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Javed Miandad has said he will consider becoming the batting coach of Pakistan, after their tour of the West Indies is completed. Miandad, however, will not travel with the team to the West Indies, but will work with the batsmen before their departure, as he did for Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand last year.”I had detailed meetings with Mr. [Ijaz] Butt and [Shahid] Afridi, but I told them that I could not travel with the team to the West Indies,” Miandad told . “I think the tour of West Indies is not a tough one. After this tour I might consider taking up the [batting] coaching assignment.”It was on the request of Pakistan captain Afridi and chairman of the Pakistan board Butt that Miandad, who has had three stints as Pakistan head coach, agreed to work with the team’s batsmen before the upcoming tour. The tour begins on April 18, and comprises a one-off Twenty20 game, five one-dayers and three Tests. The tour ends on May 24, after which Pakistan will travel to Ireland to play a one-day series.As far as what his role would be as batting coach, if he were to take the job full-time, Miandad said it would be mostly restricted to advising batsmen on pitches and bowlers rather than looking to make drastic changes to their techniques.”I believe that once a batsman is selected for the national team you can’t change his technique,” he said. “You can only teach him the finer points of the game, like how to handle various bowlers on different pitches.”Batting was a concern for Pakistan during their World Cup, during which they failed in two chases, against New Zealand in the group stages and India in the semi-finals. None of the Pakistan batsmen managed to score a century during the tournament, and none of them were in the top 20 run-scorers either.Pakistan have included five uncapped players in their squad for the West Indies tour: right-hand batsman Usman Salahuddin, allrounder Hammad Azam, fast bowlers Junaid Khan and Sadaf Hussain, and wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman. Miandad said the changes were positive moves.”It’s the right time to look ahead for the future and start preparing for the next World Cup. We have to look for players who could be there in 2015 and, if they have potential, we should start giving them proper chances.”

ScorecardThe innocuous practice game had more reasons to be forgotten than to be remembered despite the centuries by Ahmed Shehzad and Misbah-ul-Haq and Junaid Siddique’s brave approach. Pakistan beat Bangladesh convincingly by 89 runs at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur and it was a game that reminded Bangladesh of holes in their system and gave the young Pakistan batsman ideal practice ahead of their first big tournament.The Pakistan dressing room went through a nervy first 90 minutes before settling in with the 152-run stand between Misbah and Shehzad, but the battle for the ‘story of the day’, as far as the locals were concerned, would be a tight contest between the ticket bungle-up and Bangladesh’s four dropped catches.When Shehzad walked in with Mohammad Hafeez to open the innings, the ground was half-full with most of the ticket-holders left stranded at a nearby indoor stadium with vouchers in hand. Shehzad cut and drove with ease though wickets fell quickly for Pakistan. After Hafeez drove straight at Mahmudullah at cover, Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan succumbed as soon as spin was introduced, Kamran miscuing a drive and Abdur Razzak foxing Younis for 5.The game changed as soon as Misbah took over, with each left-arm spinner looking more ineffective than the other. Razzak and Suhrawadi Shuvo bowled a poor line and their frustration was compounded by dropping catches off each other at long-off when Shehzad was on 42 and 56. Hafeez too had a let-off when Siddique dropped him on 16, a simple chance at midwicket, while Mohammad Ashraful found Shahid Afridi’s skier at mid-off hard to handle.”The four dropped catches were a bit disappointing. Razzak has never been our best fielder but the others were really disappointing,” Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, said. “I’m glad it was a practice game and not the 19th.”Shehzad’s batting gave Pakistan hope as it reaffirmed his position at the top of the order alongside Hafeez, who did a fine job in New Zealand. Shehzad latched into anything short and there were many opportunities. He hit nine boundaries and a six in his 122-ball 103. “I think he looked really good and he has been doing well since theNew Zealand tour where he got a century in the last game,” Pakistan’s coach Waqar Younis said. “He is in superb touch, and for a young man to be so responsible at such a big stage, it was great.”It was Misbah’s timing, however, that caught the eye, his run-a-ball 100 had four big sixes and eight boundaries. He was severe on the spinners, cutting and punching the ball with ease, a handy lesson for batsmen on both sides.Bangladesh’s chase had a terrible start when Tamim Iqbal played down the wrong line to Abdul Razzaq’s first delivery of the innings. Siddique’s courage to open up his game was a surprise. Some of his boundaries were exquisite, mainly forcing the ball down the ground but even making room to hit Razzaq over covers. But he holed out to Asad Shafiq off Wahab Riaz, whom Siddique had struck for a six over square-leg an over ago. His 28-ball 38 included six boundaries and the six, and he added with Imrul Kayes, who made 39.Bangladesh’s experiment to use Mushfiqur Rahim at No. 4 failed and so did Ashraful after he struck a boundary off his first ball. Razzaq picked up Shakib and Ashraful after he took out Tamim. Once the game slipped out of Bangladesh’s grasp, they used a longer batting line-up to give their batsmen a go before the big game against India on February 19. The result ensured a few more tense net sessions for Siddons and Shakib.

