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Australia are to be denied the chance to have a look at Steven Finn ahead of the Ashes this winter

Cricinfo staff07-Jun-2010Australia are to be denied the chance to have a look at Steven Finn ahead of the Ashes this winter. He will have a break from cricket after playing a leading role with the ball in England’s 2-0 series win over Bangladesh and is set to undertake a strengthening programme similar to that performed by Stuart Broad. As such, he will not take part in domestic cricket or any of the ODIs ahead of England’s Test series against Pakistan.”Steven Finn has had an impressive start to the summer and will now undertake a strengthening programme similar to that recently undertaken by Stuart Broad,” said Geoff Miller, England’s national selector. “This will also rule Steven out of the NatWest Series against Australia and Bangladesh before his preparation for the npower Test series against Pakistan.”However, England coach Andy Flower insisted the move had nothing to do with hiding Finn ahead of the winter’s Ashes tour and preventing Australia make early notes about the tall quick bowler. “It does not have anything to do with Australia, or the Australian [ODI] series,” he said.”I would be very strong in the description that this is definitely not rest,” he added. “He will not be resting; he will be doing a very intensive strengthening programme. He is a young man that needs to develop more physically, and there is a window of opportunity to do that. The reason he is being pulled out of Twenty20 is he needs this in the same way Stuart Broad did.”It is the responsible thing to do for him personally and in the best interests, medium and long term, of the English cricket side.”Andrew Strauss and Graeme Swann are also going to be rested ahead of England’s upcoming one-day internationals against Scotland, Australia and Bangladesh and will be unavailable for any Friends Provident domestic Twenty20 games before their international engagements.Miller explained that while Twenty20 cricket gives the players the chance to switch from a Test to a limited-overs mindset, it is important to be mindful of regulating player workloads.”The coming rounds of the Friend’s Provident t20 matches are an ideal opportunity for several England players to switch their focus from Test cricket to limited-overs cricket as we look ahead to the forthcoming one-day International against Scotland and the NatWest Series against Australia and Bangladesh,” he said.”We must be mindful of the management of the players’ workload and their desire to play in what is a hugely exciting Twenty20 competition. Graeme Swann is in need of a well earned break and as a result won’t play any cricket during this period. We believe the best preparation for Andrew Strauss’s build up to the NatWest series does not involve the Friend’s Provident t20 fixtures and as such he won’t be available for these matches during this period.”James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, and Kevin Pietersen will have a week’s rest but will be available to play domestic Twenty20s from June 13. Alastair Cook will receive treatment for an ongoing back injury later this week before returning for Essex on the same date.”I feel for the counties when we make these decisions on players and pull them out of county games,” Flower said. “The directors of cricket and coaches and captains are under their own pressure with results.”When you pull their best players out of competitive matches it is quite a hit for them. I realise it requires a lot of understanding from them, and we very much appreciate it.”Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Matt Prior and Jonathan Trott will be available for all county fixtures until June 15. England play Scotland in Edinburgh on June 19 before five ODIs against Australia, starting on June 22, and three against Bangladesh.

Pakistan opening batsman Imran Nazir, who was omitted for the ICC World Twenty20 and the ongoing Asia Cup, has said his early initiation into international cricket, at the age of 17, has done more harm to his career than good

