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County cricket could be played overseas as the ECB seek a radical solution to ease fixture congestion during the English season.ESPNcricinfo understands that, among a raft of proposals under consideration, the ECB has floated the idea of playing the first two rounds of the County Championship overseas, possibly as early as March, in a move that is designed to ease fixture congestion and avoid some of the early-season issues with the weather. This season started on painfully slow pitches and in uncomfortably cold conditions that did little for players or spectators.The Caribbean is one potential venue. Six teams travelled to Barbados this March for pre-season training and warm-up games and it is understood that several Caribbean nations would be delighted to host the counties and their travelling supporters. The UAE, where the MCC Champion County match has taken place for the last four seasons, and South Africa are other potential destinations.While the initial signs are that several counties are supportive of the idea, others are concerned about open rebellion from their members. It is probable that the value of a county membership would be reduced if counties offered fewer matches as part of the package. While subsidised travel to the overseas games may placate a few, for many it may prove too expensive. Whether the idea of better scheduling in more comfortable weather for the rest of the domestic season is adequate mitigation remains to be seen.

Reaction

• “Is it April 1? I would be very concerned about who was going to pay for it all.”

• “The club have invested heavily in the facilities at Headingley and we’re well supported in Yorkshire, so to take matches elsewhere would deny the Yorkshire public.”

• “I did the Champion County match in Abu Dhabi and they were great conditions that allowed for good cricket.”

• “There could be fan mutiny. The British weather sees to it that cricket is already limited.”

Cost is an issue for the counties, too. But it is understood that the trips could be subsidised by sponsorship and possibly even host tourist boards.Apart from allowing more time for rest, recovery and practice, the longer county season might also bring other benefits. It might, for example, also allow counties to participate in the Champions League – no counties are appearing in the 2013 competition as it clashes with the end of the county season – and it might create room for a second T20 competition, played in a small window in mid-season.The ECB are keen to encourage radical debate on the future of the county game as they seek to improve the standard of cricketers emerging through the system and help the counties gain more financial independence. While many of the proposals are not likely to progress beyond conversation stage, this one – while in an embryonic phase at present – appears viable.

Graeme Swann has been given a three-point penalty by the ECB for showing serious dissent after he was given out on the final day of the County Championship match against Durham at Trent Bridge.Swann, who was making his return from injury following elbow surgery, was adjudged lbw to Scott Borthwick for 57, ending a final-wicket stand of 75 with Ajmal Shahzad which had taken Nottinghamshire to the brink of safety. His dismissal left Durham needing to chase 183 in 23 overs which they knocked off with ease although Swann took 4 for 56.Swann was reported by umpires Steve Garratt and Peter Willey for a level two breach of the ECB code – showing serious dissent at an umpire’s decision by word or action – and was called to see them after the match finished.The penalty will remain on Swann’s record for two years and the accumulation of nine or more penalty points in any two year period will result in an automatic suspension.He was named in England’s Champions Trophy squad on Friday and is expected to be part of the Test series against New Zealand which begins later this month.

Former Pakistan batsman Saleem Pervez, a key figure in the Pakistan match-fixing inquiry, has died aged 65 on Wednesday.He played one ODI for Pakistan against West Indies in 1980 and died after suffering injuries in a road accident.He was known, however, for his role in the match-fixing inquiry conducted by judge Malik Mohammad Qayyum in the late 1990s, when he confessed to his role as a middle-man between some Pakistani players and bookies. He testified in the Qayyum inquiry in September 1998.According to the Qayyum report, Pervez confessed to giving Salim Malik and Mushtaq Ahmed $100,000, in a bid to fix a final in Sharjah. The inquiry was a result of the allegations made by Australian players Shane Warne, Tim May and Mark Waugh, who said that Salim Malik had offered them a bribe during a series against Pakistan in 1994. Warne however denied knowing any one by the name of Saleem Pervez.Pakistan players like Wasim Akram, Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, Ata-ur-Rehman, Saeed Anwar and Inzamam ul-Haq were under the scanner, too. Malik and Ata-ur-Rehman were banned for life in 2000. Pervez was controversial and was alleged to have fixed matches but no charges against him were proved.Despite a decent domestic record, and being a regular member of National Bank and his regional team, he had to wait 13 years to make his international debut. He played 135 first-class matches and scored 8075 runs at an average of 36.21. He also played 23 List A matches and scored 416 runs, before he retired from cricket in 1989-90.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHamish Rutherford threw away his wicket after a promising beginning•Getty Images

