Openers Alex Hales and Riki Wessels both hit half-centuries as Nottinghamshire Outlaws took another step towards the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 by thrashing Lancashire Lightning by 53 runs

26-Jun-2011
ScorecardOpeners Alex Hales and Riki Wessels both hit half-centuries as Nottinghamshire Outlaws took another step towards the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 by thrashing Lancashire Lightning by 53 runs.The pair put on 85 for the first wicket before Hales was bowled for 60 – his fourth 50 of the competition – off 38 balls with seven fours and two sixes, but Wessels went on to make 76 from 49 balls with five fours and four sixes in a total of 184 for 4.That proved enough for the hosts to extend their lead at the top of the North Group as Lancashire were bowled out for 131 in 18 overs, Andre Adams taking two for 19 in his first appearance in the competition this season. Steven Croft’s 55 off 28 balls was the only Lancashire highlight, but after he fell to former Lancashire all-rounder Steven Mullaney, the visitors slipped quickly to their fifth defeat in 10 matches.Hales was the faster of the two Notts batsmen out of the blocks as he hit two fours off the first over of the match from Simon Kerrigan, before taking three consecutive boundaries off Junaid Khan’s second over. He also pulled Sajid Mahmood for six and hit Stephen Parry for a straight maximum before the left-arm spinner got his revenge, bowling Hales in the 11th over.Wessels had just been dropped by Stephen Moore having scored 21 and went on to make the visitors pay for their miss. Adam Voges drove Parry to long-off for 17 and although Khan yorked Wessels in the 18th over, the damage had already been done.Lancashire’s hopes took an immediate dent when Moore was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Chris Read, flying to his right for a catch off Darren Pattinson. Croft kept Lancashire up with the required rate but could not find a partner to stay with him as Tom Smith and Farveez Maharoof were both caught off miscued shots.And when Croft himself failed to clear extra cover, the rest of the Lancashire batting collapsed, Mullaney claiming 2 for 23 and Graeme White 2 for 26.

Australia A pressed home their advantage on the second day at the Country Club in Harare; Phil Hughes’ 125 helping them get to 294 for 4 at stumps, a lead of 64

The Bulletin by Liam Brickhill16-Jul-2011
ScorecardPhil Hughes’ century on day two helped Australia A take the lead against Zimbabwe XI•Zimbabwe Cricket

Australia A pressed home their advantage on the second day at the Country Club in Harare; the fast bowlers recovered from a wicketless start to cut through Zimbabwe XI’s lower order in quick time before Phil Hughes’ 125 helped them get to 294 for 4 at stumps, a lead of 64.Zimbabwe’s batsmen had done well to deny Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle any joy on the first day, but both quicks made amends after the hosts resumed on 206 for 6. The new ball was taken first thing, and Siddle found it to his liking as he soon trapped Elton Chigumbura in front of his stumps for a 16-ball duck.Tendai Chatara also failed to get off the mark before he, too, was removed by Siddle, while Brian Vitori managed to reach the boundary once before he presented Hilfenhaus with his first wicket of the match. No. 11 Njabulo Ncube edged his second ball through to wicketkeeper Tim Paine, leaving Malcolm Waller unbeaten on 14 as Zimbabwe were dismissed for 230.Hughes and David Warner got off to a spirited start in reply, with Warner taking a particular liking to Chatara’s seamers. Warner looked set to reach his half-century before falling to Vitori two runs short of the mark shortly before lunch, and after the break Hughes and Usman Khawaja continued to pile on the runs.The 100 was raised in the 29th over, with Hughes bringing up his fifty shortly afterwards, but Zimbabwe had some relief when Chatara found the edge of Khawaja’s bat to dismiss him for 26. That brought Callum Ferguson to the crease, however, and he proceeded to add 104 for the third wicket with Hughes, easing past fifty before he was bowled by one of Waller’s offspinners with the score on 233.Hughes slowed in the afternoon, bringing up a 171-ball hundred after tea, but he helped extend Australia lead to 54 before he finally fell to Chigumbura. Paine and Mitchell Marsh added a further 10 runs before the close, and Zimbabwe will need to show a lot more penetration on the third day if they are to keep the lead under 100.

