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Shahid Afridi the Pakistan captain, has asked for the infusion of youth for the Asia Cup starting in Sri Lanka on June 15

Cricinfo staff01-Jun-2010Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has asked for the infusion of youth for the Asia Cup starting in Sri Lanka on June 15.”We should have three to four new players along with the seniors so that we can strike the right balance in the one-day side. I think the time is right to start grooming and giving exposure to some of our young lot because we also have to keep the 2011 World Cup in mind,” Afridi said.Afridi was reacting to a query over the omission of 19-year old allrounder Hammad Azam from the 35-member long list of probables for the Asia Cup and the tour of England. He said that neither he nor team coach Waqar Younis had a say in the selection of the probables.”The selectors had picked that squad but as a matter of policy myself and the coach want to give exposure to young players so that they can provide stable support and back up to the seniors in future,” he said.Afridi refused to comment on the controversial inclusion of Shoaib Malik in the list, following the reversal of his ban after being accused of causing unrest within the side. “It is something that concerns the board. As far as I am concerned whoever is eligible for selection is an important player for me,” Afridi said.Yawar Saeed, the manager of the squad, was confident that the team would not face any problems over Malik’s return. Saeed was not with the team during the tours of Australia and New Zealand, after which Malik came in for harsh criticism from Afridi, former captain Mohammad Yousuf, former coach Intikhab Alam and tour manager Abdul Raquib, for his attitude.”All these players have played before when I was manager and I faced no problems at all from them. They know each other well so I don’t think it is a big thing if Malik or even Younis Khan is selected in the side,” said Saeed, who was a member of the PCB inquiry committee over the side’s performance in Australia.”There is no personality clash involved anymore and the New Zealand and Australian tours are past. The code of conduct on tour is the same for any player. I am confident no player will give me or PCB any cause for complain.”

Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, has criticised the ‘frenetic’ schedule in this season’s Friend Provident t20

Cricinfo staff08-Jul-2010Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, has criticised the ‘frenetic’ schedule in this season’s Friend Provident t20 and has called for a reduced Twenty20 competition to be fit into a four-week window next year.When it was launched in 2003 Twenty20 cricket proved a major hit with the public but this year’s extended competition, which lasts 151 games, has come under fire from administrators as crowd numbers have fallen and Sheldon is the latest to express his disquiet.”We have evidence that the number of matches in this year’s competition has not increased interest,” he said. “We are strongly in favour of creating an enhanced competition, in a concentrated period of three to four weeks, involving both England and overseas players.”It was not just the diminishing crowds that concerned Sheldon, he also feels that with each side playing so many games the schedule has become cramped and prevents players from preparing fully for their matches.”The competition has been very frenetic with players dashing around the country in very very short order,” he added. “At one stage, we played a four-day match against Derbyshire and then had to start an FPt20 match back at The Oval less than 24 hours later. The time for preparation has really been foreshortened.”We are looking for a shorter, punchier competition. The quality needs to be stronger and the quantity fewer.”

England have sent for Beth MacGregor to join their squad for the remaining four ODIs against New Zealand

Cricinfo staff11-Jul-2010England have sent for Beth MacGregor to join their squad for the remaining four ODIs against New Zealand.The 17-year-old left-arm swing bowler will replace Anya Shubsole, who is ruled out for the rest of the series after picking up an injury to her hip muscle in England’s 147-run win against Ireland.In March, MacGregor went with the Academy side to Bangalore, where they played against local teams and received specialist training in the conditions where the next Women’s World Cup will be held.She comes into the senior squad only days after Isa Gua had to be called up to replace Nicky Shaw who retired from the international game after 70 ODIs. Gua had a tough return to the side with her four overs costing 32 in England’s tense one-wicket triumph on Saturday.

A number of cricket boards have offered to help Pakistan raise relief funds for the people affected by the floods that have devastated the country

