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Match facts

July 21-25, Lord’s
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT, 1530 IST)Hundreds on their mind? Duncan Fletcher is one short of 100 Tests as coach, Sachin Tendulkar one short of 100 international hundreds. They are both preparing for India’s 100th Test against England•Getty Images

Big Picture

Ninety-nine Tests over 28 series. Seventy-one ODIs. Two Twenty20 internationals. Not one of these matches played between England and India has been for the top prize in cricket. It is slightly strange that in what is essentially a nine-team sport these two teams have never been close to the top at the same time. It isn’t all that incredible either because, from the eighties to the later half of the noughties, either Australia or West Indies has been a fixture at the top. Of late India v South Africa has been the premier contest, their last two series riveting. Come Thursday, though, and England v India will not be the same.This is easily the most anticipated match between these teams. Only the 1987 World Cup semi-final comes close, but even then it was one of the final two hurdles in the way of an India-Pakistan final, never the main event by itself. The Chennai Test of 2008-09 was looked forward to, too, but that had more to do with international cricket’s return to India after the Mumbai attacks of 26/11. Right now, it’s all about the cricket, and about these two teams, two of the three best today.Everything around it has set up the atmosphere beautifully. The venue is Lord’s. This is the 2000th Test, and the 100th between the two teams. The No. 1 ranking is at stake in the series. As this game often does, this series presents individual excitement too.Sachin Tendulkar could score his 100th international hundred – perhaps at Lord’s, where he has never scored one. Duncan Fletcher, coaching a team for the 100th time in Tests, is plotting against a side whose resurgence he played a significant part in. The man he kept out of his English team, Graeme Swann, is now their lead spinner and the best spinner in the world according to the ICC rankings. MS Dhoni comes with an unbeaten record in Test series. This could be the last time that Lord’s gets to watch Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Tendulkar.Not that this contest, between teams representing the country of the game’s birth and the most aggressive consumers thereof, needs any extra individual bite. Not least because India have been a tease of a champion side. There is something beatable about them – the slow starts, the agedness, the regular non-availability of key players – but then again they have stopped recognising defeat when they see it. Some of their memorable away wins have come on seamer-friendly green tracks, involved big second-innings efforts and comebacks in series.They are up against a side who won the Ashes emphatically, who have been fit, who have no major selection headaches, who have all their best players available, who are playing at home. South Africa were in a similar state late last year, and they welcomed an under-prepared Indian side with an innings defeat. India have had a loosener in the warm-up game against Somerset, but that has never been a guarantee against a rusty show in the first Test. England will want a similar start at Lord’s.

Form guide (most recent first)

England DDWWW
India DDWDW

In the spotlight

In the departmental head-to-head, India are far behind England when it comes to opening the innings. While England have settled openers, one man in the form of his life, the other seemingly regaining some, India are without their best opener since Sunil Gavaskar, and the next best is also making a comeback. This will be a big test for Gautam Gambhir, who has proved himself in a variety of conditions but has never played a Test in England. He will also have to shepherd the inexperienced Abhinav Mukund, who will make this only the second time India have opened with two left-hand batsmen.James Anderson can sit alongside Dale Steyn and Zaheer Khan in the top league of quick bowlers today. Anderson is the most complete bowler in the English pace attack: he swings the ball both ways, he reverses it, has a sharp bouncer, and now also the experience of having taken more than 200 wickets. India won’t mind if they can keep costing him 32.95 runs for a wicket, his career average against them.The lead-up to the series has been pretty volatile. At the centre of it lies the confusion around the use of the DRS. Eventually it will be used, but it might take a legal team to work out in which form it is to be used in. It will take one wrong decision for arguments to begin, between players, between commentators, between fans. It won’t be pretty either. Start chucking the jellybeans already.

Team news

England are so settled and confident they named a 12-man squad four days before the match. The only place open is Stuart Broad’s, who went wicktless in three of the four ODIs against Sri Lanka and is competing with the returning Tim Bresnan. England coach Andy Flower recently said Broad needed to work more on his accuracy than being the aggressive “enforcer”, which is what Bresnan does. On the eve of the match, Andrew Strauss was undecided. “No one has a god-given right to play in the XI,” he said. “We know both Stuart and Tim Bresnan have offered a lot for us over the last 12 months or so. It’s not going to be an easy selection to make, but in a way it’s a good thing for us.”England 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad/Tim Bresnan, 10 James Anderson, 11 Chris TremlettIndia have more to ponder. Tendulkar, Zaheer and Gambhir will walk back into the side, but will Sreesanth and Yuvraj Singh make it? Suresh Raina’s impressive show in the West Indies, and the century in the warm-up match, have all but sealed his No. 6 slot, but will India gamble on opening with Yuvraj? Slightly far-fetched, but not impossible. Whose place will Zaheer take? And Sreesanth, if he comes back, although he took just one wicket in 28 overs in the warm-up game? Praveen Kumar remains the favourite, though, for the final spot.India 1 Abhinav Mukund/Yuvraj Singh, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Praveen Kumar/SreesanthHundreds on their minds too: England’s openers have scored 37 centuries and just 50 half-centuries, an incredible conversion rate. They give England a massive edge in the departmental head-to-head•AFP

