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Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has asked the West Indies Cricket Board to reschedule the inaugural Caribbean Premier League (CPL), in order to avoid a scheduling overlap with the Sri Lanka Premier League

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-May-2013Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has asked the West Indies Cricket Board to reschedule the inaugural Caribbean Premier League (CPL), in order to avoid a scheduling clash with the Sri Lanka Premier League, SLPL director Ajit Jayasekara has said. The CPL is scheduled between July 29 and August 26, while the SLPL is penciled in for an August 10 start. SLC cannot postpone their tournament because the Champions League T20, which will feature SLPL winners in the qualifying stage, begins in mid-September.”There is quite a big overlap there, and because we announced our tournament last year and have set that window aside, we have asked the Caribbean Premier League tournament to move their tournament up,” Jayasekara said. “Those discussions haven’t started yet, but we are hopeful we can work something out.”The scheduling clash was brought into focus this week after former Sri Lankan offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan signed with the CPL. Muralitharan said he has not yet decided which tournament he will prioritise. In addition to being one of the SLPL’s biggest draws, Muralitharan was also the icon player for his Uthura Rudra’s franchise in the inaugural tournament last year. However, as one of only six international signings, he is a major asset to the CPL as well.Chris Gayle also has an SLPL deal for the next two years, but his contract with the Uva Next franchise is fitted with an escape clause, and he is almost certain to forego the SLPL to play in his home board’s Twenty20 tournament. In addition to player unavailability, the presence of a competing Twenty20 league undermines SLPL’s global broadcast value as well.Jayasekara said SLPL’s organisers were in discussions with several new foreign players, and will be announcing new signings in the months to come. Last year’s tournament was played at only two venues – Colombo and Kandy – but the 2013 tournament is likely include more venues, Jayasekara said.”We only had one production crew last time, but we have two this year, so that gives us more options. We are looking at Hambantota, Galle, Moratuwa and Dambulla as venues as well.”The Uva Next franchise won 2012’s SLPL but was unable to move ahead of the qualifying stage of the Champions League T20 in South Africa. The tournament itself was mired in a series of controversies, including late player payments, but turned a minor profit for SLC.

Half-centuries from Alex Wakely, James Middlebrook and Steven Crook put Division Two leaders Northamptonshire in control

25-Apr-2013
ScorecardHalf-centuries from Alex Wakely, James Middlebrook and Steven Crook put Division Two leaders Northamptonshire in control on the second day of their Championship match against Gloucestershire at Bristol.Wakely led the way with 88 as the visitors ran up 404 all out in reply to 192, Middlebrook making 62 and Crook 53. Gloucestershire were left with an awkward period to bat before the close and lost skipper Michael Klinger for a single in moving to 34 for 1, still 178 runs behind.Northants began the day on 107 for 3 and Rob Newton soon set about adding to his score of 14, pulling a ball from Alex Gidman over fine leg for six. Newton had moved brightly to 39 when caught at backward-point by Jack Taylor off Benny Howell.Wakely, unbeaten on 23 overnight, looked in good touch as he was joined by Andrew Hall, who was given a life on 18 when dropped by Chris Dent at second slip off David Payne. The pair had added 77 by lunch, which was taken with Northants 226 for 4.Hall was 27 not out at the interval, but could add only a single in the afternoon session before falling leg-before to Will Gidman. Northants fell to 242 for 6 when Wakely departed, also lbw to Gidman, having faced 166 balls and extended his boundary count to 11.When the second new ball became due, not surprisingly, Klinger opted to take it immediately and Payne was the bowler to capitalise as David Murphy was caught by diving wicketkeeper Cameron Herring for 16 and three balls later David Willey had his middle stump uprooted.The Northants lead was just 91, but their tail wagged energetically as Crook joined Middlebrook to produce the most attacking batting of the day. Middlebrook hit eight fours in reaching a 72-ball half-century, while Crook also punished anything loose. By tea they had taken the score to 353 for 8, earning Northants a third and fourth batting point in the process.The final session saw Middlebrook caught behind off Taylor’s offspin without adding to his score but last man Trent Copeland then contributed 27 not out to a stand of 46 with Crook. Will Gidman claimed his fourth wicket when Crook chipped a catch to Dent at midwicket, having helped Northants to maximum batting points.