Osman Samiuddin21-Aug-2010A number of cricket boards have offered to help Pakistan raise relief funds for the people affected by the floods that have devastated the country over the last month. Some of the offers, including one from New Zealand cricket, could simultaneously help bring international cricket back to the country, which has become a no-go destination after the terror attacks on the Sri Lanka in Lahore in March 2009.The worst floods in living memory have ravaged Pakistan, submerging an estimated one-fifth of the country, affecting up to 20 million people and causing over a thousand deaths. The country’s already stuttering economy is likely to face greater pressure once the flooding recedes and the process of rehabilitation begins in full. International aid is finally starting to come in, though the response was initially sluggish.The PCB has been doing its bit and is keen to organise a flood relief game in England while the national side is touring the country, though the busy itinerary has not yet yielded a date or venue. The board also donated over Rs 11 million (approximately US$130,000) for relief efforts and players have contributed match fees while on tour. Salman Butt dedicated his side’s third Test win at The Oval to victims of the floods and said that the side would be attending fund-raising dinners and events on tour. Separately Shahid Afridi, the ODI and T20I captain, and Aleem Dar, the elite panel umpire, have also helped with relief efforts and raising money. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has also started a fund-raising campaign.Strauss also confirmed that England had followed their opponents’ lead by donating to the Pakistan flood relief effort. “We’re donating a proportion of our match fee to the fund,” he said. “It’s a humanitarian catastrophe out there and we’re trying to help as much as we can. The more people who do that the better.”The biggest contributions might come from flood relief matches, however, and as well as the proposal for a match in England, the board has been working on other options. One reportedly includes arranging a game during the series with South Africa in the Middle East in October-November this year. There were also reports that the board had sounded out the BCCI over the possibility of such matches at a neutral venue, but the PCB has not elaborated on this. One other option has come from New Zealand who have offered to help by playing in a flood relief game, even if it means playing a game in Pakistan, though this is still in a very early stage.”An offer has been made by New Zealand cricket to help with the devastation in Pakistan, maybe through a flood relief game,” Nadeem Sarwar, the PCB media manager told Cricinfo. “It is at a very early stage just now but they have even said they would be willing to come to Pakistan if needed for that.”Zimbabwe has also offered to tour to help raise funds. The PCB had been working on a series with Zimbabwe in any case, Sarwar said. Any such visit is now likely to include a match for flood relief. “Yes, they have made a formal contact with us and we highly appreciate their [Zimbabwe’s] noble gesture for supporting the cause. They have asked us to provide them with suitable dates for the series,” Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, told News One TV.Since the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers, matches from the 2011 World Cup matches have been moved out of Pakistan. The national team has since had to play ‘home’ series at neutral venues such as the UAE and England but there is now a concerted effort within the ICC to find ways to revive international cricket once again in the country. The ICC is considering sending over an ICC World XI to Pakistan and the options of Zimbabwe and New Zealand are likely to further boost that effort.

Half-centuries from Samit Patel and Chris Read helped Nottinghamshire Outlaws to a three-run victory over Durham Dynamos

30-Aug-2010

ScorecardHalf-centuries from Samit Patel and Chris Read helped Nottinghamshire Outlaws to a three-run victory over Durham Dynamos – a win which sets up a winner-takes-all clash with Warwickshire Bears for a semi-final place. Needing a victory to maintain their push for top spot in Group C, Patel hit 75 and Read an unbeaten 66 from 51 balls as Nottinghamshire posted 257 for 7 after batting first at Trent Bridge, with 85 runs coming in the last seven overs.A third-wicket partnership of 86 between Gordon Muchall (47) and Ben Harmison (46) set up a thrilling finish for the visitors, who needed 18 off the final over from Darren Pattinson and five off the final ball, but Chris Rushworth could only force a single to mid-off and they finished on 254 for 8. Pattinson finished with 3 for 70 but Ryan Sidebottom, with 3 for 45, and Steven Mullaney, with 2 for 24, were the stars with the ball for the hosts.Nottinghamshire will go to Edgbaston on Sunday knowing victory will continue the quest for their first one-day trophy since 1991.A Nottinghamshire win looked unlikely in the opening three overs as some appalling decision-making saw both Alex Hales and Adam Voges run out. Samit Patel then set about repairing the damage with younger brother Akhil and dominated a partnership of 95 in 18 overs.That pushed the score on to 98 before Akhil was caught at long-off off the bowling of Scott Borthwick for 38, with Samit driving to extra cover soon after. Scott Elstone produced a useful 30 before he was stumped off Ian Blackwell, at which point Nottinghamshire skipper Read combined with Mullaney to blast 57 runs in the batting powerplay, including 21 off one Mark Davies over, before Mullaney and Paul Franks fell in the penultimate over to Rushworth.Durham got off to a flying start, hitting 65 off their first 10 overs for the loss of Phil Mustard and Mark Stoneman to England seamer Sidebottom. Harmison and Muchall opted to bat safely through the middle overs but were unable to accelerate when required, both falling to catches in the deep.Ben Stokes clubbed three sixes in a 29-ball 39 to put the visitors back in the hunt, with Blackwell and Gareth Breese both caught on the boundary. When Will Smith was caught at point with four balls remaining, 16 more runs were needed, and although Borthwick paddle-swept the next delivery for four and Rushworth swatted a six over midwicket, he was unable to repeat the trick off the final ball.

