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A trio of teenage fast bowlers performed creditably at the SCG as New South Wales beat Victoria by four wickets

Alex Brown at the SCG23-Dec-2009
ScorecardPlaying just his third domestic 50-over match, James Pattinson claimed the first six NSW wickets to fall•Getty Images

Peter Siddle showed few ill effects in his comeback from a hamstring injury, but his efforts were overshadowed by a trio of teenagers who might one day challenge him for an international berth. The New South Wales opening duo of Mitchell Starc (3 for 36) and Josh Hazlewood (2 for 22) contained Victoria to a modest 188, and despite the record-breaking feats of the Bushrangers’ James Pattinson (6 for 48), the Blues rolled to a four-wicket Ford Ranger Cup victory.Australia’s selectors had cause to believe Christmas had arrived two days early at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with fast bowlers present and future revelling in the seam-friendly conditions. Siddle’s hopes of a Boxing Day recall received a boost after he completed 10 overs across three spells, hitting a top speed in excess of 140kph and at one stage striking Usman Khawaja a nasty blow to the ribs.But while Siddle’s eventual reward was economy (0 for 40), his teenage counterpart, Pattinson, proved decidedly more prolific. Playing just his third domestic 50-over match for Victoria, Pattinson claimed the first six New South Wales wickets to fall, including those of Ben Rohrer and Steven Smith in consecutive balls. His figures were the best ever by a Victorian in domestic limited-overs cricket, breaking Graeme Watson’s 40-year-old record, and the seventh best in Australian List A history.Using the hard, lively Sydney surface to full effect, the 19-year-old single-handedly drew Victoria back into a contest their batsman appeared to have conceded earlier in the day when rolled well inside their allotment of 50 overs. Pattinson accounted for the internationally capped trio of David Warner, Phil Jaques and Moises Henriques before the tenth over, and despite claiming three more wickets later in the innings, a lack of bowling support ensured the Blues victory with five overs to spare.”We spoke about getting the ball … nice and full early on,” Pattinson said. “That’s what Josh Hazlewood did for them. He bowled one of the best spells of bowling I’ve ever seen. My aim was just to get them driving.”With many more performances like this, Pattinson could well find himself occupying an obscure place in the history books. Only once before have brothers represented two different Test teams (Alec and George Hearne represented England, while Frank played for South Africa in the late 19th century), and following the England debut of his elder sibling, Darren, last year, the Pattinsons could double the membership of the exclusive club.Pattinson was not the only teenager to excel at the SCG on Wednesday. Hazlewood, his Australian under-19 teammate, was unplayable for much of his spell, swinging the ball away from the right-handers and seaming it back in. His figures may well have been bolstered had the Blues held their catches, but his efforts would have nonetheless impressed a national selection panel attempting to navigate their way through a fast bowling injury crisis.Hazlewood’s opening partner, Starc, proved similarly impressive. A towering left-armer at 1.96m, Starc troubled the Victorian batsmen from the outset to claim three wickets – including that of Andrew McDonald to a diving Rohrer catch that may well have been the best of the season. The efforts of NSW’s bowlers set-up a relatively comfortable run-chase, Pattinson notwithstanding, which was sealed with half-centuries to Daniel Smith (62 not out) and Khawaja (56).

Offspinner Johan Botha has been named in South Africa’s squad for the two Tests against India next month, marking his return after the 2008 tour of Bangladesh

