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Graeme Swann has hit out at what he perceives is a “witch hunt” against Andrew Strauss following England’s four Test defeats this year and the captain’s poor return with the bat and backed him as the best captain in the game.

Andrew McGlashan in Colombo04-Apr-2012Graeme Swann has hit out at what he perceives is a “witch hunt” against Andrew Strauss following England’s four Test defeats this year and the captain’s poor return with the bat and backed him as the best captain in the game.Strauss was the major talking point from an England point of view heading into the Colombo Test. While the team was winning, as they have done for much of the last three years, the fact Strauss was not contributing hugely with the bat was generally overlooked. He has scored one Test hundred in 48 innings although showed the fighting qualities he has always had with his 61 on the second day in Colombo.Swann, who took 4 for 75 to help bowl Sri Lanka out for 275, insisted Strauss had not been affected by the debate while adding the dressing room has barely given it another thought.”He hasn’t shown any signs,” he said. “We only realise he’s under scrutiny because some of us can read. I see it as a bit of a witch hunt and I think it is unjustified, but you wouldn’t tell from way he carries himself. He’s very laid-back and phlegmatic. He’s the best captain in world cricket and a world-class opening batsman. He’ll get nothing but support from me.”Barring his first two Tests against India in 2008, during Kevin Pietersen’s brief time in charge and the two games Alastair Cook captained in Bangladesh, Swann has played his entire Test career under Strauss. He believes there is still a huge amount of credit available to him for his time at the helm which has included two Ashes series victories and the climb to No. 1 in the world.”When anyone’s in a position like Straussy and when things aren’t going well like they have been then pressure builds up,” he said. “My view is that he should be afforded leeway because of what he’s done over the last two or three years.”I don’t think there’s any man as capable of leading a team in world cricket. He’s not in horrible nick, he’s getting good starts and it’s just one of those things all players go through. His barren spell is a lot better than other people’s has been and he’ll bounce back and be scoring hundreds before you know it.”

Labuschagne and Khawaja hit half-centuries on a truncated day before Nortje helped SA claw back

Tristan Lavalette03-Jan-2023Stumps Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja hit half-centuries for Australia on a truncated day one before Anrich Nortje helped South Africa claw back into the third Test at a gloomy SCG.After captain Pat Cummins won a crucial toss and elected to bat on a dry surface, Australia reached stumps at 147 for 2 with Khawaja unbeaten on 54 and Steven Smith yet to face a delivery.Labuschagne fell for 79 on what turned out to be the final delivery of the day’s play. Only 47 overs were bowled due to bad light and rain much to the disappointment of the 31,000 crowd in another Sydney Test match affected by inclement conditions.Labuschagne and Khawaja had built a strong platform with a 135-run partnership after the early loss of opener David Warner for 10. There was a delay of more than two hours due to bad light before five overs were squeezed in late in the day and Nortje capitalised with a cracking delivery to remove Labuschagne.Exerting plenty of energy, Nortje conjured sharp bounce and pace on the slow surface to produce an unplayable delivery that had Labuschagne caught behind.After a lionhearted effort in Melbourne, Nortje was again the standout with 2 for 26 from 11 overs having earlier taken the wicket of Warner. He has kept a struggling South Africa buoyant after Australia threatened to grab an early stranglehold of the contest.Labuschagne had been irrepressible until on 70 he appeared to be dismissed out of nowhere when he edged seamer Marco Jansen to first slip where Simon Harmer claimed a low catch.It was given out on the soft signal but Labuschagne stood his ground and it seemed difficult to prove from replays whether Harmer had his hands under the ball close to the turf.Third umpire Richard Kettleborough overturned the decision much to the frustration of South Africa. It only furthered Labuschagne’s reputation as a rather charmed batter but he had played imperiously before that contentious incident with five boundaries in 12 balls to go from 40 to 61.After bowling well before lunch, Harmer trapped Khawaja lbw with the second delivery of the second session only for the decision to be reversed when replays showed the ball hit the glove first.Having revived his career a year ago with twin centuries against England on this ground, Khawaja passed 4000 career Test runs en route to a half-century.Usman Khawaja drives through the covers•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Under-pressure South Africa captain Dean Elgar once again made questionable decisions, including under-utilising Harmer who bowled just five overs even though his off-spin particularly threatened left-handed Khawaja.Elgar, however, backed underperforming left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj who bowled nine overs for 35 runs with Labuschagne and Khawaja sweeping effectively against him.Maharaj has now bowled 52.5 overs without reward in this series.While Nortje toiled, spearhead Kagiso Rabada continued his underwhelming series to finish with 0 for 45 off 12 overs. He unsuccessfully reverted to bowling short against Labuschagne, who counterattacked with ease.Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood and Matt Renshaw were named in an Australia team attempting a clean sweep of the series and a spot in the World Test Championship final in June.There was drama when Renshaw, playing his first Test since 2018, tested positive for Covid-19 on a rapid antigen test after feeling unwell before the day’s play, but he will continue to play in the match.With the SCG surface set to play more traditionally, Australia named two frontline spinners at home for the first time in six years with left-arm spinner Agar making his return having not played Tests since 2017.Regular quick Hazlewood returned from a side strain having edged out Scott Boland and uncapped tearaway Lance Morris.Along with Harmer, who replaced Lungi Ngidi, South Africa named batter Heinrich Klaasen in place of Theunis de Bruyn who returned home for the birth of his first child.South Africa still have a slim chance at qualifying for the WTC final with a consolation victory as their spirit lifted after Njorte’s late heroics.

