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Chris Tremlett and Monty Panesar have been recalled to the England squad for the Ashes tour, but Ajmal Shahzad misses out on the main 16-man party and will instead travel with the performance squad

Andrew McGlashan23-Sep-2010Chris Tremlett and Monty Panesar have been recalled to the England squad for the Ashes tour, but Ajmal Shahzad misses out on the main 16-man party and will instead travel with the performance team. The positions of final pacemen and second spinner were the only ones up for grabs among a settled unit, with Tremlett’s height and Panesar’s previous Test experience being the deciding factors.It had been expected that Shahzad had done enough in his few appearances this season, particularly with his use of reverse swing, to make the final cut but the selectors have opted to send him with the second string, while Tim Bresnan goes in the main group to provide allrounder cover. However, Shahzad will fly out with the full party on October 29 for the warm-up period before moving to the performance side ahead of the Brisbane Test. The rest of the squad provoked very little debate with Steve Davies being rewarded for his successful one-day form with the back-up keeper role.However, the two players to gain most from the announcement are Tremlett and Panesar after periods in the international wilderness. Tremlett last appeared in 2008 – but hasn’t played a Test since his successful debut series against India in 2007 – while Panesar has been ignored since his famous rearguard with the bat alongside James Anderson against Australia, at Cardiff, last year.Tremlett enjoyed a resurgent season with Surrey having joined from Hampshire, taking 48 Championship scalps at 20.18. Six weeks ago he was in prime form and although he tailed off towards the end of the summer he earned strong reviews. Tremlett has always had the attributes to be a Test-match fast bowler, but has had to battle against a perception that his character is suspect under pressure. Although he will start outside the first XI, any injuries to the pace attack will give him the chance to prove his detractors wrong.Panesar, meanwhile, moved from Northamptonshire to Sussex for the 2010 season in an attempt to revive his England career and he enjoyed a successful summer with 52 Championshop wickets at 25.53. The other contenders as back-up for Graeme Swann were James Tredwell, the Kent offspinner who made his Test debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka earlier this year, and Adil Rashid who had an impressive all-round season with Yorkshire which brought 732 runs at 45.75 alongside 57 wickets at 31.29.But, in one of the most surprising selections, Rashid has not only missed the main squad but also the performance side that will be based in Brisbane and Perth alongside the Ashes party. Tredwell, and the 19-year-old Hampshire left-arm spinner Danny Briggs, are the two slow bowlers acting as support to Swann and Panesar.”We believe we’ve selected an outstanding Test squad for what will be a fiercely contested Ashes series in Australia,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, said. “In order to retain the Ashes we will need to play to a very high level and we believe we’ve selected a squad to do just that.”Clearly there are always difficult decisions to make when selecting an England squad and this Ashes squad was no different. We feel that Chris Tremlett’s inclusion will add a real threat of pace and bounce to our bowling attack given the conditions in Australia. Chris will be vying for a place in the final team amongst a confident attack including James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn.”We feel that following an excellent season with Sussex Monty Panesar deserves his opportunity to assume the role as England’s second spinner behind Graeme Swann. Monty has gone away and worked on his bowling since his last England appearance and he continues to be an attacking threat with the ball in his hand.”The performance squad includes those who have been around England squads in recent times – Tredwell, Michael Carberry, and Liam Plunkett – along with some of the strongest performers from the domestic season including Jimmy Adams, the Hampshire opener, James Taylor from Leicestershire, Yorkshire’s Adam Lyth and Warwickshire’s allrounder Chris Woakes. There is also a place for Ben Stokes, the Durham allrounder, who was born in New Zealand but Ravi Bopara doesn’t make it and will instead play first-class cricket in South Africa.The performance side will be based in Brisbane from November 13 where it will play a four-day match against a Queensland XI (November 25-28) before relocating to Perth on November 29 to play a Western Australia XI (December 7-10) and they will remain in Perth for the lead up to the third Ashes Test before returning to the UK on December 16.David Parsons, the ECB performance director, said: “The England Performance Programme provides an excellent opportunity for those players identified as having considerable talent to train together in an England environment throughout the winter and further develop as cricketers.”The time spent at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough and Australia allows our national lead coaches to work intensively with the players and assess their readiness to graduate to the full England side when the opportunity arises. It has been very pleasing to see the likes of Jonathan Trott, Eoin Morgan, Steven Finn and Steve Davies who have all spent time on the programme in recent years, go on to play important roles for England.”Ashes squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Steve Davies, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett, Monty PanesarPerformance squad Jimmy Adams, Jonny Bairstow, Danny Briggs, Michael Carberry, Maurice Chambers, Jade Dernbach, Andrew Gale, James Hildreth, Craig Kieswetter, Adam Lyth, Liam Plunkett, Ajmal Shahzad, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris WoakesCentral contracts Andrew Strauss, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Jonathan TrottIncremental contracts Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Eoin Morgan, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy

The left-arm spinner remains hopeful of playing the first Test less than two weeks after suffering the injury in the BBL

AAP27-Jan-20251:01

Clarke: Kuhnemann should tell everyone he’s fully fit

Matt Kuhnemann admitted he briefly feared his thumb injury could have ended his hopes of touring Sri Lanka but both he and Steven Smith completed full training sessions on the squad’s arrival in Galle for the Test series.Australia’s premier left-arm spinner Kuhnemann is now pain-free after wearing a ball on his non-bowling hand playing for Brisbane Heat earlier this month. He reunited with the squad in Sri Lanka at the weekend and completed Sunday afternoon’s first full session since arriving on the island for the two-match series.Related

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Stand-in captain Smith, who suffered a minor elbow injury in the BBL, spent as much time batting in the nets as anyone else and did not appear hampered.Every team member attended the optional session, with conditions so humid that top-order option Sam Konstas removed his helmet to finish batting in the nets.Apparently in preparation for the turning conditions, allrounder Beau Webster bowled the right-arm offspin of earlier in his career rather than the medium pace trotted out on Test debut at the SCG earlier this month.Kuhnemann is continuing to wear a brace on his right thumb and medical staff will monitor him. His injury appeared more serious than Smith’s, but Kuhnemann feels fit ahead of the first Test that begins on January 29.Matt Kuhnemann bowls at training with a protection on his injured thumb•Getty Images

“I had a couple of sessions back home and I was obviously cautious batting and fielding and everything but bowling, I haven’t had a problem whatsoever,” Kuhnemann said prior to the first training session. “I did this same thumb a couple of years ago and it was real painful but this one has been fine from the get-go.”As he awaited surgery, Kuhnemann said he was unsure whether he would have the chance to add to his three Test caps in Sri Lanka. The 28-year-old was a late call-up when Australia toured India in 2023, and the lack of subcontinent visits since had robbed him of further chances.”Definitely there were times when I was disappointed. It’s not great timing,” Kuhnemann said when asked whether he feared for his ability to tour. “There was a couple of hours. But I believe everything happens for a reason and you sort of move on. Obviously you do everything you can because these tours don’t come around very often as a spinner.”Kuhnemann could not attend the squad’s preparatory camp at the ICC Academy in Dubai but managed a hit-out with a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions at Allan Border Field last week.”The boys said I didn’t miss out on too much and what I was bowling on back in Brisbane was an eight-day old wicket so it worked out pretty good,” Kuhnemann said. “If it was the off-season then maybe it would be a blow to miss Dubai but we’re in the middle of summer and the workloads and confidence are high. Everything is all good.”

