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Amid scenes of delirium unwitnessed in South London since the unforgettable summer of 2005, England’s cricketers reclaimed the Ashes on a tumultuous fourth afternoon at The Oval, as Australia’s brave resistance – led by a century of incredible mental fortitude from Michael Hussey – was unpicked, wicket by wicket, minute by minute, until, at 5.47pm, and with an expectant crowd willing on the moment of glory, Hussey prodded Graeme Swann to Alastair Cook at short leg to spark the celebrations into life.  At the moment of victory, all of England’s players rushed into a huddle on the edge of the square – all except for one, that is. In his moment of Test retirement, Andrew Flintoff’s first instinct was to seek out and console the crestfallen centurion Hussey, whose 121 from 263 balls had given his side a hope of salvation, but whose careless running between the wickets during a fraught afternoon session had been the single biggest factor in their demise. By calling for the single that led to the run-out of his captain and resistance-leader Ricky Ponting for 66, Hussey is unlikely to recall this particular innings with any fondness whatsoever.

Inevitably, it was Flintoff who stole the show from the Australians. He could not be the tub-thumping batsman of old in this series, while his bowling – though thunderous at Lord’s – faded cruelly as the concerns about his right knee began to mount. But as a presence, and as a man who can make things happen on a cricket field, his spell has scarcely diminished. In a moment that is sure to be replayed for years on end, he gathered a firm clip from Hussey, steadied himself as Ponting hesitated fatally, then unleashed a fast, flat, unerring swing of the arm that plucked out the off stump with Ponting a foot short.

Though the decision went to a replay, Flintoff was in no doubt. He raised his arms in his now-habitual Kodak pose, and waited to be enveloped by his jubilant team-mates. It was a moment eerily reminiscent of Gary Pratt’s series-turning shy at Trent Bridge in 2005, when Ponting once again was the fall guy, and it uncorked the tensions in the crowd as surely as the champagne was uncorked in England’s dressing-room some three hours later. It brought to an end an unnerving stand of 127, and it shattered Australia’s collective will.

Five balls later, their batsman of the series, Michael Clarke ran himself out for a duck after a clip off the pads ricocheted to Andrew Strauss at leg slip, and Australia could not recover their poise. Though Hussey was badly dropped by Paul Collingwood at slip on 55 off Swann, in Swann’s next over, Marcus North dragged his back foot out of the crease as he swung at a big ripper, and Matt Prior, having gathered well high to his left, flicked off the bails almost as an afterthought. Their target of 546 had become a distant figment of their imagination, and at 236 for 5, their only remaining hope was to bat out the final four sessions of the series.

Brad Haddin chose pugnacity as the means to reboot Australia’s innings, and he signalled his intent with two fours in his first nine balls, including a fizzing cover-drive as James Anderson overpitched. But Anderson might have dismissed him three times in a single over, including a regulation clip to short midwicket that was spilled by the substitute, Graham Onions. As he and Hussey took their seventh-wicket stand to 91, an ever-anxious crowd began to shuffle in their seats. On 34, however, his luck finally ran out, as he advanced down the track to Swann and picked out Strauss with a lofted flick to deep midwicket.

It was to be the game-breaking moment. Strauss, usually the coolest of characters in the field, celebrated euphorically as The Oval erupted once more, and seven balls later, the end truly was nigh. Steve Harmison – hitherto muted on a pitch that did not suit his style – extracted enough life for Mitchell Johnson to fence to second slip, where Collingwood, to his relief and joy, finally held on. Then, when Peter Siddle played around his front pad to lob a simple chance to mid-off, Harmison had his second scalp in the space of 12 balls.

That quickly became three in 13, as Stuart Clark fenced nervily to Cook at short leg, and though Hilfenhaus averted the hat-trick with a stabbed defence straight back down the track, there was no longer any way to stem England’s tide of emotion. With Harmison stalking to the crease with a predatory menace unseen in Ashes cricket for four long years, the crowd finally dared to proclaim the Ashes were coming home. Fifteen balls later, they were.

Some six hours earlier, England’s day of destiny had dawned with more than just a frisson of anxiety in the air, thanks to the ease with which Australia’s openers had pushed along at four runs an over on the third evening of the match. But Swann soothed the nation by claiming the initial breakthrough at the end of his second over, tweaking a succession of sharply spinning offbreaks past Simon Katich’s edge, before nailing him plumb lbw with the arm-ball.

