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England are a win away from securing their seventh consecutive home one-day series victory

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan03-Jul-2012Match FactsJuly 4, Edgbaston
Start time 2.00pm (1300 GMT)Xavier Doherty is under pressure to provide control for Australia’s attack•Getty ImagesThe Big PictureEngland are a win away from securing their seventh consecutive one-day series title at home and, if they achieve that at Edgbaston, it will also give them a new record of nine ODI victories on the bounce. Whatever problems exist overseas, they are tough to beat at home.Their wins against Australia at Lord’s and The Oval were impressive all-round displays and showed how England are becoming more confident, whether they bat or bowl first. They have gambled somewhat with five frontline bowlers, leaving Tim Bresnan at No. 7, but so far neither West Indies nor Australia have knocked over the top order to test the strength of what follows.There is no great secret to England’s success with at least one top-order batsman in every match making a sizable contribution. It was an area both Michael Clarke and Mickey Arthur indentified as why Australia are struggling. Four of their batsmen have passed fifty so far in the series, but none have gone beyond Shane Watson’s 66.Australia are also in a muddle about their bowling attack. Mitchell Johnson’s poor comeback has added to the headaches, while Xavier Doherty is not close to matching Graeme Swann’s effectiveness. In this corresponding series two years ago, Australia left their revival too late to save the series and they will have to improve in all areas to keep this one alive into the weekend.Form guide (Completed matches, most recent first)
England WWWWW
Australia LLWLTWatch out for…Craig Kieswetter has taken a couple of superb catches in this series to remove David Warner and Peter Forrest but there remain question marks around his place in the team. He struggled to time the ball at Lord’s – although Eoin Morgan’s onslaught meant it was not costly – and did not face a ball at The Oval so, for the longer-term benefit of the team, it would be useful if he was needed to play a substantial innings. Although, if he is not needed, it means England’s top order is still doing the business.In the absence of his brother, Michael, David Hussey is crucial to Australia’s middle order. He was worked over by the short ball at Lord’s, but was just starting to motor at The Oval when a brilliant piece of fielding by Steven Finn sent him packing. However, it would benefit him if he was not left needing to improve a flagging run-rate when he came into bat.Team newsEngland will not risk James Anderson if any doubts remain over his groin strain so Chris Woakes, who has been repeatedly drafted into the squad this season, is set to play his first ODI since facing Ireland last August. Jade Dernbach has been ruled out of the series with a side strain, although both he and Stuart Meaker were always going to miss this match because of Tom Maynard’s funeral.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Steven Finn.Australia may consider an all-pace attack – leaving the spin to David Hussey and Michael Clarke – and Mitchell Johnson could make way for either James Pattinson or Ben Hilfenhaus. There is not much they can do with the batting.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Peter Forrest, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 George Bailey, 6 David Hussey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Brett Lee, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.Pitch and conditionsIt rained on Tuesday and showers are forecast for match day as well, although it does not look like washout potential, which will be relief for Edgbaston after three abandoned days during the West Indies Test. After so much poor weather, the pitch could be on the slow side, while the day/night element may influence what happens at the toss.Stats and trivia The teams have met eight times at Edgbaston, with England ahead 4-3 and one no result. That no-result was the most recent meeting, in 2005, when Simon Jones and Matthew Hayden went chest-to-chest ahead of the Ashes series. Jonathan Trott needs eight runs for 2000 in ODIs. Alastair Cook needs 49 for the same landmark.Brett Lee needs one wicket to become Australia’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs with 381, level with Glenn McGrath’s overall tally but one of McGrath’s came for the World XI in the 2004 tsunami fundraiser.Quotes”I’m sure they’ll fight back They’re the No. 1 team, so I’m sure they’re obviously going to come back strong – and we’re ready for that.”
“The exciting thing is we feel we haven’t played very good cricket yet, or as good cricket as we can. So that’s the opportunity we have for the next three games. The risk is you get on the bus and it’s a really quiet group and it’s down thinking ‘what do we do now’, but it’s really upbeat. There’s joking, there’s talking, there’s banter about what we can do differently, what we’re going to try, and that suggests to me there’s a team that certainly believes they can still come back and win this series.”