The Professional Cricketers’ Association will be contacting all of its players in England to remind them of the need for vigilance in the wake of the latest match-fixing scandal to rock the sport

Andrew McGlashan01-Sep-2010The Professional Cricketers’ Association will be contacting all of its players in England to remind them of the need for vigilance in the wake of the latest match-fixing scandal to rock the sport, but remains confident that the vast majority of the English game remains corruption-free.The sting which allegedly showed Mazhar Majeed accepting money to organise pre-arranged no-balls during the Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan has once again left cricket assessing its integrity at all levels.Angus Porter, the PCA chief executive, told Cricinfo it was also considering starting its education programmes earlier than is currently the case to ensure young cricketers are aware of potential dangers. There is considerable sadness around the world game that one of the Pakistan players alleged to be involved in the spot-fixing controversy is the 18-year-old star, Mohammad Amir.”We are in no way complacent about the English game, but are confident it remains clean,” Porter told Cricinfo. “It’s impossible to say these things never happen – and we are aware of approaches being made to players – but remain confident that the system we have in place works.”However, we are currently reminding all the players of their responsibilities and may consider beginning our education programme at an earlier stage. Currently that only starts when a cricketer turns professional but we will give serious thought to going into the Academy system and there is the potential for an online training system to also be implemented.”Players have already been cautioned in their use of social-networking sites such as Facebook and told not to divulge personal information that could be used for ‘grooming’, a method by which seemingly friendly approaches are made to players with a view to gain information in a manner to the approaches made to Shane Watson and Brad Haddin during the Ashes last year.The county game suffered its own spot-fixing controversy earlier this season when Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner who is Essex’s overseas player, and team-mate Mervyn Westfield were arrested and questioned over alleged spot-fixing during a one-day game at the end of the 2009 season between Essex and Durham. Both players were bailed and Kaneria has continued to play for Essex this season after being dropped by Pakistan, but Westfield has been released by the club.While spot-fixing is not believed to take place within the UK betting market, the county game is susceptible to corruption because domestic one-day matches are broadcast into the subcontinent, as in the case of the Essex-Durham match.”We feel both the PCA and ECB are being proactive to ensure the game stays clean in this country,” Porter added. “The players understand the importance of being alert to situations and the fact we have had approaches reported to us shows the system works.”

Peter Siddle enjoyed a strong workout in the lead-up to the Ashes but Travis Birt kept Tasmania on track to set up a fascinating final day at the MCG

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2010
Scorecard
Travis Birt’s 68 stopped Victoria from skittling Tasmania cheaply•Getty Images

Peter Siddle enjoyed a strong workout in the lead-up to the Ashes but Travis Birt kept Tasmania on track to set up a fascinating final day at the MCG. The Tigers finished the third afternoon with one wicket in hand and a lead of 276 – the exact total Victoria managed in the first innings – and both teams can still dream of victory.Tasmania could add a few more runs in the morning, although they will need to rely on the tailenders Xavier Doherty, who was on 5, and Adam Griffith, who was yet to score. Darren Pattinson bowled Victoria back into the contest with three breakthroughs in the final four overs, including the key wicket of Birt, who was caught at deep square leg for 68.It left the in-form Pattinson with 4 for 38 and he was chasing his second five-wicket haul for the summer. Pattinson is comfortably the leading wicket taker in the Sheffield Shield, but he has about as much chance of a late call-up for England’s Ashes campaign as Graham Gooch.Siddle is a much more likely Ashes prospect and he did his chances no harm with 3 for 24 from 14 overs, including the important wicket of Luke Butterworth, who made 39 in a good partnership with Birt. Butterworth had earlier collected two wickets to finish off Victoria’s tail cheaply in the morning, and he ended up with figures of 4 for 36 on a personally satisfying day.

