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Andrew McDonald is expected to miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury that will require surgery

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2012Andrew McDonald is expected to miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury that will require surgery. McDonald, the Victoria allrounder, will have an operation on Monday to repair an ongoing problem with his hamstring that has worsened in the past few weeks, ending any hopes of a recall to the national side this season after he captained Australia A against the touring South Africans earlier this month.McDonald, 31, started the Sheffield Shield season in outstanding form with the bat, scoring 101 at better than a run a ball against Western Australia at the WACA, followed by 64 at the MCG against Tasmania. It’s an unfortunate case of déjà vu for McDonald, who two years ago began the Shield season with three centuries in three games, but then broke his hand and was not able to capitalise on the strong form.”Timing is everything in this game. Unfortunately I’m injured now so my timing’s not great,” McDonald told the . “What we put our bodies through in terms of playing cricket … your body every now and then is going to let you down. Bowling’s not great on the body, I think that’s just part and parcel of playing cricket.”One thing about this is I’ve got to get my body right. I feel as though I’ve got a lot of good years left in me. The way my batting’s improved over the years, I think I can hold down a spot as a batsman, and once I get this hamstring problem fixed my bowling will be back to where it was a few years ago.”McDonald played four Tests, all against South Africa in early 2009, and would have come into strong consideration this summer had the selectors decided to replace the injured Shane Watson with another allrounder. He was also part of Australia’s Ashes tour of England in 2009 but did not play a Test.

Mahela Jayawaradene has reiterated that his current role as Sri Lanka captain is a short-term job and he wants to find his successor as soon as possible

Andrew McGlashan09-Apr-2012Mahela Jayawardene has reiterated that his current role as Sri Lanka captain is a short-term job and he wants to find his successor as soon as possible.He accepted a request to captain the team again after Tillakaratne Dilshan lost the post following the tour of South Africa and the results have been creditable so far, especially in the CB Series in Australia where they pushed the hosts to a third final, and then the Test series against England which ended 1-1. Jayawardene also claimed the Man-of-the-Series award after scoring 354 runs including two centuries.However at 34, Jayawardene, who has now linked up with the IPL along with a number of his team-mates, knows he is coming towards the end of his career and sees a large part of his role now as ensuring a smooth transition to a new long-term captain.”I’ve been given the challenge to lead the team and took that for 12 months to see what happens,” he said. “I would love to groom another leader and hand it over to him as quickly as possible. That’s the way Sri Lanka cricket should move on.”But Jayawardene has no immediate plans to reconsider his future in the international game. After a short-term slump in Test cricket, where he did not reach fifty in 12 innings, his results during the England series showed a batsman at the top of his game.”After the World Cup I spoke to the selectors and said I’d take it six months at a time,” he said. “It all depends on the hunger I have. So long as I’m performing to the standards I’ve set myself I’ll play for a little longer, but when the hunger goes that will be the day I quit.”Sri Lanka’s next engagement in Test cricket is against Pakistan following the IPL. There are a number of areas that they will need to address, not least the opening batting combination which failed to produce any solid starts. Lahiru Thirimanne was worked over by James Anderson while Tillakaratne Dilshan was stuck in one-day mode until the second innings in Colombo where he fell to a controversial review.Jayawardene, though, does not want to jump to any conclusions about what changes may be needed and insists consistency will bring rewards in the longer term.”I said before the series that Lahiru was given a chance in South Africa and I wanted to be consistent and give him a decent run before we make judgements on players,” he said. “Now we’ve got a break before our next Test series so that gives us an opportunity to sit down with the selectors and discuss where we need to improve or if we need to make changes. It’s a good place to be in because we’ve been consistent with our selections.”Rangana Herath, who took 19 wickets in the two Tests, will also need greater support in the bowling attack if he is not to be overburdened by the role of needing to take wickets and keep scoring rates down. Suraj Randiv partnered him well in Galle but struggled in Colombo where he was taken apart by Kevin Pietersen and by the end of the match Dilshan was the preferred offspinner.”Rangana is the best bowler I have and you obviously bank on him,” Jayawardene said. “The challenge I have is to try and not do the same thing we did with Murali (Muralitharan) and leave it as one bowler we depend on. We need two or three bowlers so we can take the pressure off him. But Rangana will keep delivering, he has the quality to do that on any surface.”

