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Sixers overcame an all-round challenge from Will Sutherland to notch up their eighth straight win over Renegades

Tristan Lavalette08-Dec-2023Steven Smith smashed a half-century in another statement as Sydney Sixers overcame a superb allround performance from Will Sutherland to edge Melbourne Renegades out at the SCG.In what will be a rare BBL appearance this season, six days before the first Test between Australia and Pakistan, Smith again relished opening the batting to top-score in Sixers’ 175 for 6.No.3 Jake Fraser-McGurk made Sixers’ veteran attack nervous with a furious 48 off 24 balls, but his dismissal just before drinks left Renegades in peril at 78 for 4.Sixers were made to work with Sutherland, having earlier starred with the ball, providing a late twist. He bludgeoned an unbeaten 51 from 30 balls before Sixers secured their eighth straight win over Renegades.Several of the high-profile signings for Renegades, who last season made finals in a bounce back, did not play including Test spinner Nathan Lyon. But legspinner Adam Zampa performed well with 2 for 24 after crossing over from Melbourne Stars.It wasn’t enough for them to break a Sixers hoodoo with Smith once again relishing returning to the BBL.Smith has openly stated his desire to open the batting for Australia at next year’s T20 World Cup having shuffled around the order previously. He auditioned for the role late in last season’s BBL with blistering centuries in consecutive innings.Smith also made a half-century against India during the recent T20I series in his first opportunity to open at the international level.After Sixers were sent into bat, Smith starred with 61 off 42 balls in a knock mixing gorgeous traditional strokes with inventive tennis-like swats. He waited patiently for the strike with opener Josh Philippe hitting a boundary off the first ball of the innings to foreshadow what was ahead.Philippe, once a BBL standout who has endured a torrid run in this season’s Sheffield Shield, was in superb touch with five boundaries in his first 11 deliveries.Smith wasn’t to be overshadowed and made his move in the third over by whipping seamer Tom Rogers through backward square before bludgeoning a six over deep square on the next delivery.With pace having no impact, offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman was thrusted into the attack in the powerplay but Smith treated him with disdain by striking three straight boundaries through the offside.Smith raced to 25 off 10 balls as Sixers stormed to 48 for 0 after four overs. Zampa hoped to stem the onslaught, but Philippe slog swept him for six into the famous Member’s Pavilion.Ben Dwarshuis picked up three crucial wickets to dent Renegades•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Sutherland provided a much-needed breakthrough with his first ball after Philippe chopped on and James Vince fell in similar fashion later in the over. Bowling a hard length, the towering Sutherland led a fightback with a brilliant four-over spell.He was difficult to score off as Smith reverted to unfurling the ramp shot to hit a rare boundary in the middle overs. Smith reached his half-century off 31 balls, but struggled to regain his earlier fluency and eventually holed out to deep midwicket off Zampa.Zampa on his next delivery clean bowled Tom Curran with a brilliant googly to continue Renegades’ stirring comeback. But late hitting from Jordan Silk and Jack Edwards lifted Sixers to a strong total.Renegades’ hopes rested on Fraser-McGurk just two months after he entered the record books for the fastest ever List A century. Wickets fell around him, but Fraser-McGurk was undaunted and whacked 18 runs in the third over off seamer Jackson Bird.He then whipped quick Sean Abbott for six to race to 24 off nine deliveries before pulverising Edwards over long-on and onto the roof.Fraser-McGurk, playing his 26th BBL game, rapidly closed in on a maiden half-century before being bamboozled by a clever slow bumper from veteran quick Ben Dwarshuis.Veteran Aaron Finch overcame a scratchy start to provide support for Sutherland, but Renegades were always pushing an uphill battle. Sutherland tried his best and a huge six off Dwarshuis meant Renegades needed 14 off the last four balls.But Dwarshuis did enough to complete a resilient performance after his father passed away this week.

