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Chester-le-Street, Bristol, Oval, Edgbaston granted 50 percent capacities for white-ball fixtures

George Dobell21-Jun-2021There will be more spectators than anticipated at some of England’s international matches in the coming weeks, after a selection of fixtures in the series involving Sri Lanka and Pakistan were given the status of pilot events.When the UK government extended its current Covid-19 protocols until July 19, it was feared that grounds would be permitted to admit only 25 percent of their capacities.But it has now been announced that several games will be included in the Government’s Events Research Programme meaning capacities will be raised to at least 50 percent of capacity.The games identified for increased capacity at present are the ODIs against Sri Lanka at Emirates Riverside (on June 29), the Kia Oval (July 1), and Bristol (July 4), as well as the ODI against Pakistan at Edgbaston on July 13. It is anticipated that other venues will be included in the coming days. All the matches in both series are sold out.The T20I against Sri Lanka at the Ageas Bowl on June 26 is not part of the pilot, however, while the two T20I matches in Wales (June 23 and 24) are subject to separate discussion with the Welsh Government.”Summer is all about cricket and I’m delighted to be able to include England’s upcoming ODI and IT20 series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in our pioneering Events Research Programme,” Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said. “We will continue to do everything we can to get as many as possible back watching live sport and cultural events as safely and as quickly as possible.”Related

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The second Test of the series, against New Zealand at Edgbaston, was part of a similar pilot event. On that occasion, the ground was able to host 70 percent of capacity, though no U16s were admitted. On this occasion, it is understood that the rule forbidding U16s to attend will be lifted but there is no guarantee that capacities will be raised above 50 percent. This level is important to the hosting grounds, however, as it is likely to allow them to permit all corporate hospitality ticket holders, which account for a disproportionate amount of revenues.”The final capacity will be determined once we have had more detailed discussions with the Government, with our Safety Advisory Group and city stakeholders,” Stuart Cain, chief executive of Warwickshire, said. “We just ask all ticket buyers to please bear with us for a few days as we will have further news to confirm very soon.”With the Test series against India not starting until August, hopes remain that there will be full houses in England at some stage this summer.

World War 2 veteran to be invited into dressing room when England next play a Test

George Dobell30-Apr-2020Colonel Tom Moore, a World War 2 veteran whose fundraising efforts during the coronavirus crisis have been lauded throughout the UK, has been presented with an England cap and invited to address the Test side to mark his 100th birthday.Colonel Moore captured the imagination of much of the nation when, weeks ahead of his birthday, he embarked on a sponsored walk around his garden to raise funds for NHS charities. Inspired by the work of NHS workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, Colonel Moore aimed to raise £1000 by completing 100 laps of his garden – 25m a time – before the end of April. He walks with the help of a frame.But that funding target was soon left far behind and, on April 30, the day of his 100th birthday, the total passed £30m. It is believed to be the greatest amount of money raised in an individual charity walk. Also in April, he became the oldest person to have a number-one single in the UK.ALSO READ: Covid crisis needs to get ‘drastically better’ before England play again – AliKnown as Captain Moore, he was promoted to the rank of honorary colonel as part of his birthday celebrations. His birthday was also marked by a flypast by Spitfire and Hurricane from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight which made three passes of his house.Former England captain, Michael Vaughan, virtually presented Colonel Moore with an England Test cap on BBC Breakfast. Calling him “the nation’s heartbeat”, Vaughan thanked Colonel Moore for his fundraising efforts and dubbed him “an honorary member of the England cricket team”. The cap was passed on in person by Colonel Moore’s grandson, Benji, who is in isolation with his grandfather and other family members.”That’s marvellous, isn’t it?” Colonel Moore replied.Current England Test captain, Joe Root, has also been in touch to invite Colonel Moore to address his team in the dressing room ahead of a Test.”The ECB would like to wish Captain Tom Moore the warmest of congratulations on his 100th birthday,” an ECB spokesperson said. “The Captain is a great supporter of Yorkshire and England cricket and it is an honour that he holds the team up in such high regard. The England cricket teams are in awe of him, his humility and the unprecedented fundraising he has achieved over the past few weeks.”The England Test captain Joe Root has confirmed directly with Captain Moore and his family that he can address the team personally in the dressing room before a Test match. It would be one of greatest honours bestowed on the team to hear directly from him once we can return to some normality. We cannot wait for that day.”