Jesse Ryder and Kane Williamson batted with assurance of gnarled pros to steer New Zealand clamber out of trouble to a position where a first-innings lead is a possibility

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran06-Nov-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jesse Ryder became the third fastest New Zealand batsman to reach 1000 Test runs•Associated Press

Jesse Ryder, playing his first Test in 14 months, and Kane Williamson, playing his first Test, batted with the assurance of gnarled pros to help New Zealand clamber out of trouble to a position where they have an outside chance of a first-innings lead. The prospect of New Zealand being asked to bat again had loomed large at lunch, after they lost both Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor in the space of six runs when they were less than halfway to the follow-on mark.Ryder and Williamson put on 194 – New Zealand’s second-highest stand for the fifth wicket – as India’s bowlers toiled for more than two sessions without success. It was only in the final over of the day that India broke the partnership. Two deliveries after Ryder brought up his third Test century – all of which have been against India – with a carve through cover, Sreesanth got one to nip past Ryder’s bat and into the pad. By then, New Zealand had belied expectations that they would be rolled over by the world’s No. 1 side.

Smart Stats

• Ross Taylor has 356 runs in his last four innings against India with two centuries and one half-century.

• VVS Laxman took his 120th catch in Tests, bringing him level with Ian Botham and Colin Cowdrey in the list of fielders with the most Test catches. He is the second among Indians in the list, behind Rahul Dravid who has 198.

• The 194-run partnership between Jesse Ryder and Kane Williamson is New Zealand’s highest for the fifth wicket against India. Jesse Ryder has been involved in two century partnerships for the fifth wicket against India.

• Williamson became the sixth New Zealand batsman to score a half-century on debut against India and the first to do it in India since 1965.

• Ryder’s average of 52.68 is the highest among all New Zealand batsmen who have scored at least 1000 Test runs.

The pair had just about survived a nervy six-over spell before lunch, but were more confident after the break – Williamson began the session with a wonderful back-foot drive through cover. Both batsman were circumspect early on, with few attacking strokes against India’s senior bowlers Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan. They started to be more enterprising once Sreesanth and the part-time spinners – Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina – were brought on. Sreesanth nearly got the breakthrough when Ryder wafted at a wide delivery on 11, only for Rahul Dravid to fluff a shoulder-high chance at a wide first slip.After that, Ryder dished out plenty of boundaries, using his feet and punching Raina past mid-on, and pulling Sreesanth to midwicket. Williamson was also secure at the other end, using the sweep and cut whenever the spinners dropped short and made unfussy progress towards a half-century. India were out of ideas on a pitch with nothing it in to alarm the batsmen, and even called on Sachin Tendulkar for a rare bowling spell.Even with the second new ball, India couldn’t hassle batsmen much. Ojha got the odd one to turn and beat the outside edge, and India’s one big chance after tea was when Williamson nicked Zaheer to the keeper when on 56, but the umpire Kumar Dharmasena didn’t pick it up, to the disbelief of the Indians.New Zealand will be particularly pleased with the fightback since they had to battle spin for much of the innings. This is their first international match since the drubbing in the one-dayers in Bangladesh last month, a series in which their batting was clueless against Bangladesh’s army of slow bowlers.Ryder called for a runner before tea, as he was struggling with cramps, but even that didn’t hamper his footwork against spin. One of the highlights of his innings was when he sashayed down the track to loft Harbhajan over long-on for six.His partner Williamson had started his one-day career with a couple of ducks, but there was no such stuttering start to his Test career. Plenty of times he showed why people in New Zealand rave about his backfoot technique, rocking back to crash the ball through covers. It was a dead track, and it’s still early days, but New Zealand seem to have unearthed a solid batsman their traditionally fragile batting could do with.Even before Ryder and Williamson came together, the New Zealand batsmen were comfortable against everything thrown at them by India. McCullum, needing to justify his place as a specialist batsman after giving up wicketkeeping gloves earlier this year, continued the form that has resulted in his most productive phase in Tests – two hundreds and three half-centuries in his previous six Tests.Taylor barely scored in the V and used the cut to make much of his runs. It was only after McCullum began to open up with a lovely on-drive against the turn off Ojha and a powerful uppish cut off Zaheer more than half an hour after the start, that Taylor switched gears – a bunch of boundaries against Harbhajan bringing up his half-century. Soon after, he gifted his wicket, gently clipping Harbhajan to midwicket, and trudged off with his hand on his forehead.Worse followed as McCullum, hoping to become the first New Zealand opener since Stephen Fleming in 2004 to make a Test century on tour, fell to a classical spinner’s dismissal: a loopy delivery dipped in and spun sharply away, dragging him out of the crease and beating his bat, and MS Dhoni did the rest. New Zealand were in deep trouble at 137 for 4 before another big partnership made it their day.

