In the last two years, Graeme Smith suffered six injuries of the arm, resulting in him missing either whole or part of six limited-overs competitions

Firdose Moonda02-May-2010The ICC World Twenty20, besides representing an opportunity for Graeme Smith to captain South Africa to their first major trophy in 12 years, is also a chance for Smith to complete his first limited-overs series in 2010. He has started three such series, including the World Twenty20, and pulled out of two with a problem that he can’t seem to shake: lower arm and hand injuries.In the last two years, Smith suffered six injuries of the arm, resulting in him missing either whole or part of six limited-overs competitions. His latest niggle was a double fracture to his right middle finger, sustained while taking a catch in the IPL. He had played just two matches when he was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament. Prior to that, he fractured his little finger in practice in India, forcing him out of the three-match one-day international series in February this year.Smith was sidelined from both home and away ODI series against Australia in 2008-09 after Mitchell Johnson broke his hand twice. That came after he suffered from a tennis elbow condition, which he developed in April 2008. The injury recurred over the course of a year and kept him out of three ODIs against England in July 2008. With a record like that, one can’t help but wonder: does Smith really detest playing limited-overs cricket so much, is he just horribly unlucky, or is there something wrong with his lower arms and hands?One of the theories doing the rounds is that Smith’s dalliance with cortisone may have made his bones brittle. Smith initially used cortisone injections as treatment for his tennis elbow, before finally agreeing to have surgery. Dr Jon Patricios, a sports scientist in Johannesburg, said excessive amounts of cortisone could have an adverse effect on bone strength, but only if it was administered in a certain way. “Usually if it is injected into the joints directly, and in copious amounts, it can weaken the bones. However, with Smith, the cortisone was injected into the tendon.”Although medical evidence suggests tendons could be weakened for up to three months as a result of direct cortisone treatment, and Patricios said he knew “a lot of people who felt Smith should not have had so many cortisone injections,” he felt only negligible amounts of cortisone were absorbed into Smith’s system. That, together with the speed at which Smith’s latest injury healed (three weeks as opposed to the expected four to six weeks), led Patricios to believe that the captain’s bones were strong and that it was “unlikely” that cortisone could have had any effect on him. In fact, the doctor said Smith was fortunate not to have had the injuries closer to joints because that would have been far more serious.”Lucky, but unlucky,” said Patricios, who thinks Smith just had wretched fortune when it came to his fingers and hands. He said Smith could consider using reinforcing materials in his gloves to lessen the blow, should he get hit again. South Africa’s batting consultant, Kepler Wessels, said Smith would probably use more padded gloves but getting nailed was “part of the job.”Wessels said that on the occasions Smith was hit, it was by a “freak delivery”. “No bowler can really plan on bowling a ball that takes off like that, so when it happens it’s generally an accident. I can’t see any coach telling their bowlers to plot how to break one of Smith’s fingers or hands, since that isn’t a line of attack. Opening batsmen accept that this is part of the game and that they are more vulnerable to it but it can’t be seen as a weakness.” Although a Ray Jennings-Andre Nel style bounty hunting (remember the deal over hitting Allan Donald on the head) is not likely to happen at international level, bowlers won’t be blamed for smelling blood when they see Smith’s hands gripped around his bat handle.Wessels believed Smith had healed sufficiently to not have to worry about being seen as a soft target, and since his last two injuries were not even batting related, he didn’t think the South African captain had reason to be concerned. He added if Smith felt any precaution was necessary, it would be better used in the field, where, “He may choose to stand in a place where the ball won’t get hit a lot, but that’s not an exact science, so the chance of him picking up another fielding injury can never be nullified completely. But he may do something like that if his finger is still feeling a little tender.”Smith may have fears of a seventh lower-arm injury buried somewhere deep in his burly frame, but Wessels said he wasn’t over thinking the reasons for his recurring problem. “He is the kind of person who wants to score runs and lead the team to victory more than anything else, and if that means getting hurt, he’d be willing to get hurt. At the moment he has so much else on his mind that his injury risk probably doesn’t feature too high.” Things like the fact that South Africa’s silverware cabinet is eerily barren and it’s up to him, broken fingers or not, to try and change that.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have named three debutants in the squad to tour Bermuda in July

