All posts by csb10.top

RAWALPINDI, April 23: Shoaib Akhtar returns to his hometown at the top of his bowling form as Pakistan aim to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead over an injury-plagued New Zealand in the second One-day International at Pindi Cricket Stadium Wednesday.Shoaib, who ripped the heart out of New Zealand batting with career-best six for 16 in Karachi Sunday in Pakistan’s 153-run victory, promised to further entertain his home crowd. “Obviously I am bowling well and would certainly like to repeat a similar performance before my home crowd,” he said Tuesday.”I think it’s the dream of every player to give his best in front of his local supporters. I am no different. I have nice memories of the venue and public that has backed me during my difficult period. I think it is the right time to give them back something,” he said, adding: “Although it doesn’t bother me but yes, it is great to return to my city as the world’s fastest bowler.”Shoaib, who has certainly left a lot of terror in New Zealand minds, has done excellently against the tourists. His previous best of five for 19 was also against the Black Caps at Auckland last year.”It gives one added encouragement when you play against a team against whom you have done well. My confidence is high. But the biggest thing in my mind is that Pakistan should win. There is no greater feeling than being part of a winning squad,” he said.New Zealand has problems of their own and the return to form of Shoaib must have left them uneasy. The visitors arrived here without Chris Cairns, Shane Bond, Dion Nash and Daniel Vettori and now they have skipper Stephen Fleming, Scott Styris, Robbie Hart and Chris Nevin down with food poisoning and injuries.New Zealand manager Ross Dykes said that the decision to include them would not be taken before the start of the match.”We didn’t practice with Stephen and Robbie this morning as they are down with stomach bugs and feeling weak. Scott and Chris were there and looked all right. but the physiotherapist will assess their fitness tomorrow afternoon,” Dykes said.Fleming’s absence is a body blow to the tourists whose best batsman Nathan Astle has shown glimpses of brilliance but has yet to deliver the goods.Dykes admitted that Shoaib was quick and was at the peak of his form. But he stressed that his side lost the initiative in the first match on two occasions. “It’s a matter of taking the initiative and holding on to it. We had the initiative on two occasions and we gave it away. So we should concentrate on holding the advantage once we have it,” Dykes said. “Every game is different so we start from the scratch and hope the boys will come good,” he said.Pakistan are likely to field an unchanged side. And if that happens, it would be the sixth straight match with the same side, something very unusual in Pakistan cricket. “It’s a winning combination so I don’t think there will be any changes. Until we seal the series, we will try to restrain from making changes,” Pakistan coach Mudassar Nazar said.If Pakistan can’t be more pleased with the winning streak and the consistency of Shoaib Akhtar, Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan, they would be worried with the repeated failures of Inzamam-ul-Haq. The burly batsman has scored only 254 runs from his last 12 matches with just one half century.Naturally pressure will once again be on Pakistan vice-captain. But with the amount of cricket he has played, he knows how to come out of a lean patch. “It is just a matter of getting one big score. I am timing the ball nicely but somehow lose the initiative. I have to hang in and runs will automatically come,” Inzamam hoped.The weather in the twin city is excellent as there is thick cloud cover and also it rained Monday evening and Tuesday morning. There was forecast for thunderstorm late Tuesday but MET office says it will be a fine on the match day.Teams:PAKISTAN (likely): Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis (captain), Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar. Reserves: Shoaib Malik, Faisal Iqbal, Mohammad Sami, Yasir Arafat, Misbah-ul-Haq.NEW ZEALAND (from): Nathan Astle, Matthew Horne, Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Stephen Fleming (captain), Chris Harris, Andre Adams, Ian Butler, Jacob Oram, Robbie Hart, Brooke Walker, Daryl Tuffey, Scott Styris, James Franklin.UMPIRES: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Aleem Dar (Pakistan).TV UMPIRE: Asad Rauf.RESERVE UMPIRE: Zafar Iqbal Pasha.Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa).

