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Australia international Cameron White starred yet again as Northamptonshire claimed their second Yorkshire Bank 40 win in three days with a four-wicket victory over Netherlands.

15-Aug-2013
ScorecardCameron White made an important innings in a tense chase•Getty ImagesAustralia international Cameron White starred yet again as Northamptonshire claimed their second Yorkshire Bank 40 win in three days with a four-wicket victory over Netherlands.Playing in their last match in this year’s competition, Netherlands were limited to 176 for 8 from their 40 overs with White and Muhammad Azharullah each taking two wickets. White’s 63 not out off 86 balls then helped Northants recover from a bad start to their chase and reach their target with 19 deliveries remaining to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals.Netherlands won the toss and chose to bat but they lost Steven Myburgh for 11 in the third over when Steven Crook’s delivery crashed into his off-stump. Michael Swart then went cheaply for 26 when he swept Andrew Hall straight to Matt Spriegel at deep midwicket.Netherlands wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi toiled to 18 off 50 balls before he was eventually put out of his misery when he was bowled by James Middlebrook. Ben Cooper plundered 29 off as many deliveries before he was trapped lbw to become Australia international White’s first victim.Tim Gruijters was next to depart when he was taken by Lee Daggett running in from mid-off off White before Netherlands captain Peter Borren smashed Spriegel to Kyle Coetzer at long-on. Mudassar Bukhari then perished in the final over on 28 when he played Azharullah on to his stumps. The same bowler took out Paul van Meekeren’s off-stump two balls later, leaving Dominic Michael unbeaten on 25.Chasing 177, Northants lost their captain Alex Wakely for 5 when he was pinned lbw by Bukhari in the third over before David Sales pulled the same man to Michael at square leg two overs later and departed for 9. The hosts were then left struggling on 44 for 4 when Scotland international Coetzer and Crook both edged van Meekeren to Barresi in the ninth over.A stand of 86 between fifth-wicket pair White and Middlebrook put Northants back on track, but it was broken when Middlebrook was bowled for 37 by 15-year-old offspinner Daniel Doram. Nerves were sent jangling again when Swart’s delivery hit Spriegel’s off stump and sent him packing for five – but White helped to soothe them by completing his half-century off 66 balls as the hosts edged to victory.Hall contributed a valuable 21 not out but it inevitably it was White who sealed the win with two runs off a van Meekeren no ball in the 37th over.

Adil Rashid made an unbeaten hundred and proclaimed he and Yorkshire were ‘getting along nicely’ after a difficult period

David Hopps at Headingley07-May-2013Yorkshire 332 for 5 (Rashid 120*, Ballance 107) v Somerset
ScorecardAccording to Adil Rashid, he and Yorkshire have “come to an agreement”. That was something Ajmal Shahzad could never claim. Shahzad was packed off for what was perceived as a headstrong insistence on his right to be a free spirit. There is reason to anticipate that Rashid can write a happier ending.To keep faith with their talented production line of Asian cricketers, Yorkshire need that happy ending as much as Rashid does.”We have come to an agreement.” How many times have such words been uttered in Yorkshire cricket over the decades only for them to be worthless by the next morning? Perhaps they were more uncompromising times. There was something in Rashid’s unbeaten 120 on a gloriously sunny Headingley day that promised much, the conviction of his crouching, thou-shall-not-pass defence; the rasp of his cuts; his wristy working of the leg side, a most un-Yorkshire skill that one.Two England selectors were at Headingley, Geoff Miller and James Whitaker. Their interest will have primarily been in Gary Ballance, Rashid having long disappeared off their radar as his command of his legspin faltered, but they could not fail to be impressed by the sight of an allrounder seemingly more at peace with his game. A career that has involved three England tours and an experimental use as an attacking Twenty20 bowler might one day – although not imminently – have a second coming.”Yorkshire Are Ruining Me” was the headline last month, as Rashid complained that his captain, Andrew Gale, did not understand legspin, that he needed more faith in his ability if he was to express himself and that if he had another year like 2012 he would be “dropping down, down, down and gone”. The irony was that he had made the comments in January and by the time they became public knowledge, a better understanding was already in place.”Everything’s sorted,” Rashid said. “We’re all getting along nicely. This season my confidence has been quite high so I’m looking to carry that on and perform day in, day out. You have your good days and bad days but I’m in an okay place.Yorkshire turns out for Yorkshire

