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Wahab Riaz, the Pakistan fast bowler, believes he will become a complete bowler once he has perfected his inswinger

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2011Pakistan seamer Wahab Riaz has credited the series he played against Australia A two years back as being crucial in his development and believes he will become a complete bowler once he has perfected his inswinger.”The great thing about that tour was that we were playing against a talented side,” Riaz told . “As a result, we also had to ensure that we were performing at a higher level and giving it our best. The thing is, when you are competing against a good side, you have to be more disciplined and you also learn to experiment a little bit.”Personally, after playing against a strong opposition like Australia A in their conditions, I started to gain more confidence. I remember that in the very first innings I was able to grab five wickets against them. Consequently, the confidence I gained from that achievement, I never let go of it and have never looked back.”Riaz broke into the Test side in the 2010 tour of England that was eventually tainted by the spot-fixing scandal, but he made an impact right away, taking a five-for at The Oval on debut. His stock ball is the one that is angled away from the right-hander, but he is now developing the one that moves the other way. “I have been working very hard to develop the inswinging delivery and it is coming along. While it will take some time to perfect, I know that once it is perfected I will become a better all round bowler.”Riaz is confident he can develop the inswinger without ruining his natural ability to shape the ball away. “I have talked to Wasim Akram too and he has helped me a lot. I obviously can’t develop deliveries and skills in just one month because for so many years, I have been bowling to my strength and sticking to basics. I know that people want to see the inswinger more often and God willing, this will happen. They [the fans] will have to wait just a little while longer.”Riaz was rested for Pakistan’s ongoing tour of Zimbabwe and that gave him a chance to play country cricket for Kent, which he termed “a really good experience”.”After playing for Kent, with respect to the English conditions, you learn that one has to bowl differently every day, and you have to adjust relative to the wicket and match situation,” he said.Riaz currently averages 9.50 with the bat from seven Tests, but is confident that he can make a more substantial contribution. “At this point, I still need to focus a little bit more when batting and improve my concentration,” he said. “I have been working hard to improve. Also, concerning my batting, the coaches at Kent have helped me a lot so when I play for Pakistan next time around, I will be a different batsman.”Riaz is capable of hitting 90 mph on a regular basis, which he puts down to working hard on his strength and fitness levels. “I have built up my strength and have also developed myself in this regards,” he said. “While previously I was fast, now, in English County cricket this season, I have touched 93-94 mph quite regularly [in T20 games]. I always take care of my fitness and give it my full attention and that I believe is the main reason for the extra pace nowadays.”In an era when many bowlers have chosen to give up one or the other format, Riaz is confident he can manage to keep playing all three versions of the game. “It depends on your fitness level and your determination – what you want to do. Twenty20 and one-day cricket is basically entertainment cricket, for players who want to play less so they can play for a long time. But in my view, Test cricket is the real deal. I’m working hard on my fitness, and god-willing I will try my best to represent Pakistan in all formats for a long time.”

Trinidad & Tobago secured a place in the final of the Regional Super50 with a four-wicket win against Guyana at Providence

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2011Trinidad & Tobago secured a place in the final of the Regional Super50 with a four-wicket win against Guyana at Providence. Guyana chose to bat but came unstuck against T&T’s spin-heavy attack and medium-pacer Rayad Emrit. Legspinner Samuel Badree, who bowled an economical spell of 1 for 28 in ten overs, struck the first blow, dismissing Guyana captain Assad Fudadin for a duck. Emrit got rid of the other opener, Trevon Griffith, and Guyana were 22 for 2. Leon Johnson, who top scored with 66, led the resistance from the middle order but it was broken by the offspinners, Sunil Narine and Sherwin Ganga. Narine bowled a 12-over spell and finished with 2 for 26. Emrit returned to jolt the lower order, picking up 4 for 39 as Guyana were limited to 200 for 9.T&T’s chase got off to a rocky start with wicketkeeper William Perkins falling to offspinner Steven Jacobs before a run had been scored. Jacobs would go on to finish with figures of 2 for 20 in 12 overs. The other opener, Justin Guillen, scored 63 to keep one end steady but there was little support at the other. Guyana were in with a solid chance when Sherwin Ganga fell with T&T on 106 for 5 in the 28th over. Jason Mohammed, however, scored an unbeaten 65 from No. 5 and shepherded T&T home. He had support from Emrit and Kevon Cooper, who both made 17, as they reached 201 for 6 with 23 balls to spare.

Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach, has said he has ensured the Pakistan players understand they can’t be complacent by letting them know there there is plenty of talent waiting in the wings

Umar Farooq12-Nov-2011Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach, has said he has told his players that, given the bench strength in the national team, they can’t be complacent and must perform to maintain their place.”For me, every player in the 16-man squad is a star,” Mohsin told ESPNcricinfo. “And obviously each one is brimming with talent but there is a factor keeping them on their toes – that is a sense that they have earned their place.”As the chief selector, my top priority was to make sure there was a backup for every spot; this is how you can get results. I wanted to instill that sense among the players and wanted them to be on their toes by building depth for every spot and making them realise that if they don’t perform, there is someone else who can replace them.”Pakistan are especially deep when it comes to the middle and lower-middle order, with the likes of Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Asad Shafiq and Shoaib Malik competing for a couple of places in the line-up. “This situation isn’t a coincidence, it has actually has been created,” Mohsin said. “It means we have a tough time deciding the final XI but this is a positive for us.”This situation keeps the players from becoming complacent as they have to perform to stay in the team. If someone sits out, it doesn’t mean he is not good but it’s a testing time for him. He obviously will be given a chance [eventually] and the break could help him build his mental toughness – he will realise the value of the opportunity [to play for Pakistan].”Mohsin was named the team’s interim coach for Pakistan’s “home” series against Sri Lanka’s in the UAE in early October; he replaced Waqar Younis, who quit over health reasons. Pakistan won the Test series 1-0, and won the opening ODI on Friday in clinical fashion. The PCB recently decided to let Mohsin continue as interim coach for the series against Bangladesh, which starts later this month. The PCB said the decision was taken as a full-time coach had not yet been identified.”It’s a privilege,” Mohsin said on coaching Pakistan. “Though it’s a challenging job, I have coped well and results are there. I feel any work that is done sincerely gives you fruitful results; I am happy with the job and ready, if the PCB asks me, to be the full-time coach.”Coaching the Pakistan team is not as difficult as it seems. I won’t talk about the past but I felt after taking the charge that the players were lacking in mental toughness and professionalism, despite their immense talent and ability. They are as good as the other top teams but were lacking in technical aspects and figuring out the nature of the problem has helped them to flourish.”

Sri Lanka have called up fast bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara and Dhammika Prasad to their Test squad for the remaining two matches against South Africa.

Firdose Moonda at SuperSport Park17-Dec-2011Sri Lanka have called up fast bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara and Dhammika Prasad to their Test squad for the remaining two matches against South Africa. Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan confirmed that the the pair will fly in to South Africa in “a couple of days” after competing in the knockout stages of the domestic tournament at home.After being beaten by an innings and 81 runs in Centurion, Sri Lanka are searching for ways to come back into the series and beefing up the bowling department is one of them. Before the tour of South Africa, four seamers, including Prasad and Kulasekara were ruled out with injury and Sri Lanka lost another quick when Nuwan Pradeep broke down during the tour match against the South African Invitation XI. At the time, the selectors did not name a replacement because they were hopeful that some of the injured lot would recover in time for the series.Prasad was injured last month in a Test match against Pakistan in Sharjah. He pulled a quad muscle after bowling four overs in the first innings and was ruled out of the one-day series which followed. He made his comeback in Sri Lanka’s domestic Premier Limited Over tournament on Wednesday, where he took 3 for 30 for Sinhalese Cricket Club. He also played in Saturday’s final, although he had little success and finished with figures of 10-1-59-0.Kulasekara had not played any cricket since October but returned to action this week. He played in the semi-final of the fifty-over domestic tournament and made an impressive return with 2 for 37 in seven overs for Colts Cricket Club against Nondescripts. Colts were knocked out of the competition, meaning Kulasekara did not have any other match practice.Meanwhile, Angelo Mathews is expected to recover from a groin strain which kept him off the field during the Test match. Matthews left the field midway through the second day and went for an MRI scan, which revealed that the injury was not serious. He returned to field and batted on the third day and will have eight days to recover before the second Test, which starts on December 26, in Durban.

Australia have decided against using the allrounder Daniel Christian in the Boxing Day Test, while the left-armer Mitchell Starc has also missed out from the 13-man squad

