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Pakistan in India 2012-13 itinerary

December 25 – 1st T20I, Bangalore
December 27 – 2nd T20I, Ahmedabad
December 30 – 1st ODI, Chennai
January 3 – 2nd ODI, Kolkata
January 6 – 3rd ODI, Delhi

Pakistan will arrive in Bangalore for the India tour on December 22 and will play the first Twenty20 international on Christmas Day. The schedule, announced by the BCCI on Thursday, has the second T20 in Ahmedabad on December 27; Chennai will host the first ODI three days later and the two remaining one-dayers will be played in Kolkata and Delhi on January 3 and 6.The BCCI’s announcement came following the Indian home ministry’s approval of the tour on Tuesday. The series is sandwiched between two legs of England’s tour of India. England play the second and final T20 international in Mumbai on December 22 – the day Pakistan arrive – before heading home for Christmas. The ODI series between England and India starts on January 11, five days after Pakistan wind up their tour.Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, welcomed the announcement and said that the series was long due. “This is a great news for the people of both Pakistan and India,” Ashraf told reporters at the Gaddafi Stadium. “You can’t just clap with one hand. Both countries need each other and that strengthens the relationship. The series will be a big breakthrough and a revival of our cricketing relationship with India.”Pakistan will play their first bilateral series against India since touring the country in end-2007. However, they have met in multinational tournaments – their last meeting was in the 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. Cricket ties between the two countries were snapped following the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai by militants from Pakistan.

Boland reached an imposing 274 for four by stumps on day one of this Supersport Series Super Eight match at local rivals Western Province, on a day that saw two of their young batting stars play a large hand.Justin Ontong (84) and Jonathan Trott (66 not out) both notched the highest scores of their brief first-class careers as Boland overachieved on the picturesque ground of their more illustrious neighbours.Ontong and Trott’s partnership of 136 for the fourth wicket was very much the spine of a fine Boland batting effort, with debutant Gerhard Stydom adding a useful 34 at the top of the order along with opening partner James Henderson (42).Ontong was a frustrated man when he bowled by a quick yorker from Jacques Kallis, the 21 year-old within sight of what would have been a maiden first-class century and a nudge in the direction of the national selectors ahead of South Africa’s tour to the West Indies.His innings was littered with fine strokes, eleven boundaries punctuated by just the one chance – an extremely sharp one at that to a diving Herschelle Gibbs in the gully. Trott too looked in good form after struggling earlier on this season – he will also be looking for his first three figure score at this level when Boland resume on day two.The Western Province effort was characterised by some inconsistent bowling and the occasionally stunning piece of fielding. Kallis took a particularly good catch standing at second slip, diving full length to his right to get rid of Henderson, and there were also fine efforts from Graeme Smith.Boland might perhaps feel they could have scored their runs at a slightly faster rate, and that as much as anything will help the home side feel they have not quite been batted out of the game yet.

