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Wright follows England example

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New Zealand will follow the England blue-print for defeating Australia in the two Test matches to be played in December, the coach John Wright has said.As he named the 13-man squad to play Tests in Brisbane and Hobart, Wright also said the visitors expected to be challenged by pace, and forsaw the 18-year-old fast bowler Pat Cummins playing a significant role in the Australian attack.While New Zealand have not won a Test match in Australia since 1985, Wright felt the combination of England’s example last summer, and the traumatic events of the Cape Town Test when Michael Clarke’s team was splintered for 47 to surrender a commanding position, gave the tourists a chance.New Zealand’s last Test resulted in a narrow win over lowly Zimbabwe, but the team will be bolstered by the return of the swing bowler Tim Southee and the aggressive batsman Jesse Ryder from knee and calf injuries, respectively.”We’ve got a fair idea [of how to beat Australia], England provided a really good example of how to bowl at them particularly last year, and the batting of Alastair Cook was exemplary at the top of the order, he was very patient, played very straight,” Wright said. “So England did provide in some ways a template of how to play best against Australia.”You look at that and then you look at your own side. To be honest, game-plans at this level aren’t that complicated, we know we have to bat four sessions, and we’ve got to find a way of taking 20 wickets. We’d like to keep as settled a line-up as we can. I think we’ve got the basis there, we have to be patient, but there’s some very talented young players who look like they might have an opportunity to succeed at the next level.”You can only go there in good form and with belief, it is a big step up from Zimbabwe. Australia have got a good record in Brisbane, but that’s what we’re hoping to create, that belief that if we apply ourselves and work really hard, and win our sessions, that we’ll be very competitive.”Cummins may yet debut for Australia against South Africa in Johannesburg, and Wright reckoned he would play a part in Brisbane or Hobart. New Zealand’s batsmen have been ratcheting up their bowling machines to maximum velocity in preparation.”I’ve heard he’s pretty quick, and that will be interesting because we have a feeling they might look to expose us to a lot of pace, and we’re going to have to stand up and be brave,” Wright said. “But having said that, those types of bowlers can provide you with scoring opportunities.”That [speed] is one adjustment we’ll have to make, because we don’t have too many bowlers in this country running around bowling 145kph plus. The boys are aware of that and have been doing some work on bowling machines etc. to simulate those conditions.”The new face in the New Zealand squad is the left-armer Trent Boult, who has turned heads in domestic cricket and will provide another swing bowling option to support Southee and Chris Martin at the Gabba if conditions are suitable.”[Trent is] the player who’s really stood out in the last two games, so his efforts in the first two games have earned him the opportunity,” Wright said. “I think a left-armer’s always handy, but he does swing the ball, and possibly that’s an area we’d like to exploit. The conditions in Brisbane sometimes suit swing bowling, but it does give you a different balance.”

