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Steven Finn knows he faces a tough fight to regain his Test spot after losing his place during the Ashes and watching a host of quick bowlers stake a claim for selection as England’s pace stocks swelled. Finn began the series against Australia as a first-choice option in the four-man attack alongside James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann but was dropped after the third Test in Perth.Despite taking 14 wickets, including a career-best 6 for 125 at the Gabba, Finn conceded 4.30 runs an over which left Andrew Strauss short of control. Tim Bresnan was recalled for the Melbourne Test and played a key role there and in Sydney as England took the series 3-1.With Chris Tremlett having also returned to the Test team with impressive results, Broad to slot back in after injury ended his Ashes after two matches, Ajmal Shahzad also pushing for a spot and a clutch of young quicks in the wings, Finn realises he’ll have to work hard for a recall.”I don’t think anyone has ever gone through international cricket without being dropped or left out of a team so hopefully it’s something that will benefit me in the long run,” Finn told ESPNcricinfo. “If it takes me a year or two to get back into the international team then so be it, but I’d back myself to be a better bowler when I get into the team.”I’m not looking too far ahead, I’m just trying to be a key player for Middlesex and then see where that gets me,” he said. “I’m not going to say I want to take millions of wickets early season and get picked in the Test squad, I just want to perform consistently and put my name into the hat.”However, although Finn didn’t complete the Ashes series, he still played a key part during the early battles especially in Brisbane and Adelaide. By bursting through Australia’s lower order at the Gabba he gave England a timely boost, having watched Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin add 307, and from there the visitors began the fightback which saw them reach a record-breaking 517 for 1 to save the Test.Then, in Adelaide, with Broad unable to bowl on the final day due to the abdominal injury that ended his series, Finn extracted some extra bounce from a flat surface which resulted in Hussey splicing a pull to midwicket to ensure England would have time to beat the weather and take a 1-0 series lead.”To take 14 Ashes wickets in three Tests was a great feeling but I’m well aware that I went for too many runs and it’s the reason I got left out of the team,” Finn said in an honest assessment. “It’s important that I learn from what I did wrong in the Ashes series and make myself a better player.”They were an amazing five or six weeks, having never seen an England team win in Australia and hear about how much of a formidable place it is, to win was amazing but that’s been and gone now. It’s important we don’t look back in the past. Yes, we won the Ashes this winter and it was amazing, but there’s going to be a lot hard work now that will make me a better cricketer.”Finn, though, has time on his side. It’s his 22nd birthday on Monday and he has already shown potential to be a fine Test bowler with a long career ahead of him despite the disappointment of losing his spot during the winter. Having been a surprise selection in Bangladesh last winter, he went onto play his 11 Tests consecutively and a strong start in the County Championship will keep the selectors interested.”I’ve benefited from spending time around the international set up, and to have played 11 Tests before my 22nd birthday, I feel very privileged to have done that,” he said. “Only time will tell if I’ve learnt from my mistakes on the pitch, but mentally I’ve learnt from them and hopefully I can become a better player for it.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
The year 2014 has just become a whole lot nicer for Bangladesh. After 10 months of losses, failures, suspensions, resignations and sackings, they have completed a 3-0 Test series win over Zimbabwe with a 186-run margin in Chittagong.The final wicket fell in the 85th over when Natsai M’shangwe was trapped lbw by Shafiul Islam. Craig Ervine, Richmond Mutumbami and Tinashe Panyangara also fell the same way while Shingi Masakadza had his off stump pegged back.File photo: Shuvagata Hom removed the two overnight batsmen before lunch•WICB Media