Mahela Jayawardene has admitted his side faltered under pressure in their World Twenty20 final loss to the West Indies in Colombo, after having made an exceptional start to the match in the first 12 overs. The loss is Sri Lanka’s fourth in major finals since 2007, and they have now been bridesmaids in two World Cups and two World Twenty20s in the last five major tournaments.Sri Lanka had surged through the Super Eights and secured a tough victory over Pakistan on a dustbowl to progress to the final, but could not quell a West Indies resurgence in the title match. With West Indies mired at 48 for 2 after 12 overs the title seemed in Sri Lanka’s grasp before Marlon Samuels bludgeoned three sixes off Lasith Malinga’s second over on his way to a match-winning 78 from 56 balls. Jayawardene, who announced he was standing down as T20 captain, felt Sri Lanka should not have allowed West Indies, who were also 87 for 5 in the 16th over, to reap 89 from the last eight overs.Sri Lanka lost Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over in pursuit of 138, and were never able to catch up to the asking rate. Jayawardene did not see a trend in Sri Lanka’s inability to win finals, but said his side had responded poorly to West Indies’ middle-over onslaught, and marked out the three-over stretch between the 13th and 15th over, which cost 39, as the turning point of the match even though Ajantha Mendis took three wickets.”I think we tried very hard, but this match changed in three or four overs in the middle,” he said. “In the pressure situations we couldn’t control the match. Marlon Samuels batted really well and he took it away from us a little bit. But when we were put under pressure, we didn’t react well to that. When those small mistakes add up, that’s where you lose a match like a final, and that’s what happened to us.”Jayawardene has been at the helm for two of those four finals losses, while Kumar Sangakkara, Dilshan and Malinga have also played in each loss. In this tournament, Sri Lanka had lost only a seven-over match against South Africa in the group stage, and arrived in the final as the form team, and favourites with home advantage. Jayawardene said this defeat was different from finals failures in the past, because Sri Lanka had dominated the opening exchanges.”We played well right until the final. Every defeat has been different. How we approached a couple of the finals, we did not start well and we kept chasing the game and it was tough for us to get back into it. I thought today we started well. Marlon took a gamble after the 12th over and it paid off for him. Those were individual performances that you have to give credit to. Under pressure he put his hand up and performed and that crucial moment he controlled.”Samuels was dropped on 20 by Nuwan Kulasekara as he attempted a difficult running chance on the long-off boundary in the tenth over. Samuels made 58 from the next 22 balls he faced and propelled West Indies beyond a run-a-ball – a run rate they had not looked like achieving in the early stages. After Samuels’ demise in the 18th over, Darren Sammy propelled West Indies towards 140 with 26 from 15 balls.”We dropped a half chance and then they played well in the next three overs,” Jayawardene said. “I think that 20 or 30 runs was the difference. If we had kept them to 110 or 120 on this pitch we could have competed better in this match.”Jayawardene admitted that despite falling away in the field Sri Lanka were capable of chasing 138, but needed a strong start to do so. Ravi Rampaul’s superb delivery to uproot Dilshan’s off stump forced the hosts to be more conservative during their Powerplay, and the middle order were unable to reverse a flagging run rate amid a clatter of wickets.”We wanted to attack. The first six overs, it was crucial for us to get a good start, particularly with the hardness of the ball. But when Dilly got out in the first ball of the second over, that kept us back because Kumar and I knew we had to consolidate and we couldn’t lose another wicket in the first six overs.”We were looking at 45-50 runs in the first six to put pressure on them, but that didn’t materialise. They bowled really well and took pace off the ball. They didn’t bowl their quicks and kept bowling their spinners. We never had momentum going in that chase. We had to make sure we had a good start going and we lost wickets regularly.”Malinga’s second over disappeared for 21, but Jayawardene defended his decision to bring him back into the attack. Malinga’s two remaining overs went for 29, and he finished with his worst ever Twenty20 figures, having taken no wickets for 54 from his four overs. Jayawardene still had overs from Akila Dananjaya and Nuwan Kulasekara at the finish in addition to Thisara Perera, who has barely bowled throughout the tournament.”After the first 12 overs, Malinga had only bowled one over. I knew that they would have to play some shots, so I gave the ball to my number one bowler to take wickets. But they played well in that period and Lasith couldn’t bowl two good overs then, but that’s cricket. I thought we’d have a chance to take wickets if Lasith bowled because Marlon didn’t play Lasith well in our match in Kandy, so I had thought about that when I gave him the ball.”If I knew the script was going to be like that, I probably wouldn’t have bowled him.”Jayawardene said the loss would be particularly painful for having come on their home turf, in front of a hugely expectant crowd of 35,000. Sri Lanka had defeated West Indies by nine wickets in the Super Eights – their most comprehensive win over top-eight opposition – in addition to having defeated them by the same margin in a practice match.”As a team we gave everything we had. In a big tournament, we wanted to win to give something to the fans who have been cheering us. I’m very disappointed, we had a full house here as well. We just didn’t execute a good gameplan and we weren’t ruthless enough. So we’re very disappointed that we couldn’t give the fans what they wanted, and that hurts a lot.”

