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Shaun Marsh has lost his race to be fit for Australia A’s game against England at Hobart that starts on Wednesday, and has been replaced by Ed Cowan.Marsh was originally named in the squad for the final warm-up match before Brisbane in the hope that he’d recover from an injury he picked up in the one-day series against Sri Lanka.”Shaun was originally selected in the Australia A squad subject to fitness after injuring his lower back during the Commonwealth Bank Series against Sri Lanka,” said Cricket Australia physiotherapist Kevin Sims.”Unfortunately that injury hasn’t healed well enough for him to take part in this tour match for Australia A against England. We will continue to monitor Shaun’s return to fitness.”Cowan, the 28-year-old Tasmania opener, comes into the squad after making 65 against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield earlier this week and chairman of selectors Andrew Hildreth said it’s a chance for him to press his claims.”It’s unfortunate that Shaun’s injury hasn’t healed well enough in time for this match, however it provides Ed Cowan with a fantastic opportunity,” said Hildreth. “Ed performed well for Australia A during the off season against Sri Lanka A in Queensland and has continued that good form for Tasmania so far this season.”

Simon Katich and Doug Bollinger will have only one first-class match to prepare for the opening Ashes Test after their injuries kept them out of New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield side to face Victoria from Wednesday. Katich (thumb) and Bollinger (stomach) picked up the problems during the tour of India and they will have to be picked on faith when the first Test squad is named on Monday.Bollinger bowled in the nets with the Australian one-day side in Sydney last week and is scheduled to come back against Tasmania next week. Katich’s complaint originally carried a six-week recovery time and he is hopeful of being fit for the same encounter, although his problem is the greater worry for the Test side.Katich has formed an outstanding opening combination with Shane Watson and any setbacks to his injury will further disrupt a batting line-up that is already struggling. The Ashes begins at the Gabba on November 25 and Australia’s selectors will have to consider an extended squad to cover all options. Australia A play England in Hobart next week, with that fixture starting after the Test unit has been selected.New South Wales have a formidable squad for the Shield contest against Victoria after picking eight men with Test experience, along with Mitchell Starc, who performed strongly in Sunday’s ODI. Watson will have his first match with the Blues and plans to play again next week to fine-tune for England.It will be the third state Watson has represented and he said he would feel strange pulling on a blue cap, especially after always hoping the Blues would lose State of Origin rugby league contests. “It’s an honour to represent such a successful team as New South Wales, but I’m always a Queenslander through and through,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve been very lucky that Tassie gave me an opportunity to start my career, and New South Wales gave me the opportunity too, to be really content with things outside my cricket.”Stuart Clark captains the Blues while Starc, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith and Phillip Hughes will be able to use the game to prepare for next week’s Australia A game. Brad Haddin and Nathan Hauritz are also in the squad and will have at least one more four-day hit-out before the opening Test.New South Wales squad Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, Phil Jaques, Michael Clarke, Usman Khawaja, Brad Haddin (wk), Steven Smith, Nathan Hauritz, Stuart Clark (capt), Mark Cameron, Trent Copeland, Mitchell Starc.

