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Jesse Ryder’s first century in the competition paved the way a 78-run victory for Essex over Hampshire in their NatWest Twenty20 Blast at Chelmsford

ECB/PA26-Jun-2015
ScorecardJesse Ryder struck his first T20 hundred in the NatWest Blast [file picture]•Getty Images

Jesse Ryder’s first century in the competition paved the way a 78-run victory for Essex over Hampshire in their NatWest Twenty20 Blast at Chelmsford.The New Zealander destroyed the visiting attack with an unbeaten 107 from just 55 deliveries, eight of which he smashed for six. The last of those carried him into three figures and he also scored eight fours in an exhibition that earned him a standing ovation as Essex finished on 212 for 5.

Insights

Although Hampshire have still been winning matches their seam bowling has been a concern this season. Apart from Fidel Edwards, who is now playing in the CPL, none of their seamers have an economy rate of less than 8.73. In fact other than Yasir Arafat none of them have an economy rate of lower than 9.28. Spinners Danny Briggs and Will Smith have been carrying the attack. It was not until this match that they ran into an opposition batting order who punished the weakness – although Chris Wood did keep his figures intact. With Sean Ervine still out injured Hampshire should consider an emergency signing.

Sharing the limelight with Ryder was Mark Pettini as they put together an opening partnership of 126 in 14 overs. Pettini’s share of that was 74 in 45 balls as he helped himself to three sixes among his dozen boundaries before he was brilliantly caught at deep mid-wicket by a diving Gareth Berg to give spinner Will Smith his only wicket.No other batsman managed to reach double figures but that was of little consolation for Hampshire as Essex collected their sixth success in the competition to move level with Kent at the top of the South Group table.The only visiting bowler to escape the carnage was Chris Wood, his four overs costing 29 runs and earning him the wicket of James Foster.Hampshire began their reply needing to get off to a flying start to mount any sort of challenge but it was not to be.In the first three overs, they lost as many wickets, Reece Topley bowling James Vince and then having Michael Carberry caught on the square leg boundary for eight. In between, David Masters sent back Joe Gatting as Ryan ten
Doeschate accepted a catch at deep mid-off.One-time Essex batsman Owais Shah did his best to repair the damage but having struck three fours and a six in making 26 from 20 balls, he was magnificently caught by ten Doeschate at wide mid-on after he dived to his right to pluck the ball an inch or so off the ground.After that, and with the score now 57 for 4, Hampshire were left with the task of trying to bring some sense of respectability to their challenge.When medium-pace man Ravi Bopara came into the attack he soon put Hampshire into even deeper trouble with three wickets in an over, those of Jimmy Adams, Smith and Berg to leave the scoreboard looking a sorry 66
for 7.Bopara, who was appearing in his 100th domestic T20 match finished with 3 for 23 while Topley claimed 3 for 25 as Essex ended a sequence of six successive defeats against Hampshire, dismissed for only 134, in this competition

An ability to “learn and adapt” has been identified by Andy Flower as the key to England’s series victory in India

