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Strauss hundred guides England win

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

Andrew Strauss provided the bedrock behind England’s successful run-chase with a superbly controlled hundred © Getty Images
 

A composed 12th Test hundred from Andrew Strauss guided England to a comfortable six-wicket win over New Zealand on the fourth day at Old Trafford, chasing down 294 – the highest fourth-innings run-chase at the ground – to take a 1-0 lead in the series. It marked a remarkable turnaround for England, overturning a 179-run first-innings deficit, which was the fifth highest by any team, while New Zealand have much to ponder, most notably their dismal collapse of 114 all out yesterday.In truth, New Zealand didn’t help themselves. Catches were spilled, overthrows gifted and the fielding was not nearly as alert as it should have been for a side who, at the start of the day, were marginal favourites. Remarkably, Daniel Vettori, who was such a threat yesterday when he ripped through England, went wicketless today on a pitch which lacked any of yesterday’s demons. New Zealand did pick up three wickets – and should have had more, had Iain O’Brien not shelled two dollies – but England were always on course.Strauss was the key. Solid and composed yesterday evening, he was compact and similarly collected today. Neat nudges square of the wicket were combined with a solid defence – though he did edge O’Brien down to third man after New Zealand had changed the ball after 31.2 overs. Vettori was disappointingly ineffective, not helped by his fielders. A tuck off his hip by Strauss should only have allowed one, had Kyle Mills been aware, and Vettori hinted that the pressure was beginning to take its toll on him too when, the next ball, he overstepped and Michael Vaughan clattered him through extra cover.Vettori himself let through another Strauss drive at mid-off, audibly venting his disgust, before Brendon McCullum attempted to throw down the stumps in the next over to hand England an extra five. New Zealand were beginning to flap and Strauss brought up a fine fifty from 105 balls, his third in succession, and England’s target crept below 150.Vaughan, meanwhile, was less assured than Strauss and struggled against Jacob Oram, who recovered sufficiently from his sore shoulder – though he barely reached 70mph for much of the morning. Nevertheless, his medium-pace wobblers held up on the pitch to Vaughan who drove just short of Jamie How at cover, following it up with a crunching cover drive before a lifter was again squirted short of the cover fielder. Nothing was going New Zealand’s way, until Martin was introduced half-an-hour before lunch.Bowling at good pace and a much tighter line than O’Brien had earlier, Martin repeatedly found the outside edge of Vaughan’s bat – one of which flew infuriatingly down to third man for four – but, on 48, Vaughan drove at a good-length ball to hand New Zealand their much-needed breakthrough. Enter England’s crumbly middle-order, and Kevin Pietersen somehow survived a fizzing delivery from Vettori which brushed his pad and span over the stumps. It was that sort of morning for New Zealand, but England had made their own luck with the aggressive style of batting that they have so failed to demonstrate thus far in the series.On several occasions Vettori has made Pietersen look hapless in this series, and his natural aggressive instincts again nearly cost him his wicket. Just after lunch, he skipped down the pitch to flick one through midwicket, the ball bobbling to short-leg who then shied at the stumps – only narrowly missing. However, a superbly timed off-drive in the next over got his feet moving before he thumped Vettori over the top for England’s first six of the series.Strauss marched on, approaching somewhere near his best with a free-flowing drive off Martin through the covers and a beautiful pick-up off Vettori as England’s target sneaked to under 100. Befitting of such a calm, steadying innings, Strauss brought up his 12th Test hundred with a tuck off his hip for an easy single as New Zealand desperately sought inspiration. And they found it, at last, when Strauss edged O’Brien to Ross Taylor who grasped a superb catch low to his left at second slip.Pietersen broke free briefly, flicking O’Brien through midwicket for four, but an ambitious call for two underestimated O’Brien’s rocket throw from fine-leg. New Zealand had the faintest of sniffs, England still needing 46 with their two out-of-form batsmen, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell, at the crease. Both should have been caught by O’Brien off his own bowling – especially Bell, who misread an excellent slower ball – and the fumbles summed up New Zealand’s day rather aptly.Nevertheless, the pair saw England home and Collingwood – who was completely at sea against Vettori – battled his way out of form with a couple of late fours to wrap things up just before tea. New Zealand resembled a side still in shock over yesterday’s batting capitulation, and they have only a week to plot their revenge for Trent Bridge.

