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With his fourth half-century in five games this series, Misbah-ul-Haq, the world’s leading ODI run-getter of 2013 shepherded his volatile band of batsmen home in another tricky chase

The Report by Abhishek Purohit24-Jul-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAhmed Shehzad made his first substantial score of the series•AFPWith his fourth half-century in five games this series, the world’s leading ODI run-getter of 2013 shepherded his volatile band of batsmen home in another tricky chase. Misbah-ul-Haq battled falling wickets at the other end, a charged up Tino Best, and a rain interruption as late as the 98th over of the game to take Pakistan to their third successive away bilateral series win over West Indies. Yet again this series, Umar Akmal was called upon to overcome the asking-rate towards the end, and once more, he did not disappoint, delivering the series to Pakistan with a 3-1 margin.Misbah formed partnerships with Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail and Akmal before falling in the last over trying to slog the winning hit, with the scores tied. He had already ensured Pakistan had won the series; a tie would have meant the margin would have been 2-1.When Sohail became the latest profligate Pakistan batsman to fall, chasing a wide Best delivery, Pakistan needed 83 from 12 overs. Best, having conceded 25 off his first three overs, was in the mood for a furious comeback. Pinging down bouncers in the mid-140s, he smacked one into Misbah’s fingers. While the storm was being weathered by the captain, Akmal did his act at the other end.The inexperienced Jason Holder was taken for three successive fours in the next over, the 41st, the second of those coming off a poor effort at fine leg from Marlon Samuels. It wasn’t the first time West Indies had messed up in the field today, and it wasn’t to be the last. Akmal steered a short ball to the fine third man rope next ball. Holder cracked further under pressure, four leg-byes resulting off Misbah’s pad down the leg side off the last ball of the over.Misbah managed a four off an inside edge to Sunil Narine next over and held his nerve to reverse-sweep the offspinner for four more. Then arrived the moment which once again highlighted what a farce a watered-down DRS has been in this series, in the absence of HotSpot. West Indies were sure Misbah had gloved a Best bouncer to the keeper down leg, the on-field umpire did not agree, and the third umpire had too much guesswork to do with only replays and sound as tools. Misbah was on 49 then, and Pakistan would have needed 53 of 46 had he been given. Darren Bravo had been given caught-behind on referral on the basis of sound earlier and West Indies had a right to expect consistency.Though Best predictably lost his temper, West Indies were not giving in. Dwayne Bravo, who often disappears for plenty at the death, delivered two tight overs. But Akmal found the big stroke when Pakistan sorely needed it. Narine was cut for four, Best was carted over mid-off for six. A top-edge flew over the keeper for four more, but even as clouds swept in over the stadium, Akmal holed out to mid-off for 37 off 28.A 20-minute break followed but Pakistan were ahead on D/L by five runs, and safe in the knowledge that the series was theirs, in case no further play was possible. Sunshine followed soon, though, and Shahid Afridi weighed in at the hit end of the hit-or-miss scale. Bravo was pulled for six over deep midwicket and punched past point for four. Game over? Not yet.Misbah hit Holder to short midwicket second ball of the final over, and Saeed Ajmal took three deliveries to get bat on ball. Had the throw from mid-on hit, it would have gone down to the final ball. It didn’t, and Afridi and Ajmal hugged, as did their team-mates in the Pakistan dressing room.Credit for the win also went to Shehzad, who made his first substantial score of the series, and guided Pakistan’s chase amid tight bowling from Narine and Darren Sammy. The pitch eased out further in the second innings. Cutting and pulling without trouble, Nasir Jamshed and Shehzad brought up Pakistan’s first 50-run opening stand in 17 innings, excluding a game against Scotland.Trust Pakistan to blow such a rare promising start. Jamshed was stranded for the second game running, Shehzad taking a few steps and stopping this time, after Mohammad Hafeez in the previous game. Hafeez himself got a start and then had a heave at Sammy. However, Shehzad had Misbah to steady things.The opposing captain’s cameo had earlier taken his side to to 242 for 7 from 170 for 6. Dwayne Bravo, with 48 off 27, was assisted by his predecessor, Darren Sammy, who made an unbeaten 29 off 18.The West Indies top six never managed any sort of sustained partnership. Two of them, Johnson Charles and Samuels, got forties, but were also the ones who struggled to score the most. Devon Smith fell early yet again. Chris Gayle and Lendl Simmons were unable to convert starts.Junaid Khan was outstanding, barring the last over when Sammy went after him, making a case for him to have played through the series. Mohammad Irfan was unlucky not to break through in his opening spell, but came back even stronger to remove Charles and Samuels. West Indies took 64 from the last five overs, but Misbah’s calm and Akmal’s aggression were enough to overhaul that.