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A rollicking partnership of 102 for the second wicket between Prince Masvaure and Peter Moor set up Mashonaland Eagles to chase down 220 but their dismissals, in quick succession, saw the Eagles fade away to a 14-run defeat in an exciting three-day finish. The Mountaineers were deserving victors, although the win was spoilt by some excessive appealing.Play began as it did on the first two days – with quick wickets followed by a recovery. Mountaineers began the day on 86 for four and Timycen Maruma, the overnight batsman, was the first to fall, caught in the slips for 27. Nightwatchman Silent Mujaji and Benjamin Katsande soon followed and, at 95 for seven, Mountaineers were looking in trouble. But then Prosper Utseya and Shingirai Masakadza, the heroes of the Faithwear Metbank final in 2009, stepped in. Utseya in particular counter-attacked well, and their partnership of 49 was worth far more on this particular pitch than it would under normal circumstances.After Masakadza fell for 18, Natsai Mushangwe gave Utseya good support, hitting the bad ball well on his way to an unbeaten 16. Utseya was finally dismissed for 38 off 53 balls, an invaluable innings given the difficulties of batting fourth on this pitch. The innings closed on the stroke of lunch for 178, leaving Eagles to get 220 for victory. All six wickets that fell in the morning were caught either by the wicketkeeper or at slips. Innocent Chinyoka, who picked up four of those six wickets, bowled a brisk medium pace, just outside the off stump, cutting the ball predominantly away from the right-hander, and the pitch and poor batting technique did the rest.There was much tension on the field when Eagles began their innings, which increased when the umpire disagreed with the Mountaineers who believed they had Ishmael Senzere caught at slip off the very first ball. It wasn’t to be a costly lapse: Senzere was yet to score when he was well run-out by Shingirai Masakadza as he called for a quick single to midwicket, only to be sent back by his partner. Then came the key wicket of Forste Mutizwa, who was superbly caught by the same fielder at extra cover for four. The Eagles were 17 for two, despite the Mountaineers’ bowling a bit too short.Then came what could have been the game’s turning point. Moor was yet to get off the mark when he got a leading edge and lobbed a high but simple return catch to Tendai Chatara, who lost sight of the ball and failed to get a hand to it. After this reprieve, Moor and Masvaure decided to go for their strokes, perhaps a wise gamble on an untrustworthy pitch. They took some risks, and Moor raced ahead with a straight-driven six and some powerful hooks as the bowlers tried to bounce him. It was heady stuff and quite unpredictable but, all things considered, he did the right job for his team. Despite some technical flaws his 53 off only 35 balls, with four sixes and four fours, showed the raw material was of high quality. He and Masvaure shared the game’s only century stand, the latter soon following Moor back to the pavilion with 51 off 73 balls to his credit.With Eagles on 119 for four, the match was again in the balance. Cephas Zhuwao did what he does best and swung two sixes in an over from Prosper Utseya over the midwicket boundary to take his team to 135 for four at tea. However, Zhuwawo did not last long after the break, skying a catch to deep midwicket for 18. After this, the batsmen fell back on the defensive, probably a mistake considering the earlier successes had come through attack. Regis Chakabva made 21 without his usual sparkle, and the bowlers worked their way through the lower order. The ninth wicket fell at 199 and the last pair managed only six runs, before Mbofana was adjudged lbw to Shingi Masakadza. Masakadza and Maruma took three wickets each. It was a closely-fought match with an exciting finish, but that still did not justify what was a poor cricket pitch.

Despite a tough financial position, Kent have begun the redevelopment of the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury which will include retractable floodlights, a two-storey dressing room building and new member facilities.The parlous state of the club’s finances – highlighted when they released Ajmad Khan having been unable to afford to keep the pace bowler – has been widely reported and there is still talk of further high-profile departures even though the club insist key players will stay.However, the redevelopment is part of Kent’s long-term plan for stability and Jamie Clifford, the chief executive, was delighted to see the first steps taken. “I’m tremendously excited. It’s been a long haul getting to this point, but it’s tremendous to know now that this project is going to happen,” he said. “There is now the opportunity to really invest in our infrastructure and make sure the asset we have here is really as good as it can be.”Robert Key, who has been reappointed as captain for the 2011 campaign, hoped the building work marked a new start for the club. “The landscape of cricket is changing massively and the thing I love about Kent is that the club doesn’t merely want to exist, they want to evolve and move forward,” he said. “Things like this redevelopment plan are crucial to that.”After a really tough year on the field, it’s really encouraging to me to see how quickly things are now moving. At last we’re starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and I can now see Kent as a thriving club in years to come.”

.MS Dhoni had poor support from his team-mates and was the last man dismissed in India’s 74-run defeat•AFP