Herath the man to watch, says Elgar

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Rangana Herath, the Sri Lanka left-arm spinner, is the bowler South Africa’s batsmen will have to look out for during their upcoming three-Test series, South Africa batsman Dean Elgar has said. Elgar, who top-scored with 78 for the South African Invitation XI that played the Sri Lankans in a warm-up match in Benoni, said Herath was the most consistent bowler in an attack that lacks firepower in the pace department.”Herath is probably the most consistent bowler for them,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “He seems to have a few variations and also bowls a ball that he flicks out and which comes on a bit quicker. But, overall, their bowling is a little bit thin in the seam department. You do need seamers in South Africa; you can’t just come in with spinners.”Herath had figures of 3 for 58 from 24 overs in Benoni and was the only member of Sri Lanka’s attack to consistently trouble the Invitation side’s batsmen and limit their scoring with an accurate line. He is a certainty in Sri Lanka’s starting XI, but will need support from the pace department, which has been hit by injuries.Regular Test bowler Suranga Lakmal was one of four quicks ruled out before Sri Lanka arrived in South Africa. Nuwan Pradeep managed just 10 deliveries in the tour match before leaving the field with a torn hamstring that threatens to rule him out of the first Test and maybe the series. No replacement has been named yet but the Sri Lankan team management hinted they were hopeful that of one of Nuwan Kulasekera, Dhammika Prasad or Shaminda Eranga would recover from their own injuries in time for the first Test.According to Elgar, Sri Lanka will need to go in with three seamers despite the injuries. “They are a few seamers short. If they are going to play two or three spinners, it might not be the right way to approach the longer version of the game in South Africa. The wickets have always got something in it so you must try to go in with a seam-based attack.”Elgar faced Sri Lanka’s second spinner Ajantha Mendis with ease and said he did not struggle to pick his carrom ball. “He started with six carrom balls to me. So after that it was easy to pick the rest that he bowled, and he bowled plenty. The pitch didn’t allow that ball to play any effect because it just skidded on. You can pick it from the way it comes out of his hand: he flicks his fingers, which is different from when he bowls his offspinner or his googly. He started with a lot of carrom balls. When he was under pressure, he went back to his normal ball.”Mendis enjoyed early success in his career but has been less effective of late and Elgar said watching footage of him bowl helped teams deal with him. “There’s a lot of footage of him now and you can have a look at that. It took a few different variations that he bowled to us and then after that it was pretty easy to pick him. I spent a bit of time at the crease so it became easier for me to pick him.”Elgar was one of the few players in the South African XI that was already familiar with members of the Sri Lankan team. He played against allrounder Angelo Mathews at Under-19 level and rated him as a “steady bowler.” Mathews bowled his first overs in a first-class match in over a year during the game in Benoni. Elgar said Mathews could be key “but it will depend on what his limitations are after his injury [torn quadriceps].”Dilhara Fernando, the most experienced of Sri Lanka’s seamers, can also be tough to handle, Elgar said. “Fernando is a skiddy bowler; he will keep you busy if he finds a good rhythm and his experience helps him a lot. He is a banker for them.”Elgar said he hoped he had done enough to get a look in at international level, after a regular run in the A team. Although it will be tough for him to break into a strong South African top six, he said he will take any chance he can get. “If I get a shot batting at No. 5, 6 or 7, I’ll take my opportunity wherever it comes. Test cricket is where I’d like to make my debut for South Africa.”

All-round Haryana knock out Karnataka

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ScorecardNitin Saini’s brisk half-century set up Haryana’s successful chase•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Haryana were third time lucky. After being forced out of the quarter-finals in two previous seasons by stronger teams, Haryana qualified for the semis for the first time since 1990-91, when Kapil Dev’s team went on to beat Bombay by two runs in one of the most tense finals in Ranji Trophy history. Amit Mishra’s team secured their spot in the final four with a six-wicket victory against Karnataka, a shock defeat for the hosts.Chasing 142 for victory, Haryana’s openers Rahul Dewan and Nitin Saini built a formidable platform for the second time in the match. Saini had been the navigator during the first-innings stand of 152, but today he dominated the partnership of 75. He reached his second half-century of the game by cover-driving Stuart Binny towards the end of the second session.Immediately after the tea break, however, NC Aiyappa seamed the old ball into the pads of Saini, who reacted lazily, and it deflected on to the stumps. A couple of overs later Dewan was also deceived by late away movement from Binny and was caught behind. Then Sunny Singh, attempting to play a shin-high delivery on the leg side, mistimed the shot and the leading edge went back to the bowler SL Akshay.Akshay made good use of the cracks in the pitch and Sachin Rana was the second Haryana batsman to get deceived by the variable bounce. Four wickets had fallen for 32 runs, but Prateek Pawar and Priyank Tehlan secured victory with a 35-run partnership.In hindsight, the 74-run partnership for the eighth wicket between Mishra and Mohit Sharma in the first innings proved decisive. It helped Haryana recover after seven wickets had had fallen for 36 runs and also gave then a lead of 121. Karnataka could single out two causes for their defeat: a lack of partnerships and sloppy fielding, a problem they’ve had through the season.They suffered from it today, too. Dewan was on 5 when he edged Aiyappa and was dropped by wicketkeeper CM Gautam. Two balls later Dewan was opened up by a fabulous delivery that shaped away after pitching on off stump. Gautam misread the line this time and moved to the wrong side, allowing the thick outside edge to go for four. Aiyappa was visibly annoyed. Such errors allowed Saini and Dewan to regain rhythm and build a crucial opening partnership, which formed the spine of Haryana’s victory. For the hosts, there were no such alliances.Karnataka had started the day leading by one run with seven wickets in hand, but lost Amit Verma off the first delivery. Harshal Patel, Haryana’s hero on the first day with eight wickets, trapped Verma lbw with one that pitched a few inches outside leg stump. The umpire Amiesh Saheba deliberated for a moment before raising his finger.Bowling with an upright seam, Patel got the ball to reverse swing straightaway had nearly had Binny lbw with the final ball of the same over. Binny survived because of an inside edge. The combination of several cracks in the pitch and early morning moisture hindered the batsmen’s movements.The Karnataka captain Ganesh Satish was a victim of the variable bounce, when Rana hit one of the cracks and deviated the ball into the pads, hitting him shin height in the line of off stump. All three of Rana’s victims were lbw, caught plumb by the incoming delivery.Binny then committed a terrible mistake. Facing the first delivery from the medium-pacer Sharma, Binny played a golf-swing like drive over mid-on, and the leading edge sailed into the hands of Dewan at point. Karnataka’s lead was only 48 and they had lost six wickets. Gautam, the last specialist batsman, departed to an equally unnecessary stroke – an attempted cut against Ashish Hooda from outside off stump, which was edged to Saini.Karnataka’s tail, however, wagged longer than expected, adding 79 runs for the last three wickets. Sunil Raju and Akshay had a 33-run partnership for the eighth wicket and a 40-run stand between KP Appanna and Aiyappa added to Haryana’s frustration. It did not matter in the end, though, because the underdogs Haryana played with grit to make the semi-finals.

