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Stuart Broad has already begun “plotting” a path back into England’s 50-over plans after being left out of the ODI squad announced earlier this week

Alan Gardner16-Jun-2016Stuart Broad has already begun “plotting” a path back into England’s 50-over plans. Broad was left out of the ODI squad announced earlier this week and has only played twice since the 2015 World Cup but he refuses to give up on playing white-ball cricket for his country again, to the extent that he will contemplate taking part in overseas domestic competitions to try and nudge the selectors before next summer’s Champions Trophy.Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach, has left the door open for Broad, who retains hope of playing in the 2017 Champions Trophy and 2019 World Cup, competitions that will both be held in England and Wales. However, Broad’s involvement with the Test side, and England’s busy schedule, has prevented him from gaining any significant practice in the shorter formats: in addition to two ODIs in South Africa, he has played one List A and one T20 match for Nottinghamshire in the last 12 months.Broad’s form with the red ball saw him rise to No. 1 in the ICC Test bowler rankings earlier this year, and he could still have another 11 Test matches to play in 2015, with a home series against Pakistan and tours of Bangladesh and India before Christmas. England will then have a six-month gap without a Test, during which time Broad is planning to prioritise his white-ball game above a well-earned rest.

England’s leading ODI bowlers

• James Anderson 269 wickets at 29.22

• Darren Gough 234 at 26.39

• Stuart Broad 178 at 30.13

• Andrew Flintoff 168 at 23.61

• Ian Botham 145 at 28.54

“It’s tricky because I haven’t played any white-ball cricket,” he said of his omission from the group to play Sri Lanka. “I think I saw a quote saying this squad had been picked on merit and I can’t argue with that at all because it’s not as if I’ve gone out there and taken a certain amount of white-ball wickets. I’m going to have to find a way to do that.”I’m going to look at scheduling, whether it’s home or abroad, to try to play some white-ball cricket and there might be a decent opportunity after Christmas this year because there’s not a lot of Test cricket then until I think July. The only way I’ll get back is by playing white-ball cricket and that’s the only way my skills will improve, too.”Broad’s focus on reclaiming his ODI spot means he would prefer to play 50-over cricket rather than appear in T20 leagues, such as Australia’s BBL – which will begin at around the same time England are expected to conclude their five-Test series in India – the IPL and the Pakistan Super League. One such option could be New Zealand’s 50-over competition, the Ford Trophy, which ran throughout January in the 2015-16 season.The changes to the county schedule for next year have also caught Broad’s eye, with the Royal London Cup set to be played in April and May, as a prelude to the Champions Trophy. He could even push for selection in the inaugural North v South series, to be played in the UAE next March.”I’m going to have to carefully plot how to do it and the schedule next year might massively work in my favour because I think the Royal London Cup is going to be played more in a chunk at the start of the season and I think the Twenty20 competition is played in a chunk too – whereas this year there’s no 50-over cricket for me to play to put my name in the hat. If I suddenly have a belting six weeks of 50-over cricket people might say, ‘Actually this bloke can bowl with the white ball. He has got a hundred-odd ODIs behind him and he could still be in the frame.'”England’s newly enlightened attitude to white-ball competition might be tested by Broad’s desire to keep pushing his case, rather than save himself for Tests. But, while England have moved on from a generation of ODI stalwarts such as Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and James Anderson, Broad is unwilling to view himself as a cricketing senior citizen, still keen to try and kick it with the kids in three years’ time.”I’m still only 29 but because I’ve played a lot of my cricket with Belly and Jimmy who are a bit older I sort of get put in that category,” he said. “A lot of people have played at World Cups at 32 and that’s certainly not an old age for a cricketer so I’ve got huge goals to be a part of that and have to pick some stuff to get involved in.”Stuart Broad tries his hand at making hoppers at a Taste of London event•Etihad

