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The red ball and white kit that England have enjoyed for the last couple of weeks have been swapped for a red kit and a white ball, a matter of days after the they beat the weather at HeadingleyAlastair Cook said he could not remember a quicker turnaround in formats during his career (at least the bus trip to Canberra after the 2010-11 Ashes was for a warm-up match) although he believes his players’ experience of the crammed county schedule will help them switch into one-day mode in time for Friday’s opening one-day international.”I reckon this is the quickest turnaround I can remember in my career,” Cook said. “I think it’s a skill we’ve learned from county cricket, we’ve been brought up with a four-day game followed by a one-day game straightaway so it’s not unusual for us at that level.”Clearly it’s slightly unusual to have such a quick turnaround in international cricket but it’s more a case of making sure you’re switched on mentally, making sure you’ve got your game plan in order for the change of format rather than technique wise.”This is where the intense nature of the season comes into focus. Three ODIs in six days at Lord’s, Southampton and Trent Bridge lead straight into the Champions Trophy. Then, of course, there is something significant happening from early July. While talk of the Ashes may not, after all, actually be banned by England, perhaps it should only be mentioned in hushed tones, although the sight of Kevin Pietersen netting at Lord’s was another reminder of what is ahead.The convergence of England’s Test and one-day sides, which has occurred over the last couple of seasons, especially when playing at home, is highlighted with only two of the eleven that finished at Headingley on Tuesday – Nick Compton and Matt Prior – not involved in this squad. Eoin Morgan, recently back from the IPL, and Jos Buttler return to the middle order.There was, perhaps, a hint of the issues England will face through the rest of the season when Cook spoke of a few “niggles” in the camp, although he would not divulge any further information, even the identity of those players carrying minor concerns. “I can’t tell you, sorry,” Cook said.An educated guess would suggest that Stuart Broad could be one. He appeared to hurt his right knee while diving to take a caught-and-bowled off Brendon McCullum on the final day at Headingely. “It’s always the way with such a quick turnaround from a Test match, there’s always a couple of niggles flying around we’re just going to wait and see,” Cook said.Although not injury-related, England may have to contend with the last-minute loss of Tim Bresnan, whose wife is due to give birth at any time. Jade Dernbach, the Surrey pace bowler, has been added as cover, although it would make sense if other members of the Champions Trophy squad were given priority.Cook, however, acknowledged the tricky balancing act he faces in these three matches, with them being a fully-fledged series rather than official warm-ups, which provide greater flexibility and do not carry kudos or ranking points.”You can’t treat these matches as warm-ups at all,” he said. “As an England side you try and win as many games as you can. There might be time in this three-match series where we might change a combination to have a look. But if we change a combination it’s not as a warm-up, we’re still going to try and win that game but there be time where we change things.”With that in mind, Cook did not guarantee all members of the squad a match before the Champions Trophy, although he did float the possibility that those spending time carrying the drinks could be sent back to their counties if it is felt they need extra match time.Someone who England hope will soon be spending time back in county cricket is Pietersen. He arrived at Lord’s to net with his team-mates after returning to training earlier this week and was also due to meet with team director Andy Flower.”It’s great news for England cricket to have him back playing again,” Cook told . “He’s practising first of all and it’s encouraging that he’s progressing well from that injury. Things are looking positive on that note and hopefully it’s not too long until he’s out in the middle.”Pietersen looked in high spirits as he edged closer to a return at some point in June – perhaps as early as the Championship match against Sussex at Arundel – when the serious task of preparing for Australia will begin. However that, as England like to keep reminding us, is very much in the future.

