Andre Russell expects West Indies winning ways to continue

West Indies allrounder Andre Russell says he expects his side to continue its winning ways against Bangladesh in the five one-day internationals and the Twenty20 international. The fast bowling allrounder is one of six players shipped in to help form the limited-overs side for the series beginning Friday. The Windies scored a crushing 10-wicket win against Bangladesh in the second Test in Khulna on Sunday, to seal the series 2-0.
"The confidence from winning the Test series will motivate us to do well," Russell said. "We hope to have a good start, winning the first one or two, and get the momentum going for the rest of the series." Russell, a member of the Jamaica team for the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament in January, says he is looking forward to the limited overs series as well as playing his debut match at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.It is going to be a different environment, different type of pitches, so we will be looking to get used to this surface as soon as possible, particularly the players that have come in to the limited-overs squad" he said. "I've played in Bangladesh before. I have played in the Bangladesh Premier League. But I have never played at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, it's my first time at this ground."
Russell said he felt the limited-overs squad was well-balanced and there were players capable of performing in any conditions. He said he still had ambitions of playing Tests for the West Indies adding that he was focussed on giving his all for the limited-overs side. "Most of my games for West Indies have been ODIs and T20Is, so I just think that once I apply myself and continue to do what I have been doing so far for the team, I can't go wrong," he said. "We have a number of good players, but if any day they don't get it right, the captain can call me."
On the other hand, Kieron Pollard, who was recently elevated to the post of vice captain, has described the mood among the players as fantastic. "Since making my entry into the West Indies team, this period has been the best not only in terms of results on the field but also off the field as well," said Pollard. "The players are playing for each other, the mood is great and we have a bunch of guys who are happy to be representing the people of the Caribbean." The West Indies cricket team has experienced a purple patch over the past few months winning their Test series at home against New Zealand 2-0, as well as their T20 series and 50-overs series as well.

SL v NZ, 2nd Test, Day 4: Southee, Bracewell leave SL reeling

Tim Southee struck telling blows at either end of an absorbing fourth day's play at the P Sara Oval on Wednesday to give New Zealand a terrific start to their push for a series-leveling victory on day five. A declaration at 194 for 9 had set Sri Lanka a target of 363, but their reply started shakily as Southee and Doug Bracewell reduced the hosts to 47 for 4 when bad light forced an early stumps.
Having taken his fifth wicket early in day to help New Zealand claim the last four Sri Lankan wickets for 19 runs, Southee dismissed the home team's openers in the first seven overs of their chase. Tharanga Paranavitana departed first ball, hit in front of middle and leg by a full-length delivery, which gave Southee his sixth wicket of the match. Off the last ball of Southee's fourth over, Tillakaratne Dilshan edged behind for 14.Bracewell then bowled Kumar Sangakkara for 16 in the 12th over when the batsman played onto his leg stump, and in his next got Mahela Jayawardene to edge to the wicketkeeper. Fading light forced the introduction of spin in the form of Jeetan Patel, but he bowled just four balls before the on-field umpires deemed the conditions too murky for play to continue.
This brought to close an exciting fourth day in Colombo, which began with Southee and Trent Boult claiming the last four wickets to bundle out Sri Lanka for 244, giving New Zealand a lead of 168. Thilan Samaraweera (76) and Suraj Randiv (39) had extended their stand to 97 but that was ended early in the morning session. Boult removed the overnight pair in consecutive overs while Southee removed Nuwan Kulasekera to finish with 5 for 62. The last man out was Rangana Herath, plucked one-handed by Kane Williamson diving to his left at gully, giving Boult 4 for 42.
New Zealand's second innings began poorly. Shaminda Eranga had Martin Guptill (11) caught in the gully by Dilshan and then Herath had Brendon McCullum (35) stumped for his seventh wicket of the match. Going into lunch, New Zealand were 59 for 2 with a lead of 227 runs.
Shortly after lunch, Kulasekara struck twice in two deliveries to check New Zealand as they attempted to build a sizable lead, and two balls later Herath removed Kruger Van Wyk for a golden duck as the visitors slumped to 75 for 5. With the fifth ball of his eighth over Kulasekara had Williamson chase a wide delivery and edge to first slip for 18. The very next ball, he trapped Daniel Flynn lbw for 0. Herath then made it three wickets in four balls when van Wyk, batting on a pair, was caught at short leg for 0. That wicket took Herath back to the top of the bowlers' list for 2012, with 54 wickets to Graeme Swann's 53.
At 75 for 5, New Zealand's lead was 243 with five wickets in hand. Taylor and the debutant Todd Astle buckled down to stave off a further collapse. The pair played Herath and Randiv confidently and patiently, though Astle received two lives. On 23, Astle was dropped by Paranavitana at slip and for four runs later, was reprieved by the third umpire though replays showed his bat was in the air when Prasanna Jayawardene attempted a run out. Taylor batted with the same determination that fetched him an excellent 142 in New Zealand's first innings to take New Zealand to 154 for 5 with a lead of 315.
Post the interval, Randiv snapped a 97-run stand for the sixth wicket by having Astle caught at short midwicket for 35, sparking a second New Zealand collapse. Astle swept the ball and was caught on the rebound after the ball hit short leg's boot. In the next over, Herath removed Bracewell for 1 and then off the fifth ball Taylor was run out for 75. Patel's dismissal for 0 to Randiv prompted Taylor to declare at 194 for 9.
Defending 363, New Zealand ended the day on top with Sri Lanka four down.

