Harbhajan Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been declared fit for the Test series against South Africa after a test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.”As per the [fitness] report, both the players have recovered from injuries and are available for South Africa Series,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said in a statement.Harbhajan, who was diagnosed as suffering from a hamstring injury after the Australia tour, was put through specific drills at the NCA, including indoor tests and sprints outside under a light drizzle, by the fitness team of Paul Chapman and Paul Close before being declared fit. “I am very much fit,” Harbhajan said.Dhoni was put through routine wicket-keeping drills indoors and an X-ray taken on the injured finger on his right hand.Both Harbhajan and Dhoni were included by the selectors in the 14-member squad for the first two Tests against South Africa, and were asked to report to the NCA for fitness tests.
The business end of the tournament began with a tie between Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the Sheikhupura Stadium. Chasing 268, KRL were on course to win after a middle-order slide with Ali Khan slamming a 30-ball 54, but the ninth-wicket pair of Zulfiqar Jan and Saeed Ajmal failed to see their side through.NBP, after being asked to bat first, were powered by Kamran Akmal’s 118 and Naumanullah’s 66. The pair added 190 for the third wicket before Yasir Arafat took 5 for 42 to bowl them out just before the 50 overs. Akmal’s knock included 11 fours and three sixes while Naumanullah hit seven fours in his 87-ball knock. Saeed Anwar Jnr and Ali Naqvi led the chase with half-centuries and KRL progressed well thanks to their stand of 131 for the second wicket. However, the middle order succumbed to Qaier Abbas’ left-arm spin and Akmal made a strong impact behind the stumps as well by claiming five victims, which included four stumpings. Khan revived the chase from 178 for 5 and smashed five sixes in his knock but his efforts weren’t enough to seal the victory.An undefeated ninth-wicket stand of 57 between Yasir Ali and Mohammad Rameez guided Rawalpindi Rams to a tense two-wicket win against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in Lahore. Chasing a modest 202, the Rams had all but lost it at 148 for 8 before the pair combined to see their side home in the 45th over. Rameez compiled a run-a-ball 27 with four fours and a six while Ali’s 26 off 36 balls included three fours. Earlier, WAPDA failed to bat out their fifty overs, with Aamer Sajjad op scoring with 49. Babbar Naeem, the left-arm spinner, finished with 3 for 50.
Pool B
Habib Bank Limited (HBL) began their Super Eights campaign with a three-wicket win over Lahore Eagles at the National Stadium in Karachi. Shahid Afridi wrecked the Eagles with figures of 5 for 49 and rounded off a solid all-round performance with a quickfire 45 off 29 balls as his side chased down 220 with more than seven overs to spare. Aftab Alam and Younis Khan too compiled 40s to back Afridi’s effort.For the Eagles, Ahmed Shehzad and Ashraf Ali compiled half-centuries after they were sent in to bat. The innings wobbled at 157 for 7 before an eighth-wicket stand of 52 lifted the score past 200. Junaid Zia, the right-arm seamer, inflicted early blows in HBL’s chase to reduce them to 49 for 3 before the middle order stepped up. Younis missed his half-century by a run, Alam compiled 40 off 62 balls, while Afridi slammed two sixes and a four in his knock before Zia returned to dismiss him and finish with figures of 4 for 45.A half-century by the opener Khurram Manzoor helped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) ease to a six-wicket win against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex. Manzoor scored 68 off 90 balls with nine fours to lay the platform for PIA to chase down a modest 206. Fahad Iqbal chipped in with 40 while Faisal Iqbal finished with an unbeaten 39 to seal the victory in 46.4 overs. Earlier, SNGPL were rescued by Tauqeer Hussain’s battling 51 at No.8 after the innings wobbled at 96 for 6. The PIA seam attack of Anwar Ali, Najaf Shah and Ali Imran claimed three wickets each.
