Pakistan interviewed Richard Done, the former New South Wales fast bowler and ICC high performance manager, for the position of coach, a post they hope to fill in before the team tours Scotland in July. Done, 51, is one of three Australians on Pakistan’s shortlist, along with Dav Whatmore and Geoff Lawson.”Done has been interviewed and in the final phase Whatmore and Lawson will be interviewed before making the final announcement shortly,” Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, said.Done, who succeeded Bob Woolmer as the ICC’s high performance manager in 2004 after Woolmer was named Pakistan’s coach, previously visited Pakistan in 2001 on a coaching assignment with the National Academy in Lahore. His main focus on that visit was to give guidance on coach training and suggestions on Academy work.Apart from his stint with the ICC, Done also worked with the Australian Academy and the Queensland Academy of Sport. He played ten first-class matches from 1978-79 to 1985-86 and took 21 wickets at 41.76. “Done has worked with Rodney Marsh in the highly praised Australian Cricket Academy,” Ashraf said.
New Zealand Cricket’s six major associations have announced their list of 12 contracted players for the 2006-07 domestic season.Notable inclusions are Craig McMillan and Chris Harris from Canterbury, given that both were missing on the list of centrally contracted players last month. Similarly, Northern Districts handed out contracts to James Marshall and Daryll Tuffey. McMillan is currently leading New Zealand A in the Top End Series in Australia, while Marshall is the vice-captain of the New Zealand Emerging Players squad in Brisbane. Tuffey, who has been out of action since June 2005 due to a bicep injury, will head to Sydney in September to represent Sutherland Club, in an attempt to make a comeback.The 12 players were decided based on the interim player agreement between New Zealand Cricket, the Major Associations and the New Zealand Cricket Players Association. This marks a change from the previous instances where only 11 players were contracted from each association.Canterbury Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Leighton Burtt, Andrew Ellis, Chris Harris, Brandan Hiini, Craig McMillan, Iain Robertson, Richard Sherlock, Shanan Stewart, Kruger Van Wyk, Paul WisemanAuckland Carl Cachopa, Tama Canning, Derek de Boorder, Martin Guptill, Paul Hitchcock, Richard Jones, Tim Lythe, Tim McIntosh, Andy McKay, Rob Nicol, Lance Shaw , Reece YoungCentral Districts Geoff Barnett, Chris Cruikshank, Brendon Diamanti, Campbell Furlong, Bevan Griggs, Lance Hamilton, Greg Hay, Brent Hefford, Greg Hegglun, Dominic Rayner, Ewen Thompson, Tim Weston Northern Districts Graeme Aldridge, Ian Butler, Alun Evans, Daniel Flynn, Nick Horsley, Peter McGlashan, James Marshall, Bruce Martin, Mark Orchard, Daryl Tuffey, BJ Watling, Joseph YovichOtago Neil Broom, Craig Cumming, Gareth Hopkins, Nathan McCullum, James McMillan, Warren McSkimming, Aaron Redmond, Bradley Scott, Gareth Shaw, Jordan Sheed, Craig Smith, Greg ToddWellington Matthew Bell, Dewayne Bowden, Grant Elliot, Sam Fairley, Mark Gillespie, Stuart Mills, Chris Nevin, Iain O’Brien, Michael Parlane, Neal Parlane, Jesse Ryder, Luke Woodcock
Shane Warne’s bowling in Colombo during Australia’s 40-run victory over Pakistan has clearly presented him with the chance of relieving Courtney Walsh of his world record for wickets in Tests within the next 12 months, or possibly sooner.Warne, 32, after his 102nd Test, has taken 461 Test wickets, at an average of 26.29.Walsh, who played 132 Tests for the West Indies took 519 wickets at 24.44.The most important aspect of his race for the record, with Muttiah Muralitharan, 30, his only serious rival on 430 wickets, is the news that he has recovered his flipper.It was the ball he used to break through the Pakistan resistance when trapping Younis Khan leg before wicket for 51, and setting in train the Pakistan collapse which gave Australia victory.While age might normally be a problem for a faster bowler, although in the case of Walsh, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee, it wasn’t that much of a concern during their latter years, Warne could rightfully claim to be in the prime years of his life.Should he maintain the fitness that has seen him pick up his sixth 10-wicket bag in Tests and his 22nd five-wicket haul, Warne could even expect to be able to possibly claim the prize during next year’s series in the West Indies.There are two more Tests against Pakistan in this series. They will be played in Sharjah where he might normally expect some assistance, especially over five days.Then follows the Ashes series with five Tests at home and then four Tests in the West Indies.Are 11 Tests sufficient for Warne to take 58 wickets?Throughout his