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Irfan Pathan proved the difference with both bat and ball in a tight encounter as Baroda stopped Punjab short by eight runs at Brabourne Stadium to lift the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Abhishek Purohit at the Brabourne Stadium 27-Mar-2012
ScorecardIrfan Pathan shone with both bat and ball in the final•FotocorpIrfan Pathan proved the difference with both bat and ball in a tight encounter as Baroda stopped Punjab short by eight runs at Brabourne Stadium to lift the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Irfan walked in at No. 7 at the fall of his brother Yusuf Pathan’s wicket and turned an underwhelming 91 for 5 into a sturdier 149 for 6. With Punjab needing 15 off 12 deliveries, he gave away just four runs in the penultimate over, claimed a wicket and also ran out Harbhajan Singh.Baroda, a young side led by 24-year old Pinal Shah, are a different unit when the Pathan brothers and Munaf Patel are available. It is very rare that all three of them fail together. Yusuf could not fire with the bat today, but weighed in with the important wicket of Mandeep Singh, the leading run-getter in the tournament, at a crucial stage in the chase. Munaf was difficult to hit, finding generous bounce from the CCI pitch with his natural just-short-of-good length. And Irfan was a sight to watch with both bat and ball.Baroda had struggled to get going against the pace and bounce of VRV Singh and Manpreet Gony after choosing to bat. VRV Singh jolted Baroda in the opening over when Aditya Waghmode, coming off two half-centuries in three games, edged a rising delivery to Harbhajan at slip. Kedar Devdhar, who had cracked 96 off 40 balls in the semi-final against Delhi, threw it away with a slog against Gony. Ambati Rayudu was given caught-behind first ball off Amitoze Singh and took a long time in getting off the ground, stopping several times and looking back in disbelief.Yusuf came in at 24 for 3 and was confronted with an unusual field setting. Harbhajan had short third man, backward point, point and cover during the field restrictions. Cover moved to deep cover after the Powerplay, but the other three men remained. Yusuf, who looked to pinch singles in that region with soft pushes, was denied on many occasions. Such was the impact of this field that, despite hitting two sixes, Yusuf’s strike rate remained below 100, as compared to a career Twenty20 one of 156.10.Yusuf eventually lifted a full Bipul Sharma delivery flat and straight to long-on. It seemed to be a planned dismissal given the way the bowler pointed his hands tellingly in the direction of his captain Harbhajan standing at extra cover.At 91 for 5 with 37 deliveries to go, Baroda needed a boost, and it came from a partnership between their captain and star allrounder. Pinal lofted Harbhajan for a couple of sixes over long-on and a four over midwicket.Irfan clicked his bat against Yusuf’s and exchanged a quiet nod with his departing brother before launching a flurry of boundaries. There was a graceful loft over extra cover off VRV Singh that stood out, Irfan calmly making room and using the bowler’s pace to time the stroke. He ended the innings with a six off the last ball as Baroda took 58 runs after Yusuf’s dismissal.Punjab’s openers began with a four each but Irfan and Munaf struck in their opening overs. After Chandan Madan had used Irfan’s inswing to swing him over square leg, Irfan angled one across the right-hander Madan to have him edging a drive to the wicketkeeper. Sarul Kanwar tried to mow Munaf out of the ground but only found mid-on. Gurkeerat Singh, with two fifties in the tournament knockouts, could not get going and was bowled as he attempted to sweep Swapnil Singh.Mandeep and Bipul Sharma kept Punjab in the hunt with the former finding gaps consistently even as Baroda’s fielding came apart. Yusuf, though, had Mandeep caught by a tumbling Munaf at short fine leg and the bowler’s roar revealed how vital the wicket was.Amitoze and Harbhajan then pulled Punjab ahead with short and swift knocks of 21 off 11 and 15 off 8. With 33 needed off the last four overs, Munaf had Amitoze caught behind. In the 18th over, Harbhajan slammed Murtuja Vahora just out of long-on’s reach for six and drilled him for four as sweeper cover misfielded.Punjab were favourites now with 15 needed off 12. But Irfan had an over left, and it proved to be decisive. He ran out Harbhajan off the second ball of the 19th as the batsmen tried to steal a tight single close to the pitch. Taruwar Kohli, in at No. 8 and not having a bowled a ball, lasted two deliveries. Two wickets and four runs in the over meant Punjab had to get 11 off the 20th.Punjab’s only hope was Bipul but his attempt to scoop Vahora off the first ball found short fine leg. Vahora, who had gone for 32 in his three overs till then, shut Punjab out with a succession of deliveries around the blockhole. Vahora ended as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 13 strikes at an economy-rate of 7.00, but does not have an IPL contract.

