first T20I later this month.Having now reached the stage where the squad can train during their managed isolation in Christchurch, there will be a number of centre-wicket sessions ahead of the series in lieu of any practice matches – Australia complete their isolation the day before the first T20I in Hamilton.Coach Matthew Mott has said how tough it will be to select the final XI with Tayla Vlaeminck and Ellyse Perry available again after injury, comments echoed by captain Meg Lanning, while the need for an enlarged squad in the current era means there is no shortage of options including the uncapped seamers Darcie Brown and Hannah Darlington.Related

• Australia want to keep evolving to avoid being 'caught out' at World Cup

• Australia have an eye on pace to stay ahead of the pack

• Mott on starting XI: 'Going to be one or two very disappointed players'

It is the competition for bowling slots that could make for some challenging sessions for Australia’s batters as the young pace bowlers look to make an impression.”We’ve got a couple of centre-wickets coming up where everyone will have a chance to push their case and see what they’ve got,” Lanning said. “They’ll certainly be a few spots up for grabs, a little bit will be dictated by conditions and where we are playing. The next 10 days really does give us an opportunity to see some players, see Darcie Brown, Hannah and Tayla, where they are at and how they can fit in and play a role for us.”There is no huge changing of the guard taking place in the Australia squad ahead of a 2021-22 season that includes a visit by India, the Ashes and the 50-over World Cup, before next year’s Commonwealth Games and the defense of the T20 World Cup in early 2023, but one eye is being kept on ensuring the group does not stagnate.Getty Images

The depth available to the selectors has been further highlighted by a record number of centuries in this season’s WNCL and Lanning hopes the competition for places pushes those in possession to improve their games.”I think it shows we are keen to evolve our squad and keep bringing new skillsets in,” Lanning said. “We have been successful over the last few years with that squad but it’s important that we are able to add some new things. We feel like we are adding different skillsets all the time and that’s challenging the players who are in the team to keep getting better.”I think it’s really important as a team that we continue to challenge ourselves by adding new members to the team, especially young players with so much energy and no real fear. If it means the senior players have to take their game to another level then that’s only going to be a good thing.”

Pakistan were bowled out for 240 at the Gabba after Asad Shafiq’s 76 ensured a collapse was halted

The Report by Andrew McGlashan21-Nov-2019Australia finished the opening day of their Test summer in a strong position on one of their happiest hunting grounds, although for periods either side of a five-wicket surge in the afternoon they were made to work hard by Pakistan.Whether Pakistan’s 240 – boosted by Asad Shafiq’s 76 – will be enough to keep them in the contest remains to be seen and rests with their bowling attack. At nine for 75, they would have hoped for much better; at 5 for 94, they probably feared much worse, before Yasir Shah helped Shafiq add 84 for the seventh wicket. For Australia, the feelings might have been reversed.Mitchell Starc, on his return to the Test side, finished with 4 for 52 – cleaning up the tail as he can do so well – and was on a hat-trick late in the day when 16-year-old debutant Naseem Shah faced up to the first delivery of his career and somehow squeezed the ball to the leg side.Mitchell Starc finished with four wickets•Getty Images

After not quite getting their lengths right in the opening session, Australia’s three quicks were excellent after the interval as Pakistan’s impressive morning’s work unravelled. That was compounded by the controversial dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan, who edged behind off Pat Cummins only for replays to suggest Cummins had no part of his foot behind the line, but third umpire Michael Gough gave him the benefit of some very slim doubt.That left Pakistan 6 for 143 and still in danger of folding for under 200. However, Shafiq, who scored 137 at the ground on his previous visit, continued his excellent form from the warm-up matches where he made hundreds against Australia A and a Cricket Australia XI. He was eventually cleaned up by a beauty from Cummins with the new ball during Australia’s strong finish as they claimed 4 for 13 to end the innings.Captain Azhar Ali had won the toss and despite a green tinge to the surface, was not lulled into bowling. He and Shan Masood then played superbly during the opening session, happy to give the two hours to the bowlers unless there was a loose delivery to attack in a session that brought just five boundaries. The pair left well, helped by the back-of-a-length approach from the quicks, and a lunch score of none for 57 – by the standards of visiting teams at the Gabba – was a fine start. To show how tough a place it is for visiting sides, their final partnership of 75 was the highest for a visiting team in the first innings of a Test at the ground.Then, however, things started to change. In the sixth over after the break, Cummins, bowling around the wicket, squared up Masood to take his outside edge. Three balls later, Hazlewood drew a nick from Azhar which carried low to first slip where Joe Burns held on. All of a sudden, two new batsmen were at the crease. One of them was Haris Sohail, who struggled in the warm-up matches, and he did not last long when he flashed at Starc.The fear that Pakistan were about to completely lose their way increased when Babar Azam played a horridly wild drive at Hazlewood to provide another slip catch. After such a build-up for Azam – including runs in the T20Is and the Australia A match – it was a hugely deflating shot.Asad Shafiq acknowledges his half-century•Getty Images

