Bangladesh produced a performance of immense spirit and character as they secured their first victory over England in any format with a famous five-run win at Bristol

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at Bristol10-Jul-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRubel Hossain’s pace removed the England openers and opened the door for Bangladesh’s victory•Getty Images

Bangladesh produced a performance of immense spirit and character as they secured their first victory over England in any format with a famous five-run win at Bristol. In an extraordinary finale, Ian Bell limped out at No. 11 with a broken foot to accompany Jonathan Trott, but Trott edged a cut off the third ball of the final over bowled by Shafiul Islam after making 94 to send Bangladesh into scenes of wild celebration.Trott had taken 13 off the five balls in the penultimate over from Mashrafe Mortaza, but James Anderson could only pop the final delivery back to the bowler. Bangladesh thought that was the victory and began ripping up the stumps in celebration, but Bell hobbled down the steps with Morgan as his runner and hoped that Trott could get the 10 needed from final over. He managed consecutive twos, but then tried to go through the off side and edged to the wicketkeeper to leave him disconsolate at the crease. He didn’t even remark his guard.What makes Bangladesh’s success even more remarkable is the state in which they entered this game. Two leading players, Raqibul Hasan who top-scored at Trent Bridge and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, had been ruled out of the series and one of their replacements, Mohammad Ashraful only arrived in the country 14 hours before the toss. Add to that Bangladesh’s 24-match losing run and the previous inability of their attack to assert any pressure and this has to go down as one of the more remarkable reversals.After the batsmen had again stuttered the bowlers lifted themselves, led by the efforts of Rubel Hossain and Abdur Razzak who shared four crucial top-order wickets as the hosts’ batting suffered a collective malfunction. Trott kept England in with a chance as he added 43 with Stuart Broad, but when Broad drove to point and Mortaza only conceded three from the 48th over the balance of the game tilted towards Bangladesh.When Imrul Kayes had laboured to a worthy, but uninspired, 76 in Bangladesh’s total of 236 for 7 – during which they scored just 87 in the last 20 overs – it appeared all they had done was keep their head above water and avoid humilation. As Andrew Strauss and Craig Kieswetter added 49 in 7.5 overs it was a question of how many overs England would have to spare at the end.Maybe England were even starting to think that way, having played Bangladesh on eight previous occasions this year and witnessed they inability to maintain pressure. Michael Yardy, Luke Wright and Ajmal Shahzad played horrid shots when they had a chance to prove their bottle for a tense run chase. England have occasionally taken their eye off the ball before in both Tests and ODIs, but have had the experience and class to pull the situation. Not this time, and the problems started when the openers gave their wickets away in quick succession as happened at Trent Bridge.Rubel, whose recall suddenly looked inspired, sparked the team into life with a bustling display. In his first over Strauss tried to guide the ball over the slips and feathered a catch to the stand-in keeper Jahurul Islam, who looked more than competent as Musfiqur’s replacement. Rubel struck again in his next over as Kieswetter played a flat-footed drive to give the keeper his second chance and Bangladesh were unlucky not to make it two wickets in two balls.
Collingwood flashed hard at his first delivery and the fielding side were convinced of the edge, so much so that Rubel and Jahurul were well into their celebrations when umpire Richard Illingworth turned them down.Subsequent replays confirmed a healthy edge but to Bangladesh’s credit they continued to maintain their discipline and keep the run-rate down. Collingwood broke the shackles when he pulled Rubel for six before the scales evened themselves as Collingwood was given lbw to Razzak despite a big inside edge onto his pad. Even the batsman had a rueful smile as he made his way off.Morgan, who was England’s saviour when they came close to defeat in Dhaka earlier this year, began with an edge through the vacant slip cordon but collected his first failure of the ODI season when he tried to turn Razzak into the leg side. Still, if England want to become the best one-day team in the world they can’t rely on Morgan’s freakish skills.Trott’s style couldn’t be more mundane in comparison to Morgan, but he now became vital for England’s chase. He kept losing partners as Yardy had a horrid swipe across the line, a shot replicated by Shahzad as the asking rate grew, while Wright’s regression after a promising start against Australia continued when he edged a wild drive to slip where Junaid Siddique held on at the second attempt.At times Trott still seemed in his own little world as he pushed singles with the required rate climbing past seven an over, but in the penultimate over he sparked into life and for a few moments it appeared Bangladesh would bottle their chance again. Shafiul, whose first over had cost 12, held his nerve and England can’t say they didn’t have the result coming after another indifferent display in the field.Shahzad was the pick of the attack removing Tamim Iqbal early and returning to grab Jahurul and top-scorer Kayes as he claimed 3 for 41. However, his fielding was a concern as he missed Kayes at gully and then watched another ball sail over his head at third man after he’d run in too quickly.Anderson’s difficult time with the new ball continued as his first spell of four overs cost 24 and Bangladesh built a strong foundation as Kayes and Jahurul added 83 for the third wicket. England again had to take pace off the ball through Yardy and Collingwood to assert themselves and once Jahurul was caught behind the innings faded like it had at Trent Bridge.The last 20 overs brought just 87 runs but, in what would prove crucial in the final outcome, Mortaza managed to connect with some hefty blows during the batting Powerplay. Still, it looked like a formality for England to take the series but a few hours later it was a chastened home dressing room that had to watch the jubilant Bangladesh players sprint around the outfield in celebration.

The Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) will not be used during the upcoming Test series between Sri Lanka and India

Sidharth Monga09-Jul-2010The Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) will not be used during the upcoming Test series between Sri Lanka and India. “The decision at the ICC meeting was that both the teams should agree with having the DRS system. When we checked with India, they were not happy to have it,” Nishantha Ranatunga, secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), told Cricinfo.In its annual conference, the ICC had decided: “One of the decisions is that the host member would determine whether to use DRS in home Test series (following consultation with the visiting country).” It was during this consultation that Sri Lanka couldn’t achieve an agreement with the visiting team, India.The UDRS, which has courted controversy since its implementation, was first used in the 2008 series between the same teams, and immediately became a key player in the contest. The controversial and impractical Virender Sehwag dismissal aside, Sri Lanka used the challenge system way better than India, securing marginal lbw dismissals for Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis that would have otherwise needed brave umpires to call. Sri Lanka made 11 successful reviews in that 2-1 series win, as opposed to India’s one.On their return tour to India, Kumar Sangakkara lamented the absence of the UDRS. He said it cost his side “over 500 runs and a lot of wickets” during the 2-0 defeat. To add to his frustrations then, the review system was used in two simultaneous series being played elsewhere.When asked if the absence of the review system would be a disadvantage for the home team, Ranatunga said: “Definitely it will be a disadvantage. Not only for Sri Lanka, it’s a disadvantage for India as well. It’s a disadvantage for all the players.”India haven’t really been fans of the system, and haven’t been involved in any series since then that has used the UDRS. Sachin Tendulkar had said he wasn’t won over by the system, largely due to the inadequate technology that has prevented its successful implementation. The Hot Spot, he said, was a better means to establish contact between bat and ball, and ball and pad.The host broadcasters don’t use the required technology, and that could be one of the reasons why India decided not to use the UDRS. However, Ranatunga said the Indians didn’t give any reasons for their choice.

England’s coach, Andy Flower, has singled out the batting performances of Eoin Morgan and Matt Prior following the team’s 354-run victory over Pakistan in the first Test at Trent Bridge

