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Phillip Hughes is determined to play his own way against Sri Lanka, having learnt that even the best-intentioned coaching advice can lead to muddled thoughts and meagre scores

Daniel Brettig in Colombo24-Aug-2011Phillip Hughes is determined to play his own way against Sri Lanka, having learnt that even the best-intentioned coaching advice can lead to muddled thoughts and meagre scores.As he prepares to partner Shane Watson following the traumatic removal of Simon Katich from the list of Cricket Australia contracts, Hughes is honing more or less the same technique he took into his debut against South Africa in early 2009.That series, in which Hughes topped the Australian aggregates and blazed two centuries to help a young side to an unexpected series win, did not dissuade observers from tinkering with the idiosyncratic technique that reaped those rewards.He has cut a more orthodox but less-convincing figure at the international batting crease ever since, starting with the Ashes series later that year in which a couple of hot spells from Andrew Flintoff were enough to see Hughes jettisoned after only two Tests.”Through that time there were a lot of people who came in to try to give advice, but I just had to go back to my game and play the way I’ve always played,” Hughes said. “I might’ve gone off it a little bit, but that’s all part of learning and the experience of it all. There are things I’m going to have to tinker with, with my technique, but as a whole I’ll keep it how I’ve always played.”During the last Ashes series Hughes was chosen to replace the injured Katich, and retained for three Tests, when clearly short of runs and confidence. Picked when he should have been dropped, and dropped when he should have been picked, Hughes sought solace in the advice of his first mentor, Neil D’Costa, who is now employed at a cricket academy in Nagpur.”I worked even harder in the nets – the Ashes series was disappointing, so I went back and just worked harder and Neil D’Costa flew from India back to Australia and we spent time together,” Hughes said. “We got down to the nets basically every day for two weeks, a couple hours a day, worked as hard as I’ve ever worked, and things turned around.”I hadn’t seen Neil for a fair few months – he’d been in India – and it was just good to have someone there who’s been there [for me] the whole way; [and for me to] to come back to Australia and work as hard as possible with Neil. He knows my game quite well now and he’s been coach/mentor the last five or six years for me, so getting back was good and beneficial.”The balance seems finally to have been redressed ahead of the Test series between Australia and Sri Lanka, for Hughes enters the tour having carved out a handsome tally of runs for New South Wales and Australia A since the Ashes. Reflecting on the last summer, Hughes agreed he might have been helped by more runs behind him when he walked out to bat in the third Test in Perth.”It would’ve been better, but I was excited when I did get selected, and to play the last three Ashes Tests was a huge thrill, but also disappointing … it would’ve been nice to get more runs, no doubt about that,” Hughes said. “I wasn’t in the best form then, I was in better form towards the back-end of the season, but that’s cricket; especially opening the batting you knick off a few times and you get a few starts and you want to make those into big scores. It wasn’t to be in the Ashes series.”While extremely angry about the manner of his exit, Katich bore no ill-will towards Hughes, and the pair remain on good terms in a relationship that began when the younger batsman was a teenager in the NSW squad.”My debut game for Australia [in South Africa] was with Simon, and I’ll always remember the time Simon gave me back in NSW when I was only 17-18, going into the squad and what he did personally for me,” Hughes said. “I did [feel sorry for him], that was a while ago now, decisions that people have got to make, and I’m not one of those, I’ve just got to control what I can control, but it was disappointing and I was feeling for Simon at the time.”Sorrow for Katich had been preceded by some shock, for Hughes had fully expected Katich to regain his place at the top of the batting order following an Achilles injury. He publicly stated that his goal was to be the reserve batsman on tour.”I’ve said that for the last couple of years when I got dropped,” Hughes said. “I’ve always wanted to be that spare batsman on tour and be that next guy in. I’ve been lucky enough the last couple of years on tour to be that spare batsman, and now comes the opportunity I’ve always wanted. [After] getting dropped I’d get itchier and more keen to get back in there, knowing I’ve had a taste of Test cricket.”That hunger will now be sated, although in conditions far removed from anything Hughes has encountered at Test level before. He has spoken a lot to Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and the assistant coach Justin Langer about handling spin, seeking out the kind of advice that will help, not hinder, his latest tilt at international batsmanship.”I’ve played on the subcontinent before but not for Australia. I’ve been to India a lot but it’s different – it’s Test cricket, and it’s going to be tough, we all know that,” Hughes said. “But that’s why we’ve got guys like Pup [Clarke] and Punter [Ponting] in our team.”They faced spin bowling beautifully in the one-day games so I’ve spoken to them as much as possible … but it’s about getting out there and doing the work. I’m a huge fan of Justin, he’s a great coach, so I’ll just go out and do as much work as possible, and hopefully it pays off.”

