New England, same mistakes

With Alastair Cook isolated and the deficiencies in his captaincy laid bare, the suggestion that English cricket is at a low point continues to gain credence

Might this count as a low ebb?

After the Ashes defeat in Australia, the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, said it was "utter nonsense" to claim that England were at "some sort of massive low ebb".

Since then, though, little has gone right for England. They were embarrassed in the World T20 by Holland, they lost the ODI series (and the T20 match) against Sri Lanka and their new managing director, Paul Downton, has sometimes looked so out of his depth that it is hard to resist the temptation to throw him a pair of armbands.

And, as their bowlers were thrashed around Leeds by Sri Lanka's eighth-wicket pair, as their captain's grim run of form continued, as they allowed a game they had every chance to dominate slip away in front of a 'crowd' so small it should probably be called a 'sparse' and as their batsmen displayed the resilience of a papadam - Liam Plunkett's dismissal might be remembered as the worst shot by a nightwatchman in the history of Test cricket - it was hard to avoid any other conclusion than England had slipped not just to a low ebb, but to basement flat below one.

England have already gone seven Tests without a victory. But even if they do produce a miracle and prevail on the final day (and they might as well pray that a plague of unicorns prevents play), even if they pull off the largest successful fourth-innings run chase in their history, it should not obscure the deficiencies that have hurt them. And it should not obscure the deficiencies in the leadership of Alastair Cook.

It is not just the poor batting form or the uninspiring tactics that provoke such concerns. Yes, we know that he has now gone 24 innings without a Test century and that, since July 2013, he averages in the mid-20s. And we know that, as a tactician, he is more mouse than Strauss; more phoney than Dhoni. The decision to set spread fields in the opening overs of the day simply allowed Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews to settle in.

But we also know his long-term batting record is excellent and, given time, he should come again. And we know that, when he is batting well, he has the ability to unite his team and lead them to fine victories such as a series wins in India and an Ashes win at home. There are different ways to lead and Cook is not as hopeless as some would suggest.

The real concern is his inability to raise his team when required. Frustrated by his ineloquence, he appears unable to find the stirring phrases to rouse and renew in times of trouble. He is the type of captain who leads by example. And his current example is mediocrity.

More than that, though, he was the captain backed by the ECB when it was decided to drop Kevin Pietersen. He was the captain either unwilling or unable to accommodate the highest run-scorer in England's international history and, as a result, he has weakened his side and shouldered an unnecessary burden.

Any suggestion that he was unaffected by the relentless negativity towards him from high-profile critics such as Shane Warne and Piers Morgan was dashed when Cook snapped back the day before this match. It has clearly been on his mind.

But if Cook must take his share of responsibility for England's performance, a few of his senior players also need to reflect on the support they have offered him. Matt Prior has looked unrecognisable from the keeper who proved so reliable up until the end of 2013 and, in this match, has flapped like a seal and dropped like a stone.

	For Sri Lanka to come in early summer and secure their first series win is a damning indictment of England's new era

James Anderson, impeccable for so long, bowled horribly short and wide in being out-performed by Dhammika Prasad. His first over with the second new ball did not demand a single stroke; his second was little better. Ian Bell was beaten through the gate, back when he should have been forward, while Stuart Broad was unable to summon any of the menace gained by his Sri Lanka counterparts. In an inexperienced side, these are the men who have to support Cook. On Monday, at least, they let Cook down. All those burned by the Ashes thrashing fell away under pressure.

What England cannot - must not - do is blame bad luck.

If you win the toss and decide to bowl first, you cannot complain if you end up batting fourth against a turning ball.

If you waste your two reviews on speculative lbw shouts - one where the ball was clearly going down the leg side - you cannot complain when an umpire misses a blatant outside edge off Shaminda Eranga before he has scored and there are no reviews remaining.

If you waste the new ball and squander more than half-a-dozen chances in the field, you cannot complain when Test batsmen punish you.

If you pass your opposition's score with only two wickets down but then lose 7 for 54, you cannot complain when the opposition fight their way back into the game.

And if you bowl your overs so slowly that you run out of time when the opposition are nine wickets down, you cannot complain when they hold on for a draw.

Sri Lanka have played well in this series, but England have been, to a large extent, the architects of their downfall.

There is, as ever, mitigation. This is an England side containing several inexperienced players; there were bound to be days like this as they learned their trade. Equally, in a two-match series, the effects of one poor day can be magnified. England have not been this bad for the other eight days. But overseas victories are hard to come by for any side and for Sri Lanka to come to the UK in early summer and secure their first series win, is not just a reward for fine cricket, but a damning indictment of England's new era.

