Warwickshire’s Ian Bell has been preferred to Robert Key and Kevin Pietersen in the England squad for the series opener against Bangladesh at Lord’s on Thursday week.Bell’s early season form – he has scored 482 runs at over 80 so far in the Championship – meant that the much-hyped Pietersen missed out. And David Graveney, England’s head of selection, greeted the questions about Pietersen with an air of weary inevitability. “Kevin has received a lot of media attention and we had to make a choice between him and Graham Thorpe … Graham did well last time out and is our most experienced player and we hope he’ll recover from injury in time to win his 99th Test cap.”””I don’t think I could have done any more in terms of the amount of runs I have scored,” Bell explained. “It still came as a surprise. After all, Rob Key was the man in possession and he’s had a decent start to the season, while Kevin did fantastically well in the one-dayers in South Africa, so it was never straightforward.”Jon Lewis, Gloucestershire’s fast bowler, could make his debut after a good start to the season (he has taken 18 wickets at 22.55) and was preferred to the centrally-contracted James Anderson. Whether Lewis plays seems to depend on whether Simon Jones can recover from a back injury.England squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Graham Thorpe, Ian Bell, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones, Jon Lewis.

The sun is hot in Chennai, but the Australians know it well. They have played some tough games here – they tied a historic Test in 1986, when Chennai was Madras and Dean Jones battled fatigue, cramps and dehydration to make a double-century. They were beaten in 1998, when Shane Warne followed up 4 for 85 with 1 for 122 as Sachin Tendulkar followed up 4 with 155. And they were beaten again in 2001, heartbreakingly so, when a win in the first Test at Mumbai wasn’t enough to win the series, and a Matthew Hayden double-century in the first innings wasn’t enough to make up for what Harbhajan Singh did to the other batsmen. This time, though, it is different.”Just as the Indians are hungry for success,” said Adam Gilchrist on the day before the Test, “so are we.”The Australians have come come to India chastised by their loss last time, and having learnt from their mistakes. They showed as much at Bangalore, eschewing all-out attack, for so long their chosen approach to the game, for a more considered way of playing. They have a plan for every bowler, and in how to maximise the conditions – and nowhere was this more apparent than in Adam Gilchrist’s abstaining from playing the sweep until he had made 87. They have a plan for every batsman, and the men to execute that plan to perfection, as Glenn McGrath demonstrated by bowling as well as he ever has – and that is saying a lot. There wasn’t a single weak link in the Australian side, and not a man who didn’t know what his job was, or lacked the ability to do it.When you play in Chennai, of course, you don’t just play the other side, you battle the conditions as well. “It [Chennai] is more demanding physically,” said Gilchrist. “If you’re physically exhausted, mentally you start to whine as well. We’re aware of that. We’ve played a lot of cricket on the subcontinent now, and we fully understand and expect the conditions to be tough, and hopefully we’ve prepared appropriately.”Gilchrist wasn’t worried about the pitch either, which is expected to take more and more turn as the match goes along, and offer substantial bounce to the bowlers. “There’s a lot of talk about the extra bounce in the wicket,” he said, “which is obviously going to pose more of a threat for us. Harbhajan and Anil [Kumble] are spin bowlers who rely as much on bounce as on sideways movement. Hopefully it’ll have a positive effect for Warnie, and I feel without doubt that it’s a positive thing for our fast bowlers. We’re born and bred on bouncier tracks.”There has been much talk that the toss in Chennai may be crucial, but both Gilchrist and Sourav Ganguly brushed that suggestion aside. “Whether you bat first or second,” said Gilchrist, “you have to score a big total in your first innings. You can’t allow a huge gap between you and your opposition. I think that’s where we won the game in Bangalore, not only in scoring 400 but by bowling the Indians out in the first innings.”Ganguly, speaking to reporters after a net session, reiterated that point, saying that the toss would not decide the game. “To win a Test, you have to put 400 on the board in the first innings.” But while these words mirrored Gilchrist’s, his demeanour did not. Gilchrist was calm and assured when he met the press, while Ganguly seemed in a hurry to get it over with. Gilchrist was clear about Australia’s game plan and team composition, Ganguly was anything but.”Kaif will play,” he said, when asked about the team, and when asked to elaborate, he said that Kaif would “bat in the middle order”. While Ganguly would not be drawn on whom Kaif might replace, murmurs from within the Indian camp indicated that Aakash Chopra was likely to make way. The buzz was that Yuvraj Singh would open with Virender Sehwag. Gilchrist was sanguine about that prospect. “We’ve got a plan for Yuvraj,” he said, “wherever he bats in the order.”Ganguly does have another stopgap opening option open to him: Parthiv Patel opening. Yuvraj and Patel, incidentally, were the first two Indian batsmen to get a session in the nets in the morning. Of course, India’s bevy of out-of-form under-confident batsmen wasn’t Ganguly’s only problem – he had effectively been a bowler short at Bangalore, with Zaheer Khan bowling in a lacklustre manner, perhaps lacking full fitness, certainly lacking intensity. But Ganguly refused to accept that the Indian bowlers had fallen short and, when asked if Ajit Agarkar would replace Zaheer, insisted that Zaheer would play.Despite the conditions and the heat – not Chennai’s worst, more sapping than searing – Australia are favourites to win the second Test. Everyone in their side performed well at Bangalore, while India carried passengers. Ganguly’s batsmen were diffident, and his bowling attack was one good man short. Of course, India have been in just such a position in the past, against Australia, and they have fought back. But Australia are prepared for it this time.”I’ve been in this situation before,” said Gilchrist, “where they’ve had a loss, and a lot of ex-players have come out and spoken harshly of them, everyone’s got an opinion on them, who should go and who should stay … we’ve been here before, and we’ve seen them fight back.” But Australia, Gilchrist insisted, were more prepared this time. That hot wind, well, it can huff and it can puff but the Aussies will not let it blow their house down.

