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Adam Milne, the 18-year-old fast bowler who has gone from playing school cricket a year ago to being in the New Zealand squad for their Twenty20 series against Pakistan, said he was surprised at the national call-up

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2010Adam Milne, the 18-year-old Central Districts fast bowler who has been named in New Zealand’s squad for their Twenty20 series against Pakistan, has said he was surprised by the call-up in just his first year of senior cricket, but was excited at the opportunity.”I think they [the selectors] just picked me on what I’ve done so far,” Milne, who has also been named in the 30 probables for the 2011 World Cup, told the regional newspaper , “They want me to go out there, and do what I have been doing, and bowl at a good pace.” Just over a year ago, Milne was still playing school cricket and he only made his first-class debut in March 2010, when he took 4 for 52 for Central Districts against Canterbury.Milne made his Twenty20 debut for Central Districts in their Champions League T20 campaign in September, during which he was clocked at 145kph. Milne said he has probably been bowling faster during the 2010-11 domestic season in New Zealand, where speed guns aren’t being used. Shane Bond, the Central Districts Twenty20 bowling coach, tipped him to get even quicker with age, and Milne agreed it was a possibility. “I’m sure there could be [an increase in pace] if I got a little bit stronger and worked a few things out,” he said.Milne was given a contract with Central Districts only two months ago and has played three first-class matches and eight domestic Twenty20 matches. His Central Districts coach Alan Hunt said Milne wasn’t a finished product but merited a chance in the national team. “In my view he needs a bit more time yet,” Hunt said. “But he’s certainly a raw talent and if they want to try somebody, why not him I guess.”Milne’s selection came just two weeks after the newly-appointed national selector Lance Cairns told the he wanted to see Milne given time to play more domestic cricket.New Zealand’s three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan starts on December 26 in Auckland. Ross Taylor will captain the side with Daniel Vettori rested.

The ECB is facing legal action to return around £2.2 million ($3 million) received from the disgraced financier Allen Stanford

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2011The ECB is facing legal action to return around £2.2 million (US$3 million) received from the disgraced financier Allen Stanford, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.Receivers acting for creditors of the collapsed Stanford empire are pursuing a number of sporting bodies which had dealings with Stanford.”There has been a running fear in the ECB that the receiver could come after them, and this could be the knock on the door they have been dreading for two years,” a source familiar with the Stanford deal told the newspaper.The ECB declined to comment on the issue but it is believed it took legal advice on the possibility of this situation occurring some time ago and was advised it was unlikely to have to pay the money back.The Stanford Super Series, which took place in October and November 2008, was a hugely embarrassing episode for the ECB, which was seeking a bargaining chip in the simmering dispute with its contracted players who were seeking a share of the new-found riches in IPL cricket.The original US$100 million deal was for five Stanford Super Series, featuring England and a Stanford Superstars XI, which culminated in a $20 million winner-takes-all final at Stanford’s private ground in Antigua. His subsequent arrest on fraud charges meant that only the first of those tournaments was played, in which England were humiliated by ten wickets.The ECB’s plans to host an annual quadrangular Twenty20 tournament at Lord’s featuring England, a Stanford XI and two international sides, were quietly shelved. Of the prize fund, US$13 million was split between Chris Gayle’s victorious Superstars team – money which could also attract the attention of the receivers – while the remaining US$7 million was split between the ECB and the West Indies Cricket Board.Stanford, who was last month deemed unfit to face trial in Texas on account of his addiction to anti-anxiety drugs, stands accused of fronting a US$7 billion “Ponzi” scheme, charges which he denies. Speaking at the time of his arrest, Rose Romero of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said: “We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world.”

A day after Ireland’s heroics in Bangalore, normal service resumed in Mohali where AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla reeled off contrasting hundreds to set up 231-run hammering of Netherlands

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar03-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHashim Amla’s obduracy combined with AB de Villiers’ aggression to leave Netherlands floundering•AFP

A day after Ireland’s heroics in Bangalore gave the Associates a major fillip, normal service resumed in Mohali where AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla reeled off contrasting hundreds to set up a hammering of Netherlands. Peter Borren elected to field under overcast skies, but things unraveled at an alarming rate after a disciplined show in the first quarter of the match. Amla overcame a sluggish start and focused on accumulation, while de Villiers shredded the attack in a blaze of big hits that was reminiscent of Herschelle Gibbs’ assault in the last World Cup encounter between these two teams. South Africa’s bowlers then backed up the batting with a near-perfect display to set up the fourth-biggest win in World Cup history.

