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Allan Border, the former Australia captain, has spoken of his bewilderment at how the vastly talented allrounder Shane Watson is skating desperately close to a failed career, in a Test match team where the bowlers looked more capable of batting time than the batsmen.Having experienced the enormous pain of Australian cricket’s troubled times during the 1980s, Border paralleled the current team’s lack of performance and good fortune with the teams he led so valiantly three decades ago. A horrid defeat by 347 runs at Lord’s handed Australia their sixth Test match loss in a row, a streak not seen since 1984, when Border inherited the captaincy from a tearful Kim Hughes.Seldom known for expressing opinions that are any less than guarded, Border was particularly frank in his assessment of the batting he saw at Lord’s over the past four days. “Our major concern right now is the performance of the top six. I could honestly say the nine, 10 and jack looked more competent than our one, two and three,” Border wrote for Cricket Australia. “If that was me in the top three I’d be embarrassed. We need to settle on our best 11 and stay with it. I’m a believer in the pick and stick method, so we need to find our best 11 suited to the conditions and stick with it.”Whether or not that best XI includes Watson is a matter of increasing debate, given the frequency with which he is getting out for infuriatingly handy scores, and now also falling in a remarkably similar manner in each innings. After watching Watson fall lbw for the third time in four turns at the crease this series, Border said he could not fathom how a player this talented could keep making the same mistakes.”We all know what a wonderful player Shane Watson is. He looks like a million bucks when he’s firing. What is worrying though is that he keeps getting out in the same fashion. Now who is to blame here? Is it Watson for not adapting? What about the coaches?” Border wrote. “In an era where we’ve got a thousand coaches and psychoanalysts and dieticians and sport scientists it defies belief that a player can be making the same mistakes. Whether it is a technical thing or a mental thing I don’t know.James Anderson trapped Shane Watson lbw in the second innings at Lord’s•Getty Images

“Is Shane not listening, or are people saying bad luck, you got a good one? We need to find out what the best is for Shane. Is it opening the batting? Or maybe batting at six and making him a genuine allrounder? Whatever it is we need to find out soon or Shane’s time will have come and gone and we won’t have seen the best of him. The buck stops with Shane and he needs to figure it quickly because it will be a real shame if he doesn’t fulfil his potential.”Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has said that Watson is well aware of the technical problems revolving around the prominence of his front pad, and credited England’s bowlers, most recently James Anderson, for repeatedly finding it.”We’ve talked about it many times. I actually think it was a pretty good ball to be fair from Anderson. It nipped off a length and cut back,” Lehmann said. “The first innings he played across his pad but this innings I thought he played pretty well. We would love him to make big runs as everyone would but he is just one of the top seven who has to do it.”Watson gave some indication that he was trying to combat the problem by taking a leg-stump guard in the second innings at Lord’s, and Lehmann said there would be more tinkering to try to ensure he scored the runs that his talent has continually hinted at without ever quite delivering.”Particularly here at Lord’s with the slope and it coming back in, he made that adjustment, but that may be different at Old Trafford, it depends on where you are playing , they are going to target that,” Lehmann said. “We know that. We know we are going to bowl to their batters, they know how they are going bowl on our bowlers. We just have to make technical and tactical decisions – at the moment we are not coming up with the right ones and the right results.”

ScorecardGraeme Swann gave his captain Alastair Cook plenty to smile about in England’s comfortable victory•Getty Images

