All posts by csb10.top

The ECB will establish a groundbreaking tournament next summer when it launches a new women’s domestic T20 competition.The Women’s Super League will abandon the traditional county structure and comprise six teams.Potential team hosts will be invited to show an “expression of interest’, a process that will start formally this month, and consideration will be given to bodies outside the current county structure with the ECB saying that “any cricket-minded organisations will be able to submit a proposal to become a host.”The successful candidates will be confirmed by the end of the year.During its first season, the Women’s Super League will be comprised solely of T20 cricket and sit alongside the Royal London Women’s One-Day County Cup and NatWest Women’s County Twenty20 competitions. From 2017 onwards the structure will develop to both T20 and 50-over formats.The ECB is investing £3 million over the first four years of the tournament and believes that the competition will:*Develop higher standards for the England team with greater competition for places and creating more experienced players.*Inspire more women and girls to play cricket at all levels by offering new opportunities, a new narrative for the game, and new role models.*Create more opportunities to play through a network of host clubs linked to their communities.*Increase commercial support and broadcast coverage.The Minister for Sport, Tracey Crouch, was quick to offer support, saying: “”This is a huge step forward for women’s sport, providing female athletes with a platform to showcase their skills. It is also a great opportunity to further grow the game, inspiring a whole new generation of women to take up cricket.”The women’s game in England has made massive strides towards full professionalism in the past two years. In 2013, the ECB followed Cricket Australia’s lead in awarding central contracts to the national squad, allowing players to turn fully professional for the first time.A year later the ECB struck a deal with car manufacturer Kia which secured standalone sponsorship of England Women.Cricket Australia has also announced plans for a revamped domestic T20 league, with a Women’s Big Bash League to run in conjunction with the men’s tournament in December and January.Three England players – Charlotte Edwards, Heather Knight and Sarah Taylor – all played in Australia’s domestic competitions during the English winter.Now, with the advent of fully supported T20 competitions in both hemispheres, the incentives and rewards for female professional cricketer have dramatically increased.The £3m investment will help each team to improve coaching standards and community engagement plans, support a marketing campaign and, for the first time in domestic women’s cricket in England, offer prize money.Tom Harrison, ECB chief executive, heralded a “major step for the women’s game in England.”He said: “We are already very proud of the achievements of the England women’s team and the growth of the game for women and girls over the past decade.”We now have the opportunity to build on this, inspiring more women and girls to take part and offering players a domestic structure that gives the best cricketers the chance to play against each other in the most competitive environment.Women’s cricket is changing for Charlotte Edwards (left) and Clare Connor•Getty Images

“The new Women’s Cricket Super League will take standards to a new level and show more women and girls the opportunities that cricket can give.”Clare Connor, ECB director of England women’s cricket, called the league “the next stage in the evolution of women’s cricket in this country” and said it would be a catalyst to increase female participation.”Last year brought the introduction of central contracts for 18 England women’s players and a significant commercial deal,” she said. “Now, through the Women’s Cricket Super League, we will create high-performance training and competition environments, which will constantly challenge our very best players and drive the sustained success of our England team.”We also have the chance to invite the world’s finest players into the Women’s Cricket Super League to drive ever higher standards.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:29

