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Sri Lanka once again rallied behind Muttiah Muralitharan and rejected former Indian spin wizard Bishen Singh Bedi’s recent demands to ban the magician from international cricket.Bedi urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to ban Muralitharan arguing that he chucks. But the team management dismissed charges as flimsy, baseless and far from reality with manager Chandra Schaffer saying it was an opinion of a disgruntled individual. “I don’t know how many people take Bishen Bedi seriously nowadays. I think he thrives on controversies, so I leave it to that,” Schaffer said.Schaffer said Muralitharan had been cleared once and for all but agreed that the spinner had not been given the licence to throw. “That can happen to anybody. Even Waqar Younis can be no-balled by the umpire tomorrow. That’s part of the game. But the bottomline is that Muralitharan’s action has been cleared and that’s the end of the story.”Muralitharan was no-balled seven times in an over by Darrel Hair in a 1995-96 Test in Australia. Fingers have pointed as Muralitharan since but has never been reported or called after Arjuna Ranatunga withdrew his team from the ground and later the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) threatened to take the ICC to the court. It was on BCCSL’s request the ICC did not post Hair in any of the 1999 World Cup matches involving Sri Lanka.Hair’s compatriot Daryl Harper is the ICC umpire in the Asian Test Championship final. But another Australian Dav Whatmore ruled out fears that Muralitharan might be called or reported again. “I don’t think Muralitharan is under scrutiny. There is no chance of being called or reported again. Frankly speaking, I am not expecting anything like that,” he said.He reiterated that Muralitharan’s action had been proven free of any guilt and urged the critics to forget the issue and move forward. “If it (Bedi’s views) were meant to disturb anyone, it has not worked because we are firmly behind Muralitharan and things haven’t changed really,” he added.Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lanka captain, said he was disturbed and disappointed to read Bedi’s observations and demands. “I think he has played enough cricket to say such a thing. Muralitharan has been cleared by everyone after it was proven medically that he doesn’t throw.”Pakistan captain Waqar Younis chided: “It’s too late to ban him now after he has taken 400 wickets and bamboozled best of the teams on every surface.” Bedi last month had argue that a blind man cannot be given permission to fly a plane and if Muralitharan had an abnormality with his bowling arm, it was just bad luck for him. Muralitharan has more than 400 Test wickets.

Grant Lambert is hoping for an opportunity to open © Getty Images

New South Wales number plates say it is Australia’s premier state and Shaun Tait has called its cricketers arrogant, but finishing last in the one-day and Twenty20 competitions was a humbling experience for the Blues. The poor 2006-07 limited-overs performances, which were complemented by a fall at the final Pura Cup hurdle against Tasmania, have provided ample motivation for a form reversal this summer.While there have been no major player changes in the off-season, the Blues have a new coach in Matthew Mott, who has graduated from his three years as the assistant to take the head role following Trevor Bayliss’ departure to Sri Lanka. The allrounder Grant Lambert said the transition to Mott as mentor has been seamless. “Matty is fitting in well,” Lambert says. “He’s been around us for a few years now, so he’s settled in.”Lambert has been in and out of the New South Wales side since his debut in 2001-02 but has been a more regular feature in the past two years. A flood of runs in the Sydney grade competition led to a state recall in 2006-07 and the breaking of the 63-year-old record set by Bill Alley. Lambert finished with 1527 at 95.94, 114 more than Alley. “It was a bit of an honour,” Lambert says. “It was good to actually do it in the end because there was a lot of talk about it leading up to it.”At club level Lambert, 30, opens the batting and bowling, and his belief that he’s an “equal allrounder” was shown in his 2006-07 New South Wales averages of 39 in each discipline. “I played the last six games and then the final of the Pura Cup and it was great to get back in the team,” he says. “I didn’t go too badly, but there’s always room for improvement.”Despite his 353 runs last season and a stint as opener, Lambert is expected to bat No. 7 and his medium pace will be used at first or second change. However, with Phil Jaques in contention for a Test spot, there is the possibility of Lambert slotting in at the top of the order during the campaign. “I’d love to open the batting,” he says. “Hopefully Phil does get the call up to the Australian side and if I get the chance I’d love to give it a crack.”The 14-man squad for the Blues’ season-opening trip to Perth was touted as a “good blend of youth and experience” and Lambert has nominated Peter Forrest and Stephen O’Keefe as ones to watch. “Pete’s doing really well so far this year, he’s scored a few runs already,” he says. “Stephen is playing very well too, so we’ve got a few good young players coming through.” Forrest, a 21-year-old batsman, received a senior contract for the first time after three seasons on the rookie list while O’Keefe retained his junior deal.