Trevor Bayliss has hinted he would recommend splitting the England coaching job in the future

George Dobell in Barbados19-Jan-2019Trevor Bayliss has hinted he would recommend splitting the England coaching job in the future. Bayliss’ contract as head coach expires at the end of September and he has made it clear he has no intention of seeking an extension. Instead, he is likely to pursue a future as a freelance coach on short-term deals offered by competitions such as the Big Bash League and The Hundred.After four years in the England job, however, he is well-placed to advise on the pitfalls of the role. In that time, he has missed just one tour; a short, limited-overs trip to the Caribbean that was instead overseen by Paul Farbrace. And, having held a meeting with Ashley Giles, the new managing director of England men’s cricket, shortly before departing, it seems Bayliss stressed the difficulties of a role that entails the best part of 300 days a year in hotel rooms.As a result, it seems he would recommend either splitting the role into two, with a limited-overs coach and a Test coach both answering to Giles, or appointing one head coach with several deputies who could take charge of some series.”It’s very difficult,” Bayliss said. “I said to Giles the other day that if they go with one coach then it might help to have two or three assistants underneath. It could be that they take charge in some more series. Then the head coach gets a break and it gives experience to two or three homegrown coaches.”Part of the issue with the role as it stands at present is that it may deter some of the better candidates from applying. While it is a prestigious, well-paid job, it has also become so all-encompassing that it could take the incumbent away from their family for longer than they feel is acceptable. In the winter of 2019-20, for example, England face tours to New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, which could see those involved on the road for around five months.Whatever happens next, Bayliss knows he faces an action-packed final nine months in the job. With a World Cup starting in June and an Ashes series to follow, he also knows his legacy as England coach will be decided by it.”It probably couldn’t get any bigger,” he said. “Especially happening at home and within a few months. That brings pressure, but one thing we have been working towards is playing under some pressure. When we get to the big stage it is out of our hands, it’s down to the guys to perform on the day. I don’t think we could have done too much more.”Some of the results and the way they have begun to play suggests we are heading in the right direction. There’s no secret we’ve been looking to fill a few spots in the Test side permanently and hopefully some are close to being filled.”While much of England’s strategy over the last few years has been geared towards success in the World Cup – a tournament they have never won and which is seen as vital in engaging a new audience – Bayliss is reluctant to view it as any greater a priority than the Ashes.”I’m not sure winning the World Cup would be more special,” he said. “There’s nothing like beating Australia in the Ashes, like we did in 2015. And having lost in Australia 12 months ago… it’s hard to pick between the Ashes and the World Cup. Hopefully we walk away with both trophies.”

Anya Shrubsole has achieved what England’s men have found beyond them by being shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2017Anya Shrubsole has achieved what England’s men have found beyond them by being shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.Shrubsole won the accolade for an outstanding spell of five wickets in 19 balls, and 6 for 46 in all, against India at Lord’s – the best bowling figures in a Women’s World Cup final.As well as pulling off one of the greatest feats in England women’s cricket history, she became the first female cricketer to receive the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket award, for the manner in which she consoled South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk after England’s semi-final win, and also helped Western Storm win the Kia League title.”Humbled to be named amongst some incredible athletes!,” Shrubsole tweeted. “Top of the list of things I never expected to happen!”The latest honour is an indication of how England Women’s cricket is creeping into public consciousness, but as the men celebrate her success they will also ruefully wonder what they have to do.Ian Bell was the last male cricketer to be nominated, his stock never higher than when England won the 2013 Ashes.But two years later, as England won the Ashes once more, Joe Root and Stuart Broad missed out to general consternation, even though Root had established himself as one of the top batsmen in the world and Broad bowled out Australia in a single session at Trent Bridge with 8 for 15, with his look of amazement going viral.

