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JP Duminy led with an all-round performance to help South Africa pull off a 12-run win in the low-scoring opener of the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka

The Report by Firdose Moonda02-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details South Africa’s bowlers were miserly as only two Sri Lankan batsmen managed double-digit scores•AFPReplay the manner in which South Africa were defeated four times on their tour of Sri Lanka so far and you would have expected them to lose this match as well. The top order failed, the middle order was exposed but only just hung together and the bowlers had too little to work with. But this time, they pulled off a heist despite all their deficiencies.JP Duminy followed up his half-century with a match-winning bowling performance while Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell finally showed capabilities of bowling at the death. Kumar Sangakkara’s 59 was one of only two double-figure scores on Sri Lanka’s card as the rest battled on a slow surface.South African fans would not have expected that, after their team seemed to have lost the match before the first innings powerplay was even complete. Sri Lanka’s offspinner Sachithra Senanayake plucked three wickets from a top order that has yet to find their confidence. Their bowlers, though, had theirs boosted after they defended a low total which required Sri Lanka to score just 37 runs in the last five overs.Sri Lanka looked set to chase down the total without much fuss when they scored 13 runs in the first two overs. Kusal Perera showed attacking intent but his temperament gave way when he mis-hit Morne Morkel to point.Dinesh Chandimal also seemed in a hurry. He hit two boundaries before bottom-edging Lonwabo Tsotsobe, after struggling with the extra bounce.With early setbacks, Sri Lanka’s seniors Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara knuckled down and tried to pick singles off Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir. But all the patience Dilshan showed in the ODI series vanished when Duminy was introduced, as in an attempt to take the bowler on, Dilshan only managed to offer AB de Villiers a catch at long-on.Sri Lanka needed to score 70 runs in the second-half of their innings but with the in-form Sangakkara at the crease, they would have thought it more than possible. While he found the boundary, the rest found the fielders.Angelo Mathews gave Duminy a tame return catch and then Jeevan Mendis swept him to deep square leg the next ball. Duminy didn’t complete a hat-trick but he wouldn’t mind that.Lahiru Thirimanne and Thisara Perera holed out within six balls of each other and suddenly, South Africa had the upper-hand. With 21 runs to defend off 12 balls, Parnell mixed up his pace in a double-wicket maiden and Morkel bowled a few full to ensure run-scoring opportunities were unavailable. Sangakkara hit two fours off the last over but he could not do it alone and in the end, Sri Lanka ended up with a worse batting performance than South Africa.That hardly seemed possible after Senanayake’s start. He exposed Quinton de Kock’s inexperience and had the young wicket-keeper batsman playing down the wrong line to one that straightened to get him lbw.Henry Davids also could not read Senanayake. After trying to work him to leg and push him to cover, he went for the sweep to a full delivery and was trapped in front. And then, Faf du Plessis’ lean series became leaner. After constant shuffling at the crease, he tried to play inside the line of a straighter one and was bowled.De Villiers and JP Duminy posted a small stand of 27 and Duminy took on the responsibility of anchoring the innings. He hung around for long enough to accelerate slightly and along with David Miller, helped South Africa manage 21 runs off the 16th and 17th over.Miller became Lasith Malinga’s 50th T20 victim but Duminy notched up a more favourable record. He brought up his fifty with a slog-sweep off an Ajantha Mendis full toss, which took over 1,000 T20 runs and made him South Africa’s leading scorer in the format, overtaking Graeme Smith, and giving the team a morale-boosting win during a tough tour.

Suresh Raina smashed his first IPL century as Chennai Super Kings stretched their winning streak to a record-equalling seven

