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Another defeat would put Afghanistan on brink of elimination, while victory for Australia would set them up beautifully for a semi-final spot

Deivarayan Muthu22-Jun-20241:09

Maxwell: Hopefully a few mental scars from the double century

Match details

Afghanistan vs Australia
Kingstown, 8.30pm local time

Big Picture: All eyes on Glenn Maxwell

The last time Australia faced Afghanistan, history was made. A cramping Glenn Maxwell was writhing in pain – he could barely walk, let alone run – but pulled off a miracle in Mumbai. They were struggling at 91 for 7 in pursuit of 293, but Maxwell’s epic double-hundred put Australia back on track for another world title and left Afghanistan on the brink of elimination.Maxwell then endured a difficult IPL with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where he even took a break. He started the T20 World Cup with a duck against Oman and then laboured to 28 off 25 balls against England. He was bowled cheaply by a ripper from Mark Watt in the chase against Scotland, but in the chase against Bangladesh, he showed signs of his best, though he faced only six balls in a rain-hit fixture. He swatted legspinner Rishad Hossain over long-on and crunched Mustafizur Rahman through the covers. Maxwell finished with 14 off six balls at a strike rate of 233.33. Australia will hope that Maxwell, the spin-hitter, can produce an even bigger impact against Rashid Khan and co. on a Kingstown pitch that has been conducive to spin.Related

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Though Maxwell is yet to hit full tilt, Australia’s middle order (between Nos. 4-7) has struck at 168.09, the best among all 20 teams in this T20 World Cup. In contrast, Afghanistan’s middle order has struck at less than 100 – the lowest among all Full-Member teams in this tournament. Adam Zampa and potentially Ashton Agar could make life even more difficult for the Afghanistan middle-order batters in Kingstown.This game will be played in the backdrop of some tension between the two boards. Cricket Australia has refused to play Afghanistan in bilateral series in the recent past because of political reasons. Australia’s decision to pull out of multiple bilateral series against Afghanistan has met fierce condemnation, including a threat from Rashid Khan to pull out of the BBL. Afghanistan’s players will be out to prove a point about their standing in the global game when they take Australia on in a third World Cup game in three years.

Form guide

Afghanistan LLWWW
Australia WWWWW1:44

Rashid Khan: Middle-order batting needs to improve

In the spotlight: Naveen-ul-Haq and Tim David

Naveen-ul-Haq has taken some pasting in the Caribbean leg of the T20 World Cup, but he is Afghanistan’s best bet to counter Australia’s power-packed line-up at the death. He can bowl yorkers from a slingy action and has several slower variations, including the knuckle ball, tailor-made for the low bounce in St Vincent. Naveen has a chance to add to those variations by working with Dwayne Bravo at Afghanistan and Texas Super Kings in the upcoming MLC.Naveen, though, will have to be wary of Tim David, who has taken him for 50 off 38 balls in T20 cricket being dismissed. David also has a good head-to-head record against Rashid – 62 off 45 balls with just two dismissals – and has been working on his own spin bowling though Australia haven’t needed his secondary skill in the T20 World Cup proper. If David doesn’t get you, Marcus Stoinis will. If Stoinis doesn’t get you, Maxwell will.

Team news: Will Australia bring back Agar?

Hazratullah Zazai fell cheaply against India, but Afghanistan will likely give him another go.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Hazratullah Zazai, 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Gulbadin Naib, 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan (capt), 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiConsidering the slow, turning tracks in Kingstown and Afghanistan’s right-hand heavy line-up, Australia might bring back left-arm fingerspinner Agar, instead of one of the three frontline quicks, and pair him up with Zampa and Maxwell.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood/Ashton Agar, 11 Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions: Spin to win

Spinners have thrived in Kingstown, picking up 22 wickets at an economy rate of 5.64 in six innings this tournament. Expect more of the same when two of the world’s best T20 wristspinners Rashid and Zampa will be in action on Saturday night. Chances of rain are low on Saturday evening.

