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Virender Sehwag has no plans to end his career in the near future, and wants to play for “another two-three years” before considering retirement

Gaurav Kalra07-Dec-20147:43

‘Achieved all I want, now just enjoying my cricket’ – Sehwag

Virender Sehwag has no plans to end his career in the near future, although he last played for India nearly two years ago. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Sehwag revealed he was keen to play for “another two-three years” before considering retirement. The 36-year old said he was still “enjoying playing the game” and will have no regrets if the opportunity to play international cricket doesn’t come again.”As a cricketer, everybody has a dream to play for your country,” Sehwag said. “When I took up cricket seriously, I wanted to play for India. When my dream was achieved, I thought what next? Then a fellow cricketer told me, ‘playing for India is easy, playing for 10-15 years is difficult’. Then I changed my dream to play 100 Test matches. I achieved that as well. Now there is nothing to achieve, so I am just enjoying things.”Speaking before the World Cup probables – from which he was omitted – were announced, Sehwag was asked if he would be fine if the selectors don’t consider him for a national recall. He shrugged and cheekily said, “Yes, whose loss?”You should be happy in your life. Cricketers are worried about their milestones, worried that they should score 5000-10,000 Test runs but I am not fussy. I played 100 Tests and I am still playing the game, that’s what I want to do.”If I retire today or after two years, does it make any difference? Not in my life. Does it make a difference if I score 8000 or 10,000 runs in Test cricket? Not in anybody’s life. Even if I make 10,000 runs, who will be happy? Only me, maybe, because people don’t care about 8000 or 10,000 or 15,000 runs. It is about individual satisfaction.”Virender Sehwag: “Now there is nothing to achieve, so I am just enjoying things.”•ESPNcricinfo LtdSince being axed from the team after the second Test of Australia’s tour to India in 2013 in Hyderabad, Sehwag hasn’t made a compelling case for a comeback. In 12 first-class matches since, he has made 425 runs at an average of 25 with one century. Since his previous ODI in January 2013, he has scored 228 runs in 11 List A matches at 20.72 with two half-centuries.”My approach is the same. Yes, I am not able to give the kind of performances that I used to,” Sehwag said. “If you look at my first-class stats, if I score runs I score them quickly, if I get out, I get out quickly. I have never tried to change my game. In some matches, I told myself to give some time, scored just five runs in 36 balls on green wickets in Delhi where it is difficult to score. It happens. When you are growing older, you have the experience and that can help you score but it’s not possible to get a hundred every time you go out there.”While Sehwag will be batting in the middle order for Delhi this season, he says he would have no problems opening if asked to. “Last season I batted everywhere – opening, one down, two down and three down,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me where I am batting. If the selectors ask me to open the batting, I will do that. When I started playing for India, I was a middle-order batsman, the team management asked me to open the batting and I did that. If somebody asks me to, I will, I have done it in the past. I open for Kings XI (Punjab).”While admitting that he “missed” being part of the India dressing room, Sehwag said he prays and hopes the team “wins whatever match they are playing in.””I fight with my sons when they say, ‘Dad you are not playing, (so) the Indian team should not win’. The priority is that the country should win, it doesn’t matter who is playing. I miss the dressing room but at least somebody else is playing and contributing to the team, winning matches. I am happy about that.”Having been on three previous tours to Australia, Sehwag said that India’s young batting line-up will need to be “given time” before they start delivering results. “I think we have a very good bunch of players, we have to give them time. On my first tours of England, South Africa and Australia, I managed to score a hundred but in the other innings I didn’t score runs. If you look at the old days also when players came in, they failed in 15 innings but they still played 100 Test matches.”