The Report by Siddhartha Talya02-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Suresh Raina smashed his first IPL century•BCCIWith 92 IPL games to his name, Suresh Raina, even more than MS Dhoni, is the tournament’s most experienced campaigner. A vital part of the Chennai Super Kings line-up, retained by his franchise after the first three seasons, he’s been key to several of his team’s successes and, on Thursday, he smashed his first IPL century in another victory – the seventh straight one for Super Kings this year. Shaun Marsh and David Miller middled the ball superbly in the chase and brought the equation down to 19 off the final over, but Dwayne Bravo didn’t let his team down.Raina’s yellow jersey had a brownish shade by the time he reached the landmark, his aggression not only confined to targeting the bowlers. If there’s an Indian batsman after the Mohammad Kaif of almost a decade ago who inflicts as much damage on his clothing while running between the wickets as he does while fielding, it’s Raina.Raina’s innings had its sedate phase, when it kept pace with Super Kings’ start, with a run-rate of just a little over six in the first nine overs. In the unforgiving Chennai heat, with not a speck of cloud in the sky, nor any breeze in the air, there was a back-massage for Raina from one of his team-mates, his head was wrapped up in a wet towel, his partner Michael Hussey was on his knees, and both were gulping down fluids during the time-out. Albie Morkel even tweeted: “Maybe they must reconsider 4pm games in chennai. My word someone will die soon.!” The massage certainly helped re-energize Raina, as he transformed his game after having moved to 14 off 15 balls at that point.The first ball he faced after the break, he drove David Hussey beautifully through deep cover and long-off before launching him over long-on for six. At the other end, Michael Hussey went past Chris Gayle to become the highest run-getter this season but was stumped 55 runs into the partnership. Raina lost Dhoni, run-out brilliantly by R Sathish in the 13th over, but he had made up his mind to be on the attack. He slog-swept Chawla with the turn, clipped Sathish past fine leg, and stepped up another notch after the second time-out, which was taken at the end of the 15th over.Six seasons into the IPL, death bowling has continued to be a worry for most teams, whose Indian bowlers, especially, have struggled to contain the batsmen. Attempted yorkers, almost inevitably, end up being length balls; Raina struck Manpreet Gony imperiously over the straight boundary off two such deliveries.Sathish was then cut and swept, Praveen Kumar was dispatched over long-on twice, the second six coming in the final over during which Raina reached his century. Through his assault, he ran superbly, though was fortunate to have just made his ground as he attempted a dive to complete a run very early in his innings, the bat popping up as he tried to slide it in. The last five overs yielded 70 runs, also thanks to Albie Morkel’s cameo of 23.Kings XI Punjab had a similar start to their chase, reaching the halfway mark at 65 for 2. But Marsh and Miller gave Super Kings a serious scare, their combined acceleration beginning, incidentally, in the 12th over from Raina that went for 19. Both cleared the boundaries comfortably during their half-centuries – they put on 95 in 52 balls – and still had an outside chance with 19 needed off six. Marsh, however, was bowled off the first ball by Bravo while trying to dispatch a full ball, and the task was beyond even Miller from there on as he faced just two more deliveries.

Seamer Shafiul Islam and allrounder Ziaur Rahman have been called up to the Bangladesh Test squad, as cover for pacers Rubel Hossain and Shahadat Hossain

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2013Seamer Shafiul Islam and allrounder Ziaur Rahman have been called up to the Bangladesh Test squad, as cover for pacers Rubel Hossain and Shahadat Hossain. Shafiul and Ziaur will fly to Harare on Sunday night.Rubel, who had back trouble during the tour to Sri Lanka earlier this year, hurt his shoulder during the first Test here, while Shahadat had missed the Test due to a knee injury. They do not have much time to regain full fitness, with the second Test beginning on Thursday, thus prompting the team to call for back-up.Bangladesh’s other injury concern is opener Tamim Iqbal, who also missed the first Test. However, his thumb injury is coming on well and indications are he should be fit in time for the second game. On Saturday, captain Mushfiqur Rahim said: “He is doing really well.”Ziaur had featured in the limited-overs leg on Bangladesh’s tour to Sri Lanka, but is yet to debut in Test cricket. Shafiul last played in the home series against West Indies, in December last year. He had made a comeback in that series, following a long injury layoff to recover from a shoulder injury that he picked up while fielding in the Asia Cup in March 2012.Bangladesh lost the first Test by a whopping 335-run margin, within four days, and will have to win the second match to squad the series.

