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The footmarks developing on the Sharjah pitch are crucial to Sri lanka’s hopes of winning the series 2-0, Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara said

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Sharjah18-Jan-2014The footmarks developing on the Sharjah pitch are crucial to Sri Lanka’s hopes of winning the series 2-0, Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara said. Day three saw the surface play reasonably well for the batsmen, even if it remained a challenging pitch for stroke-making, but Sri Lanka’s spinners achieved success by attacking rough areas either side of the pitch.There has been no unplayable turn or bounce from the footmarks, but on a surface on which the fast bowlers could not generate movement save with the old ball, the rough on the pavilion end of the pitch, in particular, presented hope for effecting dismissals. Pakistan trail Sri Lanka by 137 runs with four wickets remaining.”There are a lot of rough areas on the wicket and the real challenge is to exploit that rough,” Sangakkara said. “For our spinners, it’s really important to have a look at where the position of the rough is, and how well they can use it to generate the unpredictable. It’s just the third day, so on the fourth and fifth day, it’s bound to get worse to bat on. Anyway, scoring is pretty difficult. By getting 400 in the first innings, we put ourselves in a pretty good position.”Rangana Herath pitched well outside the off stump throughout many of his spells on day three, but Sangakkara suggested this was not a stalling tactic from Sri Lanka, who lead the series 1-0. Constant plugging away at that line prompted a reverse-sweep from Ahmed Shehzad, who dragged the ball onto his off stump on 147, and had earlier also accounted for Younis Khan, who edged one down the leg side. Herath finished the day with 3 for 88 from his 31.3 overs – the best returns for his team so far.”There was rough outside leg, to try and pitch the ball in,” he said. “A lot of batsmen don’t have the patience anyway when you bowl those kind of lines. It seems negative when you look at it from the outside, but the plan was quite positive – to try and get them to hit against the line, try and get one to turn from off the rough and see whether we can get something happening on that track. When you bowl around the wicket, there wasn’t much purchase on it because there isn’t much rough in line with the stumps.”Sri Lanka’s route to victory will also be marked by damage control and self-preservation with the bat, Sangakkara said, as the onus rests on Pakistan to force the pace in the match. Pakistan had progressed at 2.28 runs an over in the first session of the day, before the scoring rate gathered momentum in the evening, but they will likely have to bat out at least two sessions on day four to establish a first-innings lead.”If we get a couple of wickets in the morning tomorrow, especially Misbahul-Haq, then we would be able to do quite well in the Test,” Sangakkara said. “They were pushing for runs today, trying to get as close as possible to our total but the two wickets at end of the day were very crucial for us.”Pakistan will have to try and push to get a result, losing 1-0 or 2-0 is going to be the same when you have lost the series. They are going for broke and our job is to try and hold our nerve and absorb the pressure. First of all, we have to limit the damage – runs-wise – and if we do get a chance to bat again, we have to ensure we bat well.”Kumar Sangakkara praised Shaminda Eranga for the discipline and fitness the bowler had shown•AFPSangakkara said he had expected the pitch to deteriorate faster than it has by the end of day three, but found no fault in it. The cricket has been attritional throughout the series – owing to the teams’ approach as much as to the surfaces – but the pitch in Sharjah has been particularly difficult to score on, without offering much for the bowlers.”There are different types of wickets. A lot of people have different ideas of what Test cricket should be. What Test cricket should produce is a great contest, whether it’s a test of patience or skills of players,” he said. “When it’s hard to get runs and it’s hard to get purchase, to see how well the sides adapt to those situations. Those are signs of good Test players and, on this kind of pitch, maybe there wasn’t anything for the fast bowlers with the new ball, but there was reverse swing. There can be a lot more turn in the next two days, so we have to wait and see how it plays.”By the look of it on the first day, I thought that there would be lot more turn than we have seen on the first two days. Probably the first day turned a lot more, while the top was a bit softer and a heavy roller compacted it, and made it a lot better for batting.”Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers have been a vital ingredient in the team’s success in the series, and produced long, disciplined spells again on day three, helping limit Pakistan’s scoring. Shaminda Eranga took two wickets, both achieved through reverse-swing.”I think the bowling has been a revelation – especially Lakmal and Eranga. The discipline and the fitness they have shown to last three Tests, bowling very long spells is fantastic,” Sangakkara said. “They prepared well, especially Eranga, before coming here. Also on this tour, he worked hard with the bowling coach. Chaminda Vaas has done well with them. They have done all you can ask of them as fast bowlers on this tour, and I think they are incredible for us.”

