Kumar Dharmasena and Richard Kettleborough have been promoted to the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, replacing Daryl Harper and Asoka de Silva

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2011Kumar Dharmasena and Richard Kettleborough have been promoted to the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, replacing Daryl Harper and Asoka de Silva. Dharmasena and Kettleborough, who had been serving on the International Panel of ICC Umpires, were chosen by the ICC Umpires Selection Panel as part of their annual review and selection process.Harper and de Silva, both of whom have controversial umpiring histories and, it would seem, particular troubles with the Decision Review System, have come in for some criticism over their decisions in recent times, in the light of which their demotions are hardly surprising.Harper was one of the umpires to officiate on England’s trip to the Caribbean during the trialling stages of the DRS in early 2009 and soon ran into strife. His problems came to a head during England’s South Africa tour the following winter when, as third umpire, he turned down a caught-behind appeal against Graeme Smith that had been referred to him. Harper upheld the on-field umpire Tony Hill’s decision because he could not hear a sound on the replay and it was suggested that he had not increased the volume setting on his monitor which would have made the edge evident. However, after an inquiry following a complaint by England coach Andy Flower the ICC said the lapse was caused by “technical failure”.A couple of months later Harper was left out of the World Twenty20 in West Indies, reportedly for “general performance reasons”.De Silva’s most recent, and controversial, gaffe came during the World Cup in India when he gave Ireland’s Gary Wilson out despite replays showing the batsman had offered a shot to a delivery that replays clearly indicated had hit him outside the line. The decision came in for some intense criticism, particularly from Ireland captain Will Porterfield, and it was decided that de Silva would not officiate in a couple of key group games that he was originally marked for. At the time, he was the only umpire among the 18 deployed whose success percentage in reviewed decisions was less than 50% during the tournament.As it is the prerogative of the relevant home boards to nominate replacements on the international panel, de Silva could well move to fill the vacancy left by Dharmasena’s promotion as the decision would rest with Sri Lanka Cricket. Harper’s situation is a touch more uncertain. His existing contract expires in July and as it will be the England and Wales Cricket Board, rather than Cricket Australia, nominating a replacement for Kettleborough, Harper could well be out of a job.At 38, Kettleborough is now the youngest umpire on the Elite panel. The Yorkshireman played 33 first-class matches from 1994 to 1999 for Middlesex and Yorkshire before he was included in the ECB panel of umpires in 2006. He made his international umpiring debut in the Twenty20 between England and Australia at Old Trafford in 2009 and to date has umpired in two Tests, 16 ODIs and two international Twenty20s. Like Dharmasena, Kettleborough was also in the panel of 18 umpires for the World Cup earlier this year.The 40-year-old Dharmasena made his international umpiring debut in 2009 and has since umpired in two Tests, 25 ODIs and three T20Is. As a cricketer, he played 31 Tests and 141 ODIs for Sri Lanka between 1993 and 2004 and was part of Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning squad in 1996.”I am honoured and delighted to have been selected,” Dharmasena said. “To umpire alongside the most respected names in this noble profession and be included on the elite panel is something I wanted to achieve ever since I started umpiring. My next target is to continue to work hard, make good decisions and justify my inclusion.””Their promotions are a result of hard work and impressive performances and will act as an inspiration to other umpires,” added Dave Richardson, ICC’s general manager – cricket and convener of selection panel.Elite Panel of ICC Umpires: Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Kumar Dharmasena, Billy Doctrove, Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould, Tony Hill, Richard Kettleborough, Asad Rauf, Simon Taufel, Rod Tucker

Cameron White has been dropped from Australia’s ODI squad but remains captain of the Twenty20 side for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka

