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The allrounder, who is returning form injury, will take the field for Baroda instead of India A with a view to specifically get match fit for Boxing Day

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2018Hardik Pandya, who is set to return to competitive cricket in Baroda’s match against Mumbai in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy, is also targeting a comeback to the Indian Test side that is currently playing in Australia.Hardik had been sidelined with a back injury sustained during the Asia Cup in September, and he was originally selected in the India A squad for their three-match one-day series against New Zealand A. However, he said it made sense to focus his energies on the longest format first, with the ODIs against Australia only scheduled after the Test series ends.”If I am playing a Test match, I should play a four-day game (rather) than one-day,” Hardik told on Thursday. “Because one-day is later on. I am focusing right now that if I can make it to the team, because there is scope of me making a comeback into the Test team, if I am fit to play a Test match. That’s why I wanted to take my time and see where exactly I stand in Ranji Trophy.”Playing a Test match is a different league. The workload goes very high, so I wanted to see if I can manage the workload. I knew I would get enough match preparation before the Australia ODIs. Therefore I focused on playing Ranji Trophy.”India will play their second Test against Australia in Perth from Friday. That still leaves room for Hardik to be added to the squad before the last two matches, the Boxing Day and New Year Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.”Before I go for any major series, I wanted to see where exactly I stand,” Hardik said. “Ranji Trophy is the best domestic tournament. I wanted to check my fitness levels there, and then take a call about how I am feeling and what should be the next step. Right now, I am only focusing on the Ranji Trophy and then obviously, I want to get back to the team as soon as possible, because it’s difficult to stay away for so long.”Baroda are currently in fifth place on the combined Groups A and B points table with 13 points, while Mumbai, who have played four matches to Baroda’s five, are in 16th place with just five points. The top five teams at the end of the league stage in the two groups combined will qualify for the quarter-finals.

Paul Farbrace conceded that England don’t have the bowlers to compete on flat wickets, but refused to criticise the efforts of his team

George Dobell in Perth16-Dec-2017It tells you everything you need to know about England’s fortunes that, in one of the driest cities in the world, their best chance of achieving the draw that would sustain their Ashes campaign is the hope of rain.Australia scored 346 runs for the loss of just one wicket on the third day as England’s attack was rendered impotent by some fine batting and a flat pitch. The Australia lead is already 146 and there is plenty of power to add. If Australia win the game, they will regain the Ashes by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. But if England gain a draw, they can still retain the urn if they win the last two matches by virtue of the holding them at present.But despite the chastening nature of the day, Paul Farbrace had no criticism for the England bowlers. Instead the England assistant coach, a man brought out to explain such grim days for England with such regularity you wonder whether he should carry a scythe, praised their efforts but conceded the English system was not producing spin or pace bowlers required for such conditions. He also suggested that a lack of ruthlessness with the bat on day two had allowed Australia back into the game.The problem, he concluded, was that England simply don’t have the bowlers to unlock strong batting line-ups on flat pitches.”There’s always something for our bowlers in England,” Farbrace said. “A little bit of swing or a little bit of movement off the surface. We saw that in Adelaide when there was a little bit of swing or movement off the surface, we have high quality bowlers who can exploit those conditions.Craig Overton is caught in a tangle near the boundary•Associated Press

