A return to 50-over cricket is likely to be among the recommendations made by David Morgan when he unveils his report to the ECB board at Lord’s on Wednesday

George Dobell22-Nov-2011A return to 50-over cricket is likely to be among the recommendations made by David Morgan when he unveils his report to the ECB board at Lord’s on Wednesday.Morgan, a former chairman of the ECB and ICC, has canvassed widely over the last few months after the ECB appointed him to conduct an extensive review into the business of domestic cricket.With the last World Cup reviving the reputation of 50-over cricket, which was abandoned in England after the 2009 season, it is thought likely that Morgan will recommend that the domestic game mirrors the international game. England have a poor record in the last five World Cups and some feel that playing 40-over cricket at domestic level has not helped them. The prospect of ODI cricket being contested over 40 overs has receded substantially.It is not a decision that will please everyone, however. “I’ve yet to hear a convincing argument for a return to 50-over cricket,” Mark Robinson, director of cricket at Sussex said. “Generally, England do very well in ODI cricket in England and not very well overseas. That suggests that the problem is not so much the format but the different conditions and pitches.”Chris Adams, Surrey’s director of cricket, has expressed similar views and it’s also thought that broadcasters prefer the 40-over version.It is not the only contentious issue facing Morgan. Opinion is also divided over the schedule of Twenty20 cricket and the County Championship. Some favour the retention of a mid-summer break for the T20 tournament, while others favour a Friday night league played across the season. Again, the desire of the broadcasters is likely to have a strong influence.Morgan has made no secret of his belief that too much cricket is currently played so the option of splitting the Championship into three conferences – an option that was rejected barely 18-months ago – has been proposed again by some counties. That would allow the competition to be contested over 12 or 14 games, but is likely to remain deeply unpopular with supporters. The possibility of reducing the number of first-class counties, a scenario suggested by Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves, is contrary to the ECB constitution and is unlikely to find meaningful support.Morgan has been keen to reveal very little while compiling his report – it will not be publicly available – but he has made it clear that creating a more predictable fixture list was a key aim. In 2011 there were 18 different start times in the Friends Life t20 alone. Morgan hopes that attendances will increase if spectators are more easily able to predict the start time of games. Yet again, however, the desire of the broadcasters to televise cricket almost every night of the week, makes such an aspiration painfully hard to deliver.The current broadcast deal does not end until the end of 2013, so Morgan’s recommendations are unlikely to come into force before the 2014 season.Another testMeanwhile, the ECB have insisted that next summer’s England-South Africa Test series will consist of just three games for “good cricketing reasons.”England’s continued struggles in ODI cricket – particularly in World Cups – have convinced the team management that they need to concentrate on the format a little more. They have, therefore, arranged for a five-match ODI series against Australia next summer. More importantly, by hosting that series, they have also reached a reciprocal agreement with Cricket Australia whereby England will play an ODI series in Australia right ahead of the 2015 World Cup.This, the ECB argue, will enable them to acclimatise to the conditions far better than has been the case in recent events. They also point out that England will play 15 Tests in 2012.”We’re hugely committed to Test cricket,” a spokesman said. “But we’re also keen to do better in ODI cricket. Sometimes it feels as we’re ‘damned if we do and damned if we don’t.'”Taylor madeLeicestershire have rejected an offer of £40,000 in compensation from Nottinghamshire for James Taylor, the 21-year-old batsman, but it still seems inevitable that he will be moving to Trent Bridge imminently.Taylor is contracted to Leicestershire until the end of 2012 but the club gave him permission to talk to other counties and it is understood that he has agreed personal terms with Nottinghamshire. He will join former Leicestershire colleagues Stuart Broad and Harry Gurney at Trent Bridge.”We did reject their first offer,” Leicestershire chief executive, Mike Siddall, said. “But James is certain he wants to go to Notts and we’re in on-going negotiations with them.”Leicestershire have also been hit by the retirement of Martin van Jaarsveld, who signed for the club from Kent only weeks ago. They are, therefore, scouring the market for an overseas batsman. Mohammad Yousuf is thought to be one option.The club are expected to declare a profit of around £300,000 for the last year – a huge improvement on the loss of £400,000 the previous year – and have recently agreed the wording of a deed of variation document with the City Council relating to the covenant on their Grace Road ground.The club bought the ground in 1964 but, under the terms of the covenant, could receive only £24,000 should they sell it. The council would receive the rest. That left the club struggling to borrow money and, as Siddall puts it: “our cash flow suggests we need an overdraft facility.”The new agreement – an agreement that was reached in April only to fall apart as officials at the council had a last-minute change of heart – will see the figure raised to £500,000. In the longer-term, the club would like the council to abandon the covenant completely and allow Leicestershire to borrow against the value of their ground. Grace Road is thought to be worth almost £3million.BBC cuts threaten coverageA campaign to persuade the BBC to retain their ball-by-ball coverage of county cricket has urged supporters to make their views known to the cooperation.If the proposed cuts to BBC local radio take place, it appears likely that there will be little or no ball-by-ball coverage of domestic cricket after the end of the 2012 season.The BBC currently offers ball-by-ball on-line coverage for every game played by 11 of the first-class counties and the limited-overs games of the other seven counties. The BBC Trust are currently consulting on the proposed cuts. Campaigners urge supporters to learn more and express their support here: https://savelocalradio.co.uk/

