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Kings XI Punjab have included the seamers Kyle Abbott and Ben Cutting to their squad for the ongoing fifth season of the IPL, as replacements for the injured duo of R Sathish and Stuart Broad

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Apr-2012Kings XI Punjab have included the seamers Kyle Abbott and Ben Cutting to their squad for the ongoing fifth season of the IPL, as replacements for the injured duo of R Sathish and Stuart Broad.Cutting, the right-arm seamer from Australia, came close to national selection last year when he was named in the Test squad to play New Zealand at the Gabba. He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2009-10 Sheffield Shield season with 46 wickets at an average of 23.91.Abbott, the right-arm seamer from South Africa, took eight wickets from ten games for the Dolphins in the MiWay T20 Challenge. He also has 85 first-class wickets.”I am excited about Kyle and Ben being a part of our squad,” said Kings XI’s bowling coach Joe Dawes. “Both these seamers are young and talented and have the right spirit to lead the team to great heights.”Broad, the England allrounder, was ruled out in order to continue his rehabilitation from injury. He sustained an injury to his right calf during England’s recent tour of Sri Lanka. Broad also missed the 2011 IPL season after sustaining a rib injury. Sathish, formerly with Mumbai Indians, is recovering from a knee injury.

Morne Morkel bowled a sensational penultimate over to turn a straightforward chase from Rajasthan Royals on its head and snatch victory for Delhi Daredevils

The Report by Firdose Moonda29-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAjinkya Rahane’s efforts went in vain•AFP

Morne Morkel bowled a sensational penultimate over to turn a straightforward chase from Rajasthan Royals on its head and snatch victory for Delhi Daredevils. The victory creates daylight between Daredevils and the rest of the chasing pack, as they remain at the top of the points table.Royals required 15 runs off the last two overs, with nine wickets in hand and victory seemed a foregone conclusion. But, Morkel gave away only three runs in an over filled with yorkers and claimed the wicket of Brad Hodge to set up a tense final over. The fourth ball was fired down the leg side but the umpire, to Hodge’s surprise, didn’t call a wide. It was a crucial decision as only one run separated the teams in the end.Umesh Yadav was tasked with defending 12 runs for Daredevils against the in-form Ajinkya Rahane. Yadav started off with a fast full toss that Rahane missed. Desperation took over as Rahane looked to smash the next delivery, no matter what its length, and ended up mistiming his slices and breaking his bat. Owais Shah stole a single off the inside edge before Rahane hit the first six of the Royals innings, off a full toss to take back the advantage.Two more runs came off the penultimate ball, which left two to get off the final one. Yadav kept it full, Rahane missed but ran anyway and Shah was not quick enough. Naman Ojha hit the stumps to run Shah out and deny Rahane victory, leaving him unbeaten on 84.Rahane and Rahul Dravid are the most successful opening pair in this edition of the IPL and they showed why with a stand of 99 to set up the chase. Rahane started their reply in quietly confident fashion when Rahane flicked the first ball he faced – a poor one on legstump line from Irfan Pathan – for four.Dravid rolled out his vintage drives and showed off powerful pulls as the Daredevils bowlers’ lines and lengths presented no challenge. The two combined in a partnership that looked too easy, Dravid played with Sehwag-esque styled aggression while Rahane, once again, impressed with his timing and poise.By the end of the eighth over, Royals needed less than 100 runs to win and Rahane and Dravid had racked up the same number of runs, 27 each. Rahane eclipsed his captain, reclaimed the orange cap and brought up his 50 with a finesse-filled flick to on the leg-side.Daredevils thought they had some success when Dravid began walking after a cut that was thought to be caught behind but umpire Rod Tucker called him back. Tucker said he gave Dravid out when he saw him walking as it was the end of the over, but the misunderstanding gave Dravid a lifeline. He added only three more runs after that incident and was caught at long-on by a leaping Ajit Agarkar.Rahane was unmoved by the dismissal and marched on, right to the brink of victory. He was only tripped up in the penultimate over and even then did not give up without a fight, as he scooped Yadav for six and very nearly gave Royals victory.Daredevils may have thought their total was not enough after an underwhelming effort with the bat, save for Virender Sehwag’s half-century and a last-over blitz from Nagar. Sehwag became the first player to score four consecutive half-centuries in the IPL and rebuilt Daredevils innings by himself after two early blows.Mahela Jayawardene and Kevin Pietersen were dismissed in the first three overs but Sehwag’s full range of shots was on hand to resurrect matters. He pulled, reverse swept, drove and struck two stunning sixes over long-off and long-on. Just as he threatened to take the innings away from Royals, they dismissed him when Ashok Menaria took a well-judged catch off a back foot cut.Ross Taylor had been an almost absent partner in the stand with Sehwag and was bowled the over after Sehwag departed. Taylor looked to take a Pankaj delivery from outside off and flick on the leg-side but did not make contact and was bowled.Brad Hogg’s wrong un’s and Cooper and Amit Singh’s changes of pace ensured Ojha and Nagar could barely get away. Ojha managed a six before mistiming a shot to long-on but Nagar enjoyed a good last over, hitting two full tosses for six to push Daredevils past 150. In the end, it was enough.

