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Some days at the cricket are dominated by great deeds; others involve the subtle interplay of individual contributions as teams strive for superiority. The second day of this game at Aigburth was of the latter variety.

Paul Edwards at Aigburth14-Jul-2014
ScorecardSimon Kerrigan failed to promote his cause as an England spin bowler at Lord’s following his call up to the squad for the second Test. Kerrigan’s wicketless 10 overs under cloudy Aigburth skies, watched by spectators forced to don fleeces to protect against a shift in the weather, failed to lift his morale with a wicket or two before he headed off to London to join up with the England squad.Many in the Aigburth crowd had braved the blustery winds off the Mersey in the hope of seeing Kerrigan send down a few overs following his call-up. They were to be both rewarded for their patience and then disappointed as the slow left-armer was introduced into the attack in the 69th over, only to concede 27 runs in an unimpressive seven-over spell. At least England cannot complain of overwork.Soon after play ended, the former England captain Michael Vaughan described Kerrigan’s return to the England squad after a traumatic debut at The Oval last season as premature and expressed fears that if he played at Lord’s it could do serious harm to his career.Indeed, it is something of an irony that the least threatening Lancashire bowler on Monday was the one who left Liverpool to take up international duties at the close. Kerrigan’s season, with 28 first-class wickets at 35.57, has been solid but unspectacular, although such are England’s thin resources that makes him the leading spin bowler in Division One. Stephen Parry, who played for England in World Twenty20 in Bangladesh earlier this year, will replace him for the remainder of the match.Simon Kerrigan bowled 10 unimpressive overs but Lancashire stayed well in the game•Getty ImagesThe batsman to profit from the spinner’s inaccuracy was Riki Wessels, who had made 46 when he edged Steven Croft’s offspin to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, who grabbed the chance at the second attempt. That left Nottinghamshire on 235 for 6 but the taking of the second new ball sparked a rapid collapse.Chris Read, Siddle and Luke Fletcher all perished when attempting to take the attack to Glen Chapple and the innings ended when Andre Adams’ mighty hoick off Kyle Hogg was very well caught by Andrea Agathangelou running round from deep midwicket.When bad light ended play 17 overs early, the game was evenly balanced after Lancashire had battled back in the afternoon and evening sessions to take the last seven Nottinghamshire wickets for 103 runs and restrict the visitors’ lead to a modest and manageable 36.This was surely far fewer than Notts coach Mick Newell would have settled for when his team were 133 for 2 20 minutes before lunch; yet from the moment Tom Smith pinned the former Old Trafford allrounder Steven Mullaney lbw for 82, the ball nipping back off the pitch, batting appeared an occupation littered with hazard as first Smith and later Glen Chapple made regular inroads in helpful conditions.In the first over of play on Monday morning, Chapple, the Lancashire skipper, produced a fine delivery to remove Michael Lumb, who could do little but nick it to Buttler behind the stumps. But that was the last success the home side were to enjoy for over 90 minutes as Mullaney and James Taylor added 64 runs in relative comfort, although Mullaney had a fourth life when second slip Agathangelou dropped a low chance on 62.Vaughan fears for Kerrigan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has said on BBC Five Live that he fears for Simon Kerrigan if he is picked to face India in the second Test at Lord’s.
“He has great potential but England have thrown him back into international cricket far too soon. You have to look after the person. What is the rush?>br>”He has not pulled up any trees for Lancashire this season. I would have told him… our little goal for you is to keep Lancashire in the First Division.
“He is not in any kind of form. If the second one goes badly what happens then? He might never come back from that again.”

