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With Australia set to play their first full bilateral series since the Ashes, in Sri Lanka, their coach Tim Nielsen believes the team has an opportunity to turn public opinion on the state of Australian cricket around. Australia have been on a break since they played three ODIs in Bangladesh in April, which Nielsen said had helped the players recover from the disappointment of the Ashes loss and the exit at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup.”The most important thing is it gives us the opportunity to get our cricket, especially publicly, heading back in the right direction,” he told .The series will also be the first opportunity for Michael Clarke to captain Australia in Tests, and Nielsen said it would be a test for him. “Michael’s very clear on how he feels the team should be playing. We’ve got some new staff, a new captain, a new vice-captain, so all of those things lead to a different voice and a different idea.”The new leadership though does not mean former captain Ricky Ponting, who remains in the squad as a player, will not be looked to for advice, Nielsen said. He also said Ponting was professional enough not to let his presence in the team undermine Clarke’s status.”We haven’t had a lot of cricket since he [Ponting] handed over the reins to Michael. It’s been beneficial for Punter to have a bit of a break, I’m sure, and think about how he attacks the role. He’s an experienced man, he and Michael got on well as captain and vice-captain in the past so they obviously can work together very closely.”The worst thing we could do is not listen to Ricky again because he’s not captain or expect him not to do things that could help the team and Michael’s very supportive of that.”Australia will play two Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs and three Tests in Sri Lanka and Nielsen was wary of how good Sri Lanka are in their home conditions.”They played in the World Cup final, so they’re an excellent one-day team; their Twenty20 cricket is strong and their Test match cricket is strong. They are certainly one of those teams that revel in their own conditions.”Nielsen said his team was looking forward to a season in which they will also tour South Africa and host India. “We couldn’t get a better opportunity or challenge, playing three of the top four nations inside the next 12 months away and at home.”

ScorecardWarwickshire Bears preserved their slim chance of qualifying for the Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-finals with a 51-run victory over Hampshire under the Edgbaston lights.Boosted by half-centuries from Neil Carter, Jim Troughton and Rikki Clarke, the Bears totalled a meaty 273 for 8 against a Royals side already out of contention after five defeats in eight games. James Vince underpinned the reply with a defiant 82 off 95 balls, but after he fell the Royals’ chase fizzled out quickly as they tumbled from 147 for 2 to 222 all out.Warwickshire chose to bat against a Hampshire attack which lost David Griffiths in the warm-up when he suffered an ankle injury. Second-wicket pair Carter and Will Porterfield added 67 in 53 balls. Carter has endured a tough time since returning from a pelvic injury but showed his old verve in making 53 off only 36 balls, with nine fours, and one six, before falling lbw to Danny Briggs.Porterfield opened his account with two thumping boundaries but lost momentum before lifting former Bears spinner Imran Tahir to Vince at long-off to fall for 41. Vince then pulled off a brilliant one-handed catch at extra-cover to oust Tim Ambrose but Troughton and Clarke kept the ball rolling with a stand of 60 in 53 balls.Troughton posted a polished half-century before lifting Tahir to Ben Howell at deep mid-wicket to perish for 61 while Clarke passed 50 for the second time in successive CB40 games in three days, holing out in the final over for 63.When Hampshire replied, Jimmy Adams soon lifted Chris Woakes to Varun Chopra at cover before the visitors were assisted by a recurrence of Carter’s injury problems. After delivering two no-ball full tosses in his fourth over, the left-armer limped out of the attack.Vince and Sean Ervine put on 116 in 19 overs but Ervine, having struck 47 off 52 balls, fell lbw to Kiwi spinner Jeetan Patel. Left-armer Ant Botha put the main brake on the scoring and he collected a deserved wicket when Michael Carberry slogged to deep mid-wicket.After Patel removed Vince and Liam Dawson in the space of four balls, Hampshire’s pursuit went into freefall in front of a near-6,000 crowd who had taken advantage of free admission.