Cool Bresnan helps Yorkshire to tense win

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Scorecard

Andrew Flintoff made a first-ball duck and did not bowl, but it was a comeback nonetheless © Getty Images
 

It is often said that it is hard to judge a pitch until both sides have batted. There was nothing lethal in the Old Trafford surface; perhaps the problems were more in the minds of the batsmen when Yorkshire appeared to make a pig’s ear of their batting, but in the end they managed to win by just four runs, the match again going down to the final ball. The batting by neither side was very good, but the close contest quite overshadowed an unsuccessful (save for a good catch) return by Andrew Flintoff.Yorkshire decided to bat on winning the toss, but little good did it do them. The first over had the capacity 17,000 crowd roaring – Andrew Gale was run out third ball, a direct hit as he started for a run and then turned back, and Gerard Brophy only just got home as the batsmen ran through for a leg-bye. The second over also had a shock in store. Michael Vaughan, so good on Wednesday, had his feet set in concrete today as he slashed at his third ball, from Saj Mahmood, just outside off and dragged it on to his stumps. Yorkshire were 8 for 2.Brophy was unfazed as he blazed away at the bowlers and after six overs Yorkshire had recovered to 49 for 2, with Brophy on 37. But then spinner Gary Keedy first applied the brake and then had Brophy caught at the wicket for 44, scored off 36 balls. Thereafter only Jacques Rudolph (23) was able to do much with the bowling, and despite some useful slogging in the final over, Yorkshire finished on 136 for 8, which did not really look adequate. Simon Marshall, coming on as fourth change, was the most successful bowler with 3 for 11 off three overs.But Lancashire were also to suffer a sensational start to their innings. When Stuart Law (1) skied a ball from Tim Bresnan to midwicket, in marched the man the crowd had been waiting to see – Flintoff himself. He did not face his first ball until the following over, from Tim Bresnan – and was adjudged lbw first delivery, moving across his stumps and hitting across the line, although the ball might have just cleared the bails.Worse was to come, when Mal Loye (17) was caught at the wicket off Matthew Hoggard, and after four overs Lancashire were 20 for 3. They found two men to steady the ship, though, in Francois du Plessis and Steven Croft, who kept the board ticking over with good running. The problem was, though, that they had difficulty in finding the boundary, and were always lagging behind Yorkshire’s modest rate. The visitors bowled tightly and guarded their boundaries well, and the strain began to show.After 16 overs, there was obviously a problem, as 93 on the board left 43 still needed from 24 deliveries. It was at this point that Croft (29), doing his best to accelerate, fell to a catch at long leg; next over, du Plessis (42) was caught at square leg, and Yorkshire’s grip tightened further.A six by Kyle Hogg left 23 off two overs; he repeated the treatment to Gough, but had his stumps scattered next ball by the wily veteran and his 22 came off 9 balls.The last over was entrusted to Bresnan, whose opening spell of three had cost just eight runs for his two vital wickets, and Lancashire needed 12. Four singles and a sliced boundary and Gareth Cross needed a six off the final delivery. But the bowler was too good, only a single was possible, and Yorkshire won their second Roses thriller in three days. Bresnan’s 2 for 12 in four overs was crucial.

Ashraful and Raqibul set up easy win

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Mohammad Ashraful played a conservative knock by his standards to help Bangladesh to an imposing 300 © AFP
 