Brydon Coverdale24-Dec-2011Australia have decided against using the allrounder Daniel Christian in the Boxing Day Test, while the left-armer Mitchell Starc has also missed out from the 13-man squad. The captain Michael Clarke announced the starting line-up on Saturday, two days before the game, with Ben Hilfenhaus to play his first Test since the Ashes last summer.Shaun Marsh was named at No.3 after making an impressive return from his back injury in Thursday night’s Big Bash League match, while the opener Ed Cowan will make his debut. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, the two under-pressure senior members of the middle order, have retained their positions.The decision to go in with only four frontline bowlers could be viewed as a gamble against a strong batting line-up including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman. However, Clarke said he would call on his batsmen to provide some overs if required.”I’m confident we’ve got the best XI to win this Test match in these conditions,” Clarke said. “I can use Michael Hussey, Ricky Ponting and myself to bowl a few overs. David Warner can bowl a few legspinners. I feel we’ve got the right XI to give ourselves a chance of winning this Test match.”DC [Christian] offers a lot with both bat and ball but unfortunately for him right now we can’t fit him into the XI.”Hilfenhaus won his recall in part due to his ability to bowl long spells, which without an allrounder will become more important.”I think it plays a part,” Clarke said. “His control, he’s a very good new ball bowler. He can bowl long spells. He’s had success against India as well. There’s a few reasons we decided to go with Hilfy.”While the bowling gains experience with the return of Hilfenhaus, the batting line-up will also welcome back an important man with Marsh to play his first Test since the Cape Town debacle last month. Clarke said he was confident Marsh was fit to play despite his serious back problems over the past six weeks.”His back is fine,” he said. “He’s taken it easy yesterday and today to make sure he’s fully recovered and ready to go come Boxing Day. I’d imagine you’ll see Shaun out here tomorrow facing some bowlers or at least having some throwdowns. He’s 100% ready to go.”Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Ed Cowan, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Ricky Ponting, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.

The Sydney Sixers began the Big Bash League as one of the least fancied sides but they won the tournament after Moises Henriques set up their chase in the final against the Perth Scorchers

Thr Report by Brydon Coverdale28-Jan-2012
ScorecardBrett Lee picked up two wickets in the first over of the match•Getty Images

The Sydney Sixers began the Big Bash League as one of the least fancied sides but they won the tournament after Moises Henriques set up their chase in the final against the Perth Scorchers. In front of a WACA crowd desperate to see the state’s first silverware – albeit not for the Warriors – in nearly a decade, the Sixers spoiled the party and won by seven wickets.Mitchell Marsh had excited the Perth fans with a powerful innings of 77 after Marcus North chose to bat, but Brett Lee helped contain the Scorchers to 5 for 156, which was a gettable, though challenging target. Henriques and Steve O’Keefe put together a 110-run opening stand in the chase and it was a start the home side was unable to pull back.A pair of wickets from Ben Edmondson late in the game gave the Scorchers a sniff, as the Sixers needed 22 from the final three overs. But the Sixers captain Steven Smith procured three boundaries and 15 in total from the next over, a poor one from Nathan Rimmington, and from there it was all very straightforward for the visitors.They reached their target with seven balls to spare, Smith striking the winning boundary down the ground off Ben Edmondson to finish unbeaten on 21 with Ben Rohrer on 3. Led by the 40-year-old Stuart MacGill and fellow veteran Brett Lee, the Sixers players streamed on to the field to celebrate their triumph, which came with no international imports in the final.Instead, it was two local allrounders who set the chase on the right path. O’Keefe struggled early, swinging wildly and missing plenty of deliveries as he battled to find his rhythm, but gradually he started to find the middle of the bat. O’Keefe drew confidence from a flat pull for six off Marsh’s medium pace, although he was still well behind the tempo of his partner Henriques, who brought up his half-century when O’Keefe had only 21.Henriques was especially brutal against the spin of Michael Beer, striking a pair of consecutive sixes over long-on and long-off, and he found gaps all around the ground. On 70 from 41 deliveries, Henriques was tricked by the 40-year-old spinner Brad Hogg, who saw Henriques advancing and sent the ball down the leg side for Luke Ronchi to complete the stumping.O’Keefe kept the chase going well until, on 48, he scooped a catch to short fine leg off Edmondson, two balls after Nic Maddinson (10) had also skied a catch. But Smith and Rohrer ensured the win for the Sixers, a victory that was also due to the bowling of Lee, whose 2 for 21 from four overs helped restrict the Scorchers to a manageable total.Lee began in the perfect way, with two wickets from the first over of the match. Herschelle Gibbs pulled the first ball of the game straight into the hands of deep square leg and later in the over, Ronchi took a big swipe and was caught behind to leave the Scorchers at 2 for 2. Marcus North steadied the home side until he top-edged a sweep off MacGill on 22.However, Marsh and Paul Collingwood formed a useful 62-run partnership, Collingwood paddling sweeps and reverse sweeps to cleverly find the gaps while Marsh used his strength to clear the boundary four times. Marsh took 12 off an Henriques over and launched a monster six over long-on off the bowling of O’Keefe.O’Keefe gave Marsh a life on 55 when he put down a chance at midwicket and in the next over, Marsh made the Sixers pay with a pair of sixes off Mitchell Starc. But Starc grabbed two wickets, Collingwood for 32 and Simon Katich for 12, and Marsh’s 77 not out from 57 deliveries was comfortably the standout performance.In the end, it wasn’t enough, as Henriques and O’Keefe made up for their lapses with the ball and in the field. Henriques was named Man of the Match.