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Bell defends Cook captaincy

England performance 'absolutely gutting' - Bell

Ian Bell has rejected the suggestion Alastair Cook is on the brink of resigning the England captaincy and said it was the performance of the players rather than any tactical shortcomings that have cost the side in Leeds.

Bell, England's unofficial vice-captain and the man most likely to be appointed captain should Cook step down, was one of the batsmen dismissed on the fourth evening of the second Test as England finished on 57 for 5 chasing an improbable 350 for victory.

While Bell praised the century by Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews as "one of the best" innings of its type he had witnessed, he also accepted that England had "failed to execute their skills" or take their chances in allowing their opposition back into the game. In particular, he conceded that England's bowlers had pitched too short and the fielders had failed to cling on to a succession of opportunities.

"It looks like we're going to lose this Test," Bell said. "And that is absolutely gutting. But there is absolutely no doubt [that Cook will continue as captain]. I don't think the tactics were wrong. I don't think he could have done anything more.

"Our plans were to get the ball full and we didn't quite do that. I don't think the bowlers will sit there and say they got it right. It felt the kind of wicket that, with anything short, you wanted to make the most of it.

"And we, as batsman, had an opportunity with the bat to bury them in the first innings. We didn't take it and I think they showed what good teams do: when people are down, you have to keep them down.

"We had chances in the field and we put them down. You can't do that with good teams. You can't give those world-class players opportunities or they will hurt you. They've been outstanding today, but we've been really disappointing. We've been outplayed. They recognised today was a massive day and they've won it.

"As a group, we've got to help him [Cook]. We've got to get right behind him and start performing as a team. He's got more hundreds than anyone in an England shirt and he's been one of the best batsmen I've ever played with. Form is temporary. One innings and he'll be flying again. So I'm not worried about his batting at all."

Bell offered warm praise for Mathews' century, but admitted that England had erred tactically in giving him singles in the hope of attacking his lower-order partners. Instead, Bell, suggested, they should also have attempted to dismiss Mathews.

"Hats off to him," Bell said. "It was an incredible knock. He's played arguably one of the best knocks we've seen against us, certainly shepherding the tail. I can't remember one, since I've been playing, that was better than that towards the back end, the way he has played with the bowlers.

"But you look back with hindsight and I think if you want to stop someone like that scoring runs you get them out, don't you? You don't just try to stop them scoring. But I hope tomorrow that we've got five guys who can show what it means to wear an England shirt and come out with some pride and at least do something.

"We've been working really well and there's this one really bad day we've had in the last eight or nine. In a two-match series, you can have one bad day and lose it. If this was a five-match series, we could fight our way back in, but we can't."

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Jayawardene turns up heat on Cook

England can't handle the pressure - Mahela Jayawardene

A fired-up Mahela Jayawardene shot barbs at England's tactics at Headingley and questioned their embattled captain's public comments, after Sri Lanka finished day four with a famous away win in sight. The tour has been hard-fought on both sides, with the reporting of Sachithra Senanayake's bowling action and the England response to Jos Buttler's Mankading in the fifth ODI causing the most visible grief in the Sri Lanka camp.

Sri Lanka's bowlers have largely prospered by bowling a fuller length at Headingley, while England's fast bowlers largely bowled shorter. When asked if Sri Lanka had shown England how to bowl seam at the venue, Jayawardene said his side had conveyed that very notion to England's batsmen in the middle.

"Their idea of hurting us and hitting us on the head probably doesn't work," he said. "If you're getting that good length up front, getting the ball to do a bit and being patient, one way or another, people will nick it. I thought we hung in there. We were disciplined enough. We had to get a few hits on our bodies, but I'm sure tomorrow afternoon we'll have a good laugh about it."

The fourth day began with England holding the edge but Angelo Mathews' excellent 160 and an intense four-wicket burst from Dhammika Prasad left the visitors with five wickets to get to complete victory.

"England were quite chirpy in the morning, but they quietened up after the first hour or so," Jayawardene said. "That's part of the game. We know who is on top and who is not. They were quite chirpy yesterday evening as well, and they probably got quite a few from us when they came to bat. They'll definitely get some more in the morning as well.

"Chirping them is something we had spoken about. We've seen that under pressure, they're not quite up to it. So we'll definitely look forward to tomorrow. There's a few young guys to come in and they'll get some sledging."

On the eve of the match, Alastair Cook had said "concerns had been raised" in the England camp when they viewed Senanayake's action on video - a comment which will not have been taken well by the Sri Lanka team, who have rallied around Senanayake since his being reported. But it was Cook's comments about his vocal critic Shane Warne, however, that Jayawardene questioned the wisdom of.

