The absence of several senior players during the tour of the West Indies provides an ideal platform for fringe players to show what they can do on the international stage, Suresh Raina has said

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2011The absence of several senior players for the upcoming tour of the West Indies provides an ideal platform for fringe players to shine on the international stage, Suresh Raina, India’s captain for the limited-overs leg of the Caribbean tour, has said.”It’s a great opportunity for the youngsters who have done well in domestic cricket,” Raina told the media ahead of the team’s departure for the West Indies. “I am happy with the side, as we have some very good batsmen in Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, S Badrinath and Shikhar Dhawan, all of whom have done well in first-class cricket.”Raina, has led a similarly second-string Indian side in the past, for a tri-series Zimbabwe in May-June 2010, though India performed poorly on that tour, losing both matches against the hosts and one against Sri Lanka.This time, India are without the services of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan, who have all been rested, in addition to the ill Yuvraj Singh, and the injured duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir for the lone Twenty20 and the five ODIs that follow. MS Dhoni will take over the captaincy from Raina for the Tests, and Zaheer will return, but the other seniors will miss the Test leg as well.Raina said he has learnt a lot about the art of captaincy from Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Dhoni, and was prepared for the challenge.”West Indies have players like Gayle missing, but it will be a challenge for us,” Raina said. “There’s always pressure and we have done well under pressure. It’s for us as players to execute the plans of the coach well. We have to play our natural game.”The tour will be the first assignment for India’s newly-appointed coach Duncan Fletcher, who said he was a supporter of the rotation policy. “While I was in England [Fletcher coached England between 1999 and 2007], I started the rotation policy resting senior guys,” Fletcher said. “I was heavily criticised by the English authorities. It’s important to do that considering the heavy schedule. We need to look into the matter as we go into the future.”He said he looked forward to working with the youngsters, but cautioned against complacency. ” Any team playing at home is difficult to beat. We should not be complacent. There is a lot of talent in India and my job is to prepare these youngsters.”Yes, we would like to beat England in England and Australia in Australia. But the first job is the tour of the West Indies. It’s very important not to look too far down the road. India have a plan to stay at the top. The young players have the potential and this tour will show the depth of talent we have.”He also said that the club versus country debate is something that just has to be dealt with. “That’s the way it is in modern day sports. We have to ensure that all the players are fit enough.”India’s tour of the West Indies kicks off with a T20 game on Friday in Port of Spain.

Sanath Jayasuriya will bring to an end a 22-year international career when he makes his final appearance for his country at the venue – The Oval – where he made his highest score against England in all formats: 213 off 278 balls in the one-off Test 13 yea

Sa'adi Thawfeeq at The Oval27-Jun-2011Sanath Jayasuriya will bring to an end a 22-year international career when he makes his final appearance for his country at the venue – The Oval – where he made his highest score against England in all formats: 213 off 278 balls in the one-off Test 13 years ago in 1998.Asked whether Sri Lanka had anything planned for him, stand-in captain Thilina Kandamby said, “We haven’t decided yet but we should do something. Sanath is one of the legends that we have ever produced, probably the best one-day player we have got in our country. I wish him all the best and I hope he will do well.”Any chance of Jayasuriya, who turns 42 on Thursday, changing his mind and staying back for the rest of the series was ruled out by Kandamby who is most likely to lead Sri Lanka in the opening ODI with a question mark still hanging over the fitness of captain Tillakaratne Dilshan.”Sanath won’t be staying on for the rest of the series. He has already decided to retire after the first one-day. That’s his call and we can’t help it,” said Kandamby. “If he makes a hundred tomorrow that’s the best farewell he can get but that’s not within our control.”Sanath is a brilliant guy so when you have someone like him in your side it gives us a lot of confidence. We know he can deliver with both bat and ball and he is a very important player to have in the team.”Sri Lanka used Jayasuriya’s wily spin to successfully probe on Kevin Pietersen’s weakness against left-arm bowlers during their nine-wicket win in the Twenty20 International against England in Bristol on Saturday. Pietersen had raced to 41 from 26 balls when Jayasuriya was introduced and it needed just two balls for him to disturb Pietersen’s stumps.”We have different plans for Pietersen. He has not been playing well against left-armers. We have that in the back of our mind and we hope that we can get him out early,” said Kandamby.Jayasuriya is the first ruling Member of Parliament to actively play international cricket after winning his seat at his hometown Matara at Sri Lanka’s general elections held last year. For England’s captain Alastair Cook, the circumstances of Jayasuriya’s recall were unexpected and he is one hoping the farewell isn’t too pleasant. “It’s slightly surprising for sure,” said Cook. “But he reinvented the way people play one-day cricket years ago. Hopefully we don’t send him out on a high.”Kandamby said that Dilshan has not been ruled out of tomorrow’s match and that there was a 50-50 chance of him playing. “We’ll take a decision after practice.”In the event of Dilshan being ruled out of the match, Kandamby said that Mahela Jayawardene would open the batting with Jayasuriya as he did in the Twenty20 at Bristol where he went onto score a match-winning 72 not out off 57 balls.

