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UAE had already qualified to the Super Fours before this match but there was no letting up in their final league game, whipping Canada by 42 runs to send them home winless

Cricinfo staff11-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
UAE had already qualified to the Super Fours before this match but there was no letting up in their final league game, whipping Canada by 42 runs to send them home winless.After being sent in to bat, UAE got off to a cracking start, thanks to opener Mohammad Iqbal’s 10-ball 17. Things were a little less frenetic once Iqbal was dismissed in the fourth over but his opening partner, Arfan Haider, kept Canada on the back foot with his 46.He and Saqib Ali piloted UAE to 87 for 2 in the 13th over, and Ali took over once Haider was bowled by John Davison. Ali needed only 29 deliveries for his 43 before he became the first victim of a Khurram Chohan double-strike in the 19th over.Canada’s chase of 143 was rocked by the loss of their experienced openers, Davison and Rizwan Cheema, in the first two overs. There was a steadying third-wicket stand of 35 between captain Ashish Bagai and Geoff Barnett but Canada’s chase were virtually extinguished when they lost three wickets for one run in the space of 12 balls to slide to 49 for 5.The procession continued after that as well and, with only Umar Bhatti and Saad bin Zafar reaching double figures, Canada were bowled out in the 16th over.

Pakistan took charge of the second Test in Wellington, dismissing New Zealand for 99 and then extending their overall lead to 229

The Bulletin by S Rajesh04-Dec-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outMohammad Asif’s four wickets ensured Pakistan dominated the second day in Wellington•Getty Images

It’s a venue that Pakistan’s bowlers have enjoyed more than those from any other side over the last two decades, and they celebrated the Basin Reserve’s fiftieth Test in fitting style, destroying New Zealand’s top order with another clinical performance that left them superbly placed to level the series. After extending their first innings to 264, thanks largely to Kamran Akmal’s enterprising 70, the bowlers immediately got down to business, exploiting the conditions and the huge flaws in the techniques of the New Zealand batsmen, bundling them out for 99 and taking their overall lead to 229 by stumps.Save for a brief four-over period when New Zealand took the last three Pakistan wickets and a spell just before close of play, the day belonged entirely to the visitors. Mohammad Aamer did his now customary trick of taking a wicket in his first over – is he the new first-over specialist after Daryl Tuffey? – and consistently bowled in the mid-140s, Mohammad Asif operated in his usual channel around off and seamed the ball both ways, Umar Gul was the perfect first-change bowler offering New Zealand no respite, while Danish Kaneria befuddled the lower order with his bag of tricks.While the four-pronged bowling attack gave little away, New Zealand put in yet another shambolic batting display, as their poor defensive techniques and shot selection were ruthlessly exposed. None of their batsmen came to terms with the ball seaming around in both directions, and they made it worse for themselves with some poor strokeplay. None was more guilty than Brendon McCullum, who chased his first ball – a wide one – and edged to second slip when New Zealand had already lost five wickets with little on the board.From the moment Aamer started his first over, it was clear New Zealand would have their hands full. His fourth ball to Guptill swung back and rapped him on the pads; the next one left him, clipped the edge, and New Zealand’s opening pair had failed to last the first over for the third time in three innings.That was one of two overs Pakistan bowled before lunch and the slide continued after the break. Asif flummoxed Tim McIntosh and forced an inside edge to short leg, and should have had Daniel Flynn in similar fashion had Salman Butt not dropped a regulation catch. Ross Taylor was the only batsman to play with confidence – he raced to 30 from 40 balls, showing decisive footwork and driving confidently through the off side off the fast bowlers. His judgement failed him, though, when Gul slipped in an indipper that took the off stump after Taylor left it alone.Peter Fulton was a walking wicket once again, shuffling indecisively to a straight and full one on the stumps, but New Zealand really crumbled after tea, going from 85 for 4 to 99 all out in the space of six overs. It’s a fate that has often befallen New Zealand sides of the past against Pakistan, and this time it was Asif who started the slide. Flynn’s painstaking knock ended when he was trapped in front of off by one that straightened – the review failed to save him – and when McCullum fell next ball, Asif was on a hat-trick. Vettori averted it, but was, for once, unable to lead another rearguard effort as Kaneria snuffed out the tail in a trice. More than just the three wickets he got, what would have worried Vetorri was the amount of turn he extracted from the second-day pitch.Apart from Taylor, the one batsman who was comfortable batting on the surface was Kamran Akmal, who showed plenty of skill and aggressive intent in his 70. His 64-run stand with Gul – the largest of the innings – kept New Zealand in the field much longer than they would have liked in the opening session. Both batsmen went after the bowling, with Kamran lacing drives confidently through the covers to bring up his second half-century of the series. When New Zealand did get Rudi Koertzen to raise the finger against Kamran, the lbw decision was overturned on review, with replays suggesting it would have gone over the top of the stumps.Throughout the day, the bounce on the track kept the bowlers interested: the last 30 minutes was a huge test for Pakistan’s batsmen, with O’Brien, who bowled an inspired spell, exceeding 140 kph, peppering the batsmen with plenty of short deliveries, and getting Butt with one such delivery that had him all tangled up and gloving to Taylor in the slips.Imran Farhat was consumed by the pace and movement too but, despite that lion-hearted effort, the story of the day remained New Zealand’s abject collapse. In their last two Tests at this ground, Pakistan have had one bowler winning them the match – it was Wasim Akram in 1994 and Shoaib Akhtar in 2003. The spoils were shared this time around, but the end result could be just as emphatic for Pakistan.

