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India have retained 15 players from the squad that lost to England in Mumbai for the third Test at Eden Gardens, beginning in Kolkata on December 5

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2012India have retained 15 players from the squad that lost to England in Mumbai for the third Test at Eden Gardens, beginning in Kolkata on December 5. Fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who did not play the second Test because of a back injury, was not fit and hence left out.The BCCI had on Monday said the selectors would pick the squad for the two remaining Tests and the two Twenty20 internationals that follow, but today’s release said the selection for the fourth Test, in Nagpur, and the Twenty20 games will be made later.Yadav, the most effective of India’s pace bowlers in the series-opener in Ahmedabad, was advised “at least 10 days’ rest” by a specialist in Mumbai, and was not expected to recover in time despite the lengthy break ahead of the Test. “The injury is more serious than it was thought to be, so the team will have to make do without him for at least another Test,” a source told ESPNcricinfo.The India squad will assemble in Kolkata on December 2, after a few days’ break, while England will remain in Mumbai before leaving for Kolkata on November 30.Squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Zaheer Khan.

Boult, Henry and Patel all among the wickets after New Zealand make six changes from Lord’s

Valkerie Baynes10-Jun-2021Half-centuries to Rory Burns and Dan Lawrence restored order for England after a New Zealand attack bolstered by Trent Boult threatened to derail the hosts on an opening day when the ball and the momentum swung at Edgbaston with entertaining effect.Boult, New Zealand’s leading seamer, linked up with the squad on Saturday having served his post-IPL quarantine period and was an automatic inclusion amid a staggering six changes to the side which drew the first Test at Lord’s.With Kane Williamson (elbow) and Mitchell Santner (finger) out because of injury and BJ Watling (back problem) replaced by Tom Blundell shortly before play began, Will Young and and Ajaz Patel came into the side. They were joined by Boult for Tim Southee and Matt Henry for Kyle Jamieson, while Daryl Mitchell replaced Colin de Grandhomme as New Zealand showed an embarrassment of riches ahead of next week’s World Test Championship final against India.When Boult prised out opener Rory Burns for 81 with his 12th ball after the tea break, he removed England’s main hope for recovery at that point. It came soon after England had lost three wickets for 13 runs in less than 20 minutes and slumped to 152 for 4 in the afternoon session.But Lawrence stepped in with an assured and unbeaten 67 to guide England to the close in a far more comfortable position than had looked likely between lunch and tea.After removing Burns, Boult struck with the first delivery of his next over, removing James Bracey for a duck – his second in as many innings – but Olly Stone survived the hat-trick ball and went on to steady the innings with Lawrence, the pair putting on 47 runs for the seventh wicket.Dan Lawrence en route his half-century•Getty Images

The Stone-Lawrence union was a much-needed bright spot for England, along with Burns’ opening stand of 72 with Dom Sibley, which had steered their side to the lunch break at 67 without loss. What ensued in between times had the potential to devastate England’s innings.Burns and Sibley batted sedately but smartly in the morning, Sibley’s knock bearing little resemblance to his grinding 60 off 207 balls which helped England salvage a draw in the fourth innings at Lord’s. Sibley struck five fours on his way to 35 from 84 deliveries, including one through square leg to bring up England’s fifty.But when they returned from lunch, New Zealand’s bowlers started to find some swing and it proved a weapon.Henry struck with the sixth ball after the break when Sibley was caught betwixt and between by a ball just back of a length and in the corridor which swung away enough to find an edge and carry to stand-in keeper Blundell.Zak Crawley’s lean patch continued as he followed up twin scores of two at Lord’s with a duck. Having been rushed into a defensive shot by a Neil Wagner ball that swung in, Crawley hung his bat out to the next delivery which moved less and edged to Mitchell at third slip.Henry then claimed his second wicket – the prized scalp of Joe Root – with a late outswinger that caught the edge and was snapped up by Blundell.Related

