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A round-up of the U-19 World Cup games played on February 4, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2016New Zealand Under-19s strolled to a comfortable seven-wicket win in their ninth-place playoff quarter-final against Scotland Under-19s in Cox’s Bazar. Glenn Phillips thrashed a 40-ball 89, an innings laden with 11 fours and six sixes, in the chase of 182 to help NZ romp to the target with 23 overs to spare.Phillips added a 98-run opening stand off 70 balls with Daniel Stanley, who contributed 9 of those. Christian Leopard (25 off 37), Josh Finnie (30 off 29) and Finn Allen (31 off 20) contributed to help seal the chase. Haris Aslam picked up two of the tree wickets to fall.Earlier, Scotland chose to bat and were given a solid start through a 37-run opening stand. However, wickets fell with regularity thereafter. A score of 78 for 2 quickly turned to 135 for 6 as the bowlers chipped away. Owais Shah top-scored with 32 off 66 balls. Left-arm quick Ross ter Braak returned figures of 3 for 34, while Nathan Smith and Felix Murray claimed two scalps apiece.Wicketkeeper-batsman Kyle Verreynne compiled a solid 77 to lift South Africa Under-19s to an eight-wicket win against Ireland Under-19s. Ireland stumbled early after choosing to bat, and were quickly reduced to 71 for 5 in the 23rd over. Lorcan Tucker, Ireland’s wicketkeeper, also struck 77, off 98 balls, and was the only batsman to cross 20 in the innings.The lower and middle order struggled for fluency and were ultimately restricted to 185 for 7. Dayyaan Galiem was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 10-3-22-2. Spinners Sean Whitehead and Luke Philander failed to pick up a wicket, but conceded a combined 64 in 20 overs.Liam Smith (49) and Verreynne strung together 104 in 159 balls to ease South Africa into the ascendancy. The rest of the chase was a canter, as Wiaan Mulder contributed with 43 to help SA to the target with four overs to spare.

England have bolstered their specialist coaching staff for the Test and limited-overs series in Pakistan and the World T20 with the appointments of Mahela Jayawardene and Paul Collingwood

Andrew McGlashan15-Sep-2015England have bolstered their specialist coaching staff for the Test and limited-overs series against Pakistan and the World T20, with the appointments of Mahela Jayawardene and Paul Collingwood.Jayawardene, who ESPNcricinfo revealed had been in discussions with the ECB during this season, will work with the Test side during the warm-up period in the UAE and the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi which starts on October 13. He will resume his close ties with England head coach Trevor Bayliss and assistant Paul Farbrace after their days together with Sri Lanka.Collingwood, the former England limited-overs captain, who played 197 ODIs and 35 T20s alongside his 68 Tests, will then work with the limited-overs set-up during the one-day and T20 series against Pakistan, and then at the World T20 in India next year.One of Jayawardene’s tasks will be to pass on his knowledge of playing spin after the problems England had during the 2012 series against Pakistan in the UAE. England only crossed 300 once in six innings and were bowled out for 72 in Abu Dhabi chasing 145.Even away from subcontinental-type conditions, England have often struggled against spin. In the recent Ashes, Nathan Lyon collected 16 wickets at 28.25 while they also floundered against New Zealand at Headingley, where Mark Craig and Kane Williamson shared six second-innings wickets, and against West Indies in Barbados.In 2012, England’s struggles came against Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman – the pair sharing 43 wickets in the three Tests – but they are no longer part of the Pakistan Test side and instead the challenges will be posed by legspinner Yasir Shah, who has 61 wickets in 10 Tests and was the fastest Pakistan bowler to 50 Test wickets, and left-armer Zulfiqar Babar.Andrew Strauss, the England director of cricket, said: “We are delighted that Mahela and Paul will be joining the England management team, supporting our existing specialist coaches in this area. Both will bring a vast wealth of cricketing knowledge and expertise to the team, and in Mahela’s case, extensive experience of batting in the sub-continent which will be invaluable as part of our wider preparations for the UAE tour.”In 2014, Collingwood was the assistant coach for the limited-overs tour of West Indies. Collingwood also worked alongside Ashley Giles during the World T20 in Bangladesh, but Giles soon lost his job after a defeat in the tournament to Netherlands.Collingwood was then assistant coach with Scotland during the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. Shortly after Strauss was named director of England cricket, Collingwood said it would be very difficult to turn down an offer to work with the team.”I love England, England is my passion. The experience of playing for England for so many years, that’s where you feel you belong, in that dressing room wearing the three lions,” he said. “You’re never guaranteed a job when you come out of cricket but if there was a role they wanted us to play somewhere it would be hard to turn down.”But Collingwood will continue to combine coaching with his playing career for at least another year after he recently signed a one-year extension with Durham.”I’ve always said I want to carry on playing as long as I possibly can while I am still enjoying it and worthy of a place in the team,” he told the . “I’m absolutely delighted to have signed another contract and I want to carry on improving this wonderful club on the pitch. I feel I have still got a lot to offer and I’m going to do all I can to keep playing as long as possible.”