Australian’s first half-century of the season lifts Spirit into last Eliminator spot

ECB Media09-Aug-2024A fifty from Georgia Redmayne saw London Spirit to victory with eight balls to spare against Manchester Originals in the sunshine at Lord’s.Despite weathering a difficult start to the innings, Redmayne hit 66 from 59 balls to see Spirit chase down the total for the loss of just two wickets.She was ably supported in the chase by England skipper Heather Knight who scored a composed 29 from 27 balls, following the earlier departures of Meg Lanning and Cordelia Griffith.Originals were left to rue dropped catches off both Redmayne and Knight, in a defence which needed a strong fielding performance to give them any chance of coming out on top, following a sub-par first innings score.Earlier in the day, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn did the damage with the ball and restricted the Originals to 112.The Spirit fielding performance was exceptional throughout, including a brilliant caught and bowled by Sarah Glenn and a superb catch in the deep by Cordelia Griffith to remove Emma Lamb.Wickets fell at regular intervals to keep Originals in check, with Kathryn Bryce ultimately top-scoring with 32 from 27 balls.Meerkat Match Hero Georgia Redmayne said: “It was a little bit of a tricky wicket. We bowled really well to keep them to that total.”I did not start great but it was nice to get some time in the middle in the end. I tried to stay calm and play to my strengths – you try to get one or two away, and then be on your way.”As a team we started the competition well with two wins, we had a bit of a wobble but we have been playing pretty good cricket. This is our last game here, so we wanted to put on a show and get a win.”

England captain ignores criticism of approach, while his return to bowling draws nearer

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2024Ben Stokes, England’s captain, has promised that his team will park the disappointment of their crushing 434-run loss in the third Test in Rajkot, and move onto Ranchi later this week fully focussed on bouncing back to claim a 3-2 series victory.After challenging India hard over the first two days of the contest, England’s resolve collapsed on days three and four, with their final 18 wickets tumbling for 217 runs, either side of a free-wheeling second innings from India that was lit up by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten 214.The upshot was India’s largest victory by runs in Test history, and caused England’s ultra-positive approach to come under intense scrutiny – most particularly in the wake of Joe Root’s fateful reverse-scoop against Jasprit Bumrah on the third morning which triggered England’s slide from a threatening overnight scoreline of 207 for 2.Stokes, however, insisted his side would not be swayed by outside opinion, and that they would instead double down on the dressing-room mentality that has carried the team to 14 wins in 21 matches since the start of the 2022 home summer, including a remarkable 28-run victory in the first Test in Hyderabad.”Everyone’s got a perception and opinion about things,” Stokes said during the post-match presentations. “But again, the people in the dressing-room’s are the opinions that really matter to us.”We know that things don’t always work out exactly how you want it to, but at 2-1 down in the series, still got two games left, so we’ve got a great chance to come home with the trophy at 3-2.”We’ll make sure that we’re moving on and focusing on what we’ve got coming up ahead, because games can be won and lost in the head. We’ll be leaving all the emotion and disappointment from this week, and moving on to the next one.”Root’s first-innings dismissal was described in one English newspaper as “the worst shot in Test history”, but the criticism of England’s batting also encompassed Stokes’ departure for 41, caught in the deep while trying to hit Ravindra Jadeja for six.1:17

