A review of the performance of the Australian players during the home Test series against New Zealand

Brydon Coverdale13-Dec-20119
James Pattinson
In South Africa, Australia discovered Pat Cummins and in this series James Pattinson was their breakout fast bowler. The prospect of the two young men sharing the new ball in the Test team when Cummins regains fitness is an enticing one. Pattinson swung the ball away from the right-hand batsmen and bowled full and straight enough to force the batsmen to play. He picked up Brendon McCullum’s wicket three times, twice with near unplayable deliveries. Pattinson was the leading wicket-taker from either side, with 14 at an average of 14, and was the best thing Australia could take from the series.8
Nathan Lyon
Lyon was second only to Pattinson on the wickets tally with 10 at 12.60 apiece. His efforts were all the more remarkable because both venues favoured the fast men. Lyon continued to toss the ball up and entice mistakes, and in both Tests he ran through the New Zealand tail. His gutsy work with the bat in Hobart also nearly delivered Australia victory as he accompanied David Warner. The lasting image of the Test will be of the New Zealanders huddling to celebrate while a distraught Lyon was crouched on the pitch having just been bowled. But the loss came in spite of, not because of, Nathan Lyon.7.5
David Warner
Selected in Brisbane because of the injury to Shane Watson, Warner had a slightly nervy entry when he gloved behind trying not to play the ball in the first innings. By the end of the series, he had carried his bat for a maiden Test century and nearly saved Australia from defeat in Hobart. It was as much the shots that he neglected as the ones he played that impressed viewers. Rarely did he hit the ball in the air and his patience was impeccable. Warner deserves to hold his spot for Boxing Day.Peter Siddle
The leader of an inexperienced attack, Siddle did not take more than three wickets in an innings but his consistent hard work was a key reason Australia’s attack was so potent. In Hobart, he reached 150kph and appeared to have mastered his outswinger. It was an admirable performance over the two Tests from Siddle, who entered the series needing to show that Australia’s fast-bowling future did not lie entirely with the younger men like Cummins and Pattinson. He achieved that goal with nine wickets at 23.22.7
Michael Clarke
The captain remains Australia’s most in-form batsman, but he needs support in the middle order. A century in the first innings at the Gabba set the tone for Australia’s strong victory, but in Hobart he failed and so did his team. As leader he rotated his bowlers well and his canny, occasional use of the part-timer Michael Hussey helped cover the gap left by the absence of Watson.6.5
Brad Haddin
While Clarke scored a hundred at the Gabba, the vice-captain Haddin also made a valuable contribution with a composed 80 that helped set up Australia’s win. His glove work was generally reliable, and a leg-side stumping off the medium-pace of Hussey was breathtakingly good. But he continued to prove a frustration: in both innings in Hobart he was out to irresponsible strokes when Australia needed to show more fight. He had done the same in Cape Town last month. To some degree, that is just the way Haddin plays, but it is not unreasonable to expect more of such a senior player.5
Ricky Ponting
A half-century in Johannesburg and one in Brisbane eased some of the immediate pressure on Ponting but, by the end of the New Zealand series, questions were again being asked about his future. His 78 at the Gabba was encouraging but both his dismissals at Bellerive Oval looked wretched. He was lbw in the first innings when he appeared to be in two minds about whether to play or leave, and his loopy lob in the air when trying to play a strong drive through the off side in the second innings was awfully ugly. There is only so long Ponting can remain in the team on the promise of a big score to come.Mitchell Starc
An encouraging start to his Test career in the first innings in Brisbane gave way to a less consistent performance throughout the rest of the series. Starc showed an ability to swing the ball but also sprayed it, reminiscent of his fellow left-armer, Mitchell Johnson. He finished the series with four wickets at an average of 50, and when Ryan Harris returns to fitness, Starc should be the man to go from the attack.4.5
Usman Khawaja
Australia’s new No.3 continued to show promising signs but was still searching for that big score to confirm his place in the side. It could have been on the way at the Gabba, when on 38 Khawaja was unlucky to be run out when Ponting called him through for a tight single. He concentrated for 78 minutes in the first innings in Hobart for 7, before edging behind, and fell to an uncharacteristically rash drive in the second innings. Should retain his place for Boxing Day if Shaun Marsh does not return from injury, but could miss out when Marsh does come back.2.5
Michael Hussey
Mr Cricket will hope to quickly forget this series, the lowest-scoring one of his career. He made 15, 8 and a golden duck and, following on from another poor series in South Africa, it has put him under the spotlight heading in to the India series. However, Hussey was Man of the Match in all three Tests in Sri Lanka, so has some credits in the selection bank. He squeezed ahead of Hughes in the rankings because his gentle outswing brought Australia two important wickets.2
Phillip Hughes
Caught Guptill, bowled Martin. What more is there to say? Hughes cannot be picked against India, and it could take years for him to regain the faith of the selectors.