Yorkshire’s seam attack has proved itself a formidable unit over the past five months and they will need to work quickly on day four to push for a victory to keep up the pressure on Durham

Paul Edwards at Hove13-Sep-2013
ScorecardAshar Zaidi, a well-travelled Pakistani professional, took 4 for 57 to frustrate Yorkshire•Getty Images

Yorkshire’s seam attack has proved itself a formidable unit over the past five months and when Ryan Sidebottom uprooted Luke Wells’s off stump with a brutish swinging delivery as early as the third ball of Sussex’s second innings, it was clear that Ed Joyce’s batsmen were to have their work cut out amid the encircling gloom on the south coast.It was a good day for anthropologists at Hove. The morning was spent watching players, umpires and spectators conduct themselves during the bizarre set of rituals associated with a delayed start because of rain and a wet outfield; the afternoon and evening offered the sight of Yorkshire’s batsmen playing a little carelessly and being bowled out for 292, thus gaining a first-innings lead of only 34 when an advantage around 100-150 was probably desirable.But still, the White Rose removed two wickets before the deficit was wiped out – Michael Yardy cover-driving Liam Plunkett low to Phil Jaques’s right. But that was as good as it got for Andrew Gale’s title-chasing team. Soon after Yardy’s departure, the visiting skipper was compelled by the light to bowl only his spinners and even the gentle twisters of Kane Williamson and Adil Rashid were judged by the umpires to be too severe a test in Hove’s growing murk.Only 42 overs were possible on the third day of this game and Gale will plainly be hoping that conditions on the last day allow his bowlers to make the swift inroads they require if the gap between themselves and leaders Durham is not to remain more or less the same as it was on Wednesday morning. There are two rounds of County Championship matches left and they look like being tense affairs indeed.But if Sussex do not have a great deal invested in the outcome of this game – they are that rare thing in September, a mid-table Division One side – the same cannot be said of their slow left-armer Ashar Zaidi, who is effectively on trial over these four days. For the past three English summers Zaidi has been plying his trade for Accrington in the Lancashire League where his skipper, the ex-Lancashire batsman Graham Lloyd, recently described him as “a little bit of stardust” when his team won the title.Until yesterday, the people most readily associated with Accrington by the general public are probably David Lloyd, Graham’s father, and the novelist Jeanette Winterson. One or two more literary types might mention Peter Whelan’s First World War play The Accrington Pals.
Well at least Sussex cricket lovers now have another reason to recall that fine town of steep hills and narrow streets after Zaidi added the wickets of Gary Ballance, Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett to that of Adam Lyth and finished the innings with figures of 4 for 57 from his 23.2 overs. While Zaidi, a well-travelled Pakistani professional, may not earn an extended run in the Sussex team – indeed he may not play for them again – he has performed decently enough in this game. True, he does not turn the ball yards, and also true, the batsmen conspired in their own downfall, Ballance top-edging a sweep and Rashid driving loosely to mid-on, but Zaidi maintained a decent line and earned his wickets.So for all that Andrew Gale’s stressed the need to attack and play positively when play finally got under way at 2.10pm, he will surely have been hoping that his last six wickets would not be taken for as few as 76 runs in 24 overs. A larger lead would have given Yorkshire the chance to attack in the field on the final day and it will be galling in the extreme for Gale’s men if they are left with too stiff a target to chase.Williamson was lbw to Anyon without adding to his overnight 80 and the excellent Magoffin accounted for nightwatchman Steve Patterson. Plunkett whacked a cheery 27 but there remained a sense that amid the bad light and rain breaks, Yorkshire had missed something of an opportunity to truly dominate the contest. Tomorrow we may find out if such tentative judgements were justified.

