In an effort to cut costs, Sri Lanka Cricket’s new interim committee, headed by Upali Dharmadasa, has decided to cut down on the staff at SLC headquarters in Colombo

Sa'adi Thawfeeq24-Jul-2011In an effort to cut costs, Sri Lanka Cricket’s new interim committee, headed by Upali Dharmadasa, has decided to cut down on the staff at SLC headquarters in Colombo. The board has been in a financial crisis since the 2011 World Cup, for which they built two new stadiums, at Hambantota and Pallekele. When the new committee was appointed on July 1, the main task Sri Lanka’s sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage set for them was to keep an eye on the board’s finances.”Presently we intend to cut the staff at Sri Lanka Cricket headquarters from 82 to 50,” Dharmadasa said. “Our target is to eventually minimise it to 30 employees, which will still be more than enough to run cricket.”I don’t want to touch the rest of the staff employed in various parts of the country because there is an Australia tour coming up next month and an inter-provincial Twenty20 tournament currently on. We don’t want to upset the mechanism at present but I will personally visit the various international venues during the Australia tour and see for myself whether the staff that has been recruited at these venues is in excess and needs to be curtailed.”We need a minimum of only ten persons at SLC headquarters to run the Australia tour if we leave the organisation of the matches outside Colombo to the respective associations of each venue – Pallekele, Hambantota and Galle. The associations attached to SLC have already indicated to me that they are willing to do it on a voluntary basis.”The interim committee will also re-evaluate the benefits given to employees, and Dharmadasa pointed out the excess expenditure on board officials’ hotel rooms during the World Cup.”During the World Cup, officials of Sri Lanka Cricket used single rooms at costly hotels leading to unwanted wastage. For the Australia tour we have been reasonable with our hotel bookings and officials will share rooms instead. We want to create a platform that can be used as a guideline next year when Sri Lanka hosts the ICC World Twenty20 tournament.”There will also be a reduction on other overheads, including office equipment like colour printers. The World Cup had left Sri Lanka Cricket in debt to the tune of $23 million thanks to cost overruns and heavy expenses incurred in building the stadiums, and the board had to ask for a grant from the Sri Lanka government. Consequently, they slashed their budget for the series against Australia, which includes three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.”From the original budget of 371 million Sri Lankan rupees we brought it first down to 276 million rupees and then cut it down further to 239 million rupees,” Dharmadasa said. He expected a profit of 343 million Sri Lankan rupees from the Australia tour by way of television rights, ticket sales, corporate boxes etc.Dharmadasa said he and Prakash Shaffter, the secretary of the interim committee, would handle the administration side of SLC while Nimal Perera would handle finance and Sidath Wettimuny, the former Sri Lanka batsman, would take charge of the cricket.

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan allrounder, has been cleared by the PCB’s integrity committee and is now eligible for selection for the national team

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2011Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan allrounder, has been cleared by the PCB’s integrity committee and is now eligible for selection for the national team. Malik, a former Pakistan captain, has not played for the national side since the controversy-filled tour of England last summer, and has been involved in a long-drawn out battle with the PCB to be cleared. He was named a reserve player for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, but the PCB have not yet announced whether he will be included in the main squad now that he has been cleared.The main issue blocking Malik’s clearance was certain deposits in his overseas bank account, but the PCB has said in their release announcing Malik’s clearance that he was able to provide evidence that the deposits did not emanate from any questionable source or activity.Malik first met the integrity committee in January this year, along with Danish Kaneria and Kamran Akmal, but was not cleared and missed out on the World Cup. He met the committee again on August 15, and, after a meeting of the committee on August 19, has been cleared. The August 19 meeting was attended by PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and the board’s legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi among others. They came to the joint decision that there was no incriminating material suggesting the deposits in Malik’s accounts were related to dubious activities.”Shoaib Malik was directed to provide complete information supported with relevant documents regarding the source of the said deposits which he did provide,” the PCB statement said. “The committee reviewed all the material in detail and also verified the veracity of the said information from relevant authorities.The integrity committee after detailed deliberations has unanimously reached the conclusion that prima facie Shoaib Malik has been able to establish that the said deposits in this overseas account did not emanate from any questionable source or activity.”Though he was not cleared to play for Pakistan, Malik has been playing domestic cricket. He was the second-highest run-getter in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One last season, with 799 runs at an average of 73.57. He also featured for Sialkot Stallions in the recently-completed Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup.Malik said he was looking forward to representing Pakistan again. “The last year was very tough on me and not playing the 2011 World Cup was the biggest tragedy of my life,” he said. “But now I will do my best for my country whenever I get a chance.”

