Australia in England - The Investec Ashes

Lehmann puts batsmen on notice

Australia's batsmen have been placed on notice by their coach Darren Lehmann, who declared after a memorable first Test match in charge that the team's long-standing and disproportionate reliance on their bowlers for major runs must end if the Ashes are to be won from 1-0 down.

Last-wicket stands of 163 and 65 almost carried the tourists to victory at Trent Bridge, but as on the India tour earlier this year the late-innings heroics contrasted starkly with failures further up the order. Lehmann said that while Australia had proved they could worry England, his batsmen were the major difference between victory and defeat, most glaringly at their first opportunity when slipping to 117 for nine before Ashton Agar's world record union with Phillip Hughes.

"I think we've done enough to show this is going to be a really close series and we've just got to capture those key moments," Lehmann said. "And I think if you look back on the game, we've certainly got to bat better as a top order. That's probably the key. We're going to bowl very well and we know we can control their batters. It's a matter of making more runs."

"Our tail has done really well over a long period of time now but it's time for the batters to make sure they're making the runs and giving the tail a bit more time. I think we only batted for 63 overs (sic 64.5) in the first innings and 110 in the second. We've got to be reversing that about, batting for 120 overs plus in the first innings of a game and making our runs then."

No one symbolised this issue more distinctly than the No. 3 batsman Ed Cowan, twice swishing his wicket away with cover drives that did not correspond to his commission as an obstinate occupier of the crease. Others like Shane Watson, Chris Rogers and Steve Smith did not go on from starts, and even the captain Michael Clarke struggled to assert himself at No. 4. Lehmann said Cowan in particular had tried the patience of the selectors with his choice of shots.

"He had a tough game," Lehmann said. "We've told Ed how we want him to play and how we want him to bat. That certainly hasn't changed from when he first came into the side, I would think. Having not known what's happened or what's been said before, we picked him to do a role. He'll be disappointed with the shots. So are we."

"That's just part and parcel of what we're about, we're trying to learn and get better. I'm sure he'll get better at that as well. Like everyone's position, you've got to make runs and perform. So we'll sit down as a selection panel over the next couple of days and work out what we think is the best XI to play the next Test match and work from there."

Having been appointed as the team's coach only two weeks before the series began, Lehmann said he would not be over-emphasising technical advice by way of a remedy to the batsmen's deficiencies. Instead he pushed the concept of each player knowing his scoring areas against each bowler, and demonstrating belief in the methods that had brought them this far.

"I don't like tinkering with techniques too much as a coach," he said. "It's more about getting a game style you want them to play to particular bowlers. And if they do that and play in certain areas you want them to play in, we're going to be okay. From my point of view it's about managing them and what they're thinking and how they're going to play in certain situations the best you possibly can when you've got time. But you've got to remember I've been in this job for two and a half weeks, so it's a case of just doing little bits and pieces at a time."

In keeping with the selection secrecy that shrouded Agar's debut, Lehmann kept his options as open as possible for Lord's. The pacemen Jackson Bird and Ryan Harris are both expected to come into serious contention for spots, while the option of playing five bowlers will also be discussed by Lehmann and the selector on duty Rod Marsh.

Australia in England - The Investec Ashes

Broad shoulder was major worry

Andy Flower, the England team director, has revealed that there were such serious concerns over the state of Stuart Broad's shoulder, following the blow from James Pattinson on the opening day at Trent Bridge, that the team physio spent the night with him to ensure he would be able to bowl.

Broad was struck on the right shoulder, the same one he injured diving during the Champions Trophy final and which required a cortisone injection, and was unable to take the new ball on the first evening.

He did not bowl until Australia's record-breaking last-wicket stand between Phillip Hughes and Ashton Agar was well established and sent down six expensive overs although did finally removed Agar for 98.

"We were really worried on that first night," Flower said. "It was very swollen and he and the medical team did a really good job of getting him back to bowl the following day. They worked through the night and didn't sleep much, but he should be fine for Lord's. The physio stayed with him."