“But when it comes to flatter pitches, we don’t have that express pace. And we haven’t got the highest quality of magical spin. On flat wickets like this in Australia you need to be able to bowl 90-plus mph to have a chance of making a difference. They have a group of high-quality bowlers to do so.”I’m not being critical of our bowlers. I’m being honest. We don’t have bowlers bowling 90mph-plus in our set-up and we don’t have too many waiting in the wings to come in. And one or two that do bowl that pace can only bowl four-over spells. So they’re not exactly ideal for Test cricket.”We need to find those quick bowlers. And yes, in the long term, something needs to be done.”It has been an exceptionally tough day for our bowlers. But we feel we have managed to get stuck in and compete as hard as possible. In the field we have tried our best to back the bowlers up. I don’t think we have been flat, or lacking effort. On that wicket, we just haven’t got anything else to offer.”What can we do? We have tried various ideas and plans. The majority of ways we have of taking wickets with the attack we have is to be monotonous with line and length, and we have tried that. They have been very honest, toiled away with what they have got and on that flat surface they’ve found it exceptionally hard work.”Despite the scorecard, Farbrace hinted that the turning point of the match came when England let slip a strong foundation with the bat. England were well poised at 368 for 4 before a collapse saw the last six wickets fall for the addition of just 35 runs.”When you get yourself into a position where you can go on and make 550 and compete in the game…” Farbrace said. “And it’s been a pattern in this series. We have got in good positions and we have either not been good enough or they have been better and taken the initiative away.”It was very disappointing to be in a position where 550 looked a good score for us. It does knock the stuffing out of you a bit.”Two blokes played out of their boots and got us from 140 for 4 to 400 but it’s shown that it wasn’t enough. The two today have shown that, when you get in, you have to be greedy and go on and get big scores. That’s what the best teams do and we haven’t been able to do that.”But Farbrace insisted the Ashes had not gone and called upon England to show “some guts and determination” over the last couple of days.”It’s going to be tough,” he said. “We have to believe we can fight hard over the next two days and make sure there’s still a contest to keep going.”We’ve got to show some guts and determination. We’ve got to fight as hard as we possibly can. And if we get into a position where we were in the first innings, we have to make sure we capitalise on it.”

The Tamil Nadu batsman’s 181-ball knock, featuring 12 fours and two sixes, helped India Red recover from 159 for 7 to finish the first day at 291 for 9

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2017Stumps:
File Photo – B Indrajith waltzed to his fifth first-class hundred, making an unbeaten 120 off 181 balls•PTI

B Indrajith notched up an unbeaten 120 to shepherd India Red to 291 for 9 at stumps on the first day after India Green reduced them to 159 for 7 at Green Park. After captain Dinesh Karthik elected to bat, the India Red openers failed to build on strong starts before fast bowler Ankit Rajpoot broke into the middle order.Indrajith’s 181-ball knock, featuring 12 fours and two sixes, came against the backdrop of India Red capitulating from 70 for no loss to 123 for 5 in under 40 overs, before losing the next four wickets for another 82 runs. Batting at No.4, Indrajith cruised to his fifth first-class hundred, despite finding little support at the other end. Even as his side kept losing wickets at regular intervals, Indrajith added 86 unbroken runs for the last wicket with Vijay Gohil, who struck a 35-ball 22.Opener Priyank Panchal, coming off twin centuries in the previous game, fell for 36 after a 70-run opening stand with Sudip Chatterjee (34). After Rajpoot trapped Panchal in front in the 25th over, Suresh Raina accounted for Chatterjee seven balls later.Of the seven bowlers used by India Blue, Rajpoot was the most effective, picking up three wickets for 44 runs. Barring Pankaj Rao, all of the others picked up at least one wicket, with Jaydev Unadkat bagging 2 for 64.

