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A refreshed Brad Haddin is ready for anything from West Indies as Australia prepare for their first Test series since the Ashes. West Indies have won only three of their past 39 five-day matches and scratched out a draw in the tour game against Queensland on Saturday, but Haddin remains cautious ahead of Thursday’s game at the Gabba.”They are one of those teams that are very, very unpredictable, they are hard to prepare for, you don’t know what you are going to get on the day,” he said in Brisbane. “You can get a world-class team that are high in spirit and plays great cricket or you can get the other end.”The full Australian squad arrives in Brisbane on Sunday, but Haddin, Michael Clarke and Peter Siddle are down to turn out in a Twenty20 exhibition at the Gabba on Sunday night. Haddin is back in the national team after finger surgery and appeared in a couple of Sheffield Shield fixtures for New South Wales to ease the fears over his fitness.Since he hurt his hand during the Ashes both Graham Manou and Tim Paine have shown their superior glovework, and Paine also registered some strong displays with the bat before he suffered his own finger problem in India. “I was behind Adam Gilchrist for ten years, so if you start worrying about what other people do it detracts from your performance,” he said. “I am just going to be the best cricketer I can be. I am not going to dwell on what has happened in the past. The keeping stocks in Australia are in great hands at the moment.”Haddin has appeared in 19 Tests since Gilchrist retired but has twice had to play through broken fingers. One benefit of the latest injury was some time away during a hectic period for the Australian squad.”I would be lying if I said the break hasn’t done me the world of good,” he said. “I do feel refreshed, and I am very keen to go. I haven’t played for Australia since the Test at The Oval, I can’t wait to get involved in the Test series.”

Adrian Barath had reason to feel hard done by at not being selected for the tour of England this year, but was not putting too much thought to his impending Test debut. Barath, the promising Trinidad & Tobago batsman from whom much is expected, has had an outstanding regional first-class season (845 runs at an average of 44.47) and looks primed for a Test debut in the upcoming tour of Australia.There is no third opener in the 15-man squad – Devon Smith and Lendl Simmons haven’t been picked – so Barath could well open with Gayle in Brisbane. “I am an opening batsman and I am hoping to partner Chris Gayle if given the opportunity,” he told the . “I will be looking to give my best and give the West Indies a good start and set up the innings for the middle order, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. My goal is to perform at my best, but the first thing is for me to get into the final XI.”He first came into the spotlight when Brian Lara invited him to watch a few matches against England in 2007, and stayed in the news by scoring a century for West Indies A against England last year. He was then included in the squad for the first home Test against Bangladesh in July but didn’t play. During the Champions League in India last month, Barath shone for T&T raking in 106 runs at 35.33 with a strike-rate of 168.25.There were few nerves as far as the shift from Twenty20 to Test cricket was concerned. “Over the next couple of days I will be doing some batting in the nets and practicing and I will be practising even more when I get to Australia to make sure I am ready for the challenge,’ he said.The contract row that rumbled on for the past few months denied him a possible Test debut against Bangladesh, but Barath was keen to look ahead. “I got selected against Bangladesh this year and I did not play because of the unfortunate situation, but I am glad to see things back to normal, back to the full-strength West Indies team again,” he said.”I think everyone was waiting on that and it is a wonderful feeling for me to have this opportunity again to represent the region. It will be challenging for me playing against Australia, but as a player you will have to face them and this will be the first time for me but, hopefully, I can rise to the challenge and play each ball on its merit.”West Indies will play three Tests in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth before returning for a one-day series in February.

Kevin Pietersen has revealed his surgically-treated Achilles has yet to completely heal, and faces a “difficult time-scale” to be fit for the opening stages of England’s winter tour of South Africa. Pietersen had initially hoped to take part in the Champions Trophy after his right Achilles was operated on in July, but an infection a month later set back his recovery time considerably.Speaking to , Pietersen said the healing process had been frustrating, but expressed confidence that he would be able to return to training within a fortnight. “I am trying to get as fit as possible as quick as I can. I have had a few setbacks and I am really frustrated. It will be a couple of weeks before it totally heals over – the next 10 to 14 days – then I can start working really hard.”The time-scale is difficult but I will definitely be doing everything I can to get on that first plane to South Africa which is at the end of October. I might be a few days off that but I will certainly be in the Test squad. I am really pushing for the one-dayers, but the Twenty20s might be a rush.”Pietersen is understandably enthused at the prospect of completing his first Test tour of South Africa. His maiden ODI tour of his country of origin remains one of his career highlights, with three centuries coming from just five innings at a time when South African sentiment was firmly against him. Pietersen scored two further centuries against the South Africans in the home Test series last year, during which he was elevated to the England captaincy.”For obvious reasons, it is a very important trip for me,” he said. “For the team as well after the Ashes to take the momentum forwards. We want to have our best team out there.”I have missed a lot of cricket and it is frustrating now because I just want this right but I have got to make sure I come back fresh, having recharged my batteries, because the schedule is non-stop.”