For his part, Taylor seemed content to make quiet progress towards a substantial score but he became Smith’s second victim immediately after lunch when an attempted pull merely bottom-edged the ball on to the leg stump. Less than half an hour later the Lancashire seamer had taken his season’s bag of Championship wickets to 45 when Samit Patel edged him to Agathangelou at second slip.But an advantage of 36 was still valuable enough and before it had been wiped out, both Lancashire openers had been caught behind by Read off Peter Siddle, who probably views a big haul of wickets as a suitable leaving present for his colleagues before he returns to Australia. But the big-hearted Australian seamer will have worked harder for his triumphs: poor Andrea Agathangelou departed for a second-ball duck, his selection ahead of Alex Davies looking odder by the innings; six overs later Paul Horton fenced fatally at a delivery which possibly bounced a little more than he was expecting.Fortunately for the nerves of home loyalists, Usman Khawaja and Ashwell Prince took their side to the close without further loss, by which time a lead of 19 had been ground out.All of which leaves supporters of both sides, and of none, looking forward to a fascinating remainder of the game as Nottinghamshire strive for the win which would bolster their challenge for the County Championship and Lancashire search for a victory which would ease relegation fears. Should the home side prevail, it is fair to suppose that Chapple and Smith will play major roles, so pivotal have been their efforts this season.

Morne Morkel feels that the South Africa fast bowlers’ mental strength helped them overcome the heat and humidity to take 16 wickets in the Galle Test

Firdose Moonda 22-Jul-2014In cerebral terms what separates humans from other living beings is said to be the size of our frontal cortexes. Ours are bigger, relatively speaking, which is considered to enable us to think more critically. Channelling those thoughts correctly is believed to have the power to help us achieve more than we may appear capable of. Morne Morkel believes South Africa’s quick bowlers proved that in Galle.”It’s hot, it’s humid and you need to prepare yourself for that,” Morkel said. “I’ve always tried to focus on getting it right mentally. If you’re not mentally strong, you’re going to struggle.”Morkel and Dale Steyn took 16 wickets between them to give South Africa the series lead and show that the story of fast bowlers on Sri Lankan wickets can be rewritten. But to do that they had to rely on more than just skill and dip deep into their reserves of self-belief to conquer both the elements and the opposition.South Africa’s endless chorus about the weather is enough to make most Sri Lankans hot under the collar. After all, it is not like they are neighbours with the sun. The truth is that South Africa know that they are coping. Despite the amount of time South Africa have spent wiping sweat off their brows, they have adapted far better than they have made out.On the field, there have been no prolonged signs of cramp. Off the field, the reserves have been spotted running the streets after play to get back to the hotel – no mean feat even as the last rays kiss the tarmac.Their real gripe with the 30-degree heat and the 70%-plus humidity is the effect it has on the tools of the trade, specifically the ball. It does not stay new for very long which can make it difficult to work with. “In this heat and humidity when the ball is a bit soft, that takes a bit of the battery life out of you,” Morkel said.When that happens, Morkel believes it is important for South Africa not to show weakness. Instead of allowing their shoulders and intensity to drop and aggression to fade, he believes that should spur them to operate at a higher level.”The key for us in these conditions (is) for the bowlers to have a strong body language, because that lifts up the field,” Morkel said. “Also for the Sri Lankan guys if they see that the fast bowlers are fired up and our body language is strong, that send a strong message. We have to get over those things – the wicket is flat, the ball is soft – and we have to come up with a game plan.”For Morkel the strategy involved bowling a fuller length which he does not normally employ and which is challenging for him to get right consistently. When it does work it complements the short length he is more comfortable with and the results can be spectacular. That was on display in Galle when Morkel picked up a perfect one-two. In the first innings he got rid of Kumar Sangakkara with his signature delivery: the short ball. In the second, he accounted for Mahela Jayawardene by drawing him forward.It’s no surprise that since Morkel is enjoying being tested, he relished the second scalp just a little more. “I felt I bowled very well bar the one over in the first innings but when the ball was a little bit softer it was quite tough. But to come back in the second innings – it’s one thing getting the first ten but the second ten is more important – so it’s a good thing for me to come back and support Dale and the rest of the bowlers and to have something in the wicket column.”It’s nice when we discuss and plan and those things happen. Mahela is a quality player and we knew him and Kumar were key for Sri Lanka. That was why we wanted to fire with intensity upfront at those two guys and maybe put some heat on them.”Steyn agreed that showing enough aggression was equally and perhaps even more important than relying on ingredients like pace or bounce. It’s a case of mind over matter and so in preparation for the second match which South Africa only need to draw to regain the No. 1 Test ranking, the fast bowlers will be allowing downtime for both their brains and their bodies.The three-day turnaround means “the most important thing for me is rest,” according to Morkel. “I will turn my arm over the day before the Test. The next couple of days is getting the body sorted. I’ve got a couple of blisters I need to attend to. So just feet up and rest – some pool time, stretching and maybe a light run.” Or a good book and soothing sounds on the iPod to keep the mind at ease as well.