Led by an unusually cautious century from Mohammad Ashraful, the second of his career, Bangladesh cruised to a 96-run win over UAE in their Asia Cup opener in Lahore. Ashraful was supported by Raqibul Hasan, who made his second-successive 80-plus knock as the pair put on 141 off 122 balls before the left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak sealed the win, in the process becoming the third Bangladeshi bowler to take 100 wickets.The UAE seamers had a tough time settling in after Bangladesh chose to bat, conceding six wides in the first two overs. Bangladesh did not make use of the freebies, however, as the over-eager Nazimuddin flirted with a perfectly-bowled outswinger from Zahid Shah. Ashraful, off the very next ball, had a lucky escape when an inside edge missed the stumps. He had two more slices of luck but the signs were ominous when he latched on to a short delivery from Amjad Javed.Meanwhile, Tamim Iqbal, who’d struggled to get going, flicked Fahad Alhashmi to the fine-leg boundary to bring up Bangladesh’s fifty and move into double figures. Ashraful then played a copybook extra cover drive against the wayward Javed to bring up the fifty-run stand.The introduction of spin slowed things down but UAE missed a trick in not using offspinner Mohammad Tauqir after he conceded only six runs off three overs. Against the run of play, Tamim failed to heed Ashraful’s call to avoid an unnecessary third run in the 24th over. As though venting his frustration at the run out, Ashraful played a stunning inside-out shot to reach his half-century, followed by another scorcher to the extra cover boundary off Shadeep Silva, though it grazed the hands of the cover fieldsman.Raqibul, who batted with verve, made his intentions clear by lofting the left-arm spinner, Khurram Khan, one bounce to long-on. Ashraful then hit two successive boundaries against the same bowler, and ran sharp singles and twos with Raqibul as he moved from 73 to 100 without the aid of a boundary.Raqibul, though, was aggressive, taking three boundaries apiece against Khurram and legspinner Arshad Ali as he picked up 27 from nine balls. He missed out on a golden opportunity to reach his maiden ton, however, when a top-edged pull sailed to the ‘keeper Amjad Ali; UAE could have picked up two in two had Javed held on to a catch off Ashraful at long leg. Ashraful was run out soon after and was one of four wickets to fall in quick time. Dollar Mahmud ensured that they did not muddle up the finish, making 20 off 9 to take Bangladesh to their highest score away from home.

Five stats
  • Bangladesh’s total of 300 is their second-highest score in ODIs, just one run less than the 301 they scored against Kenya in Bogra in March 2006.
  • The 141-run stand between Ashraful and Raqibul Hasan is the highest for the third wicket in ODIs for Bangladesh.
  • Khurram Khan’s 78 is the second-highest score by a UAE batsman in ODIs, six short of Saleem Raza’s 84 in the 1996 World Cup.
  • With the wicket of Khurram, Abdur Razzak became the third Bangladesh bowler to take 100 ODI wickets, after Mohammad Rafique and Mashrafe Mortaza. Razzak was playing his 69th ODI; only three other spinners have been quicker to 100 wickets.
  • Raqibul’s 83 is his third half-century in nine innings, and just six short of his highest score.

Javed gave UAE a flying start by taking ten runs off the first over bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza, hitting the first ball of the innings to the cover boundary before striking him over long-on in the sixth. But Mortaza had his revenge when he induced a top-edge from Javed, which was pouched by Tamim. Indika Batuwitarachichi lasted only two balls, trapped by Shahadat Hossain.The two Ali’s, Arshad and Amjad did not let the early wickets faze them and took the attacking route. Amjad was particularly impressive, twice driving the ball through the covers and once straight down the ground, but the shot which stood out was a flick off Mashrafe to the midwicket boundary which had a Caribbean flair to it. Arshad almost matched that stroke with a powerful pull off Shahadat. The duo had raised 32 off 28 balls, but their promising stand was stalled when Razzak, introduced in the ninth over, got Amjad to edge to first slip with his first ball.Arshad kept up the fight, punishing a couple of short balls from Mahmud. But when spin was introduced at both ends, UAE found the runs hard to come by. Mahmudullah, bowling quickish offbreaks, then accounted for UAE’s captain, Saqib Ali, who cut him uppishly to Shahadat at backward point.Khan survived a couple of close lbw appeals, but got going by striking Mahmudullah for a couple of attractive boundaries, one to long-on and then past extra-cover. The 47-run fifth-wicket stand between Khan and Arshad ended when Arshad mis-hit Mahmudullah to Raqibul at midwicket. With wickets falling at regular intervals, Khan let loose a barrage of aggressive strokes. He reached his maiden half-century in the 38th over bowled by Mahmud, during which a misdirected throw from Ashraful gave him four additional runs. After Khan holed out to Razzak, Alok Kapali helped himself to a couple of wickets to seal the result.

