Police prepares initial probe report of Lyari Expressway blast

KARACHI: The initial probe report of the blast in which SP CID Chaudhry Aslam and two others were killed has been prepared by the police.

The investigation team probing the blast is being headed by DIG Zafar Bukhari and SSP CID Niaz Khoso. According to the team’s initial findings, a pick-up packed with explosives and chemicals was rammed into Aslam’s vehicle. Police say 150-200 kilograms of explosives and chemicals were used in the attack.

The report states that explosives and chemicals were placed in a plastic drum and there was no evidence of a device, remote control, ball bearings and nut bolts being used in the blast.

While talking to the media at the blast site, DIG Zafar Bukhari said a hand and other body parts were found, which are being tested to ascertain finger prints and DNA with the help of NADRA.

He further said forensic evidence is being collected and the probe is underway to find which vehicle was used in the attack. He continued saying that Chaudhry Aslam came under attack five times but he continued hunting terrorists despite threats to his own life.

DIG Zafar added that words were not enough to pay tribute to Aslam and his track record spoke volumes for his bravery.

He reiterated that such tragedies cannot mar the spirits of the police department and it will continue to operate against anti-state elements and criminals.

It is pertinent to mention here that senior police officer Chaudhry Aslam, who led the operations against militants and extremists in Karachi for years, was killed on Thursday afternoon when a powerful blast destroyed his vehicle on the Lyari Expressway. His guard and driver were also killed in the attack while 14 others including police officials were wounded.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mohmand Agency claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Chaudhry Aslam was targeted for killing their several members including Arif alias Dr. Maqbool and Abdur Rehman in October 2013.

His funeral prayers will be offered today after Asr prayers at Police Headquarter, Garden.

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Cricket in Bangladesh dependent on political stability

The ACC's decision to retain February's Asia Cup in Bangladesh has been based on the government's promise of providing state-level security during all three major international cricket events from mid-January to early April. The BCB has, however, confirmed that they didn't give any political guarantees at the ACC meeting in Colombo, but it would be improbable to assure a stable environment in the country given the volatile political climate.

It is understood that the Asia Cup decision will be vital in convincing Sri Lanka Cricket to go through with their tour of Bangladesh in mid-January, while the BCB would have some strength in convincing other board members when the matter of security comes up for the World Twenty20s in March and April.

"Through our presentation, we have told the ACC board members that we will provide state-level security for the teams," BCB's acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told ESPNcricinfo. "They were convinced. There was no talk of any alternate venues. We understand that Bangladesh will be the host of the Asia Cup."

The news comes a day before Bangladesh holds general elections, which are being staged against the backdrop of long-running nationwide violence and are being boycotted by the main opposition parties. The elections, by themselves, are not expected to restore peace in the country and the staging of two other cricket events - a bilateral series against Sri Lanka later this month and the World Twenty20 in mid-March - will be dependent on how much the political forces agree to pull together for those specific time periods.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board is the direct organiser of the Sri Lanka series while the Asian Cricket Council and the ICC are in charge of the Asia Cup and the World Twenty20s. The BCB has formed local organising committees for the two marquee events, including a security team. Senior officials of the BCB have held a string of meetings with relevant ministries and security agencies, and put together a security report that was presented at the ACC meeting.

According to sources, the BCB will commit to a three-tiered security detail like the one implemented during the 2011 World Cup. It will make sure all three events have the same levels of security detail, with more involvement of the various security forces at the three World Twenty20 venues.

"The ICC, ACC and SLC will get the same security report, because we are committing to full-proof security for all these events. We have discussed the matter with security agencies in the country, including the Army," a BCB official, requesting anonymity, told ESPNcricinfo.

Ahead of their four-week tour to Bangladesh in October-November last year, New Zealand Cricket had sent a security assessment team in late August. During the series, there was a political demonstration, and strikes, but the tour went on. Only once did New Zealand stay away from training in Dhaka, on the day of a strike. The tour went off peacefully but there was tight security around the players.

While violence has dissipated only slightly in the first few days of January, the opposition party's anti-election and anti-government campaign has not stopped. Blockades and strikes have continued, including a 24-hour strike on the day of the election. Normal life in Bangladesh has been disrupted, as is the case every time there is political violence.

It is believed that the first week after the elections, particularly the tone of the ruling Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, will have a bearing on the country's immediate future. There is an expectation among political analysts and international relation experts here that if the tone from the political parties does not soften or take a conciliatory turn, cricket would suffer.

The political movement in Bangladesh, over the past three months has seen consecutive days of blockades. The political strikes and blockades enforced by the opposition parties have amounted to 23 days, while the government itself locked down the capital for two days. There have been nearly 150 deaths due to political violence since late October, and violence has damaged Bangladesh's international image.

Professor Imtiaz Ahmed, a Dhaka-based international relations expert, stated that international players have always been taken care of. He believes that the government has to ensure safety for fans, so that the environment around the matches remains stable. He, however, said that political agitation was unlikely to make way for anyone or anything in Bangladesh.

"The players, historically, have never been targeted," Imtiaz said. "But then we must make sure that the environment is conducive for the public to watch the matches. There might be a hartal [political strike] during one of the matches, for example."

There has, however, already been one dent. The West Indies Under-19 team's pullout in mid-December has clearly undermined Bangladesh. The BCB tried hard to convince the visitors' team management to stay back and shift all matches to Dhaka but that didn't work. Instead, it has created fresh doubt in the minds of cricket officials around the world.

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Back to the days of boom and bust

Had Mark Lathwell emerged from the pavilion, blinking in surprise at the large crowd, England could not have looked more out of place in Melbourne.

As their top-order was brushed aside with embarrassing haste, it was as if the last decade or so hadn't happened. This could have been 1993. Or 1989. Or 2006. Or 2002. This was a day as ignominious as any in England's recent history. And the competition for that title is starting to hot up.

It will not do to defend England with reminders of their success in recent years. It is like claiming that Titanic's journey was a success because most of it was uneventful.

And it will not do to claim that England's army of coaches, selectors and support staff are well-intentioned and hard working. Such qualities must be taken for granted at this level. It is not enough.

Nor is it enough to claim that such reverses are part and parcel of the cyclical nature of professional sport. Only a few weeks ago, Hugh Morris claimed - in an act of hubris reminiscent of Gordon Brown's speech about ending boom and bust economics - that England had put the foundations in place to secure continuity and lasting success. The ECB cannot have it both ways.

Now, despite all the millions invested in academies and tours and coaches and facilities, England are on the brink of a 5-0 defeat against a decent but far from great Australian team. England are as low as they have been for a long time.

	How is that, before Paul Downton has begun any series debrief, that the ECB's chief executive is guaranteeing that Flower will be team director in 2015? Has the England team became as cosy and unmeritocratic as that?Question No. 1

Certainly, the evidence of recent times raises searching questions that Paul Downton, the new MD of England Cricket, and Andy Flower, the Team Director, need to answered before any decisions are made about the future of captains, coaches or selectors.

For example:

How does Boyd Rankin, an experienced fast bowler good enough to justify selection for Test cricket, good enough to have been praised by Marcus Trescothick as the most hostile he faced one season, turn up for a game unable to get through 10 overs in the first innings or hit a barn door in the second? And how is that, like Simon Kerrigan before him, a debutant has failed to do themselves justice by such a large margin?