With the series won, South Africa have opted to rest Hashim Amla and might test their entire bench in the final ODI

The Preview by Firdose Moonda20-Aug-2014Match factsThursday, August 21, 2014
Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)Rilee Rossouw is expected to get a game, with Hashim Amla rested•Getty ImagesBig PictureThere are times when a couple of days can make a difference but the ODI series between Zimbabwe and South Africa is an example of how breaks can have no effect.The first and second matches were near carbon-copies of each other, with the only real difference being the margin of Zimbabwe’s defeat. Although their bowling improved, particularly at the death, they made the same mistakes with the bat. Soft dismissals and lapses in concentration led to their unravelling and have left Sean Williams stuck with the tail, twice. Temperament is the missing ingredient but whether that can be found in such a short space of time remains to be seen.South Africa do not have many areas to tweak despite being bowled out by Zimbabwe’s hard-working but limited attack. Hashim Amla earns himself a rest, but the likes of AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and David Miller may want to improve on their returns but for the rest, the final match will simply be more of the same: an opportunity to get match time and with a World Cup looming. There is depth in bowling resources, but with the return of the first-choice trio of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander for the upcoming tri-series, competition for a place in the final XI is still high.The people to whom this final match might mean most to are the Bulawayo fans. This will be their last sighting of international cricket for at least another 12 months and as the crowds have shown, it is something they treasure watching.Form guide (last five completed games, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LLLLW
South Africa WWWLWIn the spotlightZimbabwe’s top order slumped to 34 for 3 and 45 for 4 in the first two matches and will want to avoid another repeat. They have already changed their opening pair and might shuffle it again with Hamilton Masakadza dropping to No.3 and Sikandar Raza fronting up first. Brendan Taylor will also be under pressure after only 20 runs from two outings.The strength of South Africa’s top order did not allow David Miller to be a factor in the opening match. Miller had similar issues in Sri Lanka and is realising the better the top four get the less time he may have at the crease. He will have to make an impact in short and sharp bursts while finishing an innings. If Miller gets it right, South Africa could mount totals too large for Zimbabwe to scale.Team newsZimbabwe are still struggling to find a bowling combination that works and may want to look to one of the Test seamers, if the management feels they have had enough downtime. Tinashe Panyangara or Tendai Chatara could come in for Luke Jongwe or Neville Madziva. They don’t have too many options in the batting department besides Timycen Maruma and may have to opt for the same top-order and hope they can produce better results. Legspinner Tafadzwa Kamungoz is also in with a chance to play.Zimbabwe: (likely) 1 Sikandar Raza, 2 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 7 Luke Jongwe/ Tinashe Panyangara 8 Neville Madziva/ Tendai Chatara, 9 John Nyumbu, 10 Prosper Utseya, 11 Brian VitoriHaving won the series, South Africa might indulge in making use of all their reserves. Rilee Rossouw is expected to take Hashim Amla’s place at the top of the order. Marchant de Lange and Mthokozisi Shezi could replace Kyle Abbott and one of the spinners respectively.South Africa: (likely) 1 Rilee Rossouw, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 JP Duminy, 5 AB de Villiers (capt), 6 David Miller, 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Kyle Abbott/ Marchant de Lange, 10 Aaron Phangiso, 11 Imran Tahir/ Mthokozisi SheziPitch an conditionsWith quick turnaround between matches, the surface is not expected to play too differently to the first two, which were dry and slow. Some turn will be on offer as well but so are runs with proper application. The weather in Bulawayo has warmed up significantly from the first match and is expected to reach 27 degrees on Thursday.Stats and trivia This is the sixth three-match ODI series between South Africa and Zimbabwe. South Africa have whitewashed Zimbabwe in all of the previous five. Brendan Taylor is the only Zimbabwe batsman among the top 50 in the ODI rankings. He is 24th.Quotes”We have to improve on our batting. This is the last chance in the series for all departments to play well. Giving early wickets away is criminal, especially on a wicket that is batting friendly. We will have to re-strategise.””We will definitely make a few changes. We came here to win the series and we still want to win the last ODI but we will see about a few changes.”