Dalmiya confident ahead of Bengal elections

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Elections to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) will be held on Tuesday evening, with Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former ICC and BCCI president, emerging as a strong contender to unseat the incumbent Prasun Mukherjee. Dalmiya had won the election two years ago but resigned shortly after following charges of embezzlement of funds during the 1996 World Cup.The day before the election, Dalmiya appeared confident. “History will repeat itself,” he told the . “I am quite confident of winning. I said it earlier also, and that’s the reason I have filed the nomination.”Dalmiya’s faction is looking to get the support of the majority of the 118 board members who will be casting their votes during the board’s 77th Annual General Meeting in Kolkata. The voters’ list was finalised on Monday, with two board members being disqualified and one member not attending due to other commitments.Mukherjee, the former Kolkata police commissioner, is campaigning for the election of all the candidates that his group have put forward. “I have asked everybody to vote for the whole panel. If you are voting for the president, you should also vote for his team, otherwise it’s of no use. How will I work?”He also said that he had the support of the BCCI, while maintaining that independence of the election. “They are not involved directly… but of course the BCCI has been in touch,” Mukherjee said. “Everyday they call and tell me that they want me to win.”The elections willl be overseen by a court appointed observer, Justice Santosh Kumar Phoujdar.

Nicholson leaves Surrey

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Matthew Nicholson, the former New South Wales fast bowler, has left Surrey by mutual consent with three weeks of the season remaining. Shoaib Akhtar is due to join Surrey on Monday and be available for their final two County Championship games.Nicholson was Surrey’s overseas player for 2007 and 2008. He played a part with both bat and ball during his stint, taking 93 wickets in all competitions, as well as scoring 925 runs.”Unfortunately, Matt’s season this year has been blighted by illness which has affected his performance,” Alan Butcher, Surrey’s cricket manager, told the club’s website. “However, he has never given anything less than 100% and leaves behind many friends in the Surrey dressing room who will miss his positive attitude.”Nicholson was voted Man of the Year at the end of the 2007 season, an award decided by the first team, after moving from Northamptonshire. Nicholson, 33, retired from New South Wales shortly before the state’s Pura Cup triumph earlier in the year, and has been named as a state selector for the 2008-09 season. Nicholson represented Australia in one Test against England in 1998-99, when he was playing with Western Australia.Surrey are battling to avoid relegation and are stuck at the bottom of the table after a draw with Kent.

McGrath and Rudolph thwart Somerset

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Scorecard
Championship galleryA good even battle developed at Scarborough where fine innings from Anthony McGrath and Jacques Rudolph were countered by probing seam bowling from Alfie Thomas. The third day finished with the match as well balanced as could be, but, barring exceptional circumstances, only an unlikely batting collapse by Somerset on the final day can produce an outright result.The morning session, played in sunshine on a good pitch, belonged to the Yorkshire batsmen, who began at 121 for 1. Charl Willoughby, despite opening with a wide, troubled McGrath in the first over, before he got him away for a four through the covers, and after that he was firmly in. His overnight partner Adam Lyth perhaps became a little too confident, as he badly miscued a ball from Alfie Thomas and skied a catch behind the bowler to depart for 65.Rudolph came in and looked confident from the start. Another major partnership developed, and McGrath went on to an excellent century off 173 balls, although he did labour a little for the final few runs to reach three figures. Yorkshire were 287 for 2 at one stage, with McGrath on 128, when, perhaps losing concentration temporarily, he played back to and inside a full-length delivery from Alfie Thomas that removed his off stump. The pair had added 141 runs together and Yorkshire were well placed to take a big lead on first innings.It was not to be, as wickets began to fall at regular intervals without actually bearing the qualities of a collapse. There were two catches at the wicket, Richard Pyrah (2) to a half-hearted cut to Thomas, and Tim Bresnan (6), unwisely fishing at a ball outside off stump from Zander de Bruyn. Then Rudolph, announced during the lunch interval as Yorkshire’s Player of the Year, who had looked set to join Anthony McGrath as a century-maker, fatally tried to dab a ball from Andy Caddick to third man and edged a catch to third slip just before tea. He had batted well for 149 balls and hit 14 fours in his 98.The fight for the first-innings lead turned out to be close, with only Adil Rashid of the later batsmen contributing much. Gerard Brophy (16) drove over a full-length ball from Thomas, while Darren Gough (6) was adjudged lbw to a ball that cut back from outside off stump and trapped him on the back foot. Rashid made 28, but Yorkshire were still five runs behind when he was stumped off Ian Blackwell. The last man Deon Kruis handsomely cut Blackwell for four, and then Matthew Hoggard drove Caddick to the cover boundary to take Yorkshire ahead.Kruis celebrated by swinging Blackwell over square leg, where the ball was very well caught by a gentleman in the crowd. The pair added 39 in good style, the third-highest partnership of the innings, and took Yorkshire past 400 before Hoggard edged de Bruyn to second slip and departed for 15; Kruis was unbeaten with 24. Thomas was by far the most effective bowler, taking 5 for 84; most of his wickets came when he pitched the ball well up.Somerset opened with Arun Suppiah and Craig Kieswetter, as Marcus Trescothick had injured his shoulder during some vigorous warm-ups this morning. They showed enterprise rather than blocking out the six overs that remained, while Yorkshire had to use their spinners for the last three overs as the light dimmed. In keeping their wickets intact while scoring 25 runs, Somerset won that mini-session.