His Afghanistan team-mate Mujeeb ur Rahman will join Barbados Royals

Deivarayan Muthu11-Sep-2022Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan is set to return to the CPL with the defending champions St Kitts & Nevis Patriots signing him as a like-for-like replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga.It is understood that Hasaranga, who is currently with the Sri Lanka side in the UAE for the Asia Cup final, is unavailable for the entire CPL season. Meanwhile, Maheesh Theekshana, who was picked up by Trinbago Knight Riders to play for them in this year’s tournament, is still awaiting an NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).Rashid returns to the CPL after having missed the last season owing to national commitments. Patriots will be the third team that he represents, after Guyana Amazon Warriors and Barbados Royals (then Tridents). Rashid has had success with both franchises – he was the highest wicket-taker for Tridents in CPL 2020, with 11 strikes in ten games at an economy rate of 6.85. Earlier in 2017, he bagged the first-ever CPL hat-trick, for Amazon Warriors, to knock out Jamaica Tallawahs.Malolan Rangarajan, Patriots’ assistant coach and strategy coach, was happy with Rashid’s inclusion which he expressed via Twitter, “Missing Wanindu, [but] can’t complain about the replacement.”Related

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Patriots could really use a player as accomplished as Rashid. They have only one win in five games, and even that came in unlikely circumstances, where they had to make history by becoming the first CPL team to score more than 20 runs in the last over to get across the lineRashid will now lead a spin attack that includes Sri Lanka’s Akila Dananjaya, Afghanistan’s Izharulhaq Naveed and local boys Jaden Carmichael and Jon-Russ Jaggesar.Rashid was recently in action at the Asia Cup, where he was Afghanistan’s second-highest wicket-taker, with six scalps in five matches at an economy rate of 6.55. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who took one more wicket than Rashid at the Asia Cup, will link up with the table-topping Barbados Royals this CPL.Adam Hose has earned his maiden CPL gig•Getty Images

Hose to replace David at St Lucia Kings
St Lucia Kings have roped in English batter Adam Hose as a replacement for Tim David, who is set to make his T20I debut for Australia in India later this month, in the lead-up to the World Cup.Hose, 29, made 557 runs at 55.70 and a strike rate of 160.98 in this year’s T20 Blast and also had a strong Hundred season for Northern Superchargers. He was also snapped up by Adelaide Strikers in the BBL draft last month.

Chris Silverwood assumes responsibility with Joe Root and Eoin Morgan alongside him

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2021Ed Smith is to leave the ECB with almost immediate effect after his role was made redundant.Smith, who was appointed as national selector three years ago to the day, has been squeezed out after a restructure of the selection process by Ashley Giles, the managing director of England’s men’s cricket.Under the new structure, the head coach, Chris Silverwood, will have responsibility for squad selections. He and the team captains, Joe Root in Test cricket and Eoin Morgan in the limited-overs formats, will then decide on the final XI together.How Silverwood can combine his role as coach and selector remains to be seen. England’s relentless schedule provides him with little time to watch county or pathway cricket, though the ECB have previously said he may not need to be with the senior sides at all times.He will, however, have some assistance. James Taylor keeps his job, though its title will change from ‘England selector’ to ‘head scout’, while Mo Bobat, the performance director, will also provide input. Information from performance analysis and scouting is likely to become more important.”I would like to personally thank Ed for his contribution to the England men’s teams over the past three years,” Giles said. “Ed’s input has helped deliver successes for all our England Teams, and he has worked with commitment and professionalism throughout his time as National Selector. I wish him well in his future endeavours.”The new structure also makes lines of accountability much clearer, with Chris Silverwood, as Head Coach, taking ultimate responsibility for picking England senior men’s squads.”On the face of things, Smith is the victim of a restructuring that no longer has the necessity for his role. It may be relevant, however, that the relationship between Smith and some within the England set-up has been on the wane for some time. Some felt he attempted to interfere in team (rather than squad) selection, which has traditionally been the preserve of the captain and coach. Several players were understood to have taken a personal dislike to him.It may be that the turning point for Smith’s tenure came in the Barbados Test of January 2019 when Stuart Broad was left out for Sam Curran and England lost heavily. Some felt Smith has exerted a surprising amount of pressure over the final selection.Related

