Stuart Broad ruled out of England's second Test against Sri Lanka

He will now undertake a rehabilitation programme which will determine his availability for all cricket including the Indian Premier League.

Broad, 25, went into the first Test with a sore left ankle which he had sprained on the boundary rope doing warm-ups before the first practice match in Colombo, just over two weeks ago. This latest problem, although on his other leg, could well be linked given the overcompensation that often occurs when bowlers take niggles into a game.

England, experiencing a losing streak that has now extended to four straight defeats, will miss a fit Broad, with his aggression and sense of purpose, but not the one there, who was not fully himself. He has struck up a dynamic new-ball partnership with James Anderson, but while he bore his discomfort well during the Test, he was noticeably off colour.

Tim Bresnan, himself recently injured, will also be under consideration. England badly missed a third seamer on the opening morning of the Test when they had Sri Lanka 15 for three. Instead of maintaining the pressure created by Anderson and Broad by introducing another pace bowler, they had to turn to spin, which is in the comfort zone for Sri Lankan batsmen, especially on a first day pitch. With 20 wickets more a priority in Colombo than big totals, because of their desperation to win the game and level the series, England could well play five bowlers.

View the original article here

Tim Bresnan ruled out of England's tour against Pakistan with elbow injury

“I knew that looking at my ­rehabilitation programme it was always going to be touch and go to get me ready for the series,” he said. “I want to wish the squad all very best.”

Bresnan’s departure offers opportunities for Steve Finn, who took three wickets against the ICC XI, and Chris Tremlett to be the third seamer behind James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Tremlett, who did not play in this match because of an eye ­infection, saw a doctor last night. Strauss felt that the problem would not prevent him from playing against a Pakistan Board XI on Wednesday.

Strauss was to the fore in this win, his steadying 78 providing the basis for England’s victory. Chasing 261, it was not a stroll and they needed big enough contribution from the lower order for that old euphemism, the team performance, to be trotted out.

Having declared 100 runs behind after their first innings, England were stretched, relying on a 61-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Steven Davies and Stuart Broad.

After Strauss, none of the top order played a telling innings. But while that is a small concern, you sense Andy Flower would prefer his players to be pushed rather than pampered at this stage of the tour.

“We were determined to win the game and are delighted to have done so,” Strauss said. “It gave us an early indication of what we needed to do out here and there’s definitely things we need to improve upon.”

Aside from Graeme Swann sitting out most of Monday as a precaution after suffering stiffness in his left quadriceps, one major concern is the double batting failures of Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan.

Pietersen fell once again to left-arm spin, this time to Ireland’s George Dockrell after the batsman misjudged a drive and chipped to mid-on. Pietersen, though, probably feels that it does not count as Dockrell was not in the original 11 and was only given special dispensation to play by England after Hamid Hassan, the ICC XI’s opening bowler, badly injured himself in the field the previous day.

A day after celebrating his new $2 million (£1.3 million) IPL contract, Pietersen had better hope there is no clause in it docking him £50,000 every time gets out to left-arm spin, as they will be queuing up to bowl at him. Pakistan have one such bowler in Abdur Rehman. He has not always been guaranteed a spot in the side, but he might be now.

Morgan’s failures are harder to diagnose. He got a good ball in the first innings and was caught down the leg-side off Boyd Rankin, his former Ireland team-mate, the fourth victim in the match to suffer such an ignominious fate. Though cool and contained, Morgan could probably do with a decent score against the Board XI.

All the machinations made for an exciting final day against the ICC XI, with both team’s prospects fluctuating by the session, but it would not have been a contest on anything but the anodyne surface at the ICC Global Academy’s No1 Oval.

On a pitch offering just some grip on Monday, the ICC XI’s bowlers created enough pressure to potentially embarrass the world’s No 1 Test team. But for William Porterfield’s tactical blunder 30 minutes before tea, when the ICC’s captain replaced his front-line spinners Dockrell and Mohammad Nabi with part-time tweakers Majid Haq and Paul Stirling – which allowed Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell to add 30 quick runs as they latched on to a slew of bad balls – a very different result might have occurred.

England form guide from the first tour outing

Winners

Andrew Strauss
Decent runs in the second innings and his bold declaration on the second day meant the captain was instrumental in England starting their tour with a win. If he is as bold in the Tests, we could be in for an interesting time.

Alastair Cook
Arrived in Dubai 36 hours after his team-mates, having enjoyed a short honeymoon after his New Year’s Day wedding. Cook gave his team mates a tutorial in not giving your wicket away in the first innings. Rarely pretty, but always effective.

Stuart Broad
Early wickets in both innings meant that he backed up his words about not wasting the new ball with impressive deeds.

Losers

Tim Bresnan
Mr Reliable with bat and ball, Bresnan is a big loss after failing to recover from elbow surgery. A hole to fill that is bound to weaken England’s batting or bowling, irrespective of who comes in.

Kevin Pietersen
Scratched around like a chicken with eczema for 15 in the first innings and fell cheaply in the second to left-arm spin. He had better hope that there is no cooling-off period in his lucrative new T20 deal with Delhi Daredevils.