Mushtaq named as England spin coach

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Mushtaq Ahmed twirling away for Sussex © Getty Images
 

Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan and Sussex legspinner, has been appointed as the ECB’s spin-bowling coach.Mushtaq retired from first-class cricket this summer, and will work with spinners in England’s Test and one-day squads, in addition to the ECB’s development programmes. The ECB said that Mushtaq will be looking to sever his ties with the ICL as soon as possible.”We are very excited that a bowler of Mushtaq’s standing has decided to join our team of specialist coaches based at the performance centre at Loughborough,” David Parsons, the ECB performance director and former head spin coach, said. “He will have a role to play at all levels of the game. His primary task will be to mentor our leading spin bowlers in the Test, one-day and performance squads but we also believe he can help encourage youngsters at the grass roots of the game to take up and learn the art of spin bowling.”Hugh Morris, the ECB’s managing director, said: “It’s critical we nurture and develop the next generation of England spin bowlers using the expertise and knowledge of former players such as Mushtaq. Spin has been integral to the success of the world’s best cricket teams and we are keen to ensure that there is a constant flow of spin-bowling talent into the England set-up.”Mushtaq, 38, last played for Pakistan in 2003. Overlooked by his country, he carved out a very successful county career, and in 2003 he became the first bowler in five years to take 100 wickets in the English season. That was instrumental in guiding Sussex to the first Championship title in their history, a feat he and they repeated in 2006 and the following season. He has bowled over 26,000 overs in all competitions, taking 598 wickets. He ended his first-class career with over 1400 wickets, and is currently playing for the Lahore Badshahs in the ICL.

New Zealand push for result in rain-hit match

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum added 137 for the fourth wicket and dominated the afternoon session © AFP
 