James Taylor’s century put Nottinghamshire in a position of strength, with the potential to complete a victory despite the threat of showers on the final day

Jon Culley at Derby26-Apr-2013
ScorecardJames Taylor’s 14th first-class century provided the platform for Notts to push for victory•Getty ImagesIf Derbyshire do turn out to be the whipping boys of Division One – not that anyone should wish that upon such well-managed and progressive newcomers – then James Taylor’s century in this match may not be held to be of particular value. On the other hand, if Taylor’s Test career is rebooted sooner rather than later, it could be seen as an important moment.Either way, it has put Nottinghamshire in a position of strength, with the potential to complete a victory here despite the threat of showers on the final day, especially after the fillip of Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s wicket late in the afternoon, soon after he had completed his second half-century of the game and when looking absolutely set. With Wayne Madsen gone too, not much batting remains for Derbyshire to clear their arrears, let alone give themselves anything to work with.If there is a batsman with something to prove in the early part of this summer, then it is Taylor, whose rise from pint-sized wreaker of terror among Division Two bowling attacks to Test-class middle-order batsman might have seemed inevitable to some of his admirers but when it came last August suffered a false start.Taylor, who moved to Nottinghamshire the winter before last after scoring freely for Leicestershire, was picked when Ravi Bopara withdrew from the second Test against South Africa. It did not help his cause to find himself unwittingly caught up in the Kevin Pietersen storm, although he will not fall on that or any other excuse to explain his modest performance. It was not seen as good enough to be retained for the winter tours and his absence from the list of names in the England Performance Squad indicated all too clearly that the selectors want to see more.Taylor, for his part, has no quarrel with that assessment. “It was a disappointment,” he said. “I had a taste of Test cricket and it was amazing to get in that England side in the first place but I didn’t deliver the way I wanted to.”But I learned a lot from last season and in some ways it is good to have a setback to kick you up the backside. There is a difference in quality between second and first division. It is definitely a step up, although I don’t think my own performances were a reflection of that.”Sometimes though you need to take a step back to take two steps forward. I know where I stand with England and it is just down to me to score as many runs as I can.”In the event, it was just the mindset that was needed here, on a slow pitch that has rewarded graft. Taylor’s approach was first not to get out, taking his cue from Chanderpaul. From 67 overnight, he scored only 26 more before lunch, without one boundary, negotiating 77 balls against a Derbyshire attack who maintained their discipline and again offered few easy pickings.When his century came – incongruously from a false shot, an edge between first and second slips that brought only his fifth four – it was the slowest of his 14 so far in first-class matches, from 265 balls and 14 minutes short of six hours. He shared a stand of 52 with Stuart Broad but the support he had from Luke Fletcher was equally important in getting him over the line, the bowler sticking by Taylor more than an hour.Broad’s knock was eventful, to say the least. He can bat when he is of a mind but he rode his luck spectacularly as Derbyshire’s fielders somehow managed to drop him three times in the space of five balls before Tim Groenewald at last clung on to a top-edged hook.The stricken Andre Adams batted with a runner in his last appearance before an anticipated five-week lay-off with a torn calf muscle and though he could contribute no more than a swing and a nick Nottinghamshire did finish with a lead of 187. Taylor fell for 112 when, finally taking a risk or two, he skied David Wainwright to mid-off.Derbyshire were soon up against it, losing two wickets for 24 and though Chanderpaul gave them hope in a partnership of 83 with Madsen the departure of both in the space of five overs put Nottinghamshire back on top. Chanderpaul felt he was unlucky to be given out caught behind, claiming the ball brushed his thigh rather than the bat, but the wicket was one that Fletcher deserved. Broad went wicketless and it was Harry Gurney, an improving left-armer, who struck the second decisive blow when Madsen was leg-before. Then Patel had Ross Whiteley taken at slip to leave Derbyshire hoping for a good last morning and a wet afternoon.