Andre Russell, with an entertaining hundred, and Carlos Brathwaite punished Bangladesh A following a middle-order wobble

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2011
ScorecardDanza Hyatt and Nkruma Bonner steadied West Indies A after their openers failed, before Andre Russell, with an entertaining hundred, and Carlos Brathwaite punished Bangladesh A following a middle-order wobble. Kamrul Rabbi then struck twice towards the end of the day to limit the damage.Medium pacer Rabbi removed Kyle Corbin for a duck and Rajindra Chandrika for 9 to reduce West Indies A to 11 for 2. Hyatt and Bonner then set about rebuilding the innings, with the former the more aggressive of the pair. Hyatt reached his 50 just before lunch, from 66 balls, and together with Bonner took their side to 100 for two at the break. They extended their partnership to 115 before Bonner was caught and bowled by left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo for 43. Two more quick wickets followed, with Jonathan Carter falling to Shuvo for a duck and Devon Thomas for 2 to Robiul Islam, leaving the visitors tottering at 131 for 5.That brought Russell to the crease and he proceeded to play with his typical freedom, forcing Bangladesh on to the back foot. He added 58 with Hyatt for the sixth wicket before Hyatt was unfortunately run out eight short of a hundred, having struck 11 fours and two sixes in his 157-ball knock. Brathwaite, though, picked up where Hyatt left off as West Indies A continued to punish the Bangladesh A bowlers.Such was Russell’s confidence that on 98 he chose to play a reverse sweep to bring up his hundred. In all he struck 18 fours and four sixes in his 128, adding 155 with Brathwaite, who was not to be left behind,reaching his 50 from 67 balls.Just when it seemed they would take the game away from the hosts, Rabbi struck twice in the last half-hour, first bowling Russell and then trapping Brathwaite lbw for 62 in the final over of the day to leave West Indies A on 352 for 8.”We needed big partnerships and what we did was try to be positive and stay confident,” Russell said. “I back myself because I know I have the strength to get the ball away so when they [the Bangladesh A bowlers] give me the opportunities I made use of them.”

Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has got clearance from the Pakistan government to visit India this month, where he will speak to the BCCI about restoring India-Pakistan cricketing ties

Umar Farooq02-Dec-2011Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has got clearance from the Pakistan government to visit India this month, where he will speak to the BCCI about restoring India-Pakistan cricketing ties. Ashraf, who is due to visit in India in the next ten days, said he had informed the foreign office of his trip and also sought advice from the government on what could be done to revive cricket between the neighbouring countries.Since taking over from Ijaz Butt in October, Ashraf has maintained that organising an India-Pakistan bilateral series is one of his priorities. According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, Pakistan are scheduled to tour India for three Tests and five ODIs in March-April 2012, but there is uncertainty over whether that series will take place as the Indian government has not yet cleared it. Ashraf said Pakistan were ready to play in India, at home or at a neutral venue, though he expected the last option to be the most viable one in the near future.Relations between India and Pakistan broke down after the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. Since then there have been no bilateral series between the two countries and the only three meetings have come in tri-series or ICC events.”It is unfortunate that we broke our ties and I want to revive them,” Ashraf told reporters in Lahore, where a reception for Pakistan’s women’s and blind team was being held. “I have already taken the initiative, written to the Indian board and got a very positive response from them; they have invited me to come and talk about it. So I have told the government about going there.”Ashraf has also been actively trying to restart international cricket in Pakistan. No Test-playing nation has toured the country since the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked in Lahore in March 2009. Ashraf met the chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board in Dubai during the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series in the UAE to discuss a possible Bangladesh tour of Pakistan in 2012. He said the meeting had been positive and that Bangladesh were ready to tour Pakistan but the two boards had to have more detailed deliberations on security concerns.”I met with the Bangladesh chairman in Dubai and it was a positive meeting. It was agreed that they don’t have any concern about playing in Pakistan and the BCB chairman has invited me to come to Bangladesh [during Pakistan’s ongoing series there] and talk about security issues.”My meeting with the ICC chief-executive [in Dubai] was also useful as it helped me to improve the working relationship between the PCB and the ICC. I have been listening to security concerns and called up the ICC to make up a check-list of what protocols they think we need to have in place to convince teams to travel here. I don’t know what the other member boards want but we are ready to provide them with whatever security is necessary to get them to play here.”

