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Stuart Clark’s first day of first-class captaincy couldn’t have gone much better as New South Wales dominated Western Australia despite some fireworks from the debutant Mitchell Marsh

Cricinfo staff27-Nov-2009
ScorecardDoug Bollinger finished with 3 for 33•Getty Images

Stuart Clark’s first day of first-class captaincy couldn’t have gone much better as New South Wales dominated Western Australia despite some fireworks from the debutant Mitchell Marsh. At stumps on the opening day the Blues had already claimed first-innings points and had extended their lead to 37 after some dismal batting from the Warriors.The 18-year-old Marsh was one of only three Western Australia batsmen to reach double figures and he finished unbeaten on 59 from 70 balls. Wes Robinson (22) and Luke Ronchi (17) were the only other Warriors batsmen to make it past ten as the Blues capitalised on Clark’s decision to bowl first.Clark picked up two victims but the best figures belonged to Doug Bollinger, who was rushed to Perth to help his state despite being officially the 12th man in the Gabba Test. He finished with 3 for 33 and his analysis would have been even better had he not overstepped six times in ten overs.In reply, Phillip Hughes started to find some touch with 58 from 65 deliveries and Western Australia’s 131 looked woefully inadequate as Hughes and Phil Jaques (28) built a 77-run opening stand. Usman Khawaja chipped in with 39 and at the close of play the Blues were 4 for 168 with Daniel Smith on 22 and Moises Henriques on 11.Brad Knowles had 2 for 63 for the Warriors but their task was made even harder by injuries to two key bowlers. Ashley Noffke (ankle) and Brett Dorey (Achilles tendon) were both ruled out of the side having failed to recover in time despite resting from Wednesday’s FR Cup match.

Ricky Ponting is confident Ben Hilfenhaus has developed into a fast man who can excel in any conditions

Peter English at the Gabba28-Nov-2009Ricky Ponting is confident Ben Hilfenhaus has developed into a fast man who can excel in any conditions. Hilfenhaus is a swing bowler by trade but has shown Ponting that he can cope when the ball is not arcing around and the skills were on show with a Man-of-the-Match performance at the Gabba.While the haul of 2 for 50 and 3 for 20 in the innings win was not remarkable, he dismantled West Indies’ top order in a seven-over burst in the second innings and twice removed the captain Chris Gayle with lbw decisions. The ball swung at times but Hilfenhaus also showed he could bring his length back and still cause trouble, convincing Ponting he has swung from a specialist to an all-terrain operator.”He has and that comes with a bit of experience,” Ponting said. “I think I had him earmarked for a couple of series quite a while ago and you look at South Africa over there and the England tour we just returned from, they were series that I always felt he could play a big part in. But then if you look back to the Ashes there were a lot of conditions there that probably didn’t suit his style of bowling, but he managed to find a way to get the job done.”Hilfenhaus has just finished his ninth Test and has 34 wickets at 30.58, which have been achieved mainly as a support act to Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle. Twenty-two of those victims came in swing-friendly England and those performances made him realise he could cope as international bowler.”Towards the end of the England series I felt as though my rhythm was good and I was doing a job for team,” Hilfenhaus said. “That was the time I started to feel more comfortable and knew my role better.”He took the new ball at the Gabba and picked up Gayle on the second day before adding four wickets on Saturday. Ponting gave him only one spell in the final innings and that resulted in the removal of Gayle, who offered no shot to an inswinger, the played-on of Travis Dowlin and a miscued pull from Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Suddenly the tourists were 3 for 39 and had no chance of saving the game.”Today I’m even more pleased for him, to come out in the second innings and get the early wickets that we needed,” Ponting said. “I sort of put it on him to try and get Gayle out the way and he did at the start of the second innings. When you can ask a bowler to do a certain job for you and they can do it, regardless of what the situation the game is in or the conditions they’re bowling in, means they are executing really well. And that’s what you want as a captain.”
Hilfenhaus has another chance to satisfy his captain’s demands in the second Test in Adelaide from Friday.