Salman Butt told a court how he confronted his agent Mazhar Majeed about text messages he had sent him to fix elements of match at the Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court17-Oct-2011Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt told a court on Monday how he confronted his agent Mazhar Majeed about text messages he had sent him to fix elements of a Twenty20 match against South Africa at the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup.Butt’s comments came on the afternoon of the ninth day of the alleged spot-fixing trial at Southwark Crown Court. It was the first time he had taken the witness box after the prosecution closed its case.Former opening batsman Butt was questioned about text messages he had received from Majeed, who was his agent from 2006 until 2010, relating to fixing. Butt first gave the background to the messages, which came on the back of a losing tour of Australia when they lost every single match in 2009-10.”He would say before a game ‘give me something’,” Butt told the court. “I didn’t like it and I felt bad about it. We are not what you are thinking of us. We don’t lose intentionally. But it didn’t make any difference to him.”For the match against South Africa, Majeed texted Butt asking, “in seventh and eighth over, one fall (wicket) in each, this will only work if you score in the first two overs and no wickets”. Kamran Akmal opened the batting with Butt. The message was recovered from police on behalf of the prosecution.Butt added, on when Majeed would raise such topics: “I would get rid of the conversations in my own language and say ‘thik he’.” At this stage Butt utilised the services of the female interpreter standing by his side for the first time. She explained that what he was saying meant ‘Okay, let’s move on’.Despite Butt’s intentions to deter Majeed’s messages, they didn’t stop. His lawyer, Ali Bajwa QC, asked him to explain messages found on Majeed’s phone that were sent to him. One such message read: “Give us one in the seventh and one in the eighth.” Bajwa asked Butt if he remembered receiving the messages at that time. He said “Well it is my phone so I must have read them”. But when Bajwa asked him if he knew what the message meant, he responded “No”.In the event, on that May 10 game, Butt was dismissed second ball trying to pull Dale Steyn. Bajwa asked Butt if he was captain at that time so to determine to the jury whether he had any influence on events in the match and Butt said, “No”.The court had already heard from written evidence given by the Pakistan team’s then security manager, Major Khwaja Najam Javed, that Majeed was in the Caribbean at the time for the tournament with his family.Butt then explained that he confronted Majeed on the day of this match and he told him: “We are not like these messages you are sending me. You must understand that I must report these things if they come up. He said I am your friend and I have known you many years and I am just checking if you are doing something dodgy or not.”I took his word for this explanation. He said he was trying to test me with something non-serious. I took his word for that. In four years there was nothing like this – something very serious. Anyone in my place would have had suspicions about it. I did not expect this thing to come up. I had known him many years and he had never done this thing before.”I didn’t report it to the ICC because this is someone I had known for quite a length of time now and he meant what he said to me in his explanation. I had worked with him a couple of years. This is someone I know, if it (happened) the way he explained it to me there was no way the ICC should find out. The only way of working with him was to have good relations so I took his word.”Just before proceedings broke off for the day, Bajwa quizzed Butt on the maiden over that, the prosecution alleged, Butt had agreed to but, subsequently, did not play out at The Oval in the third Test, the match before Lord’s. Majeed said: “You know the maiden yeah, do one more.” Butt, after said saying ‘yeah’ to the initial mention of a maiden, eventually snapped and said, “Bro just leave it”. That was known from the prosecution’s opening.Butt, who told the court “it is not hard to play out a maiden in a Test match at The Oval” after the prosecution suggested he failed to achieve it, said of the latest corrupt question from Majeed: “I just wanted him to leave this conversation. He started the same thing over and over again. The way he was showing off, like he thought I would do him a favour. I was slightly suspicious.”The case continues.

A round-up of matches from the sixth weekend as Kenya’s new East African Cup and East Africa Elite League both reach the halfway point

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2011East Africa Premier LeagueRwenzori Warriors put themselves in an almost insurmountable position at the halfway point in the 20-over competition with a six-wicket victory at Kongonis, their third win over their main rivals in eight days. Led by a fifty from opener Rakep Patel, Kongonis posted a useful 158 for 4, but a 51-ball 71 not out from Rwenzori skipper Roger Makasa led a well-paced chase and the visitors eased home with seven deliveries in hand.That result opened an eight-point gap over Nile Knights, who beat winless Coast Pekee by six wickets. Pekee, who are slowly beginning to find some king of form, made 121, a total that the Knights passed with ten balls to spare.In the mid-table battle, Nairobi Buffaloes were made to work hard for their three-wicket win against Rift Valley Rhinos