Stats and trivia: Farooqi dominates powerplay

• Agar has dismissed Nabi twice in ten balls while conceding just four runs in T20 cricket. He is one wicket away from becoming the second Australia spinner, after Zampa, to 50 T20I wickets.
• Farooqi has bagged 15 wickets in this T20 World Cup at an economy rate of 5.45. Eight of those 15 wickets have come in the powerplay, the most by a bowler during this phase in the tournament.
• Travis Head, David and Stoinis have hit 129 sixes among them in T20 cricket this year.

Quotes

“I think there are a few players who are very early in their international careers and they will learn from it. And World Cup is always the biggest stage when you’re playing against the biggest team as well.”

“Yeah, it was nice to get out there and hit a couple, but I’ve said it pretty consistently. I felt pretty good throughout the whole tournament.”

Former Australia captain retires from first-class cricket after a tame draw as Queensland opener Bryce Street posted an unbeaten century

Alex Malcolm17-Mar-2023Despite an unbeaten century from opener Bryce Street, Queensland have missed out on the Sheffield Shield final following a draw with Tasmania in Tim Paine’s final first-class match at Bellerive Oval in Hobart.The Bulls were set to miss out on the final regardless of the result after Victoria beat Western Australia and overtook Queensland on the table via bonus points having fallen an agonizing three runs short on day three. They were set an unlikely 432 runs to win on the final day after Tasmania captain Jordan Silk declared overnight following his unbeaten century on day three.The visitors made no real attempt to try and chase the required rate of 4.5 given the new ball still nipped and swung. Street batted steadily through the first two sessions to post his sixth first-class century striking striking 10 boundaries in his 102 not out from 215 balls.He shared a 57-run opening stand with Joe Burns who fell for 29 having been adjudged lbw Lawrence Neil-Smith. He had survived numerous similar shouts on height but despite the bounce and seam movement he was given out.Street was joined by Aryan Jain in just his second first-class match. The pair put on an unbeaten 127-run stand to steer the game to a tame draw. Jain posted his highest first-class score making 44 not out off 99 balls.Tasmania tried six bowlers without much luck including handing opener Tim Ward his first bowl in first-class cricket. The game was called off early as both teams agreed a result could not be reached.

As a result, four emergency reinforcements have been called into the squad ahead of Ireland series

Peter Della Penna21-Dec-2021A string of Covid-19 positive tests in the USA squads for the two-match T20I and three-match ODI series against Ireland in Lauderhill has knocked out several core contributors – including Steven Taylor, their leading scorer in T20 cricket, and Aaron Jones, the vice-captain. It has therefore resulted in four emergency reinforcements being flown in on the eve of the series.The four players affected, which also include Jaskaran Malhotra and Karima Gore, learnt of their test results prior to the start of the squad’s official training camp, though most players were already present in Florida to participate in the annual US Open T20 tournament. Three of the four have been ruled out of the T20I series and though Taylor has not been officially ruled out, he has not trained with the USA squad either and is considered a long shot to play in any of the two T20Is set for December 22 and 23.Separately, fast bowler Rusty Theron has also been ruled out after sustaining a groin injury during the US Open. It meant that USA only had 11 players at training on Monday, which included two players, Nosthush Kenjige and Sushant Modani, who were supposed to be a part of the ODI squad only.Ali Sheikh holds up the ball after claiming a five-for•Peter Della Penna

A trio of USA U-19 players – left-arm spinner Ali Sheikh, legspinner Yasir Mohammad and right-hand batter Ritwik Behera – have been called into the squad after passing Covid testing in their respective home cities to clear their availability. While Sheikh and Mohammed have been named in the T20I squad only, Behera has been named in both the T20I and ODI squads. Ryan Scott, who scored two centuries for Michigan Cricket Stars in the inaugural season of Minor League Cricket T20 franchise competition, has also been called into the T20I squad.Left-arm spinning allrounder Marty Kain, who was supposed to be in the T20I squad only, has subsequently been added to the ODI squad. Modani, who was in the ODI squad only, has also been added to the T20I squad.Jones, Taylor and Malhotra have not yet been ruled out of the ODI series which begins on December 26. Officials are hopeful that they will be able to complete their 10-day isolation period and return two negative PCR tests to be able to take part.The Ireland squad has also been affected by a string of Covid-related changes. Harry Tector, Gareth Delany, Barry McCarthy and George Dockrell all tested positive prior to the start of the series. However, McCarthy completed his 10-day isolation period and took part in Ireland’s training on Monday.USA T20I squad: Monank Patel (capt), Ali Khan, Ali Sheikh, Gajanand Singh, Jessy Singh, Marty Kain, Nisarg Patel, Ritwik Behera, Ryan Scott, Saurabh Netravalkar, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Vatsal Vaghela, Xavier Marshall, Yasir Mohammad.USA ODI squad: Monank Patel (capt), Aaron Jones (vice-capt), Ali Khan, Gajanand Singh, Jessy Singh, Jaskaran Malhotra, Marty Kain, Nisarg Patel, Nosthush Kenjige, Rahul Jariwala, Ritwik Behera, Saurabh Netravalkar, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Vatsal Vaghela, Xavier Marshall.