Daniel Brettig and Brydon Coverdale06-Jul-2011Cameron White has described his demotion from Australia’s ODI squad as a “kick in the guts”, but he remains captain of the Twenty20 side for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. Australia have named the players for the one-day and T20 part of the trip, with Shaun Marsh back in the one-day side alongside the fast bowler Doug Bollinger.The major omission from the one-day outfit was that of White, who lost form across the last home summer, struggled at the World Cup and was dropped midway through the Bangladesh series. For all that, he did not expect to be missing when the ODI squad was announced.”Obviously disappointing but the situation’s been known and there’s not much you can do about it, other than go back, get better and hope to get another opportunity at some stage,” White said. “It is no secret I haven’t been in the best of form of late but I was hopeful I would still be in the squad. It’s definitely a kick in the guts.”Now faced with the possibility of becoming a T20 specialist, white said he would be working doubly hard to return to the ODI arena.”I don’t have a lot of cricket for a little while now,” he said. “Outside of a couple of T20 games I will be back playing for Victoria and scoring as many runs as I can. I just have to go back and get better and hopefully get another opportunity at some stage.”T20 is such a different game and moving towards having specialist players, [but] I am not saying I am in that boat,”Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said he was confident White could force his way back into the side.”Cameron White is unlucky to be omitted from the one-day squad having been a regular and successful member of the squad for the last few series,” Hilditch said. “Cameron lost his position in the side during the recent one-day tour of Bangladesh but the national selection panel is confident that he will force his way back into the team through weight of runs.”The one-day squad sees the return of Shaun Marsh who was unavailable for the ICC Cricket World Cup through injury. Shaun can open the batting but also provides flexibility throughout the order and gives the squad great balance.”James Pattinson’s inclusion was despite Ryan Harris’ return to fitness following injury, flagging the older fast man’s likely role as a Test match specialist this summer. The Australian captain Michael Clarke said Pattinson had improved his strength and fitness over the off-season.”He looks much fitter and stronger even than he was in Bangladesh and he did pretty well over there, so he’s got a big future,” Clarke said. “He bowls high 140s, his control’s going to get better with experience and plenty of practice, I see a bright future for him. To be around experienced bowlers like Brett [Lee], no doubt he can learn a lot from him.”Shaun Tait has lost his place after retiring from 50-over duty following the World Cup, and was not picked for T20 duty though he remains available for matches in the shortest format. David Hussey returns to the squads after missing Bangladesh to be home for the birth of his first child, leaving no room for Callum Ferguson.The Twenty20 squad has a slightly youthful feel, with the Victoria batsman Aaron Finch in alongside the left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe and Pattinson.Australia will play two T20s, five ODIs and three Test during the tour of Sri Lanka. The Twenty20 players fly out on July 30 and the remaining one-day squad members depart on August 5. The Test squad will be announced later in July. Meanwhile, Phillip Hughes and Jason Krejza have flown to Zimbabwe early to join the Australia squad, to replace Nic Maddinson (calf strain) and Matthew Wade (back) ahead of Friday’s final one-day game.Twenty20 squad Shane Watson, David Warner, Brad Haddin, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, Steve O’Keefe, John Hastings, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, James Pattinson.ODI squad Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith, John Hastings, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Xavier Doherty, James Pattinson, Doug Bollinger.

In his report to the PCB on Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies, Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has praised captain Misbah-ul-Haq for stabilising the Pakistan team

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2011Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has praised captain Misbah-ul-Haq for stabilising the national team, in his report to the PCB on Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies. However, Waqar wrote that since Misbah was already 37 years old, Pakistan needed to start grooming a young captain for the 2015 World Cup.”I have to give full credit to Misbah as he has stabilised the team and leads from the front,” Waqar wrote in his report, excerpts of which have been published in . “His performance is also outstanding. He makes the boys feel comfortable and relaxed so they actually enjoy their cricket. He is mature and willing to listen.”The only unfortunate thing is the age factor which is not in Misbah’s favour. On that account, I don’t think he will be able to lead the side in the next World Cup [2015], and therefore I would advise that we should start grooming a young captain from now.”In excerpts of the same report published earlier, Waqar had described Shahid Afridi, who captained Pakistan for limited-overs leg of the Caribbean tour, as immature and undisciplined. After his return from the West Indies, Afridi hinted at differences with Waqar, and team manager Intikhab Alam’s report on the tour suggested a rift between the two. Afridi was removed as ODI captain and replaced by Misbah.While Waqar’s criticism of Afridi was severe, the rest of the report had a distinctly positive tone. He mentioned the growth of Mohammad Hafeez, who has backed up his impressive bowling performances with three half-centuries and a hundred in his last seven ODI innings. “Hafeez has been exceptional, both with the ball and the bat. He was timing the ball sweetly and worked with the game plan when bowling. He is now taking responsibility as a senior member of the team.”Also in line for praise were Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, who Waqar said were developing into match-winners. Waqar backed the younger players as well, saying Asad Shafiq, Wahab Riaz, Umar Akmal and Azhar Ali were all improving. Mohammad Salman, he said, was a good wicketkeeper but needed to get rid of his nerves.Waqar also noted that senior batsman Younis Khan, who missed the tour of the West Indies, was still an important part of the side. “It was quite unfortunate that he had to leave the squad on the West Indies tour and returned home due to his brother’s death. He was missed on the tour because he is one of the key players in the batting line-up.”