Had Alastair Cook arrived at Auckland with a case of wine and box of chocolates for his New Zealand hosts he could hardly have been a more gracious guest. Cook, perhaps seduced by a hint of green and a theory that the drop-in pitch in use for this Test might aid his seamers, inserted New Zealand upon winning the toss and thereby surrendered first use of a fine surface.Under bright skies and on a true pitch, barely a ball deviated in the air or off the pitch all day as New Zealand reached 250 for the loss of just one wicket by stumps. With the series level at 0-0 going into this final match, New Zealand have earned an excellent opportunity to win a Test series at home against England for just the second time. The first was in 1983-84.Cook’s insertion may well draw comparison with Nasser Hussain’s infamous decision in Brisbane in 2002. To be fair to Cook, there is little reason to suppose this pitch will deteriorate. It is hard, easy paced and true. It offered precious little swing or seam movement and promises little better for spinners later in the game.The lush outfield and lack of other pitches limits the opportunity for reverse swing, too. If it was ever going to help the bowlers, it was going to be in the first hour. But his decision has allowed New Zealand to claim the initiative and, in the decisive Test of a series, leaves England in a precarious position. Even a drawn series would have been considered a setback at the start of the tour.Perhaps Cook’s decision was not so much at fault as England’s execution of the decision. Certainly they will reflect that they did not fully utilise the new ball. It is not that James Anderson or Stuart Broad bowled badly – far from it – just that they did not make the New Zealand openers play as often as they might in the first few overs. By the time they had found their line, the openers had settled and the ball offered nothing.The main beneficiary of England’s generosity was Peter Fulton. The 34-year-old New Zealand opener had previously only passed 50 twice in Test cricket and his previous highest score was 75, made almost exactly seven years ago. Here, however, at the age of at 34 years and 49 days, he benefited from the benign conditions and a small outfield to become the second oldest man to score his maiden Test century for New Zealand. The oldest is Zin Harris.

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• It’s the first time New Zealand have stayed with the same XI over a series of three or more Tests.

• The unbroken 171-run stand between Peter Fulton and Kane Williamson is currently New Zealand’s third-best for the second wicket against England.

• This is only the seventh time a team has scored more than 200 for 1 in their first innings after being put in to bat by England.

• Fulton’s unbeaten 124 is his maiden Test hundred, in his 20th Test innings. His previous-best was 75, against West Indies, in his third Test innings.

• This is only the ninth time that two New Zealand openers have scored centuries in a Test series, but the third such instance for them against England.

• Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 83 is his fifth 50-plus score in 14 Test innings at home; in home Tests he averages 47.63, compared to an away average of 28.51 in 27 innings.