Mark Arthur, Yorkshire’s new chief executive, happily accepted that it was a godsend that both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow will, in all likelihood, make their first Test appearances at Headingley against New Zealand later this month and give Yorkshire a chance to make a modest indentation in their £19m debts.
A cold winter has left the Headingley Test still 25% below budget but the presence of Root and Bairstow is quickening interest for tickets in a match which the chairman and outgoing chief executive, Colin Graves, accepted needed “a kick up the backside”.
Arthur, who has taken up the role of Yorkshire’s chief executive less than five months after he fell victim to a purge by the Kuwaiti owners of Nottingham Forest FC, preferred to put it differently. “Yorkshire is a unique brand and to have Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow in the frame is a fantastic boost,” he said. “By supporting England, it could not be clearer that the public will be supporting Yorkshire cricket.”

“I was looking for a bit of freedom to play my game. It was about the fact that you know your game and you have been playing long enough to know what to do. It was about all about communicating with the captain and the coach and coming to an agreement.”Part of the problem was that when it came to Yorkshire stereotypes, Rashid could compete with the best in his ability to be monosyllabic. Such introversion hardly seemed the natural accompaniment for a player yearning to attack, whether he had a ball or a bat in his hand.At 25, he is looking – and sounding – more confident in himself. Batting conditions had not entirely eased when Rashid came in at 89 for 4 but he shared in a record Yorkshire fifth-wicket stand at Headingley of 207 in 62 overs with Ballance, whose own hundred, a pugnacious affair ended when he fell lbw to a full delivery from Steve Kirby, played a major part in reshaping the match by the close. This looks to be another belting batting surface and Yorkshire will be well aware that Derbyshire made 475 in their first innings here last week and lost.Batting Rashid at No. 6 should be part of the New Deal. “I haven’t batted at six for a long time. It was nice to have that responsibility,” he said. This was his fifth first-class century and his first for four years, an indication of lost time.Somerset had a fruitful morning. When Rashid came in, four wickets had fallen by the 26th over, Phil Jacques had just been pouched by Marcus Trescothick at first slip and, if Trescothick had held a low catch when Jaques was 22, the situation could have been direr. The first three wickets had fallen to wicketkeeping catches by Jos Buttler, the best of them a diving effort to dismiss Adam Lyth.Rashid and Ballance proved that the stability which Joe Root had brought to Yorkshire’s season with the two most domineering innings of his life – back-to-back hundreds to drive home victories against Durham and Derbyshire – had not necessarily departed with him. Somerset’s day became wearier by the hour and long before the close the disposition of the Yorkshire members was once again almost as sunny as the weather.

A preview of the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya06-May-2013Match factsTuesday, May 7, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Mitchell Johnson has bowled with intensity for Mumbai Indians•BCCIBig pictureDefending champions Kolkata Knight Riders still stand a theoretical chance of making it to the play-offs, and are better placed than some other teams to spoil a party or two. They have made Rajasthan Royals’ job tougher after beating them comprehensively at Eden Gardens, and will be a threat to Mumbai Indians, who they face on Tuesday.Knight Riders may need to win each of their remaining matches to entertain hopes of staying alive; Mumbai could jump to second place should they win, else will feel a little less secure, especially if Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils in the afternoon. Mumbai, though, are on a high after inflicting a thrashing on Chennai Super Kings, who, by their own captain’s admission, were complacent after seven wins in a row. And in a season where playing at home has played a decisive role, they’ll be favourites when they take on Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium.Form guideMumbai Indians: WLWWW (most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders: WLLWLPlayers to watchMitchell Johnson has bowled with intensity this season, something that was evident when he helped Mumbai defend 139 against Super Kings. He bowled with pace, got the ball to move about and, in the company of Lasith Malinga, is perhaps part of the best fast-bowling duo this IPL.Amid the clutter of stars in each team, the contributions of players like Rajat Bhatia are sometimes overlooked. If the track at the Wankhede Stadium plays as slow as it did in the game against Super Kings, Bhatia, with his medium-pace cutters, will be hard to dispatch. He’s picked up nine wickets in 11 games for Knight Riders this season, at 27.88 with an economy-rate of 7.41.Stats and trivia Sunil Narine is six short of 100 wickets in T20 cricket. His career economy-rate in T20 cricket is a remarkable 5.40. Jacques Kallis has scored the most runs off Lasith Malinga in the IPL, 74 off 56 while only being dismissed once. Shane Watson has taken him for 67 off 38. Yusuf Pathan is sixth on the list, with 42 off 35. Quotes”It’s a very good start that I have got. Out of five games I have won four and lost one. I would take that result as a captain. But I am not going to relax. We still need to play good cricket for the next five games and get to the play-offs comfortably.”