Duckett defends Root’s reverse scoop dismissal

His departure at 299 for 6 triggered a final collapse of 5 for 20, and an India first-innings lead of 126. However, Stokes remained adamant that the speed of England’s innings had been an important consideration, seeing as they were also due to bat last on an increasingly spin-friendly pitch, and that his proven approach to power-hitting was the best means to achieve their aims.”If you look at the situation we found ourselves in going into day three, to give ourselves a chance of winning we had to try and press the button after the lunch break,” he said. “They got some quick wickets, so we had to absorb the pressure that India threw at us there. But me personally, I sensed that as an opportunity after lunch to go out and have ‘one of my days out’, we’ll call it.”I’ve got an unbelievable belief in myself that I can do that,” he added. “Just like I have an unbelievable belief in every individual in there that, on their day, they can turn the game in our favour. We wanted to be bowling at the back end of day three, that came a lot earlier than we wanted to, but that’s how some things go. Nothing goes your way all the time.”Stokes also praised Ben Duckett’s “unbelievable” first-innings knock of 153 from 151 balls, adding that “that was the tone that we wanted to set for our whole innings”. By the end, however, he conceded that Jaiswal’s response, a second double-century of the series featuring a world-record-equalling 12 sixes, had been “phenomenal” to behold.”Every game has been filled with multiple, unbelievable things to be able to witness as a supporter,” Stokes said. “Jaiswal’s double-hundred was, honestly, it was just phenomenal to watch it, even though we’re on the wrong side of it. Obviously we’re very disappointed to be on the wrong side of the result, but one thing we’re very good at as a team, and also myself, has been able to leave everything that’s gone behind us.”With a short turnaround to the fourth Test, Stokes acknowledged that changes to England’s seam attack could be on the cards, with James Anderson and Mark Wood putting in big shifts in tough conditions in Rajkot. One potential boost for England, however, could come from the captain himself, who has been rehabilitating from recent knee surgery, and believes he’s not far away from a return to match bowling for the first time since the Lord’s Test in June last year.”I’m not going to lie,” Stokes told TNT. “I feel really good. I’ve managed to get my first ball out 100% on day one or day two here. Me as a person, I like to maybe jump the gun a little bit too much. But yeah, things are feeling really good. But I’ve got a whole body to get used to bowling again. So I’m not saying no, but not saying yes either.”

Play was delayed by 30 minutes after two members of England support staff and two family members returned positive Covid tests

Alex Malcolm27-Dec-2021Two members of England’s support staff and two family members of the support staff returned positive Covid-19 rapid antigen tests before play on day two of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The match has continued as scheduled after all the players tested negative with rapid tests although there are now questions about how the series might play out from here.Play was delayed by 30 minutes when the England team was delayed arriving at the ground due to the entire squad needing to be tested following the positive cases. There will be a full round of PCR tests on the England touring squad later on Monday while extra precautions will be taken during play.”Cricket Australia has been informed that two members of the England cricket team’s support staff and two of their family members have returned a positive Covid-19 Rapid Antigen Test,” a CA statement said.”The affected individuals are currently isolating. The entire playing group and all other support staff have undertaken Rapid Antigen Tests this morning and all have tested negative. The England cricket team will also have PCR tests today, and both teams will take extra precautions throughout play. Both playing squads remain unchanged.”There is currently no further impact on fans or other parts of the venue. Cricket Australia and the MCC will continue to monitor the situation and follow the endorsed Victorian Government Covid-Safe Event Plan.”Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley spoke shortly after play began on day two and was confident the game and the series could continue.”They’ll go undergo PCR tests,” Hockley said. “We’ll work on the basis of all the available information that we have. But certainly the medical advisers, on the basis of this morning’s precaution, they felt it appropriate to continue with the match.”New South Wales recorded 6,324 new Covid cases on Monday from 97,241 tests on Boxing Day. Hockley was confident the fourth Test in Sydney, starting on January 5, was not in danger despite the higher case numbers there.”No, I don’t think so,” Hockley said. “I think we’ve shown that we’ve got great confidence in the protocols. They are increasing case numbers in New South Wales and in Sydney. We’ve got an exclusive property for the playing group. We are flying there by charter. This is something that we’re all having to live with. So again, [we’re] just extremely appreciative to the medical staff, both squads, both sets of playing groups for adhering to the protocols which are designed to keep everybody safe.”The players eventually arrived and began their warm-up in dribs and drabs but did stand in a semi-socially distanced huddle in the middle at one point. The Australians were unaffected having arrived at the ground at their normal time and begun their warm-ups in the nets.The Victoria government announced there were 1999 new positive Covid cases from 57,818 statewide tests done on Boxing Day. But the rules in Victoria are different to what was experienced in South Australia when Pat Cummins was ruled out of the second Test in Adelaide due to being a close contact of a Covid case on the eve of the Test match. Despite returning negative tests Cummins was forced to isolate for seven days due to the rules set out by the SA health department. In Melbourne, close contacts only have to isolate until returning a negative test.Meanwhile, Australian television broadcaster Channel Seven had to completely replace their commentary team on day two in Melbourne after it was confirmed that one of their team had returned a positive Covid test. Seven Network Head of Sport Lewis Martin confirmed that the main commentary team, which includes Ricky Ponting and Sir Ian Botham are isolating and would not be part of the broadcast until they return negative PCR tests. Seven’s BBL commentary team have stepped in to fill the breach.”The Seven Network confirms it is responding after a member of staff working on the Ashes broadcast at the MCG tested positive to Covid-19 on Sunday night,” Martin said. “The staff member was asymptomatic at the time of testing and has been in self-isolation since the moment the positive result was returned.”Seven is activating its Covid measures to ensure the health and safety of all staff, as well as the broader community, and is working in line with all relevant guidelines and regulations. We are working closely with the MCG operational team and Cricket Australia.”Just as the broader community is experiencing, we have Covid response scenarios in place to ensure the impact on Seven’s broadcast is limited.”

