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Luke Fletcher bowled Nottinghamshire into a position from which they could, if the weather is kind to them, go on to win tomorrow.

Les Smith at Trent Bridge05-Sep-2013
ScorecardLuke Fletcher is Notts leading wicket-taker this season but it’s been a middling campaign•Getty Images

Luke Fletcher bowled Nottinghamshire into a position from which they could, if the weather is kind to them, go on to win tomorrow.It’s impossible not to like Fletcher. He’s a large unit, 6 feet and 6 inches, and not very mobile in the field. He’s also a local boy, born in Nottingham. Every time he puts a hand on the ball in the field he gets a cheer. But for all his apparent cumbersomeness, he’s Nottinghamshire’s top wicket-taker this season, and today took the five scalps that give Nottinghamshire the glimpse of a victory which would probably secure their place in Division One of the County Championship.The accuracy of Fletcher’s bowling can be seen in the way he took his wickets today: they were all bowled, lbw or nicked behind. He nags away on a good length, and occasionally shakes up the batsman with a fast short one.Speaking at the end of the day Fletcher was downbeat. “The season’s going well personally”, he said, “but as a side it’s not so good. It doesn’t really feel as good as it could do”Nottinghamshire spent the entire day in the field, finally seeing off Warwickshire in the final over of the day, leaving the home side 211 to win on a final day which is threatened by a menacing weather forecast.Chris Read is an admirable cricketer. He both keeps wicket and captains, both of which require maximum concentration. He’s taken six catches in the match while making judicious decisions about his bowling attack. He has, in David Hussey, an excellent lieutenant. Hussey, fielding at square leg and point, can often be seen making subtle changes to the field, and having a word in his captain’s ear.The mainstays of the Warwickshire innings were Laurie Evans and Darren Maddy, who both went past 60. Maddy batted with a runner having pulled a calf muscle while fielding. Evans shared valuable partnerships with Ateeq Javid and Chris Woakes, both of whom regained some self-esteem after, for different reasons, being embarrassed in the first innings. Evans was eventually dismissed when he fended off a short ball from Harry Gurney with one hand off the bat to short leg. The catcher was James Taylor, who has been parachuted into the Nottinghamshire side after being released by England, at the expense of Riki Wessels.Darren Maddy spent over three hours patiently accumulating runs before Fletcher nipped one in to him and trapped him lbw. Although hampered by his calf injury, Maddy was severe on anything loose and accumulated eight boundaries. There were useful contributions from Steffan Piolet, Keith Barker and Jeetan Patel, but if the weather forecast turns out to be inaccurate Nottinghamshire must fancy their chances.

Debates over the identity of the second spinner, reserve wicketkeeper and reserve batsmen will occupy the minds of the England selectors ahead of the announcement of the Ashes squad on Monday

