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Grand Old Duke of York
There was more than a frisson of worry in the England camp when Trent Johnston and Andrew White started to find the boundaries late in the innings. Michael Vaughan turned to Andrew Flintoff, and he settled it, spearing the ball into the blockhole to devastating effect. One-day tactics have evolved constantly down the years, but there’s still no match for the yorker at the death.One for the auld enemy
The wicket of Flintoff – chopping one on – and two sixes in a breezy cameo would have been satisfying for most allrounders, but perhaps Johnston relished it a little bit more because of his New South Wales roots. He tries to play it down now that he’s Irish captain, but some old rivalries linger.Look who’s clucking now
Johnston had unveiled the chicken-dance celebration when he dismissed Mohammad Yousuf in the famous victory against Pakistan, and there was a reprise as Flintoff became another prized victim. Chickens don’t fly though, and England plucked his feathers ruthlessly, with 47 coming from the last five overs he bowled.SuperColly
The ICC rankings may have Kevin Pietersen at the top, but Paul Collingwood’s the man in prime form. A soaring six over midwicket was one of three that he hit as 56 came from the last 31 balls that he faced.Palm Pilot
No, we’re not agents for Johnston, but he had a hand, literally, in the day’s exceptional fielding moment as well. Collingwood was on course for a century when Andrew White’s throw from mid-on came arrowing in. Stationed in front of the stumps, Johnston palmed it on with his left hand.I’m an Irishman, get me out of here
For Ed Joyce, this was a day to forget. Boyd Rankin got him shouldering arms to one that nipped back, and Ireland’s top scorer in the 2005 ICC Trophy trudged off with just one to his name. Later, with Niall O’Brien on 9, Joyce appeared half-asleep when he grassed a high chance at midwicket off Sajid Mahmood. O’Brien cashed in to the tune of 54 more runs. Joyce’s two matches against his old mates have now fetched him 11 runs. Ouch.Seen and heard
During a slow phase of play, the roaming cameras zoomed in on a little fella in an orange vest. Perhaps aware that millions of eyes were on him, he took guard and executed a textbook loft over midwicket. Not content, he took guard again and bent low for a sweep shot, holding the pose for about five seconds. The gloves were a size too big, but he certainly looked the part.

Global news agencies have struck a deal with Cricket Australia (CA), ending a week-long media rights dispute which affected coverage of the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Brisbane.”The News Media Coalition has reached an agreement in its talks with Cricket Australia regarding news coverage during the current season,” a statement, issued by a coalition of media groups including Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Associated Press and Getty Images, said.The agencies had blacked out coverage of the first Test, after deciding to boycott the 2007-08 season in protest against new terms imposed by the Australian board.Coverage of the ongoing second Test at Hobart will begin with immediate effect.

Billy Doctrove, the “other” umpire at the centre of Pakistan’s forfeited Test match at The Oval, has been omitted from next week’s ICC Champions Trophy in India, along with his elite panel colleague, Darrell Hair.Hair’s absence was confirmed last week, officially for security reasons, but an ICC spokesman insisted that there was “nothing sinister” about the omission of Doctrove, even though they are the only two umpires from the ten-man panel to have been overlooked. “There were only going to be eight umpires,” the spokesman told BBC Sport. “It doesn’t mean Billy Doctrove is a bad umpire.”While Hair is one of the game’s longest serving officials, Doctrove, from Dominica, is relatively new, having stood in just nine matches since May 2000, seven of which have come in the last 18 months.Mike Procter, whose role as match referee at The Oval came under scrutiny, has been named as one of three such officials, along with Ranjan Madugalle, who was in charge of the subsequent disciplinary hearing.Umpires are selected for major tournaments based on a five-point assessment of each international match they stand in. Areas assessed include percentage of correct decisions, ability to cope with pressure, player management, communication and application of regulations.