Captain hopes that fans can inspire team after criticism for negativity at Lord’s

Andrew Miller09-Jun-2021Joe Root, England’s captain, hopes that the return of a near-capacity crowd for the second Test at Edgbaston can inspire his players to find their inner “showman”, and scotch suggestions that they are a negative team, in the wake of their final-day go-slow in the opening match at Lord’s.Root’s team has been embroiled in controversy since the emergence of historic offensive tweets from a number of squad members, most notably Ollie Robinson, who has been suspended by the ECB pending an investigation. And in the eyes of some of their critics, they missed an opportunity to get their fans back onside in the Lord’s Test, as they declined to take on a 273-run fourth-innings chase, and chose instead to block out for the draw.But Root, who confirmed that the team would once again stand for a “moment of unity” before the start of the second Test, hopes that the return of 17,000 fans a day at Edgbaston may provide an opportunity for a change of narrative – even in the absence of their most proven crowd-pleaser Ben Stokes, who has been at the heart of most of England’s most thrilling victories in recent times.”We’re all very aware we’re in the entertainment business,” Root said. “We all want to be part of those games, those special games that provide that entertainment. They’re the ones that you remember.”The ones that stick in my mind are the World Cup final, Headingley, Cape Town … the ones that go to the wire, they’re the ones you remember as a player, and want to have big contributions in. Of course if there are chances to go and win Test matches, we want to go and take them, if we feel like that’s a realistic possibility.”However, with an unproven batting line-up in this series – one that had made four ducks in the first innings at Lord’s – Root still believes that discretion was the better part of valour in the first Test, after Kane Williamson’s lunchtime declaration had left England needing 273 in a minimum of 75 overs. Dom Sibley led the rearguard with an unbeaten 60, spanning more than five hours, as England closed on 170 for 3.Dom Sibley dug in for the draw on a dour final day at Lord’s•AFP/Getty Images

“I’ve had some time to think about that,” Root said. “I look at the situation we found ourselves in and I still feel we made the right decision. We’ve turned up here with an opportunity to win the series, albeit it is not part of the Test championship, but it is a Test match and that means a hell of a lot to the players and the group.”We’re very keen to put in five days of strong cricket this week and win the series. If the opportunities arise, we’ll definitely look to be aggressive. I don’t want us to be considered a negative team who play a boring brand of cricket. We have some very exciting players who are capable of some wonderful passages of cricket and hopefully that will come to light this week.”Edgbaston has traditionally been a favoured venue for England players, with the crowd’s close proximity to the playing surface, and the habitually rowdy support from the Hollies Stand in particular. Australia’s victory in the Ashes opener in 2019 was only the second by a visiting side in the last 20 years, and Root said he was thrilled at the prospect of feeling that support again.”It will be great to have [that many] people in, enjoying the sport again in pretty much a full house,” he said. “We know Edgbaston in particular provides a wonderful atmosphere, you feel like there’s 12 players on the pitch and you’ve got that extra man.”We’re very aware how lucky we are and how well we’re supported. It’s something we’ve missed as a side and are very much looking forward to. We can’t wait to experience five good days of cricket along with everyone else in the crowd.”Every individual takes it in slightly differently,” he added. “For me, it’s the excitement of it… there’s a showman in everyone, if you like, you want to go out there and put on a show for everyone and it’s an opportunity to do that in your own way.Related