Cricket’s SPOTY winners

1956: Jim Laker
1975: David Steele
1981: Ian Botham
2005: Andrew Flintoff

This year, England’s record was more prosaic, although Root did win his first two series as Test captain and James Anderson became the first England bowler to take 500 Test wickets.The relevance of the Sports Personality of the Year list – once eagerly awaited – is now widely debated as it is influenced by many factors, including the availability of BBC sports rights and the desire to ensure the shortlist serves all demographics.But Shrubsole will rightly be delighted at her recognition, for all that, as she joined a list that includes the likes of Mo Farah, Lewis Hamilton and Harry Kane.The fact is that cricketers have never done very well (neither, for that matter, have footballers). Only four have ever won and all of them after outstanding Ashes performances.It would probably take an England World Cup win on home soil in 2019 to change that.In the meantime, England’s women have set the example.Shortlist: Mo Farah (athletics), Chris Froome (cycling), Lewis Hamilton (F1), Anthony Joshua (boxing), Harry Kane (football), Johanna Konta (tennis), Jonnie Peacock (Paralympic athlete), Adam Peaty (swimming), Jonathan Rea (superbikes), Anya Shrubsole (cricket).

On a day when BCCI’s old guard fought in the court for its existence, thousands saw the two Test teams practice with return of Kane Williamson and Gautam Gambhir likely for Indore’s debut Test

Sidharth Monga in Indore06-Oct-20161:58

Williamson likely to return for Indore Test – Jurgensen

By the time the New Zealand team arrived at the Holkar Stadium for an optional training session at around 10am, about 500 people were already in the stands. They cheered Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain who had missed the last Test because of illness, on. They were happy Williamson was batting in the nets. If Williamson played a good shot or raised his bat to them, they clapped. If he missed, they ooh-ed and aah-ed. By the time the Indian team arrived in the afternoon this number had swollen to about 4000. Mostly students, they queued up patiently outside the ground, and proved to be no hindrance to the preparation of either the teams or the ground staff once they got in. They sat patiently in the stands and watched.The Holkar Stadium apparently has a tradition to let the fans enter the ground for even the practice sessions. This is a luxury in India. Other stadiums generally consider the fans an inconvenience; going by the BCCI ticketing practices these grounds would rather look after only the broadcasters and the VIPs, who are given complimentary passes. On a day when the old guard of the BCCI was fighting for its existence in the Supreme Court, a ground that was gearing up for its Test debut was showing the way.Out in the middle, preparations went on regardless. Williamson batting in the nets, and having a bit of a bowl was good news for New Zealand. “It’s looking positive,” Shane Jurgensen, New Zealand’s bowling coach, said. “Final confirmation on that will probably be tomorrow. We trained today, and he did some batting and had a decent hit and a run around. We’ll have another look at him tomorrow, but it looks positive.”India welcomed a senior face as well. Gautam Gambhir, who last played for India in 2014, was the first one to pad up for India. India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar empathised with Gambhir’s situation; he gets one Test, and it is quite possible he is usurped by both the injured openers by the time England come. Bangar, however, refused to rule him out for the rest of the season. “Gautam Gambhir is a quality player; what he has done really for himself, for the time he was out of the Indian team he kept on performing for his franchise and state side,” Bangar said. “When he got an opportunity in the Duleep Trophy, he was one of the top scorers there. That too against the pink ball, which certain batsmen found was difficult to pick. Yes, he ticked all boxes. Untimely injury to KL Rahul Shikhar Dhawan made sure that there is a place for him. He is something of a quality performer. Proven record against spin bowling. And the number of Test matches we are going to play in India, he becomes an important player right at the top of the order.”Gautam Gambhir is set to play his first Test since August 2014•Getty Images

