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Sam Curran top-scores before Reece Topley leads way with the ball

ECB Reporters Network03-Jun-2022Reigning Vitality Blast champions Kent Spitfires continued their abject title defence title with a 32-run defeat to Surrey at Canterbury.Spitfires have now lost all five of their Blast matches this season and after limiting Surrey to 159 for 6, they slumped to 127 for 9 in reply. It was a comprehensive and fully deserved win for the visitors, who smothered Kent’s run chase and shared the wickets around, with all six bowlers claiming at least one victim.Reece Topley had Surrey’s best figures with 3 for 24, while Chris Jordan took 2 for 27. Joe Denly made 44 for Kent, but lacked any real support during an increasingly doomed run chase.Sam Curran was Surrey’s top-scorer with 43 while Jamie Overton added 27 at the death to tilt the momentum in the visitors’ favour. Fred Klaassen took 2 for 41 and Grant Stewart 2 for 42, but both men should have had more wickets as an improved fielding performance by Kent was still marred by a number of drops.Without a win all season in any format, and with their confidence drained by four incrementally depressing defeats in the Blast, Kent looked sharper in the field than have at times this season, but after winning the toss and choosing to bowl they still allowed the visitors 10-20 more runs than they might had if they’d taken their catches.Will Jacks fell for 2 in the second over, an ugly swipe off Klaassen flying almost vertically off the top edge before it was caught by Denly. Jason Roy made 23 before he was bowled by Grant Stewart, while Curran, who’d offered Sam Billings a difficult chance off Qais Ahmad when he was on 35, misjudged a sweep shot and was caught by Klaassen off Matt Milnes.Sunil Narine hit the first six of the innings when he pulled Stewart over the square leg boundary at the start of the 14th over, but as Surrey looked to accelerate, Laurie Evans was lbw to a Klassen yorker for 19 and Narine hit Stewart to Denly at long-on. Stewart was denied a third wicket when Jordan Clark was dropped by Jack Leaning, who may have been distracted by the inrushing Denly.Overton smacked Klaassen for successive sixes in the final over and was then dropped by Daniel Bell-Drummond before he was run out for 27 by Billings, chasing a single off the final ball of the innings.The chase got off to a rocky start when Bell-Drummond flicked Clark to Narine at short fine leg for just 3 in the second over and Daniel Worrall then had Jordan Cox caught behind for 2. Billings holed out to Overton and was caught for 16 by Jacks ,and Alex Blake was out for the same score when he pulled Jordan to Clark. When Narine tempted Jack Leaning to swish a delivery to Jordan for just 1, Kent were 75 for 5 in the 14th over.With five overs left the rate had climbed to 15 and with no choice but to go down swinging, George Linde was out for 13 to a brilliant piece of fielding by Jordan. Linde drove Topley to the boundary, but Jordan threw the ball in the air before stepping over the boundary and stepping back in again to complete the catch.Supporters were leaving in their droves well before the end and although they missed some late pyrotechnics from Stewart, who hit sixes from successive Topley deliveries, he was out for 17 when he skied to Jamie Smith behind the stumps. Denly fell in almost identical fashion to the final ball of the 19th, leaving Kent needing an impossible 42 from the final six balls. Ahmad was caught by Evans of Jordan for 5 but by then it was academic.

