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England captain not fussed about follow-on tactic gone wrong, says knee will be fine for Ashes in June

Andrew Miller28-Feb-2023Ben Stokes, England’s captain, insisted that his team’s pride at playing a part in one of the most gripping Test matches of all time outweighed their disappointment at the final result, after their run of six Test wins in a row came to an end with an incredible one-run loss against New Zealand in Wellington.A packed crowd at the Basin Reserve had been invited in for free by Cricket New Zealand in expectation of a gripping finale, and the two teams did not disappoint. In a thrillingly fluctuating final day, England lost four quick wickets in the first hour before settling into a seemingly match-turning sixth-wicket stand between Stokes himself and Joe Root, only for Neil Wagner’s short-ball approach to break the game open in a scintillating finale.”It’s right up there,” Stokes said. “Going down to the last day, being in the situation of that last half an hour … it’s everything you wish for. Even though we came out on the wrong side of it, you can’t help but feel blessed that we’ve managed to be a part of that incredible game.”It’s disappointing to not win, obviously. But we look at the bigger picture of what everyone’s enjoyed and seen here today. It’s probably bigger than the disappointment at the moment.”One of Stokes’ stated aims since taking over the England captaincy has been to max out on entertainment, and risk losing games in order to win them. That policy has paid handsome dividends over the past year, most especially in Pakistan before Christmas when England’s attacking instincts broke open the series, most memorably in the first Test at Rawalpindi.”That’s obviously a huge objective of ours,” he added. “I don’t want people to get mixed up, [because] that doesn’t mean that we’re not fussed if we don’t win or lose. Obviously, we always want to win. It’s very disappointing to lose, but you can’t help but be excited that we’ve been a part of a game like that.”Related

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• New Zealand beat England in one-run thriller, make history by overcoming follow-on

• 'No better game in the world than Test cricket'

Besides being only the second one-run win in Test history, after West Indies’ victory over Australia at Adelaide in 1992-93, this was the fourth time that a side has won a Test match despite being asked to follow-on – and like the most recent occasion, the Kolkata Test in 2000-01, the turning point of the match was arguably Stokes’ decision to enforce the follow-on, after New Zealand had been bowled out for 210 on the third morning.The man himself, however, had no regrets about his call, even though New Zealand’s second innings of 483 – built around a doughty century from the Player of the Match Kane Williamson – meant that his bowlers spent more than 215 consecutive overs in the field.”Imagine captaining in hindsight?” he said. “That’s nothing that I would ever do.”It was always our game to lose once we enforced the follow-on,” he added. “But the logic behind it was that our opening bowlers have ripped through their top-order for three innings in a row. We knew that New Zealand had to pretty much play the perfect game to put us in a situation like this.”In England’s home summer, Stokes’ men had chased consecutive targets of 277, 299 and 296 against New Zealand, followed by a hefty 358 against India, and so despite their tough grind in the field, Stokes insisted that the target this time around, 258, had not left his team daunted.Winning after following on in Tests•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Batting in the last innings, chasing 250 is something that we were never worried about,” he said. “But give huge credit to New Zealand, not only to the way that they played in the second innings, but also the way that they bowled and managed to get very early wickets with not too many runs on the board.”So in terms of looking back and making my decision around the follow-on, No, I don’t regret it. Other teams are allowed to play better than us and New Zealand have played better than us this week.”England’s next Test assignment is the one-off four-day Test against Ireland – starting June 1 – followed by the Ashes and while they are bound to head into the series with confidence after four wins in five this winter, one area of concern is Stokes’ own fitness. His troublesome left knee was causing him visible pain, both during a curtailed two-over spell in the second innings, and for long periods of his own second innings, a dogged 33 from 116 balls that ended with an off-balance pull against a Wagner short ball.Before the series begins in June, Stokes is due to play a season of IPL with Chennai Super Kings – which he may leave early to prep for the Ashes – but he said he had no plans to withdraw at this stage, instead hoping that the less intense workload of T20 cricket would give him more time to get it right off the field.Ben Stokes batted within himself while managing a knee issue•Getty Images

“I’m not sure exactly,” he said, when asked how his knee was feeling. “There’s maybe three or four months before we get to the Ashes and we’ve worked incredibly hard with our physios and medics to get everything right strength-wise.”But it’s been very difficult out here, especially once the Tests have started, because the games came thick and fast. But it’s a good opportunity out in India to get myself into a position that I feel like I don’t have to worry about my knee anymore.”I’m not going to lie. It is very frustrating knowing that I’ve got something holding me back in terms of my body. It’s been around for a while. It is frustrating, but we’re doing everything we possibly can to allow me to fulfil that fourth-seamer role, like I was able to do two or three years ago. Hopefully, come the Ashes, I don’t have to worry about it.”