Warwickshire wrapped up an innings victory on the first session in Abu Dhabi, with Rikki Clarke taking three of the remaining six MCC wickets to fall

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2013
ScorecardWarwickshire wrapped up an innings victory during Wednesday’s first session in Abu Dhabi, with Rikki Clarke taking three of the remaining six MCC wickets to fall.Joe Denly, who had recorded a century on the third day, and Peter Trego took the MCC score on to 350 before Oliver Hannon-Dalby broke through. Trego departed for 87 from 76 balls but, with 81 still needed to make Warwickshire bat again, the MCC innings rapidly subsided.Clarke and Chris Wright claimed the wickets, with Denly the eighth man out for 146. The last six wickets fell for 52 runs in 16 overs, Clarke finishing with 4 for 33 and Wright 8 for 110 in the match.”The way the MCC guys played in the second innings showed what good players they are,” MCC head of cricket, John Stephenson, said. “On paper this team is extremely strong, but after losing the toss and being asked to field first on a pitch like that, was always going to be a bit of a struggle.”With respect to the day-night format, the match went really well on the whole. All the pink balls stood up fantastically well, they were very durable, had good visibility throughout, and there were no complaints from any of the players. I’m really pleased with how things went from that perspective – I just wish we could have got a few more runs in our first innings.”

Owais Shah has complained he hasn’t yet received the first installment (25 percent) of his $75,000 BPL paycheck

Mohammad Isam30-Jan-2013The issue of player payments at the Bangladesh Premier League has cropped up again this year after Owais Shah complained he hasn’t yet received the first instalment (25 percent) of his $75,000 paycheck.Shah, who plays for Dhaka Gladiators, received the remittance slip from the BCB but the amount hasn’t been credited into his account. ESPNcricinfo has also been told that Shah is just one of many players not to have been paid.”I have received the remittance slip via email but nothing has arrived in the last four days,” Shah said. “I don’t know where the money is, and it is a pretty embarrassing situation.”The BCB sent the remittance slip on January 24, but said they didn’t receive signed players’ agreement papers for any of Gladiators’ overseas players in time. “Without the player agreement papers, it is not possible for the BCB to process bank transfer of fees to accounts of local players and international remittance for overseas player payment,” a BCB statement said.This year, the BCB has asked all franchises to send payments to the board,which would then be forwarded to the players. The deadline for the first instalment of 25%, which should have been paid before the start of the tournament, was moved from January 7 to January 16-31. The next 25% needs to be paid before the end of the tournament. The remaining amount is supposed to be transferred within six months after the end of the tournament.Gladiators were the first franchise who paid the BCB 25% of the total players’ fees. According to Salim Chowdhury, the Gladiators owner, the BCB has cashed the pay order of Tk 3 crore ($ 376,900 approx) on January 22 and that the delay is from the board’s end.However, BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick has said that it would be Gladiators’ fault if Shah decides to leave the tournament. Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country, doesn’t remit money without proper contracts, which Mallick says Gladiators have only sent on Tuesday (January 29).”If Owais Shah doesn’t play, it will be completely their fault. I would ask him [Salim Chowdhury] to show the received copy of the agreement papers, which he claims he has made the players sign five times. We can ascertain who’s right or wrong.”They gave us a cheque which is payable from March 14, but they haven’tgiven us a bank guarantee, so his claims sound absurd,” Mallick added. “We have tried to help them by giving extra leeway on time, but they haven’t paid us the money properly.”

