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ScorecardChris Rogers flayed Essex all around the County Ground•Getty Images

Derbyshire will be crossing their fingers they have a team capable of building on a dominant opening day of their promotion clash. Illness is spreading through the squad, confirmed as swine flu in one player, with the bowling department being worst hit. At least those who remain healthy will have plenty of runs to play with after Chris Rogers, himself understood not to be feeling 100%, hit an unbeaten 204 as the home side reached 368 for 3.Rogers will struggle to add to his single Test cap despite Phillip Hughes’ problems during the Ashes series. However, he can do no more than pile up the runs in domestic cricket and during this innings he passed 2000 for all competitions this season. And if he was feeling any effects from illness, he certainly didn’t show it as he was striking the ball as cleanly at six o’clock as he was when play began.He felt no need to change his game as stumps approached, instead belting two dismissive, on-the-up, cover drives to take him into the 190s. Then he slog-swept Danish Kaneria for six before working a single into the off side to reach a dominant double hundred from 290 balls. It gave Rogers a run of two doubles and two other centuries in seven innings.Unlike Rogers’ uncomplicated approach to batting, however, the maths behind who might join Kent in the promotion stakes is much more taxing. The easiest situation to understand when play began was that Essex held the aces. A 19-point win would guarantee them promotion, but that is now looking a long shot at best. Northamptonshire, currently taking on Leicestershire, are the side to have gained most from today in terms of their promotion chances.Tim Groenewald was ruled out before the game after being diagnosed with swine flu and spending Saturday night in hospital. Tom Lungely, the seamer, was then sent home this morning as a precaution after showing symptoms while four others – Jamie Pipe, Graham Wagg, Greg Smith and Rogers himself – were also struggling. At least the dressing room appeared in good humour as they displayed a poster of a pig and a message to Groenewald on the window.With the home side needing a result they gambled and left plenty of grass on the surface. Essex then won the toss, but couldn’t take advantage as they bowled too short during the opening session, allowing Derbyshire to reach lunch at 110 for 1. The lone breakthrough went to Chris Wright when he trapped Wayne Madsen leg before with one that would probably have clipped leg stump.Derbyshire, though, were able to score at a healthy rate, important for their cause of racking up bonus points as quickly as possible, while the Essex attack continued to forget the basics of how to exploit helpful conditions. The scoreline doesn’t suggest it, but the ball moved all day long. Rogers cut and drove strongly against anything marginally off line – of which there was plenty – and reminded everyone that there is no shortage of batting talent in Australia as he reached his hundred from 154 deliveries.Moments before his century Rogers had lost Garry Park following a second-wicket stand of 121. Park’s eighth half-century of the season came from 82 balls, but his problem has been converting into three figures which he has only managed once. And again he couldn’t capitalise on a solid base when he pushed at a delivery from Wright that moved away and edged a comfortable catch to first slip.Daniel Redfern, a 19-year-old left-hander of immense promise, began with a brace of elegant cover drives and also showed some impressive footwork when he kicked away a ball that was threatening to fall perilously close to the stumps. Rogers, too, had a nervous moment, on 134, as the ball rolled into leg stump without dislodging a ball – but it was the closest Essex came to removing him. The visitors were hampered by a struggling Kaneria, who would normally at least offer control, as he was suffering problems with his Achilles.The third-wicket pair had added 130 when Redfern fell to the new ball, driving loosely and sending a catch to gully to give Wright his third wicket, as the ball was belatedly pitched up on the right line. But there was no further success for a weary attack as Rogers and Wavell Hinds batted out the final session. However, while runs are on the board it remains to be seen how Derbyshire’s bowling attack pulls up and, still, events elsewhere could have the final say.

