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Leicestershire have had their plans for the new season shaken up by Ramnaresh Sarwan’s recall to the West Indies squad and they will seek to clarify his availability for next season.

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2013Leicestershire have had their plans for the new season shaken up by Ramnaresh Sarwan’s recall to the West Indies squad and they will seek to clarify his availability.Sarwan had seemingly turned his back on West Indies, claiming he had been “mentally and emotionally” hurt by the coaching staff, when he signed a two-year extension to his stay at Grace Road which began last summer. He was then appointed captain of the County Championship side for 2013 in place of Matthew Hoggard.But he was recalled to the West Indies squad for the one-day series against Australia which begins on February 1, suggesting Sarwan could be part of West Indies’ future series against Zimbabwe in March and India and Sri Lanka following the Champions Trophy.”We will be making contact with Ramnaresh to see where this might lead to,” Leicestershire head coach Phil Whitticase said. “At this moment, the question of how it might affect us during the season is a bit unanswerable.”We are really pleased for him because we know that he has been striving to play for the West Indies again. He still has that passion and drive and we want all our players to play at the highest level. From our point of view, it does leave us a bit vulnerable and looking to come up with a Plan B.”Sarwan had an excellent summer for Leicestershire, helping them avoided consecutive wooden spoons in the Championship with 941 runs at 40.91. He also struck two centuries in the CB40.But he will now add to his 173 ODIs in which he has scored 5,644 runs at 43.41. Although he has endured a poor run of recent form in the Caribbean T20 with a highest score of 19 in seven matches for Guyana.

Unpaid fees and broken promises could lead to a players’ boycott of the Bangladesh Premier League, Tim May has warned

George Dobell30-Jan-2013Unpaid fees and broken promises could lead to a players’ boycott of the Bangladesh Premier League, Tim May has warned. May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has revealed that “many” overseas players involved in the BPL remain unpaid and that players’ patience with the organisers has worn thin.”The players are very seriously considering some sort of boycott simply because there is little else they can do,” May told ESPNcricinfo. “They were promised 25% of their fees as soon as they arrived in Bangladesh, another 25% before the last game and the final 50% within 150 days of the end of the event.”In most cases, those first payments have not been made. As for the rest of the fees the players are owed, well, good lucking seeing that.”May admitted to a sense of frustration at the situation. After severe problems securing payments after the first instalment of the BPL, FICA advised players against taking part this time. Many ignored the warnings, however, and are now asking FICA for assistance.”We didn’t say this might happen,” May said. “We said it would happen. So yes, there is an element of frustration. We gave the players strong advice and they ignored it. They seem to have thought ‘it won’t happen to me.'”So, what do we do? The answer is we look at the bigger picture: we try to help the players in the same way in the way a foreign embassy might try to help people who find themselves in trouble in a foreign country they have been warned against visiting. Our obligation is to protect players’ welfare and we will continue to look at way we can do that.”We believe the new administration behind the Bangladesh Cricket Board should be better than the one that preceded it. We hope that the delays might be because they had little time to prepare ahead of this season of the BPL but, at the moment, we do still have some doubts about the BCB.”May did express the hope that the episode might convince players to take warnings from FICA more seriously in future. In particular, he hoped that players considering taking part in the Pakistan Super League might reflect that.”There are good reasons why just about every government in the world is advising its citizens against travelling to Pakistan,” May said. “There are good reasons why none of the major cricket boards are sending their teams to Pakistan and there are good reasons why most independent security experts say that it is not safe to visit the country.”We are not making up the security concerns we have with Pakistan. We have an obligation to look after the welfare of players and there is nothing more important than their personal safety. We are strongly advising foreign players not to take part in the Pakistan Super League, but we understand that some are likely to do so anyway.”

