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Eoin Morgan has been unexpectedly named in England’s squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Cardiff. The strong tip had been for Ravi Bopara to earn a recall to fill the No. 6 spot vacated by Paul Collingwood but Morgan, who hit 193 for the Lions this week, has stepped up after being the spare batsman in Australia. Steven Finn has also pipped Ajmal Shahzad to the reserve pace-bowler’s slot, but is unlikely to play with Stuart Broad fit again after missing three Ashes Tests and part of the World Cup.For the last few weeks the momentum has grown behind Bopara’s potential recall, so Morgan’s selection is a surprise. It had been thought that Bopara’s decision to opt for Championship cricket ahead of the IPL – while Morgan played for Kolkata Knight Riders – earned him plenty of credit and coupled with two first-class hundreds for Essex would see him add to his 10 Test caps.However, in terms of consistency the selectors have followed the next-cab-off-the-rank policy they favour and Morgan was one injury away from playing at any stage during the Ashes. The fact that the 10 balls he faced against Victoria on that tour made up his only first-class innings for nine months made his 193 against the Sri Lankans on Thursday and Friday even more impressive.He had only flown back from the IPL last Saturday and had three days preparation with Middlesex and England Lions before walking to the middle with the score 162 for 4 on a green pitch at Derby. He responded with a superb innings and looked set for the second double ton of his first-class career until falling lbw. Bopara, meanwhile, had struggled to 17 while the ball was nipping around in helpful conditions.”Ravi has been getting a lot of runs for Essex, but the controlled innings that Eoin played just gave him the nod,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, said. “That innings really just showed us what he is capable of doing. It shows his strength of character.”Morgan has six Test caps under his belt having played throughout last summer, firstly as a replacement for the resting Collingwood against Bangladesh then for the injured Ian Bell against Pakistan. At Trent Bridge, against Pakistan, he struck his maiden Test hundred having come to the crease with England wobbling on 118 for 4.His century came up with a straight six and he looked right at home. However, as the ball moved away during the rest of the series he didn’t make another significant contribution and questions were asked as to whether his technique – drilled heavily in the one-day game – could stand up Test cricket. Now he’s got an extended chance to silence any doubters because the place is his to lose.With the big decision made there will be some small alterations to England’s batting order. Bell, who enjoyed a superb Ashes series and crowned it with a hundred at Sydney, is expected to move up to No. 5 to take Collingwood’s spot while Morgan will slot in at No. 6 where he has played all his Test matches. The preference of Morgan over Bopara means that Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen can expect to do some bowling.The other significant decision in the squad was who replaced the injured Tim Bresnan. Given Bresnan’s role of providing a pitch-up, swing option Shahzad had been favoured but the selectors have returned to Steven Finn who played the first three Ashes Tests.”He was in the Ashes and again it’s consistent,” Miller said. “He’s bowled well this year, he bowled well here against the Sri Lankans, and he’s part of our squad. We are in a very nice position where we have a lot of quality seamers and it’s hard to make that choice.Finn hasn’t taken huge hauls of wickets, but after the third day of the Lions game said he was feeling as good as ever about his game. “The figures don’t suggest that I bowled particularly well, but this is probably the best I’ve felt this season,” Finn said. “This season I’ve felt a lot better than before, and a marked improvement on where I was in Australia.”Finn is unlikely to make the starting eleven, however, with Broad set to resume his position having been injured in the second Ashes Test at Adelaide. Broad is a favourite of the England set-up – although his Test bowling average of 35 needs to start coming down – and it would be harsh to drop Chris Tremlett after his performances in Australia. And as the selectors have shown by naming Morgan, once someone in this England set-up they don’t cast them aside quickly.England squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Steven Finn.