Tim May will be effectively replaced by two men at the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) with Paul Marsh and Ian Smith set to run the organisation

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2013Tim May will be effectively replaced by two men at the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) with Paul Marsh and Ian Smith set to run the organisation. Marsh has been elected executive chairman, and will take up that role alongside his existing position as chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, while Smith has been named FICA’s chief operating officer.Smith has been the legal director of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) since 2004 and has assisted May at FICA for the past few years. Smith will be responsible for the day-to-day management of FICA, which represents cricketers’ associations in seven countries, and Marsh will be accountable for the performance of the organisation and will effectively be its figurehead and spokesperson.”The FICA board is excited by the appointments of both Paul Marsh and Ian Smith,” Jimmy Adams, the FICA president, said. “Paul has been at the forefront of player advocacy for 12 years at the ACA, the past eight as CEO. He has proven to be a strong, respected and passionate leader who has also contributed enormously as a member of the FICA board.”Ian has demonstrated his dedication, expertise and passion throughout his time with the PCA and FICA and along with Paul, will ensure our member associations and their players continue to be represented in a strong, unified and tireless manner.”The two men will have big shoes to fill, for May was the major driving force behind FICA during his eight years as its chief executive. May announced his resignation on Wednesday and said he was “tiring of working in a sport that was increasingly at odds with the principles I respect”.”The contribution of Tim May to FICA and cricketers worldwide has been enormous and in many respects he is irreplaceable,” Adams said. “Our game continues to throw up issues of great complexity, and strong player representation through FICA and the individual player associations has never been more important. FICA is committed to continuing Tim’s wonderful legacy by ensuring that the voices of the players always be heard.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the first match of the West Indies tri-series between West Indies and Sri Lanka

