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Shane Watson’s only faint hope of playing against South Africa at the Gabba is as a batsman alone – and the team performance manager Pat Howard has revealed the national selectors are considering the possibility

Daniel Brettig04-Nov-2012Shane Watson’s only faint hope of playing against South Africa at the Gabba is as a batsman alone – and the team performance manager Pat Howard has revealed the national selectors are considering the possibility.While Ricky Ponting is almost certain to be fit in time for day one at the Gabba, Watson is in severe doubt for the first Test of the summer due to what the team physio Alex Kountouris called a “minor grade” left calf strain. The possibility of Watson being fit to bowl in the match is negligible, but John Inverarity’s selection panel have discussed Watson’s value purely as a top six batsman.”It has been discussed but there’s no firm decision on that,” Howard told ESPNcricinfo. “Those considerations have been brought up in the past, so right now without speaking on behalf of the selection panel, it is being considered. Everything’s possible.”Shane and Ricky are in doubt, but they’re both reasonably new injuries and we’ll know more soon, they’re most certainly both in contention for the Test to differing degrees, and we’ll have standby players ready over the next couple of days in and around the squad.”We have some very initial scans on Shane, but our physio and chief medical officer, one has arrived in Brisbane and the other is arriving this afternoon, the selection panel will be arriving in from different parts of the country this afternoon as well. When they all get the big picture, not only on Shane but other players, then they can make some decisions over the next couple of days leading up to the Test.”The floating of Watson as a batsman is a departure from the team’s previous view, which had stressed the importance of having him fit as both a bowler and a batsman. Last summer Watson himself floated the possibility of playing as a batsman during the home Tests as he recovered from a hamstring strain, but that was ruled out.Watson said in Brisbane on Sunday that he was feeling some stiffness in the muscle and while he had not been ruled out of the Test, past experience had made him aware of the risks of rushing back too soon.”It’s still a little bit stiff, I’m just hoping it settles down over the next couple of days,” Watson said. “Alex [Kountouris, the team physio] had a little look at it, we’re just seeing how it sort of pans out over the next couple of days … see whether I’m a chance to be able to play in the first Test.”It’s not as bad [as it’s been], it’s only pretty minor but I know how things can go if you don’t really look after it and get it right the first time. I’ll be certainly making sure I get it right the first time.”The selectors are set to name shadow players for both Watson and Ponting, though the latter is expected to be recovered from a hamstring niggle in time to play. Should Watson be ruled unfit for the Test, the Australia A captain Andrew McDonald’s allround virtues are likely to be considered, though his presence would necessitate a shuffle in the batting order.While the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and the Champions League in South Africa have seriously undercut the preparation of both Australia and South Africa for the forthcoming Tests, Howard said he took some consolation from the fact that the Shield round had allowed players to be tested.”I think we’re fortunate we have this round of games to start dealing with these guys coming in, if it happened next week that would be more of an issue,” Howard said. “We really want the Test players to go back and play in the Shield and contribute to the competition and get themselves ready, and I think that process has been well dealt with in the last couple of days.”

Azhar Ali said memories of the two previous innings in which he was dismissed in the nineties did make him nervous as he approached his maiden Test hundred in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2011Azhar Ali, the Pakistan batsman, said memories of previous innings in which he had failed to convert big fifties into a century did make him nervous as he approached his maiden Test hundred in Dubai. He had scored 10 Test half-centuries before he finally reached the three-figure mark on Thursday, and said this time he was patient in waiting for the last few runs to come.”The last time I was on 90, in Abu Dhabi [against South Africa], I tried to hit a few boundaries to get to the hundred mark. But this time I waited for the bad balls.”I was a bit nervous and did think of the other occasions I had been in the nineties. Misbah-ul-Haq was very helpful and told me to just bat and wait for the runs to come.”Even without having got a century, Azhar had averaged 39.75 over his first 14 Tests and cemented his place in the Pakistan side. However, he said his ambition is to become a “great player”, and knew that would require big scores. “You have to play big innings to be a great player and I was missing those. Now, I want to continue to play big knocks because I’ve already missed a few hundreds and have to make up for that.”Pakistan had received criticism for batting too slowly in the first innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka, and on Thursday got just 239 runs in 90 overs at a run-rate of 2.66. Azhar’s strike-rate was 41.32 but he said the Dubai pitch was not easy to score quickly on.”It’s not easy to score freely on this pitch. The track is slow and if you try to score fast you could end up playing a silly shot and losing your wicket. On this pitch you have to take your time. We did well as a team today to get into the position we are in.”A lead of 150 or 200 will put us in a good position because the ball is turning and keeping low. Today, the second new ball swung as well. This is the kind of pitch where one good spell can run through a batting line-up.”Azhar was dismissed at the end of the day for exactly 100 but replays showed he had got a bottom-edge on to the Tillakaratne Dilshan delivery. Rather than blame the umpire Tony Hill for the decision, Azhar said he was disappointed he had chosen to play a sweep with the end of the day nearing.”I selected a wrong shot and it was disappointing because had we been three down I could have been sitting here looking forward to increasing the lead tomorrow. But we have Misbah there who is very calm so hopefully he can take us ahead.”Geoff Marsh, the Sri Lanka coach, said he was glad his side got rid of Azhar before stumps but said he had looked like getting out in the nineties. “We were glad to get Azhar out at the end of the day but it looked as though we could have had him before,” Marsh said. “You could see he was nervous in the nineties and it looked like we could dismiss him then.”Despite Pakistan being ahead by 42 runs with six wickets in hand, Marsh said Sri Lanka were not yet out of the match. “If we can bowl Pakistan out for a first-innings lead of 100-150 then we have to bat well and you never know on the last day of a Test match. If you can get 150 or so ahead by the last day of a Test then the previous four days go out the window and it comes down to those last two sessions.”But we’ve got a lot of hard work to do. We’ve first got to bowl them out. The turn on this pitch is slow so it’s going to be hard work for both sides. If you bowl well on this pitch there is a bit of swing and help.”