Michael Clarke, the Australia captain, has admitted the decisions taken by CA on the basis of the Argus review released on Friday were a minor distraction in the lead-up to the fourth ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2011Michael Clarke, the Australia captain, has admitted the Argus review and the decisions taken by Cricket Australia on Friday were a minor distraction in the lead-up to the fourth ODI but praised his side for displaying excellent character in difficult conditions to take the series against Sri Lanka. The removal of Andrew Hilditch as chief selector was one of the significant decisions taken on Friday, but Clarke said his team-members made a pact they weren’t going to talk about it going into the match.”No doubt it [the events on Friday] is some sort of a distraction but you face distractions everyday in your life; with what’s happening with your family, some of them have kids,” Clarke said after Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. “There are always issues outside of the game that you face as a distraction. It’s up to us to determine how big a distraction it becomes. We left our meeting the other day and made a pact that we weren’t going to talk about it. We had an optional training session yesterday that every single player turned up for.”It looked like being a comfortable win for Australia after they bowled out Sri Lanka for 132, but Clarke said it took quite an effort to overcome the heat and was full of praise for his bowlers. “The character the boys showed in conditions that were as hot as I’ve experienced in any ODI around the world and to put in that kind of performance with the ball [was great].”We didn’t get wickets at the start of their innings but we bowled with really good discipline and in good areas. The wicket was a little bit two-paced and I thought our patience was the key with the ball today. It’s been a key to our success over here; we’ve got Sri Lanka out on three occasions.”Australia lost five wickets in the chase, including three in an over towards the end of the game, and Clarke singled out Shaun Marsh’s fluent 70 as the decisive contribution. “We knew the new ball would skid off the pitch and that with the old ball, they would get some reverse-swing and a bit of spin as well. Shaun Marsh played outstandingly and chased those runs down on his own in those conditions.”The star for Australia in their bowling was left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty, who bagged four wickets and was named Man of the Match. “After not taking as many wickets as I would have liked earlier on in the series, it was good to get some today,” Doherty said.”X is a very hard marker on himself and he’s done a magnificent job for us,” Clarke said. “Part of our success here has been the partnerships from the bowlers. Sometimes you bowl beautifully and get no wickets, but your mate at the other end does. On a couple of occasions this series, that’s what has happened to X.”If he keeps bowling the way he’s bowling, I see no reason why he can’t play Test cricket for Australia.”

England allrounder Samit Patel has admitted that his fitness problems are not behind him yet, but insisted that his work ethic has changed and he’s headed in the right direction

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2011England allrounder Samit Patel has admitted that his fitness problems are not behind him yet, but insisted that his work ethic has changed and he’s headed in the right direction.Before he was recalled this summer, Patel had been out of the England set-up since their last tour of India in 2008. It was made clear by the England management that it was his attitude to fitness that was keeping him out of the side, and there was always the feeling that he had the talent to be an England cricketer if only he take on board the team’s strict work ethic.”If I did the right stuff I was very confident of getting back and I had good vibes from the management,” Patel told reporters in India after England’s arrival for their limited-overs series. “I knew my cricket wasn’t the issue, it was the other stuff.”There is no place for complacency in the England team under coach Andy Flower’s tutelage, and the attitudinal shift to accept the mantra of constant self-evaluation and improvement has been perhaps the hardest challenge for Patel. “It’s a big one really,” he added. “To be willing to do the work and show the attitude to do it was a big thing for me. I hope I’ve overcome that now. Not fully yet. It doesn’t change overnight, there is a long way to go.””It’s a combination [of things], training harder, doing the hours. The willingness to train was probably one of the issues, but attitude-wise I’m back on track and going in the right direction.”You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. But things are going quite well. I’ve lost a bit of weight and attitude-wise, training is the big one for the ECB and England, the willingness to do the work. Maybe I didn’t show that but now I’m doing it.”Patel’s change in direction did not come in time for him to win a World Cup place with England earlier this year, however, and he admits there is no-one to blame for that regret but himself. “It was huge, very disappointing,” he added. “The fact that I should have been there was so disappointing. But I can’t blame anyone else but myself.”Despite spending much of the last three years in the international wilderness, Patel was kept informed by the England management and always knew what was required of him. “They always kept me in the loop and told me what to do. They wouldn’t have picked me in the summer otherwise.”The issue of discipline will not apply only to Patel as England seek to extend their successful summer overseas. The bowling attack will be without James Anderson and Stuart Broad, and there will be plenty of pressure on a young seam attack featuring Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, Chris Woakes and the uncapped Stuart Meaker.Bresnan, who has built a reputation for metronomic accuracy with the new ball, will have to take up to role of senior bowler in the absence of Anderson and Broad. “It’s obviously different bowling in England than in India,” said Bresnan. “In England, you may gather some seam when the ball is new. With wickets playing different in India, I view it as a challenge.”We have to bowl very tightly with the new ball. We have to bowl very accurately and very straight. Otherwise, you will be hit for runs. We have young bowlers who have a lot of talent. If we bowl well, we can pick up early wickets.”It’s a fresh start and a new challenge for us. We are going into this series with exactly the same mentality with which we won in England. We are still looking to improve and looking forward to the challenge.”