Eoin Morgan
The No 6 slot is pivotal in Asian conditions, as you are often at the crease when conditions are most challenging. Needs to get a score quickly in order to settle down.

View the original article here

Tim Bresnan ruled out of England's tour against Pakistan with elbow injury

“I knew that looking at my ­rehabilitation programme it was always going to be touch and go to get me ready for the series,” he said. “I want to wish the squad all very best.”

Bresnan’s departure offers opportunities for Steve Finn, who took three wickets against the ICC XI, and Chris Tremlett to be the third seamer behind James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Tremlett, who did not play in this match because of an eye ­infection, saw a doctor last night. Strauss felt that the problem would not prevent him from playing against a Pakistan Board XI on Wednesday.

Strauss was to the fore in this win, his steadying 78 providing the basis for England’s victory. Chasing 261, it was not a stroll and they needed big enough contribution from the lower order for that old euphemism, the team performance, to be trotted out.

Having declared 100 runs behind after their first innings, England were stretched, relying on a 61-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Steven Davies and Stuart Broad.

After Strauss, none of the top order played a telling innings. But while that is a small concern, you sense Andy Flower would prefer his players to be pushed rather than pampered at this stage of the tour.

“We were determined to win the game and are delighted to have done so,” Strauss said. “It gave us an early indication of what we needed to do out here and there’s definitely things we need to improve upon.”

Aside from Graeme Swann sitting out most of Monday as a precaution after suffering stiffness in his left quadriceps, one major concern is the double batting failures of Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan.

Pietersen fell once again to left-arm spin, this time to Ireland’s George Dockrell after the batsman misjudged a drive and chipped to mid-on. Pietersen, though, probably feels that it does not count as Dockrell was not in the original 11 and was only given special dispensation to play by England after Hamid Hassan, the ICC XI’s opening bowler, badly injured himself in the field the previous day.

A day after celebrating his new $2 million (£1.3 million) IPL contract, Pietersen had better hope there is no clause in it docking him £50,000 every time gets out to left-arm spin, as they will be queuing up to bowl at him. Pakistan have one such bowler in Abdur Rehman. He has not always been guaranteed a spot in the side, but he might be now.

Morgan’s failures are harder to diagnose. He got a good ball in the first innings and was caught down the leg-side off Boyd Rankin, his former Ireland team-mate, the fourth victim in the match to suffer such an ignominious fate. Though cool and contained, Morgan could probably do with a decent score against the Board XI.

All the machinations made for an exciting final day against the ICC XI, with both team’s prospects fluctuating by the session, but it would not have been a contest on anything but the anodyne surface at the ICC Global Academy’s No1 Oval.

On a pitch offering just some grip on Monday, the ICC XI’s bowlers created enough pressure to potentially embarrass the world’s No 1 Test team. But for William Porterfield’s tactical blunder 30 minutes before tea, when the ICC’s captain replaced his front-line spinners Dockrell and Mohammad Nabi with part-time tweakers Majid Haq and Paul Stirling – which allowed Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell to add 30 quick runs as they latched on to a slew of bad balls – a very different result might have occurred.

England form guide from the first tour outing

Winners

Andrew Strauss
Decent runs in the second innings and his bold declaration on the second day meant the captain was instrumental in England starting their tour with a win. If he is as bold in the Tests, we could be in for an interesting time.

Alastair Cook
Arrived in Dubai 36 hours after his team-mates, having enjoyed a short honeymoon after his New Year’s Day wedding. Cook gave his team mates a tutorial in not giving your wicket away in the first innings. Rarely pretty, but always effective.

Stuart Broad
Early wickets in both innings meant that he backed up his words about not wasting the new ball with impressive deeds.

Losers

Tim Bresnan
Mr Reliable with bat and ball, Bresnan is a big loss after failing to recover from elbow surgery. A hole to fill that is bound to weaken England’s batting or bowling, irrespective of who comes in.

Kevin Pietersen
Scratched around like a chicken with eczema for 15 in the first innings and fell cheaply in the second to left-arm spin. He had better hope that there is no cooling-off period in his lucrative new T20 deal with Delhi Daredevils.

Eoin Morgan
The No 6 slot is pivotal in Asian conditions, as you are often at the crease when conditions are most challenging. Needs to get a score quickly in order to settle down.

View the original article here

England v Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan ruled out of third Test at Rose Bowl with broken thumb

Dilshan was unable to bat in the second innings of the second Test at Lord's, having broken his right thumb after two blows on it from England fast bowler Chris Tremlett.

He then sat out the three-day tour match against Essex at Chelmsford, but only today have Sri Lanka accepted the opening batsman will not be fit in time to face England again on Thursday.

Team manager Anura Tennekoon said of Dilshan: "He definitely won't be playing.

"The main reason we've kept him out of this Test match is that, had he played and got another blow while fielding on that thumb, he might have been out for the rest of the tour.

"So as a precautionary measure, we have kept him out."

Former captain Sangakkara, who resigned from the role in Tests and limited-overs matches after this year's World Cup, has therefore been persuaded to take the job on again.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.