World Cup final returns to Melbourne

Twenty-three years after Imran Khan led Pakistan to victory over England, Melbourne will again host the World Cup final in 2015, while Sydney and Auckland will hosts semi-finals just as they did in 1992.

A wide range of alternative options for the major matches of a tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand had been discussed in the lead-up to the formal announcement of the official fixtures in Melbourne on Tuesday, including the prospect of a semi or final at Sydney's Olympic Stadium and even Adelaide Oval.

But the organisers ultimately retained the same formula as 1992, handing matches to the SCG and Eden Park before the event's show-piece takes place on March 29 at the MCG, where a crowd of more than 87,000 had watched Imran's team triumph.

Among other key fixtures, the previously earthquake-stricken Christchurch will host the tournament's opening match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on February 14 at Hagley Oval, while later that same day Australia will play England at the MCG. The cup holders India will commence their tournament by facing Pakistan in Adelaide the following day.

Having been drawn together in Pool A, Australia will travel to Auckland to meet New Zealand on February 28. Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Wellington will each host a quarter-final.

Many luminaries were on hand in Melbourne's Docklands for the announcement, including the ICC chief executive Dave Richardson who kept wicket for South Africa at the 1992 event, alongside Dennis Lillee, Ian Chappell, Kapil Dev, Sanath Jayasuriya, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey.

"The ICC Cricket World Cup is the flagship tournament of the 50-over game. The 2015 tournament will mark 40 years since the first World Cup in 1975 and that history of great contests and heroes helps make the tournament what it is - the most sought after prize in our increasingly global game," Richardson said.

"The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be returning to Australia and New Zealand after 23 years and will be staged at the back of two outstanding 50-over ICC events - the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013. I'm absolutely confident that the success of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will further strengthen the status of 50-over cricket as a successful and viable format alongside Tests and Twenty20 Internationals."

Several tournament venues have undergone major redevelopments with 2015 in mind, not least the SCG with a projected capacity of 48,000, and Adelaide Oval's expansion to accommodate 50,000. Eden Park has also undergone a considerable facelift to also be capable of hosting 50,000 spectators.

The tournament will feature 49 matches across 44 days in 14 cities throughout February and March of 2015. Australia's 2014-15 Test summer has been shortened to a mere four matches against India in order to leave room for the cup's lengthy schedule. A 14-team format has the competitors pitted in two groups of seven, each to play six pool matches before the top four in each group advance to the quarter-finals, semis and final.

Pool A: England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Qualifier 2 and Qualifier 3

Pool B: South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies Zimbabwe, Ireland and Qualifier 4

Venue cities: Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Christchurch, Dunedin, Napier, Nelson, Hamilton, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Wellington

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Board promises BPL player payments before Eid

The BCB has vowed to pay local players their dues from the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League before the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays. The decision was taken at a BCB ad-hoc committee meeting as several franchises have not yet completed payments to the players or the board, after the board conditionally terminated the contracts of some franchises.

The BPL's schedule for the next season is still unclear, and it may even be held before the end of the year if a slot is available in the domestic calendar.

"Many of the domestic and foreign players are still unpaid, because the franchises didn't make payments after the first 25% was cleared," BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said. "The board has decided to pay 45-50% to the domestic players before Eid-ul-Fitr. According to the tripartite agreement, the board has to pay the players if the franchises fail to make payments."

Before BPL's second season began, it was announced that player payments would be completed in three instalments. It has now changed to four instalments: the first being before the tournament started, the second during the tournament, the third within three months after the tournament and the last of which is on August 19, six months after the 2013 edition ended.

The BCB's role as guarantor has meant that it has to make payments when the franchises default, according to the three-way agreement between the BCB, players and the franchises. The players who have been paid 25% will receive a further 25%, while those who have already been paid 50%, will have to wait for the rest of the money.

Those present in the press conference however could not clarify when the next stage of payment after the Eid one will be. "We will settle what we owe, and look into the future when the time comes," Mahbubul Anam, another member of the BCB ad-hoc committee said. "We have to clear the due first, and the last payment is at the end of August."