Daniel Vettori has singled out Tillakaratne Dilshan’s ruthless performance with the bat as the key factor behind New Zealand’s 202-run defeat in Galle.Dilshan, promoted to open the innings for the first time in Tests, raced to 92 off 72 balls in the first innings and followed it up with a century in the second which helped his team set New Zealand an improbable target. The manner in which he dominated also mirrored the ineffectiveness of New Zealand’s bowlers and Vettori admitted the uneven contest shut his team out of the match. “We won the toss we wanted to and probably didn’t quite do the job,” he said. “Look back and see how well Dilshan played and how poorly we bowled to him were the real defining moments throughout the game.”Sri Lanka’s batting effort was a collective one with Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera scoring centuries in the first innings and the middle order stepping up to get some quick runs while setting the target in the second. Not that New Zealand were without opportunities. They made early inroads in both innings only to be thwarted by Dilshan’s unrelenting strokeplay. “We had a couple of opportunities to put pressure on them but every time we did it he took it away from us and played exceptionally well,” Vettori said. “When you have a player like that it makes it very tough to captain. He just took the momentum away from us.”New Zealand’s worries were compounded when seven of their players were hit by a stomach bug; Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, who returned to the team hotel at the start of yesterday’s play, were the worst affected. Though the illness had a bearing on their fitness, Vettori said it was not an excuse for the way they batted today. Chasing an imposing 413, New Zealand’s hopes of saving the game were dashed early this morning when they lost three wickets for 15 runs.”We hoped that we could bat for longer periods of time but in some ways a few illnesses came against us and the application wasn’t quite there,” he said. “We tried to stay as long as we could and hoped for rain or to hang on but when you lose five of the top six for scores of under 50 it makes it very tough. Illness aside we could have fought harder in this Test match.”Vettori led by example, taking five wickets in the Test and contributing two defiant knocks down the order in each innings to resist Sri Lanka. He was in charge of a team that was highly inexperienced against the spin threat of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis but the disappointing aspect of its batting performance was the lack of competitiveness against pace. Fast bowlers Thilan Thushara and Nuwan Kulasekara bagged eight of the 20 New Zealand wickets and their success, Vettori felt, had a significant impact on the outcome.”One of the disappointing things was to lose as many wickets to the seamers as we did coming here with a focus thinking that the spin bowlers are going to play a major part,” he said. “We put a lot of effort in there and I think we played them pretty well. Murali is quality bowler and a difficult customer to come up against. But I think the way Thushara bowled was probably where we let ourselves down. He took six wickets in the Test match and bowled very well.”Vettori, though, took encouragement from the way his batsmen handled spin. “We played spin quite well,” he said. “There was all this talk leading to the Test match how we are going to cope with Murali and Mendis, the guys were pretty comfortable picking them and understanding what they were trying to do. They are still very good bowlers and still if you pick them you still got to play them. That’s the one positive we can take into the next Test match.”

Match facts

Sunday August 9, 2009
Start time 14.30 (09.00 GMT)Can we have some boom boom please?•Getty Images

Big Picture

The spark has rather disappeared from a tour that during the Test portion delivered a few non-fatal surprises for Sri Lanka, such as Fawad Alam’s maiden century, Danish Kaneria’s five, and Umar Gul’s bursts of reverse. Sri Lanka were utterly dominant in the first three ODIs and their series win has been totally justified. There was no resistance from Pakistan until the fourth game, a dead rubber, in which Umar Akmal treated spectators to a most effortless maiden century and Iftikhar Anjum bounced back with five wickets in no time.The wheels haven’t quite come off for Pakistan, but the nuts have certainly been loosened and the main aim is to continue to regain some lost pride. Sunday’s match represents another chance for Pakistan to turn around their short-term fortunes, yet the poor form of their senior players – Mohammad Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq in particular – may prompt the management to revert to youth. Intikhab Alam, Pakistan’s coach, said the wonderful partnership between Umar and captain Younis Khan gave a lot of confidence to the team for the final ODI and the Twenty20.It’s a shame Sri Lanka and Pakistan don’t go into the final ODI with the series level. A tight run-chase under lights at the Premadasa, with the series at stake, would have been a delightful prospect.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)Sri Lanka – LWWWW
Pakistan – WLLLW

Watch out for…

Malinga Bandara has never been a big turner of the ball but recalled for the fourth ODI, he again displayed why he can be a handful. He mixed googlies with topspinners regularly and relied on a very good line to keep the batsmen watchful. Importantly he tried to make the batsmen come at him, often tossing the ball up generously. Figures of 2 for 40 were a fine return for a man in his comeback game.Shahid Afridi was not required to do much with the bat in the last game but did pick up a couple wickets with his fast legspin. With this being the last ODI before he is elevated to the captaincy for the one-off Twenty20, Afridi could just pump himself up for a special evening. It just seems far fetched that one of Pakistan’s most inconsistent yet match-turning performers won’t make an impact come the end of the series.