Division One

Ed Joyce celebrated his England one-day call-up with a fine unbeaten 154 for Middlesex at Southgate, as Yorkshire squandered a commanding position with a dire collapse in the morning session. After resuming on 337 for 5, Yorkshire lost their last five wickets for 18, with Chris Silverwood finishing as the pick of the attack against his former team-mates, taking 6 for 51 in 22.2 hostile overs. Jason Gillespie responded by trapping Ed Smith lbw with the second ball of Middlesex’s reply, but Joyce added 131 for the third wicket with Ben Hutton to put the innings back on track.Durham revived their fortunes on the second day at Edgbaston, as Dale Benkenstein was joined by a furiously wagging tail to leave Warwickshire playing catch-up. At 73 for 5 in reply to 208, the match was evenly poised, but Benkenstein added 70 for the sixth wicket with Phil Mustard, before Ottis Gibson lifted his side into the ascendancy with an uncharacteristically measured 81 from 150 balls. As Benkenstein continued to accumulate, eventually finishing on an unbeaten 144, Graeme Onions chipped in with a useful 40 before grabbing an early wicket as well. Nick Knight and Ian Bell put the innings back on course with a stand of 53, but Bell’s late dismissal tipped the scales firmly in Durham’s favour.

Dmitri Mascarenhas led the way for Hampshire as they lorded it over the county champions, Nottinghamshire, on a one-sided second day at the Rose Bowl. The day didn’t start so auspiciously for Hampshire as Charlie Shreck shredded the tail with figures of 5 for 94, but from that moment on there was no looking back. Mascarenhas took 4 for 25 from 12 overs, and was ably backed up by Billy Taylor and James Bruce, before Dominick Thornley wrapped up the tail. Notts were all out for 147, a deficit of 254, but Shane Warne’s decision not to enforce the follow-on was amply justified when John Crawley and James Adams piled on the runs in an unbeaten 96-run stand.

Division Two

3rd dayGlamorgan edged ever closer to victory on the third day at Derby, as the spin pairing of Robert Croft and Dean Cosker twirled their way through Derbyshire’s defences, sharing six of the seven second-innings wickets to fall. Michael di Venuto resisted as best he could with a doughty 183-ball innings, but when he was sixth out for 95, the writing was on the wall. Earlier, in an ominous indication that the conditions were in the bowlers’ favour, Glamorgan lost their last seven wickets for 90, including Mark Cosgrove who was unable to add to his overnight 233.2nd dayGraeme Hick and Ben Smith extended their fifth-wicket partnership to 330 at Taunton, as Worcestershire racked up a vast total of 618 against Somerset. Hick was eventually dismissed for 182 leaving Smith to push on to 203, one run shy of his career-best score. Charl Willoughby was the pick of Somerset’s beleaguered attack, finishing up with 6 for 104 in 33 overs, although Keith Parsons was instrumental in whittling through the tail, as he finished with 3 for 33. By the close, Somerset were fighting hard in reply on 199 for 3, with Wesley Durston (89 not out) closing in on his second first-class century.For a full report of Surrey against Leicestershire at The Rose Bowl click here

The Ashes series has been a tale of two coaches with John Buchanan improving his record and Duncan Fletcher losing ground by the game. Both men may have been involved in their last Tests at the SCG, but Buchanan leaves with the greater reputation after being a key backroom member of Australia’s 5-0 victory and a 12th win in a row.Buchanan’s stock is currently so high that Mark Taylor, a Cricket Australia director, said he will be a main figure in the search for the country’s next coach. The World Cup in the West Indies is Buchanan’s final task in his current role, but Taylor, who is on a committee to choose the replacement, has added to his duties.”Quite a bit will depend on [Buchanan’s] thoughts,” Taylor said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “Depending on who we go for, it might be possible for them to travel to the World Cup with John, if they are not already coaching an international team. If that is possible, that would be our preference.”We have had some informal chats already as a committee. I’m not at liberty to say much more than that, but certainly the one-day series will give us an opportunity to get together in the next couple of weeks to discuss matters further.”Tom Moody, the Sri Lanka coach, and Tim Nielsen, who is in charge of Australia’s Centre of Excellence, are the front-runners while Greg Chappell and Dav Whatmore have also been spoken of as contenders. Whoever gets the job faces a huge task to match Buchanan’s record of 70 wins from 91 matches.Ricky Ponting praised Buchanan after his side sealed the Ashes whitewash and waved goodbye to a huge chunk of the side. Apart from Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer, Australia have also lost Buchanan and Damien Martyn from the Test scene during the series. Martyn, who went into hiding in Adelaide, was a surprise guest in the Australian dressing room after play and Shane Watson, the injured allrounder, also joined in the celebrations.Buchanan made three points before the team walked out on the final morning in Sydney – Ponting could only remember two of them – and he will continue to make more until the World Cup. “He’s been very overlooked,” Ponting said. “We’ve been a talented side but talented guys don’t win you everything.”He’s been responsible for getting the best out of me, out of Langer, out of Hayden, out of Steve Waugh to a certain degree, maybe even a bit out of Warney. And McGrath. All our coaching staff right through the last 12-13 months have been terrific.”

