Australia revival 'will take time' - Howard

Australian cricket faces years of difficult times ahead until the nation's domestic competitions can again be relied upon to provide effective preparation for young batsmen and spin bowlers. This grim view was not shied away from by Cricket Australia's team performance manager, Pat Howard, as he sifted through the wreckage of the 347-run defeat at Lord's, which has left many wondering how such a result could be possible two years after the Argus review highlighted many of the problems on display.

In a frank discussion of what appears a dire medium-term forecast for the national team, Howard defended his decision to sack the former coach, Mickey Arthur, and replace him with Darren Lehmann a mere two weeks before the start of the Ashes series. He also agreed with an emotional James Pattinson's assessment that the lack of rest afforded the bowlers by an inept first-innings batting display at Lord's had contributed to his back stress fracture.

But the major conclusion Howard was prepared to draw from Lord's was that problems in the Australian game will take years to remedy, requiring even stronger alignment between the states and CA to strengthen the club and Sheffield Shield competitions that have been left in disrepair while Twenty20 dollars have been chased with far more vigour than adequate grounding for Test match cricketers.

"When Australia and Australia A play over the same weekend and the highest scores were Glenn Maxwell and Moises Henriques getting 60s and 70s [in Zimbabwe], our ability to bat a long time needs to improve," Howard said. "We need to work with the states to enforce that message around batting for a long time and batting with patience. Making sure Sheffield Shield cricket goes into the fourth day so we start getting footmarks, we start getting spinners bowling more in the Shield so they get used to that as well.

"There's a big process there to get right, and it's going to take time. I definitely need to work with the states to get this to a point where the Shield prepares players for Tests even better. We would love lots more people scoring big hundreds at home. Only two people got three hundreds in Shield cricket last year, Ricky Ponting and Chris Rogers. One of them is here and one you know plenty about, so the system has got to help provide that."

A minor victory for CA's high-performance regime in their battle with the marketing and programming side of the governing body's Melbourne office is a change to the 2013-14 summer, which will see the domestic limited-overs competition played as a whole early in the season, before a run of six consecutive Shield matches leading up to the final two Tests of the summer. The Big Bash League then takes hold until mid-February.

"I am happy about the fact it is not going Shield, one-dayer, Shield, one-dayer - there are six games of red-ball cricket in a row at the start of the season," Howard said. "No interruptions, no trying to hit it over the top, people are going to have to be patient and spinners will get some time to get wickets. I am hoping we will reinforce over that period the discipline of red-ball cricket. It's an opportunity for the coaches to drill in those messages."

On the matter of Arthur, Howard said he did not retreat for one moment from the call to install Lehmann, on a basis the South African has described as "totally unfair".

"When you sit there and look and have conversations, and there were plenty of articles written about what was right and what was wrong, you knew there was something that needed to be dealt with," Howard said. "It was dealt with and you make decisions not just for one week or two weeks but you make them for a period and who's going to best galvanise the side. I don't want to go into that particularly, but who was going to get the best out of this group, that was a simple decision.

"Obviously there is a legal issue going. I can't comment on that. But it's never nice when you get moved on. It's happened to lots of people. It's never nice. On the ground it's not affecting the players. They've moved on, gone on and feel galvanised with this group. Even though there are two Tests we lost, was one close, the other we didn't play well enough, clearly … I don't move away. It was the right decision."

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McClenaghan earns dramatic tie

Lancashire 139 for 9 (Cross 28, Taylor 4-23) tied with Leicestershire 139 for 9 (Smith 45)
Scorecard

New Zealand fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan hit a last ball boundary to give Lancashire a dramatic tie with Leicestershire at Grace Road.

Chasing a victory target of 140, Lancashire needed 13 to win off the final over bowled by left arm spinner Shakib Al Hassan. Eight runs came off the first four balls but Shakib had Gareth Cross caught off the penultimate delivery, leaving five runs off one ball.

McClenagahan faced his first ball needing to hit a six for victory or a four to tie and he obliged by clipping the ball to the deep backward square leg boundary as Lancashire finished on 139 for 9, exactly the same score as the Foxes.

It was Lanashire's second tie in the competition this season and leaves them in second place behind Nottinghamshire in the North Group. The result means Leicestershire must now win their last three games to have even the slightest chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

Put in to bat the hosts made a woeful start to their innings, scoring only eight runs in the first three overs for the loss of Josh Cobb, brilliantly caught by Ashwell Prince off Glen Chapple. But Greg Smith and Joe Burns added 40 for the second wicket before Burns was caught and bowled by Kabir Ali.