Mitchell Johnson produced the fourth-best figures in Australia’s one-day history to set his team on the path to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Pallekele

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2011Mitchell Johnson is rapidly becoming Australia’s subcontinent specialist, after his six-wicket haul set up Australia’s victory in the first ODI in Pallekele. Sri Lanka’s batsmen struggled to handle Johnson, who has also proved himself dangerous man in India, where of foreign bowlers only Muttiah Muralitharan has more one-day wickets than Johnson.In his third ODI in Sri Lanka, the other two having come during this year’s World Cup, Johnson struck in his first over when Mahela Jayawardene flashed at a fullish ball outside off stump and edged behind. The key wicket of Kumar Sangakkara followed when he prodded a slower ball to short cover, and it was the best possible start Johnson could have hoped for in his 100th ODI.”You know it’s always going to be a challenge in these conditions,” Johnson said after the game. “It’s always hot, the wickets are always pretty flat and slow. You get yourself up for these challenges. I felt pretty calm today. I was a bit nervous through those Twenty20 games and I think that got the little jitters out. It was my hundredth game today, [which was] pretty exciting for me.”[The pitch] looked a little slower, a little drier [than in the two Twenty20 losses]. It didn’t get dewy tonight I don’t think. I didn’t mind bowling on it. I got the ball to tail a bit away from the right-handers, which is always handy.”Johnson’s 6 for 31 placed him fourth on Australia’s all-time list of best figures in a one-day international, behind only the seven-wicket hauls from Glenn McGrath and Andy Bichel at the 2003 World Cup, and a six-for from Gary Gilmour in 1975. It was a fine effort given that Johnson was the sixth bowler used, the only time in his hundred games he had been that far down the bowling list.”It’s exciting to be ranked against those guys,” he said. “But to be able to go out there and do what we needed for the team [was the main thing]. I didn’t know if I was getting a bowl today. But that was what was needed at the time. Sri Lanka got off to a very good start with the new ball and the spinners came on and slowed things up a bit. It gave me an opportunity to use my skills. In the end, the result that we won the game was the more pleasing thing.”The captain, Michael Clarke, used his spinners to make the initial breakthroughs after Sri Lanka’s openers put together a good partnership, and he rotated his bowlers well throughout the innings. Clarke said keeping Johnson up his sleeve had been a conscious plan, and the idea paid off.”I was just trying to get the ball a little bit older and he could use his strength, which is pace, and also he could use his angle to take the ball across the right-handers,” Clarke said. “He bowled beautifully. I thought he really executed his skill very well today and we looked after him in the field. The boys fielded really well today, we hung on to our catches, which is great to see because we’ve been training really hard.”Australia’s batsmen had little trouble chasing 192 and they had some valuable time in the middle to get used to the mystery spin of Ajantha Mendis, who could play a major role throughout the series. Clarke said learning how to handle Mendis would be an ongoing process, but he was confident they could avoid the kind of capitulation that took place in the second Twenty20, when Mendis took six wickets.”He’s a very good bowler and especially in conditions like this, where there’s enough spin for him,” Clarke said. “All of our batters know we’re going to be facing a lot of spin throughout this one-day series and into the Test series, and we saw it in the Twenty20 as well.”We have to continue to practice, continue to look at a lot of footage, because a lot of their bowlers have so many different variations that it takes some time to adjust and get used to it. I think what we did really well today was we allowed ourselves a little bit of extra time to get used to the variations of the bowlers and then have the courage to play our way and play our shots.”The series continues with matches in Hambantota on Sunday and Tuesday, before the teams head to Colombo for the final two one-dayers.

