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Andy Atkinson, the ICC’s pitch consultant, has warned that pitches around the world are becoming too batsman-friendly, largely because of the volume of cricket played.Several Test matches this year have been dominated by high-scoring draws, notably in Karachi and Barbados, which produced first-innings totals of 600 and 700. Atkinson believes the increase in one-day and Twenty20 cricket has affected the skill of producing surfaces that promote an even battle.”With the huge amount of one-day and Twenty20 cricket around the world, it seems that some people have forgotten the art of preparing a five-day pitch,” he wrote in the May issue of magazine. “The quality of the surfaces might be improving but that doesn’t mean the pitches are better for cricket as a whole. It’s about getting the right balance and it is now too far in favour of the batsman. It needs to come back towards the bowler.”He highlighted the pitches during the recent West Indies-England series, which produced one positive result in Jamaica before three bat-dominated draws with the run-fest in Barbados proving the most one-sided confrontation.”It was very disappointing to see how bland some of the pitches were during England’s recent Test series,” Atkinson said. “Most of them are new pitches laid specifically for the World Cup in 2007 and yet they seem to have deteriorated since then.”However, Atkinson insisted that the current state of pitches is not coming because of demands from the ICC for similar playing surfaces. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “The ICC wants to preserve the primacy of Test cricket and part of that is having pitches that produce good games, not bore draws. They want pace and even bounce but beyond that they want pitches to retain their local, traditional characteristics like seam in England or spin in India.”

The England captain Andrew Strauss hasn’t featured in an ODI since the 2007 World Cup yet, on the eve of leading England against West Indies in Sunday’s Twenty20, he remains determined to prove his one-day worth.Strauss’s one-day career looked to be over after he was dumped after England’s calamitous campaign in the Caribbean two years ago, but following his appointment as captain in all formats of the game, he now has a chance to prove his detractors wrong.”If ever I wanted to come back into the one-day side, now is the time,” Strauss told PA in Trinidad. “I’m playing well, I’m hitting the ball well and I’m playing in quite a positive fashion so I don’t have to change my game enormously to prosper at one-day level. It’s very exciting for me and I think for this group of players it’s exciting to be moving on from the Test series and the thought of having a really good end to the tour.”England lost the Test series against West Indies 1-0, but Strauss’s form with the bat was a definite plus. He cracked 541 runs at 67.62, stroking three hundreds, and was particularly impressive in his confident and sprightly feet movement against the spinners – a facet of his game arguably not seen since he first came into the side in 2004. However, he is acutely aware of the need to perform: England have only appointed him as one-day captain for this series, effectively meaning he is still on trial.”I am energised by it. I’ve been out for a couple of years and while I’ve been out I’ve played some pretty decent cricket for Middlesex,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m incapable of playing at this level of one-day cricket and you have motivation to prove yourself again. It’s like when I came back into the Test side, you’ve got that extra motivation to prove yourself again and that allows you to get up in the morning with a spring in your step.”England were comfortably trounced 5-0 by India late last year, and their bowling attack has struggled on unforgiving West Indian pitches in this series. Indeed, they have yet to register a single win this winter.”If ever there was a time to break our duck for the winter, now is that time,” Strauss said. “I think the guys are excited about it. As is always the case with one-day series, the one-day guys come and add energy to the squad. The Test guys are looking forward to getting away from fielding for 170 overs and playing a slightly different brand of cricket. There’s always that enthusiasm at the start of a one-day series and that enthusiasm can be built on by performing well and winning. I think we’ve got a good idea of the type of cricket we want to play. One thing that is very important for us is to get more out of the players we’ve got.”We need to score more hundreds, be more consistent and put other teams under pressure more often. That’s going to be the issue for us, to get more out of the players we’ve got because there’s a lot of talent there. One thing that’s important in one-day cricket is not to play with fear. I think fear creates a lot of problems both individually and collectively, but it’s a lot easier said than done to just go out and not play with fear.”You need to earn the right to do that, but as a general theme it’s important we play good aggressive cricket with the bat and the ball.”

Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, has said he is considering “cutting Test cricket altogether” and giving up bowling because of the spate of injuries that has kept him out of the national team.”I would be lying if I said I haven’t considered the prospect of cutting out bowling altogether,” Oram told . “I’ve also considered cutting Test cricket altogether.”Those options have been floating around my head for some time now. It’s a hard one because my head’s thinking one thing and my heart’s thinking another. At the moment, there’s a bit of conflict there and I’m sort of looking for some divine intervention which will help me with the decision. That could be in a month’s time or it could be in 12 months’ time.”Oram suffered a variety of injuries in recent months. He returned home mid-way through the tour of Bangladesh in October and missed the Test series in Australia because of a back injury. A calf strain kept him out of the home Test series against West Indies and an Achilles injury cut short his participation in the one-day series that followed.”It’s frustrating for me being injured all the time and I know it’s frustrating for other people as well, my team-mates included,” Oram said. “There may have to be a decision soon but as of now one hasn’t been made.”Oram is currently missing the Chappell-Hadlee Series in Australia but said he was “dead keen to play the Indians” when they tour New Zealand in February-March. “My recovery is progressing positively,” he said. “It’s slowed down a little bit in the last week or so but that’s probably to be expected because I had some quite dramatic improvements in the first week or two. Unfortunately, I can’t give an indication of when that date will be.”I won’t be going over to Australia next week. I’ve still got a fair bit to get through before I declare myself fit and get back into domestic cricket. Right now if I had to make a call, I’d say I’m pretty confident I will be back in time to play India.”Oram’s frequent absence from the team drew criticism from former team-mate Craig McMillian who suggested that the allrounder was “wrapped in cotton wool”. Oram said such comments fired him up to perform better.”It does annoy me a little bit,” he said. “I said a while ago when there was a little bit of controversy about me being injury-prone that I don’t mind criticism when I bowl poorly or bat like crap. Things that happen on the park are open for scrutiny. But it’s when your character and integrity gets called into play that it gets annoying.”People don’t have a clue what sacrifices I’ve made to get where I am and the hard times I’ve been through. To be injured and unable to follow through on all the hard work and sacrifice, it’s so deflating.”

Andrew Symonds is showing “all the right signals” about coming back strong following his suspension from the South Africa tour, according to Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland. Symonds met with senior Cricket Australia officials in Melbourne on Thursday to outline his way back from a disrupted season, which began with him missing the tour of India due to his off-field behaviour.However, Sutherland said Symonds had already made “significant progress” and he was confident it would continue. “I don’t think he is under illusions as to where he is up to,” Sutherland said in the Age. “What was very clear to me in the room [on Thursday] was that everyone was very supportive of him, and very focused on one thing, and that is getting Andrew Symonds back on deck with a fantastic foundation to make sure he can make a big contribution to Australian cricket.”Symonds’ counsellors were also at the meeting and Sutherland said Symonds was looking forward. “There is absolutely no doubt about that,” he said. “He knows he has, over the next few weeks, a fantastic opportunity to prove that he is back and ready to go and that’s not only in the context of what he needs to do with Queensland Cricket, but also in working with the people who are helping him with some of his off-field issues.”Queensland have picked Symonds in their matches against Victoria and South Australia next week. He made his comeback from knee surgery in a Sheffield Shield game at the Gabba, scoring 5 and 3, but was not considered for the tour of South Africa due to his off-field troubles, which included being fined A$4000 for a radio interview targeting Brendon McCullum.”Andrew is making all the right signals,” Sutherland said. “I have a pretty clear understanding of what he has been through over the past couple of months and what he is working on and there is some quite significant progress he has made. I’m confident that can continue.”