Five days of practice sessions at the sprawling Nelson Park is what India have had before the first ODI against New Zealand across the road at the compact McLean Park, and MS Dhoni sounded satisfied with his side’s preparation

Abhishek Purohit in Napier18-Jan-2014One luxury modern Indian cricketers usually do not have is warm-up games before an international tour begins. Five days of practice sessions at the sprawling Nelson Park is what India have had before the first ODI against New Zealand across the road at the compact McLean Park, and MS Dhoni sounded satisfied with his side’s preparation.”I think preparations have been good,” Dhoni said after India’s nets. “We were given very good facilities. The ground we were given opposite the stadium, we were given good pitches there. The practice wickets were almost like centre-wicket, so we had good practice. Net bowlers were also made available. So from the preparation point of view, it has been good. And we have looked into each and every aspect of not only batting and bowling, but fielding also, which will be very crucial. So most of the areas have been covered and we have had a few days to prepare.”The Pacific Ocean bore a sombre look under overcast skies last evening and this morning, although it didn’t rain. But winds have been quite strong and persistent on most days, and Dhoni said that required plenty of adjustment in all disciplines. “When you are batting, you have to pick a side [where] you are looking to play more shots. There is always a risk. If it stays as it is, there is quite a strong breeze. The straight boundaries are quite long so if you are hitting there against the wind then there are chances that you have got another extra ten yards. All that makes it quite crucial. So you have to be intelligent about it, which areas you want to pick.”With the bowling, especially bowling against the wind, it is slightly more demanding. It is an obstruction and you tend to get tired slightly quicker. Fielding also, the outfields seem quite slow, the grounds are not big, so you need to judge where to stand so batsmen don’t steal doubles from you. All in all, reading conditions does help so you can adapt accordingly.”Dhoni expected the wind, as well as the pitch, to help the fast bowlers. “The wicket looks good, dry and hard, looks good for ODIs. Fast bowlers will get extra bounce. Intelligent bowlers may use the wind to their advantage, if you bowl in the right areas the ball may swing for a duration of time. Normally it stops after 10-15 overs, but here it may be prolonged a bit. Bowlers will have something from the wicket but once the batsmen get set they will love the pace and bounce.”Most of the India players in this squad have never played internationals in New Zealand before, and Dhoni said it would be good exposure ahead of the 2015 World Cup. India are scheduled to play two group games in Auckland and Hamilton, while New Zealand will also host a quarter-final and a semi-final.”It will be good for the team because we will have players who have already played in those conditions and particularly at venues where you will be playing, so overall it will be a good tour for us.”A gulf separates the two teams as far as the ICC rankings go, but New Zealand are a “fantastic side”, Dhoni said. “They have always been a side that is very contributive. They back each other. Fielding is something that is very important for them. They put a lot of emphasis on it and they have individuals who contribute in different ways – bat, ball – and they have got quite a few of them. So that really helps, in the shorter format especially. Whenever you see the big tournaments, they do very well, so they are a side that is very well respected. Fantastic individuals to play against.”In the absence of Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni also has to decide on whom to play at No. 4, but he wasn’t ready to reveal much at this stage, only saying that India would not tinker too much. “We will see what suits us the best and then we will move ahead. As of now, after the Greg Chappell era, experimentation is something we have done away with. We don’t really experiment anymore. We will give chances to a few players and hopefully they will rise up to the occasion and accept the challenges they are pushed into.”

