Qualification would be 'massive' for Scotland - Coetzer

Scotland captain, Kyle Coetzer, has targeted Afghanistan and Netherlands as the two main sides to beat in his team's World Twenty20 Qualifier group. Scotland are one of 16 teams competing for six places at next year's World Twenty20 and Coetzer said that qualification would be "massive for cricket" in the country.

Teams have begun to arrive in the UAE ahead of the tournament, which runs from November 15-30. Scotland, who played in the first two World Twenty20s in 2007 and 2009, will form part of Group B alongside Kenya, Bermuda, Denmark, Nepal and Papua New Guinea, as well as two of the favourites.

"Getting over Afghanistan or the Netherlands will fill our side with confidence," Coetzer said. "Afghanistan has been a side we have not had a huge amount of success against. So we want to make a statement that we are here and we mean business.

"It will be massive for cricket in Scotland and for all the supporters we get from throughout the country. We have not been involved in a world tournament for a couple of years now, so it will be nice to get back in the world stage."

Scotland have lost one of their key players to injury in vice-captain Preston Mommsen but should be among the contenders in the UAE. They are currently ranked 12th in the world in T20 cricket, below Ireland and Afghanistan but above Netherlands.

"Missing Preston is massive and leaves a big hole, but we have got guys who are capable of taking up his spot which is very important," Coetzer said. "We feel we have all bases covered in terms of flexibility in the squad like right-hand/left-hand combination in batting, different aggressiveness styles as well.

"In bowling, we have right-arm and left-arm bowlers, which we have not had in the previous couple of tournaments. So it is nice to have that option, we have three left arm bowlers in our ranks, which give us variation."

Coetzer, 29, is coming off the back of a successful season with Northamptonshire, during which the team secured promotion from Division Two of the Championship and won the Friends Life t20 competition. Allied to his own experience, the team will be able to draw on the knowledge of England's World Twenty20-winning former captain, Paul Collingwood, who has taken up a coaching role with Scotland over the winter.

"In terms of batting, he is really helping guys understand how to get about scoring their runs, or chasing down totals and setting a certain total," Coetzer said. "Having someone like Colly will be a massive advantage to our boys."

The Scotland squad have recently been on a training camp in Sri Lanka, to help acclimatise to conditions in the UAE as well as gain experience of subcontinental conditions, with the World T20 to be held in Bangladesh next March and April. They will prepare for the World T20 Qualifier with warm-up matches against USA and Namibia before taking on Bermuda in their opening fixture on Friday but Coetzer was not worried about his side's ability to adapt in the UAE.

"We played out there a couple of times in a year so it is not like the conditions are absolutely foreign to us," Coetzer said. "I would probably say that the conditions don't suit us as much as others, but you can't use that as an excuse. You've just got to find a way to perform the best in those kinds of conditions."

Read More..

Cutting departs from script

Ben Cutting's spell during the afternoon may have caught the selectors' eye, whilst also giving England the testing workout they craved

As he watched Ben Cutting charge in at England's batsmen on an otherwise turgid final afternoon of the Australia A match in Hobart, it is likely the selector on duty, Rod Marsh, would have been equal parts impressed and peeved.

Impressed because Cutting was taking the opportunity presented to him in a way few of his team-mates did across the match, striving to earn higher honours rather than going through the motions to avoid injury. But peeved because Cutting's rhythmic speed, lateral movement and sustained accuracy was providing England with the sort of quality batting work-out that Marsh, the national selector, John Inverarity, and the team performance manager, Pat Howard, have been deliberately trying to withhold from the tourists.

After completing a spell of 9-3-17-2 that included the significant wicket of Jonathan Trott, Cutting revealed his bowling was not only the result of earnest endeavour but also malice aforethought, including a phone call to his Queensland compatriot Ryan Harris to discuss Australia's Ashes plans for the touring batsmen. Trott faced up to a leg slip before edging a good one behind, and Joe Root floundered visibly against the ball well pitched up.