South Africa finished a strong first day with six Australian wickets but already their thoughts are turning to producing a significant total to limit the difficulties in the fourth innings. Australia’s Simon Katich expects the pitch to become lower and slower as the match goes on and there are already cracks that are being noticed by hopeful bowlers and wary batsmen.After Australia ended the day at 6 for 267, the visitors were intent on limiting them to 350 at the worst. “It’s very, very important to get a big, big total in the first innings to take a bit of pressure off the second innings,” the assistant coach Vinnie Barnes said. “The wicket does get a bit slow and lower, and the spinners come into play.”Barnes said his side was slightly ahead but felt it could have been a”fantastic day” if Hashim Amla had held on to a relatively easy catch when Michael Clarke was 69. Clarke ended the day on 73 as he lifted the side from another uncomfortable start from the misfiring order.Katich began strongly by racing to 47 off 52 balls, but Australia were struggling at 5 for 162 before Clarke and Brad Haddin put on 75. “We fought back really well in the last session,” Katich said. “South Africa had their noses in front and then with that partnership between Clarke and Haddin we got ourselves in a position where we could get to 350 and put some pressure on them.”Katich, the New South Wales captain, has plenty of experience on the ground and said it looked like a dry wicket and “runs on the board are always vital”. “This one will deteriorate differently to the Melbourne wicket,” he said, “so hopefully this gives us a bit of an advantage over the next few days.”Clarke has not scored a Test century on his home ground and Katich saidthe signs were good. “You can tell he’s keen for a big one here,” Katich said. “The way he played today was very, very good and hopefully he can carry on that in the morning with Mitchell Johnson. If we get one or two really good partnerships we’ll get ourselves in a reasonably good position.”

After a year when the words “wall”, “falling” and “crumbling” were never far from the headlines, Rahul Dravid could have been forgiven for thinking he had become Humpty Dumpty, instead of the most prolific No.3 batsman the world has ever seen. It really had been a wretched 2008, with 669 runs from 14 Tests before he arrived in Mohali. This, remember, was the man who made more than 600 runs in series in Australia and England when he was in his prime.There were no clenched fists or frenzied waves of the bat when he reached his century on Saturday, but the man who sat behind the microphones later in the day looked like someone who had finally seen the light after weeks of confinement in an underground cave. “There was no statement,” he said when asked about the muted celebrations for his 26th century. “I was just happy. I’m older and wiser now. I don’t jump around and get excited.”I’m relieved. It’s nice to be contributing again. It’s been a tough year, and it’s good to make an important contribution, especially with the conditions that we’ve had in this game.”The partnership with Gautam Gambhir was worth 314 runs in 107.5 overs, its significance evident when the next highest stand was 40 runs. “Hopefully, it will be a match-winning partnership,” Dravid said. “Gautam batted beautifully and took the pressure off me. He rotated the strike and was positive against both the pace bowlers and spinners. He’s having a phenomenal year.”England fought back spiritedly after breaking that partnership, but they should also be worried at how subsequent batsmen failed to make much headway on a pitch that’s sure to play a few tricks over the next three days. “At 300 for 1, we were looking around, wondering where we were going to get a wicket from,” said Graeme Swann, who along with the indefatigable Andrew Flintoff was the pick of the bowlers. “The way Dravid played, he hardly gave us any chance. He was exceptional.”Dravid himself couldn’t really pinpoint a reason for the turnaround. “This year, I’ve tried everything,” he said with a laugh, when asked if he’d gone back to videos or books to get out of the slump. “I watched a few old videos of me batting well to recreate some of those emotions and feelings.”But the last two series, I’ve just enjoyed each net session, trusted my instincts and watched the ball.”The way I judge if I’m batting well is by how I bat in the nets. Against Australia and even in this series, I felt like I was batting well, but there weren’t the runs to show for it.”