Scotland has been selected as the host for the ICC Cricket World Cup qualifying tournament in 2013.

Cricinfo staff04-Jan-2010Scotland will host the next ICC Cricket World Cup qualifying tournament in 2013, Cricket Scotland has announced. Its chief executive Roddy Smith confirmed the decision, following a Board meeting in December, where it was formally agreed to accept the ICC’s invitation to stage the event.The ICC is yet to make public this decision.”We are delighted to be invited to host this event, and it is too good an opportunity to miss this chance to compete for a World Cup place in our own familiar environment,” Smith said.”It will certainly provide a focus for the sport in Scotland, and we are fortunate in the Associate cricket world to have so many high-quality facilities available throughout the country for this purpose.”A favourable report from Andy Atkinson, the ICC’s official pitch inspector, led to the recommendation that Scotland host the event that decides which of the Associate member countries will make the cut for the 2015 World Cup.The qualifying tournament is slated for July 2013 and the initial plan is to involve up to 11 venues to stage the warm-up games and the actual matches.The potential venues will be scanned further by Cricket Scotland’s facilities committee, headed by Board director Jim Mcfadyen, to ensure that all necessary work is done to bring them up to the required standards in the coming three years.

Nathan Reardon has replaced James Hopes as Queensland chase some points from their final away Sheffield Shield game of the season in Hobart

Cricinfo staff04-Feb-2010Nathan Reardon has replaced James Hopes, the Australia one-day player, as Queensland chase some points from their final away Sheffield Shield game of the season in Hobart from Monday. Reardon, a batting allrounder, scored 40 in the Bulls’ one-day loss to New South Wales on Wednesday and will be asked to provide more runs against Tasmania.Queensland are second, two points behind Victoria, and will finish the regular rounds with three home matches. The fixture is another chance for Ben Cutting, the right-arm fast man, to impress after he became the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 25 in the outright win over New South Wales on Monday.Tasmania have been forced into a series of changes due to injuries to Brett Geeves (back) and Luke Butterworth (hamstring), while Jason Krejza and Jon Wells have been dropped. Xavier Doherty, the left-arm spinner, comes in for Krejza and Adam Griffith, Adam Maher and John Rogers join the squad.In South Australia, Mark Cosgrove is back from a wrist injury and Kane Richardson, the Under-19 World Cup representative, has been called up for the FR Cup match against Western Australia in Perth on Saturday. Cosgrove, who missed a couple of Twenty20 fixtures, is also joined by Peter George, who comes in for Shaun Tait while he is with Australia’s Twenty20 side. Western Australia have made four changes with Ben Edmondson, Steve Magoffin, Mitchell Marsh and Adam Voges selected in the 12-man squad.Queensland Sheffield Shield squad Ryan Broad, Nick Kruger, Wade Townsend, Lee Carseldine, Glen Batticciotto, Nathan Reardon, Chris Hartley (wk), Chris Simpson (capt), Ben Cutting, Luke Feldman, Cameron Boyce, Chris Swan.Tasmania Sheffield Shield squad Ed Cowan, Rhett Lockyear, George Bailey (capt), Alex Doolan, Dan Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Adam Maher, John Rogers, Brendan Drew, Xavier Doherty, Adam Griffith, Tim Macdonald.South Australia FR Cup squad Daniel Harris (capt), Michael Klinger, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cosgrove, Tom Cooper, Aaron O’Brien, Daniel Christian, Tim Ludeman (wk), Gary Putland, Kane Richardson, Peter George.Western Australia FR Cup squad Wes Robinson, Luke Ronchi (wk), Marcus North (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Luke Pomersbach, Adam Voges, Liam Davis, Aaron Heal, Michael Hogan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Steve Magoffin, Ben Edmondson.