George Dobell18-Dec-2012An ability to “learn and adapt” has been identified by Andy Flower as the key to England’s series success victory in India. By drawing the final Test in Nagpur, England secured their first series win in India since 1984-85 and inflicted a first home series defeat upon India since 2004.It was a far cry from the events in the UAE a few months earlier. At that time, as England succumbed to a 3-0 series defeat against Pakistan, England’s batsmen had no answer to the spin threat of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman.But Flower, the England team director, took particular satisfaction from the way his team had accepted their failings in the UAE and worked to improve. He also admitted that an element of complacency may have crept into the squad after they had reached the No.1 Test ranking at the end of 2011.”I don’t know if lost focus is quite the right phrase to use,” Flower said, “but if there are degrees of hunger and desire perhaps we dropped off a couple after getting to No 1.”We had a tough time in the UAE against Pakistan at the start of the year, and one of the most satisfying things at the minute – certainly for me, and I’m sure for the players – is that they’ve shown they can score runs. We’ve come out here and very importantly shown that this bunch of cricketers can learn and adapt.”They have proved they have learned a lot. For some of the older players, guys that have been around and have excellent Test career achievement, that is testament to their humility and their maturity to continue their learning into this phase of their careers. They have still adapted their game and shown their game can improve. It’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of thought and a lot of skill out there in the middle. They should be very proud of themselves.”We certainly refocused on this challenge in India. We knew we would have to display that we have learned certain things about the game of cricket in these conditions if we were to prevail so it’s nice to see that has happened. I certainly wouldn’t describe it as a year of decline.”Flower credited Alastair Cook as a key figure in England’s success. Cook, the England captain, led from the front with a defiant century in defeat in Ahmedabad that showed his team what could be achieved with patience and composure. While Cook also made centuries in Mumbai and Kolkata, an increasing number of his team-mates contributed decisive performances as the series progressed.”That innings at Ahmedabad was vitally important as a lead,” Flower said. “It provided evidence that runs could be scored if you use your brain, if you’ve got a reasonable method, if you show courage and discipline. He did that and for the captain to do that was especially important. He has been very influential in the series. We are very lucky to follow a quality bloke like Andrew Strauss with a quality bloke like Alastair Cook as leaders of the England side.

England’s testing year

v Pakistan, Dubai Lost by 10 wickets
v Pakistan, Abu Dhabi Lost by 72 runs
v Pakistan, Dubai Lost by 72 runs

v Sri Lanka, Galle Lost by 75 runs
v Sri Lanka, Colombo Won by eight wickets

v West Indies, Lord’s Won by five wickets
v West Indies, Trent Bridge Won by nine wickets
v West Indies, Edgbaston Drawn

v South Africa, The Oval Lost by an innings and 12 runs
v South Africa, Headingley Drawn
v South Africa, Lord’s Lost by 51 runs

v India, Ahmedabad Lost by nine wickets
v India, Mumbai Won by 10 wickets
v India, Kolkata Won by seven wickets
v India, Nagpur Match Drawn

“I said to him I thought tactically he has been excellent – and you can’t always say that about English sides in the sub-continent. I think he’s been a good observer of the opposition, and what works for them, and he’s used some of that to our advantage.”There was also praise for Kevin Pietersen who returned to the squad for this series having been dropped following revelations about his poor relationship with his England team-mates. Pietersen started nervously, but made a brilliant century at Mumbai which helped alter the direction of the series.”He has been excellent since he has been back with the England side,” Flower said. “The guys have enjoyed having him around and he has fitted in really easily and everyone has made an effort to make it work. It has worked.”He has played superbly. I thought his innings in Mumbai on a difficult, turning track was one of the better innings I have seen played against spinners in those type of conditions. It was a very, very skilful innings; even more skilful after he had struggled in the first Test because that piled a certain amount of pressure on him. So for him to handle that pressure, turn it round and then dominate the opposition as he did was great testament to him holding his nerve.”While the victory provided a happy ending to a difficult year, Flower was keen to stress that there had been other positive achievements among the disappointments.”We’ve had up-and-down results,” he said. “We didn’t play that well against the spin in the UAE, but we’ve also done some superb things.”We became number one in one-day international cricket; we drew an important Test series in Sri Lanka, and won one against the West Indies. And then we lost to a very good South African side in England. I don’t think there is any embarrassment in that. That happens in international sport.”Flower is now taking a break. While England return to T20 action on Thursday, Flower will be back in the UK with his family having relinquished his day-to-day involvement with England’s limited-overs squads. Ashley Giles starts in the role of England’s limited-overs coach in the New Year.But it would be incorrect to conclude that Flower is not still the man in charge in all formats of the game. The idea is that Giles will bring new energy to the limited-overs teams, allowing Flower to remain fresh and to spend more time with his family. Certainly he is still planning for challenges ahead in all formats, with the Champions Trophy, to be played in England in 2013, a particular target.”I do have a young family and they have supported me amazingly well over my playing and coaching career and it is time for me to make sure that I can give a little more time to them,” Flower said. “The purpose of the move is to make us a more efficient organisation and to use our resources as wisely as possible so certainly that will assist me to remain involved with the English side.”Ashley Giles is a smart cricket coach with very good experience of both coaching and playing and I think he can do a very good job with the limited-overs sides. We hope he can take the limited-overs teams forward. We don’t know if the system is going to work ideally, just like we didn’t when we introduced three different captains for the three different facets of cricket that we play. But our job is to make it work.”It is going to be a busy year. We’ve got the Champions Trophy – one of our priorities – happening in England and we’ll have a chance there. Then there’s the two Ashes series in the second half of the year. That’s going to be some tough, sustained cricket. But we’ve shown out here that we can play that type of cricket, and that we learn to survive in different conditions.”

