Australia’s selectors have outlined their plans for the Ashes and next year’s World Cup after retaining faith in their recent influx of emerging talent

Peter English07-Apr-2010Australia’s selectors have outlined their plans for the Ashes and next year’s World Cup after retaining faith in their recent influx of emerging talent. Andrew Hilditch’s panel dropped a couple of senior bowlers in Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken, but gave full-time contracts to the fresh quicks Ryan Harris and Clint McKay for 2010-11.Steven Smith, the exciting allrounder from New South Wales, wins his first spot in the 25-man list while Tasmania’s Tim Paine has replaced Graham Manou as the back-up keeper. Andrew McDonald seems fortunate to hold his place, although he will come into contention for the tour of England, and Callum Ferguson, the South Australia batsman, is retained despite not playing since a knee reconstruction in October. Shaun Tait remains in favour while David Hussey misses out, and Brad Hodge’s first-class retirement officially ended his remote chances of another deal.Clark has not represented his country since the Ashes defeat at The Oval in August and Bracken spent much of the season out following knee surgery. “It is disappointing for Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken who have not received contracts,” Hilditch said. “Both Stuart and Nathan have fantastic records for Australia and not renewing their contracts was a very hard decision. The reality is that other bowlers have seized the opportunity over the last six months in both Test and limited-overs cricket. I am sure Nathan and Stuart will look to start next season well and force their way back into the Australian side.”While the rankings remain confidential, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson should have filled the top four places for retainers of around A$1.5 million in the contract period beginning on July 1. It is a big leap for Watson, who has become an essential player in all three forms after securing his Test spot as an opener during the Ashes tour. Since then he has scored 926 runs at 54.47 and taken 13 wickets in 10 matches, while also being an important asset in the one-day and Twenty20 teams.Brett Lee’s ranking has dropped dramatically after his Test retirement, while Doug Bollinger and Harris have stepped up from the fringes after their strong displays in the five-day outfit. “The Australian side is very much in the final stages of its preparation for … the Ashes series in Australia and the World Cup for 50-over cricket in India,” Hilditch said. “The contract list has a good blend of experience and youth, and recognises the very strong performances of the Australian side in Test and limited-overs cricket this summer.”The selectors rate the players from one to 20 in both Test and limited-overs sections, with the numbers combined to achieve an overall ranking. Five players qualified for fixed contracts by finishing in the top six of each list and will earn an average of $1.5m over the next year, including all game fees. The 25th-ranked man receives a retainer of $200,000 and the amounts rise incrementally. Additional marketing contracts allow the players to collect another six-figure sum while prize-money, match payments (for 20 members) and personal endorsements are added extras.The panel takes into account form over the past 12 months and the likelihood of the cricketers appearing in international sides in the next year. The number of Twenty20 internationals on the calendar has made it hard for short-form specialists, such as David Warner and David Hussey, to gain contracts and they will have to rely on their state deals unless they qualify for a national contract through international appearances.However, Tait, who only plays Twenty20 and domestic one-dayers, held his spot. “We see him as an important member of the World Twenty20 squad and a real chance to force his way back into the Australian 50-over side,” Hilditch said. “At his best he is a powerful weapon in limited-overs cricket.”The size of the payment pool has convinced James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, that the sport is an increasingly attractive career-choice. “Australia’s top-level cricketers are well paid with marketing contract incentives rewarding players for their off-field work on behalf of cricket and recognising that this is an important part of their roles,” he said. “In addition to CA-contracted players, it is also important to note that state payments continue to increase.” The minimum for a domestic contract is $50,000, rising to a maximum of $140,000.2010-11 contracted players Doug Bollinger, Michael Clarke, Callum Ferguson, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Andrew McDonald, Clint McKay, Marcus North, Tim Paine, Ricky Ponting, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

Twenty20 began as a giggle for Australia, who treated it as a third-rate concept and preferred to save their focus for Tests and ODIs

