Author: Vinod Rawat

Usman Khawaja and Alex Doolan will have the perfect chance to push their claims to become Ricky Ponting’s Test replacement after being named in the Chairman’s XI squad to take on Sri Lanka in Canberra next week. Khawaja will captain the side for the three-day game and while most members of the team are younger players who have been rewarded for some early-season form, all eyes will be on Khawaja and Doolan. Cricket Australia emphasised that the squad was chosen before Ponting made his decision to retire from international cricket, meaning the match is not intended as a bat-off for Test selection

James Anderson has said a desire to prove their critics wrong was at the heart of England’s improved performance in the second Test in Mumbai. Anderson, a member of the team that was beaten by nine wickets at Ahmedabad before winning by 10 wickets in Mumbai, accepted that England had “slipped up” in the first Test but felt that the motivation to “prove a point” had inspired them in the second. “The confidence was always there,” Anderson said