Category Uncategorized

	Jason Gillespie was in the wickets again for Glamorgan © Getty Images

Another week, another round of rain-ruined Championship matches, but there was one result in a match featuring one or more Australians, Jason Gillespie playing a useful part in Glamorgan’s first victory this season.Gillespie scooped 3 for 39 from 18 overs to knock Gloucestershire over for 200 and complete the 114-run win at Bristol, all three victims trapped leg-before. He dismissed the opener Craig Spearman for 7, then returned to collect crucial lower-order wickets to earn victory. His fellow Australian Marcus North made a duck, claimed by Alex Wharf.Gillespie’s 16 not out had pushed his side towards 277 all out in the first innings, then he took 1 for 21 from ten overs in the first innings – his wicket North, for 37 – before Gloucestershire declared. Glamorgan also declared their second innings on 178, leaving an unlikely chase of 315.Steve Magoffin claimed useful wickets again in a hopeless cause as rain affected yet another Worcestershire outing, this time against Northamptonshire in Northampton. Magoffin took 4 for 49 in the first innings, 3 for 93 in the second, to continue to prove his worth as Doug Bollinger’s replacement.Murray Goodwin was the stand-out performer in the first division, although his 98 was part of an inevitable draw for Sussex with Surrey after a first-day washout in Hove. A graceful Goodwin sliced up a feast of wayward offerings with some choice cuts, before his dreams of a 54th first-class hundred were dashed by a feather off Matthew Nicholson, the Australian fast bowler’s only wicket of the innings.Adam Voges’ failure on 6, caught behind off Morne Morkel, was of little consequence as Nottinghamshire drew with Yorkshire in a rainy draw at Headingley.In the one-day league, however, Voges’ unbeaten 42 from 40 balls helped leaders Nottinghamshire ease to their Duckworth-Lewis target of 143, completing the job with two of the 30 overs remaining against Northamptonshire at Trent Bridge in the Midlands Division. Voges continues to make an impact in his first county season. Darren Pattinson, the Victorian fast bowler, picked up 3 for 39 from ten overs in his first one-day match for Nottinghamshire as the visitors struggled to support Stephen Peters, who made 90.Nicholson returned the best figures for Surrey’s attack against Middlesex at Lord’s, grabbing 3 for 37, all from catches. Nicholson found some good swing to remove the useful Eoin Morgan for 16 and then found two edges to remove the topscorer Gareth Berg for 65 and Vernon Philander for 26 to curtail Middlesex’s charge at 233. Surrey hunted down the runs with three overs left, their first win of this South East campaign and Middlesex’s first loss.Sean Ervine was dumped by Western Australia last week, but he had a small part in Hampshire’s Duckworth-Lewis win against Gloucestershire at the Rose Bowl in the South/West division. He bowled the centurion Alex Gidman, returning 1 for 51 from 8 overs and took two catches, including removing North for 85 as Gloucestershire amassed 350. While Ervine could only muster 15 in reply – North getting his revenge with the scalp – his side won by 5 runs, hunting down a whopping 240 just within their 30 available overs. It was their first win of the tournament.Justin Langer’s fall for 7 kiboshed Somerset’s hopes of victory in Taunton, coming up 20 runs short in their chase of an ominous 222 against Glamorgan. Gillespie’s nine overs were wicketless, but they were crucially economical, costing 33 runs. Goodwin also failed, making 5 for Sussex at Hove, as Kent overhauled their 245 with one ball remaining.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Lasith Malinga took three wickets on the fourth morning as Sri Lanka raced to an innings victory © AFP

The end came quickly. Lasith Malinga fired in the yorkers, while MuttiahMuralitharan ripped the doosras and offspinners as Sri Lanka cleaned up the last five Bangladesh wickets to sweep to victory by an innings and 234 runs.Bangladesh had fought hard on the third day, raising hopes of a similargritty effort today, but Malinga and Murali had other ideas. The action began off the tenth delivery of the day. Khaled Mashud played all around a yorker from Malinga which swung in late. Malinga then proceeded to unsettle Mashrafe Mortaza with fiery yorkers and bouncers before Murali swooped in for the kill. A doosra that landed on the middle trapped Mortaza plumb in front.Malinga soon turned his attention to Shakib Al Hasan. With a shortcover in place, he hurled a short-of-length delivery around the offstump. As if hyptonised, Shakib punched it limply straight to thatfielder. Two balls later, Mohammad Rafique was done in by a peach of aslower yorker that dipped in late to clean up the middle stump.Murali dealt the final blow – which gave him match figures of 9 for 102 – with an offbreak that spun in viciously. Shahadat Hossain lunged at it, and ended up dragging his back foot out of the crease. The Bangladesh tail had collapsed in just 30 minutes on the fourth morning, as Sri Lanka marched to a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.The second Test starts on July 3 at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo.