Cricinfo staff08-Jun-2010The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has named three debutants in the squad to tour Bermuda in July. Swapnil Patil, Saqib Shah and Tahir Butt join the team that will play a four-day Intercontinental Shield match, two 50-over games and a T20.Khurram Khan will lead the side that also includes Mohamed Tauqir, who has recovered from the broken finger he suffered against Uganda in January. The UAE is currently third in the Intercontinental Shield table, behind Uganda and Namibia, and needs to beat Bermuda to have a chance of qualifying for the final. Bermuda, having lost both its matches, is in last place.Squad: Khurram Khan (capt), Mohamed Tauqir, Abdul Rehman, Arshad Ali, Ahmed Raza, Saqib Ali, Shadeep Silva, Qassim Zubair, Amjad Javed, Saqib Shah, Swapnil Patil, Tahir Butt, Moiz Shahid, Naeemuddin Aslam.

Playing out the final day was more of a formality for South Africa as the second Test ended in a high-scoring draw, confirming what many would have feared five days ago on taking a look at a road of a pitch at Warner Park

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran22-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outGraeme Smith was positive during his innings of 46•Associated Press

Playing out the final day was more of a formality for South Africa as the second Test ended in a high-scoring draw, confirming what many would have feared five days ago on taking a look at a road of a pitch at Warner Park. The surface hadn’t deteriorated enough over four days to give the bowlers any sort of advantage, so it would have been ridiculous to expect at least ten wickets going down to constitute a result.South Africa had all ten wickets in hand this morning when they took guard, and predictably went through the motions, with the aim of getting extra batting practice ahead of the final Test. It was, in other words, more of a televised nets session, with both teams resigned to the conclusion that no result was possible. The pitch was a poor advertisement for Test cricket, and the last two days in particular were completely overshadowed by other world sporting events viewers would have turned to – one in London and the other in South Africa.Despite the result, or the lack of it, West Indies had more to gain. Their batting was a shambles in Trinidad and perhaps a flat wicket here in St Kitts was the best thing for them to get their confidence back. In overhauling South Africa’s 543, they gained a moral victory, though the manner in which they got there was a topic of debate. The sudden shift of tactics from urgency to obduracy was questionable, but at least they ensured they wouldn’t lose. In their defense though, run-scoring on the fourth day wasn’t the easiest, with the left-arm spinner persisting with an over the wicket line to the right-handers.South Africa lost just three wickets till the final hour after tea, when the captains expectedly decided to call it off. But the extended morning session – to make up for lost time due to rain yesterday – wasn’t boring or lacking in action. Shane Shillingford got the ball to turn and bounce, there was a dropped catch, couple of confident appeals and a referral which was turned down. The batsmen weren’t too cautious either and weren’t afraid to reach out to the ball, even if the strokes weren’t convincing.Graeme Smith looked solid during his 46. He was positive against the spinners as well, rocking back to cut if it was slightly short. In one over, he chipped down the track to Shillingford and lofted it crisply over long-on and then leant forward to crunch one past covers. But Shillingford hit back by getting one to turn from middle and induced a thick edge from Smith, trying to cut.Smith’s opening partner, Alviro Petersen, was watchful and looked in control. He had a slip, silly point and silly mid-off but successfully negotiated the spinners, even reverse sweeping them. Hashim Amla, however, didn’t look so assured. There was a puff of dust when Shillingford landed it on the rough outside off and Amla was circumspect against the turn and bounce.Amla ought to have been dismissed on 21 when Bravo fluffed a sitter at slip, off Sulieman Benn. He managed five convincing boundaries against the spinners on both sides of the wicket, but perished to the impressive Shillingford, tucking it to backward short leg. Dwayne Bravo then ended the session in style by flattening Petersen’s off stump with a yorker.No wickets fell in the post-lunch session as the Test meandered towards a predictable draw. Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers went through the motions and built a steady partnership which extended to 104.Kallis began the second session in style with a couple of straight-driven boundaries off Shillingford. The offspinner, who took two wickets in the opening session, changed his line of attack to round the wicket to the right-handers as a very defensive option. The South Africans gave no chances, save for a run-out attempt at de Villiers – Roach’s throw from square leg missed the stumps at the bowler’s end. Kallis was solid as ever against the seamers, driving Bravo off the front foot and also pulling him for a powerful six. He reached his fifty with a clip to the on side just before the tea break.South Africa declared an hour after the tea break and the relief was palpable at the early finish to the game. The best the players can hope for is a sporting track at the Kensington Oval for the deciding Test.

