All posts by h716a5.icu

Usman Khawaja will be an Australian Test aspirant one day and a Twenty20 billboard the next after a compromise between Cricket Australia and the Sydney Thunder

Daniel Brettig05-Dec-2012Usman Khawaja will be an Australian Test aspirant one day and a Twenty20 billboard the next after a hurried compromise between Cricket Australia and the Sydney Thunder following Michael Clarke’s forced withdrawal from the opening round of the BBL.Named as captain of the CA Chairman’s XI to face the Sri Lankans in Canberra from Thursday, Khawaja will be withdrawn from the match on the Saturday morning and fly up to Sydney in time to take part in the Thunder’s opening match against the Sydney Sixers at the SCG.After Australia’s team physio Alex Kountouris strongly recommended that Clarke be ruled out of the opening round of the BBL – his one scheduled appearance for the Thunder before the start of the Test series against Sri Lanka – the BBL side immediately requested that Khawaja be withdrawn from the tour match at Manuka.A hasty round of negotiations followed between CA, the Thunder and Cricket NSW, resulting in a compromise whereby Khawaja will play for two days with the Chairman’s XI before also playing for the Thunder as their biggest local name in the absence of Clarke.Discussion of how Khawaja’s batting services would be spread across the weekend took place against the backdrop of selection talk about the make-up of the Australian Test side for the first match of the series against Sri Lanka in Hobart. The squad is due to be named on Thursday.Khawaja is part of a four-way battle to replace Ricky Ponting in Australia’s batting order, also including Phillip Hughes, Alex Doolan and Rob Quiney. Doolan is also taking part in the Chairman’s XI match, while Quiney and Hughes will be playing this weekend for the Melbourne Stars and the Adelaide Strikers, respectively.With 570 runs at 81.42 this summer including an unbeaten 161 for Australia A against the South Africans in Sydney, Doolan is second only to Clarke among Australia first-class run scorers this summer. Hughes is third with 524 runs at 47.63, while Khawaja’s 438 runs at 39.81 places him fifth. Doolan said Hughes and Quiney were both ahead of him in his own mind.”If I was picking the team I’d probably put Phil Hughes in there just simply through weight of runs,” Doolan told in Canberra. “It seems every time he steps onto the crease he’s hitting runs and hitting them at good pace and in a consistent way.”I’m not saying that I’d be happy to have someone picked ahead of me but I think Bobby [Quiney] deserves it as much as anyone. I really hope he gets another crack at it. He deserved his call-up to the national team and obviously results didn’t go his way but that just shows what the game is.”It’s a fickle game and sometimes results don’t go your way but I’ve no doubt he’s Test quality and I’m sure he’d show it if he got another go.”Injuries to Josh Hazlewood and John Hastings have reduced the selectors’ bowling options for the Hobart Test, leaving Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus to slot back into the squad alongside Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon.Possible Test squad: Michael Clarke (capt), Ed Cowan, David Warner, Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, Matthew Wade, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nathan Lyon.

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.

AB de Villiers’ bright start as South Africa’s limited-overs captain has hit a speed bump and it did so in embarrassing fashion

Firdose Moonda in Kimberley21-Jan-2012AB de Villiers’ bright start as South Africa’s limited-overs captain has hit a speed bump and it did so in embarrassing fashion for a man who prides himself on professionalism, athleticism and commitment to the cause.South Africa put on a barely believable and sometimes-comical fielding display, mixing terrific catches like Alviro Petersen’s leap on the boundary to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara with horrible gaffes such as Morne Morkel’s drop of Angelo Mathews. “We weren’t great in the field today,” de Villiers said. “We created a few chances that we didn’t take.”Usually energetic and committed in the field, South Africa appeared frantic and pressured as Sri Lanka built confidently during their chase of 300. Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera attacked bad balls and ran well between the wickets, although they had one mix-up that could have had either of them dismissed. de Villiers said being under that sort of pressure had tested his ability to use his bowlers, and he felt he could have done it better.”I needed to take a few chances because we needed wickets and I thought the bowlers did really well on a good pitch. But I made a few tactical errors and used the wrong bowlers at the wrong time.”The decision to keep the spinners on against a fluent Perera was one such strategic mistake. “I thought the spinner could get us one,” he said. “We tried to bounce him but the ball wouldn’t come up. It was one of those pitches where it was not very easy to take wickets. We tried slower balls. I tried every single bowler in the team.”Wickets were always going to be hard to come by on a flat pitch, and de Villiers admitted South Africa had actually lost the game with the bat. After a speedy start, they were well placed to score over 300, but had to settle for 299 for 7. They lost four wickets for 47 runs and their lower-middle order was unable to score as freely as de Villiers had against a regrouped Sri Lankan attack that bowled with discipline.de Villiers accepted full responsibility for South Africa’s slowdown towards the end of their innings. “We should have got to 330 but I got out at a very bad stage. We needed a partnership there.”de Villiers was bowled for 96 by a Perera slower ball in the 41st over with South Africa on 250 for 5. Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson and Vernon Philander are capable of big hitting but were forced to play a more watchful game. South Africa scored only 49 runs off the last 9.1 overs.”We put the lower order under huge pressure so they couldn’t play the game they would normally play,” de Villiers said. “But with the ball, they [Parnell and Philander] showed variation and skill, and then we let them down in the field.”Despite the stumble towards the end of the innings, South Africa can take heart from the pressure they created at the start and the return to form of Graeme Smith. With talk over the former captain facing the axe, Smith announced his intention to continue playing the 50-over format of the game brutally. “Hopefully he makes it happen now and maximises this,” de Villiers said. “I am expecting more runs from him in Jo’burg.”The final match of the series will be South Africa’s last home appearance of the summer before they head to New Zealand and England. de Villiers said they want end this series in as strong a position as possible. “We spoke about ruthlessness before this game but we weren’t that ruthless. We’ll have to do that better. We wanted a whitewash but we didn’t do that. We want to make it 4-1 now.”