After his frighteningly fast and swerving 5 for 20 to rout West Indies for 70, Mitchell Starc conveyed his desire to put off surgery on his ankle for as long as possible

Daniel Brettig01-Feb-2013Having bowled as irresistibly as he did against West Indies at the WACA, it’s little wonder that Mitchell Starc is earnestly hoping a bone spur in his ankle will not worsen to the point of requiring surgery during Australia’s manic 2013 schedule.Starc has already chosen to forego this year’s IPL in order to rest after the forthcoming tour of India ahead of the Ashes. Now, after his frighteningly fast and swerving 5 for 20 to rout West Indies for 70, he conveyed his desire to put off surgery for as long as possible. A procedure to clean out the problem would require about three months in recovery – time Starc and Australia simply do not have this year.”It’s a calcification to protect the bone through the force the ankle cops when bowling, but obviously causes a bit of pain,” Starc said in Perth. “You can feel it when you push on it, but it’s not affecting my bowling at the moment. It’s not something I want to go under the knife for and miss up to three months to clean it up, missing the time bowling and having to build yourself up.”Three seasons ago I had two spurs in the same ankle and played two thirds of the season with it, so it’s not an issue we’re all worried about at the moment and I’m happy to play with it.”There have been a few times so far in his young career when Starc has looked unplayable, and this was one such day. Moving the ball at high pace and landing the ball repeatedly on a line and length to discomfort the best batsmen, much of Starc’s bowling seemed wasted on a West Indies batting line-up that has been in Australia little more than a week and warmed up with a festival match on the Manuka Oval featherbed.”There have been days when I’ve bowled a lot worse and taken more wickets,” Starc said. “It all came together today, I felt very smooth and had enough pace but there was enough in the wicket also.”You get that extra bounce and carry in Perth, we wanted to hit the stumps as often as we could and needed to get that fuller length. Sometimes the execution isn’t quite there, but today all the bowlers executed very well.”What we’ve spoken about is shortening the gap between our very good, like today, and our not so good, a bit of which you saw against Sri Lanka. If we can keep winning and closing that gap, we’ll go a long way towards achieving our goals.”West Indies captain Darren Sammy did not concede he had erred by choosing to bat first, instead suggesting his batsmen should have re-adjusted their goals for a decent score once they had witnessed a few overs of the ball zipping around.”It’s disappointing, we know the plans and the goals we had for this tour, obviously it didn’t start the way we wanted, but it’s just the first game of a five-match series,” Sammy said. “We’ve got to come back stronger on Sunday, dust ourselves off and believe we can be successful against them.”We’ve had battles against Australia in the past, the last series at home they similarly won the first game very easily and we came back strongly for the rest of the series. We know we have the ability to bounce back, and that’s what I’m going to tell the boys. Yes it’s going to be hard to wipe what happened from the memory, but we’ve had good games against them and we’ll think about the positive things.”Sammy took one point of solace from the debut of the tall young fast bowler Jason Holder, who extracted steep bounce and some movement though defending a pitiful total.”In spite of what [Glenn] Maxwell was doing, coming hard at him, he kept his cool and bowled in some very good areas,” Sammy said. “That’s a plus for us and hopefully we can have much more runs to defend in the next game.”

On the day Glamorgan announced a change to their traditional one-day name, they closed the season, and Robert Croft’s career, with a win to deny Kent promotion