Andrew Miller02-Aug-2010England’s coach, Andy Flower, has singled out the batting performances of Eoin Morgan and Matt Prior following the team’s 354-run victory over Pakistan in the first Test at Trent Bridge, saying that the composure and determination that the pair displayed in their respective centuries were the defining moments of a “fascinating” Test match.Although the Man of the Match award went to James Anderson for his career-best haul of 11 for 71, England’s margin of victory – and the finality of Pakistan’s collapse to 80 all out on the fourth morning – disguised the extent to which they were made to toil for the ascendancy. In a match that featured 24 single-figure dismissals but only four fifties, the achievement of Morgan and Prior in reaching three figures was especially notable.”They were outstanding knocks, both of them,” said Flower. “Obviously you get ebb and flow in every game but I thought it was a fascinating game for people to watch, and those types of pitches and the swinging ball make it a fascinating battle between bat and ball. I enjoyed watching it myself and the spectators must have loved it.”Both men came into the match with points to prove, albeit for differing reasons. In Morgan’s case, the onus was on him to capitalise on the absence of Ian Bell and push his credentials as a Test-quality batsman, following a pair of inconclusive displays against Bangladesh earlier in the year. Prior, on the other hand, needed to reaffirm – to the wider public more than anyone else – his status as England’s No. 1 batsman-wicketkeeper, after losing his place in the limited-overs squads to Craig Kieswetter.In both respects, Flower was mightily impressed. “I thought Morgan’s composure, initially when the ball was moving around and then capitalising on the spin in the afternoon, was almost a typically perfect Test innings,” he said. “I thought the tempo with which he played his shots and innings was ideal. Prior’s knock was superb as well, in fact I think that is the best I have ever seen him bat.”When asked if he believed that Prior’s omission from the one-day set-up had made him all the more determined to succeed, Flower was unequivocal. “I am sure it did, and perhaps there is a lesson there: you should not need spurring on to perform at your peak level for England. He is determined and that is part of the reason why he has been successful at international cricket. That sort of determination is exactly what we want from our players.”Prior’s confidence and class with the bat will inevitably refuel the debate about whether England should play four bowlers or five during this winter’s Ashes, but Flower insisted that the ability of his wicketkeeper was not the sticking point in that particular selection issue.
“The other allrounder has to be good enough at his job to bat at No. 6 or 7,” said Flower. “Matt Prior plays as a keeper-batter but the other guy needs to be good enough at his job to perform as an allrounder. Obviously [if we found one], that is what we would do, but we are not looking for vindication. We make our decisions on what we feel will give us the best chance of winning.”In the conditions that were presented to England at Trent Bridge, however, a three-man attack would have been sufficient to wrap up victory, seeing as their fourth bowler, Graeme Swann, contributed two wicketless overs out of 83 in the match. And while Flower knows as well as anyone how dramatically Anderson’s performances can fluctuate, he was rightly full of praise for a man who, on this occasion, got absolutely everything right.”It was a superb performance,” said Flower. “We know what Jimmy can do when the ball swings, and that was a very good thing for his confidence. But it’s like that for any bowler. If Murali came across a glass-like pitch he would be less effective than he is when he bowls at Galle. That is the same for any bowler. They have conditions that suit them more one day than the other.”Of course, Anderson will not be counting on such overhead assistance in Brisbane come November, but Flower believes his strike bowler is making significant strides in his development. “It is important to learn to adapt to those different situations, and yes, he is learning, certainly. He is a better bowler than he was and he will continue learning. He is a very experienced bowler now and we do rely a lot on him regardless of conditions.”Anderson’s main ally in Nottingham was the lanky Steven Finn, who mopped up five key wickets in the course of the match, including three in the space of his first 19 balls. He is a cricketer who has exuded an air of calm right from the moment he was thrust into a Test debut in Chittagong in March following a last-minute injury call-up, and on his return to the England set-up after missing the ODIs for a course of “strength and conditioning”, he even extended that trait to his batting, as he held up an end in a 49-run tenth-wicket stand that allowed Prior to reach his hundred.”I was very impressed with him for a number of reasons,” said Flower. “Firstly the way he started his very first spell. He was bang on the money six balls out of six, and at the end of that first over he got the wicket. And considering that was his first over back from his break – a break that had been given a lot of publicity – it was a very mature way to handle it. And I thought he batted with a lot of nous and composure. Those things all bode well for him.”He is very mature for a young man and that will stand him in good stead because he is going to have some serious challenges in the future,” Flower added. “He keeps things nice and simple, he keeps things in perspective, which a great position for him to be.”Looking ahead to Edgbaston, a ground on which Stuart Broad claimed career-best figures of 8 for 52 for Nottinghamshire last week, it would be easy for England to assume a sixth-consecutive Test victory is now on the cards. However, as Pakistan’s captain, Salman Butt, was at pains to point out, it was only two Tests ago that his team bounced back from a similarly heavy defeat against Australia to square the series with a thrilling bowling display. And with the experienced Mohammad Yousuf now set to bolster the middle-order, England know their work is far from done.”I think it is always useful to remind sportsmen about complacency, because sometimes it is very easy in our cosseted world not to appreciate how lucky we are or indeed how hard you have to work for success,” said Flower. “It is quite an easy mistake to make so we do have to remind ourselves of that constantly.”What we are looking for is for our guys to be ready to play at 11 o’clock on Friday, and to play somewhere near their potential,” he added. “I think our team is feeling reasonably confident at the moment but we are only one Test into a four-Test series and we all realise that this game ebbs and flows very quickly. You have to respect the game and respect the opposition, and there is no complacency whatsoever in our camp.”