Smart Stats

• AB de Villiers has now scored two consecutive centuries in the 2011 World Cup. He becomes the first South African to score two centuries in a single World Cup and the fifth batsman after Mark Waugh, Saeed Anwar, Rahul Dravid and Matthew Hayden to score two consecutive centuries in a single World Cup tournament.

• de Villiers also became the 16th batsman to score two or more centuries in one World Cup tournament. The record is three centuries in one tournament, jointly held by Mark Waugh (1996), Sourav Ganguly (2003) and Matthew Hayden (2007).

• de Villiers’ strike rate of 136.73 is the highest among South African batsmen who have scored centuries in World Cup matches.

• Hashim Amla reached his first century in World Cups off 121 balls. Overall, he has scored over 2200 runs at an average of 60.07 with eight centuries and 12 fifties.

• The 69 runs scored in South Africa’s batting powerplay is second only to Pakistan’s aggregate of 70 runs in their batting powerplay against Kenya.

• The 221-run stand between de Villiers and Amla is the highest third-wicket partnership for South Africa in World Cups and the third highest for any team in the World Cup. It is also the highest partnership for the third wicket for South Africa in all ODIs.

• South Africa’s 351 is their third-highest World Cup score and the 12th highest score for any team in World Cups. South Africa’s highest World Cup score is the 356 against West Indies in the 2007 World Cup.

• From a decent position of 81 for 2, Netherlands lost their last eight wickets for just 39 runs to be bowled out for 120.

• The 231-run win is the fourth largest margin of victory for any team in World Cups and the largest for South Africa in World Cups. It is also the second largest margin of victory for South Africa in ODIs.

• With his third player of the match award in World Cups, de Villiers is joint second with Jacques Kallis on the list of South African players with most match awards in World Cups. Lance Klusener heads the list with five awards.

Chasing 352, Netherlands’ best chance of getting anywhere depended on the top order’s ability to see off Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. The openers played out six overs from South Africa’s fastest bowlers, but Jacques Kallis ruined their efforts by snaring two quick wickets after coming in first-change. With the run-rate under control, Graeme Smith deployed his spinners on the lower order, and Netherlands sank without a trace, losing their last seven wickets for 39 runs against Imran Tahir and Robin Peterson.The margin of victory completely eclipsed Netherlands’ spirited efforts with the new ball. Their steady army of seamers stuck to tight lengths, and their accuracy left Smith prodding uncertainly from the outset, unsure of his footwork and indecisive in his outlook. After 31 balls of struggle, Smith had seen enough, and lost his leg stump while trying to shovel Bernard Loots across the line. Ryan ten Doeschate then won the first round in the battle of the prolific allrounders, strangling Kallis into glancing one down the leg side through to the wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi. At 58 for 2 in the 16th over, South Africa were in some strife. Thankfully for them, their two best batsmen in recent times were on hand to revive the innings. Even their most optimistic fans, though, would not have envisaged the emphatic manner in which the tide was turned.Restless to put the failure against West Indies behind him, Amla tried to kick off his World Cup career by disregarding the lengths, and punching on the up. He nearly paid the price in Berend Westdijk’s third over, when his drive fell just short of the man at short cover. In Mudassar Bukhari’s next, he mishit another forcing shot through the off side, getting an inside edge that was pouched by Barresi on the bounce. Amla tightened his approach following the two reprieves, resorting to deflections behind square, and compact drives down the ground. His first eight balls yielded three fours, but he got only one more – a fortuitous inside edge to fine leg off ten Doeschate – on his way to a vital half-century.As he had done against West Indies, de Villiers checked in with a surge of immaculate boundaries, flicking and cutting ten Doeschate for fours in the 18th over. They were shots of intent that changed the complexion of the game, ending a period of nearly ten overs in which South Africa’s only boundary was Amla’s edge to fine leg. de Villiers then went on to expose Netherlands’ limitations, leaving the accumulation to Amla and throwing punches in all directions. He looted boundaries in all but two of the overs between 27 and 35, pinging boundaries in a comprehensive arc from third man to midwicket, with shots ranging from the revers- sweep to the slapped flick. While his improvisation was top class, the hallmark of his innings remained the trademark crunched cover-drives whenever the bowlers over-pitched.Netherlands enjoyed a boundary-drought between overs 36 and 41, but it was clearly a case of the batsmen calibrating their guns for a final assault. Amla strolled to one of his quieter hundreds in the 40th over, and South Africa took the batting Powerplay soon after. de Villiers began the carnage by lapping Pieter Seelar for the first six of the innings, before reaching his century off 88 balls. His next ten deliveries brought him 34 runs, as he smashed Loots for three successive sixes and then ten Doeschate for a hat-trick of fours. Netherlands managed to dismiss both batsmen in quick succession, but it was scarce solace as the Powerplay went for 69. The fields fell back for the last four overs, but that did not seem to affect Duminy, who kept getting under length deliveries to swing four gleeful sixes. Netherlands must have known they were out of the game once South Africa finished with 351. Unfortunately, they did not have Kevin O’Brien in their ranks.