He did concede that the pace of change in the limited-overs formats had left him feeling “as if I hadn’t played in a long time” during his involvement in South Africa. The challenge seems to enthuse him, however, and the impression that Broad is chalking out new plans of attack, chewing on his pencil as contemplates the ideal level of torque on a slower ball, staying up late trying to concoct a new “slog-proof” delivery in the lab should indicate how serious he is about the endeavour.”I almost need a bit of a unique selling point in one-day cricket,” he said. “I can’t just be a regulation line-and-length bowler, I have to be something a bit different and whether that’s me going round the wicket and looking to improve my skills in that way, making the batsman think: ‘What’s he doing here?’ Not just to shut down one side but maybe changing the angle, maybe my legcutter from round the wicket would be hard to slog to the leg side. This is just me thinking aloud. There might be something I can find that batsmen will struggle with.”And while some would point to his rarefied form in Tests without limited-overs noodling to distract him, Broad prefers to look at his development – such as the “stark improvement” in his record to left-handers – and imagine how he can make similar strides with a white ball.”I don’t want to say not playing any white-ball cricket has helped my red-ball form because it weakens my argument but certainly it has given me time to improve on my red-ball performances and I did have improvements to make,” he said.”Now I need to develop my white-ball bowling as part of that improvement. For instance, I haven’t bowled round the wicket to left-handers with a white ball. I’ve had such success like that with the red ball that it might be something I have to look at.”I almost need to sit down with a pen and paper and say: ‘Right I want to play here, and this is the type of delivery I need to work at’ and hopefully we’ll be sat here next year and I’ll have some stats behind me. Then I can go to the selectors and say: ‘You told me you were picking the team on merit. Well there you go.'”Etihad Airways, a global partner of Taste Festivals, is the first ever official airline partner of the England cricket teams. Etihad Holidays will have a range of cricket tour packages for the upcoming England tours to Bangladesh and India: www.etihad.com

Glamorgan and Leicestershire are locked together after two tough days on a pitch not eager to give rewards to all concerned

ECB/PA23-Jun-2015
ScorecardMatt Boyce struck a cautious half-cejtury [file picture]•Getty Images

At the close of an intriguing day’s play, Glamorgan were 64 for 2, a lead of 89, in their second innings on a pitch where the bowlers had to work hard for any reward. Most Leicestershire batsmen contributed but no one went on to reach the close with a substantial score, with Matthew Boyce top scoring with a patient half century.Andrew Salter, the Glamorgan offspinner, bowled a lengthy spell of 30 overs, taking 2 for 64, and although he obtained minimal turn, the pitch is likely to respond to spin as the game progresses.Leicestershire resumed on 37 for 1 and soon lost Ned Eckersley who was bowled by Craig Meschede in the second over of the day. Mark Cosgrove, the Leicestershire captain, was given a rousing reception by the home crowd as a former Glamorgan player and he put on 64 with Boyce before Cosgrove was well taken at short leg off Salter- although the batsman clearly disagreed with the umpire’s decision.Andrea Agathangelou, after a quiet start, played positively, striking Salter for three fours in an over and was nearing his fifty when he had his off stump knocked back by MeschedeNiall O’ Brien was another batsman who became established before he was dismissed, flicking the ball down the leg side to the wicketkeeper. Salter bowled nearly all his overs from the River End, with the seamers rotating from the opposite end, and they all made a contribution with Hogan taking three wickets.Glamorgan gained a slender lead of 25 on first innings, but they were soon in trouble at the start of their second innings when Bragg was caught behind from the fourth ball of the second over, while Ben Wright edged to slip in the following over.At that stage, Glamorgan were 1 for 2, and it required some stability from Jacques Rudolph and Colin Ingram to dig them out of a hole. They had to contend with some quality seam bowling from Clint McKay and Ben Raine, but both remained steadfast until the close with Ingram the more aggressive of the two.

Tamim Iqbal has renewed the call for more Test cricket for Bangladesh as they go into a three-month break