"Leading into this game when I thought I was going to be playing I spoke at length to Ryan Harris about bowling plans," Cutting said. "He did so well over in England I couldn't think of a better person to ring and talk to. That [leg slip] was one of his ideas and I decided to run with that and give it a go myself. I don't know if I was bowling that quick, I haven't seen the gun, but I only bowled one bouncer all day. I bowled a handful on day one, but in saying that I didn't bowl one to Alastair Cook, so I do pick my targets."

It was all very good and very thoughtful bowling, suggesting that the 26-year-old Cutting has matured into a paceman as intelligent as he is hostile. Looking on from the England viewing area, the team director, Andy Flower, could not help but approve of Cutting's expertise and the resultant stiffening required of the touring batsmen to counter him. For those nine overs, a lifeless game briefly mimicked something like the intensity of a Test match.

"I thought he bowled superbly," Flower said. "He bowled an excellent length, conditions were a little subcontinent-like, with the bounce of the ball. He bowled a perfect length for that pitch and he was good on the first day as well, I thought, without much luck. But he was excellent today. It was good for us to face that sort of quality bowling."

	On day four, Cutting departed from the script so markedly that Flower learned more about several batsmen in just over an hour than he could have deduced from the previous 13 days on tour

Good for England, but in all probability too good for the aims of the Australia selectors. In much the same manner as last summer when compiling the Australia A team to face the South Africans in Sydney, Inverarity's panel had hoped to prevent England from gaining much sight of top-class fast bowling before the first Test in Brisbane. The team for Hobart was lopsided, leaning heavily on batting and choosing only the seamer Trent Copeland to share the new ball with Cutting.

As a result of this, England's captain Alastair Cook and his likely Gabba opening partner Michael Carberry were able to dominate day one, playing themselves into the pinkest of form before the rain set in for two days. They were aided by a fielding display that bordered on the uninterested, leaving many to wonder whether the players involved were fully aware of the chance on offer to them, and if they would have been so slovenly were they playing for their state.

On day four, however, Cutting departed from the script so markedly that Flower learned more about several batsmen in just over an hour than he could have deduced from any of the team's previous 13 days on tour. It can only be hoped that Cutting has also forced the selectors to depart from their own planning for the Gabba by considering him for a place in the squad. Two years ago, Cutting's chances of a debut against New Zealand were checked by a back injury in the Sheffield Shield match preceding the 2011 Brisbane Test, an experience he still winces about.

"It's a funny one because it's such an amazing high and then the next day I was injured and a ridiculous low," Cutting said. "I missed a lot of cricket after that and dropped right down the pecking order, as I have done each time I've been injured, so the goal for me is just to stay on the park. I know if I can stay on the park and put the performances together that something will happen eventually."

In Hobart, Cutting put on a performance that should make his selection happen immediately. Whether Marsh chooses to look past the foiling of the selectors' subterfuge to appreciate the bowling on display will only be known when the Ashes squad is announced on Tuesday. One thing is certain: a handful of England batsmen will be hoping fervently that he does not.

Read More..

Roach sent home with shoulder injury

Kemar Roach, the West Indies fast bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour of India because of a shoulder injury. Shannon Gabriel will join the squad as his replacement ahead of the second Test in Mumbai, which begins on November 14.

Roach did not play the first Test in Kolkata either because of his injury, and will miss the limited-overs leg of the tour as well. "We're sad to announce that Kemar has to return home to the Caribbean and will not have an opportunity on this tour, where we felt he could have made a major difference," West Indies head coach, Ottis Gibson, said.

CJ Clark, the West Indies physiotherapist, said the injury was rather uncommon among cricketers. "Kemar has not made the expected recovery from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the first Test," Clark said. "He is returning to the Caribbean for ongoing management and subsequent physical rehabilitation."

Roach is currently the highest ranked Test bowler for West Indies at No. 14. He has taken 85 wickets at 27.71 in 23 Tests.

West Indies currently trail India 1-0 in the series after they lost the first Test in Kolkata by an innings and 51 runs. The defeat was wrapped up inside of three days. The second Test of the series will be Sachin Tendulkar's 200th and final Test, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman, will be playing his 150th match.