For nearly two seasons from 2011 to 2013, openers Robin Uthappa and KB Pawan followed by Ganesh Satish at No. 3, were the crux of Karnataka’s top order, leading a batting line-up that had a few changes. A change of guard, however, began sometime midway through the season last year, when KL Rahul and Kunal Kapoor were given a chance at the top and middle order respectively. This year, however, things are already looking different.An injury to Uthappa and Pawan’s move to Tripura at the start of the domestic season meant that Karnataka began this Ranji Trophy campaign with a big gap at the top of the order and Karnataka turned to its young batsmen – Mayank Agarwal, Rahul and Kapoor – to fill that gap.Prior to the tournament opener against Jharkhand in Mysore, Agarwal was better known for his IPL exploits, while Rahul – who made his first-class debut in 2010 – and Kapoor had played just 13 Ranji Trophy games between them. Rahul and Kapoor, however, were in good form in the Ranji Trophy last year. Rahul scored 400 runs in five matches at an average of 50, while Kapoor, batting at No. 3, became the first Karnataka batsman to hit a hundred in each innings, a record that helped the side salvage a draw from a losing position against Haryana.”We are missing Robin in the opening spot and we wanted someone who could be as close to Robin in the aggression part, so we picked Mayank Agarwal,” J Arunkumar, the Karnataka batting coach, said. “He is used to getting the big hundreds and double-hundreds in the past, so, we thought he was peaking at the right time.”Against Gujarat, the young top order will square up to face another young bunch of fast bowlers, and the hosts will aim to be just as aggressive with the bat. Karnataka’s depth in batting has been boosted by the presence of Satish in the middle order and, according to Arunkumar, the batsman’s ability to play well with the tail-end batsmen is important to the side.Karnataka wicketkeeper CM Gautam said that the aggressive batting against Jharkhand, which saw four batsmen, including Vinay Kumar reach fifty, was the result of concerted pre-season efforts by Arunkumar to deal with the problem of batsmen getting bogged down early.”Last year, for example, I thought we were too slow in getting runs at the start,” Gautam said. “This year, one of our goals is to aim to score at three runs an over.”Gautam suggested that Karnataka are likely to field the same playing XI, on a pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium which is expected to be a sporting track that will aid pace bowling early on.The unchanged combination means that Vinay, Abhimanyu Mithun and S Aravind will lead Karnataka’s pace attack. Vinay and Mithun bowled well against Jharkhand, but it is Aravind’s comeback that will have pleased Karnataka supporters the most. Aravind took a four-for on his return to the state side after two years spent recuperating from a knee injury.Gujarat will also look to utilise the pace-friendly conditions and are likely to opt for a third seamer. Parthiv Patel, the Gujarat captain, said the side may drop a spinner for that purpose, with the right-arm seamer Mehul Patel being among the contenders. “He [Mehul] bowled well in the game against Vidarbha, so he might get a look-in,” Parthiv said.This may be one of the toughest challenges for Gujarat’s batsmen in this tournament, yet. Smit Patel, who played with KL Rahul in the recent ACC Emerging Teams Cup, and Samit Gohel will need to get the team off to a good start against Vinay, Mithun, Aravind and Binny and it may be interesting to see if Parthiv decides to push himself up the order in case of an early wicket. Venugopal Rao’s return to form, with a century in the last game against Delhi, is also a good sign for Gujarat.What Gujarat have going for them is momentum. They beat Vidarbha by an innings and one run to grab seven points in the first game and their match against Delhi was closer than the final scoreline suggested as the young Gujarat bowling attack managed to sneak a 25-run first-innings lead.The conundrum for Gujarat would center around which spinner to drop in case they play a third seamer. Rakesh Dhurv, the left-arm spinner, is the most experienced bowler in the line-up and Gujarat have a choice of playing two left-arm spinners by retaining young Akshar Patel – who picked up 6 for 55 in Delhi’s first innings – or keeping offspinner Jesal Karia for more variety.