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Rwenzori Warriors6600024+1.505775/105.5640/110.0Nile Knights6420016+0.795641/104.1643/120.0Rift Valley Rhinos6330012+0.033556/109.2544/107.4Nairobi Buffaloes6330012-0.046652/110.0660/110.3Kongonis624008-0.034564/103.4584/106.4Coast Pekee606000-2.280587/120.0704/98.1East African CupKongonis finally beat Rwenzori Warriors, in what was their fourth clash in nine days, by 69 runs and in so doing moved to the top of a closely packed table where only four points separates the leading four teams. Kongonis recovered from losing Patel to the second delivery of the day to score 194, and then 18-year-old Emmanuel Bundi ripped through the Warriors’ top order to leave them 38 for 4. A partial recovery was ended when Bundi claimed his fifth victim, top scorer Ronald Ssemanda – he finished with 5 for 44 as Rwenzori were eventually bowled out for 125.Nile Knights completed a winning weekend with a four-wicket victory against Coast Pekee in Mombasa, but again the home side showed glimpses they are beginning to come to terms with the competition. Pekee managed 177 for 9 in their 50 overs, and when the Knights were reduced to 129 for 6 an upset briefly appeared on the cards. But Davis Arinaitwe (26*) and Deusdedit Muhumza (26*) put on an unbeaten 52 for the seventh wicket to see the Knights home and keep them in second place.Rify Valley Rhinos need to win against Nairobi Buffaloes in Mombasa to keep in touch with the leading pack, but slid to a 17-run defeat to leave them six points adrift in fifth position. The Buffaloes seemed well set at 109 for 3 before losing their way and being bowled out for 179. The Rhinos lost wickets steadily to limp to 88 for 6, and while Ramesh Mepani (47) kept them in the hunt he found little support and was last man out with plenty of balls in hand.

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Kongonis6410118+1.036877/214.2573/187.3Nile Knights6310216+1.211656/137.2542/152.0Nairobi Buffaloes6310216+0.169648/171.5631/175.1Rwenzori Warriors6320114+0.886607/135.1721/200.0Rift Valley Rhinos624008-0.585917/277.5976/251.1Coast Pekee606000-1.702807/241.01069/211.4

ndia finally broke through for their first win of the tour thanks to a dazzling display in the field

The Report by Brydon Coverdale at the MCG03-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPraveen Kumar got things started for India, with two wickets in the third over•Getty ImagesIndia finally broke through for their first win of the tour thanks to a dazzling display in the field. Ravindra Jadeja provided the spark – and did no harm to his chances in Saturday’s IPL auction – with a pair of run-outs as Australia’s batsmen were constricted by intense pressure from the fielders, and were dismissed in the 20th over for 131.That was always going to be hard to defend and so it proved, India reaching the target with two balls to spare and eight wickets in hand to draw the series 1-1. They began the chase needing only a fraction above six an over and as a result spent much of their innings in cruise control, Gautam Gambhir able to amble along at less than a run a ball without ever letting the pressure build.The only time a hint of worry might have entered the Indian camp was when five dot balls came towards the end of the chase, and George Bailey had all his fielders in the ring in the final over with one run required. But Gambhir found a gap at midwicket to strike a boundary off Clint McKay and finished on 56 from 60 balls, with MS Dhoni also unbeaten on 21.Virender Sehwag provided some excitement with one enormous six back over the head of the bowler Xavier Doherty but it was the only one in India’s innings. They didn’t need any more. Sehwag was caught at cover off a Brad Hogg full toss for 23 and Virat Kohli, who made a quick 31, was brilliantly caught when Matthew Wade dived to his right off the bowling of Mitchell Marsh, but they were Australia’s only two moments to celebrate in the field.Australia needed to build more pressure and while their work with the ball and in the field was not bad, it lacked the zip shown by their India counterparts. Four Australia batsmen were run out and another was stumped, the younger men brought in for the limited-overs games providing the energy that India lacked in the Tests.It all started with Jadeja, who got rid of two of David Hussey’s partners with run-outs and then picked up the wicket of Hussey off his own bowling. The big wicket was that of Aaron Finch, who was sent in alongside David Warner at the top of the order and showed his power with six fours, five of which were through the off side.Finch launched drives and cuts at anything wide of off and at one stage he had aggregated more than 100 Twenty20 international runs without being dismissed, but that changed quickly. Finch was caught short when Hussey pushed into the off side and tried for a single that wasn’t there, Jadeja’s throw getting rid of Finch for 36 from 23 balls.The captain George Bailey departed soon afterwards when he overcommitted as Hussey steered the ball to backward point, where Jadeja collected and threw to the bowler’s end with Bailey (3) a long way short. Jadeja then induced a leading edge off Hussey, who made 24 from 29 balls, and that wicket left Australia in trouble at 5 for 93.The fine work kept coming from India. Mitchell Marsh was stumped off Rahul Sharma, Dhoni collecting the ball close to the stumps and with no give in his gloves, he hardly had to move to whip the bails off and find Marsh just out of his ground. That was followed by what was effectively a knockout blow for Australia, when Matthew Wade was run out for 32 off 29 balls.Wade had slog-swept a six and after his outstanding innings on Wednesday, he seemed like the man who might carry Australia to a competitive score. But he pushed to cover and took off only to be turned back by Brett Lee, and Rohit Sharma’s direct hit had Wade short despite his full-length dive.Australia were dismissed with two balls to spare, when Doherty was run out thanks to sharp work from Suresh Raina. They had lost 4 for 10 since the start of the 19th over.Australia’s innings had got off to a poor start with the early loss of David Warner, who was caught at deep midwicket for 8 when he skied a ball off Praveen Kumar. Shaun Marsh’s miserable summer continued with a second-ball duck, his limp prod outside off resulting in an edge to first slip, where Sehwag parried the ball up to Dhoni to give Praveen his second wicket.It was an excellent way for India to begin, and they didn’t let the advantage slip. Now the question is whether they can carry some of this spark into the one-day series.