Harbhajan Singh has been banned for the remainder of the current IPL season for his altercation with Sreesanth at the end of Mumbai Indians’ match against Kings XI Punjab on Friday. The ban is for 11 matches, including last Sunday’s game, extendable to 13 if Mumbai progress to the semi-final and final.Sreesanth was let off with a warning after video evidence showed Harbhajan slapped him without any provocation. The duo embraced at the end of the hearing after Harbhajan offered an apology in front of the cameras. Harbhajan will not be appealing against the ban.”The referee studied video tapes of the incident and found the assault by Harbhajan was totally unprovoked. The footage exactly showed that Harbhajan went down the line, wishing all the players, shaking hands with a few players,” said Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the IPL who is also a vice-president of the BCCI. “Sreesanth was the third player that he met. Instead of shaking his hand he actually slapped him and continued down the line, shaking hands with the other players.”Farokh Engineer, the former Indian wicketkeeper who was the match referee, fined Harbhajan 100% of his match fee for Friday’s game. He will now be paid only for the first two matches of the IPL.Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Mumbai side, has also been found guilty of a level 2 offence and fined 50% of his match fee. “Rajput was right behind Harbhajan when the incident took place,” said Modi. “He didn’t take any step to restrain him. He has been fined 50% of his match fee.”The ban on Harbhajan comes as a jolt for Mumbai, who have lost all four games so far in the tournament. “We don’t have a say in matter as far as the ban is concerned,” said Tushar Pania, head of corporate communications at Reliance Industries Limited, who paid US$111.9 million for the Mumbai franchise. “But it does have an impact on the team now especially considering Sachin Tendulkar is injured.”Harbhajan also faces separate action from the Indian board, which has asked him to explain, “as a contracted player”, his role in the incident which came to light after Sreesanth broke down in front of the cameras.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said on Monday that Sudhir Nanavati, a lawyer, has been appointed to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” and submit a report “within 15 days” to Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, who will refer the findings to the board’s disciplinary committee for possible action.Shah also confirmed that Harbhajan had replied to the board’s show-cause notice. “He has given his reply, but I cannot reveal its contents.”
Sunday, April 27, 2008 Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)
The Big Picture
The bottom-ranked Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers are desperately chasing their first victory after three outings each. As if the absence of Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t bad enough, Mumbai have been further hurt by the temporary suspension of Harbhajan Singh, their acting captain, after his row with Sreesanth on Friday. Top-order failures have hurt their batting, adding pressure on the middle and lower-order that mostly comprises young and inexperienced batsmen.Deccan suffer from the same problem too, with the likes of Adam Gilchrist, VVS Laxman and Shahid Afridi failing to provide a rousing start yet. Laxman might feel his team was unlucky to have lost narrowly against Kolkata in the opener and then against Rajasthan Royals in the last game, but he has failed to be flexible if the original plan has not gone according to the script.
Watch out for …
… a final blast from Andrew Symonds before he returns to Australia for a preparatory camp ahead of the Caribbean tour next month. He won’t have to encounter Harbhajan, who had his number during the CB Series finals, which could make Symonds even more destructive.
Team news
Harbhajan’s suspension has compounded the problems for the team management, who now have to keep the dressing room atmosphere positive in addition to working out winning strategies. Shaun Pollock takes over as captain, while Rajesh Pawar, the left-arm spinner, could be Harbhajan’s replacement in the XI. The question mark over Tendulkar’s fitness still remains to further add to the worries. The only piece of good news is the arrival of Loots Bosman, who is coming off an excellent Twenty20 season in South Africa – he was the highest run-getter of the tournament, with 257 runs at an average of 42.83 and a strike rate of 143.57. Bosman is likely to replace Luke Ronchi, while Pinal Shah will keep wicket in that scenario with Saurabh Tiwary missing out.Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Loots Bosman, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Pinal Shah (wk), 6 Shaun Pollock (capt), 7 Abhishek Nayar, 8 Musavir Khote, 9 Rajesh Pawar, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Ashish Nehra.It is highly unlikely Hyderabad would change their line-up, but they might be tempted to open with Gilchrist and Afridi.Deccan Chargers (probable) 1 VVS Laxman (capt), 2 Adam Gilchrist, 3 Shahid Afridi, 4 Andrew Symonds, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Arjun Yadav, 7 Sanjay Bangar, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 RP Singh, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 D Kalyankrishna.
Symonds has gone for 101 runs in 6.5 overs in the IPL, which is an ‘economy’ rate of 14.78 runs per over. With the bat, he has scored 161 off 105, a strike rate of 153.33
Robin Uthappa is the only Mumbai batsman to score more than 100 runs in the tournament. He has an aggregate of 112, but the next best is only 67, by Abhishek Nayar and Shaun Pollock.
