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Andy Flower has declined to deny suggestions that he is considering stepping down from his day-to-day coaching position with the England Test team

George Dobell26-Aug-2013Andy Flower has declined to deny suggestions that he is considering stepping down from his day-to-day coaching position with the England Test team.Flower, responding to a story first published by ESPNcricinfo on August 22, insisted he was “not thinking about” the vacancy created by Hugh Morris’ decision to move on from his role as managing director of England cricket, but would not give any guarantees over his long-term future.Flower, who has a young family and has been in the England job since early 2009, scaled back his workload at the end of 2012 in a bid to improve his work-life balance. While he remains team director in all formats, the day-to-day coaching of the limited overs team passed to Ashley Giles. It is believed a similar arrangement is under consideration for the Test team, with Flower not currently committing himself beyond the end of the tour to Australia in January.”I’ve always said you can’t look too far ahead,” Flower said. “You never know what’s just round the corner.”Would I fancy Hugh’s job? I’m not even thinking about that.”England’s relentless schedule has increased the risk of burnout to players and coaches for some time. But while the next few months are as hectic as normal, the end of 2014 offers some respite. England play only one overseas Test next year, in Sydney at the start of January, with the focus later in the year moving to ODI cricket ahead of the World Cup in February and March 2015. Such factors could persuade Flower to remain in position for a while longer.”The reason [in stepping back] was to get a better work-life balance. Being away from home for 250 days a year didn’t allow that. And we were also looking at maximising the use of our resources, in this instance our coaching resources. The structure is still bedding down, but having two coaches dovetailing may well be the best use of the ECB’s resources.”I do take the responsibility that the ECB have given me very seriously,” Flower said. “I’m supposed to make a difference to English cricket in a positive way and I take that responsibility very seriously. I’ll continue to do that.”I don’t have a fixed term contract. I’m very happy with the balance and I’m still enjoying the job. Very much so.”More importantly this series has worked pretty well: we won 3-0. That’s the important thing.”Next year our only away Test is in Sydney. There will be a priority switch to the 2015 World Cup at some stage. It’s too far away to think if I will be there. I don’t think I’ll be under-employed. There’s always plenty to do. I’ve always said you can’t look too far ahead.”If Flower does apply for Morris’ job, it appears he will have the support of his predecessor. Morris, who suggested there will be “an open recruitment” process to fill his role, was effusive in his praise of Flower.”I think whatever role Andy wants to do in the future he will do outstandingly well,” Morris said. “He is somebody who I’ve always admired before he came into the ECB as a player as a person. He has done an outstanding job in his current role. Whatever he wants to put his mind to do in the future, he will do well.”But Morris was also full of praise for Andrew Strauss. While he only retired as a player 12-months ago, Strauss has spent part of this year shadowing Morris in his role and learning some of the skills required for a job in administration.”Similar to Andy, Strauss is an incredibly capable bloke,” Morris said. “He said to me a while ago that when he finished playing he wanted to dip his toe in the water, try different things, see what he enjoyed doing, and then make some decisions. So he is, again, an outstanding man, and whatever he wants to do he will do incredibly well.”I think there will be a lot of people who will fancy a crack at the job. And quite rightly. It is a fantastic job. I have been really lucky to have done it, and done it for as long as I have done. It is a really great department full of really good people. I think we have got some systems in place now for talented kids at the age of 16 all the way through to Cooky, so hopefully they will inherit something that is a very professional system with a lot of good people in it.”

