Stuart Broad put England A in a strong position as the second Test against Bangladesh A finally got underway at Bogra following the first-day washout. He claimed 3 for 54 as the home side struggled to 121 for 8 after being asked to bat in bowler-friendly conditions.When play started after lunch Broad struck without a run on the board when Jahirul Islam was bowled. Graham Onions continued his impressive form with two wickets and Tim Bresnan also chipped in with a brace.Bangladesh managed a small recovery late in the day with wicketkeeper Sahagir Hossain Pavel holding firm with an unbeaten 30.England’s captain Michael Yardy said his decision at the toss had been a simple one. “I had no hesitation in asking Bangladesh to bat,” he told ecb.co.uk. “The wicket had been under cover for two days and looked as near an English bowling wicket as we’re likely to get here.”Despite the loss of the entire first day, Yardy is still thinking in terms of a victory and a 2-0 series win. “If we could accelerate the game and make-up for the lost day, then we can win this match – and again we want to play positively, as in the first Test.”We’ve put ourselves in the driving seat now, especially if we can get the remaining wickets in the morning and look to bat through day three. It was a tremendous performance by our seamers to get us into that position.”

Steve Waugh has been named captain of Australia’s greatest ODI team at the celebration of one-day cricket in Sydney. The current leader Ricky Ponting took the vice-captaincy role and the No. 3 spot while Michael Bevan won the fight for the finisher’s position.However, there was no place for Allan Border, who led Australia to their first World Cup in 1987, or Michael Hussey, who averages 66.88 in 61 matches. The line-up was dominated by names which had carried Australia to consecutive World Cup titles.Bevan edged out Border and Hussey for the No. 6 spot while Dean Jones, who played in the successful 1987 side, was picked at No. 4 and followed by Waugh. The openers were Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist – neither Ian Healy nor Rod Marsh were in the short-list of 30 – and Andrew Symonds’ all-round skills won him a berth at seven while Greg Chappell was 12th man.The attack included the senior figure of Dennis Lillee, who took one of the three fast-bowling slots with Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee. Shane Warne, who has not played an ODI for Australia since 2003, was picked after being a central figure in the 1999 campaign. Overall the players had appeared in 2370 matches, scored 55,831 runs and taken 1532 wickets.

The naming of the squad showed how much Australia value the injured Lee and Symonds. Lee was ruled out with an ankle injury last week while Symonds continues to recover from surgery on his arm. Symonds will leave with the squad for the Caribbean on Wednesday after the current group’s official World Cup farewell at the celebration dinner.”There’s some great players who have missed out on the side and that’s always going to be the case,” Steve Waugh said. “Going across different eras, it’s almost impossible to pick the side.”I think everyone here feels very privileged to be picked, especially myself being captain. There’s a number of players that could have been sitting here in the side, Allan Border, a number of other players.”Australia’s 163 ODI representatives since 1971 were invited to vote for their best team, with about 80% casting their nominations. Approximately 120 of the players attended the function, which also recognised Border’s 1987 squad almost 20 years after the breakthrough triumph in India.Australia’s greatest ODI XI Adam Gilchrist (wk), Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Dean Jones, Steve Waugh (capt), Michael Bevan, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Greg Chappell (12th man).

Adrian Birrell, the Ireland coach, will look to his Australian-born captain Trent Johnston to fight fire with fire when the World Cup debutants clash with Ricky Ponting’s defending champions in Barbados on Friday. Johnston is one of three Australian-born players in the Ireland team.”What I look for most in a player is attitude,” Birrell said. “Obviously talent is important but I need to know that if we get into a scrap they’re there for you. Trent brought that.”He’s a fighter on the field. He leads on the field and he leads off the field. He leads in training. The guys needed to be pushed. You don’t get any glory without hard work. And we needed the hard work.”Jeremy Bray, the opening batsman, Dave Langford-Smith, the fast bowler, and Johnston are all Austalians who settled in Ireland after marrying Irish women. Birrell, who hands the reins over to Phil Simmons after the World Cup, is adamant that his coaching career will end on April 18 when Ireland play their last Super Eights match against Sri Lanka in Grenada.”I know my time in Ireland has been successful but somehow the judging of a coach at a top level is all about winning and losing and I sometimes feel disillusioned with that,” Birrell told the newspaper. “There’s more to cricket than just winning and losing.”I derive more satisfaction by getting success out of a young player. The top level also takes me away from my family. We’re not going to close the door on any big job. But my first priority is the family and I’ll have to make sure the family are okay before accepting any other job.”Right now any big job in world cricket involves a huge amount of travel and that’s just not on for me. I’ve probably taken it [the Ireland job] as far as I can take it. I think they’re capable of better and bigger things. With Phil’s experience he’s better placed than me to take them forward.”