Pacer has not bowled since the T20 World Cup due to a hip issue; no replacement called up

Firdose Moonda21-Dec-2021Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of South Africa’s upcoming three-Test series against India due to a “persistent” hip injury. Nortje has not bowled since the Men’s T20 World Cup in November, and is still struggling with the niggle and does not have sufficient bowling loads under his belt to be cleared to play. CSA’s chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra told ESPNcricinfo that Nortje is undergoing rehabilitation and is aiming to be ready for the ODIs against India in mid-January.Nortje’s absence is a massive blow to South Africa – he is their leading bowler in Tests this year. Nortje has taken 25 wickets from five Tests at 20.76, six ahead of his nearest team-mate, Keshav Maharaj.No replacement will be called up to the squad, which includes seven other seamers. The door is now open for Duanne Olivier to make a comeback after his return from the Kolpak system, which ended with Britain’s exit from the European Union. Olivier is the leading wicket-taker in the domestic first-class competition with 28 wickets at 11.14.Olivier is likely to bowl alongside Kagiso Rabada and one of Lungi Ngidi, who has not played competitively in five months, uncapped left-armer Marco Jansen. Other options include Beuran Hendricks, who has one Test to his name, and Glenton Stuurman and Sisanda Magala, both of whom are uncapped.South Africa’s squad has begun its final preparations for the series that starts on Boxing Day, and so far has come through all Covid-19 tests successfully.

Legspinner twists ankle and is released from squad ahead of Ireland ODIs

David Charlesworth at the Ageas Bowl21-Jul-2020Team Moeen 325 for 9 (Bairstow 127, Moeen 85, Rashid 4-65) beat Team Morgan 225 (Duckett 68, Moeen 3-40) by 100 runsJonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali starred as England’s two World Cup winners outshone the rookies in the first intra-squad match at the Ageas Bowl ahead of the one-day international series against Ireland.The pair may have been overlooked from the Test set-up but they proved their enduring white-ball class, Bairstow first of all muscling his way to 127 from 88 balls, a boundary-laden innings with 16 fours and seven sixes.His departure paved the way for Moeen, who was on a run-a-ball 19 before celebrating being named Eoin Morgan’s deputy for the Royal London series on Tuesday with a barnstorming 85 from only 45 deliveries.Neither Sam Hain nor Liam Livingstone were able to make substantial contributions despite batting twice for Team Moeen against Team Morgan, who were beaten in this 40-over affair by 100 runs in the bio-secure bubble.England’s preparations were marred when Matt Parkinson, the Lancashire legspinner, sprained his ankle on the eve of the warm-up match. Subsequent scans revealed he would not be able to take any part in the Ireland ODIs, and he has been released from the team’s bio-secure bubble.The result was a peripheral matter given the circumstances which also saw Tom Banton bat for both sides, making just three runs in his two innings, while Paul Collingwood, acting as head coach for the Ireland series with Chris Silverwood on Test duty, fielded at backward point for a spell as a result of a few minor niggles in the camp.Among the non-regulars, Ben Duckett did the most to enhance his cause for a first ODI appearance in four years next Thursday as he struck 68 from 65 balls before succumbing to Moeen, who capped a pleasing day with 3 for 40.After Banton clipped tamely to midwicket to hand David Willey his first wicket in an England jersey since being omitted from the World Cup squad, Bairstow was initially watchful as he took 10 balls to get off the mark.ALSO READ: Moeen Ali named England vice-captain for Ireland ODIsHe steadily accelerated thereafter with some crisp front and back foot pulls while the handbrake was well and truly off by the time he crunched the wayward Saqib Mahmood for four consecutive fours.Hain departed for nine first time around, bowled by a straight one from Liam Dawson, while Livingstone was lbw after playing across the line to Rashid, who came in for some heavy punishment from Bairstow’s slog sweeps.Bairstow, content to deal largely in boundaries, brought up a supreme 75-ball ton before clipping a low full toss from Willey to midwicket, whereafter Moeen picked up the baton in a terrific knock.There were seven fours and six sixes in Moeen’s innings, in which he took 66 from his final 26 balls, only to fall 15 short of following Bairstow to three figures after slicing good friend Adil Rashid to short third man.Rashid took four wickets but leaked 65 runs in his seven overs, and while Mahmood and Richard Gleeson each took a scalp, they conceded 76 and 57 from eight and seven overs respectively.After conceding 325 for 9, Morgan’s side were left with a mountain to climb but Duckett, who told the PA news agency he had lost around 10kg during lockdown, responded with aplomb after Reece Topley had Phil Salt caught behind in the first over of the chase.Duckett cut and pulled authoritatively while he used the reverse sweep off Moeen to excellent effect, only to sweep the spinner to deep backward square-leg.Morgan cleared the boundary rope three times in an enterprising 33 off 24 balls but a thick edge then looped to third man – and with the England captain’s departure went any real chance his side of overhauling their target.Topley, Tom Helm and Henry Brookes all took two wickets apiece while Moeen gained revenge over Rashid, who thumped the spinner to long-off to signal an end to proceedings as Team Morgan were all out for 225.England’s training group – reduced to 23 players following Parkinson’s withdrawal – will have a second internal practice match on Friday before a final squad is announced next week.

