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England and New Zealand begin a three-match series at Lord’s on Friday as they aim to fine tune ahead of the Champions Trophy

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan30-May-2013Match FactsMay 31, 2013
Start time 10.45am (0945 GMT)England’s one-day management team chat during training at Lord’s•Getty ImagesThe Big PictureThere is a Trophy to warm-up for and a trophy to win for England and New Zealand. While the other nations in the Champions Trophy prepare with ODIs against Associate nations or among themselves, these two sides have a fully-fledged one-day series to get them into gear for the next three weeks.There won’t be much they don’t know about each other; this head-to-head began in early February and will not conclude until the end of next month with a couple of Twenty20s. They also, and potentially crucially, face each other in the group stage of the Champions Trophy so there is much to gain from these next three matches.England emerged with the honours in New Zealand earlier this year despite losing the opening match in Hamilton. Ultimately, the pace bowling of James Anderson, Steven Finn and Stuart Broad proved too much for Brendon McCullum’s side, although not without the captain trying his damndest to keep his team afloat. The series continued England’s impressive run in one-day cricket; they’ve only lost two series – in India – since the 2011 World Cup.At home, England have not been beaten in a series since losing 6-1 to Australia in 2009, and so will enter these three matches as favourites – a tag some are also giving them for the Champions Trophy. They have a settled side, although Kevin Pietersen is missing from their strongest set-up, and the only major debate revolves around the No. 7 spot.New Zealand’s lowly ranking of No. 8 reflects a poor run in one-day cricket since they reached the World Cup semi-final in 2011. There were signs of a revival with a notable victory against South Africa in their backyard, but the defeat to England at home was a setback. The batting order, which struggled in the Test series, retains many of the same faces and they will again be severely tested.Form guide (Most recent first)
England WWLWL
New Zealand LLWLWWatch out for…England’s merry-go-round of the one-day wicketkeeper has stopped with Jos Buttler holding on to the role. He is part of what should be a dynamic middle order with the aim that they will be able to take advantage of platforms laid by a more traditional top three than used by some teams. Buttler’s strokeplay can be breathtaking – and at times unbelievable – although he has yet to be tested over an extended innings at this level. His wicketkeeping is improving, but the challenge will come standing up to Graeme Swann and perhaps Ravi Bopara.New Zealand are not short of lively fast-medium seamers of the left-arm variety. Mitchell McClenaghan has been sidelined since early in the England one-day series in New Zealand after some stirring performances against South Africa. Taller than the injured Trent Boult, he is a hit-the-deck bowler although he does have the ability to find swing. The white ball, in England, should be to his liking. Alastair Cook will need to watch out.Team newsIn the absence of Pietersen, Joe Root will continue in the middle order although it’s difficult to believe he would have been forced aside even if Pietersen had been available. There may be a degree of flexibility about England’s four, five and six depending on the state of the innings. The allrounder at No. 7 remains a question mark; Tim Bresnan would be the strongest bowling option although his wife will have a say in team selection when she gives birth. Jade Dernbach has been added as cover, but it would make sense to give other Champions Trophy squad members a game if Bresnan was unavailable.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven FinnThere will be a bit of shuffling in New Zeland’s order and some fresh faces. Luke Ronchi will make his (second) ODI debut – having already played for Australia – as an opening batsman and wicketkeeper. Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills add a wealth of experience to the line-up.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Luke Ronchi, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Brendon McCullum (capt)*, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Mitchell McClenaghanPitch and conditionsLord’s ODI pitches are generally good for batting although the recent poor weather may mean some early life for the pace bowlers. During the recent Test, the outfield was on the slow side, which reduced the value for shots. The forecast for the day is fine.Stats and trivia The previous series between these two teams in England was a feisty affair with New Zealand emerging 3-1, a result mostly remembered for heated scenes at The Oval when Paul Collingwood controversially ran out Grant Elliott. This is only the second bilateral one-day series between the teams in England since 1994. In 1999 there was the World Cup and in 2004 a triangular series with West Indies. Stuart Broad’s current strike-rate of 32.20 places him eighth among bowlers with more than 150 ODI wicketsQuotes”We’ve got three games here in this very important series, then the Champions Trophy and we want to win as many of those games as possible. Winning breeds confidence and any time you have recent success over an opposition you take confidence.”
“From a bowling perspective, I feel fine. That’s the main thing they want out of me. It’s got to the point now of getting the body right, I hope, without making too many predictions on the future.”
* May 31 8.00am GMT Ross Taylor had incorrectly been mentioned as New Zealand captain. This has been corrected.