Graeme Swann proved his fitness for the Ashes with a five-wicket haul to help England to victory over Essex in Chelmsford, but concerns linger over the availability of Stuart Broad.Swann, who missed all but one of England’s games in the Champions Trophy through back and calf injuries, bowled only nine deliveries in the first innings here after sustaining a blow to his right forearm while batting against Tymal Mills, which Andy Flower admitted caused “great concern”. But, defying a painfully slow pitch and a draining lack of intensity in a downgraded match, Swann worked his way through the Essex batting line-up until it capitulated and looked in decent rhythm going into the Test series.Essex lost their last six wickets for 32 runs in nine overs with Graham Onions, as nagging as ever, claiming 4 for 43 including a spell of three wickets without conceding a run in 11 balls. It meant England won by 228 runs.A doubt remains over the fitness of Broad, however. Broad injured his right shoulder diving to regain his ground while batting in the Champions Trophy final and has had a cortisone injection to reduce the inflammation. Flower expressed himself “pleasantly surprised” by Broad’s first attempt at bowling since the injury, during the tea interval on the final day here, and said “we anticipate him being fit. He could not have played this game, but he should be OK.””We thought Swann might have cracked his ulna,” Flower said. “For a couple of hours we thought he might have been missing [from the first Test], which would have been a serious blow. When he came in after batting I was surprised by how swollen it was.”I was also surprised by how well he played the fast bowler after getting hit that badly. He fought out there and didn’t come off and get it seen to. It’s a good example of his resilience. Because he’s a jokey sort of guy we forget he is a tough competitor as well.”This was an admirably professional performance from England. Despite a pitch that was too slow for purpose and the lack of atmosphere over the last couple of days, they retained their discipline with bat and ball and made the best of the imperfect situation with which they were confronted. With the Champions Trophy finishing only days earlier, there has been no opportunity for the sort of warm-up period from which they benefited in Australia in 2010-11 – they placed great store in performing well in their three first-class warm-up games – but they have at least come together as a squad and played some red-ball cricket.A couple of areas of concern remain. Several chances were squandered in the field – Swann missed Ravi Bopara in the slips off Steven Finn on the final day, while Kevin Pietersen missed two chances in the first innings – and Jonny Bairstow, who has hardly batted since the Leeds Test against New Zealand and was bowled in both innings here – still looks in need of time at the crease. Pietersen, too, has hardly batted but Flower expressed confidence in his form and no concern about any need for further time at the crease before the Tests.”There were a few chances that went down,” Flower admitted. “And taking chances will be very important in this series. But we’re working hard and we’re hoping that hard work will pay off.”We felt Bairstow needed more time in the middle because he has gone three or four weeks without cricket during the Champions Trophy. He’s had what he’s had; there’s nothing more we can do.”Performances in this game – or the game in progress at New Road – are most unlikely to affect selection for the first Test. Flower suggested the identity of the XI that will play at Trent Bridge has been known for some time and this game was more about gaining rhythm and testing potential replacements. In that case Boyd Rankin, who bowled with hostility in spite of the surface, will have done himself no harm, though Nick Compton’s place in the selectors’ thoughts seems to rely upon injury befalling one of the top three. Joe Root will open for the foreseeable future, however; Flower is not the fickle type.”I’ve been very impressed with Rankin,” Flower said, “and thought he bowled especially well. He is very impressive physically and he has the pace and bounce which can trouble international batsmen. He’s quite an exciting prospect.”It’s nice to see and a good reaction from Compton. It’s a really good reaction that he has scored runs consistently and it shows he’s a good tough fighter. Of course, he’s still in the picture. But he is an opening batsman and if there were an injury to someone batting at six it doesn’t necessarily mean that he would be the next cab off the rank. But his best reaction was to score heavy runs and that’s what he’s doing. That’s great.”There were some impressive performances from the Essex players in this game, too. Jaik Mickleburgh, who demonstrated a compact technique and astute shot selection in both innings, belied his lowly average and looked a fine prospect, while Mills’ pace and improving control made a large impression on the England management. “His rate of progress is really exciting for Essex,” Flower said. ” His control has improved and he’s really impressive physically. If he continues he might play for England.”Perhaps Onions might feel a little aggrieved. He scarcely bowled a poor ball in this match but, despite finishing with five wickets and remaining the most consistent bowler in county cricket over the last couple of seasons, it seems he will remain on the periphery of the side.While the likes of Finn, who bowled better than his figures suggests, and now Rankin and Chris Tremlett are preferred for their height, pace and bounce, Onions may be reliant on injury or rotation to Broad or James Anderson to win a further opportunity. In the current England set-up, his qualities – accuracy and consistency – are considered worthy, but less valuable than those offered by his rivals.In some ways this game did not present an overly flattering demonstration of Essex cricket. The pitch was poor and the sight of a 15-year-old substitute fielder – talented though Aaron Beard looks – lent a faint air of ramshackle amateurishness to proceedings. By the time the game ended, they had drafted in three players to replace injured members of their starting XI – Greg Smith replaced the injured Tom Westley on Wednesday – though David Masters made a bizarre reappearance as a batsman on day four despite a hopeless match situation and a pronounced limp that could have been exacerbated by running between the wickets.To their immense credit though, Essex is a club that continues to produce talented young players and, in Mills, Mickleburgh, Reece Topley, Ben Foakes et al, they have several cricketers who could follow the path of Alastair Cook into the England team. And that, after all, is their primary role.