Whatever his fragility on the off side – and several times he was drawn into playing at deliveries he should have left and on 12 was fortunate to see an indeterminate prod off Anderson fly past third slip – Fulton is a beast off his legs. He scored 98 of his 124 first-day runs on the leg side and at one stage plundered Monty Panesar for 14 – a six and two fours – in three balls, all over midwicket.Perhaps, on a larger playing surface, he might have been caught on 30 when he top-edged a pull off Broad and saw the ball clear the fine leg boundary, just 53 metres from the bat, but generally he blocked on off stump and waited for England’s bowlers to stray either too full or on to his legs. He on drove sweetly – the stroke that took him to 50 was delightful – and showed a willingness to hit over the top, clubbing Panesar for two sixes over midwicket.Kane Williamson was, in many ways, even more impressive. More secure in defending his off stump than his partner, he also unveiled some delightful strokes with a couple of straight drives off Anderson bearing the hallmark of true class. Quick to pick-up the length, he cut and pulled Panesar for boundaries and, at the age of just 22, resumes on day two just 17 short of a fourth Test century. He has already helped Fulton add 171 for the second wicket, with his preference for the off side complementing his partner’s leg-side skill.Initially it was Hamish Rutherford who impressed. He scored 37 of an opening partnership of 79, easing New Zealand’s early nerves with a pleasing straight drive for four off Anderson and lofting Panesar for two straight sixes in the spinner’s second over.His wicket, in the penultimate over before lunch, owed more to a lapse of concentration than any incisive bowling. Slashing at a wide one without foot movement, he was well taken at first slip and left the pitch knowing he had squandered an ideal opportunity of a big score.England were underwhelming in the field. While Broad and Anderson persevered in conditions offering them little, Finn, lacking rhythm from his new run-up, failed to generate the pace that might have been expected of him, while Monty Panesar, with no help from the conditions, was ineffectual. While the flat pitch should offer few fears to England’s batsmen, it is tough to see how England can claim the 19 wickets they need to win this series.

Sinhalese Sports Club and Tamil Union remained atop the Group B table after round four of the Premier League, while Moors Sports Club leapt to the top of Group A with a big win over Burgher Recreation club. Round four yielded nine outright results and four innings victories across the ten matches.Thilan Samaraweera was named in Sri Lanka’s Test squad as a replacement for the injured Mahela Jayawardene, but he suffered an injury himself during SSC’s innings and 42-run victory over Navy Sports Club at SSC. Samaraweera had earnt his place in the national side after an emphatic start to the first-class season, and his form brought him a third ton in four matches, as he helped SSC to a 338-run first-innings lead. He twisted his knee while at the crease however, and was forced to retire hurt on 118. The injury is not expected to rule him out for the first Test in Galle, and the selectors are not expected to name a replacement for him in the squad. Wicketkeeper-batsman Kaushal Silva also made a hundred in SSC’s only innings, after Sachithra Senanayake had collected his second five-wicket haul of the season, to reduce navy to 163 all out.Badureliya Sports Club surprised a top club for the second time in the season when they secured a sizeable first-innings lead over Tamil Union at the P Sara Oval, but faded dramatically in the second innings to allow the hosts a reprieve, and a comfortable victory. Badureliya’s first innings 310 was built around 19-year-old opener Pabasara Waduge’s second hundred in his rookie first-class season, which he made against the best pace attack in the competition, on what is traditionally the most pace-friendly pitch in the league. He moved to fourth on the league’s run-scorer’s list after the innings, having made 389 runs at 55.57.Tamil Union were kept to 250, after Badureliya made 310 in the first innings, with fresh Test call-ups Kithuruwan Vithanage and Jeevan Mendis making fifties, alongside TM Sampath, but struck quickly through their pacemen to reduce the visitors to 55 for 5 in the second innings, and eventually 153 all out. Mendis picked up eight wickets in the match, raising his chances of a Test debut after already impressing with the bat, and Mahela Udawatte’s fourth innings 124 ensured Tamil Union suffered no more hiccups, as they chased down 214 to win.A big first-innings ton from Angelo Mathews set up a 236-run lead for Colts Cricket Club over Army Sports Club, who were group leaders before this match, but despite enforcing the follow-on, Colts were unable to secure victory. Mathews’ 210-ball 155 is a welcome boost for the new Sri Lanka Test captain, who has often struggled to put big scores together at Test level. Army were skittled for 151 in the first innings, but dug in after being asked to bat again, primarily through Rishan Kavinga and Asela Gunaratne, who both made hundreds. Army’s 469 all out in the third innings ate up 114 overs, and made a result impossible for Colts.Shehan Jayasuriya and Chaturanga de Silva tuned up for their match for the Emerging XI against visiting Bangladesh next weekend with two hundreds for Moors Sports Club, who brushed aside Burgher Recreation Club by an innings and 233 runs. Jayasuriya made 123 from 160, and de Silva hit 113 from 125, before left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara took 12 wickets for 94 to complete the rout.Nondescripts Cricket Club’s young stars shone again as they claimed their third victory of the season, over Ports Authority Cricket Club, to retain their place at third on the Group B table. Tharindu Kaushal took another five-wicket haul, as he too prepares to play against Bangladesh in Matara, while Dinesh Chandimal made 47 and 73 in his two innings. Chamara Kapugedara also made a 79 in the 101-run win.Prasanna Jayawardene has not yet begun keeping full time for Panadura Cricket Club, but contributed a 79 to an innings win over Saracens Sports Club that was also notable for Malith Chathuranga’s 123 from No. 8. Elsewhere, Michael Vandort’s 251 – the highest score in the season so far – and a six-wicket, first-innings haul for Malinga Bandara, resulted in Ragama Cricket Club defeating Air Force Sports Club by an innings and 27 runs.Slow-bowling allrounder Sachith Pathirana took 11 wickets for 206 and made a 32-ball 62 for Chilaw Marians, in their match against Colombo Cricket Club, but still could not prevent his team from slipping to their third defeat in the season, and Suraj Randiv’s 6 for 69 in the second innings helped Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club dismiss Lankan Cricket Club 93 runs short of their target, as he attempts to hold off Kaushal and both Ajantha and Jeevan Mendis for the second spinner’s position in the national side.