A round-up of HRV Cup matches played on January 11, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2013
ScorecardCanterbury put up just about enough runs on the board to beat Northern Districts by eight runs in a high-scoring match in Hamilton. This was their third win in the competition while Northern Districts conceded their fourth loss in nine games.The win has put Canterbury in with a mathematical chance to make it to the finals if they win both their remaining matches. Northern Districts, who came into the match placed third in the table, are now left in a must-win situation in their last league match against Wellington.Deciding to bat first, Canterbury were off to a rapid start but lost Rob Nicol in the third over. His more aggressive opening partner George Worker fell for 27 an over later, but Bradley Cachopa and Andrew Ellis added 39 runs for the third wicket off just 28 balls. The rapid start gave Tom Latham and Brendon Diamanti the foundation to launch from, and they blasted the next 70 off just 38 balls. Latham struck 52 off 29 balls which included three sixes off consecutive balls off an Anurag Verma over, giving Canterbury a competitive 184 in 20 overs.Brent Arnell took four wickets for 22 runs but none of the other Northern District bowlers could make an impression on Canterbury. The story continued with the batsmen too.Canterbury left-arm spinner Ronnie Hira then took three key wickets to scuttle Northern District’s fall, taking 3 for 16 in four overs. Brad Wilson’s 36 and 25 each from James Foster and Jono Bolt were not enough contributions in a big chase.
ScorecardOtago maintained their position at the top of the HRC Cup table with their seventh straight win as they sidelined second-placed Wellington by 12 runs at the Basin Reserve.Otago made a quick start, adding 36 for the opening wicket in 4.2 overs, after they won the toss and elected to bat first. The fall of the wicket didn’t slow the team down as skipper Derek de Boorder joined Hamish Rutherford to keep the scoring-rate up. Even after the fall of Rutherford, Otago kept coming up with regular partnerships that didn’t let the scoring slow down. De Boorder was the last wicket to fall in the innings, off the penultimate ball, after he had scored 67 off 44 balls to set up a strong total.Wellington’s chances of getting a good start were struck a blow when seamer James Fuller got the big wicket of Jesse Ryder. There were useful contributions from Tamim Iqbal and CA Borgas, but none of them were allowed to break free. In the end, Grant Elliot made a late effort with an 18-ball 36 but Wellington fell short by 12 runs.Wellington need to win their last match against Northern Districts to qualify for the finals, but a loss would leave them vulnerable to Auckland’s and Canterbury’s results.

Australia’s vice-captain Shane Watson has left the tour of India just hours after being told he and three other players would not be considered for the third Test for ignoring team orders

Brydon Coverdale11-Mar-2013Australia’s tour of India went into crisis mode on Monday with the team management axeing four players, including vice-captain Shane Watson, from the third Test in Mohali for ignoring team orders following the defeat in Hyderabad. The other players are James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja. Hours after that announcement by the coach Mickey Arthur came news that Watson was heading home, though Cricket Australia insisted it was connected with the birth of his first child.The baby was due shortly after the end of the Indian tour and Watson had already been granted leave to fly home early if required. A Cricket Australia spokesman said that process had been “accelerated” due to a change at home and that it was yet to be confirmed whether Watson would return to the tour ahead of the fourth Test, which starts in Delhi on Friday next week.The four players were told by Arthur of the unprecedented decision on Monday morning. After the Hyderabad loss, inside three and a half days, Arthur asked every member of the squad to let him know three points on how their individual performances and those of the team could be improved.The players were informed of the task on Tuesday night and were asked to ensure it was done by Saturday evening. Every other player completed the requirements, either by emailing or texting Arthur their points or by slipping a note under his door. However, as of Monday morning the four players had neglected to comply. Arthur, captain Michael Clarke and team manager Gavin Dovey met and discussed how to handle the situation and decided that it needed to be a “line-in-the-sand moment”.”After Hyderabad the whole team was really hurting, we were discussing ways of getting back into the series,” Arthur said. “We were particularly aware of where we were as a team and how we were going to get back. I asked the players at the end of the game to give me an individual presentation. I wanted three points from each of them technically, mentally and team as to how we were going to get back over the next couple of games, how we were going to get ourselves back into the series.”Unfortunately four players didn’t comply with that. We pride ourselves on attitude. We have given the players a huge amount of latitude to get culture and attitude right. We believe that those behaviours with what we want to do with this team, how we want to take this team to be the best in the world, teams that are the best in the world have best attitudes and best behaviour patterns and a good, hard, ruthless culture. I believe those four players unfortunately did not meet my requirements so those four are not available for selection for this Test match.”That’s a line-in-the-sand moment. We have given these guys absolute clarity. We have given this team a huge amount of time to buy in with what we want to do for the Australian cricket team. We have given a vision to these guys that is spelt out. We’ve given an expectation that is spelt out and although this incident might seem very small in isolation this is a line-in-the-sand moment for us as a unit in our quest to become the best in the world.Australia’s Test squad