James Sutherland is “completely surprised” by Tim May’s comments © Getty Images

More than 50 scalpers have had their Ashes tickets cancelled by Cricket Australia after they were exposed by private investigators. The reported 650 tickets were revoked as the national body planned a heavy-handed approach to opportunistic selling.”They won’t be admitted into the ground,” James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said in the paper. “Anyone who is thinking about buying tickets in that fashion risks losing their money.” The final seats for the MCG Test went on sale yesterday and after two hours only spaces for days three and four were available.Sutherland has also attacked the comments of Tim May, the Federation of International Cricketers’ chief executive, who said the crammed international match schedule could leader to player drug use. “That is disrespectful and nothing more than mindless sledging on Tim’s behalf,” Sutherland said. “I am completely surprised with the comments and disappointed to mention drugs and Australian cricketers in the same breath.”

Alok Kapali: an opportunity to press his claims for a return to the senior side © Getty Images

After the encouraging performances of the senior side, Bangladesh’s A team have embarked on a one-month tour of England. The 15-member squad, which includes nine players with Test experience, will play five three-day games and four one-dayers against various county sides.Talking to the media before leaving for England, Shaun Williams, the coach of the side, said: “We will try to build on the results of the national team especially their performance in the one-day games. But it will not be an easy task for my boys because we are going to face some strong opponents. This is a very exciting squad. There are some talented players who have the potential to dominate the game in future. Our main objective will be to perform at a certain level and gain valuable experience.”Bangladesh’s senior team performed dismally in the two Tests against England, losing both by an innings, but came up with a couple of outstanding displays in the triangular NatWest Series, pulling off a shock win against Australia and then running them close in their last game.Williams admitted that the three-day games would be a bigger test for his team, but added that relatively dry conditions in the second half of the English summer would help the side. “I have watched all the matches of the senior team. I think the conditions were not suitable for our players to perform as per their potential. But now the conditions are almost similar to what we have here. That’s why I believe this side will fare better.”The squad, to be led by the 19-year-old left-handed batsman Shahriar Nafees, includes six players who were in England with the senior team earlier this season, and Williams indicated that handling the rigours of the tough international schedule would be another challenge for them. “Most of these players are very young so fatigue is not unlikely although they have international experience. But they have to cope with the hectic international schedule and that is another off the field challenge for them.”Talking about some of the players for whom this tour could be a huge opportunity, Williams brought up the name of Alok Kapali. Still only 21, Kapali made his international debut three years back and was rated highly for his batting and also became the first Bangladesh bowler to take a hat-trick in Tests, before he lost his way and was dropped from the senior side. “Kapali is a brilliant cricketer,” Williams insisted. “He is still very young and I can tell you that within a couple of years he will be doing justice to his potential.”Williams also had words of praise for Enamul Haque Jr, the left-arm spinner, and Shahadat Hossain, the fast bowler. “I think Enamul will be playing a vital role as I expect the pitches to be dry at this time of the season. I am also looking forward to seeing how Rajib [Shahadat Hossain] responds to the demands after a bitter Test debut at Lord’s [he was spanked for 101 runs in 12 overs]. However, I do not have any doubts about his talent.”Nafees himself exuded confidence on the eve of the trip. “This will be my third visit to England so I have the opportunity to share my experience with my team-mates. To me captaincy is not a burden. Rather it is just additional responsibility and I am looking forward to prove myself both as a captain and a batsman,” said the 19-year old left-handed opener.”This is a very balanced side and there are some out-of-favour cricketers who will be desperately looking to get back their national team places. On the other hand, younger members including myself will also be anxious to impress. So it will be a fantastic tour for us.”Squad
Shahriar Nafees (capt), Nafees Iqbal, Tushar Imran, Alok Kapali, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Nazimuddin, Hasanuzzaman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mushfiqur Rahman, Alamgir Kabir, Talha Jubair, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Russel, Enamul Haque Jr, Abdur Razzak.

