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Australian allrounder returns to Edgbaston after missing 2023 tournament through injury

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2024Ellyse Perry will captain Birmingham Phoenix in the Women’s Hundred this season, taking up the role she was set to fulfil last summer before being ruled out through injury.The allrounder has played just one season of the Hundred, in 2022, scoring 134 runs in six matches. Phoenix’s plans to build a team around her in 2023 were scuppered when Cricket Australia ruled Perry out after she damaged her left knee in a preceding ODI series against Ireland.Eve Jones deputised as captain, but Phoenix failed to win a match, losing seven out of eight to finish bottom of the table. Perry and fellow overseas star Sophie Devine were among seven players retained by Phoenix in March’s draft.Related

• Jason Roy goes unselected as West Indian power-hitters dominate Men's Hundred draft

• ECB secures counties agreement on Hundred 'direction of travel'

• Mark Nicholas steps down from Southern Brave board ahead of MCC executive role

Perry’s return to Edgbaston is as much a boost for the Hundred as for her team. The 33-year-old is one of the most high-profile players in the sport with 314 caps for her country across an international career in its 18th year.She was the leading run-scorer in this season’s WPL, scoring 347 runs at 69.40 while also taking seven wickets for eventual winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Perry also has a wealth of leadership experience with Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League, where she became the first player to captain 100 WBBL matches.”I’m incredibly honoured to be named Birmingham Phoenix captain,” Perry said. “It is a wonderful club which means a lot to me. It was really disappointing to miss out on joining the group last season so I’m really excited to be back this year.”I’m looking forward to joining the whole playing squad, both our existing and new players to work towards a really successful season for the Phoenix.”Elsewhere, defending women’s champions Southern Brave have announced Georgia Adams as their new captain following Anya Shrubsole’s retirement. Shrubsole signed off by helping Brave break their duck as losing finalists in the first two editions, thanks in part to Adams, who led the competition with 16 wickets.Adams is captain of Southern Vipers, the domestic women’s side who are also based at the Utilita Bowl. Last year, she achieved the double of winning the 50-over Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Twenty20 Charlotte Edwards Cup.”It’s a privilege to be taking over from Anya who was an amazing captain and someone the whole team looked up to,” Adams said. “I’m super excited to get going and really looking forward to leading a fantastic group of players and trying to defend the trophy.”Brave also confirmed James Vince will continue to lead their side in the Men’s Hundred, having guided the team to success in the inaugural 2021 season.

The legspinner believed he was a strong chance of being included on the back of his white-ball exploits

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-20230:43

Zampa on missing India tour: Was told it was one of the toughest calls to make

Adam Zampa will reassess his future in red-ball cricket after being left “flat” by his omission from the Australia Test squad to tour India next month.Zampa had been told he was a strong chance of making the trip but the selectors opted to retain Mitchell Swepson as the legspinner after he toured Pakistan and Sri Lanka last year.Zampa played his first first-class match in three years when he appeared for New South Wales against Victoria in early December where he claimed three wickets. However, he also believed his white-ball international record would hold him in good stead despite an underwhelming first-class return where he averages 47.90.Related

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• Scans confirm Handscomb hip injury

“I’m very disappointed. I would have loved to have been on it,” Zampa said. “Don’t know what’s next for me now, it’s two-and-a-half years until the next subcontinent tour. I thought with the way I’ve been going in international in particular that this was going to be my opportunity.”I was really excited to potentially be on this tour, give it a crack. The messaging was my style of bowling might have been handy over there. Potentially last minute that was a change of mind.”That was the messaging I got six weeks ago as well – that this was going to be a very good chance – but now that I’m not [going] I’m very flat about it and time to move on from it.”Zampa said that coach Andrew McDonald and national selector George Bailey told him his omission was one of the toughest decisions they had to make.New South Wales have three Sheffield Shield matches Zampa could appear in after the BBL before the ODI squad will head to India for the three games in late March which follow the Tests.After the India tour, Australia’s next subcontinental Test series is a two-match visit to Sri Lanka in 2025. Zampa is not looking that far ahead and will now focus on this year’s ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA. He is currently ranked fifth among ODI bowlers and seventh in T20Is.”I’ve got two white-ball World Cups before that [Sri Lanka]. Don’t know what’s in store for me red-ball cricket-wise. Will just through this Big Bash and reconsider,” he said. “I’m not going to close the door completely to red-ball cricket. Life is always about balance and I’ve got a family and these white-ball tours and World Cups that are coming up so I’ve got to try and think about what’s best for my body, myself, my family.”Australia’s frontline spin attack in India will feature Swepson, Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar and the uncapped offspinner Todd Murphy.

