Jason Krejza is in line for a surprise international comeback and Cameron White will captain Australia’s ODI team for the first time in the final match against England in Perth on Sunday

Brydon Coverdale03-Feb-2011Jason Krejza is in line for a surprise international comeback and Cameron White will captain Australia’s ODI team for the first time in the final match against England in Perth on Sunday. Australia have already wrapped up the series with a 5-1 lead and with the World Cup rapidly approaching, Michael Clarke and Shane Watson will be rested for the series finale.That has opened the door for the Western Australia batsman Adam Voges to make his return to the squad, nearly a year after he last played for Australia. And Steven Smith has been ruled out with a hip injury that he sustained during Wednesday’s win at the SCG, which will increase the chances of Krejza making his one-day debut as the sole specialist spinner in the squad.If Krejza plays at the WACA, it will be his first international outing since he was belted out of the Test attack at the same venue by South Africa in December 2008, when his aggressive bowling style that leaked runs proved costly. That was his second Test, and it undid much of the good work he achieved by taking 12 wickets during his debut against India in Nagpur the previous month.However, since then Krejza has been an effective offspinner in the shorter formats for Tasmania, and at times the Tigers have even used him to open the bowling. The absence of the preferred slow bowlers Nathan Hauritz (shoulder), Xavier Doherty (back) and Smith, could even give Krejza the slim hope of a World Cup call-up, despite not being in the 30-man preliminary squad.”Jason is a very skilled spinner and more than capable batsman who has already enjoyed international success and we are sure will seize the opportunity,” the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said. “Adam is having a very successful Ryobi Cup season for Western Australia and has good all-round skills with bat, ball and in the field. Adam was part of the Australian team’s one-day series win in India late in 2009 and we are sure will relish the chance to again represent his country.”The other major change is the leadership, which will be handled by White, who last month became Australia’s new Twenty20 captain. White has been vice-captain under Clarke during this series and the selectors are confident he will lead the side well, with the newly in-form Clarke in need of a break in the lead-up to the World Cup.”Both Michael Clarke and Shane Watson have had a very heavy workload this summer and as key players going into the ICC Cricket World Cup a decision has been made that they will not play in Perth for the final match of this series,” Hilditch said. “Shane and Michael will remain in Sydney until attending the Allan Border Medal on Monday which provides them a few days at home before departing for India next Wednesday.”Cameron White will assume captaincy of the side for this match and we are sure given his performance as vice-captain this series and record as captain of Victoria, he will do a fine job in leading this side.”White will become the 19th man to captain Australia in one-day internationals and the first Victorian since Shane Warne led the team in 11 matches in 1998-99. He will be in charge of a side thin on batting experience, with the backup wicketkeeper Tim Paine the likely man to replace Watson as Brad Haddin’s opening partner.Squad Brad Haddin (wk), Tim Paine, Callum Ferguson, Cameron White (capt), David Hussey, Adam Voges, Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Doug Bollinger.

ESPNcricinfo previews the game between Australia and New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup

The Preview by Sriram Veera24-Feb-2011

Match Facts

February 25, Nagpur
Start time: 09:30 local time (04:00 GMT)
Where are the runs hidden?•Associated Press

Big Picture

It’s almost as if there is malicious glee that follows Australia’s so-called decline. Ashes lost? Yay! Ricky Ponting accidentally breaks a TV set? What irresponsible behaviour! Australia are struggling against spinners? Wonderful! In some ways, it’s human nature to gloat at Goliath’s fall. At the centre of the storm is Ponting, trying hard to regain his batting form, trying to hide the Ashes blot in his CV with another World-Cup triumph. In Australia’s previous victorious campaigns, Ponting has led from the front with the bat but this time a question mark hovers around that possibility. Australia’s campaign in this edition of the World Cup could well revolve around Ponting’s form at No. 3. He got couple of hard-earned fifties in the warm-up games and looked to be slowly progressing towards recovering his touch.The bowling is led by another ageing campaigner, Brett Lee, who is scripting a remarkable comeback. Much has been written about Australia’s attack which stands out for its naked violence. The feeling is that they will either scythe through the opposition or fail to control the run-flow on these batting tracks.On the other side, there is New Zealand, who are playing this game under the grim background of the Christchurch earthquake. “For a lot of the guys, coming to training has allowed them to take their mind off things,” Daniel Vettori said. New Zealand have had a poor build-up to the World Cup, but they started the tournament with a crushing win against Kenya. Their batting line-up looks quite strong with the likes of Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor and Scott Styris and it’s their bowling which looks a bit iffy. Will their seamers be able to adapt to these tracks? Much will depend on spinners Vettori and Nathan McCullum, who is likely to open the bowling with the new ball. New Zealand will hope that the pitch will take some turn and they can poke at Australia’s vulnerability against spin on these slow tracks. It should be an interesting battle.

