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Batsmen had to be able to show they could handle New Zealand conditions before they could be regarded as world-class.TelstraClear Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming’s pre-second National Bank Test comment today was an obvious barb in the direction of the much-vaunted Indian batsmen as they try to knock New Zealand off their perch as the third-ranked nation on the International Cricket Council’s Test Championship ladder.India folded twice for 161 and 121 runs in the first Test at the Basin Reserve when the game finished in less than three days. Only Rahul Dravid in the first innings and Sachin Tendulkar in the second lived up to anything like their formidable reputations.Fleming commented on the changed nature of Test pitches in New Zealand.Fleming has been a strong advocate for the removal of the low, slow Test pitches that were so long associated with New Zealand.With the introduction of portable pitches for Tests at rugby-playing grounds in Christchurch and Auckland, and the revitalised pitches of Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin, bounce had become much more common in New Zealand.And Fleming welcomed that because it brought New Zealand more in line with Australia and South Africa, the two countries ahead of it on the ICC ladder.He made no apologies for the visiting teams having to cope with the greater bounce in New Zealand.”The challenge is for the players to get better. You say you’ve got some of the best batsmen in the world but if you can’t play on all types of wickets then are you the best batsmen in the world?” he asked.Fleming said that if a particular style was developed in New Zealand then it was up to teams coming here to adjust. It was a requirement of New Zealand’s players also to get better in the conditions.”Look, we’re not experts at playing on a green, seaming wicket – no-one is, so we don’t doctor wickets that way,” he said.But for a player to be regarded as a world-class player he would have to show his stuff in New Zealand.”We know when we go to India, we have to adjust to slower turning wickets and that’s just as big a challenge, moreso in some instances, than playing on a good bouncy wicket.”So it’s all about adapting and that is the challenge of playing away from home – making that adaptation and putting pressure on the opposition.”These are our home conditions, nothing untoward has gone on. We do want bounce, I love to see bounce. I don’t hide that fact,” he said.The problem this year was that due to the wet spring and early summer it has been fresh bounce rather than good, solid bounce, as Fleming put it.”If it gets sunlight on it, then it will be great,” he said.And therein lies the requirement for this match to satisfy the requirements of both sides and to make it a genuine five-day contest.

A superb innings from Nicky Peng denied Derbyshire their first CricInfo Championship win since August despite a late flurry of wickets.Chasing a steep target of 326 in 85 overs, Peng kept Durham in with a shout until he was run out by a direct hit 10 short of what would have been a richly deserved century.It was another classy display from the 18-year-old and without his composed 189-minute occupation, Derbyshire would surely have won the game.Tim Munton’s decision to bat on in the morning gave Karl Krikken the chance to take his score to 75 as Derbyshire added 53 runs in nine overs.Durham started badly when Michael Gough was lbw in the eighth over to a Munton inswinger but Derbyshire had to wait until after lunch for their next success.Jon Lewis was caught behind cutting at Richard Illingworth and in the next over, Martin Love edged Graeme Welch into Krikken’s gloves.But Peng and Martin Speight shared the highest stand of the match, adding 97 in 29 overs before an excellent diving stop and throw at extra cover by Rob Bailey ran out Speight for 36.Danny Law kept Durham in the hunt and with Peng, another 64 were added before Law pulled Bailey’s off spin to midwicket and Andy Pratt made only five before he was caught behind forcing Welch.Durham needed 64 from the last 10 overs but their chances were ended when Peng was sent back and run out by a throw from substitute fielder Chris Bassano at deep midwicket.Ian Hunter and Nick Phillips then shut up shop and played out the last eight overs to take Durham to a draw at 280-7.

Wolves winger Francisco Trincao produced an ‘unbelievable’ performance in the 3-2 defeat to Leeds United, according to journalist Tim Spiers.

The Lowdown: Wolves suffer damaging defeat

Wanderers were strong favourites to beat their relegation-threatened opponents on Friday night, but a crazy match unfolded at Molineux.

