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When the Indian team for the first three ODIs of this seven-matchseries was named, the one big name missing was Virender Sehwag. WithHarbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan returning to the team on the basis ofperformances in the ICC World Twenty20, it was widely assumed – and theselectors speaking privately did nothing to dispel the notion – that therewas no reason for Sehwag to worry and that in the course of the one-dayseason he’d get a look in. As of now, though, there’s still no place forhim.”This is the best batting line-up we’ve got. Sachin, Sourav, followed byRahul, then Yuvi, myself and Robin,” said Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indiancaptain, at the end of the fifth match, when asked about why the line-upwas changed around. “It just didn’t work today. We didn’t get thepartnerships we wanted early on.” Obviously he was referring to theline-up he had on his hands, and not whether Sehwag figured in the plans, but it’s interesting that the talk over Sehwag has died down almost completely as the series has progressed.What’s more, with India still in with a chance of levelling the series3-3, although that’s unlikely given just how hard the Australians haveplayed each of these games, it makes it extremely difficult for the teamto think about resting one of its senior batsmen. The results, however, donot change the fact that India have a large volume of cricket – both ODIand Test – in the coming year. In fact this was the rationale behind theselectors and the team management contemplating a rotation policy in thefirst place. In the 12 ODIs India would play against Australia andPakistan, it was believed that each of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly wouldsit out at least one match.With Dravid struggling for runs, and he’s hardly been at the crease enoughto judge what kind of form he is in, the selectors have a tough decisionon their hands. In different circumstances, with the series decided oneway or the other by the time game six came around, Dravid would have beenrested. But now, with only 44 runs from five matches, there’s hardly acase to rest him, and dropping him in the first series after he steppeddown as captain would be cruel to someone who has served the team’s causeexceedingly well in both forms of the game for several years now.If India win the next game then the temptation to rest someone willrecede further as the seventh match will provide an opportunity to level aseries that once looked gone for all money. If Indialose, then again it will be hard to consider someone like S Badrinath inplace of one of the senior batsmen, for a solitary win from seven gameswould hardly be acceptable returns for Dhoni in his first series ascaptain. However, the temptation to play Badrinath will be strong, forDhoni will remember how Rohit Sharma could barely get a knock in England,and delivered so brilliantly when drafted in the ICC World Twenty20.Robin Uthappa’s case was no different, with him sitting out the best partof the one-day series in England, only to turn matchwinner at the firstopportunity he was afforded. In short, it’s a tricky conundrum, and onethat Dhoni will have to deal with delicately and sensibly.Australia, for their part, have their own selection dilemmas, buttypically have their own way of dealing with these things. Brad Haddinmight have scored 156 from his two innings, scoring half-centuries ineach, but when the time for Ricky Ponting’s return from injury came along,he was left out, with Brad Hodge, the more senior batsman, retaining hisplace in the team despite a string of poor scores. Few teams other thanAustralia would have chosen this path, and on top of this they’ve evensent Adam Voges, who was in the squad as cover for Ponting, back home.Already, he’s in action, playing domestic cricket for the WesternWarriors.