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria27-Jun-2013Match FactsFriday, June 28
Start time 0930 (1430 GMT, 2000 IST)The crowd will be behind Dwayne Bravo as he leads the team for the first time at home•WICB Media/Randy Brooks PhotoThe Big PictureIdeally, West Indies and Sri Lanka should have been playing a Test series at the moment, but economic forces have meant that not only have the Tests been scrapped, but a third participant – India – has joined to make it a tripartite ODI competition. It’s not all gloom though. A triangular competition can produce more twists and turns than a monotonous five-match series and a closely-contested first match between these two contrasting teams could be the caffeine kick the fans in the subcontinent need to follow a series being played halfway across the planet.For Sri Lanka, Tests or no Tests, it’s a big tour. It’s not often that they travel to the western edge of the cricketing world – this is only their sixth trip to the Caribbean, including the 2007 World Cup – and the last time they were here five years ago, they drew the Test series 1-1 but failed to win anything in the three-match ODI series. A team in transition, Sri Lanka have had mixed results this year under the new leadership of Angelo Mathews. The big positive came in Australia where they drew the five-match series, but they suffered a setback at home soon after, failing to win the ODI series against Bangladesh. They found their A-game during the Champions Trophy, making it to yet another semi-final of a big tournament, before bowing out to India.That run in England was largely based on their senior players repeatedly leading the team to safety. What was keenly awaited, but never came in England, was an innings, a spell, or a moment of brilliance from the new generation of Sri Lankan cricketers. Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera, Shamida Eranga – the list is full of promise that is yet to show its worth. In this series, on the slow-low pitches of the Caribbean, against two tough opponents and away from the peering eyes of the media, they have a glorious opportunity to make some progress.West Indies are a strong side in limited-overs, or so it seems because of the presence of a number of power-packed players. However, most of these players have earned their reputations playing in faraway lands for an assortment of teams. The truth is, West Indies, much like Sri Lanka’s younger generation, has teased with sporadic flashes of brilliance for far too long. Yes, they won the T20 World Cup, but soon after they lost an ODI series in Bangladesh, before Australia blanked them in a five-match series.They were at touching distance of a semi-final place in the Champions Trophy, but even there, they didn’t impose themselves with either bat or ball. One silver lining for them is that they have tasted some success in home conditions. However, given the strength of the other two teams, West Indies won’t mind considering themselves underdogs.Form guide (Most recent first, last five completed matches)
West Indies TLWWW
Sri Lanka LWWLLIn the spotlightUpul Tharanga was a regular in the side after making his debut in 2005, but lean returns in 2011-12 and the rise in the reputation of Perera, saw the latter edge Tharanga out for the home series against Bangladesh. A sparkling debut by Perera meant Tharanga was left waiting for an opening in the side, which has now come due to Tillakaratne Dilshan’s injury. Tharanga can take encouragement from the fact that there are places in the batting order still up for grabs – Perera’s form has disappeared too – and that there are at least four matches to make his case.The appointment of Dwayne Bravo as the captain of the ODI side raised a few eyebrows around the world, but Bravo brushed doubts aside saying it was part of rotation policy. He promised proactive captaincy with ‘strange’ tactics before the start of the Champions Trophy, but the team missed out on a semi-final spot when Kieron Pollard lost his wicket off what proved to be the last ball of the innings. Bravo was at the non-striker’s end then and walked off dejected. However, having spent some time in England as a leader, Bravo has a chance to establish his style of leadership in home conditions.Team newsMathews had said the injury to Dilshan would be an opportunity for others to step up and the most likely player to lend solidity at the top could be Tharanga. Although the pitches in the Caribbean are not going to be markedly different from the ones laid out in England this season, Sri Lanka could include either Sachithra Senanayake or Ajantha Mendis or both in their squad.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dinesh Chandimal, 7 Lahiru Thirimanne, 8 Ajantha Mendis, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Nuwan Kulasekara, 11 Lasith MalingaWest Indies settled into a combination that worked for them in England after the suspension of Denesh Ramdin. Although Ramdin is available for selection, West Indies are unlikely to disturb that arrangement, which means that Darren Sammy is likely to remain in the team while Johnson Charles will keep wickets.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles (wk), 3 Devon Smith, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Darren Bravo, 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Tino Best/Kemar Roach, 11 Ravi RampaulPitch and conditionsWet weather is expected to further interfere with the cricket. However, the warmer temperatures and the subcontinent-like pitch conditions will suit Sri Lanka’s game.Stats and triviaUpul Tharanga is 46 runs short of completing 5000 runs in ODIs. He has scored 12 centuries and his average is marginally better than Mahela Jayawardene’s. West Indies’ head-to-head record against Sri Lanka at home stands at 4-4 Only two batsmen – Brian Lara and Sanath Jayasuriya – have scored hundreds in Sri Lanka-West Indies matches in the West Indies.Quotes”It’s to put those little mistakes that we made in England away. We felt we had a good opportunity to win that tournament and we want to win this one and prove ourselves right.”
“West Indies and India are two very good teams in the shorter format of the game and I think that we really need to play some good cricket to win against them.”

Pakistan, Netherlands, Ireland and Sri Lanka began their campaigns in the Women’s World T20 qualifiers with wins in Dublin