At 35 and having retired from Test cricket, Brett Lee stands on the verge of becoming Australia’s leading wicket taker in one-day Internationals

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2012At 35 and having retired from Test cricket, Brett Lee stands on the verge of becoming Australia’s leading wicket taker in one-day Internationals.He insists, though, that he isn’t motivated by the prospect of breaking Glenn McGrath’s record of 381 wickets during the upcoming series against England – after closing the gap with two wickets against Ireland in Belfast – and in the latest edition of Alison’s Tea Break he explains how he is now acting as a mentor to the younger bowlers coming through.Speaking to host Alison Mitchell, Lee touches on the depth of fast bowling in Australia cricket at the moment, saying he is excited by what James Pattinson and Pat Cummins have to offer with a Test series against South Africa coming up later this year, followed by back-to-back Ashes.He warns, though, of the “blood, sweat and tears” that it takes to be a fast bowler, particularly with the amount of cricket that is played now, and says that bowlers in particular must be prepared “to do what’s best for the team” should management decide to rest and rotate players.As far as Lee’s own future is concerned, he has set no time frame as to when he might step away from the international scene. “As long as I’m doing my job and being an asset to the Australian cricket team and helping the young guys come through, and still enjoying my cricket, then I’ll keep playing for a few more games and we’ll see what happens after that. Whether that’s three months or twelve months or eighteen months, who knows.”Watch the interview here.

The preview of the first Test between West Indies and New Zealand in Antigua

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran24-Jul-2012

Match facts

July 25-29
Start time 1000 (1400 GMT)After dominating the domestic scene in New Zealand in recent years, Neil Wagner is set to turn out at the highest level•Getty Images

Big Picture

Midway through the limited-overs leg of the tour, you felt sorry for New Zealand as, bereft of several seniors, they slid from defeat to defeat. Their stand-in captain Kane Williamson, all of 21 years old and looking even younger, earnestly defended his inexperienced team after Chris Gayle effortlessly dished out half-century after half-century.Two senior batsmen, Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum, were available in the final two ODIs, and New Zealand will be further boosted by the arrival of two old hands, their man-for-all occasions Daniel Vettori and their pace spearhead Chris Martin. Their presence lifts a bowling line-up that looked pretty fragile during large parts of the one-day series, as does the inclusion of Neil Wagner, a man in whom New Zealand fans have placed an almost inordinate amount of faith.New Zealand pulled off one of their greatest Test victories last year against Australia, and competed against South Africa in a home defeat. It’s been more than a decade since they won a Test series away from home (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe), and while they enter these contests as underdogs, it still presents them with their best opportunity for an overseas victory.For that they need to find answers to the same players who gave them plenty of headaches in the limited-overs matches: Gayle and Sunil Narine. Gayle returns for his first Test in more than 19 months, and West Indies will hope that solves their top-order troubles; in recent series, West Indies have typically been three for almost nothing, leaving the middle-order facing a salvage job. Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been their rescuer-in-chief for years now, and his presence solidifies a batting line-up that was explosive but inconsistent in the one-dayers.The focus will also be on Narine, who continued to be a match-winner in limited-overs matches, but is yet to show whether he can be similarly effective in the five-day game. His Test debut in England was a disaster, but on more familiar surfaces and in more comfortable temperatures, Narine should prove more dangerous. If he clicks, West Indies’ chances of only their second series win in more than nine years (excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) will be considerably bright.

Form guide

(Completed games, most recent first)
West Indies DLLLD
New Zealand DLDWW

Watch out for…

Neil Wagner, the South Africa-born left-arm seamer, has dominated the domestic scene in New Zealand in recent years. The days remaining till he qualified to represent New Zealand were eagerly counted down, and he was picked as soon as he was available. He impressed in the practice match, and with fast bowlers Trent Boult and Mark Gillespie injured, he is expected to make his Test debut.Kemar Roach was on-song against Australia in the home series earlier this year, and troubled England’s batsmen as well before pulling out of the tour with an ankle injury. The warm-up game against the New Zealanders was his first match since then, and he showed he was ready to go with a four-wicket burst in the first innings. With his raw pace, Roach provides West Indies with a genuinely threatening spearhead.

