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Parthiv Patel’s frustration at falling five runs short of his maiden international century was matched by that of his team as a whole, as India’s hopes of their first victory of the summer against England were thwarted by a washout

The Report by Andrew Miller03-Sep-20117.2 overs England 27 for 2 (Trott 14*, Bell 2*) v India 274 for 7 (Parthiv 95, Kohli 55) – match abandoned

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsParthiv Patel guided India towards a competitive total with a career-best 95•Getty Images

Parthiv Patel’s frustration at falling five runs short of his maiden international century was matched by that of his team as a whole, as India’s hopes of their first victory of the summer against England were thwarted by a washout in the opening ODI at Chester-le-Street. Chasing a stiff target of 275, England had been struggling on 27 for 2 after 7.2 overs after a fine new-ball display from the swing bowler, Praveen Kumar, but despite two attempts at a restart, the umpires eventually abandoned the match at 5.30pm.It was a cruel end to a contest in which India made all the running, yet still finished with a net loss going into the second match at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday, after their hard-hitting middle-order batsman, Rohit Sharma, suffered a broken right index finger from the the one and only delivery he faced from Stuart Broad. With Sachin Tendulkar missing the match as well due to an inflamed right toe, India’s casualty list for the tour is almost into double figures. Tendulkar, who remains stuck on 99 international hundreds, is due to see a specialist later this week.Despite all that, India could and should have won this one. Alastair Cook’s decision to insert his opponents on a seam-friendly wicket was influenced by the unusually early 10.15am start, but it was Parthiv and his ODI debutant sidekick Ajinkya Rahane who claimed the early initiative, as they reached 33 for 0 after a cautious first nine overs, before accelerating through the bowling Powerplay to post a first-wicket stand of 82 – India’s highest in ten innings against England this summer, and their first in excess of 50 since the Lord’s Test in July.Parthiv, whose appearance in Wednesday’s Twenty20 at Old Trafford had been his first against England since India’s Test tour in 2002, showcased a range of eyecatching strokes including a confident pull to repel England’s short-pitched approach, and a cunning ramp over the slips to dent James Anderson’s figures after a typically tidy start to this day’s work.Parthiv had one key let-off, on 7, when the local debutant, Ben Stokes, spilled a low edge in the gully off Tim Bresnan, but beyond that he was virtually chanceless until, with a hundred in his sights, he was lured into a wild drive to a wide ball from Anderson, and snicked a simple chance to the keeper, Craig Kieswetter.Virat Kohli, who was unused in the Tests, backed up Parthiv’s efforts with a battling 55 from 73 balls in a third-wicket stand of 103, while Suresh Raina again proved he’s a transformed character in coloured clothing, as he racked up 38 from 29, including a brace of sixes off Broad and Jade Dernbach.It was Dernbach who eventually extracted Raina in the penultimate over of the innings, courtesy of another brilliantly disguised slower ball – this time a bouncer – that took an eternity to reach the batsman and was eventually flapped to short backward square. MS Dhoni, whose form has been unconvincing so far on this tour, never quite got going to the same degree. He had managed 33 from 36 balls before feathering a loose carve off Bresnan, who then yorked R Ashwin first ball to keep India’s total below 280 in a superb final over.India’s imposing total was achieved despite yet another controversial dismissal for Rahul Dravid, following on from the shoe-lace incident at Edgbaston and the disputed bat-pad catch at The Oval. He made 2 from six balls before umpire Billy Doctrove initially turned down an appeal for caught-behind off Broad, only for the decision to be reversed on review, despite no clear evidence from Hot Spot.Broad, who had earlier removed Rahane for 40 from 44 balls via a top-edged pull to fine leg, was also responsible for Sharma’s tour-threatening injury. He had come to the crease after Parthiv’s departure, but lasted one delivery before being forced to retire hurt after an excellent lifter from Broad rapped Sharma on the gloves. He was in clear pain as the physio attempted to pull the damaged joint back into position, and the suspected break was confirmed by the BCCI soon afterwards.With six wins out of six so far on India’s tour, England came into the contest brimful of confidence, but without their star spinner, Graeme Swann, who failed to recover from a virus and was replaced by Patel. But after a chastising time in the field, England’s day got even worse when their own turn came to bat.In the 40 minutes that were possible before England’s chase was interrupted, Praveen’s performance opened up a gulf between the two teams that would have been hard to surmount had the match resumed either with 224 required from 32 overs, or with 164 required from 20 – the two proposed scenarios when the rain did threaten to abate. Though Jonathan Trott had been nailing his cover-drives nicely in a run-a-ball 14 not out, the going had been tough at the top of the innings.First to fall was the captain Cook, who had been in ruthless form against Sri Lanka in the last ODI series of the summer in June, but whose only scoring shot in ten attempts on this occasion was a first-ball edge past second slip for four. Kumar refused to allow him even to escape the strike, and midway through his second over, he cramped Cook on the cut, and bent an inswinger into his stumps, via a bottom edge.At the other end, Craig Kieswetter had an even less productive stay. He too got off the mark first-ball, with a clip for two through midwicket, but was then pinned down for 13 consecutive deliveries before a rare bad ball from Praveen was turned off the hip for four. He hadn’t added to his score when Praveen bent a delivery into his front pad, and he was sent on his way lbw for 6 from 19 balls. In the end, England dodged a bullet, but after two months of one-way traffic on this tour, India served a timely reminder of their formidable reputation over 50 overs.

