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Both sides are highly unlikely to make the WTC final, but New Zealand will look to make it three unbeaten away series against Pakistan in a row

Danyal Rasool01-Jan-2023

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For Pakistan, this game cannot come – and go – soon enough. A home Test season of historically miserable proportions will finally draw to a close for the hosts next week, and regardless of the outcome of the second Test in Karachi, that is precisely how it will be viewed. You might imagine the end of this week will allow Pakistan to take stock, assess what went wrong, perhaps even commission one of those reports that never really end up seeing the light of day.Most likely, though, with just two Tests to play in the next 11 months, they will instead turn their attention to white-ball cricket. By the time the Test tour of Sri Lanka rolls around, they’ll have found some new kid who smashed it around in the PSL or bowled really fast. Shahid Afridi will include him in that ever-expanding list of probables for the Test squad because six months is too long a time to remember what Pakistan’s Test problems actually were.For now, however, there is a series to be won, though New Zealand will wonder how they haven’t put that possibility out of Pakistan’s reach just yet. In a slow burner of a first Test, there was just enough time for the visitors to show their superior levels of patience with the bat, and greater potency with the ball. And yet, just a touch too much patience with the bat, and slightly too little potency with the ball as the clock ran out on the visitors as they stood about half an hour away from a well-deserved victory.On flat surfaces like that one, a solitary poor batting session can determine the course of a game. The first Test was shaped by the very first session, where some horrific decision making from Pakistan’s batters gifted New Zealand four early wickets, ensuring Pakistan would never be able to put up the sort of total to intimidate New Zealand. But with Pakistan promising a spicier surface for the second Test, and plenty of grass left on the strip overnight, there are opportunities for fast bowlers to get into the game, posing selection dilemmas and strategic reconsiderations.While Pakistan see out their season with this tour, for New Zealand, it is merely an hors d’oeuvre. A short white-ball series in India will be followed by a return home for a visit of England, and while conditions there will bear little resemblance to this, they will want to match England’s away series win in Pakistan with one of their own.For it, they have come reasonably well equipped. They boast arguably the most reliable opening pair in Test cricket at the moment, with Tom Latham’s exceptional record in Asia of considerable value on these strips. Kane Williamson has roared back into form with a solid middle order to follow. The spinners out-bowled their Pakistani counterparts this week, and while a green-top wicket might have them wishing Trent Boult was available, in Tim Southee and Matt Henry they have significantly greater experience than Pakistan can boast in that department.Both sides are out of form, and all but out of contention for the World Test Championship final. Pakistan are increasingly desperate to end a home Test drought, while New Zealand look to make it three unbeaten away series against Pakistan in a row. It feels like something of a free hit with the series trophy the enticingly dangled carrot at the end of it.Related

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Form guide

Pakistan: DLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand: DLLLL

In the spotlight

Pakistan have enough on their plate without needing to worry about Abdullah Shafique, whose explosive start to his Test career solved one half of Pakistan’s opening woes. After a breakthrough first season in international cricket, though, the runs have dried up over this winter, with a hundred on an extremely flat track in Rawalpindi followed up by seven innings without a half-century.The good news is there doesn’t appear to be a glaring technical flaw – he has got starts in nearly each of those innings; only once in the last seven has he faced fewer than 20 deliveries. There have been several instances of losses of concentration, though, which accounted for both of his dismissals in the first Test. He would dance down the track to spin in each innings, only to be stumped in the first and caught at mid-on the second. Pakistan need him to rediscover the grit that marked him out as a standout opener in the first half of his career, and with no Tests scheduled for Pakistan until July, Shafique will want to sign off on a high.Pakistan did indicate they wanted to prepare a bouncier surface for the second Test, but New Zealand’s spin attack needn’t worry too much. The Karachi surface has always offered spin right from the outset, and while Ish Sodhi and Ajaz Patel are expected to be the main threats, watch out for Michael Bracewell. His four wickets in the first Test were more than respectable, but Pakistan have picked up a habit of gifting inexperienced opposition spinners wickets in clumps over the years.New Zealand’s own Will Somerville offers the most pertinent example – seven of his 15 Test wickets came on debut against Pakistan. Rehan Ahmed picked up a debut five-for a fortnight earlier, and Will Jacks’ six a couple of Tests before that. Marcus North, Paul Harris and Nathan Hauritz are all members of this unlikely, eclectic list, one Bracewell wouldn’t mind joining to kick off 2023.Ish Sodhi and New Zealand showed their class in the first Test, with the visitors perhaps a tad unlucky not to come away with a win•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

A fresh pitch is expected for the final game, with conditions similar to what they were for the first Test. Pakistan want more bounce. Whether they get it in the weak winter sunshine is another question altogether.