After that it was a case of the Foxes battling to post a competitive total on a slow paced pitch. Smith top scored with 45 off 42 balls and Shakib hit a quick-fire 23 off 16 balls with four boundaries.

But the crucial knock came from Rob Taylor who smashed three sixes - two of them off McClenaghan - in a 15-ball innings that gave the Foxes something to defend. McClenaghan took 2 for 29 and Kabir 3 for 23.

Lancashire looked on course for their fifth win when they were 48 for 1 at the end of the power-play. But some tight bowling from Taylor, who finished with a competition best of 4 for 23, Shakib (1 for 22) and Shiv Thakor (1 for 31), saw Lancashire lose their way.

Wickets fell in clusters and in the end Cross was the top scorer with 28 until he was ninth out in the last over caught in the deep by Taylor off Shakib. But McClenaghan kept Lancashire in sight of a place in the quarter-finals with his last ball boundary.

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Goodwin, Allenby steer Glamorgan

Glamorgan 161 for 5 (Goodwin 59, Allenby 50) beat Worcestershire 157 for 6 (Samarweera 65, Kervezee 44) by five wickets
Scorecard

Glamorgan resurrected their hopes of reaching the Friends Life T20 quarter-finals with a final over victory over Worcestershire in Cardiff. The hosts were indebted to half centuries from Murray Goodwin and Jim Allenby and a match-winning cameo from Ben Wright. Set 158 to win, Glamorgan won by five wickets with five balls to spare.

Glamorgan went into the match having lost three on the trot after they had won all four of their first group games. But they suffered three setbacks in the opening eight overs as they slipped to 46 for 3 in response to Worcestershire's 157 for 6.

The home side lost Mark Wallace in the second over before Chris Cooke was caught at third man and then skipper Marcus North was trapped leg before by Moeen Ali. Even with Allenby looking in good form and with Goodwin in support they needed 100 from 10 overs.

Allenby took the pressure off by hitting a six off Shaaiq Choudhry and that started a good spell for Glamorgan as he and Goodwin shared a partnership of 57 off 43 balls for the fourth wicket. But Allenby, who reached his 50 from 42 balls, holed out off Gareth Andrew. At that stage Glamorgan needed 53 from 32 balls, which became 37 required from the final four overs.

Goodwin brought up his 50 from 30 balls but was caught off the last ball of the 17th over to leave Glamorgan still needing 18 from the final 12 balls. But Wright, 22 not out from 12 balls, produced a productive penultimate over scoring 13 from the first four balls which meant Glamorgan needed only one to win from the final over.

After Worcestershire won the toss Thilan Samaraweera was the mainstay of their innings with 65 from 42 balls with eight fours and a six.

After being restricted to only 27 for 1 in the opening six overs, bowled exclusively by the seamers on a greenish pitch, Samaraweera dominated a second wicket stand with Alexi Kervezee worth 91 in 10.1 overs. That was after Ali was caught at cover off Wagg, who ended as Glamorgan's star bowler with three for 15 from his four overs.

Worcestershire accelerated their score when the spinners were on. The slower bowlers conceded 98 runs from nine overs. The visitors had looked well set thanks to Sri Lankan Samaraweera before he was run out by a direct hit from Goodwin in the 14th over with Worcestershire 103 for 2.

West Indian Andre Russell was bowled from an inside edge from Wagg before Nathan McCullum picked up the wicket of Kervezee (44 from 40 balls) in his final over. Wagg claimed a third wicket when Joe Leach was caught on the deep midwicket boundary before Ben Cox went in Michael Hogan's final over.

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Durston, Hughes blast Notts away

Derbyshire 101 for 8 (Durston 50*, Hughes 46) beat Nottinghamshire 92 for 7 (Lumb 43) by 16 runs
Scorecard

Derbyshire kept themselves in contention for a place in the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 after pulling off a 16-run victory over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

Openers Chesney Hughes and Wes Durston set up the win by putting on 98 together as the visitors totalled 108 for 1, after being put in, after thunderstorms had reduced the contest to just nine overs per side. Notts, who went into the match knowing that victory would be enough to see them through to the last eight, lost wickets at regular intervals before ending on 92 for 7.