Kevin O’Brien, the Ireland allrounder, has said the upcoming ODIs against Pakistan are a welcome chance for his team to match skills with a Full Member side. Ireland, who last played a top team during the 2012 World T20, are set to play Pakistan in two one-dayers in Dublin on May 23 and 26.”It’ll be a great chance for me personally and for the team to show what we can do again,” O’Brien told . “It has been a while since we’ve played a Full Member.”Following their famous victory against Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup, Ireland lost their next two encounters when Pakistan visited the country in 2011. O’Brien said the he would not be overawed by having to face Saeed Ajmal, the No. 1 ranked ODI bowler. “We played against him two years ago and we know that he’s obviously a tricky customer,” he said. “[But] there are no specific plans for him, just go out and enjoy facing a great spinner. We’ll have to give him the respect he deserves and try to score off as many balls as we can.”The question of giving Ireland Test status is one that has been floating around for a while. According to O’Brien, the team still has some way to go before they can make the step up. “We’re still a few years away from being a Test team. Bangladesh, when they were given full status, were probably dominating Associated cricket for 10 to 12 years. We’ve only been doing it for six or seven years,” he said. “We don’t have as big a pool of players as Bangladesh either.”Cricket Ireland needs to put a few things in place in terms of first-class cricket and multi-day cricket in Ireland, and I think they’re certainly going towards that. In the future, possibly in three of four more years, Ireland could be playing a Test match against Bangladesh.”He empathised with scheduling issues facing the Full Member countries when it comes to accommodating Associates. “Bigger teams need to concentrate on Test series and one-day series that are already in place, and to add an extra two or three games on the tour to play us is really difficult. England have come over two or three times in the last couple of years and Pakistan had also come here in 2011. We’re getting more and more opportunities.”We’d obviously like more but we can’t be too greedy. We just have to bide our time and when we do get a chance, perform well and get a few victories.”O’Brien was also pleased about “definite” progress made by Associate nations over the last five or six years. “Afghanistan are a good side, as are Holland who are improving all the time. Then you have the likes of Scotland who are getting better and better with their young team. It’s definitely getting more and more competitive at the Associate level and it’s great to see.”The two one-day internationals will be streamed live on YouTube – via the Cricket Ireland channel – after the board struck a deal with Google and Quipu TV to broadcast the game online. The matches were not going to be shown on television. However, the deal is unlikely to help fans in Pakistan were YouTube is banned.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Stuart Binny celebrates after scoring the winning runs in Jaipur•BCCI