Nathan Lyon then returned to the attack for his second spell and struck first ball when a hard-handed Iftikhar Ahmed inside-edged to short leg and it had the feel of a full-blown collapse that could decide the Test by tea on the opening day.That did not transpire, thanks to a mixture of punchy and pugnacious batting. Rizwan, playing just his second Test, counterpunched strongly either side of tea to score at better than a run-a-ball before the nick off Cummins prompted significant amount of slow-mo replays of the front foot. When it comes to calling no-balls on replays, the benefit of any doubt goes to the bowler. Cummins, though, may still have got lucky.There was no great expectation that Shafiq would now have much support, but Yasir proved otherwise in a stand that spanned 26 overs. The pair took advantage of a period where Tim Paine sat back a touch, using Lyon and Marnus Labuschagne ahead of the second new ball – Australia’s over rate was poor for much of the day, which can now lead to points deductions in the Test Championship.Shafiq’s fifty came from 99 balls and when the pair made it to the 80-over mark there was a chance that if they survived to the close Pakistan could yet eye 300. However, those hopes were dashed in the amount of time it took Starc to get loose as he speared a yorker through Yasir then found Shaheen Afridi’s edge first ball, although it needed a review which Paine, perhaps still haunted by his DRS errors in the Ashes, was reluctant to take.When Shafiq’s fine innings was ended by Cummins, it looked as though Australia would bat before the close, but Naseem – who generated one of the biggest cheers of the day when he on-drove Starc for his first boundary – and Imran Khan took the innings deep enough that when Naseem lobbed a short delivery in the air, Australia’s openers would not have to contemplate batting until the morning.

The very first stand-alone women’s World T20 is less than a week away, and the South Africa captain feels women’s cricket thoroughly deserves the “alone time”

Liam Brickhill03-Nov-2018The build-up to the World T20 is well underway, and unofficial warm-up games between England, West Indies, South Africa and India drew huge crowds to the Sir Vivian Richards cricket ground in Antigua on Thursday. South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk called the atmosphere at the ground “the best” she had ever experienced at an international.”It was close to one of the biggest [crowds],” said van Niekerk. “The atmosphere was the best I’ve played around. It felt like an official game, and it was India South africa so it was quite daunting.”India reached 146 for 4 in their innings, having opted to bat first, and though Laura Wolvaardt managed 42 in South Africa’s chase, van Niekerk’s team fell three runs short in front of a crowd enlivened by celebrations for Antigua and Barbuda’s 37th independence day.”I got a bit nervous there at the end and kept on telling myself it’s just a warm-up game, but with everyone around it just made for a really good cricket match,” said van Niekerk. “And then with the England West Indies game, the way the West Indies women played, it just shows you what a team can do when the crowd gets behind them.”The very first stand-alone women’s World T20 is less than a week away, and van Niekerk said that women’s cricket thoroughly deserves the “alone time”.”It’s due and it’s well deserved,” she said The growth of women’s cricket has shown that it deserves the time – the alone time if I can say it like that. You have to pinch yourself when you see how quickly it’s grown. And the entertainment factor is there now, with bigger hits, quicker bowlers, athletic players, it’s a lot more exciting. It’s well deserved for women’s cricket at the moment, and hopefully we can do justice to the tournament.”South Africa reached the semi-final of the 2014 edition of the World T20, while last year they came within touching distance of a berth in the final of the 50-over World Cup, only to fall to England in a tightly contested encounter in Bristol. With match-winners in almost every department this time around, van Niekerk believes this is “definitely” the best chance her team have ever had to reach – and win – a global final”The team we have is the best we’ve had. We have experienced players and young players, exciting players. It is our best chance, it’s just up to us if we want to win it or not.”South Africa blooded several rookies on their tour of the Caribbean in September, drawing the one-day series 1-1 and then fighting back from 2-0 to hold the reigning T20 champions to a 2-2 draw in the T20Is. Wolvaardt, the 19-year-old top-order batter, averaged 43 in the T20s, striking the ball at 111.68, while fellow teenager Tumi Sekhukhune played a similarly vital role, taking seven wickets across both series. One of the main things the youngsters have brought to the side, van Niekerk said, is “fearlessness”.”The massive thing is the fearlessness,” she said. “The younger ones are fearless. They don’t quite know yet who’s bowling at them or who they’re facing. It’s exciting for me just to watch them go about their job, because they just play the ball. When you play as long as we have, you start knowing the players and you know who’s bowling at you or the aura a player has around them. The younger players don’t have that. It’s something some of our senior players have taken away from them: just play the ball. I told them to flourish and just have fun.”The Decision Review System (DRS) will be used in an ICC World T20 event for the first time ever, and it will also be the first time that van Niekerk and her team will be using it.”We’re not experienced at all, this will be my first time,” she confirmed. “I’m just trying to keep all the bowlers calm. Because I think Lizelle [Lee] is the only one who has used it. We had a bit of a chat about it. It’s going to be an experience. We’ve felt like in the past we’ve got a few hard [decisions], but hopefully now we can use the DRS to our benefit.”We spoke to the keepers in Trisha [Chetty] and Lizelle, and they are going to play a massive role. They are going to see if it’s going to hit or not. We said if you feel like it’s really far fetched, just don’t go for it, but I’ll back any player if they want to use it. It’s not there just for me to use it or make that decision, we are a team. If you feel it’s out, go up. But the keeper is going to be the most important player for those decisions.”

