Australia aim to keep that winning feeling

The series opener wasn't the close contest that many people expected from a West Indies outfit that challenged Australia during the Tests. The absence of Dwayne Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and others was noticeable although there were some positive signs from the young allrounder Kieron Pollard. It's worth remembering that West Indies began their Test tour with a dismal performance at the Gabba, where they were beaten inside three days, before they lifted significantly for the rest of the series. For that to happen in the one-dayers, they need not only their captain Chris Gayle to lead from the front but also several of the newer players like Pollard, Kemar Roach and Lendl Simmons to play important roles.

For Australia, the 113-run victory in Melbourne has heightened their resolve to go through the summer undefeated, an aim that Shane Watson said was laid out by Ricky Ponting at the start of the season. They believe they have worked out Gayle's weakness - cramping him and giving him no width early in his innings - and they know he is the key to a successful West Indies. Like the visitors, Australia are without some of their best one-day players including Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken but the depth in their fast-bowling ranks has been very impressive. Ryan Harris has taken 16 wickets in four ODIs this season, Doug Bollinger has troubled Gayle and Clint McKay couldn't even squeeze into the XI in Melbourne having been Man of the Match in the previous game.

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Kieron Pollard knows the Adelaide Oval well. It was his home ground during December and January when he played with South Australia in the Big Bash. Pollard was the tournament's leading run scorer and two of his best three scores came in Adelaide. He can also bowl a bit, as he showed at the MCG with 3 for 45, and his maturity impressed his captain Gayle. The more Pollard can resemble Bravo, the better the chance of a West Indies win.

Questions have been raised over Michael Clarke's value as a Twenty20 batsman but his importance to Australia's one-day international setup is not in doubt. He may not provide Shane Watson- or Cameron White-like thrills but his anchoring role in the middle order has been one of the reasons Australia have won 21 of their past 25 ODIs. The long straight boundaries at Adelaide Oval allow him to tick the score over relatively risk-free, as he did with 80 including only three boundaries against Pakistan on Australia Day. Of the current crop of Australians, none has scored more ODI runs in Adelaide than Clarke.

Team news

Deciding which bowler to leave out was more troubling for Australia's selectors than worrying about who to include at the MCG, such has been the success of the attack this summer. McKay was desperately unlucky not to play and might miss out again given the usual reluctance to change a winning line-up, especially one that won so easily.

Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Ryan Harris, 11 Doug Bollinger.

Gayle was happy with his bowlers at the MCG but he was concerned by the batting. If West Indies wish to make any changes to the top order, Wavell Hinds and Brendan Nash are the two men who could come in. Nash's game isn't especially suited to limited-overs, so the most likely scenario would be including Hinds for his first international match since 2006, having been ineligible for the past couple of years due to signing as a Kolpak player in county cricket. Runako Morton could be vulnerable after he looked very rusty at the MCG, struggling to react quickly enough against bowling that was only mid-130kph and scratching his way to 3 from 15 balls.

West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Wavell Hinds, 3 Travis Dowlin, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Narsingh Deonarine, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Dwayne Smith, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach.

Pitch and conditions

Australia had no trouble posting nearly 300 in Adelaide on Australia Day and there is no reason to expect a low-scoring encounter this time. The forecast for Tuesday is for a hot and humid day with temperatures reaching 36C.

Stats and trivia

* West Indies haven't beaten Australia in an Adelaide ODI since 1986-87. Australia have won the three games since then

* When Denesh Ramdin caught Michael Hussey at the MCG he became the third West Indies wicketkeeper to take 100 ODI dismissals. He got there in his 68th match, much quicker than Jeff Dujon (80 games) but slower than Ridley Jacobs (61)

* The Australians who triumphed at the MCG have played a combined tally of 1007 one-day internationals, nearly double the West Indies' mark of 511 games

Quotes

"We'll take Adelaide as Adelaide and then we'll go from there but an unbeaten summer, that would be great."

Doug Bollinger

"We did well with the ball [in Melbourne] but my worry is always with our batting."

Chris Gayle

Donald keen on England role

Allan Donald is set to put himself forward as England's new bowling coach following the departure of Ottis Gibson to West Indies. Donald previously held the role briefly in 2007 before his family situation forced him to turn down the full-time position, but he is now ready to return to the international scene.

"If I make contact with the ECB I would be throwing my name in the hat. I've not had any official contact with the ECB." Donald told Sky Sports News. "In 2007 I really enjoyed the time I spent with the team. It was an environment I enjoyed being in, working with elite cricketers, and obviously I would be silly not to consider the position. I would think it over, it's a great challenge for any coach at this level."

After declining the England job in 2007, which led the ECB to Gibson, Donald returned to Warwickshire as their bowling coach but at the end of the 2009 season went home to South Africa after his young son suffered health problems. Donald has worked in the media in recent months, but is clearly eager to return to hands-on duties.

"My young boy went through a tough time and I had to abort that immediately," he said. "At the moment he's fine and I'm just about ready to get back into it full time."