In a series speckled with Indian wickets, the spell Peter Siddle remembered most fondly was one that passed without reward

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval28-Jan-2012In a series speckled with Indian wickets, the spell Peter Siddle remembered most fondly was one that passed without reward. On the third evening of the SCG Test, he and Ben Hilfenhaus delivered eight consecutive maidens between them, squeezing Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir with precision pace bowling of the highest standard on the same pitch Michael Clarke had used to construct his 329.While no wickets were forthcoming during the spell, Siddle remembered it as emblematic of Australia’s bowling across the series, which at times reached heights not even the bowlers themselves might have thought possible. The bowling coach Craig McDermott has moulded the attack in his own image, and its combination of speed, swing and stamina has been a rare sight.”Just the way individually everyone has stuck to their guns and played their role perfectly at each end when bowling has been superb,” Siddle said after claiming the match award in Adelaide. “The batters have set us up at times as well and we just knew we had to go out there and be patient.”I think the best bowling spell we had was probably in Sydney when me and Hilfy bowled a partnership, we didn’t get any wickets but we bowled [eight] overs straight of maidens. I think that just summed up the summer and what we wanted to achieve. In every match that we bowled, that is what we wanted to go about it. That was perfect and showed what we were all about.”Siddle proved himself to be the rugged heart of the Australian attack, a position never more evident than on another late afternoon earlier in the series. Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid had pushed India into a position of power when Siddle burst one through Dravid’s defences, then stood crestfallen when replays revealed a no-ball. Redoubling his efforts, he proceeded to puncture Tendulkar’s defence before stumps, a mighty blow for India and source of a surge of confidence among the hosts.”I had to turn it around or else the bowling coach and captain would have really been on my back,” Siddle said, grinning. “Getting a wicket off a no ball and then getting one quickly around the corner is always pleasing, it makes everyone a little bit happier.”But I think any wicket, it doesn’t matter who you get, any Test wicket is obviously a good achievement it doesn’t matter if it’s Sachin or a Yadav at No.11, you want to get all 10 and you need to get 20 for the match, it doesn’t matter which one you get, as long as you get all 20 like we have been.”Siddle said the partnerships established by the bowlers had been a major part of the attack’s improvement on last summer, when England’s batsmen made both he and Hilfenhaus look ordinary by comparison.”There is always a lot of emphasis on batting partnerships and our big emphasis coming into this summer was bowling partnerships,” he said. “We went about that spot on and no matter what attack we had, we stuck to our guns, we did the job, and that was our plan, we didn’t steer away from that.”We knew every morning we rocked up and had to bowl in partnerships and be consistent and be patient and I think it showed in the performances. Everyone that bowled got the job done and lucky enough a few of us got the rewards.”Well as they bowled, however, Australia’s pacemen know there is room to excel further. Aiding this will be the return to fitness of James Pattinson and Pat Cummins, which would allow the national selectors choice of a fearsome arsenal for their next Test assignment in the West Indies.”The way we are going as a unit definitely but we still have room for improvement,” Siddle said. “We are going in the right direction. The good thing about the whole summer was the number of guys who played from [Mitchell] Starc and Jimmy Patto. There was a big turn around from the start of the summer to now but we never changed, we always stuck to the same game plan which was to be patient, bowl in good partnerships and we would get the rewards.”That showed no matter which line-up we put forward on game day we got the job done. At different times each individual got the rewards.”

