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Steve Waugh, the former Australian captain, has said a victory for England in the final ODI at Lord’s on Saturday will give them a definite advantage leading into the Ashes later this year

Cricinfo staff03-Jul-2010Steve Waugh, the former Australia captain, has said a victory for England in the final ODI at Lord’s on Saturday will give them a definite advantage leading into the Ashes later this year.”Australia would certainly like to be 3-2 rather than 4-1,” Waugh said during a press conference for the MCC World Cricket Committee. “At 3-2 neither side can say they had a big advantage, but 4-1 and England will walk away thinking we have got it over Australia.”They will think: ‘We won the Twenty20, we won the one-day games 4-1,’ and although Test cricket is a different game, momentum plays a big part in sport so this game coming up is important for Australia.”Waugh admitted England had grown more determined over the last year and will not be intimidated when they defend the Ashes this year. “I have noticed a bit of a change in the England side,” he said. “In the last 12 months they have escaped three Test matches. At Cardiff last year they were nine down and then the same happened in two Test matches in South Africa. That tells me they are a tough side to beat and fight all the way. They will go to Australia and will not be intimidated.”England had regained the Ashes in 2005, after a gap of 18 years, before being thrashed 0-5 when they toured Australia next year. However, they beat Australia 2-1 in 2009 under Andrew Strauss. The lessons learnt from the defeat in Australia on their previous visit, Waugh said, will stand England in good stead in their trophy defence.”I think they will learn from the last series, where they prepared poorly and were still thinking about the previous win in England [2005]. They got carried away but they won’t have the same complacency this time around. Eoin Morgan has brought a new element to the English side as well with the way he plays.”He has not lost in Australia, and it is really important whenever a side goes to Australia they have a lot of cricketers in there who have not been there before and experienced defeat. They go with fresh eyes and are not too worried about what has happened in the past and play on the present, so he [Morgan] will be an important part of the team.”

An injury to Ryan ten Doeschate marred Essex delight at a 10-run Friends Provident t20 victory over Somerset at Taunton

16-Jun-2010
ScorecardAn injury to Ryan ten Doeschate marred Essex delight at a 10-run Friends Provident t20 victory over Somerset at Taunton. The all-rounder top scored with 48 in the Eagles’ innings of 177 for 7, taking his average in the competition to nearly 74, but was forced to retire hurt with a leg injury and had to be helped from the field.Somerset looked in control when reaching 122 for 1 in the 13th over, with Nick Compton contributing 74 and Marcus Trescothick 40. But a clatter of wickets saw them collapse to 167 for 9 as David Masters, Scott Styris and Danish Kaneria claimed two victims each. It was later confirmed that ten Doeschate had suffered a torn calf muscle that is likely to keep him out for six weeks.Both teams have now won two games and lost three in the South Division and will need to improve to feature in the quarter-finals. The Essex innings was given a brisk start by Alastair Cook after they had won the toss. The England opener hit four fours in facing only nine balls before sweeping a ball from Zander de Bruyn straight to James Hildreth at short fine leg.Ravi Bopara fell cheaply, but Matthew Walker hit four fours and a six in his 35, while ten Doeschate looked in supreme touch from the start of his innings and looked set to lift his side towards 200 as he took successive sixes off Arul Suppiah.It was a massive blow for the Eagles when he collapsed attempting a quick single off Kieron Pollard with the total on 148 for 4 in the 17th over. Alfonso Thomas took the wickets of Grant Flower and Tim Phillips in a typically tight last over to keep Essex below 180.That did not look like being enough when Trescothick and Compton put on 99 in 11 overs, or when Kieron Pollard came in to blast three sixes in the space of four balls off Kaneria. But he was out in the same over and Essex sensed their chance.Compton was out hit-wicket trying to reverse sweep Masters, having faced 55 balls and hit 11 fours, but at 147 for 4 the home side still looked favourites. But Masters, Styris and Chris Wright had other ideas at the death, bowling full and running through the middle and lower order.

