Cape Cobras allrounder Rory Kleinvedlt, who has played two Twenty20s for South Africa, has been withdrawn from the Cobras squad for the rest of the MiWay T20 challenge after testing positive for a banned substance

Firdose Moonda16-Mar-2012Cape Cobras allrounder Rory Kleinveldt, who has played two Twenty20s for South Africa, has been withdrawn from the Cobras squad for the rest of the MiWay T20 challenge after testing positive for a banned substance. The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) advised that Kleinveldt be omitted as a “precaution”.”Kleinveldt has returned a positive sample in a routine anti-doping test,” SACA said in a release. “The test reveals the presence of a specified substance in Kleinveldt’s test sample. SACA will be reviewing the medical evidence as soon as it is available and will only be in a position to make further comment thereafter.”The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) explains a specified substance as one that can is more “susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation”. Kleinveldt may request a B sample test if he is unhappy with the result of the initial doping test.Richard Pybus, coach of the Cobras, said the franchise’s staff would provide Kleinveldt with “all the support he needs”, although he admitted to being “disappointed” at having to do without his services for the rest of the Twenty20 campaign. The Cobras lie fourth on the table and need to win all their remaining matches to stand a chance to automatically progress to the final. The team that finishes first will avoid a play-off and proceed straight to the final, while the second and third placed teams will contest a knockout match to decide who earns the right to a Champions League ticket.Kleinveldt, who was included in the South Africa squad for the ODI series against Sri Lanka in January, becomes the second player from the country in the last two years to fail an anti-doping test. Vaughn van Jaarsveld, the Dolphins batsman, completed a three-month ban in January after a substance in the diet pills he was prescribed to consume was found to be on WADA’s prohibited list.

Lancashire displayed the determination and resolve that went a long way to securing their first championship title in 77 years last summer as they tore aside a lackadaisical MCC batting display in the season’s opener in Abu Dhabi.

Graham Hardcastle in Abu Dhabi28-Mar-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSteven Croft is bowled by Lewis Gregory as Lancashire are bowled out for 199•Graham Morris

Lancashire displayed the determination and resolve that went a long way to securing their first championship title in 77 years last summer as they tore aside a lackadaisical MCC batting display in the season’s opener in Abu Dhabi.They made a habit of achieving the improbable in 2011, and they have given themselves a real chance of doing it again at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium after reducing the MCC to 81-8, a lead of 148, with some high-class bowling in the final session.Lancashire were in choppy waters at 106 for 7 just before lunch on a pitch offering help to all bowlers, but Glen Chapple, their captain, top-scored with 42 as the last three wickets put on 93 and then the bowlers showed their mettle.Peter Moores, Lancashire’s coach, has seen such recoveries before. “It’s been a typical Lancashire game,” he said. “We’ve got ourselves behind the eight-ball and scrapped very hard to get out of trouble. It’s a bit of a trademark for us. We don’t lie down easily. It doesn’t mean you’re always going to win, but you give yourselves a chance.”Because we’re a very close team, you can always expect someone to find something from somewhere. If it doesn’t work at the top, it’s likely to at the bottom. If it isn’t Chapple or Keedy with the ball, it will probably work for Smith or Mahmood.”In fact, Lancashire were handed the advantage by Simon Kerrigan, their left-arm spinner, who struck three times in a three-over second spell at a cost of just two runs as the MCC collapsed from 67 for 3 to 80 for 8. Tom Smith started the tumble of wickets with a couple of scalps, including the key one of Blackwell, before Kerrigan got Niall O’Brien, Stephen Peters and Batty – the last two in a double wicket maiden.Lewis Gregory had earlier played a key bowling role for the MCC. Gregory, a recent England under 19s captain, returned his best figures in first-class cricket in only his fifth game by removing Steven Croft and Luke Procter, prospering at the North End which offered more encouragement to quick bowlers in the desert stadium.Gregory, at 19, is the youngest player in the match, and he is trying to make a name for himself in longer form of the game having impressed last summer – his breakthrough campaign – in 40-over and Twenty20 cricket. After suffering a back injury last year, the seamer has worked hard during the winter months at remodelling his action to try to become a bigger threat with the red ball.”I had the stress reaction last summer, which is on the way to a stress fracture,” he said. “I haven’t had many injury problems before because I didn’t bowl a great deal as a youngster, so it was frustrating.”I’ve done quite a lot of work on my action this winter to try and get more momentum going towards the batter and through the crease. It’s definitely helped my red-ball cricket. I’m starting to swing the ball a bit more, but I’m not quite there yet, confidence wise. In terms of pace, I’m a little bit behind where I want to be because I haven’t felt confident enough just to let it go yet.”To start the season with my best figures after all the work I’ve done in the winter is a big bonus. Hopefully I can go on to bigger and better things.”Edited by David Hopps

