Cook to captain England in Bangladesh series

Andrew Strauss’s opening partner Alistair Cook has been appointed England captain for the tour of Bangladesh that includes two Tests and three ODIs. The national selectors have decided to give Strauss, the regular captain, a break ahead of their busy schedule starting with World Twenty20 in Caribbean. Frontline pacer James Anderson has also been rested for the tour. The Test squad includes two new faces in Kent off-spinner James Tredwell and Yorkshire pace bowler Ajmal Shahzad whereas the one day team includes the two as well as Hampshire’s opening batsman Michael Carberry.

Geoff Miller, national selector said, “Our decision to appoint Alastair Cook to the Test vice-captaincy last year clearly demonstrated the belief that he has the potential to be a future England captain. Alastair will now have an opportunity to develop his leadership skills still further by leading the side in both forms of cricket in Bangladesh and I know that he is excited by the challenge and looking forward to working closely with Andy Flower.”

“He’s played over 50 Tests now. So it’s not just a matter of thinking about the present time or the immediate future. It’s a matter of thinking of the far future as well. He was given the vice-captaincy and we want to see how he performs with the onus of captaincy as well. It will be a difficult test, it always is with the captaincy because he’s got to work on his batting too, but he’ll get the opportunity to do that,” he added.

On giving Strauss a break Miller said, “Andrew Strauss has provided outstanding leadership for the team in both forms of the game over the past 12 months and the selectors feel it is important that he takes a break ahead of an extremely busy programme of international cricket leading up to and including the Ashes series in Australia and the World Cup in 2011.” England is also set to play two T20s against defending champions Pakistan in Dubai and Paul Collingwood has been retained as the captain for the shortest version.

Test squad: Alastair Cook (Essex, Captain), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Steven Davies (Surrey), Graham Onions (Durham), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Matt Prior (Sussex, Wk), Ajmal Shahzad (Yorkshire), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)

One-day squad: Alastair Cook (Essex, Captain), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Joe Denly (Kent), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Matt Prior (Sussex, Wk), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Ajmal Shahzad (Yorkshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)

Home umpires may officiate in Ashes

Long time request by ICC elite panel has finally appears to find some attention. The International Cricket Council is considering using home umpires for the Ashes series in Australia in 2011. The move might get the green signal after top umpires including Simon Taufel, who won the International umpire of the year award for five consecutive years showed their disappointment over inability to spend time with their families due to too much of travel involved. Another reason is that ICC is convinced that the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) is successful despite questions raised by a few captains.

ICC President David Morgan said, “The decision review system is making good progress. There have been problems at the Wanderers that I can’t go into because that’s being investigated by the International Cricket Council. But I think the progress with the DRS has been extremely good indeed, to the extent that I think we should be thinking about the best umpires being appointed to Test match cricket irrespective of whether they come from the participating teams or not.”

Five out of the current 12 elite umpires are from England and Australia which leaves them with little time to spend at home. Morgan said the neutral umpire system is likely to be scrapped sooner than later. “It’s a possibility. I wouldn’t put it any higher than a possibility but I think that in the fullness of time it’s more probable than possible.”

Another positive that will come out of scrapping neutral umpire system is that umpire like Peter Willy who refused to be a part of elite panel due to the amount of travel involved in the job will consider getting back thus improving the standards of umpiring.

“If you think of the international cricket schedule, with the exception of Pakistan, all international cricketers play about half their cricket at home. International umpires stand in away games only. That makes it a much more difficult lifestyle for them, to the extent that some very good umpires have declined appointment to the elite panel simply because they don’t want to be away throughout the working schedule,” Morgan said.

NOC issue resolved; England players in auction list

Nine English players have been added to the 51-member shortlisted players who will be auctioned at the third Indian Premier League (IPL) action scheduled to be held on January 19. A total of eight English players applied to take part in IPL; however no one was shortlisted due to “new conditions imposed by the ECB” according to IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.

Earlier IPL released a 51-member list that didn’t include eight England players who have applied to take part. However the nine names included in the new list has the names of the eight original members – Anthony McGrath, Tim Bresnan, Eoin Morgan, Monty Panesar, Adil Rashid, Jonathan Trott, Usman Afzaal and James Foster. The new name in the list if inform off-spinner Graeme Swann.

Commenting on the issue IPL chief executive Sundar Raman said “We wanted clarifications specifically related to the availability of players outside of the IPL season so we don’t need to keep going back for the NOCs. Franchises then can plan friendlies and practice games outside of the IPL season. That was one of the things that needed to be ironed out. That is not a condition that is a preliminary requirement.”

