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Australia have altered their focus from swing to Twenty20 as they try to find a way for their bowlers to cope at the World Championship in South Africa. Troy Cooley is hosting a camp for the fast men at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane this week to prepare for the two-week tournament in South Africa.This time last year the bowlers were working on traditional and reverse-swing in a bid to tackle England, but the unforgiving nature of Twenty20 has forced some experimenting. “We are really trying to develop plans to help the bowlers survive in the game,” Cooley said in the Courier-Mail. “It’s a pretty tough one for bowlers to survive in.”We have been doing a lot of talking about that and we are working on some technical things as well. Last year we worked on swing bowling, this year we are working on Twenty20.” Bruce Reid, the former Australia bowler who was a part-time coach with India, is also at the camp where Brett Lee is continuing his return from ankle surgery.

England 76 for 2 (Northeast 34*) beat Malaysia 73 (Miller 3-25, Westfield 3-5) by eight wicketsEngland routed Malaysia in their opening match of the Malaysian Invitational Under-19 Tri-Series at the Selangor Turf Club, bowling the home side out for 73 and knocking off the runs for the loss of two wickets.Greg Wood won the toss and put Malaysia in, and they were never in the match once Andrew Miller had removed the top three, although they did recover from 58 for 9. The only blot on England’s performance was that they conceded 23 extras, more than double the highest score by a batsman, including 15 wides.Sam Northeast and Billy Godleman put on 58 for England’s second wicket to all but seal the tie.”It is a wonderful start for England in the Tri-Series,” said team manager John Abrahams. “The bowlers did a fantastic job today.’England take on Sri Lanka, who defeated Malaysia yesterday, on Monday at the Kinrara Oval.

Scorecard

The West Indians continued to search in vain for their first win on the Australia tour as they went down by four wickets in a twenty-over match against Victoria. The idea to stage the game came up when the West Indians were bowled out in the first innings of the second-Test warm-up at the Junction Oval with only a session left. The West Indians batted first and posted a challenging 172, thanks for an unbeaten 81 by Dwayne Smith, but Victoria got home with three balls to spare.Smith had done well in the three-day game as well, taking three wickets and scoring 40, and he continued in a similar manner, hitting three fours and a staggering six sixes in his 40-ball knock. None of the other batsmen lent him much support, though, till Denesh Ramdin slammed 30 off 21 balls, helping Smith add 82 for the seventh wicket.Unlike the West Indians, Victoria didn’t have a single big contributor, as all the batsmen chipped in. Lloyd Mash, a left-handed batsman who made his first-class debut in the tour game, gave the innings the impetus it needed, carting Dwayne Bravo for four sixes in an over en route to a 12-ball 32. Cameron White remained unbeaten on 27 as Victoria sealed the win with four wickets in hand.

Division One

Nottinghamshire became the first side to notch a win in 2008’s Championship with a comprehensive rout of Kent, who were beaten by 10 wickets at Canterbury. Nottinghamshire only needed 22 runs to complete the victory with Will Jefferson (5) and Matthew Wood (17) guiding them home.Hampshire’s match against the champions Sussex ended in a predictable draw, with rain preventing any play on the fourth day at The Rose Bowl.Persistent drizzle in London also called a halt to the game at The Oval, with Surrey drawing their match against Lancashire.