England Under-19s kept their hopes of levelling the limited-overs series against South Africa Under-19 alive with a two-wicket win in a low-scoring match at Canterbury

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2011
ScorecardEngland Under-19s kept their hopes of levelling the limited-overs series against South Africa Under-19 alive with a two-wicket win in a low-scoring match at Canterbury. Kishen Velani, the 16-year-old batsman who made his Under-19 debut at Taunton, guided England’s pursuit of 177 with a 60-ball half-century but it still took a late cameo from Jamie Overton to secure a vital victory in the 36th over.Quinton de Kock once again kept the tempo up despite wickets falling at the other end after South Africa had been put in to bat, striking five fours in his 40. His innings was complemented by Shaylin Pillay’s patient 30 and James Price’s typically adventurous 48, but there was precious little else from South Africa’s batsmen and had it not been for Prenelan Subrayen’s 25 South Africa would have been shot out for under 150.As it was, Peter Burgoyne had plenty to do with their sub-par total, snatching 4 for 8 in just over six overs as South Africa collapsed from 140 for 4 to 147 for 7. He had Pillay caught behind to spark the capitulation of the lower order, and followed that up by dismissing the dangerous Price, ending Subrayen’s cameo and trapping Lizaad Williams lbw to end the innings.Williams was soon getting his own back, picking up four quick wickets in his opening spell to reduce England to 25 for 4. Sam Wood, in partnership with Velani, helped England recover but Wood fell to South Africa captain Keaton Jennings for a 40-ball 48 and when Velani was dismissed by Duanne Olivier for 54 the home side were eight down with 21 still needed.Overton struck four fours to see them home in the tight finish, however, and with the scoreline now 3-2 England have the chance to level the series at Canterbury in two days time while South Africa will also be confident of ending their trip on a triumphant note.

India’s dismal performance in England has seen them lose the No. 1 ranking in Tests, and several former captains and players concur that it could be a while before they regain the position

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2011India’s dismal performance in England has seen them lose the No. 1 ranking in Tests, and several former captains and players concur that it could be a while before they regain the position. A lack of preparation has been pointed out as one of the chief reasons for India’s three consecutive losses, and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the former India captain, does not think the Indian board will learn their lesson and plan more meticulously for future series”I don’t want to sound like a pessimist but I fear the players are going to say it’s only a bad dream, just forget it and get on,” he told . “The BCCI is not going to show a great deal of vision. Cricket will continue the way it is but I sincerely hope that some sense does come in.”Sourav Ganguly, who led India to a 1-1 draw in England in 2002, said the performances were worrying and may not just constitute a one-off bad tour. “You can lose Test matches but losing three in a row and not scoring any big total, it is something to be worried about,” Ganguly said. “Is it a one-off affair or the beginning of the demise of the side? We have to see.”What is particularly worrying for India is that their batting has failed despite the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who have 37,769 Test runs between them. Anil Kumble said things would only get harder for India once those three retired, and the challenge now was just to stay near the top rather than reclaim the No. 1 ranking. “You need to spot four-five players and invest in them, to ensure that they carry the responsibility of Indian cricket in future in place of the veterans,” Kumble said. “We have Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir”They have to be given a long rope. You may not see India come back at the top in quick time. But we have to ensure that with these youngsters, we remained in the top three and climb to top spot after a few years.”Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar said that apart from the fact that India had very little time to prepare for the series, complacency had also played a role in their defeat.”I knew that it will be a tough series for India considering the fact that they were up against a formidable team that’s on song and consistent in their performance in recent times,” Vengsarkar said.”Besides, they have a better attack and as a team they had enough time to prepare themselves for the series. India on the other hand had come back from the gruelling series in West Indies, had a very little time to prepare and adapt to English conditions.”I guess, the Indians had become a bit complacent after their good run in the last few seasons,” he said.Kumble’s sentiments on the need to blood youngsters were echoed by Arun Lal, the former India batsman, who also said the magnitude of the loss in England may serve as a much-needed wake-up call for India and ensure they are better prepared for future tours.”You cannot go on with 35 or 38-year-olds till eternity. There might be slowing down of the reflexes, weakening of eyesight etc. So we need to infuse new talent,” Lal said. “We have to ensure that we have enough preparation before such tough series. The series loss and World No. 1 Test ranking slipping away is in a way good. We need an awakening.”