Phil Jaques is waiting to see if he will make the Test team © Getty Images

With Brad Haddin on the fringes of national selection, the reserve keeper Daniel Smith should play more of a role. Smith, 25, got four Pura Cup starts in 2006-07 – one was as a specialist batsman alongside Haddin – and was behind the stumps during the final loss at Bellerive Oval.Australia’s selectors will again have an impact on the success of the Blues. Seven squad members hold national contracts and they might translate into regular international appearances for Stuart MacGill and Jaques. Simon Katich, the captain, seems to have disappeared from the national radar and he was re-signed on a five-year deal during the winter.Previously the percentage of troops drafted into the Australian side hasn’t stopped New South Wales from achieving success. Having won the Pura Cup in 2004-05, finished runner-up in March and taken the one-day title in 2005-06, the Blues now want to prosper in all forms of the game. They’ve got the players and, according to Lambert, “it’s just a matter of doing it”. If successful the state’s confidence would be justified.Captain Simon Katich
Coach Matthew Mott
Squad Aaron Bird, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Bracken, Mark Cameron, Beau Casson, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Ed Cowan, Scott Coyte, Peter Forrest, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Moises Henriques, Phil Jaques, Simon Katich, Grant Lambert, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Greg Mail, Matthew Nicholson, Aaron O’Brien, Ben Rohrer, Craig Simmons, Daniel Smith, Dominic Thornely. Rookies Tom Cooper, Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Stephen O’Keefe, Martin Paskal, Steven Smith, David Warner.2006-07 results Pura Cup 2nd, FR Cup 6th, Twenty20 6th.

Top officials tried hard to convince Inzamam-ul-Haq to resume play at The Oval but he refused to comply © Getty Images

The Oval Test forfeiture and the long-awaited constitution were on the menu of discussion as Nasim Ashraf, the new Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, faced a Senate committee on sports over the recent turbulence that has gripped Pakistan cricket.A member of the committee, Senator Enver Baig, said that a detailed discussion was held on the Oval Test and the chairman subsequently agreed to hold a thorough probe into the affair. Baig revealed to Karachi-based daily that Ashraf had initially refused to speak before the committee about the Oval incident but later admitted that the decision of staging the post-tea boycott on the fourth day was the sole decision of captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.”All the officials present at The Oval including myself, manager Zaheer Abbas and Bob Woolmer tried hard to convince Inzamam to return to the ground but he refused to comply,” Ashraf was quoted as saying. Inzamam had repeatedly stressed that he had the support of his team-mates in the decision.More damagingly, Baig voiced concerns over the result in light of reports that a leading British bookmaker was offering odds on an England win. “We informed him that the bookie was offering 14-1 rate in favour of England while the match was in Pakistan’s pocket.”Baig said he told Ashraf that the PCB should not overlook the bookies factor since match-fixing allegations have been levelled against the players in the past. “The matter is a serious one and you should consider all the aspects and an inquiry should be held into the affair.”Meanwhile, the long-absent constitution of the board was also discussed and Ashraf assured the committee that it would be in place by January 31, 2007. Ashraf said that the constitution is almost finalised and would be implemented following approval from President Pervez Musharraf, the board’s patron-in-chief.”For us, it is very important that the PCB has a constitution and is run according to it as soon as possible,” Baig told . “We have been told by the PCB chairman that the constitution would be ready soon and would be implemented by January 31 next year. We would get back to him on February 1 over this matter.”Baig also said that the constitution should lead to the board having a chairman who is elected by representatives of its provincial association and other affiliated units. “There should not be any direct appointments in the board by the president of Pakistan. The president is the patron-in-chief of the PCB but we believe he should not be involved in the working of the board.”This is not the first time the committee has called in the PCB chairman. Through his three-year tenure, Shaharyar Khan, Ashraf’s predecessor, was summoned to face questions on a number of occasions over the board’s finances and the team’s performances.