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“We’ve all missed that interaction with the fans and the crowd. There’s certain bowlers – you look at Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad – they respond to that atmosphere in the ground in a really positive way. It could be a real boost for us and play into our hands.”Root also urged his young batter to park the anxieties that they showed in the Lord’s Test, and put their focus into the occasion of representing England in a Test match, rather than worry that, with Stokes and Jos Buttler likely to return for the India series, they are already playing for their places.”I see it as an opportunity to go out and score Test runs for their country and I hope they view it like that,” Root said. “They have an opportunity, but also a responsibility to play the situation in front of them to the best of their ability, and to try and eradicate any other thoughts, other than getting absorbed in that moment and get ready for that next ball.”That’s the mindset we want to create,” he added. “Guys come into this team and can seamlessly fit in and do their roles. Hopefully guys will feel like that tomorrow and take their chance. The lads are fully aware of that and are talented enough to make big contributions.”

David Warner hit a fifty but other than that, his batsmen offered very little, even in Sharjah

Alagappan Muthu04-Oct-20202:15

Moody: Can’t win by scoring just 19 boundaries in Sharjah

There is life in the graveyard. Mumbai Indians conquered Sharjah and Sunrisers Hyderabad with a typically freakish bowling performance.Trent Boult’s quality with the new ball continues to translate into early wickets – and this time he was good in the death too. James Pattinson is more than making up for the loss of Lasith Malinga. And Krunal Pandya – having thumped 20 runs off the final four balls of the innings to get the total up to 208 – afforded only 35 in return, even on such a tiny ground, to keep the pressure on the opposition.Mumbai gave away no easy runs. They were ruthless about letting a partnership develop. They were worthy winners.The match-upUsually, when Sunrisers need early wickets, they just toss the ball to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But with him injured, they had to find another way to contain a very strong Mumbai line-up.So in came Sandeep Sharma, a man with the skill to move the ball, which has perhaps contributed to his excellent head-to-head against Rohit Sharma. Before today, it read 29 runs in 33 balls and two dismissals. Now it’s 35 runs, 38 balls and three dismissals, as Rohit went chasing after a wide ball and nicked off. That wicket went a long way to keeping Mumbai to 48 for 2, the lowest Powerplay score this IPL in Sharjah.The QdKOThere were signs that the pitch, unbelievably, offered the bowlers some grip. Not good news for batsmen who love hitting through the line. And for a while, Quinton de Kock tried to find creative solutions to this problem, attempting scoops and reverse sweeps and, well, failing to find runs. He was 25 off 20 in the eighth over. And then, like light at the end of the tunnel, came a half-volley and he launched it down the ground for six. This is where de Kock lives. A place where he can muscle cricket balls all day long. Once he got back in touch with his power game, making his 11th IPL fifty was just a matter of time.Trent Boult celebrates after dismissing Jonny Bairstow•BCCI

