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Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has expressed frustration at the careless dismissals of his team’s batsmen

Mohammad Isam in Khulna25-Nov-2012The shot selection of Bangladesh’s batsmen contributed to their failure in the Test match. A lot has been said about on the subject in the past, and captain Mushfiqur Rahim brought it up again after the defeat, saying that while the batsmen should not alter natural approach too much, better judgement is required.”We should play natural cricket depending on the situation. Chanderpaul also plays the lofted shot but when he does that, there is little risk. The team, including myself, have to learn from these things, when to play low-risk and high-risk shots. We have to understand that the team comes first, and not individuals,” Mushfiqur said after the Khulna Test.They have banked on batting aggressively at most times and this Test was no different. But this approach isn’t working. They delivered two below par batting performances in Khulna, and one in the first Test in Mirpur. The first innings in the previous game, in which they scored 556, was an exceptional performance as they were playing this format for the first time in eleven months. But the same talent didn’t prove to be good enough to last four consecutive innings in this Test series.”All the wickets that fall in a Test match are not entirely down to the bowlers’ credit. Batsmen are at fault too. But in our case, the batsmen gift them the wickets regularly without the bowlers earning it, that’s the most terrible thing,” Mushfiqur said. “We have to work on avoiding soft dismissals. We have been doing it for a long period during which many of us have scored runs as well. Sometimes situations are such that a single dismissal turns the game away from us. Questions are justifiably raised and we are concerned about it.”The balance between the batsmen’s instincts and the demands of the situation hasn’t been achieved, seen in Mushfiqur’s dismissal in the second innings here; he had skipped down the track only to be beaten and bowled by spinner Veerasammy Permaul.”I don’t even know [if] I’ve got out like that before. I don’t remember getting out to a nothing shot like that. It was my fault. I wanted to play a long innings and forge a partnership with Shakib, but it didn’t happen,” Mushfiqur said.He was also upset with his team’s unspirited comeback from the first Test defeat. “It is quite frustrating because we played well in the first Test. In the first innings here, Abul [Hasan] played outstandingly or we could have been out of the Test very early. He kept us in the game and we scored almost 400.”We also missed some chances and it is important to hold on to them on such pitches, because it becomes difficult to get [batsmen] out. In the second innings, there wasn’t much help for the bowlers. As it happens most of the times, we played bad shots to get out. If that didn’t happen, you saw how Shakib and Nasir [Hossain] batted – there were no demons in the wicket.”Bangladesh play their next Test in Sri Lanka in February next year, in another two-Test series. Judging by the number of limited-overs matches they have scheduled at all levels in the interim, the repeat of these mistakes cannot be ruled out.

Don Wilson, the former Yorkshire and England left-arm spinner, has died in a York hospital at the age of 74.

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2012

Don Wilson, the former Yorkshire and England left-arm spinner, has died in a York hospital at the age of 74.Wilson was a central figure in Yorkshire’s domination of county cricket in the 1960s, playing alongside such greats as Fred Trueman, Brian Close, Ray Illingworth and Geoffrey Boycott.The team began to break up after winning a third successive championship in 1968 but Wilson, whose sense of fun made him a popular figure with Yorkshire crowds, did not retire until 1974.Off the field, he had a keen sense of the theatrical and needed little encouragement before embarking on a song and dance routine with another Yorkshire and England team mate, Phil Sharpe.Wilson followed in Yorkshire’s great tradition of left-arm spinners, following such celebrated names as Wilfred Rhodes and Johnny Wardle. A tall and wiry bowler, he took 1,189 first-class wickets at 21.00 in 422 first-class matches and won seven Championships.He played six Tests for England, five against India on the 1963-4 tour and one against New Zealand on the 1970-1 tour of Australia and New Zealand. He also played twice for England against Rest of the World in 1970, matches that were subsequently stripped of their status as Tests by the ICC.After his retirement, he served as the MCC’s chief coach from 1974 to 1991 and then as coach at Ampleforth College. He was president of the Yorkshire Players’ Association in 2008.