• Zak Crawley shows England's batting woes in young line-up

• New Zealand's wholesale changes show immense strength in depth

Burns brought up his fifty with an authoritative drive through extra cover for two as the wickets tumbled around him. Ollie Pope stuck with him for a while but not long enough, falling for 19 when he was caught behind off Patel.As Burns and Lawrence looked to rebuild, Boult came to the fore, luring Burns into an attempted cover drive with a ball that swung away and clipped the outside edge, with Tom Latham, acting captain in Williamson’s absence, taking a good, low catch at second slip. Bracey followed and with six men down, only three had reached double figures.That’s when Stone and Lawrence got to work and they managed to stall New Zealand’s momentum until Patel had Stone out lbw. From there, Lawrence really took control though. He struck Boult for two fours in an over late in the day, the first a gorgeous drive through extra cover and then a neat clip off the pads.Mark Wood stuck with him to be 16 not out at the close, his straight hit for four off Henry mirrored by Lawrence off Boult on the next ball and the 70-percent-capacity crowd enjoyed it – and every moment of the day – if the noise, colour and movement that heralded the return of fans under a post-pandemic Government trial was anything to go by.

The Australian was part of the ICC Elite Panel since 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2021Bruce Oxenford, 60, has decided to retire from all formats of the game, thereby bringing an end to a 15-year international umpiring career.The last of his 62 Tests was the recently-concluded Australia vs India match in Brisbane. He will, however, continue to officiate in domestic fixtures in Australia.Oxenford, who was inducted into the ICC’s International Panel of umpires in 2007-08, was promoted to the Elite Panel in 2012. He pioneered the use of the arm shield as protective gear for umpires in international cricket.”I had a wonderful time as a match official and will miss the camaraderie that comes with being a part of such a professional group,” he said in a statement. “I shall particularly miss seeing and interacting with the magnificent people who are part of the support structure of our game around the world.”Oxenford is one of six Australians, after Daryl Harper, Darelll Hair, Simon Taufel, Rod Tucker and Steve Davies, to stand in at least 50 Tests. Overall, only 16 umpires have officiated in 50 or more Tests. He stood in three 50-over men’s World Cups and three T20 World Cups, apart from officiating in two global women’s tournaments.”I look back with pride at my international career as an umpire,” he said. “It is still hard to believe that I officiated in close to 200 international matches. Such a long career was not really something that I had hoped for before commencing on this journey.”Most importantly, I want to thank my wife Jo, son James and daughter Kristen for all their love and support over the years. It would not have been possible for me to have such a long career without their sacrifices and for this I am eternally grateful.”During his playing days, he featured in eight first-class matches for Queensland as a lower-order batsman and legspinner.

Cheteshwar Pujara picked up from where he had left off on the 2018 tour with a patient half-century