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur11-Dec-2012Tamim Iqbal has renewed the call for more Test cricket for Bangladesh as they go into a three-month break. Their next assignment will be two Test matches against Sri Lanka in March, followed by two more against Zimbabwe in April. In 2012, they’ve played the least number of Tests in a year since their admission into Test cricket.Tamim said that the first Test against West Indies, which was their first in eleven months, showed that they know how to play the game but not how to finish a Test match. “If you don’t play enough Tests, you wouldn’t have an idea of how to play the game properly. Test cricket is all about habits and the more we will play, the more we will improve,” Tamim said. “We talk of improvement but the fact is, we have never taken a Test against a better opponent into the fifth day. It is the same as scoring a hundred: if you haven’t made one you wouldn’t know how it’s done.”Bangladesh were on top for the first four days of the Dhaka Test. We lost it in the final session of the game but we were playing after almost a year. I’m not making excuses for that defeat though. We should have drawn or won that game.”Despite the defeat in the Test series and the one-off Twenty20 against West Indies, Tamim believes that, across formats, this series marked Bangladesh’s best effort to date. “It was our best series. We were competitive in the Tests, we won the ODI series and we lost in the T20 after playing our best game,” he said. “It was a very positive series for us.”Tamim said he noticed a marked change in the self-belief among his team-mates, particularly captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah who played pivotal roles. The younger players too caught the eye, but the opener warned that the win shouldn’t be the end of their cricket education.”Our biggest gain has been the self-belief among the players, which is very important for a team like ours. We didn’t have Shakib [Al Hasan, who was injured], which was a big blow for us. I didn’t perform in the ODIs. But our team won because the captain, vice-captain and the younger players doing well.”We have a lot to improve on though. It doesn’t mean we have learned everything by just winning the ODI series. We have a lot of areas to improve on, especially the small things. Our success rate will go up if we stop making those small mistakes.”Personally, Tamim expressed his disappointment at not scoring hundreds for yet another year. His last international century was in Manchester in June 2010 and he has made 17 half-centuries since then, including the unbeaten 88 in the one-off Twenty20 on Monday.”I dream of scoring a hundred every day, but I get out through my fault 75% of the time. I am very disappointed because 50s are not counted at the world level [when identifying] big players,” he said. “I have to take myself to the next level, by scoring more hundreds. This is one area where I can improve, though I have to learn it on my own. I have to find out where I am going wrong.””In the meantime, I have spoken to great cricketers at home and abroad, asked them what I can do after scoring a 50 … I spoke to [India batsman] Wasim Jaffer a few months ago, about scoring hundreds.”

New Zealand will follow the England blue-print for defeating Australia in the two Test matches to be played in December, the coach John Wright has said

Daniel Brettig16-Nov-2011New Zealand will follow the England blue-print for defeating Australia in the two Test matches to be played in December, the coach John Wright has said.As he named the 13-man squad to play Tests in Brisbane and Hobart, Wright also said the visitors expected to be challenged by pace, and forsaw the 18-year-old fast bowler Pat Cummins playing a significant role in the Australian attack.While New Zealand have not won a Test match in Australia since 1985, Wright felt the combination of England’s example last summer, and the traumatic events of the Cape Town Test when Michael Clarke’s team was splintered for 47 to surrender a commanding position, gave the tourists a chance.New Zealand’s last Test resulted in a narrow win over lowly Zimbabwe, but the team will be bolstered by the return of the swing bowler Tim Southee and the aggressive batsman Jesse Ryder from knee and calf injuries, respectively.”We’ve got a fair idea [of how to beat Australia], England provided a really good example of how to bowl at them particularly last year, and the batting of Alastair Cook was exemplary at the top of the order, he was very patient, played very straight,” Wright said. “So England did provide in some ways a template of how to play best against Australia.”You look at that and then you look at your own side. To be honest, game-plans at this level aren’t that complicated, we know we have to bat four sessions, and we’ve got to find a way of taking 20 wickets. We’d like to keep as settled a line-up as we can. I think we’ve got the basis there, we have to be patient, but there’s some very talented young players who look like they might have an opportunity to succeed at the next level.”You can only go there in good form and with belief, it is a big step up from Zimbabwe. Australia have got a good record in Brisbane, but that’s what we’re hoping to create, that belief that if we apply ourselves and work really hard, and win our sessions, that we’ll be very competitive.”Cummins may yet debut for Australia against South Africa in Johannesburg, and Wright reckoned he would play a part in Brisbane or Hobart. New Zealand’s batsmen have been ratcheting up their bowling machines to maximum velocity in preparation.”I’ve heard he’s pretty quick, and that will be interesting because we have a feeling they might look to expose us to a lot of pace, and we’re going to have to stand up and be brave,” Wright said. “But having said that, those types of bowlers can provide you with scoring opportunities.”That [speed] is one adjustment we’ll have to make, because we don’t have too many bowlers in this country running around bowling 145kph plus. The boys are aware of that and have been doing some work on bowling machines etc. to simulate those conditions.”The new face in the New Zealand squad is the left-armer Trent Boult, who has turned heads in domestic cricket and will provide another swing bowling option to support Southee and Chris Martin at the Gabba if conditions are suitable.”[Trent is] the player who’s really stood out in the last two games, so his efforts in the first two games have earned him the opportunity,” Wright said. “I think a left-armer’s always handy, but he does swing the ball, and possibly that’s an area we’d like to exploit. The conditions in Brisbane sometimes suit swing bowling, but it does give you a different balance.”