The favourite to take over from Ricky Ponting, Australia have won 11 out of 14 ODIs under Michael Clarke’s captaincy•Getty Images

Michael Clarke, 28, New South WalesCricket Australia’s kingmakers nailed their colours to the mast two years ago by announcing Clarke as Ponting’s successor, but recent developments have called into question whether the baton change will be so clear-cut. A mainstay of Australia’s Test middle-order, Clarke has made less of an impact in the limited overs formats, where his modest strike-rates (67.31 and 80.91 in one-dayers and Twenty20s respectively since the beginning of 2008) have placed significant pressure on his teammates to lift the tempo. That said, Australia have won 11 out of 14 ODIs under Clarke’s captaincy, and the right-hander has averaged 97 in his two matches as Australia’s Twenty20 skipper. He remains the favourite to succeed Ponting.Cameron White, 26, VictoriaWhite has played a leading role in guiding the Bushrangers to all four domestic Big Bash finals – three of them victoriously – and is considered one of the most tactically astute Twenty20 minds in the country. Though omitted from Australia’s original squad for the World Twenty20 in England this year, he was eventually called in to replace the Andrew Symonds and retained his position for the series in England. White possesses a presence not dissimilar to Symonds in the Australian middle order – he has averaged 41.40 at the eye-catching strike-rate of 150 in eight Twenty20 internationals – and also offers an occasional wrist-spinning option. With Symonds out of the picture, White will presumably be a permanent fixture in the Australian Twenty20 side henceforth.Brad Haddin, 31, New South WalesSelectors have twice called upon Haddin to lead Australia in Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand (home) and Pakistan (away) during rest periods for Ponting and Clarke. Previously, he earned a reputation as an aggressive and adventurous leader at NSW, but has made way for Simon Katich at domestic level in recent seasons. A compact and aggressive batsman, Haddin has been used everywhere from opener to the middle-order in his ODI and Twenty20 career and remains a competent wicketkeeper. Australia’s selections panel might baulk at adding to his already heavy workload, however.Michael Hussey, 34, Western AustraliaHussey is an unlikely option given his advanced age and 0-4 win-loss record as national ODI captain, but has emerged as perhaps the most important batsman in Australia’s limited overs sides. Despite modest recent returns in the Test arena, Hussey has played a Michael Bevan-esque role in recent ODI campaigns and was the only Australian nominated for the ICC’s one-day player of the year crown.Callum Ferguson, 24, South AustraliaAustralia have lost their past five Twenty20 internationals – including both pool games in a shambolic World Twenty20 campaign – prompting CA to announce a major review of selection and tactics. Ferguson would represent the ultimate in clean slates, although an elevation to the captaincy would seem most improbable given his dearth of leadership experience with the Redbacks. He nonetheless remains Australia’s brightest batting prospect and could feasibly play the game at the highest level for another decade.

Matt Prior, the England wicketkeeper, has shrugged off the comment about his “massive ego” in Justin Langer’s leaked dossier about the England team and said he hadn’t “lost too much sleep over it”.Prior, who overcame a pre-toss back spasm to top score in England’s first innings at Headingley, said comments like Langer’s were part of the game. In the dossier, Langer advised the Australian team to chip away at Prior “about his wicketkeeping and the pressure he is under to perform with the gloves on”. “I am not sure he actually likes keeping that much and from all accounts he has a massive ego so I would be reminding him about how his keeping could see him out of the team,” Langer wrote. “I would definitely work on his ego.”Prior said he just planned to concentrate on his work and stay in the zone. “It is important whose advice and whose opinion you should listen to and take seriously,” Prior said. “It is not something I would take seriously or listen to. If my team-mates or my friends started saying something like that I might listen to it but otherwise it is nothing.”It is part and parcel of the game, whatever anyone’s thoughts or ideas are that is fine, that is up to them.”Prior was subjected to public and media ire during India’s 2007 tour to England over sledging Sachin Tendulkar as well as his alleged involvement in the jelly-bean incident with Zaheer Khan. Prior denied littering the pitch with jelly beans to distract Zaheer and said he was victimised for the rest of the series. Poor form behind the stumps cost him his place in the side and Prior later said he had difficulty coming to terms with the “character assassinations” from the media and public.On the England board’s request, Sussex have rested Prior from the Twenty20 Cup matches on Sunday. Sussex are scheduled to play Northamptonshire in the semi-final which will be followed by the final later that day. Prior said the decision to rest him had not been taken because of the back spasm. “My back is fine, I’ve had physio pretty much everyday since the Test match, so today it is 90-95% spot on.”All my energy and all my thinking is obviously going towards [the Test], so first and foremost I think it would be unfair on myself or on my Sussex team-mates if I were to turn up on Saturday if my head was not fully on the white ball and Twenty20 cricket – slogging and what not – when really I’m thinking about building a long innings of Test cricket.”