05-Jun-2012
ScorecardRain prevented Kent from exacting revenge over the Unicorns in their Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Southend.The Unicorns claimed their only win of an otherwise fruitless campaign so far against the Spitfires by four wickets last month. It was a defeat to frustrate Kent’s early semi-final ambitions and a share of the points on Tuesday will have hardly helped either after they had restricted the Unicorns to 177 for 8.With an achievable target in sight, however, only three overs of Kent’s reply was possible before the weather closed in.The Unicorns had started fairly brightly with a half-century from opener James Ord in a 72-run second-wicket partnership with leading runscorer Tom New. The pair progressed the score to a handy 88 for 1 in the 20th over before the Ord perished soon after reaching his first Unicorns fifty when bowled by Darren Stevens.England spinner James Tredwell trapped New (31) lbw three overs later before a collapse of 4 for 18, that included two run outs, left the Unicorns scrambling to put a competitive total together. That was at least managed by 21-year-old allrounder Luis Reece, who hit an unbeaten 36 from 35 balls.But with Kent in need of full points they were only able to reach 9 for 0, after three overs, before the rain came. The point was at least enough to move Kent up to third in Group C, having played a game less than leaders Warwickshire, who they trail by three points.

Ravi Bopara batted at No. 8 with a runner in a bid to prove his England fitness as Essex and Kent failed to contrive a positive result

Charles Randall at Chelmsford12-May-2012
ScorecardMark Pettini was the only Essex batsman to master the conditions•Getty ImagesIt would have been funny if it had not been so serious for Ravi Bopara, a man with almost-certainly dashed England hopes. He batted today with a runner for just over an hour and a half, ran himself out in classic village green style and did not appear in the field for the fag end of this Division Two stalemate.Although Essex were optimistic about Bopara’s ability to be fit for the first Test against West Indies, starting at Lord’s on Thursday, the evidence of his innings suggested England would be unwise to take the gamble. He suffered a “slight tear” to his right thigh in the field on Friday and though he batted for his team, at No. 8, in pursuit of bonus points, his discomfort was clear.During an over in the morning Essex had four batsmen on the square while Bopara and Alviro Petersen used runners, a rare occurrence for a partnership at first-class level, perhaps in any cricket. Bopara looked far from sprightly when he instinctively moved into a run with a midwicket stroke off Ivan Thomas and pulled up with a ghastly stagger. After some scurried runs seemingly in all directions, and five balls without any real mishap, both batsmen sent off their assistants – though Bopara was publicly persuaded to change his mind by the Essex physio Chris Clarke-Irons. So Greg Smith trotted back on, while Petersen, hobbling on a sore ankle, did his best without Tom Westley.With no sign of declarations or targets, Essex’s innings creaked along, owing just about all momentum to Mark Pettini. The last three wickets fell for no runs when Charlie Shreck picked up two in two and Bopara ran himself out, finally forgetting his runner. Bopara pushed a Mark Davies delivery into the covers and set off for the single, reaching ‘safety’ at the other end along with his runner before realising he should have stayed at the crease. Kent did not spot their opportunity until Shreck screamed at his colleagues to get the ball back to wicketkeeper Geraint Jones, who removed the bails at leisure.Pettini, seeking his first Championship hundred for three seasons, batted exceptionally well, though he struggled to score against the constant probing by Davies, the pick of the Kent attack. Resuming on 61, Pettini cut effectively, concentrated well and look set for his much-needed century when Thomas seamed one back into him to win an lbw shout and the innings tailed off after that.Thomas, 20, impressed as a Championship rookie with more whip in his action than one might think. He has had first-class experience with Leeds-Bradford University this season, including the destruction of a callow Sussex side, when he took 6 for 21 in the second innings in Leeds. A memorable maiden wicket for Kent came courtesy of a flying goalkeeper catch in the covers by Brendon Nash, clinging to a full-blooded cut by Essex’s captain James Foster.Both counties harbour expectations of climbing out of this division, but it was a shame that some sort of arrangement could not be reached. Kent, 131 ahead overnight, might have persuaded Essex to chase something as they held some aces in Davies, Shreck and the England offspinner James Tredwell. Thomas could also have been added to the mix on an easing, but still helpful, Chelmsford strip.With Bopara and Petersen unfit, Essex’s batting looked depleted. “The problem with declaring overnight would have been forfeiting batting points, though as it turned out we didn’t get any,” Foster said. “We weren’t expecting to get only 181; we were hoping to get 350. A chase would have been quite a risk as the ball was nibbling about.”Rob Key felt he lost “a horror” of a toss and was elated that his Kent side had gained a first innings lead after their collapse to 9 for 5, thanks mainly to a superb century by Darren Stevens. As so often in county cricket, the effort of fighting back seemed to inflate the fear of defeat. “It was so wet on the first day and by the end it was so dry,” Key said. “We thought it was going to be hard work trying to set up a game. I felt we would have to throw up so many and we would only have two sessions, if that, to bowl. The pitch didn’t deteriorate enough to make it interesting. Essex would have been able to block out, so that the result was either a win for them or a draw.”