ScorecardJack Taylor marked his Friends Life t20 debut with 4 for 16 as Gloucestershire upset the form book with a two-wicket win over Somerset at Bristol. Taylor, the 19-year-old off-spinner, included big-hitting West Indian Kieron Pollard among his victims as the visitors were restricted to 121 for 9 after winning the toss.Marcus Trescothick top scored with 28, while David Payne took 2 for 4. In reply, the Gladiators made 124 for eight, Taylor again the hero with 38. Lewis Gregory took 4 four for 15 as Somerset defended their modest total with everything they had.It was Taylor’s night. By the time he was run out having guided Gloucestershire from a perilous 75 for five, only 12 runs were needed. Even then the game was only settled in the penultimate over when Muttiah Muralitharan hit Steve Kirby for two followed by an edged four, leaving only four to get off the last over.Pollard should have run out Richard Coughtrie with the second ball, but missed all three stumps from 10 yards following through after bowling. His next delivery was a full toss which was deposited over mid-off by Coughtrie for the winning runs.Ian Cockbain (19) and Chris Taylor (18) made important contributions for the Gladiators after they had slipped to 18 for 3 .Earlier, it was Payne who had put Somerset under pressure by dismissing openers Peter Trego and Trescothick as they made 43 for 2 off the six overs of powerplay.Muralitharan helped tie down the middle order with 1 for 20 from his four overs, but had to play second fiddle to Taylor, who had James Hildreth caught at deep midwicket sweeping, yorked Pollard for 15 and also sent back Jos Buttler and Gregory.Arul Suppiah did his best to boost Somerset’s total with 23, but could take few chances and fell in the final over. Their total looked below par, but a low-scoring game ultimately provided a thrilling finish for a large crowd.Somerset could have gone top of the South Group had they won, while victory for the Gladiators kept alive their slim chances of reaching the quarter-finals.

Shane Warne has said the Australian selectors should not have stopped with Simon Katich when they chose to remove ageing players from the list of Cricket Australia contracts.After Katich decided whether or not to continue playing and announced he would speak about his future at the SCG on Friday, Warne argued that other players – namely the 30-something trio of former captain Ricky Ponting, the middle-order batsman Mike Hussey and the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin – should also be making way.”Katich losing his contract was a bit disappointing because I think he’s been a true performer for a while. But I understand the logic of leaving him out,” Warne told the radio station .”The one thing about Cricket Australia I would say, and the current [group]; if you’re going to say you’re in transition, I think for the fans and the public and everyone out there who wants to support the Australian cricket team, let’s see some youngsters in there.”Don’t hang on to the older guys in there, say ‘we’re in transition, give us a bit of time’, but have 35 or 37-year-olds still playing Test cricket or one-day cricket. Get them in there, to get some experience and say ‘we’re in transition’.”Let’s stop sliding down to No. 5 in the world; [if] we keep playing the same players but saying ‘we’re in transition’, it doesn’t work.”Warne’s sentiments were pointed in their direction at the likes of Ponting and Hussey, and also an indication that he would like to see the new captain Michael Clarke granted the chance to build his own team.Katich, meanwhile, has taken time to reach his decision, which may involve cricket irrespective of whether or not he decides to play on. Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, has said that for Katich to be lost to Australian cricket altogether would be “a bad outcome” for the game.Katich has, however, found support in former Australia opener Michael Slater, who unlike Warne, felt that Katich’s age was irrelevant given his consistent performance. “I think he has been appallingly hung … If his replacement (Phil Hughes) came in scoring hundreds and was red hot, then I can understand an injury stopping someone in their mid-30s,” Slater told the . “But that clearly hasn’t happened.”The system that is being reviewed at the moment around the country, what are they reviewing? The first thing they should be reviewing is the selectors and the selection process and I’d start with the chairman of selectors.”

