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Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has been announced as the new head coach of the Melbourne Stars

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2015Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has been announced as the new head coach of Melbourne Stars. Fleming, who has twice led Chennai Super Kings to the IPL title, will take charge for the 2015-16 season, replacing the out-of-contract Greg Shipperd.Shipperd led Stars to four consecutive semi-final appearances but the team failed to go further on each occasion. This season they lost by 18 runs to Perth Scorchers.”We are delighted to be able to secure a coach of Stephen’s calibre, and genuinely believe that he has the right credentials to help guide the club over the next few years,” Melbourne Stars chief executive Clint Cooper said.”As a player and captain, Stephen was one of the most revered and respected players in world cricket and, since taking on the head coach role at CSK, he has enjoyed success by winning titles in the IPL and the coveted Champions League Tournament.”Shipperd is the latest Big Bash coach to lose his position after the 2014-15 season, following Simon Helmot of Melbourne Renegades and Stuart Law at Brisbane Heat. Darren Berry has also taken personal leave from his role with South Australia which includes Adelaide Strikers.Fleming said: “I’ve been coaching in India for the past seven years in the IPL and have watched the Big Bash League grow from afar. It’s a great opportunity to work with another T20 side – the Stars are an exciting club and I’m looking to develop my coaching through this opportunity as well.”It will be a big change after Greg, who has been working with both the Stars and Victorian sides for four years; it’s going to be a different perspective coming from outside of that. Hopefully it’s an opportunity for me to bring in some fresh ideas from the IPL and my time as a New Zealand cricketer.”I think it’s widely known the Melbourne Stars has a lot of potential to win. With the playing squad and talent at the Club, they should always be a competitive side. It’s a great time to get the team – they’re not too far away from achieving their goals and yet it’s going to be a great challenge to get them over that final hurdle.”

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke has pinpointed the narrow defeat to New Zealand in Auckland as the “kick up the backside,” his team needed

Daniel Brettig in Sydney26-Mar-20152:26

Momentum will hold us in good stead – Clarke

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke has pinpointed the narrow defeat to New Zealand in Auckland as the “kick up the backside,” his team needed as they prepare to rejoin battle with their Trans-Tasman rivals in the World Cup final at the MCG on SundayAustralia were set back considerably by a rush of wickets at the hands of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Daniel Vettori at Eden Park, and Clarke said the difficult hours during and after that loss were the germination of a sense of purpose and direction that has carried the team through to the final with knockout victories over Pakistan and India.These hard-fought results also followed a reshuffle of the team. Steven Smith was moved up to No. 3, where he again played a spinal innings against India, while Mitchell Johnson was moved back to first-change bowler, a perch from which he claimed the wickets of India’s aces Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to all but seal his side’s progress. Clarke said all this had begun in Auckland.”I think New Zealand will take confidence that they’ve beaten us in the tournament, but I believe that was the turning point in this tournament for the Australian team,” Clarke said. “I think that gave us a bit of a kick up the backside. We knew we got a good look at a very good team playing at the top of their game, certainly with the ball, and I think our attitude from that day has been exceptional.”I think we’ve trained really well, we’re prepared so well for every game. The boys have got out of bed every single day to try and become better, and I think you’ve seen that in our results, so I think we’ve been building – we’ve grabbed momentum and we’ve tried to run with it and we’ve been improving every single game, and I think that’ll hold us in really good stead for Sunday.”Australia had only one very minor injury concern from the India victory – Josh Hazlewood spent the closing minutes of the match off the fied with a bruised thumb. However, they do have the drawback of only two days’ gap between semi and final, a schedule more common in the customary fog of bilateral series rather than the rarified air of a World Cup.”We haven’t got much time, and recovery will be our goal and our focus over the next two days,” Clarke said. “We’ll have training on Saturday, but I think that’ll be selected players and optional. I don’t think our bowlers will do too much. Smithy probably doesn’t need to hit too many balls, although he probably will. But yeah, recovery is what’s important now.”We fly now, I think our flight is in the morning, so blokes will recover tonight, blokes will recover when we land in Melbourne. I think physical recovery is the most important thing for us right now. I think mentally the team is ready for this final. If the game was today or the game was tomorrow, I think we’re ready mentally.”We’ve been building up throughout this tournament to get this opportunity to play a World Cup final. I’m not concerned there. It’s just making sure the guys can recover as well as we can from this tough game.”Beyond a tight two days, Clarke was now prepared to contemplate the thought of winning the tournament. It is a prospect the Australians have been trying to embrace, while also not allowing it to envelop them. Now, so close to the summit, Clarke acknowledged the pressure he and his men have been under.”It would be extremely special, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “It’s the pinnacle of one-day cricket. I think at the start of the tournament there was a lot of expectation and pressure put onto this team, the fact we were playing in our own backyard. So yeah, I think it would be the icing on the cake for the summer that the Australian cricket teams that had in both Test and one-day cricket.”But I still think we’re – yeah, 100 overs is a long time in this game. I just think we’ve got some work to do over the next couple of days to make sure we’re as well prepared as we can be, and if our attitude doesn’t change and we stay as focused as we’ve been since that loss against New Zealand, I’m confident we can win this World Cup.”