In the first surprise result of the Allan Border Medal evening, Clint McKay has been named Australia’s One-Day International Player of the Year, narrowly beating George Bailey and David Warner for the award

Brydon Coverdale04-Feb-2013The rise and rise of captain Michael Clarke continued in Melbourne on Monday night when he won his fourth Allan Border Medal and was named Australia’s Test Player of the Year. Clarke also won the double last year, capping off his first 12 months as Australia’s leader in all formats, and his second year in charge was just as impressive. The other major winners from the evening were Clint McKay, who won his first One-Day International Player of the Year title, and Shane Watson, the Twenty20 International Player of the Year.In the Allan Border Medal count, Clarke finished on 198 votes, well clear of Watson and the retiring Michael Hussey, who were in joint second place with 165 votes each. David Warner was fourth with 148 votes, Mitchell Starc fifth with 122 votes and Australia’s Twenty20 captain George Bailey sixth with 116 votes, despite only playing the short formats. The win added to Clarke’s previous triumphs in 2005, 2009 and 2012 and he joined Ricky Ponting as the only men to have taken home four Allan Border Medals.Clarke had another remarkable year in Test cricket, scoring 1080 runs at an average of 77.14 during the voting period, which ran from February 25 last year to January 28 this year. His high point was when he scored consecutive double-centuries against South Africa, with 259 not out at the Gabba followed by 230 in Adelaide. The third of his hundreds during the voting period was 106 against Sri Lanka during the Boxing Day Test. It continued his incredible form since taking over the leadership from Ponting: as full-time captain Clarke has averaged 72.48.Despite the fact that the year brought Clarke’s first series defeat as captain, the 1-0 loss to South Africa, his team still won more than they lost during the voting period. They beat West Indies 2-0 in the Caribbean and enjoyed a 3-0 clean-sweep against Sri Lanka, but Clarke knows that such wins will be quickly forgotten if the coming year, which features a tour of India and back-to-back Ashes contests, does not bring success.The runner-up in the Test Player of the Year category was Hussey, who scored 746 runs at an average of 57.38 and was second on the run tally behind Clarke, while Matthew Wade, who at the start of the voting period had not even played Test cricket, was third. Clarke finished on 22 votes, with Hussey on 15 and Wade on 12. Surprisingly given he spent most of the year out of the Test side and played only three Tests during the home summer, Mitchell Johnson came fourth with 11 votes.In another surprise, the under-rated seamer McKay was named One-Day International Player of the Year, narrowly beating Bailey and Warner. McKay finished with 30 votes, Bailey and Warner were equal second with 28 votes and David Hussey finished in fourth place with 27 votes. Watson was fifth with 23 votes.During the voting period, McKay was Australia’s leading ODI wicket taker with 26 victims at 25.76. He was Man of the Match in the deciding third final of the Commonwealth Bank Series last summer, when he collected 5 for 28 against Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval, and he was also Australia’s best bowler during their disappointing series in England in June and July.”Clint certainly knows how important he is to me and the team. I’ve made that very clear to him,” Clarke said of McKay. “He has become one of our top one-day bowlers in the Australian team, no matter who’s available to play. Clint in the past 12 months has been our first-picked one-day bowler.”I think his execution, not only with the new ball but at the death, is something that not many bowlers can do. His consistency day in day out, into the breeze, down breeze, open the bowling, bowl second change, it doesn’t bother him. Clint is a great example of one of the players I always want in this Australian team because he’ll do whatever it takes for the team first and himself second.”McKay broke the winning streak of Watson, who had taken out the past three ODI Player of the Year awards, and it was a good reward for a sometimes under-valued member of the side. Since his one-day international debut in 2009, McKay has collected 68 wickets at 21.91; only Mitchell Johnson with 73 has claimed more one-day victims for Australia during that time.In the T20 category, Watson was a clear winner with 42 votes, ahead of Warner on 29 and the captain Bailey on 16. Watson’s award was not surprising given his remarkable performances at the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka last year. He was not only the leading run scorer during the tournament, with 249 at an average of 49.80, he was also second on the competition wicket tally with 11 victims at an average of 16, behind only Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis.During the voting period, Watson was Australia’s leading T20 run scorer with 406 at an average of 40.60 and the leading wicket taker with 17 at 15.82. The T20 award was first handed out in 2011, when David Hussey was the recipient, and Watson picked up the prize in 2012.