Somerset recorded their fourth Championship Division One victory in five outings, beating Nottinghamshire by 10 wickets

31-Jul-2010

ScorecardSomerset recorded their fourth Championship Division One victory in five outings, beating Nottinghamshire by 10 wickets. The victory, achieved with more than a day to spare, earned Marcus Trescothick’s side 24 points and keeps their hopes of lifting the coveted title for the first time very much alive.Resuming their first innings on 278 for 5, Nottinghamshire captain Chris Read, unbeaten on 75 overnight, opened his account with a boundary off the last ball of the opening over – bowled by Charl Willoughby.The left arm seamer had the last laugh however when Read was caught by wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter for 80 as he pushed forward to the last ball of the 81st over – the first with the new ball. Read added 157 for the sixth wicket with Samit Patel, before being dismissed with the score on 287.Patel reached his century when he edged Willoughby through the vacant third slip area, but in the next over he was out leg before wicket as he played back to a delivery from Alfonso Thomas. Patel scored 104 off 185 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes.Andre Adams brought up the 300 with a boundary through midwicket, but after moving on to 20 he attempted to drive Willoughby and was caught by Kieswetter. Willoughby struck twice more to wrap up the innings, accounting for Paul Franks leg before, and two balls later bowling Charlie Shreck as the visitors were all out for 339.In the morning session Willoughby took four wickets for 26 runs from 6.3 overs to end with six for 101. Trescothick enforced the follow-on, and batting for a second time 178 runs behind, the visitors lost Matt Wood, leg before to Willoughby with the score on one.By lunch the score had reached 28 off 10 overs without further loss – but four overs after the break Alex Hales, who had moved on to 28, stepped down the wicket to Murali Kartik and edged to Kieswetter.In the next over Thomas had new batsman Patel caught at first slip by Trescothick for one and the visitors found themselves 42 for 3. Mark Wagh was joined by David Hussey and between them they took the total on to 93 when Wagh was lbw pushing forward to to Zander de Bruyn for 45.New batsman Ali Brown brought up the 100 with a boundary through cover point off De Bruyn in the 31st over. When Willoughby replaced De Bruyn at the Old Pavilion End, Brown – 16 at the time – gave a chance which Kieswetter, just failed to take diving to his right.De Bruyn’s return to the attack paid dividends when he bowled Hussey, shouldering arms, for 30 which brought Read to the wicket. The Nottinghamshire skipper spent eight overs at the crease before he was caught by De Bruyn at deep backward mid-off for four off Thomas.The same bowler then had Paul Franks caught by James Hildreth for one at backward square leg in his next over – and the visitors were rocking on 168 for 7. Thomas struck again in his next over when he had Brown leg before wicket for 47 but the visitors went ahead when Adams edged Kartik through first slip to the boundary.However, the left arm spinner got his revenge when he trapped the batsman leg before in his next over for 10. Thomas claimed the final wicket when he bowled Shreck for three as Nottinghamshire were all out for 190, giving him final figures of 5 for 40 from 14.4 overs.Needing 13 for victory Somerset reached their target in 11 balls, with Trescothick unbeaten on four and Nick Compton five not out, with the remaining runs being extras. Notts picked up five points for their part in the match.

Sussex skipper Michael Yardy scored his first four-day hundred of the season to guide his side to a draw in their County Championship match against Division Two opponents Surrey