Available players: Michael Clarke (capt), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Doherty, Nathan Lyon, Brad Haddin (wk)
Doubtful: Matthew Wade (wk)
Out: Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja

“I think the best thing that these three days off have given me is reflection time, to reflect on how well have I been going in my job, like I expect everyone else to do when you’re 2-0 down in the series. Myself and Pup came to the conclusion that we have been so focused on winning cricket games that maybe some people have been cutting corners. Perhaps there have been some soft options taken.”We decided that we needed to really get that in line.”One of the most surprising aspects of the decision is that it was not necessarily related to previous indiscretions by the players involved. Although there have been ongoing questions about Khawaja’s attitude, Arthur said Watson, as one of the senior members of the side, was usually extremely professional with his preparation. But on this occasion, given the nature of the loss in Hyderabad, the team management was not prepared to accept such laxity.”I have never ever doubted, not for one moment, the drive of Shane Watson,” Arthur said. “Not for one moment. Shane Watson prepares well. He’s very professional and he goes about his business in a very professional way. I’ve not ever been in a position to doubt Shane Watson the person or Shane Watson the cricketer. Usman Khawaja is different. This will be the catalyst I think for Usman Khawaja to realise we’re pretty serious in the Australian cricket team.”It’s extremely tough to sit here and make that decision. I wish it wasn’t the vice-captain, I wish it wasn’t Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, they are leaders within the team and are very professional with the way they go about their business. But this was a moment where we had to make a statement irrespective of who the players were.”I wanted to make 100% sure that it wasn’t stuck in the outbox and under the door, and it wasn’t. Shane was going to talk to me today about it, as was James Pattinson apparently. Mitchell and Usman forgot about it. But I wanted it by Saturday night. As severe as a consequence it is, if we remove the names, it sends a proper statement of what we want to do with this cricket team.

“That’s a line-in-the-sand moment. We have given these guys absolute clarity. We have given this team a huge amount of time to buy in with what we want to do for the Australian cricket team”

“They could do it in any way. It could be in writing and putting something on email, it could have been sending an SMS followed up by an email. I wanted to make sure the players went back and reflected and looked themselves in the mirror and said ‘this is what I want to do to take this team forward. This is how I want to change this series and this is my positive contribution to the attitudes that we want to create in this cricket team’.”I wanted three things – a lot of guys came to my room and did a presentation, a few guys have written fantastic emails, some guys put notes under my door, it was their preference. As a leadership group, myself, Michael Clarke and Gavin Dovey made these decisions together. We as leaders feel we need to project a united front and we need to be ruthless if we want to achieve our objectives.”The players were informed of the decisions individually on Monday morning before the news was broken to the rest of the playing group prior to training. Arthur said it was a very difficult decision.”They are absolutely gutted, as I was having to deliver a message like that,” he said. “We were all gutted by it, but this is the expectation if you want to play cricket for Australia.”The decision leaves Australia with only 13 players available for the third Test, which starts on Thursday. However, Matthew Wade may yet be ruled out due to injury, which would leave only 12 available when Brad Haddin joins the group. The unavailability of the quartet is only for the Mohali Test; they will again be considered for selection for the fourth and final Test in Delhi.