Adam Wheater has bought himself out of his contract with Essex and will move to Hampshire with immediate effect.

George Dobell01-Mar-2013Adam Wheater, the highly-rated wicketkeeper batsman, has bought himself out of the final year of his contract with Essex and will move to Hampshire with immediate effect on a two-year deal.Wheater, 23, has been looking for other opportunities for some time. ESPNcricinfo revealed in September that he was in talks with Hampshire, among other clubs, but Essex were refusing to let him leave before the end of the 2013 season.He was expected to start the season in Essex’s side as a batsman but had become the county’s third choice wicketkeeper behind long-standing James Foster and England Lions’ keeper Ben Foakes.Wheater feels he will have a much greater opportunity to take the gloves at Hampshire and is expected to displace Michael Bates.If that is the case, Bates, 22, may consider himself unfortunate. While the 22-year-old is a batsman of modest ability – first-class average of 19.66 – he is an exceptional wicketkeeper. He played a pivotal part in Hampshire’s CB40 success last season, taking the final ball stood up to the stumps against the pace of Kabir Ali. He has taken 102 catches in 33 first-class games.But Hampshire manager Giles White insisted Wheater would have to earn his place: “No assurances or promises have been made to Adam but we are delighted that he has chosen to pursue his career at Hampshire.”He will add competition with the gloves and comes with an impressive first-class batting average. We have experienced, first-hand, that he is a young player with great ability and we hope that he is able to fulfil his potential and build on what has been a bright start to his career.”Wheater, who attended Millfield School in Somerset, scored 462 first-class runs from the middle order at 35.35 in 2012.”Over the winter months, Adam made it very clear that he would like to progress his wicketkeeping,” Essex head coach, Paul Grayson, said. “It is always sad to lose a player you have nurtured from a young age but we understand that to progress his career in his preferred role in the team he will need to change club.”

Lisa Sthalekar feels Australia have done some “damage” to their traditional rivals on the psychological front

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai08-Feb-2013After winning successive tight finishes against England, in the World Twenty20 final and today in the World Cup, Lisa Sthalekar feels Australia have done some “damage” to their traditional rivals on the psychological front. England had fallen short by four runs in Colombo; the margin was two runs in Mumbai, a win the veteran Sthalekar ranked “pretty high” among victories she’s been involved in.”We’d like to believe we’ve done a bit of damage in the tight finish here and the World Twenty20 victory,” Sthalekar said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play in a few matches where it’s been tight but in a World Cup against the English girls, to win with such a tight finish, it was really important for us as a team, building momentum through to the World Cup. And that probably ranks pretty high.”England have never beaten Australia in an ODI on neutral territory. Today’s defeat was their 14th. Their captain Charlotte Edwards, though, did not think the narrow losses in the World Twenty20 final and today meant Australia had gained any psychological advantage. Edwards said England had a “great record” against Australia but was disappointed with her batsmen’s failure to chase 148.”Two poor decisions [lbws against her and Laura Marsh] definitely doesn’t help when you are opening and then in a key partnership,” Edwards said. “There was also some poor shot selection through our middle order. Nos. 3, 5, 6 and 7 played 12 balls between them. When you are in a position where you are three down you need to stand up. They didn’t today.”There was no reason to fret over the batsmen, though, according to Edwards, who backed her middle order, especially the talented Sarah Taylor, to come good. Taylor has made 35, 0 and 0 so far. “Individually they have all stood up at times. Collectively maybe we haven’t batted as well. I think India is the only game we have collectively batted as we would have liked to. So yes, our bowling is brilliant, our batting is something that we need to improve on but I am not worried.”Sarah Taylor hasn’t scored runs in the competition so far but she is dangerous and hopefully there are big things to come from her so I am not too concerned. She got a good ball the other day. Sarah normally hits them through the covers. I have no doubt she is too good a player to go through too many games without scoring so hopefully with two big games to come she will fire for us.”The England bowling gave no headaches to their captain as they routed Australia for 147 with sustained, controlled swing and seam, especially from Anya Shrubsole. It drew praise from the opposition, with both Australia captain Jodie Fields and Sthalekar lauding the efforts of the England attack. “The English bowlers bowled really well,” Sthalekar said. “You had Anya who was hooping them in. The ball with which she got Jess Cameron was pretty spectacular and then you had Katherine Brunt who was going the other way as well. We’ve got bowlers who do similar things as well and the conditions here really helped the swing bowlers early.”Australia now have six points and are in a pretty safe position in the Super Six while England, with two points, would be under pressure to win both their remaining games against South Africa and New Zealand.

