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Australia captain also excited at the prospect of playing both Tayla Vlaeminck and Darcie Brown in the same XI

Andrew McGlashan05-Jul-2021Australia captain Meg Lanning has endorsed the view that if Test cricket is to grow as a viable format in the women’s game, then multi-day matches need to be played at domestic level as her team prepares for a home season that will include games against India and England.Lanning also sees merit in extending Tests to five days, something England captain Heather Knight spoke about after the recent match against India which ended in a draw, but has committed to her Australian team playing aggressively this season to try and ensure results.”It makes sense if we are going to be playing more Tests internationally to have some sort of domestic structure in place,” Lanning said on the day that international tickets went on public sale. “I’m not sure exactly how you’d do that but it’s hard to get better at something if you aren’t practicing at the level below. To give us the best chance and play the way we want to, we need to be practicing.Related

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• India Women to play their first D/N Test during Australia tour

“We’ll be looking to get some results from the Tests we play, but an important part of it is learning how to win the Tests. That only comes with experience and time playing the format. The more we play, the better the spectacle will be. As players, we want to play as aggressively as we can, so this summer will give us a good chance to do that and hopefully, that means there’ll be more to come.”In terms of preparing to face India in a day-night fixture at the WACA in late September, Lanning indicated Australia would have multi-day practice matches ahead of the series. Matthew Mott, the head coach, cautioned last week that India could arrive as the better-prepared team, having faced England in a one-off Test while a number of their players would also have been a part of the Hundred.”I think it’s an important point given we don’t play a lot of Test matches and we are coming from our off-season,” Lanning said. “I’m sure there’ll be some practice games in there, whether it be inter-squad or if we bring some players to play against. It’s an important part of the preparation to get the tempo right in terms of the longer format. You need to play around a bit and work out what will suit you best. Everyone is thinking about that as we start our pre-season. We’ll do the best we can.”The most logical route for an expansion of Test cricket would appear to be around the multi-format series which began with the Ashes, and Lanning hoped that India’s Test in Australia would open the door for return fixtures.”Personally, I’d love to play a Test in India. I think that would be a really good challenge and something I’d love to happen in the not-too-distant future,” she said. “Hopefully, this just isn’t a one-off and is something that will continue into the future.”One enticing prospect in the Test matches, especially at the WACA, is the potential to have pace bowlers Tayla Vlaeminck and Darcie Brown team up. Vlaeminck returned to the side after injury on the tour of New Zealand earlier this year while Brown, who is capable of sharp late swing, made her debut on the same trip and pushed the speed gun.”The fast-bowling unit of our squad has been building over the last months,” Lanning said. “They are two really quick young bowlers who are super exciting. The prospect of both of those being unleashed on the WACA is quite a nice one. Hopefully, they are both fit and available to be picked. Having had a few chats with Motty about what our side might look like, it’s going to be very difficult to get it down to 11 players; we’ve got some great variations.”Looking more broadly at a packed season, which concludes next March and April with the ODI World Cup in New Zealand, Lanning is aware that some players may need to be managed to ensure they are peaking when most needed.”That will be a crucial part of our summer to make sure we are managing our workloads – physically and mentally – the best we can,” she said. “It is a new test – we haven’t played this much ever, to be honest. Everyone wants to play as many games as they can and we’ll try to do that, but there likely will be times when we’ll have to manage players, particularly the fast bowlers with the extra load. Our fitness and ability to cover the ground is something we pride ourselves on and hopefully, we can get ourselves into really good shape which will hold us in good stead.”

Dr Saleem had tendered his resignation last month, only for it to be accepted now

Umar Farooq11-Apr-2021The PCB has decided to release the head of its Medical Department Dr Sohail Saleem, officially accepting his resignation, which had been tendered on March 5 in the wake of the PSL’s postponement last month. The PCB believes there is a need to revamp its Medical and Sports Sciences department, elevating it in line with the international standards.The PSL was curtailed last month after an outbreak of Covid-19 among a number of players made its continuation untenable. That came after a number of incidents raised questions about the security and implementation of the protocols put in place in the bio-secure environment during the tournament. It is unclear if Saleem was underlined and held accountable by the fact-finding panel – formed to review the fiasco. Nevertheless, his exit was always on the cards.Related