Peter Siddle’s recovery from a stress fracture of the back is progressing, with the fast bowler returning to bowling in the nets and targeting an international return

Cricinfo staff16-Jun-2010Peter Siddle’s recovery from a stress fracture of the back is progressing, with the fast bowler returning to bowling in the nets and targeting an international return before the Ashes in Australia at the end of the year.Siddle, who had stress fractures early in his career and has also been troubled by his shoulder, has spent much of the time since his latest injury in February working on his fitness, training with Justin Cordy, the fitness specialist at AFL club Carlton who has also worked with the Australian national cricket side.”Probably the body over the last few years wasn’t in the shape that I would have liked and which probably is required to play Test cricket,” said Siddle. “If you look at Mitchell Johnson and the shape he is in, he has performed well for three years straight. He has been the only one up until now injury free.”Credit to him and the way he got his body ready. That’s something that I have worked hard on over the last few months. Hopefully I have done enough right.”While focussing on his fitness, Siddle has also made some minor adjustments to his bowling action and plans to work on adding a few new deliveries to his repertoire, specifically for use in the shorter formats of the game, as he sweats his way back to bowling fitness.”There has been a little bit that I have had to change but the biggest thing was when I got tired bowling those 20 to 25 overs in a day, the action changed slightly,” he said. “It’s just a matter of maintaining the strength and condition more than anything in those latter periods of the day.”As a fast bowler, you are always trying to work on some new trick, or something that you can add to your game. For me, it’s a little bit of swing and a few different things for Twenty20 cricket. It will be something that I will work on once I get back into the bowling phase of things and start getting back out into the nets again and try and progress into something new so when I come back I have that added extra.”

England surged to a series-levelling six-wicket win, overcoming a tenacious Sri Lanka side after four days of hard fought cricket at Scarborough

Cricinfo staff30-Jul-2010
ScorecardEngland surged to a series-levelling six-wicket win, overcoming a tenacious Sri Lanka side after four days of hard fought cricket at Scarborough. Having folded in the first Test, this was a spirited comeback by an England side beset with off-field problems. That they completed victory was largely down to a 174-run fourth-wicket stand between Daniel Bell-Drummond and Ateeq Javid that hauled England out of trouble at 25 for 3 to make their 221 chase a formality.Rather than try to blaze their way out of trouble Bell-Drummond, still only 16, and Javid patiently dug in and ground the Sri Lankan bowlers down. In a partnership that lasted the best part of 61 overs runs were eked out at a snail’s pace.Javid struck 11 boundaries and batted for nearly four hours, and was the first of the pair to reach his half-century off 111 balls. Bell-Drummond was equally resolute at the other end, taking 137 deliveries to register his fifty as the pair batted throughout the afternoon session.Finally Sri Lanka struck, with offspinner Rumesh Buddika trapping Javid in front for 89 but by that stage England had victory in their sights. Jack Manuel ensured they got over the line with the minimum of fuss, swiping a couple of fours and a six to end unbeaten on 18 off 13 balls. Throughout Bell-Drummond stood firm, finishing undefeated on 88 after 197 deliveries to carry England home. It was an innings of immense maturity at the top of the order, made all the more special after a frustrating morning for England’s bowlers and fielders.With Sri Lanka starting the day at 171 for 7, England would have fancied their chances of wrapping things up quickly and getting the chase underway. Jacob Ball got them off to a good start, adding two wickets to his overnight haul to bring up his five-for but a 40-run final wicket stand halted England in their tracks. Sanitha de Mel smashed six boundaries and took the Sri Lankan lead to a competitive level, but England’s diligent batsmen ensured it wasn’t enough.