George Dobell21-Sep-2013Debates over the identity of the second spinner, reserve wicketkeeper and reserve batsmen will occupy the minds of the England selectors ahead of the announcement of the Ashes squad on Monday.While it is possible to predict, fitness permitting, nine of the 11 that will represent England in the first Test in Brisbane, the choice of the remaining members of the squad is as open as it has been for several years. Several players face agonising disappointment or great elation.There is little prospect of England picking two spinners in any of the Tests in Australia. While there was a time when such a scenario was a possibility in Sydney, those days have largely gone. When Australia beat Sri Lanka there in January, their spinner, Nathan Lyon, claimed only two wickets.So the second spinner in the Ashes squad is there in case Graeme Swann suffers injury. Whoever is selected must be capable of performing the role of lone spinner for England in an Ashes Test.The experience of Simon Kerrigan at The Oval illustrates what a hard task that is and how small the pool of candidates remains. While James Tredwell is the type of character – calm, low-maintenance and reliable – that this England management favour, his record in red-ball cricket this season is modest. He has taken only 13 wickets at a cost of 55.76 in the Championship. The form of other experienced players, the likes of Gareth Batty, is similarly modest.Kerrigan’s debut is likely to deter England from considering a similarly untried spinner in Australia. While the likes of Scott Borthwick and Moeen Ali may well be included in performance squad that will shadow the full team for part of the tour, it would be asking a bit much to expect them to fill-in for Swann just yet. Borthwick, the Durham legspinner, is an attractive option, but he does not, at this stage, offer the control England require from their Test spinner.With Kerrigan, for now, out of the picture, Monty Panesar may be the best available reserve to Swann. So long as his off-field issues – and the England management will need assurances about his mental fitness to tour before committing to him – can be controlled, Panesar has the experience and qualities as a bowler to warrant selection. Besides, it may be that a prolonged return to the England camp revives his spirits. Taking him would be a risk, but England are not flush with options.Indeed, the difficult of the second-spinner selection highlights a major issue: the excellence of Swann continues to mask deficiencies within the reserves of England’s spin bowling. His eventual retirement will leave a gaping hole.England have far more options when it comes to selecting a pack of fast bowlers. While Stuart Broad and James Anderson are certainties, Tim Bresnan is also highly likely to be included, possibly as a 17th man, with a view to him regaining full fitness in the opening weeks of the tour.Boyd Rankin, too, looks certain to travel. Rankin’s pace and hostility in the ODI series against Australia was impressive and, as he relaxes in the England environment, will only grow. He just could prove to be a key player in the Ashes.The final two fast-bowling spots could be taken by Steven Finn and Graham Onions. While Onions would be, in essence, providing injury cover for Anderson, Finn remains a player of great potential who could come into the side if required. Realistically, though, the trip would prove a chance to work with the England fast bowling coach, David Saker, for a prolonged period.That would see Chris Tremlett and Chris Woakes missing out. Woakes enjoyed a respectable Test debut at The Oval and might yet prove himself a decent No. 6 but his style of bowling is not particularly well suited to Australian pitches. Tremlett, sadly, has lost the pre-injury nip that made him such a dangerous player.There could be a couple of batting allrounders in the squad. Ben Stokes, by virtue of his extra pace with the ball, his excellent fielding and his ability with the bat, would be a fine utility player and could balance the side by batting at No. 6. At 22, he is a player in development and there will be times when he frustrates but his all-round talents are obvious and he may prove worth a prolonged period of investment. Ravi Bopara, now rehabilitated, has a strong case for inclusion and could add a few economical overs if required.The last time England embarked on an Ashes tour, in 2010-11, they did not take a reserve opener. Nick Compton remains the outstanding candidate for the role, but it may be that his reaction to being omitted earlier in the summer has damaged the relationship between him and the England management. Other options include Varun Chopra, Sam Robson and Luke Wells but all are untried at this level, while Michael Carberry has endured a modest season against the red ball. With Joe Root still adjusting to the demands of opening in Test cricket, however, it would be quite a risk not to take some back-up.The position of reserve wicketkeeper may prove equally contentious. Several players have made a case for inclusion – Steven Davies, Craig Kieswetter and Jos Buttler among them – but England have invested time in the development of Jonny Bairstow and may well feel that, with his ability to bat and field in several conditions taken into account, he is a decent utility squad member.Possible England squad: Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Nick Compton, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ben Stokes, Matt Prior, Jonny Bairstow, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Graham Onions, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Boyd Rankin, Monty Panesar.

Darren Stevens took five wickets and Joe Denly scored a painstaking half-century as Kent battled their way back into contention on the second day against Leicestershire.

Press Association04-May-2015
ScorecardDarren Steven rifled out the Leicestershire lower order•Getty Images