"I definitely feel for him but it doesn't help when you have arguments with commentators and past cricketers. That's something you can't control. You try and control what's there for you, which is trying to perform and carry yourself through."

Cook's unhappy run has continued through the first part of England's summer, with his place in the Test team beginning to look shaky, let alone his captaincy. He has averaged 19.5 in the current series. Jayawardene said: "I always felt as a captain - before you are captain, you are a player. You need contribute to the team. You have 11 guys and you're part of that. You can't think about too many other things."

Sri Lanka have already sewn up the limited-overs series and if they move on to a Test series win on Tuesday, they will have completed an incredible tour. It would also cap off a five-month stretch in which they have won series across all formats in Bangladesh, the Asia Cup and the World T20. Jayawardene suggested the tense nature of the England tour would make a Test win particularly sweet.

"As a team this was always going to be a challenging tour for us," Jayawardene said. "Things have happened, and we were quite comfortable with the way we handled them. At the end of the day our cricket was always going to be looked upon. I think we've played it with the right spirit, and played it very fairly.

"Even coming into the Test series, we knew we had to brace for some of the backlash - which we did. We held our fort together and came back strongly. A lot of credit to the team, to the management, and to the entire group. It's been a long season for us. We haven't stopped since last December. We've been playing cricket pretty much on the road, so if we can get an away Test series win, it would be fantastic going back home."

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Mathews unlocks another dimension

Angelo Mathews' innings may have defined the Test match but it also has potential to define his career

When Dhammika Prasad ramped his first ball into a diving third man's hands, Angelo Mathews hurled him a furious look. Head down, Prasad would not meet his captain's eyes, but Mathews was too disgusted to let it lie there. He crossed to the other end and threw his bat a metre, to the ground.

Mathews was made captain partly for his stoicism; his calmness, and often courage, under fire. In 17 months at the helm, he has hardly had a go at one of the many bowlers who have missed their lines, or the fielders who let balls slip through their hands and legs. Even comical ineptitude, has drawn no more than a groan from him.

But he had been battling as if for his life all morning at Headingley, making his blade wider than a sea wall as waves of England attacks broke upon it, then ruthless counter-strikes when the bowlers strayed. He had watched Mahela Jayawardene nick behind, playing loose drive. He had seen Dinesh Chandimal fold neatly into England's leg-side trap. With at least 60 runs to get before Sri Lanka's lead would feel comfortable, Prasad's foolish stroke just put him over the edge.

Mathews was only 55 at that point, playing nicely, putting his fine form to use. But few would have expected the carnage to follow. Enraged by a team-mate, and emboldened by desire, Mathews engaged beast mode. He would hit one of the great Sri Lanka innings before he left the field; a knock so outrageous, yet so clinical, it would unlock even a further dimension to his cricket than he has already managed in a rich past six months.

As England set men back on the fence to Mathews, and hoped to force a wicket at the other end, Mathews took up a sledgehammer in one hand and a scalpel in the other. Boundaries down the ground took all forms, from classical on-drives, to mows through the air, only they were all hit hard, and exactly where Mathews wished to dispatch them. The cuts past point and the glances off straight balls seemed almost effortless by comparison. When bowling full proved futile, England kept pitching it short, imagining he would lose control of his pull shot some time. Mathews never did.

But his systematic hogging of the strike was even more incredible. England's ring fielders fenced off the paddock on the off side, but Mathews would move across his stumps and work the ball to the open prairies on leg. Eventually, the bowlers would go too wide even for that, yet somehow, Mathews injected the ball between clots of England fielders and crossed when he required. Sometimes he timed the ball too well. Rarely has a batsman seemed so annoyed to watch the ball cross the rope. Of the 348 balls England would deliver while Mathews was at the crease on Monday, he would face 201.

Alastair Cook may reflect he erred in failing to attack Mathews after the first hour, and in delaying Moeen Ali's introduction, but as abysmal a day as he had, Mathews had a worse one five months ago. Mathews' tactics defied sense on day five in Sharjah. On the other end of a sapping assault now, his thinking could not have been clearer.

He knew in his soul where the fielders were for each bowler, and when they would push in, and sit back. The umpires had trouble keeping track of the number of balls in each over but, in between skipping down the track to England's fastest bowler, putting the spinner into space, Mathews never lost count. When Rangana Herath pulled Stuart Broad behind square for four, Mathews was down the pitch to embrace his partner, long before the stadium announcer had marked their century stand.

Cricket nous has not been Mathews' strength in time gone by but, until he ran Herath out, his decision-making was nearly flawless. Most times when Sri Lanka's strategy makes a mockery of the opposition, Jayawardene is involved, but he was instead in the pavilion, breathing it in.