كشف مارسيل كولر المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، عن اللاعبين البدلاء لمباراة اليوم أمام الداخلية في بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

ويلتقي الأهلي مع منافسه الداخلية على أرضية استاد الأهلي وي السلام في إطار لقاءات الجولة العشرين من المسابقة المحلية.

ويحتل الأهلي صدارة جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 40 نقطة، وعلى الجانب الأخر يأتي الداخلية في المرتبة الخامسة عشر بـ 16 نقطة. بدلاء الأهلي أمام الداخلية في الدوري

 محمد شريف، أليو ديانج، علي لطفي، محمد مجدي “أفشة”، شادي حسين، علي معلول، محمد عبد المنعم.

David Warner has won two Man of the Match awards from his first five Tests, but he still craves greater consistency as Australia’s opener in the long format. Warner’s 180 at the WACA was easily the standout performance on a pitch that proved difficult for the batsmen, and more than any other player he was responsible for Australia’s innings victory.In Hobart last month, Warner was a controversial selection as Man of the Match as the award was voted for by Channel Nine viewers, despite the fact that Doug Bracewell had bowled New Zealand to a historic victory and was regarded by most experts as clearly the best afield. There was no question about Warner’s award on this occasion, although a case could have been mounted for Ben Hilfenhaus, who took eight wickets.Two centuries from his first five Tests is a promising start, but Warner is also aware that as Test batsman, the gaps between his best and worst cannot be allowed to grow too much. So far in his Test career, Warner has posted scores of 3, 12 not out, 15, 123 not out, 37, 5, 8 and 180.”I’ve always said I’d like to be more consistent in all three forms that I’m playing,” Warner said. “You might get runs today and miss out in the next game but that’s cricket. I’ll keep working hard and backing myself. Hopefully this wasn’t a one-off thing. It was my second Test hundred. I showed that I can play maturely as well in difficult situations [in Hobart]. Hopefully I can keep continuing with my form.”Warner has come a long way from the man who burst on to the international scene as a Twenty20 specialist with a brutal 89 against South Africa three years ago, before he had even made his first-class debut. By the end of last summer, Warner had played only seven Sheffield Shield matches and found it hard to force his way into the New South Wales line-up.”The frustration was always there, with New South Wales not giving me an opportunity,” he said. “But at the end of the day there were blokes ahead of me and I had to go out and score runs in grade cricket and 2nd XI cricket and make my way into the team.”The only way to do that was weight of runs. Fortunately I did that and now I’m in a good headspace. I’m really enjoying my cricket at the moment. Being part of the Test team, we’re going fantastic at the moment and I couldn’t be any happier.”His progression has impressed the Test captain Michael Clarke, who is also one of the selectors who gave Warner a chance in the baggy green. Clarke believes Warner’s career should highlight to every young cricketer that Twenty20 is not the only option.”To see a kid who everybody thought was just a Twenty20 player 12 months ago walk out and bat exactly the same, but wearing the baggy green, playing in his whites … I’ve said to Davey for a long time now there’s no reason he can’t have success in any form of the game, with the amount of talent he’s got,” Clarke said. “It shows young kids out there today that whether it’s Twenty20 cricket, one-day cricket or Test cricket, if you can play one form, you can play all three forms. That’s really exciting for the game.”Over the past three Tests, Warner has been partnered at the top of the order by a much more understated opener, Ed Cowan. Their styles complement each other and at the WACA, that paid off as they put on 214 for the first wicket, just the second double-century opening stand for Australia since the end of the Hayden-Langer era.Warner’s 180 and Cowan’s 74 were both their best Test scores, the first time since the Trent Bridge Ashes Test of 1989 that both Australian openers had bettered their highest Test scores in the same innings. Warner said working with Cowan was a pleasure.”I think it’s great,” he said. “We’re gelling together. As people have said, we’re an odd couple. But when we’re out there, we keep each other going. We’re always talking to each other every ball. I know Ed’s game, I know where his release shots are to get off strike when difficult periods are happening.”It’s the same with me. When he thinks I’m playing too loose, he’ll come down to me and keep a check and say you’ve got to keep playing straight. I respect that. I’ll always listen to my partner. Hopefully we can keep continuing this.”

Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler, has pleaded guilty to spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test against England in 2010

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court01-Nov-2011Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler, has pleaded guilty to spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test against England in 2010. He said there was “extreme pressure” on him and cited threats to his place in the side if he did not participate in the fixing.He now faces a ‘Newton Hearing’ later this week at which Justice Cooke, without the presence of a jury, will determine his level of punishmentAmir gave his plea at the pre-trial at Southwark Crown Court on September 16, which had preceded the full trial attended by Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, who pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Reporting restrictions under the United Kingdom’s laws meant Amir’s plea could not be published so as not to bias a jury ruling on the other two players.All three players faced charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s Test during which they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif were found guilty by a jury at the Southwark Crown Court on both counts on November 1.Amir’s basis of plea agreed by the prosecution was: The defendant’s involvement was limited to the final Test match at Lord’s between August 26 and 29, 2010. This was the defendant’s first and only involvement and was, therefore, an isolated and one-off event. The defendant only became involved as a result of pressure (not amounting to physical threats) and influence, to the effect that, if he did not become involved, he would suffer serious professional implications to his future career. “Amir wants to make it clear he wants to take full responsibility for what he did by bowling two deliberate no-balls,” Amir’s barrister Ben Emmerson QC said at the pre-trial. “This vulnerable 18-year-old boy, as he was then, was subjected to extreme pressure from those upon whom he should have been able to rely. He recognises the damage he has caused Pakistan cricket and he wishes to do his best to put that right.”Prosecution evidence, however, suggested that rather than being an innocent, naïve rookie who was taken advantage of, Amir seemed a willing conspirator, with text messages of fixing talk sent to two different Pakistan numbers that were recovered by police.Of further significance was Amir’s basis of plea – he owned up only to fixing the two no-balls at Lord’s. This was questioned by the judge, Justice Cooke, because there was evidence to be presented by the prosecution that showed suspicious behaviour connected to other matches that summer, chiefly the third Test at The Oval.On August 17, the eve of the Oval Test, Amir texted a Pakistani number with his bank details and asked why they were needed at that time.On the same day, Amir had a conversation by text with a Pakistani unknown. It went: “How much and what needs to be done?” Then: “This is going to be too much mate.” The Pakistani unknown said in one: “So in first three, bowl however you want, and in the last two, do eight runs?” These messages were translated from Urdu and were thought to be a repetition of instructions he had received at some point.When the police raids were carried out on the Saturday evening of the Lord’s Test at the Marriott Regents Park Hotel, Amir sent a text to another Pakistan number from the phone of Azhar Majeed, the older brother of Mazhar, to say: “Amir here, don’t call my phone, ICC-police have taken my phone, are you able to delete those calls you made to me? If you can do it okay, don’t reply.” During the trial, the prosecution also accused Azhar Majeed of being involved in fixing matches.Amir was also “well at it” – as chief prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC put it – before and during the Lord’s Test with Mazhar Majeed. There were 65 forms of contact between Butt and Majeed, and Amir and Majeed in the 36 hours leading up to the Lord’s Test. Asif was not in touch then.The jury watched footage on TV sets in the court of Amir’s behaviour after his no-balls. He repeatedly checked his spikes and Butt placed sawdust around the crease. Jafferjee called it “a performance”. Two experts said the likelihood of correctly predicting when three no-balls would be delivered had a probability of a one in 1.5 million chance.Amir was the Player of the Series for the Tests in England, having taken five-wicket hauls in his last two matches. His involvement in fixing cost him an ICC Emerging Player of the Year nomination.

