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Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has said his team is keen on restoring its pride during the tour of Sri Lanka where it has arrived for a full series

Sa'adi Thawfeeq09-Nov-2010Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has said his team is keen on restoring its pride during the tour of Sri Lanka where it has arrived for a full series. Sammy was appointed captain last month after Chris Gayle, the former captain, turned down a central contract and the West Indies Cricket Board reacted by making significant changes to the team’s leadership; Brendan Nash was named vice-captain in place of Dwayne Bravo, who, too, did not agree to a new WICB deal. Both Gayle and Bravo, however, have been retained in the squad for the Test series.”We want to win, to play well and bring the passion and pride back to the West Indies,” Sammy told reporters upon arrival in Colombo. “We are a little bit inexperienced, young, but we have put in a good preparation work ahead of our coming here. I am looking forward to the practice game.”For us in the Caribbean cricket is more than just a game. All the players who are here are committed and in a way it is the legacy that West Indies cricket holds. We are going to bring back the passion and the pride and also perform for us to take the West Indies team up the ladder.”When asked if he was surprised to be appointed captain, Sammy said: “I wouldn’t say I was surprised. All my life I’ve been dreaming to be a West Indies cricketer. All I want to do was play and represent the West Indies, so being named captain is more of an honour to me.”The squad picked for the Sri Lanka series features several players who didn’t play against South Africa at home earlier in the year, West Indies’ most recent Test assignment. Adrian Barath, the opener who burst onto the international scene with a century on debut against Australia in Brisbane last year, returns after hurting his knee in April.Carlton Baugh, who has not played a Test since 2004, will compete with Devon Thomas for the role behind the stumps, while there was also a maiden call-up for the Jamaica allrounder Andre Russell. The opener Devon Smith, who played his most recent Test in May 2009, is also back after averaging 61.50 while leading West Indies A in the first-class fixtures in England this year.”The selectors have come up with the best team to represent the Caribbean side,” Sammy said. “I am very confident in all the players I have here, likewise all the players are confident in making the team and being here and to give off their best for the West Indies.”West Indies last played a Test series in Sri Lanka in 2005, losing it 0-2. The teams have played 12 Tests against each other, with Sri Lanka holding a 6-3 advantage.Kumar Sangakkara, fresh from the success of a maiden ODI series win in Australia, warned against complacency. “We don’t take any team lightly. We want to win the Test series. We expect nothing but the best from the West Indies and for us to match them.”The tour begins with a three-day warm-up game against Sri Lankan Board President’s XI on November 10, followed by the first Test in Galle. After the three-Test series, the teams play five ODIs, of which the first two will be played in Hambanthota, one of the venues for the 2011 World Cup. They round-off the tour with a Twenty20 international.

Chris Jordan and Ajmal Shahzad claimed three wickets apiece as the England Performance Programme continued their impressive run of results with a 75-run victory over the Northern Titans at Pretoria

Cricinfo staff11-Dec-2009England Performance Programme 425 for 9 (Denly 217, Tredwell 70) and 155 for 4 dec beat Titans 235 (du Plessis 124*) and 270 by 75 runs


ScorecardChris Jordan and Ajmal Shahzad claimed three wickets apiece as the England Performance Programme continued their impressive run of results with a 75-run victory over the Northern Titans at Pretoria. Following a declaration set up by Michael Carberry’s quickfire 76, the Titans were left chasing a nominal 346 for victory, but were bundled out for 270 inside 60 overs.Having secured a first-innings lead of 190, EPP resumed on 44 for 1 in their second innings, and though the Yorkshire pair of Joe Sayers and Andrew Gale fell quickly in the morning session, Carberry received solid support in an 83-run stand for the fourth wicket with Rory Hamilton-Brown, who made 38 not out. The innings came to an end on the stroke of Carberry’s dismissal.In reply, Titans fared considerably better than they had done first-time around, when each of their top three was extracted without scoring, with Hendrik van der Dussen and Tumelo Bodibe adding 44 for the first wicket inside ten overs. But Shahzad struck the first blow when Bodibe fell for 18, and five balls later Steven Finn bagged K Pienaar for 1.Faf du Plessis, who knows his opponents well from his time with Lancashire, counterattacked in spectacular style with a 30-ball 42, but Jordan trapped him lbw before Sajid Mahmood removed van der Dussen for the same score.Thereafter, the Titans innings slipped away. Jaco Booysen made 26 before falling lbw to Shahzad; while Christiaan Schoeman and Graham van Buuren both succumbed in sight of their fifties. The spinner, James Tredwell, pitched in with two late wickets to hasten the defeat, before Shahzad bowled the No. 11, D van Onslem for 10 to seal the victory.