Hughes' was the only wicket to fall in the Derbyshire innings but he had plundered a hard-hitting 46 from just 25 deliveries by that stage. He hit two sixes, both pulled over the leg side fence off Samit Patel, and six powerful fours, before top-edging Ian Butler to short fine leg in the penultimate over.

Durston, whose only T20 century came on the same ground in 2010, also cleared the ropes on two occasions as he ended the innings with an unbeaten 50 to his name, having also faced 25 balls.

Alex Hales was bowled by the first ball that he faced, from Tim Groenewald, as Notts began their pursuit but whilst his opening partner, Michael Lumb, was at the crease the home side remained optimistic. Lumb scored the first 43 runs of Nottinghamshire's innings, with five fours and three sixes in a 15-ball knock but once he had been caught in the deep by a diving Mark Turner the remaining wickets fell steadily in pursuit of quick runs.

Patel also failed to score and David Hussey was caught at long on, having been sent on his way by the umpires after believing the delivery from Dan Redfern had been bowled above waist height. Although Ian Butler and Chris Read both hit sixes in the closing stages, the target proved to be beyond reach as Derbyshire celebrated only their second victory in the last 15 matches against their local rivals.

Notts still head the North Group with two matches remaining and have it within their own destiny to finish as group leaders and earn a home quarter-final tie.

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SA to stick with two specialist spinners

South Africa sunk to their second-heaviest defeat ever, in terms of runs, on Saturday, but AB de Villiers said he would seek to employ a similar strategy against Sri Lanka in the second ODI. South Africa's bowlers were largely to blame for the loss, conceding 320 for 5, and 137 in the last 12 overs, but de Villiers was particularly enamoured of the prospect of fielding two frontline spinners.

Robin Peterson and Aaron Phangiso bowled only 14 overs collectively in the first match, taking 1 for 80 between them, but had done enough to persuade de Villiers they were both worth sticking with. Both frontline spinners are left-armers and Sri Lanka are likely to field five left-hand batsmen in the top eight. The part-time offspin of JP Duminy is also available to South Africa, though he did travel for 51 in his seven overs in the first match.

With the R Premadasa pitch expected to play slower on Tuesday, having already sustained 82 overs of wear in the first match, de Villiers felt all his slow bowlers were capable of making an impact.

"I'd like to have both of the spinners in there," de Villiers said. "I enjoyed the fact that we played a lot of frontline spinners, even though they didn't take a lot of wickets. It's a nice style of attack for us. There are a few right-handers as well in the team. I think they both bowl well to left-handers. Aaron especially showed that against Kumar Sangakkara right at the death. Under a lot of pressure he bowled a really good over. I truly believe they have the experience and the skill - Robin, Aaron and JP, to adapt to certain batters whether they are right or left-handers, and I'll try to bowl them at the right times.

"JP is just a part-time bowler still, but he is handy, especially to left-handers. He'll pretty much bowl in every game and he's definitely part of our plans. We wouldn't like to experiment too much with our side. I believe the best XI played two days ago. We'd like to stay as close as possible to that XI with the odd change here and there."

De Villiers also called for improvement from his side in the field, after a shabby showing in the first game. South Africa have built a reputation for being one of the best fielding sides in the world, but allowed the heat and humidity to affect their performance, de Villiers said, though the only dropped catch came as early as the first over.

"We're not the best fielding team in the world yet. We've got the potential, so it's a bit frustrating to see us field like that. I think the boys have learnt from their mistakes. It was a long 50 overs in the field and the afternoon was quite hot, which is not an excuse, but something new to the guys, something they couldn't adapt to. In this game they'll hopefully know what to expect and take a few matchwinning catches and a couple of run-outs. The bowlers certainly need them."

Hashim Amla has not been declared fit after suffering from muscle spasms in his neck last Friday, but de Villiers said he had recovered smoothly since then, and hoped Amla would bring some much-needed experience into the top order. South Africa are missing their most seasoned batsmen in Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, who have not come on tour.

"Hash is still not 100% and we'll have to reassess that at training, when he'll have a light net and then final reassessments tonight and tomorrow morning. It's important to start well, but also to stabilise the innings if we don't start well, which we also didn't do in that match. We got it wrong in both departments. I'd like to focus on the basics tomorrow and get that in place, even if we have a bad start."