Form guide

(Most recent first for the last five completed games)
Australia: WWWWL
New Zealand: LWLLL

Watch out for…

Shane Watson’s revival began here in India during the inaugural edition of the IPL. He adapted brilliantly and transformed himself into a smashing opener and took that form and confidence to the international stage. On Indian tracks, he likes to get on the front foot and scythe through the line. With Brad Haddin yet to learn the art of converting starts and with Ponting yet to get a regain his form completely, much will depend on Watson to set a solid platform.Nathan McCullum is not a bowler who causes sleepless nights to batsmen but he could play a crucial role if Vettori decides to give him the new ball. He is accurate and spins the ball just enough to pose some problems. How he handles the pressure of bowling against Watson, Haddin and co might well decide how New Zealand fare with the ball.

Team news

New Zealand have chosen their playing 12. Kyle Mills, Kane Williamson, and Luke Woodcock will miss out.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Jesse Ryder, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 James Franklin, 6 Scott Stryis, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Hamish Bennett, 11 Tim SoutheeAustralia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Brad Haddin (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 David Hussey, 6 Cameron White, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Jason Krezja, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Shaun Tait..

Stats and trivia

• Ricky Ponting is the player who has played the most World Cup games. He has played 40 matches, going past Glenn McGrath’s 39 appearances. He has also led Australia 23 times, the second-highest by any World Cup captain, after New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming (27). Australia are yet to lose a World Cup game under Ponting.
• In the game against Zimbabwe, Ponting became the fourth batsman in the World Cup to be run out on five occasions. The others are: Inzamam-ul-Haq (9), Asanka Gurusinha (6) and Javed Miandad (5)
• Australia have faced New Zealand 123 times and have won 84 games. In India, these two teams have played against each other seven times, with Australia victorious in all seven.
  

  Quotes

  “Nothing really changes from any team you’re playing in the subcontinent, you try and bowl straight at the wickets and you know you’re going to have to score a lot of runs. There’s no mystery to what we’re going to try to do, but the key when you come up against these big teams and big players is having the presence of mind to execute time and time again. That’s the toughest thing when you’re coming up against good players.”

Andrew Strauss pinpointed the evening dew in Chittagong as a factor that severely hampered England as they slipped to a two-wicket defeat

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2011Graeme Swann has apologised for his behaviour during England’s two-wicket defeat against Bangladesh at Chittagong on Friday, but still believes the ICC was wrong to fine him 10% of his match fee, as he described the decision to play a day/night match in such dew-heavy conditions as “ludicrous”.On a low and spin-friendly surface, Swann’s offbreaks were expected to be one of England’s key weapons as they set about defending a below-par total of 225. However, on a ground that was hosting its first day/night fixture, it soon became clear that the early-evening dew would be a significant factor, with the wet conditions leading to three ball-changes in the course of Bangladesh’s innings.”I was wrong to swear and lose my temper during England’s defeat against Bangladesh and I apologised straightaway to umpire Daryl Harper,” Swann wrote in his column in The Sun. “But I think it was ludicrous to play a day/night match in the World Cup that was so heavily influenced by the dew. The ball was so wet it was like trying to bowl with a bar of soap.”Swann’s frustration was apparent right from the start of his spell as he regularly stopped midway through his run-up, and at one stage he was heard swearing over the stump microphone as he served up a long-hop that was cut through point. “My frustration boiled over on Friday evening and I was trying to get the ball changed,” he said. “It was changed three times in total but it should have been changed every two or three overs. It felt like playing football with both hands tied behind my back.Graeme Swann became very animated with Daryl Harper over the damp ball•Getty Images