Max cricket still has a role to play in New Zealand’s cricket structure.That’s the view of New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden, who made the comment when releasing the international itinerary for next summer today.India’s tour opener will be a Max international at a venue still to be decided.A pre-season Max event would also be part of the domestic programme when it is announced, he said.International cricket was still assessing a third level of the game to fit with modern lifestyles.”We need a short version which can be watched in a short period of time.”There is a market for it, the ratings are good. The value of the game is not necessarily at first-class level or international level. It is at the participation level,” Snedden said.It wasn’t traditional cricket but it was part of a wider range of the cricket product.”Different people have different tastes and different time spans to watch cricket,” he said.

England Under-19s could afford to sleep well tonight. They have hadthe best day of the tour so far. Nicky Peng with a brilliant hundredled the English counter attack against the spin attack of VidyuthSivaramakrishnan and co. who had spun them to defeat in the firstTest. At close of play on Saturday in the second Test match againstthe Indian colts at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai,England colts were 286/3 in 95 overs.England made three changes to their team from the one that played inthe first ‘Test’. Kadeer Ali, Kyle Hogg and Robert Ferley gave way toGordon Muchall, Chris Tremlett and John Sadler. India made no changeto their playing eleven.On a clear sunny morning, English captain Ian Bell did his team morethan a big favour by winning the toss and electing to bat. Left handedJohn Sadler who had missed out on the first Test and Nicky Peng sawthrough the opening spell from the medium pacers with ease.The introduction of Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan did not trouble theEnglish batsmen, Peng playing a glorious cover drive off him for four.Sadler and Peng had taken the score to 57 in the 24th over, whentragedy struck the English boys. Peng drove Dharmichand straight backat the bowler in the air; the catch was dropped and the ball disturbedthe stumps at the non-striking end. Sadler was found to be short ofhis crease backing up and was given run out. Sadler made 22 runs off77 balls before his unfortunate dismissal.Peng suddenly changed gears to step out and hit Dharmichand for acouple of huge sixes. Ian Bell was lucky to survive as Vinayak Manedropped him at second slip off the bowling of Trivedi in the 31stover. Peng reached his well-deserved fifty off 92 balls, in the 33rdover bowled by Trivedi. Peng struck hard, hitting Trivedi for threeconsecutive fours in the over. A couple of overs later Peng steppedout to loft him over long on for a huge six.Soon after lunch, Bell got into his elements, two fierce square cutsoff Sivaramakrishnan to the point fence raised the tempo a bit. Pengwas more than lucky to be dropped twice in a span of three overs. Thesloppy fielding and missed catches were to haunt the Indian side asPeng unleashed strokes all around the field. He was tied down for awhile in the nineties, but let the world know that he is a young manwith a lot of courage by playing an on-drive for four and then loftinga huge six off Dharmichand to reach his hundred.Bell and Peng shared a second wicket partnership of 142 runs in 34.5overs. When all seemed to be lost for the Indians, Bell tried a bigshot over the covers and gave a soft catch to the cover fielderDharmichand off the bowling of Ishan Ganda. Bell never looked to be introuble as he carried on with his good form. His innings of 67 cameoff 114 balls and included 11 well timed boundaries.The post tea session saw the loss of Nicky Peng for 132. Ishan Gandacaught him at short fine leg when he tried to go for a sweep shot offthe bowling of Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan. Peng was the third wicket tofall at 251 in the 80th over. His innings was decorated with 11boundaries and 5 sixes. Peng was at the crease for 290 minutes andfaced 240 balls to play one of the best innings of the tour.Though the new ball was taken in the 91st over, it did not trouble theEnglish batsmen. Gary Pratt played a wonderful pull shot off thebowling of Aggarwal that illustrated the domination of the Englishbatting. At close of play Pratt was unbeaten on 39 with Gordon Muchallon 14.

