Lancashire revived their hopes of qualifying for the Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-finals with a dramatic last-over win against Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford

22-May-2011
ScorecardLancashire revived their hopes of qualifying for the Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-finals with a dramatic last-over win against Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford.Chasing a revised target of 147 from 27 overs, Chris Read looked to be guiding the visitors to victory with a half-century as his side needed just 20 from the final four overs.But England bowler Sajid Mahmood returned with a stunning spell to claim two crucial wickets. Spinner Stephen Parry then took two more in the final over as the Lightning won by four runs on Duckworth/Lewis after bowling Nottinghamshire out for 142.After Lancashire made 145 for 8 from their 27 overs, Nottinghamshire started their reply badly.
Mahmood struck with his third ball as he bowled Rikki Wessels for a duck. Hogg claimed the wicket of Akhil Patel, who was caught at point by Steven Croft without scoring.And Adam Voges became the third Outlaw to go for a duck when he edged Mahmood to wicketkeeper Gareth Cross. Hogg then bowled Ben Phillips, leaving Nottinghamshire 24 for four.Alistair Brown kept them in the game with 22 off 23 balls before he was bowled by Simon Kerrigan. Read and former Lancashire player Steven Mullaney looked to have put their side in control, putting on 48 for the sixth wicket.And even when Mullaney was caught by Luke Procter off Farveez Maharoof’s bowling for 22, the Outlaws needed just 46 to win from eight overs.But Mahmood changed the game. He returned to bowl a wicket maiden, with Sam Wood lofting him to Croft for eight. And in his next over he bowled Read for 59 to leave Nottinghamshire needing eight off the final over. Parry then had Paul Franks caught by Paul Horton and wrapped up the Lightning’s second win in five games by bowling Andre Adams off the penultimate ball.Earlier Croft’s 41 from 40 balls was the backbone of the Lightning innings. After rain reduced the game to 30 overs, Stephen Moore was first to go, caught by Wessels off Darren Pattinson for four.Franks then bowled Karl Brown for six before a heavy downpour reduced the game to 27 overs.
Croft and Horton upped the rate after the break, putting on 50 in 52 balls. Wood, however, bowled Horton for 37 then trapped Maharoof lbw next ball.Adams returned to the attack to trap Croft lbw in the 20th over and two more wickets in successive balls saw Lancashire reduced to 125 for seven as first Mahmood was run out after a direct hit from Mullaney and then Cross was caught at backward point by Pattinson off Adams for 21. Procter was run out in the penultimate over for 5.

Andrew McDonald produced a Man-of-the-Match display to steer Leicestershire to an eight-wicket win over Yorkshire

29-Jun-2011
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Andrew McDonald produced a Man-of-the-Match display to steer Leicestershire to an eight-wicket win over Yorkshire and keep them on course for a place in the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals for the first time in five years.The allrounder took 3 for 18 as the visitors were bowled out for 144 at Grace Road and then hit a superb unbeaten 59 to guide the hosts to a crushing win with 22 balls to spare. McDonald and Josh Cobb shared an opening stand of 74 in eight overs and then, following the dismissal of Will Jefferson, James Taylor joined the Australian in an unbroken match-winning third-wicket partnership of 63 off 41 balls.Yorkshire, having been put into bat, made a good start and were 73 for 1 by the ninth over. Captain Andrew Gale led by example with an excellent half-century. But he had little support and his side were unable to maintain the early momentum, losing the last nine wickets for 71 runs in the final 12 overs.Gale was the only batsman to offer any real resistance to the home attack, making 67 off 56 balls with six boundaries before being eighth out when he was caught at deep midwicket off Harry Gurney. The left-arm seamer finished with 3 for 26, claiming all his three wickets in his final over.But it was McDonald who created the biggest problems for Yorkshire, picking up the vital wickets of Adam Lyth, Jonny Bairstow and Gary Ballance. After Gale the next highest scorer for Carnegie was Ajmal Shahzad, who slammed 20 off 11 balls including a massive six off Cobb.On a good pitch Yorkshire’s total never looked enough and Cobb and McDonald gave the Foxes just the start they needed to set up victory. Cobb continued his splendid form at the top of the order, making 46 off 25 balls with six boundaries and two sixes off Shahzad.The Yorkshire paceman went for 43 runs off his three overs and the only successes for the visitors were the two wickets of Cobb and Jefferson – both snared by Richard Pyrah. But McDonald and Taylor ensured victory for the Foxes with a splendid partnership, McDonald finishing unbeaten on 59 off 47 balls while Taylor showed his class with a bright and breezy 33 off 22 balls.It was Leicestershire’s fifth win of the season and they remained second in the north group table.