• Ed Smith appointed as ECB National Selector

• Rest and rotation will be 'crucial' for England claims selector Smith

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There have been successes under Smith’s watch. Jos Buttler’s return to the Test team has, in general, been well received, while his willingness to back young players such as Curran and Dom Bess has refreshed the England side. Negatives include picking Jason Roy as an opener for the Ashes, asking Ollie Pope to bat at No. 4 in his first incarnation in the team and the apparent shunning of Moeen Ali.”It has been a huge privilege to work with great people trying to help England cricket and I am excited about watching England’s continued development,” Smith said. “I’ve been very lucky to work with James Taylor, and I’m delighted that he will remain part of the new structure. My thanks to the dedicated team of scouts and to all the coaches, data analysts, medics and members of the ECB Pathway, who are available every day of the year at all hours to help England’s decision-makers.”England’s two captains, Joe and Eoin, have already completed remarkable achievements in an England shirt. England has two men dedicated to playing cricket in a way that makes the country proud. The role of National Selector has been enjoyable and rewarding, and that is significantly due to my interaction with all of the England players.”At such a high point for England cricket, I wish Ashley Giles, the coaches and all support staff good fortune over the coming months. I know how hard Ashley and his team work for England cricket. In particular, I’d like to wish Chris Silverwood good luck and every success going forward.”

Seamer to play on into his 40s with Middlesex after calling time on international career

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2019Tim Murtagh has announced his retirement from Ireland duty after signing a two-year contract extension with Middlesex. The decision, forced in part by the change to ECB regulations that would have seen him classed as an overseas player had his continued his international career, means Murtagh’s final outing in an Ireland shirt was his honours board-worthy performance in their maiden Test at Lord’s.Murtagh, 38, has instead committed to Middlesex, where he has taken almost 1000 wickets since moving from Surrey in 2007. He was first capped by Ireland in 2012, qualifying through his Irish grandparents, and went on to feature in all three formats, delivering their first ball as a Test nation at Malahide last year.However, with Ireland’s rise to Test status came the ECB’s decision to revoke their status as non-overseas players. With that rule due to come into effect from next summer, Murtagh has lived up to his word after telling Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser, that he would stick with the county if required to make the choice. Several Irish players have been forced to give up county contracts in recent times, including Paul Stirling at Middlesex.”This is a day that I have known has been coming for a few years since the ECB changed their regulations, but it hasn’t made the decision any easier,” Murtagh said. “I’ve had eight great years playing international cricket and loved every minute of it. It’s sad that it has come to an end but a decision that I have made my peace with.”I made a promise to Angus Fraser when I first started playing international cricket that if I ever had to make a choice between playing for Ireland or rewarding Middlesex for the commitment they’d shown to me over the years, that I would commit to finishing my playing days at Lord’s.”Having been a member of the Middlesex family for over a decade now, I believe that with the additions we’ve made over the winter, we have one of the most promising squads here now that I’ve ever been a part of.”I wouldn’t have committed my future to Middlesex unless I felt that the club shared my ambition to win trophies and we have a huge amount of young talent here to drive us forwards towards that goal. Under the new coaching regime, we’ve got a harmonious dressing room that is excited for the new season to get underway and a new captain that everyone is keen to impress.”Murtagh made his T20I and ODI debuts within a few days of each other in July 2012, although his hopes of playing at the 2015 World Cup were dashed by a foot injury. He was part of the 2016 World T20 team, before making three Test appearances as Ireland rose to Full Member status at the ICC.Each of them were memorable: he opened the bowling against Pakistan in 2018, taking six wickets as Ireland briefly threatened an upset; against Afghanistan, in Dehradun, he scored a maiden Test fifty batting at No. 11; and then at Lord’s earlier this year, his five-wicket haul saw England dismissed before lunch on the first day, although Ireland then collapsed themselves in the second innings as the wait for a first Test win went on.”On behalf of the management and staff of Cricket Ireland I’d like to thank Tim for his eight years of service to Irish cricket,” Cricket Ireland’s performance director, Richard Holdsworth, said. “It only seems like the other day that we were organising the paperwork to allow him to declare for Ireland – while you always hope for the best when opportunities like that arise, little did we know the impact he would have on the international setup.”Irish cricket has been on quite a journey over the last decade, and Tim has certainly played a key role in our rise. That the Lord’s Test will be his last game for us is very appropriate, and he certainly gave a lot of Irish fans great pleasure on that first morning having written his name on the honours board before lunch.”We know how hard the decision was for him, but we wish Tim, Karina and his family well. I would also like to thank Angus Fraser and all at Middlesex Cricket for their support and flexibility in working with us on Tim’s availability for internationals and tours. Cricket Ireland and Middlesex have had a great relationship over many years, and it is always appreciated when club and country can work so well together for the benefit of the player.”Murtagh is set to play on into his 40s with Middlesex, with the club aiming to push for promotion in the Championship next season. Middlesex finished a disappointing eighth in Division Two in 2019, with Dawid Malan resigning the captaincy and subsequently moving to Yorkshire; they will be led next year by Australia batsman Peter Handscomb.Middlesex’s head coach, Stuart Law, said: “To have Murts commit to Middlesex for the future is really great news for the club. It has been a tough decision for him no doubt, but we are looking forward to seeing him continue to provide the team with quality and experience.”A vital member of our squad, both on and off the field, I look forward to working with him again in 2020.”

