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The Women's Super League saw a new record set on Saturday as 60,160 packed into the Emirates Stadium to see Arsenal take on Manchester United.

Arsenal host Manchester UnitedWin WSL game 3-1Set new attendance recordWHAT HAPPENED?

It's the first time Arsenal Women have sold out the Emirates for a league fixture and beats the previous WSL attendance record of 59,042, which was also set by the Gunners.

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Arsenal fans had plenty to cheer about too as the Gunners ran out 3-1 winners over United. Cloe Lacasse and Kim Little were both on target for the hosts to seal victory after a Geyse own goal had put Arsenal in front. The win means Arsenal sit in third place in the table, three points behind Chelsea and Manchester City.

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Arsenal's latest record means Gunners home games are now now responsible for the top five attendances in the WSL.

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Arsenal are back at the Emirates again next time out when they take on Tottenham in a north London derby. The Gunners will be out for revenge after losing to their local rivals for the first time in the WSL back in December.

Ben Stokes is aware that he carries a major responsibility as England’s allrounder in the Ashes series and to no-one’s surprise, it is a challenge he is looking straight in the eye

Andrew McGlashan02-Jul-2015It has already been an interesting year for Ben Stokes as he has forged his way back into the England Test side. Saluted off the field in Grenada by Marlon Samuels, then saluted as a hero at Lord’s with the finest all-round performance by an England cricketer since Andrew Flintoff was at his peak.It can be assumed that 2015 is unlikely to quieten down for him over the next few weeks as the Investec Ashes unfolds following a typically pantomime-esque phoney war. Stokes was one of the few players to emerge with credit from the debacle Down Under in 2013-14 after scoring a bristling maiden Test hundred in the toughest of conditions at the WACA, then claiming a six-wicket haul amid England’s final mauling in Sydney.”It sounds like all I want to do his fight them,” he laughed when asked if the memories of that whitewash was extra motivation for what lies ahead. “That was the first taste of it, it didn’t go well, and there a wrongs that we want to right.”Stokes does not need to underline his competitive edge. Mitchell Johnson remarked earlier this week that the Australians quickly cottoned on that he was one of the few Englishmen up for the fight and they soon started to target him for some special attention.Eighteen months later, Australia know how many of England’s Ashes hopes are pinned on Stokes making a success of the allrounder’s role – as his performance against New Zealand at Lord’s suggested he can do – so that they can retain his counterpunching batting at No. 6 and his zippy seam bowling which enables a five-pronged attack. He will likely be the focus of plenty more attention over the coming two months.One of the challenges for Stokes early in his international career has been to control his temper. He was fined for giving a send-off to James Faulkner in an ODI at Perth and there was the infamous exchange with a locker in Barbados which left him with a broken hand. But the way he held himself together during the exchange with Samuels in April hinted at the maturing of a cricketer, not that his natural instincts will be dulled.”I’m definitely expecting there to be a few feuds out on the pitch, but I’m not one to go looking for it and cause an argument,” Stokes said. “If anyone comes at you in the heat of the moment, with the adrenalin going, I don’t think anyone in our squad will shy away. We have different ways of handling it, some turn their backs and walk away but I’m sort of the other way – look them in the eye and probably say something.”England’s allrounders after 11 Tests

Ben Stokes: 683 runs @ 34.15, 2 hundreds; 29 wickets @ 43.24
Andrew Flintoff: 259 runs @ 14.38, 0 hundreds; 9 wickets @ 58.22
Ian Botham: 500 runs @ 41.66, 3 hundreds; 64 wickets @ 16.54
Tony Greig: 783 runs @ 48.93, 1 hundred; 27 wickets @28.11

What chances a repeat of Samuels? “I’m not sure they’ll salute; they might. It will be good banter if they do.”Stokes admitted that the likeliest chance of a flashpoint is when he has ball in hand – his bowling role is one of striking rather than containment – but he insisted it is part of his DNA as a cricketer.”I’m not sure cool and calculated is the right way to describe my batting, but my emotions certainly do come out when I’m bowling – there’s a lot more adrenalin involved compared to batting. If there are any incidents it will probably be when I have the ball in hand. It’s definitely a strength of mine, you are in a battle and you don’t want to be losing. I don’t want to take a backward step and let them think they are on top.”Stokes’ own memories of the 2005 series, for which the 10-year anniversary is providing a regular reference point, are of being involved in an Under-15 tournament for Cumbria where the parents sat around their cars more interested in the Ashes score than what their children were up to. That series is largely viewed as having been played in good spirit, centred on Flintoff’s arm-round-the-shoulder to Brett Lee at Edgbaston.