‘Heartening to see young Mumbai players deliver’ – Hattangadi

The Ranji Trophy final was delicately poised at the start of the third day. By lunch, it was dead and buried. Mumbai’s first-innings lead was 33 when No. 11 Balwinder Sandhu joined Siddhesh Lad; by the time they finished, 33 became 136, aided by poor catching and defensive tactics from Saurashtra. Whatever happened after that was a futile attempt at damage control as Mumbai knocked the stuffing out of Saurashtra and sealed their 41st Ranji Trophy title with an innings win.Having allowed Mumbai to score 371 from 268 for 9, Saurashtra suffered a top-order brain freeze. Their batsmen fell just like they did in the first innings, getting drawn forward without feet movement, the bat coming down late to find the edge and bring the slip cordon into play. Cheteshwar Pujara resisted Mumbai for a while, making 27, but his struggle at the crease was hard to miss, before Shardul Thakur’s lifter had him fending to gully. At 67 for 5, halfway into the day, the end was near. The moment Mumbai were waiting for duly arrived, shortly after tea, as the Saurashtra lower order crumbled in the face of sustained attack from Thakur, who walked away with five wickets. Saurashtra were bowled out for 115 in 48.2 overs.Things could have perhaps been a lot different had Lad, who went on to make 88, not been reprieved on 24 at first slip by Pujara. At that stage, Mumbai’s lead stood at a marginal 36. What unfolded from there on was the kind of show you expect from a side that has been there and done that. Lad chipped away at the runs with authentic cricketing shots. When Lad hit Jaydev Unadkat for four sixes to four different corners of the ground, Saurashtra were left searching for answers.Lad, scrawny and not associated with big hits, effortlessly switched gears, after Iqbal Abdulla’s dismissal in the first over of the day. Pujara, standing in as captain, in place of Jaydev Shah, who had picked up a niggle, switched to a defensive mode at the first sign of aggression.Lad used the opportunity to pinch singles and farm the strike. As the partnership grew, Sandhu displayed confidence and gave able support to his more accomplished partner. Lad hit eight fours and five sixes; the highlight being the six over cover point off the front foot.Unadkat, who had respectable figures of 3 for 61 off 18 overs before the dropped catch, bore the brunt of Lad’s belligerence as Saurashtra’s defensive tactics played into Mumbai’s hands. Unadkat’s next six overs went for 54. This meant that Mumbai’s lead swelled to 100 and beyond. By the time Lad fell to an attempted heave that was well taken by Sheldon Jackson running in from long-on, the momentum was firmly with Mumbai. Sandhu went on to pocket his highest score, an unbeaten 34, the result being the highest tenth-wicket stand for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy history. Lad and Sandhu added a 92-ball 103 together, breaking the previous best of Ashok Mankad and Sushil Sanghvi in 1967.Saurashtra’s fragility against the moving ball was again exposed in the second dig, on a surface where there was enough to keep the pacers interested throughout the day. While there wasn’t much they could have done to the good balls, their loose attempt at chasing deliveries that could be left alone, best exemplified by the shot played by Shah, hastened the end. Aditya Tare, who was in his first full season when Mumbai last won the title, completed the circle by leading his team to glory.

IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla has said that Visakhapatnam, Raipur and Kanpur are frontrunners to be alternative home venues for Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants after a Bombay High Court ruling ordered matches after April 30 to be moved out of Maharashtra due to a state-wide drought. He also said Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata were in contention to host the three playoff games – the Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and final – that were scheduled to be played in Pune and Mumbai.Shukla confirmed he would meet with representatives from both franchises in Delhi on April 15 to formulate a revised arrangement, which will later be ratified by the IPL governing council. He said, however, that the Maharashtra Cricket Association and the IPL would request the Bombay High Court for permission to host the match between Supergiants and Mumbai in Pune on May 1 due to difficulties involved in shifting equipment.”Since there is a match on April 29 and May 1 in Pune – back-to-back matches – it will be almost impossible to move the equipment in 24 hours to another venue,” Shukla told reporters in Rajkot. “That’s a technical problem, so we are going to appeal tomorrow to the Bombay High Court if they can allow one more match in Pune. The other matches will be shifted. We decided yesterday that we are not going for an appeal. We will be implementing the verdict given by the court.”Kings XI Punjab were scheduled to play three home matches in Nagpur in May and Shukla said the franchise will shift those games to Mohali and Dharamsala.He also suggested that Jaipur was a prospective venue if either Mumbai or Supergiants expressed interest. “The RCA can’t host the match but the government has approached us to host the match,” Shukla said. “We will put Jaipur also as an option. Let’s see how the franchises react. We can host [matches without RCA being there]. There is a sports council of the government.”Shukla revealed Supergiants had requested the use of Eden Gardens as a home venue but said the IPL rules may not allow it.”Technically, it’s very difficult because it is the designated home ground of a franchise,” he said. “So far two matches of Gujarat Lions are slotted in Kanpur. If these franchises want Kanpur then those two matches will be played in Rajkot.”While Chennai and Ranchi were ruled out, Shukla said he was waiting to hear from the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association on Indore’s availability. “The MPCA secretary is checking with the authorities because the Kumbh Mela is going on and all the security forces have been deployed there.”Shukla said the biggest logistical challenge was movement of equipment: “It is a gigantic exercise. Then all those things – the look and feel of stadium, ticketing, maintenance of ground and wickets – will have to be looked into as well.”The court’s ruling came after a Public Interest Litigation questioned the hosting of matches in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, and the order affects 13 games in the tournament. Mumbai was scheduled to host four matches after April 30, including the tournament final on May 29. Pune will miss out on six matches, including the Eliminator and Qualifier 2, while Nagpur will not host any fixtures this season.While hearing the PIL filed by Loksatta Movement, a Hyderabad-based NGO, last week, the court sought an explanation from the BCCI and the three state associations on why water should be “wasted” on hosting games when the state faced one of its worst ever droughts. In the next hearing, the court allowed theopening match to be held as scheduled in Mumbai on April 9, but earlier this week asked the BCCI if matches could be shifted out of Pune.In its defence, the BCCI had stated that less water was used to prepare the ground for an IPL game when compared to an international fixture. The board also stated that it intended to use treated sewage water for ground preparation in Mumbai and Pune. Mumbai and Supergiants had also proposed to contribute INR 5 crore to the Maharashtra chief minister’s drought relief fund and supply 40 lakh litres of water to drought-hit areas at their own cost.

