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Three days is all it took for England’s summer to take on an entirely new complexion. Their performance at Old Trafford displayed all the qualities of ruthlessness and aggression that had been lacking in previous performances. Now they aim to carry that momentum into the Headingley Test and wrap up a morale-boosting series win that would avenge their 2-0 defeat in Pakistan last winter.The questions that had been raised in the opening encounter at Lord’s – Andrew Strauss’s captaincy, Steve Harmison’s hunger and Monty Panesar’s effectiveness – were given very emphatic answers. Then, two days after their win, England surprisingly decided to solve another conundrum – what to do with Geraint Jones. The move to drop him, because of form not his finger injury, and hand Chris Read a recall is interesting because of its timing. Read’s every move over the next two Tests will be scrutinised in minute detail, starting with his performance at Leeds.The likelihood is that Read will be the only change from the XI that stormed home at Old Trafford. Although only two England bowlers – Harmison and Panesar – took wickets in the last Test, the attack was well-balanced and showed how, in the worst-case scenario, England can go about winning Tests with four bowlers.Sajid Mahmood is the man under pressure for his place, but there were glimpses of his potential and he has the raw qualities of pace and bounce that Duncan Fletcher so admires. A return to Jon Lewis – for what would surely be another one-off game – would be harking back to the bad old days of horses for courses at Headingley, a strategy which has rarely proved successful. However, the pitch is not expected to suit Harmison as much as Old Trafford.The batting is ticking along nicely, even without contributions from Marcus Trescothick and Kevin Pietersen. They have yet to register a half-century between them in the series and at some point the youngsters are not going to rock up and score a century. “Of course I want to get runs every time I go out to bat so it is not an ideal situation,” said Trescothick, who averages 45 at Headingley. “I have not seen it as I would have liked to over the last couple of games or played as well as I can do. Hopefully, it will kick back in this week. It’s always nice when you turn up at a ground knowing the last time you were here you did well.”

After being in charge of England’s 5-0 one-day whitewash against Sri Lanka, Strauss is relieved to be on the winning trail as captain. “That was a pretty bleak day [after the final ODI] and the drive back to London that evening. But we take a lot of heart and a lot of confidence from what went on at Old Trafford.”Winning a Test match without Fred [Flintoff] was important for us just to prove toourselves and others that there is life without Fred. Hopefully, he’ll be back as soon as possible [from an ankle injury] but until then it is important we can churn out victories without him.”However, he is aware that England mustn’t let their focus drift: “I’m always wary of the match after games like that because it’s easy psychologically to take your foot off the gas a little bit and that is something we need to address and make sure doesn’t happen to us this week.”Pakistan can’t really sink much lower than Manchester; it was a display that showcased the worst side of their cricket. Bob Woolmer has a huge task to turn their form around for the final two games, but the mercurial nature of Pakistan cricket means they are just as likely to produce a matchwinning display at Headingley as they are to produce another dismal effort to match Old Trafford.They are set to field a new opening partnership after the double failure of Kamran Akmal at the top of the order and Imran Farhat’s broken finger. Woolmer has also hinted that they will consider altering the balance of their attack in favour of four pacemen instead of playing both Danish Kaneria and Shahid Afridi.In their current frame of mind, England won’t mind who they face. After a performance of such dominance as they produced at Old Trafford, and the ingredients of their success being pace and spin, thoughts are again heading towards the winter. However, England are well aware of the dangers of complacency. Pakistan have gained a steely edge under Woolmer and will be determined to keep the series alive.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Alastair Cook, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Sajid Mahmood, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Monty PanesarPakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Mohammad Sami, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Shahid Nazir 11 Danish Kaneria

Former Cambridge University allrounder Richard Halsall will be appointed as England’s first full-time fielding coach, according to a report in The Times. The Schofield Report, published in May, recommended such a position be made permanent.Halsall has been working on a part-time basis with Sussex, as well as coaching the England Under-15 side. He also helped the England women prepare for their tour of India earlier this year.He is currently working as head of physical education at Wellington College but will have to give that post up if appointed by the ECB.