Match Facts

January 26, Adelaide
Start time 13.50 (03.20 GMT)James Anderson will make a welcome return to England’s one-day team•Getty Images

The Big Picture

Australia Day would be the perfect occasion for the home side to wrap up the one-day series, but for the sake of the remaining contests an England victory is what’s really needed. The visitors have played some poor cricket, especially in the last two matches, with the batting faring badly. A defeat here and the plane home won’t be able to come soon enough.That, though, won’t be any concern of Australia’s. They desperately needed to regain some belief following the Ashes and with coloured clothes back on they are beginning to hit their stride. England haven’t forced them to play at their best, but even with injuries they are building up a head of steam. David Hussey was the star at the SCG as he showed his finishing skills, which will be valuable at the World Cup, but Brett Lee took the Man-of-the-Match award and he has led the attack superbly.England’s bowlers have actually performed a decent role, considering that it has been a second string attack, and the likes of Ajmal Shahzad, Chris Tremlett and Chris Woakes show the depth available. But somewhere in the transition from Tests to one-dayers key batsmen have lost the skill to convert starts into big innings.It’s a feeling of déjà vu as far as both sides are concerned. In the aftermath of the 2009 Ashes, also won by England, the one-day series was a horribly lop-sided affair as Australia cruised to a 6-1 drubbing. If the hosts continue their winning streak in Adelaide, it’s very easy to see this series going the same way.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWWL
England LLLWL

Watch out for…

James Anderson was given a break after the Ashes but following 10 days at home with his new baby has returned to the tour in the nick of time. Although England’s quicks have performed an admirable role, Anderson’s experience of 133 matches will be a valuable addition. He’s got fond memories of Adelaide after his impact during the Test match when he helped reduce Australia to 3 for 2 on the first morning and is a dangerous operator with the new white ball.Cameron White has played a couple of valuable innings in this series; his 25 at Melbourne helped Shane Watson complete victory and his 45 at Hobart began the first recovery. He’ll want to make his decent form count in the remainder of this series because, even though his place is secure, there will be strong competition for batting places if Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey both recover. With his immense power White shouldn’t have a problem clearing the square boundaries at the Adelaide Oval and against the spinners even the straight hits aren’t out of reach.

Team news

Michael Clarke said no risks will be taken with any player before the World Cup so Shaun Tait (thigh) and Mitchell Johnson (throat infection) remain doubtful. It means Australia could field the same attack that did an impressive job in Sydney.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Brad Haddin (wk), 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Cameron White, 6 David Hussey, 7 Steve Smith, 8 John Hastings, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Xavier Doherty, 10 Doug BollingerKevin Pietersen is fit again following his groin strain and James Anderson is available, while Andy Flower confirmed Matt Prior will continue to open the batting despite his two ducks since returning to the side. Paul Collingwood would be the likeliest batsman to make way, but could be considered at No. 7 with Michael Yardy struggling to have impact with bat or ball.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Matt Prior (wk), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Paul Collingwood, 8 James Tredwell, 9 Ajmal Shahzad, 10 Chris Tremlett, 11 James Anderson