Once Somerset had avoided the follow on with their penultimate pair at the crease, a draw was the only realistic result

Ivo Tennant at Taunton31-May-2013
ScorecardJames Hildreth scored his first Championship ton of the season•PA PhotosOnce Somerset had avoided the follow on with their penultimate pair at the crease, a draw was the only realistic result. Yorkshire, who eventually had a first-innings lead of 140, had not the time nor the inclination to attempt to enhance that swiftly once three wickets had gone for 21 runs. Adam Lyth, who never tires of batting in Taunton, remained at the crease at tea and, indeed, thereafter.At least, from Somerset’s perspective, another batsman has found some form. On Thursday it was Marcus Trescothick. Now James Hildreth reached his first century of the season, indeed his only meaningful Championship score, before he was yorked by Moin Ashraf when just three runs were required to save the follow on. Like his captain, he is not as yet back to his very best, but his punched drive square of the wicket, a shot he plays as well as virtually anybody, was in good order.Hildreth, who was on 76 overnight, reached his century with, depending on your point of view, 12 or 14 fours. Two were all run and so do not feature as boundaries in the scorers’ official books and computers. Or, on this occasion, one scorer, as Gerry Stickley, of Somerset, was making his international debut at Lord’s.Craig Meschede partnered Hildreth competently enough until he drove too early at a slower ball from Steven Patterson and was caught at short mid-off. They had added exactly 100. At that stage, 29 runs were still required, but the pitch, effectively a third day one after the rain of Tuesday, was akin to one of Phil Frost’s surfaces of old: all even bounce and of little help for seamers and spinners alike.George Dockrell ensured Yorkshire would have to bat again by pulling Adil Rashid for four before he played on when failing to counter bounce from Ashraf. Yorkshire, then, had two options: to bat out the afternoon or to have a quick thrash in the hope of bowling out Somerset in, say, 30 overs. Not as unlikely as it would seem given Somerset’s dreadful batting this season.What happened instead was that Joe Sayers was caught at second slip by Marcus Trescothick for a single off Steve Kirby, as he had been in the first innings; Phil Jaques padded up to the second ball he faced; and Andrew Gale was leg before half forward to Peter Trego’s medium pace. That was 21 for 3 but Lyth, who continued his fine run of form on this ground by reaching a half century off 106 balls with six fours, hardly played and missed.”It was a boring draw in the end,” Trescothick admitted, “and my own batting is a work in progress. But James Hildreth has been batting well in one-day games and he shepherded the lower order well. The last four wickets put up a good fight to save the follow on.”

Marsh and Markram’s half-centuries went in vain, as SRH bagged seven LSG wickets in the last ten overs

Karthik Krishnaswamy19-May-20253:19

Moody: LSG will surely discuss Pant’s captaincy off-season

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are out of the IPL 2025 playoffs race, leaving Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) fighting for the last remaining slot in the top four.LSG made a storming start to their 12th match, with Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram putting on 115 at close to 11 runs an over. But Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)’s bowlers hit back with clever use of the old ball and limited them to 205, a total that proved inadequate in the face of a thrilling display of six-hitting from Abhishek Sharma.Related

• Moody: Pant, Pooran price tags left LSG light on their bowling

• Abhishek's over of fury: four sixes, one knockout blow

• Pant points to 'gaps' created by injuries after LSG's playoff hopes end

• Race to IPL playoffs: MI vs DC for final spot

SRH were already out of contention for the playoffs when this match began, but they showed – even without Travis Head, who missed out after a bout of Covid-19 delayed his return to India, that they remain a batting line-up with an immense ceiling, even if the vagaries of form have ensured that they have only reached it sporadically this season.Abhishek hit six sixes in a 20-ball 59, turning his team-mates’ task straightforward; with Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen and Kamindu Mendis also getting past 30, SRH reached their target with ten balls remaining.LSG’s batting, yet again, was over-reliant on their big three, with Nicholas Pooran scoring 45 off 26 balls on the back of the openers’ half-centuries, and no one else reaching double figures. Having scored 108 for no loss in the first ten overs, LSG only managed 97 for 7 in the back half, as SRH’s bowlers pulled them back with their changes of pace.It’s hard to say if conditions changed during the chase, making batting a little easier for SRH. But LSG’s attack certainly made it appear so; it was an indictment of their resources that the bowler they kept turning to in search of inspiration, Digvesh Rathi, is an uncapped player in his debut IPL season.1:42

Abhinav: Abhishek an unbelievable hitter of pace and spin

Rathi picked up the wickets of Abhishek and Kishan, but SRH were well in control by the time of those strikes. The match officially ended in the 19th over, but its symbolic end came in the 14th, when Kamindu hit Rathi for three clinical, back-to-back fours in his final over.

