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Calum MacLeod helped Scotland beat Kenya by seven wickets with nine balls to spare to clinch the T20 series 2-0 in Aberdeen

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2013
ScorecardCalum MacLeod helped Scotland beat Kenya by seven wickets with nine balls to spare to clinch the T20 series 2-0 in Aberdeen. After restricting Kenya to 100 for 8, Scotland started slow in their chase. They lost their first wicket in the seventh over at the score of 32 and still needed 49 from the last eight overs when second wicket fell in the 12th over. MacLeod continued at the other end to make sure Scotland reached the target with ease, by scoring 16 off the first three balls of the 19th over to finish the chase.After opting to bat, Kenya lost four wickets in the first seven overs, including two ducks, which put them under pressure straightaway. Duncan Allan scored 18 after that but their last four contributed only 15 runs together. Collins Obuya was unbeaten with a 42-ball 38 which took them to 100 but it wasn’t competitive enough. Calvin Burnett finished with 3 for 18 and Majid Haq picked up two wickets.

Pune Warriors have suffered a setback with West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels returning to Jamaica to recover from a groin strain

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Apr-2013Pune Warriors have suffered a setback with West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels returning to Jamaica to recover from a groin strain and to be with his mother, who broke her knee. Samuels is likely to miss the rest of Warriors’ IPL campaign, with the franchise languishing near the bottom of the league.Samuels, one of five Cricketers of the Year announced earlier this month, played only two matches, scoring eight runs and taking one wicket. He remained with Warriors for a while but the groin injury failed to improve, so Samuels requested the management to release him so that he could be with his mother in hospital.”The groin injury was taking time to heal, but after he received news about his mom having her knee plate fractured, he became restless and asked if he could head back home,” Abhijit Sarkar, Warriors’ spokesperson, told ESPNcricinfo. He confirmed the franchise would not seek a replacement for Samuels. According to Sarkar, Samuels could return if he recovered from injury and Warriors made the knockouts.After returning from a two-year ICC ban, Samuels’ resurgence was dramatic: he was West Indies’ best batsman on the tour of England in 2012. He was the Man of the Match in the 2012 World Twenty20 final, which West Indies won, and had come to the IPL after recovering from a facial injury suffered during the Big Bash.Samuels’ absence added to Warriors’ problems this IPL season. They have lost their last three matches – Chris Gayle demoralised them by smashing Twenty20 records in Bangalore – and have only two wins after eight games. Warriors are currently above last-placed Delhi Daredevils, their next opponent at the IPL’s newest venue – Raipur – on Sunday.

New Zealand are on course for an historic series victory against England after dominating the fourth day of the final Test in Auckland

The Report by George Dobell24-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPeter Fulton cut loose as New Zealand’s lead grew•Getty ImagesNew Zealand are on course for an historic series victory against England after dominating the fourth day of the final Test in Auckland. Peter Fulton’s second century of the match took New Zealand out of reach, but it was the bowlers who hammered nails into the coffin of England’s hopes to salvage a draw. England will resume on the final day with just six wickets in hand and all three of their most obdurate batsmen gone.Fulton, who came into the game having not scored a century in a Test career that began in 2006, pulverised the England attack on the fourth day in a devastating partnership with his captain, Brendon McCullum, that did not so much close the door on England’s hopes as slam it in their faces.Fulton’s heroics have earned New Zealand an outstanding opportunity to claim just the second home series win in their history against England. The first was in 1983-84. New Zealand have not won a series against any of the top eight Test nations – nations other than Bangladesh or Zimbabwe – since they defeated West Indies in 2006.Here they set England 481 to win the third Test and, with it, the series. New Zealand finally declared on 241 for 6 in their second innings having plundered runs with ease against a dispirited attack.The manner with which Fulton brought up his second century of the match – a straight six thumped back over the head of Stuart Broad – spoke volumes for the balance of power in this encounter: New Zealand, roundly dismissed as no-hopers before the series, established dominance over an England team that arrived in the country full of confidence, having just beaten India in India.New Zealand, resuming 274 ahead at the start of play on the fourth day, extended their advantage by another 206 runs in just 34.2 overs. Fulton, batting with more confidence than at any time in his Test career following his maiden century in the first innings, drove powerfully through mid-on and three times took a step or two down the pitch to thump Monty Panesar for six back over the bowler’s head. As his confidence grew, he gave himself room to drive Anderson over extra cover for six more.He became one of just four New Zealand players to have scored one in each innings of the same Test. Glenn Turner (against Australia in 1973-74), Geoff Howarth (against England in 1977-78) and Andrew Jones (against Sri Lanka in 1991) are the others to have done so.Smart stats