New South Wales gained the advantage over Western Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, bowling them out for 150 and reaching 2 for 48 in response

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2011
ScorecardNew South Wales gained the advantage over Western Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, bowling them out for 150 and reaching 2 for 48 in response. After most of the first day was washed out, 20-year-old fast bowler Josh Hazlewood caused problems on the second morning. He bowled Marcus Harris with an offcutter and then dismissed Travis Birt. Wes Robinson fought and got a half-century but Hazlewood took two more wickets and Josh Lalor grabbed three to bowl Western Australia out for 150.Nathan Rimmington struck early but Tim Cruickshank and Phil Jacques steadied the innings before Cruickshank was dismissed just before play ended for the day. Captain Simon Katich joined Jaques, who finished the day 38 not out.

Marcus Trescothick believes Alastair Cook can go on and break a host of batting records after his monumental unbeaten 235 against Australia

Andrew McGlashan30-Nov-2010Marcus Trescothick believes Alastair Cook can go on and break a host of batting records after his monumental unbeaten 235, against Australia in Brisbane, which enabled England to save the opening Ashes Test. Cook beat Don Bradman’s Gabba record for an individual score as he and Jonathan Trott added a mammoth 329 for the second wicket.In many ways Cook has been the long-term successor to Trescothick at the top of England’s order. Although he made his debut as an opener before Trescothick’s enforced retirement from the international scene, Cook only took that position permanently during the 2006-07 series in Australia.”You can just see from the way he approaches his cricket that it was only ever going to be a matter of time before produced this sort of performance,” Trescothick told ESPNcricinfo. “He’s a young and could go on and break all sorts of records in the years to come.”The early end to Trescothick’s Test career is often cited as one of the key reasons for England’s whitewash on that trip as the top order struggled to impose themselves against a formidable attack. Cook, despite a second-innings hundred at Perth, ended with a disappointing 276 runs at 27.60.In one Test he has surpassed that tally, after beginning with a battling 67 in the first innings, and Trescothick never had any doubt in Cook’s ability even when he was going through his summer slump against Pakistan. Turning 26 on Christmas Day – the same birthday as Trescothick – Cook appears set to finish his career as England’s leading Test scorer, a position currently held by his mentor Graham Gooch.”It shows the quality of the player. We know the sort of character he is and he’s an important member of the team,” Trescothick said. “He’s always worked hard. All he needed was to get that big score and he’s been building up to it during the warm-up matches, then got fifty in the first innings at the Gabba before finishing off with a brilliant double hundred.”Cook’s opening stand of 188 with Andrew Strauss set England on their way to saving the opening Test and it was the positive approach they took, led by Strauss, that indicated the visitors weren’t going to back down from a huge challenge. As a fellow opener, Trescothick understands the mindset needed to overcome huge deficits and believes it’s the strong back-room set-up within the squad that enable the openers to play the way they did.”The vital thing is how solid the team is,” Trescothick said. “If you have that grounding in the dressing room then you can go out and try to be positive. You can’t die a death and end up not scoring runs because you have to get ahead of the other team. When the bad balls come you have to put them away and attack certain bowlers. Eventually you are going to lose wickets, but that’s what didn’t happen this time.”The build-up to the opening Test centred on Australia’s strong record at the Gabba and, although they remain unbeaten since 1988, the nature of England’s great escape means they head into the second Test buoyed while it’s the hosts under pressure. In 2002-03, Trescothick was part of an England team hammered by 384 runs in Brisbane and, despite the best efforts of Michael Vaughan who scored 633 runs in the series, they never recovered and lost 4-1. Now, having departed Queensland unscathed, Trescothick believes England have secured a vital advantage.”It was a great achievement. Our history at the Gabba wasn’t very good,” he said. “Generally if you get 500 you are losing at least half the side so to get it for just one down was a fantastic effort. It was a great achievement, and to bounce back as well from being 200 behind is a great effort.”The pitch was certainly different to before but the team is in such better shape. We know the team we want to play, the batters are getting runs and the bowlers doing OK. But I think we can produce even better results and going into the second Test we often get better as a series goes on.”Marcus Trescothick was speaking at his new signing with Mongoose Cricket www.mongoosecricket.com