Andy Flower has said the successful blooding of a new generation of cricketers in the recent one-day series against India will provide an extra incentive for his senior players in the Test team to keep up the good work

Andrew Miller18-Sep-2011Andy Flower, the England coach, has said the successful blooding of a new generation of cricketers in the recent one-day series against India will provide an extra incentive for his senior players in the Test team to build on the high standards they produced in their rise to the top of the world rankings.Speaking in the aftermath of England’s impressive six-wicket win in the fifth and final ODI in Cardiff – a result which handed them a comprehensive 3-0 scoreline – Flower reflected that the international season “couldn’t have gone much better”. Nevertheless, he warned of the dangers of self-satisfaction creeping into the squad’s mentality, and said any player who dared to rest on his laurels risked paying for that attitude with his place.”I am delighted with the way the summer has gone, but at the risk of repeating ourselves we don’t just want to put our feet up and say, ‘Gee, it’s a lovely little time we have had together’,” said Flower. “If people aren’t hungry enough then I don’t think they will keep up with the side. They will drop out or be dropped out.”The hunger is very important because it drives you to train harder, it drives you to get out of bed early in the morning to go training. It drives you to do the extra work and to do your skills practice. To keep the weight off your body. It drives you to be inquisitive about maximising your potential.”If there is any self-satisfaction or too much contentment it can take you into a dangerous place. Our philosophy is to look forward and at the challenges ahead as opposed to those behind us. If you do look behind you, you are not planning properly for the future.”The dramatic arrival of the 21-year-old Yorkshire batsman Jonny Bairstow is a case in point. His nerveless debut innings of 41 not out from 21 balls not only secured a notable victory in a stiff run-chase in Cardiff, it served notice of the talent challenging for regular places in the England team, and reminded those players currently on the sidelines – Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen among them – that competition is healthy.”I can’t remember a debut like that,” said Flower. “It was very clean and impressive hitting. Not many people can strike it as cleanly as that. Not many people are that talented. He should be very proud of his performance and it is great to make an impact in international cricket straightaway, but let’s all keep level heads about it. Talk is cheap, but he did it with his actions, and he will continually be asked questions to repeat his performances out there in the middle when the pressure is on.”As Flower suggested, Bairstow’s “innocence” at international level may have helped him to shrug off the pressures of the match situation, and play each of his 21 balls on its merits. Though he wouldn’t be drawn on specific matters of selection ahead of the tour of India next month, Flower used an analogy from his own playing days with Zimbabwe to highlight the situation that England have now reached, with so many candidates pressing their claims for places in England’s various teams.”What it does re-emphasise to me is that opportunity is very important,” said Flower. “When we were given Test status, I was a little skeptical that we deserved it as a Test-playing nation, but I thought, ‘wow, what an opportunity’. I never thought I’d play international cricket. You’ve been given a chance, try to do something with it. These young guys have been given a chance and it’s very interesting to see how they’ve done against similar opposition. I think that’s been very informative for everyone and very exciting for the future of English cricket.”England’s one-day campaign hasn’t just been about Bairstow’s performance. Steven Finn filled the void left by James Anderson and Stuart Broad in Cardiff with his best spell to date in one-day cricket, while Jade Dernbach has shown the potential to become a truly innovative bowler, even if he hasn’t quite learned when to use his many slower-ball variations. Ravi Bopara overcame a torrid start to the series to produce key innings in each of the last three games, and Flower was delighted with the overall direction of his team.”The guys have been grabbing their opportunities, which is outstanding,” said Flower. “We have got a little bit of exposure into Ben Stokes – it has been exciting working with him – he is an exciting young player and a really good young man. Dernbach has got more exposure and experience against a really good one-day side, so a lot of good things have happened.”I have only been doing this job two-and-a-half years and a lot has happened – it is amazing how quickly things happen.”