Team news

A more pace-friendly surface should see Pakistan opt for a third seamer, with Hasan Ali and Shahnawaz Dahani both in the squad.Pakistan (probable): 1 Imam-ul-Haq 2 Abdullah Shafique 3 Shan Masood 4 Babar Azam (capt) 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk) 7 Salman Ali Agha 8 Hasan Ali 9 Mohammad Wasim 10 Mir Hamza 11 Abrar AhmedNew Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi acknowledged the wicket looked different to the one for the first Test, which may alter their bowling combination, too.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Michael Bracewell 8 Tim Southee, 9 Ish Sodhi 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Ajaz Patel/Matt Henry

Stats and trivia

• Daryl Mitchell is 17 runs from 1000 Test runs, and Abdullah Shafique is 27 away. Should Mitchell get there in the first innings, he would join Devon Conway as the fastest New Zealand player to the mark.
• Pakistan last beat New Zealand in a home series in 2002. They have since lost one and drawn the other, both in the UAE.

Northants prove up for the fight as top-two contest in Group Three intensifies

David Hopps04-Jul-2021George Hill has already had one brush with stardom, not that many will have cottoned on. He was an England sub fielder who carried out a replacement bat for Ben Stokes before he won the Ashes Test at Headingley in 2019 in one of the most inspirational innings in history. Many decades from now, if he has any sense of a good story, he will regale his grandchildren with talk of how he gently pushed the cricketing Excalibur towards Stokes and muttered: “Use this, chosen one.”Two years on, as Yorkshire are undermined by injuries and England calls, the opportunity has come for Hill, a former England Under-19, to build his own career. His latest chance has come not just a little sooner than he might have anticipated, but in a way he might not have imagined.For the first time in senior cricket, Hill was charged with opening the batting. Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Will Fraine were injured; Dawid Malan absent for personal reasons. What’s more, there was no sense that his own bat had magical powers.Related

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But in only his fourth first-class game, and in a match where victory could be crucial for both these sides in gaining a top-two place, he responded with a career-best 71, averting disaster with pretty much 50% of the runs off the bat, as Northants rolled Yorkshire for 158.And, more to the point, he did it on July 4. In the USA that might mean an Independence Day BBQ, but in county cricket this summer it was the day when batting was confidently expected to descend into madness – the day on which county batters briefly revisit Championship cricket after a month of solid T20.On Friday night, Hill had made a minor T20 breakthrough that probably resonated more with him than anybody else. During a match-winning stand in the Roses match at Headingley, in which he played a secondary role to Harry Brook, he struck Lancashire’s high-class quick, Saqib Mahmood, over long-on for six and banged the bat on the ground as if to say: “I can do this.”On Sunday morning, the mental switch from T20 to four-day had to be clicked, even more so on a day in which no other Yorkshire batter made more than 22. On a slow, used pitch, offering a little seam and turn, 158 was not a totally disastrous score, but Northants moved to 61 for 2 by the close in a manner that suggested it was considerably under par. Thanks to Hill, Yorkshire remain in touch.Hill did have a moment of fortune when he was dropped at second slip by Gareth Berg, off Wayne Parnell, when 31. But he generally displayed an unflustered air and adapted to the opener’s role as if it was made for him. He stands fairly still at the crease – no huge trigger movement back onto off stump that is so on trend.”It’s a bit of a relief to be honest,” he said. “I’ve played a couple of games in the past and didn’t really feel like I did a huge amount, so it’s nice to contribute to the team. I thought, ‘I haven’t got a huge amount to lose’. I haven’t really opened before, so I thought I would go out there, give it my all and dig in.”Tom Taylor celebrates with his team-mates•Getty Images

It will be interesting to discover whether it becomes a more long-term switch. It looked like a proper approach from a proper opener. A proper knock. What was proper once, of course, is not necessarily proper now. When Kohler-Cadmore, arguably more suited to the middle order, returns, Yorkshire will need to have a proper think.Hill’s first boundary – a calm pull of Tom Taylor – set the mood for his innings. The were deft moments, such as when he guided Berg’s medium pace to the third man boundary, and brief nod to the expressive side of his game that T20 has encouraged when he skipped down the pitch to strike the left-arm spinner, Simon Kerrigan, for a straight six. Rob Keogh’s offspin snared him, lbw, pushing forward, immediately after tea.Yorkshire, second in Group Three, led Northants, a place behind, by 12 points at start of play, and with two sides qualifying for the top division in the final stages, and only two games remaining, this match could hardly be more vital. Yorkshire held off Northants by one run in early May and once again they are proving themselves redoubtable opponents.Such is the importance of the fixture that Yorkshire have signed Sam Northeast, who has left Hampshire, on a short-term loan. It would be a shame if Northeast’s county career dwindled away, at 31, amid the recognition that England will never come calling. His chance to appeal to new suitors, though, did not begin well when he made 3 from 19 balls before Tom Taylor had him caught at the wicket, belatedly trying to leave.Not that others had much to boast about. Adam Lyth had fallen early, Ben Sanderson having him caught behind. Rain forced an early lunch before Yorkshire suffered self-inflicted wounds against the let-arm spin of Kerrigan, Gary Ballance failing with a slog sweep and Brook, the leading T20 run-maker in the country, falling off that pedestal when he flogged the same bowler to mid-on.Dom Bess did get a decent ball from Berg which bounced a bit, and it may be Bess’ offspin that is most likely to salvage a difficult position. At the close though, it was the Northants stand-in skipper, Ricardo Vasconcelos, 32 not out and possessor of a deserved county cap, who was much the happier.