Cricinfo staff18-Jan-2010Offspinner Johan Botha has been named in South Africa’s squad for the two Tests against India next month, marking his return after the 2008 tour of Bangladesh. Another notable inclusion in the 15-man team was left-arm fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who was part of the touring party to Australia last year.There was no place for fast bowlers Makhaya Ntini and Friedel de Wet, both of whom had been part of the recently concluded home Test series against England.”It is important to have a second specialist spin bowling option for a Test series on the subcontinent,” Mike Procter, Cricket South Africa’s (CSA’s) selection convener, said. “We feel this squad covers all our tactical options and will give a good account of itself.”For the three ODIs that follow, the selectors have picked opener Loots Bosman after his impressive performances during the two Twenty20 internationals against England, where he hit 58 and 94. It was during his second knock, at Centurion, that he also shared a world-record opening partnership of 170 with captain Graeme Smith.Having returned to full fitness this summer after a succession of injuries, Bosman would provide “an explosive hitting option up front”, according to Procter. “This will be the ideal opportunity for him to show his worth on the subcontinent where next year’s World Cup will be played,” Procter said.Herschelle Gibbs was also included in the 15-man ODI squad, returning to the national team since the 2009 World Twenty20 in England.However, Hashim Amla, Ryan McLaren and Charl Langeveldt failed to make the cut for the one-day squad, from the one that took on England. Procter indicated, though, that the trio were still “in the running for the World Cup next year.”While Nagpur will host the first Test from February 6-10, the second will be played in Kolkata from February 14-18. The three ODIs will be hosted by Jaipur, Kanpur and Ahmedabad on February 21, 24 and 27 respectively.Test squad Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
ODI squad Graeme Smith (capt), Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe.

With one of the most well-rounded teams in the world game currently, South Africa look good to win a Test series in India, but they should not write off the hosts, who have displayed the habit of doing exceptionally well under pressure

S Aga13-Feb-2010Different teams react to pressure in different ways. In the past, South Africa didn’t really enjoy being pushed into a corner. When subjected to pressure, they had all the resilience of a can of Castle. Then Perth happened and later, Melbourne. As recently as last month, they demolished England in a game that they had to win to at least share spoils in a series where they had been the better side. Traditionally, India have been just the opposite. Few sides start a series as poorly, and few summon up such memorable performances when least expected.On the tour of England in 2002, they were routed at Lord’s and escaped at Trent Bridge before deciding to bat first in seamer-friendly conditions at Headingley. They won by an innings. After the dramatic last-afternoon collapse and the attendant controversy at Sydney (2008), they went to Perth and ambushed Australia in conditions where they were expected to submit to Australia’s four-man pace attack.A few months later, South Africa humiliated them on a well-grassed surface at Ahmedabad and then won the toss on a pitch never likely to last the distance in Kanpur. But Sourav Ganguly produced a masterful 87 to give India a 60-run lead and the bowlers did the rest. Dale Steyn may have referred to it as a bunsen-burner of a pitch, but it took some especially inept batting to squander the advantage of the toss.Whenever the Eden Gardens is mentioned, thoughts turn to those unforgettable five days in March 2001. It’s easy to forget that that too came after a clinical Australian display in Mumbai, when everyone except Sachin Tendulkar looked utterly out of their depth.After the crushing win in Nagpur, South Africa’s confidence couldn’t be higher, and all eyes are on the nature of a pitch that the curator has insisted won’t be dictated by home interest. The last time these two teams played in Kolkata, Graeme Smith was amazed by the reception that his team got during an utterly one-sided 10-wicket victory. That one-day game had come soon after the Greg Chappell-Sourav Ganguly spat and with Kolkata’s golden boy sidelined, the Indian players muttered afterwards of how they’d felt like the away side.The South Africans shouldn’t expect such backing this time, but with capacity reduced to half because of renovations, they also won’t have to confront the intimidating atmosphere that made even grizzled Australian veterans quail back in 2001. With the Test starting on a Sunday though, expect plenty of noise each time a wicket falls or a four is hit.South Africa won by a mammoth 329 runs back in 1996, but were on the wrong end of a Harbhajan Singh special in 2004. A Jacques Kallis-century had held the first innings together but with India having built a significant lead, the close-in fields and sharp turn were too much to handle. Smith and Kallis offered stout resistance but having found his rhythm, Harbhajan was unstoppable.He will once again be a central figure, especially after all the questions raised about his form and lack of effectiveness in Nagpur. He has 38 wickets from his six Tests at Eden Gardens, but India will need to catch much better than they did in the first Test if that tally is to be enhanced. With Kallis and Hashim Amla in prime form, and Smith unlikely to go a full series without playing a big innings, India need to latch on to every chance that comes their way.With the winter cold still to disappear completely, the pace bowlers will certainly enjoy the conditions, and that should persuade India to break with tradition and go with three pace bowlers. With Zaheer Khan now undoubtedly the best bowler in the line-up, spin isn’t the weapon it once was. If Harbhajan needs support, there’s always Virender Sehwag to bowl some overs of canny offspin.If India are to find a route back into the series though, there’s little doubt that the principal protagonists are the men at the top of the order. When Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir score, they do so at such a pace that even the biggest threats – Mendis and Murali in Galle in 2008 – are neutralised. Gambhir had his first poor Test in ages at Nagpur, while Sehwag alone handled Steyn with any confidence at the first time of asking. How they combine here will decide India’s fate.South Africa were 2-0 winners back in 2000, but in 1996, 2004 and 2008, they found the last Test of the series a bridge too far. Smith insists that things have changed, that this is a more battle-hardened outfit. In Steyn, they have the best bowler in the world. Kallis is the best allrounder since Imran Khan. This really does look like a team whose time has come. Just don’t write off India, who have a habit of scaling great heights from subterranean depths.