England Women once again proved a class apart as they destroyed West Indies by 84 runs to move one step closer to a series whitewash.

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2012
ScorecardEngland Women once again proved a class apart as they destroyed West Indies by 84 runs to move one step closer to a series whitewash. Victory in the final match at Arundel will seal the 5-0 win.The win at Hove came courtesy of a stranglehold in the field as only Stefanie Taylor got into double figures. She made 40 from 56 balls opening the batting but that was the only innings that remotely took the attack to the England bowlers. Danni Hazel picked up four wickets, leading England’s spin assault that gave away nothing as 14 overs of slow bowling were sent down.By contrast England found little trouble scoring and racked up nearly an eight-per-over target. Lydia Greenway led the way with 61 in 45 balls with seven fours, sharing a partnership of 98 with Sarah Taylor, whose own contribution was 43 in 36 balls.”It’s been another great team performance today,” Greenway said. “Charlotte and Laura got us off to a good start and everyone coming in knew what they had to do. I was really pleased to contribute and to play positively today, it was good to get out there and get some runs under my belt. I always enjoy batting with Sarah Taylor and today we rotated the strike well.”We were comfortable with the target we set and our bowlers once again put in an excellent performance, all executing their plans to restrict West Indies.”

The Man Utd youngster is thriving on loan at Spurs and not only was she rewarded with her senior international debut, she also marked it with a goal

For a team that saw 2023 end in such heartbreaking fashion, England have certainly started 2024 with a bang. The Lionesses flew to Spain for a warm-weather camp in February, playing friendlies after not making the UEFA Women's Nations League finals, with Sarina Wiegman hoping to try out fresh ideas, see new players and learn plenty about her squad. As the players start to return to their clubs, it certainly feels like the Dutchwoman can tick all three of those boxes.

There were bonuses, too, in the performances that England put on and the results they picked up, as they comfortably beat two strong teams in Austria, who were thrashed 7-2 on Friday, and Italy, defeated 5-1 four days later. "There are very many positives about this week," Wiegman told after the latter result.

So, who were the winners as the Lionesses kicked off 2024 in style? And who didn't fare so well? GOAL takes a look…

WINNER: Grace Clinton

The biggest compliment that can be paid to Grace Clinton after her performances for England this week is that it hardly looked like this was the camp in which she made her international debut. Awarded that first cap on Friday against Austria, she marked the occasion with a superb goal, was unlucky not to get a second, and backed it up with another terrific display in the win over Italy.

On loan at Tottenham from Manchester United this season, the 20-year-old has been in sublime form and she showed it in these friendlies, her clever footwork and ability to carve defences open making her one of the most eye-catching players across England's two games. But Clinton worked hard off the ball, too, ranking second for tackles won and third for possession among the Lionesses' squad. That she shone in two different midfield roles, box-to-box against Austria and then as a No.10 in the win over Italy, was also impressive.

"She just went out to play, played with a lot of freedom and showed her quality," Wiegman said of the youngster in a perfectly-put piece of praise. Given how well she slipped into England's starting XI, it'd be a surprise not to see more of her in the April window as qualifying for the 2025 European Championships begins.

AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Leah Williamson

As Wiegman says, there were tons of positives for England in this camp but there were also a couple of negatives. The first came before the Lionesses had even got together as Leah Williamson's long-awaited comeback was delayed further, a minor hamstring injury causing the Arsenal star to pull out of the squad.