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium continued to remain a fortress for Rajasthan Royals, though it came close to being breached by Pune Warriors during a high-scoring clash on Sunday. Royals moved to No. 4 in the IPL points table, their openers Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane guiding a challenging chase with half-centuries, and Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson chipping in with crucial cameos to help sneak their team home in the final over. The sixth straight win at home for Royals was a seventh consecutive loss for Warriors, who need to get their bowling in order to spoil a party or two this season.The dew was a factor in Jaipur, but Rahul Sharma’s long-hops in a game-changing 17th over could not be blamed on the environment alone. With 43 needed off 24 balls, he gifted a short ball outside off to Binny, who promptly slashed it past point. Two more short deliveries later, Binny pulled the next one over the deep midwicket boundary. Samson faced his first ball with 28 needed off 16, and began imperiously, showing no signs of nerves, driving Wayne Parnell on the up and then running him past third man for successive boundaries. Binny took charge, dispatching a length ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar for six in the penultimate over and squeezing Parnell past mid-on for four to seal victory when one run was needed off two balls.Dravid surprised a few by walking out to open instead of Shane Watson during Royals’ chase of 179, but took the lead in delivering a brisk start that was the foundation for his team’s successful overhaul of Warriors’ score. He punched Bhuvneshwar for two boundaries through point in the opening over, then targeted Krishnakant Upadhyaya for three fours to three different parts of the ground. The best shot of his innings was an inside-out drive for four off Angelo Mathews, and he had a straight six up his sleeve off Rahul Sharma shortly before holing out for 58. It was part of a 98-run opening stand with Rahane, in 71 balls.Rahane will feel a little hard done to have missed out on a place in the Champions Trophy squad, and his latest knock ended an unsatisfactory run of scores over the last few matches for him. He played the supporting role to his captain, but took charge in the 14th over off Mathews, helping snatch 21, including two fours and a sweetly-timed six over extra cover. Not one to derive a lot of thrill playing cross-batted shots, Rahane dragged a couple from outside off stump against the Warriors seamers, one of them ending up as a flat six. When he fell, he left Binny with a task he’s become quite familiar with this season, as a finisher.On a good track to bat on, Robin Uthappa had given Warriors a real shot at victory with a second-successive half-century. He is known to have worked hard this season, having lost 17 kilos to get in shape. Together with Aaron Finch, with whom he added 97, Uthappa took advantage of some sloppy Royals bowling that included a series of wides down the leg side. He middled the ball, and Mitchell Marsh ended the innings on a high, cruising to an unbeaten 35 off 21 balls. It marked a second straight improved performance with the bat from Warriors, but wasn’t enough to rescue their bowlers.

A lot has happened to Joe Root in the last six months: international debuts in all three formats and a handful of match-winning contributions. The role of being England Lions captain, which was due to be his in the winter before the full side beckoned for his services, is another honour in a career that is moving in fast forward.It could easily make some 22-year-olds giddy, but the underlying maturity of Root’s make-up has already been one of the characteristics that has stood out. There are few signs of that changing.”I am still the same bloke I was six months ago really, just six months older with a bit more experience under my belt,” he said. “I will try and keep as level as possible and cricket is the best leveller as a sport you can play in. I will always try and stay the same bloke I have been and that shouldn’t really change at all.”Although it is a heavy burden to place on a player so early in his career, the selectors clearly see Root as a potential full England captain – whether as a successor to Alastair Cook, himself earmarked very early for the job, or perhaps a little later. However, it is not a role for which he can draw from a wealth of experience.”I’ve grown up captaining at age groups and a little bit of club cricket but not a great deal,” he said. “It will be a good challenge to me and I am really looking forward to it. It’s been a while, perhaps a year or so, when I did it in club cricket. I would like to think I will be nice and calm and collected, just try and have a relaxed approach”While his captaincy record is slim he believes he has often “thought like a captain” and worked hard to ensure he has absorbed lessons from whoever he has played under. That includes the perhaps unlikely figure of Azeem Rafiq, the Yorkshire offspinner, who was Root’s captain during last year’s FLt20 and at England Under-19s level.A more well-known source of advice is Michael Vaughan, who may be getting a call from Root before he tosses up with Brendon McCullum on Thursday morning. “I haven’t called Michael yet but I might do this evening and just try and pick his brains and see what he says.

Root beaten to Lord’s

Joe Root might be part of England’s middle order, but he has still been beaten to one of the game’s significant moments by his brother and father. A maiden appearance at Lord’s.
Billy Root, Joe’s younger brother who is on the MCC groundstaff, and his father Matt were involved in an MCC versus MCC Young Cricketers’ match at Lord’s last week. The younger Root did not have a chance to bowl to his dad – “he was out at the other end before he had a chance,” said Joe.
“They’ve played at Lord’s before,” he said. “I’ve been there a couple of times, once as 12th man for Yorkshire. So I’m a bit jealous.” Barring injury, Joe’s chance will come next week.