The fast bowler re-signed with the franchise earlier this year and replaces Matthew Wade in the skipper’s role

Tristan Lavalette16-Nov-2023Fast bowler Nathan Ellis has been appointed the new Hobart Hurricanes captain, replacing Matthew Wade in the role.Hurricanes, along with Melbourne Stars are the only two franchises that have failed to win a BBL title since the T20 competition began in 2011 despite being consistent performers. They’ve been runners-up twice and never finished last – Adelaide Strikers are the only other team to have avoided the wooden spoon.But new captain Ellis is hoping to lead Hurricanes to a drought-breaking title. Ellis, 29, re-signed with the Hurricanes earlier this year and for the past five seasons has been their trusted spearhead alongside speedster Riley Meredith.Related

• Harry Brook withdraws from the BBL

• Joe Clarke goes from Melbourne Stars to Renegades

• Tim Paine joins Adelaide Strikers as assistant coach in BBL

“The Hurricanes are a franchise that I hold very dear to my heart and have done a lot for me,” Ellis said. “So to have the opportunity to lead and hopefully bring some silverware home to Tasmania is really exciting.”He takes the reins from Wade, who in the off-season had been linked to a move to Melbourne Renegades before signing a contract extension until at least 2026.Wade will captain Australia during the five-match T20I series against India in the aftermath of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Ellis is also part of the squad, which features several players on the fringes of Australia’s white-ball teams.Since his spectacular international debut in August 2021, where he took a hat-trick against Bangladesh, Ellis has impressed in T20Is with 18 wickets at an average of 11.88 from eight games.His death bowling prowess, where Ellis deceives through canny slower deliveries, makes him an intriguing option as he eyes next year’s T20 World Cup. Ellis, who is not part of Australia’s ODI World Cup squad, has been unable to find the same success in 50-over cricket with ten wickets at 38.20 from eight matches.”He embodies everything the Hurricanes stand for; a great work ethic, resilience and a fantastic attitude towards the game and his team-mates,” Hurricanes head coach Jeff Vaughan said.Hurricanes start their season on December 11 against Sydney Sixers in Launceston.

Joe Root, with a career-high 923 rating points, is now at No. 19 on the list of the highest-rated batters in Test history

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2022Jonny Bairstow and Rishabh Pant, the standout batting stars of the Edgbaston Test, have burst into the top ten of the ICC men’s Test player rankings – Bairstow at tenth place and Pant at a career-best No. 5. The unbeaten century in the second innings didn’t hurt Joe Root’s cause either, as he consolidated his position at the top of the table, that too with 923 rating points, his best.Bairstow was the Player of the Match following innings of 106 and 114 not out in England’s seven-wicket win, which helped them square the five-match Test series 2-2. That made it four centuries in his last three Tests for him, and he moved up 11 places to No. 10. He has 1218 runs at an average of 55.36 with six centuries in the current World Test Championship cycle.With Bairstow moving up, Virat Kohli, who only managed scores of 11 and 20 at Edgbaston, fell four spots to No. 13. This is the first time since 2016 that Kohli has not featured in the top ten in Test cricket. As for Bairstow, it was a continuation of his stunning rise in recent weeks. Prior to the New Zealand Test series in June, he was ranked 47th. Now, he is back in the top ten for the first time since 2018.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Root, who collaborated with Bairstow in an unbroken 269-run stand that took England over the line against India and scored an unbeaten 142 himself – to go with 31 in the first innings – stretched his lead at the top of the table to 44 ratings points over second-placed Marnus Labuschagne. Root is now also among the top 20 highest-rated batters in Test history, at No. 19.Steven Smith and Babar Azam were at three and four respectively, with Pant at five. Pant was the main performer with the bat for India in the Test, hitting 146 in the first innings and 57 in the second. That took him up six places from No. 11.Two bowlers who gained in the latest rankings update were James Anderson and Nathan Lyon. Anderson picked up six wickets at Edgbaston, including 5 for 60 in the first innings, to move up one spot to sixth among Test bowlers. And Lyon, who picked up nine wickets in the first Test in Sri Lanka, has risen five spots to 13th.

