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Michael Clarke joined the Australian team at training on Saturday morning, which has given them a boost in the lead-up to the first Test

Sidharth Monga in Adelaide06-Dec-20141:36

We need the support of the Australian public – Haddin

Michael Clarke joined the Australian team at training on Saturday morning, which has given them a boost in the lead-up to the first Test starting at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. Brad Haddin, who will captain the side should Clarke not be declared fit, said Clarke was “going in the right direction”, and that he himself had not given a thought to captaining the side. Australia had a practice session in the afternoon, but Haddin said Clarke had already had “a good hit” in the morning.”Michael’s been strong for the team for a long time,” Haddin said. “I think he’s a tremendous captain, and we want our captain out there playing. All signs are that he’s going in the right direction, and like everyone else, we want Michael out there leading our team in the first hour of play here in Adelaide.” Clarke joined the team for fielding practice, and did not have any apparent trouble with his hamstring.There was more, Haddin said, that had lifted the players’ spirits – their training session at Park 25 Cricket Ground on Friday, their first after Phillip Hughes’ death. He was happy to feel that “cricket hurt” in his legs again. “We just got back to cricket,” Haddin said when asked if coming back felt normal. “We can try to complicate it as much as we want, but we went back to cricket training. Everybody did what he needed to do yesterday. We got a bit of volume, and a bit of miles in our legs. We needed to feel that cricket hurt in our legs again. So we got that yesterday, and yeah it was a good day back training.”It wasn’t entirely normal, though. Australia began their first session with fun and games. “If you were watching closely, everyone was dancing,” Haddin said. “When the music stopped we had to dance. When it was on we had to run. So that wasn’t normal. But it was good fun. It was interesting to see the generation changes, and different moves. Ryno [Harris] and I did the waltz, and Davey Warner was doing the worm.”Warner and Harris are two players that have been in focus. Harris is coming back from a career-threatening injury, and Warner is perhaps one of the most affected by Hughes’ death. Haddin said Harris was looking fit, and that Warner could take his time.”Ryno was good yesterday,” Haddin said. “He had good zip. He was his normal negative self [laughs], bowling and asking if he was doing the right thing, asking whether it was coming through good. He had that Ryan Harris zip. I was lucky enough to face him for a good 20 minutes, and it was tough work, and it was good to see him back to playing and bowling the way Ryan does. He won’t think he was bowling very good, but he had that zip and nip back, which was really good.”Michael Clarke runs at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday•Getty ImagesWarner struggled during the training session on Friday, needing attention from the team psychologist Michael Lloyd. He was at the nets on Saturday, but there have been suggestions Shaun Marsh might be in as cover for him. When asked about how Warner was, Haddin said: “There was no pressure on anyone yesterday. There were no expectations on anyone regarding what you had to do or what you needed to get out of the net session. If you needed to take half an hour or 10 minutes or five minutes … there were no expectations. It was all individualised, and I didn’t count times on how guys were in the nets.”The Australian bowlers were seen bowling several bouncers at their batsmen during centre-wicket practice at Park 25. It seemed like a conscious effort to remove the hesitation before the Test. While Haddin did not get drawn into a discussion about bouncers, you could tell there was an attempt to try and believe that this Test is not unlike others.”I think once we are out there, we will be there to play our style of cricket,” Haddin said, when asked if there had been second thoughts about Australia’s aggressive brand of cricket. “I don’t think we have to complicate and look too deeply into things. It’s about getting out there and playing the game of cricket. Executing our skills under pressure. It’s just a game of cricket, and we will play the brand of cricket we have always played. We will get a cricket game here on Tuesday. You’ll enjoy it, and so will we.”We get back to playing the game we love. It’s a great game, and been good to so many of us. Our job is to go and play cricket, and to enjoy that. We need the support of the Australian public and everyone leading into this first Test. We’re looking forward to playing, and we need the help of everyone to enjoy the moment, and just enjoy the game of cricket.”

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.