12-Aug-2010

ScorecardSussex skipper Michael Yardy scored his first four-day hundred of the season to guide his side to a draw in their County Championship match against Division Two opponents Surrey at Guildford. The left-hander got there in style with a maximum as Sussex reached 275 for 6 in their second innings, the players shaking hands with the visitors 200 in front.It was not enough to prevent his side losing their top-of-the-table status after Glamorgan’s win over Worcestershire put them a point clear, but Yardy will have been satisfied with the outcome after his side had been outplayed for large parts of the contest.Sussex began the final day 39 for 2 and still 36 runs in arrears and made the worst possible start when Chris Tremlett’s lifter flew off the shoulder of Michael Thornely’s bat and was taken in the gully off the first ball of the day. Ed Joyce and Murray Goodwin cleared the deficit but the lead was just seven runs when Ed Joyce was bowled round his legs sweeping the off-spin of Gareth Batty.Sussex suffered another blow just before lunch when Meaker, who was the pick of Surrey’s seam attack, yorked Murray Goodwin to leave Sussex 94 for 5, a lead of just 19. But that was Surrey’s last success for 32 overs as Yardy and Ben Brown, who was playing in only his fourth Championship game, turned things around.Yardy offered one chance on 19 but Matthew Spriegel, who had earlier dropped Goodwin at third slip before he had scored, failed to hold on to a low catch. He played with increasing confidence thereafter and Brown soon settled down to give him excellent support in a partnership of 108 in 32 overs, the highest of this low-scoring game.Surrey took the new ball as soon as it became available and Meaker quickly struck when Brown was caught behind driving loosely for 52, made off 96 balls with five fours.
There were still 32 overs remaining and Sussex’s lead was only 127 but Surrey’s hopes of quickly polishing off their tail after tea ebbed away as Yasir Arafat joined Yardy in another productive partnership.Yardy went to his hundred with his second six, struck down the ground off Meaker, and he finished unbeaten on 100 off 157 balls having added an unbeaten 73 for the seventh wicket.
Meaker finished with 4 for 86 but Surrey were hampered by the absence of Jade Dernbach who was forced off with a shoulder injury before returning to the attack later in the day.

This was the game the summer so desperately needed. A tight contest, in front of a full house, fought to the bitter end as England held their nerve, securing a four-wicket victory with three balls remaining to ensure Andrew Strauss’s fantastic 126 didn’t

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at Headingley12-Sep-2010

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndrew Strauss scored his fifth ODI hundred to power England’s challenge•Getty Images