A round-up of the action from the semi-finals of the 2011 Faysal Bank T20 Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2011Shoaib Malik’s unbeaten 88 off 49 balls gave Sialkot a commanding victory over Lahore at the National Stadium in Karachi, and with it a place in the final of the Faysal Bank Twenty20 Cup.A couple of early wickets meant Sialkot got off to a slow start in their chase of Lahore’s 167, but Malik held his nerve and controlled the innings. He and Shahid Yousuf, who scored 49, dragged Sialkot out of the hole they were in after the lost both openers inside the first three overs. Malik was the aggressor in the 127-run partnership and he timed the ball sweetly while hitting nine fours and three sixes. He had to up the run-rate as the innings progressed but did so enough to reach the target in 18.5 overs.The day had started with Lahore getting everything right. They won the toss on a flat pitch and looked set to get to an imposing target after a flying start. Imran Farhat set the tone, smashing two off the first three balls of the match for four. He and Taufeeq Umar both played classy innings and Lahore’s fifty was up in just four overs.Sialkot looked frazzled in the field as Lahore looked like they were building a huge total. The fightback began in the ninth over when Malik trapped Taufeeq lbw for 33 off 20 balls. Malik then got rid of Farhat for 73 off 44 balls with an arm ball that went through the gate between bat and pad. Lahore’s innings crumbled with four run-outs hurting their chances of reaching a winning score. There was some resistance from Ali Azmat, who got 18 off 13, but Lahore could not even bat the whole 20 overs, and their middling total was not enough.Rawalpindi Rams crushed Peshawar Panthers by 77 runs in the second semi-final at the National Stadium to set up a summit clash against Sialkot Stallions.Rawalpindi’s bowlers ripped through Peshawar’s batting order, dismissing them for only 91 in 16 overs. Umar Amin bowled a terrific spell, taking 3 for 14 in four overs, while Hammad Azam picked up 3 for 21. Mohammad Rameez, who took 2 for 41, was the only Rawalpindi bowler to concede more than six runs an over.Peshawar never got going in the chase. Rafatullah Mohamand’s 33 off 26 balls at the top was their best individual score and the five batsmen after him failed to reach double figures, ending the game as a contest.Rawalpindi also did not have a powerful individual performance from their batsmen but there were several useful contributions, which helped them make 168 before they were dismissed with one ball to go. The top three gave the innings a quick start – Rawalpindi were 65 for 3 in 6.5 overs when Tahir Mughal fell – and 91 at the half-way stage. Amin then contributed 30, the best score, and Sohail Tanvir made 26 off 17 balls to ensure a competitive total.Zohaib Khan was the best of Peshawar’s bowlers, taking 3 for 36, while Nauman Habib and Noor-ul-Amin took two each.

Explosive half-centuries from Henry Davids and Martin van Jaarsveld led Titans to victory by a comfortable margin against Lions at SuperSport Park

