As preparations for a major tournament go, an 11-0 pasting in Bangladesh was as demoralising as it was unexpected for an England side which had sailed through the summer with crushing victories against Sri Lanka. Now with the World Cup in Sri Lanka looming, England need to bounce back – and fast.To this end they have new strategies, new players and a new captain, the outrageously talented batsman Moeen Ali who turned professional aged just 15. “It’s a massive honour,” says Ali, now 18. “To be honest I didn’t expect it at all.”His coming-of-age has been swift. “Three months ago I used to mess about and have a joke but now I take life more seriously. I don’t know why.” England’s coach Andy Pick is at a loss to explain the lightning-quick transformation, too. “I don’t know what it is, I’ve never seen anyone change so fast,” he says, but whatever it was, the awesome Ali was immediately rewarded with a chance to shine as captain.”He’s got all the shots and when on form people can’t bowl against him,” Pick says. “He was easily the best against Sri Lanka. But natural talent on its own won’t be enough. He’s far more grown-up and level-headed now.” As if to prove this point Ali announces: “I get on well with everybody and I hope that if there’s a problem they could talk to me. I want to set an example for people to follow in performing well all the time.”But what of the deposed captain, Varun Chopra? “It is disappointing – I would have liked to captain,” Chopra, who will vice-captain the side instead, admits unsurprisingly. “But it gives me more of an opportunity to concentrate on my batting.”

The opening batsman had a largely indifferent tour with the bat – although he came good towards the end with a 77 and a 98 – but Pick says the decision was no slight on the capable Chopra who had, after all, led his country to a clean sweep in the Tests and one-dayers against Sri Lanka in the summer and performed creditably himself. “Varun captained the side in contrasting series. Results are no reflection of his leadership qualities. Moeen has come to the fore and deserves a go.”Chopra says loyally of Ali: “He’s my best mate in the team and I will be able to help out with advice, too.” Ali is equally complimentary: “Varun’s a very good captain. It will be good for me. He’s someone I can talk to a lot.”The pair, who have been very firmly tipped for the top, will need to be at their brilliant best if they are to lead England to the trophy they last won in 1997-98 under Owais Shah. For Ali, there is no doubt: “We will definitely win it and play either Bangladesh or India in the final.” Chopra is more cautious: “We’re going to take it one match at a time and aim for the quarter-finals”.It’s a view shared by Pick. “That’s very honourable and patriotic of Moeen,” he smiles, “but I think I’m a little closer to what Varun says. Even so, I would be bitterly, bitterly disappointed if we didn’t get to the quarter-finals.”England have been drawn in a group with Nepal, Ireland and Zimbabwe. “We’ve been fortunate with our group,” says Pick, “although that’s not to underestimate any of the teams. Eoin Morgan of Ireland, for example, is a quality player. He only needs to hit 120 to derail our World Cup campaign.”I would imagine India will be favourites,” he adds. “They are a strong side who won the Afro-Asia Cup.”Most of the teams will be an unknown quantity, chopping and changing as they do at this level. “To be honest we only know Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,” says Chopra, “so we are concentrating on playing to our potential.”Ah yes, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. How did they lose so badly on the winter tour? “We underestimated them both a little bit,” says Ali. “We knew it would be hard against Sri Lanka although we smashed them here. Bangladesh we always thought we had a chance of beating, but couldn’t get in the winning rhythm – a few times we should have finished them off.””It definitely wasn’t expected,” admits Chopra, while Pick explains: “We went out there having had a three-month break from outdoor cricket, which they hadn’t had. We also had to adjust to getting up at half-six for a match starting at quarter to eight.” The list goes on. “A change of team,” adds Ali, “a lot of new players. It spun a lot and was hot. We had injuries and illnesses – a lot of bad luck. But, we learnt more by losing every game rather than winning. Everyone’s learnt how to live better as a team, how to eat better.””The pitches in Bangladesh are a lot different to English conditions,” says Chopra. “As the tour went on we were bowling better lengths.” Also, they had a lot more exposure to spin. “I’m not saying we’ve cracked it [playing spin],” admits Pick. “But I hope we have learnt something.”Debriefs and rebriefs at the ECB Academy followed while a chastened England tried to make sense of their drubbing and regroup in time to challenge for the honours. “It’s easy to get bullish in the classroom at Loughborough,” says Pick, “but we have to take that on the field and prove ourselves then.”Their first opportunity comes in Malaysia, essentially an acclimatisation tour but, with three warm-up games, it is one which will take on great psychological significance, as Ali acknowledges: “We have to get back into the winning rhythm.”And they need confidence, too. “You have to believe,” says Pick. “I do believe and the players do too.”

Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, has called upon the International Cricket Council (ICC) to once again pool its resources of coaches, scientists and umpires into a panel that will reevaluate the issue of bowlers with suspect actions.Writing on his personal website, Woolmer has urged the ICC to focus on the issue as well as the existing regulations for such bowlers. “It’s a tragedy that we’ve fudged the issue for so long. We cannot fudge the issue any more, players livelihoods are at stake,” he said. “I believe that a working party of coaches, scientists and umpires should re-look at cricket’s most thorny issue. Are we seeing the next major change in the game? Will we allow bowlers to throw and confine run ups? Will we lengthen the pitch dimensions to cater for the extra pace? Or do we define the difference between a throw and a bowl or insist on the arm being straight from hip to delivery 180 degrees of movement with a straight arm? This is the question that cricket faces now.”Woolmer also noted that a bowler’s action, once fixed, has a 2 % chance of change. “How do I get to that figure? It’s a guess I could say 5 per cent or 10 per cent what I do know is that there is only one person who can make a change an action and that’s the bowler himself, it is his desire, his work ethic, his understanding of his body that’ll eventually change or not change an action,” he said.Defending Shabbir Ahmed, the fast bowler who, after being reported twice in 2005 for an illegal action was then banned for a year, Woolmer said that the margin of change in his action was minimal. “I do not believe that he throws but I do believe that his action is flawed by pure standards. Just as a batsman might have a flaw in technique but is still successful,” he said.”The effect that massive changes of pace have on a batsman when a bowler suddenly throws the ball can be mind blowing. Yet in reviewing the case of Shabbir there is no such massive change of pace; in fact he averages 127-134 kph. His action does not resemble a baseball player but he does straighten his arm. Studying him and working with him, I believe that he actually never throws the ball…and I believe that like many players he is a victim of a poor grounding and a muddled law.”Woolmer recounted that in 18 months with the Pakistan cricket team, one of the many issues he has been confronted with is the throwing question. “Pakistan has had five bowlers reported and associated with throwing and in addition it is suspected that 29 more domestic first class players have suspect actions,” he noted. “This has prompted the Pakistan Cricket Board to set up a bio-mechanics laboratory with the latest high speed cameras in order to test these bowlers and save them from the chop. The fact that there are so many in Pakistan and possibly other areas of the sub-continent is cause for concern, the reasons are simple – no formalised coaching at a young age and copying the superstars on television.”Woolmer also said that there remained an element of criminal ignorance of the understanding between a bowling action and a throwing action. “Some will have studied the problem more than others, and let me be frank here when trying to put `chuckers’ right – there is little if any methodology to do so,” he said. “Trust me, I have experience. When working with Shabbir for six weeks before he was sent to Australia to be cleared, within weeks he is out of the game because the umpires cannot agree with the scientists.”