Lancashire moved to the top of Group A in the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a tense four-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Old Trafford

30-Jul-2012
ScorecardKarl Brown made a well-constructed 60 on a pitch tough for batting•Getty ImagesLancashire moved to the top of Group A in the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a tense four-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Old Trafford. Karl Brown and Paul Horton put on 82 to chase down their target of 185 in a low-scoring match.And after both went with 15 runs still required, Ajmal Shahzad smashed 10 off five balls to help Lancashire over the line with five deliveries to spare as they leapfrogged their opponents in the table.Ian Cockbain had made 58 off 49 balls, including 30 in seven deliveries in the final two overs, to push what looked like being a below-par Gloucestershire total into a challenging 184 for seven. Cockbain, who earlier in his career played for Lancashire seconds, also claimed a stunning catch at point to end what was becoming a dangerous knock by Stephen Moore, who made 37.But his heroics were not enough as Horton, who dislocated his finger while fielding, made 46 and Brown 60 to steer Lancashire into pole position in the race to reach the semi-finals.After Gloucestershire won the toss, Lancashire made an early breakthrough when Rob Nicol slashed a Shahzad delivery straight to Glen Chapple in the third over. Benny Howell quickly followed as he edged the impressive Chapple to wicketkeeper Gareth Cross.Hamish Marshall had made 23 when he was trapped lbw by an Oliver Newby yorker as the Gladiators struggled to 35 for 3. Alex Gidman and Dan Housego steadied the ship with a 47-run partnership before Newby returned to demolish Gidman’s stumps and Gary Keedy then bowled Housego for a gritty 43.Going into the final two overs, Gloucestershire had scored just five boundaries. But Cockbain changed all that. After putting on 42 with Chris Dent, who fell to a good catch from Moore off Shahzad for 27, he helped the visitors pile on 52 runs in the last five overs – including three successive sixes off spinner Stephen Parry in the final over – before he was stumped off the final delivery of the innings.Moore and Ashwell Prince gave Lancashire a solid start to their reply, putting on 43 before South African Prince was surprised by extra bounce and chipped David Payne – who finished with three for 39 – to Nicol.Stephen Croft went for three when he top-edged a sweep off Ed Young and then Cockbain pulled off a stunning diving catch at backward point to end Moore’s knock. But Horton and Brown overcame the tough batting conditions to set up the Lancashire victory before Horton was trapped lbw to James Fuller and Brown holed out to Payne.

AB de Villiers, South Africa’s vice-captain, does not want any changes made to the team’s starting XI for the second Test against England