The Delhi Capitals coach isn’t too worried about the team’s recent propensity to collapse in the latter stages of run-chases

Sreshth Shah in Kolkata11-Apr-2019While Ricky Ponting is mightily impressed by Rishabh Pant’s skills as a white-ball player, the Delhi Capitals coach believes his impatience can lead to his downfall.Speaking ahead of Capitals’ return fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Ponting was in praise of his three young top-order batsmen – Pant, Prithvi Shaw and the captain Shreyas Iyer – but said each of them had areas to work on, Pant in particular. Even so, he said he wouldn’t try to curb his natural style too much.”With Rishabh in white-ball cricket, the issue is that he’s such a competitor that sometimes that gets the better of him,” Ponting said. “He wants to get things done quickly in the white-ball game. In the Tests he doesn’t so much because there’s not as much scoring pressure in Tests.”But I’m not going to curb the way he plays, I’m not gonna tell him to slow down because if he plays his best he will win games for us. I want him to go out with pure freedom and with no other thought other than hitting the ball for a six. We saw in Mumbai. – when it comes off, we’re going to win. He made 77 facing just 28 balls. But he needs to understand we need him to bat in the last four overs. We need our best batsmen to stay till the last four overs, and we expect that from him.”Prithvi Shaw goes down the ground•BCCI

Ponting also expected Shaw to end up as one of the top run-getters in the tournament if he continued his current form. Shaw’s most notable performance this season so far is his 99 against Knight Riders in Delhi, but Ponting also highlighted his 22-ball 28 in what eventually proved a tricky chase against Royal Challengers Bangalore.”Prithvi Shaw, I’ve seen him develop as a player,” Ponting said. “We took a punt on him as a young guy who hadn’t played any T20 cricket. And from the moment I saw him, I knew he was ready to play.”He showed that last year and has shown glimpses this season too. I was absolutely heartbroken for him when he was out for 99, he deserved to get a hundred. He’s got us off to some good starts. He single-handedly helped us win against Bangalore, with some aggressive batting in the Powerplay, although Shreyas played well. He’ll be one of the leading run-scorers if he plays like this by the end of the season.”This time last year, Iyer was shoved into the limelight when he took over the captaincy following Gautam Gambhir’s resignation. Ponting said he had big expectations from him as both batsman and captain. Despite the Capitals dugout including strong personalities such as himself and the advisor Sourav Ganguly, Ponting said Iyer was the team’s primary leader.Shreyas Iyer improvises•Sportzpics

“It’s 100 per cent Shreyas Iyer’s team,” Ponting said. “It’s not my team, it’s not the coach’s team, it’s Shreyas Iyer’s team. He’s the captain, and with captains of any team, once the game starts the captain is the coach. He’s a terrific young man, determined, very good player. He’s developing his leadership well. Halfway through last year, then he’s captained for Mumbai [in domestic cricket], and finally India A. It’s a high-pressure environment, the IPL, and I love working with him.”Capitals have tended to suffer collapses late in their chases this season. They slid to a scarcely believable defeat against Kings XI Punjab and nearly did the same against Royal Challengers too, but Ponting wasn’t too worried.”We can look at it in two ways,” Ponting said. “I was worried about the Kings XI run chase. We should’ve won that with an over to spare, but what didn’t worry me about the RCB game was that the boys were taking the opposition on. They were being ultra-aggressive, maybe recklessly.”But I don’t mind that, we need that mindset to win big games, but you must ensure you get across the line. We had the game won when the collapse happened in Bangalore. Collapses will happen if your best batsmen aren’t there at the end, which our batting group is now aware of.”