Javeria Khan, Anam Amin and rain deny SA a 3-0 sweep

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2021
After being swept 3-0 in the ODI series and losing the first two T20Is, Pakistan women ended their South Africa tour with a consolation victory in a rain-hit third T20I in Durban. After being put into bat, the visitors made 127 for 6 in their 20 overs, with captain Javeria Khan top-scoring for them with an unbeaten 56 off 50 balls. Rain then interrupted South Africa women’s chase and they were behind the asking rate when a second spell of rain forced an end to the match.Left-arm fingerspinner Anam Amin had jolted South Africa early by getting Anne Bosch (13) and Marizanne Kapp (1). When Lara Goodall fell, they slipped to 45 for 4 in the tenth over and there would be no way back for them. Du Preez who top-scored for South Africa with 24 not out off 23 balls was the only batter to strike at over 100 in the chase.In the first innings, Pakistan went through the powerplay unscathed before losing the wickets of Ayesha Zafar and Muneeba Ali in successive overs. Tumi Sekhukhune and Nondumiso Shangase made further inroads to reduce Pakistan to 66 for 5 in the 13th over. However, Javeria Khan and Kainat Imtiaz propped them up with a 61-run stand off 43 balls.Khan, who had missed the first two T20Is due to a finger injury, batted through the innings in the third while Imtiaz was dismissed off the last ball. Khan was particularly severe on Shabnim Ismail, taking her for 21 off 15 balls. Shangase was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa with 3 for 20.Graeme Smith, CSA director of cricket, praised the South Africa team for their 2-1 series win and Pakistan for visiting the country in the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.”All in all we are very proud of head coach Hilton (Moreeng) and his team,” Smith said in a media release. “The women’s game is continuing to make great strides and this is really exciting for all South Africans.”Finally I must also thank the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for undertaking the trip to our country during these difficult times. As we have seen with Covid-19, the sporting landscape has changed dramatically and we feel honoured to have hosted them during an incident-free tour.”

While conceding it was tough to keep a “world class” bowler like Ashwin out, the Indian coach pointed to Jadeja’s all-round utility and specific skill-set as the reasons for his selection

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2019India head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed why India have picked Ravindra Jadeja, rather than R Ashwin, as their lone spinner in the two Tests against West Indies. Shastri admitted it was difficult to leave a “world-class” bowler like Ashwin on the bench, but pointed to various attributes that gave Jadeja the edge.Chiefly, he said India’s team management had felt Jadeja’s pace through the air would have made him difficult to face on a damp Antigua pitch in case India needed to bowl first.”Jaddu’s record is fabulous,” Shastri said, speaking to the former England offspinner Graeme Swann, who is part of the commentary team. “You have to see what he brings to the table. He’s arguably the best fielder in the world now. He’s improved his batting like hell. And if you see these tracks, I don’t think there will be much on offer for the spinner, so you would need control.”The reason why we picked Jadeja in the first Test was, in case we fielded and the track was damp, with his pace he would have made life a little awkward for the batsmen. He could have been used even on day one in the first session of play.”But it’s tough – to keep a world-class guy like Ash out, and then there’s Kuldeep [Yadav] in the wings. Never easy. For that matter, in the batting line-up, to keep someone like Rohit Sharma on the sidelines, especially on the back of five hundreds in the World Cup and some very good form that he’s carrying, it’s tough.”As it happened, West Indies chose to bowl first in Antigua. Jadeja played a key role with the bat, coming in at 189 for 6 in the first innings and scoring 58 to help haul India to a competitive total of 297. That innings continued a rich vein of batting form in Test cricket, where he has averaged 41.80, with a century and ten fifties, since the start of 2016.Jadeja wasn’t required to put in too much of a shift with the ball in Antigua, as the fast bowlers led the way in bowling India to a 318-run victory. The fast-bowling combination of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami has been a vital part of India’s recent successes, and Shastri said having bowlers capable of taking 20 wickets in any conditions narrowed the gap between home and away Tests.”[India bowling coach] Bharat Arun has seen a lot of these guys from a very young age,” Shastri said. “Our endeavour was to get a really good bowling attack in place that could take us 20 wickets anywhere. Once you have a good bowling attack that can take 20 wickets anywhere, then no game is an away game. Every game is a home game. It doesn’t matter what the pitch is, you have the ammunition.”These three fast bowlers complement each other beautifully. One’s tall (Ishant), Bumrah has the most awkward action yet gets the ball to swing both ways, and Shami is someone who presents the seam better than [most]. The only other guy I know who presents the seam in that fashion is Jimmy Anderson. You’ve got variety there, plus you’ve got spin – you’ve got Kuldeep, Ash, Jadeja, and there are two or three more in the ranks, which is good.”

