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Pakistan Test captain happy to play behind closed doors if that helps cricket return to TV

Danyal Rasool10-Apr-2020Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali has joined Misbah-ul-Haq, the head coach and chief selector, in asking for the World Test Championship to be extended looking at the way the cricket calendar has been affected because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ali, in an online video conference, said he could get behind the idea of playing behind closed doors should that be the only way to get cricket back on television.”If, hopefully, in the near future cricket is possible and the health of people is not compromised, I’m sure every cricketer will say we should get cricket back on, even if it is behind closed doors,” Ali said. “There is no sport on TV right now that people can watch. They will be happy to get sport back on TV. People’s health is more important, but if we can get sport going without imperilling that, I’d support it. I’m sure the ICC will look at this. The Test Championship was a long competition anyway, so I don’t think it would be a big deal to extend it if the series cannot be held in time; I’d support extending the Test championship.”The series coming up in the Test championship will determine where we stand. We have big series coming up in New Zealand and England, and we need to win at least three-four Tests across those series to give ourselves a good chance of reaching the final. That’s very much our aim, and we’re still looking at those series as crucial to our chances of going far in this championship.”Whether those series can go ahead at all is in severe doubt. That is particularly true of the series against England, which is scheduled to begin in July, with the prospect of the entire English summer being written off a real possibility. The series in New Zealand, in December, is far enough out for any speculation, but with cricket cancelled across the board, the likelihood of the championship squeezing in all scheduled fixtures without an extension appears close to zero.The break in the cricket calendar has also allowed Ali to take stock of his career. Having only recently been appointed Test captain, replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed last October, Ali has led Pakistan in five Test matches. Results have been mixed: a disappointing 2-0 loss in Australia followed by a 1-0 home win against Sri Lanka and a resounding win versus Bangladesh in the first Test in Rawalpindi.”I did want to bring fresh ideas into the team when appointed, and remove the fear factor that players have,” he said. “The players should feel free to express themselves. In a team culture, the captain bears great responsibility for the sort of culture they develop. I want to ensure that regardless of whether I’m in the dressing room or not, the environment is such that everyone thinks about the good of the team. Just as important, we want the dressing room to be a relaxed, not a tense place. We’ve seen – and not just in Pakistan – that when the team is under pressure, the dressing room becomes a very tense place. If you’re doing well, you’re all relaxed, but under pressure, people tend to find corners to hide in.”As long as you keep your emotions level whatever the situation, you take good decisions. Decision-making is affected by tension and pressure.”Ali’s predecessor Ahmed preferred taking central control of all decisions, ensuring he was constantly in his team-mates’ ears and insistent on micromanaging in a way that Ali does not appear to deem necessary. His more approach to cricket, and to leadership, means that according to him, players have the opportunity to relax, as well as understand the captain can only go so far to help them.”Players need to be reminded of their responsibilities, but cricket needs to be enjoyed,” Ali said. “You should know how to relax, and to stay calm when under pressure. I’m happy so far, but it’s still along way to travel. It takes a lot of time to develop trust. The players need to take responsibility for their own performances, too, and they can only give themselves the best chance of performing if they set their fear aside. Being honest, when I go out to bat, there’s as much pressure on me as a young player who just gets into the side. The experienced player has the advantage of knowing how to perform under pressure. What we have to teach young players is how to handle pressure to get the best out of their ability.”

Kings XI have a proud home record to look up to, Knight Riders have momentum from a resounding win