Williamson has worked so hard to get back on the pitch after a devastating ACL injury that ruled her out of the Women's World Cup and this camp felt like the perfect opportunity for her England return, the friendly games removing some of the pressure. However, she'll be targeting a chance to pull on her country's colours again in April instead.

WINNER: Lotte Wubben-Moy

Every cloud has a silver lining and Williamson's absence opened the door for Lotte Wubben-Moy, her Arsenal team-mate who she will have no doubt been pleased to see get a rare opportunity to show what she can do for England. There have been plenty of calls for Wubben-Moy to receive more game time, especially given her sublime recent form at club level, and she saw significant minutes in both games this week.

Though starting from the bench against Austria, the 25-year-old came on at half time and got an assist thanks to a strong header. She then went one better in the game with Italy, scoring her first England goal with just 60 seconds on the clock, this on her first start since June 2022 and just her third overall. Her defensive work and general play in both matches was superb, too.

Asked if Wubben-Moy had taken a step forward in her thinking after the two performances, Wiegman told : "She's definitely taken a step forward because she's developing a lot and very well. That's what we see weekly at Arsenal and that's what she shows here, too." The coach did add that the competition at centre-back is "really high" but Wubben-Moy has certainly done nothing this week to harm her chances of getting more of a look-in when the opportunity presents itself.

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Getty ImagesLOSER: Fran Kirby

After losing Williamson before the camp had even begun, England suffered another blow in the warm-up for the clash with Austria when Fran Kirby felt some irritation in her knee. The Chelsea star was replaced in the starting line-up by Ella Toone and, in the following days, withdrew from the camp altogether. "We didn't want to take any risks so she's being assessed at the club," Wiegman explained. "We don't expect it to be a bad injury."

Though it doesn't sound overly-concerning for Kirby, it is another frustration for the 30-year-old in what has felt like a real stop-start period of her career. After coming back admirably from some health scares in recent years, it is these knee injuries that are now plaguing Kirby as she looks to rediscover the form that made her one of the most talismanic footballers on the planet.

Chelsea have long been excellent at looking after the playmaker and will no doubt take the necessary steps to deal with this issue. Meanwhile the Blues, England and essentially every football fan will hope that she is able to ride this storm and get back to that level that made her so wonderful to watch.

Tim Cahill leads the way for Australia at international level

Australia might not have the history that a lot of other countries have when it comes to the beautiful game, but they have sure had some high-profile names represent them at the international stage over the years.

Just think Harry Kewell.

Or Mark Viduka.

Yet even though the two former Premier League stars got plenty of goals, they are not among Australia's 10 highest-ever goal scorers.

But who is Australia's most lethal attacker ever then?

Let's take a look!

• AFP
  

  1Tim Cahill | 50 goals

  The greatest goalscorer Australia has produced with 50 international goals, Tim Cahill was part of the national team setup for 14 years between 2004 to 2018.

  His first goal for the Socceroos came as part of a brace against Tahiti in May 2004, while Cahill scored two goals each at the World Cup in 2006 and 2014.

  Cahill's stunning goal against Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup is remembered to this day as he beat Jasper Cillessen with an incredible left-footed volley.

  The Everton legend's most lethal performances for the Socceroos came when he netted hat-tricks against Fiji and Bangladesh respectively.

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• Nigel Marple
  

  2Damian Mori | 29 goals

  Part of Australia's national team for a decade between 1992 and 2002, Damian Mori made his debut against Solomon Islands in September 1992.

  The Adelaide City legend scored his first international goal against Tahiti in just his second game for the Socceroos and he scored a total of 29 goals in 45 caps spanning just under 10 years, making him the second-highest goal scorer for Australia.

• Getty
  

  3Archie Thompson | 28 goals

  Third on the list of Australia's all-time top goal scorers with 28 goals in 51 matches is Archie Thompson.

  The New Zealand-born striker featured for the Socceroos at the 2001 and 2005 Confederations Cup, the 2004 OFC Nations Cup, the 2006 World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup and the 2008 Summer Olympics.