Firdose Moonda at New Road28-Jul-2012AB de Villiers, South Africa’s vice-captain, does not want any changes made to the team’s starting XI for the second Test against England, which starts on Thursday. Despite strong performances from some of the reserves and the lack of batting time for Alviro Petersen and JP Duminy, de Villiers believes the team that won convincingly at The Oval should remain the same for Headingley.”We won the first Test so whether or not some of us are in good or bad form we played well as a team. We would hate to unsettle that whole vibe that we had,” De Villiers said after the drawn tour match against Worcestershire. “We felt in control the whole time, the guys played exceptionally well and we went one-nil up. It’s really hard to change a winning formula, especially at Test level, when you are really comfortable with the 11 guys to go out there in the field. I would like to see the same team coming out in the next Test.”Although South Africa have a tendency to lapse after big win, and last won two consecutive Tests in a series against Bangladesh four years ago, de Villiers also thinks they don’t have to do much altering to their gameplan. “We must just go out there and play as we did in the first Test match,” he said. “It was good enough there and I can’t see why it won’t be good enough again.”Despite pushing for consistency, de Villiers has warned against complacency and said South Africa are motivated by what they have achieved so far to avoid it. “We know England are going to come out harder. We must put emphasis on the big moments of the game,” he said. “We are expecting big pressure from them early on in the second Test and it’s a matter of just fighting through it. We’ve worked hard to get the one-nil lead and we don’t want to give it away.”After the two-day match at New Road, the spotlight will be on opening batsmen Petersen, who scored 10 and 11 in two innings, bringing his tally to 42 in England. He is the only one of the South Africa line-up who has yet to register a half-century on tour, with JP Duminy doing it at Taunton and Jacques Rudolph getting there at Canterbury.Petersen’s Test form had not taken the dip his current tour suggests, however. He last scored a century two matches ago, in Wellington, and de Villiers, as one of the leaders of team, is not concerned about his lack of runs so far. “He is a class player and so are the other guys who are not in form at the moment,” he said. “It’s a game of momentum: sometimes it’s with you, sometimes it’s not.”Most of the rest of the batsmen have not had enough opportunity to see whether the momentum de Villiers speaks about is on their side, including the man himself. Having taken over the wicketkeeping gloves after Mark Boucher’s retirement, de Villiers’ batting is an area being closely watched, because of his history of back spasms.He did not bat The Oval but scored 80 against Worcestershire and kept for a brief period of time, and he said he is trying to marry the two elements of his game. “I don’t believe the keeping is going to take anything out of my batting. I really like watching the ball and being part of the game the whole time,” he said. “I can see different lines and I can pick up the bounce of the wicket quite quickly.”De Villiers dropped a catch off Imran Tahir and gave away eight byes when the legspinnner was bowling, which could be one of the “areas of concern” he said he had spent the last few days working on. He was careful not to isolate Tahir as the person he finds it most challenging to keep to and instead said he is getting better at being behind the stumps to the spinner.”I like to think I pick him. I can definitely see his googly,” he said. “At The Oval, there were big rough patches, especially to the left-handers and I found that difficult. I might be a little bit hard on myself though, because I think any keeper would have struggled there. I face him all the time in the nets and I just watch the ball as it comes out of his hand.”Although South Africa’s future wicketkeeping plans have not been spoken about De Villiers said he “wants to become a better keeper and give us the option of maybe using me long term”. Back-up gloveman Thami Tsolekile, who was nationally contracted in March, is also an option. He played at Worcestershire, where he kept wicket for most of the innings and took two catches.

Surrey’s bold decision at the toss of their key match against one of their biggest relegation rivals may prove a turning point in their battle to remain in Division One

Myles Hodgson at Chester-le-Street07-Aug-2012
ScorecardDale Benkenstein was the only player to score more than 28 on a difficult day for batting•Getty ImagesCricket often rewards those who are prepared to gamble at crucial times, but Surrey’s bold decision at the toss of their key match against one of their biggest relegation rivals may prove a turning point in their battle to remain in Division One. Choosing to bat first in bowler-friendly conditions, the scoreboard would suggest it backfired spectacularly to hand Durham a considerable advantage.Dismissed for only 129 in 48.3 overs on a wicket that was damp enough for groundstaff to be still mopping up minutes before the start, the decision to bat suggested a major error of judgement. Yet after losing four wickets in reply, it took an undefeated 61-run stand between Paul Collingwood and Dale Benkenstein to restore Durham’s authority before the close.Surrey, lying just 15 points ahead of bottom-placed Durham at the start of the game, will need to mount an early recovery, even on a ground where the average first innings total this summer has been 153.”We looked carefully at the games that have been played here this year and they’ve been low-scoring affairs,” Chris Adams, Surrey’s director of cricket, explained.”The two innings of the game that have looked the hardest to bat have been the first and the fourth. It was a brave move when pretty much everything about the wicket is saying bowl first but if you look at the results here the fourth innings has been hellish to bat in. It was a case of which innings we wanted to take on, the first or the fourth, and the general consensus in the side was ‘let’s be brave’ rather than take on the fourth innings.”Bold it may have been but from the moment Durham’s potent seam attack began to make inroads, it became clear Surrey were unlikely to profit from their gamble. Already three down in the final over before lunch, their cause was not helped by the untimely run out of Jason Roy, as Mark Stoneman threw down the stumps from square leg.Ben Stokes, Durham’s allrounder, underlined his progress as a bowler this summer since being given more responsibility and bowled with pace, generated swing, and demonstrated his highly effective yorker to finish with 4 for 40. Chris Rushworth, another who has benefitted from more opportunities, was not far behind with 3 for 36 to take his tally to 22 Championship victims in his fifth match.Beginning their reply on a wicket that remained difficult to overcome, Durham lost Stoneman before tea when he picked out midwicket and then lost three wickets in 10 overs immediately after the interval. That included the dismissal of Keaton Jennings, a left-handed batsman making a good impression on his Championship debut.A former captain of South Africa’s Under-19 side and son of the former South Africa coach Ray Jennings, Keaton qualifies through his Sunderland-born mother and showed a discipline and application ideal for such conditions. He batted for an hour and a half for his 23 before being run out from slip looking to steal a quick single.At 58 for 4, it was by no means certain Durham would secure a lead but Collingwood and Benkenstein used all their experience of such situations to guide their side within sight of a lead. By the close, batting was looking easier after a day of sunshine and they had high hopes for pushing on for a big lead.”We’ve got them out for a low total and hopefully these two at the crease can kick on and get a big lead,” Stokes said. “They have got us out of a tricky situation there, after losing three wickets very quickly, so for them to dig in and stick it out like they did was fantastic for us. The pitch has got a bit better since this morning, so hopefully that will also be in our favour.”That was certainly the view of David Hughes, the former Lancashire captain turned pitch inspector, who was alerted by the number of wickets falling and inspected at tea. He reported back what most in the ground suspected, that good bowling had exploited seamer-friendly conditions to provide Durham with a platform for victory.