After the India captain smashed an unbeaten 160, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal shared eight wickets between them to put their side 3-0 up

The Report by Firdose Moonda07-Feb-20181:13

Cullinan: Probably SA’s worst ODI fielding unit ever

Live Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Virat Kohli ensured India will have some share of the silverware as he took them to unassailable 3-0 lead in the ODI series. Kohli scored his second century in three matches, his third on India’s tour of South Africa and more than half India’s total of 303 before his bowlers did the rest, or should that be wrist?South Africa’s line-up, riddled with inexperience, was again spun out by Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. With eight wickets between them, the pair took their series tally to 21. They have claimed but all but seven of the South African wickets across three matches. Their wickets at Newlands came at a cost just 69 runs, and through the series, they have conceded 190 runs and taken their wickets at an average of 9.05.The hosts had serious problems, which started when they decided to bowl first on a surface where everything screams bat. Perhaps, it was the knowledge that India fancy themselves to chase just about anything and the ghosts of their previous two batting performances still swirling. But South Africa decided to save their weaker suit upfront and were witness to a Kohli masterclass instead, but not before they had an opportunity to dismiss him for a duck.After Kagiso Rabada removed Rohit Sharma in the opening over, he had Kohli given out lbw off the third ball of his second over but the India captain reviewed. Replays showed Kohli had hit the ball as he attempted a flick. The on-field decision was overturned and so were South Africa’s fortunes.At the other end, debutant Lungi Ngidi struggled to pull his length back and India’s batsmen capitalised. The visitors reached 50 in 10 overs with 40 via boundaries.Andile Phehlukwayo’s opening over, full but wider outside off than Ngidi had been, promised to plug the flow of runs, but he lost his line after that. Morris tried the short ball but with Dhawan well set, only drinks could stop the runs momentarily. India were 87 for 1 after 16 overs.Imran Tahir was introduced after the interval but Dhawan swept his second ball to the deep square leg boundary to bring up his fifty off 42 balls. Dhawan then swiped the fifth ball to the midwicket boundary to put Tahir under further pressure. Ngidi’s second spell went significantly worse than his opening one. His first four overs cost 29 runs and his next two 18 to leave Aiden Markram with no choice but to turn to JP Duminy.While offspin is meat and drink to India’s line-up, Duminy was able to toss the ball up and slow it down and it brought some results. He had Dhawan chipping a catch to short midwicket in his second over to end a 140-run second-wicket stand that came at 6.31 runs an over. Five overs later Ajinkya Rahane was beaten in flight as he stepped out and holed out to long-off.South Africa established something of a squeeze between the 20th and 40th over, in which they conceded 105 runs but Kohli was there throughout, accumulating steadily. In all, 100 of his 160 came through singles, twos, and threes. He had brought up his 34th ODI hundred off 119 balls when he nudged a double to fine leg.Duminy completed a full quota of 10 overs for the first time since July 2013, and only the fifth time in his 182-match ODI career, returning 2 for 60.India entered the final 10 overs on 223 for 4 and despite Tahir and Phehluwayo’s dismissals of MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadav respectively, Kohli accelerated. He brought up 1000 ODI runs against South Africa, 150 of 157 balls and helped India score 47 off the final five overs to top 300.A target so steep demanded something much more than South Africa have offered so far and the early loss of Hashim Amla only made it tougher. Amla was deep in the crease when he missed a Jasprit Bumrah ball that slanted in from off stump and struck him on the pad. He considered a review but eventually decided against it and left Markram to lean on Duminy instead.A 78-run stand followed with glimpses of promise from Markram and maturity from Duminy, who went on to score his first fifty in 21 ODIs, since October 2016, but the pair only kept South Africa in the chase for a short while. Once Markram was stumped off Kuldeep, South Africa’s soft underbelly was exposed.Heinrich Klaasen then missed a flick and was out lbw to Chahal and 15 balls later, Duminy went the same way, struck in front of leg stump. With the asking rate mounting, David Miller heaved and was caught behind off Bumrah to leave South Africa 129 for 5. They lost their last five wickets for 50 runs and may now look to a change in personnel ahead of the next three games. South Africa will announce the squad for the remainder of the series on Thursday with AB de Villiers expected to return from a finger injury.