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BCCI relationship Lorgat's top priority

Understanding the BCCI's concerns and improving his relationship with the Indian board is one of Haroon Lorgat's top priorities as he begins his tenure as chief executive of CSA. Lorgat was appointed on Saturday and will officially take over the role on August 1 for a term of three years. His unveiling ends a nine-month period of uncertainty for the organisation which has been without a permanent boss since Gerald Majola's sacking in October 2012.

Although Lorgat was considered the frontrunner for the job even before he applied late last year, when CSA's board restructure was completed, a major hurdle to his appointment was the BCCI's objection. The Indian board is believed to harbour dissatisfaction with Lorgat from his time at the ICC, where they clashed with him over issues ranging from the FTP and DRS to the corporate governance review.

They informed CSA of their unhappiness and there was even talk India would cancel its upcoming tour to South Africa. CSA's president Chris Nenzani confirmed officials from South Africa met with the BCCI in February to discuss, among other things, Lorgat. The board is satisfied they have not put either the India tour or their relationship with the BCCI at risk despite giving Lorgat the top job.

"We went to India and talked to the president of the BCCI and they raised their concerns about Haroon [Lorgat]," Nenzani said at a press conference at the Wanderers. "We told them, 'We will not undermine your concerns but we will have to take decision based on the interests of CSA.' We have a long history of friendship and a good relationship with the BCCI and we value that relationship. We have no reason to believe this appointment will jeopardise the relationship in any way."

	Haroon Lorgat: ""We have to respect India and it's up to me to fix up anything that needs patching"

Nenzani said he had received "no information the tour will not go ahead", while Lorgat confirmed the two boards are still in talks about the itinerary. CSA released a schedule for two T20s, seven ODIs and three Tests to be played between November 21 and January 19 but the BCCI want some adjustments that could see the Tests played first.

By the time India arrive in South Africa, Lorgat would have completed three months in office and hopes to have gleaned thorough knowledge of the BCCI's reservations about him, reassured them and gained their trust. Lorgat admitted he is "not too sure" exactly what the BCCI's point of contention is but conceded they bumped heads at the ICC and the ethics officer was called in to mediate. All complaints against Lorgat were dismissed thereafter and Lorgat thought the matter had been put to bed.

"I am saddened by these inferences and I did not expect such a poor relationship to have formed. I don't like to be out of favour with someone I thought was a friend. I will do my best to understand the concerns," he said.

	If I need to sit across a table, to go to India, whatever it takes to smooth things over, I have to put CSA first. When the issues come out, if it means I have offended someone and I need to apologise, I will. Haroon Lorgat

But it does not end there. Not only does Lorgat want to comprehend, he also wants to reconcile and he is willing to go the extra mile to ensue that happens. "If I need to sit across a table, to go to India, whatever it takes to smooth things over, I have to put CSA first. When the issues come out, if it means I have offended someone and I need to apologise, I will."

Lorgat's deference to India may seem at odds with CSA's bold decision to choose him despite India's unhappiness, but Lorgat explained he is not seeking to further ruffle feathers. "We have to respect India and it's up to me to fix up anything that needs patching," he said.

Asked if he thought India was too powerful and used that might to exert their will, Lorgat was diplomatic. "I think in anything too much dominance of one person is not good. But I also think we should not begrudge strong people. We should aspire to be as strong as they are."

Over the last two years, while South Africa's Test team has gained the highest stature in world cricket, its administration has lagged far behind. The bonus scandal and revolving door of acting presidents and acting CEOs led to what ESPNCricinfo understands was a loss of respect at higher levels.

Lorgat's other aim is to restore the standing CSA once had, both in the eyes of other boards and its own public, whose trust was dented in the aftermath of the Majola affair. "What's happened in the past was not what anybody wanted to see," Lorgat said. "I am confident the reputation will improve. I am impressed by the new board and I think we have good people who will ensure corporate governance."

He also thanked his predecessor Majola, despite the manner in which he was dismissed, for "leading the organisation for almost a decade." Under Majola, South Africa hosted ICC events such as the inaugural World T20 and 2009 Champions Trophy and even stood in to put on the IPL in season 2.

Ironically, staging the Indian event led to Majola's downfall. Bonus payments from that event which did not pass through the board were the main reason for him being fired. But that South Africa were willing to bail India out in their hour of need was indication of the closeness of their relationship and Lorgat hopes to begin restoring that as soon as he can.

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T20 'chipping away' at Test skills - Gooch

Graham Gooch has spelled out something that no one at Cricket Australia is prepared to publicly say - Twenty20 is "chipping away" at the skills required of Test batsmen, and Gooch, England's batting coach, works every day to ensure his men are not eroded as Australia's have been.

