England captain Andrew Strauss insists his team are focussed on the task of finishing their series against Sri Lanka on a high, despite India’s impending arrival

Andrew Miller at the Rose Bowl15-Jun-2011There was a peculiar atmosphere at the Rose Bowl on the eve of the third Test against Sri Lanka. The unfamiliarity of the venue contributed to a strange sense of detachment, as indeed did the persistent drizzle that limited the team’s practice and left players and journalists alike milling around in the pavilion foyer. For all the history that will be made on Thursday when England inaugurates its tenth Test venue, it was hard to escape the feeling that the summer had reached a hiatus – a calm before the Indian storm that is looming next month.No doubt the England team would wish to view this challenge differently, because as they’ve discovered to their cost in the past, any such notion tends to be corrosive, especially against opponents as traditionally under-estimated as Sri Lanka. After all, England have not beaten them in a Test series for the best part of a decade, and five years ago they came a cropper at the exact same stage of their three-match series, squandering a 1-0 lead as Muttiah Muralitharan tore through them at Trent Bridge.Nevertheless, as England welcome back their attack leader James Anderson after a side strain curtailed his game in Cardiff, Sri Lanka are facing up to the loss of their captain and leading run-scorer Tillakaratne Dilshan – with Kumar Sangakkara’s reluctant return to the helm adding a frisson of political intrigue to their preparations. They aren’t exactly a team in crisis just yet, but England have encountered happier tourists in recent years.From Andrew Strauss’s point of view, however, England are five days and 20 wickets from wrapping up a 2-0 series win, and nothing that has happened or been spoken since the end of the Lord’s Test need deflect them from their singular purpose – especially at a venue that has never before hosted a five-day contest, and will therefore involve a certain element of the unknown.”All our language throughout this series has been to not look too far ahead and not beyond each Test match,” said Strauss. “We come here with a good chance of finishing this series off on a high and winning 2-0, but Sri Lanka have shown enough in the first two games to show they are not a pushover by any means.”We’re going to have to work hard and both sets of players will have to adapt to the conditions here, which we’re not entirely sure how they are going to be,” he added. “In one sense home advantage of knowing the wicket here is slightly negated, so we’re going to have to work hard and earn the right to get on top.”Anderson’s impending return leaves England with a dilemma of sorts, given that one of the three pacemen who under-performed in the draw at Lord’s will have to make way in the starting XI. With 25 wickets in his last five Tests, Chris Tremlett’s position is secure for now, but neither Steven Finn nor Stuart Broad has anything like the same sort of job security.”It is always a tricky decision,” said Strauss. “I thought in the last game at Lord’s all our bowlers bowled some good spells at times, and some less good ones as well. We have to look at the wicket in the morning and decide what the best attack will be for this game, but this is a good position to be in. Even though we weren’t at our best at Lord’s, we had some good spells.”The probable man for the chop is Finn, who recovered from a shaky start to pick up four wickets in Sri Lanka’s first innings at Lord’s, but Broad’s recent Test form is the cause of some concern for the England management. A succession of injuries limited his participation in both the Ashes and the World Cup, and so far this series he has managed six wickets at 48.00, at a loose economy rate of 3.52.”We always want our bowlers to be taking wickets so from that point of view it is a concern, but he’s done a lot of good things,” said Strauss. “He’s gone past the bat a lot and the fact is we’ve got a good squad of bowlers and they’re all being pushed hard to make sure they keep performing.”The challenge for Stuart is to keep improving, but you also have to realise with bowlers that sometimes one guy will get the wickets, but the other bowls better. You have to look beyond how many wickets they’ve got, you have to look at how many balls they get in the right area.”The other man with a point to prove right now is the captain himself. Kevin Pietersen’s confident 72 at Lord’s alleviated the pressure on his position at No. 4, but with scores of 20, 4 and 0 in his three innings of the series to date, Strauss is aware that his own form is now under some scrutiny – especially after he was extracted by the left-armer Chanaka Welegedara in both his innings in the second Test.”I’m not sure it is right that someone is always under the spotlight, but that is the fact of it,” Strauss admitted. “I was frustrated with my returns at Lord’s, but it is the nature of the beast as an opening batsman. Sometimes you get a couple of good balls early.”But I’m very comfortable with my own game and I’m very comfortable with us as a batting unit, with six out of seven being in great fettle in the first two Tests. But now it is my turn to come to the party, there is no doubt about that.”Strauss’s batting form as England captain was exceptional in his first few outings, as he recorded four scores of 142 or more in eight Tests, including a matchwinning 161 against Australia at Lord’s in 2009. But since that innings he has reached a century on just one occasion in 33 attempts, despite passing fifty 11 times.”You can over-think these things a bit, but it is right I’ve scored a lot of fifties and not turned them into hundreds and that is something I’m determined to change,” he said. “[My conversion rate] has been one of my strengths and I need to find it again. As an opening batsman if you can get big hundreds then it sets the side up pretty well and that is the challenge for me.”But you’re never going to have all seven batsmen firing at the same time. That’s unrealistic,” he added. “I’ve just got to make are that I do everything I can to get back in the runs and get a hundred. This is Test cricket and there are hundreds of guys in county cricket who want your job, so you have to do everything you can to be successful.”