de Villiers' time at the top starts

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Match facts

January 11, Paarl
Start time 14:30 (12:30 GMT)AB de Villiers debuts as South Africa captain on Wednesday•AFP

The Big Picture

Before the Test series, the gulf in quality between the two sides seemed unbridgeable, though Sri Lanka went on to pull off one of the upsets of the decade in Durban before surrendering the series. In the one-day format, the teams are more evenly matched, as the rankings show – South Africa are third with 116 points, while Sri Lanka are fourth with 112. Also Sri Lanka’s attack gets the cutting edge it lacked in the Tests with the return of Lasith Malinga, among the most feared bowlers in the limited-overs game.While the bowling line-up of both teams is likely to be radically different from the Cape Town Test, South Africa have the added change of having a new full-time one-day captain. Graeme Smith’s long reign having coming to an end, it is AB de Villiers who now takes the helm – an extra responsibility for someone who played as a specialist batsman two years ago. Now he has the MS Dhoni-like role of being captain, key batsman and wicketkeeper.The other captain will also be under pressure, with both runs and wins proving elusive. Tillakaratne Dilshan is yet to win either a Test or major one-day series since taking over after the World Cup, and murmurs over him being replaced will only get louder if there is another mis-step this series.Both sides have been in indifferent form in recent one-dayers. South Africa lost their only one-day series since the World Cup, going down to Australia, while Sri Lanka have failed in all their series against major opposition in that period.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
South Africa LWLLW
Sri Lanka LLLWL

Watch out for…

2011 was Lasith Malinga‘s most productive year in one-dayers so far. He topped the charts with 48 wickets, including two hat-tricks and three five-wicket hauls. On what is likely to be a batsman’s track, against a formidable South African top order, Malinga’s grab bag of tricks could prove pivotal to the outcome.
JP Duminy has been out of the Test side for nearly a year now, but remains an integral part of the South African one-day outfit. His ability to bat at several gears makes him a valuable part of the middle order, while his part-time offspin lends balance. His razor-sharp fielding is an added bonus.

Team news

de Villiers hinted that Wayne Parnell would miss out and that South Africa will consider two spinners for the game.South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe / Morne MorkelThe Sri Lanka top six all pick themselves, while the bowling could be very different from the Cape Town Test. Malinga is a certainty, Dilhara Fernando is fit after a knee problem that kept him out of the final Test, while Nuwan Kulasekara and Ajantha Mendis are also expected to play.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thisara Perera / Kosala Kulasekara, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Ajantha Mendis

Pitch and conditions

Slow and low is the usual character of the Paarl pitch. Rory Kleinveldt, the local lad, said that he expects 280 or 290 to be a good first-innings score. It’s going to be scorching day, with the temperature set to peak at 35 degrees.

Stats and trivia

  • Among major teams, Sri Lanka and South Africa are the sides who have played the least cricket against each other in recent times. Since January 2005, Sri Lanka have played only seven ODIs against South Africa, while they faced India 50 times during the same period.
  • de Villiers has been in fantastic form in one-dayers over the past three years, averaging 62.65 with a strike rate around 100.

For a full stats analysis, click here.

Quotes

“There are spots up for grabs, the team is definitely not set.”

