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Hussain- game is changing Photo Reuters

Quick fire cricket that has seen teams chasing higher and higher totals in the fourth innings of Tests, more result matches and more phenomenal cricket was just a natural progression of the sport, England captain Nasser Hussain said today.He was commenting on the nature of New Zealander Nathan Astle’s innings on the last day of the first Test when New Zealand notched 451 runs, the highest losing Test chase in history, and another record chase by South Africa to beat Australia in Durban yesterday.It was a natural progression from one-day cricket where people had realised what they could do.”Maybe a few years ago people didn’t realise how much they could run down the wicket and nick the ball out of the ground,” he said.”Now they realise they can so they are putting it into practise in the longer form of cricket.”I’m not saying it’s changed for better or worse. When I started there were people like Vivian Richards who could play like that.”People still played amazing innings but possibly now it had carried over into the Test match arena because the game was moving so quickly.”There are not that many boring five-day draws any more,” he said.Players were less inclined to play the Geoff Boycott stodgy game of defence and if the game was getting bogged down there were players like Adam Gilchrist who decided that they should do something about it.”It could have something to do with wickets. That wicket on the last day [in Christchurch], with a small outfield and quick ground was an absolute belter.”In the old days wickets used to deteriorate and spin used to come into it more, now it seems with these relaid wickets and drop-in wickets they could be getting better and better and not deteriorating as much as they used to.”There will be times, this may be one, when it turns on the last day, 450 might not be accomplished we will have to wait and see,” he said.It didn’t take too much work as a captain on more responsive pitches, but it was harder work on the subcontinent where it was much more necessary to make things happen through captaincy because batsmen were capable of batting all day.”In England, the wickets are doing more than when I first started. You would have boring 500 plays 600 at Trent Bridge or somewhere whereas they are definitely doing more now on England wickets,” Hussain said.He didn’t see why there needed to be four-day Tests. There was something about having to adapt to the different circumstances in a Test when you turned up not knowing what the pitch was going to do, whether the ball was going to swing or seam.And if there were four-day Tests other changes would come into games such as groundsmen preparing wickets to suit getting a result in four days.”I think the game has survived quite nicely the way it has and people are adapting to it, I don’t think we need to many rule or law changes, it’s survived quite happily so far, it’s doing pretty well.”However, in regard to the laws he was pleased the ICC was going to have a look at working with new technology for umpires at the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka in September.”Umpiring has become an issue, there has been a lot of talk about it, replays, there’s been a lot of talk. Television has changed the game.”In the old days you wouldn’t have so many replays and umpires weren’t under so much pressure so therefore I’m pleased they’re having a look at it to see if it will work but it mustn’t be rushed in,” he said.Players also understood errors were made by umpires.He said he was pleased to turn up and see Asoka de Silva and Brent Bowden were the two umpires for the first Test because he felt they were two very good umpires.”All right, they may have made the odd mistake which they will hold their hands up to, but I wouldn’t be afraid of turning up to the next game and seeing exactly the same two umpires.”Cricket was faced with increasing improvement in replay quality and an issue of where the game moved.”Television is not going to go away so do we help the umpires or not? Possibly they do need some help,” he said.

Close on the heels of former Indian middle order batsman Ajay Jadejajoining films, two more former Test stars – Vinod Kambli and MohinderAmarnath – are set to make their debut in Bollywood soon.Actor Sunil Shetty, who was instrumental in Jadeja signing a movie inMumbai on Thursday, told PTI that there was a good role for VinodKambli in the movie Anarth, to be directed by Ravi Dewan.”As I am acting in the film, I asked Kambli if he was interested inthe role and he agreed”, the actor said. Shetty, a keen follower ofthe game, said Vinod is a very talented guy and a very good singertoo. “I have known him for a long time. In fact, I know all thecricketers as I used to play cricket earlier and played in the CoochBehar Trophy,” he said.”Jimmy’s case is also similar. It is again a film in which I amacting. I have spoken to him and Jimmy is keen to do the movie.Hopefully everything will be finalised in another ten days”, Shettyadded.Some of the other former cricketers who have acted in films includeSalim Durani, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, S M H Kirmani, GundappaVishwanath (in a Kannada film) and Kapil Dev (in a guest role).