Rahul Dravid has said India must decide whether they want Virender Sehwag to open in Tests in South Africa at the end of the year

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2013India’s selectors and management must decide whether they want Virender Sehwag to open in Tests in South Africa at the end of the year, and if not, they must give someone else the opportunity to find his feet in familiar conditions, Rahul Dravid has said. The Indian selectors are due to pick the squad for the last two Tests against Australia on Thursday, but ESPNcricinfo understands no changes are expected.A chink in India’s commanding victories in the first two Tests in Chennai and Hyderabad was their opening partnership, which produced 11, 16 and 17. While M Vijay found form in Hyderabad with 167, Sehwag aggregated 27 in three innings.He had made only 253 runs in seven innings during the home series against England last year, 117 of those coming in one innings in Ahmedabad. He also failed to score a half-century in two home Tests against New Zealand. On India’s last overseas assignment, in Australia, Sehwag made 198 runs in eight innings. After the two remaining matches against Australia, India have no more Tests scheduled before their trip to South Africa at the end of the year.”I think the selectors and management need to decide whether they are going to open with Viru (Virender) in South Africa,” Dravid told ESPNcricinfo. “I mean Viru playing well, Viru at his best, is a great asset to any side, but the reality is that he hasn’t been performing particularly well, and he hasn’t really done well on overseas trips over the last two or three years. If they feel confident about opening with Sehwag in South Africa, then I think it makes sense to continue with Sehwag and give him the opportunity to get that confidence.”Dravid said there was also the option of moving Sehwag to the middle order, and if that was the case, then India should blood the replacement opener in home conditions before taking him to face the new ball in South Africa. The reserve opener in the squad for the first two Tests against Australia was Delhi batsman Shikhar Dhawan.”If they are going to look ahead, I think there could be a realistic possibility of Sehwag coming into the middle order,” Dravid said. “You know if opportunities open up at some stage, maybe Sachin is going to move on, then I think Viru is the man with the experience to be able to come in and bat in the middle order. He has said in the past that he would like to, and that could be an option.If that is the route India is going to take then I think it makes sense to try out another youngster, or try out another opener, and give him the opportunity to play at least a couple of Test matches in more familiar conditions, before going to South Africa. I think it will be unfair on any young opener to be asked to go to South Africa straightaway, and play against the likes of Steyn, Philander and Morkel.”

Michael Clarke has said Australia’s selectors won’t rush to judgment about whether a second spinner is required for the second Test in Hyderabad after their eight-wicket loss to India in Chennai