career the Victorian leggie has averaged 4.5 wickets a Test match and at that rate he could finish the 11 Tests with just on 50 wickets.But in his last 10 Tests he has taken 54 wickets which is 5.4 a Test which would net him 59.Should he not be able to get among the English and the West Indians, then there is the prospect of two matches to be played against Bangladesh in Darwin and Cairns in July.By comparison, Muralitharan has reached something of a stop in his Test match play. The Sri Lankans have two Tests against South Africa next month. They then host New Zealand for three Tests in May and have two Tests in the West Indies in June/July next year.That is likely to deny the crafty Sri Lankan the chance to put the pressure on Warne, although that statement is always presuming injury doesn’t become a factor for him.Of the other bowlers on the list of top performers, Glenn McGrath is closest to breaking through the 400 barrier.He ended the Colombo Test with 393 wickets from his 85 Tests, Pakistan’s Waqar Younis is on 357 while India’s Anil Kumble goes into the series against the West Indies on 333 wickets from 73 Tests.The next highest bowler on the list who is still playing is South Africa’s Shaun Pollock on 261 and with his average on 20.72, it is the best of all the bowlers in front of him. But it will be interesting to see how his figures look at the completion of the series against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. On his home soil there is every prospect of a significant drop.Javagal Srinath has now returned to Test cricket, and he sits on 232 wickets. The next highest active players on the list are England’s pair of Darren Gough (228) and Andrew Caddick (214) and after them, is Chris Cairns on 197 looking to break through in the forthcoming series against India.Meanwhile, one interesting milestone looms in the batting stakes. Australian Test captain Steve Waugh, after 149 Tests, is 369 runs from becoming the third player, after Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar, to break the 10,000 runs barrier.Closest to him is Sachin Tendulkar on 8405 runs with an average of 57.96 which is second only to Don Bradman (99.94) and Walter Hammond (58.45) among those to have scored more than Bradman’s 6996 runs.
The Queen’s Park Oval, one of 11 venues in line to host matches during the 2007 World Cup, has been given the thumbs-up by the International Cricket Council’s Venue Assessment Team ,which is currently in the Caribbean. The 13-member team includes Chris Dehring, managing director of the 2007 World Cup. The group started their evaluation on Monday, and had already visited St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenada prior to landing in Trinidad.Willie Rodriguez, president of the Queen’s Park Oval Club, said that the team left the venue satisfied with what they had seen. “At this early stage, it is fair to say that the presentation was very commendable,” he said. “We had a clip from Tourism and Industrial Development Company that gave us a broad span of what Trinidad and Tobago is all about, and it was quite impressive. The walk around the Oval was also met with very positive responses. So at this early stage, I think it is fair to say that they are quite satisfied with what they have seen.”Rodriguez, a former Test legspinner who has also been a selector and manager of the West Indian team, added that he expected the stadium facilities to be further improved – the Geddes Grant Stand will be replaced by a new structure later this year, and the famous Trini Posse Stand would also be rebuilt. The pavilion is also set to be refurbished, and Rodriguez said that there would be a vote on whether to admit female members at the end of June.The ICC team also met Roger Boynes, the sports minister, and David O’Brien, chairman of the Technical Bid Committee. Boynes once again reiterated Trinidad and Tobago’s preparedness to host the event. “As they go about verifying our capabilities, I want to let them know that they will be exposed to the culture, food, beautiful people, that makes us unique in the world,” he said. “We are ready, we are opening our arms to the entire team, as we prepare to lay the foundation for World Cup 2007 in the region and in particular Trinidad and Tobago.”Dehring was also confident about West Indies’ ability to host the tournament. “The types of presentation and the level of preparedness the countries have demonstrated so far speak volumes for the kind of work that has gone in,” he said. “And I believe that we are the best prepared region to have hosted the World Cup.”The evaluation will span two months, and the ICC will announce on July 4 which countries have been given the right to host World Cup matches. The awarding of individual fixtures will be done in Montego Bay on July 13.