Pitch and conditions

There were runs available in the warm-up match on the same ground if batsmen had the required patience, but there should be plenty of opportunity for the bowlers on this surface. Chris Martin, the New Zealand fast bowler, said: “The warm-up game showed us that if we’re in the right areas for long enough the up-and-down nature of the pitch is probably going to get us results.”

Team news

Gayle’s return and the form of Marlon Samuels, who scored plenty of runs in the recent England Tests, means the batting burden on Chanderpaul is reduced. One of the harder decisions West Indies will have to take is who between Ravi Rampaul and Tino Best to pick.West Indies: (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Adrian Barath, 3 Kieran Powell, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Narsingh Deonarine, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Ravi Rampaul/Tino Best, 11 Kemar RoachWith Trent Boult injured, Wagner is expected to start, possibly the only change from the XI that lined up for the final Test against South Africa.New Zealand: (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Daniel Flynn, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Dean Brownlie, 7 Daniel Vettori, 8 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 9 Doug Bracewell, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Chris Martin

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand last lost a Test against West Indies in Barbados in 1996. Since then, they have won five and drawn five.
• Chris Gayle is just 63 runs away from surpassing Gordon Greenidge as the highest run-getter for West Indies against New Zealand. Gayle has scored 820 runs in seven Tests at 74.54.

Quotes

“A warm-up game is a warm-up game. We got what we wanted out of it. We were lucky to come away with the draw but most of the batsmen had a decent bat out there and the bowlers got a good trundle for one innings.”

South Africa became the first side to be ranked No. 1 in all three formats and did it in fitting style with a crushing 80-run victory

The Report by Andrew McGlashan28-Aug-2012South Africa 287 for 5 (Amla 150, Smith 52) beat England 207 (Bell 45, Patel 45) by 80 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHashim Amla proved a major headache for the England bowlers in coloured clothes as well as whites•Getty Images

South Africa became the first side to be ranked No. 1 in all three formats and did it in fitting style, with a crushing 80-run victory in the second one-day international to end England’s run of 10 consecutive wins. South Africa’s success was, not for the first time on this tour, set around a fantastic innings from Hashim Amla as he made a career-best 150 from 124 balls on a pitch that was far from easy for strokeplay.Amla’s innings, South Africa’s sixth-highest in one-day internationals, marshalled South Africa to an imposing 287 for 5 and England never really threatening to get close once Ian Bell’s sprightly knock was ended by Robin Peterson. The spinners played a key role on a helpful surface – England’s had earlier found some turn, too – and when Eoin Morgan pulled JP Duminy to deep midwicket the game was up.This match, though, was about a man who is having a defining tour. It was another day when Amla’s run-scoring feats came into clear focus as he became the fastest man to 3000 ODI runs, beating the previous record held by Viv Richards. His innings included 16 boundaries, ranging from the expansive flick over midwicket to the cover drive to the wonderfully cheeky deflection past the keeper off Tim Bresnan late in the innings.Amla and Graeme Smith added 89 for the first wicket – after being forced to battle against some lively new-ball bowling – which laid the platform for South Africa. Amla then took over with one of the finest pieces of one-day batting you could wish to see. Amla’s hundred, his tenth in one-day internationals, came off 96 balls and it was an innings full of deft placement. He toyed with the England bowlers right to the final moment when he threaded Steven Finn through backward point to reach 150; his third fifty needed just 27 deliveries.England, though, did not help their cause as far as Amla was concerned. He could have been run out twice – on 1 when Samit Patel, preferred at the last minute to Chris Woakes, was slow to the ball from mid-off, and then on 62 when James Anderson produced a poor throw from short fine leg – and was also dropped twice. The first catching chance came on 42 when Craig Kieswetter put down a thin edge off Patel and the wicketkeeper dropped another, one-handed down the leg side, when Amla had 92.It was a poor day for Kieswetter and a bad time for fallibility to rear its head, with Jonny Bairstow and Matt Prior breathing down his neck. In a tough analysis of his performance he also missed a chance offered by AB de Villiers, on 1, diving full stretch to his right. It was the hardest of his chances, but the type Kieswetter had started to pluck out of thin air.The early stages looked much like the Test series. Smith and Amla resisted whatever pressure the England bowlers were able to exert although both had moments of fortune, especially during the first spells from Finn and James Anderson. South Africa waited until the sixth over for their first boundary when Smith, in typical style, took a ball from well outside off straight past mid-off when most batsman would have driven through extra cover.

