Kane Williamson was named New Zealand’s Player of the year and was awarded the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for a second successive year

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2017Kane Williamson was named New Zealand’s Player of the year and was awarded the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for a second successive year, just three days after he had become the fastest New Zealander to 5000 Test runs and their joint-highest century-maker.Williamson, who racked up 1079 Test runs at 59.94, including four hundreds, during the judging period, secured the Redpath Cup for first-class batting for a second successive year. He was also named T20 international player of the year.Currently ranked second in the ICC Test rankings, Williamson had become the youngest and the quickest to make a century against all nine other Test countries, in August last year. In ODIs, Williamson scored 695 runs at 40.88 while in T20Is, he hit 158 runs at 52.66.Fast bowler Neil Wagner, who played in 13 out of 14 Tests during the judging period for 56 wickets, was adjudged the Test player of the year, and also won the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling. During the home summer, Wagner became the second-fastest New Zealand bowler, after Richard Hadlee, to 100 Test wickets.Opener Martin Guptill, was named ODI player of the year for his tally of 570 runs at 47.50, including an unbeaten 180 against South Africa in Hamilton. Guptill now has three scores of 180 or more – the most by any batsman.Amy Satterthwaite, who equalled Kumar Sangakkara’s record of four consecutive ODI centuries and finished with 935 runs at 103.88, was named Women’s ODI player of the year. Her captain Suzie Bates was recognised as the Women’s T20 player of the year.The winners
Sir Richard Hadlee medal for player of the year: Kane Williamson
Test player of the year: Neil Wagner
Men’s ODI player of the year: Martin Guptill
Men’s T20I player of the year: Kane Williamson
Women’s ODI player of the year: Amy Satterthwaite
Women’s T20 player of the year: Suzie Bates
Winsor Cup (first-class bowling): Neil Wagner
Redpath Cup (first-class batting): Kane Williamson
T20 domestic player of the year: Glenn Phillips
Ruth Martin Cup (women’s domestic batting): Katey Martin
Phyl Blackler Cup (women’s domestic bowling): Leigh Kasperek
Bert Sutcliffe medal for outstanding service: Neil Sulzberger

Bangladesh begin their final preparations for the Champions Trophy by facing an Ireland side hoping to build on an improved performance in the second ODI against England

Preview by Mohammad Isam11-May-2017

Match facts

May 12, 2017
Start time 10.45am local (0945 GMT)William Porterfield will hope his team continue the improvement they showed at Lord’s•Getty Images

Big picture

The last time Bangladesh and Ireland met in an ODI, the stadium vibrated to the tune of a 25,000-plus crowd trying hard to back their faltering home team. It was during the 2011 World Cup when the Bangladesh team truly captured the emotions of 140 million people. Despite making 205 batting first, they managed to beat Ireland by 27 runs and kick-start their home World Cup campaign that was shaken by India in the first game.More than six years on, and they are two teams at very different stages of their development. Bangladesh have been No. 7 in the ICC ODI rankings since 2015, after ODI series wins over Pakistan, India and South Africa that year. They progressed further in the 2016-17 season with Test and ODI wins over England and Sri Lanka.Bangladesh are now breathing down Sri Lanka’s neck in the ranking table and if they can beat Ireland twice and New Zealand at least once during this tri-series, they will enter this year’s Champions Trophy as the No. 6 team in the table. Even three years ago, such a stature was a pipedream.Under Mashrafe Mortaza – who will miss the opening match due to an over-rate suspension – Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and coach Chandika Hathurusingha, Bangladesh have put together a really strong line-up that is a blend of experience and skilful youth. The likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Mehedi Hasan and Mosaddek Hossain are tipped as the leaders of Bangladesh’s future.During the same period Ireland won 23 out of 60 ODIs, once each against England and West Indies. They have lost their standing as the leading Associate nation to Afghanistan in recent times, but are in line to gain Test status in June.Similar to Bangladesh, Ireland have a core group of players who have now topped 50 ODIs. Ed Joyce, William Porterfield, Paul Stirling and Kevin and Niall O’Brien have the experience required to help nurture a team through a rebuilding phase. The addition of Tim Murtagh has been helpful while the left-arm spinner George Dockrell remains an important cog in their wheel although question marks remain over the new talent coming through.Bangladesh will be under pressure to beat a lower-ranked side while Ireland will hope that home conditions give them a chance to build some confidence.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)Ireland LLLWW
Bangladesh LWLLL