How does a record-breaking batsman like Alastair Cook - the youngest man to 8,000 Test runs in history - loses form to such an extent that, for the second time in this series, he was dismissed when leaving a routine delivery?

How do batsmen as good as Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell fall to basic technical errors, pushing at deliveries without foot movement, appearing, despite all their success over recent years, utterly devoid of confidence?

How is it that England's batting, despite a line-up boasting several players who may be recalled as some of the best to represent the country, has been so atrocious that it is now 25 Test innings since England scored 400? And how is it that they have been dismissed for under 200 five times in this series?

How is it that ECB coaches, at Lions level at least, exist below the radar for years without any track record of success other than not rocking the boat?

How is that, before Downton has begun any series debrief, that the ECB's chief executive is guaranteeing that Flower will be team director in 2015? Has the England team became as cosy and unmeritocratic as that?

And how is it that, for all the specialist spin bowling coaches, all the investment in facilities and spin-camps in Asia, that England are not able to find a young spinner who can reliably land the ball on the cut strip?

The answer to all these questions may well be the team environment. While individual players must all, ultimately, take responsibility for their performances, there have to be questions asked about an environment where so many players have lost form at the same time. There have to be questions raised about an environment where coaches seems incapable of lifting players and where an entire squad seems so bereft of confidence and enjoyment.

Every one of these England players is better than this. With one or two exceptions, the squad that left England was the best available and bore more than passing resemblance to the squads that won in Australia in 2010-11 and in England in 2013.

But over recent weeks it has become clear that this England team is playing as a unit worth far less than the sum of its parts. One way or another, the environment requires changing.

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Australia's excellence shared and sustained

Pressed a few days ago to recall the moment when Australia's bowlers delivered their finest spell for this Ashes series, their mentor Craig McDermott was momentarily short of an answer. After a pause, he remarked that it was actually easier to think of the odd occasions on which they had dipped below that level, such was the sustained excellence provided by Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon.

Watching from his familiar perch at the boundary's edge on day two of the final Test in Sydney, McDermott would only have added a few minutes at most to his aggregate of shifts for the series.

For most of England's innings, including a brief but close to terrifying six overs on the first evening, the standard maintained by the bowlers was unimpeachably lofty. Against batsmen well and truly broken by their weight of failure and now longing for home, it quickly became an embarrassingly lopsided spectacle.

At the moment of Ian Bell's dismissal by Siddle the SCG scoreboard read 5 for 23. What it might have quantified, had Shane Watson held a garden-variety slips catch from Bell's first ball from Harris, can only be imagined.

Either way, McDermott had further reason to be proud of his men's efforts, even more so for the fact they have kept charging in with remarkable hunger and energy despite going unchanged throughout the series. Whatever aches and pains harboured by Harris they were unnoticeable. The only wounds on display were psychological, and exclusive to the England batsmen.

No more was this evident than in the exit of Cook, who will leave these shores as perhaps the most harried captain since the West Indian Jimmy Adams limped home in possession of an 0-5 Frank Worrell Trophy series ledger in 2000-01, and was soon relieved not only of the captaincy but also his place in the team.

Harris sets 2015 Ashes goal Ryan Harris has revealed his desire to push his battered body on to the 2015 Ashes series in England after another display of surgical fast bowling in the final Test of the summer at the SCG. Harris claimed the wickets of Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Scott Borthwick - he also had Ian Bell dropped first ball - as Australia set themselves on the path towards a 5-0 sweep. Harris said he had not previously set the goal of playing in 2015, but was now eager to go on having sought the advice of the caoch Darren Lehmann and the captain Michael Clarke. Knee cleanout surgery is scheduled for the end of the South Africa tour to aid his progress. "I'm a chance, simple as that. I've got I think 11 Tests before I get there," Harris said. "I've got a bit of stuff floating around in my knee that I'm going to get cleaned up after Africa, that could give me another year or two, who knows. It wasn't too long ago, I was just hoping to get through this series and re-assess. Let's get through this Test and then South Africa and go from there. But I'd love one more chance to go to England and try to defend the Ashes."

Cook scrapped heartily to reach stumps on day one in a period of dull light at the ground and roaring speed from Johnson, but on the second morning lost his equilibrium more swiftly than a jetlagged Englishman catching a cab straight from Sydney airport to the SCG.

Harris' precision against Cook has been a wonder to behold through both series, playing tricks of perception and balance that have made some straight balls appear to move, while other deliveries curling in the air or seaming off the pitch have met the England leader's bat at an angle of the bowler's choosing.

Sometimes the battles have been protracted, but this time it took only two balls. The first was defended stoutly, but the second swung fractionally back from a line Cook was inclined to leave and struck him palpably in front. The moment Cook was pinned, he looked around in a moment of panic, realising too late where his pad and stumps had been. Among Australia's slips cordon there was no surprise, only jubilation.

Ian Bell's promotion to No. 3 had been called for by many throughout the series, but was delayed by an England hierarchy reluctant to move him from the middle order post from which he had warded off so many Australian attacks in the northern summer.

His supremacy in the earlier series was unquestioned, but on faster pitches Bell has had less time to use his cultured hands to make late adjustments to high quality pace bowling. The cumulative result has been edges of the kind he offered up first ball on day two, bat straight but feet on the crease.

"One of the main goals for us was to cut Ian Bell out and I think we've done that beautifully," Harris said. "It's been good. You don't get many opportunities at all to play 10 Tests against the same players. The main thing has been to execute and we've done that, we started it in England and topped it off here.

"We know we've bowled well to them: there's no coincidence they haven't made runs - it's because of how we've bowled. It's just the pressure we've put on the whole series that has not allowed them to play their own games and play the way they want to."

A first-ball reprieve for Bell in England would have caused much gnashing of teeth, but in Sydney when Shane Watson put down a simple opportunity the Australians simply continued to pursue the lines and lengths that would suffocate their quarry. Watson was on hand to claim a catch for Harris when Kevin Pietersen edged an uncertain push forward, before Bell replayed his first ball with a thinner edge from Siddle that Brad Haddin held neatly.

The crowd were rapturous, the Australian players beaming broad smiles. Among those watching was Glenn McGrath, who had generously labelled Australia's bowling in this series the best he had ever seen. But little triumphalism emanated from Harris or the other bowlers, their modest commitment to the trade being as much a key to their success as the speed and accuracy of their bowling and the unity of their purpose.

"Glenn's come out and said those nice words but we don't see it that way, we've got to go out and do our job and do it to the best of our ability," Harris said. "At the moment it's working, and hopefully we'll be able to maintain that for another two years ... I'm getting old so we'll wait and see but we want to make sure we keep putting pressure on whoever we're playing. If we do that, teams won't make many runs."

The respect Harris speaks of now extends well beyond the small group who assembled at McDermott's Brisbane home for a fast bowlers' barbeque before the series began. Much as McDermott had done, there is barely a soul who has witnessed these Tests who would easily be able to choose a moment of brilliance from Australia's bowling attack to outshine the rest of their work in the Ashes summer of 2013-14. That's because, to borrow a phrase beloved of Harris, "It's all good."

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Flower gets backing of ECB

David Collier, the ECB chief executive, has given a strong indication that Andy Flower will remain as team director after the Ashes series.

