PCB in turmoil after chairman's suspension

The crisis in the PCB surrounding the suspension of Zaka Ashraf as chairman is having its deepest impact on the team's tour of the West Indies in the middle of July, starting with the memorandum of understanding between two boards and the selection of the team. It has also led to a delay in the PCB budget this year that, among other things, could affect salaries and player contracts.

The suspension of Ashraf has also led to an impasse in the board, with officials saying it is not possible for key decisions to be signed, be it the MoU with the WICB or the search for the home broadcasters. Ashraf's suspension is now being argued in the Islamabad High Court, which on Wednesday once again ordered the government to name an interim PCB chairman within three days and report on the next hearing on June 24.

In a third hearing of the judicial petition against the PCB's new constitution, the court decision left the board's major activities on hold. This uncertain status at the top could make its first dent at the ICC's annual meeting next week, as Pakistan along with other Full Members are due to give their response to the ICC guidelines about decreased government interference in cricket administration.

The PCB was undecided about who will represent them at the conference, starting June 25. In 2011 the ICC had given a two-year deadline to the member boards to democratise their constitutions and remove government involvement in a bid to improve governance. Even though the ICC had relaxed its clause about the role of governments and the PCB tweaked its constitution slightly under Ashraf's chairmanship, the current situation is bound to raise concerns.

When Ashraf became the first incumbent elected president for another four-year term in May, it was the first such appointment under the new constitution. The IHC, however, ordered Ashraf's suspension, citing the election process "dubious" and "polluted".

The court, however, had not suspended the new constitution. The petition against the PCB was centred on the amendments made in it, especially those pertaining to the election of the chairman.

A government lawyer Irfanullah informed the IHC that former Pakistan captain Majid Khan was among three candidates for the role of acting chairman, and their names have already sent to the Prime Minister - who will make a final call. The commentator Chishty Mujahid and former chief of the Federal Board of Revenue Mumtaz Haider Rizvi are the other candidates.

The revised constitution also restructured the composition of the board of governors. The new 14-member body included five regional representatives selected on a rotation basis, five representatives of service organisations and departments, two non-voting former cricketers appointed on the recommendation of the chairman and two non-voting technocrats picked from a panel of three recommended by the chairman in consultation with the President of Pakistan. The term of each member was to be one year, but large regional associations like Lahore and Karachi along with Sialkot, Faisalabad and Multan are keen to have a permanent role on the board.

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Anderson the catalyst for crushing win

The day could hardly have gone more smoothly for Alastair Cook as England moved one step closer to a major achievement that has eluded them for so long

It was not, perhaps, the scenario spectators expected when they bought their tickets. The result was hardly in doubt by 11am; the result was decided before 5pm and several snoozed in the sun for long periods in the afternoon. For the impartial onlooker, this was probably a rather boring game.

But from an England perspective, this was wonderfully, gloriously, beautifully boring game. After many years where success in ODI cricket has been a brief interlude in a general drama of pain, England secured their place in the final of a global ODI competition for the first time since 2004 and the second time since 1992. They may never have a better chance of shedding the embarrassing tag as the only team in this competition not to have won such a title.

The uncharacteristic show of emotion from Jonathan Trott upon hitting the winning runs was telling. It has been an ambition of his for some time to play in the final of this competition at his home ground of Edgbaston and here he produced a typically calm innings to ensure it will happen.

Nerveless and apparently unhurried, he still managed to score at close to a run-a-ball and, in his last 12 ODIs, has now registered one century, five half-centuries and been dismissed for under 37 only once. He has averaged 75.77 in that time. He will never win over all his critics but, in this situation, there is no more reassuring sight in English cricket than Trott scrapping his mark.

It would be easy to take Trott's runs for granted. But, when Alastair Cook and Ian Bell fell, England were 41 for 2 and only another wicket away from seeing their slightly vulnerable middle-order exposed. Pressure appears to bring the best out of Trott, though, and he led the run chase with the remorselessness of a hunter pursuing its prey. "It was quite a high pressure situation," Cook said afterwards. "Trotty played a great innings,"

But this was not a victory set-up by England's batsmen. It was set-up by England's excellence in the field and a woefully poor performance with the bat from South Africa. Winning the toss on a humid morning was, doubtless, an advantage and James Anderson, in particular, exploited it expertly. But there is no getting away from the fact that South Africa's top-order folded with pathetic weakness.