The board is also hopeful that it can have a window for BPL-3 as early as December if the 2012-13 Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League is completed by October. Their hope lies in the promise made by the Dhaka Premier League clubs who have apparently assured BCB chief Nazmul Hassan that they will play the league from September and continue to do so in October without the national players.

"Since the Dhaka Premier League clubs have said they are willing to play without the national players, we can hold the league in October too," Yunus said. "In that case we can hold the BPL after the two first-class tournaments - the National Cricket League and Bangladesh Cricket League."

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Pakistan, Sri Lanka through to World T20

Left-arm spinner Sadia Yousuf's career-best figures of 4 for 9 punched Pakistan's ticket to the Women's World Twenty20 in Bangladesh after a nine-wicket win over Ireland in the first semi-final of the Qualifiers.

Pakistan put Ireland in after a wet outfield caused a delayed start , and captain Isobel Joyce lost her middle stump on the fourth ball of the match. A run-out got rid of tournament top-scorer Clare Shillington before Yousuf plundered four wickets in her first three overs to leave Ireland reeling at 32 for 6 after 13 overs. She was on a hat-trick after having both Laura Delany and Elena Tice stumped off the last two balls of the 13th over. She induced Kim Garth's edge off her next ball, but it landed safely. Garth made an unbeaten 38 but the rest of the line-up could not reach double figures as Ireland were dismissed for 65.

The openers took Pakistan almost halfway to victory before Garth removed Nahida Khan for 13, but her partner Javeria Khan and Nain Abidi completed the formalities with 35 balls to spare, though heavy rain did interrupt play with Pakistan six runs from victory.

Sri Lanka controlled a rain-marred game to become the second team to go through to the T20 finals in Bangladesh, after Netherlands fell short of a revised target of 85 in 9 overs.

Having been invited to bat, Sri Lanka made a bright start, scoring at over 10 before Chamari Atapattu was run-out in the third over. Yasoda Mendis and Deepika Rasangika consolidated with a 52-run partnership for the second wicket. Mendis fell in the 10th over but Rasangika's 47 off 50 balls, with four fours ensured Sri Lanka were on course for a healthy total. Two quick wickets brought Eshani Kaushalya to the crease, who struck her third ball for six and kept going. Her 33 off 16 balls pushed Sri Lanka to 152 for 6 in 19 overs when rain arrived.

Netherlands' openers began steadily, but Veringmeier's fall paved way for Heather Siegers' wicket six and put them at 39 for 2 in the sixth over, 14 behind the Duckworkth-Lewis par score. They could only manage 9 of the 46 needed in the last 18 balls to give Sri Lanka a comfortable victory.

With three teams slated to qualify for the World T20, Ireland and Netherlands still have shot of making it to Bangladesh if they win the third-place play-off match on July 31.

A triple-wicket maiden, which included a run-out as well, by Mai Yanagida could not prevent Zimbabwe from progressing to the Shield final of the Qualifiers. Her 4-1-5-4 kept Japan alive, after they had made only 58, until Zimbabwe sealed the game in the 16th over by three wickets.

Zimbabwe's bowlers came up with a miserly performance, reducing Japan to 5 for 2 in the third over. Captain Shizuka Miyaji and Kurumi Ota plugged any further wickets from falling with a 28-run stand, but Ota's wicket in the tenth over initiated a collapse and they were all out for 58 as not a single batsman was able to score in double digits.

Zimbabwe were 30 for 2 at the start of the ninth over when Yanagida replaced Shizuka Kubota, and her first ball saw Mary-Anne Musonda run-out. The next ball accounted for Chipo Mugeri, before her final two of the over spelled the end of Christabel Chatonzwa and Ashley Burdett. Now at 30 for 6, Nonhlanhla Nyathi and Josephine Nkomo held firm and took Zimbabwe home.

