For Andrew Strauss the real task on this trip has been to manage the expectations of a squad that has more or less looked after itself on the field

Andrew Miller in Sydney02-Jan-2011The challenge of leading England in Australia is traditionally one of the toughest assignments in cricket, but for Andrew Strauss the real task on this trip has been to manage the expectations of a squad that has more or less looked after itself on the field. As the fifth and final Test of an historic series approaches at Sydney, Strauss has once again called on his players to keep their feet on the ground, and ensure that a hard-earned series lead in translated into a memorable series win.With the Ashes already in the bag thanks to England’s thumping innings-and-157-run victory at the MCG, Strauss recognises there may be a temptation to relax going into the final week of the series. However, he is sure that England’s focus will be back on the job after a brief burst of euphoria in Melbourne, and having turfed the team out of bed at 7.30am on New Year’s Day for a 9 o’clock nets session, there will be no excuse for cobwebs come the start of the match on Monday morning.”We had some quite big celebrations in Melbourne after winning the Test and rightly so because the guys deserved that,” said Strauss. “But we got to Sydney and had a fairly moderate New Year if I’m honest. It’s definitely a case of us keeping our feet on the ground and preparing for the Test match. There is no way we want Australia to win this Test match and draw this series. We are in a great position to win the series but we need to play well again this week. We don’t want to slip into bad habits.”In keeping with their standard practice, England will name their 11 on the day of the match, with Paul Collingwood expected to retain his place in the middle order in spite of his poor run of form. Australia, however, have already confirmed that two debutants will line up in their side – Usman Khawaja at No. 3 and the spinner Michael Beer, who has been kept on ice ever since his shock call-up to the squad in Perth. “It is not any huge surprise,” said Strauss. “But there will be some different challenges for us and we need to be well prepared.”By and large, that has been a given for England on this most meticulously planned tour. Aside from their shellacking in Perth, where their downfall was hastened by an inspired spell of bowling from Mitchell Johnson, they have been alert to the pitfalls presented in all situations, and quick to capitalize on any opportunity to claim the ascendancy. For Strauss, who had to overcome internal strife in the Caribbean during his first series at the helm in 2009, and external controversy against Pakistan last summer, the trip has been almost restful by comparison.”It’s certainly been one of the easier tours I’ve been on in regard to captaincy,” he said. “We’ve not really had any issues off the park. We generally play good cricket. The biggest challenge has been to keep the guys’ feet on the ground and make sure we don’t get ahead of ourselves. If that’s what you’re worried about as captain, you know things are going your way.”I wouldn’t say it’s been an easy tour,” he added. “It’s just that we have a tight unit, a bunch of guys who are all good mates, so you don’t have any squabbles in the camp or things that are going wrong off the pitch that take time. And that doesn’t surprise me because it’s been the case for 12-18 months. What has been very re-assuring is generally our cricket’s been good so we’ve had less to worry about too. But ultimately we’ve still got the end of this tour – this match and the one-dayers – so there’s still plenty of time for us to be challenged.”It will doubtless help England’s focus that the final week of the tour isn’t actually upon them as yet. In Johannesburg last January, their innings defeat was sealed as the squad were preparing en masse to fly back to England, and in recent times they’ve suffered similarly crushing results in the final Tests of pre-Christmas trips to the subcontinent – such as Colombo in 2003-04, or Galle last time around, when they were bowled out for 81 on the opening day of the Test only to be saved by rain.”We’re not in that position at the moment but there are other reasons for us to take our eye off the ball in this Test match and it’s important we don’t do that,” said Strauss. “It is a lovely feeling to know the urn is coming back with us but it will leave a bitter taste in the mouth if we aren’t able to play well this week. It is a big challenge for us because we have a lot of people patting us on the back and telling us how brilliant we are but the reality is that you are only as good as your next game. We have to really get stuck in here and make sure we play well again.”If you look at our record we’ve been very good coming back after defeats, less good after wins so that’s something we have to put right,” he added. “Sometimes there’s a reason for it, sometimes the other team just plays well and sometimes we need to put our hands up and say ‘we weren’t in the right place mentally to play that Test match’. We’ve talked about it a lot and the guys are very conscious about it. It’s certainly about trying to get back to basics and get right on top of the opposition again.”