Scotty Styris sat out two matches, but will look to recover by Friday © Getty Images

Despite being 2-0 on the tour of South Africa so far, New Zealand are not without their share of injury concerns. Scott Styris (hamstring), Jacob Oram (back) and James Franklin (heel) are all causes of worry for Stephen Fleming, their captain.Fleming hopes that they will be fit to play in the international Pro20 match against South Africa at the Wanderers on October 21. “Our bowling is a concern, with Franklin, Styris and Oram all probably underdone. We want some selection dilemmas, we don’t want injuries to play a part in this series, it happens too much to us,” Fleming was quoted as saying by .Styris, who missed both warm-up games against South Africa A, bowled and batted at the Wanderers nets on Tuesday, and should bowl in Friday’s match. Fleming, however, will look at Styris to contribute with the bat as well, given the top order’s erratic batting form. Fleming has led from the front on the tour, scoring a fine century in Potchefstroom on Sunday, but the only other batsmen with scores over fifty have been Craig McMillan and James Marshall.However, Fleming maintains that it is too early to be worried about the batting, saying that his players had not had much game time recently. “We’re pleased that we’ve got a couple of hundreds on the board, we could so easily have gone through these games with none of us in any nick at all. We do want the others to fire and they’ve got to do the work during the week to get up to speed.”He added that New Zealand would treat the Pro20 international the same as any other big match. “We put a lot of importance on it. It’s certainly not a hit and giggle. It plays an important part in the tour. We are looking forward to it and we want to win it.”

Scorecard

Ben Edmondson dismisses Shoaib Malik© Getty Images

The Pakistanis were dismissed for 262 on the first day of their match against Western Australia at the WACA. Before the close, Shoaib Akhtar trapped Justin Langer lbw as WA edged to 1 for 20 in reply.Abdul Razzaq held the Pakistanis’ innings together with an undefeated 83, and put on 95 for the sixth wicket with Yousuf Youhana. Then he added 72 for the eighth wicket with Mohammad Sami, as only four batsmen reached double figures. Before lunch they had been 5 for 78 and were staring down the barrel of another humiliation.Earlier in the week, the tourists had been beaten by Western Australia’s second XI despite being set a target of just 94. Today, they won the toss and batted, only to lose their top order to Brett Dorey and Ben Edmondson inside 90 minutes. Only opener Salman Butt (42), who made a good hundred at Lilac Hill on Tuesday, held firm for a while as all around him crumbled.When Edmondson dismissed Butt and Shoaib Malik with successive deliveries, the Pakistanis were in deep trouble, and it could have been worse as Youhana edged Steve Magoffin just past Michael Hussey’s outstretched arm at second slip before he had scored.Yousuf and Razzaq then consolidated either side of lunch, but Magoffin struck twice in as many overs to remove Youhana for 77, and Kamran Akmal for 0.

All Today’s Yesterdays – July 19 down the years

July 18| July 20

1952
A young and very fiery Fred Trueman continued his personal assault onIndia’s batsmen. Trueman had grabbed 15 wickets in his first two Tests,and this time added a further 8 for 31 in the first innings at Old Trafford, as India crumbled to 58 all out. Tony Lock, making his debut,started the rot with a stunning catch at short leg to remove Vinoo Mankad, the first time Lock had touched the ball in Test cricket. He wasthen instrumental in bowling India out for 82 in the second innings,taking 4 for 36 in 9.3 overs as 22 wickets fell in the day. It would be49 years until England next played Test cricket on July 19.