Full rankings tables

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There was also a new top-tenner in the men’s T20I bowling rankings: Akeal Hosein. Hosein has returned 1 for 22 and 1 for 27 in the two T20Is at home against Bangladesh so far – the first ended in a no-result because of the weather and West Indies won the second by 35 runs. That has given him a jump of ten spots, and a joint-eighth position with Maheesh Theekshana.Papua New Guinea’s Norman Vanua’s impressive all-round showing in the T20I series in Singapore, meanwhile, has put him in the top ten among allrounders in the format. He hit 20 and picked up 2 for 30 in the first game, and scored 71 and returned 1 for 33 in the second, moving ten places to No. 9 as a result.

Rahul Chahar likely to be replacement, while status of Rahul Tewatia – who had also failed fitness tests – is unclear

Nagraj Gollapudi09-Mar-2021Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy is set to miss India’s five-match T20I series against England that will take place from March 12 to 20. Chakravarthy is understood to have failed to clear the mandatory fitness tests set by the BCCI. It is likely that the selectors will draft in Rahul Chahar as a replacement, with the legspinner having already been named as one of the net bowlers for the series.Related

• Kohli says 'no space for compromise' when it comes to fitness levels

• New fitness target for Indian players: yo-yo level raised to 17:1, time trial 2k run

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• Doubts over Natarajan's availability for England T20Is

Meanwhile, Rahul Tewatia is currently training with the national squad in Ahmedabad. Tewatia, who received his maiden national call-up for the series, had also failed in his initial fitness test. It is not yet clear whether Tewatia – picked as a bowling allrounder after his exploits for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020 – will get another chance to clear his fitness test or be asked to continue as a net bowler only.For Chakravarthy, 29, it’s the second time he’ll be missing out on an opportunity for a potential India debut, having been initially picked in the T20I squad for the tour of Australia, but ruled out due to a shoulder injury then. Chakravarthy was picked on the back of his IPL 2020 performances, where he emerged as one of the standout uncapped Indian players. However, the shoulder injury meant Chakravarthy never even travelled to Australia, which allowed T Natarajan to make his international debut.Chakravarthy had a lengthy rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, following which the selectors picked him for the England T20Is – subject to everyone being picked clearing their fitness tests, whose targets the BCCI had revised recently.It is understood that to be part of India’s limited-overs squads, clearing the fitness tests is a key selection criteria imposed by the BCCI at the behest of the team management and the selectors. In the new fitness standards, players have the choice to either clear the yo-yo test, whose level has been increased to 17:1, or run two kilometres in 8.15 minutes (for bowlers) and 8.30 minutes (for the rest).It could not be confirmed which of the tests both Chakravarthy and Tewatia had failed to clear. While Tewatia travelled to Ahmedabad from Jaipur after representing Haryana in the league phase of the Vijay Hazare Trophy (the domestic 50-overs competition), Chakravarthy’s whereabouts could not be ascertained.As for Chahar, this will be the second time he will part of the T20I squad after he made his debut in the Caribbean, where he played one T20I and picked up 1 for 27.

The former Australia captain retires from his role as CA’s national talent manager on Monday, having been involved in the game for more than 50 years

Andrew McGlashan30-Sep-2019Greg Chappell walks from the field at Lord’s during the 1972 Ashes Test where he made 131•PA Photos

Batsman
One of Australia’s greats. Chappell started and ended his Test career with centuries, against England and Pakistan respectively, in all amassing 7110 runs at 53.86 – which remains the sixth-highest average for a batsman with at least 80 Tests – with 24 hundreds in a career that spanned 1970-1984. It won’t show in official records, but some of his most dominant batting came during World Series Cricket when he scored 621 runs in five “SuperTests” against a West Indies side that had an attack of Holding, Garner, Croft and Roberts.By the 1977 Ashes, Greg Chappell was Australia’s captain, a role he continued after World Series Cricket•PA Photos