Gambhir has come back with runs in Duleep Trophy, and with an open stance, at least half the way to what Shivnarine Chanderpaul had. Gambhir has worked on it with Justin Langer and Langer’s personal coach Neil Holder. The need of the hour, though, might be a change for the New Zealand spinners to work on. Their batsmen have shown a lot of discipline to make India’s bowlers work hard, a fact R Ashwin has acknowledged in his interview with , but they have been undone by natural variation for the India bowlers. India exploit it more because their spinners bowl with the seam parallel to the ground whereas the New Zealand spinners – like others who visit Asia – bowl with the seam pointing to fine leg at 45 degrees.”It was certainly something we were working on before we came to India,” Jurgensen said. “It doesn’t come as naturally, we bowl a different way where we come from. But the boys have been working on it to get that natural variation. Every game we’ve improved.”It was refreshing to see the talk return to seam positions and India’s mindset of not even thinking of losing in crunch situations, thus, according to Bangar, being clear in their minds. It must not be easy for the players from either side to be clear in these times. India’s players are used to answering to the BCCI even though the money in cricket is public’s and generated because of them. They must be wondering what lies ahead. New Zealand’s players must be aware the BCCI is capable of carrying through with its threats of pulling out of a series, and would have spent the two days after the Kolkata Test in limbo. There was no information from their hosts, the BCCI.Once again, though, if the practice sessions and the response two days before Indore’s debut Test are anything to go by, on the field it is almost certain to be business as usual.

Michael Hussey has joined the South Africa coaching staff as a specialist batting consultant for the three-match T20 series against India, with the focus on preparation for the World T20 next year

Firdose Moonda28-Sep-2015The influence of a World Cup winning Australian did not rub off on South Africa at the tournament earlier this year, but they have not given up on Michael Hussey’s magic yet. Hussey is back with the squad and will work with them during the three-match T20I series in India, with the focus on preparation for the World T20 in next year.Hussey will work as a specialist batting consultant – South Africa’s second as they also have former coach Gary Kirsten on a 50-day-a-year contract – and T20I captain Faf du Plessis hoped he will teach the newer members of the team about both temperament and technique.”Mike is such a good guy from a coaching point of view. He has got a great batting mind so the young batters coming into the team, he’s the best guy you can learn from,” du Plessis said. “He does all the right things. He trains hard and fits in beautifully into our team. I think we are very lucky to have him in our side.”Du Plessis’ praise suggested Hussey’s involvement could extend beyond the India tour to the World T20, where South Africa will want the likes of Quinton de Kock and David Miller to fire. Both lacked runs recently, and de Kock was even dropped to the South Africa A side after a lean run in Bangladesh, though Miller, who last scored an international half-century 15 innings ago at the World Cup, survived. South Africa will hope the problems Miller had with his positioning at the crease have not. If they have, Hussey, also a left-hand batsman, may be able to help.Similarly, Hussey could work with de Kock, who recovered from his rocky road by scoring three centuries for the A side on the tour of India, but may still need tightening up outside the offstump. South Africa’s core of senior batsmen – du Plessis, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy – will also look to feed off Hussey’s knowledge, which has so far tried to instil in them the value of an all-round team performance.Hussey was with the South Africa team in the build up to the match against India in the 2015 World Cup, and he emphasised the need for some of the lesser lights to shine in major tournaments. “To win World Cups, you need world class performers and you look down the list of the South African team, you’ve got AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, JP Duminy, Morne Morkel. You need those guys to fire and play well in World Cups and then that fires the other guys,” Hussey said at the World Cup. “But quite often you need some unsung heroes as well.”I look at the South Africa team and see a lot of those world class stars and there might be some unsung heroes like a David Miller or one of the other bowlers can come in and do a job as well.”South Africa’s current T20 squad has the same blend of big names and bits-and-pieces players, who will have to start seeing themselves as part of the bigger picture. Farhaan Behardien has started to do that, fitting in at No.7, sharing the fifth bowler duties and working on his finishing abilities with the bat. Both the uncapped Khaya Zondo and allrounder Chris Morris will have to follow suit.Zondo is likely to play some part in the series because of the absence of Rilee Rossouw, who is recovering from a stress fracture of the foot, and Morris should get a look in after David Wiese was ruled out of the series with a hand injury. South Africa’s middle-order will need them to be solid if it is serious about competing for the World T20 and it won’t take Hussey to tell them that.