James Pattinson has conceded he did not take his axeing from the Test side well on Monday but has come around to the realisation the severe punishment was necessary for letting his team-mates down. Pattinson, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja were all told they would not be considered for the Mohali Test starting on Thursday due to their failure to complete a task on how they and the team could improve following the innings loss in Hyderabad.After the decision was made by the coach Mickey Arthur, captain Michael Clarke and team manager Gavin Dovey, Watson flew home to be with his pregnant wife but also said he would consider his future as a cricketer. Pattinson, Johnson and Khawaja remained with the squad and trained as usual on Tuesday, and they will be available for selection for the fourth Test in Delhi after serving their one-match penalty in Mohali.”We had a training session yesterday and we apologised to the team about it,” Pattinson said on Tuesday. “It does hurt, missing a Test match. It’s not only that, you let your team down as well. At the time I was told I was quite upset. At the start I didn’t take it as well as I probably could have. The easy thing for me was to make excuses and say it’s a harsh punishment.”But the reality is it’s not – it’s part of playing cricket for Australia. You’ve got to do everything right. It wasn’t hard for the other 12 blokes to get it in on time and they took the time out to really reflect and do what’s best for the team whereas we four didn’t. Right now I’m still hurting about it but in the long run I think it’s going to make us a better team.”Following the loss by an innings and 135 runs, the tenth biggest margin for an Australian defeat in Test history, Arthur asked every player in the squad to think about where they and the team had gone wrong and could improve. They were given four days to complete the task and while 12 did so by the Saturday night deadline, four had still not by Monday morning.”It was one of those things where I didn’t put in 100% for the team,” Pattinson said. “At this level you can’t forget. It’s pretty cut throat and personally not good enough. It wasn’t a hard task at all and it was something that was very valuable for the team going forward. It comes down to preparation for a Test, you can prepare in the nets and the batting, bowling and fielding but preparing off the field as well is just as important.”It shows a lack of respect to the coach, the captain as well, and the rest of the team. I know if I was in their position, as a team member, I’d be quite disappointed in them for being a bit selfish. People talk about it as a harsh punishment but looking deeply into it you realise probably it’s not. If you want to be part of the Australian cricket team you have to do everything right. It’s not acceptable. I believe it’s the right punishment. Everyone in the group needs to understand that this is the lengths we need to go to to be successful as a team.”On Monday, Clarke and Arthur were at pains to stress that their extreme decision was the result not only of the players failing to complete this task, but also because the squad in general had been lax over the course of the tour and an example needed to be made. The initial reaction from a number of former players was one of disbelief that four men would be left out due to what might have seemed a trivial oversight, but Pattinson said in a young playing group he understood the need to build a positive culture.”They’re entitled to their opinion and a lot of the players that are saying that were great players and they probably didn’t have to deal with this stuff because they were in a period of time when they were on top of the world,” Pattinson said. “We’re in a different position. We’re trying to build a culture. We’ve got a lot of young guys. I think other people are starting to come around a bit more and understand the reasons behind it.”It’s not massive things. A lot of people are saying it’s just for not handing something in but it’s more than that. It’s little things like sometimes being late for something. You can give fines for that but that’s only so much. You talk about being late to things, the worst thing is actually being excluded from something. Being excluded from the team, being excluded from playing a Test match. That’s what hurts the most.”Australia will miss Watson in Mohali, the venue where he made his last Test century, but Pattinson will be arguably an even bigger loss on a pitch expected to offer more bounce for the fast men. Pattinson has taken eight wickets at 23.62 on this tour so far, twice as many wickets as any other Australian bowler, but he said the bigger picture for Australia was not just about this Mohali Test but about creating a strong team structure in the longer term.”Hopefully we’ve got the talent to one day be a great team,” Pattinson said. “We’ve got a huge period with the back-to-back Ashes that are going to be important. I think we must get these little niggling things out of the way now and send a message that come Ashes time we will be ready to go – and united as a group – to perform there, because the Ashes are massive for us and we are striving to get back against the Poms.”