Sussex have announced that Zac Toumazi, the former Hampshire commercial director, will succeed Dave Brooks as chief executive in January

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2012Sussex have announced that Zac Toumazi, the former Hampshire commercial director, will succeed Dave Brooks as chief executive in January.Toumazi has extensive experience in the financial sector, working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, before switching to cricket firstly with Surrey for six years and then with Hampshire from 2011.He will attempt to continue to move Sussex forward and build on the work of Brooks whose four years at Sussex saw the club win a one-day double In 2009 and Division Two of the County Championship in 2010.Since announcing he was leaving Sussex at the end of the year, Brooks has been appointed to the Guernsey Cricket Board.His successor at Sussex, Toumazi, will take over a financially healthy club, largely thanks to inheritance from former club president Spen Cama, and a recently development ground.”We are very pleased to appoint Zac,” Jim May, Sussex chairman, said. “We believe his commercial experience, cultural fit and passion for cricket give him the credentials to ensure that Sussex continues to lead the way both on and off the pitch.”Dave Brooks leaves us in great shape this month after four outstanding years. We had a very strong group of candidates who applied to succeed him.Toumazi said, “I am very excited. I look forward to working with the entire team taking Sussex forward whilst preserving the values that make it so special.”

Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk, who shared an unbroken 128-run partnership for the sixth wicket against Pakistan on Tuesday, are great friends off the field

Amol Karhadkar in Cuttack06-Feb-2013Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk have a lot in common. They both are allrounders. They made their international debut during the 2009 Women’s World Cup. And they are “best friends” in the South Africa dressing room. They are also room-mates whenever the team goes on tour.On Tuesday, the duo shared an unbroken 128-run partnership for the sixth wicket against Pakistan. Not only did the stand, South Africa’s highest ever in all Women’s World Cups, set up their maiden victory of their 2013 campaign, it helped the team achieve their primary objective at the start of the tournament: to progress to the Super Sixes. The duo achieved personal bests with the bat as well; while Kapp, the senior of the two, notched up her maiden century, Niekerk, all of 19 despite being on the international stage for four years, raised her first fifty.After the game, they revelled in each other’s achievements. “You don’t plan for anything. It just happened. It’s a first for us. Ever,” Kapp told ESPNcricinfo soon after South Africa completed a 126-run rout of Pakistan, patting ‘D’, as Niekerk is fondly known among her team-mates, on the back.Being great friends did help both of them during their partnership, which bailed South Africa out from a precarious 79 for 5 in the must-win Group B game, Kapp said: “That’s a good thing, we understand each other so well, so when it comes to running between the wickets and all, there’s no confusion. We don’t even need to call. We just look at each other and take off for a single.”Niekerj interjected, explaining how she calmed her senior down when Kapp entered the 90s for the first time in international cricket. “She got all nervous in the 90s. And she started playing all the sort of shots that she doesn’t play usually. So I just walked up to her and told her to do what she is used to,” Niekerk said. “I know she drives really well and that’s what I told her to do.”It’s not just on-field expertise that the two share; both girls are flag-bearers of the South African team’s fashion statement off the field. “I don’t think people are here for a fashion statement, we are here to play the game. But off the field, we are what we are. I think it’s got a lot to do with our roots. Mom wants us to look nice, so we look nice,” Kapp said. Niekerk added: “We like being girlie. We like dressing up and all of that.”Would more cricketers like them, who are not shy to be themselves, help turn the spotlight on the women’s game a little bit more? “Definitely,” Kapp, who is studying sports management, said. “Advertisement and all, that’s what it’s all about.”

