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Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore is wary of player burnout as he prepares his young team during the nest six weeks in South Africa and Australia for another shot at cricket’s most prized and expensive title – the World Cup next February .The coach who guided the country to its highest achievement in the sport when they won the World Cup in 1996 thinks the present team has the ingredients to make it happen again provided the players are nurtured carefully through the next four months ."It’s great to play against that kind of opposition, but we’ve got to be careful that we don’t mismanage the opportunity that’s provided for us," said Whatmore."In my opinion, it is potentially dangerous with the frequency of games and the workload that we have, that we should be a little bit careful we do not get into a situation when we play our first World Cup match on February 10 (v New Zealand) we have a group of players who are very tired and jaded."While it’s great to play on surfaces that we need to get used to, we also have to be a little bit careful the players don’t burn out. Prescribing sufficient rest would mean that you wouldn’t play necessarily your strongest team on a game to game basis. Therefore, it is important that the public and everyone else know and understand that."While the objective is to win every match, you also run the risk of a little bit of confidence down because you are playing against good, tough opposition and managing players that is not your best team that is available at anyone game," said Whatmore."In my mind there is a huge danger of being in a situation where the players start an important competition and they are down in terms of their drive to perform in amajor competition. The objective is to ensure that the players are at their peak at the World Cup and commence the tournament as fresh as they possibly can. There’s a mean’s to an end and our objective is the World Cup," Whatmore said.Sri Lanka commence their final preparations towards the World Cup when they leave tomorrow for a two-Test and five-match one-day international tour to South Africa. This will be followed in mid-December by an eight-match (11 if Sri Lanka qualify for the finals) triangular in Australia, where England is also playing."We would be looking to play a game of cricket more suited to those conditions. That being the underline objective, I would like to see the Sri Lankan team take on its opposition with an attack a little bit more akin to what other teams do in those conditions and have had success," said Whatmore."In South Africa we are playing only against one opposition. In the World Cup we are playing against many. I think it will be very good practice for us if we are able to come up with a combination that is more likely to give us a result in these five games against the same opposition bearing in mind, we won’t be playing South Africa in every match in the World Cup," he said.Whatmore said that he was keenly looking forward to seeing more of the seven quicks picked for the tour, and the batsmen getting in there and creating a presence amongst themselves.He said to be successful in South African conditions Sri Lanka will need to succeed in all departments."At any stage you can get a good batting or bowling performance that can win a match. The fielding has to be of paramount importance to back up the quicks. There are certain wickets there where the bowlers can make an impression on the game and there are certain wickets where the batters can do the same. It is important that all areas are covered adequately and contributions are provided," said Whatmore."Personally, I think we need to brush up a bit in our bowling attack which has been predominantly based around spin and had some terrific results. In these conditions I would like to see the more medium-pace quick stuff providing the bulk of the overs to put the pressure on the opposition. That will really provide good opportunities for some."The batting has also to be given due importance with the ball that’s coming on with a little bit of bounce, making sure that when they do get a start they go on. We’ve got enough batsmen to make a reasonable total or chase a total. What I would like to see is a little bit more dedicated effort into the formation of the bowling attack, which is slightly different to what we have been doing," he said.Whatmore said that in his opinion the bulk of the players who are selected for the Australian tour will form the World Cup squad because there was hardly any time between tours to make changes. Even for the current South African tour, the one-day squad is likely to be finalized before the first Test starts at Jo’burg on November 8.There will be similar logistic problems concerning the World Cup squad too because the final 15 will have to be submitted to the ICC by December 31, at which point Sri Lanka would have played only three of their allotted eight qualifying matches in Australia.Whatmore said as much as the one-day games are important so too are the two Tests against South Africa."It is very important for Sri Lanka to come out and have a good strong showing in those conditions. We haven’t particularly done well on that last tour and some of the lessons I am sure have been learnt," he said.Sir Lanka have made two Test tours to South Africa in 1997-98 and 2000-01 and, lost both series by 2-0 margins."I think the group of players that we’ve got in terms of the attack and the options that we have, we might be better placed to put more pressure on the opposition than before," said Whatmore."The two Test matches are important to get out there and really compete in conditions different to what we are used to. I think that might give us a little bit of confidence as well for the one-day series. The game is a very good indicator of the final group of players who will represent us in the World Cup," he said."The last time Sri Lanka went there, South Africa played very well. They were on top[ of their game. But at the moment I am not sure they are as stronger as they have been. So there are some variables. All I can say is that the boys who are going there have a good feeling that they can do well."South Africa are still a good outfit in their own country and despite (Allan) Donald retiring from Test cricket, and Jonty Rhodes and Darryl Cullinan not playing Test cricket, they are still not an easy team to beat in their own country. I think it would be a good test for us," Whatmore said.SRI LANKA TEST TEAM TO SOUTH AFRICA:Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu (vice-captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Hashan Tillakaratne, Jehan Mubarak, Prasanna Jayawardene (w/k), Hasantha Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Ruchira Perera, Chamila Gamage, Sujeewa de Silva, Tharanga Lakshitha, Thilan Thushara.Officials: Dav Whatmore (coach), Ajit Jayasekera (manager), Duleep Mendis (technical advisor), Alex Kountouri (physio).