A mouth-watering finishSunrisers tried to save Rashid Khan’s overs against Mumbai’s biggest hitters because they haven’t been able to hit him. Kieron Pollard’s IPL strike-rate against the ace legspiner is 76 and Hardik Pandya’s is only 57. But they realised the more immediate threat was de Kock and so Rashid was brought back in the 14th over and one of his googlies did the trick. Mumbai were 134 for 3. Rashid’s final over went for only two runs as Pollard and Pandya both chose to play him out. Then it happened.Pandya began hitting short balls for sixes with a vertical bat. Pollard cleared the long-off boundary with a chip. Manish Pandey took a diving catch that will adorn IPL highlight reels for a long time. T Natarajan bowled like a dream in the most trying conditions, his yorkers negating Mumbai’s two biggest hitters. It was bare-knuckle cricket, neither team willing to give any quarter. But then came the final over – Siddharth Kaul hit the blockhole and made a mess of Hardik’s stumps, so in walked his brother Krunal and promptly dispatched the bowler for 6, 4, 4, 6.The superstarIt’s no exaggeration to say Sunrisers’ batting relies mainly on one man. A huge part of that is because of how naturally he is able to adapt to that pressure. David Warner is not in prime form. A consequence of lockdown, perhaps. But he still runs like a demon between the wickets. He still doesn’t throw his wicket away. He still wants to fight. And that was on display here as he fought his way to a half-century. At the start, when he wasn’t in nick, he did his best not to eat up deliveries. Later, as he became more like his usual self, he was able to do amazing things, like cut Jasprit Bumrah’s first two balls to the point boundary. He got to 50 off 34 balls but the other end couldn’t be as careful as him, as determined as him and so the Sunrisers chase faltered.Quality countsJonny Bairstow loves pace on the ball, so Boult took it off, watched him lose his shape and then his wicket. Williamson is the same way. Cue another Boult slower ball and bragging rights for life. Pandey was caught in the deep going for a six against the newly-brought back Pattinson when it was very clear Mumbai were looking for a wicket. Krunal was so ferociously switched on that after nailing a wide yorker against Warner and keeping it to just a dot, he punched the air as if that itself was victory. Boult, again, though he has a reputation of leaking runs in the death, was so precise with his yorkers that he gave away only four runs in the 18th over. Two balls later, there was a wicket. There was always a wicket.

While Australia might be more tested by New Zealand than they were by Pakistan, their top six are likely to remain

Andrew McGlashan in Perth10-Dec-2019Australian cricket is moving on from the crisis that enveloped them after the events in Cape Town, but for some time to come there will remain the dividing line of before Newlands and after Newlands when assessing the state of the national team and the overall game.Barring a late change of heart or an injury, Australia are set to name an unchanged side for the third Test in a row when they face New Zealand in Perth on Thursday. The last time they went three Tests with the same XI was on the tour of South Africa, in the first three matches of the series before things fell apart in Cape Town.”I’d be a brave man to change the XI,” Justin Langer said. “The boys are playing well. We’ve still got a couple of training sessions, we haven’t had a look at the wicket yet but I’d say at this stage more than likely we’ll have the same XI.”It is another stepping stone in the rebuilding of the Test side which has gathered momentum in recent months. There were missed opportunities in England to earn better than a 2-2 share of the series – a reminder that, in the batting especially, the team remained a work in progress – but the start of this summer has been very convincing against Pakistan, to the point that Travis Head and Tim Paine only batted once in the series.There were tactical reasons for the pace-bowling changes made during the Ashes as a horses-for-courses approach was taken for each ground before Australia overthought the process at The Oval and picked the wrong side. This summer there is a sense they are keeping things simple, helped, of course, by innings victories where almost everyone has looked in good form. The season started with questions over the batting order and, while Australia will need to be more thoroughly tested than they were by Pakistan, it is likely this top six will now remain for the summer.Mitchell Starc celebrates with his teammates after a wicket•AFP

James Pattinson, whose unavailability for the opening Test of the season due to his code of conduct suspension turned a potentially tricky head-to-head decision with Mitchell Starc into a no contest, remains in the squad. Michael Neser will join having played the Sheffield Shield match against Queensland at the SCG, but there is little prospect of them breaking apart the trio of Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.”I’ve said for 18 months there used to be a philosophy in Australian cricket which worked so well for us, it’s harder to get into the Australian cricket team than it is to get out of it,” Langer said. “That usually happens when guys are playing well and the team is playing well. We’ve won the last couple of Test matches. There’s definite benefit and advantage in keeping the core group of players together and hopefully this will be another opportunity this week to do that.”The much sought-after continuity in selection does not mean, however, that Australia will shelve the approach they took in England although there is now a good chance – with a nine-day gap between the Perth and Melbourne Tests – that these three quicks could feature throughout the whole summer, although a potential change to the balance of the side for the SCG still looms.”Certainly, there was benefit in that [rotation] in England. We had six healthy, fit fast bowlers available to us and in different conditions,” Langer said. “We had a very specific game plan on how we thought we’d retain the Ashes so we used it to our advantage there.”There’s some different conditions here in Australia – the SCG might be different to Optus Stadium or the Gabba. But at the moment the three guys – Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – they’re a quality combination with Nathan Lyon, they’re bowling really well, they’re fit and healthy and there’s a bit of a gap between Test matches. From that point of view that’s probably the best way we’ll go about this Test match.”Starc was the one most impacted by the selections in the Ashes, playing just once at Old Trafford in the match where the Ashes were retained, but after some early-season tinkering with New South Wales bowling coach Andre Adams, he has been much more consistent this season. There is a good contest at the moment for the tag of ‘best pace attack in the world’ with India laying a very strong claim and while Langer would not be drawn into a definite answer on that, he lauded the bench strength that’s available.”I’d rather have it as our side than play against it, no doubt,” he said. “Put Nathan Lyon in it who’s just brilliant then it’s a very good attack. I’ll let everyone else to judge if it’s the best attack in the world, statistically, we aren’t yet in terms of rankings but the guys are moving up and are getting better and better as a unit. I’ve said since England if we make enough runs we’ll win a lot of games because we have a very good pace-bowling attack, the best offspin bowling in the world I’d say and James Pattinson, Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser – there’s some really good depth as well. It’s a nice position to be in.”