ESPNcricinfo previews the final Group 1 Super Eight match between Sri Lanka and England

Preview by Andrew McGlashan30-Sep-2012Match FactsOctober 1, 2012
Start time 19.30 local (1400GMT/1500BST)Jonny Bairstow worked on his keeping, as well as his batting, during England’s net session•Getty ImagesThe Big PictureNeither of these teams will quite know where they stand until West Indies have played New Zealand in the first game of the day. There are various scenarios, ranging from the reasonably simple to the very complicated, but it is fair to say Sri Lanka are handsomely placed with the advantage of a strong net run-rate after their massive victory against West Indies.If Sri Lanka win they have nothing to worry about. If they lose they could be eliminated if West Indies win and net run-rate conspires against them. England could lose and go through if New Zealand win; or win and go out if West Indies win. It is a host of ifs, buts and maybes which is the sign of an ideal group stage.The hosts have the look of a side finding their peak. They could not have played a stronger game than the one put together against West Indies. Generally speaking the longer a host nation stays in a tournament the better for the event – the crowds and atmosphere for the Sri Lanka matches have been a highlight of this tournament.With England it remains a guessing game which side will appear. They were comfortable against New Zealand, a side which, like themselves, are built on orthodox cricketers, but it did not really tell us much about their ability to combat the variety Sri Lanka will possess. Despite the slick performance it did not bode too well that the spinners, Daniel Vettori and Nathan McCullum, were still not played wholly convincingly.Form guide (Most recent first, completed matches)
Sri Lanka WW(Super over)LWL
England WLLWW
Watch out for…It has been a tricky tournament for Jonny Bairstow who was all at sea against India’s spinners and struggled to maintain the required tempo against West Indies. If he is needed to play a significant innings against Sri Lanka their spinners will provide a tough challenge. Reports from England’s training session on Sunday were that he had a lengthy spell with the keeping gloves so it appears there is a chance of him changing roles and replacing Craig Kieswetter behind the stumps.Predictably the focus is on the home side’s slow bowlers (and, of course, Lasith Malinga), but Nuwan Kulasekara is not a bowler to take lightly. He out-foxed Chris Gayle in the previous match and, if a batting side is not on the ball, can hustle through a couple of cheap overs. His only T20 against England, at Bristol two years ago, is an example of this when he took 1 for 15 in three overs to set the tone for a Sri Lanka victory.Team newsLike Australia, questions remain about Sri Lanka’s middle order but the other areas of the team are firing impressively. There is no real need for them to alter the starting XI although they may be tempted to bring back Akila Dananjaya if he has recovered sufficiently from his face injury.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Jeevan Mendis, 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Ajantha MendisIf Andy Flower and Stuart Broad make the call to drop Kieswetter then it is a choice between Michael Lumb and Ravi Bopara to replace him. There has been little indication that Bopara is anything other than a drinks carrier during this tournament so Lumb would be favourite. Elsewhere they need to decide whether to retain the same balance of attack as against New Zealand. There were some suggestions that Samit Patel will be returned to the side at the expense of Danny Briggs.England (probable) 1 Craig Kieswetter/Michael Lumb, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Luke Wright, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Steven Finn, 11 Danny BriggsPitch and conditionsAs was predicted from the early days of the tournament the pitches are becoming slower, lower with more turn on offer although they are far from being minefields. Under lights the ball can skid through, while whoever chases will also do so with the pitch and its oldest. So far the Super Eights have been lucky with the weather.Stats and trivia This will be the first Twenty20 between the two teams in Sri Lanka England claimed a comfortable victory when they faced Sri Lanka in the semi-final of the 2010 tournament in St Lucia Six batsmen have passed 1000 runs in T20Is and Sri Lanka have three of them – Jayawardene, Dilshan and SangakkaraQuotes”They are a very exciting team. They have some quality players and are good with the ball as well. They are defending champions and will throw us a different challenge.”
“We have a huge amount of match-winners. The performances from the guys last night summed that up. Three or four of us played exceptionally well – and world-class players, like Brendon McCullum, found it very difficult to deal with us.”