Stats and trivia

• Adelaide is the venue of England’s highest one-day total in Australia when they reached 3 for 302 in the infamous match against Sri Lanka during 1998-99 where Muttiah Muralitharan was also called for throwing. England still lost.
• James Anderson returns with a good one-day record in Australia. From 13 matches he has 21 wickets at 25.61, including a miserly 1 for 12 in 10 overs on this ground back in his debut series of 2002-03.
• The teams have met five times at Adelaide, with Australia ahead 4-1. England’s only win was the first encounter back in 1983.

Quotes

“We’ve played some exciting, positive cricket and I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to lead the boys. I’d like to lead from the front with the bat and make some more runs, I’m well aware of that, but everyone is in good spirits and we believe there is a lot of room for improvement.”
“It’s not ideal, the start of this one-day series, but there are still four games to go. We intend to finish strongly, we are here to win these games, it’s not just preparation for the World Cup.”

ScorecardSouth Africa Under-19 continued their winning streak with an easy 39-run win over Zimbabwe Under-19 in the first of two Twenty20s despite a valiant effort from Zimbabwe opener Kevin Kasuza, who hit six fours and two sixes to top-score with 68.South Africa captain Keaton Jennings opted to bat first at Boland park, and was content to offer steady support to the more attacking Quinton de Kock during their 73-run opening stand. Both were dismissed in the same over by Zimbabwe captain Godwill Mamhiyo, and the visitors’ slow bowler did a reasonably good job of restricting the South Africans thereafter.South Africa’s innings was bookended by two savage knocks that boosted the total well out of Zimbabwe’s reach, however, as No. 3 James Price thrashed eight boundaries in his 42 and No. 10 Chad Fortune cleared the ropes four times in a brutal 11-ball 36. In between those two innings, Zimbabwe’s hydra of offspinners had the better of South Africa’s middle order, Liberty Nherera, Matthew Bentley and Brian Chari all striking twice.The Zimbabwean batsmen needed to make full use of the first six overs if they were to push South Africa close, but this was not the case as Chari fell early and Bentley and Kasuza struggled to assert themselves. Bentley managed to score at nearly a-run-a-ball before he offered a caught-and-bowled chance to offspinning allrounder Malcolm Nofal to depart for 23.The pressure to score quickly mounted on Zimbabwe’s middle order, but Kasuza settled into a fluent mode and reached his fifty off 43 balls with four fours and a six. He started to open up after reaching the milestone, hitting three more boundaries before he was caught by Jennings off fast bowler Rabian Engelbrecht for 68 in the 19th over.Zimbabwe’s chase had been a lost cause even before he was dismissed, and despite yet another positive performance from Kasuza – who impressed during the one-day series – South Africa remain firm favourites to wrap up the Twenty20s 2-0 with the second game at Cape Town on Sunday.

The head of a Pakistan parliamentary committee on sports has resigned in frustration over the state of affairs in Pakistan cricket. Iqbal Muhammad Ali, who was chief of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports, was critical of the government for not taking adequate steps to arrest the current decline.”The state of cricket affairs is before everyone, it is in poor shape and yet nothing is being done to change the tide,” Ali told reporters in Karachi. “I am resigning because the government has not bothered to implement any of the recommendations by this committee for improvement and betterment of sports in the country.”The committee’s previous chairman was Jamshed Dasti, who had repeatedly called for the sacking of the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in the aftermath of the 2009 attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, and even suggested that Younis Khan and his team-mates had deliberately underperformed in the Champions Trophy the same year. He was eventually asked to step down by the Supreme Court of Pakistan when it was discovered that the Masters degree he held was, in fact, fake.