“Dwayne was injured so he is probably out for the first two games,” coach Stephen Fleming said after the opening match

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2020Dwayne Bravo is injured and will probably miss at least one more game, Chennai Super Kings’ coach Stephen Fleming said after his side made a winning start to the IPL season by beating the defending champions Mumbai Indians. Bravo didn’t bowl in the CPL final on September 10 either because of his knee injury.Sam Curran, chosen in place of Bravo, turned out to be an inspired selection as he backed up his bowling effort of 4-0-28-1 with a six-ball 18 at the business end of the chase. “Dwayne was injured so he is probably out for the first two games,” Fleming said. “But Sam’s performance was a big positive. His attitude is quite infectious. His performance today was quite outstanding. Straight off the plane yesterday.”If Dwayne was fit, it would have been a toss-up if he [Curran] had played at all. So he has taken this opportunity and put some pressure on.”It wasn’t necessarily a toss-up between Curran and Bravo, though. Lungi Ngidi was the other quick the Super Kings used. He went for more runs, but he too staked a claim for an overseas spot with three wickets. Fleming didn’t rule out both Curran and Bravo playing together, but he said they were yet to assess all the conditions they will encounter in the UAE.The Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, continued their trend of a surprise pick in the season opener, choosing James Pattinson this time for his first match for any franchise outside Australia. This was the first T20 he was playing outside Australia since 2012. He, too, returned impressive figures of 4-0-27-1, but he, too, was more a forced pick than an inspired selection. At the toss, Rohit Sharma revealed that Nathan Coulter-Nile had a niggle, which is why he wasn’t available for selection.There was no update from the Mumbai Indians on the nature of Coulter-Nile’s injury and when he might become available.

‘Perfect team man’ Ajinkya Rahane responded positively to Royals’ leadership change, says the new captain

Shashank Kishore in Jaipur20-Apr-2019Leadership was far away from Steven Smith’s mind when there was a knock on his hotel room door on Friday evening in Jaipur. It was a member of the Rajasthan Royals team management, and the message was simple – he was the captain of the team. A day later, Smith admitted to being surprised by the update, and said his first act was to have an “honest chat with Ajinkya Rahane”, who he described as the “perfect team man”.”I think Ajinkya has done a terrific job for the last year-and-a-half. Obviously, he got the boys to the playoffs last year, but the management called me in yesterday and said they wanted me to captain for the rest of the season,” Smith said after steering Royals to a five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians with an unbeaten half-century, his first of the season. “I was a bit surprised by it at the time, but yeah, that’s their decision.”I wasn’t going for the captaincy or anything like that. The management just called me and told me this was how it’s going to be. So I had a chat with Ajinkya, he’s a terrific guy. He said ‘whatever’s best for the team, I’ll support’. You just have to see the way he came out. It’s never easy being told those kind of things but he came out today and played some nice shots at the start, got us off to a good start. He’s a terrific guy and always does what is the best for the team.”It’s the latest upturn in what has been a rollercoaster few months for Smith, during which an elbow problem – and the after-effects of a surgery on it – have been constants. He has been playing with an elbow guard, both while batting and while fielding, to help curb the flexing of the muscles near the area that was affected. While this has impacted his throwing and forced him to curb certain shots, Smith said the good news was that he was “only two weeks away” from complete recovery.”I still have to play quite heavily strapped, there’s still a few issues with throwing, but I am getting there slowly,” he said. “I can’t throw full tilt yet, but in a couple of weeks, I should be able to throw at full pace, which is going to be nice. I haven’t quite enjoyed hiding in the field, it’s not my sort of way around things. I like being in the midst of the action, around the hotspots, and get involved.”The elbow is coming along nicely. Since I’ve been in India, I haven’t felt any pain batting. It’s more about just getting used to the fact that I can’t straighten my arm, which took some time to get around, but I’m feeling good, better with each and every game that I play.”Riyan Parag played an important hand•BCCI