Paul Edwards at Cardiff13-Sep-2012
ScorecardJim Allenby claimed three second-innings wickets as Glamorgan won in Robert Croft’s final game•PA PhotosAnyone with ambitions of foisting franchises on domestic cricket might profit by studying the experience of Glamorgan over the past twelve months. On the day when Mark Wallace and his team ended Kent’s hopes of promotion by inflicting a seven-wicket defeat on Rob Key’s team, the county announced that its limited-overs side was reverting to the name “Glamorgan” after a year in which it had been known as the “Welsh Dragons”.Explaining the change back to the old name, Glamorgan chief executive Alan Hamer said that an attempt to “stir up the passion” of supporters by rebranding the team hadn’t worked. People in Wales were not even sure what sport the renamed team played.”If you go anywhere in Wales the majority of people will say that Glamorgan is a cricket county,” said Hamer. “When you asked people who the Welsh Dragons were, they got confused as to whether that was a cricket team, a rugby union team, a rugby league team or a football team. We’ve got to be honest and go back to something which has worked and means a lot to our supporters. The decision we have now taken has been very well received.”The Glamorgan brand is well-established and is known throughout the cricket world,” continued Hamer. “It’s apt that we move back to key principles, so as well as simply calling ourselves Glamorgan, the logo will revert back to the daffodil and we are going to spend time and money developing more of our home-grown players.”I’ve been here six years but it’s in the last twelve months that I’ve realised more than ever before the feelings and passions that people have for the Glamorgan brand. If you try to introduce a franchise, it will be up against a very powerful beast and it’ll need to be very powerful if it’s going to work.”Glamorgan’s announcement was pleasantly complemented by events on the field on what turned out to be the last day of the season at Cardiff. For one thing, the county’s bowlers and fielders showed the sort of passion and persistence which are needed to win important cricket matches against teams chasing honours. Their defeat of Kent confirmed that Derbyshire and Yorkshire would be promoted from Division Two. More significantly for cricket followers in the principality, this third Championship win of the season means that Glamorgan will avoid the wooden spoon and should finish at least seventh in the second division.There were also personal reasons for joy, albeit mixed with some sadness. Most notably, these concerned Robert Croft who, after taking 2 for 76 from 22.4 overs, left the field as a Glamorgan cricketer for the last time. There was a standing ovation, a presentation and a raft of interviews, none of them less moving for being fairly predictable. Croft had the honour of dismissing the last Kent batsman, Charlie Shreck, and thus finishing his 24-year career with 1,175 first-class wickets against his name. Croft is a proud Welshman but he has been an equally proud Glamorgan cricketer. He has never needed rebranding.”I’m delighted we’re reverting back to the traditional name,” said Croft. “I’ve always known us as Glamorgan and I’m pleased with the decision that’s been made. The badge should be the biggest thing on your chest and I’m pleased it’s going to be Glamorgan’s badge again.”Yet Croft’s personal achievement had to take its place within the architecture of a game which saw Kent’s batsmen mount a courageous rearguard as they sought to make good the damage of the previous evening. Beginning the day needing 187 to make Glamorgan bat again, they eventually carved out a mere 60-run lead, although Mark Wallace’s side lost three wickets reaching their target in the evening gloom.Geraint Jones led Kent’s fight by batting over three hours for his 81 runs before he was ninth out, top-edging a pull off Jim Allenby straight to Nick James at deep square leg. Until Jones was dismissed it was never quite clear that Glamorgan had the game under control and Croft himself expressed relief that his side had not been chasing 150.Three wickets in eight balls for the impressive seamer John Glover in the second hour of the morning session had seemed to put Glamorgan in control of affairs. The loss of Sam Northeast for 40, Brendan Nash for a well-made 50 and Darren Stevens lbw first ball left Kent struggling on 96 for 5. But a 91-run stand between Jones and the former Glamorgan batsman Mike Powell restored Kent’s fortunes. It took Croft’s last vital contribution to remove his old mucker, taken by Allenby at slip for 41.Allenby then offered further evidence of his all-round skills which have been on view during almost every session of this game by claiming the decisive wickets of James Tredwell, Matt Coles and Jones to finish with 3 for 47. When Shreck lofted Croft to Nick James at long off, Kent had been dismissed for 280 and Glamorgan’s target seemed close to paltry.The loss of three cheap wickets and two breaks for bad light served to delay matters a little but at least they afforded David Lloyd the chance to make his first runs in first-class cricket by cutting Matt Coles to the backward point boundary. Lloyd had walked to the crease with three noughts to his credit but made 11 before Ben Wright punched Charlie Shreck through midwicket to complete a win that was as well-received in parts of Chelmsford and Derby as it was in Cardiff.