Three days have been lost in the second Test, but New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori decided to make it a contest on the fourth. He declared with less than an hour’s play left in the day, and then struck three blows in his only over to leave Bangladesh in a spot of bother.New Zealand pulled out at 262 for 6, knowing their only chance of victory was to dismiss the hosts twice before the end of the fifth day. Put in to bat, they had wriggled out of an uncomfortable 49 for 3 thanks to a 137-run stand between Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum.The pitch had dried out into a batsman-friendly deck by the afternoon. The ball was no longer swinging in the air and Bangladesh’s openers looked relatively comfortable, though Junaid Siddique wasn’t at ease against short-pitched deliveries from Iain O’Brien. However, at 13 without loss and after offspinner Jeetan Patel had already bowled two overs, Vettori began to stamp his mark on the game, just as he had in the first Test.In the tenth over of Bangladesh’s innings, Siddique seemed to lose all concentration, dancing down the pitch to Vettori’s first ball and was stumped by McCullum. Captain Mohammad Ashraful, who was the next man in, kept out the first ball he faced, but was adjudged lbw to his second delivery and the third ball of the over. Rajin Saleh replaced his captain but soon joined Ashraful back in the dressing room following his dismissal on the last ball of the over. He was also trapped in front.It wasn’t one-way domination, though. After the rains finally let up, Ashraful won the toss and elected to bowl. His team had early success. Opener Aaron Redmond was the first to go, shouldering arms to a delivery from Mashrafe Mortaza which pitched on a good length just outside the off stump and cut back sharply. Jamie How’s footwork wasn’t convincing during his brief stay and the failure to meet the ball on the front foot led to his downfall. Facing the debutant Mahbubul Alam in his second over, the ball swung through the air, pitched on middle and knocked over leg stump. New Zealand’s start was far from ideal as they had lost their openers with only 10 on the board.Ross Taylor and Ryder began positively, both looking comfortable on the front foot and Taylor settled in with beautiful drives through the off side. But just as he looked set for a bigger score, he became the second player to be dismissed by an error in judgement. Like Redmond, he shouldered arms to a delivery from Shahadat Hossain, only to see it cut back off the pitch to hit the stumps. Taylor fell for 19 and ended the partnership of 39.Ryder and McCullum helped New Zealand take the upper hand. Ryder was finally dismissed nine runs short of what would have been his first Test century in his second Test. He and McCullum both punished any short bowling through the leg side, while anything over pitched on the off side was swiftly dispatched gracefully to the boundary.Going to lunch at 198 for 4, McCullum added two to his lunch score of 64 before he got a leading edge to a delivery from Shakib Al Hasan. He was caught at midwicket by Ashraful. Vettori hit a quick 22 before he played a delivery from Ashraful onto his stumps with the score at 233. Daniel Flynn was unbeaten on 35 and Grant Elliott had made 8 when the declaration came.The pick of the Bangladesh bowlers was Shakib, who took 1 for 57 off 22 overs. Alam impressed in his first spell, swinging the ball in the air and moving it off the pitch.While a result may be unlikely tomorrow, the New Zealanders will know they can win a Test match in two days. They did it in the first Test against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2005. Vettori is likely to be their key man tomorrow; in that Harare win, he had match figures of 6 for 29 and scored 127 off just 98 deliveries.

Symonds recalled as Watson left to fight with Krejza

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Andrew Symonds is back after missing the India series © AFP
 

Andrew Symonds’ Test exile is officially over after Ricky Ponting confirmed the allrounder would play in Thursday’s first Test against New Zealand. Symonds was suspended following his fishing trip in Darwin before the one-day series against Bangladesh in August, but he has convinced himself, Cricket Australia and his team-mates that he is ready to resume the No. 6 spot.Australia’s only remaining choice is whether to pick another allrounder in Shane Watson or the offspinner Jason Krejza on a pitch that will seam in the damp and humid conditions. The wicket is under-prepared – Matthew Hayden called it “spicy” – but if the predicted wet weather stays away Krejza will hold his spot. The call is a difficult one for Watson, who performed reasonably well with both disciplines in India, but Symonds’ experience as a senior player meant he came in as soon as he was deemed ready.”It was important that we got him back into our team,” Ponting said. “Being a senior member of our team and a very successful member before he went out of it, it almost becomes an injury-type replacement. He’s been out for a couple of months. He’s fit and ready to go and deserves his spot back in the side.”Despite Symonds having to go away and work out what he was doing wrong by the team, Ponting said he did not want the allrounder to change his personality. With the speed of Symonds’ return – and his form – it is easy to wonder what the point of the exercise was if the squad is happy for him to be the same old Symo.”I don’t expect him to be the model citizen when he comes back into the side, I expect him to be the Andrew Symonds of old,” Ponting said. “That’s what we all love about him. We all love his personality and the way he is around the team.”Symonds has collected only 70 runs in three Sheffield Shield games for Queensland but Ponting has been impressed with his work in the nets this week and retains faith in his “big-game” qualities. Ponting hoped for more of the version of Symonds that scored 777 runs in his nine previous Tests, instead of the one that has struggled since undergoing psychological sessions as part of his rehabilitation.”He does add a lot to your team,” Ponting said. “He adds that X-factor, he adds that great presence in the field. He can bowl you some medium pace and offspin, so with that sort of cricketer in the line-up, so far as balance goes, it is excellent.”Finding the right line-up was one of Australia’s regular dilemmas in India, but that mostly surrounded trying to fit in the spin of Cameron White. Turn is not going to be much of a factor in this game, which is a shame for the New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori.They will look at using Grant Elliott as a batsman at No. 7, a move which would leave the 19-year-old Tim Southee as 12th man. “We’re trying not to bring in the fact that Grant bowls a little bit,” Vettori said. “We want the best batsman at that position. The guy who comes in will bat at No. 7 and Grant is more accustomed to that than Peter Fulton.”Ponting and Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, decided on the 12 after looking at the pitch on Wednesday morning, with the fast bowler Peter Siddle being cut from the squad. Stuart Clark will return after missing the Nagpur Test and should enjoy the green surface that has been kept moist by rain since the weekend.Krejza grabbed 12 wickets on debut in Nagpur last week while Ponting said Watson was the best fast bowler on the tour. “They’ll be desperately unlucky, whoever misses out,” Ponting said. Having four fast bowlers in the outfit is a concern for Ponting, whose side is regularly under over-rate pressure.Ponting has been criticised for his decision-making in Nagpur, where he called on part-time bowlers to lift the speed of the game, and the issue is nagging at him. “I, and our team, have been as guilty as anybody in being behind in our overs and making it not as good a spectacle as it could be,” he said. “I have stayed away all week from talking to the team about the over-rates. If they don’t understand it now as a result of what’s been in the papers and spoken about for the last week, they never will.”While Australia worry, New Zealand have no concerns. “We’ve never had a problem with over-rates,” Vettori said. “We have problems with being too fast and have to slow ourselves down. I’ll try not to bowl myself too often in this game.”