The banned pair briefly spent time with the one-day squad in Dubai where the new team culture was one of the key topics discussed

Andrew McGlashan16-Mar-2019Steven Smith and David Warner said that it felt like they had never been away from the Australia set-up, after being welcomed back with “open arms” during the first part of their reintegration with a series of meetings in Dubai before heading to the IPL.The pair, whose international bans expire on March 29, spent little more than 24 hours with the one-day squad before heading to India during which time the new culture built by coach Justin Langer in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal was explained to them ahead of their full returns, which are expected to be at the World Cup.ALSO READ: ‘Steven Smith, David Warner still have to prove they are the best players’ – Ricky PontingThough both players, who have undergone elbow surgery in the last two months, were eligible for the final two ODIs of the upcoming series against Pakistan – fitness permitting – it was decided by the CA management that it would be better for them to have an extended stint at the IPL before returning to Australia in early May for a training camp in Brisbane.”It’s been awesome, like we didn’t really leave,” Warner said. “The boys have been really accepting of us coming in with open arms and a lot of big hugs and cuddles. It’s good to see the spirit they are in after a great series win in India.”Smith said, “It’s been great to be back around the group, they’ve been really welcoming again and it’s almost like we never left so everything is on the right track.”The events at Newlands led to a stinging cultural review of Australian cricket on and off the field. Langer and the two captains, Tim Paine in Tests and Aaron Finch in limited-overs cricket, have stressed the importance of the manner in which the team plays, which is something Smith and Warner will need to fully buy into on their return.”Making sure that we are aligned with the team values moving forward, we’ve been out for 12 months there’s obviously been a big change which is great and it’s about accepting that and playing what our role should be in the team moving forward,” Warner said.Smith, who admitted he had turned a blind eye to the unfolding ball-tampering plans in the Cape Town dressing room last year, said it was important to get everyone on the same page ahead of the World Cup and Ashes campaigns in England.Ricky Ponting with Justin Langer in Perth•Getty Images

“It’s just been going through the values that are instilled in the team at the moment, making sure we are on the right path looking forward to what’s coming up – a huge World Cup and an Ashes series, it’s a pretty exciting time ahead for the team so just making sure everyone is heading in the same direction. It’s been very beneficial and really good,” he said.Langer has previously admitted the fallout to the ball-tampering bans left Australian cricket like a “dysfunctional family” and he is now delighted to have the two “brothers” among the set-up.”It’s great to have them back on the team, it’s like two brothers coming back home,” he said. “Brothers leave home for different reasons in families, so nice to have them back in there. They’ve been received really well, we had a good night last night and some great meetings today so it’s been really positive.”They’ve gone through a really tough time, a 12-month suspension is unprecedented really, so they are excited and because they are so excited they have a hunger to play well and make a lot of runs to help the team be successful. When you are a coach with two guys with as many runs and experience as they’ve got coming back into a team that’s playing it’s pretty exciting.”The pending return of the pair will leave Langer and his fellow selectors with some tough decisions to make about how to fit them both into a one-day side that returned to winning ways with an impressive comeback against India.Ricky Ponting, who will be Langer’s assistant at the World Cup, said the pair had to show they were still among the best players during their IPL stints and Langer acknowledged it was an important period for them.”The IPL will be a really important time for both because it gives them the opportunity to play some competitive cricket again, to hit a lot of balls, to get moving again, get the feel of the game,” Langer said. “It will be about getting back into the rhythm of high class cricket and I’m sure they’ll get plenty out of that.”Warner made a hundred in Sydney grade cricket last week on his return but Smith, whose elbow problem was more serious, has so far been restricted to net sessions although was bullish about his progress. “The elbow is tracking really well, been batting for the last two weeks and able to play all shots, got my power back, so tracking really well and just excited to play again,” he said.