Nottinghamshire made a positive start to their match against Warwickshire as they looked to put t20 disappointment behind them

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge16-Aug-2010
ScorecardAli Brown helped push Nottinghamshire forward at a good pace on the opening day•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire were still smarting from the perceived injustice of their defeat against Somerset – stoutly supported by Duckworth and Lewis – that denied them a place in the Friends Provident t20 final at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. The bad news, for Somerset and Yorkshire, is that they intend to pursue their number one goal, namely winning the County Championship, with renewed vigour.Two points clear and with three home matches among the five they have left, they are well placed to fulfil that ambition and will back themselves to use home advantage to the full. Nottinghamshire prepared good cricket wickets for their first four Trent Bridge fixtures in April and May and won three of them. They will look for a pay-off from taking the same approach now.With that in mind they chose to bat first when Chris Read won the toss here, in spite of what looked like a good track to bowl on. It soon became clear that they would force the pace, risk losing wickets and take every scoring opportunity that came their way. In the circumstances, 328 all out from 87.5 overs looked like a decent return.There was always something in the pitch for the bowlers but, with proven batting at least down to No. 8, Nottinghamshire knew they could rattle along at four an over for much of the innings and while a Warwickshire attack lacking the injured Neil Carter performed for the most part acceptably Nottinghamshire numbered few clear failures.Ali Brown, the veteran destroyer who at 40 continues to defy the years, emerged in the event as the home side’s steadying influence, holding things together somewhat with 76 off 138 balls, although he did not waste many opportunities. Coming in at 146 for 4, he supervised the addition of a further 176 runs before he flicked a ball from Boyd Rankin to Varun Chopra on the leg side boundary, sharing a notable partnership of 83 with Chris Read for the sixth wicket and a valuable 30 with a determined Ryan Sidebottom for the ninth.Earlier, Mark Wagh had continued the theme of a series of enjoyable reunions with his former county by stroking 54 off 109 balls, with eight fours. The stylish right-hander, who will be missed when he retires from cricket to become a commercial lawyer next year, has had five first-class innings against Warwickshire since his move to Trent Bridge in 2007, scoring 378 runs, including two centuries.Nottinghamshire’s batting would be stronger still if they could find the right combination at the top, although perhaps, given the nature of the pitches, it is hardly surprising that none of the partnerships tried has lasted long.Alex Hales and Matt Wood are the fifth pairing used this season, Hales having previously opened with Bilal Shafayat, Samit Patel and Neil Edwards, who has also been teamed with Shafayat. No partnership has managed more than 43 and that record was not improved here as Hales, looking to force off the back foot, nicked a catch to Tim Ambrose for 9.Wood was also caught behind, following a ball from the impressive Chris Woakes to perish for 15, but by then Wagh was beginning to find some rhythm and he and Patel added 60 for the third wicket in 82 balls.Patel, right on message from the outset and looking to score at every opportunity, picked up his first 28 runs in boundaries. In the conditions, batting was not straightforward, however, and when Warwickshire introduced Darren Maddy’s skiddy medium pace as the fifth bowler used there was an immediate divided as Patel edged to second slip. David Hussey’s innings followed a similar pattern, the Australian briskly picking up half a dozen fours before chopping on to Woakes.Read, far and away Nottinghamshire’s most reliable batsman, maintained the momentum with 45 off 52 balls, including two sixes – one streaky, off a top-edged hook, the other less so – off Boyd Rankin, before Maddy bowled him with a ball that probably bounced less than he anticipated.Warwickshire will feel they should have done better. They put down four catches, Wood escaping on 6 when he edged Woakes to Rikki Clarke at second slip and Hussey on nought with Clarke again the perpetrator and Maddy the unlucky bowler.Read had a let-off on 11 when Maddy, who seemed to misread the ball’s trajectory, made a gallant but unsuccessful one-handed attempt at mid-on off Imran Tahir. Maddy also put down a much simpler chance at slip off Clarke when Andre Adams was on 1, although the Nottinghamshire No. 9 added only five more runs.Warwickshire negotiated six overs without loss at the close with one scare, Ian Westwood getting a leading edge to Sidebottom’s fifth ball and watching with relief as Paul Franks, diving forward at short mid-on, failed to scoop the ball off the deck.