Alastair Cook, England’s one-day international captain, believes he could adapt to a return to the Twenty20 international side if he was named captain for the two matches against West Indies

Andrew McGlashan13-Sep-2011Alastair Cook, England’s one-day international captain, believes he could adapt to the Twenty20 format were he to return to the international side as captain for the two matches against West Indies next week after Stuart Broad was ruled out.Broad suffered a shoulder injury during the fourth ODI against India at Lord’s, and will also miss the one-day leg of the India tour although there is hope we will be fit to resume his Twenty20 captaincy for the one-off game in Kolkata on October 29. However, before then, England are left with a tricky decision as to how to fill his vacancy because Eoin Morgan, Broad’s vice-captain, is out of action until January with his own shoulder problem.There are a couple of left-field options England could consider, such as Graeme Swann or Kevin Pietersen, which would make it five captains in a season, or they could extend Cook’s remit from his ODI role where he has had a successful summer with series victories against Sri Lanka and India.Cook’s only T20 captaincy experience came against South Africa, in Centurion, in 2009, which was his first match in charge of England. He looked lost in the field as Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman added 170 for the first wicket to set up a crushing 84-run victory for the hosts. However, Cook has had the chance to expand his leadership skills in the last 18 months, firstly captaining the tour to Bangladesh then being named the one-day captain.There have also been signs during the season that Cook has expanded his game in 50-over cricket, suggesting that he could have another crack at Twenty20 where he currently has four international caps.”It’s another step out of my comfort zone, a lot more hard work,” Cook said after being named the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year on Monday evening. “But I’ve scored runs for Essex in Twenty20, and if I get the chance to play Twenty20 [for England] I hope I can show that again. I’ve always said I want to play all three formats of the game.”Test cricket obviously comes a bit more naturally to me, and suits my style of game. In the last two years I’ve really worked hard to develop my range of shots, and it’s worked – and I think there’s huge potential still to come as those shots become more and more natural.”The problem with handing Cook the role is that it would be disruptive to the top order. Against India, at Old Trafford, England opened with Craig Kieswetter and Alex Hales so Cook would have to take the position of one of those players. Andy Flower had hoped to use the matches against West Indies – a late addition to the schedule due to TV commitments – as the first stage in planning the defence of the World Twenty20 title, in Sri Lanka next September, but without Morgan and Broad he is missing two key elements.”Obviously it’s very disappointing for Stuart to miss out,” Cook added. “It’s gutting for him, but it gives another person a chance to captain England. The selectors will make that decision. It’s not whether you’d like the job, it’s whether you’re honoured enough to be given it.”