Quotes
It would be an exciting game considering both the teams are sailing in the same boat, so expect something big. Lalchand Rajput, Mumbai coach
Sri Lanka began their post Jayawardene-Sangakkara era on a winning note by defeating West Indies quite convincingly in the Test and ODI series, but captain Angelo Mathews admitted that his team will face their toughest challenge so far in New Zealand, later this year.”We played some really good cricket against the West Indies, we outplayed them in all three departments in all formats but it will be a completely different tour in New Zealand because conditions and the opposition are different,” Mathews said before his team’s departure on Thursday.”We have got to start off from zero, this is a bigger challenge for us because the weather is not going to be on our side, it will be tough and cold but it’s the mental aspect,” he said. “If we can get our mindset right we shouldn’t be too worried about the cold or anything else and make any excuses, we can just go on the tour and play to win.”New Zealand is a very competitive and strong team, not only at home but away as well. In the last couple of years they have played their best cricket. They are a very competitive unit right now, with a very good, balanced team of youth and experience and it’s going to be a tough ask for us to beat them. But I am pretty sure if we do our very best we can beat them.”Sri Lanka toured New Zealand last December and were thrashed 2-0 in Tests and 4-2 in the ODI series, at a time when Sangakkara was still playing and Jayawardene had yet to finish in ODIs. The present side is vastly inexperienced, with left-arm spinner Rangana Herath (65) and Mathews (54) as the only players with over thirty Test appearances.Mathews, however, believes that the level of experience is less important than the players applying themselves.”We are going to play some really good cricket and we expect to win,” Mathews said. “We don’t expect to go there and lose or compete, whether it is inexperience it doesn’t really matter. We had experienced guys in the last couple of years and we still lost to some countries over the years. It’s about applying ourselves, we are definitely not going to lose or compete it’s just a matter of taking up the challenge and doing your very best.”Especially in the Test line-up we have loads of newcomers and only a couple of senior guys in the batting who have played more than 20 Test matches. It’s going to be a tough tour but if we apply ourselves and take up the challenge I am pretty sure we can give New Zealand a good run for their money.”Mathews also refused to accept that batting was the weak point of his team. “We’ve got an inexperienced batting line up but skill-wise even the newcomers have scored a lot of runs. When it comes to Kithuruwan [Vithanage] and Udara Jayasundara – they have scored a lot of runs in New Zealand and they have a good feel of the conditions,” he added.Mathews also stated that Jerome Jayaratne, the interim head coach of the team, was working very closely with the batsmen by helping them ‘to counterattack and hang in there when difficult situations arise”.Mathews said that for practice, his team has been playing on tracks that will be similar to the seam-friendly wickets of New Zealand, but due to the weather and conditions it has been difficult for them to prepare those kind of pitches.”Even the pitches have been prepared in a way where the seamers have a lot of assistance. We’ve been training for the past two weeks on those tracks,” Mathews said. “We are trying to practice on surfaces similar to ones that we will get in New Zealand. You don’t get the ideal wicket because our weather and conditions but we have tried our level best to prepare wickets as close as possible where it helps seamers quite a lot and the batsmen have been batting pretty well on it.”Bowling is an area where the pacers have delivered for Sri Lanka but the inexperience shows. Sri Lanka’s pace quartet of Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal and Dushmantha Chameera have a combined total of 66 Test matches and captured 167 wickets compared to the experienced Herath, who has taken 293 wickets from 65 Tests and will be Sri Lanka’s key strike-bowler on the tour even though the conditions may not be to his liking.One of the main causes for Sri Lanka’s defeats in New Zealand was their poor catching and fitness. However, on this occasion they have addressed that area carefully with the help of their English trainer, Michael Main, who has put them through their paces and the results of it were seen in the recently concluded series against West Indies.Another key area Sri Lanka has worked on is removing the fear of failure, which the players had when Jayaratne took over as head coach for the West Indies series.”We talked a lot about it when it comes to dressing room atmosphere and the fear these individuals have,” Mathews said. “We tried our very best with Jerome’s help to make sure the players get rid of their individual doubts as well as play with a lot of freedom. He’s worked a lot with the support staff as well to clear the environment so that we are not afraid to do mistakes.”The coach has a very big part to play in the team and he has to get involved in making the players mindset right, trying to give them a lot of confidence and make sure they get rid of their individual fears. It plays a massive part in the team as well you feel the team environment is really good, the boys are very happy. You can still do mistakes but the fear of failure is not there.”Mathews then revealed that playing music in the dressing room has helped the team relax and keep the dressing room alive during a Test.”That is the fear that the individuals have, the fear of failure is something that each individual has and if you can cope with that, if you think you are not afraid to do any mistakes, less number of mistakes will occur. It’s just a matter of mindset and we tried to keep the dressing room alive by playing a little bit of music and keeping it relaxed and it has helped a lot. We introduced it initially in the Test series and it worked pretty well they are very happy and they are moving in the right direction.”Mathews was optimistic that if his team could come through in the New Zealand tour with a win it would have a massive impact on the players for the future.”We are quite an inexperienced team when it comes to Test cricket and also beating New Zealand in their conditions is very tough, not many teams have done that. If we can do that it will make a huge impact and create a lot of confidence in the group going forward,” Mathews said.