•Getty Images”We’ve won in difficult situations – it has been a really good series in that regard,” added Flower. “We rested KP, we played Bell at No. 4, then through injuries other people have got chances. Finn, in the two chances we have given him, has been outstanding. His figures don’t suggest so but he looked really exciting as a fast bowler and he is going to be an integral part of the England attack over the next few years. Bairstow last night got his one chance and grabbed it with both hands, and it was nice for Ravi to see it right through to the end last night.”On a personal note, Flower was adamant that his own hunger for the England job matches that which he expects of his charges, not least having witnessed the sort of potential that has been displayed in the past fortnight.”I am excited,” he said. “I have only been doing this job two-and-a-half years and a lot has happened – it is amazing how quickly things happen. When I was given the job I said I wanted to make a difference and I still hope that can occur in the next couple of years. I am very proud of the way the guys are performing and it is interesting to see how the three captains [approach] pans out.”I am sure most coaches are the same – coaches or captains – you shouldn’t need motivation to play for your country. There are plenty of reasons to be motivated. It is more about channeling that energy and making sure it is organised and making sure, as far as possible, individuals are maximising their potential. I don’t think it is so much motivation – it is more how we manage that.”The side is going to vary along the way but English cricket has good resources – both financial and human. There are proud cricketing nations out there that are just as hungry as us so it is going to be a good battle. We can achieve very good things. That was a very young side we had out there – Swann I assume was the oldest – so that is a very young side to beat India.”

Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board should replace the outgoing coach Waqar Younis with a foreigner, free from the influence of Pakistan’s domestic politics

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2011Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board should replace the outgoing coach Waqar Younis with a foreigner, free from the influence of Pakistan’s domestic politics.”I said it when I left as well, Pakistan need a foreign coach,” Lawson, who was sacked as Pakistan coach in 2008, told the from Australia. “Whether you come from Karachi or Lahore, the pressure on you from external sources doesn’t let you do the work properly.”A foreign coach won’t have that excess baggage. He won’t worry about politics but will just concentrate on making the best team he can. In my time, language wasn’t a problem. The common language was cricket and that’s all they had to understand.”Lawson, who currently coaches the Kochi franchise in the IPL, stressed that the language barrier wouldn’t be a problem for a foreign coach.”In my Kochi team, some players don’t speak Hindi so they communicate in English,” Lawson said. “It’s just an excuse for not appointing a foreign coach despite all the experience and assistance he can bring to Pakistan cricket.”Waqar recently announced that the upcoming Zimbabwe tour will be his last, citing personal reasons including his and his wife’s health. During his tenure Pakistan lurched from one controversy to another, including the spot-fixing scandal and Zulqarnain Haider’s mysterious disappearance from the team hotel, but they also managed to show a revival in Test fortunes and belie expectations to reach the World Cup semi-finals.Pakistan have changed coaches frequently in recent years, which Lawson said could be a deterrent for potential replacements. “They will have a very, very difficult time [replacing Waqar],” he said. “Not many will be willing to trust them because of how they’ve acted in the past but I’ll still tell the PCB to get a foreign coach even if it’s on a short, six-month contract.”It’s not so much the situation but the chairman’s [Ijaz Butt] reputation just isn’t good enough for him to invite foreign coaches over to Pakistan.”Lawson was highly critical of Shahid Afridi, who announced a ‘conditional’ retirement from the game after being axed as one-day captain.”He’s playing well enough and I’d love to see him in the team,” Lawson said of Afridi. “However, he needs to realise he’s not the most important person in the team. He’s a part and that needs to dawn on him. He doesn’t accept criticism and thinks he’s bigger and better than the team. That won’t lead him anywhere.”