Read More..

Injured Pollard out of India ODIs

Kieron Pollard, the West Indies allrounder, has been rested from the ODI squad for the series in India because of an injury. Kemar Roach has also been ruled out of the series, which starts on November 21, with a shoulder injury.

West Indies recalled Kieran Powell, Veerasammy Permaul and Narsingh Deonarine, after they had not been chosen for the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka and the home series against Pakistan earlier this year. Powell, Permaul and Deonarine last played for West Indies in the ODIs against Zimbabwe and were not a part of the squad for the Champions Trophy.

The trio had been part of the West Indies A squad that recently toured India, playing first-class and List A games against the India A side. Deonarine was second highest run-getter for West Indies A in the first-class matches - 276 runs in three games at an average of 46 - and scored a fifty in the only List A game he played on the tour. Permaul also had a good outing for West Indies A, finishing with ten wickets in two first-class games.

The other notable inclusions in the squad were fast bowler Ravi Rampaul and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. Rampaul had suffered an ankle injury in the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka and was also sidelined for the home series against Pakistan. He returned to competitive cricket for Trinidad & Tobago in the Champions League T20. Ramdin, who has played just seven ODI games this year, had been dropped frequently due to indifferent form. His last ODI fifty was against India in December 2011.

West Indies' ODI form has been poor of late, with only seven wins in 20 matches this year. Their record away from home is worse, with five losses in as many games in 2013. Their last ODI series win was against Zimbabwe in February this year. In the previous series between India and West Indies, in India, the visitors lost 4-1.

Squad: Dwayne Bravo (capt), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons

Read More..

PCB and CSA to increase ties

The PCB and CSA have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding that will increase cricketing ties between the two countries. Pakistan will tour South Africa later this month, filling a void left by India's truncated visit, and the boards have now signalled their intention to cooperate further after a meeting between Najam Sethi, the interim PCB chairman, and the CSA chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, in Abu Dhabi.

The arrangement could see more Pakistani players taking part in South Africa's domestic competitions. Sethi said that it was time for the PCB "to stand with CSA", while Lorgat welcomed Pakistan's decision to come to South Africa for three ODIs and two T20s in November, following the ongoing meeting between the two teams in the UAE.

"[The] ideal thing would be for us is to play a series at home but unfortunately for various reasons that is not possible," Sethi said. "It's important for our players at the national and Under-19 levels to play internationally and I am very keen to support that, so when the opportunity came along, although it's a tight time frame, it was time for us to stand with CSA. We don't end up making too much money but we don't lose anything and our boys get to play South Africa in South Africa, which is very exciting."

Pakistan have already toured South Africa once this year and their players could gain further experience of the conditions by turning out for the franchises. Sohail Tanvir has been a successful recruit for the Lions over the past two seasons and his international team-mates may now follow in his footsteps.

Pakistan has not hosted a series since terrorist attacks on a Sri Lanka team bus in 2009, limiting the team's game time, although they have been successful playing in the Emirates. Pakistan players have also been excluded from the IPL in that period, after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, but Sethi expressed a hope that this situation may be reversed.

"Our players will also play in South African domestic cricket and that will give them more cricket," he said. "I have talked to Lorgat, he has promised me to encourage our players to play in their local leagues. My concern is that our players should play in India in the IPL and in county cricket, we want to do that. If they let our players in the local leagues then it will give them good outing and good education."

The visit of Pakistan was hastily arranged after India cut their South Africa tour to two Tests and three ODIs. Such was CSA's desire to arrange the fixtures, it is prepared to make a financial loss. Lorgat has been a supporter of cricket in Pakistan, travelling there as a consultant to the proposed Pakistan Super League after finishing his tenure as ICC chief executive last year. He denied, however, that a tightening of relations between the two countries would stoke the ire of the BCCI.