Cricket Australia will not rush in to naming Tim Nielsen’s replacement as head coach, even if it means starting the home summer with the stand-in Troy Cooley still in charge

Brydon Coverdale13-Oct-2011Cricket Australia will not rush in to naming Tim Nielsen’s replacement as head coach, even if it means starting the home summer with the stand-in Troy Cooley still in charge. The appointment of Pat Howard as general manager of team performance means that in theory the search for a new mentor can move forward, but it will be slowed by the fact Howard does not start his new job until mid-November.That leaves only a fortnight before the first Test of the summer, against New Zealand at the Gabba starting on December 1. Cooley, the head coach at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, is with Australia’s squad in South Africa as acting coach, and he could find himself filling the position a little longer, after Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland said the process would roll out over “the next couple of months”.”We know and understand that we don’t have a coach, we’ve got Troy Cooley, who is acting in the role at the moment,” Sutherland said. “We’re very aware of that. What I’ve always said is we will step up this process but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We understand the urgency but we’re not going to compromise the process, because we have to make sure that we go through a rigorous process to identify the best person for the job.”It’s clearly a key focus and virtually the first thing that will come on to Pat’s radar. We’re in a position from today to go forward very quickly with that and roll that out over the next month or so, or whatever it takes – probably over the next couple of months.”Howard will be a key man in finding the new head coach, an expanded position that also involves directing the coaching strategy for elite cricket throughout Australia. He said the captain Michael Clarke would play an important role in determining the new mentor, as the pair would need to work closely together to push Australia back up the Test rankings.”He’s got to be complementary and work with the captain,” Howard said. “You can’t have antagonism working from day one – that’s never going to work. So the ability to have effectively what is the spine of cricket, the coach and captain, has got to work really well together. Those considerations have absolutely got to be part of how you fit that jigsaw puzzle together. Michael’s skills and strengths have got to be utilised and complemented.”Appointing coaches is nothing new for Howard. During his time as high-performance chief with the Australian Rugby Union he signed the New Zealander Robbie Deans as coach of Australia’s national side, a move that has resulted in the Wallabies reaching this Sunday’s World Cup semi-final against the All Blacks. Australia’s cricket team has never had a foreign head coach, and while that tradition is likely to continue, Howard will at least bring a fresh perspective to the search.”I see myself having a very strong role in that,” he said. “I have done a lot of coach recruitment – ACT Brumbies, the Reds in Queensland, who won the Super-15 this year, and Australia. I have a fairly strong history, albeit in another sport, in this.”I recruited Robbie Deans. That was a fairly unique time. It was what was required in the game at the time and we went through a fairly rigorous process in being able to deal with that. You’ve got to recruit the best person for the job. That factors in things like culture, it factors in where the team is at, and you don’t take in an pre-conceived ideas. A big thing for me is that it’s not about the names, it’s about getting the capabilities that the game needs right now to complement the other people who are there.”The other major appointment on the horizon is the national selector, a full-time role that will include heading a five-man selection panel. For the time being, the incumbent chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, remains in position along with the part-time selector Jamie Cox, while Greg Chappell, who will be cut when a new panel is appointed, is in South Africa as the selector on duty.”We’re probably more advanced in the national selector role,” Sutherland said. “We advertised a few weeks ago, so the search consultant recruiter that we’ve been working with has been meeting with various people and has gathered a list of names that has been waiting in abeyance for the general manager to be appointed. Now we’re at a stage where we can start talking about that a bit more freely and start getting down to a shortlist to identify that. It’s going to be a similar sort of time frame but we’re certainly very aware that the summer is approaching and we want to have someone on board as quickly as possible.”