Regis Chakabva was the sole source of resistance, making 89 off 181 balls with seven fours and a six. He hardly played a false shot despite several leg-before appeals, surviving through two reviews, and a chance on 21 when Mushfiqur Rahim dropped a sharp chance.For Bangladesh, there were two wickets each for Shafiul, Rubel Hossain, Jubair Hossain and Shuvagata Hom.Zimbabwe’s eccentric start to the day gave Bangladesh early inroads. Through loud appeals and inside edges, Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza, having added 67 last evening, looked to play all sorts of shots against spin from both ends. In the fourth over, Raza completed his second fifty of the match with a four that he could easily have dragged on to his stumps. In the next over, Taijul Islam had a review denied after replays showed the ball was hitting him outside off stump. It was the ninth time in the series that Bangladesh had their review denied.Masakadza, having added just 12 runs in the morning and constricted with his drives, played a reverse sweep which was neither attempted nor executed correctly. He did not go down on his knees enough to lay into the shot as the delivery from Shuvagata took his glove and popped up for Mushfiqur Rahim. Soon after the 93-run second-wicket stand ended, Shuvagata got his second wicket. This time Raza hammered a full toss down Taijul’s throat at deep midwicket, ending his innings on 65 off 75 balls with nine fours and two sixes.Brendan Taylor also gave away his wicket, playing a loose drive to Jubair, getting out to him for the third time in the series, all to drives. This time he was caught at point for 24, ending a mediocre series for himself. Seven minutes before lunch, Jubair took his second wicket when Elton Chigumbura, who had top-scored with 88 in the first innings, cut a ball low to slip where Imrul Kayes took a sharp catch to his right.Almost everything went to plan for Bangladesh. Mushfiqur has had very little to worry about with Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal doing well and the bowling attack able to pick up 20 wickets in each of the three Tests. Zimbabwe’s lack of form also played into their hands, but ultimately the win will count. And for Bangladesh, it would count with much effect.

Eoin Morgan defended Ian Bell’s understated role as he shared a record-breaking opening stand for England in World Cups, describing his stand of 172 in 30.1 overs with Moeen Ali as “a perfect platform”. As Moeen played freely for a second ODI hundred, Bell was more circumspect, needing 85 balls for his 54, but nevertheless England were able to point at a decisive victory as they saw off Scotland by 119 runs in Christchurch.”There were a lot of positives to take from today: Ian’s innings is one of them,” Morgan said. “I thought he and Moeen faced reasonably tough circumstances. The ball held up a bit and nipped around early, and I thought they held their composure really well.”It was Moeen, nevertheless, who introduced the first signs of optimism to England’s World Cup campaign with a second ODI century to follow the one he made in Sri Lanka before Christmas. His hundred came only four balls after Bell had reached 50.”Moeen struck the ball really well, as he has been, and for him to set a platform like that was absolutely ideal,” Morgan said. “I rate him really highly. He’s an allrounder which we haven’t had for a very long time, somebody who opens the batting and plays in the fashion that he does, and the purchase he gets on the ball. I think we’re very privileged to have him.”England had designs on a total approaching 350 when Bell was the first batsman to fall, but they were encouraged into a more restrained approach as wickets tumbled. Morgan put that down to a surface, also used during West Indies’ defeat of Pakistan, lacking in pace.

Moeen seeks to banish ‘negativity’

Moeen Ali hoped that his matchwinning hundred against Scotland would help England banish the negativity that he feels is surrounding their World Cup challenge.
@It feels like everybody is against us and everything is negative,” he said. “It’s very important we take all of that away. Teams do lose but we have to stay together.”

“You always think you should get more than you should, but having been there for the last five overs, the wicket slowed up the older the ball got, and with the wind as well, it made it difficult to find the boundary,” Morgan said. “That gave me more confidence that 300 was an above par score.”England’s World Cup challenge has been rubbished after heavy defeats against Australia and New Zealand – the two toughest sides in the group, but Morgan claimed that pessimism had not taken hold in the dressing room.”I don’t think there’s ever a state of panic. Obviously we had two hard games, and the fact we didn’t perform was the most disappointing, but a win just puts things a little more at ease, and it gives guys a little bit of confidence. Even the guys who didn’t perform today, talking to other guys who have had a little bit of success today will be good for them.”Morgan justified England’s decision to retain an unchanged side against Scotland, in defiance of two thumping defeats, on the grounds that they had played too poorly to enable any conclusions about the make-up of the side.”We came to the conclusion that we haven’t performed in the first two games, so you couldn’t really argue the balance of the side was wrong because we hadn’t seen guys perform. I was very confident going into the first two games that we had the strongest side to win those games, so reinforcing our confidence going with the same team today was very important.”In your head, I think you can be guilty of building up a tournament, of having to play your best throughout the tournament and hammer every side in order to win it, but the games that I’ve watched haven’t shown that at all. Strong sides have been beaten. It’s about getting points on the board; how you do it doesn’t really matter.”