Never mind what Brian Lara, Ken Gordon, Bennett King and their assortment of public relations specialists and agents have said, it matters not one iota whether Bangladesh were easily brushed aside yesterday or if England are hammered tomorrow in the last of the Super Eights matches.The fact that West Indies rallied from 8 for 2 to reach 230 for 5 against Bangladesh is almost inconsequential, except that Ramnaresh Sarwan’s unbeaten 91 reinforced his value as a batsman to complement what should now be his inevitable appointment as captain for the tour of England.All of the references to these two matches being important in getting back on track and shifting the focus to the next campaign are just so much repetitive rubbish. Go back to almost every series, home or away, in recent years and the mindless mantra has been the same. The impression is always created that things will be better next time around and that instead of harping on the negatives and moaning about the latest debacle, we should cast our eyes optimistically to the next challenge.Well, baseless optimism and the absence of real accountability has brought us right where we are: used, abused and humiliated under the whip of the ICC and their minions in the Local Organising Committee’s (LOCs), bundled out of what was laughingly described as “our” World Cup even before the last two Super Eights matches, a fractured, underperforming team, a technical staff incapable of insisting on any sort of standard, and an administration preoccupied with all sorts of silver-tongued public relations foolishness in the midst of almost irreversible decay.Here is the evidence on the field: no Test series victory anywhere in the world for the last three years; not a single Test match win since June 2005, since which time the West Indies have played 15 Tests; elimination in the first phase of the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, while getting to the second stage of the current tournament has only exposed us to more embarrassing whippings than were experienced in those two previous events combined.The saving grace has been the Champions Trophy, where the West Indies were champions in 2004 and beaten finalists last year, which merely reinforces that we have the talent to succeed, but lack the wherewithal to triumph in the extended contests and over the long haul. This has been the modern story of West Indies cricket. And the media and the fans are to blame for it? Give me a break. The blame would be that the media are too superficial in the analysis of issues, while the fans are so very desperate for success and so very willing to forgive this lot that they cling hopefully to an unfounded belief that, sooner rather than later, every little thing will be alright.We have passed this way many times in the last decade, but once again, here is the chance to make a fundamental change. Those who talk a good game, but deliver practically nothing, should do the decent thing and step aside.In hesitating over such apparently drastic action, we should consider for a moment the frequent cautionary advice that things will only get worse if a wholesale house-cleaning is undertaken. Worse than this? You can’t be serious.I had spoken about how change for change’s sake since 1995 has made no difference. Now, though, we should consider real change: not replacing one for another of like mind, but installing personnel who will abide by a code of conduct, on the field and off it, that rewards performance, commitment and integrity and is not compromised by expediency and convenience when it comes to dealing with those – in the dressing room or the boardroom – who make a habit of stepping out of line.

Dwayne Bravo is looking to put the advice he has received from Brian Lara to good use when the third Test against England gets under way at Old Trafford on Thursday. Lara could do nothing as his former team-mates slumped to a record innings and 283-run defeat in the second Test at Headingley.”Just last [Monday] night I was on the phone with Brian,” Bravo said. “He called me, having arrived in London. He is aware of everything that is going on. He still has a big interest in the team’s performance. At Lord’s [where West Indies drew the first Test] he was in the dressing room among the guys.”It is very nice to know that even after he called it a day he still has enough time to make himself available to the younger players. Brian has a special place in the heart of West Indian cricket and has a lot to offer still. Anything going wrong with our batters, whether it be Chris Gayle or Devon Smith, if he can’t get hold of them, he will pass it on to me.”West Indies technique against the swinging ball looked inadequate at Headingley where the cold conditions were far removed from those in the Caribbean, although they weren’t helped by being without Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. But Bravo, whose second-innings 52 at Headingley was a rare West Indies highlight, is hoping for better weather at Old Trafford, where three years ago he struck 77 and took six wickets in the first innings of a Test.”The weather is looking fine so far,” he said. “The pitch looks hard and that is our kind of cricket, where the ball is coming on to the bat and there is bounce for the fast bowlers.”

