If hosts can whitewash tourists in ODIs they will rule world in all forms of game

Stern test: Alastair Cook says achieving No 1 ranking in
all forms of the game would be 'amazing'.

England can go where no cricket team has gone before and become the top-ranked side in all three forms of the game if they whitewash Australia 5-0 in the forthcoming NatWest Series. 

It may seem fanciful that they would win every match against Michael Clarke’s side, the current No 1 ranked 50-over side, but this England team under Andy Flower have risen to every challenge they have set themselves bar winning the World Cup. But if that remains a notable absentee in their burgeoning trophy cabinet, steps are under way to address it starting with this one-day series, scheduled here as a reciprocal arrangement to the five one-day matches England want to play ahead of the 2015 World Cup in Australia.
 

Modern cricketers do not look too far ahead and Alastair Cook was predictably cautious about making any Glenn McGrath-like predictions of a clean sweep.

Yet as a plodder and a donkey (as one scribe famously described Cook’s one-day credentials) who has confounded every critic with the caterpillar to butterfly transformation of his one-day batting, he will doubtless be more confident of his team’s chances of achieving a 5-0 result than he is letting on, especially as England have won six of their last home one-day series.

“It would be an amazing achievement to be top in all formats but I don’t want it to be blown out of proportion,” Cook said on Thursday. “We are very much a developing one-day side and we’re desperate to keep going up the rankings. But let’s not get too carried away. It’s the start of a series against the current world No 1 side, something they’ve proved over a number of years. We’re going to have to be at our absolute best to try to win the series.”

Australia tend to peak against the old enemy and, while they were well beaten in the last Ashes series, they have yet to bend their knee to England in 50-over cricket. Clarke, a maligned figure when he first took over the captaincy, has since proved himself an adept and aggressive leader of a young team beginning to hit their stride.

“England have won their last six series playing some really consistent cricket so it’s important for us to play well and stay at No 1,” Clarke said on Thursday. “Our goal as an Australian cricket team is to be top in all three forms and I hope we can play some good cricket in England to stay there.”

The recent form suggests they will have to play well. England were scarcely troubled by the West Indies for more than an over or two in either the Tests or one-day internationals, while Australia drew the one-day series against Darren Sammy’s side in the Caribbean 2-2, with one game tied.

But then judging what might be from past results is rarely an exact science, or so England will be hoping after winning just one of their last nine ODIs against the Aussies.

The West Indies never really came to terms with the conditions, the slow, seaming pitches and biting wind anathema to their sunny dispositions.

Australia’s seam bowlers will be better equipped to use any movement that might ensue, while, in 19-year old Pat Cummins, they have someone with the genuine pace to disconcert.

Cummins tends to come on first change after Brett Lee and Clint McKay have delivered the opening salvo, a short and tall combination that can test a batsman’s judgment of length. Their bowling after that varies on the skipper’s hunch and how somebody is going on the day.

Xavier Doherty is the spinner of choice at present but could find it difficult to contain on English pitches that tend to offer precious little grip until later in the year. Thereafter a combination of Shane Watson’s muscular seamers, the captain’s left-arm skidders and David Hussey’s off-breaks fill the remaining overs, a kaleidoscopic approach in direct contrast to England’s use of five specialist bowlers.

Australia bat deeper than England, who have Tim Bresnan at seven, a consequence of playing those specialists as opposed to an all-rounder.

David Warner will open the batting, probably with Shane Watson, though Matthew Wade, the Australia wicket-keeper touted as the new Adam Gilchrist, could team up with the big-hitting Warner if the pitch looks true.

For this first game, at least, the contest will be the batting depth of the visitors against the bowling depth of the home team - as much a test of ideologies as of mettle.

Michael Clarke backs fast bowler Pat Cummins

Up to the task ... Skipper Michael Clarke has backed young
gun Cummins to fire in England.

Pat Cummins won't be fazed by playing on cricket's grandest stage in Friday's one-day series opener against England, according to Australia captain Michael Clarke.

The teenage paceman is set to play his first international match on English soil in the Lord's clash.

Australia have traditionally had a strong affinity with the home of cricket, the scene of the nation's 1999 World Cup triumph as well as 75-year unbeaten run in Tests.

However Mitchell Johnson's meltdown and Brad Haddin's tardy glove work during the 2009 Ashes loss at the venue showed the occasion can sometimes get the better of first-timers.

The vagaries of the ground's famous slope have caused many a fast bowler to struggle for rhythm in opening spells.