IT WAS like taking candy from a baby.For the second successive day, Trinidad and Tobago were a mere imitation of a first-class team in their top-of-the-table Carib Beer Series match at Kensington Oval yesterday.On a day when the most prestigious horse race in the southern Caribbean was run off, table leaders Barbados flogged what seemed to be a “dead horse”.The runs were flowing as rapidly as Thady Quill was romping to victory in the Sandy Lane Gold Cup at the Garrison Savannah.In the first session, Philo Wallace and Sherwin Campbell duly completed centuries and established a modern era record opening stand of 246.Between lunch and tea, it was the turn of Floyd Reifer and Ryan Hinds to inflict more punishment on the hapless Trinis.In the evening period, Dwayne Smith and Courtney Browne added more lashes.By the time Browne made the declaration at 4:35 p.m. after Barbados enjoyed the satisfaction of becoming the first team to post a total of more than 500 this season, 354 runs were reeled off in 66 overs at close to five-and-a-half runs an over.Trailing by 355 on first innings after Browne declared with Barbados on 502 for nine, Trinidad and Tobago suffered some uncomfortable moments in the 19 overs they faced before bad light halted play at 5:57 p.m. with three overs remaining.At 47 for one, a second successive defeat was staring the visitors in the face.It could come as early as today and it will allow them enough time to get back to their homeland to participate in Carnival celebrations.Trinidad and Tobago, second in the standings, were terribly flat in the field yesterday.Between the start and lunch, 132 runs were scored, and between lunch and tea, another 136 were added.Fast bowler Marlon Black and leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine, Test players in the recent past, came in for some stick against the rampaging Bajans.It was the same story for the youngsters, Ravi Rampaul and Dwayne Bravo.To his credit, teenager Bravo took his licks like a man and was eventually rewarded with four of the first five wickets. He finished with five for 95 off 16 overs, but his last scalp was taken in controversial circumstances.Wicket-keeper Navin Chan claimed a low catch to account for Ryan Hurley, but to those in the Peter Short Media Centre who had an excellent view, it appeared as if the ball had fallen out of the Chan’s gloves. Those in the Kensington Stand were even more certain.By then, Trinidad and Tobago had been fully deflated by Barbados’ enterprising batting.Campbell was the more aggressive in the first hour, his powerful driving through the off-side bringing him on even keel with Wallace after his partner started the day 16 runs ahead.Campbell arrived at his 24th first-class century at 11:10 a.m. and Wallace achieved the milestone for the 11th time in his career in the next over.Their stand broke the previous best by a Barbadian opening pair – 166 – since the sponsorship of regional first-class cricket in 1966.The previous record belonged to Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes (who had two stands of 166) and to Robin Bynoe and Geoffrey Greenidge.Campbell fell soon after his hundred when his attempted cut off Bravo was caught on the cover-boundary.Wallace swung Ramnarine over backward square-leg for two of his three sixes before Bravo bowled him off the pads with a ball of fullish length.His 140 off 186 balls was made in four hours and was the highest of his eight regional first-class hundreds, while Campbell’s 103 included ten fours and a six from 150 balls in 217 minutes’ batting.Kurt Wilkinson’s wretched season continued when Ramnarine bowled him behind his back for six, but left-handers Hinds and Reifer enjoyed the syrup that was being served up by adding 82 for the third wicket.Hinds stroked seven fours in 43 off 72 balls, while Reifer’s 45 off 51 balls contained four boundaries and a towering six over long-off against off-spinner Mukesh Persad that cleared the Pickwick Pavilion.Reifer also had a thumping drive through extra-cover off Bravo that sounded like a gun shot. It was, without a doubt, the shot of the day.After Reifer skied a catch to mid-on and Hinds edged a catch to slip, the exciting Smith (46 from 41 balls) and Browne (35 from 23 balls) featured in a stand of 79 in next to no time before both fell to Black.Smith was prised out by a superb running catch by Daren Ganga at mid-on and Browne was lbw on the back foot two balls later.
Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting both scored centuries as Australia warmed up for next week’s Fourth Test with a comfortable eight-wicket win over Sussex in the final match of their tour against county opposition.Captain Gilchrist made 114 and Ponting scored an unbeaten 147 as Australia made a nonsense of their target of 337, winning with 4.1 overs to spare.Sussex made a breakthrough when Jason Lewry had the out-of-form Justin Langer caught at second slip, but Ponting joined his skipper in a third-wicket stand of 151 in 23 overs which effectively settled the contest.Gilchrist was dropped by Adams on 12 and then Lewry spilled a head-high chance when he was trying to reach his hundred with a boundary. Instead he took two to go to this third century of the tour.He was eventually stumped off off-spinner Mark Davis for 114, made off 102 balls with 19 fours and two sixes.Ponting and Simon Katich did much as they pleased after tea as Australia cruised to victory, the third-wicket pair putting on 131 in 22 overs.Ponting batted himself back into form ahead of the Test with his second century of the tour and he hit the winning runs with his 17th boundary. The Tasmanian also swatted three sixes while Katich, favourite to replace Steve Waugh at Headingley, was 40 not out.Earlier, Damian Fleming (3-20) and Brett Lee (2-27) had produced excellent new ball spells as Sussex slumped to 31-5 in their second innings before Murray Goodwin revived them with a run-a-ball 28 which included six boundaries and enabled his side to declare on 68-5 after 85 minutes batting in the morning.Gilchrist was happy with his side’s workout.”There was time in the middle for Ricky Ponting and others including myself,” he said.”Brett Lee and Damian Fleming bowled with a great deal of rhythm and that has given them a lot of confidence.”Chris Adams deserves credit for opening the game up by declaring and offering some entertaining cricket for the patrons. We have had a solid workout which is what we look for between the Tests.”
It may be a new Premier League season but some things never change; Sunday’s predominant instalment of déjà vu being yet another false dawn from ever-also-rans Arsenal.
Of course, how you finish the season is far more important than how you start and the 2-0 defeat to West Ham was just the first of 38 games in Arsenal’s pursuit of the English title. If there’s a silver lining to be taken from the Gunners’ tepid opening day display, rendering them rock bottom of the Premier League table, it’s that reigning champions Chelsea didn’t fare much better – drawing 2-2 with Swansea City at Stamford Bridge after going down to ten men.
Yet, following a pre-season in which the Gunners beat all of their opponents to produce an aggregate score line of 15-1 – seeing them claim such vastly coveted accolades as the Asia Trophy, the Community Shield and their self-invented Emirates Cup – amid a transfer window in which they’ve spent a paltry £10million on just one player, you can’t help but think Arsenal have entered the 2015/16 campaign naively; expecting the Premier League’s rank and file to simply bow down to the might of their midfield and the gap between themselves the other title contenders to be closed by the sheer presence of Petr Cech.
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If Arsene Wenger needed any proof, the Hammers provided it in abundance on Sunday. Petr Cech isn’t the answer to all of the north London’s problems – in fact, he created some of his own with the ill-fated decision to try and collect the looping Dimitri Payet free-kick that resulted in West Ham’s first goal. Clearly, Arsenal’s flaws stem a little deeper than simply the level of quality between their sticks.
He may not have committed an individual error like Arsenal’s debuted No.1 or a financially unjustifiable display like £42.2million signing Mesut Ozil, who is still trying to claw his way out of Reece Oxford’s pocket, but Francis Coquelin’s performance against the Irons really disappointed me – and created further doubts over whether he’s a realistic long-term option for Arsenal or was simply caught in a zeitgeist last season.
West Ham’s game plan wasn’t a particularly complicated one; three holding players to bog down the midfield with £12million signing Dimitri Payet playing just ahead and chipping into the defensive side of things whenever possible. The former Marseille man should have spent the afternoon struggling for room to breathe, yet he outmuscled, outpaced and outthought his countryman to run riot at the Emirates, completing 56 touches, 42 passes, four successful dribbles and two created chances.
Indeed, when Arsenal are pinning opponents back, Coquelin sweeps up loose balls with ease. Likewise, when the Gunners are compact in midfield – their 2-0 win over Manchester City last season being the predominant example – the ‘detective’ marshals his zone simply yet effectively. But against the Hammers, the north London outfit needed authoritative physicality to snub out counter-attacks before they encroached the halfway line, and in that regard the 24-year-old abundantly failed to deliver.