Pakistan’s batting reverted to type as they subsided in a heap for 74 after tea on the third day at Lord’s

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan28-Aug-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSalman Butt was bowled first ball after tea to begin another Pakistan collapse•AFP

England had already shifted themselves into a winning position after a world-record eighth-wicket stand between Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad, but even in a summer of batting collapses the way they blew Pakistan away for 74 on the third day at Lord’s took the breath away. For the third time in four Tests the visitors couldn’t emerge from double figures as they subsided either side of tea, with Graeme Swann and Steven Finn sharing the last seven wickets for 28 runs, before they slumped to 41 for 4 in the follow on.Having been through the debilitating experience of watching England haul themselves from hopelessness to supremacy in record style there was always the danger that Pakistan would succumb to the pressure. But having shown much more backbone with the bat at The Oval it was hoped they could replicate the same yet were skittled in 33 overs and the second innings promises little better. It was a depressing performance from Pakistan because some of the shots were plain awful, the worst being Imran Farhat’s weak pull at the start of the second innings. A clear sign the fight had gone.Credit, though, must go to the hostility of England’s quicks and the continued guile of Swann as the four-man attack never took the pressure off Pakistan. In the follow on, Yasir Hameed was plumb lbw to Anderson as he played across the line then just to compound Pakistan’s woes their last chance of making the fourth day a contest vanished as the light closed in. Salman Butt, who was getting annoyed by the chirp from England’s close fielders, was lbw to Swann – an excellent decision from Tony Hill as the review proved it was pad just before bat – then, to what became the last ball of the day, Mohammad Yousuf top-edged a pull to deep square-leg. Pakistan’s two best batsmen had gone twice in a session.Rarely can a Test have included periods of such dominance by the ball either side of an epic batting performance. Take out one stand and the batsmen have been walking wickets; but that partnership was the small matter of 332. As Trott and Broad extended their stay during most of the morning the ball barely did anything for the Pakistan bowlers, but when a new one was placed in the hands of Broad and Anderson it quickly became a major threat.Broad, fresh from his mighty 169, dispatched Hameed in familiar manner as the opener hung his bat outside off and sent a comfortable edge to second slip. Anderson then exploited Farhat’s weakness against the moving ball when he drove loosely at an outswinger having watched the previous three deliveries zip past his outside edge.The best set-up, though, was still to come as England executed their plan to Yousuf to perfection when Broad slotted a full delivery past his bat. It was almost identical to how he fell in the second innings at The Oval and England have always felt it was a way to trap Yousuf early since Anderson did the same at Cape Town in the 2003 World Cup.Briefly, Butt rallied as he tucked into a loose opening spell from Finn but Swann gave an immediate warning of the danger he would pose as he ripped two deliveries past Butt’s edge in his opening over. With his first ball after tea Swann produced another unplayable offering which gripped and hit off stump. The batsman initially stood his ground thinking the wicketkeeper may have knocked off the bails, but his dismissal was swiftly confirmed.That brought Umar Akmal to the crease and he was immediately greeted by some words from Trott at silly point following their conversations during England’s innings and Umar proceeding to launch his third ball over midwicket. But Swann was finding huge turn, much more than Saeed Ajmal extracted, and soon had Azhar Ali taken at short leg as the batsman lunged forward.Meanwhile, Umar started complaining about problems picking up Finn’s line from the Nursery End as the bowler’s hand came from above the sightscreen. It clearly affected Umar’s mindset when he was told just to get on with it by the umpires and it wasn’t long before Finn, who improved with the change of ends, speared a yorker through his defences.Two balls later Mohammad Amir lost sight of the ball which thudded into his pads and although Tony Hill said not out Strauss correctly opted for a review and leg stump would have been hit flush. To Amir’s credit he left without complaint, but his spirit was far removed from the joyous character of yesterday. Finn claimed his third when Kamran Akmal got a thin edge and Swann completed Pakistan’s woeful effort with two more in six balls.The morning session had been another full of records as Trott and Broad continued their monumental effort. The new world record eighth-wicket stand was brought up in Wahab Riaz’s first over the day when Broad slotted a cover drive to the boundary to surpass the 313-run stand by Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq against Zimbabwe in 1996. Thoughts were turning towards an extraordinary double century from Broad, who had passed his father’s Test best of 162, when Pakistan finally struck as Broad was given out lbw on a review.Broad had been given a life on 132 when Kamran couldn’t gather an edge off Ajmal and the scoring rate soon increased as both batsmen began to find the boundary with regularity. Broad lost nothing in comparison with Trott and the cover-driving was a highlight of the display as he, too, went past 150 but missed out by five runs on knocking Ian Smith from the top spot for a No. 9.Trott’s timing and placement remained of the highest quality, particularly a couple of off-side strokes against Ajmal, and he was within sight of being the first man to score two double hundreds at Lord’s until becoming last-man out. It will go down as one of the finest centuries made on this famous ground; Pakistan’s entire line-up couldn’t even get halfway towards matching it.