Bangladesh A chased down a target of 186 with four wickets to spare against Bangladesh in the BCB Cup final in Dhaka

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2011
ScorecardAlok Kapali’s half-century went in vain as Bangladesh succumbed to a four-wicket loss•BCB

Bangladesh A chased down a target of 186 with four wickets to spare against Bangladesh in the BCB Cup final in Dhaka. The win was set up by an unbeaten knock of 78 from Mahmudullah, who was recently named vice-captain of the national side.Batting first, none of Bangladesh’s batsmen, apart from Alok Kapali, managed to build an innings. Kapali, batting at No. 6, struck a positive 68 to take his side close to a respectable total. His knock was studded with ten boundaries, and came after his side had been reduced to 74 for 5 in 20.1 overs. Bangladesh A’s bowlers shared the wickets around, but Farhad Reza was the pick – he claimed Tamim Iqbal early in the innings, before returning to clean up the tail in the 46th over.The chase was off to a dismal start, with Abdur Razzak and Rubel Hossain knocking over Bangladesh A’s top three for next to nothing . They were reduced to 6 for 3 in the seventh over, before Raqibul Hasan and Mahmudullah steadied the innings with a half-century partnership. Hasan was run out for 32 and Kapali knocked over a couple in quick succession with his legspin. However, Reza struck a quick 27 as Mahmudullah remained solid at the other end, to finish the match with an over in hand.

With the ability to bowl consistently at around 150 kph, excellent control, variations and maturity beyond his years, Cummins has been talked up as the next big Australian thing

Firdose Moonda17-Oct-2011When Pat Cummins was still a schoolboy with stars in his eyes, he saw his “favourite” Test series play out. A daring South African outfit toppled the world’s best, the Australian team that nobody believed they could beat, in their own backyard in 2008-09. Three years later, Cummins has been named in Australia’s Test squad to face South Africa after a dizzying rise from debutant Twenty20 player to owner of the baggy green cap, having only played three first-class matches.”I was over the moon to get the Twenty20 gig and now to be going into the one-day series,” Cummins said. “But the baggy green for Australia is obviously one of the most coveted things in sport and to be part of a Test series is a big deal.”With the ability to bowl consistently at around 150 kph, excellent control, variations and maturity beyond his years, Cummins has been talked up as the next big Australian thing. He had success in the two Twenty20s against South Africa, taking five wickets and maintaining an economy rate of below 7, and expectations have become his shadow.Cummins is taking it in his stride and says he does not see it as extra pressure but, rather, extra belief in his ability. “It’s almost given me more confidence in that I’ve got the backing of fellow players and obviously past players as well,” he said. “I guess it does put a little bit of added pressure trying to live up to those comments but it has helped.”Cummins has earned praised from New South Wales team-mate Shane Watson and national T20 captain, Cameron White, and said that working with people he used to idolise is something he is relishing. “I’ve never really played with any of the guys or worked much with them, but I am enjoying part of the squad with those guys, who have obviously been around for a long time and successful in every form.” He has also earned praise from former South Africa coach Mickey Arthur, who said Cummins should earn his first Test cap against South Africa despite his lack of experience in the longest form of the game.Cummins’ performances in the T20s appear to have only confirmed what the selectors and administrators suspected all along – that his execution is exceptional. And they see that as enough evidence that he will be able to adapt to Test cricket. With T20 slowly starting to be seen as a breeding ground for players to be introduced onto the international stage, Cummins serves as another example of that theory. Without saying whether or not he bought into it, Cummins did say that T20 cricket has the potential to make or break a career. “You can either be lucky or unlucky in T20 cricket,” Cummins explained. “Some days you can bowl beautifully and go for 40-odd and the next day and you can get a few lucky ones away and get a few sky balls and you end up with three or four wickets.”I think it’s a platform where you can really succeed and put your name forward, but it’s also one when you can be unlucky at times.” For Cummins, it has been the audition for higher honours. He said he concentrates on three things when bowling, no matter what type of match he is playing. “Accuracy is vital in all forms of the game and I guess pace is a big part of that as well,” he said. “Also moving forward to the red ball and the one-day stuff, swing and movement is also a big part.”Before leaping onto the Test stage, Cummins will be part of the ODI series, a three-match affair that promises to be intense. “It’s the first one-day series I’ve been a part of and Australia are No.1 ranked in the world at the moment so I guess we’re going into the competition pretty confident and hopefully we can get a few good wins.”