Rohan Gavaskar, the former India batsman and left-arm spinner, has retired from first-class cricket at the age of 35

Kanishkaa Balachandran08-Feb-2012Rohan Gavaskar, the former India batsman and left-arm spinner, has retired from first-class cricket at the age of 35. Eleven ODIs, 151 runs with one half-century and a solitary wicket in an international career spanning less than a year suggests Gavaskar, son of Sunil Gavaskar, did not quite make it as a cricketer. However, it is easy to forget that Rohan Gavaskar was a Bengal stalwart, and finished as the state’s third-highest run-getter in first-class cricket (5073 runs in 75 games at 51.24) behind only Arun Lal and Pankaj Roy.Now, with a young family back in his native Mumbai and business interests to look after, Gavaskar has decided it is time to shift focus. “I wasn’t playing much over the last year so it is not a shock. There is finality about it now, and it is sad,” Gavaskar told ESPNcricinfo. “You’ve been playing the game for the better part of your life and you always want to push it [retirement] back a bit.”It was a phased exit for Gavaskar. He played his last first-class game, for Bengal, in December 2009, and had a stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2010 IPL before going off the radar.”I didn’t see myself playing as a professional for any other state,” Gavaskar said. “I didn’t see myself playing club cricket in Bengal because my kids are in Mumbai, and it didn’t make sense, having already played first-class cricket for 15 years. I have media commitments and business interests now.”Gavaskar has seen 15 years of ups and downs with Bengal, even taking over the captaincy for a couple of seasons. Despite decent form with the bat in domestic cricket after being dropped from the national side, an India recall was far from certain. Signing up for the rebel Indian Cricket League was his best chance of facing bowlers with international experience. The ICL was banned by the BCCI, and the players contracted to play in it were disallowed from playing domestic cricket in India, which meant Gavaskar did not play for Bengal in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.Was it a wise decision to join the ICL? “In hindsight, it wasn’t, especially for someone like me. It was a great decision for the younger cricketers. Some of them weren’t even playing first-class cricket when they signed. Many got thrust into big IPL teams. But considering my age, it wasn’t a wise decision.”Gavaskar strongly defended his view that young players had nothing to regret about the ICL despite being ostracised till the BCCI offered them amnesty in 2009. “Let me throw this question right back. Was it detrimental to Ambati Rayudu or Stuart Binny or Abu Nechim? No. The ICL didn’t benefit the other [older] guys, who lost two-three precious years. Age catches up with them. Someone like R Sathish was clamoured after, but before the ICL he was relatively unknown.”Curiously, Gavaskar signed up with the ICL even while his father held a job with the BCCI and was part of the governing council of the IPL. Did it create an awkward scenario, with both men on either side of the fence?”Not at all. Why should it be strange? My dad is not the BCCI and he clearly did not see me as a rebel,” Gavaskar said with a chuckle. “To be honest, in the ICL we didn’t do anything wrong. When I was 18, my Dad said ‘all decisions you take are yours’. The decisions to pursue first-class cricket in Bengal, joining the ICL and ultimately retirement were all mine. He’s always said ‘whenever you need to talk I’m always there to give you the pros and cons.'”Unlike his father, Rohan Gavaskar never played a single first-class game for Mumbai, although he did turn down an offer from them midway through his career. He wanted to uphold his allegiance to Bengal and said he feels proud to have been part of Bengal’s cricketing fraternity.His biggest regret is not being part of a winning Ranji Trophy side. “We reached the Ranji finals twice on the trot [2005-2006 and 2006-07] and in both cases we came really close to winning. In one of those games the umpires really sold us down the river. That left a bad taste in the mouth.”Of late, commentary stints have been keeping Gavaskar busy. But his bigger interest lies with another sport: football. Gavaskar co-owns the Pune Football Club, which participates in the I-League. Last October, Blackburn Rovers toured the country and played a game against them. Gavaskar says his aim, post retirement, is to take Pune football forward and give the sport a better profile.