Team news

It is perfectly reasonable to expect Pakistan to name an unchanged side from the one which walloped Sri Lanka on Friday, but there may be a recall for Fawad at the expense of one of Yousuf and Misbah. Umar and Anjum took the plaudits for their match-winning hands, while Pakistan will hope Imran Nazir can curb his aggression and find form at the top.Pakistan: (probable) 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Imran Nazir, 3 Younis Khan (capt), 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq/Fawad Alam, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Naved-ul-Hasan, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Mohammad Aamer, 11 Iftikhar Anjum.Trevor Bayliss, Sri Lanka’s coach, said the team will be looking to make a few changes in the last ODI on Sunday in order to give some of the other players a rest. It is foreseeable that Lasith Malinga, who went for 79 in his ten overs without taking a wicket and came in for some harsh treatment from Umar, will be rested. Nuwan Kulasekara could return in his place after a game’s rest. Thilan Thushara could also be given a rest, which puts left-arm medium-pacer Isuru Udana in the mix.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Chamara Kapugedera, 7 Thilina Kandamby, 8 Thilan Thushara, 9 Malinga Bandara, 10 Isuru Udana/Nuwan Kulasekara, 11 Ajantha Mendis.

Weather and conditions

The forecast for the fourth ODI was scattered thunderstorms in the evening but there wasn’t a drop of rain. The venue is the same so expect the side winning the toss to bat. Chasing under lights has always been very difficult at the Premadasa.

Quotes

“Upul [Tharanga] looks like he’s getting into the swing of things and getting his confidence back. He is starting to time the ball very nicely. He was strong enough to hit one straight for six.”

A thrilled Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday described his inclusion in the”dream team” of cricket legend Sir Donald Bradman as the “greatestthing to happen”.”It is a great honour, the greatest thing to happen. It is importantwhen Sir Don speaks anything and especially when he selects me in histeam, there cannot be a better thing than that,” a beaming Tendulkarsaid in his first reaction after receiving the news of his inclusionin the team envisioned by Bradman.In an interview to Star News, the batting maestro said, “I am verythrilled about it and very excited. There are some great names missingand to see my name in it, I am more than thrilled. After Sir Don batsand before Gary Sobers. What else can you ask for. All I can say isthat it’s a great honour.”Tendulkar is the only cricketer still playing and the only one fromthe Indian sub-continent who has been able to find a place inBradman’s World XI – the all-time ideal team to beat the rest,according to a book, ‘Bradman’s Best’, chronicled by Roland Perry.On his missing out on the current tour of Sri Lanka due to a footinjury, Tendulkar said “it has been very difficult because in the last12 years, I have not missed a single Test match and now I have to stayaway like this. I never wanted this till the end of my carrier. It hasbeen difficult. Probably I am physically here but I am very much therewith the team and I have watched most of the games and my involvementis probably as much as the others,” he said.On a query whether there is still scope for improvement after beingpreferred over so many greats, Tendulkar said “there is always roomfor improvement. It is not that you are going to develop 15 shotsovernight but may be you have other avenues which could be used toreach your destination. I can only improve if I work hard. I amsetting goals but it should not go to the extent where you forgetabout your batting and just look it as what you want to do. If I goout there and play, I am sure I will reach there,” he said.Describing his absence from the Sri Lanka tour as a “forced break”,Tendulkar, however, said “it surely did lot to recharge my batteriesand gave me time to think what actually happened on the Zimbabwe tourand prior to that against Australia. It does give you time to thinkabout your game and analyse it and get better. I am sure it can help.But just being out there is a different feeling altogether and whenyou perform well it is a different feeling alltogether. You cannotcompare it to anything else.”On his reported strained relationship with Sourav Ganguly, he said, “Ithink people are going to talk one thing or the other but provided theunderstanding between me and Sourav is there, we don’t have anyproblem. It is a very transparent relationship. It has not affected usat all.”Congratulating Virender Sehwag for his magnificent innings during theone day international against New Zealand, Tendulkar said, “I think hebatted exceptionally well. Since the start of the Sri Lanka tour, Ikept talking to him over the phone. I was thrilled. I was notsurprised because I knew exactly what he was capable of.”On other budding cricketers, he said “we have some promisingcricketers. What we have to do is to stick together and play goodcricket.”Asked if he was worried about his future after the break, Tendulkarsaid, “I am not worried about my future. Yes, there is an eagerness toget back but I am not really worried about my career. Everyday I amlearning as a cricketer. I will keep it to myself and get better,” headded.