Australia will tour West Indies for a full series in March and April next year

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2011Australia will tour West Indies for a full series in March and April next year. The Tests coincide with the first half of the fifth IPL season and may result in some players missing out for their respective franchises. Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, David Warner, Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin are among those in the current Test squad who are contracted with IPL teams.The tour kicks off with a five-match ODI series on March 16, the games shared between St Vincent and St Lucia. The teams then play two Twenty20 internationals followed by a three-day warm-up match involving the visitors. The three-Test series begins on April 11, a week after the start of the IPL, and ends on April 27. Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana will host the three Tests.The ODI series clashes with the Sheffield Shield final in Australia, which is scheduled between March 16-20.Click here for the full itinerary.

Simon Katich’s disciplinary hearing before Cricket Australia over his comments about Michael Clarke has been delayed until December

Daniel Brettig18-Nov-2011Simon Katich’s disciplinary hearing before Cricket Australia over his comments about Michael Clarke has been delayed until December, allowing further time for the air to cool and increasing the likelihood of a guilty plea.The disciplinary hearing, originally slated for November 21, is now expected to be held on Monday, December 5. The delay has been caused by scheduling conflicts and Katich, his legal representation and management requiring more time to organise ahead an answer to the charge of “detrimental public comment”.Since Katich’s comments on October 28, which re-opened the question of whether or not personal enmity between himself and Clarke had led to the opener’s removal from the list of CA contracted players, time is believed to have cooled the anger that flowed from Katich’s mouth at the SCG.When asked by reporters whether John Inverarity’s appointment as the new National Selector had enhanced his chances of an international recall, Katich had spoken pointedly.”It’s pleasing to hear but I think you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that it’s not just the selectors that had a part in sending me on my way,” Katich said following a Sheffield Shield century against Victoria. “I mean to be brutally honest obviously what happened in the dressing room here a few years ago didn’t help my cause. And obviously the captain and coach are selectors.”Just because he [Inverarity] is going to be chairman of selectors or whatever role it is I wouldn’t have thought that’d make too much difference.”Queried on whether or not he could ever expect to play for Australia while Clarke was captain, Katich replied: “I wouldn’t have thought so. That’s probably why I’m in this position in the first place.”James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, was swift in his repudiation of Katich’s words, and the batsman himself is thought to now want the matter to be concluded as quickly as possible, minimising the damage from a divisive episode.

Sandip Maniar took five wickets and Saurashtra forced Mumbai to follow-on despite hundreds from Suryakumar Yadav and Hiken Shah

Nagraj Gollapudi in Rajkot08-Dec-2011
ScorecardFile photo: Suryakumar Yadav’s rapid fire hundred did prevent Mumbai from having to follow-on•Fotocorp