A round-up of matches from the ICC World Cricket Leauge Division 5, where USA, Singapore and Bahrain won

Cricinfo staff26-Feb-2010Crowd trouble marred a resounding victory for USA over Nepal at Kirtipur, and controversially ensured that USA and Nepal finished one and two, respectively, in the table, securing them promotion to Division 4. Nepal suffered their first defeat of the tournament and if crowd disturbance had not reduced the USA target to 157 from 46 overs, Nepal would probably have missed out on promotion. With the top three teams all level on eight points, Nepal narrowly stayed ahead of third-placed Singapore only by Net Run Rate (NRR).The USA victory was crafted from a fine bowling effort that choked Nepal’s innings. 37-year-old Kevin Darlington was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 23 from ten overs that included a remarkable four maidens. Nepal had stumbled to 80 for 6 after 31.2 overs but a partnership of 62 between Gyanendra Malla and Mahaboob Alam restored a semblance of fight. After Alam had brought up his 50, both batsmen fell in the 45th over, Alam run out and Malla lbw to Lennox Cush. It was always going to be a tricky total to defend, and despite an early wicket from Alam, Nepal were never really in the contest.The successful USA chase was built around a calm 42 from captain Steve Massiah and a dashing, unbeaten 57, which included four sixes, from Sushil Nadkarni. The Nepali crowds have been such a prominent feature of this tournament, turning up in vast numbers to cheer on the home team, but today their enthusiasm and disappointment with Nepal’s effort overcame them.”It’s a huge relief for us to win promotion,” said an ecstatic Massiah after the game. “Having suffered the way we did when we last played in an ICC development tournament two years ago, crashing out to Jersey, it’s been something I’ve wanted the side to achieve since then. I feel like I’ve got the monkey off my back.”We executed our game plan brilliantly today, especially after suffering such a defeat at the hands of Singapore it was important that we bounced back in the way we did today,” he added. Massiah, 30, is already looking forward to the World Cricket League Division 4, a group that includes Tanzania, Italy, Argentina and the Cayman Islands.”I’m already excited about Division 4 not only because it’s being played in Italy but also because it’s a huge opportunity for us to move forward and get back into Division 1,” he said. “We’ve played Cayman Islands and Argentina before and we’ve won against them every time so I’m feeling fairly good already for August.”Nepal captain Paras Khadka, although unhappy with his side’s weak performance against USA, was relieved that they had done enough to earn promotion from Division 5. “The loss we didn’t expect it to happen – we really thought we could have done better – more than anything else though we wanted to qualify,” he explained.”We’d played exceptional cricket in the last four matches and we’ve lost today but we’ve qualified and for us that is most important thing. We’ve struggled previously in events like this and we need to succeed at them for Nepal cricket structure to continue to grow and for us as a side to progress.”I’m really looking forward to Division 4 in Italy. We’ve never faced any of the teams apart from, of course, the USA. On paper, I would say we’re probably the strongest two teams in that division now so here’s hoping both the USA and Nepal make it to Division 3.”Sushil Nadkarni and Aditya Thyagarajan celebrate USA’s victory over Nepal•International Cricket Council