So England were fortunate. They were fortunate that South Africa were without Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis. They were fortunate to win the toss. And they were fortunate their opposition played so badly.

But they were also fortunate when New Zealand dropped Alastair Cook three times on the way to his match-defining contribution in the previous game. And they were fortunate when Australia batted so poorly against them in their opening match of the tournament.

Good fortune tends to follow when a team plays consistently good cricket. It tends to follow when a team applies consistent pressure. It exploits any weakness and forces mistakes. The very best teams may not always be beaten by such a tactic, but it is the best plan England have and they follow it with precision. They will not start the final as favourites, but there are certainly not no-hopers either.

If Anderson were the sort to care about such trifles, he might consider himself unfortunate not to be named the Man of the Match. He bowled an excellent first spell that set the tone for the entire game.

There has been precious little conventional swing available in this competition, but Anderson found just enough to account for Colin Ingram and Robin Peterson, both of whom were set up by out swing and trapped by deliveries that swung in amid a spell that threatened consistently and offered the batsmen almost nothing.

While Steven Finn and Stuart Broad were disappointing, James Tredwell sustained the pressure with a spell that won him the match award. While only the odd delivery turned, it was enough to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the batsmen and Tredwell, varying his pace subtly and bowling a tight line, benefitted as the ball sometimes turned but more often skidded on to batsmen playing without conviction.

There were other impressive performers for England. Jos Buttler, who has enjoyed a fine tournament as a wicketkeeper to date, equalled the England record for the most dismissals in an ODI by claiming six catches - one an excellent diving catch down the legside; another a good diving catch to his right to dismiss Hashim Amla and a couple of neat efforts standing up to Tredwell - while Cook captained with ever increasing confidence and individuality.

It would be premature to compare Cook to Mike Brearley or similar but, just as he improved as a Test and then ODI batsman, he showed here that he is developing into far more than a 'captain by numbers.' His decision to allow Anderson a seven-over opening spell was unusual, if hardly groundbreaking, while his use of three slips at times showed a welcome desire to attack when appropriate.

England may face some tricky selection decisions ahead of the final. Tim Bresnan, his baby now safely delivered, will be available and may well replace Steven Finn, while Tredwell will be hard to omit even if Graeme Swann is fully recovered. They are not the worst issues with which to wrestle.

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A choke? Not really, just a thrashing

Gary Kirsten's time in charge of South Africa finished the way of a few men before him and there appears no end in sight to the team's quest to banish their demons

Let's be honest. South Africa did not choke in this semi-final even though Gary Kirsten insisted they did. Maybe it's just easier for him to confront the word head on rather than argue the finer points of difference between being noosed and being nowhere. South Africa were the latter.

After collapsing to 80 for 8 and clawing their way to a semi-respectable total, they had to endure England's measured run-chase, a lesson in how they should have batted. Jonathan Trott played a delicate, well-paced innings, soft enough to take some of the sting out of the morning's madness and to leave South Africa resigned to the inevitable.

But the real trouble started long before that. They were lucky to get to the semi-finals after winning only one group match. Once there they were never in the match. They were outplayed and they lost.

In the minds of many that is equivalent to choking and South Africa will carry that ever-heavier tag until they win an ICC event. "The dark mist," Kirsten refers to will only burn off when a trophy arrives and he admitted not even he knows how to secure one.

When he took over the South Africa job that was not his primary concern. The first year of his tenure was focused on acquiring the Test mace and Kirsten could be forgiven for neglecting limited-overs cricket. What he can be questioned on is using them as laboratories for experimentation.

Sixteen players made their debut under his watch which was a solid exercise in depth exploration but combinations rarely stayed the same for consecutive matches. The floating batting line-up that Kirsten toyed with during his time with India could not translate to a set-up as rigid as South Africa's.