The West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has conceded the spinner Sunil Narine could face a difficult decision if the selectors want him in the squad for the three Tests against Australia

Brydon Coverdale23-Mar-2012The West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has conceded the spinner Sunil Narine could face a difficult decision if the selectors want him in the squad for the three Tests against Australia. Narine was one of the surprise stars of the IPL auction in February, when he picked up a $700,000 contract to play with the Kolkata Knight Riders.But the IPL coincides with the Test series and Narine’s excellent form in the first three ODIs against Australia makes him a likely candidate for the Test squad. Narine, 23, is yet to make his Test debut but has taken 34 first-class wickets at the remarkable average of 11.88, and the Australians would be pleased if he was not part of the Test series.The issue is complicated by the fact that Narine does not hold a central contract with West Indies, having only established himself as an international prospect in the past few months. Gibson said it would be difficult to stop Narine playing in the IPL if that was his preference, but that discussions were being held to address the clash.”I’m not sure what the board can do because he’s not contracted to the board,” Gibson told reporters in the West Indies. “He’s got a situation that is going to set him up very nicely and as much as we would like to have him playing, six months ago Narine was not in our thoughts. We need to be a little bit careful in how we deal with that situation and that’s what we’re doing at the moment. There’s conversations going on behind the scenes.”West Indies will almost certainly be without Chris Gayle for the entire Australia series after talks between Gayle and the West Indies board failed to reach a resolution this week. The batsman Marlon Samuels is another man who could face a decision between the IPL and Test cricket, having scored a contract with the Pune Warriors.Australia’s opening batsman David Warner said his priority would always be Test cricket ahead of Twenty20 commitments, despite his high value in the shortest format. However, Warner is expected to be one of the highest-paid men in the Cricket Australia contract list this year, having established himself in all three formats, while men like Narine and Samuels don’t have the same kind of security.”My goal as a kid was to get the baggy green and I’m actually here opening the batting,” Warner said. “I’m trying to take my opportunity to cement my place there. I’m 100% Test cricket over IPL any day. These guys have made their choices but at the end of the day they have to make their mind up about what they’re benefiting out of it. If it’s money then it’s money. That’s their choice. Some of them might not even get picked in the Test team so we just don’t know.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the first West Indies-Australia ODI, in Kingstown

The Preview by Daniel Brettig16-Mar-2012

Match facts

March 16
Start time 0930 (1330 GMT)Dwayne Bravo is back into the West Indies fold•Associated Press

Big Picture

The last time West Indies beat Australia in an ODI, at the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Nathan Bracken and Glenn McGrath were among the names on Australia’s team sheet. West Indies had almost as many players no longer in contention for spots, and it is poignant to note that the top scorer in Mumbai that day was Runako Morton, who was killed last week in a car accident in Trinidad. Since that time both sides have gone through an enormous amount of changes, though one thing has remained consistent – Australia have dominated West Indies, winning 13 of 14 matches, with one no-result, since.So it is no surprise that most are expecting an improving Australia to enjoy themselves against Darren Sammy’s hosts, and the visitors’ coaches and selectors have expressed the view that their team should “win well” in the Caribbean. But Sammy and his players have been building recently, developing a team of more united intentions and greater work ethic than some of whom represented the region in the past. Sammy has shown himself to be a capable leader, while in Darren Bravo the team has perhaps the most compelling young batting talent in the world. Ravi Rampaul’s bustling seam and swing will be missed. The hosts also have the advantage of slow, teasing conditions that Australia must adapt to, and Arnos Vale should provide a solid example of the surfaces expected throughout the tour.Following on from a richly successful home summer, Australia’s squad is a little thin for the moment, as injury has ruled out Ben Hilfenhaus and James Pattinson while Brad Haddin has caused contingency plans to be swung into action by withdrawing from the tour due to personal reasons. All these factors will present challenges for the acting captain Shane Watson, as he guides the team abroad for the first time.

Form guide

West Indies LLWLL (Most recent first)
Australia WLWLW

In the spotlight

Dwayne Bravo is returning to the West Indies side for the first time since mid-2011, when he withdrew from the team in order to regain his focus. He has been handed the vice-captaincy, and is keen to make an impact as one of the few members of the team to have meaningful experience against Australia. “We have a very young team and, as one of the senior players, I have to step in and make my presence felt,” Bravo said this week. “The fire is still blazing in me. I will be bringing the same level of enthusiasm and commitment that I always had. That is the only way I know how to play, by giving my all to the team.”Much has changed for Matthew Wade on match eve. Brad Haddin’s return home to Australia for personal reasons leaves Wade to contemplate the possibility of his elevation to the Test team, while he also knows that for the time being he is the only qualified gloveman on the tour. Having made a highly promising start to his international career, demonstrating a fighting instinct as well as plenty of skill, Wade’s position is growing in responsibility.