Shane Warne is lining up for a pre-Ashes refresher with his spin bowling mentor Terry Jenner ahead of November’s first Test in Brisbane. Warne is expected to reunite with Jenner, a former Australia legspinner, for a private net session in Adelaide later this month, when the Victorian team plays a Pura Cup match against South Australia.Warne, 37, might have taken 685 wickets, but he still relies on irregular sessions with the “spin doctor”. “He will be here in Adelaide for the [Pura Cup] game and I would be surprised if we didn’t catch up,” Jenner told Melbourne’s . “It will be the normal, routine health and safety check we have. We did it before the Lord’s Test last year, which I think was of great benefit to him.”He doesn’t like me talking about it, so I don’t. It’s theoretically two good mates talking things over, except we do it in the nets.”Jenner, who is coming to the end of a contract with the ECB to work with the country’s young spinners, said if Warne could reproduce his figures from last year’s Ashes series, Australia would win the series 5-0. Warne captured 40 wickets in the five Tests of last year’s series in England at 19.92.”They can attack him all they like,” he said. “He would like that.”Jenner believes England’s new spinning sensation Monty Panesar will struggle in the Australian conditions. While Jenner is a big fan of Panesar, he expects him to mesmerise the crowds more than the batsmen.He said left-arm orthodox spinners generally struggled in Australia and predicted Panesar would depend on England dragging the Tests into a fifth day. “He’s a beautiful craftsman, delightful to watch,” Jenner said. “He’s very level-headed, and a revelation really for the England spinners. But unless we provide [favourable] conditions for him, it’s going to be a hard slog for him.”Generally, the pitches are extremely hard, and the legspinner, who by means of release gets a lot of additional bounce, is more successful than the offspinner who doesn’t gain the same amount of bounce. If Panesar gets a crack on a fifth day, he will be very dangerous, but it’s getting to the fifth day that’s the key. You’ve got to get that far into the match.”Panesar, who has become a cult figure in England and taken 32 wickets in his first 10 Tests, is vying with Ashley Giles for the spinner’s spot in the team.

The headlines when New Zealand landed for their tour of England were more about the players who hadn’t arrived than those who had. Five of their key players are in India taking part in the IPL, raising questions about how focused the tourists will be. However, two of them who spoke to Cricinfo, Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor, were firm in dismissing the notion of being distracted and added they are happy to be the underdogs.Oram recalled the scene back in New Zealand, just before the first IPL auction. “We had a big team meeting, everyone was there. We had a lengthy discussion about the whole situation,” he said. “Not only from a playing point of view but even off the ground. Whether someone would feel left out, about the emotions and about going to England a little late. Everything was in the open and in the end everyone was okay and decided we would support whoever gets selected.”Taylor added: “Jac [Oram], Dan [Daniel Vettori] and Brendon [McCullum] were picked up and since we had already discussed everything before we were all happy for them. Later, [Kyle] Mills and I got selected.”Both players stressed that being part of the IPL has been a beneficial experience and, in a way, better preparation than if they were in New Zealand. “I am playing on the grass while the players in New Zealand will have had to do with practising indoors,” said Taylor.”We should still be there in England for two first-class games and I have 17 days of build-up before the Test match [at Lord’s] and if that’s not enough then nothing will be,” Oram said. “We are not on a holiday here. We are playing competitive games. There is no distraction.”Moving onto the series itself, both readily admitted that England are the favourites. “We are always the underdogs, we tend to play our best cricket like that,” said Oram. “They beat us in New Zealand and this will be the first [Stephen] Fleming-less team in years. The bowling looks pretty okay though it’s obviously a blow that Shane Bond can’t play and James Franklin would have been handy with his left-arm swing bowling.”For Oram, the key to New Zealand doing well will be the performance of numbers one to four in the batting. “One of the issues in the recent times has been the top-order batting. If we can nail two or three guys who can score big runs we can go a long way,” he said. “With Fleming gone and recent retirements of Nathan Astle and Scott Styris we are pretty light on experience.”Jamie How has played nine Test games and Ross Taylor only five but they will be vital. It’s amazing how Taylor has become one of the senior batsmen. But I guess this needs to be looked at as opportunity. He had a great home series against England and he has to carry on his form here.”For his part, Taylor is looking forward to playing on the history-laden grounds around England. “You talk to any cricketer, he would love to play a Test match at Lord’s and to get their name on the honours board. The top-order batting has been our Achilles heel; in the last decade we have gone through lots of openers. Hopefully the arrangement of How and me will do the job. If we can see off the new ball, we will have given us a good chance of making a big total, which will the crucial.”

