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Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has said he has 14 fit men available for selection for the four-day tour match against the England Lions

Nagraj Gollapudi at Northampton09-May-2012Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has said he has 14 fit men available for selection for the four-day tour match against the England Lions, starting on Thursday. Marlon Samuels flew in from India, where he was playing in the IPL, on Tuesday and Assad Fudadin, who was delayed due to visa issues, joined the squad on Wednesday morning. According to a West Indies spokesperson, Narsingh Deonarine, the only missing member from the 15-man Test squad, was due to arrive on Thursday, but would not be available for selection in the Lions match.Sammy welcomed the new arrivals and said it would bolster the confidence of the team ahead of the Lord’s Test, starting on May 17. Sammy was happy to have virtually a full squad to pick from. “I’m quite pleased to see Marlon and Fudadin this morning. It is very good for us,” he said. “We welcome them and it’s good for them they are here to practise with us today. The whole family is united and now we are preparing ourselves for the first Test match.”It is understood the visa delay in the case of the Guyanese pair of Deonarine and Fudadin was inevitable. The West Indies selectors had waited for the home series against Australia to finish before announcing the Test squad for the England tour at the end of April. Once named, Deonarine and Fudadin then had to apply to the UK embassy for visas because nationals from Guyana and Jamaica do not get a free entry, unlike the other Caribbean countries. A further delay may have been caused by the UK Border Agency tightening its visa screening process.But Sammy did not want to gripe about something not in his control, saying the team would move forward. “We were aware once we were leaving the Caribbean that Narsingh and Fudadin were trying to sort it out,” he said, “and Marlon was with Pune Warriors in the IPL. You just move on with things and handle distractions.”Sammy said all his players, including Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Fidel Edwards, who had been reported as fitness doubts, were available for selection. “We will come up with the best eleven in these conditions to prepare ourselves for the Test match,” Sammy said, adding with a smile that team manager, Richie Richardson, would not be needed to handle 12th man duties.The visitors have not had much too much else to smile about in the last week, due to the cold and rainy weather prevalent across England. In their first tour match, against Sussex at Hove, only 34 overs were possible across three days. The forecast for the Lions match is not encouraging either.Sammy said it was frustrating, having been forced to stay indoors last week and now resorting to indoor nets in Northampton. But Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has been keeping the players busy by asking them to go through video footages and involving them in various team and one-on-one meetings. Such exercises, Sammy said, allowed the players to bond together. “It is disappointing because our main goal here is to play cricket, get out in the middle. But we have no control over the weather,” he said. “We are just moving along.”Edited by Alan Gardner

Kevin Pietersen, back from the glamour of IPL, managed a net in the rain, one over of off-spin and an excellent run out as Surrey’s rain-hit Championship match at Worcester brought few thrills

George Dobell at New Road10-May-2012
ScorecardMoeen Ali reached a half-century as Worcestershire began to address a dismal batting record this season•Getty Images

