Adrian Barath has called on his colleagues to help restore the pride of West Indies’ cricket in the final match of the Test series against England

George Dobell05-Jun-2012Adrian Barath has called on his colleagues to help restore the pride of West Indies’ cricket in the final match of the Test series against England at Edgbaston.Barath, like the rest of West Indies’ top four, has struggled to deal with England’s seam attack in the first two Tests, but feels the team have shown signs of improvement and now just need to maintain their performance over a whole game in order to win tangible rewards for their progress. England have already secured the three-Test series with victories in the first two Tests at Lord’s and Trent Bridge.Barath has a point, though. Several times in recent Tests, West Indies have earned a position from which they might have gone on to win. Against India in Delhi – where India eventually won by five wickets – and against Australia in Bridgetown – where Australia won by three wickets – West Indies held the advantage after each side’s first innings. Similarly, when England slumped to 57 for 4 chasing 191 to win in the first Test of the series at Lord’s, West Indies had a wonderful opportunity to clinch a rare victory. On each occasion, however, one poor session has cost West Indies dear and allowed their opponents back into the game.”We are getting ourselves into positions to win Tests over the last couple of months,” Barath said. “Where we need to move forward in our cricket is carrying on for five days. Sometimes we dominate the game for three days, but then we mess up in one session. That’s the mindset we’re working upon. That is what Test cricket is all about. It’s not a couple of hours; it’s over the course of five days. You have to be on the money every day, every hour, every over.”It’s important, having not had any wins in the series so far, that we finish well in this last Test. There is a lot at stake. The pride of West Indies’ cricket has been showing some signs of improvement for the last couple of months. It’s about getting a Test win; getting a win against England. It’s definitely nothing impossible for us. We showed at Lord’s where we got those early wickets. If we had carried on getting wickets anything would have been possible. We’re really looking forward to getting a win here and bringing some pride to the West Indies.”The tourists have strengthened their squad in recent days with the call-up of spinner Sunil Narine. While it is asking a great deal of Narine, a man with only six first-class games behind him, to come into the team for a Test debut after only a few days’ acclimatisation, West Indies may well feel they have little to lose and that ‘mystery’ spin is England’s Achilles heel. Narine looked some way below his best in the nets at Edgbaston on Tuesday and it would remain something of a surprise if he displaced Shane Shillingford, a man who took a ten-wicket haul against Australia only two Tests ago. But Narine’s record – both in his limited first-class career and as arguably the leading bowler in the recent IPL season – is nothing short of exceptional. In those six first-class games he has claimed five five-wicket hauls and, in his last three, he has claimed 31 wickets at an average of under 10.Barath, a fellow Trinidadian, knows Narine’s game as well as anyone and feels he has what it takes to be a success at Test level.”He has the ability to be a world-class bowler,” Barath said. “What is good about him is that he is humble and he is always trying to figure out ways to improve and develop new deliveries. Everyone is looking at him on TV, doing their homework and trying to pick him. But he is always working on a new type of delivery. He is always developing something. A spinner of his capabilities will adjust his pace and flight to the conditions.”Everyone has seen him in T20 and he’s obviously made a name for himself even before he’s played a Test. But I’ve played a couple of first-class matches with him this season and it wasn’t easy. Most of the batsmen were really guessing and just sticking their bat out. I was fielding at bat-pad and I had a lot of catches there. It was not easy. Obviously the conditions are different – the ball doesn’t turn as much in England – but by the fourth and fifth day any good spinner will extract spin.”Barath also admitted to some feelings of relief in the omission of James Anderson from the England team. While Anderson’s series averages are relatively modest – he has claimed nine wickets at an average of 26.88 – he has beaten the bat often and proved particularly dangerous with the new ball.”Any opener would say the same,” Barath said, admitting his delight at Anderson’s absence. “He’s bowled well. He is deservedly England’s cricketer of the year. There is no doubt in that when you face him. At Lord’s he was swinging the ball all over the place – both ways – and bowling the best deliveries, but just not hitting the edge. Broad took seven wickets but Anderson looked like he was the one who would have taken seven wickets. He was unlucky.”Barath also welcomed the return of Chris Gayle to the West Indies limited-overs side. While Gayle’s return came, arguably, at his expense, Barath appeared genuinely excited about the depth of West Indies squad.”He’s been in the set-up for years and everyone has respect for Chris,” Barath said. “It’s great to have him back and he’ll lend experience to our players.”Having Chris in our team makes it really solid. The depth in our batting – with Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Darren and Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Andrew Russell – mean that once we get it right at the top of the order and we get going in the Powerplay it would be difficult to say how could we not chase a big score. Or set one. So once we get it right, we have a good ODI team.”