ScorecardNaved-ul-Hasan was in the wickets as Sussex made a strong start at Hove•PA Photos

Somerset batsman Marcus Trescothick maintained his impressive form in the County Championship this season with a half-century against Sussex.The former England opener hit 63 before his county collapsed from 117 for 1 to 197 for 7 on a bleak day at Hove which was reduced to 50.1 overs by rain and bad light.Sussex captain Mike Yardy had put Somerset in to bat and it looked as though the decision was going to backfire on him when Trescothick and Arul Suppiah put on 71 for the first wicket. Suppiah, who overcame a painful blow on the gloves following a lifting ball from Amjad Khan, was leg before wicket to James Anyon in the penultimate over before lunch.However, there was no respite for Sussex when Trescothick and Nick Compton, fresh from his 254 against Durham in the previous Division One match, added 46 with a flurry of boundaries.Then Sussex persuaded the umpires to change the ball, rain brought a 45-minute delay and the game changed dramatically.Somerset, without James Hildreth – who will captain the England Lions against the Sri Lankans at Derby tomorrow – and the injured Craig Kieswetter, lost four wickets for 15 runs in six overs.Trescothick, who made 63 off 84 balls with 12 fours and a six, tried to fend off a short ball from Khan and looped a catch to Ed Joyce at gully.Compton, who struck four fours in his 19, tried to cut Rana Naved and was brilliantly caught behind by Matt Prior, diving to his right. Peter Trego, driving at Naved, edged straight to Yardy at second slip two balls later, then Jos Buttler was trapped lbw by Anyon.Alex Barrow, 19 and playing in only his third first-class match, then found some support from Lewis Gregory and Craig Meschede. Gregory, an 18-year-old all-rounder, had helped add 18 when Anyon plucked out his off-stump just before tea.Meschede, another 19-year-old making his first-class debut, joined Barrow in an eighth wicket stand of 47. The partnership ended when Meschede edged Rana, Sussex’s most successful bowler with three wickets for 74 runs, and Yardy took his second catch – this time at first slip.Bad light ended play soon afterwards with Barrow unbeaten on 37, his highest first-class score. He had faced 74 balls in the gathering gloom and hit six fours.

ScorecardDean Elgar and Farhaan Behardien put South Africa A into a very strong position on the first day of the second Test against Bangladesh A at Pietermaritzburg.Elgar closed unbeaten on 120 with Behardien not out 75 as their 147-run third wicket stand broke the back of the tourists after two quick wickets had given them hope.Jacques Rudolph won the toss and chose to bat first and South Africa A were immediately on top as Shahadat Hossain leaked runs. Having reached 79 without loss Noor Hossain trapped Andrew Puttick in front for 29 to give Bangladesh A some much-needed relief. Mohammad Ashraful then removed his opposite number, Rudolph, for 1 and the tourists were back in it.But Elgar and Behardien could not be removed. Instead Elgar struck 15 boundaries and a six in his 194-ball stay and Behardien seven fours in his 116-ball knock.

News channels will be allowed access to the Mohali stadium for the India-Pakistan semi-final after India’s information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni intervened on their behalf. The ICC had withdrawn accreditation for Indian news channels on Tuesday after “a dispute was created by Indian non-rights holders (NRH) breaching the terms and conditions they had agreed to follow” when they were awarded accreditation for the World Cup.The ICC said Soni had proposed a 24-hour ‘truce’. “Ms Soni had written to ICC President Sharad Pawar and asked for the television channels to be allowed access into the ground at Mohali for this important game,” ICC chief Haroon Lorgat said. “At the same time she agreed to convene a meeting at the ministry on March 31, to address the dispute which has been caused by repeated and serious breaches of the terms and conditions which these organisations had signed up to.”The guidelines for covering the World Cup were issued to news broadcasters in January by the ICC. “No objections to the guidelines were received and accreditations were issued to reporters and cameramen on condition that these guidelines were followed,” Lorgat said. “Sadly there have been many breaches and despite requests for such activity to cease the NRH stations continued to break the rules.”It was only as a last resort that the ICC withdrew the accreditation of these companies when they refused to sign an undertaking that they would desist from breaching the guidelines.” Lorgat reminded the press that removal of accreditation only meant that the news channels did not have access to the stadium. “It does not prevent these channels from reporting the ICC Cricket World Cup. Footage is provided to them from several agencies.”If the relevant media houses do not comply with the ICC’s requirements, Lorgat said, accreditation would once again be withdrawn for the final.