Sri Lanka’s old-guard combined to ease to a 112-run victory over New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium. Kumar Sangakkara made his first ODI century since June 2008, supported by a controversial 66 from Jayawardene to haul Sri Lanka up to 265 before Muralith

The Bulletin by Sahil Dutta18-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMuttiah Muralitharan helped Sri Lanka ease past New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium•Getty Images

Sri Lanka’s old guard combined to ease to a 112-run victory over New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium. Kumar Sangakkara made his first ODI century since June 2008, supported by a controversial 66 from Mahela Jayawardene, to haul Sri Lanka up to 265 before Muttiah Muralitharan spun New Zealand to defeat with 4 for 25.Coming into the tournament as one of the favourites, Sri Lanka have not quite convinced so far and but for their three most experienced players might have struggled again. Instead the finish was the kind of one-sided result that has epitomised Group A.New Zealand, though, will rue their misfortune when Jayawardene was reprieved at a critical moment. Sri Lanka had lost both openers and were struggling to get on top of the New Zealand slow bowlers when, in the 24th over, Jayawardene chipped a return catch to Nathan McCullum.It went low to McCullum’s right and the bowler dived full-length to scoop the ball centimetres off the turf. The batsman stood his ground and the decision was sent upstairs. Side-on replays seemed to clearly show McCullum’s fingers under the ball but a front-on shot, as it so often does, created doubt that the third umpire, Amiesh Saheba, ruled on. Before then Jayawardene had scrambled for 50 deliveries to make 26 but silkily added a further 40 at a run a ball and Sri Lanka never looked back.Sangakkara helped himself to a century that he’s been waiting 64 matches for. Looking typically unhurried, he was content to work the ball around early on before unfurling some of the stylish strokes that are his hallmark as the innings went on. One six, eased down the ground off Scott Styris, told of a batsman in totalSmart stats

The 145-run partnership between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene is the second-highest for Sri Lanka against New Zealand in a World Cup match.

Sangakkara and Jayawardene have put together 4724 partnership runs in ODIs, which is the highest by a non-opening pair. This was also their tenth century partnership in ODIs, which puts them in second place, next only to the Sachin Tendulkar-Rahul Dravid pair, who have 11.

In World Cups, this was their third century partnership in ten innings, but the first against a Test-playing team. Only three other non-opening pairs have got three hundred stands in World Cups.

The 112-run margin of victory is Sri Lanka’s third-highest against New Zealand.

Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling returns of 4 for 25 is his second-best in World Cups, next only to his 4 for 19 against Ireland in 2007.