The Sri Lanka captain, coach and manager have “agreed” to not participate in the Test series after the ICC concluded its hearing on the trio pleading guilty to a level three spirit of cricket offence

Andrew Fidel Fernando11-Jul-2018Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusingha and manager Asanka Gurusinha have accepted they will not participate in the Test series against South Africa, after the ICC concluded its hearing on the trio, who had pleaded guilty to a level three spirit of cricket offence.The ICC tweeted ten hours before the start of the first Test that the judicial commissioner would announce his decision in “due course”. In the interim, Chandimal, Hathurusingha and Gurusinha will serve a two-match suspension at least. The hearing, which began at roughly 6pm Sri Lanka time on Wednesday, went for more than five hours.That the trio will sit out the Tests is no real surprise – they had pleaded guilty to an offence that carries a minimum punishment of four suspension points, which corresponds to two Tests. They will hope, however, that judicial comissioner Michael Beloff hands out no more than four suspension points. He could slap them with as many as eight points, which would rule them out of four further ODIs as well. One suspension point corresponds to a ban of one ODI.In fact, Sri Lanka had hoped to talk the ICC down from even the minimum suspension of two Tests, citing several mitigating factors for their refusal to take the field on the third morning of the St Lucia Test last month. They had argued that the entire two-hour delay that morning was not solely their fault, and that a miscommunication with the match officials had lengthened the delay.But with the three men having already pleaded guilty to the offence, a two-match suspension at least was always likely to be imposed.The spirit of cricket charge relates to Sri Lanka’s refusal to resume play on the third day in St Lucia. After initially having reacted with shock at a ball-tampering charge against Chandimal, which was laid only ten minutes before play on that morning, Sri Lanka had refused to take the field in protest. They had then briefly walked on to the field, believing that no five-run penalty for tampering would be incurred, and that the ball that was used the previous day would not be changed. But upon realising that the umpires were in fact changing the ball, and that the five-run penalty was indeed added on, they left the field again, delaying play for another 40 minutes.Chandimal has already served a one-match suspension for tampering, but this punishment for the spirit of cricket offence will extend his ban. He is allowed to be in Sri Lanka’s dressing room throughout this South Africa series, but is not allowed to take the field. Hathurusingha, meanwhile, cannot be in the players’ dressing room at any stage during the Tests, though he may attend the match via other means. He can also continue his coaching duties as normal in between the matches he is suspended for. Gurusinha will face the same penalty as Hathurusingha.The loss of Chandimal is a substantial blow to Sri Lanka. He averages 52.47 as captain, and had also led Sri Lanka to creditable results in the UAE (against Pakistan), India and Bangladesh. Suranga Lakmal is likely to lead Sri Lanka in his stead.

Racing against time, Cricket Australia are trying to get the Burswood ground ready to host a Test match next summer

Daniel Brettig08-May-2017An Ashes debut for Perth’s new stadium remains in Cricket Australia’s sights, with the chief executive James Sutherland to head west this week for meetings aimed at getting the 60,000 capacity Burswood development up and running in time for the third match of next summer’s five-Test series.On the day tickets went on sale to the general public for all venues but Perth, Sutherland said he was in continuing talks with stadium management – helmed by former CA executive Mike McKenna – the West Australian government and the builders to see if the precinct can be ready in time for the Ashes.This is despite reports out of Perth last month indicating the state government had all but ruled out the possibility of the Test being played in the new stadium, which features drop-in pitches. A January ODI between Australia and England appears the more likely time for the unveiling.”Either way we’re very optimistic that we’ll be playing cricket at the new stadium in 2017-18, but we’re hopeful it will be a Test match because I think people will come from everywhere to be a part of the event,” Sutherland said. “We know there’s latent demand in the UK just waiting for an announcement and they’re ready to go, because Perth’s just that little bit closer to the UK and I know it’s a place that English travellers love to get to.”We’re looking towards the end of this month to make a decision. We want to get tickets on sale as soon as possible, give everyone plenty of notice of what needs to get in order, but certainly we’ll continue to have conversations, I’m in Perth this week to have some conversations with relevant people and we’ll hopefully, by the end of this month, be able to make announcements about when tickets go on sale.”The stadium’s management – which also includes CA’s former head of events Chris Loftus-Hills – has remained steadfast that the venue is intended only to be ready in time for next year’s AFL season. Australia have hosted Ashes Tests at incomplete stadiums before, most recently during the Adelaide Oval redevelopment, when the majority of the ground was available for play.File photo: The new stadium in Burswood is expected to hold a capacity of 60,000 people and will feature drop-in pitches•Getty Images