After a tough time over the winter Eoin Morgan returned to form and played the type of innings that no other England batsman could have produced

George Dobell at Lord's29-Jun-2012When people talk of the great moments of limited-overs cricket, this match will not warrant a mention. There were no echoes of Sir Viv’s 1984 Old Trafford century here; none of the drama of Allan Donald dropping his bat as he did at Edgbaston in 1999; no comparison with Sachin reaching a double-century or of Gilchrist thrashing a century to win the 2007 World Cup. Nor is there an urn for the winners of this series. In the grand scheme of things, it really does not amount to very much. But, in the years and months ahead, it might just be that we reflect on this game as the day when England started to believe they could win the 2015 World Cup.If that sounds excessive, it is worth reflecting for a moment on the context of this match: England had not beaten Australia at Lord’s since 1997; Australia are the No. 1 ranked ODI side in the world; England, inserted in testing conditions, overcame a disadvantage worth perhaps 20 to 25 runs to win.Make no mistake, this result could, so easily, have gone the other way. Had Brett Lee or Clint McKay taken the edge of the bat rather than beating it regularly in their testing first spells; had Michael Clarke not called Matthew Wade for an improbable single; had the Decision Review System (DRS) not reprieved Ian Bell when he had just three and, most pertinently, had Eoin Morgan not produced a fine innings, Australia could well have won.There are many more hurdles to clear before England can be considered a consistently good ODI side and rumours of their resurgence will be met, in some quarters, with guffaws of laughter until they prove themselves in Asia. But this series is not all about results. It is about building for the future. And, with that in mind, this was a highly encouraging performance from England. For not only did they win, but they demonstrated once again that they have now chanced upon – and the sudden departure of Kevin Pietersen really does mean they chanced upon it – a well-balanced side that is well-suited to the challenges posed by two new white balls, good bowling and testing conditions.Morgan will gain the plaudits, just as tourists only photograph the top of the Chrysler Building. But without the foundations provided by England’s top three, he might not have had the platform to play his wonderful innings.Some might criticise England for a slow start. After all, they scored just 27 in their first nine overs and, after 36 overs, had scored only 151. But, without the defensive ability of Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott, England could easily have found themselves 40 for 5 after an hour and out of the game. Instead they remained calm, reasoned that 270 was a competitive total and played, Morgan apart, sensible, percentage cricket. It is what they do best.There are some issues with their method. For one thing, it leaves them overly reliant on Morgan for their acceleration (while Bell, Cook and Trott are all capable of changing gear, none of them can make the destructive contribution Morgan showed here), while they also have to show they can win on pitches where a total of 330 is par.But one step at a time. This is a side that looked worryingly mediocre in India only seven or eight months ago. Who were hit by the “retirement” of their best played only weeks ago. They are not the finished article, but they are heading in the right direction.The return to form of Morgan was particularly pleasing. After an awful tour of the UAE – in three Tests, three ODIs and a T20 in the UAE, he failed to pass 25 runs in an innings – there were concerns about his long-term future. But whatever his struggles in Test cricket, Morgan remains a key component in England’s limited-overs side. The way he changed gear here, scoring 12 from his first 21 deliveries and 77 from his next 42 was immensely impressive. At one stage he struck three successive sixes, punishing Brett Lee’s marginal failure to deliver a yorker with a stunning heave over wide long-on. Pietersen apart, it is hard to think of another England batsman that could have played such an innings.Morgan put his revival down to some technical work he undertook after the tour of the UAE. “It’s no fun when you’re not getting any runs or contributing to the team,” Morgan said. “Today was a big step for my summer. When I got back from Dubai, I had two weeks off on holiday and then I came back and reflected on what I had done poorly in the UAE and made some technical changes. One of them was the balance of my head and the other was my hands moving. It was very basic stuff.”Cook agreed that Morgan’s innings was the difference between the sides, but also provided a reminder of the importance of England’s top three. “To score at a strike-rate of 130-140 was incredible and it took us to a really competitive total,” Cook said. “It was hard work to start with and you saw the ball nipping around. But what was pleasing that we didn’t panic as a batting order. We kept wickets in hands and we all know that at Lord’s and in English conditions you can make up time, particularly when you have people like Eoin down the order.”The start might have seemed a bit slow, but we laid the groundwork for Morgan. I don’t think we could have played much differently in the first 20 overs. It was hard work at the top of the order.”Cook also praised his bowling attack. While Tim Bresnan, still struggling to rediscover the nip he had before his elbow operation in December, had one disappointing spell and James Anderson, hampered by a groin strain, struggled towards the end, there still appeared no weak link in the England attack. Steven Finn, bowling with pace and hostility and skill, was quite magnificent.”It’s very nice to have five experienced bowlers,” Cook continued. “They might bowl the odd bad over, but they don’t bowl many bad spells. We thought 270 was a par score: defendable, but if someone had played out of their skin we probably couldn’t have defended it. But we kept nipping out wickets. It wasn’t a perfect performance in the field – or even close to it – so it’s encouraging to have won.”