The Preview by Shashank Kishore02-May-20198:50

Kartik: Kings XI need to maximise Powerplays better

Big picture

As Manish Pandey hoisted Hardik Pandya into the stands to force a Super Over, R Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik, good friends and Tamil Nadu team-mates, could’ve been forgiven for looking at the fixtures and the points table frantically. A win for Sunrisers Hyderabad would’ve meant Friday’s game in Mohali would have been a knockout. Mumbai Indians’ win now leaves both sides with a chance even if they lose on Friday, but that will mean the stars have to align, a route they’d not want to take after having endured a roller coaster of a season.Kings XI Punjab’s season thus far bears an eerie resemblance to their 2018 campaign – well-placed halfway through, before a loss from a winning position causing an implosion. Now, the push has come to shove and there is no way out. It’s the survival of the fittest.Change has been the only constant for Kings XI; they have changed their playing XI in each of the 12 matches. The only solace they can fall back on is their proud home record: four wins in five games so far. The big square boundaries have given the two Ashwins plenty to bowl with even if the surfaces have not often aided much turn. However, they will know all too well that no boundary is big enough for Andre Russell, most certainly not if he continues to bat at No. 3 and stays till the death overs.Kolkata Knight Riders snapped a six-match losing streak and the win at Eden Gardens three nights ago may have come as a balm amid hints of friction in the camp. Nothing can cover up the cracks like a win, and the journey to Mohali and the two off days they have could not have come at a better time.Finally, they’ve managed to address issues that seemed apparent to everyone but themselves: the batting line-up conundrum. Shubman Gill opened and justified the change with a sparkling 76. His strike rate of 158 is the third-best for any opener who has scored 100 runs this season. Meanwhile, Russell showed how he can adapt to situations by batting his way in before the end-overs onslaught.Kings XI’s focus will be on the team combination. Do they trust Mujeeb Ur Rahman again and bring him in against a power-packed side, knowing his confidence may be down after conceding 66 in his four overs against Sunrisers or play an extra seamer in Ankit Rajpoot? Do they look to drop the under-firing David Miller and strengthen their bowling stocks further? One way of doing that could be including Karun Nair and playing Sam Curran to balance out the overseas personnel. It’s anybody’s guess how they’ll go.

In the news

Moises Henriques could’ve offered them the batting muscle along with a few overs, but he hasn’t yet recovered fully from the ankle injury. Kings XI also won’t have the services of Varun Chakravarthy, who has left the squad following a shoulder injury. They’ve tried out all other players in the squad barring Darshan Nalkande and Agnivesh Ayachi. Knight Riders have an entire squad to choose from.Kings XI will need to find a way to stop the Russell madness•BCCI

Previous meeting

Russell walloped five sixes and three fours in a 17-ball 48 to give Knight Riders 218 for 4. Kings XI Punjab challenged the chase at different stages but didn’t have enough firepower to cross the line. David Miller’s 59 not out merely reduced the margin of defeat.

Likely XIs

Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 David Miller, 6 Mandeep Singh, 7 R Ashwin (capt), 8 M Ashwin, 9 Ankit Rajpoot, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mohammed Shami Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Andre Russell, 4 Robin Uthappa, 5 Dinesh Karthik (capt, wk), 6 Nitish Rana, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Harry Gurney, 10 Sandeep Warrier, 11 Prasidh Krishna

Strategy punt

• Russell can seamlessly switch to six-hitting at the death – he has the second-best strike rate (249) and has scored the most runs (351) in overs 16 to 20. How do Kings XI prevent him from getting there? Perhaps their captain Ashwin, who likes to bowl with the new ball, may want to hold himself back a bit as Russell’s strike rate against the carrom ball is a modest 97.1 across 35 balls.
• Kings XI have to not just win but try and improve their net run-rate too. Gayle will be aware of this. So how do they keep him quiet? Maybe Knight Riders could unleash his West Indies mate Sunil Narine upfront? Gayle’s strike rate against offspin this season is a low 73.1 across 26 deliveries, with a dot-ball percentage of 50.
• Now that Gill has shown promise at the top of the order, Knight Riders may want to resist the temptation to open with Narine. Two of Gill’s three half-centuries this season have come while opening. He also strikes better (158) here than anywhere else in the order, and manages a boundary every 4.7 deliveries; the corresponding numbers at No. 3 and No. 5 stand at 15 and 13.5 respectively.

Stats that matter

• Russell is 58 away from 5000 T20 runs. If he gets there, he would have done so in exactly 300 T20s.
• Knight Riders’ pace bowlers have taken the fewest number of wickets in the competition (22). They are also the second-most expensive pace-bowling unit (economy of 9.5), behind only to Kings XI (9.6).
• Kings XI’s win percentage is a lowly 16.7 when Gayle scores less than 30.