A round-up of the first day of the eighth round of Division Two in the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2011Seventeen wickets fell on day one of the Multan v Lahore Shalimar game at the Multan Cricket Stadium. After they were put in, Multan slumped to 17 for 4, before 69-run stand between Naved Yasin – who top scored with 47 – and Mohammad Ahmed steadied them briefly. However, two wickets fell on 86 and three on 110 as the side were shot out for 110. New-ball bowler Asif Raza was the destroyer in chief, taking a career-best 7 for 40. Multan’s bowlers did not let the game get away from their team though, knocking over seven wickets for 89 runs in the last session. While the bowlers shared the wickets around, only Lahore Shalimar’s captain, Fahad-ul-Haq, managed to get into double digits. He remained unbeaten on 48 at stumps.Driven by an unbeaten 88 from their captain Usman Salahuddin, Lahore Ravi got to 211 for 7 against Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium in Sind. After being asked to bat, Lahore Ravi were wobbling at 30 for 3 when Salahuddin came out to bat. He was supported briefly by Rana Adnan and Mohammad Zohaib, putting on half-century stands with both, to make sure his side got past the 200-run mark. Mir Ali was the pick of the bowlers on day one, with figures of 3 for 55.Half-centuries from Israrullah and Akbar Badshah took Peshawar to a steady 241 for 5 against Karachi Whites at the National Stadium in Karachi. Peshawar were inserted and were steered initially by opener Israrullah, who made a fluent 61 with nine fours and a six. Captain Badshah then took over, making a patient, unbeaten 74. He was involved in an unbroken 93-run stand with the keeper, Mohammad Rizwan, when stumps was called.A team bowling performance by Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) helped them to knock over United Bank Limited for 121 at the Lahore Cricket Association Ground. After being asked to bat, none of the KRL batsmen could manage more than opener Ali Asad’s 34. The other opener, Naved Khan was caught off the first ball of the match and that set the tone for the innings. Rahat Ali was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 for 33 at a miserly 1.73 runs per over. Tahir Mughal managed to dismiss KRL’s Ali Naqvi cheaply and Saeed Anwar jnr was run out for 27 just prior to stumps, as KRL finished with 45 for 2.Quetta laboured to 187 for 8 against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. In keeping with the trend at the toss, SNGPL inserted Quetta, who went on to lose wickets at regular intervals. Only opener Badar Ali managed a half-century, top scoring with 56, while the only partnership of note was a 79-run stand for the sixth wicket. Mohibullah with 40 and Ata-ur-Rehman with 33 were the only other batsmen who got past 16. Legspinner Yasir Shah was the pick for SNGPL, claiming 3 for 44.

The stereotype that follows sub-continental teams is that they cannot win away from home and South Africa are fast-building an opposite, but fairly accurate pigeon-hole of their own – they cannot win at home.