Coach says Pope, Hameed, Moeen all in contention ahead of second Test against India

George Dobell09-Aug-2021Chris Silverwood has called on England’s top-order to “step up” and support Joe Root ahead of the second LV= Insurance Test at Lord’s.Root’s 21st Test century – and the rain – helped England escape from Trent Bridge with a draw. But while Root looked in supreme touch, nobody else in the England side could score more than 32.That left Silverwood admitting the team required more from its top-order batters, and contemplating several changes to the side with Ollie Pope, Haseeb Hameed and Moeen Ali all under consideration ahead of the Test that starts on Thursday.Related

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“Yes, I think we do need to step up,” Silverwood said. “Joe’s been phenomenal for the last six months, really. But what we need to do is make sure that the guys that are batting with him are coming to the party as well. We need the guys around Joe scoring some more runs to take the pressure off him.”It’s one thing which we’re talking about in the dressing room constantly. I’m encouraging conversations between the players and the coaches to try and find a solution for this to try and help them get better.”We have to address and accept we are not getting those runs so we have to look at why. It’s not through lack of effort. It’s not a lack of hard work. It’s just a case that we have to try and find a formula that works. That’s a work in progress at the moment.”We need to do something. Ideally, we get the guys scoring runs again and get the confidence back in them. But if that doesn’t happen obviously I have to have a look.”Does that mean there will be changes? It’s something we’ve got to consider constantly. We have to make sure we’ve got the right people on the park.”Ultimately, if it isn’t working I have to take a view on why and how do I change that. I have invested in these guys. I would rather be accused of giving somebody one too many chances than not enough. But at some point I will have to make a decision.”Pope would have played in the first Test had he been deemed fit. As things stand, he is considered highly likely to be fit for Lord’s and could well replace Dan Lawrence or Jonny Bairstow, though Silverwood’s praise of Bairstow’s first Test performance would suggest the former is more likely.”Jonny lined up very well,” Silverwood said. “It’s the happiest I’ve seen Jonny in a while. He was very content going about his business in training. He’s in a really good place at the moment and I was pleased with how he performed. Behind Joe, he looked [the most] reassured at the crease.”Ollie is making all the right noises with his fitness. He wasn’t quite ready for the first Test which is why I made that decision not to push him too hard. The next couple of days we’ll find out more. I want him to be 100 percent right when we chuck him into the arena again.”Zak Crawley would appear to be the batter in the top-three under most pressure. Since his double-century against Pakistan last year, Crawley has averaged just 11.14 in 14 Test innings and reached 30 only once. While Silverwood remains convinced Crawley is a “real talent,” he is also full of praise for Hameed, who scored a century against the tourists in a warm-up game in Durham a couple of weeks ago. Dom Sibley, meanwhile, was praised as he “helped out Joe massively” in a second-innings partnership that helped erase the first-innings deficit.Joe Root was England’s standout batter, but had little support•PA Images via Getty Images