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has withdrawn his appeal against the provisional suspension imposed on him by the ICC for his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2010Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has withdrawn his appeal against the provisional suspension imposed on him by the ICC for his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy. The appeals of three Pakistan players – Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir being the others – were due to be heard on October 30 and 31 in Doha.The trio hadn’t been picked, as a result of their suspensions, for Pakistan’s upcoming tour of the UAE where they play South Africa in a full series. Asif, however, would not have been able to participate even if the provisional suspension was lifted following the hearing of the appeals later this month; he is barred from entering the UAE following detention in 2008 for a drug-related offence.”I have chosen not to contest the provisional suspension at this time simply because I am content to await the main disciplinary hearing where my full case can be placed before the ICC,” Asif said of the reason for his decision.Pakistan’s assignment following the UAE series is a tour of New Zealand in December by when the ICC would have conducted a full hearing – which needs to be held within three months of imposing the provisional suspension – into the controversy. The suspensions were handed out on September 2 this year and Asif can now only apply for it to be lifted once the full hearing has concluded.”Mohammad Asif confirmed earlier today that he has withdrawn his challenge to the provisional suspension imposed on him on 2 September 2010 pending determination of the charges brought against him under the ICC’s Anti Corruption Code,” an ICC release said. “Arrangements are now being made for the challenges being made by Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir against their provisional suspensions to be heard in Dubai on 30 and 31 October 2010.”

The Pakistan captain has said the bowler-friendly pitches in the early part of the summer in New Zealand will be one of the biggest challenges for his team

Cricinfo staff15-Nov-2009Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has said the bowler-friendly pitches in the early part of the summer in New Zealand will be one of the biggest challenges for his team during the three Tests, starting November 24. Pakistan set foot in the country having just finished the one-day and Twenty20 leg of the series in in the heat of UAE.”The fact is we are going to New Zealand when the season has not started there properly and the weather will also be cold,” Yousuf told . “I think we are going to encounter seaming wickets and batting on them will be a big challenge for us.”The coach Intikhab Alam concurred with Yousuf and hoped his players will be able to adjust to the conditions. Looking at the composition of the Test squad, Intikhab said the bowlers were capable of taking 20 wickets but the batting needed a bit of attention. A series of batting collapses were primarily responsible for their 2-0 defeat in Sri Lanka in August.”Our batting must click and show improvement because it will be tough to switch from one-day and Twenty20,” Intikhab said. “Our bowling has the capacity to bowl New Zealand out twice but we must put runs on the board first.”He expected Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, to be the biggest threat, especially if the pitches suit spin. Vettori has been the team’s best all-round player in the recent past and has shouldered plenty of responsibility in all departments.”Vettori is a seasoned player and we have to play him well, without giving him too many wickets,” Intikhab said. “But if New Zealand prepares wickets conducive to spin then we too have quality spinners in Saeed Ajmal and Danish Kaneria.”Pakistan were hit by the sudden withdrawal of Younis Khan, who quit the captaincy and opted out of the tour because he wanted a break from the game. Intikhab and Yousuf agreed that Younis’ absence will be felt, despite his run of poor form.”Naturally, Younis is a senior batsman and although he has been in poor batting form, he is a world-class player who can come good any time, but you miss players through injuries as well and Younis’ replacement will have a chance to prove his worth, ” Alam said.The tour begins with a three-day game in Queenstown on Wednesday before the first Test in Dunedin.

