Sachin Tendulkar has been included and Virender Sehwag has been rested from India’s squad to the Asia Cup

Siddarth Ravindran29-Feb-2012

India’s Asia Cup squad

MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda
Out : Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Umesh Yadav, Parthiv Patel
In: Yusuf Pathan, Ashok Dinda

Virender Sehwag has been rested from India’s one-day squad for next month’s Asia Cup, with Virat Kohli taking over as vice-captain. Sachin Tendulkar has been picked for the tournament, while allrounder Yusuf Pathan and Bengal fast bowler Ashok Dinda make comebacks. Fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav have been rested.Kohli’s elevation to vice-captaincy comes after his sustained run of success in one-day cricket. He was the highest run-getter in the format in 2011, is the leading run-scorer in the ongoing Commonwealth Bank series and has been one of India’s few bright spots on the dismal tour of Australia. “The selection committee and board feels that Virat Kohli could be good future captaincy material,” Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of selectors, told reporters in Mumbai.Over the past few days, there had been intense media speculation about whether Sehwag and Tendulkar would be selected for the Asia Cup. Sehwag has had a poor run in the ongoing CB series in Australia, averaging 13 in five one-day innings.Srikkanth stressed that Sehwag had not been axed. “Unfortunately Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan have been asked to take rest by the physiotherapist. It is purely on injury grounds both have been rested,” he said. “I can assure you that nobody has been dropped.”Tendulkar has been selective about the ODI series he plays over the past couple of years. The CB series, in which he’s made 143 runs in seven innings, was his first limited-overs engagement for India since last year’s World Cup.The CB series is also the only ODI series the injury-prone Zaheer has been involved in since the World Cup. The decision to rest him and Yadav opened the doors for Dinda, who last represented India in the previous edition of the Asia Cup, in 2010. His selection comes on the back of a successful Ranji Trophy, in which he was the second-highest wicket-taker with 37 in six matches. Several other contenders for a fast bowling slot, including Varun Aaron and Sreesanth, are still recovering from injuries.Allrounder Yusuf has recovered from a knee injury which cut short his Ranji season, and will resume his battle for the No. 7 allrounder’s slot with Ravindra Jadeja. Yusuf has been out of the Indian side since a listless tour of West Indies soon after being part of the World Cup-winning squad. Jadeja cornered that spot with some impressive performances against England and West Indies last year, but has not been at his best in the CB series. In the league phase, he took three wickets at an average of 109, and scored 101 runs in seven innings.Among the fringe players, India have retained batsman Manoj Tiwary and legspinner Rahul Sharma, but have axed backup wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel.India are defending champions of the Asia Cup, which will be held in Mirpur from March 11 to 22 and also features Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Heavy rain on the fourth day in Port-of-Spain severely reduced the chances of a positive result as Australia closed 127 ahead following a hostile spell from Kemar Roach

The Report by Andrew McGlashan18-Apr-2012
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKemar Roach made a mess of Shane Watson’s stumps•AFP