"We are excited and happy with that great engagement with Pakistan and it's pretty obvious that it fills a gap that has risen out of a curtailed tour," Lorgat said. Asked whether the Indian board would be unhappy with the arrangement, he replied: "I don't see why it should, Pakistan was available and it's a bilateral arrangement between the two and we are simply delighted that we can get Pakistan to South Africa."

Read More..

Bopara signs up for BBL

England allrounder Ravi Bopara has signed up to play for the Sydney Sixers in this season's Big Bash League. He will replace Chris Tremlett, who is in England's Ashes squad, for the first part of the tournament.

Bopara is part of England's limited-overs teams, putting in a series of impressive displays during the northern summer, but has not played a Test since 2012. He is currently in action in the Dhaka Premier Division and will join up with fellow England batsman Michael Lumb for the Sixers.

"I'm delighted to be joining the Sydney Sixers for the first half of the Big Bash," Bopara said. "The Sixers are famous throughout the cricketing world and I'm privileged to have the opportunity to represent them.

"The team is full of absolutely fantastic talent and I'm looking forward to catching up and playing alongside them when we meet up next month."

Bopara has scored 2850 T20 runs, including one century, at a strike rate of 113.50, as well as taking 88 wickets with his medium pace. He played in all but one of Essex's games in last season's Friends Life t20, as they reached the semi-finals.

"Ravi fills a great role for us at the Sixers, as an allrounder with excellent strokeplay and medium-pace bowling," the Sixers general manager, Dominic Remond, said. "He has played at the highest level of international cricket and will bring great experience to our team."

Read More..

Mills confident of youngsters stepping up

Successive ODI series losses in Bangladesh might stretch the optimism of even the most seasoned international captain, but ahead of his first full series at the helm of a youthful side in Sri Lanka, Kyle Mills found cause for positivity in New Zealand's 0-3 result.


Leading the New Zealand team in the absence of Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson, who have been ruled out by either injury or selectors' discretion, Mills said that individual performances from the previous series boded well for New Zealand, despite the net result in Bangladesh.  

Mills had also been part of the New Zealand team that lost their last ODI series in Sri Lanka 0-3  - albeit in a series heavily affected by rain - but familiarity with subcontinent conditions and the enthusiasm among young players seeking international acclaim, will make New Zealand competitive in Sri Lanka, Mills said. Tearaway quick Adam Milne and allrounder James Neesham are among the young prospects who will attempt to establish themselves in the national team, while older players like Colin Munro and Anton Devcich will also be on trial.

"I think we have one of the most exciting cricket teams to leave New Zealand's shores," Mills said. "There are a number of young talents, and their names might not be familiar now, but in the two weeks, I'm sure some of the young guys will step up for us.

"Looking back on the Bangladesh series, even thought we went down, a number of guys stepped up. The guys who did step up were younger members within the group, and it's exciting to see young emerging members. It was nice to win the last game - the T20. There were almost 400 runs scored in that game and it was a bit of a thriller. To come out on top in that instilled a lot of confidence in the group."

Defusing Sri Lanka's spin bowlers will be key to New Zealand's prospects in the series, and in this too, the experience in Bangladesh would prove invaluable. Ajantha Mendis has in the past dominated batsmen who have not played him before, and in Sachithra Senanayake, Sri Lanka have a second spinner who possesses a variety of difficult variations.

"Between now and the series starting, there is going to be a bit of scouting going into what's going to come upon the top order in the next three games," Mills said. "But we've just been to Bangladesh, where there was a spin-oriented type of attack as well, so that helps. It's important to accumulate your ones and your twos off the spinners, to keep it rotating, and we've learned that thanks to a good diet of facing spin bowlers for the last wee while. The most important thing is to adapt as quickly as possible. Hopefully we can upskill on the Sri Lankan bowling between now and the first game."


Beyond recent experience in Bangladesh, several players in New Zealand's squad have also played in Sri Lanka in the last few months, during the A team's tour. Milne, Devcich, Munro, Corey Anderson, Tom Latham, Luke Ronchi and Andrew Ellis all played at least one match in Sri Lanka on the tour in September and October.


