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Opener was released by Lancashire after three lean seasons following maiden Test tour

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2019Haseeb Hameed, the opener released by Lancashire less than three years after starring in his debut Test series for England in India, has signed for Nottinghamshire on a two-year deal.Hameed attracted interest from several counties – including Worcestershire – after his release but the lure of Trent Bridge and the opportunity to work with Peter Moores has seen him sign a deal with Nottinghamshire, despite their relegation to Division Two of the County Championship.”I’m very excited to be joining Nottinghamshire and playing my cricket at Trent Bridge,” Hameed said. “I’ve enjoyed myself every time I’ve played at this great venue and hope to add to some good memories there.”This is a new chapter in both my life and career and I’m full of excitement to start working with my new teammates and helping get Notts back up to Division One where they belong.”I want to thank Lancashire for the support they’ve provided over the years and to my teammates, whom I’ve shared a dressing room with. A special mention to Mick Newell and Peter Moores at Notts for believing in me – I can’t wait to get started.”Hameed – still only 22 – enjoyed a breakthrough season for Lancashire in 2016, when he hit 1198 runs in Division One of the County Championship, including an innings of 122 at Trent Bridge against a Notts attack including Stuart Broad, Harry Gurney and Imran Tahir.His impressive run tally – as well as his temperament and his ability against the turning ball – won him a spot on England’s winter tours, and he made two fifties in six innings in the 2016-17 series in India, scoring 82 on debut in Rajkot and an unbeaten 59 – with a broken finger – in Mohali.But his form disintegrated dramatically over the next three years. He lost his place for the 2017 home Test summer, as his average in the Championship dipped to 28.50, and the following year he made 165 runs at 9.70. He started the 2019 season with an impressive 117 in an early-season Championship game at Lord’s – having also scored 218 against Loughborough MCCU – but it proved a false dawn, and he only passed 50 once after that innings.The theories behind Hameed’s loss of form are plentiful. Some suggest that his technique changed game-by-game with several different coaches competing to make changes, while others claim that he lost his judgement outside off stump after being brought into Lancashire’s limited-overs teams. Other note that his record again seam bowlers was never outstanding – at least not in comparison to against spin.His release from Lancashire came as something of a surprise, despite regular public criticism from director of cricket Paul Allott. At the start of the 2019 season, Allott told that Hameed was “hanging on by his fingertips” at the club.”He’s got six months left on a contract, and he’s not scored a run for two years,” he said. “Not only is he a million miles away from England, he’s hanging on by his fingertips at Lancashire.”Hameed will hope that a change of scene, and a chance to work with one of the most respected coaches on the county circuit, can reinvigorate his career.”There’s no doubting Haseeb’s talent,” Moores said. “It doesn’t get much tougher than Test cricket in India and he proved over there, at a very young age, that he has all the skill, temperament and patience to succeed at the highest level.”He’s enjoyed some more difficult times since then, and that’s going to happen with young players, but the ones that are destined for great things bounce back and move their games on again.”We believe that’s what’s going to happen with Haseeb and it’s great news for Notts that we can be the ones to benefit from that.”

The conditions there are likely to suit the South Africa quick’s style but he was wary of not getting carried away by pace and bounce