Chamari Atapattu, the Sri Lanka women’s captain, has been ruled out of the first two ODIs against West Indies after injuring her right hand

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2015Chamari Atapattu, the Sri Lanka women’s captain, has been ruled out of the first and second ODIs against West Indies women on May 13 and 15. She injured her right hand during a gym session and required 16 stitches. Vice-captain Eshani Lokusuriyage is likely to take over as captain for the first two ODIs.Yashoda Mendis, who was kept on stand-by for this series, was drafted into the squad as a replacement for Atapattu. Mendis has scored 457 runs in 23 matches, at an average of 19.86, including three half-centuries.The last three ODIs of this four-match series will count as part of the ICC Women’s Championship. The first ODI is scheduled for Wednesday in Colombo.

ESPNcricinfo previews the match-ups for the second weekend of the Blast

Freddie Wilde21-May-2015Glamorgan v Essex
With a second match on Sunday, Essex will have played four matches before some teams have played two. Having lost both their matches last week Essex will be desperate to record their sixth consecutive win over Glamorgan who began their campaign with an explosive victory over Surrey. Essex’s top order, which has struggled, is bolstered by the return to fitness of Mark Pettini and Jesse Ryder, while Ravi Bopara is also back from the IPL. Jaik Mickleburgh and Dan Lawrence have been left out from last week’s squad while Tom Wesley still misses out with an injured thumb. Glamorgan have made one change to their squad with David Lloyd out with injury. Wayne Parnell still isn’t fully fit and misses out again.Hampshire v Kent
Hampshire, who are aiming for a sixth successive Finals Day appearance, have named an unchanged squad from their convincing victory over Essex last Friday. They will, however, give a late fitness test to Fidel Edwards who is suffering from a shoulder injury. Kent also won their opening night fixture, beating Sussex in a tight match and have made one change, with Adam Riley replacing the injured James Tredwell. The visitors have former Hampshire pair David Griffiths and Matt Coles in their squad.Somerset v Sussex
Somerset were one of two counties who didn’t play in the opening week and get their season underway against Sussex, who fell short in a tense run-chase against Kent on Friday. Somerset are still awaiting the arrival of Chris Gayle, who is on IPL duty, but they do have Pakistan bowler Sohail Tanvir available. Sussex have made one change to their squad from last week, with Tymal Mills replacing Steve Magoffin despite news emerging this week that he has a congenital back condition that could ultimately end his career. Jimmy Anyon, Lewis Hatchett, Matt Prior, Ajmal Shahzad and Ashar Zaidi all remain unfit.Lancashire v Durham
Lancashire, who are unbeaten in their last seven T20 matches against Durham and have won nine of their last eleven home matches against them, will be seeking to build on their last-ball victory against Leicestershire. Durham also won their opening match, beating Northamptonshire convincingly after reducing them to 41 for 5 in pursuit of 175 before the rain came. There is a possibility Lancashire could hand James Faulkner his debut after his IPL season was ended on Wednesday with Saqib Mahmood left out. Durham have not named Graham Onions, who didn’t play last week, in their squad and added Paul Coughlin and Michael Richardson.Leicestershire v Derbyshire
A big crowd is expected for Leicestershire’s first home match of the season against local rivals Derbyshire, with 4500 tickets already sold and a near sell-out expected. Derbyshire have expanded their 13-man squad from their opening night defeat against Yorkshire to 14 to include allrounder Wayne White, who is returning from injury. Nathan Rimmington, Wayne Madsen, Tony Palladino and Jonathan Clare all miss out due to injury. Neither Aadil Ali nor Angus Robson played in Leicestershire’s defeat to Lancashire last week and they have been left out of their squad this time around with Neil Pinner, who has never played a T20 match, coming in.Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
Yorkshire, who won their opening fixture against Derbyshire last week, will be seeking their first victory in four matches against Nottinghamshire, having lost seven of the last eight meetings between the two counties. Glenn Maxwell will make his Yorkshire debut after arrivign from the IPL; Nottinghamshire will be without Alex Hales who has gone in the opposite direction to join Mumbai Indians. Yorkshire have expanded their 13-man squad to include Maxwell, while Nottinghamshire, who beat Warwickshire in their opening fixture, have replaced Hales with Brett Hutton.Warwickshire v Worcestershire
Defending champions Warwickshire will be looking to bounce back from their defeat against Nottinghamshire when they host Worcestershire, who are playing their first match of the season. Warwickshire have made one change to their squad, leaving out Keith Barker for Recordo Gordon. Worcestershire warmed up for the season on Thursday by plundering 236 for 2 against Shropshire, before conceding nearly 200 in defence. They will be without overseas signing Colin Munro, who remains at the IPL with Mumbai Indians, but still boast Sachithra Senanayake.

Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie insisted that Jonny Bairstow is a victim of circumstance and after dropping him in the wake of the Ashes whitewash England need to recognise his ability

Jon Culley at Headingley08-Jun-2015
ScorecardJonny Bairstow’s mature hundred held Yorkshire together•Getty ImagesIt is probably just as well that England plumped for Trevor Bayliss ahead of Jason Gillespie as their next head coach because had the Yorkshire Aussie been given the job then Jonny Bairstow would not be joining Messrs Root, Ballance, Lyth, Rashid and Plunkett in not seeing much of Headingley.Gillespie believes that regardless of Jos Buttler’s obvious qualities, there ought to be room somewhere in the England team for the Yorkshire wicketkeeper, who has not played a Test since he was discarded following the Ashes whitewash of the winter before last yet has returned from his stint as Buttler’s back-up on the Caribbean tour in exhilarating form.Adequate superlatives proved almost beyond Gillespie’s vocabulary as Bairstow turned this match around. Having made scores of 102, 59, 50 and 66 in his first two Championship matches of the season, he capped the sequence with a superb unbeaten 125, his 13th first-class hundred and arguably a match for any of the previous 12.It was brilliant both for its construction, combining typical Bairstow aggression with the moments of diligence his growing maturity is allowing him to summon up, and for its context, given the predicament Yorkshire were in.As they replied to Middlesex’s 212, which the unfolding events suggested was not such a bad effort on a tricky pitch, Yorkshire had seemed likely to fall well short as some solidly impressive Middlesex bowling appeared to be underlining the value of Nick Compton’s vigilant 70 of the opening day.Jack Leaning, Bairstow’s overnight partner, fell to the first ball of the morning, leg before to a fast, straight ball from Toby Roland-Jones and Glenn Maxwell carelessly to the third, driving loosely to be caught behind. It was a disastrous start and left Yorkshire 96 for 6, and though Bairstow was not for dislodging, advancing to a half-century off 89 balls, others were. Will Rhodes stayed with him for 53 minutes but after he and then Tim Bresnan departed, Yorkshire were still 70 runs adrift and eight down, not yet having reached lunch.Yet Bairstow, who has been headstrong at times in the past, reset his focus and produced a performance that reflects his maturing as a player. With assistance from Steve Patterson and then Brooks, Bairstow was granted an extra hour and 45 minutes at the crease and in that time turned Yorkshire’s fortunes around. Of the 87 more runs added from that point, he scored 69, finding the discipline to avoid foolish risks and the aggression to hit four sixes and balancing the two superbly.”It’s one of the best innings you’ll see in county cricket,” the Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie, enthused. “I thought the way he batted with the lower order was simply outstanding.”In the context of the game, the situation we found ourselves in, for us to find ourselves in the lead going into the second innings was fantastic.”It’s up there with his finest knocks. I thought his hundred against Hampshire was a wonderful counter-attacking innings but this was an outstanding effort.”In my view, we’re quite fortunate at Yorkshire to have Jonny in this game. My personal opinion is he should be with the England side.”He’s been a victim of circumstance. The selectors haven’t picked him so all Jonny can do is score as many runs as possible and keep as well as he can. He must be very close.”I think his keeping has improved as well. There’s no secret to that. He’s worked incredibly hard and turned himself into a very fine ‘keeper.”We shouldn’t expect him to be around at Yorkshire because I think England honours will come calling sooner rather than later. He is in special form. He is a fantastic player.”Regardless of his work with the gloves – and Bairstow still believes he can be England’s wicketkeeper – there is an argument for him to be chosen as batsman anyway. With question marks hanging over the form of Ian Bell – and Ballance, for that matter – if a vacancy does appear in the middle order it is hard to think of anyone making such a compelling case for inclusion.”I’m pretty pleased with the way I’m playing, having not played too much in the Caribbean. I’m pleased with the way I’m striking the ball. I want to keep stacking up the hundreds, that’s what I’m striving for,” he said.”I would agree that this was one of my best knocks, one of my favourite hundreds, given the circumstances. It was an important one for the team and for the family, who have been through a difficult time lately. So that’s one for my grandpa.”Going from four down to six down quickly, that was not the plan. It is a difficult pitch and you know if you get one, you get one and you just have to be as positive as you can but at the same time keeping out as many balls as possible.”Losing Jack Leaning and then Glenn Maxwell, it was a challenge and we could not go bang, bang, bang. That’s why a lot should be said about the knock Will Rhodes played, to come in as a young lad and bat for an hour in that situation. And then to have Patto and Brooksy come in and play like that, they just keep doing it.”Asked whether he might switch his focus to regaining his England place as a batsman, he made it clear he is no mood yet to concede defeat in his ambition to reclaim the gloves as well. “If I’m keeping well and I’m batting well I don’t see any reason why not to look at combining the two,” he said.Bairstow’s efforts wrested a 17-run lead for Yorkshire but this match is far from won. After the Jack Brooks rampage on Sunday, Middlesex fought back well with the ball and have done so again with the bat.At four down for 72, with two more wickets for Brooks and Compton gone first ball this time, Yorkshire may have thought they had their opponents under the cosh at only 55 in front but Dawid Malan, batting with a runner after appearing to tweak something, and James Franklin have diligently applied themselves to rebuilding work and at 127 for 4 they had a lead of 110 that could be the foundation for a challenging last-innings chase.