Andrew McGlashan06-Dec-2020Indians 8 for 237 (Rahane 108*, Pujara 54) vs Australia AAjinkya Rahane, who is set to take over as captain from Virat Kohli in a few weeks, made the ideal start to his tour of with a superbly constructed hundred on the opening day against a demanding Australia A attack for which James Pattinson, in his first red-ball outing for nearly a year, put in a performance to suggest he would be ready for the Test side if needed.Overall, it was a mixed outing with the bat for the Indians, Rahane’s fine century and Cheteshwar Pujara’s obdurate fifty balanced against three ducks in the top six. Pattinson, who is actually an incumbent player having faced New Zealand at the SCG in January when Josh Hazlewood was injured, finished with 3 for 58 including the scalp of Pujara for a 140-ball 54.The Indians, for whom this was the first multi-day match for all of them since March, recovered from 3 for 40 and 6 for 128 through the efforts of Rahane, who brought up his hundred from 203 deliveries, helped by contrasting lower-order contributions from Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav, the latter somewhat denting Pattinson’s figures.The other standout feature of Australia A’s bowling display was the eight overs sent down by Cameron Green across two spells. Generating good pace and carry on a pitch that offered encouraging bounce, he caused problems to the Indian batsmen.Rahane won the toss and batted in the first of two warm-up matches, the second under lights at the SCG starting Friday, as a decent smattering of spectators gathered on the grass banks outside the ground. However, the openers did not last long. Shubman Gill fell first ball he faced, to Michael Neser, getting an inside edge onto his pads which looped to the slips. In the next over, Prithvi Shaw edged a rapid outswinger from Pattinson.Pujara and Hanuma Vihari negotiated the remainder of the opening spells, but Australia A’s phalanx of pacemen – there was no specialist spinner included the XI with Mitchell Swepson having moved to the T20I squad – maintained the pressure, particularly Green whose first four overs cost just four runs as it hit a challenging length outside off. Tim Paine was regularly taking deliveries on the rise, although it remains to be seen when this is the case in Test cricket.Jackson Bird broke through when he pinned Vihari lbw although there may have been some doubt over the decision and at lunch, the Indians sat on an uneasy 3 for 65.A large part of the afternoon session saw Pujara and Rahane steady the innings with a stand of 76 in 28 overs. Pujara’s innings was an early reminder of how he was the rock behind India’s series win here two years ago during which he made 521 and wore the Australian attack down.Playing his first competitive cricket since March, he was the soon back into his bubble (the batting variety, rather than the biosecure variety) and at one stage went 27 deliveries between scoring shots, a sequence that was ended by an inside edge to the leg side.His half-century arrived from 129 balls, via a brace of overthrows, before a dismissal that may become a large part of Australia’s plans for the Test series as he turned a delivery off his pads and was well caught, low down, at leg gully by Marcus Harris. It was very similar to the way Australia removed him in the second innings of the MCG Test in 2018, when he flicked Pat Cummins around the corner for a duck – albeit with India miles ahead in the game and sandwiched between scores of 106 and 193.The Indians then slipped again as Wriddhiman Saha, who suffered a hamstring injury in the latter stages of the IPL, was given lbw in captain Head’s first over although it looked a rough decision. R Ashwin was then pinned by a full, fast delivery from Pattinson as the Indians lost 3 for 12 before tea.Although he was beaten on occasions, Rahane’s game looked in very good order with some of his drives especially pleasing on the eye. His most expansive moment was when he went to his fifty with an upper cut for six off Pattinson during the early stages of a stand with Kuldeep which frustrated Australia A’s attempts for swift mopping up of the tail.Rahane cashed in against the old ball, relative to the general pace of scoring through the day on a surface that rarely allowed the batsmen to break free. When the new ball was taken, he moved to 98 with a glide through the slips before a brace into the covers brought the hundred. For a man who will have a vital part to play in the series, it was the ideal performance to set up the tour.

With more than a day’s worth of overs lost to rain, and a pitch that was a scourge of bowlers, the SSC Test ended in the inevitable and dreary draw it was destined to be

The Report by George Binoy04-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kumar Sangakkara is disappointed after missing a double-century for the second time in two Tests•Getty Images

With more than a day’s worth of overs lost to rain, and a pitch that was a scourge of bowlers, the SSC Test ended in the inevitable and dreary draw it was destined to be – the fourth such result in the venue’s last five matches. Only 20 wickets fell over the course of the Test – nine of them today – while 1128 runs were scored. The only vestigial hope of last-day drama lay in whether Pakistan’s bowlers could end Sri Lanka’s first innings early enough to enforce the follow-on. They did not, and that was that.Sri Lanka achieved their objective of consolidating their position in the Test by not losing a wicket in the first session, with Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews steadfast during an 89-run period that saved the follow-on. In the second they collapsed: Junaid Khan completed the second five-wicket haul of a budding career and Sangakkara missed a double-century for the second time in consecutive Tests.Having taken a 160-run lead in the first innings, Pakistan scored quickly in their second after lunch, at nearly six runs an over. They promoted left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman to No. 3, after the openers had added 51, with the license to swing. The move paid off and Pakistan’s lead increased rapidly to 259 at tea, but they did not declare then. Misbah-ul-Haq declared eight balls after the break, an odd decision that gave Pakistan’s bowlers 37 overs, instead of 40, to have a crack at Sri Lanka. The hosts were never in any danger during their final innings, though, and the captains agreed to call off the game as soon as they could. Sangakkara walked off unbeaten on 24, having done so much to preserve Sri Lanka’s 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.The fifth day in Colombo was hot and sunny, with no sign of the clouds that helped ruin this Test, but very few people turned up to watch, as Sangakkara resumed on 144 and Mathews began his innings. They focussed on risk-free survival. Junaid, who had sparked some life into the Test with two quick wickets on the fourth evening, beat the bat on occasion but created no scares.

Smart stats

• Kumar Sangakkara missed out on scoring his ninth double-century. However, he is now fourth on the list of batsmen with the most 150-plus scores (16) in Tests.

• Sangakkara became only the second batsman after Mohammad Yousuf to be dismissed in the 190s on three different occasions. It is also the first time that two batsmen have been dismissed in the 190s in the same game.