Captain
His captaincy stint came either side of World Series Cricket, in which he was a key figure, and in total it encompassed 48 matches with Ashes series in 1977 (a defeat) and 1982-83 (a victory). He scored centuries in each innings in his first match as captain against West Indies in Brisbane. However, his captaincy career is most famously remembered for when he instructed his brother, Trevor, to bowl underarm against New Zealand at the MCG in 1981.Greg Chappell’s time as India coach was not always a happy one•Getty Images

Coach
Chappell had a five-year spell as South Australia coach from 1998-99 to 2002-03, and in 2008 headed up CA’s centre of excellence, which included being involved with Australia’s Under-19 team. He has also worked with the Australia A side and U-19s in his latter role as national talent manager. But his headline stint as a coach came when he was in charge of India between 2005-2007. It became a controversial spell, which included crashing out in the first round of the 2007 World Cup and falling out with captain Sourav Ganguly.Greg Chappell talks to coach Justin Langer and captain Tim Paine•Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Selector
His first spell as an Australian selector came straight after he finished playing and lasted from 1984-1988. It was a time when the team struggled in Tests – although it included the 1987 World Cup victory – but during that spell names who would lead an era of great success, including David Boon and Steve Waugh, made their debuts. He was again appointed a selector in 2010, although it was a brief stay; he was part of the Argus Review clear out and in 2011 moved into his role as national talent manager. In 2016, following the upheaval created by the crushing defeat by South Africa in Hobart, Chappell returned to a selection role alongside Trevor Hohns.As national talent manager, Greg Chappell kept watch over the next generation•Getty Images

Administrator
After finishing his playing career, Chappell became a member of the Australia Cricket Board alongside his first selection role. During his most recent stint as national talent manager, Cricket Australia’s methods have not always been met with approval, particularly around the fast-tracking of young talent and the formation of a CA XI to play in the one-day competition, but Chappell remained a voice of experience at a time of considerable change. In an interview with last year to mark his 70th birthday, he was asked what he would like his legacy to be. “Someone who cared for the game,” he said.

A five-wicket haul for Deepak Chahar limited West Indies A to a total of 221 before Mayank Agarwal’s century underpinned the chase

Jon Culley at Grace Road25-Jun-2018
ScorecardGrace Road had a preview of the batting strength in this India A side last week when they blazed their way to 458 for 4 in a 50-over match against a Leicestershire team, albeit one that bore very little resemblance to the first XI.It was the second-highest List A total in the history of limited-overs cricket, at least for a few hours (bizarrely, it was overtaken the same afternoon when England ran amok against Australia, just up the road in Nottingham). Regardless of the inexperience of the opposition, it was quite an achievement.No feat of that nature was needed on their return to the Leicester ground, where they overhauled a modest West Indies A total with almost 12 overs to spare to register their first points in the tri-series with England Lions, who beat both on consecutive days at Derby last week and take on India A for a second time on this ground on Tuesday.The chief architects of the seven-wicket victory were the seam bowler Deepak Chahar, who took 5 for 27 as the West Indies side were dismissed for 221, and Mayank Agarwal, their opening batsman, who added an elegantly constructed 112 to the unbeaten 151 he made here last week.The Kings XI Punjab batsman, at 27 one of the senior players in a young Indian team, completed his 10th List A hundred from 88 deliveries, having just hit the mountainous 6ft 5in offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall for a towering six into the car park at the Bennett End, extending his boundary count to 11 fours and two sixes before he was caught at mid-on off the pacy left-armer Dominic Drakes.The 18-year-old Shubman Gill, who with opener Prithvi Shaw was a member of the India team that won the Under-19 World Cup in February, was next-highest scorer with an unbeaten 57 after being dropped on 8.It was a disappointing effort by the West Indians, who have brought an experienced group of players and, having beaten the Lions in a three-match series at home earlier in the year would have hoped to do better than lose both their opening two fixtures.They won the toss and chose to bat first under a cloudless sky but made a poor start by losing the key wicket of Jermaine Blackwood to only the third ball of the innings.Caught at slip off a needlessly extravagant stroke outside off stump, Blackwood was the first of right-arm seamer Chahar’s five victims on the way to his best figures in List A cricket.He is the bowler who burst upon the scene eight years ago with figures of 8 for 10 on first-class debut in a match in which Rajasthan bowled out Hyderabad for 21.Regular injury setbacks have not helped but his career since but he now seems to be on an upwards path. He was the leading wicket-taker in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 competition this year as Rajasthan reached the final, after which he was picked up by Chennai Super Kings for the IPL. This is his maiden India A tour and he has 11 wickets in four matches thus far.He also produced good late movement to have Andre McCarthy caught behind in his opening spell and returned to break a building partnership between Rovman Powell and Devon Thomas, the wicketkeeper, whose unbeaten 64 – the best moment of which was a slog-sweep for six off spinner Krunal Pandya that threatened the windows in The Meet – was the only half-century of the innings.Thomas apart, Chandrapaul Hemraj, who had survived a difficult chance to slip on 15, was the most impressive of the West Indian batsmen and his run-out on 45, thanks to a superb piece of fielding by Gill, was a key moment in the innings.