Another day of rain-hit preparations gives England further selection issues ahead of the first Test in Galle next week

George Dobell in Colombo01-Nov-2018England’s preparations for the Test series against Sri Lanka have been further hit by rain.Plans for a two-day warm-up game against a Sri Lanka Board team starting on Thursday had to be abandoned after storms in Colombo overnight. The teams hope to play a 50-over a side game starting at 9.30am on Friday instead.Even if that game goes ahead – there has been only one day’s play on the entire tour that has been unaffected by rain and the forecast is not encouraging – it seems England will go into the first Test in Galle next week underprepared. In terms of red-ball cricket, they have had just two days’ play so far with several players – notably Keaton Jennings and Joe Denly – missing out on the chance to bat or bowl for a long period of time.Of more concern, perhaps, is the fact that neither Olly Stone or Jack Leach played any part in that first warm-up match. If England are serious about trying a different formula in an attempt to improve their overseas results – they have lost their last three overseas series and 10 of their last 13 Tests with the other three drawn – both men are the sort of cricketers who should be considered. Stone offers the prospect of the pace that England so clearly lacked in the Ashes, while Leach could fulfil the role of third frontline spinner in the England attack.England’s predicament is likely to renew criticism both of the timing of the tour – which is during a period when heavy rain is usual in Sri Lanka – and its schedule. While such itineraries are a feature of most modern tours – India left themselves similarly underprepared heading into the Test series in England earlier in the year – they do nothing to alter the dominance of home teams. Long-term, you wonder if they are helping Test cricket.On a more short-term basis, England might also regret the decision not to field Leach in the first two-day warm-up game. If he is a serious option for the Test series – and he really should be – it would have made sense to take every opportunity to play him. England were not limited to 11 players in the match, after all – 13 of them had a go at one stage or another – and this was a predictable problem. As Joe Root had said the day before the game: “With the weather around, you don’t know when the next opportunity is going to come your way.”But instead of giving him a bowl, they provided game-time to four seamers and then allowed the second new ball to be taken by Denly and Adil Rashid. Root and Denly bowled 14.5 overs between them; overs which could have been bowled by Leach.Leach admitted he had “itchy feet” in his desire to play and replied to a question asking if he could play in Galle without any cricket in the warm-up games by saying he would “give it my best shot”.”If there’s rain about it’s about going to Galle, having two days of prep there and putting your name in the hat through nets,” he told the BBC. “Whatever happens I’ll give it my best shot.”This episode threatens to sustain a long run of poor fortune when it comes to Leach and England. First, he was found to have an illegal bowling action just as he had forced himself to the brink of selection – at the end of 2016 – before Mason Crane was somewhat controversially selected ahead of him for the Ashes tour at the end of the following year. Crane, it is understood, was the choice of the captain and coach while at least some of the selectors wanted Leach. As it was, Moeen Ali was obliged to play for most of the series when not fully fit and suffered as a consequence.Then, after Leach made his Test debut in New Zealand at the start of 2018, it appeared he was on the brink of a run in the side. Instead he suffered a broken thumb and then a concussion injury (he was hit on the head by a short ball from Morne Morkel) and was left out of the team for the Pakistan series as the selectors felt – not unreasonably – that he lacked sufficient bowling.He has, at least, had time to bowl in the nets on this tour. But if he does play in this series, he will have to do so without sufficient game time.