Heavy rain on the fourth day in Port-of-Spain severely reduced the chances of a positive result as Australia closed 127 ahead following a hostile spell from Kemar Roach who removed the top of the visitors’ batting. Ricky Ponting was threatening to play his first major innings of the series to keep West Indies at bay before the weather closed in early during the afternoon and did not allow the players back.Roach has been the stand-out fast bowler during a match dominated by spin and added another impressive collection of scalps to his first-innings five-wicket haul. Australia had wrapped up West Indies’ innings four balls into the day, to earn a 54-run cushion, and Roach had to wait for his opening spell when Shane Shillingford started the attack alongside Fidel Edwards. Roach, though, wasted no time in making an impact when his turn arrived.Starting from round the wicket, a line that has troubled Australia’s left-handers, he drew an edge from David Warner which carried low to Darren Bravo at first slip. Warner had flirted with the catching cordon during his stay although had started with three crisp boundaries. Then, three deliveries later, Roach beat Shane Watson for pace with a ball that perhaps kept a fraction low and took out the off stump to leave Australia 26 for 2.It meant another head-to-head between Roach and Ponting which the former won in the first innings. Ponting did not find life easy and could have been run out by Edwards from mid-off when he had given up the chance of making his ground only for the throw to miss and Carlton Baugh had not reached the stumps. A second chance was offered an over later when he lunged at Shillingford and an inside edge carried low to Adrian Barath at short leg who could not hold on.Ed Cowan had also been offered a life before he had scored and it was the simplest of the lot when he edged Edwards to Darren Sammy in the slips but it went to ground. He was made to battle for his runs, his one release coming when he swept Shillingford for four although the offspinner caused him, and Ponting, plenty of problems and unveiled his doosra during a probing unbroken 15-over spell.At the start of the afternoon session West Indies spurned another opportunity for a run out, this time to remove Cowan, when Baugh could not produce a good throw to the bowler. Cowan, having once again forged a base for his innings, fell in very similar fashion to the first innings when Roach speared one into his pads from around the wicket which the batsman tried to work to leg. For the second time in the game Cowan tried the DRS but there was no escape.Earlier in the same over West Indies had used up their first review when Roach jagged a delivery into Ponting which brought a massive appeal. Sammy trusted his paceman’s instincts and asked for the TV umpire but, as has often been shown, the bowler is often the least reliable person to ask.Although Ponting was far from fluent – few batsmen have been on this surface – he was beginning to tick over more comfortably and moments before the rain flicked Shillingford through midwicket with timing that has not often been seen during the match. The contest was at another fascinating stage but was not allowed to progress any further.

Cursed by rain and cold since the day he arrived in Essex, the South Africa batsman Alviro Petersen described scoring runs as a “bit tough”

Charles Randall at Chelmsford10-May-2012
ScorecardAlviro Petersen did not take part in a second day restricted to less than two overs after twisting an ankle playing football in the warm-up•Getty Images

One has to feel sympathy for Alviro Petersen, Essex’s overseas signing from Johannesburg. From the heat of the highveld he has been plunged into the soaking cold bath that is Championship cricket in April and now May. He summed up his situation with as much understatement he could muster when he reckoned it was a “bit tough” scoring runs.Rain allowed only 10 balls to be bowled on the second day as Kent staggered onwards from their overnight 17 for 5, though Petersen did not join the fun in his customary position at slip. He remained in the pavilion after twisting his ankle playing warm-up football, allowing plenty of time to contemplate batting in due course. His injury was shrugged off as mild, though Ashley Young has gone to turf for less at Manchester United.Even in such a brief passage of play, Kent could have slipped further, as Geraint Jones padded up to the opening delivery from Charl Willoughby and was hit plumb in front by a sharp inswinger. Luckily for him the ball would have missed, just high. A maiden followed from David Masters, and Kent had stopped the rot for the time being.Petersen, as a Test cricketer, has stuck to his task well with Essex, and his 145 at Cardiff last week was a mature effort. He has not yet succeeded at Chelmsford, but these are early days in his attempt to claw back South African credibility at Essex after Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s embarrassing tenure as a bowler last summer.Tsotsobe started his Essex contract in the April heatwave of blessed memory and flew back home after taking only five wickets in his three first-class games. His Twitter remark declared his sojourn as the “worst two months” of his life. “It’s just impossible to work in this environment,” he said. The most printable reaction from Essex’s coach Paul Grayson was that the comment was “downright rude”.One wonders what Tsotsobe would have thought of the much harsher environment that Petersen has had to endure – tough, even for football.Rain stayed away for most of a second day lit by sunshine, with the absence of cricket caused by overnight torrents. Kent’s first task is to beat their lowest total against Essex, which was 43 at Southend in 1925. Batting is still tricky and with two sunnier days forecast the match could yet have a positive result.