“From what I understand the stadium will be fully complete and ready to go [when it hosts its first match],” Sutherland said. “It’s very much about the logistics and planning. The completion dates for the stadium actually work pretty well for us, but at the same time a Test match in Perth at the new stadium would be a huge event, and there’s little room for things to go wrong in terms of teething problems that are in some ways perhaps inevitable.”We’re really optimistic about the way in which the event could be staged in the new stadium, we’ve got great confidence in that, but we also understand that through government, through the stadium manager and also the builders, there are a lot of logistics we’re not necessarily across that need to be worked through.”We’d love to see the Test match be the opening event for the new stadium, but to some extent that’s out of our control. We’ll just put our best foot forward and try to impress that upon the powers that be in Perth.”CA recently named Antonia Beggs as the governing body’s new head of match operations and events, after she had previously served at the head of client relations for the European PGA tour and as Championship director of the Ryder Cup. After relocating from Britain, Beggs is expected to start in her new role in mid-July.

Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, described Mark Nicholas’ pre-tournament characterisation of his team as “short of brains” as an emotional flash point for his side during the World T20

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Kolkata02-Apr-2016Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, described commentator Mark Nicholas’ pre-tournament characterisation of his team as “short of brains” as an emotional flashpoint for his side during the World T20. Nicholas had made the comment in a column for ESPNcricinfo on March 3, writing: “West Indies are short of brains but have IPL history in their ranks.”On the eve of the final against England, Sammy said that comment and many other depictions of his team as mercenary cricketers have rankled, especially because West Indies have been a leading T20 international side for several years. They won the 2012 World T20, and progressed to the semi-final of the 2014 tournament in Bangladesh, where they lost to eventual champions Sri Lanka.”How could you describe people with no brains? Even animals have brains,” Sammy said in Kolkata. “We’re not an object, and for me, that comment really set us off. You have seen me talking about it. It’s really emotional, for somebody who I respect and have a good rapport with generally, to describe our team – who two years ago were world champions – as guys with no brains. That’s really out of order.”This passion, these emotions, this anger – what these people have been saying – this has always been there from the inception of the tournament. God don’t love the ugly, and we are very wonderful and beautifully made. That’s why we play exciting cricket. So for us, all these things that happened before the tournament – that is the passion, the determination that we take on the field. Its just one more step to lifting that cup and we believe we can do it.”Notwithstanding the loss to Afghanistan after semi-final qualification had already been assured, West Indies have had an impressive run in this World T20. They comfortably defeated England, Sri Lanka and South Africa, and ran down India’s 192 for 2 with two balls to spare, in the semi final. Sammy suggested that closing ranks and engaging a sort of siege mentality aided his side’s performance.”It’s been a tough journey,” he said. “A lot happened before the tournament, and I believe that everything always happens for a reason. I think the pre-tournament shenanigans brought us really closer together as a team. I don’t know if you have heard the coach say it. The players have said it – it feels like it’s us against everybody else. It’s a format we’ve been consistent in, but every year nobody gives us a chance. All these things brought this team together. I think the fact that a few of us are getting old now, and we are aware that it could be the last for a few key players, has also brought us closer. We’ve formed our own little circle.”West Indies chase of India’s score was notable for the number of boundaries hit. Of their eventual 196, 146 came from 20 fours and 11 sixes. Through the course of the Super 10s, they have scored 61.08% of their runs in boundaries.”People say we don’t rotate our strike well – we will talk about that,” Sammy said. “But first thing is you have to stop us from hitting boundaries. That has been difficult for oppositions once we get in that swing.”I think since the inception of T20, you’ve seen West Indies is a boundary-hitting team so that’s no surprise for me. We know the power we have in the dressing room so it was exciting to watch. Lendl Simmons, Andre Russell and Johnson Charles displayed that type of batting – boundary hitting – against India.”Having already beaten England in their opening match, West Indies perhaps go into the final as the more fancied outfit. However, Sammy said England had improved with each outing since then, and suggested that his team might even be underdogs at Eden Gardens.”We’re always David [of David and Goliath]. David is a winner. Look, even now I still don’t think people give us a chance,” he said. “Goliath was big and strong but David defeated him with a sling and one shot. We always see ourselves as David. We will play like David, be smart about it, believe in ourselves and in each other.”