He actually finished the match, albeit substituted before the hour mark, without making a single tackle; the antithesis of the aggression required not just in the Premier League, but particularly against a West Ham outfit boasting brute force in every department. I don’t hold this against Coquelin – I certainly don’t think he’s a bad footballer or even a bad defensive midfielder. The fact is, in terms of midfield muscle, he’s currently the best Arsenal have.
Likewise, the Gunners lacked real venom in the final third. Much of the post-match analysis was devoted to how West Ham’s midfield funnel had forced the Gunners into attacking from less habitual wide positions. But even when the ball did find its way into good areas (as you can see from the heat map below, they spent a fair amount of time in the visitor’s penalty box) that cutting edge, that clinical streak you’d quickly associate with Chelsea’s Diego Costa or Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, was lacking.
There’s been a big debate about whether Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott should be Arsene Wenger’s first choice of centre-forward this season. Well, both featured against West Ham and managed just two shots on target between them. Neither have ever truly reached the realms of prolific throughout their careers and that really showed on Sunday; although both are relatively dependable when converting chances, they don’t possess the skill or ingenuity to create their own in the manner Chelsea, City or Man United’s striking options can.
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In my opinion, the underwhelming displays from Coquelin, Giroud and Walcott represent the problem areas requiring Wenger’s attention before September 1st. No doubt, the Gunners are stronger, in healthier shape and more competitive than last year, even if they didn’t show it against West Ham, but they’re still a few vital ingredients short of a title-winning side.
Signing Petr Cech, regardless of his world-class ability, simply doesn’t pave over all the cracks. If Arsenal are to avoid another also-ran campaign, Wenger needs to pull off some late masterstrokes in the transfer market.
After a day in which both sides battled hard to seize the initiative, Sri Lanka’s captain Mahela Jayawardene was unhappy with his side’s total but praised the bowlers for ensuring that honours were even after the second day.Resuming on 217 with five wickets in hand, Sri Lanka could only muster 278 in their first innings. “It was not easy batting on that pitch (on the first day), but we fought well, and I think that sixth-wicket partnership (of 105 between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chamara Silva) was crucial for us,” he said. “It showed a lot of character, but I am disappointed with the way a few of our guys were dismissed. We should probably have scored between 300 and 325.”West Indies started their innings confidently, with captain Chris Gayle showing the way with a typically aggressive 45, but slipped to 268 for 7 by stumps. “West Indies batted really well, and played a few shots, and it paid off for them,” he said. “But it’s an even game I reckon, we just need to make sure that we work harder next innings.”It’s going to be like a one-innings match now, and with them batting last on that pitch, we have to make sure that we put some runs on the board and put some pressure on them.”Jayawardene, though, felt that Sri Lanka had the edge. “I think the advantage is with us. If we bat well in the second innings and score anything in excess of 250-275, it will be a tough ask for them to bat last against Muralitharan and the rest of the guys.”
After producing arguably their most disciplined bowling performance of the entire tour, West Indies squandered a golden opportunity to go 1-0 up in the best-of-three one-day series by shedding four wickets in 12 balls inside the first seven overs of their run-chase. Once again, Shivnarine Chanderpaul resembled the boy on the burning deck as he ground his way to 53 not out from 100 balls, but the match had been lost long before he was left stranded with 10.1 overs of the innings remaining.Up until the start of West Indies’ innings, it seemed there could be only one winner. Chris Gayle won the toss and chose to bowl first under overcast skies, and his bowlers responded with a heady combination of aggression and accuracy. The fiery Fidel Edwards claimed the lion’s share of the spoils with 5 for 45, his best ODI figures since he took six on debut against Zimbabwe, but it was Ravi Rampaul and Daren Powell who established the stranglehold by conceding just 46 runs in the first 13 overs of England’s innings.England’s eventual total of 225 contained just 12 boundaries, the first of which didn’t arrive until as late as the eighth over. Matt Prior, by all accounts an opener in the pinch-hitting mould, grafted his way to 34 from 65 balls; and even the mighty Kevin Pietersen was made to look ordinary. He had scratched his way to 33 from 47 balls before he lost patience and slapped Dwayne Bravo to gully (148 for 3).The mainstay of England’s performance was Ian Bell, a player who copes better than most with being becalmed. Back in the side after a groin strain, he compiled 56 from 75 balls before being run out in a horrible mid-pitch mix-up with Owais Shah – an accident that had been threatening for some time because of Bell’s continued habit of ball-watching.At 181 for 4 after 42.4 overs, bad weather interrupted England’s innings for the best part of an hour – upon the resumption, they lost their last six wickets for 44, including four in four overs to a pumped-up Edwards. Only Shah remained to guide them to any sort of serviceable total. He made 42 from 38 balls as England’s tail crumbled around him, before being run out with one ball of the innings remaining.Such a meagre target should have been easily attainable, especially with the sun breaking through to ease the conditions for batting. Instead, West Indies’ problems began as early as the fourth over, when Gayle inexplicably tucked a loose ball off his hip and all the way to Stuart Broad on the backward-square leg boundary. At 9 for 1, with their captain and key strokeplayer back in the pavilion, the stage was set for a bout of jitters.James Anderson was in the mood to exploit West Indies’ uncertainties. Finding good pace and movement, and zipping the ball down the slope at will, he bowled Runako Morton for 0 with an inducker, then followed up one delivery later with the big scalp of Marlon Samuels, who misjudged the length of a short ball, and gloved an attempted leave to the keeper.