Last month Donald was linked with the bowling coach position for India but the role went to the former South Africa coach Eric Simons. With the recent upheaval in South African cricket, following the departure of Mickey Arthur, there could be an opening for Donald on home soil in the coming months.

Vincent Barnes, the current South Africa bowling coach, is rumoured to be set to leave after the current India tour, however a role with England would come with greater financial reward and Donald is excited by the potential of a developing side.

"You can see that Ottis has worked very hard," he said. "There's a lot of discipline and hardness in the attack and you can see the skills he has implemented. [James] Anderson has become a quality bowler so has [Stuart] Broad and they are set for some big things. Not only the bowling unit, but the team itself is also becoming a solid one."

Source:cricinfo

Daily Cricket News Briefing Latest Cricket News Rohit called up as cover for Laxman

The Indian selectors have called up Rohit Sharma to the squad for the first Test against South Africa as cover for VVS Laxman. Laxman hasn't fully recovered from the finger injury he sustained while fielding during the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong last month.

Captaining the Indian Board President's XI in the tour game against the South Africans, Rohit managed just 20 but was delighted with his selection. "It feels good that I've been asked to stay back...Bahut hi achcha lag raha hai (I'm feeling great)," he told the Kolkata-based Telegraph.

This is the first time Rohit is part of the Test squad since the 2008 visit to Sri Lanka. He was in fine form during the Ranji Trophy this season, making 527 at 87.83, including a highest of 309* against Gujarat.

Meanwhile, Laxman skipped the team's fielding practice on Wednesday afternoon, but did have a bat at the nets.

India will be sweating over the injuries that have dogged the side of late - key batsmen Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and fast bowler Sreesanth have already been ruled out of this match.

Captain MS Dhoni, though, looked to have recovered fully from the back spasms which forced him to miss the Chittagong Test. "One can't have any control over injuries. Obviously, we'll miss Dravid. It's like a captain having no control at all over the toss."

Source:cricinfo

Last chance for Pakistan

Big Picture

Finally Pakistan's drawn out, controversial and currently win-less tour comes to an end. At the start of the summer they were a chance of challenging Australia in the Test series. Then they were determined to topple them with a band of reinforcements in the one-day series. After losing eight internationals in a row, this is the last opportunity to do something successful.

The good news is the tourists are the World Twenty20 champions after their triumph in England last year and they have won their past seven games in this genre. However, they will be without their captain Shahid Afridi, who was so hungry in the final ODI in Perth that he chomped on the ball. After admitting to tampering, he will miss two Twenty20s before being allowed back. That leaves Shoaib Malik in charge as the third leader of the trip.

Australia should be confident given their form this season, but this is their weakest format and they have won only 11 of their 24 internationals. Michael Clarke is captain full-time after Ricky Ponting's T20 retirement, but already there have been calls for Cameron White to have the top job given Clarke's apparent unsuitability to the game.

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Umar Gul didn't have much fun in the one-day series and hasn't played since delivering a nine-ball over that cost 23 in Adelaide. Those numbers should be ignored by the selectors because Gul is a Twenty20 master. He is the most successful bowler in the world in this format, with 39 wickets at 11.58 in 23 games.

Steven Smith is a batsman-legspinner who is most exciting for his brutal shot-making. Only 20, Smith has immense power and has quickly proved he is ready for international action, although the rise may have come a little too quickly for his bowling. He had limited opportunities in the Big Bash with the bat, but took seven wickets at 10.28 in five games and has 310 runs and nine victims in seven one-day domestic contests.

Team news

Australia have some strong fast bowlers to choose from, with Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes jostling for three spots. There is also competition at the top of the order with Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh and David Warner all preferring to walk out first.

Australia squad Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, David Warner, Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, Travis Birt, David Hussey, Steven Smith, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait.

Pakistan have to tinker to fill the various roles of Afridi and are also without Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, who don't play Twenty20s. There are still 15 players with the squad so the touring selectors have plenty of options.

Pakistan squad Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal (wk), Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Khalid Latif, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Imran Farhat, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Saeed Ajmal, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Mohammad Aamer.

Pitch and conditions

The surface in Melbourne is usually hard work for everyone in the longer forms of the game, but that can often be overcome in Twenty20s. The weather might also be tricky, with rain predicted in the morning before easing to isolated showers.

Stats and trivia

* Australia have lost both times they have faced Pakistan in Twenty20s

* Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal have played 27 T20 internationals, four behind the leader Brendon McCullum, while Australia's most experienced men are Michael Clarke and Nathan Bracken, who is not in the squad, on 19.

* Australia haven't completed a T20 game since their first-round exit at the World Twenty20 in June. Their two games against England in September were wash outs.

* The MCG has hosted two of these internationals, with Australia winning each time

Quotes

"We have to win this game. We are professionals and not [just] looking forward to us going back to our country after 100 days. We're just concentrating on tomorrow's match."

Shoaib Malik, Pakistan's stand-in captain

"They're the best team in the world at this format of the game. We'll have to play exceptionally well again to beat them."

Cameron White, Australia's vice-captain

Malik named captain to keep stability

Shoaib Malik will captain both Twenty20 internationals against England in Dubai later this month despite the return of regular captain Shahid Afridi because the board does not want to change leaders in the middle of tours.