This was the game the summer so desperately needed. A tight contest, in front of a full house, fought to the bitter end as England held their nerve, securing a four-wicket victory with three balls remaining to ensure Andrew Strauss’s fantastic 126 didn’t go to waste. For a while that looked a close-run thing as the middle order stuttered in the final 10 overs, but Michael Yardy and Tim Bresnan retained their composure to keep the home side’s winning run going, and hoist them up to No. 2 in the World ODI rankings.Strauss and Jonathan Trott added 146 for the second wicket to break the back of a stiff 295-run chase after Pakistan’s most complete batting display of the tour. England were never in total command of the asking-rate, but the requirement was looking more challenging than they would have liked after some less-than-clear thinking during the batting Powerplay. After 40 overs they were 221 for 3 – exactly the same score that Pakistan had reached
– however, Strauss fell lbw sweeping at Saeed Ajmal before Eoin Morgan, England’s cool-headed finisher, picked out the only fielder on the off-side boundary at deep point. Ravi Bopara then failed to clear long-off against Ajmal in the penultimate over to keep the punters on tenterhooks.But Yardy is also proving himself to be a consummate closer of run-chases having twice been in the middle during the Twenty20 internationals, and he collected a pair of vital boundaries off Umar Gul and Ajmal. Needing 13 off the last two overs, all that was required was clear thinking, but Bopara tried to take advantage of the fielding restrictions and failed, which left Bresnan to guide the side home in front of his home crowd. He cut his first ball through the covers then, in the last over from Gul, top-edged a pull off the keeper to level the scores and extinguish the doubts.Bresnan had shown calmness earlier in the summer against Australia, at Old Trafford, as England nicked a one-wicket win having looked like throwing victory away, but it was fitting that this win was secured in marginally shambolic fashion as Bresnan chanced a non-existent single to mid-off only for Fawad Alam’s throw to miss. So after a few deep breaths and nervous moments England could celebrate a 2-0 cushion in the five-match series and it would have been harsh on Strauss if his innings had ended in a losing cause.There are still those who question Strauss’s place in the one-day side because of a concern his style – dominated by square-of-the-wicket shots – won’t be so successful on the slower subcontinent pitches England will face during the World Cup. But he can do no more than score a bucketload of runs, which he has done in recent one-day matches with this being his second hundred in three games following the 154 he struck against Bangladesh at Edgbaston.Strauss’s game is also evolving and while he will probably never plunder runs between mid-off and mid-on, they are still viable scoring areas. His swipe for six over midwicket off Shahid Afridi to reach fifty showed how his game has developed against slow bowling since his return to the one-day arena 18 months ago. It was his 21st six in seven years of ODI cricket. Eleven of those have come since June.Pakistan will rue two moments; firstly when Mohammad Irfan spilled a catch at short fine-leg with Strauss on 23, then when he was on 38 as Kamran Akmal held a superb catch diving down the leg-side off Gul and Pakistan were convinced there was a glove. Billy Doctrove, however, was unmoved. Still, though, the visitors’ fielding was poor with too many fumbles and poor arms in the outfield.Steven Davies had given another eye-catching glimpse of his ability with 26 off 21 balls to help launch the innings positively before edging behind against Shoaib Akthar and then Strauss was joined by Trott in the crucial partnership. Trott continued to bat in the bubble he has occupied all summer, content to work the gaps while his captain was batting so fluently.His fifty came from 67 balls and progress was serene for England with barely more than a run a ball required over the last 17 overs. That changed, though, when Trott was run out from short third-man having survived an lbw shout only to charge down the pitch for a reaction single. Paul Collingwood again couldn’t get his innings going and picked out long-off against Afridi with Pakistan suddenly believing. They couldn’t quite pull off a comeback, but there were continued signs of improvement throughout.Kamran led from the top with a powerful 72-ball 74. That was followed by a maiden one-day fifty from the impressive Asad Shafiq while Mohammad Yousuf contributed a calm 46. England were below their usual high standards especially with the ground fielding, while Stuart Broad’s 4 for 81 was the most expensive four-wicket haul in ODI history.James Anderson was the only bowler to offer early control as Kamran took to Bresnan and Broad in an opening stand of 122 with Mohammad Hafeez – Pakistan’s best in any international during their stay in England. Kamran collected his second consecutive fifty, this one at a run a ball, before playing across the line at Collingwood’s second delivery.However, for once the middle order had a platform set for them which allowed Yousuf and Shafiq to consolidate before attacking again. Yousuf, who offered one very tough opportunity on 18 when Morgan couldn’t quite make up considerable ground at deep midwicket, fell when he tried to guide Broad to third man, but Shafiq continued to show his talent when he skipped down the pitch and launched Graeme Swann over long-on.But Pakistan didn’t make full use of their Powerplay as Broad, despite being expensive, claimed three wickets in seven balls while Bresnan and Anderson had their yorkers on target. That lack of late ignition meant the total didn’t cross 300 and that proved crucial in the final outcome.

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the former Times cricket correspondent and veteran commentator on the BBC’s Test Match Special, will begin his one-year tenure as President of Marylebone Cricket Club on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2010Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the former Times cricket correspondent and veteran commentator on the BBC’s Test Match Special, will begin his one-year tenure as President of Marylebone Cricket Club on Friday, October 1, as the successor to John Barclay.”I feel excited to find myself, for one privileged year, president of the great club that I joined as a playing member in 1967,” said Martin-Jenkins. “Playing the game – in both senses – is still MCC’s greatest priority and it will be fascinating, having written and talked about cricket since that same summer, to have some small input from the inside. I am grateful to my predecessor John Barclay, who has been a conscientious, ebullient and diplomatic leader, for offering me this honour.”Having previously played 67 times for MCC in matches against schools and clubs, Martin-Jenkins was elected to the MCC Committee in 2009; he also sits on the Arts & Library sub-committee. In 2007 he became the first career journalist and broadcaster to be invited to speak at the annual MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture – previous lecturers had all been former international cricketers.”The game always has issues and I shall try to help to resolve current ones, including the need to market Test matches better in some countries and to find a proper balance of fixtures that will ensure all international matches are special occasions,” he said. “Those at Lord’s surely always will be: it is the ground on which every young cricketer of any nationality hopes to play one day. Doing so in a Test match is the stuff of dreams and becoming MCC president feels a bit like that too!”Joining the new President on the MCC Committee, for a three-year period, will be Simon Dyson (for his first term), Mike Gatting (for his third term), Tim O’Gorman (for his fourth term) and David Faber (for his fourth term). All were elected by MCC’s membership. Stepping down from the Committee are Russell Cake, Dr Chinmay Gupte, Julian Vallance, Alec Stewart and Jonathan Wileman.Completing a day of change at MCC, Garri Jones will become Chairman of the newly-created Youth committee, which is responsible for encouraging participation, high standards and excellence in youth cricket. Members of the Youth Cricket committee include Clare Connor, David Graveney, Phillip Hodson and Andy Whittall.