Liam Brickhill27-Oct-2018South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi is revelling in the experience of his very first tour of Australia, an “exciting” next step in his international career.The 22-year old is one of six players in South Africa’s limited-overs squad making their debut tours Down Under, and since their arrival a couple of days ago the touring group have been focused on acclimatisation ahead of their warm-up match against a Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra next Wednesday. The ODI series begins at the Optus Stadium in Perth on November 4, and Ngidi said he was looking forward to the occasion.”Clashing with Australia is a good competition,” he said at South Africa’s light practice in Perth on Saturday. “Everyone is competitive, it is good cricket, and everyone loves to watch it. I am expecting nothing less on this tour.”The relationship between the two teams is one of competition,” he said. “We keep it on the field, that is where it stays. There will always be aggression on a cricket field, the fast bowlers are always going to be coming at the batsmen and the batsmen will try to take us (bowlers) down. You have to keep it civil, but very competitive, I feel it is going to be a good challenge in this series.”Ngidi has announced himself as a key strike bowler for South Africa this year, and is their leading wicket-taker in ODIs in 2018 with 22 wickets at 20.45 in 10 matches. Australian conditions are likely to suit Ngidi’s style, but he stressed the need to assess conditions on the day and not get carried away by talk of pace and bounce.”I have seen the wickets here are pretty quick, that is going to be exciting. The main thing is to assess the conditions that you find on the day. I have always been told to never get ahead of myself, on quick wickets you might get too excited and end up bowling short when it is unnecessary. I will try to keep a level head, always hit competitive lengths and keep my aggression. The nets that we’ve been bowling on have been pretty quick. If the wickets are anything like that, it’s going to be an interesting battle. “A spate of injuries have affected South Africa’s plans for this trip, with Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Wiaan Mulder all ruled out, but Ngidi said that there is “a lot of information” being shared by those in his squad who have toured Australia before.”We’ve got some senior players still here. They’re pulling the youngsters on very well. We’re learning as we go along. There’s guys like Quinton de Kock who’ve been here before, so they’re able to help the batsmen along. [Kagiso] Rabada’s also been here, so I’m working in partnership with him. There’s been a lot of information bouncing off of each other. Everyone’s in a good mindset, and they’ve been able to help the younger players fill the shoes that the older players have left behind.”South Africa travel to Canberra on Monday ahead of the tour match against the Prime Minister’s XI next Wednesday.

Kieron Pollard can add the Bloem City Blazers to his long list of T20 franchises, after he was picked by Bloemfontein – the first overseas marquee player scooped up at Saturday night’s T20 Global League player draft