“I think it’s clear we have got a real talent in Zak,” he said. “You don’t do what he did without having the talent. I think it’s a case of finding a way for him to get going. How does get himself in; how does he manage the ball around off stump? I think it’s an ongoing process but there’s no doubt in my mind there’s a heap of talent there capable of performing at this level.”Dom helped Joe get us out of a hole. He did his job, yes. He helped out Joe massively.”I’m confident Haseeb is as ready as he could be. He’s doing everything he possibly can to make sure he’s ready. He did put his best foot forward in Durham when he scored that hundred. What he did early season in the championship shows there’s a lot of class there as well, so I think he’s done everything he possibly can to be ready.”The one man from outside the current squad who is under consideration is Moeen. With England missing key allrounders in Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, Moeen’s presence would allow them to play a spinner without weakening the batting.”Moeen is certainly under consideration,” Silverwood said. “He’s always been part of our consideration. So that’s something that Joe and I are going to chat about at Lord’s. We know he is a fine cricketer and we know he is showing fine form in the Hundred at the moment, though I appreciate it’s a different format.”Allrounders such Ben Stokes or Chris Woakes usually give you options all-round. Unfortunately, we’ve found ourselves squeezed through circumstance recently and we haven’t been able to do that.”Could Mo play at Lord’s? All I’ll say is my mind’s not closed to anything. If it fits and works for the team then it’s something we have to consider.”

Hathurusingha has moved for compensation through the Court of Arbitration for Sport

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Jan-2020Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to terminate Chandika Hathurusingha’s contract as head coach, while Hathurusingha has moved for compensation through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), following months of deadlock.Although SLC had suspended Hathurusingha as far back as August last year, they had continued to pay him for several months, while lawyers traded letters and the board sent Hathurusingha a list of alleged failings as head coach. The charges levelled by SLC include failure to adequately prepare the Sri Lanka side for various assignments, and failure to maintain good relationships with players.The board has finally resolved to terminate Hathurusingha’s contract, but the possibility that they will have to pay Hathurusingha a substantial amount for early termination remains. His contract was due to run until December this year.”At the last executive committee meeting, on Friday, it was decided that the contract would be terminated,” board CEO Ashley de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “I can’t say by memory when we stopped the payments to [Hathurusingha], but I believe it was somewhere around October last year.”The board’s decision came after CAS, a global sporting body that aims to settle disputes related to sports via arbitration, sent them a letter listing Hathurusingha’s demands. De Silva confirmed that SLC is bound to the CAS process, and the board is now understood to be required to respond. This is likely because Hathurusingha’s contract with the board had stipulated that CAS could become involved if something like an early termination did eventuate. CAS will facilitate arbitration, and will effectively function as the intermediary between the parties for as long as this process lasts.Hathurusingha’s demands, conveyed to SLC by CAS, are understood to include not only loss of income from the early termination, but also compensation for damages to his reputation. He had remained in Sri Lanka through the early months of his legal tussle with SLC, but had returned home to Australia after the board’s payments ceased.Hathurusingha is the third head coach in the last five years whose tenure with Sri Lanka was ended before the contracted term was served. Marvan Atapattu and Graham Ford were both elbowed out of the position in 2015 and 2017 respectively.In 2013, SLC had also had to pay Geoff Marsh a substantial settlement after the board had terminated his contract early in 2012.