“Every team is getting used to the two new balls strategy now. We played with those conditions against Pakistan in UAE. Everyone is used to playing with two new balls now.”

Warriors dominate as Haddin fails again

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ScorecardBrad Haddin’s form slump continued with a fourth-ball duck•Getty Images

Brad Haddin’s difficult month became even worse when he was out for a duck on a terrible day for New South Wales at the WACA. Shane Watson showed some encouraging signs in his first match back from a long injury lay-off, scoring 21 and collecting 1 for 14 from four overs, but Western Australia dominated the day and by stumps had bowled the Blues out for 91 and taken a 67-run lead.But it wasn’t all good news for the Warriors, who lost their captain Marcus North to a finger injury suffered while fielding. The problem was so severe that North was likely to have surgery immediately and was ruled out of the rest of the match, but it didn’t seem to affect the Western Australian batting effort on day one.They finished at 2 for 158 with Liam Davis on 74 and Adam Voges on 37, having lost Wes Robinson for 31 when he edged Watson’s second delivery to slip. Shaun Marsh had also been taken at slip, where Steven Smith snared a screamer off the bowling of Trent Copeland, and his 14 was hardly the kind of innings he needed to press his case for a spot on Australia’s tour of the West Indies.Not that he was alone in that regard. Haddin has had a tough few weeks, fielding questions about his future while Matthew Wade makes his presence felt in the ODI tri-series, and his edge to slip for a fourth-ball duck off Nathan Coulter-Nile (4 for 20) won’t have helped his cause. Usman Khawaja was bowled by Michael Hogan for 15 and Phillip Hughes top scored with 28 before he was caught behind off Coulter-Nile.Watson had been the first man out, lbw to Coulter-Nile, and the wickets just kept tumbling. Nathan Rimmington collected 4 for 31 and the Blues were dismissed in the 45th over, their innings having included a spell where they lost 9 for 31 from 92 deliveries.

Simple equation for startled Sri Lanka

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Match facts

March 2, Melbourne
Start time 1420 (0320 GMT)Lasith Malinga has much to atone for in Melbourne•Getty Images

Big Picture

So much has changed in the course of an innings. Had India failed in their most unlikely pursuit of 321 inside 40 overs to earn a win and a bonus point in Hobart, Australia’s final round robin match against Sri Lanka would have served primarily as a preparatory spar between the two sides ahead of Sunday’s first final in Brisbane. However the extraordinary effort of Virat Kohli has added plenty of edge to the encounter at the MCG. Sri Lanka must now win or tie to make the finals, while Australia have a direct say in which team they face in the competition deciders.The task of seeing off Sri Lanka may yet fall to Shane Watson as stand-in captain, as the selectors weigh up whether or not to play Michael Clarke in the final qualifying fixture. Clarke began the week by winning the Allan Border Medal as Australia’s most outstanding cricketer of the past year, while Watson also scooped awards in the ODI and Twenty20 categories. Their squad for this match and the deciders features James Pattinson, recalled after injury, while the likes of Daniel Christian and Clint McKay will want to perform strongly to shore up their places for the finals.Much of the certainty and stability built up by Sri Lanka was shaken in Hobart, leaving question marks against the captain Mahela Jayawardene and the fast bowler Lasith Malinga in particular. Jaywardene was not as tactically sharp as he should have been against India’s blazing bats, while Malinga was treated with astounding contempt by Kohli in particular. Having only recently begun to demonstrate the consistency missing since last year’s World Cup, a loss at the MCG and quick fade from the tournament would damage morale as much as anything else.

Form guide

Australia WLWLL (Most recent first)
Sri Lanka LWWWT

In the spotlight

James Pattinson was man of the match last time he played at the MCG, in Australia’s scene-setting Boxing Day Test victory over India. Since then he has suffered from a foot injury and missed almost two months of international cricket, returning to action with match figures of 6-37 in a Futures League match for Victoria. Competition for pace bowling places in Australia’s team is fierce, as Ryan Harris and Mitchell Starc can attest, so Pattinson will want to find his rhythm quickly.No bowler has ever conceded a higher rate of runs in an ODI stint of at least five overs than the 12.52 given up by Lasith Malinga in his 1-96 against India. For one of the world’s most feared limited overs fast men, Tuesday was a most sobering night. The faster Malinga bowled, the further Kohli hit him, and his attempts at yorkers were repeatedly flicked to the legside boundary. Australia will be aware that Malinga’s confidence has taken a hit, and will be sweating on any looseness at the MCG.