Group A
ScorecardEven though Australia beat Sri Lanka by two runs in a thrilling finish at Rajshahi, it was not enough to take them through to the Super League.Australia finished level on points with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, but an inferior net run rate meant that they ended up third in the group, and will now compete for the Plate Championship.Another sell-out crowd was treated to a fascinating game that was only decided when Manoj Chanaka was caught off the first ball of the final over with Sri Lanka two runs short. However, in the grand scheme of things, that was meaningless, as after being put into bat and scoring 186 for 9 , Australia needed to restrict Sri Lanka to less than 98 to qualify.At one point, it looked like they were going to do it. Sri Lanka’s top four were all back in the pavilion with only 10 runs on the board as Gary Putland took three of these early wickets.However, Farveez Maharoof joined Kaushal Silva came together for Sri Lanka to steady things down and put them back on track. Scoring at little more than three an over, the pair carried Sri Lanka to safety.After the game, Maharoof, who was named man of the match, said, “It is very difficult to win if the top order don’t score any runs but I am pleased to have scored some runs and I hope we can play much better as a team in the Super League.”Meanwhile, Bennett King, Australia’s coach, praised his team for their attitude.”If our boys had performed the way they did today in the match against Zimbabwe then we would be going to Dhaka tomorrow,” he said. “But instead we are heading to Chittagong to play in the Plate.”

England’s opening bowler, Lucy Pearson, took a career best seven for 51 in the second women’s Ashes Test match in Sydney today.England inflicted an Australia collapse in the first Ashes Test at The Gabba when Australia were bowled out for 78, their third lowest total ever in Ashes history, and today the home side were dismissed cheaply again reaching just 134.England captain, Clare Connor, won the toss and elected to field in overcast conditions following a rain delayed start. Pearson struck quickly, dismissing Australia captain, Belinda Clark for 16 and continued to reek havoc on the batters with an exceptional display of disciplined seam bowling.It was the thirty-one year old English teacher’s first five-wicket haul for her country and she admitted, “It was a great day to do it, againstAustralia in an Ashes Test.”In the first over, I went for nine runs so it proved that anything short would be hit away. I had to keep the seam up, and bowl a consistent line and length, plus the ball was swinging quite a bit.”Pearson recalls her last tour to Australia, in 2000, when the Southern Stars posted a score of 299 against England and reached 383 in the last Test series at Headingley, and admits, “We’ve been to hell and now we’re back.”I do think the Australia side under-rate us at times and although they have two or three world class batters, we’ve consistently proved on this tour that we can bowl them out for under 150 runs, which no other team in world cricket has done for a long time."Melanie Jones reached 58 before her leg stump was removed from the ground by Pearson in the first over of her second spell, hitting six fours in an elegant innings and assisted by Lisa Sthaelaker in reaching a fourth wicket stand of 65.England faced 16 overs before the close of play in deteriorating light,with Cathryn Fitzpatrick dismissing opener Sarah Collyer in the first over. Kathryn Leng and Charlotte Edwards had taken England to 21 for one, Leng reaching 12 and Edwards nine.Opener and leg-spin bowler, Leng is also on a hat-trick at the start of the second Australia innings, taking the final two wickets of Fitzpatrick and Twining.England will want to build on their performance in the field today with a good batting response, something they were unable to achieve in the first Ashes Test at The Gabba.