Gloucestershire successfully began their defence of the Benson & Hedges Cup with a last-ball boundary from Chris Taylor snatching victory in a match where the scores finished level.The one-day masters, aiming for a fifth consecutive Lord’s final in two competitions, won their first group match by matching Warwickshire’s 213 for 9 and squeezed home by virtue of losing three fewer wickets.Though Taylor’s cover drive off Vasbert Drakes settled the issue, the previous ball proved to be the home side’s undoing. When Taylor was sent back, Drakes threw down the non-striker’s wicket and the ball ran away to give Reggie Williams the chance to scamper a single.Ian Harvey won the gold award for his competition-best 5 for 32 as Warwickshire lurched between extremes after being put in to bat. Harvey and Jon Lewis put them in trouble at 39 for four, but Dominic Ostler (77) and skipper Michael Powell (55) responded with a stand of 136 – a new fifth-wicket record for the county in the B & H Cup.Harvey then returned to take three more wickets and ease the task for his batsmen. Kim Barnett and Rob Cunliffe laid a good base, but Mo Sheikh almost turned the game with a stunning caught-and-bowled to remove Barnett.Cunliffe advanced to 75 before Warwickshire moved back into the ascendancy with wickets in successive balls from Dougie Brown and another for Mel Betts to remove Matt Windows for 42.Mark Alleyne brought the target down to ten from the last over but was bowled by a near-full toss from Drakes before Williams and Taylor tied the match.

Mark Lane, England Women’s head coach, is confident his side’s disappointment at losing the final of the Women’s World T20 will be short-lived, with the 50-over Women’s World Cup taking place in February and England looking to defend their title.England cruised through four matches in Sri Lanka before being beaten by the holders, Australia, but will head to India as favourites for a fourth World Cup. Outside of the “lottery” of T20, Lane enthused about his side’s ability to prove they are the best team – something he felt 50-over cricket rewards.”The best side is who can put runs on the board, defend those totals, and get people out. Rather than just deliver a short game plan, to be able to hold it for three hours when you’re bowling, three hours when you bat,” Lane told the ECB website. “T20 can be a bit of a lottery – I’m not saying that’s the reason we lost the final – but the best side will win the 50-over World Cup.”We’re going to talk about scoring hundreds, crafting a spell, concentration in the field, holding your catches. I like 50-over cricket and I know the girls like 50-over cricket because the best players can put more of an impact on the result.”Rather than getting quick twenties, our key batters can go on and score hundreds and we have scored quite a few hundreds in our last few ODIs. Our best bowlers can get five wickets instead of just two or three.”England won six of eight ODIs in 2012, including a 3-0 series win in New Zealand, during which Sarah Taylor and Charlotte Edwards scored hundreds. They also beat India in a five-match series at home, coming back from 2-0 down. England then hosted T20 series against Pakistan and West Indies in preparation for the World T20.But having reacclimatised to the British autumn, England can turn their focus to the 50-over World Cup, with no fixtures scheduled before the tournament begins in India in February.”I’ve got full confidence in the squad we’ve selected in preparation for our winter training,” Lane added. “We’ve got 10 weeks of solid preparation ready for the World Cup, so we’ll be fine. We’ll switch our plans and preparation to that 50-over stuff and make sure we’re ready to go.”England Women will also return to the Test arena next year for the first time since January 2011, with the one-off Ashes Test – the sole remaining Test in the Women’s calendar. “This has come round quite quickly and we’ve been ready for this big year, if you like,” Lane said. “We’ve got the Ashes next summer, so it’s all come at once, but that’s the best way for us. We’ve got multi-skilled cricketers who can play all three formats of the game, so we’re looking forward to that challenge.”

By any standards, Alastair Cook has enjoyed a fine first year as captain of the England Test and ODI teams. In a role which is largely defined by Ashes success, England’s 3-0 victory over Australia stands out, though the Test series victory in India might well, in the long-term, be rated as the greater achievement. Either way, to have lost only one Test in 14 and won seven more is a fine record.Yet it is a reflection of Cook’s high standards and expectations that, when asked to reflect on his first year in charge, it is a failure that stands out.Failing to win the Champions Trophy final still hurts. England, with the game in their grasp, surrendered their chance to win a first global ODI trophy. With 16 balls to go and six wickets in hand, they required only 20 to win. In the end, though, India won by five runs.It is the first thing Cook mentions when reflecting on his year in charge.”We should have won that game,” Cook sighs. “We should have won that game of cricket chasing 130.”As a team we are always going to be disappointed by the Champions Trophy final. It took quite a long time to get over it. It was the same for me personally. The game was in our grasp. That was a tough day and I think it took us a long time to get over.”They were unique circumstances. To have a Champions Trophy and go straight into an Ashes within 10 days was tough. Losing knocked us down a bit more than we thought. We already started the Ashes a little bit jaded.”