"The message to our boys was that we just take whatever singles on offer," Jayawardene said. "Angelo batted really well in that situation, safeguarding the tail and taking the opportunity to go for those big shots when the field was in. It was the right way for Angie to go. He didn't have to take too many risks when the field was back, but whenever he needed to take a risk, he did. In that context, that showed that they were on the back foot and we just needed to drive that advantage we had forward. It was one of the best knocks I've seen."

Herath's hand in Sri Lanka's resurgence cannot be forgotten too. Before this innings, the team had urged the tailenders to show grit, and if the courage in his bowling is anything to go by, it is no surprise Herath responded most emphatically to that request. If he helps seal a victory on day five, Sri Lanka will cap off an extraordinary five months, in which they will have won every trophy they played for.

Mathews' innings may well have defined the Test match, but it also has potential to define his career. Only a handful of Sri Lanka batsmen have ever managed the kind of mastery he showcased. The challenge to him, and his team, is to never settle for just being very good.

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Srinivasan elected unopposed as TNCA president

BCCI's president-in-exile N Srinivasan was unanimously elected as the chief of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) for the 14th consecutive year.

As has been the case for over 10 years, all the sitting office bearers and executive committee members were elected unopposed during the 84th annual general body meeting of the TNCA.

This is for the 14th year that Srinivasan has been elected as the president of TNCA without any break.

Following are other office bearers elected unopposed:

Vice Presidents: U Prabhakar Rao, Kalpathi S Aghoram, S Raghavan, P S Raman, R Kanakarajan and V Ramesh.

Secretary: Kasi Viswanathan, Jt Secretary: R I Palani, Assistant Secretary: R S Ramaswamy, Treasurer: V P Narasimhan.

Executive Committee: K Sriram, K S Shankar, G C Dangi, P Anand, C G Anandaram, K Murali, Adam Sait, K Mohan and Keshav Sriraman.

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Moeen hints at his future worth

A plethora of "experts" who have spent the last few weeks repeating the myth that Moeen is a "part-time" spin bowler may now afford him a little more respect

'Tomorrow morning will be crucial' - Moeen Ali

The knives were out for Moeen Ali long before he bowled on Sunday afternoon. "He's useless," the pundit in the press box roared when Alastair Cook finally threw Moeen the ball. "He can't bat and he certainly can't bowl."

The pundit's opinion is, up to a point, understandable. Having heard the England coach, Peter Moores, describe the spin position as "a weakness" after the Lord's Test and having heard the captain, Cook, describe the spin position as "a cause for concern," it would seem natural to conclude that neither of them had much faith in Moeen's spin bowling.

It was a view that could only have been reinforced when Cook, despite the dry pitch and an off-colour display from his seamers, seemed reluctant to trust his spinner until the 56th over. It was beginning to be hard to understand why they had selected him.

And it was a view that could have only been reinforced by the plethora of "experts" who have spent the last few weeks repeating the myth that Moeen is a "part-time" spin bowler. Experts who have clearly not spent much time at New Road watching Moeen fulfil the main spinner's role for Worcestershire for much of the last few years.

Perhaps he will now be afforded a little more respect. While he is a long way from proving his long-term viability as a Test spinner, Moeen did at least show on the third day here that he is far from the bits and pieces player that he has been dismissed as by some.

His first wicket was that of Kumar Sangakkara. That is the Sangakkara who had just become one of only four men in history to score seven successive half-centuries in Test cricket and the Sangakkara with more than 11,000 Test runs to his name.

But, having turned a couple sharply enough to demand the batsman's respect, Moeen drifted one into the left-hander. This one did not turn, or turned very little, and though Sangakkara pushed forward, the dip and drift defeated him and he was struck on the pad and trapped lbw. It could have been Graeme Swann bowling. It was exactly the way Swann tortured so many left-handers.

Better was to come. Two balls later, Lahiru Thirimanne pushed forward at another bowled from round the wicket and, having been drawn into playing the ball on middle and leg by the drift, was beaten past the outside edge by one that turned sharply and hit the top of off stump. It was, by any standards, a lovely piece of bowling. "It's the best ball I've bowled on TV," Moeen said.

A few overs later, Moeen delivered the first "doosra" of his international career. It was not hard to pick from the hand - it is slower and more floaty than his normal off-break - but it drew a respectful "well bowled" from Mahela Jayawardene and it may well have given him the confidence to bowl it more often. Most of those who believe the delivery cannot be bowled without throwing did not even notice it happen.

"I was feeling pretty confident so I thought 'why not bowl one'?" Moeen said afterwards. "It's the first one I've bowled. I just wanted to do a job for the team first. I'm not as confident to bowl it with the red ball as I am with the white ball. He played it quite well, but he did sort of say it was alright."