Round-up of the fourth day of the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy Plate League

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2010

Group B

Three runs to win off two balls, with one wicket remaining. That’s what the equation had come down to for Vidarbha in their match against Services at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Seamer Amrinder Singh struck the crucial blow for Services, getting wicketkeeper Amol Ubarhande stumped off the penultimate ball of the last day, to give them a two-run victory. It was a cruel end for Vidarbha after what had been a spirited fight on the fourth day, not least from the last man out Ubarhande. He had come in with Vidarbha in trouble at 238 for 6 in their chase of 353, and made 39 off 45 balls to get them to within striking distance of an unlikely win. Vidarbha started the day needing 349 more runs to win with nine wickets in hand – a seemingly impossible task considering neither team had scored more than 300 in the match, and Vidarbha’s last four totals read 61, 138, 139 and 147. But Ravi Jangid, Himanshu Joshi and Shalabh Shrivastava all got half-centuries for Vidarbha to surprise Services who had actually declared at the end of the third day in search of a victory. Services ran out three of Vidarbha’s batsmen and Amrinder and Yashpal Singh got three wickets each to give them their second victory of the season. The win takes Services to second place in the Group B table.Andhra Pradesh picked up their first win of the season despite a century by Jammu & Kashmir’s Parvez Rasool at the Gandhi Memorial Science College Ground in Jammu. Rasool and AP Singh, who scored 54, managed to hold Andhra at bay for 10 overs on the fourth morning, but once P Vijaykumar dismissed Singh, the tail didn’t hang around too long and J & K were all out for 252, leaving Andhra plenty of time to chase 130. Andhra captain Syed Sahabuddin rounded off a productive match with a five-for giving him eight wickets for the match to go with his 71 in Andhra’s first innings. Venugopal Rao got 54 in Andhra’s second as the visitors won by seven wickets.Maharashtra widened the gap at the top of the Group B table to four, as they picked up three points from their game against Kerala at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. After three rain-affected days, there was finally a whole day’s play, and it was just enough for the Maharashtra bowlers to skittle Kerala out for 221 and take the points for a first-innings lead. After a solid start thanks to opener Abhishek Hegde’s 56, Kerala lost three quick wickets to go from 97 for 1 to 128 for 4. Captain Raiphi Gomez and Sreekumar Nair offered some resistance with a 50-run partnership but Kerala lost their last six wickets for 43 runs and couldn’t last till stumps. Offspinner Ganesh Gaikwad and seamer Samad Fallah took three wickets each for Maharashtra.

Group A

Goa went above Hyderabad in the Group A table, after taking three points from their match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The match was destined for a draw after Hyderabad avoided the follow-on on the third day, but Goa secured the first-innings lead after wiping out the hosts’ last five wickets for 43 runs on the fourth morning. Offspinner Amit Yadav finished with figures of 4 for 68 for Goa. The visitors had some batting practice for the rest of the last day and opener Vaibhav Naik got an unbeaten half-century.

Group A

Group B

England’s wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, admits there is a strong temptation to start thinking of Ashes glory in the wake of a crushing innings victory in the second Test at Adelaide

