Salman Butt under investigation over The Oval Test too

Pakistan’s four-wicket win at The Oval against England last summer has been part of the ICC’s investigation into spot-fixing allegations against three Pakistan players, it emerged in the Doha hearing

Osman Samiuddin in Doha11-Jan-2011Pakistan’s four-wicket win at The Oval against England last summer has been part of the ICC’s investigation into spot-fixing allegations against three Pakistan players, it emerged on Tuesday after the Doha hearing.The hearing, looking into allegations against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, was widely thought to have revolved only around the final Test of that series, held at Lord’s. But a statement by Michael Beloff QC, the head of the anti-corruption tribunal hearing the case, revealed that the previous Test at The Oval was also under investigation.The very opening of Beloff’s statement caught most off-guard; “The tribunal has been constituted to determine charges against Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif brought under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in relation to two Test matches played during August 2010 in the series between Pakistan and England, The Oval Test and the Lord’s Test.”But Beloff added that Amir and Asif have been acquitted of all charges relating to The Oval. One charge still stood, against Butt who was captain at the time. “The ICC has withdrawn all charges against the three players in relation to The Oval Test except for one against Mr Butt. The tribunal has formally acquitted the players in respect of the charges which have been withdrawn.”Neither the three-man tribunal nor the ICC gave details about the charges or incidents that were under investigation in the Oval Test. Until a report on the yesterday, in fact, it wasn’t public knowledge that The Oval Test was even under investigation.The , the tabloid that broke the story after an undercover sting operation, had, in fact, referred in its original report to a plan to bowl deliberate no-balls in The Oval Test which was eventually cancelled. There was another reference to a maiden over Butt was allegedly supposed to play out on one of the days. It is believed that it is the charges related to those incidents that have been under investigation.But it is believed that, in a bid to expedite a verdict against the three players, all the charges save one around The Oval Test, were dropped by the ICC’s lawyers during the hearing. The ICC was keen for the tribunal to announce verdicts against the three on Tuesday, the last day of the hearing, and believed that dropping charges, for which evidence is known to be insufficient, might achieve that.The news is a further blow for Butt, who as captain of the side was under particular scrutiny during the hearing. He spent a day and a half answering questions first from his lawyer, then the ICC’s lawyers as well as Asif’s lawyer – more than either Amir or Asif. In addition, the questioning of one witness by his own lawyer is thought to have hurt his case considerably. And differences between him and Asif are thought to have further worsened his case.The decision on the one charge against Butt relating to The Oval Test will also be announced on February 5, the date on which decisions concerning the Lord’s Test against all three are expected to finally be announced.Asif’s London-based lawyers released a statement expressing his delight at having been acquitted of all charges brought against him in relation to The Oval Test.

India coast to win despite Mushfiqur century

Despite brief resistance from Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, who completed his first Test century, India duly claimed victory on the last day in Chittagong

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga21-Jan-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Mushfiqur Rahim’s maiden ton could not avert defeat for Bangladesh•Associated Press

Tamim Iqbal’s brief resistance and Mushfiqur Rahim’s crowd-pleasing century were way too inadequate for Bangladesh who had no surprises lined up on the final day. Even with an off-rhythm Sreesanth making it a virtual three-man attack, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan paved India’s way to an eventually comfortable win despite their first-innings failure and murky conditions curtailing action on every day of the match. Despite Mushfiqur’s knock – the fastest hundred for a Bangladesh player – alongside the tail, they could not last until the final session.In the end, it was the batsmen who let the Bangladesh bowlers down. Their bowlers might have shown they were better than ordinary, getting India out for 243 in the first innings, but both their batting efforts were ordinary. In the final innings, none of the batsmen showed either the aptitude or the inclination to bat out long periods on a flat pitch and on a day where bad light was bound to cut the day short.The signs were all there in the first ten minutes of the day. Mohammad Ashraful carried on from an edgy first innings. After surviving two slashes and edges in the first three overs, he drove on the up at an Ishant delivery that held its line enough to take a healthy edge. Raqibul Hasan showed the willingness to fight it out, even taking a blow on the elbow, but Ishant’s re-discovered offcutter proved to be too good for him, trapping him plumb in front.The only bit of fight came from Tamim, who survived the early thorough examination given by Ishant and Zaheer. He concentrated hard, and quelled his natural game for the first hour. Except for one loose drive in the second over, he resisted the cover-drives, and instead relied on bunting the balls close to him for singles. He did not concentrate for long enough, though. The way he tried to open up against Sreesanth and Amit Mishra showed that the first hour had taken a big extra effort. From 27 off 81, when the back-up bowlers were introduced, he moved to 50 off 106, bringing up the milestone with a reverse-sweep.Eight minutes before lunch, Tamim gave it all away. Virender Sehwag had replaced Sreesanth, and in his second over, Tamim went for a big booming drive when he was close to neither the line nor the length of the delivery. The outside edge was snapped well by an alert Rahul Dravid, and India were sensing the win.The only man who could hold them up was Shakib Al Hasan, and post the break, he got a special googly from Mishra that kicked at him and took the shoulder of his bat on its way to silly point. Mahmudullah, who scored 69 in the first innings, got into a personal battle with Zaheer, and eventually Bangladesh paid for it. Bouncers, verbals, hooks, upper-cuts, and then a tame edge outside off.Mushfiqur stood on the burning deck, hit his way to a personal best, added 60 for the eight wicket, then cut, pulled and lofted some more, made Sreesanth mouth off like a madman for no reason, manoeuvred the strike expertly, and managed a consolatory maiden century. Mishra kept at the task, mixing the googlies well with the legbreaks, and took out the last three wickets.