Leeds came from 2-0 down to secure a massive victory in their battle to stay in the Premier League, as Wolves’ top-four hopes all but evaporated.

It was Trincao who arguably stood out as his team’s best player on the night, being introduced as a first half substitute and setting up Jonny’s opening goal, later finding the net himself just before half-time.

The Latest: Spiers lauds Trincao’s impact

Taking to Twitter during the match, Spiers was full of praise for the on-loan Wolves youngster, saying:

“Crazy half of football. Leeds started on fire but the first of many injuries disrupted their flow and Wolves dominated thereafter, taking advantage of a seriously disjointed system and finding gaps everywhere. Moutinho so good for both goals. And Trincao! Unbelievable.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“388797″]

The Verdict: One positive to take for Wolves

It was a hugely damaging result from a Wolves perspective, but while some individuals fell short of their best form, Trincao was an undoubted positive for Bruno Lage to take.

Incredibly, this was the 22-year-old’s first goal and assist in the league this season, which says a lot about his lack of end product throughout the campaign.

However, this performance suggested that he could be a key player between now and the end of the season as he seemed to almost come of age in a Wolves shirt, looking dangerous with the ball at his feet and showing genuine substance in his game.

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Aside from his goal and assist, he had three shots on target, struck the woodwork, made three tackles, won six duels and created two chances (Sofascore), so hopefully he can build upon this all-round excellent performance.

In other news, Wolves has been given a boost regarding one player. Read more here.

	Shoaib Akhtar may not have much to smile about in the near future © AFP

Shoaib Akhtar’s ongoing war with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took yet another twist with the fast bowler sacked as captain and removed from the regional side he was leading in the Pentangular Cup. Shoaib, however, insists that he is opting out of the tournament for personal reasons and has now expressed his desire to win back a contract with the PCB. He also reiterated his wish to play in the Indian Premier League.”My absolute priority in my cricket career has always been to take wickets for Pakistan and help my country win matches,” Shoaib was quoted in a media release by his agent. “I am hopeful of entering a new contract with my board very soon.”Shoaib had been asked by the PCB to take part in the domestic tournament, as captain of the Federal Capital Areas (FCA) team, to prove his fitness for future international matches. He led his side to a draw against Punjab in the first round of matches, though only bowled 18 wicketless overs in short spells as FCA’s bowling was hammered by Salman Butt.The decision to sack him, sources confirmed to Cricinfo, was taken by the FCA team management, citing poor performance, indiscipline and the negative influence he has on team-mates. The decision will raise eyebrows in any case, but more so as it comes in the wake of a continuing spat between Shoaib and the board.Shoaib has been openly critical of the board’s policies, particularly in awarding central contracts, for which he was overlooked. He has also publicly refused to respond to the board’s demands for an explanation of his comments, arguing that as he wasn’t contracted to them, he isn’t bound to answer to them. If he is found guilty of indiscipline or breaching the players’ code of conduct, he could well be gone from Pakistan cricket, as he is already on a two-year probation period, in which any indiscretion could result in an automatic life ban.Shoaib, however, told , a leading daily, that he was opting out because of his sister’s wedding. “I am busy in my sister’s wedding, therefore, at the moment I am not available for any more matches and am not sure if I will be free for the last match of the cup also.”Dismissing the recent speculation on his involvement with the IPL, he said, “My commitment to the IPL is absolute. There is a lot of talk flying around players at the moment regarding the new Twenty20 competitions, but I have signed with the IPL and I am so excited about the upcoming bid process and finding out which franchisee I will play for”. He also said he has spoken with the IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and wished to play a “big part” in this venture.Shoaib will be arriving in India ahead of the bidding process in Mumbai on February 20 to hold talks with the IPL franchisees. His agent David Ligertwood said that Shoaib has agreed in principle to the IPL contract and he will sign before February 17.The IPL contract with him is for a period for three years and Shoaib said he was looking forward to play in India. “I am in it for the long haul [with IPL]. I cannot wait to interact with the local fan base and become one of their ‘own’ players. If I am able to win even a fraction of the ‘love’ the Indian people have for their players it will be amazing. And I will be giving everything I can to try and achieve that for the next three years and hopefully beyond.”