Bloemfontein likes to claim Colin Ingram as its own. He was born in, schooled in and discovered cricket in the Eastern Cape but he actually became a cricketer in the City of Roses. Ingram moved up country to the Free State academy when he was starting uni

Firdose Moonda at Bloemfontein15-Oct-2010Bloemfontein likes to claim Colin Ingram as its own. He was born in, schooled in and discovered cricket in the Eastern Cape but he actually became a cricketer in the City of Roses. Ingram moved up country to the Free State academy when he was starting university, six years ago. He stayed in Bloemfontein to complete his studies and blossomed as a young cricketer.”It’s my second home,” said Ingram with a nostalgic smile. Many cricket-lovers in this part of the world were wishing he would make it his permanent home after the abundant promise he showcased in his academy days, but Ingram returned to his roots. After graduating, he went back to Port Elizabeth to play for the Warriors.He knew that there would always be the occasional trip back to the Free State. One of those visits was Ingram’s twenty-over debut. He was out for a third-ball duck. Subsequent journeys have been more successful, such as the 80 not out he hammered off 65 balls in the MTN40 in January this year. In fact, the whole of the 2009-10 season was a success for Ingram, who was the highest run-scorer in the MTN40 with 600 runs at 60.00 and the Standard Bank Pro20 with 282 at 47.16.Ingram is not a numbers man though and admits he “wasn’t aware of any of the statistics” involved in his performance in the opening ODI of the series against Zimbabwe. His eyes grew wider as he was told of the landmarks he had passed in this match. First, he surpassed Shaun Pollock’s 66 as the highest ODI score by a South African on debut, then, he became just the sixth player in history to score a century on ODI debut and the only South African.What he was concerned about was making an impression. “I haven’t does as well as I would have liked in the recent months, especially coming off the back of the Champions League,” he said. Ingram scored 122 runs in six matches in that competition. He started off trying to rectify that scratchily and only 16 runs came from his first 28 balls. “I was actually a bit nervous when I was on about 20 and started thinking that I should score quicker.”Who better than to help him get his confidence back than a man who is overflowing with it? “Batting with Hashim Amla was absolutely wonderful. He is one of the guys that I have basically grown my game around. He told me to just bat with him, get my feet moving and enjoy my time at the crease.” While following the instructions of a man who had raced to his third ODI century of the year, Ingram found that he got his groove back and was able to maintain it even after Amla departed.He shared a 76-run fifth-wicket stand with David Miller, a sign that the new-look South African middle order is developing into a formidable force and answering the captain’s calls for the younger team members to take on major roles. Graeme Smith said he hoped performances like these would allow the players to “answer the question themselves” about who will be picked in the next year’s World Cup squad.Ingram will face an enormous challenge for the No. 3 spot from Jacques Kallis but he is happy for it to remain that way for now. “I am still a relative junior and if the situation demands that Jacques comes straight back in, I am happy with that. I am here to learn, grow my game and take any opportunities I get with both hands.”In this match, he grabbed full hold of that opportunity and throttled it for all it was worth. “He remained calm and stuck to his game plan throughout, he had a good training week and a lot of belief in himself,” said Smith. There won’t be the luxury of that much time for preparation before Sunday’s match in Potchefstroom. But he’ll have happy memories of the place having made an unbeaten 125 in the MTN40 the last time he was there.