On the face of things a first innings total of 285 looks a modest achievement. Bear in mind, however, that Worcestershire had before now failed to pass 157 in their first innings this season and their effort here appears more significant.Worcestershire’s batsmen have struggled this season. Until this game, they had managed only three scores over 50 between them and they were one of only two sides – Glamorgan were the other – without a single batting bonus point.Now they have two. Not only that, but two more batsmen – Moeen Ali and James Cameron – contributed half-centuries and Vikram Solanki produced his best innings of a trying summer. On a pitch that had freshened up under the covers, batting was never straightforward and their total may prove about par.Despite losing both openers within five balls early on the second day – Daryl Mitchell, stuck in the crease and playing on and Michael Klinger, beaten by one that nipped back – the pair had, at least partially, done their job. Solanki and Moeen were able to come in against a softer ball and added 102 for the third wicket, Worcestershire’s second century partnership in the Championship this season.Moeen remains an outside shot for a place on the India tour. His cricket, both with bat and ball, is certainly easy on the eye and his ability to bowl the doosra gives him an edge. Even in this innings, however, when he overcame a truculent surface to produce some lovely strokes, he showed a propensity to flash outside off stump and his dismissal, drawn into prodding at a fine short ball he could have left, suggests there is still work to be done adding substance to his style.That wicket may prove to be the first of many for George Edwards. He is raw, certainly, but he has enormous potential and, at 19, has time to improve. In Tim Linley and Jon Lewis, immaculate in their line and length on the second day, he also has fine role models.This was an important innings from Solanki, too. He is out of contract at the end of this season and his highest score in his seven previous Championship innings was just 22. While he has indicated that he is keen to carry on, his last contract, which made him Worcestershire’s highest paid player, was signed during the boom years. His next deal will surely have to reflect the harsher economic times.Familiar frailties were still apparent from the hosts. From 199 for 3, Worcestershire lost six wickets for 55 runs before an entertaining tenth-wicket stand of 31 between Cameron and Alan Richardson, who passed 1,000 first-class runs in his career with a cover drive that would have pleased Sobers. Cameron eventually fell to a catch on the boundary leaving Richardson stranded 87 short of a maiden century.Kevin Pietersen, meanwhile, was obliged to take a net in the rain. Still awaiting his first bat in England for nine months, he was limited to one over of spin bowling and took his chance to bat in the nets when play was disrupted by rain. He did produce one moment of excellence in the field, though, swooping at cover and producing a fine throw over the top of the stumps to allow Steve Davies to run out Ben Scott after James Cameron called for an optimistic single.Is it relevant that Scott and Davies are out of contract at the end of the season? It may be. The financial climate of county cricket has changed significantly since Davies left New Road for the Oval in a deal that made him one of county cricket’s highest paid players. Wherever he plays his cricket, he will surely have to accept a pay cut and many at New Road would love to see him return. Scott, though a worthy keeper, has a highest score of just 13 this season.Surrey rarely lose a player they want to keep. The salary cap and the club’s productive youth system may have created remarkable competition for places. But they have several high profile players out of contract this year – Mark Ramprakash and Chris Tremlett among them – and it may well be that places and budget becomes available.Worcestershire were also buoyed by news that Phil Hughes, the Australian left-hander, will be available as planned from May 27 for the rest of the season. The club had feared that Hughes might be involved in the Australia A side, but the Australian selectors have decided to give experience of English conditions to as many players as possible and allowed Hughes and Usman Khawaja to play county cricket.Gareth Andrew, meanwhile, who underwent knee surgery over the winter was said by Steve Rhodes, the Worcestershire director of cricket, to have “an outside chance” of featuring in next week’s Championship match against Sussex.

Highveld Lions have become the third South African franchise in six months to lose their coach

Firdose Moonda25-Jun-2012Highveld Lions have become the third South African franchise in six months to lose their coach. Dave Nosworthy resigned his post 11 months before the end of his contract, joining Graham Ford who left Dolphins for Sri Lanka, and Richard Pybus, who stepped down as the Cobras head coach and has since been appointed by Bangladesh. South African domestic cricket has now lost its three most experienced franchise coaches as a result of the exodus.Nosworthy tendered his letter of resignation on June 4, but it was only accepted by the Lions board on Monday. Although Nosworthy called it “a sad time” and Cassim Docrat, the Lions chief executive thanked Nosworthy for his service and labelled him a “loyal, professional and dedicated individual,” ESPNcricinfo understands that ideological disputes and a lack of results caused Nosworthy’s departure from the franchise.In a statement, Nosworthy said “a number of personal and principled factors were involved in my decision.” Sources close to the franchise say differences with the current administrators of have underlined these factors. If that is the case, Nosworthy would not be the only coach to have disagreements with management.Pybus left Cobras under a cloud and claimed he was “undermined” by the chief executive Andre Odendaal, who responded by calling him “prickly.” Pybus was the most successful franchise coach in the country having won trophies in all three formats with both Titans and Cobras. When he quit his job in Cape Town, Pybus did not have any employment but through luck of timing the Bangladesh post opened up.Ford left Dolphins for a national post, having been courted by Sri Lanka previously and turning them down. But, he was also reportedly also unhappy with management at the franchise, who went on a drive to inject youth into their set-up by terminating the contracts of five senior players in 2010 and have struggled for success since.Results also did not come for the Lions under Nosworthy. They did not win a single trophy, although they reached two Twenty20 finals and qualified for the Champions League T20 twice, including this year. They produced two nationally contracted players in Alviro Peterson and Thami Tsolekile (although neither are from the franchise originally) and have had numerous players called up to South Africa’s A side such as Chris Morris, Temba Bavuma and Pumi Matshikwe, while wicketkeeper batsman Quinton de Kock has captained the national Under-19 side.Nosworthy believes he is leaving the franchise “on the brink of bigger and better things.” Although he would not comment on his future, Nosworthy is understood to have applied for the New Zealand coaching job, which will become vacant when John Wright steps down after the West Indies tour. Nosworthy has experience in the country, having previously coached Canterbury.Lions have confirmed that they will not open applications for the coaching job at their franchise and will appoint someone from within. Assistant coach Geoffrey Toyana is the frontrunner for the job. Toyana played 84 first-class matches and has coached at national U-19 level. If he is appointed, he will be the first black African head coach in the franchise era.Neither Cobras or Dolphins have announced new coaches, although that will change this week. Cobras will unveil their new coach on Tuesday and it is widely expected that former national spinner Paul Adams will be appointed. Adams has had coaching roles with the Western Province amateur side, South African A side and the now defunct seventh franchise, Impi.The Dolphins board will meet on Tuesday to discuss the candidates for their franchise. Although they have not revealed names it is understood that former West Indian fast bowler Eldine Baptiste, who coached the Dolphins before, former South African allrounder Lance Klusener and former Cobras and Lions coach Shukri Conrad are in contention.