Peter English15-May-2010Twenty20 began as a giggle for Australia, who treated it as a third-rate concept and preferred to save their focus for Tests and ODIs. It was an approach that resulted in them quickly becoming also-rans in the format, something that hurt them more than they expected. Eventually the lack of results forced a regeneration that has led to Michael Clarke’s men making the World Twenty20 final against England in Barbados on Sunday.A gimmicky new format

17 February, 2005

New Zealand and Australia turned up to a retro costume party to christen the new fad in Auckland and Ricky Ponting summed up the affair. “I think it is difficult to play seriously,” he said. Ponting was the star with 98 off 55 balls, including five sixes, but never matched the performance again, or warmed to the style of play.In modern terms he was a traditionalist, like most of his team-mates at the time, and Twenty20 was a popular gimmick. Still, Australia have beaten their initial total of 214 only once since then and Ponting wasn’t totally dismissive of the concept. “If it does become an international game then I’m sure the novelty won’t be there all the time.”Heading south at Southampton

13 June, 2005

Australia didn’t realise it then, but the start of their Ashes defeat began at Southampton during the second Twenty20 international. They scored only 79 after being 31 for 7, and misread the mood of England. Damien Martyn outlined the outlook of the coach John Buchanan, who was focussing instead on the opening Test.”Buck was saying: ‘It’s only a muck-around game, don’t worry about it’,” Martyn said. “We trained for four hours on the morning. So we went from the nets next door, busting a gut, into a T20 game where they rolled up playing it like a Test match and flogged us.”Ricky Ponting wonders where it all went wrong in the 2009 World Twenty20•Getty Images

A World Cup isn’t a big deal

September 2007

A global trophy was crafted quickly for the shortest game, but Adam Gilchrist and his team-mates were more concerned with the upcoming tour of India than the matches in South Africa. “It was no secret that our attitude to Twenty20 cricket was undeveloped,” Gilchrist wrote in his autobiography. “As a group, we didn’t think this tournament was that big a deal.”An opening loss to Zimbabwe embarrassed them and they recovered to reach the semi-final, when they were knocked out by India. “It dawned on us that maybe Twenty20 would be the big revolution that some were predicting,” Gilchrist wrote. Not winning a global tournament changed their thinking a little, but it was still more novelty than necessary.First-round losers

6-8 June, 2009

It took three days and two defeats for Australia to drop from the 2009 World Twenty20, delivering more red faces and leaving them unranked for this year’s event. Once again it was the first lapse on a trip that ended in Ashes defeat. “I’d like to be able to tell you that I knew what was going wrong,” Ponting said after losing to Sri Lanka and exiting the tournament.Australia had started to pick some specialists, but didn’t have the batting fire power or bowling nous to counter West Indies or Kumar Sangakkara’s outfit. Ponting had joked the side wouldn’t lose its final group match because it would mean having to spend two weeks in Leicester. It wasn’t so funny when it happened. At that point Australia had lost five Twenty20 internationals in a row and Ponting was soon announcing his retirement from the format.Twenty20 has provided a career highlight for Michael Hussey•Getty Images

Team overhaul

16 October, 2009

Michael Clarke became the full-time captain and Cameron White, a bits-and-pieces player until now, was a surprise choice as his deputy. After years of trying to mix a couple of specialists with the Test and ODI stars, the Australian selectors show they are serious about putting together a side made for Twenty20.”We’ve got a young and enthusiastic group, but we must recognise that we’ve got a lot of work to do in Twenty20 cricket and our recent form hasn’t been good,” Clarke said. “Naturally, we’ll target the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean next year and I feel we have plenty of talent to genuinely mount a challenge in that tournament.” It sounded more like hopeful PR talk at the time.New team, old focus

May 2010

Following a warm-up loss to Zimbabwe, Australia were experiencing déjà vu. Even though the results hadn’t yet changed, the demeanour had. Clarke even said Twenty20 had “become exactly the same as one-day and Test cricket”. His men quickly displayed the same steel that has driven them in the other formats through most of the 2000s, and from the moment the tournament started they were a familiar foe to the rest of the world.In the aftermath of the unbelievable semi-final victory against Pakistan, which took their streak to six, Michael Hussey rated the winning feeling better than his 2006-07 Ashes moment in Adelaide. The comparisons may seem unreasonable to traditional cricket followers, but they prove the team is no longer treating Twenty20 like a toy.

