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Dominant England cruise into final

England’s bowling attack, led by James Anderson and James Tredwell, set up a comprehensive victory completed by Jonathan Trott to secure a place in the Champions Trophy final

The Report by David Hopps 19-Jun-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJonathan Trott made sure England had no problems during their chase•Getty ImagesEngland and South Africa had not met in a major ICC semi-final since the World Cup in Sydney in 1992, a match which AB de Villiers admitted before the start of play ended with him “crying myself to sleep.” Grown man now or not, after the mess South Africa made of this tie, he could be forgiven for repeating the experience.De Villiers is no longer an innocent child, he is captain of a South Africa one-day side which throughout his lifetime has repeatedly flattered to deceive in ICC tournaments. So it proved once more. England rampaged through the top order as eight wickets fell for 80. It was a muggy morning at Kennington Oval, England won a favourable toss, and for once the white Kookaburra swung, but South Africa contributed immensely to their downfall.David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt did at least regain a measure of respectability. A record ninth-wicket partnership for South Africa of 95 in 16 overs took them to 175. But all that did was provide Jonathan Trott with a prolonged opportunity to bat much as he wished, seemingly oblivious to the pressure of a Champions Trophy semi-final. He finished with a spritely 82 not out from 84 balls, a seven-wicket win done and dusted with more than 12 overs to spare.Trott’s rate of progress is constantly pored over, his displays routinely regaled by some, condemned by others. As England lost their openers, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell, with 41 on the board, and de Villiers shuffled his bowlers impatiently, looking for a magic trick, no England supporter was carping. They yearned for his stability.Let me watch in peace, they urged him, build your bubble, do it your way. South Africa wanted his wicket more than any other, but Trott and Root, one imperturbable, the other full of vim, confirmed England’s place in the final with a stand of 105 in 20 overs. Root left cursing himself, bowled behind his legs by JP Duminy for 48, but Trott remained productive to the end, completing his ritual post-match scratching of his guard even as Eoin Morgan tried to offer his congratulations.The match was essentially settled by the 23rd over. South Africa batted skittishly, as if 300-plus and the sooner the better, was essential. Critically, they lost their most influential batsman, Hashim Amla for a single and the reverberations of that were felt deep into the order. The coach, Gary Kirsten, voiced what many were thinking. “We choked,” he said. To some extent it was a traditional exercise in self-flagellation because this was not a hugely strong South Africa side from the off.England’s mood was set by the connoisseur of swing bowling, James Anderson, whose opening spell of 2 for 11 was extended to seven overs as his captain, Cook, sought to break South Africa early while the conventional swing persisted.Wickets in the first two overs of South Africa’s innings got England moving. Anderson can cut a serious, brooding figure, but the closeness of the morning left him full of smiles before the start. He removed Colin Ingram for nought with his fifth ball, outswinger followed by inswinger and an lbw verdictSteven Finn has been stalking around the Champions Trophy, none too happy about his omission from the side, but Tim Bresnan’s absence, to be with his wife Hannah with their baby imminent, gave him his first appearance of the tournament. Cook gave him the new ball and challenged him to channel that anger and his fourth delivery brought England the prize wicket of Amla as he failed to withdraw from an outswinger, the first of six catches behind the stumps for Jos Buttler.Even in the early overs, England were planning for the possibility of reverse swing on a dry square later in the day. Stuart Broad began to bowl cross seam, to encourage wear on the ball, as early as the 10th over – and it brought him a wicket, too, as de Villiers was out without scoring, lashing at a wide one and caught at the wicket off an under-edge.Peterson’s appearance at No. 3 encapsulated South Africa’s confusion. He was a pinch hitter in inappropriate conditions. If his left-handedness was perceived as an advantage, Anderson revels against left-handers when the ball is swinging. It was an unconvincing ploy. He acquitted himself better than most, taking three boundaries off a wayward over from Finn before Anderson had him lbw.But this was not just a story about quick bowling. South Africa were so destabilised that a few overs of routine, if intelligently-delivered, offspin by James Tredwell caused further havoc. Tredwell, who was substituting for Graeme Swann, had 3 for 19 in his seven overs as well as causing the downfall, run out, of Ryan McLaren. The bounty that fell upon him was recognised with the man-of-the-match award.No batsman summed up South Africa’s failures more than Duminy. He was all at sea during his 11-ball stay. He survived a first-ball nought when he reviewed an lbw decision for Broad and was reprieved as replays showed the ball had pitched outside leg stump. He then should have fallen lbw third ball but Tredwell, with everything in his favour as Duminy was beaten on the back foot, politely refused a review as if offered a second piece of lemon drizzle cake. Duminy soon chopped on against Tredwell in any case.Tredwell’s success did not end there. Faf du Plessis, who had been as secure as anyone, fell for 26 when he flashed at a quicker, flatter ball and was caught at the wicket.The wicket, though, that brought hearty applause from Swann in the England dressing room will not appear against his name. It was the run out of McLaren who was so unhinged by flight and turn that he ran several paces down the pitch. Trott, who caught the ball at first slip, had the presence of mind to throw down the stumps to effect the run out.At 80 for 8, South Africa’s one consolation was that they batted deep. They at least avoided the lowest one-day score ever made at The Oval batting first, New Zealand’s 158 against West Indies in 1975.They immediately took the batting Powerplay, which Miller greeted by smashing Finn over long-on for six. Miller unveiled his T20 one-legged slash over point, Broad disappearing for six more, and Kleinveldt slugged away when Cook finally felt obliged in the 30th over to introduce his weaker bowlers in tandem.Broad finally ended the recovery with successive short balls to dismiss Kleinveldt and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, first ball. All that remained for England was a regulation dose of Trott, the finest suppressor of panic disorder on the market.

