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All it took was a few drinks in The Oval dressing room after the Investec Test series for Joe Root and David Warner to end the simmering feud that burst into being on the last Ashes tour.They were so proud of it, they even marked the occasion on Twitter, fists pointing to the camera, Warner grinning broadly while Root, who normally cannot keep a smile off his face, gave a strikingly poor imitation of a boxing tough guy.Both elevated to their respective vice-captaincies, they had provided a picture to suggest that the game was in good hands.That relaxed humour was very much in keeping with an Ashes series that has been contested in excellent spirits, with sledging within acceptable boundaries, and no signs of the boorishness that since the ICC took moves to stamp it out at the World Cup has largely receded.It all began on a fractious night in the Walkabout Bar in Birmingham when Warner was accused of making an “unprovoked physical attack” on Root following England’s 48-run win over Australia in the Champions Trophy at Edgbaston.After the ECB lodged an official complaint, Warner publically apologised for aiming a punch at Root but was suspended all the same by Cricket Australia.Warner’s attempts to explain his actions at the start of the Ashes series were bizarre: lots of stuff about how Joe Root had offended him by stealing the wig he was wearing and using it to do an impression of Hashim Amla.Root responded: “Disappointing to have my character questioned – those who know me realise how ridiculous Warner’s excuse for hitting me sounds but that’s his choice to try and justify his actions.”As the story refused to go away, it was enough to make you squirm, but a few drinks after Australia won by an innings and 46 runs at The Kia Oval on Sunday, and England’s winning margin was trimmed to 3-2, the path to reconciliation looked well and truly oiled.

Opener Regis Chakabva and Tinotenda Mutombodzi struck 61 each to help Masholand Eagles chase down a revised target of 225 in 48 overs against Matabeleland Tuskers with 12 balls and four wickets to spare by Duckworth-Lewis method in Harare.Chamu Chibhabha was dismissed cheaply but Chakabva kept the scorecard ticking as Eagles reached 52 for 1 before the rain arrived. Cephas Zhuwao was bowled by Tiwanda Mupariwa off the first ball after resumption but Chakabva and Mutombodzi added 36 together, after which Ryal Burl applied the finishing touches to the chase.Earlier a collective bowling effort saw Eagles restrict Tuskers to 227. Seven batsmen passed double figures but none managed to make a big score. Mbekezeli Mabuza hit 39 off 47 balls with the next best score being Mupariwa’s 31-ball 37. He clubbed two fours and two sixes but the total of 227 was not adequate in the end.Mountaineers beat Midwest Rhinos by 18 runs in the Pro50 Championship fixture at the Kwekwe Sports Club in Harare. Mountaineers made 242 for 4 on the back of half-centuries from Timycen Maruma (69) and Hamilton Masakadza (65). Donald Tiripano, the pacer, then recorded figures of 5 for 47 off 10 overs, his best List-A performance, as Rhinos were bowled out for 242 in the penultimate over.Rhinos’ top order floundered as they were reduced to 53 for 4, before Prince Masvaure (91) and Remembrance Nyathi (46) came up with the rescue act. The pair added 125 for the fifth wicket before falling in successive overs. Nevill Madziva made an unbeaten 27 to keep their hopes alive, but that was scant consolation as the last four batsmen could manage just nine runs between them.

Punjab scored a comprehensive 162 run victory over unfancied Jammu andKashmir in the Ranji One-Day clash at the Model Sports Complex inDelhi today. On winning the toss, Punjab skipper Vikram Rathourelected to bat first. This turned out to be the perfect decision. Inthe company of promoted mediumpacer Sandeep Sharma (31), Rathour madea useful 84 (112 balls, 11 fours) at the top of the order.However, it was not the opening stand of 52 that made life difficultfor J&K. Coming in number three, Dinesh Mongia clattered the bowlingto all parts of the ground. The southpaw played one of his finestinnings thus far, making a mammoth 158 off just 116 balls. In thecourse of his assault, he sent the ball skidding across the turf tothe boundary sixteen times and even cleared the ropes on fouroccasions. Adding 145 for the second wicket, the Rathour-Mongiacombine put the match past J&K. Even after Rathour was bowled by VijaySharma, Mongia was unstoppable.The rest of the Punjab team batted around Mongia and reached amatchwinning 320 in fifty overs. Faced with the Herculean task ofchasing 320, J&K collapsed for a meagre 158. Lasting just 41 overs,J&K were never in the hunt. Stumper R Bali at the top of the ordermade 57 opening the batting, but he found no support. Recent IndiaTest cap Sharandeep Singh picked up 3/27 as Punjab crushed J&K.