Somerset chairman Andy Nash has penned a diary of the 2012 season but chose to omit details of former director of cricket Brian Rose’s departure from the club last September

Ivo Tennant at Taunton28-May-2013Brian Rose left Taunton in September 2012•PA PhotosBrian Rose, Somerset’s former director of cricket, will return to Taunton on Sunday in controversial circumstances as the county suffers one of its worst starts to the season for years in his absence.Rose will to cut a ribbon around the gates to be named in his honour, following the accolade bestowed upon Joel Garner, Viv Richards and J. C. “Farmer” White. A worthy quartet, indeed, to be commemorated in ironwork.But the departure of Rose at the end of last season after a succession of runners-up finishes is as yet not fully unexplained. Many Somerset supporters are increasingly questioning why he was shown the gate in the first place.According to club chairman Andy Nash in his diary of last season, this is a “legend” of Somerset cricket. Indeed, Rose was the most successful captain in their history, before you add his impressive record running the first team in recent years – even though they became perennial runners-up.Somerset have made an appalling start to this season as his replacement, the South African Dave Nosworthy, has inherited an ageing side and they were annihilated inside five sessions against Sussex last week.Inevitably, there will be a member or two who on Sunday will tell Rose, or Nash, that this is a man who should never have left the club. Giles Clarke, now ECB chairman, brought him back to Taunton when in charge here and remains on good terms with him: Rose, indeed, is a guest at Clarke’s 60th birthday party.Would Rose have improved Somerset’s overall game this season had he remained at the club? The players have not changed, apart from being a year older. Neither James Harris nor Rory Hamilton-Brown chose to come to Taunton, and, of course, Nick Compton’s runs have been much missed owing to his absence with England.Yet Rose was much liked and much respected. A man who could handle Richards and Ian Botham in their pomp. A man capable of inspiration. Since leaving last September, much lauded in the sunshine by Roy Kerslake, Somerset president, with a presentation in front of the Andy Caddick Pavilion, he was asked by Glamorgan to conduct an indepedent review.As if to stifle suggestions of a Somerset return, the county has confirmed that he has been retained as a consultant for the remainder of the season.Nash is a good man and a successful businessman. But given that Nash has not written about Rose’s departure, the inevitable conclusion is that such a diary would be best left until he has stepped down from office. No-one is expecting him to dish any dirt – but some insight, some analysis, some detail of how this much-treasured cricket club is run, would be the prime expectation of any prospective purchaser of his book.

Neil Carter is one of a number of new faces included in the Scotland squad for their tour of the UAE where they will face Afghanistan in all forms of the game.

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2013Neil Carter, the former Warwickshire seamer, is one of a number of new faces included in the Scotland squad for their tour of the UAE in March, where they will face Afghanistan in all forms of the game.Carter, who retired from county cricket at the end of 2012 after over a decade with Warwickshire, is hoping to extend his career with Scotland and will add experience to a young crop of bowlers chiefly aiming to earn a place at the 2015 World Cup.David Murphy, the Northamptonshire wicketkeeper, Sussex batsman Matt Machan, and Rob Taylor, the Leicestershire allrounder, have also been selected after impressing on Scotland’s uncapped tour of South Africa in October. Another county cricketer, Yorkshire seamer Iain Wardlaw, has been included in the party for the eight-match tour.Scotland will play three warm-up matches before two T20 internationals on March 3 and 4. They precede the main part of the tour with two crucial World Cricket League matches. Scotland will be hoping to consolidate their position in the top two of the Championship table – the qualifying positions for the World Cup. With six matches to play, Scotland are two points behind Ireland and a point ahead of both Netherlands and UAE. Afghanistan are a further three points back.The final leg of the tour sees Scotland and Afghanistan vying for a place in the final of the Intercontinental Cup. Scotland are currently second in the table, again behind Ireland, with Afghanistan third.”This is a massive few weeks for the team in terms of reaching the 2015 World Cup and another Intercontinental Cup final,” Scotland captain Gordon Drummond said. “The new look squad has a good balance to it and gives us a great deal of options. The players have been training intensively since the start of the year and we are looking forward to getting back onto the pitch and challenging the talented Afghanistan team. It is important for us that we get off to a good start ahead of what is a huge year of cricket for Scotland.”Scotland have benefitted from a relaxation of the qualification rules. Previously, players had to be born in or spend 100 days a year in the country to represent them. Now, players can qualify through a parent.Iain Kennedy, Scotland chairman of selectors, said this selection was the most “challenging and exciting” of recent times. “It’s very rare that you would get such an influx of talented individuals to pick from,” he said. “Hopefully our new players will gel quickly with our current squad and we get the positive results we are all hoping for against Afghanistan”.Scotland squad to play Afghanistan
Richie Berrington, Neil Carter, Kyle Coetzer, Josh Davey, Gordon Drummond (captain), Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Moneeb Iqbal, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, David Murphy, Preston Mommsen, Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain WardlawFixtures
February 23, UAE Blues, Sharjah, 50-over warm up
February 26, UAE Blues, Abu Dhabi, 50-over warm up
February 28, UAE Blues, Dubai, 50-over warm up
March 3, Afghanistan, T20, Sharjah
March 4, Afghanistan, T20, Sharjah
March 6, Afghanistan, World Cricket League, Sharjah
March 8, Afghanistan, World Cricket League, Sharjah
March 12-15, Afghanistan, Intercontinental Cup, Abu Dhabi

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.