Singapore missed out on promotion on NNR, despite storming past Jersey to record their fourth win of the tournament at Bhaktapur. Singapore’s NRR was 0.004 behind Nepal’s and if USA had beaten Nepal two balls quicker than they did, it would have been Singapore celebrating. Buddika Mendis’s sterling allround performance was almost carried Singapore to promotion. After Jersey chose to bat first, Matt Hague’s fifty, with contributions from Ryan Driver, Samuel de la Haye and Peter Gough set them up for a decent total before a lower-order collapse saw the side dismissed for 192 in the 49th over, with Mendis taking three wickets.He continued the good work when Singapore batted, his unbeaten 85 powering their run chase as they eased past Jersey’s total in 26 overs. He added 63 in under nine overs with Chetan Suryawanshi, who hit three fours and three sixes in a 22-ball 40 before giving Ben Stevens the first of his three wickets. Pramodh Raja and Mulewa Dharmichand came and went in quick succession, both falling to Stevens, but Munish Arora partnered Mendis in an unbroken 96-run partnership for the fourth wicket as Singapore cantered to a seven-wicket win, which should have been enough to win them promotion. For Jersey the defeat dumped them to fifth place and means they will be relegated to Division 6 next year.Jersey coach Craig Hogan did not hide his disappointment after the side’s poor showing at the tournament. “We absolutely got what we deserved,” he fumed. “We didn’t do anything together for 50 overs during the tournament.”We couldn’t bat well for 50 overs and you can’t continuously lose your last six wickets for 20 or 30 runs and you can’t go for 50, 60 or 70 runs in the power play. There are fundamental basic things that we haven’t done and we have got what we deserved. We have to work a bit harder and value our wickets a bit. When things don’t go your way you just have to scrounge and fight and we didn’t do that.”Bahrain waltzed to their second successive victory and ensured their survival in Division 5, by crushing stragglers Fiji by 95 runs in their bottom-of-the-table match at Lalitpur. A colossal allround effort from Tahir Dar underpinned the crucial victory, with him first injecting momentum into a solid batting effort with a 30-ball 54 before taking 4 for 19 to seal the result. Choosing to bat first after winning the toss Bahrain slipped to 21 for 2, including losing Abdul Majeed for a duck, before steady contributions from the middle and lower order laid the foundations for Dar’s late charge.Chasing 276 looked beyond Fiji from the start as they lost three wickets in the first two overs, with Adil Hanif taking two in his first over. A handy 72-run partnership between Peni Rika (29) and Sakaria Lomani (40) brought some respectability to the Fiji total before Dar’s strangling left-arm spin claimed the final four wickets and secured the match. Fiji have struggled to compete throughout the tournament, and after five straight defeats, they have been relegated to Division 6.

The two teams playing the first ever IPL match in Ahmedabad present a bit of a contrast

The Preview by George Binoy14-Mar-2010

Match facts

Monday, March 15
Start time 2000 (1430GMT)Delhi Daredevils had to fight for victory against Punjab, but it’ll take some effort to beat them (file photo)•Associated Press

Big Picture

The two teams playing the first ever IPL match in Ahmedabad present a bit of a contrast. The Rajasthan Royals, even though they were champions in 2008, are perennial underdogs and seem comfortable playing that role. They’re the team most fans love to support after their own. They possess the tournament’s fastest bowler and perhaps its most destructive batsman but, a few overseas players apart, also a bunch of boys who aren’t individually threatening. Their captain, formerly the world’s greatest legspinner, is now a glamorous poker player, an expert at staying in fashion and the team’s chief inspiration. He spearheads Rajasthan’s PR on Twitter, engaging in entertaining and sometimes frivolous banter with his mates, and he’s fashioned a team in his own image, one that in his own words “plays to entertain”.There aren’t any Delhi Daredevils on Twitter, unless they’ve been hiding in obscurity, apart from Wayne Parnell. Their players aren’t darlings of the media, their owner is in infrastructure not Bollywood, and their captain, who’s got into trouble more than once for his on-field temper, is sullen compared to his larger-than-life counterpart. Delhi have few frills and a low-key media presence. They are the team that shows up to get the job done, clinically, and the one most opponents will be a little intimidated by, even if they won’t admit it. They have their best foreign players available for the whole tournament, their top five in the batting order is unmatched, and their Indian contingent is among the strongest. No matter who they play and where, Delhi are usually favourites.These two teams, with their different styles, will clash for the first time at Motera, a 48,000 seater, one of four new venues this season. Both contested closely-fought opening games on Saturday: Delhi won theirs in Mohali, Rajasthan fell agonisingly short in a mammoth chase against Mumbai. One loss doesn’t ruin a season, but a second in a row will be a little harder to come back from.