Team news

Australia may choose to give Michael Clarke another two days to rest his recovering hamstring before the first final on Sunday, leaving the captaincy in the hands of Shane Watson. They are also likely to recall James Pattinson for his first international appearance since the Sydney Test against India.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Shane Watson (capt), 3 Peter Forrest, 4 Michael Hussey, 5 David Hussey, 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 Daniel Christian, 8 Brett Lee, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.Sri Lanka must decide whether or not to make changes to a team that was purring nicely before Tuesday’s startling loss in Hobart. One adjustment has been forced by Farveez Maharoof’s back complaint.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Sachithra Senanayake, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Rangana Herath.

Pitch and conditions

Melbourne’s last international match can be expected to offer bounce to the pacemen and value for shots for committed batsmen. There has been cloud and rain around the city this week, but the forecast is for a clearing day tomorrow.

Stats and trivia

  • Sri Lanka last qualified for the triangular series finals in 2006
  • In 1996 Sri Lanka won through to the finals by beating Australia in the final qualifying match at the MCG.

Quotes

“We think he’s going to be okay for Friday. But we’re certainly going to have a low-risk strategy. If he’s just about right, I don’t think we’ll play him. But I think he’ll be okay.”
The national selector “Farveez is very doubtful for the game tomorrow. We can’t take a risk with him, so he’ll be out. Unfortunately we can’t even have a look at the wicket because it’s under cover. We’ll try to have some sort of combination that we think will be good. We’ll have a good look tomorrow and make a final call. There’s definitely at least one change because of the injury to Maharoof.”

Barbados, Jamaica make the final

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Jamaica entered the finals of the Regional Four-Day Competition by beating Guyana by 133 runs in three days at Sabina Park. They took control of the game after the first day, on which they were dismissed for 196 after choosing to bat. Donovan Pagon and Tamar Lambert scored half-centuries but Jamaica collapsed from 131 for 3, losing seven wickets for 65 runs. Three Guyana spinners – Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo and Narsingh Deonarine – took three wickets each.Guyana, however, were shot out for 126 in their first innings, conceding a lead of 70. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, unbeaten on 47, was the only batsman to pass 20. Nikita Miller claimed 3 for 16 for Jamaica, while David Bernard took 3 for 35. Jamaica could not improve on their first-innings performance in their second, though, getting dismissed for 189. Bishoo took 5 for 62, and Permaul added three more to his match haul. Xavier Marshall top scored for Jamaica this time with 59. Their lead, however, ensured Guyana would have to make the highest total of the match to reach the finals.Chasing 260, Guyana were dismissed for 126 once again. Miller took 4 for 28, and Odean Brown had figures of 3 for 42 for Jamaica, ensuring the match did not enter the fourth day.Sulieman Benn took 9 for 63 in the match to help bowl Barbados into the final with a 227-run victory against Trinidad & Tobago at Queen’s Park Oval. Having chosen to bat, Barbados made only 223 in the first innings. Most of the top-order batsmen got starts but nobody carried on, and Jonathan Carter’s 47 was the top score. Ravi Rampaul and Kavesh Kantasingh took four wickets each for T&T.The Barbados bowlers, however, gave their side a huge lead by dismissing T&T for 84. Benn bowled with the new ball and took 5 for 28, while Carlos Brathwaite had figures of 4 for 12. T&T were 63 for 3 at one stage and then lost seven wickets for 21 runs.Barbados made 216 in their second innings, setting a target of 356. Carter once again top scored with 52, and Brathwaite followed his success with the ball by making an unbeaten 45. Shannon Gabriel was T&T’s best bowler, taking 5 for 78.The target was always likely to be out of T&T’s reach and they fell massively short. They collapsed once again, from 79 for 2, and were dismissed for 128. Benn took 4 for 35 in this innings; Javon Scantlebury-Searles contributed 3 for 22.