A round-up of the action from the first day of the fifth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2011Aggressive performances from the top order boosted Peshawar to 304 before Riaz Afridi left Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited struggling on 34 for 2 in a clash of the only two unbeaten sides in Division Two at the Arbab Niaz Stadium. Israrullah (91) and Mohammad Fayyaz (39) put on a century opening stand to lay the platform for their side. Israrullah then put on another 81 with Iftikhar Ahmed (66) and Peshawar were 184 for 1 at that stage. SNGPL’s bowlers came back strongly led by 19-year old seamer Adil Raza, who finished with 5 for 98 as Peshawar lost the remaining nine wickets for 120. Imran Khalid finished with 3 for 39.Karachi Whites recovered from a disastrous start to end the first day on 292 for 7 against Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium. Mir Ali had rocked the top order with a three-wicket burst with the new ball to leave Karachi tottering at 15 for 4 but captain Akbar-ur-Rehman revived the innings with a patient 70. Mohammad Hasan and Faraz Ahmed put on 69 for the seventh wicket to take Karachi past 200 before Hasan fell after his fifty. Faraz was unbeaten on 83 at stumps, having put on 82 with Mansoor Ahmed.Quetta were dismissed for 172 against Lahore Ravi at the Gaddafi Stadium after being put in, collapsing from 111 for 3. Taimur Khan (52) and Abid Ali (43) helped Quetta recover after Emmad Ali had struck twice. But seamer Asif Ashfaq and offspinner Waqas Aslam ran through the line-up, claiming 7 for 74 between them. No batsman resisted after Taimur and Abid departed with the last six managing a top score of 14. Lahore Ravi ended on 39 for 1.Saad Sukhail’s maiden first-class hundred carried United Bank Limited to 275 for 9 against Lahore Shalimar at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Sukhail hit 14 fours and was unbeaten on 129 with wicketkeeper Zafar Ali’s 44 being the next-highest score. Even as wickets kept falling throughout the day, Sukhail’s effort ensured his side reached a respectable total. He had put on 32 for the last wicket with Misbah Khan till stumps. Ali Manzoor was the most successful bowler with 4 for 57 in 22 overs.

Cricket Australia’s chief executive, James Sutherland, has ruled out an extension of the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the players as the June 30 deadline draws closer with no sign of resolution

Brydon Coverdale12-Jun-2012Cricket Australia’s chief executive, James Sutherland, has ruled out an extension of the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the players as the June 30 deadline draws closer with no sign of resolution. Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) will meet again later this week in an effort to resolve their ongoing pay dispute, and neither side has shown any willingness to budge on their demands.The existing MoU expires at the end of the month and if a new deal is not agreed by that time, Australia’s players will be out of contract and could consider strike action. The limited-overs squad departs on Thursday for a one-day tour of England and Ireland, and they will have four matches still to play when the contract talks are due to expire.The ACA chief executive, Paul Marsh, has declared strike action a last resort, and said the union’s preferred option would be to continue with the existing MoU if a new agreement is not reached. That was the outcome last year, when a one-year extension was agreed as a compromise when the parties couldn’t find common ground on a new deal, but Sutherland said Cricket Australia was not willing to do the same this time around.”From our perspective, we’re not entertaining any thoughts of rolling over the contract,” Sutherland said on Tuesday. “We have a strong view that there needs to be a new agreement going forward and we’re negotiating on that basis.”The ACA remains frustrated at Cricket Australia’s push to change the pool of revenue from which the players take a 26% cut, but the board is adamant the players will be better off financially. Although neither side has shown any sign of giving ground – in public, at least – somebody will need to compromise to avoid a messy situation on July 1, and Sutherland said he remained hopeful that a deal would be reached.”We’re probably coming into the eleventh hour,” he said. “We’ve got a sharp focus on trying to make sure we can get something done. We’ll give it a good crack. We’re confident in our position and the attractiveness of the offer we’ve put on the table. Hopefully the ACA will see it themselves and see their way through to be able to come to an arrangement with us this week, or in the next couple.”We’ve got a clear position that our board has mandated on. I guess that puts us in a position of needing to be strong and work through that. I think the ACA is understanding of that position – not necessarily agreeing with it – but we’ll talk to them about it and see how we go.”The prolonged nature of the discussions has been especially frustrating for the states, who cannot complete contract negotiations until a new agreement is confirmed. That means players who intend to switch states have been forced to remain with their existing teams for the time being, while there is also no certainty over how many of their players will fall under the Cricket Australia contract list.”I’m always frustrated when things don’t come together as quickly as you’d like,” Sutherland said. “It’s a really important agreement for cricket; it’s a really important agreement for our players. People take time over these things and they’re complicated. Sometimes with complex deals they don’t come together as quickly as you’d like and they get resolved right at the end. Hopefully that’s what we’ll see in the next couple of weeks.”