Melbourne Stars captain Shane Warne has been fined $5000 for breaching the CA Code of Behaviour when he handed the captaincy to James Faulkner in an effort to avoid a ban for slow over rates in the BBL semi-final against the Perth Scorchers.It was the second time in the tournament Warne had been fined for a behaviour breach after he served a one-game suspension, and was fined $4500, for his clash with Melbourne Renegades player Marlon Samuels.Samuels escapes with a reprimand

Samuels escapes with a reprimand after suffering ‘extreme provocation’

Marlon Samuels escaped with only a reprimand for his part in the ugly on-field scenes with Shane Warne during the Melbourne Stars’ BBL match against the Renegades.
Samuels was found guilty of unbecoming behaviour in his confrontation with Warne, but the Code of Conduct commissioner John Price ruled that he had received “extreme provocation”. The charge that he “engaged in deliberate or inappropriate physical contact with a player or official” was dismissed.
Samuels has been recuperating in Australia after suffering a severe facial injury when trying to hit a bouncer in the same match.
Darren Berry, the Adelaide Strikers coach, was meanwhile cleared of unbecoming behaviour when he confronted Samuels earlier in the tournament and offered a pointed critique of the West Indian’s bowling action.

Warne was found guilty of breaching Rule 5: Laws of Cricket and Spirit of the Game by CA Commissioner Arthur Lodge.In the semi-final at the WACA last Wednesday night, Faulkner was listed as captain on the Melbourne Stars team sheet and took part in the coin toss with Perth Scorchers captain Simon Katich, despite the presence of both regular captain Shane Warne and stand-in captain Cameron White in the Stars line-up.Both Warne and White had previously been issued with one strike for a slow over rate violation, with a second strike this season resulting in an automatic one-match suspension.In a bid to avoid the risk of a suspension, should the Stars advance to the final, Faulkner was given the official captaincy although Warne was clearly directing traffic throughout the match.On 5 December 2012, KFC T20 Big Bash League teams were sent a Memo by Cricket Australia. Under the heading “Over Rates”, the Memo stated, “If a team’s official captain is selected but not named as captain, this will be considered against the Spirit of Cricket and may attract a Code of Behaviour charge.”This provision had been written in following Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene pulling a similar stunt during the World T20 Championship in October 2012. Having already been penalised for a slow over-rate in the tournament Jayawardene relinquished the captaincy to Kumar Sangakkara for Sri Lanka’s Super Eights clash with England to avoid a possible suspension. Questions were raised over the legitimacy of Jayawardene’s move, but the ICC never punished the Sri Lankan for it.Warne was not present at the Code of Behaviour hearing. He was represented by Melbourne Stars CEO Clint Cooper and team manager Ben Robertson.He did, however, respond to the verdict via a trio of messages on his Twitter account, claiming he had been unaware of the Memo. “Just got feedback that I was fined $5000 for spirit of cricket,” he said. “Clarification – I had no idea about the rule/law… If I was aware of the law/rule I would have tossed the coin, to me I should have been informed and made aware by management!”Anyway, disappointed it was not a Stars fine rather than me as I was never informed as I said… Glad you all understand now! This issue is for CA and Stars management whether it was a memo or a law. It was never passed on to me, if it was this wouldn’t have happened!”Mike McKenna, CA’s executive general manager of operations and BBL chief, said it had been a clear rule breach, but was not perturbed by Warne’s non-appearance at the hearing.”The teams were notified before the season started that this rule was introduced for a very specific purpose,” McKenna said in Melbourne. “And the very incident that occurred was that that we were trying to prevent happening. So it was absolutely open and closed as far as we were concerned.”Shane was over here and the case was heard in Perth. On the night he was charged, we had a Code of Conduct commissioner ready to to to hear the case on the night, but it wasn’t appropriate to conduct the hearing that night.”So we just carried on as normal. It’s not unusual for people not to appear if they don’t have much of a defence in the circumstances.”Warne is unlikely to appear again in the BBL next season.