Brydon Coverdale26-Feb-2013Michael Clarke has said Australia’s selectors won’t rush to judgment about whether a second spinner is required for the second Test in Hyderabad after their eight-wicket loss to India in Chennai. On a pitch that took turn from day one it was not surprising that India’s spin attack was one of the most dominant forces of the game, and the three of them – R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja – took all 20 Australian wickets.But Australia’s frontline spinner Nathan Lyon picked up only four victims for the match, while eight came from the fast bowlers – six to James Pattinson and one each to Peter Siddle and Moises Henriques. Lyon was at times threatening, but also leaked far too many easy runs. He was milked for singles by all of India’s middle-order batsmen and was especially vulnerable against MS Dhoni, who scored 104 off the 85 balls he faced from Lyon.The left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty is the other specialist spinner in the squad and Clarke was impressed with the control he displayed in the tour match against India A, when he took 3 for 108 from 24 overs. However, Clarke would not be drawn on whether Australia had made a mistake by choosing a pace-heavy attack for the Test and he said better bowling from those who were picked might have helped Australia to a different outcome.”Australian spin took three wickets in the first innings, fast bowling took a lot more,” Clarke said. “That doesn’t mean to say that playing three fast bowlers and a medium-pace allrounder, we got that right. We need to assess, we need to look at conditions again and work out what we think is the best XI [in Hyderabad]. It’s not just about selection, it’s about how you perform, I don’t think we bowled well enough in our first innings and we certainly didn’t bat well enough in our second innings.”You can talk about selection as much as you like but the 11 players you select have got to perform better than we did in this Test. Look at the amount of wickets fast bowling got compared to spin for the Australian team. We are not India. We are a different team, we have different fast bowlers to the Indian fast bowlers and we have different spinners to the Indian spinners.”Traditionally, Australia’s spinners have not enjoyed Test cricket in India as much as the conditions suggest they should, partially because of the different style of bowling required and in part because India’s batsmen are generally strong against spin. Richie Benaud and Ashley Mallett had fine records in India, although their tours were during the 1950s and ’60s, when the Indian team was not the dominant force at home that it has become.In more recent times, Australia’s spinners in India have at best been serviceable in India. Shane Warne, who after the Test met with Clarke, coach Mickey Arthur, Lyon and Doherty for a 20-minute chat on the ground, managed only 34 wickets at 43.11 in his nine Tests in the country. Lyon finished his first Test in India with match figures of 4 for 244 and Clarke said he hoped Lyon would learn from the experience and deliver greater consistency throughout the rest of the trip.”He’s got to stay positive,” Clarke said. “He bowled plenty of overs so he has seen the conditions a lot more. He got a couple of really big wickets for us. ‘Lyno’, like all of our attack, I thought he bowled really well in patches. We’ve just got to keep working on that consistency. There are plenty of positives out that for Lyno. It’s nice to see him get a wicket in the second dig as well.”However, while Pattinson was outstanding in collecting six wickets for the match – the first Australian fast bowler to do that in a Test in India since Jason Gillespie in Nagpur in 2004 – he and Lyon could have used some more wicket-taking support from Siddle and Mitchell Starc. Virtually no deliveries moved off the seam and reverse swing played less of a role than Australia had hoped, but Clarke wanted more patience from his stock bowlers.”They tried everything,” Clarke said. “I think our execution wasn’t as disciplined as we need, especially when the wicket’s good for batting like that. You need to be really patient and be able to build pressure. We did that at stages but not as consistently as we needed to.”Whatever Australia decide for the Hyderabad Test, which starts on Saturday, they will have at least three pace options after the strong debut from Henriques with the bat made it impossible for him to be dropped. Although Henriques claimed just one wicket, he was the only batsman besides Clarke who looked at ease in the conditions and scored 68 and 81 not out, the best aggregate on debut by an Australian since Clarke in 2004.”If we don’t have a third fast bowler Moises can certainly do that role,” Clarke said. “I think it’s very exciting the way he has started. He’s been a very talented player for a long time back in Australia but it’s nice to see that potential come to the forefront in his first Test match. I think he looked very comfortable with both bat and ball. That’s exciting for Australian cricket going forward and very exciting for Moises.”

Ahmed Amla, the Dolphins and KwaZulu-Natal batsman, has announced his decision to retire from all cricket

Firdose Moonda18-Apr-2013Ahmed Amla, the Dolphins and KwaZulu-Natal batsman, has announced his decision to retire from all cricket. His agent said Amla was retiring to focus on his studies and pursue business interests.Amla, 33, is the older brother of South African batsman Hashim Amla, although the two have had vastly different cricket careers. Ahmed never earned an international cap, although he hovered close to it through much of his career.He made his first-class debut in 1997, at the age of 18, for Natal B. That season, he was picked in the South African Development XI that toured Namibia, and in the next season for the South African under-19 team. That earned him a spot at the national academy and helped establish himself as a regular in the Kwa-Zulu Natal provincial, and later Dolphins, franchise team, which he also captained for some time.In the 2004-05 season, when the domestic franchise system was formed, his batting average reached 40 for the first time. He lifted it to 48.27 the next summer, when he was probably closest to playing for South Africa. With competition for places high, he had to settle for leading the South African A side, for whom he made numerous appearances.Amla career did not take off as his brother’s did and did not reach the highs of that season again. He remained an important part of the Dolphins batting, especially as he was one of their most senior players. His mentorship skills were also put to use in Mozambique, where he was a consultant for their national side.This season he struggled to make the franchise team and had to settle for playing in the second-tier provincial division. With the knowledge that he was keeping out younger players, Amla chose to pull down the curtain on his playing career.He may not be lost to the sport altogether. He has been on commentary stints with the national broadcaster, SABC, and may yet further his coaching ambitions. He is also studying towards a business degree.Hashim Amla led the tributes to his brother. “Special special congrats to my bro @ahmedamla retiring from all cricket today.wonderful player n more so an amazing person,” he tweeted. “@ahmedamla thx 4being a pillar of support throughout my entire career.will mis u on d field bro.time 4the backyard games 2resume.”