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2011Explosive half-centuries from Henry Davids and Martin van Jaarsveld, and brisk ones from Jacques Rudolph and Faf du Plessis, led Titans to victory by a comfortable margin against Lions at SuperSport Park.Chasing 258, Titans made a terrific start with openers Davids and Rudolph smashing 139 off 17.5 overs, when Davids was dismissed for 81 off 58 balls. Roelof van der Merwe fell cheaply, and Rudolph went soon after for 54 off 52 balls, leaving Titans on 153 for 3 in the 21st over. There was no more success for Lions’ bowlers, though, and all of them conceded at least six runs per over during their spells. Faf du Plessis remained unbeaten on 62 off 64 balls, while van Jaarsveld made 50 off 32 to complete a seven-wicket victory with 92 deliveries to spare.Before the powerful batting performance, Titans’ bowlers had impressed after their captain van Jaarsveld won the toss in Centurion. Five of the seven bowlers used took a wicket each and there were two run outs as well. They reduced Lions to 31 for 3 in 11 overs, depriving the innings of momentum at the start, and struck two more quick blows after a 60-run stand for the fourth wicket between Stephen Cook and Quinton de Kock. Once de Kock fell for 83 in the 41st over, Lions needed Jean Symes’ 70 off 74 balls to reach 252 for 7.

A round-up of the Franchise 1-Day Cup matches that took place on November 25

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2011Centuries from Alviro Petersen and Jonathan Vandiar led Lions to a 29-run win on the D/L method against Dolphins in Potchefstroom, their first victory of the Franchise 1-Day Cup after five defeats and two no-results. Petersen scored an unbeaten 145 off 144 balls and Vandiar made 109 in an opening partnership of 232, which ended in the 41st over. Rain forced Lions’ innings to end on 284 for 2 after 47 overs. The Dolphins’ target was revised to 287.Dolphins stumbled early in their chase and were 65 for 3 before a steadying partnership between Divan van Wyk and Daryn Smit. They were 145 for 4 after 31.5 overs when the floodlights failed at Senwes Park and ten overs were lost as a result. Dolphins now had a revised target of 227 in 37 overs. They lost wickets in a hurry in the pursuit of quick runs after the resumption and finished on 197 for 8. Smit was the top-scorer with 67 while Cliffe Deacon took 2 for 27 in seven overs.Cape Cobras claimed top spot in the league with a six-wicket win against Warriors at Newlands. Warriors suffered from a regular loss of wickets after choosing to bat: their largest partnership was 50, between Arno Jacobs and Colin Ingram for the second wicket. Jacobs made 55, and Johan Botha contributed an unbeaten 57 at No. 6, but contributions from the others were meagre. Justin Kemp took 3 for 34, while Johann Louw, Charl Langeveldt and Rory Kleinveldt claimed two wickets each as Warriors were dismissed for 244 in 50 overs.Cobras were jolted early in their chase, with Makhaya Ntini dismissing Graeme Smith and Andrew Puttick to reduce them to 19 for 2 in 6.5 overs. Half-centuries from Owais Shah and JP Duminy, however, steadied the innings and Justin Ontong scored 65 off 62 balls to help his team reach the target in 46.5 overs.Knights medium-pacer Malusi Siboto took 5 for 38 to dismiss Titans for 186 in 39.5 overs and set up a three-wicket victory for his team in in Kimberley. Six of Titans’ top seven batsmen made double-figure scores but no one managed more than Faf du Plessis’ 40. They lost wickets in two clutches, to slip from 59 for 1 to 97 for 4, and then from 153 for 4 to 186 all out.Knights scored briskly in their chase but also lost wickets too regularly for comfort. They did not have a half-century partnership in their innings but Rilee Rossouw held it together, scoring an unbeaten 65 off 64 balls. The next best score was opener Morne van Wyk’s 24. Rowan Richards took 3 for 34 but couldn’t prevent Knights from reaching 187 for 7 in 31.1 overs.

Canterbury fast bowler Hamish Bennett has been ruled out of the HRV Cup, New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 competition, with a back injury

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2011Canterbury fast bowler Hamish Bennett has been ruled out of the HRV Cup, New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 competition, with a back injury. The injury had been troubling Bennett for a few months and he will now undergo medical tests, before a treatment plan is drawn up.”Hamish has been suffering from a lower back injury since the fast bowling camp earlier in the year,” Kim Littlejohn, the New Zealand selector, said. “Unfortunately he has suffered a setback and won’t be fit for to play for the Canterbury Wizards in the upcoming HRV Cup. He requires further assessment by medical specialists to determine the best course of action.”Bennett last played a competitive match in March, for New Zealand against Sri Lanka in the group stage of the World Cup. He was ruled out of the latter stages of the tournament after injuring his ankle and Achilles tendon. He missed New Zealand’s tour of Zimbabwe in October and November due to his sore back.