Shahid Afridi believes his Pakistan team can emerge from their scandal-hit tour of England with respect

Andrew McGlashan in Leeds11-Sep-2010Shahid Afridi believes his Pakistan team can emerge from their scandal-hit tour of England with respect. He has backed the side to build on their improved display in the first one-day international at Chester-le-Street and give the hosts a serious challenge in the remaining four matches.Although Pakistan lost by 24 runs in Durham – a considerable margin in a game reduced to 41 overs – they didn’t roll over as had been the case during the two Twenty20 internationals in Cardiff when the batting, especially, was awful to add to the woes of the spot-fixing controversy.On Friday Kamran Akmal managed his first half-century of the tour, Umar Akmal hit 43 off 33 balls and Asad Shafiq, who had only arrived 48 hours previously from the A-team tour of Sri Lanka, took Tim Bresnan for four boundaries to threaten a tighter finish.These are all aspects Afridi is clinging to in the hope that Pakistan can return home with their heads held high despite all the allegations that have been thrown their way since the spot-fixing story broke two weeks ago during the Lord’s Test.”We all want to go home with respect,” he said. “We want to play some good cricket and get
some victories. I know it’s very important for the team. Yesterday the performance was much
better, not 100% but I was quite happy with the efforts from the boys and that’s what I’m expecting in the next game as well.”We all know we are playing in a very tough situation but we are trying to forget everything that is going on. The players should focus on the games and as captain I’m trying to keep the morale high. We all know how important this series is for our team and our country.”Even though the three players at the centre of the spot-fixing storm – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – are now back in Pakistan, that doesn’t mean the issue has moved away from the tour. Wahab Riaz, the left-arm quick who took five wickets on his Test debut at The Oval, will be questioned by police in London next week although Afridi insists he is coping with the pressure and available to play.”At the moment he is feeling fine,” he said. “Let’s see what happens when the police investigate him. I really don’t know what is going on. I just heard the police want him. But he’s feeling okay.”Afridi also asked for the supporters back home to remember that no-one has yet been found guilty of any offences. “The guys are still not guilty and we are waiting for the results. We are good cricketers and want to maintain our respect and that is gained by playing good cricket. The PCB and ICC will take some action if things happened.”

Shane Watson believes Stuart Broad is the biggest fast-bowling threat during the Ashes but expects James Anderson and Steven Finn to struggle in Australia