Pitch and conditions

Expect a normal Lord’s pitch: good for batting, not too quick or bouncy, unlikely to break up alarmingly. The biggest threat for the batsmen remains overhead conditions. Lord’s is not expected to be bathed in glorious sunlight, but nor is it expected to be hopelessly drenched. The odd shower is forecast, but things look better than they did earlier in the week.

Stats and trivia

• Since January 2008, India’s win-loss ratio of 2.57 is the best in the world. They are followed by England’s 2.33 and South Africa’s 2.12, the only two other teams who have won twice more than they have lost in the period.
• India have won only one Test at Lord’s, in 1986, and have lost 10 of them.
• VVS Laxman, owner of the worst conversion record (16 centuries, 52 half-centuries) in the 8,000-club, has never scored a century against England.

Quotes

“It helps in hyping up the series, although I don’t think this series needs any hyping. It’s two very good sides with some high quality players. The recipe is there for it to be a very entertaining series. The wider context is not something we are focusing on. In any Test series every side is hoping to get a fast start, get ahead and then earn the right over four Tests to win the series. All that other stuff is not for us to concentrate on, and will look after itself.”

“It’s a special game, playing at Lord’s is always special, but overall, rather than thinking too much about the numbers, we can just look at the number and be proud. You can’t play 100 games with one nation, but when you have left cricket you can look back and say you played in the 100th between India and England, and 2000th when it comes to history. We can be proud we are playing but at the same time we need to stick to the basics and enjoy the game.”

India Women are eager to prove themselves in foreign conditions, the captain, Jhulan Goswami, said on the eve of the team’s departure to play an ODI and Twenty20 quadrangular series in England. India, who will play the hosts, Australia and New Zealand, are particularly strong on the bowling front, she said.”We have always been good in home conditions. We beat England – who are currently the world’s best team – and West Indies here. Abroad our performances have been up and down,” Goswami said in Bangalore. “We have to change the mindset that we cannot perform there. We can’t just be passengers on these tours, have to show something of what we can do.”It’s still early summer there, once we go there we need to have a look at the conditions and decide on a playing combination. We have a few spinning allrounders, which is good for the team combination. Bowling is our strongest area among all three departments.”Amita Sharma, the vice-captain, said English conditions were not as different to India’s as made out. “Now pitches all over the world are the same. High-scoring surfaces, where teams get 300-plus scores,” she said. “People talk a lot about the ball seaming around in England and the like, but mainly there is just a little more bounce there than we get here.”Senior batsman Mithali Raj agreed. “On my last visit to England, I noticed that they are trying to prepare batting-friendly wickets for ODIs and Twenty20s – not much moisture, a little placid, except of course if the weather is wet.”These series, Raj said, will be a yardstick to measure India against the best in women’s cricket. “The tournaments, which are against the three best teams in the world, will show us where we stand and what needs to be done, especially in terms of the 2013 World Cup.”Keeping in mind the strong opposition, India’s preparation has focussed as much on fitness and fielding as skills. “We’ve worked a lot on our fielding, our fitness has improved immensely, we’ve been doing a lot of athletic and agility work, and it should show in the upcoming series,” Raj said.On the skills worked on, senior fast bowler Snehal Pradhan said, “We have been planning our lengths and working on the kind of movement we could generate there [in England].”With four frontline spinners and three frontline fast bowlers, the squad is unusually balanced for a tour of England, even if the wickets are, as the players say, more placid now. Coach Anju Jain dismissed questions on the side’s combination. “You’ll have to ask the BCCI about selection matters, we make the most with what we have,” she said.Both Goswami and Raj stressed the need to play more international cricket. “We need to play at least three international tournaments a year. Playing international and domestic cricket is totally different, there is a big gap between the two,” Goswami said. “So more international cricket is necessary for youngsters to gain exposure.”Raj said the team needed to play more Twenty20 cricket to improve in the format. “We don’t play too many international Twenty20 games, we just go directly into the Twenty20 World Cup,” she said. “England and Australia play a lot between themselves, and if you notice they tend to get to 150-160 regularly. We average around 140. We are getting the hang of the format, but don’t come up with big totals consistently enough.”The Twenty20 tournament begins on June 23, with India taking on Australia at Billericay. The ODI series is from June 30.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Misbah-ul-Haq declared as soon as he reached his hundred•Associated Press