There will be no highlights of this winter’s Ashes on terrestrial TV according to a report in the Daily Mail

Cricinfo staff23-Sep-2010There will be no highlights of this winter’s Ashes on terrestrial TV according to a report in the Daily Mail.The newspaper claims no terrestrial broadcaster responded to the tender document offering free-to-air rights because of strict limitations on the time they would be allowed to air any highlights package. It was expected the tender, sent out by IMG earlier this year, would attract interest from the BBC or Channel 5.However, both broadcasters said scheduling restrictions put them off making any bid. The terms are believed to have stated no highlights could be shown before 10pm, a delay of almost a day, and they could not overlap with any of Sky’s live transmissions, which usually start at around 11.30pm, giving a very small window for them to be shown.

More heavy rain finally drowned the Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and Tasmania at the Gabba in which only 31 overs were delivered in four days.

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2010Tasmania 2 for 52 drew with Queensland

Scorecard
More heavy rain finally drowned the Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and Tasmania at the Gabba in which only 31 overs were delivered in four days. The captains Chris Hartley and George Bailey agreed to call off the contest just before lunch as the ground was hit by more wet weather. Both teams miss out on points for the game, with Tasmania stranded at 2 for 52.

The ICC has given a cautious nod of approval to the PCB’s efforts in toughening its approach to corruption in cricket and undertaking reforms to improve the administration of the game in Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2010The ICC has given a cautious nod of approval to the PCB’s efforts in toughening its approach to corruption in cricket and undertaking reforms to improve the administration of the game in Pakistan. However, the ICC has warned against complacency and reiterated a series of measures to all member boards to make efforts at eliminating corruption in the aftermath of the spot-fixing controversy.”We are encouraged by the excellent progress reported and also the willingness of the Pakistan Cricket Board to embrace the ICC recommendations,” ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said after a meeting of the Pakistan task force, a group aimed at bringing international cricket back to Pakistan, on Saturday. “However, we can never be complacent nor distracted in our determination to tackle corruption.”The ICC, earlier this month, had warned the PCB over the continuing decline of governance in Pakistan cricket and had conveyed a clear message to get its act together by sorting out the game’s administration or facing the consequences, possibly in the form of sanctions. The PCB was given a 30-day deadline to conduct a thorough and far-reaching review of its “player integrity issues” and report back to the task force.In the interim, the PCB, as advised by the ICC, has introduced a revised code of conduct with a strong emphasis on anti-corruption which has been signed by all players ahead of the tour of the UAE later this month. The board has also set up an Integrity Committee, aimed at finding ways to move forward after the spot-fixing controversy, deal with the ICC’s recommendations and address issues of corruption and doping, each of which have plagued Pakistan cricket in the past. The committee comprises several senior officials of the board including chairman Ijaz Butt, chief operating officer Wasim Bari, team manager Intikhab Alam and director of international cricket Zakir Khan.The PCB has also been asked to implement education programmes for players, a “proper, accountable and robust disciplinary process for the sport” and a process to deter and detect corrupt elements within the game, “whether it be players, officials, agents or any other individual.”Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, who heads the Pakistan task force, emphasised the need for the PCB to reform itself. “The task team urged everyone to support the PCB to reform its cricket and governance models and the important role Ijaz Butt has to play in this regard,” Clarke said. “An independent board would help it to regain its glory and ensure long-term success.”Lorgat also reiterated the ICC’s recommendations to member boards for eliminating corruption in the game. They included the introduction of a domestic anti-corruption code that mirrors the ICC’s. He further urged members to review player contracts and introduce appropriate clauses to ensure players comply with anti-corruption rules and regulations.Among the initiatives discussed was a one-off declaration by all players as a commitment to preserving the integrity of the game. “We have issued a broad advisory to every ICC Member about the need to root out corruption from our great sport,” Lorgat said. “This advisory requests all international players and support personnel to sign a once-off declaration before participating in the next FTP match and/or ICC event.””Such declaration is intended to serve as an important reminder of the spirit in which the game is meant to be played, the importance of its integrity and their roles and responsibilities in this regard.”The Pakistan Task Force includes Clarke, Lorgat, Zimbabwe Cricket chief Peter Chingoka, ICC’s General Manager of Cricket Dave Richardson, Chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle and former captains Mike Brearley and Ramiz Raja.

The ICC has reacted strongly to FICA chief Tim May’s comments about players not approaching its Anti Corruption and Security Unit [ACSU] because they have no faith in it.

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Nov-2010The ICC has reacted strongly to FICA chief Tim May’s comments about players not approaching its Anti Corruption and Security Unit [ACSU] because they have no faith in it. Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said he was extremely annoyed by May’s remarks and even called them “irresponsible”. Lorgat said he would have normally preferred not to react but what had fuelled his ire was May’s point that the ICC leaked details to the media in the past of the players who approached its watchdog. That only led to players becoming more insecure, May said.”He said that the players have no confidence in approaching the ACSU. I felt quite strange that Tim May [was] making such comments,” Lorgat told ESPNcricinfo. He said he was trying hard to understand the FICA chief’s reasoning. “He either made that out of ignorance or I hope he is not being irresponsible. Those comments are certainly not justified in my view.”In an interview to BBC World Service on Thursday, May had praised former Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider’s defection to the United Kingdom after receiving threats from unnamed people during the ODI series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates. In London, Haider subsequently revealed to the media the reasons behind his escape. He even had a few suggestions for the ACSU including “tapping” the players’ phones to discourage the bookies.May said Haider had made an unprecedented and brave move. “If what he [Haider] says is true, what he’s done is not cowardly, it has taken a significant amount of courage, because no one has ever done that before,” May said. But May, a former Australian off spinner, said there were not many players like the Pakistani. “Some players have concerns about reporting [corruption]. They fear the confidential nature of them reporting it will be breached,” May said.According to May the players’ biggest concern was they feared the details they shared with the ACSU would be made public without their knowledge. “In the past, players have gone to the anti-corruption unit and somewhere details of their talks with the anti-corruption has reached the media. Whether those leaks have come from the ICC or whatever, it still gives the players the question over whether they can trust the ICC’s anti-corruption unit.”Lorgat was critical of May’s opinion and disagreed. “In fact we have got numerous players who have come forward and told us they were willing to talk,” he said, while stressing that neither the ICC nor the ACSU had ever gone public whenever a player revealed any kind of approach. “We have never done that,” he said.Lorgat also picked up on one of the May’s comments in the BBC interview, in which he stated that FICA had made a couple of suggestions to the ACSU recently which would encourage players to come forth with more information whenever any approach was made. “We have put forward a couple of options to the ICC in a meeting we had with anti-corruption unit in October for a change in the reporting system,” May said, and added that he was still waiting for a positive reply.Lorgat said May had only exposed his own hand here. “That is a classical example that he going to talk to media. The ACSU or ICC did not go to the media. In the past a few players made their own declarations about talking or speaking to the ACSU. We have made never made any disclosure about which player came and spoke to us. We don’t say who has come because we protect their identities.”

Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, has been given a chance to press for a World Cup place, after being named as the only uncapped player in England’s 17-man limited-overs squad for Australia

Andrew Miller10-Dec-2010Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, has been given a chance to press for a World Cup place, after being named as the only uncapped player in England’s 17-man squad for next month’s one-day and Twenty20 matches against Australia. Chris Tremlett also returns into the limited-overs set-up for the first time in two years, but there’s no place for Ravi Bopara, who has been dropped from the squad that played against Pakistan in September, in favour of Ian Bell.Geoff Miller, the national selector, announced the squad during the tea interval of England’s three-day warm-up fixture against Victoria, and admitted that, while the team’s current focus remains solely on retaining the Ashes, the proximity of the World Cup – which gets underway on February 19 – has forced them to name their strongest possible line-up, with the only first-choice omission being the injured Stuart Broad, who is expected to have recovered from a torn stomach muscle in time for the business end of the tournament.”With Broad ruled out of the series we’ve needed to bolster our pace bowling stocks and Chris Woakes comes into the squad after knocking on the door for some time,” said Miller. “Chris will be hungry for his international debut and vying for a place with a number of other quality pace bowlers. He’s put in some good performances for Warwickshire, he’s gone through the channels of the Lions and the Performance Programme, and has performed well this winter. He merits his selection, and the options are there to go in whichever direction we want to go.”When asked if there had been any temptation to rest key personnel ahead of the World Cup, Miller admitted that it was not an option, given that England have now won five consecutive series since the tour of South Africa last winter, and will want to go to the subcontinent in February with that winning streak extended. “You couldn’t do that,” he said. “You’ve still got to keep the momentum, the lads playing together and finding out their roles within the side.”It’s really difficult when you’ve got series after series, following each other so quickly,” he added. “But that’s always been the case, and it will maybe continue to be so. There are one or two players in the squad who are not involved in the Ashes, so they can actually focus on the World Cup now, but those who are involved here and then have to adapt later, it’s really tough. That’s been taken into consideration by the management, but at the moment, the priority is the Test series, then we’ll move on to the one-dayers.”In keeping with the recent precedent, Andrew Strauss has been named as captain of the 50-overs squad, but will hand over the Twenty20 reins to Paul Collingwood, England’s victorious captain at the World Twenty20 in May this year. Craig Kieswetter, who was England’s Man of the Match in the final against Australia, has been retained for that format alone, with Steve Davies once again named ahead of the Test specialist Matt Prior as England’s only wicketkeeper for the ODI series.”Matt is not being overlooked,” said Miller. “He’s made it clear he still wants to play one-day cricket, and we will continue to monitor him, but he has been given the opportunity before, both up the order and in the middle order. He was left out and we brought someone else in, and we will continue in that vein of consistency. We’ll find out how these two go over a period of time.”Bopara is also running out of chances to force his way into the World Cup reckoning, having made a favourable impression during an otherwise disastrous England campaign in the 2007 tournament. But with Kevin Pietersen back in form after being dropped from the Pakistan series, and Ian Bell fully recovered after the foot injury that interrupted his home summer, there was no room for him on this occasion, despite his undoubted potential as a match-winner.”We had a long discussion about Ravi,” said Miller. “He’s still very much in our thoughts and we know what he’s capable of doing, but at this moment in time he’s out playing in South Africa and will continue to do that. We’re quite confident that this squad can do a job for us here, and it may be able to do it in the World Cup as well, but it doesn’t close the door to anyone else.”England ODI and T20 squads Andrew Strauss* (ODI capt), Paul Collingwood (T20 capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Steve Davies (wk), Eoin Morgan, Craig Kieswetter** (wk), Kevin Pietersen, Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy* ODIs only, ** Twenty20s only