Michael Carberry and Neil McKenzie wrote themselves into the record books with
a partnership of 523 as Hampshire’s clash with fellow relegation candidates
Yorkshire at the Rose Bowl ended in a draw

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Aug-2011
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Michael Carberry made a triple-hundred nine months after recovering from a career-threatening injury•Getty Images

Michael Carberry and Neil McKenzie wrote themselves into the record books with a partnership of 523 as Hampshire’s clash with fellow relegation candidates Yorkshire at the Rose Bowl ended in a draw. Carberry was playing his third match since returning from a serious illness that kept him out of the game for nine months.Carberry and McKenzie came together with Hampshire on 59 for two in response to
Yorkshire’s first innings total of 532. The pair then thwarted the visitors for the little matter of eight hours and 135 overs with Carberry going on to make an unbeaten 300 and McKenzie scoring an equally valuable 237.Hampshire, who remain winless and at the foot of the County Championship first division table, eventually declared at 599 for 3 when Carberry reached his triple-century.That left only time for Yorkshire to score 40 without loss before both sides agreed on the draw. But it was the giant partnership of Carberry and McKenzie that will be remembered in a high-scoring contest.Carberry’s monster innings came off 427 balls and included 43 fours and two sixes. South African McKenzie, who also made the best score of his career, faced 412 balls, hitting 25 fours and two sixes.Yorkshire’s nine-man attack had no answer to Carberry and McKenzie whose partnership was the highest for the third wicket in the history of the County Championship. It beat the previous best in 1997 by Worcestershire’s Graeme Hick and Tom Moody, ironically against Hampshire.The stand was the third highest in the history of the Championship and the ninth highest in all first-class cricket. At one stage, it looked as if they would threaten the all-time best partnership of 555 between Yorkshire’s Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe against Essex at Leyton.Carberry, who been sidelined by illness for long periods since making his only England Test appearance in Bangladesh last year, said: “This was only my third match back in the team and I cannot believe it has gone so well. The pitch was perfect to bat on and Neil and I kept each other going.”It has been well documented that I had blood clots on the lung and it has taken nine months out of my life. I am lucky just to be playing again so to get 300 exceeded all my expectations.”The partnership came to an end at 523 in the 151st over when McKenzie lifted a gentle catch to mid-on where Gary Ballance held on to give left-arm spinner David Wainwright a wicket his perseverance had warranted.Among the other records to go was Hampshire’s highest stand for any wicket, overtaking the 411 put together by Robert Poore and Teddy Wynyard against Somerset at Taunton way back in 1899.Carberry’s previous best was 205 against Warwickshire two years ago and the only chance offered during the mammoth partnership came from McKenzie soon after surpassing his previous best of 225, a return catch which Wainwright failed to hold.