Peter Fulton became the fourth New Zealand batsman to score a century in each innings of a Test, and the first since Andrew Jones against Sri Lanka 22 years ago.

Fulton is only the second New Zealand opener to achieve this feat, after Glenn Turner in 1974.Overall, there are 26 instances of opening batsmen scoring hundreds in each innings of a Test.

Fulton became the first New Zealand batsman to play more than 500 deliveries in a Test match since Mark Richardson in 2004. Richardson played 575 balls to score 194 runs at Lord’s against England.

The most overs ever played by England in the fourth innings of a Test against New Zealand is 146.4, in Christchurch in 1997. England, chasing a target of 305 in that match, won by four wickets.

Brendon McCullum’s 53-ball unbeaten 67 is the tenth-quickest 50-plus score by a New Zealand batsman in Tests. Six of those top ten innings have come against England.

The fifth-wicket partnership of 117 between Fulton and McCullum came off 101 balls. The run-rate of 6.95 per over is the second-fastest ever in Tests for a century stand for New Zealand.

His fifth-wicket partnership with his captain, Brendon McCullum, was worth 117 runs, scored in just 16.5 overs, as New Zealand progressed with an ease that made a mockery of the gap between these two teams in the Test rankings.Fulton enjoyed one moment of fortune. When he had 31, he mistimed his attempted on drive off Stuart Broad but saw James Anderson, at a shortish midwicket, spill a sharp but far from impossible chance. New Zealand would have been 65 for 4 had it been taken.England produced an oddly diffident performance in the field. Their attempt to pitch the ball fuller in search of swing that remained elusive too often resulted in over-pitched deliveries that Fulton drove through mid-on. At other times the England bowlers drifted on to Fulton’s legs, allowing him to pick up runs with an ease that defined the match situation.The introduction of Panesar brought some relief for England. His third delivery induced Dean Brownlie to attempt to clear the field. Ian Bell, running back from mid-on, made a desperately tough chance appear straightforward.But that only brought McCullum to the crease. He square drove his first delivery, a wide, over-pitched ball from Steven Finn, to the point boundary and soon pulled Anderson, looking more jaded by the moment, and Finn for sixes.Panesar bore the brunt of the assault, though, His attempt to stem the flow by bowling over the wicket and into the rough outside the right-handers’ leg stumpwas negated when McCullum took him for successive boundaries, a powerful pull followed by a precise sweep, and drove him for another six. Panesar conceded52 in five overs at one point. It was brutal batting.Whatever Alastair Cook envisaged when he won the toss and inserted New Zealand on the first day, it was surely not a situation where his side had to bat for four-and-a-half sessions to save the game. There were no realistic hopes of victory: England have never chased more than the 332 they made against Australia in Melbourne in 1928-29 to win a Test and no team has ever made more than the 418 West Indies made against Australia in Antigua in 2002-03. The highest successful chase on this ground is 348, made by West Indies in 1968-69, though since the introduction of drop-in pitches just over a decade ago, no side has managed more than the 166 scored, admittedly for the loss of just one wicket, in 2005.Nor is this the England team that enjoyed such success a couple of years ago. Not only is there no Kevin Pietersen, but there are fewer lower-order allrounders such as Graeme Swann or Tim Bresnan. Two of the middle-order, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, came into this game with only eight Test caps between them and the days when Stuart Broad could be considered an allrounder seem long ago.Tim Southee soon made inroads into England’s second innings. Nick Compton, feeling for a fine delivery that pitched on off stump and left him, edged a catch behind the stumps before Jonathan Trott squandered his display of resistance by chasing a wide one from the impressively sharp Neil Wagner, bowling left-arm around the wicket.But the hammer blow was inflicted by part-time off-spinner Kane Williamson. Cook, on one, had survived a chance to BJ Watling when he felt for one angled across him from Southee. But when he edged a drive off Williamson, Brownlie, very close in at gully, clung on to a very sharp chance.With Finn, the nightwatchman, also falling to an outstanding close catch before the close, New Zealand were on the brink of a memorable success. It meant that a series that started with many England supporters presuming an easy victory looks set to finish with their team engaged in a desperate – and surely vain – struggle to salvage a draw.