West Indies have called up uncapped Guyana legspinner, Devendra Bishoo, as a replacement for the injured allrounder Dwayne Bravo in their World Cup squad. Bishoo has been approved by the ICC’s technical committee and will arrive in Dhaka on March 2, ahead of the match against Bangladesh on March 4.Bravo suffered a major injury to his left knee during the defeat against South Africa. He is expected to be out of the game for a minimum of four weeks.Bishoo, 25, is the third replacement player to join the squad as a result of injury. Kirk Edwards and Devon Thomas had already replaced Adrian Barath and Carlton Baugh, who were ruled out of the tournament because of hamstring problems.Bishoo was the player of the tournament of Caribbean Twenty20 2010 and also took 10 wickets in the WICB regional 50-over tournament last October. He has played 21 first-class matches, ten List A matches and 13 Twenty20s.

David Warner and Brett Geeves have been told they could face charges of bringing the game into disrepute if they repeat a very public Twitter quarrel in which Warner accused Geeves of racial vilification. The men have been reprimanded by Cricket Australia and apologised publicly, and to each other, for the ugly back-and-forth that came after the Big Bash preliminary final between New South Wales and Tasmania.Geeves, the injured Tasmania fast bowler, began by tweeting: “Any young children that saw D Warners reaction after hitting Hilf for biggest 6 ever – take that as an example of humility gone wrong.”Warner replied with: “@brettygeevs don’t know what kids would b following u but remember what u said to hughy that’s right, lucky u were not playing, c***,” and then a further message that said “@brettygeevs got to hate it when ur own squad don’t like you bahahahaha”.Geeves came back with: “@davidwarner31 it’s a z. I get the feeling my name isn’t the only one you have trouble spelling.”Warner continued with: “@brettygeevz u want 2 talk humility u were lucky one player refused to follow up on your racial villification slur u made on the field.”A Cricket Australia spokesman said the incident in question had happened several years ago during an interstate match and had been addressed at the time by mediation. The Geeves and Warner incident again highlights the hazards of social media for players, which was in the news earlier this week when the New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder vented his frustration at a team-mate for running him out.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), has appealed to the ICC, through the Indian board, asking for the deadline for completion of work at Eden Gardens to be extended till February 7. Earlier on Thursday, Kolkata was stripped of the high-profile World Cup match between India and England after the ICC ruled that the venue would not be ready in time for the February 27 game.”We confirm that we will hand over a completed Eden Gardens to the ICC on February 7,” PTI quoted Dalmiya as saying in a letter to BCCI president Shashank Manohar. “We kindly request the ICC through you to elaborate on the specific requirements to ensure that we hand over the ready venue by February 7.”We feel that we are already in a position to host the match. Despite this, we will take cognizance of ICC’s concerns pertaining to cricketing operations, media, broadcast and sponsorship facilities.”The ICC’s inspection team gave the green-light to four other World Cup venues they visited – the Wankhede, which will host the final, and the Sri Lankan stadiums. “It is also pertinent to note that three Sri Lanka venues – Colombo, Hambantota and Pallekele as well as Wankhede in Mumbai have been given extension for 14 days,” Dalmiya said. “Logically the CAB should also have been given at least till February 7 for handing over the venue prior to the India-England tie. It is an extension of 10 days and not the 14 days given to the others.”Dalmiya also explained the rationale behind asking for an extension. “The ICC consultant feels that we would be able to complete the stadium work by February 22 and if we do so then we would be able to host the remaining three matches scheduled on March 15, 18 and 20,” he wrote. “So it will be 20 days before the games when ICC wants to take up the venue. We are at loss to understand why the ICC is taking away the India vs England match 30 days prior to the fixture.”While the BCCI have washed their hands of the fiasco, the CAB deputy joint secretary Biswarup Dey said he couldn’t understand the decision to shift the match as the stadium was ready. “We were confident of hosting the match,” Dey told PTI. “There is no question of being behind schedule. Everything is built … the entire stadium has been renovated. We have not received any communication from the ICC. I don’t know why they have taken the decision.”