Ireland will play Pakistan in a two-match ODI series in May this year

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2011Ireland will play Pakistan in a two-match ODI series in May this year. The teams last played each other in an ODI in the 2007 World Cup, when Ireland pulled off a shock win on St. Patrick’s day and knocked Pakistan out of the tournament. They have got progressively better since then and stood out among the Associate teams in the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent, beating England in a stunning chase, seeing off Netherlands, running Bangladesh close and competing well against India and West Indies.The ICC’s decision to stick to their plans for a 10-team tournament in 2015 was a setback to Ireland’s chances but increasing opportunities to play top teams – Sri Lanka have agreed to a tri-series later this year – marks a welcome development for them. “Following our recent World Cup campaign, the need to play the world’s best teams on a more regular basis has become more pressing than ever to give us the experience to continue to compete at the highest level,” Cricket Ireland chief Warren Deutrom said.”This is what we have been crying out for – fixtures against the top teams in the world,” Ireland coach Phil Simmons added. “We have shown just how much our cricket has improved, and by playing these type of games, it’ll keep growing in the right direction. We’re due to play Sri Lanka and England as well this summer, so that’s definitely a step in the right direction as far as Irish cricket is concerned.”The two ODIs against Pakistan will be played at Stormont, Belfast on May 28 and May 30.

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.

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, has picked up an ankle injury and will miss West Indies A’s two four-day matches against Bangladesh A this month

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2011Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, has injured his ankle and will miss West Indies A’s two four-day matches against Bangladesh A this month. Bravo, who was named captain of the A side for the series, picked up the injury during the team’s warm-up session the day before the first four-day game, which is scheduled to start in Antigua on November 5, and has travelled back to Trinidad & Tobago. Veerasammy Permaul will take over the captaincy of the West Indies A team, while a replacement player has not yet been named.Bravo’s career has been blighted by injury in the past few years, since he suffered a serious ankle injury in 2008 which kept him out of the game for eight months. He suffered a big blow this year when his World Cup ended due to a knee injury he sustained in West Indies’ first game of the tournament. He returned for the home one-day series against Pakistan but asked for a break after the first two ODIs against India in June to work on his game.Since then Bravo has turned out for Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League T20 and for Trinidad & Tobago in the Regional Super50 tournament. The matches against Bangladesh A were to be his first first-class matches since the Tests in Sri Lanka last year but his return to the longer format has now been delayed further.

It is more than likely that Virender Sehwag has played his last innings on the England tour

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Aug-2011It is more than likely that Virender Sehwag has played his last innings on the England tour. It is understood that Sehwag has not completely recovered from the shoulder surgery he underwent immediately after the IPL in May. Sehwag, who struggled to make any impact in the two Tests matches he played, had a quiet word with the two on-tour national selectors – Narendra Hirwani and Surendra Bhave – and the team management, and the decision was then conveyed to the BCCI top brass. In the end Sehwag got the permission.”The shoulder injury has not completely healed. He will return after the Test series,” a BCCI source told ESPNcricinfo. In addition to the shoulder injury, Sehwag has also been suffering from hearing problems in his left ear, after being exposed to a loud sound on July 24, according to the note sent by the National Cricket Academy physiotherapist Nitin Patel to the tour physio Ashish Kaushik when the opener joined the squad for the tour match in Northampton. “Sehwag has some visual and balancing problems, which persist,” the source added.Interestingly, after the first day’s play at The Oval, Anirudh Chaudhary, Indian manager for the Test leg, categorically denied the rumours that Sehwag had asked the team management if he could head back home.It would be difficult to surmise if the injury played a role in Sehwag’s poor tour which began with a king pair at Edgbaston. He followed that up by lasting just five deliveries in the first innings of the final Test before being bowled through the gate by a Graeme Swann offbreak in the second innings. He made 41 runs in four innings.Embarrassingly for the BCCI, this is the second case of a half-fit Indian player being rushed in for this important tour. Earlier Zaheer Khan, India’s strike bowler, was ruled out of the series at the halfway stage, due to a “recurring hamstring injury and right-ankle impingement” according to the statement issued on August 7 by the team manager. Zaheer had originally picked up the ankle injury during the IPL and, both he and Sehwag had been rested for the subsequent Caribbean tour.When the selectors named the squad for the Test leg of the England tour in early July, they announced a 17-member party, stating that Sehwag would join the tour a fortnight later as he was been given extra time to recover completely from the shoulder surgery. Unfortunately for the BCCI, Sehwag did not recover as expected and someone would have to answer some tough questions.Meanwhile the selectors have not yet name Sehwag’s replacement and are likely to make the announcement early next week.