Mason Crane's six turn the tables on Lancashire

Leg spinner runs through host’s middle and lower order to boost Glamorgan’s title hopes

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jul-2025Glamorgan 261 and 95 for 2 (Carlson 43*, Anderson 2-20) vs Lancashire A career-best 6 for 19 by Mason Crane led a superb bowling effort from Glamorgan that has put the visitors firmly in the ascendancy after two days at Emirates Old Trafford.Having been bowled out for 261 in their first innings of this Rothesay County Championship division two promotion battle, second-placed Glamorgan hit back strongly to dismiss fourth-placed Lancashire for 137 before reaching the close on 95 for 2 in their second innings to lead by 219 runs.The day turned Glamorgan’s way during a dramatic afternoon session following the introduction of Crane into the attack. The leg spinner ran through the Lancashire middle and lower order after producing an outstanding 10.3 over spell from the James Anderson End that was chiefly responsible for the hosts losing their last seven wickets for 30 runs.Anderson, on his 43rd birthday, took two early wickets in one over when Glamorgan began their second innings but a steadying partnership of 71 between Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson has the visitors well-placed to push home their strong advantage tomorrow.Following a delay of one hour due to rain, Lancashire took just eight deliveries to wrap up the Glamorgan first innings for the addition of one run to their overnight score of 260 for 8, Tom Bailey trapping Crane lbw for 9 and Anderson having Ned Leonard caught behind for 4.In testing, seaming conditions Asitha Fernando had early reward trapping Luke Wells lbw for 2 and it took some determined and, at times, dogged batting from Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon in a partnership of 45 to prevent further damage to the Lancashire reply.It took a superb one-handed catch by Asa Tribe at bat-pad to dismiss Jennings for 28 off spinner Ben Kellaway shortly before lunch and Glamorgan made further inroads soon after the break, Fernando rewarded for a fine spell when having Bohannon lbw for 32.The introduction of Crane into the attack transformed the afternoon as the leg spinner produced a devastating burst of 5 for 12 in 41 balls on a wicket that has taken spin from the start to put the visitors firmly in charge.If the first of the five was a touch fortunate, Marcus Harris hitting a full toss to Kellaway at mid-on for 30, the rest were a result of some excellent leg spin that the Lancashire batters failed to master.Phil Salt edged behind for 8, Matty Hurst (21) top-edged a sweep that deflected off wicketkeeper Chris Cooke to Colin Ingram at slip, Chris Green drove a catch back to the bowler for 2 while Tom Hartley was lbw three balls later.That left Lancashire reeling on 132 for 8 by the tea interval and Glamorgan wrapped up the innings five overs after the break when Fernando gained a third lbw verdict against Bailey and Crane took his sixth after George Balderson chipped to Kiran Carlson at midwicket.Leading by 119 runs, Glamorgan lost Zain ul Hassan bowled for 12 shouldering arms to Anderson who then took a smart, tumbling catch off his own bowling five balls later to dismiss Tribe for 11.Northeast (26 not out) and Carlson (43 not out) steadied matters with their unbroken partnership during the final hour of the day to leave Glamorgan in a strong position going into day three.

