Australia bowl; England unchanged

Australia won the toss and decided to bat against England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Australia will aim to attack England with pace after winning the toss and bowling at the WACA. Defeat for England, who have named an unchanged side, would make it 10 in a row across all formats and equal their worst run.

After the loss in Sydney, Alastair Cook said he would consider his future as one-day captain but today admitted he was emotional and is now "desperate" to carry on in his current role.

Australia confirmed their XI yesterday once George Bailey, standing in for Michael Clarke as captain, confirmed he was fit after the hip problem which ruled him out of the Sydney match. Steven Smith and Matthew Wade come into the side for the rested David Warner and Brad Haddin.

Australia 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 George Bailey (capt), 4 Steven Smith, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Matthew Wade (wk), 7 Daniel Christian, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 11 James Pattinson.

England 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Gary Ballace, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 James Tredwell

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BCB to decide on draft based on 'response of other boards'

BCB president Nazmul Hassan said the Bangladesh board will consider the other Full Members' takes on the 'position paper', put forward by a working group of the Finance & Commercial Affairs committee of the ICC, before coming out for or against it. However, ESPNcricinfo understands that when asked for their individual opinions at a board meeting on Thursday, an overwhelming majority of the BCB directors said the board should side with the BCCI or "we will be cornered".

The main concern for Bangladesh is playing Test cricket - something which is now under threat as one of the proposals is to make the teams ranked Nos. 9 and 10 play in the Intercontinental Cup (the ICC's first-class tournament for non-Test nations) from 2015. A board director, seeking anonymity, said that even if that proposal is approved, Bangladesh could still play bilateral series with the top eight if they align with India.

"The reality for the BCB is that we cannot afford to go against the BCCI," the BCB director said. "Bangladesh is the 10th ranked team, but if we align with them, there is every chance that they will help us get teams to tour Bangladesh and vice versa. Of course we have to consider many other factors before we go with them but the majority in the board believe that favouring India would be the best option for us."

In the press conference that followed the meeting, Hassan said the BCB would take a measured decision before the ICC meeting on January 29. He also hinted at the revamped system being beneficial to Bangladesh, in that it could help them climb the Test rankings. The board would not "risk" Bangladesh's chances of playing against top nations by hastily refusing the draft proposal, he said.

"We have decided not to express whether we have taken a decision or not," Hassan said. "I want to know the opinions of the other boards from today. It doesn't matter what is said in public, unless the same thing is said in the meeting. If we oppose the proposal but it still goes through, we will be under a lot of pressure.

"I will go to Dubai on January 25 to speak to other boards to understand the matter more clearly. We have to take a decision based on the situation. We have to rely a lot on the response of the other boards.

Hassan said he was confident that Bangladesh's hosting of three international series in the immediate future - Sri Lanka in a bilateral series, the Asia Cup and the World Twenty20 - would not be affected by how the BCB votes. "If we oppose the proposal, it won't affect our hosting of the Sri Lanka tour, Asia Cup or World Twenty20," he said. "There's no connection between these two."

He believes if the proposal goes through and a multi-tiered system comes in, Bangladesh could take the No. 8 position in Test cricket - the draft proposal suggests the winner of the Intercontinental Cup could challenge the No. 8 ranked team, home and away, and if the Test team is beaten, the Intercontinental Cup winners are promoted into the top eight at the loser's expense.

"Our Test status will remain [since the draft proposal has a "no disadvantage" condition, by which none of the current Full Members will lose that status]. We will be among the ten Test playing nations. But our Test rating point is 18, so to reach No. 8 ranking [under the current system], we will need more than a decade. We are not getting enough opportunities. Zimbabwe has 34 rating points, so I don't know who we can beat to cover the difference.

"We have improved as a side in the last 18 months. We have played well against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies. But such performances haven't reflected on our ranking. There is a chance here to beat the others [in the Intercontinental Cup] and then have a go at the No. 8 ranked team..."