Shane Watson fit to share bowling workload in Perth

Australia's Shane Watson has declared himself fit for both batting and bowling duties in the third and final test against South Africa beginning in Perth on Friday. The all-rounder missed the first two drawn tests of the series in Brisbane and Adelaide with a calf injury but was named in the squad for the final match.
"Over the last week I have gradually built up my bowling and my running," said Watson on Wednesday. "I am up to bowling as many overs as Michael (Clarke) wants, the normal workload I have in a test." The 31-year-old was deemed fit to play as a specialist batsman in the second test but Australia opted to give him a chance to regain full fitness."The decision to miss the last test was a good one in hindsight because it gave me the best chance to bowl well here," he said. "I understand (bowling a lot of overs) could be a possibility for me ... but in the end my body is in the condition to do it.
"I'm certainly fresh compared to some of the other guys who have been out there, so my body should be right," he added.
Australia need a victory at the WACA to return to the number one spot after a gap of more than three years, while a third draw would keep South Africa as the world's top side in the longest form of the game.

Sachin Tendulkar needed more than ever now, says Rahul Dravid

The criticism against Sachin Tendulkar might be mounting rapidly after a string of poor performances but his former India team-mate Rahul Dravid feels the senior batsman is needed "more than ever now". Tendulkar has been a major disappointment in the ongoing four-Test series against England which is tied at 1-1 after the visitors humiliated the hosts by 10 wickets in the second Test in Mumbai.
"India need him now more than ever. At 1-1 in a tight series, it's going to be very important for senior players to stand up and who better than Sachin to do that," Dravid was quoted as saying by 'ESPNCricinfo'. Tendulkar's poor form has put question marks over his place in the side and former players such as Sunil Gavaskar have urged him to discuss his plans with selectors but Dravid feels the 39-year-old is still very much needed by the side."I thought he was a little scratchy and looked a little under-prepared against New Zealand. Here, I know it seems strange to say after he's had three failures, but he's actually looking quite good. "He's played a couple of straight drives, he's played a couple of shots that when I was playing with him, you knew he was playing well if he was playing those shots," he said. "He'll be disappointed with the shot he played to get out in Ahmedabad on a relatively flatter wicket, and then to see other people score runs," Dravid said.
"Here, he was a bit unlucky: the first ball that really spun on the first morning was the one that got him. Until then there weren't too many balls spinning. And then he played for the spin in the second innings and the ball straightened on a track on which every ball was spinning," Dravid added. Dravid said the crushing defeat in Mumbai could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for India as players would work harder.
"I think that's a blessing in disguise from India's point of view. They might have to work harder for the wins but it'll also give their batsmen a chance to be able to put up big scores, and to be able to show they are good players of spin," he said. Dravid said skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to reconsider his bowling options ahead of the third Test starting December 5 in Kolkata.
"He's going to have to re-look at his combination, simply because it's going to be difficult to manage three spinners and especially having Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag in the side who can also bowl spin. "The combination they had in Ahmedabad was the best one, where they had two seamers and two spinners. Hopefully we'll see a normal Kolkata wicket," he said. "India have a great record in Kolkata, we've had a lot of success in Kolkata, because it is a typical sub-continental wicket. As it starts off, you can play your shots, there is something in it for the fast bowlers but it does spin.