Allrounder James Faulkner could find himself shouldering extra batting responsibility in his first Test series

Brydon Coverdale26-Apr-2013First and foremost, James Faulkner is a bowler: 111 Sheffield Shield wickets in the past three summers attest to that. But depending on the balance Australia’s selectors want from the side during the Ashes, and contingent also on the form of the senior allrounder Shane Watson, Faulkner could find himself shouldering extra batting responsibility in his first Test series. There is even the possibility that at some point during the tour he could be used as a fifth bowler batting as high as No.7.That might seem a stretch, but based on his first-class batting for Tasmania in the past summer it is not an absurd scenario. As well as collecting 39 Shield wickets at 20.33 on his way to a third consecutive Ricky Ponting Medal as his state’s best player, Faulkner also finished the Shield season 15th on the competition run tally, having scored 444 runs at 34.15, including 89 in the final against Queensland.Consider the list of batsmen who could have been vying for Test selection, yet scored fewer runs at a lower average: George Bailey (256 at 18.28), Rob Quiney (295 at 26.81), Michael Klinger (330 at 19.41), David Hussey (358 at 23.86), Adam Voges (388 at 25.86) and Peter Forrest (395 at 19.75). That might say more about the parlous state of batting in Australia’s domestic competition than about Faulkner, who it must be said is yet to score a first-class hundred, but all the same his was a fine summer with bat and ball.”I’d definitely be comfortable to bat at No.7,” Faulkner said. “Whenever you can slot into an Australian team I think you’re pretty happy to play wherever you can. It was a reasonably successful year last year with the bat for Tasmania. Hopefully I can make a few big scores, that’s what I’m aiming to do at the moment.”Wickets, though, are Faulkner’s stock in trade. He has been consistent enough over the past three seasons to collect Shield wicket tallies of 36, 36 and 39, and although he might not have the express pace of some Australian fast bowlers, his movement of the ball and accuracy have made him a dangerous prospect, and not just at Bellerive Oval – his average is below 22 at five different first-class venues around Australia.”All the wickets around Australia are quite different,” Faulkner said. “I’m based at Bellerive and people say you’re bowling at Bellerive and there’s a bit more grass there and so you’ll take more wickets. But in fact if you look at all of our bowlers back home, I think all of us have been averaging the same at Bellerive as away from Bellerive.”I just sum up the conditions as they are and just be consistent. I have a lot more confidence in my body. I’m [nearly] 23 now and I have more confidence in my body and can get through longer spells.”The Australian selectors like not only Faulkner’s figures, but his attitude. The national selector John Inverarity this week referred to Faulkner as “a very competitive cricketer who gets things done”. Over the past few months that included not only giving Chris Gayle a send-off during an ODI in Canberra, which cost him 10% of his match fee, but also steering Tasmania to the Shield title with a Man of the Match performance.”I like to think I’m a pretty strong competitor on the field and off the field I’m a pretty relaxed sort of character,” Faulkner said. “Definitely when the game is on the line or the game is in full flight I like to think I’m pretty aggressive in the way I play and get on the front foot instead of being dictated to.”Although the Ashes tour will be Faulkner’s first trip to England, he has already gained some overseas experience thanks to his IPL duties for three different teams. A talented limited-overs player who has played T20 and one-day cricket for his country, Faulkner sold for $400,000 to the Rajasthan Royals this year but has not let the shortest format seduce him at the expense of first-class cricket.”I’ve always tried to be as consistent as I can in Twenty20, one-day cricket and four-day cricket and not specifically have a focus on any of the three,” he said. “I look at [the IPL] as a bit of an opportunity to progress my cricket on different grounds, different wickets, and in India it doesn’t get any harder. There’s lots of positives you can take away from playing in different countries. You gain experience pretty fast.”

Andrew Hall struck his second century in consecutive County Championship games as Division Two leaders Northamptonshire’s clash with Hampshire predictably petered out into a draw.