ScorecardAlexei Kervezee’s unbeaten half-century helped Worcestershire to victory•Getty Images

Worcestershire extended their 100% start to the NatWest T20 Blast campaign, registering a third straight victory when overcoming Yorkshire by seven wickets in front of 4,000 spectators at New Road.Yorkshire’s poor form in the competition continued despite a late blitz in which Liam Plunkett and Tim Bresnan took 61 from the last 17 balls to raise a total of 173 for 6. Plunkett smashed 34 not out from 10 deliveries and followed that by dismissing Worcestershire’s openers but in a well-paced reply, Alexei Kervezee made 52 not out in 37 balls as the Rapids reached their target at the start of the last over.Daryl Mitchell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit the right note from the outset, and although pegged back by wickets in successive overs from Plunkett, Worcestershire were given new momentum by Joe Clarke’s 34 from 23 balls until the England Lions batsman drove Adil Rashid to long-off.When Kervezee was joined by Brett D’Oliveira in the 12th over, the total was already beyond 100 and with barely a sign of trouble, they saw their team home. With D’Oliveira 34 not out from 20 balls, the matchwinning partnership produced 66 from 7.2 overs.Until Plunkett’s fireworks at the end, Yorkshire’s batting was mostly workaday on a slow surface which enabled the seamers to pick off wickets on a regular basis. The barrel-chested Joe Leach took wickets in three consecutive overs, signing off with 3 for 33, but a straight six by Bresnan three balls from the end of his spell opened the floodgates.The next over from Ed Barnard cost 30 runs as Plunkett embarked on a sequence of 6-4-6-6-4 from five deliveries, one of which was a no-ball. Bresnan then waded into Matt Henry in the final over, striking 14 off three balls as Yorkshire completely transformed the match. From looking at a total in the region of 140, they were in a position to put little more pressure on Worcestershire’s batsmen.The top of the order had been held together by Alex Lees, Yorkshire’s one-day captain going about his business with a minimum of fuss. He never seemed to be in a hurry but with skilful placement and good timing he was able to make 46 from 36 balls.David Wiilley’s return from injury was short-lived when he chopped on a ball from Barnard in the fifth over and Rashid was quickly run out from Kervezee’s slick pick-up and return from deep midwicket. When Lees went in the 11th over, his leg stump knocked sideways in a good containing spell by Mitchell, Jack Leaning and Gary Ballance made 24 apiece and both drove the recalled Chris Russell for six until the intervention by Leach.Leaning was caught behind attempting to pull a bouncer that gripped in the pitch and Ballance was bowled middle stump. In between these wickets, Will Rhodes emulated Wiilley’s dismissal by dragging on.

ScorecardOllie Robinson finished with four wickets in the second innings•Getty Images