Adam Gilchrist will be captain of the Kings XI Punjab for the fourth season of the IPL, Punjab coach Michael Bevan has said

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jan-2011Adam Gilchrist, the former Australia wicketkeeper, will be the captain of Kings XI Punjab for the fourth season of the IPL, the Punjab coach Michael Bevan has said. Bevan said Punjab bought Gilchrist, who led Hyderabad to the trophy in the IPL’s second season, specifically for his leadership skills. Gilchrist was bought on the first day of the auction for $900,000.”The main reason we picked him was because he is the captain,” Bevan, who was appointed Punjab coach four days before the auction, said. He also brushed aside any fears of form or fitness issues Gilchrist might have considering he is the second oldest player in the IPL at 39 years. “Even if he is not at the peak of his career, I still feel as a leader he has a lot to offer. In Twenty20 cricket you are not asking the guy to strike at 120 in the opening position. You are asking for guys to strike at 140 or 150 and Gilly is the type of player who can turn in three or four match-winning performances over the season.”It was Gilchrist who contacted Bevan, with whom he played alongside in the 1999 and 2003 World Cup winning sides, as soon as he heard the news. “He pretty much rang back straightaway and has been involved in the team-building process in the auction after that. That is a great sign; him lending his experience with some of the players he has played with. As a coach, you want your captain immersed in what we are trying to achieve.”Gilchrist was the first player bought by Punjab, on January 8. They proceeded to buy 10 more players, with only four Indian players, the backbone of any IPL team, adding wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, batting allrounder Abhishek Nayar, legspinner Piyush Chawla and seamer Praveen Kumar.Bevan reckoned spending big money on some of the Indian players might have been a gamble, but he did admit he was new at the IPL poker table. “I was not sure paying two million for a really good player would pay off, but we will wait and see.” Punjab had at their disposal a purse of $9 million, but came out of the auction with $2.17 million left unspent. Though he did not say it plainly, Bevan confessed Punjab might have erred in not risking more money on players. “Perhaps we misread the market a little and misread the pricing. There was some fever-pitch bidding, with Indian players going for sky-high prices which we never expected.”Even though he knew Indian players would go for pretty high prices because there were only 48 of them, Bevan was surprised by how much some of the younger players got. “There was always going to be a premium on the Indian players. We were happy to go with some good solid younger players, but even they went for lots of money.”Punjab lost out on several players whom they started to bid for, only to be outbid by other franchises. Mahela Jayawardene, who played for them in the first three seasons of the IPL, was bought by Kochi for $1.5 million after Punjab had made a $1.4 million bid. They bid the same amount for Yuvraj Singh, Punjab’s captain in the first two seasons and their icon player, only to lose him to the new Pune franchise for $1.8 million. They also lost bidding wars for Australia allrounder Cameron White, India batsman Rohit Sharma, and allrounder Irfan Pathan, who was part of their team for the first three seasons.Bevan pointed out that the team owners had decided to stick to a certain budget. “As a coach you also got to go with your budget constraints and hence we had to work out the pricing. It is all part of the big picture. It is just not having the ability to get anyone you want.”Punjab will now have to fill up the rest of their squad with the uncapped Indian players and India Under-19 players.Bevan admitted that taking over as the Punjab coach is the most high-profile job he has ever done, and said the fact he entered late into the piece meant he was a little bit nervous before the auction. But he remains confident of Punjab’s prospects because of the presence of Gilchrist.