“Naturally we are worried. In Anrich’s case this is the second or third stress reaction in his back,” coach Shuki Conrad said

Firdose Moonda26-Jun-2025South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje has suffered a “stress reaction” that will keep him out of action for an unknown period of time. Nortje was not considered for South Africa’s T20I squad to play a tri-series in Zimbabwe next month and did not travel to MLC 2025, where he was due to play for Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR). Nortje has only played two games this year, at the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).South Africa coach Shukri Conrad confirmed that Nortje’s injury will be assessed and as things stand, CSA is unaware of how long he will be out of action for.The injury is the latest in a long line of setbacks for Nortje, who is no longer centrally contracted with CSA and last played international cricket at the T20 World Cup in 2024. He was then not considered for the Test side for focusing primarily on T20s by opting out of the central contract. But a fractured toe then ruled him out of the home T20Is against Pakistan before a back injury sidelined him from the 2025 Champions Trophy. He then flew to India for the IPL to join KKR but played only two games for them.Related

• Nortje injured again, Van der Dussen to lead newish-looking South Africa T20I side

Nortje has spent significant time on the sidelines in the past. He did not play any cricket between November 2013 and November 2015, November 2018 and February 2019 and then between November 2021 and April 2022 with a range of injuries relating to his back and hip.It is not known yet which formats Nortje will avail himself for when he returns to fitness.”We will have to see the length of the time that he will be out and the extent of the injury. I really feel for him,” Conrad said. “He is a superstar fast bowler and having to deal with setback after setback can’t be easy. We will wait to see how serious it is.”Naturally we are worried. In Anrich’s case this is the second or third stress reaction in his back. It is too early to make a diagnosis and we are definitely not drawing a line through this name. He is 31 years old and we are going to give him every chance to come back. We will have to see what the medical team think is the best way forward.”

Sixteen year-old legspin-bowling allrounder triggers SA collapse in their chase of 150

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2023Sixteen-year-old Shorna Akther added a glorious chapter in Bangladesh Women’s cricket as they stunned South Africa in the first T20I in Benoni. Defending 149, the legspin-bowling allrounder picked up her maiden five-for to trigger a middle-order collapse in the last five overs as South Africa slipped from 123 for 3 to 136 for 8. This is only the second instance of Bangladesh outplaying South Africa in the 12 T20Is they have faced each other in. South Africa had won the last 10 in a row.South Africa were in the game for the most part of the chase, thanks to Anneke Bosch. She usually comes in at No. 3, but was promoted to open with Tazmin Brits in the absence of regular opener and newly-appointed captain Laura Wolvaardt, who had to miss the opening game because of the WBBL final on Saturday. Bosch struck a quick 67 off 49 balls and shared a brisk 69-run stand with Brits, who scored 30 off 26 balls.South Africa needed 41 off the last 24 balls with Bosch still batting and seven wickets in hand but the pendulum swung Bangladesh’s way in the 18th over when Shorna struck twice; she first dismissed Bosch and then had Nondumiso Shangase stumped by Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana in a two-run over. South Africa now needed 26 off the last 12 balls.In the following over, Nahida Akter got rid of debutant Eliz-mari Marx and also gave away just two runs. An equation of 24 in six balls was always going to be a tall ask for the lower order and it turned out to be so as Shorna added two more wickets in the final over to finish with 5 for 28.Earlier, Murshida Khatun’s unbeaten 62 and Nigar’s quickfire 34 off 21 not out lifted Bangladesh to a competitive total after they opted to bat. The duo scored 45 runs in the final four overs which eventually proved a lot for South Africa.With Shamima Sultana getting dismissed for a run-a-ball 24 and Sobhana Mostary for a 17-ball 16, Bangladesh needed someone to up the ante and Nigar stepped up to the challenge. Her knock consisted of six fours while Murshida, who played an anchor’s role, hit six fours and a six in her 59-ball innings.The inexperience in South Africa’s bowling unit – Marizanne Kapp was rested, fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka and allrounders Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk were injured – was exposed by Bangladesh as only Marx impressed with 4-0-25-1 and no bowled leaked at under six runs an over.The final two T20Is will be played in Kimberley on December 6 and 8 before the three-match ODI series begins on December 16 in East London.

