Cricinfo previews the third ODI between Australia and England at the SCG

Peter English22-Jan-2011

Match Facts

Ian Bell must turn his starts into major contributions•Getty Images

January 23, Sydney

Start time 14.20 (03.20 GMT)

The Big Picture

Australia should feel like an international heavyweight again after starting the one-day series against England with two wins to follow their success in the second Twenty20. But despite the sudden reversal in form after the Ashes, they remain in a bruised state. Nathan Hauritz went to hospital for x-rays on the shoulder he hurt while fielding in Hobart, and will have further scans today. Shaun Tait picked up a thigh strain, his second injury in a week, while Michael Hussey (hamstring) and Ricky Ponting (finger) are recovering from serious problems.Hauritz is unlikely to play in the final five games of the series but is hoping to be ready for the World Cup starting next month. Tait had better news on Saturday when scans showed no new injury, but his health is a huge worry and the latest setback came only a couple of days after he boasted he was “probably the fittest I’ve been”. This was despite him picking up a back strain which ruled him out of the win in Melbourne.England’s problems are more to do with form and, almost certainly, a let-down following their dominant, drought-breaking Ashes win. It was two weeks ago in Sydney that Andrew Strauss and his team-mates got their hands on the urn and celebrated long and hard. They will be back at the SCG on Sunday aiming to regain some much-needed momentum.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWLL

England LLWLL

Watch out for…

Brad Haddin is a man starting to feel significant pressure, but he can breathe freely again with a big score on his home ground. Tim Paine was named in Australia’s World Cup squad a few days after he had been appointed vice-captain of the Twenty20 team, a decision which led to Haddin being dropped. Haddin then missed three stumpings in the first ODI against England, and gained scores of 39 and 5 as an opener.Ian Bell has made two starts in the opening games, but England need him to push on to a big score. While his opportunities were limited in the Test campaign, Bell has received chances for long stays in both 50-over contests. He was 23 in Melbourne when he chipped Steven Smith to cover, and last night in Hobart he fell to the second ball of Brett Lee’s spell when he tried to drive through the offside on 32. England require more steel from their side’s most attractive run-maker.

Team news

Xavier Doherty comes in for Hauritz, while a replacement needs to be found for Tait. Doherty played in the opening ODI before being dropped when he wasn’t in the World Cup squad. “Xavier has an excellent domestic one-day record and we are sure he will seize this opportunity to again play for Australia,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. Mitchell Johnson isn’t available having not had enough time to prepare after his throat infection so Peter Siddle has been added to the squad.



Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Brad Haddin (wk), 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 Cameron White, 5 David Hussey, 6 Shaun Marsh, 7 Steven Smith, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Xavier Doherty, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Doug Bollinger.Andrew Strauss felt he was a fast bowler short in Hobart, which makes the offspinner James Tredwell vulnerable. Chris Woakes or Luke Wright could both come in, with Tim Bresnan hurting his calf in Hobart. What England really want is the return of James Anderson, who isn’t available until Adelaide after taking time off back home.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Matt Prior (wk), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Michael Yardy, 8 Luke Wright, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Chris Tremlett, 11 Ajmal Shahzad.

Stats and trivia

• The SCG is a treasured ground in Australia’s history, but it isn’t a pleasant place to play England. In 18 games there, Australia have won seven and lost 10. Four of those defeats came in the 1980s when the locals won only once.
• Michael Clarke sits in 10th spot on the ground’s one-day run list with 754. Allan Lamb’s 373 are the most by an Englishman.
• Geoff Boycott has the second-highest batting average at the ground, with his 127.00 in four matches only slightly worse than Ian Chappell’s 131.00 in three games.
• Darren Gough is the only Englishman to have taken five wickets at the SCG, with his haul coming against Zimbabwe in 1994-95.

Pitch and conditions

The SCG pitch usually has something for the spinners, but it has also supported the fast bowlers at times this year. Sydney’s forecast for Sunday is sunny and a top of 27C.

Quotes

“What’s most pleasing for me is when you see someone come in like Shaun Marsh and get hold of his opportunity. That continues to show the depth in first-class cricket in Australia.”
“We aren’t in the business of handing out huge recriminations to our batsmen.”