From that moment on, however, Broad had a key role to play in the match by scoring 65 in England's second innings and claiming two key second-innings wickets of Shane Watson and Michael Clarke

That, though, did not stop questions being raised as to England's potential over-burdening reliance on James Anderson, who claimed 10 wickets in the match, although Flower was adamant that his team do not rest too heavily him.

Anderson claimed five wickets in each innings but was obliged to bowl 55.5 overs in draining heat as England won the first Investec Ashes Test by 14 runs. On the last day, with Australia inching closer to their target, Anderson delivered a 13-over opening spell that resulted in him having to leave the pitch with cramp. With Steven Finn proving expensive, however, Anderson was soon back on the field and took the wicket that sealed the victory.

While Flower accepted that Anderson had developed into a "great" bowler, he did not agree with the suggestion that England were over-reliant upon him. Flower was particularly keen to defend Finn, who endured a chastening final day, but had produced a couple of fine spells earlier in the game.

"It's not one-man performing," Flower said. "When you've got great players in your side they will affect games. For Jimmy Anderson to bowl more than 50 overs in the game and to take 10 wickets was a great example of skill and determination. But a lot of our guys stood up and performed well in this match.

"Steven Finn took crucial wickets in that first innings. We only had just over 200 on the board and he got Shane Watson early and Ed Cowan first ball. Those were crucial breakthroughs for us.

"That sort of striking is one of the things he's capable of with pace and bounce. He also bowled a really skilful spell of reverse swing against Michael Clarke and Steve Smith, beautiful outswing and almost got an lbw with inswing. So he made his contribution to this game as well."

He admitted that the performance of Graeme Swann at Trent Bridge - the offspinner claimed 4 for 165 in 63 overs in the match - had been disappointing, but praised Ian Bell's century as "perhaps" his best innings for England.

'I've seen a lot of very fine innings from Ian Bell," Flower said. "But in the context of what was a very tight game perhaps it was [his best]. Ian Bell was outstanding. It was a really skilful innings. But, more importantly, I think it was an innings full of courage and guts and resilience.

"No, I don't think Swann was at his best, I agree, but that was nothing to do with injuries.

"No-one will ever play perfect cricket, it's not the way the world works nor the game works. We played some excellent cricket. Bell was outstanding; Anderson was a great example of skill and determination. Those are things that stand out in my mind. Bell diving twice and Jonny Bairstow diving to keep Brad Haddin on strike in that final over. Those are the things I like thinking about."

Flower also defended Broad after he chose not to 'walk' to a thick outside edge that the umpire, Aleem Dar, missed.

"When I played cricket I didn't walk when I'd edged it so I'd be a hypocrite to say that all other players should walk," Flower said. "Most players leave it to the umpires to make the decision and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

Meanwhile an ECB spokesman provided reassurance over the fitness of Matt Prior. England's wicketkeeper missed a Professional Cricketers' Association golf day on Monday citing some soreness in his Achilles, but the ECB insisted that Prior was simply resting through an abundance of caution and confirmed that no other wicketkeeper was on standby.

West Indies Tri-Nation Series

Brittle batting worries both teams

Big Picture

"Another wicket" read a placard in the stands at Providence on Sunday. The message might have been banal, but the fan got what he asked for regularly in the first ODI as the batting frailties of the two teams were once again exposed. In mitigation, the track aided both the spinners and the quicks, and Misbah-ul-Haq went on to call it one of the toughest he has ever played on.

Still, in Pakistan's last 10 ODIs, only once has the score touched 100 with less than three wickets down, and that one time came against lightweights Ireland. Pakistan fielded a new-look batting order in the first ODI but the scorecard still had an all-too-familiar look midway through the innings.

West Indies have faced similar problems, and it is only the home series against Zimbabwe that provides some respectability to the stats of several batsmen. All the big names, so sought after in Twenty20 leagues around the world, have floundered in ODIs this year - not one among Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have averaged even 25 in 2013. What's more, the only batsman they have in the squad to replace someone in the XI is Devon Smith, who has two ducks in his only ODIs in the past fortnight.