David Masters helped Essex fight back against promotion favourites Derbyshire after a four wicket haul by spinner David Wainwright had secured maximum bowling points for the Division Two leaders at Derby

28-Aug-2012Derbyshire 28 for 3 trail Essex 245 (Napier 52, Wainwright 4-64) by 217 runs
ScorecardDavid Masters helped Essex fight back against promotion favourites Derbyshire after a four wicket haul by spinner David Wainwright had secured maximum bowling points for the Division Two leaders at Derby.Wainwright took 4 for 64 and Mark Turner two wickets as Essex were bowled out for 245 but the visitors hit back by reducing the home side to 28 for 3 at the close.Masters followed a season’s best of 35 with the bat with 2 for 3 in seven overs on his return from a side strain and Graham Napier, who top scored with 42, also claimed a wicket to leave the game in the balance.Derbyshire dominated the first part of the day after their decision to put Essex in was quickly justified as Tony Palladino struck against his former county by having Jaik Mickleburgh caught behind for five in the fifth over. It was the seamer’s 49th Championship victim of the season but he was kept waiting for his 50th as Essex subsided to the spin of Wainwright and two needless run-outs.After Tom Westley had played down the wrong line at Tim Groenewald and Owais Shah had been beaten for pace by Turner, Wainwright got a ball to spit at Mark Pettini who was caught off his glove by Wes Durston at first slip.Ryan ten Doeschate has played some explosive innings against Derbyshire in the past and he briefly threatened to leave his mark on them again when he drove Wainwright over long on for six.But he made a misjudgement on 29 when he went back to Wainwright and was lbw to the arm ball and although James Foster was dropped by wicketkeeper Tom Poynton and saw a top edge hook carried over the ropes by Palladino, he did not make Derbyshire pay.The Essex captain had moved to 31 when he pushed Wainwright to mid on, set off for a single which was never on and was run out by yards thanks to Wayne Madsen’s direct hit.When Adam Wheater was lbw to a full length ball from Turner, Essex were 151 for 7 but Napier and Masters at least earnt their side a batting point with a stand of 74 in 19 overs. Napier fell to Wainwright when he edged a big drive to slip and Maurice Chambers’ attempted slog ended in the hands of backward point, leaving Masters to drive the spinner for six before he was run out going for a second run.Masters continued the Essex recovery when he bowled Madsen, who made a double century in the previous game, for two and had Usman Khawaja well caught low down at second slip by Westley for a 14-ball duck.Palladino was sent in as night watchman but Napier trapped him lbw in the penultimate over to end an absorbing day’s play on a high note for Essex.

Ricky Ponting will play for Tasmania in the Ryobi Cup final on Saturday after being told his one-day international career was over

Brydon Coverdale21-Feb-2012Ricky Ponting will play for Tasmania in the Ryobi Cup final on Saturday after being told his one-day international career was over. Ponting will join the Tigers in Adelaide on Friday morning ahead of the decider against South Australia, which gives him a chance to win silverware with his state side for the first time after debuting for them nearly 20 years ago.Ponting’s desire to play on in Test cricket means that he needs to take every opportunity he can to keep match fit and in form by playing for Tasmania. That begins on Saturday, in what will be his first domestic one-day match since December 2007, and his seventh in the past decade. The Tasmania coach Tim Coyle said the Tigers would be thrilled to have him in the side.”He’s very keen to play,” Coyle told ESPNcricinfo. “He rang me this afternoon to have a chat about the make-up of our team. The team has obviously been going pretty well. We had a conversation around him being available to play. One thing he’s not done in his career is he hasn’t played in a winning Tasmanian title team. That’s really high on his agenda. He’s very excited by the fact that he’s going to get this chance.”The only domestic final Ponting has played in was the 1993-94 Sheffield Shield decider, the first time Tasmania had reached the first-class final. But it wasn’t a memorable occasion for Ponting: he scored 1 and 28 and was part of a side that lost to New South Wales by an innings and 61 runs at the SCG.Despite having played in the past two one-day finals, Tasmania will enter this game as the underdogs, playing away from home against the Redbacks. And although the Tigers have won six of their eight one-day matches this summer, Coyle said Ponting’s return would be easy to accommodate, with Ed Cowan and George Bailey the only Tasmanians to have scored 200 runs in the Ryobi Cup campaign.”We’ve actually got a spot in our team that’s been thrown around,” Coyle said. “A few people have been tried. It is a batting spot that we’ve experimented with. We haven’t had someone really put their hand up and grab that spot. There is a spot in our top six, no doubt about that. It’s one area of our cricket that has been a little bit inconsistent at times. To have one of the greatest players of all time, that’s a great result for our team.”Ponting’s appearances for Tasmania have been few and far between since he established himself in Australia’s Test and one-day sides, but when he has returned, Coyle has been impressed with his dedication to the state cause. Although Ponting lives in Sydney, he has refused to switch state allegiances and spends time with the younger members of the squad, passing on what he has learnt in a 17-year international career.”His commitment to the team stuff is really important,” Coyle said. “He commits a lot of time to others in the team. He’s also very professional in his own preparation. It’s great to sit back and watch him prepare for games. His experience will be a fantastic bonus for us. I’m sure he’s very keen to do well. He’ll come into this game with nothing hanging over his head, which has probably been an issue for him in the last couple of weeks with the one-day series that he’s been involved in.”Tasmania will also benefit from Ponting’s presence in their final two Sheffield Shield matches as they aim to move up from third position on the table and earn a place in the decider. Ponting will be available for Tasmania’s last two matches, against South Australia in Adelaide and at home to Western Australia, and then for the final should they make it.”His red-ball cricket has been tremendous this summer so it’s a huge inclusion for us to have a player of his calibre coming back into our team,” Coyle said. “We’re very fortunate. We’ve gone a lot of years not having him around so this is maybe a little bit of time that was due for Ricky to give some time to Tasmanian cricket. He’s had that desire – he’s often said that he would love to play more cricket for us. He’s going to get an opportunity to do that over the next couple of weeks.”