Darren Stevens took five wickets and Joe Denly scored a painstaking half-century as Kent battled their way back into contention on the second day against Leicestershire.When bad light forced a halt with 13 scheduled overs remaining, Kent had reached 155 for 3 – a deficit of 231 – with Denly unbeaten on 56 and Sam Northeast with 38. The fourth-wicket partners added an unbroken 79 as Kent fought back from 76 for 3.Responding to Leicestershire’s impressive 386, rounded off this morning when Stevens ripped out the lower order for figures of 5 for 88, Kent lost Daniel Bell-Drummond for 14 to a catch in the slip cordon off Clint McKay. Then after looking out of sorts in scoring eight, home skipper Rob Key played around one from McKay to go leg before and make it 40 for 2.Brendan Nash, another member of the Kent top order to have made a miserable start to the summer, then aimed an expansive cover drive at Rob Taylor to go for 21 and with only 76 on the board.Denly, back at his home club after a mixed three-year stint with Middlesex, dug in thereafter in tandem with vice-captain Northeast in a combative fourth-wicket stand and registered his second successive championship fifty from 149 balls. He reached the milestone with a rare moment of flamboyance; rocking back to pull a short one for six over square leg to go with his five fours. Denly added only five more before fading light and faulty floodlights forced an early finish just after 5.30pm.”It was tough going because Leicestershire bowled pretty well in pretty gloomy conditions for the last hour or so and we had to graft hard for those runs,” Denly said. The light was poor just before tea and coming out and re-starting was tough. Clint McKay’s a decent bowler and we know full well at Kent what Charlie Shreck can do, so we were made to work for every run.”If we’re honest, we didn’t create enough pressure with the ball on the opening day but Darren Stevens’ spell this morning has got us back into things.”Leicestershire started the day sitting pretty on 300 for 5 in their first innings and that they were restricted to only 86 more runs was solely down to the naggingly accurate seamers of Stevens, who claimed Kent’s first five-wicket haul of the summer.The former Leicestershire batsman was barely trusted to bowl during his eight years at Grace Road but his low, medium-paced slingers can cause havoc at the Spitfire Ground, as his 5 for 28 return of the opening session proved.Ben Raine played all around an in-ducker, McKay sliced a slower ball into the hands of deep extra-cover, then Lewis Hill, after marking his first-class bow with a 79-ball half-century, chopped on when attempting to cut.Though frustrated at getting out to an ill-judged shot, Hill was delighted to
mark his first team debut with a 50. “I was honoured to get selected and so proud to get my cap yesterday, so to get a 50 as well was brilliant,” he said. “It would have been nice to go on and get three figures and, looking back at the replays, I have to be disappointed with the shot. But, if you’d offered me 57 yesterday, I’d have gladly taken it.”Having bowled Hill, Stevens polished off Leicestershire’s innings just before lunch by bowling Jigar Naik after the tail-ender padded up then by having his former Kent team-mate Shreck held at short mid-off without scoring after a tame checked drive.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been left out of England’s first ODI squad since the disastrous World Cup campaign. Moeen Ali has also been left out to concentrate on red-ball cricket ahead of the Ashes that begins on July 8.

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2015James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ian Bell have been left out of England’s ODI squad to face New Zealand in the most obvious sign of England moving on since the disastrous World Cup campaign. Moeen Ali has also been left out to concentrate on red-ball cricket ahead of the Ashes that begins on July 8.Moeen will go back to play Championship cricket for Worcestershire having struggled to find his form since returning to the England Test side for the second Test against West Indies in Grenada. Moeen may be retained as England’s specialist spinner for the Ashes but took only five wickets at 50.00 in the two Tests against New Zealand. From the World Cup squad, Gary Ballance, Ravi Bopara and James Tredwell have also been dropped while Chris Woakes remains injured.A potential replacement for Moeen, the Yorkshire legspinning allrounder Adil Rashid, is included in the 14-man ODI squad along with a number of names that featured in the squad for washed out ODI against Ireland. Kent’s Sam Billings, Jason Roy of Surrey, David Willey, the Northamptonshire allrounder and paceman Mark Wood – the latter three who made their ODI debuts in the match – will hope to get a chance to impress ahead of the arrival of England’s new head coach, Trevor Bayliss, in the lead-up to the Ashes; Bayliss said he may arrive for some of the one-day series against New Zealand too.”This series presents an excellent opportunity to look at players we believe can play a key role for England over the next four years as we build towards the next World Cup,” the national selector, James Whitaker, said. “We have opted to rest Moeen Ali from this series and he will play cricket for Worcestershire in preparation for the Ashes next month.

