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MS Dhoni has said that the bowling in the end overs and the late-order hitting of Yusuf Pathan have been the big positives for India to come out of the ODI series against South Africa

Sidharth Monga at SuperSport Park23-Jan-2011MS Dhoni has said that the bowling in the end overs and the late-order hitting of Yusuf Pathan have been the big positives for India to come out of the ODI series. Apart from that, Virat Kohli has been the only plus from a batting order than Dhoni said “struggled throughout the series”.”In the last few overs, the bowlers used their variations well,” Dhoni said. “We don’t have express bowlers, but we have got bowlers with skills. That’s what they rely on. It was a satisfactory performance, but both the teams were struggling throughout the series when it comes to the middle order, which means both couldn’t really get a prolonged slog. So that may be the reason bowlers did well in the death. [However], if we bowl like this in the World Cup, I’ll be really pleased.”A stunning 68-ball century from Yusuf Pathan pulled India back into a game in which their batting looked painfully similar to how it did on day one of the tour, when they were bowled out for 136. Yusuf’s form and the presence of other big hitters in the middle order give Dhoni a lot of confidence. “The biggest positive out of this game is that when we go into the World Cup, we will know that in the last 10 overs we can chase anything if we have wickets in hand. That lesson is more important than just the loss of the game.”Dhoni defended the top order’s approach of going for their shots, which did look reckless. “It’s a part and parcel of cricket. When you get off to a start where you get 28 runs in 10 overs for the loss of one wicket, then you are asked why there was no hurry. At the end of the day we were supposed to chase close to six runs an over. It’s always a difficult task. You want to take the opposition on. At times you lose wickets, and that’s what happened in this game.”Dhoni also defended his decision of bowling first despite picking an extra spinner in the side. It was an understandable decision, considering the rain in the air, but picking an extra spinner showed some confusion in the mindset. “Last time we played here we discussed that whatever the Centurion track has for the bowlers is in the initial period. After that, as the day progresses, it gets slightly better to bat on. And that’s what happened in the 2006 series also. The wicket was very similar.”Dhoni thought the target was still chaseable, and lamented the form of some of the batsmen. “Throughout the series our batting department has not really scored a lot of runs. It’s Virat who has done well, and down the order it’s Yusuf. Still to be in a position like this, it’s a good team effort, but we really need to perform as a unit.”However, Dhoni is confident the batsmen will return to form in the World Cup. “It’s a matter of one or two innings, and some of the batsmen didn’t get enough preparation time, which means quality batting practice sessions. A run of low scores does play on your mind, but it’s not that the experienced players haven’t gone through phases like these. It always happens in cricket. Especially, with us. We play 30 to 35 ODIs a year. We see the form going up and down in the same year, which means we are more used to dealing with situations like these.”

Kenya’s tour of India, designed to prepare the squad for the forthcoming World Cup, has only served to expose the deficiencies in a side who, barring a major turnaround, seem set for a wretched tournament

Martin Williamson19-Jan-2011Kenya’s tour of India, designed to prepare the squad for the forthcoming World Cup, has only served to expose the deficiencies in a side who, barring a major turnaround, seem set for a wretched tournament.All five matches against youthful Gujarat and Baroda sides were lost, echoing results when the Indian state teams played in Nairobi last year. In only one match did Kenya come remotely close to winning, and even then they were unable to defend a total of 293 for 6, losing to Gujarat by six wickets with more than three overs remaining.The batsmen have coped fairly well with alien conditions. Seren Waters scored the only hundred of the tour, but almost all the other front-line batsmen did enough to suggest they will cope come the World Cup, although doing more than that may be beyond them. However, Alex Obanda and Thomas Odoyo were really out of touch, and more worryingly Steve Tikolo failed to dominate in any game. For so long the lynchpin of the side, there have to be worries that a lack of high-class cricket and age are both taking a toll on his game.Collins Obuya made one good score, but in four other innings managed only 47 runs. If Tikolo is unable to hold together the innings, much will depend on him, and his form is another big concern.The real headache for coach Eldine Baptiste is with the bowling. Peter Ongondo, who has been so vital with the new ball, only played twice but leaked runs, while too many others lacked enough control to really put pressure on what were little more than inexperienced, if talented, young state batsmen. While some of the figures may not appear too bad, they have to be read in the knowledge that Baroda and Gujarat’s batsmen were rarely under pressure to score quick runs and so did not need to be overly attacking.After back-to-back wins, Gurajat completed a 3-0 clean sweep in the final match between the sides. Kenya’s batsmen finally posted a good score, a second-wicket stand of 178 between Waters (103) and Obuya (92) helping them to 293 for 6, but Gujarat’s well-paced reply enabled them to ease home with 19 balls to spare.Kenya then headed to Vadodara for two matches against Baroda. Both followed a similar pattern. In the first, Kenya were put in, most of their batsmen got starts without building a big innings, and their eventual score of 217 was not remotely enough as Baroda ambled to a five-wicket win with 20 balls in hand. In the second, Kenya again batted and scored 182, with Tanmay Mishra’s 63 saving them from a much lower score. Early wickets gave the Kenyans brief hope but Baroda knuckled down and again meandered to a well-paced six-wicket win.Kenya now head to Dubai for conditioning, while Baptiste will be left scratching his head and trying to work out how to avoid the World Cup becoming a nightmare for his side.