West Indies have followed up their 3-1 win in the ODI series by taking the Twenty20 series by the same score line, but they needed a Super Over to get past Pakistan in the 4th T20, in Guyana

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2011
ScorecardWest Indies have followed up their 3-1 win in the ODI series by taking the Twenty20 series by the same score line, but they needed a Super Over to get past Pakistan in the 4th T20, in Guyana. After both teams reached 72 in their allotted overs, Stacy-Ann King struck two fours in the Super Over, and got nine runs off the five balls she faced. A wide from Sadia Yousuf made it 10 runs in the over. That was always going to be a difficult target in a match when both sides had scored at 3.60. Pakistan could only get seven and West Indies took the series.Both teams’ innings had followed almost identical paths. Pakistan, put in to bat, lost their first five wickets for 33 runs, while West Indies, chasing, lost their first five for 31. Both teams were 52 for 7 and then 8 for 64. They both had three fours each in their innings, though Pakistan had one six. It was the two fours in the Super Over that made the difference for West Indies though.Anisa Mohammed, who has been West Indies’ best bowler over the ODIs and Twenty20s so far, was actually their most expensive bowler on the day, giving away 24 runs in her four overs, though she did take two wickets. Shanel Daley put in an all-round performance taking 3 for 9 and then top-scoring with 28 off 42 runs.

Boeta Dippenaar, the former South Africa batsman, thinks Jacques Rudolph can become “the Michael Hussey of South African cricket,” after playing against him on the weekend