01-Jun-2013
ScorecardAndrew Hall made his 14th first-class century•Getty Images

Andrew Hall struck his second century in consecutive County Championship games as Division Two leaders Northamptonshire’s clash with Hampshire predictably petered out into a draw.Hall, who also made a ton against Leicestershire at Wantage Road two weeks ago, piled on an unbeaten 130 from 295 balls, as Northants eventually declared on 425 for 9, prompting the two captains to shake hands.Wicketkeeper David Murphy also made a career-best 81 off 119 deliveries with James Tomlinson the pick of Hampshire’s bowlers, taking 3 for 75 as his team-mates were made to toil in the field.Northants began the day on 159 for 5, 47 runs behind their opponents, with former South Africa allrounder Hall resuming on 29 and James Middlebrook on 8. But Middlebrook added just two to his overnight total before Tomlinson’s delivery crashed into his off stump in the fifth over of the day.Tomlinson struck again in his next over when David Willey edged him to former Zimbabwe international Sean Ervine at first slip to depart for a six-ball duck. But Hall stuck around to complete a patient half-century from 116 deliveries as part of a 117-run partnership with Australia international Trent Copeland.Copeland was given a second chance on 34 when he was dropped at second slip by Liam Dawson off David Balcombe before he raced to 50 off 63 balls. He and Hall surpassed Northants’ previous record eighth-wicket stand against Hampshire of 95, made between Nigel Felton and Winston Davis at Bournemouth in 1990.Copeland eventually departed on 63 from the third ball after lunch when he was trapped lbw by Danny Briggs before Hall completed his 14th century in first-class cricket off 209 balls. He had now been joined at the crease by Murphy and he comfortably completed his first half-century of the season off 80 deliveries.The pair went on to set a new record ninth-wicket partnership for the hosts against their opponents, going past the 97 shared between Gordon Williamson and Keith Andrew at Northampton in 1961.Northants resumed after tea on 390 for 8 with seeing out time the only priority, although Murphy did exceed his previous best of 79, which he struck against Glamorgan in May 2011. He finally perished when he launched Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams to Ervine at mid-on to break the partnership on 132.The draw was then agreed 10 minutes later at 4:50pm, with Northants coming out of this contest with nine points and Hampshire six.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is contemplating a series-by-series deal with broadcasters for their forthcoming matches in this season

Umar Farooq10-Jul-2013The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is contemplating a series-based deal with broadcasters for the forthcoming matches in this season. Pakistan are scheduled to play two Tests, five ODIs and two T20s against South Africa in Sharjah and Dubai, from October 14. They are also scheduled to play Sri Lanka in the UAE, although the two boards have not confirmed the dates.The PCB is yet to finalise a broadcasting deal after its five-year contract with TEN Sports, worth $140 million, ended last month. However, the PCB incurred a loss of nearly $80 million on this deal, following the cancellation of bilateral series against India between 2009 and 2011. The broadcasting deal is one of the major sources of income for the PCB and, with no series against India scheduled until 2020, these could be testing times for the board as it may be hit by a financial crunch following a long-standing budget-deficit. In 2011-12, the deficit was nearly 700 million Pakistani rupees.The PCB’s Governing Board, in their emergency meeting at the National Cricket Academy, has decided to appoint the former ICC president Ehsan Mani as their advisor on their television deal.”We are yet to issue a tender for the broadcaster after finishing our five-year deal last month,” a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “It requires a specific procedural time and systematic restructuring of the bidding process and finalising the deal. But we have an alternative, i.e. to go with a series-by-series deal – in case we need that for any of our upcoming home series – before going into a long-term deal with a broadcaster.”The interim setup of the PCB may also be affecting its chances of securing a long-term deal. The suspension of Zaka Ashraf as chairman led to a delay in the PCB budget this year and the process of renewing the broadcasting deal was also delayed as a result. The PCB’s functions were on hold for almost a month, until the appointment of interim chairman Najam Sethi. The Islamabad High Court has ordered Sethi to hold elections within 90 days but has not given a detailed order. Although the PCB refused to comment on its internal functioning, it has confirmed that the bidding process for a broadcaster is currently on hold, with various other issues taking precedence. It is likely the board may look to secure a six-year deal next year, once a more stable administrative setup is in place.