Tymal Mills, the Essex left-arm fast bowler, will fly to Australia at the weekend to help England with their preparations for the Ashes and a potential reacquaintance with the in-form Mitchell Johnson.Mills, 21, is part of the Performance Squad which will be based in Australia from mid-November until shortly before Christmas, but is now leaving three weeks ahead of his team-mates to be part of England’s warm-up period which begins in Perth where the squad arrived on Thursday.Although England have a battery of tall and quick bowlers, they do not have a left-arm pacer in the 17-man party. It is the missing ingredient that David Saker, the bowling coach, often talks about. England have not had a left-arm pace bowler since the retirement of Ryan Sidebottom.Mills tweeted: “Very exciting/busy few days/weeks ahead!!! Flying off to Aus on Sunday to help The England side with their prep for the ashes!”He caused England a few alarms ahead of the home Ashes when he struck Graeme Swann on the arm during the warm-up match involving Essex at Chelmsford. For a short while there were fears that Swann had suffered a break and Mills’ hostility caught the eye of England’s Test squad and team director Andy Flower.After the match against Essex last July, Flower said: “His rate of progress is really exciting for Essex. His control has improved and he’s really impressive physically. If he continues he might play for England.”The call-up for Mills is another example of how Flower is methodical in his planning and preparation. Johnson’s recent ODI form in England and now India, has propelled him towards being a likely starter in the Brisbane Test – especially due to the injury to Mitchell Starc – and Flower will not want his batting line-up caught out by Johnson who, though erratic, can produce devastating bursts.England have a couple of days off in Perth after arriving late on Thursday, and begin training on Sunday ahead of their first warm-up match against Western Australia XI on October 31.

ScorecardScott Borthwick played a key role with bat and ball on the final day•Getty Images

Durham struck a significant blow in the Championship title race by inflicting only a second defeat in 31 matches upon Yorkshire. A second batting collapse in two days cost the league leaders, who are just five and a half points ahead with three games to play. With Durham having four to play, they are the ones in pole position to clinch a third title in six seasons.Anything other than a draw seemed a long shot this morning with Yorkshire in a position of great strength at 276 for 1 in their second innings despite having been asked to follow-on 299 runs adrift.Yorkshire were even thinking about pressing for a most unlikely win themselves given a good first session and a half of batting. What followed was quite the opposite to leave their visitors chasing 121 in a minimum of 37 overs after tea for a maximum 24-point haul and a second successive triumph.Ben Stokes, excellent throughout this match ahead of his commitments in England one-day colours next week, picked up the key early scalps of Kane Williamson for 97 and Phil Jaques for 152 before Scott Borthwick’s leg-spin later wrapped up the innings for 419 with the last three wickets.Borthwick then passed 50 for the seventh time this season, hitting 65 off 85 balls, with a great deal of gusto as Yorkshire’s inconsistent attack forlornly searched for a way back.Durham’s game in hand is against Sussex at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, and a jubilant captain Paul Collingwood admitted: “It couldn’t have gone any better. Hats off to everyone who keeps on putting big performances in. I have to keep pinching myself when I’ve come off after winning a game like that.”The boys just keep doing it at the right time. I sound like a broken record, but whenever there’s a chance to win the game the boys put in big performances.”The way the boys came out in that first innings to bowl them out for 270 on a wicket like that and an outfield like that – it was like a billiard table out there – was pretty much the reason we won the game.”The loss of Williamson and Jaques, caught at gully and behind respectively, and Jonny Bairstow during the morning meant Yorkshire were only 52 runs ahead with five wickets in hand at lunch. They were three of four wickets to fall after a loss of seven for 63 had hurt them in the first innings during yesterday’s third morning.Wickets continued to tumble after lunch. Adil Rashid was caught at mid-on off Chris Rushworth from the first ball of the session before Gary Ballance departed caught behind off Stokes. At that stage, the writing was on the wall. Liam Plunkett’s 42 against his old county delayed the expected before Borthwick wrapped up Yorkshire innings having gone 35 overs wicketless.With a session to save themselves, Yorkshire made the perfect start with the ball after tea through Ryan Sidebottom, who had first innings centurion Mark Stoneman caught at third slip for a golden duck off the first ball of the innings.Yorkshire’s seamers bowled well without luck with the new ball. There were a number of lbw appeals, a few beat the outside edge and Keaton Jennings was dropped by Ballance in the slips. But Borthwick took advantage of the hosts’ desperate need for wickets with 12 fours and a six.Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie was magnanimous in defeat. “We were thoroughly outplayed in all departments. It’s a disappointing loss,” he said. “Full credit to Durham. The pressure situations, they handled them better than us.”If you play better cricket than the opposition over four days, you’ll generally come out on top. That’s what happened here. We believe that we’re a strong side, so we’ll dust ourselves off and meet our next challenge head on.” That comes against Sussex at Hove a week on Wednesday.