In the spotlight

Ed Joyce hasn’t hit a 50 in his last five ODI innings, but Ireland will keep relying on the experienced top-order batsman, particularly against a tricky bowling line-up. He also would like to improve on his sub-par performance in ODIs in Malahide.Sabbir Rahman warmed up well against Ireland A, hitting an 86-ball 100. He is steadily establishing himself at No. 3 in Bangladesh’s ODI batting line-up, with stiff competition always around the corner. Sabbir will want to start off well against Ireland, to cement himself in the top-order.

Team news

Using more pace bowlers is usually what home teams do against Bangladesh, and Ireland should try a similar plan. As a result, the likes of Stuart Thompson and Craig Young could be considered alongside Tim Murtagh, Barry McCarthy and Peter Chase – the latter two having impressed in the recent ODIs against England. Newcomer Simi Singh may have to wait for his chance for an ODI debut.Ireland (probable) 1 Ed Joyce, 2 Paul Stirling, 3 William Porterfield (capt) 4 Andy Balbirnie, 5 Niall O’Brien (wk), 6 Gary Wilson, 7 Kevin O’Brien, 8 George Dockrell, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Tim Murtagh, 11 Peter ChaseBangladesh are likely to pick their successful batting line-up that has Mahmudullah at No. 7 with Mosaddek Hossain earning a promotion into the top five. Mashrafe Mortaza is suspended for the match due to an over-rate penalty. Shakib Al Hasan will captain.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Mosaddek Hossain, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Shafiul Islam, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

Teams batting first in the last three ODIs at the Malahide ground made in excess of 300 runs, with Pakistan and Sri Lanka piling up 337 and 377 in the last two games. Runs may not be quite as easy to come by in relatively early-season conditions. There’s some chance of rain in the Malahide area which may influence the side winning the toss.

Stats and trivia

• Tamim Iqbal is Bangladesh’s highest run-getter against Associate nations, having made 737 runs in 18 ODIs. Mashrafe Mortaza is the highest wicket-taker against these opponents, with 43 wickets from 25 games.
• Six members each from the Bangladesh and Ireland squad played in the two teams’ last encounter in 2011.
• Kevin O’Brien needs three wickets to become the first Ireland bowler to claim 100 in ODIs.

Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten half-century made it Worcestershire’s opening day at a sunny Wantage Road

ECB Reporters Network26-May-2017
ScorecardEd Barnard helped Worcestershire chip away at Northamptonshire•Getty Images

Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten half-century made it Worcestershire’s opening day at a sunny Wantage Road. Having bowled Northamptonshire out for 238, Mitchell’s 52 not out steered the visitors to 108 for 2 by the close, trailing by 130.Having gone past 10,000 first-class runs for Worcestershire in making 120 at Derby last week, Mitchell helped Worcestershire back up their bowlers’ earlier work with a typically composed knock. He struck five boundaries in going past fifty in 78 balls.Mitchell shared an opening stand of 77 in 14.5 overs with Brett D’Oliveria as Worcestershire made bright progress after tea. But Northants responded through Nathan Buck, who took out D’Oliveria’s middle stump for 35, and Rory Kleinveldt, who pinned Tom Fell lbw for a six-ball duck.Had Richard Levi held a diving chance when Tom Clarke had 7 six overs from the close, the day would have taken a more even feel but just two down Worcestershire held the balance of the game.The visitors did not contest the toss on a cloudless day and after a benign first hour, seemed justified in the decision with the wicket offering some assistance for the seamers.The nastiest delivery was sent down by Jack Shantry, one that leapt off a length to take the shoulder of Richard Levi’s bat. The chance was spilled by Mitchell at second slip but Tom Kholer-Cadmore had time to turn around and complete the catch.Rob Keogh, on his return from a finger injury, also received a decent ball. Ed Barnard got one to hold its line from a full length and Keogh edged to Mitchell.But the other two dismissals before lunch were entirely batsman error. Max Holden, opening the batting in place of the injured Rob Newton, drove Joe Leach lazily to point for an 11-ball duck and Ben Duckett’s poor start to the season continued with a mistimed pull that brought a top-edge taken by wicketkeeper Ben Cox running back.Alex Wakely survived a sharp chance to gully on 27 to reach 49 not out by the interval but he fell four balls into the afternoon as Northants slumped to 161 for 8 among a combination of poor strokes and skilful bowling.Steven Crook and Adam Rossington shared 48 for the sixth wicket. But Crook was lbw for 19, Rossington tamely chipped Shantry to midwicket for 36 and Kleinveldt smashed the same bowler to extra-cover.Northants were begging for a partnership and found one through Graeme White and Nathan Buck, who shared 69 for the ninth wicket. White was the senior partner, cutting Barnard for four and driving Shantry over extra cover for six. He pulled Josh Tongue through mid-on to bring up the half-century stand – the first of the innings. He was last man out for 47 pulling Tongue to long-leg.Buck played his part in the alliance and slog-swept Nathan Lyon for six over long-on and made 29 before edging Joe Leach to first slip.

England continued to make confident strides after their defeat in the opening match of the tournament, as classy half-centuries from Heather Knight and Sarah Taylor saw them to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLaura Marsh claimed a four-wicket haul•Getty Images

England continued to make confident strides after their defeat in the opening match of the tournament, as classy half-centuries from Heather Knight and Sarah Taylor saw them to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Taunton. Laura Marsh claimed a four-wicket haul as Sri Lanka were limited to 204 for 8, before England cruised to their target with almost 20 overs to spare.With Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Winfield reunited at the top of the order, after the latter’s wrist injury, England got off to a quick start. Winfield looked in particularly good touch, striking five boundaries, but Ama Kanchana dismissed both to leave England 50 for 2 in the eighth over.That brought Knight in to join Taylor, batting at her favoured No. 3 berth after deputising as opener in Winfield’s absence. Both picked up boundaries early on before settling down to tick over in singles and twos on their way to bringing up the century stand. The floodgates then opened, Knight hitting the only six of the day as a flurry of boundaries carried England to victory. Knight was caught at midwicket off Chamari Atapattu’s offspin for 82 off 76 but Taylor was there to hit the winning runs, finishing on 74 off 67 in her most impressive and significant innings since returning to the side.After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Sri Lanka were forced to toil from their runs from the outset, with England’s senior seamers, Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, serving up three maidens in a row. Hasini Perera eventually broke the stranglehold with a brace of chancy boundaries off Shrubsole to open their team’s account after 21 consecutive dot-balls.Though neither of Sri Lanka’s openers ever threatened to cut loose in an opening stand of 44, England’s catching was less than stellar with Perera surviving a regulation chance at mid-off on 10 as Danielle Hazell misjudged a chipped drive. Nipuni Hansika got off the mark in the seventh over with a rasping through midwicket off Brunt, but she soon became the first wicket to fall, caught off a leading edge at point at point as she attempted to waft Nat Sciver over the leg side.That brought Atapattu to the crease, fresh from her astonishing unbeaten 178 against Australia in the opening match. Anticipation was high as she took guard, but this time she lasted just three balls before Sciver doubled her tally thanks to an excellent instinctive take from Taylor behind the stumps, who snaffled a big deflection as Atapattu swished with flat feet through the off side.Perera continued to guide Sri Lanka’s fortunes as England took the pace off the ball with the introduction of Hazell’s offspin, but it was her fellow offie, Marsh, who made the big inroads in the middle order. Back in the side at the expense of Alex Hartley after missing the opening two games, Marsh found some appreciable turn to have Perera caught behind for 46. She took some tap in her next two overs as Dilani Manodara and Shashikala Siriwardene counterattacked gamely, but the aggressive approach proved Siriwardene’s downfall as she missed a heave across the line to be bowled for 33.Harshitha Madavi became Marsh’s third victim – and Taylor’s too – as she was deceived both in flight and off the pitch to edge a thin nick to the keeper for 1, before Fran Wilson at point produced the moment of the innings, a stunning leap to her right at point to cling onto a full-blooded cut from Manodara off Knight, and leave Sri Lanka wobbling at 130 for 6 in the 39th over.In the end, they eked out another 74 runs with a combination of watchful defence and, in the case of Kanchana, the shot of the day, an AB-de-Villiers-esque inside-out pull for six over fine leg in Shrubsole’s final over. Kanchana had, however, already been reprieved twice in Shrubsole’s previous over, including one grievous misjudgement from Beaumont at short fine leg, who failed even to lay a hand on a top-edged slog.