James Taylor’s 106 and a buccaneering 26-ball 59 from Jonny Bairstow set up England Lions’ 97-run win over Sri Lanka A at New Road

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2011
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James Taylor’s 106 and a buccaneering 26-ball 59 from Jonny Bairstow set up England Lions’ 97-run win over Sri Lanka A at New Road.Having been inserted after losing the toss Taylor, who made 76 and 98 in the four-day fixture against the same opposition last week, ensured his side posted a tough target by anchoring the innings. Joe Root offered bright support initially with a boundary-studded 62 from 66 balls. On a day when his England batting rival Ravi Bopara made 7 against India, Taylor’s century was excellently timed.Though less expansive than Root – and later Bairstow – Taylor was still positive. He struck seven boundaries and a six in all, bringing up his century from 115 balls. His partnership with Bairstow, though, was the biggest entertainment of the day. Coming in with 9.1 overs left in the innings he bashed the ball to all parts.In 26 deliveries he smashed four fours and four sixes getting to his half-century in 22 balls. After he was out with 15 balls left a flurry of wickets followed but the 311 set for victory always looked a difficult task.Sri Lanka A weren’t really up to the chase with only 21-year-old Lahiru Thirimanne, who has had a good tour so far, showing any resistance with the only half-century in the innings until he fell to Scott Borthwick’s first delivery, a leg-break that beat his defences.Steven Finn struck early, castling Dimuth Karunaratne in his second over, but it was Surrey’s Stuart Meaker who took the most wickets with three. Borthwick’s 10 overs of legspin yielded two wickets, and only cost 42 runs, his second scalp a lovely googly to remove Kanishka Alvitigala.”I’m delighted to get my first win as captain under my belt and to get a century after getting so close last week in Scarborough was really pleasing,” Taylor said. “I thought we played well today. We got a decent total and then put them under real pressure from start. It was a solid performance with bat and ball and we’ll be looking to continue that on Sunday.”With only two more games to go, the tourists will have to fight back immediately.

Jan Stander’s unbeaten century helped Scotland to a 2-0 lead in their Twenty20 series against Namibia, the Scots securing a 40-run win in the second match at Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2011
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Jan Stander’s unbeaten century helped Scotland to a 2-0 lead in their Twenty20 series against Namibia, the Scots securing a 40-run win in the second match at Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek. Stander cracked nine fours and seven sixes in his 116, after which the Scottish attack kept the hosts to 190 for 7 despite Gerrie Snyman’s 43-ball 90.Both Stander and Snyman had played leading roles in the first match of the day, Snyman having hit an unbeaten 92 in his team’s six-wicket loss. Unsuccessful setting a total in the first game, Namibia opted to field in the second but once again the bowlers struggled after the early dismissal of Richie Berrington for 13.Stander shared in a 99-run partnership with Calum Macleod that took up only seven and a half overs to assert the dominance of bat over ball, and though Namibia managed to pick up wickets thereafter – the scoring rate never really dipped.Namibia’s reply got off to a stumbling start, Louis van der Westhuizen, Niel Rossouw and captain Craig Williams all departing inside the first four overs to leave the score at a shaky 33 for 3, Gordon Drummond doing much of the early damage. Namibia fought back through the efforts of Snyman and Sarel Burger, who put on 129 for the fourth wicket at better than 10 an over.As the match headed towards a tight finish, 20-year-old Scotland seamer Safyaan Sharif tipped the balance with a remarkable three-wicket burst in the 17th over. He started by picking up the vital wicket of Snyman, trapped lbw, before rattling the stumps of Christi Viljoen and Zhivago Groenewald with consecutive deliveries. It was a blow from which Namibia found it impossible to recover.