He batted beautifully on day two, clipping the ball off the pads with his old fluency and also easing it through the off-side gaps when chances presented themselves. After taking 205 balls for 65 on the opening day, the next 71 runs took just 123 deliveries. “You grow comfortable, the more time you spend in the middle,” he said. “Your feet move better. You pick up the length better. They bowled a good testing spell with the new ball and we were lucky to get through.”He called it one of his “most significant innings”, and admitted it might not have been possible without the reservoir of goodwill from fans and experts alike. “There’s been lots of scrutiny and speculation because I haven’t played very well,” he said. “I haven’t got enough runs. It’s been tough personally.”So many people have been wishing me to do well. It’s at times like these that you realise how many want you to do well. They didn’t need to be, but they were so supportive – former players, and even those in the media. That’s all you can ask for.”What Mahendra Singh Dhoni will ask for from here is a repeat of the bowling excellence that humiliated Australia here two months ago. “They tested us right through,” said Dravid of the English bowling. “But we’ll aim to pitch the ball further up and get more swing, make them drive a bit more.”If the skies overhead continue to be overcast, that could well do the trick. As for Dravid, the overwhelming sense of grey has given way to a patch of blue sky. For some, like his three-year-old son Samit, though, life’s about far more than centuries and revivals. “He just wants me to come back home.”A match-winning century to go with so many others wouldn’t be a bad thing to take back.

It is hard to think of Matthew Hayden as a slow starter. He has made his name by destroying opening bowlers and quickly turning shiny new balls into lifeless chunks of worn-out leather. But when it took him six years to make his first seven Test appearances, reaching 100 Tests seemed like an unattainable goal.He will bring up the milestone at the Adelaide Oval on Friday against New Zealand, eight and a half years after regaining his position permanently. At the time he was already 29, had a mountain of state runs and wondered if his big break would ever come, but in the lead-up to the game he said his eventful career-path was not particularly special.”My story’s not any more significant than anyone else’s,” Hayden said. “Anyone that’s got into the Australian cricket team has had to have their personal challenges met, and they’ve confronted those and conquered them – that’s just what it means to play for Australia, that’s the fabric of playing for the baggy green.”Hayden will be the 11th Australian to reach a century of Tests, although questions remain over just how many matches he will add to the tally. His form since suffering an achilles tendon injury mid-year has been disappointing but he has not decided on an exit time and he said the constant speculation over his future was not a worry.”You get used to the melodramatic nature of performances, sometimes you’re okay, other times you’re not okay, so it’s just the way it goes,” he said. “And the swings and roundabouts of people’s perceptions are something I’ve taken, never to heart, but more as a motivation as to how I can get better every single game.”My commitment to the game hasn’t changed, and more than anything if I can say what I’m proud of that would be it, Matthew Hayden in 1991 worked as hard as he works in 2008. And that guarantees you at least the best result in terms of how you prepare yourself, but it doesn’t guarantee success.”The Adelaide Test presents him with an ideal opportunity to regain his best form. He will be facing an attack devoid of superstars, with the exception of Daniel Vettori, on a pitch expected to offer the seamers little help.Vettori, the New Zealand captain, recalled once having his first ball of a Gabba Test spanked back over his head by Hayden for six. He said few men had mastered the art of dominating slow bowling like Hayden over the past decade.”Him and Gilchrist were the two guys I always thought any ball I bowled could disappear out of the park,” Vettori said. “Even if I felt like it was a good one and that always makes it tough bowling against guys like that – so destructive. Most of the time they took it to spinners.”He’s the sort of guy that a lot of batsmen grow up wanting to emulate the way he played spin. And it wasn’t just an average spinner, it was guys all the way through to Muralitharan. He was aggressive against him, Harbhajan … I think he almost wrote the manual for how to be aggressive against spin bowling.”Hayden, 37, said one of the keys to his longevity in the game was having interests away from cricket. “I’ve pursued other passions as well, food and life around the sea, so that’s who I really am as a person,” he said. “I’m a bushy at heart but love the ocean.”

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