“That’s why I have learned such a lot because there are so many guys who are willing to voice their opinions and you learn from different experiences, things that work, things that don’t. That’s helped me growing up and I will try to continue to learn.”I have always liked to try and help out when I can. As a young lad you sometimes have to let the older guys take charge but, especially coming back this year, I have tried to help out when I can. Hopefully that will stand me in good stead for the future.”It will be an interesting few days ahead for Root because Lions matches are there for various purposes. It is always useful to turnover a Test side before a series (New Zealand showed that in Queenstown on England’s recent tour) but there are also the individual aims of those eager to stake their claims for future selection.Then there is Root’s batting position, which alters depending on who he is playing for. So far this season for Yorkshire he has opened (with prolific results in the Championship), while for England he bats anywhere from No. 4 to No. 6 depending on the format. At Grace Road he will be at No. 3. He admits to always thinking of himself as an opener, but also had the well-rehearsed answer of “I’m happy to bat anywhere to play for England.”New Zealand see the next four days as an opportunity to strike an early blow against England’s middle order with Jonny Bairstow likely to join Root in the Test squad next week following Kevin Pietersen’s continued absence with his knee injury.”We were able to keep them quiet back home in the Test series and it’s important for us to keep them quiet in this Test series as well,” Brendon McCullum said. “How do we do that? We start that by keeping them quiet in this warm-up game and trying to add a bit of pressure that way. We will implement some plans against them to do that.”That will be another important test for Root. Being a target for the opposition is something he will need to get used to.

ScorecardDavid Willey grabs a caught-and-bowled during his five-wicket haul•Getty Images

After missing out on Championship promotion by a point in 2011, Northamptonshire endured a miserable 2012, with only two Championship victories and dire performances in both the CB40 and Twenty20. But a squad that could be backed at 20-1 to be Division Two champions before the season started has so far hinted at possessing the quality, balance and depth to justify talk of Championship promotion.Under conditions that remained good for batting, David Willey produced a compelling display of left-arm swing bowling to seal an innings victory over Essex halfway through the third day. The highlight was when Ravi Bopara, whose 41 had been a rare source of solace amid the disintegration of Essex’s top order, was deceived into playing at a ball that shaped away from him. The dismissal came only a few deliveries after Willey had changed his angle from around to over the wicket, and was his fifth of the innings.In a match-clinching spell of 6-2-15-3 shortly after lunch, Willey showed an array of talents. He displayed the classic left-armer’s trait of being able to shape the ball back in from around the wicket, but it was a ball that went straight on that accounted for James Foster, playing for swing that wasn’t there. A spectacular caught-and-bowled then claimed Greg Smith.It completed Willey’s best first-class game yet: match figures of 8-110 to complement a perky 76. As an allrounder and left-armer there may be those saying he could be considered for England, but Willey’s bowling, impressive as it was, could do with a little extra pace – and coach David Ripley believes he could yet put on another yard – to trouble batsmen less complicit than Essex’s were here. But he would not be undeserving of an England Lions call-up for their match against New Zealand next month.After bowling out Essex for 183 in the first innings, Northants will have been even more thrilled to have dismissed them for 207 in the second. While the pitch offered some assistance for seamers on the first day, it flattened out – as it often does at Wantage Road – on the second and third. Northants displayed unrelenting discipline, seldom straying from their line outside off stump and trusting that rash shot selection from Essex’s batsmen would do the rest.That it certainly did. Of Essex’s top order in the second innings only Bopara and – at a push – Foster could not honestly claim culpability for their dismissals. The wickets of Rob Quiney, who had played well for 56, and Mark Pettini, both swiping outside the off stump attempting to cut balls when more attritional batting was required, were particularly disappointing. They could learn from Maurice Chambers, who played with admirable disciple for his 65-ball 3.

Copeland may return

Trent Copeland will play as Northants’ overseas player for the first seven Championship matches of this season, but coach David Ripley explained that the club plan to review the situation with a view to signing another overseas player – Copeland returning could be one possibility – for the final five Championship games of the season, from August 20.