Team talk

Graeme Smith, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Tait and Shane Warne were the four overseas players Rajasthan fielded against Mumbai. Given that their top order struggled, they might consider replacing Mascarenhas and bringing in Damien Martyn or Michael Lumb to bolster the batting. Tait, though he leaked 11.50 runs an over, is likely to play to counter Delhi’s powerful top order. Munaf Patel, who was ill ahead of the first game, could also come into the XI if fit. Warne had said they “don’t want to change anything in the middle [order] as [Abhishek] Jhunjhunwala and [Paras] Dogra batted beautifully.” But with Rajasthan, you never can tell.Delhi had to do without Ashish Nehra’s services against Punjab because of an injury. He could return in place of either Pradeep Sangwan or Yo Mahesh if fit. Another option, which will strengthen a formidable batting line-up, would be for Nehra to replace Farveez Maharoof, who took 2 for 37, while David Warner comes in as the fourth overseas player, instead of Mithun Manhas. That would be unfortunate for Manhas, who made a crucial 31 against Punjab, but a top order comprising Sehwag, Gambhir, Warner, de Villiers and Dilshan, with Karthik to follow, seems too good to pass on. Parnell has joined the Delhi squad after completing domestic duties in South Africa but is unlikely to play.

Previously…

The first contest between these two sides in 2008 was a no-contest, with Delhi cruising to a nine-wicket win with 29 balls to spare. The clash in Jaipur was much closer – Rajasthan won in the last over with three wickets in hand. Rajasthan won the first game between the sides in 2009 by five wickets, but lost the second by 14 runs.

In the spotlight

Yusuf Pathan: His 37-ball century, the fastest in the IPL and second quickest overall, was the sole reason Rajasthan got anywhere close to Mumbai’s 212. On flat pitches and small grounds, Yusuf is a brutal batsman and Rajasthan’s strategy in previous tournaments has been to build a platform for him to launch an assault from, whether chasing or batting first. He wasn’t attacked with any bouncers during his blitz, which was surprising considering he has struggled against the short ball. A cheap dismissal will severely dent Rajasthan’s chances of challenging Delhi’s batting line-up. Expect Nannes to dig them in tomorrow.Tait v Nannes: Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes are specialist Twenty20 fast bowlers for Australia. Tait sent down thunderbolts nearing 160kmh during the summer, intimidating international batsmen into dismissals, while Nannes maintained his accurate lines and lengths at around 150kmh. In combination, they were a potent force but tomorrow they will be opponents with the responsibility of making inroads into other’s top order. Nannes was exceptional against Punjab but Tait was poor at Brabourne. Another failure tomorrow could result in Rajasthan chasing leather.

Prime numbers

• Yusuf went from 15 off 14 balls to 69 off 25 against Mumbai by hitting 11 consecutive balls for 6,6,6,6,4,4,6,4,4,4 and 4.
• Nannes’ first spell Punjab was 2-0-3-0 with ten dot balls. His spell at the death was 2-0-9-2.

Chatter

“Over the 30-odd games we have played if you look at our numbers we probably are the worst in the first six overs. If you take the top three of Graeme Smith, Swapnil Asnodkar and Shane Watson that first year compared to last year (there is a ) 900 runs difference (of their aggregate score).”

The Jamaican wicketkeeper has been included in West Indies’ provisional 30-member squad for the World Twenty20 World Cup to be staged in the Caribbean late next month