Firdose Moonda04-Oct-2011Boeta Dippenaar, the former South Africa batsman, thinks Jacques Rudolph can become “the Michael Hussey of South African cricket,” after playing against him on the weekend. Dippenaar, who last played for South Africa in 2007, still turns out for the Knights franchise and was in the field for both of Rudolph’s brisk half-centuries for the Titans in their SuperSport Series opener.”He looked like a batsman that is worlds apart from the rest and that includes some national players,” Dippenaar said. “The Jacques Rudolph that I played with [for South Africa] and the Jacques Rudolph that I saw last weekend are two very different players.” Rudolph and Dippenaar played 13 Tests together and shared in a 429-run third wicket partnership against Bangladesh in 2003. Both their international careers simmered without ever exploding and although Dippenaar, at 34-years-old, is unlikely to stake a claim for a national place again, he believes Rudolph will.Rudolph returned to South Africa last year, after spending three years with Yorkshire in England. He topped the SuperSport Series batting charts in his first season back for the Titans. His time in county cricket appeared to have revolutionised his game and Dippenaar said the difference was noticeable. “I sense that Jacques knows his game inside out. He plays with lots of confidence, he is so calculated, there are no risks and he takes the game to the bowlers in a very clinical way.”Although Rudolph could not convert either of his half-centuries into hundreds in the last match he played, he was pleased with the way he performed on a challenging Centurion pitch. “It was the kind of wicket where I felt I had to play attacking cricket and it worked for me until I got out,” Rudolph said. “The two months I spent back in Yorkshire this winter was very good for me, it was the right move to have a bit of a pre-season.”Rudolph has been putting pressure on Alviro Petersen for a slot as opener in the South Africa Test side. Petersen started the domestic season with 186 and 64 for the Lions, but Dippenaar still sees room for Rudolph in the Test team. With AB de Villiers’ finger injury, Dippenaar feels Rudolph could even be moved down the order to slot in at No.5 and prove himself. “I will bat anywhere from one to six,” Rudolph said. “I just want a foot in the door again.”Dippenaar has some insights into what the coaching staff may be thinking, having served on the six-man panel that interviewed applicants earlier this year. Gary Kirsten was given the job in June and chose Russell Domingo and Allan Donald as his assistant and bowling coach respectively.According to Dippenaar, the selectors would do well to include Ryan McLaren in the Test XI. McLaren had a Man-of-the-Match performance with a century and four wickets for the Knights. Dippenaar said he would be an ideal No. 8, would lengthen the batting line-up and be the third seamer, a role that has been occupied by Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Dippenaar thinks McLaren’s all-round abilities will be better for the balance of the side. “His seam bowling is very accurate and he reminds me a bit of the great Glen McGrath of Australia.”Dippenaar is also in favour of JP Duminy at No. 6 instead of Ashwell Prince. “Not that Ashwell has done anything wrong. But Duminy will be able to bowl as well and that would give South Africa three seamers, a legspinner [in Imran Tahir] and an offspinner. And Duminy can do the job of containing as well.”Hashim Amla, who scored the third double-hundred of his career three days ago, also gave Dippenaar reason to be cheerful. “He is one of those players that never gets tired of batting. I am always very nervous of players like that, particularly when you play against them, because if you don’t get them out quickly, you will be spending a long time fielding.”

Cricket South Africa have not been able to secure a sponsor for the Twenty20 series against Australia and have given the exclusive title rights to a charity organisation instead

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2011Cricket South Africa have not been able to secure a sponsor for the Twenty20 series against Australia and have given the exclusive title rights to a charity organisation instead. In the aftermath of the yet-to-be-resolved bonus scandal, corporates have veered away from associating themselves with the body, and only Castle Lager have remained as backers of the Test and ODI teams. As a result, the T20 team, all international events and two of the three domestic competitions are without sponsors.Two of CSA’s long-time sponsors, Standard Bank and the mobile communications company MTN opted out of their sponsorship agreements with cricket during the off-season. Standard Bank said the move was in line with their cancelling of all sports sponsorships, while MTN declined to give a reason for their withdrawal. Since then, the bonus scandal has dragged into its second year and CSA have been unable to bring any new company on board.Instead, CSA has given the Make a Difference (MAD) foundation the title rights for the series free of charge, and will allow the foundation to promote itself at both matches, as a way of giving back to the community. The organisation seeks to give academically talented but disadvantaged children an opportunity to get a good education, something CSA sees as closely aligned to its own development goals. “An important focus for CSA has always been in the mentoring and development of young players to become the very best cricketers in the world. And MAD shares a similar vision,” Majola said.South Africa’s ODI and T20 captain, AB de Villiers, who is not playing in the series because of a finger injury is an ambassador for MAD, after being introduced to the organisation through former rugby hero Francois Pienaar.Richard Glover, CSA’s commercial manager, said that many companies had expressed interest in sponsoring various cricket properties but have asked to hold off until a “line had been drawn under the bonus scandal”. As the season drew close, with only Castle Lager continuing their relationship, Glover remained confident that CSA would secure sponsors before the season started. On September 20, he told ESPNcricinfo that a “sponsor will definitely be announced for the T20 series” against Australia.However, the CSA’s infighting has continued, and no sponsor has been unveiled. Reliable sources have confirmed that four companies have been asked to put their negotiations with CSA on hold until their issues have been resolved. That could happen as soon as this Saturday, when president Mtutuzeli Nyoka faces a second vote of no confidence.Five of the eleven provincial unions – Gauteng, Free State, Boland, Easterns and Eastern Province – have confirmed that they will support the motion against Nyoka. Northerns has said they will vote against it, but it is understood that at least one other union is in favour of the motion, and Nyoka is set to be removed from office.That should end the ongoing battle between him and chief executive Gerald Majola which started when 4.7 million Rand ($671,428) was paid in bonuses after South Africa hosted the 2009 IPL and the Champions Trophy. The payments were not processed through CSA’s remunerations committee (Remco) and Nyoka asked for an external audit to be carried out to investigate them.CSA held an internal audit, which cleared Majola and voted Nyoka out of office unlawfully three months later. Nyoka challenged them in court and, when he was reinstated, also won the right to have CSA’s financials examined. KPMG, who conducted the inquiry, recommended that CSA seek legal advice after finding that Majola may have breached the Companies’ Act on four occasions, and opinion was sought from Advocate Azhar Bham. Majola was severely reprimanded at the AGM in August and CSA vowed to improve their corporate governance methods but denied Nyoka’s request for copies of the audit report and legal advice.They have since met Nyoka and his lawyer to show him both documents, but have also claimed that he has breached media protocol and is no longer fit to be their President. If he is removed on Saturday, CSA’s 15-month-long saga will come to an end, albeit unsatisfactorily for some, the day before the second T20 against Australia. That leaves too short a time frame to rubber-stamp the sponsorship.There is, as yet, no indication of when CSA will announce sponsors for the ODI series against Australia or the domestic one-day and twenty-over competitions. SuperSport have continued to back the first-class competition in accordance with their television rights deal.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit10-Nov-2011