Ireland have named their squad for the World T20, adding batsman Kate McKenna to the 14 who secured a place at the tournament by winning the ICC Qualifier late last year.Isobel Joyce will captain the side, who have been drawn against Australia, the reigning champions, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka in Group A.”We’ve gone with the fourteen who performed so well out at the qualifying tournament in Thailand, with Kate McKenna also coming into the squad,” head coach Aaron Hamilton said. “Kate is an electric fielder, which is so important in the T20 game, and she will also bolster our batting line-up.”Cricket Ireland has also made a further coaching appointment for the World T20, which takes place in India in March, by bringing in former Australia wicketkeeper Julia Price – who played 10 Tests and 84 ODIs between 1996 and 2005 – as an assistant alongside Alex Cusack.”It’s great to have Julia joining our support staff for the World T20,” Hamilton said. “Julia brings a wealth of knowledge and coaching experience to the group.”Ireland women squad: Isobel Joyce (capt), Catherine Dalton, Laura Delany, Kim Garth, Jennifer Gray, Cecelia Joyce, Shauna Kavanagh, Amy Kenealy, Gaby Lewis, Robyn Lewis, Ciara Metcalfe, Kate McKenna, Lucy O’Reilly, Clare Shillington, Mary Waldron.

Adrian Le Roux has resigned as South Africa’s fitness trainer. He has been with the Proteas for just over four years and before that he was involved with Free State cricket and the Indian national cricket team.He will be returning to Bloemfontein where he will take up a position with a medical company, SA Biomedical. But he will act as a consultant for Cricket South Africa (CSA) from time to time, including in the appointment of the new Proteas fitness trainer and in CSA’s high performance programme.He said: “A number of factors lead to my resignation. I’ve been touring with professional teams extensively over the last six years. This obviously affects your family life and it is now time to move closer to home and take on some new challenges.”The last six to 12 months have made me take the final decision having contemplated this step in my life over this period of time.”A big thanks must also go to the players I have worked with during my tenure, they always kept things interesting. It has also been a pleasure and a privilege working at the highest level of the sport. To the coaches and members of the support staff, I’d like to thank you too. It has been a great experience.”Gerald Majola, the board’s chief executive, said: “Adrian’s resignation is a big loss to the Proteas set-up as he is one of the best fitness trainers in world cricket. We are most grateful for his input over the past four years, and respect his decision to move into a new field close to his home base.”

ScorecardFile photo – Mithun Manhas continued his good form, ending day three unbeaten on 95•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Karaparambil Monish snatched a victory for Kerala as his five-wicket haul helped Kerala bowl out Saurashtra for 69 in their final-innings chase of 115. Monish claimed 5 for 46 as he ran through Saurashtra’s middle-order. Sandeep Warrier and Akshay Chandran supported him as they picked up two wickets apiece, giving away just 6 and 3 runs respectively.Saurashtra started the day at 16 for 1, requiring 99, but were soon reduced to 34 for 6 within the first 12 overs in the day. Saurya Sanandia and Jaydev Unadkat were the only players that crossed double-digit scores, providing Saurashtra with some lower-order resistance, with scores of 17 and 15 respectively.Monish’s 6 for 81 in the first innings, had him end the game with career-best match-haul of 11 for 127,
ScorecardThe run-feast at Jammu continued as Ian Dev Singh’s 115 and Mithun Manhas’ unbeaten 95 drove Jammu Kashmir to 325 for 5 on day three, in their reply to Goa’s 552 for 5 declare in the first innings.Ian Dev Singh shared a 100-run partnership with Pranav Gupta for the third wicket, reviving Jammu Kashmir from 9 for 2 to 109, before Gupta was bowled by Shadab Jakati. Mithun Manhas then combined with Ian Dev Singh to share a 156-run partnership, before Jakati once again broke a threatening partnership by having Ian Dev Singh caught behind.His captain, Parvez Rasool, soon followed as Jammu & Kashmir slumped to 300 for 5. No more wickets fell in the day with Manhas ending the day on a resilient 95.
ScorecardPacers Ravi Kiran and Chama Milind placed Hyderabad in a commanding position, as Tripura were asked to follow-on after being bowled out for 237 in response to the hosts’ mammoth 548 for 5. Both pacers picking up three wickets apieceArindam Das anchored Tripura’s innings, as they kept losing regular wickets, with a patient 73 before he was dismissed with the score at 158 for 7. Manisankar Murasingh’s lower-order 51 took Tripura past 200, before they eventually folded for 237.Tripura’s openers Virag Awate and Arindam Das ended the day at 25 for no-loss in their second innings.