Steve Harmison, the England fast bowler, has said he is desperate to play in the remaining Ashes Tests as he has “unfinished business” with the Australians. Harmison was left out of the Ashes preliminary squad but was named as a cover for Andrew Flintoff in an expanded second Test squad. However he did not feature in the XIs at Lord’s or Edgbaston.”The truth is that, much as I love playing for Durham, I’m desperate to play against Australia,’ Harmison was quoted as saying in the . “You can’t overestimate how desperate. I’d have given everything to have played at Lord’s, to be playing now in Birmingham and to play in Leeds.”Harmison took 6 for 20 as Durham beat Nottinghamshire by an innings and 102 runs last month and said the way he was bowling at the moment, he would be a handful against any opposition.”I’ll never forget winning in 2005 but I don’t want my last Ashes memory to be of 2006-07, neither for that first ball, nor the whole experience of losing 5-0. It took us 20 years to win the Ashes back in 2005 – and just 18 months to lose them. I’d like to think I could be part of winning them back.”Harmison denied rumors that he planned to retire at the end of the summer and was looking at the remaining Ashes Tests as a chance to get a farewell. “It may be that England do not see a future for me beyond the end of this summer. If that is the case, there is nothing I can do about it. But I’m not going to tell them I’m not available. It will be their decision if I don’t play for England again, not mine. I would like to get some idea of their thinking.”Before the Oval Test I would like to sit down with Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower and ask them for their honest thoughts. If it turns out I’ve got nowhere to go other than walking away, if they say, ‘At the end of the Ashes, we’re going to go in a different direction to plan for a couple of years’ time’, then fair enough.”Harmison said he did not see himself in England’s one-day plans for the future despite being named in the 30-man probables for the Champions Trophy. “But if they turn round to me and say, ‘Because Fred’s gone, we’re keen on you going to South Africa to play Test matches because of the option you give us once Fred’s not there’, then I’ll make every possible effort to go to South Africa six weeks before.” Harmison said he would then consider playing for a South African franchise before England’s tour to the country.”I think they will have to drag Fred away from Leeds by his hair to stop him playing at Headingley, but in the event that he or they are unhappy with his knee I feel the firepower I bring to the table gives them a solid option.”Andy Flower [England coach] said to me the other day, ‘We would never draw a line under you’. My response to that was, ‘I would never let you draw a line under me’. Until I felt it was right for them and for me, I would never voluntarily let him, the captain or the ECB draw a line under my name.”

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been awarded a central contract for 2009 and been placed in the bottom of three categories. Naved was recalled to Pakistan’s one-day international squad after cutting ties with the unofficial ICL and has been put put in category C of the central contracts system.The PCB had earlier included Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Nazir in the central contract system after the trio quit the ICL.Players bracketed in category C receive Rs 100,000 per month.