• PSL postponement: Operational fiasco casts doubt on organisers' positions

• Independent team of doctors to investigate PSL safety measures

• Non-playing PSL franchise member left bubble despite testing Covid-19 positive

• PCB to outsource management of bio-security protocols with PSL to resume on June 1

The PCB said that Sohail wasn’t removed but had made the decision to leave himself, a decision the board respects. But his performance has been under scrutiny for some time – and for reasons other than the bio-secure issues. Over the years during his time as the medical head, several players have struggled to return after rehabilitation from injuries. There had been a lack of trust from a number of players in his department, some of whom have opted to seek treatment from external doctors, with a number of players travelling to the UK for independent assessment and rehabilitation.In their virtual meeting yesterday, the PCB Board of Governors reflected on the findings of the two-member panel. They expressed their disappointment at the failures that were pointed out in the report, urging “remedial actions”. The PCB opted to outsource bio-security to a foreign management company to resume the remainder of the PSL from June 1. In all, 20 matches remain, with all of them to be played in Karachi following a seven-day quarantine period that starts on May 22.The PCB, have consulted pioneering cricket playing countries to help refurbish the medical department, the England Cricket Board understood to be amongst them. This will be the second time the PCB has reworked the department following an earlier tweak, when it was merged with the National High-Performance centre. On that occasion, Dr Saleem had been promoted to a director role.

Delhi are in the playoffs after a six-year gap, but they are on a roll, while Sunrisers go into the match having won just one of their last five games

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy07-May-20196:53

Vettori: Nabi a good foil for Williamson

Big picture

Remember Sunny Gupta? You know, from the second Qualifier of the 2012 season? When Delhi (then Daredevils, now Capitals) left out Morne Morkel, the Purple Cap holder at the time, and played the little-known aforementioned offspinner, who had never featured in the IPL before?Still don’t remember? Here, have a look at the scorecard.We’re in May 2019 now, seven years on from that landmark day, and Delhi, a rebranded Delhi, are finally back in the IPL playoffs. The name change seems to have done them no harm as far as getting to the playoffs is concerned, but will it change their luck at the pointy end of the tournament? Their record so far in semifinal and playoff matches reads: P4, L4.Thanks to the fine margins of an exceptionally competitive season, Capitals find themselves in the Eliminator even though they ended the league stage with the same points as the two teams in Qualifier 1. There they face a team that ended up on the right side of another net run-rate logjam, Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Form guide (most recent first)

Delhi Capitals: beat Rajasthan Royals by five wickets, lost to Chennai Super Kings by 80 runs, beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 16 runs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets, lost to Mumbai Indians on the one-over eliminator, beat kings XI Punjab by 45 runs

The venue is Visakhapatnam, ostensibly a neutral one, but one that has previously served as a secondary home ground for Sunrisers, who have won three and lost two of their matches here. It’s often a low-scoring ground – the average first-innings total here is 146, in T20I and IPL games since 2013 – and both seamers (economy rate of 7.0, strike rate of 21.2) and spinners (7.2, 19.8) have good numbers here in the same period.Three of the last five IPL games in Vizag have produced first-innings totals of less than 140 – though there was also one of 206, by Mumbai Indians in 2016 – and in February this year, India very nearly defended 126 against Australia thanks to some Jasprit Bumrah magic.If the pitch plays true to type, it should favour Sunrisers rather than Capitals, who through this season have preferred tracks that allow their batsmen to go out and hit without second-guessing themselves. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi – who’s already had one terrific game against Capitals’ many left-hand batsmen – on a slow turner isn’t their ideal kind of match-up.Then again, Capitals have a fairly robust attack themselves – no Kagiso Rabada anymore, though – and Sunrisers come into this game having won only one of their last five matches. They are without David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, their two biggest run-getters this season, and bar Manish Pandey, most of their other batsmen aren’t in any kind of form.Capitals, on the other hand, have won seven of their last nine games, losing only to the two teams that finished above them on the table. They have form and momentum on their side, but can they overcome tricky conditions – if such is the case – and overturn their own playoffs history?

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Colin Ingram, 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Keemo Paul/Chris Morris, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Ishant SharmaSunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Kane Williamson (capt), 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Sandeep Sharma/Siddarth Kaul/Basil ThampiKhaleel Ahmed congratulates Rashid Khan•BCCI

Previous meeting

It was back on April 14, in Hyderabad, and forties from Colin Munro and Shreyas Iyer took Capitals to 155 for 7. But David Warner and Jonny Bairstow put together another big stand at the top for Sunrisers, this one of 72 runs. Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris and Keemo Paul, however, shared the ten wickets around to five Capitals a 39-run win.