‘You know that if you chose to pick a battle you have the other 10 guys backing you. That doesn’t mean I’m going to start throwing punches’

But there were flashpoints, too, not least when Ricky Ponting was run out by Gary Pratt at Trent Bridge and before the series when Matthew Hayden and Simon Jones went chest-to-chest in an ODI at Edgbaston, a moment often cited by England players of the time as when they made it clear to Australia they would hunt as a pack. It is a mindset Stokes hinted would be used again if needed.”You know that if you chose to pick a battle you have the other 10 guys backing you. That doesn’t mean I’m going to start throwing punches, but you know your team-mates will back you.”Beyond all the pre-series bluster, enacted for the third time in two years, Stokes has every right to believe his cricketing skills alone will be enough to carry him through the Ashes. He has emerged from a difficult 2014 following the tour of Australia, which included three consecutive ducks against India, with a period of consistent cricket, highlighted by his Lord’s heroics where he made 92, 101 – the fastest Test hundred on the ground – and claimed three second-innings wickets including a wicked inswinger to remove Brendon McCullum.”Since I first came in I’ve been in and out of the side, so this is the first time I’ve really been involved heavily for a good amount of time,” he said. “I do feel a bit more part of it, part of a team and a group that is making people want to watch cricket again.”Flintoff has been among those to laud Stokes’ ability – saying Stokes is a better player than he was while he “bluffed his way through” – but Flintoff’s Ashes of 2005 came when he was seven years into his career and had dominated the world stage for the preceding 18 months: from The Oval Test of 2003 against South Africa to start of 2005 Ashes, Flintoff scored 1268 runs at 43.72 and claimed 78 wickets at 24.60.Expectations of Stokes then can get out of hand, although after 11 Tests he has a significantly superior batting tally to Flintoff and also better bowling figures.Stokes insisted he had not let himself ponder what life might be like if he has a telling impact on this year’s Ashes. “I’ve not really thought about anything like that to be honest. We know how big the Ashes is: I was part of one in Australia and on the receiving end of a few mad Aussies when walking around the street. But we are in England now and have the support of the nation for seven weeks. It will be a bit different for Australia.”

Graeme Smith believes South Africa did well to overcome the conditions and persistent clouds to ensure they were undefeated in a 14th consecutive series

Firdose Moonda in Durban30-Dec-20130:00

Don’t think we’ll ever replace Jacques – Smith

Welcome back, Durban. You are part of South Africa again.After being the scene of four straight defeats between 2009 and 2011, South Africa have turned their fortunes at the coastal city around. That Graeme Smith could lead his men out to sing their team song on its surface more than three and a half hours after they sealed the series victory was confirmation Kingsmead has returned to the fold of home turf.”Protea fire” is the chorus of their song. The concept, featuring their nickname, the Proteas, is based on the germination of the country’s national flower. It can only grow after a fire, because the seeds are cased in a hard shell which can remain closed for two decades. After the adversity of flame, it blooms.Graeme Smith on Robin Peterson: “Robbie did well with the ball and with the bat last night. He brings a good balance to the team”•Getty ImagesSmith believes his men lived up to their emblem because they overcome conditions and persistent clouds to ensure they were undefeated in a 14th consecutive series. Of those, they have won eight, including this one. “The wicket didn’t make it easy for us. It’s almost like we were back in India,” he said. “The weather and the pitch made life a little more difficult. We had to work hard. To have the ability to turn it around and win like we did is a huge achievement.”The difference ended up being in the spin department, but not in the way anyone would have expected. Robin Peterson ended up as South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in the second innings with four scalps. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja were two of them, having misjudged their shots against him.Zaheer Khan was the other on the final day, adjudged lbw. Replays showed the ball would have missed legstump but the delivery Peterson bowled to achieve that wicket was a carrom ball, a skill many would have thought Peterson lacked. Add that to the 52-ball 61 he powered his way to with the bat and it was a good game for Peterson, who was under scrutiny after the way he bowled in Abu Dhabi against Pakistan.South Africa still have unanswered questions in that department but Peterson went some way to reassuring them with this showing. “Both our spinners have faced challenging times,” Smith said. “Robbie did well with the ball and with the bat last night. He brings a good balance to the team. The four wickets will be hugely rewarding. Without those four wickets, I don’t think we would have come close to winning this Test match.”Peterson’s ability as a lower-order allrounder may take the pressure off South Africa to find another seam-bowling two-in-one immediately following Kallis’ Test retirement. There will be no easy polyfill for them, something MS Dhoni warned them of when he described Kallis as their “ultimate luxury” which India could have used.”If we had a Kallis, we would have played two spinners and three seamers,” Dhoni said. “But there’s no point complaining about what we don’t have. South Africa will have to find someone. They have players who can bat and bowl but they will have groom them further.”Smith acknowledged something similar but has already understood Kallis himself cannot be substituted. “I don’t think we are ever going to replace Jacques. The sooner we face that, the better,” he said. ‘We’ll need to get tactically smart. I don’t think anyone who gets picked should be labeled as Jacques Kallis’ replacement. What Jacques has left is huge. It’s important that the next guy gets a fresh start.”South Africa have six weeks to ponder that before Australia arrive, a contest they are relishing despite the break to play domestic 20-overs cricket. “We’re just hitting our straps and now we have another month off… I feel if we had a couple more [international] matches, we’d play really well,” Smith said. “But it’s setting up for an exciting series.”Until then, South Africa can soak in the success they’ve just achieved in beating the team ranked second, gaining two ranking points, winning a series against India for the first time since 2006. “The one team we haven’t beaten over the last three years [is India]. At the Wanderers, we were behind the game for 90% of it and fought our way back to draw. This was an incredible win considering the weather and India’s performance on the first day.” Smith said. “This team conducts itself in ways that speak for itself.”

Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI and Sri Lankans played out a draw at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Just 31 overs were bowled today and the visitors finished on 396 for 6

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2012
Scorecard
Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI and Sri Lankans played out a draw at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Just 31 overs were bowled today and the visitors finished on 396 for 6. They added 120 runs on the day, with Prasanna Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal scoring half-centuries. The pair added 110 for the fifth wicket in 27 overs. Both fell before the close. Sri Lanka’s batsmen, though, had begun their tour on a positive note, with three half-centuries and a century in response to CA Chairman’s XI’s 439. The game ended by mutual agreement between the captains.

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has revealed the England midfielder that he thinks may contend for the Euro 2024 next summer.

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England looking for options for third midfielderCarragher thinks Alexander-Arnold could be the optionEngland one of the favourites for Euro 2024WHAT HAPPENED?

Last month, Gareth Southgate's team easily qualified for their eighth major tournament in a row after defeating Italy 3-1 at Wembley. In recent international matches, players like as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips and Conor Gallagher have been tested alongside Southgate's first-choice midfield choices, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.

The Liverpool full-back, who played in midfield against North Macedonia and Malta has been a subject of considerable debate recently, and Carragher believes that he could be the perfect complement to the existing duo of Rice and Bellingham.

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"Southgate demonstrated his foresight when identifying this a few years ago, initially criticised for using Alexander-Arnold as a midfielder," Carragher wrote in his Telegraph column. "Although England were not great against Malta and North Macedonia, there was plenty to like about Alexander-Arnold’s performances, especially in the first game."

"An exciting, balanced midfield trio of [Jude] Bellingham, [Declan] Rice and Alexander-Arnold can take the national team close to winning Euro 2024. They would be my first choice."

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Speaking on international duty last week, Alexander-Arnold also hinted that an opportunity further forward is something he relishes: "My specific skill set and what I’m best at is someone who plays in the middle. You probably get more out of me from being in the middle and I’m able to show off that skillset as much as possible."

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WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

Southgate will now have almost four months to strategise his potential plans for the midfield as the next international break does not arrive until March.