The preview of the fourth ODI between Bangladesh and West Indies in Mirpur

The Preview by Mohammad Isam06-Dec-2012Match factsDecember 7, 2012
Start time 1430 (0830 GMT)Marlon Samuels showed the value of grinding it out and it’s up to the other batsmen to follow suit•Associated PressBig PictureHaving got one must-win game out of the way, West Indies are facing another in order to draw level with Bangladesh in the five-ODI series. One wrong step in Mirpur on Friday could make the final match on Saturday a dead rubber and consign West Indies to a series defeat, a backward step after their recent success in international cricket.West Indies made amends for their poor showing in the first two matches in Khulna by changing their approach to batting. In Khulna, the batsmen were guilty of trying to hit out every time they were bogged down. In Mirpur, however, Samuels led the change, by battling more than batting on a pitch that had irregular bounce and lots of turn. West Indies now need their other batsmen – Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy – to follow the Samuels way. The visitors also had another positive in the third match – Sunil Narine finally found form on this tour with a four-wicket haul.Bangladesh are leading the series 2-1, and despite their struggle in the previous game, they scored 227, an indication of their increasing comfort levels in ODIs. They will be heartened to see the bowling unit put up a fight. A worry, though, is the form of Rubel Hossain, who looked rusty during a five-over spell that cost 42.Form guide (Most recent first)
Bangladesh LWWLW
West Indies WLLWWIn the spotlightBangladesh offspinner Sohag Gazi was wicketless for the first time in an international match, in the third ODI in Mirpur, where he had figures of 9-1-36-0. He has been a revelation for Bangladesh this winter, and will hope that the previous match was a blip in an otherwise encouraging start to his career.Kieron Pollard has become a figure of ridicule in Bangladesh for his comments after the first ODI in Khulna. He hasn’t been in form either and has thrown away his wicket at crucial times. He will be expected to hit a few into the stands at least, if not out of the city, like he threatened to.Team newsMushfiqur Rahim and Bangladesh’s interim coach Shane Jurgensen will not tinker too much with the team combination as it offered balance to the attack. Bangladesh however have the option of playing left-arm spinner Elias Sunny, who was added to the squad for the final two ODIs.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Naeem Islam, 4 Nasir Hossain, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Mominul Haque, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza, 9 Sohag Gazi, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Rubel Hossain.West Indies possibly got it right by picking both spinners in their line-up and are likely to continue with the winning combination.West Indies (possible): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Dwayne Smith, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Devon Thomas, 9 Ravi Rampaul, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Veersasammy PermaulPitch and conditionsThe pitch for the third ODI was a challenge for the batsmen, but the one for the fourth game could be a batting paradise. In that case, batting second will be much easier under lights.Stats and trivia The last time West Indies came back from 1-2 down to win a series was against Zimbabwe in the 2003-04 season. Bangladesh have a poor win-loss record in Dhaka – 24 won out of 84 – compared to other venues in the country – 18 wins out of 36.Quotes”We can’t focus on two games so we will take it step by step. We can’t afford to pressure ourselves when we are coming from the back.”
“We will go hard and aggressive to win the last two matches, we are not feeling too much pressure.”