Having scored only two Test hundreds since January 2010, Pakistan scored two in one innings in setting themselves up perfectly for a series-levelling win in the second Test against West Indies in Basseterre. Taufeeq Umar’s fifth Test hundred – nearly eight years after his last – and Misbah-ul-Haq’s third set a dispirited West Indies 427 to win.It was never remotely realistic and by the close Abdur Rehman had depleted spirits further with a relentless spell. Rehman took three wickets to leave West Indies down, almost out at 130 for 5; Darren Bravo’s 50 was solitary defiance.Pakistan were formidably placed overnight for events of today to be no great surprise. Attention as the day began was on Umar and the three runs he needed to reach his hundred. It took him three overs to get his first run and not until the seventh over of the morning did he get there, with a little dink to square leg.There wasn’t much else to note – he scored eight runs in the first hour – though this meant, interestingly, that three of Pakistan’s last four Test hundreds had now been made by left-hand openers (Imran Farhat and Salman Butt the others).Misbah was altogether more interesting, though at times that was a relative observation. His first hundred since becoming Test captain – he now averages 90 in six Tests as leader – was in his typical all-or-nothing fashion. There were stretches of no intent and much of that soul-destroying forward defensive, mixed with bouts of smart boundary-hitting.He’d begun the morning with a nice drive, before he suddenly leapt on Darren Sammy, in realization that he isn’t half as dangerous as Pakistan make him look. In one over he twice clipped him through midwicket before gliding him past slips.Then, nothing until after morning drinks when a swept triptych against Devendra Bishoo brought him the fifty; first he swept him conventionally, then slog-swept, both for boundaries before ending with a reverse-swept single. That signalled the assault. A little later came the Misbah signature, the one-kneed loft to long-on for six and Bishoo was regularly punished thereafter as Pakistan pillaged 63 runs in the 10 overs to lunch.Umar ran himself out just before lunch, ending a 129-run stand but Umar Akmal took over after as Pakistan upped the pace in search of the declaration. He launched a couple of sixes while Misbah worked his way steadily to the landmark. Akmal fell as did Mohammad Salman, but Misbah brought up the hundred with an edged boundary.Immediately he declared, 40 minutes into the afternoon session. Until then, the West Indies stood not so much in the way of Pakistan as opponents, as bemused, helpless bystanders. What they were doing on the field in the morning for example, nobody knows. They came out with the intensity of a corpse, opening with Ravi Rampaul and Sammy and choosing not to take a new ball until they had to when a 110-over-old ball fell apart and no replacement could be found; did they not know the fragility of Pakistan’s batting?From the time the first ball was bowled, they appeared beaten, waiting, hoping for a declaration. When it came, they realized it wasn’t really what they wanted. An excellent opening spell from Tanvir Ahmed saw Kraigg Brathwaite dismissed by a big, fizzing inswinger but the game was simply waiting for Pakistan’s spinners.And they bring terrific variety. Rehman is like a drone, at you without rest; at one point after tea, he bowled five maidens in six overs. Saeed Ajmal is more given to moods and smiles and winks, chancing it to get wickets. Mohammad Hafeez is a bit of both, able to restrict, also of late able to attack.All three have contributed and it was Rehman’s turn today. Getting fair turn and big bounce, he ripped out Lendl Simmons, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels in an 11-over stretch from tea till drinks.Bravo showed the first real signs of life in the hosts across an afternoon of confident work. Just before tea, two sixes off Rehman provided moments of rare, frozen beauty. The going after tea was sedate, though not entirely uncomfortable. A couple of cuts, in front of and behind square, confirmed the elegance of his game and a fourth fifty near the close was well-deserved.A change of pace at the death brought his downfall, however, and the day was fully Pakistan’s.