Lancashire lost five wickets with just 54 on the board and are already staring at defeat after Warwickshire amassed 557 for 6

Jon Culley at Edgbaston17-May-2012
ScorecardSimon Kerrigan took three wickets but Lancashire endured another difficult day•PA Photos

Unless the weather takes a drastic turn for the worse, it is impossible to see Lancashire escaping another confidence-sapping defeat after finishing five wickets down and still the small matter of 347 runs shy of even avoiding the follow-on.This was in reply to a Warwickshire total that was more than five sessions in the making, which was significant in itself in that it left Lancashire weary and dispirited and not in the best of shape, in terms of physical and mental readiness, to face a Warwickshire bowling attack with 25 overs in which to bend their backs and put pressure on a batting unit already short of confidence.Glen Chapple, whose absence from the bowling attack clearly eased the way for Warwickshire’s batsmen, spoke boldly of having players at his disposal with the quality to build partnerships. So far, though, apart from the 31 runs Paul Horton and Stephen Moore managed to put on before everything began to unravel, no combination has managed more than 14 and Lancashire are already down to Ashwell Prince and the wicketkeeper, Gareth Cross, with only the wounded Chapple and the explosive Ajmal Shahzad to come before the genuine tailenders, Gary Keedy and Simon Kerrigan.Their dreadful start to the season, therefore, shows little sign of getting better very soon. Warwickshire’s dominance of the opening day simply carried forward into the second. Chapple, who will have a scan on Monday to ascertain whether his side strain is a short-term problem or something more inconvenient, had to leave the first overs, with the ball still fairly new, in the hands of Luke Procter and Shahzad. But the latter, who had bowled well without much luck on Wednesday, did not have the same control this time, giving away too many cheap runs.Keedy and Kerrigan, therefore, were pressed into tandem service inside the first hour and barely rested from then on. Kerrigan’s 49 overs represented the heaviest workload of his career so far. Keedy wound up bowling 50, which he has done before but not as a 37-year-old.By the end they were understandably weary, their sterling efforts at least to restrict Warwickshire’s progress interrupted from time to time by Rikki Clarke letting rip with one of his four sixes. They had found some turn, but not to a degree that troubled anyone much.When the declaration came, perhaps a little later than it might have, Warwickshire’s attack, in form and bolstered by the return of Chris Woakes, scented blood.Woakes had not played since damaging ankle ligaments in March but you would not have known it. Confidence tuned up after hitting half a dozen boundaries in an unbeaten 43, he ran in with purpose and took a wicket with his 10th ball, adding a second in the penultimate over, at which point Lancashire were 54 for 5.Earlier, he had persuaded umpire Michael Gough that he had Karl Brown caught off the glove with a ball that spat off a length, rocking Lancashire on their heels at 32 for 2 after opener Horton had been leg-before to a full length delivery from the left-armer Keith Barker, who was being assessed by one of England’s talent spotters, Geoff Arnold.Then Barker’s new-ball partner, Chris Wright, who had switched ends after giving way to Woakes at the Birmingham End, took two wickets in four balls, beating Moore for pace with one that plucked out his off stump, then having Steven Croft caught behind with another that found some venomous bounce.Clarke, who had an escape on 57 when Kerrigan failed to hang on to a difficult return catch, finished unbeaten on 123, having batted for more than three and a half hours with a level of discipline and self-restraint that reflects a more mature approach to his game.He put on 147 for the sixth wicket with Tim Ambrose, who was within sight of his first century for three years when he chipped to short midwicket for 96. The only other wicket to fall, after half an hour of the opening session, had been that of Darren Maddy, who miscued Keedy to be caught at mid-off.

Jonathan Trott responded diplomatically to questions about Kevin Pietersen’s international retirement and the resting of James Anderson