Travis Head, the Australia limited-overs batsman, will return to Headingley this summer as Yorkshire’s overseas player for the NatWest T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2017Travis Head, the Australia limited-overs batsman, will return to Headingley this summer as Yorkshire’s overseas player for the NatWest T20 Blast.Head, 23, played four times for the club in last season’s competition, scoring 113 runs at a strike rate of 134.52 before being called up for Australia’s ODI series in Sri Lanka.He has played 29 matches for Australia in white-ball cricket since January 2016, and has earned a reputation with Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League as one of the most explosive batsmen in T20 cricket.”I am looking forward to returning to Headingley to play for the Yorkshire Vikings in 2017,” said Head. “I really enjoyed my time in Yorkshire last year and I can’t wait to meet up with the lads again.”As an overseas player, I would like to help the team go further than last year and hopefully win the NatWest T20 Blast.”Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, confirmed the signing during the club’s Annual General Meeting at Headingley.”When Travis came over last year, although his stay was relatively brief, he showed his capabilities in that short period. He has gone from strength to strength since then, so it an easy decision to bring him back.”Travis is now an established international cricketer and we are really looking forward to having him on board. Together with Peter Handscomb, I believe that we have two outstanding overseas players.”We have all bases covered now, so it is something to look forward to.”Andrew Gale, the first XI coach, added: “It was a no-brainer to bring Travis back. If we had the opportunity to bring him back, we were always going to. He has gone from strength-to-strength since he left us last summer, getting into the Australia team and being a consistent performer for them.”We have been looking at someone to make a big impact and Travis did that for us last year. He is a fantastic player around the dressing room and a fantastic one on the pitch.”That middle order batting position has been key for us in T20 over the last few years, getting someone who is explosive and can win you a game. Travis did that for us last year and given his availability, we were always going to try and sign him again.”

Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey has revealed in his latest book that he had been asked by the BCCI last year whether he would be interested in coaching India

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Mar-20161:28

Michael Hussey: “VVS accepted that I was not interested because of family reasons. But he would not accept my feeling that I was not up to standard for a job like that.”

Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey has revealed in his latest book that he was asked by former India batsman VVS Laxman if he was interested in coaching India. That approach was made during the last IPL, barely a month before Laxman was inducted by the BCCI into its three-man advisory panel, which was tasked with finding India’s head coach, a position left vacant after the exit of Duncan Fletcher following the 2015 World Cup.Since the departure of Fletcher, former India allrounder Ravi Shastri has played the caretaker role in his position as team director (since August 2014). The terms of Shastri and the rest of his coaching staff comprising the trio of assistant coaches – Sanjay Bangar (batting), Bharat Arun (bowling) and R Sridhar (fielding) – will expire after the World Twenty20.Hussey has been one of the most sought after among recently-retired players, especially in franchise-based T20 cricket. Since his retirement in 2013, Hussey has worked in various consulting roles, such as for South Africa at last year’s World Cup, and he will be assisting Darren Lehmann with Australia at the upcoming World T20.ESPNcricinfo understands Laxman had approached Hussey in person during an IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings last season. Hussey had been bought back by Super Kings in 2015 and Laxman is a mentor with Sunrisers. According to Hussey, Laxman’s approach came barely a week after former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene had asked him to consider taking over as assistant coach of Sri Lanka with the idea of graduating to the head coach position.”The former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene rang me a while ago to ask if I would be interested in being an assistant coach of Sri Lanka with a view to taking over as head coach a few months further down the track,” Hussey wrote in , his third book, which was released recently.”A week later the ex-India batsman VVS Laxman asked me if I would be interested in coaching India. My initial answer to both of them was no because at the time I did not want to be on the road ten months a year; I wanted to be at home with my family and make up for some lost time from the previous few years. But, probably more relative to them, I said to each that I did not think I was ready to become the head coach of an international cricket team.”It is understood that Hussey told Laxman even if he was willing to take up a job, he preferred to start as an assistant coach. According to Hussey, although Laxman acknowledged focussing on the family was a valid excuse, he insisted that the Australian was highly capable of coaching an international team. “VVS accepted that I was not interested because of family reasons. But he would not accept my feeling that I was not up to standard for a job like that. ‘You have played the game very well for a long time, you know what needs to be done, you shouldn’t doubt yourself’, he said.”I replied that coaching individuals within a team is one thing and perhaps I could do that right now. But, I said, these days coaching is not just about coaching players. It’s about dealing with boards, sponsors, business owners, investors, officials, all sorts of people outside the team environment,” Hussey wrote.”It’s a very complex job that requires numerous skills that have little or nothing to do with cricket.”Laxman, Hussey pointed out, again disagreed. “He said that guys with our level of experience had more understanding of the ins and outs of the game than just about anyone. It got me thinking that maybe you do not need to go off and do all sorts of courses and tick all the official boxes,” Hussey wrote. “Maybe just having played for so long ingrains in a long-serving former player the knowledge required to take on all that is necessary to be a good coach.”