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s (TNCA) executive committee has nominated N Srinivasan to be the state association’s representative at the BCCI’s special general meeting on Monday (June 26) in Mumbai

Arun Venugopal23-Jun-2017The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s (TNCA) executive committee has nominated N Srinivasan to be the state association’s representative at the BCCI’s special general meeting on Monday (June 26) in Mumbai. According to a TNCA official, he is also slated to attend the state associations’ meetings with the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Sunday.Srinivasan, the former BCCI and ICC chief, currently stands disqualified from the role of TNCA president, but is a member of the association’s executive committee.It is unclear if Srinivasan is eligible to attend the meetings given the precedent established in April when the Supreme Court blocked his unlikely return to the boardrooms of the ICC. While the BCCI was inclined to nominate him as its representative for the ICC meetings, the CoA made it clear that any such move needed the Supreme Court’s approval.The Supreme Court subsequently halted Srinivasan’s comeback by observing that there was a “cloud” hanging over his integrity.The Supreme Court and the COA had then warned that office-bearers disqualified under the Lodha Committee recommendations could not attend BCCI meetings. Srinivasan was disqualified after being found ineligible on two counts: he was over 70 years of age and had completed nine years as an office-bearer at both the TNCA and the BCCI, thereby violating the judgment of July 2016, which had approved the recommendations of the Lodha Committee.The CoA is yet to respond to ESPNcricinfo’s queries regarding Srinivasan’s eligibility to attend Monday’s SGM.Srinivasan’s most recent public appearance came on June 19, when he felicitated the Tamil Nadu team that had won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Deodhar Trophy in the 2016-17 domestic season.

South Africa battled back valiantly on an increasingly capricious pitch to give themselves a fleeting chance of chasing a sub-300-run target, only for Moeen Ali to put the destiny of the series beyond any reasonable doubt

The Report by Andrew Miller06-Aug-20174:02

#PoliteEnquiries: Is Moeen the greatest?

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball commentarySouth Africa battled back valiantly on an increasingly capricious pitch to give themselves a fleeting chance of chasing a sub-300-run target, only for Moeen Ali to throw caution to the wind, and sixes into the stands, in a blistering counterattack that has surely put the destiny of the series beyond any reasonable doubt.By the time a long-threatened rain shower forced an early close, Moeen had overcome a circumspect beginning to clobber his way to 67 not out from 59 balls. It was a remarkable knock in an innings where only Joe Root, with 49, had looked anything approaching fluent, and it had taken England’s overall lead to 360 runs – far beyond anything ever chased on this ground before – with two wickets still standing.However, the early stages of Moeen’s innings had not been entirely promising, in keeping with England’s overall performance in their second innings, which – Root’s effort aside – had showcased all too many of the weaknesses that have prevented them from attaining any real consistency in their Test cricket over the past 18 months. Much of the debate centred around the continued shortcomings of Dawid Malan and, especially, Keaton Jennings, whose latest failure has left his place in the side all but untenable.With 110 runs in his first seven innings of the series, including a highest score of 48, Jennings knew he needed to make an impression to prevent the chorus of doubters from becoming deafening. And hard though he battled in England’s second innings – even with the cushion of a 136-run lead to assuage the pressure a touch – he rarely looked settled at any stage of his 63-ball stay. He was dropped on 0 before he had scored, Dean Elgar leaping to his left at third slip but failing to cling on, and though he found a degree of fluency in reaching 17 not out at lunch, the manner of his dismissal was limp in the extreme.Facing up to the energetic Kagiso Rabada, Jennings lined up the cut as the bowler dropped short, but misjudged the line to catastrophic effect. Hashim Amla accepted a simple looping edge at first slip as if standing in the outfield for catching practice, and Jennings departed with the look of a man who knew that the bailiffs were circling to call in his borrowed time.Moeen Ali struck three sixes as he reached 67 not out before the rain arrived•Getty Images