Yuvraj Singh, Mandeep Singh and Ambati Rayudu have been included in India’s preliminary squad of 30 players for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2012Yuvraj Singh has been included in India’s preliminary squad of 30 players for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka this September. Mandeep Singh, the Punjab batsman who plays for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, and Ambati Rayudu, the Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians batsman, are the only uncapped players in the list.Mandeep has played 13 first-class matches for Punjab and North Zone, scoring 1074 runs at an average of 63. He had a successful IPL 2012 for Kings XI Punjab, finishing the season as the tenth-highest run-scorer, with 432 runs at a strike rate of 126.This selection is also Rayudu’s first call-up to an India shortlist since he returned to the BCCI’s fold after playing the Indian Cricket League (ICL). He’s played 47 matches for Mumbai Indians, making 1084 runs at a strike rate of 128. Rayudu was Mumbai Indians’ second-highest run-scorer in 2012, scoring 333 in 15 innings.This is Yuvraj’s first official inclusion in an India squad following his treatment for a mediastinal seminoma, a rare germ cell cancer, in the United States. His last appearance for India was in a Test match against West Indies in Kolkata in November 2011, and his last one-day match was the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in April that year. Yuvraj had respiratory difficulties through 2011 and in May he withdrew from the ODI series in the West Indies due to an “illness”. He toured England but had to return home after breaking his finger in the Nottingham Test and later played two home Tests against West Indies. However, he then pulled out of the ODI series against West Indies in November citing an “abnormal tumour in his lung”.Yuvraj had originally targeted the CB series in Australia for his return to international cricket. However, he was ruled out of that tournament and travelled to the US in late January for what was later revealed to be cancer treatment. Yuvraj spent three months in Indianapolis’ IU Simon Cancer Centre and returned to India in early April 2012. He is currently training in Bangalore and said he believed Twenty20 was the best format for him to begin his return to competitive cricket.It is understood Yuvraj aims to play at least two matches in the three-day Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai or the four-day KSCA League in Bangalore or the inter-district Katoch Shield tournament in Punjab.Probables: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Mandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Naman Ojha, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, L Balaji.

The writing appears to be on the wall for Worcestershire at the end of a day in which their opening pair applied themselves with admirable diligence to overhaul Durham’s first innings lead of 114

Les Smith at Chester-le-Street22-Aug-2012
ScorecardPhillip Hughes continued his good form in a Worcestershire shirt but his team-mates could not match his contribution•Getty Images