Netherlands international ended playing career after T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2021Ryan ten Doeschate will join Kent as a batting coach in his first full-time role since retiring from professional cricket earlier this year.Ten Doeschate, who turned 41 in June, retired from the game after playing for Netherlands in the T20 World Cup in October following the end of the county season.He travelled to South Africa on Netherlands’ aborted tour as a mentor and was tipped by Ryan Campbell, their head coach, as a potential successor in that role, but has opted to sign a deal with Kent, where he will work alongside his former Essex team-mate Matt Walker developing young batters like Zak Crawley and Jordan Cox.Related

• Ryan ten Doeschate appointed KKR fielding coach for IPL 2023

• Ten Doeschate named Netherlands mentor for SA tour

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• Ten Doeschate to retire from professional cricket at end of 2021

• Campbell tips ten Doeschate to take over as Netherlands coach

“I’m excited to be given the opportunity to work with Matt Walker and the Kent squad, especially with the talented group of players that have just won the Vitality Blast and will compete in Division One of next season’s LV= Insurance County Championship,” ten Doeschate said.”I’m ready to start a new chapter of my career and use my experience and that of some of the others I’ve worked with to influence and improve the players and the group.”Ten Doeschate will replace Michael Yardy, who spent two years as Kent’s batting coach but recently returned to Sussex as their academy director following Richard Halsall’s departure.Paul Downton, Kent’s director of cricket, said that ten Doeschate would bring a “winning mentality” to the club. “We are delighted to welcome ‘Tendo’ to the club following his recent retirement as an outstanding player,” he said.”He is a proven leader with two Championship wins under his captaincy at Essex, and he already has a varied coaching CV. He will bring with him a winning mentality and all the experience of a successful playing career into an ambitious Kent dressing room keen to learn.”Equally important, I have no doubt that he will fit in extremely well with Matt Walker, who he has played alongside in his career, and Simon Cook [bowling coach] to create a really exciting coaching team at Kent.”

PCB also makes substantial changes to domestic set-up, with as many as 16 coaches losing their jobs

Umar Farooq20-Aug-2020Former Pakistan internationals Mohammad Yousuf and Mohammad Zahid have been appointed to the High Performance centre as batting and bowling coaches respectively.Yousuf had a successful playing career for Pakistan, making 9720 runs in ODIs and 7530 runs in Tests, and now his shift to coaching has become a major talking point in the country. This will be his first coaching assignment after he had retired from international cricket in 2010.”My ambitions in making a career in coaching are an open secret but it was all about the timing and a proper roadmap for our future cricket in which I could contribute effectively,” he said. “I believe this is the right time for me to start my second innings as I can sense the intent and optimism in the approach. I am delighted to have been offered this opportunity and I firmly believe I can help young cricketers by transferring my knowledge and experience, which I have acquired after being part of one of the brightest and formidable eras of Pakistan cricket.”The PCB also made substantial changes to the domestic set-up, with as many as 16 coaches losing their jobs, including Azam Khan, Arshad Khan, Ijaz Ahmed Jnr, and Kabir Khan.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Abdul Razzaq will replace Kabir at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while Basit Ali, the former SNGPL coach, takes over the reins from Azam at Sindh. Faisal Iqbal will coach Balochistan while Shahid Anwar will be in charge of Central Punjab. Both Abdur Rehman (Southern Punjab) and Mohammad Wasim (Northern) were retained. All six domestic coaches will also act as national selection committee members to assist Pakistan coach-cum-chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq.”I want to thank all the outgoing coaches for their contributions and urge them to remain involved with this great game as the PCB is optimistic there will be future opportunities in the game, both as coaches and consultants,” Nadeem Khan, PCB’s director of High Performance, said in a statement.”When the PCB had launched the revamped domestic structure last year on 29th August, it had announced it was an evolving process and changes will be made to further strengthen the structure. Due to paucity of time last season, the coaches couldn’t be appointed through a review, analysis and recruitment process, which we have corrected this year.”Razzaq’s appointment, in particular, has raised a few eyebrows as the only coaching experience the former allrounder has is a short stint with Quetta Gladiators in the PSL a few seasons ago. Iqbal, the new Balochistan coach, has had two stints with Karachi Kings in the PSL. Atiq-uz-Zaman, who had been rejected by the PCB less than a year ago for an Under-19 role, has now been appointed fielding and wicketkeeping coach at the High Performance centre.Atiq will assist Yousuf and Zahid and Mushtaq Ahmed, who is currently on tour in the UK with the national team as their spin-bowling coach, at the High Performance centre. Abdul Majeed and Mansoor Rana, who had been part of the High Performance centre, are now the fielding coach and team manager respectively of the Pakistan national side.The new changes will be effective from the upcoming season as the PCB made a decision in principle last month to start domestic cricket this year in a biosecure environment, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The season is likely to start next month with the national T20 Cup. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the premier domestic tournament, is likely to played entirely in Karachi. There will be a 40-man squad for each of the six association teams this year due to concerns around the pandemic. All teams for each association will be re-selected by the newly appointed coaches through a draft process later this month.