Cricinfo staff19-Mar-2010Jamaican wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh jnr has been included in West Indies’ provisional 30-member squad for the World Twenty20 to be staged in the Caribbean late next month.The wicketkeeper’s slot is something of a worry for new coach Ottis Gibson, following Denesh Ramdin’s disappointing performances in the recent matches against Australia and Zimbabwe. Besides Baugh and Ramdin, the other in the running for the position are Andre Fletcher, Chadwick Walton and Devon Thomas.Of the frontline wicketkeepers in the regional competition, Baugh is the best batsman with a solid first-class average of 36.45 and 11 hundreds, though he has played only a handful of Twenty20 matches. He hasn’t impressed on the international stage yet, last having played for West Indies in December 2008, a Twenty20 game against New Zealand.Fletcher and Walton have been let down by their batting as well in recent matches for West Indies, and it is believed the selectors may not risk to exposing 20-year-old Thomas to such a high-profile competition at this time.There were no real surprises in the squad except for the axing of left-hander Brendan Nash. Ramnaresh Sarwan and Jerome Taylor, who have been out of action with injuries, are likely to undergo fitness assessments before the selection panel, headed by Clyde Butts, name the final 15.West Indies have been drawn in Group D, along with England and Ireland, and will be playing their league matches at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. They open their campaign against Ireland on April 30.West Indies probables for the 2010 World Twenty20: Lionel Baker, Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh jnr, David Bernard jnr, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Royston Crandon, Travis Dowlin, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Nikita Miller, Runako Morton, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor, Devon Thomas, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton

After their three-day demolition of Kent last week, when their credentials as title candidates appeared to be an impressive endorsement of much pre-season punditry, Nottinghamshire’s bright start to the season was checked a little by Somerset, who recover

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge21-Apr-2010

ScorecardStuart Broad collected three wickets but struggled for rhythm on his first outing of the English season•Getty Images

After their three-day demolition of Kent last week, when their credentials as title candidates appeared to be an impressive endorsement of much pre-season punditry, Nottinghamshire’s bright start to the season was checked a little by Somerset, who recovered from 78-5 to total 272 before removing both the home side’s openers cheaply.A rare appearance by Stuart Broad, who was given dispensation by England to make only his fifth Championship appearance in his third season with the county, was of little benefit to Nottinghamshire in the event. Ryan Sidebottom, who had looked in good order against Kent, had nothing to do this time but promote the Little Siddy Club, following the launch earlier this year of the Little Siddy Trust, a fund-raising venture running alongside his benefit programme.Having been under orders to rest since the end of England’s Bangladesh tour, Broad clearly looked in need of some overs ahead of the World Twenty20 in the West Indies. In stark contract to international teammate James Anderson, who bowled impressively for Lancashire at Chelmsford, Broad struggled for rhythm and a consistently testing length, conceding 79 in his 19 overs, of which 52 came in boundaries as Somerset’s batsmen took a heavy toll.The early wicket of Marcus Trescothick might have been a fillip, the former England opener, off-balance as he tried to put away a short ball, turning an attempted pull into a loopy swat to mid-wicket, where Hashim Amla, falling backwards, did well to hold on to the catch.But it was not until the last of four brief spells, none longer than six overs, that Broad began to look more than an occasional threat. He produced a decent delivery then to have Damien Wright, on the back foot, caught at second slip, before picking up a third wicket when Peter Stiff, swinging the bat, was caught on the third man boundary.In the morning, after Broad’s opening three overs had gone for 18, it was the supporting cast who appeared to be justifying Chris Read’s decision to put Somerset in.Andre Adams, who had bowled well against Kent, struck with his third ball after replacing Broad at the pavilion end, dismissing Arul Suppiah with a delivery that moved away late, Neil Edwards taking the catch at second slip.Luke Fletcher, powerfully built and deceptively sharp, nipped one through to trap James Hildreth leg before, after which Paul Franks, who had taken over from Adams, dealt a double blow to Trescothick’s team by removing Zander de Bruyn, who chased a wide ball to give Edwards a second catch, and then – the real bonus – Craig Kieswetter.England’s Twenty20 wicketkeeper, who made seven and 17 in Somerset’s opening-round defeat by Yorkshire, fell for a single this time, caught behind to the third ball after lunch as Franks surprised him with some extra bounce. Five down for 78, Somerset looked in trouble.That they recovered owed something to Peter Trego’s decision to take the bull by the horns and attack the bowling in a style that comes naturally. It might have failed spectacularly but this time it had the desired effect. Reaching 50 off 66 balls with nine fours, he led the way in a sixth-wicket stand of 64 in 19 overs with Nick Compton, which ended when Compton pulled Fletcher to Mark Wagh, who seemed to lose the ball momentarily but recovered to take the catch.Trego’s charge ended when another expansive swing edged the ball through to Read for Franks to claim his third success but by then Somerset were looking somewhat healthier. With Wright and Alfonso Thomas then taking Trego’s lead, Wright rocking back to hit Franks clear of the mid-wicket boundary with the shot of the day, they wound up with what might just be a workable first-innings score.It will be, certainly, if Nottinghamshire do not build themselves a strong foundation on the second morning. Losing Edwards, facing his former teammates, leg before to Charl Willoughby’s third delivery, they managed only two scoring strokes in the first 10 overs, suffering another setback when Bilal Shafayat edged Thomas to first slip. Amla, after his debut century last week, needs to produce something special again.