England do not have a great record against spinners who are a bit different and are likely to face a new one in the final Test against West Indies

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston06-Jun-2012No doubt all eyes will be on Sunil Narine at Edgbaston. The mystery spinner from Trinidad. The knuckle-ball wizard. The offspinner, whose hand batsmen have found hard to read. The man, who Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, feels has the expertise to tease and pose problems against England.Equipped with strong wrists, a scrambled seam and smart brains Narine controlled Australia like marionettes during the one-day series in April, which West Indies drew 2-2. Last week he finished as second highest wicket-taker in the IPL, where he was also the most economical bowler and instrumental in Kolkata Knight Riders winning their maiden title. Narine turned 24 just ten days ago and on Thursday there is a strong possibility of him making his Test debut. Rarely have so many expectations in the Caribbean rested on someone so young.Narine was drafted as a replacement for Kemar Roach, who was the ruled out of the series due to injury after the Trent Bridge Test. It was a curious inclusion in that Narine had decided to play in the IPL instead of making himself available for the Australia Test or England series. You can’t blame him only because Narine still has no WICB contract and he will have wanted to safeguard his future by selling his wares in the best marketplace in cricket – the IPL.But can West Indies really pin all your hopes on Narine? The pitches in England do not turn much. The conditions have been severely cold as Shane Shillingford, the other of spinner in the West Indies squad, experienced. He complained that he could not grip the ball firmly and would much rather sit out of the first Test at Lord’s. When he did play in the second Test at Trent Bridge, Shillingford managed just one wicket, and finished as the most expensive bowler on both sides.Sammy was therefore cautious about what to expect from him. “Everyone is calling him the mystery spinner and he could come in and make an impact for us,” he said. “It’s a difficult place for spinners to make their debut but he has a lot up his sleeve and we’re backing him to make an impact.””He has enough variations in flight, bounce and turn and he can pose problems to any batsman. Sunil is different. He has a wide array of balls. So far nobody has been able to pick him at least in Twenty20 cricket. So hopefully he can come in and make a big impact for us in this Test match.”If Narine stands up to the challenge, it will be an immense shot in the arm for both him and West Indies cricket. Most successful Test teams have had an effective slow bowler – one of the exceptions being the West Indies side of the 1980s and early 1990s – with the ability to play the dual role of being the sponge which can absorb pressure while turning into the impact player who is able to win matches by dominating batsmen mentally using various tricks from his bag.Narine has not even played enough first-class matches to use up all the fingers on both hands. Yet with every match he has shown the aptitude to learn and an appetite to take wickets in big numbers. In his last first-class match, against Windward Islands, Narine bagged two five-wicket hauls for Trinidad and Tobago while opening the bowling. Sammy, leading Windward, remembered the match with an embarrassing smile; Narine removed the West Indies captain in the first innings although Sammy made 88 in the second.He tries to outfox the batsmen with changes of pace, but his biggest strength is accuracy which is highlighted by a Twenty20 economy rate of 5.20 and an ODI figure of 3.79. Also since he bowls with the scrambled seam, he makes it difficult for the batsman to read which the ball is going to spin. He then forces them to read off the pitch which means the batsman has to sit and wait. It is not an easy job as Australia will attest to.So it will be interesting to see Narine bowl to the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell who do not think twice before jumping out of the crease to dominate the spinners. Kieron Pollard, Narine’s team-mate and friend at Trinidad and Tobago, thinks Narine has the patience and the temperament to withstand pressure. This is as good a time as any to put Pollard’s opinion to the test because West Indies need a matchwinner desperately.Unlike England, who can afford to rest their leading bowler, James Anderson, due to strong bench strength, West Indies have been forced to recast their line-up owing mainly to injuries. In the absence of Roach, the onus will be on the pair of Ravi Rampaul and Narine. Rampaul is an honest workhorse but cannot single-handedly run through opposition. At the same time it would be unjust to ask Narine to change West Indies’ fortunes singlehandedly. The potential, though, is huge.