Super Sixes – 3rd day
Free State 196 and 141 for 6 (Liebenberg 50) beat Border 153 and 183 (Sugden 46) by 4 wickets
ScorecardAfter bowling Border out for 183 at Bloemfontein, Free State made heavy work of reaching their modest target, losing six wickets in their quest for 141 and victory. Border had started the third day with a lead of 83, but only four wickets in hand. Craig Sugden contributed a solid 46 in 166 minutes before missing one from Kosie Venter. Dewald Pretorius took 3 for 25. With a day in hand Free State were in no hurry, and took 53 overs to score the runs they needed. Gerhardus Liebenberg top-scored with 50, while Charl Langeveldt, despite suffering from slight concussion after he was hit on the head while batting, ended up with 3 for 28. Five of the six wickets fell to catches by Abongile Sodumo, Border’s wicketkeeper.Griqualand West 185 and 128 for 2 (Gidley 48, Hector 66*) trail Western Province 554 for 2 dec (Puttick 250*, Ferreira 130, Duminy 100*) by 241 runs
ScorecardWestern Province continued to score at will at Newlands, with Andrew Puttick going on to a career-best 250 not out – he hit 36 fours and a six, from 479 balls, in four minutes less than ten hours at the crease – while Lloyd Ferreira and JP Duminy also made centuries. The 19-year-old Duminy oozes with talent, and after only seven first-class games he averages 90, with two hundreds and two half-centuries. His maturity speaks volumes, and a bright international future must be just around the corner. After the declaration at 554 for 2 Griqualand West lost a wicket in the first over, but recovered to 128 for by the close. But the Griquas, still 241 behind, have a lot of hard work ahead of them.North West 255 and 93 for 6 lead KwaZulu-Natal 227 (HM Amla 46, AM Amla 48, Roe 5-57) by 121 runs
ScorecardRain again forced the players off the field early at Durban, after North West had bowled Natal out for 227 to grab a slender 28-run lead. Garth Roe finished with five wickets. then Graham Grace, who made a century in the first innings, was again the thorn in Natal’s side, gritting it out to stumps for an unbeaten 30, but by then North West were struggling at 93 for 6, with three of the wickets falling to run-outs. With only four wickets to take, KwaZulu-Natal are slight favourites and may yet emerge from this rain-affected match with a win.Shield – 2nd day
Easterns 517 for 7 dec (Seymore 102, Koenig 71, Z de Bruyn 84, Cullinan 117) lead Eastern Province 127 for 2 (Bradfield 43*) by 390 runs
ScorecardEasterns added a further 202 runs to their overnight total at Port Elizabeth, before declaring at 517 for 7. Daryll Cullinan showed that he still has a lot to offer, scoring 117 at nearly a run a ball, with ten fours and five sixes, before the declaration. Brent Kops, on a bowler’s nightmare of a pitch, took 3 for 106. Eastern Province, having been batted out of the game, adopted a defensive approach and ended the day on 127 for 2 from 51 overs, with Carl Bradfield (43*) and James Bryant (36*) still there.Northerns v Gauteng
ScorecardFor the second day running there was no play at Centurion because of rain.