Chris Gayle remains out of favour with the West Indies Cricket board (WICB) after his controversial radio interview last month and has not been included in the squad for the Twenty20 game and the first two ODIs against India. Despite Gayle finishing as the leading run-getter in the IPL, the board has said it will not consider him for selection until it meets with him.Allrounder Kieron Pollard is back in the side for the first two ODIs, while the fast bowler Kemar Roach has been rested for the Trinidad leg of the series due to his heavy workload.The uncapped left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, of Jamaica, has been picked in the Twenty20 squad, which otherwise has no changes from the XI that beat Pakistan in St Lucia in April. Pollard and Dwayne Bravo could not be included in the Twenty20 outfit having not played in the most recent Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, which is part of the WICB selection criteria.The selectors were also unwilling to choose Gayle, who slammed the West Indies board on radio after he was not picked in the squad to take on Pakistan last month. In a statement naming the squad to face India, the WICB explained the omission of Gayle, who was named as the Player of the Tournament in the IPL.”Chris Gayle will not be considered for selection to the West Indies team before an intended meeting with himself, the selection committee, the WICB management and the West Indies team management,” the statement said. “The selection committee views this meeting as necessary as a result of Gayle’s comments in a widely publicised radio interview in Jamaica.”There was also no room for Jerome Taylor, who like Gayle claimed the WICB failed to contact him about how he was recovering from an injury until after he had departed for the IPL. The selection committee said in the statement that Taylor must play a full season of regional cricket to prove his fitness for international level.The opening batsman Adrian Barath has returned to low-intensity cricket in Trinidad but is still undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a serious hamstring injury before the World Cup, and it is expected he will be fit for the Tests against India. Following Saturday’s Twenty20 in Trinidad, West Indies and India play two ODIs there, before heading to Antigua to continue the series.Twenty20 squad: Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher (wk), Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Danza Hyatt, Darren Sammy (capt), Christopher Barnwell, Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul, Krishmar Santokie.Squad for first two ODIs: Lendl Simmons, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy (capt), Carlton Baugh (wk), Andre Russell, Anthony Martin, Devendra Bishoo, Ravi Rampaul.

ScorecardMiddlesex’s 100% record in County Championship Division Two came to an endat Bristol, where a career-best 93 from Will Gidman ensured a draw forGloucestershire.Middlesex looked the more likely victors when Gidman was joined in the middle by Liam Norwell with Gloucestershire on 263 for 8 and holding a lead of 215. But Gidman, who struck 10 fours and a six, and teenager Norwell (26) put on 75 for the ninth wicket and Gloucestershire were eventually bowled out for 347.That left Middlesex requiring 300 in 50 overs to register a fourth successivewin, but the visitors effectively gave up the chase after openers Chris Rogersand Scott Newman were both dismissed by Jon Lewis inside seven overs.They had reached 123 for 4 with 20 overs remaining when umpires Mark Bensonand Nick Cook took the players off for bad light, and no resumption waspossible.Earlier, after rain had delayed the start of play by 45 minutes, Middlesex tookthree wickets in the first 13 overs to raise their hopes of another victory. Chris Taylor, who had not added to his overnight 60, and Lewis were both caught behind by John Simpson off Corey Collymore, while David Payne also edged to Simpson, this time off Tim Murtagh.Middlesex took the second new ball soon after, but needed 15 overs with itbefore the partnership between Gidman and Norwell was ended. Former Durham player Gidman advanced to a 135-ball half-century and then upped the tempo with some superb strokeplay, which included a six cut over backward square off Neil Dexter.He surpassed his previous best for Gloucestershire of 89 and had a maidenhundred within sight when he miscued a drive of Toby Roland-Jones to ScottNewman at mid-off.Hamish Marshall, who had retired hurt yesterday with a fractured right thumb,came out to bat and help Norwell prolong Gloucestershire’s innings. Norwell managed to keep Marshall off strike, and pulled two boundaries through midwicket, before he was bowled having a big swing at a delivery from Collymore, who finished with 4 for 57.Middlesex needed a major contribution from Rogers or Newman to have realistichope of chasing down their target, but Lewis accounted for them both cheaply. Rogers had made 5 when he was caught low at first slip by Alex Gidman, and Newman was on 16 when he pulled to Kane Williamson on the backward square-leg boundary.Dawid Malan hit six fours in his 39 before being bowled by Lewis, while DanHousego made 45 before he was caught behind off Will Gidman. Another two overswere possible after Housego’s dismissal before bad light ended play. Middlesex took 11 points from the game and third-placed Gloucestershire took 10.

New Zealand allrounder Sarah Tsukigawa has announced her retirement from international and first class cricket. Commenting on her retirement, New Zealand women’s coach Gary Stead said Tsukigawa will be missed by New Zealand and her domestic side Otago, which she has captained. “The experience she has developed in her 12 years [of domestic cricket] cannot be replaced,” he told website. “The leadership capabilities and respect she has within the Otago Sparks and White Ferns sides is huge.”A hard-hitting middle order batman and medium pacer, Tsukigawa, 29, debuted against India in 2006 and has played 42 ODIs and 19 Twenty20 internationals for New Zealand since. She averaged 22.12 with bat and 32.02 with ball in the 50-over formant. The highlight of her career came when she averaged 71.33 in a five-match series against India in 2007, in which she also picked up five wickets at 23.80 apiece.