After scoring his first hundreds of the summer, England’s Test captain can approach the challenge of India with faith in his game restored

Alan Gardner18-Jul-20180:48

Overcoming challenges a good World Cup preparation – Morgan

For a batsman as gifted as Joe Root, scoring a first century of the English summer in mid-July must constitute an unusually long wait. After 18 unsuccessful attempts across all formats, Root finally registered three figures in an innings at Lord’s on Saturday, and then promptly followed it up with another in the third ODI against India to seal England’s come-from-behind series victory.Both hundreds were unbeaten efforts in winning causes, and they could prove timely for another reason. England are set to embark on a demanding Test series against India, with five matches scheduled over six weeks from August 1, and to have their captain’s faith in his batting reaffirmed – albeit against the white ball rather than red – cannot do any harm. Root’s conversion issues have been even more acute in the longest format, but he will hope that a first Test hundred in 12 months is on the horizon.”It’s been a weird one really, I’ve not felt like I’ve been playing poorly or there’s been any sort of glaring mistakes in my game,” he said. “I think that’s why it was more frustrating but, ultimately, I had a think about how I wanted to go about things this series and I just went back to what has held me in really good stead for such a long time – trying to keep focusing on playing the situation, letting the guys bat around me and giving them the freedom to go and play. Over the course of the last two games, obviously it worked nicely.”Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of England’s eight-wicket stroll at Headingley was the fact that India’s spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, were kept wicketless on a surface that had aided Moeen Ali and, in particular, Adil Rashid. Kuldeep started the T20I and ODI series with a five-for and a six-for respectively, and has been included in the Test squad; however, after being dismissed twice off the first three balls he had faced from the left-arm wristspinner, Root found a way to adapt.In an exceptionally dry English summer, India’s spinners – which include Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, third and fifth on the ICC Test rankings – will pose a major threat, but Root said he had focused on the basics of footwork rather than using the spin-bowling machine Merlyn to practise against.”One thing that’s very easy to do is over-analyse things, over-think things,” Root said. “I felt like I was picking him [Kuldeep] fine and when you look at it for what it actually was, both games my movements weren’t quick enough and I wasn’t getting close enough to the ball, either going forward or back. The best players of spin in the world, their footwork is always sharp and when that contact point is there, you’re as still as possible. Under-arm feeds, trying to get close to the ball, [it is as] simple as that and the mindset of either giving myself as much time as possible or smothering the spin.”Joe Root’s ‘bat drop’ celebration provoked a ribbing from his team-mates•Getty Images

The question of England’s mental approach was at the forefront of Root’s thinking as he turned his focus to the Test series. Asked if he thought overcoming India in the ODIs gave England an edge, he suggested that their performance in beating Pakistan by an innings at Headingley last month – following a chastening defeat at Lord’s – was more significant as he seeks a steadier footing for the Test team after an up-and-down start to his captaincy.”Maybe slightly for the guys that have been involved in it [the one-day series] but it’s a completely different format and I think more importantly take all the good stuff we did in that last Test here, against Pakistan and try to replicate as much of that as possible – the way we went about it, the things that we did throughout that game, it left us a good benchmark,” Root said.”There will obviously be different surfaces, different challenges throughout but the way we approached it as a group, the mindset and attitude was really good. It was a good starting point for this team to kick-on after what’s been a difficult winter. That’s how I am going to judge it and that’s what I am going to put to the guys: how can we take that forward now?”There’s going to be a few challenges. We’ve not played Test cricket for quite a long time throughout this summer, which is quite strange really – it’s been a strange order to the way things have gone – but we’ve got an opportunity to play a round of county games now and get really ready for it, a few guys are obviously playing in that Lions game as well and I think it’s really important we look to start strong.”As for his most recent hundred, there was one moment Root wanted to quickly forget. After reaching his 13th ton in ODIs, surpassing Marcus Trescothick’s record for England, with a pulled four from the final ball of the chase, Root dropped his bat in MC style; but despite England Cricket tweeting approvingly, his team-mates were less impressed with such a sign-off.”It was something that I immediately regretted,” he said. “I’ve not heard the end of it, it was literally the most embarrassing thing I’ve done on a cricket field. I don’t think it will be the last I hear of it from the group – they’ve been hammering me.”You’d think if you were going to do a celebration like that, you’d have smacked it 30 yards out of the ground… it was just an absolute car crash.”