George Dobell05-Jun-2012Jonathan Trott did not earn his reputation as a cricketer through playing an array of dashing shots, so it should be of little surprise that he took a similarly cautious approach to a tricky off-pitch episode at Edgbaston on Tuesday.Placed in a potentially awkward position – charged with talking to the media a few days after the retirement from limited-overs cricket of Kevin Pietersen and the enforced resting of James Anderson – Trott adopted a characteristically dead bat to all questions in a safety-first display which a generation of bowlers would recognise in an instant. Indeed, had Trott paused the press conference to mark his guard, it would have hardly have seemed incongruous.”You can understand it in a way, but it’s a huge disappointment as well,” Trott said of Pietersen’s decision, thereby ensuring he neither offended Pietersen nor the England team management. “It wasn’t a huge surprise. Kev is his own guy and has to make his own decisions. The team fully support his decision. Whatever he decides to do with his cricketing career is fine.”Trott’s diplomatic response – as admirable as it was sensible – did inadvertently highlight the uneasy truce that pervades within the England camp at present. It will take careful management over the coming months to ensure that the constructive working environment that helped England to No. 1 in the Test and T20I rankings is maintained.A recurring theme of the next 18-months or so will be the schedule. Those members of the squad who play all three formats of the game can expect to spend less than two weeks in the UK between mid-October and April. Those involved in the World Twenty20 will be absent for several weeks before that. Irrespective of the actual amount of cricket the squad play or of the comparison with teams of the past, the fact of the matter is that men with young families – be they players or coaches – are uneasy with those demands.Trott’s situation is somewhat different from Pietersen’s. Trott is not currently in the England T20 side and he did not even enter the draw for the 2012 IPL season. His T20 record is better than might be presumed, too: only five men (Marcus Trescothick, Darren Stevens, Darren Maddy, Murray Goodwin and Owais Shah) have scored more runs in English domestic T20 cricket and none of their averages comes anywhere near Trott’s 39.20. Indeed, no England-qualified player with more than a dozen games behind them has a higher T20 average than Trott, while the 525 runs he scored in the 2009 T20 Cup was a then-record.”Not being involved in T20, you get that little break,” Trott said. “You have to speak to the guys who play all three about how they feel, but I’m really happy with the scheduling for me. It’s really busy but that’s part of being an England cricketer. We’re the only country who play constantly from April through until September and there are always places to go in the winter. It has got a little bit busier, but it’s part and parcel. You have to accept and get on with it.”I didn’t put my name forward for this IPL because I knew the workload. I’d been in international cricket for a year at the point when I did, but you now realise it is a lot of cricket. You make a decision and you’ve got to live with your own decision. Kevin’s made his mind up about what he wants to do and that’s fine. The guys support and understand the decision he’s made. There’s plenty of talent to come in and take his place. It’s a bit of a blow, but you have to pick yourself up and get on with it.”Kev was playing all three formats and he’s been doing it since 2004, a lot longer than myself. He’ll have his reasons. It is quite strenuous but you accept that when you get selected, you go there knowing what’s ahead of you. From my side, I’ve no complaints about how the schedule has been.”Trott did admit, however, that he could see the logic in rotating players. “It’s happened in the past, and probably will in the future with the schedule getting busier and busier,” he said. “It’s only right that these things happen.”Jimmy Anderson would have liked to have played and quite rightly. He’s the spearhead of our bowling attack, and you can understand that he will probably be a little bit disappointed. But with the bowlers and their heavy workload, it’s going to happen from time to time. But it’s not as if you’re giving away international caps. We have guys who are vying to play and whoever takes his place should do a great job.”

The batsman Aiden Blizzard has moved to his third state, Tasmania, in an effort to earn more chances in first-class and one-day cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2012The batsman Aiden Blizzard has moved to his third state, Tasmania, in an effort to earn more chances in first-class and one-day cricket. Blizzard, 28, and the former New South Wales fast bowler Timm van der Gugten have been signed for next summer by the Tigers, who like all states must finalise their contract lists by the end of this week.Blizzard began his career in Victoria, where he was viewed largely as a Twenty20 specialist, and he moved to South Australia in 2010, hoping to find more opportunities in the longer formats. He grabbed his chances in his first year with the Redbacks, scoring 659 first-class runs at 34.68, but was given only three Sheffield Shield games last summer and was overlooked completely in the Ryobi Cup.He will be joined at Tasmania by van der Gugten, 21, who played his first games for New South Wales last season and has also played ODIs and Twenty20s for the Netherlands, thanks to his Dutch passport. The Tigers have gradually announced their contracted players over the past week and will confirm their remaining players on Friday.Western Australia and Queensland have already named their complete contract lists for next season, but Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales have kept the majority of their announcements for the end of the week.