It flopped at the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka last year and Kirsten hinted he would abandon it. But at this tournament, he used three different No.3s in four matches. It was evidence that South Africa have enough players capable of fulfilling a particular position but not anyone who feels it's theirs to own.

That theme applied across the board and it took root at the top with AB de Villiers. He seemed a natural choice as captain when he was appointed but quickly proved otherwise. Indecision, uncertainty and being overburdened led to him relinquishing the wicketkeeping gloves in an attempt to concentrate on leadership and batting and then taking them back when Kirsten decided he that would give South Africa their best chance.

If de Villiers had the likes of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis or even Johan Botha (who has moved to South Australia) to assist, he may have been able to handle the treble role easier. For now, it seems something always has to give. In this tournament he improved in his decision-making and managing of bowlers but his batting was not up to standard.

On the whole, neither was South Africa's. They ran India close in result terms but never looked like they could seriously challenge to win the match and if Misbah-ul-Haq had some support, Pakistan could have chased down 234. They turned on some style against West Indies but in a rain-affected match a decent total is difficult to judge and they collapsed against England.

Those things have all happened before with Smith and Kallis in the XI so the batting bloopers are not personnel or technical related; they are all about mindset. Kirsten has gone where those before him did not even consider to try and change the way the South African squad thinks.

He introduced them to a man who scales the world's tallest peaks for fun so they could understand pressure better. They climbed mountains with Mike Horn and it helped strengthen their Test performances but cycling Amsterdam with him did not help the one-day side learn about the same.

Put simply, South Africa's Test squad is mature and settled. They were at the stage where they could benefit from an out-of-the-box excursion. The one-day side is not. They needed clear guidelines, proper preparation and solid game plans to succeed. Even if they had all those, they may still have come up short.

Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn were another pair of absentees who Kirsten was confident would not be missed too much. In bilateral series, South Africa have played without one or both of them in certain matches and won. They are not the only two fast bowlers who are good enough but add their loss to everything else South Africa faced and the accumulation of problems is obvious.

Winning one match out of four is not good enough to advance in any tournament and South Africa's eventual return is an accurate reflection of where they are as a one-day team at the moment. They are very much a work in progress and they will have to make those developments without Kirsten.

His last match in charge was one he will want to forget and it leaves his CV with South Africa incomplete. While he will move on to more leisurely pursuits, they will continue trying to find a way to win when it matters. His advice was that would need "guts and glory", with the task of finding those qualities now handed to Russell Domingo.

He has a few weeks before the next series, in Sri Lanka, and months before the next major event, the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, but already it is clear South Africa will need to go through a familiar cycle yet again.

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Harris fit for his defining Ashes series

Ryan Harris will make his return to the bowling crease in Australia A's match against Gloucestershire in Bristol on Friday, as he steels himself for an Ashes campaign that looms as the defining moment of his international career.

After a carefully managed recovery from an Achilles complaint that forced him home early from the IPL, Harris yearns to make a lasting impression in the 10 Tests against England, and is equally bullish about the quality of Australia's pace bowling resources.

A much admired figure in Australian cricket, Harris has been interrupted by injury at too many junctures of his late blooming career, but the repeated setbacks have not dimmed his desire to contribute as a high class new-ball bowler, nor his value to the team when fit. At 33, he will also bring valuable experience and perspective to an Australian dressing room that has shown increasing signs of dysfunction over recent months, ever since Michael Hussey's decision to follow Ricky Ponting into retirement.

"I'm looking forward to playing and can't wait to get out there and get back into bowling, not Twenty20 style bowling but proper bowling, and getting into good spells," Harris said in Bristol. "Hopefully bowling 20-30 overs would be nice. Leaving India wasn't ideal, but getting home and getting the treatment I needed, the Achilles actually reacted really well to treatment, so coming over here and being able to bowl lots and lots of balls in the nets has been great. In saying that I've just about had a gut-full of that, I'm ready to bowl in games.