Leaders Notts were too strong for promotion rivals Northants – and Worcestershire and R Ashwin are next up

ECB Reporters Network31-Aug-2017Samit Patel picked up three cheap wickets•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire remain on course for an immediate return to top flight cricket after defeating Northamptonshire by 163 runs on the final day of their Specsavers County Championship fixture at Trent Bridge.The Division Two leaders needed just over an hour to take the final five Northants wickets, with Adam Rossington unable to bat due to the thumb injury he sustained on the second day.Samit Patel closed out the contest, finishing with 3 for 17 and Jake Ball picked up 3 for 86.The outcome may have done irreparable damage to Northamptonshire’s promotion hopes. Having claimed just three bonus points, their tardy over-rate of minus five left them another couple of points in debit, ground they will hope to make back when they face in-form Sussex at Wantage Road next week.Nottinghamshire, gained another 20 points and remain unbeaten at the top of the Division Two table, ahead of next week’s clash at home to second-placed Worcestershire.David Ripley, Northants’ coach, recognised his injury-disrupted side had ultimately been outplayed, but reserved most of his irritation for losing points because of their slow overrate. “That’s not good,” he said. “We’ve just spoken about it as a group. We talk about it far too much and we need some actions. That’s going to hit us because we are going to lose points from this game and go back with minus points. In the past we’ve not been promoted out of this division by just one point, so every point is vital and we’ve just lobbed some away.”Resuming on 167 for 4, after they had added an unbroken 45 for the fifth wicket in the gloomy conditions of the previous evening, Alex Wakeley and Josh Cobb were parted in just the second over of the day.Wakeley, having advanced his score to 37, pushed firmly at Brett Hutton and nicked firmly through to Chris Read. The same combination accounted for Rory Kleinveldt four overs later, although the South African all-rounder, who made 12, was swishing vigorously towards extra cover.Read’s third catch of the morning saw off Cobb, for 38, with Ball adding to the two wickets he grabbed on the third day.Azharullah decided to make the most of a rare opportunity to throw the bat and hit five fours in making 23 but he then miscued Samit Patel high to Cheteshwar Pujara at cover.Ben Sanderson, batting with a hamstring injury and using Rob Keogh as his runner, made an enterprising 16 not out but the innings ended when Richard Gleeson, who scored 21, clubbed Patel into the safe hands of Riki Wessels at mid off.