When 18 wickets fall on the first day of a four-day game, the focus falls on the pitch – and there it stays if that match happens to be a Ranji Trophy semi-final. The track at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara saw some deliveries taking off sharply from a length, bouncers leaving dents on the pitch, and vicious turn right from the first ball bowled by the spinners, and sparked some strong criticism from the players.”I think it’s a very poor wicket,” Robin Uthappa, the Karnataka opener, told ESPNcricinfo. “Forget bouncers, even good length deliveries were making indentations on the surface.”Uthappa was unambiguous in his assessment. “Frankly, when you play in the semi-finals of such a premier tournament like the Ranji Trophy, you want it to be played on a much better surface, not one that makes it in to a lottery. I faced the first delivery of the match, and the moment I marked my guard in the morning, I felt we were in for an interesting day as the dust came off the surface. The mud was flying from where the balls were pitching.” Uthappa went to the third ball of spin in the game, edging a sharp turner from Bhargav Bhatt to slip.”Many of us are trying to push for spots in the Indian team, and we certainly didn’t expect this kind of wicket. I can understand when a side wants to make an under-prepared pitch in the league stages if they have to win, but come on, this is the semi-final.”It wasn’t the pitch that consumed all the batsmen though, many of whom brought about their own demise by letting the surface prey on to their minds. “I won’t say this is the best of tracks. In fact, it has played worse than what we expected. But it is one on which you need to apply yourself,” Mukesh Narula, the Baroda coach said. “It is the semi-final of a premier tournament and even we would not like to play it on a rank bad wicket. But if you see, not one of Karnataka’s wickets fell because of the pitch. And even for us, apart from [Ambati] Rayudu, who got one that jumped, one cannot blame the pitch for the rest of the wickets. Connor [Williams] went outside the off stump, Jaykishan [Kolsawala] tried to force a delivery, Kedar [Devdhar] played a length ball on the back foot and Swapnil [Singh] did not go near the ball. We are a young side, and the pressure told on us.”Narula felt Pinal Shah’s positive unbeaten 72 was the right approach on this pitch. “Pinal has shown us the way. The moment we had a partnership going, it was looking totally different. It’s all playing in the minds of the batsmen right now. And frankly, I think the pitch cannot worsen now. If we can add another 50 runs, it will be a big lead, and they will be under pressure.”Sanath Kumar, the Karnataka coach, agreed to an extent with Narula, but felt the wicket was definitely under-prepared. “It is very dry and has not been watered properly. But they are playing at home, and are within their rights to prepare whatever they think suits their strengths. They know the strength of our attack, and have taken the risk with such a wicket, and it has worked for them, so far at least.”Sanath felt his batsmen did not apply themselves, and his bowlers got carried away with the assistance on offer. “Yes, we batted badly, and will have to do much better in the second innings. The wicket is doing things, but you have to bowl in the right areas. After we got a few wickets, we relaxed and gave away the runs, and let it slip from there. But we have to pull up, and a total of 170 could prove difficult to chase on this wicket.”Fast bowler Murtuja Vahora, who took the most wickets on the day, felt there was not as much help on offer compared to the Moti Bagh wicket. “At that ground, it swings a lot because of the wind. Here, though it did move around a bit in the first hour, you have to be really disciplined with your lengths. Bowl it full, and you will be taken for runs. Bowl it short, and it sits up on the batsmen. Maybe the bouncer can be used as a surprise delivery, but generally, good length is the way to go here. In my opinion, it is a good wicket.” Try telling that to the 18 batsmen who fell today.