“If we do turn up and play …” Vaughan’s choice of words seem faintly extraordinary – it’s as if they imply that England might actually size up the contest and decide: “thanks, but no thanks.”© Getty Images

A lot of water has passed over the pedalo since England last faced Test-class opposition. Twenty-six matches-worth in fact, in which time India and Pakistan have been bundled out of the World Cup, Australia have muscled their way to the top of the Super Eights table, Ireland and Bangladesh have struggled to live up to the euphoria of their qualification and West Indies have veered ever closer to an early exit.So, what have England had to show for their efforts in that time? Well, since losing to New Zealand in St Lucia on March 16, they’ve creaked to embarrassingly timid wins against Canada and Ireland, thumped Kenya in a must-win match, and spent the rest of their time denying they’ve got a drinking culture in spite of lurid tabloid headlines to the contrary. On Wednesday, they take on Sri Lanka – the neutrals’ favourites and arguably the most well-rounded team in the tournament – in a match that Michael Vaughan, England’s captain, has described as “the start of our World Cup”.”We know that tomorrow is a real big game in the context of where we go in this tournament,” said Vaughan. “We’ve proved over the months that if we do turn up and play, we can be a match for any side in the world, but we’re going to have to raise our performance compared to what we have had already in this tournament.””If we do turn up and play …” Vaughan’s choice of words seem faintly extraordinary – it’s as if they imply that England might actually size up the contest and decide: “thanks, but no thanks.” On Sunday, Duncan Fletcher spoke of the complacency that had seeped into his team’s early games. After coasting thus far in the competition, England are set for a rude awakening tomorrow if this really is as far as their planning can carry them.Sri Lanka are not merely a better drilled outfit than England; they are light years ahead in terms of preparation, personnel, form, flexibility and one-day know-how. They qualified from the toughest of the pools with three handsome wins out of three; on Sunday they slapped West Indies by 113 runs; and against South Africa last week they came within a stump’s splinter of defending an indefensible total. England have no choice but to turn up and play, because there’s no doubt that their opponents are ready and waiting.Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s captain, is not generally a man renowned for psychological point-scoring, but having thrashed England 5-0 last summer in arguably the most pitifully one-sided one-day series of all time, it would have been rude not to reopen some old wounds. “Every game is a big game,” he said, “so if they’ve waited this long to see that this is the time to start their World Cup, I don’t know if that’s the right way to go about it.”We’ve been planning [this campaign] for about 12 months, and indirectly before then,” he continued. “We knew we had to get the combinations right, we knew we had to get the right people, we knew exactly what conditions to expect, and we had to make sure that the 15 that we bring here are going to contribute in our different combinations. For that we’ve been planning for quite some time.”England, by implication, have not been planning for quite some time. Their shock CB Series victory provided a sticking-plaster of respectability, but the chaos that has swept their ranks since last summer can no longer be disguised. Take that ludicrous defeat at Headingley for instance, when Sri Lanka chased down 322 with a whopping 12.3 overs to spare. Of the 11 who slunk from the field that afternoon, only Ian Bell seems guaranteed to slink back tomorrow. Andrew Strauss, captain for that series, has been dropped since Australia (though a comeback for this match would appear to be on the cards), while the likes of Tim Bresnan, Kabir Ali and Geraint Jones have sunk without trace.

‘In Lasith Malinga, they possess the single most extraordinary and explosive weapon in the whole competition’© AFP