Western Australia have dealt heavy blows to two of their star batsmen, and to their own Pura Cup chances, by suspending Luke Pomersbach and Shaun Marsh until next month. Pomersbach has been ruled out for two Pura Cup and two FR Cup matches while Marsh will miss only one of each.The disciplinary action came after the pair broke team rules by drinking alcohol in the lead-up to this week’s one-day and Pura Cup matches against South Australia. Pomersbach will not be considered for selection until the Pura Cup game against South Australia starting on December 14, while Marsh’s shorter ban could see him back in the side for the limited-overs clash with Tasmania on December 1.Both players scored centuries in Western Australia’s last Pura Cup match and Pomersbach in particular has had a superb start to his season. He has scored two hundreds and averages 98.75 from three Pura Cup games, sitting behind only Simon Katich on the competition run tally.The Warriors have made four changes to their squad for the Pura Cup match that starts on Friday, with Trent Kelly and David Bandy also omitted. Ben Edmondson returns from a hamstring strain and Aaron Heal has also been included, while the allrounder Theo Doropoulos and the batsman Liam Davis could be in line to make their first-class debuts.Davis, 23, played one limited-overs match for Western Australia in 2005-06 and has made a solid start to Perth’s club season with 333 runs at 47.57. Chris Rogers has also been named in the 12-man group after recovering from stomach cramps that kept him out of last week’s FR Cup game.South Australia have a strong list of inclusions with Shaun Tait and Mark Cosgrove added to the squad, as well as Darren Lehmann, who will be playing his final Pura Cup match after announcing his retirement on Monday. Mark Cleary, Shane Deitz and Cameron Borgas have made way for the returning trio.Western Australia squad Justin Langer, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges (capt), Liam Davis, Luke Ronchi (wk), Theo Doropoulos, Brad Hogg, Darren Wates, Aaron Heal, Steve Magoffin, Ben Edmondson, Mathew Inness.South Australia squad Matthew Elliott, Callum Ferguson, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcok (capt), Darren Lehmann, Andy Delmont, Graham Manou (wk), Ryan Harris, Jason Gillespie, Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait, Cullen Bailey.

Tamil Nadu, thanks principally to an unbeaten 120 by N Lokesh, were297 for four wickets at stumps on the first day of their three dayKSCA Coca Cola Cup (under-25) tournament in Bangalore on Wednesday.Opting to bat, Tamil Nadu were given a good start with openersRavindra John (69) and SP Lakshmi Kumar (6) putting on 63 runs off20.3 overs. John who dominated the scoring was second out at 102 inthe 32nd over. He faced 110 balls and hit 11 of them to the ropes.Lokesh, who had come in at the fall of the first wicket, added 39 runsfor the second wicket off 11 overs with John. He was then concerned inthree more fruitful partnerships. First with Noorul Riaz (18) he added53 runs for the third wicket off 26 overs. Then with J Harish (36) hewas concerned in a fourth wicket stand of 81 runs off 21 overs. Andfinally, Lokesh and Surendra Doss (38 not out) put on 61 runs for theunbroken fifth wicket off 13.2 overs. By close, Lokesh had batted 270minutes and faced 174 balls, hitting 14 of them to the ropes.