And so Mohd Azharuddin has finally come out with guns blazing. Therewere times, while he was batting, that fielders had to run helterskelter, unable to stop the fusillade of shots hit by the wristyHyderabadi artist. Now it would appear that is the turn of hisdetractors, officials and one time cricketing colleagues in the fieldto feel the heat of his sudden and vicious counter attack.The besieged former Indian captain, who turns 38 next month, wasobviously biding his time to strike back. Now, in his first interviewafter being slapped with a life ban by the Board of Control forCricket in India for his alleged role in the match fixing scandal,Azharuddin has hit out at cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastriand Vinod Kambli, who played alongside him through the eighties andnineties. According to him, cricketers from Mumbai – as indeed all thethree are – have been able to get away with wrongdoing without being”investigated properly.”Azharuddin has made certain specific charges. “Nobody talks of the Rs70 lakh in cash found in Sunil Gavaskar’s Gymkhana locker. What aboutRavi Shastri’s Ali Bagh farmhouse and other costly properties? How didVinod Kambli lose his money from a locker?” These are the allegationsthat he has made in the interview to a national news weekly.To an extent, he may have a point. Initially, when news filteredthrough about the huge sum of money in Gavaskar’s locker, eyebrowswere raised and the tremors were felt well beyond the club. But thensomehow there just did not appear to be much of a follow up on whatwas clearly a matter of some controversy. Then came news of Kambli’smoney stolen from a locker and there did not seem to be a satisfactoryexplanation about this too. Shastri’s farmhouse also went off theheadlines as quickly as it made them.But thereafter much of his aim has gone awry. He exhibits eitherignorance or arrogance. Accusing people of targeting him because theyare jealous of his achievements, making uncharitable comments aboutSachin Tendulkar (which are not true in any case), his initialreaction to the CBI report (“I took the report as any otherblackmailing tactic”), and his talk about a “malicious campaign”against him when he was made captain (“the present BCCI president ACMuthiah opposed my candidature”) are all counter allegations thatshow him to be unrepentant. This can win him no new converts and hemust remember that right now he does not have many friends in thecricketing world anyway.Azharuddin says he is still hopeful of starting his cricket academyand making a comeback to play his 100th Test. “But before steppingout into the public, I want to clear my name, as I have beenwronged,” he says. One wonders how many will buy this speciousargument.During his playing days, Azharuddin was equally dexterous playing offthe front and back foot. So off the field too he has decided to attackon two fronts. Even while going on the counter attack against hisfellow cricketers, he has decided to take on the BCCI and will soonchallenge in the Andhra Pradesh High Court the life ban imposed on himfor his alleged involvement in the match fixing scandal.His advocate HR Bhardwaj has said that the writ petition in thisregard, seeking quashing of the life ban has been finalised and wouldbe filed in the high court. According to him, the main ground to betaken before the court in the petition would be to question the legalvalue of the CBI report. “The CBI followed no established procedurewhile conducting the probe,” said Bhardwaj and added “the CBI reporton betting and match fixing was neither an investigation nor a properinquiry.” Obviously if Azharuddin wants to commence a furious counterattack, he has found the right lawyer. When told that the BCCIdecision was handed down after the board anti corruption commissionerK Madhavan endorsed the findings of the CBI report, Bhardwaj is quotedto have said “Mr Madhavan was nobody to conduct the inquiry. He hadno jurisdiction to take up such a probe. It is only the cricket boardwhich is authorised to conduct the probe, hence the punishment givento Azharuddin is illegal.”The BCCI however has remained unfazed by such strong words. Boardofficials have said that they were not worried over the threat byAzharuddin to challenge the life ban in court. Board executivesecretary, Sharad Diwadkar, said on Friday that “BCCI is not worriedover the matter. We appointed Madhavan to look into the betting andmatch-fixing scam apart from hiring the services of a few advocatesand I think they will do the needful.”The irrepressible JY Lele is not to be left behind. “How can theplayers deny that they had no connections with bookmakers,” asked theBoard secretary. He added that the CBI report had proved there was anexus between the players and bookmakers. “The code of conductclearly states that there should be no connection between players andbookmakers. As the players have violated that code, we have slappedthe ban on them,” said Lele.The BCCI secretary also said that the BCCI had taken opinions fromlegal luminaries before proceeding with the decision to ban theplayers. “The attorney general of India was sitting next to Muthiah(Board president) when we took the decision and he had expressed theopinion that the ban cannot be challenged in any court.” And theBoard will undoubtedly be encouraged to know that some leading lawyersin Mumbai have expressed the view that it was well within the BCCI’sright to impose life ban on any cricketer if it feels that aparticular player has violated the terms of contract with them.There was those who thought that with the ban imposed by the BCCI onDecember 5, the dust had finally settled down on the controversy. Onthe contrary the “fun and games” may just be beginning. Watch thisspace for the next episode.