Clarke said Cummins showed in his performances in South Africa late last year that he could handle the big occasion.

"He will be out to enjoy himself and do as well as he possibly can," Clarke said.

New South Welshman Cummins made his debut for Australia at just 18 in a Twenty20 match against South Africa in Cape Town.

He then impressed in the 2-1 one-day series win before producing a man-of-the-match performance on Test debut in Johannesburg.

After hitting the winning runs at the Wanderers, Cummins succumbed to a foot injury and has only just returned to national colours.

His lethal combination of pace and swing caused all sorts of trouble for batsmen in warm-up matches against Ireland and Essex.

It was his 3-26 against the county side in Chelmsford on Tuesday that looks to have confirmed his spot in Friday's match.

England won the past six one-day series on home soil but only enjoyed one victory against Australia in their past nine encounters.

England can replace Australia as the world No.1 one-day side with a 5-0 series whitewash.

Not that England captain Alastair Cook is showing such optimism.

"Let's not count our chickens just yet, before they hatch," he said.

"That's totally irrelevant for us.You go into any series just trying to win the series."

"That's a tough enough challenge."

Khawaja and Hauritz join Queensland

Usman Khawaja has followed Phillip Hughes
in leaving New South Wales.

The exodus from New South Wales has continued with Usman Khawaja and Nathan Hauritz both confirming they have signed with Queensland. Their departures follow Thursday's news that Phillip Hughes was moving to South Australia, further depleting a New South Wales line-up that had already been hit by the retirements of Simon Katich this month and Phil Jaques at the end of last summer. 

Khawaja and Hauritz both held Cricket Australia contracts last year but were cut last week as the list of national contracts was slashed from 25 to 17. The influx of former international players - Hughes, Doug Bollinger and Steven Smith also lost their national deals - has left the Blues juggling their list as some of their players have looked interstate for other offers. 

Although Queensland won the Sheffield Shield last season, the presence of Khawaja will be a major boost to their batting. The Bulls can now boast two men on the fringes of Test selection, Khawaja and Peter Forrest, as well as two of the most promising young batsmen on the domestic scene in Australia, Joe Burns and Chris Lynn. 

Khawaja, who is currently playing for Derbyshire, is expected to link up with the Bulls in September ahead of what could be an early start to their title defence. Khawaja averages 80.80 in four first-class matches at the Gabba, and although it can be a challenging venue for batsmen, he can take inspiration from the significant improvement in Forrest's results when he moved from Sydney to Brisbane last year.

"The decision to join Queensland has been the toughest decision of my career, particularly because I had to leave my home, my mates, my family, and my clubs of Cricket New South Wales and Randwick Petersham," Khawaja said. "I owe a great deal to where I am, and what I've achieved, to Cricket NSW and the 'Randy-Petes'. 

"I'm extremely excited about joining Queensland and taking my cricket to the next level. I have a big role and it's a perfect environment for me to grow as a player and a person. Darren [Lehmann, the Queensland coach] and Trevor Hohns have meticulously crafted a team culture that is welcoming, yet very demanding."

Lehmann said he was impressed that Khawaja had been willing to move out of his comfort zone to embrace a new challenge. 

"The easy decision for Usman would have been to stay where he was, but to his credit, he got in touch with us to see whether there was an opportunity with the Bulls to take his game to a new level, and for that stance, I congratulate him," Lehmann said. "It was a mature cricket decision, based around joining a successful group and I'm very excited about him coming into our culture, developing his skills and growing as a player." 

Khawaja, 25, has played six Tests for Australia, the last of which was the loss to New Zealand in Hobart in December. Hauritz, 30, was a regular member of Australia's Test side until the 2010-11 Ashes, but the emergence of Nathan Lyon and a serious shoulder injury to Hauritz last year has left him adrift from international cricket, and he did not play a game for Australia over the past year despite holding a national contract. 

Originally from Queensland, where he played 28 first-class matches before moving to New South Wales in 2006-07, Hauritz began the gradual journey home last summer when he played for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. Although he will be battling with the promising young legspinner Cameron Boyce for a place in the side, Hauritz said the opportunity to move back to Brisbane was too good to pass up. 

"I left Queensland looking for opportunity and gained that with New South Wales, and for that, I am eternally grateful," Hauritz said. "I was able to realise my dream of playing for Australia and thoroughly enjoyed playing cricket with NSW and with Randwick-Petersham. My wife Di and I enjoyed living in Sydney, but when the possibility emerged for us to come back home, it was too good to miss." 