Marsh and Markram dominate the new ball

For the first half hour or so of LSG’s innings, after Pat Cummins sent them in, this appeared to be one of the flattest surfaces Ekana has yet produced. When Cummins aimed at a hard length and erred on the shorter side in the first over, the ball sat up for Marsh to slap and pull him for a four and a six. When the debutant left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey landed the ball a touch too close to Marsh’s hitting arc in the second over, there was no grip off the pitch to endanger the step-hit over long-on.LSG rushed to 69 for no loss in their first six overs, with both openers striking the ball authoritatively. If Marsh dominated the stand, it was only because he had more of the strike. At the six-over mark, he was on 41 off 22 balls, and Markram on 26 off 14.

SRH strike back with the old ball

At the halfway point of their innings, LSG were 108 for no loss. But the last ball of the 10th over gave a clue as to how the last 10 overs would play out. This full ball from Harshal Patel didn’t quite come on to Marsh’s bat, and a low caught-and-bowled appeal ended up going in the batter’s favour because replays suggested the ball had been momentarily grounded.SRH were certainly finding more grip with the old ball than the new one. Marsh fell in the 11th over, with Dubey getting one to turn sharply and cause him to slice a catch to short third. In the next over, Rishabh Pant, who had promoted himself to No. 3, fell for another low score, chipping back a slower ball from Eshan Malinga, who took a superb return catch diving full-length to his left.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Malinga, Harshal and Cummins began to use the slower ball with greater frequency, and began getting telling results. The best of the lot didn’t even need the help of the surface: a dipping slower yorker bamboozled Markram in the 16th over and brought Harshal his 150th IPL wicket.The challenge of the conditions was evident in the fact that Pooran began the final over without having hit a single six despite having faced 24 balls. Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled the 20th over – his second, in his first bowling innings of the season – and it turned out to be an eventful one, with Pooran and Akash Deep hitting sixes either side of three wickets including two run-outs when LSG’s batters attempted to steal byes. In all, 20 came off that over, taking LSG past 200.

Abhishek puts SRH on their way

Atharva Taide, coming on as Impact Sub and making his SRH debut, gave his new team early impetus with three fours in his first eight balls. Two of them were straight out of the middle, and one off an edged swipe that raced to the deep-third boundary. A similarly-edged swipe ended his innings, giving LSG debutant Will O’Rourke his first IPL wicket.Then Kishan walked in and creamed his second ball for a gloriously-timed six over the covers. SRH were 23 for 1 in two overs, and Abhishek had only faced one ball.All that early excitement, however, would pale against Abhishek’s onslaught. He launched a six each off Akash Deep and O’Rourke – the second an open-faced loft over cover point – and moved to 35 off 15 by the end of the powerplay. By the end of the seventh over – the most expensive seventh over in IPL history – he was batting on 59 off 19.Abhishek only faced four balls in that over, and he hit all four over the boundary. Ravi Bishnoi is a terrific bowler against left-hand batters, using his angle across them and his wrong’un to hide the ball away from their hitting arc. But he could do nothing to stop Abhishek, who used his eye and reach to launch him for three successive sixes down the ground before pulling a short one just beyond reach of the leaping Pooran on the leg-side boundary.SRH were 98 for 1 in seven overs, and entirely in control of their chase.