Cook on…

Simon Kerrigan as successor to Graeme Swann
Obviously we didn’t see the best of Kerrigan in that Test match. He bowled beautifully all year at Lancs and deserved his call up. It didn’t go as he’d wanted but he is a quality bowler and he will come back. Swanny has taken a lot of wickets and we’ve been lucky. Who knows when he will go, but let’s enjoy him now and cross that bridge when we get to it.
Sachin Tendulkar
There’s no words I can say that haven’t been said already. He’s phenomenal. He’s an absolute genius. Until you’ve been to India and seen what pressure he has played under… it’s sensational to do that under pressure for 24 years. 200 Tests is an incredible achievement. If it’s done again, I’d be very surprised.
Graeme Onions and the Ashes attack
If Jimmy Anderson did get injured, there is the possibility of bringing Graham Onions in as well. We want the best balanced attack we can have, but we do know that pace and bounce in Aus has proved to be successful. So you can see why we’ve gone for that attack. We think that’s key.
Andrew Strauss’ book
I’ve not read it, no. There’s no way he will be handing out freebies if I know Straussy. He will make me buy it. He doesn’t give away anything.
England’s brand of cricket
Yes, we know we’re in the entertainment industry. But I haven’t had anyone come up to me at the end of this summer and say they haven’t enjoyed it. It’s been the other way around. You get people saying “I can’t thank you enough for the amount of joy we’ve had from watching you guys this summer.” I haven’t heard anyone who has been moaning about it.
The popularity of Test cricket in England
As an England side we are incredibly well supported. Of course the Ashes sell out. But I’m pretty sure most of the first three days of any Test match I’ve played here have been pretty much sold out. That’s an incredible achievement by those running the game and the supporters. In England it’s thriving. But around the world you can watch Tests where there isn’t a huge crowd watching. But with my England cap on, at home or our travelling support, we’re very lucky.
Andy Flower’s future
I was with Andy yesterday and he’s as hungry as ever to continue our success with the opportunity to do something very special in Australia. To win the Ashes four times in a row would be an incredible achievement. When I see him I see a guy as hungry as ever.

Cook’s comments underline the high-priority England invested in the tournament. While the focus of the media and most spectators was upon the Ashes, England realised that the event presented an opportunity to win a global ODI trophy and reiterated the impression that, after years when Test cricket was the priority for England, showpiece, global limited-overs events are now held in equally high esteem. The 2015 World Cup is the next such target.”It was certainly a good tournament,” Cook said. “To have it in two weeks, with every game having meaning was sensational. Past World Cups haven’t felt like that. But we had an opportunity to win the Champions Trophy and the Ashes in a short space of time and we didn’t quite take it.”Cook also admitted that his relative struggles with the bat during the Ashes series – he averaged 27.70 – did “not sit easy with him.””It’s frustrating because I feel my game is in good order,” he said. “You don’t look at any career and see a constant upward curve. That’s what being a batsmen is. But it doesn’t sit easy with me to say that and accept it to be fine.”As a captain you want to lead from the front and score runs; that is your primary job. Particularly when you play your first Ashes series as captain.”But until you’ve gone through it you don’t really know what to expect. It is more intense, it is more heightened.”I don’t think that has affected my batting. It’s more of a bone of frustration. I still felt I contributed with three fifties and if you change fifties into hundreds it changes the complexion. I’m looking forward to putting that right.”When pushed, however, Cook did admit that England’s success in India was a considerable source of pride. Cook had assumed control of a divided team reeling from the Kevin Pietersen episode and facing one of its long-established fears: spinning wickets in Asia. Yet, despite considerable odds, Cook somehow untied the dressing room and led his side from one-down after the first Test to an admirable victory.”When you achieve something as special as that, it does reignite the side and squad,” Cook said. “That will be the series that, when I stop playing cricket and look back, I will think was special.”The next time we go to India, too, we will realise what we achieved. If you look where we were at the end of the second or third day of that first Test, I think it was an even greater achievement.”I can’t fault the lads – there is always going to be a bit or turmoil when a new captain comes in that – that is natural. I’d been captain of the ODI side, but when you lose someone like Andrew Strauss with the credit he’s got and the respect he’s got, there’s always going to be time to get used to it. But the lads responded to me and the way we’ve gone on, we can’t fault that. We need to draw on that in the next three months.”