New Zealand’s batsmen are rightly cursing their shot-selection after giving up the first five wickets of the innings with a flurry of poor choices

Daniel Brettig at the Gabba01-Dec-2011New Zealand’s batsmen are rightly cursing their shot selection after giving up the first five wickets of the innings with a flurry of poor choices. However, batsman Brendon McCullum believes the visitors are on course to reach a total that will stretch Australia’s youthful top order.McCullum creamed three boundaries from the debutant James Pattinson in the first over of the series, but later cut unwisely to point soon after drinks to expose the middle order to swing and spin. He was frank about the batsmen’s failings, but retained hope of a fruitful Test match given the Gabba’s potential for rushes of wickets.”There are some very disappointed batsmen, myself included, all of us are pretty upset to pass up an opportunity to score some big runs on a challenging pitch against a very good team,” McCullum said. “When you pass up those opportunities it always disappoints you. But can’t stress enough it wasn’t so much the deliveries themselves but more-so the build-up of pressure.”When you see a ball that’s not one of the better ones you try to dominate and that’s where we came unstuck a little bit. Of more importance is we lost wickets before drinks, before lunch then straight after lunch. We pride ourselves on playing hard cricket during those times and today we let ourselves down before and after breaks.”That first hour at the Gabba is always going to be the most challenging, and to get through that, to get to drinks and start after drinks and get out in the fashion I did, just before the spinner came on and I thought that would’ve been an opportunity to put pressure on with one wicket down. The timing of when I got out after putting in that hard work was hugely disappointing.”Grateful to Dean Brownlie and Daniel Vettori for a sturdy sixth wicket stand, McCullum pointed to David Warner, Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja, Australia’s developmental top three, as an opportunity for early wickets if a total of 280 or more can be raised on day two.”We still think we’re not far away from putting up a competitive total, and if we can eke out a good two hours tomorrow morning then we put ourselves in a position where we’re relatively comfortable with where we’re at and have something to bowl at,” McCullum said. “Hopefully we can expose some inexperience in the Australian top order as well, and try to utilise the scoreboard pressure we might create by batting first.”Three hundred is competitive, 280’s competitive, it’s not like every other cricket ground, it is one of those things where if we do hit the right areas, any team can easily have a session where you run through six or seven wickets if you get it right, so we’ve just got to keep making sure we put ourselves in the strongest position we can.”Though he did not claim McCullum’s wicket with a particularly searching delivery, Mitchell Starc had made the opener uncomfortable with earlier offerings, singeing his helmet with one bouncer and cramping his hands with swing and seam into the body.”I thought I was a bit stiff not to get four leg-byes actually,” McCullum said of the bouncer. “I thought he bowled pretty well. In terms of the length he bowled, he was probably the most challenging out of the lot of them. He’s left-arm as well, being able to use his angle across you but also [challenging] when he came around the wicket coming from a wider angle as well. He bowled really smart today and got the rewards for it.”New Zealand have only played three other Test matches in 2011, but McCullum denied that had much to do with the batsmen’s questionable shot choices. Instead he considered the occasion, against Australia in the first Test of their summer, had affected the visitors.”We always want to play more Test cricket, but our dismissals today weren’t because of our lack of Test cricket,” he said. “It was just that we didn’t execute the options we took, and pressure sometimes does that, and also the spectacle of playing Australia can sometimes bring that out in you as well. We’re slightly behind the eight-ball but we’re going okay.”