England ODI squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, David Willey, Mark Wood

“A number of players involved in the recent World Cup including James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad have been left of the squad for this series. It is important to point out that none of these players have been ruled out of playing a role for England in limited overs formats in the future. This squad allows us to look at a group of players who have performed well both at county and England Lions level in recent years.”Despite assurances from Whitaker, it could yet be the end of Anderson, Broad and Bell’s ODI careers. The pair took five wickets at 49.00 and four at 63.50 respectively at the World Cup and with England’s heavy schedule of Test cricket, with 12 more Tests to come before the end of next January, both could be stood down from ODI duty. Anderson will be 36 and Broad 32 by the time of the 2019 World Cup. Bell, though, was England’s leading run-scorer at the World Cup with 262 runs at 52.40 but England have finally realised the need for a more dynamic top order.But one career that is safe for now is that of Eoin Morgan, who returns to captain the side having missed the Ireland ODI while away at the IPL. Many considered him fortunate to be retained as captain following the appointment of Andrew Strauss as England director of cricket but he will attempt to regain form – he has averaged 19.23 in ODIs in the past 12 months – and begin England’s revival against a New Zealand side who blazed a trail to the World Cup final and have gone a long way to transforming 50-over cricket.Steven Finn will also line up against the man who smeared his reputation with a ferocious assault at the World Cup. Brendon McCullum slammed Finn for 44 in just 10 balls in Wellington and the spell played a part in Finn being left out of England’s touring party to the West Indies. Finn, like Morgan, will be eager to atone for the World Cup as England attempt to begin a new era with the long-term goal of being competitive at the 2019 World Cup to be staged in England.England v New Zealand ODI series
June 9, 1st ODI, Edgbaston D/N
June 12, 2nd ODI, Kia Oval D/N
June 14, 3rd ODI, Ageas Bowl
June 17, 4th ODI, Trent Bridge D/N
June 20, 5th ODI, Chester-le-Street

AB de Villiers was named South Africa’s cricketer of the year and four other awards at CSA’s annula awards function, while Hashim Amla was awarded Test Cricketer of the Year

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2015AB de Villiers was named South Africa’s Cricketer of the Year for the second successive year at Cricket South Africa’s annual awards on Wednesday. He was also awarded the ODI Cricketer of the Year, Player’s Player of the Year and Fans’ Player of the Year.

Other awards winners

T20 Cricketer of the Year – Morne van Wyk
Women’s Cricketer of the Year – Shabnim Ismail
RAM Delivery of the Year – Dale Steyn (v West Indies, Cape Town)
Sunfoil Series Cricketer of the Season – Stephen Cook
Momentum One-Day Cup Cricketer of the Season – Robin Peterson
Ram Slammer of the Season – Kieron Pollard
Coach of the Year – Geoffrey Toyana
CSA Fair Play Award – Titans
SACA Most Valuable Player Award – Dane Paterson
Umpire of the Year – Johan Cloete
Groundsman of the Year – Rudolph du Preez (SuperSport Park)

De Villiers has scored 1610 runs in 28 ODIs at an average of 80.50 since the start of 2014, including four centuries, and has had a sensational 2015. He set the record for the quickest century in ODIs (100 off 31 balls against West Indies in Johannesburg), followed by the fastest 150 in ODIs – off 64 balls – decimating the same opposition during a World Cup game in Sydney. He has also scored 779 runs in nine Tests at an average of 55.64 in the same time period.Hashim Amla, who won South Africa’s Cricketer of the Year twice in 2010 and 2013, was awarded Test Cricketer of the Year. Since January 2014, he has scored 801 runs in nine Tests at an average of 66.75. Rilee Rossouw, who made his ODI debut in August 2014 and has already notched up 626 runs in 20 matches in the format, was named South Africa’s Newcomer of the Year.Haroon Lorgat, CSA’s chief executive officer, was delighted with the progress that South Africa and de Villiers had made over the past year. “This has been another great year with truly wonderful achievements from our top players,” he said. “AB is just so special and surely he must be the best all-round cricketer in the world.”De Villiers has modestly taken limited-overs batting to a new level and he has done it with style and panache that is simply beyond the reach of most. He is a true batting genius. He now holds the world records for the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODI cricket.”