Canada will be the overseas team participating in the inaugural Caribbean Twenty20 tournament between July 22-31 in Barbados and Trinidad, Cricket Canada announced today

Cricinfo staff13-Jun-2010Canada will be the overseas team participating in the inaugural Caribbean Twenty20 tournament between July 22 and 31 in Barbados and Trinidad, Cricket Canada has announced. Apart from Canada, the tournament will include seven regional teams – Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands and Combined Campuses and Colleges.The winner will be the sole representative from the West Indies in the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa in September. Last year Trinidad and Tobago, the winners of the Stanford 20/20, qualified for the inaugural Champions League in India and finished runners-up.Ravin Moorthy, Cricket Canada’s first vice-president, said the tournament was a great opportunity for supporters to fly down from Canada.”Fans across Canada are anxiously anticipating this event and hundreds are expected to flock to the Caribbean to watch the action,” he said. “The world’s biggest T20 stars, including Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, will be taking the field against Rizwan Cheema and the rest of the Canadian stars. This is a great moment for Canadian cricket and something we should all embrace.”The eight teams will be split into two groups of four, with each team playing three games in the league stage, and the top two teams in each group qualifying for the semi-finals. Barbados will host the first eight games from July 22 to 25, while the next eight will be held in Trinidad from July 28 to 31. August 1 is the reserve day for the final.

Somerset maintained the pressure on Friends Provident t20 South Group leaders Sussex by coasting to an emphatic fourth win of the campaign by 84 runs

20-Jun-2010

ScorecardSomerset maintained the pressure on Friends Provident t20 South Group leaders Sussex by coasting to an emphatic fourth win of the campaign by 84 runs with nine balls to spare over Kent in Beckenham. In a repeat of last season’s semi-final, the Sabres rattled up an impressive 189 built around an unbeaten 77 from Man of the Match James Hildreth and Jos Butler’s 48 not out.The visitors defended their total strongly as local lad Ben Phillips came back to taunt his former club with 2 for 24. Somerset, having been invited to bat, sprinted to 32 inside four overs only to lose captain Marcus Trescothick for 12 after he pulled a slow-ball bouncer from Azhar Mahmood into the hands of Alex Blake at deep midwicket.Nick Compton (24) looked comfortable in helping double the total until a stunning overhead stop and rapid throw to the wicketkeeper by Martin van Jaarsveld at cover left him short of his ground and run out.Third wicket pair Hildreth and Zander de Bruyn (nine) posted the Sabres’ 100 in the 13th over, but in the same over De Bruyn miscued an attempted pull shot to short midwicket where Malinga Bandara accepted a good, low chance. In the following over Bandara bamboozled Kieron Pollard (one) with a googly that beat his defensive push and brushed off stump to make it 109 for 4.Unhindered by the losses, Hildreth charged on to a 43-ball 50 and batted through to reach a competition best 77 from 55 balls with 13 fours. He found a willing ally in teenage right-hander Butler, who even out-foxed the wily Mahmood during a cameo 48 from 22 balls as the fifth-wicket pair added 80 in 6.2 overs.The former England Under-19 finished the innings in style, hoisting the final delivery of the innings for six in an expensive last over from Bandara that cost 17.Kent announced their intentions early when Rob Key launched a six into the crowd over square leg, but within 21 balls both he and opening partner Van Jaarsveld (six) were back in the pavilion.
Van Jaarsveld drove to mid-off then Key, on nine, miscued a heave to leg high to De Bruyn at long-on off Phillips who, having seen Blake hook a six to long leg, sent down another short one that the left-hander edged high to Buttler.Pollard then replaced Phillips at the North End to take two key wickets in his first over. Geraint Jones (25) uppercut a short one to Phillips patrolling the ropes at deep cover then in-form Darren Stevens (six) lofted a slower ball to cover and marched off – Kent’s slender chances of victory went with him.Alfonso Thomas, with 3 for 15, and Pollard who finished with 4 for 15, duly ran through the Kent tail as the hosts lost their last five wickets for 13 runs.