Division Two

Essex eased to their first win of the season, beating Northamptonshire by nine wickets on the final day at Chelmsford. After their poor day yesterday, when they slipped to 38 for 4, Northants’ batsmen fared much better with Lance Klusener cracking 92. But he became David Masters’ fourth victim, Essex dismissing Northants for 237 to leave the home side needing a mere 15 to win. Jason Gallian fell for 1 but Varun Chopra saw them home in the third over.Nadeem Malik took 5 for 51 to spark a mini Middlesex collapse in which they lost their last five wickets for 141 as Leicestershire romped to a six-wicket win at Grace Road. Owais Shah notched his fifty, adding to the fine 116 he made in the first innings, and Shaun Udal also cracked his maiden half-century for his new county, but Middlesex fell away to be dismissed for 258, leaving Leicestershire 166 to win. Chris Silverwood nipped out two early wickets to give Middlesex hope, but Matthew Boyce’s 66 and an unbeaten 69 from Jim Allenby urged Leicestershire to their target.Tony Frost, Ant Botha and drizzly conditions in Birmingham all conspired against Worcestershire, who were denied an opening victory against Warwickshire on the final day at Edgbaston. Resuming on 26 for 3, Warwickshire’s resilience began with the nightwatchman, Lee Daggett, frustrating for nearly an hour before he was bowled by Gareth Batty. Navdeep Poonia followed almost immediately, and when Luke Parker edged to gully, the hosts were 109 for 7. Enter Frost (46*) and Botha (18*) who ground Worcestershire down for an hour-and-a-half, and inclement weather prevented any further action after tea.No play was possible between Gloucestershire and Derbyshire at Bristol, the match dribbling to a damp draw.

Justin Langer is on course to play in next week’s third cricket Test against South Africa in Sydney, Cricket Australia said.Langer was forced out of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne with a hamstring injury, but returned to batting practice on Wednesday after physio treatment.It was the first time Langer had batted since he strained his left hamstring in the first Perth Test 10 days ago. He has been in Melbourne since Christmas, undergoing treatment with Errol Alcott, the Australian team physiotherapist, to be fit for the last domestic Test of the southern summer.A Cricket Australia spokesman said, “He’s been progressing well and has been doing a bit of running and a lot of strength work and he’ll continue to work over the next couple of day. A decision on his availability for Sydney will be made at the end of the week.”If Langer plays in Sydney it will give him the chance to play his 100th Test during the tour of South Africa next March. Phil Jaques, who replaced Langer in the second Melbourne Test against the Proteas, made two and 28 in his Test debut.

Andrew Flintoff insists that England’s cricketers care just as much about one-day cricket as they do about the forthcoming Ashes series, despite a run of feeble performances that has left them on the brink of elimination from the ICC Champions Trophy.England are adrift at the bottom of their group following heavy defeats against India and Australia, and they are in need of a miracle if they are to qualify for next week’s semi-finals. But Flintoff was adamant that the team would pick up their performances, especially with the World Cup looming next March.”I speak for myself and I know I speak for the team — we are just as interested in one-day cricket,” Flintoff told The Sun. “Some of the lads in this team haven’t played Test cricket so this is their England team and it’s massive.After the heady scenes in 2005, when England regained the Ashes after an 18-year hiatus, there is no doubt about which form of the game is the most popular among English supporters, and the hype ahead of the rematch Down Under has been all-embracing.”I think people have tried to make it a distraction because almost every question at Press conferences seems to be about The Ashes. But I’m equally excited at the chance of playing in another World Cup. Myself and Duncan Fletcher stress the importance of all one-day games and it’s unfortunate we haven’t fired in this tournament. But it’s nothing to do with not caring.”While the Test team has been riding high in recent years, with seven series wins out of ten and a world ranking of No. 2, the one-day side has been slipping ever onwards towards oblivion. Last week’s defeat against Australia was their 14th in 19 matches this year, and they have only Saturday’s showdown against West Indies to come.”I think the difference is the Test team has been successful for a while,” explained Flintoff. “There is a lot of experience in that side and, although we’ve had a few injuries, we’ve played together for a while and gained a lot of confidence. The one-day side is more inexperienced and we have some players who have played just a handful of games.Flintoff did single out a few plus points – the emergence of Mike Yardy and Jamie Dalrymple, Ian Bell’s batting and the bowling of Saj Mahmood and Jimmy Anderson. “But,” he added, “there’s no doubt we’ll have to play better.”