In the aftermath of the Lord's Test, the England captain, Alastair Cook, spoke warmly of Gooch, a figure often derided in Australia for his travails during the 1989 Ashes series but an exemplar of diligence, patience and commitment to the art of run-making. Joe Root's pivotal 180 after Australia's batsmen had surrendered their first innings for a paltry 128 was a 21st century facsimile of many a Gooch innings, and the mentor said multiple formats had made it ever more difficult to foster such patience among young batsmen.

"There's three formats of the game now … the basis of Test cricket is that it's a hell of a long game, five times 90 overs is a long, long game," Gooch said. "So it's about skills in batting, about run-making, about the whole package of not only having the technical skills but having the attitude, the mental toughness, the discipline, and the concentration. Anyone can concentrate for 15-20 minutes, but to score Test hundreds you have to concentrate for a long period of time. Those skills I think worldwide are being chipped away at the edges by the amount of one-day cricket and T20 cricket.

"If you're a traditionalist and like Test cricket and think that's the pinnacle and the benchmark, you know you can see with the number of competitions that are popping up and the rewards that are available in terms of finance … the possibility of it chipping away at the edges of the traditional game, and that's the same for every country. You've got to work hard to try to keep your players on track and obviously try to educate them as well as you can on the skills and the mental skills that are necessary to bat long. It's a different type of skill."

While it is clear that at the present moment England are successfully developing batsmen of the requisite obstinacy and technical purity to survive for long periods, Gooch spoke of the need for eternal vigilance to ensure that the balance was not lost. He also mentioned the ability of the best players to differentiate between conditions, using the right "tools" for the variety of surfaces offered in England, Australia and the subcontinent.

	Graham Gooch's press conference

"Way after I finish this issue will still be alive and kicking," Gooch, who will turn 60 on Tuesday, said. "I'd hate to think that traditional skills get eroded and diluted because the specialist spinner, the specialist fast bowler, the skills of the batsmen are, for me, what make the game so great. Playing on a surface like here [Lord's], or the SCG or Brisbane or Perth where it bounces. A batsman to score runs needs different skills for different wickets, and as a batsman and run-maker you have different tools in the bag, but you don't take all the tools out every time you play."

As for the magnitude of England's victory, earning the hosts a 2-0 series lead that has only ever been overhauled once in the history of all Ashes contests, Gooch said some of his pupils would not fully appreciate it until later years. On the topic of Australia he was taciturn, but left ample room for the results to speak for themselves.

"I think we suffered quite a lot [in the past], I did manage to win the Ashes three times actually but I did suffer quite a lot," Gooch said. "I don't know how some of them would know the historical significance, some probably wouldn't. I think mainly they're interested in winning each match they come up against. Australia are giving it their best, it's not for me to comment on their performance, that's down to their management and their system. We try to get our players in the best possible condition to win."

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Pattinson ruled out of Ashes series

James Pattinson has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series in England after being diagnosed with a stress fracture of the lower back.

Pattinson reported "hip and back soreness" after the final day of the second Investec Test at Lord's and subsequent scans, which he underwent in London on Monday, showed the early signs of a stress fracture.

He will travel with the squad to Sussex and then on to Manchester before returning home to Australia. His place was likely to have come under scrutiny ahead of the Old Trafford Test after two disappointing performances at Trent Bridge and Lord's, where he has taken seven wickets at 43.85.

This is the latest injury setback in Pattinson's career following a rib injury he picked up against South Africa last year and a foot problem he sustained against India the during the 2011-12 season.

Cricket Australia team doctor Peter Brukner said: "We had some scans done today in London that have identified an early stage low back stress fracture. Unfortunately he will not take any further part in this Test series and will commence a rehabilitation program with the aim to have him back for the Australian summer."

Pat Howard, the Cricket Australia team performance manager, added: "While we are obviously disappointed for James, the selectors have five bowlers fit and ready perform in England, providing them with many options.

"It is also important to note that several players have been performing for Australia A and are available to be called up at any stage if the NSP required them. We've been well planned to have as many bowlers fit and available in the lead-up to this important series and while this set-back for James is disappointing, we are confident we have good fast bowling depth."

The other pace options currently in England, who weren't selected at Lord's, are Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird and James Faulkner. The fast bowlers currently on duty for Australia A in Zimbabwe and South Africa are Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Chadd Sayers, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Gurinder Sandhu.