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThree Sri Lanka rookies set the team’s ODI series alight before Tillakaratne Dilshan’s slow-burn 91 provided the substance of their chase of 277. Sri Lanka’s eight-wicket victory, achieved with 22 balls to spare, will bring some joy to a tour that had largely been disappointing so far. The apparent ease of the win, and the bright hands played by Danushka Gunathilaka, Jeffrey Vandersay and Dushmantha Chameera will instill a little hope, for the short and long term.Dilshan’s sage innings was perhaps more vital to Sri Lanka’s win, but it had been Gunathilaka’s 65 from 45 that had inspired the chase. Having fallen cheaply in each of his first two ODI innings, his off-side game was purring almost from the outset on a slow Nelson pitch. Chameera’s pace continued to envenom the attack on a breakthrough tour for him. He picked up the game’s best figures of 2 for 38, while legspinner Vandersay made a crucial double-strike to rein New Zealand in, in their 18th over. Lahiru Thirimanne’s 87 not out – the last in Sri Lanka’s list of encouraging performances – saw the chase home.New Zealand’s batsmen will perhaps ponder wasted starts, after five made 30 but only Kane Williamson made a half-century. Perhaps even more worrying will be their injury list. Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan were both seen hobbling off the field during the chase. Brendon McCullum had also missed this game with back stiffness – Williamson leading in his stead. The result brings their 12-match ODI winning streak at home to an end.Gunathilaka began with a three through cover point, and would cream five square fours on the off side. There were also four sixes – one smoked powerfully down the ground off Doug Bracewell, and two more hooked into the grass banks beyond deep square leg. With little movement from the deck for New Zealand’s quicks, Williamson dismantled the slip cordon to strengthen the off side, but Gunathilaka continued to pierce the ring.The innings was memorable for his stillness at the crease, the time he seemingly had to play even Adam Milne’s quick deliveries, as well as the speed of the ball off his blade. Sri Lanka sped to 50 in the sixth over. They were still traveling at close to eight runs an over when he guided a ball off the face of the bat to wide slip, in the 13th over.That rapid start would prove crucial for Thirimanne, who was baited outside the off stump for the first few overs of his innings. New Zealand fed his favoured cover drive, but packed the cover region with fielders, who stopped many of those shots. With the required rate so low, he could afford to be 4 runs off 17 balls. When Thirimanne eventually found the gaps, and his timing, he progressed quickly enough, finishing with a strike rate of 84.Dilshan’s 91 off 92 balls was forged of the nous and restraint typical of his later years. He was content to feed Gunathilaka the singles while the young batsman attacked, then reclaimed the reins for the chase while Thirimanne spluttered through the early part of his innings. Each of Dilshan’s nine fours came through the leg side. He was so untroubled, a march to triple figures almost seemed certain until he ran himself out, attempting a non-existent single to backward square leg, then falling short of his crease when Thirimanne sent him back.Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal completed the chase as New Zealand’s quicks faltered. They had been guilty of bowling too short on a pitch that did not provide as much bounce as the surface in Christchurch had. New Zealand’s lack of a front-line spinner was also somewhat exposed. Mitchell Santner and Williamson bowled 18 overs between them, but were easily defused.Earlier, Chameera had had Martin Guptill caught at point for 30 and, with McCullum out, the rest of New Zealand’s innings was sober in comparison to the eruptions at Christchurch. Williamson was fluent as ever, memorably making room to cream Angelo Mathews in the arc between backward point and cover for three consecutive boundaries in the 14th over, as he and Tom Latham put on 60 for the second wicket. But Vandersay soon had Latham caught sweeping, beat Ross Taylor’s outside edge next ball, then had him caught at slip, to engineer Sri Lanka’s first major advance in the match.Through the middle overs, Sri Lanka found ways to make regular dents. Chameera bowled Henry Nicholls off an inside edge in the 28th over. Having cruised to his seventh 50-plus score in ten innings, Williamson miscued a Milinda Siriwardana full toss to mid-on. Luke Ronchi’s poor stretch with the bat then continued, when his top-edged pull finished in the hands of deep square leg. Having been placed at 102 for 3 in 18 overs, New Zealand found themselves 192 for 6 in 38 overs.Mathews chose to bowl his attacking young bowlers out before the death, and though neither took any late wickets, Chameera did effect another dismissal. Mitchell Santner’s innings had just begun to gain momentum, when, having missed a Chameera short ball that thudded into his thighs, he took off indecisively for a single, then turned back. He was caught short of the crease as Chameera hit the stumps with an under-arm throw.Joined at 215 for 7 Bracewell then batted sagely with Milne, to put on 42 before Tim Southee’s 18 not out from 4 deliveries raised New Zealand to 276. That score would prove at least 25 too few. Of the six ODIs at Saxton Oval now, five have been won by the chasing side.