The USA Cricket Association has been hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by the North American Cricket League

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2010Although Gladstone Dainty has announced an ambitious plan for a national Twenty20 tournament in the USA starting in 2012, the USA Cricket Association has been hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by the North American Cricket League (NACL).NACL, which describes itself as a “sports media and entertainment company dedicated to promoting cricket throughout the world, including so-called Twenty20 format cricket in the United States” claims that it has an existing deal with USACA which is in direct conflict with the board’s new initiative.A statement from NACL said that there were “nine causes of action” including breach of contract, fraud, misappropriation of proprietary business information and theft of trade secrets. It accuses USACA of embarking on a “fraudulent scheme to extract money from NACL and its investors”.NACL’s case centres on an agreement it says it entered into with USACA to promote and organise an official Twenty20 league in the United States. “The parties signed an interim agreement that granted NACL an exclusive period of negotiations during which USACA was contractually bound to cease negotiations with any third parties for the same rights.”While NACL continued to negotiate a master agreement in good faith, USACA had no intention of honouring the terms of the interim agreement and engaged in a fraudulent scheme to extract money from NACL and its investors.”The complaint further alleges that while NACL was negotiating with USACA in good faith, USACA entered into additional agreements with third parties from which USACA also accepted large cash payments for the licensing of the same commercial rights.

Daryl Harper has said the use of technology to review umpiring decisions will remain flawed as long as the best cameras are not universally available

Daniel Brettig15-Jul-2011Technology is “not the aid it is claimed to be” in reviewing on-field decisions, the former international umpire Daryl Harper has said.Having been at the centre of a decision-making storm that hastened his departure from Test cricket, Harper highlighted the problem of broadcast camera frame-rates as a central issue to the use of technology and the success or failure of the DRS.In the series between West Indies and India, which did not employ the DRS, Harper said television cameras shot at 25 frames per second, while during the World Cup on the subcontinent, they were ratcheted up to 50 frames per second.In each case, Harper believed, there was a high probability that the camera would not capture the ball landing or making contact with bat, pads or gloves, calling into question the veracity of replays and ball-tracking technology.”When a batsman plays a shot well away from his body, and you as an umpire see the ball strike a glove, go through to the keeper, and you hear the sound, you can draw no other conclusion than it has been gloved to the keeper and the batsman is out,” Harper told ESPNcricinfo.”That it can’t be confirmed by a camera at 25 frames per second, that’s technology’s problem. If they were filming at 1800 frames per second, like those super slow-mos, you’d see the glove depressed with the contact from the ball.”Even at the improved rate of frames utilised during the World Cup, Harper argued the evidence could remain sketchy, particularly for ball-tracking. This issue, raised consistently by the Indian board, had seen a revised version of the DRS introduced at the ICC’s annual conference in Hong Kong.The mandatory terms and conditions for the DRS that were approved consisted of infra-red cameras and audio-tracking devices. The ball-tracking technology has been removed from the ICC’s original compulsory list of DRS technologies. This means that countries may still choose to use it, but can also use the system without ball-tracking, as will be the case in the upcoming England v India Test series.”At 50 frames per second there is a very slim chance of the ball ever being captured making contact with the pitch when it actually lands, because there is a minimum of 60cm [of the ball travelling] between frames,” Harper said. “If the cameras cannot capture the ball touching the pitch, I’m not quite sure how they can claim the degree of accuracy they do claim.”So the more advanced technology becomes – unfortunately it is more expensive – the more likely the technology will be of a positive assistance to the game. At the moment it is not the aid that I believe it is claimed to be.”Harper’s scepticism bears resemblance to that of India’s players and board, as best articulated by N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary. Before the ICC annual conference decided on a revised version of the DRS that eliminated ball-tracking technology, Srinivasan said the hardware had to be beyond suspicion if it was to be used.”Nothing much has changed since we first opposed it. We welcome technology when it is 100% error-free,” Srinivasan told the in June. “In this case it is not, so we would continue to oppose the implementation of the DRS.”The Hawk-Eye is yet to convince us. This is a technology that deals with the projection, trajectory and angle of the ball. And from where the cameras are placed, it cannot give a foolproof solution. We raised these issues when the company had made a presentation in Chennai and no-one was completely certain about its accuracy.”