Match facts

Wednesday June 18, 2008
Start time 10.45 (9.45GMT)

	Left-hand, left-field: Kevin Pietersen has provided a new talking point with his remarkable batting © Getty Images

Big Picture

England are on a roll. It’s taken a while for them to reach top speed, but since they turned their fortunes around midway through the Old Trafford Test, they have won four games in a row against New Zealand, and showed an increasingly clean pair of heels on each occasion. They may have lost the last one-day series between these two teams, 3-1 in New Zealand in February, but a repeat reversal does not seem remotely on the cards against a demoralised and outclassed opposition. Sunday’s contest in Chester-le-Street was over long before Kevin Pietersen started stretching the laws of the game with his astonishing switch-hitting, and if New Zealand cannot draw level at Edgbaston on Wednesday, the five-ODI series could also seem out of sight.

Form guide

England WLTWL (most recent first)
New Zealand LWTLW

Watch out for…

Kevin Pietersen Not many cricketers have required a special MCC meeting to discuss the legitimacy of their genius, but that was what Pietersen brought about this week when he flipped his stance against Scott Styris, and drove him clean over a lefthander’s long-on and deep square-leg for two outrageous sixes. Quite apart from the sheer brilliance of his batting, Pietersen showed that his confidence levels have been utterly replenished after a difficult winter. And with Pietersen’s former countrymen, South Africa, lurking around the corner, New Zealand cannot expect any let-up.Daniel Vettori New Zealand’s ship is close to sinking, and so all eyes are turning towards their captain, to see if he can find any inspiration to turn their fortunes around. Vettori cut a demoralised figure after the Twenty20 defeat at Old Trafford, and his mood has not been enhanced by the enforced absence of his best limited-overs allrounder, Jacob Oram, with a hamstring strain. It could require a virtuoso captain’s performance to reignite his team’s prospects

Team news

Alastair Cook is once again absent for England, having failed to recover from the right shoulder problem that hindered him during the third Test at Trent Bridge. His Test opening partner, Andrew Strauss, has been called into the squad as cover but is unlikely to break into a steady batting line-up that flourished as a unit in Sunday’s first ODI.England (probable) 1 Luke Wright, 2 Ian Bell, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Owais Shah, 7 Tim Ambrose (wk), 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Ryan Sidebottom, 11 James Anderson.Oram’s hamstring strain is serious enough to sideline him for at least ten days, which means that the South Africa-born allrounder, Grant Elliott, has been called up from Surrey League cricket as cover. He has been thrust into the starting line-up, if only to provide an extra bowling option, because James Marshall has not taken his opportunities at No. 3, while the decision to relieve Brendon McCullum of the wicketkeeping gloves means that Gareth Hopkins is a fixture in the lower middle-order.New Zealand 1 Brendon McCullum, 2 Jamie How, 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Scott Styris, 5 Daniel Flynn, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Michael Mason, 11 Tim Southee.Umpires: Steve Davis and Ian Gould

Stats and Trivia

England may have passed 300 in their last ODI at Chester-le-Street, but it’s not a score that gets racked up at Edgbaston too often. Only twice in 40 matches has any team managed that many runs in an innings – and the two teams that have managed it are England in 1980 and New Zealand in 1975.

Recently Edgbaston has been a happy hunting ground for England’s ODI team. Since 2000, they have won six of their eight completed matches at the venue – the two that got away were West Indies in 2007 and Pakistan in 2001.

Quotes

“He walked up the wicket and said ‘I was thinking about doing that in bed last night’, so the visualisation was there.”
Paul Collingwood reacts to Pietersen’s outrageous reverse-handed batting.”I’m not sure the guys are quite up to it just yet, but I’m sure some of them will get there.”
New Zealand’s Daniel Flynn backs his team-mates to emulate such exploits.