Jason Gillespie has kicked off Australia’s pre-Ashes training by saying England’s two Tests against Bangladesh are good only for their statistics. Gillespie, who arrived early for the camp in Brisbane with Shaun Tait yesterday, said England’s innings victory at Lord’s wouldn’t hurt the bowlers’ confidence.”But they know that it’s not really competition compared to what we’re going to give them,” he told the Courier-Mail. “As a player, you don’t take a lot from those games except for good stats. You can look at it from the point of view that time in the middle is good for batters against any opposition.”Gillespie has been training hard in Adelaide, but said being involved in the camp made him realise how close the tour was. “We’ve had a good break since New Zealand,” he told the paper. “Towards the end of that tour, I was thinking ‘let’s knock these guys over and get out of here’. It was purely a mental thing and it was one of the more challenging tours I had been on. But I feel great physically.”Australia leave for the two one-day series and the five Tests on Saturday. The first match of the tour is against Leicestershire at Grace Road on June 11.

On the day Pakistan landed in India for the Champions Trophy, in Delhi onOctober 8, Younis Khan and Bob Woolmer addressed the media. In theprevious 24 hours, the country’s cricket captaincy had been changed twiceand the chairman had changed once and one would have expected them to bediscussing serious matters before the press conference took place. Formost of it, the two communicated by scribbling messages on a piece ofpaper but don’t be fooled into thinking they were matters of nationalinterest. It was simply a discussion about whether to grant a televisionchannel an interview.On the day before Pakistan’s opening encounter of the Champions Trophy, inJaipur yesterday, the same duo addressed the media. In the previous 24hours, the team’s two premier fast bowlers had failed dope tests, nobodyknew what the future held in store and one would have, again, expectedthem to be discussing serious matters before addressing the press. Beforethey began the press conference, both – coughing intermittently -communicated some thoughts in hushed tones. Surely this time it wasserious. Instead they were trying to out-guess each other on the number ofquestions that were likely to be posed. One of them said 60; the otherreckoned it would be 70.These may appear insignificant incidents but they convey quite a bit abouthow this bunch managed to stay cool when the roof had blown off. Over thelast week, of the seven teams that visited Jaipur, it’s been Pakistan whohave, ironically, appeared most relaxed. People spotted them inrestaurants, movie halls and tourist sites. It was a side that appeared tobe thoroughly at home with their surroundings, thriving amid the fans andbanter.Younis spoke passionately about the period, adding that it had no doubthelped alleviate the pressure. “We’ve had a lot of fun over the lastweek,” he said at the end of a thoroughly satisfactory day. “We playedhard cricket, practised hard and had some competitive games amongstourselves. What I couldn’t do as a youngster, I wanted my boys to do. Iencouraged them to see movies, to have fun. We missed Inzamam a lot andspoke a lot about him, about his captaincy and his professionalism. But wewanted to forget the pressures. One day before the game we got another joltbut I always felt the boys were fit and wanted to play good cricket. Forme, before this game, winning or losing wasn’t important, all I wantedthem to do was to play good cricket. And we did.”And good cricket they played. A packed house of neutrals rejoiced inPakistan’s fightback with the ball before cheering every run in theirrun-chase. Their very unpredictability, their sheer bloody-mindedbounce-back ability, was a joy to watch. Just when the tension reached thehighpoint, they found in Abdul Razzaq a matchwinner who sliced through itlike a Rajasthani sword through silk. The standing ovation they grantedPakistan after the triumph was in direct contrast to the afternoon’sevents when the Shiv Saniks, a Hindu fundamentalist organisation, heldbanners asking Pakistan to ‘Go home’.Younis Khan didn’t make much of a contribution with the bat but his coolcountenance no doubt proved crucial. “There was definitely a bit ofpressure,” he said, “but I don’t normally put myself under pressure. Ofcourse, if we’d lost people would have got a chance to say things againstus. But the boys stood together, even though they were under pressure. Iwas asked at the toss if I’d slept OK and honestly I slept very well.Whatever pressure was there, it didn’t affect my sleep.”Over the last few years, Inzamam-ul-Haq’s monk-like cool, with an emphasison religion, has played a vital part in keeping the side together. It cameas no surprise when the side got together for a after thegame, thanking the God almighty for this fine win. Younis mentioned theimportance of faith, he added that their religious beliefs always keptthem strong. He didn’t mention it but sometimes you wonder what this teamwould do if controversies decide to take a back seat. The more thetrouble, more the joy.Comment on this