Strategy punt

• Sunrisers have a fairly settled bowling combination, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Rashid and Nabi more or less certain to play. The third seamer’s slot, however, remains up for grabs, with Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi and Siddarth Kaul the likely contenders. Whom should they pick?
  The choice could come down to who’s done best in the death (16-20) overs. Thampi is the incumbent, having featured in Sunrisers’ last two league games, but those are the only two games he’s played all season. He didn’t bowl in the death against Royal Challengers Bangalore, and his one over in that phase against Mumbai Indians went for 17.
  Both Sandeep (9.2) and Kaul (10.5) have been expensive in the Powerplay overs this season, while Kaul (7.5) has been marginally better than Sandeep (8.1) in the middle overs. At the death, though, there’s been one clear winner between the two, with Sandeep (7.4) returning the best economy rate of all the Sunrisers bowlers (Khaleel and Rashid have also conceded less than eight an over), and Kaul leaking 11.4 runs per over.
• Axar Patel has been terrific against right-hand batsmen this season (economy rate of 5.84) but nowhere near as good against left-handers, who’ve hit him for 118 runs in 69 balls (10.26 per over) while only being dismissed once. Sunrisers have an almost exclusively right-handed line-up, so they could look to play Abhishek Sharma ahead of Yusuf Pathan in order to unsettle Axar. And it isn’t just Axar; Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma and Keemo Paul have all done significantly better against right-hand batsmen than against left-handers this season.

Stats that matter

• Overall, Sunrisers have a 9-5 head-to-head record against Capitals.
• Rishabh Pant has a monster record against Bhuvneshwar and Rashid, scoring a combined 111 runs against them off only 57 balls, while being dismissed once. He’s been less successful against Sandeep Sharma, though, only scoring 22 off 22 balls against him without being dismissed.
• Sunrisers (7.3) and Delhi Capitals (7.8) ended the league stage with the best Powerplay economy rates of all the teams this season. Sunrisers and Capitals were second- and third-best respectively in both the middle and death overs, with only Super Kings ahead of them in those phases.

Warwickshire put the squeeze on Leicestershire on a rain-hit second day at Grace Road

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2018
ScorecardDivision Two leaders Warwickshire are in a totally dominant position, leading by 284 runs with one first innings wicket remaining, after a rain-affected second day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground, Grace Road.As Chris Woakes, their England allrounder, put it: “We got everything we came for today.” Woakes got an unbeaten 64.The morning session was lost to rain, but play was able to start at 2pm, with 59.5 overs scheduled.Jonathan Trott, having resumed on 34 not out, hit just two scoring shots – both boundaries – in the first 40 minutes before falling to a delivery from 20-year-old seamer Ben Mike that bounced and seamed back to take the top edge on its way through to wicketkeeper Ned Eckersley.With the ball swinging in surprisingly humid conditions, Sam Hain and Tim Ambrose compiled a partnership of 55 for the fifth wicket before Ambrose, pressing forward, edged off-spinner Colin Ackermann to Eckersley.With batting bonus points in mind, Hain and Woakes began to accelerate the scoring rate after the tea interval before Hain, on 72, was leg before to Mike.Woakes went to a half-century of his own, off 69 balls, but lost partners quickly as Warwickshire accelerated, Keith Barker holing out to Acekermann before Mohammad Abbas gained some reward for unstinting effort with a double wicket maiden in which he dismissed both Chris Wright and Olly Stone without scoring.When bad light ended play, Warwickshire needed 16 runs off two overs to secure their fifth batting bonus point.Leicestershire batsman Colin Ackermann said: “A tough day for us, but the guys showed a lot of fight to restrict the scoring rate and keep them below 400. Ben Mike is bowling really well, he swings it nice and late and is a good prospect for the future.”