Andrew Miller in Melbourne09-Dec-2010England’s wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, admits there is a strong temptation to start thinking of Ashes glory in the wake of a crushing innings victory in the second Test at Adelaide, but he also believes that this particular squad of players has learnt its lessons from previous campaigns and will not allow themselves any let-up in intensity until the task has been completed.Against Australia at Lord’s in 2009, and then in Durban against South Africa five months later, England won the second Test of a major series only to allow their opponents to draw level – in the first instance at Headingley, where England were routed inside three days after being brushed aside for 102 on the first morning, and then at Johannesburg, where Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel reaped the rewards that had eluded them in the first three Tests.”You learn lessons,” said Prior, who played in all four of those contests, having been ever-present in the side since the tour of India in December 2008. “If you’ve got a group of people who’ve stayed together for a while and experienced things together, you learn from them as a team and as a unit. Certainly, we learned a huge amount from that South Africa Test series. To have a really impressive victory in Durban and underperform horribly in the next game [sic] we take a huge amount from that and learn a lot from it.”You’ve got to be careful you don’t fall into the trap of too much back-patting too early,” he added. “The tour’s gone well so far but it’s all in the past now. We learned you can’t look far ahead and you have to take every game and every day as it comes. That’s why the danger would be to starting thinking ‘oh, we’re 1-0 up, we can win the Ashes’. All these comments start flooding in and it’s tempting to start thinking like that, but you have to guard against it and not get too carried away.”Nevertheless, England’s caution does not preclude them from taking satisfaction in a job well done. On Wednesday, Andy Flower allowed himself a rare moment of euphoria in describing the victory in Adelaide as “the perfect game”, and Prior admitted that the last day of that match was “probably the proudest moment for me on a cricket pitch”.”Losing the toss on a very good track, we knew we had a huge task ahead of us,” he said. “Trotty’s run-out set the tone for the whole match, Jimmy’s spell to get Ponting and Clarke early, and the way the whole fielding unit got behind the bowlers. The way the whole team gelled was fantastic and it was a pretty much the perfect game, but as Andy said, it counts for nothing if we go into the next game and throw away the lead we have.”We’ve got to make sure we guard against any complacency. In the past, we’ve played good cricket and pretty poor cricket in the very next game. We’ve set ourselves a benchmark and we have to try to maintain it for as long as possible and stay consistent. If you want to win big series, you have to play consistently. You can’t have one great game and one poor one. We’ll certainly be guarding against that and making sure we’re working every day as we have been and never take our foot off the gas.”Prior’s personal contribution to the series has been extremely limited. He suffered a golden duck at Brisbane as Peter Siddle stunned England with a first-day hat-trick, and beyond that, he was not called upon to bat again until the fourth day at Adelaide, when he made a quick-fire 27 not out to set up a first-hour declaration. However, so long as England are in command of the contest, he does not mind in the slightest.”All the time I’m not batting, we’re scoring a lot of runs and giving ourselves a good chance of winning a Test match,” said Prior. “From that point of view, I’m absolutely delighted with how things have been going. The minute you get to a place where the team’s goal and the team’s target is more than the individual’s, that’s a very powerful place to be, and that’s what we have right now. Every single man in that dressing room knows the team’s goals will come before anything else, and they’re more than happy with that.”The unity of England’s squad has been plain to see, from their defence of Kevin Pietersen after claims that he is an “outcast” to the relaxed cameos that the players have been putting in on Graeme Swann’s video diary. While it is often said that team spirit is an illusion created in victory, Prior believes it is a more complex process than that.”It’s a number of things,” he said. “There are so many little things that come together, and the minute you start forgetting about the one percenters, it becomes dangerous. It’s very easy to look at the 200s, the big partnerships, the individuals taking five-fers, but it’s putting your arm round a mate when he’s struggling, celebrating someone else’s success, genuinely enjoying Cook and KP’s double-hundreds. You see the guys on the balcony, and that excitement is not made-up, it’s not fake. It’s very, very real, I can assure you. We’ve got a whole load of good mates in the dressing room.”Anyone who’s played team sport has probably been involved in a team like that at some stage,” he added. “When you do have that team unity, it’s very special, but it’s not something that just happens overnight. It’s been two years in the making, and when you get it, it’s a very special thing and is something you have to protect and make sure that you keep looking after.”The process will continue on Friday when England play their final warm-up match at the MCG, against a Victoria side that will contain four debutants in Ryan Carters, Alex Keath, Tom Stray and Jayde Herrick. “We’ve got a big game against Victoria coming up tomorrow and that’s as far ahead as we’ll look,” said Prior. “You can fall into a trap if you start looking too far ahead.”The match will be notable for the inclusion of all three of England’s reserve seamers, with Chris Tremlett the favourite to take the place of the injured Stuart Broad for the third Test in Perth next week. However, Prior doubts that the conditions in this contest will be anything like those that are anticipated in Perth.”Not really played here before but looks like it could be quite slow, tacky,” he said. “We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see how well it plays, but it doesn’t look as though there are going to be many gremlins in it.”England XI (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior, 7 Steve Davies (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Ajmal Shahzad, 10 Chris Tremlett, 11 Monty Panesar.Victoria Cameron White (capt), 2 Ryan Carters, 3 Aaron Finch, 4 John Hastings, 5 Jayde Herrick, 6 Michael Hill, 7 Jon Holland, 8 David Hussey, 9 Alexander Keath, 10 Clinton McKay, 11 Tom Stray.