Glamorgan have been plunged into further turmoil with news that former captain Jamie Dalrymple is leaving and club president Peter Walker has resigned

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2010Glamorgan have been plunged into further turmoil with the news that former captain Jamie Dalrymple is leaving and club president Peter Walker has resigned.The move follows the recent sacking of Dalrymple as captain and resignation of Matthew Maynard, after he learned he was to be demoted from his cricket manager role.The new arrangement will see Colin Metson taking on a manager director position with the cricketing decisions being taken jointly by chairman Paul Russell and chief executive Alan Hamer as well as new overseas player Alviro Petersen taking over as captain.Walker, a lifelong Glamorgan man who played 469 first-class games and three Tests over a 17-year career, is unhappy with the developments and admits he has concerns with their potential impacts.”Much has already been reported on the proposed changes in the running and structure of the team,” said Walker. “I have serious concerns about their likely impact. My standing down now will give the Chairman and officers of the club sufficient time to recommend a suitable replacement to the membership.”Throughout my period in office the loyal fans of Glamorgan overwhelmingly gave me their support. They deserve, and will expect the new president to continue to speak and act on their behalf.”In the 17 years I played for the county, Glamorgan were a club to whom I was totally committed, on and off the field. That state of mind remains and I’m proud of my Honorary Life membership for services to the club – and the game of cricket.”Dalrymple had joined Glamorgan from Middlesex at the end of the 2007 season and was made captain in 2009. “I have today [Thursday] resigned from Glamorgan County Cricket Club with immediate effect,” he said in a statement. “I have done so because Glamorgan have effectively dismissed me by removing the captaincy from me, recruiting a new post above Matthew Maynard and me, recruiting a new overseas player and captain in Alviro Peterson.”All of this without consultation or prior notification with me. This has rendered my position at the club untenable. The first I knew of any of these fundamental management and cricket decisions was on Monday afternoon when the chairman Paul Russell phoned to inform me of a ,” he added. “I understand the club’s right to remove the captaincy at their discretion and I recognise that the results in one-day cricket are not yet at a level we were happy with.”

It was overcast and damp in Manchester on Friday, the sort of conditions that make England a force to be reckoned with in one-day cricket, but the forecast for match-day is more sunshine and less cloud