West Indies’ fast bowlers made best use of the early morning conditions in Townsville to give their team an advantage that India failed to bridge as the day wore on

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville12-Aug-2012
West Indies’ fast bowlers made best use of the early morning conditions in Townsville to give their team an advantage that India failed to bridge as the day wore on. They took the field after an aggressive war cry during the team huddle on the boundary, after which their four quicks worked their way through India’s top order with a primarily short-of-a-length attack. Deprived of scoring opportunities and losing wickets regularly, India stagnated and managed only 166.Faced with a middling target, West Indies could afford to see off the new ball but they lost two early wickets in the process. India’s pace options were limited, though, and once the spinners came on the middle-order batsmen settled in without much trouble. John Campbell and Anthony Alleyne charted the course with a 58-run partnership and Kyle Mayers helped finish it with 17 balls to spare. Mayers’ 43 complemented his performance earlier in the day – 10-0-35-2.The early work, however, was done by Mayers’ colleagues, Ronsford Beaton and Jerome Jones. Beaton hit speeds of 143kph bowling with the wind, while Jones ran into it and delivered at 135 kph. They focused on keeping the ball back of a length and quite straight, giving the Indian batsmen very little to come forward to. There were cracks on the surface, which resulted in some uneven bounce.Jones, the left-armer, struck first, having Prashant Chopra caught at square leg in the second over. Beaton hit Unmukt Chand on the body, forcing the batsman to take a breather on his haunches. Chand and Baba Aparajith concentrated on survival but in the ninth over Aparajith tried to hook a bouncer from Beaton and gloved it to the wicketkeeper.India were 25 for 2 after the mandatory Powerplay and Beaton and Jones finished their first spells with maiden overs. Their replacements, Justin Greaves and Mayers, kept the Indians pinned to their crease. India had hobbled to 50 for 3 when Chand’s patience wore thin in the 20th over. He had been let off by the keeper Sunil Ambris earlier but the second edge, off Mayers, was taken.Smit Patel, India’s wicketkeeper, settled against West Indies’ spinners and was instrumental in getting India over 150. He made 51 but was unable to stay until the end, when Beaton and Jones returned to check India at the death.India’s new-ball bowlers weren’t as fast but they were accurate. Sandeep Sharma moved the ball both ways. His inswing was significant but it was two perfect outswingers that found Ambris’ edge and the top of Kraigg Brathwaite’s off stump. His first spell read 5-2-5-2.Campbell and Alleyne had to see off a few overs of pace before spin was introduced in the 12th over, and from then on the chase got easier. They kept driving to long-on and long-off to pick up singles with little risk. The scoring wasn’t quick but it didn’t need to be. West Indies and India were level around the 31st over mark, at 87 and 86 for 4, but the gap grew after that.Harmeet Singh, the left-arm spinner, picked up three wickets but India needed to trigger a collapse to avert a West Indian victory. Alleyne and Mayers did not allow that to happen, and their 58-run stand secured the gam