Rathi strikes, but it’s all too late for LSG

The umpire separates Digvesh Rathi and Abhishek Sharma•BCCI

Abhishek’s attempt to go after Rathi in the eighth over cost him his wicket, as he ended up losing his shape while making too much room against a wrong’un. Rathi gave Abhishek an old-fashioned send-off, pointing him to the dressing room, before launching into his notebook celebration; all this sparked a confrontation that needed the umpires to pull Abhishek and Rathi apart.Three more overs went by before Rathi came back into the attack, and he struck in that over too, the 12th, bowling Kishan when he missed a reverse-sweep. Kishan fell for 35 off 28, having struggled for timing after hitting that early six.By this point, Klaasen was already up and running, having hit two fours and a six in getting to 24 off 11 balls. Kamindu joined him now, and the two put on 55 in 36 balls to shut LSG out of the game.There were a couple of nervy moments late on, with Klaasen feathering Shardul Thakur behind for 47, and Kamindu retiring hurt after appearing to tweak his hamstring while completing a single. SRH only needed nine at that point, however; they took just three of the remaining 13 balls to finish the job.

Former Test batsman Hashan Tillakaratne has replaced Hemantha Wickramaratne in Sri Lanka’s new selection panel, after Wickramaratne stepped down due to work commitments, new chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya said.Tillakaratne had been among the nominees sent to the sports minister by Sri Lanka Cricket, but had not been appointed in the five-member panel on Monday. Tillakaratne is a member of provincial council for the United National Party, which is in opposition to the United People’s Freedom Alliance of which Jayasuriya and the sports minister are members.Wickramaratne had resigned because he was called upon to become one of the two full-time selectors on the panel, but was unable to relinquish his other commitments. “He can’t be a full time selector with us because of his work,” Jayasuriya said. “Because of that we’ve got Hashan Tillakaratne in our panel, who has played a lot of international cricket and brings that experience.”Tillakaratne will be a full time selector alongside former fast-bowling team-mate Pramodya Wickramasinghe, while Jayasuriya, Eric Upashantha and Chaminda Mendis will be employed part-time. Tillakaratne had been a critic of the current administration, and had even alleged political interference in the last SLC elections. He said he would continue to hold his post as a member of provincial council, while he worked as a full-time selector.”I took this job because I see it as a duty,” Tillakaratne said. “I played for a long time and benefited from the game, and I think if I can help take Sri Lanka cricket forward in any way, I have a duty to do that.”I do have the time to be both a member of provincial council and a full time selector, and it is after considering all that that I decided to accept this position. Sanath was one of the best cricketers in the world and I’m enthusiastic about working with him and the rest of the panel. I think we will be able to do something good.”SLC had said it would endeavour to cut its ties with politics after Haroon Lorgat issued his report recommending less political influence in the board, but with two politicians now on the selection panel and the with no moves having been taken to cut the sports minister out of the selection process, superficially, politics has become even more embedded in cricket administration.Jayasuriya was adamant however, that his panel’s sole focus would be on cricket, and that the selectors’ political affiliation would not affect their work for SLC. “We’re not concerned with the politics of either party on this panel. What we are concerned with is Sri Lanka’s cricket and that will be our top priority. We should thank the sports minister for choosing someone like Hashan, who has played for Sri Lanka and also been a good captain.”The sports minister has given us the freedom to act independently of political affiliations and it was encouraging to hear that. We will stay focused on improving Sri Lanka’s cricket.”Tillakaratne was a stylish left-handed batsman who played 83 Tests and 200 ODIs for Sri Lanka. He captained the side in 11 Tests between 1999 and 2004, and was a member of the World Cup winning side alongside Jayasuriya and Wickramasinghe in 1996.

أكد أرون رامسديل، أن فريقه آرسنال، لن يتخلى عن حلمه وتطلعاته للتتويج بلقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وتعرض آرسنال لهزيمة من مانشستر سيتي بأربعة أهداف مقابل هدف، أمس الأربعاء في منافسات البريميرليج.

وقلص مانشستر سيتي الفارق مع آرسنال المتصدر، إلى نقطتين، مع بقاء مباراتين مؤجلتين للسيتي.