Three-fors from Unadkat and Atit Sheth ensured West Zone were still in the game at stumps on day two

PTI22-Sep-2022B Indrajith’s scintillating hundred and K Gowtham’s rearguard 43 took South Zone past West Zone’s first-innings total on an interesting second day of the Duleep Trophy final.Indrajith’s 118 off 125 balls, along with contributions from Manish Pandey (48) and Gowtham (43 off 55 balls), ensured that South finished the second day on 318 for 7 – 48 runs clear of West Zone’s first innings score of 270.The match did turn out to be interesting when South were in a spot at 243 for 6, but allrounders Gowtham and T Ravi Teja (26*) added 62 for the seventh wicket in just 16.2 overs, and in the process helped their team surpass West’s total.However, with the final being a five-day affair, South are still some distance away from ensuring a healthy lead, which might not happen with only Teja remaining among the recognised batters.He has Sai Kishore (5 for 86 in 35.3 overs in West’s first innings) for company, but the left-arm spinner would be more happy that he could grab a fifth five-for and deny young Het Patel (98) a chance to get to the coveted three-figure mark.Mayank Agarwal pouched his catch, but later, when he came on to bat, he was caught in the slip cordon by Yashasvi Jaiswal off seamer Atit Sheth.Hanuma Vihari (25), whose Test batting slot is on the line, was then caught plumb in front, after Indrajith had been the dominant partner in their stand of 61.The Tamil Nadu right-hander played some gorgeous drives but was equally adept while working the deliveries pitched on his legs.His 13th first-class hundred contained 14 fours, and his 105-run partnership for the fourth wicket with the seasoned Pandey put South in the driver’s seat.Pandey, who had quickly hit four fours and a couple of sixes, could have converted his start to a big score but Tanush Kotian, the Mumbai off-spinner, castled him two short of fifty.The difference between the two sides was how the spinners fared. While Sai Kishore and Gowtham choked the run-flow for South, the two Mumbai spinners of West – Shams Mulani, the Ranji Trophy’s highest wicket-taker last season, and Kotian gave away 183 runs in 41 overs between them, while combining for just one wicket.Jaydev Unadkat (3/52) did his bit and also got a lot of support from former India U-19 player Sheth, but once Gowtham launched into Kotian, hitting him for successive sixes, the first-innings lead was there for the taking.

‘We have a settled top order and with any one of them going till the end with finishers in late middle order we can easily touch 350’