Cricinfo staff16-Jun-2010Pakistan opening batsman Imran Nazir, who was omitted for the ICC World Twenty20 and the ongoing Asia Cup, has said his early initiation into international cricket, at the age of 17, has done more harm to his career than good.Nazir made his Pakistan debut in 1999 as a dashing opening batsman and an electric fielder, but over the years he wasn’t able to cement his position in the Test and ODI side. Nazir was regarded more as a one-day specialist, but in his 79 ODIs so far has averaged only 24.61. He played the last of his eight Tests back in 2002.”The truth is I was not ready for international cricket at that time, my technique was faulty and I didn’t have the mental strength or understanding of the game,” Nazir told . “Now that I have began to understand how international cricket needs to be played I have been dropped from the national team.”Nazir’s international career came to a standstill in 2008 when he joined the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League along with several Pakistan players. He was among the leading performers for the Lahore Badshahs but his stint lasted just one season after he and the league’s players returned to the official fold.He made a comeback to the one-day squad during the tour of Sri Lanka last year, but in five ODIs since his return , he has scored only 111 runs, with no fifty. He scored a half-century in a Twenty20 against New Zealand in Dubai, but in the two-match Twenty20 series against England in the UAE, he scored just 2 and 4 and was dropped for the World Twenty20.His aggressive approach has often cost him his wicket, and Nazir has admitted that he needs to reassess his style of play.”I am a more mature batsman now and if I get a chance to play again for Pakistan I will play in sensible fashion and cement my place in the team,” Nazir said. “I am ready to curb my natural instincts to play again for Pakistan.”But now after a lot of ups and downs in 11 years of international cricket I realise a batsman with limited range of shots cannot survive. Plus your shot selection has to be sensible, you must have the patience to wait for the bad ball to hit, not try a slog every ball as I used to do previously.”The Pakistan selectors have, traditionally, blooded several young players in their teens, including Hasan Raza, who at 14 was the world’s youngest Test cricketer. Nazir feels it’s always beneficial to give a player a decent run in domestic cricket before rushing him.”I would say a player must be given time in domestic cricket before he is blooded in international cricket. Give him time to adjust and understand the game.”

Hosts Isle of Man and Italy moved to the top of their respective groups with their second successive victories of the tournament

Cricinfo staff28-Jul-2010Hosts Isle of Man registered their second win in as many games, with an authoritative 93-run win against Switzerland in Castletown. Openers Adam McAuley and Carl Wagstaffe were once again the architects for a good score, with a stand of 58 before the former was run out. Midhun Sandhya struck thrice in the middle overs, but had little impact on Ryan Burns who smashed 81 off 68 balls to take his side to 204 in the 40 overs. Captain Daniel Hawke then scuppered Switzerland’s hopes with a stifling spell of 3 for 9 in six overs. Harry Vines struck 41 as the innings meandered to 111 for 9.Italy’s bowlers set up an easy 60-run win against France in Castletown to take their side to the top of their group. Roshendra Abeywickrama kick-started Italy’s innings with 43 off 28 balls, but the rest of his side’s batsmen could not sustain the effort. Thomas Liddiard picked 4 for 46 in seven overs as Italy were bowled out for 155. Harpreet Singh then turned the tables on France with an incisive spell where he picked 4 for 15. France’s final score of 95 was an improvement of sorts, given they were 29 for 6 at one stage.Belgium brushed aside Greece’s challenge in quick time, racing to an eight-wicket win in a game that lasted under 40 overs in Tromode. Naman Parikh scythed through the Greek batting line-up with a six-wicket haul. Fraser McRae helped himself to three wickets as well, as Greece were shot out for 66. Things could have been much worse if not for Ioannis Vasilas and Georgio Kantas who scored 19 apiece. McRae followed it up with an unbeaten 45 as Belgium crossed the line in 16.1 overs.Germany ran Austria close in Crosby before losing by six runs in a tight encounter. Ciju Puthupally scored a patient 63 off 101 balls with only two boundaries as Austria laboured to 157 in their 40 overs. Jaskaran Singh and Tushar Marwaha picked three wickets each. Germany’s chase followed a similar template with opener Jaskaran scoring 55 off 83 balls, but without adequate support. Christoph Moslinger, Puthupally and Sohaib Farooq grabbed two wickets each as Germany lost one wicket too many, the last man departing off the penultimate ball with seven runs still required.

USA Women have qualified for next year’s Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifer with an emphatic nine-wicket win over Canada in the second game of the three-match series being played at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City

Cricinfo staff15-Jul-2010
ScorecardUSA Women have qualified for next year’s Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifer with an emphatic nine-wicket win over Canada in the second game of the three-match series being played at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City. Canada were bundled out for a paltry 135, before Monique Mathee’s 70 guided USA home easily.The Canada openers got off to a steady start, adding 33, before the seamers took control and they were backed by clever field placements. Canada lost three wickets for five runs and were struggling at one stage at 76 for 7. Doris Francis, the right-arm seamer, cut through the middle order with 3 for 16 off ten overs. The 16-year-old Mikaela Turik was the top scorer with 32 and she was supported by No.10 Helene Gaffney, who made a run-a-ball 27.USA lost just the one wicket and chased down the target at a steady pace. Mathee remained unbeaten on 70 with seven fours while Indomatie Goordial-John made 36.