A double career-best performance from Nathan Buck was the highlight of another hard fought day between Derbyshire and Northamptonshire

ECB Reporters Network15-Apr-2017
ScorecardA double career-best performance from Nathan Buck was the highlight of another hard fought day between Derbyshire and Northamptonshire in the Division Two match at Derby.Buck followed figures of 5 for 68 with 43 out of a ninth wicket stand of 89 with Max Holden who made an unbeaten 68 as Northants recovered from 171 for 8 to reach 291 for 9 at the close in reply to Derbyshire’s 281.Will Davis with four wickets supported by sharp slip catching had put Derbyshire in charge before Buck and Holden kept their side in the game with a fighting partnership in the final session.England batsman Ben Duckett and opening partner Rob Newton made half centuries to give Northants a solid platform but rash strokes transformed the contest after lunch.Buck had taken two of the last four Derbyshire wickets in the morning as the home side added 62 runs with eighth-wicket pair Alex Hughes and Tom Milnes contributing 42 in 11 overs.Northants had the best conditions to bat in and when Duckett and Newton were together in bright sunshine, it looked ominous for the home side until poor shot selection allowed Derbyshire a way back.Duckett had reached 50 with successive fours off Sri Lankan legspinner Jeevan Mendis but he then aimed a big drive at Shiv Thakor and was well taken at second slip by Daryn Smit who did well to knock up an edge from Alex Wakely for Wayne Madsen to take a good reaction catch.Madsen did even better with a one-handed grab to hold Newton’s top-edged cut at Davis and when Northants lost four wickets in eight overs after tea, Derbyshire were poised to take a substantial first innings lead.But Holden and Buck displayed the selectivity the recognised batsmen lacked to frustrate the home side for 20 overs with Buck straight-driving Mendis for six before he went back to the spinner and was lbw.But that was not the end of Northants’ resistance as Holden and Ben Sanderson gave their side a slender lead which had looked highly unlikely when Rory Kleinveldt was caught behind off Davis.It all added up to a disappointing evening session for Derbyshire who also lost Thakor when he left the field with what appeared to be an ankle injury after he went over in his follow-through.

It was on the back of “one or two mistakes” against England and West Indies that South Africa’s campaign turned sour, said captain Faf du Plessis