Swann bounced for joy in the middle of the pitch as a massive roar of relief and ecstasy erupted from the stands, but almost immediately the fervour morphed into a respectful standing ovation for the incoming Ponting, in his 136th Test and almost certainly his last in England after four memorable Ashes tours.

Before he had faced a delivery, however, England had struck again, as Broad this time hurried Shane Watson on off stump and beat the inside-edge of his defensive prod. Watson did not seem best amused at the decision, but replays suggested there was nothing wrong with the appeal at all. For all of Watson’s impressive form in five innings at the top of Australia’s order, it was nevertheless the fourth time this series he had fallen in such a manner. Food for thought as he works on his new career as an opener.

At 90 for 2 and with a jittery Hussey at the crease, England swarmed onto the offensive, with Swann camping four men around the bat at all times and at one stage sending down 28 dot balls in a row as Hussey prodded and smothered with desperate determination. At the other end, Ponting’s eagerness to play the pull was tempered by his wariness of the vagaries of the wicket, although whenever he was tempted, he executed the stroke with the mastery that has made it his calling-card for the past decade.

In the first over after lunch, Ponting laced a first-ball full-toss from Broad through the covers for four, then tickled Swann around the corner to bring up a battling and brilliant half-century from 76 deliveries. Broad subsequently received a warning for running on the pitch to deepen the crowd’s growing concerns, who had just seen Collingwood at slip parry a rare Ponting edge with his left boot. But then up popped Flintoff, and once he’d had his say, there was no holding back the inevitable.

England allrounder Andrew Flintoff is confident of being fit to round off his Test career in this weeks final Ashes match against Australia . Flintoff missed the fourth Test, which Australia won by an innings and 80 runs to draw level at 1-1 , because of a knee injury. But he said on Tuesday that he has batted and bowled in training to prove his fitness for the series decider at the Oval.
The 31-year-old allrounder is stepping down from Tests after the Ashes in order to reduce the strain on his body and concentrate on limitedovers cricket. But he said that wasnt playing on his mind as he prepares for a final fitness test. Its my last Test, but Im not too fussed about that, Flintoff said. Its more the chance to win Ashes again.
A talismanic member of the team that won the urn in 2005 and then lost it to a 5-0 mauling two years later, Flintoff is key to Englands hopes of a shock victory over an Australia side that appears to have played itself into winning form.
Flintoff hit a 27-ball 30 not out and took five second-innings wickets to help England to victory in the second Test at Lords , but his condition appeared to deteriorate throughout the third Test.

Star allrounder Andrew Flintoff rates the Ashes rivalry against Australia as the ultimate for an Englishman, which could not be compensated by playing in any number of IPL or World Cup matches. The Ashes is like nothing else. You can have your World Cups and IPLs, but as an Englishman, to be able to play in the Ashes is the ultimate, said Flintoff, who has decided to prematurely quit Test cricket after the series owing to his recurring injury worries. Im sure I speak for the Aussies as well. All the traditions, all the great players whove played in it, all the great contests. Theres no doubt about it, these five weeks of Test cricket are the best youll ever play in, he said. Flintoff, who starred in Englands 2005 Ashes win, is again standing tall in the series and he hopes to say goodbye to Test cricket on a triumphant note.

Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson compiled more in a single second-wicket stand of 119 than England’s entire line-up managed in 33.5 overs of abject surrender, as Australia built on the efforts of their four-man seam attack to seize control of the crucial fourth Test at Headingley. Though England battled back in the final session by claiming three wickets in as many overs, including Ponting for 78, nothing could gloss over their humiliation in the opening exchanges of the day. A single pitiful session could well have cost them their chance to reclaim the Ashes.

Shorn of the services of Andrew Flintoff, whose damaged right knee failed to respond to treatment, and already lacking the aggression and presence that Kevin Pietersen brings to their middle-order, England went into a Test without either of their kingpin players for the first time since the tour of Bangladesh in October 2003, and duly played in a manner befitting their opponents of six years ago. They had been handed a late fitness scare when Matt Prior suffered a pre-toss back spasm, which required the toss to be delayed by ten minutes as England finalised their starting XI, and the bewilderment in their ranks was as plain as it had been at 5 o’clock that morning, when a fire alarm at the team hotel had left them shivering in the Leeds drizzle during a mass evacuation.