  Thompson holds the all-time goal-scoring record in a single international match, netting 13 times in Australia's memorable 31-0 win against American Samoa in 2001.

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• Getty Images
  

  4John Aloisi | 27 goals

  John Aloisi made his debut for Australia on March 12, 1997 in a friendly match against Macedonia, with arguably his best performance coming in a 22-0 win against Tonga, a game in which he scored six goals.

  Aloisi featured at the 2006 World Cup and scored in their opening game against Japan, helping them reach the knockout stages from a group that also held Brazil and Coatia.

  The former Osasuna man scored 27 goals over 55 games in his 11-year stint with Australia.

MatériaMais Notícias

No processo de mapear o mercado em busca de jogadores jovens com custo-benefício dentro da atual situação financeira do clube, o Botafogo desistiu da contratação de Gabriel Novaes. Antes dada como certa pela diretoria, a negociação com o atacante melou e, consequentemente, o jogador do São Paulo não virá mais ao clube de General Severiano.

Os moldes do negócio seriam um empréstimo até o final de 2020 com o Botafogo pagando o salário de Gabriel Novaes de forma integral. Além disto, uma opção de compra avaliada em 1,5 milhão de euros (R$7.085.400,00, na cotação atual) também estava prevista. O Tricolor, porém, exigiu que o atacante não pudesse jogar contra a equipe do Morumbi enquanto estivesse cedido.

– Desistimos do Gabriel Novaes porque o São Paulo queria colocar uma cláusula que ele não poderia jogar contra o Tricolor. Portanto o atacante, que viria para compor o elenco, não virá mais por conta disso. Se você paga 100% do salário de um jogador emprestado não tem porquê ele não jogar contra o time dele. Esse tipo de cultura nós não vamos aceitar mais – afirmou Ricardo Rotenberg, membro do Comitê Executivo de Futebol do Botafogo, em entrevista à “Rádio Brasil”.

Gabriel Novaes, inclusive, estava no Rio de Janeiro desde o começo da semana, mas retornará ao São Paulo para ser reintegrado ao elenco da equipe comandada por Fernando Diniz. O Botafogo, por sua vez, fica com Pedro Raul, Rafael Navarro e Igor Cássio como opções para a posição de centro-avante.

O jogador de 20 anos foi artilheiro da Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior em 2019 e, logo após a competição, foi emprestado ao Barcelona B. Na equipe da Catalunha, contudo, não teve sucesso e logo foi repassado ao Córdoba, da terceira divisão da Espanha.

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A sluggish surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium produced an attritional first day on which India A took the early initiative through a century stand between KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara before losing five wickets for 94 runs to Australia A’s constricti