There has been debate around Flower's future with England lurching towards a 5-0 Ashes whitewash. He has been reluctant to discuss his plans but did indicate after the Melbourne Test that he wanted to be part of rebuilding the England side.

Collier, who is currently in Australia for conclusion of the Ashes, told Sky Sports he sees Flower, who no longer oversees the day-to-day running of the limited-overs sides, remaining in his position until at least 2015 when the Ashes are next contested in England and wants the Test partnership with Alastair Cook to continue.

"We need that experience," he said. "When you go through a transitional period you need somebody with knowledge, somebody who knows our system, somebody who works with all of our key coaches, Andy has all of those attributes and more and I'm sure he'll do a good job leading us into 2015. Alastair fully deserves the support of Team England and we look forward to both Alastair and Andy leading us to success in the future."

Cook has received some strong criticism for his on-field tactics during the series while he has not scored a hundred, with one innings remaining, across the ten Ashes Tests of the back-to-back series.

"People grow into the job, captains mature, players mature, it will take some time for people to reach their absolute pinnacle," Collier said. "We were absolutely convinced that he was the right man at the time and we're still convinced today."

Collier also said there would not be such an extensive review of English cricket as took place after the 2006-07 whitewash when the Schofield report was commissioned. "We're not going to do a review of that nature, but we will do a full debrief and learn the lessons we need to from this tour."

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Murdoch, Napier set up Wellington win

Wellington 145 for 6 (Murdoch 57) beat Northern Districts 124 for 9 (Napier 3-18, Arnel 2-28) by 21 runs
Scorecard

Wellington opened a four-point lead at the top of the table after beating Northern Districts by 21 runs.

Wellington made the most of some poor fielding by Northern Districts to post a score of 145 for 6 after most of their top order had fallen cheaply. Trent Boult, Scott Kuggeleijn and Jono Boult struck early on to leave Wellington reeling at 36 for 3 in the sixth over. A 90-run fourth-wicket partnership between Stephen Murdoch and James Franklin rescued Wellington. Murdoch had three dropped chances and made the most of them to score a 46-ball 57 with five fours and a six. Franklin also struck three sixes in his knock of 46 from 35 balls.

Northern Districts found themselves in a position similar to Wellington's early in their innings and were struggling at 39 for 4 in the seventh over. A 54-run stand between Scott Styris and Daryl Mitchell helped Northern Districts recover slightly, but after Styris was out for 29, the side lost their next four wickets for seven runs within two overs. Pacer Graham Napier took 3 for 18 in his four overs, while Brent Arnel chipped in with two wickets.

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Asia Cup to be hosted in Bangladesh

The Asian Cricket Council has decided to host the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. The other big news to emerge from the ACC's meeting in Colombo is that Afghanistan will be the fifth team in the competition.

"As of now, the decision has been made that Bangladesh will retain hosting rights of the Asia Cup," BCB's acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. "We have given a very good presentation to the ACC board members, and they have been convinced that we can host the tournament. Afghanistan has also been added to the tournament, making it a five-team event and the number of matches has gone up to eleven."

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Akmal ton sets up National Bank win

Kamran Akmal's 12th List A hundred set up National Bank of Pakistan's nine-wicket win over Port Qasim Authority in a President's Cup One Day tournament game in Sialkot.

Chasing 175, Akmal's 81-ball 116 guided National Bank's reply after they lost opener Nasir Jamshed in the fourth over. Akmal's century had 20 fours and a six and his 144-run stand with Mohammad Nawaz ensured National Bank reached the target in the 24th over.

Earlier, the National Bank bowlers, led by offspinner Adnan Rasool, struck regularly to restrict Port Qasim to 174. The Port Qasim batsmen, including Umar Amin and Daniyal Ahsan got starts but could not score more than 36 and 44 respectively.

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Haddin burns England again

"We don't want to get into a situation where we're relying on Brad Haddin to drag us out of trouble every time."

When Australia's batting coach, Michael Di Venuto, said these words in the aftermath of the Boxing Day Test, he was reflecting on an Ashes series in which his team's top order have proven consistently vulnerable in the first innings. But on the first day of Test cricket for 2014, as Haddin performed his act of dragging for the fifth time in as many matches and took Steven Smith merrily along with him, a blue-blooded SCG crowd of 45,352 had reason aplenty to ask the question: why the hell not?

More sober reflection offers plenty of reasons to worry at how Michael Clarke's team have repeatedly asked Haddin to man the pumps, not least the thought that South Africa in February and March won't be anywhere near as courteous to the tail as England have been. Nonetheless, there has been a wonderfully entertaining and carefree air about the way Australia's platforms for Test victories have been assembled, with Haddin the fearless, fighting and fluent centre of it all.

Visceral though Mitchell Johnson's contribution to the series has been, epitomised by a three-over burst this evening, he would not have been given anywhere near the sorts of totals he bowled behind in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth or Sydney without Haddin's interventions. It has been a common and logical assumption that Johnson will be named Man of the Series. But by lodging a nomination in which he has passed 50 in every first innings while taking sundry catches besides and also serving as Michael Clarke's most trusted lieutenant, Haddin has made a case for a share of the award at the very least.

The SCG's atmosphere may have been a little more New Year's festive than Ashes tense, given the series margin, but Haddin's contribution was very much representative of all he had done in earlier, weightier matches. England's bowlers used the movement on offer decently after an indifferent start, extracting seam when many might have expected a little more swing under cloudy skies. Australia's batsmen responded with strokes either overconfident or indeterminate, conveying a porous technique that has now been evident on seaming surfaces for the best part of a decade.

David Warner's feet were nowhere to a Stuart Broad delivery that moved away enough to flick off stump, Chris Rogers let his guard down and dragged a presumptuous pull shot on to his wicket, Clarke pushed too firmly at a ball moving away from him, Shane Watson reminded anyone who had forgotten about his prominent front pad, and George Bailey fiddled and fell, again demonstrating a weakness against steady bowling in the channel outside off stump that will surely be his millstone if pitted against Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander.

So Haddin walked out with England's bowlers seemingly sure of themselves and their plans, rejoicing in a scoreline of 5 for 97 and gaining most of the help they wanted from an SCG pitch similar to that on which Mohammad Asif had filleted Australia for 127 in 2010. Having marked his guard, Haddin negotiated his first five balls from Broad studiously, gaining a rough appreciation for the way the surface was playing and the manner of the bowling, before walking down the pitch at the end of the over to discuss the match situation with his New South Wales team-mate and leadership protege Smith.

Often, Haddin's innings can begin with a starburst of strokes to announce his arrival, to his batting partner, spectators but most pointedly opponents. This time he settled in for a little over half an hour, reaching 12 from 34 balls. In that period he eluded a review for a catch by James Anderson when ball had hit front and back pad rather than bat, before narrowing his focus on Ben Stokes.

England's youngest and most promising bowler, Stokes has won deserved praise this series for showing sterner stuff than some of his more storied counterparts. But here, as in Perth, Haddin used the Durham allrounder's impatience for another wicket to his advantage, goading him - verbally or otherwise - into the short-pitched bowling that allowed runs to be added crisply and quickly, while coaxing England away from the length that reaped the earlier wickets. In all, Haddin cracked 29 from the 21 balls Stokes hurled at him.