Tim Bresnan, the England allrounder, has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct, while England were fined for a slow over-rate

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2011Tim Bresnan, the England allrounder, has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the thrilling tie with India in Bangalore. Bresnan hit the stumps with his bat after being bowled by Piyush Chawla in the penultimate over of England’s chase.Bresnan apologised for the incident and didn’t contest the reprimand. He pleaded guilty to contravening Level 1 of the Code of Conduct which relates to the “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fitting.” All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and/or a maximum penalty of the imposition of a fine up to 50 per cent of a player’s match fee.”While giving my verdict, I took into account that Bresnan admitted his mistake, apologised for his action and that it was his first offence,” Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee, said. “Further, it was encouraging to note that Bresnan on his own initiative met the umpires concerned and reiterated that his action was unintentional.”England were also fined for a slow over-rate after they were found to be one over short of the target at the end of the Indian innings, after time allowances were taken into consideration. Andrew Strauss, the captain, was fined 20% of his match fee, the rest were fined 10%.

Andrew Strauss has said he knew Michael Yardy was struggling with depression before Yardy took the decision to withdraw from the World Cup and fly home

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2011Andrew Strauss has said he knew Michael Yardy was struggling with depression before Yardy took the decision to withdraw from the World Cup and fly home.Yardy became the fifth member of England’s original squad to head home early and his departure inevitably drew comparison to Strauss’s old opening partner Marcus Trescothick, who retired from international cricket five years ago after suffering stress-related illnesses. Since then England have had structures put in place to help players but they couldn’t prevent Yardy from needing to leave the tournament early.”It’s a horrible thing for him to have to go through,” Strauss said. “It’s something he has been managing for a while and there have been systems in place to help him manage it but over the last week or so, it’s got too much for him and he has had to go home.”Geoff Boycott sparked controversy shortly after the news of Yardy’s departure surfaced when he suggested the depression had come from disappointing results on the field. “He must have been reading my comments about his bowling – it must have upset him,” Boycott told BBC Radio Five Live. “Obviously it was too much for him at this level. If any blame is attached it’s partly to the selectors because I’m sorry, he’s not good enough at this level.”Strauss waved aside Boycott’s remarks and said the squad were ‘disappointed’ when they heard them. “I think they showed a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue. I don’t think your cricketing ability or what you have achieved has anything to do with it whatsoever.”There are significant pressures, and as you get older a lot of us have kids and what not, which makes touring harder. It’s important to draw attention to the fact that it’s different having a hard time being away from home and actually suffering from depression. They are two very different things.”The schedule confronting England players has been a major talking point of their erratic campaign. Following their shock defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh in the group stages many suggested the team looked fatigued. Strauss, however, emphasised throughout that tiredness could not be blamed and said Yardy’s condition was separate from the general demands of touring.”Obviously if you are in a hotel room for five or six months one end, you’re going to have days when you feel down,” Strauss said. “I think that’s very different from suffering from depression. International cricket is challenging in terms of how you are temperamentally equipped with spending long periods away from home. That’s something we all go through. Depression is something completely different.”Despite the setback Strauss was confident Yardy’s departure wouldn’t distract the side ahead of their knockout match against Sri Lanka. “It’s not difficult to focus our minds on this game of cricket. It’s a must-win game of cricket. If we lose we are on the plane home. If we win we are in the World Cup semi-final. I think as players you get quite used to switching on and off when the situation demands it.”

