Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach Trevor Bayliss has said that Sunil Narine’s “accuracy and extra pace” have made him the most successful spinner in the IPL this season

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2012Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach Trevor Bayliss has said that Sunil Narine’s “accuracy and extra pace” have made him the most successful spinner in the IPL this season. Narine has picked up 21 wickets and is currently the joint leading wicket-taker with Lasith Malinga and Morne Morkel.”He is one of the mystery spinners,” Bayliss told the . “That, combined with accuracy and a bit of extra pace, has made him more than a handful. Even if you’re lucky to pick the ball he has bowled, there’s no guarantee that you’ll actually get him away for runs. The more batsmen play, they could pick him better, but Narine has it in him to stay one step ahead. He’s such an unbelievable talent.”Bayliss said that he heard about Narine’s bowling prowess even before Knight Riders signed him for $700,000 in the player auction in February. “I can’t remember who brought up his name first, but I remembered the New South Wales players had been very impressed with him in the Champions League,” Bayliss said. “When his name came up, I felt he’d be a good acquisition. As it turns out, Narine has fitted into the group very well and it’s a pleasure to see him bowl.”Bayliss said that even though Knight Riders have qualified for the playoffs, they must remain focussed. “A good team effort has taken us forward and the boys have shown a lot of character in some of the really close matches. The Twenty20 game is pretty even, so you’ve got to keep giving yourself a chance of winning,” Bayliss said. “We’ve lost a few, but still showed character, such an attitude helps. At this stage, though, we aren’t looking beyond Saturday’s match against the Pune Warriors, because if you get too far ahead of yourself, you could get a nasty surprise.”Bayliss also defended allrounder Yousuf Pathan, who has managed just 138 runs from 13 innings at 15.33. “More than me, I think he’s worried himself. But he’s been working hard and has taken steps forward. He’s doing the right things (before a match), but is going through a phase all players go through,” Bayliss said.He attributed the side’s success this season to strong leadership and quality training. “Gautam Gambhir has done a great job as captain. The way he captained [against Mumbai Indians] was sensational,” Bayliss said. “The squad is like one big happy family, with people getting along with each other. The boys do the right things at training. We may not be practising for long, but there’s quality in what we do. There are no half-measures. Basically, there’s a good feeling in the group.”

Ian Bell underlined his return to form with his second match-winning innings within a week as he helped Warwickshire to a six-wicket win over Northamptonshire

06-May-2012
ScorecardIan Bell underlined his return to form with his second match-winning innings within a week as he helped Warwickshire to a six-wicket win over Northamptonshire.Bell, who lost his place in England’s ODI squad over the winter, struck an unbeaten 82 to help Warwickshire to victory in their opening Clydesdale Bank 40 match of the season at Edgbaston.Bell found form ahead of the first Test against the West Indies at Lord’s with a century against Durham in the County Championship last week and maintained it with another unflustered innings as his side made 212 for 4 in reply to Northamptonshire’s 209 for 7. England colleague Jonathan Trott could make only 10.The pitch was the same one that was used for the Durham match, but it had lost much of its pace and suited the spinners.Bell, though, nursed Warwickshire through a difficult period in which they lost three wickets to Northamptonshire spinners James Middlebrook and Con de Lange to guide Warwickshire to victory with 15 balls to spare in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 103 in 13 overs with Rikki Clarke, who made an unbeaten 54.Bell, who insists he wants to recapture an England place in all formats of the game, completed a calm half-century from 62 balls with four fours and then launched left-armer David Willey for six high over long-on. Clarke rattled to his half-century from just 43 balls before he clipped Andrew Hall off his legs for the winning runs and his seventh boundary.Northamptonshire’s total, which was based around a busy 52 from captain Hall, was competitive but they lost wickets at crucial times and their only partnership of substance was 48 for the fifth wicket between Hall and Stephen Peters.Scotland international Kyle Coetzer made a breezy 44 which included a six and six fours, but the innings lost impetus after he got a leading edge to extra cover off Keith Barker.Barker, who took a wicket with his first ball when Alex Wakely chopped on, finished with three for 41 and helped to tie down the middle order with New Zealand off-spinner Jeetan Patel, who conceded only 24 in his eight overs.Peters helped his captain revive the innings, but he was bowled driving at Andy Miller when well set which left Hall to provide the late acceleration. Hall struck just two fours and pulled a short ball from Clarke for six as he reached a half century from 53 balls.Northamptonshire struck an early blow when Trott drove Chaminda Vaas low to Willey at point but Bell and Varun Chopra laid the platform for victory with a second-wicket stand of 57 before Chopra was taken down the leg side by Niall O’Brien off Middlebrook.De Lange took his first wickets in county cricket when William Porterfield was caught behind cutting out of the rough and Jim Troughton clipped to midwicket, but Bell and Clarke accelerated when the seamers returned to see their side home.