If not for Chris Gayle’s headline-grabbing antics, Dwayne Bravo might have expected a more torrid time this summer. The murmurs and rumblings surrounding his absence from West Indies’ unpopular two-Test series against England threatened to bubble over – particularly as he went on to play a full and active role for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL – but Gayle’s Test cricket obituary pushed questions over Bravo’s motives to the background.If Caribbean cricket supporters were upset with Bravo over his appearance in the IPL during a Test series, all is now forgiven. Bravo turned in perhaps the most complete performance of the ICC World Twenty20 to single-handedly guide West Indies to a stunning seven-wicket victory over the defending champions, India, before a febrile Lord’s crowd. Evidently, Gayle is not the only player capable of carrying the West Indies.Bravo’s extended stint in the IPL – which ran concurrently with the West Indians’ dispiriting Test defeats at Lord’s and Chester-le-Street – appears to have done him no harm. His nippy medium-pacers and deft variations unsettled the opposition batsmen, and went far to restricting the Indians to their lowest 20-over total of the tournament. Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni and the brothers Pathan made for an impressive list of dismissals and, fittingly, his figures of 4 for 38 were the best of his Twenty20 international career.But he was not done there. Debunking the “no-Gayle, no-Windies” theory, Bravo combined with the impressive Lendl Simmons (44 off 37 balls) to steer his side home with eight-balls to spare. He did so in the most emphatic style possible – blasting Zaheer Khan over the extra-cover boundary – to round off a 36-ball innings of 66 not out; another career-best.”I used the opportunity wisely today,” Bravo said. “I’ve had two stints in the IPL and I’ve gained a lot of experience by sharing experiences with a lot of Test players. I’m happy and flexible and I don’t want to play at a particular batting spot. It doesn’t really matter where I bat.”Bravo returned from an eight-month injury-enforced lay-off in March, and his surgically-repaired left-ankle is in for its sternest test on Saturday. In a curious piece of scheduling, the West Indians will face the surging South Africans in the first match of a double-header at The Oval, having played the late game at Lord’s on Friday. That represents a 15-hour turn-around; even less when commuting times and warm-ups are factored in.Still, given the enormity of their accomplishment at Lord’s, West Indies will presumably be happy to take on Graeme Smith’s men at a time when the excitement of the victory over India is still coursing through their veins. A summer that began disastrously has suddenly, inexplicably, taken a dramatic turn for the better. The bedraggled bunch who limped their way through the series against England have taken on the visage of world-beaters. South Africa would be wise to treat them with respect.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Tillakaratne Dilshan provided Sri Lanka yet another flying start•AFP

Sri Lanka survived a shocking mid-innings slump and a threatening 66-run partnership between Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq to ease to a 19-run win in their first game of the Super Eights at Lord’s. Chasing a modest 151 – after Sri Lanka were shackled by some superb bowling from the spinners – Pakistan’s fight was led by their captain, who made a well-paced 50, but three wickets in eight balls, including those of Younis and Shahid Afridi, sunk the chase.Sri Lanka haven’t had much success against Pakistan in important limited-overs games, but here they held their nerve well when it mattered most. The momentum was clearly with Pakistan when the teams trooped off at the break – they had only conceded 70 in the last 12 after leaking 80 in the first eight – but the Sri Lankans shrugged off that lethargy when they returned, bowling with accuracy and venom, and fielding with a vigour that justified their rating as the best fielding team in the subcontinent.Angelo Mathews did the early damage, and after five overs Pakistan had only scored 33 compared to Sri Lanka’s 59. Pakistan, though, have made a habit of starting slowly and then scoring an insane amount of runs towards the end, and it seemed Younis and Misbah were well on their way to another rearguard rescue mission with their cool and unruffled approach. They began slowly, but Younis, especially, ran the singles cleverly, before upping the pace with some powerful sweeps off Murali.Fifty-two were needed off the last five, when the screws fell off. Misbah pulled straight to deep midwicket, Afridi, quite recklessly, slogged his first ball to same area. When Younis fell to one of several superb slower deliveries from Lasith Malinga, the chase, which had looked so promising minutes earlier, was suddenly over. The end of the match was disappointing for Pakistan, for they had recovered in style from a shocking start in the field.Sri Lanka’s total owed plenty to their two openers, and the manner in which they started suggested they’d post a score of around 200. Dilshan and Jayasuriya, aided by Tanvir’s extreme generosity, powered the team to 59 in five overs. Pakistan’s start was sloppy even by their modest standards. Tanvir started with a no-ball, and by the time his first over was done, he’d added three wides and another no-ball to that tally. The batsmen, meanwhile, made merry: both openers eased drives through the covers as the first over leaked 18.