New Zealand fast bowler Daryl Tuffey has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending a 12-year international career

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2012New Zealand fast bowler Daryl Tuffey has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending a 12-year international career. Tuffey, who last played for his country in 2010, lost his central contract the following year, but was handed a domestic contract for 2012-13 with Auckland Aces last month.Tuffey, 34, said he had decided to retire because he had missed the most of last season due to injury.”I’ve had a few different injuries recently and they do get tougher to come back from,” Tuffey said. “It’s probably been my one major regret in cricket that I haven’t spent as much time on the field as I would have liked but it’s part and parcel of playing the game.”There aren’t many people who get the chance to get paid for playing the game they love and I feel really lucky that I’ve been able to do that. It’s been an honour to represent my country and to be able to do so in some great places around the world has been a bonus.”Tuffey made his Test debut during the home series against Australia in 1999-2000. His best performance was 6 for 54 at Eden Park to help New Zealand square the Test series against England in 2001-02. He was New Zealand’s regular opening bowler in the Test and ODI sides but had his share of breakdowns, including a damaged shoulder in 2005 which kept him out of the side for the best part of two years. He lost another two years when he signed for the rebel Indian Cricket League in 2007.He returned to New Zealand’s Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in mid 2009, but was plagued by injuries thereafter – he suffered broken bones in his hands twice in the following six months, before straining a bicep during a one-day series in India in November 2010.He played the last of his 26 Tests in 2010 against Australia, taking 77 wickets with two five-wicket hauls. He played 94 ODIs and took 110 wickets. In a 16-year first-class career, he took 288 wickets.He began his first-class career for Northern Districts in 1996-97 before moving to Auckland in 2008-09. Paul Strang, the Auckland coach, said Tuffey would be missed. “Daryl will be a huge loss to us because he brings so much to the side,” Strang said. “He’s been fantastic for us, especially in the short form and contributes a lot both on and off the field.”

Gary Ballance and Azeem Rafiq spared Yorkshire’s blushes at Headingley after Unicorns had threatened to pull off a shock victory

12-Aug-2012
ScorecardGary Ballance and Azeem Rafiq spared Yorkshire’s blushes at Headingley after Unicorns had threatened to pull off a shock victory in the CB40 League Group C encounter.Chasing a modest revised target of 162 in 37 overs, Yorkshire appeared to be cruising at 34 without loss but then four wickets fell for seven runs in the space of 22 deliveries, and when rain caused a brief interruption at 78 for 5 in 18.4 overs they were well behind the required rate.Fortunately for the home side, Ballance kept his nerve with a fine unbeaten 69 and he was well supported by Rafiq, who made 34, the pair putting on an unbroken 91 for the sixth wicket to haul Yorkshire back into the match and they went on to win by five wickets with three overs remaining.The slide began when paceman, Bob Woolley, came into the attack and his first ball sent captain Andrew Gale’s off-stump flying. In the next over, Adam Lyth edged Glen Querl to wicketkeeper, Tom New, and it became four wickets in as many overs as Woolley had Phil Jaques taken at first slip and David Miller was caught behind off Querl without scoring.Ballance and Adil Rashid appeared to be getting on top of the situation until Rashid fell lbw to Paul Hindmarch the delivery after flicking him over backward square leg for six.The short rain break seemed to settle Yorkshire’s nerves and the batsmen began to take control, Ballance reverse sweeping Luke Beaven for four and Rafiq driving Bradley Wadlan to the cover boundary.Ballance off-drove Beaven for a mighty six to reach his half-century off 76 balls and when he hit the winning boundary he had received 83 balls and struck six fours and a six. Against the same opponents at Scarborough earlier in the season, Ballance plundered 103 not out.Put in to bat, Unicorns were never able to break free from the stranglehold imposed on them by Ryan Sidebottom and Rashid and they would not have reached 150 for 6 off their 37 overs but for an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 56 between skipper, Keith Parsons, and Woolley.Making his first appearance in just over six weeks after recovering from a calf injury, Sidebottom swung the ball appreciably in the humid conditions and he struck in his opening over when Wadlan offered no stroke and had his leg stump flattened.Vishal Tripathi and New tried hard to settle the innings down but at 32 in the ninth over Sidebottom struck again by dismissing New, the left-hander nibbling outside off-stump to give a catch to 22-year-old debutant wicketkeeper, Dan Hodgson, from Northallerton.Moin Ashraf held on to a return catch from Jayden Levitt before Rashid joined the attack in the 15th over and began with two wickets in his first over, bowling the patient Tripathi with a googly and trapping James Ord lbw with a similar delivery.He went on to bowl Luis Reece for 25, his only boundary shot being a big six off Rafiq, and Rashid’s final figures of 3 for 24 followed hot on the heels of his career-best 4 for 38 against Northamptonshire in the previous match.At 94 for 6 in 27 overs, a complete slump was prevented by Parsons and Woolley, but a sudden break for rain at 141 for 6 in 36.1 overs brought about a reduction in the overs.With only five balls remaining on the resumption, Parsons immediately belted Sidebottom for six over mid-wicket. His unbeaten 48 came off 60 deliveries with two fours and a six while Woolley made 28 not out with three fours.