Barisal Burners came out on top in the battle to avoid the bottom spot in the league, thanks to Azhar Mahmood’s all-round performance

The Report by Mohammad Isam04-Feb-2013
ScorecardBarisal Burners came out on top in the battle to avoid the bottom spot in the league, thanks to Azhar Mahmood’s all-round performance. They crushed Khulna Royal Bengals by seven wickets to remain in contention for a top-four finish, while the Royal Bengals are more or less out of the race.The Burners captain Brad Hodge made it an easy passage for his team. His 63 off47 balls led the chase of 145. Hodge hit six fours and two sixes over long-on, using the pace of the bowlers whenever it was offered on a slow wicket, but mostly worked the angles to collect singles.He added 93 for the third wicket with Azhar Mahmood, who was unbeaten on a 33-ball 52 with seven boundaries and a six. The experienced pair sensibly played out the dangerous Shapoor Zadran before attacking the rest of the bowlers, who looked insipid at most times. Hodge and Mahmood batted at more than 10 an over, making sure the target was reached in 17.5 overs.Mahmood had success with the ball too, taking 3 for 23 to keep the Royal Bengals to a sub-150 score. After bowling tightly with the new ball, he picked up three wickets in his last two overs, including the top-scorer Shahriar Nafees. The three-wicket burst stifled the Royal Bengals in the final few overs.Nafees had made 66 off 50 balls with nine boundaries, but never got support after Nazimuddin fell in the ninth over. Before his dismissal, Nazimuddin had blasted two boundaries and two sixes in his 30-ball 33, but after the opening partnership was broken, their foreign batsmen in the middle-order failed. Once Travis Birt, Daniel Harris and Riki Wessels were removed, the lower order hardly made an impression.Apart from Mahmood, Alok Kapali and newcomer Farveez Maharoof took two wickets each.

Cameron White, the Melbourne Stars batsman, has labelled as “remarkable” the reprimand given to his Melbourne Renegades opponent Marlon Samuels over the altercation that earned Shane Warne a one-match BBL suspension

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2013Cameron White, the Melbourne Stars batsman, has labelled as “remarkable” the reprimand given to his Melbourne Renegades opponent Marlon Samuels over the altercation that earned Shane Warne a one-match BBL suspension. White has also refused to apologise for not going to the aid of Samuels when he suffered a severe facial injury from a Lasith Malinga bouncer later in the same match.Warne was banned for a match after he grabbed the shirt of Samuels during the second innings of the January 6 game and while Samuels was also charged with breaching the Code of Conduct, his hearing was delayed by a fortnight due to his injury. Samuels was let off with a reprimand after the Code of Conduct commissioner John Price ruled that Samuels threw his bat after “extreme provocation” from Warne, who had just thrown a ball that hit Samuels.However, the problems had started with an incident earlier in the match when Samuels was bowling and appeared to grab the Stars batsman David Hussey, who was turning to complete a second run. The charge that emerged from that incident, that Samuels “engaged in deliberate or inappropriate physical contact with a player or official”, was dismissed.”Being provoked, I don’t think you can use that as an excuse,” White said in Melbourne on Tuesday. “It’s remarkable, isn’t it? How many times have you seen someone throw their cricket bat on a cricket field and get [reprimanded] for being extremely provoked? I’ve never seen it before. That’s what the judiciary came up with.”The heated nature of the match continued when Samuels was struck by a bouncer and the only Stars player who came to check on his welfare was the bowler, Malinga. The injury proved to be serious enough to rule Samuels out of the upcoming ODI series against Australia and meant he was confined to his hotel room for the past two weeks, but White said there were a number of reasons the Stars players did not come to Samuels’ aid.”I don’t think he’s very well-liked, definitely not just from the Stars’ point of view but probably in Australian cricket,” White said. “People think he carries on a bit. There’s probably a few reasons [we didn’t check on him]. We were quite busy.”