Have you tried to obtain a visa? If you have, or just want to add to the debate, click here and tell us what you think

The shambolic organisation surrounding the issuing of visas for many of those traveling from Australia and New Zealand to the World Cup shows no sign of improving.Almost a fortnight after the scale of the problem first came to light, it seems that little has been done to alleviate the situation. Mike Agostini, who until recently was Trinidad and Tobago’s honorary consul in Australia, reported to Cricinfo that the Caricom Visa issuing offices in Sydney were “are still not operative, or, if so, just barely”.In a letter to Rose Blenman, who is in charge of the implementation of the controversial US$100 visa, Agostini wrote: “Are you intent on deluding the people wanting such visas, many of whom are continuing to complain, especially travel agents, about the failure of this Mission to provide proper assistance?”He also flagged that applicants from New Zealand faced an even more difficult problem because of the lack of appropriate information and also the fact that they had to pay for the additional costs of sending their applications and passports to Sydney as well as for their return.”I am as amazed as I am appalled at what is happening here and looks likely to become much worse, with the deadline for these visas being January 15, 2007 and the issuing office not fully operative and the time stated for issuing of visas and return of passports being still ‘up to three weeks’.”He warned that the whole exercise was set to become a “total debacle” unless the scheme was abandoned. “The impression here continues to be a money-making exercise and thus also a ‘rip-off’ which is the way it still seems to be, for which the reputations of all Caricom countries will suffer.”Cricinfo has tried to contact Caricom to ask for clarification of the situation but has received no response. We have also asked Cricket Australia whether it has taken up the issue on behalf of supporters but no response has been forthcoming.Chris Dehring, who is heading the organisation of the event, said: “”We believe the outcome of what Caricom has implemented … will be much appreciated by fans. The visa cost works out to US$10 per country which is not particularly high. Also, nationals of many Caribbean countries require a visa to go to Australia and in some cases they have to send their passports to Washington.”

Scorecard

Rikki Clarke had the Midas touch today and he will be sorely hoping his performance will mean a golden ticket into England’s one-day squad tomorrow. With four wickets and four sharp catches he could not have done more to help Surrey squeeze Leicestershire out for 251.Clarke’s tail was up throughout. Even in the last session he was still bouncing in like a golden labrador until, having worried Leicestershire throughout, he finished them off in his 16th over. On a picnic-perfect day, he fittingly grabbed the champagne moment, too, leaping to pluck from thin air John Maunders’ crashing thump to gully off Mohammad Akram (63 for 2).Maunders and Darren Robinson had been progressing quietly until Clarke thundered in to shatter Robinson’s stumps, and Maunders then fell on the same score. Bounding in with verve and aggression, Clarke also put paid to Dinesh Mongia, snapping up his checked drive after the batsman had been threatening to spoil Surrey’s picnic with Ackerman, adding 54 for the fourth wicket (147 for 4).But Mongia’s fall heralded a collapse: Leicestershire lost five wickets for 24 runs.Ian Salisbury spearheaded this charge from the Vauxhall End, taking three wickets, including the dangerman Ackerman for a clean-hit 58 and Paul Nixon four balls later. Both were trapped sweeping. Ackerman had threatened to cloud matters with a fast and furious fifty, and Claude Henderson was going great guns later until he was stranded on 46 not out, but this was Surrey’s day in the sun.Henderson did share a ninth-wicket stand of 60 with Stuart Broad which added some fizz. There was a bang, wallop moment, too, when Broad succumbed, swishing, to the inevitable Clarke. Showing the same spirit as his father, Chris, Broad bashed his bat down onto the ground in frustration and trudged off. He returned later with fire in his belly, bowling sharply but no wickets to show. Mohammad Asif grabbed the only Surrey wicket to go, a plumb Scott Newman.Newman is another man with England hopes, but it’s an older man, Clarke, who will be keeping a close eye out when the team is announced tomorrow.