The writing appears to be on the wall for Worcestershire at the end of a day in which their opening pair applied themselves with admirable diligence to overhaul Durham’s first innings lead of 114, and then some, only for the remaining nine wickets to fall for the addition of only 116. They were undone by the contrasting bowling partnership of Callum Thorp and Scott Borthwick and, in several cases, by their own recklessness.On either side of the lunch interval the game was dominated by Phillip Hughes. The young Australian, playing with all the off-side dash and flair that first brought him to notice in his homeland and led to selection in 17 Test matches so far, dominated a redemptive opening partnership with Daryl Mitchell.He struck 18 boundaries in scoring his second first-class century for Worcestershire this summer but flashed at a wide one shortly afterwards and top edged to Phil Mustard behind the stumps. That is Phil Hughes: his approach makes him a delight to watch, but nothing ever quite feels permanent about him. He had also been dropped in the covers by Ben Stokes off Graham Onions when on 68.When Hughes departed with the score on 148 he had scored 70% of his side’s runs and the onus was on his team-mates to build on the start he had given them, but once Thorp and Borthwick were in harness the game tipped back in Durham’s favour. The pair are separated by 15 years in age and by their bowling styles – medium pace and legspin – but they looked like a natural partnership as they chipped away at Worcestershire’s middle and lower order during the afternoon and evening.It was Stokes who removed both openers but from then on it was the Thorp and Borthwick show. Thorp ran in athletically from the Finchale End and exploited what movement still remained in a pitch that attracted the attention of pitch liaison officer Jack Birkenshaw on Tuesday. His first two wickets came in the space of two balls, the first when Vikram Solanki top-edged a pull shot which, in the context of the game, was somewhat reckless and the second when Joe Leach edged to slip.Neil Pinner played neither forward or back to a straight ball and was trapped in front of his stumps, Scott had his off stump comprehensively removed and the innings ended when Alan Richardson whacked a ball high over mid-on to give Mark Stoneman an excellent third catch of the innings, though it was not his best.Meanwhile Borthwick was wheeling out his nagging legspin at the Lumley End. Matthew Pardoe, who had top scored in Worcestershire’s first innings, survived a sharp chance to Will Smith at third slip off Stokes before he had scored, but then continued in the unfussy manner which had brought dividends. When he had reached 21, however, he became the first of two batsmen to fall to the combination of Borthwick’s spin and Stoneman’s accomplished hands.The second instance was the stand out moment of the day. Moeen Ali, who had scored 19 accomplished runs, turned a ball from in front of his pad and Stoneman swooped brilliantly to grab the ball with his left hand inches from the turf. Borthwick’s third victim was Gareth Andrew, who might reflect that while the ball did hurry on to him and into his pads, his selection of a pull shot to a straight delivery so early in his innings was not the wisest.Durham had four potentially tricky overs to negotiate at the end of the day, as they began what looked to be a comfortable pursuit of 151 to win. The day came to a conclusion when Smith, attempting to leave a ball from Chris Russell, played on for 2.Worcestershire will have to manage something special on Thursday to give themselves hope for the rest of the Championship season, however. If they are to go on and avoid relegation it will be without the assistance of James Cameron, who played his last game for the club against Lancashire at New Road last week. The 26-year-old Zimbabwean has decided to leave the professional game to pursue a career in financial services.

Asked to score 354 runs in a minimum of 64 overs, Australia A treated England’s lunchtime declaration as nothing more than a rhetorical question

Paul Edwards at Old Trafford10-Aug-2012
Scorecard
Jonny Bairstow made his second century in recent weeks before England Lions declared•Getty Images