1899
No Ashes cricket whatsoever was played on July 19 in the entire 20thCentury. Before 2001, you have to rewind 102 years to Old Trafford, andthe final day of a three-day draw. Earlier in the match, Tom Haywardtopscored with 130, Bill Bradley took a wicket with his first ball in Testcricket, and Australia ‘s Monty Noble became the only batsman to scoretwo Test match fifties on the same day.

1993
The last day of first-class cricket for Ian Botham. Halfway throughDurham’s tour match against the Australians, Beefy announced that itwould be his last. After terrorising them on and off the field for 15years, it wouldn’t have been right if he’d bowed out against anyoneelse. He made 32 and went wicketless, but Botham had another way ofstealing the limelight: he kept wicket for the last over of the matchwithout gloves or pads.

1993
While Botham was finishing up, Glen Chapple was flaying a centuryin 21 minutes and 27 balls – the fastest in first-class history. But youwon’t see it any record books. Chapple’s hundred came against jokebowlers, Tony Cottey (6-0-121-0) and Matthew Maynard (6-0-110-1).

1955
Birth of the first Anglo-Indian to play for India. And fittingly, Roger Binny was at his best in English conditions. A steady medium-pacer and acapable batsman who opened in India’s Golden Jubilee Test, Binny madelittle impact in his first four years of international cricket. But hiscareer took off when he was selected for the World Cup in 1983. He savedIndia from elimination with a matchwinning display against Australia atChelmsford, and conceded just 23 runs from ten overs to help India to astunning victory over West Indies in the final. Three years later, Binnywas instrumental in England’s Test series defeat, taking 5 for 40 inIndia’s victory at Headingley.

1982
England beat Pakistan by 73 runs in a one-day international to win theseries 2-0. Mike Gattingtop-scored with 76 and Ian Botham hit foursixes off Iqbal Qasim.

1877
Birth of fast bowler Arthur Fielder, who played six Tests forEngland, all against Australia. He took an heroic 6 for 82 (9 wickets inthe match) in the narrow defeat at Sydney in 1907-08. In 1906 he becamethe only person to take all ten wickets in an innings for Playersagainst Gentlemen at Lord’s.

1876
John Gunn was born, another whose six Tests were all againstAustralia. A hard-working allrounder, he bowled 42 overs in taking 5 for76 at Adelaide in 1901-02. His uncle William and brother George alsoplayed for England.

Other birthdays
1920 Robert Christiani (West Indies)