On an abridged day at Colwyn Bay, Stewart Walters made progress for Glamorgan

06-Jun-2012
ScorecardOnly 34 overs were possible on the rain-ruined first day at Colwyn Bay. Glamorgan, who won the toss, had reached 117 for 3 in their first innings shortly after lunch before persistent showers removed the prospect of any further play.The home side, who have yet to win a game this season, made a solid enough start reaching 55 for 0 with Gareth Rees hitting Azeem Rafiq for six to bring up the 50. But Australian left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc changed the complexion of the morning. removing openers Will Bragg and Gareth Rees in quick succession.Bragg edged a delivery behind and was followed by Rees, who went leg before wicket but only after a delayed decision by umpire Paul Baldwin. Glamorgan had reached 58 for 2 at that stage, which became 79 for 3 when Marcus North fell to a sharp return catch from off-spinner Azeem Rafiq, who dived low to his right.After getting to lunch at 99 for 3 Glamorgan had a profitable opening over after the interval with Stewart Walters taking 18 off Starc – three fours and a six which struck the pavilion roof at midwicket. But the players went off the field straight after that because of rain with Glamorgan 117 for 3 after 34 overs.An early tea was taken and the umpires – Baldwin and Mark Benson – were looking to restart proceedings at 5.15pm. But they were forced to call the day’s action off 45 minutes before the scheduled close because of more rain.

This is what a contest for the No. 1 ranking should be like; intense, gripping and fluctuating

The Report by Andrew McGlashan20-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDale Steyn removed Ravi Bopara for a duck during a fired-up spell•PA Photos

South Africa were a team transformed on the second day at The Oval. The intensity and aggression, lacking for most of Thursday, was back in the bowling as they limited England’s ambitions to 385 – not an insignificant total on pitch likely to offer increasing turn, but nowhere near enough to close out the match – then Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla gave an early indication of the sturdiness of South Africa’s top order.Before rain took an hour out of the evening session and zapped a little of the spark from the day this had developed into a contest worthy of a series with the No. 1 spot up for grabs. South Africa surged out of the blocks in a gripping start to the day, led by a revitalised Dale Steyn, to immediately set back England’s ambitions by removing Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara in consecutive overs. England’s batting was given its toughest examination by pace since the Pakistan series in 2010, but they have not reached No. 1 by shirking a challenge.Matt Prior, who had again showed why he can lay claim to being the top wicketkeeper-batsman in Tests, found support from Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann – the much-vaunted lower order – to ensure wickets seven to nine added 99 priceless runs. This was the ebb and flow expected between two such evenly-matched teams.South Africa did not find life easy at the start of their innings. In his second over James Anderson produced a pin-point inswinger to trap Alviro Petersen lbw. But that was the only breakthrough England managed. They targeted Smith’s pads, which brought some close shaves but also scoring opportunities through the leg side, while Amla timed the ball beautifully off front and back foot. Amla finds it almost impossible to hit an ugly boundary.One delivery, though, from Swann will have interested England more than most when it turned sharply to square up Smith on the back foot. There was also an opportunity, shortly before the close, for a vital wicket when the introduction of Bopara nearly paid off. Amla drove off the back foot and the edge flew to Andrew Strauss’s left – he was standing wide at first slip – and he could not grab it one-handed. Strauss, as is his style, verged on the defensive with his fields once the partnership was settled.Whatever had been said by the South Africans overnight made a huge difference. Steyn was curiously subdued on the opening day, sending down 21 wicketless overs and needing treatment off the field on his ankle, but emerged on Friday morning with a performance much more akin to the No. 1 fast bowler in the world. In the third over of the day he removed Cook, England’s lynchpin, who added just one to his overnight score when he dragged a drive into his stumps.That opened the way for his Essex team-mate, Bopara, to resume his Test career at No. 6 but it was not a happy comeback. The ball after a loud shot for lbw from Steyn – the delivery was just clipping leg stump – Bopara was left in two minds how to play a bouncer. He was caught between hooking and leaving, which resulted in him dangling his bat high in the air and feathering an edge to AB de Villiers.The quality of the bowling – Steyn’s pace and Vernon Philander’s subtle swing – kept England’s batsmen virtually scoreless. The opening eight overs of the day brought six runs for the loss of the two key wickets. Prior picked up the first boundary of the day when offered some rare width by Steyn, but was involved in a horrid mix-up with Ian Bell next ball that could have led to another wicket.Yet it was only momentary relief for the home side. Jacques Kallis was introduced as first change and produced an opening over of the highest class to dislodge Bell. He started with two outswingers before his fourth ball nipped back, Bell shouldered arms and the ball grazed the off bail. Kallis initially appealed for lbw before realising the job was already done. England had lost 4 for 33 going back to Kevin Pietersen’s gloved pull on Thursday evening and the game looked very different.The four-pronged pace attack offered few poor deliveries, although Morkel was the least consistent and Prior took advantage with a pull, a drive and a cut to relieve a little of the pressure. Prior could have gone on 17, when Jacques Rudolph spilled a low chance at gully, with England on 298 for 6.Having started to steady the innings it will have been galling for England that a poor delivery from Imran Tahir broke the seventh-wicket stand when Bresnan dragged on a short ball. However, Prior and Broad resumed after lunch with a positive mindset as boundaries started to flow. Prior led the way with a series of wonderful drives, but Broad wasn’t lost in comparison as he drove Steyn off the back foot through cover. Philander broke the counterattack when he swung one back into Broad although England did not block their way through the rest of the innings.Swann was clonked on the helmet second ball by Steyn, but responded by swatting the fast bowler for two boundaries in his next over. Swann is unlikely to miss the opportunity to remind his team-mates that he was the one left stranded at the end after Prior edged Morne Morkel and Anderson gloved down the leg side four balls later. That made it five catches for de Villiers in a very competent display as Mark Boucher’s replacement.