Brendan Taylor could be about to return to international cricket after ending his Nottinghamshire contract for family reasons with promotion still in the balance

David Hopps and Firdose Moonda14-Sep-2017Brendan Taylor has been granted permission to end his Nottinghamshire contract with immediate effect so he can return home to Zimbabwe for family reasons.*Later on Thursday, Zimbabwe Cricket announced re-contracting Taylor, taking him a step closer to his international return for Zimbabwe – perhaps as soon as next month against West Indies – more than two years after ending his international career after the 2015 World Cup.Since Taylor’s retirement, Zimbabwe have relied heavily on Craig Ervine and Sean Williams for runs in the middle order and continue to struggle for a reliable top three. In limited-overs’ formats, Taylor can fill that role and with the 2019 World Cup looming. and Zimbabwe due to play in qualifiers next year, Taylor’s role in the team will be crucial and he is certain to be part of their plans.Zimbabwe are also engaging with Kyle Jarvis to opt out of his deal with Lancashire, where he has been a vital component of their attack, and rejoin the national ranks.Taylor’s Notts contract was due to expire at the end of the season, but instead he is leaving two games early with Notts’ promotion back to Division One still not assured.Notts have led the second division all season but face tough away matches at Northants and Sussex with points still needed.Taylor said: “Winning two trophies for Notts in these past few months, including one at Lord’s, has been a real highlight in my career, and given me moments that I will never forget.”But being away from my wife and children has proven to be very difficult for me and I have reached a point in my life where I must consider their needs.”
Nottinghamshire have already lost Michael Lumb to retirement in a season in which they have won both limited-overs trophies.Taylor has played a key role in that white-ball double. He scored 351 runs in the T20 format, including a vital 65 against Birmingham Bears in a record Finals Day partnership of 132 with Samit Patel, who hit 64 not out.He also struck Notts’ fourth highest List A score of 154 in the Royal London quarter-final win at Somerset, contributing 376 runs in all in that competition.His time at Notts has not been without controversy. Two years ago, after celebrating Notts’ Royal London Cup semi-final win against Durham rather too enthusaistically, police found him asleep in a businessman’s car close to Trent Bridge the following morning.He ended his Zimbabwe career to join Notts for the start of the 2015 season and became the first batsman in the club’s history to register centuries in both of his first two matches, against Loughborough University and Middlesex.Director of cricket Mick Newell said: “We are obviously disappointed to lose Brendan given the significant impact he has had, but we also respect his wishes in relation to his family. We wish him every future success.”*The story was updated after a release from Zimbabwe Cricket

Michael Lumband Dan Christian powered Notts Outlaws to an eight victory over Leicestershire Foxes, under the Duckworth Lewis method – and also helped establish a new county record