ESPNCricinfo previews the game between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians

The Preview by Nitin Sundar23-Apr-2011

Match facts

Sunday, April 24, Delhi
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Mumbai’s attack is not overly dependent on Lasith Malinga anymore•Associated Press

Big picture

It’s Sachin Tendulkar’s 38th birthday and he returns to the venue where he played the best ODI innings of 2009. That epic 175 against Australia resulted in defeat, a depressing addition to the list of Tendulkar masterclasses that went in vain. That night, the crowd returned home numbed by India’s brain-freeze in the end overs, wondering if they were destined to never see their team winning. The Uppal jinx was finally broken by Deccan Chargers when they beat Bangalore on April 14 – their first home win in four editions. Will their fans want that streak to continue, at the cost of denying India’s biggest icon victory on his birthday?Mumbai are coming off three easy wins, one shock defeat and one hard-fought victory. They have looked the most complete side in the tournament, and their star power has allowed them to carry a couple of passengers in almost every game. Their fielding effort against Chennai Super Kings must rank among the best ever put up by an IPL outfit. Not too many cover-drives can find a way past a cordon that includes Andrew Symonds, Kieron Pollard, Rohit Sharma and R Sathish. The batting has been consistent, and the bowling is shaking off its dependence on Lasith Malinga.After a sluggish start, Deccan have managed two wins in three games, and will go into the game quietly confident of an upset. Their methods have been in complete contrast to Mumbai’s: lesser-knowns like Bharat Chipli and Sunny Sohal have provided the spark, while the bigger signings have remained in the background. They will need to be at their best to put it past Mumbai.

Form guide (most recent first)

Deccan WLWLL (8th in points table)
Mumbai WWLWW (1st in points table)

Team talk

Who will open Mumbai’s innings with Tendulkar? Do they just draw lots before the toss? So far Davy Jacobs, James Franklin and R Sathish have been tried. Given how poor Franklin and Sathish were, Jacobs might fancy his chances of coming back into the XI. Deccan clicked like a cohesive unit against Delhi, and may want to retain that combination.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Some say it was a speed-gun conspiracy, but Ishant Sharma has clocked upwards of 150 kph on a few occasions in this IPL. The last time he managed such pace was in 2008 when he bullied Ricky Ponting with a delightful spell of seam bowling in Perth. Ishant’s faltered, fizzled and settled into a lesser role in recent times, but there is still hope for resurgence.Rohit Sharma played a gem against Chennai. It was the kind of innings that left his critics infuriated, since it once again highlighted the contrast between his international career and his IPL exploits. His feet move better, his shot selection is sharper and he just seems switched on when he’s playing this tournament. Will Rohit have another bounty season? And this time, will he carry on from there to bigger things?

Prime numbers

• Tendulkar is 81 runs away from Suresh Raina, who is the all-time highest IPL run-getter. Rohit is fifth in the list.
• Pragyan Ojha is the second-highest wicket-taker in IPLs. Amit Mishra is fifth

The chatter

“Unbelievable fielding. Brillant catches. Superb ground-fielding. I thought the fielders created opportunities today.”

Once again the fourth day of a Test ended with the likeliest result being a draw, but after events in Cardiff last week that can’t be taken for granted as England closed with a lead of 156

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan06-Jun-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSteven Finn ended with four wickets as England took a narrow lead•Getty Images