Kuwait defeated Jersey in a final-over thriller at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur in the replay of the rain-abandoned fixture on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Saad Khalid picked up three wickets as Kuwait squeezed past Jersey in Kuala Lumpur•ICC/Peter Lim

Kuwait defeated Jersey in a final-over thriller at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur in the replay of the rain-abandoned fixture on Sunday. Rain intruded on the second attempt as well, a heavy downfall delaying the start, but the clouds cleared in time for a 39-over match which began at 1.45pm.After being put in to bat by Kuwait, Jersey’s top order struggled and they were three down by the 15th over, Abdullah Akhunzada, Saad Khalid and Mohammed Naseer sharing the spoils. It was then up to captain Peter Gough and Corey Bisson to stabilize the Jersey innings, both men scoring half-centuries.Bisson departed on 54, run out by wicketkeeper Sharjeel Tahir after being called through for a tight single. Gough anchored the team’s innings until the 33rd over when he was caught by Mohammad Amin, while the rest of the Jersey side failed to sparkle with the bat. In contrast, Kuwait’s fast bowler Saad and legbreak bowler Akhunzada both had good games, taking three wickets each to leave their side chasing 157 for victory.Kuwait’s batsmen started the chase brightly in the afternoon sunshine, openers Irfan Bhatti and Aamir Javed adding 55 before Bhatti was bowled by Ben Stevens with the final delivery of the 10th over. The innings lost its course thereafter, Jersey chipping away to reduce Kuwait to 128 for 6 in the 28th over.With Ben Stevens dismissing Mohammad Amin and Akhunzada in the space of an over as Kuwait slipped to 140 for 9, the match built to a thrilling conclusion. No. 11 Azmatullah Nazeer smashed a huge six to bring the target down to six runs off nine balls, adding to that a couple of quick singles to leave the last pair needing four runs off the last over to give Kuwait victory. The winning runs were cracked with just three balls to spare.”I thought we performed superbly in the field today and Ben Stevens did really well to work his way through the Kuwait batting line-up,” said Jersey captain Gough. “Corey Bisson and myself did well batting today, but I know we have the strength in our top order in Sam de la Haye, Dean Morrison and Ben that we will bounce back as a batting unit and perform better tomorrow.”We really pushed Kuwait and we just need another good day to get ourselves our first win, both of these first two matches have been tight and we’ve shown we’ve got the skills we just need to finish these games off with victory now.””I think as a team we’re still getting used to the conditions here in Malaysia and we needed some time to bed into the tournament,” added Kuwait coach Basil Jayawardene. “Jersey definitely tested us as a side today but we managed to finish the game and seal the win with three balls to spare.”