Officials ‘heartened’ by UK Government guidance allowing for return to competition from June 1

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2020The ECB has welcomed the UK Government’s go-ahead for the return of professional sport behind closed doors as it presses ahead with plans to host international cricket this summer, and stage a domestic season.In a further easing of lockdown restrictions imposed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden announced government health and safety guidance on Saturday for elite athletes and professional sportspeople to return to competition in the absence of spectators from June 1. He added that it was up to individual sports to confirm they could meet the safety protocols and therefore when to resume.The ECB, who are hoping to host a condensed international schedule at so-called ‘bio-secure’ venues, starting with a three-Test series against West Indies in July, issued a statement on Sunday saying they were “heartened” by the news. The ECB will study the guidelines to determine how they will help the sport emerge from lockdown, but it clearly saw hope for the resumption of domestic and recreational cricket.ALSO READ: ECB backs Covid-19 substitutes as plans for return ramp up“We are extremely heartened by Saturday’s announcement from the Secretary of State, which will support the return of professional, domestic cricket behind closed doors, and provides a meaningful next step for recreational players to begin playing at their clubs again,” the ECB statement said.”Over the coming week, we will seek to understand the specific guidance from Government’s medical teams so that we can provide support for cricket clubs who will be eager to see their communities safely playing in small groups. We extend our thanks to all those in Government who have worked hard to support the return of sport and we look forward to seeing players from across the game start returning to the field.”The ECB has been working on plans to hold televised international matches at two grounds – understood to be Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl – with another base to allow a third team to train – likely to be Edgbaston. Each of the venues will be configured to encourage social distancing, along with the use of different zones to separate groups such as players and match officials from those not staying on site.England last week named a 55-man training group to prepare for the series against West Indies as well as planned visits from Pakistan, Australia and Ireland.Cricket West Indies has agreed to the scheduled tour of England in principle and is awaiting approvals from the various national governments in the Caribbean for player and staff movement on charterd planes. The Test series, part of the World Test Championship, was originally supposed to start on June 4 but was postponed when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.The ECB last week announced that no professional domestic cricket would be played in England or Wales until at least August 1, while recreational cricket would remain suspended until further notice, with the exception of using outdoor cricket nets and pitches for exercise under the government’s social distancing guidelines. It is investigating options for playing a domestic season possibly starting in August, including a County Championship split into regions and a T20 Blast competition.

Quetta picked up their third consecutive win after leaving Multan to play catch-up early in the match

The Report by Danyal Rasool20-Feb-2019How the game played outQuetta have a formula, and as of now, the equations are working in perfect harmony. For the third time in three matches, they won the toss, and opted to chase. Peshawar had set Sarfaraz Ahmed’s team 156, Islamabad 158, and Multan today 161. And just the way they cruised to win against their previous two opponents, Quetta put Multan to the sword thanks to a blistering start from Shane Watson, and fireworks from Rilee Rossouw at the end.Multan had posted 160; they will regret not racking up a bigger total after Shoaib Malik’s half-century had set his side a decent platform. Quetta weren’t quite as clinical with the ball as they have been in their previous two games, but in Multan they were up against a side that doesn’t possess the pure batting skill several others do. Ghulam Mudassar was the most sloppy, bowling two no-balls and conceding 44 in his allotted four, but the other four ensured they more than made up for it. Fawad Ahmed was the pick, conceding just 22, with an exquisite googly getting rid of Shan Masood.But bar a quiet first two overs, Multan were never given a chance. From the moment Shane Watson hit Nauman Ali for four fours in arrow in the fourth over, Quetta had the game in their grasp. It remained so right through till the 19th over, in which Rilee Rossouw knocked off the winning runs in what ended up being a canter.Shane Watson raises his bat after getting his fifty•Pakistan Super League