Rain hit the second shield semi-final between Thailand and Canada more severely as play was postponed to Tuesday after only 18 overs bowled. Thailand were 92 for 6 having won the toss, with top-scorer Chanida Sutthiruang at the crease on 23 off 17 balls.

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Carberry's Canterbury run-spree continues

Hampshire 185 for 6 (Carberry 83*, McKenzie 45) beat Kent 123 for 9 (Stevens 39, Dawson 4-19) by 62 runs
Scorecard

Former Kent batsman Michael Carberry took his Canterbury run-spree for July to 303 in three innings as he put his old side to the sword and helped inspire Hampshire to a seventh South Group win as they beat a youthful Kent by 62 runs.

Fresh from scoring 154 and 66 in the corresponding County Championship clash here two weeks ago, Surrey-born Carberry returned to hit 11 fours and a six in an unbeaten 83 as Hampshire posted an impressive 20-over total of 185 for 6.

In pursuit a young host side, without the likes of Rob Key, Brendan Nash, Michael Powell, Vernon Philander and Charlie Shreck, were held to 123 for 9 as offspinner Liam Dawson caused havoc with competition-best figures of 4 for 19.

Kent lost openers Daniel Bell-Drummond (12) and Fabian Cowdrey (13) in the fifth over of their reply bowled by Dimitri Mascarenhas and, by the end of the Powerplay, were already 30 runs off the pace set by Hampshire. By the mid-point of their reply Kent's asking rate had already soared to 12 an over, but Darren Stevens briefly warmed to the task by clubbing three sixes in the space of 11 balls, only to lose Sam Billings to a catch in the deep off Dawson.

Three balls later and without addition, Stevens top-edged a sweep off Dawson to fine leg to go for 39 off 28 balls and, when Dawson had Alex Blake stumped first ball to make it 69 for 5, Kent's hopes of a third win and completing a double over Hampshire were in tatters.

With a home quarter final tie already assured, Hampshire set out to avenge their sole South Group defeat at the hands of Kent by batting first on a pristine pitch that helped openers Carberry and James Vince to put 20 on board within nine deliveries of the start.

Vince clubbed a brace of leg side sixes off Mitch Claydon, but the on-loan Durham seamer won quick revenge by clipping the top of Vince's off stump as he again heaved toward cow corner. Carberry upped his tempo by taking four boundaries in Claydon's next over, but Mark Davies stemmed the flow by having Jimmy Adams caught off a thick edge by Claydon at short third man, yet even so, Hampshire cantered to 62 for 2 by the end of their six Powerplay overs.

To his credit, rookie offspinner Adam Riley, Kent's most frugal bowler with 0 for 21, and veteran seamer Stevens temporarily restricted the boundary count to limit Royals to 84 for 2 at the innings mid-point, but Carberry ploughed on to a 33-ball 50 with seven fours and a six. He helped add 94 in 11.1 overs with Neil McKenzie before the latter was run out for 45 when attempting a sharp single to Stevens at wide mid-on.

Then, a fit again Hants' skipper Mascarenhas fell to a spectacular overhead catch at long leg by Ben Harmison after hooking at a Matt Coles bouncer. Coles picked up a fortunate second scalp Sean Ervine clipped a low full toss to long-on, and Claydon closed with a costly 2 for 55 when he bowled Dawson with the final delivery of the innings. But Carberry refused to budge and carried his bat for 83 from 56 balls.

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'I don't think we're mentally sharp enough' - Brendan Taylor

It's an old adage that cricket is a game played mostly in the mind. With India having cruised to an unassailable 3-0 series lead, Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor identified his team's major weakness as their mental frailty under pressure.

"I think [the problem is] mental toughness," Taylor said. "I don't think we're mentally sharp enough. We're just not making the precise decisions at the right time and not putting a real price on our wickets. Too many soft dismissals.