Other major stars in the Supernovas and Trailblazers XIs include Ellyse Perry, Suzie Bates, Alyssa Healy, Danielle Wyatt and Megan Schutt

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2018Australia captain Meg Lanning, superstar allrounder Ellyse Perry and India ODI captain Mithali Raj are set to be part of the IPL Supernovas team in the Women’s T20 exhibition match in Mumbai. They will face an IPL Trailblazers side that includes Jhulan Goswami, the highest wicket-taker in women’s ODIs, the prolific New Zealand opener Suzie Bates and the England offspinner Danielle Hazell among other big names.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In all, the two squads of 13 announced by the BCCI on Thursday include five Australia players, three from New Zealand and two from England, apart from 16 major Indian stars including Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, who will captain the Supernovas and Trailblazers respectively.The match will be played ahead of the first IPL Qualifier on May 22 at the Wankhede Stadium. The match will begin at 2pm IST and will be telecast across the world, unlike India women’s most-recent assignment – the ODI series against England – which was limited to a livestream on the BCCI website.

Australia coach Darren Lehmann said that under lights the pitch at the Adelaide Oval quickens up, and this could fit in well with the team’s plans of using the short ball against England

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide28-Nov-2017Rollover Brisvegas, and tell the WACA the news. Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has declared Adelaide Oval under lights to be the fastest pitch in the country, adding further ammunition for a pace attack intent on bouncing England’s middle order and tail into submission opposite the considerable wiles of Nathan Lyon.

No curfews for Australia Test team

No Australian team coached by Darren Lehmann has been handed a curfew, and he is not about to impose one now.
As England continued to squirm over Australia’s use of the Jonny Bairstow-Cameron Bancroft incident to discomfort the tourists, Lehmann responded to reports that Joe Root’s team may be asked to ensure they are back in their hotel by midnight by saying such restrictions would never be imposed on his watch.
“We wouldn’t have curfews but that’s our decision and that’s theirs,” Lehmann said. “We have faith in the blokes to do the right thing, but they’re grown men, they’re adults, and that’s just my personal opinion. You should enjoy your successes, there are no dramas with that. It’s just making sure you don’t cross the line. I’m happy with where our blokes sit with that.”
Lehmann became coach in 2013 immediately after David Warner’s suspension for punching Joe Root in a Birmingham bar, and has since allowed his players to use their commonsense in most situations, though levying the occasional fine – notably on Chris Rogers for turning up late to the team’s 2014 Ashes victory celebration at the Sydney Opera House.

The Ashes series leaders will wait until later in the week to decide whether any of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins are in need of rest after the Gabba Test – in which case the post will be filled by Chadd Sayers. Either way, Lehmann said that the uncertainty created by a moving pink ball, ostensibly suited to James Anderson and Stuart Broad, will be counterbalanced by extra zip off the surface that can aid the short-pitched attack telegraphed in Brisbane.Starc had noted during the first Test that he wanted to bowl at England on a faster surface than the uncharacteristically docile Gabba had been. Lehmann, present in Adelaide for both the South Australia versus New South Wales match, in which Sayers sorely tested Steven Smith and David Warner, and the tour match in which England got acquainted with the Oval’s nocturnal conditions, said that when the sun went down and the floodlights were turned on that is exactly what Adelaide would become.”It’s a fascinating Test match, there’s a lot of talk about it’ll seam and it’ll swing,” Lehmann said on Tuesday as the teams traveled from Brisbane to Adelaide. “The ball stays pretty good, but you can make runs if you play well as per normal. And it does quicken up at night – probably the fastest wicket around Australia at night, so that’s going to be interesting, how it plays.”[Bowling short] certainly hasn’t changed from four years ago. It’s a bit different in Australia than England where grounds are smaller and you can’t really get away with it, on bigger grounds you can. So that’s one for us that we see as an advantage. They did it quite a lot to us as well, it’s a ploy a lot of people do now. At the back end when the wicket quickened up and we could go after them a bit harder was helpful. That’s the blueprint, it’s no secret we’re going to attack their middle and lower order like that.”You’re more comfortable in your preparation [having played day-night Tests before], you know what you have to do to get ready. So the lead-in is a lot more normal for us than other teams having done it twice. This is the third time so we’re pretty comfortable where it sits. In terms of preparation and all that we’ll be fine, it’s just which team adapts the best I suppose.”Most conspicuously through the stratagems of the touring captain Joe Root, England showed their plans to the Australians at the Gabba, something Lehmann said would be useful for the remainder of the series. “We back-ended the first Test really well, but they played really well in the first innings and we learned a lot about them as a side. Nothing we didn’t already know but it just confirmed a lot of things along the way,” he said. “[We saw] more of their plans, how they want to tackle our group, which was good for us.”In weighing up whether or not the selectors would rest one of the three Brisbane pacemen, Lehmann pointed out that while their first-innings exertions had been considerable, the swift end of England’s second innings and a day five where they were not needed had already helped in terms of recovery.”First innings yeah [they bowled a lot of overs] but you cut it back in the second innings, only 70 [overall] and Lyon bowled 20 of those so it wasn’t too bad in terms of where they would be in a normal Test match,” Lehmann said. “We’ll just wait and see how we go at training over the next couple of days, if they get through then I think we’d be very similar, but we’ll have to wait and see the wicket. It’s just how they’ve recovered, as long as they get through main day [Thursday] they’re all good.”Equally valuable was how effectively Lyon was able to not only restrict the England run rate but also threaten consistently for wickets, to the extent that Lehmann even offered a conditional comparison to the role once played by the usually incomparable Shane Warne. At the same time he noted how much Lyon had grown since this time last year, when he came close to being dropped from the team at the end of five consecutive losses.Getty Images