There is a feeling around the Caribbean that the downtrodden West Indies may finally be building a team that inspires confidence

Daniel Brettig in Barbados05-Apr-2012Australian visitors hear it at customs in Barbados airport, or in cars, bars and on the streets. Locals hear it on cricket radio shows, read it in the newspapers and discuss it themselves, with caution but growing enthusiasm. It is a belief the downtrodden West Indies may finally be building a team that inspires confidence, the likes of which their coach Ottis Gibson has not felt since his childhood.Those heady days, when the best team in the world was drawn from the islands of the Caribbean, have receded into sepia-toned memory. But there were moments in a surprisingly tight Test series in India late last year, and over the past month in tied ODI and Twenty20 bouts against the Australians, that indicated West Indies are no longer so predisposed to the backward steps that typified most of the past decade or more.A sound measure of the resurgence is a Test series against Michael Clarke’s increasingly accomplished team. Gibson was unsure if he could label this his men’s best chance to win a series against Australia since they last held the Frank Worrell Trophy after the 1992-93 tour down under, but agreed the development of the squad led by Darren Sammy had been significant.”We’ve been growing as a group of players for the last 12 months,” Gibson said. “We won in Bangladesh, we got beaten in India but the brand of cricket that we played, there were occasions that we dominated India in India which has not happened for a very long time. I don’t believe that many teams go there and do that, even though we weren’t strong enough to win that series.”We’ve just had a fantastic one-day and Twenty20 series against them [Australia], one that we look back now and believe we should have won. Everybody’s full of confidence. There’s an air of confidence as well when you walk around the streets of the Caribbean at the moment, where two years ago or probably even 12 months ago the average man in the street was not so enthusiastic about the performances of the team.”In the last month or so there’s a lot being said and there’s an energy that I can remember as a child growing up. People are starting to want to watch the team again and it’s because the team is starting to be competitive. You can see a togetherness on the field and if we can maintain that sort of focus and keep that togetherness going, this would be a good series for us.”As he ran his eye across a team that remains youthful but is starting to take on a more robust shape, Gibson rolled off the names of Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ravi Rampaul, Fidel Edwards, Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo and the captain Sammy. They are the kinds of players and characters to build a team from.”I think Duncan Fletcher made mention of it [after the India series], the fact the team was starting to gel together,” Gibson said. “I think over the last 12 months our bowling attack has been as good as most around the world. They got a lot of wickets for us in all forms of cricket to be honest, especially Test cricket, so we know what we’ll get from our bowling. Hopefully our batting will continue the form that they showed in India.”Bishoo’s spin will pose the right questions on dry surfaces, while in Roach the hosts have the first fast bowler in years to have unsettled Ricky Ponting – probing for weaknesses that others later followed up as the then Australian captain struggled through an extended trough of run-making.”Everybody’s looking forward to getting stuck in, you know? This is the exciting thing about it,” Gibson said. “There’s competition for places now and that breeds the sort of environment that we’re looking to create. Kemar, if he gets the opportunity first up with the new ball in his hand, I’m sure he’s looking forward to it. Likewise I’m sure Ricky will be looking to get back at Kemar.”That’s a duel that people will be looking forward to seeing. But there’s others, Bishoo, the impact he’d had on international cricket since he started. He only started his international career exactly a year ago and he’s had 12 months and been outstanding for us. Ravi Rampaul has been exceptional as well and we know what we’ll get from Fidel every day.”The Aussies have got a very good pace attack as well. [James] Pattinson’s done well, [Peter] Siddle – he’s a workhorse for the team. We know a lot about each other but it comes down to us feeling the energy of the fans and taking the momentum from the one-day series and being able to transfer that into the Test series.”It has been said that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, but the mood in the Caribbean is unmistakeable – the West Indies will compete in this series, and have the chance to do even better than that.

