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‘I am talking more about off-field stuff than on-field performance,’ he said looking ahead to the one-off ODI in Pakistan next month

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2020Improving Bangladesh’s team culture will be of top priority for newly appointed Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal. The 30-year old has called for greater discipline and collective effort after taking over from Mashrafe Mortaza, whose five-year stint ended earlier this month.The BCB’s top brass had convinced Iqbal to succeed Mortaza as captain although the cloud of Shakib Al Hasan’s comeback hangs over his new job. Shakib is BCB’s preferred long-term captain across formats, despite being suspended till the end of October this year.”I want to take small steps to improve ourselves,” Iqbal said. “How we can improve our training, how much better can we play as a team, how can I contribute to someone else’s process, and vice-versa. This is my starting point. We will take it one step at a time. Without focusing much about the long process of everything, we should break it down into small steps. On the field, a lot of things remain out of control but the team culture is within our control. How we think off the field, how professional we are.”I want to improve on our team culture, so that with time, you can see results in that aspect. We get more disciplined and work harder, minimise our mistakes. When I think how I will take this team forward, the first thing that comes to mind is that we have to fix all our off the-field issues. I think we are one of the most disciplined teams in world cricket, but we can get better. If I can get to work there and we start seeing it reflected in the field, we are good.”ALSO READ: Life in the time of Mashrafe Mortaza, by Tamim Iqbal and MahmudullahBangladesh’s next assignment is a one-off ODI in Karachi on April 1, but that is in doubt, like all other international fixtures, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Iqbal, though, said that a win over Pakistan in Karachi will boost the confidence of the current group. “When we beat Pakistan under Mashrafe Mortaza in 2015, we started to believe as a group that we can beat bigger teams,” he said. The current squad, which has a lot of young players, needs to win against a big team as soon as possible, to bring back that belief.Mashrafe Mortaza played a key role in reviving the careers of Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah•AFP via Getty Images

“This is a different team than 2015. There are a few key players missing. Form is also different. We have at least four or five new players. We are the type of team that needs five or six people performing to beat good teams, so we need that one big win to break the ice. They need the confidence.”Iqbal also spoke of his challenge to bring the best out of each player. He reserved special praise for Liton Das, who forged a strong partnership with Iqbal at the top and amassed 311 runs of his own in the recently concluded three-match ODI series at home against Zimbabwe.”There is a difference between how Liton thinks now to how he thought six months ago,” Iqbal said. “You can see the reflection in the field. I think the young players are positive towards their cricket. They want to do well. But everyone needs improvement in those areas, including myself.”We are all professional cricketers. You have to treat each individual differently. There are different ways to treat Mushfiq (Mushfiqur Rahim) and Riyad (Mahmudullah) , for example, to get the best out of them. I am talking more about off-field stuff than on-field performance. The sooner, as a team, we can come back into the right track, better for us.”Mortaza ended his ODI captaincy tenure with 50 wins and while it would be difficult for Iqbal to emulate his predecessor’s success, the new captain said that his “close relationship” with Mortaza will hold him in good stead.”I am not an experienced captain. You have to give me time for anything,” Iqbal said. I don’t know what my performance is going to be in six months’ time. Our fans have to be a little patient. I will do for the best interest in the team. You also have to remember that it will be very hard to reach the level of the previous captain. We have achieved a lot under him, but you have to give me some time to reach his level.”I am lucky that I have a close relationship with him. I saw him from close quarters, and we have played a lot together. I know how he thinks and I can take as much as I can. But, those are very difficult shoes to fill straightaway. I hope that I will take the positives from him. If I face trouble, he will be the first person that I will call to take advice.”

Her 3 of 12 restricted Sri Lanka to a below-par score before the hosts chased down the target with over five overs to spare