Sussex completed their first win of the season in the Specsavers County Championship after beating Derbyshire by 10 wickets at Hove.Derbyshire did have the satisfaction of making Sussex bat again after they were dismissed for 307, but Sussex’s openers Chris Nash and Ed Joyce needed just three balls to knock off their victory target of 11 runs to secure their first Championship win at Hove for more than a year.Resuming on 195 for 6, Derbyshire lost Matt Critchley in the fifth over of the day after the start had been delayed until 1.10pm because of rain.Critchley gloved a lifter from Steve Magoffin before Ollie Robinson struck in successive overs. Shiv Thakor, who had top scored in Derbyshire’s first innings 150 with 49, again impressed in making 81 from No. 6 from 102 balls with ten fours and it needed a good delivery which held its line and found the edge to remove him.Robinson had Tom Taylor caught by Ross Taylor, diving to his left at third slip in his next over to leave Derbyshire 256 for 9, still requiring 41 to make Sussex bat again.But the hosts were held up by some merry tail-end hitting by Tony Palladino and Ben Cotton, who smashed 53 from 29 balls together before Cotton was bowled by Ajmal Shahzad for 25.”There’s a great sense of relief that we have got that first win,” Mark Davis, the Sussex head coach, said. “We haven’t had the best of things with the weather this season and when I got up this morning and saw the rain I feared the worst but our groundstaff did a terrific job, both today and on the first day when they got the ground fit for us to have 40 overs and take nine wickets which really set us up for the victory.”I thought we bowled well in both innings and with the bat we were relentless. We’ve got a block of one-day cricket now and we’ll take some momentum from this into that.”Derbyshire batsman Wayne Madsen admitted it had been a tough four days for his team. “Being bowled out for 150 in the first innings put us under massive pressure against a good Sussex team.”It’s a massive learning curve, particularly for our young bowlers, at the moment and we have to make sure when we get back to red-ball cricket we learn from our mistakes and put things right.”But there is still a good vibe in the squad. We’re fighting hard and we will work hard to find the consistency of performance we need.”

USA’s quest to qualify for their first Under-19 World Cup since 2010 has begun to take shape with the announcement of a preliminary squad of 30 for the 2016-17 season and with 14 players chosen to play for USA Under-17 in a tri-series against Bermuda and Canada in Houston, Texas from July 14 to 19.Five players from USA’s third-place team at the 2015 Under-19 World Cup Qualifier in Malaysia – Mohak Buch, Vivek Narayan, Gaurav Patanker, Arjun Patel and Sahil Patel – were included in the squad of 14 for Texas. 2015 USA Under-19 captain Alex Shoff was included in the preliminary squad, but he was not available for the Texas tri-series.Two of the most notable newcomers are northern California wicketkeeper Maulin Vajir – who along with Narayan was named co-MVP of the 2014 USACA Under-15 National Championship – and Dallas bowler Karthik Lappathi, the Best Bowler winner from the same tournament. Vajir is one of seven players in the squad from California. Batsman Raymond Ramrattan joins Narayan as one of two players from New Jersey.Lappathi’s fellow Texan, left-arm spinner Saad Humayun from Austin, also made the squad, so did Sam Das, who was chosen from the remote cricket outpost of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Das plays in the same Arkansas-Tennessee Cricket League team as new USA national selection chairman Ricardo Powell and was highly regarded by evaluators at the Houston Combine held in May, with one describing the left-arm quick as “the best I’ve seen at that age group”.Two players were also selected from the newly-crowned champions of the NY PSAL high school cricket league, John Adams High School. Batsman Alix Husain and John Adams captain Richie Balkarran were tabbed for inclusion. Balkarran, a junior allrounder, was named MVP of the 2016 PSAL championship match at Baisley Pond Park after taking 4 for 6 in John Adams’ win over FDR for the title. Balkarran took 14 wickets and scored 127 runs in four playoff matches, which also included a haul of 6 for 13 and 85 with the bat in the semi-finals against Abraham Lincoln.The tri-series in Texas will be a double round-robin with each team playing a total of four 50-over games. It will be played at the recently-opened Moosa Cricket Stadium, a private facility built by local businessman and former USA national team sponsor Sakhi Muhammad in the south Houston suburb of Pearland.According to a media release, USA did not name a head coach and will instead use local coaches from the Houston area to oversee the team. Of those in the Houston area, former USA captain Sushil Nadkarni, who was utilised as an Under-17 talent evaluator during the Houston Combine in May, is one of the leading options. USA national selector Asif Mujtaba, based in Dallas, will also be present during the series.USA Under-17 squad: Ozair Ahmed, Richie Balkarran, Mohak Buch, Sam Das, Saad Humayun, Alix Husain, Karthik Lappathi, Vivek Narayan, Gaurav Patankar, Arjun Patel, Sahil Patel, Aravind Patnam, Raymond Ramrattan, Maulin Vajir