Simon Katich remains in doubt for the Hobart Test against Pakistan with an elbow injury, forcing the selectors to again name Phillip Hughes as a backup opener

Cricinfo staff07-Jan-2010Simon Katich remains in doubt for the Hobart Test against Pakistan with an elbow injury, forcing the selectors to again name Phillip Hughes as a backup opener. Australia named an unchanged 13-man squad for the final Test of the home summer, giving Marcus North a reprieve despite a string of low scores.The remarkable series-winning victory at the SCG discouraged the selectors from making any alterations, allowing North another opportunity to turn around his form after scores of 1, 8, 10 and 2 in his past two Tests. The main query surrounds Katich, who missed the Sydney Test due to his elbow problem.Hughes did not fully grab his chance back in the Test side, with a first-innings duck and 37 in the second innings. The likelihood of Hughes playing at Bellerive, where the Test starts next Thursday, depends on how Katich performs when he bats in the nets in Hobart early next week.”Simon has been having regular treatment on his arm injury since being ruled out of the Sydney Test and will travel to Hobart with the squad where he will continue his rehabilitation,” Australia’s physio Alex Kountouris said. “A decision on his availability will be made closer to the start of the Test in Hobart after he’s had an opportunity to bat in the nets to test his injury.”Katich was Australia’s leading Test run scorer in 2009, with 1111 runs at 48.30, and he is averaging 57.42 in Tests this home summer. One of the SCG heroes, Peter Siddle, was confident Katich could shake the injury in time.”He’s come in a few times in the last couple of days to get some treatment and see Alex and work with him,” Siddle said. “I haven’t spoken to him too much about it but I’d be pretty confident. He’s a strong fella and he’s very wiling to work hard to get back out there. We’ve still got a fair bit of time before day one.”Squad Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Phillip Hughes, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger.

James Pattinson is licking his lips at the prospect of returning to Australia’s Test team on a pitch that should offer him – and his sore shins – some assistance. Pattinson appears almost certain to replace the injured Peter Siddle for the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch after he bowled in the nets on Thursday and came through the session seemingly unscathed.He had been ruled out of the first Test in Wellington as the selectors were not convinced his body would stand up to the rigours of a Test match after he had spent much of the previous month sidelined by shin soreness. Pattinson had returned for Victoria two weeks ago but bowled only 21.3 overs in a Sheffield Shield game before Cricket Australia withdrew him and flew him to New Zealand.But instead of playing him in the Test, Australia chose to keep Pattinson training in the Basin Reserve nets to prove that he could get through a full match with the view to having him available at Hagley Oval. As it happened, his workload in the nets was even higher than that of Jackson Bird, Mitchell Marsh and Siddle in the Test win.”I got through a fair bit, I think I bowled close to 35 overs last week in the nets, which is a substantial amount in the nets,” Pattinson said in Christchurch on Thursday. “So I’m full of confidence now, knowing I can get through this game and it was pleasing – because in the nets I probably bowled the best I have over the last six months. I’m starting to feel really good with my action and physically I felt really good too.”I’ve had sore shins for a while. With the grounds in Australia the wickets have been really hard. I’ve had sore shins for most of the year and it probably just got a little bit worse. So I think with shins it’s just about managing them. If you do keep playing with them, they can turn into fractures, which is something I didn’t want to happen. So it’s about managing them and now I’m feeling really good.”Pattinson looked fired up while bowling in the Basin Reserve nets before the Wellington Test, bouncing several of the Australian batsmen, but nothing could convince the selectors to take a punt on him and they opted instead for Siddle and Bird. Pattinson said he understood why the decision had been made, and the plan had always been for him to aim for full fitness by the second Test.”I was a little bit sore,” he said. “I probably thought I could have tried to get through but again being the first Test of the series – we sort of sat down before, when I first started back planning. I probably was trying to aim for the second Test and then if we got the first Test it’d be a bonus. So being the first Test in a big series, we just took the cautious approach.”It wasn’t ideal when Sidds went down and it wouldn’t have been good if I played and went down in the first Test as well, having two down. So it’s probably worked out really well for us … I’m ready to go. I had a good workout in the nets last week. Ready to go, feeling really good and excited if I get the call-up.”Pattinson was productive in the home Test summer after coming in for the series against West Indies and collecting 13 wickets at 22.46, not that there was significant assistance for Australia’s bowlers on the flat home pitches this season. They found some sideways movement on the green Basin Reserve pitch on the first morning and Pattinson has no problem with New Zealand coach Mike Hesson asking for an even greener surface at Hagley Oval.”As fast bowlers we’ve had to work hard for our wickets over the last six months in Australia, the wickets have been quite flat,” Pattinson said. “We come over here and we’ve got some green wickets. We’re licking our lips, which is great. I know all the bowlers are pretty pumped and I think the green wicket should play into our hands pretty well, hopefully.”