Three balls later, Anderson was in the action again, this time as a fielder at third man. His fast, flat throw – coupled with a smart take from the keeper Matt Prior – beat a suicidal piece of running from Devon Smith, and at 13 for 4, West Indies’ innings was in tatters. Chanderpaul dropped anchor, as he has done all summer, while Bravo did his best to keep the momentum going with 29 from 34 balls, in a sixth-wicket partnership of 61.The drinks break, however, wrecked Bravo’s concentration – upon the resumption, Broad nipped his second ball off the seam, and Prior accepted a routine snick with glee. Two balls later, Denesh Ramdin lost his off stump to one that kept low, and Broad added a third when Dwayne Smith wafted loosely outside off stump for Prior to snaffle a thin inside edge.West Indies had been reduced to 93 for 7 and their tormentor of the Test series, Monty Panesar, hadn’t even made an appearance. When he did, in the 22nd over, he needed just eight deliveries to make his mark. Daren Powell was utterly deceived in flight and pinned plumb in front of middle-and-leg, and that was emphatically that.Rampaul did delay the inevitable, and in quite some style, making a career-best 24 in a stand of 35 with Chanderpaul that reduced the deficit to double-figures. But Plunkett, who deserved his success after a torrid time in the Test series, induced a leading edge that Broad circled beneath at mid-off, and the match was sealed, appropriately enough, by England’s new captain, Paul Collingwood, who collected a throw from the deep and whipped off the bails with Edwards still floundering for the crease. His one-day captaincy career is up and running with a hard-earned victory.
One of England women’s most promising allrounders, Arran Brindle, has decided to take a break from international and Super 4s cricket with immediate effect, in order to spend more time with her family.Brindle, 24, made her international debut in a one-day match against South Africa six years ago and played her first Test against Australia the following year in 2001. She is recognised as one of the best fielders in the world following her performances in the 2005 World Cup in South Africa.”I have decided to take an extended break from competing at the highest level for personal reasons,” she explained, “and to spend more time with my family while also looking to develop my career outside of cricket.”Brindle holds the English record for an opening Test stand with Caroline Atkins, putting on a 205-run partnership in India, and has a highest Test score of 101 not out, which she completed with the last ball of the game in last summer’s first Ashes Test. In the second game she steered England to a famous six-wicket victory with an undefeated second-innings 24.”Arran has been one of our most consistent performers over the past 18 months,” said her captain, Charlotte Edwards. “Her decision to retire will be a significant loss to the team. I feel very lucky at the moment that we have a crop of very exciting players who I’m sure will fill her role.”The head coach, Richard Bates, added: “It is disappointing that Arran has decided to retire from international cricket at this point. We are currently developing well and building a young exciting squad under the leadership of Edwards and newly appointed vice-captain, Laura Newton.”We are looking forward to the challenge of playing India this summer and losing Arran as a key middle-order batter and excellent fielder will force our hand in terms of a change in the batting line up. We do though have some very exciting young players currently pushing for a place and I’m sure they will be looking to impress in the forthcoming Super 4s matches.”