Match Timeline

Kenya captain Jimmy Kamande has urged his team to give veteran batsman Steve Tikolo a fitting send-off against Zimbabwe at Eden Gardens on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Mar-2011Kenya captain Jimmy Kamande has urged his team to give veteran batsman Steve Tikolo a fitting send-off against Zimbabwe at Eden Gardens on Sunday. Tikolo, 39, has been an integral part of all five of Kenya’s World Cup campaigns and has announced that he will retire after the current tournament, the match against Zimbabwe his last for Kenya.”We call him ‘Gunnzie’ (one who bats like a gun),” said Kamande. “He is a legend. He is the man, actually, who made me play one-day international cricket and he is the one who made us qualify for the first time in the 1996 World Cup. I remember watching him play in the qualifiers in 1995 and we owe a lot to the guy. Hopefully, we will send him off with a win.”A towering figure in Kenyan cricket and for a time widely held to be the best batsman outside the Test arena, Tikolo played his first representative match for Kenya against Zimbabwe in Nairobi in 1993 at the age of just 21 – a match that Kenya actually won by three wickets – and top-scored with 65 in Kenya’s first ever World Cup game, against India at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack in 1996.He was also part of the Kenyan team which pulled off an upset win over West Indies in that tournament, and captained Kenya to the Semi Finals of the 2003 competition. Kenya’s leading runscorer in ODIs by a distance, Tikolo has amassed 3,411 runs, including three hundreds, and has also taken 94 wickets with his offspin.Kamande also expressed his disappointment over Australia captain Ricky Ponting’s remarks that Associate cricketing nations shouldn’t be involved in the World Cup. “What is disappointing is that someone like Ricky Ponting saying that Associates don’t need to be here (in the World Cup),” said Kamande. “We need to keep improving and all we need to do is to play good cricket.”This tournament is a stepping stone for Kenyan cricket. A lot of guys here have never been to the World Cup, we know what it takes to achieve here, whatever we gain, we take it back home with us and try to improve our performance.”Kamande suggested that his side desperately needed more top-class matches in between World Cups to raise standards.”One thing I know for sure is that if we keep playing against the Test-playing nations or their ‘A’ sides the [improved] performances will be there. But the thing is after this World Cup you might go and never see these teams again so it becomes very difficult.”If we’re going to prepare to play Australia again [in a World Cup] in the next five or 10 years it’s going to become very difficult for us [without] regular matches.” Since their successful 2003 World Cup campaign, Kenya have played a meagre 12 one-day internationals against the top Test-playing nations, with none at all in the two years leading up to the current competition.