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bowling coach Allan Donald has said the team is eagerly looking forward to the arrival of Australian World Cup hero Mitchell Starc. After mixed returns from two matches, Donald believes Starc, who was the highest wicket-taker as well as the Player of the Tournament, can be the X-factor that Royal Challengers desperately are looking for to bolster their pace pack. Starc, who is recovering from a minor niggle, is expected to join the squad in the next few days.”It is huge. If Starcy was in any IPL team right now he would be severely missed. Starcy has an effect on the team,” Donald told ESPNcricinfo. Donald agreed there was a lot of room for improvement based on the assessment from the first two matches where Royal Challengers won against Kolkata Knight Riders, but then lost at home against Sunrisers Hyderabad.”Against Knight Riders we weren’t too bad. The thing that frustrates coaches is when people don’t stick to bowling plans. But we stuck to our bowling plans really well in Kolkata. In the second game weren’t good enough. One could argue the fact that bowlers were struggling to land properly because the creases were very wet. But that shouldn’t’ be an excuse,” Donald said.According to Donald, Royal Challengers were put on the back foot immediately by David Warner’s fiery start against Sunrisers and were never able to come back.”Sunrisers got off to a blistering start which we did not want. It was all that an easy wicket. It was tacky. We spoke beforehand that we are going to have to hit the lengths really hard. We did the completely opposite. We bowled full. We got driven. They were 60-odd for no loss in no time.”Donald believed that when things go fast and the batsman is dominating, the bowler needs to slow things down during the walk back to his mark, something referred to in bowlers-speak as the 15-second chill.”A lot of things go through your mind when you just been hit for two sixes. A lot of emotions creep in. That is why we tell the leaders of the group, Darren Sammy and AB de Villiers, to go and speak to the bowler. There is the 15-second chill where the bowler walks back to the mark and during this period a lot of gremlins sit on your shoulder and dictate to you ‘bowl this, bowl that.'”It is in this frame of mind, Donald believes, the bowler “clearly” has no plan. He says this based on personal experience.Such a scenario did play out on Monday against Sunrisers in the Powerplay. Warner and Shikhar Dhawan ran roughshod over the Royal Challengers’ trio of Sean Abott, Harshal Patel and Varun Aaron. After two overs, Sunrisers were 36 for 0. Aaron then delivered a tight third over, giving away just five runs including a boundary. It was followed by an even tighter over by Abu Nechim Ahmed, who gave just two runs.But instead of tightening the leash, Aaron got distracted by the wetness of the crease as he was repeatedly cleaning the sole of his boots with the bail. First ball of the next over, Warner stuck a powerful loft over the bowler’s head for a four. Next ball, Aaron dug in short and Warner just swiveled quickly to pull it over midwicket for another our. Agitated, Aaron repeated the shorter delivery and Warner cut it over thirdman for a six. Aaron just smiled helplessly.Crucial in this period, Donald pointed out, was for the senior players to put an arm around the bowler and calm him down. “Rather than leaving the bowler on his own we often ask senior guys to talk to him. AB does brilliantly. He runs in from wherever he is fielding to check with the bowler what is his plan. You know that the next two balls to finish the over is crucial. And how you get out of the over is even more crucial.”When there are 40,000 people in the stadium, and the ideas are rushing through your head about what to do, that is when the experienced hands like AB, Sammy or Starcy play a huge role.”Donald wants the experienced heads to cool his bowlers down: “AB does it brilliantly. He runs in from wherever he is fielding to check with the bowler what is his plan”•BCCI