For most of the summer, Australia have been the team seemingly lacking in direction, but with a sniff of uncertainty in their opponents’ ranks, they at last had a bowling attack to exploit the situation. The decision to recall Stuart Clark for his first Test of the summer, in place of the spinner Nathan Hauritz, was a gamble that paid rich dividends. He marked his comeback with a pre-lunch spell of 3 for 7 in 6.5 overs, while Peter Siddle followed up after the break with 4 for 3 in 14 balls, to finish with the stand-out figures of 5 for 21. Each of the four bowlers claimed at least one wicket, with Ben Hilfenhaus desperately unlucky not to have pinned Andrew Strauss lbw with the very first ball of the match.

As it turned out, Strauss survived a mere 17 balls before squirting a fat edge off Siddle to Marcus North at third slip, whose stunning one-handed reflex catch was the catalyst for the performance that followed. Strauss had spent the final minutes before the start fretting over the fitness of Prior, who injured his back while playing football in the warm-ups, leaving Jonathan Trott on the verge of a debut and Paul Collingwood pencilled in for the wicketkeeping duties, and his mind was evidently some way from the action in the middle. The confirmation of Flintoff’s lack of fitness ended up being the very least of his worries.

In the event, the only England batsman to show any spine was none other than Prior, who was out in the middle at least two sessions sooner than he might have anticipated, but gritted his way to 37 not out from 43 balls before running out of partners. One other batsman managed double figures – Alastair Cook, who was the mainstay of a flimsy top order with 30 from 65 balls – while the middle-order triumvirate of Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and Collingwood showed worrying shortcomings in temperament and technique respectively.

Hilfenhaus accounted for Bopara, earning due reward for his line, length and consistent swing when Michael Hussey collected a loose back-foot punch in the gully, and at 16 for 2, the stage was hardly set for the fragile Bell to make his mark. Mitchell Johnson responded to his arrival with his best and most hostile spell of the series. Threatening to bend the ball back into the right-hander at will, and finding a superb line to complement his subtle changes of length, Johnson tormented Bell’s outside edge before slipping in a wicked bouncer that was gloved through to Brad Haddin.

Next in the procession was Collingwood, whose returns have faded alarmingly since his match-saving performance at Cardiff in the first Test. He couldn’t negotiate Clark’s sharp outswing, which he prodded limply to Ponting at second slip for a fifth-ball duck, and Clark claimed his second scalp in the space of 11 balls when Cook’s resistance ended with a low edge to Michael Clarke at first slip.

Prior did his best to rally the innings in his standard counter-punching style, but Stuart Broad found the going extremely tough in his over-promoted position of No. 7, and was extracted on the stroke of lunch when Katich at short leg scooped Clark’s third of the innings. Then it was over to Siddle to make mincemeat of a tail that had wagged regularly in the series so far, but was unable to make any headway at all with the momentum all in the bowlers’ favour. Graeme Swann laboured to a 15-ball duck which ended with a snick to first slip, while Harmison – back in the side at Flintoff’s expense – edged to the keeper to notch the 20th duck of his career, an England record he now shares with Mike Atherton.

James Anderson did at least manage to extend his duckless run to 53 innings, but the scampered single that preserved his world record culminated in a leg injury that visibly reduced his subsequent effectiveness with the ball. He and Graham Onions were bounced from the crease in consecutive Siddle deliveries, whereupon Shane Watson clattered Anderson’s first two deliveries of the reply through point for a brace of fours in a style reminiscent of Michael Slater. Though Harmison responded by extracting Katich at leg gully with the fourth ball of his comeback, Ponting emerged to put his personal seal on the day with a smouldering and initiative-seizing cameo.

Once again, Ponting came to the crease to a chorus of boos, but true to form, he turned the animosity to his advantage. Latching onto the slightest error in length, he pulled Onions’ first ball through midwicket for six, in an over that eventually went for 17 runs, as Australia’s fifty was brought up in just 39 deliveries. Ponting’s only let-off en route to his 63-ball half-century came on 32, when Bell missed a shy from the covers that would have run him out by five yards.

For as long as he and Watson were in tandem, Australia’s dominance was absolute. Watson, revelling in his new opener’s role, cracked his third half-century in as many innings, and battered Harmison for four fours in nine balls as England’s bowlers completely forgot about the virtues of line and length. But then, almost without warning, they finally remembered to pitch the ball up, and with a hint of movement around that habitual 30-over mark, they succeeded in stemming the tide.