Malan scarcely made much more of a telling impression. As the newer selection, he may yet have more time on his side, but his tally after four Test innings stands at a ropey 35 runs, and today’s innings of 6 from 15 balls never convinced. Half of those runs came from a horribly miscued pull against Rabada that could have been caught by a diving Temba Bavuma at backward point, and two balls later, he fell victim to an impressive spell from the left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj, who found some sharp turn out of the rough to take the glove, onto the knee-roll and into the hands of short leg.England, by that stage, were 72 for 4, having lost the Essex pairing of Alastair Cook and Tom Westley before lunch, both of them caught in the gully as they aimed loose drives at the hostile Morne Morkel, who finally earned his just desserts after a luckless spell in the first innings.Root, inevitably, made the going look simpler than most, as he chivvied the singles and negated the threat of Maharaj in particular, who found less purchase off the pitch when bowling the straighter line to the right-hander, and was comfortably thwarted by some judicious slog-sweeps when he opted to go round the wicket later in his spell. But, having marched to the brink of his second fifty of the match, Root pushed loosely at Duanne Olivier, and was bowled for 49 via an inside edge.Ben Stokes battled valiantly, channelling his success on the subcontinent to ride out the threat that Maharaj in particular was posing on a pitch with variable bounce. But he led a charmed life in his 23, including a stinging drop from a diving Heino Kuhn at short midwicket and a curious non-appeal from Morkel when he appeared to feather an edge to the keeper on 5. However, with tea approaching, Olivier was rewarded with a second scalp, as Stokes pushed too hard outside off, and was well snaffled by du Plessis at third slip.Enter Moeen, though not the Turbo-charged version of the final hour. He all but chopped onto his stumps first ball, and after tea, England scarcely looked like changing the pattern of their innings. Jonny Bairstow lacked the fluency of his first-innings masterclass, taking 25 balls to get off the mark before holing out to his 30th, well caught at fine leg by Rabada to give Olivier his third wicket of a fine and aggressive spell, and before the new batsman, Toby Roland-Jones had faced a ball, Moeen had survived another near-miss – dropped at slip by Elgar, whose elbows jolted the ball out of his grasp as he dived to his left off Maharaj.But that reprieve appeared to flick a switch in Moeen’s mindset, and his attitude to Maharaj thereafter was one of selective disdain. While mindful of the threat he still posed out of the rough, Moeen trusted his eye and his long levers, sweeping with intent – conventional and reverse – and drilling high and hard with the spin for three vast sixes, the second of which was caught on the player’s balcony by a gleeful Bairstow as he brought up his fifty from 49 balls.Roland-Jones, who has showcased a keen eye in his brief career to date, kept him company in a 58-run stand for the eighth wicket before Rabada induced a top-edged pull to a diving Maharaj at deep midwicket. But Moeen was by now motoring, bashing Rabada back over his head for four off what would prove to be the day’s penultimate delivery. He would have backed himself to keep cracking on, much as he had done in similar circumstances in the first Test at Lord’s, but – with two days to come and South Africa’s heads beginning to droop – his intercession has surely been decisive.