Taylor has been speaking to his Bangalore team-mates like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis on the experience of playing in England conditions. “The ball will swing traditionally early in the summer but its going to be same for both sides,” Taylor said. “It is something to be wary off but not get too caught up in it. Chanderpaul talked about the basics: playing close to the body and late. The others shared with me some good tips.”Taylor believes while the top order is the “unknown” the middle-order is strong. “We have got Oram, Brendon and Dan coming in. Hopefully the top order can score runs and support them.”Some experts have felt that the likes of Vettori and Oram should bat higher up the order, but Oram believes in maintaining the status quo. “It’s difficult. I know Dan has batted well in the lower order but we know that the guys batting higher up have a much harder job than the guys further down. It is our strength – the lower-middle order – and I am not sure we should rock the boat there but should look to improve our top order.”Oram is also happy with Vettori’s captaincy and compared him with the style of Fleming. “He captained for so many years and was obviously an outstanding captain. But Vettori is doing a great job. Being a bowler himself he probably understands the bowlers’ psyche better. Not that Flem wasn’t clued on.”The New Zealand media have been critical of coach John Bracewell but Oram believes he is still the right man for the job. “I have read and heard those criticisms but I really like playing under John. I think he has done great things. I know you can look at records and say he has not, but if you ask most of the players they enjoy playing under him.”On a personal level, all Oram is hoping for is that he remains fit for the entire tour and he has not set any targets. “I don’t set goals at all. There is already enough pressure in playing at this level, adding individual goals adds unnecessary pressure.”

Sui Northern Gas and Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), who retained the Quaid-e-Azam trophy earlier this week, have dedicated their title to Ali Waqas, their middle-order batsman who collapsed last year due to kidney disease. Waqas missed the 2015-16 season to undergo a successful kidney transplant in Rawalpindi.Waqas, 26, was among the leading run-scorers with 1065 in the 2012-13 season and almost made his way into the national side when he was selected for a Pakistan A tour to Sri Lanka last year. But, ahead of the 2015 national T20 Cup, he suffered kidney failure in Rawalpindi due to hypertension. He underwent initial treatment in the USA but doctors suggested an immediate transplant, for which he had to move back to Pakistan for surgery and to find a donor.”It was tough as I was seeing my whole cricketing career going down,” Waqas told ESPNcricinfo. “But doctors suggested to me that I can easily come back into cricket after the transplant. I googled a lot to find out who are the sportsmen who have returned after such a transplant and I got ample examples to gain encouragement.”US basketball player Sean Elliott was the first professional sportsman to come back after a kidney transplant, in 2000. Former New Zealand rugby star Jonah Lomu, who died last year, continued to play at domestic level after a kidney transplant in 2004.”I can’t play cricket for at least the next eight to nine months but sometimes in cricket injuries take more than a year,” Waqas said. “I am determined to return by next season. It really hurts so much inside to know that I am not competing, as I was close enough to make into the national side. I don’t see myself without cricket and thinking about making a comeback all the time makes me strong. My only wish from life is to play for Pakistan and I’m going to make this possible in any case.”The transplant procedure is expensive in Pakistan and Waqas’s main strength was his team-mates at SNGPL, as almost the entire team including the national players helped him financially. His donor was a stranger and, as per the guidelines, they are not allowed to meet each other. “I had a little look on my donor luckily before I went to operation theatre,” Waqas said.SNGPL captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, was very optimistic about Waqas’ comeback and paid tribute to one of the most important members of the team. “He is one talented batsman with a full range of shots,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. “He was best against the fast bowlers and his square cut was a delight to watch. To me he is a complete modern player and a solid prospect for Pakistan. He was the top-scorer in domestic some two years ago and I had no doubt about his potential. Had he kept on playing he could have easily made into the side by another year and half.”Waqas was born in Sargodha, known as the “City of Eagles”, situated 170km from Lahore towards the northwest. He moved to Lahore to play cricket but is presently based in Islamabad for the clean atmosphere required after surgery.