While most major teams are finalising their preparations for the World Cup, Pakistan cricket’s internal discord continues to divert attention off the field. Can they turn the corner against South Africa?

The Preview by Sriram Veera28-Oct-2010

Series Facts

October 29, Abu Dhabi

Start time 15:00 (11:00 GMT)All eyes will be on Younis Khan who will making his comeback to international cricket•AFP

The Big Picture

It’s no state secret that Pakistan’s Achilles heel is their batting. Watching their familiar collapses leaves you with a feeling of numbness these days. It’s the same script that seems to be playing on an endless loop: the openers combust mindlessly, Umar Akmal plays couple of pretty shots before throwing his wicket away, Shahid Afridi biffs a few big shots before holing out, and the innings meanders aimlessly in the end.Will the one-day series against South Africa turn out to be different? Younis Khan is back but there is no Mohammad Yousuf or Shoaib Malik. Much will depend on how fast the hugely-talented Umar Akmal matures and how long Shahid Afridi can remain calm. Mohammad Hafeez bowled well in the Twenty20 games but didn’t last long with the bat. Again, it was the same-old failing: couple of quality hits preceded an adrenalin rush that led to his dismissal. Can he turn it around in the ODI series?South Africa will be reinforced by the return of Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, and Dale Steyn. It will be interesting to see who makes way for Kallis in the middle order. Will it be the impressive Colin Ingram, who played such a cool finishing hand in both Twenty20s, or will it be David Miller? While Ingram offers stability, Miller offers explosiveness – who will they choose?

Form guide

(most recent first)

South Africa: WWWWW
Pakistan: LWWLL

Watch out for…

Younis Khan is back but won’t get much breathing space to ease into the team. The middle order lacks the experience of Yousuf and Malik, and Pakistan will hope that Younis can hold the innings together in the middle overs. He has struggled in the last two years, though: in the 27 games he played during that period, he averaged 25.11 with just one hundred. In the eight matches he played in the last year, he averaged just 11.12. He doesn’t have a great record against South Africa: he averages 25.92 from 29 ODIs at a strike rate of 66.97
Graeme Smith He averaged 28 from three games against Zimbabwe. He hit a painstaking, but vital, 38 in the second Twenty20 game against Pakistan where he struggled against the spinners but didn’t throw his wicket away. It will be interesting to track his progress through this series.

Team news

Pakistan have a few tough batting decisions to make. It’s a battle between the old and the new: Younis and Misbah v the youngsters they will displace. Will Asad Shafiq and Fawad Alam get chances? Will Shahzaib Hasan be dropped or will it be Imran Farhat? Will Hafeez be played as an opener?
Pakistan (possible): 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Mohammed Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Zulqarnain Haider (wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Saeed Ajmal.South Africa (possible): 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (wk),5 JP Duminy, 6 Colin Ingram/David Miller, 7 Albie Morkel/Rusty Theron, 8 Morne Morkel, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Lonwabo Tsotsobe, 11 Dale Steyn.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have won their last nine ODI games. Their previous eight wins have come against West Indies and Zimbabwe.
• Johan Botha’s career bowling average is 39.57 but it skyrockets to 102.50 from five matches against Pakistan. His economy rate climbs from a career average of 4.62 to 5.06 against Pakistan. Dale Steyn is yet to play an ODI against Pakistan.
  