The board is attempting to schedule three T20I matches for the women’s team to coincide with the men’s T20I matches when India tour South Africa early next year

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2017The BCCI is probing the possibility of playing the three-match T20I series between India and South Africa as double-headers featuring both the men’s and women’s teams early next year. The India men’s team is set to tour South Africa in January-February next year for four Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is.While it isn’t clear if the BCCI or Cricket South Africa came up with the proposal, a BCCI official confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that such a series was “possible.” He felt that it would be “good to promote” [women’s cricket]. The series is expected to be played on the lines of the three-match T20I series in Australia last year when the women’s and men’s matches were played one after the other at the same venue. Both India teams won their respective series.The BCCI is also looking to create an India A women’s team and schedule matches for them. However, there is no clarity yet on prospective opponents or a tentative window during which such games will be played. The BCCI’s recent push towards improving women’s cricket comes in the wake of a special committee being set up for the cause. Last week, the committee, which includes captain Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, met in Mumbai and is learnt to have mooted the need for more international fixtures for women’s cricketers as also A tours. It is unclear, though. if a women’s IPL will see the light of the day anytime soon.India’s women cricketers have in the past embraced the concept of double-headers with excitement. In Australia last year, many players are known to have been delighted by the television coverage that their matches received. Most women players had also interacted with players and the support staff of the men’s team.

The latest news and updates from the Ranji Trophy season

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2017Karun Nair and KL Rahul put on 239 runs for the sixth wicket•PTI

Rahul, Nair added to Karnataka squad: KL Rahul and Karun Nair have been named in Karnataka’s squad for the third round of Ranji Trophy matches beginning October 24, against Hyderabad in Shimoga. Both of them are currently part of the Board President’s XI squad chosen to play the two warm-up fixtures against New Zealand ahead of the limited-overs series starting October 22.Rahul, who has been left out of the New Zealand ODIs, struck a 68 in the first warm-up game in Mumbai on Tuesday. Nair, who led India A in the two unofficial Tests against New Zealand A, top scored with a 64-ball 78, in the side’s 30-run victory.
“Having Rahul and Karun is a big boost for Karnataka,” R Vinay Kumar, the Karnataka captain, said. “Rahul has cemented his place in the Indian team while Karun is also doing well. The sight of their names on the team sheet will put opponents under pressure.”

West Indies have not won in New Zealand in 22 years, but their captain is hopeful his young team, which is on a recent upswing, can help change that

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2017West Indies’ struggle with long-term consistency may be an impediment to their pursuit of a first series victory on New Zealand soil in 22 years, but captain Jason Holder is optimistic their recent more results – a series win against Zimbabwe and a successful chase of 322 against England – will stand his team in good stead.”I think we’re in a pretty good place, this present team,” Holder said ahead of the first Test in Wellington on Friday. “I think we built up quite nicely this past year. We’re still not a finished product. There’s a lot more improvement to be made. But I think we’re headed in the right direction. I think it would be a very good series, especially coming off a win in Zimbabwe. I’m really pleased with the progression of this side. And we’ve obviously played some decent cricket in England prior to that. So yeah, I’m feeling really good about this series.”According the Holder, the presence of a quality attack, backed up by experienced reserve players, will be key to West Indies’ performance on tour. Given New Zealand lost eight wickets to the left-arm spin of South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj in their previous fixture at Basin Reserve in March, the efficacy of Devendra Bishoo cannot be discounted.”We’ve got a pretty balanced attack. Our seamers have done well for us in the past, led by Shannon [Gabriel] and Kemar [Roach] – we’ve got some decent replacements on the bench as well, who haven’t probably played in the last few months like Miguel Cummins and Alzarri Joseph. I think our seam bowling department is covered.”We obviously have our main spinner in Devendra Bishoo – he’s our only frontline spinner on this tour and other guys like Roston Chase and Kraigg Brathwaite can probably help also. Roston and Kraigg are top-order batters as well, who can bowl quite a few overs in a game and pretty much hold up an end and in doing so help us rotate the seamers. So, I think it brings a lot of depth to our side.”Early sightings of the pitch showed grass cover almost indistinguishable from the outfield but Holder did his best not to read too much into it until the first ball is bowled.”I don’t think many batsmen in world cricket have grown up to see so much grass on a pitch and really be willing to have a go at it. Having said that, it’s international sport and we can be asked to bat tomorrow, we’d be happy to lose the toss or whatever the case maybe, so we’ve got to have an open mind towards it and whatever happens we’ve got to be professional towards it and just assess the conditions as we see it and not predetermine what’s going to happen with the surface. As a group we want to analyse it only when the cricket actually starts.”West Indies were also banking on the fact that they have played three more Tests than New Zealand’s five this year. “We’ve been on the road for a while,” Holder said. “We had the series in England and had a short break at home and a quick turnaround in Zimbabwe. After Zimbabwe we didn’t go home, we spend a few weeks in Australia, a bit of downtime there, relaxation. But we still had quite a bit of cricket as well. The thing is we’re coming off on a lot of cricket, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”I know New Zealand’s season has just begun, but they’ve got some quality players and obviously they’re going to be playing on home soil. So we’re still expecting a good contest from them and a really good push. So I wouldn’t sit here and say we’re in a much better position than New Zealand.”