BAT’s prospects of pulling further clear in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League championship race have been hit by the weather.They looked set for a comfortable victory over Portsmouth when a heavy rain caused the match to be abandoned in late afternoon.Havant’s visit to nearby Calmore Sports was also a victim of the weather.Dan Goldstraw wreaked havoc once again, tajing 6-54 as Portsmouth were dismissed for 105 at Southern Gardens.The tally left-arm paceman now has 38 wickets this season – and, with four 50-over matches to go, is in sight of breaking the all-time record for the most number of wickets in a Southern League season.Ironically, Kirk Stewart (3-33) struck three of the initial four blows before Goldstraw removed the Portsmouth middle-order and tail.Portsmouth sank to 67-8 and were in danger of being bowled out before lunch before Richard Walker (22) gave their 105 all out a little respectability.But BAT’s victory bid was ended by the rain – the defending champions having made 9-0 when the game was abandoned.Havant had made 124-3 through Steve Snell (48 not out) and Richard Hindley (43) when their match at Calmore was called off.Bashley (Rydal) were in the driving seat against Bournemouth when the elements intervened. With Kevin Nash taking 5-69 and veteran John Whiting returning 4-37, they bowled Bournemouth out for 131 (Tom Webley 27)."It was extremely difficult batting,"admitted Bashley skipper Neil Taylor. "Four balls an over either cut, swung or bounced awkwardly. It was ideal conditions for bowling."But Bashley’s victory bid was thwarted at 6.30pm with their reply at 37-1.Burridge’s prospects of avoiding relegation from the have taken another knock. While their visit to Andover was abandoned, rivals in distress Liphook & Ripsley picked up 15 valuable points from a winning draw at South Wilts.In the only Premier 1 match to be completed, Liphook totalled 238-8 off 66 overs, with Alistair Gray (61), Chris Wright (46) and Michael Smyth (46 not out) top scoring.Shaun Adam (4-80) and Paul Draper (3-103) did a lion’s share of the bowling for South Wilts, who closed at 186-7 after a century third-wicket partnership between Jamie Glasson (78) and Jon Nash (48).Wright (3-39) and Gray (3-27) took the bowling credits for Liphook.Paul Hawkins held Burridge together with a splendid 75 at Andover, where former BAT all-rounder Richard Taylor (4-24) made early inroads.Matt Hooper took 3-42 and also snapped up three catches as Burridge slipped to 185 all out. Andover were 16 without loss when the rains came.The Hampshire Academy’s thrilling one-wicket win at Easton & Martyr Worthy was the only Division 2 match to be completed.Alton’s promotion prospects in Premir 3 were finally extinguished with a two-wicket defeat by Hook & Newnham BasicsThey appeared fairly comfortable after Paddy Heffernan (44), Julian Ballinger (35) and Mark Heffernan (33 not out) had steered them to 197-7.Hook were in deep trouble at 120-7, but an undefeated half-century by Kevin Poulter turned the match on its head and gave Hook a two-wicket win.In the only other completed match, Portsmouth II chased an abridged total to beat Bashley (Rydal) II by eight wickets at St Helen’s, Southsea.