Glen Motchall, Calmore’s lanky Australian left-arm pace bowler, took a career-best 8-87, yet finished on the losing side as BAT Sports turned a likely defeat into an improbable 35-run victory over their arch Southern Electric ECB Premier League rivals at Southern Gardens.BAT emerged from a gruelling morning session at 64-6, but revealed an abundance of character to turn a pulsating match, full of attacking cricket, around in quite dramatic style.Lower-order pair Adam Hayes and Dave Adams, relishing a rare opportunity to shine, were largely responsible as BAT advanced to 171 all out before Dan Goldstraw used his high trajectory to great effect and blew over Calmore’s top order.Calmore’s reply in many ways mirrored the BAT innings, with five wickets falling for 46 runs before teenage duo Paul Cass and Mark Archer launched a determined but ultimately unsuccessful bid to turn the tide again.The youngsters added 61 in a heartening sixth-wicket recovery, but when Cass toe-ended an intended pull into the deep, Calmore’s prospects disappeared back into the pavilion with him.They were eventually bowled out for 136 – 35 runs adrift of BAT, whose 21-point victory has nudged Havant off the top of the Premier One table.Motchall, who plays for the Carlton Grade club in Melbourne, described the dry Southern Gardens pitch as a "bit more like bowling back home.""I was able to get a lot more bounce than I’ve previously been accustomed to here. I certainly got a fair bit of movement, especially when the ball was hard and new," he said.The 6’5" Victorian had five wickets in the bag by lunchtime, but Hayes, whose unbeaten 42 would have been worthy of any ‘man-of-the-match’ tag, and Adams (35) gave the Australian notice of their fighting intentions.The pair added a precious 55 before Motchall ripped out Adams’s leg stump at 123-8.Realising how important another quick 20 or so runs could be, Goldstraw didn’t hang about – pulling Motchall for two huge sixes, and dumping the argumentative James Hibberd on to the adjoining railway track..Goldstraw’s cameo and Hayes’s carefully constructed innings lifted BAT to 171 all out – a testing total for Calmore to chase.Calmore made it to 21 before Richard Taylor (of local rock band fame) had Paul Draper taken down the leg side by Banks.Then Goldstraw, effectively using his height at the same end as Motchall earlier, had Tom Pegler caught by a diving Richard Kenway at second slip.And when the ex-Lymington in-swing paceman rearranged Jez Goode’s stumps and trapped Hibberd smack in front for a first ball duck, Calmore were neck deep in trouble.Then Rob Budd located the bucket hands of Mark Page, to become Taylor’s second victim.Calmore sagged to 46-5 …and were seemingly out for the count.But Cass and Archer, the two 17-year olds, showed maturity beyond their tender years to haul Calmore back into the contest.The pair showed an effective form of defence and produced a selection of fluent shots in a gutsy partnership of 59, which ended when Cass miscued a long-hop from left-arm spinner Dave Carson into Page’s waiting hands at deep square-leg.But Archer, using the occasion to give Hampshire YCs selectors a timely nudge, took Calmore’s reply on to 124-7 before he lifted Richard Dibden into the deep … only to be quite brilliantly caught by Carson, in front of an enthusiastic clubhouse gathering.Archer’s dismissal effective marked the end of Calmore’s challenge, Goldstraw ending the resistance at 136 to give BAT a hard-earned victory.Calmore skipper Tom Pegler, who alongside Dave Banks maintained his attacking options throughout, wasn’t overjoyed with the end result."We won the game wit the ball – then lost it with our batting," he groaned.

The Wolves fans in the Transfer Tavern have been delighted with their club’s activity in the transfer market so far this summer, and recent reports regarding Adama Traore have given them further reason to be optimistic. 

The Breakdown

Nuno Espirito Santo has been busy in the transfer market this summer as he attempts to lay the foundations for a successful survival bid in the Premier League. With the signatures of three strikers and a winger already secured, it seems that Santo is adopting a wise strategy by placing extra emphasis on improving his attacking options.

But despite his initial movements in the market, Santo doesn’t appear to be finished bolstering his forward line just yet if reports in The Sun are anything to go by. According to the report, Wolves and Huddersfield are leading the race to sign Middlesbrough’s promising right-winger Adama Traore this summer.

The Spanish U21 international struggled to impress on his debut season for Middlesbrough as he failed to find the back of the net in 27 appearances and managed to provide just a solitary assist.

However, the Barcelona trainee began to deliver on his promise last season with some eye-catching displays for Middlesbrough during a Championship campaign in which he scored 5 goals and provided 10 assists from 34 appearances – clearly, a huge improvement on his previous effort.

At full flow, Traore (valued at £7.2 million by Transfermarkt) posed an extremely menacing prospect for defenders to deal with last season as he used his blistering pace and ability to either cut inside or run to the byline to devastating effect.

Consistency and decision-making are two qualities which have eluded Traore during his career so far, but his success last season suggests that he has turned a significant corner in his development and could be ready for the step up to the Premier League.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The fact that Traore has only managed to prove himself for one season whilst playing at a level below the Premier League will certainly give Santo cause for concern regarding a potential deal, but if he is willing to adapt his system to suit the 22-year-old and trust in his ability, Wolves could pull off a masterstroke deal by bringing him to Molineux.

Wolves fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

	James Hopes could well turn out to be Punjab’s trump card © Getty Images

Match facts

Monday, April 21, 2008
Start time 20:00 local time (14:30 GMT)

The Big Picture

Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals are both looking to open their account in the IPL after coming up second-best in Saturday’s matches. Punjab were undone at home by the brilliance of Michael Hussey but their abundance of riches means they are overwhelming favourites to win in Jaipur. Rajasthan, on the other hand, are enduring a frustrating wait for five of their foreign recruits. To add to their problems their less established players are not showing the mettle required to survive in this cut-throat competition, as was evident during their nine-wicket thrashing by the Delhi Daredevils.With this being the first IPL match on a weekday, after Friday night’s opener, the size of the crowd will perhaps indicate whether the tournament has truly captured the imagination.