“To be caught swearing by the stump mic was very disappointing,” he added. “I don’t condone bad language on the field, especially if it is directed near the umpire. Of course, the dew wasn’t the umpires’ fault but every time the replacement rolled across the outfield, it became drenched. I was muttering things to myself under my breath that were far worse and I’m glad they weren’t picked up. Andrew Strauss told me to calm down, which was fair enough. I apologised to Daryl, saying, ‘Sorry, that was out of line’.”Despite admitting he was in the wrong for his outburst, Swann was adamant that the ICC’s sanction was unnecessary. “My punishment was to be docked 10 percent of my match fee but I shouldn’t be fined at all,” he said. “When you have venues where the dew is heavy, day/night cricket shouldn’t be played there. At some grounds, spin bowlers might as well not play if they have to bowl at night.”England’s failure to overcome Bangladesh has left their World Cup fate dangling by a thread. They need to beat West Indies in their final Group B fixture in Chennai on Thursday to stand any chance of going through to the quarter-finals, and even then they will need at least one of their three main rivals for fourth place – Bangladesh, West Indies and South Africa – to lose their remaining matches.”Following England in this World Cup is a bit like following Newcastle United – you never know what you’re going to get,” said Swann. One minute we’re beating South Africa, the next we’re losing to Ireland and Bangladesh. We have no chance unless we sort out our consistency, and although it has been a long, hard winter, we need to ask ourselves some questions if we can’t pull it out the bag for the World Cup.”

The ECB is keen to meet England coach Andy Flower at the end of the month to discuss his long-term future with the side, according to reports in the Daily Telegraph

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2011The ECB has worked out a long-term deal for England coach Andy Flower and plans to meet him at the end of the month to discuss his future with the side, according to reports in the . The move is believed to be prompted by concerns that Flower is on the BCCI’s shortlist to replace Gary Kirsten, whose tenure as the India coach ended with the World Cup.Flower has been integral to England’s recent successes, including back-to-back Ashes series wins and a victorious 2010 World Twenty20 campaign. It is understood that England are keen to retain Flower, especially after being criticised for losing former bowling coach Troy Cooley to the Australian team.At the end of the physically and emotionally draining Ashes campaign, Flower would only say about his England future that “personally I don’t look much further forward than a few months”. Flower – whose assignment meant he spent large amounts of time at a stretch away from his young family – was critical of England’s jam-packed schedule last winter. Coaching India will be an even more rigorous job, with the additional challenges of dealing with the expectations and politics of the subcontinent.Flower is currently believed to be on a rolling staff contract which offers the same protection rights as any other full-time employee. Indications are that he may be offered a fixed-term, three-year deal that could include clauses to protect the ECB from losing him to a third party. Such a contract would put Flower in charge for the next two Ashes, but not the 2015 World Cup.India’s next international assignment is their tour of West Indies which kicks off on June 4, for which they are likely to have an interim coach. They are expected to name a full-time coach only ahead of the England tour starting mid-July.

Stuart Clark, the former Australia fast bowler, is keen to play another season with New South Wales, despite being in contention to become chief executive of one of Sydney’s two Big Bash League sides

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2011Stuart Clark, the former Australia fast bowler, is keen to play another season with New South Wales, despite being in contention to become chief executive of one of Sydney’s two Big Bash League sides. Clark, who will be 36 by the time the next Australian season begins, has been interviewed for the role with one of the new city-based teams.The former international coach John Dyson is also considered a frontrunner, and both men could end up with jobs, with Cricket New South Wales set to make the appointments later this month. Sydney’s two Twenty20 sides for next summer’s new competition are the Thunder and the Sixers, and Clark must decide whether he wants to take charge of one of those outfits or extend his on-field career.”I’m leaning towards playing cricket at the moment,” Clark told the . “There’s no personal goals left. I’m lucky enough to have done pretty much everything in cricket [that I wanted to].”As much as I love playing cricket, there’s also life after cricket and what I want to do with life. It’s a tremendous opportunity; I’ll never shirk away from that. One of these Big Bash teams – I suppose that’s the future of cricket and gives me an opportunity to be involved and involved at the highest level.”As a player, Clark’s experience is valuable to the young New South Wales side, which he captained last season when Simon Katich was away on Australian duties. However, with Australia looking to younger bowlers, Clark won’t add to the 94 wickets that he collected in 24 Tests, the last of which he played on the 2009 Ashes tour.

