Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie have sent England another heads-up by insisting they should be targeted – when they bat. Both fast bowlers are basking in new willow sponsorships after self-confessed “outstanding” summers last season, where they scored their maiden Test half-centuries.”New Zealand made the mistake of not targeting us as potential batting threats early in the series and I think they paid the price,” McGrath told The Australian. “Jason obviously watched my 61 from the other end in Brisbane, realised how good my bat was and has decided to join the strength.”The pair shared a 114-run partnership against New Zealand at Brisbane last season – McGrath reached 61 and Gillespie 54 – in a joyful performance for Australian supporters, and the light-hearted mood was again on show yesterday. “Really, 54 is easy,” McGrath said. “Once you get to the 60s things really get tough out there. I suppose if Jason keeps working he might get there one day. As for me, a century is next and I see it as being well within my grasp.”Gillespie, who paraded a horse dance from the movie Happy Gilmore on reaching his half-century, said he hadn’t decided on a celebration if he brought up three figures. “I told someone a while back I would do a nude lap around the oval, but have been told that’s not really an option,” he said. Gillespie scored 189 runs at 31.5 in eight Tests last summer while McGrath collected 79 at 15.8.Acting as Gillespie’s spokesman, McGrath, who has singled out Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan, said his partner should aim for Marcus Trescothick, who he has dismissed seven times. “I let Glenn make the big calls about who will be targeted,” Gillespie said. “When you have the bowling attack Australia have you take whatever dregs you can get. Having Warnie and Glenn and Co. means we have to fight just to get on the board.”McGrath has also planned how he expects to take his 500th Test wicket in the opening overs of England’s first innings at Lord’s. “I think the perfect dismissal is to hit the deck, go down the slope away from the left-hander,” he told AFP. “Whether it’s Strauss or Trescothick, they play and miss, and off-stump is knocked out of the ground.”

With players across the world coming to grips with the new proposals intended to liven up one-day cricket, Adam Gilchrist has come out and said that the players’ views should be taken on board before such experiments become legislation. The new changes, which involve changes in fielding restrictions and substitutions, could be tried out in early July when England and Australia clash in the NatWest Series.”I don’t think our guys have got a full grasp of it,” said Gilchrist, talking to . “I think it’s going to be really intriguing for the spectators and the players as to how a captain manipulates those five-over blocks. That will be really good.”It will keep people really interested and it will bring a more traditional tactical nous to the one-day game, where maybe that has slowly faded away or is not as openly evident in one-day cricket to the paying public. Traditional cricket is about out-thinking your opponent and subtle field changes. With these rules, it will have to reintroduce that skilled thinking.”The changes were suggested by a committee headed by Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian opening batsman, in an attempt to liven up the one-day game which had become drearily predictable and formulaic in the middle of an innings.Gilchrist added that while the game’s popularity and commercial considerations were important, it was imperitive that the players be consulted before any far-reaching changes were affected. “I’ve got no problem with trying things in this format of the game,” he said. “People will say it’s not cricket to substitute a player in and out but traditionalists will say one-day cricket is not cricket, so it’s here and it’s a good forum to experiment.”As long as there is an experimental period and then they go to the players to get opinion on whether it’s worked or not. The players don’t have to have the final say, but they’ve got to have a strong voice in the final outcome, along with spectators who they’ll canvass and, I’m sure, sponsors and the TV people that cover the games.”