“That was a funny series with a lot of players missing,” said Vaughan, although few people could recall much English laughter at the time. “I believe these are better bowlers, better players and stronger mentally than they were in that series. I believe we can raise our performance and the lads are focused to know that and I believe we can do it.”Unfortunately for Vaughan and for England, the bar has already been raised by the Sri Lankans themselves. “That tour kicked us off, but it was just a start,” said Jayawardene. “Our youngsters learnt a lot, especially Lasith [Malinga] and Upul [Tharanga], but a lot of the guys have improved since England. We’re now used to playing in different situations and different tournaments, and with different personnel. It was a brilliant tour for us, but we’ve come a long way from that.”Without putting too fine a point on it, all the signs point to the sort of drubbing that the previous worst-prepared England World Cup team, Mike Atherton’s 1996 rabble, were subjected to by none other than the Sri Lankans at Faisalabad – when a certain Sanath Jayasuriya redefined the role of pinch-hitting with his 82 from 44 balls.With two centuries in the tournament already and six in the last 12 months, Jayasuriya is currently enjoying the most prolific run of form of his career – and all this after reversing his decision to retire from Test cricket last summer. ” He’s been amazing,” said Jayawardene. “We felt that when you come into a World Cup year, it’s important to play all cricket. Test cricket might not directly contribute to one-day cricket, but when you’re playing all the time it keeps you going.”England, who in effect gave up one-day cricket en masse to concentrate on the Ashes, might have found themselves nodding sagely at this assessment. But Sri Lanka’s threat doesn’t just come from their in-form batsmen. In Lasith Malinga, they possess the single most extraordinary and explosive weapon in the whole competition, the perfect counterpart to the enduring genius of Muttiah Muralitharan and the probing certainties of Chaminda Vaas.”This is the best bowling attack that I’ve ever played with,” said Jayawardene, “We have so many attacking options.” England, meanwhile, are so ill-prepared that partnerships and percentage-play represent the limits of their strategic vision. Forget Ireland and Bangladesh. If they manage to get it together tomorrow, it really will be the shock of the tournament.England (probable) 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Paul Nixon (wk), 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Jimmy Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Russel Arnold, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Dilhara Fernando, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Lasith Malinga.

Lendl Simmons stood tall even though Barbados took day-one honours © Getty Images

Barbados won the patience game and first day honours of the Carib Beer Challenge Final against Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park. Not the favorites to win against a T&T team playing at home and already the new holders of the regional four-day Carib Beer Cup, the Bajans nevertheless created a good position for themselves by diligently going about their work.So well did they stick to their plan, that T&T, to the disappointment of a large Saturday crowd, had lost eight wickets for 223 runs by the end of play. Rayad Emrit’s bold, unbeaten 37, made in the last hour of play, improved what had threatened to be an even more humble score. His 33-run eight-wicket partnership with Mervyn Dillon – bowled with the second new ball – and an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 19 with Dave Mohammed (11*), held up the Bajans late in the afternoon on a day on which events took time to unfold. It also gave his team-mates hope that opener Lendl Simmons’ fine 84 would not have been in vain.Having won the toss for the second straight match, Daren Ganga again opted to take first strike. Unlike last weekend, there was not the consideration of extra grass or added moisture to think about. And in the opening spells of new ball bowlers Pedro Collins and Ian Bradshaw, there was nothing to suggest Ganga had erred.Ganga, opening the innings with Simmons instead of Dwayne Bravo and Ganga’s omitted brother Sherwin, would have been pleased with his team’s start up until the first change, when Corey Collymore was introduced with the total on 37 for 0. Colleymore, playing his first competitive match since knee surgery last December, may have appeared to be a fitness risk in a final. But his opening spell was superb: in those five overs, he did not concede a single run. His control was spot-on and on a surface that offered him little real help, he still managed to worry the batsmen with movement both ways.Eventually, Ganga himself was fatally confused, falling lbw offering no stroke to a delivery which moved back into him, and not away as he had anticipated. The score then was 41, but the Bajans had successfully curtailed the runs given away by the opening bowlers. By lunch, T&T had reached just 55. Only one wicket was down, but Simmons and new partner Bravo had been unable to dictate terms to the visitors.Bravo, never at his most fluent facing left-arm spinners, looked uncomfortable against Hinds. Like a cat pawing at some mysterious object, he gingerly felt his way through his innings against the Bajan skipper, especially after lunch. Twice, Dwayne Smith, under the bat at forward short-leg, put him down as he tried to turn Hinds away. But eventually, when he reached 25 and had added 59 with Simmons, Bravo fell to Collins, back at the northern end, who induced him to snick a drive at a ball angled across him, to Floyd Reifer at first slip.Brian Lara, warmly greeted as always by the crowd, now arrived at the crease in the last hour before tea. But the score was only 100 for 2. The T&T batsmen spent time at the wicket but had been unable to take control. And before tea was actually taken, Barbados had edged in front with the capture of Lara’s prized scalp. Looking like a man short of time in the middle, Lara became Collins’ second wicket of the session when he was lbw to an in-swinging full toss which he walked across and missed.T&T went to tea on 112 for 3, with Simmons still there on 55, patient, resolute but highly fortuitous from four hours at the crease. He could – and from the television evidence probably should – have been either lbw to Collymore in his second spell on 43; run out when he was 44; or dismissed by a return catch to off-spinner Ryan Austin at 48. But on each occasion, umpire Norman Malcolm, TV umpire Khemraj Barrasingha and Malcolm’s counterpart Billy Doctrove ruled in his favour.Like a ghetto youth, dodging bullets in some on-going gang war, in some so-called hot spot, Simmo lived very dangerously at times. But it was shaping like a day on which he would survive and go on to his second century against Barbados this season. A confident lofted off-drive off Hinds, which took him to 84, seemed to signal the coming of that landmark. Simmons had used his feet well to the spinners when going over the top. But, next ball, he perished by the sweep, a too cute attempt, which he top-edged into the grateful Smith’s hands. That was overdue reward for the Hinds-Smith combination.Even more, Simmons’ departure marked the critical decline of the T&T innings. From 161 for 4 when he went, the home side plunged to 170 for 7. Jason Mohammed caught by first slip Reifer, and Richard Kelly, bowled playing on, were both Bradshaw victims in a belated second spell. And Hinds accounted even more critically for wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, bowled playing down the wrong line of a ball which spun across him. All the apparent rescuers were gone. But in Emrit, the Cup champs seemed to be finding another one.