Smart stats

• Hashim Amla’s 150 is the sixth score of 150 or more by a South African batsman, but the first by a South African in England.

• Amla became the third South African to score an ODI century in England, after Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis. This was only the second ODI hundred by a South African against England in England.

• Amla has 28 fifty-plus scores in 57 ODI innings; in 2012, his ODI scores are 112, 55, 8, 92, 76, 150.

• In wins, Amla averages 72.47; in defeats, it drops to 26.18. Only three of his 28 fifty-plus scores have come in defeats, the highest of them being 65.

• South Africa’s win here is only their sixth in 18 ODIs against England in England. They’ve lost ten, with two matches being washed out.

The acceleration started towards the end of the mandatory Powerplay when overs seven to nine went for a combined 32 runs, including eight boundaries. Fourteen of those runs came off Bresnan’s opening over and he remained the most expensive bowler. Swann was introduced in the 12th over but it was Patel who caused the greater problems, particularly to Smith who was intent on trying to sweep the left-arm spinner.Smith reached his fifty from 70 balls before his eagerness to press on during the bowling Powerplay brought his downfall when he top-edged Bresnan. South Africa’s momentum stalled for a period as Duminy sacrificed himself in a mix-up with Amla (the end result of the innings showed that was the correct decision) and Dean Elgar, in his first ODI innings after the Cardiff washout, struggled to tick the scoreboard over, especially against the spinners. He had laboured to 15 off 28 balls when Swann turned one past his outside edge to take middle. It was a rare moment for Swann to enjoy in a difficult season.It took South Africa just two balls to make a breakthrough when Lonwabo Tsotsobe, the left-arm quick, speared a full delivery under Alastair Cook’s bat to take the off stump. Generally, however, the quick bowlers pitched a touch too short, which allowed Bell to score freely although his intent in using his feet also played a part in disrupting the bowlers’ length. No one, though, had the staying power of Amla.Just as the second-wicket stand was building Jonathan Trott top-edged a pull towards long leg where Elgar, having almost misjudged the chance and come in too far, took a stunning catch over his shoulder and managed to hold on when he hit the ground. It was the sort of fielding brilliance that England have lacked in recent months.Peterson’s wickets came in contrasting style. His first was the perfect left-arm spinner’s dismissal as Bell, lunging forward, was beaten by one that turned and struck his off stump. The second was the type a spinner will happily take an embellish for future reference when Ravi Bopara, trying to regain form after his time out of cricket, carved a long hop to cover.Briefly, Bopara had started to look as though form was returning with a sweetly struck square drive and a crisp pull – reaching double figures for the first time since his personal problems curtailed his Test series against South Africa – but the manner of his dismissal will bring the pressure back on him. Kieswetter’s day did not get much better when he became Elgar’s first international scalp as an outside edge rebounded off de Villiers and looped to slip; Kieswetter had done himself no favours by trying to play to leg against the turn. This batting, on a slow but hardly threatening pitch, did not bode well for the subcontinent.To highlight the excellence of what Amla had produced Morgan, one of the finest timers and placers of a ball in world cricket, struggled to adjust to conditions and was barely striking above 50 when he picked out the man at deep midwicket. As Bresnan and Swann offered limp edges to de Villiers against Wayne Parnell it did not go unnoticed that England, as a team, were struggling to match what one player, Kevin Pietersen, had scored on his own at Taunton.

David Warner happily admits he struggled at times against the bevy of Australian spinners lined up on turning Darwin pitches in order to prepare him for the trip to the UAE

