Tag Futebol

He had been appointed in the Australia role under Justin Langer late last year ahead of the T20 World Cup

Alex Malcolm14-Apr-2022Jeff Vaughan has departed his role as Australia assistant coach to become the new full-time head coach of Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup competitions.The news comes just a day after Cricket Australia formally announced Andrew McDonald as the new Australia men’s head coach. Vaughan had been appointed as an Australia assistant coach under Justin Langer late last year ahead of the T20 World Cup. His main brief was to be in charge of the fielding unit and was part of Australia’s successful T20 World Cup, Ashes and Pakistan Test campaigns.Cricket Tasmania announced on Thursday that Vaughan, a former South Australia batter, would be returning to Tasmania to coach the men’s program. The move means McDonald has at least a couple of appointments to make in terms of his assistants, with the bowling and fielding coaching roles becoming vacant. Although the roles and the structure may look different under McDonald as he wants to spread the workload more evenly to avoid coach burnout.Vaughan made his name as a coach under Adam Griffith firstly as a batting coach where he played a significant part in getting Matthew Wade back into Australia’s Test side in 2019 as well as the development of Ben McDermott across all three formats.Cricket Tasmania then restructured their men’s coaching set-up under Griffith in 2019 with Vaughan taking charge of the Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup teams while Griffith remained as director of coaching and head coach of the Hobart Hurricanes.After Vaughan’s departure to Australia’s setup in September 2020, Ali de Winter stepped in as interim head coach with Greg Shipperd coming in as a short-term consultant coach.Related

• Daniel Vettori and Andre Borovec appointed Australia men's assistant coaches

• Five key challenges for Andrew McDonald as Australia's new head coach

• Andrew McDonald appointed as full-time Australia men's coach

Griffith resigned from his dual roles at Cricket Tasmania and the Hurricanes at the end of the BBL season. Vaughan will now take the reins full-time as Tasmania’s coach from May while the search continues for the new Hurricanes coach.”I feel very fortunate with how everything has worked out,” Vaughan said. “I have been connected to the program throughout and am confident that I have continued to develop my coaching and leadership skill set to assist the development of the Tigers’ program holistically and for the players as individuals.”I’m incredibly grateful to Cricket Australia for the opportunity, and to Cricket Tasmania for being so open-minded about my return, so I really can’t wait to just get stuck in and am looking forward to maintaining the direction of the program for an extended period of time.”Cricket Tasmania CEO Dominic Baker was delighted to have secured Vaughan after revealing that a previously chosen candidate had pulled out of the role after being offered it in December 2021.”We’re thrilled to have Jeff returning to the helm of our male Tigers program,” Baker said. “We clearly want the best available candidate for the role who also understands and fits with the culture of our organisation, and there’s no doubt that Jeff ticks both those boxes.”We’ve all watched the progress of the Australian men’s program over the summer, and there’s nothing more to be said about it other than it was a sparkling success, and Jeff was a part of that.”Ali has done a fantastic job under really difficult and often uncertain circumstances this year, but the fact that the transition from Jeff to Ali was so smooth was due to the fact that Jeff has such a solid vision in place that everyone was on board with.”We did have a candidate nearly ready to go back in December that unfortunately fell through, however, the timing of everything has been quite serendipitous, as with Jeff obviously knowing the program and the players so well, the transition now should be seamless.”

It’s a big series, especially for Kane Williamson’s side, when it comes to World Test Championship points

Sruthi Ravindranath02-Dec-2020

Big picture

It’s been exactly nine months since we last saw the New Zealand team in whites. In March earlier this year, Kane Williamson’s side lifted the trophy in Christchurch after beating the then No. 1 Indians 2-0 in the Test series. Now, in December, as the cricketing world adapts to the new normal, Test cricket is back in New Zealand after a round of T20Is last week, against West Indies.