Kevin Pietersen has not made a habit of helping himself off the field – at least not this summer – and it could be argued that maintaining his recent vow of silence today was counter-productive

David Lloyd at Taunton29-Aug-2012
ScorecardKevin Pietersen has not made a habit of helping himself off the field – at least not this summer – and it could be argued that maintaining his recent vow of silence today was counter-productive.Saying too much has led to Pietersen current state of separation from England. But saying nothing at all here after rain had ruled out any chance of cricket and following Andrew Strauss’s retirement speech at Lord’s will be seen by some as a bad misjudgment.The – for the moment, at least – former England batsman has kept his thoughts to himself for a fortnight, and wisely so. Here, though, a short statement praising Strauss’s achievements over the years and wishing the ex-captain well for the future would have gone down well. Perhaps he has done that privately and, if so, then fair play to him, but a short public tribute might have mended some fences.Instead, Pietersen turned down several requests for a TV interview and it was made clear to newspaper and web site journalists that he would not be speaking. Instead, with the rain hammering down, he put himself through a series of shuttle runs on the sodden Taunton outfield.Marcus Trescothick, Strauss’s long-time opening partner at Test level, was happy to chat.”I wasn’t surprised, although I was hoping Andrew would continue as an England player,” he said. “I didn’t think he would come back and play county cricket once his Test career had ended and the only other scenario I could foresee was him quitting the captaincy while continuing to play Test cricket for a while.”He took England to No 1 in the world which had been a massive challenge for him and for the ECB, and winning the Ashes away from home would probably be the pinnacle of his time as captain.”I’m sure he would like to have gone out on a high by beating South Africa and keeping the No 1 ranking but sadly that didn’t prove possible.”I don’t believe the Kevin Pietersen issue had any effect on his decision. I’m sure this has been part of his planning for some time.”We were opening partners for England for a number of years and we became good friends. He was a good guy to share a dressing room with a strong leader. I wish him nothing but the best for the future.”