Virender Sehwag’s verbal reaction to defensive/attacking fields to him is as emphatic as it was with the bat

Sidharth Monga at the P Sara Oval05-Aug-2010Virender Sehwag’s verbal reaction to defensive/attacking fields to him is as emphatic as it was with the bat. The Indian opening batsman, overnight on 97, went on to score 109 and set the platform for India to gain a slender lead on the third day.”I was looking for opportunities to score runs wherever I could,” Sehwag said of what he was trying to do when, for the third time in the series, he faced short and wide deliveries with a square third man, a deep point and a sweeper-cover in place. “If fielders are there I can hit towards mid-off, midwicket or mid-on. Whatever reasons. Because I don’t want to, you know, play boring Test cricket.”Sehwag also spoke of his superb run of form against Sri Lanka. In the last five Tests against India’s most regular opponents, Sehwag has scored four centuries, including a 293, and one 99.”I have been playing the same way as I was against other countries. I am not changing anything. The moment I hit two or three boundaries in an over, they spread the field, bowl outside off, bowl short-pitched [deliveries], then it’s not easy to get batsmen out to those deliveries. If you are lucky, if I make a mistake, then I will get out.”On the third day here, though, it wasn’t defensive tactics that got Sehwag’s wicket. Suraj Randiv was persistent in his attack, and got sharp turn. Sehwag took his chance to go inside-out, but wasn’t quite to the pitch of the ball and he holed out to mid-off. With the ball, though, he put India’s noses slightly ahead, bowling sharp and quick offspin to remove Tharanga Paranavitana and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Sehwag said chasing more than 200 could be tricky to chase on this pitch.”We are bowling in good areas, we are getting help from the wicket,” Sehwag said. “In the morning tomorrow, if we get Mahela [Jayawardene] and Sanga [Kumar Sangakkara] out early, then I think we will be in the game. But we must bowl tight because we must not concede too many runs, and yet take wickets regularly.”

Dav Whatmore has questioned the selection of Yuvraj Singh in the Test squad against Sri Lanka ahead of batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who had a prolific run during the recently concluded A tour to England

Cricinfo staff14-Jul-2010Dav Whatmore, the Kolkata Knight Riders coach and the former director of coaching at India’s National Cricket Academy, has questioned the selection of Yuvraj Singh in the Test squad against Sri Lanka ahead of batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who had a prolific run during the recently concluded A tour to England.”The team surely has some finest Test match players. But, where is Cheteshwar Pujara? I personally think he is a must in the team, especially considering his form. Yuvraj Singh ahead of Pujara is completely baffling. This is just the right time to bring him in,” Whatmore told .Pujara, who represents Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, was also part of the Kolkata squad in the IPL supervised by Whatmore. He cracked an unbeaten 208 against West Indies A on the tour of England, and scored 332 runs in five limited-overs games as captain, averaging 83. In first-class cricket, Pujara, 22, averages 60.38 and has a triple-century to his name. He has been named Parthiv Patel’s deputy for the upcoming Emerging Players’ Tournament in Brisbane in August.Yuvraj, however, has virtually cemented his position in the middle order for the first Test that begins on July 18, scoring a fluent century against Sri Lanka’s Board President’s XI in the tour game.India are without Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth on the Sri Lankan tour – both are injured – and Whatmore expected a difficult time for the visitors in the three-match Test series. “Good players are always missed in the team. The key is how ready the playing XI is. Sri Lanka is a very formidable unit and it would be a tough contest for Dhoni and company.”Jaidev Unadkat, a left-arm seamer who Whatmore coached in the last IPL, is part of the Indian outfit in Sri Lanka as a net bowler. Whatmore said he needed more exposure in first-class cricket. “These are early days for him. But there is no doubt that he is a promising talent. Unadkat needs to play and concentrate in first-class matches. He holds a bright future.”The first Test will be Muttiah Muralitharan’s last, and Whatmore, while acknowledging his absence would affect Sri Lanka, said they have some impressive reserves in the spin department. “Muralitharan is arguably the greatest spin bowler of the modern era. He was one man, who created a fear psychosis. For the first time ever, batsmen started fearing offspin bowling. Teams always had a specific plan against Murali. His retirement will create a huge hole.”But Sri Lanka have the young talent. Suraj Randiv is a great offie and a future star. Ajantha Mendis has also troubled many teams and is definitely in Sri Lanka’s scheme of things.”India, Whatmore said, are among the front-runners heading into the 2011 World Cup but urged the media to not put pressure on captain MS Dhoni. “Of course India can win the World Cup. But for that to happen, everything should fall in place. But the media have the habit of exaggerating things till it is too close for comfort. No one has the Midas touch. It is just that Dhoni is a wise captain and has a thinking head on his shoulders.”But the media have added unnecessary pressure on him by branding him ‘Captain Cool’ and what not. After all, he is a human being. Gary [Kirsten] is a good coach and India has relatively performed well under his guidance.”