Ryan Harris has been effectively ruled out of contention for the first Ashes Test in Cardiff when he was unable to be passed fit for the tourists’ final warm-up against Essex

Daniel Brettig in Chelmsford01-Jul-20150:50

‘Australians have a lot of fast bowling depth’ – Bayliss

Ryan Harris was effectively ruled out of contention for the first Investec Test in Cardiff when he was unable to be passed fit for the tourists’ final warm-up against Essex, instead being sent for scans to determine the cause of greater knee pain than he has become accustomed to.In Harris’ absence the Australian bowling attack for the Cardiff Test is all but settled, with Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to accompany the spin of Nathan Lyon, as they did during two Tests in the West Indies that Harris missed to be home for the birth of his first child.The first two Ashes Tests of the series are being played back-to-back in Cardiff and at Lord’s, leaving Harris with little chance to prove his ability to cope with the stresses of bowling until the Australians play a county fixture in Derby before the third Test of the series in Birmingham.Ryan Harris’ knee problem continues to trouble him despite careful management•Getty Images

During the last week’s match against Kent, Harris experienced soreness in his right knee – a source of chronic discomfort and multiple surgeries during his Test career – and admitted he had to get used to the feeling if he was to be effective in the Tests.However his ailment was particularly stubborn as the team moved on to Essex and he was ruled out in favour of Peter Siddle on the first morning of the game in Chelmsford.This is a major blow for Harris, who had hoped to be fit for all five Tests after a careful preparation for the series. Harris has conceded his body has not got much bowling left in it, and team management will be worried that he has been unable to come through at this early stage of the tour.The coach Darren Lehmann had said Harris needed to prove himself capable of withstanding a Test match workload of around 20 overs per innings before being seriously considered for the Ashes.”Still short of a gallop but better today to be perfectly honest,” Lehmann said of Harris after the final day of the Kent match. “So he’s going to play the next tour game provided he pulls up alright and make sure he’s 100% before we make him available for selection.”Scans on the knee may not reveal much, but the puzzlement of Australia’s medical staff about the state of Harris’ knee casts a shadow over his chances of appearing once more in a baggy green cap.

All the BCCI board members and office bearers have been asked to sign an undertaking stating they are not in any conflict of interest

Amol Karhadkar24-Jul-20153:01

BCCI seeks to address conflicts of interest issue

The BCCI has, for the first time, acknowledged and sought to address the issue of conflict of interest. In a letter written to its members, the board’s new secretary, Anurag Thakur, has said conflict of interest has “caused enough consternation in our organisation”. Thakur has asked representatives of every state association, and members of various committees and sub-committees of the BCCI to sign a declaration stating they have no conflicts of interest.ESPNcricinfo is in possession of a copy of the letter, which acknowledges conflict-of-interest issues have led to situations “which we need to collectively address and avoid for the future to come”.One of the stock responses to any allegation of conflict of interest has been insistence that they have never actually misused their role as a board official for personal gain. This letter, though, clearly defines conflict of interest as the possibility of a bias and not necessarily the exercising of that bias.”Conflict of interest is not about beliefs or biases,” the letter tells the board’s members. “It is about a person’s roles and responsibilities, and the tendency or apprehension of bias that assumes to exist when duties, decisions or actions conflict. Deciding that someone has a conflict of interest is a description of a situation, not a judgement about the person or their actual beliefs.”

Undertaking is to reaffirm transparency – Dalmiya

BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said the directive to its members to sign a ‘no conflict of interest’ undertaking was aimed at bringing transparency and ensuring that the financial dealings of the board are made without any direct or indirect personal interest.
A statement he issued said, “The purpose of declaration of interest is to reaffirm the principle of transparency and that the members address every issue of financial dealings of the Board without any personal or financial interest directly or indirectly which may be seen to be vested interest or an obstacle to just and bona fide acts in the interest of the game.
“I personally feel that the concept of appropriate declarations not merely by the officials of the BCCI but also of the state associations must be revived in larger interests of transparency, evenhandedness and impartiality. This would ensure that the reputation and integrity of the Board are secured.”
PTI