Could Alastair Cook pull out the reverse sweep during the Test series against Pakistan? For one of England’s most orthodox batsmen, and an increasingly rare link back to the traditional form of Test batting, it would appear an unlikely prospect. But the importance of England not becoming bogged down by Pakistan’s spinners has been pinpointed by Paul Farbrace, the assistant coach, as a key route to success this winterCook is one of three left-handers likely to be part of England’s top seven at the start of the series. His opening partner is set to be Moeen Ali, while Ben Stokes will bat at No. 6. They are going to be facing two spinners, legspinner Yasir Shah and left-armer Zulfiqar Babar, turning the ball into them with fields that are likely to stifle their leg-side scoring options.England had an early taste of such a tactic during their opening warm-up match when, on occasions, the Pakistan A spinners – the two who bowled the most, Zafar Gohar and Mohammad Ashgar, were left-armers – had a seven-two leg-side field.England have previously been criticised for their obsession with the conventional sweep in Test cricket, instead of hitting straight down the ground, and Farbrace said that playing straight should be the preferred option in the first innings. However, he believes that all variations of the sweep could have a key part to play, especially deeper into the Test matches.”Second innings, the sweep is going to be a huge part of the game,” Farbrace said. “Even [in the first warm-up], we saw to the left-handers with a seven-two leg-side field bowling into the stumps, it might be that the left-handers have to learn to reverse to get the ball into the offside, just to manoeuvre the field.”People talk about ‘you’ve got to play straight’ but all you’re looking to do with the reverse sweep is play it once or twice to manoeuvre the field. What the best batsmen do against spin is manoeuvre the field to where they want the fielders to be to create gaps to knock the ball into. That’s something you have to do. On slow pitches, you have constantly to be rotating the strike and getting the ball into gaps.”The biggest danger, Farbrace says, is when a batsman becomes stuck at the single end, giving a spinner the time to work him over. After the warm-up match Mark Wood conceded how England will have to play a different game compared to their expansive Ashes cricket, but it must not go from bash to block.The 2007 vintage of Alastair Cook attempts a rare reverse sweep•Getty Images

“The bowler builds pressure, fielders around the bat, and eventually you bat-pad one and you get out,” Farbrace said. “The key for our batters is, one, to adapt to the conditions very quickly and have the options to play the sweep, reverse sweep, whatever it might be. Even hitting over the top, down the ground, all of our batsmen have got to have that option within their game as well.”England’s 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan in 2012 will be a regular reference point, but since then they have drawn in Sri Lanka and won in India so their record in subcontinental conditions – which the UAE can be bracketed as – is not as bad as some would make out.In two of the victories – Colombo and Mumbai – the now absent Kevin Pietersen was to the fore making 158 and 186 with astonishing strokeplay, including the switch hit, and quick footwork that did not allow the spinners to dominate.However, Cook was also immense, making 94 against Sri Lanka and three centuries in India. He played to his strengths, working off his pads, playing square into the off side and picking off anything that was dropped short. So the odds of Cook moving away from his method are slim. The first innings of the recent Ashes series was also instructive when he tried to attack Nathan Lyon early on and edged a cut. His is the long game. For anything more extravagant from the lefties, you probably need to look to Stokes.But not over-hitting has been a key message from short-term consultant Mahela Jayawardene who is working with England until the end of the first Test. The outfield in Sharjah for the first warm-up match was slow, reducing value for shots, but England’s batsmen are being told not to get frustrated.”Rather than trying to hit the ball harder because the ball is not getting to you as easily as it might do at home, the key is to let the ball come a bit more, hitting more under your nose, actually looking to bunt the ball into gaps,” Farbrace said. “If you see a long hop, the natural reaction is to pull it as hard as you can…[Jayawardene] is talking about letting the ball come, hitting it as late as you can, guide it into gaps. You’re only going to get one [run] anyway.”We saw people whacking the ball hard still only getting ones. Rather than whacking it and nicking behind, just guide the ball. They are the very simple things that he’s talked about. And it is simple. There’s nothing rocket science about what he’s talked about. He’s just offered some of his thoughts.”How many of those thoughts England’s batsmen implement, only time will tell.