England’s Kevin Pietersen has been officially reprimanded for a Level 1 breach of the ICC code of conduct during the Kolkata Twenty20 game against India on October 29

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2011Kevin Pietersen, the England batsman, has been officially reprimanded for a Level 1 breach of the ICC code of conduct during the Kolkata Twenty20 game against India on October 29. Pietersen was found to have breached Article 2.1.3 of the code which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match”.The charge was laid by on-field umpires Sudhir Asnani and S Ravi, third umpire Vineet Kulkarni and fourth umpire K Srinath. The offence occurred following Pietersen’s dismissal, when he was ruled out lbw off Suresh Raina’s bowling. By then, England were cruising towards victory on the back of Pietersen’s brisk half-century.Pietersen pleaded guilty to the charge and, under the provisions of the code, the matter was determined by the match referee Roshan Mahanama and so there was no requirement for a full hearing.”As an experienced cricketer, Kevin should know that when the umpire raises his finger, a player should leave the crease without showing his emotions no matter what he may think of the decision,” Mahanama said. “In this case, Kevin displayed excessive and obvious disappointment at the decision which sent the wrong signals to all those watching the match at the ground and on television, and as such merited some form of action.”

The finals of the East Africa Premier League and East African Cup have been re-scheduled following last month’s postponement

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2011The finals of the East Africa Premier League and East African Cup have been re-scheduled following last month’s postponement caused by a waterlogged outfield at Nairobi Gymkhana Club.Rwenzori Warriors will take on the Nile Knights in the final of the EAPL on Saturday December 3, while the Knights are also scheduled to tackle Kongonis in the EAC final a day later. Both games will take place at Nairobi Gymkhana Club.Cricket Kenya chief executive Tom Sears said: “We are delighted to be able to re-schedule the matches and bring an exciting climax to the inaugural year of the East African competitions. The events have generated enormous interest throughout the region, the whole of Africa and beyond and we are already working on plans for next year.”The finals will be a fitting way to end the year and we look forward to two days of highly competitive cricket and crowning the first champions of the East African Cup and East Africa Premier League.”