Russell Domingo has been appointed South Africa’s new coach on a two-year deal. Domingo, who is currently assistant coach, will take over from Kirsten in August with his first assignment being the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka.Domingo has been second-in-command since Kirsten was named coach in June 2011 and was put in charge of South Africa’s Twenty20 squad last December. Prior to that, he had six seasons at the helm of the Warriors franchise, with whom he won two trophies and nurtured a string of national players including Wayne Parnell, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Robin Peterson and Ashwell Prince.Kirsten earmarked Domingo as his successor two years ago and rubber-stamped him upon his resignation yesterday when he said Domingo was ready for “high-level coaching.” And it was Kirsten who informed Domingo he may be in line to take over. “Gary called me about 10 days ago and told me he was not going to extend his contract for another two years and that he is confident in my ability to take over,” Domingo told ESPNcricinfo.Domingo had time to mull over whether he would accept the job while CSA’s board considered its options. When Kirsten opted not to exercise his renew option on Friday, acting CEO Nassei Appiah told the media CSA would appoint a committee to oversee the “due process,” of appointing a new coach. None of that was required.The board decided on Friday they would offer Domingo the job in the interests of continuity. “They gave me a call around lunch-time and asked me if I wanted the job and I accepted,” he said. “I made a few calls to all the players, whether in South Africa, England or India, and let them know the decision and get their thoughts on it. All of them were confident in me, which was great to hear. This is a very big day in my life. It was to be highlight in anybody’s coaching career to be given the honour and responsibility of being in charge of your national side.”It’s been a whirlwind few days for Domingo, who thought Kirsten would stay on until the 2015 World Cup but now finds himself the man that will take South Africa to that tournament. His yet-to-be signed contract will terminate in August 2015 but none of the specific terms have been discussed.Domingo expects to meet with CSA’s board over the next week to negotiate. Chris Nenzani, the president, said “all options,” would be discussed which means Domingo could, like Kirsten, ask for specific periods of leave to be with his family, although that is unlikely.While Domingo is not expected to emulate Kirsten in that regard, he will employ a similar style of coaching which will focus on transferring responsibility to the players and managing them, rather than instructing them. “I need to try and do a lot of things Gary has done but also to bring my own flavour to it,” Domingo said, “I’m still very much in the planning stage as to how I want to take this team forward. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do over the next few weeks. I need to canvas a lot of opinion and pull out some ideas from various people and add my own ideas to that.”One of the distinct differences between Kirsten and Domingo is that the latter has no playing experience, having discovered at a young age he would not cut it as a first-class cricketer. That has never hampered Domingo before, though, and he does not expect it to become an issue even as he takes on one of the most high-profile jobs in world cricket.”I’ve been coaching for 16 years now, since I was 22 years old,” Domingo said. “Playing and coaching are two totally different scenarios. I’ve developed a good rapport with players, and I’ve gone through all the stages a coach needs to go through – rightfully so because I haven’t got the playing credentials.”While Domingo appears ready for the challenge, and has the backing of all the most important people, he will still have Kirsten to call on if needed. “He’s a massive guy to replace, but I don’t think Gary is entirely lost to South African cricket. I’d be an absolute fool not use Gary in some capacity as much as I possibly can. Gary and I have a really good working relationship,” he said. Domingo gave Kirsten his first coaching job when he asked him to consult for the Warriors and the pair have been close ever since.Domingo will also have free reign to choose other assistants but will likely to keep the same core of support staff. “The guys that are there at the moment have done an outstanding job. We have a good relationship and we work really well together, and I don’t see why that should change at all,” he said.That means Allan Donald will probably remain bowling coach but Domingo will probably add an assistant from the domestic set-up. Lions’ coach Geoff Toyana and Cobras’ coach Paul Adams are two that could come into contention after they both enjoyed successful maiden seasons with their franchises. Paddy Upton, who was elevated to performance manager under Kirsten, may also be retained.Domingo makes history as the first person of colour to become head coach, 22 years after readmission. Like many before him, he hopes he does not get judged in black and white alone. “I’m hoping the public sees me as a cricket coach, not a cricket coach of colour. I will endeavour to give my best for the country in every aspect,” he said.

John Parker, the former New Zealand captain, has apologised to Mike Hesson for comments made in his document “The Taylor Affair” which follows on from his apology to Brendon McCullum which has ended the threat of legal action.In a written statement, Parker confirmed that he was not aware of any facts that could support inferences contained in “The Taylor Affair” that Hesson had been dishonest, improperly motivated or acted in a manipulative way.The statement said: “John Parker’s focus in preparing the document was to make comment on shortcomings he perceived to be present in governance at New Zealand Cricket.However, the document left open inferences that could be drawn that Mike Hesson was dishonest, or improperly motivated, or acted in a manipulative way, with respect to his actions as Head Coach of the BLACKCAPS.Such inferences were not intended by John Parker in any way. John Parker is not aware of any facts upon which such inferences can be drawn. John Parker did not intend to discredit Mike Hesson and sincerely regrets any harm to his reputation which may have been caused.This statement resolves matters between John Parker and Mike Hesson, and it is agreed that no legal proceedings will occur.”Hesson has accepted Parker’s assertion that he did not intend to discredit him and is grateful to have received his apology.”My family has found dealing with this matter pretty stressful and there is no doubt that it has been an unnecessary distraction during the preparations for an important few months ahead,” Hesson said. “I am very happy that it has now been resolved and we can all head to England focused on the task of winning cricket matches.”New Zealand depart for England later this week for a tour that includes two Tests, three ODIs, two Twenty20s and the Champions Trophy.