Nearly a year ago, Australia arrived at Eden Park for their only away match of the World Cup. The 55-metre straight boundaries had their batsmen licking their lips and their bowlers scratching their heads. Big scores were expected. Instead, Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc provided a reminder that if the ball is swinging the boundary size is irrelevant, as they rattled stumps throughout the game. In all, 19 wickets fell for 303 runs.This time there is no Starc, as he continues to recover from ankle surgery, though Boult is available for New Zealand. In fact, none of Australia’s three frontline bowlers from that match will be playing – Pat Cummins is also injured and Mitchell Johnson has retired. Instead, the pace attack will be made up of some combination of Josh Hazlewood, John Hastings, Scott Boland, Kane Richardson, James Faulkner and Mitchell Marsh, who played in that game but bowled only one over.Swing will again be key in Wednesday’s match, the first in a three-game Chappell-Hadlee series ahead of the two Tests. Australia are coming off a 4-1 series win at home against India, in matches where 295 was the lowest first-innings score made, and New Zealand are coming off a 2-0 win over Pakistan, which ended with Sunday’s win at Eden Park, where Pakistan made 290 and New Zealand chased a Duckworth-Lewis target of 263 inside 43 overs.Australia’s recent form against India will give them confidence that they can chase almost any target on the smaller grounds in New Zealand, although that will also depend on what kind of pitches are served up after the flat tracks in Australia. Faulkner, who was Man of the Match in the World Cup final against New Zealand but missed the Auckland game through injury, said conditions would determine whether this series swayed towards enormous totals or lower ones.”There’s no reason why… teams can’t get 350 or 400,” Faulkner said. “A lot of it just comes down to conditions. If it’s swinging around, which we think it would over there, the ball will be moving like it did throughout the World Cup. It’s obviously a lot tougher and early wickets tend to fall. Every team at the moment is setting up to go hard in the first 10, consolidate through the middle and try and have wickets in the shed to try and launch.”Especially with the smaller boundaries, I think if you find the ball isn’t moving, there will be high scores. But if it is, it’s obviously a lot tougher for the opening batsmen to adjust. More times than not at the moment 300 tends to be the base and every run over that is so valuable because every single batter in most teams can bat these days, so it makes it really tough for the bowlers.”Faulkner himself was reminded of the challenges faced by bowlers in ODI cricket last month against India, when he leaked more than a run a ball throughout the series. However, the Australians still managed to win the series comfortably due to the success of their batsmen, and Faulkner noted that the evolution of the one-day game had meant bowlers had to accept that their figures would balloon significantly compared to a few years ago.”I think it’s just the way the game has changed,” he said. “When the first rule came out with only four fielders outside the circle and the Powerplay between 35 and 40, it really shook the game up and I think initially it was a bit of a shock – a lot of people were seeing bowlers going for 70 or 80 off their 10 overs and thinking gee they’ve been whacked around the park compared to what it used to be back in the day of 40-45.”I think it’s just the public and all the players understanding how the game has evolved and T20 has had a hell of a lot to do with that. I think every bowler depending on where they’re bowling, whether it’s up front, whether it’s at the death or through the middle, will have their own little goals but I think now people aren’t really looking at how many runs necessarily; it’s about when they are bowling and how successful they are to certain batters at certain times.”I’ve definitely noticed it at the back end in particular, when you’ve got wickets in hand, it’s so hard to defend. It doesn’t matter how good you are and if you execute, teams can still hit you for a minimum of 10-12 runs an over. So if you’re going into the last 10 only two down, if you’re not getting 100 plus off that I don’t think you’ve done well enough with the bat.”The success of Australia’s batsmen against India meant that Faulkner’s batting was hardly required during the series, although he did play one key innings during the win at the MCG, seeing Australia home in their chase alongside Glenn Maxwell. Faulkner’s finishing with the bat could be important for Australia at the World T20 in India next month and while the selectors may consider form in this ODI series when choosing that squad, Faulkner said his focus was purely on the ODIs.”I just think it’s going to be a great series all around,” he said. “I think obviously after both teams playing in the World Cup final and what New Zealand achieved… I’m expecting a really tough series. I think you’re going to see a really good brand of cricket with bat and ball, and a really good fierce competition.”

Left-arm fingerspinner Jayden Lennox has earned a maiden call-up to New Zealand’s white-ball squads for the India tour next month. He features in the ODI squad alongside uncapped bowling-allrounder Kristian Clarke, legspinning-allrounder Adithya Ashok, seam-bowling allrounder Josh Clarkson and fast bowler Michael Rae, who made his Test debut earlier this month against West Indies.Michael Bracewell will captain the 15-member ODI squad in the absence of Mitchell Santner, whose groin injury is being managed. Santner will return to lead the T20I squad, which features big-hitting batters Bevon Jacobs and Tim Robinson as well as Mark Chapman and Matt Henry, both of whom are returning from ankle and calf injuries respectively. Henry will miss the ODIs to continue his rehabilitation from a calf tear in a bid to return for the T20Is and the subsequent men’s T20 World Cup.Kane Williamson was unavailable for the ODIs because of his commitments in the SA20, where he will play for Durban’s Supergiants.Related