Uttar Pradesh’s Mohammad Kaif and Madhya Pradesh’ Naman Ojha rescued Central Zone from what was a poor start to their innings in response to East Zone’s 427

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2011
ScorecardUttar Pradesh’s Mohammad Kaif and Madhya Pradesh’ Naman Ojha rescued Central Zone from what was a poor start to their innings in response to East Zone’s 427. Central lost both their openers with the score just four, and then their captain, Rajasthan’s Hrishikesh Kanitkar, was out, leaving them 55 for 3.Kaif and Ojha took their time, taking 37.5 overs for their 114-run unbeaten stand. Kaif, who was recently bought by IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, scored 78, while Ojha reached his half-century by the end of play.Central had made a positive start to the day, taking two quick wickets, but wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha made sure East’s score went pass 400. Saha, who returned from South Africa after the Test series during which he was India’s reserve wicketkeeper, scored 69 and had useful partnerships with lower-order batsmen Ashok Dinda and Iresh Saxena to frustrate Central. Pankaj Singh, whose 43 wickets over the Ranji season were a major factor in Rajasthan winning the trophy, finished with figures of 4 for 126.

Pakistan has been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their 11-run win against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2011Shahid Afridi has been fined 20% of his match fee and the rest of the Pakistan team 10% of theirs for a slow over-rate during their 11-run win against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday. They were adjudged to be one over short of their target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration. They were no major delays in Sri Lanka’s innings, with Pakistan asking for their two allotted reviews.In accordance with the ICC code of conduct, players are fined 10% of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount. The penalty was accepted by Pakistan without contest so there was no need for a hearing.Pakistan successfully defended 277 at the R Premadasa Stadium, giving them their second victory of the tournament. Their fast bowlers went through 24 overs of the 50, with Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul, who both have long run-ups, combining for 19. Also, the game was headed for a close finish with Nuwan Kulasekara playing a cameo in the end for Sri Lanka, prompting several discussions over field settings.

Hamid Hassan, the Afghanistan fast bowler, is preparing to represent MCC in Abu Dhabi and hopes he gets a chance to play in future World Cups

Andrew McGlashan26-Mar-2011Amid all the discussion and debate about the structure of future World Cups, and whether Associates will retain a place in the tournament, it’s worth remembering one team who almost completed a remarkable journey to the current event. Afghanistan finished fifth in the qualifying tournament two years ago, enough to earn ODI status but agonisingly short of being one of the four extra teams in the subcontinent.Nobody is quite sure what the future holds for Afghanistan cricket; whether they were riding on the crest of a wave – both in terms of the emotion behind their success and a talented group players who came together at the right time – or whether there is a real chance of them developing into a fully-fledged cricketing nation. Regardless, though, they deserve the chance to try again.Hamid Hassan, 23, is one of their poster boys and marquee players, an opening bowler with an ODI average of 20.86 and Twenty20 economy rate of under a run-a-ball. He has time on his side and is desperate that the ICC don’t close off the World Cup to the Associate and Affiliate nations.”We were so close to getting into this year’s tournament, just one win away, and we’d be very disappointed if he didn’t have another chance,” Hassan told ESPNcricinfo. “I know ICC have announced the next tournament will be 10 nations, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to not let the Associates in. Hopefully we get a chance to qualify.”A year ago Afghanistan were the talk of the town as they took on India and South Africa during the group stage of the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. There was no fairytale upset, but they certainly weren’t embarrassed in either match. However, in recent months they have drifted into the background with the focus of the world game elsewhere and are now entering a crucial phase to determine which direction the sport heads in the country.”Facilities are getting better for us and hopefully over the next year the grounds will be ready. There is a huge passion for the game in Afghanistan,” Hassan said. “But Afghanistan needs to play more cricket like Ireland, Canada and Kenya do. It’s the only way we will get better.” Currently, Afghanistan’s ODI status runs until 2013 but there aren’t many teams queuing up to play them.Hassan, and team-mate Mohammad Nabi, will have a chance to fly the flag for Afghanistan cricket when they appear for MCC against Nottinghamshire in Abu Dhabi from Sunday. The match is again being played with a pink ball under lights as part of the MCC’s drive to examine the possibilities of day/night Test cricket. It won’t gain the same following as last year’s inaugural game as the novelty factor is no longer there, while there is the smaller matter of World Cup semi-finals taking place, but for Hassan it’s an important occasion.He was part of the MCC groundstaff in 2006 along with Nabi and has never been one to hide his ambitions. He has previously spoken about a dream of playing county cricket and although nothing has materialised as yet it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that the chance could arrive. Hassan is gunning for some Nottinghamshire wickets and hoping to help his cause.”I’d love to have the chance to play county cricket and maybe if I do well in this game against Nottinghamshire somebody will spot me,” he said. “I just want to play cricket at the highest level possible. It’s a huge part of my life.”Hassan will be taking the field with Rahul Dravid and former Australia opener Chris Rogers alongside England wicketkeeper Steven Davies. Nottinghamshire are short of full strength but have a decent batting line-up including Samit Patel who was publicly criticised by Andy Flower, the England coach, over his fitness after being left out of the World Cup squad and will want to begin the domestic season next month in good form.