Delhi Daredevils have signed the New South Wales captain and left-hand batsman Ben Rohrer for this IPL season.The Daredevils’ spokesperson confirmed Rohrer’s inclusion, saying he was a replacement for Indian seamer Varun Aaron, who isn’t available due to a stress fracture he suffered last year. Rohrer, though, could also compensate for the absence of Jesse Ryder this season. Ryder was at the receiving end of a vicious attack in Christchurch last week.A capable and versatile middle-order batsman as well as a calm operator, the 32-year-old Rohrer was a stand-out performer for the Melbourne Renegades in the 2012-13 BBL in Australia, compiling 295 runs at an average of 49.16 as his side led the preliminary standings before falling in the semi-finals.As impressive as Rohrer’s runs was the manner in which he made them, combining busy running with strong hitting like Michael Hussey. Those displays earned Rohrer a Twenty20 international debut against the West Indies at the Gabba, where he did not look out of place while hustling to 16.Rohrer’s first-class career for NSW has been sturdy, returning him 1901 runs at 39.60 in 34 matches, including a century on debut for the Blues against Tasmania in 2006.He has been in and out of the side due to the state’s raft of international players for several summers since, but his reliability as a batsman and a character was recognised by his appointment to the state captaincy this summer after Steve O’Keefe resigned his commission.Rohrer will join his fellow New South Welshman David Warner in Delhi. He tweeted the news of his inclusion in the squad.

Sri Lanka’s departing national curator Anurudda Polonowita has said a more sporting pitch was in the pipeline for Sri Lanka’s second Test against Bangladesh at the R Premadasa Stadium, after a lifeless pitch in Galle had made a result impossible in the first Test.Polonowita retires after 19 years as national curator, during which time he has prepared over 90 Test pitches, in addition to hundreds of ODI and first-class wickets. The surface for this Test will be his last, and SLC plans to felicitate him for his service during the Test.Two days before the second Test, the strip on which the match will be played was dressed in a thick layer of grass, which suggests the pitch may be conducive to seam bowling early in the match. The Premadasa pitch has generally been more seamer-friendly since being relaid, with pace and bounce also having been increased markedly.The Premadasa has not hosted a Test since November 2010, when West Indies toured Sri Lanka, and had had its square re-laid only months prior to that match.”It will be a different pitch from Galle,” Polonowita said. “I can’t talk about it much, but the preparation has been going well, and I’m sure it will be a good Test match pitch.”Polonowita has largely been responsible for the extra assistance for the fast bowlers at the three venues Sri Lanka developed for the 2011 World Cup. Both the pitches at Pallekele and Hambantota international stadiums have also seen a significant departure from the drier, spin-friendly conditions that Sri Lanka’s playing surfaces have traditionally been associated with.”The pitches were slow and low, so I decided to redo all the pitches before the World Cup. We took a very methodical, scientific approach and managed to prepare pitches that are much better now.”At the Premadasa, there were a lot of complaints that at night, under lights, some water seeps up to the pitch and affects the way the pitch plays, so before the World Cup, we raised the whole ground by three-and-a-half feet, and got the gradient right on the whole ground. Now it doesn’t do that.”In addition to modernising pitch preparation in Sri Lanka by identifying the most suitable types of clay through scientific testing, Polonowita also introduced the practice of covering the entire ground, during rain delays – a task he said is not undertaken anywhere else in the world.”Because we sometimes have to play during the monsoon, we thought it was better to get the ground covered in under five minutes, so that when the rain stops, the cricket can start within 15 minutes. In other parts of the world, the rain can be light, but here because it rains hard, it would take longer to restart, if not for our method.”The team of agriculture graduates that work beneath Polonowita have also contributed to his success, he said, as they have applied the knowledge from their field into pitch preparation.”They understand the soil and how it behaves, so that is good. But ultimately preparing pitches is about practical experience. I have trained them and I’m confident that they will do a good job.”Deputy national curator Janaka Sampath is expected to be appointed to Polonowita’s position after Polonowita’s retirement.

Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi, who is being tipped to replace Misbah-ul-Haq as captain of the ODI team for next year’s World Cup, has come out in support of his current captain.”Misbah has been leading the side well since the last few years and he has also been our most prolific batsman. I think we all need to support him even if he has had one bad series,” Afridi said. “It is unfair to criticize him so much after just one bad series as captain and batsman. He has been a stable influence on the team and he needs support at this stage for the World Cup.”Misbah has been Test captain since 2010 but he replaced Afridi as the captain of the one-day and T20 squads in only in May 2011 after Afridi had a spat with the PCB.”I have no issues playing under Misbah’s captaincy because he has been there for a while now and has been performing consistently since 2010. We depend on Misbah and few other seniors,” he said. “But it is time the junior players also put up their hands and took responsibility to perform. If we play as a unit, I am sure we will start doing well again and I just want to see the team winning again before the World Cup.”Afridi also praised the role of head coach Waqar Younis who he called a “changed person”. Afridi was stripped of the captaincy after differences with Waqar in 2011, but he said that the incident was a thing of the past.”Waqar worked very hard with the team in Sri Lanka and the players got a lot of support from the team management even under pressure. There is lot of team spirit in this side and I am confident we can start winning again soon it is a matter of time.”I enjoyed working with Waqar. He is a different person now and you can see the team management just wants the team to click and do well.”

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has denied reports of a rift with Twenty20 leader Mohammad Hafeez ahead of the five-match ODI series against South Africa.The Pakistan media alleged the pair had been involved in a verbal altercation during the warm-up match against the South African Invitation XI in Kimberley on Wednesday. Hafeez was not part of the playing XI in that game, which the tourists won in the last over, by just one wicket. Some publications claimed the main event was not the victory but a disagreement between the two players.The main issue of contention was apparently Hafeez’s position in the batting order. According to reports, Misbah wants Hafeez to bat at No. 3 while Hafeez wants to open, and Misbah is in favour of playing two allrounders – Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik – while Hafeez wants more bowlers.Misbah refuted all those claims. He called it “irresponsible and baseless” reporting, and said the team had laughed at the suggestions of infighting. “People who are putting out those stories should be ashamed of that. The team is like a family, we are playing here like a family, we all support each other and there is nothing wrong.”He also said such allegations tend to emerge “whenever we lose a few games”, as was the case in the Test series, and performances like their Twenty20 one would quell the chorus. “That [the T20 win] was really good for us and brought back a lot of confidence for the batsmen,” Misbah said.Pakistan’s management also moved swiftly to dismiss the assertions. Team manager Naved Cheema said the reports were part of a conspiracy to destabilise the team: “It has become a common practice to launch a propaganda campaign against the team by targeting players ahead of an important event, but the team management is fully aware of the situation and is determined to defy all such moves in the larger interest of the Pakistan team and cricket. Our aim is to take Pakistan cricket higher with our team playing quality cricket and producing positive results.”The PCB issued a statement rubbishing the claims as well yesterday. The statement said: “[In view of] reports in a few media outlets that there was supposedly a disagreement amongst the think tank of Team Pakistan, in particular between skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez, with regards to the selection of the ODI XI, the PCB high-ups launched a thorough inquiry. The team management was contacted in South Africa and it was discovered that no such disagreement whatsoever existed amongst the think tank, or between Misbah and Hafeez. It is therefore stated for record that all such isolated reports in the media are baseless … and an attempt to demoralise the team.”Meanwhile, Misbah was upbeat about his team’s chances in the one-day series and said they would rely on their spinners to keep South Africa tied down. “Our spinners are world-class and can really bowl well in any sort of conditions, especially in ODI games where we have to restrict the opposition by bowling dot balls,” he said. “In the one-day format, we can always put up a good show. South Africa are a good side, but they will find it a little difficult in this format.”