Once again the fourth day of a Test ended with the likeliest result being a draw, but after events in Cardiff last week that can’t be taken for granted as England closed with a lead of 156 at Lord’s. They gained a narrow first-innings advantage by bowling Sri Lanka out for 479, in a steadily improving display, then recovered from the early loss of Andrew Strauss for a duck with Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott added 117 for the second wicket.After half of the third day was lost to the weather more overs disappeared on a damp morning, but the Test progressed at a decent pace with the bowlers finally having a say for the first time since the opening exchanges. Sri Lanka lost their last seven wickets for 85 and their game plan had to change from putting pressure on England with a big lead to trying to give themselves a chance of a final-day run chase. However, while Strauss watched his bowlers rip out the visitors in 24 overs in Cardiff he won’t be putting too much on the line here by dangling the carrot.For a moment, though, Sri Lanka were buoyant when they removed Strauss second ball. In overcast conditions Chanaka Welegedara, the left-arm seamer who claimed Strauss lbw in the first innings, swung the first ball past the outside edge before the second was a touch fuller and squared up the batsman to take the back pad. Strauss opted to review the decision, but he was stone dead, completing a poor match with the bat, and it was the 22nd time he’d fallen to a left-arm paceman.Yet nothing knocked Cook and Trott out of their comfort zone as they set about compiling another century partnership. This time Trott was the aggressor, picking off plenty of runs through the leg side and also driving sweetly, during a fifty that took 66 balls. The only time he looked slightly uncomfortable was when Dilhara Fernando went for a short-pitched approach and struck him on the glove. However, it came as almost a shock to see him play over a full delivery from Rangana Herath that took leg stump.That brought in Kevin Pietersen to face the left-arm spinner and his first two defensive shots were cheered by a small crowd. He wasn’t entirely convincing, although a thumping straight drive provided a moment of release, as he survived until the close on 15 off 44 deliveries. Even for a player of Pietersen’s calibre, the small steps are important. Cook, meanwhile, has far fewer concerns and ticked over to fifty from 86 balls and will have his sights set on atoning for his missed ton in the first innings.In the field it was an improved performance from England’s bowlers, but they were still not at their best with plenty of leg-side deliveries giving Matt Prior a huge amount of work and many of the 25 byes weren’t the keeper’s fault. When Sri Lanka were 407 for 6 the home side will have a sensed a more significant lead, but a counter-attacking stand of 57 between Herath and Prasanna Jayawardene ensured the visitors got close before the last four wickets fell for 13.The start was delayed until 1.10pm after morning rain and Sri Lanka resumed with the intention of batting for most of the day, but that became unlikely when Mahela Jayawardene edged to third slip off Steven Finn for 49. Then, like the London buses that fill the roads around Lord’s, England had another wicket almost straight away. Thilan Samaraweera played a horrid flat-footed drive at Chris Tremlett to give Prior a low catch with the bowlers benefiting from finding a fuller length.Farveez Maharoof didn’t last long when he was beaten for pace by Stuart Broad to give him his only wicket of the innings. Sri Lanka, though, played the right way by taking the attack back to England and kept the game moving forward. Prasanna swept Graeme Swann over midwicket for six and Herath swung himself off his feet repeating the dose.Herath finally went for one big hit too many, charging down at Swann and being stumped, and when Prasanna edged a good one from Finn to slip there wasn’t much left in Sri Lanka’s batting. For Finn it was a landmark wicket, his 50th in Tests, overtaking Ian Botham as the youngest Englishman to reach the milestone. Despite problems with consistency, no one can argue his wicket-taking abilities.Finn bombarded Sri Lanka’s tailenders with a series of bouncers – striking Suranga Lakmal flush on the helmet – but it was Swann who wrapped up the innings and Strauss held a superb reflex catch at slip to remove Fernando. The final day will give us an idea of how attacking England are willing to be in the quest for world No. 1 unless Sri Lanka’s bowlers can pull off a surprise.

Albie Morkel and Colin Ingram have not been included in the Jacques Rudolph-led South Africa A squad to tour Zimbabwe and Malaysia for personal reasons