Franklin ton leads Wellington to win

A round-up of the Ford Trophy matches played on March 19, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2013
ScorecardA century from James Franklin and a six-wicket haul from seamer Mark Gillespie took Wellington to a crushing 106-run victory over Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve. The result pushed Wellington to third place after the final round of matches ahead of the playoffs.Wellington lost wickets early on in their innings, with none of the top four lasting too long. But at 93 for 4, Franklin struck a 63-run stand with Harry Boam and followed it up with a 122-run stand with Luke Woodcock (44), which was broken only in the final over. Franklin finished with 114 off 103 balls as Wellington gave their opponents a stiff target of 281.In reply, Northern Districts lost wickets regularly. Gillespie did the early damage with three top-order wickets and fellow seamer Boam chipped in with two crucial wickets to leave them struggling. Besides Corey Anderson, who scored 49, there was no resistance from the batsmen. Gillespie cleaned up the tail to bowl them out for 174 in the 40th over.
ScorecardOtago finished their tournament run with their second win, against Auckland by six wickets in Dunedin. Seamers Jimmy Neesham and Ian Butler helped bowl Auckland out for 221, before a solid top-order batting effort, led by fifties from Michael Bracewell and Nathan McCullum, took them to the target in the 46th over.Batting first, Auckland progressed in stops and starts. A few of their batsmen got starts, but no one carried on to anchor a strong total. Craig Cachopa, who top-scored with 51, opener Anaru Kitchen (38) and Donovan Grobbelaar (38) were the chief contributors. Neesham took 4 for 36, and Butler took three wickets.
ScorecardCentral Districts finished the league stage at the bottom of the points table, with their fifth defeat of the season – a 156-run loss to Canterbury in Christchurch.Chasing 292, they were in the hunt till the 23rd over with Jamie How, who scored 83, leading them to 120 for 4. But his wicket sparked a collapse – they lost six wickets for 15 runs to be bowled out for 135 in 28 overs, with seamer Logan van Beek taking four of those wickets. Besides How, there was no resistance from Central Districts as eight batsmen scored in single digits.Canterbury’s innings revolved around solid half-centuries from middle-order batsmen Tom Latham (77) and Henry Nicholls (54). Other top-order batsmen also chipped in with useful contributions to help build a commanding total. A total of 34 extras, including 19 wides, pushed their score to 291.