In what seemed like no time at all, Haddin's fifty arrived, inspiring a frustration among the visitors that Stokes articulated after play. "It's just the way he comes out and plays his natural game whatever the situation," he said. "Quite a lot's gone his way but fair play to him, he's played his natural game and taken every chance he's had to get runs and played really well. When he came in today and starts hitting you back over your head you're almost standing there scratching your head thinking 'This isn't meant to happen', but fair play to him."

While Haddin scrambled on, taking increasingly garish liberties against Anderson among others, Smith was able to construct another innings to underline his immense potential to anchor Australia's middle order for years to come. The WACA Ground again came to mind as Smith grew in confidence as a result of the clarity with which Haddin played. This can be illustrated neatly by the two halves of what became Smith's third Test hundred. In Haddin's company, he reached 55 from 95 balls. After he was dismissed, Smith surged, ransacking 60 from his final 59 deliveries.

"The way he played his shots today was brilliant, to form a partnership with him and get into the position we're in was great," Smith said of Haddin. "We were basically just saying 'Watch the ball closely and have a clear mind', and Brad was certainly clear in what he was doing. It was great to just sit up the other end. In tough circumstances he comes in and tries to switch the momentum of the game and he's done it on numerous occasions to this series."

For numerous occasions, read every occasion that mattered. When Michael Carberry, Alastair Cook and the reluctant nightwatchman James Anderson hopped around in the SCG twilight, now confronted by a score around double the tally hoped for in the minutes after lunch, they were caught in between their two main sources of torment this summer. Ahead of them, at the top of his mark, stood Johnson. Behind them, flashing a pitiless smile while brandishing his gloves, was Haddin.

Australia would do well not to rely on him so completely in future, not least because, at 36, they do not know how far into that future he will keep playing. But for this Ashes series, there has been no reason not to. He has been the man of the hour, and arguably the summer.

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Auckland thump Otago to go to top

Auckland leapfrogged to the top of the HRV Cup table with a resounding 74-run win over defending champions Otago. Set a target of 168, Otago folded for 93 to finish with their second loss of the tournament.

Otago's chase got off to a disastrous start as Auckland's opening bowlers, Matthew Quinn and Michael Bates, struck in the first two overs. Quinn dismissed Hamish Rutherford and Neil Broom in the first over, while Bates got rid of the aggressive Ryan ten Doeschate to leave Otago at 2 for 3 in the second over.

Aaron Redmond and wicketkeeper-captain Derek de Boorder were the only two batsmen to get into double figures, and their fifth-wicket partnership of 33 tried to resuscitate the chase, but Auckland struck to take the last five Otago wickets for just 15 runs.

Earlier, Jeet Raval's unbeaten fifty and useful knocks from Gareth Hopkins, Donovan Grobbelaar and Jonathan Sole pushed Auckland to 167 for 6 after they were put in to bat. The Auckland top-order got starts, but the side was set back by quick wickets in the middle overs. Raval and Sole then added 63 for the seventh wicket in 6.1 overs to set a competitive total. Raval's knock of 50 came off 40 balls, with four fours and a six, while Sole scored 24 off 18 balls with two fours and a six.

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Haddin's record-breaking continues

This was Brad Haddin's sixth 50-plus score of this Ashes. This is the most a No. 7 batsman has ever hit in a series. Greg Matthews' five fifty-plus scores, which he hit in a series against Sri Lanka in 1992, were the previous highest by a No. 7 batsman in a series.
Haddin has also equalled Gerry Alexander's record for the most 50-plus scores in a series by a wicketkeeper. Denis Lindsay's three hundreds and two fifties against South Africa in 1966 is the only other instance of a wicketkeeper scoring five or more 50-plus scores in a series.
Haddin has scored 465 runs in this Ashes, the second-highest by any No. 7 in a Test series. He is just nine runs short of going past Adam Gilchrist, who hit 473 runs at 157.66 against South Africa in 2001-02.
Steven Smith hit his second century of this Ashes and the third of his Test career in this innings. His century is the first by a No. 5 in the Ashes at the SCG after Steve Waugh's hundred in 2002-03. There have been 11 hundreds by No. 5 batsmen in the Ashes at this venue. Smith also completed 1000 Test runs during his innings: he has scored 1085 runs at 37.41 from 32 innings.
Australia's sixth wicket put together a century stand for the third time in this Ashes. This is only the second series in which their sixth wicket has had three century partnerships. The last such instance came in the Ashes in 1920-21.
Australia's sixth wicket has added 514 runs in this series at 73.42, the most any wicket has added for them. This is also currently the eighth-highest aggregate by Australia's sixth wicket in any Ashes. The highest that Australia's sixth wicket has added ever in the Ashes are 609 runs at 121.80 in the 2006-07 series.
Michael Carberry was Mitchell Johnson's 32nd wicket of this Ashes. He's now equalled Frank Foster's record for the most wickets by a left-arm fast bowler in an Ashes series. Foster took 32 wickets from ten innings in the 1911-12 Ashes. Johnson's haul is also the joint-third highest by a left-arm fast bowler in any series.
Ben Stokes took his maiden five-wicket haul in Australia's first innings, but was scored off rapidly too. His economy of 4.99 was England's second-worst for a five-wicket haul in Tests. Craig White's 5 for 127 against Australia at Perth in 2002 came at an economy of 5.48, which is the worst for an England bowler in an innings with a five-wicket haul.
Three England players - Boyd Rankin, Gary Ballance and Scott Borthwick - made their debut in this Test. This was the first time three or more England players made their debut in a Test since Nagpur 2006, when Ian Blackwell, Alastair Cook and Monty Panesar made their debut. The last time this happened in the Ashes was in 1993 at Trent Bridge, when Mark Ilott, Martin McCague, Mark Lathwell and Graham Thorpe all debuted.

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Rankin 'cramp' raises fitness concerns

Mystery surrounded the fitness of Boyd Rankin following the first day's play in Sydney after the fast bowler was twice forced from the pitch on his first day as a Test cricketer.

Rankin, who retired from Irish cricket at the end of the 2012 to concentrate on playing Test cricket for England, appeared to have suffered a hamstring strain after bowling the first delivery of his ninth over but, after leaving the field for treatment, was able to resume about 90 minutes later. He then managed just one more delivery before a recurrence of the problem forced him off again in obvious pain and clutching his left hamstring.

But after a scan showed no injury, the England camp claimed Rankin had simply been suffering from cramp and should be fit to resume bowling duties in the second innings.

Such a scenario would raise questions about Rankin's physical condition going into the game. While the weather in Sydney was warm - it reached 27 degrees at one stage in the afternoon - it was some way below the extremes experienced in Perth or in Alice Springs.

It is possible that nerves could have played a part. The 29-year-old Rankin has endured a long journey to the Test environment and knows, coming into a struggling team at the end of a series, that he may not enjoy many opportunities to prove his worth at this level. A somewhat shy, quietly spoken man from a rural background, it is also possible that tension played a part, or that the pain has some psychosomatic origin. He has been known to experience similar problems with his left foot after suffering from a stress fracture in it several years ago.

The schedule may also be relevant. While Rankin has bowled almost every day in the nets, he has not played a match since the end of November, when he delivered 14.5 overs during the game in Alice Springs. It may be that he game into this game simply lacking match fitness.