A round-up of the second day’s play of the sixth round of matches of the Ranji Trophy Elite, 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2011An unbeaten 163 from the captain Rajat Bhatia helped Delhi make a remarkable comeback against Bengal and finish ahead after the second day at Eden Gardens. Delhi started the day on 252 for 8 but a 132-run stand between Bhatia and Manoj Chauhan lead the visitors to 392. In a further blow to the hosts, Delhi’s medium-pacers reduced Bengal to 84 for 4, leaving the visitors in a favourable position to take the first-innings lead.This is the second time in two weeks that Bengal let their grip on an opponent slip: they had Tamil Nadu at 140 for 5 last week before bad fielding let L Balaji’s side recover to 391. Bengal lost that match by ten wickets. On Wednesday, Bhatia received support from the 19-year-old Chauhan, who was praised by his captain for putting up staunch resistance for four hours. Chauhan made only 28 but he lasted 151 deliveries. At the other end Bhatia, who represents Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, went on to complete his second century of the season and fulfil a dream of getting three figures on his favourite ground.Bengal’s reply got off to a rocky start when Arindam Das was bowled by Kuldeep Rawat in the second over. Shreevats Goswami was run out for 14, and then Pradeep Sangwan struck twice in the 20th over, trapping Writam Porel lbw and getting Shami Ahmed to edge behind. Bengal needed 158 more runs to avoid the follow-on but had Manoj Tiwary, fresh from his first ODI hundred, and Sourav Ganguly at the crease.Abhinav Mukund completed his second double-century of the season, and Dinesh Karthik and K Vasudevadas made hundreds too, as Tamil Nadu plundered 693 for 8 against Gujarat at Motera. Abhinav moved to second on the run-charts in the Elite division after making 220 from his overnight score of 150. Karthik then got his first hundred of the season but Gujarat did not get any respite even after he was dismissed. Vasudevadas, who had scored his second first-class century in Tamil Nadu’s pervious match, followed it up with his third. He raced to 105 off 150 in a brisk partnership of 132 with R Prasanna, who scored 69 off 95 balls. Left-arm spinner Parth Parikh had to bowl 62 overs on debut and had figures of 3 for 226.Gujarat’s bowlers were wayward according to their coach Jayendra Sehgal. “They bowl two, three good deliveries and then throw away the advantage by bowling bad balls,” Sehgal said.If you looked at the scorecard at tea on the second day, you’d be forgiven for thinking the surface at the Chinnaswamy Stadium had transformed overnight from the featherbed it was on the first. Punjab had sauntered to 278 for 4 on Tuesday, but ten wickets went down in the first two sessions today for 154. It took a free-swinging, unbroken 83-run stand between Stuart Binny and CM Gautam in the evening to show there were no gremlins in the track. Karnataka ended on 183 for 5 in response to Punjab’s 357. Read the full report here.Medium-pacer TP Sudhindra took four wickets after Devendra Bundela scored a hundred to give Madhya Pradesh control of their game against Haryana in Rohtak. Sudhindra’s strikes reduced Haryana to 22 for 5 in reply to MP’s 487. Sudhindra, who is on top of the wicket-charts in the Elite division, ripped through Haryana’s top order. During a spell of 7-2-11-4, he had Rahul Dewan caught behind in the third over, dismissed Sunny Singh and Prateek Pawar off consecutive deliveries in the fifth, and bowled Nitin Saini in the ninth.The collapse came after Haryana were made to toil in the field for a second day. Bundela got his first hundred of the season and shared a 157-run partnership with Murtaza Ali. Though the tail collapsed after that, MP finished with a big total, and have an opportunity to push for a win after Haryana’s top-order crumble.Mahesh Rawat, the Railways wicketkeeper, completed a century to get his side to 379 but Orissa’s openers reached 108 for 0 by stumps on the second day at the Karnail Singh Stadium in in Delhi. Rawat scored 103, his second hundred of the season, and Ashish Yadav made 68 to take Railways from their overnight score of 204 for 5 to 379. Orissa’s openers started the response smoothly, with Parthiv Patel scoring 41 not out and Subhrajit Sahoo reaching 60 not out.Rajasthan’s medium-pacers, led by Pankaj Singh, reduced Saurashtra to 215 for 7 in in Jaipur, making the hosts favourites to take the first-innings lead. Responding to Rajasthan’s 396, Saurashtra got off to a confident start and were in control at 172 for 2. Both Cheteshwar Pujara and Bhushan Chauhan, who had scored a century at home against Mumbai in the previous round, had scored fluent fifties. But aggressive spells of fast bowling by Pankaj and the debutant Rituraj Singh put the visitors on the backfoot as five wickets fell in about an hour late in the day. Rituraj cut a ball that cleaned up Chauhan and then he induced an edge from Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah, which Robin Bist caught behind the stumps. Pankaj struck the decisive blow as he bowled Pujara, who was moving towards his first century of the season. Pankaj’s 4 for 49 has now given Rajasthan strong hopes of grabbing vital first-innings points.Fog delayed the start of play for hundred minutes on a shortened day in in Lucknow but Mumbai reached a commanding 414 for 9 against Uttar Pradesh thanks to half-centuries from captain Wasim Jaffer and Hiken Shah. UP’s attack, which included RP Singh and Piyush Chawla, struggled to dominate the visitors on a placid pitch as they spent the second successive day in the field. Mumbai, with seventeen points, are virtually assured of a knockout berth and were not worried about scoring at a faster rate. Jaffer had a century partnership with nightwatchman Dhawal Kulkarni. Hiken Shah, who had scored a century in the previous round against Saurashtra, made a fluent half-century. UP, who have twelve points so far from five matches, need to take the first-innings lead to get the three points to keep their knockout chances alive.

Virat Kohli has said his first Test century is all the more special because he had to go through a verbal barrage from Australian fielders to get there, and that he gave it back verbally and still got there