The result of the tri-series match between Sri Lanka and West Indies could well hinge on how the two inexperienced batting line-ups handle the seam-friendly conditions at the Harare Sports Club

The Preview by Liam Brickhill15-Nov-2016

Match Facts

Wednesday, November 16
Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)Zimbabwe didn’t test Sri Lanka’s inexperienced batting line-up on Monday, but West Indies’ attack could pose a bigger threat•AFP

Big Picture

Visiting teams to Zimbabwe often use their time here as a looking glass into the future: which new combinations might be worth exploring? Who are the up-and-coming players? Who’s staking a claim for the next major tour? While West Indies’ circumstances might be a little more tempestuous, both they and Sri Lanka have picked forward-thinking squads for this series, and there is plenty to prove on both sides.This is particularly true of the batsmen. Darren Bravo has been culled from West Indies’ squad for his outburst on Twitter, and they are also missing batsman Marlon Samuels, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin and allrounder Kieron Pollard, depriving them of a combined 521 ODIs’ worth of experience. With 44 ODIs to his name Johnson Charles is, by some distance, West Indies’ most experienced batsman. Several somewhat unknown entities have a chance to stake a claim.The same goes for Sri Lanka, who already have one eye on their tour of South Africa in the new year. Sri Lanka have captain Upul Tharanga’s 189-match ODI experience to call upon, with Kusal Perera’s international nous to back him up, but not an awful lot beyond that. Their relative familiarity with Zimbabwean conditions and the sparkling form of young batsman Dhananjaya de Silva may give them an advantage, but they will likely find themselves more tested by West Indies’ attack than by anything Zimbabwe have thrown at them in the last few weeks.Sulieman Benn and Sunil Narine have their wiles, and Shannon Gabriel’s improved fitness and balanced action enhances his menace. Captain Jason Holder will be personally buoyed by his recent second innings five-for against Pakistan in Sharjah, but the Bravo imbroglio may dampen the momentum West Indies gained from their historic Test success over Pakistan.Or it may not, given that in recent times West Indies have rarely seemed more than a tweet or two away from controversy, and weathering such storms is all in a day’s work for them. On the field, however, conditions are setting this match up as a middleweight fight that will favour the most sturdy batsmen and most incisive bowlers on either side.

Form Guide

Sri Lanka: WLLLW (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: LLLLW

In the Spotlight

Kraigg Brathwaite‘s Herculean efforts in Sharjah helped secure West Indies’ five-wicket win there, but his one-day record remains rather more modest than his Test record. With no Samuels or Bravo to provide the ballast in West Indies’ top order, West Indies will be looking to Brathwaite to step up and glue the top order together.Sri Lanka’s questions around their inexperienced middle order are yet to be answered, given the tiny target and limp bowling attack they faced on Monday. How they stand up to the greater challenge provided by West Indies may be crucial to their overall success.With 44 ODIs, Johnson Charles is the most experienced top-order batsman in West Indies’ tri-series squad•AFP

Team News

Multiple changes to their squad will have shaken West Indies up somewhat, and despite their long-form success in the UAE, West Indies’ recent 3-0 defeat in the ODIs against Pakistan will be in the back of their minds. All the new names in their batting line-up have a chance to clean the slate, and there are several middle-order slots up for grabs and several all-round options.West Indies (possible): 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Evin Lewis, 4 Jason Mohammed, 5 Shai Hope, 6 Shane Dowrich (wk), 7 Jonathan Carter, 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Jason Holder (c), 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Shannon GabrielShehan Jayasuriya came in for some tap from Peter Moor on Monday, but there is no urgent reason for Sri Lanka to tinker with their XI. When the tri-series moves to Bulawayo, they will have expanded opportunities to play their spinners, and there should be a similar make-up to their line-up against West Indies.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dhananjaya de Silva, 2 Kusal Perera, 3 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Upul Tharanga (c), 6 Asela Gunaratne, 7 Shehan Jayasuriya, 8 Sachith Pathirana, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pitch and conditions

Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak suggested it wasn’t so much the grass on the pitch as the clouds overhead that aided swing and seam on Monday, and both the pitch and weather conditions are expected to be very similar. Much of the day is expected to be cloudy and overcast, with occasional sunny spells, while there may well be thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Stats and trivia

• In 54 ODIs between these countries, West Indies hold the advantage with 27 wins to Sri Lanka’s 24. Yet that is weighted somewhat by West Indies’ yesteryear prowess. Sri Lanka have won six of the last seven matches between the teams
• Suranga Lakmal is Sri Lanka’s leading wicket-taker this year, with 11 scalps from eight matches at 26.72
• West Indies last visited Zimbabwe in 2007-08, when they won a five-match series 3-1, with one game abandoned

Quotes

“We’ve been facing Carl Mumba who has been bowling very fast, so West Indies’ pace won’t be a problem, rather the ball seaming around will be the challenge for us.”
“It’s obviously a big impact to lose senior guys with experience who bring pedigree to your side. It’s a situation where we have to cope with what we have, and gel together as quickly as possible.”