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill found his form at the right time to fire
Derbyshire to a five-run Friends Life t20 victory over Durham at Derby

10-Jun-2011
Scorecard
New Zealand opener Martin Guptill found his form at the right time to fire
Derbyshire to a five-run Friends Life t20 victory over Durham at Derby.Guptill hit 60 off 43 balls and Wayne Madsen made his first half-century in the
competition as the Falcons scored 183 for three to set up an opening win in the
North Group.Gordan Muchall led Durham’s chase with 62, but after Derbyshire’s spinners
removed the dangerous Paul Collingwood and Ian Blackwell cheaply, the Dynamos
came up short on 178 for five.Guptill looked in good touch from the start as he dispatched the second and
third balls of the innings from Graham Onions to the mid-wicket boundary.The Durham seamers tended to pitch too short and Guptill and Wes Durston took
advantage until Gareth Breese stemmed the flow with his off-spin.But Guptill still reached his maiden 50 for Derbyshire off 35 balls before
launching Ian Blackwell over mid-wicket for six.The opening pair put on 88 in 11 overs, but when Durston tried to reverse sweep
Breese he was caught behind for 25 and Guptill followed in the spinner’s next
over caught at extra cover off a full toss.Chesney Hughes hit Breese over long off for the second six of the innings but
Breese took a fine running catch to remove him when he pulled Onions to deep
mid-wicket in the 15th over.The Falcons were in danger of falling short until Madsen improvised well to
reach 50 from only 28 balls as 53 came from the last four overs.The South African ensured Durham faced a challenging chase but Mustard and
Muchall quickly moved into overdrive despite Falcons skipper Luke Sutton
rotating his bowlers.Muchall reached his half-century off 30 balls and the pair equalled the Falcons
opening stand before Mustard gave Hughes the charge with rain falling and was
stumped for 36.Hughes varied his pace intelligently to restrict the batsmen to just one
boundary in his four overs and with young spinner Tom Clarke also keeping it
tight, the pressure told on Blackwell who drove the teenager into the hands of
long on.Durston then landed two big blows as Muchall skied to cover and Collingwood’s
attempt to clear the ropes landed in the hands of deep mid-wicket.The Dynamos needed 56 off the last four overs and despite Dale Benkenstein and
David Miller plundering 18 from Durston’s third over, the advantage shifted
towards the Falcons when Benkenstein pulled a Steffan Jones full toss to deep
mid-wicket.Although Breese pulled Tim Groenewald for six, 15 off the final over was too
much for Durham as Jones used all his experience to seal victory.

Australian cricket’s playing and marketing imperatives are colliding over the matter of Test players taking part in the early rounds of the expanded Big Bash League.