  Quotes

  “You’ve got two guys [Morkel and Steyn]. One has bounce and he can hit 145 kph, the other has swing and can hit 140 to 150kph. They are wonderful assets to have. ”

Wavell Hinds, the former West Indies batsman, has been named as captain of Jamaica’s team for next year’s West Indies Cricket Board Caribbean T20 Tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2010Wavell Hinds, the former West Indies batsman, has been named as captain of Jamaica’s team for next year’s West Indies Cricket Board Caribbean T20 Tournament. Hinds, 34, will fill the role in the absence of regular skipper Chris Gayle, who will be representing Western Australia at the Twenty20 Big Bash – the dates of which clash with the West Indian competition.Tamar Lambert, who captained Jamaica at the inaugural Caribbean T20 in July, has been dropped but fast bowler Jerome Taylor has recovered from injury and is set to make a return to cricket at the regional level. The one newcomer in the side is 22-year-old left-arm seamer Sheldon Cotterel.West Indies players Carlton Baugh, Andre Russell and Nikita Miller – who were part of the national squad on the recent tour to Sri Lanka – are also among the 14-man squad that will take part in the tournament from January 10 to 23 at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua and Kensington Oval in Barbados.Allrounder Carlos Brathwaite is the only new face in the Barbados squad for the competition. Brathwaite, an opening batsman and medium-pacer, has been rewarded for consistent performance for Banks in the domestic Division 1 tournament. He will join his cousin Jonathan Carter, who was the second highest run-scorer in this year’s domestic Twenty20 competition, in the squad.The Bajans will be without experienced opening batsman Dale Richards, who is out with an injury, but they have however been bolstered by the inclusion of West Indies players Kemar Roach and Sulieman Benn. They will also have fast bowler Tino Best, who has played 26 games for West Indies, and allrounder Dwayne Smith to call upon.There were few surprises in Canada’s squad for the tournament with Ashish Bagai – their most accomplished batsman – set to captain. His presence can surely only bolster a side that was handed two comprehensive nine-wicket thrashings in the previous edition of the competition – from which Bagai was absent.Hiral Patel, the 19-year-old batsman who boasts an average of 42.66 in Twenty20 internationals, lends a touch of class to their middle order while Rizwan Cheema, who has hit 38 sixes in 29 international limited-overs games, adds much-needed firepower.Ugandan-born seamer Henry Osinde will lead the bowling attack and will be hoping for solid support from medium-pacer Harvir Baidwan, who has an enviable record in Twenty20s, and legspinner Balaji Rao, who represented India Youth in the mid-1990s and also turned out for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy.Canada’s training camp opens in Toronto on Boxing day and the team leaves for the Caribbean on January 5.Jamaica squad: Wavell Hinds (Captain), Xavier Marshall, Danza Hyatt, Marlon Samuels, Horace Miller, David Bernard, Carlton Baugh, Andre Russell, Jerome Taylor, Nikita Miller, Krishmar Santokie, Odean Brown, Shawn Findlay, Sheldon Cotterell.
Barbados squad: Ryan Hinds (capt), Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Rashidi Boucher, Carlos Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Kirk Edwards, Alcindo Holder, Carlo Morris, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Javon Searles, Dwayne Smith, Kevin Stoute
Canada squad: Ashish Bagai (Capt), Harvir Baidwan, Khurram Chohan, Rizwan Cheema, Parth Desai, Tyson Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Jimmy Hansra, Nitish Kumar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Balaji Rao, Zubin Surkari, Hamza Tariq, Karl Whatham

England are well placed to earn their first series victory in Australia for 24 years having already retained the Ashes after a day of dominant batting at the SCG as they built a lead of 208

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at the SCG05-Jan-2011

ScorecardIan Bell played wonderfully for his first hundred against Australia but it was tinged with controversy•Getty Images