• Sangakkara’s average of 79.96 at the SSC is the highest among the batsmen who have scored 2000-plus runs at a venue.

• For the second time in two Tests and the fourth time since the start of 2011, four batsmen were dismissed for ducks in the Sri Lanka innings.

• This is the sixth time that Pakistan have had a five-for and a four-wicket haul (two four-plus wicket hauls) in the same innings against Sri Lanka. The last such occasion was in Kandy in 2006.

• For the second time in this series and the ninth time overall, a team innings featured two centuries and four ducks. Pakistan have been the bowling team on four of the nine occasions.

• Saeed Ajmal bowled 34 overs without a single maiden. This is the highest number of overs bowled by a Pakistan bowler in an innings without bowling a single maiden over.

• Pakistan declared in both their innings for the first time since the Karachi Test in 1993 against Zimbabwe. On that occasion, Pakistan went on to win by 131 runs. It is also the fewest overs faced by Pakistan in an innings (18 overs in the second innings) before declaring.

• Sangakkara went past 400 runs in a series for the fourth time in his career. His best is 516 runs against Pakistan in the UAE last year.

Pakistan were not wayward with the ball, though. There was nothing happening for them, and when they tried to conjure something, the umpire Simon Taufel nipped it in the bud. Taufel noticed a fielder throwing the ball from a short distance on the bounce to the wicketkeeper, possibly hoping to scuff up one side, and told him not to do it. He had a word with the captain Misbah as well.Every now and then Mathews would break the spate of dot balls and singles with muscular shots. Sangakkara, on the other hand, simply nudged around for the first 18 overs, before finally unfurling a stylish cover drive against Aizaz Cheema. Another quiet period followed before Sangakkara stepped out to loft Ajmal over his head for six.Sangakkara ended the first session 13 short of his ninth double-century, Mathews four away from his ninth half-century, but Sri Lanka’s dominance of this day was about to end.Junaid struck in his first over after the break, getting the ball to straighten on Mathews and inducing an edge to the wicketkeeper. He could have had another wicket next ball, but Taufel felt Prasanna Jayawardene had been struck marginally outside the line of off stump.On 192, Sangakkara was undone by a soft shot. He came down the track and whipped a tame delivery from Rehman straight to square leg. Having been stranded on 199 in Galle, Sangakkara threw his head up in anguish and stormed back to the dressing room. The ball was reversing now, and Junaid collected his fifth scalp with a yorker that crashed into the stumps after nicking the inside edge of Nuwan Kulasekara’s bat.The end came quickly after that, with Rehman mopping up. Sri Lanka lost five wickets for 21 runs to finish on 391 and their scorecard made for bizarre viewing: apart from Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan, who made centuries, only Mathews and Rangana Herath got into double-figures.Pakistan’s openers set off with purpose, and Rehman coming in to pinch-hit at Mohammad Hafeez’s wicket seemed to signal a declaration was not far away. He played shots that belied his place in the tail, racing to 36 off 22 balls. Tea came and went, though, and Pakistan continued to bat. And when Misbah made his oddly-timed decision minutes after play had resumed in the final session, Mahela Jayawardene walked off the SSC looking bemused.Hoping for anything but a draw was akin to buying fool’s gold, though, and Sri Lanka’s openers batted out 12 of the possible 37 overs. Ajmal and Rehman picked up a wicket apiece, and there were hoarse appeals for lbw and catches around the bat at every opportunity, but the players agreed to end the game at the first opportunity.

Umar Akmal has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for ignoring both on-field umpires while going for a change in gloves

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2012Umar Akmal has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for ignoring both on-field umpires while going for a change in gloves during Pakistan’s semi-final against Sri Lanka in Colombo. There was no hearing as Akmal pleaded guilty and accepted the sanction to the charge laid by umpires Simon Taufel and Rod Tucker.Jeff Crowe, the match referee, said: “In this incident, Umar showed blatant disregard to both the umpires’ requests, which was offensive and unacceptable from an international cricketer and contrary to our unique spirit, hence a level two charge was laid.””Respect for the umpires is integral and is something which we always emphasise and encourage,” Crowe said. “Umar, when pleading guilty, apologised and regretted his action.”The incident happened in the 17th over of Pakistan’s chase when Akmal was at the non-striker’s end. Akmal remained unbeaten on 29 as Pakistan fell short by 16 runs.