February 12-16, 2016 Start time 10.30 local (21.30 GMT)6:37
Coverdale: Moving ball Australia’s problem for years
Big Picture
More than five years after their last cricket contact outside of ICC events, Australia and New Zealand resumed Test combat late last year. If a slow start by the tourists is discounted due to their ordinary preparation – including the Blacktown abandonment – then it was a keenly fought contest, curtailed somewhat by a dead pitch in Perth but enlivened under the lights of Adelaide Oval. That match arguably turned on one contentious umpiring decision in favour of Nathan Lyon, meaning Australia’s 2-0 margin was nowhere near as comfortable as it appeared.Now the tables are somewhat turned. New Zealand are at home, with the benefit of local knowledge. Australia are out of their comfort zone, and with a weakened bowling attack. There is also the considerable sub plot of Brendon McCullum’s final series and his 100th Test (in Wellington, he is set to become the first player to play 100 Tests in a row), and all of New Zealand will be baying for the most fitting possible farewell – a first series victory over Australia since 1986. By way of assistance to the hosts, the Basin Reserve pitch has plenty of grassy coverage, and in Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Doug Bracewell, New Zealand have a bowling attack capable of exploiting it. They will hope that some of the recent ODI form lines – notably the free-spirited batting of Martin Guptill – flow into the Tests.For Steven Smith’s side there is the lure of picking up the No. 1 Test ranking with a series victory, not at any sort of World Championship but before the “annual cut-off” currently deemed prestigious enough for the game. But more broadly Smith, the coach Darren Lehmann, the selectors and the players will all have atonement for last year’s Ashes misadventures on their minds. Unable to choose Mitchell Starc, they have opted for a seam-bowling attack that would not have looked out of place at Trent Bridge, but it is the batting order that needs to stand up. Oodles of runs on the roads of Brisbane, Perth, Hobart and Melbourne will have little relevance here, but the improved display at The Oval after the Ashes were gone just might. Helpful memories, of course, are all the Australians have – zero practice matches have left them unsure of where they stand.
Form guide
New Zealand: WWLDL (last five completed matches, most recent first) Australia: DWWWD
In the spotlight
Not quite at his best during the Australia tour, Trent Boult has regained much of his rhythm and swing in the intervening weeks, and was a consistent threat during the ODIs. Alongside Southee, Bracwell and Corey Anderson he should expect more sustained movement through the air and off the pitch, more akin to Adelaide’s pink-ball environment than those of Brisbane or Perth. The New Zealand bowling attack has been widely lauded as the nation’s most capable since the days of Sir Richard Hadlee, and it will take a strong performance from Boult to help deliver the sort of series wins of which Hadlee was a major part.There were few superlatives left for Usman Khawaja by the end of the home summer. A stack of centuries and other scores nearly as significant left most to conclude he was batting better than anyone else in the world right now, and his uncertain limited-overs place was a source of some disquiet. But there was one thing missing from Khawaja’s summer, and also his international career. With the exception of an outlier display at the Wanderers in 2011, Khawaja is yet to show himself an adept player on seaming pitches. Since that time he has moved to Queensland, and some of his Gabba experiences will help. Proving himself in New Zealand climes will go a long way towards securing the series for Australia.