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy in Chennai22-Jul-2015
ScorecardKL Rahul hit 14 fours for his 96•K SivaramanA sluggish surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium produced an attritional first day on which India A took the early initiative through a century stand between KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara before losing five wickets for 94 runs to Australia A’s constricting tactics. When rain brought the first day’s play to a close at half past four, India were 221 for 6.With Varun Aaron missing out due to fever, India went in with an attack consisting of two seamers in Umesh Yadav and Abhimanyu Mithun, and the spin pair of Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha. India’s early progress, after they chose to bat, gave no hint as to how the day would pan out. Rahul eased Gurinder Sandhu for drives to the cover and straight boundaries in the first over, and Mukund caressed two cover-driven fours off Andrew Fekete in the next over before playing all around a yorker.The match settled into a steadier rhythm thereafter, but there were enough bad balls for Rahul and Pujara to score off and keep the score ticking along at more than three runs an over. Rahul flicked Sean Abbott off his toes to the fine leg boundary and took two fours off the left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe’s first over – a flat-bat drive between cover point and short cover, and a dismissive square cut when he pitched short. Pujara soaked up some good bowling early on, but caught up with Rahul as the session wore on, driving Abbott through cover and gliding Marcus Stoinis between slip and gully for two fours in two overs.Both batsmen were in their 40s at lunch, with India 104 for 1 in 30 overs. They both brought up their fifties with boundaries after lunch; Rahul cutting Fekete behind point, Pujara driving Sandhu down the ground.Australia, though, had worked out a plan for their seamers. From start of the second session through the rest of the day, they bowled a nagging stump-to-stump line with five fielders on the leg side – usually a short mid-on and a short midwicket, a deeper mid-on in between, and two back for the hook. Given the slowness of the pitch, the batsmen had to be careful about flicking or driving anything that was not overpitched. It was hardly the kind of test Rahul Dravid, the India A coach, had hoped his batsmen would be exposed to when he had called for quick, bouncy pitches in the lead-up to the series. It was still a test, nonetheless.Fekete got the ball to stop on Pujara twice in two overs. Both times, he jabbed early at the ball while defending from the crease. The first one fell just short of Usman Khawaja at short mid-on. The second one carried to him.Abbott, replacing Fekete after his successful spell, nearly struck in the same manner in the 48th over, Rahul popping one in the air between short mid-on and short midwicket. In between, O’Keefe, and the pressure of playing out 14 dot balls, had sent back Karun Nair, who drove too early and scooped a catch to short cover .Nair’s wicket brought Shreyas Iyer to the crease, and his arrival brought a thrillingly discordant note to the day’s play in a fourth-wicket stand of 55 with Rahul. Seeming to pick up length earlier than most, Iyer cut Abbott for four off a ball that was barely short and only marginally wide, and pulled Sandhu for two fours in one over – either side of deep square leg – when he went around the wicket shortly before tea. But a silly shot was always around the corner; having earlier attempted, unsuccessfully, to paddle Abbott, Iyer was bowled while trying to whip Sandhu across the line.Five overs later, Rahul gave short mid-on another moment in the sun. Trying to flick Abbott off the stumps, he played a touch too early, and fell four runs short of a hundred.Australia continued to constrict: only seven runs came off the ten overs that followed Rahul’s dismissal. The pressure finally told on Naman Ojha; having scored 10 off 55 balls, he saw a bit of air from O’Keefe, went after him, and failed to clear mid-off. The light was fading rapidly already, and Travis Head, brought on to bowl his offspin from the other end, could only send down one ball before the groundstaff raced in with the covers.

Legspinner Fawad Ahmed and veteran batsman Adam Voges have both been included in Australia’s squads for the upcoming Ashes tour and the two-Test series in the West Indies that precedes it