More than any careful innings construction over 50 overs, West Indies seem to hope for one of their outrageously talented batsmen to pull off a special performance, like the returning Shahid Afridi did for Pakistan in the first match. The need for a stabiliser in the midst of the array of volatile hitters remains pressing, but the batsman to fill that role remains elusive. Tuesday's game will be played on the same track as Sunday's, which means the batsmen are set for another difficult day.

Unlike the past couple of weeks in the Caribbean, though, the forecast is for a mostly sunny day on Tuesday. Another change from the first game is that the DRS is expected to be in place, with Hawk-Eye and Ultramotion.

Form guide

(most recent first, last five completed matches)

West Indies LLLWW

Pakistan WLLLW

In the spotlight

Shahid Afridi turned in one of the great one-day performances in his comeback game on Sunday, the sort of magical effort hardly any other player can conjure. His loyal and vocal fans are quick to highlight these peaks, but there are a equal number of doubters who point to Afridi's infuriating inconsistency. Expecting steady reliability from Afridi is unfair, but the time has come for him to show that these crests won't be followed by extended troughs.

Sunil Narine is the world's top-ranked ODI bowler. Yet, in his previous two ODIs, he hasn't been anywhere near bowling his full quota of overs. Against Pakistan, on a track with plenty of juice in it, he was taken apart by Afridi, and was used for only three overs. Just three overs from a specialist bowler? Time to bring back some of that early mystery which brought him such success.

Team news

Pakistan made a raft of changes to their side before the first ODI, so it is unlikely they will shuffle the side much ahead of this game. Fast bowler Junaid Khan and batsman Umar Amin are two players who will be hoping to get a look-in.

Pakistan: (probable) 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Asad Shafiq, 6 Umar Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Asad Ali, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad Irfan

It may have been a humiliating defeat for West Indies on Sunday, but they don't have too many options in the squad.

West Indies: (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles (wk), 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Kemar Roach/Tino Best, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Jason Holder

Stats and trivia

Shahid Afridi now has 30 ODI Man-of-the-Match awards, equal with Aravinda de Silva and Brian Lara*. If he gets two more, the only players ahead of him will be Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya

West Indies are Misbah-ul-Haq's favourite opposition - he averages 79.33 against them in 11 ODIs

In bilateral series between Pakistan and West Indies, no team which won the first ODI has lost the series

India

Rohit enjoying his 'best phase in international cricket'

Rohit Sharma, the India batsman, has said he is relishing opening the batting for India in one-day cricket. The consistent run he had all through the Champions Trophy and the tri-series in West Indies, he said, was his most satisfying phase in international cricket so far.

"I am enjoying my new role as an opener. That I have been successful and my contribution has helped the team's cause makes it even more satisfying," Rohit told PTI in an interview. "From the point of view of consistency, this has certainly been my best phase as an international cricketer."

Rohit, who usually bats in the middle order, was bumped up to open in the last two ODIs of the home series against England in January after the out-of-form Virender Sehwag was dropped and Ajinkya Rahane failed to grab his chance. He began with 83 off 93 balls in Mohali and has opened in all India's ODIs since, averaging 43.72 in 12 games. In the West Indies, he produced scores of 60, 5, 46, 48* and 58 in difficult batting conditions. And the move seems to be working for India too, as they have won nine of those 12 games and all three tournaments.

The ODI opener's role has changed with the introduction of the rule by which two new balls are used, Rohit said, but he has the technique to succeed. "The role with two new balls coming into play is different. It's no longer going after the bowling from the word go. There are a few shots that should be avoided during the initial overs.

"But I was always confident about my technique. The opener's job is specialised one, but I always knew that I could hold my own if I am given an opportunity at the top of the order. The innings of 83 against England wasn't the best but proved to be a morale booster for me."

India's next one-day series is against Zimbabwe, beginning July 24.

South Africa

Smith targets October return..

Graeme Smith, South Africa's injured Test captain, is aiming for a return to action in the team's next Test series, against Pakistan in October. Smith suffered a recurrence of an ankle injury that has plagued him throughout his career in May and was ruled out of cricket for at least five months.