Will Beer will return from club cricket in Australia to join Sussex’s trip to the Caribbean T20 tournament.

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2011Will Beer, the Sussex legspinner, will return from club cricket in Australia to join Sussex’s trip to the Caribbean T20 tournament. The 10-team competition, also featuring Canada and Netherlands, takes place in January.Having played five times for England Under-19s, Beer has been attending the Darren Lehmann cricket academy and playing grade cricket for Port Adelaide. He will fly home and join the Sussex squad with batsman Matt Machan, who has been playing for Dandenong CC in Melbourne.Beer, 23, is looking to revive his career. He was a regular in the Sussex one-day and Twenty20 sides in 2009 – when they won the Friends Life t20 – and in 2010 but only made three appearances last season.He will be part of a 13-man squad captained by Michael Yardy although big-names are missing. Matt Prior and Monty Panesar will be in UAE on England duty, Luke Wright will be playing for Melbourne Stars in Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash, while Ed Joyce and Murray Goodwin are also absent.Sussex will play Netherlands, Jamaica, Combined Campuses and Colleges and Barbados in trying to qualify for the knockout stages.Professional cricket manager Mark Robinson said it was an exciting opportunity for his squad. “For the less experienced players to play alongside some more senior colleagues will not only be good for them but also allow us to see how well they are developing.”Sussex squad Michael Yardy (capt), Will Adkin, Amjad Khan, James Anyon, Will Beer, Ben Brown, Joe Gatting, Naveed Arif, Andrew Hodd, Chris Liddle, Matt Machan, Chris Nash, Kirk Wernars

Worcestershire have announced a pre-tax profit of more than £200,000 for 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2012Worcestershire have announced a pre-tax profit of more than £200,000 for 2011. The county, that secured Division One status despite losing their opening six games of the County Championship, also reported increased ticket and membership sales.Although revenue for the accounts up to September 30, 2011 was marginally down at £2.89m, due to a slight drop in ECB funding, the surplus after tax was £186,656 – up from £103,627 in 2010.”Having gained promotion to the first division of the County Championship for 2011, retaining this status for 2012 was a key target and to have managed this with a young and developing squad is a major achievement,” Worcestershire chief executive David Leatherdale said.”The support from members and spectators continues to be strong which has seen a growth in revenue from both membership and ticket sales, as well as an increase in physical numbers attending matches, and is no doubt a reflection on the loyal and growing support the club has.”

England Women continued their unbeaten start to their tour of New Zealand by beating New Zealand Emerging Players Women by 54 runs at Lincoln. It was their third consecutive win in the warm-up matches ahead of a five-match T20 series and three ODIs agains

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2012

ScorecardEngland Women continued their unbeaten start to their tour of New Zealand by beating New Zealand Emerging Players Women by 54 runs at Lincoln. It was their third consecutive win in the warm-up matches ahead of a five-match T20 series and three ODIs against New Zealand, which begins on February 17.Lydia Greenway led England’s innings as they posted a competitive target. Greenway’s 46 from 40 balls helped her side to 140 for 8. She struck four boundaries and shared 34 from 23 balls with Tamsin Beaumont, who made 13. But England failed to build a big partnership; Laura Marsh’s 19-ball 17 the best of a number of other small contributions.Greenway also provided England’s first breakthrough in the field with the run out of Janet Brehaut for four as England began sharply and easily defended their score. Only one partnership developed – Anna Petersen and Meg Kendal putting on 42 – but England managed to keep the run-rate slow and were always in control. Petersen was run out by Jenny Gunn for 41 as New Zealand’s chase ended in a whimper.”It was another solid performance from us,” Greenway said. “We got the runs on the board, stayed disciplined with the ball and took our opportunities in the field. And it was really satisfying to get some runs under my belt today before we head into the T20 series.”