Umar Farooq01-Apr-2021Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, wants his side to be done with the traditional style of playing one-day cricket. He wants his batsmen to eradicate any sense of doubt in their minds; to be fearless so they can post totals in the region of 350 a lot more often. And all that might just start with the first ODI against South Africa on Friday.Pakistan teams have shown improvement in this regard in the domestic circuit, with run-rates on a steady increase over the past few years – 2016 (5.25), 2017 (6.34), 2018 (6.62), 2019 (6.45). But in 2020 it plummeted to 5.90. The trend of 320-plus scores, however, has increased. There were 15 of these in last year alone – a marked rise from the seven each in 2018 and 2019.Having played only five ODIs since the end of the 2019 World Cup, Pakistan haven’t had a lot of occasion to translate those numbers into international cricket. But the chance has finally come now.”Definitely, we need improvement all the time,” Babar said ahead of the Centurion ODI in a virtual press conference. “You might see a fluctuation in performance between two games but we need to be consistent and with every passing day and the more games we play, we are gaining more experience as a team. We try to go fearless and we understand that is the best way forward. The World Cup is in two years and we have to be consistent in playing a set of players and keep on playing the same combination which will eventually bring in confidence in the team as well as in individual players.”Pakistan have been tweaking their combination a lot lately, but their focus now appears to be on finding a set of seven or eight players who can serve as the team’s nucleus. “When you play the same group of players, this will actually set the momentum and then you see a difference in every aspect of the game either about strike-rate, total we score, or the overall performance,” Babar said. “We definitely have to match up with modern-day cricket and we are figuring out how to adapt the approach.”There is a sense of responsibility among players to keep on lifting their strike-rate and only then we are able to have our required total. We have a settled top order and with any one of them going till the end with finishers in late middle order we can easily touch 350. We have given everyone their individual plans and even they themselves know how to go out and play according to the demanding situations these days. Going fearless isn’t impossible. We have to eradicate this sense that we cannot do it, rather we should instill that we can, we will and we have the capability. We have an approach in mind in line with what is required in modern-day cricket and prepared accordingly.”Pakistan were the first subcontinent side to win a bilateral ODI series in South Africa in 2013-14, and either side of that lost two five-match series by the deciding game. Since 2010, Pakistan has a 6-7 win-loss in 50-overs cricket in South Africa and Babar hopes they can be competitive again.”Of course you have to move on according to the modern cricket and set your targets but you have to be watchful about the opponent’s strength as well,” he said. “They are good at home in their own conditions but we have played well in the past. The difference has been the bounce, but in white-ball cricket, it actually helps batsmen. These are true pitches and as a batsman when you settled in, you have the ball coming on your bat nicely and you enjoy a lot. South Africa have got a good combination but we have our bases covered and expect a good series. We are here with a point of view to win it as the games are going to win us important points for World Cup qualification.”

India were able to put up 134 and it proved plenty more than enough as Anuja Patil returned remarkable figures of 3-1-3-2

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2019Veda Krishnamurthy produced the highest score of her T20I career, her unbeaten 57 along with 50 from Jemimah Rodrigues helping India women to a resounding 61-run victory over West Indies women in Providence to sweep the series 5-0.India were able to put up 134 for 3 on the board, and it proved way more than enough as Anuja Patil, in her 50th T20I game, returned outstanding figures of 3-1-3-2.India needed to recover from a poor start after they elected to bat, with the openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana dismissed for single-digit scores. But that only meant more time for Krishnamurthy and Rodrigues to influence the game. They put on a 117-run partnership, hitting seven fours together. It appeared to be a tough pitch for run-scoring, but Krishnamurthy rose above it. Of all the batters to face at least ten balls in the game, she was the only one with a strike rate above 100.India’s bowlers made use of those conditions well, Patil picking up both her wickets in the fourth over to hurt West Indies in the chase.After that opening, which left the hosts 13 for 2, the spinners took over, each of Radha Yadav (1-10), Poonam Yadav (1-15) and Harleen Deol (1-13) picking up a wicket each. West Indies could barely get any momentum in the case; they were 31 for 4 in the 11th over and the game was pretty much done there. Kyshona Knight top-scored with 22 off 39 balls.India ended the tour having won nine out of ten matches as they continue their preparations for the T20 World Cup in February 2020.

The India opener said he wasn’t eyeing a fourth double-century though Rayudu told him he could reach the landmark

Varun Shetty in Mumbai29-Oct-20182:17

CCI can be tricky while chasing – Rohit

When Rohit Sharma completed his first ODI century in Mumbai, he took some time to savour it, settling into a relaxed acknowledgement of the applause with his arms outstretched. Even at about 60% capacity, the crowd was rather loud for their local hero.