Harbhajan Singh has been named captain of the Rest of India team for the Irani Cup in Bangalore from February 9

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2014Harbhajan Singh has been named captain of the Rest of India team for the Irani Cup to be played in Bangalore from February 9. Gautam Gambhir has also been included in the 15-man squad. The big name missing was that of Pragyan Ojha, who didn’t get a game in South Africa and wasn’t taken to New Zealand. However, he managed to play only one Ranji game during the season, which could be the reason why he wasn’t picked.Others who might consider themselves unlucky are Maharashtra batsman Harshad Khadiwale, Jharkhand’s Saurabh Tiwary, Himachal Pradesh allrounder Rishi Dhawan and Railways wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat. Khadiwale is one of the three players to score 1000 runs in the tournament, but couldn’t join his two Maharashtra team-mates, Kedar Jadhav and Ankit Bawne, in the squad. Tiwary scored 854 runs, including an impressive century in Mumbai, but lost out to – among others – Natraj Behera, who scored 584 runs. Rawat accumulated 820 runs in the season, but lost to Dinesh Karthik who made 401 runs.Punjab’s Jiwanjot Singh, who had a second good season, will be Gambhir’s opening partner. Jadhav, Bawne, Baba Aparajith, Karthik, Natraj Behera and Mandeep Singh were the other batsmen in the squad. Parvez Rasool was the allrounder, while most of the highest wicket-takers in the Ranji season made it to the squad.Pankaj Singh, who earlier in the season complained about his non-selection, got another chance to impress the selectors, with Varun Aaron, Anureet Singh and Ashok Dinda as other quicks.Rest of India will face Karnataka, who won the Ranji Trophy beating Maharashtra in the final in Hyderabad.Squad Harbhajan Singh (capt.), Jiwanjot Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Baba Aparajith, Kedar Jadhav, Ankit Bawne, Dinesh Karthik, Amit, Mishra, Pankaj Singh, Ashok Dinda, Varun Aaron, Parvez Rasool, Anureet Singh, Natraj Behera, Mandeep Singh

Michael Lumb’s hundred on ODI debut was not enough to earn England victory as their batting subsided after their bowling had earlier failed to contain West Indies’ hitting

The Report by David Hopps28-Feb-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:00

Dobell: England’s damage self-inflicted

Not since Dennis Amiss against Australia more than 40 years ago had an England batsman made a century on his ODI debut. Michael Lumb achieved that in Antigua, an England Twenty20 specialist given an unexpected opportunity at the age of 34. No matter, you might say, West Indies still won, and deservedly so. But if it did not quite smack of the new era that England had trumpeted, it was quite a story all the same.Lumb was only in the squad because England have decided to use this West Indies tour, ODIs and T20s both, as a prelude for World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. He only played because Alex Hales was injured. When he was dismissed for 106, coming down the pitch to loft Ravi Rampaul to cover, England got all in a tizz over the remaining task of 90 in 78 balls with seven wickets left and succumbed by 15 runs. The turgid surface did not make it a breeze, but Lumb provided an invitation for victory that was not taken.Sunil Narine’s spin-bowling wiles did the damage – his 2 for 36 more decisive than it sounds. Lumb read him, not everybody did. Moeen Ali’s smoothly-made 44 on debut faltered against Narine and finished with a tame chip to long on against Dwayne Smith. Joe Root and Ben Stokes both fell to Narine via malfunctioning sweep shots. In Ravi Bopara’s hands, on his 100th ODI at only 28, the challenge died.On the balcony, England’s coach, Ashley Giles, scribbled furiously, who knows what? “Can’t pick Narine,” was surely there somewhere: perhaps even underlined.There was even drama for Lumb on 99. Darren Sammy, whose buccaneering 61 from 36 balls, alongside Dwayne Bravo’s judicious 87 not out, had allowed West Indies to post a substantial target of 270, stood at the top of his run, clutching his chest. As the physio checked him out, questions abounded in the crowd: back spasm, heart trouble? Sammy recovered enough to remind West Indies’ fielders to be on the single for the next ball, but Lumb got one through cover and celebrated in the mistaken belief that the match was heading England’s way.As new eras go, to watch the ball disappearing into orbit as West Indies smacked 85 from the last five overs on a turgid pitch – a surface on which England’s finale became so inhibited – ensured that the new era would have a false start. The smiles, if a good place to start the post-KP era, are superficial; England’s inner psyche remains that of a beaten side.Airborne: Dwayne Bravo’s efforts with first bat and then ball helped secure an unexpected victory•AFPIt was time for England to draw a line, many had urged, as they tried to come to terms with life after Kevin Pietersen. Some, perhaps influenced by the Caribbean scenery, had called for lines to be drawn in the sand.Logicians preferred straight lines, Blondie fans wanted parallel lines, teachers naturally insisted upon 100 lines by start of school tomorrow and one could imagine that all over Antigua, council workers were drawing white lines, levying parking fines on unsuspecting motorists and pleading that England had told them to do it.But the most controversial lines were on the pitch. The original pitch markings have long been superseded for additional guidelines for judging wides in one-day cricket, but as Tim Bresnan discovered when he was twice wided in conceding 16 off an over, even bowling within those is no longer regarded as acceptable.England, who are searching for a survival mechanism at the death, were tactically bowling wide of off stump at that stage so it was imperative, rather than petulant, that Broad, skippering England in this series, sought an explanation from the umpire Marais Erasmus. He heard nothing to comfort him. That said, West Indies’ late hitting was spectacular and overwhelmingly won what has increasingly become a loaded tactical battle between bat and ball. And West Indies suffered in similar fashion later.If Broad’s reliance on Bresnan went awry in mildly debatable fashion, his decision to risk Root’s offspin so late in the innings was also a dubious choice. Root’s first eight overs had relinquished only 24, with the wicket of Kieron Powell to boot, but Sammy delightedly heaved him for two sixes and two fours as his ninth over cost 23.England gave the new ball to Root and, instead of a solitary over, which used to be his lot playing Twenty20 for Yorkshire, he stayed on for five overs, conceded only 13 runs, and picked up the wicket of Powell courtesy of an outstanding reaction catch at short extra by Chris Jordan, who dived to snatch the ball an inch off the ground.Smith fell tamely when James Tredwell became the second offspinner to make an impact, the ball popping into the leg side off bat and pad whereupon Jos Buttler scuttled around from behind the stumps to take a catch upheld on review.Bresnan also intervened, bowling Kirk Edwards off his pads, another indication of a lack of pace in the pitch. It was a promising opportunity for Moeen to purvey some debut offspin and he, too, took a wicket in only his second over, having Darren Bravo lbw; Bravo’s attempt to overturn the decision by recourse to the third umpire coming to naught.West Indies recovery began with a hard-working stand of 108 in 25 overs between Dwayne Bravo and Lendl Simmons, who escaped a tough stumping opportunity on 30, and who had made 65 from 94 balls when he was deceived by a slower ball from Bresnan. What had been witnessed was a normal recovery, but Bravo shifted from orthodoxy to innovation at exactly the right time, Sammy puffed out that big chest of his and the unfettered assault that followed in the closing overs will concern England. 1-0 down: two to play.