Kevin Pietersen has warned the hectic international cricket schedule and theprospect of impending fatherhood could cut short his England career.The 26-year old batsman is due to wed his pop star fiancée Jessica Taylor inDecember. But before then he is likely, if fit, to play in 11 Tests, the Twenty20World Cup in his native South Africa and several ODIs.So congested is England’s fixture list that they are due to fly to South Africa the dayafter their seventh ODI against India in September. “There is a lot of cricket being played these days and time will tell how fatherhood changes my attitude,” Pietersen, who would like to start a family, told July’s edition of the magazine.”I don’t like spending time away from my family, I don’t like it at all, especiallysince I met Jessica. All these future tours that just get chucked in here andthere, they don’t make me happy.”There are so many exciting things to look forward to in life other than cricketand I’ve changed a heck of a lot both as a person and a player.”However, he insisted he still had ambitions as a cricketer. “I’ve always said I want to be a great player – the best I can possibly be – and if that means I end up as one of the best players around then that’s just how it is.”A lot of people have criticised me for getting ahead of myself but it’s just my ambition. That’s the way I’ve been brought up, to challenge myself.”Pietersen, who scored a Test-best 226 in the second Test against West Indies at Headingley last month, is set to play in the the fourth and final Test of the series starting at Chester-le-Street on Friday.

The World Anti-Doping Agency have put pressure on the ICC to fully implement their code on doping offences, and say they are “looking forward” to their full co-operation in the fight against drugs in sport.WADA recently appealed against the reversals of the bans imposed on the Pakistani fast bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who were initially suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board for two years and one year respectively after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone.Their appeal, however, had to been turned down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who ruled “with considerable regret” that they had no jurisdiction in the case. Although the ICC adopted the WADA code on doping offences a year ago, they have not yet implemented it, and so there is no provision for any appeal against the PCB’s decision.A statement from WADA read: “While regretting the absence of jurisdiction of CAS in this specific case, WADA noted with satisfaction that the CAS panel considered the exoneration of the two cricketers by the PCB Appeals Committee as an “unsatisfactory” decision.”Point 8.8 of the CAS award states that ‘The panel reached this conclusion with some considerable regret. The fight against doping will be severely hampered if international federations, such as the International Cricket Council (ICC), and national governing bodies, such as the PCB, do not ensure that their anti-doping rules are able to avoid unsatisfactory decisions as the majority decision of the PCB Appeals Committee in this case.”That decision was inconsistent with a long and invariable line of CAS’ decisions which hold that it is the athlete’s duty to ensure that what he or she ingests does not contain a prohibited substance, and with the World Anti-Doping Code which is to the same effect’.”Furthermore, the panel stressed that ‘it is the responsibility of the ICC to ensure that its members promulgate anti-doping rules which are consistent with the World Anti-Doping Code and which enable either the ICC or its members or WADA to appeal against what might be termed as ‘rogue’ decisions’.”The ICC, in reply, acknowledged that “lessons had been learnt” from the experience, but stressed that the organisation remained committed to a “zero tolerance approach” to the used of banned substances in cricket. “We are working hard with our members to ensure a case like this does not happen again,” said Faisal Hasnain, the acting chief executive.”Since we became a WADA signatory in 2006, we have been striving to make sure cricket does not develop a major problem in this area,” added Hasnain. “I believe we are getting it right. The menace of drugs has been visited upon most sports over the years and cricket is no exception,. “The challenge for us is to make sure they do not become a major factor in our game and that everyone can continue to watch safe in the knowledge that they are viewing a fair contest between top athletes untainted by banned substances.”The ICC began implementing drugs tests at all of its major events in 2002, and to date no-one has yet tested positive during an ICC competition. “That is not to say we can be complacent – far from it,” said Hasnain. “We are engaged in a robust campaign to make sure all our Members become WADA-compliant by 2009 at the latest.” This date has been moved forward from an original deadline of 2010.

Scott Styris will finish his county season a week early after New Zealand became worried that a series of niggling injuries could harm his preparation for the Twenty20 World Championship. Styris has had problems with his lower back, knee and calf during his seven-week stint at Durham and will play his final game for the county against Hampshire this weekend.Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand team manager, said their priority was to ensure Styris was fit for the Twenty20 tournament in South Africa in September as well as the international season that follows. “In spite of having had a month off before taking up the contract, Scott has had a number of injury issues while with Durham,” Crocker said.”We have decided that he needs to return to New Zealand so we can begin working on his fitness and rehabilitation, ahead of our busy international season. While he is still able to play in a limited capacity, we feel that seeing out his contract to 31 July could potentially limit his chances of being fit for the ICC World Twenty20.”Styris also hurt his back last year while playing at Middlesex and he aggravated the problem at the Champions Trophy. That led to him missing the home series against Sri Lanka and the start of the CB Series, although when he returned he was in fine form and was New Zealand’s leading run-scorer at the World Cup.However, New Zealand gave him a clean bill of health leading into the 2007 county season and before Styris joined Durham Crocker said he had no concerns over the allrounder’s fitness. In his four first-class games so far this season he has struggled for form, scoring 191 runs at 23.87. Styris will have just over a month to prepare for the World Championship before New Zealand depart in the first week of September.