Ashish Nehra has begun bowling in the nets after successful surgery on his injured finger, but will not be fit in time to take part in IPL 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2011Ashish Nehra has begun bowling in the nets after successful surgery on his injured finger, but will not be fully fit in time to take part in IPL 2011. Nehra had fractured the middle finger on his right hand while attempting a catch during India’s semi-final win over Pakistan in the World Cup. The injury forced him to miss out on the World Cup final.”I have just come back from Australia last week,” Nehra told . “My finger surgery went off well. My recovery has been pretty good. I was at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) doing my rehabilitation work. I have also started bowling in the nets and haven’t faced any problems.”While he has had no trouble bowling, Nehra said batting and fielding is still a problem and therefore “playing in the IPL is out of the question”. Instead, he will be going back to the NCA for a two-week rehabilitation program as he wants to be completely fit before making himself available for selection for India.”The physios and the doctor will monitor my progress,” he said. “If I get a positive response from them, I will submit my fit-certificate and make myself available for selection for the West Indies tour.”Pune Warriors India, one of the two new franchises, bought Nehra for $850,000 in the January player auction, and the bowler expressed his disappointment at not being able to play a single game for them this season.”I feel bad that I haven’t been able to serve the team. But injuries are something you can’t really predict. It was painful to sit in the dressing room watching India win the World Cup. But then I was happy for my team also. I tried thinking about Praveen Kumar. He was a certainty in the squad but missed out due to injury.”

Cricket South Africa has appointed auditing firm KPMG to conduct an investigation into their financial affairs

Firdose Moonda23-May-2011Cricket South Africa has appointed auditing firm KPMG to conduct an investigation into their financial affairs. The inquiry comes after the CSA board agreed it would not challenge a court order to reinstate president Mtutuzeli Nyoka, who insisted on a full, forensic audit, at a meeting in Johannesburg on May 4.Ishmael Semenya, a lawyer on CSA’s legal and governance committee, was tasked with appointing the external auditors at that meeting. He took almost three weeks to decide on which of the country’s four big auditing companies would have the responsibility of conducting the investigation. It is understood that disagreements between board members led to the delay in appointing KPMG.The firm’s mandate will be “to investigate and report on the payment of bonuses, travel expenses, related expenditure and fringe benefits paid to CSA staff members in connection with the IPL and Champions Trophy hosted in 2009,” Semenya told ESPNcricinfo. The investigation will start immediately and Semenya is hopeful the findings will be ready in four weeks.The audit is the culmination of a long battle between Nyoka and chief executive Gerald Majola, which has centered around finances. CSA awarded R4.7 million (US$671,428) in bonuses to 40 staff members in 2009, which were not declared through the body’s remunerations committee (REMCO). Insiders said this was keeping with precedents set during the hosting of the 2003 World Cup and the 2007 World Twenty20. Nyoka wanted these payments and details of how CSA spent money in an account to the value of R84.6 million (US$12,085,714) scrutinised by external auditors.CSA instead held an internal inquiry, chaired by vice-president AK Khan, because it believed it had not exhausted its own procedure. The investigation cleared Majola of any wrongdoing, saying he had made “an error of judgement” in not declaring the payments through REMCO and ordered him to pay back an amount of R28,168 (US$4024) which was used for travel for his children.Following the inquiry, in February this year, the board passed a vote of no confidence against Nyoka, removing him as their president. Nyoka challenged the decision in the South Gauteng High Court, where it was found that his removal was unlawful and that he should be reinstated and his demands for an external audit met. On the same day as the judgement, CSA issued a release stating its intention to appeal the decision.They backtracked on that statement on May 4 at a board meeting in which Majola and Nyoka reconciled “with the best interests of cricket in mind.” At the time, it appeared that the South African Sports and Olympic Committee would conduct the external inquiry, but it has since been decided that KPMG will be tasked with the investigation.