Paul Horton’s first century of the Championship season could hardly have been better timed, or of greater value, for a Lancashire side fighting for their Division One lives

David Lloyd in Taunton29-Jun-2014
ScorecardPaul Horton made his first Championship hundred of the season to prop up Lancashire•Getty ImagesIt wasn’t chanceless and, for the most part, it owed more to hard graft than carefree strokeplay. But Paul Horton’s first century of the Championship season could hardly have been better timed, or of greater value, for a Lancashire side fighting for their Division One lives.Given that overhead conditions allied to a dry and previously used pitch offered swing and seam bowlers something all day – as well as yielding encouraging bounce, plus a bit of turn, when George Dockrell got to work – judgement on who holds the balance of power might best be left until after both sides have batted once.What can be stated with a fair degree of confidence, though, is that Lancashire would have been in a real pickle by now but for Horton. And it is also reasonable to say that the opener needed these runs every bit as much as his county, having totalled just 90 from his previous eight Championship innings.When Horton finally fell to the second new ball, he had scored 140 of his side’s 219 for 6 (which is near as two thirds of the runs) and been responsible for 21 of their 24 fours. True, Jos Buttler drove a couple of sixes on his return to Somerset but, like all batsmen bar one, he fell the wrong side of 20.Horton so nearly made it through to stumps unbeaten and was clearly pained to fall lbw with four overs remaining. By then he had batted for six-and-a-quarter hours and was enjoying his most productive spell at the crease, having scored 40 runs from 47 balls after raising his bat for the hundred. Still, it added up to a day’s work to cherish.”I was averaging under 30 this year and it’s things like that which drive me on,” the 31-year-old said. “I haven’t done my job well enough for the first 10 games – I get paid to score runs for Lancashire. So it’s a special moment when you make a hundred.”Glen Chapple’s decision to bat first was reasonable enough, even though the surface had more than a tinge of green about it when play began 65 minutes late following a morning shower. Batting in the fourth innings could be a real trial, not that it was a walk in the park first up – as a run rate that stayed below two-and-a-half an over for most of the day would suggest.Having suffered their first defeat of the season when losing to Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge last week, Somerset were buoyed by the return to fitness of both Alfonso Thomas (back) and Lewis Gregory (hamstring) – recoveries that meant new recruit Tim Groenewald was kept waiting for his debut. And but for Horton, they would have had the visitors on the rack by mid-afternoon.The new ball beat the bat on a fairly regular basis, a couple of edges landed close enough to fielders to spark “did it carry?” debates and it soon became apparent that Lancashire were more likely to take centre stage at nearby Glastonbury tonight than soar to the heights of last week’s 650 for 6 declared against Northants.The first snick that really mattered, though, came when the visitors were already three down and Horton earned four runs for a false shot against Gregory that appeared to brush the fingertips of James Hildreth at first slip as he dived left.Having just secured a battling half-century, Horton deserved a bit of good fortune. And another slice came his way, on 81, with Hildreth this time getting two hands to a boot-high opportunity off Peter Trego’s bowling. But it would be wrong, very wrong, to suggest the opener rode his luck. He defended resolutely time and again, when resolute defence was required, and put away the bad or inviting ball with great certainty. Not that there was too much bad stuff, particularly from Thomas and Gregory who posed difficult questions all day long.After one day, this is still anyone’s match. But already it is a match Horton should remember with great fondness, at least from a personal point of view.

On a day of national misery, maybe it was appropriate that more than 2,000 flocked to what turned into a club cricket love-in. At the picturesque Horsham, debutant Craig Cachopa gave the locals something to celebrate.