A round-up of Friday’s matches in the MiWAY T20 Challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2012Knights survived an early onslaught by Impi opener Luke Wright to grab a vital four points with a five-wicket win in a rain-affected game at the De Beers Diamond Oval in Kimberley. Still chasing their first win in the competition, Impi chose to bat and Wright (75 off 39 balls) showed the way by taking 20 runs off Ryan McLaren’s sixth over. Along with Ryan Canning (36), he brought up a century opening stand in the ninth over. However, the introduction of left-arm medium-pacer Jander Coetzee (4-34) slowed the proceedings and the Paul Collingwood-led Impi side finished with 178 runs. For Knights, Rilee Rossouw (42) and Morne van Wyk (34) led the response to take the home side to within 22 runs of the target in 17 overs, when the rain came. Knights were ahead of the D/L target at that stage. With no further play possible, Knights won the game and are comfortably placed to qualify for the semi-finals.Pre-tournament favourites Cape Cobras disappointed in their crucial match against Warriors, losing by 43 runs at Newlands, Cape Town, a day after their allrounder Rory Kleinveldt was withdrawn from the squad for testing positive for a banned substance. Cobras chose to bowl and restricted Warriors to 149 with Brad Hogg taking 4 for 33. In reply, Warriors’ bowlers shared the spoils to dismiss Cobras for 106 runs in 18.5 overs.The game between table-toppers Lions and fifth-placed Dolphins at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg was abandoned after 6 overs, as the pitch was not fit for play due to the adverse weather conditions in the past few days. Both teams were awarded two points each.

Lancashire are close to concluding a deal to secure the return of Junaid Khan, the highly-rated Pakistan left-arm seamer, as their overseas player for this season’s Friends Life T20.

Myles Hodgson03-Apr-2012Lancashire are close to concluding a deal to secure the return of Junaid Khan, the highly-rated Pakistan left-arm seamer, as their overseas player for this season’s Friends Life T20.Recruited last season on the recommendation of Wasim Akram, Junaid made a big impact on the Flt20 and helped Lancashire reach finals day for the first time in four years, only to miss the climax to the competition after being selected for Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe.His absence was felt, particularly his ability as a death bowler, with Lancashire losing the semi-final at Edgbaston to Leicestershire in a one-over eliminator. Despite the interest of other counties, Lancashire are confident of securing Junaid’s return later this summer.”We’ve got some paperwork with Junaid at this moment in time, so hopefully we’ll get that back soon and square that bit of business off,” Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s Cricket Director, explained. “That’s important for us really because if you look at the depth of our squad, we feel we’ve got the quality to compete in all three competitions, but we need a little bit of a buffer for our bowlers.”Glen Chapple, Saj Mahmood and Kyle Hogg bowled a lot of overs last season and if we get Junaid on board, he showed what he can do last season in the T20 competition and proved to be an outstanding performer bowling at the death. That’s something we’re a little bit short of, so we’re looking forward to having him in the bag and then we can see where we are from there.”Junaid’s time at Lancashire last season proved beneficial for both parties. Signed on a meagre contract due to the financial restrictions imposed by the ongoing legal battle with Derwent Holdings and the redevelopment of Old Trafford, Junaid impressed enough to break into Pakistan’s Test side. Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharoof was also signed on a similar deal earlier in the summer and impressed sufficiently to play in the Test series in England and has since reclaimed his place in their one-day international squad.While financial restrictions have eased enough for Lancashire to re-sign South African batsman Ashwell Prince to help with the defence of their LV County Championship title, Watkinson conceded they may have to look for further bargains if they are to strengthen the squad further.”In an ideal world the squad could stand somebody else given the amount of cricket we’re going to play and how intense the season is but whether that happens or not, we’re not really sure,” he said. “We have proved last season that there are players out there who are willing to play for the opportunity and to further their own careers, so we’ll weigh that option up.”Prince will miss Lancashire’s three-day match against Cambridge University, which starts on Friday, but is expected in time to feature in their opening championship match of the season against Sussex at Aigburth next week.It will be his third spell with Lancashire, having averaged 52.60 from five first class matches in 2009 while he also returned for an interim period the following year, and his familiarity with an already close-knit squad – in addition to the chance to impress South Africa’s selectors ahead of their tour of England in the second half of the summer – was a key factor in securing his arrival.”You can’t pick and choose who’s available and obviously Ashwell has played for us before and we loved having him,” explained Lancashire captain Chapple, who shares an admiration for Prince as a cricketer with a mutual support of Liverpool Football Club.”He worked hard; he was a dedicated cricketer and has obviously got proven international class. He supports Liverpool as well so there’s a bit more support in the dressing room and we’re looking forward to having him back. He was good for us when he played for us before and we’re sure he will be again.”Chapple may miss the Cambridge University match after contracting a cold during Lancashire’s recent trip to Abu Dhabi for the champions’opener against MCC but remains in good spirits ahead of Lancashire’s title defence.Asked what would be different this summer as champions at the annual media day, where the traditional opening question was always to enquire whether Lancashire could finally win the title, Chapple responded by saying: “We’re answering different questions!”

