'I'd love to add to my one Test cap' - McLaren

Ryan McLaren's Test debut was memorable but not for anything he did. He was included in South Africa's all-pace attack that was tasked with squaring the series against England in early 2010.

They did the job emphatically and bowled England out for under 200 twice to ensure South Africa won by an innings and 74 runs. The nature of the victory may suggest McLaren played some sort of role but his was a bit-part.

In the shadows of Dale Steyn taking a first innings five-for and seven overall, Morne Morkel finishing with the same match tally and Wayne Parnell debuting, McLaren bowled 13 overs all told and took one wicket. It was an important one because it was that of the top scorer, Paul Collingwood and it was brief glimpse into McLaren's ability.

For four years, there would be only those short, somewhat stolen moments because McLaren never nailed down a proper spot. Now, that could change. After receiving his second CSA contract McLaren knows he is being primed for a Test recall - something that's been in the back of his mind for a long time.

"I'd love to add to my one Test cap," he told ESPNcricinfo. "It's something I've been thinking about and working towards very hard." McLaren averaged 50.50 with the bat and 30.67 with the ball last season and has been included in South African recent A sides and limited-overs teams.

He would bring to the Test XI a Shaun Pollock-like discipline and consistency as well as the ability to score runs in the lower middle-order. While it would seem only Kallis' retirement would open a door for McLaren, he may not have to wait for that to make an appearance in whites. South Africa's revolving door position - the No. 7 spot - is the only unsettled one and he could fill it. It has been used for an extra batsman so far but it could call for an extra bowler or an allrounder in future.

Until then, McLaren has to bide his time in the other formats where he is finally being given a sustained run of matches. Prior to August 2012, McLaren had played 10 ODIs and five Twenty20s for South Africa but not much faith was invested in him. Albie Morkel was the preferred candidate and assembly line allrounders were fading out of fashion.

McLaren became a substitute and was included in squads when there was a mild injury concern. Almost everyone knew that he was unlikely to play and he never did. Only recently, has team management seen real value in him.

In recent months, McLaren has been seen in long consultation with Allan Donald as he worked on extensively on his bowling. The fruits of that have been obvious and he has taken 11 wickets in his last four ODIs. His use of the short ball has been exemplary, something he puts down to Donald's influence. "Allan always encourages us to be more aggressive and that's what I've been trying to do as well," he said.

As good performances mounted up, confidence in him swelled. McLaren now feels more secure as well. "I've been given a few more opportunities and I feel a bit more comfortable in the environment," he said. "I'm just really enjoying it now under Gary Kirsten. He treats us all like adults and make us take responsibility for our own performances."

McLaren has always come across as mature and grounded, so much so that he would be happy to make way for Kallis at an event like the Champions Trophy because "it's good for South Africa if Kallis plays as long as he can," so it's no surprise he is thriving in a grown-up environment. At 30, he is exactly that and hopes to have a few good years to offer South African cricket.

McLaren has built up experience around the world, including a stint at Kent and at the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. This off-season, he will return to the IPL to represent the Kolkata Knight Riders and hopes to pick up new skills to take into his re-born international career. "It's always helpful to play in different conditions and to share dressing rooms with players from around the world. I just want to learn as much as possible."

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Joyce and Porterfield punish UAE

Ireland 272 for 2 (Ed Joyce 99*, Porterfield 82, Stirling 61) v United Arab Emirates
Scorecard

Ireland dominated the opening day of their Intercontinental Cup match against United Arab Emirates in Sharjah thanks to an unbeaten 99 from Ed Joyce and half-centuries from the openers, William Porterfield and Paul Stirling.

The openers were cautious against a spin-heavy attack after they were put in to bat by the home side. It was a return to form for the captain Porterfield who had three ducks in his previous five innings across formats. He and Stirling put on a patient 126 in 46.5 overs before Stirling fell lbw for 61. Porterfield missed out on a century as he edged quick bowler Mohammad Naveed onto the stumps when on 82.