Keaton Jennings and Liam Dawson have been added to the England squad as replacements for the injured Haseeb Hameed and Zafar Ansari

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2016Keaton Jennings and Liam Dawson are to join the England squad as replacements for the remaining two matches of the Test series in India. Jennings, the uncapped Durham opener who is set to make his England Lions debut against United Arab Emirates in Dubai on Thursday, replaces Haseeb Hameed, whose tour ended with a broken finger in Mohali.Dawson, the Hampshire allrounder who was also selected for the Lions programme this winter before being released to play for Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League, was called up to replace Zafar Ansari, who is still struggling with the back injury he sustained in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. Ansari will stay with the squad and continue to receive medical support in India before returning to England on December 8.Jennings, 24, made his Durham debut in 2012 and was the leading run-scorer in the 2016 Specsavers County Championship season with 1548 runs at an average of 64, which led to him sweeping a host of awards and earning a spot in the England Lions squad. He has been on the Lions programme for the last month, initially at the National Performance Centre in Loughborough and for the last two weeks in Dubai, based at the ICC Academy. He is due to join the England squad in Mumbai on December 5 when they begin preparations for the fourth Test which starts at Wankhede Stadium three days later.The son of former South Africa coach Ray, Jennings was preferred ahead of Nick Gubbins, the left-handed batsman from Middlesex, and Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond. Jennings’ call-up does not mean he is certain of a debut in Mumbai as England also have Ben Duckett, who opened in Bangladesh, in the squad, albeit his form is a concern.”Andy Flower told me on Tuesday night,” Jennings said. “It was a lot to take in, and very exciting. And then telling my family and the guys at Durham has been pretty emotional. My mum was in tears and my dad was speechless, and they’re two things that don’t happen very often. All the Durham boys have been great – Mark Wood was bouncing off the walls, although that’s not unusual for him.”The thought of going back to India is exciting too. I’ve been lucky enough to go there once before as a youngster, when my dad was on the coaching staff of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. That was a great experience, but this is going to be very different. To be going there as a member of the England squad, I’m going to have to introduce myself to a lot of new guys I guess, because a lot of them I only know as opposition. I reckon [Durham team-mate Ben] Stokes will be a good guy to break the ice!”Dawson, 26, made ODI and T20I debuts this year after impressing on last winter’s Lions programme in the UAE. He is also expected to arrive in Mumbai early next week.It is the second year in succession that Ansari’s involvement in a tour has been in some way curtailed. He was picked for the tour of the UAE 12 months ago only to suffer a broken thumb hours after the squad announcement.Dawson was preferred to Jack Leach despite claiming only 20 Championship wickets in 2016 at a cost of 43.85 apiece. Leach claimed 65 Championship wickets at an average of 21.87 – no England-qualified player claimed more in Division One – but his Somerset captain in 2016, Chris Rogers, suggested he had “emotionally… a bit of a way to go” before he was ready for international cricket. Dawson is the better batsman and fielder, though, and is seen as a reliable, defensive spinner. His attitude impressed the England management when he played limited-overs cricket earlier in the year.The England squad has now disbanded for five days of holiday, before reconvening to prepare for the Mumbai Test which starts from December 8. Most of the players have travelled to Dubai for a short break, although Stuart Broad’s time there will be spent training with the Lions as he aims to overcome the foot injury which kept him out of the Mohali Test.

Tim Bresnan, whose valiant batting narrowly failed to bring Yorkshire a third Championship title, has undergone a third elbow operation to try to restore some of the nip that made him an England allrounder

David Hopps22-Oct-2016Tim Bresnan, whose valiant batting narrowly failed to bring Yorkshire a hat-trick of County Championship titles, has undergone a third elbow operation to try to restore some of the nip that made him an England allrounder.After several seasons of managing the elbow injury that has afflicted him since 2011, Bresnan had a further operation on Monday to clean out the joint, bringing him hope that he can “get some of the old firepower back.”Bresnan set greater store by his batting in 2016 as his bowling standards slipped a little, his efforts culminating in his unbeaten 142 against the eventual champions Middlesex at Lord’s which kept Yorkshire’s challenge alive until deep into the final day.Bresnan averaged more than 48 in the Championship, more than any other regular Yorkshire batsman – outdone only by irregular contributors Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and the short-term overseas signing Jake Lehmann.”The surgery went really well and the post-op signs have been very positive,” Bresnan told Yorkshire’s website. “The surgeon has said that it wasn’t as bad as they thought it might be. They just removed a few spurs and bumps.”It should give me a better range and reduce the pain that I have had, which hopefully will help me to get some of my old firepower back. It’s feeling pretty good already and it’s just a case of easing back into my gym work over the coming weeks. I wouldn’t normally be bowling at this stage of the year so it’s worked alright.”Yorkshire’s physio Kunwar Bansil said: “Tim has had problems with his right elbow dating back to 2011. We have managed these problems over the past few seasons but there is now a window of opportunity following the end of the 2016 season to improve the symptoms. He has had key-hole surgery to clean out the joint and smooth off any rough edges.”It should result in an increased elbow extension range making him feel more comfortable when bowling. We are now five days post-op and the initial signs are really good. We envisage that he will be fully fit in a couple of months but there are no real time constraints due to the time of the year.”Bresnan first had an elbow operation late in 2011 to remove a bone fragment. He regained his England place, but his bowling returns supported the notion that his effectiveness with the ball had been somewhat diminished.Another operation followed before the 2013 season to remove extra bone and scar tissue, causing him to miss England’s tour of New Zealand, and though he returned to play in the back-to-back Ashes his Test career ended in Australia later that year.Flashback to Tim Bresnan’s Lord’s heroics•Getty Images