I am writing after the first day’s play of the First Test match between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh at Dhaka. There is plenty of food for thought here, with Bangladesh 107 all out and Zimbabwe 20 for two at the close.It would appear that the pitch has played a major part in the proceedings; it was apparently still damp after rain when play finally began just before lunch, but I have not yet read any reports of its condition later in the day. The scores would seem to indicate that it was still very much in favour of the bowlers.In such circumstances, fate invariably seems to decree that the stronger side should win the toss, and Zimbabwe for once qualified, putting the unfortunately Bangladeshis in to bat and bowling them out cheaply. They had them 76 for nine at one stage, but `let them off the hook’ as the last-wicket pair took the total to 107, just beating the 103 by Pakistan at Peshawar that remains the lowest Test total against Zimbabwe.Travis Friend, with five wickets for 31 runs off 18 overs, had a day to remember and must have thought Christmas had come early at the start, when he bowled over after over with only the odd single taken off him, in contrast to the succession of thundering boundaries that seem to greet his opening spells in one-day internationals. Zimbabwe’s bowlers, helped by the conditions and the inexperience of the opposition, did their job for once.Barring more rain, batting conditions should have improved in time for the second day, enabling Zimbabwe to build a match-winning total – but it never does to take anything for granted with Zimbabwe.Bangladesh clearly haven’t learnt the psychology of Test cricket, according to some of the match previews I read. It was stated that their main aim, after losses in all their first five Test matches, was to secure a draw. I read no mention of the traumatic time Zimbabwe are having and the fact that Bangladesh have home advantage.What they said was realistic enough, but Bangladesh should have tried a more confident approach, for their own sakes. They might well have stated their determination to take advantage of their home conditions, which all non-Asian teams find difficult in the subcontinent, and that they were taking on a team that seemed to have lost its way. The odds would still have been against them but, the way Zimbabwe have been playing over the past few months, nobody could guarantee them victory, even over Bangladesh.Zimbabwe for their part went into the tour confident in their ability to overcome Bangladesh, despite these two disadvantages. Confidence is a major factor in Zimbabwe’s performances, and they are still too close to the bottom to take victory for granted easily, even over Bangladesh. They should still win, but Bangladesh have reason to show a little more confidence than they have displayed so far.Last weekend saw the Zimbabwe Board XI open their campaign for promotion to the SuperSport Series in South Africa with two victories over North West B. I am sorry to spoil the party, but I don’t think they were very convincing. The Board XI played seven international players in their team, against the B side (the `B’ is often conveniently forgotten) of one of South Africa’s less renowned provinces, one which only came into existence as Western Transvaal ten years ago.The team won the three-day match by three wickets, only taking charge in the final innings run chase. They won the one-day match by ten wickets, which sounds most convincing until it is realized that they only dismissed two of the opposition on a pitch so flat that only six batsmen had an innings all day – `two wickets’ would be a more realistic victory margin. Still, a win is a win, but South African administrators looking for an excuse to keep the Board XI out of the SuperSport Series next season will remain unconvinced. We need to be more dominant than this, especially with stronger opposition coming up.Larry Moyo writes a review of this match, while Brighton Watambwa, one of the players, presents his viewpoint and also talks about an eventful year for him, containing a Test debut, success at Test level and then three successive injuries. Of the other injured pace bowlers, Bryan Strang has just started bowling in club cricket again and hopes to be ready for next week’s Board XI matches, while Andy Blignaut is also reported to be nearly fit again.They should be available for national selection again in time for the Indian tour in the New Year, although probably not for Sri Lanka next month. As long as they don’t get injured again!We also have a biography of Charles `Chappie’ Coventry, who was Zimbabwe’s youngest ever first-class player, hopes to join the CFX Academy next year and scored 155 in club cricket last weekend. Besides our usual provincial and club reports, on the statistical side we have updated one-day international records after the Sharjah tournament.