Cummins, regularly billed as one of the brighest talents in Australian cricket, has played one Test and is being handled very carefully by Cricket Australia after he, too, suffered a number of injuries. Hazlewood, who has appeared in one ODI and one Twenty20, is another who has had fitness issues.

Sayers has played just 14 first-class matches but put his name in contention with an impressive 2012-13 season and showed eye-catching form when Australia A were in the UK ahead of the Ashes series. Coulter-Nile was part of Australia's squad for the recent Champions Trophy in England.

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Desolate Clarke points finger at batsmen

If there was optimism in Michael Clarke's voice after Trent Bridge, it had turned to utter desolation at Lord's. On the receiving end of Australia's sixth consecutive Test defeat, a sequence last experienced in the grim days of 1984, Clarke was clearly upset by a hiding that has all but ended the team's hopes of regaining the Ashes in England.

Speaking frankly of the team's myriad batting problems and the pressure that has placed on the bowlers, Clarke also conceded the defeats were taking a heavy toll on him, and said his own vision of what the Australian team should be had been shaken by a succession of losses that is now the equal of the run that ended Kim Hughes' captaincy when repeatedly humbled by the West Indies.

"Every team I've been a part of that's lost - it's obviously been extremely tough and you probably take it more personally when you're captain of the team as well," Clarke said. "Our performance with the bat in the first innings was unacceptable. The wicket was very good for batting, we had a great opportunity and we let ourselves down.

"The reason you play any sport is to try and win - that's the way I have been brought up. But half of my problem I guess is that I walked into such a great Australian team that won as a habit and that was something I became accustomed to and used to. I don't want that to change. At the moment we are not performing as well as I would like. We are letting everyone down at the moment with the way we are batting. Our bowlers are fighting hard, we are making them bowl every single day because we are not putting enough runs on the board."

Clarke tackled the matter of Australia's batting and the terminal lack of application and patience that has repeatedly hindered the team's efforts to build match-shaping scores. In seven Test matches since January only two hundreds have been made by Australian batsmen - Matthew Wade against Sri Lanka in Sydney and Clarke himself in Chennai.

"We've got plenty of experience in our top seven, we've seen already in this series that guys can score runs against this attack," Clarke said. "Our shot selection was poor and we just didn't have the discipline that England had. England were willing to bat for long periods and graft through the tough times - and we certainly weren't in that first innings."

"I don't want anybody in our team to not play their natural game and not back their natural instinct. You have to do that 100 per cent. But like it or not, when you're playing against good opposition there are going to be tough times in your innings as a batsman and you've got to find a way to get through that. In my career, the way I've tried to get through those periods is with my defence."

	Michael Clarke's post-match press conference

Causes for Australia's lack of consistent run-scoring have been debated for some time and Clarke has commented strongly by his own choice of career path, shelving international Twenty20 duty to better prepare for Test matches and ODIs, while also skipping several domestic T20 tournaments in order to preserve his fragile back.

"I think you learn that defence at the age of 10," Clarke said. "Obviously there are three different formats we now play and there's times through your career in T20 cricket, or one-day cricket where you make a 50 off 25 balls or a hundred off 50 balls, that's a great innings. But I know in Test cricket, some of the best innings I've ever seen in my career are guys making a hundred off 350 balls. So there's a time and a place.

"I love all three forms. My reason to retire from T20 was to focus on ODI and Test cricket. I felt my game had to improve in certain areas to stay in the team. I try to use the time that I'm not playing T20 to improve my game. Everyone is in a different boat and different age and stage of life. I can't make decisions for other people. There is room for all three formats in the game but you must be a very good player to perform at all three formats."

The player who has best met the demands of all three formats of the game is the now retired Michael Hussey. It cannot be a coincidence that over the past 12 months Australia are yet to win an international match overseas without him.

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England's youngest at Lord's

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As a system, the DRS is less than ideally set up. It's time cricketers policed themselves to some extent

The worst dismissal in history? (53)

Plays of the day from the second day of the second Ashes Test at Lord's

Afridi's many comebacks (41)

A look back at some of Shahid Afridi's notable (and forgettable) comebacks in ODIs

Tension? We sat around eating Cornettos (37)

I was delighted to play such a key role in a memorable victory and although the Trent Bridge Test became very tight, we were all very calm during the lunch break

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