Glamorgan have announced that 22-year-old seam bowler James Harris will leave the county where he made his debut aged 16

31-Aug-2012
ScorecardGlamorgan have announced that 22-year-old seam bowler James Harris will leave the county where he made his debut aged 16 at the end of the season. The news came as Glamorgan batted their way to a draw against Northamptonshire, with Stewart Walters making 98.Harris, an England Lions player, is contracted to the Welsh club until the end of next summer but has a non-promotion clause that allows him to leave a year early. His most likely destination is Nottinghamshire, who are in Division One and offered the player a contract earlier this week.Harris, 22, has played 64 first-class matches since his debut in 2007, taking 227 wickets at an average of 27.53 runs. Glamorgan had been keen to retain the services of one of their brightest talents but were unable to reach an agreement.A club statement read: “Over the past few weeks, the club have held a number of meetings with James to discuss his future career, which culminated in the club tabling a substantial contract offer. Sadly, this offer was not accepted and James will now be leaving the club.”Glamorgan Cricket would like to thank James for his outstanding contribution to the club since making his debut back in 2007. He is a talented young cricketer and departs with the club’s best wishes. Like all other cricket supporters, we hope he will be able to fulfil his England ambitions in the near future.”Harris, the quickest man to reach 100 and 200 first-class wickets for Glamorgan, had a slow start to the current campaign after missing a month with a hernia problem but caught the eye with figures of 6 for 102 in the four-day game between England Lions and Australia A at Edgbaston earlier this month.In the Division Two game at Cardiff, Walters fell two short of his second century of the season as Glamorgan batted out a draw on the final day. Walters scored 98 from 226 balls with 14 fours and Marcus North contributed 57 as Glamorgan reached 302 for 5 in reply to Northamptonshire’s 432 for 8 declared.It was a tame final day as the captains – Mark Wallace and Andrew Hall – could not agree to set up a game. Glamorgan resumed on 10 without loss but, with little to play for, they reached 75 for 2 at lunch from 43 overs – at a pitiful run rate of 1.74. William Bragg and Nick James were the men to fall.Con de Lange thought he had a second victim on the stroke of lunch but Stephen Peters put down a difficult chance at short midwicket when North had made just one run. He went on to make his sixth half-century in 12 Championship innings this season.But North went shortly after reaching his own half-century to a fine one-handed catch by Alex Wakely off Hall. Wakely had to leave the field, however for treatment on an injured finger. Three overs later Ben Wright was neatly stumped down the leg-side by David Murphy standing up to Lee Daggett, to leave Glamorgan 177 for 4.Walters and Allenby put on 101 for the fifth wicket before Walters was bowled via an inside edge by Hall as Glamorgan went in search of a third batting point. Allenby and Wallace took Glamorgan to a third batting point before both sides shook hands.

Pakistan begin their World Twenty20 campaign against New Zealand, who crushed Bangladesh on Friday

The Preview by George Binoy22-Sep-2012

Match facts

September 23, 2012
Start time 1530 local (1000 GMT)Dav Whatmore has a word with Kamran Akmal in the lead-up to Pakistan’s first game•AFP

Big Picture

Pakistan, we’ve been expecting you. The team with the best World Twenty20 record is the last to open its campaign in Sri Lanka. Pakistan have World Twenty20 pedigree. In the first tournament in 2007, they were finalists, and so nearly champions. They won in 2009, and in 2010 they had one foot in the final before Michael Hussey blind-sided them.They’ve been put in the toughest group in 2012, with New Zealand and Bangladesh, and will play their first game against the stronger of those teams. Win against New Zealand, and Pakistan are almost certain to make it to the Super Eights; lose, and they will face a must-win against Bangladesh.The strength of Mohammad Hafeez’s side is unquestionably its bowling. In Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi, three bowlers of varied skills, Pakistan possess the highest wicket-takers in Twenty20 internationals. Any of those bowlers can turn a Twenty20 game single-handedly and a collective performance can be devastating. Their batting is less formidable; it can be hot or cold. In the two warm-ups for the World Twenty20, Pakistan chased 186 successfully against India but failed to achieve 112 against England. The challenge, as ever, will be for Pakistan to combine their enviable talent with discipline.New Zealand go into this game with the opportunity to win Group D. Doing so will make their progress to the Super Eight independent of the result of the Pakistan-Bangladesh fixture. Their evisceration of Bangladesh by 59 runs on Friday was almost faultless. The key battle in that game was tipped to be between New Zealand’s batsmen and Bangladesh’s spinners. They took 117 off 12 overs from the slow men. A strong performance against a more formidable Pakistan will make people sit up and take notice of a team that isn’t considered to be a strong contender for the 2012 title.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)Pakistan: LWWWL
New Zealand: WWLLL