"In regards to my rehab, this is the reason why you have to get through and get back and rehab and do all the stuff. I wanted to be here in an Ashes series in England, and I want to play the one in Australia if things go to plan.

"They're the things that keep you going. And love of playing the game as well that's what's keeps you going. 'You're a long time retired,' that's what I keep being told, so there are a lot of gym sessions and stuff where I woke up in the morning and didn't want to go but had to go, had to get strong. This is the reason why - I wanted to be here for the Ashes."

A handsome record of 47 wickets at 23.63 from 12 Tests is one of the major reasons the national selectors, aware that his best is close to irresistible, have kept faith with Harris. Moving the ball both ways at high pace and with a skidding trajectory, Harris has earned occasional comparisons with the likes of Dale Steyn and James Anderson. The latter is leader of a formidable England attack, but Harris had no qualms rating Australia's pacemen in similar terms, noting their growth together as a unit.

"I wouldn't say he's the benchmark," Harris said of Anderson. "He's consistent and been so over the past couple of years, which puts him up there as one of the best in the world and he probably deserves that title. But our attack, we've got a very good attack if not better. We've got good pace and when the boys get it right we've got good consistency. James Pattinson has come back, he's been bowling unbelievably well and fast during the trial games.

"Peter Siddle's doing the same, Mitchell Starc he's another one - he's come back from injury and if he goes anywhere near what he was doing last summer, which I'm hoping, [Alastair] Cook will find it very tough facing him with those big thunderbolts going away from him. Our attack is suited for these conditions and we've got one of the best attacks in the world over here.

"The camaraderie [among the bowlers] is excellent. We're all good mates. If we have to rest someone or if someone does go down, touch wood they don't, but the guy who is stepping in can do the same sort of job. We've spent a lot of time together so we know each other very well. We hang out and eat dinner together and talk about the game together which is really good. I think it's a really healthy relationship."

As for a rash of dire predictions about Australia's likely performance in the series, Harris said recent form had given observers little else to conclude. But he was forthright in his belief that Australia's best would be good enough, and that the team was preparing as meticulously as possible for the task at hand.

"We're not worried about that sort of stuff we're going to cop that we haven't played good cricket in the past six months. We know that," he said. "We're here to play good cricket, that's why the Australia A team have been here, the Champions Trophy boys have had enough training in these conditions. We came here and acclimatised to these conditions early and that's all we can do. If we go out there and don't play our best cricket, we'll get beaten. If we play our best cricket we'll win."

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Pomersbach replaces Chanderpaul in CPL

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has withdrawn from the inaugural edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) due to contractual obligations with English county Derbyshire. He will be replaced in the St Lucia franchise by Australia batsman Luke Pomersbach.

Chanderpaul signed a contract with CPL offering himself for selection but later realised that his commitment to Derbyshire allowed a release only if it pertained to playing for West Indies.

"I am extremely sorry that I will not be able to participate in the CPL because of contractual obligations," Chanderpaul said. "I would definitely like to make myself available for the next edition, and will have my contracts carry a clause that will permit me to play in future editions of T20 tournaments."

His withdrawal opened doors for Pomersbach, who was in the group of Elite Pool A players alongside Chanderpaul, and the only batsman remaining in that pool.

"It will be great to be a part of the first CPL and I am looking forward to some tough competitive cricket with some of the greatest T20 cricketers in the world," Pomersbach said.

Organisers say Pomersbach's selection is in line with the rules of the draft.

Pomersbach has scored 1078 runs in 48 Twenty20s at a strike rate of 130.98, including fours fifties and a hundred. The other T20 franchises he has represented are Brisbane Heat, Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The St Lucia franchise, the Zouks, includes international players Darren Sammy, Herschelle Gibbs, Albie Morkel, Tino Best, Tamim Iqbal among others. The coach of the franchise is former West Indies bowler Andy Roberts.

The CPL begins on July 30 in Barbados with the opening match between St Lucia Zouks and Barbados Tridents.

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Pat Cummins to make comeback

Pat Cummins, the Australia fast bowler, will play his first competitive match after nine months with a back injury for the Northern Ireland Cricket Academy on Wednesday.