Saurashtra achieved the enviable honour of inflicting the follow-on for the second time in three years against Mumbai, who finished 220 runs short of their opponent’s first-innings target on the penultimate day. Mumbai, who had lost two early wickets in the six overs before stumps on the second day, lost a further two inside the first thirty minutes on Thursday morning, finding themselves in a precarious position at 30 for four.That they didn’t fold immediately thereafter was down to the resolute efforts of Hiken Shah and Suryakumar Yadav, who made contrasting centuries to ensure the match wouldn’t be completely one-sided. Still Saurashtra, lead by their veteran seamer Sandip Maniar, who grabbed a deserving five-for, ensured the hosts would finish the match with at least three points.Wasim Jaffer, the Mumbai captain, has struggled so far this season and disappointed once again. Playing across a Maniar delivery, which had cut in after pitching on the off stump, Jaffer was caught plumb in front of the stumps. Then Kaustubh Pawar went chasing an away swinger from Maniar, but could only edge it to the wicketkeeper. Yadav, too, had nearly booked his written ticket when he flashed at an angled delivery from Jaydev Undakat, the left-arm seamer, but Bhushan Chauhan dropped an easy catch at second slip. Yadav was on six at the time and made good use of the life he was granted.So far this season Yadav’s modus operandi has been to hit the ball, good delivery or bad, if he feels he can hit it. His first onslaught came against Siddharth Trivedi, who was hit for four successive boundaries in his first over: a steer, then two punched straight drives followed by a pull that brightened Mumbai’s dressing room. Yadav took just 35 balls to make his third half-century of the season.He then took fancy to the left-arm spin of Nayan Doshi, whose first over was ransacked for 22 runs including a six and four fours featuring a cover drive, a loft, a sweep and a paddle sweep. In Doshi’s third over, Yadav stepped out twice, on the fourth and then the final delivery, to club two handsome sixes, the second of which got him to this second century in successive matches. His 77-ball hundred had come up inside the two-and-a-half-hour first session and Yadav promised a big score for a second week in a row after his 200 against Orissa in the last round.Still Yadav needed to exercise caution only because he had missed out on two centuries in the first two rounds, against Railways (88) and then against Rajasthan (87), by playing the wrong shots. In their efforts to dry up the runs, Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah spread the field and asked Kamlesh Makwana, the off spinner, to attack Yadav’s off stump. Yadav stayed quiet for an over, but attempting a slog sweep, he top-edged to Shah, who had smartly pushed himself back from leg gully to short fine-leg.Luckily for Mumbai, Hiken, playing his first match for Mumbai in three years, did not lose focus. He had played for Jammu & Kashmir in the 2009-10 season, but returned home and spent the mandatory cooling-off period of one year playing in the Mumbai leagues. He had come into this match on the back of three back-to-back centuries in the Police Shield.In the second session, Saurashtra mostly deployed spinners, which was to Hiken’s liking. He brought up both his fifty and his hundred with fours. The half-century came when he cut Makwana past the point boundary. Then on 96, he lofted Trivedi over the bowler’s head. It was his second Ranji, and first-class, century, coming four years after his first.
Unfortunately at the start of the final session Hiken tried to uppercut a Maniar short-pitched delivery, which was brilliantly snapped by Kotak, the lone slip, who leapt into the air, raised both his hands and made a difficult catch look easy.Coincidentally, the last match Hiken played for Mumbai was against Saurashtra in the 2008-09 season in Rajkot and Mumbai had been forced to follow-on in that game too. Hiken said it was bittersweet moment for him that despite his century he could not save Mumbai’s blushes.

Vusi Sibanda has not been selected for the upcoming tour to New Zealand because he chose to play grade cricket in Australia and declined a Zimbabwe Cricket contract

Firdose Moonda14-Jan-2012Vusi Sibanda, the Zimbabwe opener, has not been selected for the upcoming tour to New Zealand because he chose to play grade cricket in Australia and declined a Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) contract. The omission of Sibanda is in keeping with ZC’s policies of regarding players who are not part of its domestic structure as ineligible for national selection.Zimbabwe play a one-off Test, three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand, and named a 15-man squad led by Brendan Taylor.Sibanda did not accept an offer from his franchise, the Mid West Rhinos, where he was captain, at the start of the domestic season in September 2011, but continued to play for the national team. He did not play the Stanbic T20 competition in December and travelled to Sydney to play for Eastern Suburbs.At the time, Alistair Campbell, chairman of Zimbabwe’s cricket committee, told Sibanda that he would not be considered for the national team if he chose to go to Australia. Head coach Alan Butcher was asked if Sibanda would definitely be ruled out; he said, “Not as far as he or I are concerned,” leaving room for uncertainty over Sibanda’s future.Sibanda returned to Zimbabwe earlier than expected in an attempt to be considered for the New Zealand tour. Sources close to the player said his arrangement in Australia was no longer working out after he hoped to be contracted for the Big Bash League but was not.Sibanda was named in Zimbabwe’s 20-man training squad last week. The reported that he was not included in any of the team’s drills when they trained, while members of Zimbabwe’s selection and cricket committees debated whether they should include Sibanda in the final squad. Campbell said the selectors decided to stick with their original decision.”He knew when he decided to go that he would not be considered for selection for Zimbabwe,” Alistair Campbell, chairman of the cricket committee, told ESPNcricinfo. “When he returned, we debated it, and decided that we cannot set precedents for players to go and play in other country’s domestic competitions and not at home, and then be considered for the national team.”Taylor, however, is currently playing in New Zealand’s HRV Cup, where he represented Wellington in seven matches. He missed three first-class matches and two List A matches in Zimbabwe, but Campbell justified Taylor’s actions.”With Brendan Taylor, it was different. The board has always been in favour of players going to play in other country’s 20-over leagues to learn a bit about the conditions as long as it does not conflict with our cricket,” Campbell said. “We can’t have players substituting domestic cricket with club cricket in another country.” Taylor is still contracted to ZC. He will meet up with the squad once they reach New Zealand.The tour will be a litmus test for Taylor, who will lead Zimbabwe for the first time away from home since taking over the captaincy after the World Cup last year. It will also include the first away Test Zimbabwe will play in six years, after they made a return to the five-day format in August 2011.Sibanda was an integral part of Zimbabwe’s Test comeback. He scored 78 against Bangladesh in their first Test of the new era, which Zimbabwe won by 130 runs. He also contributed an important and 93 in the 34-run loss to New Zealand in Bulawayo two months later. As one of their most senior players in the Zimbabwe squad, Sibanda was also part of the leadership team.Despite the snub, Sibanda’s chances of representing Zimbabwe are not over. He is currently playing for the Rhinos on a pay-as-you-play basis and will renegotiate a contract at the start of the next season. “If he plays in Zimbabwe and shows his commitment to our cricket, he will be considered again,” Campbell said.