The USA Cricket Association (USACA) announced on Friday its intention to stage a Men’s National Tournament at a newly developed cricket facility in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana beginning in 2014

Peter Della Penna15-Jun-2013The USA Cricket Association (USACA) announced on Friday its intention to stage a Men’s National Tournament at a newly developed cricket facility in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana beginning in 2014. A joint press release by USACA and Indy Parks stated that USACA will host a four-day national championship involving eight regional teams in Indianapolis every summer from 2014-2016.”The 2014 USACA National Men’s Cricket Championship will provide the most talented cricketers in this country with the opportunity to compete in a first class facility against the best in the nation,” said USACA chief executive Darren Beazley. “It will be an important component in USACA’s mission to develop cricket at all levels, from youth to adult, and it will create an occasion to showcase our sport to a non-traditional cricket audience.”Last month, the city of Indianapolis approved plans for a $6 million multi-sport facility to be built on the east side of the city at the site of Post Road Community Park. Plans for the cricket facility were first reported by ESPNcricinfo in 2009. In addition to cricket, the facility will also have sports fields designed for soccer, rugby and lacrosse among other sports. According to a source, the cricket fields will have artificial pitches in order to make the facility easier to maintain for multi-sport purposes.”For over 30 years, Indianapolis has billed itself as the amateur sports capital of the world,” said Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. “This facility and this tournament puts Indianapolis in a leadership position as the second most popular sport in the world grows in this country.”Despite the mayor’s eagerness over the plan, it has not been met with unanimous approval. “If we’re dependent on them, I’m worried,” Indianapolis City Councilor Christine Scales was quoted as saying about USACA in the . Scales is leading a counter proposal in city government to use the $6 million in funds designated for the stadium to pay for more police officers on the city’s streets instead.Various Indianapolis media outlets reported on Friday that some city officials expect thousands of spectators to attend from across the country for the USACA tournaments. City officials also reportedly are anticipating that USACA’s domestic championships will generate revenue for both the city and USACA through ticket sales and broadcast rights fees.Such ambitious targets would be a giant leap forward from the overall lack of community support shown during the course of recent history in domestic and international tournaments involving the United States regional and national teams. USACA has no scheduled domestic tournaments for 2013 and has not held a 50-over national championship since 2010.The last domestic tournaments USACA held of any kind were in 2011. That year, the inaugural USACA Twenty20 national tournament was shifted from Dallas, Texas to Newark, New Jersey just weeks before the scheduled starting date. Despite Twenty20 routinely billed as a format perfectly suited to the American audience, only a handful of spectators attended. The tournament was infamous for its shoddy organization, treacherous field conditions and administrators who had to be separated outside the boundary after nearly coming to blows.Poor spectator turnout for domestic events has been a routine problem for tournaments staged in Lauderhill, Florida at the $70 million Central Broward Regional Park. After opening in 2008, USACA held their Men’s 50-over National Championship at the 5000 seat stadium in Florida in 2009 and 2010, during which not more than a few dozen people attended. Roughly the same amount of spectators turned out this March for the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament, which USA won 8-0 to clinch a spot at the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. None of the matches were broadcast on TV or radio.”Not one of those events puts anybody in the stands,” said Lauderhill Mayor Richard J Kaplan in an interview with ESPNcricinfo in April. “It doesn’t sell one ticket. I don’t need a multi-million dollar stadium with 5000 permanent seats to sit there with nobody using it.”The decision to host national tournaments at a facility with an artificial wicket rather than the natural turf facility offered at the Central Broward Regional Park may drive a bigger wedge between Kaplan and USACA, pushing Kaplan and Lauderhill officials towards carrying out a plan to redevelop the stadium for sports other than cricket in an effort to generate revenue.Kaplan detailed his frustrations over the lack of revenue generating cricket events at the Central Broward Regional Park in a letter to ICC chief executive David Richardson in April. In that letter and a subsequent interview with ESPNcricinfo, Kaplan placed the blame squarely on USACA for not doing enough to promote the sport. He had been pushing for more events with Full Members to be held at the stadium, such as last year’s successful Twenty20 series between West Indies and New Zealand, but said that two revenue generating matches a year are not enough to sustain the facility’s operating costs.”From those games we believe it is [commercially sound], but you can’t have games unless they’re sanctioned,” Kaplan said. “You can’t survive on putting on one event a year, and waiting a few weeks before the event before you even get permission to put it on. That just does not work.”Rumors have been circulating since May that the West Indies and Pakistan have agreed to play a pair of T20 matches in Florida next month following Pakistan’s scheduled ODI tour to the Caribbean, but a USACA official would not confirm that any matches have been agreed to be staged in Florida. No formal announcement has been made by the PCB or WICB either.