Kumar Sangakkara believes New Zealand are tough opponents because of their discipline, which he said was an attribute other teams should pick up from Ross Taylor’s side

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla12-Aug-2010Kumar Sangakkara believes New Zealand are tough opponents because of their discipline, which he said was an attribute other teams should pick up from Ross Taylor’s side. New Zealand lack the big names of the other two teams in the tournament but started off with a crushing victory over India, serving notice to anyone under-estimating them.”The great thing about New Zealand is they are very competitive,” Sangakkara said before the start of his team’s practice session under lights. “They play very orthodox, very structured cricket. Strategies are set and they always try to execute those strategies. That’s the discipline that I think we can all learn from New Zealand.”It’s very important in Twenty20 and one-day cricket now that you have applied executable strategies out in the middle that everyone understands and everyone can execute according to their own abilities. New Zealand does that probably the best in the world, so that makes them a very tough side.”The discipline and strategy are particularly important when batting second in the challenging conditions in Dambulla, where the team batting first has had a distinct advantage in recent matches. “It’s not mostly skill, it’s about being mentally attuned to what’s happening there and being ready with not just one but two or three plans,” he said.The tournament is seen as a part of the team’s fine-tuning ahead of the World Cup but the pitches in Dambulla aren’t the traditional subcontinental flat tracks. “Playing in conditions like this is very good for us because when it is a challenge, you got to relish it,” Sangakkara said. “The harder the things you have to do out in the middle, the improvement becomes faster. For us, that is how we are going to look at this tournament.”One aspect of Sri Lanka’s cricket which will be closely watched is the spin bowling. With no Muttiah Muralitharan around, it’s a chance for any of Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath to establish themselves in the side. “It depends on the opposition we are playing,” Sangakkara said when asked about the first-choice spinner. “Depending on that, we will pick one or the other [Randiv or Mendis]. We got Rangana Herath in the wings as well. So each time we will make sure that we play the right combination for the opposition unless there is a huge difference in form between the bowlers.”New Zealand had gone in without a spinner in the first match, but that could change in case Jacob Oram fails to recover from his hamstring problem. “We have a little bit of a niggle with Jacob Oram, just a tight hamstring, hopefully he can recover well tonight, we’ll see how he goes tomorrow,” the captain Ross Taylor said. “He’s an outstanding bowler for us, top-10 in the one-day rankings, if we were to lose him, it will be a huge loss but it will be an opportunity for whoever comes in.”A win on Friday will virtually put New Zealand in the final, but Taylor was not looking that far ahead. “I don’t want to get carried away, it was one victory and the team played well. Sri Lanka are a difficult opponent in their home conditions and we have to come out with the same attitude and the same intent in the next game, we know if we do that we give ourselves a good chance.”