World cricket administrators must be prepared for change in the near future where they are likely to have to strike a balance between five high-profile Twenty20 tournaments every year and traditional formats like Tests and ODIs, Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), has said.In an interview to Cricinfo a day after the second IPL ended in South Africa, Majola said the ICC’s Future Tours Programe (FTP), the current version of which lapses in 2012, is also likely to adjust accordingly.CSA is a founding partner of the Champions Twenty20 League, a multi-nation club event that will be held in India in October, and is in negotiations with Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket to hold a separate Southern Twenty20 league involving domestic teams from the three countries. With the ECB approving plans last month for their own P20 league, and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, floating the idea of a second annual season, world cricket will soon confront a future packed with five Twenty20 leagues a year, apart from Tests and ODIs.Majola believes, though, that there is room for all formats to thrive if there is a willingness to change. “Cricket remains a dynamic sport, and administrators must also be prepared for change if it is needed,” he said “There is room for all forms of this great game. With the advent of the IPL and similar tournaments, the FTP is most likely to adjust accordingly.”Majola, however, dismissed as a “misconception” suggestions that Test cricket was in danger because of these Twenty20 leagues. “South Africa and Australia have recently completed a six-Test, home-and-away series with every match going to the wire and producing a result — there were no draws,” Majola said. “All matches drew full houses and the players responded accordingly with exciting, positive cricket. If this vein continues, Test cricket will stay healthy. I am sure it will also gain from the new generation of spectators coming from the T20 arena. Certainly, T20 has produced a lot more adventure in Test cricket and there is definitely a place in both forms for skilled players.”Majola also said that the “enormously resounding success” of the IPL has come as a surprise, given the short span of time in which it was relocated from India. The Indian league also taught CSA valuable lessons, he said, and the most important one was that everyone involved, “from the State Presidency to the car park attendants”, need to share the vision for an event of this magnitude to succeed.Majola admitted, though, that he didn’t expect the IPL to be such a success in South Africa. “We always expected to host a successful IPL tournament because we have the expertise, excellent facilities, an equable climate and a cricket-loving public that shows a great penchant for limited-overs cricket,” he said. “We also had the full support of the South African government from the outset and this made a huge difference. However, taking all these pluses this into account, we never expected that IPL 2009 would be such an enormously resounding success.”The key ingredient for the IPL’s success in a foreign country, he said, was the marketing effort that went into the event. “There is no doubt that the difference between hosting a successful IPL and producing an outstanding one was the expert marketing put into place at short notice by the organizers,” he said. “It hit the right note to a public that adores limited-overs cricket and the glamour and glitz of cricketing superstars mixing with Bollywood personalities.”

For CSA, the main difference between hosting the ICC World Cup in 2003 and the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, and the IPL this month, Majola said, was the Indian league’s handling of its stadium rights.”The difference was mainly in the full manner in which the IPL exercised its stadium rights,” he said. “The hosting agreement was based on that with the ICC, but the IPL rightly took full advantage – they wanted a clean stadium, including hospitality areas, which put a big strain on the agreements the stadia had with suite renters. We had to make alternative arrangements to accommodate the locals. CSA and the stadia are going to have to bring all our hosting agreements into line so that we do not have this issue again.”During this IPL, there were reports from South Africa about how the organizers had faced problems in getting full access to the sponsors’ suites at the grounds after owners refused to step aside, citing separate agreements with CSA. On many occasions, the deadlock was resolved only after the IPL provided separate seating and hospitality arrangements for the original suite-holders.Yet, the biggest lesson to emerge from this IPL was the need for all “relevant stake-holders” to share a common vision, Majola said. “The single biggest lesson coming out of the 2009 IPL in South Africa is that it is essential that all relevant stake-holders are on board and share the same vision for the event as was the case here,” he said. “Everybody got behind this event, from the State Presidency to the car park attendants. People helped each other, even to the extent of the media giving mammoth below-the-line support to the formal advertising and marketing programme. The impact was huge. Everybody felt they had ownership of an extremely exciting event.”Majola said that CSA will now take a careful look at any opportunity to host another IPL. “Having a shorter, second season of IPL has been mooted and CSA would have to take a careful look at hosting one of them if it was offered to us,” he said.