Joyce then took charge of the innings. His previous century for Ireland came against the same opponents back in 2005, and he could have completed his hundred on the first day if he had managed a single off the final delivery.

Joyce has 28 first-class tons, and said he wasn't too concerned over being 99* overnight. "I'm not nervous at all. I've never been 99 not out overnight before, but I'm just happy to have scored 99 - if I was to get that score every time I would take it," he said. "It's a slow and low wicket so if you stay in your crease it can be difficult to score. The lads had given us a great start so I made the conscious decision to try and score about a strike rate of 70, use my feet a bit and maybe take a few more risks than the others. I was a bit more attacking and that helped on that wicket."

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Afghanistan take lead after bowlers dominate

Afghanistan 150 for 4 lead Scotland 125 (Taylor 48*, Dawlatzai 6-57) by 25 runs
Scorecard

Izatullah Dawlatzai took career-best figures of 6 for 57 to dismiss Scotland for a paltry 125 in the Intercontinental Cup in Abu Dhabi. After Afghanistan chose to field, Mirwais Ashraf dismissed both the openers in his first five overs and Dawlatzai ran through the Scotland batsmen after that, starting with a double-strike in the 15th over. Ashraf struck again after that when he trapped Calum McLeaod lbw for a duck in the very next over.

Dawlatzai took two wickets in his next two overs, with wickets of David Murphy for a duck and Matt Machan for eight, leaving Scotland at 44 for 7. However, No. 8 Robert Taylor struck an unbeaten 54-ball 48 to take them past 100. He forged a 57-run stand for the last wicket with Safyaan Sharif to post 125.

Afghanistan got off to a cautious start with a 39-run opening stand but lost Nawroz Mangal in the 18th over. Shabir Noori (33) and Asghar Stanikzai (41) put on 48 for the second wicket but Noori fell to Majid Haq. They lost two quick wickets just after the 100-run mark, including that of Stanikzai, and finished the day 25 ahead of Scotland.

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New Zealand facing a test of their stamina

Match facts

March 14, 2013
Start time 10.30am (2130 GMT)

Big Picture

Had the first Test been decided on a points decision, there is little doubt that most judges would have awarded it to New Zealand. After bowling out England for 167 - their lowest first innings score since 2009 - the hosts replied with 460 to take a first innings lead of 293; their third highest against England in completed innings. While a flat pitch and some determined England batting prevented a repeat in the second innings, it was England who benefited most from the first day having been lost to rain.

But the fact is that the match was drawn and, bearing in mind the history of England improving after a faltering start, New Zealand may come to reflect that they have missed their best opportunity to strike a telling blow. Worryingly for New Zealand, this pitch is expected to provide more assistance to the England seamers.

It certainly proved that way in 2008. After New Zealand won the opening Test in Hamilton, England struck back at Wellington with Tim Ambrose recording his only Test century and claiming the man of the match award as England leveled the series. They subsequently went on to win it by prevailing in the final Test in Napier.

It remains to be seen how much the effort in Dunedin took out of the New Zealand side. While they should have taken confidence from some aspects of their performance, the concern is that their three seamers bowled 114 overs between them in the second innings in their pursuit of victory. With so little time to recover between the games, Wellington will offer a stern test of their stamina. The ability of Steven Finn, who went into the Dunedin Test with few pretensions as a batsman, to resist the New Zealand bowlers for nearly five hours in the second innings might also prove sobering for the hosts.

Still, any fears New Zealand had over the potency of England's seam attack should have been eased by the Dunedin performance. Indeed, in three first-class innings on the tour to date, England have yet to bowl out their opposition with the New Zealand XI in Queenstown declaring in their first innings and completing a testing fourth-innings target with three wickets in hand in their second innings.