Former India captain Rahul Dravid believes the lack of “big ticket players and game changers” will hamper Pakistan’s progress at the 2015 World Cup. Dravid was speaking on Contenders, ESPNcricinfo’s build-up show to the tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Dravid’s co-panelist on the show, former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, said Pakistan’s batting was “a real weakness” and the failure of their younger generation of batsmen to perform consistently has been holding the team back.”Other than [Shahid] Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq and maybe Younis Khan, I don’t think any of these players would have played ODIs in Australia,” Dravid said. “This gives me the impression that they lack experience. They have got young exciting players, and players with skill as well, but it lacks those big-ticket players or game-changers which you would associate the Pakistan teams of the past.”The loss of offspinner Saeed Ajmal, who withdrew from the tournament because his remodelled bowling action needed further work before it was re-tested, will also be a huge setback to Pakistan’s chances. Before he was banned, Ajmal was Pakistan’s go-to bowler in all formats. “Every batsman in every team is breathing a sigh of relief that Ajmal is not around anymore,” Smith said. “Believe me, I wish I could go play a Pakistan team without Ajmal in it. They have lost a bowler who bowled in pressure situations, and in games where they didn’t even deserve to win. He had that ability you know, so it’s a big loss for them and how they replace that is extremely challenging for them.”Though the odds are loaded against them after a poor year in limited-overs cricket, Pakistan will be inspired by the fact that their only World Cup win came in Australia and New Zealand in 1992 under the captaincy of Imran Khan. According to Dravid, one of Pakistan’s biggest challenges will be to find the right “balance” in the playing XI.”They don’t have that all-round player, with questions over whether Mohammed Hafeez can bowl or not. That’s a big blow for them,” Dravid said. “They’ll always have a good bowling attack, they have some exciting bowlers. Afridi has become a more dependable legspinner than a batsman. He can’t bat anywhere higher than 8. And then you’ve got a wicketkeeper, so it’s a hard one for them to mix and match. Their batting just looks really light for me at the moment.”The key for them is to try and find their best 11. When you go back to ’92, charismatic captain, who can forget Wasim Akram in the final of the tournament, and they had some x-factor,” Smith said. “That’s what they need to find now, early in the tournament find their best eleven, hopefully get some of the younger players performing well, and who knows as the tournament goes on they may grow in confidence. That’s their challenge.”

Pakistan have left out Younis Khan from a 16-man squad for the three-Test series against Australia, beginning in late December. Younis had not informed the selection committee or board of his availability for the series, having relinquished the captaincy and his place in the side after an ODI series loss to New Zealand last month.Mohammad Yousuf, captain in Younis’ place, will continue to lead the team in Australia. Yousuf’s brief captaincy experience, incidentally, includes two Tests as leader on the 2004-05 tour to Australia; Pakistan lost both Tests though they were markedly improved from the side that lost the first Test at Perth by 491 runs under Inzamam-ul-Haq. Yousuf also scored a fine hundred in the Melbourne Test as captain.”Younis wanted to rest but he didn’t play in the domestic cricket since the one-day series against New Zealand,” chief selector Iqbal Qasim told reporters. “He didn’t give his availability to us and therefore we did not select him.” Younis stepped away from the game after claiming he had “lost command” of the side, following months of strained relationships with a number of senior players.Younis was Pakistan’s leading run-getter on their last tour to Australia, the start of a period in which he established himself as one of Pakistan’s most reliable batsman at one-down. Alongside Yousuf and Inzamam, he formed a formidable middle order, but Inzamam’s retirement and Yousuf’s time away with the ICL has weakened the batting considerably; a perpetually unreliable opening pair has added to the kind of woes seen in the current series with New Zealand, where only the Akmal brothers have had any consistent success.Younis had a successful stint with South Australia last season as well and was expected to play a pivotal role with bat and his leadership if Pakistan were to harbour real hopes of winning a first Test against Australia in 14 years. Sources close to Younis insist this is not the end of his career and that he intends to make a comeback after the series but the former captain himself has said nothing so far.There are few surprises elsewhere in the squad. Sixteen of the 18 players currently taking part in a three-Test series in New Zealand will go straight to Australia after the series is over. Only allrounder Yasir Arafat and Sarfraz Ahmed, the back-up wicketkeeper, have been cut from the squad. Questions may well be asked of the decision to persist with Khurram Manzoor as opener and the retention in the middle order of Shoaib Malik, currently in the middle of a horror run that has seen him score 46 runs in four innings in New Zealand.Yousuf will also lead the ODI side in Australia, with Shahid Afridi as his deputy.Squad:
Mohammad Yousuf (capt), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Abdur Rauf, Umar Akmal.