India’s chances of taking even a share of silverware from their painful tour of England vanished amid scenes of confusion and gamesmanship at Lord’s

Nagraj Gollapudi at Lord's11-Sep-2011India’s chances of even sharing a trophy during their painful tour of England vanished amid scenes of confusion and gamesmanship at Lord’s. As showers arrived in the closing stages of the run-chase India were the first side to find themselves ahead of the rate, then it was the hosts who edged into pole position before the final blows were struck. So in the end a tie looked the right result because a question emerges: did both teams go against the Spirit of Cricket – that principle so notably invoked earlier in the tour?”We just saw the ugly side of cricket,” MS Dhoni, the India captain, said. “Whichever team has the upperhand does not want to play and whichever team is not on the winning side will try to stick there to try and change the result. It is a part and parcel of cricket and both the sides did that.”When the first brief rain break occurred England were two runs behind the D/L par score of 235, with six wickets down, after 44 overs. Ravi Bopara and Graeme Swann were desperate to get on with the game, but the India captain MS Dhoni was reluctant to let Munaf Patel start his over. Understandably, Dhoni was being fussy about getting his fielders in the right positions. You cannot deny him that right. The England fans trumpeted their boos loud and clear. Two minutes later the umpires decided to stop play. Bopara and Swann, unimpressed, were reluctant to walk off the ground. Suddenly the rain ceased as a flash of sunlight sparkled across the green turf.By then the entire Indian team had left the ground and were on their way to the dressing-room. Only the umpires, Marais Erasmus and Richard Illingworth, and the two England batsmen stood on the field. Munaf even sat in the member’s seat as a thick air of intrigue suddenly hung in the air. Moments later India trundled back and the match resumed towards a tantalising end.”You just expect the rain to go off and somehow you want to get on to the field. Nothing much I could have done,” Dhoni said. “We tried to get back to the dressing-room and waited for the shower to finish,”Nine runs came off the Munaf over, which ultimately proved crucial as by now England were two runs of the par score with 39 needed from the final five overs. Now came the second interruption. This time the drizzle transformed into proper rain, forcing the covers to be spread straight away. Bopara and Swann zipped into the dressing-room, but the India players gathered in a huddle about ten yards inside the ropes at the Pavilion End. It was as if they were performing some sort of ritual that would stop the rain. But the rain dripped hard, forcing the visitors to finally leave the field.”It is human nature,” Alastair Cook, the England captain, said. “When you are ahead of the game and you have got to go off you are obviously going to be happier than the other team. It was quite clear when we came out the first time we wanted to go back out because we were behind and when we came off for the second time we were ahead. To be honest, we would’ve quite liked it to rain for another hour so we wouldn’t have had the last few hours. That is because the desire to win is so huge in both sides.”Cook, though, was fully behind the umpires which perhaps isn’t surprising as England clinched the series. “The umpires have an extremely tough job to know what’s heavy rain and what’s light rain,” he said. “But they were consistent when we came off for the first time and when we came off at the end. I don’t think we should have any complaints about it.”Bopara, the man responsible for rescuing England’s chase from 61 for 3, revealed he was aware of the D/L par score “over-by-over but not ball-by-ball.” Until he decided to swing Munaf over deep midwicket, Bopara had played his shots with care, composure and confidence. But he said he had to take a chance to make sure England did not panic in the final over.What he did not know was his wicket actually changed the match scenario completely. According to the D/L tables the par score at 48.5 overs, with seven wickets down, was 269. Once Bopara was dismissed with seven deliveries before the finish, the par score changed to 270. However, most of the players were unsure what was happening because the scoreboard had already ticked over to show the end-of-over D/L par score of 271.”Some of the guys were confused,” Dhoni admitted. “Some of them thought we had won it, for others they were still like ‘what is the scenario right now?’ Most of us thought it is just another passing shower and we would be able to get back on the field in whatever time. But once back in the dressing-room we had the final sheet of paper which showed the D/L par score and after that it was pretty much sure that it was a tie.”And this time there was no gamesmanship. India’s wait goes on.

The date has been set for the hearing that will decide Old Trafford’s future as a Test match ground