The England and South African A teams will participate in reciprocal tours over the next three years

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-2014England Lions tour of South Africa

Jan 5-7 SA Invitation XI v England Lions, Johannesburg

Jan 11-14 1st four-day match South Africa A v England Lions, Paarl

Jan 18-21 2nd four-day match South Africa A v England Lions, Bloemfontein

Jan 25 1st one-dayer South Africa A v England Lions, Bloemfontein

Jan 28 2nd one-dayer South Africa A v England Lions, Kimberley

Jan 31 3rd one-dayer South Africa A v England Lions, Potchefstroom

Feb 2 4th one-dayer, South Africa A v England Lions, Pretoria

Feb 5 5th one-dayer South Africa A v England Lions, Benoni

The England and South African A teams will participate in reciprocal tours over the next three years. England Lions are pencilled in for a tour of South Africa in January 2015 which includes two four-day matches and five one-dayers, and will subsequently host their opponents in 2017.”It continues our policy of enabling our second best team to test itself against some of the strongest cricket playing countries in the world,” said Corrie van Zyl, CSA general manager. “What is particularly important is that our A side will now tour England in 2017 at the same time as our senior squad is in that country.” South Africa are scheduled to play four Tests, five ODIs and a T20 between July and September. “England is always an out-of-season tour for us and it will help a lot to know that our back-up players are match-fit in case of need.”Both England Lions and South Africa A have played their respective opponents’ senior squads on previous tours and stand equal with one win and one loss across four limited-overs matches since 2008.ECB performance director David Parsons said, “The Lions tour to South Africa will be an excellent opportunity to take on some very tough opposition in a challenging environment.”