England’s spinner Graeme Swann is confident that his team-mate James Anderson will be passed fit in time to face India in the fourth and final Test

Andrew Miller at The Oval16-Aug-2011James Anderson appears to winning his battle for fitness ahead of the fourth and final Test against India at The Oval on Thursday, after taking a significant part in Wednesday’s practice session. England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, said he was “very optimistic” that Anderson would be available for selection, but said that a final decision on his right quadriceps strain would be taken on the morning of the game.Anderson, who tore through India’s top order with each of the first four wickets to fall in their second innings at Edgbaston, has 18 wickets in the series to date and has risen to No. 2 in the world rankings. However, he complained of stiffness in his thigh after the Edgbaston match, and the Durham paceman, Graham Onions, was called into the squad as cover.Given how valuable Anderson has become as their attack leader, England have already demonstrated a desire to treat him cautiously this summer. He missed the second Test against Sri Lanka earlier in the season as a precaution, having sustained a side strain midway through the opening Test of the summer at Cardiff.This time, however, Strauss seems happier that his star bowler is ready for action. “We are very optimistic he’s fit to play,” he said. “He had a good bowl today, but like all these things we have to check how he comes up tomorrow morning. It just seems nothing more than a little niggle at this stage.”We’ve set a precedent of resting players in the past and I think it’s sensible at times to be able to do that, because of the hectic nature of the international schedule and you don’t want bowlers breaking down for important series,” he added. “But we will only be resting players if we’re absolutely sure they need a rest.”Anderson’s team-mate, Graeme Swann, took a similarly optimistic view when the squad reconvened for practice on Tuesday morning. “I honestly didn’t know he was injured until he told me this morning that he’s not going to play,” said Swann.
“I’m sure once he gets running around, he’ll want to play because I know how well he’s bowling at the minute. I know Jimmy. When he’s doing well, he’s hungry for the ball and he just wants to keep going. It’s when he’s not doing so well, he’s more than happy for a week off.”If Anderson is not passed fit, England will have to choose between Onions and Steven Finn, after Chris Tremlett was once again ruled out by the back injury he sustained prior to the second Test at Trent Bridge. It was notable that England’s bowlers were below-par in the one match that Anderson missed, against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, and Strauss admitted that, even with their current fast-bowling resources, he is one player they would rather not do without.”He’s been very much the leader of our attack for the last couple of years and he’s been outstanding in that role,” said Strauss. “But we’ve had to deal with Stuart Broad being injured, Chris Tremlett being injured and people have come in and done well and that’s always the challenge for you as a side – to make sure you’ve got the strength in depth to be able to mitigate against any sort of injury. If and when we have to deal with that, we’ll deal with it.”He’s very important, not just for the tone he sets but for his relationship with the other bowlers,” Strauss added. “But you can’t rely on one person. That’s one of the things that we’ve been good at: we’ve not relied on one or two people to win us a Test match. We’ve had performances from all 11 and when we’re missing a player it’s important the guy coming in can fill that role.””I think [Jimmy] would be a huge loss, like any of the seamers, but we thought that with Tremlett when he couldn’t play at Trent Bridge,” said Swann. “Up stepped Bressie [Tim Bresnan] and he’s been unbelievable in the two games he’s played. We have got vast stocks of fast bowlers at the minute. I’m not sure where they’ve all come from, but it’s nice for us they have all arrived at the same time, because you can never have enough big fast bowlers.”