Match Facts

Pakistan v Sri Lanka, November 11, Dubai
Start time 1500 (1100 GMT)Will they be smiling together again?•AFP

Big Picture

The leadership of a national side has probably never changed hands between characters as contrasting as Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq. When impassive replaces expressive, when calm replaces frenetic, chaos is a likely outcome. It could have happened only in Pakistan, and only Pakistan could have moved on as if nothing had happened. It helped that when Misbah was appointed limited-overs captain, he had been in charge of the Test side for some time. It helped that Pakistan had low-profile series against Ireland and Zimbabwe that eased him into the role. What also helped, probably the most, was that Afridi went into one of his retirements so that the heat generated by his removal did not singe the team.Afridi is back now. Sri Lanka are no Ireland or Zimbabwe. Don’t go by the listless unit that turned up for the Test series. They are World Cup finalists and a proud limited-overs side. This five-match series will be a dual test for Misbah the leader. His approach in Tests has been to let things happen while retaining control and pushing matters only when absolutely needed, a bit like his batting style. How will he handle a mercurial, and immensely popular, former captain and key ODI bowler? How will he control the flow against world-class opposition in a format short on time?What Misbah has inherited from Afridi is a solid group that retained its sanity amid all the drama unfolding off the field over the past 15 months. It is a side that made the semi-final of the World Cup 2011 and has won its previous four bilateral ODI series. Misbah has the side to continue his captaincy run of being unbeaten in a series. What he makes of the additional baggage will determine whether that run continues against an opposition that has stalled in ODIs of late.Sri Lanka have regressed in Tests but the impact of losing Muttiah Muralitharan has been softer in the shorter format. They have recently lost 2-3 to both England away and Australia at home. While the absence of Muralitharan continues to hurt them in Tests, the batting has crumbled too often of late, with their three losses against Australia coming after the batsmen managed 191, 208 and 132.The Test series loss to Pakistan has brought a stern outburst from the chairman of selectors, Duleep Mendis, who said that the repeated batting failures had something to do with the mental approach. “Something is not right there and it is the coaches who have to address it,” he said. Geoff Marsh has barely settled into the job of head coach. How soon can he rectify the batting, which will have to come good to set up games on the flat pitches in the UAE. Even a 3-2 series win will not be enough for Sri Lanka to hold on to the No. 2 ICC one-day ranking. To add another shade of interest, both sides will be playing under the new rules for the first time.