New Zealand’s cricketers believe it is they rather than the hosts Australia who have the superior preparation leading into next month’s Test series

Daniel Brettig28-Oct-20151:02

‘I’d prefer to have it our way’ – Neesham

New Zealand’s cricketers believe it is they rather than the hosts Australia who have the superior preparation leading into next month’s Test series, with a change in their Brisbane arrival plans adding to a sense that the visitors will be well bedded down by the time the Gabba Test begins on November 5.Typically Australia have laid waste to undercooked touring teams in Brisbane, but by the time the day-night Sheffield Shield round ends the Australian team’s only long-form match practice, New Zealand will have already played three such matches plus the Prime Minister’s XI fixture in Canberra.There was a round of Plunket Shield before Brendon McCullum’s team departed for Australia, the two-day game in Manuka and then another three-day fixture at Blacktown – the last two of which both feature the red ball. In keeping with their reputation as an alert and agile team, New Zealand’s successful request to shorten the Blacktown match and so allow an extra day’s training in Brisbane means they will fancy their chances of settling quickly at the Gabba, scene of many Australian triumphs but seldom an XI as inexperienced as the one to be led by Steven Smith.The allrounder James Neesham had little hesitation in declaring New Zealand’s lead-in to Brisbane was the more preferable of those taken by the two teams. “I think I’d prefer to have it our way,” he said of having two red ball matches versus Australia’s one Shield round against the pink ball. “I think it’s important to get practice in the conditions most similar to the ones you’re going to be playing in.”We’ve got another warm-up game starting up down here, then we’ll go up to Brisbane and get some good practice in at the Gabba for a few days before the first Test, and we’re looking after ourselves and looking to prepare the best way we can.”[Shortening the Blacktown game] was a coaching decision and we thought it best for our group to get training in the conditions most similar to what the first Test is going to be like, and heading up to the Gabba with quicker and bouncier wickets seemed like the best way to go.”New Zealand’s squad will have another extra opportunity to prepare for the experimental pink-ball third Test by playing a tour match under lights against a Western Australia XI in Perth after the second Test of the series. The Australians meanwhile will spend two days at home before warming up for Adelaide with net sessions only.Neesham said that while the Gabba certainly had a fearsome reputation, the tourists were making sure they did not talk themselves into the expectation of hellish conditions and would instead deal with whatever confronts them on the day.”It can be a little bit overawing, the Aussies have a very good record at Brisbane over the last 20 or so years,” he said. “The main thing for us is to look after ourselves, we know we have a strong team and a settled unit, and if we go up and play the way we can, that should put us in good stead.”Especially Tim [Southee] thrives on bouncier wickets, and we’ve got a guy like Doug Bracewell as well bowling first change, or Matt Henry who thrives on the bounce as well. I’m sure our guys will be looking forward to getting on the quicker, bouncier wicket after the game at Manuka Oval.”We’re quietly confident. We’ve got quite a settled unit and over the last 24 months we’ve put some good results on the board in Test cricket and we’re just going to approach the series like we have every other series over the last couple of years and go about our business.”Like is team-mates, Neesham was notably unfazed by the years of history separating this side from the one and only New Zealand team to win a Test series down under. He pointed out that McCullum’s men had been setting plenty of new marks of their own in recent times.”We hadn’t won a one-day series in South Africa before I started playing either and we’ve knocked that one off, and we’ve gone about ways of breaking new ground for New Zealand cricket over the last couple of years,” Neesham said. “Trying to do something that hasn’t been done before or in a long time doesn’t really play too much on our minds.”

Saj Mahmood was left of Essex’s first match of the season but Gloucestershire’s unbroken, fourth-wicket partnership of 229 carried the day

Alex Winter at Chelmsford10-Apr-2013
ScorecardDan Housego made his first Championship century for Gloucestershire•Getty Images