While Rankin was monitored by the England medical team ahead of play after reporting general stiffness, there was no specific concern about his hamstring and he was subsequently cleared to play.

Rankin was one of three tall fast bowlers included in the England squad for this series. But despite great expectations when the tour started, none of Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett or Rankin will look back on the trip with much joy. While Tremlett played in Brisbane, Finn has failed to break into the team and Rankin's debut has so far not gone as he would have envisaged. It would take him two years, from the moment of his last England appearance, to re-qualify for Ireland if he ever chose to do so.

Rankin has gained a reputation as one of the most hostile bowlers in county cricket over recent years. While a succession of injury problems have at times delayed his development, he has benefited from greater fitness and strength over recent years and was praised by Marcus Trescothick as being as good a fast bowler as he faced in the 2011 season.

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Chandimal, Mathews revive Sri Lanka

A 99-run stand between Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal helped Sri Lanka extend their lead against Pakistan beyond 100 in Abu Dhabi and slowly tilt the balance in their favour in a seesaw contest. The two batsmen scored their respective half-centuries and comfortably thwarted the new-ball threat posed by Junaid Khan and Bilawal Bhatti.

Pakistan had assumed a dominant position after earning three wickets in the last session on the third day and needed similar intensity from Bhatti and Junaid to restrict Sri Lanka's lead. They opened with the same pairing in their search for quick wickets, but both bowlers lacked the zip that had brought them success yesterday. They bowled with a reduced pace and hardly made an impact and the pitch, unlike yesterday, didn't afford any lateral movement either.

That made Sri Lanka's job easier. In the 8.3 overs bowled by Bhatti and Junaid, Chandimal and Mathews collected 24 runs without being troubled. They defended solidly and mainly focused on turning the strike over. Only once each, the two batsmen chose to stamp their authority with powerful pull shots. The two bowlers had to be eventually pulled out of the attack by Misbah-ul-Haq to keep them ready for the new-ball. That gave Sri Lanka more breathing space.

In the last 10 overs with the old ball, Chandimal and Mathews slightly upped the rate to accumulate 39 runs as the three bowlers used in that block - Saeed Ajmal, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Hafeez - didn't create even a minor flutter. In the 79th over bowled by Ajmal, Chandimal reached his fifth Test half-century with a glance to the fine-leg boundary and Mathews smashed a six which illustrated the two batsmen's growing comfort.

Misbah asked for the new ball straightaway and pressed his two best bowlers - Junaid and Bhatti - back into service. However, it didn't have the desired effect as Sri Lanka switched to a measured approach again. In the eight overs that Bhatti and Junaid bowled, Mathews did play and miss a few, but kept his composure. Chandimal, on the other hand, stayed fluent and easily picked up singles when needed to keep Sri Lanka moving to a position of relative strength.

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Jayasuriya questions Perera's work ethic

Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lanka chief selector, has questioned Thisara Perera's work ethic and asked him to work harder as the board moved to deny the allrounder permission to participate in the Big Bash League. Perera had applied for the no-objection certificate required by players to take part in a foreign league, but Sri Lanka Cricket refused to provide it, largely on the recommendation of Jayasuriya's selection panel.

"We are not giving him permission to play in the Big Bash. He has to work and stay in Sri Lanka," Jayasuriya told ESPNcricinfo. "The reason is poor form. He's been in very poor form with his bowling and batting. He needs to work on some things with the coaches in Sri Lanka.

"Before he thinks of playing for Big Bash and all these things, he needs to do the work in Sri Lanka, if he wants to become a good allrounder. That's what the selectors think."

Perera was in Sri Lanka's limited-overs squad for the December series against Pakistan in the UAE, but was dropped after the third ODI. He hit only 13 runs in the three one-dayers and was wayward with the ball, though he did take six wickets in five matches, including the two Twenty20 internationals.

Jayasuriya's selection panel had already sent Perera a message about his work ethic when it omitted him from the squad for the ODI tri-series in the West Indies in June. Although he made significant gains in the home series against South Africa that followed, he has allowed his game to slip again, Jayasuriya said.

"After dropping him from that West Indies series, he played really well. He worked hard on his bowling and batting and everything. But now, he needs to work hard again."

Jayasuriya has designs for Perera to become a Test allrounder, particularly as the selectors do not want to overburden Angelo Mathews with the third seamer's job in addition to his roles as captain and batsman. Jayasuriya said Perera's path to regaining form should begin with England Lions' tour of Sri Lanka in February. Perera has been asked to train with the Sri Lanka A team in the interim.

"He doesn't need BBL match practice," Jayasuriya said. "If he wants match practice, he can get it during the England A series. I want him to play Tests for Sri Lanka, not just ODIs and T20s. He has that potential, but he needs to work hard."

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Injured Sammy to miss rest of series

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies captain, has remained optimistic about his team's chances to bounce back after a comprehensive loss to New Zealand in the third ODI but will have to do so without the services of the experienced allrounder Darren Sammy.

Sammy, the West Indies' Test and T20 captain, will be out for the remainder of the ODIs Bravo confirmed, following a hamstring injury which prevented his participation in the last ODI at Queenstown.

"It's a big loss. Darren is out for the entire series," Bravo said. "We haven't decided on what changes to make yet and we'll do so when we look at the pitch. We have a couple niggles in the camp but with Darren out, he brings so much to our team, especially in the depth. His experience and positivity will be missed. It's a tough time for us but our newer players will have to step up. Our players have a good work ethic so I'm confident in them."

He reiterated that despite their inexperience, there was a hunger he wanted to bring out in this Nelson fixture to silence critics.

After Corey Anderson pummelled West Indies' bowling attack with a record ODI 131* off 47 balls, Bravo admitted that they were coming up with new tactics for him, as well as Jesse Ryder, who smashed a whirlwind 104 from 51 balls.

"Our bowlers were disappointed. It was a great knock from Anderson but we've been analyzing footage and studying the size of the ground. It's going to be a different ball game. We will not be making the same mistakes twice. We'll be going back to basics like we did in the first ODI and be disciplined. Bowling to one side of the wicket is important and we didn't do that in the last match."

He added that he felt Anderson's cavalier knock was due to the fact that it was a shortened match as he would not be that swashbuckling in a 50-over fixture. Bravo stated that if the weather didn't interrupt, his bowlers would fare better.

The captain contended that while this chilly weather placed them out their comfort zone, he needed more from his charges. "We're looking forward to this game. It's only 1-1 and we've said to ourselves that with two games to go, it can go either way," he said. "We feel like we're still in with a good chance. The last game is gone and out our minds. We're fully focussed on the job ahead."

He also dispelled rumours that Chris Gayle or Kieron Pollard could return for the T20 fixtures later this month. "There's no Gayle to come. No need to rush him or Pollard. Their health is important and comes first. We have a T20 World Cup to defend and they're going to be big parts of this. No risk needed. We want them to return fit and stay on the park as long as possible. We'll be using another young squad for these New Zealand T20s.

"But right now, let's see if our bowlers have the guts and courage to bounce back. That second one-day was just one of those days. But it's going to be tough to repeat that again. I'm not saying it can't happen again but we'll be ready to make sure it doesn't."