Daniel Brettig24-Aug-2012David Warner happily admits he struggled at times against the bevy of Australian spinners lined up on turning Darwin pitches in order to prepare him for the trip to the UAE. “The selectors have picked our best spinners over here to do the job,” he said in Dubai. “And I know they can definitely do the job because when I face them in the nets I have a bit of trouble as well.”Though the admission was made primarily as a way of supporting the slow bowlers chosen for the tour, it said as much about the greatest blind-spot in Warner’s batting as it did about the skills of Xavier Doherty, Glenn Maxwell and Steven Smith.Ten months into Warner’s time as an Australia opening batsman in all three formats, his development of a cogent plan of attack against quality spin bowlers remains a work in progress. Given a few of the challenges ahead of Warner and Australia, time is running short for him to settle on one.The most immediate task is that of finding a way to confound Pakistan’s considerable spin battery, featuring Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez. All have different approaches and weaponry, all have experience of defeating the best batsmen, and all will look upon Warner as a potential weak spot should the pace bowlers fail to pluck an early wicket.Warner’s notional weakness against spin is something that has emerged over time on the international scene. In Australia, Warner has enjoyed his encounters with local slow bowlers more often than not, using hard local pitches – and his own self-confidence in familiar surrounds – to strike them brazenly through the line, without too many considerations for the spin.Even as a New South Wales Second XI batsman Warner’s methods to spinners were clear, his early days as a middle order batsman as speckled with sixes off the slow bowlers as it was with impetuous, middling scores that played as much part in his delayed entry to first-class ranks as any preconceived ideas that he was more a Twenty20 slogger than a batsman.However the longer he has played around the world, and against spin bowlers of greater guile and experience than may often be found in Australia, Warner has shown evidence of a struggle. He has appeared happiest to take a hyper-aggressive approach to spin in T20 matches, favouring the audacity of the switch-hit to upset a slow bowler’s rhythm and line, but in the longer forms has been unable to consistently find the right gears.Over the course of this year’s West Indies tour, Warner did make some progress, advancing from the leaden-footed drive that had him snicking Shane Shillingford to slip in Trinidad to a more varied method in Dominica, where he essayed the sweep shot with some success on a surface that spun. However he stumbled badly when confronted at Old Trafford with the only turning surface of the ODI tour of England in July.Warner was holding a faltering innings together until James Tredwell pitched full and straight, finding a way past the batsman’s wretchedly half-hearted attempt to sweep. It was a sight to make any batsman wince, and any spin bowler grin. Expect Rehman in particular to try to whir his zippy left-arm orthodox in the direction of Warner’s front pad.Australia’s assistant coach, Justin Langer, had his own torments against spin when batting in the Test top order of course, floundering through a tour of Sri Lanka of 1999 when Muttiah Muralitharan routinely made him look ponderous. Langer would improve his methods enough to make a century on the team’s next visit to Sri Lanka in 2004, but the lessons were sure to have informed his suggestion that spinning pitches and slow bowlers be provided in ample quantities during the Darwin camp.Strike rotation is one area that Langer has pushed, particularly to Warner, but it will also be critical that the opener shows commitment to his chosen methods, whether it be to play from the crease and off the pitch or to follow his captain Michael Clarke’s example of dancing feet. The sweep remains a very useful option – Matthew Hayden’s 2001 tour of India still stands as proof of what strong use of the shot can do to improve the spin defusing skills of a batsman seldom considered nimble – so long as Warner learns from Old Trafford and uses it decisively.”Everyone says that some of us struggle against spin bowling, we know they’re going to have a lot of spin bowlers as well,” Warner said of Pakistan. “As we’ve said, we’ve practised very hard the last couple of weeks against spin bowling, so we know that over here we’re going to have to be at our best and keep rotating the strike through the middle period or the tough periods.”Should Warner succeed against spin over the next two weeks he will have added a critical element to his batting, particularly given that the ICC World Twenty20 is to be held in Sri Lanka, and a tour of India will follow the home summer.

A round-up of the final day of action at World Cricket League Division 8 as Vanuatu secure the title with victory against Ghana

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2012Vanuatu completed an unbeaten World Cricket League Division 8 tournament with victory in the final against Ghana at Garden Ovals in Samoa. Promotion for both teams to Division 7 had already been secured by finishing as the top two sides in the group stage, but this result gave Vanuatu the silverware to go with their earlier efforts.It was a competitive match, but Vanuatu were always just ahead of the game having recovered from a difficult start when they slipped to 7 for 2 after decided to bat first. Jonathon Dunn led the recovery with 78 off 139 balls, adding 108 for the fourth wicket with Nalin Nipiko who made a brisk 59 off 63 deliveries including three sixes.At 181 for 3 after 43 overs Vanuatu will have had designs on something closer 250, but Ghana fought back during the closing overs with Issac Aboagye finishing with 4 for 39. However, in a tournament where totals in excess of 200 have been rare it was a testing target for Ghana to chase.They made a promising start reaching fifty in the 10th over as Obed Harvey put bat to ball effectively but Vanuatu then started to strangle the scoring rate. The third wicket stand of 24 between James Vifah and Samson Awiah took 12 overs to compile – including nine overs from the spin combination of Andrew Mansale and Jelany Chilia that cost just eight runs – and the pressure started to show as Ghana fell to 92 for 5 in the 29th over despite three missed chances in the field.Aboagye briefly cut loose with a brace of sixes to keep the run rate within sight, but the return of Patrick Matautaava paid off when he claimed an lbw and the chase subsided. Simpson Obed finished with 3 for 17 from four overs, but it was Dunn who took the Man-of-the-Match award.”I can’t express how I feel right now with what the boys did out there,” said Mansale. “We are all just so happy and can’t wait to get back to Vanuatu to party.”Elsewhere on the final day of competition three other matches took place to decide the final finishing positions. Japan secured third place with a 10-run victory against Belgium as Alexander Patmore hit 101 out of Japan’s total of 180 then Makoto Taniyama took 5 for 55. Norway cruised past Samoa by 134 runs in the fifth-place play-off and Suriname avoided the wooden spoon a thrilling three-run win against Bhutan.