Marchant de Lange will replace Lasith Malinga in the Amazon Warriors squad, while Jeevan Mendis has been named as a replacement for the injured Justin Ontong for the Barbados Tridents

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-2015South Africa fast bowler Marchant de Lange has been confirmed as a replacement for Lasith Malinga, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury, in the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad ahead of the start of the Caribbean Premier League on June 20. Also, Sri Lanka allrounder Jeevan Mendis will replace the injured Justin Ontong in the Barbados Tridents squad.Umar Akmal, the Pakistan batsman, and South Africa allrounder David Wiese will also join Amazon Warriors midway through the tournament to replace Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thisara Perera, who are expected to play for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in a five-ODI series beginning on July 11.Two more squad changes were also announced by the CPL. Young wicketkeeper Nicolas Pooran has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury and has been replaced in the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots squad by Shane Dowrich.Allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has also had to withdraw from the tournament due to his commitments with Bangladesh, who host three ODIs against India followed by a home series against South Africa that runs through August 3. His place in the St Lucia Zouks squad will be taken up for the first four games by Eddie Leie for the first four games before Nathan McCullum joins the squad for the remainder of the tournament.

Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, has said the inside knowledge of Trevor Bayliss on the Australia team has proved invaluable

Andrew McGlashan14-Jul-20154:04

Bayliss has pushed the positive mindset – Farbrace

Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, has said the inside knowledge of Trevor Bayliss on the Australia team has proved invaluable.Bayliss’ previous role before taking the England coaching job – which he only began officially a couple of weeks ago – was with New South Wales who provide 10 of the Australian touring squad now that Pat Cummins has been added as a replacement.That list includes David Warner, Steven Smith and Michael Clarke, all of whom were targeted by England with well-defined tactics in Cardiff.Although England have bowled against that trio plenty of times in the past – and the time Australian players spend with their state is limited – the way they were kept quiet in Cardiff had the hallmarks of detailed input.Warner flashed to slip in the first innings and was made to work extremely hard for his 52 in the second; Smith got himself into a tangle against Moeen but, perhaps more significantly, also fell to England’s plan of hanging the ball a little wider outside off; and Clarke was again troubled by Stuart Broad before driving limply to point.Bayliss had barely a fortnight to prepare for the Ashes, which included a four-day trip to Spain, but Farbrace said his knowledge of the Australians quickly came to the forefront.”It did help that he had an insight into a few of them,” he said. “You look at their squad, and probably half of them are from New South Wales.”He was able to talk with quite a bit of authority in Spain, when we went through the Australian team, about how people play, where to bowl at them.”But there’s so much footage these days, and everybody knows everybody so there’s a pretty good knowledge of the Australian team anyway.Farbrace also gave a further insight into Bayliss’ character during his first Test in charge, revealing how he rarely showed his emotion – a levelness for which he was well known in his other coaching roles.”You would never know, looking at him, what the score was,” Farbrace said. “One or two of the rest of us, you’d probably have a good idea.”I think you need to have that because as well as the Test match that’s gone, we know there are going to be tough times during this series and over the next four years that Trev’s in charge.”He wasn’t jumping around on Saturday night all excited, shouting from the rooftops. He reminded the players that they’d done very well, but that there was a game to be played in a few days’ time and the Aussies will come back very hard at us.”He keeps a very even level, and if he can maintain that over the next few years it will be a big influence on the England team.”The relationship between Bayliss and Alastair Cook – which has been helped by Farbrace’s previous stint working alongside Bayliss for Sri Lanka – has appeared to blossom in its early days and Farbrace said that any concerns about how the pair would work together were soon allayed by the first few days in Spain.”There was obviously some hesitancy going there – one, what were we going to get, and two, how would people fit in?”What Trevor did really well was that he fitted into what we’d been doing as opposed to everyone else having to try to fit into him, or him coming in and rewriting everything and starting everything from scratch.”He isn’t that sort of a bloke. He’ll do his work quietly, and pick people off one at a time. It was important he and Cookie spent quite a bit of time together, and that they seemed to be getting on very well. It’s not false. I think they actually do get on very well.”