Since Australia arrived in England three weeks ago, the psychological point-scoring has been unabating and unabashed. There have been ghosts and boasts, embarrassments and barrages but now, finally, comes the chance to land the first truly telling blow at Lord’s this weekend. And the two sides will head into the NatWest Series final on a pretty evenweighting.Australia may have shaded the points in the latest completed bout, but England beat them in the first round and, having finished top of the table, they have proven they are no pushover. Both sides named a full-strength side for the last match, a dress rehearsal which ebbed and flowed but was finally washed out. And it is likely that they will stick to those sides for the final.It was a stormy end to a stormy encounter at Edgbaston, in which Simon Jones and Matthew Hayden nearly came to blows. But Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting was quick to dismiss the incident. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the final he said: “It is water under the bridge.” His opposing captain, Michael Vaughan, agreed. “As soon as the game was finished the other day most of it was forgotten,” he said. Nevertheless, the matterwill add some spark to what will already be a crackling occasion, given that it is a Lord’s final.History suggests that chasing in Lord’s finals is the preferred option, but last year New Zealand bucked that trend, becoming the first side in five NatWest Series finals to win batting first. England’s strength in one-day cricket is still chasing, as their batsmen are more comfortable knowing their target, especially on a quick Lord’s outfield where therewill be plenty of runs up for grabs.Whenever they bat, Kevin Pietersen could be promoted to No 4 to exploit his big hitting potential. “He looks like a player who if he gets in could get a real big score and go beyond a hundred,” said Vaughan, “he’s got that many shots.” Pietersen will use the match to continue his aim of forcing his way into the Ashes side although, of course, he will concentrate on the matter in hand in the meantime.But England’s one-day form remains as inconsistent as Pietersen’s hairstyle. Last season they failed to qualify for the Natwest Series final, then made the final of the Champion’s Trophy before, this year, losing 4-1 in the one-day series in South Africa, where they were without their star allrounder Andrew Flintoff who had an ankle injury. “Having someone likeFreddie Flintoff back bowling has been a big key for us,” said Vaughan. “His bowling, which we missed immensely in South Africa, has been very important in this series.”But if he and Pietersen can star togther with the bat then their fireworks may be enough to grab London’s attention on what will be a busy day for the capital. Elsewhere, Live8, the Gay Pride March and Wimbledon are all taking place. Flintoff and Pietersen will hope that, should they bat together, their second partnership will return better results than theirmuch-awaited first stand together, which posted a squib-like 9 runs at Durham.The bookies have made Australia marginal favourites, at 4/7, with England priced 5/4. England’s batting hasn’t been the most convincing against the Australian big guns this tournament; their opening pair of Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick in particular. Strauss has made scores of 16, 3 and 25, while Marcus Trescothick has struck 27 in threeinnings, at an average of just 13.5. Now is the time for them to start firing.For Australia, once again Andrew Symonds will be their key player. Symonds has made himself indispensable with both bat and ball ever since he returned from his two-match ban for staying out late drinking. He’s in-form and in-yer-face. As Ponting admitted, “He is vital to us” – and Australia found out just how vital when they lost both matches which he missed, including defeat against Bangladesh. Symonds is now pushing for a Test place, and he’s not the only one.Brett Lee has been Australia’s most dangerous bowler on the tour so far, as batsmen have struggled against his pace. He knows that a devastating performance at Lord’s will present an unanswerable case for his inclusion in the first Test of the Ashes series which begins inthree weeks’ time. Brad Hogg and Glenn McGrath are also likely to return, having missed the last dead rubber against Bangladesh.It’s the final that everyone expected – although Australia’s passage to Lord’s didn’t go entirely to plan. But Bangladesh have now gone, leaving the big boys to grapple. The Ashes, they are coming, but the summer begins here.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 PaulCollingwood, 7 Geraint Jones (wkt), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Darren Gough, 10Simon Jones, 11 Steve Harmison.Australia (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist (wkt), 2 Matthew Hayden, 3Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Clarke,7 Mike Hussey, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11Glenn McGrath.

Australian XI 582 for 7 (Martyn 154*, Ponting 119, Langer 115) lead Leicestershire 217 (Rogers 56, Lee 4-58) by 365 runs
Scorecard

Australia’s batsmen produced an effortless transition from the one-day circus to the rigours of first-class cricket, as Justin Langer, Damien Martyn and Ricky Ponting all recorded centuries on the second day against Leicestershire at Grace Road. By the close, Martyn was still there, unbeaten on 154, as Australia opted for batting practice against a deflated attack. The game is their solitary three-day warm-up before the first Test at Lord’s, which gets underway on Thursday, but on this evidence, they are already finely tuned.After bowling Leicestershire out for 217 on the first day, Australia resumed in the morning on 169 for 2 with Langer unbeaten on 71 in his first competitive innings for three months. With few demons in the pitch, he progressed effortlessly to his 70th first-class century, before becoming a third wicket for the deserving John Maunders.There was no let-up for Leicestershire after Langer’s departure, however, as Ponting and Martyn combined for a sublime 201-run stand for the fourth wicket. Ottis Gibson eventually broke the stand by bowling Ponting, but not before he had racked up 119 in a shade over four hours, with nine fours and two sixes.One wicket brought two, when Simon Katich failed to cash in on the conditions and was bowled by David Masters for 4, but Adam Gilchrist, with that recent century against England under his belt, joined Martyn to push Australia’s total up towards 500. He too had his stumps rattled, this time by Stuart Broad for 26, who followed up with wicket of Brett Lee, caught by Darren Robinson for 6.At that point Australia might have been contemplating a declaration, but Jason Gillespie settled in so well that he and Martyn were both undefeated at the close, having added 73 for the eighth wicket. Gillespie finished one short of his sixth first-class fifty, as Australia contemplated a satisfactory day’s work.”It was a superb team performance,” said Langer. “To score that many runs in a day and to have bowled so well on Friday is a very good start to our Ashes campaign. That is what these games are about, and it has been a perfect preparation so far.”