ScorecardImran Tahir enjoyed a fine debut [file picture]•BCCI

Imran Tahir enjoyed a dream T20 debut for Nottinghamshire to inflict a first home defeat on Northamptonshire in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast.Tahir’s 3 for 13 in four overs, and 3 for 12 in 14 balls from Steven Mullaney saw Northants bowled out for just 122 in 18.2 overs, a target Notts took 17 overs overs to knock off to win by six wickets with a fine captain’s innings from Dan Christian who made a 28-ball fifty.Richard Gleeson caused the Notts chase a few early nerves trapping Riki Wessels lbw in his first over and running out Greg Smith in his second to leave the visitors 22 for 2 in the fourth over but there was little to stop Notts picking up a fourth win of the season.With little pressure in the second innings, Christian broke the back of the chase with some fine hitting in his 56 from 32 balls – his second fifty of the season. The pick of his strokes a thunderous drive through cover point. He shared 79 in 9.3 overs with Michael Lumb as Notts extended their unbeaten run in all competitions against Northants to 15 matches.The win kept up Notts’ pursuit of a home quarter-final with Northants made to wait before confirming their place in the knockout stages.Victory was lead by Tahir in the first innings after Notts won the toss. He appeared to have a mesmeric hold on the Northants batsmen as first Steven Crook, lbw trying to sweep, Alex Wakely, lbw playing back, and then Richard Gleeson, tamely chipping to midwicket, all fell in a superb spell.In partnership with Samit Patel – whose own 2 for 27 in four overs was excellent – the spinners helped collapse the Northants innings from a strong Powerplay of 59 for 1.The innings had lurched to 107 for 5 before Mullaney was introduced in the 15th over – his second ball brought a return catch from Ben Duckett – the left-hander falling for 29 in 23 balls ended any chance of Northants posting a competitive total. The lower order then fell away as Northants left 10 balls unused having lost 9 for 62 in 12 overs.It was a remarkable turnaround after Richard Levi and Adam Rossington had given the home side a bright start having lost the toss. Levi lifted two sixes over square leg to ruin Harry Gurney’s second over, another followed in the sixth over but the reintroduction of spin brought his undoing with Patel winning an lbw decision with Levi well placed 35 from 20 balls.Rossington began with a carved drive over point for four and added a second boundary with a sweetly timed straight drive. But he fell in the final over of the Powerplay, swinging at Jake Ball and losing his middle stump for 22 from 15 balls. It was a sign of things to come from the hosts’ batting.