Team news

Johnson Charles may debut at the top of the order, while the hosts must juggle a surfeit of allrounders with the possibility of a slow, turning surface.West Indies (possible) 1 Kieran Powell, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Carlton Baugh (wk), 9 Darren Sammy (capt), 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Kemar Roach.With Ben Hilfenhaus and James Pattinson not yet fit to play and Brad Haddin flying home from the tour, the tourists’ options are limited. George Bailey will debut, while Shane Watson is a chance to return to opening while Matthew Wade drops down the order.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Shane Watson (capt), 3 Peter Forrest, 4 Michael Hussey, 5 David Hussey, 6 George Bailey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Daniel Christian, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.

Pitch and conditions

Arnos Vale is known for producing a slowish pitch that can take turn, and early inspection of the surface by both sides suggested something similar for the series opener.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have won two of three encounters against Australia at the Arnos Vale Ground, the first in 1995. But the visitors were victorious the last time the two teams met there, in 2008.
• West Indies have not beaten Australia in an ODI for 14 matches, last doing so during the ICC Champions Trophy in India in 2006.

Quotes

“An unknown opposition does present a lot more challenges.They can certainly hit you hard up front and we could be chasing our tails for the rest of the series.”

“We’re playing Australia but we’re not going to play names, we’re just going to go out there and play good positive cricket and hopefully we could come out on top. We’ve got to believe we have it.”

West Indies captain Darren Sammy has insisted his team can go on to success in England after again surrendering the Frank Worrell Trophy to Australia, a trophy the hosts have not held since 1995

Daniel Brettig at Windsor Park27-Apr-2012West Indies captain Darren Sammy has insisted his team can go on to success in England after again surrendering the Frank Worrell Trophy to Australia, a trophy the hosts have not held since 1995. Questioned at some length following the series about how his side’s batting had continually folded – the tireless Shivnarine Chanderpaul aside – Sammy said the team’s sense of belief had to remain strong and steadfast ahead of a three-Test date with arguably the world’s most accomplished seam and swing bowlers.”Different conditions, some of the guys are playing there for the first time,” Sammy said after making his highest Test score on the final day of a 75-run loss to Australia in Dominica. “We’ve still got to learn and believe that whatever comes our way that we can overcome it. It’s going to be another tough series for us but like we fought against Australia we’re expecting to do the same against England. Keep showing that attitude and hopefully we can get victories in England.”At the end of the day, its up to each individual to go out and do what is necessary for the team and to try to perform and score runs. No one wants to go out and fail – it’s about getting your mind right and going out and executing properly. We talk, we develop a plan, a formula to go out and play with, most times we don’t execute properly.”The top six is where we should get the bulk of the runs. Shiv batted really well for us again but we didn’t have consistent contributions from everyone there. We have youngsters at the top and like Shiv has said, they’re learning their skill at the international level. I back the guys to go out and play up against a higher-ranked team with lots of experience. Our guys are young and the selectors have decided to give them a run, an opportunity to develop and hopefully they can do that for us in the future.”One member of the top six at Windsor Park who will not be going on to England is Kraigg Brathwaite, the teenaged opening batsman omitted after scores of 0, 0, 0 and 11 in his final four innings of the series. Sammy said Brathwaite had not been forgotten, and would figure in the team again in the future. However he admitted the selectors had become concerned by his propensity to be out early to the new ball. Sammy also said the leg spinner Devendra Bishoo’s absence from the touring party did not mean the end of his time in Test cricket.”The selectors and coach spoke to him yesterday,” Sammy said. “Obviously he didn’t have the best series this time. He’s definitely one for the future for us. He’s out of form and in England where the ball tends to swing a bit more – this series he was getting out to the swinging ball a lot. We have a few A-team tours coming and the coach has told him he’ll be there to get some form.”We also have the high performance centre where he can go and work with the coach over there. Just like we said to Bishoo. Bishoo had an excellent year for us last year and he was not part of the Test squad but I expect them to come back. They’re both strong mentally and they’ll go and do what’s necessary to force their way back into the team.”In contrast to the batting, West Indies have developed a bowling attack that stands some chance of snipping the top off England’s batting on potentially helpful early season pitches, starting with the first Test at Lord’s from May 17. Sammy reserved particular praise for Kemar Roach, who with 19 wickets vied with Chanderpaul for man of the series honours.”Last year he had a tough year in Bangladesh, he broke down in tears but this year he has come back really, really strong,” Sammy said. “People might say well he bowled more overs than me, but he keeps asking me for the ball and that is the sort of attitude I really like to see. When I thought he was tired, he said ‘No, I really want the ball’ putting his hand up. His wickets show the hard work throughout this series.”