The amateurish fielding and a lack of bowling support for Dale Steyn left Deccan Chargers bottom of the table for most of the season

Kanishkaa Balachandran21-May-2012Where they finishedSecond from bottom. A second successive season of disappointment ended with four wins and 11 defeats. Deccan Chargers were one of the tournament’s two whipping boys, languishing at the bottom for most part.Key player
From an Indian perspective, it was pleasing to see an Indian batsman top the run charts. Shikhar Dhawan finished with 569 runs with five fifties and was second behind Chris Gayle (733) in the tournament standings at the end of the league phase. Chargers have depended on him for strong starts, though they could have fared better had he received more support from his more experienced colleagues. It was a continuation of his good form the previous season, when he scored 400 runs. Dhawan has been on the fringes of national selection and his performance this season should nudge the national selectors when they pick the side for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.Bargain buyAshish Reddy, the Hyderabad seamer, was identified by the coach Darren Lehmann as one of the promising newcomers to watch. Reddy finished with 11 wickets and was the third-highest wicket-taker for Chargers. Pace may not be Reddy’s forte, but he made up for it with his military medium pace and legcutters which made him difficult to get away on slower pitches.Flop buyParthiv Patel was their most expensive buy at the auction ($650,000), but the wicketkeeper-batsman failed to live up to his billing. He managed only 194 runs in 13 innings with no half-centuries, despite opening the batting on six occasions.HighlightIn a season with few happy memories, their final league game against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad saved them the embarrassment of finishing last. Royal Challengers needed to win to progress to the playoffs, but Chargers launched a spirited fightback, led by a pumped-up Dale Steyn who delivered the spell of the season, to defend a modest 132 against a powerful top order. The win meant that Pune Warriors were the wooden-spoon holders of the season.LowlightThe start of the tournament. It took seven games for Chargers to record their first win. It included five consecutive defeats and a washed-out game, which gave them their first points. From then, it was always going to be difficult to bounce back. Their biggest embarrassment was the fielding, which botched their chances of closing out games. It was routine to see a helpless Lehmann appear at press conferences blaming the defeats on schoolboy errors in the field. On one occasion, he said his team fielded like an Under-14 side. Chargers had Trevor Penney, a sought-after fielding coach, on their coaching staff, but it didn’t have the desired impact.VerdictChargers’ performance wasn’t terribly surprising considering they started the tournament as underdogs. Four of their first five games went into the last over, including Mumbai Indian’s freakish last-ball finish. Against Rajasthan Royals, they failed to defend 196. The loss of points from those games derailed them early.Besides Dhawan, none of the Indians made a significant impact. Steyn was deadly in conditions that suited him and his spells were among the fastest seen on Indian pitches. Sangakkara struggled for consistency, and ended up drop himself for several matches.Looking ahead, Chargers will have to rethink their squad. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to negotiate with other franchises and invest in a few quality Indian players who’ve had few opportunities. A quality bowler to support Steyn will be handy.

Plays of the Day from the third day of the second Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Hamilton

Firdose Moonda at Seddon Park17-Mar-2012Hopeful review of the day
After Jacques Kallis had Daniel Vettori caught behind, South Africa seemed in a hurry to end the match as quickly as possible. Three balls later, they asked for a review on an lbw appeal that was turned down against Kruger van Wyk. The diminutive wicket-keeper was struck on his front pad, after getting a good stride in and looked, to the naked eye, to have been hit outside the line. The review confirmed that he was and although the ball would have gone on to clip off stump, the umpire’s call stood. It appeared to be an act of desperation, though, as South Africa hoped to run through New Zealand and give themselves two days off.Captaincy move of the day
As lunch approached and South Africa looked for something to tease their appetites with, Mark Boucher decided he would take over. He walked over to Dale Steyn to offer some advice and kept going all the way to the fast-bowler’s mark with him. On his walk back to his own position, Boucher ordered Hashim Amla, who was fielding at short leg to hand over his helmet and move to deep square, to wait for the pull shot, and rearranged the slips. Steyn’s next delivery was a fiery bouncer but van Wyk didn’t have to do much other than duck under it.Shot of the day
Mark Gillespie proved himself to be an all or nothing man with the ball and he seems to be that way with the bat as well. He faced nine entertaining deliveries including one that he sent sailing for six with all the carefreeness of a balloon left to coast through the air. It was a good-length ball, Gillespie made room for himself and slogged over long-on. The boundaries are not particularly long so the big hit found itself well over and as a bonus, a member of the crowd caught it and won 200 New Zealand dollars for his efforts, the first time that has happened successfully in the match.Walk off the day
Vernon Philander has become used to leading the pack off the field and he did it again at the end of New Zealand’s second innings. With ball in hand Philander was first through the white picket fence and onto the paving where Gary Kirsten greeted him with a high five and Allan Donald with a pat on the back. South Africa let Dale Steyn walk in next and Morne Morkel after him as all the bowlers were allowed their moment of glory. At the back of the queue was a reluctant Imran Tahir, who bowled 17 overs without a wicket and must feel as though Test cricket isn’t giving him what he hoped it would. Tahir hoped to slink in with the rest but AB de Villiers nudged him forward and clapped him in, a gesture of reassurance over his role in the side.Nail-in-coffin moment of the day
New Zealand must have known they were out of luck when Gillespie appealed for lbw against Graeme Smith and was found to have overstepped on review. The ball appeared to have struck Smith in line and ball-tracking replays showed that it may have shaved leg stump. None of it mattered because Gillespie’s foot was a good few centimetres over the line. Doctrove also missed a no-ball in the first Test, off Doug Bracewell who appealed against Jacques Rudolph in the first innings in Dunedin. The only joy New Zealand got out of both of those was that they were given their reviews back.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the second semi-final in Colombo