Ajay Jadeja and Sairaj Bahutule are high on Maharashtra’s shopping list as the side, after appointing Darren Holder as their coach, began to scout for stars from out of town. Both Jadeja and Bahutule captained their respective state sides – Delhi and Mumbai – in last season’s domestic competitions but the duo might just be part of Maharashtra’s plans to revive their flagging fortunes.The management committee of the Maharashtra Cricket Association has authorised a Rupees 1 million salary for Jadeja to play the next season for them as captain, a source told Cricinfo. Jadeja, who returned to first-class cricket last season after serving a three-year ban for involvement in matchfixing, had a good return last year with 452 runs in seven games, including two hundreds and two fifties.”It’s not possible to make an official comment at the moment because the selection committee has not met yet,” the same source revealed. “But the management committee has given the go-ahead to recruit three cricketers from outside the state to play as professional cricketers.” Maharashtra has managed to rope in sponsors for their Ranji team, and felt it best to spend the money on cricketers’ salaries.Maharashtra were promoted to the Elite Group last year, after they clinched the Plate Championship in 2003, but they struggled throughout the year and just managed to avoid relegation.When Bahutule, who is currently back in Mumbai briefly on a break from playing league cricket in England for the birth of his daughter, was contacted he refused to confirm or deny the move. “I would not like to make any comment on this,” he said. Bahutule has contributed tremendously to the Mumbai side with both bat and ball and been an integral part of a team that won two successive Ranji Trophy championships in 2003 and 2004.

If the England & Wales Cricket Board thought it had put the Zimbabwe issue on the backburner for the time being, it has another thing coming. Following the alleged strong-arm tactics that were used to ensure that a reasonably full-strength squad was selected for the trip, the backlash could yet come from the players themselves.Earlier this month, the ECB confirmed that no player would be penalised if he preferred not to embark on the controversial five-match tour, and it seems that some players intend to take that promise at face value.Andrew Flintoff, one of the few players to be exempted from the trip, has confirmed that he never had any intention of touring anyway, while Darren Gough is another to have voiced serious doubts about the morality of playing in Zimbabwe.”Nothing’s changed since those meetings and problems we had in Cape Town before the start of the World Cup,” Flintoff told The Sun newspaper in London. “I didn’t want to go then – so why should I want to go now?” His doubts were echoed by Gough, who admitted to The Daily Telegraph that much could change in the next few months.”If the plane had left this morning I’d have gone,” admitted Gough, “but there’s still a long way to go and a lot of things can happen. There are a lot more conversations people have to have and they will be going on over the next couple of months.”There are one or two players who seem certain to tour, however. Ashley Giles was given the option of a break, but decided against it, possibly out of fear that his replacement would prove hard to dislodge if he excelled. And Alex Wharf, a newcomer to the side, told The Western Mail that he had to put moral considerations to one side at this formative stage of his career.”I think I’d be foolish if I said I wasn’t going to go to Zimbabwe,” said Wharf. “I have only just begun my international career and I don’t think it would be a good idea to jeopardise that by making any sort of stand. Whatever the political situation, we are going out there to play cricket and, like the rest of the boys, I just want to concentrate on the cricket.”Vaughan himself is in an invidious position as captain, and admitted as much to The Sun. “Under normal circumstances, I would have welcomed an extended break after a long international season,” he said. “But the England team and the game as a whole are faced with an extraordinary situation in undertaking this tour to Zimbabwe.”