West Indies Women will tour New Zealand for three ODIs and five T20Is, beginning on February 26, 2014. The series will follow New Zealand Women’s tour of the West Indies, which begins on October 6.The teams will play three ODIs at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Christchurch, while Queens Park in Invercargill will host the first three Twenty20 matches. The last two matches will be played at the Queenstown Events Centre.Fixtures: February 26 – 1st ODI; February 28 – 2nd ODI; March 2 – 3rd ODI; March 5 – 1st T20I; March 8 – 2nd T20I; March 9 – 3rd T20I; March 12 – 4th T20I; March 14 – 5th T20I

Match facts

August 9-13, Chester-le-Street
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)Will David Warner be laughing his way back to the top of the batting order?•Getty Images

Big Picture

At Old Trafford England remained unbeaten for the 11th consecutive Test, while Australia failed to win for the seventh match in a row. The result also ensured the Ashes would remain in English possession, yet the evidence of the eyes tended to conflict with that conveyed by the scoreboard and the record book. Australia appeared to have turned a significant corner, putting near enough to five days of staunch cricket together for the first time in recent memory, and England looked more than a little exhausted by their earlier efforts in the series. At the same time their batsmen showed increasing signs of frailty in the face of the tourists’ admirable pace attack, a reliance on Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen to extricate the top three from bother growing more apparent with each match.So with the series moving to a venue less familiar to both sides, though the pitch is again straw-coloured, the question is how much the trends of Manchester will have an impact on proceedings at Durham. England were by far the better of the two sides in coping with the quick onset of another match so soon after the Nottingham epic, and this time also have the added relief of not having to worry about retaining the urn anymore. They should thus be capable of playing with a little more freedom of expression, not least the young opener Joe Root, who looked near enough to paralysed during two soporific innings in Lancashire. The unrelenting seam-up stylings of Graham Onions appear a likely reinforcement for the hosts’ bowling attack, which lacked a certain pep last week.For Australia, the gains of the third Test will mean little if they are not followed up with a pair of equally compelling displays in the final two matches. Given how inconsistent the side has been throughout Michael Clarke’s captaincy, bottoming out with a horrid display in India, the habits of successful teams need to be re-established with a strong sequence of performances. The team’s belief in their bowling attack is considerable, but the batsmen now need to show that they can maintain the standards set by Clarke, Chris Rogers, Steven Smith and Brad Haddin. It cannot be forgotten that the next campaign for the Ashes is but three months away.

Form guide

England: DWWWW
Australia: DLLLL

Players to watch

Jonathan Trott has been on something of a charm offensive this summer, appearing in plenty of interviews and doing his best to sound like the world’s most fascinating individual. However somewhere along the way his ability to bat boring seems to have been lost. Near enough to impassable during the previous Ashes series in Australia, he failed to capitalise on some free-scoring form at Trent Bridge, albeit partly due to an incorrectly given lbw decision in the second innings. From there his form has ebbed away, and at Old Trafford he looked lost, stumbling across his stumps in the manner of sundry English batsmen in 1989. Within the team, Trott is admired for his consistency and even temper. Perhaps he needs to remember that being dull is an asset, not a weakness.Plenty of observers were surprised by the vim with which Chris Rogers batted in Manchester, but not those who had seen him play precisely those kinds of innings for Middlesex and Victoria. No fussiness, but plenty of feistiness, as a succession perfectly reasonable deliveries were cuffed to the boundary. The ability to play with aggression and decisiveness at a point of the game where others may be nervous or unsure is one of Rogers’ great attributes, but another is the fashioning of hundreds. So far, despite serviceable contribution to the series, he has fallen short of that goal. Nonetheless, Rogers is Australia’s best hope of finding someone other than Clarke to push on to the kind of score an innings may be built around.