Form guide

New Zealand DLLWL (Completed matches, most recent first)
England DDWWL

In the spotlight

Had Martin Guptill been fit, it is highly likely that Hamish Rutherford would not have played in the first Test in Dunedin. Rutherford seized his chance with some style, though, and in scoring 171 set a new high for an opener on debut against England. Only Mathew Sinclair, who made 214 on debut against West Indies in 1999, has made a higher score on New Zealand Test debut. Rutherford's excellent start has buoyed home hopes that a line-up containing Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum and, one day, perhaps, Jesse Ryder, might have the potential to develop into the strongest batting unit in New Zealand's Test history.

Stuart Broad's form has been the subject of much debate. But while the focus has tended to fall on his bowling - he claimed his first Test wickets since August in Dunedin - his batting has - arguably - fallen away more sharply. Since he last made a half-century - in January 2012 against Pakistan in the UAE - he has had 16 Test innings, passed 20 only four times with a highest score of 37 and averaged only 13.60. Perhaps more remarkably, in that time the average balls he has faced in a completed innings is just under 20. Such statistics do little to support the claim that he can be viewed as an allrounder and suggests that he may be batting too high at No.8.

Team news

New Zealand will be unchanged and England are likely to follow the same route. For New Zealand, Doug Bracewell has not recovered from the foot injury sustained while cleaning up glass after a party while for England Kevin Pietersen is expected to play despite what Andy Flower described as "a little bit of pain in his right knee." Flower went on to say: "Most of the players play with something sore most of the time. I don't anticipate it being a huge problem for us at all."

New Zealand 1 Peter Fulton, 2 Hamish Rutherford, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Dean Brownlie, 6 Brendon McCullum (capt), 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Tim Southee, 9 Bruce Martin/Ian Butler, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent Boult.

England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Nick Compton, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Joe Root, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch is expected to have more pace and bounce than Dunedin, with some claiming it is the quickest in New Zealand. The last time England played here, Ryan Sidebottom and James Anderson both gained swing movement and claimed five-wicket hauls and it is worth noting that Chris Martin, with 60 wickets in 14 Tests, is the highest Test wicket-taker on the ground. Bowlers capable of generating bounce should enjoy it.

New Zealand have not won any of the last six Tests on the ground. The last two - against South Africa in 2012 and Pakistan in 2011 - have been drawn, though the weather played a role on both occasions.

Wind may also play a role. Wellington is a notoriously windy city and some bowlers struggle to adapt to the challenge of running into it. Shane Bond, the New Zealand bowling coach, has admitted it is an experience that all three of his side's leading seamers are unaccustomed to having developed as strike bowlers running in with the wind behind them.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand and England have played each other in 10 Tests at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. England have won four times and New Zealand only once, in 1978, when an England side captained by Geoff Boycott were bowled out for a paltry 64 chasing 137 for victory.
• Nick Compton and Alastair Cook are currently averaging 81 per opening partnership. The sample size is small - they have now played five Tests together - but only Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe - who averaged 87.81 in 38 innings - of regular England openers have a better record.
• New Zealand have won four of their last 33 Tests against England dating back to 1986. The last one of those game seven Test ago, at Hamilton in 2008,
• James Anderson needs eight wickets to become the fourth England bowler after Fred Trueman, Bob Willis and Ian Botham to take 300 in Tests. He needs five to draw level with Derek Underwood, currently the fourth highest wicket-taker in Tests for England.

Quotes

"We always knew the guys are fit, and can bowl a lot of volume, we just need to make sure they are fresh and ready to go."
Shane Bond, the New Zealand bowling coach reflecting on the fitness of his side's three seamers, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, who delivered 114 of the 170 overs in England's second innings in Dunedin.

"I'd rather have been batting for 170 overs than fielding, let's put it that way."
Matt Prior.

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Clarke sure friendships will endure

Michael Clarke is confident there will be no backlash against him from the four players axed for the third Test in Mohali over their failure to complete a task assessing themselves and the team. One of the four men dumped, Clarke's vice-captain Shane Watson, flew home to be with his pregnant wife after the suspension was announced but he also said he would use his time at home to reassess his cricket future.