Michael Clarke believes Phillip Hughes is a strong contender to open the batting with Aaron Finch in Zimbabwe after his remarkable form for Australia A over the winter

Brydon Coverdale20-Aug-2014Michael Clarke believes Phillip Hughes is a strong contender to open the batting with Aaron Finch in Zimbabwe after his remarkable form for Australia A over the winter. The Australians flew out for the one-day tri-series with South Africa and Zimbabwe on Wednesday morning, and they did so without regular top-order batsmen David Warner, Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh.Watson rolled his ankle at training on Saturday and Marsh is recovering from elbow surgery, while Warner is staying at home to prepare for the birth of his first child. The Australians played a practice match against Queensland in Brisbane on Tuesday and Warner, guest-starring for the Bulls, crunched 84 off 60 deliveries, while his likely World Cup opening partner, Finch, made 90 from 66.But Hughes was also in the runs, scoring 57 from 41 deliveries to continue his strong form which included first-class scores of 100 not out and 243 not out, as well as an unbeaten 202 in a one-day game, all for Australia A over the past six weeks. His late inclusion in the ODI squad came only because of Watson’s injury, and Clarke said he could yet open with Finch in Zimbabwe.”I still think we’ve got options,” Clarke told reporters at Sydney airport before departing. “Obviously we’ve got Hughes, he’s in a purple patch at the moment, I don’t think it’s possible to have a better pre-season than what he’s done. We’ve got Finchy who batted beautifully yesterday and has opened the batting for us.”Hadds has opened the batting for us and Brad Haddin’s numbers are very good as a one-day opener. He certainly gives us an option there. We will work out what we think is the best line-up for the conditions and the opposition we are playing and I think the wicket determines that more than anything else.”Haddin’s last stint as an opener in Australia’s one-day team came over 18 months from early 2010 to 2011, when he and Watson formed the preferred pair. They were the incumbents during the 2011 World Cup and Haddin’s form during that tournament was strong – he was Australia’s top scorer with 332 runs at 55.33, including four half-centuries.Hughes has switched between opening and No.3 during his short ODI career and it would be surprising if he was not given a chance during the Zimbabwe series, given the lack of specialist batsmen in Australia’s squad. The touring party is heavy on all-round options and in the absence of Watson, opportunities will be presented to several men.”I think they’ll see it as an opportunity to be a part of our one-day team, to try and get their foot in the door and cement their spot — make it hard for the players that aren’t on this tour to get back into the team,” Clarke said. “That’s how I’d like them to see it. Unfortunately there are only 11 spots and we’ve probably got 20 players in my opinion who are ready to be a part of that XI. Now it comes down to consistent performance.”Some guys aren’t available for selection but it’s exciting for people like Mitch Marsh, Smithy comes into our one-day team, Phil Hughes gets an opportunity, Kane Richardson, Ben Cutting. There are a number of guys who have been given a chance, which is exciting. It’s a good chance for them to grab their opportunity.”The reason you train so hard and perform so well in first class cricket, your goal is to represent Australia so when you get this chance you’ve got to make the most of it. It’s going to be a tough series. The conditions in Zimbabwe will be tough, the wickets will be quite slow, there’s generally a little bit of spin there as well so I think we’re in for a tough series and I’m pretty sure these young guys will stand up.”Australia’s first match in the tri-series is against Zimbabwe in Harare on Monday next week.

A final curtain of gloom descended on Leicestershire’s miserable season when they crumbled to 112 all out to lose by 408 runs against Derbyshire.