Elton Chigumbura guided his side to a second successive victory and condemned Ireland to a series loss in a fluctuating tussle at the Harare Sports Club

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2010

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKevin O’Brien’s gutsy 73 was not enough to prevent Zimbabwe taking the series with a three-wicket victory•AFP

Elton Chigumbura guided his side to a three-wicket victory and condemned Ireland to a series loss in a fluctuating tussle at the Harare Sports Club. His unbeaten 32 ensured Brendan Taylor’s classy 71 did not go unrewarded as Zimbabwe survived a flurry of late wickets to sneak over the winning line.Though hardly overawing, the target Ireland set could have been more straightforward for Zimbabwe had Kevin O’Brien not rescued the innings from 107 for 6 with a patient 73 not out that carried the score to 238.Hard as Ireland scrapped, first with the bat and then again later with the ball, they could not withstand the a Zimbabwe side comfortable in home conditions. Chigumbura again asked Ireland to bat first and was rewarded in the second over when Ireland captain William Porterfield fell to Ed Rainsford for 9.Paul Stirling responded by taking 18 – including a six and three fours – off Rainsford’s next over on his way to a fluent half-century and while he and Andre Botha were together Ireland looked to be building a meaningful total. Instead, they lost four wickets for 15 runs as Botha, Stirling, Gary Wilson and Andrew White fell in quick succession.Kevin O’Brien could only watch helplessly at the procession until he found support first from John Mooney (16) and then in a 55-run stand with Trent Johnston (30). Having picked off singles diligently O’Brien finished the innings with a bang, smiting 29 off his final eight deliveries, including 24 off Rainsford’s last over to take the total to 238.O’Brien then rode the momentum to remove Hamilton Masakadza early in Zimbabwe’s chase before Taylor and Sean Williams steadied the innings. Much was expected of George Dockrell, who is already turning into the linchpin of the attack, but his first contribution was in the field, running out Williams to revive Ireland’s hopes.Taylor found a fluent partner in Tatenda Taibu and the pair laid the platform for the successful run chase with an 80-run stand in 16.2 overs before Dockrell broke through by rattling Taibu’s stumps. At 137 for 3 it looked too late for Ireland to come back and Taylor passed his fifty from 72 balls. Having worked his way to 71 he was trapped in front by Johnson to give keep Ireland interested before Craig Ervine and Charles Coventry then fell in quick succession to set up a tense finish.Zimbabwe needed 64 from 70 balls with four wickets in hand but Chigumbura held his nerve to guide towards the target. Prosper Utseya was run out with 47 still needed but Chigumbura, together with Graeme Cremer, sealed the result with seven balls to spare.

South Africa know that Pakistan present them with an unpredictable challenge and they want to use the series as a way of testing their skills against a subcontinental team