Watch the cricket on ESPN+

New Zealand vs West Indies is available in the USA on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the series

The format switch shouldn’t be too big a deal for either team playing tomorrow – only three of the players from the New Zealand T20 group are part of the Test squad, while only two West Indies players feature in both the T20I and Test sides.Just six Tests have been played – across two series, involving three teams – in the last eight months, and West Indies have been part of three of those. That’s relatively good prep in these circumstances, although several New Zealand players featured in four rounds of the domestic Plunket Shield recently and both New Zealand and West Indies have played two warm-up games on the sidelines of the T20I series. West Indies were exceptional with the bat in both games – there were three half-centuries, one century, and a double-century against the second-string New Zealand side.In July, West Indies went 1-0 up for the first time in England since 2000. In the last 25 years – since February 1995 – they haven’t won a Test match in New Zealand, losing eight and drawing four. The last time they toured New Zealand, it was Trent Boult and Neil Wagner wreaking havoc, and it might not be too different this time around, at least in terms of pace calling the shots. West Indies have their enforcers too – Shannon Gabriel, who bowled a match-winning spell in Southampton, and Kemar Roach, who toiled endlessly throughout the England series, as the main men. They also have all the preparation they could have asked for – more time in the middle than their opponents, in-form batsmen, and a well-rounded bowling attack.From the point of view of the World Test Championship, the series is a big one for New Zealand, who are currently fourth in terms of percentage points won. A series win could see them displace England at No. 3, while West Indies, who are currently third from bottom, could move up if the results go their way.

Form guide

New Zealand: WWLLL
West Indies: LLWWL

In the spotlight

Will Young, who has been the back-up batsman for a while in the New Zealand side, is all set for his Test debut. The 28-year-old was primed to be part of the Christchurch Test against Bangladesh last year in place of the injured Williamson, but the match was cancelled after the terror attack. He made 64 and 133 against the West Indies A side in the two warm-up matches in Queenstown before scoring a century in the last Plunket Shield round for Central Districts. It’s been quite a long wait for him and he would be looking to make the most of this opportunity.Will Young will make his Test debut in Hamilton•Getty Images

Internet searches for Jermaine Blackwood would have probably spiked after his 95 in the first Test against England in July. He returned to the West Indies side last year on the weight of his first-class performances, after falling out of favour in 2017, and might not have featured in the England series at all had Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo not opted out. Before the pandemic curtailed the West Indies domestic season, he was the tournament’s top scorer with 768 runs in 15 innings for Jamaica. After playing for Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL, he switched to red-ball mode in no time, slamming a half-century in the second tour game in Queenstown.Kraigg Brathwaite has been unstoppable. Prior to the 246 and 47 he made in the two-warm up matches, he was good in the two Tests against England in June as well, hitting two fifties in four innings. That follows a good run of form in the past year, where he also made 468 runs in eight innings for Barbados in the domestic first-class season.

Team news

Williamson has confirmed that Young would be replacing the injured BJ Watling in the New Zealand line-up. He will open with Tom Latham, while Tom Blundell will take the wicketkeeping gloves and move down the order. Daryl Mitchell, who was named replacement for Colin de Grandhomme could also get a game here. To work around the pace-bowling quartet, New Zealand could bring in left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner – named cover for the injured Ajaz Patel – as head coach Gary Stead earlier said it would be “unusual not to play a spinner in Hamilton”.New Zealand (possible): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Will Young, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent BoultThe return of Bravo and Hetmyer, who had opted out of the England tour, would add some solidity in the West Indies’ batting order. The absence of Shai Hope, who was omitted after a poor run in the format, could mean Blackwood could still be part of the side after displaying good form prior to this series.West Indies (possible): 1 John Campbell, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Shamarh Brooks, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Jermaine Blackwood/ Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shannon Gabriel

Pitch and Conditions

The forecast is for a cloudy morning with occasional spells of rain in Hamilton tomorrow.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have a 4-0 win-loss record in their last six Tests in Hamilton: they have beaten Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh, and drawn against South Africa and England. Their last defeat here was in 2012, against South Africa.