Before this game, Smith has been unable to put up a really big score, or impact the result of a game in a big way. Smith expressed relief at doing that on Saturday, and sounded happy with where his game was at.”I feel like I’m getting better and better, the way I’m hitting the ball,” he said. “More importantly, my mind is probably getting better and better, the decisions I’m making. I base my batting around the decisions I make, and I’m clearer in my mind. I’m getting clearer and clearer about the way I play.”I’m happy where things are at, currently. Hopefully, things can get better for the Royals over the next few games. That’s what I’m thinking about for the moment.”Smith reserved special praise for Riyan Parag, the third youngest after Prayas Ray Burman and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to feature in the IPL. Smith shared a 70-run stand with the 17-year-old to help Royals recover from a mini-slump and canter to victory. Parag’s audacious shot-making, particularly off Lasith Malinga and Hardik Pandya, had Smith run up to him to exchange high-fives.The new Royals captain said Parag had taught even the experienced players, including himself, a few lessons. “He’s a terrific young kid,” Smith said. “He works very hard, he’s a fit and strong young kid. The way he batted, even in the first game that he played, he taught a lot of the experienced players a few lessons, including myself. He played with a really cool head, just came out and played with freedom.”He saw the ball, hit the ball and didn’t worry about anything.”On Parag’s bowling – full of tricks and variations – Smith said, “He’s also got terrific skills with the ball. He bowled really well against Chennai (Super Kings) and bowled really well here. He only started bowling the stuff that he’s been bowling three weeks ago, before that he was just a genuine offspinner. The kid learns very quickly, sign of a very good player, someone who has a bright future. There’s no doubt about that.”

The former team director was hired back by Cricket West Indies without an interview process

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Feb-2018Desmond Haynes was right. The West Indies opening great had publicly questioned the process behind Richard Pybus’ return to cricket in the West Indies as high performance director – a post newly created by Cricket West Indies (CWI). The much-travelled coach returns just over a year after he had left as team director.”It would be great to ask the [CWI] president [Dave Cameron] about this appointment and when was this position advertised,” Haynes posted on his Facebook account. The answer, ESPNcricinfo can confirm, is that it wasn’t: the post was not advertised and Cameron did have a direct hand in Pybus’ appointment, without interviewing any candidates.Haynes was not the only skeptic. Darren Sammy, the former West Indies captain who led during Pybus’ tenure as director, expressed disbelief at his return on Twitter. “Lies lies lies… Must be fake news,” Sammy tweeted on February 9. A day later, in response to a reply, he tweeted: “Well I’m still hoping that nightmare is not true #fakenews he’s not coming back at CWI.”Johnny Grave, the CWI chief executive, would not comment on Cameron’s role in the matter but confirmed that Pybus’ appointment was approved by the board of directors. “Everyone, including the senior management at CWI, is behind Pybus’ appointment,” Grave told ESPNcricinfo.According to Grave, Pybus was headhunted and the Englishman will play a consultant’s role, working about 200 days a year over a two-year contract. Pybus is expected to be the “bridge” between Jimmy Adams, the director of cricket and the man who succeeded him, and Graeme West, who is the manager at the High Performance Centre (HPC) in Antigua.”It is a strategic appointment,” Grave said. “It is a two-year consultancy role and it is specifically to do with establishing the HPC at the Coolidge Cricket Ground [in Antigua]. And ensuring the franchise-based Professional Cricket League that Richard set up four years ago becomes an even more elite, professional environment.”Grave believes that even though players from the Caribbean have professional contracts to play regional cricket, a lot of work remains in order to create the elite environment of the best domestic competitions overseas. Pybus’ extensive experience, including his previous stint in the West Indies, makes him, in CWI’s eyes, the right choice. “Richard is specifically coming in to work with our franchise teams, establishing the HPC in Antigua, and to allow us to produce better cricketers on the international stage,” Grave said.Pybus’ first stint with CWI, which ended in January 2017 after three years, was a controversial one. It was Pybus who made it mandatory for a player to participate in the domestic first-class and one-day cricket tournaments to qualify for selection for West Indies. Many senior players vehemently opposed the policy and instead opted to solely operate in overseas Twenty20 leagues.Pybus, who was recently shortlisted for coach by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, did not react to Sammy’s tweets, but did defend his track record in reply to Haynes.”Hi Desmond, as I’m a FB friend I presume it’s for my attention too,” Pybus posted on Facebook late on February 14. “To clarify a couple of points, I was invited by Bangladesh to go and meet their board, I didn’t apply or was shortlisted for any positions. I’ve coached for nearly 30 years, I started the junior provincial program[me] at Border [in South Africa] with Mark Boucher, Makhaya Ntini and Justin Kemp. Went on to set up the Border Academy and coach Border. Mark and Makhaya both played in that team. Coached Pakistan at two Cricket World Cups, including the final in ’99. Fast forward through nine championships won across all formats in South Africa, 3 x double in three consecutive years, Steyn, Morkel, du Plessis coming through those winning set-ups.”And although WICB [CWI] doesn’t seem to get much credit for the three World Cups [World T20, Women’s World T20 and Under-19 World Cup] won in 2016, they weren’t an accident, the U-19 and women were run by the HP program[me]. I wasn’t replaced by Jimmy, I’d declined an extension. Regards Richard.”