Darren Lehmann believes England’s trumpeted Test bowling attack lacks the firepower to dismiss Australia twice. After watching the one-day series as a commentator, Lehmann told the that Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff would need “unbelievable” series to take back the Ashes.In a potentially worrying sign for England, Lehmann decided Harmison was already looking worn down after playing nine limited-overs matches. “If I were England, I would be slightly concerned,” he told the paper. “To me he looked tired at The Oval, almost as if he has bowled too much already.” Harmison leaked 81 from 9.5 overs as Australia sealed the NatWest Challenge on Tuesday.”Harmison and Flintoff have looked the part in the one-dayers, but on Test-match wickets I don’t see England having enough firepower to take the 20 wickets,” Lehmann said. “Matthew Hoggard has to come into the equation, but if England are going to stand a chance, Flintoff and Harmison not only have to have a good series with the ball, they have to have an unbelievable series.”Lehmann, who understands what it takes to win the Ashes after playing bit-parts in two contests, also thinks England’s batting is starting to look suspect. “Whereas we have seen the Australians slowly but surely come into form, the English seem to have gone in the opposite direction,” he said. “Australia were always tuned to peaking on that first morning of the first Test and they have been trying to hit their straps in the one-dayers. Now England are the ones who have to find some form and get back to where they were less than a month ago.”

For the first time, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will running a Level One coaching course, for the fixed price of Rs.5000 (£50).The course will take place at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, from November 29 to December 3, and will be conducted by qualified foreign coaches. The PCB will award certificates to those who successfully complete the course.Those wishing to participate should send their names and a cheque payable to the PCB, to the Administrator Academies, National Cricket Academy, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore by November 10 at the latest.

Gareth Hopkins, the wicketkeeper from Otago, has been picked to play in New Zealand’s opening game of their Australian tour. New Zealand start their month-long tour with a game against New South Wales starting next Thursday and Hopkins’s inclusion means that Brendon McCullum would get an opportunity to rest.McCullum was the only specialist wicketkeeper on New Zealand’s tour of Bangladesh and had an excellent series with the bat, scoring his maiden Test century at Dhaka. Lindsay Crocker, New Zealand’s manager, said that the decision to play Hopkins was two-fold.”Firstly it gives Brendon the chance to have a few days off which he deserves after his very good series in Bangladesh and secondly it helps keep Gareth in the loop if something did happen to Brendon and we need him to join the team at short notice.”Hopkins had impressed with his performances in the tri-series in England earlier this year and had also done very well for New Zealand A on their recently completed tour of South Africa.The first of the two Tests starts in Brisbane on November 18.