"We all know in the mornings it's a little tricky [to bat] but technically we haven't been good enough. The Indian bowlers, they just keep it nice and simple. They don't give you too much to hit, but if we can get through that initial period and keep wickets in hand there's no reason why we can't catch up and post a decent total."

Taylor is Zimbabwe's most accomplished batsman and part of the reason for their collective failure has been his personal one. In his last eight innings, Taylor has a top score of just 40 and in this series has had to juggle batting, captaining and keeping wicket. He is not panicking yet, though. "I'm a player who hits an extremely large amount of balls when I practice," he said. "It's just [about] continuing to do those things and try to prepare well every game and I'm a believer that if you do that a big score's not too far away."

In all three games so far, Zimbabwe's batting has faltered at crucial moments. In the first match, they lost regular wickets while they should have been accumulating in the middle of their innings, while in the second the middle order frittered away a good start to the chase. Sunday's defeat was the heaviest, but Taylor identified the second defeat as the hardest to stomach.

"The most difficult one for me was the second game when we had an opportunity to win that game, and we dropped Dhawan and we dropped plenty of chances and allowed them to get to 290," he said. "It would have been a different story if we'd caught our catches and probably chased 230-240, we would have gone about our chase a lot differently. It's very frustrating to see, knowing our batting ability and not getting the runs that we know we can get."

Sunday's defeat was also played out in front of the largest crowd of the series. Though the grandstands weren't full, almost all of the smaller stands and the grass banks were. A boisterous crowd weren't given too much to applaud - though they did enjoy the obdurate efforts of Tendai Chatara and Brian Vitori with the bat.

"It hurts," Taylor admitted. "It does hurt because they are passionate and they want us to do well, and today it was a bit disheartening to play the way we have played. But fortunately there's more cricket coming up and we haven't played our best cricket here but hopefully we can give the people of Bulawayo something to smile about.

"There's always pride [to play for]. We use that word a lot, because it's a privilege to represent your country. Just to be playing against the best team in the world, that's an honour in itself."

The series now moves to Bulawayo for the final two matches. While conditions will be similar to Harare and the games will start just as early, the Queens Sports Club pitch has a reputation of being easier to bat on.

"Bulawayo is a bit more friendly in the morning to the batters, though there was a bit there against Bangladesh not too long ago so each side may have to be up against the ball nipping around a little bit," Taylor said. "But that generally burns off pretty quickly and then it gets really good to bat on."

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Starc keen for Taylor second look

Mitchell Starc has said Australia's attack would like another chance to bowl at James Taylor in the Old Trafford Test, despite Taylor's unbeaten century against them during the tour match in Hove.

Taylor finished on 121 not out when the Sussex innings ended on the final day of the game but he was dropped twice along the way, once at slip on 23 and again when he miscued a lofted drive on 90, and he conceded that it wasn't his most fluent innings. Still, Taylor will head to Old Trafford with some confidence after the innings against an attack made up of Starc, Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar.

"Probably, yes," Starc said when asked if he would like to bowl at Taylor in Manchester. "He's a good player. He's scored a few runs and has played Test cricket before. He's another player who, if he does get the chance to play, we'll assess again, but it's nice to have a look at him and how he's going at the moment in this game.

"I've played against him before. He's someone who likes to cut and pull. He's only a very small guy so we want to make sure we've got him driving. He played well. It's a good batting wicket, but he did play well."

Starc took 2 for 43 in Sussex's only innings and although his economy was good, he was occasionally wayward and appeared at times to struggle to control the swing of the ball. Jackson Bird also collected two wickets and was the pick of the bowlers, while Faulkner battled to find the right line to challenge the batsmen. One of the three fast men might be called up for Old Trafford to replace the injured James Pattinson, although a dual spin attack is also a possibility if the pitch is dry.

"We certainly weren't taking it as a bowl-off; it was just to go out there and perform, and take thought of pushing for selection out of the picture and just try to take wickets," Starc said. "We were actually surprised with how much it did swing here for Birdy and myself, and even for James Faulkner.