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2011The date has been set for the hearing that will decide Old Trafford’s future as a Test match ground. The Court of Appeal will hear the case against Lancashire’s planned ground redevelopment on July 4, a day that the chief executive Jim Cumbes has called “a day of destiny”.”The future prospects for the club will rest on the decision, make no mistake,” said Cumbes. “We are confident of winning and bringing to an end a protracted legal process which has been draining the club financially and preventing us from transforming our ageing ground and facilities.”The club’s long-running legal battle with Derwent Holdings, the rival company trying to block the development plans for the area around Lancashire’s home ground, had appeared to be at an end in March when the High Court ruled in Lancashire’s favour and refused Derwent leave to appeal but the company, owned by billionaire Albert Gubay, made it clear they would seek to take the case further.Tesco, the supermarket chain, are backing Lancashire’s plans and building a store in nearby White City while contributing £21million to the cost. Their joint planning application was approved in March last year, and at the same planning meeting Derwent, who own the White City retail park, had a scheme to build a Sainsbury’s at the site refused. Derwent argued that Trafford Council applied double standards in refusing its plans.Derwent’s repeated legal challenges created great uncertainty for Lancashire’s plans, but the first part of the redevelopment was completed last year with the opening of the The Point, a large red complex to the side of the pavilion, and continued over the winter with the turning of the square 90 degrees to prevent problems caused by the setting sun in autumn.New floodlights are being installed and Cumbes said the four 53metre-high pylons would be in place in time for England’s Twenty20 match against India in August. If Lancashire are successful on July 4, the club is hopeful that all the renovations will be completed in time to host an Ashes Test in 2013.

In the bigger picture England captain Andrew Strauss had plenty reasons to be content after securing a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka ahead of India’s visit

Andrew Miller at the Rose Bowl20-Jun-2011Andrew Strauss had plenty to be frustrated about as England’s Test series against Sri Lanka dribbled to a damp conclusion at the Rose Bowl on Monday. He was frustrated by the weather that closed in once again at tea; he was frustrated by his own dropped catch off Rangana Herath in the morning session that might have prised an opportunity for England to press for victory. And he was frustrated by his personal return of 27 runs in four innings, which now means he’ll be playing for Somerset against the Indian tourists next month, in a bid to find form before the first Test at Lord’s.In the bigger picture, however, Strauss had plenty more reasons to be content. Thanks to Sri Lanka’s extraordinary collapse in the first Test at Cardiff, his team did at least emerge with the series win that their dominance undoubtedly deserved, while his own struggles against the left-arm seam of Chanaka Welegedara were counterbalanced by the composed form of pretty much every other member of his team. With the world’s No. 1 Test side waiting in the wings, England look ready for a battle royale.”We’re looking forward to the challenge of taking on India, and hope we can be a difficult proposition for them,” he said. “I think we’re in good shape. A lot of the batsmen got a lot of runs in this series and are in good form; our bowling attack in this game was exceptional and at times at Cardiff was very good as well. We’re a confident team, and we’re used to winning and putting opposition teams under pressure – which we did against Sri Lanka.”I think it’s going to be a pretty significant series,” he added. “We know India are a very confident side in their own right and are used to winning themselves. We’ve got our home conditions, and we back ourselves to beat anyone in them, but it’s going to be a tough series and will hinge on those important moments and sessions – and we’ve got to make sure we’re able to grasp them.”Stuart Broad was hindered by a bruised heel, but appeared to be working his way back to rhythm•AFPWith that in mind, Strauss’s post-match focus was on the fine-tuning that went awry on the final day at the Rose Bowl, as a team that had been under the cosh since the first innings found enough resilence, through Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera, to bat through to the draw. “We just couldn’t create chances,” he said. “We had that one chance against Herath that was put down, and that might have made a slight difference. But they’re a good batting side. The wicket was a bit more placid today and two good players got stuck in.”Had the match not lost 184 overs to rain, Sri Lanka would have struggled to build enough of a lead to stave off defeat, especially with England’s batting looking at its most formidable for a generation. But looking ahead to the visit of India, it is the performance of England’s bowlers that was the biggest plus to come out of this series. Though they struggled with their lines at Lord’s and lacked penetration today, the variety and threat posed by each different member bodes well for the visit of one of the most feared batting units in the world.Chris Tremlett was named Man of the Series for his 15 wickets at 23.40, including a career-best haul of 6 for 48 in the first innings at the Rose Bowl, and Strauss believed he complemented the attack perfectly. “He did an outstanding job here. This wicket is in some ways tailor-made for him, with the extra carry and bounce, but he made good batsmen look under pressure – and that’s a great testament to his aggression and bounce and awkward lift and swing.”He’s certainly added a different dimension to our bowling line-up since he came into the team, and he’s very much at the peak of his powers at the moment. I’m sure batsmen later on in the summer will struggle against him as well. This is one of those series that never really got going, but we’re very happy to have won it and move on still in a jubilant mood.”Aside from Strauss, England’s other form concern was Stuart Broad, whose effectiveness was further hampered on the final day by a bruised heel. Nevertheless, after being stripped of the new ball to make way for Tremlett, he turned in an aggressive performance on the fourth evening that led to the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene, and Strauss was happy to believe he was coming back to his best.”What he did really well was he just banged out a length consistently, and created scoreboard pressure as well as bowling some really good deliveries,” said Strauss. “It just looked like he was in better rhythm, getting it through with good pace and bounce – and I’m sure he will have taken some heart from that spell.”