وقال رامسديل في تصريحات نشرها موقع “آرسنال” الرسمي: “رد الفعل الفوري من الملعب هو خيبة أمل، جئنا إلى هنا للفوز بالمباراة ولم ننجح في ذلك”.

وأضاف: “لم نلعب تسعة أشهر من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز لنكون في هذا الوضع للتأوه أو الاستسلام، لن نفعل ذلك، إذا كان هناك شيء سيحدث، فسيكون في دورينا، لذلك يجب أن نكون مستعدين للانقضاض إذا حدث أي شيء”.

وأصر رامسديل: “لا شيء يتغير بالنسبة لنا؛ سنتعامل مع كل شيء كما نفعل دائمًا ونتعلم من أخطائنا، بشكل فردي وجماعي، لسوء الحظ الليلة لم نتمكن من فعل ما جئنا لتحقيقه”.

وعن مانشستر سيتي، أفاد حارس مرمى آرسنال: “سوف يعاقبونك إذا كنت بطيئًا جدًا في الضغط لمسافة نصف ياردة أو لم تفوز بالرأسية أو الكرات الثانية”.

اقرأ أيضًا | جوارديولا: ضغطنا على آرسنال مماثل لما فعلناه الموسم الماضي مع ليفربول

وواصل: “كان من الصعب الحصول على فرصة في المباراة، لكن في الوقت نفسه، لم نفرض أنفسنا بشكل كافٍ في الشوط الأول، مما منحهم تقدمًا بهدفين وكانوا بلا هوادة، هذا ما هم عليه”.

وأكد رامسديل: “إنهم مجرد فريق مخيف عندما يريدون ذلك، نطمح لأن نكون أفضل فريق في هذا الدوري، لذلك سننظر في كيفية قيامهم بالأمور ونحاول أن نكون منافسيهم، الفضل للاعبين بأننا بهذا القرب منهم”.

وأشاد رامسديل بجماهير آرسنال: “إنهم يمنحوننا دفعات هائلة، نشعر بخيبة أمل بالتأكيد لأننا لا نستطيع إعادتهم إلى منازلهم بابتسامة على وجوههم، ولكن إذا كان هناك شيء واحد حول هذه المجموعة من المشجعين التي رأيتها على مدار الـ 18 شهرًا الماضية، فلن يستسلموا”.

وشدد: “إنهم يعلمون أننا نقدم كل ما في وسعنا، يمكن أن تحدث الأخطاء، لقد رأينا الدعم الذي حصلت عليه الأسبوع الماضي بخطئي وكيف وقف الاستاد بأكمله يدعمني، لن يكون هناك أنين وآهات في ملعبنا مساء الثلاثاء عندما نلعب ضد تشيلسي، ولا أطيق الانتظار لرؤية جماهيرنا يوم الثلاثاء ومحاولة تصحيح الأمور”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Jair Ventura comparou os investimentos de Cruzeiro e Corinthians, após perder para a Raposa o título da Copa do Brasil. Com duas novidades na escalação (Emerson Sheik e Jonathas), o técnico explicou o que pensava na segunda final, vencida pelo time mineiro por 2 a 1, na Arena Corinthians.

-O importante é estar sempre chegando. Há dois anos fui escolhido o técnico revelação e agora chego na final. Tem de estar disputando. Temos que lembrar também que nosso adversário investiu muito mais, e por isso era cotado como favorito. É que na derrota só pesa isso, quem perdeu. De repente, com mais peças, a situação poderia ser diferente. Mas a gente faz o que for possível. Vale lembrar que hoje o Brasil todo estava vendo o Corinthians jogar, estava vendo a final. Acho que nem tudo está errado assim – pontuou.

continua após a publicidade

Derrotado por 1 a 0 na partida de ida no Mineirão, o técnico mudou o Timão, que saiu atrás, chegou a virar o jogo, mas teve seu segundo gol anulado pelo árbitro de vídeo – Jair não quis fazer críticas a arbitragem.Sobre as novidades na escalação, rasgou elogios a Sheik.