On a four-match winning streak, Rajasthan Royals will look to extend the run against Sunrisers Hyderabad to give themselves some breathing room near the top of the table

The Preview by Rachna Shetty07-May-20143:39

Hattangadi: Sunrisers should recall Mishra

Match factsThursday, May 8, 2014
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Sunrisers Hyderabad need Darren Sammy, the batsman, to fire•BCCIBig pictureLast season, consistency was one of the characteristics that defined Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad – their scrappy, minimal-fuss brand of cricket making them popular with fans. This season, however, while Royals have hit on a winning patch and surged to the top half of the table, Sunrisers, despite big additions to their batting, are faltering lower down.In Sunrisers last game, AB de Villiers played the kind of innings few teams could have done anything about, but their two victories have shown how critical it is for their top order to fire. Perhaps the best example was their victory against Delhi Daredevils in the UAE, where Aaron Finch and Shikhar Dhawan added 56, the best opening stand for the side so far – which set the base for a score of 184. Compare that to their losses in which their highest total has been 155.Like their batting, the Sunrisers bowling also relies heavily on two individuals – Amit Mishra and Dale Steyn. While Steyn will have recovered from the mauling by de Villiers, Sunrisers could bring back Mishra on a track that can be expected to be a little slower.Royals settled into their new home ground with a win and they would like to keep that form going. They don’t have a stellar away record in the IPL and with their next fixtures against Royal Challengers and Chennai Super Kings, a win here could give them a buffer.Form guide (most recent first)Rajasthan Royals: WWWWLSunrisers Hyderabad: LWLWLWhere they standRajasthan Royals: 3rd, with 10 points from seven games
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 7th, with 4 points from six gamesPrevious encounterThe teams opened their IPL 2014 campaigns against each other, with Royals huffing their way to a four-wicket win in the last over in Dubai. Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner got starts but Sunrisers were restricted to 133. The Royals reply, meanwhile, revolved solely around a fifty from Ajinkya Rahane and an unbeaten 48 from Stuart Binny, who rescued the chase from a position of 31 for 3.Watch out forKarun Nair played a valuable hand in Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy title win this season and he seems to have found his feet for Royals too. He takes his time at the start, but once settled he has been unafraid to switch gears, even going after the faster bowlers in the opposition.Batting at positions between No. 5 and 7, Darren Sammy has come in quite often with Sunrisers stuck in a rut. As the most important batsman in the lower order, his form has denied Sunrisers a final push, putting even more pressure on the top order.Stats and trivia Royals are the most successful IPL team batting second, having won 33 of 51 games chasing David Warner needs 88 runs to become the fifth batsman to reach 5000 T20 runsQuotes”I just try to pick the best batsman in the team, preferably the one that generally bats at the death and is used to facing yorkers, slower ones and slower bouncers. I try and pair up with him when I can.”

Kent celebrated with a BBQ after defeating Surrey as coach Jimmy Adams spoke of Division One ambitions and offspinner Adam Riley attracted more kind words