Shashikala Siriwardene will lead Sri Lanka in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in September

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2012Shashikala Siriwardene will lead Sri Lanka in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in September. Sri Lanka last played a Twenty20 game in a five-match series in the Caribbean. Dilani Manodara was the captain then, and she is also part of the 14-woman squad.Four players who weren’t part of the squad picked for the tour of the West Indies but feature in the World T20 squad are Ishani Lokusuriya, Udeshika Prabodini, Maduri Samudrika and Nilakshi Silva.Sri Lanka squad: Shashikala Siriwardene (capt), Sandamani Dolawatte, Dilani Manodara, Chamari Atapattu, Deepika Rasangika, Ishani Lokusuriya, Chamani Seneviratna, Sripali Weerakkody, Udeshika Prabodini, Maduri Samudrika, Inoka Ranaweera, Prasadani Weerakkody, Inoka Galagedara, Nilakshi Silva.

Outstanding summer of all-round performances with bat and ball scoop prestigious award

Andrew Miller03-Oct-2020There haven’t been many perfect endings in this most curious of summers, but Chris Woakes has been involved in more than most.After a series of starring roles with bat and ball, in Tests and limited-overs alike, Woakes has capped his year by being named as the PCA Men’s Cricketer of the Year, but even that accolade is of secondary importance to the arrival, on Thursday morning, of his second daughter, Evie.And in the spirit of the on-field interventions that earned him such recognition – among them, the backs-to-the-wall 84 not out that turned the tables in the first Test against Pakistan, and the three-wicket burst that swiped a stunning ODI victory from under Australia’s noses last month – Woakes had once again to keep his cool in a rather lively situation.ALSO READ: Broad desperate for crowds to return after bio-secure summer“The baby made it at 8.15 yesterday [Thursday] morning,” he said. “It all happened pretty quickly. Without giving away too many gory details, we didn’t make it to the hospital too [long] before that. It was all a bit of a whirlwind, but baby and mum are doing well and they’re home now which is really nice.””Nice” is the mot juste where Woakes is concerned. His summer’s work was also “nice” – despite being spent for long periods in England’s bio-secure bubbles at Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl – and his achievement in not only securing his spot in England’s first-choice Test team but holding it on merit for five out of six matches was, he admitted, “pleasing”.Woakes’ modesty masks a superbly competitive and in-demand cricketer across every format of the game – had it not been for a change of winter plans prompted by Evie’s impending arrival, he would have been in Abu Dhabi this afternoon, taking part in Delhi Capitals’ IPL campaign, after being picked up by the franchise for £160,000 at last year’s auction.All of which goes to show, no matter how self-deprecating Woakes may be about his own performances, his team-mates and employers have no doubts about his value – as shown by the fact that this accolade, won by his team-mate Ben Stokes last summer following his twin heroics in the World Cup and the Ashes, is voted for by his peers in the professional game.”It’s really nice to get that recognition,” Woakes said. “The fact that this award is chosen by your fellow professionals; the players you play with and against not just in the year but throughout your whole career, is really nice recognition.”So many great players have won this award. But historically not many England players have won it. It usually takes a summer like Ben had last year to get it as an England player. But with the schedule being not as intense for the county guys, it gave us a little bit more of a chance. It’s a really great accolade for myself and really pleasing.”There’s no question he earned it the hard way too. However you dice his statistics they make impressive reading – not least the fact that Woakes’ 17 Test wickets came at an average of 20.47, which was almost five points better than that of James Anderson, and took his overall record in home Tests to 87 wickets at 22.87 – outstanding by the standards of any player in history.Woakes’s comeback spell sparked England’s win in the 2nd ODI•Pool/AFP via Getty Images