-O Emerson fez uma grande partida. Não gostamos muito do Jonathas, mas gostamos do Emerson. Então se colocar no balanço aí, foram boas. Tem responsabilidade do técnico, mas a gente faz o melhor. A gente agrediu o Cruzeiro, e os gols deles saíram em erros nossos. Cruzeiro é assim – acrescentou.

Vice-campeão da Copa do Brasil, o Corinthians agora volta suas atenções para o Campeonato Brasileiro. O time 11ª colocação do campeonato, a 11 pontos do G6, que se classifica para a Libertadores, e a quatro da zona de rebaixamento. O próximo jogo será contra o Vitória, domingo, às 16h.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils in Hyderabad

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit09-May-2012Match factsThursday, May 10, 2012, Hyderabad
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Can Kumar Sangakkara contribute some runs?•AFP

Big PictureDeccan Chargers’ season can be summed up from what happened in their first meeting against Delhi Daredevils earlier in the tournament. They made a competitive score, got Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene cheaply, and then dropped Kevin Pietersen thrice. Pietersen cracked nine sixes on his way to a spectacular 103 off 64 deliveries, and the scorecard recorded a five-wicket loss for Chargers. Nine defeats from 11 completed games is as dismal a run as it gets. Can Chargers salvage some pride from their four remaining games? It might be tough to do so tomorrow against a Daredevils side smarting from only their third loss, to Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday.With Sehwag finally failing to fire after five consecutive fifties, Daredevils missed Pietersen against Knight Riders. Sehwag and Pietersen are the only Daredevils batsmen with more than 200 runs for the season. Mahela Jayawardene has made one fifty in nine innings; it has been a struggle to watch Ross Taylor bat with his strike-rate of 88.42.After the loss to Knight Riders, Daredevils would not want to squander their chances of finishing in the top two, and tomorrow’s game is an opportunity to regain their pole position on the points table.Form guide (most recent first, completed games)
Deccan Chargers: LLLWL
Delhi Daredevils: LWWWWPlayers to watchIt took Shane Watson two games to deliver a match-winning performance after arriving in India from Australia’s tour of West Indies. How long will it take David Warner to do so? He struggled initially against Brett Lee on Monday, but then played a couple of big strokes before falling to Jacques Kallis. Chargers’ attack is not as testing as Knight Riders’.Kumar Sangakkara has played only one innings of note – the 82 he made against Pune Warriors after dropping himself the previous game against Mumbai Indians. He has had two more failures since then. Struggling team, struggling captain. Can Sangakkara do something about both?,Stats and trivia Chargers’ only win in 17 matches at their home ground in Hyderabad came against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011, after ten consecutive losses.Daredevils’s 207 for 5 against Mumbai Indians is the highest total this season by a side batting first..Quotes”That’s been the story so far for us in the tournament. We have been well placed around 10 to 15 overs, but haven’t done well after that. We haven’t finished our games well.”

A gripping second day of Test cricket at the University Oval in Dunedin left precious little separating the teams, with New Zealand five runs ahead of South Africa’s 238, with a wicket in hand

The Report by Andrew Fernando07-Mar-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMorne Morkel unleashed a ferocious spell once movement began to dwindle for his team-mates•AFP