England are well placed to earn their first series victory in Australia for 24 years, having already retained the Ashes, after a day of dominant batting at the SCG as they built a lead of 208. The record-breaking Alastair Cook led the way with 189, his third hundred of the series, and Ian Bell scored his first century against Australia with an elegant, albeit controversial, 115.Cook and Bell added 154 for the sixth wicket in the match-defining partnership and England’s command was cemented when Matt Prior joined to add 107 for the seventh with Bell. It was another chastening day for Australia, who couldn’t stem the flow of runs, and for Michael Clarke who now really knows the challenge ahead if he is the long-term captain.As he did at Brisbane, Cook went through a host of records and by the time he fell had 766 series runs, leaving him second behind Wally Hammond’s 905 in the 1928-29 Ashes for England batsmen. Incredibly, in an era when there are few tour matches, he also passed 1000 first-class runs for the trip and has now also spent longer at the crease in a series than any other England player.For Bell this was the innings he’d been waiting his career to play, converting his pristine form into that cherished hundred. He has never played better than on this trip and again he oozed class. His cover drives continually bisected the field with timing to beat the deep sweepers but it wasn’t an innings without controversy. On 67 he was given caught behind off an inside edge only for the decision to be overturned on review, even though there didn’t appear to be conclusive evidence, and Snicko later proved Bell had edged the ball.He was also dropped on 84, a firmly-struck return catch to Steve Smith, but was rarely troubled and reached his hundred with a back-foot push through the covers. While Bell didn’t sweat much in the 90s, Cook had a nervous wait on 99 when he flicked a delivery from Michael Beer towards short leg where Phil Hughes claimed the catch and the Australians began celebrating. Cook, though, stood his ground and TV replays showed the ball clearly bounced and Hughes was unsure before joining in late with the appeal.

Smart Stats

• Alastair Cook’s aggregate of 766 runs is the second highest by an England batsman in an Ashes series. The highest is Wally Hammond’s 905 runs in 1928-29.

• Cook’s century was his third of the series, making it the 23rd occasion that a batsman has scored three or more hundreds in an Ashes series. The previous occasion that an England batsman achieved this was when Michael Vaughan scored three centuries in 2002-03.

• The 154 run stand between Cook and Ian Bell is the fifth highest for the sixth wicket for a visiting team in Australia.

• England have passed 400 in four of the five Tests so far, which is the second time that a visiting team has achieved the feat. The last time England scored more than 400 on at least four occasions in a Test series in Australia was in 1928-29.

• Bell scored his first Ashes century in his 18th Test. He has now scored 11 half-centuries and one century at an average of 32.36.

It was the second time Beer had been denied Cook’s wicket after yesterday’s no-ball and in the spinner’s next over, Cook worked a single into the leg side to reach his hundred. He’d had a few other tricky moments, when he edged Shane Watson short of second slip on 87 then after passing his hundred nearly chipped Beer to midwicket, but it was a commanding display as he worked his way through the record books once again.England really put their foot on Australia’s throat when the second new ball was taken shortly before lunch as Cook and Bell both took advantage of the extra hardness. Clarke couldn’t find a combination that worked as he made seven bowling changes in 14 overs. Ben Hilfenhaus’s first over back went for eight then Bell played two perfect straight drives off Peter Siddle having taken time to play himself in. Bell knew this was the chance to make his good form count when it could make a real difference.He had so much time to play against the quicks and toyed with Beer’s length as he waited for anything short. Cook was also positive against the left-armer despite having a few more issues from the footmarks and drove impressively through the covers. Bell reached his fifty by using his feet against Smith – finally given a bowl in the 101st over – and launching him straight down the ground. By tea even Mike Hussey was having a bowl.Cook looked set to join Hammond as the only England batsman with two double hundreds in a series but finally edged a drive to Hussey in the gully. However, his dismissal barely hampered England’s progress as Prior played the perfect role to build England’s lead at a swift pace. He lofted Smith for six and peppered the off side in a 54-ball half-century and, after passing his hundred, Bell joined in with ever more expressive strokeplay until edging Mitchell Johnson to slip.The only sour note on England’s day was another failure for Paul Collingwood who can only dream of the form shown by Cook and Bell. He found the middle of his bat largely elusive during a 41-ball stay and Johnson’s first delivery of the day had reared to take the glove but looped fine of short leg. Collingwood wanted to be positive, which brought his downfall when he advanced at Beer and miscued his lofted drive towards mid-on where Hilfenhaus took a back-peddling catch.It was a huge moment of relief for Beer who gave the umpire a quick look, just to make sure, and this time was able to celebrate his first Test wicket. At that point the match was fascinatingly poised but it was the last time Australia had any grip on proceedings. Now they face a mighty task to escape with a draw.