At England Under-19’s match against Australia in Townsville, the Overton twins, allrounder Craig and fast bowler Jamie, performed creditably in defeat

George Binoy in Townsville11-Aug-2012Caught C Overton bowled J Overton. A fielder-bowler combination that is almost certain to appear in many Somerset scorecards of the future. It appeared twice today, in England Under-19’s match against Australia in Townsville, where the twins, allrounder Craig and fast bowler Jamie, both tall and strong, performed creditably in defeat.Craig top scored for England, making 35 in tough conditions, and bowled 8.1 overs for 31 runs without a wicket. Batting at No. 4, he was in as early as the ninth delivery of the morning, after his team had slumped to 8 for 2. Under attack from Australia’s three quick bowlers, Craig watched the situation steadily get worse.”It did a bit early on,” he said. “So we had to battle through it and unfortunately today we didn’t do it. Not ideal losing the toss, but you’re never going to win a game batting like that. A disappointing performance really.”Craig battled 81 deliveries for his runs, playing the quicks with care and attacking when he could. “They bowled really well, made it a struggle for us to score runs. They never let us get away. I just tried to stay there, just to battle through it, bat as long as possible.”His resistance ended in the 27th over, by which time England were 96 for 7. Jamie managed 14 off 15 deliveries and England were eventually bowled out for 143 in the 39th over.Australia had a short period to bat before the lunch break and during that time Jamie did his thing, bowling at speeds approaching 150kph. With the equally impressive Reece Topley troubling the batsmen from his end, Jamie hustled and harried the Australians with his pace.”Even with [about] 140 we felt comfortable, we have a really good bowling attack and we felt we could have bowled them out,” Jamie said. “We probably would have liked to stay out there [at lunch], the way the situation was.”England had Australia at 54 for 4 but the next breakthrough never came. For his part, Jamie may have got carried away because of the pace and bounce in the pitch. In his first over, he had dug in a bouncer that soared over the keeper’s head. Later on, he began to pitch on the shorter side, as England’s desperation for wickets grew. He’ll be wiser for the experience.Jamie did find two edges, though, on either side of lunch, and Craig caught both at slip. “I rely on him quite often,” said Jamie. “He’s been in the slips often and I normally get quite a few edges [while bowling]. He doesn’t drop that many and has a good pair of hands.”After the backyard cricket when they were toddlers, where Jamie would bowl “little medium pacers at Craig”, the broken windows and the shattered vases, the twins started playing together in teams from the age of eight. They played together in Devon’s age-group sides, working their way up towards the Somerset Second XIs. Their progress has not always been simultaneous, but the twin behind never took long to catch up. The competition helped their growth.”Say I’ve gone ahead,” said Jamie. “He [Craig] has always tried to catch up with me. When he’s gone ahead, I’ve always caught up with him. We’ve always been really competitive with each other.””I did,” said Craig, when asked who made their first-class debut for Somerset first. “We were told that one of us wasn’t going to play. So we just knew that if one didn’t play, we’d support him as much as possible. That’s what we do, try and get each other going, try and get our performances going.”Craig made his Somerset debut against Lancashire in April this year. Less than a month later, Jamie was alongside him. “It made me want to get it more,” said Jamie. “Hopefully we’ll get a few more chances together with them [Somerset].”In the years to come, Craig and Jamie Overton may get chances with England’s Emerging Players and Lions. They probably won’t get it together, but the twin behind will strive to get there too, with the twin ahead hoping he does.