"We cannot take a risk, particular given the position of our cricket. If our vote doesn't matter, we will probably stay quiet. But if our vote decides the revamp, it will be very critical. What we will do at that stage is something I can only understand once I am at the meeting."

Hassan also believes that the Full Members will not be divided on this matter, but will arrive at a unanimous decision. "There won't be a split in world cricket. I don't think [the ICC committee] would have presented such a huge proposal without doing their homework and I also don't believe it will be a close-run thing. It will either be accepted or rejected."

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Draft will need 'extraordinary majority' to be passed - ICC vice-president

Mustafa Kamal, the ICC vice-president, has said an "extraordinary majority" will be required to approve ICC Finance & Commercial Affairs working group's increasingly controversial draft proposal. He does not believe, at this stage, that it would be right to bring such changes to the world of cricket.

Kamal was apparently not present at the meeting in which the proposal was first discussed during the January 9 meeting. He said that it would take a long time for such a revamp to take place. He doesn't think it would happen at such short notice, though there are reasons to believe that it will be the main topic of discussion at the January 29 ICC meeting.

"One must also remember that there are clauses that one will have to follow for making amendment to the constitution," Kamal told ESPNcricinfo. "They will need an extraordinary majority to make the amendments. There are so many discussions that will have to take place before such things happen. It is a long path.

"Anything that will affect the world of cricket should not be done," he said. "Cricket progressed a lot in the last decade, in terms of popularity, revenue and administration. I think it won't be right to bring changes."

His veiled stance against the draft proposal is a fair reflection of opinions in his home country, Bangladesh, and indicative of how rest of the ICC feels about it. Kamal said that he has discussed the matter with other board members, who have expressed similar surprise at what has been put in front of them.

"I have talked to members of different boards from around the globe and they are surprised too," he said. "No one had an idea of this proposal.

"I don't even regard this as a proposal at this stage, until it comes to me as a proposal in official form. I have no further comments to make."

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Leicestershire gloom set to deepen

Leicestershire's problems are set to intensify with the announcement of a significant loss for the 2013 financial year.

The club, which finished bottom of the Division Two County Championship table without a win in the season, have cited player salaries and the costs of maintaining their Grace Road ground as pertinent factors in the losses. Leicestershire also declared a loss of just over £250,000 for the 2012 financial year.

"We are about to announce a five-figure loss shortly, in the next two or three weeks, for the year to September 2013," the club's chief executive, Mike Siddal, told the BBC. "We have a relatively old ground which needs a lot of money spending on it in repairs and renovations. Players' salaries go up all the time and we need to invest in the team. I know it sounds a bit simple, but our costs exceed our income."

While the club's on-field form has been poor over the last couple of years - they also failed to progress from the group stages in either of the limited-overs competitions in 2013 - they do have a fine record of developing players.

Stuart Broad, Luke Wright, Harry Gurney and James Taylor are all recent examples of players who have developed in part through the club's system and gone on to interest the England selectors while Shiv Thakor and Ned Eckersley, of the current crop of players, are tipped to join them. The club's 18-year-old off-spinning all-rounder Rob Sayer is also highly regarded and currently represents the England U19 side.

But with the club losing money and failing to perform adequately on the pitch, it is inevitable that Leicetstershire will be used as an example of the weakness of the county system by those who believe there are too many first-class counties. Not for the first time, they will start next season fighting to justify their existence and their ECB funding.

Leicestershire did have hopes of diversifying the use of their ground last year, which has one of the largest playing areas in first-class cricket, but plans to make use of the space by providing a home for the city's basketball team fell through when the project failed to gain the financial backing of Sport England.

Plans to build a multi-purpose sport centre in Leicester went on public display a year ago. A £2.5m project on empty land at Grace Road cricket ground also involved Leicester Riders basketball team and Leicester College as well as a number of apartments and was much in keeping with ECB guidelines to finance county grounds by multiple use.