Despite the presence of the great Brian Lara in their ranks, and his contribution of 65 runs, Southern Rocks were unable to match Mashonaland Eagles, who made a good start to the tournament with a 28-run victory at Harare Sports Club. As the second edition of the Stanbic Bank 20 got underway, the hot, sunny weather was ideal for cricket and a crowd of several hundred had entered the ground in time for the start of play.Southern Rocks put the Eagles in to bat on winning the toss, and some tight bowling kept the batsmen under reasonable control at the start. Chamu Chibhabha and Chris Harris worked their way through the batting line-up, and Eagles slipped to 114 for 6 when Somerset batsman Nick Compton was run out for a 49-ball 70.Chibhabha was on a hat-trick when he removed Andrew Hall and Regis Chakabva with consecutive deliveries in the 18th over, but Trevor Garwe survived his first ball and then launched a remarkable assault on the bowling in the closing overs. He and Ryan Butterworth added 45 in 15 balls, Garwe hitting three sixes as Mike Chinouya’s medium pace and Steve Tikolo’s offspin bore the brunt of their attack.Southern Rocks lost Chibhabha in the first over of their chase to bring Lara to the crease. Lara had a stint in the unofficial Indian Cricket League in 2007-08 and played for an MCC side against Pakistan at Lord’s in June, but has not played much competitive cricket in recent years and took some time to settle.He slowly picked up momentum, adding 53 for the second wicket with Sikandar Raza, and began to open up when Tatenda Taibu joined him at the wicket. He accelerated past fifty, hitting eight fours and a six, but with 43 needed off the last four overs, Lara lofted a catch to long-off and was gone for 65 off 47 balls.With the required rate rising all the time, Rocks’ lower middle order swiped desperately and Garwe swung the match decisively towards Eagles with four wickets in the 18th over. Elton Chigumbura, who made a surprising move from the Eagles to the Rocks days before this tournament began, was pinned lbw and Tikolo, Taibu and Tendai Chisoro quickly followed.The experienced Harris was perhaps kept back too long and was left stranded with 7 when the last wicket fell in the final over. For Mashonaland Eagles there had been two crucial turning points: the final blaze by Butterworth and Garwe with the bat and then the crucial dismissal of Lara.In the second match of the day reigning Twenty20 champions Mountaineers dominated Mid West Rhinos from beginning to end to open their tournament with a 35-run win. Hamilton Masakadza batted through their innings and while he missed out on a century his muscular, unbeaten 96 set up a daunting total of 191 for 5. Rhinos lost Brendan Taylor to the very first ball of their chase and never really recovered, a brief flutter from their middle order adding a sheen of respectability in defeat.Masakadza and Jonathan Beukes got Mountaineers’ innings off to a fluent start with a 52-run opening stand, and Greg Smith and Sean Ervine helped keep the momentum up after Beukes picked out Malcolm Waller to give Graeme Cremer the first of his three wickets.The score had passed 170 when Ervine was bowled by Cremer in the 18th over, and it was left to Masakadza to boost the score in the closing overs as Lance Klusener was run out for 2 and Timycen Maruma was castled first ball by Ed Rainsford. Masakadza swung the last ball of the innings to fine leg to finish four runs short of a hundred, having hit eight fours and four sixes and faced 59 balls.Taylor has been in stellar form with the national side this year, but made no impact in Rhinos’ chase as he flicked the first ball of the innings, from Shingi Masakadza, straight into the hands of Prosper Utseya at long leg. Utseya opened the bowling from the other end with his offspin, keeping a tight line as his first two overs went for just seven runs. Frustration set in for the batsmen and wickets fell as they tried to break free. Three wickets fell in the first five overs for the addition of just 22 runs before Malcolm Waller launched a fightback, hitting out powerfully.It was a hopeless cause, as the required rate had risen beyond 13-an-over halfway through the innings, but Waller’s fighting 31 off 25 balls did at least change the tone of the innings. Solomon Mire gave him admirable support, thrashing Maruma for two enormous sixes in an 18-ball 31. In the dying overs Riki Wessels hammered 45 not out off 26 balls, but by then the result was already a foregone conclusion and his innings simply allowed his team to retain some dignity in defeat.The morning crowd grew steadily during the afternoon and there were perhaps a couple of thousand spectators of all races present during the second match. The new embankment proved a popular spot and, even if the finish wasn’t exciting, the opening day of the Stanbic Bank 20 was at least entertaining.