Alan Gardner in Canterbury07-May-2014
ScorecardRob Key led Kent to their first Championship win of the season•PA PhotosIt is not difficult to find a hard-luck tale on the county circuit but Kent have looked a little unloved in recent times. Beset by financial difficulties, they have spent five of the last six years in Division Two, having been the last of the 18 counties to experience life in the second tier. Despite a playing squad that bears comparison with most of their rivals, they began this season with a defeat and a draw to sit bottom of the table.A first win may not mean all is suddenly rosy in the garden of England but, as Rob Key and his players enjoyed a barbecue on the dressing room balcony after comprehensively outplaying Surrey, it was tempting to suggest a renewed sense of optimism had settled on the St Lawrence Ground. Even in a competition where games are stretched out over four days, perspectives can alter quickly.Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies international who has been Kent’s coach for the past two years, admitted there was a “stigma” attached to being a Division Two side. Last season’s seventh-place finish was a disappointment but a first maximum-points win since 2011 is a good place to start out in search of “the promised land” of Division One.”As a club, we have to keep aiming for promotion,” Adams said. “We want to win as many games as we can, across all the formats. Coming in as an outsider two years ago, I feel there is a stigma attached to Division One vs Division Two and for the players we have, I wish them Division One cricket. If we’re not there yet, then let’s work towards it, let’s have that as a goal that sooner rather than later we can take a group of players into Division One.”I really believe we have the ability. I do know that it takes time to build a team, especially to get performances that are sustainable but, like everybody connected to Kent, we want it to happen yesterday, rather than tomorrow or the day after, that’s just human nature. But it is a big focus for us: that we keep working towards that goal. Whether we’ll live to see the promised land, I don’t know but we have to keep that as a target.”Having lost to Worcestershire, the surprise Division Two pacesetters, and drawn with Leicestershire, this was an important game for Kent to win. Their decisive 150-run first-innings advantage was based around centuries for Rob Key, who has resumed the captaincy this year, and Brendan Nash, while nine wickets for 22-year-old offspinner Adam Riley helped ensure Surrey never got close to parity.After a difficult season under James Tredwell’s captaincy in 2013, Adams had plenty of praise for Key’s contribution to an impressive all-round performance. “I think he’s one of the most experienced leaders in the English first-class game and as a coach it takes a lot of pressure off you,” he said. “To have your leader scoring runs means that he’s under less pressure, he has fewer things to focus on and I’ve learned the hard way you can’t put a price on that over the course of a long county season.”Kent wrapped up victory either side of a 50-minute delay for rain. Jade Dernbach gave a decent King Louie impression for half an hour before swinging once too often at Riley to be stumped, with Surrey’s lead a meagre 53. Only one ball was bowled before a heavy shower forced the players off and two quick wickets fell on the resumption but Daniel Bell-Drummond and Nash saw Kent home without further alarm.Riley has now twice taken nine-wicket hauls this season – one for Loughborough MCCU against Sussex – to give him 23 wickets at 20.00 and an ever-burgeoning reputation. Only Steven Finn and Somerset’s Lewis Gregory have taken more, which is quite something for a finger spinner in England after just a month of the first-class season. Riley has capitalised on Tredwell’s limited-overs incumbency with England but it may not be long before there are international murmurings about the supposed understudy.Key highlighted Riley’s economy, alongside his wicket-taking threat, as a key element of victory, allowing Kent to rotate their two main seamers, Doug Bollinger and Mitch Claydon, at the other end for the majority of Surrey’s second innings.”You can’t quite understand as a captain how nice it is to have a bowler that you can plonk on for twenty-plus overs,” he said. “In the first innings he was there just to give us control – he did that plus he took wickets. Then in the second innings he really came into his own on a pitch that was starting to turn a little bit, but was by no means a Bunsen. Not only the wickets but the job he did for us, you can’t speak enough about it because that was absolutely crucial. To go at two an over in this day and age is a serious effort.”Surrey are a club that could certainly do with an arm around the shoulder at the moment, their fourth game without a win increasing the sense that they will not be in the promotion equation this season, for all the leadership experience of Graeme Smith and Graham Ford.Ford admitted his young side had been outplayed but said the players needed learned quickly from their mistakes. “There are little things we can be positive about,” he said. “The important thing is that we start to grow those things now. There are some pleasing signs. I’m not sure how long it will take but we really need to start putting together long periods of good performances.”

Alastair Cook believes the English public remain largely behind the team despite the events of the winter and its dramatic fallout.

Andrew McGlashan21-May-2014Alastair Cook believes the English public remain largely behind the team despite the events of the winter and its dramatic fallout.After a somewhat bitty start to the international season with a rain-effected game in Scotland then the T20 defeat to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, which Cook was not involved in, he now gets hold of the team for his first extended run since the one-day series in Australia, which resulted in a 4-1 defeat and, momentarily at least, led to Cook considering his future.Others did pay with their positions with Andy Flower and Kevin Pietersen the highest-profile casualties. Pietersen’s absence continues to be a source of much debate especially on social media, fuelled by Giles Clarke’s recent comments that people need to “move on” from the issue and not helped by England struggling to regain winning form.That Cook has retained his position, seemingly without too many questions asked, has also caused some consternation from his more vocal critics but Cook insists he has not personally felt any animosity from the fans.”I’m sure if you live your life on social media it would be slightly different but from the people I’ve bumped into in the street or the pub the goodwill is still there to English cricket,” he said. “That’s only what I’ve experienced and it is slightly different when you meet people face-to-face I’m sure.”People were obviously disappointed with the winter, as any cricket fan would be, and the players were disappointed as well, that’s a given. We are incredibly lucky with the support we’ve got, as we always have whether we’ve won or lost, and as players were are incredible grateful for the support we get.”But a continued struggle to string wins together this summer against Sri Lanka and India will start to test the patience of even the most loyal supporters.”No-one’s got a divine right to win a game of cricket,” Cook said. “Sri Lanka are an incredibly dangerous side so we’ve got to play some good aggressive cricket. We are going to leave it all out there and we are desperate for a good performance. But that doesn’t guarantee anything. The fresh start and stuff is brilliant but it’s all now down to playing some good cricket.”