“We’re not a bottomless pit, our budget is tight,” he said. “We’ve done very well and the club’s been very supportive to get the squad together that we’ve got. There’s not a lot of money left in the budget for us to take that on. Realistically we’d certainly have to be in the top half of the league and pushing.”

Reflecting on the victory, admitted “it was a good toss to win” and said that the 228 runs added for their last two wickets proved decisive. “They’re good players and we said they’re good players but they batted – rather than sulking because they’re down the bottom – with purpose and that swung the game our way. The match-winning effort was that few hours where the game swung massively in our favour.”Ripley believes Northants could win Championship promotion. “Absolutely. I’ve said right from the start we’ve been very competitive generally over the years in four-day cricket. We perhaps haven’t been the same in one-day cricket and we’ve focused hard on our one-day skills.””We’ve got a good balance in that seam attack. Trent Copeland is relentless and has got good skills; Andrew Hall is a master of hitting the seam; David gives us left-arm and swing; and Steven Crook gives us a bit of cutting edge and a bit of pace so I think we’ve got a good variety in that attack.”On Willey, Ripley added: “He’s come a long way in 18 months. He’s a good professional, he looks after himself very well off the field. He’s an absolute athlete – his caught-and-bowled, not many in the country would have taken a catch like that.”Based on this evidence, there is every chance a disciplined side with the longest batting line-up in the country – and, in Matthew Spriegel and Olly Stone, some solid players who have yet to appear – may yet challenge for promotion. For Essex, this performance, coming on the back of conceding 409 for 5 against Gloucestershire at Chelmsford last week, will raise some serious questions. Their coach Paul Grayson was unavailable for comment.Instead, it was left to Bopara. “They bowled relentlessly on a length, they bowled very well as a unit which we can learn from I think,” he said. “It really showed us how to get stuck in with the ball. I didn’t think anything was special when it came to their batting – we had them 170 for 8 but unfortunately their last few batters played really, really well and you’ve got to give it to them.” He admitted that “we kind of did lose control” during Northants’ game changing lower-order intervention.Compounding their problems, Essex could yet face a points penalty on account of their slow over-rate in this match.

The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is back in Karachi after two seasons, as Karachi Blues outclassed Sialkot in a one-sided contest to win Pakistan’s premium first-class tournament. Blues captain Khurram Manzoor credited the all-round effort of his side, which wasn’t too formidable on paper, for the winning the title.Although there were no fireworks or cheers in the deserted stands of Gaddafi Stadium, there was jubilant celebration by the players. When Manzoor lofted the ball to the midwicket boundary to score the winning runs, the Blues players, who were waiting at the boundary rope, erupted screaming onto the field to embrace their captain. They had another reason for joy: the team had remained unbeaten over the course of ten matches and two months.”It was the moment we have been waiting for,” Manzoor said while standing in front of a sombre Sialkot dressing room. “This is a result of the hard work put in by all of our players and the coaching staff. I am very happy as a player and as a captain – this is a significant achievement for me. They are all happy and want people to know that. I can’t explain in words how happy I am and that’s why we are screaming loud. This is all about the victory.”We didn’t have big names on paper but we played like a family. Sometime there were heated arguments, differences, we quarrelled on various occasions, but it was merely on how to attain the best result on the field. It was all teamwork. In the end, it is the result that matters, and so it’s a moment of joy. I love to be a part of such a talented side.”The key was the planning of our short-term goals instead of setting a big goal. We had a plan for each hour, each session to keep the players on their toes and didn’t burden them to achieve bigger goal. The motto is to win every day to keep the momentum on, and this helped us against complacency. We knew if the plan worked the title wouldn’t be far from us. If we have strong belief, we can win.”One of the key men who contributed to the win was Akbar-ur-Rehman, who topped the run-charts with 986 runs in ten games, with three fifties and three centuries, one of which was a double. He scored a century in the final, too; his 178 in the first innings helped his side gain a decisive 199-run lead.”I simply call him a one-man army and I am proud of him,” Manzoor said. “He played his role and his presence in the middle was a relief for me. He was the backbone of our batting and performed well when it matters and I wish him very best of luck for his future.”