His innings against England was polarising, but India’s assistant coach is quite pleased with Dhoni’s batting efforts through the World Cup

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston01-Jul-20194:08

Agarkar: Couldn’t see any intent to hit the big shots from Dhoni, Jadhav

Has MS Dhoni, India’s most senior player, made an impact this World Cup? Depends on who you ask.Outside the Indian dressing room, the verdict is largely against Dhoni. Within it, there is only support for him. India captain Virat Kohli has made it clear he sees it as a non-issue whenever he’s been asked about it. On Monday it was the turn of Sanjay Bangar, India’s assistant coach, to dismiss questions over Dhoni’s batting and its perceived lack of intent.Bangar’s belief in Dhoni, he says, is based on his numbers. What do those numbers say, though?So far at the World Cup, Dhoni’s scores are 34 (46 balls), 27 (14), 1 (2), 28 (52), 56* (61) and 42* (31). His strike rate of 91.26 puts him 10th among the 19 batsmen who have faced more than 100 balls at Nos. 5 to 7*. Above him are some of the best performers of the tournament so far, including Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Colin de Grandhomme, Alex Carey and Haris Sohail. Dhoni’s strike rate isn’t in the same league as Buttler’s (128.98) or de Grandhomme’s (112.31), but it isn’t a whole lot worse than Stokes’ (97.82) or Haris’ (95.83).The biggest criticism of Dhoni has been how many dot balls he’s eaten up. Of the 206 balls he has faced so far, he has failed to score off 95, or 46.12%, which again puts him in tenth place among those 19 batsmen. Tenth out of 19 on both counts: bang in the middle, largely inconclusive, just like the debate over his batting.But what about his approach against England? He made 42 not out off 31, so it wasn’t a sluggish innings on the surface, but set it against the task India had when he walked in (they needed 112 off 65 balls) and especially after Hardik Pandya’s dismissal (71 off 31), and his approach could be seen as questionable. Despite India having five wickets in hand, Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav kept taking singles, even as the asking rate multiplied, and by the time the final over began they needed an impossible 44 runs.Dhoni and Jadhav had been involved in a grinding partnership against Afghanistan. Against England, the sight of the same pair seemingly settling for a reduced margin of defeat perplexed plenty of watchers, including the TV commentators.MS Dhoni struggled to accelerate during a steep chase•Getty Images

Bangar wasn’t perplexed, though.”I felt MS was striking the ball really well,” Bangar said during the mixed zone on Sunday. “He had good intent. It is just that the English bowlers stuck to their task really well: they used the angles, and used the large boundaries to their advantage. When they were bowling to the shorter side of the boundary they were bowling a pretty good line.”I didn’t really find anything wrong in MS’ innings. He was batting beautifully. He struck a few big blows. It is just that in the last 4-5 overs the difference between runs required and balls left just kept creeping up.”According to Bangar, Dhoni had done his job in five out of seven games. Given that he has only once failed to get a start – against Pakistan – the other not-so-good performance may have been the one against Afghanistan: Dhoni’s 28 consumed 52 balls, and the bowlers, led by Mohammed Shami, made sure India didn’t suffer one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.”Except for one-odd innings, he [Dhoni] has done the role,” Bangar said. “We have already played seven games now? Five times out of those seven games he has done the role or the job for the team. In the South Africa game he stitched together a partnership of 70 [74] with Rohit [Sharma]. After that what was required of him to go out there and accelerate against Australia, he did that. In Manchester, on a difficult track [against West Indies], he got a vital 58 [56*] for us.”Here also (against England) he was striking the ball really well. So I’m surprised that this question continues to come up every now and then. He is doing the job for the team and overall we are very happy with the intent that he is batting with.”MS Dhoni plays a shot•Getty Images

As was the case with his innings at Lord’s last year – when he made 37 off 59 when India were chasing 323 – Dhoni’s knocks against Afghanistan and England have made his ODI batting approach a subject of intense debate. In his defence, India had one eye on their net run rate, and given that they were playing a long tail at Edgbaston, he may not have wanted to risk the team getting bowled out.But the chances of India going out on net run rate are slim, so there was a feeling that Dhoni and Jadhav could have chanced their arm a little more.Bangar disagreed that it was a case of the pair not showing enough intent, and instead credited England’s bowlers for tying the batsmen down.”I don’t think so,” Bangar said, when the intent question was posed to him, “because if you look at the way the English bowlers bowled towards the end, they used the dimensions [of the ground] really well and they created difficult angles for our batsmen to hit. And with those large boundaries and the type of balls they were bowling – slower bouncers and a lot of into-the-wicket deliveries, slower balls [it was difficult to score].”Maybe in the last one or two overs the difference between runs required and the balls left was a bit too much. We just felt that right up to the 47th, 48th over, had we tried bigger shots earlier, we might have probably been a few runs short. It also helps the NRR a bit, those extra runs.”*Stats updated up to the England-India match