Rahul Dravid has sustained a fractured jaw bone after being struck on the side of his face by a bouncer from Shahadat Hossain on the second day of the Dhaka Test, and is unlikely to play any further part in the match. His condition is “not serious” and there are no signs of a head injury, according to the Indian team manager Arshad Ayub.”Rahul Dravid was struck by a ball on the side of his face today,” Ayub said. “He was taken to the hospital and a fracture was detected. He is unlikely to participate for the rest of the match.”He also informed that Dravid would be kept under observation at a city hospital overnight and his release will depend on a medical assessment. “His condition is stable and he will be kept under observation.”Asked whether Dravid will return to India or stay back, Ayub said, “Nothing has been decided yet. We will take a call on that tomorrow.”Earlier, Mostafa Kamal, the BCB president, who visited the hosptial, said Dravid had sustained “light fractures”. “I just met Rahul, he is feeling fine and is having his meal,” Kamal told Cricinfo. “My doctors have told me that there are a couple of light fractures, nothing serious. He will be fine.”Kamal was quoted by Bangladesh TV channels as saying Dravid would be returning to India but he sought to clarify that statement. “I meant my doctors have told me he can go back tomorrow if he wants to. It’s a decision for Rahul and the Indian board to make. There is nothing to worry about; everything is fine. He will be discharged tomorrow.”The incident occurred in the second over with the new ball, the 82nd of the innings, and with Dravid batting on 111 when he ducked into the bouncer. The ball didn’t climb as high as he thought it would and hit his ear guard as he tried to get his head out of the way.India already have injury worries with Yuvraj Singh suffering a minor hand injury, which kept him away from batting at his normal position today. He was seen padded up when night-watchman Harbhajan Singh was batting.Ayub said Yuvraj’s wrist was “not fine” and an update was pending. “Yuvraj has a sprain in his left wrist and was taken to the hospital for further investigation. A decision on whether he will be able to bat will be taken tomorrow.”

A Quaid-e-Azam Trophy triumph and a heartening return surely merited some kind of reward for Mohammad Sami?•Getty Images