Ashish Nehra has fractured the middle finger on his right hand putting a question mark over his selection for the final against Sri Lanka on Saturday. Ranjib Biswal, the Indian team manager, confirmed the development but said the team would only take a call on Friday about whether or not he could play. “Nehra has a fractured finger, which was revealed from the scans taken this morning,” Biswal said. But Gautam Gambhir, who went off the field during Pakistan’s innings in the semi-final having felt some pain and did not return, is expected to be fit for the final. Biswal said they would clarify the position on Gambhir tomorrow.Nehra picked up the injury while attempting a catch against Pakistan. He was fielding at deep midwicket when he attempted to pick up a pull by Shahid Afridi against Yuvraj Singh. Nehra, not known so much for his deftness in the field, charged forward to pick the ball that was dying on him at the very last minute. Replays confirmed the ball had bounced in front of him but Nehra’s attempt drew applause from his team-mates as well as the fullhouse. Unfortunately, Nehra was grimacing in pain and immediately had his finger taped.Since the injury was on his non-bowling hand, Nehra was able to get through three more overs in the match. However, there are worries he will not be able to field.It was a bit of a surprise to see Nehra in the first XI during the semi-final, given that the man he replaced, R Ashwin, had been impressive in the two matches he had played in the tournament. Despite Nehra’s performance of 2 for 33, and Munaf Patel’s 2 for 40, India captain MS Dhoni said after the game that India had misjudged the pitch and should have played another spinner.Ashwin may well have returned in place of either Nehra or Munaf for the final in any case, and will almost definitely be in the side if Nehra does not recover. The only other pace option India have is Sreesanth, who has been left on the sidelines since the first game of the tournament.Nehra had missed the first two matches of the tournament with a sore back and was brought in for the group-stage game against Netherlands. Against South Africa in Nagpur, he went for 65 runs in 8.4 overs, 16 off which were scored in the last over of the game, consigning India to defeat. He was then left out for India’s next two games, before returning for the semi-final.

Ashish Bagai, the Canada captain, was “boggled” by some of the decisions made by the DRS (Decision Review System) in his side’s tense 43-run loss to Pakistan at the Premadasa on Thursday. Bagai experienced the best and worst of the system; reprieved once after being given out and sent back later after being given not out.Those two calls were part of a total of five referrals in Canada’s chase in which the on-field umpires’ decisions were eventually reversed. Bagai was first given out leg-before to Umar Gul in the 8th over. He asked for a referral – prompted by signals from the dressing room to do so, which was spotted by Pakistani fielders – before replays showed the ball to be going comfortably over leg-stump. Later, he was given not out by Daryl Harper off Shahid Afridi on another leg-before shout, only for Pakistan to refer the decision and be awarded.Three other decisions, against Ravindu Gunasekera and Zubin Surkari, also prompted decision-changing referrals, rounding off a bad day at the office for Harper and Nigel Llong. Bagai was asked about the decisions and indicated his displeasure with the system. “I’m not sure I can answer that before I speak with the umpires today,” said Bagai. “There was a bit of controversy over the use of it. Some go your way, some don’t. They’ve [ICC] kept a mantra of relying on technology blindly and that is their decision. We got a couple today that we were boggled with but that’s what they’ve chosen, we can’t do anything about that now.”Pakistan’s own experiences with the DRS have been hit and miss. Against Sri Lanka last week, they wasted two reviews in the field on decisions that, to the naked eye, seemed not out, including one for an edge. But Afridi insisted there were benefits from its use. “I think it is good because one decision can change the match, a not out or an out,” he said.Perhaps flippantly, he added, “it should be there and I think the number of referrals allowed should be raised to four from two, because two are not proving enough.”In the wake of the Ian Bell incident in the Bangalore tie with India, much of the focus has been on one particular clause of the system, the 2.5m rule. Earlier in the tournament, however, Mahela Jayawardene had raised the issue of the capacity of a DRS without Hot Spot technology. During his opening game century in Hambantota, against Canada incidentally, Jayawardene survived two appeals and fielding referrals for caught-behind decisions, when slo-mo cameras couldn’t provide a definitive assessment.The same concern was raised by Ricky Ponting ahead of Saturday’s clash with Sri Lanka at the Premadasa, though Ponting did give broad support to technology. “I was a bit surprised at the start of the tournament when we found out we were using the DRS without Hot Spot, that was a bit of a shock to me because Hot Spot part of it is probably as big a part of the system as anything,” Ponting said.”At the end of the day, players always have to understand that it’s not going to be perfect. But we’re still going to be getting more correct decisions at the end of a game, which is obviously beneficial for the game. It’s like it’s been used in Test cricket, you can walk off at the end of the day and feel you’ve been aggrieved by a couple of decisions that have gone either for you or against you in that game, but as long as you’re getting more correct decisions then it’s got to be good for the game.”