The Report by Liam Brickhill at Newlands01-Feb-2019South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk’s all-round brilliance set up a resounding seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first T20I at Newlands. Van Niekerk led the way with three cheap wickets as Sri Lanka were held to 90 for 8, and then followed that up with an unbeaten 71 from 55 deliveries to complete the hosts’ chase with more than five overs to spare.Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapattu called correctly at the toss and opted to give her team the chance of setting a total but van Niekerk’s 3 for 12 scuppered a good start and rattled the middle order.Hasini Perera combined with Anushka Sanjeewani in an opening stand of 20, Sanjeewani swiping two leg-side boundaries in Masabata Klaas’ first over but then chipping a drive to Tumi Sekhukhune in the covers attempting a third. After her dismissal, Hasini helped to guide Sri Lanka to the reasonably stable position of 26 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay, but the innings began to stagnate as van Niekerk brought herself on with the field spread and started to choke the flow of runs.Her first over went for just two runs, and with the first ball of her third she had a frustrated Hasini caught at short fine leg by Lara Goodall for 27 – the top score of the innings. In her next over, van Niekerk struck twice to have Shashikala Siriwardene caught by a backpedaling Shabnim Ismail at long-off before bowling a slogging Atapattu with one that spun into the left-hander.In the very next over, Sekhukhune flattened Nilakshi de Silva’s leg stump with a full, swinging delivery and Sri Lanka were floundering at 53 for 5 in the 14th over. Imalka Mendis struck two late fours in her 25 to boost the run rate a little, but Sri Lanka’s eventual total was well under par.Van Niekerk showed just how far beyond a competitive total the visitors were when she strode to the crease and stroked four fours to motor through the Powerplay at a run a ball. Unafraid to loft the ball, she brought up a 40-ball fifty in the 11th over, crunching three fours in four balls off Inoka Ranaweera.By then, South Africa were already closing in on victory, and wickets at the other end did little to stem van Niekerk’s charge. Tazmin Brits was the next highest scorer with 10, but van Niekerk entered the 70s and ended the game with her 13th four, slapping medium-pacer Udeshika Prabodhani straight back over her head to the boundary.

Chris Woakes’ second spell of the day yielded four wickets for 15 runs, and his six-for took his wickets tally in two first-class matches on the tour to 12

George Dobell in Townsville15-Nov-2017
ScorecardChris Woakes doesn’t fit the classic image of a fast bowler.While the newspapers in Australia are full of stories of his counterparts – brooding, menacing types persuaded to stare down the lens like it just took the last pringle – promising to unleash pace and destruction upon England, Woakes responded to another outstanding performance by saying “it was nice”. And then, after a pause, “and pleasing”.Make a headline out of that: “It’s nice,” roared Woakes. “It’s pleasing,” bellowed Woakes. “I’m focusing on my processes,” vowed Woakes.But beneath the bluster, beneath the wearying propaganda that seems to preface Ashes series these days, Woakes is getting on with his job “very nicely” indeed. And while most of the media may be fixated on the damage the Australian fast bowlers are promising to inflict on England and the absence of Ben Stokes, the tourists’ other fast-bowling allrounder is enjoying the opportunity to warm-up for a confrontation that could go a long way to defining his career. And the result of the series.Woakes’ performance is vital. If he can replicate his record in England – where he has 42 Test wickets at a cost of 24.28 apiece – he will have given England a potency that will support James Anderson and Stuart Broad and ensure they have a viable attack. If he cannot improve his overseas record – he has currently taken eight Test wickets outside England (and Wales) at a cost of 63.75 apiece – then too much will be required of England’s opening bowlers and it is hard to see how they win.The key would appear to be movement. If Woakes can persuade the Kookaburra ball (used here) to move laterally as he can the Duke’s (used in England) then his other qualities – his control, his relative pace (upper 80s, you would think) and his bounce – will all be enhanced.So the good news – from an England perspective – from this tour to date is that he is finding that movement and, as a result, proving a tough proposition. Even on these pudding pitches.Getty Images

Woakes, for the second time in successive innings, produced a spell that effectively cut the opposition in half. This time it was four – the first four wickets to fall – for 15 in six overs. Later he returned to claim two more. It means he has, at present, claimed 12 first-class wickets on this tour at a cost of just 10.25 apiece. The opposition is about to get much tougher but the pace he is bowling and the movement he is generating are encouraging.It may be tempting to read some diffidence into Woakes’ softly-spoken manner. To imagine that he will recoil in the furnace of the Gabba.

‘Getting close to being cooked’ – Woakes

Chris Woakes feels he is coming to the boil nicely ahead of the first Test in Brisbane.
Woakes claimed 6 for 54 on the first day of the match against a CA XI in Townsville and afterwards spoke of his delight at his own rhythm and his ability to move the Kookaburra ball.
“All the numbers are saying I’m getting close to getting cooked,” Woakes said. “I’m pleased with where my body is at and getting overs in the legs is important. You don’t want to go in to the Test series undercooked and I’m pleased with where I’m at.
“We got a bit of shape with the ball, which was nice. There has been a lot spoken about the Kookaburra ball not doing as much as the Duke’s and generally it doesn’t. The fact that we got a bit of movement today is pleasing and builds some confidence with this ball that we are not as used to.
“The most important thing today was that I was pleased with how it came out and my rhythm. Six wickets is pleasing but had I picked up one or two I would still have been pleased.”