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WV Raman appointed KKR batting coach

WV Raman, the former India batsman, has been appointed batting coach for the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the seventh edition of the IPL. Raman had earlier worked with Kings XI Punjab as the assistant coach for the 2013 season.

"Former Indian cricketer WV Raman has been appointed @KKRiders batting coach #PepsiIPL," the IPL tweeted on Wednesday night.

Raman, who played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs for India between 1988 and 1997, is currently the coach of Tamil Nadu, also his home state. Raman had earlier served as coach of the same side for four years before taking over as Bengal coach in 2010. He was replaced in 2013 by Ashok Malhotra and then returned to coach Tamil Nadu.

The other members of the Knight Riders coaching staff include Trevor Bayliss (coach), Vijay Dahiya (assistant coach), Trevor Penney (fielding coach) and Rudi Webster (mental skills coach). The 2012 winners had a poor season last year, finishing seventh out of nine.

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De Villiers making slow progress after hand surgery

AB de Villiers, South Africa's Test wicketkeeper, has admitted he is making slow progress after his hand surgery but remains confident he will be fit for the upcoming series against Australia. De Villiers went under the knife on January 10 and was estimated to need up to a month of rehabilitation before taking the field again. 

"It's still swollen because it was done not so long ago. I still need time away from the game, unfortunately," he told South African news channel eNCA. "I'm going through rehab at the moment and it's quite painful."

De Villiers required the operation to remove a plate from his hand, which had been inserted after a fracture sustained during the IPL in 2011. The plate had begun to cause discomfort and had to be surgically removed. The recovery period means de Villiers will play no part in the ongoing domestic twenty-over competition, which had been largely marketed on the availability of international players. 

But with a high-profile contest against Australia ahead, de Villiers' absence from the Titans is in the national interest. De Villiers is one of the candidates who could slot into the No. 4 spot left vacant by Jacques Kallis, a role he is expected to fill only if he is unburdened of the wicketkeeping gloves.

Whether or not de Villiers moves into Kallis' place in the batting line-up, there is no doubt he will have to assume more responsibility as a senior player as South Africa attempt to beat Australia at home for the first time since readmission. De Villiers was part of the outfits who defeated Australia on South Africa's previous two tours there, in 2008-09 and in 2012, and now hopes they can repeat the same in front of their own fans.

"I'm looking forward to a massive series against Australia," he said. "They're playing really good cricket, but there's no reason for us to stand back. We beat them the last time we played, but it's been a while since we beat them in South Africa." 

While the Australia players have been vocal about their chances, the South African camp has been largely silent but de Villiers hinted it won't stay that way. "I'm looking forward to a rough series against Australia. That's how it's going to be played."

The three-Test series starts on February 12 in Centurion.

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Openers should have batted for longer - Dhoni

Dhoni: Batsmen not able to convert starts

It is hard to fault an opening pair that has been so successful over the past several months but it was Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma's slow start that pulled India down in their big chase in Hamilton, MS Dhoni has said. The pair consumed 7.4 overs and added only 22 after India were set a D/L target of 297 from 42 overs. The middle order, led by Virat Kohli and Dhoni, took the game close but New Zealand won by 15 runs in the end.

"I thought once we got off to a start the openers should have carried on for a bit longer so that they could have played a few more shots, scored a few more runs and taken a bit of pressure off from the middle order," Dhoni said. "But that was not the case. It does not always go as planned. I think the middle order did quite well to reach close.

"We got off to a good start in terms of not losing wickets. But if you are supposed to score 290-odd when you are chasing and in the first ten you are 38-odd runs and two wickets down [India were 37 for 2], it becomes quite difficult for the middle order, specially on a wicket which became slightly two-paced with the drizzle. I felt as the game progressed it became more and more difficult.

"I think the batters are getting some kind of a start but we are not able to convert those starts into 50s or 75s or big partnerships. I feel it is very crucial if they are playing outside [India] that once you get off to a good start it is important you make a big partnership."