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BCCI moves Supreme Court against Modi

The BCCI has moved the Supreme Court challenging the participation of Lalit Modi in the Rajasthan Cricket Association elections. The decision to do so was taken by the working committee last week, where it was agreed upon that the board would intervene in the ongoing case filed by former RCA chief Kishore Rungta and would seek clarification from the Supreme Court regarding the BCCI's resolution to ban the former IPL chairman for life.

Modi is expected to return to cricket administration as RCA president, the election for which was held last month. The results will be out on January 6 with the ballots in possession of the Supreme Court till then. The court is monitoring the elections and has appointed a former judge, Narendra Kasliwal, to oversee the process.

While expelling Modi on multiple charges of misconduct, the BCCI had said that "he shall not in future be entitled to hold any position or office, or be admitted in any committee or any member or associate member of the board". Modi, however, got his candidature for the RCA presidency approved by the Supreme Court by exploiting a technicality that the RCA was governed by the Rajasthan Sports Act.

The BCCI filed a petition in the Supreme Court holding that that any association that its state bodies maintain with Modi is tantamount to tarnishing of the board's image. The BCCI's petition to the apex court also claimed that Modi's nomination was improper as it was carried out despite the board's stern objection to the same. The RCA elections were overseen by two Supreme Court-appointed former judges, with Modi allowed to contest as the polls were not governed by BCCI rules. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on January 6.

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Smith and Haddin save Australia again

Why change a winning formula? That was the attitude Australia's selectors took in Sydney by naming an unchanged team for the fifth consecutive Test. It was also how the Australian players seemed to approach their task. In all four Tests of this campaign Australia's top order has had a go early, knowing that Brad Haddin was there to save them. In every first innings they have wobbled. In every first innings Haddin has saved them. And so it was again.

This time Haddin had support from Steven Smith, whose second century of the series confirmed him as a mature player who can score runs the team is down. Smith has been one of Australia's revelations of the past year; Ben Stokes has been one of England's. Stokes proved himself a fighter in the defeat at Perth, where he became England's only centurion of the series so far; in Sydney he claimed six wickets to keep England in the match.

By stumps, England were 1 for 8 in reply to Australia's 326, trailing by 318 runs, and the early loss of Michael Carberry to Mitchell Johnson had hurt. Michael Clarke's knack of stationing fielders in the right positions continued when Carberry flicked off his hip and was caught low to the ground by Nathan Lyon, diving to his right from leg slip for a nine-ball duck. Alastair Cook was on 7 at stumps with nightwatchman James Anderson on 1, and much work remained to avoid a 5-0 defeat.

Full report to follow

Tea Australia 5 for 201 (Haddin 59*, Smith 48*) vEngland

Again Australia's top order failed in the first innings, again Brad Haddin rescued the team and again England were left to wonder what could have been.

At tea on the first day in Sydney, Haddin had another half-century and a partner who was staying with him, this time Steven Smith, and from 5 for 97 shortly after lunch the Australians had moved on to 5 for 201, the script following an almost identical path to Australia's first innings in every match of the campaign.

England's problems were compounded by the fact that their debutant fast bowler Boyd Rankin had left the field during his ninth over with what looked like an injury to his left hamstring, which meant a heftier workload for Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Ben Stokes.

Anderson and Broad both bowled searching spells straight after lunch, making the ball talk on a grassy, seaming pitch, but once George Bailey had edged to first slip there were no more breakthroughs.

The Haddin-Smith partnership had moved on to 104 at tea, with Haddin reaching his half-century shortly before the break with a quick single nudged back past the bowler Stokes. It meant that in every first innings of this series Haddin had scored at least a half-century, a remarkable feat that has so far set up four Australian victories and must make him as strong a candidate, if not stronger than Mitchell Johnson, for Player of the Series.

Haddin had reached 59 at tea and had scored his runs in his typical counterattacking style, hooking, pulling and driving with supreme confidence. On 9, he survived a review when England asked for a not-out caught-behind call to be checked, only to find the Anderson delivery had brushed both of Haddin's legs on the way through, but it was the only time when England really thought they might have had the better of Haddin.

Smith, on the other hand, didn't do it quite as easily and a number of times was troubled by deliveries that rose more sharply than he expected, but he too trusted his attacking style and had nine boundaries in his 48 when the tea break arrived.

Several times early in the afternoon session, Smith had shouldered arms to Anderson and survived close lbw shouts, and once he got through that period he began to score a little more freely.

Anderson and Broad both bowled well after lunch but their only wicket was that of Bailey, who was beaten outside off a number of times during his 1 from 10 balls before he finally edged one to a juggling Alastair Cook at first slip off Broad. It appeared that only a big second-innings score could save Bailey's Test career.

But Australia's more immediate concern was getting themselves back into the match after the top order struggled having been sent in by Cook.

Shane Watson fell from the final ball before lunch, ending an innings of 43 that featured seven boundaries. He played some crisp drives and pulls but his willingness to go for his shots meant England were always a chance of creating an opportunity. Eventually it was a standard forward push from Watson that brought his demise when he was trapped dead in front by Anderson, remarkably, the first lbw against an Australia batsman in the series.

Anderson had bowled too short in his new-ball spell to make full use of the conditions but Broad pitched the ball up and, despite leaking three boundaries to David Warner in his second over, was rewarded when he straightened one that took Warner's off stump as he tried to punch down the ground on 16.

Stokes had Chris Rogers bowled for 11 when he bottom-edged a pull back on to his stumps and Michael Clarke caught at second slip for 10 off a lovely delivery that straightened off the seam. Stokes and Broad both gave the ball a chance to move and drew the Australians into playing, and Rankin's extra bounce caused the batsmen some awkward moments until he had to leave the field.

Rankin was one of three debutants picked by England, the first time since 2006 that they had played that many in a Test and the first time since the 1993 Trent Bridge Test that they had blooded so many debutants in an Ashes Test. On that occasion it was Graham Thorpe, Mark Lathwell, Mark Ilott and Martin McCague; here it was Rankin, legspinning allrounder Scott Borthwick and batsman Gary Ballance. Joe Root, Monty Panesar and Tim Bresnan were dropped.

It also brought to 18 the number of players England had used throughout this series, not only a record for England in an away Test series but an equal high for all teams in away Test campaigns. The only other squad ever to use 18 players in a Test series away from home was West Indies in South Africa in 1998-99; incidentally, they lost that series 5-0.

The situation could hardly have been more different for Australia, who for the first time named the same XI in every Test of a five-match series. Ryan Harris and Watson were both passed fit to play after emerging from the Melbourne victory with niggles.

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Haryana avoid relegation

Haryana were ensured another season in the top tier of the Ranji Trophy after playing out a draw against Odisha in Bhubaneswar.

The visitors had already managed to all but avoid relegation on Thursday by securing a first-innings lead of 384, and with Jharkhand losing heavily to Punjab, the final day was a mere formality for both teams.

Odisha, who began at 33 for no loss, were buoyed by a 120-run partnership for the second wicket betweenGovind Podder and Niranjan Behera, who scored 79 and 64 respectively. Odisha lost quick wickets following Niranjan's dismissal in the 54th over, but the result of the game was never really in question.

Joginder Sharma and Jayant Yadav picked up two wickets each, as Odisha ended on 228 for 6 in 97 overs.