Marcus Trescothick prepares for his 100th one-day international © Getty Images

England’s summer is shaping up to be one hell of a rollercoaster ride, if their phenomenal onslaught in Monday night’s Twenty20 match is anything to go by. Unfortunately, as with all such fairground attractions, the peaks must be countered by the troughs, and so it will prove tomorrow, when Bangladesh shuffle back onto centre stage for the opening encounter of the NatWest Series.It is all incredibly unfair on the Bangladeshis. They should not even be here anymore. From the moment Australia transferred their words into deeds and Brett Lee banged in his first bouncer to Marcus Trescothick, the point of the Bangladeshi presence was utterly undermined. By all means offer them three token one-day games ahead of the Aussie arrival, but to mix their matches in with the most eagerly awaited Ashes tussle in a generation is like spiking your vintage Louis Roederer with Babycham.Bangladesh do at least have some form to fall back on, after a hard-earned victory against Worcestershire on Sunday, in which Mohammad Ashraful tamed one raging beast, Shoaib Akhtar, who was making his county debut. But try stopping England in their tracks now. A mist as crimson as Darren Gough’s mood has descended since Monday evening. As Somerset have demonstrated so emphatically down at Taunton, the Australians bring out the beast in everyone.Even so, Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh’s coach, was refusing to let the circumstances of this fixture get him down, and predicted a better showing in the one-dayers than was demonstrated during the Tests. “We have a bit of confidence in what we can do,” he told reporters. “The shorter version of the game swings around a little bit, it is a lot quicker and you can have a greater influence over a shorter time. One of our objectives is to get a game to swing our way.”That might be easier said than done. In 106 matches, Bangladesh have achieved just two victories against sides other than Zimbabwe and the Associate nations, and never before have they wandered into the midst of a gunfight of this intensity. England are not going to let their intensity slip for anyone so discretion, one fears, would be the better part of valour – if only the Bangladeshis had that option.At least they are no longer in possession of the most humiliating collapse of the summer. Australia, with their seven for eight in 20 balls at The Rose Bowl, have claimed that title hands down, and you can bet your life that the moment Bangladesh surpass Australia’s eventual total of 79, the arcing roof of the new OCS Stand, which will be packed out for the first time this summer, will be blown clean off.For Marcus Trescothick, the day will hold some extra significance, as he becomes the tenth England player to reach 100 one-day caps. But he admitted that the match was not the ideal follow-up to the events of Monday night. “That’s the test of our team,” he conceded. “It’s up to us to remain disciplined and focused on the job. The main focus is the end of this NatWest series, making sure we’re in the final and making sure we’re doing well.”Everybody’s been a little bit in awe of the Australian team,” he added, “but over the last 18 months we’ve gained the confidence to stand up and compete with the best team in the world. The most important thing is not that we’ve beaten them in two one-day games – how we’ve done over the last 18 months is the most important thing for us.”All in all, it doesn’t augur well for the Bangladeshis. But given the mood in the Australian camp this evening, one fears that the worst could yet be to come on the most arduous tour of their lives.