Mark Greatbatch has been named the coach of the State Central Stags for the next two years.He replaces Dipak Patel who resigned at the end of the last season.Greatbatch takes up his new position on June 1. He was previously CD’s coaching director.A distinguished New Zealand batsman in his playing career, Greatbatch scored 2021 runs at 30.62 in his 41-Test career and 2206 runs in 84 One-Day Internationals.He has been CD’s coaching director since retiring at the end of the 1998 season. He has been coaching the CD Under-19 team and the CD Provincial ‘A’ team, while in the last year he had coached the New Zealand Under-19 team at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.With the position being full-time, Greatbatch is looking forward to working with the CD squad throughout the winter and then utilising his team strategy skills during the cricket season, CD chief executive Blair Furlong said.”Central Districts looks forward to next season with high expectations of success with Mark at the helm,” he said.With this appointment CD will immediately advertise to replace Greatbatch as coaching director.

Australian captains are judged on their Ashes campaigns. Allan Border is remembered for the 1989 triumph. Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh never let the Urn go. Ricky Ponting lost three times but also revelled in a 5-0 clean sweep. And now, Michael Clarke has ensured his legacy.For the first time since that 2006-07 thrashing, Australia have beaten England in an Ashes series and Clarke was the captain who delivered it. Nobody can take that away from him.If Border’s 1989 success seems like the modern watershed, the end of a dark era for Australia, consider this: it’s been even longer for the current side. Border’s men regained the Ashes after 1429 days without them; Clarke’s team has endured a 1577-day drought. So long has passed that Clarke himself was the only member of this squad to have tasted Ashes success before.Perhaps that explains why the rest of the players appeared more emotional than Clarke at securing the Ashes in Perth. Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson were on the verge of tears at the end of the WACA win, and they were not the only ones. Clarke celebrated, hugged his team-mates, smiled and laughed, but remained in control. He was part of the world’s No. 1 team for many years; he knows success, even if he’d nearly forgotten it.”It’s as big, there’s no doubt about it,” Clarke said when asked if this was the biggest moment in his cricket career. “I certainly don’t want to show any disrespect to 2006-07, that was a very special series and a different time in my career. I was a lot younger but it was extremely special. But being a little bit older and a little bit greyer this is certainly as special.”For the guys in the change room to feel this, I don’t think you’ll find one bloke whether it be player or support staff, who doesn’t say this is the pinnacle, playing Test cricket against England and winning the Ashes.”That’s always been the pinnacle for an Australian cricketer. Test cricket in my opinion is certainly the pinnacle and the hardest form of the game. All the boys in the change room, for the work they have put in, they deserve to have this feeling and we’ll make sure it lasts a long time tonight.”0:00