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2013Netherlands Women emerged victorious in a low-scoring thriller against Zimbabwe Women, beating them by three runs in a Group A match of the Women’s World Twenty20 qualifiers in Dublin.Netherlands, who were 59 for 1 in 10 overs, lost quick wickets after right-handed batter Tessa van der Gun left the field retired hurt. The remaining batters could add only 36 runs, as tight bowling from Zimbabwe restricted Netherlands to 95 for 7 in 20 overs.Zimbabwe made a feeble attempt of the chase, stuttering to 29 for 5 before a 33-run stand between Ashley Burdett and Nonhlanhla Nyathi took then within striking distance of the target. Zimbabwe needed seven runs off the final over with two wickets in hand and Nyathi was still at the crease. However, Zimbabwe scored just three runs finishing the innings at 92 for 9. Nyathi was awarded Player of the Match for her unbeaten 30.Left-arm spinner Leonie Bennett was the pick of the bowlers for Netherlands, ending with 4-1-15-3.In another Group A match, Pakistan Women routed Thailand Women by 69 runs. Batting first, Pakistan scored 145 for 6 off their 20 overs. Nain Abidi’s 38-ball 47, which included seven fours, was the crux that stabilised the Pakistan innings, after they lost opener Javeria Khan off the third ball of the match. Abidi stitched together a 50-run partnership with Javeria Rauf before she was dismissed. Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar hit brisk twenties towards the end of the innings.Thailand struggled to keep up with the run rate from the start of their innings and, as a result, lost their wickets in pursuit of quick runs. The top score for Thailand was am 11-ball 19 from Chanida Sutthiruang, a measure of how dominant the Pakistan bowlers were. Sumaiya Siddiqi and Asmavia Iqbal picked up two wickets apiece as Thailand were restricted to 76 for 8.In Group B, opener Clare Shillington scored an unbeaten century as Ireland Women comprehensively beat Japan Women by 117 runs.Ireland were in complete control throughout the match, as Shillington and Cecelia Joyce added 134 runs for the second wicket. Shillington, who was named Player of the Match, struck 13 fours and two sixes during her 72-ball 114, as the hosts eventually finished at 170 for 1 in 20 overs.Japan were never convincing in the chase as they lost wickets in regular intervals and hit only three fours throughout the innings. Legspinner Elena Tice was the best bowler for Ireland, finishing with figures of 4-1-10-3 as Japan were bundled out for 53 in 18.2 overs.Ireland captain Isobel Joyce was delighted with the performance. “We were very clinical in three aspects,” she said. “We only lost one wicket, the way we set the total and in the field we didn’t put any chances down. When Clare gets going there is no stopping her. She put in a great performance today.”In the same group, Sri Lanka Women needed just 6.1 overs to knock off a target of 46 against Canada Women with nine wickets in hand. Canada’s dismal batting effort, saw them fold for just 45 after they chose to bat first. Wicketkeeper S Sivanantham was the only batter to reach double figures, top-scoring for Canada with 13 off 19 balls.Left-arm spinner Chandima Gunaratne took 3 for 6 off 4 overs, while Sripali Weerakkody and Sandamali Dolawatte picked up two wickets apiece. Sri Lanka lost opener Chamari Atapattu early in the innings, but the second-wicket pair of Yasoda Mendis and Eshani Kaushalya eased the team past the target in the seventh over.

England have rested Alastair Cook, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad from the ODI series against Australia after their involvement in the 3-0 Ashes victory

Alan Gardner27-Aug-2013England have rested Alastair Cook, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad for the ODI series against Australia after their involvement in the 3-0 Ashes victory. In Cook’s absence, Eoin Morgan will captain the side. Kevin Pietersen, who returned from a knee injury shortly before the Test series, is also included in the 14-man squad.England will play five ODIs against Australia after a one-off fixture against Ireland next Tuesday. Pietersen, Joe Root and Jonathan Trott will not travel to Dublin for that match, during which Morgan will again lead the side.Chris Jordan and Jamie Overton receive senior call-ups for the first time, while Michael Carberry, capped once previously in Tests, is now in both limited-overs squads. Boyd Rankin, the former Ireland fast bowler who made his England debut during the T20 series against New Zealand earlier in the summer, and Luke Wright, whose last ODI appearance came during the 2011 World Cup, are also included.Gary Ballance, Danny Briggs and James Taylor are the three players replacing Pietersen, Root and Trott in the 14 to take on Ireland, with Yorkshire batsman Ballance in line for a potential debut. In all, five players yet to play ODIs for England have been included.Of the XI who played in England’s defeat to India in the Champions Trophy final in June, five will be missing against Australia – in addition to Cook, Bell, Broad and Anderson, Tim Bresnan is absent through injury. Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes, who were part of the Champions Trophy squad, have also been omitted, possibly to allow them more red-ball cricket with their counties during the Championship run-in.”Following a very intense period of cricket this summer we have decided to rest a number of senior players, which will allow them to recover from a heavy workload over the last three months and to prepare for the tour of Australia which begins in eight weeks,” England’s national selector, Geoff Miller, said.”This creates an excellent opportunity for players who have impressed in county cricket and for England Lions recently to test themselves at international level as we continue to build a squad ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup, which is less than 18 months away. There are a number of very experienced one-day players in the squad alongside players who are new to international cricket and we are expecting a very tough challenge both from a strong Ireland side and then from Australia in what will no doubt be a very competitive NatWest series.”Pietersen has been included despite saying during the Test series that he would have to manage his knee for the rest of his career. He didn’t play for three months after suffering bruising to the joint on the tour of New Zealand. His last ODI appearance came in January, during the ODI series in India, and he has been carefully looked after by England since briefly retiring from limited-overs cricket last year.Without their established openers Cook and Bell, Carberry looks set for a first ODI appearance after a summer of heavy scoring for Hampshire. He could be partnered by Root, who has spent his one-day career to date in the middle order. Despite the struggles that led to him being dropped from the Test side, Steven Finn will be the senior fast bowler in an inexperienced attack, with James Tredwell continuing to deputise for Swann and Jos Buttler retaining the wicketkeeping gloves.Ashley Giles, England’s limited-overs coach, has plenty of in-form players to look at as he begins to shape plans for the 2015 World Cup. Wright, who made his highest List A score – 143 not out from 68 balls – when captaining England Lions against Bangladesh A, has hit four centuries in his last ten innings in all formats; Ballance has made scores of 104, 115 and 87 in three knocks for the Lions; while Sussex allrounder Jordan, the first player to take 50 Championship wickets this season, claimed 4 for 38 on his Lions debut last week.Morgan, meanwhile, hit 90 for Middlesex in the YB40 on Monday, his first half-century since returning from a broken finger that required surgery after the T20s against New Zealand in June. Buttler and Ravi Bopara also played significant innings for their counties over the Bank Holiday weekend.England squad to play Ireland: Eoin Morgan (capt), Gary Ballance, Ravi Bopara, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Michael Carberry, Steven Finn, Chris Jordan, Jamie Overton, Boyd Rankin, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Luke Wright.England squad to play Australia: Eoin Morgan (capt), Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Michael Carberry, Steven Finn, Chris Jordan, Jamie Overton, Kevin Pietersen, Boyd Rankin, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Luke Wright.