Turning point

• Multan were well placed at 137 for 3, with Shoaib Malik looking to cut loose having reached a half-century off 35 balls. He had just smashed Sohail Tanvir for six, and if he could stay on till the end, his side looked set to surpass 170. But when he holed out at cow corner, his departure also heralded the end of any momentum his side had. Only 23 were scored off the last 20 balls of the innings, with six wickets lost along the way
• After Watson had spent the first 11 overs finding one novel way after another to slice through the Multan field, he skied one off Afridi. He was gone for 61 off 40, and Quetta still needed another 66 off 53. Rossouw had struggled till then with 18 off 19, and any comeback would have had to happen then. But ordinary bowling in the next three overs allowed the South African to break free, bringing the rate down to six an over

Star of the dayRossouw has been a star for Quetta Gladiators ever since he joined in 2017, and has scored more runs than any other player who’s participated in the league in the last three seasons. While Watson’s explosiveness at the start is so habitual one may be forgiven for being blasé about it, Rossouw has finished off games when under real pressure. This was another to add to that Quetta canon as he made up for a slow start to carry his side home. With Watson there, he had the intelligence to play second fiddle to the Australian, but after his dismissal, he stepped up. He scored 48 off his last 26 deliveries to finish with 67 off 45, never really giving Multan a look-in.The big missMultan may lose the services of Andre Russell if West Indies decide to call him up, but on the evidence of today’s performance that international summoning may be a while away. At the back end of the innings, he managed 18 off 12. But he was well off the mark when handed the ball, barely able to get the requisite pace or accuracy to discomfit Quetta’s quality batsman. Watson smashed him for three successive fours in his first over, the ball sitting up for a man who doesn’t need any gifts right now. An hour later, his second over was little better as Umar Akmal and Rossouw tucked in. By then, he had conceded 29 off 12, more than neutralizing the 18 he himself managed off the same number of balls.Where the teams standQuetta break clear at the top with three wins out of three. Multan, like Islamabad and Lahore, slip into the bottom half with one win from three.

The back injury that Faf du Plessis suffered against Bangladesh may keep him out of the day-night encounter against ZImbabwe. Dean Elgar will likely captain the side in his absence

Firdose Moonda18-Dec-2017South Africa’s Test captain Faf du Plessis is in doubt for the inaugural four-day Boxing Day day-night Test against Zimbabwe, as Cricket South Africa opt for a cautious approach to managing his return from injury.Du Plessis has not played any cricket since late October when he hurt his back during the second ODI against Bangladesh. He was initially prescribed six weeks’ rest. However, at the same time, du Plessis had surgery on a problematic shoulder. As a result, he played no part in the recently concluded Ram Slam and was not named in the CSA Invitation XI to play Zimbabwe in a warm-up match scheduled for Wednesday.Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager who is also a medical doctor, told ESPNcricinfo last week that du Plessis was “on track”, but also emphasised that a late decision will be taken given the workload over the next three months.”If we reach next week and see that Faf would benefit from another week off, then we will give him that time,” Moosajee said. “We are not going to be foolish with his return, because there is a lot of cricket over the next few months.”After the Zimbabwe Test, South Africa host India for three-Tests starting on January 5, six ODIs and three T20s and then have a four-Test home series against Australia in March.Given that the South African management prefer their players to have some game time after returning from an injury and before representing the national side, it seems a better option for du Plessis to sit out the Test and perhaps even play in the upcoming domestic one-day tournament which starts on Wednesday. South Africa would have a ready-made batting replacement in AB de Villiers, who will play the warm-up match and has declared himself eager for a Test return. They will also likely turn to stand-in captain Dean Elgar, who led the side at Lord’s when du Plessis was on paternity leave.South Africa are only expected to name their Test squad after at least some of the warm-up match has been played and they have monitored the progress of some of their other players. Dale Steyn and Chris Morris are both due to play in the match and could make a return following significant time out of the game. Morne Morkel, who is coming back from a side strain, is not in the squad but recently played a three-day provincial match for Easterns, with positive reasons. He bowled 19.4 overs and took seven wickets for 43 runs.

Sam Billings says he is flattered to have been talked up by Michael Vaughan as a potential reinforcement for the Test tour of India, but insists that he remains a work in progress