India were faced with the largest target of the tournament on its easiest batting track, and yet their biggest partnership during the chase was worth only 50, between Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli for the third wicket. MS Dhoni, the India captain, said the batsmen needed to have had much larger stands if they were to overhaul Sri Lanka’s 299 in the final.The early run-out of Virender Sehwag was a huge blow to India’s victory prospects but the rest of the struggling batsmen put up a better performance compared to those in the league phase. There was no one, however, to support Dhoni, who was last man out for 67.”If you are able to build partnerships, that is the only way you can chase something close to 300,” Dhoni said. “Most of the batsmen got the start that was needed, we wanted at least a couple of batsmen to score big. Even if they had scored close to 60-70 odd runs, it would have been a close game if we had converted our starts.”Several batsmen, including Kohli and Suresh Raina, fell while attempting big hits. With the asking-rate climbing past seven mid-way through the chase, Raina, walking in at 109 for 4, tried to push the scoring by lashing a couple of sixes before holing out to cover off Suraj Randiv. “In the Test [at the P Sara Oval, where Raina made a quick 41 to help secure victory] he was said to be courageous and over here he got out for 29,” Dhoni said. “I think there’s a thin line between being courageous and a rash shot.”Chasing under lights in Dambulla has been tough because of the extra help the bowlers get off the pitch at night, but Dhoni said being asked to bowl during the day hadn’t affected the outcome of the match much. “It was the best track given to the players in this series, I felt it played quite neutral under the lights also,” he said. “The base of the wicket was really hard and, though there was grass on top of it, it played the same throughout the game.”India chose to play seven batsmen, four quick bowlers and no specialist spinner, a combination which Dhoni defended after the defeat. “We used two spinners for 13 overs [Yuvraj and Sehwag], and their economy-rate was below six, you can’t say we missed a bowler since the other four were specialists. It was a flatter wicket, their batsmen batted well.”The one criticism Dhoni had for his bowlers was that they didn’t get their lines right at the start of Sri Lanka’s innings. “We gave a bit of width initially. Maybe the bowlers were thinking the pitch will behave the same way as wickets were behaving [all tournament, but] they found a wicket where you have to bowl to a different length and bowl to a different line. The Sri Lankan batsmen capitalised on that.”Dhoni said the entire tournament was a learning experience for the team, especially for some of the younger players in the side. “First and foremost [they realised the] importance of partnerships, rather than which individual is scoring runs,” he said. “Also that, if conditions are in favour of the bowlers, should always respect them for first 15 overs.”While the pitches in Dambulla may be different from those in next year’s World Cup, Dhoni also said the testing times the side went through during the tournament will hold them in good stead. “The World Cup in India will be big, more than just the talent, it will be a test of character – how you can handle the pressure that will be put on the individual.”

Australia’s former coach John Buchanan has been enlisted by the ECB to help England with their preparations for this winter’s Ashes series.Buchanan, 57, was Australia’s coach for eight years from 1999 to 2007, and signed off from the role by helping the team thrash England 5-0 to complete the first Ashes whitewash in 86 years. All told he won three out of four Ashes series, and two out of two World Cups, and on his watch Australia lost just two Test series – the 2005 Ashes, and the 2000-01 tour of India.Last summer Buchanan worked with the ECB on a consultancy basis ahead of their 2-1 victory in England, but according to the Sunday Telegraph, his brief on this occasion will be much wider. In particular, he will be asked to provide specific insights into Australia’s senior players, not least Ricky Ponting, who was critical of Buchanan’s involvement with England in 2009.Although his methods were not universally welcomed by the players with whom he worked – not least Shane Warne, who was and remains an especially vocal critic – Buchanan will provide key insight into the five venues where the Ashes will be contested, and along with the bowling coach, David Saker, will provide an invaluable Australian angle for England’s strategists.”He’s a bit different, and thinks a bit differently to most coaches, but a lot of the stuff he brings up is fantastic, while a lot of it can be a bit left field, or from Pluto as Shane Warne says, definitely no doubt he has some good stuff in his mind,” Saker told Cricinfo’s Switch Hit podcast. “It’s just about picking as many brains as we possibly can before the Ashes, and if we get 1% better from all the people we speak to, it’s going to make us a better team. It’s just good planning and good management.”Buchanan is expected to work with the England Under-19s during his time in the country, as well as David Parsons, the ECB’s performance director, at Loughborough. It is also thought that he could link up with the squad when they land in Australia in November. “I can confirm that he is coming here this week,” said an ECB spokesman.