Firdose Moonda in Centurion 12-Dec-2011The stereotype that follows sub-continental teams is that they cannot win away from home and South Africa are fast-building an opposite, but fairly accurate pigeon-hole of their own – they cannot win at home.The last time they won a home Test series was in 2008, against Bangladesh. Of greater significance, is that the last time South Africa won a Test series at home against a team ranked in the top five, was in 2007 against Pakistan, who were then at No. 3.The opportunity to break the trend presents itself with the upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka, who live up to the miserable typecast and have never won a single Test, nevermind a series, in South Africa. The hosts are looking at the tour as a way to rediscover the ability to close out matches consistently and build towards a Test series win for the first time in 18 months.Despite being ranked as the second best-side in Test cricket until three weeks ago, South Africa last claimed a Test series win in June 2010, against West Indies. Since then, they have drawn series against Pakistan, India and, most-recently, Australia – a result which saw South Africa drop to third. For the most part, they have played captivating five-day cricket but have unable to secure results and AB de Villiers said that they have figured out why.”I don’t think we’ve played poor cricket in the last few years but we haven’t played the massive and important situations too well,” de Villiers said at SuperSport Park. “Like in that last Test match against Australia, we were presented with the opportunity to finish it off and we didn’t do that.”After winning an extraordinary first Test at Newlands, South Africa set Australia a tough target of 310 in the second Test in Johannesburg. It required a record fourth-innings chase and Australia stuttered along the way but won by two wickets, a margin small enough for South Africa to feel thoroughly disappointed.Last season, South Africa were locked one-all with India and drew the third Test to leave the series at a stalemate. The season before that, South Africa drew with England. Each side won one of the four matches in the series but the two drawn matches, in Centurion and Cape Town, could easily have gone South Africa’s way. They had England nine down in their second innings on both occasions but could not take the final wicket.de Villiers acknowledged the limp last punch is becoming a concern. “That’s what makes a good team, a great one and we are not doing that at the moment,” he said. “That’s why England are doing really well at the moment; when they get a sniff they finish it off. We haven’t been able to do that for long periods of time.”South Africa will approach the series with the mindset of being in it for the long haul and want to stack up session victories to translate into a match win. The fluctuating shifts in advantage that have become a feature of their Test cricket will even out into a steady flow, in which they dominate passages of play.”Test cricket is all about momentum,” de Villiers said. “When you are going well and you get the opposition on the ropes, it’s a matter of finishing it off and being more aggressive. But, when you are down and out, you have to minimise your weakness. It’s just a case of knowing when to play, absorb the pressure and when to give it back on the opposition.”Against a Sri Lanka side that is reeling from injury concerns and going through a slump in form, de Villiers believes South Africa will emerge convincing victors if they are able to produce steadier performances. “If we play consistent cricket over a few days, we should get ourselves in a good position to win a Test. And we don’t only want to do it for one Test, but for the whole series,” he said.Their home ground advantage is also set to serve South Africa well, although de Villiers said he would prefer fair pitches to green mambas as the series unfolds. “I just want a good cricket wicket. If we get a good cricket wicket and we play good cricket, they won’t be able to stop us.”Just before getting too far ahead of himself, de Villiers took a step back and admitted that South Africa have some work to do before they can announce themselves with authority to Sri Lanka. They have not toured the country in nine years and the two teams last played against each other in 2006. de Villiers said the team will spend a significant amount of time over the next two days studying video footage of the Sri Lankans, some of whom they have never seen before.”I watched them on the telly the other day and I hardly recognised half the team,” de Villiers admitted. “But, the most important thing for us is to respect them and play them like they are the number one team in the world at the moment.”

Duncan Fletcher, the India coach, has said an early arrival in Australia for some of his players coupled with two warm-up games should be sufficient for the team to acclimatise to conditions