The concerns of the foreign players regarding security during the IPL seem to have eased with the league deciding to collaborate with the independent security expert appointed by the player unions from Australia, England and South Africa

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Mar-2010After nearly a month of wrangling, the concerns of the foreign players regarding security during the IPL seem to have eased with Reg Dickason, the independent security expert appointed by the player unions from Australia, England and South Africa, receiving an official update from the league’s security experts.Tim May, the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) chief, called the development a welcome step in the on-going discussions, which came to a standstill after the IPL’s initial refusal to cooperate.”The one outstanding issue (as) per Reg’s report is that while Nicholls-Steyn’s (the agency in charge of IPL security) plan is sound – it is nothing more than a series of recommendations that are made to local security authorities,” May said. “They may or may not be agreed to by the local authorities.”In fact, that was Dickason’s biggest concern, and he advised the player bodies to make a note of that in their meetings with the players. He also requested the IPL for formal confirmation from the local authorities that the recommendations would be implemented. “Despite media comment from IPL officials that such government assurance has been given – Nicholls-Steyn have advised Reg that they can not get such assurances,” May said.To avoid any further clash, it was suggested by FICA that the IPL needed to declare what the local security was willing to help with. “As a compensating measure we recently requested from IPL a status report of what has or hasn’t been confirmed and proposed a system of communication regarding any shortfalls of the required plans,” May said. “Reg received this update and commitment regarding ongoing communication last (Sunday) evening. This is positive in terms of accurate information that we are able to put in front of the players.”Last week, Dickason dismissed the threat from 313 Brigade, the operational arm of Al Qaeda in Pakistan, after having deemed it credible in his initial assessment report. But, simultaneously, he had asked the IPL to specify to him the security implementations at the various venues.The league officials, however, were unwilling to share any such information and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, was vocal in his resistance over sharing security details with the player unions and even warned the foreign players of losing their lucrative IPL contracts in future. Left with no choice, Dickason prepared his original report after reviewing the security plans the IPL sent to various national cricket boards.May had warned the tournament organisers that such stiff resistance could only worsen the issue and even lead to mass withdrawals. FICA had been entrusted by the Australian Cricketers’ Association, England’s Players Cricketers’ Association and the South African Cricketers’ Association to liaise with the IPL.Modi, though, appears to have softened his stance since. “Already a lot of the players are on planes on their way to India and will arrive in the next few days,” he wrote on his Twitter page. “Security is very important to us. We have not had to change our plans, I think it is more a case of the players now understanding them. I think they are more comfortable with the plans being implemented.”

Bermuda have announced their 14-man squad for the tour to South Africa and Namibia, which takes place from March 23 to April 12.