First to strike was Onions, who pinned Watson lbw for 51 as he whipped across the line, whereupon Broad – for the first time this summer – opted to follow suit. Twice in four balls he angled the ball in from a full length, first to end Ponting’s stay on 78, and then to remove Hussey before he could get going. England created opportunities as the shadows lengthened, not least when Harmison, in a furious final spell, cracked Michael Clarke on the helmet and the glove from consecutive deliveries. But by the close, Australia’s hold on the Ashes was looking as sprightly as it has done since Cardiff.

Its a bit repetitive to claim on the eve of every Ashes Test that it is a huge game for us, but thats exactly how both teams are feeling on Thursday, ahead of the fourth Test. Both sides have injury concerns, and it will be interesting to see what the final teams will look like.
For us, Brett Lee is 100 per cent fit, and has had rigorous net sessions both on Wednesday and Thursday. However, it is important to resist the temptation of rushing him back into the game. He has played no cricket recently, and one would not want to push him too hard after an injury. The selectors will of course be looking at the importance of this Test, and I dont think they will take a decision till just before the start of the game.
The other major concern is about Michael Clarkes abdomen strain. He is a little sore at the moment, and considering his recent form, we are hoping he will be in better shape before the start of the game. Brad Haddin has recovered really well, but here again we will have to see how he feels on Friday morning. For England, all eyes are trained on Andrew Flintoff. They have picked an extra batsman as cover for him should he be unavailable, but like us I feel they will take a final call only on match day.
The Edgbaston Test saw many of our players come into form. Michael Hussey looked impressive and Marcus North also showed glimpses of the form he had displayed in South Africa.
Shane Watson has also fitted in pretty well at the top of the order, which is a big boost for the balance of the side. These performances will hopefully be the start of good things for us, and I was happy with our bowling as well.
Mitchell Johnson bowled with a lot of fire and aggression. In fact, it was nice to see him and Stuart Broad having a go at each other. They are young kids in the heat of battle and nobody went overboard with the chit-chat . Australia as a team plays its best cricket when they play with intensity intent and aggression. I hope to see more of that in the next two Tests.

The BCCIs demand for an independent anti-doping code lacks credibility and the unprofessional , bullyish manner in which it has rejected the World Anti-Doping Agencys (WADA) compliance requirements may lead to its alienation from the international sports community.
These are the views expressed by a cross-section of eminent ex-players in the wake of the Indian boards decision to stand by its players and refuse being a signatory to the WADAs whereabouts clause and, by extension, an internationally recognized, and mandatory, anti-doping umbrella.
There are also growing fears within the fraternity that the board has gone to unreasonable lengths to justify whimsical demands of the 11 Indian players in the ICCs anti-dope testing pool, directly tarnishing the sports image and raising concerns in the public domain about BCCIs ability and desire to combat the menace of doping. What is good for the entire sporting world is good for Indian cricketers and they are no exception to the law, is the general sentiment.
Unlike Monkeygate , or even the Mike Denness incident, the BCCI might find little public support for its stance here, feel many. The ICC became a WADA signatory in 2006 and is a party to the revised International Standard for Testing (IST) since Jan 1, 2009. On Sunday, the BCCI refused to abide by a WADA code which requires players to reveal their whereabouts three months in advance to enable surprise dope tests. All other cricket-playing nations apart from India have already signed within the July 31 deadline.
BCCI is used to arm-twisting a toothless ICC to get what it wants but this time it might have gone too far, argued former India player Ashok Malhotra . Why is it always BCCI which has problems Everyone from Roger Federer to Yelena Isinbayeva can be a signatory but not Sachin Tendulkar or MS Dhoni Ricky Ponting and Andrew Flintoff have all signed up despite reservations about privacy because it is the right thing to do. Dont the Sri Lankan or Pakistani players have security concerns The BCCIs bizarre schoolboy-bully behaviour will not be forever tolerated by ICC members even if the threat of a sponsor-pullout looms. Like FIFA, they can ask for minor modifications but this hostile stance is unwarranted . And the demand for ICCs own doping body is ridiculous and exposes a lack of perspective.
Importantly, this refusal by the worlds richest cricket board risks ICCs ejection from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and hampers its chances of globalising the sport through participation in events like the Olympics. It could also, if unresolved , lead to a ban on Team India participating in ICC events.
BCCI has not thought of the consequences because they are always used to getting their way. Doping issues are very relevant for cricket in this day and age, unlike earlier, said former India batsman Abbas Ali Baig, The demand for an independent dopecontrol body is not credible since we dont know what BCCI is doing to prevent use of unethical medical methods . If the code is intrusive, why has everyone else signed up I feel that BCCI is unsure if the code is indeed draconian and they are simply going by what players feel. Also, it is a total failure of communication since all this could have been sorted out long back.
Former player, coach and selector Madan Lal said, If our cricketers are not used to living like top-level athletes then they should learn. It is a responsibility on Indias part not to jeopardize any sports chances at international level. More should be done to enhance awareness levels among Board members and players because the public wants a clean sport.
Lals thoughts were echoed by Maninder Singh, former spinner, who said, It is unprofessional behaviour. Like FIFA, there is a gentler way of bringing things to the table in case of differences. Crickets entire international structure is now at risk.
Former captain Kapil Dev, though, while refusing comment on the nature of the WADA clause, told 22yards: Why arent these questions being asked to the eminent people associated with BCCI They must know what to do next.
Do they really Does even the ICC, so dependent on revenues generated from India, know With cricket already lurching from one crisis to another while trying to sustain spectator interest , this latest tantrum from BCCI is the last thing the sport needs. Cricket has had doping-related scandals before think Shane Warne, Mohd Asif and Shoaib Akhtar and international norms cannot be so brusquely brushed under the carpet.

