While Fabio Capello's men were getting knocked out of the World Cup with a crushing 4-1 loss to Germany in the last 16 in Bloemfontein on Sunday, the England cricket team were in the process of winning the third one-day international (ODI) against Australia at Old Trafford, albeit by one wicket. But the result gave England an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. It also meant they had beaten Australia in their last three meetings in all of cricket's international formats, after their win in last month's World Twenty20 final in Barbados and the 2009 Ashes Test series triumph. England off-spinner Graeme Swann, man-of-the-match at Old Trafford with four wickets for 37 runs, has been central to all those successes. And while he was saddened by the football team's failure, Swann told reporters here on Monday: "It would be nice to think that we are the golden generation rather than the footballers but we all wanted England to do well in the World Cup and that was a big let-down." England have enjoyed a rapid resurgence under the leadership of captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower. In last year's corresponding one-day series they were beaten 6-1 by Australia but victories at The Oval and Lord's this week would extend their run of ODI wins to 10 in a row. England started to show signs of taking their one-day cricket seriously, following a team meeting called by Flower, with a run to the semi-finals of last year's Champions Trophy in South Africa that ended with a thumping defeat by eventual winners Australia. Nevertheless, a change in approach had happened and Swann explained former Zimbabwe batsman Flower had been instrumental in altering the team's mindset. "The great thing Andy Flower had done is to instil a confidence in everyone to back their natural ability on the big stage, like they do in the county games," said Swann. "That was exemplified in the (World) Twenty20. It was the way we went out, not with carefree abandon but certainly almost a joyous approach - compared with how England teams have approached Twenty20 the previous three years." He added: "The satisfying thing for us is that we sat down 18 months ago and said we want to be number one in all formats, and asked how are we going to do it? "We have plotted our way to this point, and everything has gone well.
"We have won the Ashes, won the World Twenty20 and won this series after just three games - which you might expect against some teams, but possibly not Australia. "That is testament to the way we are playing." England though have not won a Test series 'Down Under' since Mike Gatting's men swept all before them on their tour of Australia back in 1986/87. Strauss has been at pains to stress how the result of this series should not be used as a guide to the Ashes and Swann was in full agreement with his captain, saying: "The Ashes is a different game. When you look in our changing room there are only three, four or five players involved in the Test team. "For us to win this series is great but once November 25 comes round it will not matter if it is 5-0 in this series. When that first ball is bowled in Brisbane it is a whole new ball game." - Julian Guyer
The ICC annual conference week beginning on Sunday will culminate with Pawar taking over as the seventh ICC President, succeeding Englishman David Morgan, who concludes his two-year term at the end of the week, the governing body said in a statement. Dalmiya was the first Indian to be elected for the post, in 1997. The annual conference week begins on Sunday with the Chief Executives'' Committee (CEC) meeting and the ICC Executive Board will discuss the nomination of former Australian Prime Minister John Howard for the role of ICC Vice-President. The main agenda for the CEC meeting is the subject of the Future Tours Programme 2012-20, including possibility of having ICC Test and ODI leagues. "On the agenda of the CEC meeting is the subject of the Future Tours Programme 2012-20, in particular the introduction of greater context and content for international cricket which has been under consideration by a working group consisting David Collier (England and Wales), Nishantha Ranatunga (Sri Lanka), N Srinivasan (India), James Sutherland (Australia) and David Richardson (ICC General Manager Cricket). "An ICC event covering the Test format as well as an ODI league are prime considerations after the ideas received strong support from the ICC Cricket Committee," the statement added. The ICC Executive Board will also receive recommendation from the CEC to implement the decision review system with immediate effect in all Test matches as well as in the 2011 World Cup. The Executive Board will also receive updates on the design of mandatory Safety and Security Regulations drawn up by Security Task Force, chaired by Paul Condon, following the Lahore attack last year.
The Punjab left-hander had been left out of the ODI squad in order to give him time to sort out fitness issues and also think hard about his attitude to the game. Yuvraj's return meant there was no place for Rohit Sharma, who has shown form and accumulated runs in recent outings, and also S Badrinath, who was part of the team in last time, when they played South Africa at home in February. Test specialists Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman return, as does Sachin Tendulkar, who took a break from ODI cricket to recharge his batteries and spend time with his family ahead of the hectic season. There were no surprises in the squad, with the selectors choosing to go with three seamers in the fifteen, given that more than two were unlikely to play at any given time on the slow, low pitches in Sri Lanka. Zaheer Khan will lead the pace attack, with Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth, neither at their very best, for company. Suresh Raina, who recently led the ODI team in Zimbabwe in the absence of several rested senior players, is in the Test squad while wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik was overlooked in place of Bengal's Wriddhiman Saha. The spin department has the experienced Harbhajan Singh at the helm, with leggie Amit Mishra and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha providing variety and completing the pack.
The left-hander, 28, was not part of India's recent Asia Cup winning campaign in Sri Lanka after being dropped due to poor form during the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. Yuvraj, who has scored 1,582 runs in 33 Tests at an average of 35.95 since his debut in 2003, had also missed the home series against South Africa in March due to a finger injury. The squad, announced by the Indian cricket board after a selection meeting in Chennai, comprises a tried and trusted combination that has taken Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team to the top of the Test rankings. Veteran batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Venkatsai Laxman make a formidable middle-order to follow openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. The selectors have picked three specialist spinners and as many seamers to deliver on the batting wickets in Sri Lanka. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will be joined by left-armer Pragyan Ojha and leg-break bowler Amit Mishra in the spin department, while pace spearhead Zaheer Khan will be supported by Ishant Sharma and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. One-day specialist Suresh Raina is the only player in the squad yet to play a Test. Reserve-wicket Wriddhiman Saha played one Test against South Africa when Dhoni was injured. It will be the third Test series between the two nations in as many years. Sri Lanka won 2-1 at home in 2008, while India claimed the return series 2-0 last year to become the world number one side. The Indians, who have just returned from Sri Lanka after the Asia Cup, go back to the island nation in the second week of July.
Dhoni's men begin the month-long tour with a three-day match in Colombo on July 13-15, followed by the first Test in Galle from July 18. The action then shifts to Colombo where the second Test will be played at the Sinhalese sports club from July 26 and the third at the P. Sara Oval from August 3. India's Test squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag (vice-capt), Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha.