"It's nice that they came on that Sri Lankan tour and had some good, solid performances against that Sri Lankan A side," Mills said. "They've had a bit of practice time in the kind of conditions we're going to get over the coming two weeks. Those guys also played well in Bangladesh. We've been in the subcontinent for a while now, so the lads are acclimatised."

Read More..

'Win series first, blood youth later' - Mathews

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said his team would aim to secure the three-match ODI series against a depleted New Zealand before entertaining the prospect of blooding young players, despite his team's continuing quest for regeneration.

One of the senior batsmen had been rested for each match of the most recent Twenty20 series against South Africa, in order to free a space up for a young player, but Mathews quelled notions a similar strategy would be employed against New Zealand. Uncapped middle-order batsman Ashan Priyanjan and developing medium-pace bowler Suranga Lakmal have both been named in Sri Lanka's squad for the first two ODIs.

"The youngsters are good fighters, and they may have a chance, but the main thing is that we win this thee match series. The current squad of 16 has only been selected for the first two matches to in Hambantota. If we win the series, then of course we can think about giving an opportunity to the youngsters."

The series is Sri Lanka's first' top-level assignment since South Africa departed in early August, but Mathews was confident his side would not show signs of rust, given their industry during the international hiatus. Sri Lanka's top players took part in a four-day first-class triangular series in October, and also had two practice matches against a Sri Lanka A team ahead of New Zealand's arrival.

The long gap in international cricket had been brought about by postponements to home Tests against South Africa and an away tour to Zimbabwe.

"It's unfortunate to miss the Zimbabwe series but we had some good matches here and it was a good two months to refresh for us. We had a lot of strength training, in addition to preparing specifically for this tour, so I think we're in good shape."

Mathews expressed disappointment at the prospect of playing a New Zealand team without their of their best batsmen, one of whom captains the team, but insisted that there would be no dip in intensity from his side. Earlier this week Sri Lanka chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya had also voiced his dismay at New Zealand's choice to withdraw Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor from the series, before Kane Williamson was also injured.

"We aren't just playing against individual players, we're playing against the New Zealand team, so we're not going to be complacent no matter what the opposition is doing," Mathews said. "This is a very important series for us, partly because it gives us a chance to tune up ahead of the Pakistan tour as well. We're disappointed that a few of their best players aren't here, but as they proved when they beat us in a nailbiter in Cardiff this year, they're still a very good team and we can't take them lightly."

Read More..

England insist on Ashes cookbook

The leaking of England's minutely detailed dining requirements highlights their attention to details. The days of pies, pizza and pints are long gone

Australia still idly likes to imagine England as a depressing culinary backwater of fish and chips and bacon butties, but if they serve that up for the England cricket team in the forthcoming Test series it could create the greatest Ashes stand-off since Bodyline.

The Bodyline controversy in the 1930s was all about potential damage to the body because of deliberate short-pitched bowling, but Bodyline II is more obsessed with the attainment of physical perfection as England have issued detailed instructions about the health foods they expect to receive during the Ashes series.

England's culinary requirements, which have been leaked to the Sydney Morning Herald, are outlined in a glossy 70-page cookbook plus accompanying instructions and include exact instructions for preparing nearly 200 different types of meals and drinks. Beware, Australia, if your muffins are not wholewheat or if your cranberries are not poached until soft.

Superfoods such as kale, agave nectar and yogurt (probiotic, naturally) are present in abundance and, as for the main courses, expect heavy demand for the mungbean and spinach curry.

Most international sides issue dietary requirements - Australia among them - but it is a safe bet that there has never been anything as detailed as this. If you are reading this while reheating last night's pizza, you may wish to feel ashamed.

England's methodology is based upon micro-planning every aspect of their performance, all supervised by the largest backroom staff in cricket history. This even extended to organising a pre-tour dinner for the team director, Andy Flower, with the players' wives and girlfriends to advise about their responsibilities (no menus are available, sadly).

They never miss an opportunity to discuss with other elite sports coaches and competitors how to gain minute advantages. These prescriptive demands for Australia to prepare healthy meals to their requirements will only strengthen their growing reputation for unashamed professionalism.