“He kept us in the game day one, he was fantastic. He’s just grown with confidence and success breeds that,” Lehman said. “For him he’s actually come out of his shell a lot as well, he wants the ball day in, day out, a bit like Warney did when he played. He’s not as confident as Warney was, but he’s just really starting to lead and help the bowlers out, which is great.”We talked [last year] about how he needed to perform but that was like everyone. When you get to that stage everyone needed to perform, everyone was put on notice. The pleasing thing is that he’s bounced back from that, and from that moment on he’s really led the attack. That was a low part, we changed the side around and made it a youth policy if you like from a [Board] directive, so for us he’s done really well.”He obviously had to change a few things when he two’d and fro’d, but he didn’t need to change much in Australia, because you need to the bounce. It was more when he went away from Australia to the subcontinent he changed a few things, he did that and had success. So he started to believe he could change when he needs to, which is important.”Nevertheless, Lehmann said the Australian selectors were still on the lookout for an allrounder of quality to ease the load on the rest of the attack while also making substantial middle order runs. He was happy to hear that Mitchell Marsh is soon to resume competitive bowling after shoulder surgery, while Marcus Stoinis is also thought to be in calculations.”You’d always like one,” Lehmann said. “At the moment some of the allrounders aren’t knocking down the door like they should be. If you look at the past, when we had Shane Warne bowling at one end, you didn’t have an allrounder but you had Steve and Mark Waugh who took [150] Test wickets, so there’s an allrounder in itself. They’re just handy when you have that long second innings more so than not, and if you get an injury during the game. At the moment it’s ok, but you certainly look at it.”

Cameos from Darren Sammy and Umar Akmal late in Rajshahi Kings’ innings gave them enough momentum to beat Rangpur Riders by 12 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Sammy’s 18-ball 44, along with Umar Akmal saw them add 70 runs in the last 37 balls•BCB