Andrew Fernando in Colombo05-Oct-2012Knockout of the day
George Bailey had led a mini-resistance alongside Pat Cummins, and thanks to their 68-run partnership from 36 balls, Australia had cause to hope again. Kieron Pollard and Bailey had stared each other down even before the over began, and though Bailey hit four from the first ball, Pollard dismissed both him and Cummins from the second and third balls of the over to effectively seal the result and send West Indies to the final.Celebration of the day
Gayle’s Gangnam Style dance has been a theme of West Indies campaign, and over the three weeks, his teammates, and even the West Indies Women have imitated him in their wicket celebrations. West Indies took it to a new level after completing their semi final victory, when the entire team met mid-pitch and performed the dance, lasso move and all, while the DJ blasted the K-Pop phenomenon. It is rumoured the team hope to have large amounts of trash blasted at them if they win the final on Sunday.Dismissal of the day
When David Warner under-edged the last ball of the first over and the stumps were broken, even the bowler Samuel Badree seemed uncertain of what had happened. Initially it looked like wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin was appealing for a stumping, but replays showed Warner remained well in his crease. Eventually it dawned that the ball had dislodged the bails on the way to the wicketkeeper, and what is usually the most obvious and comprehensive dismissal in the game required a ruling from the third umpire.Shacklebreaker of the day
Chris Gayle appeared to be playing the same sort of frustrating innings Tillakaratne Dilshan had played in the first semi final when he had managed only 4 from nine balls. He finally connected with the last ball of the sixth over and the colossal strike over long off from Shane Watson lurched Gayle’s innings into top gear. It was the first of 14 sixes Australia suffered in the innings.Fielding of the day
Usually it’s batsmen who face chin music, but fast bowler Mitchell Starc got a little bit of his own medicine when Chris Gayle swatted one flat and fast to cow corner. Starc came in hoping to catch the ball on the full, but the ball bounced well short of him and the best he could do was stop it with his face.Relaxed running of the day
Coaches will tell young players to always run the first one hard, and then look to take a second, but Kieron Pollard and Chris Gayle did exactly the opposite in the sixteenth over, when they took two runs off Pat Cummins. Having hit the ball softly into a wide open space on the leg side, the pair sauntered casually for the first, before looking up and realising the fielders were still nowhere close to the ball. Almost reluctantly, Gayle realised they should probably take two, and began sprinting back down the pitch, and Pollard followed suit.