Saurabh Tiwary announces retirement

He has represented Jharkhard for 17 years and has played for four IPL franchises

Rajan Raj12-Feb-2024Saurabh Tiwary has announced his retirement from professional cricket. The 34-year-old will play his final match for Jharkhand as they close out their Ranji Trophy campaign on February 15 in Jamshedpur.Tiwary began playing cricket at the age of 11. He made his first-class debut, while still a teenager, in the 2006-07 Ranji Trophy season and then went on to win the Under-19 World Cup as part of the team that Virat Kohli captained in Malaysia in 2008.Tiwary’s rise continued, his performances for the Mumbai Indians in 2010, where he hit 419 runs, and for Jharkhand in the same year, led to an India call-up for the Asia Cup in June but he had to wait till October to make his international debut. He played three ODIs, scoring 49 runs and ended up unbeaten in two of them.Tiwary was rather more prolific in domestic cricket, playing 115 first-class matches across 17 years and amassing 8030 runs in 189 innings at an average of 47.51 including 22 hundreds and 34 fifties.”It’s a little tough to bid farewell to this journey that I had started before my schooling,” Tiwary said on Monday at a press conference at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur. “But I’m also sure that this is the right time for this. I feel that if you’re not in the national team and IPL, it’s better to vacate a spot in the state side for a youngster. Youngsters are getting a lot of chances in our Test team so I’m making this decision.”It’s not like I’ve decided this only on the basis of my performances. You can see my record in Ranji and in the last domestic season. It’s always asked what I’m going to do next and for now I only know that cricket is the only thing I know so I’m going to be connected to the game. I got an offer from politics too but I haven’t thought about that.”Related

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Tiwary had a bit of an up and down relationship with the IPL. Following his efforts to help Mumbai to their first final, he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for USD 1.6 million in 2011 but he could not replicate the same level of success in his three years with his new franchise. A shoulder injury ruled him out of IPL 2014 after which he played for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and Rising Pune Supergiant for a year each before returning to Mumbai in 2021 at the age of 31, which was a sign that his left-handedness and his power game were seen as valuable assets in the shortest format.Tiwary finishes with an IPL tally of 1494 runs at an average of 28.73 and a strike rate of 120. Overall, he has 3454 T20 runs with 16 fifties at an average of 29.02 and strike rate of 122.17.He captained his state 88 time across formats, winning 36, losing 33 and drawing 19. He also led East Zone seven times (six in the 50-over Deodhar Trophy in 2023 and one in the four-day Duleep Trophy in 2010)Like his first-class career, Tiwary’s List A career started in 2006. He made 4050 runs in 116 games with 27 fifties and six hundreds at an average of 46.55.In the 2023-24 Ranji season, Jharkhand have secured one sole victory in six games and are out of contention for the quarter-finals.

Perth's long wait is over after international cricket's Covid lockout

The Australia-England T20 marks a welcome return for the game after more than two years

Tristan Lavalette08-Oct-2022On a balmy Monday night three summers ago, Shafali Verma, the then 16-year-old prodigy, lit up the old warhorse of the WACA with an outrageous 39 off 17 balls during India’s victory over Bangladesh at the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup.The 5000-strong crowd, mostly Indian fans cheering wildly for Shafali’s heroics, hopefully savoured the experience on that electric February 24, 2020 evening because it proved the last international in Perth until Sunday’s drought-breaking men’s T20 clash between Australia and England at Optus Stadium.Of course, just weeks later, right after Australia lifted the Women’s T20 World Cup trophy, the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the world and closed borders as refuge was sought at home.Related