Cummins was named as a non-playing member of the Australia A squad who have played four-day matches against Scotland and Ireland in the past two weeks.

The squad have travelled to Bristol to face Gloucestershire on Friday but Cummins will remain in Ireland to play for the NICA against MCC at Carrickfergus, just outside Belfast.

Forty-eight hours later he will switch colours to play for MCC against Ireland Under-19s, part of their preparations for the Under-19 World Cup qualifier in August.

Cummins has not played since October last year when he bowled four overs for 27 to help Sydney Sixers beat Lions in the Champions League final. During the tournament he complained of stiffness and on his return home was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back.

Cummins made his international debut aged just 18 on Australia's tour of South Africa in October 2011. His first, and to date only, Test at the Wanderers included 6 for 79 in the second innings, earning him the match award in a narrow Australian victory.

He has also impressed in five ODIs, including playing England at Lord's last year, and a successful World T20 in Sri Lanka where he claimed six wickets at 32.83 to help Australia to the semi-final.

Despite the understandable hype surrounding Cummins, his injury history has compelled Cricket Australia to take a conservative approach with him this time around, and he is unlikely to figure in international calculations for some time yet.

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Clarke's Ashes squad fragmented

A strong show of unity is needed after the problems that have dogged the start of their tour

Even if some of the more scurrilous rumours abounding from within the Australian cricket team are discounted, it is impossible to escape the symbolism of their current disposition. Day one of the tourists' Ashes campaign ended the same way it began, with the 16 chosen squad members and their shadows dispersed across the United Kingdom. Whether by accident or design, this is more a fragmented front than a united one.

The majority, marshalled by the tour vice-captain Brad Haddin, have assembled in Bristol, where Australia A will play a three-day match against Gloucestershire from Friday. But the captain, Michael Clarke, along with Shane Watson, David Warner, Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner remain at the team hotel in London, where they will train this week in low profile sessions destined to serve primarily as an elongated fitness test for Clarke's back.

On Wednesday they will be joined by the opener and Middlesex captain Chris Rogers, now excused from his county duties and readying himself for a final tilt at international recognition. Champions Trophy squad members not required for the Ashes will drift away in dribs and drabs, some like Adam Voges and Glenn Maxwell contracted for English Twenty20 japes, others like George Bailey and Nathan Coulter-Nile heading back to the Australian winter. Then there is Ed Cowan, still in Nottingham on county secondment, and not likely to join his Australia colleagues until Monday in Taunton, dubbed the "official" starting point of the Ashes tour.

All these players are eager to prepare for the Ashes. Save for Rogers and perhaps Cowan, all are in urgent need of strong first-class grounding for the battles to come, for confidence as much as familiarity with the Dukes ball and occasionally capricious English pitches. And all would wish to distance themselves from the horrid start to the tour, featuring as it has an injured, absentee captain, a timid first encounter with England, a drunken punch thrown by a foolish opening batsman, and a group quite happy to go out on the town until the small hours immediately after a bad defeat.

Problems on the field, off the field and in the spaces between will not repair themselves. Whatever has been said publicly by Clarke, Warner, Bailey and others, this is a team in desperate need of time together under firm leadership, to heal the ructions apparent over the past two weeks, and to re-focus on the steep task at hand. Early Champions Trophy elimination had afforded the team on tour a chance to assemble a week earlier than planned but it does not appear one that will be taken up.

Though this can mainly be attributed to reasons of back-related convalescence, Clarke has so far spent more time away from most of his team than he has done with them. The importance of a tour's early days to establish standards of behaviour and performance has been stressed by many, including the former England captain Michael Atherton. In this case there was an unmistakable sense of 'while the cat's away...' about the drinking transgressions in Birmingham.

	"It wasn't the right thing to do after a loss, to go out and have a few beers" Phillip Hughes

Surprise that Clarke did not travel straight up to the Midlands from London at the first sign of internal trouble, no matter how bad the condition of his back, has competed with the ball-tampering allegations against England as the choicest of tournament gossip. Eyebrows are likely to be raised again at the news that Clarke will spend another week away from most of the players under his leadership, even if his trust in Haddin as the Australia A captain and tour lieutenant is absolute.