ScorecardGloucestershire built a useful lead over Bangladesh A by the close of the second day despite Tushar Imran’s 119 giving Bangladesh a slender advantage on first innings. Phil Weston provided the backbone to Gloucestershire’s second innings with a workmanlike 63.Starting the day on 98 for 3, Tushar and Alok Kapali, the overnight batsmen, extended their partnership to 122. Kapali struck 12 boundaries in his 105-ball 59 before he was trapped lbw by Malinga Bandara, the Sri Lankan legspinner, who is filling one of Gloucestershire’s overseas slots while Upul Chandana is on international duty.Bangladesh then encountered the unknown quantity of William Rudge, a 22-year-old medium pacer bowler making his first-class debut. He snapped up three quick wickets – including Mushfiqur Rahim, the young wicketkeeper-batsmen who made such a positive impression on his test debut at Lord’s – to leave Bangladesh floundering on 195 for 7.Tushar found some valuable support from Shahadat Hossain and the pair added 43 before Tushar was caught off Jon Lewis. Bangladesh ended with a lead of 19 but Gloucestershire lost Kadeer Ali – who followed his first innings duck with just a single – before the deficit was erased.However, any thoughts Bangladesh had of running through Gloucestershire were halted by Weston and Ian Fisher as they added 97. Although Mushfiqur Rahman removed both before the close Bangladesh are going to face a testing target on the final day.

Murali Kartik, the Indian left-arm spinner, will join Lancashire for the remainder of the county season. Karthik has been signed as cover for Gary Keedy, who is suffering from a hand injury, and made his debut in the current championship game with Essex.The club also had an overseas player vacancy after Marcus North left to prepare for the Australia A tour to Pakistan. “Kartik will give us more depth for the remaining games of the season,” said Mike Watkinson, the team manager. “We are glad that a player of his quality has joined us at such short notice.”Kartik, who has picked up 24 wickets in eight Tests at 34 apiece, is familiar with Lancashire, having played league cricket for Ramsbottom before India’s recent one-day series in Zimbabwe.Playing for Ramsbottom last month, he helped his team win the Worsley Cup, taking three wickets and scoring 37 in the final against Todmorden.

Andrew Flintoff, who played such an immense role in helping England reclaim the Ashes, says he did not relish Nasser Hussain’s leadership style and is now flourishing under Michael Vaughan’s more relaxed approach.In extracts published in from his latest book, , Flintoff says it is not just coincidence that his best years as a cricketer have come under Vaughan, and not Hussain.”I don’t think it is any accident that I have played some of my best cricket under Michael simply because he encourages you to enjoy your cricket without fear of failure. I don’t want to turn around and see my captain throwing his cap on the floor or kicking sods out of the ground or rollicking people right, left and centre. That doesn’t make anyone feel better. I want his support.”Flintoff, who made his Test debut against South Africa under the captaincy of Alec Stewart in 1998, asserts that the difference in the atmosphere of the dressing room then and now is crucial to the team’s resurgence.”It is a totally different dressing room now. When I made my Test debut, members of the squad were so wrapped up in their own games that the mood was significantly different. I don’t know if selfish is the right word for it, but there wasn’t much emphasis on helping each other out.””I have played in sides when there has been a disgraceful attitude, when even some of your team-mates were half-hoping you failed, but that’s definitely not the case with the present day England team. Now we all enjoy each other’s success,”he said.Vaughan’s captaincy, which began when he took over from Hussain against South Africa in July 2003, comes in for special praise.”When Vaughan is in charge, he is very relaxed and chilled out and encourages people to express themselves, but Nasser was totally different to that. He was a lot more animated, ruled with more discipline and was more like a schoolteacher with us. He was a very passionate captain and also very astute, but he did it with a style I didn’t particularly like. He was confrontational and put a bit of undue pressure on the lads at times. He used to eff and jeff at mid-on and throw his cap around,” Flintoff said.