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With tough-talking premier Mark McGowan ruling with an iron fist, Western Australia tightly controlled its border longer than most. The strict measures mostly kept the virus at bay through to the end of 2021 but WA’s fortress meant a logistical nightmare for those entering the state, which involved 14 days of hotel quarantine.There were some exemptions for sports, but organising international cricket proved too difficult while only six BBL matches and last year’s WBBL final were played in Perth over the past two seasons.In perhaps the biggest blow to local coffers, the fifth Ashes Test last summer was supposed to be played in Perth before being shifted to Hobart after months of hostile debate between administrators, pundits and fans.It all totalled a loss of AU$18 million in revenue for the WACA, said chief executive Christina Matthews.”We had to adjust our operations to minimise the loss,” she told ESPNcricinfo. “It was disappointing that we couldn’t participate in elite cricket at home.”Effectively we were at the whim of the premier and the government that made decisions that meant cricket couldn’t be played here.”The timing proved particularly inopportune with Perth’s ODI against India in 2020-21 scrapped – after originally being overlooked to host an India Test – followed by losing the Ashes Test in January after McGowan refused to open WA’s borders in conjunction with the rest of the country in late 2021.”Losing India and England two years in a row… that’s the high point in our membership,” Matthews said. “When we moved matches to Optus Stadium we were building towards those Tests to maximise our returns, so we have to wait another four years to take advantage of the stadium.”It had a devastating impact on our forward planning and business model. Our financial model is built around BBL and international cricket. But we had relatively small losses compared to what we could have been facing.”With the heart of its home schedule ripped out, some WACA members were left disenchanted. “I know there were some members who renewed because of the Ashes Test, which we kept hearing was going to be played at Optus,” said long-time WACA member Chamara Seneviratne. “But then it was scrapped, so that left some resentment. It was all very frustrating.”The last international match in Perth was India’s T20 World Cup game against Bangladesh•Paul Kane/Getty Images

Matthews, who has had to deal with ongoing tumult amid a spate of WACA board resignations, acknowledged the frustration but said it had a “loyal” membership base. “The members were disappointed but 90 percent of our members kept rolling their fees over and there is now a sense of security with cricket coming back,” she said.Since WA finally reopened in March, Covid-19 pandemic restrictions gradually eased to the point where Perth’s airports are once again teeming, mask sightings are rare and the virus is barely part of the daily conversation.At domestic matches at the WACA to start the Australian season, fans have been allowed to interact with players, with selfies once again a familiar sight, to reinforce that the pandemic is very much in the rearview.Anticipation is now building over the return of international cricket in Perth with many locals particularly excited about the prospect of finally watching hometown hero Cameron Green in national colours. There is the expectation for a crowd of 30,000.”There is a much better feeling among members and fans so far this season,” Seneviratne said. “It’s particularly great for kids who finally can watch Green and their other heroes in person, which is important for the development of the game.”While this exasperating period caused major headaches and sleepless nights for those at the WACA, Matthews said there were silver linings.”One of the benefits was that we allowed community cricket to be played on the WACA, which was a dream come true for many,” Matthews said. “We became closer as an organisation. It was interesting to see how quickly our staff wanted to come back and work from the venue .”It gave us an opportunity to shine in difficult circumstances. But you wouldn’t want to go through it again.”

Adam Milne joins Kent as T20 Blast replacement for Mohammad Amir

Pakistan seamer unable to take up deal due to overlap with Pakistan Super League

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2021Kent have signed Adam Milne, the New Zealand pace bowler, as a replacement for Mohammad Amir, whose Pakistan Super League commitments will prevent him from appearing in the Vitality Blast.Amir had been due to play for Kent in the second half of the Blast, after the completion of the PSL – but the shifting dates for the rearranged competition, which begins on Wednesday, and quarantine restrictions for arriving in the UK from Pakistan mean he won’t be taking up his deal.Instead, Milne will arrive for his fourth spell at Kent, having taken 38 wickets in 28 appearances between 2017 and 2019. He is expected to be available for Kent’s ninth group game, against Somerset at Canterbury on June 28, onwards.”We’re delighted that Adam will be coming back to be a Kent Spitfire once more,” Kent’s director of cricket, Paul Downton, said. “He is a world-class T20 bowler who has made a significant difference to our side every time he has played for the Spitfires. I am sure our Members and supporters will be excited to welcome him back for the later stages of the Vitality Blast.”Milne was part of the Kent side that reached the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast in 2018, and narrowly missed out on reaching the knockouts a year later. He has also featured at the IPL and the Big Bash, as well as being capped 23 times in T20Is by New Zealand.Milne said: “I love being a Spitfire and I’m really excited that the opportunity has arisen for me to come back to Kent for a fourth time. It’ll be great to see familiar faces in the dressing room but I’m also looking forward to working with the new talent that has joined since my last stint in 2019.”Kent’s other overseas options include South African batter Heino Kuhn and the Afghanistan legspinner Qais Ahmed, who is expected to be available after quarantine from June 13, when the club face Gloucestershire at Canterbury.