Rajshahi Kings’ bowlers latched on to the momentum of Darren Sammy’s late assault to defend 162 and beat Rangpur Riders by 12 runs. Rajshahi rose from 94 for 5 to post 162 thanks to a 70-run partnership between Sammy and Umar Akmal for the sixth wicket, which came off only 37 deliveries. That was sufficient to put Rangpur under pressure, given their most successful chase in this season was 126.Losing Mohammad Shahzad in the seventh over was a blow for Rangpur but Mohammad Mithun and Nasir Jamshed led a brief recovery, adding 40 runs for the second wicket. Mithun waged a lone battle after Jamshed fell, and then watched as Soumya Sarkar, Anwar Ali and Liam Dawson were dismissed, leaving the score at 119 for 5 in the 17th over. With a six over long-on, Mithun reached his fifty in the 18th over, and Rangpur went into the last two overs needing 28.Mohammad Sami, however, bowled a tight penultimate over, giving away just three singles. Mithun slammed his fourth six in the final over but his unbeaten 64 off 36 balls was not enough to take Rangpur over the line.Earlier, Rajshahi’s innings got off to a rollicking start as Sabbir Rahman struck four boundaries and a six before falling in the seventh over for a 24-ball 31. Rangpur fought back in the next seven overs to reduce Rajshahi to 94 for 5.Sammy and Akmal hit a flurry of boundaries, taking 17, 15 and 23 off the last three overs. Sammy struck three fours and four sixes – over long-off, square-leg and midwicket – in his unbeaten 44 off 18 balls, while Akmal hammered two fours and a six in his 33 not out

A fracture has ruled Leigh Kasperek out for eight weeks, including six qualification games

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2016New Zealand Women offspinner Leigh Kasperek has been sidelined for a minimum of eight weeks with a broken finger. X-rays confirmed she sustained an avulsion fracture to her right index finger while training in South Africa last week for the seven-match ODI series which starts on October 8. Kasperek will miss that series as well as New Zealand’s home series against Pakistan in November.Auckland allrounder Maddy Green, who also bowls offspin, will replace Kasperek for the South Africa tour. Green, who last played for New Zealand in July 2015, has played eight ODIs so far but has only one wicket to her name. She is yet to score an international fifty.”We do feel our bowling stocks are quite well covered,” coach Haidee Tiffen said. “Maddy provides cover if we do need it, but we’ve also already got the experience of [off-spinning allrounder] Amy Satterthwaite who now steps up into that bowling role for us, as well as [legspinners] Sam Curtis and Erin Bermingham up our sleeves. And, of course, the class of Morna Nielsen.”While it’s obviously extremely disappointing for Leigh, and we wish her a swift recovery, she returns to Dunedin safe in the knowledge that the team has had very good preparation here and a really good lead-in.”Kasperek, who made her international debut last year, has been one of the leading bowlers for New Zealand. She was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the World T20 in India earlier this year, with nine scalps from five matches and an economy rate of 4.91.New Zealand will miss Kasperek for the six ODIs that will count for the ICC Women’s Championship to qualify directly for next year’s World Cup. Australia, who have already qualified, lead the table (30 points) followed by West Indies (20) and England (19). New Zealand lie fourth on the table with 16 points.

As selectors and medical staff fret over his workload, Josh Hazlewood thinks he is getting better with each successive spell this summer