Welsh legend pays price for county’s flat-lining performances on all fronts

George Dobell17-Oct-2018Hugh Morris has described as “incredibly difficult” the decision to end Robert Croft’s 30-year career with Glamorgan.Morris, the club’s chief executive, acknowledged Croft’s “incredible contribution” to Glamorgan but conceded that, after a grim year, this was “the right time for a change”.Croft had been head coach at Glamorgan for the last three years. Despite seeing the side reach Finals Day in 2017 – the first time they had done so in 13 years – Croft was unable to improve their first-class form. They finished bottom of Division Two in the County Championship in 2018, won only one List A match, and failed to progress to the last eight in the T20 Blast. The departure of 21-year-old Aneurin Donald, one of the club’s brightest prospects, to Hampshire underlined the impression that, too often in the last few years, the club had relied too heavily on imports.Before his spell as head coach, Croft had enjoyed a long career with the club – he made his debut in 1989 and captained the side between 2003 and 2006 – and had a period as assistant coach. His departure leaves the club looking for both a new head coach and director of cricket following last week’s announcement which revealed Morris, who has had a dual role as chief executive and director of cricket since 2013, would be concentrating on the former position. It is likely the new director of cricket will be involved in the appointment of the next head coach.”On behalf of the club I would like to thank Robert for the incredible contribution he has made to Glamorgan, not just as head coach but also as a player, assistant coach and ambassador over the last 30 years,” Morris said.”He is one of our greatest players and the most successful player we have ever had at the club at international level and has done more than anyone to promote not just cricket in Wales, but Welsh cricket to the world.”During his tenure, he has developed a number of young players which Glamorgan will hopefully see the benefit of for years to come. He also oversaw the club reaching the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast in two of his three years in charge, which culminated in our return to Finals Day last year.”It was an incredibly difficult decision for the board to make, but given our performances in the County Championship we feel it is the right time for a change. Robert is always welcome back at the club and we hope he will continue to act as an ambassador for Glamorgan and Welsh cricket.””After finishing my playing career it was one of my dreams to coach at this great club and I am pleased to have been able to fulfil that dream and play a part in developing the next generation of Welsh cricketers,” Croft said. “I leave knowing that Glamorgan has a number of extremely talented cricketers who can take the club forward.”Although our County Championship campaigns did not go as I would have liked, we were able to compete admirably in the shorter formats of the game with a small and young squad of players.”Glamorgan will always hold a big piece of my heart and I would like to wish the club and supporters well for the future.”Since they were relegated at the end of the 2005 season, Glamorgan have only finished in the top half of Division Two twice. In that period, they have failed to produce an England player. At one stage in 2018, they lost seven Championship games in succession.

The Australia opener is not only keen on taking up captaincy at every opportunity, but has also flagged the possibility of a career in politics once he retires

Daniel Brettig in Durban27-Feb-2018Not only is David Warner intent on captaining Australia at every opportunity, the opening batsman has also flagged the possibility of a career in politics once he retires.Warner has been known to interact a little more often with political leaders than most members of the Australian side, famously fronting then Prime Minister Tony Abbott to commit federal government funding for the redevelopment of Heffron Park, near his childhood home in public housing in Matraville.Now, following his influential public role in the 2017 pay dispute between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association, Warner has said he is interested in looking towards making a difference in politics following his playing days.”After cricket, I wouldn’t mind doing something,” Warner told . “One thing that has been embedded in me since a young age is that I grew up in a housing commission. As a kid, I had to do everything at home with my brother just because my parents worked all the time. So whether it was dishes, ironing – all the normal things you do at home. Once I was able to go and work, I went and worked because we needed that money coming in to pay the bills. Me and my brother both paid a bit of rent when we were younger and I just liked looking out for anyone who was close to me.”During the dispute, it was a tough situation, you had your employers who were going up against our union and the players. So, I thought I needed to have a stance somewhere because at the end of the day, I want to play cricket for my country but for us to get a result or something in the middle – a happy medium – we had to fight for that. I am a believer in what I believe in. So, that was our belief, to get what we wanted. I sit back now and go, ‘I probably regret how the situation was played out in the media.’ And we do as players.”But, if you believe in something you are going to have to fight for it and I wasn’t going to stand down because we needed someone out there to speak about it. You can sit back and do what you like but you don’t get anywhere unless someone speaks up and does something.”Warner’s brand of cricketing leadership was on display during the recent T20 triangular series won by Australia over New Zealand and England. He said that his desire to lead the national team wherever possible would fuel him to take part in every T20 series when the full-time captain, Steven Smith, is rested.”I just like having responsibility and if there is anything that I can do to help anyone, whether it is here at the cricket or even if it is down at the beach or something,” Warner said. “If it is something that I can help with and someone needs help, then it is something I’ll be hand up for. That’s just the person that I am. And obviously standing in for Steve there are big shoes to fill. He needs his rest.”Playing all three forms for Steve is like playing six or seven different forms with having the responsibility of being captain of all three forms. So, he definitely needs his break from time to time and I am obviously going to put my hand up as a senior player to do that role.”I feel it is important we do have a senior player playing in all three formats, or one of us staying back and playing the T20 format, because you need to keep your core team values and how we are as an Australian unit. You need to have that experience there too for the guys who are coming through.”