Veteran spinner Brad Hogg has left the Perth Scorchers and at the age of 45 will start afresh with a different BBL club, believed to be the Melbourne Renegades

Brydon Coverdale08-Jul-2016Veteran spinner Brad Hogg has left the Perth Scorchers and at 45 will start afresh with a different Big Bash League club, believed to be the Melbourne Renegades. No official announcement has been forthcoming from the Renegades, but Scorchers coach Justin Langer confirmed on Friday that Hogg was leaving the Scorchers.Hogg, a cult figure with the Scorchers since coming out of retirement to play with them from the start of the 2011-12 season, has been their leading wicket taker with 46 wickets at 21.82. Only Ben Laughlin (60 wickets for Adelaide Strikers and Hobart Hurricanes) has more BBL wickets, although Hogg had a leaner campaign last year, with just six wickets in nine games.”Very disappointing,” Langer told reporters in Perth on Friday of Hogg’s departure. “I know [where he’s going], but I can’t tell you where he’s going. But he’s leaving the Scorchers. I’m really disappointed about that. What can I say? I’m personally disappointed, professionally disappointed, but it’s his decision and life goes on.”In my opinion he’s made a wrong decision, that’s okay, that’s not my business. But I can go to bed at night knowing we offered him more money than we offered him last year, we think we’ve had as good deal with him for the last few years and it could have been a real win-win situation for him and us.”But we wish him the best, we’ve been friends since we went to school together. I think he’s been brilliant for the Scorchers. I think on and off the field he is fantastic, he’s a good friend of mine but it’s disappointing.”Hogg originally retired from all cricket in 2008, but made a comeback when the BBL started in 2011. He helped the Scorchers to back-to-back titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and unexpectedly returned to Australia’s T20 side in 2014, becoming their oldest T20 international player at 43. This year, at 45, he became the oldest man ever to play in the IPL.

Rory Burns has made his return to action for Surrey two weeks after his sickening collision with Moises Henriques against Sussex at Arundel which left both players in hospital

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2015Rory Burns, the Surrey batsman, has made his return to action two weeks after his sickening collision with Moises Henriques against Sussex, at Arundel, which left both players in hospital.Burns suffered lacerations to his face in the incident and was knocked unconscious although had come around by the time he left the ground in an ambulance.In his first innings back he made 21 opening the batting in the County Championship against Gloucestershire at The Oval before being caught behind off Liam Norwell. Earlier in the week, Burns had said he did not have any recollection of the moment of impact on the outfield during the NatWest T20 Blast fixture.”I don’t remember any of the collision,” he told . “I remember the ball going up and thinking I probably have to put my foot down to try and get there – I got there, remember diving, but don’t remember me and Moises colliding. Apart from that, I remember the whole game then waking up and seeing the paramedics.”The headaches have died down now, the stitches are out and scarring up nicely so I’m on the mend.”Henriques suffered a broken jaw in the accident and damage to his teeth but Burns said he is making good progress”I’ve seen him a couple of times, he’s in good spirits. He came off slightly worse with his jaw and his teeth but he’s on the mend.”

Australia’s chairman of selectors, John Inverarity, has declared Michael Clarke only had a 50-50 chance of playing the Boxing Day Test and said Mitchell Starc was almost certain to be rested due to his heavy workload