Raman also said that the player’s contract terms are changed according to the requirements and those will be incorporated in the new NOC issued. “But our player contracts are undergoing some changes and the new NOCs should reflect those changes in terms of his availability, payment terms and things like that.”

The confirmation of these players will be done this week as players like Jonathan Trott is busy playing in South Africa. “The ECB might want some of the players to be rested or available on tour or they might want to keep a check on any player who has suffered an injury.”

Swann upbeat about England prospects, says KP have to fight for his place

According to England spinner Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen will have to fight to get back his place in the English line-up during the South African series that is about to start in a few days time. Pietersen who missed a major part of Ashes, followed by the ODI series against Australia and Champions Trophy due to the surgery he underwent on his right Achilles tendon has just joined the England squad in South Africa.

Swann said, “I don’t think it’s a squad that’s sitting there desperately hoping that other people turn up because I think we’re all getting on well, we’ve got a very positive outlook and we’ve had some good performances. So Kev’s just going to add to that, I don’t think he’s going to change it. You never know, he might even have to fight for his place when he gets here.”

Appreciation poured in for Eoin Morgan and Jonathan Trott, the two of whom had a excellent last season after making into the England side in the absence of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff. “Whenever you lose one or two of your big players, everyone else has got to step up to the plate and perform. Last summer they did, that last Test match everyone was saying that it had to be Andrew Flintoff’s massive last game and it was Stuart Broad who took the limelight – he stepped up to the plate.”

“We can’t be reliant on one or two players, that’s unhealthy for the team and unhealthy for English cricket. Thankfully at the minute, everyone’s chipping in, in their own respective areas, which is a more healthy state to be in,” he added. Morgan scored a brilliant 34-ball 67 against South Africa in the Champions Trophy in addition to a few more brisk innings he played. Jonathan Trott on other hand, made an impressive debut in the final Ashes Test scoring a century.

Excited about having Kevin back: Strauss

England sans Kevin Pietersen reached the city of Bloemfontein for a seventy day tour of South Africa, however, Captain Andrew Strauss has reasons to be happy and feel confident about the tour. According to Strauss, coming back from an Ashes win has kept the confidence of the team high and more importantly the team is bolstered by the return of their batting mainstay Kevin Pietersen. The English team is set to play four Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.

“I’m genuinely excited about having him back. We’ve missed his quality, we’ve missed his influence and I also think he’s going to come back very refreshed, hungry and motivated. When you have a player of that quality, with that frame of mind, you can expect him to go out and play really well. We don’t want him to come back before his ready, so he’s got to make sure he’s completely over his injury before we bring him back. But it’s going to be a great boost for us to have him back in the environment,” Strauss said.

England beat South Africa, the present No.1 ranked team in Test cricket, 2-1 in their own backyard during their last tour and are upbeat about repeating the feat this time. Strauss said, “We’re not going to get carried away with ourselves at this stage. There is a lot of hard work to be done if we want to get there and achieve that goal. In some ways, if we’re going to achieve that goal, we’re going to have to play better than we’ve ever played in my time as an England player. So it’s a bit of a step up for us and comes at a good time.”

“I think as a group we understand the extent and the challenge that this tour sets us – playing the number one ranked side. This is an opportunity for us to see where we are as a side and also to make some steps forward in terms of becoming more consistent and more able to deal with the best sides in the world on a consistent basis. We have some ideas as to how we might continue our development in one-day cricket in particular at this stage, and we look forward to putting those into action in the coming weeks,” he added.

England looks for revenge over Aussies

The first of the Champions Trophy semi-final will be a match that will attract all cricket fans across the world. The Ashes opponents will clash with lot at stake for both teams. England which lost their home series against Australia 1-6 will seek revenge here at Centurion. The English team has surprised many by thumping performance against formidable Sri Lanka and tournament favorites South Africa before losing to New Zealand in the group stage. They will be high on confidence and will look to make the most from the good form of Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah. However, one another key member Stuart Broad who shined for England in patches so far in the tournament is likely to miss out due to torn buttock muscle. Ryan Sidebottom will take Broad’s place in the team.

Australia on the other hand has a huge psychological advantage over their favorites rival with recent domination. The Ricky Ponting lead team will look to cash on as they are on course to defend their Champions Trophy title which they won in 2006 in India. Michael Clarke is ruled out after missing all their matches so far is replaced by David Hussey in the squad; however his inclusion in the playing eleven is unlikely. Australia has had a smooth tournament so far except those nervy 10 overs against Pakistan. Many of their players including Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson appear to be in good form as Australia start as firm favorites.