An allocation of $65 million for grassroots funding is one of the salient features of an eight-year agreement between the New Zealand board, the players association and the six major domestic associations

Cricinfo staff30-Aug-2010The creation of a participation window for New Zealand cricketers in the IPL and the establishment of a players’ retirement fund are among the salient features of an eight-year agreement between the national board, the players association and the six major domestic associations.Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief, hailed the “ground-breaking” eight-year term of the deal that he said would provide stability to the country’s cricketing structure. “Through the eight years $65 million is guaranteed to fund grassroots cricket and a further $25 million is ring-fenced for NZC reserves. These elements underwrite the future of cricket in this country.”The long-term approach has allowed all parties to plan with certainty for the future and ensure that investment levels can be maintained into grassroots cricket. This is particularly important considering the significant changes we have seen to the shape of cricket in recent times,” Vaughan said.Heath Mills, executive manager of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association welcomed the partnership and said the new arrangement would help retain players for national duty. “The negotiating parties have worked hard to create an outcome which is good for cricket, good for players and secures the future of the game – and we believe we have achieved that,” he said.The agreement is arranged around a new financial model, with professional cricket assuming the risk to guarantee the funding to grassroots cricket and support functions, but also being incentivised to grow NZC’s financial return.

Key features of the new agreement:

• An eight-year term lasting through August 2018
• All calculations within the new agreement are based on an eight-year commercial revenue forecast for NZC of approximately $360 million
• $152 million will be guaranteed from professional cricket during the term of the new agreement to underpin the game at all levels in New Zealand, including:
  • $65 million of guaranteed funding to grassroots cricket (From 2002- 2010, approximately $40-45 million was invested in grassroots cricket)
  • The ring-fencing of $25 million to NZC reserves from the hosting of the 2015 World Cup
• A “risk and reward” model, whereby in return for providing certainly to amateur funding and absorbing any financial shortfall, the professional game then receives a far greater share of any revenues achieved above forecast
• Revenue generated above forecast will be split 65:35 in favour of the player pool for the first $60 million and 50:50 beyond that
• The provision of a player payment pool equating to 27% of NZC revenue in the first four years of the agreement and 28.1% in the second four years
• Contract retainers and match fees at international level remain the same as the last agreement in Year 1 and then increase by 2.5% per annum thereafter
• Contract retainers and match fees at domestic level increase modestly in Year 1 with contract retainers then increasing by 2.5% per annum, and match fees also increase modestly per annum
• The establishment of a retirement fund
• A partnership approach to the management of professional cricket, including the establishment of a Professional Cricket Advisory Board to advise on management of the professional cricket environment (while the parties continue to maintain their existing core decision-making rights and responsibilities)
• A clear participation window for New Zealand players to participate in the annual Indian Premier League if they secure contracts from participating teams
• An increase in the number of players contracted per team by Major Associations from 12 to 15 over the course of the first four years of the agreement
• The introduction of a contract elevation system whereby players who do not have contracts at international or domestic level will be able to earn a contract once they’ve played a certain number of matches at the respective level

Chennai have the bragging rights after winning this year’s IPL, but Bangalore can have something to boast about if they upstage MS Dhoni’s men on Friday

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran23-Sep-2010

Match facts

Friday, September 24
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)Michael Hussey and M Vijay have given Chennai two solid starts in two matches•AFP