England have recalled Shaun Udal for the tour of Pakistan after a break of 10 years in his international career. Alex Loudon has also been selected for the Test leg of the tour after impressing for Warwickshire with his offspin, and the ability to bowl a ball which spins the other way. Liam Plunkett, the young Durham quick bowler, is included in the one-day squad but Darren Gough has been left out on his own request.All 12 players who featured during the Ashes series are unsurprisingly selected with James Anderson also travelling, although he has lost his central contract. Chris Tremlett, who was in the England squads for the first four Tests against Australia, is in both squads and Matt Prior is the reserve keeper ahead of Chris Read.Commenting on the selection the chairman of selectors, David Graveney, said: “In choosing our Test squad, the area that involved the most discussion was the choice of spin bowlers. Udal is an experienced spinner and based on his performances this summer, we felt he merited inclusion ahead of other candidates such as Gareth Batty, Richard Dawson and Graeme Swann.”Without wishing to be too blunt, regrettably their performances during the summer have probably been disappointing for them. Shaun, by far, is the performing bowler at the present time.”Loudon and Plunkett are two emerging players who have been included in the Test and one-day squads respectively. This is an excellent opportunity for them and we feel they will both benefit from working with Troy Cooley and learning more about the international environment.”Simon Jones has been included in both squads subject to fitness. He made an enormous contribution to our Ashes victory and we will continue to monitor his recovery from injury in close consultation with the medical team.”With regard to the wicket-keeping position, the selectors were aware of the credentials of Read, Prior and James Foster. Prior has been a part of the one-day squad before and we feel that he is the best candidate to understudy Geraint Jones on this tour.”Gough asked the selectors not to consider him for the one-day squad’s tour to Pakistan this winter. Darren would like to make clear that he has not decided to retire from one-day International cricket and the selectors fully understand his reasons for making himself unavailable to tour.”Darren Gough said: “I have played a lot of cricket over the last 12 months and I feel that a rest would be beneficial for me at this stage of my career. I have toured regularly with England over the past ten years and this decision will also give me an opportunity to spend more time with my children.”The Academy squad is a mixture of youngsters and established county players. Steven Davies, the Worcestershire wicketkeeper, and Mark Footitt, a left arm seamer from Nottinghamshire represent the youth while Owais Shah, Robert Key and Ed Joyce are rewarded for prolific domestic seasons. Read is offered the chance to keep his name in the frame while Plunkett will also spend time at the Academy.England squad Michael Vaughan (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Alex Loudon, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Andrew Strauss, Chris Tremlett, Marcus Trescothick, Shaun Udal.England one-day squad Michael Vaughan (capt), James Anderson, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Liam Plunkett, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Chris Tremlett, Marcus TrescothickNational Academy Squad Gareth Batty, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Rikki Clarke, Alastair Cook, James Dalrymple, Steven Davies, Mark Footitt, Ed Joyce, Robert Key, Sajid Mahmood, Liam Plunkett, Chris Read, Owais Shah, Tom Smith, Luke Wright, Mike Yardy

Paul Collingwood has insisted England can achieve a 3-0 whitewash in the forthcoming Test series in Pakistan. England fly to Pakistan today, and play a warm-up match against a Patron’s XI at Rawalpindi on October 31.”That’s our goal,” Collingwood told BBC Sport. “We’re looking at things to achieve and going to Pakistan and India we want to win these series. Whether we win them 2-1, 1-0 we’re going to be happy to win the series but I certainly think our main goal in Pakistan will be to win 3-0.”England last toured Pakistan in 2000-01 under the captaincy of Nasser Hussain. After two draws in the first two Tests, England clung on in the gloom to achieve their first series victory on Pakistani soil since 1961-62. Ashley Giles and Marcus Trescothick are the only two survivors from that win at Karachi – although Andrew Flintoff, Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard all toured with the side.Even though England’s triumphant summer has heightened the expectations of the team, Collingwood was quick to warn against complacency: “It’s a major challenge but everybody is looking forward to it. There are not many players in the squad who have experienced the subcontinent but this is a very good side and players can adapt very quickly.”The first Test starts on November 12 at Multan, followed by two more Tests and a five-match one-day series.

The Pakistan team are to give hands-on help to areas devastated by last Saturday’s earthquake, by taking part in relief work.Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, told a private television channel of his side’s commitment in helping the area recover from the tragedy: “The entire cricket team will travel to quake-stricken areas and will take part in relief operations. Although we might not stay there during the entire operation, we’ll definitely make our presence felt in the areas that have been devastated by the earthquake,” he said.Inzamam, who is playing for the World XI in the ICC Super Test in Sydney, added: “My heart goes out for the people of Muzaffarabad and adjoining areas who lost everything in seconds. There are people in need and it’s our national and moral duty to help them and make them realise that at this time of difficulty, we are with them.”