• Allen to miss start of India T20I series

• Gill left out of India's T20 World Cup squad

Clarke was called up to the ODI squad during the home series against England and then to the Test squad against West Indies but did not make his debut. Nathan Smith, William O’Rourke and Blair Tickner were not considered because of their side, back and shoulder injuries respectively, while Tom Latham will skip the ODIs for the birth of his third child. Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson and Zak Foulkes are part of both the white-ball squads while Rachin Ravindra and quick Jacob Duffy have been rested from the ODIs following a busy home summer.”Jayden has been an identified player of interest for some time and has some good New Zealand “A” experience under his belt,” New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said of Lennox, who has picked up eight wickets in five Ford Trophy outings for Central Districts this season. “He’s consistently been one of the top performers in white-ball cricket domestically for a number of seasons.”Playing in the sub-continent is obviously very different to what we’re used to in New Zealand, so any opportunity we can get to expose our guys to those conditions can only be a good thing, especially prior to a T20 World Cup in the subcontinent.”Mitchell Hay and Devon Conway will keep wicket for the ODIs and T20Is, respectively. Lockie Ferguson (ILT20), Adam Milne (SA20), Finn Allen and Tim Seifert (both BBL) are slated to join the T20I squad at the back end of the series with an eye on the T20 World Cup.The tour starts with the ODIs from January 11 in Vadodara before the five-match T20I series begins on January 21 in Nagpur.

New Zealand ODI squad vs India

Michael Bracewell (capt), Adithya Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay (wk), Kule Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae, Will Young

New Zealand T20I squad vs India

Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wk), Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ish Sodhi

In the 2005 Ashes, word slipped out that England’s organisers hadbooked their open-top bus parade a full week in advance, and the ECBwere rightly accused of hubris. Nobody, however, has bothered to levelthe same charges at the committeemen at the Asgiriya in Kandy. MuttiahMuralitharan’s face is everywhere at the moment – on one billboardhe’s posing with the number 709, on another he’s already beingcongratulated for reclaiming his crown. No-one has doubted his destinyin this match – least of all, it seems, England’s batsmen.England’s cricket on the second day was naïve but not unexpected. Theysquandered a position of undoubted strength, and yet, such was thebug-eyed fervour with which Muralitharan hounded them back to thepavilion, it would be harsh to chastise them too severely for theirfailings. They tried their best, but their best was found wanting, asit surely will be tomorrow as well. England’s tail is as long andbrittle as a deep-frozen anaconda, and Murali must be odds on tocomplete not only his bid for the world record, but his secondeight-wicket haul in consecutive Tests against England.”It’s disappointing because we were in a very good position, butthat’s why Murali is the best in the world,” said Ian Bell. He wasEngland’s most fluent batsman against the seamers, but unsurprisinglyfound Murali a completely different proposition. “It’s important we goout tomorrow and build some partnerships around Colly [PaulCollingwood]. We’ve got a chance to get a decent lead and the guys cancome out and bowl like they did in the first innings.”It all looked so promising after the first hour’s play. Michael Vaughan was entrenched but enduring, absorbing Murali’s wiles while Bell watched and learned from the non-striker’s end. This was the first time Bell had faced him in the longest form of the game, and it wasn’t until he had made 56 from 72 balls that he finally crossedwith his captain and went to take guard.”I was pretty happy to be honest for the skipper to see him off,” saidBell. “I was trying to watch from the non-striker’s end, trying topick in my own mind what it was he was bowling before I got downthere. It gave me a bit more opportunity to give myself the bestchance.” Several hours in the nets with Merlin, the ECB’sspin-replicating machine, had helped Bell to visualise the moment, butnothing could adequately prepare any of the England players for thetrials they were about to face.