Plays of the Day on day five of the Wellington Test between New Zealand and Pakistan

Andrew Fernando at Basin Reserve19-Jan-2011Daniel Vettori confirmed he would be stepping down from the captaincy after the World Cup, making the second Test at the Basin Reserve his last at the helm. Vettori has captained the side in 32 Tests since he took over from Stephen Fleming in 2007, and sits third on the list of most Tests captained for New Zealand, behind Fleming (80) and John Reid (34).Vettori said that the plan had always been to step down after the World Cup and that nothing had occurred to convince him to extend his tenure as skipper. “I made that decision three and a half years ago,” Vettori said. “So that’s it. My timing was always to finish after the World Cup and that stays the same.”Vettori’s stint has been a disappointing one for New Zealand, as his captaincy coincided with a significant dip in form for the Test team. Under him, New Zealand have won only six Tests in three years, with four of those wins coming against Bangladesh. They have lost eighteen Tests and drawn thirteen, with nine series losses out of thirteen.Throughout his captaincy, Vettori has been New Zealand’s most consistent performer with the ball, taking 116 wickets at an average of 33.38, ahead of Chris Martin’s 93 scalps at 35.08. He has also been routinely called upon to provide stability to New Zealand’s batting from the lower order. He’s hit four centuries and nine fifties as captain and his aggregate since taking over – 1917 runs – stands behind only Ross Taylor’s and Brendon McCullum’s during the same period. For much of his captaincy, Vettori has been New Zealand’s talisman. A tireless workhorse with the ball, and a courageous fighter with bat in hand.”There are always regrets, you always want to perform better,” Vettori said. “But I can walk away from the captaincy thinking that I gave it everything, particularly with my performance.”The captaincy hasn’t been entirely joyless though for Vettori as he singled out victories that brought him satisfaction during his tenure as leader. “The Test win against England and the Test win against Pakistan last year were highlights. Just seeing a group of young guys come into the team [has also been a highlight]. It’s a vastly different outfit from the one I started captaining and I think there are some really talented players there.”Vettori also sees a bright future ahead as long as New Zealand’s young squad can capitalise on their talent, but claims the team lacks genuine strike power. “If we can get the most out of the likes Taylor, Ryder, McCullum, Guptill and Williamson in the years to come, I think there’s an exciting team there. We still need to find fast bowlers coming in. You always want to find guys who can penetrate, so if they come along, that would be great.”Despite stepping down from the captaincy, Vettori confirmed he would continue to play Test cricket and has no plans for retirement as yet. “Test cricket is the part of the game I love. I want to play for as long as I can. There are still a lot of things I want to achieve, so there’s no way I’m stepping away from Test cricket.”He will captain the side in the upcoming one-day series against Pakistan, before leading the team to the World Cup. “We’ve got six one-dayers and then the big World Cup, so there’s still a lot of captaincy to come. So that last game-hopefully the World Cup final, that’s when the weight [of the captaincy] will be lifted.”

The Delhi High Court has limited the number of complimentary passes for each of the four World Cup games to be played in Delhi to 10,000

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2011The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) to limit the number of complimentary passes for each of the four World Cup games to be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium to 10,000. The stadium has a capacity of 41,000.Justice Sunil Gaur said the association should make sure the remaining passes for Thursday’s game between West Indies and South Africa were available online for the “general public who want to book it,” according to the . The court issued its directive while hearing a case filed by Jai Karan Singh, one of the DDCA’s oldest members, who has challenged the “arbitrary ways” in which the association’s executive committee has been issuing complimentary tickets.The order calls for the DDCA to make sure in the future it sells 30,000 tickets online and at general outlets throughout Delhi. “A total of 3,000 passes should be kept at the stadium gate so that match viewers can buy from there on the day of match also,” the order said. “Five thousand tickets should be sent to various banks in Delhi so that the cricket lovers can buy them there.” The order also directs the association to make sure all the prices are available online.Singh had argued that the executive committee issued free passes “at their whim and fancy for getting personal benefits not connected with the promotion of game of cricket”. He claimed that selling these tickets deprived the DDCA of revenue when they were already operating at a loss.The executive committee denied issuing free passes and said it was only in response to certain “firm commitments”. The committee also defended giving free tickets to officials of the Delhi government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, traffic police and other civic agencies, saying they had to be “rewarded” for their cooperation and support.The Kotla is scheduled to host four games during the World Cup, beginning with today’s game between South Africa and West Indies. The other three are: West Indies v Netherlands on February 28, Kenya v Canada on March 7 and India v Netherlands on March 9.