In another instance of his unusually hands-on involvement with team matters, Nazmul Hassan has questioned the interim coach’s ability to handle the batting side of the Bangladesh job

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2018BCB president Nazmul Hassan has credited his advice to the players for turning Bangladesh’s form around in the Nidahas Trophy. He has also said interim coach Courtney Walsh cannot be relied upon to come up with batting plans for the team, and that the senior players would have to do this themselves.Unusually for a board president, Hassan has frequently involved himself in day-to-day matters of the team since 2015. His meetings with players have become commonplace, as have his interactions with the media to inform them about these meetings.After a heavy defeat to India in their opening match, Bangladesh chased down 215 to beat Sri Lanka on Saturday.”I sat with Mushfiqur [Rahim], Tamim [Iqbal] and [Mahmudullah] Riyad after the India game,” Hassan said. “There was a lot of emotion in the meeting. Our batting against India was unacceptable. I told them that you didn’t play cricketing shots; you only tried to swing at deliveries outside off-stump. The new boys may have done it but not Tamim, Mushfiq and Riyad. They gave away 57 (68) dot balls.”Who will bring them out of this? I am a non-technical person. They have to do this job. They have Walsh who is the interim coach but we can’t expect batting plans from him. We spoke a lot about this; there were a lot of emotions. I said there’s no point being emotional. Let’s stick to the basics. What happened to our body language? Winning and losing isn’t a big deal but we have to show that we want to win in every delivery.”Walsh, who became Bangladesh’s bowling coach in September 2016, recently took over as the team’s interim coach. Bangladesh are yet to fill the head coach’s role on a full-time basis following the exit of Chandika Hathurusingha in November 2017. Walsh played 132 Tests for West Indies, finishing as their leading wicket-taker with 519 scalps, but also earning a reputation for being one of cricket’s most hapless No. 11s.Hassan went as far as saying that he has told the senior players to threaten young players like Mehidy Hasan Miraz with the axe if he attempts to play out of character.”After Friday’s meeting, they understood what they have to do,” Hassan said. “There are small issues like Miraz trying to hit a six against India. How can he hit a six in such a big ground? Did anyone scold him for it? Someone has to tell him that if he is playing this way, he will be dropped. A young player will become nervous if I try to tell him. So it is the senior players who have to tell them.”

Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, and Kumar Sangakkara, meanwhile, have been retained by Guyana, Trinbago Knight Riders, and Tallawahs respectively

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-20171:57

Excited to get back to the CPL – Dwayne Smith

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga and South Africa allrounder Chris Morris have been signed up as marquee players in the Caribbean Premier League, a day before the draft. The tournament is scheduled to run from August 1 to September 9.Williamson and Morris are set for their maiden CPL season, having been recruited by Barbados Tridents and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots respectively. Malinga will be part of the St. Lucia Stars (formerly St. Lucia Zouks) set-up in the upcoming season, having previously represented Guyana Amazon Warriors.Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, and Kumar Sangakkara, meanwhile, have been retained by Guyana, Trinbago Knight Riders, and Jamaica Tallawahs respectively. Chris Gayle, who led Tallawahs to the title in 2016, will now play for the Patriots, the side that finished bottom last season.England T20 specialist Tymal Mills and several Afghanistan players – including IPL-bound Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi – are among the big names in the CPL draft.Marquee CPL players in 2017: Martin Guptill (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Lasith Malinga (St. Lucia Stars), Brendon McCullum (Trinbago Knight Riders), Chris Morris (St Kitts & Nevis Patriots), Kumar Sangakkara (Jamaica Tallawahs), Kane Williamson (Barbados Tridents)