Two of the BCCI’s high-profile member associations have aired their grievances over certain decisions taken at the board’s annual general meeting on Sunday. While the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is unhappy about international cricket returning to Brabourne Stadium, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has expressed displeasure over its share of the posts handed out at the meeting.The MCA said it should have been informed beforehand of the BCCI’s decision to hand out international matches to the Brabourne Stadium, which belongs to the Cricket Club of India (CCI). MCA president Ravi Savant, who was appointed BCCI’s vice-president from the west zone in place of Niranjan Shah, said he would write to the board about the matter. “I objected to this resolution at the AGM. I said I will file my detailed objection in a letter to the board,” Savant told the . “The board cannot pass a resolution like that. The CCI comes under our [MCA’s] jurisdiction. Our request is that the MCA should be taken into confidence before any match is awarded to the CCI.”While the Brabourne Stadium is the older of the two, the Wankhede Stadium has been the main venue for international cricket in Mumbai in recent years. The MCA, though, had entered into an agreement with the CCI in the lead-up to the 2011 World Cup to organise India matches there while the Wankhede was being renovated for the show-piece event. In that period, the ground hosted an India-Sri Lanka Test, an India-Australia T20 and several matches in the 2006 Champions Trophy. Before that, CCI last hosted a Test match in 1973 and an ODI in 1995.Sevanthi Parekh, the president of CCI, dismissed the MCA’s objections. “Let the MCA keep objecting. The resolution was passed unanimously in the AGM. Now, we will be treated as an eligible unit and will be awarded an international game whenever our turn comes as per rotation policy.”The CAB treasurer, meanwhile, said his association “deserved better” after the “support” it extended to BCCI president N Srinivasan.CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya, who carried out the day-to-day administration of the BCCI after Srinivasan had temporarily stepped aside following the arrest of son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan for betting during the IPL, was named chairman of the board’s newly-constituted northeast development committee. He was relieved of his BCCI administrative duties, with Sanjay Patel, who was appointed full-time board secretary at the meeting, taking over until the courts rule on Srinivasan.Other CAB members gaining appointments included joint secretary Subir Ganguly, who was named on the IPL governing council, treasurer Biswarup Dey who made it to the finance committee, and Chitrak Mitra, who was retained as the BCCI’s vice-president from the east zone and named chairman of the committee overseeing the Vizzy Trophy, the annual inter-zonal university tournament.”The committees where there are representatives from the CAB are either less important or non-active,” Dey was quoted as saying, by the , on behalf of the CAB. “We certainly deserved better. This actually sends a wrong message about Bengal cricket.”Now if you ask me whether we have been treated in the right manner, I would say that the future will answer this question. People are asking whether the CAB will change its stance [towards Srinivasan]. Well, we will act according to the situation. If someone is good with us, we will reciprocate in the same manner. If that is not the case, then obviously we will have to change our stance. We will have to rethink our approach. This is not the age of Gandhigiri. We gave our support, but it didn’t get reflected while the various important committees were formed.”Dey said the CAB did not grudge other east zone members the posts there were given, though. “We have no problem with what Odisha and Jharkhand have got. We absolutely believe that Mr Ranjib Biswal [chairman, IPL governing council] and Mr Choudhary [chairman, anti-corruption and marketing committees] deserve such high-profile responsibilities. But where do we stand?”