Team news

Graham Onions and Chris Tremlett are both in the England squad, and it appears most likely that the former will shuffle into the XI, perhaps at the expense of Tim Bresnan. There will be some temptation to withdraw one of Stuart Broad or James Anderson from the firing line after their efforts so far in the series.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Joe Root, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan/Graham Onions, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 James AndersonHaving tried no end of permutations since Michael Hussey’s retirement, Australia appeared to settle on a batting order they may keep from the second innings in Manchester. David Warner looked comfortable at the top with Rogers, while Shane Watson’s bowling may again lead to his demotion. One of Ryan Harris or Mitchell Starc will most likely make way for the fresher Jackson Bird.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Chris Rogers, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Shane Watson, 6 Steve Smith, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jackson Bird.

Pitch and conditions

The surface unveiled for the fourth Test maintains a pattern of dry, hard pitches prepared more or less to the specifications of the England coach Andy Flower. The forecast for Durham is for the occasional shower amid periods of friendly, if cloudy, weather.

Stats and trivia

• This is the first Ashes Test to be played in Durham, making it the ninth ground to host a Test between England and Australia in the UK
• The last Ashes series to be drawn 2-2 took place in England in 1972
• Michael Clarke needs 103 runs to pass Justin Langer and move into sixth place on Australia’s list of all-time run-makers

Quotes

“We want to win the Ashes and we haven’t yet done it. Along the way we retained them pretty quickly so that is a great achievement and something to be mighty proud of. We want to go on and win the series. The way the lads are, the way we are as a team and the way Andy Flower operates, there will be no let up of the standards we set ourselves.”
“I don’t think anyone is here to ‘give them a go’. That’s not in any Test cricket and certainly not an Ashes series, especially the position we’re sitting in now. It’s about picking your best 11 players.”

A “clean slate” under the Darren Lehmann regime and centre-wicket nets mean David Warner remains in serious contention for the first Investec Ashes Test. Peter Siddle, however, has more to do after Lehmann said he would not accept senior players coasting through tour matches.Warner, who is currently suspended for throwing a punch at England’s Joe Root, was a consistently early arrival at Taunton’s County Ground for use of the practice pitches before play, meeting the training standards Lehmann said he will expect from here on. His poor disciplinary record under the former coach Mickey Arthur does not bother Lehmann, so long as Warner does not relapse.”Very much so a clean slate,” Lehmann said. “We can’t control what’s happened in the past. We’ve just got to worry about the future and make sure he gets enough nets and then comes into consideration like everyone else. That’s all we can do.”We were lucky enough the facilities that we’ve had centre wickets every day and he’s been the first there and last to leave, so I’ve been pretty happy with his preparation and what he’s trying to get out of what he can do without playing a game.”I don’t know what’s happened in the past, so for me he’s got to do that. And he’s not the only one, everyone in the squad’s got to train that way, we want to train as hard as we can and be the best we can be at training, and then transfer that into the games.”Lehmann’s attitude to training and warm-up matches also applies to his fast bowlers. While James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc were close to their speedy, swinging best against Somerset, Siddle gave the overall impression of saving his top level for Trent Bridge.In this, he reflected the bowling of Merv Hughes early on the 1993 tour, when he roared into life at Old Trafford having taken barely a wicket beforehand.Lehmann said he expected more, particularly if it is decided to give Siddle more overs against Worcestershire. “We’ll see whether he plays or doesn’t play in Worcester, the main thing for him is making sure he’s ready to go,” Lehmann said.”Bowlers are a different species at the best of times, mentally and physically, but for me it’s a case of making sure they play the best they can each game. We want him to bowl well each and every time, whether it’s a tour game or a Test match, and he knows that.”Australia’s players were given a day off in Worcester on Sunday ahead of training Monday and their final pre-Ashes match on Tuesday. Michael Clarke will play again as he chases additional match conditioning. So too Shane Watson, who will bowl at New Road after the selection of four other pacemen kept him from rolling his arm over at Taunton.