The PCB has said it will try to retain Aaqib Javed in the national team’s support staff though he has been shortlisted for the job of UAE coach

Umar Farooq12-Feb-2012The PCB has said it will try to retain Aaqib Javed in the national team’s support staff though he has been shortlisted for the job of UAE coach. Javed’s contract with the PCB as Pakistan’s bowling coach ends on February 29.ESPNcricinfo understands that Javed wants to move on from the Pakistan role because of the heftier salary offered by UAE and to give his children more opportunities. Incidentally, the current UAE coach, former Pakistan fast bowler Kabir Khan, wants to shift out of the UAE as he said he was unable to find a suitable school for his children.There has been no official word from Aaqib, but the PCB wants to extend his contract as a specialist bowling coach with the three-man coaching panel likely to be headed by Dav Whatmore. “His name was recommended by the coach committee as a bowling coach for the Pakistan cricket team,” the PCB Chairman, Zaka Ashraf, told ESPNcricinfo. “Though his contract finishes at the end of the England series, we are all set to extend his contract and offer him a long-term role as bowling coach.”He hasn’t informed us or tendered his resignation to the PCB but if he is thinking of it, then we have to sit down and talk to him. He is a qualified coach and a dedicated person. Obviously UAE has offered him a job considering his performance with Pakistan.”I was informed that Javed is keen to take up the UAE job to give his family more opportunities and that is obviously his own choice and we can’t interfere in his personal matters. I definitely won’t stop him for wanting to boost his career but we will obviously want to inform him what we have decided for him about his future with Pakistan. Ultimately the decision is his own.”Aaqib has been involved in coaching for a decade now, working his way up to a national role after starting at the grassroots level. He was earlier in contention for the job of Pakistan head coach but his chances faded as the coach committee wanted a foreigner for the role.”We had to choose a foreign coach – who actually is more qualified than our coaches in Pakistan,” Ashraf said. “His job is not only to coach the player but will also help raise the level of our coaches. That will make our pool of coaches useful not only for Pakistan but for the rest of the world as well.”

India may have crossed their first hurdle towards reaching the final of the Asia Cup by winning their opening match, but concerns over their bowling, especially the fast bowing, remain