The Supreme Court of India has allowed the BCCI to release INR 1.33 crore per Test and INR 25 lakh per match to the state associations for hosting the final two Tests and the three ODIs and T20s next year

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Dec-2016The Supreme Court of India has allowed the BCCI to release INR 1.33 crore to the state associations of Mumbai and Tamil Nadu for hosting the final two Tests of the England series. The fourth Test starts in Mumbai on Thursday and the final match is scheduled from December 16.On Wednesday morning the BCCI filed a plea seeking funds to host the remaining matches of the England series after the court in its interim order of October 21 had curtailed the boards’s financial freedom by asking to “cease and desist” from disbursing any money to the state associations till they complied with the Lodha Committee’s recommendations. In November, the court had granted an amount of INR 58.66 lakh (USD 86,000 approx) for each of the first three Tests of the England series.On Wednesday, TS Thakur, the chief justice of India, told the BCCI that it would need to provide an elaborate list of expenses incurred during the five Tests, which he said would be audited. Thakur also rejected the BCCI’s request to release an amount of INR 3.79 crore as advance money for the limited-overs leg of the tour. Instead, the court allowed a maximum of INR 25 lakh per match for the three ODIs and three T20Is that will be played between January 15 and February 1.”We allow this application to the extent that the BCCI shall be free to incur an expenditure of Rs. 133.82 lakhs in connection with two test matches scheduled to be played with the English team. We also permit the BCCI to incur an expenditure up to Rs. 25 lakhs per 3 match for six matches scheduled to be played with the English team in the month of January and February, 2017,” the court order said.The BCCI had also asked the court to allow it to release funds to cater to expenses incurred by state associations hosting various domestic tournaments, but Thakur did not permit that.During the hearing, Lodha Committee secretary Gopal Sankaranarayanan observed that all the state associations hosting the England matches had incidentally refused to comply with the court’s order to implement the reforms in toto. Aksed if that would benefit these state associations, Sankaranarayanan said it would, considering the venues were getting ticket money and sponsorships.”We further direct that the BCCI shall file an affidavit indicating the total receipts on all counts in connection with the matches already played and those scheduled to be played and the share of receipts which has fallen to BCCI’s lot out of the total,” the court order said. “We make it clear that no part of the amount which we have authorised shall be handed over to the cricket associations whose stadia are used for playing the matches and that the amount shall be disbursed only by Account Payee’s cheque. Needless to say that proper accounts of the expenditure so incurred shall be maintained by the BCCI.”