Press Association25-Sep-2014
ScorecardMark Footitt finished a wonderful season with another five-wicket haul•PA PhotosA final curtain of gloom descended on Leicestershire’s miserable season when they crumbled to 112 all out to lose by 408 runs against Derbyshire.A 10th defeat of the Division Two season means Leicestershire are the first county since the Second World War to go through two seasons without winning a Championship match and in the last four innings of this campaign they managed only 508 runs.That suggested a victory target of 521 was purely notional but they folded in less than 30 overs, with Mark Footitt taking 5 for 34 to finish with 106 victims this year and become Derbyshire’s highest wicket-taker in all cricket since 1965, when Harold Rhodes took 124 and Brian Jackson 122.Wayne Madsen, Derbyshire’s captain, said: “The commitment, the energy and passion that we’ve played with over the last few months has shone all the way through to the end.”Often seasons can taper off when there’s nothing to play for in terms of trophies but I’m extremely proud of the players because the application we’ve shown has been exceptional.”Ben Slater scored 119, his second hundred in the game, and India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara made an unbeaten 100 before the declaration on 372 for 3 left Leicestershire with a mountain to climb but they barely made it to the foothills.Derbyshire, who celebrated the biggest ever margin of victory by runs in the club’s history, had been in a commanding position going into day three with a lead of 310 which skipper Madsen extended by another 210 before declaring shortly after lunch.Madsen added only three to his overnight 66 before he chipped Ben Raine to mid-on but the rest of the morning belonged to Slater and Pujara who cruised along at five an over to take the game way beyond the visitors.Pujara showed the elegant ease and timing that was absent in the Test Matches this summer to move to his first hundred for the county off only 115 balls at which point Madsen called a halt.Slater had reached his landmark from 251 balls, making him the 16th Derbyshire batsman to score two centuries in a match and the patient approach he adopted in both innings should have been the model for how Leicestershire set out in pursuit of their distant target.But once again, the top order was reduced to rubble in less than seven overs as Footitt roared in from the city end to add four more wickets to his impressive season’s haul.His first came from the third ball of the innings when Greg Smith missed a big drive and Ned Eckersley was beaten for pace pushing forward in his fourth over.Dan Redfern completed a miserable return to Derby when he was lbw to a full-length ball from Footitt, who had Angus Robson caught behind down the leg side.Any chance of Footitt taking all 10 disappeared when Niall O’Brien edged Tony Palladino to bag a pair and his third consecutive duck, while Leicestershire were in danger of losing before tea when Tom Wells was lbw driving at Ben Cotton.They did at least reach the interval but not without losing Rob Taylor who was bowled driving at Wayne White and the end came quickly as Derbyshire celebrated a fifth win in the last six matches.Leicestershire first-team coach Ben Smith said: “We couldn’t have asked for any more from the bowlers and the attitude and energy we showed in the field was very good but we weren’t anywhere near our best with the bat which is a shame because all season we’ve had batsmen who have performed.”

Cuttack, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad will be the venues for Sri Lanka’s five-match ODI series in India early next month

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2014Cuttack, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad will be the venues for Sri Lanka’s five-match ODI series in India early next month.In return for Sri Lanka Cricket agreeing to step in after West Indies pulled out of their India tour, the BCCI has agreed to tour Sri Lanka in July-August 2015. Sri Lanka were scheduled to tour India for Tests next year, but the BCCI has accepted SLC’s proposal of swapping countries for that trip.Cuttack was scheduled to host the only T20 international against West Indies while Kolkata had been allotted the fifth ODI to celebrate 150 years of Eden Gardens. Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad were to host the three Tests against West Indies. While two of those Test venues have been accommodated now with an ODI each, Ranchi has been preferred over Bangalore for the remaining slot against Sri Lanka. The BCCI follows separate rotation systems for ODIs and Tests.The Sri Lanka ODIs will begin from November 2 and a BCCI release stated that the detailed itinerary will be announced later.