And while Stokes once again served up the summer’s grandstand all-round performance, earning the accolade “Mr Incredible” from Joe Root after seizing England’s series-squaring win against West Indies at Old Trafford, who should mop up the resistance on the final day of the match but England’s “Mr Dependable”, with figures of 5 for 50? Two matches later, it was Jos Buttler’s turn to overshadow him, the significance of his match-seizing 75 after a run of fallow scores outweighing the sturdiness of Woakes’ own unbeaten role.”I’ll never take a five-for for granted and I think it was my first away from Lord’s as a Test bowler, as well, so that’s a nice one to have,” he said. “But that partnership with Jos I really enjoyed. The only two things I’d change about that are that Jos would have been there with me to walk off the field and also it would have been a full house on a Saturday afternoon in a sunny Manchester. Other than that, it was pretty much perfect.”Had it not been for a stunning Australian revival courtesy of Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey in the third and final ODI, Woakes might well have capped his summer with a Man-of-the-Series award to boot. His six wickets at 22.83 reaffirmed the value of deck-hitting line and length in 50-over cricket, but for much of that series-deciding contest, his 38-ball half-century looked like being the difference between the sides.”I suppose they saw I had performed consistently over the summer,” Woakes said. “I don’t always get the limelight, which I’m perfectly happy with. But with such a strong England squad available, to have performed the way I did across the Test stuff and then followed it up with a few good performances across the ODIs has maybe nudged it my way.”I think the most important thing for me is that I’m contributing to England wins. So the fact I played a decent innings at Old Trafford to win that Test up there stands out as one of the highlights of the summer. Maybe that swayed the vote.”The humility is unshakeable, but it’s also a key part of how and why Woakes continues to tick along with such an impressive body of work.”That’s what works for me,” he said. “It might not work for everyone. Some players might want to get in the battle in different ways; they might want a bit of chirp out in the middle or find their fire in their bellies some other ways.”But for me it’s just doing my job. I find that’s the way I get in the battle: trying to tick my boxes; trying to get the processes right and everything else takes care of itself. That’s what’s worked well for me. That’s the way I’ll continue to operate. I don’t see why I’d try and do anything else.”And at the age of 31, Woakes has no reason to believe that the good times are about to start becoming more scarce – not least because of the age and endurance of the two senior England seamers, Anderson and Stuart Broad, whom he pipped to this award.”I feel I’m getting better which is a good place to be as a 31-year-old,” he said. “People start looking at your age, and I’ve only got the two GOATs ahead of me to look up to, really. Broady and Jimmy have got better since turning 30. I certainly feel like I’m getting better as a cricketer so I’ll continue to operate in the way I do.”As for his winter’s schedule, there’s not a lot of reason for Woakes to look too far beyond the nappy bin right now. Though he has admitted to some mixed feelings about reneging on his IPL contract, he knew in the circumstances it was right to make up for the time spent away from his family this summer – including his two-year-old elder daughter, Laila.ALSO READ: England players negotiating with ECB over pay cuts“It feels like it’s been the right decision,” he said. “With the baby arriving. I’d have been going to the IPL feeling a bit drained and needing a break. Family life, at the minute, is obviously really important to me so I’m really pleased, in a way, that I did pull out.”Obviously you don’t want to burn bridges but Delhi were really good,” he added. “I spoke to the owner there on a number of occasions and he was fantastic in the way he dealt with it. He was still keen for me to go but, at the same time, said ‘family comes first and you have to do what’s right for you’. So I do thank them for being so understanding on that side of things.”And, in the meanwhile, Woakes and his England team-mates will sit tight, and wait for their winter schedules to take shape in the midst of so much Covid chaos.”The guys at home like myself are ticking over, really, trying to make sure we don’t get too fat and keep relatively fit,” he said. “There’ll be a lot of nappy changing and dad duties, I’m sure, over the next few weeks and then I’ll get back into a bit of cricket in mid-October, and just be prepared for anything.”And if anyone is likely to be prepared come the go-ahead to travel again, it’s surely going to be Mr Dependable.

Amid the recent failures, West Indies captain Jason Holder has tried to lead by example, and his coach Phil Simmons admires his courage in doing so