Moeen has now taken 93 first-class wickets since the start of 2012 at an average of 32.18. They are not extraordinary figures, certainly, but they compare well with most other spinners who have been utilised by England in Test cricket in recent years. James Tredwell, by contrast, has taken 49 (at an average of 45.12), Monty Panesar has claimed 153 (at 30.77 apiece), Gareth Batty has taken 74 (at 30.60), Scott Borthwick has taken 71 (at 36.11) and Samit Patel has taken 63 at 47.09. Whether Moeen is a Test class spinner remains to be seen, but on those figures, he has a good argument to be considered among the best available to England at present. Calling Moeen a part-timer spinner is simply factually inaccurate.

He is improving, too. He has a close relationship with Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal, who has returned to Worcestershire for a stint as an overseas player, and has spent many hours working with him in the nets. Ajmal has shared the secrets of his doosra with Moeen and, he says, nobody else. In recent weeks, Ajmal has watched Moeen bowl 30 or 40 doosras in succession in practice. While there is a long way to go before Moeen's doosra is anything like Ajmal's, it is worth remembering that Ajmal only learned the delivery in his mid-to-late 20s. Moeen, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Wednesday, has time on his side.

If England are demanding instant success, he may not be the answer. If they are building for the future, he may well be worth some perseverance.

Besides, England's failings here have not been caused by the absence of a world-class spinner. Instead they have dropped catches - Chris Jordan was the latest to put down a straightforward chance, reprieving Dimuth Karunaratne in the slips on 12 - let a strong position slip when batting - they lost their last seven wickets for only 54 runs having surpassed the Sri Lankan total with eight wickets in hand - and then bowled with unusual lack of control or even sense. The manner that James Anderson and Stuart Broad - bowling far too short and often too wide as well - wasted the new ball at the start of the Sri Lankan second innings may yet cost England this match.

Complacency surely cannot have been an issue. A team that has now won any of its last seven Tests and was defeated in the World T20 by Netherlands has no reason for anything of the sort.

They should not be complacent about their over-rate, either. After being fined for a slow-rate in the Lord's Test, England have again failed to bowl the minimum number of overs demanded in a day here.

One day the ICC will look at the pitifully small crowds which have now become the norm in Test cricket and act to prevent such self-defeating practices. They will suspend a high-profile captain and focus the minds of the players on the demands of the spectators. But until they do, the punters will continue to be asked to pay ever more for less and continue to drift away from the game.

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Sangakkara finally leaves his hallmark on England

Having averaged only 30 in England before this tour, Kumar Sangakkara has finally restored his record

Sri Lanka's day of the series

When Kumar Sangakkara arrived at the crease on day three, Liam Plunkett hurled a rocket at his chest. The Headingley pitch had been misbehaving since the second afternoon, and this was one of its naughtiest moments. The game's fastest bowler was provoking it to mischief.

In the first innings, Lahiru Thirimanne had got a similar delivery first-up, and he fended a catch to short leg. Given the abysmal series Thirimanne has had, maybe surviving the same ball does not mean much. But the one Sangakkara got was a brute all the same. The kind that makes kids want to become fast bowlers.

Sangakkara deflected that one in front of short leg, but he knew the bowler had had the better of him. He looked down at the spot on the pitch that had caused him grief, then looked away, walking toward square leg, then back again. He shuffled his feet and took guard. The next legitimate ball was wide and full. He stretched out and cracked it through the covers as hard as he has hit any ball in the series.

A hush hung over Headingley for a moment, then lifted with a swell of appreciation. The Yorkshire crowd is partisan, urging England on, saving their loudest for the local lads, but they know cricketing excellence when they see it. When Sangakkara was dismissed - perhaps for the last time in England - the ground stood to their feet to clap him off the field. But few will have known Sangakkara's curious relationship with the cover drive when the clapped that first four. Many will also have been unaware of the batsman's troubles in England, before this tour.

The cover drive has been Sangakkara's signature stroke for much of his career, because it is almost a marvel of engineering. The step forward is swift and precise. The still head and fast hands, practiced and mechanical. The back knee bends just enough to stabilise him, and the entire movement is set off by a checked flourish forged of control. The ball only ever goes in a slim arc between cover and extra cover. Mahela Jayawardene played a cover drive too on the third day, but his rendition of the stroke is languid and musical; more dependent on his mood, than the ball and the fielders, and capable of going almost anywhere in front of square.