A round-up of Vijay Hazare Trophy matches on November 14, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2014West ZoneNineteen-year-old Shreyas Iyer’s maiden List A century helped Mumbai inflict a seven-wicket defeat on Gujarat, the first of this year’s tournament for the latter. Mumbai and Gujarat have progressed to the knock-out stages from the West Zone.Chasing 257, Mumbai were jolted early as they lost both their openers with only 11 on the board but Iyer, playing his first domestic season, partnered Wasim Jaffer in a 122-run stand before adding a further 125 with Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed an unbeaten 81 off 44 balls with eight fours and five sixes. Iyer was unbeaten on 105 off 110 balls that included six fours and four sixes.Gujarat had made a solid opening after being put into bat but they lost opener Priyank Panchal and Parthiv Patel off consecutive deliveries to Saurabh Netravalkar. Despite losing regular wickets, they kept the scoreboard moving and were propped up by a late surge – a 26-ball 55 from No. 8 Rohit Dahiya. However, the 257-run target did not test Mumbai as they overhauled it within 43 overs.Ankit Bawne’s 110 was in vain as Maharashtra failed to overhaul Saurashtra’s target of 304 runs and were handed a 63-run defeat. Bawne anchored the innings with his unbeaten, 122-ball effort even as the rest of the Maharashtra line-up stumbled at the crease, leaving the side at 136 for 7. Bawne’s 102-run stand for the eighth-wicket with Anupam Sanklecha injected some fight into the chase but it was never going to be enough for a win.Earlier, Saurashtra’s batsmen, led by Arpit Vasavada’s 96 and Cheteshwar Pujara’s 81 strung together solid partnerships to power to 303 for 5. Vasavada struck 12 fours in his 87-ball knock but missed out on his maiden List-A century when he was dismissed by Dominic Joseph. Pujara, too, was brisk during his stint, scoring 86 off 89 balls with just two fours.North ZoneA top order wobble that saw them stumble to 80 for 5 did not stop Delhi from completing a three-wicket win over Services in a low-scoring game, ensuring their progress to the knock-out stage. Medium-pacer Vikas Tokas’ second successive four-for and key strikes from Sumit Narwal (2-24) and Varun Sood (2-23) restricted Services to 147 after they were put in to bat. Services opener Devendra Lochab’s 40 was the only significant score in an innings where the next best effort was 22 from No. 9 batsman Ashutosh Aman.Suraj Yadav and Shadab Nazar then rattled Delhi by reducing them to 56 for 4 before Virender Sehwag’s departure made it 80 for 5. However, Rajat Bhatia steadied the chase with 34 off 45 balls, lifting Delhi to the brink of a win before falling to Aman.A half-century from opener Amitoze Singh and a 49 from Gurkeerat Singh helped Punjab ace a 197-run chase by three wickets against Himachal Pradesh and join Delhi in the knock-out phase. Amitoze’s brisk 54-ball 50 had fired Punjab to a good start but the side suffered a stutter when they lost quick wickets. Once Amitoze departed, with the score at 109 for 4, Gurkeerat stepped up. His 64-run partnership with Taruwar Kohli took Punjab close to the win, and they eventually got there in 38 overs.Earlier, Himachal had clawed their way to 196 from a difficult position of 73 for 5. Paras Dogra (53) and Rishi Dhawan (42) led the fight-back with an 80-run, sixth-wicket stand. However, once the pair were dismissed, the innings folded quickly. Sandeep Sharma (3-39) was the most successful bowler for Punjab while Amitoze (2-32) and Baltej Singh (2-29) also accounted for crucial wickets.Jammu & Kashmir snuck an eight-run win over Haryana in their final zonal league match. Chasing 285, Haryana were struggling at 123 for 6 but a lower-order rally led by Joginder Sharma’s 64 helped them take the fight to J&K. The last-wicket pair of Kamran Shaikh and Ashish Hooda pitched in with a handy stand of 42 runs that took the side close to the target. However, Waseem Raza got the wicket of Hooda with two balls remaining to seal the win for J&K.Earlier, J&K piled up 284 for 8 after most of their batsmen got starts. Ian Dev Singh’s 64 led the way with contributions from Shubham Khajuria (45) at the top and cameos from Samiullah Beigh (47) and Obaid Haroon (38) in the lower order.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has reinforced the importance of “psychological warfare”, arguing it is imperative to intimidate the opposition