Yorkshire will start favourites against Worcestershire in their Friends Life t20 quarter-final as they target a first trip to finals day

Jon Culley24-Jul-2012Never good enough to reach finals day in nine years of trying, never good enough even to earn a home quarter-final, Yorkshire will at least enjoy that privilege when they face Worcestershire at Headingley. Unless the form that has won them seven from eight completed matches in the North Group deserts them at the critical moment, it is hard to imagine that Yorkshire will not go to finals day in the Friends Life t20 in Cardiff on August 25, and possibly as favourites.The Yorkshire transformation has been by some margin the eye-opener in a competition that has found it difficult to attract attention in a damp and chilly summer amid a congested calendar of sport. Some say it is down to the experience brought together in a management trio teaming Jason Gillespie and Paul Farbrace with the established wisdom of Martyn Moxon, others that the signing of two overseas players at the hungry end of their international careers has been the key.While both of those arguments have their strengths, there is another that can be tossed into the debate, namely the appointment of Azeem Rafiq as temporary captain after Andrew Gale dropped out with a hip injury after the third group match. Aged only 21, which made him the youngest player in the county’s history to captain the senior side, Rafiq’s elevation might be seen as shrewd judgment or a lucky gamble but there is no doubt it has paid off handsomely.Given that he had led England sides and Under-15 and Under-19 level and captained Yorkshire in second XI and pre-season matches the gamble was smaller than some might have supposed, although his senior experience was naturally quite limited.Yet Gillespie claimed “it took about five seconds” to conclude that Rafiq was the right man for the job and after five wins from seven completed matches with him in charge, including a comprehensive six-wicket win over strongly fancied Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, it is hard to criticise the Yorkshire hierarchy for making a hasty judgment. When the now recovered Gale returns to lead the side against Worcestershire it will be with a fulsome endorsement of his stand-in.”What I like about Azeem is that I see a bit of myself in him,” Gale said of Rafiq, whose heritage also makes him the first cricketer of Asian origin to captain Yorkshire. But it is not only the “aggressive, up-and-at-’em in-your-face” approach that has impressed Gale. His tactical judgment has also met with approval.”When I am out on the pitch, he comes to me all the time suggesting things,” Gale added, in his weekly newspaper column. “Some lads suggest things and you think: ‘No, that’s not right.’ But what I’ve found nine times out of 10 is that what he suggests is what I’m thinking. I think we’re on the same wavelength.”Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of professional cricket, believes keeping to a pre-meditated game plan made it easier for Rafiq but that he took on the responsibility impressively nonetheless. “He’s got a good cricket brain, and he keeps calm under pressure, which you need to do as a captain,” Moxon said. “We’ve got a set plan on how we want to play, which makes it easier for him in the sense of the bowlers knowing what we’re trying to do. But he’s a great motivator in the field.”It is extraordinary to recall now that Rafiq’s debut for Yorkshire in 2008 cost them a Twenty20 Cup quarter-final after his appearance in a group stage win over Nottinghamshire. Then an academy player, he was selected in good faith but questions over his eligibility led to Yorkshire’s quarter-final against Durham being postponed moments before it was due to begin and ultimately their effective disqualification after the result at Trent Bridge was reversed.If that were a controversy not of his making, the same cannot be said of the error of judgment he made two years ago when an outburst on Twitter against coach John Abrahams on being dropped from an England Under-19 side on disciplinary grounds led to a one-month ban from all cricket. Clearly he has acquired some maturity since then.Worcestershire, having qualified as one of the two best third-placed sides from the group stages, are also bidding to reach finals day for the first time in the 10 years of Twenty20. They might appear to have weaker credentials than Yorkshire, but they emerged from a strong Midlands/Wales/West Group headed by Somerset and Gloucestershire, finishing level with Warwickshire on 11 points but with a better net run rate.What’s more, they possess the 2012 competition’s highest run scorer in opener Philip Hughes, who has hit three half-centuries in an aggregate of 322 from seven innings. Yorkshire, on the other hand, have been well served by several players.Opening batsman Phil Jaques has shared two hundred-plus partnerships – 118 with Gale against Leicestershire at Headingley and 131 with Adam Lyth in the concluding group match against Derbyshire, also at the Leeds ground. David Miller, the 23-year-old South African who forms one half of their overseas duo, hit 28 runs in the last two overs against Durham at Chester-le-Street to finish 74 not out from 35 balls and shared a stand of 91 in 7.1 overs with Gary Ballance against Lancashire at Headingley, in front of a crowd of 10,350.The Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc, 22, meanwhile, is the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 18 and has been particularly effective at the end of an innings. There is a question mark over Starc’s availability for finals day after he was called up to Australia’s one-day and Twenty20 squads for their series against Pakistan in the UAE, which includes a one-day international against Afghanistan in Sharjah on August 25.Nottinghamshire’s surprise home defeat to Yorkshire did not preclude them also securing a home quarter-final with Hampshire in the other Wednesday tie. It was their only defeat in 10 North Group matches and, with Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Riki Wessels, Adam Voges, Samit Patel and James Taylor presenting as the strongest top six in the country, they will start as strong favourites, although Glenn Maxwell, the batsman named in Australia’s provisional squad for the World Twenty20, could be a dangerous opponent, especially with Darren Pattinson, a key Nottinghamshire bowler in this competition, failing to recover from a groin injury suffered in a CB40 match on Sunday.