Watch out for …

… Punjab taking the early running, regardless of the outcome of the toss. If they bat first , they have the versatile James Hopes to give their innings a lift-off. With Kumar Sangakkara slated to walk in at No. 3, and captain Yuvraj Singh to follow, Rajasthan’s boundary riders are in for some hard work. Punjab’s opening bowlers, Brett Lee and Sreesanth, did not pose too many problems for the Chennai Super Kings, but they will be an entirely different proposition for Rajasthan. With Hopes and Irfan Pathan to follow-up, the going might just get tougher. An intriguing sub-plot to the contest will be a potential face-off between Irfan and his half-brother Yusuf, an aggressive presence in Rajasthan’s top order.Meanwhile, Rajasthan will be eager to prove the critics wrong. They will be looking to Shane Watson and Darren Lehmann, and to Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Salunke, both of whom gave a good account of themselves in Delhi, to bring out the big hits. Mohammad Kaif may be a livewire in the field, but he needs to come good with the bat to have a real impact on the contest. Not many players will be queueing up to take the place of seamers Munaf Patel and Siddharth Trivedi, both of whom face a huge test with the ball.

Team news

Punjab’s line-up looks pretty settled and the only question of interest will be whether Mahela Jayawardene gets a game. With each team having a cap on four foreign players, the axe could fall on Simon Katich. Ramesh Powar may replace seamer Wilkin Mota if there is something in the pitch for the spinners, and Pankaj Dharmani can consider himself unfortunate if he misses out as he is yet to bat.Punjab (probable) 1 Karan Goel 2 James Hopes 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk) 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt) 5 Mahela Jayawardene/Simon Katich 6 Irfan Pathan 7 Pankaj Dharmani 8 Brettt Lee 9 Piyush Chawla 10 Wilkin Mota/Ramesh Powar 11 Sreesanth.Rajasthan, more due to circumstance than choice, will be forced to retain most of the team that played in Delhi. Graeme Smith may not be back from South Africa in time for the encounter, while Dimitri Mascarenhas, the England allrounder, will only be with the team for two weeks starting as late as May 12. The Pakistan trio – Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, and Sohail Tanvir, will fly to India on the day of the match after completing their Twenty20 international against Bangladesh on Sunday, and it is highly unlikely that any of them will play.The home side struggled to get a move on at the beginning of their innings in the first match, and may draft in Niraj Patel, who averages 50 at a strike-rate of 132.74 from eight domestic Twenty20s, in place of Taruwar Kohli. Jaydev Shah possesses an equally impressive strike-rate of 159.25 in four matches, and he also may get a look-in.Rajasthan (probable) 1 Niraj Patel 2 Yusuf Pathan 3 Shane Watson 4 Mohammad Kaif 5 Darren Lehmann 6 Ravindra Jadeja 7 Mahesh Rawat (wk) 8 Dinesh Salunkhe 9 Shane Warne (capt) 10 Siddharth Trivedi 11 Munaf Patel.

Stats and trivia

Salunke was the winner of the first season of the reality television show ‘Cricket Star’, as a result of which he got an opportunity to represent Leicester’s second XI

Punjab’s first game in the IPL produced a match aggregate of 447 runs, which is only two short of the record in a Twenty20 game

Quotes

“Graeme Smith is joining next week. The Pakistanis – Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal – are joining. The Englishman, Dimitri Mascarenhas, is an exciting player, and he is also joining soon. So, I am pretty confident that we will give tougher competition to other teams in the tournament.”
Warne keeps the faith after the Delhi loss

Cooking up some intrigue – Emma Sayle and Alastair Cook pose for the cameras © Kieran Galvin