Andrew Miller02-Nov-2016Sam Billings, the Kent batsman whose technique against spin bowling is considered one of the best among England’s coming generation of batsmen, says he is flattered to have been talked up by Michael Vaughan as a potential reinforcement for the Test tour of India, but insists that he remains a work in progress in first-class cricket.Billings has been on the fringes of the one-day squad for several months without being able to secure a regular berth, but he gave an indication of his aptitude in Asian conditions in the ODI series against Bangladesh last month, when he was drafted in to open the batting in the series decider in Chittagong, and swept his way to a vital 62 from 69 balls in a stiff run-chase.”It was great to contribute,” said Billings during a Chance to Shine event in West London. “I should have got 120 not out to win the game but that’s life and I would have taken 60 at the start. To be involved in another series win in difficult conditions shows how far we are coming along as a group.”Everyone knew that Bangladesh had won their last six home series, including against India and South Africa, so it was no mean feat to win. People think it is only Bangladesh so you should just smack them around but, with Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes, they’ve got a seriously good side in their own conditions.”Bangladesh backed up that assertion in no uncertain terms in the subsequent Test series and, speaking in the aftermath of England’s shocking collapse in the second Test at Dhaka, Vaughan argued strongly for Billings’ inclusion for the five-Test series against India that gets underway in Rajkot next week – not least because, as a right-hander, he will be better placed to combat the offspin of India’s attack leader, Ravi Ashwin.”Obviously that is flattering,” Billings said, “Playing spin is one of my strengths. Manoeuvring the ball around and putting spinners under pressure is one of my strengths, but the guys who are there have done it regularly in first-class cricket and are there for a reason.”Billings had his moments in first-class cricket for Kent last season, most notably a career-best 171 against Gloucestershire in Bristol in August but, having missed the early weeks of the summer during his IPL stint with Delhi Daredevils, he played just seven Division Two matches and was unable to put together the weight of runs that earned Ben Duckett and Haseeb Hameed their call-ups.”Haseeb hasn’t had an opportunity yet, and to have a long run at it too,” he said. “These guys have done it over and over in first-class cricket. But any time England calls you just get on a plane and try and get the job done.”While the prospect of Billings joining the England squad remains, for the time being, a pundit’s pipedream, there is no diluting either his confidence or his eagerness to get involved if the chance should arise. And, having sampled the atmosphere of modern Indian cricket during his IPL stint, Billings believes he has been granted a fascinating insight into what it takes to succeed in conditions that previous generations might have regarded as alien.”The IPL was huge for that,” he said. “It is different to a Test match but the basics don’t change: your footwork is paramount.”I was very fortunate to work with Rahul Dravid in the IPL and pick his brains on playing spin. At some points we moved the stumps back and had the used crease to play with and he said, ‘if you can bat on that you can bat on anything’.”This is one of the reasons [Trevor] Bayliss and [Andrew] Strauss are pushing us to go over there. Yes it is T20 cricket but it is about the environment and learning how those guys go about it.”Billings’ grounding sounds somewhat counter to Alastair Cook’s assertion in the aftermath of the Dhaka defeat, that England’s batsmen were inexperienced in Asian conditions. And certainly, given the resources made available by the ECB on their recent Lions tours, and the coaching expertise that has been drafted in to prepare England’s next generation, the scale of the collapse in Dhaka – 10 wickets for 64 runs in 22.3 overs – was extreme.And if the talking point coming out of the Bangladesh tour is the vulnerability of England’s batsmen to the ball turning away from the bat – particularly the left-handers to the offspin of Mehedi Hasan – then Billings gives the impression that such a challenge shouldn’t have come as quite such a surprise, especially given the identity of two of the lead coaches in the Lions set-up.”Graham Thorpe and Andy Flower may be two left-handers, but they were great players of spin, especially against offspin with the turning away from the bat,” he said. “The basics don’t change, you have to get as close to the ball as possible or as far away from it as possible using the depth of the crease.”For me, I identified two years ago that left-arm spin was a really big area I needed to work on,” he said. “The ball going away or sliding on is generally more difficult for a batter when it is turning.”In the UAE last winter, he was able to pick the brains of New Zealand’s left-arm spinner, Daniel Vettori, who was drafted in as a consultant on the England Performance Programme. “We had a hybrid pitch that was ragging square. He was bowling at a good pace, it was seriously tough, and that’s when you work out what’s good for you.”As a consequence of the grounding that he and his fellow batsmen have been given, and given the experienced heads they can call upon during the India tour, Billings remains confident that England will find a means to battle back from their Dhaka ignominy and put up a fight in the coming weeks.”[Alastair] Cook, in his debut Test, got a hundred in India, so they’ve got no better bloke to pick the brains of – although, of course, he does it a different way. Stokesy [Ben Stokes] is still one of the younger lads, even though it feels he’s been around for years, and in terms of his game against spin, he’s come on leaps and bounds and will only get better. We’ll all get better, the more we are exposed to it.”It’s finding different ways all over the place. I’ve got no doubt there are some seriously good players of spin there. It’s a different kettle of fish against [Ravi] Jadeja and Ashwin, but it’s been great to have had these two Test matches. We got out unscathed – yeah we drew, I know we wanted to win – but we’ll go into the India tour with preparation time. I’ve got full faith in the boys and they are definitely good enough to win.”ECB will double its investment in cricket charity Chance to Shine, from 2017, to inspire millions of young people to play and learn through cricket. Visit chancetoshine.org