Glamorgan lose again, failing in a chase of 263 on the final day

Ivo Tennant at West End26-May-2012
ScorecardMarcus North’s experience is vital for Glamorgan but he couldn’t take them to victory on the final day at West End•Getty Images

If Glamorgan were ever to win a championship match, it should have been now. Needing 210 on this final day with eight wickets remaining, Marcus North appearing in pugilistic form at the crease to combat a rather one-dimensional attack that lacked a specialist spinner, they fell short. For them, an exasperating result after winning the toss and gaining a first innings lead. For Hampshire, a second victory of the season.If Glamorgan were to win, then North, with scores of 79, 21 and 70 to his name following his recovery from a broken finger, would have to play another substantial innings. That much was axiomatic.This became even more pressing a matter when Gareth Rees went leg before to James Tomlinson, aiming to mid on, after adding just four runs to his overnight 17.North has not had his central contract in Australia renewed and, at 32, is unlikely to play Test cricket again. He has, though, joined Glamorgan at an important time, for never can a county have been more in need of a substantial contribution from an overseas cricketer.Again he did not let them down, collecting runs all round the wicket and, clearly determining that Liam Dawson’s left arm spin was the vulnerable element of Hampshire’s attack, he started to pick out the boundary boards.North struck Dawson for three fours in an over and nothing looked more apparent than that he would reach a century. Yet the very next over he was bowled by a ball from David Balcombe that kept almost as low as the shooter which beat Michael Bates the previous day. North scored his 69 runs off 102 balls with 11 fours and, with his departure, seemingly went Glamorgan’s prospects of a first victory of the season.That appeared even more likely after lunch when Ben Wright, having made 32, was taken by Dawson at second slip off Balcombe, and then, two balls later, Jim Allenby was held by Bates off Tomlinson. This was 168 for 6. Mark Wallace and John Glover, who has had an impressive few days as a result of being given the new ball in the absence of three seamers, fell back on consolidation.This lasted until the pair had taken the score to 212, 51 runs short of victory. Glover prodded forward at Dawson and was taken at silly point by Simon Katich. Hereabouts Hampshire could have done with Danny Briggs, their leading spin bowler, playing in this match, but they, too, had taken due heed of the grass left on the surface. Still, they captured the important wicket of Wallace in the next over. He flashed at Kabir Ali and edged to the one slip – that man Katich. Then, without addition, Dean Cosker swept at Dawson, ambitiously if not riskily, and was leg before. Kabir finished off the innings by having Mike Reed held at short leg, trying to fend off a short ball.Credit to Nigel Gray, the head groundsman who evidently knew exactly what he was doing by leaving so much grass on this pitch. It was indistinguishable from the rest of the square at the outset. Had high-class seamers of yesteryear bowled on it on the first morning, goodness knows how many wickets would have fallen. But Gray knew, after all, that this was a second division match.