Big Picture

The Champions League Twenty20 may not have the massive following that its more glamorous sibling, the IPL, has but it is clear the players consider it an important tournament. Several incidents highlighted how desperate they are to win it: the dejection on Virat Kohli’s face as he sat on his haunches mid-pitch in Durban after a revelatory innings which nearly pulled off a heist against Mumbai Indians; and the ever-smiling Muttiah Muralitharan’s broadside at S Badrinath for a less-than-perfect piece of fielding when Warriors were threatening to dump Chennai Super Kings out of the competition.Perhaps the people happiest with the results over the two days will be the organisers, with two of the IPL teams making it through to the semi-finals and one of them guaranteed a place in the final, ensuring a higher number of eye-balls than if non-Indian teams had qualified.Chennai have the bragging rights after winning this year’s IPL, but Royal Challengers Bangalore can have something to boast about if they upstage MS Dhoni’s men on Friday. The two sides have already met in the semi-final of a tournament in South Africa – in the 2009 IPL, when Bangalore eased to a six-wicket victory.Both have had stop-start league phases, but they will take heart from the fact that their best seasons in the IPL also came after campaigns that started off poorly. Both possess formidable batting line-ups, and their main difference lies in the nature of their bowling attack – Chennai have plenty of spinners, while Bangalore rely heavily on quick bowlers.The two sides also missed key South African allrounders in their final league matches – Jacques Kallis is out of the tournament with a neck injury, while Albie Morkel has been out for two matches due to an illness. Kallis’ absence has upset Bangalore’s balance, and Chennai will have even more of an advantage if Morkel recovers from his illness in time.The overall head-to-head record – Bangalore winning four to Chennai’s three – shows how competitive the rivalry between the two sides has been. Friday’s semi-final promises to live up to that.

Team news

Chennai packed their bowling with spinners for their match against Warriors in Port Elizabeth, but that strategy might not work in Durban where the track has been less helpful for the slow bowlers. That means they might consider picking one of either L Balaji or Joginder Sharma in place of Shadab Jakati.Chennai Super Kings (probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Michael Hussey, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 6 S Anirudha, 7 Albie Morkel / Justin Kemp, 8 Doug Bollinger, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 L Balaji/ Joginder Sharma.Bangalore are unlikely to make too many changes to their line-up that beat Lions on Tuesday. That they have only one recognised spinner in Anil Kumble is a drawback. They do have Cameron White in the line-up, who once played as a specialist Test legspinner, but he has bowled only one over in Twenty20s in his previous 37 matches.Royal Challengers Bangalore: (probable) 1 Manish Pandey, 2 Rahul Dravid, 3 Robin Uthappa (wk), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Cameron White, 6 Virat Kohli, 7 Dillon du Preez, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Anil Kumble (capt), 11 R Vinay Kumar

Watch out for …

Ross Taylor was a part of three teams which qualified for the Champions League, but he hasn’t yet shown the form that has made him such a coveted Twenty20 player. The semi-final presents a chance for the world’s leading six-hitter in Twenty20s to make the impact expected of him.Another big-name player who has had a quiet tournament so far is Dhoni. A late onslaught against Warriors showed glimpses of what he is capable of, but Chennai will be hoping for more from their captain on Friday.

Key contests

Murali v Bangalore middle-order The constricting spin of Murali, bowling from around the stumps and choking the batsman for room, has been effective all tournament. Bangalore, though, possess a bunch of lethal hitters in the middle-order who could prove hard to contain.Kumars v Chennai openers M Vijay and Michael Hussey have provided Chennai with solid starts in both the matches they have opened together, giving the likes of Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni the license to go for the big hits. Vinay Kumar and Praveen Kumar could face a stern test.

Quotes

“Your plans have to be very fluid in this format.”
“The spinners have done the job for us so far. Hopefully, on the Durban pitch, the fast bowlers will do well for the team.”
MS Dhoni