Australia’s squad for the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane next month is expected to have a very different look from the 15-man group that was supposed to tour Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2015Australia’s squad for the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane next month is expected to have a very different look from the 15-man group that was supposed to tour Bangladesh. The likely return of David Warner, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson should immediately lead to three changes, while the different conditions could also bring changes to the attack.Chairman of selectors Rod Marsh at the weekend declared “open season” on selections after the cancellation of the Bangladesh tour due to security concerns, and national selector Mark Waugh on Monday supported his views. The likely return of Warner from a fractured thumb, and Johnson and Hazlewood, who were to be rested from the Bangladesh trip, will be key factors in selection changes.”There’s three players straight away who you would imagine would come back into the reckoning,” Waugh told reporters in Sydney on Monday. “And [there’s] different conditions, you’re not going to have two spinners at the Gabba. So, there are some guys who were picked on that tour who are going to be shuffled down the order a little bit, but you can’t do anything about it.”At least their names are there … they got picked on an Australian tour so they can take comfort from the fact that they’re definitely in the reckoning. The real thing is it’s going to be a different 11 for the first Test in Brisbane to what would have been picked in Bangladesh.”Among the players who hoped for a baggy green in Bangladesh were the uncapped opening batsman Cameron Bancroft and fast bowler Andrew Fekete. Both men starred on the first day of the Matador Cup competition on Monday in Sydney, where Bancroft struck 176 against South Australia and Fekete picked up 4 for 30 in Tasmania’s win over Queensland.It is also hard to see the spinner Steve O’Keefe being called on during the summer in Australian conditions; in Bangladesh he was likely to play alongside Nathan Lyon in a twin spin attack. Australia’s players now have only one-day cricket and one round of Sheffield Shield matches before the first Test against New Zealand, but Waugh said limited-overs form would be considered.”It’s a different format, but you’ve seen players picked from one-day cricket for Test squads before so it does carry over,” Waugh said. “It’s a different game obviously, you’ve got to bat for long periods in Test cricket, one-day cricket the most you can bat is 50 overs, but I think just the form, you can see if guys are batting and bowling well.”If you’re not doing well it can count against you more so. You want to see all your players performing well … I’m not saying you can pick a guy from 50-over cricket, but if you’re making runs and taking wickets it doesn’t do your chances any harm.”Marsh had said at the weekend that he felt sorry for the players who could have expected a debut or a return to the Test team on the Bangladesh tour.”You feel for blokes who would have gone on that tour and maybe even played in a Test,” Marsh said. “We’ll never know who was going to play in those two Test matches. No one will never know, except perhaps me and Darren [Lehmann].”Although, we didn’t really know, either, because we didn’t see the conditions. It’s just a terrible shame that we couldn’t go, but you can’t go against what the government says. They make the rules. I feel very sorry for the players from both sides because I’m sure it would have been a very good contest.”

For a side playing its first Test in over a year, Zimbabwe began promisingly in the morning against searing pace bowling but completely lost their way after lunch, a solid 100 for 2 turning into 211 all out

The Report by Abhishek Purohit12-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMarlon Samuels took his best international figures of 4 for 13•WICB Media Photo/Randy Brooks