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Delhi28-Mar-20163:07

‘Bittersweet win for us’ – du Plessis

It was on the back of “one or two mistakes” against England and West Indies that South Africa’s campaign turned sour, said Faf du Plessis after his team had secured victory over Sri Lanka. South Africa failed to defend 229 against England, then scored only 122 for 8 against West Indies, despite having come to the World T20 as one of the favourites.They were comfortable victors against Sri Lanka, however, restricting the opposition to 120 for 8, before running down that total with eight wickets and 14 balls to spare. As a result, South Africa finished third in Group 1, ahead of Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.”We played good cricket leading up to the tournament and we were consistent in the subcontinent, but a World T20 is a do-or-die tournament,” du Plessis said. “If you make mistakes, it’s not like a series where you can come back into the series. We made one or two mistakes against England and they punished us for it. Against West Indies, we made one or two mistakes as well. The teams in a T20 world cup are so close to each other, if you’re not on top of your game, teams will punish you. Tonight was a good example. Sri Lanka made one or two mistakes in their batting, and we capitalised.”Sri Lanka had moved to 45 for no loss in the fifth over, before Aaron Phangiso claimed two quick wickets to slow them. South Africa continued to strike after the ninth over, taking the last eight Sri Lanka wickets for 45 runs. Hashim Amla then led the chase with an unbeaten 56 from 52 balls. Du Plessis said it was disappointing that his team only put on their most complete performance after they had already been knocked out.”We’ve had signs of playing really good cricket through this tournament,” he said. “The England game was as good a batting performance as you will see, but obviously not a great bowling performance. Same thing with West Indies – we didn’t bat as well as we wanted to, although, on that wicket, 10 more runs would have been par. In both games we did one half of the game really well.”Tonight, bowling first – as a team that’s our strength – the bowlers did really well, and we chased down a small total, which is never easy on these wickets. It was really important for us to have a really good partnership to start off with. That was the only way the team will be in trouble – if they get wickets up front. So after the run-out, it was nice that we could make it a bit stable. It is very bittersweet to be going back to South Africa after the World T20. It was not where we wanted to be. We’ve only got ourselves to blame.”There is the possibility now that several of their older players may already have played their last World T20 match. Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers and Amla are all 32, and the next World T20 is scheduled for 2020.”The sad thing is that it’s now four years to the next World Cup – it’s not just two,” du Plessis said. “A few players here won’t be there then. That’s going to be the challenge now for the squad: to try and rest some of the senior players, to see if they want to go to the next World T20. With that you can breed some young players. There’s not a lot of T20 cricket coming up this year, so it will probably take a backseat.”

Saqlain Mushtaq has confirmed his return to Bangladesh as the team’s spin bowling consultant later this month

Mohammad Isam01-Sep-2013Saqlain Mushtaq has confirmed his return to Bangladesh as the team’s spin bowling consultant later this month. The former Pakistan offspinner will continue the 100-day contract with the Bangladesh Cricket Board for 2013, which saw him accompany the side to Zimbabwe earlier this year.”I look forward to joining the Bangladesh camp by the end of September. If not, (by) October 1 is a must,” Saqlain told .It is a busy time for Saqlain. He will conduct a three-week spin-bowling clinic for a group of current and emerging West Indies spinners from September 3. After that, he will be in Bangladesh for the series against New Zealand, which starts in early October with two Tests followed by three ODIs and a Twenty20 international.Saqlain first joined Bangladesh in 2012 when Richard Pybus was the head coach, and was part of the coaching staff in Sri Lanka for the World Twenty20 and the West Indies home series later in the year.During his time with the side, Saqlain has worked extensively with Sohag Gazi, and played a significant role in the young offspinner’s success against West Indies in his maiden series. Gazi bounced back from an early assault from Chris Gayle to dismiss the batsman on his way to 4 for 29 in his debut ODI. Saqlain has also worked with the senior spinners in the side such as Abdur Razzak and Shakib Al Hasan.According to these players, Saqlain has added more than just the odd word of advice. In the case of Gazi, he set specific fields for the newcomer, down to each batsman. Gazi, however, missed Saqlain’s input when he struggled in Sri Lanka in March this year, but as soon as the consultant returned to the Bangladesh dressing room, for the Zimbabwe tour, Gazi found a way to strike. He has since credited Saqlain for much of his success.It is unlikely that Saqlain will be working with emerging spinners in the country. However, Bangladesh’s next international series after New Zealand is only in January, so there is an opportunity for the BCB to utilize his knowledge to find the next crop of slow bowlers in domestic cricket after the New Zealand series is over in early November.