Somerset all rounder Pete Trego finally put an end to the speculation about his future at the County Ground when he told me this afternoon that he has signed a two year deal with First Division Kent.He told me: "This is a great opportunity for me to fulfil what I have started at Somerset, and I am moving to Kent with the intention of filling the vacancy left by all rounder Matthew Fleming."The twenty one year old who hails from Weston super Mare made his debut for the Cidermen in 2000 but has been unable to hold down a first team place, despite some good performances for the seconds with both bat and ball, including an impressive 140 against West Indies A this season.He continued: " I really wanted to play cricket for my home county, but I feel that this is an opportunity for me to further my career and I have to take it. I hate leaving Somerset but I have to think of my future."But the young all rounder has no hard feelings about the way that he has been treated and went on: "Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson and Kevin Shine have all been very good about things and have handled the situation well."When he moves to the `White Horse’ county he will link up with Ben Trott, another Somerset old boy who made the trip to the south east to further his career.Pete Trego told me: "I have had phone calls from several of the Kent players, including Ben Trott, welcoming me to the club."Certainly Kent think very highly of their new signing. He continued: "They are pretty keen to have me which is nice to know, and after Christmas they are sending me out to Australia for six weeks where I will be working with Dennis Lillee."He concluded: "I would like to thank all of the Somerset fans for the support that they have given me over the years. I have got many happy memories of the times that I have spent here and will leave behind a lot of friends."The Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson told me: "We are sorry to see Pete Trego leave the club especially as he was a product of our Academy system. That said he has to take his opportunity and he feels that he has a better chance of first team cricket at Kent than here at Taunton."The Somerset boss concluded: "We wish him all the very best for the future and accept that he will probably score a century and take five wickets when he plays against us."

With the selection of Andy Bichel in the Australian Squad to play three ODI’s against Pakistan in mid-June announced earlier today, Worcestershire have moved quickly to sign a replacement for the period Bichel will be away.Allan Donald will take on the overseas player slot for the period from 4th to 19th June which will include NUL games against Yorkshire, Leics and Durham, a Championship game against Durham, a possible 4th round C & G Trophy game against Ireland or Notts and a potential semi-final in the B & H Cup.Worcestershire’s Director of Cricket, Tom Moody, is delighted to capture ‘White Lightning’ for this critical period of the season, ” Obviously we are sorry to lose Andy Bichel who has started the season so well for us but to have Allan on board for a few weeks will be good for all concerned. His experience and class will enable us to maintain the early season momentum and his presence will be invaluable in the dressing room.”Allan Donald was introduced to the Worcestershire crowd during the lunch interval of today’s Frizzell County Championship match against Essex at New Road.

The Redbacks 2002-2003 squad is:ACB contracted players:

• Darren Lehmann
• Jason Gillespie

State contracted players:

• Greg Blewett
• Brad Young
• Ben Johnson
• Mark Harrity
• Paul Rofe
• David Fitzgerald
• Michael Smith
• Ben Higgins
• Graham Manou
• Shane Deitz
• Chris Davies
• Nathan Adcock
• Ryan Harris
• Michael Miller
• Daniel Harris

Recruits:

• Mark Higgs
• Damien Fleming
• John Davison
• Jack Smith

Rookie contracted players:

• Matthew Weekes
• Mark Cosgrove
• Wes Thomas

Mark HiggsTwenty five year old batsman Mark Higgs has come from the New SouthWales Blues to join the Redbacks but initially represented the AustralianCapital Territory in the domestic competition before he was lured north toSydney in the lead-up to the 1998-99 season. Higgs is an aggressivestrokemaker and an accomplished slow left arm bowler.Damien FlemingFrom the Victorian Bushrangers, Damien Fleming has played 20 Testmatches for Australia, with a bowling average of 25.89 and 88 One DayInternationals for Australia with a bowling average 25.38.John DavisonJohn Davison is a right arm offspinner from Victoria. To theend of the 1999-2000 season, he had played twenty-six first class matches,capturing forty wickets at an average of more than sixty runs apiece. Johnis of Canadian birth and has represents the Canadian national team.Jack SmithTwenty five year old right handed batsman Jack Smith is from theACT. He is a member of the 2002 Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy and wasnamed in the PM’s XI earlier this year.2001-02 contracted players Jeff Vaughan, Brett Swain andDarren Dempsey failed to make this years contract list.Paul Wilson has taken up an offer to play with the Western Warriors,while Luke Williams has accepted an offer to play for the Tasmanian Tigers.Veteran Redbacks leg spin bowler Peter McIntyre announced hisretirement from all levels of cricket earlier in the week.The States must register between 14 and 20 State Player contractsand between 2 and 5 rookie contracts by September 28.