The Titans beat the Lions by 45 runs to win the MiWay T20 challenge final at the Wanderers on Sunday to mark the end of South Africa’s domestic season

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers01-Apr-2012
ScorecardThe Titans beat the Lions by 45 runs to win the MiWay T20 challenge final at the Wanderers on Sunday to mark the end of South Africa’s domestic season. Both teams qualify for the Champions League T20 in September.Fad du Plessis spun the Titans to victory with a return of 4 for 24 after his team posted an imposing 187 for 6, batting on the same pitch that was used for the Twenty20 between South Africa and India on Friday night. The Titans had the advantage from the get-go when Lions’ international signing Dirk Nannes was ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury. Ethan O’Reilly replaced Nannes and battled with his lengths throughout, conceding 45 runs in his three overs.Henry Davids and Heino Kuhn started aggressively, blasting 42 off the first 20 balls, before Davids was bowled off the pad by Chris Morris. Kuhn was caught behind in the next over and Roelof van der Merwe holed out to deep midwicket two overs after that, off the bowling of Aaron Phangiso.The left-arm spinner was the Lions’ only economical bowler, giving away just 14 runs in four-over spell. Dwaine Pretoris chipped in with the wicket of du Plessis, who Pretorius dropped the ball before the South African middle-order batsman pulled to Morris in the deep. The wickets allowed the Lions to pull things back and they had the Titans cornered at 115 for 5 after 15 overs.Farhaan Behardien shared in two sizeable partnerships to ensure the score soared. He put on 42 runs for the sixth wicket with Albie Morkel and 33 for the seventh, in 14 balls. The Titans blasted 72 runs off the last five overs, in which the Lions dropped Behardien once and had him caught off a no-ball from Pakistan international Sohail Tanvir.The Lions made an already tough task even more difficult as they collapsed to 24 for 3 after three overs. Jonathan Vandiar was caught at third man off the second ball of the innings and Alviro Petersen and Quinton de Kock were both victims of Albie Morkel in the same over.Neil McKenzie and Jean Symes put the Lions back on track with a 50-run stand for the fourth wicket, the biggest of the match. Then, the dominoes began to fall. Symes was bowled by a du Plessis googly that kept low and Pretorius went the same way, in the same over. When Neil McKenzie was bowled, by Roelof van der Merwe in the next over, the Lions’ fate had been decided. du Plessis added the scalps of Morris and Thami Tsolekile to his haul to finish as the second highest wicket-taker for the Titans in the competition.The Titans have enjoyed their most successful summer in three seasons. They also won this season’s first-class competition, the SuperSport Series, under new coach Matthew Maynard. The Titans will now compete in their first Champions League. They were due to play in the 2008 version which was cancelled after terror attacks in Mumbai.The Lions defeat extends their trophy drought to six years. The last cup they won was in 2006, when they beat the Cobras in the final of the domestic twenty-over competition. They have had some recent success though and qualified for the Champions League T20 two seasons ago, when they lost to the Warriors in the final.

James Anyon claimed only the sixth five-wicket haul of his career and Luke Wright hit an unbeaten 74 as Sussex gained the upper hand against Durham

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2013
ScorecardChris Jordan put in another eye-catching spell following his ODI debut last week•Getty ImagesJames Anyon claimed only the sixth five-wicket haul of his career and Luke Wright hit an unbeaten 74 as Sussex gained the upper hand on the first day of their match against champions Durham at Hove.Anyon took 5 for 44, including four wickets for 19 in his second spell, as Durham were dismissed for 164 in 52 overs after winning the toss, with their last seven wickets falling for 56. Sussex were reduced to 90 for 5 at one stage before Wright led a counter-attack to take them to 186 for 5 at stumps, a lead of 22.A win for Sussex should secure third place and they are also chasing their first Championship win at Hove since last August so they had plenty of incentive to avenge the heavy defeat they suffered to Durham three weeks ago.A pitch offering good bounce and seam movement gave them further encouragement but Durham were in a decent position at 107 for 3 shortly after lunch when Jordan triggered a collapse by claiming wickets in successive overs.Having been named in the Performance Squad on Monday a week after making his England one-day debut, Jordan bowled with sustained hostility to have top scorer Scott Borthwick caught at third slip fending off a bouncer after he had reached 1,000 Championship runs for the season.Matt Prior then dived full-length after parrying the ball at slip to remove Will Smith, who is making his last appearance for the county. The third wicket of his spell came when Ben Stokes slashed to point shortly after the ball had been changed. Jordan had earlier claimed opener Keaton Jennings on his way to figures of 4 for 50 which took him to 56 Championship wickets for the season.Anyon had Mark Stoneman, who also passed 1,000 Championship runs, caught behind in his second over but he was more productive after lunch when he reaped the rewards for bowling a fuller length.At one stage he took three wickets in six balls with Phil Mustard edging an off-cutter to slip, Michael Richardson lbw playing across a straight one and Usman Arshad losing his off stump before Anyon claimed his fifth victim when skipper Paul Collingwood holed out to deep midwicket.Durham were the last side to win a Championship game at Hove when batting first more than two years ago and the country’s leading wicket-taker, Graham Onions, improved their chances of repeating that by picking up two wickets in his first two overs. Chris Nash was lbw to the third ball of the innings with one that kept a shade low and Michael Yardy played down the wrong line.Skipper Ed Joyce batted purposefully, dominating a third-wicket stand of 58 with Luke Wells to which his partner contributed just a single. But when Arshad replaced Onions he induced Joyce to play on and then picked up Prior’s prime scalp when he edged behind. Wells’ vigil ended when he got a thin edge to Stokes’ outswinger to leave Sussex 90 for 5.But Wright and Ben Brown responded impressively. Onions conceded 33 runs in his second spell of just three overs with Wright hitting him over midwicket for six on his way to a 38-ball half-century. He was badly dropped at deep extra cover on 57 by Stoneman and closed unbeaten on 74 from 60 balls with 13 fours.