It’s a dull grey Thursday at Chelmsford. Alastair Cook is on the pitch taking part in a photoshoot at his home Essex ground, all in the name of work.In exactly a week’s time he could be trotting down the Lord’s pavilion steps with Andrew Strauss to face West Indies, that intent gaze no doubt etched onto his ever-serious face. You know his look: the face of a thousand bland TV interviews, of the media-trained top-class sportsman.But today… well, today the seriousness has been replaced by a broad beam; then again there are two naked women flanking him. And there are more surprises in store. After the shoot – for a charity calendar – he reveals himself to be, contrary to the anodyne Henman-alike character on the small screen, naturally charming and surprisingly engaging. It’s all a little surreal.More unexpectedly still, he actually enjoys talking to the media and is cheerful as we sit down in the pavilion. “I don’t normally get to do interviews,” he says, with enthusiasm, while chomping away on some sandwiches from M&S. “I’m quite laidback.” I’d noticed. Anyway, it’s not as if he reads pieces about him – then there is a pause as he realises what he’s said. “I do, but I don’t pay too much attention!”But what is he doing at Chelmsford on his day off? As a centrally contracted player Cook’s busy enough without arriving to be snapped leaning on a lawnmower or dressed as an umpire while the two models Emma and Natalie, painted in the ECB colours, giggle suggestively. He finds it all brilliant, though. “Having to stare at naked women they didn’t have to twist my arm too much!”In the background, the Essex PR, Greg, shakes his head gently. Unfazed, Cook merely clarifies: “Better being honest than trying to make up some rubbish!” You can’t argue. And of course it’s all in a good cause, for the CHASE Ben Hollioake Fund, set up to remember Ben, Adam’s brother, who died in car crash in 2002. Cook didn’t know Ben, but he met Adam last year, and he’s happy to do his bit to help.

It was hard seeing the lads out there and wanting to be there

He’s a breath of fresh air, in the way that his batting breezed new life into England stage the day he strode onto the international stage in India in 2006, making 60 and 104 not out in his first two innings. But importantly, he’s confident, not arrogant – and he feels he’s far from the finished product.”I think you always have something to prove, always to yourself, especially at the start of the season, with a new coach coming in.” Three first-class centuries to kick off this season weren’t enough proof for him, then. “Shame there wasn’t a double hundred,” he flashes back. When pressed he does stretch to “I feel as if I’m hitting the ball quite cleanly”. He’d done more than enough to keep his England spot, particularly given Michael Vaughan’s absence.It’s not just about proving, though, it’s about constantly improving: “Your place is never certain.” That’s the hallmark of a future champion, that Warne-like desire to learn. Then again, Cook actually did have to improve.The winter wasn’t a high point: he was found out Down Under – with just one century, at Perth – and then left out of the one-day set-up from January. He admits missing the World Cup in particular was tough. “It was hard seeing the lads out there and wanting to be there. I didn’t watch too much. I just tried to get away from it and do my own thing.”

Cook struck the first century of the summer, with a ton for MCC © Getty Images

That thing was focussing on his shots on and around off-stump. “I’d be stupid not to. The Aussies got me out that way.” Still, he didn’t go overboard on correctional work: “It’s as much mental as it is technical.” He’s candid, though, about his need to improve on certain aspects. “Practising catching a ball always helps!” he says, alluding to his less-than-perfect fielding. But again he’s worked hard and it’s all made him tougher.He’s hungry, too, for more bites at the one-day cherry. In his two ODIs to date he showed an unexpected aggression, but he insists it’s part of his natural armour. “I’ve always got the shots. In Test match cricket you’ve got time to bat. You don’t want to play an aggressive shot and get out. In one-day cricket you’ve got to be more aggressive.”He wasn’t always so calm. “I was a fiery youngster,” he says, as if he’s now way beyond his 22 years. (He does look older, though, with his square jaw and mature frame, and he acts it, too. Only, it’s no act.) “I had a bit of a temper. That’s where you’ve got to learn to bat. Everyone makes mistakes, you play and miss. It’s playing the next ball. That’s Goochie’s thing, play the next ball.”That’s Graham Gooch, of course, head batting coach at Essex – who he won’t be seeing much of if he continues with England. Happily, though, he’s just been reunited with two old acquaintances, England’s new coaches. He can’t wait to work with Peter Moores, who he knows from Academy and England A days (Moores recommended him for the India call-up) – “I know he will put his heart and soul into it” – and then there’s the assistant, Andy Flower, who he played with at Essex.Flower provided an example of never-say-die on the pitch and the pair shared many successful partnerships. “It was the way you watched him batting at the other end and he wouldn’t get out, so you thought you couldn’t get out, either”.England’s first challenge in their brave new world is West Indies, about whom he’s guarded, “They’re massive wounded animals”. He’s warier still of India, whose bowlers he played so well in his debut series. “They really have world-class players.” Not to mention a point to prove. “That will be a tough battle.” He will be battle-ready.He’s looking no further, though – the India series is far, far away in his mind as it is, so there’s not much room for talking about him as a future England captain. “You can get too ahead of yourself. That would be great but it’s not something I’m going to chase. I’d rather keep my place in the England side and try to win for England.” England, as ever, will keep expecting.