Ricky Ponting believes the Steven Smith can reach record peaks in his career but did caution that things could get tougher for the Australia captain

Brydon Coverdale26-Nov-20171:27

Smith explains emotional century celebration

Ricky Ponting believes Australia’s captain Steven Smith has the potential to finish his career as the greatest batsman of the modern era. Smith’s century on the third day at the Gabba was the 21st of his Test career, in his 57th Test, and left him with a career batting average of 61.23.Smith began as a legspinning allrounder but notably made a significant change to his game while batting in Perth during the 2013-14 Ashes, when he spontaneously added a preliminary movement to his technique. Since then, he has averaged 72.09 and scored 20 centuries. Ponting said his record put him on track to become the best batsman of the modern era.”Twenty-one hundreds in 57 games, he’s well and truly on track to do that,” Ponting said on ABC radio on the fourth morning in Brisbane. “When you look at the way he went about it yesterday, he was just completely unflappable. He didn’t get out of his bubble at all, through the course of that innings, which says a lot about him.”I’ve watched him pretty closely, you can just tell he’s hungry to lead his team well and he wants to be the best player that there has ever been. He’s got a game now that is standing up to the best attacks in all conditions, all around the world. If he keeps trending the way he is, then absolutely.””Think about the greats – the Tendulkars and the Kallises and these guys that have scored 15,000 and 13,000 runs, but they played in 150-plus Tests, Tendulkar 200 Tests, to achieve what they achieved. He’s nearly halfway there in just over 50 Test matches.”Ponting added the caveat that things would not necessarily get any easier for Smith, noting that once a player gets near the 100-Test mark, it is difficult to keeping improving. Ponting was Australia’s captain when Smith made his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010, and he said that while nobody had expected him to become such a great batsman, it was always obvious that he had talent.”I don’t think any of us did, really,” Ponting said. “He’s clearly the number one ranked batsman in the world right now. We all knew he had talent, because he used to do things a bit differently. He would go to the nets and [you] throw him a pull shot, and he’d hit it straight back at you almost like a tennis shot. It’s all different and unorthodox, but there’s a certain amount of talent that goes with that.”Coming in the first Test of a home Ashes, Smith’s Gabba century was not unlike Ponting’s own Brisbane hundred in 2006-07, an innings that set the tone for Australia’s whitewash of England. Ponting said Smith’s effort this time around would have had a significant effect on some of the younger or recalled members of Australia’s side.”We saw the emotion that came out of him afterwards, banging his chest and his heart and his crest,” he said. “But if I was sitting in that dressing room as a young bloke — as a Bancroft or a Shaun Marsh coming back in, or Tim Paine — I wouldn’t have needed to see that at all.”I would have been inspired by what I had seen in 520 minutes at the crease, and going up and down through the gears, and playing a role that was so specific to what the game needed. It was a leader’s innings, and he’s put his mark down on the series at the first possible opportunity.”However, Ponting said there was one thing about Smith’s approach that he would like to see change.”I still wish he’d bowl a few more leggies every now and then as well,” Ponting said, “because he can bowl those and bowl those well.”