Ryan Sidebottom grabbed a triple-wicket maiden as Yorkshire routed Middlesex for 106 while becoming County Champions for a second successive season and the 32nd time in their proud history

ECB/PA09-Sep-2015
ScorecardYorkshire became County Champions on a dramatic day at Lord’s, with second-placed Middlesex routed for 106 and Ryan Sidebottom grabbing a triple-wicket maiden in perhaps the most remarkable opening over of a match even the world’s most famous ground has witnessed.It was the 32nd outright Championship title in Yorkshire’s proud history, and the Division One game’s first day also included a cathartic 98 from 110 balls by captain Andrew Gale as his team reached 238 for 9 in reply. Prevented by suspension from receiving the Championship trophy last year, Gale will now get his chance to hold the trophy aloft when the official presentation is made at the end of this game.Gale and Lees had shaken hands in the middle of the pitch, with Gale also raising his gloved fist in triumph as his team celebrated on their dressing room balcony, when news came through from Trent Bridge at 3.06pm that Nottinghamshire had been bowled out without collecting the batting bonus points they required to keep the title race alive.”There’s no better place for us to receive the trophy than Lord’s, if it isn’t Headingley of course, and I believe this season’s title win has been a greater achievement given the circumstances of having so many players going off to play for England right across the summer,” Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of professional cricket, said. “We’ve also done it with two-and-a-half games still to go.”We played brilliantly to win last year, don’t get me wrong, but it’s been a real squad effort this season. It’s been frustrating at times losing so many players to England but we knew, going into the season, that this would probably happen so we have prepared for that. Credit to all our support staff, too, for what they have done.”In truth, there has not been much of a race for the Championship title this summer, because Yorkshire have been seemingly too powerful to be challenged by anyone. Middlesex, indeed, plunged to a barely believable 0 for 3 after just six balls of this game as their hopes of holding up Yorkshire disappeared in a flurry of wickets.By lunch Middlesex had staggered to 92 for 7, and their first innings did not last long afterwards with Tim Bresnan sending back James Franklin and Toby Roland-Jones, leg-before aiming across the line, in the space of four balls during the fourth over after the interval to finish with 4 for 30.Fittingly, however, it was Sidebottom who wrapped up the innings by bowling Tim Murtagh for 3 to earn himself the superb final figures of 12-5-18-5. The other Middlesex wicket to fall was taken by offspinner James Middlebrook, who came on for the last over before lunch and promptly had John Simpson caught at the wicket with the final ball of the morning for 28.Ryan Sidebottom claimed four wickets in an immaculate opening spell to put Yorkshire on their way•Getty Images