“It would be ideal if everything was settled and everyone knew their role. But we don’t know the 13 or 14 we’ll take out there. They’ll be the decisions we start making now.”Alastair Cook

In this one-day series there is also a bigger picture to look at with the World Cup now less than nine months away. Cook took on the 50-over captaincy in 2011 following the previous tournament as England began another cycle of trying to overcome their woes in the premier global event, but Cook conceded that they are nowhere near as clear on their line-up as he had hoped they would be.”I remember in 2011 sitting down when I first started as England captain saying I want this four years to build up and come the World Cup we’ll have a settled side leading into it. I’d hoped to have eight or nine months where it would be settled. That was the theory but I probably wasn’t living in the world of reality if I’m being honest because a lot can happen in four years as we’ve seen.”Of course, it would be ideal if everything was settled and everyone knew their role. But we don’t know the 13 or 14 we’ll take out there. They’ll be the decisions we start making now because of what happened over the last three or four months. We build towards the World Cup from now.”One aspect of the team Cook did seem much more certain of was the continuation of his opening partnership with Ian Bell. There has been much clamour to shake up England’s top order, but the continued absence of Alex Hales showed that was not top of the selectors’ thoughts and it does not appear as Michael Carberry, who had a poor T20 yesterday, will split the incumbent pairing although he could yet bat at No. 3.There is logic in retaining the current partnership which is the second-highest scoring first-wicket combination for England: in 33 innings since they came together on a full-time basis in June 2012 they have averaged 42.28 and even in Australia were regularly forming a solid platform which gives Cook the confidence they can work in a variety of conditions.”If you look back to that Australia one-day series there were five very different wickets we had to play on,” Cook said. “So at Perth when it was a belter and we needed a quick start because we knew 300 would be a par score we got off to a really good start. So we have got the power to do that. But there’ll be other times in England or say Adelaide when you’re playing on a slow wicket and it nips around a bit. You need the guys to adapt their skills to handle those conditions. That’s what I’m looking for as a side.”Quite what England will do with the other end of the order was not quite so certain. James Anderson is back to take the new ball which will give the attack an added edge, and greater experience, but the major vulnerability remains at the death. Harry Gurney impressed in the T20 but, two matches into his international career, he will need someone to share the burden. If England continue to haemorrhage runs in the latter stages Cook will find it difficult to secure the wins to ensure the fans remain on side.

Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s new head coach, has said he will bring the same passion and mindset to the job as he did during his first term with the national side

Umar Farooq01-Jul-2014Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s new head coach, has said he will bring the same passion and mindset to the job as he did during his first term with the national side. He said he had learned a lot from his previous stint, and that his top priority was preparing the side for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.He had previously served as bowling coach of the Pakistan side in 2006-07 and briefly in 2009, and as head coach in 2010-11, when he quit over a reported rift with Shahid Afridi. Waqar began his second term on Monday and will have a one-week camp with the team before the tour of Sri Lanka in August.”I have come with a positive frame of mind, there’s no doubt about it,” Waqar said at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. “I have come with a better plan, I think the team could get better with changes and we can match any team in international cricket. I was here two years ago and you people saw there was improvement in the team.”I have come with a lot of passion and the mindset will be the same, we will play positive cricket and will play to win, there’s no defence involved in it. Hopefully the boys will understand what I am trying to say and I hope this passion will be there in them as well. I believe the youngsters are very talented, they will understand the spirit.”Waqar has about eight months to get the team ready for the World Cup and he did not hint at any major changes in the set-up. “It’s the right time, when I came last time our team was in a similar situation, there are lots of youngsters and I am excited to meet them and work with them.”Ten months (sic. eight) time is a long time, we are getting cricket against Australia and New Zealand and then we have 15 days before the World Cup, there’s no reason we can’t prepare. Obviously there are short-term goals at the moment as we have plenty of cricket this year and we won’t be neglecting them.”Pakistan play Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand, giving them at least seven Tests, 13 ODIs and three T20s before the World Cup. “The target is of course the World Cup but the other series are also important,” Waqar said. “I know our people are very emotional, every ball, every over, every match will be important and I hope the team will deliver and the tours will be successful to build up strongly to the World Cup.”Waqar hoped Pakistan would name a long-term captain, rather than on a series-by-series basis. PCB chairman Najam Sethi had confirmed that Misbah-ul-Haq would remain captain at least until the World Cup, but there frequent reports to the contrary.”Captain remains under fire all the time, if you look at Pakistan cricket it’s been the same trend,” Waqar said. “I know a sword keeps hanging on the captain and it should be like that, the captain has to be on his toes. But instead of series-to-series we have to think about a long-term captain, you have to think about youngsters for Test, one-day and Twenty20 because if you look there are two-three players who are on the wrong side of 30.”Waqar brought a sudden end to his successful first term as coach, citing personal reasons amid reports of a rift with Afridi, while Ijaz Butt was the PCB chairman. He said his relationship with the player was now a clean slate.”With the passage of time, when one lives like a family, there are problems but a good coach is one who negates those and takes all players together,” Waqar said. “Last time was my first time as a head coach, and now I will try to see that if there were some mistakes committed, it won’t be repeated.”