One can pull out the thesaurus and combine different adjectives to describe Sachin Tendulkar’s 95 at the Gaddafi Stadium at Lahore, but nothing may convey the influence it had on the course of the run-chase. A buoyant Rahul Dravid, speaking at the post-match press conference, described Tendulkar’s effort as “absolutely incredible” and went on to add that it was “one of his best innings”.”I think he assessed the situation beautifully,” he said. “He realised there was something happening with the ball, realised we needed to keep wickets. The way he controlled the game, played positively without doing anything risky, was great to watch. He scored at a great pace on adifficult wicket in difficult conditions. I thought it was one of his best. There are so many he has played but this was really a special one.”Tendulkar’s knock was one of the three main components of India’s run-chase, with Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni complementing him admirably. “Sachin, Yuvraj and Dhoni all played critical parts in this win,” he continued. “All three played different kinds of knocks in different stages. Yuvraj’s maturity in stepping back, after playing positively initially, when he realised he needed to be there till the end shows that he’s a very good cricketer. He’s always been one and has had a lot of success in the one-day game. This tour has taken him to another level.”Dhoni was outstanding too. It’s terrific for someone new in international cricket to handle the pressure so well. He can adapt his game to the situation, knows what his team requires, and has got a good head on his shoulders. His performance over the last 6-8 months has been critical in our success.”Dhoni himself admitted felt that this was one of his best innings, putting it above his whirlwind maiden hundred at Vishakapatnam. “My 148 helped my team to win and it was at a crucial time. It was an opportunity to grab for me but the amount of pressure here was much more. This was a much better innings that way.”Dravid was candid when speaking about his decision at the toss and felt it didn’t matter at the end of the day. “Even I was unsure about the toss because we’re not used to the 11:00am start,” he added. “Playing in the evening, we had doubts about the twilight period and whether we couldsight the ball then. I don’t think toss was that important. We were chasing well so we decided to field. The new ball helped in both innings so it didn’t make too much of a difference.”While refusing to find fault with Pakistan, he thought his side had been the better on on the day. “I don’t think there was any problem with Pakistan. They played well and their batsmen put on 288. I don’t think there was any fault. We need to be given the credit for doing well.”What really heartened Dravid, though, was the improvement his side had shown in the last few months, winning 10 of their last 14 games. “Every game is different and we need to keep performing. Pakistan are not an easy team to beat at home and we need to play well to win. We’re leading 2-1 and a couple of games to go. Irrespective of the results, the strides andprogress we’re taking as a ODI team is really heartening.”

Tahir Mughal, the fast-bowling allrounder, fell six short of a well deserved century as Sialkot Stallions advanced to the finals of the Twenty-20 cup, beating Karachi Dolphins by 29 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi. Batting first, Mughal carried the Stallions innings, and shared a productive stand of 96 with Shoaib Malik (33). Mughal’s knock came to an end when he was bowled by Khalid Latif for 94, off 55 balls with nine fours and six sixes. Meanwhile, Irfanuddin, the offbreak bowler from Karachi, bagged the best bowling figures in the competition’s history, taking 6 for 25 and cleaning up the lower order. Chasing 199, the Dolphins started off confidently, putting on 67 for the first wicket. However, with wickets in hand, they were unable to keep pace with the required rate, finishing at 169 for 7 off their 20 overs. Barring the top order, the others failed to contribute anything substantial. Qaiser Abbas, who had a good outing with the bat for the Stallions in the previous match, took three wickets with his left-arm spin.Faislabad Wolves, the defending champions, gave themselves another shot at the trophy, beating Lahore Lions by six wickets and booking a spot in the finals of the Twenty-20 Cup. The Wolves chased down the target of 150 with ease, led by Misbah-ul-Haq (44) and Asif Hussain (34). The Lions failed to post a challenging total, despite the presence of powerful hitters like Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal, both of whom failed. Samiullah Khan was the most successful bowler for the Wolves, picking up three wickets. They will meet Sialkot Stallions in the finals on Saturday.