At the time, Smith was playing for Surrey and had to return home for surgery. He missed the Champions Trophy and will sit out of the upcoming limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka in order to make a full recovery. As matters stand, that looks set to be earlier than initial estimates with the trip to the UAE a definite possibility for Smith to make his return.

Smith has made "steady progress" according to South Africa's team manager and doctor Mohammed Moosajee and the management team are "aiming to have him for the Pakistan series". His cast came off two-and-half-weeks ago and he has been walking on crutches since the last week of June. He is expected to use them until the first week in August, when he should be able to walk on his own.

Smith's wife, Morgan, is due to give birth to the couple's second child this week. She wrote on a blog for You magazine that Smith has "just started rehab on his ankle so he is going to be mobile again pretty soon, which will be perfect timing for when the new baby arrives".

Although Smith is not captain in the shorter formats, his absence has been noticeable. South Africa have struggled to find a suitable partner for Hashim Amla in the 50-overs format and will head to Sri Lanka with that as one of their major concerns.

Their options are between Smith's Test opening partner Alviro Petersen, who was drafted into the Champions Trophy squad but did not play a game, and young wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock. Colin Ingram, who filled the role during the Champions Trophy, is not expected to continue in it.

While South Africa would value Smith's presence in the one-day team, it is far more important to them to have him for Test matches. Not only has he been the leader of the Test side for a decade but he led them to No. 1 in the world last year and has spoken about his ambitions to keep them there.

South Africa have not played a Test since defeating Pakistan 3-0 in a series at home in March and will make a return to the format after eight months in October. They play two Tests in the UAE, which will be new coach Russell Domingo's first longer-format assignment and Smith's presence would be a huge boost.

Moosajee confirmed the support staff are working toward that. "He has three months to go and we will have to take a call closer to the time but we are hopeful he will be able to play in that series," he said. "He is doing well so far and we will continue to monitor him."

Australia in England - The Investec Ashes

Haddin epitomises Australia fight

Brad Haddin re-marked his guard like a man who had given the possibility of losing barely a nanosecond's thought. England's fielders swarmed around him, convinced of the edge that would deliver them victory. James Anderson was not so sure, having heard no sound. Behind Anderson, the umpire Aleem Dar was even less aware of the possibility of a nick, not for the first time in the match. Alastair Cook, Matt Prior and Anderson conferred, briskly but calmly, before deciding to review Dar's decision.

Offering them not the slightest bit of notice, Haddin strode down the wicket and conferred with Australia's last man, James Pattinson, ahead of the next ball he looked so certain would come. As England held their breath, Haddin and Pattinson began planning how to whittle those last few runs down. They also had the chance to ponder for a moment how they managed to get within 15 runs of an England team so few had expected them to seriously challenge. A match flashed past their eyes.

Trent Bridge had revealed its charms and dramas slowly. First impressions were seldom the same as final ones. Day one was frenetic but lacking in poise, nerves playing as great a part in proceedings as skills, tactics or conditions. Australia's first man through the wall on day one had not been Ashton Agar, a nervous debutant yet to become the popular phenomenon he is now. It was instead Peter Siddle, who confounded the small army of critics who had questioned his place. England's first blows were struck not by Anderson but Steven Finn, a hair's breadth away from a grand hat-trick with Michael Clarke as its apogee.

Pattinson started the match not as a nerveless tailender, but a decidedly keyed up fast bowler. He hurled down the first over of the Test match, a nervy bouncer to Cook followed up with a series of balls sprayed too wide to be of any danger to the batsman. Haddin made a similarly ginger start to his series, diving over a difficult leg-side chance offered from Pattinson's bowling and then having his defence punctured second ball by a ripping offbreak from Graeme Swann, who was never again quite as dangerous as he had seemed at that moment.