Bruce Martin, with nine wickets in a Test-and-a-half, is comfortably the most successful stand-in spinner they have had since the tour of West Indies last year

Andrew McGlashan in Wellington15-Mar-2013No New Zealand player had waited longer for a Test debut than Bruce Martin when he was handed his cap in Dunedin last week after 115 first-class matches. The contrast with the man he’s covering for could hardly be greater. Daniel Vettori made his debut, as a bespectacled 18-year-old, after two games in 1997.Vettori is hoping to make his first tentative steps back into action next week when he plays in the domestic Ford Trophy one-day competition having not appeared for New Zealand since the World Twenty20. Martin, with nine wickets in a Test-and-a-half, is comfortably the most successful stand-in they have had since the tour of West Indies last year.However, it would just be Martin’s luck if Vettori proved his fitness in time for the England tour in May. There is room for both in a squad, but missing out would not be a foreign concept for him. “I wish someone had picked two left-arm spinners. He was a thorn in my side, so to speak, but he was a good fella to learn off as well,” Martin said.Watching Martin bowl, it’s as though he has done more than just learn off Vettori with an action and delivery that looks like a clone. “Everyone says it, but it’s just the way I bowl. I happen to look a bit like him, without the glasses.”Before his recall to the squad that toured South Africa earlier this year, the closest Martin had come before was being in a squad against Australia in 2000. Yes, that’s right, when Vettori was injured. Thirteen years later, in Dunedin, his opportunity came and he finished with a highly creditable five wickets in the match. Four more followed in England’s first innings at the Basin Reserve on a surface that “turned more than I’ve had this season.” It would have been five if the DRS had not been around to save Matt Prior from an lbw decision.”I’ve had 13 years to visualise playing Test cricket,” he said. “I’ve been playing this game for a long time in my head, so it’s nice to get out there and have a crack. Today was good, I picked up some pretty big wickets.”The reserves of knowledge those years of toil on the domestic circuit helped him to build up are not to be underestimated especially when Kevin Pietersen dispatches your first ball of the day straight down the ground for six. The fact that Pietersen could not do it again, and more than once found himself in a bit of tangle against Martin, is credit to the bowler who certainly did not take a backward step.”It’s nice to test yourself against a guy like that. He’s pretty ruthless the way he gets forward and gets back, such a big fella, and it was hard to get past him there at times. He’s such an imposing figure with the bat. I wanted to try and get in the fight a little bit, let him know I was there.”Such has been the dominance of New Zealand’s spin department by Vettori, that in the 16 years since his debut in 1997, the next most successful spinner for them in Tests has been Paul Wiseman with 61 scalps. Martin is already fifth on the list with his nine. Kane Williamson is one above him.However, as strange as it may sound regarding a bowler with 360 Test wickets, never mind 4516 runs, does Vettori walk back into the New Zealand side? In his last nine Tests, which date back to January 2011, he has taken 21 wickets at 41.57 which includes a five-wicket haul against Zimbabwe. Clearly, you do not leave out a cricketer of Vettori’s calibre without a great deal of thought, but time catches up with everyone.In those same nine Tests Vettori averages 28.93 with the bat, with a hundred against Pakistan, so he still brings all-round value but Martin showed, with a bristling 41 in Dunedin, that he was not a rabbit. Martin is not going to lose the enjoyment of the moment by thinking about the future.”Every time I get a bowl out there I just treat it as my last Test and I’ve got to perform,” he said. “That’s kind of what’s like when you are my age. You have to keep putting the numbers up there and make them pick you. It’s all gone past so quick that it’s a bit of a blur to be honest. Test, sleep, Test. It’s a way it’s nice to get a bit of reward for 100-odd games of toil.”

Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland has defended the selectors for suddenly ending Ricky Ponting’s one-day international career mid-series