On whether Sri Lanka had missed an opportunityThe wicket played really well and we were not very lucky today. The guys gave everything but it was not our day. When you have 140 overs in a Test match to get the opposition out it is a missed opportunity but I am not disappointed with the way we played the game overall. To fight-back from 32 for 5 and to be pushing hard for a win on the final day was not a missed opportunity.On the positives in the matchThere were a lot of positives, particularly the way we bowled in the first innings and the courage that was shown by Dilshan and Maharoof to bat on that track in the first innings to get us to a decent score. Maha (Maharoof) then bowled tremendously well to ensure that we were on par with Pakistan after the first two days. Then we kicked ahead thanks to a great innings from Sanga (Sangakkara), who showed why in the last two years he has become regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world. He showed a lot of character to anchor the innings and all the other guys batted around him, which was the plan.On Shoaib Malik’s match-saving inningsWe shouldn’t take anything away from him, he batted really well. To bat for eight hours and nearly 400 balls is a magnificent effort. He had a fair bit of luck but that is how the game goes. Our guys bowled really well. I thought they were very disciplined. Pakistan got 350 but that was because I was setting attacking fields. I was very happy with their effort on that pitch.On why the pitch was so placidIt was really a fourth day pitch because we did not play the first day of the Test match. Normally, the SSC pitch settles in on the second, third and fourth days before it opens up on the fifth day, becoming a little more up and down. It was probably a bit flatter than what we usually play but it was still a fair wicket giving a little bit to the bowlers and the batsmen.On whether the morning’s rain interruption helped PakistanIt could have gone either way but the momentum was with us in the morning. When the rain came in it gave them some more time and an advantage. After another 30 minutes it was lunch and one session finished. If we’d grabbed a wicket or two in the first half hour though, it would have been different.On whether SL could have declared earlierWe gave them 140 overs and that should be enough. We also had to have that many runs on the board so we could attack. We knew the wicket was pretty good so there had to be a safety zone. Nevertheless, we were still able to give them 140 overs.On Dilhara Fernando’s performanceOn that first afternoon he did not have rhythm so that’s why I kept him away from the attack. Maharoof was also bowling really well and did the job for us. It was a little disappointing how he bowled in that innings but I thought he came back well in the second innings and put together a couple of really decent spells that put a lot of pressure on the batsmen, especially late on day four when his tight spell paved the way for Murali grabbing a couple of late wickets. He is a bowler that really needs rhythm and on his day he can be really good. He has got something special in him and he just needs a bit more confidence. We somehow have to help build that confidence.On whether another spinner would have been helpfulI don’t think another spinner would have made any difference when you consider what Murali was able to get out of the pitch. Even Kaneria bowled pretty well but he did not get too much purchase from the pitch. Sanath bowled well but that was only from the rough areas, not from the better part of the wicket which was flat and not turning.On whether Chaminda Vaas would have made a differenceObviously – having Vaasy would have mad a big difference. He knows these conditions better than anyone else and he was missed. Especially with the old ball, he could have done wonders. We’d love to have him back but we don’t want to push him – we want him fully fit for England. He is improving and he has started bowling but I think he’ll be ready for the second Test. It would be too big a risk as we need him for England.

Scotland have ODI fixtures against New Zealand, South Africa and Kenya in 2008 according to the Future Tours Program released by the International Cricket Council.Scotland are scheduled to visit South Africa in May 2008 for a tri-series which also involves Kenya, and in June the Kenyans will travel to Scotland for a return series in which New Zealand will replace South Africa.A spokesman for Cricket Scotland said that it was likely that matches would be played at several venues. At the moment, only Edinburgh has been approved by the ICC, but it was hoped that grounds in Aberdeen, Ayr and Glasgow could be brought into play.”We have a shed-load of cricket in 2008,” said outgoing chief executive Roddy Smith. “It all harks back to the fact that we and Kenya were promised twice as many games as the other World Cup qualifiers when we won the ICC Trophy.”Smith added that while no fixture had been inked in against England, “logic dictates that England should be coming to us in 2007. It’s not a scheduled event but we hope it will happen.”

Shane Bond, the New Zealand fast bowler, will return home because of a knee injury that has forced him to miss the remaining two Test matches on the tour of South Africa.”Shane was asked to bowl six overs yesterday as part of his fitness assessment, which he did. But the knee became sore after cooling down and Shane came to the conclusion that he could not take his place in the next two Tests,” said Lindsay Crocker, New Zealand’s general manager.”The medical assessment is that Shane will now need four to six weeks rest for the injury to settle completely, before starting on building himself up again. This will be further assessed when he gets home. Shane will withdraw from his county contract with Gloucestershire, which he was due to take up at the completion of this tour.”Reacting to the news, Bond said that he wasn’t sure his knee would stand up to the rigours of the five-day Test. “If it was a series of one-dayers I may well have played, but we’ve bowled on every day of every Test so far this summer and I don’t think the knee would’ve stood up to that,” Bond was quoted as saying by . “It wasn’t worth the risk. I’d hate to go into a Test and let the team down in those circumstances, and I also have faith in the other members of the squad to go in there and do a good job, as they’ve done in the past.”He admitted that the financial setback of missing a county contract would hurt, but chose to look ahead, especially at the prospect of being fit for the World Cup in 2007. “Financially it’s going to hurt a little bit but my priority has always been to play for New Zealand, especially in another World Cup,” he said. “So I try not to think too much about losing that money and instead concentrate on doing things properly so I can be around for next year’s World Cup and other events like that.”Michael Mason had already been called up as cover for Bond so New Zealand will not need a replacement for the second Test at Cape Town beginning on Thursday.Bond missed the first Test at Centurion because of the same injury. He has been plagued by injury in the last few years, managing to feature in just six Tests since the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