For a few, brief hours, Ashes nostalgia got the better of Ricky Ponting as he indicated that he would be prepared to answer an SOS call from Michael Clarke and help out Australia in the Ashes.”You wouldn’t say no, would you, if that call came and I would never say never,” Ponting told the when asked if he would consider an Ashes comeback. “But you have to say a call-up like that now is extremely unlikely.”But never again the twain shall meet, unless it’s for a beer as Michael Clarke’s men tour the country. A Ponting return would have been akin to a desperate England sending for a 41-year-old Colin Cowdrey midway through the 1974-75 Ashes. In other words, it sounded from the outset as likely as David Warner hiring Robert Craddock to write his biography.A good night’s sleep later, Ponting reconfirmed his international retirement. He had never seriously intended to suggest he was fingering his mobile, awaiting a call. One of cricket’s toughest performers was just indulging in a flight of fancy.”I did an interview with the Mail yesterday and probably didn’t answer this question exactly the way I would have liked,” he told Sky Sports. “I’m a happily retired international cricketer. There’ll be a squad of 17, 18 players and there’ll be reserve batsmen on standby, ready to go if anyone in the starting XI loses a bit of form.”I won’t be playing Ashes cricket this time, there’s no doubt about that. I’m pleased everyone out there thinks that there’s still an opportunity, that I might be good enough to play, but I’m happily retired and it’s time for the young guys now to make the most of their opportunities.”To date, Michael Vaughan, his opposite number as England captain in 2005, has been able to keep his excitement in check. Clarke, too, presented a straight bat when asked about a possibly Ponting return at his Champions Trophy press conference in Cardiff on Wednesday.”You should never say never in life, that’s for sure, but I think Ricky also made it very clear that his time had finished at international level,” Clarke said. “He’s retired from the Australian cricket team. I hear he’s very focused and excited about being a part of the Surrey team. Right now we have a 15-man Champions Trophy squad, and then we’ll have a 16-man Ashes squad. Ricky is not selected in either of those squads at this stage.”Ponting will be in England for a county stint with Surrey in June and July and it could make for an interesting sideshow if he continues the first-class form that he showed for Tasmania after his Test retirement – he topped the Sheffield Shield run tally with 911 at 75.91. Australia’s batsmen struggled in India in February and March on their first Test tour since the departures of Ponting and Michael Hussey and several top-order men will enter the Ashes under pressure.There is no question that Ponting’s decision to play on after giving up the captaincy was made with this Ashes tour in mind. But by the end of the home series against South Africa late last year, when he was embarrassed at his output of 32 runs in five innings, he knew that the time had come to retire, or risk a tap on the shoulder from the selectors.”I felt Australia would have been a stronger side in this Ashes with both me and Mike Hussey in the side,” Ponting said. “The Ashes are the pinnacle and England is the greatest tour to be on. But the bottom line is I just wasn’t good enough any more to be a part of this team. I knew that.Ricky Ponting topped the Sheffield Shield run tally last summer•Getty Images

“Hussey is missing because of different circumstances and I’m surprised he’s not here but I know how hard it can be to keep on touring with a young family. As for me, my time had just come. I knew it so I had to bow out against South Africa. It’s down to the young lads now.”While they’re all young lads to Ponting, some members of Australia’s squad are not so youthful by international cricket standards: the selectors hope that the recall of the 35-year-olds Chris Rogers and Brad Haddin will add some experience and stability to the side. Much will depend on the form of Clarke, but Ponting believes the series could be closer than many people expect and he said the output of the other batsmen like Warner, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes and Shane Watson would be critical.”I think it’s going to be a lot tighter than a lot of people have been saying,” he said. “There has been a lot of doom and gloom and negativity about our side but not too long ago we were all being pretty positive about where we stood. Our batting is the key. If it can stand up to the English bowling then we will be competitive. We have a good, solid number of bowlers and our young quicks are really exciting as a fast-bowling group.”England are a very good side, and they played exceptionally well against us in Australia last time. I must admit Alastair Cook surprised me in that series but I see he’s just got his 25th Test century and he’s proving a worthy successor as captain to Andrew Strauss. Joe Root looks a good young player, Jonny Bairstow has something about him and when Kevin Pietersen is fit England will be getting a world-class player again. They are a quality side – but quality sides have been beaten in the past.”Another important factor for the Australians will be their preparation and off-field efforts, which slipped so significantly on the Indian tour that Clarke, coach Mickey Arthur and team manager Gavin Dovey suspended four players for not completed a so-called “homework task”. Ponting said he was uncertain how he would have dealt with such issues if he had still been in charge.”I can understand what the captain and coach were trying to achieve but I’m not sure I totally agree with what happened,” he said. “I don’t know for sure how I would have handled that situation but those type of things didn’t happen when I was captain.”