Match facts

Tuesday, May 10, Hyderabad
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)The fielding of both teams will be in focus•Associated Press

Big Picture

Both these teams know that they are all-but-mathematically eliminated from the race for the play-offs. That makes the task of motivating the teams even harder for two captains who haven’t had the best of times in the IPL, Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara. The two were team-mates during the first three seasons at Kings XI Punjab, a team which floundered in 2010 and the dismal form has continued for them this season as well.One area that Deccan Chargers will definitely need to lift is their fielding. Both of the defeats over the past week came after the a series of fielding lapses allowed the Man of the Match to turn in a game-changing performance. Yusuf Pathan was reprieved three times as he launched a late onslaught to power Kolkata Knight Riders to a tall score, and Virender Sehwag’s masterpiece had several slices of luck as well.What Pune Warriors will have to be wary about is Deccan’s new-ball attack. Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma are forming a potent combination, and will pose a big threat to the Pune top-order. Deccan’s back-up bowling hasn’t been as threatening though, and if Pune are a touch cautious early on, they could capitalise when the weaker links come into the attack.

Form guide (most recent first)

Pune: WLLLL (eighth in points table)
Deccan: LLLWL (ninth in points table)

Team talk

Deccan’s trouble has been that their overseas players have done moderately well, but not well enough to win matches. They could consider giving Michael Lumb a game to give them the impetus at the start, in place of either JP Duminy or Dan Christian.Pune made plenty of changes in their previous match to finally end their losing streak. If Sourav Ganguly is deemed match fit, he is likely to slot in at the top of the order, perhaps taking the place of Jesse Ryder. That frees up an overseas slot for Jerome Taylor to return, perhaps in place of Shrikant Wagh.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team Selector.

In the spotlight

Pune bet big on Robin Uthappa but the returns have been modest so far. He is now being used higher up the order, giving him more time to make an impact. He has shown flashes of brilliance, clearing the boundary with ease on occasion, though the finishing skills for which he was bought has seldom been on display.Ishant Sharma has had several outstanding matches this season, with the highlight being his dismantling of Kochi’s top order. He was spot-on in Deccan’s previous match against Delhi as well, and Tuesday’s encounter will be his last chance to convince the national selectors he deserves a spot in the one-day squad for the West Indies tour.

Prime numbers

• Alfonso Thomas has the third-highest number of wickets in T20s, behind Dirk Nannes and Albie Morkel
• With 104 sixes, Cameron White is 11th on the list of batsmen with the most Twenty20 sixes
• Kumar Sangakkara has an abysmal captaincy record in IPLs, winning only six of the 23 matches he has led in

The chatter

“When I look at my team, I can’t imagine how we lost so many games with that talent. We just haven’t clicked.”
“If you don’t hold on to the chances that you create, especially when that is wicket you need, it is tough to win the game.”

Former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul has demanded an explanation from WICB chief Ernest Hilaire regarding the comments he made regarding the lack of discipline and application in the team, leading up to its massive post World Cup overhaul. In a strongly-worded letter addressed to Hilaire, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, Chanderpaul questioned whether the comments were directed at him.Chanderpaul, along with senior players Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan were axed from the side for the ongoing series against Pakistan. Hilaire’s interview with network, a copy of which was later released by the WICB, touched upon a number of the problems ailing West Indies cricket over the past 15 years.Chanderpaul’s concerns were over the following excerpt from the interview: “If you look at West Indies cricket since the mid-90s, a lot of the systems we had in place broke down. There’s no discipline, there’s no application. We’ve been doing that for 15 years and we’ve been losing. We need to put a new system in place. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar he can decide if he is training today, if he’s going to have treatment tomorrow, if he’s going to attend a team meeting. It cannot work that way.”In response, Chanderpaul wrote: “I am particularly concerned about the following statements: 1. There’s no discipline, there’s no application. 2. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar he can decide if he is training today, if he’s going to have treatment tomorrow, if he’s going to attend a team meeting.”I am of the opinion that anyone reading these comments in the specific context will conclude that:”1. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, am an indisciplined individual and during my tenure as a West Indies player over the past fifteen years have lacked discipline and contributed to the West Indies team losing.”2. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul have not applied myself or demonstrated any real application to my role as a member of the West Indies team over the past 15 years and by so doing have contributed to the West Indies team losing.”3. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, consider myself to be bigger than the team.”4. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have decided when I was training or not training.”5. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have decided when I was going to attend or not attend team meetings.”6. (Based on the accusations above) I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have disregarded the coaches and managerial staff or undermined team discipline by my actions and attitude.”Chanderpaul also questioned whether the statements were reflective of Hilaire’s personal opinion, or were made in his capacity as WICB chief. “If they were made by you, I note that you constantly use the word ‘we’ in the excerpt above,” Chanderpaul wrote. “I would like to know if this is a ‘royal we’ or, in other words, are you speaking for yourself, albeit as CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board or are you speaking for and on behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board itself? This is important to me since I believe I have served the WICB and West Indies Cricket faithfully and well during my career and it would be difficult for me to accept that the members of the board of directors of West Indies cricket have sanctioned those remarks. On what basis have you made those statements and with what purpose?”Asking Hilaire to reply urgently, Chanderpaul said he was worried the comments would damage his reputation. “I am convinced that those persons who do not know the sacrifices I have made on behalf of West Indies Cricket and my dedication to the cause of West Indies Cricket would believe, based on what you have said in your interview, that I lack discipline and application and have not demonstrated the sense of responsibility which I know that I have shown throughout my career. While I would refer you to my unblemished reputation for professionalism and to all the other CEOs, coaches and managers with whom I have worked, I believe that you have crossed the line by making these public accusations that, while they may include others, are also directed at me and if unchallenged and corrected may destroy my career.”Chanderpaul told Hilaire in his letter that if he did not receive an adequate explanation he would take whatever action necessary to clear his name. “While it would help if the WICB as an organisation repudiates your comments in this regards, it would still not be sufficient to erase the tremendous damage already done. I await your urgent response and reserve all of my rights in this matter.”