Barring an act of God or Duke, England should enter the home stretch of the Ashes series in the ascendancy. When Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell accepted the umpires’ offer of bad light at 5.45pm, the hosts packed their kitbags content in the knowledge that their dominant day two performance, coupled with the bleak forecast for days three and five of the Test, had made Australia’s task of squaring the series at Edgbaston difficult in the extreme.

James Anderson

 Much of the credit for England’s position of strength belonged to James Anderson (5 for 80) and Graham Onions (4 for 58), who claimed Australia’s last nine wickets for 137 runs in 40.4 overs on Friday. Their mastery of Birmingham’s conditions reopened old Australian wounds against quality swing bowling, and wrested back the momentum claimed by the tourists the previous evening.

 Strauss and Bell reinforced England’s advantage in the final session with an unbroken 56-run stand that owed something to fortune. Bell was somehow deemed not out by umpire Rudi Koertzen to a Johnson delivery that replays suggested would have thundered into middle-and-off, and the Warwickshire batsman made the most of his reprieve to advance to stumps unbeaten on 26.

 His captain, Strauss, experienced no such heart palpitations to finish the day on 64 not out in an innings marked by stoic defence and fluent driving. Strauss was seldom flustered as Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara fell by the wayside to Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus respectively to further pad his lead atop the series run-scorers’ list.

 Earlier, Anderson collected his seventh career five-wicket haul and his best return against Australia on a morning that left the raucous Edgbaston faithful in thrall. Ricky Ponting may have usurped Allan Border as Australia’s leading Test run-scorer in the first session, but the morning well and truly belonged to Anderson and Onions, who more than made amends for a wasteful evening session on Thursday.

 Onions began in the most emphatic manner imaginable, removing Shane Watson and Michael Hussey with the first two deliveries of the second day, while Anderson bookended the first session in a similar fashion with the wickets of Marcus North and Johnson in consecutive deliveries on the stroke of lunch.

 Anderson’s spells either side of lunch produced figures of 5 for 35, and Onions’ 4 for 37 – an analysis which might well have been enhanced if not for several dropped catches off his bowling – as Australia’s age-old problems against the swinging ball resurfaced. With heavy rain predicted for much of the next three days, England appear the only team capable of forcing a result, short of a major change in weather and Australian fortunes.

 Onions played a lead role in the only first-class result at Edgbaston this season – taking nine wickets to guide Durham past Warwickshire – and continued his love affair with the ground. Exploiting the heavy overhead conditions to full effect, he bowled unchanged for nine overs, during which he swung the ball extravagantly into both the right- and left-handers and threatened off the seam.

 He struck with the first ball of the day, beating a lunging Watson for pace to trap him lbw for 62. The dismissal served as an underwhelming exit for Watson, who the previous evening had gone some way to justifying the faith of Australia’s selectors in his first outing as a Test opener with an assured half-century.