Sidebottom, the 37-year-old former England left-arm fast bowler, removed Stirling, Nick Compton and Dawid Malan with the second, fifth and sixth balls of the game’s first over after Gale had won the toss under overcast skies. Stirling was leg-before to a perfectly-pitched inswinger, giving Sidebottom his 700th first-class wicket, Compton caught behind off one angled across him and Malan bowled first ball by a beauty which spreadeagled his stumps.Gale’s decision to bowl first bore even more fruit when Sidebottom had Stevie Ezkinazi, a 21-year-old on debut, caught for 4 by Adam Lyth at second slip to leave Middlesex on 14 for 4.Moxon added: “What Ryan did today was remarkable, and that first over epitomised what he is all about. He’s contracted to the end of next season, and he still works so hard on his cricket. But, as a team, we have bowled really well this season.”Sidebottom’s new ball spell was a magnificent 6-2-11-4 and Yorkshire, who began the match knowing five bonus points by them would ensure successive Championship titles for the first time since 1968, actually only required their three bowling points because both Middlesex and Notts had bad days with the bat.Following Sidebottom’s initial burst, there was a 30-run partnership for the fifth wicket between opener Sam Robson and Leicestershire-bound allrounder Neil Dexter before Bresnan removed both players in his first and fourth overs. Dexter, on 18, edged Bresnan’s fifth ball to wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd, diving to his right to hold a good catch, and Robson’s 45-ball 26 ended eleven runs later when he edged to Lees at first slip to leave Middlesex 55 for 6.Franklin also played and missed several times at Steven Patterson in an unhappy 12, which ended when he swished to third slip, but at least Simpson offered six fours in a punchy 22-ball cameo before Middlebrook struck at the end of an action-packed first session.When Yorkshire batted, Roland-Jones won lbw appeals to claim the wickets of Lyth, for 25, and Gary Ballance for a duck, in a new ball spell of 2 for 34 and he later returned to have Middlebrook caught behind for 4 as Yorkshire’s innings fell away following Gale’s exit. Murtagh also picked up the scalps of Hodd for 20 and Patterson for 0 before bad light ended play four overs early.Lees had been leg-before for 39 to Stirling’s offspin on the stroke of tea, while Dexter chipped away at Yorkshire’s middle order after tea to remove both Jack Leaning and Bresnan lbw, before ending Gale’s fine knock, which included 18 fours, to earn figures of 3 for 24.With a lead already of 132, however, Yorkshire are scenting a 10th win from 14 Championship games this season. “We want victory here, for a start,” replied Moxon, when asked about Yorkshire’s future ambitions. “But if we are to surpass the great Yorkshire sides of the past we have to win a few more Championships yet, although it’s great we now have a chance to leave that sort of legacy.”

Ed Joyce’s 231 starred in Ireland’s convincing innings and 26-run win over UAE in their ICC Intercontinental Cup clash in Dublin

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Ed Joyce’s 231 was Ireland’s highest individual first class score•PA Photos

Ireland needed just four balls to wrap up a convincing innings and 26-run win over UAE in their ICC Intercontinental Cup clash in Dublin. UAE resumed play at an over night score of 251 for 9 and managed to add just two runs before Mohammed Naveed was dismissed by Craig Young, who ended with match figures of 1 for 110.Ed Joyce was adjudged the player of the match for his 232-ball 231, Ireland’s highest individual first class score.Ireland collect the 20 maximum points available to join Namibia at the top of the table. Ireland will face Namibia in the next round of the competition later in the year.

Ricky Ponting has mounted a staunch defence of Shane Watson’s qualities as a team player