"It definitely swung more here than the last few times we've had the Dukes. It was a little bit tougher to control but once you get a few overs of that under your belts and adjust your lines, you should be hitting that target. It was nice to have that ball swinging for the hundred overs and keeping the ball in nice condition. That's a positive for us."

Starc said he was pleased with his efforts against Sussex and felt he had bowled well on the whole tour so far, despite being dropped for the Lord's Test to make room for Ryan Harris. It was the second time in seven months Starc had been left out of a marquee Test, having been rested for the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka last summer.

"You never want to miss a game at all," he said. "It's always a little bit disappointing to miss out on any game of cricket but it was my turn to miss out I guess. I just have to do everything I can to get myself ready."

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Mishra makes most of opportunities

Amit Mishra must feel the pressure to establish himself in the Indian team more than the other untested hopefuls on this tour to Zimbabwe. The wrong side of 30, it had been two years before this tour since Mishra last played an ODI and his tally of 18 ODIs in the ten years since his international debut suggests underuse of his talent.

Yet without the long-term confidence of the selectors on his side, he has little choice but to keep plugging away and make the most of whatever opportunities come his way. With nine wickets in three games in Zimbabwe, including a Man of the Match-winning 4 for 47 on Sunday, he's done just that on this tour.

But while Mishra's performances can't have hurt his chances, when India A head to South Africa in August he'll be heading in the opposite direction. He isn't part of the Cheteshwar Pujara-led group which is staking a claim for India's Test tour of South Africa later this year.

"I'm not in the Test side," Mishra conceded. "I'll try and do my job in the next two matches, and then it's up to the selectors. I've been waiting a long time for this and I'm doing my best and it's working for me now."

Mishra has found particular success with his variations on the traditional legspinner's delivery against Zimbabwe. His front-of-the-hand quicker delivery has helped to tie the Zimbabwe batsmen down, while his googly has brought about six of his nine dismissals .

"I've done lots of hard work on my googlies and variations and it's paying off," he said. "When I came here I was just thinking about the conditions and how to bowl on these kinds of tracks. I've spoken a lot with TP [Trevor Penney] and Duncan [Fletcher] who have given me a few tips, which I've been working hard on."

With so many of the touring Indians hoping to use this trip to win further honours with the national side, Mishra suggested that their was a positive competitive streak among his team-mates. "All the players have done so well in domestic cricket, so they came here with the confidence," he said.

"There's a lot of healthy competition going on - everyone wants to do well for India, so it's working for the Indian team."

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New routine brings Dilshan relief

There is unbridled joy in each of Tillakaratne Dilshan's hundred celebrations, but this one was tinged with some relief too. He is arriving at a period in his career where he must prove even to himself that his skill remains undimmed

Like every great entertainer, Tillakaratne Dilshan likes to adorn his grand performances with a moment the audience will not soon forget. Many times it is a fierce blow through the covers early in the innings - an act that is routinely his statement of unyielding intent, wrists and blade whipping manically toward ball that rarely deserves to be fetched from the fence. Other times it's his shot over the keeper, leaving the bowler wondering if he has a ball that might subdue a batsman who makes such cruel mockery of cricket's basic tenets.

Then on his best days, Dilshan plays a stroke that outstrips even the dilscoop for gall. Two years ago in a Twenty20 in Pallekele, he dropped to one knee and swept a low Shane Watson full-toss on off stump, flat and hard over the deep midwicket boundary.


Against South Africa in the fourth ODI, Dilshan's 17th hundred was notably short on thrills. His go-to shot through the covers was shelved entirely, balls were largely regarded on conventional merit and for much of their 184-run stand, Kumar Sangakkara outscored him blow-for-blow.

As Dilshan found his way back from a lean trot and from injury, he caged the abandon that founded his success and ground out a ton he knew he needed to make. It had been seven innings since he last crossed 50, and though he continues to make big breakthroughs with the ball, any team's oldest player can only go so long without a major contribution in his foremost suit. There is unbridled joy in each of Dilshan's hundred celebrations, but this one was tinged with some relief too. He is arriving at a period in his career where he must prove even to himself that his skill remains undimmed.