For a side playing its first Test in over a year, Zimbabwe began promisingly in the morning against searing pace bowling, but completely lost their way after lunch, with a solid 100 for 2 turning into 211 all out. Having battled hard against the onslaught from Kemar Roach and Tino Best, they came up short against the offspin of Shane Shillingford and part-timer Marlon Samuels.Roach and Best bowled with so much intensity they might have run through Zimbabwe by themselves on a luckier day. But, led by the plucky Tino Mawoyo, Zimbabwe took blows, got beaten, edged and stonewalled their way through the first hour before frittering away hard-earned starts on a largely harmless Kensington Oval pitch.Mawoyo started the downfall soon after lunch when he lunged forward to defend a Shillingford offbreak that spun and bounced to take the inside edge onto pad and straight to short leg. Brendan Taylor tried to turn a Shannon Gabriel delivery with the angle to leg but it moved away late and flattened his off stump. Minutes before tea, Craig Ervine pushed forward to a straight Samuels delivery, and left a fatally big gap between bat and pad.After trying to rebuild the innings from 158 for 6, Graeme Cremer slashed a wide Samuels delivery to point. Regis Chakabva blocked, ducked and left to plod to 15 off 92, before pushing Shillingford to short leg. All these batsmen promised a lot, and barring Mawoyo to an extent, delivered little.Zimbabwe had fared much better against a sterner examination in the first session. First ball of the match, Roach hit Mawoyo on the chest with a short ball, showing immediately what awaited Zimbabwe. However, Mawoyo showed there were runs to be reaped on the pitch following self-denial.For the first ten overs, though, there wasn’t much to be done apart from denying oneself, playing with soft hands and hoping for survival. There was movement in the air, but most of it only gave the wicketkeeper a rough time. There was some seam movement, but it was sheer, raw pace and testing lines and lengths that bothered Zimbabwe. Roach began with a barrage of short deliveries and Best, as always, held nothing back in terms of effort.The last ball of Roach’s fourth over proved too quick for Sibanda, and he had his leg stump uprooted through the gate. Best was running in so hard he soon appeared to pull something, and sat on his haunches a couple of times during his fifth over. That didn’t deter him from smacking Hamilton Masakadza on the back edge of his helmet.That was to be the last of Best in the session, with the third specialist quick bowler Gabriel and the captain Darren Sammy taking over. While Gabriel was not lacking in pace in comparison to Best and Roach, he got next to no movement, and also offered width.Sammy did what he does best, settling on a good length outside off stump, but Mawoyo and Masakadza were disciplined enough not to be tempted. It took Roach, returning in the 21st over, to break the growing second-wicket stand, although Samuels’ diving effort at gully deserved as much, if not more credit, for getting rid of Masakadza.Sammy persisted with himself from the other end after the breakthrough, and it allowed Mawoyo and Taylor some breathing space. Mawoyo started opening up as lunch approached, driving confidently off the front foot and even slashing Roach over the slip cordon. Zimbabwe had exceeded expectations with a first-session return of 91 for 2, but were to disappoint later on.Shillingford found bounce right away, and in his second over after lunch, took out Mawoyo. Gabriel hadn’t been able to get the new ball to do much, but started getting some reverse as it got older, and surprised Taylor in the first over of his second spell.Malcolm Waller never looked comfortable and was beaten repeatedly by Gabriel, before being given leg-before trying to paddle Shillingford. Chakabva and Cremer hung around for a while, before Samuels ran through the lower order to take his best figures in international cricket. Zimbabwe had two specialist spinners in their XI, and Samuels’ and Shillingford’s showing would have given them hope of containing West Indies.It was the pace and swing of Kyle Jarvis, though, that gave them a couple of early wickets. West Indies had 11 overs to get through. Chris Gayle and Kieran Powell had nearly got through seven of them without any alarms, before Jarvis moved one in to catch Powell in front of leg, and the batsman had to walk back after a failed review. That was to have been the last ball of the over, but Jarvis was allowed to bowl a seventh, and trapped nightwatchman Roach plumb in front with a full, away-swinging delivery. After not making Gayle and Powell play much, Jarvis had suddenly found the right line. Zimbabwe would want more of that on day two.

New Zealand’s intense performance with the ball and in the field restricted South Africa to 147 for 6, setting up a moderate chase in Wellington

The Report by Firdose Moonda17-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMartin Guptill hit huge sixes during his match-winning 78•Getty Images

New Zealand’s intense performance with the ball and in the field restricted South Africa to 147 for 6, setting up a moderate chase in Wellington. Their most in-form batsman, Martin Guptill, continued his strong summer, scoring his sixth consecutive international half-century to begin the series with a comfortable victory. The target was achieved only in the final over, but South Africa did not threaten New Zealand at any stage of the game.South Africa came into this match having beaten Canterbury in the tour game, and New Zealand targeted the players who delivered that victory. Tim Southee attacked Richard Levi with the short ball, while Guptill went after Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Apart from the 15th over of the first innings, in which Kane Williamson conceded 26, Brendon McCullum used his spinners and shuffled his bowlers to keep South Africa under pressure throughout.A lot of that pressure was applied by tenacious and athletic fielding, and no one was better that Guptill. Hashim Amla had found his groove, and South Africa were beginning to accelerate, when he was run out by a dive reminiscent of Jonty Rhodes. Guptill had swooped on the ball from extra cover, sprinted towards the non-striker’s end, and dived full stretch to plough into the stumps.Richard Levi, who was expected to be the aggressor but was stymied by the offspinner Nathan McCullum, responded to Amla’s dismissal with a six and a four, but Colin Ingram gave him no support. Ingram stepped out to Nathan McCullum and watched an offbreak curve and spin past his bat, leaving Brendon McCullum with enough time to recover from a fumble and complete the stumping.Having lost two wickets in two overs, South Africa needed a cool head, but Levi was unable to keep one. Southee hit Levi on the helmet with his second delivery and dismissed him soon after. Under pressure, South Africa’s innings lost direction in the next five overs. AB de Villiers was out to a low catch from Guptill, which was referred to the third umpire, and Duminy and Ontong could only accumulate in ones and twos.Ontong broke the boundary drought in style, mowing Williamson for four consecutive sixes over the midwicket boundary, hitting each ball further back into the stands than the one before. Southee was brought back to control the damage and took a sharp return catch to dismiss Ontong and end the partnership on 50. Duminy did not let that setback slow him down, though, adding three more boundaries to finish as South Africa’s top scorer.After missing the last match against Zimbabwe because of a groin niggle, Guptill picked up where he had left off. He started by smacking Tsotsobe down the ground in his first over, and drove and hooked Albie Morkel. His best was saved for Tsotsobe – two massive sixes, measuring 102 and 127 metres, over the midwicket boundary.Rusty Theron took the wicket of Rob Nicol with his first ball to end the opening partnership on 49, but followed up with a wide and a no-ball. South Africa’s fast bowlers struggled to find rhythm on a pitch that was better suited to slower bowlers, of which the visitors had only one specialist in the XI.de Villiers turned to JP Duminy in the 13th over and he had immediate success. His second delivery spun just enough to bowl Brendon McCullum off the inside edge. Instead of giving the other slow bowler in the side, Justin Ontong, a go, de Villiers persisted with the quicks, who could not tie Guptill down. Guptill got hit on the helmet by Theron, and saw both Kane Williamson and Colin de Grandhomme dismissed, but hung around to see New Zealand through to victory.