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's17-May-2012Stuart Broad became the fifth England cricketer – and seventh overall – to appear on both Test honours boards at Lord’s for his country, as his late surge on the opening day against West Indies gave his team control. Broad has the one remaining wicket of the innings to secure a career-best seven-wicket haul as his Test tally leapt past the 150-mark.Broad already had his name on the batting honours board after his 169 against Pakistan in 2010, a Test that will forever be remembered for the spot-fixing controversy. Now he slots in alongside Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff, Ray Illingworth and Gubby Allen as the England cricketers to claim a spot with bat and ball. It is elite company. The two overseas names are Vinoo Mankad and Keith Miller, although Garry Sobers achieved the feat for the Rest of the World.It feels a lifetime ago that Broad was fighting for his England Test place, but it was only the last time they played at Lord’s. That match against India turned Broad’s fortunes around and he has not looked back, with injuries providing the only cloud. He missed the previous Test against Sri Lanka, in Colombo, with a calf strain and admitted he did not feel at his best leading into this match during his two Championship appearances for Nottinghamshire, where he took four wickets against Lancashire and Middlesex.Neither, he said in an honest assessment of his bowling, did he start ideally after Andrew Strauss had put West Indies in – something that immediately puts the pressure on the new-ball bowlers. He did not overly threaten during the morning but hit his stride during the final session, firstly with the older ball and then with the new one.”I struggled a bit at Old Trafford and Trent Bridge with the stride patterns. I’m not sure if that’s to do with the wet ground but it didn’t feel quite right,” he said. “But in training here and today it felt really good. I didn’t start too well today – eight overs for 30 was a bit expensive – but I was able to drag my length back which made it harder to drive and that’s something, maybe, a few years ago I didn’t have the experience to do.”The upward curve in Broad’s day could be traced to an action-packed few deliveries shortly after lunch when a no-ball was spotted by the DRS which ultimately gave Broad a seventh delivery that removed Adrian Barath courtesy of a juggling catch in the gully.”I crept close to the line for no reason,” he said. “Thank god it was not-out anyway and we didn’t lose a review otherwise I’d have got some stick. It’s unforgivable bowling no-balls so I need to stop. The bonus of the wicket was good but not running 20 more yards.”Broad’s late success gave him the stand-out figures on the scorecard but James Anderson was the most consistent of the pace-bowling trio with another display of his exemplary skills. He completely foxed Kieran Powell and his dismissal of Kirk Edwards was not a surprise either. He and Broad form a formidable partnership; on another day the wickets column will read the opposite way around.”Jimmy was fantastic this morning,” Broad said. “That session he had batsmen in all sorts of trouble; lots of away swingers, then the first inswinger he tries it’s hitting. That’s the experience of the guy now.”With such low expectations of West Indies’ batting heading into the series it may be viewed as a missed opportunity not to dismiss them in the day, but nine wickets was more than England themselves had budgeted for on a surface that started slow but gained pace.”In the first 45 overs it felt there was a bit difference in carry from the Pavilion End were it kissed through but bowling up the hill it died a little bit,” Broad explained. “Bressy did a lot of overs holding up that end while Jimmy could let it fly. Winning the toss and bowling is always, ‘Can you bowl them out for 100’? But we talked at the start that Lord’s is never like that and it’s a bit of a patience game.”We aimed for seven wickets in the day if we could keep them tight like we had done during the winter. We probably didn’t start as well as we could have done by the standards we set – certainly myself, I probably got driven too much – but that came from the wicket being a lot slower than we imagined so we searched for a nick. As the wicket got a bit quicker you could settle into a better length and to pick up nine we are delighted, but Shiv [Chanderpaul] has played very well and we don’t want him to get a hundred.”