Bangladesh, coming off a heart-breaking loss, will look to claim their first win in the Super 10s against New Zealand, the form side of the tournament

The Preview by Mohammad Isam25-Mar-2016Match factsSaturday, March 26, 2016
Start time 1500 local (0930 GMT)Big pictureBangladesh are carrying the most heart-breaking result on their back, but now take on the form team of the competition. New Zealand, who are in the semi-finals after three consecutive wins, have relied on combined efforts with both bat and ball, rather than individual performances.New Zealand have read conditions and balanced their side well on pitches that have primarily suited their spinners, and leaving out Tim Southee and Trent Boult has been seen as a right move. Legspinner Ish Sodhi, who has been a revelation with his loop and control, and Mitchell Santner’s have produced the goods when required.However, Martin Guptill has been New Zealand’s shining light with the bat, having scored 125 runs with the next being Corey Anderson’s 58. The likes of Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and Colin Munro have struck cameos and will require their services in the knockouts.Bangladesh’s bowling attack has their work cut out with the absence of key figures. Mashrafe Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan’s economy rate is directly proportional to the returns produced by Mustafizur Rahman and Al-Amin Hossain.Their batsmen, particularly Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, will have to distance themselves from their nightmare shots in Bangalore. Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar will have to finish the jobs they start. For Bangladesh to beat New Zealand for the first time in T20Is, a lot has to go their way. They can’t leave it to chance, not at least against Kane Williamson’s side.New Zealand will hope that Corey Anderson, who occupies a vital role in the side, finds some form ahead of the knockouts•IDI/Getty ImagesForm guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWWW
Bangladesh LLLWWWatch out forCorey Anderson has been used at No. 4 in the recent past but has faced roughly 18 deliveries per innings. He has had to adjust to match situations and slow pitches, but he is more likely to get a better base than many No. 4s in this tournament.Al-Amin Hossain has shown the tendency to bowl at least one bad ball in every over, reflected by his economy rate of 9.14 in six innings. His catching too has been a problem, but he has another chance to improve upon both aspects of his game.Team newsNew Zealand could unleash Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who have sat out all three of their group matches. Offspinner Nathan McCullum and batsman Henry Nicholls, who have played one game between them, could get a chance.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson, 3 Colin Munro, 4 Corey Anderson, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Luke Ronchi, 7 Grant Elliott, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Adam Milne, 9 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Ish SodhiNurul Hasan could be given a game but given this is their last chance to register a win in the Super 10s, they are unlikely to tinker too much.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk)/Mohammad Mithun, 8 Shuvagata Hom, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Al-Amin Hossain, 11 Mustafizur RahmanPitch and conditionsKolkata had served up two batting pitches before a rank turner for the India-Pakistan game. Still ,there will be runs available if batsmen can be mindful of the turn. There’s no rain in the forecast but the temperature would hover around 35 degrees during the game.Stats and trivia New Zealand have scored 50-plus runs in the Powerplay in the last two games while Bangladesh haven’t conceded less than 42 during the same period. Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal is the highest run-getter while Shakib Al Hasan is the joint-highest wicket-taker in the World T20 so far.Quotes”Recovery from last match is difficult (so soon) but boys have had some time. They have had 48 hours to think about it. Obviously you can’t return to it. I think you have to play hard.””Most of the times when we have played in these conditions, they have been a really good opposition. I think the last game is just a highlight of how strong they can be in these conditions. I don’t think anyone can take them lightly.”