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2011Albie Morkel and Colin Ingram have not been included in the Jacques Rudolph-led South Africa A squad to tour Zimbabwe and Malaysia for personal reasons. South Africa A will play in a one-day tri-series against Zimbabwe and Australia A followed by a six-team Twenty20 competition in Kuala Lumpur in June and July this year.”Albie’s wife is expecting their second child and he understandably needs to spend time at home,” Andrew Hudson, convenor of selectors, said. “Colin has been on the road in India for more than four months now.” Ingram was in South Africa’s World Cup squad and stayed on for the IPL, where he was part of the Delhi Daredevils.The A team will be captained by Rudolph, who also led the side against Bangladesh in April at home. Rudolph has committed himself to South African cricket after opting out of his Kolpak deal with Yorkshire last year and looks set for a national recall.The wicket-keeping role – which has come under scrutiny in South African cricket circles as a successor to Mark Boucher has yet to be found – looks set to be shared between Heino Kuhn and Morne van Wyk. That means there is no place for Davy Jacobs, who is recovering from a broken thumb, which he sustained while playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.The squad includes regular A team participants, Vernon Philander, Dean Elgar, Loots Bosman, Ryan McLaren, Rusty Theron and Roelof van der Merwe. There are two new additions for the T20 competition in Lions pace bowler Ethan O’Reilly and Cobras opening batsman Richard Levi. Wayne Parnell has also been included in the T20 squad.South Africa also named their emerging squad for the annual competition that is played in Australia and also features the emerging teams from New Zealand and India. Stiaan van Zyl has been named the captain of a squad that features young talent such as batsman Mangaliso Mosehle and left-arm spinner Dale Deeb.South Africa A squad for Zimbabwe triangular: Jacques Rudolph (capt), Craig Alexander, Farhaan Behardien, Loots Bosman, Dean Elgar, Rory Kleinveldt, Heino Kuhn, Ethy Mbhalati, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Vernon Philander, Rusty Theron, Roelof van der Merwe, Jonathan Vandiar, Morne van WykSouth Africa A squad for Kuala Lumpur T20 tournament: Jacques Rudolph (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Loots Bosman, Richard Levi, Ethy Mbhalati, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Ethan O’Reilly, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Rusty Theron, Roelof van der Merwe, Jonathan Vandiar, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Morne van WykSouth Africa Emerging Players squad: Stiaan van Zyl (capt), Kyle Abbott, Temba Bavuma, Andrew Birch, Dale Deeb, Reeza Hendricks, Richard Levi, Pumelela Matshikwe, Mangaliso Mosehle, Ethan O’Reilly, Dane Piedt, Obus Pienaar, Mthokozisi Shezi, Jon-Jon Smuts, Shaun von Berg

A round-up of the first match day of the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2011A solid all-round performance by Faisalabad Wolves helped them ease past Multan Tigers by 69 runs in the first game of the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.Multan began well after choosing to bowl, removing Mohammad Hafeez for a duck. Faisalabad’s No. 3 batsman Asif Ali counterattacked, putting on century and half-century stands with Asif Hussain and Misbah-ul-Haq on his way to a 59-ball hundred. Asif Ali’s knock included seven sixes, and ensured Multan needed to chase 200.Quick cameos from Multan’s top order kept them in the game in the first half of the chase. Hafeez struck twice, removing Zeeshan Ashraf and Naved Yasin in consecutive overs, to begin a slide. Left-arm spinner Hasan Mahmood polished off the middle and lower order with figures of 5 for 23, as Multan lost their last seven wickets for 46 runs.

Tight spells from seamer Tariq Haroon and offspinner Haaris Ayaz helped Karachi Dolphins defend a middling total against Rawalpindi Rams in the second game, played at the same ground. Chasing 146, Rawalpindi lost a couple of early wickets to fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed and never quite recovered. Haroon struck twice, on either side of a run-out, and by the eighth over Rawalpindi were five down. Umar Amin stayed firm and ended up with 54 not out, but Rawalpindi were never abreast of the required-rate and were eventually bowled out. The Karachi spinners wrapped up the rest of the wickets, with Ayaz taking 2 for 15 and left-arm spinner Azam Hussain taking three.Having chosen to bat, Karachi were given a quick start by Shahzaib Hasan, who scored 35 off 28 and Rameez Raja (2), who got 29 off 20. Wickets fell in the middle overs and Karachi were not able to make a final push; only 23 runs came off the last four overs. But the total of 145 proved enough in the end.

The Scottish monsoon season put paid to Sri Lanka’s ODI against Ireland on Monday

Ger Siggins in Edinburgh11-Jul-2011
Scorecard
The Scottish monsoon season put paid to Sri Lanka’s ODI against Ireland on Monday. With the sun beating down mid-afternoon, the small crowd were hopeful of seeing some play, but the damage had already been done.”There was a huge amount of rain here from the middle of last week,” Ireland captain William Porterfield said. “When it rained again this morning I think that finished it off. The sun eventually came out but it was far too late for any chance of play.”It was hugely disappointing for the Irish team, who were keen to mix it with one of the leading sides in the world. “It would have been great to play them here, as conditions are very
similar to Ireland,” Porterfield said. “It’s almost home advantage against an Asian team”With the weather taking a turn for the better, Porterfield was confident that the rest of the tri-series tournament would be completed.”We’re playing Scotland tomorrow and that’s always a big match for the guys. They’ve been playing well in the CB40 and had two good wins over Holland last week. They’ve a young side and they’re going in the right direction.”Ireland will have to play without Niall O’Brien, who returned to his county last night, Porterfield explained. “Gary Wilson has kept in the recent games and is a good keeper. Andrew Poynter will come in and he deserves his chance. He’s got good scores for us in vital games before and he works very hard at his game.”Ireland play Scotland on Tuesday, while the hosts face Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Trent Copeland is sustained by the strong belief that his methodical bowling can extract wickets on all surfaces