Daniel Brettig and Brydon Coverdale14-Mar-2013Ricky Ponting has mounted a staunch defence of Shane Watson’s qualities as a team player and also said that Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard would regret his implication that the national team’s vice-captain was anything otherwise.Speaking after he made his third Sheffield Shield century of the season for Tasmania against Victoria in Hobart, Ponting was adamant that he had never found fault with Watson’s actions in the past, though he described the decision to suspend four players from the third Test in Mohali as “drastic” but merited in the circumstances.”Shane worked as hard as anybody around his cricket, there’s no doubt about that,” Ponting told reporters at Bellerive Oval. “He’s obviously made a blue here – I don’t like to refer to it as homework because it wasn’t homework – not getting his tasks done that were given to him by the coach.”I’ve never known him to be anything other than a very good team player and a great bloke to have around your team.”Howard’s words that he felt Watson worked in the best interests of the Australian team “sometimes” were hurtful, and the accused quickly asserted that those he had played the game with knew him better than the man who has been in charge of CA’s team performance wing for a little more than 12 months. Ponting concurred.”I think he’d regret saying that as well, but people are going to make judgments,” Ponting said. “I think Shane said this on the way home. Pat’s known Shane for 12 months and Michael [Clarke] and Shane have known each other for the best part of 20 years.”
Watson’s strongest phase as a Test allrounder took place while he played under Ponting, and the former captain provided a useful insight into how he extracted the best from a talented cricketer who fought injuries and plenty of critics to be a consistent performer between 2009 and 2011.”I loved every moment that I played with Watto,” Ponting said. “To tell the truth I think I understood him and his personality as well as anyone that I ever played with. I tried to get as close to him as I could. I tried to know him as well as I could both on and off the field and I actually felt by doing that I got as much out of him as I could as a player.”Watson’s chances of returning to India in time for the fourth Test in Delhi rose after his wife Lee gave birth to a baby boy, Will, on Thursday. Watson flew home from Chandigarh on Monday in the hope of being present for the birth after being told by his wife the baby was likely to be born earlier than expected.His departure also coincided with being told by the team management that he would not be part of the third Test in Mohali due to his suspension. When he left India, Watson said the punishment was “very harsh” and he intended to use his time at home to weigh up his cricket future.”I am going to spend the next few weeks with my family and weigh up my options as to exactly which direction I want to go,” Watson said on Monday. “There are a lot more important things in life. I do love playing cricket and that passion is still there and I feel I am in the prime years of my cricket career.”His words indicated that at the time, Watson did not intend to return to the tour and it remains to be seen whether the early birth of his son will alter his plans. Clarke said on Wednesday that the best-case scenario for the team would be if Watson was able to return as vice-captain for the final Test, which starts in Delhi on Friday next week.

The Test series between England and South Africa features six of the world’s top 10 Test bowlers and eight of the top 17 Test batsmen