The floodwaters had receded but the devastation was still easy to see around Goodna, west of Brisbane, where the Australian cricketers did their bit to give the community something to smile about during time at a local school

Andrew McGlashan in Brisbane28-Jan-2011The floodwaters had receded but the devastation was still easy to see around Goodna, west of Brisbane, where the Australian cricketers did their bit to give the community something to smile about during time at a local school. They now hope to give Queenslanders some joy by securing the one-day series against England with victory at the Gabba on Sunday.This was the first time the squad had returned to Brisbane since the flooding – although Shane Watson went to his hometown, Ipswich, two weeks ago just as the recovery work began – and they visited schools and shopping malls around some of the worst-affected areas west of the city. The swollen, murky brown Brisbane River which snakes through the city is a reminder of how recently the disaster unfolded.Australia are now aiming to make this the city where they seal the series after giving England a lifeline at Adelaide and Watson believes the local support will make a huge difference. “It’s going to be a very emotional day and hopefully that can help pull us over the line and win the series,” he said.England have made their own donations to the flood appeal during this series and are aware of the motivating factors involved in this match for Australia. “Our hearts have gone out to the people. Seeing those things on TV is pretty shocking,” Chris Tremlett said. “The England team have been fully behind it. I imagine it will be a very emotional time for people on Sunday and we are glad to be part of it.”Watson has previously spoken about how his mind has often been on events in Queensland during the one-day series, yet he has been able to maintain his consistent form with a match-winning 161 at Melbourne and 64 at Adelaide. But while his success for Australia gives him great pleasure these past few weeks have given him a sense of perspective.”There’s no doubt that during the period when you didn’t know the extent of devastation, around Ipswich especially, it was something that took my mind off the cricket,” he said. “After the disappointment of the Ashes series it put my life into perspective for sure. It’s just great I was able to score runs during that period but life is bigger and greater than cricket, even though I love playing it.”Although the Suncorp Stadium, which is used for rugby and soccer, was flooded, the Gabba was largely unaffected and recently staged back-to-back Big Bash games. Kevin Mitchell Jr, the Gabba curator, has no concerns about the pitch for Sunday’s game despite the horrific weather of a few weeks ago.”It’s looking pretty good with nice even cover of grass so should play uniformly,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “With all the rain, we’re not too bad. The only way the Gabba gets flooded is if the stormwater and the tide from Norman Creek occur together. Since the redevelopment of the ground it’s happened four times. The wicket block is never affected.”Mitchell Johnson’s occasional state appearances now come for Western Australia, but he was born in Townsville and retains a strong connection to his home state. “Just driving through now and seeing where the levels were, Shane [Watson] showed me some photos of the water. It does blow you away and it’s hard to believe,” he said. “The Queensland spirit is nice and strong and we are sticking behind each other. The day after it all happened you saw the pictures of everyone lending a hand, digging that mud up, and doing everything they can.”Johnson, who struggled during the Ashes apart from his matchwinning performance in Perth, has been a frustrated watcher during the last three matches due to a throat infection. He hopes to return to the side in Brisbane and build form ahead of the World Cup in what he believes will be a memorable occasion.”I’m certainly looking forward to getting back and playing again,” he said. “It was hard sitting back on Australia Day and not being able to play, it’s one of the ones you want to take part in. Coming here on Sunday, back on home turf, hopefully I’ll get a game and be able to raise some more money.”