West Indies captain Jason Holder on…

What went wrong: “We definitely didn’t play well. The way we started the series and the way we have played so far, we certainly didn’t do any justice today. Gave away too many runs. I felt it was a very good wicket, the outfield was lightning. It was a wicket where once you get in, you can go really big. Unfortunately none of our batters just really got it and gave themselves a chance to bat deep into the innings.”
Coping with the rising asking rate: “The asking rate definitely plays on your mind as well, you know. Obviously a big total and you need to be up with the total for a majority of the innings. We never really got any momentum up front, lost too many wickets up front. And the two run-outs didn’t really help us. Set us back really – two of our better players, and we didn’t really have any momentum in the middle. Credit to India, they bowled reasonably well upfront and caused trouble.”

Rohit likes playing at the CCI’s Brabourne Stadium. It is the venue where he made his first T20 hundred, an unbeaten 101 against Gujarat in 2007, and two years later made 309 in a Ranji match against the same opposition.”I have played a lot of cricket at CCI and I have always enjoyed batting here,” Rohit said. “It is a good pitch and you get value for your shots. It has a fast outfield, so you don’t need to try and hit too hard. You can find the gaps, and that’s what I was looking at.”When you come to a ground where you have played enough cricket, you feel confident of going into a match. That was my mindset before walking into bat. I understand the nature of the pitch and what it does when the spinners are bowling. Those things are important. Like I said, I’ve had lot of opportunities to play here and it was going about and doing the same thing.”Rohit Sharma scored his seventh 150-plus score at Brabourne•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

This hundred, Rohit’s 21st, comes in the middle of a purple patch and falls in line with a pattern of increasing scores every time he has gone past 50 over the last month. After scores of 52 and 83* in the Asia Cup, Rohit made an unbeaten 111 against Pakistan in the same tournament, and in the next instance of making a 50-plus score, Rohit finished with an unbeaten 152 at the start of this series. Incredibly, he managed to better even that score, but the three-time ODI double-centurion said didn’t think of a fourth at any point.”While batting, I don’t think about scoring hundreds or double-hundreds. I just want to go bat, score runs and get the team to good positions,” Rohit said. “The three double-hundreds that I’ve got, I had never thought about getting them. Even today, in fact, Rayudu was telling me that I can get a double-hundred. But I was just trying to focus on my batting and not think about how I’m going to get to double-hundred. I wanted to score runs and make sure that we get enough runs because CCI can get tricky while [defending]. But we bowled well to get them out.”There were signs that Rohit was alluding to in terms of balance between bat and ball, and perhaps nothing nailed down that hypothesis better than the 224-run margin of victory. And among the stars of India’s 377 defence was left-arm fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed.”In the first innings when me and Shikhar were batting, we were not finding it that easy because it was doing a little bit,” Rohit said. “You can’t just go straight away and start playing shots. You need to spend some time. So in my opinion the pitch was on offer for both batsman and bowlers. It was probably one of the best pitches that I’ve played on in India.”When the left-armers swing the ball the way Khaleel did today, it’s always going to trouble the batsman no matter what sort of batsman he’s bowling against. If he’s swinging the ball the way he is, any batsman in the world will find it difficult. He’s maturing very fast, he understands his bowling. And the management also understands where he needs to be come the World Cup. I hope he continues to do that because it’s only going to be better for us. Come New Zealand, and the World Cup in England, where the ball swings a lot, he might be very handy there.”

Half-centuries by Jacques Rudolph and Aneurin Donald helped Glamorgan extend their leadership of the NatWest T20 Blast South Group with a 25-run win over Kent

ECB Reporters Network30-Jul-2017Jacques Rudolph led the way for Glamorgan again•Getty Images