Bell’s own innings included moments of aggression against Murali – atwo-step down the pitch resulted in a chancy swipe over mid-on forfour, and his eventual dismissal was a shot of similar intent. But asEngland had preached beforehand, gameplans are everything when itcomes to negotiating his menace.”I just wanted to be positive,” said Bell. “I’ve learnt so far in myshort career that I want to play my game and use my feet, and be aspositive as possible against the spinners. From what I’ve learnt fromplaying Warne and those guys, if you just try to survive they aregoing to get you out anyway. I wanted to be positive in defence aswell as attack, watch the ball and trust myself.”Bell and England’s gameplan also included lots of quick singles, butthat was one aspect of their play that simply didn’t materialise.Murali’s 30 overs included just 19 scoring shots, a tribute to hismasterful accuracy but also indicative of a side that seemed trappedin his headlights. “It’s disappointing but that’s why he’s the bestbowler in the world,” said Bell. “His record in Sri Lanka speaks foritself.”England’s prospects for the rest of the match now look as bleak as theweather, which might in fact be their best hope of salvation. “Thepitch has been low from day one, and that’s what it’ll be like for therest of the game,” said Bell, as the prospect loomed of anotheragonising masterclass in the fourth innings. “I think that it’simportant for the bowlers to hit a line and length and be patient,because it’s going to be harder to score as the game goes on.”England’s bowlers answered that brief magnificently in the firstinnings, but Murali doesn’t even need to be posed the question. Heknows what he’ll be producing for the rest of the match. England knowit too, as of course do his expectant hometown fans. Their ardour has beendampened by consecutive days of anticlimax, but Murali and hiscelebrations will not be delayed for much longer in this game.

Adam Gilchrist says the players still don’t know what to expect at the Twenty20 World Championship as they will be competing for a trophy, unlike earlier international matches where entertainment was the key. “I think there is a little bit of unknown as to what’s going to happen,” Gilchrist said before Australia’s departure to South Africa.”We’ve tasted Twenty20 cricket, and it’s been a real entertainment package, but in every game we played there’s never been anything up for grabs. It’s almost been like an exhibition game if you like.”Three players including Ricky Ponting have stayed back but are expected to join the team before Australia’s first match against Zimbabwe on September 12. Ponting cited “private family reasons”, while Shane Watson has a hamstring problem and Stuart Clark is attending to his ill son.Gilchrist, who will lead the team in case Ponting misses out, said it would be interesting to see how teams approached the tournament. “I’ve no doubt that once we get there, and given that there’s a world title up for grabs, it will get serious,” he said. “But I do hope the entertainment factor stays. I would encourage everyone to try and embrace that entertainment part of the game.”He said the World Championship might push administrators to consider slotting in more Twenty20 matches in international schedules, though perhaps at the expense of one-day internationals. “I think world cricket will have a clearer understanding of how serious, how much we need to play Twenty20 cricket and what role it will have in the cricket calendar [by the end of the tournament],” he said.”I don’t know necessarily if it will be the be all and end all of Twenty20, but I do think it’s here to stay for a number of reasons … and it may be a case of, if Twenty20 cricket continued to grow, it might limit the 50-over game to a certain extent, with the need to tailor the program to fit both in.”The Twenty20 World Championship starts on September 11, with the final to be played in Johannesburg on September 24.

Mark Taylor has joined Stuart Clark, the Australia fast bowler, in saying the game could become boring if measures are taken to ban sledging and confrontation during matches. The ICC has asked teams to improve their behaviour through a “zero-tolerance policy” over verbal abuse.”How are we going to remove something that has been so much part of the game?” Clark told Sydney radio station . “Put it this way – it’s going to be very boring for six hours if you can’t talk to one another and can’t do anything like that. What is a sledge and what’s not a sledge is my big question there.”Cricket Australia says the ICC’s code of conduct already covers the issue and said a total ban on sledging, which was raised during an ICC meeting in Kuala Lumpur last month, had not been supported. The behaviour reminder comes after Australia’s often heated series with India over the past four months.Taylor, a member of the ICC cricket committee, said it was important not to go “over the top” with the regulations. “When you get a close series like we had this year with Australia and India you are going to get confrontation,” he said in the Courier-Mail. “Provided it’s kept in reasonable check it is all good.”That’s the kind of competition people want to see. We can’t go over the top, make the players the same and the game very boring.”Clark, who appears to be one of the more quiet members of the Australia squad, said removing sledging would be “detrimental to the game”, but he supported eliminating racial and political barbs. “It’s going to be a hard one to police because there are going to be times where people are going to be talking and it’s going to be misconstrued or taken the wrong way,” he said. “I can’t say what they [the ICC] are thinking but the removing of sledging completely from the game of cricket … I think it’s going to be detrimental to the game.”