Brydon Coverdale and Daniel Brettig30-Mar-20152:29

Coverdale: Fawad, Voges picked on current form

Legspinner Fawad Ahmed and veteran batsman Adam Voges have both been included in Australia’s squads for the upcoming Ashes tour and the two-Test series in the West Indies that precedes it. Peter Nevill has been confirmed as the backup wicketkeeper to Brad Haddin, while there was no room for Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner or Joe Burns.Shaun Marsh was preferred to fellow Test incumbent Burns and joins his brother Mitchell Marsh in the 17-man Ashes squad. Peter Siddle was named in the group after being dropped from the Test side during the summer and he is expected to feature in the Tests in the Caribbean, with Ryan Harris staying home for the birth of his first child and joining the touring party for the Ashes.Fast bowler James Pattinson was deemed unavailable for the West Indies tour after suffering an injury to his left hamstring during the Sheffield Shield final, and he will be assessed by medical staff over the coming weeks. Pattinson’s breaking down in the Shield final did not prevent Victoria’s win, which came thanks in large part to Fawad’s eight-wicket haul in the first innings.As an asylum seeker from Pakistan, Fawad’s Australian citizenship was rushed through in 2013 to have him available for the Ashes but he was not chosen for that tour, and had to settle for debuts in ODI and Twenty20 international cricket. However, his legspin has bewitched batsmen all over Australia this summer and he topped the Shield tally with 48 victims at 24.85.The selectors have also included the leading run scorer this season. Voges plundered 1358 runs at 104.46 in the Shield this summer to make himself almost impossible to ignore, and his experience will make him a valuable member of the squad. Voges was first part of a Test squad when he was called up during the 2006-07 Ashes in Australia, but nearly a decade later still does not have a baggy green.Nevill’s selection as the backup wicketkeeper ahead of Matthew Wade, who was chosen for the 2013 Ashes, comes after a summer in which he piled up 764 Shield runs at 76.40, including a career-best 235 not out against Tasmania in Hobart last month. Nevill toured the West Indies in 2012 when Brad Haddin flew home for personal reasons, but is yet to debut for Australia in any format.”Basically the white ball’s been put down and we’re into red ball cricket,” National Selector Rod Marsh said. “We’re not playing it at home, and obviously we’ve been a powerhouse at home in recent series, but we haven’t done that well overseas and it’s time we got that right. We’ve hopefully picked sides that will be very, very good overseas and we hope to win both the series in the West Indies and we’d be delighted if we won the Ashes – that would be a fair 12 months I reckon.”Fawad Ahmed has been named in Australia’s Test squad•Getty ImagesMarsh explained that Voges’ sheer weight of runs had pushed him ahead of Joe Burns, who played the last two Tests of the home summer but will now travel with Australia A to India, where he has never played before, to gain experience with an eye towards 2016 and series away to Sri Lanka and India.”He had a magnificent Shield season, absolutely no doubt about that,” Marsh said of Voges. “I looked at him on four or five occasions, maybe more, this year. and I thought ‘I don’t know how anyone is going to get this bloke out’. He was that dominant, but it wasn’t only the fact he made 1300-odd runs, it was the way he made them. It was as good as any Sheffield Shield batting I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some good stuff.”Pure weight of runs, and the way in which he got those runs [put Voges ahead of Burns]. You could just see Test player written all over him. Mark Waugh saw him bat, Trevor Hohns saw him bat, I saw him bat, all the state coaches, all the state talent managers. Everyone said the same thing – surely we can’t all be wrong.”It’ worked out quite nicely for Joe in a lot of ways in as much as he will be going to India, where he’s never played cricket, he’ll have two four-day matches and five one-day matches in India, and I reckon that will be very good for his overall development as a batsman.”Although none of the inclusions were especially surprising, it was notable that neither Faulkner nor Maxwell made the squad after both playing key roles in Australia’s recent World Cup triumph. Ashton Agar was also considered a possible candidate for the second spinning position, but Fawad’s credentials this summer were too strong.”Forty-eight wickets is a pretty good season, and it wasn’t only the fact he got 48 wickets, it was the way he bowled,” Marsh said. “He bowled beautifully all summer and him being a legspinner as opposed to a finger spinner probably also gave him a slight advantage because, believe it or not, Australia’s always looking for legspinners. We have a proud history of legspinning in this country, and we want that to continue.”He doesn’t bowl too much rubbish, and he creates a lot of pressure. He’s able to have men around the bat in most instances and he keeps asking the batsmen questions. That’s what most good spinners do, you need to be able to remain on as a legspinners. It is all very well ripping the ball, but if you bowl two full tosses, two long hops, it’s very hard for the captain to keep you on. He maintains good economy and he asks many questions of both left and right-handed batsmen.”Cricket Australia has also named its list of 19 contracted players for the 2015-16 season, with Siddle the notable exclusion from last year despite being named in the Test squads. Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh and Pat Cummins have all joined the list from outside the contract list named this time last year for the 2014-15 season.George Bailey retained his contract despite effectively being viewed as an ODI-only player, and being dropped from the side during the recent World Cup. Clarke’s retirement from one-day cricket could pave the way for Bailey to return as a regular member of the team when they next convene for a series later this year.Australia A squads have also been named for a series of four-day and one-day games in India throughout July, with Usman Khawaja named to captain the team in both formats alongside Matthew Wade as his deputy.Test squad Michael Clarke (capt), Steven Smith (vice-capt), Fawad Ahmed, Brad Haddin, Josh Hazlewood, Ryan Harris (Ashes only), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson.Contract list George Bailey, Michael Clarke, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Chris Rogers, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson.Australia A four-day squad Usman Khawaja (capt), Matthew Wade (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Andrew Fekete, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Steve O’Keefe, Gurinder Sandhu, Marcus Stoinis.Australia A one-day squad Usman Khawaja (capt), Matthew Wade (vice-capt), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Boyce, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Callum Ferguson, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Gurinder Sandhu, Adam Zampa.