Michael Clarke, David Warner and Matthew Wade, the three key players rested for the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka, will return for the next two games in Brisbane and Sydney. The allrounder Moises Henriques, who last played for Australia in India in 2009, has also been included, while the selectors dropped Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Ben Cutting and Kane Richardson. Brad Haddin, who picked up a hamstring injury during the second ODI, was also left out.The widespread changes were not surprising after the selectors named a squad devoid of stars for the opening two games, preferring to have Clarke, Warner and Wade rest following their Test duties, and with one eye on the upcoming Test tour of India. However, their return means Khawaja’s one-day opportunity was limited to one innings ended by a run-out at the MCG, while a number of other players have had to make way having had limited time in the middle.John Inverarity, the national selector, said it was always the intention of his panel to play Khawaja in the first game in Melbourne and Smith in the second match in Adelaide, and that both men had benefited from further time around the national squad. He said he had spoken to both Smith and Khawaja on Sunday night about their omissions and said the players had been pleased to have been given an opportunity in the first place.”They saw that with those players coming back there was a good chance they were going to be squeezed out,” Inverarity said. “They would prefer one game to no games. They received a very clear message. It’s not only playing the game, but being in the Australian squad for four or five days and the intensity of training and being there with Mickey Arthur and the other support staff, it’s a very good experience for them.”The one surprise in the squad for the third match in Brisbane on Friday and the fourth game in Sydney on Sunday was the inclusion of Henriques, who started the domestic summer in outstanding form. However, the decision does fit in with Inverarity’s preference for players with all-round skills, and with the view that a seam-bowling allrounder would be required, especially at the Gabba.”We certainly need allrounders,” Inverarity said. “We’re really trying to groom Glenn Maxwell as a spin-bowling allrounder and obvious interest there for India. Mitchell Marsh was in the frame some time ago but he’s injured. Moises Henriques has been on the horizon for some years now, and this is his opportunity. We really hope that he will come on as a seam-bowling allrounder.”I saw him bat at the WACA when he made 78 in the Ryobi Cup and then 78 in the Shield match and he batted superbly. Then he went to Sydney and made 150 and 50 not out in the next game. Also when I saw him bowl in Perth he bowled very well, too. So he’s got a lot of talent. We hope that he performs and we want consistent performance from him.”Maxwell retained his place in the squad despite having done little with the bat or ball during the first two games, although his fielding had been excellent. Inverarity said the selectors rated Maxwell extremely highly and that he was viewed as a batsman who could provide some useful overs, not a frontline spinner, although his bowling had improved since he played for Australia A against the South Africans in early November.”When he gets an opportunity he’s showing signs of improving,” Inverarity said. “He’s not a frontline spinner, he’s a batsman who bowls. As I’ve said many times we are looking for batsmen who can bowl decently. With Dilshan in the Sri Lankan side he’s an opening batsman and bowls very decent offspinners. You need your four bowlers and you need some of your batsmen who can give you some decent overs. That’s where we’re trying to develop Glenn Maxwell.”The inclusion of allrounders is all the more important with the continued absence of Shane Watson. When he returns from his calf injury, Watson will be playing as a specialist batsman only and Inverarity said the selectors were hoping he would have a chance to play Sheffield Shield cricket towards the end of this month, but his availability for any of the limited-overs games this summer remained uncertain.”We’ll just wait and see when Shane is fit to play and then he will come under consideration,” Inverarity said. “But we’re certainly hoping he’ll be fit by the end of this month. In the last three or four days I haven’t heard how he’s progressing. We’ll have to see that. We’re really hoping that he’ll be ready for the Sheffield Shield match which I think starts on the 24th of January, and then we’ll go from there. It will be terrific if he’s available, but I don’t know yet if he’ll be likely or not.”There is also uncertainty over how long Haddin will have to sit out after suffering a hamstring injury during the loss to Sri Lanka in Adelaide on Sunday. Haddin top scored for Australia with 50 but during Sri Lanka’s chase, handed the wicketkeeping gloves to Phillip Hughes and left the field. Australia might take two wicketkeepers on the Test tour of India next month and the selectors are hopeful Haddin will be back in action soon.”We don’t know exactly. I saw Brad last night and again at the airport this morning. We’re hoping it’s not too serious,” Inverarity said. “We’re hoping it’s a couple of weeks and nothing more than that. There is a real chance we’ll take two wicketkeepers to India and/or to England. As I’ve said before the two we consider the best wicketkeeper-batsmen in the country are he and Matthew Wade.”Cricket Australia also announced that the fielding coach Steve Rixon would stand in as head coach over the next few days and during the ODI in Brisbane on Friday to allow Mickey Arthur a break during the team’s busy summer. Arthur will spend a few days with his family in Perth before returning to coaching duties for the fourth ODI in Sydney on Sunday.Australia squad David Warner, Phillip Hughes, Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey, David Hussey, Matthew Wade (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty.