In many ways, the cover drive is a microcosm of Sangakkara's cricket - meticulously refined and supremely efficient - but on previous tours of England, it had sometimes been his undoing. In the 2011 tour, he was out to it in Southampton and at Lord's lunging at the ball when it had curved away from him. It has frustrated him in other parts of the world too, across all formats.

In the last match at Lord's, England tempted him wide of off stump for a good ten overs, when he arrived in the first innings. But in that innings, Sangakkara was hell-bent on his raid for a hundred. He could not be drawn into the shot until he was past 30, and even then, he applied it economically.

The stroke was a risk at Headingley too, particularly against Plunkett, whose extra bounce had done Jayawardene in, when he drove outside off stump in the first innings. But for Sangakkara, the third day was no day for restraint. He was in the middle to move his team's cause forward, but also to make a mark. In all likelihood, this is his last outing in England.

He was glad for his error-riddled 79 in the first innings, but when he came off the field, most people would not stop deriding the innings. Sangakkara has been a dream interview for several major English papers since he arrived in the country, but when a radio station spoke to him before the second day, and led with "Wasn't the best innings you've ever played, yesterday, was it?", Sangakkara was audibly agitated: "That's the way it sometimes goes in cricket, the important thing is getting the runs." The reply was uncommonly brief. Over the next few minutes, one of the game's most eloquent speakers would not offer more than a six-second answer to any of the interviewer's stream of questions.

On Sunday, the first ball from Plunkett elicited the only ugly moment from Sangakkara. From the very next ball, he was intent on reassuming dominance. He scored faster than any Sri Lanka batsman on the day, and sent four balls through the covers during his 55. The cover drive accounted for a higher percentage of his runs in this innings, than in any other this series.

He has now scored as many 50-plus scores on the trot as any batsman has ever managed, only, he has a triple ton and a couple of centuries among that string of scores. He has raised his average in England to 41.04, when it had languished at just over 30 before the tour, creating doubt over his greatness. His 342 runs is more than any Sri Lanka batsman has scored in a single series in England.

On day three at Headingley, he recovered from Plunkett's first ball, and his strange first innings. For many in the country, where his record has now recovered too, that cool, calculated cover drive will be the enduring hallmark of the memory of his career.

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Australia's summer schedule released

Cricket Australia has finalised an international season heavy on limited-overs cricket, with Adelaide losing its semi-traditional Australia Day match to Sydney. Australia's home internationals will begin on November 5 when they play South Africa in the first T20 and with the World Cup dominating the February-March slot in Australia and New Zealand, it will be a long international season.

India are the only team playing Tests in Australia this summer and the first of four will begin at the Gabba on December 4, the latest start to Australia's home Test summer in 11 years. It had previously been determined that with only four Tests scheduled, the WACA would be the venue to lose a Test this year; Adelaide will host the second Test from December 12 before the traditional Boxing Day and New Year's Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

But Adelaide's tradition of hosting an international on Australia Day has been ignored, with Australia to play India at the SCG in a one-day match on January 26, which is also India's Republic Day. That match is part of a tri-series that also features England; in total, Australia will play at least nine ODIs at home in the lead-up to the World Cup, which starts on February 14.

Cricket Australia has also released the domestic one-day and four-day schedule and while the BBL fixture is yet to be finalised, it has been confirmed that it will be cut back to 43 days from last year's bloated 50-day tournament. The domestic one-day tournament will open the season as it did last summer, although this time it will be held in Sydney and Brisbane rather than Sydney alone, as was the case in 2013-14.

It will also have a new name after spending four years as the Ryobi Cup; the competition will now be called the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup. An extra round of matches has also been factored in for the Matador Cup to help players push their cases in a World Cup year, and the tournament will run from October 4 to 26 before the Sheffield Shield begins with its first round on October 31.

Four Shield rounds will be played before the first Test against India, although they will not all be preparing players for Tests with the red ball. After trialling pink balls and day-night Shield cricket late last summer, Cricket Australia will again test the concept this season. This time, though, the day-night matches will make up round two of the Shield, from November 8 to 11, with games in Hobart, Perth and Adelaide.

Adelaide remains the most likely venue for Australia to host its first day-night Test, which could be as early as next summer against New Zealand. However, Hobart is also considered a possibility and Cricket Australia was keen to test day-night Shield cricket there this season after last year's trials took place in Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane.

December 8 to February 7 will be a Shield-free zone as the BBL becomes the focus, with the Twenty20 tournament set to begin on December 18. Five Shield rounds will be played after the BBL, although the unavailability of major venues due to the World Cup has meant that secondary grounds such as Bankstown Oval, Allan Border Field and Glenelg's Gliderol Stadium will be used.