This game ended rather as though it was the conclusion to the first major skirmish in a five-match series. Asked to score 354 runs in a minimum of 64 overs, Australia A treated England’s lunchtime declaration as nothing more than a rhetorical question and were perfectly justified in doing so.Having managed a rate of just 2.81 runs an over in their first innings, the tourists were never going to embrace the challenge of rattling along at 5.53 an over in their second. Clearly, therefore, Ed Cowan’s batsmen were not set a target; they were set a task, that of surviving two sessions against the England A attack. They did the job reasonably well, finishing the match on 144 for 4. For their part, the home side could argue that it is even more important not to risk defeat in the first of what is only a two-match series. The sides begin the second game at Edgbaston next Tuesday.Australia A lost four wickets in their second innings but these successes were moments when the game awoke with a startle before settling back into an increasingly deep sleep: Cowan, who had looked very impressive in making 99 in the first innings, nicked a fine ball from James Harris straight to Samit Patel at second slip in the tenth over; conversely, Liam Davis, who had not caught the eye on Wednesday, batted smoothly for his 43 runs before he edged Patel to Jonny Bairstow, who took his third fine slip catch of the match.Tom Cooper conjured his own dismissal, when his sweep off James Tredwell ricocheted to the suddenly ubiquitous Patel at silly point; and two overs before the players shook hands Tim Paine fatally snicked Stuart Meaker to Tredwell, who was then fielding at slipFor most of the innings Michael Klinger batted with studied care and ended with 65 not out off 148 balls. He added 60 runs in 27 overs for the second wicket with Davis and 38 for the fourth with Paine. Klinger’s occasional acts of aggression, such as his straight six off Tredwell, were far outnumbered by shots which revealed a careful defence and a tight technique, the type of batting, in other words, that has distinguished matches between England and Australia for well over a century.Eoin Morgan’s attack stuck to its task but Tredwell and Simon Kerrigan never threatened to cause the dam-burst of wickets their alliance had prompted in the first innings. Patel bowled only six overs in the match and will probably not be complaining too loudly this evening. The Old Trafford wicket and square have been examined to perdition at almost every interval by a group of pitch inspectors this week, but the strip that will, apparently, be used for next year’s Ashes Test held up very well and certainly harboured no demons on the final afternoon.The morning’s play saw the Lions batsmen prosper, no one more so than Bairstow, who took his overnight 73 not out to 139 in 75 minutes’ savage batting before he gave Peter Forrest a maiden first-class wicket when he edged the medium-pacer to Paine.The Yorkshireman dispatched Jon Holland’s second ball of the morning through midwicket for four and it served almost as a declaration of supremacy. He later stroked Mitchell Johnson over square-leg for six with an easeful flick. The ball was almost feathered but it went miles. Bairstow’s innings, which included 20 fours and a couple of sixes, may not win the him a recall to the Test side but it revealed, once again, his remarkable ability to make international bowlers look like journeymen.”Hopefully Jonny’s innings will have reminded him and us as to the talent he has in his game,” David Parsons, England’s performance director, said. “You always worry how players will respond to being left out, and he would have been very disappointed when that happened. But he got a hundred for Yorkshire recently and and played positively here. When his time comes next, who knows when it will be, hopefully that experience of the three Test matches he’s had will have done him the world of good.”It was not a comfortable morning for the Australia A attack. Slow left-armer Holland gained some reward for his accuracy and ended the innings with 3 for 89, but Johnson was wayward and went for 75 in 11 overs. This was in sharp contrast to his excellent display in the first innings. And indeed, when Bairstow was not flaying the bowling to the cranes, scaffolding and half-built stands that surround Old Trafford, Craig Kieswetter was doing so. The Somerset keeper made 66 off 94 deliveries and whacked Cooper for two sixes in an over as the Lions racked up 157 runs in 34 overs prior to the declaration.

Former India players Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Manjrekar have questioned the hasty comeback of Yuvraj Singh after he recovered from cancer earlier this year

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2012Former India players Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Manjrekar have questioned the hasty comeback of Yuvraj Singh after he recovered from cancer earlier this year. Both feel he is not back to full fitness. Shastri said Yuvraj should be left out for the crucial Super Eights match against Pakistan on Sunday, and Manjrekar said he should have been left out of the game against Australia too.”My contention is, [for] eight months Yuvraj Singh has hardly played cricket, and when it comes to India vs Pakistan I’m not the kind to get emotional,” Shastri told . “I want to pick the best team and beat them. You can’t be sentimental here, but be practical.””My team would have Sehwag opening the innings, especially against Australia,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo. “I think it was an opportunity missed, because that was the kind of attack Sehwag likes on this kind of a pitch.”I would have dropped Yuvraj Singh from my team in that last match, purely because we have seen in the last few matches Yuvraj Singh is still not quite 70% or 80%, maybe it is time now to slowly get him to work on his fitness, keep him involved in Indian cricket, but leaving out Sehwag was not such a good idea because he does what you need right at the start of the innings: put the opposition under pressure.”Yuvraj was included in the World Twenty20 squad, ahead of Ajinkya Rahane, even before he had had any serious match practice, and has played only a handful of T20s since undergoing chemotherapy in March. Shastri said Yuvraj’s rustiness was obvious.”We got to see if Yuvraj is 100% fit, and let’s not think about Yuvraj 10 months ago,” Shastri said. “No question that he straight away could have walked into any side in world cricket at that time, but having seen him he’s still rusty and he’s still a bit slow.” Yuvraj has scored 60 runs in four T20I matches, and taken four wickets since his return.Yuvraj is not the only thorny issue Dhoni has to grapple with. Sehwag’s exclusion from the previous match, in which Australia thrashed India by nine wickets, has divided opinion. Shastri said he should be picked against Pakistan at the expense of Yuvraj. “If you go in with three fast bowlers and two spinners, then you have to think about your batting line-up and if Sehwag has to come – which I think he should – then who do you drop in that middle order, and one batsman that comes up is Yuvraj Singh.”It’s not the question of what Yuvraj Singh can do but what is his current state of mind after what he has done and you have to respect that. You can’t be too greedy and ask too much from that body that quickly.”Shastri also talked up the impact Sehwag could have on the Pakistan match. “You just have to look at Sehwag’s record against Pakistan – it’s Bradman-like when you look at his average against them. So Sehwag will have the psychological edge when he gets out there plus the fact that he’s been asked to sit out, and I think rightly so, in the last game against Australia, he’ll be fired up.” Sehwag averages 91.14 against Pakistan in Tests, but only 35.72 against them in ODIs, which is almost exactly the same as his career average. He has played only one T20I against them.Sehwag’s omission in the last game effectively facilitated the inclusion of a third specialist spinner, who had combined figures of 6.5-0-66-0 against Australia. Manjrekar was against going in with three of them for the Pakistan match. “The key is going to be the pitch, let’s assume the pitch is going to be the same as we had in the last match, still three spinners is a bit too much, Sehwag has to come back in,” he said.”Even if they want Yuvraj Singh in there, they can get Virender Sehwag in and maybe drop one spinner, either Harbhajan Singh or Piyush Chawla, the choice is up to the captain who they want. I would go for a variation, because when you have Chawla you have a variation of R Ashwin and Chawla as the legspinner, but after his last performance I doubt whether Chawla will get another match if India is playing two specialist spinners.”Shastri said there was no need to play three spinners, given the number of part-time options India had. He also said there was no way India should be opening with Irfan Pathan, which denies their best batsmen the use of crucial overs of a 20-over match.India’s big defeat against Australia means their net run-rate has taken a beating, and they will probably need to win both their remaining Super Eight matches to qualify.