Tempting but wrong. Instead his quiet manner reflects a confidence in his own ability, which doesn’t require the layer of bravado others see fit to use. He knows it is performances that matter, not rhetoric. And he knows, if he “nails his processes” he will end the tour in a “very nice, very pleasing” mood. What’s that saying about empty vessels and loudest sounds? Talk doesn’t take wickets.It’s been noticeable in Woakes’ career to date that he has produced some of his most eye-catching performances when his side have been under pressure. How about that 11-wicket haul against Pakistan at Lord’s? England lost. Or that unbeaten 95 in an ODI against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge? He came in when England were 82 for 6 and chasing 287. Both times, the pressure brought the best out of him.His wickets here generally came from deliveries on or around off-stump that either bounced or nibbled away. So once Nick Larkin and Josh Carder’s fine opening stand (they put on 66 in 26 overs as England failed to fully utilise the first new ball) was ended with Larkin slashing to gully, Carder and Ryan Gibson were unfortunate enough to receive balls that demanded a stroke and nipped away just enough. Jason Sangha and Simon Milenko were beaten for pace by full deliveries while Harry Nielsen also pushed one to gully.Broad’s figures, in comparison, were modest. But he bowled fine generally and used this game for the warm-up that it is. He is, in the best sense of the word, something of a show-off. And performing amid the bucolic charm of Riverway Stadium – and a vocal crowd who were never far away from reminding him he remained wicketless for most of the day – was never likely to inspire him.This is another slow pitch, too. Disappointingly slow. England opted to come here over other options (Drummoyne in Sydney and Hobart were mentioned) as the ground had a reputation for pace that was akin to that expected in Brisbane. Instead, they have something more akin to New Road. Mount Louisa, off in the distance, even did a passable impression of the Malvern Hills. For the third time in succession, they surface they have encountered has been markedly different to that expected in Brisbane.The England camp are remaining tight-lipped on their view of the preparation they have been provided. But it will be no surprise if, the next time they are here for an Ashes series, they bring a battery of their own seamers (and perhaps hire their own training facility) to ensure they face more taxing bowling. The likes of Mark Footitt, Stuart Meaker, Olly Stone and Richard Gleeson could all have been employed – fitness permitting – to ensure England experienced some pace ahead of the Ashes.Getty Images

Cricket Australia would have you believe this CA XI represents almost the best opposition available with the Shield in full swing. It’s not entirely true, though. Ed Cowan, for example, says he would have loved to play this game but, having been offered the opportunity to appear only 48-hours ahead of the Adelaide match, could only promise his availability for the second game. Perhaps, with a bit of planning, the likes of Cameron White and Michael Klinger could have been included, too?England experienced a few nervous moments during the day, though. The most serious came when Jonny Bairstow had to leave the field after hurting the middle finger of his left hand in scuffing a delivery off the bowling of Woakes that appeared to bounce just in front of him.While Ben Foakes, who was permitted to take the gloves by the umpires despite not being named in the XI, is a more than capable deputy (and soon had a catch – perhaps the first ‘caught Foakes, bowled Woakes’ of many), the thought of losing Bairstow from England’s middle-order is enough to keep Joe Root up at night. He will, therefore, have been hugely relieved to see Bairstow reclaim the gloves about 50 minutes later having been diagnosed with nothing more serious than a bruise.The cordon remains a bit of a concern, though. While James Vince, so fallible in the slips during his first spell in the side, has taken to the gully position with some class – he held three sharp chances on the first day here, none of them easy – another two or three chances went begging in the region. The most straightforward went to Root, off Mason Crane, when Matthew Short had 36, while Bairstow – leaping in front of first slip – put down another (this time off Woakes) to reprieve Milenko. Another edge, again off Crane, went between Bairstow and Root, while Mark Stoneman dropped a tough chance – he did well to get a hand on it, really – when Short cut Crane on 25.Short took advantage of his reprieves to record a stubborn half-century (51 from 122 balls with just two boundaries) and ensure the CA XI recovered from the loss of four wickets for 25 runs either side of lunch.Craig Overton impressed, too. He has settled into this tour nicely and, with his height and ability to generate movement, has demanded respect from the batsmen. He has conceded almost exactly two an over in the first-class games on this tour so far and has given himself an outstanding chance of a Test debut in a week’s time.There was also good news off the pitch for England. James Anderson, who missed training on Tuesday due to illness, bowled in the nets, while Jake Ball returned to running for the first time since sustaining strained ankle ligaments in Adelaide, and later also enjoyed a gentle bowl.