Phillip Hughes, who has been closer to Clarke than most, was happy to apologise for being out on the night in question. For years Australia's team culture was built along several unshakeable maxims, one of which was that the celebration of a win was to be long and raucous, but that the wake after a loss should be precisely the opposite. While it is an easier instruction to carry out when the team wins frequently, numerous players, former and current, were less disturbed by the notion that Warner punched Joe Root than the fact members of a team well beaten had no compunction about getting well liquored that same evening. Losses should hurt more than that.

"Everyone's accountable for it, it was after a loss and I was one of the guys who was out," Hughes said. "So I put my hand up and say it wasn't the right thing to do after a loss, to go out and have a few beers. It wasn't the right time or place. We've all got to learn from that and I'll definitely put my hand up and say it wasn't the right time. You want to win and have a beer after you win … We shouldn't have been out after a loss."

Hughes went on to take heart from the view that "we're all in it together". It was the right kind of sentiment, but for the moment it does not reflect the way the Australia team are playing their cricket, nor their geographical relationship to each other. Sporting history is littered with teams who played above their modest talent levels by binding together in collective effort and diligence, frustrating and confounding opponents with greater resources and reputations. Unfortunately for Australia's cricketers, right now they are defying one of the maxims of a rather more serious business, warfare: never divide your forces in the face of a superior enemy.

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Prince quells Scotland uprising

Lancashire 218 for 3 (Prince 98*, Moore 53) beat Scotland 217 for 9 (Coleman 63, MacLeod 55, White 4-38) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Lancashire extended their winning run in the Yorkshire Bank 40 to three matches with a routine seven-wicket win against Scotland at Old Trafford. The Lightning have shot up the Group B table with wins against Surrey, Essex and now the Saltires, who were restricted to 217 for 9 after electing to bat first.

Although the visitors' total was much improved on their 91 all out against Durham on Sunday, they will rue the loss of six wickets for 24 runs in 27 balls inside the last five overs of their innings as they slipped from 191 for 3 in the 36th over.

Ashwell Prince top-scored with 98 not out off 102 balls with seven fours and two sixes to anchor the reply, while Stephen Moore's 53 represented his first half century in any form of first-team cricket since last August. Lancashire won with 21 balls to spare.

Scotland, who have now lost seven matches in a row, looked on course for a target in the region of 250 ahead of the last five overs of the innings. Opener Freddie Coleman top-scored with 63 off 70 balls, Calum MacLeod added 55 off 70 and captain Preston Mommsen chipped in with 46 off 38.

Coleman and MacLeod had put their side in a healthy position with a third-wicket partnership of 90 inside 17 overs to take the score from 57 for 2 in the 12th over to 147 for three in the 29th. But Wayne White led the way for the Lightning with 4 for 38 from eight overs, including the wickets of Mommsen and Moneeb Iqbal in the space of five balls in the 38th over. Five of Scotland's wickets fell to catches off the top edge.

Prince and Moore then got Lancashire's reply off to a commanding start with an opening stand of 105 inside 17 overs, their highest of the season so far. The pair hit offspinner Majid Haq for straight sixes towards the new pavilion before legspinner Iqbal trapped Moore lbw and had captain Steven Croft caught at square-leg to leave the score at 117 for 2 in the 19th over.

Mommsen later took a stunning one-handed catch having turned to run towards the point boundary to help Haq get rid of Karl Brown but Prince eased Lancashire home ahead of the break for Twenty20.

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The remake that has gone bust

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment was not as good as the original, but carried a few of the cast, some decent jokes, and had the recruits out on the streets fighting with Bobcat Goldthwait. Police Academy 7: Mission To Moscow had pretty much nothing at all. It seems that just putting words Police Academy into the title couldn't recreate any of the magic from the earlier films.