Allan Donald never played in the UAE, but he said the conditions reminded him of Pakistan

Firdose Moonda in Sharjah07-Oct-2013When Allan Donald was last in the UAE, Dubai did not have a single building in the top 50 skyscrapers in the world. It also did not have a metro service, nor did it host international cricket. In 1996, Sharjah was where it all happened.Donald was a member of the touring squad that played in the Pepsi Cup that year. He was not included in the starting XI for any of the matches so it’s hardly a surprise he does not seem to remember much about the place. Instead, it makes him think of somewhere else, where he played two Tests in 1997 and where he gained experience that will come in handy for South Africa’s bowlers on this tour.”The pitches here remind me a lot of the wickets when we played in Pakistan,” he said. And there, he recalls, things were not easy for fast men. “As a quick bowler. when times are tough, you have to very imaginative and you’ve got to be gutsy, Most importantly, the ball has to reverse.”For that reason, Donald, South Africa’s bowling coach, believes South Africa will rely on Dale Steyn even more than usual. “There is no one better than him when there is an end open and when he steps up and changes gears. There is no-one better at running through a team than he is,” Donald said.When Steyn last played for South Africa, he endured an injury-riddled time at Champions Trophy in June but has since recovered from five lingering issues. Like many of the players who’ve had a break, Donald said the time off will have reinvigorated Steyn and made him even more determined. “He is as fresh as I have seen him. He has dealt with his niggles. He is absolutely raring to go,” he said. “He is very eager and hungry to make a big impact on this series,” Donald said.With conditions set to provide a challenge to the seamers, Donald still believes the pace barrage, led by Steyn, can have an effect if they stick to a few basic principles. “The new ball will be massive,” he said. “When we played in Pakistan, Bob Woolmer taught us that the best chance of getting wickets was upfront because the ball scuffs up a lot quicker so we had to make batsmen play a lot more in the first 20 overs,” he said. “We have to figure out how to put a dent in the top order.”South Africa will approach Pakistan with aggression, not just upfront, but throughout the innings. “Lines have got to be straighter, we’ve got to hit the pitch really hard, bowl a bit fuller than normal and be prepared to sacrifice a few runs. You have to be smart because this is not a place where you can bowl back of length and expect results,” he said. “Patience and discipline will be key.”Donald expects South Africa’s bowlers to do all of that in temperatures that will soar close to 40 degrees while they are in the field, and he realises it is a big ask. “The extreme heat is going to be testing for us in our fitness and endurance,” he admitted. “But there are no excuses. We know what standards we set for ourselves as No.1.team and if we have a bad session, there will be no blaming the conditions and the pitches.”That means the South African bowlers’ biggest battle, although it would appear to be physical, is actually going to be mental. “This is the one series which will really test us as a unit because the mental intensity is going to be a big thing,” Donald said.In preparation, South Africa held a meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss the importance of being psychologically strong enough. “We can’t afford not hitting the ground running. Yesterday, Graeme and Russell [Domingo] chatted about how important it is that we don’t play catch up cricket.”South Africa have been slow starters in the past but they have managed not to let it trip them up recently. In England, they appeared lethargic on day one of the Oval Test last year before going on to win the match and the series. Australia wore the bowlers down for the better parts of the Brisbane Test in November last year and if not for a day lost to rain, may have been able to win the match but it was South Africa who triumphed at the end of the series in Perth.Gary Kirsten helped them understand that even if a session does not go their way, the possibility to go for the kill could still remain. Donald said the coach Domingo has continued to enforce the same ideas.”We spoke about the team culture yesterday and what it means to the players,” he said. “The guys have really taken to Russell in a short space of time. For us it’s business as usual.” And to enforce that motto, Donald need only refer to the country the team is in, where, 17 years since he was last here, business is the driving force behind all the changes he continues to marvel at.