Middlesex took a massive step closer to promotion by claiming maximum batting bonus points against Leicestershire at Grace Road

13-Sep-2011
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Middlesex took a massive step closer to promotion by claiming maximum batting bonus points on the second day of their County Championship Division Two game against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Top-of-the-table Middlesex reached stumps on 401 for 8 and now needed just to avoid defeat to book their place in Division One next season.A fine knock of 97 from Dawid Malan and half-centuries for John Simpson and Gareth Berg were the bedrock of the total that put Middlesex on the brink of promotion with Northamptonshire managing only three batting points against Gloucestershire.There were times, however, when the nerves kicked in for Middlesex and at 320 for 8 in the 85th over they were by no means certain of reaching the 350 total required to collect a fourth batting point. But Berg, joined by Tim Murtagh, safely saw them pass that mark and then the pair cut loose, adding another 50 runs in the next five overs to leave Middlesex in a powerful position with a lead of 82 at the close of play.Berg finished on 70 not out from 81 balls having hit three sixes and five fours as the Leicestershire attack toiled in the evening session. Only off-spinner Jigar Naik, who picked up three wickets, really troubled the Middlesex batsmen who were in control for much of the day.Andrew Strauss and Sam Robson gave them a solid start with an opening stand of 75. Strauss, who survived a confident lbw appeal from Nathan Buck before he had scored, looked in good touch and the partnership produced 50 in nine overs. A 30-minute rain interruption stopped the flow of runs and Strauss was out on the resumption, caught behind by Ned Eckersley for 32 off the bowling of Alex Wyatt.Robson then edged the same bowler to wicketkeeper Eckersley for 46 but Chris Rogers and Malan shared a third-wicket stand of 71 in 22 overs to give Middlesex command again. But, when Rogers and Jamie Dalrymple were both dismissed by successive deliveries from Naik, Middlesex looked in some trouble again.Malan, however, continued to play some fine shots against some loose bowling from the Leicestershire seamers, reaching his 50 off just 59 balls. The 200 total came up via the 31st boundary of the innings with Malan clipping Rob Taylor away to the ropes.But, with a century looking certain Malan was out for 97 off 142 balls, caught behind as he chased a wide delivery from Wayne White. Simpson steadied things again, scoring a half-century off 86 balls before top-edging a catch off Taylor and, when Ollie Rayner and Steven Crook both fell cheaply, Middlesex looked to be stumbling in their bid for the prize.But Berg and Murtagh regained the initiative and by the close the visitors were in a commanding position with every chance of achieving the double over the bottom-of-the-table hosts.

Fast bowler Umesh Yadav has injured his left hand and will be replaced by Abhimanyu Mithun in India’s squad for the last two ODIs against England

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2011Fast bowler Umesh Yadav has injured his left hand and will be replaced by Abhimanyu Mithun in India’s squad for the last two ODIs against England. Umesh hurt the webbing on his hand while stopping a shot from Jonathan Trott at short fine leg during the last over of England’s innings in the third ODI in Mohali. MS Dhoni, the India captain, had confirmed the injury after the match and the BCCI have now announced Mithun as Umesh’s replacement.Though he was expensive in the last two games, Umesh impressed with his pace over the series, and took two wickets in each of the first two matches.India also have Varun Aaron, the 21-year-old fast bowler, in the ODI squad. Aaron was on the limited-overs leg of India’s tour of England as well, but did not get a game. Umesh’s injury means he might make an international debut.Mithun has played four Tests and two ODIs for India but appeared to have fallen out of favour after an ordinary tour of the West Indies.

Opening batsman Ed Cowan then strengthened his case for a call-up to Australia’s Test squad by scoring his fourth consecutive long-format hundred

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2011
ScorecardEd Cowan celebrates his century against the Indians•Getty Images