The other three players, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja, remained with the squad ahead of the Test, which starts on Thursday, and will be considered for selection for the fourth Test in Delhi. The decision to make the quartet ineligible for the Mohali Test was taken by Clarke, the coach Mickey Arthur and the team manager Gavin Dovey in consultation, but Clarke insists his role will not hurt his relationship with the men.

"The players know 100% that this is not about the individual player," Clarke said. "I've made that very clear. The four players are very disappointed that this has happened. They respect the decision. They understand why. It has been made very clear why we have made the decision, as harsh a punishment as they might see it.

"I don't think it will have any impact on my friendship with the four guys because I know I've got the respect of those guys and they know how much I respect them. That's probably why I feel comfortable fronting players on these issues. I think it would be easy to walk away and let things slide. But they know how much I love playing for Australia like they do.

"They know how much I want this team to have success and achieve what I think we can achieve. And you know what? They want the same. There's only one way you get there. It takes the whole team pushing in the same direction. This is not about the individual player. The whole team sits on this level. These are our standards. If you're not hitting it, there's going to be consequences."

The consequences on this occasion are significant not only for the individual players but also for the team, as it leaves Australia with only 12 or 13 men (depending on the fitness of Matthew Wade) available for this week's Test. Brad Haddin was flying out of Australia on Monday to join the group as cover for Wade but could also find himself in with a chance of being included as a specialist batsman even if Wade is passed fit.

	"It wasn't a big ask. You let the team down, you let the head coach down. That's unacceptable" Michael Clarke

It also means that on a pitch that could offer more for the fast bowlers, Australia have only two frontline quicks - Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc - available, alongside the allrounder Moises Henriques. On a surface where they may only have wanted to play one spinner they could now be forced to play at least two of Xavier Doherty, Nathan Lyon and Glenn Maxwell.

"We didn't even look at the name of the players," Clarke said. "That's what has to happen when you sit everyone on the same level, it doesn't matter who you are in this team. If you do not hit the standards it's unacceptable. Now we have a squad of 12 players to select 11 from. We'll pick the best 11 we have out of 12; 13 because Haddin is coming as well.

"It has huge impact on the team for the third Test match. But it's why you pick a squad. It gives somebody else an opportunity. And that's the biggest risk in this game. You give somebody else an opportunity and you might never get another chance. That's what's happened here. It gives four new blokes a chance at playing a Test match and grabbing hold of this opportunity."

The fact that Australia will now enter a Test without their vice-captain and leading wicket-taker in the series is potentially calamitous after the team lost by an innings in the previous Test in Hyderabad. But Clarke said after the build-up of players not falling into line in recent times, an example had to be made.

"There is no right time, there is no right punishment," Clarke said. "I don't think it's about picking and choosing. The fact is that we have a standard that we're trying to set, we have goals that we're trying to achieve and at the moment we're not hitting our standards. It wasn't a big ask. You let the team down, you let the head coach down. That's unacceptable.

"Our support staff are spending time one on one with players to help them improve their game slowly. I feel partly like a coach as well as a captain. At training we talk about spin bowling, I feel like I'm coaching. But we are a playing group - and there is no exception - we as a playing group have to be helping ourselves as well."

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More work to be done before draw - Mushfiqur

Mushfiqur Rahim was wary of the work still ahead for Bangladesh to achieve an encouraging draw in the first Test in Galle, after the visitors amassed their highest-ever total of 638 in the first innings. Mushfiqur and Mohammad Ashraful provided the backbone of the mammoth innings with a 267-run fifth wicket partnership, in which both men eclipsed the previous highest score by a Bangladesh batsman.