David Miller’s approach at the crease and ability to create run-scoring opportunities need strengthening if he is hopes to find form again, according to former South Africa captain Graeme Smith. Miller last scored a half-century 10 ODI innings ago, and the drought has raised concerns about his technique and the impact of his failures on a middle-order that is missing JP Duminy, who is on paternity leave. Smith, also a left-hander, has identified what may be wrong.”Looking at David Miller now, there were a few ways to get him out: lbw, caught behind and with the short ball. He wants to get to a point where he lines himself up a little bit better with his front foot and gets his head to go to the ball and allow himself to play through mid-on and straight,” Smith said while doing analysis for during Sunday’s second ODI between South Africa and New Zealand.Miller was out for 5, leaving South Africa 76 for 4, when he leaned forward to play a Doug Bracewell delivery that was angled in towards the pads, took some extra bounce and then the leading edge as he closed the face of the bat too early. In dissecting the dismissal, Smith demonstrated how Miller had not lined up his head and his front foot, which resulted in him being off balance and unable to play the ball as intended.”David technically falls across himself which then causes him problems. You want to get yourself into a position where you are in a press,” Smith explained while mimicking the slightly compressed position that batsmen employ while getting ready to face a ball, ready to spring to action. “The only batter I have seen in world cricket who didn’t press was Matthew Hayden. For everyone else, you want to get into a nice strong position where your head and front foot are lined up and you can move them together.”Smith recommended Miller look to another southpaw, Rilee Rossouw, who has been getting himself into good positions consistently. “Look at Rilee, he sets his front foot nicely so lbw is not an option, his front foot and his head are aligned and they are moving in one direction,” Smith said.This is particularly important if Miller is in earlier in the innings, when the ball is still new and possibly moving around. “The new ball is the key factor here,” Smith said. “There’s options to get out against the new ball because it’s going to seam, it’s going to swing and in the middle order you don’t often get those situations, you might get pace off the ball but I think if David sets up a little bit more for the swinging ball and gets that front foot into a slightly better position, he can be a better off-side player.”Learning to line up better is not as easy as Smith makes it sound so he also had some pointers on what Miller and South Africa’s coaching staff can do in training to help make the adjustments. “There were two different training methods for me. There was trying to get used to conditions and in my net practices it was about setting up for what I was going to face out in the middle and then I would go away and if I wanted to work on confidence or shot making, I’d do that by myself in a quiet area,” Smith said. “It’s about understanding what you need to do in your net practices, the type of bowlers you are going to be facing, the conditions and you train accordingly. And then it’s about going away and working on the areas of your game you want to work on or building confidence in terms of your shot-making. “Miller would likely need to do both by realising the New Zealand bowlers, and doubtless others who will study video footage, have identified that he is not hitting as straight as he used to and is a candidate for overbalancing and mishitting. Not only has that hampered him technically but it could have a mental impact too as Miller questions his own ability, which Smith believes can improve beyond being a death-hitter.”David is such a crucial part of South Africa’s line-up. You want to grow him to become a better all-round batter for South Africa because a man of his ability could really change games,” Smith said. “He is a better player than being restricted to the last 10 or 15 overs. If he can learn to bat situations and coaches can grow his technique to a point where he can start playing Test cricket, he can be successful. If he can build that technical side of his game and find a way to line up a little bit straighter with his timing and ability, he is a very difficult guy to bowl to.”

MSK Prasad, the former India wicketkeeper, will lead a 15-member Andhra Ranji squad to take part in the Ranji Trophy Super League.Prasad was made captain after former captain Venugopala Rao shifted allegiance to Maharashtra. The team will also be without the services of KS Sahabuddin, who signed up with the Indian Cricket League.The player to watch out for will be Bodipati Sumanth, the former India Under-19 batsman, who impressed on the U-19 team’s tour to England in 2006. He scored an unbeaten 97 in the third one-dayer in Cardiff. Sumanth has played three first-class and five domestic Twenty20 matches for his state.The squad will be coached by former Test player, Syed Abid Ali, who had guided Andhra to the top of the South Zone in 2002-03, when the Ranji Trophy was zone-based.The squad’s 20-day conditioning camp in Visakhapatnam ends tomorrow.Andhra squad
MSK Prasad (capt, wk), Arjun Kumar, Mohammad Faiq, Gnaneswara Rao, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, I Raju, Prasad Reddy, Reddy, V Sandeep, Shankara Rao, Bodapati Sumanth, Marripuri Suresh, Satya Kumar Varma, P Vijay Kumar, Hemal Watekar
Coach: Syed Abid Ali