 The tremors intensified for the Australians the next ball when Onions angled a delivery into Hussey, who obliged by hoisting his bat high above his head and watching helplessly as the ball cannoned into the top of off-stump. Hussey has twice been bowled this series without offering a shot – the other to Andrew Flintoff at Lord’s – and now possesses the modest record of 81 runs at 20.25 this series. Many more muddle-headed performances like this, and Australia might well ponder more changes to their XI moving ahead.

 Onions’ would-be hat-trick ball might have been his most disappointing of the morning – a short, leg-side offering to Michael Clarke – but could not detract from an otherwise fine spell of bowling in which he probed the Australians’ pads and proved a constant menace. The visitors steadied just long enough for Ponting to notch his 11,175th career run to overhaul Border’s long-standing national record, but he could not capitalise on his historic moment, top-edging a hook off Onions to Matt Prior for 38.

 Clarke appeared the only man capable of sparing Australia’s blushes, and fortune briefly smiled upon him. The vice-captain was blessed to have been ruled not out to an exceptionally close Onions lbw shout on 18, and again when dropped off the same bowler by Flintoff at second slip. Interspersed with these reprieves were some fine periods of batting in the cauldron-like atmosphere, however his hopes of leading a middle-order fightback were dashed when Rudi Koertzen adjudged him leg-before to an Anderson delivery that appeared to be slipping down the leg-side.

 Thus commenced a superb sequence of swing bowling from Anderson. Finding the aerial movement that eluded him at Cardiff and Lord’s, the Lancastrian crashed through for the wickets of North to a superb, one-handed catch by Prior and Johnson to a dubiously high lbw decision in consecutive deliveries. He rounded out the session by comprehensively bowling Graham Manou, the Australian debutant who had been presented with his baggy green cap prior to play.

 Australia coaxed a valuable 60 runs from their final two wickets, padding the total to a reasonable 263, but they would not emerge from the second session. Anderson prompted Peter Siddle into a feathered edge to Prior shortly after the lunch break to complete his first five-wicket haul side against the Australians, while Onions returned for the scalp of Hilfenhaus for a career-best 20.

Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has joined the debate on IPL’s threat to Test cricket and said if players are paid substantially more for playing in the Twenty20 league then there will be others like Andrew Flintoff who will quit Tests.

 ”It’s a natural progression that the guys are then going to say ‘I’m not interested in bowling 25 overs in a day when I can bowl four overs in a six-week period and earn three times as much’,” Kirtsen said. “The worrying side that I’m seeing is that a guy like Andrew Flintoff, a high profile cricketer, has now made the decision to leave Test cricket, because he feels that he can get more out of his body and earn much more money by moving away from Test cricket and playing ODIs and Twenty20 cricket. He’s perfectly right in his decision. Why not?”

 Kirsten said if countries wanted Test cricket to remain as the No. 1 format then priorities had to be sorted. “India plays six Tests this year. Is that sufficient or are there other priorities? I don’t know.”

 Kirsten also said the number of Twenty20s per tour should be increased in place of ODIs. “It’s quite interesting that we’ve got a Twenty20 World Cup in April next year in the West Indies and Team India don’t play one Twenty20 game until that tournament starts. What should be happening is that we should be going on tour and playing six Twenty20 games and one or two 50-over games. I think that’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time.”

 New Zealand players have decided to forgo next year’s IPL for a Test series against Australia at home. Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, said while the national side had to be the players’ priority, it was difficult for them to continue to turn down the money.

England have named their 30-man preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy, which begins in South Africa in September.

The squad, which must be reduced to 15 men by 23rd August, includes uncapped players Joe Denly, Michael Lumb, and Graham Napier with the likes of Ed Joyce, Rob Key and Jonathan Trott rewarded for good form in domestic cricket.

England are in Group B of the eight-team tournament alongside South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka and they kick off their campaign against Sri Lanka on 25th September in Johannesburg.

“The ICC Champions Trophy is an opportunity for the England One-Day side to compete for a global trophy and we are confident we have the talent to make a strong claim,” national selector Goeff Miller commented.
 
“We have an exciting blend of youth and experience in this preliminary squad and we’ll continue to watch the limited overs form of all players involved over the coming month.
 
“With the exception of Hampshire’s Michael Lumb, who has been in excellent form for his county this year, each member of this preliminary squad has experienced playing for England on the international stage. It is pleasing to see such genuine competition for places as we look to half the squad later next month.”