Shivnarine Chanderpaul continued to defy the England bowlers as West Indies fought hard to avoid defeat inside three days

The Report by David Hopps19-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentaryEven when he was given out lbw to Tim Bresnan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul survived, thanks to the DRS•Getty ImagesIt is perhaps no surprise that Shivnarine Chanderpaul inhabits his own little world. It must be much safer there. When he made his Test debut 18 years ago, West Indies were No. 1 in the world. Now Test match victories are a rarity and the sound of Caribbean cricket is a prolonged lamentation for what has gone before.West Indies, trailing by 155 runs on first innings, and already widely dismissed as no-hopers after the first two days of a three-match series, lost three top-order wickets for no runs in nine balls on the verge of tea and until Chanderpaul put up unyielding resistance with an unbeaten 34 in two-and-a-half hours (that he made so many was due to a late flurry) there was a possibility that they could lose in three days. Instead, they trail by 35 runs with six wickets remaining and have the right to a measure of respect.Chanderpaul was intent upon batting time. He blocked a lot and left a lot. His leave is an interesting phenomenon because as he comes out of his square-on stance, his right shoulder hurtles towards the ball at roughly the same time his arms withdraw the bat in the opposite direction. Do not attempt this at home unless you have a Level 4 coaching certificate and medical insurance.He shows colossal commitment to the cause; he just shows it in his own, sometimes contrary, way. He had six from 53 balls when a mistimed pull against Stuart Broad gave the crowd meagre sustenance; 13 from 71 when he managed his first boundary, an offside push against James Anderson which he just happened to time down the hill. There were dots in the scorebook and dots before the eyes. England imagined that Tim Bresnan had him lbw on 22 from 84 balls but lost a review as umpire Marais Erasmus’ assessment that the ball was leg side was supported by Hawk Eye. They have bowled wide at him and stalemate has ensued.England’s pace attack had begun by firing in more short balls than has become their habit and it paid dividends. Adrian Barath fell to a top-of-off delivery from Bresnan, who found slight movement to have him caught at the wicket, Kieron Powell to a sucker punch as Andrew Strauss pushed Ian Bell back to deep square and Powell obligingly hooked Stuart Broad into his hands.Then Darren Bravo was involved in his second run-out incident of the match, only this time, unlike the first innings when Chanderpaul pulled rank, Bravo did the same to Kirk Edwards. Bravo squirted Bresnan in front of square on the off side then belatedly turned down the run with Edwards halfway down the pitch, whereupon Jonny Bairstow ran him out with a direct hit.There was also reward for Graeme Swann’s offspin, a beautifully disguised arm ball that Bravo, in an aberration, allowed to drift down the slope into his off stump.England, after sedately taking control on the second day, had to work much harder to extend their advantage as they were dismissed 45 minutes into the afternoon session, losing their last seven wickets for 132 runs. Strauss had accepted a wonderful opportunity on Friday to restate the impregnability of his position as England captain, on the Lord’s ground he loves so much. He added only a single to his overnight 121 before West Indies’ captain Darren Sammy successfully turned to DRS to win a wicket for Kemar Roach. Hot Spot showed a faint inside edge as well as contact with his trousers after the ball had nipped back. Strauss must have been grateful that he had played the bulk of his innings the previous day.Ian Bell, another England batsman seeking to recover from a tormented winter, played resourcefully in more demanding circumstances before he was last out for 61, hooking Shannon Gabriel to deep square. His ninth-wicket stand of 55 in seven overs with the ebullient Swann was a useful bonus for England and, in West Indies’ terms, wasted much of their good work.A West Indies bowling attack that had failed to swing or seam the ball the previous day was a different proposition. Fidel Edwards swung the ball most noticeably and there was a bit off seam about too, with Gabriel picking up his first three Test wickets. The cloud cover was similar and so were the lengths West Indies bowled, the technique they displayed and their purpose. It could only be the ball.Such are the glorious random aspects of cricket. Weather, pitches and even cricket balls can change from day to day. In some sports, and some parts of the world, the lack of uniformity would be viewed as a weakness; in Test cricket it is rightly seen as a strength. But it must have been galling for West Indies.Bairstow, who had stifled an occasional yawn on the balcony the previous day as he watched England make guarded progress, was presented with a more onerous batting debut than he might have expected. He took his first ball in Test cricket, from Roach, on the chest – a badge of honour in no time – but looked settled for a debutant and unveiled three fine boundaries – two leg-side clips and a cover drive – before Roach brought one back to have him lbw.England were anxious to push on positively with rain forecast later in the game. But Matt Prior whipped across one to give Gabriel his first Test wicket and, in the following over, Bresnan fell for nought, dangling his bat at a delivery from Sammy that seamed away.England reached lunch at 341 for 7 and Stuart Broad faced only one delivery afterwards as Edwards skimmed his off bail. Swann fell as did Prior, bowled by Gabriel as he aimed through midwicket, but not before he had exacted some damage, making 30 from 25 balls as he feasted on several wide, fullish deliveries. He had been welcomed with a stomach-high beamer from Edwards, accidental, but worthy nevertheless of a formal first warning by the umpires for intimidatory bowling.