Worcestershire gave themselves a chance of claiming their third Championship win of the season after they set Sussex 337 to win at Horsham

12-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Worcestershire gave themselves a chance of claiming their third Championship win of the season after they set Sussex 337 to win at Horsham. It looks a tall order on a dry pitch offering assistance to the spinners and if Worcestershire do get the victory – which would improve their chances of avoiding relegation – they will be indebted to last-wicket pair Ben Scott and Alan Richardson.Wicketkeeper Scott made an unbeaten 36 but the revelation was last man Richardson, who drove the Sussex attack to distraction. Having only made one first-class 50 in a career which began in 1995, the 36-year-old seamer has no pretensions as a batsman but he cut and carved his way to 41 from 31 balls with six fours and two sixes in a stand of 56 from 46 deliveries.Sussex had seven overs to negotiate before stumps and they lost Joe Gatting, whose leg stump was knocked back by a delivery from Ajmal which turned sharply. They closed on 17 for 1 and will need 320 to win on the last day.Sussex plugged away throughout the day and their two most consistent bowlers this season, James Anyon and left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, always offered the biggest threat. Anyon struck in the first over when Daryl Mitchell played on but Sussex had just one more success before lunch when Vikram Solanki misjudged the line of a delivery from Panesar which drifted into his pads and was leg before for 31.After lunch opener Matt Pardoe wasted 45 overs of watchful batting by driving Panesar loosely to mid-on and Worcestershire lost their fifth wicket three overs later when debutant Aneesh Kapil, who was dropped first ball, cut to point in Kirk Wernars’ first over.Gareth Andrew was taken at slip in the last over before tea as offspinner Luke Wells struck before Moeen Ali, who had top scored in Worcestershire’s first innings, became Wells’ second victim when he top-edged having made 68 in two and a half hours off 137 balls. Ali again drove the ball fluently, particularly through the off side, and struck six fours and two sixes.When Anyon took the new ball he immediately had Ajmal lbw to a nip-backer while Jack Shantry became Panesar’s fourth victim and 54th of the season. At that stage the lead was 280 but Richardson and Scott’s counter-attacking partnership for the last wicket gave their side the edge with a day to go.

A round-up of the fifth match-day of the Quadrangular Under-19 series in India

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2011Offspinner Baba Aparajith took 5 for 35 and opener Unmukt Chand smashed 122 to lead India Under-19 to a comfortable victory against Sri Lanka Under-19 in Visakhapatnam. Sri Lanka’s top order had made a steady start after winning the toss, reaching 87 for 1 in the 19th over, but then lost three batsmen in successive overs for the addition of one run. Aparajith took two of those wickets, including that of Niroshan Dickwella, who top-scored with 57. Aparajith took three middle-order wickets to complete his five for and reduced Sri Lanka to 140 for 7. The last three wickets fell in the space of two runs as the visitors were dismissed for 196.India’s openers, Chand and Akhil Herwadkar, got the chase off to an ideal start by adding 141 in quick time. Herwadkar fell for 51 off 61 balls. Chand, however, went on to score a century and steer India to victory in 31 overs. His 122 off 91 balls contained 14 fours and five sixes and led India to 202 for 3.West Indies Under-19 opener Kraigg Brathwaite scored a century to steer his side to an eight-wicket victory against Australia Under-19. Brathwaite scored an unbeaten 104 off 127 balls and his opening partner John Campbell contributed 56 to a first-wicket partnership of 105. Kyle Mayers, who came in at No. 4, made 33 off 20 balls to help chase down the target of 233 in the 47th over.Australia’s innings had suffered because none of their batsmen converted their starts into substantial innings. All of their top eight batsmen made it to double figures but no one went past 50. Kurtis Patterson’s 49 was the top score. William Bosisto smacked 42 off 31 balls at No. 7 to lead Australia to 233 for 6.