Uncapped Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson and Railways leg-spin-bowling allrounder Karn Sharma have been named in India’s 17-man squad for the five ODIs and one-off Twenty20 against England

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Aug-2014India squad for England limited-overs series’

MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Umesh Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sanju Samson (wk), Karn Sharma

Uncapped Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson and Railways leg-spin-bowling allrounder Karn Sharma have been named in India’s 17-man squad for the five ODIs and one-off Twenty20 against England.Mumbai seamer Dhawal Kulkarni, who was picked in the ODI squad for the home series against West Indies last year but was then ruled out with injury, has been included.Suresh Raina, who was dropped from the ODI squad for the Asia Cup but led a second-string team to Bangladesh in June, also makes the 17. Fast bowlers Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav have also been retained from the squad which played in Bangladesh, while legspinner Amit Mishra misses out due to injury.”Only Amit Mishra had been ruled out of selection since he is undergoing treatment and rehab following a back injury,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said, after the squad was announced. “Considering the World Cup, the management as well as the selectors have put more emphasis on selecting some of the youngsters like Sanju Samson, Mohit Sharma, Stuart Binny and Karn Sharma.”Samson, 19, was part of the India Under-19 team at the World Cup earlier this year, and had also impressed with his clean hitting and solid temperament for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2014. He finished as India A’s highest run-scorer in the recently-concluded quadrangular one-day series in Australia, with 244 runs from seven innings at an average of 81.33.He kicked off the quadrangular with 81 against Australia A, after coming in with his team at 70 for 4 – and then 84 for 6 – in a chase of 253. He brought down the equation to 29 needed off 23 before he was the last man out. While he couldn’t get the team home in that game, later on in the tournament he took them all the way in successive chases with unbeaten scores of 55 and 49.Kulkarni was the leading wicket-taker in the quadrangular, with 14 scalps in six matches at 18.78, including a five-wicket haul and an impressive economy rate of 4.61. Karn was also part of the India A squad for the series. While he got only three games there, he managed to give a glimpse of his batting skills against South Africa A, hitting 39 off 16 to take India A across the line in a nail-biting chase. He was quite effective with the ball for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2014, with 15 wickets at 25.06.With Mishra – India’s first-choice legspinner of late – being ruled out, Karn will provide MS Dhoni with the leg-spin option. The selectors have included him as the third spinner in the squad anticipating that an additional spinner may be required during the series as it will be played towards the end of English summer when the pitches start assisting the slow bowlers.Stuart Binny, who took a record-breaking 6 for 4 – the best bowling figures by an Indian in ODIs – in the Bangladesh series, stays on as the pace-bowling-allrounder, but Test-specialist Cheteshwar Pujara, who also featured in that series, misses out.The first of the five ODIs will be played in Bristol on August 25, with matches in Cardiff, Nottingham, Birmingham and Leeds following. The T20 will be played in Birmingham on September 7, rounding off India’s 10-week tour of England.