The disarming of Swann was perhaps chief among Agar's many achievements. Apart from setting records for No. 11 innings and partnerships, bringing a smile to cricket watchers the world over with his charismatic batting, and holding his own as a tidy left-arm spin bowler, Agar showed a confidence and assurance against Swann that can only improve Australia's chances of combating him for the rest of the series. The way he advanced to drive Swann on the second morning, lofting him imperiously towards the Trent Bridge Members Pavilion, was to be tellingly repeated by Pattinson as the target ticked closer on day five.

The Huddle - Australia will have to move on

The confidence with which Pattinson and Haddin faced up to Swann, Broad and Finn left an enormous weight of pressure on Anderson. Throughout the match he responded stirringly to Cook's demands, extending his spells an extra over here or there, and coming back more frequently than either of his pace counterparts. Ultimately Anderson's tally for the match reached into a 56th over. Between them, Finn and Stuart Broad bowled 54.5. Anderson's pre-eminence as a fast-medium bowler in this series, and in the world, is unquestioned. But he is highly unlikely to be able to sustain the Trent Bridge effort for five Tests, let alone ten.

Something else that cannot be sustained, at least in Australian eyes, is the disparity in the two teams' use of the DRS. Another slightly misleading point for much of day one had been England's use of the system, notably a poor Finn review against his caught behind dismissal. The more lasting pattern of the match would be established late on the first evening, when Chris Rogers reviewed his lbw dismissal and found himself on the wrong end of a marginal umpire's call.

These would surface again and again to Australia's displeasure, though England were also to be humbugged by Jonathan Trott's lbw exit when bat appeared likely to have been involved. Broad's survival of a clear catch to slip was less the denial of sportsmanship than a reminder of flawed umpires, flawed Australian use of reviews and a flawed system.

Nothing, though, was quite so flawed as Australia's batting. The memorable tenth-wicket stands in both innings played a huge role in ensuring Clarke's team would stay close with England. They were in the same instant a reminder that this side has been essentially relying on freak batting events to keep them competitive for quite some time.

In 2011 and 2012 such happenings revolved around Clarke, who batted as if in a perpetual dream. This year too few of the runs have come from those men who answer to making them in their job descriptions. Clarke has said he does not care where the runs come from, so long as they arrive from somewhere. But no team can reasonably expect tail-end miracles of the kind produced by Siddle in Delhi, Mitchell Starc in Mohali and Agar here to carry them towards any kind of consistent success.

Haddin knew this as he stood side by side with Pattinson, refusing to believe the day was done. English hearts leapt briefly with joy when the replay screen appeared to show a speck of heat on Haddin's inside edge, then returned to a more laboured pulse as the third umpire Marais Erasmus cross-checked Hot Spot with the stump audio. Only three days before he had been oblivious to an inside edge by Trott.

Stern and confident, Haddin hung on to his thoughts of the next ball, the next run and the final victory, right until the moment Dar crossed himself and raised his finger. The younger Pattinson bowed his head, in frustration and defeat. But Haddin stared straight ahead, not willing to lose face. He kept his defiant posture on the walk off Trent Bridge, even if the removal of his helmet revealed a face lined with pain. However Haddin dealt with this defeat, he would not grant England the opportunity to see it. If his stance said anything, it was this: it isn't over.

West Indies v Pakistan

Awesome Afridi flattens West Indies

 "Who writes your scripts?" England's legendary allrounder Ian Botham was asked after taking a wicket first ball on his Test comeback in 1986. The same question can be asked of another flamboyant cricketer today as Shahid Afridi turned in one of the greatest all-round ODI performances to flatten West Indies in his comeback game.

With Pakistan axing a whole host of experienced players in recent months - including Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal - there had been murmurs over whether Afridi's ODI career should have been given yet another lifeline. He's someone who sees himself as a bowling allrounder in recent years, and with no wickets in six previous ODIs, the doubts were justified. Afridi squashed them, and how - a game-transforming half-century and then the second best one-day bowling figures of all time.

Even in a career as wildly fluctuating as his, there can be few moments when the turnaround in fortunes is this stark. It is the ability to deliver these truly gobsmacking performances that has earned him a loyal legion of fans, who swear by him even during extended runs of failures.