England captain Nasser Hussain ensured that his team enjoyed another good day at the WACA in Perth by recording the first century of the tour and taking his side to a first innings lead of 114 against Western Australia. Although the end of the innings was a disappointment with the last five wickets falling for only 15 runs, Andrew Caddick claimed a wicket when the home side batted again to leave them at 16 for one at the close of the second day.The start of play was brought forward to make up for time lost to the weather on the first day, but the early start did not agree with Robert Key who was out before he could add to his overnight score of 33. The batsman did not necessarily agree with the decision, giving the impression the ball might have bounced before reaching Matt Nicholson in the gully off Brad Williams.Marcus Trescothick was more circumspect in his approach than either he or Key had been on the first evening, but was within a boundary of his fifty when he edged Nicholson to third slip.With the score standing at 94 for two at that point there was a chance there might have been a collapse, but Hussain and Mark Butcher saw to it that the attack made no immediate inroads. The pair put on 59 together as Butcher gained valuable time at the crease. He remained to face 84 balls before offering no stroke to a ball from Jo Angel just before lunch and he was out for 29.John Crawley helped his captain add 79 for the fourth wicket before he played on to Stuart Karppinen for 45 and Alec Stewart reached 29 with six boundaries before driving Angel carelessly and was caught at second slip.Next to go was Hussain who had batted with immense assurance to reach 117 from 220 balls in a stay of nearly five hours in the middle that will give great heart to both him and his team. His end came when he pushed forward to Nicholson with just a hint of tiredness to be caught behind.The Australians make a point of targeting the opposition captain and, with this innings under his belt, Hussain will be under no illusions about the sort of reception he is likely to receive in Brisbane during the first Test. However, he is likely to feed off that as a sign of respect.The rest of the England innings would have been more familiar to Australian spectators – including selector David Boon – as the last five wickets fell in the space of six overs as only 15 runs were added to the total. They all went to Nicholson who finished with six for 79. In this same fixture on the last Ashes tour, Nicholson grabbed the headlines with seven for 77. Hussain was captaining England on that occasion and scored 118 in the first innings.Western Australia did not open with their captain, Justin Langer, who is nursing a stiff neck, in the second innings. Mike Hussey took his place but it was regular opener Scott Meuleman who lost his wicket in the seven overs before the close. He was lbw to Caddick as Western Australia finished the day still 98 runs behind.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has named a 12-man squad for the ACB Cup match against Tasmania’s second XI to commence on Monday, October 21.The team sees fast bowler, and new recruit to South Australia, Damien Fleming, in the squad, who will play subject to a final fitness evaluation. Ben Higgins will captain the team.Completing the squad are: Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, Callum Ferguson, Daniel Harris, Mark Harrity, Graham Manou, Jamie Marsh, Jack Smith, Matthew Weeks and Brad Young.The match will be played on Adelaide Oval No. 2 and runs from Monday, October 21 to Thursday, October 24. Play commences at 10.30am.

MSK Prasad, the former India wicketkeeper, has announced his retirement from all forms of the game. Prasad, who was appointed Andhra captain in 2007, played six Tests and 17 ODIs for India in which he effected a total of 36 dismissals as wicketkeeper.Prasad, 33, said he wanted to step aside to give more chances to younger players in the Andhra squad. “I have been asked by the Andhra Cricket Association secretary V Chamundeswaranath to continue for one more season as the association has started taking innovative steps to give a new look to the sport,” Prasad told the .”Even though I am very thankful for the gesture, I felt that it was time to quit. And I don’t have any regrets upon looking back.”It was a huge honour to represent the country at the highest level, and especially being the first one to do so from Andhra. That too at a time when everyone gave very little chance for cricketers from the state to even represent the South Zone.”It was an injury to Nayan Mongia, following the 1999 World Cup that gave Prasad his big chance in the national side. In the 1999-2000 season he played in six Tests, three against New Zealand at home and three in Australia, acquitting himself creditably, besides playing in many ODIs. But he was dropped after a poor tour of Australia where he averaged 8.66 with the bat. In the seven seasons he played for Andhra following his exit from the national side, Prasad scored 2644 runs at 33.46.Prasad hit his purple patch as a batsman-wicketkeeper in the 2002-03 season – scoring 754 runs, including two hundreds and five half-centuries, and effecting 32 dismissals from 11 matches – it was the only time in his career he averaged over 40 with the bat.

Graeme Swann, the England offspinner, has pledged that he will travel to Pakistan should the Champions Trophy go ahead, despite the uncertainty over the country’s political stability.The ICC’s task force has been in the country assessing the security over the past week, but their most difficult issue is in convincing the players. ICC’s security advisors are being dispatched to England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to persuade the boards that the players’ concerns are unfounded. Swann, however, is not one of them.”In Sri Lanka last year there were bombs going off while we were there,” he told PA. “But you did not feel threatened by it – because you have got the security detail, and the army give you escorts. I’d certainly trust what [ICC security expert] Reg Dickason says – after spending some time with him – so I’ll have to wait and see what he says.”Swann has only played 12 ODIs for England, spread over eight years, so any opportunity for him to swell his experience on the field is not one he can easily pass up.”It is obviously tricky – because if you are in a position like me, having only played a dozen or so internationals, you certainly worry about giving your place up and not winning it back,” he said. “Inside me, I think I would not have a problem; I’d trust in them – but then your family is saying you must be crackers and your girlfriend is saying, ‘I don’t want you to go’. “That’s when you start thinking, ‘Hang on a minute’.”The decision to tour Pakistan, though “tricky” due to safety concerns, cannot be compared to playing in Zimbabwe, Swann admitted. “It would be completely different if it was on moral grounds,” he said.”The Zimbabwe trip would be a complete no-brainer – you just wouldn’t go there, if you can sleep at night.”