Jhulan Goswami will lead the India Women’s team in quadrangular ODI and Twenty20 tournaments in England this summer

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2011Jhulan Goswami will lead the India Women’s team in quadrangular ODI and Twenty20 tournaments in England this summer. Amita Sharma has been named vice-captain of the 15-player squad.The squad includes three new faces in Veda Krishnamurthy, Ekta Bisht and Shilpa Gupta. Kirshnamurthy and Bisht were part of the Board President’s Women XI that played West Indies Women in Mumbai in January, as well as the 2010-11 Women’s Champions Trophy, in which Gupta featured too.The biggest name missing from the squad is that of allrounder Rumeli Dhar, a veteran of 76 ODIs (apart from four Tests and 15 T20 internationals). Dhar was in poor form against West Indies in January, picking up two wickets and getting a top score of 38 in a five-ODI series which India won 3-2. Soniya Dabir and Reema Malhotra, who were part of that squad, also missed out.The T20 tournament, which also features England, Australia and New Zealand, begins on June 23 with India taking on Australia at Billericay. The ODI series, featuring the same teams, begins on June 30.Squad: Jhulan Goswami (capt), Amita Sharma (vc), Mithali Raj, Snehal Pradhan, Poonam Raut, Neha Tanwar, Harmanpreet Kaur, Samantha Lobatto (wk), Anagha Deshpande, Gouher Sultana, Priyanka Roy, Diana David, Veda Krishnamurthy, Ekta Bisht, Shilpa Gupta.

England Test captain Andrew Strauss failed again with the bat, leaving Chris Rogers fighting almost single-handedly to save Middlesex from following on against Gloucestershire

29-Jun-2011
ScorecardEngland Test captain Andrew Strauss failed again with the bat, leaving Chris Rogers fighting almost single-handedly to save Middlesex from following on in their County Championship Second Division match against Gloucestershire at Uxbridge. Rogers, capped once by Australia, hit an unbeaten 125 as Middlesex, replying to Gloucestershire’s imposing 459 for 9 declared, struggled to 283 for 7 – still 27 runs away from making the visitors bat again.Strauss, who has only one more game – a guest appearance for Somerset in next week’s tour match – to rediscover his form before the Test series against India starts, had to wait until an hour before lunch on the third day to get to the crease. He got off the mark first ball with a thick edge behind point for two but faced only six more balls before Jon Lewis trapped him leg before with a delivery that swung into him. He has now scored 20, 4, 0, 3 and 2 in his last five innings.It was a clever piece of bowling by Lewis, who has dismissed Strauss cheaply in six of his last eight innings for Middlesex against Gloucestershire, and completed a good morning for the fast-medium bowler who won a solitary England cap in 2006. Lewis had earlier reached his 13th first-class 50 and gone on to a career-best 71, beating his previous highest score of 62, made against Worcestershire at Cheltenham 12 years ago.He had joined Ian Cockbain in an eighth-wicket stand of 97 which ended when Cockbain was caught behind off Corey Collymore for 127, scored off 233 balls and containing 16 fours and a six. Collymore also spread-eagled Lewis’ stumps but not before he had struck his
swashbuckling 71 off 79 balls with six fours and three sixes.There was to be no more joy for Lewis as Rogers, whose innings featured 15 fours and two sixes in 230 balls, shared successive partnerships of 71, 50 and 86 with Sam Robson, Scott Newman and Neil Dexter. But Middlesex ran into trouble after all three of them got out to poor shots.Robson was caught behind for 38, carving at a short ball from Ian Saxelby, Newman (23) slapped Jack Taylor to mid-off and Dexter (41) pulled Saxelby to deep square leg. Three more wickets went down for seven runs in 19 balls late on, but Tim Murtagh held out with Rogers until the close.