A round-up of the second day of the second round of matches in Division 2 of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2010Abbottabad held the advantage against Lahore Shalimar at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium after a career-best 7 for 70 by fast bowler Ahmed Jamal gave his team a 62-run lead. The Abbottabad batsmen then finished at 90 for 4 at stumps to extend the lead with enough resources still available to build it towards something substantial. Lahore had started the day on the back foot, at 9 for 2, and things quickly worsened with Jamal tearing through the line-up to reduce them to 42 for 7. But there was a resistance; Saad Nasim and Aamer Hayat struck half-centuries under pressure and put together a 122-run stand to rescue their team, which was eventually bowled out for 184. In the second innings, it was Fawad Khan, unbeaten on 43, who guided the innings amid the loss of four wickets and pushed the lead to 156 with six wickets still in hand.Khan Research Laboratories took control of their contest against Hyderabad, who are playing at the Niaz Stadium, their home ground. KRL began the day on 261 for 7 and folded for 291, with left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti finishing with a career-best 6 for 73. But his batsmen failed to put up a competitive response, as none managed to score a half-century while seamers Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Irfan, both of whom have played for Pakistan, shared five wickets between them. Lal Kumar top-scored with 46 but was short of support from the rest and Hyderabad were bowled out for 167, conceding a lead of 124. In their second innings, KRL have begun well, with the openers adding 43 and still unbeaten.Karachi Whites dominated Quetta for the second successive day at the National Stadium in Karachi. Their batsmen, led by wicketkeeper Mohammad Hasan who reached his maiden first-class century, piled up 520 for 6. Karachi lost the other centurion, Wajihuddin, who had reached three-figures on the first day, and overnight batsman Asim Kamal in quick succession. But Hasan, with Mohammad Waqas, who hit a half-century, added 132 runs for the sixth wicket to ensure their team, barring a miracle, would not lose the game.Lahore Ravi surged ahead of Pakistan Television on the second day at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Solid top-order contributions and an unbeaten 87 by Asif Raza at No.7, who led his team’s recovery from 172 for 5, took Lahore to 329 for 7 at stumps, a lead of 174. The start to the day was encouraging for Lahore with opener Mohammad Saad and Fahad-ul-Haq adding 139 for the second wicket, promising to take their team towards a strong lead. But the seam duo of Saad Altaf and Zahoor Khan bagged the next four wickets for just 32. The scare, though, was cast aside by Raza and captain Sheraz Butt, who struck one of 50-plus scores in the innings, to add 97 for the sixth wicket in a potentially decisive stand.State Bank of Pakistan and Peshawar finished things even at the end of the second day at the Sports Complex in Mardan. Starting the day on 283 for 4, SBP would have been disappointed at being bowled out for 376. Adnan Raees, on 94 at the end of the opening day, reached his century, his ninth in first-class cricket, but was eventually dismissed for 122. But there was not much support for the innings from the lower order, as the last five wickets fell for 28. Medium-pacer Riaz Afridi, who has played one Test for Pakistan, bagged his 14th haul of five or four wickets. Peshawar, in their reply, lost two early wickets but were steadied by Naved Khan, who, unbeaten on 63, steered his team for 141 for 4 at stumps. He was supported by Ashfaq Ahmed in an unfinished 34-run stand.

Tasmania jumped to a 10-point lead on the one-day table with a convincing five-wicket win over Queensland in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2010Tasmania 5 for 168 (Paine 71, Bailey 51) beat Queensland 9 for 167 by 5 wickets

ScorecardTim Paine, who spent the off-season with the national team, steered Tasmania with 71•Getty Images

Tasmania jumped to a 10-point lead on the one-day table with a convincing five-wicket win over Queensland in Hobart. The Bulls were dismissed for 75 and 96 in the Sheffield Shield last week and continued to have trouble with the bat, struggling to 9 for 167 in 45 overs.Only having the best Nos 10 and 11 in the game helped the Bulls get to the end of the innings, with Chris Hartley (27) and Ryan Harris (13) putting on an unbeaten 40 for the final wicket. The visitors had packed their batting line-up but were undone by Brendan Drew (4 for 38) and Gerard Denton (3 for 47).Tim Paine, who did so well for Australia in the off-season, set up Tasmania’s chase with a brisk 71 and George Bailey added 51. James Hopes and Luke Feldman picked up two wickets each but the hosts reached the target in the 32nd over. The Tigers moved to 21 points after five games, 10 ahead of Victoria and New South Wales.