Australia’s new coach Darren Lehmann has pushed enjoyment and a balanced perspective on life as part of his remedy for a team culture that has variously been described as toxic, insular, selfish, undisciplined, and just plain stupid

Daniel Brettig in Taunton25-Jun-2013Australia’s new coach Darren Lehmann has pushed the importance of fun and a balanced perspective on life to remedy a team culture that has variously been described as toxic, insular, selfish, undisciplined, and just plain stupid. Lehmann has openly desired the national coaching job for quite some time, but given that it has fallen into his lap a mere two weeks before the first Investec Ashes Test, his initial message to the touring team could not afford to be elaborate.Upon the squad’s arrival in the medieval town centre of Taunton, Lehmann sat down his players and staff to set out a simple but clear direction for the Australian team, both on the field and off it. Relieving the tension of the past few days in Bristol and London was high on Lehmann’s list of priorities, while also ensuring focus shifted instantly to Wednesday’s tour match against Somerset.”Hopefully with the enjoyment factor, we’ll get that going for a start,” Lehmann said of the culture he wished to create. “When you start winning games you have a lot of fun so we need to start winning some games, simple as that. It’s about getting all the lads and everyone in a direction we want to go. We’re going one way and that is forward and everything starts afresh.”It’s about life as well, it’s a game of cricket. It’s important we have success and play well but it’s a small part of your life, so we’ve got to make sure we are helping them grow their lives on and off the ground, that is really important to me. Family is a big part of it, enjoying each other’s company while we’re away, and learning about ourselves and different cultures and different people we have in the team.”I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a job I loved and wanted to do because I fell in love with coaching the first day I started with an IPL franchise. It just probably happened in different circumstances that it comes across my path right now.”That path will now include grappling with the various complications of mentoring a national team in 2013, including the influx of Twenty20 money that has muddled the priorities of numerous young players. The absolutes of Lehmann’s time, as a player who had to carve out nigh on 10,000 first-class runs before making his Test debut, have been replaced by greys like the lavish IPL money on offer to cricketers who have not yet grooved their games.When referring to numerous matters of club versus state versus country issues, Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard remarked last summer that “no-one owns the players now”. Lehmann though spoke with typical confidence about sculpting the natural talent at his disposal into competitive, thoughtful and loyal cricketers.”The priority for us is Australia, that’s every player that is playing any form, their first right is with Australia,” Lehmann said. “We want to pick the best side each and every time and we’ll worry about the other franchises and issues as we go through.”We’re guided by CA and selectors along the way and that’s part and parcel of being a new-age cricketer. One thing I will say, they’re a lot better athletes that I was in my day and it’s just about teaching them and coaching them the best way to play the game in different situations.”Brad Haddin, Australia’s vice-captain, said Lehmann’s imprint on the team should soon be evident, starting with the respect he already engendered for his playing career and domestic coaching. “Darren’s got experience at all levels, as a player, a successful coach and a good person, and he’s known for that around Australian cricket and world cricket,” He said. “I think he’ll come into this environment comfortable with where he’s at and comfortable with where he wants to take the team.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the third Investec Ashes Test at Durham

The Preview by Daniel Brettig08-Aug-2013

Match facts

August 9-13, Chester-le-Street
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)Will David Warner be laughing his way back to the top of the batting order?•Getty Images