With a Supreme Court-appointed Lodha committee looking into institutional reforms for the BCCI, this declaration comes at a time when the board needs to “protect the reputation and institutional integrity so as to earn broad trust, faith and confidence in all our activities”.The undertaking that board officials have to sign is stern and comprehensive. For example it asks everyone to declare the absence of “any personal or family allegiance, bias, inclination, obligation or any interest of whatsoever nature, directly or indirectly which may in any way affect or provide any financial or any other benefit to me, my family or close relations or which may tend to interfere with or affect my objectivity, independence, impartiality and neutrality in any decision making process, acts and conduct relating to or arising out of discharge of my office of President/Hony. Secretary of …”The Supreme Court had taken notice of the conflict of interest issue during the IPL spot-fixing case when it asked how N Srinivasan’s company could own an IPL team when he was the BCCI president.Srinivasan is the managing director of India Cements, which owned Chennai Super Kings. His son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was found to be a bona fide official of the team, a face of it, and he indulged in illegal betting. However, investigations carried out by a BCCI committee cleared Gurunath of any wrongdoing. Then the Supreme Court had to intervene, and it eventually resulted in the suspension of the owners of Super Kings for two years.A former selector had also accused Srinivasan of blocking the selection committee’s decision to remove MS Dhoni as ODI captain in 2012. Dhoni is captain of Super Kings, and also a vice-president of India Cements.Srinivasan’s defence, though, has always been that the company owned the IPL team and not he personally. This undertaking, however, eliminates the possibility of such situations. Anyone who signs it will admit that, “I am not in any manner or mode associated or connected with any Institution, body Corporate, Association of persons, Partnership or otherwise in any form or manner which derives any financial, commercial or any other benefits or gain from the Board of Control for Cricket in India directly or indirectly, other than the official grants received by the Association I represent.”The officials have been asked to declare conflicts of interest well in advance. “In the event of any act, function of the Association or any decision making process or related to any Tournament or otherwise, any conflict of interest do arise, I shall forthwith disclose the same and refrain myself from being associated with the same in any manner whatsoever or by whatever name described.”Officials have also been asked to sign they or their associated don’t stand to gain from any service contracts handed out by the board.

If Hashim Amla had his way, all ODI cricket would be played in the same way as the recently completed series between South Africa and New Zealand. Because of the conditions

Firdose Moonda26-Aug-20155:55

‘We played pressure moments well’ – AB de Villiers

Tahir moves to No. 2 on ICC rankings

Imran Tahir has become the second-ranked ODI bowler in the ICC rankings, while South Africa, by virtue of having registered a 2-1 series win over New Zealand, have climbed up to third position.
Tahir, who was in fifth position when the series began, jumped up three places following his five wickets in the series. While moving up the rankings, Tahir also pushed his team-mate, Dale Steyn, down to fifth position.
South Africa and New Zealand, who started the series on 109 and 110 points respectively to be the fourth and third-ranked sides, have now swapped places.

If Hashim Amla had his way, all ODI cricket would be played in the same way as the recently completed series between South Africa and New Zealand. Not because both teams could use the contest for experimentation, not because there there was very little at stake but because of conditions.”The wickets had a lot in it for the bowlers, which is very good. I think this is how ODI cricket should be played – there is something in it for the bowlers and guys have to bat semi-decently to get some runs,” Amla said at the post-series presentation, where he was named Man of the Series.Pre-season pitches in South Africa had their first taste of international cricket and did not prove as pacy as they usually are. Instead, they were slow and sticky, sometimes had some extra bounce and demanded batsmen show patience if they wanted reward. Amla is a master at that and ended as South Africa’s highest run-scorer, two behind Tom Latham who led the charts.He also scored South Africa’s only century and ended a lean patch that stretched seven innings and was beginning to bother even him. “It was a bit disappointing not getting runs too often before that,” Amla said. “Sometimes when you don’t get runs, the hunger increases and you look forward to scoring more runs.” Even if those runs come in challenging conditions.AB de Villiers, who top-scored with 64 in the decider, also found it heavy going. “It wasn’t easy at all; it was hard work upfront. I didn’t expect it to be difficult until the 30th over,” de Villiers said. “Fortunately, David Miller and I managed to get some momentum.”New Zealand did not find anything similar as they tried to suss out what was required to score off a sticky surface. “It was different conditions again and they adapted much better than we did,” Kane Williamson said. “We weren’t able to get on the front foot and get ahead of it.”South Africa were in the driver’s seat in Durban but overall neither side could conclusively say it steered proceedings through the contest with the advantage swinging throughout. Both were able to test their depth and both discovered what could work in future. For South Africa, Kagiso Rabada’s control stood out, for New Zealand, Latham’s and Ish Sodhi’s “Overall this tour has been of great benefit to the team as a whole and a bunch of individuals,” Williamson said. And to the organisers because it showed that cricket can be played in winter.