Peter English30-Oct-2010Shane Watson believes Stuart Broad is the biggest fast-bowling threat during the Ashes but expects James Anderson and Steven Finn to struggle in Australian conditions. While the three men starred during the 3-1 home win over Pakistan, Watson has told them it will be a different game Down Under.Watson, who has grown into one of Australia’s key men, said Broad had the skills to adapt to the harder, flatter surfaces during the five Tests, but he is not convinced by the credentials of the other two members of England’s first-choice attack. When asked by ESPNcricinfo if he thought Anderson and Finn would struggle he said: “I do. It’s obviously a very challenging place to come out and play and it’s very different to England with the way the ball swings all day.”That’s why Jimmy Anderson is so skilful when the ball is swinging. When the ball is not swinging it makes it easier to bat.” Watson is looking forward to the period when the Kookaburra loses its shine and there is less risk in driving through the off-side.When Anderson was in Australia four years ago he took five wickets at 82.6 while Finn, the 21-year-old, will be on Ashes debut. “There’s no doubt it’s a really big challenge for Anderson,” Watson said. “There’s no doubt he’ll have some mental scars from the last series he played out here. But he’ll be trying to find a way to be more successful.”Watson also offered a warning for Finn, who has stormed to 32 wickets in his first eight Tests. “It’s something very new to him,” he said. “The ball won’t be moving around here anywhere as near as much as it did in England, so it’s going to be a really big challenge.”The home side has won the Ashes in the past four series and Watson is convinced Australia will be more comfortable than they were in 2009. “It is different to England, no doubt about that,” he said. “It’s going to take the English quite a while to be able to adapt and find ways of being successful over here, that’s our big advantage.”Watson has excelled at Test level since returning to the side during last year’s Ashes defeat, so his opinions are gaining weight. He is unsure whether England’s seamers will focus on a fuller length in the hope of achieving any available swing, or operate more in line with the Australian method of bowling shorter and pushing the batsmen back.He felt Broad was the only England fast man who could fulfil both roles. “Stuart Broad is a very skilful bowler,” he said. “He will be their main man out here. He’s got the skills to adapt to different conditions, and got the height to make the most out of his bounce. I really think he’s going to be their main man. If we’re able to negate him that will be a big plus.”England arrived in Perth on Saturday afternoon ahead of three first-class tour matches. Their opening game is against Western Australia from Friday while they also face South Australia and Australia A before heading to the Gabba for November 25.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Johan Botha restricted Pakistan to 119 before Colin Ingram and JP Duminy revived the chase from a wobbly 26 for 3 with a 66-run partnership to push South Africa to victory

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera26-Oct-2010South Africa 120 for 4 (Ingram 46*, Duminy 41) beat Pakistan 119 (Tsotsobe 3-16, Botha 3-31) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPakistan struggled to force the pace against Lonwabo Tsotsobe•AFP

Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Johan Botha restricted Pakistan to 119 before Colin Ingram and JP Duminy revived the chase from a wobbly 26 for 3 with a 66-run partnership to push South Africa to victory in the first of the two Twenty20 games in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan fought hard with the bowling but the battle was lost by their batsmen.There was a predictable monotony about the Pakistan batting. The openers didn’t last long, Umar Akmal flattered to deceive, Shahid Afridi unfurled a couple of violent hits to threaten a revival, Misbah-ul-Haq batted slowly and the lower order collapsed.The chase shouldn’t have got so close but South Africa slipped up against Shoaib Akhtar early in the piece. Loots Bosman crashed one straight to cover point and AB de Villiers dragged a pull shot to his stumps as Shoaib picked up two wickets in his second over. And when Graeme Smith was bowled, attempting a cut against Mohammad Hafeez, South Africa were wobbling at 26 for 3 at 5.1 overs. Pakistan brought on Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul and the duo kept the runs down to maintain the pressure.However, the release of pressure came from unexpected quarters. It was set up perfectly for Afridi to come in and strangle the batsmen with his accuracy but he leaked 23 runs from his two overs: Duminy collected a boundary to fine-leg and Ingram swung one over long-on and heaved another to the square-leg boundary to propel South Africa ahead. Duminy and Ingram batted sensibly to add 66 runs in 10.4 overs to push South Africa close to the winning line. Though Duminy fell, to a good diving catch by Umar Akmal at long-on, David Miller hit a few boundaries to ensure the scoring rate didn’t slacken and Ingram remained unbeaten to take South Africa home.Barring a couple of poor overs from the Morkel brothers at the start – Albie struggled with wides and Morne struggled with no-balls – South Africa did nearly everything right. They kept it tight on good lines and lengths and waited for Pakistan to implode. Tsotsobe removed the openers to set the tone for the innings: Imran Farhat fell to an ugly slog, edging to slip, and Shahzaib Hasan fell to a good tumbling catch from JP Duminy running back from point after scooping an intended big hit.Botha came on after the Powerplay to strangle Pakistan with a triple-strike. Two of them came easily: Mohammad Hafeez carved one straight to sweeper cover and Abdul Razzaq, who struggled in his brief stay, played down the wrong line and lost his off stump. In between those dismissals, Afridi counterattacked in his inimitable style with a breezy 25 off just seven balls. He muscled Botha for three sixes over long-on but fell trying another big hit.Much depended on Akmal at this stage and he even looked in the mood to play a responsible knock. He didn’t try any flashy hits and rotated the strike with singles but he exited just when he appeared to have settled down. It was a slow bouncer from Albie and Akmal connected well with his swat-pull but sent it straight to Botha who swallowed it at midwicket. With Misbah struggling to find his timing, Pakistan were struggling to reach 100. Albie and Rusty Theron slipped in a few full tosses that Misbah utilised to push the score to 119, a score that however proved insufficient.