Cricinfo staff09-Mar-2010Bermuda have announced their 14-man squad for the tour to South Africa and Namibia, which takes place from March 23 to April 12.The tour includes a week-long High Performance training camp at the University of Pretoria prior to the team’s departure for Namibia, where they will first play a Twenty20 match on April 1 before the four-day Intercontinental Shield fixture against the hosts from April 3 to 6. Then follow two 50-over games, on April 7 and 8, before the team returns home.”The team selection was based on attendance, ability and availability,” explained Lionel Thomas, the chairman of the selection committee. “We know it is not our strongest team due to withdrawals for personal reasons from some players and school commitments, but we are cautiously optimistic that the team selected will equip themselves admirably.””I am pleased to be able to confirm that David Moore has received his work permit and hopes to be able to join the team for the tour,” added Reginald Pearman, the BCB president. “I know the boys have been putting their all into training and I am confident they will do their best.”Bermuda squad: David Hemp (Capt), Stephen Outerbridge, Jekon Edness, Stefan Kelly, Irving Romaine, Rodney Trott, Fiqre Crockwell, Chris Foggo, Jordan DeSilva, Justin Pitcher, Malachi Jones, Shannon Rayner, Ryan Steede, Jim West
Standbys: Regino Smith, Kevin Tucker, David Lovell, Joshua Gilbert

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, has said the IPL semi-finals have been shifted to Mumbai following the low-intensity bomb blasts outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore

Cricinfo staff18-Apr-2010The semi-finals of the 2010 IPL have been moved out of Bangalore and will be played at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. The decision, announced by IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, was made following the two low-intensity blasts at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore shortly before the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians was due to begin on Saturday evening, and the recovery of two unexploded devices over the subsequent 24 hours.”We don’t want to take any chances. We want to ensure the safety of our players and spectators alike,” Modi said from Dubai, where he is attending an ICC meeting, when he made the announcement.”While reluctant to relocate the semi finals at such short notice, yesterday’s incidents have made it clear that the current environment in Bangalore prevents us from continuing with our original plans,” Modi said in a statement issued by the IPL. “The incidents were assessed by local police and the IPL’s security agency as being of a minor nature but they have forced our hand.”The developments in Bangalore, which point to a lapse in security, have raised concerns over both general pre-match security procedures and the specific handling of the match after the blasts. There have been unconfirmed reports of some overseas players being unwilling to go ahead with Saturday’s game and question marks over security arrangements during the tournament.For the moment, though, the international cricket boards are not prepared to wait and watch the situation. The ECB said they were in “constant contact with their players at various franchises over a number of issues, of which safety and security is one, but there are no plans for the players to leave early.”Cricket Australia (CA) spokesman Peter Young said the security situation in India would be closely monitored. “We’re keen to talk to IPL organisers, and that will possibly happen sometime in the next 12 hours or so, just to get an understanding of what’s going on,” he said.Young said Australians playing in the IPL were participating in India independent of CA. “In a formal sense we are not connected,” Young said. “But we are always concerned about our players and personnel.”Australian Cricketers Association chief executive Paul Marsh said the bombing was a ”serious concern” and ”it is hugely disappointing from our perspective.” ”I was in talks with one of the Australian players and there was a high degree of concern,” he told the . ”There was a significant security breach. It is hard to imagine, how after all of the security concerns raised prior to the event and the ongoing security advice about India, that this was allowed to happen.”The New Zealand players’ association manager Heath Mills said the NZPA had asked security consultant Reg Dickason for a report and added that the incident was “hardly surprising”.
“We want to ascertain what went on here, get some facts and see whether there’s been a security breach,” Mills told the . “Our security adviser has been telling us for some time something was likely going to happen and he invariably gets it right. We’re just fortunate no one was killed and it wasn’t worse.”Former New Zealand fast bowler turned commentator, Simon Doull, who was at the Chinnaswamy, said it was “frightening” after the bombs went off. “I was standing next to Andy Bichel and, when we heard the first explosion, we just looked at each other and went ‘what’s going on here?’,” Doull told New Zealand media.”At first, I think the players were a bit concerned about playing. But given nobody was killed, and that the blast took place outside the stadium, I would probably guess that 90% of people inside the stadium wouldn’t have had a clue. There was never a public announcement or anything like that as far as I heard.”When we got back to the hotel and discovered that another bomb – the biggest one of the lot – had been discovered, we started to wonder whether we should have gone ahead with the match.”There were around 40,000 spectators inside the Chinnaswamy Stadium at the time of the blasts in Bangalore and security measures were tightened. Apart from the two blasts that delayed the start of Saturday’s first match by more than an hour, and in which at least eight people sustained injuries, another bomb was found and defused at a separate location outside the arena. On Sunday morning, another unexploded device was found several meters from the stadium, and a second one a short distance away.Meanwhile, the Karnataka government and police force expressed their disappointment at the decision, and hoped the IPL will hold the semi-finals in Bangalore as initially planned.”We will talk to them to hold the matches [in Bangalore itself]. We had provided full security to the match on Saturday and assure that all security measures needed for the semi-finals will be provided,” Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa said.His stand was echoed by Bangalore city police commissioner, Shankar Bidari. “We will take full and complete responsibility for the security. I appeal to the BCCI to consult IPL security officials, security consultants of foreign teams, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president and secretary and reverse the decision to shift the semi-final matches to Navi Mumbai,” Bidari said.