David Collier, the ECB chief executive, has claimed that members of the South Africa squad ‘provoked’ Kevin Pietersen into the exchange of messages that led to him being dropped by England earlier this summe

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2012David Collier, the ECB chief executive, has claimed that members of the South Africa squad “provoked” Kevin Pietersen into the exchange of messages that led to him being dropped by England earlier this summer.Last week, the ECB announced a process of “reintegration” for Pietersen following his exile from the team during the summer after it was revealed he had sent provocative messages to the South Africans. Initially it was claimed these included tactical advice on how to dismiss Andrew Strauss although this has since been denied.Speaking for the first time about the issue, Collier said the belief was that it was instigated by the South Africans as a tactic to unsettle Pietersen. “That’s our understanding,” he told BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme. “It is a very thin line between fair and unfair. These were responses to messages from certain members of the South Africa team and I would not condone an England player doing it if it was the other way around, and I certainly think they provoked the situation.”However, Collier added that the situation should have been handled better within the dressing room. “There was definitely a policy that was happening but we shouldn’t blame the South Africans, we should be above that,” he said. “I think there was a tactic which was used. I think that is sadly some of the ways of modern sport but as I say we have plenty of people who are strong in the dressing room who provide very good leadership who can deal with those situations.”Collier said he had not seen the Blackberry messages at the centre of the controversy – and no evidence of them is believed to remain – but that it was an attempt to disrupt the team ethic.”Those messages were of a nature that Kevin, with definite hindsight, would have refuted straight away and moved on. It is trying to undermine another team and another team ethic.”Cricket South Africa described the messages as “banter” when the story first emerged in August and a representative of CSA denied Collier’s new claims: “That is rubbish. That is not the case at all. No one was trying to rile KP.”Pietersen has not played for England since the second Test against South Africa at Headingley, where he scored 149 and followed it with a press conference where he hinted at a split in the dressing room. The process has now started to bring him back into the fold, possibly for the Test series against India which starts next month, while a series of meetings are due to be held between Pietersen and senior England players in the coming weeks.The final decision of when Pietersen is recalled now rests in the hands of Andy Flower, the team director, who admitted it “hadn’t been a great couple of months”. Pietersen is due to fly back from the Champions League T20 for discussions ahead of England’s training camp in Dubai in a couple of week’s time and Collier has complete trust in Flower’s judgement.”When Andy Flower says to me ‘I am ready to select this player’ I would trust his judgement every single time. If the team director says he is ready, that is good enough for me,” Collier said. “It takes two seconds to destroy a building and it takes a long time to build it, it is the same with trust therefore we have to have face-to-face meetings.”We have an Ashes series and we don’t want a divided dressing room, we want to make sure we can move collectively. People can’t build relationships without meetings – that is the starting point. They will happen this month and Giles Clarke met Kevin earlier this week.”The meeting had this week was described by both sides as cordial – direct but cordial. It is important to be honest and say our concerns and allow Kevin to say what his concerns were.”