On the eve of Zimbabwe’s return to Test cricket, Tatenda Taibu has said that a lack of funds and poor professional structures are crippling the game in the country

Firdose Moonda in Harare02-Aug-2011On the eve of Zimbabwe’s return to Test cricket, senior wicketkeeper batsman Tatenda Taibu has slammed the country’s administration for not doing enough for the game. Taibu said that a lack of funds and poor professional structures are crippling cricket in the country.The end of an almost six-year long self-imposed exile from Test cricket, the introduction of a franchise system and the return of many former players such as Heath Streak and Grant Flower to the coaching structures had many thinking that transformation was in the air. Taibu has knocked that notion, saying that the only reason the game survives in the country is because of the commitment of its players.”I don’t think much has changed really, the administration is still struggling to run cricket in the country well,” Taibu said candidly. “For example, the guys haven’t been paid their match fees from August last year up to now. At the moment, I am sitting here without a contract, no one has got a contract; those are all things that the administration is struggling to deal with.”Although the franchises have been able to contract and pay players, the issue of central contracts has never been clarified or resolved. All players who play for Zimbabwe must be contracted to a franchise, which means they earn some form of income, but Taibu indicated that may just be a form of bandaging a wound that really needs surgery. “When you walk around and you see a house that’s painted well, you will think that house is really standing strong but if does not have a strong foundation, it will fall down one day or another,” he said. “Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has just painted a house that’s about to fall.”Taibu said the players have tried to seek certainty from ZC but that, personally, he had kept a distance from the subject because of his reputation as a pot-stirrer. “It’s hard for me as a player with the history that I’ve got in Zimbabwe cricket to go up and mention these things,” he said. “We’ve tried to go through the right structures, the captain and the manager but nothing has been done to date.”Taibu resigned from the captaincy in November 2005 in controversial fashion after speaking out about the way cricket was being run and spent time living in Namibia, Bangladesh and South Africa before coming home in 2007.He vowed not to speak about administrative issues again but now, Taibu has broken his silence and said he is no afraid of the repercussions. Instead, he feels it his responsibility, as the senior statesman of the side, to be the mouthpiece for some of the juniors. “I like telling the truth, I know most of the other guys are scared of being targeted and they won’t be able to come out and say it in the open but I am not scared of being targeted. I think it’s important that I can stand up for the younger guys who don’t have a voice.”With such discontent bubbling under the surface of a historic comeback into the game, it’s difficult to see what keeps the players motivated. Taibu explained that it was the patriotism and passion in the ranks, and that he is proud to be involved with men of such character. “I can’t fault the coaching staff, they’ve worked really hard and I can’t fault the guys. They come in day in and day out but they are not getting much support from the administration unfortunately,” he said. “To see the guys running in and bowling and hitting a lot of balls in the nets it really shows that the guys have got the country at heart. It is two days before a Test match and no one has got a contract, no one knows what we will get paid, but the guys love their country and they can’t see cricket drop like that.”As much as there is strife in Zimbabwe cricket, there is also pride and the return to the game’s premier format is something the players are cherishing. “It will be sad to see Zimbabwe cricket die, after all the people that have worked hard for us to get Test cricket back, I think it will be a waste if we let it die.”Taibu believes the game is still very much alive and the upcoming Test matches, against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand, will only help cricket thrive in spite of its structures. “When you play Test cricket, you improve faster,” he said. “As a batsman you spend more time at the crease, as a bowler you learn how to get people out, how to be disciplined and when to attack and when not to.”

Pakistan have recalled 19-year-old batsman Rabiya Shah for the upcoming tour of the West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Aug-2011Pakistan have recalled 19-year-old batsman Rabiya Shah for the upcoming tour of the West Indies. The bulk of the side is the same as the one that participated in the Women’s Quadrangular series in Sri Lanka four months ago, except for Shah, who last played during the ICC Women’s Challenge in South Africa last year.Sana Mir, the 25-year-old who has been the regular captain for nearly a year, continues to lead the side. She was at the helm when Pakistan won the Quadrangular in Sri Lanka. Pakistan will play four ODIs and four Twenty20s in the Caribbean between August 28 and September 11.Squad: Sana Mir (capt), Javeria Khan, Asmavia Iqbal, Batool Fatima (wk), Bismah Maroof, Kainat Imtiaz, Marina Iqbal, Masooma Junaid, Nain Abidi, Nida Dar, Qanita Jalil, Sadia Yousuf, Mariam Hassan, Rubiya Shah