Jesse Ryder will not be getting a central contract from New Zealand board for the next season, NZC CEO David White has confirmed

Sidharth Monga30-May-2012Jesse Ryder and NZC have agreed to avoid a national contract this year, but Ryder’s manager and friend, Aaron Klee, squashed any fears Ryder might be looking at becoming a free agent in the various Twenty20 leagues across the world. The decision was made at Ryder’s routine yearly review, a process every contracted New Zealand player goes through.Ryder, Klee, New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association chief Heath Mills, NZC’s director of cricket John Buchanan and manager Mike Sandle were present at the review. Outgoing coach John Wright was not. Ryder tweeted the review went on for three hours. He also tweeted, “Looking forward to playing for NZ again when The time is rite.”NZC CEO David White is in England for an ICC meeting, but he said he was pleased with the outcome of the meeting. “All of the evidence shows that Jesse is on the right track, both on and off the field, but we’re aware that there are still steps to be made. While cricket remains an important part of his life, it is his health and well-being that need to be the primary focus.”Jesse wants to concentrate on his personal goals without the media pressures, commercial pressures and other demands associated with being a contracted player. This decision is fully endorsed by the NZCPA and NZC.”The outcome of the meeting was hardly unexpected, but there has been speculation around that the various Twenty20 leagues around the world could tempt Ryder into following several West Indies cricketers down the freelance route. Ryder’s manager, though, reassured he still wanted to get back to playing for New Zealand.”He is not playing any cricket at the moment,” Klee said. “He is at home. If there are cricket opportunities – it’s his job, it’s his living – he could look at them. Short, sharp opportunities, but certainly not looking at this as freelance. The IPL was great, it provided him an opportunity to get the wheels back on the track, but Jesse still wants to play for New Zealand. There are certain things he needs to do in the meantime, and if it takes a certain period of time now, it is important to take that opportunity to do that now.”Klee said Ryder didn’t yet feel ready to commit to a full-time contract. “If he had accepted a contract you are basically obliged to play,” Klee said. “You are basically in a breach of contract if you say, ‘No I can’t play a certain tour’. Eleven months of the year touring, spent playing, all that time playing cricket, we could end up being where we were a few months ago. We don’t want to do that.”Klee said Ryder had made good progress since his one-match suspension for breaking team protocol, and didn’t want to undo the good work by hurrying back. Ryder then took a break from all cricket, but has since made a comeback in the IPL. He has also taken professional help, travelling to India with his clinical psychiatrist Karen Nimmo.”We are on a good track,” Klee said. “We need to carry on this track. It was Jesse’s idea [to not seek a new contract]. He wants to continue what he is doing, and he has been doing very well. To be able to continue to do that, it’s too much of a commitment under the contract.”There is no time frame for Ryder’s comeback to national plans. Nor is he asked to come back with certain improvements before he is considered by New Zealand again. “There is nothing like that discussed today,” Klee said. “It’s very much in Jesse’s court. When he feels ready we will communicate that to NZC. The great thing is, they have given Jesse some space to do what he needs to do.”

Ireland A produced a miraculous fightback to beat Gloucestershire 2nd XI at Bath. They chased 411 to win on the final day in 92 overs.

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2012Andrew Balbirnie has played four ODIs for Ireland•International Cricket Council

Ireland A produced a miraculous fightback to beat Gloucestershire 2nd XI at Bath. They chased 411 to win in 92 overs on the final day.With the wicket taking an increasing amount of spin and Ireland A 98 for 3, any chance of victory looked remote. But Andrew Balbirnie played a match-winning innings, striking 19 fours in a 201-ball knock. He added 178 for the fourth wicket with Stuart Thompson, who hit 14 boundaries of his own for a 122-ball 93 but he was dismissed with135 still required to win.John Anderson – who made a first-innings 72 – arrived at the crease and he and Balbirnie added a further 79 but it was left to Balbirnie to take his side to the target.”We knew it was a flat pitch and if you got in, then you could score quickly,” Balbirnie said. “I had a bit of luck early on but as the innings progressed I got more confident and started to hit the ball cleanly. We knew we had to build partnerships and that was the key to the win. Stuart Thompson played superbly, and that was a great knock from John Anderson when things could have gone wrong.”Balbirnie had already scored a century against Gloucestershire 2nd XI, having made 100 not out at Bristol last season playing for Middlesex second XI. He also played in the World Cricket League in the Netherlands in 2010.