Ian Bell reminded the England selectors of his qualities on a day when a space in the middle order unexpectedly – and sadly – opened up

Will Macpherson at the Ageas Bowl12-Apr-2016
ScorecardIan Bell and Jonathan Trott put on 49 for the second wicket•PA PhotosThis was not, as its maker would surely attest, a vintage Ian Bell century. It was, however, one of intelligence, importance, and no little inevitability; even lacking the fluency of his pomp, Bell looked better equipped than anyone to deal with a pitch where batsmen fear the new ball but little else – as the efforts of Keith Barker and then Fidel Edwards have shown. Indeed he ended his second day as a 34-year-old having seen off not one, but two new balls and some dirge in between.Bell has just enjoyed his first winter off for a decade and a half and, while England have prospered in his absence, the cold reality is that this was a day that started with the news that in unforeseen, unfortunate and downright unhappy circumstances, another spot has opened up in the middle order he vacated before Christmas.Thus the timing of this knock – one of economy over elegance and game awareness over ego – could not have been more apposite. While all the lovely moving parts remain, this was not the sheer sexiness of Bell at his best; it was gritty rather than pretty, as he spent 44 balls in the nineties, laboured for 150 deliveries over his second 50, and had only seven boundaries before he pulled a Will Smith long-hop beautifully along the floor through midwicket to bring up his century.The cover drive, caressed cut and glide to third man were also all seen, but not regularly; Bell – who has also scored centuries in both Test matches on this ground – was determined to eschew risk and play within himself, even suffering a bout of cramp during the afternoon session. “My arms were struggling a bit, it was the longest I’ve batted since Antigua! The body took some adjusting,” Bell joked afterwards.While Bell said, “for me it doesn’t do me any good thinking about England,” he admitted that something had changed and looked, in the middle and beyond the boundary, a man refreshed. “I do feel fresh, and excited about cricket. I probably had lost a bit of that drive a few months back. So to have spent a lot of time away from cricket is nice. Whether other things happen with England is irrelevant, where I am now I am very happy. It was an enforced break and I understand it. I’m not going to make excuses. I was short of runs since Antigua, but I feel great now. I love playing for Warwickshire and my body feels great.”In the morning session, for a little under 40 minutes, Bell and his old mate Jonathan Trott, under the backdrop of perfect blue skies, carried us back to 2010 in sharing 49; Trott drove beautifully down the ground before falling to James Vince, caught by the only slip chasing a wide, looping half-volley. Bell added 49 more with the proto-Trott, Sam Hain, when Ryan McLaren had him strangled down the leg side.Finally, with his team in some bother after Tim Ambrose looped to midwicket, the captain found an able lieutenant in Chris Woakes, who was watchful and rather staid early on, before unfurling cover drives and cuts to the new ball. The pair, who shared 151, were quite content patting all Hampshire threw at them, particularly Liam Dawson’s spin, straight back to the bowler; for much of the partnership piercing the infield was a challenge, as Vince forewent catchers in favour of protection. The reward for the batsmen’s patience was 52 from the 9.2 overs of the new ball, before Woakes fell, plumb lbw to Edwards, in the day’s final over, and hobbled off for stumps with a rather painful toe.First thing, Hampshire had walloped their way to a bonus point before promptly getting out – with Edwards following some briefly lusty hitting with fine, if erratic new-ball bowling. His sharp swing accounted for Ian Westwood – not offering a stroke – the Varun Chopra.But out came Bell and into his bubble he went. In scoring more than twice as many runs as the Hampshire top seven combined, he had crafted a position from which his team cannot lose the opening match of their season. With a lead that could easily swell in double quick time on the final morning – given Warwickshire have the makers of 23 first-class centuries still waiting to bat – victory remains a possibility.”It’s dry, and we have a world class spinner, which is nice. Jeetan [Patel] is class at landing the ball in Keith Barker’s footholes so we will be excited about that tomorrow,” said Bell, reflecting gleefully on a fine day in the dirt.