In what turned out to be a low-scoring semi-final round, Tamil Nadu imploded for 59 to hand Bengal a 55-run win at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.Chosing to bat, Bengal began poorly, being reduced to 8 for 2 in the fifth over. Coming in at No.4, captain Manoj Tiwary counterattacked, stroking five massive sixes in an innings of 69 off 44 balls. He did not find a reliable partner though, as wickets continued to tumble at the other end. The second highest contribution of the innings came from wicketkeeper, Wriddhiman Saha, with 19. Lakshmipathy Balaji was the pick of the Tamil Nadu bowlers, picking up two wickets at 4.50 runs an over.Chasing a target that required them to score at less than a run a ball, Tamil Nadu fell behind right away. Ashok Dinda was on a hat-trick in the first over of the innings, after bowling Anirudha Srikkanth and getting Ganapathi Vignesh to edge to the keeper for a golden duck. Tamil Nadu never recovered, losing three wickets with the score on 11, to be reduced to 11 for 6 in the seventh over. The only sizable contribution came from Arun Karthik, who was unbeaten on 35 off 26 balls when the innings folded on 59. Medium-pacer Sayan Mondal wrecked the middle order with four wickets and a run out.Bengal will meet Madhya Pradesh in the final at the same venue on March 16.Madhya Pradesh set up the final clash with Bengal, defeating Haryana by two wickets with one ball to spare in a thrilling second match of the day at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.Being asked to bowl, Madhya Pradesh knocked over the top half of the Haryana line-up in a hurry, to leave them 23 for 5 in the seventh over. Cameos from Nitin Saini, Joginder Sharma and Amit Mishra made sure Haryana played out their 20 overs though, finishing with 115 for 9. Madhya Pradesh’s pace trio of TP Sudhindra, Anand Rajan and Amarjeet Singh shared the wickets around.Madhya Pradesh’s reply was built around a 47-run fourth-wicket partnership between Udit Birla and Harpreet Singh, after Sharma and Kuldeep Hooda made early inroads. There was no much resistance otherwise, but Madhya Pradesh did just enough to edge out Haryana in a nail-biting last over that included Birla’s wicket, a run-out and a first-ball boundary from No. 10 batsman Sudhindra to seal the victory.

Canada 274 for 4 (Qaiser Ali 73, Kandappah 62*, Dhaniram 58*) beat Namibia 271 for 5 (Williams 132) by six wickets
ScorecardCanada’s batsmen carried them to a six-wicket win over Namibia A in a warm-up match in Windhoek.What will worry the Canadians is that none of their bowlers were able to keep the Namibians in check. Craig Williams, a 23-year-old with a first-class average of 112, was the mainstay of the innings with 132 and with the exception of 17-year-old Sean Silver, who fell for 5 in the fifth over, all of the batsmen made reasonable contributions.Canada lost Aftab Shamsudeen, run out three balls into their reply, and then Abul Jabbar for a six-ball 14, but thereafter they batted sensibly in what was a well-paced chase. Trevin Bastiampillai and Qaiser Ali put them ahead of the clock and then some all-out attack by the veteran pairing of Arvind Kandappah and Sunil Dhaniram steered them home with six overs to spare.