New Zealand closed out day two in a state similar to their position the previous evening, struggling to compete with an opponent they had dominated in passages of play, but allowed to charge back emphatically in others

The Report by Andrew Fernando16-Mar-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Mark Gillespie picked up a career-best 5 for 59, but South Africa still ended the day on top•Getty Images

New Zealand closed out day two in a state similar to their position the previous evening, struggling to compete with an opponent they had dominated in passages of play, but allowed to charge back emphatically in others. That the hosts are not yet doomed is thanks to Mark Gillespie, who at 32 and after three years in the wilderness was a vexing selection for Hamilton, but produced a staggering burst of pace, movement and luck to decimate South Africa’s middle order and finish with 5 for 59. But AB de Villiers’ 83, a cameo from Morne Morkel, and Vernon Philander’s now vicious routine to New Zealand’s top order undid all Gillespie’s work, and left the hosts with four second-innings wickets down, still trailing by three, and a daunting climb to prevent their second successive loss inside three days at Seddon Park.New Zealand had had South Africa reeling at 88 for 6 in reply to their own 185, but could not maintain the intensity, as de Villiers shepherded the lower order with an effortless innings that made the chaos that came before seem outlandish. The ease of his progress betrayed the flatness of the surface that had browned considerably – the tawny pitch appeared unrecognisable from the green tinged surface that had been unveiled on day one. de Villiers made 63 with Mark Boucher for the seventh wicket, before continuing the recovery alongside Philander and Morkel – the latter took charge following de Villers’ ill-fortuned demise to add a further 34 with last man Imran Tahir, giving the visitors a 68-run head start in the second dig. The last four wickets had cost New Zealand 165.The hosts then dug themselves further into the mire, when Rob Nicol, Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill fell in the first five overs of their second innings. Nicol, perhaps, was unlucky – a bunted short ball dribbled off the bat, down his leg and onto the stumps – but McCullum and Guptill were out to the same stroke, falling away to the off side as they attempted a clip off the pads. McCullum missed entirely and was caught in front, while Guptill couldn’t control the shot and found short midwicket.Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson attempted a recovery, blunting the new-ball movement and negotiating Tahir’s first spell on a wearing pitch to add a sedate 57. But they were tested again, when the ball began to reverse late in the day, and Taylor could not dig out a hooping yorker from Dale Steyn that struck him in front.Although New Zealand had dismissed Graeme Smith and nightwatchman Steyn the previous evening, South Africa’s beginning to day two augured a day of toil, with Hashim Amla and Alviro Petersen settling gradually into their innings. Chris Martin and Doug Bracewell found a hint of movement in the air, but little off the pitch, and though their opening partnership was tight, it posed few penetrative threats to the overnight pair.But just as Amla began to add attractive scoring strokes to solid defence, Gillespie stung South Africa in a four-over salvo and transformed the outlook of the visitors’ innings, and for a while, the match.Amla was removed first, a thick edge from an attempted square drive flying low to backward point. Jacques Kallis then experienced the extremes of fortune in Gillespie’s next over. He top edged a short ball past fine leg for six, before glancing one down the leg side, only to turn around to see Kruger van Wyk celebrating his wicket. In the next over, Gillespie’s movement off the seam trapped Petersen lbw. Jacques Rudolph completed the quartet with a regulation edge, ending a seven-over period that yielded four big scalps for 25 runs.de Villiers meanwhile, had few issues timing the ball and working the field as New Zealand’s supporting cast failed to match Gillespie’s penetration. South Africa’s recovery was slow at times, but assured, under de Villiers and Boucher, who helped the side through to lunch.Boucher’s dismissal completed Gillespie’s five-wicket haul, but de Villiers was unfussed, as he called on one-day nous (shuffles across the crease to work the ball to the leg side, downward dabs to third man …) to keep the larger share of the strike, and minimise his fast-bowling team-mates’ exposure to tight New Zealand bowling. Ten boundaries, mostly through the off side, punctuated a steady stream of singles and twos, as de Villiers oversaw the eclipsing of the hosts’ total, and edged his side ahead.Morkel had hit three confident boundaries before de Villiers departed lucklessly – when a forward defence to Vettori spun back onto his stumps – and ratcheted up the tempo in the company of Imran Tahir, dispatching Gillespie for three successive fours upon the bowler’s return to the crease. Tahir wasted little time in matching Morkel’s ambition, though most of his 16 came from edges over or past the slips. The pair added an adventurous, and often fortuitous, 34 for the final wicket, before Williamson ended the innings with his third ball of the match.At stumps Williamson was unbeaten on 41 – his first substantial batting contribution of the series – alongside Vettori, unbeaten on nought.