Durham

Captain Dale Benkenstein Coach Geoff Cook Overseas Neil McKenzie, Albie Morkel (SA), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
After a coming-of-age season in 2007 where they won the Friends Provident Trophy and were runners-up in the Championship, Durham are now established as a force in the county game. The challenge is to continue the progression and the good news is that they have the core of last year’s team still around, minus the heroic Ottis Gibson. The batting will be well served by McKenzie and Chanderpaul, but it will need one of the young bowlers such as Liam Plunkett or Graham Onions to fill the hole left by Gibson. Andrew McGlashan
High value Phil Mustard – likely to be away with England for parts of the season, but is a crucial part of Durham’s one-day jigsaw.
Long-term investment Moneeb Iqbal – a raw legspinner at the moment but a talent worth persevering with.
Prospects Have the right balance of youth and experience to challenge for silverware again, especially in the one-day game.

Hampshire

Captain Dimitri Mascarenhas Coach Paul Terry Overseas Shane Bond (NZ), Shane Watson (Aus)Hampshire have had a trying time pre-season, what with the departures of Shane Warne and Shaun Udal, the conflicting aspirations of Dimitri Mascarenhas, the retirement of James Bruce, and uncertainty over whether Shane Bond would be joining the club. That last, at least, has now been resolved, and Jimmy Adams is likely to lead the side while Mascarenhas is with the IPL in India. At present the new captain is expected to miss only two weeks’ cricket, but many another county chairman would not have been as forgiving of him as Rod Bransgrove has been. Warne’s great regret will have been not winning the County Championship and much will depend now on the fitness of Chris Tremlett and how many wickets the two spinners, Liam Dawson and Greg Lamb, take between them. Ivo Tennant
High value Kevin Pietersen – but for how many matches will he be available?
Long-term investment Liam Dawson – the teenage left arm spinner with an England future ahead of him.
Prospects A difficult summer ahead. Relegation not out of the question in the Championship.

Kent

Captain Robert Key Coach Graham Ford Overseas Yasir Arafat (Pak)
The captaincy of Rob Key, arguably prematurely discarded by England, is beginning to earn impressive notices. It is 30 years since Kent were last county champions, and although their side does not compare with that of 1978, they have a chance of replicating that success. For a club that has taken much pride in nurturing talented players, too many discarded cricketers from other counties have been signed over the past decade or more, but in Joe Denly and Sam Northeast, Kent have unearthed two exciting young batsmen. Ryan McLaren, described by Key as “a seriously serious cricketer,” took a hat-trick in the Twenty20 final, helping Kent win a knockout competition for the first time since the 1978 side achieved that, also. Alas for the club, Justin Kemp’s registration has been turned down by the ECB, and less enticing is the re-development of the St Lawrence, Canterbury, which will affect the ground’s aesthetic charm. Ivo Tennant
High value McLaren – with both bat and ball, and who is intent on playing for England.
Long-term investment Denly – unless England claim him for a central contract.
Prospects Probably their best in both first-class and instant cricket since, well, 1978.

Lancashire

Captain Stuart Law Coach Mike Watkinson Overseas Brad Hodge (Aus)
Last season was Lancashire’s most agonising Championship near-miss in their history, and the ECB fixture computer clearly has a sense of humour, having pitted them against Surrey at The Oval in the opening match this time around. How well the squad have moved on from the crushing disappointment of last year is crucial, and in Stuart Law, the no-nonsense Australian who has taken over the captaincy from Mark Chilton, they have the ideal man to ensure no dwelling. Once again they don’t have the youngest squad around and it is time some of the next generation started pushing through on a regular basis. Tom Smith needs to recover from a poor 2007, while Kyle Hogg and Oliver Newby must to keep Dominic Cork and Glen Chapple on their toes. Andrew McGlashan
High value Andrew Flintoff – will have his longest stretch of county action since becoming an England regular and has the incentive of needing runs and wickets.
Long-term investment Steven Croft – an attacking batsman and useful medium-pacer who gave a glimpse of his talent last season, especially in the one-day game.
Prospects A strong squad should be a force in all competitions and the Championship is well within their grasp.