Lakmal returns, Kusal Perera dropped from Sri Lanka's Test squad

Coach Mickey Arthur felt Kusal would be better served training for the white-ball formats at home

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Jan-2020Suranga Lakmal returned to Sri Lanka’s Test squad after missing the tour of Pakistan due to dengue fever, while Kusal Perera has been dropped.Despite having lost 1-0 in Pakistan, Sri Lanka made no other changes to the 15 that toured Rawalpindi and Karachi in December. This means that Lahiru Thirimanne remains in the squad, despite seemingly having lost his place in the XI to Oshada Fernando, while offspinner Dilruwan Perera also retains his place after having gone wicketless during the Pakistan series.Young fast bowler Asitha Fernando, who was Lakmal’s replacement on the tour of Pakistan, could not find a place. Pathum Nissanka, the highly-rated domestic opener for Nondescripts Cricket Club, has been overlooked as well.Chief selector Asantha de Mel said his committee had dropped Kusal after consulting with new coach Mickey Arthur, who felt it was better for Kusal to remain in Sri Lanka and train for the white-ball series against West Indies in February, rather than tour Zimbabwe without getting a game.”Most probably we will go with the same batting lineup [as we did in Karachi], with Angelo Mathews at four, Dinesh Chandimal at five, Dhananjaya de Silva at six and Niroshan Dickwella keeping,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Kusal has an issue with his hamstrings where he can’t run around the field as much. And because Dickwella is the main keeper, we thought there was no point taking another keeper.”Kusal had struck Sri Lanka’s innings of the year in 2019, his 153 not out in Durban earning global plaudits, but had had a poor series against New Zealand in August and September last year, in which he made 1, 23, 0 and 0. He was in the squad, but did not play a Test in Pakistan.”Yes, Kusal can make 150s, but we needed someone who can occupy the crease, which is why we chose Thirimanne,” de Mel said. “Thirimanne can also bat in the top order or as an opener.” Thirimanne’s batting average, however, is 22.64 after 68 innings.The selection of 37-year-old Dilruwan was also informed by conversations with coach Arthur, de Mel said. Dilruwan had gone wicketless during the tour of Pakistan, and averaged 112.80 in 2019, taking only five wickets in seven innings. He had been the equal-fastest Sri Lanka bowler to 150 Test wickets (taking 36 Tests to get there, the same as Muttiah Muralitharan), and this, essentially, is why the selectors are giving him another opportunity.”We have the England series at home coming up, and this Zimbabwe series is the test to see if he can still do the job,” de Mel said. “If we dropped him now, we can’t even look at him for the England series, so we’ll see how he does in this series. In terms of offspinners, there’s also no standout options aside from him.”Dilruwan will have left-arm orthodox spinner Lasith Embuldeniya and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan to compete with in the squad. On the fast bowling front, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando have all been picked, in addition to Lakmal.The first Test is set to start on January 19, and the second on January 27. Both matches are scheduled to be played in Harare.Sri Lanka Test squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya De Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal

Sri Lanka hire Steve Rixon as fielding coach

He will link up with the squad ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Christchurch, having signed a contract that will expire at the end of 2019 World Cup

Madushka Balasuriya08-Dec-2018Steve Rixon has been appointed Sri Lanka’s fielding coach in their lead-up to the 2019 World Cup, Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed. He will link up with the Sri Lanka squad on December 24, ahead of their second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.The move for a new fielding coach has long been mooted, with Sri Lanka head coach Chandika Hathurusingha having grown visibly frustrated at his team’s propensity to squander potentially match-winning opportunities on a nearly game-by-game basis.These frustrations were brought to a head during the recent home series against England, when the visiting side’s consistent game-changing excellence in the field only served to exacerbate Sri Lanka’s deficiencies.In Rixon, Sri Lanka have hired one of world cricket’s pre-eminent fielding specialists. He was most recently credited for Pakistan’s stark fielding improvements during his stint as fielding coach there, while prior to that he had worked as Australia’s assistant coach and also coached New Zealand – both stints coincided with the sides becoming among the best fielding outfits in the world.He has also coached domestic teams in Australia and sides in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League and the Indian Premier League.Rixon will officially take over duties ahead of the Boxing Day Test, having signed a contract that will expire at the end of 2019 World Cup in England.Outgoing fielding coach Manoj Abeywickrama will remain with national side for the duration of the first two Tests in New Zealand to oversee the transition, after which he will return home to take up a position in the Sri Lanka A set-up.