Sidharth Monga at the Adelaide Oval26-Jan-2012Virat Kohli has said his first Test century is all the more special because he had to go through a verbal barrage from Australian fielders to get there, and that he gave it back verbally and still got there. He also spoke about the abusive crowds, which he said was an uneven battle because the crowds get away with it and the players end up getting fined or banned.Kohli said there had been sledging throughout the day, but it reached a “low point” after he nearly ran himself out in desperation to get to his 100th run. “Hilfenhaus said something to me, which was totally unnecessary and out of the blue,” Kohli said. “He wasn’t even bowling or doing anything. I survived that run-out. He said something to me, which I can’t obviously say in a press conference. I gave it back to him. ‘You didn’t even have anything to do with it, why would you do that?'”Ishant and me both came together, and started saying stuff to them. They got really pissed [off] with it, I guess, and I usually play my cricket like that. I gave it back, so whatever happened at the end of the day I am pretty happy with what I did.”The sledging battle between David Warner and Ed Cowan, and Kohli has been an ongoing one. Today, though, Kohli said both of them congratulated him on getting his hundred, and Ricky Ponting tried to calm things down too. Kohli said he was never going to take abuse from anyone.”To give it back verbally and then score a hundred is even better,” he said. “I mean, we don’t go out there to take any kind of stuff from anyone. We are international cricketers as well. They should know that. We need to let them know that. Be it in any way. By talking and by performing. It’s much more satisfying.”They sledge when they get frustrated. Obviously it was hot out there, and constantly they were sledging the players so they could spoil our concentration. During that partnership they went really, really low.”In Sydney they were after me because I wasn’t scoring. Today they were pissed [off] because I got a hundred so it hasn’t changed much, but the reasons have changed.”Peter Siddle said he didn’t mind that kind of sparring with Kohli. “I think he has [had a lot to say] but that’s part of his game, he’s a tough competitor and he’s shown that,” Siddle said. “He goes out there, has a bit of a chirp in the field, but he digs in when he’s got the bat in his hand. That’s the way Australia’s played the game in the past, and that’s the way we like to play it. It’s good fun, a good contest, I like coming up against him and he’s a good player. It’s a nice challenge to have out there, and that’s what people want to watch in Test cricket.”Virat Kohli: “To give it back verbally and then score a hundred is even better”•Getty Images

The sledging on the field might have turned out to be an even contest, but Kohli was more annoyed with the fan abuse. He was asked if the Australia players got abused just as badly in India. “I don’t know about that,” Kohli said. “I haven’t spoken to Australian players about that. It is really, really frustrating at times because they say stuff which shouldn’t be said on a cricket field.”We have gone there to play, not to be abused like that. If they have come here [to the ground] to enjoy the game, they should do that. Not get drunk and abuse players. It’s not fair on players. If the player says anything, they are fined and banned. The crowd can just say anything and go home. It should be played in a fair way.”After scoring his maiden century in his eighth match, Kohli also asked for more patience with youngsters coming into Test cricket. Kohli was under immense pressure after his failures in Melbourne and Sydney, with calls for him to be dropped, and had to work hard to come out of that mental state.”They [the youngsters] are all waiting for their opportunities,” Kohli said. “They are as talented or as skilled as any youngster that gets a chance in the team. All of them are eager to play. Putting too much pressure on someone initially, it’s not fair on the guy. You need to let the guy blend into a certain format. Some people start well, some people take time, so you have got to have patience with someone who comes in. All the players who have got chances are good enough. And the day they are mentally even tougher and more sure of themselves, they will be consistent in Test cricket.”This tour has been an emotional journey for Kohli. He watched India lose a Test they could have won, and been involved with crowd abuse and sanctioned for it. He has been the person most sledged by Australia, but he has also been the only Indian to score a century. However, he said he didn’t want to get carried away with it.”I still maintain it’s a learning curve for me,” Kohli said. “I don’t want to say I am established in Test cricket, but I am learning with every game. As long as I can learn and perform at the same time I am going to become a better cricketer everyday, and that’s my aim right now.”Kohli didn’t get to the century without hiccups, though. Two lower-order batsmen fell while he was in the 90s and that reminded him of Perth, where he was left stranded. “After tea, we lost two wickets in two balls again,” he said. “I was pretty frustrated at that point of time. That something like Perth shouldn’t happen again. The next over I decided to go after Harris so that I could get runs and finally, when I got the 100th run, I was on cloud nine. Starting your cricket as a young kid, you always dream of achieving a Test century, and that first one is always the most special.”

Andrew Strauss has warned his England teammates they are playing for their places in the final Test of the series against Pakistan in Dubai.