Alan Gardner02-Apr-2019Ben Foakes has admitted he was surprised to be dropped by England for their final Test of the winter, just a few months after being named Man of the Series in Sri Lanka, but is willing to contemplate whatever potential avenues are open to him in an attempt to remain in contention for the Ashes.Foakes was left out in St Lucia, despite a fine start to his Test career that included making a century on debut, as England returned Jonny Bairstow to No. 7 in the batting order and his coveted role of wicketkeeper. Having rebalanced the side, England claimed a small-consolation victory in the third Test against West Indies, and left Foakes with a few questions about where to go next.Widely regarded as the best gloveman in the country, Foakes may now find his best route back into the team is as a specialist batsman – even discussing with Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach, about the possibility of pitching himself as a candidate for the Test team’s troublesome No. 3 slot.It is a measure of his understated nature that Foakes was seemingly readying himself to be dropped from the outset, after replacing the injured Bairstow in Galle and then playing an instrumental role in England’s 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka. His debut series was “a dream come true” but a couple of unfortunate dismissals in the Caribbean – caught at short leg and playing on while pulling – contributed to him losing his place after just five Tests.”I didn’t think I’d be getting dropped that game,” he said, reflecting on his experience at Surrey’s pre-season media day. “From what you hear within [the squad] I was quite surprised to be dropped. It was a case where, without making excuses, a couple of the dismissals were quite freak dismissals.”I didn’t feel like I had had an absolute stinker. It was one of those phases. I didn’t feel like I was horribly out of form and you get dropped. I just didn’t get runs, a little bit of bad luck, and it’s over before you know it – that sort of tour. It’s obviously quite difficult to deal with that brief period.”From what I was told they wanted to get Jonny back down to No. 7 and didn’t like that balance [of Foakes keeping at No. 8]. In a county season I’ve been through many stages where I haven’t got runs and you get a long stretch. But I guess that’s the first learning of international cricket, that you don’t have that luxury. You do get dropped, you do get back in at certain stages.”Foakes had initially been planning to take some time off, after several winters of involvement with England and the Lions, so his surprise elevation to the Test side after Bairstow rolled his ankle during the ODIs in Sri Lanka was the start of an unexpected journey.”I think it was a rollercoaster, but a dream come true,” he said, “an amazing winter where I guess I didn’t think it would come about and then things went better than I could ever expect. And obviously you’ve got the other end of the spectrum, so with international cricket I guess that’s the way it is. But it was an amazing winter.”As for whether he could force his way in as a batsman – he averages 40.70 in first-class cricket, usually while playing as a keeper – Foakes is uncertain. England’s lower-middle order is the Test team’s batting stronghold, with most of the question marks around the top three, but Surrey are well-stocked with options in that area – including Foakes’ team-mate Jason Roy, who is hoping to make an Ashes case himself.But while he is a markedly different player, Foakes can perhaps look to the example of Jos Buttler, another wicketkeeper-batsman in the Test XI, for inspiration. Buttler’s return, sparked in part by his form in the IPL, was one of a number of selectorial dice rolls that paid off for England last year.”I’d play for England wherever I could get in,” Foakes said. “I’m speaking to Ed Smith next week and I’ll ask him a few questions about routes back into the team, how I can get back in.”The way the Test team is now, it’s a versatile team and there are some left-field selections and that sort of thing. I’ve never thought I could play as a batter only, I always thought I’d have to get in as a keeper but I guess the way it’s going, if I could push my case and get a lot of runs then you never know.”Obviously I’d love to bat three but I’ve never done it with keeping. There are certain steps up but I’d love to give it a go. Technically I’m quite happy, it’s obviously a more challenging place to bat but as with all new challenges you evolve, you learn. I’m not the most attacking player so am probably suited to batting up a little bit.”Whatever questions he may have for the England management, Foakes has no doubts about his desire to get back into the side. “It was something that I have worked my whole career for. To get there you will get highs and lows, but especially in Sri Lanka, the feeling out on the pitch with the guys was the best feeling I’ve ever had in cricket. So I want that again.”