The presence of Starc at the other end, Donald said, would add confidence to the likes of Aaron and the Indian domestic quicks Harshal and Nechim.”I know what it is like bowling in partnerships with Shaun Pollock and when he wasn’t there how it affected the balance of the team simply in terms of the X-factor from the both ends. Starc also brings the best out Varun Aaron. I know that for a fact. They bowl well together. They bowl hard in the middle overs as a partnership.”Donald describes every ball in T20 cricket as an event, and hence he tirelessly stresses that bowlers need to recover quickly after any assault. “We know how quickly the game turns in terms of momentum and even two balls can have a big say in the outcome of the game.”Bowling coaches’ job over the seasons have become difficult as batsmen like de Villiers and Glenn Maxell have taken the size of grounds out of the equation. Donald says it is not easy to bowl five yorkers every over, and that only a Lasith Malinga can do it.According to Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach Shane Bond, a much safer delivery at times can be the length delivery. “We encourage that the yorker that really gets the danger batsman out of strike and think about the next delivery to the other guy,” he said. “And that is why bowlers get emotional and say whatever happens will happen. And that is not good enough: you have got to think 24 balls very clearly.”The unique facet about Royal Challengers’ bowling line-up is three of their strike bowlers – Starc, Aaron and Adam Milne – can bowl consistently at 150kph. Then there is Sean Abott who can bowl 140-plus. So there is no dearth of pace. However, Donald conceded that it was risky business to go for extreme pace.Still, he will not discourage his fast men from limiting themselves. “Pace is a big factor. If it goes wrong, the ball goes to the fence. But, having said that, these guys take you wickets,” Donald said.”You can’t tell these guys how to be very tight in the channel and be conservative. These guys need to be given the licence to take you wickets and win you games and they are going to go for a few. And this why they are strike bowlers.”

Match facts

January 6-10, 2015, Sydney
Start time 1030 local (2330 GMT)

Big picture

The 2014 calendar year began with Australia at the SCG in celebration mode. The Ashes had been won and a 5-0 clean-sweep was there for the taking. The 2015 calendar year begins with Australia at the SCG, another series already in their grasp, but this time the mood is more subdued. It is the first time the Australians have played at the ground since their team-mate Phillip Hughes was struck down there by a bouncer on November 25, and died two days later.Nearly half of Australia’s XI for this Test – David Warner, Shane Watson, Nathan Lyon, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Starc – were on the ground when Hughes collapsed. If the Adelaide Test was about raw emotion, this one will be about memories. A permanent memorial plaque for Hughes will also be unveiled at the ground.On field, this Test will be about trying to finish the series on a high. Australia will raise the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the match no matter what happens, but they can do so with a 3-0 series win. India, on the other hand, could drop to seventh on the ICC Test rankings if they lose in Sydney.It is their first Test in the post-MS Dhoni era, with Virat Kohli officially the captain after temporarily taking the reins in Adelaide earlier in the series. India have been in all three Tests so far and have performed better here than Australia did in India in 2013, yet they have still found themselves on the losing side. Here is one more chance to change that.