A return to a problem of old hampered South Africa the last time they played in the shortest format at the World Twenty20. Middle-order batsman Farhaan Behardien suggested instability in the line-up was to blame for the team returning empty handed.”Where we struggled in Sri Lanka was that we lost early wickets and then the slow bowlers come on and it was difficult to rebuild,” he said. Apart from the match against Zimbabwe, which South Africa won by ten wickets, they lost their first two batsmen for a maximum of 28 runs in the other fixtures.The combination of Richard Levi and Hashim Amla did not work and when Levi was dropped for the final match, Jacques Kallis partnered Amla also with little success. Neither Kallis nor Amla is part of the current squad, although Levi is. If he plays, he is expected to be joined at the top by either the captain Faf du Plessis or the uncapped Henry Davids , who could also form a partnership of their own.While different pairs could solve the issue to an extent, South Africa’s floating middle order also unsettles them. As they aim to build a new-look T20 side, starting with the matches against New Zealand, role definition and countering the spin threat have become two of the major areas under consideration.Behardien indicated that the first of those had already been ironed out, especially for him. “My job is assessing the risk. If we lose early wickets upfront, my job is risk management and seeing how we can maximise the remaining overs to get to a high total. And to play the spinners low risk,” he said. “But if we have a good start, without too many wickets in the first few overs, we can take on the spinners. That’s one of our focuses going forward.”Even without Daniel Vettori in the New Zealand line-up, South Africa are wary of New Zealand’s spinners. Ronnie Hira, the left-armer, took three wickets in the warm-up match against South Africa A, including that of Justin Ontong, while Nathan McCullum was economical in his three overs of offspin. “We’ve had a lot of practice against spin in the one-day cup,” Behardien said.With the major emphasis on technical aspects, South Africa could forget that a transition phase also involves building a new team culture but Berhardien said that has been equally high on their agenda. With regular limited-overs captain AB de Villiers opting out of the series, stand-in leader du Plessis will have to create his own environment for the players to excel in.Du Plessis captained South Africa A against Sri Lanka A in June and the players who were involved in that series, like Behariden, got a taste of his leadership style. “He is very big on team culture. Everybody is not for themselves. You’ve got to give, you’ve got to be selfless, whether it be throw-downs, extra catches, helping generally, packing up the kit- those very small things.”Most importantly, with the pressure of a major tournament not hanging over them, Berhardien hopes the mood in the camp will lighten. “It’s all been a bit serious over the last while and sometimes we forget that we need to have fun and express ourselves.”As players we get stiff and we get tight because we want to do so well and perform for our country. So you forget that this is what you’ve been wanting to do since you were a little kid and when you forget about those values then you don’t really perform at your best, because you are too tense and worrying the whole time about the results.”Russell Domingo, South Africa’s new Twenty20 coach, said he will not look as far ahead as the 2014 World T20. The upcoming matches are more about laying the groundwork for a short-form unit that can go on and replicate the successes of the Test side.”The team culture won’t be much different to what is in the Test side,” Behardien said. “It might be tweaked a bit with a new captain and a new coach. Sometimes the same thing can be said in a slightly different way and it could make a world of difference to the individual and something could click. I think it is a fresh approach and I am quite excited to be a part of it.”