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2017West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard can add Bloem City Blazers to his long list of T20 teams, after he was picked by Bloemfontein as the first overseas marquee player at South Africa’s T20 Global League draft on Saturday.Pollard was one of three West Indians among the first five marquee picks. Chris Gayle was taken third by Cape Town Knight Riders, while Dwayne Bravo was taken fifth by Pretoria Mavericks. Squeezed in between was Brendon McCullum, the second pick, snapped up by Jo’Burg Giants, and Eoin Morgan who was taken fourth by Durban Qalandars.Kevin Pietersen will return to South African cricket with Nelson Mandela Bay Stars, after he was taken sixth by the Port Elizabeth-based franchise. England batsman Jason Roy was taken seventh by Benoni Zalmi and Lasith Malinga was assigned to Stellenbosch Monarchs by default as last designated marquee player available.The international marquee players joined the local marquee players who had already been assigned to each of the eight franchises, and on Sunday the teams participated in a much larger draft – to pick their remaining 16 players. Out of each squad of 18, there could be a maximum of five internationals and a minimum of two players from the rookie category.Shahid Afridi, who struck his maiden T20 hundred – 101 off 43 balls – earlier this week in the NatWest T20 Blast, will miss the T20 Global League because of his commitments with Dhaka Dynamites in the Bangladesh Premier League. Another Pakistan player Junaid Khan, who was picked by Nelson Mandela Bay Stars in the draft, also said he would be playing the BPL instead. The dates of the T20 Global League clash with the BPL schedule this year.
The T20 Global League will be played in eight cities across South Africa in November and December.Here’s how the teams stacked up:Benoni Zalmi – Quinton de Kock (local marquee), Jason Roy (international marquee), Albie Morkel (round one), Wahab Riaz (round two), Umar Akmal (round three), Lungi Ngidi (round four), David Wiese (round five), Eddie Leie (round six), Pite van Biljon (round seven),
Leus du Plooy (round eight), Dillon du Preez (round nine), Dean Elgar (round ten), Mohammad Nawaz (round 11), George Linde (round 12), Rivaldo Moonsamy (round 13), Calvin Savage (round 14), Carmi le Roux (round 15), Tshepo Moreki (round 16)
Bloem City Blazers (Bloemfontein) – David Miller (local marquee), Kieron Pollard (international marquee), Dane Paterson (round one), Chris Jordan (round two), Dwayne Smith (round three), Shaun von Burg (round four), Aaron Phangiso (round five), Morne Van Wyk (round six), Beuran Hendricks (round seven), Theunis de Bruyn (round eight), Janneman Malan (round nine), Ryan ten Doeschate (round ten), Clyde Fortuin (round 11), Rayad Emrit (round 12), Werner Coetsee (round 13), Yaseen Vallie (round 14), Akhona Mnyaka (round 15),
Keegan Petersen (round 16)
Cape Town Knight Riders – JP Duminy (local marquee), Chris Gayle (international marquee), Dale Steyn (round one), Adil Rashid (round two), Tom Curran (round three), Rassie van der Dussen (round four), James Vince (round five), Dwaine Pretorius (round six), Jason Smith (round seven), Rudi Second (round eight), Rory Kleinveldt (round nine), Malusi Siboto (round ten), Denesh Ramdin (round 11), Thomas Kaber (round 12), Senuran Muthusamy (round 13), Dayyaan Galiem (round 14), Pieter Malan (round 15), Aviwe Mgijima (round 16)
Durban Qalandars – Hashim Amla (local marquee), Eoin Morgan (international marquee), Chris Morris (round one), Sam Billings (round two), Mitchell McClenaghan (round three), Bjorn Fortuin (round four), Mohammad Hafeez (round five), Fakhar Zaman (round six), Junior Dala (round seven), Qaasim Adams (round eight), Migael Pretorius (round nine), Nicky van der Bergh (round ten), Prenelan Subrayen (round 11), Kelly Smuts (round 12), Marques Ackerman (round 13), Daryn Dupavillon (round 14), Mthokozisi Shezi (round 15), Cody Chetty (round 16)
Jo’burg Giants – Kagiso Rabada (local marquee), Brendon McCullum (international marquee), Colin Ingram (round one), Vernon Philander (round two), Andile Phehlukwayo (round three), Chris Jonker (round four), Temba Bavuma (round five), Patrick Kruger (round six),
Yasir Shah (round seven), Nicholas Pooran (round eight), Duanne Olivier (round nine), Jonathan Vandiar (round ten), Roelof van der Merwe (round 11), Andries Gous (round 12), Rabian Englebrecht (round 13), Dane Piedt (round 14), Andre Malan (round 15), Zubayr Hamza (round 16)
Nelson Mandela Bay Stars (Port Elizabeth) – Imran Tahir (local marquee), Kevin Pietersen (international marquee), JJ Smuts (round one), Aiden Markram (round two), Anwar Ali (round three), Heinrich Klaasen (round four), Junaid Khan (round five), Dawid Malan (round six), Sisanga Magala (round seven), Heino Kuhn (round eight), Andrew Birch (round nine), Colin Ackermann (round ten), Shadley van Schalkwyk (round 11), Sibonelo Makhanya (round 12), Wihan Lubbe (round 13), Grant Thomson (round 14), Lesiba Ngoepe (round 15), Ryan Rickleton (round 16)
Pretoria Mavericks – AB de Villiers (local marquee), Dwayne Bravo (international marquee), Morne Morkel (round one), Farhaan Behardien (round two), Dane Vilas (round three), Robbie Frylinck (round four), Keshav Maharaj (round five), Johan Botha (round six), Vaughn van Jaarsveld (round seven), Steven Finn (round eight), Reeza Hendricks (round nine), Diego Rosier (round ten), Khaya Zondo (round 11),
Eldred Hawken (round 12), Basheer Walters (round 13), Stephan Myburgh (round 14), Tony de Zorzi (round 15), Kyle Nipper (round 16)
Stellenbosch Monarchs – Faf du Plessis (local marquee), Lasith Malinga (international marquee), Alex Hales (round one), Tabraiz Shamsi (round two), Wayne Parnell (round three), Imad Wasim (round four), Henry Davids (round five), Mangaliso Mosehle (round six), Willem Mulder (round seven), Justin Ontong (round eight), Ryan McLaren (round nine), Brendan Taylor (round ten), Lizaad Williams (round 11), Jeevan Mendis (round 12), Rowan Richards (round 13), Craig Alexander (round 14), Grant Mokoena (round 15), Kyle Simmonds (round 16)

Chris Gayle’s return to the NatWest T20 Blast was overshadowed by a superb hundred from Chris Nash as Sussex beat Somerset in a one-sided contest at Hove to make it two wins from two in the South Group