Graeme Smith said it ‘meant the world’ for South Africa to win their second successive series in Australia and hold on to the No. 1 ranking

Firdose Moonda at the WACA03-Dec-2012When Graeme Smith took his team home from Australia in the summer of 2005-06, he could not see a way to beat Ricky Ponting’s Invincibles. If you had told him then that seven years later, he would have had the better of Ponting twice he would not have believed it. After South Africa’s win in Perth, Smith had done just that and his satisfaction far outweighed any disbelief.”In 2005, it seemed a very long shot to be able to achieve this. I am extremely humbled,” he said. “I hope the people in Australia can respect what we have done and the way we have done it. For us, it means the world.”There are people in our set up that have taken many beatings at the hands of Australia. We know what is required to come here and be victorious. When we get on the plane, I will have a warm feeling to have been a part of something incredible and something special and to have been able to share with guys who have put in an immense amount of hard work behind the scenes to celebrate these moments.”The post-match party began in customary style, as the Australia team went over to the South Africa change-room to share a drink. The visitors, who were also the victors, stayed long after the hosts had left. After 8pm, the South Africa team made their way on to the field, bags and all, to have a celebratory photo session, which reminded team manager, Mohammed Moosajee, of their MCG revelries four years ago. As they walked out to the pitch where they had made history they were snapped along the way.In the privacy of the dressing room there may have been wilder festivities but in the open they were more restrained, even though there was no one but a few journalists watching while they worked. South Africa gathered together for a huddle and sang their team song. The lyrics haven’t been released but the essence of the anthem is about understanding what representing the country means. There might also have been a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ for Mark Boucher.In previous series wins, South Africa have held longer parties on field but this time it only lasted ten or so minutes. Then, they gathered their bags and walked off. Some of the team were able to get on a flight back home tonight, along with most of the management. The rest will follow tomorrow. Having spent almost half the year on the road, returning home has been a priority for the team throughout the year.This time, they go back having achieved more than ever before. The No. 1 ranking is secure and they have enjoyed a year during which they racked up a second successive series win in both England and Australia. That pattern is the “proudest achievement,” of Graeme Smith’s career – and surely every other member of the squad too. As a mark of how rare success in Australia is, consider that before today, only England and West Indies had recorded successive series victories in Australia.Winning in Australia is an achievement purely because of the quality of the opposition and their history of dominance. But for South Africa it is also how they won this series that stands out. “We had to scrap and adapt and our depth was tested,” Smith said. “At times, we didn’t bowl well. We hit our straps in this match and we got everything together. This was the performance that I have got used to in our guys over the years and it’s important not to take that for granted.”Now, Smith believes South Africa are on course to create their own period of hegemony. They have already overcome one of the toughest hurdles and with assignments against New Zealand and Pakistan to follow at home, they see an opportunity to hold on to the mace for longer than some of their predecessors have. “This series was going to be the challenge for us to give ourselves the opportunity to lengthen that gap [at the top of the rankings] and create that legacy,” Smith said.The era may have already begun. South Africa have played ten Tests in 2012, nine away, and have not lost one. “I am extremely proud to be a part of the last nine matches. For us to win back-to-back Test series in England and Australia is an immense effort. You just have to look back and see how long it took us to get here. Now to be able to take that and play in front of our home fans will be great.”