Chris Harris, the former New Zealand allrounder, told Southwark Crown Court how Chris Cairns “almost seemed like he was not pleased” when his team, Chandigarh Lions, beat Mumbai Champs in a Indian Cricket League contest in March 2008 that has since been tainted with allegations of match-fixing.Cairns, who denies two counts of perjury and perverting the course of justice, had worn an “unusual” expression on his face at the moment of victory in Hyderabad, according to Harris, after Chandigarh’s wicketkeeper, Sarabjit Singh, had cracked 41 not out from 22 balls to seal a two-wicket victory in the final over of the match.The match has previously been identified by Lou Vincent, who gave evidence during the first week of the trial, as one of “three or four” fixtures that he had been paid by Cairns to manipulate.Harris, who played in all three ICL tournaments in 2007 and 2008, described Chandigarh’s target of 136 as “modest”, adding that Sarabjit had played a “splendid innings” to rescue his team from 70 for 6 in the 13th over. However, he also recalled “a number of strange incidents” in the course of the contest.In the end, Sarabjit sealed the match with a six, and footage of the winning moment was played by Orlando Pownall, QC, Cairns’ defence lawyer, to the court. In it, Cairns was seen smiling and embracing one of his team-mates.”It’s perfectly plain, that after that six went over the boundary, the Chandigarh Lions appeared to be delighted,” said Mr Pownall. “Do you agree?””I don’t believe that was the footage I saw,” Harris replied. “I would agree with you that was a fair amount of emotion after winning a game.”Harris, who was captain of Hyderabad Heroes, also recalled a match against Chandigarh in which Cairns had won the toss and batted first, despite the fact that 80 percent of the teams that bowled first had won on that particular ground. “It was a bit of a surprise to me,” he recalled.Harris also claimed that Cairns’ co-defendant and former attorney, Andrew Fitch-Holland, who denies perverting the course of justice during his client’s libel action against Lalit Modi in 2012, had admitted Cairns’ guilt even before that case went to court.Cairns successfully sued Modi after he tweeted allegations of match-fixing in 2010. However, Harris claimed that, during a Lashings game at Bromley Cricket Club, Fitch-Holland had conceded Cairns’ guilt in a conversation with a group of players.”Someone asked him a question along the lines of “poor Cairnsy, what’s up with Cairnsy?”, Harris told the court. “Mr Fitch-Holland, to my surprise, replied ‘Cairnsy’s guilty’.”Sasha Wass, QC, the crown prosecutor asked Harris to clarify whether this conversation had taken place before or after the libel action.Harris replied: “I believe it was before.”However, under cross-examination from Mr Pownall, Harris conceded that he may have been mistaken, as his name had not appeared on the records for any Lashings match at Bromley in 2009.”That possibly could be the case,” said Harris.The comment, it was suggested, may have related to Cairns’ marital problems.The trial will continue from 12 noon on Tuesday.

Leeds United have had a tough second season in the Premier League after their 16-year absence that was brought to an end when Marcelo Bielsa got them promoted at the end of their 2019/20 Championship campaign.

With 27 league games played, the Yorkshire club have only managed to win five of them, drawing eight and losing 14 as well as scoring 27 goals but conceding a whopping 61, which is more than any other club in the division.

While their results and team performances may not have been up to scratch this time around, there has been one individual player that can be regarded as a standout figure for the Whites – Stuart Dallas.

Having racked up more minutes in the league than any other outfield player at the club this season, this highlights just how prominent and important he has been for the team, as was the case in their previous campaign.

Also, taking into account how he’s played in numerous positions across the defence and midfield, his versatility has been nothing short of vital for the Whites considering the injuries to the likes of Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips.

Unsurprisingly due to the number of minutes he’s played, Dallas has had more touches of the ball (1583) than any of his teammates, highlighting how involved he is during each match as well as making more tackles (30), blocks (47) interceptions (60) than any other Leeds player.

Labelled as a “selfless” player that acts as the “linchpin” for his side by Jermaine Beckford, the Northern Irishman has once again proved his worth to the club, who would certainly be in a worse position than they are had the 30-year-old not been available in the same way that Phillips and Patrick Bamford haven’t been for much of the season.

Even though winger Raphinha has been important for the team in terms of his goals and general attacking output, Dallas’ all-round play has arguably been more significant in what has been a disheartening campaign for the Yorkshire club so far.

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Moving forward, with Jesse Marsch now in charge, everyone at Elland Road will undoubtedly be hoping that their versatile hero, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £53k-per-week according to Salary Sport, can stay fit and keep delivering the industrious sort of performances that he has been so far to help keep his side in the Premier League.

In other news: Huge boost: Phil Hay drops teasing 9-word Leeds update that will have fans elated – opinion