Two batsmen and two spinners performed impressively for either side on the second day in Canberra, leaving the tour match between the Indians and the Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI evenly poised.Virat Kohli, who is likely to be India’s No. 6 on Boxing Day, converted his half-century into a hundred, before the left-arm spinner Jon Holland triggered a lower-order collapse and limited the visitors to 269. Holland finished with figures of 6 for 70.Opening batsman Ed Cowan then strengthened his case for a call-up to Australia’s Test squad by scoring his fourth consecutive long-format hundred. The 109 off 154 balls he made at the Manuka Oval came after two centuries in the Sheffield Shield and one for Australia A against the touring New Zealanders. Cowan steered CA Chairman’s XI to a position from where they were well placed to take a first-innings lead, but the offspinner R Ashwin struck three quick blows to help reduce them to 7 for 214 at stumps, still trailing by 55 runs. Ashwin had figures of 4 for 52.Another focal point of the day’s play was the performance of Zaheer Khan, who did not play the first tour game. Zaheer is working his way to an international comeback after ankle surgery and his first outing in Australia wasn’t impressive – he went for 41 in 10 overs and took no wickets.The day began with the Indians on 4 for 162, with Kohli batting on 55. Rohit Sharma was dismissed early, ending a partnership of 101 for the fifth wicket. Kohli continued to bat briskly, hitting 18 fours and two sixes on his way to 132 off 171 balls, but the Indians lost MS Dhoni and Ashwin to Holland. Kohli was eventually caught by the wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman off Holland, who then polished off the tail in a jiffy.The CA Chairman’s innings began poorly, with the captain and Test opener David Warner getting bowled by Abhimanyu Mithun for 2. The rest of the innings was all about Cowan, as none of his team-mates got stuck into the Indian attack. Cowan, however, was fortunate to reach his century. On 95, he was caught short of his crease by a direct hit from Rohit, but Cowan had run behind the umpire John Ward, who was unable to see that the batsman was run out.The two other Australia batsmen in the CA Chairman’s XI line-up had ordinary outings. Usman Khawaja made 25 off 49 balls and Phillip Hughes, who batted at No. 4, managed 20 off 29 before he was caught off a sweep.The CA Chairman’s XI had reached 184 for 3 before Ashwin began to work his way through the middle order. Four wickets fell for 30 runs, with left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha dismissing Cameron Boyce in the day’s final over.

Andrew Strauss has called upon any player with information about corruption in English cricket to come forward and talk to the ECB

George Dobell16-Jan-2012Andrew Strauss has called upon any player with information about corruption in English cricket to come forward and talk to the ECB.Strauss, the England captain, urged players to “do what is right for cricket” and utilise the three-month amnesty recently imposed by the ECB after the conviction of the former Essex seam bowler Mervyn Westfield on corruption charges.Strauss warned against assuming the case was the only one of its kind after the the former Essex seam bowler Mervyn Westfield pleaded guilty to corruption charges.”It took me completely by surprise when the allegations first came out and I’ve certainly not witnessed anything in my time,” Strauss said. “But let’s not be arrogant and just assume it’s not there because clearly there has been an incident and if there has been one incident then there is a fair chance that there have been others.”Strauss was speaking ahead of the start of England’s Test series against Pakistan. Past series between these teams have been littered with controversy and players on both sides have been talking of moving on from previous animosity, with Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, appealing to England to forget the spot-fixing scandal of their last tour.”The ECB have provided an amnesty for players to come forward in the next three months and I’d urge them to do that if they do have any information. If it is there, we need to root it out. We need to get it dealt with and move on. If you want world cricket to be in good order then you have to make sure your own house is clean first.””I think there is a lot more awareness now on the back of what has happened in the last couple of years. But it’s something we have to always be vigilant about,” Strauss said. “Obviously we have heavy schedules internationally and domestically, and, with heavy schedules, there is always the opportunity for people to think that one game is less important than another and that therefore they might be able to benefit from it.”I’ve no idea if other players have information or not, but I urge them to come forward if they do. If there is a problem there we need to see the extent of the problem and take steps to clean it up. This is not the time to show loyalty to team-mates or friends or people you know. This is the time to do what is right for the game of cricket.Meanwhile Tony Palladino, the former team-mate who blew the whistle on Westfield, has also warned against assuming that the incident was a one-off. “You’d be a fool to think spot-betting wasn’t happening at Essex before, and at other counties,” Palladino told the “It must have been. They’ve chosen county cricket because it’s not as high profile as international cricket.”What worries me is there might be other cases that have been swept under the carpet. I’ve spoken to international players who’ve been approached several times in Asia. It’s rife out there.”The guys most at risk are in Merv’s situation: young, in the first team, but not earning much money. Merv could have gone on to play for England but he made a bad decision and for £6,000 he’s lost his career. It’s such a waste.”