A timeline charting the saga of Kevin Pietersen and his availability for England

David Hopps12-Aug-2012May 31, 2012
Kevin Pietersen retires from all international limited-overs cricket with immediate effect because of “the intensity of the international schedule”. He remains available for consideration as a Test match player. The news comes four months before England defend their World Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka and follows failed negotiations between the England officials and Pietersen during the Lord’s Test against West Indies. The sticking point is England’s insistence that Pietersen must be available for all ODIs, as required, as well as Twenty20.June 13, 2012
Pietersen receives support from an unlikely corner: his England team-mate Graeme Swann. “There comes a time when you get towards the end of your career, into your thirties, when something’s got to give,” Swann says. “You can flog yourself to death and fall to pieces or you can start to be quite wise and make a pragmatic decision. I can understand where he’s coming from because there’s certainly times I look at a schedule and just think: ‘How can I do this? My body’s killing me. I haven’t seen my kids, my wife is ready to get up and walk out because I’m never here.’ We’re human beings at the end of the day.”July 13, 2012
After making a scintillating unbeaten 234 for Surrey at Guildford, Pietersen tells ESPNcricinfo that he would “love to play all forms of cricket for England for another three or four years” and reiterated his desire to be included in England’s World Twenty20 squad. Pietersen, fresh from meetings with ECB officials, including Hugh Morris, the managing director of English cricket, complains: “I needed to get away from the schedule. I cannot keep playing every single day’s cricket. I’ve never been looked after.”July 15, 2012
Days before England are due to announce their initial squad of 30 for the World Twenty20, England’s director of cricket, Andy Flower, offers Pietersen little hope of a way back. “The situation is the same as it was when he first approached us,” he says. “The ECB are determined to protect all three formats of the game and part of that is not setting a precedent of allowing players to retire from one-day cricket alone. The intent behind it is that we are serving English cricket in its entirety. We have to take personalities out of the equation.”July 18, 2012
Pietersen, who was Player of the Tournament when England won the World T20 in the Caribbean in 2010 – the only global trophy they have ever won – is omitted from England’s provisional 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September. But it is confirmed that players can be brought into the final 15 from outside the squad with good reason.July 28, 2012
Starved of all forms of England one-day cricket, Pietersen is believed to be considering a deal to play in Australia’s Big Bash League, with the Melbourne Renegades and both Sydney sides – the Sixers and the Thunder – contesting his signature. Mike McKenna, Cricket Australia’s commercial general manager and the project manager of the BBL, said: “He is definitely one of the top three or four global cricket stars at the moment. He’s an explosive batsman, can bowl, and he would bring a charisma to the Big Bash League.”August 4, 2012
Pietersen plays one of Test cricket’s greatest attacking innings. An audacious unbeaten 149 against South Africa on the third day of the second Test at Headingley lifts England’s spirits. They go on to draw the second Test to stay 1-0 down in the series with one to play. Pietersen becomes the quickest player, in terms of time, to 7000 Test runs.Kevin Pietersen during the press conference in Colombo when a new deal was confirmed•Getty ImagesAugust 6, 2012
Pietersen is enticed into an extraordinary press conference after the Headingley Test in which he says he cannot give any assurances that the next Test at Lord’s won’t be his last. “I’d like to carry on but there are obstacles that need to be worked out. There are other points I’m trying to sort out in the dressing room,” he says. Implied criticism of his England team-mates attracts heavy criticism in the English media and tips many cricket followers into heated pro and anti Pietersen camps.August 8, 2012
Another twist in an increasingly unlikely saga as Pietersen is revealed to be upset over a parody Twitter account @KevPietersen24 – which mocks his egotistical style and which he suspects emanates from the England dressing room. Documentation seen by ESPNcricinfo proves that the account is not directly managed by a player. The account is later closed.August 10, 2012
Another sub-text in a story that is careering out of control. Pietersen’s texts to South African players after the Headingley Test hint at his growing isolation in the England dressing room. English newspapers claim that the captain, Andrew Strauss, was criticised, but provide no evidence and South African officials describe the texts as “just banter.” But England players and selectors are quick to take offence at any imagined slight.August 11, 2012
Pietersen goes to the extrordinary lengths of issuing a video interview on YouTube in which he expresses full commitment to England and makes himself available for all three forms of the game. The England selectors respond by delaying the announcement of their squad for the final Test against South Africa at Lord’s, due at 9.30am the following day, by five hours.August 12, 2012
England leave Pietersen out of the squad for the Lord’s Test, saying that he had been unable to provide an undertaking that he had not sent text messages to South Africa players that were “derogatery” about people in the England set-up. Hugh Morris, managing director of England, said: “The success of the England team has been built on a unity of purpose and trust.”September 7, 2012
Pietersen is not handed a central contract when the list for 2012-13 is announced. The ECB say “discussions are ongoing”.September 18, 2012
Pietersen is left out of the tour squad for the India Test series and says he is “disappointed” by the decision. It later emerges that a four-month contract had been offered, to include attending a training camp in Dubai, but that was declined. Hugh Morris said: “Both ECB and England team management have had meetings with Kevin Pietersen to address the issues that led to his omission from the final Investec Test match against South Africa.”October 3, 2012
At a press conference in Colombo, where Kevin Pietersen had been working as TV pundit during the World Twenty20, it is announced that he has signed a four-month contract which, if a ‘reintegration’ process is successful, could be extended to a full 12-month deal. No decision was taken on his place on the India tour with that now to be determined by Andy Flower when Pietersen attends the Dubai training camp. Pietersen said he did not send tactical information to the South Africans and adds: “I am entirely committed to completing the reintegration process we have agreed over the coming weeks and resuming my England career in all formats, hopefully until the World Cup in 2015, or as long as my body allows.”October 18, 2012
Kevin Pietersen is added to England’s squad for the Test series in India, following his meetings with England team director Andy Flower, so bringing to an end the extraordinary stand-off.