The probability of Zimbabwe holding out for a draw was extinguished early on the final morning, not by the expected threat Saeed Ajmal, but by Junaid Khan and Abdur Rehman

The Report by George Binoy07-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSaeed Ajmal finished with 11 for 118, his second-best Test performance•AFP

The probability of Zimbabwe holding out for a draw was extinguished early on the final morning, not by the expected threat Saeed Ajmal, but by Junaid Khan and Abdur Rehman. On a wearing pitch with turn and uneven bounce, Zimbabwe’s batsmen were simply ill equipped to combat a situation where only longevity at the crease, and not runs, mattered.Ajmal returned for a second spell late in the first session and cut through the tail, striking twice in an over to complete the fourth ten-wicket haul of his Test career. Pakistan took the nine wickets they needed during an extended session, and while they were always favourites to close out this contest, they might have expected Zimbabwe to be less feeble.With the luxury of runs, Misbah-ul-Haq deployed his catchers: three slips and a gully for Junaid, and a slip, a leg gully, a forward short leg and a short midwicket for Ajmal. As Zimbabwe’s batsmen prodded tentatively off front foot and back, the cries from these men grew louder.Junaid ensured Pakistan’s wait for success was brief. In his first over, he delivered one that angled into the right-hander from round the wicket but the ball did not bounce as much as Hamilton Masakadza thought it would from short of a length. He held his wrists around waist height, playing no shot, and the ball crashed into the bat near the gloves and popped up to gully. In his next over, Junaid trapped Vusi Sibanda lbw with one that kept lower. Zimbabwe were 19 for 3 before the coffee had cooled.Zimbabwe’s batsmen had a torrid time against Junaid. He sprinted in from round the wicket, targeting the stumps with the angle, and got several deliveries to beat the bat by straightening or seaming away from the right-handers. He did not take another wicket, though.Malcolm Waller and Sikandar Raza had begun to stitch a partnership together when Misbah replaced Ajmal with Abdur Rehman in the first over after the drinks break. Waller drove Rehman’s second ball to the straight boundary and then swept the third in the air and was caught at square leg.Zimbabwe’s middle-order batsmen got starts and they played shots but they could not last. Raza, another relatively set batsman, was caught at short leg, giving Rehman his second wicket and reducing Zimbabwe to 58 for 5.Elton Chigumbura was Zimbabwe’s last significant line of defence, and he found the boundary occasionally through the sparsely populated outfield. His last four came by pushing hard at a flatter ball from Rehman and edging past first slip. Rehman bowled a similar delivery next ball but slowed his pace, Chigumbura pushed forward again and this time the edge went straight to slip.Ajmal’s twin strikes came just before the scheduled lunch break, which prompted the umpires to extend the session by 15 minutes. It was only a matter of time. Towards the end of that extension, Rehman darted a flat one into Tinashe Panyangara’s pads.With Zimbabwe nine down, the umpires kept the players on for a little longer. Ajmal had the final word, taking his 11th wicket to give Pakistan their first Test win since February 2012, and Dav Whatmore’s maiden victory as their coach.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have scrapped two Tests from Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies next May and instead plan to play an ODI tri-series involving India