New Zealand’s total of 153 is their fourth-lowest in a World Cup match, and their poorest against Sri Lanka.

control. The verbal exchanges that Jayawardene got involved with after his escape only served to fire him up and he was soon exhibiting the fluent form that had deserted him since his century against Canada in Sri Lanka’s opening game.The pair added 145 and the importance of the stand was demonstrated by what followed. Sangakkara rushed to his century with four boundaries in six deliveries but was out soon after for 111. Following his dismissal Sri Lanka lost five wickets for 55 in the final 8.2 overs. That they even got so many was almost entirely down to Angelo Mathews, who swatted 41 from 35 balls to thwart New Zealand’s fightback.In the end, the collapse was irrelevant but in the knockout stages, opposition teams will know beneath Sri Lanka’s top order is a soft underbelly waiting to be exposed. New Zealand would have backed themselves to make a better fist of chasing but – despite dew, on a ground that will host the World Cup final, hampering the Sri Lanka spinners – Muralitharan and Mendis choked them into submission.The early work was done by the quicks when Brendon McCullum was given out by the TV umpire after Jayawardene, of all people, claimed a low catch off Mathews. There was some uncertainty as the take was almost spilled at the last moment. TV replays were not entirely certain but, unlike the first time, the right decision was made and McCullum was sent on his was for 14. After Guptill fell for 13, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor threatened to make a match of it but the spinners took over.Mendis’ mystery may have faded with exposure but his variations proved too much for Ryder who nibbed a carrom-ball behind for a 23-ball 19. Muralitharan’s introduction had been delayed after he picked up an injury while batting. Despite hobbling around, he was still devastating when he finally got into the attack in the 18th over.A doosra took care of Kane Williamson for 5 before he landed the killer blow by spinning one back into Taylor’s pads. Despite a big stride and a review, Taylor was rightly given out for 33 and his team never looked like competing. Scott Styris chipped a return catch to Muralitharan, who belied his injury to spring up and snaffle the chance, and Nathan McCullum and James Franklin soon followed. Between them Mendis and Muralitharan took six wickets for 49 in 14 overs.Unlike the frenzied excitement in Group B, the qualifiers in Group A are already settled. Sri Lanka are guaranteed to finish second whatever happens between Australia and Pakistan, which might well leave them in line for a contest against the World Cup mysterybox, England, in the quarter finals.Match Timeline

MatériaMais Notícias

O que poderia ser um empecilho para o Botafogo na estreia da Copa Sul-Americana, em partida contra o Audax Italiano, no Chile, não causará dor de cabeça para Alberto Valentim e companhia. A Conmebol não autorizou o clube chileno a mandar a partida no recém-reformado Estádio Bicentenario de La Florida por conta da grama sintética.

A casa do Audax, equipe de Loco Abreu, que, atualmente, está na reserva, possui um gramado artificial que já recebeu até certificação da Fifa, recentemente, porém não será terreno da Sul-Americana por conta da entidade do continente. Assim,o duelo será realizado no San Carlos de Apoquindo, na cidade de Las Condes, na região metropolitana da capital Santiago.

RelacionadasBotafogoBaixas! Moisés e Luiz Fernando fazem exames e não viajam ao ChileBotafogo10/04/2018BotafogoApós renovar, Marcinho garante foco na Sul-Americana: ‘Nada de ressaca’Botafogo10/04/2018BotafogoNo Botafogo, pacotes para o Brasileirão têm preços popularesBotafogo10/04/2018

#Audax Italiano recibirá a @BotafogoOficial por la #CONMEBOLSudamericana en San Carlos de Apoquindo Detalles 👉https://t.co/1zxb977Jbs pic.twitter.com/jVUokJBfk7

— Audax Italiano (@audaxitaliano) 6 de abril de 2018

Casa daUniversidad Católica, oestádio em que o Botafogo iniciará a trajetória na competição tem capacidade para 18 mil torcedores. Cabe lembrar que o time chileno vive péssima fase na temporada e, agora, terá que se desdobrar em um campo neutro.

Em dois dos quatros jogos como mandante em 2018, todos pelo Chileno, o Audax Italiano perdeu ambos os compromissos noBicentenario de La Florida – paraHuachipato eUniversidad de Chile. Os outros dois, em partidas em um terceiro palco, empatou um e venceu outro – contra Temuco e Everton, respectivamente.