Mushfiqur also made history by becoming the first Bangladesh batsman to make a double-century in internationals, while Ashraful perished early in the day for 190, having been unbeaten on 189 overnight. Nasir Hossain was the third batsman to score a century, while Mominul Haque had made 55 earlier in the innings.
Sri Lanka went to stumps 48 runs ahead and with nine wickets in hand in the second innings, but despite a draw being the likeliest outcome, Mushfiqur insisted Bangladesh had plenty to do to achieve it. In their last series in November, Bangladesh had been in a similar position late in the Test, but collapsed for 167 all out against West Indies on the final day, in pursuit of 245 for victory.

"Still a long way to go before we can say it was a good draw," Mushfiqur said. "Tomorrow it's day five and anything can happen. If we can manage to draw that, probably it will be a huge boost for us. It's our main target to play consistent cricket over the five days in a Test, and we can take a lot of positives. We didn't do well with the ball in the first innings, but on the second day we came back with the ball - although we didn't get many wickets."

Mushfiqur said he was ecstatic with his double-hundred, but reiterated praise for Ashraful, for also shouldering the responsibility of replying to Sri Lanka's 570 for 4. The pair had come together with their side in danger of failing to pass the follow-on target, at 177 for 4.

"I thought that if I got the chance to bat long and if I got a partner at the other end, I would like to score a big hundred. Fortunately Ash really batted well, and also Nasir, so I had partners. I really played well. We really needed it badly, because they scored huge and we needed to avoid the follow-on. That was our first target. Our second target was to make sure we cross their total, so we did that.

"When you have a good partner at the other end who can rotate the strike and score the odd four, it's really helpful. Ash was telling me, "If you play well and if you don't play a silly shot, you will get a lot of runs on this track. If we play session by session, and bat well, don't look at the scoreboard." That's what we did."

Ashraful was playing his first Test since December 2011, and only found a place in the XI after injury had ruled out both Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal. Sri Lanka is his favourite opponent, having made five of his six hundreds against them, including three in Sri Lanka.

"When Shakib is not here and Tamim is not playing, Ash came into the team and we had a lot of pressure and expectations on him, because he has always played well against Sri Lanka. He's probably a bit unfortunate that he didn't score a double hundred. Hopefully next time he can make it. We're really happy to see him make big runs."


The Galle pitch showed few signs of wear, even at the end of the fourth day. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara put on 99 runs for the second wicket and were unbeaten at stumps.

"On the fourth day, in the last session it spun a bit, but still it's a good wicket to bat on. Hopefully if we bowl really well tomorrow in the first session and take a couple of wickets, probably we can put pressure on them."

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Otieno, Karim set up Kenya stroll

Kenya 228 for 4 (Karim 65) beat Canada 227 for 8 (Gunasekera 72, Raza-ur-Rehman 70, Otieno 4-33) by six wickets
Scorecard

Kenya beat bottom-side Canada after completing a comfortable run chase with 14 balls to spare. There were solid contributions from all of the top order, opener Irfan Karim top-scoring with 65 for his maiden ODI half-century, after Elijah Otieno's four wickets helped restrict Canada to 227 for 8.

The foundations for Kenya's victory were laid by Karim and Morris Ouma, who put on a 95-run partnership for the second wicket. Karim became Henry Osinde's second wicket shortly after Ouma fell lbw to Hiral Patel and when the fourth wicket went down, 43 were required from 9.5 overs. Tanmay Mishra and Rakep Patel knocked off the runs at almost a run a ball to give Kenya their fourth win of the competition.

Canada had earlier rebuilt from 26 for 2, with Ruvindu Gunasekera making 72, his highest ODI score. He fell to Ragheb Aga to leave Canada 132 for 4 but a 91-run partnership in 12.1 overs between debutant Raza-ur-Rehman and Usman Limbada pushed Canada towards a respectable score. Otieno and Nelson Odhiambo returned to put the breaks on, however, taking four wickets for four runs from the last ten balls of the innings.

The result pushed Kenya to within two points of fourth-placed Netherlands and fifth-placed UAE in the WCL Championship table, with another fixture scheduled against Canada on Wednesday.