Siddarth Ravindran in Mirpur15-Mar-2012India may have crossed their first hurdle towards reaching the final of the Asia Cup by beating one of their stronger opponents in their opening match, but concerns over their bowling, especially the fast bowing, remain.In Vinay Kumar, Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar, they have three bowlers who bowl at a pretty similar, unthreatening pace. All of them prefer operating with the new ball, banking on any early movement on offer, and are far less comfortable bowling at the death. Praveen has not been at his best since his rib injury, Irfan isn’t bowling those magic balls that earned him a die-hard legion of fans, while Vinay isn’t the type of bowler who will give international teams sleepless nights.Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh’s captain, knows where India’s weak link lies. “Their bowling attack seems less stronger than Pakistan’s or Sri Lanka’s, that’s what I feel personally,” he said. “This is what is giving us confidence against India.”The statement comes on the day that Joe Dawes, India’s new bowling coach, got his first chance to get a close-up look at his charges. Linking up with the Indian squad for the first time since his appointment last month, he supervised a three-hour training session on Thursday morning.While Dawes will ponder how to improve the Indian bowling, Mushfiqur and Bangladesh have to come up with a plan to contain the Indian batting, which showed against Sri Lanka just how good they can be in familiar conditions. “It is quite difficult to bowl against their batting line-up,” Mushfiqur said. “But at the same time, a good ball is enough for a batsman if it’s his bad day. If we can capitalise on it and make them commit mistakes by bowling to their weakness, it would work.”Mushfiqur said Bangladesh’s first target was to consistently challenge the top teams. “More than just winning a game, it is important for us to play against big teams confidently, fight against them. This will help us grow and win. We lost the first game by going close, but we don’t do this on a regular basis, so we tend to forget what to do in such situations when faced with it.”
This is their 10th Asia Cup campaign, a competition in which they are yet to post a victory against Test opposition. Unless Bangladesh capitalise on India’s weakness and end that streak on Friday, they will be facing another early elimination.

Steve Smith, the sometime Australia allrounder, has won his second Steve Waugh Medal as the most outstanding player for New South Wales during the 2011-12 season

Daniel Brettig23-Mar-2012Steve Smith, the sometime Australia allrounder, has won his second Steve Waugh Medal as the most outstanding player for New South Wales during the 2011-12 season. In a wretched summer for the Blues, Smith’s overall contribution outstripped an sterling Sheffield Shield season by the wicketkeeper Peter Nevill to claim the award, which he also won in 2010.Over the voting period, expanded to include last year’s Twenty20 Champions League, Smith made consistent contributions with the bat, though his legspin bowling struggled to make an impression as he slipped further from contention for a place in the national team. Like numerous NSW team-mates, Smith is expected to lose his Cricket Australia contract when the list is redrawn this year.In the Champions League, Smith made 103 runs at 34.33, his best contribution arriving in a critical win over the Mumbai Indians. Smith was a solid contributor in the Sheffield Shield, notching 492 runs at 41.00, second only to Nevill among the Blues’ run scorers. He was also useful in the domestic limited overs competition, making 189 runs in the five matches he played. Though not the competition is not included in the Waugh medal voting, Smith led the Sydney Sixers to victory in the Twenty20 Big Bash League.Nevill, absent from the awards ceremony at Doltone House in Sydney due to Australia duty, was rewarded for a break-out summer with the award for best Sheffield Shield player. Nevill’s 570 runs at 51.81 were an excellent harvest for a wicketkeeper in a struggling team, and he also claimed 22 catches. The lack of other serious contenders reflected the Blues’ season, in which they missed both domestic finals and won only one Shield match out of 10.Mitchell Starc claimed the domestic limited overs award, having scooped 15 wickets at 17.73 in a mere five matches, as he played a fringe role with the Australian team across the summer. Moises Henriques was named the most outstanding contributor to the Sixers’ T20 success, while Chirs Gayle won the equivalent award for the Sydney Thunder.The Belinda Clark Medal for best women’s cricketer was shared between Leah Poulton and Lisa Sthalekar. Poulton’s award was her third, and second in as many seasons, while Sthalekar celebrated her fourth Clarke medal.Three inductees were also welcomed into the NSW hall of fame. Fred Spofforth, the most feared fast bowler of Australian cricket’s formative years, was inducted, as was that bold batsman and folk hero of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, Doug Walters. Denise Annetts, who played 10 Tests and 43 ODIs for the Australian women’s team, was also inducted.