He had attempted a similar innings two matches ago, on a slower surface in Colombo. His 43 from 64 then featured just one four; a glide to the third-man boundary. But having sat out the tri-series against West Indies through injury, perhaps body had not yet begun to fully cooperate with will. A wide delivery he would normally pummel through point took a top edge and finished in the wicketkeeper's gloves. 


He has also had a major technical flaw re-exposed in this series. On Boxing Day last year, in a moment that epitomised Sri Lanka's ineptness in that match, Dilshan swiped across the line at a full, seaming Mitchell Johnson ball and had his stumps rattled. He spoke of having fixed the flaw when he hit two hundreds in three matches against Bangladesh in March, but departed in almost identical fashion in the Champions Trophy, when Mitchell McLenaghan bowled him in Cardiff. Against South Africa in the first ODI, Dilshan allowed Chris Morris' first straight ball following a spate of wides through his defences, as he aimed a shot through mid-on once again.

	I'm not going to change how I play. If the ball is there to hit - even if it is the first ball - I'm going to hit it Tillakaratne Dilshan


Both Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Morne Morkel honed in on Dilshan's stumps early in the innings, hoping he would oblige once more. But like with his cover drive, Dilshan remained untempted. The only expansive stroke he played off the seam bowlers in the arc from square leg to mid-off was a slog off a Tsotsobe free-hit. The straight balls were defused defensively instead, as he endeavoured to establish himself. It is an unusual ploy Dilshan said he may now use more often, if it brings him such success.

"Now with the new rule, run scoring has completely changed. If you take the last six or seven months, you can get a lot more runs in the last 15 overs than you can in the first 10. With the two new balls, it's better not to take a chance in those first 10 overs. There are also only four fielders on the boundary later on, when the ball is older and not doing much. When the rules change, we have to adjust as well."



He could not bring himself to admit he had embraced reticence though. Despite advocating a more thoughtful approach than he is used to, Dilshan remains a creature of instinct and an ardent opportunist. Once the game was secure in Pallekele, he strummed his steady piece into a crescendo, hitting nine late fours to plunder 44 from 21 deliveries. His first 50 runs had come in 83 balls.

"Still, given all that, I'm not going to change how I play. If the ball is there to hit - even if it is the first ball - I'm going to hit it."

By his own admission Dilshan does not train hard, even in a poor patch, and his method is perhaps no great exemplar for the young men finding their feet in the side. But there was no doubting his thirst for victory in Pallekele, as he strayed from the familiar to regain the confidence his cricket is founded on, and that is worth trading a few memorable shots for.

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Russell puts spanner in Somerset's works

Worcestershire 191 for 5 (Russell 77*) beat Somerset 188 for 4 (Kieswetter 80, Trego 62) by five wickets
Scorecard

A whirlwind half-century by West Indian Andre Russell delayed Somerset's march towards the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals as Worcestershire registered a surprise five-wicket win at New Road.

Worcestershire ended a run of three defeats and climbed off the bottom of the Midlands/Wales/West group by overhauling Somerset's formidable total of 188 for 4 with two balls to spare.

Russell led the charge to victory with six sixes in an unbeaten 77 from 42 balls - his highest score on a T20 contract for the county - and Ross Whiteley, newly signed from Derbyshire, was the perfect foil with 43 on his debut.

The tall left hander cleared the rope twice in stand of 88 in nine overs before a top edge off Yasir Arafat was well taken by Chris Jones at deep midwicket.

The momentum was then so much with Worcestershire that two fours by Russell in the last over from Craig Meschede completed a double over Somerset in the group.

Worcestershire lost early wickets but with rain threatening they made brisk progress through Alexei Kervezee, with 32 on stepping up to open, and Daryl Mitchell with 23 until he was leg-before to George Dockrell's first ball.