Zimbabwe XI fought back gamely for most of the third day after Australia A’s openers had put on a 289-run stand, Ray Price leading the way with four wickets as the visitors were restricted to a lead of 198

The Report by Liam Brickhill23-Jul-2011
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Chris Mpofu picked up two wickets in an over as Zimbabwe XI fought back on the third day in Harare•Zimbabwe Cricket

Zimbabwe XI fought back gamely for most of the third day after Australia A’s openers had put on a 289-run stand, Ray Price leading the way with four wickets as the visitors were restricted to a lead of 198. The Zimbabwean batsmen were soon under real pressure, however, as Mitchell Starc’s early strikes left them precariously placed at 49 for 3.The second day had belonged almost entirely to Australia but Zimbabwe made a good start on the third morning, taking just three overs to break a massive opening stand between Aaron Finch and David Warner. Price provided the breakthrough, bowling Finch for 122, and in the very next over Chris Mpofu had Usman Khawaja caught behind for a golden duck as Australia slipped to 290 for 2.Callum Ferguson’s fluent 48 helped Warner to stem the tide, the latter bringing up a 330-ball double hundred – his first in first-class cricket – in the course of their 78-run stand for the third wicket. Once Ferguson was removed, caught behind off Elton Chigumbura, there was another flurry of wickets and Price had Tim Paine caught by Craig Ervine for his second scalp.Zimbabwe immediately took the new ball, with dramatic results. Mitchell Marsh had his stumps re-arranged by Mpofu, who trapped Warner in front of his stumps for 211 four balls later. Vitori got past both Luke Butterworth and Trent Copeland in the space of an over, and Australia had lost four wickets for one run in 10 balls.Australia A were 437 for 9 when Price bowled Peter Siddle for his third wicket, but then came a determined fightback by Jason Krejza and Starc, who clung on to add 61 for the tenth wicket to frustrate the Zimbabweans. Krejza brought up a 72-ball fifty and was prised out by Price soon after, Australia A reaching 498 in the 138th over.The momentum swung firmly back Australia’s way in Starc’s opening spell as he removed both Vusi Sibanda and Tino Mawoyo within the first six overs. Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor began to re-build the innings but Masakadza was removed by Copeland minutes before the close, and Zimbabwe’s fortunes may well now hinge on Taylor, unbeaten on 32, as they look to save the game on the final day.

Seamer Trent Copeland and offspinner Nathan Lyon will make their Test debuts for Australia in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle

Daniel Brettig in Galle30-Aug-2011Seamer Trent Copeland and offspinner Nathan Lyon will make their Test debuts for Australia in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Usman Khawaja edged Shaun Marsh out of the side, and will get his chance to bat at No. 6 in a line-up that was named one day early.Lyon, who won the tussle for the lone spinner’s spot with Michael Beer, is trained as a groundsman, and was seen in conversation with Greg Chappell, the selector on duty, before making a close inspection of the pitch. He extracted useful turn from the practice wickets either side of the match strip, though, appeared no more dangerous than Copeland, who beat the bat frequently.It has been a most extraordinary rise for the 23-year-old Lyon, who until the first day of the tour match against Sri Lanka Board XI had never bowled in front of his captain Michael Clarke. Lyon made his debut for South Australia in the domestic Twenty20 tournament last year, where his performances won him rapid promotion to his state’s Shield team and the Australia A team on the limited-overs leg of a tour of Zimbabwe. To date, he has taken 14 wickets in five first-class matches.While there, he impressed all with his flight, loop and spin, and these aggressive attributes pushed him ahead of Beer, who played his first Test at the SCG at the conclusion of the Ashes. Lyon becomes the 11th spin bowler to be tried for Australia since Shane Warne retired in 2007. He will be used as an attacking, wicket-taking option by the tourists, who have arguably been given that option by Copeland’s emergence as a stingy seam-up type not seen in Australian colours since Stuart Clark’s time was up.Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said that while the surface will take spin, its dry nature would aid reverse-swing. The breeze from the Indian Ocean is also known to help the fast bowlers. Copeland is likely be used for long, tight spells while Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris tear in at the other end.Michael Clarke acknowledged Copeland’s strengths, which have also been cited by numerous locals, as likely to be exceptionally useful in Sri Lankan wickets. Also central to his thinking is the fact that Johnson and Harris will be more capable of slipping in quick, aggressive spells with the support of Copeland.”The greatest advantage Copes has is his statistics in first-class cricket don’t tell a lie,” Clarke said. “There’s a reason he’s had success there and I’m certain it’ll be the same reason he [will] have success for Australia. He’s got great control. Very rarely do you see too many blokes hitting him with the middle of the bat consistently and I think that’s because he’s got good height and he just wobbles the ball enough. I’m a big wrap for him – I love his control, I love the way he bowled in the first game.”He bowls a lot of overs for not many runs, so that’s a great strength. In these conditions if the wickets are flat, it gives you the option to set fields he can bowl to. Because his pace is a little bit slower, he generally has more control so he can bowl more to a field than someone who is bowling at 150km/h.”There have been 12 outright results from the 17 Test matches played at the Galle International Stadium since 1998, nine of them enjoyed by the hosts. Only when rain intervenes, as it did when the Australians first played here in 1999, do the chances of a firm outcome dissipate.Clarke, in his first Test as Australia’s fully-fledged Test captain, could not help but notice the lack of grass on a good length at either end of the pitch. Whatever excess foliage remained in the middle had been shaved off by the ground staff by the time the Australians returned for their final training session.”It looked dry at the ends yesterday; it looked like they had cut the grass off the ends but left the grass in the middle of the wicket,” Clarke said. “But I got a phone call last night saying when we left the ground they shaved that as well. I don’t know what happened after training but the wicket seemed to have changed.”It’s pretty hard as well; it will definitely spin but I don’t know if it will spin [from] day one or day two. There might be a bit more pace and bounce than what we had in the practice game. It will spin, but it is just a matter of how early or how much.”Australia have misread overseas pitches before, no more disastrously than the dry surface for the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval in 2009, when no specialist spinner was chosen. However Clarke said it was important the tourists did not get spooked by the perceived threat of the conditions, and chose the combination most likely to succeed in the team’s first Test since the horrors of the previous home summer.”I just think with the first match of the series we’ve got to get the right combination,” Clarke said. “If we think the quicks are going to be our best solution to take 20 wickets then we have to go with three fast bowlers no matter what Sri Lanka do, or no matter if we think it’s going to spin. Looking at that wicket yesterday looks quite hard and dry and that will bring reverse-swing into play … if it’s hard there might be a bit more carry into play as well.”Australia XI for Galle: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Phil Hughes, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Usman Khawaja, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Trent Copeland, 10 Ryan Harris, 11 Nathan Lyon. (12th man – Michael Beer)

Cricket Kenya has been forced to name a weakened squad to take on Netherlands in the ICC Intercontinental Cup and the subsequent ODI series. The four-day match starts in Deventer on September 7

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2011Cricket Kenya has been forced to name a weakened squad to take on Netherlands in the ICC Intercontinental Cup and the subsequent ODI series. The four-day match starts in Deventer on September 7.Several players continue to be in dispute with the board, and a decision was taken to exclude them from consideration.”This squad features some new names and the return of one or two experienced players,” explained chairman of selectors Alpesh Vadher. ” Youngsters such as Duncan Allan, Irfan Karim and Emmanuel Ringera have shown great promise for the national Under-19 squad and deserve their chance, Ibrahim Akello has been impressive in the early games of the East Africa Cricket Competitions as have Lameck Onyango and David Obuya who will add experience to the squad.”Turning to those not picked, Vadher said: “There are some players who we would have liked to consider but yet again they have made themselves unavailable which is disappointing. Cricket Kenya has offered these players contracts until the end of the current contract year subject to the same reviews that every other player goes through but they are not happy with that. What players must realise that we will be focusing on performance and attitude and in the future will only select players who can demonstrate a real commitment to play for Kenya.”Kenya squad Collins Obuya (capt), Rakep Patel, Tanmay Mishra, Runesh Gudka, Hiren Varaiya, Lucas Oluoch, Dominic Wesonga, Seren Waters, Duncan Allan, Irfan Karim, Ibrahim Akello, David Obuya, Emmanuel Ringera, Lameck Onyango.

Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan has demanded more from his batsmen following their first-innings surrender for 174 in the second Test against Australia in Pallekele

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele08-Sep-2011Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan has demanded more from his batsmen following their first-innings surrender for 174 in the second Test against Australia in Pallekele. He threatened numerous changes to the team if performances did not improve.Dilshan was one of a series of batsmen dismissed cheaply as Sri Lanka lurched to 76 for 5 at lunch on the first day, a position from which they never recovered despite an excellent batting pitch. The start seemed to reflect the chaotic nature of the hosts’ lead-in to the Test, with Rangana Herath (finger) and Ajantha Mendis (back) ruled out on the morning of the match due to injuries.”Definitely there is something wrong in the batting,” Dilshan said. “We are talking, discussing, we are doing a lot of hard work in the training and we are discussing a lot of things, but now is the time to deliver.”We can’t say the wicket is bad. They’ve bowled really well but we’ve played the last series in England, where there was a better attack, and on a difficult wicket we batted really well. Now the players should put their hands up and deliver, they have to deliver, now is the time, we can’t wait anymore.”This is the third time we’ve got out cheaply [including 82 on the final day against England in Cardiff]. They bowled really well in the start but our batsmen didn’t bat well, that is why we got out. It is a good wicket, we are playing seven batsmen, we can’t expect 174 all out.”Several ideas have been tossed about in Sri Lanka’s dressing room, including the employment of the sports psychologist Rudi Webster at the conclusion of the series. Dilshan also said the older batsmen, including himself and Thilan Samaraweera, had to take more responsibility or risk being dropped. Their struggles contrasted with the success of Angelo Mathews, who followed a second-innings 95 in Galle with 58 here.”He’s batted really well in the No. 7 position,” Dilshan said. “We have problems with the middle order and the top order. We don’t want to change someone batting really well at No. 7, but we have to think about the second innings. Maybe change the batting line-up and send someone in top.”Dilshan described the changes to the side minutes before play as “unfortunate”. They necessitated the inclusion of the offspinner Suraj Randiv, who was going to be dropped, and the legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, making his debut.Herath was struck on the finger during a fielding drill on the eve of the Test, while Mendis had a back problem that worsened in the lead-up to the game. “We thought he [Herath] would be okay but today he tried to grip the ball and he couldn’t, his finger was very sore,” Dilshan said. “Ajantha had a back injury in last one-dayer but he managed to play, but today morning he talked to the physio, he was worse than the last few weeks. I don’t want to take a chance and play him, so that is why we gave a youngster a chance. Unfortunately we had to make two changes in the morning.”

The lawyer of Mohammad Amir told a packed Southwark Crown Court that his client has only ever cheated by bowling two no-balls in the Lord’s Test

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court02-Nov-2011The lawyer of Mohammad Amir told a packed Southwark Crown Court that his client has only ever cheated by bowling two no-balls in the Lord’s Test and has never had any corrupt relationships with bookmakers, as the court has been led to believe from prosecution evidence.During the trial, which has already seen Amir’s former captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif found guilty on two counts, prosecution presented evidence to the jury of phone records that showed suspicious text messages between Amir and two unknown Pakistan numbers. The prosecution suggested Amir was a willing conspirator, which was an image his defence was keen to erase.”We want to lay to rest that he had a prior corrupt relationship with other people about cheating,” Henry Blaxland QC told the court. “These no-balls were the first time that he was involved in fixing.”In a lengthy and emotional address, Amir apologised through his lawyer for his involvement in spot-fixing, stating: “I want to apologise to all in Pakistan and all others to whom cricket is important. I did the wrong thing. I was trapped, because of my stupidity. I panicked.”Blaxland suggested that the Pakistani numbers ending 225 and 590 with which Amir had conversed were effectively belonging to the same racket and were interlinked. He went on to say that when Amir realised what the person was requiring from him (spot-fixing), he no longer encouraged them.”The person is somebody who introduced himself to Mr Amir in Dubai in November 2009 when Pakistan were playing a tournament against New Zealand. There were two more innocuous meetings. Then out of the blue Amir received a call on August 4.”Of possibly more incriminating text messages that were recovered with Amir saying ‘how much?’ and ‘what needs to be done?’, the lawyer insisted Amir then gave little time to this person who began to pester him.”Having found out what this person wanted to do [arranging brackets during The Oval Test], he broke off contact with this person. He did absolutely nothing of what this person was proposing.”There has been a suggestion that on the 18th of August eight runs were scored [according to a fix], but there was no way Amir could make that happen and the runs that Jonathan Trott did score in that period were actually very lucky runs.”He added: “We entirely reject what has been suggested [of Amir’s corrupt relationships with a Pakistani bookmaker]. The most important aspect is that he broke off contact after he knew what this person wanted.”A great deal of focus has been placed on it during the trial but we do not accept that this is evidence of a corrupt relationship.”