England’s selectors have chosen to delay the announcement of their first Test squad of the summer, originally scheduled for Monday, to enable the players to have an extra round of county matches in which to prove their form.England had been expected to name an enlarged squad of 15 or 16 players for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s starting on May 6, but with several key players away in South Africa with the IPL, and others, such as Michael Vaughan, having had limited opportunities to push their case so far this summer, that decision has been pushed back to April 29. It will also give the new coach, Andy Flower, longer to bed down in his new role.Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: “The selectors have metbut have decided that we need more time to assess players who arereturning after injury. We also felt that by delaying the selection forthe first Test it allowed us the opportunity to see anotherround of County Championship matches before deciding on the squad.”Vaughan, who hasn’t featured in an England squad since announcing his resignation from the captaincy in August last year, is one player who could benefit from the postponed announcement. He made just 12 while playing for MCC against Durham in the season curtain-raiser at Lord’s earlier this month, but will get another opportunity to impress in Yorkshire’s first Championship match of the season, also against Durham, at Chester-le-Street on April 22.He is one of up to four players competing for England’s problematic No. 3 position. Ian Bell, the long-term incumbent who lost his place in the Caribbean in February, proved his form with an impressive 172 for Warwickshire at Taunton this week, to put the pressure back on his rival Owais Shah, who is one of five players in South Africa with the IPL.Other injury concerns include Alastair Cook, who fractured a finger recently in the Essex nets, as well as the Nottinghamshire pair of Ryan Sidebottom, who pulled up lame during the Caribbean tour, and Graeme Swann, who bowled with an elbow injury during the closing stages of the Test series, and missed the subsequent one-day victory. Their campaign gets underway against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.On Monday, the selectors will announce the England Lions squad to face West Indies at Derby on April 30, which may offer Sajid Mahmood among others an opportunity to build on the progress he made with the team in New Zealand this winter. The squad and captain for the ICC World Twenty20 will be revealed on May 1, along with the squad for the three ODIs against West Indies.

The surgeon who operated on the knee injuries suffered by Michael Vaughan and Simon Jones believes Andrew Flintoff shouldn’t have any major problems recovering from the operation he will have next week after returning from the IPL.Dr Derek Bickerstaff, who worked on Vaughan’s knee in 2006 after the England captain limped out of the tour of India, explained that the problem Flintoff has been struck with while playing for the Chennai Super Kings is common among sportsmen but the repair work is fairly simple”Basically the meniscus is like a shock-absorber in the knee and when the tear occurs you’ll feel the symptoms as you run,” he told Cricinfo. “It’s fairly straight forward key-hole surgery where they will go in and remove the loose fragments to clean up the knee. As far as the operation is concerned he should be in and out in a day.”With Flintoff ruled out of the West Indies series the key time frame is now whether he recovers for the ICC World Twenty20 and, crucially, the Ashes which start in July. The ECB have said that the recovery timeline is around three to five weeks and Dr Bickerstaff agreed that was a reasonable assessment depending on the exact nature of the injury.”There are different levels of this sort of injury,” he said. “But the recovery period should also be pretty rapid. There will probably be a week of rest followed by two weeks on the bike in the gym and by four weeks he should be training again and be ready to play after about six if everything goes well”Looking at the longer-term Dr Bickerstaff said that once Flintoff has recovered it isn’t the type of injury that should leave him with major problems. “There is a small risk that the operation could leave the knee susceptible to further problems because some of the shock-absorbing tissue has been removed, but it’s unlikely to be a factor in the life-time of a fast bowler like Andrew Flintoff although he may suffer later in the life. It shouldn’t prevent him returning to action effectively.”ECB medical staff have been keeping close tabs on all the England players at the IPL and Dr Nick Peirce, the chief medical officer, said: “Clearly this is a huge disappointment for both the player and the IPL team. This sort of degenerative injury though is one that could have happened at any time any where. The procedures we put in place meant that the ECB medical staff were alerted about the problem immediately and we thank Chennai for their co operation.”