With little to separate the sides, the war of the western franchises could well be decided by the battle of the coin

The Preview by Nitin Sundar19-Apr-2011

Match facts

Tuesday, April 20, Mumbai
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Same venue, same player. On Wednesday, he will be in different colours•AFP

Big picture

It was expected that the addition of two new franchises, and the resultant dilution of talent, would rob the IPL of its biggest draw card – its competitiveness. A week-and-a-half into the event, however, things have turned out quite the opposite: just four points split the ten-team field. All sides have experienced victory and defeat, the big-ticket franchises have lost to newly-formed ones and, so far, no team is a sure pick for the knockouts.Pune Warriors are one of the teams that have out-performed. At first sight, their side looked weak on the bowling front, and their batting seemed to lack the overseas class of other sides. Yet, they have delivered through uninhibited aggression, a Twenty20 trait rarely seen in the IPL, where sides grapple with the big differences in quality between their players. Pune don’t worry about shielding weak links – they attack from the outset, through Jesse Ryder’s enterprise, and through their new-ball bowlers’ relentless search for early wickets.Their seamers, however, looked helpless at the first sight of a flat track, failing to defend a big score against Delhi Daredevils. They should have a Plan B for the Wankhede that witnessed a similar high-scoring heist when Kochi Tuskers upstaged Mumbai Indians with a perfectly calibrated chase. Until that game, Mumbai’s attack gunned their opponents for cheap scores, and their in-form top order chased without fuss. It is a template that Pune prefers to follow as well. With little to separate the sides, the war of the western franchises could well be decided by the battle of the coin.

Team talk

Despite the Kochi reversal, Mumbai are likely to retain their combination, including their weakest link, left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza. On the other hand, Pune might consider bringing in bowling reinforcements. Murali Kartik could return to the side, though Yuvraj Singh’s bowling form might work against the inclusion of another left-arm spinner. Mitchell Marsh and Nathan McCullum are also waiting in the wings, but the four overseas players’ rule could make it tougher for them to break in.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Stepping into Zaheer Khan’s shoes is a daunting task for anyone but, so far, Munaf Patel has managed without a problem. Even when Kochi were brutalising the rest of Mumbai’s attack, Munaf escaped with figures 3-0-15-0. Will he continue to earn respect by keeping it short of a length and getting it to nip this way and that off the seam?Two men in the Pune camp will be smacking their lips at the prospect of facing Munaf’s pace-less fare. Yuvraj Singh loves to swat length balls through the leg side, while Robin Uthappa shuffles into line and lofts clean and straight. Will Munaf get them to mis-hit one of those big shots?

Prime numbers

• Sachin Tendulkar is still second on the list of highest run-getters in the IPL’s history. With a half-century against Kochi, Suresh Raina has opened up some breathing space between him and Tendulkar
• Among players with more than 100 runs this season, Jesse Ryder has the highest strike-rate (200)

The chatter

“They are coming off a loss as well, so it will be a good game. There is a good rivalry between Pune and Mumbai, and fans will definitely come from Pune, so it will be a good crowd.”

West Indies captain Darren Sammy has said that his side’s inability to capitalise on the “key moments” led to their seven-wicket loss to Pakistan in the second ODI in St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2011West Indies captain Darren Sammy has said that his side’s inability to capitalise on the key moments led to their seven-wicket loss against Pakistan in the second ODI in St Lucia.”We could have tried to squeeze their batsmen more and when we batted we got a good start, but did not capitalise on it,” Sammy said. “We weren’t rolled over today. We kept ourselves in the match right to the finish. There were moments when things could have gone either way, but we didn’t make it happen.”We have to find a way to win those tight situations. We have to win in Barbados to stay alive in the series, so we have to grab our chances.”Lendl Simmons was the only West Indies batsmen to score over 30, or manage a strike-rate in excess of 80. As a result, West Indies finished with a below-par score of 220 that was easily chased down. Even in the first ODI, West Indies’ made just 221, where only Darren Bravo who got past 30.Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi praised the “discipline” shown by his side and said Pakistan were reaping the benefits of sticking to the gameplan. “We made a plan at our team meeting and our guys stuck to it and that was good,” Afridi said.”I think our bowlers are doing a great job, and the fielding has improved because it is a very important area for us. Our batting has shown responsibility and we hope to maintain this discipline right throughout the series.”Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad, who was named the Man of the Match, anchored Pakistan’s chase with his second ODI century. “Shehzad is a very talented guy,” Afridi said, “and he showed that he is capable of performing. He took his time, but chasing a small total, he could afford to do that and we won the game.””We tried to keep wickets in hand,” Shehzad said, of the way he paced his innings. “It was not a huge total so I knew that I had to control my strokeplay and not get carried away.”The third ODI will be played on Thursday in Barbados. Pakistan lead the five-match series 2-0.