South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel will retire from international cricket at the end of the Australia Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-20181:55

‘I leave with a very happy heart’

South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel has announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the Australia Test series. South Africa will host Australia for four Tests starting March 1 in Durban.”It was an extremely tough decision but I feel the time is right to start a new chapter,” Morkel said. “I have a young family and a foreign wife, and the current demanding international schedule has put a lot of strain us. I have to put them first and this decision will only benefit us going forward.”I have loved every minute that I have played in the Proteas jersey, and I am incredibly grateful to my team mates, Cricket South Africa, and my family and friends for the support over the years. I still feel there is a lot of cricket left in me and I am excited for what lies ahead. For now, all of my energy and focus is on helping the Proteas win the upcoming series against Australia.”When South Africa were in England last year, Morkel was pursued by at least three counties as a Kolpak signing for the 2018 season. The 33-year-old was linked to a Kolpak deal most recently during the India Test series. Indian media reported that Morkel’s father said his son needed to “secure his future” and was considering the Kolpak option but Morkel strongly denied that he was nearing retirement. “There’s still plenty of goals I want to achieve. There’s no truth to that,” he said on January 15, during the Test at SuperSport Park.He will now end his international career when the fourth Test ends on April 3 in Johannesburg. Provided he plays all four matches, Morkel will finish with 87 Tests and will add to his current tally of 294 Test wickets – fifth overall for South Africa.Since making his Test debut in 2006, Morkel has been a vital part of South Africa’s most potent pace attack along with Dale Steyn, especially after Makhaya Ntini’s last Test in 2009. More recently, he led their pace attack in late 2015 in India when South Africa were without Steyn and Vernon Philander.BCCI

Morkel suffered a career-threatening back injury in 2016, which kept him out of action for most of the year. He missed series against New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka and only returned to the team in March 2017, in New Zealand but appeared a much improved bowler. While Morkel always had the skill of extracting bounce, on his comeback he had also developed the ability to pitch the ball up more. His consistency and menace only grew and he was South Africa’s leading wicket-taker on their tour to England in 2017.Limited-overs formats took a backseat as Morkel’s career went on. He faded into and out of the South Africa limited-overs side after finishing as their top wicket-taker in the 2015 World Cup. He was not named in the 2016 World T20 squad, did not play in the 2017 IPL as he sought to find form ahead of a demanding international season, and was unsold in this year’s auction. His involvement in the 2019 World Cup was also unclear.At the start of the summer, Morkel said he needed to discuss with new coach Ottis Gibson about whether he would feature in the white-ball set-up before deciding on his future. In the weeks that followed, Gibson said he had spoken to Morkel and explained that, like every other player, he would be considered if he performed well. Morkel played in five of the six ODIs against India and appeared to be among South Africa’s candidates for the 2019 World Cup until his retirement announcement on Monday.He will end his ODI career with 188 wickets from 117 matches at an average of 25.32 with two five-fors. In T20 internationals – which he last played in Lahore for the World XI side – he collected 47 wickets from 44 matches at an economy rate of 7.50.He ranked in the ICC’s top 10 bowlers in all formats at some stage of his career and was No. 1 in ODIs for a period in 2011.Should Morkel decide to go Kolpak – Yorkshire and Surrey are believed to be interested in signing him – he would become the latest in a line of South Africans to quit international cricket and take up a county contract. A year ago, Kyle Abbott’s departure for Hampshire sent shockwaves through the game in South Africa, with internationals such as Rilee Rossouw, Simon Harmer and Stiaan van Zyl also among those moving to the UK.