Greg Growden22-Dec-2014Mitchell Johnson, a prime architect in Australia’s second Test win over India in Brisbane, has reinforced the importance of “psychological warfare”, arguing it is imperative to intimidate the opposition.In a new DVD titled ‘Mitchell Johnson: Bouncing Back,’ he has elaborated on many of the recent key cricketing issues, including overwhelming England last season to win the Ashes.Johnson emphasised how critical to the series victory was the team plan to intimidate the England batting – in particular the tail. He also explained how he was also grateful that he injured himself while in South Africa in 2011, as it made him a better bowler.When talking about the mental approach, Johnson said: “Sometimes we say stupid things when we’re out there.”Sometimes we try and say things that hopefully get into the batsmen’s heads a little bit. We try to get them to think about their feet, or just let them know you are going to bowl another short ball. It’s all mind games.”Sometimes it might look a little different on TV. It might look as if we’re going a bit too hard at each other, and sometimes it could be a bit over the top. But we’re always trying to stay inside the guidelines.”If you can get into someone’s mind by speaking to a batsman and tell them that their feet aren’t going anywhere, hopefully they’ll start to think about that. You then bowl a short one at them, and you’re in their head. I love that part of the game. I think it’s great. And I don’t think it’s ever going to stop.”Johnson said the bowling attack decided to be ultra-aggressive at the start of the Ashes series. Frailties quickly emerged in the First Test in Brisbane, when Johnson dismissed Jonathan Trott, taking advantage of some perceived weaknesses shown in an earlier series.”The plan was to go hard at him. We’d knew that he’d step across a long way, and the way he plays the short ball… he struggled in that one day series earlier in England. That was the plan to him. The delivery was probably a bit wider than I wanted it, but he pushed the bat out there because he was in a bad position. It [Trott’s dismissal] was definitely a crucial point in the game.”Michael Carberry was the next target.”I didn’t want to go around the wicket. I was a bit iffy about it. Michael (Clarke) was really keen on me to do it, to change the angle, because he was just letting balls go outside off stump. He was really patient at that stage. So I came around the wicket. We had the field set for the short ball.”The first two balls I went hard at him, and then one went across chest high. He went to play and leave, and found the edge.”That definitely sparked a bit of panic in their dressing room. Our goal throughout the whole series was also to go after their tail. Once we got their tail in, I don’t think they were too keen on it. Going at Stuart Broad’s body didn’t really give him a chance to move. Having that field set, it was definitely playing with their minds. And that stayed with them throughout the whole series. They didn’t want a bar of it.”4:03

Agarkar: Johnson’s spell broke India

By the end of the series, England were shattered. When Alastair Cook was dismissed in the final Test in Sydney, Johnson thought it was clear the England captain “had had enough by then.””There was almost a sigh of relief. You could see the expression on his face,” Johnson said.Johnson felt similarly drained when he damaged his toe while batting in South Africa in 2011. “For a fair while before that I was probably hoping to get injured so that somehow I could get away from the game. I needed to work on a few things. I needed to freshen up and work on some of my strengths, my fitness, some technical stuff. I just wasn’t able to do that while I was constantly playing.”There was a lot of relief there. As much as you don’t want to have an injury I was sort of praying for one. Having time off was really beneficial for me.”For the first two months of my injury I didn’t miss cricket at all. I don’t think I really watched it at all. I wasn’t following it. I just wanted to get away from it. By the end of those two months I started to get that itch back again.”The DVD also delves into the dismal moments of Johnson’s career, including being dropped, and the difficulties of coping with the pressure on his first tour of England in 2009.”When we got into England and we had a line up of media, I was just blown away by the attention. I didn’t expect it. A few of the senior players like Mike Hussey and Ricky Ponting were saying that you had to expect all this media attention, because it was the Ashes series. But that was the starting point for me to think about a lot of different things in my game, and that’s where it all probably went wrong for me.”We were copping a fair bit of stick from their media straight away. And that was their plan… to get into our heads. It worked on me. I wasn’t used to it. I was used to being praised and hearing ‘good on you, well done, you’re going well’ and then all of a sudden they were picking on little things I’d never heard or ever thought of. It was pretty brutal.”I learnt from that to really focus on myself, and needed to learn how to block things out. At that stage I didn’t know how to do that, so it was a really good learning experience. It made me grow as a person and a player. There were a lot of personal things happening off the field at the time that were really affecting me, and now I’ve got through all that stuff.”