Best bet for Australia:

Ricky Ponting – 9/10

Mike Hussy – 8/10

Mitchell Johnson – 8/10

Nathan Hauritz – 8/10

Best bet for England:

Paul Collingwood – 9/10

Owais Shah – 8/10

Andrew Strauss – 8/10

James Anderson – 7/10

New Zealand win will put Lanka out

Match 10: England v New Zealand, Johannesburg

England and New Zealand comfortably won their last games against South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively, thereby opening up competition for semi-final spots in Group B. A win for England will allow either Sri Lanka or New Zealand with a better net run-rate to play the semi-final. A win for New Zealand will see them alongside England qualify for the semi-final.

Going into the crucial encounter, New Zealand will be without their opener Jesse Ryder who suffered a groin injury while playing against Sri Lanka. However, contributions from the likes of Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum will please captain Daniel Vettori, who played a match winning role with bat and ball in the last game. For England, Captain Andrew Strauss will be concerned about his own form, however he will hope that Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood and Eion Morgan continue with their sublime form throughout the tournament.

Best bet for England:                                      Owais Shah – 9/10

Paul Collingwood – 9/10

Eion Morgan – 8/10

James Anderson – 8/10

Best bet for New Zealand:                           Daniel Vettori – 9/10

Ross Taylor – 8/10

Brendon McCullum – 8/10

Daryl Tuffey – 7/10

Sri Lanka aim at capitalizing on demoralized England

Match 4: England v Sri Lanka, Johannesburg

Sri Lanka will be a happy team to see off the host and now will look at consolidating their semi-final berth with a win over demoralized England which lost to Australia 1-6 at home a few days ago. England will on the other hand look to change their fortunes but to do that they have play out of their skins to overcome spirited Lankans. England should try and knock off the Lankan top order quickly and also play their spin duo Murali and Mendis well.

Captain Strauss should look to bat through the innings while others should try to play around him and keep the momentum going. In the absence of Pietersen and Flintoff, Collingwood and Strauss will be their key batsman while Graeme Swann should strike big in the middle-overs. For Lanka Sangakkara would hope that his most experienced player Jayasuria will strike form.

Best bet for England:                      Paul Collingwood – 9/10

Andrew Strauss – 8/10

Graeme Swann – 8/10

James Anderson – 8/10

Best bet for Sri Lanka:

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 9/10

Kumar Sangakkara – 9/10

Mahela Jayawardene – 8/10

Muttiah Muralitharan – 8/10

Champions Trophy 2009 – Team Preview: England

England team without Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff will certainly lack match-winners and the results are showing in the just concluded seven match ODI series against Australia at home. The English lost 1-6 and were no match to Australia throughout the series. Their middle-order appears unreliable with Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah doing little, too much of responsibility falls on the shoulders of Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior. The bowling is more like a jackpot and requires consistency from them.

Watch out for:

Andrew Strauss the captain needs to lead from the front if they are willing to make a statement. Strauss has a huge responsibility of playing big knocks thereby controlling the batsmen at the other end to achieve desired scores. He needs to be more aggressive in his approach and also needs to keep the team morale high especially after the humiliating defeat at the hands of Aussies.

X-factor:

Graeme Swann is proving to be England’s next big match-winner. If he can make the ball spin he can a potential threat provided he gets the right support from bowlers from the other end.

Squad:

Andrew Strauss (Captain), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Joe Denly, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Matt Prior (Wk), Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann and Luke Wright.

Comeback will take time feels Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen who is recovering from Achilles surgery admitted that the recovery is slow and will take time for him to get back to the national team. Pietersen who was in Monza for the Italian Grand Prix hoped he will recover before the team tour of South Africa. “I saw a couple of surgeons during the week but it’s slow at the moment. I’ve got an open wound in my leg. But I’m really hoping to be back for the South Africa tour at the moment, that’s my target now,” he said.

The middle order batsman is England’s mainstay in all form of the game and his absence is hitting England badly as they are trialing 0-5 in the ongoing ODI series against Australia in home. The first signs of the injury came during the tour of West Indies early this year after which it has troubled Pietersen throughout the England summer. The batsman also had to pull out of the epic Ashes series at the end of second Test at Lord’s.

Feeling the heat of the absence of his two key players Pietersen and Flintoff, skipper Andrew Strauss said, “It is always hard to be without your two best players but that’s the reality we are in. It is not going to be changing for a while so other people have to stand up. Hopefully when they do we have got more potential match-winners.”  

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