Sreesanth has been named in Kerala’s squad for this year’s Ranji Trophy season after missing out last year following a disagreement with the Kerala Cricket Association

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2011Sreesanth has been named in Kerala’s squad for this year’s Ranji Trophy season after missing out last year following a disagreement with the Kerala Cricket Association. Sreesanth had criticised the KCA and suggested he wanted to shift to a different team before pledging his loyalty to his home state. The KCA sought an explanation from him and ended up not picking him in the squad for the 2010-11 season. This year Sreesanth returns to the XV but not in the captaincy role which he held in the 2009-10 season.VA Jagadeesh will be the captain for the 2011-12 season in which Kerala will continue to compete in the Plate League, the second tier of the Ranji Trophy. There are a total of five changes in their squad from last season. One of the additions to this year’s XV is Sachin Baby, the 21-year-old left-hand batsman, who has also been named vice-captain. Allrounder Raiphi Gomez and batsman Robert Fernandez, who were captain and vice-captain respectively last season, remain in the squad but not in leadership roles.The three other new players in the squad for this year are 22-year-old offspinner Mohammad Sanuth, who has only played one first-class match, and wicketkeepers Sunil Thomas and Sanju Samson, who have only represented Kerala in Twenty20s so far.Perumparambath Anthaf, Sreekumar Nair, Chinnan Ramesh, CP Rizwan and Chandra Tejas are the players from last year’s squad not included this year.Kerala’s first match of the Ranji season is again Vidarbha in Nagpur from November 3.Kerala squad: VA Jagadeesh (captain), Sachin Baby (vice captain, Sreesanth, Sunil thomas(wicketkeeper), Robert Fernandez, Raiphi Gomez, Rohan Prem, Abhishek Hegde, KJ Rakesh, KR Sreejith, P Prasanth, Sanju Samson, Mohammad Sanuth. Sony Cheruvathur, Prasanth Parameswaran

Namibia continued their domination over Kenya in the Twenty20 series, making it three wins in a row, at Windhoek High School

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2011Namibia continued their domination over Kenya in the Twenty20 series, making it three wins in a row, at Windhoek High School. Chasing a modest 109, Kenya managed just two double-digit scores as they collapsed to 63. Namibia’s opening bowlers, Hendrik Geldenhuys and Gerrie Snyman took three wickets apiece to ensure that the visitors had no chance from the start of the chase. Only Nehemiah Odhiambo and Alex Obanda managed double figures.Earlier, Namibia too got off to a poor start with the bat, losing three wickets to seamer Lucas Oluoch. Criag Williams then led a middle-order recovery with a 16-ball 27.

South Africa’s fast bowlers will aim to make things awkward for Sri Lanka’s batsmen by hitting the bat higher than the visitors are used to, Dale Steyn, South Africa’s spearhead, has said

Firdose Moonda in Centurion 13-Dec-2011South Africa’s fast bowlers will aim to make things awkward for Sri Lanka’s batsmen by hitting the bat higher than the visitors are used to, Dale Steyn, South Africa’s spearhead, has said. Steyn said he hoped to exploit the South African pitches, known for their pace and bounce, as much as possible against a side who have not toured the country for nine years.”In the subcontinent, where these guys grow up, the ball hits the bat from the stickers down,” Steyn said. “We want to hit the bat on areas that are unfamiliar for them and make them feel uncomfortable, like maybe a little higher up.”With the threat of balls buzzing around their ears or having to be fended off at chest height, Sri Lanka would have liked to get more batting time during their warm-up match against the South African Invitation XI from December 9-11. The first day was washed out after downpours in Benoni and the Invitation XI opted to bat on the second, leaving the Sri Lankans with less than two sessions of batting time on the third day. Openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana both enjoyed fruitful innings but the rest of the line-up are without significant game time on South African pitches.”It was pretty unfortunate that we couldn’t get a full day of batting,” Angelo Matthews, the Sri Lanka allrounder, said. “But we are very pleased that the top order is in form. [The rest of us] need to adapt to the conditions very quickly if we are to perform well. The main thing we need to do is adjust to the bounce and the pace.”Kumar Sangakkara, who is expected to recover from a torn webbing in his right hand in time for the first Test, said Sri Lanka are up for the challenge of facing South Africa’s pace attack, which has been touted as one of the team’s finest ever ones. Steyn and Morne Morkel have been joined by Vernon Philander, who took 14 wickets in his debut series against Australia last month. Philander maintains a nagging line with the new ball and attacks in a different way to Steyn, who relies on swing. Steyn said the contrast between Philander’s and his styles had worked for South Africa so far. “Vernon is the kind of bowler who is fantastic to share the new ball with. We call him Vern McGrath now because he just nibbles it around all the time.”Using Philander to open the bowling is a change from the usual Steyn and Morkel pairing, but it is a move that Steyn said gives South Africa an added advantage. “The next guy to step up is Morne Morkel who bowls thunderbolts from 10 foot up. And then we have Jacques Kallis who has shown in domestic matches this year that he can still rev it up to 140. It’s nice to have guys who follow up the new ball with pace.”Legspinner Imran Tahir is expected to complete the line-up although Hashim Amla said “there would be a temptation” to go into the first Test in Centurion with an all-pace attack. That would mean either handing a debut to 21-year-old fast bowler Marchant de Lange, who has played just 14 first-class matches, or playing an extra batsman.Whatever combination South Africa choose, they will go into the match with an attack that is significantly more dynamic than the one they had when they last played against Sri Lanka, in 2006. Then, South Africa’s bowlers were made to toil as Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene put on a record partnership of 624 in Colombo. Steyn shuddered when asked what he remembered about that tour and said he is certain there will not be a repeat. “I have moved on with my life, I don’t really want to talk about that. But what I can say is that it’s going to be a lot harder to score world-record partnerships in South Africa.”