Sajid Mahmood’s career remains on hold after he was left out of the first Essex squad of the new season. But his reputation may have been polished in his absence as Essex’s attack were rendered impotent by an unbroken, double-century partnership for Gloucestershire’s fourth wicket between Dan Housego and Hamish Marshall.Having played eight Tests and 26 ODIs only to fall away – his last England appearance was in 2009 – Mahmood spiralled further into the abyss after being released by Lancashire at the end of last season and failing to find a new deal at a Division One county.Essex offered him a chance to rebuild but James Foster, the captain, said Mahmood was out-bowled in pre-season and didn’t warrant inclusion against Gloucestershire. Instead, Mahmood was at Derby playing for Essex second XI. He took 1 for 40 and was overshadowed by Reece Topley – a young bowler of great promise – who returned 4 for 20.”Saj had a good pre-season but it was one of those things where he’s bowled well but the other guys have bowled better,” Foster told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s only the start of the season but Saj is a quality performer and he’ll be featuring heavily this season.”I’m really impressed with the bowling unit. I believe it’s the best attack I’ve seen since I’ve been at the club, with six big seamers.”It would appear some luxury for Essex to have resources to leave a big-name signing out of their side. Perhaps Mahmood has now been relegated from big-name status. But only his best would have improved Essex’s fortunes on the opening day of the season as Marshall and Housego compiled a chanceless 229-run stand at almost three-and-a-half an over – a fourth-wicket record against Essex.The partnership began after lunch and saw them through to the close. It was a rare day of batting dominance from Gloucestershire and looked unlikely from 34 for 2 with both openers dismissed by David Masters. But in Marshall, Gloucestershire have a player who could easily be playing Test cricket and Housego, a determined player with a solid technique. The pair gave Gloucestershire a dream opening to 2013.Housego arrived in Bristol on the back of a superb second-XI season for Middlesex in 2011 but he failed to transfer that to regular first-team cricket last season. He gets a long stride in when playing forward but his best stroke came from a slightly shorter stride to flick Graham Napier’s first ball after tea through midwicket. The timing was immense.Usurped by Marshall for the first ton of the year, he nervously played off the back foot into the covers on 99 and could have been run out. The throw missed and Housego had his first first-class century for Gloucestershire.It was steady work on a slightly slow wicket that was green-tinged. That and the history of Gloucestershire’s batting – most pertinently they were shot out for 180 and 146 here last season – was all the encouragement Foster needed to insert them having won the toss.But his bowlers didn’t probe away consistently enough, especially Maurice Chambers, who at one stage of the afternoon had conceded over four-an-over. Masters was Masters – nipped a couple out with the new ball and kept it tight – and Napier found a little seam movement from the Hayes Close End after lunch. Aside from that, including the second new ball, there was only the hard work of the visiting batsman for a healthy day one crowd to get excited about.Despite the close score, Foster was satisfied with his bowler’s efforts. “I guess it’s one of those where you hope it’s going to do more for a longer period of time than it did,” he said. “It would have been nice to have another wicket by lunch but after that, credit to the batsman. We did not bowl poorly.”

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has blamed the failure of the top order for the defeat against Pakistan that has left them on the brink of elimination from the Asia Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2012Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has blamed the failure of the top order for the defeat against Pakistan that has left them on the brink of elimination from the Asia Cup. He and Tillakaratne Dilshan had provided a fast start, but Jayawardene holed out in the sixth over attempting to clear extra cover. Dilshan’s go-at-everything brand of batting led to the next wicket, as he top-edged a pull. Dinesh Chandimal fell to a wonderful slip catch by Younis Khan and Lahiru Thirimanne was dismissed chasing a wide one. On a good pitch, and after winning the toss, Sri Lanka were stumbling at 65 for 4, and they eventually limped to an insufficient 188.”I think it was quite obvious [where we failed]: with the bat,” Jayawardene said. “When you win the toss and bat first, the challenge is to get a good score on the board that the bowlers can bowl at; a par score on this track would have been around 250. We didn’t get anywhere near that. Our bowlers had to do something magical if we had to win from there. I thought they bowled really well, gave everything they had but it wasn’t good enough.”Jayawardene also stood by his decision to bat first, a move that was questioned because the pitches in Mirpur have appeared to be better for batting in the evenings. Jayawardene, though, said the pitch actually gets slower and that with the extra bowler – Lasith Malinga had replaced Chamara Kapugedara in the XI – Sri Lanka felt they could defend a decent total.”By playing the extra bowler, we could have defended a competitive total. But the wicket gets slower and slower as the day progresses, and we thought that if we scored 250-plus, it would have been hard for them to chase with six batsmen.”Kumar Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga, now a regular at No 6, added 96 valuable runs to rebuild the innings after the top-order troubles, but Sri Lanka lost their way again when Tharanga was dismissed off the first ball of the batting Powerplay.”Kumar [Sangakkara] and Upul [Tharanga] were batting well. But the sort of ball that Upul got, it wasn’t possible to take full toll of the Powerplay,” Jayawardene said. He also refused to use tiredness as a reason for Sri Lanka’s two losses in the Asia Cup – they had played five games in 10 days in Australia before coming to Bangladesh.If India beat Bangladesh on Friday, Sri Lanka’s last game against the hosts will become academic.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

As they approach the end of the group stage, Australia are looking to dispatch opponents as efficiently as they can. Canada are hoping for a final World Cup hurrah

The Preview by Sriram Veera in Bangalore15-Mar-2011

Match Facts</pMarch 16, Bangalore

Start time 14:30 (09.00 GMT)
John Davison could open in his last match for Canada•AFP