Surrey slate Lord's pitch after narrow derby defeat

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ScorecardToby Roland-Jones took four wickets in the second innings•Getty Images

Surrey once again departed Lord’s glum-faced after another defeat. Their record is miserable over the Thames – one win in their last 18 visits. They turned on the wicket as the primary cause of this loss: a soft pitch, perhaps underprepared after poor weather in the days before the match, which created havoc for the 76 overs the final two innings lasted.Chris Adams, Surrey’s team director, described it as the worst pitch he had ever seen at Lord’s. Surrey, in pursuit of 141, lost 6 for 36 to fail by three runs – Surrey’s narrowest margin of defeat to their neighbours.Victory here was envisaged as part of their early-season run to confirm them as many people’s outside tip for the title. Sussex, Middlesex and Worcestershire – with two of those games at The Oval – are the three opponents many would pick out for early-season points. But they were left stunned by their final morning collapse.”It was one of the worst wickets I’ve played on,” Surrey’s captain Rory Hamilton-Brown said. “It went up and down, the seam movement was so exaggerated, people were getting hit and two first-class sides scored not many more than a hundred. It made for a battle out there.”Hamilton-Brown is grateful for a quick return to The Oval next week where Surrey should bounce back against Worcestershire. But his victorious Middlesex counterpart did not see the surface as a hindrance to playing good cricket.”It was one of those wickets you knew there was something in it all game,” Neil Dexter said. “The pitch lasted almost the four days so to be playing on that wicket early season I don’t think was too bad. The way they got out this morning had nothing to do with the wicket, it was the shots and some good bowling.”The victory song in the home dressing room wasn’t quite by Dexy’s Midnight Runners but Middlesex’s “Dexy” – of no pop music fame – was certainly declaring: “I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven” after a miraculous victory.The celebrations probably sent the MCC secretary straight to his inkwell. Tim Murtagh has a history of wild abandon after sealing big wins – once whipping off his shirt to acclaim his success in a T20 quarter-final bowlout for Surrey against Warwickshire at The Oval. Here his fourth wicket sparked a 50-yard sprint towards the Tavern, creating a heap of elated Middlesex bodies on the Lord’s turf.”I think I’ve been watching too much football recently, but that’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had on a cricket field,” said Murtagh, a Liverpool supporter, of what he described as his best win for Middlesex. “It would have been a great shame to lose two games having played decent cricket in both. We have had two collapses in both games but we’ve showed unbelievable fighting spirit.”Middlesex would have begun to move a little uneasily with consecutive defeats and a powerful Durham side arriving next week. This victory is an early fillip for their survival hopes. And they have Andrew Strauss and Steven Finn against Durham, causing a selection headache. Dexter said he will feel bad leaving out players who have done little wrong.None of the bowlers deserved to be dropped. On the final morning, Gareth Berg took two wickets; Tim Murtagh bowled Chris Jordan and took the final wicket; Toby Roland-Jones removed Tim Linley caught at slip and had Hamilton-Brown caught behind.Hamilton-Brown sought to blast his way through the dangers of a seaming ball and varying bounce. His 49-ball half-century was the most aggressive innings of the match. But he watched Tom Maynard, for the addition of three, and Gareth Batty, for a duck, depart as the task of 46 more runs lurched from the formality it was proving the previous evening to a stern examination of technique and guts. Had bad light not intervened on Saturday evening, Surrey may well have claimed the extra half hour that would have allowed Hamilton-Brown and Maynard, both free scoring, to knock off the runs.The small chase was created by Jon Lewis’ five wickets the previous afternoon – the spell of the match. His 17-ball 21 looked to be the late-order innings Surrey needed but he could only look to the heavens as Hamilton-Brown edged Roland-Jones, who was excellent from the Pavilion End, to the wicketkeeper John Simpson. Lewis was then too trusting of Nos. 10 and 11; leaving Linley the entire 38th over to face from Roland-Jones. He nicked the fifth ball to slip. Lewis then offered Jade Dernbach the chance of five balls from Tim Murtagh. A straight-drive gone wrong skied the winning catch to Sam Robson at cover.

Pakistan's hunt for bowling coach continues

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Pakistan will travel to Sri Lanka for their tour in June and July without a bowling coach because all applications received for the vacancy left by Aaqib Javed have been deemed unsuitable.”We aren’t able to find a suitable coach so far,” Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman told . “We have to reopen the process for more applicants.”The Pakistan board received applications from Ian Pont from England, the Maldives coach Bazeegh Zaka, and former Pakistan players Jalal-ud-Din, Mohsin Kamal, Sabih Azhar and Mohammad Akram. The applicants, although qualified, lacked international exposure. One of the job requirements was to have at least five years of experience in a similar role with elite cricketers and none of the applicants fulfilled that. England’s part-time spin bowling consultant Mushtaq Ahmed was also in contention but nothing was finalised because Pakistan were looking for more than a spin-bowling coach.Intikhab Alam, the head of the committee looking for the bowling coach, said the process would continue once Ashraf returned to Pakistan next week. The PCB recently appointed Dav Whatmore and Julian Fountain as head coach and fielding coach. The vacancy for bowling coach arose because Javed accepted the position of UAE’s head coach.