England will be confronted by another used wicket when the third Test against India starts on Wednesday, according to the Eden Gardens curator, Prabir Mukherjee.India’s tactic of utilising a worn track backfired in the second Test in Mumbai. Despite winning the toss, India lost by 10 wickets with the England spin-bowling duo of Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann sharing 19 wickets and out-performing the three-pronged Indian spin attack.While three surfaces have been prepared on the Eden Gardens square, Mukherjee stated that the Test pitch would be the same as that used for the match between Bengal and Gujarat. That match ended on November 20 – barely two weeks before the start of the Test – and foot marks from the bowlers’ run-ups are clearly visible. But only 25 wickets fell over the course of the four-day game as the match ended in a draw and Mukherjee insisted the pitch would reward good cricket rather than providing too much assistance to bowlers of a certain type.”Cricket should be played on pitches of true pace and true bounce,” Mukherjee said. “Games should be decided by the quality of the player, not the pitch. It should be the way they bowl that matters. It is not about the pitch.”This pitch was used for the Ranji Trophy game against Gujarat. They were 18 for 5 in their second innings but they fought back and the match was drawn. Swann and Panesar will enjoy this pitch. They bowl line and length. The pitch will have good pace and bounce.”Reports had suggested that Mukherjee was in dispute with India captain, MS Dhoni over the latter’s demand for “a square turner” in Mukherjee’s words. But Dhoni will be encouraged by news that a worn pitch will be used as it should assist his spinners and exploit what India believe is England’s weakness against high-quality spin bowling. It also suggests that winning the toss will, once again, offer a substantial advantage.Mukherjee laughed off the suggestion that he was unwell as reported by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) – indeed, he looked in remarkably good health for a man reported to be 83 – and reacted with an ambivalent shrug to the suggestion that the BCCI or CAB were attempting to gag him. “I am at the fag end of my life,” he said. “They are threatening to suspend me if I talk about the pitch. That is the treatment I get after more than two decades of service at CAB.”England have a modest record at Eden Gardens, where they have not played a Test since 1993. They have only won one Test there – in 1977 – and, of the other eight they have contested at the ground, have lost three of them. Only two England batsmen, Colin Cowdrey in 1964 and Tony Grieg in 1977, have scored Test centuries on the ground and no England fast bowler has taken a five-wicket haul on the ground in a Test since Bob Willis in 1977. No seamer has taken a five-wicket haul in a Test on the ground since Javagal Srinath in 1999.Steven Finn did not bowl in training on Sunday. The England management insisted Finn, who was in action more recently than his seam bowling colleagues in the Test squad due to his participation in the England Performance Programme match, was being rested in line with his workloads plans and was not suffering from an injury. He will bowl in training on Monday before a decision is taken over his involvement in the third Test.