Lalchand Rajput is disappointed the fancied batting line-up didn’t click as a unit, but is not alarmed about the future of India’s middle order

Sidharth Monga20-Jun-2012Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the touring India A side in the West Indies, is disappointed the fancied batting line-up didn’t click as a unit, but is not alarmed about the future of India’s middle order after a side full of Test aspirants failed to reach 300 in any of the innings of the three first-class matches against West Indies A. The sheer amount of international experience in India A’s middle order – Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary – made them favourites going into the series, but none of them scored a century, and India A lost the series even after having won the first match.”It’s fair to say we didn’t think the series would go this way,” Rajput said from Port-of-Spain where the limited-overs leg of the tour will commence. “They bowled really well too. Delorn Johnson took 17 wickets in the series, and Jason Holder was good as well. Ours was a strong batting line-up that never clicked as a unit. The conditions were difficult, but we should have done better.”India A’s first two wickets invariably yielded little, and the middle order always found itself under pressure and exposed to the new ball. In the six innings, the first two wickets added respectively 0 and 1, 4 and 8, 1 and 11, 14 and 14, 16 and 16, and 22 and 1. “We were a very strong batting unit,” Rajput said. “But we never clicked together. In six innings we never had an opening stand. We were always 20 for 3 or 30 for 3. If you want a big score, the top three have to fire.”Those who followed gave a relatively better account of themselves: Pujara crossed fifty thrice, Wriddhiman Saha twice, and Rohit and Tiwary once each. One of Pujara’s fifties was a special effort of 96 in the chase of 186 in the first match, in Barbados, after the visitors had been reduced to 77 for 6 and 115 for 8. India A would have hoped to carry some momentum and psychological edge into the next match, but losing the toss proved crucial on a pitch that was turning square on the fourth morning. Put in on a damp morning in the third match, the India A top order came up short once again, and even Pujara, who had scored three half-centuries in four innings until then, was run out before he could make a difference.The first-class matches of this tour were particularly important for the young Indian batsmen after Rahul Dravid’s retirement earlier this year. The selectors won’t get to watch another first-class match before they pick the team for the first of the 10 Tests this home season. Rajput said there was no need to panic, and that this tour was an important experience for the youngsters.”It’s actually good that we are exposing them in conditions abroad before they get into the Test side,” Rajput said. “It will help them. They’ll know what to expect when they go abroad. It’s a good idea for them to get exposure at an early stage in their career.”They should know relatively early that playing abroad is different. They now know what they need to work on. Life is difficult when you go and play abroad. You have to work hard. Still they are sound players. Don’t write them off based on this tour.”Pujara’s temperament, Saha’s keeping, Rohit’s start, and the surprise package, Bengal quick Shami Ahmed, were the positives of the series, Rajput said. “Pujara’s in Bridgetown was one of the best innings I have ever seen,” Rajput said. “When you lose eight wickets, you put together that partnership to win the Test, it was tremendous. He showed a lot of character and temperament. Top performance.”The man who stood alongside Pujara during that match-winning effort was Ahmed, who impressed Rajput a lot. “He is strong, bowls at a sharp pace, and throughout the day,” Rajput said. “Even in the third spell of the day, he bowls around 140kmph. Even when batting he doesn’t give up. You have to get him out. He is one bowler to watch out for.”Saha showed similar resilience, Rajput said, scoring two fifties in tough batting conditions. His keeping on tough pitches was impressive too. Rohit got 94 in the first innings of the tour, but never kicked on after that. It summed up India A’s effort: “They got starts, but couldn’t convert them. Had they converted them, the story would have been different.”