There was a feeling for a while that no matter which XI cricketers you put in the Australian team, it wouldn't matter. Just having XI players playing for Australia would lift them to a devastating standard of cricket. They'd fight until the end, they'd come together, and they'd do their country proud. It was a myth. Propaganda. Australian hearts aren't bigger than normal hearts. They don't pump supernatural sporting blood.

This current team has mortal blood in them. That could not have been highlighted more than when Australia were one wicket down against Sri Lanka, and needed a match-winning partnership and their batsmen were Phillip Hughes and Glenn Maxwell.

Trumper and Hill. Ponsford and Bradman. Simpson and Chappell. Taylor and Boon. Hayden and Ponting. Australia have had some pretty special top orders. Hughes and Maxwell won't be added to that list.

It is unfair to even mention them near that list. This is just an ODI. And an odd ODI where Australia had to chase the total in 29.1 overs to make the next stage of the tournament. It's not the normal batting order, and unlike most of the combinations above, it's not a Test match.

But if you wanted to see how far Australia had fallen, Maxwell running down the wicket like a madman and Hughes batting as though the inside edge was the middle of his bat were a pretty good example.

Hughes averages 44 in first-class cricket, and Maxwell 37. Both respectable for a young opener and a batting allrounder. But they're not as impressive off paper.

	'We were unlucky against New Zealand' - Bailey

Maxwell clearly has an amazing eye, and some confidence. Maxwell is a man who can flat-bat Lasith Malinga through mid-off for four. Contrary to popular thinking, and even if they were wrong, there is a reason he was a million dollar man in the IPL. But he does swing madly across the line in a way that makes you think he's perhaps not a batsman, but a bowler with a good eye. The answer to any question in Australian cricket at the moment is Glenn Maxwell, and that is a concern.

The problem is that while Maxwell can make a good 30-odd in quick time, he doesn't really think his way through innings. He had Sri Lanka hopping, he had them worrying, he'd already scored a boundary in the over against Malinga, he didn't need to back away and expose his stumps to the one man in cricket who was most likely to hit them.

Hughes' technique has been repaired more times than Shane Watson. Yet, every time it is repaired it comes back with a new fault. Even with that, it seems his biggest problem is his confidence. No amount of tweaking, coaching or manipulation of his technique can ever bring back the confidence he had when he was a young batsman. I doubt there is a bowler in world cricket who wouldn't fancy himself with Hughes at the other end.

Hughes is a man who made back-to-back hundreds against Steyn, Ntini and Morkel. And yet faced with a fairly innocuous ball outside off stump he played a shot that could have only resulted in a caught behind, play and miss or, at best, a single to third man.

You could argue that Hughes is a weird pick for the ODI side, but his List A average is 48. You could argue that Maxwell is not an ODI No. 3, but the boy can pinch hit. There are reasons they are there. They're not blokes Australia found on the street. They're the best they can find.

The chase of 254 in 29.1 overs was never going to be easy, or even, all that possible.

But it's not just that they didn't make it, it's just that they stopped four wickets down. Their fifth wicket was 11 runs off 27 balls as Mitchell Marsh scratched and Adam Voges consolidated. Only Matthew Wade from that point on made any attempt at the total they needed to make the semis.

Maybe it's romantic and unrealistic, but it is likely previous Australian sides would have just kept running into the fire. Swinging away wildly. Chasing until there was no hope left. This team either didn't have that in them, or couldn't do it.

The main bit of fight they showed was a last wicket partnership that made Sri Lankan fans nervous for a while.

This has been a dodgy start for Australia's summer in the UK. Their opening batsman is currently suspended. Their one superstar is still injured. They lost two and shared one in this tournament. Their team environment is not great. The only bright spot today was when Ricky Ponting was in their dressing room.

Unfortunately for Australia, Ponting was not coming back, he was just performing a walk on. The old cast aren't getting back together. The old magic will not be regained. They are stuck with what they have.

The Australia one-day team is currently very close to Police Academy 7. There are a couple of faces you sort of know, and none are the quality of the originals. And just like Police Academy, as the series got worse, the more you saw of George "GW" Bailey, the legendary character actor.