Brydon Coverdale21-Feb-2012Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland has defended the selectors for abruptly ending Ricky Ponting’s one-day international career mid-series. Ponting was axed from the squad after playing the first five matches of the tri-series and could have been given a home farewell – Australia’s next game is in Hobart on Friday – but instead has made way immediately.Ponting said on Tuesday that despite his poor run of form in one-day cricket he had not seen the decision coming, but that he accepted that the national selector John Inverarity and his panel were looking to the future. Sutherland, however, said that Ponting, at 37, would have known that a long lean patch would leave him at risk of being dropped, and that players were not always able to leave on their own terms.”I don’t know many players that aren’t disappointed when they get dropped,” Sutherland said. “That’s just the facts of the matter. I don’t think you should … have any misunderstanding about where Ricky knew he was up to. I think to a certain extent that’s inevitable at the age and stage he’s at in his career. Players know that. They would know it in their own subconscious mind. But I can assure you he also knew that from [former chairman of selectors] Andrew Hilditch and he also knew that from John Inverarity.”The selectors have to make a decision without fear or favour that is in the best interest of Australian cricket. They’ve made that decision. Not everyone will agree with that but they’ve made that decision and that’s their job to do that.”Ponting’s one-day form might have forced the selectors to make the tough call but his Test form remains strong, and he will play on for Australia in the baggy green. That means Ponting will need to return to state cricket, having played only six Sheffield Shield matches for Tasmania over the past decade, in order to maintain his fitness and touch between Australia’s Test series.The Tigers have two Shield matches remaining this summer and still remain in contention for the final, which could give Ponting three games ahead of the Test tour of the West Indies in April. Ponting’s presence will mean that a younger batsman will miss out on exposure to state cricket but Sutherland said that was outweighed by the benefits Ponting would bring to his less experienced colleagues.”The right players going back to Shield cricket is fantastic for Shield cricket,” Sutherland said. “There is no doubt that Ricky Ponting is the right player to be going back to Shield cricket. The influence he’s had on young Australian players this summer … the example he sets but also the conscious effort he takes to mentor players and talk about his preparation, I think the Tasmanian cricket team is incredibly fortunate to have his presence for the next couple of Shield games and however long it goes from there.”Ponting will end his one-day international career having played 375 matches and scored 13,704 runs, comfortably Australia’s most capped player and most prolific run scorer. Sutherland said his 17-year ODI career, which included triumphs in World Cups and Champions Trophies, as well as captaining more ODI victories than any other player, had been unparalleled.”I think his career is incomparable in one-day cricket: five World Cups, four finals, three championships and two as captain, plus all the runs and special feats in the field,” Sutherland said. “I just can’t think of a player that has made a greater contribution and been a better one-day cricketer, particularly in the big moments.”

Australia secured the one-day series with two matches to spare after a comprehensive 51-run victory at the Gabba as England’s batting once again flopped

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at the Gabba30-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Woakes took six wickets but it was in a losing cause•Getty Images

Australia secured the one-day series with two matches to spare after a comprehensive 51-run victory at the Gabba as England’s batting once again flopped. The top order was rocked by the pace of Brett Lee, then John Hastings removed the key pair of Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell before the innings subsided rapidly to give Australia their first piece of silverware since March last year.The hosts’ innings had been far from problem-free but Michael Clarke registered a much-needed half-century, which was his first since the Adelaide Test. He fell to the Man of the Match Chris Woakes, who took 6 for 45, England’s best overseas analysis in one-day internationals, but he was a lone shining light. Although the visitors have twice nudged 300 in the series – at Melbourne and Adelaide – there has been far too much inconsistency and soft dismissals.Pietersen and Bell battled nicely to steady England from 3 for 22, but having been given a life on 34 when Steve Smith missed a return catch, Pietersen picked out mid-on as he tried to pull a Hastings slower ball. Eoin Morgan continued his poor series when he lofted his fourth ball to long-off against Smith, even though the required rate was below a run-a-ball. Morgan has struggled to live up to his reputation as a world-class finisher in the series after his extended period on the sidelines during the Ashes.England’s last real hope disappeared when Bell, who had been at his most fluent, dragged Hastings into his stumps. Shane Watson bagged two in his first over in front of an appreciative home crowd, who could put the troubles of the past month behind then at least for an evening. A record-last wicket stand of 53 between James Anderson and Steven Finn, on his ODI debut, only narrowed the margin and showed up the batsmen.Australia’s bowlers hunted as a unit and the one-day attack has most bases covered, even though Xavier Doherty was left out with a stiff back. Lee bowled with real venom early on, twice whistling rapid bouncers past Andrew Strauss’s helmet and Doug Bollinger wasn’t far behind when he struck Matt Prior in his opening over. But neither of England’s openers wanted to back down and Prior responded with three boundaries against Bollinger. However, Lee was a different prospect and Prior lost his off stump when he tried to play square on the off side.From the next delivery, the first ball of Bollinger’s third over, Strauss picked out square leg with a pull and it became worse when Lee put himself on a hat-trick as Jonathan Trott flicked a delivery off his hip straight to short fine-leg. Although the hat-trick ball to Bell was a no-ball it was also a rapid bouncer and Australia were in no mood for this series to stay alive.Even though their total proved plenty, it was a tale of missed opportunity as several batsmen made starts only to give their wickets away. Watson (16) cut to point and Brad Haddin (37) walked across his stumps to give Finn his first ODI wicket. Shaun Marsh (16) lazily flicked to midwicket and David Hussey chopped on against Woakes for 34, having set a platform alongside Clarke with a 65-run fifth-wicket stand. Cameron White couldn’t do much about his dismissal as an excellent ball from Woakes bounced and took the edge.Clarke’s innings had three distinct phases. After being booed to the crease, he began with aggressive intent and moved to 17 off 13 balls, but then slowed considerably with 18 off his next 41 deliveries before driving Finn through cover. The fifty came from 70 balls but he couldn’t carry on, top-edging Woakes while trying to work through the leg side on 54.England were hampered in the closing overs when Ajmal Shahzad injured his hamstring and Johnson took 15 off his eighth over during the batting Powerplay. Smith and Hastings also cashed in as Finn was struck for 14 off his ninth but Woakes, who was preferred to Michael Yardy and struck three times in the first over of a spell, returned to have Hastings caught at deep midwicket to complete his five, after which Lee carved to third man.Woakes’ figures sit behind Collingwood’s 6 for 31 against Bangladesh, at Trent Bridge in 2005, but they were a hollow success. England are now left with the task of avoiding a 6-1 scoreline to match the drubbing after the 2009 Ashes.