Shane Watson will happily return to Australia’s Test team as a No. 3 batsman, having reasoned that he is no longer in a position to demand the opening spot he vacated due to injury in 2011

Daniel Brettig15-Mar-2012Shane Watson will happily return to Australia’s Test team as a No. 3 batsman, having reasoned that he is no longer in a position to demand the opening spot he vacated due to injury in 2011.Since Watson fell prey to hamstring and calf injuries, the contrasting David Warner and Ed Cowan have begun a fledgling top order partnership that shows all the signs of developing into a fruitful union. They are now set to resume opening duties in the Caribbean, as Watson slips into the No. 3 spot vacated by an under-performing Shaun Marsh.A year ago Watson could have named his place – and his price – in an Australian team struggling to find successful practitioners in most positions. However now the team led by Michael Clarke has completed a successful home summer without him, Watson said he was grateful to have any kind of place in the team, and would have no qualms about walking out at No. 3.”I’m happy to play anywhere to be honest after sitting out all the summer and seeing how successful the Test team was, there’s no doubt that I’d love to fit in wherever I possibly can,” Watson said in St Vincent. “I have really enjoyed opening the batting in Test cricket and all forms of the game, but in the end batting at No. 3 you’re still certainly in the engine room with a newer ball potentially.”So I’m happy to try and compliment the team wherever I possibly can, because it has been an extremely exciting and successful Test summer and I’d love to be a part of that.”Watson was given the first hint of his future position when he returned to the ODI XI at No. 3 during the home triangular series. He may yet return to opening in the West Indies in limited overs formats, as he and the coach Mickey Arthur formulate the best plan to attack the hosts.”That’s where I finished up this summer, batting at No. 3, and what we’re working through at the moment is what’s going to be the best balance for our batting line-up, not just with me but with the other guys we’ve got at our disposal as well,” Watson said. “So that’s what we’re talking through at the moment, what’s going to be the best balance and what we think the West Indies are going to throw at us as well.”Australia’s reduced reliance on senior players has been part of the coaching and selection strategy across the summer, which Arthur said had been geared at building a squad of about 22 players capable of stepping into action at any given moment. He pointed to current absentees including Pat Cummins, Clarke and Mitchell Johnson as proof the team was now better equipped to cope with a relentless cycle of fixtures.”One of the briefs at the start of the summer was to create depth, and I think that’s really important to create a depth pool that you can choose from,” Arthur said. “With the amount of cricket we play, there’s injuries always crop up and obviously loss of form. I think we’ve realised that we need to manage our best players better in order to get better results from them, so we needed to create that depth.”We wanted to create a depth pool of 22 players by the end of the summer and we’ve prettymuch done that, and that has been reflected in the Test selections. I’m very confident that every player who steps up now to the side has had the opportunity and knows what is expected of him, so it has been a pretty successful summer in that regard.”The West Indian team, led by Darren Sammy, can call on a strong record at the Arnos Vale Ground for confidence ahead of their first meeting with Watson’s team. Sammy has enjoyed two of his better international displays at the venue, 4 for 26 in an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2010, and 5 for 70 against Bangladesh in a Test in 2009.”So far St Vincent has been a very good ground for us, as a West Indies team we always get results in our favour here, and for me personally it is a happy hunting ground,” Sammy said. “The last three games we’ve played here we won all three, so obviously what happened against India and Pakistan we’re looking to repeat that and start this series off on a winning note.”We know we’re playing Australia and we’re not going to go out and play names, we’re just going to play good, positive cricket, and hopefully we can come out on top.”