The jury at Chris Cairns’ perjury trial has heard how the former New Zealand allrounder reacted with exasperation and anger when confronted by police with allegations of match-fixing

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2015The jury at Chris Cairns’ perjury trial has heard how the former New Zealand allrounder reacted with exasperation and anger when confronted by police with allegations of match-fixing.Cairns, who denies two counts of perjury and perverting the course of justice, relating to his 2012 libel action against Lalit Modi, listened to tapes of his statements to police in April and May 2014, in which he responded to allegations made by his former New Zealand team-mates Lou Vincent and Brendon McCullum, as well as Eleanor Riley, Vincent’s ex-wife, all of whom have now given evidence in the trial at Southwark Crown Court.Cairns could be heard protesting on the tapes that the allegations had cost him work and left him in financial difficulties. He was especially angered by Riley’s recollection of a night out in Greater Manchester in 2008, in which she claimed that Cairns had attempted to calm her fears about her then-husband’s involvement in match-fixing by telling her that “everyone in India” was doing it.”Seriously? These are the accusations in regard to this?” Cairns told police in his statement. “This is why I can’t get money, this is why I can’t make a living? This is it?”I don’t want to seem like a whack job. I’ve been wracking my brains for months, I’ve been f**ked over.”Vincent, who has admitted to taking cannabis and medication to combat his depression following his axing from the New Zealand squad in 2007, had played under Cairns for Chandigarh Lions in the 2008 Indian Cricket League tournament.He was “always up and down, and that was without medication”, said Cairns, who claimed to have attempted to help his team-mate out during his time in the ICL, but that he had also had other players to worry about.Cairns and his fellow defendant, Andrew Fitch-Holland, are charged with perverting the course of justice after allegedly persuading Vincent to provide a false witness statement to support Cairns’ libel action against Modi. Cairns told police that Vincent had agreed to do it, but had indicated that he wanted payment in return.”He was looking for remuneration for providing something he felt would be helpful to me,” Cairns said. “He never said money, and I never said money, but without a shadow of a doubt we were talking about money.”The alleged approach, which was made in a Skype conversation in March 2011 that Vincent recorded, was played back to the court earlier in the trial.Fitch-Holland said he was unaware Vincent had “surreptitiously” taped the call, or that the player was involved in match-fixing, but did not accept that the tape served as evidence that he had been trying to obtain a false statement on behalf of Cairns, his then-client.At one point on the Skype call, Fitch-Holland tells Vincent: “we all know some of what is being said is clearly true”. This, he claimed, was a reference to Indian players who were involved in match-fixing in the ICL.”Lou Vincent is up to his neck in match-fixing and he’s trying to throw Chris Cairns under the bus … and I’m collateral damage,” Fitch-Holland said. “He is a self-confessed corrupt man and a liar.”McCullum, the current New Zealand captain, told the court last week how Cairns had called him to a meeting in a hotel room in Kolkata in 2008, ahead of the opening match of the Indian Premier League, at which he had raised the topic of spread betting over a room-service meal.Cairns, however, denied that any specific meeting had ever taken place.”I may have bumped in to him, there were a lot of the boys [New Zealand cricketers] in and out and around,” he said.Pressed on whether he had told McCullum “everyone was doing it [fixing]”, Cairns responded: “Brendon McCullum?”Asked if he’d told McCullum “not to miss out” on his chance to make money match-fixing, Cairms said “No. Brendon is misconstruing a discussion we might have been having. Baz is an inquisitive guy.”The trial continues.

When two wickets fell in three balls, Alastair Cook followed the last three overs courtesy of a running commentary by others in the dressing room

Andrew McGlashan in Auckland26-Mar-2013For most of the final day at Eden Park, Alastair Cook was tense but calm. However, when two wickets fell in three balls during the dying moments of the match, threatening to undo England’s attempts to salvage a draw, it become too much even for the England captain. He followed the last three overs courtesy of a running commentary by others in the dressing room although Monty Panesar’s brief innings brought some light relief.Cricketers are notoriously superstitious, especially in tight situations. As Ian Bell, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad pushed England closer to a draw Cook, whose role in the match ended when he was out on the fourth evening, stayed in the same seat until Broad edged to slip.”I was pretty good for the majority of it,” he said. “I watched 95 percent of it – the last 18 balls I didn’t watch, but I was having a running commentary. I sat in one place the whole day. Then we lost Broady, and I thought that position had run out of luck – so I thought I’d move.”The updates were provided by Jonathan Trott and Huw Bevan, the fitness trainer, and included some language you would not hear on TV or radio, especially when Panesar was sprawling towards his crease scampering a single to give Prior the strike.”There were a few ooh-arghs, and then a few expletives saying ‘What’s gone on there?’ Then we obviously had to sit and watch the replay and started laughing – probably the only thing you could do in that situation.”Jonathan Trott helped relay news of the last few overs to his captain, Alastair Cook•Getty Images