Upcoming fast bowlers Ben Cutting and Nathan Coulter-Nile have been named in the Prime Minister’s XI to face Sri Lanka in Canberra on February 3

Daniel Brettig18-Jan-2012Prime Minister’s XI squad

Brad Haddin (capt & wk), Peter Forrest (vice-capt), Wes Robinson, Mitchell Marsh, Adam Voges, Kurtis Patterson, Dean Solway, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ben Cutting, Michael Nesser, Nathan Lyon, Aaron Ayre (12th man)

Upcoming fast bowlers Ben Cutting and Nathan Coulter-Nile will have the chance to press for roles in Australia’s limited-overs and West Indies tour plans after they were named in the Prime Minister’s XI to face Sri Lanka in Canberra on February 3.The Australian Test match vice-captain Brad Haddin will lead the invitational XI, and alongside his fellow Canberra product Nathan Lyon, will return to Manuka Oval, the ground on which he first made his name as a representative of the ACT. Presently in the midst of a poor series against India, Haddin appears to be receiving every chance to regain form.”As a cricketer growing up in Canberra without the exposure to first-class cricket, the PM’s XI match was the one game I always looked forward to and always wanted to tick off as a player,” Haddin said. “To be named captain is an honour.”The team selected has some good form behind it and I hope to be able to get a win on the board. Having players like Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh and Adam Voges who all have international experience will go a long way to helping our chances too. It’s also important for players to put their name in front of the selectors and give themselves every opportunity to press for a place in the Australian side.”I’m also excited about playing with Dean Solway, whose family was a strong supporter of mine while I played cricket in Canberra. Dean’s father [Peter] has been a big influence on my career so it will be nice to walk on to the field with Dean and share this experience with the family.”Cutting was 12th man for the first Test of the home summer against New Zealand at the Gabba before succumbing to a side strain in the Sheffield Shield. Coulter-Nile has also battled injury this summer but is highly regarded and shared drinks duties with Mitchell Marsh during Australia’s Perth Test win over India.Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur and the team performance manager Pat Howard are both intent on expanding the team’s pool of available fast bowlers, a desire encouraged by the surfeit of injuries suffered by young pacemen in recent times.”The PM’s XI game is a special fixture in the Australian cricket calendar,” the national selector John Inverarity said. “It provides a unique opportunity for many of the country’s most talented and promising youngsters to showcase their skills on the international stage.”Brad Haddin as captain and Nathan Lyon are two of our Test players who will be returning to Canberra. Local fans will be especially keen to watch and catch up with them. Peter Forrest has been in very good form this season and has been named as vice-captain. Ben Cutting is returning from injury and will be keen to make his mark.”The match takes place on the same day as Australia’s second international Twenty20 fixture against India at the MCG.