Sarel Burger’s cameo ensured Namibia made it two wins out of two over Kenya

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2011Namibia captain Sarel Burger ensured his side made it two wins out of two over Kenya at the Windhoek High School. Having opted to bat first, Kenya put on a much improved batting display, led by Collins Obuya, to post 170 for 5. But Burger provided the finishing kick to Nambia’s innings to take his side home with five wickets and three balls to spare.Kenya lost opener Alex Obanda in the third over but Obuya was in a determined mood, smashing five sixes and three fours in a 53-ball 79. He was well supported by Ragheb Aga, who made 45 from 32, as the pair added 112 for the fourth wicket at 9.60 runs an over. Both men lost their wickets in the final over, but had done enough to see their side to a competitive total.Louis van der Westhuizen and Raymond van Schoor gave the hosts an explosive start, racing to 57 from 5.2 overs before Westhuizen holed out off the bowling of left-arm spinner Hiren Varaiya, having made 27 from 13 balls. Van Schoor and Gerrie Snyman kept the scoreboard moving faster than the required rate, but Snyman’s wicket with the score on 90 prompted a mini-collapse as Namibia lost 4 wickets for 31 runs. Having played the anchor role in the last game, Burger turned into the finisher this time, looting a quick 32 from 20 balls and sharing in a 50-run partnership with Gerhard Erasmus that took their side to victory.

A round-up of the first day’s play of the seventh round of matches of the Ranji Trophy Elite, 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2011Group ATamil Nadu’s S Badrinath was given an award for playing his 100th first-class game•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Eighteen wickets tumbled on the opening day between Railways and Saurashtra in Delhi, and at the end of it Saurashtra were well placed to take the first-innings lead. On a sharply turning track, Saurashtra were shot out for 175 after choosing to bat, with Ashish Yadav taking 4 for 35 for Railways. The visitors had made a steady start, with the openers adding 59, before ten wickets fell for 112 runs. Wicketkeeper Sheldon Jackson top-scored with 39.When they batted, Railways crashed to 71 for 8. They had got to 18 without damage before losing four wickets for no runs. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled unchanged from the Pavilion end after replacing seamer Sandip Maniar in the fourth over of the innings, took three of those wickets and finished the day with 6 for 22. Mahesh Rawat was the only Railways batsman to show some application, using his feet well and stepping down the track several times to kill the spin. He remained not out on 31 at stumps.First-class cricket returned to Shimoga after 32 years, and Stuart Binny marked the occasion with his second rescue job in as many games. His unbeaten 86 airlifted Karnataka from 171 for 6, after their top order fell apart against Uttar Pradesh in relatively easy batting conditions. Binny, aided by Sunil Raju, steered them to 300 for 7, leaving the game even after a see-saw day. Read the whole report here.Thirty-one years after his namesake took five wickets on first-class debut for Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium, medium-pacer Balwinder Sandhu repeated the feat and dealt a blow to Punjab’s hopes of securing a quarter-final berth. Sandhu struck with his third delivery in first-class cricket and, along with Kshemal Waingankar, ensured Mumbai did not suffer from the absence of the experienced Aavishkar Salvi, who left the field clutching his side in his second over. Read the whole report here.A solid performance from Rajasthan’s top order gave them a strong platform for a formidable first-innings total against Orissa in Jaipur. After getting sent in to bat, Rajasthan lost Aakash Chopra early but Vineet Saxena, who is coming off a hundred against Saurashtra, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar made half-centuries and added 139 runs for the second wicket. Both batsmen were dismissed in successive overs with the score on 158, but Robin Bist and Rashmi Parida steered Rajasthan to 209 for 3 at stumps.Group BAshok Dinda’s five-wicket haul helped Bengal curb Baroda’s strong start and reduce them to 284 for 9 in Vadodara. Baroda only need first-innings points to secure a quarter-final berth and they were on course for a formidable total after being asked to bat. After they lost Anupam Gupta early, Aditya Waghmode and Rakesh Solanki scored half-centuries to lead Baroda to 145 for 1.Dinda dismissed both set batsmen and cut through the middle order, reducing the home team to 222 for 6. He then broke a 56-run partnership for the seventh wicket before Sourav Ganguly struck twice in the only over he bowled to leave Baroda on 278 for 9. Three wickets had fallen for no runs. Dinda ended the day with figures of 5 for 96.Gujarat’s bowlers made short work of Haryana’s batting line-up, dismissing them for 207 in Surat. Medium-pacer Mehul Patel took 4 for 59, and he was supported by Ishwar Chaudhary and Ashraf Madka, who took 3 for 50 and 2 for 23.Haryana had made a steady start after choosing to bat but lost their way from 59 for 1. Sunny Singh top scored with 69 but had no support from his team-mates, none of whom passed 30. Gujarat then lost their captain Parthiv Patel off the first ball of their innings, but Priyank Panchal and Niraj Patel steered them to 46 for 1 by stumps.Both teams squaring off in Chennai are already in the quarter-finals and it was Tamil Nadu that had the better of the first day against Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh had chosen to bowl, a decision that did not pay off – though the opening pair of T Sudhindra and Ishwar Pandey extracted a bit of movement off the pitch – as all the Tamil Nadu top-order batsmen got starts and three of them converted it into half-centuries to help them reach 294 for 4 at stumps.M Vijay and Kaushik Gandhi made 83 and 80, while Dinesh Karthik was unbeaten on 60. Vijay and Karthik were both in positive in their approach as Tamil Nadu had at least a half-century stand for each of the first four wickets, ensuring MP’s successes were few and far between. Vijay crafted some crackring drives, while Karthik peppered the straight boundary. S Badrinath, who was playing his 100th first-class game, meanwhile, hit the only six of the day before falling for 32 at the stroke of tea. The visitors used as many as eight bowlers and Amarjeet Singh had the best figures – 2 for 79.