‘The Series of Haddin’s career’

The celebrations began in the WACA changing rooms soon after Johnson picked up the last wicket, fittingly, given his impact on the series so far. Australia have chosen the same squad for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne – again with Doug Bollinger and Nathan Coulter-Nile on standby – and inevitably their thoughts will turn to the possibility of another clean sweep. But not yet.”I’m not looking at it tonight, I can guarantee you that,” Clarke said. “I’m going to enjoy 3-0 for as long as I can tonight. I think it’s really important that we celebrate and enjoy this feeling. But we’ll worry about the clean sweep in Melbourne and Sydney. I can guarantee you there won’t be any complacency and we will turn up in Melbourne 100% ready to go and doing everything we’ve done in the first three Test matches.”Clarke’s goal remains to return Australia to the No. 1 ranking – they sat fifth before this series began – and there will be considerable challenges ahead to get the team back to the summit, such as winning in South Africa in the new year. But for now all he wants to do is celebrate a victory that was a long time coming, and seemed impossible to imagine when the side was crushed 4-0 in India earlier this year and the Ashes tour in England began with the turmoil of Darren Lehmann replacing Mickey Arthur as coach.”I don’t think we’ve worked as hard as how we’ve worked over the last 12 months, probably because we didn’t perform as well as we would have liked in India,” Clarke said. “I think that certainly changed a few attitudes and we had to work hard in preparation for the Ashes series in England. Boof’s been fantastic, there’s no doubt about it.Michael Clarke has secured his reputation as an Ashes-winning Australian captain•Getty Images

“There’s been a lot of people behind the scenes that have played a big part in helping this team move forward, that never get any recognition, that never get any credit. And you know what? If anything they cop criticism.”We’ve spoken for a long time about this rotation or resting policy. We don’t seem to talk about Mitchell Johnson coming home from India anymore. We flew him home early to get him right for this Ashes series. The strength and conditioning coach, the doctors, the physios, those guys have done such an amazing job to get these three quicks on the field for these three Test matches. And they’ve done it for a long time.”Johnson, Harris and Peter Siddle have been critical to Australia’s success in Australia, for England have not scored more than 400 in an innings on this tour. But then, the same was true of the series in England this year, when the difference was the failure of Australia’s batsmen to post the kinds of scores they have at home.”It hasn’t been one player, it’s been the whole team,” Clarke said. “And the same in regards to coaches. Boof, who I love to bits, he’s a fantastic guy and a wonderful coach, it’s not just because of Darren Lehmann. It’s because of all the coaches, all the support staff, all the people behind-the-scenes that we sit here today.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAnil Mandal helped guide Nepal home•ICC/Getty

Nepal capped a fabulous run at the World Twenty20 Qualifier by securing another last-over win to finish third. As against Hong Kong, when Nepal claimed their place at next year’s World Twenty20, and during the group-stage win over Kenya, Sharad Vesawkar proved nerveless at the death, hitting Shadeep Silva – whose initial three overs had cost just 10 runs – for consecutive sixes and sealing a five-wicket victory over UAE with four balls to spare.Nepal had appeared to be in control of the run chase, with Vesawkar and opener Subash Khakurel settled at the crease and 38 runs required from the final five overs. Khakurel fell shortly after and when Binod Bhandari became the fifth wicket down three balls later, UAE had their window of opportunity. It was quickly slammed shut. Vesawkar had progressed steadily to 23 from 21 deliveries but, with the asking rate up to 11 an over, he struck three sixes and Anil Mandal two fours to seal the result.UAE had been tied down throughout their innings, unable to build any significant partnerships. At 70 for 4 in the 13th over, they were struggling to remain competitive, before Shaiman Anwar provided some impetus with a quickfire 24 from 16 balls. Anwar became Basant Regmi’s fourth wicket with the score on 101 but Swapnil Patel and Mohammad Shafiq added another 30 to give their bowlers something to defend.