The Australia A batsmen, led by captain Ed Cowan, enjoyed a productive start to their tour of England as they made 362 for 4 against Derbyshire

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2012
ScorecardEd Cowan began Australia A’s tour with a hundred•AFP

The Australia A batsmen, led by captain Ed Cowan, enjoyed a productive start to their tour of England as they made 362 for 4 against Derbyshire. Cowan laid the platform with 109 and the middle-order built on his work with brisk half-centuries from George Bailey and Joe Burns.Batting is Australia’s biggest concern at the moment and one of the major aims of this trip for Australia A is build knowledge and expertise in English conditions ahead of next year’s Ashes. Cowan, who currently holds one of the opening slots in the Test side, prepared for this trip with a short spell with Gloucestershire and carried his good form into this match as he reached three figures off a spritely 123 balls.Following the early loss of Michael Klinger, caught by fellow Australian Usman Khawaja off Mark Turner, there were substantial partnerships throughout the innings. Cowan and Peter Forrest, who is one of four players in this team who were on the recent one-day tour, added 89 for the second wicket before David Wainwright, the left-arm spinner, removed Forrest for the first of his three wickets.Shortly after reaching his hundred Cowan was stumped off Wainwright but Bailey, Australia’s Twenty20 captain, played a forthright innings that included 12 fours and two sixes to keep the momentum going. With an eye on the future Joe Burns, a highly-rated 22-year-old from Queensland, began his tour promisingly with a brisk 74 including three sixes, two of which came in three balls off Wainwright in the last over before the declaration.In reply, Derbyshire made a steady start against Mitchell Johnson and Jackson Bird – the former well known to English audiences and the latter who has 53 wickets in eight first-class matches at 16 – but Matt Lineker fell shortly before the close to Mitchell Starc.

Ireland fast bowler Boyd Rankin has announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the year as he bids to play Test cricket with England