On a day when most of Australia’s Test batsmen failed around the country, Steven Smith’s 59 was a rare highlight

Brydon Coverdale at Bellerive Oval17-Nov-2010On a day when most of Australia’s Test batsmen failed around the country, Steven Smith’s 59 was a rare highlight. The first Ashes Test at the Gabba is eight days away but Smith does not expect his performance, which came in difficult seaming conditions against a quality England attack, to propel him into the top six.”The selectors have a fair indication of what they’re going to go with in Brisbane,” Smith said, on a day when Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Simon Katich all made low scores. “Some people fail on wickets if they’re green around the country. I guess you can’t really take too much out of what’s going to happen this week.”Even so, Smith’s innings will impress the selectors, as it began watchfully after England reduced Australia A to 5 for 66, and became gradually more attacking as Smith became used to the conditions. But there remains doubt over what role Smith is best suited to at the Test level; he played as the main spinner against Pakistan this year when Nathan Hauritz was injured, but is also an impressive striker of the ball.”Down the track I’d definitely like to be a middle-order batsman,” he said. “I work just as hard on my batting as I do on my bowling. Down the track I would like to be a genuine allrounder; whether the selectors see it that way at the moment or not, I’m not sure.”Smith was helped by England’s short-pitched attack, which suited his swatting style of pulls and hooks. Steve O’Keefe also handled the bowling well in making 66, but the rest of the batsmen struggled.England’s bowlers, led by Chris Tremlett with 4 for 54, mixed controlled aggression with good, fuller balls that facilitated swing and seam. It’s a plan that the Test team should expect from James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn, who are already in Brisbane adjusting to the conditions.”When you come out to Australia and you play on these wickets, you hope that your attributes will play a part,” Tremlett said. “At 6 feet 8 myself and the other guys are pretty tall as well, definitely that is the plan, to intimidate guys and get in their faces a little bit.”Everyone put their hand up. Everyone got a couple of wickets, apart from Monty. But even though he didn’t get a wicket, he put the pressure on and bowled really well. I think as a group, it was a very good bowling performance.”It was Tremlett’s first match for England in two years, and although he began nervously with a wayward first over, he quickly found his radar and picked up the first wicket in his next over. He said there had been a major change in the squad’s attitude since he last played, which could augur well as they aimed to retain the Ashes.”I haven’t been involved for a couple of years, and I have come in and noticed a difference in confidence within the side,” Tremlett said. “I guess that comes from winning a lot of series and a lot of games back to back. Hopefully we’ll take that on to Brisbane and go from there.”Tremlett also insisted he had not given up on hopes that he might be part of the team for the first Test at Brisbane. “It is maybe not set in stone, the first-Test squad. All you can do is when you get your opportunity, try your hardest – and you never know; you might have put your name in the hat. Getting some wickets builds your confidence – and if my opportunity does come along, my confidence will be high.”