While Yuvraj’s injury will be a major blow, the poor form of Warner and Dhawan, and lack of match practice for Boult have left the Hyderabad thinktank with several issues to ponder over

Vishal Dikshit08-Apr-20165:19

Jayawardene: Nehra can allow Sunrisers to play extra foreign batsman

2015 formSixth, or third from the bottom, after winning half of their 14 matches. At one stage, towards the end of the league, they were in third position.Big pictureOnly three seasons old in the IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad have already witnessed the highs and lows of a T20 league. After making the playoffs in their maiden season, they ended the next two in the bottom half of the table.Sunrisers Hyderabad squad

David Warner (captain), Ricky Bhui, Trent Boult, Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Siddarth Kaul, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mustafizur Rahman, Naman Ojha, Karn Sharma, Tirumalasetti Suman, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Reddy, Bipul Sharma, Ben Cutting, Deepak Hooda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Eoin Morgan, Ashish Nehra, Vijay Shankar, Barinder Sran, Aditya Tare, Kane Williamson

In IPL 2015, they looked set to make the playoffs, but lost their last two matches and were bunted down the table. Often, their middle and lower orders could not capitalise on the strong starts from David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan. To rectify that this season, they bought Yuvraj Singh, Aditya Tare and Deepak Hooda to add to their retained players’ list of Eoin Morgan, Naman Ojha and Moises Henriques. If Yuvraj’s poor form in the World T20 was not enough of a worry, an ankle injury has ruled him out for two weeks. The Sunrisers thinktank would also be bothered by the batting form of Warner, who was moved to the middle order by Australia in the World T20, and Shikhar Dhawan. Trent Boult’s lack of match practice – he didn’t play a single game in the World T20 – could also be an issue.They have added more teeth to their bowling by purchasing two in-form quicks, Ashish Nehra and Mustafizur Rahman. The two left-armers will join Bhuvneshwar Kumar, their best bowler last season, and Boult. Legspinner Karn Sharma will continue to lead their thin spin attack. In the allrounders category, Sunrisers have two Australian options – Henriques and Ben Cutting.Overall, the real push Sunrisers need for a berth in the playoffs will have to come in the second half of the season, something they lacked in the previous two editions. “With the balance we have, there won’t be any excuse this year,” captain Warner said before the start of the season.Burning questionsWill Sunrisers tinker with their trusted opening pair of Dhawan and Warner to include Kane Williamson at the top? Or will they continue with Dhawan and Warner, and move Williamson down, or maybe leave him out of the XI? To strengthen the pace attack, will they pick Mustafizur or Boult to assist the Indian combination of Nehra and Bhuvneshwar?The go-to menDavid Warner hammered seven fifties in IPL 2015 with an overall strike rate of 156.54. Even though his bat barely spoke in the recent World T20, a seven-week tournament bodes well as he looks to find his touch again.Ashish Nehra could be their trump card to take down the opposition’s top order, with his wicket-taking abilities in the Powerplay. Twenty-two wickets last season – fourth overall – and an economy rate of 5.94 in the 2016 World T20 underline his importance.Bargain buyFor the kind of promise he has shown so far in international cricket, and the form he exhibited in only three matches in the World T20 – his haul of nine wickets included a five-for – Mustafizur Rahman was not too expensive a purchase at INR 1.4 crore ($US 208,000). Having more subcontinent experience, he could even get the nod ahead of Trent Boult in the XI.AvailabilityYuvraj’s exclusion for two weeks is the only injury blow. CoachesHead coach – Tom Moody, spin-bowling coach – Muttiah Muralitharan, mentor – VVS LaxmanQuote”The way he [Nehra] has come back, he looks stronger and he knows what he has to do to play at the highest level. I have been seeing that and I think if we go back to the Australian series where India beat us, the way he started and finished was a fantastic effort. I think he is a great bonus and plus point for Sunrisers Hyderabad going into the season.”