Eoin Morgan will not face disciplinary action by Middlesex after missing their CB40 match against Lancashire at Old Trafford

Andrew McGlashan17-Jul-2012Eoin Morgan will not face disciplinary action by Middlesex after missing their CB40 match against Lancashire at Old Trafford because he was stuck on the train from London but the club remain ‘disappointed’ by the situation.Morgan was caught in disruption on the London to Manchester line from Euston station and did not make it to the ground in time for the toss which forced Middlesex to leave him out of the side for what as a key match with semi-final places at stake.Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said lessons will need to be learned. “We are disappointed and frustrated it happened. It was an important match for us,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ll have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”However, Fraser also suggested that because Morgan is still employed by the ECB on a central contact that it would be quite difficult for Middlesex to discipline him as he is not contracted to them.The majority of Middlesex’s squad travelled north on Sunday evening following the abandoned game against Leicestershire at Uxbridge although a couple of players were allowed to drive up on the morning of game. Fraser said the club were aware that Morgan wanted to take the train.During his lengthy journey, Morgan tweeted: “Just the 7 hours to Manchester… not sure the train is an option any more!!”He arrived shortly after the scheduled start time at Old Trafford, ironically as rain was falling so Middlesex’s innings had been suspended, and watched from the dressing room. The game was curtailed to a 16-over aside match and Middlesex could only muster 97 for 8 with Lancashire chasing a slightly revised target with ease.The result left both teams level on eight points but Lancashire jumped ahead of Middlesex by virtue of having four victories to Middlesex’s three. Morgan’s travel disruption could yet prove very costly for the county.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has become the 10th batsman and the second West Indian to pass 10,000 runs in Test matches, reaching the mark on the fourth day of the third Test against Australia at Windsor Park in Dominica