Why not Mohammad Sami?
Mohammad Sami hasn’t covered himself in any kind of glory over the length of his career and his sudden call-up to the Australia tour was as unexpected as it could’ve been unpleasant. It wasn’t, as an apparently refreshed Sami rattled Australia on the very first morning of the Sydney Test in a frighteningly quick first spell that all but fetched him a hat-trick. And it have set up a rare Test win for Pakistan.Additionally, as captain, he led Karachi to triumph in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, rattling a strong Habib Bank side in the final, just as he left for Australia. Thirty-eight wickets in the QEA are not earth-shattering, but a trophy triumph and such a heartening return surely merited some kind of reward? Not a top contract, admittedly, but to not even consider him for a stipend, especially when you consider below.Why Wahab Riaz?
The last time Wahab Riaz played for Pakistan was nearly two years ago. This season he took 14 wickets at over 40 in the QEA. He was nowhere in RBS ODI cup or the Pentangular. He took a few wickets for Pakistan A on their UAE tour in games against the England Lions.In plain words, how on earth does he qualify for a category C contract, over men such as Sami? Or how about Mohammad Irfan, the left-arm fast bowler who at near seven feet tall at least provides a different threat altogether, and was in many ways the story of this domestic season? Or even below.Why not Rao Iftikhar Anjum?Probably because you will not hear him make a noise about it, or hear him canvassing for selection, nobody will be much fussed about the exclusion of Rao Iftikhar Anjum. Honest workhorses are rarely celebrated or rewarded in Pakistan.But Rao’s performance for Pakistan over the last three, pretty terrible years – mostly as a thankless, white-ball first change – have warranted more than this sacking: with over 53 ODI wickets in 34 ODIs he is among the country’s leading wicket-takers in that period. He has been an effective and uncomplaining foil to bigger fast bowling names, with added nous than when he first came in.Maybe he doesn’t warrant a starting place in an ODI line-up if Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul are in (and Gul’s form is currently poor enough to require cover) but central contracts are not about the first XI only: they are about building a pool and rewarding consistent performers, reliable and committed players and Rao is nothing if not that.Abdul Razzaq in category A?Abdul Razzaq has been a fine player for Pakistan over the years. He could and should have been the latest in a line of supremely accomplished allrounders this country has produced but that he didn’t fulfill that is for another day. To find him in category A in this year’s list is to suspect the PCB and selectors still believe the hype and potential of the late 90s, when he first made his name.Razzaq is no longer a candidate in Tests and he seems to have ruled himself out of that format. In ODIs he has been fitful since his return from the ICL and he has batted as if he left behind his skills in the ICL. In the shortest format of the game, of course, he has been vital and was one of the main men behind Pakistan’s world triumph last year.To find Abdul Razzaq in category A in this year’s list is to suspect the PCB and selectors still believe the hype and potential of the late 90s•AFP

Unquestionably he should be in the pool, but category A? In any case that category seems to say more perhaps about who is not there than who is.The curious category CThe two men who have long been touted – and selected – as solutions to Pakistan’s most vexing problem over the years find themselves on monthly stipends. Khalid Latif has not set the world alight admittedly, but has not disgraced himself in the 50-over game. And he is in Pakistan’s squad for the World Twenty20.Khurram Manzoor, meanwhile, for all his technical quirks has toughed it out for three fifties against solid opposition (two away from home). His last international innings, against Australia in Hobart, yielded a disciplined, brave 77 from one-down.Why they find themselves below Abdul Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez who are both in category C only those who selected the pool know. Rehman has had a spectacular domestic season and Hafeez a solid one, but the former hasn’t played for Pakistan – or been in serious contention after the arrival of Saeed Ajmal – since December 2007. Hafeez last turned out in a Pakistan shirt in October 2007 and is only now a member of the World Twenty20 squad.Yet the pair are in the same category as Fawad Alam, who is pushing for a starting spot in all three formats, and who, in the shadow of Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer, had a quiet breakout year last year of his own.And finally…A point to ponder: the expected annual salary that Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal will earn from their annual contracts – Rs 30 lakh for Afridi and Kamran and Rs 21 lakh for Umar – work out almost exactly to the fines levied on them by the board last week. In effect, the trio will play for Pakistan for no money over the next year.