Samaraweera aims for county success

Thilan Samaraweera is looking to make a career with English county Worcestershire before he eventually quits the game

Sa'adi Thawfeeq10-Mar-2013Thilan Samaraweera, the Sri Lanka batsman who announced his international retirement earlier this week, is looking to make a career with English county Worcestershire before he eventually quits the game.Samaraweera decided to quit Tests and ODIs after he was left out of the 15-member squad named for the first Test against Bangladesh but will continue to play first-class cricket.”I want to do well for Worcestershire so that it will open the doors for other younger players from Sri Lanka to play county cricket,” Samaraweera said. “I tried to get into the county circuit for the last five years but I couldn’t because every county is focusing on signing up Australians and South Africans. I had a chat with coach Graham Ford in 2012 and it was largely due to his efforts that I got the county contract. I want to make the most of it.”Samaraweera said that it was former India batsman VVS Laxman who first got him interested in playing county cricket. Laxman played a couple of seasons for Lancashire, in 2007 and 2009. “When I met Laxman in Sri Lanka some years ago I spoke about getting to play for Lancashire. He told me that I should play county cricket because it improves your game as a professional and teaches you to take pressure and so on. Unfortunately I didn’t get a break at that time. Now at this stage of my career I want to do well and pave the way for the youngsters.”Samaraweera, who leaves for England this week, said that he had no regrets quitting international cricket at the age of 36.”I am happy the way I am leaving cricket although I have so many sad memories also. I was dropped three-four times in my career and every time they dropped me the selectors would say they want to bring a youngster in. They moved me around in the batting order often and the first player to get the chop from the selectors was always Thilan Samaraweera. I can’t control that. But at the end of the day I am really happy with what I’ve achieved.”I could have done better if I had scored 18-20 Test hundreds but when I started people never thought that I will end up playing 81 Tests and score over 5000 runs average nearly 50 and play in a World Cup final. When I started there were a lot of better players than me but I came to the top through sheer hard work and sacrifice. Hard work is the key word for me.”One of the blots on Samaraweera’s career was the failure in his final international series, managing only 79 runs in six Test innings in Australia. “When the country needed me as a batsman in Test cricket I delivered but unfortunately people only remember the shot I played in my last innings at Sydney. It was a bad shot. When people meet me they always remind me about that shot. I was a bit disappointed playing that stroke. If we had another 70-80 runs it would have been another historical moment in our cricket. My dismissal and Angelo’s (Mathews) run out was the turning point in that Test. But it happens in international cricket. You can go through bad patches in a series which you cannot help.”

Narrow escape for Sylhet Division squad

Sylhet Division, the Bangladesh domestic side, had a narrow escape when their team bus nearly plunged off a bridge near Bhairab, 83 km east of Dhaka

Mohammad Isam11-Dec-2012The squad of Sylhet Division, the Bangladesh domestic side, had a narrow escape when their team bus nearly plunged off a bridge near Bhairab, 83 km east of Dhaka after the driver lost control in the narrow highway. None of the players or coaching staff was hurt, they have not reached home despite having left Rangpur, the venue of their last National Cricket League match, 24 hours ago.According to Rajin Saleh, the former Bangladesh captain and Sylhet stalwart, the bus struck the railing and hung out off the bridge. The front part of the bus was badly damaged after slamming against the barrier.”We just about escaped,” Rajin told ESPNcricinfo. “The bus was probably approached by a lorry from the right but most of us were asleep. We started off from Rangpur at 5:30 pm last evening and the drive was slow because of the fog. Probably it was a lorry which suddenly came, at least that’s what the driver told us.”They vacated the bus and the next one arrived an hour later, which took them a few miles down the road where they met a roadblock due to a political strike from Tuesday morning across the country.”We have been stuck in this restaurant in Bhairab since 7:00am this morning,” Rajin said. “The people here have cooked for us but we won’t get out of this place until the strike ends in the evening.”The accident occurred on one of the world’s deadliest highways, the N2, which connects Dhaka and Sylhet, and according to the road-safety experts, kills around 750 people a year.