It's not the players' fault. Unlike a film series, you can't simply stop playing sport just because your team isn't as good as it used to be.

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Watson's diminishing returns

In the 2009 Champions Trophy in South Africa, Shane Watson was the Man of the Match in Australia's victories in the semi-final and the final. He also had the best average and the most centuries (two) in the tournament. Four years on, Watson cut a much diminished figure throughout.

Just 34 runs. That's all one of the most valuable players for Australia managed in this edition of the tournament. With Michael Clarke convalescing, the burden was on Watson's shoulders to pilot Australia. It was an opportunity to correct the wrongs committed during the controversial Test series in India earlier this year where Watson was slapped with the one-match ban for not doing his homework.

Watson has not forgiven the Australian team management for rapping his knuckles, calling it the lowest point of his career. He made it clear that he was not interested in standing as Clarke's deputy in case the occasion arose during the Ashes as he wanted only focus on how best he could help the team with his contributions.

Mentally, Watson remains vulnerable. His failure has only exacerbated Australia's problems. Undoubtedly, being the senior-most player adds to the team's expectations. But you earn your badge by rising to the occasion.

Take Mahela Jayawardene. He had come in at a point when Xavier Doherty had tied down Sri Lanka in the middle overs. He had walked in midway into the Sri Lankan innings. Sri Lanka were 99 for 3 after 25 overs. Ten overs later they had managed just 43 more runs. But Jayawardene remained busy.

The pitch was two-paced, verging on the slower side. An elastic batsman, Jayawardene used his strengths to guide the ball into the various gaps without breaking sweat. The beauty about watching Jayawardene is he does not take the fielder on, but simultaneously he can beat any field.

Coming from round the wicket Mitchell Johnson pitched back of a length and short. Backward point and point were in position. Rooted to the crease, Jayawardene stretched laterally, opened the face of the bat, cut the ball to the left of backward point, lending just that much power required to beat Phil Hughes, who rushed in vain from third man.

Cuts, upper cuts, revere sweep, nudges, failed scoops. Jayawardene used all those weapons to make the bowler's job that much more difficult. He played the situation, using his head to put Sri Lanka in a winning position.

In contrast, Watson lost his head while attempting a stroke which has proved to be dangerous. He had started off with a fluent boundary in the first over but having just faced one ball from Nuwan Kulasekara, Watson cut; so close to his body he virtually cut the stumps. He was the most crucial batsman in the chase. Someone who could overpower their bowling. In the end Watson sat in the changing rooms head in hands, as Sri Lanka kept their nerve in a tantalising victory.

The period between 2009 and 2011 were Watson's best years. He worked hard, performed consistently and deserved the status of the most valuable player. He was in a happy state of mind. He was especially formidable in the one-day arena. You could look up to Watson and, up to a point, he would deliver. Coincidentally, it was the period when Ricky Ponting was Australia's captain. Ponting had a lot of respect for Watson and backed him in every possible situation. Watson respected Ponting for having the belief in him and standing by him.

Today Watson is isolated with Michael Clarke at the helm. He was Clarke's deputy in India, but as soon as he reached India, he made it clear he had no intention to step into the leadership duties. Watson is happy to continue making the contributions, but wants to do it on his own terms. Mickey Arthur has admitted his dynamic within the team remains a work in progress

Failing to adapt to the situation has been the major stumbling block. Disappointingly Watson has remained an impact player. Not the batsman who has the patience to construct an innings consistently. His form has declined from 2012 where onwards he has averaged 32.05. In Twenty20 cricket, such as the IPL, Watson has expressed himself with much more freedom. He has remained the most dependable player for Rajasthan Royals since 2008. He has remained flexible in the roles he has been asked to perform in the IPL.

Australia need an assertive Watson now more than ever. Of course, the Australia team management needs to make some allowance. Clarke needs to relay the message to Watson that he remains his best man, and perhaps commit the sort of time to the allrounder that Ponting once did. For his part Watson has to realise that he cannot rely on a captain cajoling him all the time. He has the ability to stand up on his own two feet and be heard, even if recent evidence of such is growing scarce.

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