Australia’s blueprint for sustained supremacy in world cricket is being informed and inspired by the New Zealand All Blacks’ enduring domination of international rugby

Daniel Brettig in Chelmsford26-Jun-2012Australia’s blueprint for sustained supremacy in world cricket is being informed and inspired by the New Zealand All Blacks’ enduring domination of international rugby. Encouraged by the rugby grounding of Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard, Michael Clarke’s team and the pathway beneath them are being shaped with New Zealand’s century-old dominance of the oval-ball game as a major influence.As part of Australia’s push to rise again in the world rankings, all Cricket Australia contracted players are now assessing themselves according to the individual player program used by the All Blacks in the lead-up to their 2011 World Cup victory. Earlier this month, New Zealand rugby’s high performance director Don Tricker and their player development manager Mike Anthony were the keynote speakers at CA’s sports medicine and coaching conference in Canberra.CA are also looking closely at the relationships fostered by the All Blacks with New Zealand’s five Super Rugby professional club teams, to better aid the movements of players and coaching philosophies between the states and the national team. Much as Super Rugby added another layer to a system that had once flowed seamlessly from provincial sides to international level, so Twenty20 club teams are adding complexity to the task of managing players from state cricket to ODIs and Tests.Howard told ESPNcricinfo he aspired to the sort of long-term performance level that New Zealand have kept up for decades, despite being among the smallest nations playing the game. A similar goal was outlined in last year’s Argus review.”I try to refrain from going to rugby because obviously it’s where I’m from, but on a world scale the All Blacks are very hard to compare against – a nation of four million people who over a 100-year period have been extremely dominant in a world sport,” Howard said ahead of Australia’s ODI series against England. “They constantly innovate, and they turn players over a reasonable amount, so there are some learnings there for us.”One of the central tools being brought over from New Zealand to Australia’s cricketers is the individual player plan used to assess performances, strengths and weaknesses. These questionnaires allow the players’ own views of themselves to be cross-referenced with coaching and selection judgements, resulting in more rounded and constructive discussions of ways for each player to improve.”We have adopted it and it’s gone quite well,” Howard said. “So very much being player-led, the players take their individual player plans and look at where they’re performing well, or areas to improve on, and we obviously support it with the coaches and the sports scientists to address those gaps. Also for the coaches to say ‘we thought your strengths were here, you think they’re there, let’s actually use that as a discussion to assess the reality’. It is a good affirmation for some players and coaches to look at different parts of players’ games.”New Zealand have used it for a couple of years and the fact is that the players get the input into really being able to sit back and assess their own game. I think that’s an important part of reflecting. They’ll often think about their core skill, but whether or not they’re physically in great condition, mentally in great condition, assessing all the parts of their disciplines where they can look for that edge to get into the team.”Just the ability to reflect is important, and to a certain point it doesn’t matter where it comes from, as long as it comes from a sound place with some reasonable background. Someone else has nicely tested it for us, which is a great thing.”In Canberra, Tricker and Anthony presented to the nation’s coaches on how New Zealand had created the right environment for success. Howard said that while CA could take plenty of succour from the All Blacks’ ability to stay at the top of rugby despite repeatedly facing other larger countries, he acknowledged that New Zealand’s focus on the game and its smaller geographical area made several of their measures more easily employed.”There’s no magic bullet, and funnily enough they used that term as well. You need to have a combination of things to make sure your environment is something that helps you excel,” Howard said. “But we’ve got to take their processes and try to take them over a far larger geographical area. New Zealand is a little bit like England, a little bit smaller, and obviously the geographic divide of Australia means you have to run those different satellites a little more strongly.”But they were very big on player plans, dealing with sports medicine but also sports medicine being a balanced part of decision-making – it can’t drive decisions but it helps form them. Those things were very good messages and support coaches making good decisions and in a cricket sense coaches with their selection panels.”They presented very well, had some very similar ideas and concepts for where we want to go, and also some things that we’re already doing, so the confirmation of our methods was also good for us. Obviously they come from a very successful environment. It was pretty meaningful.”Howard’s non-cricket background has proved to be an asset for CA in combination with experienced cricket minds like those of the coach Mickey Arthur and the national selector John Inverarity. He said the search for outside ideas had so far been fruitful, though always leavened by the need to adhere to basics.”Don Tricker, the guy heading up New Zealand rugby, has a softball background. And the fact he came from an environment outside rugby in that country, was huge,” Howard said. “The ability to come in and question things is a good thing. We’ve got some guys on this tour from outside as well, so I think it’s important to assess yourself against your competitors, but also other sports.”