Hales withdraws from BPL

Alex Hales, the England and Nottinghamshire opener, will not take part in the controversial Bangladesh Premier League which starts next week

Andrew McGlashan12-Jan-2013Alex Hales, the England and Nottinghamshire opener, will not take part in the controversial Bangladesh Premier League which starts next week even though none of the international players due to appear in the tournament has yet received a contract.Hales had been bought at the auction by Duronto Rajshahi and insisted he would join the event despite strong concerns from the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) who remain extremely worried about payment and contract issues.Hales recently joined Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League as a replacement for the injured Marlon Samuels and enhanced his reputation by smashing 89 off 52 balls just hours after stepping off a place from England.He is guaranteed at least one more BBL match with the Renegades in a semi-final against Brisbane Heat on Tuesday and, it is understood, that has been enough for him to have a change of heart over the BPL, for which he would only have been available for a short period before reporting for Twenty20 duty with England on the New Zealand tour.Hales, along with Nottinghamshire team-mates Michael Lumb and Samit Patel, has been barred by his county from putting his name forward for this year’s IPL as it clashes with the English county season.Currently, Luke Wright, who like Hales will not be available for the whole tournament, is still set to take up his BPL deal.Angus Porter, the chief executive of the PCA, said that none of the promises made by the BPL organisers ahead of the second running of the event have been delivered. “We are five days away from the tournament and there had been a promise that contracts would be delivered well in advance,” he said. “This hasn’t happened, and now there’s no chance it will happen before the event.”I still fully expect some international players to take part, but they will be heading into another unknown situation with very few assurances. I would really like the BPL to work, Bangladesh cricket needs it to be a success, but history tells us that it looks unlikely at the moment.”The problems do not stop at the international stars, either. ESPNcricinfo understands that some of the Barisal players are refusing to sign No Objection Certificates for their franchises until they are paid last year’s fees.

Javeria Rauf included in Pakistan squad

Pakistan have brought in fast bowler Javeria Rauf and axed Masooma Junaid and Rabiya Shah for the World T20 in September

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2012Pakistan has made two changes in the squad of 14 for the Women’s World T20 in September, from the one that won tri-nation women’s one-day series in Ireland last week – rookie fast bowler Javeria Rauf has been brought in, while Masooma Junaid has been left out.Rabiya Shah, who was part of the Ireland tour, has also been axed while allrounder Sana Mir will continue to lead the side.Pakistan have been placed in Group A along with England, Australia and India and they open their campaign against England in Galle on September 27.Asian champions Pakistan were knocked out in the group stages in the 2010 World T20 in the West Indies. The team would look to capitalise on their recent successes, as they won the tri-series besides a one-off one-dayer against Bangladesh.Team: Sana Mir (captain), Bismah Maroof, Syeda Nain Fatima Abidi, Javeria Wadood, Nida Dar, Marina Iqbal, Syeda Batool Fatima Naqvi (wk), Qanita Jalil, Asmavia Iqbal Khokar, Sumaiya Siddiqi, Elizabath Barkat, Sadia Yusaf, Nahida Bibi, Javeria Rauf.

Who signalled the Powerplay?

Confusion over India’s batting Powerplay in the first ODI has become a laughing matter three days after the event but it reveals a serious loophole in on-field communication

Abhishek Purohit in Hambantota24-Jul-2012Confusion over India’s batting Powerplay in the first ODI has become a laughing matter three days after the event but it reveals a serious loophole in on-field communication. In the end, though, India got away with what seems like a wrongly interpreted signal by the umpires and the batsmen’s failure to cross-check with them.The problem originated before the 17th over, when Virat Kohli signalled to the dressing room for a cap. The umpires, though, seemed to think it was an indication of the batting Powerplay being taken, and Bruce Oxenford signalled accordingly with the circular motion of the arm and a tapping of hands above the head.The TV commentators on Ten Sports then referred – with some surprise – to the batting Powerplay, which is normally taken by sides after the 30th over. The (mis)information also sparked some debate over India’s radical new strategy. Only Mahela Jayawardene seemed to have got it right and set his field accordingly, and took his bowling Powerplay from the 34th over.India’s batsmen – Kohli and Virender Sehwag – seemed unaware, and did not visibly change their approach during the five-over period, in which India collected 32 for 0. The penny dropped for the Indians only later in the innings, when they sought the batting Powerplay and were told it had already been taken.The matter then ended there, but Sehwag spoke about it on Monday. “When I asked the umpire he said that Virat Kohli gave him the signal to take the Powerplay,” Sehwag said during the press conference at the team hotel on Monday. “When I asked Virat he said I asked [for] my cap rather than asking [for] the Powerplay, so that was a misunderstanding I think.”