The three West Indies players – captain Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard – who have turned down central contracts in order to play domestic cricket overseas, may find themselves unable to play in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 tournament. Recent statements from Ernest Hilaire, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief executive, and Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s acting head, suggest board clearance will be required for such events, and will not be automatically granted by the WICB.Gayle and Pollard are contracted to Western Australia and South Australia respectively, while Bravo is reportedly interested in representing Victoria, as he did last year. However, the players need no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the WICB to be eligible for the event.”There seems to be a thinking out there – and I’m not sure who has advised them – that they don’t have to sign central contracts and they can still play wherever they want,” WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire told the . “The rules of international cricket do not exactly allow for this.”Brown said there was no way the cricketers would be allowed to participate in the Twenty20 tournament without getting permission from the WICB. “I would not see a situation where a player would be putting his position with his [home] board at risk without consent,” Brown told the . “We will work through that and I will talk to the West Indies if needed. Our relationship [with international teams’] boards is fundamental.”Last month Bravo and Pollard, followed by Gayle, turned down the one-year central contracts offered by the West Indies board. The contracts require the players to make themselves available for the West Indies team at all times, something the three players – all of whom have forged prominent careers in domestic Twenty20 competitions including the IPL – were reluctant to do.Meanwhile Hilaire said the board has begun a discussion on how to “make all stakeholders happy” in the future, but cautioned that while the WICB has so far been liberal with issuing NOCs to players, it might be time to change that policy to safeguard the interests of West Indies cricket.”It has been to our detriment. We gave an NOC to a player to play in the Big Bash; he got injured, and could not play for our one-day international team. We have also allowed players to arrive days before important matches and play for West Indies.”We have allowed it to happen and the time has come not for us to say we are not supporting any player playing elsewhere, but to find the right arrangement and framework in which our interest is not compromised.”

Ijaz Butt will, in a few days, complete his second year as PCB chairman, though amid growing speculation that his time may be up. Butt returns to Lahore from a trip to the UK, on Wednesday morning, and is likely to find domestic pressure mounting on him to step down.Though criticism has been a constant companion to Butt’s tenure, it has sharpened considerably in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal and, in particular, his handling of it; talk over the last two days has focused only on his removal.The key factor, as one observer said, is that any such decision will be a “domestic political one.” The PCB chairman is a direct appointee of the country’s president, who is also chief patron of the board. The chairman has increasingly become a political appointment so that his performances become useful capital in politics. So is the case with Butt; in the national assembly on Monday, for example, leader of the opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan devoted considerable time to lamenting the mismanagement of the game under Butt, to generous applause from across the political spectrum.More significant is a letter written by Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s high commissioner to the UK and a vocal presence when the spot-fixing crisis first broke, to the president Asif Ali Zardari. Hasan, who is thought to be close to the president, writes in the letter – seen by ESPNcricinfo – dated September 17, “It seems everything was happening under the nose of PCB officials and they did not bother to take note of it… It will have to be investigated since their critics claim they looked the other way.” Hasan also asks that the structure of the PCB hierarchy be looked at and that “young office-bearers” be appointed.But fuelling much of the speculation was a meeting on Monday between the president and Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, the defence minister, who is Butt’s brother-in-law and widely considered to be the reason Butt is chairman. It has been speculated that cricket was discussed, though the presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar played down the significance of the meeting as well as the murmurs around Butt.”There is nothing to all this [speculation about Butt’s future], these are just rumours,” Babar told ESPNcricinfo. “The president did meet the defence minister but the president meets ministers every day and it was a routine meeting.”One keen presidency-watcher and former cricket official also believes it will amount to nothing. “People are trying to make political capital out of this. As far as I am aware the presidency is in no mood to remove Butt.”But the pressure is building. The national assembly’s standing committee on sports has called top board officials for a hearing on October 11. The committee can only make recommendations to parliament or the president, but it has become an increasingly vocal check on the board over the last year. Iqbal Mohammad Ali Khan, the committee chairman, said on a popular TV show on Monday night that his members would consider resigning if some change was not brought in the set-up.Should a change be implemented, various names have been floating around as possible replacements. Former ICC president Ehsan Mani, Pir Aftab Shah Jillani, the former sports minister, and Zardari associate Tufail Sheikh, are most often touted as names to sit on an ad-hoc committee which might run affairs until the board’s constitution is put back in place. Mani is believed to be willing should the opportunity arise and his global experience as an administrator is likely to hold him in good stead, though ESPNcricinfo understands no contact has yet been made.Further complicating matters – though not, perhaps, decisively affecting them – is Butt’s isolation in the global game. He is in the UK effectively to try and repair his relationship with Giles Clarke and the ECB, having astonishingly claimed last month that “there was loud and clear talk in bookie circles that England players had taken enormous amounts of money to lose” an ODI.The ECB, which has played a lead role in ensuring Pakistan have venues to play, threatened legal action against Butt if he didn’t withdraw his remarks. ESPNcricinfo understands that Clarke, having failed to contact Butt, came close to issuing a writ but an intervention by a prominent Pakistani cricket personality and Hasan prevented a legal battle and ultimately pushed Butt to take back the allegations.However, repairing fully this relationship may take time, as one well-placed observer says. “The ECB will not jump back into it so quickly now. Australia and New Zealand were unhappy with Butt over the [John] Howard issue. The Asian bloc remains upset with him over what happened last year, to the extent that the Bangladesh board refused to meet him recently. In cricket, he has no friends so his position is untenable. But ultimately, his future is a domestic political decision.”