Chris Rosimus, the ECB's performance nutritionist, has backed up the cookbook with a further 12-page file titled, Test Catering Requirements. Rosimus used to work as a nutritionist for Manchester United Soccer Schools in Abu Dhabi before he joined the ECB more than two years ago.

He provides guidance to England players, men and women, at all levels and is tasked with identifying potential problem players. Gary Ballance, who some feel carries a little extra poundage, could find Rosimus on his shoulder at any moment.

Rosimus' secret? Well, England guard such information closely, but after intense research, we can reveal this mantra: "At the end of play, have a good meal that provides one-third carbohydrate, one-third lean protein and one-third vegetables or salad. This will help your body recovery to do it all again the next day."

It is all a world away from England's three-month tour of India in 1993 when the tour manager, Bob Bennett, kept spirits up by occasionally running what became known as Bob's Kitchen, with birthday cakes for the players a speciality.

By the end of the century, England's physiotherapist, Wayne Morton, part of a backroom staff that was tiny by comparison with today, would insist on checking the hygiene of hotel kitchens and was not averse to brandishing bottles of anti-bacterial liquid and suggesting that the staff attended to their cleaning rota.

What Ben Stokes, one of the least experienced members of England's Ashes tour party, makes of it, heaven knows. When Durham won a decisive late-season Championship match against their closest challengers, Yorkshire, at Scarborough, Stokes gleefully tweeted a picture of the boys tucking in with a celebratory Chinese takeaway. Now, as he wonders if he will make his Test debut in the Ashes series, he must learn to love butternut squash and falafel coronation. Be warned, Australia: it must only be made with low-calorie mayonnaise.

Even now, Nancy, the much-loved Middlesex cook during their glory years, who claimed to prepare for a day's work at 8am with "a cup of tea and a fag", must be looking askance from whatever celestial cloud she has alighted upon.

It was Nancy, whose lunchtime apple crumble could famously slow a bowler's approach in the post-lunch session, who once responded to the gentle concern of the former Middlesex and England captain Mike Brearley (and you can insert your own swear words, because there were plenty) by raging: "You take care of the cricket, Michael, and I'll take care of the cooking."

Times have changed, but when England have a captain, Alastair Cook, who goes by the nickname of Chef, what did you expect?

Cook even took part in a fund-raiser for the Chance to Shine cricket charity in September, judged by the TV chef Ainsley Harriott. His own delicacy, a chocolate brownie recipe which he borrowed from his wife, would presumably be on England's banned list.

Read More..

Sethi committee gets extended run

A two-judge bench of Islamabad High Court heard arguments of the PCB and the petitioners on a judgment passed by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui before adjourning the case till the first week of December. Till then, the bench said, the Najam Sethi-run Interim Management Committee in the PCB could continue to function.

The PCB is appealing the judgment passed by Justice Siddiqui that called for fresh elections to elect the board chairman. That judgement was itself a formal and full version of the order delivered on May 28 that ordered the suspension of Zaka Ashraf as PCB chairman over what it called the "dubious" and "polluted" process to elect him.

Today, the bench heard arguments by Ashraf's lawyer Afnan Karim Kundi for close to two hours. "The learned judge had no authority to legislate on the PCB constitution," Kundi said. "My client acted only to comply with the ICC direction. The [PCB] constitution was vetted by all the concerned departments of the government of Pakistan and he was elected according to the constitution."

The bench then asked the main petitioner, Ahmad Nadeem Sadal, to present his arguments. The judges asked Sadal - a former official of the Army Cricket Club in Rawalpindi - how he was an aggrieved party so as to file a petition and how his fundamental rights were affected by the PCB's actions. Sadal's lawyer argued that the petition was filed in the public interest.

Sadal's petition, and the court's response, has effectively derailed the PCB by throwing its daily functioning into confusion. The lack of administrative leadership forced it to sign a short-term broadcasting deal, affecting its major source of income, and cricket is currently being run on an interim annual budget.

Read More..