Daniel Brettig at Windsor Park26-Apr-2012Shivnarine Chanderpaul has become the 10th batsman and the second West Indian to pass 10,000 runs in Test matches, reaching the mark on the fourth day of the third Test against Australia at Windsor Park in Dominica.In keeping with much of his career, Chanderpaul passed 10,000 in the midst of a desperate Caribbean fight in the fourth innings to stave off defeat at the hands of the Australians on a deteriorating pitch, moving forward from his inimitable stance to push a delivery from Michael Clarke wide of mid-on and go to 14 for his innings.After the day’s play, Chanderpaul said getting past the milestone was a target he had set himself. “I have been batting well and spending a lot of time at the crease, and to reach 10,000 Test runs is something special for me. It was one of the goals I set myself and I believe I have reaped for reward for the hard work I put in over the years.”When I go to bat, I know I have a job to do for the team and the people of the West Indies. Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game and this is where you want to perform and give your best. I will keep striving for more.”Chanderpaul reached the milestone in his 140th Test, emulating Brian Lara’s feat of also passing 10,000 for the West Indies. He was congratulated warmly by the Roseau crowd and also by Australia’s fielders, who all applauded once the single was taken. The 10,000th run also served to take his Test match batting average back above 50.Earlier in the series Chanderpaul had surpassed Lara as the highest run-scorer of all West Indian batsmen at Kensington Oval in Barbados, and said at the time that he had always taken particular satisfaction from runs made against Australia, as they are always hard-earned.”Always a tough, tough opposition and you always have to fight and it is always well to do good against them,” he said. “There are always things at the back of your mind because you always want to do well.”Against an opposition like Australia if you’re doing well against them you know the world is watching. When you go against them you have to bring your A game. You can’t just walk out and decide that you can play anyhow against them. You have to step up.”At 37, Chanderpaul has witnessed many barren years in West Indies cricket, but has expressed optimism that the team is showing signs of significant improvement under the captaincy of Darren Sammy and the coaching of Ottis Gibson. This has encouraged him to prolong his career, having debuted against England in his home country of Guyana in March 1994.”We all can see it, the guys are getting better, the younger players are coming through,” Chanderpaul had said in Barbados. “That’s what we’ve been aiming for over the years, you want to see the younger players come through. Now we’re seeing it and that’s the future, we have to plan that way.”Chanderpaul is doing his best to support this development with his bat, again leading the averages and aggregates against Australia. Their coach Mickey Arthur offered generous praise to a batsman he had first seen on the 1998-99 West Indies tour of South Africa.”Shiv’s been outstanding all series. He’s been quite brilliant really. He’s certainly thwarted our bowlers. He’s shown why he’s got 10,000 runs in Test cricket,” Arthur said. “Very uncomplicated technique even though it looks very weird on the eye. He’s been outstanding – to get him right at the end of the day has just lifted our dressing room hugely.”I first saw him when he was very young. He toured South Africa and he looked a very, very good player then. In my last series that I had with South Africa as coach against the West Indies I think Shiv got a hundred in every first innings so he was well on track. In this series he got a hundred in Barbados, 94 in Trinidad and runs again here. I’ve just seen so much of him and can’t help but admire the application and the desire to keep scoring runs. You’ve got to marvel at that – a fantastic achievement.”

Central Zone qualified for the semi-final of the Deodhar Trophy after an allround performance against South Zone in the opening game of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2012Central Zone qualified for the semi-final of the Deodhar Trophy after an allround performance against South Zone in the opening game of the tournament at Mohali.Chasing a modest total, Central Zone maintained a brisk run-rate to overhaul the target in the 40th over. Jalaj Saxena, who made 32 runs off 26 balls, and Naman Ojha, with 26 runs from 23 balls, set-up the platform with an attacking start to the chase against a weak South Zone bowling line-up. Only India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who took 2 for 39, exercised some control over the batsmen. A half-century from Mohammad Kaif and solid contributions from Ashok Menaria (37) and a cameo by skipper Piyush Chawla (34 runs off 25 balls) knocked South Zone out of the competition.A number of South Zone batsmen squandered starts to give the Central Zone bowlers an upper hand after Bhuvneshwar Kumar had removed openers Abhinav Mukund and Srikkanth Anirudha with only 40 runs on the board. Dinesh Karthik, the South Zone skipper, steadied the innings with a half-century, but the spin duo of Chawla and Saxena accounted for five wickets between them to derail the South’s innings. Umesh Yadav, who was playing his first game after recovering from the shin injury he picked up in Australia, bowled a steady 10-over spell for 35 runs and picked up the wicket of D Ravi Teja.Central Zone now travel to Dharamsala to play North Zone in the second semi-final on March 18.