Ger Siggins08-Aug-2012Ireland fast bowler Boyd Rankin has announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the year as he bids to play Test cricket with England. He is the third leading Irish player to do so, following Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan.Rankin, 28, from Co Derry, has played 79 times for Ireland and was a star of the 2007 and 2011 World Cups. “There’s been lots of sleepless nights recently,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a very difficult decision, but I will be retiring from playing cricket for Ireland after the World Twenty20, as I feel I can’t continue to play the amount of cricket I have been playing with Warwickshire, England Lions and Ireland over the last few years.”I have genuine ambitions of playing Test cricket and I have to give myself the best chance to do that by reducing my workloads as a fast bowler and concentrating on playing cricket for Warwickshire.”Rankin’s contract with Cricket Ireland expires at the end of December, so he is available for selection for the World Twenty20, which starts in Sri Lanka in September. The Cricket Ireland selectors meet this weekend to finalise the squad, which will be announced next week.Rankin has signed a new three-year deal with English county Warwickshire – whose director of cricket is England selector Ashley Giles – and it is understood that the county put pressure on the 6’8” bowler to retire from international cricket with Ireland. He had returned from Ireland’s World Twenty20 qualifier in March with a stress injury to his foot which has ruled him out of his county’s season until mid-July.Giles complained in March: “It’s extremely frustrating that we’ve lost Boyd to this kind of injury. But he has had an extremely large workload over recent months. We will need to manage this to ensure that it doesn’t become a regular occurrence.”Previously, Rankin had played for England A in 2011, and was in the touring party to Bangladesh this January before, again, having to return home with injury.”I’ve decided to retire for several reasons, and among them is a need to reduce my workload,” Rankin said. “Something had to give and unfortunately it had to be Ireland.”It has become increasingly difficult to play for three different sides throughout the year as it leaves me with little time for rest and recovery.”Rankin has taken 110 wickets for Ireland. First capped as a teenager in 2003, he came into prominence during the 2007 World Cup where he was Ireland’s leading wicket-taker. His height meant he could achieve steepling bounce and among his 12 victims were Younis Khan, Michael Vaughan, Ed Joyce, Stephen Fleming, Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers.Previously with Middlesex and Derbyshire, Rankin joined Warwickshire in 2008 and has taken 128 wickets for the county in 41 first-class matches. In 2011 he claimed 55 scalps, leading to his promotion to the England Performance Programme.

Three members of India’s victorious Under-19 World Cup squad – left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, allrounder Baba Aparajith and medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma – have been rewarded with Challenger Trophy spots

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-2012Three members of India’s victorious Under-19 World Cup squad – left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, allrounder Baba Aparajith and medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma – have been rewarded with Challenger Trophy spots. Harmeet has also made it to the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup match.”It is a big break for me and it is important to stay calm, and focus on doing the right things in the match,” Harmeet told . “I am a bit surprised to get selected in both squads. I was expecting to get selected for Irani Cup.”Harmeet was one of the key performers for India in the U-19 World Cup and former Australia captain Ian Chappell wrote that Harmeet was ready to be considered for national selection. Harmeet, who picked up six wickets from four games, however, said that it was important for him not to lose focus. “I know there is a lot of talk around the U-19 cricketers. It feels good, but my main goal is to make the senior team. I am well aware of the fact that if I keep performing well, people will talk.”But once I stop performing, nobody will bother. My focus is completely on my game and training. I want to keep doing well,” he said.The Irani Cup, the opening fixture in India’s 2012-13 domestic season, has been shifted to Bangalore because of poor weather conditions at the original venue, Jaipur. Cheteshwar Pujara will lead the Rest of India squad against Rajasthan, the 2011-12 Ranji Trophy champions, in the five-day match beginning on September 21.The 50-over NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, to be played from September 29 to October 2 in Rajkot, will be contested between 2011-12 Vijay Hazare Trophy winners Bengal, India A and India B.With the selectors picking a young squad, which includes U-19 captain Unmukt Chand, for the upcoming India A tour of New Zealand, the Rest of India team features mostly known names. The 15-man squad has six players who were part of the India Test side against New Zealand recently.Yusuf Pathan, whose international comeback in March had lasted one Asia Cup game, has found a spot in the Irani Cup as well as the Challenger Trophy squads. M Vijay, who hasn’t played for India since the tour of West Indies in mid-2011, is also part of both the first-class and List A squads. Vijay made 558 runs at an average of 46.50 in the previous Ranji Trophy for Tamil Nadu.One player who has been rewarded for an outstanding domestic season last year is Karnataka allrounder Stuart Binny. Binny, 28, made 742 runs at 67.45 with three hundreds and picked up 20 wickets at 20.10 in the previous Ranji Trophy but was not part of the A squads for the tours of West Indies and New Zealand.Shikhar Dhawan, who had a poor time in West Indies with the A side, has been picked as well. Parvinder Awana will have more opportunities after getting just one game in West Indies. Abhimanyu Mithun, who went as Praveen Kumar’s replacement on India’s trip to Australia, is the fourth fast bowler in the Rest of India squad, which includes two wicketkeepers in Wriddhiman Saha and Dinesh Karthik.Praveen, who’s last appearance for India was during the Asia Cup in March, has been picked for the Challenger Trophy.Rest of India: Cheteshwar Pujara (capt), M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, S Badrinath, Dinesh Karthik, Wriddhiman Saha, Yusuf Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Parvinder Awana, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Stuart Binny, Abhimanyu Mithun, Harmeet Singh.India A: S Badrinath (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Parvinder Awana, Abhimanyu Mithun, Pragyan Ojha, Iqbal Abdulla, Harshal Patel, Udit Birla.India B: Cheteshwar Pujara (capt), M Vijay, S Aniruddha, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Bist, Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Baba Aparajith, Praveen Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Munaf Patel, Harmeet Singh, Rohit Motwani, Sandeep Sharma.

Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL), the owner of the IPL team Deccan Chargers, is in advance talks to sell the franchise, its chairman TV Reddy has said

Tariq Engineer31-Aug-2012Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL), the owner of the IPL team Deccan Chargers, is in advanced talks to sell the franchise, its chairman T Venkatram Reddy has said. The group has been forced to consider selling the team to raise funds to help it tide over a liquidity crisis brought on by a poor expansion strategy.”We will sell our cricket team Deccan Chargers, which will sort out most of the immediate requirements,” Reddy told the in an interview. “We are at an advanced stage of negotiations to sell Deccan Chargers. And then the company will be back in action. The newspaper business will not be sold.” The group reportedly needs an infusion of about Rs 500 crore (US$90 million approx.) to get through the current crisis.DCHL had appointed Religare Capital to handle the deal to sell the team back in June. Chargers have not paid all its players in full following the 2012 IPL season and the BCCI had set August 31 as the deadline for all player payments to be made.One potential complication for the sale is the board’s contention that it holds the ownership rights and that no franchise can mortgage the rights without its consent. At an emergency meeting on August 14, the IPL governing council confronted the owners and asked them why the company had mortgaged the team ownership rights to two leading Indian banks.According to Reddy, the company tried to expand its newspaper business too quickly and are now paying the price for that approach.The Deccan Chargers franchise was bought by DCHL for $107 million in the first IPL team auction in 2008. At the time, it was the third-most expensive franchise, after Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. During the second team auction in 2010, the Pune franchise was sold to the Sahara group for $370 million while the now dissolved Kochi franchise was bought by a consortium for $333 million.If the owners succeed in selling the team, they would be the second in the IPL to sell at least a part of the franchise. In 2009, Rajasthan Royals, then the reigning IPL champions, sold an 11.7% stake in the franchise for approximately $15.4 million to Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood actress, and her partner Raj Kundra, a UK-based businessman. That put the valuation of the franchise at around $140 million, more than double the $67 million the owners, Emerging Media, paid for it in 2008.Chargers won the IPL in 2009 but have largely struggled since then. They finished eighth out of nine teams in 2012, winning just four games under the leadership of Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka captain, and Cameron White, the Australia batsman.

North Zone captain Shikhar Dhawan, with a ton, led his side to a bright start on the first day of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final in Chennai

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2012
ScorecardShikhar Dhawan’s century ensured North Zone’s positive start in the Duleep Trophy quarter-final in Chennai•K Sivaraman

North Zone captain Shikhar Dhawan, with a ton, led his side to a bright start on the first day of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final in Chennai. Following scores of 99*, 152 and 61 in the Challenger Trophy, he scored 101 here in an opening stand of 164. His partner Rahul Dewan scored a half-century, as the duo weren’t separated till the 58th over of the day to lay the base for a strong first-innings total. West Zone ended with three wickets – the openers and Sunny Singh, who fell four short of a half-century in the final over of the day.Fifteen boundaries in Dhawan’s innings boosted his strike-rate to 56, the highest among all batsmen. His departure – he was stumped off offspinner Kamlesh Makwana – was followed by his partner Dewan’s dismissal, also off the same bowler, seven overs later. A third-wicket stand of 76 between Sunny Singh and Nitin Saini looked to see them through to the close before Singh was caught behind in the 90th over, as the day ended.Left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, who was part of the India Under-19 squad that won the World Cup in Australia, was the most expensive of all the bowlers, with an economy rate of 4.16 in his 18 overs.