Daniel Brettig15-Jun-2011Australian cricket’s playing and marketing imperatives are again colliding, this time over the matter of Test players taking part in the early rounds of the expanded Big Bash League.As part of the push to sell the new league and its eight manufactured teams to the public, Cricket Australia wants all of its centrally-contracted players to take part in the first round of the competition, tentatively scheduled for December 16 to 20.This would allow maximum exposure for the new competition, and also mean the game’s most reliable current assets, namely the likes of Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting, could be used liberally in advertising and publicity for the BBL.However an agreement is yet to be reached between CA management, marketing and coaching staff over the issue of how to use the time between the end of the New Zealand Test series on December 13 in Hobart and the start of the India series on December 26 with the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.”It’s still being resolved. We’re obviously keen for them to be available to play if the schedule and their physical shape allows it,” a CA spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “They’re the biggest names and the most popular cricketers in the country so we’d obviously like them to be a part of as much as possible.”Australia’s Test and limited-overs players have always missed parts or all of the domestic Twenty20 competition because it has clashed with the concluding weeks of the Test summer and the bulk of the ODI programme.But the change to city-based teams and the paucity of genuine international talent available for the first edition of the tournament due to scheduling conflicts has intensified the demand for Australian internationals among franchises.Given that Australia will have just completed their third Test series in as many months, including the tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa that precedes the New Zealand series, recovery time for captain Clarke, his deputy Watson and the fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, among others, will be at a premium.Another issue will be maximising the team’s preparation for the task of facing up to India, currently the world’s No.1 ranked Test team, in what has arguably become Australia’s biggest international rivalry outside of the Ashes. Where once the Australians could afford to take the odd preparatory shortcut due to an undisputed ranking at the top, now they have no choice but to plan diligently or face the consequences.”The coaches are just making sure they’ve got enough time after the New Zealand series and before the India series starting on Boxing Day,” the spokesman said. “We need to make sure their workload is managed. Even if it’s agreed that players are available for certain matches, an individual assessment for each player will have to be made at the time regarding injuries, workload and individual programmes.”These guys are going to be sought after by the BBL teams regardless of how many matches they can play, because they will help to sell the teams to the public.”Last summer the financial and cricketing interests of CA were muddled on more than one occasion. Michael Hussey and Doug Bollinger were handicapped when they were forced to stay behind at the T20 Champions League in South Africa with their IPL team Chennai Super Kings rather than preparing for the Test series in India.Upon the team’s return home, a pre-determined marketing plan to announce the Ashes squad at a public event in Sydney’s Circular Quay – 10 days before the first Test – saw the selectors name an indecisive 17-man squad, causing what Simon Katich revealed to be a rumble of instability through the team before the first Test.

India slipped to another defeat in the Women’s Quadrangular series, this time to New Zealand by 25 runs at the Clifton College Close Ground

25-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Liz Perry top scored for New Zealand with an unbeaten 48•ICC

India slipped to another defeat in the Women’s Quadrangular series, this time to New Zealand by 25 runs at the Clifton College Close Ground in Bristol.After choosing to field, Jhulan Goswami (2 for 18) struck early blows for India as New Zealand slipped to 5 for 3 before stumbling further to 28 for 4. Player of the Match, Liz Perry, turned the innings around with her knock of 48 off 41 balls with four boundaries. Katey Martin (29) and Nicola Browne (22) played crucial knocks as New Zealand closed on a competitive 125 for 5.India’s chase never took off as wickets fell at regular intervals. Browne ended with figures of 2 for 17 as India ended on 100 for 7 off 20 overs. Only Mithali Raj (24) and Amita Sharma (26) played handy knocks.With this defeat, India’s chances of making the final have all but evaporated. They will play England on Sunday, while New Zealand take on Australia in the final league match before the play-offs on Monday.”It was a chaseable total, no doubt about that,” said a disappointed Goswami. “We lost early wickets in the first six overs and got bogged down. We could not capitalise on the field restrictions and the asking-rate kept mounting. I will offer no excuses, but we could have batted better. The wicket was good and there was only a slight movement in the morning, but in the second half it was very good.”We have the one-day internationals coming up next and we need to be in good shape for that. England is the best Twenty20 team in the world, so it will not be easy for us. We will need to sort it out before that match.”We need a little bit more from each and everyone of us. We cannot make the final barring extraordinary circumstances. But we can still build on the fact that bowling did well to restrict New Zealand. We need to create more pressure.”Perry was thrilled with her effort with the bat. “I had to do a repair job when I walked in,” she said. “It was good that I could put my hand up and play some positive cricket. It was quite a true pitch and the Indians bowled good lines to us. We just did not play that great early on. If anything, the pitch got better to bat on later.”Perry was also upbeat about her team’s chances of beating Australia and making it to the finals of the competition. “Australia are a hard side to beat. If we put up a good performance there is no reason why we cannot make the final on Monday. We have to carry on with the momentum.”