A round-up of the Plunket Shield 2016-17 matches that ended on November 25, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2016Medium-pacers Kyle Jamieson and Ed Nuttall shared 16 wickets between them to lead Canterbury to a 10-run win over Auckland in Rangiora. The win puts Canterbury in second place.Auckland captain Rob Nicol had put Canterbury in on the first day, and his seamers took eight wickets in bowling them out for 245. Auckland had a shaky start, losing three wickets by stumps on the first day, after a burst by Jamieson. On the second day, a 66-run fifth-wicket partnership between debutant SM Solia (49) and Brad Cachopa (23), and a 94-run stand for the eighth wicket between Colin Munro – who scored an unbeaten 108 in 86 balls while batting with the tail – and Lockie Ferguson (41) helped them go past Canterbury’s total, despite Jamieson’s career-best 8 for 74.Canterbury’s intent in the second innings was led by their top three batsmen, who put on 295 for the first two wickets. Debutant opener Jack Boyle scored 81 in a 167-run opening stand with Chad Bowes. Bowes then scored a career-best 155, as he put on 128 with Peter Fulton (72) for the second wicket. Canterbury scored at 4.16 per over before declaring on 400, setting Auckland 361 to win. Legspinner Tarun Nethula took his third five-wicket haul of the season and finished with 5 for 128.In their chase, Auckland reached 290 for 4 through fifties by Michael Guptill-Bunce (67), Mark Chapman (81) and Cachopa (75*). But a late burst by Nuttall (5-67) and Jamieson (3-86) saw them lose their last four wickets for nine runs to be bowled out for 350.Half-centuries from Bharat Popli and Nick Kelly helped Northern Districts stave off defeat against Central Districts in Napier. Chasing 450, Northern Districts blunted out 129 overs to make 295 for 7 when play ended.Central Districts, who elected to bat, were bowled out for 225, with Will Young’s 61 being the highest score of the innings. Ajaz Patel, the left-arm spinner, then took 5 for 22 in 17.2 overs to skittle Northen Districts out for 153. Tom Bruce (115) and Dane Cleaver (108*) struck centuries to build on Central Districts’ 72-run lead. Their 176-run stand for the fourth wicket helped extend the lead over 400, before they declared on 377 for 5 in 86 overs.Going into the final day, Northern Districts, on 105 for 2, had the task of either surviving the entire day or scoring 345 more to pull off an unlikely win. They were in some trouble at 162 for 5, before a lower-order defiance helped them secure a draw. Central Districts, who took the lead and dominated much of the proceedings, walked away with five points to top the six-team pool with 52 points in five matches. Northern Districts finished the round in fifth place.Rain on each of the four days in Dunedin meant an outright result wasn’t possible, but Wellington pocketed eight points against Otago to finish the round placed third.Offspinner Jeetan Patel took six wickets as Otago, who had decided to bat, were bowled out for 208. No. 3 Michael Bracewell, top-scored with 43, while Jimmy Neesham, left out of New Zealand’s squad for the second Test against Pakistan, managed just 11.In reply, Wellington lost two quick wickets – Michael Papps (47) and Stepheh Murdoch (43),who had put on 71 for the second wicket – to wobble briefly at 119 for 3 before being powered by Luke Ronchi’s unbeaten 119 that helped them take the lead. They eventually declared on 350 for 7. The result did little to help Otago lift themselves off the bottom of the table.

Sri Lanka Under-19 captain Charith Asalanka and their pacers starred in a drawn Youth Test they dominated against Pakistan Under-19 in Hambantota

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSri Lanka Under-19 captain Charith Asalanka and their pacers starred in a drawn Youth Test they dominated against Pakistan Under-19 in Hambantota. Asalanka’s double-hundred in the first innings helped his side take a first-innings lead of 138 runs to later set Pakistan a target of 350, and the visitors put up 142 for 3 in reply on the last day.Sri Lanka opted to bat and their score of 347 for 9 was built around Asalanka’s 200 as no other batsman scored more than 40. From the Pakistan side that fielded 11 debutants, Shadab Khan took 6 for 89 to put a check on Sri Lanka’s score. Pakistan’s reply was similar, led by a hundred from Umair Masood (102) as the next-best score was 29 in their total of 209. Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Thilan Nimesh took three wickets each.Sri Lanka then declared on 211 for 3 after 54 overs, with fifties from Avishka Fernando (63) and Shammu Ashan (54*), with hopes of bowling out Pakistan in less than two sessions but the visitors’ top order resisted with strong partnerships as opener Zeeshan Malik scored a brisk 55 off 63 and they batted for over 40 overs.