Australia’s captain Steven Smith and his deputy David Warner have chosen not to enter into a public debate ahead of the next round of meetings in pay negotiations

Daniel Brettig10-Dec-2016Australia’s captain Steven Smith and his deputy David Warner have chosen not to enter into a public debate ahead of the next round of meetings in pay negotiations between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association.Having been wined and dined by CA board directors in Melbourne on Wednesday night, Smith and Warner elected only to make conciliatory noises after the end of the Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand. Their words were in contrast to the more urgent tone taken by others, including the ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson and the former Australian international Simon Katich.”For us it was a good opportunity to meet the board and have a nice dinner with them and a good chat,” Smith said of the dinner, the sort of courtesy that was not offered to Nicholson, among others. “They took our points of view, we listened to them and it was nice to see everyone on the same page and trying to get the best for our game moving forward.”Sitting alongside Smith, Warner chimed in to say: “Dinner was nice.”While CA declined to comment publicly on the MOU negotiations, there is a wide expectation that the board will seek to break-up the revenue sharing model that has been fundamental to Australian cricket since 1997. Under that model, Australia’s players get around 26% of Australian Cricket Revenue, a selection of the money generated by the game that is decided upon by CA.The ACA is seeking the retention of the model while also hoping to expand and “future-proof” the sources of revenue. This is partly designed to cater for the inclusion of more expansive women’s pay in the next MOU, at a time when the game is expanding in professionalism and prominence via the Women’s Big Bash League.Smith, Warner and other senior Australian players are critical to negotiations because it is believed that CA will try to tempt them into accepting considerable individual pay rises in exchange for the revenue sharing model being stripped away. In this, the model would be similar to that presently in use for the women, who are paid separately by CA without a wide range of conditions and benefits open to the men via their longer standing MOU agreements.Another key figure in the debate is the former captain Mark Taylor, who forged a middle path between the players and the board when a pay dispute in 1997 was defused by the adoption of the revenue sharing model and the founding of the ACA itself. Now a board director, Taylor is also known to be a mentor of Smith, and a proponent of the move away from revenue sharing.The CA chairman David Peever was previously the managing director of the mining giant Rio Tinto’s Australian operations and an outspoken critic of union involvement in the workplace. In a 2012 mining conference address, Peever had outlined his views on “third party” involvement in negotiations between employers and employees.”Direct engagement between companies and employees, flexibility and the need for improved productivity has to be at the heart of the system,” he said at the time. “Only then can productivity and innovation be liberated from the shop floor-up, and without the competing agenda of a third party constantly seeking to extend its reach into areas best left to management.”CA’s negotiating team is being led by the executive general manager of strategy and people, Kevin Roberts – himself a former board director. The ACA is expected to seek the advice of the former players association chief executives Tim May and Paul Marsh at various points of the process.

Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has announced he is retiring from limited-overs cricket in order to focus on the remainder of his Test career

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Apr-2016Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has announced his retirement from limited-overs cricket in order to focus on the remainder of his Test career. Herath informed Sri Lanka Cricket of his decision to step away from the shorter formats in the past week, and the board has since accepted his decision.”In the next eight months or so, we’re scheduled to play something like 12 Test matches,” Herath said. “I think retiring from the shorter formats is the right move, because that will allow young players to be groomed for the next World Cup, as well as lowering my workload and letting me concentrate on Tests.”Herath, 38, has played with injuries in both knees over the past few years, and was largely only picked for limited-overs cricket in the approach to, and in major tournaments, in which he has played a significant role.He has 74 wickets from 71 ODIs, but will be remembered more fondly for his impact in T20 internationals. Herath played a key role in Sri Lanka’s victorious 2014 World T20 campaign, delivering the side’s spell of that tournament. His 5 wickets for 3 runs in a virtual quarter-final against New Zealand is arguably the best-ever T20 bowling performance. He was also effective in the semi-final and final of that tournament, and had also been incisive in the 2012 World T20 semi-final, against Pakistan, where he claimed 3 for 25. Overall, he has 18 T20I wickets from 17 matches.”In T20, the two spells I remember fondly are my 5 for 3 against New Zealand, and the 3 for 20-odd against Pakistan at Khettarama,” Herath said. “I haven’t taken any five-wicket hauls in ODIs, but I bowled well in that tri-series final against India, in the Caribbean in 2013. I took 4 for 20 in that game, though we went on to lose. I also have good memories of the 2011 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand (he took 1 for 31).”Most recently, Herath played in every match of Sri Lanka’s recent 2016 World T20 campaign, and his retirement will leave the likes of Jeffrey Vandersay and Sachithra Senanayake vying to become the team’s first-choice short-format spinner. Herath himself will shift focus to the three-Test series in England, in May and June, for which preparation begins on Monday.”Sri Lanka Cricket wishes Mr. Herath nothing but the best as he continues to play cricket in his chosen discipline, and in all future endeavours,” a board release said.

Fifties from Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed helped Peshawar Region cruise through to beat Karachi Region Blues by seven wickets and win the final of the Haier Mobile T20 Cup in Rawalpindi

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball-detailsFile photo – Mohammad Rizwan struck eight fours and a six in his unbeaten 58•AFP

Half-centuries from Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan helped Peshawar Region beat Karachi Region Blues by seven wickets and defend their T20 title in Rawalpindi. All of Peshawar’s seven wins in the tournament have come batting second, and this one meant Karachi crashed to their fifth loss in the finals of the T20 Cup.Chasing a challenging target of 177, Peshawar began strongly with opener Rafatullah Mohmand bashing 43 of the 48 runs for the opening wicket. Rafatullah and his partner Israrullah fell in a space of eight balls, but Iftikhar and Rizwan then took charge, adding an unbroken 110 off only 64 balls to ace the chase. Rizwan crunched 58 off 34 balls while Iftikhar hit 57 off 40 balls as Peshawar sealed the win with seven balls to spare.After having inserted Karachi, Peshwar struck in the first over with Imran Khan removing Shahzaib Hasan for a duck. Khalid Latif (23) and Khurram Manzoor (41), though, worked past the early blow and kept runs flowing. Imran Khan Jnr broke the 52-run partnership in his first over when he had Latif caught and bowled. Three overs later, Manzoor was run out. Imran Khan Jnr then broke Karachi further with the wickets of Asad Shafiq and Anwar Ali and finished as the tournament’s joint highest wicket-taker – 16 from seven matches at an average of 12.12.Sarfraz Ahmed, who had pushed himself down the order, provided some late impetus with an unbeaten 47 off 26 balls. He scored three consecutive boundaries in the penultimate over as Karachi tallied 29 runs in the last 12 balls. But it wasn’t enough.

Abhinav Mukund, who batted 297 minutes to anchor India A’s second innings with a 163-ball 59, believes a lead of 150 would make for a difficult fourth-innings chase for Australia A on a slow pitch with variable bounce