Brad Hogg is adamant he will be more than a 40-year-old sideshow in Australia’s Twenty20 plans, starting with two matches against India in Sydney and Melbourne

Daniel Brettig29-Jan-2012Brad Hogg is adamant he will be more than a 40-year-old sideshow in Australia’s Twenty20 plans, starting with two matches against India in Sydney and Melbourne.Having earned his spot in the national Twenty20 side via a startling return to the game in the Big Bash League, Hogg now intends to prove his worth for a second time in international cricket, having carved out a successful ODI career before his retirement in 2008.While his selection has provoked some debate about the state of Australia’s spin stocks, Hogg said he had grown immeasurably in his confidence since turning heads with the Perth Scorchers.”I’m not here for anything other than helping Australia prepare for a Twenty20 World Cup,” Hogg said in Sydney where the Australian Twenty20 team convened. “I’ve been out of it for three and a half years and to get selected after what’s happened with the Perth Scorchers [losing BBL finalists] has been fantastic. I’ve got a lot of pride in myself and I want to make sure I do what I did three and a half years ago – and that was work hard and do my best out on the field.”Hopefully I can get two or three more years out of it but we’ll just see how it plays out. Am I going to embarrass myself? Those sort of thoughts were going through my mind when I signed up [for the BBL], but once I got over those initial thoughts I thought, ‘no stuff it. I’ve been out of it three and a half years, I’m feeling good, go and give it a go. Life’s all about opportunities and this opportunity won’t come again.”Mickey Arthur [then the Scorchers coach] rang me up and he said ‘are you interested?’ I’d been playing a bit of grade cricket up until then and I sat there and had a look at a few things, I thought am I good enough to play first-class cricket again?”The first ball I bowled in the BBL wasn’t too flash and I thought ‘what the hell have I done here’, and I got run out in that particular game as well, but after that first ball the nerves went away and I was fine it felt like I hadn’t been out of the game really, I just felt like I was home again.”Hogg’s place in Australia’s plans is geared heavily towards the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September, and he has already been told a place on the Twenty20 leg of the West Indies tour in March is unlikely. A pair of decent displays against India will go close to assuring Hogg of his spot at the global event, while also strengthening his chance of being picked up in this year’s IPL auction.”I’ve spoken to the selectors, they’ve got a plan for it,” he said. “I’ve told them my interest is to play a couple of tournaments around the world and to make sure my form is up to it leading into selection for the Twenty20 World Cup. I’ve been told I probably won’t be going to the West Indies because it’s probably a waste of resources and I’m getting enough cricket around other competitions.”I’m hoping to get picked up [in the IPL] because when I made the comeback to the Perth Scorchers I thought stuff it, I’m fit enough to play and I want to make the most of my playing days, I’ve probably only got two or three more minutes to be able to play cricket, I’ve been commentating over in India for the last two or three years, and I thought I haven’t played IPL, I want to go out and experience it.”The Hogg story is the latest chapter in spin bowling’s Twenty20 renaissance, the flurry of slow bowlers encouraged by aggressive batsmen and shrewd captaincy to tempt their opponents into error. Hogg admitted he had held grave fears for the place of spin bowling in Twenty20 when it first began.”I must admit when Twenty20 cricket came out I thought oh no, that game’s not for spinners and all of a sudden it is,” he said. “Because you take the pace off the ball and batsmen are trying to hit you out of the park, so you’re there as a wicket-taking option but you’ve also got to have the ability to try and dry up runs when things aren’t going well. So spinners do play their part and most teams are playing two frontline spinners and you wouldn’t expect that in 50-over cricket four or five years ago, and opening the bowling too.”