Scott Styris, the former New Zealand allrounder, has described his 37-ball hundred in Sussex’s FLt20 quarter-final victory over Gloucestershire as one of his “better” innings

Alan Gardner25-Jul-2012Scott Styris, the former New Zealand allrounder, has described his 37-ball hundred in Sussex’s FLt20 quarter-final victory over Gloucestershire as one of his “better” innings – which is perhaps underselling the joint third-fastest ton in the history of Twenty20 cricket.Styris hit five fours and nine sixes to finish on 100 not out, his second T20 century, as Sussex totalled 230 for 3, the highest score in this season’s tournament. Sussex have been in formidable form, losing just once in the South Group (and only after securing top spot), and progressed with a 39-run win despite being 3 for 2 early on.Matt Prior – who hit 60 off 38 balls – and Murray Goodwin rapidly rebuilt, before Styris blew Gloucestershire away. He was particularly cruel on James Fuller, who conceded 38 off the 18th over, striking three fours and three sixes in between a couple of no-balls, though Styris said he only noticed the hundred was a possibility at the start of the final over, when he was on 85. Two sixes off Liam Norwell’s first two balls helped him get there with room to spare.Styris, who is playing for his fourth county, will now get the chance to appear in his first Finals Day, on August 25, and he was understandably pleased with the knock that took Sussex through.”I’m sure it’s up there with some of the better ones I’ve played,” Styris said, “it’s always nice in a knockout game to put on a good score and help your team win. I’m looking forward to Finals Day, I haven’t been there before, and hopefully it’s a chance to win a trophy.”Even at 3 for 2, Matt Prior came out and played really well and put us back on track. At one point we were thinking that we should only get 160-180 but thankfully the hitting at the end enabled us to get a score that was well above par.”I didn’t even realise I was close to the hundred until it was the last over, when I saw I was on 85. Only about then I thought I’ll give it a bit of a dip to see if I can get there.”Styris is now out in front in the race for the Walter Lawrence Trophy – for the fastest hundred scored in the English season – but the 37-year-old was keen to credit his Sussex team-mates for their T20 success.”Our front three have been particularly good in this tournament and got us off to flying starts,” he said. “Murray Goodwin has put in performances as well, Chris Liddle with the ball, so we’ve had six, seven or eight guys who have been outstanding pretty much the whole way through and that’s meant we’ve won a lot of games but also dominated a lot of games too.”Styris retired from internationals in 2011 and has not played first-class cricket since 2010 and believes he has become better at T20 since dedicating himself to the shortest form of the game. While other players have to adjust their training between the formats – there was a round of County Championship matches between the FLt20 group stage and the quarter-finals – Styris “can just stand there and practice hitting the ball out of the ground, which is obviously a lot more fun too”.Having experienced T20 cricket around the world, as well as with several counties going back to 2005, Styris suggested that the English competition in its current incarnation could do with “sprucing up”. But he argued that spreading out games, rather than playing in a dedicated block, would deter overseas players from participating, as well as prevent teams from building up useful momentum in the format.”I definitely don’t want to see it spread out across the season, that would probably take away all the overseas players,” Styris said. “I do think it needs a bit of a spruce up. How they do that, it’s up to them, whether it be a city-based franchise system – the Big Bash League worked very well last year, and was very popular even in New Zealand.”What I do think they need to do is make sure the quarter-finals and the Finals Day are straight after the tournament. It’s highly annoying, to be perfectly honest, that you have to sit around for two weeks after your last group game and then another month before Finals Day, you lose all the momentum that you’ve built up and you could even lose the interest of the public, when they have to sit there and wait for six weeks to find out who the winner of the competition is.”We were absolutely flying at the end of the group stages, so the concern yesterday was that we’d lost our rhythm with the batting, because you do focus those skills for a month and you get into a bit of a groove with it.” Luckily for Sussex, that concern was misplaced.