Tim Southee returned the best figures by an Essex bowler in the Friends Life t20 as Glamorgan suffered a five-wicket defeat at Chelmsford

08-Jul-2011 by five wickets
Scorecard
Tim Southee returned the best figures by an Essex bowler in the Friends Life t20 as Glamorgan suffered a five-wicket defeat at Chelmsford.The right-arm paceman included a hat-trick in his four-wicket final over as he finished with 6 for 16 from his permitted four overs, and Glamorgan reached a total of 144 for 9.The performance of the New Zealand bowler followed the feat of Somerset’s Arul Suppiah against Glamorgan earlier in the week, when he established a world record in the Twenty20 format with six wickets for five runs. Nick James, Stewart Walters and Alex Jones were the hat-trick victims of Southee as the Welsh county collapsed after moving into three figures in the 15th over with only two wickets down.Gareth Rees, with 38 from 34 balls, was Glamorgan’s top scorer, while the other main contributor was Walters, whose 37 arrived from 33 deliveries. Essex did not find the going easy in pursuit of victory, losing three wickets for 36 in the first six overs.Adam Wheater fell lbw to Simon Jones after striking three boundaries, Southee was caught in the deep off Alex Jones, and Owais Shah was trapped lbw by Will Owen. Essex would have found themselves in worse trouble if Walters had accepted a catch at deep backward point offered by Mark Pettini with the total on 44.Pettini made good his escape to take the total to 87 with Matt Walker before both were out in quick succession. Pettini was caught at long on for 33, attacking Alviro Petersen, while James held a superb return catch to remove Walker for 28.Essex came to the final five overs still 49 short of their target, but Scott Styris ensured they could achieve victory with five balls to spare. He struck two sixes in an over from Simon Jones, and also cleared the ropes twice against Alex Jones as he finished unbeaten with 42 from 21 balls.But Essex did not get to the winning post without a touch of controversy. With 10 required from eight deliveries, Styris was caught on the long-on boundary by Alex Jones, but as Glamorgan celebrated, the umpires, after conferring, deemed the delivery, from Mike O’Shea, a no-ball because it was above waist-high.

Shakib Al Hasan, who was axed as Bangladesh captain on Monday, has said that though he was surprised by the decision, it wasn’t entirely unexpected

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2011Shakib Al Hasan, who was axed as Bangladesh captain on Monday, has said that though he was surprised by the decision, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Both Shakib and vice-captain Tamim Iqbal were stripped of their leadership posts by the Bangladesh board after the team’s defeat in both the Test and the one-day series in Zimbabwe last month.”I am surprised by the sudden decision but I am not shocked. I can take things easy which is my strength,” Shakib told the Dhaka-based newspaper . “The board definitely took this decision for betterment of the game, so I must accept it.”Shakib, 25, has been Bangladesh’s captain for two years, except for brief spells when the frequently injured fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza took charge. Shakib was named captain for 2011 after leading the side to an impressive 4-0 one-day series win over New Zealand at home and following it up with a victory over Zimbabwe late last year.It hasn’t been a smooth ride for Shakib as captain. In December 2010, soon after he was named full-time captain, he complained that he wasn’t prepared for the job and that he was not getting a free hand in selecting the team. He also demanded a long run as captain and didn’t want to take over on a “series-by-series” basis as the board wanted him to. He also had a strained relationship with the new selection panel headed by former captain Akram Khan, with Shakib saying he wasn’t consulted when the side to tour Zimbabwe was picked, while Akram insisted Shakib was.The controversies and the loss to Zimbabwe, a team which was making its return to the Test arena after five years, seem to have led to Shakib’s sacking. “As a captain I must take the responsibility for the poor showing in Zimbabwe,” he said. “But still I believe that we had lack of preparation and that was one of the main reasons behind the debacle.”Shakib said the board needs to investigate the reasons behind the Zimbabwe failure. “You see in our country everywhere we make someone scapegoat for any failure because we don’t want to dig deep to find out the real problem and this is no exception,” he said. “This is our system. We always try to solve problems casually.”No replacements have yet been named for Shakib and Tamim.