Jarret Park might have been packed for the Indians’ warm-up game against a Jamaica XI but it’s pretty obvious that cricket’s popularity has taken quite a battering in these parts. The declining standards of the West Indian side appear to have triggered a sense of disillusionment, and it’s not too uncommon to find young boys veering towards other sports. One man, though, can change all that and, on the eve of the first game, he faced the press with an air of assurance.Brian Lara made it clear that the 5-0 verdict against Zimbabwe could hardly be used as an index to measure West Indies’ competitiveness. The real battle was just about to begin. “We’ve definitely improved over the last two or three weeks – ever since I took over as captain – but we can’t use Zimbabwe as an indicator. I’m 90% happy with our current form but we need to work on a few areas. Our allrounders did well with the ball and on the field, but they need to do more with the bat.”The mere fact that they won, though, and that too comprehensively, could be a vital factor. “Winning can be contagious,” he continued, “and it’s important to keep our momentum going.” Also, a number of new players capitalised on the rotation policy and grabbed their chances. “All good teams around the world have been resting players and we rotated some during the last series. Players like Carlton Baugh, who was picked for the last two games, took his chance and ended up replacing the earlier keeper [Ramdin].”But would he experiment against India? “You wouldn’t want to experiment too much while playing against a tough team. We have a pretty settled batting line-up and also have the option to change batting positions around.”Rahul Dravid pretty much made it clear that India would continue to be flexible. “It’s benefited us in the past, helped us to not rely on particular individuals.”Both captains agreed that India’s new crop of fast bowlers could make the difference. “We haven’t seen too much of them but are using videos of the England and Pakistan series to analyse their performance,” said Lara. “They appear to have a varied attack.” Dravid proffered another angle: “Most of them haven’t come to West Indies earlier and it’s good in a way because they won’t be carrying the scars of defeat. The history of experiencing toughtours won’t haunt them.”

Mohan de Silva, the opposition candidate standing for elections to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has said that Dambulla will remain the venue for the tri-series against India and South Africa, if he becomes the president.”When we get elected, well make sure that matches take place according to the original schedule,” de Silva, who is running against interim head Jayantha Dharmadasa, told AFP. “Its just poor management from the interim committee. It is just a matter of making outstanding payments to the authorities in Dambulla and the ground will be available.”The government-appointed interim board had sent the Indian board a request to accept change of venue from Dambulla to Colombo as they feared sabotage to the stadium if de Silva’s group loses the elections this Saturday. De Silva is backed by Thilanga Sumathipala, the former president of the board, who was thrown out of office by the government and replaced with the interim committee last year.According to the original schedule the first four matches of the tri-series, from August 14 to August 29, were to be held in Dambulla, while Colombo would host the final two matches.The two Tests against South Africa beginning July 27 are also scheduled to be played in Colombo, though it is not yet sure whether they will be shifted to a neutral venue.

Australia’s former Test captain, Steve Waugh, says his wife Lynette is making good progress in her recovery from surgery to remove a blood clot from her brain.”Lynette’s recovery is very pleasing,” Steve Waugh said in a joint statement with Charles Teo, the surgeon who carried out the operation. “So far all investigations into the cause of the haemorrhage have been negative. There are still a few investigations to be carried out.”Lynette Waugh, 38, had the surgery on Friday after being rushed to a Sydney hospital. “Dr Teo suspects the most likely scenario was a spontaneous haemorrhage and one that, hopefully, won’t reoccur in the future.”The Waugh family would again like to acknowledge the incredible support, goodwill and positive encouragement from the public and the media,” Waugh added. “It is greatly appreciated.”