Pakistan struck thrice in the morning but New Zealand’s lower order resisted in the afternoon to push the score past 400

The Report by Abhishek Purohit18-Nov-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:22

Sodhi and Craig contribute with both bat and ball

Smart Stats

156 Overs played by New Zealand in the first innings – the fourth time they have batted 150-plus overs in a Test innings this year. The only year they had played 150-plus overs more times was in 1972 – five innings.

30 Number of years since New Zealand posted four 50-plus partnerships in an away Test innings against Pakistan. The last time was in at Karachi in 1984.

24 Number of years since New Zealand have had a bigger seventh-wicket stand in an away Test against Pakistan. BJ Watling and Mark Craig posted 68 for the seventh wicket – the fourth highest in the list.

18 Number of runs Ish Sodhi needed to score to become the first player to make three 50-plus scores in Tests while batting at No. 10 or 11. Sodhi was unbeaten on 32 when New Zealand were bowled out for 403 in their first innings.

30 Years since New Zealand made a 400-plus score in an away Test against Pakistan. The last time was at Karachi in 1984. During this period, they have made 400-plus three times in India, and four times each against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Pakistan struck thrice in the morning but New Zealand’s lower order resisted in the afternoon to push the score past 400. They also kept Pakistan on the field for more than five sessions, something Misbah-ul-Haq’s men hadn’t endured during their three successive previous wins in the UAE, over Australia and New Zealand.The hosts’ batsmen were then at the receiving end of spin for once in the 19 overs they had to negotiate till stumps. There was no swing for the new-ball pair of Trent Boult and Tim Southee but Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi took out the fresh pair of openers. Sodhi spun a flighted legbreak through the gate to hit Shan Masood’s middle stump and Craig had Taufeeq Umar stumped as he failed to drag his back foot in after missing on a forward push.The late strikes capped a proper scrap of a day for New Zealand after they had lost their overnight batsmen within the first three overs. Corey Anderson gifted his wicket to Ehsan Adil, and Rahat Ali removed Tom Latham on his overnight score of 137. Jimmy Neesham fell to Yasir Shah after an hour of resistance, and had Rahat not dropped Craig off the same bowler, New Zealand would have lost four before lunch.Anderson had managed to scrap and survive against the second new ball on the first evening but he tried to drive his fourth delivery of the second morning and only spooned it to cover. Latham, meanwhile, had carried on in his calm manner, leaving assuredly, and defending solidly off either foot, when Rahat produced a beauty. He made Latham play with one pitched up on off, the opener ensured he pushed straight, but his feet did not move much for once, and the slight away movement took the nick through to the wicketkeeper.The spinners set about the new batsmen BJ Watling and Neesham with slightly more help from the surface compared to day one. The first ball from Zulfiqar Babar turned and bounced past Watling’s forward push, and the last ball of the same over squared him up and went over the stumps.Neesham was troubled by the legspinner Yasir with men at forward short leg and leg slip. The occasional straighter ones outside off were another challenge, beating the left-hander. Watling was content to block and awkwardly block some more, but Neesham, eager to break the stranglehold, walked out to Yasir, failed to reach the pitch, and chipped a catch to midwicket.Craig swung Yasir cleanly over midwicket but skied a slog in the same over on 9, only for Rahat to overrun the ball running in from the deep, even as Asad Shafiq looked on from nearby at square leg.It was back to attrition for New Zealand till lunch. They had managed 24 runs in 14 overs in the first hour, 28 in 15 in the second, and had still not reached 300.Pakistan reprieved Craig, on 13, again after the interval. Adil induced an edge in the first over upon resumption but the keeper Sarfraz Ahmed did not go for the ball a couple of feet away to his left. In Adil’s next over, Craig punched just short of a diving Shafiq at gully. Craig was beaten several times outside off stump, especially by Adil’s excellent lines, but he hung on.Watling and Craig went through five successive maidens and it was only off his 78th delivery that Watling picked up his first boundary with a cut off Yasir. The fifty of the partnership came in the 24th over when Craig pulled and Watling cut Rahat for fours.Misbah-ul-Haq turned to the part-time legspin of Azhar Ali, and off his third ball, Watling failed to keep a cut down on 39. It was Azhar’s second Test wicket after he had dismissed Kumar Sangakkara leg-before for 211 in October 2011 in Abu Dhabi.In the next over, Craig missed a pull off Babar to depart leg-before for 43. Ish Sodhi batted very competently once more and remained unbeaten on 32, and Tim Southee hit a couple of big ones before Babar ended the innings in the 156th over to finish with figures of 45-8-137-4.The most overs Pakistan had bowled in the previous six innings was 103.1. Their batsmen had posted 450-plus totals in each of their three previous first innings. Reaching that mark this innings will be a challenge.