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai31-Jul-2015Abhinav Mukund, who batted 297 minutes to anchor India A’s second innings with a 163-ball 59, believes a lead of 150 would make for a difficult fourth-innings chase for Australia A on a slow pitch with variable bounce.”These two [B Aprajith and Shreyas Gopal] are really good batsmen. Both of them have good first-class scores. Hopefully, these two bat for a while tomorrow morning,” Abhinav said. “If we get anything about 150, it is going to be a tough chase. Trust me.”Abhinav, who was caught behind in the first innings attempting a flashy cut off the back foot, said he had made a conscious decision to step forward, get close to the pitch, and attack the ball.”I think in the first innings I misjudged the ball that was probably fuller and I went back for it,” Abhinav said. “Could have played from forward and there was a conscious effort for me to play forward [in the second innings] and not backward. There was plan to smother the ball in front.”Abhinav, who lobbed a simple catch to short leg off Ashton Agar after tea, conceded that he had been undone by the extra bounce. Three balls later, Shreyas Iyer was dismissed for 49 as India A slipped from a promising position.”I thought I was quite well set and did not expect the ball to bounce as much. I thought Ashton Agar got more bounce than Steve O’Keefe. It was a little harder to play. I usually tend to sweep the ball a bit more but because of the bounce I was not able to do that. I was just looking to rotate the strike.”

Ireland will attempt to secure qualification for their third consecutive World Cup by beating Netherlands in two ICC WCL Championship fixtures

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2013Ireland will attempt to secure qualification for their third consecutive World Cup by beating Netherlands in two ICC WCL Championship fixtures over the next three days and their captain, William Porterfield, has emphasised how important the achievement would be in the continuing development of Irish cricket.The top two teams in the WCL Championship will qualify automatically for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Ireland currently head the table, two points ahead of Scotland with two games in hand and three clear of Netherlands, who are themselves eyeing a direct route to the tournament.The two fixtures will take place in Amstelveen, with Ireland unbeaten in their last six ODIs against Netherlands. Both matches will be streamed live on the ICC website.”These matches mean everything for both sides as both of us must win,” Porterfield said. “The Dutch have got to win to keep things in their hands while we know that two wins will get us to Australia and New Zealand.”Cricket Ireland has set out a strategic plan to be playing Test cricket by 2020 and that involves a lot of hard yards. One of the boxes we have got to tick is winning events like this. Doing that is very important for Irish cricket as it will give us the profile to help bring more people to the game and that will hopefully bring in funding that will keep the game growing.”Ed Joyce spoke to ESPNcricinfo earlier in the week about the difficulties Ireland continue to face in securing matches against the Full Member nations. Exposure during global ICC tournaments – they have been at the last four, including World Twenty20s – has been vital, with memorable victories over Pakistan and England at the last two World Cups.Cricket Ireland has been very transparent in its aims to develop the game, setting out a blueprint to achieve Test status by 2020. For Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s chief executive, it is all about “being first through the gate” and he said that failure to win the WCL Championship would be “a backward step”. Qualification would help Ireland’s forward planning in the next 18 months, as well as bring a $1 million preparation grant from the ICC.Should Ireland lose either or both of the two games against Netherlands, they will have to beat Scotland when the two teams meet in the final round of matches in September. The six countries who do not warrant automatic World Cup spots will take part in a qualifying event in New Zealand next year for two remaining places.”It would be an advantage to go through now, or even in September rather than through the Qualifier because it gives [coach] Phil Simmons a chance to identify his squad as far out from 2015 as possible,” Deutrom said. “We can set up Full Member opponents and get planning in place from 18 months out rather than 12 months out and it is all part of the way we are thinking.”We do not just want to qualify though. We do not just want to do that and think ‘we’ve qualified, now let’s sit back and rest on our laurels’. We want to do it as winners of the World Cricket League Championship, as to do that would be matching our expectations and those of our government backers, our sponsors and our fans.”Everyone has invested in us and continues to do so, and so, for us, it is all about being first through the gate and cementing our place as the top Associate, something we have been for the last four or five years. Anything less would be regarded as a disappointment and a backward step.”Netherlands have competed in four World Cups, including the last three, and will be aiming to record their first victory over Ireland in 50-over cricket since 2006. Their captain, Peter Borren, played in that game and knows that another victory would take them above Scotland and substantially improve their chances of finishing in the top two.”We have got four games left, two of them against Ireland and two against Canada, and if we win three of them then that should be enough,” he said.”For any country, the World Cup is the ultimate stage and for Associate teams like us it is our chance to get exposure and to compete with the big boys. For Dutch cricket it is huge because in order to expand the game we have got to be on the global stage as often as possible.”

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.”