Northamptonshire escaped any penalty for the state of their Wantage Road pitch after Matthew Hayden staged a batting masterclass to leave his Northamptonshire side in charge against Essex.The tall Australian cracked a six and 17 fours in his magnificent 164 off 260 balls as Northants closed on 337 for seven, a lead of 104 with two days remaining.And Hayden’s men were able to celebrate their promotion into Division One, albeit 24 hours late, following the ECB pitch panel’s decision not to order a deduction of points.Phil Sharpe, the Board’s Pitch Liason Officer, said: “During the cricket on the first day the ball turned sufficiently to warrant a further inspection, and I asked for a second opinion.””Having seen the cricket on the second day, along with Alan Smith, we came to the conclusion that this was not a substandard pitch and did not warrant a rating of poor.”Hayden and David Sales (61) posted 122 in 34 overs for the third wicket after off-spinner Tim Mason had removed Adrian Rollins and Jeff Cook cheaply.Sales struck nine boundaries in his 109-ball knock before edging Peter Such to slip, but Hayden powered on and gave a superb demonstration of footwork and concentration, securing three batting bonus points.”It has been a stressful day for us. Now we can celebrate a bit,” commented Northants’ relieved Director of Cricket Bob Carter when the panel’s findings were eventually announced shortly after tea.

England’s men pulled off a shock defeat against Australia in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy last September. It will take a similar upset for England’s women to achieve the same in the World Cup at Sedgar’s Park, Potchefstroom on Tuesday, as both sides bid for a place in the final, alongside either India or New Zealand. England are ranked second, but the undoubted favourites Australia are a class act: they have won the last 16 encounters between the two sides, and their current form is not to be sniffed at, either.Australia remain unbeaten after the group stage, where they won all of their completed matches at a canter. And when they met England on the opening day washout they bowled themselves into a commanding position, restricting England to 169 for 7. Their coach, Steven Jenkin, says there is no doubt the Australians can now pick up where they left off.”We are confident going into the match,” Jenkin said, “based on our form and preparation to date. England is one of the improved sides around at the moment, but we are keen to test them over the full course of a match and we haven’t had that opportunity in this tournament.”But Clare Connor, England’s captain, was in typically bullish mood: “Our minimum expectation was to reach the semi-finals,” she said, “and we know we’ll have to beat Australia at some stage to win this tournament. When we played them in the opening group match, we played some good cricket with very positive intent and, in particular, our openers played their new-ball bowlers exceptionally well.”The opening pair is likely to be Laura Newton and Charlotte Edwards – if fit: she is to undergo a fitness test on her thigh. Both will need to be on their mettle to combat the pace threat of Cathryn Fitzpatrick and Emma Liddell. But England’s own pace weapon, Lucy Pearson, may be missing, which would be a severe blow – like Edwards she, too, will face a late fitness test.England will also look to Claire Taylor – who is averaging 66 – to bolster the top order and Arran Brindle, with an average of 77, to boost their run-rate from No 5. They will need something special.Australia Women (probable)1 Belinda Clark (capt), 2 Lisa Keightley, 3 Karen Rolton, 4 Lisa Sthalekar, 5 Mel Jones, 6 Alex Blackwell, 7 Cathryn Fitzpatrick, 8 Julia Price (wk), 9 Julie Hayes, 10 Shelley Nitschke, 11 Emma Liddell.England Women (probable)1 Charlotte Edwards, 2 Laura Newton, 3 Claire Taylor, 4 Clare Connor (capt), 5 Arran Brindle, 6 Jenny Gunn, 7 Isa Guha, 8 Rosalie Birch, 9 Jane Smit (wk), 10 Lucy Pearson, 11 Clare Taylor.