ScorecardAn unbeaten partnership of 59 runs between Andrew White and John Mooney took Ireland to victory against Canada•Bryan Vandenburg, Cricket Canada

Andrew White’s unbeaten half-century took Ireland to a six-wicket victory against Canada in Toronto even as rain threatened to thwart Irish hopes on the last day of an absorbing match.Play began with Ireland four down and requiring only 52 to win with rain forecast for the day. White and John Mooney began patiently before White opened up in the fourth over, driving and pulling Rizwan Cheema for consecutive fours. With 28 runs still needed, rain interrupted proceedings and no play was possible for a major portion of the day. Ireland’s optimism was turning into despair, but the sun eventually came out and play resumed.White did not waste time, reaching his fifty with consecutive fours off Khurram Chohan. He then pulled Umar Bhatti past midwicket to bring up Ireland’s victory, remaining unbeaten on 59 off 73 deliveries with eight fours. Mooney was not out on 16 off 35 balls with three fours in an unbroken 59-run stand for the fifth wicket. White was named Man of the Match for guiding Ireland to victory after top-scoring with 84 in the first innings.It was a comfortable win ultimately for Ireland after Canada had fought back on the second and third days. Ireland now have 52 points from five matches and are placed fourth in the points table. They take on third-placed Zimbabwe XI in Harare in their last match, which begins on September 20. Canada finished last with five losses in six games.

Auckland have signed South African batsman Johann Myburgh for the 2010-11 domestic season, an addition that will strengthen a squad weakened by a shortage of experienced batsmenundefined.Myburgh and Greg Todd, who is also shifting to Auckland from Otago, will bolster an Auckland batting line-up that was depleted by Richard Jones’ retirement and Scott Styris’ departure for Northern Districts. Auckland are also likely to be without their captain Gareth Hopkins as well as batsmen Martin Guptill and Tim McIntosh, who could all be on international duty.”We saw him [Myburgh] as being ideal to fill that experience gap in our batting so we’re very happy,” Auckland chief executive Andrew Eade told the.Myburgh averaged 51.71 in three previous first-class seasons with Canterbury and scored over 2100 runs. He will be eligible to play for New Zealand after the 2011 World Cup.