Half-centuries by Jacques Rudolph and Aneurin Donald coupled with a frugal two-over stint of 1 for 12 by Craig Meschede helped Glamorgan extend their leadership of the NatWest T20 Blast South Group with an emphatic 25-run win over Kent.Rudolph’s captain’s knock of 77 not out from 52 balls saw Glamorgan post 199 for 2 on an excellent Canterbury pitch – a pursuit that proved too tough for Kent despite Joe Denly’s 68 as the hosts fell well short with a 20-over total of 174 for 4.Looking for their fourth South Group win, Kent’s chase started with panache when Denly straight drove Michael Hogan’s fourth delivery for a straight six. At the other end Daniel Bell-Drummond went for 3, dragging the ball on to middle stump in attempting to cut Lukas Carey’s third delivery of the afternoon to bring in Kent skipper Sam Northeast with only 21 on the board.Denly hit the ropes three times as Graham Wagg’s first over of left-arm seam went for 13 to move past the 300-run milestone in this year’s Blast, yet Kent were still 10 behind the visitors come the end of the Powerplay.Northeast upped the tempo with a swept six against Colin Ingram’s wrist spin and, with spin at both ends, Denly repeated the dose against Andrew Salter to keep Kent ticking at eight-an-over. Hitting to the shortest boundary on the Old Dover Road side of the ground, Northeast cleared the ropes again against Ingram as did Denly over extra cover against Wagg as Kent reached 93 for 1 at the midpoint of their reply.After taking a wicket and conceding only two in his opening over, Carey leaked 17 in his second over as Northeast cantered to a 28-ball
fifty with four sixes. But he holed out to deep midwicket when targeting another six off Marchant de Lange to end a second-wicket stand of 89 and bring in left-hander Alex Blake.Denly continued serenely, lofting Wagg for a third maximum in a 36-ball half-century, but Blake chipped to long-off in Meschede’s first over to be replaced by allrounder Jimmy Neesham. Suddenly the boundaries dried up and, with 36 required from the last five overs. Wagg had his revenge by having Denly (68) caught on the ropes at deep midwicket and Kent’s outside victory hopes went with him.Bowling first after winning the toss, Kent made two changes to the side that beat Somerset on Friday night. Having suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury New Zealand paceman Adam Milne was replaced by Calum Haggett, while veteran offspinner James Tredwell was preferred to rookie left-armer Imran Qayyum.Glamorgan made a watchful start through openers Rudolph and Donald, who opened their side’s boundary account in the third over when Matt Coles leaked 15 runs. Neesham also conceded 15 from his second over as Glamorgan completed their Powerplay overs without alarm in reaching 62 without loss.Taking a low-risk approach to batting by keeping the ball on the turf with proper cricket strokes, the visiting openers complimented each other superbly and kept the board ticking just as nicely.Donald was first to his 50 from 30 balls only to lose his middle stump when playing across the line to Haggett’s very next delivery that made it 88 for 1. Glamorgan dangerman Ingram marched in with 275 runs already to his name in this season’s Blast and appeared intent on accelerating the run rate.Rudolph raised Glamorgan’s 100 with an impudent reverse flick for six off Haggett then left-hander Ingram cleared the ropes with a slog-sweep off the next delivery from Tredwell. But, with his score on 11, Ingram risked a lofted straight drive off Coles and miscued high to long-off where Bell-Drummond took a stunning catch on the run.Rudolph cantered to his fifty from 35 balls and finished unbeaten on 77 from 52, while David Miller contributed a useful 43 not out from 25 balls, plundering 19 off Mitch Claydon’s last over to set Kent a tough asking rate of 10 an over for victory.

Pakistan’s new coach Mickey Arthur has said the opportunity of associating with a subcontinent team was a “massive attraction”