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Abdulla takes Mumbai to knockouts

Mumbai's spinners, led by Iqbal Abdulla, triggered a dramatic collapse on the final day in Valsad as Gujarat lost their last six wickets for only 12 runs. A place in the quarter-finals was at stake, but it was the defending champions Mumbai who escaped elimination in the group stage by defending a modest 175, winning a pulsating contest by 27 runs.

Resuming on 67 for 3, Gujarat were still comfortably placed after the first drinks break of the morning, following a streak of boundaries in the first half an hour, despite losing the overnight batsman Bhargav Merai. The excitement was evident as the Gujarat camp vociferously cheered every single by Akshar Patel and Y Venugopal Rao.

It was perfectly understandable as Gujarat were on their way towards only their third victory against domestic giants Mumbai, in the 59th match between the zonal rivals. Incidentally, the last time Gujarat had defeated Mumbai - then Bombay - it was at another ground in the same town, back in 1977. Gujarat had upset Mumbai by 225 runs and had advanced to the knockouts while Mumbai had been eliminated in the group stage itself.

Thirty-six years later, Akshar and Rao gave Gujarat a shot at repeating history and securing a place in the quarter-finals. At 135 for 4, a false stroke by Akshar changed everything. The left-hander, who had given Gujarat the upper hand with a fluent fifty, failed to connect a sweep shot off the part-time offspinner Suryakumar Yadav and was bowled. With Gujarat still needing 40 runs to win, Mumbai, for the first time, sensed they could pocket the match at the Sardar Patel Stadium.

Half an hour later, Manpreet Juneja, who had been battling rough form all season, offered a dolly to Hiken Shah off Abdulla for a duck. In Abdulla's next over, Rao was struck on the pads with a giant stride forward and was aghast to see the umpire upholding the appeal. Rao stood his ground in disbelief before trudging off.

Two balls later, Rakesh Dhurv tried to be too aggressive and ended up holing out to Shah at long-on off the left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar. Having lost two wickets for no runs, Gujarat had been reduced to 144 for 8. All their hopes rested on Chirag Gandhi, who was the last recognised batsman. However, Gandhi was soon undone by a quicker delivery from Abdulla that was full and trapped Gandhi plumb in front. The wicket give Abdulla his first ten-for in first-class cricket as Mumbai were just one wicket away from a memorable victory.

Six balls later, Dabholkar drew Jasprit Bumrah forward for Aditya Tare to complete an easy stumping. While the Gujarat dressing room was numb, the Mumbai camp rushed on to the field as if they had won the championship. However, having won a match in which they were down and out for most of the game and qualified for the quarters, they would now hope to convert their "lucky escape" and defend the title.

Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel conceded that his team threw away the match in the second innings. "We were placed in an excellent position midway through the match. However, first we conceded 40 to 50 runs extra to their lower order and then even after having eight specialist batsmen, we couldn't chase the target down," Parthiv said. "We cannot blame anyone but ourselves for the loss."

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SCG steadfast against drop-in pitches

Sydney's cricket ground has undergone major redevelopment since the last Ashes Test at the ground, with last-minute work on the new MA Noble and Don Bradman Stands set to go on into the night on match eve. But the SCG curator Tom Parker is adamant that concessions to the demands of multi-sport stadiums will not go so far as to force Sydney to resort to the drop-in pitches now used in Melbourne and Adelaide.

"It's only myself here and Gabba that have traditional pitches," Parker said. "We're a dual purpose ground and it is a mammoth task to change over from AFL to cricket and maintain a first-class pitch. For the characteristics of the SCG, even if you had a drop-in here, you're not going to replicate the centre that's out there at the moment. No I think we're right, the Trust is pretty staunch. Can't say it's never ever going to happen but in near future nothing on the drawing board I can assure you of that."

Parker said the SCG surface for this Test was slightly grassier than usual because a recent Big Bash League fixture had encroached on his preparation time, but expected the strip to offer the sort of balance between ball and bat witnessed in recent summers. A sunny day will encourage batting, while overcast skies may result in the seam-friendly conditions offered to Pakistan on day one in 2010.

"It has a green tinge to this pitch and we had BBL match here on the 29th so we had to limit our preparations so we could ensure if someone ran across this pitch it didn't get damaged in that match," Parker said. "But in saying that beautiful humid, hot day today. Been here for hours on the heavy roller, we've cut that down now at 3mm and we'll be cutting it again and rolling it again so a lot of that greenness will go out of it.

"I anticipate it's going to be very similar to what we've seen here last year. More looking for good, consistent carry to the keeper, should see a bit of bounce in this pitch as well given the amount of grass on it and the mature grass that's on this pitch. It's different to tour match pitch here earlier in the season when we were changing over from AFL and we didn't have as much time.

"If it's overcast and the forecast is for some possible light showers or drizzly rain and if it's like that you may well bowl. And I think you've seen here in the past when it's overcast and cloudy the ball does move around a bit here at the SCG, so we've really got to wait for the day and hopefully it's a bright sunny day."

Parker was one of the nation's groundsmen directed by Cricket Australia at the outset of summer to prepare surfaces less grassy and more reflective of international conditions for the Sheffield Shield. Several curators were unhappy to be dictated to, and Parker stated his own intentions with similar bluntness.

"I prepare a pitch that's fair and just for both teams," he said. "I'm not about preparing pitches for batters or bowlers or any other side."

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Bowlers help Canterbury win low scorer

Canterbury recorded their first win in the competition, beating Northern Districts by 11 runs in a low scorer in Mount Maunganui. Tom Latham scored 44 to lead Canterbury to 125 before a three-wicket haul by Andrew Ellis dented Northern Districts in their chase.

Canterbury opted to bat but got off to a terrible start, losing two wickets in the first over to the left-arm spinner Anton Devcich. The Northern Districts captain Daniel Flynn kept shuffling his bowlers, who picked up two more wickets by the eighth over to leave them struggling at 41 for 4. A stand of 79 for the fifth wicket between Latham and Brendon Diamanti was the turning point. Latham's 44 came off 36 balls with two fours and a six while Diamanti made a run-a-ball 37. Jono Boult, the offspinner, removed the two in the final over as Canterbury ended up with what seemed like an underwhelming 125.

Northern Districts were jolted early in their chase when the openers Flynn and Devcich fell off successive balls to Hamish Bennett. Brad Wilson and BJ Watling steadied the chase with a stand of 45 but despite the small target, Northern Districts were struggling to cope with the asking rate. It came down to 45 needed off the last five overs, forcing them to hit out. The bowler-fielder combination of Ellis and Ronnie Hira, who took three fine catches, had all but sealed it for Canterbury.

Following two washouts, it was a win Canterbury needed. "It was one of those games where the quality of the batting wasn't as high as that of the bowling and fielding," Canterbury captain Peter Fulton said. "The pitch was better than the scores reflect, but we got some crucial early wickets which allowed us to put pressure on the middle order. We're very happy to be on the board finally after a lot of bad luck with weather earlier in the competition."

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England facing a bitter end

Paul Downton could be forgiven for wondering what he had walked into as he started his new job on Thursday.

Downton has just assumed the role of managing director of England cricket and made his first appearance at an England net session at the Sydney Cricket Ground the day before the fifth Test. Observing from the back, talking to head selector James Whitaker, Downton kept his thoughts to himself, but cannot have been overly impressed by what he saw.