Jason Roy sat out England’s net practice in Bloemfontein due to a back spasm and will undergo a fitness test ahead of the first ODI with South Africa on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2016Jason Roy sat out England’s net practice in Bloemfontein due to a back spasm and will undergo a fitness test ahead of the first ODI with South Africa on Wednesday.Roy suffered the injury during the warm-up but England expect him to be able to bat during Tuesday’s session in order to prove his fitness. His absence would break up the opening partnership he has established with Alex Hales and possibly lead to Moeen Ali returning at the top of the order.The Surrey batsman has previously spoken about using the tour to build confidence ahead of the World T20 in India next month. Roy scored his maiden ODI hundred in the UAE last year and has been part of an England side that has won five limited-overs series out of six.

BBL ‘great experience’ – Rashid

Adil Rashid was one of the stars of the BBL, having been left out of the Test leg of England’s tour, and he has returned to international duty with confidence high.
Rashid, who took 3 for 55 in England’s warm-up win in Kimberley, is likely to be be a key player for England at the World T20 and he backed the ECB’s decision to prioritise his white-ball development above a spell carrying drinks for the Test side.
“It went well personally for me,” he said of his trip Down Under. “It was a chance to play against different players in different conditions in what is probably now one of the biggest competitions in cricket, after the IPL. It was a great experience to play in front of 40-50,000 people.
“It was a good decision to go out there, playing in a big competition as opposed to being here and maybe not getting any match practice.”

South Africa, meanwhile, have added allrounder David Wiese to their squad as injury cover. Albie Morkel had been due to join the squad but also suffered a back spasm playing for Titans in the Momentum One-Day Cup, ruling him out of the first two ODIs.An MRI scan showed some damage to the vertebrae in his lower back but Morkel could still be involved later in the series.”I think I have been playing some of the best cricket of my life in the last year and a half,” Morkel said. “If you cannot accept setbacks like these, remain positive and move on, the sporting world will be a dark place.”South Africa will also be without Kyle Abbott for the first two matches, in Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth, as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain suffered during the fourth Test against England. Marchant de Lange was called into the squad as pace-bowling cover on Sunday, with South Africa looking to manage the workloads of Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada.Wiese and de Lange formed part of the South Africa A attack dismantled by England in Kimberley at the weekend – taking 2 for 73 and 2 for 69 respectively – but JP Duminy denied that the hosts were below strength. South Africa go into the one-day series having beaten India 3-2 in India last year, following a 2-1 home win over New Zealand.”I don’t think we’re weakened. I think the replacements are good enough to stand in for those players,” Duminy said. “It’s not an interruption in any way for us. We know what’s needed as a squad and it’s important for us to stay unified as a team, no matter who the personnel are.”The confidence from the one-day cricket point of view has been pretty good… We’ve won our last two series. But we know this is a tough challenge that faces us, and that England have also been playing really well in this format.”

Ed Joyce has enjoyed better, and more profitable, days than this, of course. But in terms of keeping his county afloat against determined opponents, on a testing pitch, Sussex’s captain can have played few finer innings.

David Lloyd at Hove17-Jul-2013
ScorecardEd Joyce held Sussex together•Getty Images