The casualty list among Australia’s fast bowlers has grown with Jackson Bird set to fly home from England with pain in his lower back. Although the seriousness of Bird’s injury is not yet known, worryingly for the Australians this is the second overseas tour this year that has ended early for Bird due to a back problem, after he flew home from India during the first Test in Chennai in February.”Jackson has had low back pain over the past week of the Ashes tour and will return to Australia today to begin the process of investigating the source of the pain and rehabilitation,” the team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said on Thursday.Bird played the fourth Investec Test at Chester-le-Street and bowled well at times, collecting 2 for 58 in the first innings but also struggled for penetration in other spells and did not claim a wicket in the second innings. Bird, 26, has been highly effective for Tasmania at almost every venue in Australia and he could be an important bowler in the home Ashes if fit.Bird is the second Australia fast bowler to suffer a back problem on this tour after James Pattinson was diagnosed with a stress fracture early in the series. Australia’s fast-bowling stocks were also hit this week by the news that Pat Cummins would almost certainly miss a third consecutive domestic summer due to a back injury.

Dav Whatmore, the Pakistan coach, has asked his team to guard against complacency when they take on Zimbabwe, who are unranked in Tests, and placed 10th in the ODI rankings. Pakistan have strong records in both Tests and ODIs in Zimbabwe.”The danger that I see anyway is complacency,” Whatmore said at the NCA in Lahore. “We don’t want to be complacent in any of our makeup, including our preparation. We may be playing Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, but these are still three-four very important matches for Pakistan.”There is a bit of difference in rankings, but as you know cricket has some uncertain glories in the game. We can’t take anything for granted; we take one game at a time. We rather think about taking one game at a time rather than (thinking about clean sweep). We always like to be in competition and we have an opportunity to play some Test matches and ODIs as well as T20 games. We finish with Test matches and we bounce into the South Africans (in the UAE).”Pakistan have played eight Tests in Zimbabwe, and after losing the first one by an innings, they won six out of the seven following ones. In the 15 ODIs that have been played between the two teams in Zimbabwe, only once has the home side managed to sneak a win. In their last tour of Zimbabwe in 2011, Pakistan won every game they played.While Zimbabwe players boycotted their training ahead of the series, Pakistan players, except the ones playing in the Caribbean Premier League, have been training indoors at the Bob Woolmer centre due to rains. The team had an injury scare when Sohaib Maqsood, who is part of the T20 squad, injured his back. Whatmore, however, remained optimistic about Maqsood’s fitness.”Sohaib Maqsood is a new player who has been selected in T20 format. At the moment he is battling a little bit of fitness but we expect him to be okay by tomorrow evening,” Whatmore said. “I am happy for him that he is selected, but he has to prove his fitness within the next day and a half.”Pakistan have experimented with their team combination since Whatmore’s appointment as head coach, and he said that the inconsistent results are not a direct reflection of the policy. He said the frequent changes come with their pros and cons, but everyone has been working hard. “Sometimes new players are exciting to work with,” he said. “When new players are picked, it does change a little bit the balance and the approach, getting used to them, getting them use to me. There’s a bit of give and take; some advantages and disadvantages, but on the whole I need to do a job and I do it to the best of my ability.”

Match facts

August 1-5, Old Trafford
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)Kevin Pietersen’s chances of participation in the third Test remain clouded•PA Photos