ScorecardFile photo – Harbhajan Singh finished with nine wickets in the match•Fotocorp

Punjab’s bowling attack took a little more than 60 overs to dismiss the remaining eight Odisha wickets and complete an innings win to also take a bonus point on the last day of the match. Captain Harbhajan Singh added three wickets to take his match tally to nine while pacers Siddarth Kaul and Manpreet Gony took two wickets each on the fourth day.Odisha started the day with Niranjan Behera and Govind Podder in a bid to save the match at 110 for 2. Soon after Behera completed his fifty, Kaul and Gony dismissed both the batsmen within there overs, and along with Harbhajan, didn’t let any partnership flourish from there. Abhilash Mallick steered the innings almost till the end with a 73 but it wasn’t enough to avoid the defeat.No. 9 Basant Mohanty also resisted with a 52-ball 41 before falling to Harbhajan, as Punjab began their season with an innings win for the second successive year. Sandeep Sharma picked up a wicket on the fourth day to finish with figures of 3 for 64.
ScorecardSachin Tendulkar ended his domestic career in style, his fighting, controlled, unbeaten 79 guiding Mumbai to a four-wicket win over hosts Haryana in Lahli near Rohtak. Supporting him was Dhawal Kulkarni, who was born on the day Tendulkar made his Ranji Trophy and first-class debut – December 10, 1988. Mumbai did not lose any wickets on the final morning in getting the 39 runs they needed, but were made to toil for close to two hours by disciplined bowling and Ajay Jadeja’s field placements.Read the full report here.The match between Jharkhand and Delhi in Jamshedpur was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain and wet outfield and both teams took a point each.

India and Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Sreesanth has been handed a life ban by the BCCI for his involvement in spot-fixing in IPL 2013. His Royals team-mate and Mumbai spinner Ankeet Chavan was also banned for life, following the board’s disciplinary committee meeting in Delhi on Friday.Amit Singh, the Gujarat cricketer-turned-bookie, got a five-year ban, while Saurashtra and Royals seamer Siddharth Trivedi was suspended for a year for not reporting an approach among other things. Twenty-one-year-old Harmeet Singh, who was part of India’s Under-19 World Cup winning team in 2012 and had a similar charge against him as Trivedi, has been cleared of wrongdoing due to a lack of evidence against him.There has been no ruling as yet on offspinner Ajit Chandila, the third Royals player who was arrested in May, since he is yet to be questioned by Ravi Sawani, who led the BCCI’s probe into the matter and whose report formed the basis for the board’s actions. Save for a few days when Chandila was out on bail due to a death in the family, he has been in police or judicial custody since his arrest on May 16, meaning Sawani could not speak to him. However, he was granted bail on September 9, so his case should come up soon. Sreesanth and Chavan were out on bail since June 11.While Trivedi is banned from playing any BCCI-organised cricket, the other three are banned from playing any such cricket or in any way being associated with activities of the Indian board or its affiliates. The penalties were decided upon by the disciplinary committee, comprising board president N Srinivasan and vice-presidents Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah. The ban means Trivedi will have to be replaced in Royals’ squad for the Champions League T20, which begins on September 21.Sreesanth tweeted soon after the news of his ban broke, saying he found it “surprising”. “Been tracking the news channels… Me getting a life ban??!! Very surprising,” he said. The tweet was deleted soon after.The Sawani report had recommended bans ranging from five years to life for the four players it found guilty on multiple accounts, including “match-fixing” and “seeking or offering a bribe as a reward for match-fixing”, the reported earlier in the day.Despite Sreesanth’s “surprise”, a BCCI insider revealed the committee was unanimous in handing him a life ban, with the intention of sending out a message. Amit Singh, the source said, benefitted from the fact that he wasn’t involved in IPL 2013 as a player. “Moreover, even though he has introduced players to bookies, it has been established that he hasn’t played any direct part in fixing. However, since he is a registered player with BCCI, he falls in the ambit of the BCCI ACSU code. As a result, five years was sought to be a suitable punishment,” the source said.However, the committee overruled Sawani’s guilty ruling on Harmeet Singh, its sole divergence from the recommendations. Harmeet was given benefit of doubt. Since he was coerced into a solitary meeting, reported it to the Rajasthan Royals team management and ACSU immediately after Chandila’s arrest and then co-operated with the police, it was felt it would be too harsh to spoil a youngster’s career.The disciplinary committee’s task was made relatively easy by the tough tone of the final report, which said none of the players were naive to the propositions of manipulation.”There is no specific mitigating factor that would require any mercy while sanctioning the aforesaid guilty players,” Sawani said in the report. “Sreesanth has played a number of international games and was part of the Indian national team which won the inaugural T20 World Cup, 2007 and ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011. He has received the ICC ACSU education programme on many occasions. In any case all the three players of Rajasthan Royals who are now being accused and found guilty by the under-signed received the ICC Education Programme just prior to the beginning of the IPL-6 season i.e. on April 5, 2013. The programme was delivered to the entire Rajasthan Royals team by Mr Arrie De Bear, regional security manager of the ICC ACSU.”Obviously, the anti-corruption education given to the three players had no impact on the conduct. Therefore, the three players deserve no leniency whatsoever.”The players, minus Chandila, were summoned by the board to present their case in the disciplinary committee meeting in Delhi.Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila were arrested by Delhi Police on May 16 in Mumbai, for the alleged fulfilling of promises made to bookmakers, along with eleven bookies including Amit Singh. Royals later suspended their players and the BCCI set up an inquiry into the matter, headed by its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chief Sawani. Apart from the action taken by the board, the players face possible prison sentences should they be found guilty in a court of law. They were among 39 persons named in the Delhi Police’s chargesheet on alleged corruption in the IPL in July, charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and dishonesty under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