George Dobell in Dubai02-Feb-2012Andrew Strauss has warned his England teammates they are playing for their places in the final Test of the series against Pakistan in Dubai.Pakistan have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series, with several England batsmen enduring miserable tours. Strauss (17), Eoin Morgan (10.25), Ian Bell (9) and Kevin Pietersen (4.25) are all averaging under 20 in the two Tests and have been largely at fault as England’s batting has struggled in three of the four innings.”You can’t keep underperforming forever,” Strauss said. “All of us have a responsibility to improve our games. I’m a strong believer that no-one is guaranteed their place in the England side. The environment only works if there is pressure on your for your place, so we all have to work very hard for the next five days.”Despite Strauss’ words, it is far from certain that England will make any changes for this game. While there is a temptation to bring in Ravi Bopara for Eoin Morgan – Bopara’s medium-pace bowling gives the Essex player an edge in that regard – the England management have invested a lot of time and faith in Morgan. The continuity of selection policy has served them well and they are loathe to drop a player they feel has the character to flourish at this level. Morgan did make a Test century against India only four Tests ago and the management signalled their liking for him by appointing him vice-captain of the T20 side. Similarly, England are not about to forget about the excellent months that Pietersen and Bell enjoyed before this tour.They are no further injury concerns in the England squad. Bell had recovered sufficiently from his stomach trouble to resume training on Thursday and nobody else in the squad has contracted the illness.Back in England, Chris Tremlett could be set for three months on the sidelines after seeing a specialist and being told he needs surgery. He tweeted: “Scans reveal a bulging disc and may require a little clean up. Hopefully back playing mid to end of April.”Strauss denied there was any tension within the England squad about players appearing in the IPL, though he did admit there was a balance to find to ensure the team enjoyed the best preparation ahead of the series against West Indies. “We’ve become very comfortable with the fact the ICC have given our players a window to play in the IPL and that window stipulates those games have to have enough time to prepare properly for our next Test series,” Strauss said. “We all know where we stand. I certainly won’t stand in the way of players who want to play. But, with my Test captain’s hat on, I want to make sure they have enough time to prepare for the West Indies Tests next summer. We’re all comfortable with that.”The series may have been decided, but England retain plenty of motivation going into this game. For a start, they are “desperate” in Andrew Strauss’ words, to avoid the humiliation of a 3-0 whitewash. They have not suffered such an indignity since the 2006-07 Ashes and, before that, the 1992-93 series in India. Such a result here would feel like a particular humiliation for the top-ranked side.They are also keen to denounce their poor record in Asia. Excluding Tests against Bangladesh, England have won just one of their last 19 Tests in Asia and that was back in March 2006, when they defeated India in Mumbai. If England are to travel to Sri Lanka with any realistic confidence, they need to show some signs of improvement. While they could point to the first three innings of the Abu Dhabi Test as evidence of progress, the manner in which the game finished – England spun away for just 72 – superseded the earlier positive signs.Pakistan, by contrast, approach this game in good spirits. They are aiming to complete just the fifth series clean-sweep (three matches or more) in their history and their first against England. It would also be the first time they have done so outside Pakistan. They have one selection decision to make – Aizaz Cheema and Wahab Riaz are both vying for the second seamer’s spot that was filled by Junaid Khan in Abu Dhabi – but go into this Test looking as settled and calm as any Pakistan team in many years.Perhaps their most remarkable achievement in this series has been exorcising the ghost of spot-fixing. Almost anyway. While talk of the subject has slowly ebbed away over the last few weeks, the release of Mohammad Amir from prison on Wednesday prompted renewed interest. Misbah-ul-Haq, typically, blocked any questions on the issue with the straightest of bats, stating that: “Such incidents are always sad, but you cannot do anything about it.” Strauss, in similar mood, was also reluctant to be drawn on the issue but did suggest that “the deterrent should be very strong to stop these guys doing this again.”Misbah was happier talking about the causes of Pakistan’s success, crediting a strong team spirit and continuity of selection as the key factors. “If you look two years back, you can say it was an inexperienced side with a lot of young players,” he said. “Now they have played almost two years, getting experience, getting mature and gelling well in the team. Everybody knows each other well, understands the game and their responsibilities and what he has to do for the team. That’s the main thing for improvement in Pakistan cricket. As you play together and you keep playing against good sides you improve.”Victory in this Test would complete a remarkable rehabilitation for Misbah and his side. In 2010, when Pakistan cricket was tarnished by the corruption scandal and Misbah was omitted from a 35-man preliminary squad, few would have suggested that, less than two years later, he would be the man at the helm of a resurgent Test side. But now on the eve of the final Test of the series, few would doubt his team’s ability to complete the clean sweep.