Before he walked in to bat on a drizzly morning in Providence, Pakistan's top order had once again keeled over against the moving ball as Jason Holder delivered a searing new-ball spell of 8-4-8-4. The manner of those dismissals would have been as demoralising for Pakistan's fans as the scoreline, with two top-order batsmen being bowled when looking to leave the ball.

Misbah-ul-Haq was playing his usual hold-the-innings-together role scoring at about a run an over, but when Afridi strode out, he was immediately looking to score at a run a ball. Pakistan were 47 for 5 and the team's last recognised batting pair was in the middle, but that didn't prevent Afridi from launching his third delivery for six over long-off. Given his kamikaze style of play, a quick end to his innings wouldn't have surprised. It almost did after he belted another six and a four, but Chris Gayle put down a tough chance at slip.

After that, he could take lesser risks despite scoring rapidly as West Indies' bowlers offered several boundary balls. Marlon Samuels offered long hops and full tosses that were dispatched beyond the rope, Darren Sammy was cleverly dinked over the shoulder before his half-volley was pounded through extra cover to bring up the half-century off 35 deliveries. The man who was expected to be the biggest threat, Sunil Narine, was caned out of the attack, taken for 32 in three overs.

On a track where the rest of the Pakistan team combined to score 120 off 245, Afridi plundered 76 off 55, showing the insouciance and big-hitting that typifies his batting. Misbah added to his ever-expanding collection of ODI half-centuries as well, on a track which he called one of the toughest he has come across, and his partnership with Afridi underlined how two vastly different styles of batting can both be crucial to the team's cause. Their efforts drove Pakistan to 224, which seemed like a challenging target for West Indies.

Twenty minutes into the chase, that seemed a far larger score as West Indies were reduced to 7 for 3, the second lowest score for which they have lost three wickets in ODIs. It began with Mohammad Irfan's swinging, 146kph low full toss that resulted in a golden duck for Johnson Charles in the first over. The pace and bounce of Irfan disconcerted the batsmen, with Darren Bravo the next to go, caught down the leg side.

The biggest breakthrough, though, came through a direct hit from Misbah at cover, catching Chris Gayle well short while attempting a single that would have been tough for the quickest of runners, but was hara-kiri for a slow-mover like Gayle. Pakistan knew well the importance of that wicket - Misbah was midway through celebrating the dismissal when he was swamped by his joyous team-mates.

Marlon Samuels and Lendl Simmons then cut out all risk, and played ultra-cautious cricket against some top bowling from Pakistan. "Huge pressure is there, huge pressure," wicketkeeper Umar Akmal frequently reminded the batsmen. The biggest strength in the Pakistan line-up is the quality they have across their bowling, with no major weak links.

With Simmons and Samuels batting out 15 overs - and scoring only 34 on a turning track - the required-rate had crept above six, but West Indies were still optimistic of winning. Afridi was only brought on as the sixth bowler, but there was no stopping him from being the headliner. In his second over, he had Simmons stumped and Dwayne Bravo lbw next ball. He was showing off his famous starman celebration, and West Indies' chances were evaporating.

His mix of legspinners, quick sliders, the occasional googly and even the odd offbreak proved too much for West Indies' batsmen. Kieron Pollard's had three ducks in his previous four ODI innings, and his lack of confidence was apparent, as he holed out to long-off for 3. Not long after, Afridi had Samuels lbw with a delivery that turned in. The big crowds that had turned up in Guyana knew the game was up and headed for the exit.

Afridi's five-for came soon after as Kemar Roach handed a simple return catch, and his figures were an unbelievable 6-2-6-5, with every delivery seemingly a wicket-taking one. He didn't strike in the next couple of overs though and was taken out of the attack, before being brought back six overs later as Sammy and Narine somehow survived the other bowlers. They didn't last against Afridi, though, who needed only one over to wrap up the match and consign West Indies to their lowest ever total in a home ODI.

The fans in Guyana had been starved of international cricket for two years after a conflict between the government and the country's cricket board, and while they were treated to an awe-inspiring performance from Afridi, they would have wanted more from the consistently misfiring West Indian batting.