Phillip Hughes is likely to miss Australia’s Test series against Pakistan in July after dislocating his left shoulder while boxing

Cricinfo staff06-May-2010Phillip Hughes is likely to miss Australia’s Test series against Pakistan in July after dislocating his left shoulder while boxing on Tuesday. He will have surgery in Melbourne next week and is expected to target the home summer before he returns.Hughes was the reserve batsman on Australia’s trip to New Zealand in March and scored an unbeaten 86 in the second innings of the first Test after replacing the injured Shane Watson. A spot in the squad to face Pakistan in England would have been his even though he is stuck behind Watson and Simon Katich in the pecking order.His expected absence gives hope to the likes of Steven Smith, George Bailey and Usman Khawaja, who have done well on the domestic scene. The shoulder dislocated when Hughes was struck by a friend while doing boxercise training and it popped back in quickly.He will be operated on by Dr Greg Hoy, who has worked on Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee and Shane Warne, and is likely to be out for three months. Hughes was also hoping to play in the Australia A series against Sri Lanka A in June.

Gordon Drummond has been named as captain of the Scotland team that will take on Holland in the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup fixture in Deventer June 10 to 13, and the solitary ODI in Rotterdam on June 15

Cricinfo staff03-Jun-2010Gordon Drummond has been named as captain of the Scotland team that will take on the Netherlands in the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup fixture in Deventer June 10 to 13, and the solitary ODI in Rotterdam on June 15. He takes the reins from Gavin Hamilton who is unavailable due to business commitments. Ryan Watson and Omer Hussain also miss out for the same reason, while Dewald Nel is out injured. Freddie Coleman was not considered for selectionOpening batsman Preston Mommsen is the only uncapped player in the side. The 22 year-old has been in fine form recently, scoring an undefeated hundred in the Scotland Lions’ win against Leicestershire second XI, and recently completed his four-year residency after migrating from South Africa.Aberdeen-born Josh Davey will replace Simon Smith in the squad for the solitary ODI that follows the four-day fixture. The 19 year-old Davey has turned out for Middlesex in two CB40 games this season.”Josh is a young cricketer who has been making excellent strides forward this year. He has scored a lot of runs in the Middlesex second team and had a few first-team opportunities. He will be a great addition to our squad,” Peter Steindl, the head-coach, said about the young allrounder.Four-day squad: Gordon Drummond (capt), Douglas Lockhart, Preston Mommsen, Qasim Sheikh, Richie Berrington, Neil McCallum, Gregor Maiden, Majid Haq, Moneeb Iqbal, Matthew Parker, Gordon Goudie, Ross Lyons and Simon Smith.ODI squad: Gordon Drummond (capt), Douglas Lockhart, Preston Mommsen, Qasim Sheikh, Josh Davey, Richie Berrington, Neil McCallum, Gregor Maiden, Majid Haq, Matthew Parker, Gordon Goudie, Moneeb Iqbal and Ross Lyons.