Australia’s bid to salvage a 2-2 series draw against Sri Lanka is likely to be made without the captain Michael Clarke, who is an unlikely starter for Wednesday’s fifth ODI in Hobart after suffering a sprained ankle in a training mishap. Clarke rolled his ankle as the team prepared for the final match of a series they can only level at 2-2 following Sunday’s wash-out in Sydney, and was due to have the injury assessed during Tuesday afternoon.But he is extremely doubtful to recover in time, leaving George Bailey likely to lead the team at Bellerive Oval. Bailey stood in at the pre-match captain’s press conference and said Clarke would be given until the last minute on Wednesday to prove his fitness.”He’s heading off for a scan now,” Bailey told reporters in Hobart. “Hopefully it’s all clear. He’ll be given right up until the toss tomorrow to prove that he’s right to go. Hopefully that scan is clear. There will obviously be a little bit of pain but if he’s 100% he’ll play.”If Clarke is sidelined it will weaken Australia’s batting line-up significantly. Unless the selectors call in another batsman as cover, Glenn Maxwell and Moises Henriques would likely both play as batting allrounders at Nos. 6 and 7.”I think if you’re replacing Michael Clarke with anyone it’s a step down, and that’s no disrespect to whoever needs to replace him, but he’s an outstanding player,” Bailey said. “Whenever you’re losing the experience and calibre of player it’s a challenge, which hopefully guys step up into. That’s what we’re hoping.”That’s what we’ve lacked in the last couple of games, is someone stepping up as an individual or even in a batting partnership to fill the gaps that Michael Hussey leaving and Ricky Ponting leaving has created. With that comes huge opportunity.”That’s the word we keep using and that’s still there. If individuals within the group can stand up, particularly at the top of the order, and settle the change rooms down, get a good partnership going, then we saw in Melbourne how well the guys can bat.”Bailey acknowledged that Australia’s batsmen had struggled to deal with a trio of matches where the ball has seamed and swung, having particular trouble with the inswingers of Nuwan Kulasekara.”He has been very accurate and swung the ball nicely,” Bailey said. “There is an art to that itself, when the ball is swinging to still have the control to land it where you want and there is no doubt he is bowling well and putting the ball almost exactly where he wants it more times than not.””The challenge for us is to combat that … whether that is doing something different as a batsman, being a little sharper with your feet, putting him off his game, whatever it might be, hoping he has a bit more of an off day. There is no doubt he is at the top of his game at the moment.”I think it’s a challenge. Facing good spin is a challenge. That’s cricket. In a nutshell, the swinging ball is always what bowlers try and produce because it’s the hardest ball to play as a batsman. That’s always going to be the type of bowling that will challenge batters.”

The Caribbean T20 had an anti-climatic start as rain prevented a result in the opening fixture between Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago at Queen’s Park Oval. After T&T played their entire innings, Jamaica batted only 1.2 overs before the players had to go off. The teams earned two points each.T&T had found batting tough after they won the toss. They lost early wickets, were 39 for 3 and reached 50 only in 8.5 overs. Dwayne Bravo, who made 30, was the only batsman to score more than 20. T&T had progressed to 87 for 3 but then lost Denesh Ramdin and Bravo in the space of two runs, after which they slumped to 128 for 9 in 20 overs. Krishmar Santokie and David Bernard took two wickets each for Jamaica.Jamaica were 4 for 0 in their chase before the game was washed out.

ScorecardSohag Gazi’s maiden first-class ten-wicket haul ended up being the difference in South Zone’s tight win against East Zone in Mirpur. Needing 137 runs to win on the final day with eight wickets in hand, East Zone were in a comfortable position. But their day started disastrously as from 154 for 2, they slipped to 171 for 8 in a matter of six overs, with Gazi picking up four of the six wickets to complete his second five-for of the match. There was a brief resistance before East Zone collapsed to hand over the win to the South.East Zone, after putting South into bat, had struck regularly to reduce them to 196 for 9 with only Anamul Haque getting past 50. But a last-wicket stand 52 runs helped South pull ahead. In response, East made a solid start with Nafees Iqbal and Mominul Haque scoring half-centuries, but a lower-order collapse triggered by Gazi and Abdur Razzak meant that East ended 12 runs behind South.South responded with a century stand for the second wicket between Soumya Sarkar and Anamul and although Nabil Samad picked up six wickets, South again managed 248 in the second innings, setting up a tough fourth-innings chase.
ScorecardA rapid century by Nasir Hossain lit up the last day of the match between North Zone and Central Zone before it ended in a draw. North had already wiped off the 75-run deficit and with a result unlikely, Nasir played attacking cricket to bring up his century of 89 balls with six fours and three sixes. Farhad Reza and Maisuqur Rahman also scored half-centuries in an innings where all eleven of Central’s players were used for bowling.Nasir’s ton overcame his failure in the first innings in which only North’s top-order had contributed to help the team to 361 with Mushfiqur Rahim unbeaten on 76. In response, Central had stumbled to 88 for 4 at one stage, but a 228-run stand between Mohammad Ashraful, who scored 133, and Mehrab Hossain jnr, who scored 131, set the platform for the team to take a first innings lead and take three points from the match.