Zimbabwe will play three warm-up one-dayers against a National Club League select side as preparations continue for the series against South Africa A and Bangladesh. The first of the three South Africa matches is on January 25 in Bulawayo, and the squad will be announced on January 23.Ray Price could yet be in the Select side. It is still not clear whether he will make himself available for selection after his appearance for Old Hararians last Saturday. Zimbabwe’s warm-ups started last week, with two teams drawn from their 30-man provisional World cup squad playing each other. National captain Prosper Utseya led one of the sides and the veteran Gary Brent the other.”These warm-up matches are basically to wash away the holiday hang-over and recondition these guys,” said national team manager Givemore Makoni. “We have picked players from the national squad, Zimbabwe A, the high-performance squad and a number of development sides, to take part in this session.”It was refreshing to see former Zimbabwean international all rounder Douglas Hondo, whose career had been put on hold owing to a nagging stress fracture of the back injury, taking to the pitch again.”Makoni was then asked whether Hondo, the strike-bowler, will travel to the West Indies for the World Cup which gets underway in March. “What we named was a provisional 30-man squad for the ICC’s administrative purposes,” he said. “What that means is that if a player proves himself on the field and convinces the selectors before the deadline of the 13th of next month, then we will give him a chance. This is not just for Hondo but for all the players currently playing competitive cricket.”

Michael Di Venuto and Stuart Clark made the most of their county outings this week but widespread rain washed out a string of one-day matches. Di Venuto became the leading run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship with his unbeaten 204 for Durham against Kent at Chester-le-Street.It was his second century of the season and he followed up in the second innings with 58 to continue the outstanding form he showed during the Australian summer in the Pura Cup. Di Venuto scored his double-century quickly but safely – he took only 241 balls to reach the milestone and offered only one chance, on 156.His effort set up a 157-run victory for Durham, despite an impressive reply from Kent’s Robert Key, who made 169. Steve Harmison’s nine-wicket match confirmed the win.Clark has wasted no time making his mark in his first season at Hampshire. He claimed 7 for 82 against Lancashire at The Rose Bowl and among his victims were Brad Hodge (4) and Stuart Law (20).Lancashire struggled to 207 but escaped with a draw in the rain-affected match. The biggest news to come from The Rose Bowl was an ankle injury that put Lancashire’s Andrew Flintoff in doubt just days before England’s first Test against West Indies.The runs kept coming for Simon Katich, who led Derbyshire to victory over Leicestershire at Derby. In a low-scoring affair, Katich made 94 in the first innings to give his side a 50-run lead and then steered them home in the second innings with an unbeaten 45. He was without his prolific team-mate Ian Harvey, who was forced out of the side when Tasmania’s Travis Birt became available. Birt had little impact, making 25 and 1.Justin Langer confirmed his position as the top run-getter in Division Two of the County Championship when he made 86 for Somerset against Northamptonshire at Northampton. However, his was only a supporting role as Marcus Trescothick again reminded everyone of his capabilities with a sensational 284 in just over eight hours.Jason Gillespie played a small part in Yorkshire’s comprehensive win over Worcestershire at Leeds. After Yorkshire rattled up 521, Gillespie took 3 for 56 as the visitors were bundled out for 129. He was barely required in the second attempt, when Worcestershire managed only 132 and lost by an innings and 260 runs. Phil Jaques, opening the batting for the visitors, made 38 and 21 and was one of only three men to reach double-figures in each innings.At Kennington Oval, Matthew Nicholson snared 3 for 68 as Surrey dismissed Warwickshire for 329. The match was drawn but Surrey took the first-innings honours when Mark Ramprakash and Jonathan Batty each made centuries in an unbeaten 283-run stand.David Hussey, who is captaining Nottinghamshire, helped his side stay on top of the Division Two table. Hussey made 48 and was one of several Nottinghamshire batsmen to get a start as they racked up 336 against Middlesex at Trent Bridge. Middlesex were dismissed for 176 but Andrew Strauss made up some ground in the second innings when he made 120, which was his first century since last August.