George Dobell at The Oval18-Jul-2012In an age of hyperbole and a time of superlatives, it is gratifying to come across a sporting contest that requires neither sensationalism nor propaganda. The Test series between England and South Africa features six of the world’s top 10 Test bowlers and eight of the top 17 Test batsmen. It will decide which team is ranked No 1 in the world. As Tony Blair so nearly said, now is not the time for soundbites, but the hand of history is upon our shoulders.This is the series that world cricket required. At a time when the lure of the longest format has been compromised and questioned, the global game should rejoice at the sight of two fine sides contesting a meaningful series in front of packed houses. Cricket has many issues, of course, but this encounter should remind us all that, at its best, Test cricket remains as entertaining, as captivating and as rewarding as ever.That it is squeezed in between ODI series and forced to fight for media space alongside the Olympics, The Open golf championship and a multitude of other sporting events tells you much about cricket’s current challenges. This series deserves better. But, in a sport which has grown so used to compromises that it would pawn its soul if only a buyer could be found, it is telling that such a contest has been condensed and pushed to the margins.Plenty of fine teams have toured England over the years. Sometimes, as was the case with West Indies and Australia for many years, they succeeded with dispiriting ease. But, arguably anyway, you have to go back to 2005 to find a time when an England team has taken on such good-quality opposition in such an open series. With skilful bowlers of all types, eye-catching batsmen, at least one great all-rounder and some of the toughest batsmen currently playing the game, spectators will not require cheerleaders, fireworks or music to enhance their enjoyment. This series is about cricket, not marketing.The only problem with such a high-profile clash is that the result may be seen as all important. There is a bigger picture here, though, as the supporters of South Africa and England will understand. South Africa were barred from international competition from 1970 to 1991; England supporters became inured to embarrassment after some grim years in the 1980s and 90s. For both teams, these are golden days that many feared might never have returned. Win lose or draw over the coming few weeks, that is worth remembering.That is not to say that the result does not matter. It matters plenty. While England may have been able to dismiss the reverse in the UAE as an aberration – they will have another opportunity to answer the questions about their ability in Asian conditions soon enough – their long-term hopes of creating a legacy by which other England sides will be judged may be fatally wounded if their proud home record is also tarnished. As things stand, they have won just one of their last three Test series. If that becomes one in four, any claims of supremacy will ring hollow. The rankings state they are No. 1; now is the time to prove their worth.England do not, perhaps, have the flair of their South African rivals. But they make few mistakes. They are professional. They are well drilled, well led and able to prey on any weakness of their opponents. In England, at least, they also have an excellent record. They have won seven successive series and lost only two since 2001; one to India in 2007 and one to South Africa in 2008.Led by the eminently calm and sensible Andrew Strauss, England have done nothing different in recent days. They always want to win. They always prepare professionally.”There will be an extra bit of spice because it’s the two best teams in the world,” Andrew Strauss, England’s captain, said. “But every series I’ve played against South Africa has always been keenly contested and I don’t think this will be any different.”It will be a good gauge for us. The rankings say we are No.1 and we have to go out and prove that now. It is going to be a stern challenge, but we always expect the opposition to be hard to overcome.”We have had our normal preparations. Everything on the surface looks fine. Our preparation has been solid and now it’s a case of moving from preparation mode to game mode.”England’s only selection decision will be the decision over whether to pick Tim Bresnan or Steven Finn. Graham Onions, who has a minor hamstring strain, is most unlikely to be risked and did not train on Wednesday. Whoever they select, Strauss was quick to credit the attack as one of England’s key strengths.”I am very comfortable with our bowling attack,” Strauss said. “It’s a match for any side in the world. They have proved that continuously over the last three or four years.”Their record speaks for itself. We haven’t needed that fifth bowler while taking 20 wickets pretty much continuously over the last 24 months or so. In some ways Ravi Bopara coming into the side gives you opportunity for a fourth seamer although he’s not an out-and-out bowler clearly. But our three seamers and Swanny have always done a good job for us.”England do have two potential weaknesses, though. The first is their catching which, in the slips and gully region, has been distinctly fallible over recent times. In a series which could be decided by small margins, that could prove crucial.The other issue is the on-going distraction caused by the fall-out between Pietersen and the ECB. Omitted from England’s World Twenty20 preliminary squad despite his insistence that he is available for all three formats – albeit it not on a permanent basis – there is legitimate concern that Pietersen’s dissatisfaction could cause discomfort in a dressing room that has been stable and focused for several years.But, while some of his team-mates are biting their tongues hard to avoid losing their tempers with Pietersen’s vacillating moods, Strauss insisted that he had no concerns and said he remained hopeful that a compromise – a controversial word in itself in this situation – could be reached whereby Pietersen’s return to all formats could be brokered.”The conversations that Kevin has been having have been between himself, his representatives and the board,” Strauss said. “The players haven’t been involved, the management haven’t been involved and that’s the way we’d like it to remain. It hasn’t been a distraction for us. It hasn’t entered our thinking and that’s enabled us to concentrate on preparing properly for this game. Kevin is determined to do well in this series. I haven’t seen any signs in his preparations to suggest he is anyway distracted.”

England Women’s bowlers, led by Laura Marsh, performed impressively to restrict South Africa Women to 110 for 8 before rain forced the second Twenty20 to be abandoned

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2011Match abandoned
ScorecardEngland Women’s bowlers, led by Laura Marsh, performed impressively to restrict South Africa Women to 110 for 8 before rain forced the second Twenty20 to be abandoned shortly after the chase began in Potchefstroom.Only two South African batsmen made double-digit scores after they chose to bat. Dane van Niekerk scored 27 and Cri-zelda Brits a run-a-ball 36. van Niekerk and Brits were dismissed in the space of two runs off successive overs as South Africa were reduced to 84 for 4. They lost three more wickets quickly thereafter as the innings ended poorly. Marsh finished with 3 for 19 while Isa Guha took 2 for 24.England’s openers, Charlotte Edwards and Marsh, had scored 15 off 2.2 overs before the match was abandoned.