Chennai Super Kings have appointed former Australia seamer Andy Bichel as their bowling coach, replacing Venkatesh Prasad who has moved to the Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise. Bichel, 40, was Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowling coach in the 2009 IPL, when the team finished bottom of the standings.Chennai recently roped in New Zealand seamer Tim Southee into their squad. They continue to await news on the injured duo of Dwayne Bravo and Doug Bollinger, who both had to leave the World Cup midway.

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has said he used Graeme Swann as an example of how to bowl on wickets in South Africa during India’s recent drawn Test series there. Harbhajan took 15 wickets in the three Tests, and said a lot of his success had to do with bowling a wicket-to-wicket line on tracks that were not offering turn, something Swann, the England offspinner, did during England’s tour of South Africa in 2009-10, when he took 21 wickets in four Tests.”Swann bowled exactly the same throughout the series: wicket-to-wicket,” Harbhajan told ESPNcricinfo in an extended interview that will be published on February 15. “He gave himself the chance. I did the same in Durban and got four quick wickets [in the first innings].”Harbhajan said he watched videos of Swann bowling during that England tour as part of his own preparation for the South Africa series. “His strength is to vary the pace very well. He has a very nice action, gets a good loop. He is a very smart bowler whether it is Test or one-day cricket he bowls a tight line.”I like the way he bowls especially with the kind of line and length he bowls. I had watched the videos of him bowling in South Africa and what made him successful. I brought similar results and picked up wickets.”Swann has established himself as one of the top spinners in the modern game and, on Monday, won the ESPNcricinfo Statsguru Award for the best bowler of 2010. Harbhajan has not seen that much of Swann bowling himself, having only played two Tests against him back in 2008, and said it was his former Mumbai Indians team-mate Shaun Pollock who, during the IPL, pointed out Swann as an example of how to bowl a straighter line.Harbhajan had a poor start to the tour, picking up just two wickets and conceding 169 runs in India’s heavy defeat in Centurion, and said he made the adjustment because bowling outside off stump in South Africa allowed the batsmen to play through the covers and point.”In the first Test, I bowled a lot of balls in their areas, which made them comfortable. The line I was bowling was outside off stump but because the wicket was so true, the bounce was true, it was not spinning so much, so the South African batsmen played on the back foot towards cover and point. The same ball they were able to drive, they were also able to walk across to and take a single on the leg side. You can’t give runs on both sides of the wicket.”It was former India allrounder Ravi Shastri who first advised Harbhajan to pitch the ball within the line of the stumps. “His reasoning was if the batsman tried to go for the cover drive he would need to open the bat and he would avoid playing the cut shot as I am bowling on the stumps. They also can’t sweep or play a cross-batted stroke as there is a chance of lbw. The only option left to them is to be patient and score runs where you have set the field.”The idea was to make the batsman dare to play against the spin. It clicked. [Hashim] Amla played numerous sweep shots in the first innings at Centurion and it worked because I was pitching outside off. Later Shaun Pollock pointed out that I should bowl wicket-to-wicket otherwise batsmen will hit me through covers or between mid-on and midwicket . So, in Durban, where it does not spin, I kept it straight and Amla went for the sweep and was lbw.”Harbhajan’s six wickets were crucial in securing India’s win in Durban, and in the third Test in Cape Town, he took seven wickets in the second innings, on a track offering him some turn.