Josh Hazlewood, the New South Wales fast bowler, feels ready to step up to Test level if he gets the chance this summer. Hazlewood is only 19 but has already made his one-day international debut, taking 1 for 41 against England in June, and has spent time with Craig McDermott at the Centre of Excellence during the off-season.With 17 wickets in six first-class games, there is still a lot for him to learn, but McDermott says he has “a truckload of ability”. Hazlewood, who is 196cm, is trying not to get too carried away, but can’t stop thinking about the Ashes.”The way fast bowling is, guys go down with injuries and you can jump up a few places pretty quickly,” Hazlewood said in the Sunday Telegraph. “I’ll get a few opportunities at the start of the Shield season to put my hand up. I’d definitely feel ready if I got a chance during the Ashes. I’ve worked hard in the off-season.”The Ashes is the top of international cricket, it’s in Australia this summer and to think you could be a part of it, it’s pretty exciting, but you try not to think about it too much. You try not to get carried away but you can’t ignore the chance might be there.”McDermott, who made his Test debut as a 19-year-old, has been impressed. “There’s a tremendous future for him, but he’s a big boy who has to take a lot of care with keeping his body fit,” he said. “I’m not going to comment on pecking orders or selections but bowling-wise, with that pace and bounce, it’s all there.”Before Hazlewood gets a chance to play for Australia he has to secure a regular spot at New South Wales, who have Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken available following their reduction in international game time. Doug Bollinger and Shane Watson will also be around for at least a couple of Sheffield Shield games early in the summer, and then there is the promising next rung of Mitchell Starc, Trent Copeland and Burt Cockley.Brad Haddin, the New South Wales wicketkeeper, sees a place for all of them in the various competitions. “New South Wales has some great bowlers at the back-end of their careers, but on the same scale we have some young bowlers just starting out,” he said in the Sun-Herald. “And what tends to happen with the younger guys is their bodies don’t quite stand up to the demands of Shield, one-dayers and the other forms of cricket they need to play.”So to have a Stuart Clark, a Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken around is great because they can feed off them for a year. They get enough information from their bowling coaches, so rather than talking to them it’s more a case of learning from watching how those blokes prepare.”

Steve Waugh has praised the togetherness of an England squad that he believes are favourites to secure the Ashes with victory in the third Test at Perth, but says that the time has come for Australia’s selectors to identify the men that they believe can return the Test team to winning ways, and then back them through thick and thin – in much the same way that he himself was given time to learn his game in the early years of his own international career.Though Waugh finished his career with a formidable record of 10927 runs in 168 Test appearances, his early days coincided with the absolute nadir of Australia’s fortunes, as he was selected on a whim as a 20-year-old allrounder in December 1985, in a team that had been ravaged by the retirements of three key players in Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh, as well as a raft of defections to a rebel tour of South Africa.”Allan Border was captain and he’d played more Tests than the rest of the team combined,” Waugh recalled. “That’s a very inexperienced side, this side has still got some experience and good players. But what the selectors have got to do now, that they did then, was have belief in the younger players that they pick. Say, look, we believe in you, you’re the future of Australian cricket, and you’re going to have a bit of leeway.”It’s not always going to be successful all days, and I guess I was the perfect example,” he added. “I didn’t score a hundred until my 26th Test, I never won a Test until my 13th Test for Australia, so you’ve got to see the bigger picture. You can’t just chop and change, if someone fails in one Test and doesn’t look the goods, you’ve got to give them an opportunity.”With that in mind, Waugh was especially critical of the treatment meted out to the left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty, who has been jettisoned from the squad after just two Test appearances, in favour of Western Australia’s Michael Beer. “We’ve been going through a lot of players,” he said, “but you don’t just chop and change for the sake of it.”It’s a great honour to play for your country, and I feel disappointed for someone like Doherty who’s played two Tests and now he’s gone. I think you pick a player, believe in them, and give them a good opportunity, and you don’t change that side unless you believe you can improve the side by getting another player in.”Speaking at the MCC World Cricket Committee meeting in Perth, Waugh believed that Australia’s spirit in adversity would give them a fighting chance in the forthcoming contest, but backed England’s greater cohesion to hold sway – an upshot, he added, that would heap huge pressure on Ricky Ponting’s tenure as Australia’s captain.”Ricky acknowledged [the pressure] at the start of the series,” said Waugh. “He would be thinking he can turn it around because that’s always been the case for Australian sides that I’ve played in, but questions will be asked for sure if they lose this series. It’s unlikely, looking at form, that they can turn this around, but anything can happen in sport, particularly on this unique wicket which is like no other pitch in the world. It’s only 1-0 down in the five-Test series, and the great uncertainty is what keeps us coming back.”England, however, have looked a formidable unit in the series to date, and Waugh – who has never been shy of stating his opinion on previous Ashes squads – believes that the influence of Andy Flower has been instrumental in moulding an outfit that is becoming the team best placed to inherit Australia’s mantle as the world’s No. 1 side.”They’ve impressed me for a couple of years,” he said. “I noticed the turnaround when England drew three Test matches having lost nine wickets in the fourth innings [at Cardiff, Centurion and Cape Town]. That showed to me a side that was together. Sides that aren’t strong don’t survive those sorts of matches.”That was a turning point for English cricket,” he added. “They look like they enjoy each other’s company, they are playing for each other, and they’ve prepared very well. I like the fact that Flower is their coach, behind the scenes and low-key. They look like they all know their roles and they are playing some good cricket.”All great eras have to come to an end,” he added. “I guess we modelled a bit of our cricket on the great West Indies era, because if you’re smart you look at the best and what they are doing, and look at their blueprint, and modify it to suit your needs. I think you can see England have done that with their cricket. They’ve looked at how we’ve been successful, altered it to suit their players, and now they’re playing their own style.”The net result is an Australian side with no choice but to go for broke in a bid to avoid their first home Ashes defeat in 24 years. “What option have they got?” said Waugh. “They were totally outplayed on a flat pitch at Adelaide. You’ve got to say England were dominant and that will have hurt the Australian side, particularly Ricky. They’ll give everything they’ve got in this Test, and I expect them to really firing up on the first morning, being really positive in their body language, and with a couple of younger players so I expect to see more energy in the field.”It’s a huge Test, and it’s going to be on,” he added. “The WACA is a great place to watch and play Test cricket, the quicks can get it through, it’s exciting, and more than likely it’s a place where players can get injured if they are not switched on. It’s going to be a bit of a battlefield out there.”