Australia have intimidated India’s batsmen with the quality of their bowling, capitalising on the visitors’ haste to get started with a relentless line and full length, James Pattinson has said

Daniel Brettig at the SCG03-Jan-2012Australia have intimidated India’s batsmen with the quality of their bowling, capitalising on the visitors’ haste to get started with a relentless line and full length, James Pattinson has said. Pattinson, the fast bowler, maintained a compelling start to his Test career with 4 for 43, including four of the top five, on day one of the second Test in Sydney.Each of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar were defeated by full deliveries moving away from them, the first three edging into the cordon before Tendulkar dragged an attempted drive onto the stumps. Pattinson said he, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus had hounded India into error with their discipline.”I think they’re probably intimidated about the way we’re bowling, the areas we’re bowling, we’re not giving them any loose balls,” Pattinson said. “For them they’ve probably got it in their mind ‘where are we going to score’, because they’re not getting any loose balls at the moment. Intimidation comes with us bowling really well.”Laxman has been the chief example of Australia’s intelligent and hostile bowling, having made only five runs in three innings. This from the man who has tormented Australian teams for more than a decade with a string of sparkling and match-turning displays. This success had been discussed in the team room, Pattinson said.”He’s had great success against Australia in the past and that’s something we’ve looked at, but if you bowl good balls it doesn’t matter how good they are,” he said. “On your day you can get them out, and I think early on they’re coming pretty hard at us, looks like they want to score.”That’s even better from a bowlers’ point of view to have them trying to score early on, try to drive you through the covers to a ball that probably wasn’t quite there today. So it is great for us to see them wanting to do that, and if we can keep doing the right thing we’ll keep going with success.”The bubble around our bowling attack is amazing for the fact we’re playing against such high-class opposition. We’re just up for the challenge even more. If you come out on the day and don’t bowl so well they can put you right on the back foot, therefore the day travels away from you a little bit.”Short stuff from Australia’s seamers has given India’s lower order a tough time•Getty Images

In contrast to the full deliveries aimed at the batsmen, India’s tail-enders have been peppered around the head with short stuff. It is not a pretty method, but has so far been quite effective.”If you bowl a good enough short ball I think most tail-enders are pretty suspect. To be honest I don’t like the short ball at my head,” Pattinson said. “But it’s just a credit to our bowlers, we’re bowling really well. If you pitch the ball up [or short], you’ve still got to bowl in the right areas, you’ve got to bowl nice and straight. It is something the bowlers have done really well over the last month or two months that we’ve been playing.”Reflecting on his remarkable first three Tests and one innings, Pattinson said he had surpassed all his own expectations, and gave credit for that to his grounding with Australia’s bowling coach Craig McDermott over the preceding six months.”I don’t think anyone would have thought [I’d have such a good start],” he said. “You hope for it, but saying that, if you do all the right things, you bowl well, then you never know what might come your way. It has been a credit to Craig McDermott over the last six months that I’ve worked with him day in, day out, it is great I can work hard with him and see the results.”My expectations were just to perform well. If I could go out there and take wickets, that’s what I was trying to do, and try to get a regular spot in the Australian cricket team.”