The Big Picture

As Ricky Ponting was leaving the press conference, a scribe offered a friendly bit of advice: “Please bowl first, mate.” Ponting turned, smiled and said, “Ha! Bowl first eh?” before gliding out of view. Despite Ireland’s commendable performance, and two honourable fights by Canada and Kenya, Australia taking on an Associate still makes people wonder how long the game will last. A tired journalist’s view is, “Canada bat first, get bowled out for a paltry score, let the chase be done with and let’s hit the pub”. It’s a view that might be shared by Australian fans too, though they might want to see the spinners do a better job, and Ricky Ponting hit form with a big innings. The underdog fan might want a minor miracle. What about the players?Ashish Bagai, Canada’s captain, was asked a direct question about it: Will Canada try to play 50 overs and be satisfied with the honor earned in doing that? If he found it condescending, or realistic, Bagai didn’t show it. He just laughed a laugh that was open to interpretation before saying, “This is our last game. We will like to end it with a win. We will try doing that”.For his part, Ponting said, “The time for experiments is over. We have three games in a week’s time before the quarters and we want to be playing at our best. We are looking to win tomorrow’s game comfortably.”For Canada this is as big as it gets. It is their final appearance on this stage before they disappear for four more years, and maybe more, depending on the ICC’s designs for 2015. It is also John Davison’s last game and Canada are thinking about the possibility of sending him to open. It will also be the last sighting of Bagai, a fabulous wicketkeeper, and Balaji Rao, a legspinner who has dared to flight, drift, and turn, something uncommon in the bigger teams.Australia’s 33-match unbeaten run in World Cups is unlikely to end tomorrow but they have to iron out a few wrinkles. Ponting’s form hasn’t been too flash and he knows it. “I would have liked to score more runs in the game against Zimbabwe but was run out. The other games too were the same. Getting 30 or 40 is not what you are after; you have to make big scores. Since we have not played too many games, we are out of touch.” The spinners haven’t set the world on fire as Ponting said the other day. Their batsmen will also be tested by Rao.

Form guide

(most recent first)
Australia: WWWWW
Canada: LWLLL

Watch out for…

Bagai’s wicketkeeping: MS Dhoni is the best at stumpings and Kumar Sangakkara is solid all round but Bagai has looked the most fluent and natural keeper in the competition. He is quick on his feet, uses soft hands, has a wonderful anticipation, and oozes confidence when he stands up to the medium-pacers. Of course Canada rarely get close to winning, and so we will never know how good Bagai is in pressure situations, but there is enough skill to make you watch him keep.After Shahid Afridi, Balaji Rao has to be the one of the best legspinners out there. While Afridi snares his victims with sliders and variations in pace, Rao tries to treat your senses. The slow amble to the crease, the ripping release, the courage to flight, the ability to get it to drift, and the turn he can extract, makes him a neat package to watch.When Brad Haddin is at his best, he reminds you of Damien Martyn, especially when he unfurls that silky drive through extra cover. The problem is he suddenly changes into Shane Watson. For a man who can time the ball so well, he often goes hard at the ball and tries to crash it up and over the field. Perhaps he still sees himself as a wicket keeper-batsman, whose job is to score quick runs, rather than a top-class batsman. Ponting urged him to convert his starts and that’s a sign that the captain wants Haddin to have higher ambitions.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch is the same one on which Australia played Kenya. So it is bound to get slower and aid turn. It will be interesting to see how the Australian batsmen fare against the spinners.

Team news

Considering the workload in playing three games in quick succession, Australia are likely to rest Shaun Tait and give John Hastings a go.Australia (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Brad Haddin (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Steven Smith, 8 John Hastings, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason KrejzaCanada (probable): 1 Hiral Patel, 2 John Davison, 3 Zubin Surkari, 4 Ashish Bagai (wk), 5 Jimmy Hansra, 6 Rizwan Cheema, 7 Ruvindu Gunasekara/Parth Desai, 8 Harvir Baidwan, 9 Khurram Chohan, 10 Henry Osinde, 11 Balaji Rao

Stats and trivia

• Ricky Ponting is only player to have scored 1000 World-cup runs as a captain. He is the second after Tendulkar to score over 1600 runs in World Cups.
• Ashish Bagai is third captain-wicketkeeper to score fifty on two or more occasions in the World Cup. Kumar Sangakkara and Alec Stewart are other two.

Quotes

“We don’t have any time to worry about experimentation and getting our skills right. It’s about going full steam and playing the brand of cricket that holds good in bigger games”
“Balaji Rao has done really well for us in this tournament, right from the warm-up games. He brings great value in the dressing room too and mentors the other young spinners.”