The ECB has apologised to Cricket South Africa for David Collier’s comments last week where he said South African players had provoked Kevin Pietersen into sending the messages that led to him being dropped

George Dobell15-Oct-2012David Collier, the ECB chief executive, has apologised for suggesting that South African players “provoked” Kevin Pietersen into sending the messages that led to the player being dropped from the England team.Pietersen was omitted from the England team for the third Test of the series between England and South Africa in August after it emerged he had sent messages containing inappropriate comments about the England captain, Andrew Strauss, to members of the South Africa touring party. Pietersen was subsequently omitted from England World T20 squad and their squad for the Test tour of India, though he is now undergoing a “rehabilitation” process that could see him return to the side shortly.Just as it seemed the matter was close to resolution, however, Collier gave a live radio interview with the BBC on October 7 in which he claimed Pietersen had been reacting to messages from members of the South Africa team and that the episode may have been orchestrated to disrupt the England dressing room.Asked about the context of the messages sent from Pietersen to members of the South Africa touring party, Collier replied: “These were responses to messages from certain members of the South Africa team and I would not condone an England player doing it if it was the other way around, and I certainly think they provoked the situation. There was definitely a policy that was happening but we shouldn’t blame the South Africans, we should be above that. I think there was a tactic which was used. I think that is sadly some of the ways of modern sport.”The comments angered Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the South Africa Cricketers’ Association (SACA). The acting chief executive of the former, Jacques Faul, expressed his “disappointment”, while SACA demanded an apology. While it is clear that the ECB and CSA do not agree on all the details of the episode, they have now released a joint statement making it clear that Collier has apologised for his comments and underlined the respect the ECB have for the “highest ethical standards of behaviour” observed by South Africa players:”CSA and ECB have discussed the events which led to Kevin Pietersen’s non-selection for the third test,” the statement said.”Cricket South Africa has made clear to ECB that the electronic messages were not part of any initiative or plan to undermine the England team or players. ECB has unreservedly accepted that assurance and wishes to reiterate that it has no issue at all with CSA – or the Proteas players – on this matter and appreciates that the South African and England players follow the highest ethical standards of behaviour.”Although the two boards do not agree on the sequence of events regarding any responses to messages between Kevin Pietersen and certain Proteas players, CSA and SACA accept Mr Collier’s apology based upon his earlier utterances that the team may have acted in a way which was underhand. Both CSA and ECB regard this matter as now closed and will not comment on the confidential information shared in discussion between the boards.”The episode is an embarrassment to the ECB and may well lead to questions about Collier’s future. But, while Collier will forever be tainted by his involvement with the Stanford debacle, his record as CEO is, on the whole, good. The England team has climbed the rankings in all formats since he was appointed in 2004 and the ECB has gone from a position of poverty to boasting a surplus of more than £20m.Furthermore, the ECB lead the way in the funding of women’s and disability cricket, while huge sums – in excess of £30m a year – have been invested in grassroots cricket and the numbers of people playing the game has doubled. He was close to being appointed CEO of the ICC earlier this year, but missed out to former South Africa wicketkeeper Dave Richardson.The issue will do little to improve relations between the ECB and Pietersen, though. While Collier has previously admitted that the ECB has never seen the messages, which were reported to be deleted some weeks ago, they have received a “binding assurance” from Pietersen that they were not derogatory of Strauss and did not contain tactical advice. It seems they also accepted, at the time, that they were sent in response to messages from South Africa players.