Lions opened their One Day Cup campaign with a crushing victory over Titans in Centurion

Firdose Moonda03-Nov-2012
ScorecardLions recovered from their Champions League T20 final defeat in blazing fashion when they beat Titans by 269 runs in the first match of the domestic one-day competition in Centurion.For Titans, it was more heartache. After they lost to Sydney Sixers off the last ball of their CLT20 semi-final, they slumped to the lowest total in a domestic limited-overs competition in South African history. They were bowled out for 60 in response to Lions’ massive 329 for 6 and that, after they put Lions in to bat on a belter.Stephen Cook, who did not take part in the CLT20 but has been in training throughout, led the way with a 122-ball 125. He shared in a 161-run opening partnership with Gulam Bodi, who was the second top run-scorer of the CLT20. The pair out on their runs in 28 overs before Bodi top-edged a sweep shot to square leg off Paul Harris.Quinton de Kock, Grant Mokoena and Neil McKenzie were all dismissed cheaply and Lions had been reined in to 255 for 5 in the 44th over. Jean Symes, who also had a good CLT20 campaign, provided the late burst. His 43 off 27 balls included five fours and two sixes to take Lions over the 300-run mark.Surprisingly, Harris, Ethy Mbhalati and Roelof van der Merwe conceded under six runs an over but Rowan Richards and CJ de Villiers took punishment. Richards was a victim of Cook’s onslaught and conceded 78 while de Villiers bowled his 10 overs for 70.The pitch would have not made Lions’ bowlers think they would get away with an easy outing and they would have been surprised to see that they did. Titans were 34 for 9 in the 16th over and all out inside 19 overs. Titans’ scorecard included four ducks and only two batsmen got into double figures.Hardus Viljoen, who used to open the bowling with Marchant de Lange at Easterns, bowled a blistering spell upfront. With fiery pace in the upper 140kphs, he took 6 for 19 and showed off seam movement. Chris Morris and Ethan O’Reilly didn’t have much to share between them but picked up one and three wickets respectively. David Wiese managed 24 of 26 balls but it will be little consolation for Titans who have now lost three of their last four matches against Lions.