Ed Joyce has enjoyed better, and more profitable, days than this, of course. But in terms of keeping his county afloat against determined opponents, on a testing pitch, Sussex’s captain can have played few finer innings.Losing the toss was a blow, no doubt, and seeing far too many of his colleagues falling short of expectations in the care and concentration stakes must have frustrated Joyce. But thanks almost entirely to his second century of the season, the Championship leaders – and only unbeaten side in Division One – are certainly not out of this contest, even though the first day scorecard may appear heavily weighted in their opponents’ favour.This pitch is one of the re-laid variety, the same surface, indeed, on which Sussex beat Middlesex by eight wickets last August. On that occasion, the hosts triumphed because their quick bowlers generated more pace and bounce, an advantage which they still hold this summer – at least for the time being. That will change quite dramatically if England decide tomorrow that Steve Finn is surplus to requirements for the second Ashes Test. Should that happen, Finn will replace Gurjit Sandhu in the line-up here in plenty of time to take out any feelings of frustration on Sussex’s second innings.Even without Finn and the injured pace pair of Toby Roland-Jones and James Harris, Middlesex were more than a handful for all but Joyce, their former opener.They may not have won in the Championship for two months, and their title hopes were significantly reduced by heavy defeats to Yorkshire and Warwickshire, but Middlesex don’t do moping. With memories of what happened here last year, and encouraged by a decent if pale covering of grass, they chose to bowl first and then backed up that judgment by dismissing Sussex an hour before the close.Regular sideways movement and a bit of up and down bounce meant that batting was seldom straightforward. But neither was it anything like impossible, as Joyce proved while keeping his Championship average above 90, and several wickets were handed over too easily for home comfort.The first strike of the day – and Sandhu’s first in Championship cricket – certainly did not fall into the gift-wrapped category. Sandhu is a 21-year-old left-armer who bowls medium-fast but has the potential to add pace as he fills out, produced a beauty to find the edge of Luke Wells’ bat.But Mike Yardy fell first ball, to Gareth Berg, playing at one he could have left alone, Rory Hamilton-Brown lost his off stump when shouldering arms to Neil Dexter, Luke Wright drove hard and fast to short midwicket after advancing on Ollie Rayner and Ben Brown looped a leading edge to mid-on as Sandhu enjoyed a second success.As for Joyce, he was simply different class. Any width on offer was punished with crisp cuts while most of his cover drives skimmed over the parched turf before fielders could move a muscle. It was a joy to watch and it would have been a travesty if he had fallen short of three figures.But for some stout defence from No. 10 Jimmy Anyon, Joyce might have run out of partners. Still 18 short of his century when the eighth wicket fell, he was grateful to Anyon’s straight bat – finally reaching the landmark by uppercutting his 162nd ball, from Berg, for a flamboyant six to go with 13 fours.Joyce’s masterpiece ended when he played on to Dexter, a dismissal which frustrated him so much that he accidentally disturbed the stumps still further with an ill-directed swish of the bat. Embarrassed, Joyce hurriedly set about trying to repair the damage before leaving the middle. Whether Sussex can make amends quite so readily remains to be seen but Middlesex will know there is plenty of battling still to be done.

Ian Bell maintained his fine ODI form as he led the England’s run chase in the second ODI against Australia at The Oval

The Report by George Dobell01-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIan Bell made passed 50 for the third time in his last four ODI innings•Getty Images