A gripping second day of Test cricket at the University Oval in Dunedin left precious little separating the teams, with New Zealand five runs ahead of South Africa’s 238, with a wicket in hand. New Zealand’s top order battled swing bowling of the highest quality before lunch and aggressive short pitched pace after it, but could not definitively wrest the advantage, as South Africa prised wickets at regular intervals.No New Zealand batsman crossed fifty, though Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and Daniel Vettori all came close, with 40s to their name. Taylor and McCullum had survived a brutal encounter with Morne Morkel after lunch, but could not apply themselves long enough to consolidate, while Vettori fell to a brilliant low take from Jacques Kallis on his follow through.Vernon Philander rarely strayed a few inches from off stump in his first spell of the day, and was rewarded with the wicket of Rob Nicol, who had struggled on debut. Philander finished the day with 4 for 50 – another performance that will embellish a growing reputation as one of the most exciting seam-bowling finds in recent memory. Morkel finished with two, having peppered McCullum and Taylor with as hostile a spell they are ever likely to encounter, while Steyn will feel he bowled better than 1 for 71 suggests.Martin Guptill and McCullum may have thought they’d blunted the worst of South Africa’s assault in the hour before lunch, but the interrogation continued well into the afternoon session, as Morkel unleashed a ferocious spell once movement began to dwindle for his team-mates. The slower Dunedin track had hampered Morkel prior to lunch, but a return to the crease with renewed vigour yielded immediate results, as Guptill was late on a defensive stroke, and tested the mettle of New Zealand’s most experienced batting pair.A smattering of welts on Taylor’s arms, chest and shoulders will let him know he has been in a fight. He wore several in his first exchange with Morkel – two on the fingers, one on the ribs and two more glancing blows just below the helmet grille. Edges deflected off the body, landed short of the slips or flew just wide. Though New Zealand had done well to lose only one wicket to an artful hour of swing and seam bowling in the first session, they were now examined gruffly with the next weapon in South Africa’s armoury.Though clearly intimidated, Taylor and McCullum refused to be shaken. While Morkel was often unplayable, the runs started to tick at the other end when Philander’s impeccable line began to waiver. Movement from earlier in the day had all but disappeared, and the drives down the ground that had grown more profitable became New Zealand’s favoured currency.But as has been the case so many times in their careers McCullum and Taylor’s belligerence proved to be their downfall. Having battled through two terrific spells from one of the world’s finest attacks, they aggressed too early, and too mindlessly, just as consolidation beckoned. Their 65-run association was broken when McCullum attempted to sweep Imran Tahir hard against the turn, serving up a high top edge, before Taylor chased a wide one and was caught behind. He’d already hit two fours in the over.Vettori mounted a familiar recovery alongside Kruger van Wyk, working the South Africa attack square of the wicket with so little fuss his team-mates’ innings seemed grating by comparison. Sweetly struck boundaries to the cover point fence and the swivel pull shot to the leg side were as productive as ever, pushing Graeme Smith to deploy four men on the fence – the most defensive field across both days of the Test.Debutant van Wyk meanwhile was steady and organised. South Africa’s pacemen towered over him, and Morkel gave him the perfunctory working over – but if van Wyk was intimidated, there were few signs. The back foot defence gave was his favoured reply to the seamers, but he was equally adept against spin – picking Tahir better than most in the order, and even tickling him fine with the occasional paddle sweep.Vettori was eventually undone by indecision, as he was cruising towards a fifty that would have been New Zealand’s first of the innings, when Jacques Kallis dived low on his follow through to snaffle a half-hearted bunt. Doug Bracewell then joined the resistance – showing the kind of batting prowess that has earned him three first class fifties, but hasn’t yet been evident at the top level. He put on 41 alongside van Wyk, ensuring first his defence was in order before attempting the more expansive strokes – five of which brought him a boundary, as New Zealand edged towards the first-innings lead.van Wyk and Tim Southee fell in quick succession to the second new ball, as Philander embellished an already-menacing career average. But Bracewell was good enough to edge his side ahead, before losing his off stump to Steyn.The first session lacked the drama of the two to follow, but Steyn’s new-ball partnership with Philander was unlucky to have only gleaned one reward. In bright sunshine, Steyn found the movement in the air that had eluded New Zealand’s bowlers under cloud cover the previous day, after South Africa’s tail added 47 to the overnight score before being finished off.Steyn beat both opener’s edge repeatedly and emphatically, with Philander doing the same at the other end – he did it with his pinpoint line and movement off the seam. McCullum and Guptill were forced to call on every sinew of expertise to ensure survival, and they hobbled to lunch, at 40 for 1, only to be bombarded by Morkel when play resumed.Edited by Nikita Bastian