Controversy erupted during the third Test in Chennai, when it was alleged that John Lever was using Vaseline on the ball to help it swing. Tony Greig recalls the incident

09-Feb-2010.John Lever wearing his controversial gauze strips•Getty Images

My team was touring India, and as result of victories in Delhi and Kolkata we went into the third Test in Chennai, or Madras as it was known then, 2-0 up. And what’s more we were in a very positive frame of mind.As every one knows, Madras is an extremely hot place and it was no exception for this Test – it was very hot indeed. My two fast bowlers, John Lever and Bob Willis, both wore the hairstyles of the day, which were very long. Just after the lunch break on one of the days, I cannot remember exactly which one it was, the bowlers were complaining of salt in their eyes. Obviously, it was partially to do with sweating profusely and to do with the fact that their long hair was hanging on to the liquid and it was getting into their eyes.In his wisdom, our physiotherapist decided that he should do what marathon runners do, that is put some Vaseline-impregnated gauze into the eyebrows of the bowlers. By doing so, it would channel the sweat down the side of the eye, as opposed to allowing it to go into the eyes. Well, I can tell you that it was a very silly thing to do because under the laws of the game, if you introduce a foreign substance onto the ball it is clearly cheating.What happened was that John Lever had a habit of taking sweat from him brow, which is perfectly legitimate as long as it is only sweat. However, he did mix the Vaseline-impregnated gauze with some of the sweat on his brow, because he had this habit of going straight across his brow. So, purely by accident, he found himself with a slippery hand and, as a result of that, he decided to get rid of that gauze. He took it off his eyes and put it down at the base of the stumps in front of the umpire. This was picked up by the umpire, who recognised that it was a foreign substance, and of course that’s how it got out of control.There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this was an inadvertent mistake by our physiotherapist and that we weren’t, in any way, trying to pull the wool over Bishan Bedi and his team’s eyes. In fact, had we been doing that then why would Lever put the gauze down at the base of the stumps?So that’s basically what happened. Bishan Bedi was under a tremendous amount of pressure at that time because the team was 2-0 down, and after that Test match 3-0 down. There was plenty of speculation whether he would hang onto the captaincy. He was, I think, grasping at straws at that time. In any event, the explanation from Kenny Barrington and me, and indeed the response from Lord’s got behind my explanation that this was a mistake. I am quite happy to admit right now that it should never have happened, but it did, and there is nothing much we could do about it.