ECB Reporters Network01-Jun-2016
ScorecardChris Nash made his maiden T20 hundred•Getty Images

Chris Gayle’s return to the NatWest T20 Blast was overshadowed by a superb hundred from Chris Nash as Sussex beat Somerset in a one-sided contest at Hove to make it two wins from two in the South Group.Nash made 112 not out from 64 balls, his first T20 century, to help his side to 222 for 3 then Gayle found the explosive pace of left-armer Tymal Mills – who had previously set out his stall to target Somerset’s big-name overseas signing – too hot to handle and was yorked for 5 by a delivery timed at 93mph.Roelof van der Merwe made a defiant 59 and Mahela Jayawardene a classy 51 but Somerset were never in contention and were bowled out in the last over for 174 to lose by 48 runs.Nash and captain Luke Wright laid the platform for Sussex’s second 200-plus total of their Blast campaign with a stand of 156 in 14 overs for the first wicket with Nash making the most of two fielding lapses. He was dropped on nought off the second ball of the match by James Hildreth at backward point and again in the fifth over by Jayawardene, having scored 17.Wright did not hit the first six of the innings until in the seventh over but it signalled an onslaught by the Sussex batsmen, who plundered 90 off the next eight overs. Nash was first to his half-century but he was soon overtaken by his partner, who eventually found his timing in his first game of the season after recovering from back and wrist injuries.Wright’s 83 came from just 39 balls and included five sixes and eight fours as he harnessed a strong wind and targeted the Sea End boundary. It was a surprise when he played on to the legspinner Max Waller and Sussex lost Ross Taylor in the next over, caught at long-on off a mistimed drive.But Nash pressed on and Matt Machan gave him excellent support in a third-wicket stand of 51 from 28 balls. He reached his hundred in the 19th over by hitting Jamie Overton over long-on for six before gliding the next ball to the backward point rope. He finished with 13 boundaries and three sixes from 64 balls faced. Overton took 2 for 45 but the Somerset attack were guilty of bowling too short.An asking rate of more than 11 runs an over was always going to test Somerset and they suffered an immediate blow when Ajmal Shahzad bowled Jim Allenby for a duck with the first legitimate delivery of the innings.But the big moment came in the next over when Mills, with the strong wind at his back, began to bowl consistently at more than 90mph. Gayle top-edged his second ball over the slips for four but when he stepped away trying to hit the next delivery through the off side he was bowled, much to the delight of a 5,500 crowd.Sussex’s other seamers complemented Mills’ raw pace. South African David Wiese picked up 4 for 38 on his debut and Shahzad ended Somerset’s faint hopes when he had Jayawardene caught at long on for 51 from 39 balls in the 11th over.

The aggressive bowling of Shaun Tait and the batting of Ravi Bopara combined for Essex to ease them to their first T20 win of the season against Glamorgan

ECB/PA22-May-2015
ScorecardRavi Bopara’s unbeaten 81 took Essex home•Getty Images

The aggressive bowling of Shaun Tait and the batting of Ravi Bopara combined for Essex to ease them to their first T20 win of the season against Glamorgan.Having restricted the home side to 144 for 8 thanks to three wickets from Tait, Bopara was guiding his side to an easy win before floodlight failure at the SWALEC stadium saw the match held up for 30 minutes. Once the lights had come back on, Bopara and Essex continued their serene progression towards victory. Bopara finished on 81 not out off 53 balls and Essex won with 14 balls to spare.The target was par at best for Glamorgan, and when Jesse Ryder was dispatching the ball to the boundary with ease it looked nowhere near enough. When he was well caught by Andrew Salter on the midwicket boundary for 20 runs off just 10 balls the Essex run rate dropped dramatically. Bopara came to the rescue, first with Kishen Velani and then briefly with Ryan ten Doeschate to make the game a formality by the time the lights went out.

Insights

Essex’s team was clearly short of experience and quality in the first week, when, without Mark Pettini and Ravi Bopara for both matches, and Jesse Ryder for the second, they lost twice, both times losing too many wickets in run-chases. A top three of Nick Browne, Daniel Lawrence and Kishen Velani for their second match against Surrey was replaced by a top three of Pettini, Ryder and Bopara against Glamorgan and Essex were triumphant. With Ryan ten Doeschate, Graeme Napier and James Foster below them, Essex have one of the most formidable batting line-ups in the league.