Kenya 214 (Ouma 78) and 142 for 4 (Tikolo 54) lead Zimbabwe A 171 (Onyango 5-36) by 185 runsKenya ended the second day of their tour match against Zimbabwe A at Harare Sports Club in a strong position, leading by 185 runs with six second-innings wickets in hand. On a pitch which both teams have expressed considerable concern about, ZImbabwe A will struggle to chase anything over 200 on the final day.Indeed, this fixture was moved from the Harare Academy ground, the venue for the first two games between these sides, because the surface there was so poor. Despite this being the main international ground in Zimbabwe, the pitch was nothing short of disgraceful.Yesterday, Maurice Ouma’s gutsy 78 provided the foundation for Kenya’s 214 made from 76 overs. Zimbabwe resumed today on 17 for 1, but struggled with the conditions and were bowled out for 171 in 56 overs, conceding a lead of 45. Lameck Onyango was the pick of Kenya’s bowlers with 5 for 36 and Mohammad Sheikh weighed in with 3 for 20.Kenya extended that lead, closing on 142 for 4, with Steve Tikolo, who has struggled for runs on this tour to date, making his mark with 54 and Ouma chipping in with 32. Much will depend on Collins Obuya and Thomas Odoyo, the not out batsmen, and if they and the tail can extend the lead and bat through to lunch, Kenya will be in with a good chance of recording a remarkable clean sweep.As on Saturday, Zimbabwe A resembled their full-strength side, and although Heath Streak was absent, they were bolstered by the return of Tatenda Taibu to lead the team. But much of the time the Zimbabweans seemed distracted by the growing row over their letter to the board requesting the reinstatement of Phil Simmons as coach. Yet again, what was going on in the middle appeared to be secondary to the off-field dramas.

How important was it personally to follow up the 148 against Pakistan with an innings of real substanceIt was very important. The 183 not out [Jaipur] was very satisfying because the conditions were so different. Against Pakistan, we had batted first, but in this case, we were chasing a very big total.Did it give you extra satisfaction that three of your innings against Sri Lanka involved being there at the end of a run-chase, a familiar Achilles Heel of Indian sides in the past?I’m just happy that I fulfilled the responsibility that was given to me by the team management. It doesn’t matter whether it was batting first or chasing, I did what I was asked to do.How have you adjusted to being shunted up and down the order?It’s been a new thing for me. I’ve batted at a lot of different slots in the past few games, as high as No.3 and as low as No.8. But I’m getting used to it now.How have innings like the 148 and 183* affected your life, and added to the pressure?There’s always pressure to do well when you play for your country, but when I get to the middle, it all disappears. I never think of such things while batting.Which bowler have you found the hardest to face since making your debut?I think all international bowlers can test you. But Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Bond were certainly testing.How hard do you work on fitness, given the double-role that you have to play?We work very hard. It also depends on the preparation you do in off-season, and also the in-season training that we do with Greg King.Do you feel your wicketkeeping has improved, and do you think you might get a chance in the Test team now? I’ve worked very hard on improving my keeping, but that’s a question you should ask the selectors. When I’ve been given a chance in ODIs, I have done well. Hopefully, I can do well if given a chance in Tests too.Are there any areas of wicketkeeping that you have worked on specifically? Mainly just footwork. I’ve been concentrating on that.Is it difficult keeping to the likes of Harbhajan on Indian pitches? Of course. Both Anil bhai [Kumble] and Harbhajan are a real challenge. But personally, I find keeping to Veeru [Sehwag] even more difficult. Don’t ask me why! (smiles).How do you account for the dramatic turnaround in India’s fortunes since Zimbabwe?That’s a question that Greg Chappell, as coach, is best equipped to answer (laughs).