Jacques Kallis will play in the third Test in Perth if he is fit enough to bat and field, although he will definitely not bowl

Firdose Moonda at Adelaide Oval26-Nov-2012Jacques Kallis will play in the third Test in Perth if he is fit enough to bat and field, although he will definitely not bowl. South Africa called up allrounder Ryan McLaren as cover but are hopeful Kallis will be ready to bat at No.4, even after it was revealed that he would have exacerbated his hamstring injury by batting in both innings to help save the Adelaide Test.Kallis batted nearly two hours in the first innings for 58, and for two and a half hours in the second to make 47. He came in at No. 9 and No. 7 and had match-saving partnerships with Faf du Plessis on each occasion.Not one to show much emotion, Kallis was in discomfort throughout his time at the crease and battled to run between the wickets. Still, he told team-mates the injury did not cause him even a fraction of the pain he had suffered during a century with a side strain against India in January 2011. Kallis was on the physiotherapist Brandon Jackson’s bench for many hours of this Test and will spend more time there in the next three days.”I know he [Kallis] is working hard with Jacko and I know he wants to be a part of Perth,” Graeme Smith said after his team drew the second Test. “He is definitely not going to bowl but he could play as a batter.”If Kallis plays purely as a batsman, South Africa’s strategy would be different to the one Australia employed with their allrounder Shane Watson. A calf injury had ruled Watson out of the first Test and team management had indicated he would be recalled for the second only if he could bat and bowl.South Africa also have top-order batsman Dean Elgar in the squad as a possible replacement for Kallis, but Smith said they had not made a decision about who will step in if necessary. “If he [Kallis] is not fit, we will deal with it in the same way we have dealt with the other things that have dealt us a curve ball in the series,” Smith said.South Africa had suffered a major blow when they lost JP Duminy to a ruptured Achilles’ tendon after the first day of the Brisbane Test. They had to play with ten men for the rest of the match and were short a spinner in the attack. They were dealt a less severe blow when Kallis left the field after bowling 3.3 overs in Adelaide. Although he could not bowl, Kallis was cleared to bat in both innings.The Kallis injury occurred a few hours after Vernon Philander had been ruled out of the second Test with lower-back spasms that he sustained overnight. Philander was expected to recover in time for the Perth Test but given the bad luck South Africa have had in Australia, Smith was reserved about clearing him to play. “He is bowling and we expect him to fully fit for Perth. When we toss the coin, I will tell you if everything is fine.”

Sydney Sixers, the reigning Champions League and Big Bash League trophy holders, have bolstered their squad for this summer by signing the Pakistani batsman Umar Akmal

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2012Sydney Sixers, the reigning Champions League and Big Bash League trophy holders, have bolstered their squad for this summer by signing the Pakistani batsman Umar Akmal.Like his national team-mate Shahid Afridi at Sydney Thunder, Akmal will be available for the Sixers’ first three BBL matches, offering the kind of aggressive batting he has exhibited for Pakistan since his debut as a 19-year-old in 2009.”I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the Big Bash League when the Sixers approached me,” Akmal said.”I’m looking forward to spending December in Australia and will be aiming to assist them to go back to back and win the tournament again.”The Sixers have also signed the New South Wales rookie-contracted batsman Daniel Hughes, an opening batsman for the North Sydney grade club.Hughes can be expected to slot into the Sixers’ top order once David Warner departs for his expected national duty.

South Africa’s one-day cup final will be replayed on Saturday after it was washed out on Friday with 16.2 overs played

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers15-Dec-2012
ScorecardSouth Africa’s one-day cup final will be replayed on Saturday after it was washed out on Friday with 16.2 overs played. The match will start again from scratch, which means the 64 for 4 notched up by Cape Cobras in their innings will count for nothing. A new toss also means new teams can be announced.That will come as welcome news to both sides, who had to leave a player out through injury. Justin Kemp failed a fitness test for Cobras just before the match was due to start and was replaced by Vernon Philander. With extra time, Kemp’s hamstring may hold-up for the replayed match. Lions’ allrounder Chris Morris was also ruled out at the 11th hour. He is carrying a quad strain and may only be able to play by Wednesday but will probably have a fitness test again.Both teams fielded the other international players available to them. Dale Steyn, Rory Kleinveldt and Robin Peterson turned out for the Cobras with Alviro Petersen and Imran Tahir in the Lions XI. It was during a Tahir over that play stopped.The legspinner, fresh from a humiliating experience on the Australia tour where he conceded 260 runs without taking a wicket in the Adelaide Test, bowled his first over for just three runs and had bowled two balls of the second when a massive thunderstorm began. The players had earlier left the field for 45 minutes when rain interrupted play the first time with the Cobras on 22 for 2.Hardus Viljoen did all the damage for the Lions. He removed the Cobras top-order – having Andrew Puttick caught at second slip and the dangerous Richard Levi at first. A ball after the break, Viljoen trapped Dane Vilas lbw and then had Stiaan van Zyl caught behind. Cobras were in trouble for 36 for 4 but Justin Ontong and Yaseen Vallie had begun the counter-attack.Lions will be aggrieved that their efforts will count for nought as both sides resume with clean sheets tomorrow.