Big Picture

At Old Trafford England remained unbeaten for the 11th consecutive Test, while Australia failed to win for the seventh match in a row. The result also ensured the Ashes would remain in English possession, yet the evidence of the eyes tended to conflict with that conveyed by the scoreboard and the record book. Australia appeared to have turned a significant corner, putting near enough to five days of staunch cricket together for the first time in recent memory, and England looked more than a little exhausted by their earlier efforts in the series. At the same time their batsmen showed increasing signs of frailty in the face of the tourists’ admirable pace attack, a reliance on Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen to extricate the top three from bother growing more apparent with each match.So with the series moving to a venue less familiar to both sides, though the pitch is again straw-coloured, the question is how much the trends of Manchester will have an impact on proceedings at Durham. England were by far the better of the two sides in coping with the quick onset of another match so soon after the Nottingham epic, and this time also have the added relief of not having to worry about retaining the urn anymore. They should thus be capable of playing with a little more freedom of expression, not least the young opener Joe Root, who looked near enough to paralysed during two soporific innings in Lancashire. The unrelenting seam-up stylings of Graham Onions appear a likely reinforcement for the hosts’ bowling attack, which lacked a certain pep last week.For Australia, the gains of the third Test will mean little if they are not followed up with a pair of equally compelling displays in the final two matches. Given how inconsistent the side has been throughout Michael Clarke’s captaincy, bottoming out with a horrid display in India, the habits of successful teams need to be re-established with a strong sequence of performances. The team’s belief in their bowling attack is considerable, but the batsmen now need to show that they can maintain the standards set by Clarke, Chris Rogers, Steven Smith and Brad Haddin. It cannot be forgotten that the next campaign for the Ashes is but three months away.

Form guide

England: DWWWW
Australia: DLLLL

Players to watch

Jonathan Trott has been on something of a charm offensive this summer, appearing in plenty of interviews and doing his best to sound like the world’s most fascinating individual. However somewhere along the way his ability to bat boring seems to have been lost. Near enough to impassable during the previous Ashes series in Australia, he failed to capitalise on some free-scoring form at Trent Bridge, albeit partly due to an incorrectly given lbw decision in the second innings. From there his form has ebbed away, and at Old Trafford he looked lost, stumbling across his stumps in the manner of sundry English batsmen in 1989. Within the team, Trott is admired for his consistency and even temper. Perhaps he needs to remember that being dull is an asset, not a weakness.Plenty of observers were surprised by the vim with which Chris Rogers batted in Manchester, but not those who had seen him play precisely those kinds of innings for Middlesex and Victoria. No fussiness, but plenty of feistiness, as a succession perfectly reasonable deliveries were cuffed to the boundary. The ability to play with aggression and decisiveness at a point of the game where others may be nervous or unsure is one of Rogers’ great attributes, but another is the fashioning of hundreds. So far, despite serviceable contribution to the series, he has fallen short of that goal. Nonetheless, Rogers is Australia’s best hope of finding someone other than Clarke to push on to the kind of score an innings may be built around.

Team news

Graham Onions and Chris Tremlett are both in the England squad, and it appears most likely that the former will shuffle into the XI, perhaps at the expense of Tim Bresnan. There will be some temptation to withdraw one of Stuart Broad or James Anderson from the firing line after their efforts so far in the series.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Joe Root, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan/Graham Onions, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 James AndersonHaving tried no end of permutations since Michael Hussey’s retirement, Australia appeared to settle on a batting order they may keep from the second innings in Manchester. David Warner looked comfortable at the top with Rogers, while Shane Watson’s bowling may again lead to his demotion. One of Ryan Harris or Mitchell Starc will most likely make way for the fresher Jackson Bird.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Chris Rogers, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Shane Watson, 6 Steve Smith, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jackson Bird.

Pitch and conditions

The surface unveiled for the fourth Test maintains a pattern of dry, hard pitches prepared more or less to the specifications of the England coach Andy Flower. The forecast for Durham is for the occasional shower amid periods of friendly, if cloudy, weather.

Stats and trivia

• This is the first Ashes Test to be played in Durham, making it the ninth ground to host a Test between England and Australia in the UK
• The last Ashes series to be drawn 2-2 took place in England in 1972
• Michael Clarke needs 103 runs to pass Justin Langer and move into sixth place on Australia’s list of all-time run-makers

Quotes

“We want to win the Ashes and we haven’t yet done it. Along the way we retained them pretty quickly so that is a great achievement and something to be mighty proud of. We want to go on and win the series. The way the lads are, the way we are as a team and the way Andy Flower operates, there will be no let up of the standards we set ourselves.”
“I don’t think anyone is here to ‘give them a go’. That’s not in any Test cricket and certainly not an Ashes series, especially the position we’re sitting in now. It’s about picking your best 11 players.”