Phil Hay has dropped a promising injury update concerning Leeds United centre-back Liam Cooper ahead of the Whites’ Premier League meeting with Chelsea on Wednesday.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic journalist relayed the comments made by Jesse Marsch in his pre-match press conference, in which the 48-year-old manager suggested that, after missing both the Manchester City and Arsenal defeats with a knee injury, the 30-year-old should be available for selection at Elland Road tomorrow night.

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Regarding the current condition of the defender, Hay said: “From Marsch’s press conference – Liam Cooper had a reaction to his knee injury ahead of Arsenal. He trained yesterday and Marsch is hopeful that he’ll be available for tomorrow’s game.”

Marsch will be buzzing

With Leeds United’s campaign very much getting to a point of being now or never if they are to secure Premier League survival, the news that Cooper looks set to make a return to the starting XI against Chelsea on Wednesday is sure to have left Marsch buzzing.

Indeed, over his 18 Premier League appearances this season, the £6.3m-rated centre-back has been imperious in the heart of the Whites’ defence, helping his side keep five clean sheets, as well as making an average of 2.1 interceptions, 2.1 tackles, 3.4 clearances and winning 6.9 duels – at a success rate of 67% – per game.

These returns have seen the Scotland international average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.07, ranking him as Marsch’s best performing outfielder in the English top flight.

As such, it is clear for all to see that the club captain’s return to the lineup tomorrow would provide Leeds’ chances of securing a much-needed three points with a huge boost – with Cooper’s availability perhaps being the difference between the Whites playing Premier League or Championship football next season.

AND in other news: “A very good investment”: Phil Hay drops teasing Leeds transfer update, Orta must move

Ricky Ponting wants more from his spinners after they again failed to take a wicket during the 60-run win over Kenya in Bangalore on Sunday

Brydon Coverdale in Bangalore14-Mar-2011Ricky Ponting wants more from his spinners after they again failed to take a wicket during the 60-run win over Kenya in Bangalore on Sunday. Jason Krejza has not taken a wicket since Australia’s first match of the World Cup, against Zimbabwe, while Steven Smith has managed only one for the tournament, on pitches that have generally provided some turn.Coming in to their title defence, Australia knew their pace attack was their strength, and were relying on Shaun Tait, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson to do the bulk of the damage. But after three victories and a washout, the pace bowlers have combined for 21 wickets at an average of 21.76, while Australia’s slow bowlers have only four wickets at 74.75.Against Kenya, Krejza and Smith were easily chipped around for runs during the middle overs, and it was a familiar trend after Sri Lanka and New Zealand also had little trouble handling the spin. That could become an issue in the knockout stages of the tournament, especially if the Australians find themselves up against quality handlers of spin, like India.”I still would have liked to see them making some breakthroughs for us,” Ponting said of the slow bowlers after the Kenya game. “Through those middle overs in this tournament when the ball gets old, and the wicket starts to spin, we are going to need our spinners to strike for us, and that didn’t happen.”However, Ponting was keen to point out that there was a certain amount of experimentation in his use of the slow men in a match that Australia were never in real danger of losing. Krejza bowled mostly around the wicket, Michael Clarke had a trundle for the first time in the tournament, and Smith was brought in to the attack much earlier than usual.”I tried a few different things with the spinners,” Ponting said. “Bowling Smith early in the Powerplays was just to give him some experience there and see how he would cope with the situation. It’s probably the first time he’s done that, so that should be good for him.”Jason tried a couple of different things tonight, bowled the majority around the wicket on a wicket that was spinning, just to get a bit of a feel for the conditions and what he can do in these conditions. There was a bit of experimentation from the spinners.”Australia entered the World Cup without their two preferred limited-overs spinners, with Nathan Hauritz ruled out due to a shoulder injury and Xavier Doherty suffering back soreness. The New South Wales left-armer Steve O’Keefe, who was in the 30-man preliminary squad, was also unavailable due to a calf problem.Australia qualified for the quarter-finals with their win over Kenya, but they haven’t faced a serious challenge yet after the match against Sri Lanka was rained out. Their final two matches of the group stage are against Canada in Bangalore on Wednesday and against Pakistan in Colombo on Saturday.