The Glamorgan innings started badly but they recovered well after the early loss of Mark Wallace. The keeper-batsman played out a somewhat fraught innings: in the over he was dismissed he was lucky not to be out caught twice before being bowled by Graham Napier for 5. The South African pairing of Colin Ingram and Jacques Rudolph then built a platform with a partnership of 46 off 33 balls.Ingram rode his luck during his innings, edging over the keeper’s head twice and surviving a chance off Reece Topley that should have been caught by Napier. He could not make the most of his luck and he was caught in the deep the next over by Bopara for 24. Rudolph was out the following over for 30.Things only got worse for the Welsh county when Will Bragg went for 6 caught at long-off and Craig Meschede was run out four deliveries later without facing a ball. The procession of Glamorgan wickets continued when Andrew Salter was clean up by a thunderbolt yorker from Tait to leave the home side 83 for 6.There was a recovery of sorts between Chris Cooke and Graham Wagg, who took the score past 100 before Wagg attempted one expansive drive too many and was brilliantly caught at mid-on by ten Doeschate for 14. Cooke went on to make 31 from 30 balls, the highest score of Glamorgan’s stop-start innings, before he was well caught at long-on by ten Doeschate.Essex were always favourite to win and despite losing both of their openers early Bopara appeared to have things under control. Fresh from his spell with Sunrisers Hydrabad at the IPL the England allrounder made it all look very easy as Essex bounced back from losing twice in two days on the opening weekend.

Delhi and Tamil Nadu, both on equal points at this stage, take on each other in the Ranji Trophy group match at Kotla

Sharda Ugra23-Nov-2012On most occasions and in many ways, Delhi and Tamil Nadu have little in common. When they meet at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday, though, much around them will be similar. This will be the fourth Ranji Trophy group stage game for both sides. Not only are they on equal points, Delhi and Tamil Nadu could also be equally piqued at having come away from one draw with a single point.Tamil Nadu’s opening match against Odisha in Cuttack had the better part of the game washed away due to rain. In their last match, Delhi couldn’t get across the line to snatch the first-innings points against an obdurate Baroda at home.The sole point of difference, though, is that Tamil Nadu have not been beaten this season. Delhi, a full-strength one no less, were defeated by UP in their season-opener in Ghaziabad. The best way for Delhi to put up any gap on the points table between the visitors and themselves is an outright win. Delhi certainly have the bowlers to do it; their most experienced and skillful, Ashish Nehra, however is an uncertain starter, even though he trained with the team on the eve of the match.Delhi’s winter has set in and theoretically, seaming conditions are said to be on offer in the first session of play. The main question, though, will be about which kind of Kotla pitch turns up at the game on Saturday: the familiar 22 yards that are respectfully built over a medieval graveyard or the oft-promised-but-never-seen Gabba-model with bounce and carry?In the past few seasons, when seeking an advantage for their seamers or getting their ground ready for an international fixture, Delhi have often shifted their Ranji venue to the Roshanara Club north of the city said to have the liveliest of pitches in the city. But no more, they say, because results have not really gone in the home team’s favour. Of the nine matches played at Roshanara, for which the DDCA has had to pay the private club a daily fee, Delhi have won merely three. Of the three matches played after that last win in December 2010, Delhi have been beaten by Railways, and have drawn against Mumbai and Haryana. It would appear that Roshanara has now lost its allure. All it remains now is for Kotla to gain some.Delhi have increased their squad to 15 with the introduction of Vaibhav Raval, who has scored three consecutive centuries for Delhi under-25s. At the time of reporting, M Vijay had not yet been released from Indian team to play for Tamil Nadu.

Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach and chief selector, has said he will not let his double role hamper him or the team in any way during their series against Sri Lanka in the UAE

Umar Farooq11-Oct-2011Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach and chief selector, has said he will not let his dual role hamper him or the team in any way during their series against Sri Lanka in the UAE. Sri Lanka, Mohsin said, is a tough opponent, which would make victory against them ‘sweeter’.”I am not going to confuse myself with the double responsibility,” Mohsin said on the sidelines of a training session. “The board has asked me to take up the responsibility. It’s a challenging one [assignment], a duty that has to be completed with responsibility.”Sri Lanka, no doubt, is one of the toughest sides in the world to play against, but we are ready to take them on. Conditions there [in the UAE] are obviously neutral for both teams, but what is important is that we have a strong combination. In the end, victory is sweeter when you beat a tough opponent.”With Waqar Younis stepping down as coach, the team’s think-tank now comprises all batsmen – Mohsin, assistant coach Ijaz Ahmed and captain Misbah-ul-Haq – but this won’t affect their bowling strategies Mohsin said. “I don’t think it’s a big thing. I am confident that we can make it, despite most of our strategy-makers being batsmen. I have extensive experience playing at the top [opening] slot and opening batsman know the nature of bowlers.”The Pakistan squad for the recent series against Zimbabwe was an experimental one, with the bowling attack in particular featuring several new names, but they still managed to win all their matches on the tour. Mohsin said the selectors has taken a ‘successful risk’ when choosing that squad and won’t be afraid of taking such a risk in future as well. “To achieve a big goal, you have to take risks. So despite receiving extensive criticism, we went with an experimental squad. As a selector, or now a coach, I won’t afraid of taking a risk.”Pakistan’s Test squad, which will take on Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi from October 18, assembled at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore for a four-day training camp. The 15-man squad, along with the four reserve players, began with fielding drills, followed by nets sessions. The team and its management had met on Monday evening for a briefing session on the new ICC playing rules, code of conduct and anti-corruption codes.

Lalit Modi has been sent a show cause by the passport office in Mumbai asking him to justify why his passport should not be revoked

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Oct-2010Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has been sent a show cause by the passport office in Mumbai asking him to justify why his passport should not be revoked, according to the . Modi has 15 days to respond to the notice, which was sent after the Enforcement Directorate [ED], a department of the Finance Ministry that handles allegations of financial irregularity, requested the cancellation of his passport in a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs.Mehmood Abdi, Modi’s lawyer, told ESPNcricinfo that neither he nor his client has received any notices from the ED or the passport office. “Lalit Modi has been cooperating with ED in the best possible manner i.e. through his constituted attorney and lawyers. Each and every summons has been timely responded; all documents and explanations called for have been provided to ED.”Abdi added that taking away someone’s passport was a strong step that threatens Modi’s personal liberty, and therefore should not be taken lightly. He also reiterated that Modi’s absence from India is due to a “grave and elevated threat perception of his life.”The ED is examining whether Modi violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act during his time as IPL chairman. Last week the directorate issued a blue corner alert for Modi, which makes it mandatory for law-enforcement agencies around the world to detain him wherever they spot him and inform the ED accordingly. Modi has denied receiving that notice as well.The Chennai police have also registered a case against Lalit Modi and six others on allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating and falsification of accounts, according to a report in the . The case is based on a criminal complaint filed by the BCCI on Wednesday.

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has flown home to Jamaica to be with his seriously ill mother

Peter English17-Nov-2009Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has flown home to Jamaica to be with his seriously ill mother, leaving him in doubt for next week’s first Test. Gayle departed Allan Border Field before the start of the tour game against Queensland to begin the journey back to visit her in hospital in Kingston.Team-mate Ramnaresh Sarwan said it was disappointing to lose Gayle and the squad would have to wait to learn whether he will be able to turn out at the Gabba. “He’s got something very important to go back to, his mum is not well,” Sarwan said. “We’re hoping for him to come back for the first Test, if not the second. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”Gayle’s absence means Denesh Ramdin, the wicketkeeper, is leading the side in the four-day tour match in Brisbane. The 15-man squad is already short of experience and will rely on Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sarwan to lift it in the lead-up to the Test on November 26.”The thoughts of the management and players in the team as well as the WICB are with Chris and his family at this time,” Joel Garner, the team manager, said. “We also want to wish his mother a speedy recovery.”While the squad hopes Gayle will return quickly, the move is a further blow to the tourists, who have come together following a strike between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board. Gayle, who has played 82 Tests, has also been criticised for his attitude since being re-appointed captain following the player strike. When the team arrived last week he spoke of unifying the side and challenging Australia in the three-game series.