A round-up of matches on August 14 during the Under-19 World Cup 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2012New Zealand‘s bowlers overcame a spirited resistance from Afghanistan‘s lower order to seal a thrilling nine-run win at the Kev Hackney Oval in Buderim. This win puts New Zealand at No. 2 in Group B, behind Pakistan, on run-rate, while Afghanistan are at the bottom.New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat, but struggled against the opening bowling duo of Aftab Alam and Sayed Shirzad as they slumped to 20 for 3 in the eighth over. Robert O’Donnell and Henry Walsh then set about rebuilding the innings as both stroked half-centuries. Their 108-run stand for the fourth wicket lifted New Zealand to 128 before Yamin Ahmadzai dismissed Walsh to pick up the first of his four wickets. New Zealand then lost wickets in a heap as Ahmadzai (4 for 35) and Shirzad (4 for 34) combined to restrict them to 198.Afghanistan’s chase started disastrously as New Zealand’s opening bowlers Jacob Duffy and Matthew Quinn reduced them to 26 for 5. However, Afghanistan’s lower order put up a fight – Najibullah Zadran (69) was involved in two half-century stands for the sixth and seventh wicket to lift Afghanistan to 139 for 6 before he was dismissed. No. 8 Afsar Khan (42) held firm as Afghanistan inched closer to the target. They needed 22 runs off the last two overs with three wickets in hand but Quinn and Duffy picked up a wicket each including that of Afsar in the final over as Afghanistan fell nine runs short to give New Zealand a close win.Australia ensured they would finish on top of the table in Group A thanks to a dominant performance against Ireland in Townsville. Ireland captain George Dockrell won the toss and chose to bat, but things didn’t go to plan with the 33-run opening stand between Robin Kelly and Ryan Hunter being the highest partnership of the innings. Fast bowler Alex Gregory got rid of both the openers and the No. 3, Jason van der Merwe. Shane Cassell (3 for 24) and the rest of the attack then ran through the middle order to bowl Ireland out for 129 in the 43rd over. Hunter was the top-scorer for Ireland with 31.It turned out to be a relatively straightforward chase for the hosts, although they were reduced to 45 for 3 at one stage. Captain Will Bosisto (36 not out) combined with Travis Head, who scored a quick 25, and then Sam Hain (26 not out) as the Australians cruised to the target in the 41st over.South Africa completed their second victory in as many games, comprehensively beating Namibia in Brisbane. The 209-run victory was set up by a double-century opening stand between Quinton de Kock and Chad Bowes, both scoring centuries in the process.South Africa chose to bat and the match was taken away from Namibia’s reach in the first 31.5 overs. De Kock and Bowes put on 212 in 191 balls, smacking 24 fours and three sixes between them. Once the stand was broken, none of the other batsmen could get an extended partnership going – Zhivago Groenewald struck with regularity to finish with three wickets, despite going for 85 in nine overs – but quick cameos made sure South Africa powered past 350.Chasing 360, Namibia were never in the match. No one in the line-up managed to get past Pelham Myburgh’s 37, and they could not score at a quick rate either. Namibia were bowled out for 150 in 46 overs – the lower order being cleaned up by offspinner Theunis de Bruyn, who finished with figures of 5-0-20-4.”Chad and I got off to a good start but it was difficult in the morning with a sticky and bouncy wicket,” de Kock said. “We had to work hard for our runs and I’m proud of our achievements today, they were well fought for.”Bowes said his side had gained good momentum ahead of their next game against Sri Lanka tomorrow. The confidence is up and the spirit within the side is high,” Bowes said. “We have a good net run-rate so it will take a little bit of the pressure off going into the game, but we’re ready to give it our best shot.”

Virender Sehwag has been named the captain of Delhi Ranji Trophy squad for the 2012-13 season

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2012Virender Sehwag has been named the captain of Delhi’s Ranji Trophy squad for the 2012-13 season according to report in the . Gautam Gambhir has been named his deputy.The Ranji Trophy selection committee, which met at the Delhi and District Cricket Association on Friday evening, released the list of 35 probables.Delhi begin their Ranji campaign against Uttar Pradesh on November 2. The Test series against England begins on November 15 and it is likely that the national players could be available for the opening Ranji match, in a bid to warm up before the Tests. Neither Sehwag, Gambhir or Virat Kohli played any match in Delhi’s Ranji Trophy elite campaign last season. Allrounder Mithun Manhas captained Delhi last season.Delhi are in Group B of the revamped Ranji Trophy along with Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha, Baroda and Odisha.Probables: Virender Sehwag (captain), Gautam Gambhir (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Rajat Bhatia, Shikhar Dhawan, Mithun Manhas, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Puneet Bisht, Unmukt Chand, Yogesh Nagar, Sumit Narwal, Pradeep Sangwan, Parvinder Awana, Mohit Sharma, Vikas Mishra, Pawan Suyal, Manoj Chauhan, Milind Kumar, Dhruv Shorey, Jagrit Anand, Vaibhav Rawal, Sunny Sehrawat, Kshitiz Sharma, Rishit Saini, Javed Khan, Parvesh Chikara, Manan Sharma, Varun Sood, Chetanya Nanda, Rahul Yadav, Shoaib Prasad, Vikram Dahiya, Shelly Shaurya, Vikas Tokas.