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Horsham21-Jul-2014
ScorecardLuke Wright’s strong recent form continued•Getty ImagesOn a day of national misery, maybe it was appropriate that more than 2,000 flocked to what turned into a club cricket love-in. At the picturesque Horsham Cricket Club, debutant Craig Cachopa, with the ever-empathic help of Luke Wright, gave the locals something to celebrate.Having begun the summer looking only to flex his muscles in the Surrey Championship with Reigate Priory, Cachopa is now the owner of a two-year deal at Hove and a whole lot of admirers.His 84 on Championship debut may have only come at a strike rate a touch over 50, but it is hard to remember a shot that did not find its way to the boundary. His half-century featured 12 of them; the first few scatty, the rest composed and demoralising, as Warwickshire, in the absence of any incisive movement through the air, occasionally veered from their lines and overpitched. He also had a bit of luck when, on 27, he edged Patel through to Tim Ambrose, who put the chance down.It was last Christmas that Cachopa made the decision to come to England to learn something new and play a season of club cricket, making use of a Portuguese passport which he has through his father. Following the standard overseas club player protocol of cricket on the weekend and travel in the week, he was relaxing on a hotel bed in Paris when an e-mail came through from Chris Nash, who had been a teammate of Cachopa’s over the winter for Auckland.”He told me to get off my butt and come play some twos cricket,” Cachopa recalled, also citing the prospect of playing at Arundel Castle as another pull to taking Nash up on his offer. Since then he has fallen for the family nature and developmental side of Sussex and is grateful to the club for the opportunity they have given him. If he were to play first-class cricket back in New Zealand again he would do so as an overseas player. For now, he will be back there for Christmas with the family and on the lookout for available spots, at the discretion of Mark Robinson.So, what of his international ambitions? “The New Zealand thing is on the side,” Cachopa said. “At the moment, I’m playing in England, as a local, and I’m trying to qualify to play for England.”In the end, the visiting attack were rewarded with four wickets in the evening session, for the concession of only 19 runs, through a host of errors that included Steffan Piolet stepping on his own stumps. In truth, it was no less than they deserved for persisting on this pitch.As ever, the festival outground is a strange and wonderful place. Each county’s variant is unique but all follow the same template. The scenery is turned up – all the way to 11 at Horsham – and the locals are in early, fighting for chair space from a flat plane vantage point that gives the players on the field a presence that is lost from stands (Boyd Rankin aside).There was little swing on day one, as ball came onto bat nicely, allowing Nash and Luke Wells to put on 68 for the first wicket. With little help from the surface, Warwickshire could be accused of not bowling straight enough. When they did, the wickets came; Wells falling to an inside edge thanks to a brilliant catch by Tim Ambrose, Ed Joyce bowled off his inside edge by Barker, who went on to trap Nash lbw.It was at that point that Wright joined Cachopa in the middle, with 120 on the board and 37 overs gone and the two went more or less stroke for stroke in a stand of 174. “I don’t know if I’d be able to do that many times,” Cachopa joked at stumps.Wright’s brutality suppressed this top class attack before it sparked to life when he fended at a vicious bouncer from Rankin. Rikki Clarke, running from second slip, took the catch at gully, but the umpire gave it not out, as Wright gestured to his shoulder and stood his ground. Naturally, verbals followed, as did further short-balls which were cheered wildly as they sailed harmlessly over Wright’s head for a bye, before the next one went further, for four more.When Wright was eventually dismissed, chasing a very wide one from Barker, Patel offered a sarcastic “great shot, mate!” Don’t let the quaint setting fool you, this match is going to be a hard-fought affair.

Former batsman Basit Ali has been named chief of Pakistan’s junior national selection committee and will head a four-member panel

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2014Former batsman Basit Ali has been named chief of Pakistan’s junior national selection committee and will head a four-member panel, the PCB has announced.The committee also includes former Test cricketers Ali Naqvi and Farrukh Zaman, and Ali Zia, general manager (cricket development) at the National Cricket Academy. Basit and Zaman had earlier served as junior selectors in 2008.Compared to Javed Miandad in his early years, Basit played 19 Tests in a two-year span between 1993 and 1995, while his 50-match ODI career stretched until 1996.Naqvi, a right-hand batsman, scored a Test century on debut against South Africa in October 1997 but played the last of his five Tests just a few months later in March 1998. Zaman, a left-arm spinner, played just one Test in 1976. Zia, who bowled medium-pace and legspin, has extensive first-class experience – having played 165 first-class games and 62 one-dayers between 1974 and 1993.