Brydon Coverdale in Melbourne23-Dec-2012Australia’s chairman of selectors, John Inverarity, has declared Michael Clarke only had a 50-50 chance of playing the Boxing Day Test and said Mitchell Starc was almost certain to be rested due to his heavy workload. On Sunday, Clarke jogged at half pace on the MCG under the watchful eye of the team physio Alex Kountouris, as he continued his recovery from the hamstring injury that forced him to retire hurt while batting during Australia’s win over Sri Lanka in Hobart.Clarke did not bat at training on Sunday and had his troublesome muscle strapped with an ice-pack while his team-mates worked in the nets in Melbourne’s extreme heat. He took part in long discussions with Inverarity and the coach Mickey Arthur, and while Clarke remains in contention to lead the side on Boxing Day, Inverarity said a conservative approach would be taken regarding Clarke’s fitness.”He’s travelling optimistically and well. But he’s 50-50 as to whether he’ll be fit enough to play on Boxing Day,” Inverarity said. “He’s a very precious asset and I would go low risk. He’s always upbeat, he desperately wants to play. But we certainly don’t want to push him especially hard in a Test for him to break down.”Shane Watson will captain Australia if Clarke is ruled out, and he would become the 44th man to lead Australia in a Test. It is an elite group that does not include some of Australia’s greats – Victor Trumper and Shane Warne, to name just two men who did not captain Australia in Tests – and Watson said he had learnt plenty about leadership while filling in for Clarke during eight one-day internationals earlier this year.”It’s about as big as it gets for an Australian cricketer,” Watson said. “There’s no doubt if that opportunity arises it certainly would be … an amazing opportunity to think something like that has come along in your life. But I’m trying not to get too far in front of myself at the moment.”The thing that really stood out to me [in the ODIs] was to trust my gut instinct. Until you captain a side you don’t really realise the intuition you’ve developed over 10 or 11 years of first-class cricket and also being around some of the best players who have ever played for Australia. Intuition really does come to the fore and you’re able to do things tactically that you didn’t think you had in you.”If Watson leads the side, he will almost certainly be without the left-armer Starc, who is not injured and bowled in the nets on Sunday, but is expected to be rested. At 22, Starc is one of the younger members of Australia’s fast-bowling group and after the breakdowns of James Pattinson and Pat Cummins, the selectors are wary of asking too much of Starc, despite the fact that he has taken 14 wickets in the past two Tests.”He’ll either play Melbourne or Sydney, but it would make some sense that he misses this one and plays Sydney rather than goes Hobart and then Melbourne,” Inverarity said. “It’s about bowling loads. The science behind it is that they’ve got to build up their bowling loads so the oscillations are not very significant. If they do become reasonably significant, as they have done for Mitchell, then you enter a danger period, a high-risk period.”Should Starc sit out, that would mean a Test debut for the Tasmania fast bowler Jackson Bird, who would join Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon in the attack. The backup batsman in the squad, Usman Khawaja, batted in the nets on Sunday and even sent down a few offspinners, preparing for what will be his first Test in more than a year, if Clarke is ruled out.

Brian Lara has said that the administrative infrastructure for cricket in the West Indies has to improve before the team can become consistently competitive again

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2011Brian Lara, the former West Indies captain, has said that the administrative infrastructure for cricket in the West Indies has to improve before the team can become consistently competitive again.Lara, who scored 11,953 runs in 131 Tests, was speaking at the World Travel Market in London last week, where he was part of a contingent representing Trinidad & Tobago as a tourist destination. He was not surprised West Indies failed to hammer home the advantage in the first Test against India, and ultimately ended up losing by five wickets.”[We] still have a very long way to go,’ Lara told the . “I would not have been surprised if we won this game, because I know what we are capable of — sporadic, good sporadic performances — one here, one next year, but in terms of consistency, Trinidad, West Indies lack that, and that is not something that you regain overnight.”I think our infrastructure is terrible administratively, we have got it wrong on many occasions.”A key problem, according to Lara, was the tumultuous relationship between the cricket board and the players. “Our player-board relationship — that has gone wrong for many years, gone sour, and we need to improve these things, fix it, set a base, get the infrastructure in, and then think about five, ten years down the line.”So it might be a dismal outlook, but if we keep just trying to put a plaster on every sore that we have, it’s not going to work. So I hope one day somebody’s going to take it up and really get things going.”Lara said there was still plenty of cricketing talent in the region, but it needed to be developed and nurtured properly. “On any given day, I think we’ve got the best talented cricketers in the world,” Lara said. “It’s always been the case over the years, since even before my days … cricket has gone a long way now. Talent is only a very small part compared to 20, 30 years ago, when it was a major part — your physical fitness, your talent — that played a bigger role.”Now [with] technology, there is a lot of things coming into play, and I say it all the time — we in the West Indies take very good talent and make it average, and people like Australia and England and India take average talent and make it very, very good, and that is where the problem lies.”