Middlesex suffered a double blow with the news that both their overseas targets for next season, Anil Kumble and Ashley Noffke, have told the county they won’t be available to play.Kumble, who played a leading role in India’s recently drawn Test series against Australia, did not receive clearance from the Indian board to play. To make matters worse, Noffke, the Australian pace-bowler, decided that his ongoing back injuries would stop him from being able to get through a full season.”We had sorted things out with Anil before Christmas, but didn’t announce his signing because we were awaiting clearance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India,” Vinny Codrington, Middlesex’s chief executive said. “It was disappointing that it became public knowledge before any permission was given. It is doubly disappointing because Anil would have been a major contributor to the squad, but we perfectly understand the BCCI’s and Anil’s decision.”

Considering that Orissa had already conceded a slender two-run first-innings lead to Punjab, the final day’s play in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final at Mohali was merely academic, an exercise to determine a result rather than chalk in the name of the semi-finalist.Chasing 463 was always a remote proposition, and Punjab’s Navdeep Singh merely expedited the Orissa collapse. Taking 5-36 off 12.1 overs, Navdeep broke the back of the lower middle order, and Orissa’s last five wickets fell for the addition of just 17 runs.There were some knocks of note in Orissa’s innings, though. Opener Biswa Mohapatra struck 44 off just 29 balls, with eight boundaries, while Rashmi Ranjan Parida made 40 off 58 balls. As in the first innings, the highest scorer was Pravanjan Mullick, who made 72 off 115 balls before falling as the final wicket of the innings.Notching up a win by 243 runs, Punjab thus advanced through to the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy. Orissa, however, can only rue their toothless bowling in Punjab’s second innings, when the team scored 460 without any of the batsmen reaching three figures.

After piling up a huge total, Orissa dismissed Bengal cheaply and took the first innings lead in their Vijay Merchant East Zone League clash at Cuttack. As the match was drawn, Orissa collected 5 points, Bengal 3, and the first innings lead proved crucial.Earlier, Orissa won the toss and elected to bat first at the Barabati Stadium. Skipper SP Priyadarshan took a liking to the Bengal bowling and slammed 167 fine runs. Although he took 325 balls in his essay, the fact that he struck 19 boundaries must have entertained any spectators present at the ground. Not far behind the skipper was R Mohanty, who managed to help himself to 156. A shade quicker than Priyadarshan, Mohanty took 291 balls and struck 17 boundaries in his innings. The two put on 231 runs for the third wicket and took the game away from Bengal. After batting out 165 overs, Orissa decided that enough was enough. At 454/6 they declared their innings closed.Bengal were in trouble immediately when they attempted to chase the Orissa total. Losing quick wickets, Orissa were reduced to 51/4 at the end of the second day. SK Jahangir returned the figures of 4-2-6-2 and there was little hope for Bengal. On the third and final day, the Orissa bowlers completed the rout, skittling out the Bengal side for 174 in 95.5 overs. The Bengal side were asked to follow on, and were 46 for no loss when the match ended in a draw.