The hosts overcame Ireland pretty comfortably in their opening match and should face a much sterner test against an England side desperately hoping to break their duck in global tournaments

The Preview by Sahil Dutta02-May-2010

Match Facts

Monday, May 3, Providence

Start time 1330 (1730 GMT)West Indies will need Kieron Pollard to recreate his IPL form against England•Indian Premier League

The Big Picture

West Indies overcame Ireland pretty comfortably in their opening match and should face a much sterner test against an England side desperately hoping to break their duck in global tournaments. Ottis Gibson will have plenty of inside knowledge about this England team and has regular captain Chris Gayle back from injury to implement every devious plan he makes.On the stodgy surfaces we have seen so far at Providence, the spinners play a key role and how the West Indies batsmen deal with England’s spinners could prove crucial. Against Ireland they were almost embarrassed by 17-year-old left-arm-spinner George Dockrell, so Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy should feel confident.England will be testing out yet another opening partnership in Twenty20 cricket and with Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb they feel they have finally stumbled on a combination powerful enough to boss the early overs. Quietly England have developed a competitive limited-overs side that, with Eoin Morgan there to finish an innings, appears to have all its bases covered.

Form guide (most recent first)

England LWLWA
West Indies WLLLW

Watch out for…

While Chris Gayle’s performance usually dictates West Indies’ fortunes, Kieron Pollard is another with a brutal ability to clear the ropes. His outings in the IPL were short and severe, clubbing boundary after boundary on his way to 273 runs at a strike rate of 185.71. If he gets hold of England’s medium pacers, the Providence ground may not be big enough.The World Twenty20 is littered with stars, many still swirling in their IPL riches. Michael Yardy is not one of them. Yet in the sticky conditions, his nagging left-arm-spinners have proved a revelation in the warm-up games, taking five wickets over the two games at a meagre economy rate. He could throw sand in the wheels of West Indies’ middle order and chip in with lower-order runs if England get in trouble.

Team news

West Indies expect to welcome their captain after he missed the Ireland game with a stiff buttock, meaning one of hit-or-miss slugger Andre Fletcher or Narsingh Deonarine will drop out from the team that beat Ireland. Sulieman Benn remains doubtful with his shoulder injury as does Jerome Taylor.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach.England are on baby-watch with Kevin Pietersen looking forward to his first-born, but he’ll be available for this opening match and with Lumb expected to keep Ravi Bopara out of the side the top-order is settled. Their fast-bowling options are more muddled with Ryan Sidebottom’s excellent form prompting calls for his elevation into the side, but it would be hard for him to dislodge one of James Anderson or Stuart Broad.England (probable) 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Craig Kieswetter, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood (capt), 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Michael Yardy, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.