ScorecardIan Westwood flays through the off side•Getty Images

Ian Westwood had the right to imagine that all eyes at Chester-le-Street were upon him. They weren’t but perhaps in a perfect world they would have been. After all, he had answered Warwickshire’s call in times of need.It was Westwood who roused himself from an immensely dispiriting season to summon his first Championship century since April last year. And it was Westwood, an unsung professional since his county debut 15 years ago, who will probably prove to have laid to rest Warwickshire’s vague fears of relegation in the process. He deserved his day in the sun.But enough, for now, of Westwood; you probably want to hear about Ian Bell. England certainly did. Trevor Bayliss, England’s coach, had reportedly explored whether theoretically he retained ambitions for a Test recall and, whatever the extent of his interest, the national selector James Whitaker was watching his every move. Like Westwood, he is 34 now, but there is no need for his age to count against him, especially not on a day when a tabloid headline had Cliff Richard proclaiming that he was back to his best.As Westwood and Bell slowly amassed a position of strength, the bird life at Emirates Riverside seemed to capture their mood. Westwood, dropped for a large chunk of the season, had not made a fifty all season. He was the seagull with the broken wing which now rests permanently by the sightscreen at one end of the ground and which has perked up a little since the groundstaff started feeding it a few weeks ago. One spectator was heard to suggest it should be hit with a spade to put it out of its misery. Nobody has suggested that about Westwood even in his worst times.As for Bell, the swallows flitting across the ground just as Warwickshire took the lead begged a question. Gliding gracefully as summer entered its final month, it will not be long before they make the trip south. Bell, with India in the offing, might also have a chance to winter in warmer climes.Bell, like Jonathan Trott before him, fell in the 40s, deflecting Chris Rushworth down the leg side for a soft wicketkeeper’s catch. Graham Onions had hounded him before he reached double figures and almost bowled him off an inside edge, but he dug in, that Horrid Henry nose screwed up with concentration as his grace gradually spilled through. It was a respectable reward but it proved nothing in a season of unconvincing batsmanship which must be sending England’s selectors dyspeptic.It was Scott Borthwick’s legspin that provided a release. If Borthwick tours India, and it is increasingly unlikely, it must be as a specialist batsman. If England claim him as spin-bowling back-up, it is advisable to regard the claim as fraudulent: in his form this season as yet there is regrettably little to commend him – and this season he has had more opportunity to progress.The selection quandary must be met by faith. James Vince and Gary Ballance have not pinned down a place. Bell, obsessing over the Warwickshire captaincy, has seen his knowledge grow but his runs shrink. Awaiting a late-season rush of runs from one or the other will prove nothing. Move Jonny Bairstow up the order as a specialist batsman, introduce Sam Billings or Jos Buttler further down to keep wicket and then back your instinct on the rest. The alternatives will lead to madness.Westwood has never known such discussions. The life of the journeyman pro is rarely forgiving. Deliver a hundred on an away ground and it is often the inadequacies of the home attack that gain attention, especially if your career average is 32 and your county career is presumed to be edging to a close. But do not knock him for surviving so long; knock, if you must, the many who have not been good enough to displace him.With his career hanging by a thread, his resolute 127 took Warwickshire to 315 for 7 at the close of the second day, prospering with angles square on the off side, game when he timed it and even gamer when he did not. He fell to the second new ball, caught at second slip off Rushworth, and was dropped on 39 by Michael Richardson at third slip. Three new-ball incursions were a fillip for Durham, but they are already 108 runs adrift.Westwood felt he deserved it, saying: “I’ve not had much luck this season, so I was probably due the bit I had today. We had a couple of good stands when we had to scrap for every run and I think we did a good job.”It’s never easy when you get left out. You have to keep believing and try your best, which I have always done. This is pleasing for me, but the most important thing is that we are in a strong position.”When the diminutive left-hander (his stock descriptive phrase for the last decade) reached his much-cherished hundred by unfurling a cover drive against Paul Coughlin, he received respectful applause, but nobody purred as they have purred at Bell through good times and bad during the past decade.Instead, it was left to two Durhamites to offer a salty verdict. “Not the best hundred I’ve seen this season,” said one. “First cover drive he’s hit that has gone through the covers,” said another.Such is the lot of a county journeyman.

Daniel Worrall, Joe Mennie and Chris Tremain have been chosen for Australia’s limited-overs tour of South Africa after the selectors were compelled to dig deep into the nation’s pace reserves to cover for the resting Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.For a series that will be played in conditions more suited to pacemen than the just completed bout with Sri Lanka, Worrall, Mennie and Tremain have been rewarded for breakout domestic seasons for South Australia and Victoria, the two sides that contested last season’s Sheffield Shield final.National selector Rod Marsh said the seam and swing bowling trio will be needed to support John Hastings and Scott Boland against South Africa and also the opening match against Ireland. Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Peter Siddle were among the bowlers not able to be considered due to injury. Usman Khawaja, who played two ODIs against Sri Lanka with scores of 6 and 0, was left out of the squad. Adam Zampa is the frontline spinner in the squad with Nathan Lyon also omitted.

Ins and Outs

Ins: Joe Mennie, Chris Tremain, Daniel Worrall
Outs: Mitchell Starc, Usman Khawaja, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Nathan Lyon, Nathan Coulter-Nile