Australia Under-19s defeated West Indies Under-19s by 63 runs to go one up in the three-match Youth ODI series in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Australia Under-19s defeated West Indies Under-19s by 63 runs to go one up in the three-match Youth ODI series in Dubai.Choosing to bat, Australia U-19s built their total around opener Cameron Bancroft, who scored a well-paced 123. None of the other batsmen were able to build an innings, the second-highest score being 31 by Meyrick Buchanan. Most of the damage with the ball was done by opening bowler Justin Greaves and offspinner John Campbell. The pair picked up six of the nine wickets to fall in the innings, keeping Australia U-19s to 240.The chase briefly went the way of the first innings, with opener Kraigg Brathwaite anchoring the innings. But, unlike the Australia U-19 middle order which produced a few cameos to support Bancroft, just one of the seven West Indies U-19 batsmen to follow managed to get into double figures. By the time Brathwaite was dismissed, having scored 74 off 105, the chase was all but over with the scoreboard reading 130 for 8. The innings eventually folded on 177 with 5.5 overs going unused. The Australia U-19 bowlers shared the wickets around, four of the six used picking up two apiece.The two teams face off in the second match on Tuesday.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Kochi Tuskers and Kolkata Knight Riders in Kochi

The Preview by Sriram Veera04-May-2011

Match facts

Wednesday, May 5, Kochi
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Sreesanth has the one of the best economy rates this IPL•AFP

Big Picture

If you are a Kochi fan, be worried. Be very worried. Kochi are playing at home. They have just won one game at home, cribbed silently about the pitches, and seem a happy unit away from home. Even their senior players, Mahela Jayawardene and Brad Hodge, expressed their relief and happiness at playing away from home on a “good pitch” in their last game against Delhi. The way they performed would have given them heart. They went in with a four-pronged seam attack and it worked for them. Another thing that would give them hope is their record against the big teams; they have beaten Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi.Even Gautam Gambhir has stopped mentioning trying to bring “joy to the city of joy”. It’s now accepted that Kolkata Knight Riders are a team to reckon with. Victory is no longer a pleasant surprise; it’s expected now. There were murmurs that Yusuf Pathan and Eoin Morgan didn’t do much in the first half of the tournament. So what does Gambhir do? He pushed Morgan to open and promoted Yusuf ahead in the last game. Morgan has got some starts and Yusuf exploded in the last match against Deccan. Nearly all their batsmen are in form and with Iqbal Abdulla and Rajat Bhatia coming good with the ball against Deccan, their attack looks more rounded.

Form guide (most recent first)

Kolkata: WWWLL (second on points table)
Kochi: WLLLW (sixth on points table)

Team talk

It will come down to the pitch. If it has pace and bounce, or even lack of it, Kochi might reprise their four-seam attack. Kolkata are unlikely to change the winning combination.
Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Jacques Kallis has been one of the key factors in Kolkata’s revival. He has ensured the team doesn’t lose wickets against the new ball and has set up a good platform for the middle and end overs. It’s a pattern with the teams at the top: Sachin Tendulkar and Mike Hussey have done similar jobs for their teams. Kallis has always been synonymous with solidity and he has not disappointed his fans thus far.Brad Hodge is someone like Kallis: solid, experienced, assured and someone who is extremely self-aware of his game. However, he has had a quiet tournament so far, just tallying 157 runs from nine games. His form was perfectly captured in the game against Deccan Chargers when he played a rather loose, ambitious drive way outside the line of a delivery from Ishant Sharma. He made a brisk unbeaten 24 in his last game and said it was good to get out there and play some shots. Will that little knock be the signpost of his turnaround this season?

Prime numbers

• Sreesanth has the fourth lowest economy rate (5.83) for any bowler who has bowled 18 overs or more in the tournament. Yusuf Pathan has the lowest economy rate (5.96) for Kolkata
• Manoj Tiwary and Ravindra Jadeja have hit 12 sixes, the third highest number by any batsman. Yuvraj Singh stands at the top with 15 sixes.

The chatter

“I am making an effort not to go for too many unconventional strokes. I am not comfortable with them and if cricketing shots can get me the desired runs I don’t need to resort to reverse sweeps … I have worked very hard in the gym over the last few months. I was at home during the World Cup and utilised that time by improving on my upper-body strength which is important in international cricket.”
“I always believed that there were never great captains and there will be no great captain. There are only great teams. No captain can win you the game. It is the team that wins the game. So far, I am enjoying my captaincy … You end up taking responsibility, you end up learning a lot, you feel happy when you end up winning.”
Gautam Gambhir indulges in some straight talk