Clyde Butts, the chairman of the West Indies selection committee, believes England and New Zealand women’s tour to the region this season will help develop the women’s game locally.New Zealand arrive first for a bilateral ODI series with West Indies beginning October 6, which will be followed by a T20 tri-series also featuring Ashes-winners England, who will stay back for a three-match one-day tournament which culminates on November 3.”We need these tests and rivalries. To have two of the three top women’s teams playing in the Caribbean will do a lot for women’s cricket and I expect our team to be ready and able to be competitive against them,” he said. “We always want to play top-level opponents like Australia and now, we have two. We’ve clashed with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the past and with England and New Zealand, I can only see us improving by playing them.”West Indies have announced a 17-member training squad, which will be preparing from September 22 to 30 in Jamaica; with the final squad of 13 for the series against New Zealand chosen at the camp’s end and Butt was optimistic about the home team’s prospects.”Looking at the past year or so, our ladies have done well,” he said. “At the last ODI World Cup, we made the finals and our 50-over squad reflects how good we are. Most of the players from that tournament have been retained. They are capable and we saw this in the regional performances (last month in Grenada).”He picked out 18-year old uncapped batsman, Chinelle Henry, as one to watch. “Chinelle is a capable player and strikes the ball very nicely. We expect some good things from her in the future. She has been around the Jamaica team for a long time, but she is still very young,” said Butts, while voicing concern over the high reliance on senior players like Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Anisa Mohammed. “I haven’t seen much new talent coming through and I hope it changes. We need new players to emerge to blood in.”However, Butts was excited at the return of Stacy-Ann King, who last played for West Indies during the World T20 last year. “Stacy can play at the highest level. She’s been batting well recently and her bowling’s improved. She’s one of our better fielders and is a capable allrounder. She still has a lot to offer West Indies cricket so we shouldn’t write her off just yet.”Squad: Merissa Aguilleira, Shemaine Campbell, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Chinelle Henry, Stacy-Ann King, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Natasha McLean, Anisa Mohammed, Subrina Munroe, Juliana Nero, June Ogle, Shaquana Quintyne, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt and Stafanie Taylor.