A round-up of the third day of the fourth round of matches in Division One of the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2010Rawalpindi ended day three needing 142 more runs to win with nine wickets in hand in their match against Sui Northern Gas Piplelines Limited at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Rawalpindi added only one run to their overnight total of 271 for 9 but then bowled SNGPL out for 193 to put themselves in prime position to pick up what would be their second win of the season. The wickets were shared among the Rawalpindi bowlers with seamer Rizwan Akbar and captain Babar Naeem taking three apiece. SNGPL fast bowler Asad Ali got Naved Malik out lbw in his first over to leave Rawalpindi at 3 for 1 at stumps.Three wickets from left-arm seamer Mohammad Khalil gave Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited a chance to push for their second win as they reduced Islamabad to 197 for 4 at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Islamabad need another 135 runs to make ZTBL bat again with a day to play. Seamer Junaid Zia became ZTBL’s third first-innings centurion as he scored his maiden first-class ton of 89 balls, taking ZTBL’s overnight score of 413 for 7 to 583 all out. From then on it was always going to be a matter of trying to save the match for Islamabad. Half-centuries from Nauman Masood and Zeeshan Mushtaq gave them some hope as they reached 189 for 2, but two quick wickets from Khalil at the end of the day meant that Islamabad will be looking up a very steep cliff tomorrow. Khalil’s three wickets took him to the top of the list of wicket-takers in Division One this season.Faisalabad’s match against Pakistan International Airlines at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad is heading towards a draw after Faisalabad reached 334 for 8 at the end of day three in response to PIA’s 438. PIA were on top at start of the day, but were thwarted by Zeeshan Butt and Naved Latif’s 112-run partnership. PIA had another chance to seize control after Latif and Ijaz Ahmed jnr were out in quick succession to leave Faisalabad in trouble at 167 for 5. Wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman came to Faisalabad’s rescue scoring a quick 95 and putting together a 124-run stand with Butt, who scored 93. Faisalabad have drawn their previous three games but have no points and look set to continue that pattern as they need another 105 runs to gain a first-innings lead.National Bank of Pakistan and Karachi Blues’ set up what could be an interesting last day at the National Stadium in Karachi as NBP took a 229-run lead with four wickets in hand in the second innings at the end of day three. They started the day by taking Karachi Blues’ last five wickets for 61 runs to gain the first-innings lead. Karachi Blues had lost two wickets late on day two and their slide continued as fast bowler Mohammad Talha wiped out the tail to finish with figures of 6 for 90. Offspinner Misbah Khan then took 5 for 50 for Karachi Blues as NBP reached 172 for 6, with Fawad Alam contributing 85 of those runs.Habib Bank Limited finished on top against Silakot after a topsy-turvy day three at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. HBL seemed to have squandered the advantage after collapsing from their overnight score of 194 for 3 to 275 all out. Azhar Mahmood (48), the former Pakistan allrounder, and fast bowler Shahid Nazir (13) were the only two of HBL’s last seven batsmen to reach double-figures as they took a three-run first innings lead. Fast bowler Waqas Ahmed took 4 for 54 for Sialkot on his first-class debut. Sialkot then collapsed to 121 for 6 to leave themselves 118 ahead with one day to play. Mahmood and left-arm fast bowler Kamran Hussain did the damage for HBL with two wickets each.