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.

By this stage of an English summer, Marcus Trescothick customarily has scored around 1500 runs at a rather superior average than any other batsman in the country

Ivo Tennant at Taunton21-Aug-2012
ScorecardBy this stage of an English summer, Marcus Trescothick customarily has scored around 1500 runs at a rather superior average than any other batsman in the country and hence there is highly optimistic talk of a call-up for the final international match. It is axiomatic that he remains the best opener in the County Championship. For no fault of his own, the scenario has been altogether different this year.If Trescothick was going to be severely injured, as he was at Trent Bridge in May, it was best that this should happen this sodden summer. He was out of action for three months. In seven championship innings, which has been all he has managed owing to his ankle problem, he had not made a half century. He had not looked especially out of touch, but his had been a long lay-off and there was an instantaneous requirement to pick up his game, however late in the season and however bowler-friendly the conditions.Such encumbrance fell away now. In making an unbeaten 89, Trescothick rocked backwards and forwards and propelled the ball through to the cover boundary. There were the customary flicks off his legs, dabs to third man, which was not always tenanted, and, since he has managed to keep pretty fit, some good running between the wickets. A couple of winters ago he was offered £1m by his then bat sponsor if he cleared the pavilion at Lord’s. You would not have bet against him in this touch.Statistics can appear skewed and none more so than when the realisation dawned that Trescothick was approaching the 50th first-class century of his career. Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash are more or less contemporaries, are not nearly such successful international batsmen, and yet each has more than double that tally.Anyway, he will be pleased with this innings, for not only did it signal a return to form, but it was not scored on the kind of flat Taunton surface of old.There was appreciable turn before lunch for Monty Panesar, who thought he had had Trescothick caught at short leg on 60, following through as if he was a fast bowler. Umpire Nick Cook had a word with him at the end of the over. That was the one discordant note on a day when the ball constantly seemed to be hitting the sweet spot of his bat and go pinging off towards the boundary.The other Somerset batsmen did not fare so well. Arul Suppiah was soon bowled by Steve Magoffin, playing an indeterminate pushed drive; Chris Jones was caught at cover, not to the pitch of a rare ball that Panesar did not push through; and James Hildreth, going back to the same bowler and trying to square cut, was taken by Ben Brown. That was131 for 3.Just before 3pm torrential rain began, preventing any further play. Sussex had not looked like dismissing Trescothick, surely still the best opening batsman in England, but they are in need of wickets, lying as they are 11 points behind Warwickshire, the Division One leaders. Last season Trescothick scored 1,673 first-class runs at an average of 79.66. Before his eighth innings of this season, he had mustered just 94 at 13.42. This innings will have brought about a significant improvement on those figures. He has hit 16 fours thus far.