“Chris, Joe and Daniel all had terrific summers last year and have also impressed us during the recent Australia A series with consistent performances,” Marsh said. “They are young players with a bright future who thoroughly deserve their selection and we look forward to seeing them work with John Hastings and Scott Boland, who have both performed well for Australia since returning from injury.”Mennie and Worrall formed a potent seam and swing combination alongside Chadd Sayers for the Redbacks last season, while Tremain moved from New South Wales to Victoria and soon found himself spearheading the bowling attack for the team that eventually lifted the Shield.”I think consistently playing has been a big help,” Tremain said in Melbourne. “People keep saying I got starved for opportunity in NSW but I don’t think that was the case. It was a matter of not doing the right things at the right time to give yourself an opportunity to play there. Coming down to Victoria I got a few good opportunities early, did ok and rolled with the punches early.”Then, rather than worrying about whether I was going to play the next game I worried about the next ball or how I was going to stay in the moment rather than worry about what had gone or what was going to happen. If there was any big change in my game it would be more upstairs in my head than anything else. Playing consistently and not worrying too much about whether I was going to play the next game, was a big step.”Tremain’s first Australian tour will coincide with that of the new assistant coach David Saker, who took up the role as Darren Lehmann’s deputy after helping guide the Bushrangers to the Shield. A plain speaker, Saker has ensured Tremain stays level in mindset, neither seduced by success nor downtrodden by failure.”He just called and said what are the odds that my first tour is your first tour?” Tremain said. “He’s good and he’s no punches pulled, so I’m sure regardless or playing for the Renegades or Victoria or Australia coming up, if I’ve done something wrong you get scolded for it and rightly so.”If you do something right it’s not a big pump up, it’s a pat on the back and congratulations for doing your job. He’s really good at keeping people level, keeping people concentrated on what they need to do and not getting too far ahead or behind what they’re doing.”While South African pitches should provide more assistance than Sri Lanka, Tremain said that the high benchmark being set by the likes of Hastings gave him a level of consistency to aim for. “I’ve been watching the ODIs in Sri Lanka at the moment and they look like they’re very difficult to bowl on,” he said. “Watching John Hastings and Scotty Boland work over there, [James] Faulkner, the way they go about their business on flat wickets is a really good viewing point for wickets that might offer a little bit more.”Doing the hard work on these flat wickets just makes it that little bit easier on a wicket that might offer a bit more. Rather than looking at what we might get in South Africa I’ve been looking at what it’s like when it is really hard and flat and you can’t get the ball up around their ears or get it to swing. Viewing that sort of stuff has put me into a mainframe that things are going to be difficult, they might not be as difficult as Sri Lanka, but if I prepare for something really difficult and get a pleasant surprise, then grab it with both hands.”Travis Head retained his place in the ODI squad following a series of cameo performances in Sri Lanka, but there was no room for Glenn Maxwell. Mitchell Marsh returned to the squad after being rested from the Sri Lanka ODIs, while the captain Steven Smith also returned to the ranks.Australia will play Ireland in Benoni on September 27 followed by the five ODIs against South Africa starting September 30 in Centurion.ODI squad: Steven Smith (capt), David Warner, George Bailey, Scott Boland, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Joe Mennie, Chris Tremain, Matthew Wade (wk), Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa.

ScorecardPhil Mustard returned to form of old [file picture]•Getty Images

Phil Mustard’s first century in first-class cricket for nearly five years put Gloucestershire on course for victory in the Division Two match against Derbyshire despite a five wicket haul from Tony Palladino.Mustard’s unbeaten 107 and 94 from Chris Dent lifted Gloucestershire to 331, a first innings lead of 89, and at the close of day two Derbyshire were in deep trouble at16 for 2.Palladino took his 350th first-class wicket and finished with 5 for 74, the 13th time he has taken five wickets in an innings, but it was Gloucestershire’s day.Derbyshire would have been the side looking to take control when Tom Milnes struck in the second over of the morning before Gloucestershire had added to the overnight total.Will Tavare was trying to take his bat away but edged to Harvey Hosein and with the inexperienced George Hankins in the middle against a ball only 14 overs old, Derbyshire had the chance to make significant inroads.But Hankins showed good judgement and sound temperament to stay with Dent for 15 overs until he was bowled by an arm ball from Callum Parkinson for 34.Gloucestershire were still a long way behind when Hamish Marshall was lbw to Palladino shuffling back and across six overs before lunch but Derbyshire had to wait another 24 overs for the next wicket.Billy Godleman switched his bowlers around but Dent and Mustard showed patience and selectivity to add 85 for the fifth wicket before Dent tossed away the chance of a century.He had dispatched Wayne Madsen way back over long on to move into the nineties but when he tried to reach three figures with another big shot off Parkinson, he top-edged to mid on.Dent knew he had let Derbyshire back in but Mustard and Jack Taylor tilted the advantage towards the visitors with a stand of 74 before the second new ball gave the game another twist.Taylor chipped to midwicket to give Palladino his milestone and the seamer found just enough away movement to bowl Craig Miles before David Payne edged a drive into his stumps.When Liam Norwell chased a wide one from Will Davis, Mustard was in danger of being stranded but he pulled Davis for his 13th four to reach an excellent hundred.Josh Shaw helped add a precious 31 runs before he became Palladino’s fifth victim, leaving Derbyshire seven overs to negotiate and they lost Ben Slater lbw to Payne in the first before Billy Godleman edged Norwell to Mustard in the penultimate over.