Former England Test batsman Graeme Hick has been appointed as Australia’s batting coach for the next four seasons

Brydon Coverdale15-Sep-20162:07

Conditions in India need a little bit more patience – Hick

Former England Test batsman Graeme Hick has been appointed as Australia’s batting coach for the next four seasons. Hick joins head coach Darren Lehmann, fielding coach Greg Blewett and new bowling coach David Saker in the Australia set-up, and will begin his contract at the start of the home Test series against South Africa in November.However, his first significant challenge will be to help Australia’s batsmen improve their output on the subcontinent, with a four-Test tour of India in February-March. Australia have lost their past nine Tests in Asia and were recently humiliated 3-0 by Sri Lanka in a series that was notable for Australia’s consistent batting failures against spin.When he was appointed Cricket Australia’s high performance coach based at the Centre of Excellence in 2013, Hick stressed the need for patience from Australia’s young batsmen, instead of expecting that they could score at limited-overs speed in first-class cricket. He believes a similar mental approach will be necessary for Australia’s batsmen to succeed in India.”At times maybe the Australian way is to really dominate,” Hick told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday. “In Test cricket the daily run-rate has increased a lot. Maybe India is a place where you need a little bit more patience. The teams that have been successful there recently have been guys who have got big runs up front.”If one of our top order get in, batting a couple of sessions maybe is not enough. You’ve got to look to post a big first-innings score and take that responsibility if you get in. That may require a little bit more patience than maybe some of the players would normally play at.”Hick would appear well qualified to discuss patience, as a man who scored 41,112 first-class runs, 15th on the all-time tally, and as one of only eight men in history to have scored a quadruple-century in first-class cricket. Hick also played 65 Tests for England from 1991 to 2001, and his lengthy contract appears partially designed to ensure he will be around for the 2019 Ashes in England.”I played there for 25 years, I think there was maybe a bit of that in the planning and the appointment,” Hick said. “If I feel like I can add to that and contribute to us doing well … there’s plenty to happen before that, but I’m sure there was a bit of that foresight to my appointment.”The swinging ball has been almost as much of a challenge for Australia’s batsmen as the turning ball in recent years, from 88 all-out against Pakistan at Headingley in 2010, to 47 all-out against South Africa in Cape Town, to last year’s Ashes humiliation of 60 all-out at Trent Bridge, where Stuart Broad proved to be almost unplayable in collecting 8 for 15.”At the end of the day, the players are out there themselves,” Hick said. “All the players will be able to reflect on that [Trent Bridge] experience and think they could have played it differently. That goes back to the mental side of it and the mental approach. I played in a game for England where we were bowled out for 46 in the Caribbean. It was just one of those occasions where before you can get prepared and everything, the innings is over.”People didn’t necessarily have time there to sit and plan and take stock of what was happening, it all happened so quickly. That’s all part of the challenge. Without doubt, you go to India and you’re going to get their subcontinent wickets, you go to England now, certainly Trent Bridge and Headingley will be seaming and swinging around, Edgbaston maybe as well. That’s the challenge.”Hick takes on the role as batting coach after it was vacated by Michael di Venuto in February, when he was named as Surrey’s new head coach. Blewett had filled in as batting coach since di Venuto’s departure but will now return to his original position as fielding coach.”Graeme worked with us during the recent ODI tour in the West Indies and we were really impressed with what he brought to the group,” Lehmann said. “He is a very experienced player in all conditions and will bring a wealth of knowledge with him. With an ICC Champions Trophy, an Ashes Series and an ICC World Cup all to be played in England in the near future, his knowledge of those conditions will also be invaluable.”