The controversial Cricket Wars tournament which was due to take place this weekend at Nairobi Gymkhana has been postponed for a second time. While not an official event, the last-minute cancellation is another blow for the already tarnished image of Kenyan cricket which is widely seen as disorganised and ravaged by in-fighting.Organisers, who have failed to respond to questions in recent days, broke the news on the tournament’s Facebook page. “We are having to postpone it but we assure you that it is going to happen soon,” a post on Wednesday morning said. “Thank you for all the support, we appreciate it.”The three-day competition was originally scheduled for early December and then, at short notice, moved to the first weekend of February. But organisers had fallen foul of Cricket Kenya after they failed to respond to repeated requests for clarity over the financial arrangements. As a result, no players affiliated to the board – or any board overseas – was given clearance to take part.It was clear by Tuesday that there were problems. ESPNcricinfo was contacted by someone who had paid for a concession at the ground only the be advised the event had been delayed for at least a fortnight.Earlier this month Jay Varia, one of the movers behind the tournament, boasted there would be “Kenyan and international cricketers” taking part, but with the board refusing to sanction the event it is unclear who will appear. While local club players could have made up the numbers it was highly unlikely any of the Kenyan national team, who have professional contracts with the board, would have been allowed to participate.There was at least more clarity on the non-cricketing talent lined up to take part with media website Tellychakkar.com reporting eight Indian TV names were due to head to Nairobi including Manav Gohil, Vrajesh Hirjee, Madhura Naik, Sehban Azim and Hassan Zaidi.However, Gohil told the site “we will travel soon but the dates are still need to be worked out” while Naik admitted she had no idea how to play cricket, adding: “I am scared that I might fling the cricket bat thinking it to be a baseball.”

Shane Warne might have played his last game of this Big Bash League campaign after being suspended for one match following his ugly clash with Marlon Samuels on Sunday night. Warne, the Melbourne Stars captain, was also fined $4500 following the fracas in the derby against the Melbourne Renegades at the MCG, while Samuels is yet to face his hearing after also being charged over the incidents.Warne was charged with four breaches of Cricket Australia’s Code of Behaviour and found guilty of three; Samuels was charged with two offences. Warne’s suspension means he will miss the Stars’ last qualifying match at home to the Sydney Thunder on Tuesday and his chances of taking any further part in the tournament will hinge on whether his side, which is one of four sides locked together on four wins in the middle of the points table, reaches the finals.Warne confronted Samuels physically and verbally during the Melbourne Renegades innings at the MCG, seemingly in retaliation for an incident that had occurred earlier during the Melbourne Stars innings. During that incident, the bowler Samuels grabbed David Hussey by the shirt and prevented him taking off for a second run, a strange act given that Hussey’s path had not taken him into contact with Samuels.Later while Samuels was batting, he took off for a run and turned back, after which Warne came down the pitch and said to Samuels: “You want to grab some more people? F*** you Marlon.” Warne, who was wearing a Fox Sports microphone at the time, then grabbed Samuels’ shirt, apparently to demonstrate what he felt Samuels had done wrong earlier, and pointed at him threateningly.The clash continued in the next over when Warne collected the ball running in from the off side and under-armed it into the body of Samuels, who was in his crease not attempting a run. Samuels responded by tossing his bat down the pitch, vaguely in the direction of Warne.On Monday morning, Cricket Australia confirmed a long list of charges from the incidents. Warne was found guilty of three: showing serious dissent at an umpire’s decision; engaging in inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another player; and using obscene, offensive or generally insulting language to another player. He was found not guilty of throwing the ball at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner.After the hearing, Warne indicated that he would consider appealing the suspension, but later in the day he decided to accept his ban and hoped the Stars reached the finals. In a series of tweets, Warne also expressed disappointment at his own actions.”I have always been passionate when I play cricket and had the game at heart along with its image…” he tweeted. “I’m disappointed at some of my actions last night as captain & as a player,but I’m also very disappointed at the severe penalty I received!”Samuels has been charged with engaging in inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another player; and unbecoming behaviour, namely that “players and officials must not at any time engage in behaviour unbecoming to a representative player or official that could (a) bring them or the game of cricket into disrepute or (b) be harmful to the interests of cricket”.However, Samuels ended the match with a potentially serious injury to his eye socket after he top-edged a Lasith Malinga delivery through the grille of his helmet, and any suspension may not affect his availability anyway. The Renegades coach Simon Helmot said Samuels was recovering at the team hotel and would be taking some time off to care for his injury, and a time for his hearing is yet to be confirmed by Cricket Australia.”We’re now waiting for the swelling around his eye to subside before determining the full extent of the blow,” Helmot said. “We are also assessing what, if anything, this means in terms of squad composition for the remainder of the tournament and will take action to source an international replacement if necessary.”