Michael Clarke remains in doubt for Thursday’s first Ashes Test after failing to bat at the side’s opening training session in Brisbane on Monday

Peter English22-Nov-2010Michael Clarke is confident of overcoming a long-standing back injury toplay in Thursday’s opening Ashes Test, but Australia have called in UsmanKhawaja as cover. Clarke did nothing more than walk some laps at thesquad’s opening training session on Monday and he must bat at training onTuesday to hold his spot.His injury, and the call-up of Khawaja, provides the hosts with thepotential for more disruptions before such a crucial occasion. “I’m stilla little bit stiff and sore, hence me not training today,” Clarke said.”Our plan was for me to have a bat tomorrow and then another good hit onWednesday. The battle is to get as close to a hundred per cent as possiblefor Thursday. I’m pretty confident that I’ll be right.”Ricky Ponting said it would be hard for Clarke to prove his fitness withoutbatting but at the same time he wants to give his vice-captain as long aspossible to get right. Clarke is one of the few local batsmen who is inform this summer and his record in Ashes Tests is excellent. He averages 55 in 15 games against England and Australia aredesperate for him to provide stability in an order that has faltered.”He’s been in this situation a few times the last couple of years,” said Ponting. “He’s had niggles but been able to come back most times. Alex [Kountouris, the team physio] has made it clear he wants him to bat tomorrow [Tuesday] and Wednesday. If he doesn’t bat tomorrow it’d be hard for him to be considered for the game, but we will definitely give him as long as possible.””I’ve played 64 Test matches with it now, I haven’t missed a Test, touchwood,” Clarke said. “It’s not so much batting, it’s more waking up daily.Some days are better than others. I get that feeling when you get out ofbed.”At training he crouched down gingerly to pick up a bat and Kountouris said a decision couldn’t be made until afterhe went into the nets. “Until he bats tomorrow we can’t be absolute 100%sure that he’s right to go,” Kountouris said.The back disc injury, which has bothered Clarke regularly throughout hiscareer, resurfaced during his century for New South Wales. He batted againin the second innings, scoring an unbeaten 39 to save the game, but hasn’tbeen able to do anything at full intensity since.He said once he starts an innings the adrenaline covered up the pain.”It’s more just discomfort in general than at a certain time,” he said.Clarke was last floored by the problem in 2009, when it kept him out of aone-day series against India, and it also affected him during his firstAshes tour. “I remember in 2005 it happened the first ball fielding at OldTrafford,” he said. “I didn’t field for the rest of the Test but I battedin the two innings. I’ve played international cricket with discomfortbecause of my back, but it hasn’t ruled me out of a Test match as of yet.”The extra significance of the Ashes has contributed to Clarke’s cautiousapproach. “No doubt it being a big series, I guess that’s probably whywe’re taking it a little bit slower and why I didn’t have a bat today,” hesaid. “It’s a five-Test series as well so there’s a lot of cricket aheadof us. We’re just trying to do everything possible to make sure I’m fitfor Thursday and then available for the whole series.”Steven Smith, the legspinning allrounder, is in the squad but theselectors have looked to Khawaja as specialist batting cover. Khawaja, who will link up with the squad in Brisbane on Monday evening, travelled to England for the Pakistan series in July and was astrong contender to make the slimmed-down version of the squad until hisdouble failure in Australia A’s match against England in Hobart last week.If he plays he will be the first Muslim cricketer to have representedAustralia.”As there is some doubt over Michael Clarke’s fitness for the Brisbane Test match, it was felt prudent to bring a standby player into the squad,” said Andrew Hilditch, Australia’s chairman of selectors. “Usman has been added as a result of his strong recent domestic form and the National Selection Panel’s belief that should the opportunity arise he has the ability to perform well at the international level.”We intend to give Michael as much time as possible to prove his fitness and a decision on his availability will be made in consultation with the team’s medical staff after the next two days of training.”