New South Wales will take two matches to regional parts of the state but Victoria faces a major scheduling issue as the MCG is its only ground currently approved for first-class cricket. There is a possibility Victoria will be forced to play three home games interstate if a Victorian venue cannot be found for the games against Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania in February-March.

Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland said this summer had proved especially challenging to schedule due to the World Cup, which runs from February 14 to March 29 in Australia and New Zealand. The fixture was so complex that 72 drafts were required before the schedule was finalised.

Matador BBQs One-Day Cup
October 4: New South Wales v South Australia, Allan Border Field, Brisbane
October 4: Queensland v Victoria, Gabba
October 6: Queensland v New South Wales, Allan Border Field
October 6: Victoria v South Australia, Gabba
October 8: South Australia v Western Australia, Gabba
October 8: Tasmania v Victoria, Allan Border Field
October 10: New South Wales v Queensland, Gabba
October 11: Western Australia v Tasmania, Gabba
October 12: South Australia v Queensland, Allan Border Field
October 12: Victoria v New South Wales, North Sydney Oval
October 13: Tasmania v Western Australia, North Sydney Oval
October 14: Queensland v Victoria, North Sydney Oval
October 15: New South Wales v Western Australia, Drummoyne Oval
October 15: South Australia v Tasmania, Bankstown Oval
October 17: Victoria v New South Wales, Drummoyne Oval
October 17: Western Australia v South Australia, Bankstown Oval
October 18: Queensland v Tasmania, North Sydney Oval
October 19: Victoria v Western Australia, Drummoyne Oval
October 20: New South Wales v Tasmania, Drummoyne Oval
October 22: Tasmania v South Australia, North Sydney Oval
October 22: Western Australia v Queensland, Bankstown Oval
October 24: 2nd v 3rd, preliminary final, Drummoyne Oval
October 26: Final, SCG

Sheffield Shield
October 31-November 2: Western Australia v Tasmania, WACA
October 31-November 2: Victoria v New South Wales, MCG
October 31-November 2: South Australia v Queensland, Adelaide Oval

November 8-11: Western Australia v Queensland, WACA (day-night)
November 8-11: Tasmania v Victoria, Bellerive Oval (day-night)
November 8-11: South Australia v New South Wales, Adelaide Oval (day-night)

November 16-19: Tasmania v Western Australia, Bellerive Oval
November 16-19: South Australia v Victoria, Adelaide Oval
November 16-19: Queensland v New South Wales, Gabba

November 25-28: Victoria v Western Australia, MCG
November 25-28: Queensland v Tasmania, Allan Border Field
November 25-28: New South Wales v South Australia, SCG

December 5-8: Western Australia v Victoria, WACA
December 5-8: Tasmania v South Australia, Bellerive Oval
December 5-8: New South Wales v Queensland, SCG

February 7-10: Western Australia v South Australia, WACA
February 7-10: Tasmania v New South Wales, Bellerive Oval
February 7-10: Queensland v Victoria, Gabba

February 16-19: Tasmania v Queensland, Bellerive Oval
February 16-19: South Australia v Western Australia, Gliderol Stadium, Glenelg
February 16-19: New South Wales v Victoria, Regional NSW (venue TBC)

February 24-27: Victoria v Queensland, TBC
February 24-27: South Australia v Tasmania, Gliderol Stadium
February 24-27: New South Wales v Western Australia, Regional NSW (venue TBC)

March 5-8: Victoria v South Australia, TBC
March 5-8: Queensland v Western Australia, Allan Border Field
March 5-8: New South Wales v Tasmania, Bankstown Oval

March 13-16: Western Australia v New South Wales, WACA
March 13-16: Victoria v Tasmania, TBC
March 13-16: Queensland v South Australia, Gabba

March 21-25: Sheffield Shield final

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Williamson reported for suspect action

Kane Williamson, the part-time New Zealand offspinner, has been reported for a suspect bowling action following the second Test against West Indies in Trinidad. As per ICC regulations, Williamson will have to undergo testing of his action within 21 days, but can continue bowling until the results of the test are known.

Williamson was reported by umpires Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth and Rod Tucker, and match referee Chris Broad, after the Test ended on Friday. Williamson had bowled 15.2 overs in the Test, for figures of 1 for 43. An ICC release said: "The umpires' report cited concerns over a number of deliveries that they considered to be suspect and believed that his action needed to be tested."

The report has been handed over to the New Zealand team manager.

New Zealand's Test series against West Indies is currently tied at 1-1, with the third Test set to begin in Barbados on June 26.