Malik led Pakistan in the Melbourne Twenty20 against Australia last week, after Afridi was banned for two matches for tampering with the ball during the last ODI against Australia in Perth. That ban means Afridi will also miss the first game against England, on February 19, though he returns for the second game the following evening.

But because the tour is so short, the PCB has decided against changing the captaincy and keeping Malik in charge. There has been speculation since Afridi was caught on TV biting the ball repeatedly that his future as the format's captain is in doubt. Malik, Pakistan's captain in all three formats as recently as last year, is being talked about as a candidate again but Wasim Bari, the board's chief operating officer, played down such notions.

"It is not a good idea to have one captain in one match and another in the next," he told Cricinfo. "There is no point in doing it match to match so we decided, as it is a short tour, to just keep Malik as captain for both games. Afridi is our captain in the format. Had there not been a ban, there would not have been a problem."

Incidentally, Malik is reunited as captain with Yawar Saeed, who accompanies the side as manager once again. Exactly one year ago today Saeed was part responsible for a series report in which he wrote that Malik was a "loner" and "aloof" and that he should be replaced by Younis Khan as captain.

Of equal significance is the absence of Intikhab Alam, Pakistan's coach, from the squad and his future with the side. Most often the public face of Pakistan in defeat, Intikhab has come in for increasingly heavy criticism after the Australian tour. He is due to appear before a board inquiry committee later this week and Ijaz Ahmed, coach of the Under-19 side and who will alredy be in Dubai as head of the A side, will join the senior squad as a batting and fielding coach. Perhaps tellingly, Bari refused to be drawn over Intikhab's future.

"There is no word yet on Intikhab's future. There is an inquiry being held at the moment and subsequently it will be decided. Ijaz is not the coach but the batting and fielding coach for the side there," Bari said. "Daniel Vettori and New Zealand also toured without a coach and it has happened before so it is not so unusual."

Harris And Hauritz Set Up 113-Win For Australia

Australia 256-8 (Watson 59, Ponting 49) beat
West Indies 143 (Harris 3-24, Hauritz 3-28) by 113 runs
Scorecard
First One-Day International, Melbourne

Ryan Harris and Nathan Hauritz both returned three wickets during Australia's thumping 113-run win over the West Indies in the first One-Day International in Melbourne.

Shane Watson stroked 59 and Ricky Ponting 49 as Australia posted 256 for eight batting first and in reply the tourists were blown away, dismissed for 143 in just 34.2 overs.

Watson faced 74 balls and Ponting 61 and althought they were the only two players to pass 40, enough batsmen got starts to set the West Indies a tough target despite Kieron Pollard impressing with three for 45, dismissing Ponting, Michael Clarke (18) and Brad Haddin (8).

In reply, the West Indies were quickly in trouble when they slipped to 12 for three, losing the wickets of Chris Gayle (7), Runako Morton (3) and Travis Dowlin (1) to the new-ball burst from Doug Bollinger (2-18) and Harris (3-24).

Lendl Simmons made 29 and Pollard 31 as the West Indies tried desperately to rebuild but they continued to lose wickets as they fell further behind the required run rate.

Harris added the wickets of Denesh Ramdin (7) and Nikita Miller (4) to his earlier dismissal of Morton while off-spinner Hauritz dismissed Pollard, Dwayne Smith (7) and Ravi Rampaul (3).

The second of five matches is in Sydney on 9th February.

Taylor Blasts New Zealand To Easy Victory

New Zealand 185-5 (Taylor 78) beat
Bangladesh 183-8 (Mushfiqur Rahim 86, Butler 3-43) by five wickets
Scorecard
Second One-Day International, Dunedin

Ross Taylor blasted 78 in just 51 balls to help New Zealand seal their One-Day International series against Bangladesh with a comprehensive five-wicket win in Dunedin.

Bangladesh were restricted to 183 for eight, Mushfiqur Rahim's 86 helping them recover from 25 for five and in reply, Taylor smacked six fours and five sixes to guide New Zealand home in just 27.3 overs.

Andy McKay (2-17), Daryl Tuffey (1-55) and Ian Butler (3-43) combined to rip out the top five Bangladeshi batsmen in just 12.2 overs and the tourists were quickly 46 for six when Mahmudullah was run out by Martin Guptill.

Rahim then put on 101 with Naeem Islam (43), hitting eight fours and three sixes in 107 balls to ensure that Bangladesh at least used up their full quota of overs before Shahadat Hossain thumped 16 in seven balls at the death.

That was a taster of what was to come when Taylor reached the crease in the tenth over following the dismissals of Brendon McCullum (9) and Peter Ingram (28) and the big-hitting right-hander took the game away from Bangladesh with some aggressive batting, backed up by 32 from Guptill and an unbeaten 20 from James Franklin.

Pacer Shafiul Islam impressed once again by taking three for 49 and Rubel Hossain returned two for 68 but they were completely outclassed for the third time in the tour after they were thrashed in the Twenty20 International and opening ODI.

The third and final ODI is in Christchurch on 11th February.