Andrew Strauss has insisted he has no qualms over the squad Pakistan have selected for the Tests in UAE

Andrew McGlashan at Heathrow02-Jan-2012Andrew Strauss has insisted he has no qualms over the squad Pakistan have selected for the Tests in UAE despite links to the spot-fixing trial which led to Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt being handed jail sentences.Three further players whose names were mentioned during the trial at Southwark Crown Court – left-arm quick Wahab Riaz, opening batsman Imran Farhat and middle-order player Umar Akmal – are part of Pakistan’s 16-man squad for the three Tests in Dubai and Abu Dhabi which start on January 17. No charges were brought against any of those players.Strauss has previously spoken about needing to move on from the controversy which began at Lord’s in 2010, when the now defunct exposed the spot-fixing scam involving deliberate no-balls, and he again talked about a fresh start as the England squad prepared to fly out from Heathrow.”It’s their obligation and duty to pick the best side they think is available to them,” Strauss said. “I think the spot-fixing stuff is something we are desperately keen to move on from. I don’t think there’s any good that can come from churning it all up again and it’s time to just concentrate on the cricket. We will play whichever XI is selected.”Even before spot-fixing the history of contests between these two teams was littered with controversy including the abandoned Test at The Oval in 2006 and the infamous altercation between Mike Gatting and umpire Shakoor Rana in 1987. Strauss, though, is very keen to ensure that the next couple of months don’t add another reason to remember the occasion for the wrong reasons.”This perception that there are always issues between Pakistan and England, we should see this as an opportunity to eradicate that,” he said. “There’s no reason why that should be the case. If we approach it in the right spirit then that should be good for relations between the two teams and world cricket in general.”Pakistan are playing a lot of good cricket and that’s going to be the challenge for us to overcome them, on the field. What’s happened before is water under the bridge and I hope both sides can play in the right spirit and produce an entertaining and exciting Test match series.”Pakistan’s recent form has included Test victories against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and while that trio doesn’t represent the toughest challenge in the game it is the consistency of a notoriously unpredictable team that caught the eye in the second half of 2011.They have compensated for the absence of Amir and Asif with the emergence of Junaid Khan, a left-arm quick who faces a fitness Test to see whether he’ll be available to play against England, while Aizaz Cheema was a releative late-comer to international cricket at the age of 31. Throw in the skills of Saeed Ajmal, currently the world’s leading spinner, and they remain a potent attack.”They are probably one of the form teams in world cricket at the moment. I think their bowling attack has been pretty impressive,” Strauss said.” They seem to have a production line of good quality bowlers and Saeed Ajmal in particular has done well in those conditions. They have got a good balance to their side and they are playing some good, sort of smart cricket at the moment.”There is also the advantage of having played a considerable amount of cricket in UAE which is now their home away from home, although Strauss wasn’t too concerned about the unknown quantity of what England will encounter.”The conditions aren’t tremendously foreign they are sub-continental definitely,” he said. “I suppose it’s fairly attritional cricket and that’s what you need to get used to doing in those sort of conditions. Taking 20 wickets is going to be the key and I’m very thankful that we go out there with a well-balanced bowling attack that has challenged teams continuously over the last couple of years. I’m sure they will continue to do that.”Strauss said that England are likely to select three of the five quick bowlers in the tour party when the Test series begins which, coupled with the likelihood of them retaining six specialist batsmen and Matt Prior at No. 7, means Monty Panesar will need to wait a bit longer to resume his Test career.England’s two warm-up matches, the first against an Associates and Affiliates XI starting on Saturday, will give Chris Tremlett and Steven Finn a chance to push their claims for a recall but they face a tough task to break up the attack that completed the 4-0 whitewash against India. For whichever bowlers do play, it will be a tough few weeks.