Andrew Strauss’s first senior hundred in Australia ensured that England began their Ashes campaign with a win against Western Australia, but he chose to focus on the achievements of his bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2010Andrew Strauss’s first senior hundred in Australia ensured that England began their Ashes campaign with a win against Western Australia, but he chose to focus on the achievements of his bowlers in getting the team back into the game after their opponents had started the day in the strong position of 1 for 109.”We’re very pleased, especially because of the position of the game at start of play,” he said. “It was looking like a tough ask to force a result from there. But we had two choices. We could have come here and gone through the motions today – but what we did was come in and hit the ground running.”Steven Finn’s early dismissal of Michael Swart exposed Western Australia’s middle order and sparked their collapse to Graeme Swann’s spin and Stuart Broad’s seam, and Strauss credited the young bowler’s turnaround after he had struggled to find the right length in the first innings.”Steven bowled an outstanding spell right from the start, and we got some momentum. We’re delighted with the way the bowlers bowled, and it was a good effort from the batters to chase down that score. Steven was rusty in the first innings, but got better as it went on.”Anderson and Broad were spot on in that first innings, but Finny really set the tone today. He was consistent length-wise and caused all the batsmen some trouble. That was really encouraging, as was the way the bowlers bowled in partnerships and applied pressure. That’s what you’ve got to do out here.”At one stage of their second-innings capitulation, Western Australia lost four wickets for 12 runs and one of those dismissals – that of captain Marcus North – arrived via an inspired piece of fielding from Eoin Morgan. Morgan had only been on the field for one over so that Strauss could take a bathroom break, and the England captain joked after the game: “I was in the loo actually. It was an inspired bit of captaincy on my part.”Even more inspired was Strauss’s aggressive ton, as he did more than simply anchor England’s pursuit of 243 in 52 overs. Strauss insisted that time at the crease was vital to his batsmen’s acclimatisation, but conceded that they were likely to face much sterner challenges from Australia’s Test attack.”It’s important we play well and win as many of these games as possible. It’s also important that batsmen get used to the conditions. The best way to do that is by spending a lot of time in the middle. It was satisfying to get a hundred and see the guys home. But I’m sure there are sterner tests ahead. It’s always good to get runs early in the tour, but it doesn’t count for anything come the first Test match.”Strauss was particularly pleased with England’s increasing intensity in the field as the match wore on. “None of us have played any cricket for a few weeks,” he added. “In the first innings, I thought we got stuck in net mode a little bit and probably didn’t react as well to the conditions as we could have done.”We were better second time round, and I hope we should get better with every innings we play. These conditions are different to England, so your shot selection has to be slightly different and the balls you score off are slightly different. There are times you’ve got to be patient, probably more so than in England.”

A lack of mental toughness and an inability to deal with high-pressure situations are Zimbabwe’s major weaknesses, according to their batting coach Grant Flower

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2010A lack of mental toughness and an inability to deal with high-pressure situations are Zimbabwe’s major weaknesses, according to their batting coach Grant Flower. Flower, who made a brief comeback to international cricket during a tour to South Africa in October, accompanied the team to Bangladesh on his first overseas tour since taking up the coaching role.Zimbabwe won the first one-day international at Mirpur by nine runs but then capitulated against Bangladesh’s left-arm spinners to slip to a 3-1 series defeat. Abdur Razzak was the chief destroyer, picking up 13 wickets – including a haul of 5 for 30 in the second game.”Look, there are guys who have played a lot of cricket in this team,” Flower told . “There’s no longer any excuse of inexperience. I think the guys need to toughen up a bit. They need to deal with the pressure a lot better. Look, it’s a balance between technique and the mental side. I think it’s the mental aspect we need to work on.”Flower added that Zimbabwe’s success at the World Cup, which begins in February, will depend upon their ability to adapt to what are likely to be similarly spin-friendly pitches in India and Sri Lanka. As well as a pre-tournament trip to Dubai in order to acclimatise to subcontinental conditions, Flower suggested that wickets suited to slow bowlers would be prepared in Zimbabwe’s domestic season, which is currently underway.”When our domestic season resumes in January, we will try to practice on turning wickets,” he said. “We will prepare turning wickets in our local competitions. We are also going to have a training camp in Dubai for 10 days in early February before the World Cup. Hopefully we will have conditions similar to India and Sri Lanka.”Flower also said that he was looking forward to working with Brian Lara, who has agreed to a batting consultancy contract and will work with the national side ahead of the World Cup and a tabled return to Test cricket in a home series against Bangladesh in May next year.”I have never worked with him before so I’m looking forward to it. He is one of the world’s best batsmen, but it doesn’t mean he will be the best coach. I might learn something from him. I hope I will.”