Andrew Fernando11-Sep-2012The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have scrapped two Tests from Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies next May and instead plan to play an ODI tri-series involving India. The decision also means that players from both teams will remain available during the IPL, which runs from April 3 to May 26 next year. The teams were scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20s as per the Future Tours Programme. It is unclear if the Twenty20s will remain part of the tour.SLC chief executive Ajit Jayasekara denied the motive for foregoing the Tests was to avoid a clash with the IPL, but failed to provide an alternate reason. He said the WICB had put forward the idea, and the SLC had agreed to the change in schedule after holding discussions. Jayasekara said scheduling an ODI series instead of following the FTP would end up being “more lucrative for the board”.WICB corporate communications manager Imran Khan said that all three boards had agreed in principle to the tri-series. Dates and details would be finalised following final sanction from the BCCI. Incidentally, national boards receive 10% of each player’s salary from the IPL.This will be the second time Sri Lanka have foregone a Test series which clashes with the IPL. In 2009, they declined to replace Zimbabwe in England, when Zimbabwe were unable to tour for political reasons. In 2011, several players, including Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, missed tour matches playing in the IPL ahead of a three-Test series in England, which Sri Lanka eventually lost 1-0.West Indies spin bowler Sunil Narine also missed two Tests against England due to his IPL commitments, though he did play in the third Test. Chris Gayle did not feature in that series due to a standoff with the board, which has since been resolved.The change in the tour programme is also a continuation of the SLC’s recent trend of culling Tests from Sri Lanka’s schedule. Two tests against India in July became five ODIs and a Twenty20 and the three Tests scheduled for England in March became a two-Test series as the IPL approached. With the schedule now adjusted, Sri Lanka will not play an away Test against a top-eight opposition between January and December.The BCCI did not confirm India’s involvement in any change of plans. “We have been told about this but the matter is being discussed. Nothing has been decided or finalised yet,” a senior BCCI official said. During its annual meeting in Malaysia, the ICC had decided not to create a window for the IPL, as they did not want to set a precedent of domestic tournaments taking priority over international cricket. “Once you provide a window for one particular member, you have to be conscious of the fact you may well have to do it for other members,” then ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in June. “Hence why we have not been supportive of a window specifically for any one of those domestic leagues.”

Ireland Women recovered from their loss to Netherlands Women yesterday, to register a comprehensive 90-run win against Scotland Women in the Women’s European Championship at Kampong, Utrecht

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Kim Garth starred as Ireland bounced back from their loss to the Netherlands•ICC/CricketEurope

Ireland Women recovered from their loss to Netherlands Women yesterday, to register a comprehensive 90-run win against Scotland Women in the Women’s European Championship at Kampong, Utrecht. The win was fashioned by an all-round performance by Kim Garth and an aggressive 85 by captain Isobel Joyce.Ireland were in trouble after being asked to bat, losing their openers within the first four overs with only eight on the board. But Joyce – the sister of England and Ireland men’s player Ed Joyce – steadied the innings by stringing together partnerships with Laura Delany, Laura Boylan and Garth before being stumped for what is her best ODI score. Garth then guided the lower order, pushing Ireland to a competitive 241 for 6.None of the Scotland batsmen could really get going in the chase, as the target was reduced to 214 off 39 overs due to rain. Even Kari Anderson, who top-scored, could not move along quickly enough, her unbeaten 43 coming off 97 balls. The innings was wrecked by four run-outs, two of which involved Garth. Garth also picked up opener Catherine Smaill in a miserly spell in which she conceded 12 runs off seven overs.Scotland play Netherlands tomorrow at the same venue.