Umar Farooq09-Jun-2016Pakistan’s new coach Mickey Arthur has said the opportunity of associating with a subcontinent team was a “massive attraction”. Soon after his arrival in Lahore, his first visit to Pakistan after his appointment, Arthur spoke to the media and explained his decision to take up the job by saying, “If you haven’t coached in the subcontinent you haven’t really coached.”Arthur was appointed last month to fill the role vacated by Waqar Younis, who resigned following the team’s early exit from the World T20. This is Arthur’s third assignment with an international side – he previously coached South Africa from 2005 to 2010, and Australia from 2011 to 2013.”(It has) massive attraction,” Arthur said. “You just got to look at the passion that the Pakistan public have for cricket. The passion that everybody in the subcontinent has for cricket. For me, I wanted to come and coach in the subcontinent at some stage of my coaching career because if you haven’t coached in the subcontinent, you haven’t really coached.”That was a massive attraction, coupled with the fact that we need to improve the rankings in ODI cricket without a doubt, we need to improve the rankings in Twenty20 cricket. We need to become a little bit more consistent. Our Test cricket seems to be very good at the moment. Test cricket is being played in conditions conducive to the subcontinent. If we can play well outside the subcontinent [it] means the team’s really going forward and those are all the challenges I’m really looking forward to.”Pakistan are ranked No. 3 in Test cricket but are currently at ninth place on the ODI table and at No. 7 in T20Is. With a long tour of England and Ireland as his first assignment, Arthur urged the team to guard against fear of failure.”I don’t care if they fail, I don’t care if they make mistakes. Professional people are going to make mistakes. As long as we’re learning from those mistakes and going forward as a team, I’m going to be happy. I don’t want us to fear the failure. I think any team that fears failure is a team that struggles. Certainly I don’t want us to fear failure at all and we’re going to give players the opportunity to get out there and really perform to the best of their ability.”The strategy is to make them believe in their own abilities, make them believe where we are going to take this team and that belief comes over time, it just doesn’t start. I love to see the players dig deep inside and find the extra 10% that’s going to make a significant difference to this team going forward and that’s what I will try to dwell and try to get out of every player. To make sure that they become better, and if they become better players Pakistan cricket will benefit. That is my primary focus at the moment.”Arthur has a two-year deal with the PCB, which will be reviewed after a year based on the team’s performance. With four major series for the side over the next eight months – after the England tour, Pakistan are scheduled to play West Indies, New Zealand and Australia – Arthur has set his sights on identifying players who fit in with the long-term vision of taking the team to No. 1 across formats.”The short-term plan comes in and creates a culture that I think is necessary for a team to be successful,” he said. “With long-term plans I want to get the team to No.1 in all forms of the game, that is without a doubt. We also need to identify long-term players who can be with us for the ride, players who can play all three formats. We need to identify really good allrounders, somebody who can bat in the top six and bowl seam specially when he plays outside subcontinent conditions. Those are all things in my mind as long-term plans.”Arthur had an uneasy tenure as Australia’s coach, despite having garnered success with South Africa. He was sacked almost three weeks before the start of the 2013 Ashes in England, after a challenging time with the team which included the infamous Homeworkgate episode on the tour to India earlier that year. Arthur was confident such an incident would not occur again.”I’ve got no doubt they’ll operate in the right way and Australia did,” he said. “Sometimes things work and sometimes things don’t. We’ve had a good record with Australia but there were other issues that we needed to address and they always say there’s two types of coaches – there’s a coach that’s current and there’s a coach that’s been fired, and if you haven’t been fired, you’ve never coached. So I had a really good five years with South Africa, with Australia we had two very good years and that ended in tears, but that’s what happens. I’m confident that in this role we’ll get things going in the right direction, it won’t happen again.”Arthur’s arrival in Pakistan was delayed by a month – due to paperwork issues involved in switching from South African to Australian citizenship – and he missed the preparatory fitness camp for the England tour. He clarified that his inputs were taken before the selection of the team and that he had had fruitful discussion with the selectors and the rest of the coaching staff.”I had very good and clear communication with the selection panel before this team was selected,” he said. “Inzi (Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s chief selector) and I have built a nice relationship, we spent some time chatting and I know that my opinions will always be taken into account. At the end of the day it’s their job to select the best possible team but I know they will do this in consultation with myself and the captain always.”I’ve had fruitful discussions with every stakeholder throughout the last month – with Inzi and his selection panel, with Mushi (bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed) in terms of the young players coming through, so I’ve got a pretty good indication where Pakistan cricket is. I’ve got a pretty good indication that if we find some players that become long-term, we need to invest in those players, and if we invest in those players and be consistent with our selection, and consistent in the roles that those players have within the team, then, without a doubt, the team will go from strength to strength.”Soon after his appointment, Arthur had stressed the importance of discipline and fitness, and he stated he would manage this on a day-to-day basis to ensure the team’s performance was not affected.”At the end of the day it’s up to me to give them a clear role, let them know exactly how they fit in and also to make sure that they bind to the team. All those issues I haven’t experienced yet and I will manage them on a day-to-day basis to make sure that they don’t impact our performance going forward.”