With another extraordinary batting display at Lord’s by Kevin Pietersen which took him to 65 not out from only 46 balls, following his unbeaten 165 in the first innings, Nottinghamshire were able to declare on 252 for eight, setting Middlesex a victory target of 350 in the remaining three overs for the day and all of the final day.In a brilliant exhibition of hard hitting, Pietersen, taking advantage of the short boundary on the Tavern side of the ground, struck four boundaries and four sixes, three of which came in four balls from an over by Paul Weekes.Despite hitting himself on the foot in going for an on drive and needing the services of a runner, he continued with his onslought on the Middlesex bowling, reaching fifty from only 34 balls. The tall – England qualified – South African showed a complete range of strokes and the ease and confidence with which he batted enabled him to even play the reverse sweep so effectively.Having taken a 97-run first innings lead, Nottinghamshire were 129 for 2 at tea with Greg Blewett on 61 after a fine batting performance. A second wicket stand between him and Darren Bicknell had strengthened the visitors hold on this match.After claiming the wicket of Guy Welton, before lunch, Middlesex’s only success in the second session came when Bicknell, on 44 from two hours at the crease, went for a big heave at Paul Weekes and was bowled. His stand with Blewett was just nine short of a century.They had batted well together, keeping pace with each other in the rate of scoring and Blewett, who was 41 at Bicknell’s dismissal, then brought up his half-century in style, going down on one knee to lift Weekes over the mid-wicket boundary. He finally went for 76, off 144 balls, top edging an attempted big hit to leg.The most commendable bowling for Middlesex came from left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell who finished with five for 61 and that included a marvellous twenty-ball spell in which he took four wickets for eight.Earlier, Middlesex had needed just eleven overs in the morning to achieve their priority of avoiding the follow-on. Having scored the 45 runs that they required for this, David Nash and Simon Cook, the two overnight not out batsmen then went on to extend their excellent seventh wicket partnership with Nash reaching his second half-century of the season.Along with Cook he took the total to 320 before edging one to first slip and ending a 114-run stand. Cook went on to reach the highest score of his career, playing beautiful strokes, the finest was the cover drive for four off Andy Harris after he had steered the previous ball to the third man boundary. He had by then struck the second six of his innings when he lifted Greg Smith over long leg.Middlesex were dismissed shortly before lunch for 370 with Cook stranded on 93 which included eleven fours from 131 balls.