Junaid Khan, the Pakistan fast bowler, has said he has recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of the Asia Cup

Umar Farooq05-Apr-2012Junaid Khan, the Pakistan fast bowler, has said he has recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of the Asia Cup. Junaid said that injuries are part of a bowler’s life and insisted that he has a lengthy career ahead of him.”Injuries do come and players recover from them,” Junaid told ESPNcricinfo. “Bowlers have had various injuries at regular intervals in their careers but recovered to play years of cricket.”I understand I am at the beginning of my career but injuries can happen at any time. I have a lengthy career ahead of me. I am getting motivation from former Pakistan bowlers and nothing is serious. The most important thing is that I am still on my feet after the injury and ready to play again. “Junaid sustained a fracture of the patella (knee cap) during the Twenty20 leg of Pakistan’s series against England in UAE in February and has been out of action since then. Junaid, 22, debuted for Pakistan in April 2011 but his fledgling career has been hurt by injuries in the last few months. Junaid was selected for the England series after he had recovered from the abdominal tear he picked during the ODI series against Sri Lanka last year, which ruled him out for six weeks.Junaid is all set to return to English county side Lancashire in June though he is yet to obtain a no-objection certificate from the PCB. The board is assessing his fitness and is likely to release the bowler for a short period to manage his workload and make sure he remains in the best shape to play when Pakistan need him.Pakistan’s next international assignment is to play a full series in Sri Lanka followed by the ‘home’ series against Australia, also to be played in Sri Lanka, before featuring in the ICC World Twenty20.Apart from his promising International career, Junaid excelled on county debut in last year’s Friends Life t20, taking 12 wickets in eight games for Lancashire at an economy-rate of 6.00.”Junaid showed last season his ability to win a game from almost any situation,” Peter Moores, the Lancashire head coach, said. “His strength at bowling in Powerplays and at the end of the innings in one-day cricket adds another dimension to the squad and it will be great to have him back.”Edited by Abhishek Purohit

Suresh Raina believes that India’s win in the second Twenty20, especially the fielding, has sent out a message that they are ready to turn the summer around

Sidharth Monga in Melbourne04-Feb-2012Suresh Raina believes that India’s win in the second Twenty20, especially the fielding, has sent out a message that they are ready to turn the summer around.”All the boys that have come as one-day specialists are young,” Raina said on the eve of the opening match of the triangular series. “When the fielding is good, the intensity picks up, there is a positive vibe around, the whole atmosphere is different.”That’s what we saw yesterday. The fielding was very good, the throws were brilliant, everybody did well. The batting was also good. Gautam Gambhir saw us through. It’s a good sign. Hopefully we will continue that.”Raina said different results could be expected of the team in the ODIs. “It is a different ball game,” he said. “We have played really well as a unit. We bowled really well. When you take wickets with the new ball, it’s always good for the bowling unit. Vinay Kumar and Praveen Kumar bowled really well. If you look at the bench strength, we have Irfan [Pathan], Zak [Zaheer Khan], Umesh [Yadav] ready to go. We have a good team right now.”Raina said it was crucial to get one win on the board. “It was important for us,” he said. “The morale is very good. The atmosphere is very positive at the moment. They (youngsters) showed real character and responsibility yesterday. Every youngster is looking forward to the one-day series. We have Sachin [Tendulkar], we have Zak, and a lot of players who have been in the Test series. They have experience in these conditions.”Raina went on to emphasise the importance of good fielding, and how hard he, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja have been working with Trevor Penney, the fielding coach. There is a healthy competition among the four even during the fielding drills. Raina will know, though, that only fielding doesn’t win matches. He was dropped from the Test side after 15 games because the runs weren’t coming consistently enough.Raina said he had been working hard on his game to suit the bouncy surfaces. Before coming to Australia, he said he has worked at the NCA in Bangalore, in Mumbai with Praveen Amre, and has had sessions with wet balls and also on a hockey surface in Uttar Pradesh, his home state.”I have been working on my wrist position so that I can keep the pull down,” he said. “I am feeling confident at the moment, hitting the ball well, had six-seven good sessions here. This is an important tour with regards to comeback to the Test side.”