Dale Steyn has said some of the Indian batsmen were frightened in the first ODI, and that their bowling needs an injection of pace if they are to bother South Africa

Sidharth Monga in Durban07-Dec-20130:00

‘India have a weakness in the middle order’ – Steyn

Dale Steyn has carried on from where he left off in Johannesburg. This time, though, with words. After bowling a sensational spell of seam and swing against India in the series opener, Steyn has said some of the Indian batsmen were frightened, and that their bowling needs an injection of pace if they are to bother South Africa. India were thrashed by 141 runs at the Wanderers on Thursday, a spicy pitch awaits them at Kingsmead, and Steyn feels there might already be scars that will go beyond the first ODI.”I would say so,” Steyn said when asked if South Africa’s bowlers might have frightened the Indian batsmen enough to last them through the remainder of the tour. “I would definitely say so. I didn’t see many of our guys walking off the field with bloody fingers or ice packs on ribs, so it definitely was a wake-up call for the Indians. It’s not Mumbai where the ball doesn’t get higher than the stumps. It’s going to be hard to play here.”But they are not the No. 1 ODI side in the world for no reason. As MS [Dhoni] said in his pre-match [press conference], they have toured the world and have come to South Africa a couple of times, so maybe give them a week or two, one or two more games and they will start getting used to it before the Test matches. But [it was] definitely an eye-opener for them. Because it didn’t look like that when they were bowling to us.”While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli toughed it out against Steyn and the new balls, Steyn was not quite impressed with what followed in the middle order. “I think our intensity the other night really blew them away,” Steyn said after the mandatory disclaimer that he expected the visiting batsmen to come back hard. “I think we also showed them that they have a weakness in the middle order. [Suresh] Raina, [R] Ashwin, Yuvraj [Singh], other batters in the end, they didn’t really look like they wanted to get in line. So hopefully we can exploit that a little bit more. But they have batters who can play and score. Shikhar’s [Dhawan] another guy who can really bat. So we are prepared for that too. Everyone is a target, to be honest with you.”Steyn’s summation of Indian bowling wasn’t flattering either. When asked what advice he would give to the Indians, he said, “I am really not going to give them any advice, you know. I think they are doing fine.”If you really want to look at it though, with the ball they lack someone who can really bowl with pace up there. They need that one guy there bowling so. They have got Ishant [Sharma] sitting on the sides, he is the one guy that can bowl over 140kmph. And we have got really good batters like [Jacques] Kallis, [Hashim] Amla, [Quinton] de Kock, [AB] de Villiers in some good space now. I think you need guys who can spin the ball a mile or can bowl quickly.”Wanderers didn’t offer the turn the other night that Ashwin and [Ravindra] Jadeja could have got, but it did offer something off the deck and pace, and they didn’t have that the other night. We did have it so we kind of blew them away with that. Morne [Morkel] bowled really quickly, [Ryan] McLaren bowled with good pace, and in good areas, backed up by Wayne [Parnell], myself and Lonwabo [Tsotsobe]. So if you don’t have that then you will be struggling in South Africa.”Conditions underfoot promise much of the same. Steyn said he couldn’t tell the pitch from the outfield when he had a look at it from the balcony. However, there might be some respite for India because Kingsmead has lost a bit of its pace over the years. “Conditions are always different here in Durban,” Steyn said. “Especially different from Johannesburg. Bit more bounce in Jo’burg. This wicket has seemed to have got a little bit flatter, a bit slower over the years.”Steyn, though, was a little circumspect about what lay overhead – it has been overcast in Durban since the teams arrived on Friday. “Hopefully we can get a game because there is a lot of rain around here in Durban,” Steyn said. “We discussed it in the morning. We could go out there for 20 overs each, which is a bare minimum and still constitutes as a one-day international. So if there is a bit of rain around, we have to be prepared to face whatever comes.”

RP Singh, the India fast bowler, has been ruled out of the A tour to the West Indies next month after injuring his right knee

ESPNcricinfo staff26-May-2012RP Singh, the India fast bowler, has been ruled out of the A tour to the West Indies next month after injuring his right knee. He has been replaced by the Delhi right-arm seamer Parvinder Awana, who was impressive for Kings XI Punjab during the current edition of the IPL.RP, who last played for India during the tour of England in 2011, took ten wickets in 11 games for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Awana impressed with his pace and control, leading Kings XI wicket charts with 17 wickets in 11 games, with a best of 4 for 34. He has claimed 110 first-class wickets from 32 matches in his career at an average of just under 30. He was expecting a call-up to the A squad when it was announced last month, but took the disappointment in his stride.Awana said he was happy his recent performances were being recognised.”I am very happy. All the hard work that I have put in and the wickets I have taken has come good today,” Awana told ESPNcricinfo. “I would credit both the IPL and first-class cricket. The IPL got me noticed and all my first-class experience helped me do well in the IPL.”India A play three four-day matches, three one-day matches and two Twenty20s on the tour, which begins in Barbados on June 2.