Sri Lanka fast bowler Shaminda Eranga has been reported for a suspect action following the second Test against England in Chester-le-Street

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2016Sri Lanka fast bowler Shaminda Eranga has been reported for a suspect action following the second Test against England in Chester-le-Street.Eranga must have his action tested at an ICC accredited centre within 14 days – Loughborough University in England is his closest option – but can continue bowling until the result of that test is known.The Chester-le-Street Test was umpired by Aleem Dar and S Ravi, with Andy Pycroft as match referee. This is the first time Eranga’s action has been called into question – in his 18th Test. If it is found to be illegal, he will be barred from bowling in international cricket until he remodels his action and has it cleared at an ICC accredited centre.Losing Eranga could be a big blow to an already depleted Sri Lankan attack on a what is shaping up to be a disastrous tour of England. They had already lost first-choice quicks Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha Chameera to injury, and are 2-0 down in the three-Test series, suffering heavy defeats. Eranga, however, has not been effective in the series so far, picking up just one wicket in 47 overs across three innings.

England coach Trevor Bayliss has backed Ben Stokes to bounce back from the pain of being taken for four sixes by Carlos Brathwaite in the final over the World T20 final

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-20161:40

Butcher: Stokes would put his hand up again

England coach Trevor Bayliss has backed Ben Stokes to bounce back from the pain of being taken for four sixes by Carlos Brathwaite in the final over the World T20 final, and said he is the “heart and soul” of the England team.Stokes, who had become a key figure in the death overs for England during the World T20 as he delivered telling spells against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, had 19 runs to defend when he faced up to Brathwaite. However, four balls later the title was West Indies’ after each of the deliveries was dispatched into the Kolkata stands.Stokes was left distraught and, before hauling himself to the crease for what became the final delivery, he sank to his knees when Brathwaite had levelled the scores. A few hours later he tweeted his thanks for the support he had received and the morning after Brathwaite himself offered some consoling words. As England flew out of India, Paul Collingwood posted a photo of him alongside a relaxed Stokes on the plane.Over the last 12 months, the form of Stokes has become central to England’s success with key match-winning performances against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa before the World T20. Bayliss is in no doubt that he would front up to a similar final-over situation again.”He is one of those blokes – if we had a game tomorrow, he’d put his hand up to bowl the last over again,” he said. “No one is blaming Stokesy for anything. To be honest, he is the heart and soul of this team.”If everyone put in half as much as Stokesy does, we’d go a long way. You can’t fault Ben’s leadership in the team or the effort he puts in. It doesn’t matter whether he is batting, bowling or fielding, he gives you 100% until there’s nothing in the tank. The more of those type of cricketers we can produce, the better for England cricket.”