Aizaz Cheema, the Pakistan fast bowler, has said Pakistan will have the advantage of being more used to conditions similar to those in the UAE when they take on England there later this month

Umar Farooq05-Jan-2012Aizaz Cheema, the Pakistan fast bowler, has said Pakistan will have the advantage of being more used to conditions similar to those in the UAE when they take on England there later this month. The pitches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are generally slow and batsman-friendly but Cheema said they were not too different from those in Pakistan and therefore he was confident of taking wickets on them.”Through my life I have played on similar pitches and I earned my place in the national side with the wickets I took on them,” Cheema said after the second day of Pakistan’s training camp in Lahore. “The conditions won’t make a difference to me. I have pace but the main thing is being disciplined in my bowling. If I hit the right line and length it will be a problem for any batsman.”I will try not to give runs in any spell I bowl and will try to take wickets. Our experience of the conditions is more than theirs because there is not much difference in the tracks in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.”Cheema only played in one of the Tests during the three-Test series against Sri Lanka in the UAE last year, with Pakistan picking two spinners for the matches in Dubai and Sharjah. He will face further competition for his place this series with Wahab Riaz, the left-arm quick, returning to the squad. Cheema has impressed since earning his Test cap days before his 32nd birthday. He picked up eight wickets on debut in Zimbabwe and nine over the two Tests in Bangladesh in December last year, and has hit speeds up to 145kph. He recognised, however, that the England batting line-up was filled with quality players and that the series against the World No. 1 Test side would be a stiff challenge.”I can’t pick one name from the England line-up whom I am targeting because on the whole the England side is a quality side. I will try to dismiss whoever comes in.”Pakistan went through 2011 without losing a Test series, and go into this series after beating Zimbabwe away, Sri Lanka in the UAE and Bangladesh away. Cheema said they had not allowed themselves to become complacent, and he and some of the other players had started training just two days after returning from the tour of Bangladesh. “We are doing extensive hard work. Many of us started training just two days after we came back from Bangladesh. The camp in Lahore is helping us keep our rhythm and avoid becoming complacent.”Pakistan have recalled Umar Akmal for the three-Test series against England after leaving him out of the Tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Umar continued to do well in the limited-overs formats but after repeated failures in Tests, the selectors suggested he go back to domestic cricket and learn how to play long innings. Mohsin Khan, the chief selector and interim coach, said Umar needed to “stop being selfish”, and convert starts into important knocks. Umar, who averaged 71.00 in the six innings he played in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two, said he would not stop playing his shots but would try to do a job for his team at the No. 6 position.”I have played at No. 6 throughout my career, and I enjoy playing under pressure. When you take the team out of a pressure situation, only then can you be called a player for your country.”Nobody is stopping me from playing my shots but I am trying to play according to the situation and I feel there’s a lot of improvement in my batting.”Umar will find it hard to displace Asad Shafiq from the XI after Shafiq scored a century in Chittagong, but if given a chance said he would concentrate on contributing to the team’s cause rather than looking for big scores.”I will try to give 100%. At the number at which I am playing it’s rare to score big totals. You usually get around 50, 60, 70; whatever I can contribute to the total is an achievement for me. When I get promoted up the order, only then can I try to score hundreds.”The first Test between Pakistan and England starts January 17 in Abu Dhabi.