Cameron White's 165 floors Tasmania

Cameron White’s career-best 165 off 154 balls – among the ten highest scores in Australia’s 50-over domestic tournament – underpinned Victoria’s 111-run victory over Tasmania

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2017
ScorecardCameron White smashed 16 fours and six sixes during his 165•Getty Images

Cameron White’s career-best 165 off 154 balls – among the top ten highest scores in Australia’s 50-over domestic tournament – underpinned Victoria’s 111-run victory over Tasmania at the WACA. White’s 130-run stand for the first wicket with Marcus Harris, who contributed 75, set Victoria on the path to 325 for 6. Seamers Peter Siddle and Chris Tremain then claimed three wickets each to spark a Tasmania collapse and secure Victoria’s first win of the JLT Cup.After choosing to bat, Victoria raced to 124 for 0 in 22 overs. Andrew Fekete made the breakthrough in the next over when he had Harris caught by Charlie Wakim. White then combined with Travis Dean and added 87 in 14.1 overs, driving the side past 200. Dean and Will Pucovski fell in successive overs, but White went onto bring up his century off 120 balls. After reaching the landmark, he kicked into higher gear and smashed five sixes in six overs, before being dismissed off the penultimate ball of the innings. Fekete stood out with figures of 4 for 48 and was complemented by Jackson Bird who ended with 1 for 49. All the other Tasmania bowlers went at over six runs an over.In reply, Tasmania lost Ben Dunk and Alex Doolan to Siddle and fell to 21 for 2 at the start of the seventh over. Opener Ben McDermott (97) and captain George Bailey (52) then fashioned a recovery of sorts, adding 103 for the third wicket. However, from 124 for 2, Tasmania careened to 214 all out. McDermott and Bailey were the only batsmen to pass 20 in the chase. It was White who wrapped up the win when he bowled No. 11 Riley Meredith for 2.

'I was very shocked' – Joe Mennie

South Australia fast bowler Joe Mennie has expressed his surprise for being named in Australia’s ODI squad to tour South Africa later this month

Brydon Coverdale05-Sep-2016Six weeks ago, Joe Mennie was happily flying under the radar, much as he has for the past few years. A call-up for Australia A was exciting, but his attitude remained the same. “I’m not one for putting myself out there massively,” Mennie told ESPNcricinfo at the time. “I’m at the stage where not a lot of people, unless you really know cricket, know my name. I’m not too dissatisfied with that.”But that desire sat at odds with his other goal: to play for Australia. Now, that is about to become a reality for Mennie, who has been named in Australia’s ODI squad to tour South Africa later this month. His name will not only be known, but will be emblazoned on the back of an Australia shirt. It is a scenario that is yet to sink in for Mennie.”I was very shocked actually,” Mennie told reporters in Adelaide on Monday. “I got the call from [national selector] Rod Marsh and I didn’t know what to say, there was a bit of silence on both ends from us. It was something I didn’t see coming and something I’m very happy with and looking forward to.”Mennie is one of three uncapped fast bowlers picked in the ODI squad, along with his South Australia team-mate Daniel Worrall and Victoria’s Chris Tremain. All three having been performing well for Australia A over the past few weeks in Queensland, and with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood rested for the South Africa tour, space opened up for some fresh faces.Perhaps the most surprising thing for Mennie is that his chance has arrived in one-day cricket, which has not been his strongest format. Last summer in the Matador Cup, Mennie picked up seven wickets at 50.85 and conceded more than five an over, while he topped the wickets tally in the Sheffield Shield. However, he believes the call-up has come at the best possible time.”The body is feeling good, the ball is coming out the best it ever has, so from that point of view I’m hitting my straps pretty well and probably you’d say the form of my career,” Mennie said. “The last couple of years I’ve hit my straps and found my game. I was really happy to get the opportunity to represent Australia A and then to get the call-up for the one-day tournament coming up is very pleasing.”Although Mennie does not possess the sheer pace preferred by Australia’s selectors – he tends to operate around the 130kph mark – his consistency and accuracy have been key features of his game over the past few seasons. At least his record in South Africa is encouraging, if brief: five wickets at 14.60 for the Perth Scorchers during the 2012 Champions League T20.Stepping up to international cricket will be a different challenge for Mennie, who will find himself competing with Worrall, Tremain, John Hastings and Scott Boland for the positions as specialist fast men during the South African trip.”That’s the next test for me, going over and putting what I do well into practice in that next level,” Mennie said. “That’s where a lot of people come undone. That’s the next challenge for me. It’s about me performing and doing what I do.”