There are a couple of ways of looking at Shane Watson’s opening partnership with Simon Katich

Peter English24-Aug-2010There are a couple of ways to look at Shane Watson’s opening partnership with Simon Katich. The straight numbers way, or through the increasingly friendly displays of two content men who form the most stable sector of the country’s batting.In statistical terms they own the second-best average for Australian openers in 20 Tests or more, with their 54.95 an innings putting them behind Bill Lawry and Bob Simpson. They currently have 1099 runs together and will never reach the mark of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer (5655), mainly due to Katich’s age of 35. They are also unlikely to match the man love of their cuddle-happy predecessors, but are giving it a go.”We probably aren’t as emotional as those two were, with our public shows of affection,” Watson said. “But we’ve got a really strong inner bond. You’re never going to see as much hugging as what you did with Matt Hayden and Justin Langer, so we won’t be raising too many eyebrows in that regard.”They enjoy socialising away from the game, although Katich doesn’t use his celebrity cooking skills to fill Watson’s stomach. “We’ve had a good friendship, even before we ended up opening the batting together,” Watson said. “We know that deep down there’s such a tight inner bond because of what we’re doing, and trying to do. He’s an integral part of who we are.”Like any lasting relationship there have been bouts of silent treatment, the main one coming when they pretended to be strangers when stuck at the same end of the MCG in December. Watson was the one run-out, seven short of his first Test century, but they were soon speaking and scoring heavily again.The strength of their partnership has surprised Watson, and the odd couple has become one of the selection panel’s most successful gambles. Watson is the free-flowing, muscular, stylish striker who is made for the middle order, giving him time to recover from his bowling. The almost scrawny Katich is happy to scrape and scrap, focusing not on style, but the end-of-innings total.”It has been a really good combination of what we both do to set up a platform for the team,” he said. “I never really fully understood when the guys who opened the batting continued to talk about how important the relationship is for openers, and how important it is to be really close.”Watson likes where is so much, having scored 990 runs at 47.14 since replacing Phillip Hughes at Edgbaston last year, that his argument of not wanting to drop down the order is now convincing. At the start of his time at the top he wasn’t so sure, despite being desperate to talk up his suitability.Cold shoulder: Watson and Katich wait for the run-out decision at the MCG in December•Getty Images

“I love where I’m batting now,” he said. “It does really suit my personality in the game, which I never thought it would until I had the opportunity.”And in an order in which Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Marcus North have been battling, the opening combination takes on extreme importance. Katich has talked about turning stands of 80 into 180 and Watson wants to transform his record for entertaining half-centuries into a reputation for big hundreds. “It’s something I will be continuing to develop and improve on,” he said. “It’s a part that needs to get better.”Of course, Watson is not just a recently married metrosexual who expresses his feelings and has found the perfect hair gel. He can also turn into a fast bowler of the 1970s, without the moustache, but with the loud mouth.He has tipped Steven Finn, the 21-year-old fast bowler, and Jimmy Anderson to struggle during the 2010-11 Ashes. Finn didn’t play the one-dayers when Australia were in England earlier in the year and Watson believes his lack of big matches can be exposed.”He is someone we can really try and make the most of his inexperience,” he said. “By them resting him during the [English] summer and us not seeing him during the one-dayers – no doubt he will feel the pressure. It is so foreign, he doesn’t know what to expect.”Watson highlighted Anderson’s poor record on the 2006-07 tour, when he took five wickets at 82.60. “If he doesn’t start out the way he wants to,” he said, “those wounds can open up straight away.”However, he does rate Stuart Broad after being dismissed twice by him in last year’s Ashes. “He will be the hardest bowler we’ll have to face in the English attack,” he said. “Because of how skilful he is on wickets that aren’t doing anything. He’s able to change his pace, seam movement, angles on the crease, he’s a really intelligent bowler. England are going to be reliant on him.”Australia will be looking to Watson and Katich to blunt Broad and take control of the innings. In the end it is only the numbers that matter.