Indian viewers have been turned off by their team’s abject capitulation to Australia in the Test series

Tariq Engineer17-Jan-2012Indian viewers have been turned off by their team’s abject capitulation to Australia in the Test series, with television ratings down substantially in comparison to India’s last tour four years ago. The TRPs (one TRP represents 1% of viewers in the surveyed area in a given minute) for the first two Tests were 0.89 and 0.70 compared to 1.07 and 1.30 in 2007-08, according to TAM Sports, a division of TAM Media Research, the leading television ratings agency in India.Prior to the first Test, India were thought to have their best chance of winning a first series in Australia. The prospect of Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international hundred added to the build-up and the series was eagerly anticipated. Instead the tour has turned out to be a mismatch so far, with India losing the first three Tests, the previous two by an innings.”I think the primary factor [for the low ratings] is the performance of the team itself,” Ravi Rao, the South Asia leader for Mindshare, told ESPNcricinfo. “People expected India to rebound in the second Test. Typically, the Indian team’s first match is a bad performance. [But] this has been a desperate performance so the channel is going to be affected in terms of getting revenues.”Sridhar Ramanujam, who heads brand consulting firm Brand-Comm, said “People want to see their teams win. That’s probably why the ratings are low.”In contrast, the reports that Australian ratings are up by more than 30% over last year’s Ashes series, which Australia lost 1-3. Host broadcaster Channel Nine has pulled in an average of 1.49 million viewers during the two Tests, while last summer 1.14 million tuned in to see England humble the home side.However, India’s abject run – they have now lost seven consecutive away Tests – is not expected to affect the appetite of viewers or advertisers for the upcoming tri-series that will also feature Sri Lanka. “Cricket has no other competition, especially for the male market,” Patrick Gomes, the vice-president of Lintas Media Group, said. According to Gomes, there was no shortage of advertisers wanting to a piece of the one-day series pie, though he also suggested that some of them were hoping that rates would come down given India’s recent poor run.One of the reasons for optimism about the one-day series is the high profile nature of the participants. Joining the home team Australia are India, the current 50-over world champions, and Sri Lanka, the losing finalists. Sanjay Kailash, EVP & head of sales, ESPN-Star Sports, said that the channel has already sold 70% of its inventory and does not expect to have a hard time selling the remaining 30%. He sees the Test series as distinct from the one-day tournament. “For us, no two things are attached to each other.”Rao said that one-days are typically a better bet than Test matches because “even if India does not do well, in the initial phase I would still get more eyeballs. Crowds still want to know how the games are going to go.”Ramanujam also expected fans to tune back in for the tri-series. “I think people will watch and hope. The Indian cricket fan is a die-hard optimist.”India will also play two Twenty20 internationals before the tri-series. In 2007-08, the Twenty20 international between the teams drew a TRP of 4.46, while the tri-series featuring Sri Lanka had an average rating of 3.24.ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.), the parent company of ESPNcricinfo, and News Corporation Limited (STAR)

Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwe captain, will play in the Bangladesh Premier League after signing up with Chittagong Kings

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2012Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwe captain, will play in the Bangladesh Premier League after signing up with Chittagong Kings.”We have just signed for Brendan to join the Chittagong Kings for the last three games and the finals in the BPL,” Taylor’s agent said. “The deal was negotiated directly by us with the owner and CEO, Sameer Quader Chowdhury, of the Chittagong Kings.”Chittagong are currently in third place, with eight points, two behind joint leaders, Khulna Royal Bengals and Duronto Rajshahi.Taylor has played 54 Twenty20s, averaging 31 at a strike-rate of 122.04. He recently played in New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 league, and smashed a career-best 101 for Wellington.