Shane Watson will not bowl in Adelaide, and accepts that his inability to do so will count against him significantly at the selection table ahead of the second Test against South Africa

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide19-Nov-2012Shane Watson will not bowl in Adelaide, and accepts that his inability to do so will count against him significantly at the selection table ahead of the second Test against South Africa. All eyes were on Watson at Australia’s first training session at Adelaide Oval, and while he batted and ran comfortably, the vice-captain did not push his strained calf in an attempt to prove his allround fitness at the bowling crease.Content instead to present himself for selection as a batsman in Adelaide, Watson said he nonetheless remained committed to the allrounder’s path despite its considerable injury risks, and left it up to the captain Michael Clarke and the selectors to decide if he is worth his place ahead of Rob Quiney or David Warner – both batsmen who will be capable of some bowling in the match.”If that’s what Michael and the selectors think is the best balance for the team I’m not going to [oppose that],” Watson said. “I’d love to be out there, but if that’s the best balance of the team, that’s exactly what’s best for the team, and I’m comfortable with that, because the thing I love doing more than anything is being an allrounder, being able to contribute with bat and ball whenever I’m fit, and I know that’s my value to a team more than just batting.”There’s no doubt the way Adelaide Oval is as well, it’s fairly conducive to run scoring, so the bowling options will certainly help Michael out if things don’t go exactly to plan. The most important thing is to be able to run without really hurting it [his calf], so bowling is out at this point in time, so for me it’s just being able to run around and do the skills to be able to fit to play as a batsman to start with.”Watson’s place in Australia cricket has been the subject of much conjecture since he suffered the calf strain before the first Test in Brisbane, an injury that yet again pushed him to the sidelines at a critical time for the national team. Public comment by the likes of Clarke, the national selector John Inverarity and the team performance manager Pat Howard have shown a range of views on Watson’s value to the team and his best role within it, but the allrounder said he felt only support rather than pressure or impatience from the team hierarchy.”I know how things work within the media, if things are going well they know how to pump up your tyres, and when they aren’t and you’re not fit they go the opposite way,” Watson said. “Within the group everyone knows where I’m at, the things I’m doing to try to get fit, so I certainly don’t feel that at all. It’s moreso the outer influences around with what’s written and talked about more than anything that has an influence away from the group.Shane Watson fielded and batted at training in Adelaide on Monday but did not bowl•Getty Images

“Everyone continues to be unbelievably supportive and wants me to get out on the park because everyone wants me to get fit. They also know how much I love playing and getting out there and trying to show off my skills. I haven’t let it affect me as much as in the past because of how quickly it can change either way.”In collaboration with Australia’s physio Alex Kountouris, Watson will push up his running intensity on Tuesday before the selectors make their final call on his fitness on Wednesday. Both Watson and the team are conscious of the danger posed by his breaking down in the middle of an Adelaide Test, on a pitch that can be unforgiving for bowlers until it begins to wear on days four and five.”I’m definitely going to have to up the intensity over the next couple of days, no doubt,” Watson said. “If everything goes well and I get selected I need to make sure I am ready to handle a Test match. I know how important this Test is. I need to make sure I’m as good to 100% as I can be to give myself the best chance of getting through the Test without stirring it up again, because that would be the worst case scenario for everyone – I wouldn’t want to let the team down.”At 31, Watson is no longer a cricketer with a decade or more ahead of him, and he could be forgiven for thinking deeply about how he might best make use of his talent. However he denied any thoughts about either reducing his workload or being more particular about when he might play, expressing the desire to return to the durability he demonstrated from 2009 to 2011, when he played 23 consecutive Tests.”The more I think about what we’ve got and the more things you think about trying to find the right time to have a rest – in the end I just want to be able to play whenever I’m fit,” he said. “I know, pushing my body and being an allrounder I know there’s a chance that you could get injured, especially the way me body is there is a more than likely chance compared to other people that I’m going to get injured, so when I’m fit and ready to go I just want to be able to play whenever I can.”I’d love to be able to get to a stage where like I did a few years ago and get a rest where I physically and mentally need a bit of a rest, that for me is the ultimate, to be able to know I’ve got through that amount of cricket then get a rest even for a week or a few games. That’s what I’m dreaming about, to not just be rested because we’ve got so much coming up, the ultimate is to be rested when I’ve played a lot of cricket and need a break.”

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the 2nd Test between Australia and South Africa in Adelaide

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale20-Nov-2012

Match facts

Nathan Lyon will be an important player for Australia at his home venue•Associated Press

November 22-26, Adelaide Oval
Start time 1030 (0000 GMT)