Mike Yardy’s century put Sussex in command at Aigburth as the champions endured another tough day

Myles Hodgson at Aigburth13-Apr-2012
ScorecardMichael Yardy’s hundred built a big lead for Sussex•Getty Images

Sussex may have provided Lancashire with their early momentum towards
last summer’s historic title success, but they have been anything but
accommodating a year on and remain on course to inflict an early and
humiliating defeat to the defending champions.Last summer’s innings victory over Sussex at Aigburth, which was
followed by an equally convincing triumph over Somerset, provided
Lancashire with the belief to go on and end their 77-year wait for
Championship success but from the first morning of their defence they
have struggled to keep pace with a determined Sussex side led superbly
by Michael Yardy.Arriving at the crease with Sussex struggling on the opening day
Yardy steadied their innings and dominated a 164-run stand with Ed
Joyce that earned Sussex a 176-run first innings lead and set the
platform for what should be a comfortable victory at Lancashire’s
Merseyside base. A further four Lancashire top order wickets before
the close served to only put the gloss on Yardy’s earlier
determination.”I didn’t feel in throughout the innings,” Yardy said. “I always
thought there was a ball with your name on it. I think it’s a good
cricket wicket. It started off a little bit damp but overall there is
a bit of bounce and if you bowl well you get your rewards and if you
bat well you can score.”Realising it was not a wicket to try and take liberties, Yardy was
happy to play a patient game alongside the equally cautious Joyce and
they benefitted from Lancashire missing four catches behind the wicket
before lunch. Yardy was the chief beneficiary, missed on 85 and 98,
before claiming a century that was all the more remarkable for his
recent battle against depression.For all Sussex’s domination, however, Lancashire fought back
impressively well during the afternoon session. Gareth Cross,
Lancashire’s wicketkeeper, made amends for missing a regulation catch
to reprieve Joe Gatting by stumping Yardy as he toppled out of his
crease and earned Simon Kerrigan a second wicket in four overs with an
equally sharp catch off Gatting’s bottom edge.Those two breakthroughs allowed Lancashire to restrict Sussex to only
13 runs in the 17 overs after the interval, but the benefits of crease
occupation were there for all to see when Amjad Khan enjoyed some
lower order hitting that guided his side to 300 – an impressive total
on a wicket that claimed 13 wickets on the opening day.Facing a tricky final session and a major first innings deficit,
Lancashire again struggled against Steve Magoffin, Sussex’s impressive
Australian overseas signing. He continued his good work from the first
innings and has consistently extracted more bounce than any other
bowler from the River End, which prompted Stephen Moore into an edge
to slip while Karl Brown fell lbw shouldering arms to his next
delivery.Ashwell Prince, Lancashire’s South African overseas batsman, denied
Magoffin a debut hat-trick but Monty Panesar provided a glimpse of the
challenge facing the remaining batsmen by turning the ball away from
Steven Croft and clipping his off-stump bowling from the same end.Prince and Luke Procter survived 15 overs before the close, but on
Grand National Day Lancashire start as rank outsiders and facing their
first defeat in an opening Championship match of a season since 1998
when they lost at Hove.”We’re still in it because we have a couple of batters in there who
are playing well,” said Peter Moores, Lancashire’s positive-thinking
coach. “We need to get a lot more runs yet but at Liverpool when two
people get in it can look quite straightforward.”