At 35 Michael Hussey, his sideburns flecked with grey, has to convince himself to be free and focused, which aren’t always complementary aims

Peter English in Brisbane23-Nov-2010

Word has filtered through to Michael Hussey that he must get runs in Thursday’s first Test. He hasn’t read the papers or watched the television, but he has been sledged by the Victorians and listened to more talk than usual. A check of his stats will show he hasn’t scored a century in his past six Tests and in those matches has averaged 26.Outside the team everyone is asking him if he’s playing for his place, directly and in roundabout ways. Even before a 17-man squad was picked early last week to let the senior guys know that it was time to perform or perish. Hussey is always a gentleman, almost always talking positive, but there is pain in his smiles.”In my mind I still have the belief that I’m good enough to be in the team,” he said as the team prepared in Brisbane. “But there’s been a lot of speculation … Certainly some has filtered through. It’s not nice when you hear negative things or people saying you shouldn’t be in the team or they seem to have lost faith in you.”Re-confirming your worth to the detractors is a common theme for the aging player. At first, runs were all that mattered, but as things wind down it’s a fight to hold on to everything: the spot, the goodwill, the reputation.”Certainly for me that’s a motivating thing, trying to prove them wrong,” he said. “I had to do that last year. Shane Warne was pretty outspoken in wanting me out of the team. At the end of the summer he came out and said, you’ve proved me wrong.” Centuries used to create the most satisfying feelings.At 35 Hussey, his sideburns flecked with grey, has to convince himself to be free and focused, which aren’t always complementary aims. Throughout his career the latter has been easier to achieve. His single-mindedness turned a decade in the first-class ranks into one of the most stunning entries, a Test run which included an average of 80 more than two years after his debut.The fun came from accumulating, but a bad Test at the Gabba could end the ride. Or the final stop might be Adelaide, or back home in Perth. It is not a series for guarantees.He is relieved that he made the squad on the back of a second-innings century for Western Australia last week. During that display, which followed an 18-ball duck, the negative comments from the fielders “were driving me on further and further”. With the batch of young players gaining interest from the national selectors, Hussey is playing for next week and beyond.”I want to enjoy it, enjoy that pressure,” he said. “I don’t want to walk away at the end of my career, thinking, ‘geez, I absolutely hated playing for Australia’. I want to go away knowing that I played the way I wanted to play and that I gave myself the best chance of performing well and I enjoyed every minute of it. Go away a happy man rather than having regrets.”He will not change his approach and does not think his problems are technical. If he’s tentative he will struggle early, if he’s positive he can live with the consequences. The last time he was under similar heat was at The Oval in 2009, when he had gone 15 Tests without a hundred. His 121 saved his spot, but not the game, with his dismissal ending the series and changing the owners of the urn.He is a meticulous planner and is an expert at hanging on with a well-timed exertion. Does he prepare differently for a pressure innings? “No, you try not to,” he said. But do you? “No, I try not to.” He smiles as he repeats the answer, at the same time trying to convince himself he’s right.”I try to block out as much as I can and know what worked in the past. Stick to my game plans. Half the challenge is to block out all the external distractions that go on. It’s definitely been a lot tougher [this time].”While England have experienced a flawless preparation for the Ashes, Australia’s travels have been as bumpy as a landing on a rural airstrip. The hosts lost seven matches in a row in all forms of the game before succeeding in a dead ODI against Sri Lanka in Brisbane at the start of the month. England have skipped across the country, getting all their men in some form, at the same time as their stuttering opponents have picked up injuries and stinging criticism.”It’s been perceivably up and down,” Hussey said of Australia’s recent results. “But I actually think we’ve been going really well. Even in India, we played some fantastic Test cricket … It’s more been external stuff causing conjecture. Within the team our plans are really specific.”When there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of speculation and tension, that sometimes brings out the best in players, and you know if you can stick together tight as a team, you can always turn in a positive direction.” Keep the faith, retain your spot, win the Ashes. That’s the theory.