ECB Reporters Network29-Jul-2016
ScorecardDan Christian was in murderous mood [file picture]•Getty Images

Dynamic batting from Michael Lumb and Dan Christian powered Notts Outlaws to an eight victory over Leicestershire Foxes, under the Duckworth Lewis method – also helped establish a new county record.The Outlaws romped to their eighth straight win, the first time they have done that in the NatWest T20 Blast, with Lumb scoring an unbeaten 69 from 26 balls and Christian clubbed his way to 54 not out from just 16.After both innings of the match had been interrupted by bad weather, Notts were left to score 141 from 14 overs. Thanks to Lumb’s start – which saw him reach his 50 in only 17 deliveries – and then Christian’s brutality which saw him get to his half century from a ball fewer, the home side raced to 146 for 2 in only 10.3 overs.Put in, after Christian had won his eighth straight toss, Leicestershire Foxes made 170 for four, after an interruption had initially reduced the contest to 18 overs.Mark Cosgrove made 53 from 34 balls for the visitors, having hit six fours and a six and Farhaan Behardien made an undefeated 48 from 26 balls.After sharing in an opening stand of 50 with Cosgrove, captain Mark Pettini perished in the seventh over, lifting Patel into the hands of Christian at short extra cover.Imran Tahir’s leg spin was held back until the eleventh over and he made up for lost time by immediately ending Cosgrove’s stay with a googly, which had the batsman groping forward and unable to get back and beat the Read stumping.Cameron Delport presented the ‘keeper with another scalp in the next over, hoisting Steven Mullaney high into the skate grey skies.Behardien hit the same bowler high over the midwicket ropes and appeared set to mount an assault in the closing overs but deteriorating conditions soon forced the players back to the pavilion with 115 for three on the board.Despite a lengthy delay the umpires found time for the Foxes to have three more overs, which produced 55 runs.
Lewis Hill hit 30 before hitting Luke Fletcher out to Jake Ball on the leg side fence, one delivery after the same fielder had spilled a diving effort in the same vicinity.Behardien monopolised the strike from then on, clubbing 25 from the final over, bowled by Ball.Notts began their romp to the finishing line with an explosive start from Lumb and Riki Wessels. They blazed their way to 60 from just 4.3 overs,at which point Clint McKay bowled Wessels, heaving across the line, for 19.Lumb had given the innings a real impetus by hitting three sixes in a Richard Jones over, which went for 26 runs. Neil Dexter’s introduction into the attack cost a further 16 as Lumb moved to his 50 from 17 balls, with seven fours and three sixes.Rob Sayer sent back Greg Smith, lbw for 4 but his next ball was smashed back over his head for another maximum as Christian stylishly announced his arrival in the middle.The Australian then went on a super-charged offensive. He hit Sayer for three sixes in a row before his sixth maximum, off Clint McKay, sealed the victory for his side.Whilst the defeat leaves the Foxes at the foot of the table, Notts Outlaws can now look forward to a home quarter final against Essex, the fourth placed team in the South Group.

Leicestershire established themselves as firm favourites to claim their first Championship victory in 38 attempts after being left a modest target of 163 in their Division Two clash with Essex at Chelmsford.

ECB/PA02-Jun-2015
ScorecardCharlie Shreck set up Leicestershire’s chase with his best figures for Leicestershire•PA Photos

Leicestershire established themselves as firm favourites to claim their first Championship victory in 38 attempts after being left a modest target of 163 in their Division Two clash with Essex at Chelmsford.They go into the final day on 55 without loss after Charlie Shreck had claimed his best figures for the county. He picked up 5 for 71 in 26.2 overs as Essex were bowled out in their second innings for 276, three of his wickets coming with the new ball as the home side lost their last five wickets in the space of nine overs for 20 runs.Shreck’s hostility and accuracy proved far too much for all but Tom Westley and Ryan ten Doeschate. The fifth wicket pair displayed a determination and technique that appeared beyond their colleagues after coming together at 92 for 4 and with their side still 22 short of wiping off a first innings deficit of 114.With ten Doeschate providing the main aggression, they gathered 128 in 32 overs and they looked in such little trouble that it seemed the visitors would be left with a more formidable victory challenge. But all that changed when Shreck found the edge to have ten Doeschate caught in the slip cordon for 77, a contribution that included nine fours in an innings spanning 101 balls.His departure came with the total on 220 and 36 runs later, Westley’s valiant effort was brought to an end by Ben Raine. The paceman, who picked up career-best figures of 48 in the first innings trapped him leg before wicket with the batsman just three runs short of his first century of the summer.Westley’s watchful resistance spanned just over five and a quarter hours and brought him a dozen boundaries. His removal led to a rapid decline in the innings as Shreck got to work and of the last five batsmen, only James Foster with 22, managed to reach double figures.Raine finished with 3 for 59 while Clint McKay picked up 2 for 57 as the pair provided Shreck with fine support. The trio were then able to put their feet up and watch Angus Robson and Matt Boyce launch their side’s victory bid on a firm foundation against bowling that lacked the incisive edge to cause the openers problems.Robson, who anchored Leicestershire’s first innings with a superb century, reached the close on 34 whilst Boyce will resume in the morning with 20 and his side requiring just a further 108 runs to celebrate a long-overdue triumph.