David Hussey has said he empathises with Simon Katich after the Test opener was left out of Cricket Australia’s contract list on Tuesday

Brydon Coverdale08-Jun-2011David Hussey has said he empathises with Simon Katich after the Test opener was left out of Cricket Australia’s contract list on Tuesday. Hussey was one of the surprise winners in the 25-man group, regaining his national deal a year after being axed, and despite turning 34 before Australia’s next tour, he remains confident that Test cricket is within his reach.Hussey and his Victoria team-mate James Pattinson were among six players added to the contracted group, while the unlucky men to be cut included Katich and Adam Voges. Hussey said he felt for Katich, whose international career has been all but terminated by Andrew Hilditch’s selection panel as they plan for the 2013 Ashes, and for his Nottinghamshire colleague Voges.”Simon has been a fantastic player not just for Australia but in domestic cricket as well,” Hussey told ESPNcricinfo from England, where he is playing county cricket. “He’s a fantastic person and I know him really well. You do feel for him but I know good things happen to good people, and things will be better after cricket for him, you just know that.”Currently I’m playing for Nottinghamshire with Adam Voges and every time I get contracted he misses out and vice-versa. We get the same bittersweet feeling. But at the end of the day we all know that cricket is a business and a game that we love and irrespective of if you’re contracted or not, you’re still a chance of playing for Australia.”Hussey benefited from the inclusion of Twenty20 in the contract considerations this year, while his recall to the one-day squad for the World Cup also went in his favour. Hussey still hasn’t spoken to Hilditch about the promotion, which he learnt of via a voice-mail message, but he is hopeful that there could be opportunities in the longer format as well as the coloured clothing.”I was surprised, but elated at the same time,” Hussey said. “I didn’t know which direction Cricket Australia were going to go, but I’m just happy to be a part of their plans for the next 12 months. I never gave up hope, that’s why I’m still playing. I want to play Test cricket and until I achieve that goal I’ll continue to strive to do everything possible to achieve that.”Hussey was the only older player to be added to Australia’s contract list, with the remaining five new faces aged from 18 to 28. One of the most junior members of the squad is the fast bowler Pattinson, who made his ODI debut during the tour of Bangladesh in April, but still has only six first-class appearances to his name.Pattinson’s brother Darren played a Test for England in 2008 and was one of the first to hear his sibling’s good news, despite being in the UK. “I actually rang him first to tell him, I was a bit over the moon,” James Pattinson said. “It was 5 o’clock in the morning over there and he had a go at me for waking him. He rang me back a bit later and said well done.”The younger Pattinson believes he would be ready for Test cricket if the selectors called on him this year, but Hussey said his colleague had “a little bit of a way to go”. Pattinson has been viewed mostly as a limited-overs prospect so far, and he’ll be aiming to prove himself at Sheffield Shield level this summer.”I still think he’s got a little bit of a way to go to play Test cricket,” Hussey said. “He’s only played six first-class games but he’s unbelievably talented, he bowls fast away swing and the world’s at his feet. He’s a very talented boy, he loves bowling and he loves working hard. You see him in the gym all the time. Hopefully this is a bit of a motivational kick for him, to step him up to a new level.”Pattinson has recently returned from India, where he was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad and worked with Brett Lee and the bowling coach Wasim Akram. In the Australia setup he’ll be one of the junior members of a young attack, and he said he was looking forward to the chance to be part of Australia’s long-term plans.”I’m honoured to get a contract with Australia,” Pattinson said. “I’m still a bit speechless. I was up in the gym having a ride on the bike and I got the phone-call from Andrew [Hilditch]. The way the selection panel has gone, they’ve picked a lot of young blokes in the squad. I think they’re just looking forward and pushing towards the next Ashes and upcoming series, to put Australian cricket back on track and win the Ashes and bring it back home.”