Big Picture

Over 16 years of discontent between 1989 and 2005, England found themselves 2-0 down after as many Ashes matches no fewer than six times. The lead-in to the third Test was invariably accompanied by all manner of introspection within the team and public ridicule without, while selections tended to lean towards changing the combinations that did not work in the first two matches, carrying the air of last-chance for the selectors and the captain if not the players themselves. Something else about those six occasions is also noteworthy – while often England produced an improved display, not once did they ever actually win the third match, usually giving up the urn as a result.This unpalatable scenario is now Australia’s cross to bear, following a tight result at Trent Bridge and a decidedly loose one at Lord’s. There will be changes to the team, most likely three as David Warner returns after doing penance in South Africa while bowlers Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc are recalled having not done too much wrong to be dropped in the first place. Of greater import for Australia, however, is getting the best out of the few batsmen they know to be of high quality. Michael Clarke has batted away speculation that he has entered the last six months of his international career but has so far been unable to do likewise to England’s bowlers, while Shane Watson’s threatening starts have remained just that from the moment James Anderson and co have managed to narrow their aim onto his front pad. Chris Rogers must lift too, having been called into the team late in his career simply to churn out hundreds – nothing more and nothing less.As for England, a draw will be sufficient to retain the Ashes, but Anderson’s words last week provided ample evidence that the hosts are seeking something grander, a 5-0 margin of victory to be precise. Kevin Pietersen’s fitness has been a source of minor irritation to England’s planning, but in James Taylor they have a reserve batsman capable of playing the long innings that will further wear down an Australian bowling attack that has toiled manfully against the creeping realisation that no matter what they bowl their opponents out for, it will not be enough. Nevertheless, England cannot expect to be continually bailed out by Ian Bell following the loss of trios of early wickets, and so Alastair Cook will be particularly keen to score the runs that ensure the proceedings at Old Trafford carry on in the same lopsided manner in which they did at Lord’s.

Form guide

England: WWWWD
Australia: LLLLL

Players to watch

Right now it feels strange and distant to consider that for years Graeme Swann considered Australia to be his toughest opponents. The impression was created by some indifferent days against the likes of Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke in 2009 and 2010-11, but the former’s retirement has given Swann some greater room to flourish against batsmen with very little confidence against the spinning ball. Now, at Old Trafford, the scene of Jim Laker’s 19 wickets in 1956, Swann’s threat looms larger than ever for the tourists.Rather than playing against Sussex, Shane Watson spent a week in London, training specifically to work on his susceptibility against the ball angling back into his pads for an lbw shout. As his opening partner Chris Rogers stated, Watson has the potential to do more damage to England’s bowlers than any other member of the Australian batting line-up, and if he has managed to smooth out this long-standing technical kink he may find Manchester very much to his liking.

Team news

Kevin Pietersen has not quite assuaged all doubts about his fitness, following a calf strain, by training in Manchester, and if he is not deemed ready James Taylor will slot into the batting order. Monty Panesar is on hand with his left-arm spin, but Tim Bresnan’s strong showing on a dry surface at Lord’s plus his extra batting heft make a change less likely.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Joe Root, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 James AndersonDavid Warner appears a likely inclusion for Australia following his century for Australia A in South Africa, but the question is for who and where in the batting order. Phillip Hughes is under some pressure following a trio of low scores after his 81* in Nottingham, and Steve Smith is nursing a sore back. Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon are probable bowling inclusions for the injured James Pattinson and Ashton Agar.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Chris Rogers, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steve Smith, 6 David Warner, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Ryan Harris, 11 Nathan Lyon.

Pitch and conditions

The tourists have been greeted by another very dry surface that already shows evidence of cracking, alongside a few curious “burnt” patches. It is quite hard underfoot however, so there will be some bounce on offer to shotmakers and pace bowlers alike. Intermittent rain is forecast for the week.

Stats and trivia

• Don Bradman’s 1936-37 Australian side are the only team ever to have overcome a 2-0 deficit after as many Tests to win the Ashes
• An Australia defeat will hand the tourists seven consecutive Test match losses for the first time since 1888
• Stuart Broad needs one more wicket to become the 15th England bowler to claim 200 in their Test career

Quotes

“As soon as you become distracted you can come unstuck. Yes, we’ve earned the right to be in a pretty good situation in the series. But the series is still alive.”
“I was part of the team that won 16 in a row, so I guess I’m seeing both sides. The reality is you want to win every time you walk out onto the field. But you have to perform at your best to do that. If we don’t and we lose this Test match, we’ll hold a record that I certainly won’t be proud of and I don’t think anyone in the current team will be proud of.”