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Old-school Robson plays it perfectly

As the home side stumbled in the final session the value of Sam Robson's maiden Test hundred, a model in concentration and self-denial, became clear

'I didn't know how to celebrate' - Robson

Whatever the gladiators, smurfs, superheroes and the fellow dressed as a moose expected when they got ready for a day at the cricket, it probably was not this. Certainly, there was something incongruous about the sight of hundreds of people in fancy dress watching Sam Robson leave the ball watchfully for hours on end and occasionally nudging one off his hips. It was like dressing for a party and then spending the night doing your accounts. Sometimes it really did feel like the longest day.

But if Robson's batting is unfashionable, it is also valuable. And if there were times during the stand between Robson and Gary Ballance, in particular, when progress seemed a little sedate, the fact is that England ended the second day in a strong position.

If they go on to win with a day to spare, it would surely be a bit perverse to complain about the pace of their cricket. It might also have become a bit perverse to complain about the standard of county cricket: Robson, Ballance and Chris Jordan seem to have made the step-up rather comfortably.

For all the repetition in recent times that Test cricket has changed and that batsmen have to be positive, there are many times when there is nothing more valuable than a sound defensive technique. After a winter when the pace of scoring became the least of England's worries - the Sydney Test was over in three days - there is plenty of room for a batsman with the patience of Robson and the no-frills effectiveness of Ballance. Ballance may well go on to score 8,000 Test runs without playing a single stroke that elicits the 'cooing' reserved for a cover drove from Ian Bell. But he might also win quite a few games for England.

There was no eureka moment in Robson's decision to pick England over Australia. He simply pursued the path that offered the best chance of playing the most professional cricket and, armed with a UK passport courtesy of a mother born in Nottingham, he concluded reasonably enough that county cricket offered better prospects than State cricket in Australia. At that stage, as a teenager, the prospect of Test cricket seemed impossibly distant.

Besides, he is not the sort of player Australia tend to favour. While he represented their U-19 side, it was not until the last few months that they showed much interest in his development and it remains hard to see how he would fit in with the aggressive approach currently favoured by Darren Lehmann and Robson resisted a late offer to entice him back to Australia last winter as he was, by then, involved with England Lions and on the pathway leading to Test cricket.

There may well, in time, be a reasonable debate to be held on England's reliance upon players who were brought up, in part, abroad, but equally there might be some cause for celebration that this side represents the multi-cultural society that the UK has become.

It is not hard to understand why Robson does not merit selection in Middlesex's limited-overs side. He does not have a wide range of stroke. He is neat off his legs, drives nicely and cuts efficiently. He was slow to relax and declined to put away deliveries that, for Middlesex, he would have attempted to cut or pull. Indeed, he did not play one authentic pull shot in his innings. There were times, when the ball was just back of a length on off stump, when he appeared strokeless.

Yet Test cricket remains as much about discipline and denial as it does about flair and aggression. It remains as much about the strokes a batsman does not play as those that they do. Yes, there may be times when Robson's rate of scoring is a minor frustration. But there should be many more times when his resilience is a reassuring asset and when the foundations he builds for England's promising but somewhat fragile middle-order will prove valuable. In Australia, the middle-order were often exposed to the new ball. Robson, at least, should force seamers into second, third and fourth spells and allow the likes of Joe Root to come in against a softer ball.

There is an irony here, though. Nick Compton was dropped, in part, because he was thought to score too slowly to hurt the opposition. To drop Compton, who has a greater range of stroke, and pick Robson only reinforces the suspicion that the former was omitted more because some in the team management simply did not like him than any flaw in his play.

Robson, too, was judged harshly after his first Test at Lord's. With nerves bothering him in the first innings, he was drawn into pushing at one that, at county level, he would usually have left. Critics who had never seen him bat, jumped to conclusions about his technique and temperament.

Even here, as he reached his century, some of the same pundits were dismissing it as of little worth. The bowling was undemanding, they claimed, and the pitch without menace. But when England lost three wickets for two runs in the evening session, the value of Robson's innings became a little more apparent.

Besides, if the bowling was so modest and the conditions so placid, what does the failure of Alastair Cook say about his future? His dismissal here, poking with minimal foot movement at a regulation delivery angled across him, spoke of a man low on confidence and struggling with his technique. The pitch was flat, the bowling - by the standards of Test cricket - relatively undemanding.

Cook's long-term record demands he is afforded greater patience than might be the case for other players. The England management have also backed him so resolutely that, to drop him now would constitute a major change of direction with their plans. It is not an imminent possibility.

But since the start of the Ashes series in July 2013, Cook has now played 23 innings without registering a century and averages just 25.43. His somewhat testy attitude at the pre-match media conferences suggested a man who was beginning to feel the pressure and to tire of some of the baggage that comes with captaincy. Few people would be surprised if, by this time next year, Bell was England captain. How Cook would have loved his opening partner's runs.

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