Maurice Holmes, the Warwickshire offspinner, has been reported for a suspect bowling action and could face remedial work for the second time in his short career

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-2011Maurice Holmes, the Warwickshire offspinner, has been reported for a suspect bowling action and could face remedial work for the second time in his short career.Holmes, 21, was twice reported last month and the umpires will now examine footage to see if they want to uphold their decision. If they do Holmes will then be examined by the ECB and may be forced to remodel his action.He has been dubbed the ‘English Murali’ because of his ability to bowl a doosra and was recruited by Andy Moles when he was coach of New Zealand to help their batsmen prepare to face Muttiah Muralitharan. However, it is the doosra that is believed to be the cause of most cocern.Holmes’ initial registration with Warwickshire was delayed as the ECB previously investigated his action although in the current situation he is allowed to continuing playing until a final ruling.

Zimbabwe XI ground their way to 206 for 6 on an attritional first day against Australia A at the Country Club in Harare

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill15-Jul-2011
ScorecardVusi Sibanda held Zimbabwe XI’s batting together with 91•Zimbabwe Cricket

Zimbabwe XI ground their way to 206 for 6 on an attritional first day against Australia A at the Country Club in Harare. Vusi Sibanda’s patient 91 held the Zimbabwean top order together before Australia’s spinners struck repeatedly in the afternoon to dent the hosts’ gains. Jason Krejza and Michael Beer shared four scalps after the three frontline seamers had been frugal but wicketless.Sibanda, in charge of the team in the absence of Brendan Taylor, who is out of action after undergoing nasal surgery, put together an opening stand of 117 with Tino Mawoyo, both batsmen digging in with limpet-like tenacity to see off the new ball. The ability to play long innings against quality opposition is a skill that Zimbabwe’s budding Test batsmen desperately need to master and survival, rather than dominance, was clearly their goal in the morning as Mawoyo crawled along at less than half of his career first-class strike-rate in a 177-ball 39.The tactic did work to deny Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Trent Copeland any entry to a potentially fragile middle order, and it was not until the 55th over of the day that Beer finally broke the stand, sneaking one past Mawoyo’s bat to have him stumped by Tim Paine. Hamilton Masakadza’s entry briefly lifted the tempo, but when he was run out for 12 – a fate that befalls Sibanda’s partners with worrying frequency – Australia began to chip away at the middle order.Sibanda gained in fluency and confidence as he neared a century, but fell nine runs short of the mark when he presented Siddle with a catch off the impressive Krejza. Regis Chakabva and Craig Ervine’s fourth-wicket partnership was just beginning to show promise when Krejza struck again, bowling Chakabva for a patient 28 shortly after the score had passed 200.With minutes to go before the close, a couple of quick wickets put Australia firmly on top. Allrounder Keegan Meth fell to Krejza for a duck and Ervine was then prised out by medium-pacer Mitchell Marsh as Zimbabwe XI slipped to 205 for 6. Former national captain Elton Chigumbura and Malcolm Waller held firm until the close but there isn’t a great deal of batting to come and the Zimbabweans will hope that Chigumbura can replicate his form from the two-day match at Kwekwe, where he boosted the total with a bellicose 95, as they push for a respectable first-innings total.

England celebrated reaching No. 1 in the world with a good night in Birmingham on Sunday but it was soon back to the day job and, four days later, they already face the first test of the new status

Preview by Andrew McGlashan17-Aug-2011

Match Facts

August 18-22, The Oval
Start time 11.00 (1000GMT)James Anderson tested himself in the nets on Wednesday and the signs were promising•AFP