Matt Lineker hit his second century in six days as Unicorns ended their Yorkshire Bank 40 season on a high with a 42-run victory against Leicestershire at Grace Road

18-Aug-2013
ScorecardJosh Cobb hit a half-century, but after that Leicestershire fell away•Getty ImagesMatt Lineker hit his second century in six days as Unicorns ended their Yorkshire Bank 40 season on a high with a 42-run victory against Leicestershire at Grace Road.The 28-year-old former Derbyshire batsman scored 132 off 106 balls to steer Unicorns to 259 for 5 after they had been put into bat. It followed the 107 he made against Yorkshire last Tuesday.And then a feeble batting performance by the Foxes saw them bowled out for 217 in 39 overs, with seamer Garry Park claiming career best one-day figures of 4 for 39, giving Unicorns the only win of the campaign in their final game. The shock defeat ended Leicestershire’s slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals.It was a lacklustre effort from the home side with both bat and ball, and some loose bowling allowed Lineker and Tom Lancefield to post an opening partnership of 114 in 23 overs. Lineker dominated the stand with some bold attacking shots, reaching 50 off 44 balls with six fours plus a massive six off Michael Thornely. The century partnership was brought up with a cheeky reverse sweep by Lancefield.But having contributed 38 to the stand Lancefield was bowled by a quicker ball from Josh Cobb. Lineker however, continued to punish Leicestershire’s wayward attack and Park also chipped in with a six off Alex Wyatt. Another boundary by Lineker – his 14th – took him to his century off 86 balls.Park, who shared a stand of 81 in 10 overs with Lineker was bowled by Anthony Ireland for 31 and Bharat Tripathi was then beaten by a yorker from Shiv Thakor for 10. When Lineker finally holed out to long leg off Thornely he had hit 17 fours and two sixes. Unicorns scored 91 off the last 10 overs helped by 39 runs coming off two oves from Ireland and Thakor.Leicestershire made a good start to the chase with Cobb hitting a run-a-ball half century in an opening stand of 89 with Niall O’Brien. But when the two of them were out in the space of five overs the innings disintegrated.Only Ned Eckersley and Tom Wells offered any resistance, with Park picking up the wickets of Eckersley, Matt Boyce, Ireland and James Sykes to complete a memorable victory for Unicorns.