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2011MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said how his team utilise their time in Australia in the lead-up to the first Test will determine the outcome of the series. “It depends on how we prepare ourselves during the 12 days before the Test match and how we adapt to the conditions,” Dhoni said. “Most of the batsmen have played there before. We are hoping we will do well there.”India have been poor starters overseas of late and have lost the first Test of the series on their previous trips to Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and England. But Duncan Fletcher, the India coach, said an early arrival in Australia for some of his players coupled with two warm-up games should be sufficient for the team to acclimatise to conditions. “You hope that they do adapt during that period of time. Probably it is enough,” Fletcher said in Chennai ahead of the team’s departure to Australia.Australia have struggled recently, but Dhoni said this was not necessarily India’s best chance to win a Test series in Australia, and that he would rather work on his side’s strengths and weaknesses than concentrate on the opposition’s form. “Even last time [in 2007-08] we had a very good chance and we did really perform well. It is not that if the opposition is not doing well it will be a best chance for us. We have to play to the level of the kind of talent that we have got and not worry about such things. We are more concerned about what we need to work on and are not too worried about what kind of opposition we are playing.”Some people think that the last Australian team was much better than the current Australian side. Some of the present players were not part of the 2008 side. To judge them is quite a difficult task. Anil Kumble was part of our side [then]. The spinners coming into the team now are not as experienced as Anil. It applies to the Australian team also. They had big players like Adam Gilchrist and others.”[Because they are] missing big names in the present setup, some people think that this is our best chance. But we did well that time also and quite a few things happened in the series. Most of you watched that. We will try to keep such things away. We are a good side and we need to do well on the field.”Fletcher agreed with Dhoni about the need for India to focus on their own game but added that Australia had some good players who were currently out of form and India would do well to keep things that way.Zaheer Khan, who is returning after a long injury lay-off, will be crucial if India are to put pressure on the Australia line-up and Fletcher said that he did not want to rush his premier fast bowler back. “From the reports that I get, Zaheer had come to Mumbai and bowled in the nets there and he looked impressive. I think it is very important to be careful; he looked to be in very good condition even when he came to England.”He has got through two games [in the Ranji Trophy, for Mumbai]. It will be ideal preparation for him. We do not want to rush him back too quickly. The one three-day game there will be important for him before the first Test.”Fletcher was also upbeat about Ishant Sharma, who was among the players who departed early for Australia. “He has had a nice rest. He was totally free from injury when he finished the Test match in Mumbai [against West Indies]. He has gone out there fresh. It is important that they have little breaks between series. Everything that we have heard so far is that they are ready to go.”Though seamers Praveen Kumar and Varun Aaron will be missing the tour due to injury, Dhoni was optimistic about the chances of his bowling attack. “If you see the injury list, it is quite blank as of now. More often than not, [of the] the 15 or 16 who are selected [in the squad] everybody will be ready for selection [in the XI]. That takes a bit of pressure off and you need not worry about the playing XI that much as most of the players get their berths on merit.”Apart from that, the batting line-up is quite the same. Bowling-wise, Zaheer is back. We have got Umesh Yadav who can bowl over 140kph. I think it looks like a good pack.”Dhoni said he was not worried about the fact that only two of his bowlers had played more than 15 Tests as it was more important to have in-form bowlers than experienced ones.”R Ashwin has just made his debut in the series against West Indies while Harbhajan Singh has played in 98 Test matches and is one of the leading wicket-takers for India,” Dhoni said. “Nobody knew what Ashwin can do. But he ended up winning the Man-of-the-Series in the Tests. This is something that Duncan said that we have to be careful about. Just because the big names are not there, it does not mean the bowling attack is weak. Even when Shane Warne or Glenn McGrath made their debut they started from zero wickets. You may be having a [potentially] great bowler, who may be just starting his career and playing the first few games.”

Chris Martin, who claimed career-best figures of 6 for 26 against Zimbabwe in Napier, has said New Zealand’s success in the Test had much to do with a four-pronged pace attack

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2012Chris Martin, who claimed career-best figures of 6 for 26 against Zimbabwe in Napier, has said New Zealand’s success in the Test had much to do with a four-pronged pace attack. New Zealand’s bowlers combined to bowl Zimbabwe out twice on the same day – only the third such instance in history – propelling the hosts to an innings and 301-run victory.”It was [overwhelming for Zimbabwe] I think … four [fast] guys with the ball, they all do something a little bit different. We don’t probably get over-bowled, so there’s a little bit of venom in every spell.” New Zealand played four quicks in the match, with Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell and Tim Southee partnering Martin. In Zimbabwe’s first innings, each of the four fast bowlers picked up two wickets apiece to skittle the visitors for 51, while in the second Martin and Bracewell polished them off.”The pitch actually quickened up a wee bit over the course of the match. I’m definitely more of a bounce bowler, so I enjoyed the bounce and pace in it. Dougie just swings the ball very nicely to the right-handers, and is always going to be a threat. I think Boulty and Timmy were hungry, and definitely wanted the ball the whole day. So we were all competing for it, and it’s nice to get a win out of that kind of competitiveness within the bowling ranks.”With Daniel Vettori filling the spinner’s role, the New Zealand line-up comprised only five frontline batsmen, plus wicketkeeper BJ Watling. However, with some of the bowlers’ ability to contribute with the bat as well, the line-up isn’t unstable, Martin said. “I like to see it [five bowlers playing] happening. I think the ability of Doug and Timmy with the bat is going to get better and better, and with Dan batting at six – he’s out there to score runs every time he plays, he probably averages about 40 [with the bat] over the past five years – I think we’re going to have some success.”Chris Martin says there is a lot of healthy competition among New Zealand’s fast bowlers•Getty Images