Somerset had made a bad start when Jones popped up a return chance to Jack Shantry but Worcestershire subsequently conceded eight sixes and 14 fours on a good batting surface.

Peter Trego led the way with 62 from only 31 balls and Craig Kieswetter was close to batting through the innings, cruising to 80 from 56 deliveries, before he was caught at wide long on in the 19th over. The pressure exerted by two batsmen targeting the shorter boundaries led to a number of fielding errors as Somerset romped to 61 in the six-over power play.

Trego was the chief enforcer, bludgeoning three sixes and eight fours until Worcestershire captain Mitchell appeared as the sixth bowler and beat the allrounder's attempt to drive his fourth delivery.

Jos Buttler briefly showed his flair for the shorter format until he was also bowled, making a complete mess of the scoop shot, but Kieswetter continued on his trouble-free course. Selective hitting brought four sixes and five fours before falling to Shantry with a neat catch by Whiteley.

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Bird's numbers proving hard to ignore

Jackson Bird just keeps taking wickets. Eleven at 16.18 in his only two Tests. Nine at 24.00 for Australia A and the Australians in England this year. His first-class tally now stands at 107 victims at 19.71. Statistics don't always tell the whole truth but such figures are hard to ignore, and Bird continued to build a strong case to replace the injured James Pattinson for the Old Trafford Test with a couple of searching spells against Sussex on the second day in Hove.

More than any other member of Australia's attack, Bird made the batsmen play again and again, giving them precious few loose balls to release the pressure. He swung it away from the right-handers early and kept his lines tight, collecting 2 for 33 that should have been three-for when a catch at slip was spilled. Without question he outbowled Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner and after being overlooked for Ryan Harris at Lord's, placed himself at the front of the queue to replace Pattinson in Manchester.

"They went with Ryan and Ryan did very well," Bird said. "It was probably the right selection. I'm not bitter or anything like that. Ryan is a world-class bowler and he showed that at Lord's. But if you're in the squad you're definitely a chance and you have to prepare before each Test match as if you're going to play.

"I feel like I've been bowling pretty well the last couple of weeks. I've been bowling well in the nets and I feel like I'm pretty close to being at 100%. And I suppose if selected next week in Manchester, I feel like I'm ready to do a good job but that's still a week or so away and we've still got a day of cricket tomorrow to concentrate on.

"I suppose there is always the motivation if you're outside the squad to do well, to make the final XI, but I can't control selection. It's not something that I think about all the time. All I can control is taking wickets for Australia and I took a couple today but there's still a bit of work to do tomorrow."

Bird, 26, has been a first-class cricketer for less than two years but has a mature approach, and knows his game well. Last year's Australia A tour of England was a significant learning experience for Bird, who struggled in the unfamiliar conditions and managed only seven wickets at 44.71. His success in three appearances on this Ashes tour are a strong indication that he had accurately assessed his deficiencies on that trip.

"I was probably a bit impatient when I came here last year," Bird said. "Everyone talks about how much the Dukes ball moves around and when I got here last year it didn't really do that. I was trying to swing the ball too much and trying to get too much sideways movement. When the wickets are flat over here the English batters punish bad bowling.

"I just came over here this year knowing that I had to really be diligent on my lines and lengths, especially when the sun is out I really have to build pressure. I feel like I've done that. And when it is cloudy and the conditions suit you, not to get too carried away. You've still got to hit your lines and lengths and that's probably the main thing I've noticed."

Line and length might sound straightforward but the value of Bird's control quickly became apparent when Starc and Faulkner both sent down some wayward deliveries in Hove. His consistent, accurate bowling brought him success in his first two Tests against Sri Lanka last summer in Australia and after nearly four months on the sidelines with a back injury that forced him home from the Test tour of India in February, Bird has moved closer and closer to another opportunity.

"I didn't think I was going to be fit enough in time for the tour," he said. "It's a bonus being here on the Ashes tour and if I play well it's just a bonus. I am definitely enjoying being over here."

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