Simon Jones has said he’s hopeful of playing for England this summer despite a knee injury ruling him out of Worcestershire’s season opener against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl later this week. Jones has not bowled off a full run-up since last August and he said he was not sure exactly when he would regain fitness.”I am off half-a-run up now, that will progress quickly. It’s just a case of getting overs under the belt which can be frustrating,” Jones told the . “Patience is a keyword for me. I have worked hard all winter so I’m not going to rush things because it’s a long old season and this game would be a bit too early.”I’m still a few weeks away from playing. Having been through this before it’s difficult to predict when because things can progress quickly. You just have to work closely with the physio and go on what your body says as well.”Jones last played for England during the 2005 Ashes and was able to turn out for his former county Glamorgan in only five matches in the next two seasons. However, he fought back with 42 wickets in nine games for Worcestershire last summer and even secured a place in England’s squad for the postponed ICC Champions Trophy.This summer’s first Ashes Test will be played at Cardiff, Jones’ former home ground, but Jones was not looking too far ahead. “I feel that if I am bowling well then I can be pushing for a place elsewhere,” he said. “Whether other people believe that I’m not sure. I have always had people who have doubted me, but I have just used that as fuel to prove people wrong and get back in the side.”But I’m not going to look that far ahead, I don’t see the point in that because you can only be disappointed sometime. I’ve always hoped that if I’m bowling well, the selectors will look at me. The day they stop looking at me, then I will just concentrate on my cricket with Worcestershire.”

John Dyson is hopeful West Indies’ drought-breaking series victory over England will go far towards reviving the game in the region. Four years have passed since West Indies last raised a Test trophy, and not since April, 2002 have they won a series comprising four or more Tests.Dwindling crowds, declining participation rates and a poor first-class structure were among the many factors contributing to a decade-long malaise for cricket in the Caribbean. Add to that a faltering international team – which, at one stage, managed to defeat only Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and an undermanned Pakistan side over a 40-Test span – and many observers were left to ponder whether the game would ever recover in a region once considered the world’s best cricketing nursery.Speaking a day after his batsmen held on for a tense draw in Trinidad, Dyson observed that West Indies’ stunning 1-0 victory over England had already had a positive impact on the region’s long-suffering supporters. A similar result in the return series in May would not only be self-affirming for the players, he said, but also prove to West Indian fans that the dark days of the past decade were safely behind them.”I have really noticed a lift in the mood of the people in the last month,” Dyson said. “People keep coming up to tell me they are just happy to see their boys out there taking the fight to teams. No one liked the easy-beat tag, and people are going out of their way to tell us that they like our fighting spirit.”Even on our bus route to the ground in Trinidad, there were people standing along the streets cheering and waving. That gave the boys a lift. I think it just goes to show that there is still a great passion for the game here and, if we can build on this result, it can only lift the spirit and the game around the region.”West Indies have amassed a record of three wins, seven draws and five losses since Dyson joined the team in December, 2007, and are undefeated in their last seven Tests. That tally stands in stark contrast to their previous 20 matches, of which the West Indies lost 14 and drew six. In all, five members of the XI from Trinidad had never before experienced a Test series victory prior to this week. Among them were Daren Powell and Denesh Ramdin, each of whom has played more than 30 Tests.Notable in many of West Indies’ recent performances – even in defeats to Australia last year – has been a steely edge absent since their decline began a decade ago. That resolve and a talented playing group have convinced Dyson that an elevation in the ICC rankings is not far away.”You can see the players growing in self-confidence,” he said. “They are now starting to believe in their ability. Those were really hard-fought matches, and it is a great credit to the players that they fought it out to make sure the final result went our way.”If you look at a guy like Denesh Ramdin, he’s played over 30 Tests dating back three or so years and that is his first series victory. The same goes for all the young guys. We’ve just seen the likes of him and Brendan Nash score their first Test centuries, which are very significant milestones, and the big boys were again in magnificent form. This is a good team, and they are only going to build in confidence after this result.”