Next month’s World Cup could end up being a three-way race between the top teams in Test cricket, Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach and currently South Africa’s batting consultant, has said. “You’ve got three sides on a par: India South Africa and England, all with different strengths and weaknesses,” Fletcher said in Johannesburg on Friday.Fletcher claimed South Africa, who have never won a World Cup, are going to be a “huge threat” in the subcontinent. “I believe South Africa match everyone as far as one-day cricket is concerned.” He indicated that their stiffest challenge will come from India, who will be under “enormous pressure” because they are playing at home and England, given their recent form. “England has a good athletic side in the one-day game. The big difference, and you can see it, is the confidence having gone out to beat Australia.”While Fletcher singled out those three teams as the top dogs, he also felt this World Cup will be one of the most hotly contested in years, because of the more level-playing field. “It’s an open World Cup for a change. There are no firm favourites. You can’t rule out Sri Lanka. Australia, although they have taken a huge dip, I don’t know where they are at the moment and Pakistan, you can’t write them off on those wickets.”The conditions in the subcontinent are expected to be a major factor in the tournament and Fletcher had two significant pieces of advice for all the teams. “Spinners are going to be crucial,” he said, “Secondly, you need fit cricketers, because it’s going to be hot there and the players have to adapt to those kinds of wickets and get their techniques right and how to play on those wickets.”Both those warnings will need to be taken seriously by South Africa, who traditionally only use one spinner and came under fire for several senior players suffering from cramp in the 2007 tournament in the Caribbean. That senior-player contingent which consisted of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Justin Kemp, now only two survivors and the dynamics of the South African team have changed since then, so fitness should not be an issue, whereas the role of the spinner might be.Johan Botha shoulders most of the slow-bowling responsibility, with JP Duminy’s role increasing. The South African selectors have included Pakistan-born legspinner Imran Tahir in the squad for the current series ODI against India, but he did not play in the first match in Durban and looks unlikely to make an appearance in the second in Johannesburg. The pitches in South Africa favour their four-seamer, one spinner, attack and without testing Tahir here, it’s difficult to see how he will fit into the World Cup plans.For Fletcher, the big question that hung over South Africa was how their bowlers will adjust to pitches that are significantly different to the quick, bouncy strips they are playing the current series on and are used to. He didn’t think South Africa were easily fooled into believing they will be gifted surfaces like the one they had in Durban on Wednesday, where they bowled India out for 154, but he was concerned about the short time-frame they will have to acclimatise to vastly different conditions. “When they go to India those wickets may be a bit slower and a bit flatter, but they just have to get used to it. They have to adapt a bit quicker,” he said.South Africa played ODI cricket in India last year as well as a series in similar conditions in the UAE against Pakistan. Fletcher said the planning has been in place for a while for this World Cup, but the execution will still be important. “They’ve [youngsters] been across to Sri Lanka on a couple of A tours so they planned well in that situation. But there’s still a huge jump up from that level to international level.”Fletcher believed South Africa had the ability to learn quickly and with the number of young players in the set up, and the guidance they will be provided with, they will have the right mindset to challenge for the title. “With fresh young minds coming through and wanting ideas you just have to make sure you go through their game mentally rather than technically. The key to it is to make them believe that ability they have is good enough and it has got them to this level. That’s why they have been picked.”Fletcher will travel with the South African team for the remainder of the ODI series against India and through the warm-up stages of the World Cup. He has also not ruled out coaching them on a full-time basis in future. With Corrie van Zyl stepping down after the World Cup, there is every possibility of Fletcher stepping in. “I’m not going to say I like a job, I’m not going to say I don’t like a job at the moment. I’ve been very fortunate with the work I’m doing with South Africa.”Cricket South Africa extended the deadline for applications for the head coach to February 18, so Fletcher still has some time to consider if he will throw his name into the hat.