"The chance to work with Boof [Lehmann] and get back to playing with the guys I grew up was very attractive and the fact I enjoyed my time with the Brisbane Heat last season reinforced that it was the right way to go. I still believe I can play for Australia and I'm confident the way the Bulls play and the group they have will help me with that goal." 

Lehmann said Queensland were happy to welcome Hauritz home. "He's a world-class offspinner, which fits in with how we are structuring our squad, and I am sure he is ready to demonstrate those skills for us and again reach the heights he has previously achieved," Lehmann said. "He showed me with the Heat that he is a calm, mature cricketer and we're confident he will work beautifully with the Bulls group." 

Queensland's two big signings came as all six states continued to lock in players for next summer, with one week left in the contracting window. Western Australia were keen on recruiting the Tasmania wicketkeeper Tim Paine to replace Luke Ronchi, but Paine has declared he will be staying in Hobart next season. 

The Warriors were also interested in Tom Triffitt, the young Tasmania backup gloveman, while his state team-mates James Faulkner has also received interest from interstate. However, Tasmania confirmed on Friday that Faulkner had signed a new three-year deal to remain with the Tigers.

A series that could provide a few answers

Cook has had a rosy stint so far but the men from Down
Under are bound to pose a few problems.

Not always does an ODI series between England and Australia start without the latter being the clear favorites. Atleast, in the last decade or this has been the case. However for the five match ODI series starting tomorrow it is hard to pick a clear favorite. England have been on a roll in ODIs in recent times after Alastair Cook took over. Australia have been no different under Michael Clarke and that sets up a rather intriguing contest.

England:
Alastair Cook has had a dream start to his captaincy stint. Hiw own personal fortunes as well as the team's form has been on an upswing. England have secured four series' wins under Cook. Their only loss came against India in India. The win against West Indies being the most recent one and that series has helped England try out some new combinations in the aftermath of Kevin Pietersen's surprise retirement. Ian Bell's good form has masked the absence of KP in the series against West Indies but the middle order remains a concern for England. Howeverm it does provide yet another opportunity for the likes of Johnny Bairstow and Ravi Bopara to seal a spot in the ODI eleven.

The bowling has a more balanced look about it. The strategy of going in with five bowlers seems to be working well for England. Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann are no mugs with the bat either. Alastair Cook will be relying on his world class bowling attack more than the batting to provide the game changing moments.

Australia:
That Australia are a team in transition was never in doubt. They have managed to sail over things pretty smoothly in recent times but facing a world class England side in their own backyard will pose a wholly different challenge. One look at the squad is enough to tell you that it is Australia's untested batting line up that will face its biggest challenge. David Warner might have made rapid strides in the recent past but facing James Anderson and Co in the seam friendly England conditions will be one of his toughest tests. Australia will rely heavily on the trio of Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and David Hussey to lead the way for the other batsmen.

While there is nothing much to call for between the batting line up of the two teams, there is definitely a stark difference in bowling, atleast in terms of experience. Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson will have to shoulder the responsibility of leading an attack that contains two of Australia's brightest young pace prospects who are returning from injury. Expectations are high from James Pattinson and Pat Cummins and Clarke is bound to have a tough time in getting his bowling combination right. Xavier Doherty has impressed in the chances he has got so far and should be a shoo in into the final eleven unless conditions call for an extra seamer.

Final Word:
England hold a slight edge going into the series but they will be wary of the Aussies who seem to reserve their best for the Old Blighty.

Phillip Hughes quits NSW and joins South Australia

Phillip Hughes has played his last match
for New South Wales.

Phillip Hughes has quit New South Wales and joined South Australia in the first major interstate move of the domestic contracting window. The signing of Hughes is a significant boost for the Redbacks, who did not win a Sheffield Shield match last summer and continued to rely heavily on their captain Michael Klinger for top-order runs. 

It will also add to the changing nature of the New South Wales batting order, with the former captain Simon Katich and the veteran opener Phil Jaques having both retired from the Blues after last season. Last summer, New South Wales were bursting with quality openers, with Katich, Hughes, Jaques, David Warner, Shane Watson and Nic Maddinson all part of their squad. 

But in 2012-13, they will be scratching around for a new opening combination, with Watson and Warner likely to spend most of the season on international duty and another potential opener, Usman Khawaja, also considering an interstate move. The Blues were one of the states most affected by the slashing of the number of national contracts as Hughes, Khawaja, Brett Lee, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz and Steven Smith all lost their Cricket Australia deals last week. 