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Salman Butt moved to a fluent 92 before a lapse in concentration to Marcus North’s first ball of the match cost him his wicket•Getty Images

Marcus North claimed the remarkable figures of 6 for 55 to join Shane Watson on the brand-new neutral honours board at Lord’s, while Steven Smith chipped in with three key scalps in his first innings as a Test bowler, as Pakistan hurtled to defeat by 150 runs on the fourth afternoon of the first Test against Australia.Set an improbable 440 for victory, Pakistan began their chase boldly through the efforts of Salman Butt, who made a fluent 92 in a 102-run stand for the second wicket with the debutant Azhar Ali, and at 152 for 1 with more than five sessions of the match remaining, there was an outside chance of a miracle taking place. But North’s introduction transformed the contest shortly before lunch.With his eyes lighting up as North floated his first delivery gently towards his pads, Butt toppled out of his crease to be stumped down the leg-side by Tim Paine, before Umar Akmal jabbed a lifter to slip on the stroke of lunch. With wickets continuing to slip away thereafter, the last vestige of Pakistani hope vanished when the captain Shahid Afridi slapped his fourth delivery down the throat of deep midwicket for 2 – a shot which doubtless contributed to his post-match declaration that next week’s Headingley Test would be his last.Bowling unchanged from the Nursery End for 18 overs straight, North’s seemingly innocuous offspinners proved too tempting for an impetuous Pakistan line-up, who found a succession of unworthy ways to fling their wickets away. Umar Amin was impressively snaffled by the Man of the Match, Simon Katich at short leg, but in the same over, Afridi’s hoick towards the Grandstand boundary was brainless in the extreme, as Mike Hussey steadied himself well to pouch a skier just inside the rope.At 229 for 6, there was little hope of Pakistan coming back into the contest, let alone dig in for the draw, although Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Aamer defied their fading expectations in a 54-run stand for the seventh wicket than spanned 19 overs. But when Ricky Ponting freed up the leg-side boundary to tempt Akmal into a mow, the effect was instantaneous. Smith slipped in a quicker ball to peg back his middle stump, as the last four wickets tumbled for six runs in 26 deliveries.Ponting by now had the new ball at his disposal, but he saw no need to change the pattern of the session, especially with bright sunshine overhead and little prospect of swing. It took five more deliveries for Aamer to pick out Hussey at deep midwicket with a slog-sweep – only moments after the fielder had been waved into position – before Smith claimed a third courtesy of Umar Gul, who wafted a leading edge to Ponting at short cover. One over later, the deed was done, as Danish Kaneria patted a tame drive to Ponting once again, to leave North in possession of the best figures ever by an Australian spinner at Lord’s.The last rites came in a rush, but Pakistan had made Australia work hard for much of the day’s play. After a confident start to a mountainous run-chase on Thursday evening, they had resumed on 114 for 1, still requiring an improbable 326 to make history and end a run of 12 consecutive defeats at the hands of the Aussies. But the overnight pair of Butt and Azhar showed no signs of anxiety as they racked up 48 runs in the first ten overs of the day under moderately overcast skies that always promised to clear up as the day progressed.Butt, who resumed on 58 not out, was once again the main source of Pakistani optimism, as he cashed in on a wayward first spell from Mitchell Johnson to slash four fours over the covers in the space of 10 deliveries, before angling the first ball of Watson’s spell through third man for another boundary. Following on from his first-innings 63, the innings briefly carried his Test average against Australia past the 50 mark.But slowly as first, and then with increasing confidence, Australia made their weight of runs count on a brittle Pakistani line-up. Though Azhar continued the composed performance he had begun the previous evening, he was always on the defensive against Ben Hilfenhaus, against whom he squirted consecutive boundaries through the gully before, on 42, snicking a perfect outswinger to Paine behind the stumps.Hilfenhaus’s rhythm was disrupted one over later when he dived awkwardly at third man and jarred his left shoulder on the turf, but with the weather now brightening up immeasurably, his job for the day was as good as done. Into the attack came North, and out of his crease toppled Butt, whose quest to become the first centurion in a neutral Test at Lord’s for 98 years ended in an agonising fashion.It was the opening that Australia needed. Ponting’s persistence with North suited the new man, Umar Akmal, just fine, as he climbed onto the offensive in his typically uninhibited manner, smacking a six and a four back over the bowler’s head in consecutive overs to move to 22 from 30 deliveries. But the lure of easy runs came at a price, as Umar and his middle-order team-mates would soon discover to their cost.