New Zealand Cricket has confidently dismissed suggestions in the Sunday Times’ that New Zealand players had agreed to meet with a bookmaker to discuss opportunities to fix cricket matches

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2012New Zealand Cricket has confidently dismissed suggestions in the that New Zealand players had agreed to meet with a bookmaker to fix matches. The newspaper, on Sunday, released the results of an investigation it had conducted into fixing and quoted an Indian bookmaker as saying he had turned down the chance to work with New Zealand players because it was not worthwhile with more lucrative match-fixing opportunities on offer in the IPL.”We have complete confidence that the claims made are baseless and have no credibility,” NZC chief executive David White said in a statement responding to enquiries about the article. “The sources are not credible and the accusations are unsubstantiated making them irresponsible, damaging and untrue.”The integrity and reputation of the game is paramount and NZC have absolute confidence that our players share these ideals. We have been in contact with the ICC anti-corruption unit and this is now a matter for them to follow up on.”The article claims that their undercover reporters’ meetings with alleged bookmakers has revealed that fixing is still rife in cricket despite the recent imprisonments of four cricketers for spot-fixing. The ICC has routinely promised that it will investigate the claims uncovered by the newspaper’s investigation.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

England batsman Ian Bell expects the occasional flashpoint in the series against Pakistan which starts next month

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2011Ian Bell, the England batsman, expects the occasional flashpoint in the series against Pakistan that starts next month, but knows both teams have a responsibility to compete in the right spirit.Contests between England and Pakistan have a history of courting controversy and this tour takes place in the aftermath of the spot-fixing verdicts, with Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir given jail terms after being exposed by the in 2010.Relations between the teams became increasingly strained during the one-day leg of that series but Andrew Strauss has previously spoken about how it is time to move on from spot-fixing. For their part Pakistan have a new-look team which has enjoyed a very successful 2011 although a number of players remain from the England tour.”It’s a slightly different Pakistan squad to last year. They are trying to prove lots of people wrong,” Bell told the . “It will be a tough series and I am sure that at some point there will be an incident or two. But it’s important we ensure that this series is remembered for the right reasons not for anything controversial.”Bell is also aware that England didn’t cover themselves in glory during the one-day series against India in October when the team was criticised for their attitude in the field as they slumped to the 5-0 whitewash.”We didn’t put ourselves in a great light in the one-day series India with some of the stuff that was going on and we need to make sure that this series is played in the right way. Hopefully that will happen. It’s important for both sides to be ambassadors for the game and we need to make sure that it is played in the right way.”Pakistan have finished 2011 as one of the in-form teams in the world, which bodes well for a tight tussle against England who start the series as the No. 1 Test team. Pakistan will have the advantage of greater knowledge of the conditions, having played ‘home’ Tests in UAE over the last two years, but Bell thinks inconsistency remains a real possibility.”Pakistan have great individual players, they always have done, but they are unpredictable,” he said. “On their day they can beat anyone but they can always lose to anyone. You never quite know what you are going to get with them.