Alastair Cook feels he has rediscovered his ‘rhythm’ at the crease after shaking off his poor form with a crisp second-innings hundred against South Australia.Coming into the Ashes tour Cook was identified as England’s possible weak link. A difficult summer against Bangladesh and Pakistan allied to an average of 26.21 from 10 Tests against Australia was enough for Mitchell Johnson to excitedly declare “there’ll be a lot of pressure on him”.A pair of single-figure scores in England’s first warm-up game against Western Australia ramped up the ante but after an unbeaten 111 at Adelaide, Cook heads into England’s final match before the 1st Test, against Australia A at Hobart, full of confidence.”It was great for me to spend so much time in the middle, especially that first innings for me – to get that tempo and rhythm back into your batting,” he told reporters. Cook battled through 91 deliveries for his 32 in the first innings before edging behind chasing a wide delivery but was pleased to find things clicking into place after struggling at Perth.”It’s amazing how quickly that rhythm and tempo does come back to you,” he said. But it does take that time in the middle to find it. Obviously, it didn’t quite go to plan in Perth – so it was vital for me in this game to spend some time out there. In an ideal world, you’d obviously want to start as you mean to go on. But it was probably about two or two and a half months since I’d had a bat in a match.”It’s all right in nets, for picking the ball up. But trying to find the gaps in the middle is different, and that first innings was really important for me to find my feet. The runs look after themselves then.”His opening partner and captain, Andrew Strauss, has looked in fine form since arriving in Australia and followed his hundred against Western Australia with another fluent century at Adelaide, sharing a 181-run opening stand with Cook. After struggling with just a single half-century in England’s disastrous Test tour four years ago, Strauss looks primed to improve his record and Cook thinks he, and the rest of the side, are in good shape as Brisbane nears.”[Strauss] couldn’t have gone much better – two hundreds in the first two games,” said Cook. “He’s looking in great nick, and all the guys really are playing well. As a squad, things have gone really well. Every batter has spent some time in the middle, and the bowlers have bowled well.”England meet Australia A on Wednesday and despite their strong start to the tour Cook was at pains to warn against complacency. “The big challenges are ahead of us, starting this week against Australia A. We mustn’t get carried away with what we’ve done so far. It’s great to see Straussy and Colly [Paul Collingwood] hitting the ball really well, but ultimately it doesn’t count for too much before the first Test.”

India’s bowling in the last ten overs of ODIs remains a worry, India captain MS Dhoni has said. The hosts conceded 114 runs in the last ten overs in the second ODI in Visakhapatnam, including 84 in the last five as Cameron White and Michael Clarke propelled Australia to 289. The pace trio of Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar and the inexperienced Vinay Kumar was singled out for treatment.”The last ten overs have always been a big concern for us. It’s not a worry we have had (only) over the last two or three months. We have been bothered by the last ten overs for a long time now – one to one-and-a-half years,” Dhoni said. “We had done well in between but have not been really consistent. It’s still an area where we can definitely improve.””The end result can depend on those last five overs. If you give 20-25 extra runs, it becomes really difficult when you are chasing a total like 290-odd runs as you have to score at six an over right from the start. A few bowlers bowl a few good overs and the rate keeps mounting.”Dhoni also praised middle-order batsman Suresh Raina, whose quickfire half-century guided India home in Visakhapatnam and gave them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. “The important thing is the great rate at which he’s been scoring runs,” Dhoni said. “More often than not he scores at a brisk pace. He’s been like a floater for us, batting at no. 5 and 6 depending on the situation. He’s also a very good fielder.”India went in with four specialist bowlers in their previous game but the part-timers, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, stepped up and bowled economically. The availability of several part-time options in the team to fill the role of the fifth bowler, Dhoni said, was an advantage.”This side has Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina. Virat Kohli can also bowl a bit. If we are playing with four bowlers then Virat’s role becomes very important because you have to see if somebody has an off day and look at the next available bowler.”India had two debutants in the Vishakapatnam game, batsmen Saurabh Tiwary and Shikhar Dhawan, and Dhoni encouraged the youngsters in the team to play their natural game. “You have to play your brand of cricket. That’s what is important, especially for the youngsters. Till you (youngsters) cement your place in the side you should be playing (in similar fashion) because of which you are part of the side.”