Leeds United are considering a late move for Takumi Minamino…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Independent journalist Carl Markham, who claimed the Yorkshire outfit were interested in signing the Liverpool outcast before the January transfer window deadline on Monday evening.

“Takumi Minamino attracting interest from Leeds and Monaco but @LFC have rebuffed early approaches as they have no inclination to sell. Would take seriously really good offer to change their minds,” he tweeted.

The 36-cap Japan international is well behind the likes of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota in the pecking order at Anfield, and could yet drop even further amid reported interest in FC Porto star Luis Diaz.

It remains to be seen exactly what a ‘really good offer’ is, with the 27-year-old currently valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt.

Aaronson alternative

Primarily a left-winger by trade, Minamino is capable of operating on both flanks and through the middle, where he can thrive the best when operating as a ‘half-winger’.

Just like fellow Whites target Brenden Aaronson, who doesn’t appear likely to be coming to Elland Road any time soon, at least in this current window.

Leeds’ two bids of £15m and £20m have been rejected but there is hope that a deal can be struck for the summer instead as RB Salzburg do not want to offload him before a crucial Champions League tie with Bayern Munich.

Instead, it appears as if Victor Orta and co are lining up a last-minute alternative in a player that also once played for the Austria champions.

Minamino’s growth has always been stunted in Merseyside due to the sheer volume of quality starting ahead of him but he’s still proven his worth in abundance whenever given the opportunity.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-lufc-transfer-rumours-gossip-bielsa-orta-radrizzani-elland-road-updates” title=”Read the latest Leeds news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

For instance, this season he has provided six goals and one assist across 18 appearances, with those primarily coming in cup competitions as he’s yet to register a start in the Premier League, even despite Salah and Mane being at AFCON.

The Japanese attacker also impressed during a loan spell at Southampton last season.

“He’s a very special player for me – not because of his physical strength but more of his way of playing football,” claimed manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

“He is very quick in his mind, has good decision-making, knows about our pressing style and hopefully a lot of running. He knows when you come to me you have to run a lot, but that’s not a problem for him”

Right there is why he’s an absolute dream for Marcelo Bielsa. There isn’t a side that presses the opposition as intensely as Leeds, so his presence to do that from the front would be hugely beneficial to the Argentine, who must be desperate for additions.

Also dubbed a “machine” by Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, Minamino could be an ideal alternative to Aaronson as we head into the final few days of the window.

Bielsa badly needs an option in the role and the Liverpool ace could well provide him with exactly what he needs for the remainder of the current campaign.

AND in other news, Leeds United eyeing late January bargain in £10m “phenomenon”…

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.”

The ODI series is yet to begin, but Praveen Kumar has become India’s third first-choice ODI player to board a flight back home

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2011The ODI series is yet to begin, but Praveen Kumar has become India’s third first-choice ODI player to board a flight back home. Praveen has an elbow injury that can’t be risked, keeping in mind the proximity of the World Cup, and Ishant Sharma, who must have barely reached India, is coming back as his replacement.Praveen joins openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir on the injured list. Sehwag’s return to India was announced during the Test series, but he stayed back to take part in the deciding Test, in Cape Town. It was a precautionary move to not risk his shoulder before the big event. Gambhir, who missed the second Test with a hand injury, was hit in the elbow during the third Test. He fought the pain to help India save the Test, but had to miss the ODIs.Praveen, who last played an international match in December 2010 before coming here, is an important part of the Indian team for the World Cup, and hence the team management didn’t want to take chances. “With the World Cup also in place, we don’t want to risk him,” MS Dhoni said. “He has been a very good bowler, irrespective of the conditions, whether we are playing in India or abroad, he has done well for us.”India have grappled continuously with fitness problems over the last two years, wherein they haven’t played their first-choice ODI XI since their tour of New Zealand in 2008-09. “It would have been good to feature the main XI,” Dhoni said. “Since last February, we haven’t played the full XI that will maybe feature in the first game of the World Cup. But we are risking injury. We have to save quite a few players. We have a fair amount of niggles. We don’t want to miss any of he key players just before the start of the World Cup. Some of them have missed the whole season. I don’t mind them missing one more series as long as they are available right through the World Cup.”