Tall challenge for Morkel

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Will South Africa’s “tall oak” hit peak form in Australia? © Getty Images
 

Dale Steyn has grabbed the headlines so far on the tour, but it will be another promising fast bowler who will look to make a mark when the South Africans play their warm-up one-dayer against Western Australia in Perth.Morne Morkel’s height, at 2.01m, could prove quite a handful if there is bounce in the strip at the WACA in the first Test from next Thursday. And South Africa want Morkel, who has struggled with his rhythm in recent series, to fire in their quest for a maiden series win in Australia.”He has a lot of pace and he brings bounce into the game, which is his weapon,” AB de Villiers said of his team-mate in the Australian. “He’s a very tall oak. He has a lot of talent, a lot of skill and if he hits his form, he will be quite a handful.”He’s one of the tougher guys in the nets to face. He feels quicker [than Steyn] but it’s probably because of his bounce. He slots in between the 140s and 150s [kph] consistently. He’s pretty quick and physically strong.”Mickey Arthur, the coach, believed Morkel’s addition rounded off a well-balanced pace attack. “For so long South Africa was criticised for having a sameness to their attack,” he said. “When Graeme [Smith] and I decided on a brand of cricket we wanted to play two years ago, we looked for something different.”You’ve got Makhaya [Ntini] who bowls wide of the crease, you’ve got Dale who is really quick through the air, swings it out and is skiddy, and you’ve got Morne, who is very sharp and gets a lot of bounce. There’s nothing the same about our three quicks, which is definitely an advantage.”The hype, though, is on Steyn, who comes to Australia with 60 wickets in 11 Tests at 19.41 in 2008. Morkel, however, has a backer in Allan Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler.”It is scary that he is as good as he is after a handful of Tests,” Donald told SA Cricket magazine. “If he’s not put under unnecessary pressure and is managed well, he’ll surpass anything I achieved in my career.”We haven’t even come close to seeing his best yet and I can’t wait for him to start dominating batting attacks. Manage him well and he could dominate world cricket.”Morkel admitted his accuracy had been off in the past in the quest to pick up wickets. “My role in the team has been clearly defined and that’s as a strike bowler who looks to do something special in a short spell,” he said. “Graeme Smith would often throw the ball to me and give me a licence to bowl as quickly as I possibly could. That sometimes meant I sacrificed accuracy for speed.”