Imad Wasim, who led Pakistan to a 13-run win with his 4 for 11, said even though the pitch had good amount of turn, he used drift as the main weapon against Zimbabwe in the first T20

Liam Brickhill in Harare27-Sep-2015Imad Wasim has the air and confidence of a natural leader. A long-term captain of the Pakistan Under-19 side, he has also led Islamabad in both first-class and limited-overs cricket, and captained sides in the PCB Patron’s Trophy. In the midst of his match-winning spell of left-arm spin in the first T20I against Zimbabwe, however, Wasim was quite happy to follow the plans laid out to him by his captain and coaches.”Whatever is required, I do,” Wasim said. “Whatever my captain tells me, I do that.” He was deployed early against Zimbabwe opener Chamu Chibhabha, who has a reputation for preferring pace on the ball, and insisted “the coaching staff and captain were part of that decision.”Despite his respectful deference, Wasim is also a street-smart cricketer who has played the game professionally for almost a decade. On current evidence, he could be around for a lot longer. “Look, I’ve been playing cricket for ten years now,” he said. “First-class, and before that Under-19, so there is a bit of pressure coming into international cricket but I played in Sri Lanka, and against Zimbabwe at home, so I think I can cope with it now.”Wasim’s international debut came against Zimbabwe at home in May, in the second Twenty20 international. He had been selected on the basis of his all-round performances for Pakistan A. On a flat track at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, he bowled only two overs but played a more vital hand with the bat as Pakistan snuck home by two wickets.There were also some handy runs from him today, the best of which was a mighty loft down the ground for one of only four sixes in the entire match. It’s clearly a stroke he’s worked on: at Saturday’s centre net he spent the best part of an hour practising it. His 19 runs off 12 balls were crucial in a low-scoring game.”The wicket was not as good as we felt it was at the start, so I felt our score was okay,” Wasim said. “And to win by 20 or so runs in a low-scoring game is a convincing win.”Wasim’s all-round contributions included two run-outs, but it was his bowling which was most eye-catching. Though the wicket was taking spin, it was his drift which caused the most trouble. “The pitch was a bit slow, and it was spinning a lot, but you still have to bowl in good areas,” he said. “I use spin and drift, I do both. But was I using drift as a weapon today? Yes, definitely.”

Despite Australia’s two losses and his own poor performance so far, Peter Siddle remained upbeat in the lead-up to the third Test in Mohali

Brydon Coverdale09-Mar-2013Fast bowlers who tour India could be forgiven for uttering the occasional f-word. Futile. Fruitless. Frustrating. Not many would call the job fun. Peter Siddle does. On a chronically unhelpful Chennai pitch, Siddle managed only the wicket of India’s No.10 batsman Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In Hyderabad he had the struggling Virender Sehwag caught behind. Two wickets at the average of 81.00. Fun? Yeah, like a dentist’s appointment.But Siddle is always up for a challenge. He thrives on it. Naturally, things don’t always work out, like when he bowled himself to near delirium on the final afternoon in Adelaide in November searching for the last few wickets Australia needed for victory against South Africa. In India, things haven’t worked out either. Two losses and his series figures so far attest to that. But in the lead-up to the third Test in Mohali, where Siddle made his debut in 2008, he remained upbeat.”I don’t think you go out there thinking ‘it’s going to be a long day’ or ‘it’s going to be hot out there, it’s going to be hard work’,” Siddle said of bowling in India. “It’s going to be a challenge and that’s what’s fun about it. It’s always hard work but you know it’s going to be tough and you know you have to try different tricks to get the results over here and I think that’s the challenge.”It’s probably a bit more mental over here. You have to do a bit more thinking about where you want to set fields and work with the captain on where you want to place fields, the areas you want to bowl to certain batsmen. It does take a little bit more thinking to go about it. It’s good, it’s fun, it’s enjoyable. It is hard work but that’s India.”James Pattinson found a way to have an impact during the first match in Chennai and collected six wickets, using his pace to great effect in short, sharp spells. Others over the years have managed to have success in India as well, notably Jason Gillespie, who collected 33 wickets at 21.72 there, and Glenn McGrath, who took 33 wickets at 21.30.Like Siddle has in the past two Tests, they often toiled without the regular line-up of slips, instead working on forcing the batsmen into other false strokes. It is a strange feeling for a fast man to run in with no cordon during a Test match, but Siddle said apart from the occasional period when swing is available, as it was on the second morning in Hyderabad, edges were not the order of the day.”You do miss that a little bit but you’ve got to play the conditions,” Siddle said. “I think the past success, you look back to ’04 and that’s the way they went about it. They didn’t go out there and try to nick off the top order, they knew they had to work hard and try to restrict boundaries and build pressure. That’s the plan they went with.”Any batter feels comfortable when they know they’re scoring runs, or they know they can sit back and wait for that one loose ball an over that we’re going to give them. We’ve just got to restrict that. We’ve got to make sure that one loose ball is every four or five overs, not every over. We know there’s a lot of work to be done. But it does come down to the basics.”Australia will enter the Mohali Test down 2-0 but they can still retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy if they win the next two matches to create a 2-2 result. Siddle said such an outcome would be a remarkable effort given Australia’s struggles in Chennai and Hyderabad.”It would be a massive achievement,” Siddle said. “We’ve let ourselves down in the first two matches. If we could get back to a level series and finish off like that I think it would be a great place to be after where we are at the moment. We’ll be working hard to do whatever we can. If we level the series, we retain the trophy, and that’s what it’s all about. The boys are ready to fight for that and hopefully starting Mohali we can start on a good note and put the pressure on them straight away and go from there.”Now that would be fun.