Watch out for

The majority of New Zealand batsmen: Brendon McCullum, with his 123 off 58 balls, demolished Bangladesh single-handedly. So aggressive was his approach and so clinical his execution that there was almost no pressure on his team-mates. All they needed to do was give McCullum strike. It’s unlikely that anyone will play as explosive an innings against Pakistan, so the contributions need to be more collective to reduce the reliance on McCullum and Ross Taylor.Saeed and Shahid: In Ajmal and Afridi, not only do Pakistan possess the highest and third highest wicket-takers in this format, but also the third and fourth lowest economy-rates among bowlers who’ve played at least 20 Twenty20 internationals. Ajmal goes at 6.03 per over on average and Afridi 6.10. They strike and they stifle.

Team news

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill sustained a minor strain to his left hamstring while fielding against Bangladesh and has not recovered sufficiently to play Pakistan. He is expected to be fit for their first Super Eights match if New Zealand qualify. Their only reserve batsman is BJ Watling.New Zealand (probable): 1 Rob Nicol, 2 James Franklin, 3 Brendon McCullum (wk), 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Kane Williamson, 6 BJ Watling, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Kyle Mills.The four players Pakistan are likely to leave out of their starting line-up are Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Sami, Raza Hasan and Yasir Arafat.Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Imran Nazir, 3 Nasir Jamshed, 4 Kamran Akmal (wk), 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

Pitch and conditions

The forecast is for some showers in Pallekele. It threatened to rain during the Bangladesh-New Zealand game as well but there were no interruptions. The spinners didn’t get much turn either, with the ball coming on to the bat.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan played New Zealand in Pallekele during the 2011 World Cup and fed Ross Taylor a diet of full tosses and deliveries that were too straight. He scored 131 off 124 balls.
• New Zealand and Pakistan have played eight Twenty20 internationals and the head-to-head record is 5-3 in Pakistan’s favour. New Zealand’s three wins, however, came in the last four matches.
• In Twenty20 matches over the last 12 months, Afridi and Ajmal have economy-rates of less than six an over. Mohammad Hafeez and Sohail Tanvir conceded 5.82 and 5.94 on average during this period.

Quotes

“I’ve run out of words to praise him. His T20 performances have been match winning for Pakistan. Yes, recently, he has not performed very well but the way he is working hard and focusing on this tournament, I wish him the very best, and God willing he performs well for the team as always.”
“It didn’t spin as much as we thought it might. When you play a second time on it, it could probably spin a little bit more. We’ll have to wait and see.”
.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Mumbai Indians v Yorkshire Champions League T20 match in Cape Town

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria17-Oct-2012

Match facts

October 18, 2012
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)Mumbai Indians will look to their captain, Harbhajan Singh, to exhibit his trademark fighting spirit•AFP

Big Picture

Teams from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand have already humbled their illustrious IPL rivals, and that could be the inspiration Yorkshire – the only English team in the competition – need to score another upset when they take on the blue and flashy-gold festooned Mumbai Indians. At stake are first points for both teams and a chance to stay close to the two table toppers – Sydney Sixers and Lions.Yorkshire, the runners up from England’s T20 competition, came into the main group stage the hard way, unlike the No. 4 IPL side, scoring solid wins over Uva Next and Trinidad & Tobago, before being blown away by the Sydney Sixers pace attack in their first group match. Mumbai Indians do not pose a threat with their bowling in these conditions, except perhaps through Lasith Malinga, who the batsmen will need to be careful against. Yorkshire don’t posses any internationally known batsmen, but as Gary Ballance showed against T&T, they do have the skill to surprise any team. They have lost their big name – the South African David Miller – to first-class commitments, so a lot will also depend on Joe Root, who hasn’t fired in the tournament yet, to give Ballance support.The fate of the match could be determined by how Mumbai’s strong batting performs. They have innings-builders and big-hitters all the way down to No. 8. In their last game, the tactic to send Mitchell Johnson up the order backfired but the rest of the batsmen still put up a competitive 157 on the board. Sachin Tendulkar scored a scratchy 24-ball 16 and would be desperate for some runs to ward-off the cloud of criticism that has engulfed him lately and push Mumbai Indians to a safer position.