Handscomb, Quiney give Victoria good start

Peter Handscomb scored his first century in first-class cricket and Rob Quiney also reached triple-figures on a good day for Victoria in Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2012
ScorecardRob Quiney was one of two centurions for Victoria•Getty ImagesPeter Handscomb scored his first century in first-class cricket and Rob Quiney also reached triple-figures on a good day for Victoria in Adelaide. In the first Sheffield Shield match since the hiatus that allowed the Big Bash League to take centre stage, Victoria reached 7 for 344 at stumps on the first day against South Australia.And while there were plenty of runs in the pitch, as Handscomb and Quiney showed in a 225-run partnership, the day didn’t go so well for Victoria’s captain Cameron White. Having recently been stripped of Australia’s Twenty20 captaincy after a lean BBL, White was caught at slip for 3 off the bowling of Jake Haberfield.White had come to the crease after Quiney departed for 114, his sixth first-class hundred. It was a brisk innings from Quiney, who struck 14 fours and three sixes in his 145-ball stay, which ended when he was caught behind off Tom Cooper.In his fourth first-class game, Handscomb survived a couple of dropped chances on 11 and 15 and made the most of the opportunities. He was eventually bowled by Peter George for 113 and South Australia did well to limit the output of the middle order. By stumps, Victoria were relying on Will Sheridan, who was on 31, and Jayde Herrick, who had made 10.

SA-India T20 disrupts teams' IPL preparations

The one-off Twenty20 match between South Africa and India, to be played in Johannesburg on March 30, has left the majority of nine IPL franchises aggrieved

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Mar-2012Players on the run

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Albie Morkel
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, Jacques Kallis, Marchant de Lange
Pune Warriors: Robin Uthappa, Ashok Dinda, Rahul Sharma, Wayne Parnell, Allan Donald (bowling coach), Paddy Upton (mental conditioning coach)
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Richard Levy, Robin Peterson
Delhi Daredevils: Irfan Pathan, Morne Morkel
Kings XI Punjab: Praveen Kumar
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Vinay Kumar, AB de Villiers
Deccan Chargers: Dale Steyn, JP Duminy, Rusty Theron
Rajasthan Royals: Johan Botha

The one-off Twenty20 match between South Africa and India, to be played in Johannesburg on March 30, has left the majority of nine IPL franchises aggrieved. To get their preparations in place, team officials say they require a window of at least a week before the league begins.Even before the announcement of the Twenty20 fixture, IPL franchises considered their hands tied already, a packed international schedule also coinciding with the end of the domestic seasons in India and South Africa.The match, which Cricket South Africa announced would be an annual fixture, could leave a bunch of players exhausted as it comes at the back of long seasons for India and South Africa. The Twenty20 game to be played at the Wanderers comes three days after South Africa finish their tour of New Zealand with three back-to-back Tests, a week after the Asia Cup, and four days before the start of the IPL in Chennai on April 4. The match also comes close on the heels of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament (ending on March 27) and the MiWAY Cup (final on April 1), the domestic Twenty20 tournaments for India and South Africa respectively.MS Dhoni will lead a 15-member Indian squad for the one-off Twenty20 International, while at least ten South Africans belonging to the various IPL franchises are expected to take part. The South African squad is yet to be announced.In terms of numbers, the teams that would bear the maximum brunt from the Twenty20 are Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders; as many as five players from each of those two teams could feature in the India v South Africa game. Next are Pune Warriors, who have four of their players travelling for the match along with the coaching pair of Allan Donald and Paddy Upton. In fact, each of the nine franchises has at least one player in the match.”It disrupts the team schedule,” a franchise official told ESPNcricinfo. “You are going to be travelling for two days to go there and come back. Some of the players might be jet-lagged by the time they start playing.” Compounding the problem for some players would be the captains’ need to travel to Chennai on April 3 to sign the spirit of cricket document.Gautam Gambhir, the Knight Riders captain, would travel to Johannesburg on March 29, return to India on March 31. He is likely to rush to Kolkata, practice for a day or two, fulfil franchise promotion activities, and then slip in and out of Chennai on April 3 for the captains meet. On April 5, he will walk out for the toss in the Knight Riders’ season-opener against Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens.”You want to get the players at least a week before the tournament, otherwise it becomes difficult as your planning goes haywire. Ideally you would like to start the camp two weeks before the tournament. But with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 finishing only on Mach 27, it becomes an issue,” another franchise official said.An official from another franchise said a big hurdle during the previous four IPL seasons was that it took time for a diverse bunch of players to come together and understand each other. “You are trying to get 30 players from different parts of the world to group, but it becomes very difficult to get them together and ask them to gel in a matter of a few days.”Considering the Twenty20 is going to be an annual fixture, the consensus among the franchises is there should be a clear window of at least a week, if not two, for the players to join the camp. “If you have 10-day camp you can make some plans at least, play some practice matches to devise a few strategies and understand player strengths and weaknesses. But with this match, that is not possible entirely,” a franchise official said.The shortage of time also means that the problems regarding acclimatisation for overseas players only gets more difficult. “It is also about conditions. There are players who are coming from New Zealand and South Africa where the pitches are all bouncy and suddenly they find themselves on flatter tracks,” another franchise official said.There seems to be no solution, with various franchise officials saying their hands are tied and they would have to make do by working with the remaining players. “We cannot help it. What can we do? You can’t play the match after the IPL as the conditions are not favourable in South Africa. The only option is players will rush in and there will be too many things that would need to be done quickly.”