That was the launching pad for more heroics, as Dilshan uncorked his favourite scoop over the wicketkeeper, and Jayasuriya played his trademark shot as well – the short-arm pull for six. Younis didn’t trust his spinners in the Powerplays, and Sri Lanka’s openers relished pace on the ball, driving into the gaps forcefully or scooping and nudging delicately. On a quick outfield, both were equally profitable.Afridi then led the rescue mission, denying the batsmen room, and varying his pace and length cleverly to suddenly stifle the innings. In his second over, he shackled the batsmen to just one run in his first five balls, and then forced a miscue from Jayasuriya; in his next over, Dilshan was beaten by the length, and the innings fell away completely.Sri Lanka’s problems with the lower order then resurfaced, as Sangakkara and Jayawardene fell after getting starts, and the rest struggled. Pakistan, meanwhile, had tightened considerably: Umar Gul offering no freebies, Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib Malik showing excellent control, and with the fielding getting sprightly up as well, Sri Lanka had no weak link to attack. The last five overs yielded only two fours, and it seemed Sri Lanka had lost the plot after a magnificent start. In the end, though, the lack of runs in the final overs only kept Pakistan in the hunt a little longer, and reduced Sri Lanka’s margin of victory.

Gary Kirsten, the India coach, says mental fatigue will be his team’s biggest challenge during the World Twenty20 in England next month. The event starts on June 5 but India play their first warm-up game on June 1, just seven days after the IPL ends in South Africa. Kirsten also believes India, the defending champions, will be under added pressure during the ICC tournament but says the team has shown it is capable of handling such situations.”The Indian players have been on the road for a long time and the biggest challenge will be mental fatigue,” Kirsten told Cricinfo. “But they have enormous pride when representing India and have become a tight unit over the past few months. I’m sure they will look forward to reuniting and playing for their country.”The Indian players have been almost living out of their suitcases since they left Mumbai for the New Zealand tour on February 20. They got a few days off after the series ended on April 7 before leaving for the IPL, which began on April 18. They return home for a few days again when the IPL ends on May 24 – the entire 15-member World Twenty20 squad is playing in the league – before leaving for England to play their first day/night warm-up game against New Zealand at Lord’s. India take on Bangladesh in their first game of the tournament on June 6 in Trent Bridge.But Kirsten, who took over as India coach in 2008, said he was confident the team would be able to handle the pressure when defending the title they won in 2007. “When you are defending champions there will always be added pressure,” Kirsten said. “That goes with the territory of high-performing teams. This team has played in many pressure situations since the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 and has shown what they are capable of.”How different would the conditions be in England for the World Twenty20? It’s something all international teams, he said, have to come to terms with. “Every country has its own unique conditions which each team and individual needs to comes to terms with,” he said. “The players are aware of those conditions and what is required to give themselves the best chance of performing. Most of the Indian players have played in England and know what to expect.”India have sported a stable look over the five Twenty20 internationals they have played since the 2007 world title victory – winning two and losing three. In fact, there have been only two changes in the team from the 16-member squad for the last two games they played in New Zealand, and the 15-member World Twenty20 squad that was announced on Monday.There is an argument that such stability could also lead to complacency among players in the team but Kirsten was quick to dismiss such suggestions. “Experienced players understand the demands and pressures of World Cup tournaments,” he said. “Throw in a few talented and fearless young players and you have a great mix in the team. There is certainly no danger of complacency within the Indian team. We pride ourselves in taking each game as it comes and giving 100% on a daily basis while representing Team India.”Giving a hint of the team’s gameplan for the world event, Kirsten said he believes spin will play a major role in Twenty20 cricket. India have only two fulltime spinners – Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha – in their World Twenty20 squad but have a rich variety of part-time options to choose from: Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma.Moving on to the ongoing IPL, Kirsten, who is based in Cape Town, said the tournament has benefited young Indian cricketers immensely. He put forward the growth of Yusuf Pathan’s game at the last IPL, as an example. “The IPL provides a great opportunity for young Indian cricketers to show what they are capable of in a high-profile environment,” he said. “They also get to mix with, and learn from, successful international cricketers. This can only be of benefit to Indian cricket. Performances during the IPL can definitely be a stepping stone to achieving higher honours. Yusuf Pathan was one example of that last year.”What is evident from the league, he said, was that the best team on paper is not necessarily the most successful one. “There will always be new ideas and new thinking in every IPL,” he said. “What is of interest to me are those teams that are able to win consistently and why they are able to do it. It isn’t always the best team on paper.”Asked about Buchanan’s captaincy theory for the Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL team that he coaches, Kirsten said: “In the dynamic world we live in, innovative thinking is important to try and stay ahead and push the boundaries of performance. I think it is important to balance out what is already working and what can improve performance. MS Dhoni has proved a highly effective and capable leader for India and I’m sure that will not change for some time to come.”