David Warner and Ed Cowan must contemplate leading Australia after Michael Hussey’s retirement added further to the leadership conundrum

Daniel Brettig30-Dec-2012David Warner and Ed Cowan must contemplate leading Australia after Michael Hussey’s retirement added further to the leadership conundrum created by Michael Clarke’s tender hamstring and Shane Watson’s uncertain international future. The loss of Hussey and Ponting in the space of three Test matches means Australia are not only without two of their most seasoned batsmen but also the likely candidates to lead the Test team in the event of Clarke and Watson being unavailable.Watson has already been ruled out of the New Year’s Test in Sydney due to a calf problem that may well sound the final knell for his attempts to maintain fitness as a Test match allrounder, and Clarke is again in some doubt with a strained hamstring. Hussey’s decision to retire shocked Clarke and Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur, leaving them short not only of their most complete batsman but also a safe candidate for short-term leadership duty.Arthur had been digesting Watson’s confession that he may no longer be an allrounder in the future in the hours following the Boxing Day Test when he felt a tap on the shoulder. Hussey requested an audience with Arthur and Clarke, whereupon the 37-year-old confirmed his intention to retire at summer’s end. The instant response of Clarke and Arthur was to leave Hussey room to reconsider.”We’d done our selection meetings, we’d got everything out of the way, and Watto and I had a chat to see where he was with his injury and Watto hinted that he might just consider being used as a batsman from now on, so that was a little bit of a shock,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. “And then I thought I’d just have a beer now and enjoy the win and Mike Hussey tapped me on the shoulder.”So my first reaction was ‘wow’, it was myself and Michael Clarke and Huss together, Clarkey and I looked at each other and it was just ‘wow, what do we do’. We congratulated him on a fantastic career and said ‘are you sure?’ but Huss had made his mind up and like a true champion he’s done it very well.”Warner and Cowan have both been mentioned as potential captains, after leading various teams in the past 12 months. Warner led the Sydney Thunder and a CA Chairman’s XI last summer, while Cowan guided Australia A on their winter tour of England and showed his batting could benefit from the extra responsibility by comfortably topping the tour aggregates.Australia’s plans for the tours of India and England in 2013 had been drawn up with Hussey as a central part, especially after Ponting’s loss of form had hastened his exit from the national team. Arthur said a swift change of tack was now required, and he placed onus on the likes of Warner, Cowan and Watson when he returned to fitness to step into the breach.”We were certainly building a top six around that,” Arthur said. “We always knew Clarke was there, and once Ponting went we knew we had Hussey. We had all our plans in place, so with no warning it was a shock, but I totally understand his reasoning and respect his decision. He deserves to go out the way he is. But for us now it’s about moulding a top six that’s going to win us a Test series in India and win us an Ashes – an enormous task.”In our Test team you’ve got to hope that David Warner and Shane Watson really step up now. I’m pretty confident they’ll do that. In Ed Cowan you’ve got a very wise head, a very good, calming leader around the group. So they need to stand up. I said to the group when Ricky left I wanted everyone to stand up and give us 5% more, now we’re going to have to ask everyone to stand up and give 15% more, because we need to fill that void now that we’ve lost, and we need to fill it very quickly.”That void was painfully evident on last year’s ODI tour of England, when a team minus Ponting and Hussey – who missed the trip for family reasons – was battered 4-0. Arthur said that while excesses of rain and inadequate preparation factored into that result, he acknowledged the team dynamic was changing enormously without the guidance and example offered by Hussey.”We were outplayed in that one-day series, but there were so many mitigating factors,” Arthur said. “We couldn’t train with rain, we’d come basically out of an off-season, whereas now we wouldn’t have, our planning is in place and is spot on in terms of giving guys enough cricket and preparation leading into that first Ashes Test match. That won’t be a problem, but what we are looking for is some guys to really stand up and take the opportunity because there are opportunities out there for somebody to make it his own.”The team dynamic’s definitely changed a massive amount when you consider you’ve lost Ponting and Hussey in a couple of Test matches. Mike Hussey’s a phenomenal player and I was gutted when he told me because he’s been such a reliable batsman. But you’ve got to look to the future, you’ve got to look to who’s going to step up. We’ve got so many options available and I’m so excited to see who steps up and who takes on what is a really demanding year for us.”