Under normal circumstances, the camera crews might have been at Lord’s because Andrew Strauss was about to become the ninth England player to appear in 100 Tests. But these are not normal circumstances

George Dobell15-Aug-2012Under normal circumstances, the camera crews crowding around Andrew Strauss might have been at Lord’s to ask him about becoming only the ninth England player to appear in 100 Tests. In normal circumstances, Strauss might have expected to be asked to reflect on his career, his achievements and, perhaps his future.But these are not normal circumstances. Instead Strauss has spent the run-up to an important game that will settle, for now, the title of the best Test team in the world, embroiled in an increasingly unseemly dispute between the ECB and Kevin Pietersen.Strauss would not claim to be the most talented man to have played for England. He would not claim to be the most inventive of captains, either. But, through a long and successful career, he has, as John Betjeman put it, never cheated, never doubted. He has displayed the timeless virtues of decency, honesty and modesty. If captaincy is about inspiring by individual performance and tactical brilliance, then Strauss is an also-ran. But if it is about leadership and uniting and instilling common values and goals, he has been excellent.He is an old-fashioned cricketer; a cricketer who soon abandoned any pretence at brilliance in T20 and who plays for honour and pride. But now he finds himself in a brave new world of texts and tweets, of PR and positioning, of multi-million dollar IPL deals and score-settling books. A world not short of cliques and arrogance. Strauss is a decent man in an increasingly indecent world.But, in time, it may be reflected that the Lord’s Test was the moment that Strauss reclaimed control of his England team. This was, after all, a team he inherited at a low-ebb for English cricket – the captain and coach had been fired and they were bowled out in a session Jamaica – and guided to the top of the world rankings. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Kevin Pietersen affair – and there have been faults on both sides and an apology on only one – Strauss’ only fault has been an inability to unite the two warring parties.Strauss has been impressive in the run-up to this game. He has made it clear that he will not tolerate selfishness in his team and explained how he was dragged into the situation by a need to protect the dressing room environment that had contributed to England’s success.But he also admitted that Pietersen was not the only one who might do well to reflect on their actions. It was the performance of a natural leader. When his playing career finishes, a role in cricket administration or even politics is surely on offer should he desire it.”I feel a little bit let down by Kevin,” Strauss said. “It’s not a personal thing. I’ve always got on very well with Kevin. This had been a dispute between Kevin and the board over his availability for the IPL and a number of other points. But once the players became involved, I certainly become very protective of that environment; the values by which we live and treat each other. And I’m willing to remain vigilant about that going forward because I think it’s central to why we’ve become a very good side.”But I think if we are going to resolve these issues everyone’s got to take a bit of a long hard look at how things have developed over the last couple of weeks and say: ‘have we all done everything we can to avoid this happening?’ We’re all going to be required to look at it that way.”It now appears most unlikely that Pietersen will play in World T20. The squad was selected at Edgbaston last week and will be named on Saturday. There is now precious little opportunity for Pietersen to persuade his way back into the fold especially as Strauss has insisted that his focus will be entirely on the Test for the next five days.It has been enlightening to read the comments on this situation from Pietersen’s friends and family. Their loyalty is admirable and their words no doubt well-intentioned. But a little restraint would have been even more welcome and every rant from Bryan Pietersen, his brother, and Piers Morgan drives another nail into the coffin of Kevin Pietersen’s international career. One lesson of this episode is that he needs to surround himself with fewer sycophants and one or two calmer, wiser heads.”Cricketers are a pretty forgiving bunch. But we need to bring stuff out in the open. We can’t just have it swept under the carpet and I’ve no idea at this stage how that’s going to work out.”Amid the Pietersen soap opera, it could be overlooked that England must win this Test to retain their No.1 ranking. It appears highly likely they will recall Graeme Swann, with Graham Onions also vying for selection ahead of Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn.The Lord’s pitch contains, perhaps, just a touch more green than normal and the outfield bears deeper scars than anticipated from the Olympics. But this will, doubtless, prove another decent pitch and England will have to drastically improve their performances in the first two Tests if they are to pull-off a series-levelling victory.

Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, has said his team’s batsmen must break their habit of failing to turn fifties into centuries after another disappointing series with the bat

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Aug-2012Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, has said his team’s batsmen must break their habit of failing to turn fifties into centuries after another disappointing series with the bat. New Zealand lost the series 2-0 after West Indies earned a five-wicket victory in Jamaica and the result means the teams swap positions on the ICC Test rankings table, with West Indies moving to seventh and New Zealand falling to eighth.A major part of the problem for New Zealand was an absence of big scores from their batsmen. The opener Martin Guptill was the leading scorer from either side across the two Tests with 277 runs but no New Zealander managed a century, while Chris Gayle, Kieran Powell and Marlon Samuels all reached triple figures for West Indies.”It’s been around for a while,” Taylor said of the lack of centuries. “If you go through the last 15-odd years, guys have been scoring a lot of fifties but they haven’t been going on to score those hundreds and hundreds are what get you in Test matches and put you on the front foot and hopefully win them. But when you’re only getting fifties, sometimes it might be enough but more often than not it won’t be.”Taylor’s observation was sound, for in the past 15 years New Zealand batsmen have made 84 Test centuries, easily the fewest among the eight countries that played Test cricket throughout that period. The next lowest was West Indies, whose batsmen made 121 tons during the same time.In the past decade the figures are just as stark for New Zealand, whose batsmen have made fewer hundreds than Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid combined. Taylor said New Zealand’s inability to put together big partnerships and fight through important moments in the two Tests proved costly against West Indies, and they would need to improve ahead of their tour of India.”Obviously us batters are not performing as consistently as we would like and the bowlers were bowling well in periods but not the whole time,” he said. “Losing crucial wickets at crucial times in both Test matches have hurt us … We need to address our issues very quickly and we’ve got India coming up in just over a week and a half’s time, so we need to regroup quickly and play a lot better than we have here.”However, Taylor said there were some positives to come from the series, despite the result.”Martin Guptill was the highest run scorer in the Test series, between both teams,” Taylor said. “He didn’t get a hundred but his lowest score was 41. He struggled a bit during the T20s and one-dayers but showed what a quality player he can be and runs at the top of the order has been something we haven’t done as consistently as we would like. He was consistent.”The bowlers, [Trent] Boult with the new ball was very promising and something to work on. [Neil] Wagner, I think has given us something to think about, the energy that he brings to the team.”New Zealand have little time to regroup ahead of the India series, which begins with a Test in Hyderabad on August 23.

Steve Smith is intent on earning his way into the Australian team as a batsman alone

Daniel Brettig12-Sep-2012″What does Steve Smith do, exactly?”This question, having lingered over Australian cricket for several summers, appears finally to have been answered by the man himself.As he prepared to begin the domestic season with New South Wales against Western Australia in Perth on Sunday, Smith stated plainly that he now considers himself a batsman, intent on promotion in the Blues’ order and earning a place in the top six for Australia.Across five Tests, 32 ODIs and 20 Twenty20 matches for his country, Smith’s role has appeared hazy, even the subject of derision from opponents. He has been the lead spinner, an allrounder, a top six batsman then an allrounder again, all the time seeming to flounder without the “role clarity” Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur is so often seeking.On this year’s ODI tour of England, Smith made scores of 8 and 21 while bowling two overs, seeming more spare part than central component. Having also been taken to the UAE for the ODI series against Pakistan, 23-year-old Smith is aware he is close to the Australian team, and now appears to know that it is runs not wickets, that will keep him there.”Runs is my main priority at the moment, I’m working really hard on my batting,” Smith said. “I believe to get back into the team it’s through my batting, with my bowling there as well. But I think my batting it’s just getting the runs on the board and getting those runs is going to be crucial for me.”For me at the moment it’s me focusing on my batting, I think that’s what’s going to get me there in the near future. I’ve always got my spin bowling to add to my bow, and if I keep working on that as well it just gives them another option if they need it.”On the subject of where he would like to bat in the future, Smith said he wanted to move higher up than the No. 6 spot he has occasionally occupied for Australia. His place in the batting order was the cause of some conjecture among the selectors and Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting during the 2010-11 Ashes, when Smith spent two matches at six then went down to No. 7 for the final match in Sydney.”I’d like to bat higher [then No. 6], I’m trying to bat as high as I can in this order,” Smith said. “I think the higher you can bat in your Shield team, if you’re doing well there the better off you’re going to be for batting anywhere in the Test line-up or any of the line-ups. So that’s my main goal at the moment, to go out and score a lot of runs and hopefully contribute for NSW.”I ended last season pretty well with a few runs on some tough wickets, a couple of hundreds would’ve been nice, but runs are always good, and putting NSW in good positions this season is what I’m looking for as well. Hopefully we can do that, get a couple of early wins away and kick off that way.”The Blues begin their campaign with a visit to WA, the scene of a humiliating innings defeat last summer, when they were bowled out for 91 on day one then watched Liam Davis peel off a triple century. Smith took part in the match, and said the chance to return to the scene of the hiding was a welcome one.”It was a pretty average game for us, a lot of boys sat down together after that game,” he said. “Playing in Perth’s obviously a little bit different to playing over here. This time we’ve got to have some clear goals and clear plans for particularly batting and to be able to get through the new ball and on the wicket with a bit more bounce it’s going to be crucial to have good plans in place and stick with them the whole way through.”In their efforts to improve on last summer’s poor showing, NSW will be helped by the presence of Australia’s captain Michael Clarke for their opening three fixtures. “Michael’s an unbelievable player and a good person to have around,” Smith said. “If blokes can do well as well he can see that being a selector and it’s always good to put your hand up in front of the Australian captain.”