A round-up of the seventh round of Ranji Trophy’s Group B matches on December 18, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2012
ScorecardAfter a strong showing on day three, the Vidarbha batting subsided on the final day to concede a lead of 172 to Karnataka in Mysore. Abhimanyu Mithun picked up four wickets and did not let the absence of the captain Vinay Kumar, nursing a sore ankle, impact Karnataka’s prospects of pocketing three points. Mithun dismissed the overnight batsmen Amol Ubarhande and Shalabh Shrivastava, with the third-wicket stand coming to an end on 228. Vidarbha lost wickets regularly after that; their captain Sairaj Bahutule soon ran out of partners and was stranded on 48. Karnataka did not enforce the follow-on and lost three wickets in their inconsequential second innings before the game was called off. The sides are separated by a point, with Karnataka placed fifth and Vidarbha seventh.
ScorecardFaced with a target of 239 in 41 overs and missing S Badrinath, having a back spasm, Tamil Nadu settled for three points against Baroda at the Moti Bagh ground. After losing M Vijay and Dinesh Karthik cheaply in the chase, Abhinav Mukund and Baba Aparajith progressively slowed down in their 76-run stand. Tamil Nadu would have eyed a smaller target but the Baroda captain Ambati Rayudu resisted solidly during his 66 off 146 deliveries and the last pair of Murtuja Vahora (38) and Bhargav Bhatt (22), after putting on 80 in the first innings, added another 35 in the second to extend the hosts’ innings. Baroda are second with 21 points while Tamil Nadu are sixth with 13.
ScorecardEklavya Dwivedi’s maiden first-class hundred, and his 146-run fifth-wicket stand with Parvinder Singh ensured Uttar Pradesh took a point from their drawn game against Haryana in Lucknow. The hosts had already conceded the first-innings lead on day two. The allrounder Joginder Sharma, in his comeback game after an accident last year, broke the partnership by having Parvinder caught behind. Dwivedi was run out and Harshal Patel ran through the tail to finish with four wickets. Nitin Saini helped himself to a fifty when Haryana came out to bat and the game ended after 43 overs of the visitors’ second innings. Uttar Pradesh lead the group while Haryana are two points above bottom-placed Maharashtra.

After signing Shaun Tait in August, Dolphins have now acquired the services of Chris Gayle for next year’s Pro20 series in South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2011After signing Shaun Tait in August, Dolphins have acquired the services of Chris Gayle for next year’s Pro20 series in South Africa.Dolphins had said they would focus on young players after terminating the contracts of five seniors in February 2010, but have contracted two experienced internationals in Gayle and Tait for the Twenty20 competition. The last cricket Gayle played was in this year’s IPL, in which he was in devastating form for Royal Challengers Bangalore and finished on top of the run-charts despite having arrived at the tournament late. His next assignment will be for Bangalore again, in the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 in India.Gayle, who has played only one ODI in Durban, said he was excited about the venue being his home ground with the Dolhpins. “Twenty20 is a form of the game I love and to get the opportunity to play in a beautiful place like Durban is massively appealing,” he said. “South Africa will provide a new challenge, and I’m sure alongside Shaun Tait and under the guidance of Graham Ford we can be a success.”Ford, who coaches Dolphins, said Gayle’s experience would help the younger players in the side. “Chris has an amazing record as a player and will not only bring a huge amount of flair and excitement to our cricket but will also bring a vast amount of experience and knowledge, which will greatly assist the progress of our younger players,” Ford said.The Pro20 series will be played from February 15 to March 30 next year.