Form guide (completed games, most recent first)

Pakistan: WWWWW
Sri Lanka: WLWLL

In the spotlight

This is Shahid Afridi‘s format. This was Afridi’s team. With his dozen-a-minute expressions and frenzied hand-waving on the field, he had successfully managed to hold together a team that many expected to fall apart. And then, the leadership was rudely yanked from under his feet after a series win in the West Indies, sending him into bitterness and temporary retirement. He has said that he has no problems playing under Misbah, having “played under a lot of captains, like around 11 or 12.” But he is no ordinary player; he is the dethroned captain and was the heartbeat of his side during the World Cup. To say that his performance – and his interaction with Misbah – will be watched, is to state the obvious.Sri Lanka would not have missed Muralitharan so much had Lasith Malinga been available all the time. He isn’t, but whenever he is, they become a different side, capable of stunning turnarounds. Malinga was nearly unplayable during the recent Champions League T20, and played a major role in both their wins against Australia. Pakistan have played him much better though. He averages 47.66 against them against a career average of 25.03. The last time he played them, he took five wickets. Pakistan will be on guard against the yorkers. Will they be able to avoid them?

Team news

Pakistan have gone for Sarfraz Ahmed as the wicketkeeper in place of Adnan Akmal. Sarfraz’s last game for Pakistan was in February 2010 but his domestic batting performances have led to his inclusion. The keeping is another issue, but Pakistan are certainly missing Kamran Akmal the batsman. What will Sarfraz make of this opportunity? Also returning is allrounder Abdul Razzaq whose last match was the World Cup 2011 semi-final against India.Pakistan: (possible) 1 Imran Farhat 2 Mohammad Hafeez 3 Younis Khan 4 Asad Shafiq/Umar Akmal 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.) 6 Abdul Razzaq 7 Shahid Afridi 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk) 9 Umar Gul 10 Saeed Ajmal 11 Junaid KhanSri Lanka will be happy to go back to their prolific ODI opening combination of Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan after the indifferent starts during the Tests. Promising wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal played the first three ODIs against Australia as a specialist batsman before being dropped. He is back in the squad now but will Sangakkara continue to don the keeping gloves?Sri Lanka: (possible) 1 Upul Tharanga 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt) 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk) 4 Dinesh Chandimal 5 Mahela Jayawardene 6 Angelo Mathews 7 Thisara Perera / Kosala Kulasekara 8 Jeevan Mendis 9 Suraj Randiv 10 Lasith Malinga 11 Suranga Lakmal / Dilhara Fernando

Stats & Trivia

• Sri Lanka have beaten Pakistan in their previous two bilateral ODI series, both in 2009
• Misbah-ul-Haq averaged 51.69 in 21 games under Shahid Afridi. He averages 94.50 in his short stint of six matches so far

Quotes

“It is time for our younger players to stand up and be counted and become those great players, Kumar [Sangakkara] had a fantastic series but we really need to get a couple of our younger players to really stand up and play well for us and to be the next Sangakkara or Jayawardene.”

“Sri Lanka have got an edge on us in the fielding department, we really have to work hard on that, especially in the shorter forms.”
Pakistan interim coach