It is one of the ironies of England’s recent resurgence in all formats of the game that, for all their meticulous planning, two of the crucial ingredients of their success have come through luck. Just as it was only the sacking of Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores as captain that brought Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss together as captain and coach, so it has only been the “retirement” of Pietersen from limited-overs international cricket that presented another chance to Ian Bell as an ODI batsman.It is not just luck, of course. It is how England have adjusted to circumstance and overcome the obstacles that have arisen. But it remains true that, had Pietersen not departed the England limited-overs set-up recently, it is most unlikely that Bell would have returned to the top of the England order.Bell has certainly embraced his opportunity. Since returning to the ODI side, he has contributed scores of 126, 53, 41 and now 75 and played a significant role in England not only taking a 2-0 lead in this five-match series, but extending their unbeaten record to eight successive victories in completed ODIs this year. It equals England’s best run of ODI results and sustains their chance of leapfrogging Australia to become the No. 1 ODI side; a position they will assume if they win this series 5-0. That will also make them the first team to hold No. 1 rankings in all three forms of the game. This was the first ODI in which they had beaten Australia at the Oval since 1997.Here Bell showed not just his class – a straight six off the bowling of Shane Watson quite majestic – but also his composure and maturity. Against an attack containing two men bowling in excess of 90 mph, he had time, confidence and the range of stokes required. He slog-swept David Hussey, cut Watson, swept Xavier Doherty and drove Mitchell Johnson with power. He looked a high-class player, quite at home on the ODI stage.Ravi Bopara also enjoyed an excellent match. Having contributed a miserly five overs and taken the key wicket of Michael Clarke, pushing indeterminately at one outside off stump, he produced an admirably calm and increasingly assured innings of 82 to take England to the brink of a comfortable victory.Clarke briefly created some uncertainly in the England ranks. He ended Bell’s innings with his first delivery – the batsmen attempting to cut a delivery that was too full for the shot – and then saw Eoin Morgan adjudged leg before just two balls later. Hot Spot, which showed (on the third umpire’s television, anyway) the faintest of touches on Morgan’s inside edge, reprieved the batsman. England were never seriously troubled again and cruised to victory with six wickets and 4.2 overs in hand.But Clarke’s senior seamers let him down. Mitchell Johnson, perhaps rusty having bowled just six List A overs since sustaining a foot injury in November, came into the side due to Pat Cummins’ withdrawal with a side strain, but donated three no-balls in his first two overs, with Alastair Cook and Bell taking advantage to thrash two of the resulting free-hits through mid-off for four. Brett Lee also donated five wides down the leg side in his second over. Only Clint McKay, who beat Cook with a good one that swing back in to trap the England captain leg before, and Watson, who might have had Bell caught for 70 had David Warner, at point, been able to hold on to a diving chance, threatened to stem the tide.Nor did Australia score enough runs. Winning first use of a good batting pitch, they were indebted to half-centuries from Shane Watson and George Bailey but would reflect that they fell perhaps 25 runs short of par in such conditions.Watson lived dangerously for much of his innings and, apart from edging the ball just past his own stumps (on 2 and 30), was dropped by Jonathan Trott, at gully, on 8. He also survived a run-out chance on 47 – had Ian Bell, at mid-on, hit with his throw Watson would have been out – and two decisions that were referred to the third umpire for review.But if Watson was somewhat fortunate, Australia were grateful for his sense of urgency. His top-order colleagues struggled for fluency and, after David Warner had top-edged a pull to square leg, Peter Forrest, having scored only two from his first 17 deliveries, was brilliantly caught down the leg side. The departure of Clarke and the introduction of Graeme Swann and Bopara, saw Australia make only 24 in 10 overs and 53 in 18 in mid-innings as Bailey, in particular, became bogged down.The pressure told on Watson, whose final 10 runs occupied 25 balls, and who, in attempting to loft Graeme Swann over the top, succeeded only in gifting a catch to deep mid-wicket.Bailey – who scored only 26 from his first 61 balls – eventually found some momentum and, in partnership with the more dynamic Hussey added 78 in 13 overs before Finn, in his follow through, ran out the latter with a superb throw with just one stump to aim at.That wicket stalled Australia’s hopes of some late-innings acceleration. Bailey’s lavish drive was beaten by some inswing, before Matthew Wade’s attempt to scoop one over the keeper’s head resulted only in a simple catch to short fine leg.But England were far from their best with the ball or in the field. England’s bowlers, missing James Anderson who was absent with a groin strain, donated eight wides, two no-balls and numerous deliveries that drifted on to the pads. Apart from dropping Watson, Bailey was also missed on 52, a tough chance offered to Tim Bresnan off Graeme Swann at deep midwicket, and could have been run out on 55 had Bopara hit from short distance. Lee was also dropped on 2 and 17, from the final ball of the innings, after Morgan, at long on, failed to cling on to tough chances.In an odd way, however, England might find it encouraging that they could play so far below their best and still ease to victory against the No. 1 ranked ODI side.

Kyle Hogg continued his one-man domination of the Hampshire batting as Lancashire eased to their fifth win of the season