The in-form Nasir Jamshed showed his promise as the touring Pakistanis had their first run on South African surfaces ahead of the three-Test series that starts next Friday

Firdose Moonda25-Jan-2013Pakistanis 178 for 6 (Jamshed 68, Hafeez 55, Hendricks 2-39) v SA Invitation XI
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Nasir Jamshed led the Pakistani batting, constructing a century stand with Mohammad Hafeez•AFPThe in-form Nasir Jamshed showed his promise as the touring Pakistanis had their first run on South African surfaces ahead of the three-Test series that starts next Friday. Jamshed opened the batting with Mohammad Hafeez and they were the only two batsmen to profit on a day interrupted by rain and bad light.South Africa’s backup bowling talent impressed with Kyle Abbott, Beuran Hendricks and Simon Harmer taking two wickets each, while Wayne Parnell made a return from his wrist injury with an economical outing. The South African Invitation XI benched Ayabulela Gqamane despite his consistently good showings this summer.With adjustment to South African conditions being the major challenge facing touring batsmen, Pakistan’s top two seemed to have few problems. Hafeez and Jamshed, playing in place of regular opener Taufeeq Umar, put on a century stand and seemed to handle the pace and Harmer’s offspin with ease.When Hafeez was caught off Abbott’s bowling, the slide began and none of Pakistan’s middle order was able to stop it. Azhar Ali managed only two singles off the 29 balls he faced before falling to Harmer. Younis Khan also showed patience but his 25-ball 5 ended when he was caught behind off Hendricks.Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq followed in the next four overs. Each only scored four and dealt with the pace far more awkwardly than the batsmen who preceded them. Jamshed stood firm through the collapse but, after a rain delay, he too fell.The Pakistanis’ six wickets fell for 40 runs, which will be of some concern to them ahead of the main event. With only the tail to follow Sarfraz Ahmed, their focus will be on bowling on the second day. Mastering the slightly shorter length that will lead to success in South Africa will no doubt be on the agenda.

Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain and current England team director, has spoken openly about his black armband protest at the 2003 World Cup

Firdose Moonda07-Feb-2013Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain and current England team director, has spoken openly about his black armband protest at the 2003 World Cup to mark 10 years since he and Henry Olonga stood against “the death of democracy” in Zimbabwe.Flower reflected on the events of February 10, 2003, in Harare, when Zimbabwe played Namibia, in a programme and spoke in detail for the first time about what prompted him to don the armband. He said that “given the same circumstances,” he would “without a doubt,” do it again.During one of Zimbabwe’s worst periods of oppression in the early 2000s, a friend of Flower’s, Nigel Huff, took him to see the devastation on his farm caused by land reform. He also told Flower the national cricket team had a “moral obligation not to go about business as usual during the World Cup but to tell the world what was going on in Zimbabwe.”Flower approached Olonga for two reasons. He thought Olonga would have “the courage of his convictions to take a stand,” and wanted to have two people of different races making the same protest. “I also thought the fact that it would be one white Zimbabwean and one black one operating together gave the message the most eloquent balance,” Flower said.Together with David Coltart, then a human rights lawyer and now the country’s minister of sports, education, arts and culture, the idea of armbands was conceived. Nobody in the team or elsewhere knew what Flower and Olonga were going to do until the morning of their opening match against Namibia.Before play, a statement was handed to the media containing details of the symbolism in their gesture. It contained an explanation: “Although we are just professional cricketers, we do have a conscience and feelings. We believe that if we remain silent that will be taken as a sign that either we do not care or we condone what is happening in Zimbabwe. We believe that it is important to stand up for what is right.”In doing so we are making a silent plea to those responsible to stop the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe.”A copy of the statement is framed and hangs in Flower’s study where he occasionally re-reads it. “I love the way it was written – the meaning in some of those sentences is very sad because it is a reminder of what was happening in that country at that time and some of the people who went through agony and lost their lives,” he said.During his interview with Alison Mitchell, she asked him to read it aloud and he did. She recalled that he “struggled to keep his voice from cracking,” and “the emotion was evident in his eyes.”Although Flower said he knew his international career would end and he would have to leave Zimbabwe, Olonga thought his life would go on in his homeland. “I had in my own naivety thought I could carry on in Zimbabwe – maybe my career would come to an end but I could still live there. But that all changed when I got death threats two or three weeks after the World Cup. I realised the game was up,” Olonga said.Olonga now lives in England where he works as a singer and public speaker. He would like to return to Zimbabwe with his wife and two daughters but would “need some guarantees that people who wanted to harm me a few years ago do not still want to harm me,” he said.Flower would also like to return and hopes to go back to a better place. “We can’t all change the world, but if we all do little things along the way and make the most powerful decisions we can then I think we can bring about change,” he said.Andy’s brother, Grant, is the current Zimbabwe’s batting coach so the family connection with the national team remains. However, Grant he will not travel to West Indies on the forthcoming tour because of what ZC termed a “technical change” to their structure.