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford08-Jul-2011It was overcast and damp in Manchester on Friday, the sort of conditions that make England a force to be reckoned with in one-day cricket, but the forecast for match-day is more sunshine and less cloud. If the series to date is any guide that will give Sri Lanka a good chance of bouncing straight back from their Trent Bridge thrashing to take the one-day series, even though the momentum is with the hosts.The four matches, which have left the series tied at 2-2, have just reinforced where these two teams’ strengths lie. Under cloudy, bowler-friendly conditions, at The Oval and Trent Bridge England have demolished their opponents, led by James Anderson; on warmer – you could say proper summer days – Sri Lanka’s subcontinental skills of spin and wristy batting have come to fore.England were delighted not just by overhead conditions in Nottingham, but also the 22 yards produced by the groundsman. They may not be quite so delighted by what they get at Old Trafford, in what will be the first international since the pitch was turned 90 degrees to face north-south rather than east-west, to avoid the setting sun whenever it decides to appear.Lancashire have only played one-day matches on the ground so far this season, but have filled their side with spin bowlers. Sometimes they have played four – Gary Keedy, Simon Kerrigan, Stephen Parry and Steven Croft – while the opposition have taken note and utilised slow bowling too. In a sense that’s nothing new, Old Trafford has always been a good surface for spin – just ask Monty Panesar, Graeme Swann or Shane Warne. But the pitch is unlikely to have the bounce and carry that England so desire although Jim Cumbes, the Lancashire chief executive, thought it would go through nicely at least from one end.”They used to have pace and carry and I think that may change the characteristics by turning the pitch around,” Alastair Cook said. “Lancashire have been playing three or four spinners. It has changed a little bit.”I think we’re getting a bit too carried away with the wickets,” he added. “To me it’s our skill levels and we haven’t been good at certain times and haven’t won. I think there was a directive sent out by Hugh Morris [managing director of England cricket] at the beginning of the year suggesting what wickets we would like. At certain times squares are quite hard to change, but as an English side we always want carry on the wicket.”Neither team was able to have a look at the pitch, however, as it remained covered throughout the training sessions which were held indoors. Predicting pitches is a notoriously difficult job so decisions on playing elevens are likely to be left until the last minute, although the odds favour an unchanged England side, even if there is temptation to play Samit Patel for his left-arm spin.The slower the better will be the case for Sri Lanka so they can make the most of their spinners, but Tillakaratne Dilshan said he still wanted a balanced attack unlike the spin-heavy combinations that can be used on the subcontinent. Regardless of what conditions confront his team on Saturday, Dilshan believes the main threat will come from Anderson who will have a home crowd supporting him.”In the two matches with flat wickets we won easily and on two seaming wickets they won easily,” Dilshan said. “Anderson is the key man and he’s why we lost two matches. If we get some runs against him we have a good chance.” Intriguingly, Dilshan hinted they have looked at new tactics to Anderson although he wouldn’t confirm exactly what. “It might be to play some shots, you never know,” he said.This game will decide whether Sri Lanka’s tour has been a success or not. They were never expected to win the Tests, but the one-day matches were a very different prospect. If they can secure their first series of the post-Muralitharan era, it will bode well for maintaining their position as a limited-overs force.”We have played very good one-day cricket in last three or four years,” Dilshan said. “We have been the runner’s up in the last two World Cups. We came here as No. 3 in the world now we are No. 2. There is a good balance between senior players and youngsters.”However, Cook knows that, from his point of view, a series victory against Sri Lanka will be a superb way to start his full-time leadership. “My first two series are against India and Sri Lanka, the two World Cup finalists, and we know what strong sides they are,” he said. “It’s something we can win. We wanted to test ourselves against the best.”

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami Ahmed and Amit Mishra have been picked for the ODIs against Pakistan

Amol Karhadkar23-Dec-2012India made six changes to India’s ODI squad that had toured Sri Lanka in July and August this year, for the three-match ODI series against Pakistan, starting December 30. Virender Sehwag survived the axe on a day Sachin Tendulkar retired from ODI cricket but Zaheer Khan was not considered for the high-profile series.The selectors, who met captain MS Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher at the BCCI headquarters, replaced allrounder Irfan Pathan, fast bowler Umesh Yadav and middle-order batsman Manoj Tiwary, who are all nursing injuries. The selection committee headed by Sandeep Patil also decided to leave out Zaheer and the spin duo of Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma. The six men who have come in their place are Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Shami Ahmed and Amit Mishra.While Yuvraj, Jadeja and Ishant’s inclusion was expected, Bhuvneshwar, the Uttar Pradesh allrounder and Shami, the Bengal seamer, have been rewarded for their consistent performances on the domestic circuit and India A tours. Legspinner Mishra’s inclusion in the ODIs was a big surprise. Though there is not much to choose between Mishra and Piyush Chawla when it comes to leg-spin bowling, Mishra’s fielding has been a big weakness. Besides, he has had a prolonged problem of overstepping while bowling.There are doubts over whether Sehwag will play in the 2015 World Cup. He was dropped for the Asia Cup in March following a poor CB Series in Australia. However, he showed glimpses of regaining his form. Still, Sehwag averages only 23.66 from his previous nine games, with just one 50-plus score, since scoring a world-record 219 against West Indies last December.In Zaheer’s case, it was a mutual understanding between the bowler, the team management and the selectors that he would concentrate on being in shape for the Australia Test series in February. However, if Zaheer improves on his fitness and his domestic team Mumbai are unable to make it to the Ranji Trophy knockouts, it won’t be surprising if he plays a part during the ODI series against England, starting January 11.The selectors did not make any changes to the T20 squad that played England in a just-concluded two-match series. The T20 series against Pakistan starts on December 25 in Bangalore.T20 squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Parvinder Awana, Piyush Chawla, Ambati Rayudu.ODI squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami Ahmed, Amit Mishra.