Pat Cummins has revealed he was booked into the Australian Institute of Sport to have his bowling action examined for signs that it had contributed to his injury-ridden year

Brydon Coverdale and Daniel Brettig02-Nov-2012Pat Cummins has revealed he was booked into the Australian Institute of Sport to have his bowling action examined for signs that it had contributed to his injury-ridden year before the back stress fracture that has blocked him out of a second home summer in a row.Cummins, 19, is expected to miss nearly all of the 2012-13 season due to a stress fracture in his lower back. The diagnosis means Cummins will not be part of the Test series against South Africa or Sri Lanka, and almost certainly will not be considered for the Test tour of India in February, while his possible involvement in the Ashes tour of England might depend on whether he is able to play any first-class cricket before then.On his return to Sydney from Melbourne where examinations confirmed the fracture, Cummins said there had been plans afoot for some time to have his action assessed scientifically. He also admitted that the surfeit of Twenty20 cricket he had played in the UAE, Sri Lanka and South Africa in recent weeks had allowed bad habits to creep into his technique.The back stress fracture means the aforementioned AIS appointment will not be taken up while Cummins rests, but it is understood that analysis is likely to begin with pre-existing video footage.”We were talking about going down to the AIS, we were already booked in to have a look at my action while we had time. We’d been planning to do it for a while, just to see what it came up with,” Cummins said. “One thing I noticed was I might’ve been falling away a bit more than say a year ago. When I’m bowling with a red ball I try to swing it and when I’m swinging the ball everything’s going well.”But when you’re bowling cross seamers with a white ball you kind of fall into bad habits maybe.”The most recent first-class match Cummins played was his Test debut last November in Johannesburg, where he collected seven wickets and was Man of the Match. Australia’s selectors had hoped he would be available for the third Test against South Africa at the WACA, but scans in Melbourne this week confirmed that he would be out of the equation for an extended period.Cummins had back soreness during the Champions League Twenty20 but kept playing, including in the Sydney Sixers’ victory in the final. That might have seemed a risky course of action given his injury history, but Australia’s team physio Alex Kountouris said the niggle at the Champions League did not appear a major issue.”He had a little bit of back pain towards the back end of the Champions League, which wasn’t a big concern,” Kountouris said. “He played all the games and was training and was functioning okay. But because of his age and his history we decided to investigate it and unfortunately he’s got an early stage stress fracture of his spine, which is disappointing.”The good news is we’ve got it nice and early, because we have had a high index of suspicion with him. Now we’re going to manage it early and expect to get a good outcome from it. He’s now going to start his rehab. We do expect him to miss most of the season, if not all of it. But he will come back and he’ll be fine once he gets back in to playing cricket again.”Pat had a spine bone stress injury a few years ago but the current injury is new and in an entirely different part of the spine. We expect he will recover fully from this injury and will be closely monitored to determine his return to the playing field, but expect that he will miss most of the 2012-13 domestic cricket season.”As far as his management is concerned, Cummins said there was nothing he would have changed about the past few months, as he recovered from a side strain he picked up in England to play a series of T20 matches. However the latest setback is sure to cause another round of thinking about how Cummins should be handled.”I’ve got to sit down with the people that manage me and give them my thoughts as well,” Cummins said. “It’s a group effort. I probably wouldn’t have changed anything from the last few months. I thought I was bowling enough and not bowling too much. I got through 20 games in the last few months so it was playing every two or three days.”The one thing with all young people is they’re more susceptible with injuries, you can’t really be too wrapped up in trying to pick and choose. If you’re ready to go you’ve got to go out there and play, and if you get injured that’s just what happens. It’s what’s on the schedule, so looking forward if it’s not the end of this summer hopefully the Champions Trophy in England and obviously the Ashes is a major goal. Certainly not ruled that out yet, hopefully I’ll be right for them.”Cummins missed most of last summer due to a foot injury and has managed only four first-class matches – including his Test debut – in his short career. He also suffered a side strain during the one-day tour of England this year and was sent home mid-series.His latest injury means Australia will have one less bowler to rotate through the Test attack this summer, which could mean a heavier workload for James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc. Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus are the mature-bodied fast bowlers in the group, while there remains a chance of Ryan Harris recovering from injury in time for the series against Sri Lanka.