It was an innings against South Africa that helped Kane Williamson kick on as a Test player and he is now central New Zealand’s batting hopes

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town01-Jan-2013When it was Kane Williamson’s turn to bat against South Africa in the second innings of the Wellington Test in March, nothing was expected of him. New Zealand were 1 for 2, chasing an improbable 389 and facing likely defeat.He was on 7 when his time at the crease seemed to have run its course. He slashed Dale Steyn to point but the umpires could not determine whether the catch was cleanly taken. He survived.He was still on 7 when he edged Steyn to first slip and it fell short. He survived again but looked every much the child his boyish face makes him out to be.He had moved to 9 Steyn when struck him where it hurts, cracked his box and drew tears from his eyes. Bravely, he survived a third time.Williamson was dropped twice more before he found the confidence to reel out his high-elbow drive. But once the first one flowed off his bat with a silken touch he was a different player.By the end of match, Williamson could truly say he had become a man. His unbeaten 102 saved the Test and some face for New Zealand. It also helped him take the next step in his career.Before that, Williamson was just a talented youngster who had debuted with a century and faded slightly. After it, Williamson had shown he had something none of New Zealand’s other batsmen could muster properly – guts. They are going to need all of his on their tour of South Africa.New Zealand have only one senior batsman in their top six – Brendon McCullum – and he carries the additional responsibility of captaining the Test side for the first time and opening the batting. While Martin Guptill and Dean Brownlie are exciting in their own regard, they have failed to consistently inspire the kind of confidence that makes bowlers nervous.Williamson might, especially as he seems to have made some progress since the last time he faced South Africa. Does he think he has grown? “Do you mean in height,” he joked. Of course not. He knows that. “It’s always good to make improvement and learn as you go along,” is all he would really say about it but his numbers suggest slightly differently.His highest score to date was achieved just over a month ago during New Zealand’s victory in Colombo. Williamson’s 135 was a major factor in that game and showed he has what it takes to play a role when it matters. McCullum hopes that will continue.”We’re really hopeful he is going to have a big series,” McCullum said. “We know that he stood tall for us in that last match back home when he scored that match-saving hundred against South Africa and we are hopeful that he will continue to grow in this series as well.”For a young man, that may add a significant amount of pressure but Williamson is taking it in his stride. “It is always great to play a fierce opposition,” he said during preparations in the three-day match in Paarl where he scored 59. On a flat pitch there, Williamson looked assured but said he won’t read too much into his score because he expects different conditions and a much more hostile attack in the Tests.”There’s really not much in this surface and we should get more bounce and carry in the Tests so it may take a little longer to adjust to that,” he said. Patience is one of his obvious character traits, as is quiet confidence and he knows he will need both against South Africa. “Their attack is definitely the best I have ever come up against and it’s going to need a step up in level but hopefully the experience that I’ve gained can help me push onwards.Williamson also does not think he will have to do it alone even though New Zealand’s batting appears thin and there are few obvious candidates to help him defy South Africa. “It’s going to be important for each batsmen to contribute heavily,” he said in response to whether the feels he will need to do more in the middle order in the absence of Ross Taylor.Maybe he would simply prefer to keep his thoughts on the additional responsibility he will be given to himself, as he grapples with how he is going to approach it. The raw truth is that Williamson is just going to have to get used to being relied on more and even if he does not want to talk about it, he will have to accept it.After this tour, New Zealand have home and away series against England where they will again need a batting line-up that can withstand a high-quality attack. And after that doubtless there will be another challenge. Having even captained New Zealand in a one-day series, Williamson must know he has been earmarked as a future leader, with and without bat in hand.McCullum confirmed the standing Williamson has. “Hopefully he will occupy that No.3 spot so for another decade or so,” he said. “He has got a lot of cricket intelligence for a young guy, he is popular member amongst the squad and he works hard on his game. He ticks a lot of boxes and he has clearly got some skills as well.” In the next two Tests, South Africa will see some of it.

The Plays of the day from the second day of the Mirpur Test between Bangladesh and West Indies