David Warner believes if Michael Clarke moves up from No. 5, it will add much-needed stability to Australia’s top order but, he said, it would be disappointing as it meant the rest of the batsmen had not been performing

Brydon Coverdale11-Mar-2013David Warner believes if Michael Clarke moves up from No. 5, it will add much-needed stability to Australia’s top order but he said it would be disappointing if such a change was required because it meant the rest of the batsmen had not been performing adequately. Clarke’s batting position for the Mohali Test has not yet been confirmed but after the loss in Hyderabad, where he was out for 91 in the first innings trying to score quickly with the tail, he indicated he would need to promote himself.Clarke, who has scored more than twice as many runs as any other members of the top six on this tour, could bat at either first drop or second drop given how early India have been using their spinners. So far in the series, Clarke has come in at 126 for 3, 65 for 3, 57 for 3 and 75 for 3, and although the conditions have played a part in those low scores, three-down for very few has become an all-too-familiar sight on Australia’s scorecard in recent years.”I just think it will stabilise us a lot, instead of losing three wickets we might only lose one wicket and rotate the strike more,” Warner said. “I don’t think it is necessarily about having Michael at three; it is about us, the top four, to knuckling down and scoring runs, that’s the main issue. If we can do our job right there is no reason to reshuffle the order.”Warner started the series with a scratchy half-century in the first innings in Chennai and since then has had little impact, despite making a couple of starts and reaching the 20s. In the second innings in Hyderabad he was bowled around his legs trying to sweep the first ball he faced from R Ashwin over the wicket and it was a shot that frustrated the coach Mickey Arthur, who had that morning instilled in the team the need to avoid cross-bat shots.Warner could have spent some time adjusting to Ashwin’s new line and perhaps even kicked the ball away given that it was pitching outside leg stump and he could not be lbw. Another option would have been to flick the ball through midwicket but that would have carried the risk of a leading edge. Warner said in hindsight his best play would have been to come down the pitch and reach the ball on the full.”If you’re pushing a ball through midwicket against the turn you could get a leading edge and get caught at slip,” Warner said. “I think that ball, when I look back at it, if I took the stride down the wicket, I could have got to it on the full. If I had a second line of defence I wouldn’t have got bowled. They’re the things that you look at and the decisions that you make at the time.”I saw the ball drift late. What happens if you [try to pad it away and] miss it? It drifted at the last minute. If you go to pad those away you’re still leaving a gap between your legs, unless you’re guarding the stumps like a castle.”Australia enter the Mohali Test, which starts on Thursday, needing a victory to keep the series and their chances of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy alive after going down 2-0 in Chennai and Hyderabad. The innings loss inside three and a half days in the second Test led the former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar to ponder in a newspaper column whether this was the worst Australian team ever to tour India, but Warner said it was important to remember that historically teams have struggled in the conditions.”We’ve won one tour [in the last 40 years],” Warner said. “Four out of the 16 blokes who are here have played Test-match cricket here [before]. We’re doing pretty well to put up a fight at least. We’ve had the best of conditions in both the first innings, that’s no excuse. But in the second innings with the ball turning, it has been tough for us because we aren’t used to the conditions.”In the first innings there’s no excuse, we’re supposed to be scoring well into high-300s, early-400s. We’ve got the capabilities of doing that. Hopefully in the next two Test matches we can not only prove everyone wrong but prove to ourselves that we’re good enough. We’ve got the right team and the right balance to do that.”

Craig White, the former Yorkshire and England allrounder, is to join Hampshire’s coaching set-up ahead of the new season

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2012Craig White, the former Yorkshire and England allrounder, is to join Hampshire’s coaching set-up ahead of the new season. White had been expected to pursue a career as an umpire after leaving his position as coach of Yorkshire’s second XI in November of last year, but he will now take up his new role on March 1.White left Yorkshire after more than two decades as a player and coach, with the club bringing in Jason Gilliespie and Paul Farbrace as part of a backroom shake-up. He retired as a player in 2008, having made more than 12,000 runs and taken 395 wickets in first-class cricket, with 30 Test appearances for England and another 51 in ODIs.”This is a very exciting new challenge for me,” White said. “I’ve been at Yorkshire for 22 years but I now feel it would be interesting to see how things are at a new county. I’ve always admired the way things are done at Hampshire – it seems a very focused but relaxed place so it should be exactly my kind of atmosphere. They’ve got some great young cricketers there so I’m looking forward to working with them.”Hampshire finished bottom of Division One in last season’s County Championship and were subsequently relegated. It has been a winter of change at the Rose Bowl, with players such as Dominic Cork, Nic Pothas and Michael Lumb all departing. Simon Katich has been signed as the county’s overseas player, while Jimmy Adams will continue as captain after taking up the role at the end of last season.Giles White, the Hampshire manager, said: “The players and staff are excited about this appointment. We all look forward to working with Craig and tapping into his experience. We are delighted to have him at Hampshire.”