Hussey unsure of timing of Big Bash League

The question of scheduling a Twenty20 domestic tournament directly at odds with Australia’s Test preparations for the Australia-India Tests had Michael Hussey stumped

Alex Malcolm15-Dec-2011Michael Hussey has always been a diplomat. In school-yard terms you would describe him as the teacher’s pet, always sitting at the front of class, answering every question as perfectly as he can, eager to please, keen to say and do the right things. But the question of scheduling a Twenty20 domestic tournament directly at odds with Australia’s Test preparations for the Australia-India Tests had him stumped.”It’s a difficult one. I think . . . I think it’s err . . . I think, I don’t know what I think really.” Hussey said in a confused tone. He knew what he wanted to say. He just had to word it as carefully as he could.”I really want to be a part of the Test team,” Hussey said with clarity. “I love the traditional Test matches like the Boxing Day Test and the New Year’s Test. Obviously playing in my home Test match is really special as well. So, for me, that’s the No.1 priority.”With the amount of injuries that have been around the team in the last few months it does make you a little bit nervous that if you do have injuries to the Australian Test team, that we might be picking players that have only been playing Twenty20 cricket.”It is maybe a small concern. But from a Twenty20 point of view it is the ideal time to be playing the game with school holidays on and trying to get as many new kids down to the ground. And it’s important for us players to really engage with the young kids out there as well. It’s probably not ideal. But we’ve just got to live with it.”That was as controversial a comment as you could get from Hussey. You could tell in his own mind he was wrestling with the concept of promoting the game to a wider audience, whilst protecting the integrity of its traditional form.His Perth Scorcher team-mate Shaun Marsh is an example of an injured player possibly returning to the Test side through Twenty20 cricket.Marsh, still battling a bulging disc in his back, was hopeful he could play in a Big Bash League fixture for Perth, in Melbourne on December 22, in order to prove his fitness for the Boxing Day Test. Whether such an audition will be enough was another question.”I’m not too sure,” Marsh said. “I guess it would give me the confidence if I got through that game, that I could play in a Test match. Obviously Twenty20 is pretty quick and it would be nice to spend a bit of time out in the middle, but like I said, I’m not a selector, I’m not too sure what they’re thinking.”Switching from the shortest format to the longest version without any lead-in is not a new concept for Hussey. His sole preparation for Australia’s two-test Tour of India in 2010 was to participate for Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League in South Africa. Chennai’s success in that tournament forced Hussey into a more awkward situation than the present, which is a one-off outing for the Scorchers, against the Hobart Hurricanes at the WACA on Sunday, followed by the Boxing Day Test on December 26.”For me personally it’s only one game. We’ve had Test matches in Sri Lanka, South Africa, two Test matches against New Zealand so I think we’re still, pretty much, in Test mode. I don’t think one Twenty20 game will affect the preparation too much,” Hussey said.But he admitted it was not an easy task given his previous experiences.”I found it tough playing Test match cricket, a few years ago, and then going straight to a Twenty20 tournament. It took me a good couple of weeks to fully adapt to Twenty20 mode from Test match mode. So I guess I’m not expecting any miracles out here on Sunday. As I said, I’ll just go out there and enjoy it. If things go well, great, if not, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”

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