Brendon McCullum has said BJ Watling has got “natural ability” as a wicketkeeper, and has backed him to do well with the gloves in New Zealand’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2012Brendon McCullum has said BJ Watling has got “natural ability” as a wicketkeeper, and has backed him to succeed in New Zealand’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe in Napier.McCullum kept wickets for New Zealand in 51 Tests but in 2010 he decided he wanted to play as a specialist batsman. Since then Gareth Hopkins and Reece Young have played in the role, but New Zealand are now looking for a new Test wicketkeeper. Watling, who played six Tests as a batsman, will have an opportunity to prove he can fill the position long term.McCullum said the fact that Watling had only played two first-class games as a keeper was a concern but not a major one. “The only thing you worry about is if he [Watling] has got the volume under his belt. But none of that matters; if he gets a go we’ve got to get right behind him.”I know he’s got the skills to do it and I guess everyone will be taking a punt on the fact that he can handle the workload as well. He’s certainly got some natural ability. It’s just about him getting back to keeping for long periods. I’m sure he’ll do well. It’s not a bad deck to start on as well.”Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, said they had decided to pick Watling ahead of the other keeper in the squad, Kruger van Wyk, even before Watling scored 84 in the practice game against the Zimbabweans.”I guess every time you select someone there’s the hope they take the spot and can fill it for years to come,” Taylor said. “I think BJ always had the inside running. The way he kept in Gisborne was promising and he had a good knock with the bat in the first innings. It was always going to be BJ but it was nice to see him score some runs and keep pretty well.”Taylor also said New Zealand would not relax after beating Australia for the first time in 26 years, in Hobart in December last year. “We’ve got to build on the momentum we’ve gained from the Hobart Test,” he said. “We don’t want to dine off that for years to come; we know we created history but we want to get consistent performances. What better place to start than our first home game of the season.”New Zealand will use the same combination in Napier as they did in Hobart, with Daniel Vettori at No. 6 and four quicks in the side. McCullum said that line-up suited New Zealand’s style of play.”I like that balance; it allows the batters to play with a bit more freedom knowing they’ve got an attack that can bowl a team out,” McCullum said. “The formula for us winning Test matches consistently could well be similar to the formula we had over there [in Hobart]; play four seamers and have a little bit in the wicket.”We probably will not have high-scoring 400-500 games, but games more along the lines of trying to eke out 280-300, or if you bat well you get 350-400.”

Luke Wright, the England allrounder, has undergone knee surgery in Sweden on the injury that curtailed his 2011 season

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2011

Luke Wright, the England allrounder, has undergone knee surgery in Sweden on the injury that curtailed his 2011 season and his recovery will take until Christmas.He had been out of action since mid-July and after trying various methods, including injections, to recover it was decided that surgery was the only option. “He’s been around the ground, watching, but is missing cricket and is a bit bored and a bit frustrated,” Mark Robinson, the Sussex coach, told local radio.Wright played in England’s Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka, at Bristol, earlier in the season but had drifted out of the ODI side following the World Cup and it is unlikely he would have figured against India even if he’d been available.Meanwhile, Wright’s team-mate Monty Panesar has signed for Sydney grade team Randwick-Petersham who he will join in early October. The move will ensure Panesar continues to play cricket ahead of England’s winter tours of UAE and Sri Lanka where he will hope to be the second spinner selected.Panesar has had a solid season in the Championship with 56 wickets at 28.98 and has also been a regular in Sussex’s one-day side. He last played for England against Australia, at Cardiff, in 2009 when he helped secure the famous draw alongside James Anderson but was part of the Ashes tour last winter.