Australia and South Africa’s boards have both leapt to the defence of their players after the ICC singled out the teams in a warning they issued about inflammatory remarks. On Sunday the ICC called for players to cut down on their verbal sparring or risk disciplinary action, with its head Malcolm Speed specifically referring to the upcoming series between Australia and South Africa.”Unfortunately, since the Ashes there has been a spate of code of conduct offences committed by players which have resulted in a series of penalties being applied, including suspension,” Speed said. “There have also been a series of comments by players and former players ahead of the Australia v South Africa series that I believe make it necessary to remind the players of the importance of playing within the spirit of the game ahead of this series.”It is presumed that what prompted the ICC to target the upcoming series is Graeme Smith’s comments about targeting Australia’s middle order. “Australia’s top three batsmen are their strength, so being able to knock them over is important. That exposes their middle order, which has experienced pressure in domestic cricket but maybe not in Tests [as much]. If we get things right, we will be putting Adam Gilchrist under pressure at No.7 too.” Shane Warne later sledged that South Africa “might need [a psychologist] by the time we’ve finished with them.”But whatever it was that prompted the ICC to single out the series, the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) have fired a broadside, saying that the comments are unwarranted and demeaning to the players.”This South African team plays hard and fair and is full of experienced cricketers who have for years conducted themselves in line with the spirit of cricket” said Tony Irish, the SACA’s chief executive, in a statement. “Australian players have done likewise.”I am amazed that the ICC sees fit to warn players, and even past players, in the media. If there are genuine concerns that players may offend the spirit of the game then this should be taken up with them directly and not in the form of a public lecture. Everyone is looking forward to the heat of the rivalry which accompanies a series between South Africa and Australia. The verbal exchanges are a part of this and they simply add to the build up.”Cricket Australia told The Age newspaper that in fact it had nothing but praise for its players’ conduct since the introduction of the spirit of cricket code which they committed to two years ago.”The banter that goes with the game, that’s fine, that will always be part of the game,” said the board’s spokesman, Peter Young. “Clearly, there is no love lost between Australia and South Africa but there is no love lost between most sides and that’s fine as long as they get the balance right.”During the Ashes, a lot of words were exchanged but the series was played in a competitive and sportsmanlike spirit. The exhortation to our players it to play the game hard but fair, and by and large, we think they’re getting that right. There will always be the odd bad day and the odd mishap because of the nature of the game … and because they are red-blooded human beings.”James Sutherland, the board’s chief executive, said that there was no harm in banter between the players. “Cricket needs personalities in the game, there is no doubt about that. Characters add an air of excitement and individuality, which attracts and engages the public’s interest.”Irish went on to say that the ICC should be concentrating its efforts on Zimbabwe instead. “It is also difficult to understand why the ICC has chosen to publicly focus on the conduct of players at a time when there appear to be serious problems with the conduct of certain administrators from Boards affiliated to the ICC. In Zimbabwe cricket is in tatters. Surely we should instead be hearing the ICC’s voice in relation to the standards and behaviour of those administering the game in that country?”His comments echo those made by Tim May earlier this week. May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, backed Malcolm Speed’s call for everyone to support the ideals of the Spirit of Cricket – but also criticised the ICC’s inaction over the crisis in Zimbabwe. He said: “Players, particularly those in Zimbabwe, or those forced to play there, will find it difficult to fully accept Speed’s call when the ICC has not seen the need to intervene, or been unable to investigate, serious allegations about the games administration.”The ICC’s latest comments have also prompted criticism from former Australia team-mates Jeff Thomson and Terry Alderman. “You have got to have a bit of gamesmanship, that is what it is all about,” Thomson argued earlier this week. “It’s highlighting things that aren’t worth highlighting. They are the biggest bullshitters in the world. What a waste of space.”Alderman added: “They are putting the cart before the horse, they are almost saying there is going to be problems because of what has been written and said by players. Well, that is ridiculous. Let the game be for goodness’ sake.”