Daniel Brettig16-Aug-2011Trent Copeland marked his departure for Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka by admitting to nervousness. But he believes his methodical bowling can extract wickets on all surfaces, even the unforgiving pitches Australia are likely to encounter in Galle, Kandy and Colombo.Phil Hughes, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Usman Khawaja, Michael Beer, Nathan Lyon and Copeland all departed for Sri Lanka on Tuesday, the final pieces of an Australian squad that has been patch-worked together via the tour’s segues from Twenty20 and limited-overs to Test matches.At 25, Copeland is a mature character, having crafted his medium pace in Sydney grade cricket then pursued it with great success in the Sheffield Shield for NSW. On the face of it Copeland might be expected to play a more prominent role on the tour of South Africa that follows Sri Lanka, but he cited Glenn McGrath as an example of how the simplest methods can have universal value.”I don’t think I can ever compare myself to the great man [McGrath], but I think patience, line and length and just trying to do a little bit with the ball and just continually asking questions of the batsmen is my theory,” Copeland said. “I suppose in that regard it is similar to what he did, but I’ve just got to do what’s been successful for me at state level and hopefully that can work.”Just believe in your skills; it doesn’t matter whether you’re in flat, hot conditions or green seaming conditions down in Hobart, if you put the ball in the right area often enough it is really my game plan, and that’ll be successful no matter what the conditions. Other than that it’s just about backing myself and being able to accept that sometimes batsmen play good shots.”If I bowl the ball and put it where I want to put it and they can still hit me, then good luck to them and I need to re-assess. But if I can be 100%confident in doing that then that’s all I can do.”Chosen for Sri Lanka after showing poise and parsimony on unresponsive pitches in Zimbabwe, Copeland will be behind the likes of Harris, Siddle and Mitchell Johnson for a pace bowling spot. He can reasonably expect an opportunity however, given the attritional nature of back-to-back Test matches – a factor that precluded Doug Bollinger’s inclusion.”Obviously it is a great opportunity for me to be involved, I’m very nervous getting to the airport and going on my first tour,” Copeland said. “I need to get comfortable with the surroundings and hopefully make an impression once I arrive there. That’s all I can do.”[Playing] is something I can’t really control, if given the opportunity I think I’m ready to go and I’ll do my best to prepare well once I get over there. The Australian cricket side has been so successful for so long and hopefully that continues. If I can add to that, well great, but if not, then I’ll bide my time and wait until the time comes.”One happy circumstance for both Copeland and Khawaja has been the employment of Chandika Hathurusingha, the former Sri Lanka opening batsman and occasional seam bowler, as the NSW assistant coach. His knowledge of home conditions has been a valuable source of advice for both men in the weeks leading up to their departure.”[Hathurusingha’s appointment] has been perfect timing for me, because I’ve had a chance to chew his ear off about the conditions over there and hopefully learn a lot once I’m there,” Copeland said. “Watching the one dayers and the T20s in Colombo and places like that, the conditions are obviously going to be hot, humid, the ball might swing around a little bit, and other than that I’m just prepared to take it as it comes.”I’ve been in Zimbabwe for the last month on the Australia A tour over there; similar conditions, flat and slow wickets, hot conditions, training outdoors in the heat and stuff like that, so I think if there has been a good preparation anywhere I think that’s probably the one, so I think that’s held me in good stead.”Copeland’s lack of a Cricket Australia or BBL contract means he is flying to Sri Lanka as a man of significantly more modest means than many team-mates, but he reiterated his desire to move beyond that pigeonhole.”The game is evolving and T20 cricket’s playing a large part in the marketing of cricket and keeping younger people involved and interested in watching it,” he said. “This is a great opportunity and I’m absolutely thrilled about it, but I think I can make strides in the other forms of the game as well – I’d hate to think that I’ll only ever play one form of the game.”I’m up for the challenge and if its Test cricket or T20 it doesn’t matter, I’m training hard and hopefully I can play all three.”