There are always two sides to each coin. And the Guyanese Dollar, I am reliably informed, is one of the more interesting pieces of currency in the world. Apart from the sheer numbers that you use at every purchase, just its look and feel makes it special. And, on the second day of this Test match, two of Guyana’s favourite sons sparkled, and the runs flowed. Carl Hooper caressed his way to 233 (402 balls, 29 fours, three sixes), Shivnarine Chanderpaul chipped in with 140, and the West Indies amassed 494/7. India, meanwhile, provided the dull, lacklustre other side to the coin.At every turn, India were shown up for their lack of imagination. After beginning so well in this Test, pegging the West Indies back to 44 for three, the Indian bowlers utterly failed to trouble the batsmen. These are days in international cricket, however, when batsmen rule the roost, and on wickets of this kind, bowlers become mere whipping boys; a necessary evil; cannon fodder.Sympathy, yes – for Zaheer Khan. After a dismal end to his bowling on the first day, there were whispers that the strong left-arm seamer was not at his best and perhaps went into the Test with a niggling injury. As if to put to rest such suspicions, the Baroda lad steamed in and bowled a spell that was all character and effort. Sweat and toil in the sun – just no rewards to show for it.For that a sizeable proportion of the blame must lie at the feet of Sourav Ganguly. With the wicket providing no assistance, Ganguly quickly ran out of ideas. Falling into a set pattern, he gave all his lads a run – Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan mostly, with extended spells for Anil Kumble and Sanjay Bangar following. Sarandeep Singh provided some relief when things got monotonous.But the common thread in all this was a defeatist and almost hopelessly negative approach. Ultra-defensive fields, tired bowlers, an excited crowd of nearing 10,000, and a captain with nowhere to turn saw India slump lower and lower with every passing hour.Correspondingly, the Hooper-Chanderpaul pair lifted themselves to greater heights. There’s something about the steely glint in Hooper’s eyes peeping out of his visor-less helmet that must unsettle bowlers. It is not the dramatic, almost brutal arrogance of the swagger that Sir Vivian Richards brought out to the middle with him. It is not the cheeky, annoying smile that Javed Miandad flaunted in the face of his opponents. It is calm, cool as the moon on a clear winter evening, and it works for him like nothing else.Surpassing his previous career-best of 178 not out against Pakistan at St. John’s, Antigua in 1993, ‘Sir Carl,’ as he is known in Guyana, caressed his way to his maiden Test double hundred. Finding no cause to take risks or innovate, Hooper played his favourite shots to perfection – the chip over the off-side field, the wristy flick that made the mid-wicket boundary look woefully inadequate, and the drives back down the ground straighter than Robin Hood’s truest arrow. When he fell for 233, West Indies were a healthy 494/7.It would be a travesty of justice if one forgot Chanderpaul amidst the feline grace of Hooper. In some ways an antithesis to his Guyana teammate and skipper, Chanderpaul has played a selfless role in West Indies cricket in recent years. Being shuttled up and down the batting order, the southpaw has been forced to adapt, grit his teeth, and bolster a team in dire need of strong contributors. His contribution on the day was 140 of the safest, unfussy and invaluable runs. Littered with characteristic nudges, pokes and flicks that found the fence 23 times, Chanderpaul’s innings helped Hooper add a massive 293 runs for the fifth wicket.The departure of the two Guyanese batsmen, however, saw a mini-resurgence for India. Clearly a case of too little too late, but nevertheless significant, as there are few things that can break the back of a bowling side like a tail that wags endlessly. Junior Murray fell for a duck, and the West Indies were poised at 494 for seven when the skies opened for the second time in the day. More severe than the earlier occasion, when only a brief stoppage was the result, the showers forced play to be called off for the day.There are some in the Indian team who might wish that the game itself was called off. It has been that sort of play so far. It is not for no reason that Hooper let some optimism show at the end of the day’s play. “The rain is a bit disappointing, but there’s still a lot of time left in this match. There’s three days to go,” said the Windies skipper. India better take that as a warning rather than a casual remark.

South Africa under-19 finished the first day of the second Youth Test with New Zealand under-19 far better than they could have imagined when struggling at 106/6 at BIL Oval at Lincoln University near Christchurch today.The saviour for the tourists, who lost the first Test last week, was Johan Botha who scored 101 with his century coming off 165 balls and after 224 minutes at the crease. He hit 15 fours in his innings which helped South Africa finish the day at 294/8.Botha was out when top-edging an attempted pull shot to short third man where Ross Taylor held the catch from Sam Whiteman’s bowling.If New Zealand thought the breakthrough had come with the score 237/8, Imran Khan and Gerhard de Bruin had other thoughts as they produced a spirited tail-end stand of 57 unbroken runs.De Bruin chanced his arm and hit six fours in his 38 from 48 balls while Khan was 20 not out from 71 balls with only two fours in his innings.Of the New Zealand bowlers, who had to toil through some of the hottest conditions of Canterbury’s summer, Taraia Robin was unlucky to see his last two overs go for 19 runs, although he still finished with the respectable figures of one for 48 from 20 overs.New Zealand is adopting the injury prevention plan for its bowlers with no-one allowed to bowl more than 20 overs in a day, in a maximum of eight overs per spell.Ian Butler had the greatest success with three for 65 from 18 overs while Greg Todd had two for 50 from his 14.