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Scotland, Netherlands get ICC funding

Scotland and Netherlands have each been awarded a grant of $1.5m over the next three years as part of the ICC's Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme (TAPP). They are the second and third Associate Members, after Ireland, to benefit from the initiative, which is aimed at increasing the level of competition in international cricket.

Both Cricket Scotland and the Netherlands board will receive the extra funding until 2015. Scotland's plan involves continuing development work to increase the profile of the game. Netherlands hope to use the money to enable them to play more international fixtures, as well as increase domestic cricket; it will also help provide more support for current and future players.

"We are thrilled to be signing a TAPP agreement with the ICC, and are extremely grateful for this enhanced support to improve our internal domestic structures and to have more international fixtures, all geared to making us competitive on the world stage," Cricket Scotland's chief executive officer, Roddy Smith, said.

The Netherlands board chief executive officer, Richard Cox, said: "KNCB is extremely grateful to the ICC for this award, which will help us achieve our medium- and long-term objectives and help the Netherlands become even more competitive - from the domestic level with the new regional domestic playing structure through to the international arena. It is a real boost for everyone involved."

ICC chief executive, David Richardson, added: "I am very pleased to have witnessed the signing of these TAPP agreements. Both Cricket Scotland and KNCB provided excellent submissions to the ICC Board, and I have no doubt that both Boards will do their very best to deliver those plans to continue the enhancement of competitiveness at the higher levels of cricket."

New Zealand, West Indies and Zimbabwe are also expected to agree TAPP funding with the ICC in the near future.

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Misbah ponders all-round failure

A batsman to see off more than half the overs, bowlers who could continually apply pressure, and committed fielding on the biggest ground in South Africa, is what Misbah-ul-Haq felt he needed in Bloemfontein. In other words, "everything went wrong," and he admitted as much.

Everything from selection - Pakistan were a seamer short - to the toss, where AB de Villiers was happy Misbah sent him in, to the efforts with bat and ball.

On a flat pitch, Misbah conceded that although he would have preferred a target of around 280, "even nine an over was chaseable," to fall so far short was not a good reflection on Pakistan. The bowling was challenging - there was some swing from Lonwabo Tsotsobe and some bounce from Ryan McLaren - but it was not impossible to score.

What Pakistan lacked was someone with the temperament to stay at the crease. Mohammad Hafeez was unlucky - "what can you do?" Misbah said in response to questions about the run-out - but Nasir Jamshed and Younis Khan chased wide deliveries, Asad Shafiq misdirected a hook, Misbah was found wanting against the short ball and Shoaib Malik did not pick a slower one.

"We needed someone to bat through," Misbah said "It's difficult when you are losing wickets to chase a total like that. Wickets in hand is key. You want your main batsmen to go in and keep scoring."

Having conceded a large total, it was important that Pakistan's batsmen showed more discipline than their bowlers. The attack did not escape Misbah's criticism. "We did not manage to take wickets, we could not manage to create pressure and the fielding was mediocre," he said.

It is not the time for crisis talks yet, though. Misbah chose to take a measured view of the defeat. "Everybody knows what we did wrong. We need to improve the areas we are bowling, build more partnerships and every batsmen who is set needs to carry on."

Not so for South Africa. Even though the next match is five days away, AB de Villiers said the boost this has given the team will serve them well for the rest of the series. "We've got confidence now," he said. "We had a really good performance with a lot of pressure on us."

Expectation on South Africa was low before this series because they appeared an unsettled unit. It is only one performance but already they look ready to shelve that notion as the former bit-part players had starring roles. Colin Ingram, Farhaan Behardien and Ryan McLaren were under the most scrutiny coming into the match and all three put in impressive performances.