Martin’s eight wickets in the match took him level with Chris Cairns on the list of New Zealand’s top wicket-takers. With 218, Martin is joint-third, behind Richard Hadlee and Vettori. “I had him [Cairns] on the radar, but perhaps not at the start of the day,” Martin said. “I’m stoked to have got that far, and hopefully I push on past him.”Tweaking his run-up has helped him be more effective, Martin said. “I tinkered with something last summer, just to get my stride patterns right with my run-up, so I wasn’t over-striding. Now I’m cruising in a little bit more, the angle with which I’m bowling now is helping me swing the ball more.”After the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe, New Zealand will face stronger opposition in South Africa and, according to Martin, they are up for the challenge. “I think the consistency with which we have attacked that off-stump line, with a little bit of movement, and the way we have drawn them [batsmen] into playing shots that perhaps they didn’t want to, I think against any side that is always going to be competitive.”The slip catching has been out of this world. I don’t think I have seen a better one than the one Dean Brownlie took today. All of those things we may have to do for longer periods against South Africa, but they definitely bode well for the ability of our boys to remain composed and get the results, which is something we have carried on from Hobart.”

Suresh Raina believes that India’s win in the second Twenty20, especially the fielding, has sent out a message that they are ready to turn the summer around

Sidharth Monga in Melbourne04-Feb-2012Suresh Raina believes that India’s win in the second Twenty20, especially the fielding, has sent out a message that they are ready to turn the summer around.”All the boys that have come as one-day specialists are young,” Raina said on the eve of the opening match of the triangular series. “When the fielding is good, the intensity picks up, there is a positive vibe around, the whole atmosphere is different.”That’s what we saw yesterday. The fielding was very good, the throws were brilliant, everybody did well. The batting was also good. Gautam Gambhir saw us through. It’s a good sign. Hopefully we will continue that.”Raina said different results could be expected of the team in the ODIs. “It is a different ball game,” he said. “We have played really well as a unit. We bowled really well. When you take wickets with the new ball, it’s always good for the bowling unit. Vinay Kumar and Praveen Kumar bowled really well. If you look at the bench strength, we have Irfan [Pathan], Zak [Zaheer Khan], Umesh [Yadav] ready to go. We have a good team right now.”Raina said it was crucial to get one win on the board. “It was important for us,” he said. “The morale is very good. The atmosphere is very positive at the moment. They (youngsters) showed real character and responsibility yesterday. Every youngster is looking forward to the one-day series. We have Sachin [Tendulkar], we have Zak, and a lot of players who have been in the Test series. They have experience in these conditions.”Raina went on to emphasise the importance of good fielding, and how hard he, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja have been working with Trevor Penney, the fielding coach. There is a healthy competition among the four even during the fielding drills. Raina will know, though, that only fielding doesn’t win matches. He was dropped from the Test side after 15 games because the runs weren’t coming consistently enough.Raina said he had been working hard on his game to suit the bouncy surfaces. Before coming to Australia, he said he has worked at the NCA in Bangalore, in Mumbai with Praveen Amre, and has had sessions with wet balls and also on a hockey surface in Uttar Pradesh, his home state.”I have been working on my wrist position so that I can keep the pull down,” he said. “I am feeling confident at the moment, hitting the ball well, had six-seven good sessions here. This is an important tour with regards to comeback to the Test side.”