Form guide

Australia DWWLL
India DLLLL

In the spotlight

There has been something of the hokey pokey to Mitchell Starc’s Test career so far – in, out, in, out, in, out. He has not played two consecutive Tests in a series since his first two matches in 2011. He gets another opportunity at the SCG as the replacement for Johnson, and after struggling to find his line and length at the Gabba it is an important match for Starc, whose bowling average of 36.22 from 14 Tests is underwhelming. At the SCG his record is also disappointing – his first-class bowling average there is 42.15. It is time for Starc to shake it all about.Virat Kohli has been the batsman who has worried Australia most this series, but Ajinkya Rahane is also causing them major problems at No.5. His 348 runs for the series have come at 58.00 and his century at the MCG was sublime, confirming why he is one of the most promising Test batsmen in world cricket. Of his 1026 Test runs, 1018 have come outside India and his average in the first innings of Tests is 62.66 – more than half the time he passes fifty in the first innings.

Team news

Australia have confirmed their starting XI, with Mitchell Johnson ruled out due to hamstring soreness. He will be replaced by Mitchell Starc in the only change to the side that played in Melbourne.Australia 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Shaun Marsh, 6 Joe Burns, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Ryan Harris, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon.Suresh Raina batted extensively in the nets in the lead-up to the Test and might come in for KL Rahul after his dreadful debut, although moving Rahul up to open and axing Shikhar Dhawan is another possibility. Varun Aaron is back from India, where he attended his grandfather’s funeral, and could replace Mohammad Shami. Wriddhiman Saha will take the gloves from the retired MS Dhoni and it remains to be seen whether Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s ankle has recovered sufficiently for him to play.India (possible) 1 M Vijay, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Suresh Raina/KL Rahul, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Umesh Yadav, 10 Varun Aaron, 11 Ishant Sharma.

Pitch and conditions

The SCG historically is renowned for offering more spin than other Australian venues but last summer it was the fast bowlers who did most of the damage for both Australia and England. However, Steven Smith noted on match eve that there was a lot less grass on the wicket than for last year’s Test and he expected spin and reverse swing to play a part. The forecast for the duration of the match is for temperatures in the high 20s, with showers possible on several days.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have won 10 of their past 11 SCG Tests, the only loss having come against England in the disastrous 2010-11 Ashes series
• Should Virat Kohli score a century in Sydney, he will join Herbert Sutcliffe and Wally Hammond as the only visiting batsmen to make four hundreds in one Test series in Australia
• This will be the third captaincy combination of the four-Test series – Kohli and Michael Clarke in Adelaide; Smith and Dhoni in Brisbane and Melbourne; and Smith and Kohli in Sydney

Quotes

“To have the series wrapped up I think we can play a bit more relaxed this week.”

“I hope I can be as calm as him.”

South Africa’s past is punctuated with six failed attempts to win a World Cup, less than England and New Zealand, but thought to be more traumatic

Firdose Moonda13-Nov-2014

Ask the pavement-pounder who keeps going at a good pace even though there is no race being run and the secret scribe who adds another sentence to a story they’re writing only for themselves why they keep at it and you will find they have a common cause. They do it to compete against someone: themselves.That’s who South Africa are up against over the next three months and it may be the only way they can win a World Cup. “We are own biggest threats when it comes to World Cups,” Vernon Philander said. “Hopefully we can overcome that this time. It’s about finding that combinations and finding the comfort in whatever whatever we do.”And about forgetting.South Africa’s past is punctuated with six failed attempts to win a World Cup, less than England and New Zealand, but thought to be more traumatic. Unlike those teams, South Africa continually face questions about their record months before a major tournament.They are asked to come up with reasons for performances they were not part of, to explain how they will be better than their predecessors and to go into detail about the kinds of mental shifts they are making that allow them to do that. That is as tiring as it sounds so it is no surprise that AB de Villiers has had enough.”The guys that are here, that were part of the past experiences know what happened. There’s nothing to discuss at all. Except that we haven’t won a World Cup and we want to do that,” de Villiers said. “There is no need to discuss anything about choking or failing or we’ve done this wrong or we had too many psychologists there or too many fitness trainers there.”Instead of looking back at all the missed opportunities, they are trying to focus on the one that presents itself now. “We are covering all bases, we are trying to prepare as best as possible to give ourselves the best chance of winning this World Cup. We are doing what we believe is best for the team now and if things go our way, we are going to win that World Cup.”But they accept that things may not go their way. “There are five or six teams that could vie for the position,” Hashim Amla said. “Pakistan, India, Australia, England, New Zealand – sorry to name everybody, but at the same token everybody has done pretty well at World Cups. It’s going to be a tough World Cup for everybody.”So tough that South Africa started planning for it six months ago, long before everybody else. “We started talking about the World Cup when we had about 25 or 30 ODIs to play and we’ve got 10 left,” de Villiers said.Half of those 10 take place in Australia, the other half at home and their aim is to win most, but not necessarily all of them. “It will be massive to win it. But it’s also important to know that it’s not the be-all and end-all. It’s not a bad thing to lose a couple of games over here so we know this an area we can improve but for us to win here will give us a lot of confidence going into the tournament, a lot of momentum and a lot of belief,” de Villiers. “The three things I mentioned is exactly what we need to win a World Cup,” he said.That, and the ability to overcome their own doubts when it matters most.