These are two teams whose recent fortunes could hardly have been more contrasting

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan21-Mar-2014Match FactsMarch 22, Chittagong
Start time 1930 local (1330GMT)Michael Lumb has been in good hitting form from the West Indies•Getty ImagesThe Big PictureThese are two teams whose recent fortunes could hardly have been more contrasting: New Zealand had a home season where their game has been reinvigorated – capped by victories over India in both Tests and ODIs – while England lurched from disaster to disaster in Australia and have barely started the recovery process despite a small improvement in the West Indies.New Zealand are usually fancied to at least reach the knockout stages of global events; England are rarely fancied to stay too long. That is pretty much the status quo this time.This is a match between sides that play a similar brand of cricket. Neither side possess the unorthodox spin which is tipped to be eye-catching over the next couple of weeks, instead relying on more traditional bowling resources such as finger spin, brisk pace bowling and medium-pace cutters.However, where the balance is tipped in New Zealand’s favours is the batting power and the form of those individuals. Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum, Luke Ronchi and the latest star, Corey Anderson, provide destructive capabilities.England’s batting has provided the odd flash of encouragement – notably from Michael Lumb and Jos Buttler – but there has been precious little consistency with how they have built recent innings. Eoin Morgan appears short of form, and questions remain over the severity of his knee problem (the captain, Stuart Broad, also has his own knee worries), while the absence of you-know-who continues to hang like a dark cloud.Form guide(completed matches, most recent first)
England WLLLL
New ZealandWWLWWWatch out for…Michael Lumb has looked in as good form as any of England’s top order in the last couple of weeks. He blitzed a career-best 63 in the third T20 against West Indies and struck the ball cleanly in the warm-up match against India. As with all England’s batsmen he is more comfortable with pace on the ball and off the pitch, so if the Chittagong surface retains its characteristics from the opening round it will suit him.Brendon McCullum has had a career-defining few months, leading his side to victories over India and scoring New Zealand’s first Test triple-hundred. And now he is back in the format that helped cement his global fame when he struck 158 in the first ever IPL match. He is far and away the leading run-scorer in T20 internationals and he could play a floating role in New Zealand’s order depending on the match situation. England have felt the force of his blade a few times before.Team newsStuart Broad, who appears to have overcome his knee injury for now, spoke about consistency of selection, which means that Ian Bell is likely to continue sitting on the bench having not played since being flown to the West Indies. With the seamers being in the game more at this venue, England will be tempted to go for the extra quick ahead of the second frontline spinner in Stephen Parry. Chris Jordan, the likely man to benefit, also brings some power to the lower order.England (possible) 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Stuart Broad (capt), 10 James Tredwell, 11 Jade DernbachKane Williamson will provide the top-order anchor around the big hitters and his offspin will also come in very handy. Anton Devcich, the allrounder who bowls left-arm spin, could keep Ronnie Hira out of the starting XI. New Zealand have a strong hand of pace options; Trent Boult will find it hard to earn a spot.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson, 3 Brendon McCullum (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Corey Anderson, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 Anton Devcich, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Mitchell McClenaghanPitch and conditionsThe pitch was a little grassy on the eve of the match with skiddy bounce rather than turn expected which would certainly please England. Broad thought it would go through for the quicks. Dew could be a problem for the evening game; England trained with wet balls to prepare for such an eventually.Stats and trivia Brendon McCullum needs 41 runs to reach 2000 in T20Is – he is already 624 ahead of the man in second place: Mahela Jayawardene Since January 2013, England have won just four out 13 T20 fixtures – only one Full Member, Bangladesh, has won fewer. However, England have a strong head-to-head record against New Zealand with seven wins against three defeats.Quotes”I think these conditions might suit us a little bit more than Dhaka and as players we need to make sure we make use them.”
“It’s much better for us. He is obviously a world-class player and there is a demand for him around the world as well. “