Salindu Ushan’s unbeaten century lit up a dull draw in Pallekele as Bangladesh U19s and Sri Lanka U19s ended the two-match Youth Test series 0-0

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Shadman Islam scored 66 for Bangladesh Under-19s•IDI/GettySalindu Ushan’s unbeaten century lit up a dull draw in Pallekele as Bangladesh U19s and Sri Lanka U19s ended the two-match Youth Test series 0-0. Almost the entire day two of the three-dayer was lost to rain.Batting first, the visitors declared their first innings, which spanned three days, on 196 for 9 in 85.4 overs. Shadman Islam and Saif Hassan added 90 for the first wicket with the former making 66 off 116 balls with ten boundaries. Saif made a 128-ball 23.Fast bowler Himesh Ramanayake, son of former Sri Lanka international Champaka, took four wickets.In reply, Sri Lanka U19s made 228 for 5 in 84 overs with Ushan hitting 112 off 245 with 13 fours and a six. Charith Asalanka contributed 37 coming in at No 3. For the visitors, offspinner Mehedy Hasan took two wickets.Bangladesh U19s had won the one-day series 3-2.

Having been with Ireland for five years, current South Africa assistant coach Adrian Birrell knows they would fight even harder to make their claim on behalf of the Associates

Firdose Moonda02-Mar-2015Saving the rhino, buying fairtrade coffee, recycling. We are attracted to these socially conscious ideas because we know they will make for a better, stronger community in future. That is also why cricket fans are fighting for Associate inclusion in the World Cup, but long before the latest campaign became fashionable there were plenty who knew the value of openness and one of them will be reunited with his former charges in Canberra.Adrian Birrell, South Africa’s assistant coach was in charge of Ireland from 2002 to 2007, when he oversaw their headline grabbing run at the Caribbean tournament, and believes Ireland have earned the right to play more regularly.””It’s definitely not fair. How many one-off games do they have? Not many. Between World Cups, they don’t play Full Member countries often. They need to play more,” Birrell said. “But we play a lot. It’s a full schedule. Can we play more? It’s quite tricky.”That’s why Birrell believes Ireland always have a point to prove when they play a World Cup game, no matter where they are positioned in the group or how other results have gone. “If you look at their record, they’ve continued to knock down the door and they keep on getting shut out. So they are angry and I understand that. That’s a driving factor and something which makes them play even harder to prove the Full Member teams wrong.”So South Africa need to be careful and Birrell has already identified Ireland’s batting line-up as the major threat. “They bat deep and they know how to chase targets. Four out of the top 10 World Cup chases are Ireland chases, three of them over 300 and two of them against Full Member teams. We’re fully aware of what they can do. I’m probably more aware than most, so we’ll be prepared.”South Africa will approach Ireland as they have been done every other team at this World Cup – with circumspection initially and acceleration later on. “It’s a matter of us coming in and making sure we have a solid start,” Birrell said. “If we play a structured start like we did against West Indies, we should be okay.”Birrell had coached Ireland to wins over Pakistan and Bangladesh, and a tie with Zimbabwe in 2007. He has seen them beat England in 2011 and West Indies this time. Although he would not want South Africa to be counted among that category, he does take some pride in Ireland’s progress.”When I started, there were probably one or two professionals,” Birrell said. “The rest were club players not earning their living from cricket. But since around 2005, a lot of their players have been county players, playing professionally. What I am surprised about is how much progress there has been in the administration and coaching structures. They’ve made great strides in looking after their grassroots and club cricket and making sure that the future Irish players will continue to come through.”Although the ICC have reduced the timescale for players to return to an Associate country if they opt to play Test cricket to two years, Birrell believes more could be done.”It’s difficult for them – they continue losing their players to England. Look at Boyd Rankin, who played a couple of matches and now doesn’t play in a World Cup for either Ireland or England when he should be playing for Ireland. Because he’s played a couple of matches for England, it discounts him [unless he opts to re-qualify]. That’s hurtful. Maybe there are others to follow, others who are picked for England.”But he acknowledged that Ireland have forged their own identity which has so far allowed them to stay vibrant as cricketing entity. “They’ve got a strong culture, the play an attractive brand of cricket and they’ve got a number of good players. They punch above their weight.”