Dhawan and Rohit have been opening since the Champions Trophy last June and average 52.32 as a pair, with 1308 runs from 26 innings, including six century partnerships. Three of those stands were put together in the home series against Australia in October, but their returns have tapered off since then. They added 17, 21 and 29 against West Indies at home, 14 and 10 in South Africa, and have managed 15 and 22 so far in New Zealand. Not only has their average dropped significantly over these past seven innings, their partnership run-rate has also dipped from an overall 5.25 to 3.87.

Rohit, since his promotion from the middle order, has generally not found it easy to score quickly, barring the golden run he had in the home series against Australia. He made 3 off 23 in Napier and 20 off 34 in Hamilton following 18 off 43 in Johannesburg and 19 off 26 in Durban. While Dhawan's strike-rate is still in the early nineties, he too has had a lean run off late.

Dhoni said some of his batsmen were under pressure to play to the reputations they had built, something which could apply to Dhawan. "What some of the batters are going through is a phase where first when you come in and play a few games you just play your natural game and then all of a sudden you have a reputation to carry on and that puts a bit of pressure on them."

The captain added that it was a passing phase and said they would be better placed in playing without inhibitions and going for their strokes. "With more and more games, they will realise what their particular game is, they will back themselves to play that game and slowly, they'll change themselves and improve for better performance. They are going through a phase where they are thinking what their benchmark should be but it is important we enjoy cricket and play free-flowing cricket because most of the batsmen are free-flowing and they should play their shots, does not matter if it is the first ball or the last."

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Warne signs on for T20 coaching role

Shane Warne has signed on as a specialist spin coach to help Australia's slow bowlers in the lead-up to this year's World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. Cricket Australia has confirmed that Warne will join the T20 squad in South Africa in early March and he will support coach Darren Lehmann as what CA described as a "consultant providing specialist coaching to the spin bowlers".

Spin is expected to play a key role in the World T20 given the conditions in Bangladesh and Australia's selection of young legspinner James Muirhead for their T20s against England is an indication that they may be prepared to gamble on raw talent for the tournament. Muirhead has played only three T20 games for the Melbourne Stars this year and a total of five BBL games in his career.

"We believe our national teams can really benefit from more specific skill-based coaching as and when it is needed," Lehmann said. "This will mean that from time to time we will enlist the support of experts in their craft to work with our players and share their experiences.

"In the case of the ICC World Twenty 20, we believe spin bowling will be critical to success. There's no better person than Shane to help guide the spinners we select in that squad. He was a gifted cricketer and remains passionate about spin bowling and seeing our players be the best that they can be. We're thrilled to have him on board."

Warne said: "I'm excited to be working with Australia's spinners in South Africa. I'm looking forward to helping them with some intense bowling preparation ahead of the World Twenty 20, where we'll specifically work on tactics and mindset."

In announcing the T20 squad to play England earlier this week, national selector John Inverarity said as well as Muirhead and Glenn Maxwell, who were both in the group, Xavier Doherty had strong claims on a position for the World T20. He even indicated the veteran Brad Hogg, who turns 43 next month and is a contemporary of Warne's, could receive another recall after playing in the 2012 World T20.

Australia will name their squad for the World T20 in mid-February, and that group will then convene in South Africa after the Test series for three matches in the first two weeks of March. Australia's first match in the World T20 will be in Mirpur against Pakistan on March 23.

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FICA slams 'Big Three' ICC proposal

The world's cricketers have voiced their strong opposition to the proposed revamp of the ICC's structure, declaring that it would only serve to strengthen India, England and Australia while weakening the rest of the cricketing nations.

The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), which represents player associations in seven of the ICC's ten full member countries, has declared itself "extremely concerned" with the leaked proposal, which would place the ICC largely in the control of the so-called "Big Three" nations. The FICA chairman, Paul Marsh, said players had a real fear the proposal would leave countries outside the Big Three to "wither on the vine".