Match Facts

February 1, Napier
Start time 14:00 (01:00 GMT)
Jesse Ryder returns to the top•Getty Images

Big Picture

Christchurch witnessed a quintessentially Pakistani style of play: start slow, build a base, retain wickets, and explode in the end. It used to be the norm in 1980s before Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail changed that in the 90’s, but once again, without a settled opening pair, Pakistan are returning to the roots. Not many teams can launch into a frenzied and mesmerising attack in the end overs like Pakistan can. Abdul Razzaq swinging like there is no tomorrow, Shahid Afridi swinging like there is no next moment, and the scarred opposition living on the boundary’s edge, waiting for the violence to end. As Luke Woodcock put it: “I’ve seen a bit of it on TV but to actually see it first hand, playing against him [Afridi] for the first time, it was a pretty special knock and he took the momentum away from us.”Mohammad Hafeez hit his maiden hundred in his 61st game, Ahmed Shehzad dazzled briefly in the second ODI, and Umar Akmal showed glimpses of the imperious flair he possesses. But what about Pakistan’s experienced middle order? For long, Younis Khan’s critics have said that he bats in ODIs like he is batting in a Test and vice versa. For long, Misbah-ul-Haq’s critics have said that he bats in all formats like he is batting in a Test. Their supporters will cite Christchurch as evidence of their effectiveness. Let Younis and Misbah play the middle overs, preventing a collapse, and set the base for the marauders to take over. The critics want the same thing but they wonder why the holding job can’t be performed with more purpose? Can’t Younis and Misbah take singles, keep the strike rotating, and score at a decent pace? Their career strike rates are just over 75, which is actually ideal for the job they do, but the criticism, especially against Misbah, is that he only makes up towards the end of his knock. The sedate approach at the start increases pressure on the others and triggers self-destructive ways or so the argument goes. It will be interesting to watch their approach in the next game.Their opposition, New Zealand, are experimenting, searching for the ideal line-up before the World Cup. The biggest puzzle is the position of Brendon McCullum. On the flat-beds of the subcontinent, considering that he is a regular Test opener, would it be better to play him at the top or keep him for later? Martin Guptill has been in great form, and Jesse Ryder is best while opening, so why not plug McCullum lower down to make use of the batting Powerplay? And what about Jamie How, who looks good in most innings but never carries on? He will get one more chance in the next game, this time in the middle order, and he needs to grab it.Tim Southee and Hamish Bennett are the two chosen ones for the fourth ODI. It was slightly strange to see New Zealand make Bennett bowl against the breeze in the last game. Will they give him a chance to go down wind and try and use his pace to unsettle the batsmen? Luke Woodcock, who had a good debut, lost out as Vettori and Nathan McCullum return. The pressure is on Nathan to put in a good performance to keep Woodcock behind in the pecking order.Napier, the venue of the fourth ODI, has been a burial ground for the bowlers and if the pitch remains flat and full of runs, Pakistan hold the edge over New Zealand.

Form guide

New Zealand: LWLLL
Pakistan: WLLWL

Players to watch out for …

Jesse Ryder has a great strike-rate (95.41) in ODIs but he has a better grasp of how to build an innings in Tests. If he can reprise that temperament in ODIs, his transformation into a world-class ODI player would be complete. The back-lift is minimal, the foot work precise, and the shot-selection is maturing rapidly. Ryder can be the backbone of this line-up in the World Cup.Umar Akmal has the shots, but does he have the temperament? There is a thin line between arrogance and confidence and he seems to be forever living on that edge. Pakistan would hope that Umar can fast track the transformation from boy to man and be more consistent.

Team news

Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s coach, said there would only be one change: will the spinner Abdur Rehman get a chance, or will they try to bring in Asad Shafiq or Shoaib Akthar?Pakistan (probable): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Kamran Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Abdur Rehman/Sohail Tanvir, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Shoaib Akhtar/Wahab Riaz.How and Kane Williamson will both play in the middle order. Bennett and Southee will be the seamers while Vettori and Nathan McCullum are the spinners in the XI.New Zealand (probable): 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ross Taylor , 4 Scott Styris, 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Jamie How, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Hamish Bennett.