When, in the aftermath of another one-sided contest, it was put to Ricky Ponting that England are now one victory away from being able to claim bragging rights in all three forms of international cricket, he bridled with the sort of indignity which suggested that the question was not as preposterous as it might have sounded six months ago. Much like the purported “rivalry” between England and Germany in football, the stats may not stack up when viewed in the fullness of time, but that has never prevented the here and now from assuming the most relevance.And right here, right now, England are hurtling towards the sort of ascendancy that looked inconceivable while Australia cruising to their 6-1 ODI triumph nine months ago. “We’ve only got ourselves to blame for the hole we’re in at the moment,” said Ponting after the match, but he was being disingenuous. With their liberated array of strokemaking batsmen, allied to a canny bowling attack with a priceless ability to think on the hoof, England have got the measure of the Aussies in this series, and it will take an incredible (and dare one say it, inconceivable?) collapse of resolve for a 2-0 deficit to be overturned in the remaining three fixtures.”Australia have had a very good 12 months or so, and they played well against us last summer, but ultimately that was last summer,” said England’s captain, Andrew Strauss. “Times have moved on, and I’m happy with where we are as a side at the moment. Ultimately, this series will be decided in five games not two, but that 6-1 defeat is still fresh in our minds, so we want revenge for that if we can.”There are a myriad of mitigating circumstances that will prevent England from claiming full satisfaction in the event of a series victory – not least the fact that Australia’s attack is down to the barest of bones, with Ryan Harris, their quickest bowler at the Rose Bowl, joining an injury list that already includes the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Brett Lee. But, whereas the first match was all about the batting exploits of Eoin Morgan, the Cardiff fixture showcased the second crucial string to England’s bow. Namely they are developing an extremely intelligent attack.Admittedly, it didn’t look too clever when James Anderson was clattered for 13 runs in the opening over of the match, and at 34 for 0 after five, Australia had a platform from which they might realistically have expected to set a minimum target of 280. But then up stepped Stuart Broad, celebrating his 24th birthday, and brimming with enthusiasm after his enforced absence from the Bangladesh series. In tandem with Luke Wright, another man whose confidence and tactical awareness has surged through his involvement in the Twenty20 set-up, he set about stifling the momentum of Australia’s top-order.”The most pleasing thing was the way we adapted as a bowling unit,” said Broad. “I think the first couple of overs didn’t go to plan, but we communicated about the best ways to go, and we tried to bowl as straight as possible because players thrive on a bit of width these days. We used cross seamers pretty much straightaway today, because there was no swing, and that aided us with a bit of extra bounce and a bit more skiddiness.”The communication side of things is massive in Twenty20s,” Broad added. “It’s such a short form of the game, you have to be speaking virtually every ball because one ball can win or lose you the game. That was all that was in our minds, as long as we didn’t give any width, and that helped us claw it back to a decent score after 20 overs.”Ponting, for his part, conceded that England’s tactics had been pretty smart. “They probably bowled 80 or 90% of their balls across the seam, and got the ball to leap from those deliveries,” he said. “I think they just adapted really well. It’s a good skill to be able to do that, and they put us under pressure. From 4 for 90, it’s hard to fight back into the game.”The ability to think on one’s feet is one thing – and Broad himself has long been credited, not least by his first Test captain, Michael Vaughan, as an intelligent cricketer. Having the confidence to put such plans into action, however, requires an extra veneer that is rapidly becoming the hallmark of this England outfit. And Strauss, whose own freeflowing half-century was a vital factor in the final result, credited the lesson he and his team had been handed by the Australians last September for transforming their outlook on one-day cricket.”When we got beaten by Australia last summer, that was an eye-opener,” he said. “We’d been playing okay up until then but it made us realise that what we were doing was not good enough and we had to find a way of being better. We came out to the Champions Trophy [in South Africa] and tried to play a more fearless type of cricket, but as well as being fearless and aggressive, it is very, very important that we are calculated as well. In the field we’ve been far better, the communication is better and the gameplan is clearer. We’ve stifled Australia with the ball and that’s been as important as anything.”It’s always important to learn from your mistakes,” he added. “You learn more about a side when you’re losing than when you’re winning, so in that respect [last year’s beating] was a good thing. For those of us who went through it, it was pretty horrendous, but what’s been good is that everyone realised we had to do things differently, and a lot of people have been putting in suggestions about where we can take things from here on in. It’s very encouraging, and we all feel like we are part of something that can grow, and grow, and grow.”