Watch out for…

The experienced Ryan Sidebottom is the leader of the Yorkshire bowling attack and he showed his worth in the crucial qualifying match against T&T in which he picked up three wickets for 13. Knowing that Mumbai Indians struggled against the left-arm bowlers – Dirk Nannes and Sohail Tanvir – in the last match, his form will be crucial. Sidebottom still bowls with pace and his accurate yorkers can test the best.Harbhajan Singh had a bad start to the tournament. Not only did he appear short of ideas when Quinton de Kock and Neil McKenzie took control in the previous match, but his insipid bowling was dealt with easily. Harbhajan, though, led Mumbai Indians to the Champions League title last year with some fighting performances and his resurgence will be crucial if Mumbai want to impose themselves with the ball.

Stats and trivia

• Sachin Tendulkar’s strike-rate of 119.70 for Mumbai Indians is the second-lowest in their top-order, above only Dinesh Karthik’s 115.76. But Tendulkar is the only batsman to score more than 2000 runs for the team.

Quotes

“It’s good for cricket. The Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are dominant when they play in their home conditions. Having a tournament here gives a chance to everyone and there are no favourites.”

Any sense of haughtiness among Australia’s players, after what amounted to a points-victory over South Africa in Brisbane, has been ardently shooed away by Michael Hussey

Daniel Brettig18-Nov-2012Any sense of haughtiness among Australia’s players, after what amounted to a points-victory over South Africa in Brisbane, has been ardently shooed away by Michael Hussey as the two sides reconvened in Adelaide. Much chatter was devoted to the momentum the hosts gained over the final three days of the Gabba Test, recovering from a poor first day with the ball and a dire first hour with the bat to be the only side with a chance of victory on the final afternoon.Chief among the proponents of this view was Australia’s captain Michael Clarke, who opened his regular newspaper column with the following words: “It’s amazing how much can be taken out of a draw”. Hussey, however, was intent on snapping Australia out of repose and back into a state of urgency, rejecting the notion that Brisbane’s psychological blows would have much bearing on proceedings at Adelaide Oval from Thursday.Reminded of the corresponding sequence of Test matches during the 2010-11 Ashes series, in which England batted their way out of a considerable hole in Brisbane and then took that confidence into fashioning a startling first half-hour in Adelaide, Hussey said the first session of the second Test would say far more about its outcome than any of the days’ play that preceded it in the first.One significant difference between 2010 and 2012 is the additional times the two sides have had between matches, allowing South Africa’s players to holiday while Australia’s returned to home ports. Whatever fatigue developed over the course of two lengthy first innings in Brisbane has thus been suitably flushed out.”I don’t really like to think we take any momentum coming out of Brisbane,” Hussey said. “I think we start nil-all again, and the first session is very important. Coming out of Brisbane in the Ashes a couple of years ago we lost the first session against England here in Adelaide very poorly, we were 3 for 1 in the first half an hour of the match and were basically playing catch up from then, so it’s very important that we start this match well.”What’s happened in Brisbane is gone, it doesn’t really matter, what matters is that first hour, that first half an hour in this Test match – we’ve got to start better than we did a couple of years ago against England.”Clarke used the term “patchy” to define Australia’s overall display at the Gabba, and this is something that must improve if his team is to prosper this week. Should the bowlers be called upon first, they will have an even narrower window for early wickets than was afforded by the Brisbane surface, as Adelaide’s turf can lose its vestigial early moisture in a matter of minutes. The top-order batsmen, meanwhile, cannot rightly expect to give up 3 for 40 and again be bailed out by Clarke and Hussey.South Africa are also unlikely to be so accommodating again if they have the chance to press home an early advantage. It was clear in Brisbane that the loss of the second day to rain sapped Graeme Smith’s side of the expectation that there was sufficient time to win the match, but no such precipitation is forecast for Adelaide and its desert climate. Hussey would not entertain the suggestion that South Africa’s Test side is not collectively ruthless enough, pointing to the world rankings as proof of their capacity to go in for the kill.”They’re the No. 1 team in the world, so they’ve obviously been ruthless in Test matches and won Test matches playing their style of play,” Hussey said. “So I don’t think you can question the way they go about their Test cricket, because they’ve been so successful for quite a period of time.”I think we’re close definitely, and I believe we can beat them definitely, but we’re going to have to play good, hard disciplined Test match cricket for long periods of time. We can’t just do it for an hour or a session, we’ve got to be able to do that all day, and back it up day after day. The one thing they’ve been able to do in the past few years is they play good, hard disciplined Test cricket for long periods of time, and that’s why they’re No. 1.”That’s what we’re aspiring to do and I don’t think we’re far away, particularly playing in our home conditions, where we know the conditions really well. I think that definitely brings us closer.”Shane Watson arrived in Adelaide with a steep task ahead of him in order to be available for the Test, and his success in recovering from a calf strain will be monitored closely from the time Australia commence training on Monday morning. “I believe he’s been running, so that’s positive, there’s still three or four days leading up to the Test match, so I’m sure he’ll be given every opportunity to prove his fitness to get ready for the second Test,” Hussey said. “I did speak to him in Brisbane and he was very keen to try and make sure he’s right for this Test match.”Even batting a long innings can take a bit out of the body, so he’s got to make sure he can get through that first, then hopefully offer something with the ball as well.”