Firdose Moonda25-Oct-2010The last time South Africa played cricket in the United Arab Emirates was in Sharjah ten years ago. There, they lost to Pakistan by 16 runs in the final of a one-day tri-series that also included India. That South African side included the likes of Nicky Boje, Lance Klusener and Herschelle Gibbs, and was captained by Hansie Cronje on the eve of his fall from grace.The South African cricketing landscape has undergone major changes in the last decade. Only Jacques Kallis remains a part of the ODI squad from that day in March 2000, and he is a doubtful starter for the latest mission to the Middle East. Kallis has been out of action for over a month with a neck injury, and will be assessed by the South African medical staff ahead of the two Twenty20s against Pakistan.The rest of the squad will be getting their first taste of cricket in the desert. Not only will the conditions be much warmer than what they are used to, but the schedule much more crammed. Two T20s, five ODIS and two tests have been packed into four weeks. The players left for UAE on Sunday and have only had a day to acclimatise before diving headfirst into the action. “We are not going to have a lot of time to get used to conditions so I hope we will be able to sum them up pretty quickly. We have to be versatile and be able to adapt,” said ODI captain Graeme Smith during the whitewash of Zimbabwe that South Africa completed last week.The matches against Zimbabwe were largely regarded as a warm-up to a season that includes a home series against India and culminates in the World Cup. Smith felt that the victories against Zimbabwe have sent them to the UAE well-prepared in all departments. “The confidence base is good, our batters got time in the middle and bowlers progressively got better. We’ve done all the hard work ahead of this series.”South Africa experimented with new players against Zimbabwe, with Colin Ingram and Rusty Theron making their debuts. It is all part of Operation World Cup, which involves selecting a team that can finally end South Africa’s ICC trophy drought. There are no brand new faces for the Pakistan series, indicating that the focus is now on preparing the players that have been used so far. Coach Corrie van Zyl said he didn’t know if the squad for this series can be labelled the final fifteen. “That is a question I would like you to ask Andrew Hudson (chairman of selectors),” joked van Zyl at the team’s departure press conference on Sunday.Ingram and Theron settled into international cricket in outstanding fashion, with Ingram scoring a century on debut and Theron grabbing a five-for in his second ODI. Both staked their claim for a place in the team but face plenty of competition for their spots. Smith made it clear that if Ingram is used he “will play at five or six” as soon as Kallis is fit. Theron will have to do battle with Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, both of whom are recovering from injuries.While the new faces are creating waves, there was a more familiar one, who was also entrusted with a new role, also in the spotlight. AB de Villiers looks certain to don the wicketkeeping gloves in the ODI side going forward and showed that he is capable of playing the dual role of keeper-batsman. Besides doing a decent job behind the stumps against Zimbabwe, he also scored back-to-back hundreds and is ranked the world’s top ODI player, according to the latest ICC rankings. Mark Boucher (who was also on the 2000 tour) is not taking being dropped lying down. He said losing the wicketkeeping role gutted him and he will fight to regain the spot.It is this type of inter-player competitiveness that Smith believes will decide the World Cup squad. “This series will give players the opportunity to stake claims. The coaching staff can have ideas for what they want to achieve tactically but ultimately it’s the players who put their hands up.”Although Smith is still the senior voice of South African cricket, he will spend the first two matches as just another player. Since relinquishing the T20 captaincy in August, Smith has played under Johan Botha in the shortest format, where he says he enjoys “relaxing on the boundary.” Smith will also give up the one-day captaincy after the World Cup and is using the time he has left in charge to “create the best environment I can so that we can be as successful as we can.”With all this introspection, it appears South Africa have given little thought to their opposition. In fact, they have been quietly trying to steer away from being bombarded with the one question that tails Pakistan like a cop behind a drunk-driver: What is your reaction to the spot-fixing controversy? Smith’s answer was typical PR speak, “I guess we are going to get this question quite a few times in the next month. For us, it’s important that we play the sport in the right spirit. It’s our job to go there and play competitive cricket and do our best. We have to trust in the ICC to lead the game. They are the main stakeholders and it’s important that they make the right decisions and we trust them to do that.”South Africa know that Pakistan present them with an unpredictable challenge and they want to use the series as a way of testing their skills against a subcontinental team. “This is our first taste of the subcontinent for the summer. It’s going to be important for the spinners to see how they are doing and also for the batsmen to see how they play spin. It’s a good way of getting the whole squad used to conditions ahead of the World Cup,” said Botha. South Africa play ten ODIs before the big tournament. The countdown starts here.

Khurram Manzoor hit a century as Pakistan A reached 238 for 7 on the first day of the second unofficial Test against West Indies A at the Arnos Vale Ground in St Vincent

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2010Pakistan A 238 for 7 (Manzoor 130, Permaul 3-56) v West Indies A

ScorecardKhurram Manzoor hit a century as Pakistan A reached 238 for 7 on the first day of the second unofficial Test against West Indies A at the Arnos Vale Ground in St Vincent. After the visitors chose to bat, the Pakistan openers, Manzoor and Umair Khan, started solidly adding 68 for the first wicket. David Bernard dismissed Umair for 41, but Manzoor, in the company of No. 3 Shan Masood continued to play fluently as the duo put on 111 runs. Manzoor, who made a hundred in the first Test, finally fell to the offspin of Veerasammy Permaul for 104 which included 16 boundaries. Pakistan then lost momentum, losing five wickets for just 59 as they crumbled from 179 for 2 to 238 for 7. Permaul was the most successful West Indies bowler with figures of 3 for 56. The first Test at the same venue ended in a draw after it was badly affected by rain.