James Franklin, the New Zealand allrounder, is shocked at missing out on a central contract after what he felt was a strong summer in the national side. Franklin, 30, was last week left out of the 20-man contract list for the second year in a row, and he said he was disappointed after playing all three formats for New Zealand over the past six months.”I can’t change what they have done,” Franklin told the . “This is a tough one. Last year I was half expecting it, but this one has come out of the blue and I’m a bit bitter. In my last 14 one-day innings I’ve averaged 54, but they’ve made their decision. To miss out entirely on a Test ranking is a hard one for me to fathom. I feel I have a huge amount to offer in the longer form of the game.”The national selection manager, Mark Greatbatch, said Franklin was unlucky to miss out, and while his best performances were excellent, he did not display the sort of consistency New Zealand wanted. Franklin conceded he didn’t have impact he would have liked at the World Cup, coming on the back of an outstanding series against India in December.”If I pinpoint anything I didn’t do, which I wanted to do, it was my World Cup performances,” Franklin said. “But there were a couple of early games when I didn’t get a bat or bowl so I suddenly felt I had no form. Because it was a World Cup, it got microscoped a fair bit and that seemed to be the last point of memory in terms of sorting out contracts.”One of the factors highlighted by Greatbatch was Franklin’s disappointing bowling in recent times. Although he began his international career as a bowler who could bat, Franklin has become more of a batting allrounder and he believes that is an area that he needs to work on.”There is stuff to tidy up in my bowling – there is no two ways in that,” he said. “My stats say I’m a good first-class bowler but that hasn’t always been the case at the next level. I need to get the venom back I had four to five years ago when I was in the mid to high 130s.”He also said his passive exterior – he is not the kind of bowler who shows serious aggression towards a batsman – should not be held against him. “People have been going on about that for years,” he said. “I remember one of the selectors saying that years ago. I am what I am. I’m not a 21-year-old, I’m 30, I’ve played a bit now.”There are things to tidy up in my game but the cop-out of being angry and all that stuff is not who I am. I like to win and do well but getting in someone’s face and showing anger is a cop-out. I don’t need to do that – that is not me.”Last year, Franklin considered using his Irish passport to become a local player in county cricket, but the lure of playing in a World Cup stopped him from taking that path. Again this year he is reluctant to turn his back on New Zealand while hopes of an international comeback remain.