Hughes, 23, has decided a move to Adelaide will help him in his push to regain a place in Australia's Test side, after he was axed following the home series against New Zealand last season. Hughes was replaced by Ed Cowan in the national setup and while Cowan has shown promise, there could be an opening at the top of the order within the next year if he doesn't begin turning his starts into substantial scores.

"The next two years are the most critical in my cricket career and I'm not going to leave any stone unturned to make sure I put myself back into contention to play again for Australia," Hughes said. "Missing a Cricket Australia contract this year is not the end of the world. In fact, in lots of ways it's a new beginning."

Hughes burst on to the domestic scene in Australia at the age of 18, and in 38 first-class appearances for New South Wales he has scored 3360 runs at 52.50. He has also enjoyed a productive month with Worcestershire this year, having started the season with two one-day hundreds and continued with strong form in the Twenty20 competition. 

"The [Worcestershire] organisation, their support of me and my ability to focus 100% on my game has been a real eye-opener and my form with the bat has obviously benefited from it," Hughes said. "That's what I expect the move to Adelaide to also do for me, and I can't wait to get there and settle in."

Hughes said he had enormous respect for his former Australia coach Tim Nielsen, who is now the head coach of the Emerging Redbacks programme, and the South Australia director of cricket Jamie Cox, who as a former national selector played a role in Hughes' emergence as an international batsman. Cox said the addition of Hughes was a major boost for the South Australia squad. 

"It is fantastic for us to bring in someone of Phillip's quality, and it works hand in hand with the opportunity that he is also looking for," Cox said. "His record here at Adelaide Oval [two centuries and a fifty in three first-class games], playing against South Australia, is very good and we believe he will be a great asset for us at the top of the order. He is an extremely hard-working cricketer who wants to succeed at the highest level again, and we believe that his determination and focus will be a great example for our young cricketers."

The state associations have until the end of next week to finalise their contract lists for next summer, a process that was delayed by the protracted pay talks between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association. In other potential moves, Hauritz and Khawaja have both been linked with Queensland, while Western Australia confirmed they have approached the Tasmania wicketkeepers Tim Paine and Tom Triffitt. 

The Warriors are searching for a gloveman to replace Luke Ronchi, who moved to New Zealand at the end of last summer. The Western Australia coach Lachie Stevens told the Age that Michael Johnson, who kept wicket in five Shield matches last summer, had not been offered a new contract.

Pakistan still want ODIs against Australia

Pakistan and Australia could yet play ODIs in the UAE this year.

Pakistan has asked Australia to play three ODIs and three Twenty20s in the UAE in August and September, despite being granted ICC permission to change the series to six T20s. Cricket Australia is believed to have agreed in principle to the proposal, but is not expected to sign off on the deal until discussing it with its players, after the Australian Cricketers' Association expressed "significant concerns" about the extreme heat in the UAE at that time of year. 

The PCB was open to the idea of only T20 games but Wicket99 understands the broadcaster had objected for commercial reasons. The PCB's request for the ICC to allow a six-match T20 series due to the weather conditions was approved this week, but Pakistan considered it only a backup plan in case the ODI portion of the series could not go ahead. 

The chairmen and chief executives of both sides met during the ICC's annual conference in Kuala Lumpur and agreed in principle on a series of three ODIs and three T20s in the UAE. The PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf, said the matches would start in the evening in order to avoid the worst of the heat.

"We had a decision with Cricket Australia officials that we'll play [three ODIs and three T20s] in the UAE in the evening," Ashraf told ESPNcricinfo. "Cricket Australia is looking at the weather as well and our broadcaster objected to the omission of ODIs. However the decision will be taken this week."

The Australian Cricketers' Association has already expressed its concerns about playing ODIs in such hot weather, whereas T20s would lessen the problem due to a later start time and shorter games. However, Pakistan insists that the conditions can be handled by starting the 50-over matches in the evening.

Cricket Australia confirmed that positive discussions had taken place in Kuala Lumpur, between Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland and chairman Wally Edwards and their Pakistan counterparts. However, a spokesman said further details of the series, including the mix of matches, grounds and start times were yet to be finalised.

"They [Australian officials] have agreed in principle to a proposal that the PCB has put to us, subject to us seeing the final detail," a Cricket Australia spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. "We're expecting the final detail within the next 24 hours. Once we sign off on the final detail we're expecting a formal announcement from the PCB within the next two or three days."