"There are a myriad of issues with this proposal," Marsh said. "First and foremost, as board directors of the ICC, the Chairmen of the BCCI, Cricket Australia and ECB owe fiduciary duties to the ICC that include putting the interests of the ICC ahead of those of their individual boards, a duty to remain loyal to the ICC and avoid conflicts of interests and to act in good faith to promote the success of the ICC. We seriously question whether all of these duties have been met.

"The proposals relating to scheduling are disturbing. The reassurance to the boards outside the 'Big Three' that they are guaranteed to earn more in the next rights cycle than they have in the current one ignores the fact they are almost certain to lose more money from a re-shaped Future Tours Programme (FTP) than they will gain from ICC distributions, when the 'Big Three' inevitably pick and choose who, when and where they will play.

"Of significance is the section that offers a guarantee from Cricket Australia and the ECB to play three Tests and five ODIs per cycle to each of the top eight members, yet there is no mention of any such guarantee from the BCCI. Each of the member countries, including Australia and England, rely heavily on Indian tours for sustainability of the game in their country. What chance do the majority of members have of survival if the BCCI decides not to tour their countries on at least a semi-regular basis?

"The result of this is that the gap between the 'Big Three' and the rest will get bigger and bigger, which will undermine the competitiveness of future ICC events and therefore the value of rights in future cycles. This will affect everyone and it cannot possibly be in the interests of international cricket nor of the health and sustainability of the world game of which the ICC is supposed to be the custodian."

Boards of ICC members outside the Big Three have expressed differing views on the proposal, with Cricket South Africa arguing the idea is "fundamentally flawed" and "in breach of the ICC constitution", while New Zealand Cricket said it was wrong to jump to the conclusion that the proposal would be bad for cricket. However, FICA has raised concerns about the potential increased financial strain that could affect countries already struggling to make money from the game.

"We also have significant concern with the notion that distributions from ICC events should be based on commercial contribution," Marsh said. "The result of this will be the countries that need ICC income most will receive the least, whilst the 'Big Three' will get the lion's share even though they are already financially healthy because of the value of the rights to their bilateral series.

"The role of ICC events should be to assist in levelling the financial playing field by distributing the proceeds from these events fairly, rather than further widening the gap between the rich and poor. Whilst these are an entirely foreseeable commercial outcomes, for the cricket fan the greater concern is the increasing gulf in quality between the 'Big Three' and the rest. The essence of sport is competition and those in control of the ICC should be doing all they can to promote and provide a level playing field. This proposal will achieve the complete opposite.

"Ironically the proposal espouses the principal of meritocracy. The linking of immunity from Test relegation for BCCI, ECB and CA to an argument that this is necessary 'solely to protect ICC income' is plainly wrong, given the fact no Test-based ICC events feature in the forward thinking and therefore all revenues generated from Test cricket are kept by the boards hosting the respective series."

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Smith takes up Irish citizenship

Graeme Smith, captain of the South Africa Test team, has been granted Irish citizenship.

Smith, 32, married the Irish singer Morgan Deane in August 2011, and the pair have been in Dublin in recent days to tie up the details. Deane posted a photo on Instagram of Smith with his certificate. Smith has not had to relinquish his South African citizenship.

While the development will have no immediate implications for Surrey, the county with whom Smith has a long-term relationship, it would mean that, should he retire from international cricket, he would be eligible to play for them without counting as an overseas player.

Smith has previously insisted that he is keen to continue to represent South Africa until at least the 2015 World Cup, although he is not guaranteed to be included, having not passed 30 in his last eight ODIs. At some stage, it is thought he is likely to step back from the international game and concentrate upon Surrey.

Having signed a three-year contract to captain the London county in late 2012, Smith's first season at Surrey was curtailed by injury. He only played in three Championship matches, as Surrey were relegated from Division One.

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