Captain Steven Smith confirmed the move on the eve of the opening Test based on Head’s previous success on the subcontinent

AAP28-Jan-2025Travis Head will replace Sam Konstas at the top of Australia’s batting order for the first Sri Lanka Test despite the teenager’s heroics in the triumphant India series.Captain Steven Smith would not rule out finding a place for Konstas elsewhere in the order for the match that begins in Galle on Wednesday, with a vacancy now open at No. 5.Related

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Konstas impressed in his first two Tests to help Australia secure a first series win over India in a decade. But Head’s supreme efforts as an opener on the previous subcontinent tour in 2023 were enough to win him the spot next to Usman Khawaja.Head averaged 55.75 runs across two-and-a-half Tests replacing David Warner on that India tour, two years ago.”He did really nicely in India against the new ball. He put spinners under pressure immediately and we know how well he hits the seam as well if they come with that,” Smith said. “It’s going to be good fun watching him.”Konstas’s inexperience appears to have worked against him in the selection conversation, with the 19-year-old embarking on his first subcontinent tour. Smith said Australia would have to select its XI with the conditions in mind.”Just playing what’s in front of us, it’s quite different to back home on the surfaces we’ve been playing on there where it’s very pace dominant,” he said. “We’d imagine this is going to be quite spin dominant.”Specialist opener Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Cooper Connolly and Josh Inglis appear to be fighting it out for the middle-order vacancy created by Head’s promotion.Travis Head prepares for the Test series in Galle•Getty Images

Inglis is uncapped at Test level but has averaged 72.60 across three matches for Western Australia this summer and would bring a similar positive intent to Head. McSweeney averaged only 14.40 on a tough assignment in his first three Test matches, facing Indian pace ace Jasprit Bumrah out of position as an opener.The South Australia captain batted in the middle order in his 30 Sheffield Shield appearances and made an unbeaten 127 earlier in the summer. Uncapped 21-year-old Connolly appears the longest odds with only four first-class games to his name but is rated highly within the Cricket Australia hierarchy.Connolly and McSweeney each provide part-time off-spin options – advantageous on a Galle wicket that could turn from day one.”We’ll have another look at the wicket and from there we’ll name the team at the toss,” Smith said. “We’ve got all the options available to us. We’ll see how we go.”Australia won’t rule out taking two front-line quicks and two spinners rather than three spinners, despite expectations of a turning wicket. Scott Boland and Sean Abbott are both pace options but Smith is equally confident in medium-pace allrounder Beau Webster taking the new ball alongside veteran quick Starc.”He stands the seam up really nicely, hits good areas. Whether it’s him opening the bowling with Mitchell Starc or a spinner opening, there’s always plenty of options there,” Smith said. “There’s lots of considerations: Two fast-bowlers, one fast-bowler. Couple of spinners, three spinners, two spinners, allrounders.”Left-arm offspinner Matthew Kuhnemann will be available for selection only two weeks after dislocating his thumb of his non-bowling hand in the Big Bash League.”We’re kind of a bit gobsmacked,” Smith said. “Either he’s a tremendous actor or he’s got great pain tolerance.”Smith won’t need strapping on his elbow after a minor BBL injury of his own healed “much better than expected”. But he will be unable to throw in the field.”Fortunately, this part of the world I’ll be parked in the slips for the entire time,” Smith said. “If I have to chase one to the boundary, hopefully one of my mates comes with me.”

The allrounder had suffered an ankle injury while bowling against Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-20233:46

Kumble: Prasidh will be suited for venues where India go next

India allrounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the ODI World Cup due to the ankle injury he suffered against Bangladesh on October 19. Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna has replaced him in India’s squad.Pandya had injured himself last month when he appeared to twist his left ankle while trying to stop a shot in his follow-through during his first over against Bangladesh. He played no further part in that match and was taken for scans. ESPNcricinfo understands he suffered ligament damage and has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.Related

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Prasidh, who has 29 wickets in 17 ODIs, last played for India in two ODIs against Australia during the series just before the World Cup. He took three wickets in those games and also took five wickets in as many matches for Karnataka in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Prasidh had marked his return from a long layoff due to a stress fracture of the back when India toured Ireland in August and was also part of the Asia Cup squad, though he was largely on the bench and only played one game against Bangladesh.