ScorecardIan Bell’s 47-ball 85 wasn’t enough for Warwickshire in a high-scoring game•Getty Images

Ross Taylor and Ian Blackwell trumped Warwickshire with high-powered half-centuries as Durham registered their first Friends Provident t20 win of the season by 15 runs at Edgbaston. New Zealander Taylor romped to 64 from only 28 balls and Blackwell went on to make 79, the highest score by a Durham batsman and a platform for the Dynamos to go beyond 200 for the first time in short-form cricket.When they closed on 215 for 6 after taking 33 from the last two overs, it was also the highest score conceded by Warwickshire. The early loss of Jonathan Trott – the England batsman caught behind after driving Mitch Claydon’s first ball for four – could have signposted a hefty defeat.But Ian Bell had other ideas. Celebrating his recall to the England one-day squad, Bell went close to upsetting the odds with 85 from 47 balls in a brilliant performance that stretched Durham almost to breaking point. With the home side only 52 short with five overs to go, there was huge relief when Steve Harmison broke a stand of 98 with wickets in successive balls.Gareth Breese held the catches when Bell (nine fours and four sixes) skewed to backward point and Jim Troughton (33) top edged to mid-wicket. That was the end of Warwickshire’s challenge, although they kept going until Harmison struck twice in the final over as they closed at 200 for 7.Durham’s innings began with an early setback, Phil Mustard falling to Chris Woakes’ third delivery, but from that point the evening turned against the home side’s England Lions seam bowler. Having set an economy record for his county with a return of 4-1-9-1 against Derbyshire on Wednesday, he conceded five tines as many runs, the bulk of these during a rampaging second-wicket stand of 113 in 58 balls.Taylor was almost unstoppable as he peaked with a 4-4-6-6-6 sequence in five balls from Imran Tahir and Rikki Clarke. In all he plundered three fours and six sixes before he departed to a catch on the long-off boundary off Darren Maddy.Unusually for Blackwell, he was often the lesser partner in the big-hitting stakes, although he still reached his own 50 from only 34 balls. There was some belated relief for Warwickshire when Woakes bowled Dale Benkenstein behind his legs and Ant Botha dismissed Blackwell and Ben Stokes, both leg-before, in the same over. Even then there was time for Albie Morkel to clatter 26 off 18 balls.

Ricky Ponting is confident Australia can get the better of Shahid Afridi, the new Pakistan captain, during the two Tests in England in July. Afridi has not played a Test since 2006 and in 44 games against Australia across all formats, he has only ever scored one half-century.Afridi will be the third man to captain Pakistan in Tests since the start of 2009 and Ponting is unconvinced that he is one of Pakistan’s best 11 Test players. Ponting said he was confident Australia’s pace attack would be able to counter Afridi’s attacking style in the five-day game.”Yeah I’m pretty sure we do,” Ponting told AAP. “He hasn’t played much Test cricket of late, has he? If you read between the lines he’s almost in there as that leader and captain, not necessarily one of their best Test players. So we’ll test him out.”Even in the one -dayers in Australia last season with our quicks bowling the way they did to him, I think we can sort him out in Test cricket for sure. I see Shoaib Malik’s life ban has been lifted as well, so who knows what happens around their set-up, but we know they’re a dangerous team.”I guess with him being captain of the Twenty20 side it was a natural progression for him to be the Test captain with all the rest of the guys they’ve tried there not having succeeded. But that’s all irrelevant stuff to us, it doesn’t matter who’s captain and it doesn’t matter who’s playing, we just have to make sure we’re focusing on our little things to be the best team we can be when we play them.”The two Tests at Lord’s and Headingley could be Australia’s last five-day outings before the Ashes, although their October tour of India could yet include two Test matches. However, Ponting said it was important not to look too far ahead and lose sight of the challenge that Pakistan will pose.”I guess we speak pretty loosely don’t we about looking forward to the Ashes and all that, and we are, but it’s not with both eyes,” he said. “We’ve got one eye on that and one eye on what we need to get in place to make sure we’re the best team we can be for November.”