England Women have been forced into a change for their squad for the ODI series with Australia after Georgia Elwiss failed to recover from a stress reaction in her back.Elwiss, the 22-year-old Sussex seam bowler, will not be able to join up with the England squad for the first of three ODIs on August 20, the second phase of the new multi-format Women’s Ashes which began with the only Test at Wormsley, which ended in a draw.Elwiss picked up her back injury at the end of June, which ruled her out of the Pakistan series. And six weeks later she is not in sufficient shape to join the squad to play Australia.20-year-old Surrey allrounder Natalie Sciver will replace Elwiss in the squad. Sciver, who made her international debut at the start of July, was part of the Ashes Test match squad but was left out of the XI, who secured two points from the drawn Test on Wednesday.England Women’s Ashes Series ODI squad
Charlotte Edwards (Kent, capt), Tammy Beaumont (Kent), Arran Brindle (Sussex), Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire), Holly Colvin (Sussex), Lydia Greenway (Kent), Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire), Danielle Hazell (Yorkshire), Heather Knight (Berkshire), Laura Marsh (Kent), Anya Shrubsole (Somerset), Natalie Sciver (Surrey), Sarah Taylor (Sussex), Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire)

When Dimitri Mascarenhas, who has had to give up his perennial struggle with injuries and who will retire at the end of the season, made his first-class debut in 1996, it was a heady time indeed for Hampshire. The previous week, Liam Botham had taken 5 for 67 on his first appearance. Now, another teenage medium pacer, one whose name the club could not spell correctly, returned still more impressive figures.Nobody present, fortunately not even Mascarenhas himself, can recall the name provided to the media in the cramped old press box at Northlands Road – but they do remember his bowling. At a brisk medium pace, the 18-year-old who was born in London of Sri Lankan parentage and raised in Australia, took six Glamorgan wickets for 88, the best analysis by a Hampshire bowler making his debut since 1899.When Mascarenhas read the glowing press reports the next day, he was baffled as to the nomenclature given him. Vic Isaacs, the long-serving Hampshire scorer, was more accustomed to chalking straightforward names such as James, Smith and White.”This was not the last time my name was spelled wrong,” Mascarenhas said at the Ageas Bowl, having come to the conclusion that the state of his Achilles tendon would not permit him to continue in the game. In first-class matches he has taken 450 wickets and scored 6,495 runs, but he will be remembered best for his ability in one day cricket, not least his cunning changes of pace and length in Twenty20.This was recognised by England, for whom he made 14 Twenty20 appearances as well as 20 One Day Internationals. The highlight was five sixes in an over off Yuvraj Singh at the Oval in 2007. “The changes the ECB are making to the fixture list have played a part in the ending of my career,” he said. “If the Twenty20 fixtures were going to be in a block next year, like they are now, then it would be a no-brainer to continue playing that. But my Achilles would not cope with cricket all summer.”So Mascarenhas will finish his level three coaching badge and discuss options with Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman and a friend. “I remember having a beer with him during my second match for the club and the fact that we moved grounds was entirely down to him. He loves Hampshire and is desperate for us to do well. Every time I speak to the England boys they tell me how great the pitches are now. An Ashes Test on the south coast is a certainty.”Mascarenhas remains particularly grateful to Bransgrove for giving him the opportunity to play in the IPL, the first England player to do so, in 2009, although this year his appearances amounted to one match for King’s XI Punjab. The state of his body had nothing to do with this. “Darren Lehmann did not really rate me,” he said. Still, his IPL coach could have done with him playing under different colours this summer.If the IPL beckons him again next year, Mascarenhas will be tempted. Otherwise, he will finish for good in September, return to Australia for the winter – Paul Terry’s academy in Perth, where he once learnt the game, is one possible location where he might do some coaching – but will retain his house in West End, just two minutes’ drive from Hampshire’s headquarters.Shane Warne, his old captain and another friend, knew he was about to retire and sent his best wishes. “I’ve had a very happy time with Hampshire and now I feel I have a lot to offer as a bowling coach. I know how to bowl. But I’ll give anything a try.”