George Bailey has defended Australia’s decision to tinker with their winning side as they begin to narrow their focus towards the World Twenty20 in September

Brydon Coverdale03-Feb-2012George Bailey has defended Australia’s decision to tinker with their winning side as they begin to narrow their focus towards the World Twenty20 in September. Australia enjoyed a comfortable win in the first T20 in Sydney on Wednesday but they were outfielded by India at the MCG on Friday, which allowed MS Dhoni’s men to draw the series 1-1.Australia were dismissed for 131 having chosen to bat, and their disappointing effort came with Matthew Wade, who had opened and made 72 in the first game, batting down the order at No.6. He still contributed with 32 and his opening replacement Aaron Finch top-scored with 36, but Shaun Marsh at first drop failed to score and the batting was weakened with the allrounders Daniel Christian and James Faulkner left out.But Bailey believes the two games have provided Australia with a valuable opportunity to assess their T20 stocks in a year when the world title is up for grabs. Australia will play two T20s in the West Indies in March but unless games are scheduled with Pakistan in the UAE during a limited-overs tour that might take place in August, they will be Australia’s only outings before the World T20 in September in Sri Lanka.”One of the things we wanted to get out of the week was trying a few different people in different spots,” Bailey said. “Going forward Wadey is going to have opportunities at the top and in the middle. Even tonight I thought it was really pleasing that he showed he can achieve it in both areas. That just gives us another option at different times. As much as trying to win, this week was as much about trying to find out what different people can do in different situations.”We’ve also got some players out, Shane Watson, Mike Hussey, Pat Cummins. At some stage we have to knuckle down not only the guys that you want but also the areas, the roles you want them to play. While it was a great opportunity this week to try some people and try them in different areas and at different times with the bat and the ball, at some stage we have to start honing in. I thought this week worked really well in terms of having a look at some different people.”I think we’ve got a pretty good mix. I think we’ve got some great young allrounders, also with Watson out of the team we have another good allrounder there. I think one of our strengths is going to be our versatility when we’re full strength, come World Cup time.”While the batsmen struggled in the second game, especially against the nimble fielding of an energised India, Bailey said he was comfortable with the way his side had performed with bat and ball in the two games. The bowlers in particular kept creating opportunities and the fact that India had only two balls to spare when the winning runs came showed that Australia never gave the game away.”It’s one of those tough ones where we want to be attacking and keep trying to take wickets but we know we also can’t give plenty of gaps where they can tick the scoreboard along,” Bailey said. “It would have been nice to keep them winless before the one-day series but full credit to them, they outplayed us tonight, no doubt about that. It’s disappointing that we lost tonight and India have got their first win, but it’s probably a little bit surprising it’s taken this long into a tour for India to get their first win up.”Some members of the Australian side will now join the one-day squad for the triangular series with India and Sri Lanka, while others will head back to their home states for domestic cricket. Wherever they are, Bailey hopes his men can at least keep the World T20 in the back of their minds.”We’ve let guys know that everything that you’re doing now with a T20 focus is starting to gear up towards that, whether that’s with the bat or the ball, or your fitness or your fielding,” he said. “While it’s going to be hard as a group to do that [in the coming weeks], individually we’ll still be focusing.”