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif, Man of the Match for his nine wickets, has said he enjoyed bowling in New Zealand and felt he was getting back into the rhythm after missing Test cricket was nearly two years

Cricinfo staff06-Dec-2009Mohammad Asif, Man of the Match for his nine wickets, has said he enjoyed bowling in New Zealand and felt he was getting back into the rhythm after missing Test cricket for nearly two years.After his incisive display on day four, Asif recalled the last time he took 17 wickets in two Tests, in Sri Lanka in 2006. “I had two great Tests against Sri Lanka and now it’s same situation here,” Asif said. “The last match [in Dunedin where he took eight wickets] was fifty-fifty, not being decided till the last hour.”While the team had planned attacks for different New Zealand batsmen, Asif believed in an age-old and simple fast bowler’s mantra – just bowl to the stumps and pitch the ball in the right areas. “We watched videos of New Zealand batsmen, discussed which side they like to play, what weaknesses they have,” he said.However, Asif said the out-of-form New Zealand batsmen did not look nervous when facing up to him and Mohammad Aamer. New Zealand were bowled out for 99 in the first innings in Wellington and apart from Ross Taylor, the top-order batsmen have looked out of depth.
“I think they batted well. Taylor got 97, Daniel Vettori scored 99 in the previous game and Brendon McCullum also got a half-century,” he said. “Being in or out of form is part of the game. But facing the new ball in New Zealand is difficult.”Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Yousuf also stressed that the pitch was not easy to bat on. Though they won emphatically, bowling New Zealand 141 runs short of the target, Pakistan will be concerned about the number of catches they dropped in the match. They dropped six in the second innings alone: Yousuf dropped Peter Fulton on 2, Misbah-ul-haq dropped Taylor on 13, Umar Gul dropped McCullum on 13, Shoaib Malik dropped two in succession – Iain O’Brien and Daniel Vettori – and then Danish Kaneria dropped one of his own bowling when he failed to take a Vettori top edge.Yousuf felt that while the players were no doubt concerned, it had been very difficult to hold on to catches in the cold conditions. “The ball is moving around and because of the wind it is difficult to catch. I feel everyone tried hard and we are still working on our fielding,” he said.The serie decider in Napier is expected to be played on a flat pitch but Yousuf said he would wait until he had inspected the pitch before deciding whether or not to go with two spinners.

The winner will play New Zealand in the final and also get a chance for some Champions Trophy prep over in Karachi

Firdose Moonda11-Feb-2025

Big Picture: The knockout before the knockout

The original Champions Trophy started as a knockout tournament so, as we build up to this year’s edition, here’s a bit of a throwback: Wednesday’s match between Pakistan and South Africa in the mini tri-series is a winner-takes-all affair, with New Zealand already through to Saturday’s final. It won’t be quite so do-or-die in the Champions Trophy, but groups of four mean that teams can only really afford one slip up from the outset, which makes this match excellent practice for both these sides.On recent form, Pakistan have the upper hand over South Africa, who they clean swept 3-0 in December on South African soil for the first time. The result must be caveated, with the disclaimer that South Africa were understrength, though Pakistan won’t (and shouldn’t) care about that.Related

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What they will be interested in is that South Africa are still hamstrung. They are without half of their Champions Trophy squad with Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada only due to arrive in Pakistan on the weekend.To make full use of any advantage, Pakistan’s batting will have to perform better, after they were dismissed for 252 by New Zealand on Saturday and lost nine wickets for 149 after getting off to a decent start. Their middle order will be under pressure but no more than South Africa’s bowling attack, which wasn’t unable to defend 304 and lacked bite in their tri-series opener. They have been reinforced by the pace of Corbin Bosch and Kwena Maphaka but will need to combine that with discipline to challenge for a place in the final.What’s at stake is more than just the trophy: the opportunity to have one more competitive match before the Champions Trophy starts, and for Pakistan, to have a dress rehearsal for the tournament opener. They play New Zealand on February 19 in Karachi so being able to face them five days earlier at the same venue will be an added bonus. South Africa also stay in Karachi for their first match against Afghanistan but before they think of that, they’ll want to break a losing streak that has lasted five matches.