The closing stages of the tournament brought Stokes face-to-face with Marlon Samuels to reignite a tempestuous relationship which began a year ago on England’s tour of the West Indies, where Samuels saluted Stokes off the field after a dismissal in the Grenada Test.Samuels was fined 30% of his match fee for using foul language towards Stokes during the final over and in the press conference further fanned the flames by saying that Stokes “doesn’t learn” about how engaging with him provides motivation.”They keep telling him when he plays against me, do not speak to me because I’m going to perform,” Samuels said. “I didn’t even face a ball and he had so much to say to me that I know I had to be right there at the end, again.”However, Bayliss will not be attempting to change Stokes’ on-field persona and believes it goes hand-in-hand with what makes him such a valuable player.”Ben’s one of those players that feeds off that. Some players sometimes say things and they can’t really back it up. But Stokesy is one of those players… that’s what turns him on, that’s what gets his juices flowing and makes him as good as he is.”He’s not the only one around the world. There are a number of other players who do the same thing – almost create their own controversy, or whatever you want to call it, to psyche themselves up and get their head in the game. It brings the best out of him.”On the tournament overall, and while wanting to give the chance for the dust to settle, Bayliss believed that England will find regular success if they continue playing in the style they have done since the start of the last English season.”Obviously the final was disappointing but I’m extremely proud of the way they played through this last few weeks,” he said. “As long as we keep playing good cricket and someone has to do something remarkable to beat us, we’ll win a lot of games.”England’s next assignment is back in the Test format when a three-Test series against Sri Lanka starts on May 19. Most of the players will return to action with their counties over the next couple of weeks.

Paul Close and Chris Donaldson have been appointed physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach for New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jul-2011Paul Close and Chris Donaldson have been appointed physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach for New Zealand.Close previously worked for the BCCI at India’s National Cricket Academy and had a stint with the Indian team. Prior to that he was physiotherapist for Bangladesh.Donaldson, a former New Zealand sprinter, was with Otago Cricket where he headed the strength and conditioning programme. He has also worked as a strength and conditioning consultant for the New Zealand Winter Olympic team, the New Zealand netball team (Silver Ferns), Otago Rowing and also travelled to Australia with the New Zealand Emerging Players cricket side.Donaldon takes over from Bryan Stronach who takes on a new role as coordinator of the national strength and conditioning programme while Close replaces Dayle Shackel who reverts back to his role of injury management and physiotherapy coordinator.”We are fortunate to have the expertise of Paul Close who returns to New Zealand after gaining valuable experience from his time with the Indian and Bangladesh national teams,” John Wright, the New Zealand coach, said.”Chris’ high performance background is well known to New Zealanders and he is a world class operator. His work with Bryan Stronach is important as we look to take our fitness to higher levels.”

Brett Lee has said that Australia’s pace attack will not be neutralised during the World Cup by the traditionally slow wickets of the subcontinent

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2011Brett Lee has said that Australia’s pace attack will not be neutralised during the World Cup by the traditionally slow wickets of the subcontinent. Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson are three bowlers in the Australia squad capable of hitting the 145-kmh mark on a regular basis.”I don’t see any problem with the pace that we have and playing on slow wickets,” Lee said. “At the end of the day, the ball is still coming at 150kmh through the air. The pitch is a massive part of the equation. But if you have a bowler like Shaun Tait bowling around 160kmh at the batsman’s toes, it doesn’t matter where you are playing. It is still going to hit the batsmen on the full.”Australia have been talking up the role their fast bowlers will play during the World Cup – Mitchell Johnson had earlier said no-one would be keen on facing Australia’s pace – and Lee echoed that view, saying it was with good reason because Australia’s quicks have previously done well in the subcontinent. In the seven-match series that Australia played in India towards the end of 2009, Shane Watson, Johnson and Doug Bollinger, who are part of Australia’s fifteen for the World Cup, were the top three wicket-takers, and Australia won the series 4-2.Prior to that, in Australia’s victorious campaign in the 2006 Champions Trophy in India, it was Lee along with Watson, Nathan Bracken and Glen McGrath who were the key wicket-takers. “For pace bowling you’ve got to get the ball in the right spot,” Lee said. “The way we bowled in the Champions Trophy, with lots of pace bowlers, we won that event. Playing on slow wickets like in Delhi tends to suit our pace attack.”Australia have picked just one frontline spinner for the World Cup: offspinner Jason Krejza, a bowler who has played just one ODI. Both Nathan Hauritz and Xavier Doherty missed out due to injuries, leaving Australia heavily dependent on their fast bowlers.Lee returned to the Australia team for the recent series against England, which Australia won 6-1, after a 15-month layoff caused by an elbow injury, but he was upbeat ahead of what will be his second World Cup. “It has been a long road back. It’s been 15 months away from the game. A lot of players expected me to get back and play cricket and I am proud that I could survive the adversity to a certain extent.”