Rogers uncertain over Victoria future

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ScorecardChris Rogers is out of contract with Victoria and may not get a new deal•Getty Images

The Chris Rogers who clattered Somerset to all parts of Lord’s, in an innings that means Middlesex can still win despite losing almost half the match thus far to rain, is the same man who is wracked with doubt about Victoria offering him another state contract in Australia.In St John’s Wood, Rogers has enhanced his reputation as a batsman and a team man, helping to guide Middlesex to promotion and now, as stand-in captain, having them in contention for the County Championship title. An avowed fan of the county system, Rogers has several years left at Middlesex should he want them. Yet at home there is growing doubt about whether, aged 34, he will fit into the Bushrangers’ first-class plans for 2012-13, even though his capacity for hard-earned runs at the top of the batting order is undiminished.To drift out of the game in Australia would be a poor conclusion to a career that has now reaped 54 first-class centuries in addition to his sole Test match appearance, against India at the WACA Ground in 2008, but Rogers can only express cautious optimism that the strides he is making for Middlesex will be noticed by Cricket Victoria, which like every state is growing impatient over the shape of the new contract structure to be outlined when Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association finally agree to an MoU.”It’s all a bit up in the air, with the stuff that’s going on back home there a few of us who are a little bit in limbo and out of contract,” Rogers said. “So I know there’s a big push for the youth and the old guys are kind of being pushed through the back door. I still think I can give something to Victoria, whether they want me or whether I want to play.”But I must admit I do love it over here, I do love the county system and the emphasis it still has on the longer version – maybe my future’s over here. I understand there’s a lot of pressure at home, Victoria already have quite a few experienced guys, so you’ve got to have that balance and bring the young players through. But I still think what I contribute is worthwhile and I’m very involved in the development of younger batsmen and I enjoy that. It’d be nice to think I’m still valued.”The irony of Rogers being pushed out for his supposed one-dimensional nature as a batsman is that the 173 at Lord’s demonstrated how much punch he does possess. When Middlesex might have been cautious early in response to 173, he skated along to 50 from 62 balls to assuage any unease about the conditions in which Somerset had been routed, and later he attacked the visitors’ bowlers with an intensity and effectiveness to match any of his more cavalier counterparts, blazing from 100 to 150 in 28 balls.”I know there are limitations to my game, I don’t hit the ball as far as most of the guys, but I think if you can use your brain and manipulate the ball then there’s still a role to be had,” Rogers said. “I played some good one-day innings and a couple of Twenty20 innings, so I think the ability’s there. In hindsight, probably when I was growing up I’d have liked to train myself a little more for the shorter forms, but my goal was always to play Test cricket so that’s why I set myself to play the longer version.”I said when we had them nine down I thought it was important we were positive on that wicket. How I’ve seen it over the last few games it is just better to be positive than sit there and be defensive. So I took it upon myself to go out there and show the boys. I had a fair bit of luck but we got through that tough period where [Alfonso] Thomas was bowling well early and then we could hurt them later on. With wickets in hand that’s where you like to be, and it was just an amazing day really.”Before the rain on Thursday, Middlesex moved on from 321 for 2 to 364 for 3 in 17.5 sedate overs. Joe Denly remained unbeaten on 116, having lost Dawid Malan to Craig Overton after the No. 4 had made an enterprising 51. Overton has been Somerset’s most parsimonious bowler and deserved his wicket. Eoin Morgan had made only 2 when the showers encircled the ground, consigning both sides to an afternoon of marking time.Rogers remained hopeful of forcing a result on the final day, when both rain and sunshine are forecast for London. “We couldn’t have had a better day yesterday but we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground because there’s still a lot of work to be done,” he said. “The rain’s hurt us badly today, but we’re playing good cricket and yesterday was one of those days you only experience a handful of times in your career. We’re doing well and that’s really all you can ask.”We’re all quite aware of the weather over here and it was a distinct possibility that this was going to happen, so yesterday was a crucial day and tomorrow hopefully we can play all day. With all this rain perhaps the wicket will get juiced up and provide something for the seamers.”