Scorecard

Pakistan Under-19 seized the advantage by reducing England Under-19 to 290 for 9 on the opening day of the second Test at the County Ground in Derby. Middlesex batsman Billy Godleman stood firm at one end and scored 115 but Pakistan’s bowlers pegged away at the other, taking seven wickets for 118 runs after England were 172 for 2 at one stage.Rory Hamilton-Brown’s decision to bat initially paid off as England’s openers, Godleman and Alex Wakely, added 95 for the first wicket. Rawalpindi fast-bowler Mohammad Aamer gave Pakistan the first breakthrough when he bowled Wakely for 43 and Mohammad Rameez soon had Adam Lyth caught behind with England on 107 for 2.Ben Wright and Godleman added 65 for the third wicket but Pakistan made inroads by dismissing Wright while Imad Wasim picked up the wickets of Hamilton-Brown and Ben Brown in quick succession to reduce England to 190 for 5. Rameez ended Godleman’s 249-ball innings which included 12 boundaries to put Pakistan on top.Wasim ended the day with 3 for 43, while Rameez and Azhar Attari took 2 for 81 and 2 for 44 respectively, to finish a satisfactory day for Pakistan after they had been routed by an innings and 58 runs in the first Test.

It’s been three years since England won a one-day series at home but the current batch, eager to put a seal on the trophy tomorrow, appear to be headed in just the right direction. It was against India that England last triumphed in a home one-day rubber, back in September 2004, but this unit seems genuinely capable of a one-day renaissance. It’s early days yet but the signs shouldn’t go unnoticed.Paul Collingwood is leading a young side that’s winning. Every member of this squad is likely to last till the next World Cup, something that doesn’t hold true with other international sides. Collingwood is the only member of the side who is above 30, yet he’s arguably the fittest of the lot.The youngest two members carried them to victory at Old Trafford. A few months back they couldn’t win a game, now they seem to possess all the riches. As if winning the series wasn’t good enough, England want to win the rest of the games. They’re talking of playing their best cricket from now on and have mentioned the word “ruthless” too often for comfort. Collingwood is talking of “miles to go”. Such greed.”To win three games so far is a good achievement but we’ve done nothing yet,” said Collingwood. “We’ve got one more game to win but we want to win the last three. I’ve said from the start as long as we are moving forward as a team I’m happy. But you always want to win. It would mean a lot for the confidence of the team, going forward into the Twenty20 [World Championship] and on to Sri Lanka.”Both teams are sweating over injury concerns to fast bowlers – Andrew Flintoff and Zaheer Khan are doubtful starters – who could be crucial in conditions which are likely to favour them. The weather is mostly chilly, with a stiff breeze blowing across the ground, and given the 10.15 am start, the early overcast conditions could play a part in the compositions of the side and the decision at the toss. If Dravid wins this one too, like he is done in his previous seven, there could be some serious investigation. He’s losing games but defying probability.India must be feeling like a football side that’s two goals down with a man sent off. Zaheer is unlikely to play, while his replacement, Munaf Patel, hasn’t hit full fitness. The law of averages suggests Ajit Agarkar will have a bad game – he’s had a good game just two days ago, remember – and RP Singh is on the wane. Dravid spoke about having their backs to the wall. It’s actually more like guns to their foreheads.A picture in the Headingley Long Room captures three of Yorkshire’s greatest batsman. There’s Herbert Sutcliffe, smiling eagerly from a wheelchair, flanked by Len Hutton and Geoffrey Boycott, kneeling on either side. They traverse three generations. Sutcliffe was born in 1894, Hutton in 1916 and Boycott in 1940. Between them they total 57 Test hundreds and 19,640 Test runs. Their feats at the first-class level were simply colossal.There’s another batsman, who also turned out for Yorkshire, whose feats surpass those of the trio. Sachin Tendulkar, who was Yorkshire’s first overseas pro back in 1992, returns to his English home. Four fifties in the last seven games point to his current form but it’s here and now, with India needing to win, that he’d want to stamp his authority.His opening partner, Sourav Ganguly was unwell and missed the practice session but is expected to walk out for his 300th one-dayer tomorrow. The two, the most prolific pair in one-day history, have 50 fifty-plus stands between them and a solid start, especially in demanding conditions, will be essential to get India away.Once they drew level at Bristol, India spoke about a five-match series. Now they can look forward to a three-match contest and if they end up losing the next two there’s always a one-off slug-out waiting for them at Lord’s.England (likely) 1 Matt Prior (wk), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Owais Shah, 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Chris Tremlett, 10 Monty Panesar, 11 James Anderson.India (likely) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Sourav Ganguly, 3 Rahul Dravid (capt), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Ajit Agarkar, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Ramesh Powar, 10 RP Singh, 11 Munaf Patel.