A round-up of two matches of the SuperSport Series 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2011The Dolphins made a brave fist of a target of 442, riding on Divan van Wyk’s century, but fell 91 short against Warriors at St George’s Park. van Wyk’s was a lone effort, considering that no other batsman managed to cross fifty. Basheer Walters and Simon Harmer shared seven wickets between them in the second innings to hand Warriors their first win of the season.The Warriors opted to bat but found themselves in trouble on the first day at 26 for 3. Colin Ingram and Wayne Parnell began the repair work with a stand of 81 for the fifth wicket. Parnell struck Tabraiz Shamsi for a six to bring up the 150, but at 44 perished to Robert Frylinck, who took two wickets in an over. Ingram was supported by Walters, who made an exact 50 at No.11. Ingram went on to score 121 before he was dismissed by Kyle Abbott, who took four wickets. Frylinck too finished with a four-for.Parnell was in good form with the ball on the second day, taking 3 for 17 and sharing six wickets with Rusty Theron as the pair shot out Dolphins for 223. Friedel de Wet made 73, but he was the only batsman to pass fifty as his team conceded a lead of 72.The Warriors strenghthened their advantage the following day, thanks to JT Smuts, who made a century, and Arno Jacobs, who made 51. The opener Kelly Smuts gave Warriors command with 49, before his brother took over. Jacobs and JT Smuts added 110 for the third wicket but the Dolphins hit back with middle-order strikes. Parnell and Athenkosi Dyili frustrated the opposition with a stand of 65 for the seventh wicket. The Warriors declared at 369, with Abbott and Frylinck taking three-wicket hauls.Faced with a target of 442, Dolphins took off confidently. Van Wyk and Khaylihle Zondo scored quickly, adding 80 for the first wicket before Harmer got one to turn and bounce, forcing Zondo to fend to silly point. Van Wyk progressed to 102 on the final day. Harmer had him caught eight overs before lunch. The Dolphins went into the final session at 310 for 6 but failed to stick it out as they were bowled out for 350.In another high-scoring encounter, at Bloemfontein, Knights and Titans played out a draw, as the latter came close to chasing down 336. Martin van Jaarsveld blasted an unbeaten 167, off 161 balls but it wasn’t enough as the Titans fell short of the target by 33 runs.The Titans chose to field, but were made to regret that decision as the Knights piled on 438 in just a shade over 90 overs. Riley Rossouw and Morne van Wyk smashed 145 and 139 respectively, to guide Knights’ first-innings effort. Rowan Richards, the left-arm seamer, finished with 5 for 87.The Titans hit back with a first-innings lead of 23, helped by centuries by Farhaan Behardian (141) and Faff de Plessis (153). Quinton Friend took 5 for 53. Boeta Dippenaar (112) and Obus Pienaar (83) led Knights’ effort in their second innings as they were bowled out for 358.van Jaarsveld led by example on the final day, smashing 18 fours and three sixes in his knock. Malusi Siboto, the right-arm seamer, took three wickets as Titans ended on 303 for 6.

Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach, believes Misbah-ul-Haq’s side has the ability to become the best team in the world following its second successive Test victory over England

George Dobell in Abu Dhabi29-Jan-2012Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach, believes Misbah-ul-Haq’s side has the ability to become the best team in the world following its second successive Test victory over England.Pakistan’s 72-run win in Abu Dhabi gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series over the No.1 Test side. It also meant that Pakistan had won four series in a row. Mohsin did warn, however, that England’s struggles on Asian pitches illustrated how hard it can be for teams to adapt to a foreign environment and said Pakistan had “a lot to prove” in overseas conditions.”I think this team has the capacity to become the world’s best team,” Mohsin said. “Our target should be to gradually come in the top three in both Tests and one-day cricket, and then gradually go to world number one.”Now we have to perform when we play in other parts of the world. We have a lot to prove. When we go to England, our batsmen struggle against swing and seam bowling just as England struggle against spin. But give our bowlers credit: it needs skill to exploit rivals’ weaknesses. Our spinners bowled well.”Mohsin also praised Misbah’s leadership and credited the warm relationship between captain and coach as a key ingredient in Pakistan’s success. “He is a very good captain,” Mohsin said, “and I have a wonderful rapport with him. He gives me respect as coach and as his senior and I give him respect as captain, so it is a mutual thing.”We make a game plan and take inputs from senior and junior players. Maybe a junior player has something good and wise to tell us. Misbah respects my experience and as coach it is my duty to support him as he is to make the team fight. He is doing that.”When I became coach I knew that this team had talent in abundance. My first priority was to make them mentally and physically strong and that was on display when Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq batted. We won a lost match on Saturday and the kind of belief and self confidence this team has shown is great.”Mohsin’s own future remains unclear. He was only appointed as interim coach after Waqar Younis stepped down in September 2011 and it is still anticipated that Dav Whatmore will win the position on a full time basis after the limited-overs section of the series against England is completed. The manner in which the Pakistan players lifted Mohsin upon their shoulders in the immediate aftermath of the victory in Abu Dhabi, however, spoke volumes for the high regard in which he is held by them.”I am proud of my team and the moment when we won and then the players
lifted me and celebrated the win, that was a joy to behold,” Mohsin said. “It showed team spirit and the unity in joy. That was the biggest gift I can have from my players. Our actions are louder than words and I hope that this good work goes on and on.”