Match facts

February 3, 2016
Start time 1400 local (0100 GMT)3:07

Australia quicks look forward to NZ pitches

Big Picture

There was much fanfare around the announcement of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy back in May 2004. At simultaneous press conferences in Melbourne and Christchurch the boards of both countries set out their plans to compete for the trophy on an annual basis, strengthening the cricketing ties between the trans-Tasman neighbours. Walter Hadlee, then 88, was at the announcement in Christchurch, along with his son Dayle; Greg and Trevor Chappell attended in Melbourne. The New Zealand cricket chief executive of the time, Martin Snedden, declared: “I am confident that the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy will become as eagerly anticipated as other great annual sporting events such as the Bledisloe Cup series.”Well, that didn’t quite happen, but plenty of memorable matches were nonetheless played under the Chappell-Hadlee name and the boards stuck to their plans to contest the trophy annually for the next six years. And then it was quietly shelved. At the 2011 World Cup in India, it was announced that since no other time had been found in the summer’s schedule for a bilateral series, the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy would be on offer to the winner of the World Cup pool match between the two sides. After that it was forgotten, so much so that the boards neglected to even put the trophy up for grabs when they met at the 2013 Champions Trophy in England. They remembered again for their pool match at last year’s World Cup, but it has now been nearly six years since the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy was contested in a series of its own.At last, it is back. The two teams who competed in the World Cup final at the MCG last March get the chance for a bilateral one-day series, a three-match contest that precedes a series of two Tests. It all begins on Wednesday in Auckland, the venue of New Zealand’s one-wicket win over Australia in that Chappell-Hadlee match last year, one of the most memorable games of the World Cup. Despite the short boundaries at Eden Park, swing was king, Australia managed only 151 and it wasn’t far off being a winning score. Nearly a year on and with New Zealand’s personnel largely the same and Australia’s changed significantly, both sides are coming off series wins at home, Australia over India and New Zealand against Pakistan. The World Cup might not be up for grabs this time, but the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy gets a well-deserved return to centre stage.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand: WWWLW
Australia: LWWWW

In the spotlight

Brendon McCullum is now into the final month of his international career, and it is possible that he could finish by lifting both the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy and the Trans-Tasman Trophy as captain. His first task is to provide runs at the top of the order, and having missed the past month with a back injury his return in the final ODI against Pakistan did not exactly go to plan: he was caught hooking for a golden duck.Usman Khawaja is Australia’s most in-form batsman but the selectors have stuck to their existing pecking order and gone with Shaun Marsh for the first match. Marsh scored half-centuries in two of his three ODI innings against India last month, which has earned him the first chance in New Zealand, but Khawaja has produced such piles of runs in the past few months that one failure from Marsh might be enough for the selectors to make the change for the second game.The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy has been pushed to the fringes in recent years, contested as an after-thought in World Cup games; New Zealand won it last year in Auckland•ICC

Team news

Legspinner Ish Sodhi has been added to the squad for this first match in Auckland, after the New Zealanders saw how much turn Pakistan’s part-timer Azhar Ali extracted from the Eden Park surface on Sunday.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt.), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner/Ish Sodhi, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent Boult.Australia confirmed their XI on match eve, with Shaun Marsh named to open the batting with David Warner in the absence of the injured Aaron Finch. That meant there was no place for Khawaja, who was added to the squad to cover for Finch, while fast bowler Scott Boland and legspinner Adam Zampa were the bowlers who missed out.Australia 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 David Warner, 3 Steven Smith (capt.), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 John Hastings, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Pitch and conditions

The drop-in pitch is usually good for batting at Eden Park, though there could be some swing in the air. The forecast is for a sunny day and a top temperature of 27C.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have won their past four bilateral ODI series at home against any opposition
• It has been so long since the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy has been contested outside of World Cups that only two Australians in the current squad – David Warner and Shaun Marsh – have experience in such series
• New Zealand currently hold the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after winning the World Cup group match in Auckland last year; it was not up for grabs in the World Cup final
• New Zealand could field as many as eight men who played in the World Cup final (Ross Taylor and Tim Southee are injured, and Daniel Vettori has retired); Australia will have only five

Quotes

“There’s obviously going to be a few nerves tomorrow when you’re playing in a big series and hopefully if we can settle early then we can resort back to that even temper that we’ve played with throughout this summer and last summer as well.”
“New Zealand are a very good one-day side; they have played particularly well here at home. I guess for us we’ve got quite a different side to the one who faced them in the World Cup final, so it is a big challenge for us but we’re really looking forward to it.”