Team news
Henry Nicholls debuts at No. 4 in place of the unfit Ross Taylor, while Corey Anderson and Mark Craig are in for Mitchell Santner (foot injury) and Neil Wagner (left out).New Zealand 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt), 6 Corey Anderson, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Mark Craig, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent BoultJackson Bird was chosen ahead of James Pattinson as the third seamer, while Peter Siddle resumes, having missed the Sydney Test against West Indies.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Josh Hazlewood, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jackson Bird
Pitch and conditions
The Basin Reserve pitch was verdant green two days out from the match, and even if its colour may not denote as much seam movement as it appears, the ball will be kept in good condition by the surface and should swing.
Stats and trivia
Australia’s last Test series in New Zealand in 2010 resulted in a 2-0 series win for the visitors, including the first Test at Basin Reserve
Steven Smith, then uncapped, is the only member of that touring squad to be in the team this time around
Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum and Tim Southee are the remaining New Zealand players
Australia will attain the world No. 1 Test ranking with a series win
Quotes
“I’m looking forward to finishing these next two Test matches. It’s going to be a great series, two very evenly matched teams I think, and what better way to go out?” “We haven’t been good enough with the bat on wickets that have been doing a bit in the last year or so. The wicket here looks like it might do a bit so we’ve got a bit to prove and we’ve got to adapt accordingly, a lot better than we have in recent times.”
Canterbury captain, Gary Stead’s wish that his side would come out and “playtheir best with their backs to the wall,” in this Shell Trophy match withCentral Districts, came true.Thanks to his genie in a bottle, Gareth Hopkins, the first one of his threewishes for the rest of the season was granted.Wish list “number one” was “to bat for as long as we can and save the game.”Number two is to win the Shell Cup, for the eighth time in 10 seasons.Number three is, in the Shell Trophy, to “learn to win again at this level.”At a sunny Village Green ground in Christchurch, Canterbury’s previous threedays of disappointment seemed like a bad dream.They batted without a care in the world, with Aaron Redmond (80) and GarethHopkins (100 not out) making their top scores of the season.It was Central who had the nightmare task of removing stubborn all-rounderson a very good wicket. Occasionally the Stags broke through, but two standsof 97 meant they would have to bat again.At 5.20pm, just after Hopkin’s reached his gritty ton, the players shookhands, with a result impossible. Canterbury, were by then 362/8, 117 ahead,with a maximum of 13 overs remaining.The loss of 68 overs yesterday came back to haunt CD, as did the catchesthey dropped. Hopkins was missed today on 39 – a difficult caught and bowledchance given to Gareth West.He went on to score his second career century, and averages 82.75 for theseason. He and Carl Anderson (20) effectively killed offCentral’s fantasy of a Shell Trophy win during an eighth wicket stand of 63.Central deserved the win in reality, as they had been on top from the firsthour of the first day. Only rain and Canterbury’s unsung lower middle orderheld them off.Tomorrow’s clash at Timaru between the same sides will be different. Havingrediscovered their form, and with Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan and ChrisHarris back, Canterbury’s line up will be given “real steel” to use captainGary Stead’s phrase.
Allrounder Shane Watson has suffered an abdominal injury less than five weeks out from Australia’s opening match of the World Twenty20. The injury occurred while Watson was bowling for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League on Friday; he was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament and was to fly home for assessment by Cricket Australia’s medical staff.Watson was named in Australia’s 15-man squad for the World T20 after he smashed 124 off 71 balls opening the batting in the third and final T20 against India at the SCG last month, the second-highest individual score in T20 international history. In that match he also became the ninth man to captain Australia in T20 international cricket, with Aaron Finch injured and Steven Smith and David Warner in New Zealand ahead of the ODI series.”I’ve unfortunately made this video because I injured myself last night bowling,” Watson said in a video posted on the Islamabad United Twitter account on Saturday. “Disappointingly I’m going to have to head home back to Australia to get assessed with the medical people back at Cricket Australia to try and get right for the Twenty20 World Cup.”Azhar Mahmood has been drafted in to the Islamabad squad as Watson’s replacement for the remainder of the PSL. Watson played each of Islamabad’s first six games, even leading the team in two matches in the absence of regular captain Misbah-ul-Haq. At the time of his injury, Watson was Islamabad’s leading run-scorer, with 194 runs at 32.33.Watson, who retired from Test cricket last September, has mainly been playing T20 matches in recent months and at the IPL auction last week he bagged the biggest deal, being bought for Rs 9.5 crores by Royal Challengers Bangalore. His absence will be a major setback to an Islamabad side that has won just two matches all tournament and is currently rooted near the bottom of the table.”Thankyou so much to my franchise, Islamabad,” Watson said. “I’ve had a hell of a lot of fun … to be able to get to know all the local players has been a lot of fun.”