Amol Muzumdar, the former Mumbai captain and batsman, has been appointed batting consultant by Netherlands Cricket (KNCB) for the 2015 World Cup 2015 Qualifier, which begins in January in New Zealand

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Dec-2013Amol Muzumdar, the former Mumbai captain and batsman, has been appointed batting consultant by Netherlands Cricket (KNCB) for the 2015 World Cup 2015 Qualifier, which begins in January in New Zealand. Muzumdar will be assistant to the team’s head coach Anton Roux, and will start his new job from January 3, when Netherlands travel to New Zealand to play the Qualifiers.A week ago, Muzumdar received a call from former Dutch captain Jeroen Smits, who now is the director of cricket, to check if he’d be interested in taking up the role. “I was not doing anything much, so I thought it was a good opportunity,” Muzumdar said.Muzumdar is already familiar with the Dutch cricket environment, having played first-class cricket with Quick hg, a domestic cricket team in The Hague, for the last three years. At Quick, Muzumdar played the dual role of coach-cum-player. When he joined Quick, they were playing relegation matches. This year, however, Quick won the national championship, beating Amsterdam-based club VRA in the best-of-three match contest. It was the first time Quick had won the tournament since 1986.Muzumdar also was the coach of the under-19 team at Quick and was instrumental in helping the side win the national tournament for the first time. Muzumdar had played alongside national players Wesley Barresi and Edgar Schiferli, who was captain at Quick, and acquainted himself with other national players by visiting the side’s training camps in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.”It is a new venture. I have been a player with a lot of teams. But as a coach of an international team, this is my first time,” Muzumdar said.Last month, Muzumdar, who turned 37 recently, stepped down as an active player from Andhra – the team he had represented in the Ranji Trophy for the last two years. Muzumdar had switched to the role of a mentor at Andhra but, according to his contract, his last day was January 1.

The World T20, it is hoped, is just the start of international exposure for Hong Kong, as they came close to qualifying for the 2015 World Cup too

Mohammad Isam15-Mar-2014Overview
Hong Kong will hope Najeeb Amar’s comeback from retirement will bolster their chances in the World T20•Travis Pittman/HKCA/Travis PittmanHong Kong’s jubilation at their first major international tournament was seen when they stunned Zimbabwe in their first warm-up game in Chittagong. Their last-ball win amped up their confidence.This particular Hong Kong squad is much younger than the usual sides of the past. The change came through coach Charlie Burke who has brought in a group of youngsters to blend in with the experienced lot.Mark Chapman, Irfan Ahmed and Tanwir Afzal have already shown what they have to offer, but much can be expected from the 23-year-old captain Jamie Atkinson.It will be interesting to see how the older lot performs. Particularly Munir Dar, 42, who played in the Dhaka Premier League in 2007-08 for Old DOHS, will be expected to make sure the batting line-up retains balance. He won’t be allowed to bowl, after being banned by the ICC, but Hong Kong will hope comeback man Najeeb Amar will cover for him.This tournament, it is hoped, is just the start of international exposure for Hong Kong, as they came close to qualifying for the 2015 World Cup too. They have already connected themselves with the Hong Kong Sports Institute, which will keep several players trained throughout the year.In order to justify their progress, they would want to spring a surprise or two in the World T20.Key players
Irfan Ahmed took three wickets against Zimbabwe, and will be expected to bowl well in the main tournament too. He is a medium-fast bowler and has the reputation of being more than just a big-hitting allrounder. He has a Twenty20 century and averages 28.16 with the bat in the format.Surprise package
Just like Asif Karim made a comeback from retirement for Kenya’s 2003 World Cup campaign, so has Najeeb Amar. He is a left-arm spinner, but on the other side of 40, and his return after three years has already started well. He will be expected to keep things in check from his end.Weakness
Like any first-timer, Hong Kong will have a tough time against any side more experienced against them. Playing against the spin of Afghanistan and Bangladesh will be a challenge, so will be expressing themselves in front of large crowds.World T20 history
This is their first appearance, having been the last team to complete the qualification in the UAE last November.Recent form
Before beating Zimbabwe in Chittagong, they played six matches in Sri Lanka and the UAE as part of preparations for this tournament. They won two of the three games in Sri Lanka, and fared similarly in the UAE where they beat Ireland and Netherlands.