Australian cricket’s new-found dedication to performance has uncovered another area to seek a competitive edge, with England’s Dukes ball to be used down under to better prepare players for next year’s Ashes tour

Daniel Brettig24-Oct-2012Australian cricket’s new-found dedication to performance has uncovered another area to seek a competitive edge, with England’s Dukes ball to be used down under to better prepare players for its subtleties on next year’s Ashes tour.Known for offering decidedly different characteristics to the Australian Kookaburra ball, the Dukes will be be trialled in the under-age championships and a handful of second-XI games during the summer.If they stand up to the rigours of firm Australian pitches, they are then likely to be used in some late season Sheffield Shield games.There are also plans afoot for stocks of India’s SG ball to be brought to Australia for similar exploratory use, in order to aid the knowledge of Australian players when they deliver it on the subcontinent.Understanding and taking advantage of the differences inherent in each ball is traditionally something players must develop upon arrival at an overseas destination, but Cricket Australia’s plans may help to build greater familiarity and ultimately skill.”The medium to long-term view is we want our Australian players using different balls in our competitions to help them prepare for international tours where the Kookaburra ball is not used,” CA’s senior cricket operations manager Sean Cary told . “The idea is not going to be just to focus on the Dukes ball in England. Ideally, we’d like to introduce the different makes of balls from countries if they differ from Kookaburra.”‘The first step is to find out whether the ball can handle our conditions, and we can do that in under-age championships, then if they do, work out a strategy to introduce them into senior competitions to help players prepare for upcoming international duty. [When] our Test team travels to India, if we know a number of our Test players are in Shield cricket, why couldn’t we introduce the SG ball to help them prepare in competition?”The use of English and Indian cricket balls may be considered a way of enhancing the preparation of the national team in an era when warm-up tour matches have become an increasingly rare proposition. Australian bowlers have struggled to replicate the kind of movement generated by their English and Indian counterparts on recent Test tours, having not won a series in England since 2001 and India since 2004.Cary admitted there was also a cost-saving measure to the use of overseas balls, which are cheaper than the Australian-made Kookaburra. The local manufacturers are concerned that their long-standing relationship with Australian cricket will be terminally undercut if the use of overseas balls becomes standard practice.”If we are not supported by cricket in Australia then Kookaburra won’t exist basically,” Kookaburra director Rob Elliott said. “If Cricket Australia and if cricket’s not supporting Kookaburra and wants to go down the imported path, then the manufacturing of cricket balls will go to the subcontinent and it will be the end of Kookaburra as we know it.””I thought it would be appropriate for us to be using the only Australian made ball as opposed to a ball that’s made in the sub-continent in Pakistan or India. That’s the thing that concerns me is that all of a sudden this sort of thing erodes Australian manufacturing and Australian jobs.”