He might interpret recent events in a positive manner. He might conclude that, unlike David Moyes a few months ago, he is not inheriting a team in which there are unrealistic hopes or expectations. He might conclude that the only way is up. But he will also have seen how much work he has in front of him.

He would have seen Jonny Bairstow, who will retain his place as England wicketkeeper for this game, kicking the stumps after dropping yet another chance in practice. He would have seen a listless warm-up, a long team talk and a joyless net session from which smiles and laughs were absent. England look as if they cannot wait to go home.

Downton would also have seen Monty Panesar, who is said to be an injury doubt with a strained calf muscle, bowling without obvious discomfort. If Panesar does not play - and it seems highly likely he will not - it will have little to do with his fitness.

England still have a tough decision to make on selection. The Sydney pitch traditionally offers a little assistance to the spinners, though less in recent years, but this one is unusually green. If they go into this game without Panesar or James Tredwell, they will be reliant for spin upon Joe Root and Scott Borthwick. Both are talented young cricketers with many positive qualities, but neither is yet a specialist Test spinner.

Among the other decisions England have to make is whether to include Gary Ballance and Boyd Rankin. The evidence of the training session suggests both will play with Ballance likely to displace Michael Carberry and Rankin likely to displace Tim Bresnan. Three debutants doesn't just speak of a new era; it speaks of desperation. It has happened only once since the chaotic 1990s, at Nagpur in 2006.

It would be tough to drop Carberry. He is currently England's second highest run-scorer in the series - only Kevin Pietersen has scored more - and, though his strike-rate (38.20) has attracted much attention, it is higher than Root's (33.27).

But in desperate times, players are afforded less patience. Carberry could well be a victim of the management's need to find some positives from such a disappointing tour. In the longer-term, his omission should be cause of reflection for the selectors. No-one should be surprised if an unproven opener, thrust into an away Ashes series, struggles.

Root and Pietersen hit the ball beautifully in the nets on Thursday, but Root, in particular, needs to start justifying the faith expressed in him by the England management. In retrospect, it was a mistake to move him from No. 6 ahead of the last Ashes series - a decision that also saw Nick Compton dropped - and, in an ideal world, he would still be able to continue his development against the softer ball in the middle-order.

As it is, though, Root looks set to move to the top of the order with Ian Bell moving to No. 3. Some might say that is how it should have been since Jonathan Trott went home; others that England are in chaos and might as well pick the batting order out of a hat. Root has passed 30 just three times in 16 innings when batting in the top three.

And that's the problem for England. For if you claim an attention to detail that includes the publication of a cookbook, that requires more than £20 million of investment each year, that requires an army of support staff so vast that it may as well include a lumberjack and horse whisperer, then you have to show more for it than a team that changes each game, a random batting order and a collection of out of form players who look as if they've rather be stacking shelves. Somewhere, somehow, this England environment has started turning fine players into mediocre ones.

Cricket would not be the beautiful, beguiling sport we love if it was predictable. But England require a miracle of Biblical proportions to earn a 'consolation' victory in this game. And it's hard to see how even a plague of locusts can help them now.

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Record wasn't on my mind - Anderson

Corey Anderson, the New Zealand allrounder, was on 95 off 35 balls when he swung a Nikita Miller delivery for six over long leg to complete the quickest ODI hundred in history. One more delivery and he wouldn't have had sole claim to the record, and would have had to share it with Shahid Afridi, who hit a landmark century against Sri Lanka in 1996.

Anderson, though, said the record wasn't on his mind. "No, not really, I just thought it was a pretty quick hundred, I didn't realise that it was the fastest," he said. He hit 14 sixes in his unbeaten 131 off 47 balls to set up New Zealand's crushing victory over West Indies in the third ODI in Queenstown.

Anderson came to the middle in the eighth over and completed his hundred off the first ball of the 18th, allowing little time for any nerves. "I think it was more of 'go with it', the hundred never really got into my mind. I sort of got there so quickly, I didn't have time to think about it. It's just one of those things, you keep going with it, striking it and try and get as many runs on the board as you can. It becomes more about a team than an individual performance."

His innings has already created buzz about Anderson's value at the IPL auction next month. West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo hoped Anderson would be his team-mate in the IPL. "Hope to see him in Chennai Super Kings, the auction is around the corner and hopefully MS [Dhoni] and Flem [coach Stephen Fleming] pick him up, it's going to be a bonus for us, a great knock," Bravo said. "The way how the guy batted, it was not just slogging, you know he played proper cricket shots, that shows someone can bat, has the ability to bat, turn over strike ever so often, hit straight, hit clean, and he's powerful, so why not. This innings is a big innings, it will do him a lot of favours."

Anderson himself wasn't getting carried away. "Those things float about," Anderson said, "I'm happy where I am at with New Zealand, I'm still trying to cement my place as well."

Jesse Ryder, another batsman trying to cement a place in the side, also put in a blistering performance - he smashed the sixth-quickest ODI century in only his second international after a lengthy layoff and, with Anderson, put on a 191-run stand in 75 deliveries for the fourth wicket. "It's nice to have another guy at the other end doing a similar thing," Anderson said. "It's tough for bowlers, they can't get any rhythm, they don't know where the ball is probably going to be going."

Anderson said the innings and the big win was the "best feeling that I've probably had on a cricket field". His captain Brendon McCullum called the centuries a "once-in-a-lifetime sort of performance from two people". "Statistically it (Anderson's ton) is the fastest , I don't know how many ODIs have been played, probably in excess of 3000 (3451), and for him to be No. 1 in terms of the speed with which he was able to get to a hundred, and Jesse being No. 6 is pretty unbelievable really, " McCullum said. "That to me is as clean striking as I have ever witnessed at a ground."

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Australia eye unforeseen clean sweep

Before this series began, the odds of a 5-0 win to Australia were about the same as of Bangladesh winning next year's World Cup. But Michael Clarke's men enter the Sydney Test on the verge of completing a clean sweep. England came to Australia with the Ashes in their possession and a sense of stability around their squad. Whatever happens over the next five days, they will leave these shores without the urn and without any real idea of how to fix their problems.

Graeme Swann has retired mid-tour, the vice-captain Matt Prior has been dropped, Jonathan Trott has spent most of the series at home, their only centurion has been the new boy Ben Stokes, they don't have a batsman in the top five series run scorers, they have only one bowler averaging under 30. They're a rabble, and even if they avoid a 5-0 defeat this result should hurt more than the 2006-07 clean sweep, for that was against champions like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist.

This Australian outfit has been cobbled together after a period of retirements, experiments and abandonments. In recent years, Australia's Test team has been changed as often as a baby's nappy and sometimes produced similar results. That was certainly the case in India in February-March, when they were humiliated 4-0 on the field and embarrassed off it. Their success in this Ashes campaign is all the sweeter for it. It remains possible that Australia may take the same XI into all five Tests in the series, which would be a first.

Not every question has been answered for the Australians, who have a three-Test tour of South Africa in a month's time. Most notably, the No.6 position occupied in this series by George Bailey could be up for grabs after this series. If Bailey plays at the SCG and fails, he can hardly be retained. Whatever happens, though, this squad has achieved everything that was asked of it. Australia have the Ashes and will get their hands on the (replica) urn after this Sydney Test. It's now just a question of 5-0, 4-0 or 4-1.

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