Brydon Coverdale27-Dec-2015West Indies coach Phil Simmons said before this Test that one of Jason Holder’s strengths is his ability to leave the pressure on the field. Whatever is happening out in the middle, whatever gaping hole West Indies find themselves in, Holder is a man who can relax when he changes into his civvies at the end of the day. It’s a good thing too, for Holder is in charge of a team that is about as far behind in this series as is humanly possible.Consider the raw figures. By the end of the second day in Melbourne, West Indies had lost 24 wickets in this series for 462 runs. Australia had lost seven, for 1134 runs. It meant Australia were averaging 162 runs per wicket lost, West Indies 19.25. You need 10 wickets to dismiss your opposition, but if Steven Smith enforces the follow-on and things continue at this rate, West Indies might struggle to take 10 in the series.Amid all the failures, Holder has tried to lead by example. On the first morning, Kemar Roach leaked 15 runs from his first over with the new ball, and Holder immediately took Roach off and took the ball himself. He also began on the second morning, and while he went wicketless throughout the innings, he alone amongst his bowlers was highly economical, his 22 overs costing only 47 runs as he tried to build pressure at one end.”I love that fact that he’s taken on the responsibility,” West Indies coach Phil Simmons said after the second day’s play. “Even this morning he bowled a lot … and he said ‘right, I’m going to start this, and set the tone’, which is admirable. But at the same time it takes a lot out of him. I think it’s a case where he has to know when to do that and when not to do it. But it’s very admirable that he’s trying to lead from the front.”I can’t speak for him exactly but it must be frustrating and it must be hard on him, being the captain, being one of the leading bowlers and looking at [him as] one of the batsmen, because he has a Test hundred recently. There’s a lot for him as a young man to deal with. But talking to him and looking at him and I think he’s doing a good job.”And it is a hard job. Everywhere Holder looks he will see a problem, be it bowlers missing their lengths, fielders not pushing hard to chase balls, or batsmen losing concentration too quickly. That West Indies went to tea on day two at 0 for 33 was encouraging after Australia had piled on 3 for 551 declared, but by stumps it was the same old story, and they had collapsed to 6 for 91.”I think, as in yesterday’s performance too, the first hour we worked hard and we did the right things in the first hour … but then let it go in the second hour,” Simmons said. “And let it go in the hour after lunch. We batted fairly well leading up to tea, and then after tea some soft dismissals.”That’s the frustrating part. It’s about doing the things, but not just doing it for an hour. It’s about doing it for the two hours, come in and rest, do it for another two hours, and that’s where we’ve fallen down. Yesterday evening we bowled pretty well late in the evening. It could have been 400 in the day but we pulled it back, and then let it go again today. That’s the frustration, it’s not as consistent for the two hours of a session.”One of the key problems for West Indies has been the lack of impact from their senior men. Roach has been wayward with the ball and has not taken a wicket this series, Jerome Taylor has two wickets at 102.50, and Denesh Ramdin and Marlon Samuels have each scored 12 runs from three innings. Samuels, in particular, has been a disappointment, and late on the second day at the MCG was trapped lbw by James Pattinson for a third-ball duck.”He’s been one of the top batsmen for West Indies and he has that class that he can deliver tomorrow or Tuesday as the case may be, where we have to bat again,” Simmons said. “I don’t believe in writing him off. I think he’s struggled. It’s up to him to get his head in the right space for the second innings of this match.”

New Zealand’s tour of England next year is likely to overlap with the 2013 IPL season, forcing some of their senior players to choose which series to take part in

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2012

Schedule of NZ’s England tour in 2013

• May 4-6: Three-day game v Derbyshire

• May 9-12: four-day game v England Lions

• May 16-20 First Test

• May 24-28: Second Test

• May 31: First ODI

• June 2: Second ODI

• June 5: Third ODI

• June 22: T20 v Kent

• June 25: First T20

• June 27: Second T20

• (The Champions Trophy will be played between the ODIs and the T20s)

New Zealand’s tour of England next year (see schedule alongside) is likely to overlap with the 2013 IPL season, forcing the likes of captain Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori to choose which series to take part in. Next year’s IPL is set to start on April 3 and is expected to run till the end of May, while New Zealand’s warm-up matches begin on May 4.The clash in schedules seems to violate the terms of the eight-year agreement between NZC, the players’ association and the six major domestic associations that called for a clear IPL window for New Zealand’s cricketers.Since the deal was signed in August 2010, there has been only one IPL season during which there were no international commitments for New Zealand’s players. Five New Zealand cricketers – Vettori, Taylor, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum and Jesse Ryder – currently on a central contract have signed up with IPL franchises.While Ryder’s New Zealand contract will come to an end in June, other IPL players like allrounder James Franklin and fast bowler Doug Bracewell will be in line for contracts.So far New Zealand, unlike West Indies, have not had to field a weakened side due to the IPL.