Daniel Brettig in Hobart08-Dec-20151:36

‘Feel as good as I have in my career’ – Hazlewood

As selectors and medical staff fret over his workload, Josh Hazlewood thinks he is getting better with each successive spell this summer. Even so, he realises that a quick demolition job on West Indies in Hobart is likely to be his best chance of turning out in both the showpiece Melbourne and Sydney Test over the Christmas/New Year holidays.Much extra responsibility fell upon Hazlewood’s broad shoulders when Mitchell Johnson retired after the Perth Test and then Mitchell Starc suffered a foot fracture early in the Adelaide day/night match that followed it. His response was a commanding nine-wicket performance that suggested he thrived on being thrown the ball more expectantly by his captain Steven Smith.However the selection chairman Rod Marsh has stated that it is unlikely Hazlewood will be risked in all six Tests this summer, meaning it will be largely up to the bowler himself to earn the right to play by taking wickets in a swift enough manner to give him the required rest between matches – as was the case two summers ago when Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle were retained throughout the 5-0 Ashes sweep due to matches ending quickly.”I definitely wouldn’t want to be rested for either of those last two games and especially not this one, the first against the West Indies,” Hazlewood said. “I hope I can play all of them, depending on how much workload we have. If we can take these 20 wickets as quickly as possible I don’t see why I can’t play all three Tests.”The quicker you get the 20 wickets obviously the easier it is on the body. We had a tough initiation in Brisbane and in Perth on those wickets but we will be patient, it’s something I think we need to work on against the West Indies, build pressure that way and then the wickets will come hopefully.”Marsh has previously been part of a selection panel that angered fast bowlers by withdrawing them from the Test team for preventative reasons. In 2012 both Harris and Starc were left nonplussed to be asked to cool their heels after strong performances in the previous match, the former missing a Trinidad Test after excelling in Barbados and Starc scratched from Boxing Day despite bowling Australia to victory over Sri Lanka in Hobart.”I guess with my history of injuries people are entitled to their opinion but I feel as good as I have through my career,” Hazlewood said. “I think I showed last summer I bowled quite a few overs in the Tests I played and got through the majority of the winter tours as well. I’m feeling better the further I get in my career.”You have got to be honest with the selectors and coach and Smithy. They value the fast bowlers’ opinions on how you feel, as long as you are honest it’s good communication to and fro. They take a lot from how the bowler feels and how the physio sees things.”There is another decent break after this game and then the hardest ones are probably the last two back to back. But I am feeling pretty good at the moment, and hopefully it stays that way.”Australia are in very much a transitional phase due to the aforementioned retirement of Johnson and Harris, plus those of Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and Chris Rogers. But in Hazlewood they appear to have a bowler who can thrive on the extra responsibility on home turf, while also knowing from the experiences of the Caribbean earlier this year how to bowl to a brittle West Indian line-up, who had their own preparation affected by rain on their afternoon training session at Bellerive Oval.”We are obviously going to miss both Mitches, they both bring different things to the bowling attack but I guess it is good that I am the one who Smithy turns to,” Hazlewood said. “Especially in that second innings in Adelaide, that added pressure I enjoy, hopefully it brings the best out of me, if I continue to bowl like that that would be good.”I thought we bowled quite well in the West Indies as a group, Nathan Lyon included. If we can do something like that in these three Tests and build pressure on them, keeping building those dots up, the wickets will come.”

Mark Cosgrove staved off the threat of a follow-on to protect Leicestershire in a rain-wrecked but eventful day limited to 24 overs

PA/ECB19-May-2015
ScorecardMark Cosgrove staved off the threat of a follow-on to protect Leicestershire in a rain-wrecked but eventful day limited to 24 overs. In that time, 103 runs were scored and six wickets taken, leaving Lancashire in a position of control, leading by 158 runs with eight second innings wickets remaining at the end of the third day.When Leicestershire lost Tom Wells, leg before on the back foot to Kyle Jarvis, they were still 16 short of saving the follow-on, but skipper Cosgrove was joined by Clint McKay and the Australians took Leicestershire past the follow-on before another shower saw the players head for an early lunch.Only four overs were possible in the afternoon session, but Lancashire made the most of them by picking up two more wickets. First to go was Cosgrove, who had battled his way to 79 before a Nathan Buck inswinger saw him dismissed leg before wicket. There had been no further addition to the score when McKay, who had hit four fours in going to 26, edged a Jarvis outswinger to wicket-keeper Alex Davies.Further rain kept the players off until 5.45pm, but Lancashire needed only one more ball to finish the Leicestershire innings, Jarvis seaming one back in to Charlie Shreck to win another leg before shout, and finish with 5 for 69.Looking to bat positively to give themselves enough time to bowl Leicestershire out on the final day, Lancashire quickly lost Paul Horton run out. He called Karl Brown through for a single, was sent back by Brown, who had slipped, and did not make it.Brown himself followed soon afterwards, edging a Shreck out-swinger to Niall O’Brien behind the stumps, and it should have been three when Alviro Petersen edged the last ball of the day, bowled by Ben Raine, to Wells at third slip, only for the young all-rounder to failed to hold the chance – the fifth time Leicestershire have dropped a good chance in the slips in this match.