Pitch and conditions

The cheap boundaries that tend to epitomise Twenty20 cricket should be harder to come by on the Providence wicket. In sweltering conditions the ball should grip on a sluggish surface for the spinners and make any maximums altogether more memorable than normal. It’s unlikely the pacemen will have much to draw from the wicket and it will be sweaty work for all the fielders in the heat.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have an excellent T20 record against England winning three of four encounters, most recently in the last World Twenty20 when they knocked England out of the tournament
• England will try out their 16th opening combination but if Lumb does indeed join Kieswetter there will be the added twist that both openers are on debut.
  

  Quotes

  “I’m sure they come out here with blood in their eyes and want to beat us.”
  
  “Ottis is a very close friend to all of us, but we have a job to do, to go out and win this match.”

Ajmal Shahzad could be in line to make his Test debut against Bangladesh at Old Trafford on Friday, following the foot injury to Tim Bresnan that ruled him out of the reckoning

Cricinfo staff02-Jun-2010Ajmal Shahzad could be in line to make his Test debut against Bangladesh at Old Trafford on Friday, following the foot injury to Tim Bresnan that ruled him out of the reckoning and created a fast-bowling vacancy in the side that won the first Test at Lord’s by eight wickets on Monday.Shahzad faces competition from Ryan Sidebottom, who was called into the squad following the announcement of Bresnan’s stress fracture on Tuesday, but having toured Bangladesh without being given an opportunity to play in either of the Tests at Dhaka or Chittagong, Shahzad is hopeful that this time he’ll get his chance to impress.”I’m ready to go, if the nod is given to me. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Shahzad told reporters at Old Trafford. “I hadn’t been involved with the England circuit at all, apart from with the performance programme in South Africa, so it was a big hit for me [to be picked to go to Bangladesh last winter] – and I really enjoyed it out there.”It was difficult conditions and made me wake up and think ‘not all wickets are going to be bouncy, quick – and it’s not always going to swing and seam’. You have to put some hard graft in and work at other areas of your game. I’ve learned a lot from being there and in the West Indies. I’ve got stronger shoulders from carrying drinks – but I’ve learned a lot ‘up here’.”If he does get to play, Shahzad is aware that all the focus will be on his colleague, Steven Finn, who ripped through Bangladesh with nine wickets at Lord’s, and seems sure to be promoted to take the new ball alongside James Anderson.”Finny’s come on the scene and performed superbly well,” said Shahzad. “Obviously, with his extra height, he’s got something to offer that Andy [Flower] likes. I’ve seen the boys progress, and what it takes at international level. So I know what I need to do. I think the only way I can really do that is out there on the pitch.”With the notable exception of Finn, Flower was critical of the performance of England’s bowlers at Lord’s, but seeing as many of the squad went into the match straight off the back of their successful World Twenty20 campaign in the Caribbean, a bit of five-day rustiness was inevitable.”We have just come off the back of a one-day competition so it will always be difficult to adjust,” said Shahzad. “There has not been a lot of red ball practice, but we saw Jimmy [Anderson] coming into a rhythm at the end of the first innings at Lord’s and Finny [Steven Finn] burst on to the scene and did very well. Bresnan had a bit of trouble but when he comes back from his injury he will be better for the experience.”One of Shahzad’s early challenges could well be to keep Tamim Iqbal under control, after he lit up Lord’s with a thrilling 94-ball hundred during Bangladesh’s second innings. Shahzad has previous in that regard, having bagged Tamim for a first-over duck during his ODI debut at Chittagong in March, but is under no illusions about the task that could await him.”I like the way he plays, and I would prefer someone to play like that rather than block against me,” he said. “It was nice to sit at home and watch him play. If I get the nod hopefully I can get him out early doors.”Tamim, for his part, credited his coach, Jamie Siddons, for giving him the licence and the confidence to bat in his own unfettered style. “When I started playing Test cricket I was in two minds whether to go slow or go fast – and originally I decided to go slow,” he said.”It was not working for me. My first 10 Tests were not good – I think I only got two fifties. The coaches said to play like I do in the ODIs and enjoy my batting – ‘We will not say anything to you’. I know the way I bat sometimes looks fantastic, and sometimes looks ugly, but I am happy with the way I play my natural game.”