A round-up of the day’s play from Group C Ranji Trophy matches played on December 1, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Robin Bist scored 51 on the final day•Sivaraman KittaThe match between Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur ended in a draw, with Uttar Pradesh consolidating their position on the points table at third place. Rajasthan began the day with the openers having put on 15 overnight. Within three overs the first wicket went down when Siddharth Saraf was caught behind off the bowling of RP Singh.Vineet Saxena and Ashok Menaria enjoyed a brief stand of 38 before Imtiaz Ahmed had Saxena bowled. Menaria went on to hit 40 before he too suffered the same fate. Robin Bist, Rajesh Bishnoi and Chetan Bist hung around long enough to register fifties and force the draw.Rajasthan finished the final day with 253 for 6, with Chetan Bist not out on 61. Imtiaz had best figures of 3 for 58.
ScorecardIt took exactly 19.5 overs for Bengal to wrap up the Services first innings for 304 and ensure three points by virtue of 127-run first innings lead from their fifth round group B encounter played at the Airforce ground in Palam today. Saurasish Lahiri was the most successful bowler for Bengal with 3 for 69, while Ashoke Dinda took 3 for 97. They both should be credited for slogging it out on a 22-yard track which is probably one of the flattest this season.Read the full report here.
ScorecardBy the end of the opening session on the third day, the result, or rather the lack of one, seemed a foregone conclusion. Neither side had the bowling to force an outright win, so it was down to a shootout for first-innings points between two strong batting line-ups. Saurashtra salvaged three points in a stalemate at the MA Chidambaram Stadium while the hosts, Tamil Nadu, had to live with just one point despite putting on 565. That only 14 wickets fell across four days with neither team taking all ten wickets in an innings, showed the imbalance between bat and ball.Read the full report here.

Kieron Pollard has been rested from the West Indies ODI squad for the three-match series against India, starting November 21, due to an injury

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2013Kieron Pollard, the West Indies allrounder, has been rested from the ODI squad for the series in India because of an injury. Kemar Roach has also been ruled out of the series, which starts on November 21, with a shoulder injury.West Indies recalled Kieran Powell, Veerasammy Permaul and Narsingh Deonarine, after they had not been chosen for the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka and the home series against Pakistan earlier this year. Powell, Permaul and Deonarine last played for West Indies in the ODIs against Zimbabwe and were not a part of the squad for the Champions Trophy.The trio had been part of the West Indies A squad that recently toured India, playing first-class and List A games against the India A side. Deonarine was second highest run-getter for West Indies A in the first-class matches – 276 runs in three games at an average of 46 – and scored a fifty in the only List A game he played on the tour. Permaul also had a good outing for West Indies A, finishing with ten wickets in two first-class games.The other notable inclusions in the squad were fast bowler Ravi Rampaul and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. Rampaul had suffered an ankle injury in the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka and was also sidelined for the home series against Pakistan. He returned to competitive cricket for Trinidad & Tobago in the Champions League T20. Ramdin, who has played just seven ODI games this year, had been dropped frequently due to indifferent form. His last ODI fifty was against India in December 2011.West Indies’ ODI form has been poor of late, with only seven wins in 20 matches this year. Their record away from home is worse, with five losses in as many games in 2013. Their last ODI series win was against Zimbabwe in February this year. In the previous series between India and West Indies, in India, the visitors lost 4-1.Squad: Dwayne Bravo (capt), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons

Andy Flower, the England team director, admitted the Decision Review System “hasn’t worked well at all” in the Investec Ashes series but does not advocate a return to the days of no technology

George Dobell06-Aug-2013Andy Flower, the England team director, admitted the Decision Review System “hasn’t worked well at all” in the Investec Ashes series, but does not favour a return to the days when umpires did not have access to technology.The series has been notable for a series of controversial umpiring decisions, most of them involving the TV umpire. Hot Spot, the technology that is meant to clarify whether a batsman has edged a ball, has been exposed as flawed and raised doubts about its medium-term viability, leaving players and umpires confused and frustrated following a catalogue of mistakes.But Flower, a consistent advocate of the DRS, does not favour abandoning the system now. Instead he favours ensuring that TV umpires are equipped with the best possible technology available and, if necessary, the assistants to enable them to utilise it to the optimum. Flower is adamant that a return to the days when TV viewers had access to more evidence than umpires would be a retrograde step and maintains the system, generally, helps get more decisions right than the days before it was introduced.And, though the words may have been characteristically measured, Flower also hinted that the underlying fault in the system during the current series was human error on the part of the TV umpires. But he rejected the idea that the TV umpire should be a technology specialist, instead reiterating the view that they should first have proved themselves as an experienced on-field official.”I thought the DRS had worked pretty well in international cricket prior to this series,” Flower said as he reflected on England retaining the Ashes following the soggy draw at Old Trafford. “But in this series it hasn’t worked well at all. I wouldn’t necessarily blame technology. What we have at the moment is the best we’ve got. I might question whether we’re using it as wisely as we can. I think we, the cricket community, can use it better.”There is technology there to use and there are protocols that go with it. I think the people in charge of using the technology have to make very calm, clear decisions.”I think we also know and understand that going back to using just the two umpires in the middle is not the answer because that isn’t going to get us a greater percentage of correct decisions. Just being smart about how we use the technology – where the third umpire sits, who he sits with, is he sitting with experts in technology so that he sees the best pictures and can run forwards and backwards the various screens and the pertinent screens – those are the things that the ICC need to get right.

“We do try to look after the players that play all three forms of the game in as wise a way as possible. Kevin’s one of those guys.”

“I think the person sitting as the third umpire has to be an experienced on-field umpire to understand what is going on in the middle.”Flower also welcomed the contribution of Kevin Pietersen in Manchester. Exactly a year on from the debacle at Leeds where Pietersen’s relationship with his team-mates reached an all-time low, he produced a century that helped England avoid the follow-on and therefore played a large role in securing the draw.But while Flower delighted in Pietersen’s positive impact on and off the pitch, he did admit to fears over the batsmen’s long-term availability due to injury concerns. At present, it seems neither player nor team are looking further than the Ashes series in Australia.”He’s been excellent,” Flower said. “Unfortunately he’s had a couple of injuries, but he’s been very dedicated in the way he’s responded to getting those right and it’s great to see him bat like he did not only here but when he got a really important 60 in the context of that game at Trent Bridge.”It’s been another vital innings here, so it’s great to see him bat like that. He’s a very entertaining guy to watch and a brilliant international batsman. It’s great that he’s fit and firing.”He’ll have to look after himself as well as possible because he’s in his early 30s now and, from experience and talking to guys who have played at that age, everything seems to hurt a little bit more after long days in the field and after big innings. He wants to play in the World Cup of 2015, but I don’t think any of us can determine what happens in the medium to long-term. He, like all the others, will be desperate to do well in the rest of this series and looking forward to the Ashes away and not looking miles beyond that.”We do try to look after the players that play all three forms of the game in as wise a way as possible. Kevin’s one of those guys so we do take him out of certain competitions when it’s necessary, just like we do with Jimmy Anderson and might do with Alastair Cook in the future.”