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur14-Nov-2012The signal
Shakib Al Hasan spent most of the morning under his floppy hat, pulled down, with little to do. He came into the picture at the end of the 110th over, when Shahadat Hossain appealed loudly after his short delivery hit Shivnarine Chanderpaul on the shoulder and was caught at slip. Shakib appeared to be asking for a referral to the third umpire by using the signal for a DRS ruling, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t know the system wasn’t in use. The broadcasters usually haven’t made it available in Bangladesh, a point Shakib had noted two years ago during the England series.The chance
In the final 15 minutes of the first day, Chanderpaul chipped one towards mid-off on the first day which Shahadat couldn’t reach. He offered a chance much earlier on the second day, in the 13th over of the morning, but Bangladesh’s specialist slip fielder, Junaid Siddique, couldn’t reach the edge that popped up off Sohag Gazi. It remained the only chance offered by Chanderpaul all day.The slip
Tamim Iqbal bowled the fifth over of his 25-Test career on the second day, but will probably have to wait a while for his next one after an erratic performance. The first two deliveries were down the leg side and then he sent one virtually off the pitch. It was called a wide, as the ball looped to the wicketkeeper on the half-volley. It probably slipped out of his hand, but Tamim managed to correct himself and the rest of the over was largely incident-free.The counter-attack
Tamim smashed Tino Best for four boundaries in the sixth over of the innings, patting one away through midwicket, then two drives, one straight and another through the covers, before finishing it off with an authoritative pull-shot. It appeared to inspire Shahriar Nafees, the man at the other end. Off a short ball from Ravi Rampaul, who had already bounced out Junaid Siddique, Nafees smashed one high over midwicket. The doubts over his ability to deal with the short stuff was momentarily shelved as he went on to smash three more boundaries, but fell to another short ball from the same bowler who beat him for pace.The self-destruction
It was a wide, short ball that Tamim tried to pull towards the leg side, but flapped it straight to Sunil Narine at mid-on, after rattling to 72 in the final session of the day. He had survived a similar, tennis-like shot off the last ball of Sammy’s previous over when his attempt to flat-bat one towards mid-on fell short of Best at mid-on. He regretted the shot later on, but Bangladesh are by now used to such suicidal strokes by their batsmen.

To see him taken off after three-over spells was frustrating, but Pattinson, more than any other of Australia’s current Test fast bowlers, needs to be managed conservatively

Brydon Coverdale23-Feb-2013James Pattinson’s workload on the second day in Chennai was a microcosm of his Test career. A short period of brilliance, then a long time out of action. Another brief and eventful display followed by another lengthy break. To see him rattle the stumps of both of India’s openers in a new-ball spell of 18 deliveries and then be taken off for 20 overs was frustrating but Pattinson, more than any other of Australia’s current Test fast bowlers, needs to be managed conservatively.Dennis Lillee thinks Pattinson can be the spearhead for years to come. He possesses serious pace, swing and Lillee-like raw aggression. He is the most exciting of Australia’s young fast men. Besides the nearly-forgotten Pat Cummins, he is also the most injury-prone. Since his debut in December 2011, Pattinson has played eight Tests and missed eight more through injury. It is not an encouraging ratio.A foot stress fracture prematurely ended his first Test summer and Australia’s selectors were left regretting their decision to ignore the advice of sports scientists, who correctly predicted he would break down during the Sydney Test against India. A back problem affected his trip to the West Indies last April, an abdominal strain prevented him touring England with Australia A in July and a side injury stopped him mid-Test against South Africa in Adelaide in November.During Pattinson’s Sheffield Shield comeback a month ago, Victoria’s captain Cameron White was told by Cricket Australia not to bowl him for any more than 12 overs per innings as his workload was gradually increased. There were no such constraints on Pattinson in Chennai, but under the circumstances it was easy to see why Michael Clarke handled him as gently as he would a priceless and fragile possession. Because that’s what he is.Twice in his first three Tests he was Man of the Match. The only time he has gone wicketless in an innings was when he broke down after 9.1 overs in Adelaide. His average of 20.88 since his Test debut is better than Dale Steyn’s during the same period. Steyn is precisely the type of bowler Australia hope Pattinson can become. He has the tools. But at 22, his body hasn’t reached the point of maturity at which fast-bowling injuries usually drop away.And so for the time being, Pattinson will be used in short, strong spells. By picking five bowlers Australia afforded themselves that luxury in Chennai, although they didn’t anticipate that he would be the only wicket taker. His first spell of three overs was sharp. The ball that swung in and bowled M Vijay was 150kph, far quicker than anything the Indian bowlers could deliver. And by going for his yorkers he took the slow pitch out of the equation.Pattinson’s speed was also too much for Virender Sehwag, who played on. But his dismissal was followed by three boundaries from Sachin Tendulkar and Clarke, sensing that Pattinson’s new-ball work had been done, put his strike bowler on hold for the next 20 overs. On a Chennai day that was hot but not oppressive, perhaps Pattinson could have come back sooner, especially given the way Tendulkar and Cheteshwar Pujara became set.But the long rest meant that when Pattinson did return he was as fresh as he had been at ball one. Again he bowled quick and although it was an offcutter that bowled Pujara, it still reached 140kph. His first spell was 3-1-16-2. His second was 3-1-9-1. He will certainly be well rested for day three. Pattinson was to come back for another spell before stumps, but Clarke was happy with the way Mitchell Starc was bowling.Of course, there is a fine line between managing Pattinson for maximum impact and simply under-bowling him. At some point during the tour, perhaps at some stage during this match, Australia will need more from Pattinson. But if fit he will be Clarke’s most valuable bowling resource during the Ashes, just as he already is on this tour. If fit. Australia can’t afford for their best bowler to keep missing a Test for every one that he plays.