Stats and trivia

• Seven of the last 10 ODIs in Napier have been won by the side batting first.
• Afridi’s five sixes in the third ODI took his tally to 285, the record for most sixes in one-dayers. Sanath Jayasuriya is second with 270. It was also the 16th time that Afridi hit five or more sixes in an innings. Jayasuriya did it 11 times.
• Younis Khan averages only 29.30 from 18 games against New Zealand. In New Zealand, he averages 18 from three games.

Quotes

“Both teams search for consistency, and both teams struggle to get it, so we know we can turn their confidence around pretty quickly and hopefully put it in our favour. I think we need to look at that”
.”If you look at the way we bowled to him [Afridi], we gave him a number of opportunities to clear the ropes. We missed a chance to catch him, you just can’t afford to do that, so the onus goes on the bowlers to hit their lines and lengths … You can accept if they get hit from those areas, but if you are bowling half-volleys and length balls in the Powerplays you are going to be in trouble.”
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Denmark’s 30-run win over United States of America at the Mission Road ground in Mong Kok was the story of the second day of the World Cricket League Division Three tournament. Michael Pedersen played a true captain’s knock for his team, holding the innings together with an unbeaten 78, and followed that up with four wickets as USA were bowled out for 163 in pursuit of Denmark’s 193 for 6.In the lowest scoring fixture of the day, Denmark were put in to bat on a fine and sunny day and the top order put 50 runs on the board before opener Freddie Klokker had his stumps rearranged by medium-pacer Orlando Baker. After Yasir Iqbal departed for 31 it was left to Pedersen to guide his side to a respectable total, with no other batsman scoring more than 13. He eased past fifty and maintained his composure as wickets fell at the other end, facing 123 balls and hitting nine fours.USA weren’t particularly impressive in the field, missing key opportunities that allowed Denmark to score more runs than they otherwise would have. Their bowling attack – Muhammad Ghous apart – was at least economical, with left-arm spinner Asif Khan picking up 2 for 31.Carl Wright launched USA’s chase with an aggressive 43 and it appeared the team’s tactic would be to waste no time in getting past the low total. Denmark’s opening bowlers bore the brunt of their attack, but USA paid the price for their approach as wickets fell at regular intervals and it was spin that proved their undoing. Pedersen provided crucial breakthroughs with the wickets of Wright, Lennox Cush for a 14-ball 16 and Rashard Marshall for 31. Legspinner Bobby Chawla then ran through the lower order, picking up 4 for 32 and removing Kevin Darlington lbw to seal the result.”I think in the first hour or so we played well making 40-odd runs and I was pleased with how Freddie Klokker and Yasir Iqbal performed,” said Pedersen, who was named Man of the Match. “But once the newness of the ball had worn off and it began to lose some of its pace I think our batsmen found it harder to score runs, especially with the USA bowling so straight and not leaving much room for manoeuvre. I felt I had to really sit in and grind out my innings giving the others the opportunities so that we could make a decent total. I think we were also aided in making our total by some poor fielding by the USA who missed at least one sitter of a catch.”Pedersen added his side’s game-plan, when it came to the bowling, was what really paid off for the team today. “The team had a game plan when we took to the field and once we’d taken the pace off the ball after the first 12 overs the USA started to come at the ball.”Bobby’s bowling was brilliant today and as for myself, I think I was pretty lucky with some of my wickets with some good catches being taken by my fielders. This tournament is wide open now which I think is great. We weren’t the favourites in today’s game and today’s results show no team is unbeatable. I feel we’ve got ourselves accustomed to the conditions and are now playing the way we should be at this event.”Papua New Guinea completed their second win in two days, beating Italy by 32 runs at Hong Kong Cricket Club. In another low-scoring game Jason Kila’s innings of 46 proved vital to PNG’s total of 209, while they were also helped by some sloppy bowling from the Italians as 24 wides were conceded. Peter Petricola was once again the pick of Italy’s attack, taking 4 for 38, but he could do nothing to counter a committed team performance from PNG’s bowlers as Italy were bowled out for 172 in the 44th over.Despite their inaccuracy, Italy’s bowlers had reduced PNG to 105 for 6 before they encountered some gritty lower-order resistance. Wicketkeeper Jack Vare made a patient 28 in helping to add 61 for the seventh wicket – the highest partnership in either innings – while Kila struck four fours and a six before he was caught behind to prompt a capitulation from the tail.PNG captain Rarua Dikana shone with the ball, claiming 3 for 24 with his medium pacers and taking the all-important wickets of opener Andy Northcote and the dangerous Petricola. While most of Italy’s batsmen made starts, none were able to push on and play a decisive innings and the wickets were shared around before No. 11 Alauddin was run out to end the innings.”Our batsmen are confident and did a good job spreading the load to make the total but perhaps didn’t perform as strongly as we know they can, but with a strong bowling unit we didn’t feel panicked about taking on Italy’s batting line up and we scored our second victory,” said Dikana. “The pitch was pretty bouncy this morning but it flattened out as when we bowled on it which saw the ball keep low which helped me in claiming at least two of my wickets which were leg before. Tomorrow’s a rest day which means we can relax as a side and prepare for Tuesday and hopefully make it three out of three.”In the tightest match of the day hosts Hong Kong lost out for the second time in a row, this time to a rejuvenated Oman side. In the bright sunshine of Kowloon Cricket Club, Najeeb Amar’s side put on a respectable total of 266 after some strong batting from Hussain Butt who struck 81 of the side’s runs. The stand-out bowler for the Omanis was veteran spinner Khalid Rasheed who managed to claim the scalps of Courtney Kruger and Butt on his way to 3 for 37.Oman’s batsmen didn’t waste any time when it came to scoring runs after lunch with opener Hemin Desai smashing his way to 62 in just 30 balls. The 33-year-old right-handed batsman smashed nine boundaries and three sixes before he was bowled by Nadeem Ahmed. Vaibhav Wategaonkar added an important 68 but the star of the Oman innings was easily the side’s wicketkeeper-batsman Sultan Ahmed, whose unbeaten 70 guided the team to victory with one over to spare.”It’s obviously disappointing not to win for a second time but the side hasn’t lost its confidence. We know we’ve got the ability and today’s game, like yesterday’s, came down to the last over,” said Hong Kong coach Charlie Burke. “Our biggest problem is we’ve not had a big enough batting partnership in our innings and then we’ve gone on to bowl five or six poor overs which has allowed the opposition to get on top of us. We won’t let today’s result hold us back and along with the other results from today’s games the tournament is still wide open.””We have a great depth in our middle-order and today it paid off with everyone contributing throughout the 50 overs to get us over the line,” said Ahmed, who was named Man of the Match. “We knew today’s match was important for both ourselves and Hong Kong and we wanted to give it our all, we made sure we were motivated for today’s match and it really paid off. We always focus on the coming match and not the next four matches and I think that has helped our focus today and hopefully it will help us after the rest day when we face Italy on Tuesday.”