England have omitted Kevin Pietersen for their T20 and one-day squads in New Zealand

David Hopps23-Dec-2012Kevin Pietersen has been omitted from England’s one-day squads for their tour of New Zealand next year as England’s selectors have accepted that he needs to rest to survive a heavy international schedule.Formal rest periods have become ever more prevalent in England cricket, but Pietersen’s absence from the New Zealand squads as England look to manage his workload is nevertheless a notable concession to the player so soon after his lengthy dispute with the England hierarchy.Geoff Miller, England’s national selector, said: “There are a number of players who we have decided not to select for parts of the competitive programme this winter as we look to manage their workloads effectively while ensuring we remain competitive across all formats. We feel this is the best way of keeping players as physically and mentally fresh as possible during a demanding 2013 and beyond.”Kevin Pietersen will miss the limited overs tour of New Zealand with Graeme Swann missing the T20 leg of the tour. This approach also provides an opportunity for talented young players to gain more international experience which will be important for their development and the development of England sides in the future.”Pietersen is expected to play in the Test series in March before heading to India for the IPL ahead of the English season.Since his much-publicised “reintegration” into the England set-up Pietersen has missed two Twenty20 series despite being one of the world’s most outstanding players in this format. He was also rested for the two matches against India, but England still drew the series 1-1 after winning in Mumbai and registered their highest winning total in Twenty20 cricket in the process.England’s introduction of a job share in their coaching set-up, with Andy Flower running the Test squad and Ashley Giles taking charge of the the ODI and Twenty20 sides in the New Year, supervised by Flower as overall team director, is another recognition of cricket’s demanding calendar.England have played 44 matches in all formats this year and the ECB has now accepted that for players and management rest periods are essential if they are to maintain hunger, fitness and a stable family life.England’s T20 squad in New Zealand shows two changes from the original India party with Stuart Broad, recovered from a heel injury, returning to captain the side and Steven Finn also called up after back trouble. Jonny Bairstow, who left the T20 series against India early for personal reasons, is also named. England play two warm-up fixtures against a New Zealand XI in preparation for a three-match series starting on February 9 in Auckland.For the three match ODI series, which begins on February 17 in Hamilton, Swann, James Anderson and Jonathan Trott return to the side after being rested for the ODI tour of India.
As well as announcing squads for all three formats in New Zealand, England’s selectors also put Joe Root in charge of the England Lions one-day tour of Australia in February, barely a week after his mentor, the former England captain Michael Vaughan, had identified him as a future England captain.Root, who made his England Test debut earlier this month against India, will captain a Lions side in five one-day matches against Australia A which includes 12 members of the 2012 England Performance who have recently returned from India.Reece Topley, Essex’s left-arm quick bowler, has an opportunity to win his first England Lions cap alongside Gary Ballance, Varun Chopra, Ben Foakes, Toby Roland-Jones and Chris Wright.Twenty20 squad: Stuart Broad (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, James Tredwell, Luke Wright.ODI squad: Alastair Cook (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott.Lions squad: Joe Root, Gary Balance, Scott Borthwick, Danny Briggs, Varun Chopra, Matthew Coles, Ben Foakes, Alex Hales, James Harris, Simon Kerrigan, Toby Roland-Jones, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Reece Topley, James Vince, Chris Wright.This article was updated on December 23 at 6.25pm after the ECB advised that James Vince had been omitted from the Lions squad because of an administrative error.