Pakistan captain Misbah ul Haq has expressed his disappointment with the selectors over not having another spinner in the squad to cover for the injured Yasir Shah in the opening Test in Abu Dhabi

Umar Farooq in Abu Dhabi13-Oct-2015Pakistan captain Misbah ul Haq has expressed his disappointment with the selectors over not having another spinner in the squad to cover for the injured Yasir Shah in the opening Test in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan prefer to play two fast bowlers and at least two specialist spinners but were forced to bring in Imran Khan as part of a three-man seam attack after a back spasm ruled out Yasir.Pakistan initially named a 15-man squad, with another spinner – either Zafar Gohar or Mohammad Asghar – expected to come in as a 16th player but instead Shoaib Malik was selected having not played a Test in five years. Less than 24 hours before the first Test, Yasir collapsed during a training session and he was unable to prove his fitness on Tuesday morning. It was a major setback for Pakistan, with their plans centred on Yasir.The flaw in their selection was immediately apparent, with no spinner sitting on the bench as a cover. Misbah made his feelings clear before the start of the match, saying: “I think it’s a mismanagement and we’re really disappointed by this.”The team’s management had attempted to bring back Gohar but the uncapped left-arm spinner had already returned to Pakistan after playing in two warm-up matches against England and had to apply for another visa.The PCB made every effort to fly Gohar overnight to Abu Dhabi from Lahore and make him available for selection but time was against them. He did not make it and Pakistan had to play three seamers against their will, leading to Misbah voicing his disapproval publically.It was, however, with the consent of Misbah that team management preferred Malik to either Gohar or Asghar. Both were to be judged while playing for Pakistan A against England in Sharjah last week, with Gohar emerging as the standout performer with figures of 2 for 47 and 3 for 72.It is understood that Misbah was not happy with the selections in the first place, with four seamers and two spinners included, but he did not resist and the squad was ultimately named with his consent. With Mohammad Hafeez currently banned from bowling, Zulfiqar Babar will therefore carry the spin burden, although Malik – who has 21 Test wickets at 61.47 – is also likely to contribute.

New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott has said he will assess when the right time to retire is at the end of next year’s World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2015New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott has said he will assess when the right time to retire is at the end of next year’s World T20. Elliott will close 37 during the course of the tournament that runs from March 11 to April 3 in India.”I’ve enjoyed it so much in this environment, it really has been rewarding playing with the guys and the way that the culture has changed has been awesome. As long as I’m enjoying it and performing I’ll play as long as I can,” Elliott said in Wellington at an event, according to Stuff.co.nz. “You spend quite a bit of time away from home, and there are work opportunities, so I’ll just assess it at the end of the World T20. I really want to aim towards that and it’d be great to play in two World Cups within a year.”The first of those World Cups Elliott was referring to was the 50-over showpiece in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, where he grabbed the spotlight by lifting Dale Steyn for six off the penultimate ball of a thrilling semi-final in Auckland. That shot sent New Zealand into their first World Cup final and raised the interest in the game to arguably the highest it has ever been in the country.Six months on from that electric night, the attention around cricket and himself is yet to die down, Elliott said. “I’ve never really played cricket for the attention; but it’s great to get positive attention rather than negative… People [still] come up and say ‘thanks a lot’. Everyone remembers where they were during that semi-final,” he said. “We have amazing memories as a team.”To see the kids now, how the World Cup has inspired them, and see the impact you can make as a player, is pretty special. Everyone who played in that World Cup, wherever you go, you can see kids and feel like you’ve had a part to play in their career, or their choice of sport.”New Zealand’s next international assignment is a three-Test series in Australia, starting on November 5.