The MCC World Cricket Committee has recommended that the laws of the game be amended in a bid to rid the sport of corruption, and has called for the use of lie detector tests to reinforce the need for transparency in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal that erupted during Pakistan’s tour of England in August.Following a two-day meeting in Perth ahead of the third Ashes Test, the club’s working party, including two former Ashes-winning captains in Steve Waugh and Mike Brearley, issued a statement containing a wide range of proposals including “the legalising and regulating of betting markets in India as proposed by the Delhi Court; the length of bans; non-selection of tainted players; the possible use of lie detector tests; the provision of integrity officers; and the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses in all professional playing contracts in all countries.””The greatest issue facing the game right now is match-fixing,” said Waugh. “How can we make players more accountable for their actions? Personally, I think if you’ve not done anything wrong, why wouldn’t you want to have a lie detector test? You can’t make it compulsory but like I said, if you’ve got nothing to hide, why wouldn’t you take it? If we sit back and don’t do anything about corruption, it’s going to get worse.”In its statement, the committee also complimented the ICC and its Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU) for its work to clean up the sport, but urged the game’s governing body to commit more resources – and increased powers – to tackle the single biggest menace to the integrity of cricket.”The education of players should not be a meaningless formality; the message should be pressed home with regularity by figures known and respected by the players,” the statement read. “Furthermore, the committee believes that team captains – as enshrined in the Laws and Spirit of Cricket – should accept greater responsibility for the conduct of their players.”Speaking on the eve of the Perth Test, England’s captain, Andrew Strauss gave a cautious welcome to the notion of introducing lie detectors to the game. “That’s hard for me to answer at this stage,” he said. “I don’t know about the accuracy of lie detector tests. But what I do know, and is probably more important, is that we don’t want the whiff of anything suspicious going on in the game.”We’ve seen how disruptive and detrimental to the game of cricket it is,” added Strauss. “The devil of all these things is in the detail. If we have to take extreme measures in order to be 100% confident the game is being played in the right spirit, then I’d certainly be happy to do that.”I’d have to think about the arguments [for lie detector tests] one side and another first. But the principle, of having 22 guys on the pitch that the supporters are absolutely 100% certain are playing the game for the right reasons, is a good thing.”