Form guide: SA’s unwanted streak

Pakistan: LWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa: LLLLLFakhar Zaman hit a quick fifty in the opening ODI of the tri-series•Associated Press

In the spotlight: Fakhar Zaman and Tabraiz Shamsi

After 15 months on the sidelines, Fakhar Zaman made his comeback with 84 off 69 balls and showed both the power and the pace to help Pakistan chase a big score. They didn’t get there, but the early signs from Fakhar are good. He was especially confident in taking on the short ball from Will O’Rourke in Lahore and was aggressive against New Zealand’s spinners. Bear in mind that Fakhar averaged 50.82 and scored four hundreds when he last played in 2023 and it seems like he has picked up where he left off. In Saim Ayub’s injury-enforced absence, Pakistan seemed to have found the perfect replacement. Now, it’s for Fakhar to show consistency.Tabraiz Shamsi has bowled 15 overs in four matches (across formats) and it’s been 15 overs since he last took a wicket. He had a quiet SA20 for Jo’burg Super Kings, but the time is coming for Shamsi to step up, especially as South Africa have gone into the Champions Trophy with just two specialist spinners despite at least two others being in good form. Bjorn Fortuin and George Linde had good SA20s and though they are usually sidelined because they can’t get past Keshav Maharaj, with a lot of white-ball cricket in the subcontinent in the next year, South Africa might be considering their options. Since Imran Tahir’s retirement in 2019, Shamsi has been South Africa’s premier attacking spinner and there’s no better time to show it than now.Haris Rauf walked off the field with a side strain in the opening ODI•Associated Press

Team news: Rauf unlikely to feature

Haris Rauf left the field after bowling 6.2 overs against New Zealand with a side strain and while it is deemed a low-grade injury, he will not be risked for this match. Mohammad Hasnain could play in his place. Pakistan may also consider a change in the batting line-up, with Saud Shakeel a possible replacement for Tayyab Tahir.Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Kamran Ghulam, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (capt), 5 Salman Agha, 6 Tayyab Tahir/Saud Shakeel, 7 Khusdil Shah, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Abrar Ahmed, 11 Mohammad HasnainTony de Zorzi and Corbin Bosch who are both in the Champions Trophy squad as well as 18-year left-arm quick Kwena Maphaka have joined the South African touring party and are available for selection. De Zorzi and Bosch both played in the SA20 final on Saturday but may be pulled into the XI, along with Heinrich Klaasen, as South Africa aim to push for a spot in the final. Don’t be surprised if Lungi Ngidi sits this one out, after bowling seven overs – his most since last October – as he continues to work towards full fitness. Maphaka could be selected in his place.South Africa (possible): 1 Temba Bavuma (capt), 2 Matthew Breetzke, 3 Tony de Zorzi, 4 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 Wiaan Mulder, 7 Senuran Muthusamy, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Kwena Maphaka

Pitch and conditions: Expect another high-scoring game

The series moves to Karachi, which last hosted an ODI in May 2023. Then, New New Zealand successfully defended 299 against Pakistan. In six ODIs here since January 2023, the average first-innings score has been 286 and the team batting first has won five out of those six games. That suggests another fairly high-scoring encounter but it may not be the pitch that’s most in focus. Like Lahore, Karachi has undergone significant upgrades ahead of the Champions Trophy including new dressing rooms and hospitality areas, an increased capacity of 5000, two new digital replay screens and 350 LED lights for improved broadcast coverage.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have lost their last five ODIs, which puts them on their longest losing streak since 2004. They have previously lost ten matches in a row in 2004 and 1994.
• The last time Pakistan failed to make a tri-series final was the Morocco Cup in 2002, when South Africa and Sri Lanka competed for the trophy. Pakistan have since played in six other tri-series, but only won one: the Kitply Cup between themselves, Bangladesh and India in 2008. Pakistan beat India by 25 runs in the final.

Quotes</b"Tomorrow is obviously a big day for the series. We played Pakistan not too long ago, but obviously Pakistan in their conditions are a different beast, so I'm looking forward to that. We just got together today, basically the boys only arrived at 2 o'clock this morning. For the guys that are new to the squad, we've got to do a little bit of homework, we've got a nice day out to face these conditions and see what it is like. Obviously there's a bigger picture in mind as well. The ICC [Champions] trophy is also in play next week, so it's a good exercise for us. If we can knock them out and play in the final, and the home country is not involved, that will at least put a smile on my face."

Heinrich Klaasen explains the importance of what is effectively a semi-final