The Big Picture

England celebrated reaching No. 1 in the world with a good night in Birmingham on Sunday but it was soon back to the day job and, four days later, they already face the first test of their new status. The ‘dead rubber syndrome’ is always a risk when a team has scaled such heights to secure a major goal and Andrew Strauss will be desperate that nothing takes the gloss off the achievements of the last month.In truth it will take a lot to remove the after-glow of three commanding performances, but this England team are never satisfied. They’ll see this final Test at The Oval as a chance to lay down another marker with a show of hunger and desire. Even the great Australian sides under Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh had issues with keeping intensity high when a series was decided. England benefited with a number of one-off Test victories and won’t want to offer India a similar opportunity.It’s difficult to see India bouncing back to save face over the next five days. They have been so far off the pace that this is a series they’ll want to consign to history as quickly as possible. That, though, will be easier said than done with the fall-out well under way back at home and serious questions being asked of the team. Some of those questions are more sensible than others, but a number of players will be heading back with damaged reputations.The much-vaunted batting line-up have one more chance to live up to their billing having not reached 300 in the series. The wait goes on for Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th hundred, while Gautam Gambhir has disappointed and VVS Laxman hasn’t made the most of some decent form. Then there’s the challenge of taking 20 wickets. The pace bowlers have all had their moments but, collectively, have not been able to sustain pressure on England.Praveen Kumar has been a tireless workhorse and Ishant Sharma has kept running in, but they have suffered from not having an economical spinner to tie up an end. If Oval history is anything to go by they could be in for more hard toil.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
England WWWDD
India LLLDD

Watch out for…

It’s been a mark of how dominant England’s quick bowlers have been that Graeme Swann has been able to get away with his least productive Test series. He bowled nicely at Lord’s but conditions haven’t been in his favour and he struggled after being hit on the left hand at Trent Bridge, and it would complete the series perfectly if he could play a key role here. It would also quieten talk that he has a weakness against batsmen who attack him – like Mike Hussey did during the Ashes – and with a winter of cricket in the Middle East and subcontinent England will want their premier spinner at the top of his game again.Sachin Tendulkar has been given a standing ovation every time he has walked to the crease and on most occasions when he’s walked back. The problem has been that on none of those occasions as he had a hundred to his name. Even taking into account Tendulkar’s lack of match practice before this series – not so much preparation time as he spent hours training at Lord’s – and the strength of England’s attack a top-score of 56 is still a major surprise. Credit for that goes mainly to the bowlers, especially James Anderson and Stuart Broad, but as India crumbled in the second innings at Edgbaston Tendulkar eased to 40 before being run-out backing up. The series needs a Tendulkar special.

Team news

With Jonathan Trott and Chris Tremlett again ruled out the only question mark surrounds James Anderson’s fitness. He came through a net session on Wednesday and the talk was positive from the England camp. Steven Finn and Graham Onions remain on standby should he be ruled out. Ravi Bopara, meanwhile, keeps his spot at No. 6 but pressure is growing on him to secure a place on the winter tour.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 James AndersonPraveen Kumar took a nasty blow on the thumb at Edgbaston and India were unsure about his fitness during training on Wednesday although he bowled a lengthy spell. RP Singh, who impressed on the 2007 tour, could come into the line-up, and he might play even if Praveen is fit with Sreesanth under pressure. A twin-spin attack including Pragyan Ojha is an outside chance, but Ojha could also pressure Amit Mishra. Meanwhile, Suresh Raina has been sorted out by the England bowlers but may retain his place ahead of Virat Kohli.India (possible) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (c) (wk), 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Praveen Kumar/RP Singh, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Sreesanth

Pitch and conditions

A typical Oval pitch is expected (not the crumbling-type surface produced for the 2009 Ashes) which should mean a chance for the batsmen to dominate, something only England’s have done so far in this series. There is a chance of some rain on Thursday but the weather is due to clear up after that until a chance of showers later in the weekend.

Stats and trivia

• Sachin Tendulkar is in danger of enduring one of the worst series in his career. Currently, his average of 26.50 is his fourth lowest in series of three or more Tests.
• Even if England win this Test and take the series 4-0 they will lose their No. 1 ranking if South Africa win all their five Tests against Australia and Sri Lanka before Christmas
• Tim Bresnan is aiming to make it 10 Test victories from 10 matches played

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Quotes

“We’re desperate to finish the summer on a high. The work ethic over the last couple of days has been good and encouraging and I’d be very disappointed if we took our foot off the gas.”
“We will stick to our game plan and hopefully it’ll reflect in our performance. This is a sport, we go through tough times. It’s challenges that make life interesting.”