Angelo Mathews has expressed enthusiasm for the leadership role and appears ready to take over the captaincy once Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s current Test captain, steps down. Jayawardene accepted the post reluctantly in January and has seemed eager to be rid of the reins ever since. He has hinted he will step down after the tour of Australia as long as Sri Lanka avert disaster there, and his deputy’s apparent willingness to take over will only make that move easier.Mathews is already Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 captain and has been groomed for the role in the longer formats. He arrives in Australia in form, having been the team’s top-scorer in the home series against New Zealand, and has seen his Test batting bloom over the last 18 months. 

He has been the vice-captain in all formats since July 2011, and in the SLPL, he led the Nagenahira Nagas to the final of the competition.Mathews’ unflinching attitude and an expanding reputation for even-headedness under pressure have made him appear much more like captaincy-material than at the end of Kumar Sangakkara’s tenure, when he was considered for the role, but lost out to Tillakaratne Dilshan.”I think that’s totally up to the selectors – if they think I’m ready for the captaincy, I’m ready,” Mathews said. “It doesn’t really matter for now because Mahela’s been a great captain for years and I think he’s been serving the country for decades. But if the selectors think I’m ready – it’s up to them.”If he does succeed Jayawardene after the tour, and there are no retirements, he will lead a side with three former captains and several other players senior to him in age, if not always in international experience. At 25, Mathews may be leading one of Sri Lanka’ oldest Test sides, but he said he sees the older players’ presence as a boon, rather than a challenge. Indeed, the prospect of having time to mentor Mathews in the initial phase of his captaincy has been the reason Jayawardene has cited for wanting to relinquish the captaincy before he retires.”When I initially got into the team, there were so many captains. Sanath Jayasuriya was there, and now we have Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela. They teach us a lot and we can always go back to them to ask questions, and they’re always willing to help out. There’s a lot we can learn from Mahela.”Mathews has been penetrative with the ball in ODIs, but has performed more of a holding role in Tests, where he has been economical, but far less incisive. Jayawardene has said Mathews will continue to be kept low in the order to accommodate contributions with the ball, and Mathews was keen to bowl more overs in this series.”I’ve been managing myself on different conditions, and Mahela has been pretty good with that. In Australia, the conditions might suit my bowling and I’m hopeful of bowling plenty of overs.”Mathews also offered some insight into the team’s makeup for the first Test, which begins on Friday, marking out left-hander Dimuth Karunaratne as the more likely partner to Dilshan at the top of the innings, over Tharanga Paranavitana. Karunaratne made his debut against New Zealand in Galle last month, hitting a run-a-ball unbeaten 60 in the second innings, after failing to score in the first.”Dimuth is a very aggressive player, he always looks to score runs, while Paranavitana has been having a pretty bad run in the recent past. I think Dimuth has a slight edge, but we haven’t decided on anything.”He was less hopeful of Dinesh Chandimal’s chances though, despite his good ODI record in Australia. 

”Unfortunately I can’t see Chandimal getting into the team for this Test. We’ll have to see how it goes with the batters. He’s been batting really well in the nets, so it’s just that we won’t be able to give him a chance this time.”