Fitness worries aside, India’s selectors will only be concerned about whom to pick as the second spinner and the second reserve batsman

Sidharth Monga16-Jan-2011Fitness, and not form, seems to be the current refrain with India, who are going to announce their 2011 World Cup squad on Monday. They have taken every precautionary measure to ensure their first-choice players are fit for the tournament: Virender Sehwag, Praveen Kumar, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir have all been sent back from South Africa. If they are all fit, or if it is believed they will regain fitness by the time the event starts, this will be a fairly easy selection meeting. Thirteen of the 15 places are sealed, and the debate is likely to centre around the second reserve batsman and the reserve spinner.If India have everything their way, Tendulkar and Sehwag will be back to open the innings, followed by Gambhir at No.3. The middle order will comprise Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan, with Virat Kohli constantly pushing for a place in the starting XI. Harbhajan Singh will be the first-choice spinner, while the fast-bowler pool will contain the following players: Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel. Only injury should keep any of these 13 out.That leaves two places – an extra spinner and a middle-order batsman. R Ashwin, despite being the second-best limited-overs spinner in the country, might get overlooked because India already have an offspinner in Harbhajan, and most of their part-timers are offspinners too. That should make Pragyan Ojha the front-runner for the job – he has performed decently whenever he has been given a chance to play limited-overs games – but he seems to be out of favour for some reason. If the squad selected for the one-dayers in South Africa is any indication, expect to see Piyush Chawla in the side, even though he last played an ODI in July 2008.Rohit Sharma appears to be the most likely candidate to benefit from the loss of form of the other contenders. Dinesh Karthik, who would have been a natural choice because he can double up as a reserve keeper, has played himself out of the team over the last year; M Vijay has run into ordinary form; and Saurabh Tiwary is too inexperienced to pick for a World Cup. Moreover, Rohit – like Raina, Yusuf and Yuvraj – can bowl spin. The lack of options only shows how difficult it will become for India if everybody is not fit.India are not likely to choose a reserve keeper, but there is a solution to that. Even if they don’t have a reserve keeper in the official squad, they can always have one travel with them in case he is needed at short notice. Since India play all but one of their matches in India, arranging a visa will not be an issue either.Likely squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Piyush Chawla/Pragyan Ojha/R Ashwin

The West Indies allrounder has said in order to ensure limited-overs success against Australia, they would need to stick to game plans and execute them clinically

Cricinfo staff02-Feb-2010Allrounder Darren Sammy has said West Indies will need to stick to game plans and execute them clinically in order to ensure limited-overs success against Australia. West Indies have returned to Australia for five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals after losing a three-Test series in November-December last year. Although that margin of defeat was 2-0, West Indies fought hard and proved to be testing opponents.”The last time we were in Australia nobody expected us to play the way we did but, with that series, we gained a lot of confidence knowing we could definitely beat the Aussies,” Sammy told the . “In this shorter format of the game it is up to us to continue the good work we left off in Australia and implement it in the one-day series.”It’s an opportunity for everyone to step up and show what [they] are made of. It’s up to us as long as we execute properly whatever team plans and team goals we have. The cricketers need to go out there on the field and play to the best of their ability.”Sammy said most players in the squad were in form after putting in solid performances during the WICB regional first-class tournament.”I think most of the batsmen have been scoring runs, [Denesh] Ramdin has two hundreds Narsingh [Deonarine] one, [Brendan] Nash has some good scores and everybody should be happy with their game,” Sammy said. “But like we know, Australia are always tough to beat but we just have to go out there and believe and execute properly. I love that word, I think execution will be our most important word there in Australia.”West Indies will be hoping to overturn their last one-day series result against Australia, when they were beaten 5-0 at home in 2008.

Australia A could only manage two wickets on the final day as batters dominated

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2025Sri Lanka A 272 (Dinusha 105*) and 280 for 3 (Nuwanidu 104*, Rathnayake 56*, Sooriyabandara 56) drew with Australia A 486 (McSweeney 94, Scott 94, Philippe 85, Perry 61, Weatherald 54, Dinusha 4-97)Australia A and Sri Lanka A ground out a tame draw at Marrara Stadium in Darwin as Nuwanidu Fernando hit an unbeaten century.In reply to Australia A’s 486 after making 272 in their first innings, the Sri Lankans dug in to finish on 280 for 3 when the match was called on Wednesday afternoon.Related