Big Picture

Australia and South Africa don’t do draws. But for a Saturday completely lost to rain, that trend may well have continued at the Gabba. Instead, the teams have headed to Adelaide still locked at 0-0, although Australia took more positives from the Brisbane Test. After a disappointing first day on which their bowlers took only two wickets, they fought back to be in the prime position on the final day, but time ran out for them to manufacture a result. All the same, they will head in to the second Test knowing that Ed Cowan has proven himself a Test-quality opener, Michael Clarke’s monumental 2012 has shown no signs of ending early, Michael Hussey has broken a seven-year century drought against South Africa, and most of the bowlers found form as the Gabba Test played out. David Warner remains a slight concern at the top of the order but in the main things are simmering away nicely in the Australian setup.For South Africa, there wasn’t much to like about the Gabba Test apart from the continued brilliance of Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis. Alviro Petersen showed why he should not be underestimated on the first day with 64, but that was about it. Questions remain around whether Jacques Rudolph offers enough value; since his return to the side last November he has played 12 Tests for one century. But more than the batting it was South Africa’s bowling that left much to be desired at the Gabba. Perhaps they expected the pitch, by reputation a seamer but in reality a true surface, to do the work for them. Whatever the case, that they allowed 487 runs to pass between bowlers’ wickets – Cowan’s run-out was the only breakthrough on the fourth day – was a massive problem. Vernon Philander lacked impact, Dale Steyn showed only glimpses of his best and Morne Morkel needs to curb his habit of over-stepping on crucial deliveries. Not that any of these issues concerned the coach Gary Kirsten enough to encourage him to spend every day working with the squad between Tests; instead he flew home for a whistle-stop trip to see his wife and children.At Adelaide Oval, the teams will again be greeted by a good batting surface. Life won’t be easy for the fast men early on but the pitch will wear and provide some uneven bounce and help for the spinners later on. During the 1980s the venue had the reputation of being a ground where draws were almost inevitable but that is no longer a fair assessment, and only three of the past 20 Adelaide Tests have failed to find a winner. If that trend continues this year, whichever team comes out on top cannot lose the series. And if it’s South Africa, the No.1 ranking will be out of Australia’s reach.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
Australia DWDWW
South Africa DWDWD

In the spotlight

South Africa’s batsmen tried to belt Nathan Lyon out of the attack at the Gabba but he kept his nerve, continued to flight the ball and picked up two wickets in each innings, as well as having a skied catch put down off his bowling. A 25-over spell on the third day helped Lyon get back into his rhythm after some undemanding Sheffield Shield work in the lead-up, and at his home venue of Adelaide Oval, where he took five wickets against India last summer, he will be a key man as the pitch deteriorates. With Shane Watson unable to bowl even if he does play, Lyon will again be asked to bowl some long spells to give the fast men some rest.Vernon Philander had so much success in his first ten Test matches that it was a major surprise that he went wicketless at the Gabba, having also failed to claim a victim the tour match in Sydney. At times in Brisbane the Australians found it a little too easy to leave Philander’s deliveries alone and on a pitch like Adelaide, which won’t offer the bowlers much apart from perhaps some variable bounce as the game wears on, he will need to make the batsmen play more often.

Team news

Australia are unchanged from Brisbane, with Shane Watson’s bid to play as a batsman ending predictably on match eve. Ben Hilfenhaus retains his spot ahead of Mitchell Starc, and Rob Quiney has another Test to prove himself at No. 3.Australia 1 Ed Cowan, 2 David Warner, 3 Rob Quiney, 4 Ricky Ponting, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Nathan Lyon.JP Duminy’s injury meant South Africa had to make at least one change from the Gabba side and it has been confirmed that Faf du Plessis will make his debut in Adelaide. Imran Tahir has also been named and will replace Rory Kleinveldt in the starting XI.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 Faf du Plessis, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran Tahir.

Pitch and conditions

Like the Gabba, the Adelaide Oval surface should provide plenty of runs early in the match, but it is also likely to deteriorate as the game wears on, which will bring the spinners into play. The forecast for the duration of the match is hot and sunny.

Stats and trivia

• The Gabba match was the first draw between these two sides in 14 Tests, the previous one having come at the WACA in December 2005. The teams haven’t drawn two consecutive Tests since 1921
• Michael Hussey is in line to play his 75th consecutive Test since his debut in November 2005, but AB de Villiers is in the midst of an even better run and should step out for his 79th consecutive Test since his debut in 2004
• The only member of South Africa’s side who has played Test cricket at Adelaide Oval is Jacques Kallis, who in two matches there has scored 15, 15, 5 and 65 not out
• Ricky Ponting has scored more runs at Adelaide Oval than any other Test venue, 1723 at an average of 63.81

Quotes

“I think the players can take confidence from the way we performed and improved in that Test match, but it doesn’t guarantee much. Like words, it doesn’t really matter what you say it’s what you do and we need to have that attitude and make sure come tomorrow we’re 100% ready for that first delivery whether we’re batting or bowling.”

“The changeroom attendant said the one thing you can expect is the same Adelaide wicket. It will probably get drier as the game goes on. It’s got a good grass covering. The field is looking really good. The square is probably the greenest I have seen it in a long time.”