Sri Lanka have a number of young players in their squad keen to get an experience of Australian conditions before the 2015 World Cup

Brydon Coverdale in Melbourne10-Jan-2013In choosing their squad for the start of this series, Australia’s selectors made no attempt to hide the fact that they were starting to plan for the 2015 World Cup. Sri Lanka might not have trumpeted it, but they too are looking ahead to that tournament. They have been for some time. While they haven’t rested veterans and other key players for this series – Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Rangana Herath are all in their mid-30s – they have ensured there is plenty of youth in the group.There is Akila Dananjaya, the 19-year-old offspinner who emerged last year as a net bowler who had seemingly mastered the doosra and the carrom ball. There is Kushal Perera, the uncapped 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman. There is Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne and Thisara Perera, all of whom have become ODI regulars in the past two years, yet are still in the 22-23 age group. Those last three already have experience of conditions in Australia, where the next World Cup will be held. Further exposure will be invaluable.”It’s a very young squad. I think after the last World Cup we’ve gone in that direction, when we came to Australia for the triangular [series] as well last year we had a very young team,” Jayawardene said ahead of the first ODI in Melbourne. “Chandimal, Thirimanne, all those guys are regulars in the one-day team, so going forward you need to look at that [the World Cup]. It’s in about another two years’ time so all those guys will be looked at.”The couple of young spinners we’ve bought in, Ajantha [Mendis] is coming back after an injury layoff, Akila Dananjaya is here as well so those guys will get the exposure they require to bowl in these wickets. We’re definitely looking at developing a side for the next four or five years.”While spin might not be the weapon that it can be at home in Sri Lanka, the quality of Mendis, Herath and Dananjaya will make them difficult propositions for Australia’s batsmen – even considering the new rules that allow only four fielders outside the circle. Jayawardene said Mendis would draw confidence from his strong record against Australia in the shorter formats, though mostly in T20, and for Dananjaya the trip would be a valuable learning experience.”Ajantha is a class act and he’ll come in with a lot of confidence, knowing that he has had a lot of success against them, but it’s just another game of cricket,” Jayawardene said. “He has to deliver. We’ve got a lot of variations in our bowling line-up. That’s something that we will try and make use of to create some problems for that line-up. Most of our spinners are looking forward to the opportunity of bowling in these conditions and trying to improve their tricks and see how they can become better bowlers outside Sri Lanka.”We’ll see how it goes with Akila. We wanted him to come and learn. [He may get] an opportunity – we’ve got a lot of cricket, seven matches is a lot of games. Hopefully he will get a bit of a taste of Australia as well. We just want him to develop into a bowler that we want him to be. This is the start of it. This is his first tour away from Sri Lanka. It will be a good investment for us.”We’ve had the opportunity to play in Australia the last three years now, so most of the guys have had that opportunity. The guys who haven’t had that opportunity, it will be great for them, especially on different wickets because every venue will provide us with a different surface. We need to adjust to those surfaces pretty quickly. That will be a challenge and the guys will learn from that.”But spin isn’t Sri Lanka’s only weapon in the limited-overs games. The presence of Lasith Malinga, who has spent the past few weeks in the Big Bash League convincing Australians he is unplayable, is a major boost. David Hussey said this week Malinga, his Melbourne Stars team-mate, was in the form of his life. That kind of hype cannot hurt the Sri Lankans.”I saw what Huss has [said about Malinga],” Jayawardene said. “He’s got people thinking, that’s good. It’s good to know that people are thinking about it obviously and they’ll probably expect those deliveries to come at them as well. We’ve got a few other guys who have got that x-factor in our line-up. As long as one or the other clicks and gets the job done for us on the day.”