India opener Shikhar Dhawan has been named as the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming Champions League Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2013India opener Shikhar Dhawan has been named captain of the IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.In the IPL this season, Sunrisers were initially led by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara but he was later replaced by Australia’s Cameron White. While Sangakkara has chosen to play for Sri Lankan outfit Kandurata Maroons in the Champions League, White remains in the Sunrisers squad for the tournament.Dhawan, who has captained Delhi in the past, was eager to get cracking in the new role. “I have captained the Delhi team for a while now but this is a new challenge. It’s an honour to lead a team like the Sunrisers because it has some big players, and I am really looking forward to it.”Tom Moody, the head coach of Sunrisers, believes Dhawan was the right appointment. “Having excelled in the Indian team over the recent past, Shikhar has dominated as a batsman and has been more than consistent,” Moody said. “He is a complete package as a player and is considered a real team man. That’s why we have decided to elevate him and make him our new captain.”Dhawan heads into the three-week long tournament on the back of a series of consistent performances including a Man-of-the-Series display in the Champions Trophy where he scored a tournament-leading 363 runs, and a record-breaking 248 for the A team against South Africa A in Pretoria.”Shikhar is ready to take on this honour and has shown great leadership qualities in the past,” Moody said. “His recent experiences on the international stage and now the captaincy role will only enhance his reputation as a top-grade cricketer.”Sunrisers will begin their CLT20 campaign with their first qualifying match on Tuesday, incidentally against Kandurata.

Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore said that adequate preparations and some key selection changes were the chief reasons for his side’s win in the first Test against South Africa.

Firdose Moonda in Dubai20-Oct-2013Dav Whatmore has first-hand experience of how South Africa deal with losing. Thirteen years ago, they were cleaned up by an innings and 15 runs in Galle, thanks to a 13-wicket Muttiah Muralitharan special, and responded with a seven-run win in Kandy to square the series. Jacques Kallis is the only survivor from that tour but Whatmore believes South Africa still retain that attitude.”They are very hard, very resilient,” the Pakistan coach said. “You write them off at your peril because they come back hard.” With that in mind, Pakistan know what to expect as they aim to account for another No.1 side and Whatmore believes they’ve had enough time to ready themselves for that.He attributed Pakistan’s success in the first Test to three key things, chief among them being sufficient practice. “We’re better prepared against this opposition than we were the last time we played them in South Africa,” he said. When Pakistan were white-washed 3-0 earlier in March this year, they had not played a Test for seven months but this time they had matches in Zimbabwe and practice games at home before the series.With game time under the belts and changes to the squad, Pakistan were better equipped to exploit the ‘home’ advantage. “Conditions are different and we’ve had a slight change of personnel. It was a good, competitive effort over the four days.”Mohammad Hafeez’s axing is thought to have sparked the change as Pakistan experimented with new openers and enjoyed success. Whatmore praised the selectors but stopped short of using one game to forecast long-term plans.”Some credit should be given to the selectors, in terms of the ability to see Shan Masood. He is a good batsman, technically, and has a bright future,” he said. “That’s the thing with bold decisions, sometimes they come off, sometimes not.”With Khurram, he played a lot of first-class cricket in Pakistan and you need that. Players have to go through a hard grind. He has the benefit of doing that. He came in with a bank of runs behind him and there was every chance he would do well. Now, he has to be consistent. This next match is a test for him but he certainly has the ability.”For Whatmore, Pakistan’s win was a demonstration of their potential as a unit, something he knew all along. “I wasn’t surprised we did well. Leading up to this series, people in Pakistan were alluding to the loss in Zimbabwe and were saying we didn’t have a chance. In my mind that was never the case. I knew we could be competitive. We’re better prepared. Conditions are different. We have other players. These things do matter.”And they will matter again when Pakistan take the field on Wednesday hoping to pull off another coup and prompt the decline of another No.1. South Africa’s lead at the top of the Test rankings will be cut by 10 points if they lose two-nil (it currently sits at 19), which may be one reason Misbah said he would ask for a “result pitch” in Dubai.Whatmore, however, said he had given the groundsman “no instructions” on what to do and that he has “prepared the pitch as he always does.” Since Pakistan have been forced to make the UAE their home, Dubai has hosted four Tests with only one, against South Africa in 2010, a draw.In that game, Pakistan had fought back after conceding a first-innings deficit. Misbah had said it felt like a win and Whatmore indicated he wouldn’t be unhappy if the same thing happens again.”I want to win the series. One-nil is just as good as two-nil,” Whatmore said. “A hard-fought draw is very important for every team. I won’t be upset if we don’t win as long as we finish the game well.” And that will mean not finishing it the way Sri Lanka did in Kandy.

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2013