26-May-2011
Scorecard
Kyle Hogg continued his one-man domination of the Hampshire batting as Lancashire eased to their fifth win of the season and strengthened their grip at the top of the County Championship. Medium-pacer Hogg took four more Hampshire wickets on the third morning as the red rose county completed a 10-wicket victory before lunch.Hogg finished with a second-innings analysis of 4 for 31 and exceptional match figures of 11 for 59, comfortably the best of his 10-year career. Hampshire , who are still without a Championship win, were already deep in trouble when the third day began at 163 for 5, still needing another 32 to make rampant Lancashire bat a second time.They only just succeeded, adding a further 38 and requiring Lancashire opener Paul Horton to knock off the seven runs needed to win from the three balls he faced from Dominic Cork.Hampshire never looked capable of extending the match into a contest once Nic Pothas had gone to the fifth ball of the day from Hogg, caught at first slip by Horton with only a run added to the overnight total.Opener Benny Howell, making his championship debut, went three runs later at 167, dragging a delivery from Hogg into his stumps. At least Howell had the consolation of finishing as his team’s top scorer with a defiant 71 from 177 balls, hitting seven fours and a six in a losing cause.The rest was a procession, Hogg trapping Dimitri Mascarenhas for two at 188 and then having Cork caught by Gary Keedy for 20 at 195 for 9. Keedy accounted for last man David Griffiths at 201 but it was Hogg, who found pace and movement bowling to the Pavilion End, for whom his team-mates reserved special applause as Lancashire left the pitch.Hampshire had lost their last five wickets in 80 minutes and 15 overs with Kabir Ali marooned on eight not out. Lancashire picked up a precious 22 points for their double demolition of the Hampshire batting – taking all 20 wickets in 108 overs – while the home side, second from bottom, collected three.Horton made short work of the target as Lancashire temporarily moved 19 points clear of nearest rivals Durham at the top of the table in pursuit of their first championship title in more than 70 years.

Steven Smith’s state captain Simon Katich is confident the legspinning allrounder will be ready for Test cricket if he gets his opportunity at Lord’s against Pakistan next month

Brydon Coverdale25-Jun-2010Steven Smith’s state captain Simon Katich is confident the legspinning allrounder will be ready for Test cricket if he gets his opportunity at Lord’s against Pakistan next month. Nathan Hauritz has been forced home from Australia’s tour with a foot injury and is unlikely to be fit for the Tests, which leaves Smith as the sole spinner in the squad.The Australian selectors are understandably excited by Smith, who at 21 already has four first-class centuries to his name, is a miraculous fielder and an improving bowler. The major question-mark over Smith as a potential Test player is the quality of his legspin, which has brought him 26 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 48.84.They are hardly the sort of figures that will strike fear into Test batsmen. But Katich, who will be one of Smith’s Test team-mates if he is handed a baggy green at Lord’s, said Smith had taken major steps in his bowling last summer and his season-ending effort for New South Wales of 7 for 64 against South Australia at the SCG was a terrific sign.”He blew us all away with the way he knocked South Australia over on one afternoon of cricket,” Katich, who is in England playing for Lancashire, told Cricinfo. “At one stage they were cruising at 2 for 180 and then in an hour’s time they were all out and we’d finished the season.”It was phenomenal bowling and the way he was getting his wickets was great – big spinning legspinners caught and slip and bat pad and bowled – genuine wickets, not through bad shots or anything. He just went through them with great bowling. That was exciting to see him make a statement.”That display alone meant Smith had already bettered the first-class bowling best of Cameron White, to whom he is often compared as a useful legspinner and powerful batsman. White was chosen as a bowler in all four Tests on Australia’s tour of India in 2008, yet in 108 first-class appearances he has only ever taken two five-wicket hauls.Smith has spoken about the value of his one-on-one training with Shane Warne during the Australian summer, when he was first called in to the Test squad as cover. Since then he has firmly established himself in Australia’s Twenty20 squad and over the next few weeks has the chance to make his name as a one-day and Test player.”There’s been a lot of talk about who’s going to be the next big thing spinning-wise in Australia,” Katich said. “That’s a lot of pressure for the young guys coming through. The way he progressed through the summer, when he was in and around the Test squad at various stages and spent time with Warney … his bowling went to another level after those sessions.”He’s a confident player and he’s prepared to listen and learn. He’s got a very bright future in front of him. Whether he gets an opportunity or not [in the Tests] we’ll wait and see, but if the wickets are dry and they spin, then he could come into calculations. There’s no doubt that he’s gaining confidence being in and around the Australian setup. You can see his improvement all the time.”If Smith does make his debut next month, he will be the eighth spinner Australia have tried in Tests since the retirement of Warne just over three years ago. Of those, Brad Hogg and Stuart MacGill have retired, Beau Casson is struggling for a place with New South Wales, Jason Krejza has fallen away for Tasmania, Bryce McGain is performing solidly but is 38, and White rarely bowls for Victoria.