Nottinghamshire

Captain Chris Read Coach Mick Newell Overseas David Hussey (Aus), Adam Voges (Aus)
Without Stephen Fleming’s nous and wisdom, a lot rests on Chris Read’s shoulders. Elevated to captain over the winter, he doubtless has a point to prove after again slipping out of favour with the England selectors. He will lead a side who ought to be bubbling with confidence following their promotion to the first Division, though (England fans hope) he won’t have much use of Stuart Broad who hopped north from Leicestershire over the winter. Though Jason Gallian has fled to Essex, the batting line-up has a reassuringly solid feel to it. Adam Voges, the Western Australia batsman, will cover for the prolific David Hussey who is on IPL duty. Will Luke
High value Hussey – scores big runs, quick runs and lots of them.
Long-term investment Bilal Shafayat – disappointing last year(560 runs at 31.11 with no hundreds) but a gifted strokemaker who has youth on his side.
Prospects Notts’ bowling is light when the England stars are away, but their batsmen ought to keep them afloat in the Championship.

Somerset

Captain Justin Langer Coach Andy Hurry Overseas Justin Langer (Aus)
Can Somerset become county champions for the first time in their history after storming to the second-division title? It is not improbable, given that Langer has put off joining the IPL until next year – to the appreciation of many at Taunton – and that Marcus Trescothick, whose first scoring shot in Somerset’s initial pre-season friendly match was to put the ball out of the ground, will not be playing any international cricket. Then there is Omari Banks; the ever-willing Andy Caddick, who took 75 wickets last year and understandably felt he should play for England again; and a number of talented young players, including James Hildreth and Michael Munday, who should have played more often last year. And do not forget the clubbing of the ball that Ian Blackwell perennially provides. Ivo Tennant
High value Trescothick – will almost certainly score a heap of runs in this his benefit year.
Long-term investment Off the pitch, a £50m ground redevelopment; on it, Munday’s legspin, so effective at the very end of last season.
Prospects A fair chance of becoming champions, but much will depend on whether the highly respected Phil Frost can maintain an even balance between bat and ball on the Taunton square.

Surrey

Captain Mark Butcher Coach Alan Butcher Overseas Matt Nicholson (Aus)
The Butcher family alliance has helped Surrey rediscover their street-cred resilience: they fought tooth and nail to claw their way up the Championship and finish fourth last summer. Father and son have not, however, halted a few familiar faces from leaving over the winter. Out go Ian Salisbury, Azhar Mahmood, Rikki Clarke and Nayan Doshi – a strong bowling quartet – and in come Pedro Collins and Saqlain Mushtaq – “a Surrey legend”, in Butcher senior’s words. There is enough talent there to urge them to a trophy in one-dayers – 40-year-old Chris Lewis is back for the Twenty20s – but the powerhouses of Lancashire and Sussex will probably be too strong in the Championship. Will Luke
High value Mark Ramprakash – who is approaching his 100th first-class hundred and shows no sign of fading. Or ageing. Will England be tempted if and when one of their top six loses form or fitness?
Long-term investment Chris Jordon – a fast bowler of West Indian heritage and not yet 20 years old. It’s still not certain where his future allegiance lies, but Surrey will want to keep hold of him as long as possible.
Prospects Mid-table beckons in the Championship; possibly challenging for the title if their bowlers fire. Ramprakash to fill his boots again.