Australia’s Test wicketkeeper Matthew Wade enhanced his reputation for making runs when most needed with a punchy 50 to guide Victoria to a five-wicket Sheffield Shield victory over Western Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2012
ScorecardMatthew Wade’s punchy innings took Victoria to outright victory•Getty Images

Australia’s Test wicketkeeper Matthew Wade enhanced his reputation for making runs when most needed with a punchy 50 to guide Victoria to a five-wicket Sheffield Shield victory over Western Australia at the MCG.Set 171 to win after James Pattinson, Jayde Herrick and Clint McKay shared the wickets to round the Warriors up for 138 in their second innings, the Bushrangers wobbled at 5 for 99 after the loss of three wickets for two runs.However Wade wrested the initiative from the visitors with an innings that featured a trio of sixes, quickly whittling down the target to complete an unhappy week for WA cricket following the investigation into the conduct of the Perth Scorchers at the Twenty20 Champions League and Marcus North’s resignation as captain.Jason Behrendorff claimed three second innings wickets with his left-arm fast mediums for a haul of seven in the match, but he and the rest of the bowlers were not given quite enough runs to defend after their batsmen had folded meekly in the second innings.

Peter Siddle is taking on the mantle of leadership and example among Australia’s bowlers that – until recently – Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey held for the batsmen

Daniel Brettig21-Dec-2012Peter Siddle is taking on the mantle of leadership and example among Australia’s bowlers that – until recently – Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey held for the batsmen.Mitchell Starc attributed his much improved display on the final day of the Hobart Test against Sri Lanka to being lifted by Siddle’s efforts, which matched his Herculean display against South Africa in Adelaide.A prodigious talent, Starc is pleasing Australia’s selectors, coaches and the captain Michael Clarke by gathering in consistency and nous each time he bowls in a Test, and also by staying fit when so many around him are falling prey to injury.His fiendish burst of reverse swing on an uneven final day surface at Bellerive Oval was arguably Starc’s best display to for his country to date, and he put much of it down to watching Siddle give his all in the spell that preceded it.”Sidds was outstanding again in Hobart and was pretty much the heart and soul of the attack,” Starc said. “For me just to follow on from him, I played pretty much a supporting role with Sidds there probably deserving 10 wickets. Not just the bowlers [are lifted by Siddle], the whole team is.”Having him around the squad he’s full of energy and he’s always giving 100% whether it be in the nets or in the field and that drags the whole squad along. As he’s shown in Adelaide, though unfortunately not getting over the line there, but again in Hobart pretty similar performances where he’s given absolutely everything he’s had. He’s sat down and had nothing left after the game. It was great for him we got that result after what happened in Adelaide.”When you have guys like Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey in the squad they bring so much energy and a different feel to the group. I think Sidds is well on the way to being someone like that, who just lifts everyone up. When he’s on bowling you know something most likely is going to happen.”Starc’s progress has been helped greatly by his developing durability, which has allowed him to be fit for selection whenever Australia’s selectors have come calling over the past 12 months. By avoiding the treatment table, Starc is gathering in knowledge about his bowling, aided by advice from the likes of Wasim Akram, Jason Gillespie and the Australian bowling coaches past and present, Craig McDermott and Ali de Winter.”That consistency is coming. I’ve got to find that balance between being over aggressive and containing one end. That will come, I’m still learning, I’m only 22,” Starc said. “I’m taking it all in my stride and learning from each game. That’s something we did from the game in Perth – I went for a few runs there.”In Hobart we had 450 runs on the board so you can afford to be a bit aggressive there. As you saw I went for a couple of runs but we got the win in the end so we can take some confidence from that and being able to get that result even with a bowler down as well.”Injuries are unfortunate, they seem to go hand in hand with fast bowling. I’m looking after myself doing all I can to stay on the park and make sure I’m recovering well and playing well. You can’t worry too much about what the other guys are doing. Can’t worry too much about what the others are doing but we’re all preparing the way we can and stay on the park.”Despite his strong last-day form in Hobart, Starc may yet find himself carrying the drinks on Boxing Day in order to ensure he maintains his run of games without injury, the better to be fit for his home Test at the SCG from January 3. Mitchell Johnson and Jackson Bird are both a chance of being called into the Test side for the final match of 2012. However Starc is eager to bowl at the MCG, having also run the drinks in the corresponding match last year.”It’s always a big occasion the Boxing Day Test. If I get the nod to play for Australia again it’s going to be a nice one to run out in front of a big crowd,” Starc said. “Hopefully I can contribute again if I get the chance in Melbourne.”