The focus has been on Fabio Capello’s decision to drop Theo Walcott but Adam Johnson has every reason to feel equally, if not more, disappointed with being left out of the England squad. Not only is he the only natural left winger who made to thirty man squad but his form for Manchester City as seen him move ahead of Shaun Wright- Phillips in the pecking order at Eastlands. Wasn’t good club form one of the ‘must have’ to have even to entertain having a chance of getting into one of Capello’s England’s squads?
To be fair on the Italian, he is still learning as an international manager and the jigsaw puzzle may not be as black and white when putting the picture together as he first thought when taking the job on (Gareth Barry springs to mind). But, in a squad that the fringe players have been picked on their on versatility, Johnson will feel his own has been over looked.
Brought from Middlesbrough in January where he played as a left winger for the first half of the season, he moved to the blue half of Manchester on the right wing, adapting well to life in England’s top league. This, forcing more time on the bench for his England colleague Wright- Phillips, who has since been linked with a move away from the club.
Wright- Phillips has been played on the left hand side for England it’s true but, the lack of balance that England have shown in their friendlies this year, surely the squad was crying out for a natural left winger such as Johnson? Good pace, two good feet. In addition to this his rave reports in training in the England camp and with the impressive, all be it short, introduction against Mexico.
Johnson could have romanced South Africa 2010, just as Gazza did in Italia ’90.
In the end, Johnson’s inexperience cost him and Capello has gone for Wright- Phillips who impressed earlier in the year against Egypt. Two starts against Mexico and Japan worked against Walcott who was heavily criticised by Capello in a team review of the game against the first of those two opponents
A few eye brows may be raised with Warnock’s selection ahead of Baines who played against Egypt and Mexico. Warnock though did play a bit on the left wing in his younger days and can mix it up in the centre of midfield. Joe Cole, who may have had a sleepless night on 31st May, is in there for his experience and versatility (as he proved in the Japan win when he had half a dozen different positions in forty- five minutes, including left wing) and can offer something very different as an individual and to the formation of England- which in the later stages may be needed.
The real winner though of this selection is Aaron Lennon. At twenty three, he is about to go to his second World Cup and looks set to make the right wing position his own. Unlike Walcott there has been improvement in his game for all to see this season, particularly in his final ball.
Walcott, who was convinced he had done enough to earn his place, must ask himself now what’s next in his career. In and out of the Arsenal side, where he has spent his time at the club trying to convert to a right winger, despite banging goals in for fun up front at his old club Southampton. Does he need to return back to his days up top? The way he took his goals against Croatia in qualifying proves he has the finish to match his pace. Does he need a fresh start away from Arsenal? Whatever the young man needs to do is get his confidence up for next season as his own England future concentrates now on Euro 2012.
Back to this summer though and the ‘transfer deadline day’ saga that surrounded the England twenty three man squad is over. For Capello it’s time to get some much need work done to prepare his starting eleven for 12th June. He may though look back at previous England campaign’s with a hint of jealousy over the amount of friendlies they had to prepare.
In the calendar year of 1966, England played eight friendlies before the start of the tournament. True it did start later but before England’s second most successful World Cup in 1990, they had five friendlies between 28th March and 2nd June. Times have very much changed of course with the development of the Champions League especially. The two friendlies England have had since the league season finished has more been about filling the squad up than building a team with continuity and understanding to take on the world.
The squad players, in a way you hope won’t be needed in some cases as this will mean injury to those that are first choice.
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Important though all the same but now the parade of the England twenty three is over, Capello has to rediscover the passion England had in qualifying and build the continuity and understanding in the performances. Importantly to do this he must find the right balance of the team. Find an effective role for Steven Gerrard to not only do what he is good at but makes sure it fits in with the rest of the team and as there isn’t a Adam Johnson to fly down the left wing whether its Gerrard, Joe Cole or someone else, to balance the team out down the left. Capello has got to get it right at the World Cup and, he has to get this right, first time, on 12th June.