The squad includes Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, both of whom are struggling at the moment with knee and Achilles injuries respectively.

England provisional Champions Trophy squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steve Davies, Joe Denly, Andrew Flintoff, James Foster, Stephen Harmison, Ed Joyce, Rob Key, Michael Lumb, Sajid Mahmood, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Eoin Morgan, Graham Napier, Graham Onions, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Luke Wright

Shane Watson is ready to become a improvised opener if Phillip Hughes’ woes continue, but the allrounder expects it will be the added value of his bowling that earns him a Test return. Watson, who has recovered from a thigh injury, is officially in the squad as a specialist batsman and has the backing of the coach Tim Nielsen to fill any spot in the order.

While Hughes has struggled, particularly against Andrew Flintoff, in posting 57 runs in the opening two Tests, it would be just as big a risk to replace him because there are no other genuine openers in the squad. One of the major criticisms of the selectors is they don’t have cover for Hughes or Simon Katich, but they believe Watson is capable of doing the job. He does as well.

“Definitely,” Watson said. “I’ve been working on my batting, especially the past couple of months, tightening up my technique a little more. I’ve always said I believe I have the game – and the mental game – to bat anywhere in the top order. I’ve been batting from three to four for Queensland for the last three or four years and opening the batting in one-day cricket.”

Watson did have a stint at the top in the Sheffield Shield a couple of summers ago when he hoped to break into the Test team after Justin Langer’s retirement, but the experiment ended before Christmas. “That was nice and successful,” he said while smiling. Have things changed since then? “Yes.”

The Australians, who are down 1-0, head to Northampton on Wednesday to prepare for Friday’s tour match, Watson’s first game of the tour. After spending two weeks on his fitness following the injury picked up during last month’s World Twenty20, he hopes to deliver between 12 and 15 overs a day to prove he is capable of adding to his eight Tests. He also dreams of the days when his body frees him of the restrictions.

“Up to 15 overs is the ideal workload for me until I can get through some games consistently and then my ultimate goal is to have a free rein on what I bowl, but at the moment that’s a little while away,” he said. “That’s the thing that I’m aiming for and hopefully I can get some continuous cricket into my body.”

Watson believes he can create greater balance in the side, offering contributions with both disciplines. However, unless Australia drop someone in the top six – Marcus North scored a century in Cardiff and Michael Hussey’s form is improving – it is unlikely he will squeeze into the XI unless Hughes continues to underwhelm.

“I bring a bowling option to the team, as well as batting in the top order,” he said. “It’s always helpful for the captain to have another option.”

Watson has not played since the Twenty20 loss to Sri Lanka in Nottingham last month and has gradually increased his bowling load. He has been joined in rehabilitation by Brett Lee, who has been fighting a stomach injury since before the series started and is battling to be fit for next week’s third Test. Watson knows better than anyone about injuries and said it would be a miracle if Lee was able to play in the tour game.

“It normally takes at least a week of building up your bowling to be physically fit to play in a game,” he said. “I’d say it’d be a long shot for him to be fit, but miracles can happen.”

The other major fear for Australia is the form of Mitchell Johnson, who was so erratic at Lord’s that his place has come under question. Johnson has spent a lot of time with Watson at Queensland, where they played before moving interstate, and is trying to find the form that made him a world-beater in South Africa four months ago.

“Mitch is travelling okay,” Watson said. “He knows he’s not exactly at his best, but it wasn’t too long ago that he was at his absolute best in South Africa. At his best, he’s one of the best bowlers in the world.”

Johnson’s lack of form adds to the side’s troubles and even the fringe members of the squad are feeling the stress. “There’s pressure on everyone,” Watson said. “We’ve got to be at our best – no excuses – and we have to stand up as a group. Each individual has to do everything we can to leave these shores with the Ashes in our hand.”

Watson was in England four years ago when Australia lost that series, but he was playing for Hampshire instead of fighting for a Test place. He didn’t expect the explosion of interest in the contest since the host’s victory at Lord’s, but won’t blame that for his team’s under-performance at the home of cricket.

They have a week to work out how to keep their opponents quiet, something they failed to do in 2005. “It can be very difficult at times when England have their tail up,” he said. “They are extremely good frontrunners: the team, the public and the media. But we can’t let other influences affect our preparation or psyche. That’s something we’ve got to be very conscious of.”