Sussex

Captain Chris Adams Coach Mark Robinson Overseas Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak)
Aiming for a hat-trick of Championship titles, Sussex went through a nervous pre-season waiting to hear if they would have the services of Mushtaq Ahmed after his time in the ICL. His availability means Sussex will again be the team to beat over four days, while Ryan Harris looks a useful acquisition from South Australia. The batting should look after itself, especially with Matt Prior back to boost the middle order and prove his worth to England. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan’s bowling will be missed, but Sussex know what it takes to win titles. The main issues are off the field as they try to develop Hove to keep up with changing times. Whatever the final plans, let’s hope it doesn’t lose its character. It’s part of the Sussex package. Andrew McGlashan
High value Mushtaq – one of the shrewdest county buys of all time and continues to handsomely reward Sussex.
Long-term investment Ragheb Aga – a pace bowler who has played ODIs for Kenya and made a good impression during pre-season.
Prospects They will be in the Championship mix throughout, but should be pushed all the way in a strong division. Harris and Prior will help their one-day chances.

Yorkshire

Captain Darren Gough Coach Martyn Moxon Overseas Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (Pak), Morne Morkel (SA)
The confirmation of Rana Naved’s availability is a boost and Yorkshire will boast an international-class bowling attack, with Matthew Hoggard eager to prove his England worth and Morne Morkel on early-season cover. Darren Gough’s first season back promised much before Yorkshire faded in the final stages, but there is still a positive vibe around the club. This will probably be Gough’s final year and you wouldn’t put it past him to go out on a high. However, the squad doesn’t appear quite strong enough for the Championship crown. All eyes will be on the further development of Adil Rashid; his England days are drawing closer. Andrew McGlashan
High value Jacques Rudolph – will need to fill his boots as some of the top order are unproven.
Long-term investment Ajmal Shahzad – another locally produced player of whom much is expected in the near future.
Prospects The squad appears more suited to one-day success as they aim to give Gough a fitting send-off.

Match facts

Sunday, April 20, 2008
Start time 18.30 local time (13.00 GMT)
This is the first-ever Twenty20 international game to be held in Pakistan.

The Big Picture

In 22 ODI games since their win against South Africa in the World Cup, Bangladesh have lost 19, winning three against Ireland. Having suffered a whitewash in the ODI series, the Twenty20 game offers Bangladesh a final chance at redemption. Shakib Al Hasan pushed his case for captaincy with a consistent performance with the bat during the series but has lacked support from the top order.Player to watch for Pakistan: Kamran Akmal hit a ferocious 81-ball hundred with 16 fours and a six in the third ODI and he would look to up the ante in the Twenty20 game. He has a strike-rate of 116.92 from 11 Twenty20 games but he would be looking to better his average of 15.20. Bangladesh’s weak bowling attack gives him the chance to do exactly that.Player to watch for Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal is an attacking player but with almost a suicidal instinct at the crease. He averaged 29.20 in the ODI series and has one final chance to leave his imprint on the tour. His weakness, like most of the Bangladesh top order, is a lack of patience and a tendency to charge out to the fast bowlers. It has led at times to some breathtaking assaults, as India experienced in the World Cup, but has led to his dismissals often. Eventually, it might come down to Shakib Al Hasan, the sole reliable performer in the line-up, to shoulder Bangladesh’s burden again.

Team news

Pakistan have dropped Mohammad Yousuf, the highest run-scorer at this venue in ODIs for Pakistan, for the Twenty20 game. Yousuf was also left out of Pakistan’s World Twenty20 team.Pakistan (likely) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Younis Khan, 4 Shoaib Malik (capt), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Nasir Jamshed, 8 Naumanullah, 9 Mohammad Asif, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Umar Gul.Bangladesh (likely) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Junaid Siddique, 3 Aftab Ahmed, 4 Mohammad Ashraful (capt), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mashrafe Mortaza, 8 Farhad Reza, 9 Dhiman Ghosh (wk), 10 Syed Rasel, 11 Abdur Razzak.

Pitch and conditions

The format of the game obviously demands that the pitch to be loaded in the batsman’s favour and the Karachi track is unlikely to be any different

Stats and trivia