Charlotte Edwards’ ninth ODI hundred led England to their second consecutive win and gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead, when they beat India by 13 runs in the second ODI in Scarborough

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCharlotte Edwards: “It’s always nice to score hundreds, [I’m] delighted obviously, but even more with win”•Getty Images

Charlotte Edwards’ ninth ODI hundred led England Women to their second consecutive win and gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead, when they beat India by 13 runs in the second ODI in Scarborough. Put in to bat, Edwards’ unbeaten 108 helped England put on 214 for 9, which proved to be a bit too much for India, who were bowled out for 201 in the penultimate over. India were in the hunt nearly till the end but Jenny Gunn’s four wickets never allowed them to be in control of the chase.The two points put England on top of the ICC Women’s Championship with Australia, India and Pakistan behind them.Edwards, who made 57 in the first match, batted through the innings for her century, with the next highest score being 23 from Sarah Taylor. They got off to a slow start and lost wickets regularly. Heather Knight was run-out for 13 and Taylor became Shivanand Rajeshwari’s first wicket in the 22nd over. But Jhulan Goswami’s consecutive wickets of Lydia Greenway and Tammy Beaumont hurt them further, by getting them lbw, leaving the score at 125 for 5 in the 36th over.Natalie Sciver joined Edwards which steadied the innings for a little over seven overs, but Rajeshwari struck again. There was little support from the tail but Edwards took England past 200. Rajeshwari picked up 4 for 42, her career-best figures, and Goswami registered 3 for 30.India got a stable start from Smriti Mandhana’s 41-ball 32 but Gunn and Kate Cross removed the top order by the 17th over. Captain Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur could not capitalise on their starts either, scoring 30 and 43 respectively. Kaur and Vellaswamy Vanitha gave them hopes with a 41-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but Anya Shrubsole broke the stand in the 35th over. Goswami made a 20-ball 18 as she and Kaur put together 33 runs before she handed a return catch to Gunn.England did not allow India to come back from there. Kaur resisted till the 43rd over, striking five fours, and the last-wicket stand took them from 182 to 201, giving a glimmer of hope before Rajeshwari fell to Danielle Hazell.Raj said after the match chasing 215 was not going to be easy and they were looking for better contributions from the top order. “I think our top four-five could have remained till the end,” Raj said. “We looked for a good opening stand, which we didn’t get, but the middle order made up for it. We lost the plot in the middle overs.”Edwards, on the other hand, was delighted with her century and the two points, giving more importance to the latter. “Delighted with the way the girls fought,” Edwards said. “To win this comfortably was pretty pleasing. Jen’s [Gunn] been outstanding throughout the trip so far.”It’s always nice to score hundreds, [I’m] delighted obviously, but even more with the win. I wasted a lot of time at the start but I knew I had to stay there. It’s another fantastic achievement [for me], but most important is the two points and hopefully we can carry on this form to Lord’s.”