Ingram had to build an innings and a partnership, and faith in him appeared low when de Villiers came in at No.3 instead of him. "It's taken us a while to come up with some sort of plan for batting. When we have a solid foundation, like we did today, it's a good time for me to come in," de Villiers explained. "I enjoy playing against the spinners and I can work it around a little."

Ingram followed soon after and helped de Villiers create the "game changer," with a 120-run stand. "We hussled between deliveries, we showed intent and we showed two good cricket brains," de Villiers said. "We played the spinners well so it was easy for me to bat with Colin."

Behardien showed his ability to finish, something that he has not managed to do so far. The end result was that the bowlers went into the second half with an advantage and McLaren exploited it fully.

On his home turf, he used the short ball well and formed an important part of the seam quartet that tied Pakistan down. McLaren has not had his standout performance in ODI cricket yet, and with Dale Steyn returning and Morne Morkel close to recovery, he needed to do something to prove his worth.

"It's probably the most pleasing thing of all to watch Ryan develop," de Villiers said. "Every game I have ever played against, he has been a real fighter and even though he struggled in the past, to see him perform like this is great. He looks comfortable at this level now."

With an all-round effort from his charges, de Villiers found the captaincy less of a burden and "felt more in control." He was also able to gauge the level of commitment from the men he commands, and on the evidence of this effort, he was satisfied. "I can see guys wanting to be in this team and perform in this team," he said. Even those who didn't do that emphatically in previous games.

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Australia's batsmen must 'go against instincts'

Australia's batsmen must find a way to ignore their instincts if they are to have success in India, the team's batting coach Michael Di Venuto has said. Australia's captain Michael Clarke said after the Hyderabad Test he had been disappointed by the number of players who were out to cross-bat shots or hitting against the spin early in their innings, and the coach Mickey Arthur was angry at the sweeps that proved costly for Phillip Hughes and David Warner.

Matthew Hayden, who is in India commentating, said the secret to batting success in the country was to play straight, but the batsmen have struggled to adapt over the first two Tests. In his first Test tour since being appointed as batting coach in February, Di Venuto has the challenge of turning those woes around for the third Test in Mohali, and he said the major thing the batsmen needed to get their heads around was that what comes naturally is not always a good plan in India.

"I think a lot of batting is done on instinct," Di Venuto told ESPNcricinfo. "The guys have been brought up in Australia and playing in Australian conditions where if you see a ball on a certain length, it normally bounces a certain height. Then you come to a foreign country and all of a sudden it doesn't bounce like it does at home. You've got to go against your instincts.

"You've got to play with your mind and train with your mind. That's something that we haven't adapted quick enough here. The nature of cricket is that you learn from your mistakes but you just don't make that mistake once and that's the last time you do it, you make it over and over and over again. Eventually, through experience it sinks in. But the best seem to learn quicker than most. We've got a talented young group of batters and hopefully they can learn quickly."

However, not all the batsmen are inexperienced in these conditions. Michael Clarke has had great success in India in the past and is again thriving against their slow bowlers, but the other batsman who has played Test cricket in the country, Shane Watson, is yet to have an impact. Last time Watson played a Test in Mohali he scored 126, which remains his last Test hundred.

Watson made 84 and 60 in the tour match in Chennai but in the Tests has failed to build on his starts, scoring 28, 17, 23 and 9. He had looked good during the first innings in Hyderabad until he tried to pull a ball that did not bounce as high as he expected and was trapped lbw by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Di Venuto said it was a classic example of instinct batting.

"He looked unbelievable in the tour game and has looked terrific in his Test innings to date for starts," Di Venuto said. "That's the disappointing thing. The captain needs a bit of help and people to stand up. He looks in terrific touch but the runs just haven't happened.

"His first-innings dismissal [in Hyderabad] was an instinct shot. He pulls so well off length in Australia. The ball stayed down. But if he plays that with a straight bat then he's still in and you don't know where his innings could have gone. He's just got to keep working hard and has got to get better, it's as simple as that. The talent is there, the skills are there and he looks in good touch."

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