Watching England cling on for a draw was not a new feeling for Cook or, indeed, quite a few in the dressing room. The most famous also involved Panesar when he and James Anderson survived the final 69 deliveries against Australia at Cardiff in 2009. The following winter, Graham Onions twice batted out the final over against South Africa at Centurion and Cape Town.”With all of them, the tension is pretty much unbearable at the end,” Cook said. “Obviously, everyone remembers the Australia one – because of how important it was at the time. But there were the two in South Africa as well. This one, because it’s just happened, seems to bring back all those memories. It’s exactly the same feeling, exactly the same tension – people walking round, finding little spots to sit. It’s amazing what cricketers do in those situations.”However, while Cook could reflect with satisfaction on how England regained their pride on the final day and retained their No. 2 spot in the Test rankings with a series draw he could not escape the fact that in two out of three Tests his team had been distinctly second best.”Certainly, we came here to win,” he said. “So we’re disappointed we haven’t done that. We haven’t played as well as we needed to win a Test series. That’s the bottom line. We fought hard, but haven’t played as well as you need to beat anyone in international cricket. We’ve got to find out the reasons why that is and get back on that horse and get our standards higher.”We’ve got to give a lot of credit to New Zealand. They put us under a lot of pressure as well. It’s a combination of them playing well and us not playing as well as we know we can. We’ve just about managed to respond to the pressure, and hold on. But bowled out for 160 in the first innings in Dunedin and then here getting 200, on that wicket, is not good enough.”

The ECB’s anti-corruption chief has said a number of players have come forward to report possible match-fixing approaches

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2012Chris Watts, the ECB’s anti-corruption chief, has said a number of cricketers have come forward to report information linked to match-fixing. Players have taken advantage of the amnesty window for reporting incidents linked to corruption that was opened in the wake of the Mervyn Westfield trial.Westfield was sent to prison for four months in February, for accepting or obtaining corrupt payments as part of a spot-betting scam, prompting the ECB to allow players until the end of April to report any information they had previously witheld (it is an offence not to report approaches about corrupt activity).”It is a confidential reporting window but there have been some reports,” Watts told BBC Sport. “One of the reasons we put in the reporting window is to actually understand what is going on out there and what the vulnerabilities are. Once we understand that, then we can refine and fine-tune some of the preventive measures we’ve put in place.”One of the measures could be using Westfield to speak to other players about his experiences of spot-fixing. Westfield accepted £6,000 to concede 12 runs in an over playing for Essex against Durham in 2009 and could be used as part of the ECB’s education programme after his release.”He has got to be willing to do that. He did say publicly through his QC in his mitigation at his sentencing hearing that he wanted to give something back to cricket,” Watts told the . “He’s the one that has got to stand up and do it. He’s made those soundings on intent but whether they come to fruition is a matter for him.”He’s got the inside knowledge about his experience so to hear that would be very powerful. For other players to hear at first hand would be very powerful but he has got to want to do it himself.”Watts also indicated that for the first time off-field staff employed by the counties will be included in the education process, alongside players and support personnel such as coaches and physiotherapists.Watts took charge of the ECB’s new anti-corruption unit in November. He was previously a specialist in murder investigations at the Metropolitan Police. The anti-corruption unit is working with the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) to root out corruption in English cricket. The PCA has asked every professional player to complete an online tutorial about preventing corruption; they hope overseas players will also complete the tutorial.But the problem reaches beyond English cricket. PCA chief executive, Angus Porter, recently expressed his concerns over the organisation of the Bangladesh Premier League and whether sufficient anti-corruption measures were in place.Edited by Alan Gardner