Brad Haddin has said Australia have mentally recovered from the defeat to New Zealand, and are ready for the Indian challenge

Sidharth Monga at the MCG25-Dec-2011Brad Haddin has said Australia have mentally recovered from the defeat to New Zealand, and are prepared to face India. “I think we’re in a very good space,” he said on the eve of the Boxing Day Test. “We’ve had a week to prepare. We couldn’t be more prepared and more looking forward to the game. Boxing Day is a great occasion to walk out on the MCG. As a sportsman it’s a highlight to come out in front of sometimes 60-70 thousand. We’ve had a very good couple of days at our batting camp and we’re ready for this.”Haddin has had an ordinary year with the bat, with two half-centuries in 14 innings, although both of them set up wins for the side. At the batting camp in the lead-up to the match, he said, he worked more on the mental side of things. “From my point of view it’s not the swinging ball,” he said. “It’s just making sure my mindset is just playing at the tempo I play at, don’t try to take the game forward too quick and just react to the game.”Similarly the three senior batsmen in the line-up, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, have been under pressure, especially with a total experience of five Tests among the top three. “I think it’s important that we all stand up,” Haddin said. “After our series against New Zealand we are very much looking forward to this. You talk about our inexperienced top three, I think we’ve got a very in-form top three, which is good, and if we’re going to do any good in this series it’s going to be from one to seven with the bat. We’ve all got to perform. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got our game heads on and ready to go.”One of those top three is debutant Ed Cowan, Australia’s 10th new Test cap this year. “He’s very excited like we all are,” Haddin said. “The one thing in Ed’s favour, he’s coming off some very very good form and he is feeling confident. He played the Indians last week. It’s an exciting time to make your Test debut and especially Boxing Day. It’s a massive event and he’ll be up for the challenge. There will obviously be some nervous energy today, tomorrow, but he will deal with that.”Haddin admitted he didn’t know quite what to make of the speculation around the fitness of Indian quicks. “I think they rely on the two big boys quite a lot,” he said. “With the injury cloud I don’t think too much about that with this Indian team. Once they take the field they seem to roll out all right. We know where their strengths are, but we also know there are areas that we can get the game moving forward and develop the game as quick as we like.”Haddin spoke about freeing the mind of too many thoughts now that all the preparation is done and there are fewer than 24 hours to the toss on Boxing Day. He then went off to the Christmas lunch with his team-mates and their families. “It’s an exciting time of the year.”