Shane Warne’s manifesto for Australian cricket has finally ventured into the area he knows most about: spin bowling

Daniel Brettig04-Mar-2013Shane Warne’s manifesto for Australian cricket has finally ventured into the area he knows most about: spin bowling. In summing up the underlying reasons for a dreadful dearth in genuinely accomplished spinners around the country, Warne all but acknowledges that his was an impossible act to follow.While offering the novel suggestion that spin bowlers the world over would benefit from an increase in the height and width of the stumps to compensate for advancements in bats and the reduced size of grounds, Warne’s main point revolved around how spinners are viewed in Australia.He reasoned that spin bowlers are now expected to provide exactly the sort of threat he once did – simultaneously an attacking weapon and defensive bulwark, able to dry up runs then clamber all over an opponent with wickets the moment circumstances changed. This, Warne said, was a commission too great to expect of the vast majority of young slow bowlers.”I think the problem lies in what we expect from our young spin bowlers and the way they are handled at domestic level by their captains and coaches,” Warne wrote. “The attitude should always be about taking wickets and not about economy rates: 4/100 off 25 overs is a good result and better than 2/60 off 25 overs.”I believe the expectations are too high and the young spinners are put under a lot of pressure to be both attacking wicket takers as well as tight economical bowlers, which is very hard to do.”My guidelines on what to look for in a young spinner is pretty simple; someone who can spin the ball. Any fast bowler that can swing or make the ball move has a chance to take wickets; if they bowl straight they will struggle. The same criteria applies for spin bowling.”Among the problems faced by young spinners is the expectation, both from themselves and their captains, that they will be capable of bowling equally well across all three formats, when the subtleties and requirements range from first-class matches to Twenty20s is vast.Warne did not play T20 until his career was entering its twilight – how different might he have turned out if he had been juggling the shortest form with first-class matches and his early Tests in 1992?”Twenty20 and 50 over cricket are a hindrance in the development of a young spinner as you have to bowl differently in those forms; with so many $’s involved in the various 20/20 competitions around the world, it’s not an easy situation,” Warne wrote. “This is where the responsibility falls upon the player.”If the young spinner wants to play Test cricket for Australia, then maybe they have to back themselves to learn how to bowl before taking up the options available to them around the world in the shorter forms of the game.”Easy to say, I know, but I believe we should identify our top four spinners and put them on a decent contract and have them play nothing but first class cricket for twelve months and then take a view and re-assess.”Lastly, Warne emphasised the importance of a strong, constructive relationship between a spin bowler and his captain. While Michael Clarke has largely set a decent example of this for Australia in recent times, stories are legion of Shield and club captains either misusing their spinners or ignoring them completely.”They also have to play under a captain who is prepared to back the spinner and play them in all 10-shield games not just in Adelaide or Sydney where the ball spins,” Warne wrote. “This way, the spinner gets experience in all the different conditions and the good spinners will adapt and find a way to be successful.”The more a captain can put a young spinner, and the team for that matter, in situations where they have to learn how to win a game for the team or help contribute to a win, the faster the jar of experience strengthens along with their confidence.”Nothing beats knowing the captain has faith in you and will back you, as Alan Border did with me when I started. It means a lot, eases your mindset and boosts your confidence.”