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Phillip Hughes is sick of defending his play against the short ball, but unless he can prove to England’s fast men that he can cope over the next week, the questions will keep coming on and off the field. Last year Hughes started the Ashes tour as Australia’s wonder child and left it with the reputation of being weak against bouncers.Steve Harmison roughed Hughes up in a tour match and then handed over the duties to Andrew Flintoff as they had him hopping even more awkwardly than usual with his jumpy, country-made technique. He was dropped after two Tests and has played only two games since then, with the high being a frenetic 86 not out against New Zealand. Simon Katich’s heel injury has allowed him a chance at Ashes redemption.”I’ve heard this the last three years of my career,” Hughes said of the problems with the short ball. “I’ve heard about it all along and I’m not worried about it at all. Being a short opening batsman, [the bowlers] like it up around your ears and face as much as they can. Often it’s not the short balls that get you out, it’s the follow-up balls, but that’s something I’ve always heard.”It should sound familiar because that’s what happened to him when Flintoff got him last year for 36 in Cardiff and 17 at Lord’s. The bouncers didn’t dismiss him, but the fuller ones that came after forced his unbalanced body into a couple of edges. Flintoff has retired and Hughes feels much more comfortable facing a line-up of James Anderson, Steven Finn and, probably, Chris Tremlett.”They’re going to come out firing and they did in the Ashes series last year as well, but then they had Flintoff who was their x-factor bowler,” Hughes said after training at the WACA. “He was outstanding in that series and he bowled beautifully.”Hughes was replaced for the third Test by Shane Watson, who quickly showed he could be converted into an opening batsman. It was the first bump in Hughes’ explosive career and since then he has had to wait for injuries to Watson and Katich to get a chance. This time he knows he has three games to make a sustained mark.”I lost my spot in England during the last Ashes series and that was disappointing at the time,” he said. “In the back of my mind I remember losing that series and that was disappointing, so I’ve come in and I’m all smiles at the moment and I’m happy to be around the guys again. I can’t wait to get out there and just enjoy cricket. I’m happier this time than I was the first time.”Hughes is still only 22 and owns a couple of hundreds in the same Test against the mighty South Africa, but he enters this campaign based more on a hunch than statistics. He has only 201 first-class runs for the season, which is well below his standard, and the haul was boosted by his 81 for Australia A against England’s second string attack last month.”Mentally I feel really good and I’m hitting them good in the nets, which is always a good sign,” Hughes said. “It’s been disappointing for New South Wales, I haven’t really got that big score under my belt. But I’ve got a lot of starts over the last couple of weeks.”Starts have been a problem for Australia during the opening two games of this series and are partly responsible for them being 1-0 behind. Despite Hughes’ flaws, he remains an exciting batsman and has won comparisons to Virender Sehwag at times during his seven Tests of slashing, slicing and edging.”That’s how I’ve always played, I’ve been quite aggressive especially the last few years and that’s my natural game and something I’m not going to change over the next few years,” he said. “I love watching Sehwag play, without a doubt he comes to my mind straight away as an opening batsman.”Yes he’s very aggressive, but what Sehwag can do is he can take a game away from any opposition.” Hughes has done that regularly with New South Wales since debuting as an 18-year-old, but is still working out whether the same approach can succeed at the highest level.

Ed Joyce has signed a one-year extension to his contract with Sussex that will keep him at the county until the end of the 2013 season.”I’m delighted to have signed an extension to my contract at Sussex,” said Joyce. “Since moving down to the south coast I feel my game has really moved on under the guidance of the coaches here.”Joyce enjoyed an excellent second season with the county in 2010, averaging 45.38 in the County Championship and 42.71 in the Clydesdale Bank 40. His Championship century against Derbyshire at Horsham wrote him into the record books as it was the first time that the top four batsmen in a Sussex innings had all reached three figures.”The next few years will be an exciting time for the club with all the ground development going on and we have a young and hungry squad of players, so I’m chuffed that I’ve been given the opportunity to be a part of it for at least another three years”.Joyce, 32, was recently included in the provisional Irish squad for the 2011 World Cup after the ICC granted him special dispensation to once again represent the nation of his birth.The Irish are due to face England in a Group B match at the World Cup in March and there is a possibility he could be facing Sussex teammates Luke Wright and Michael Yardy.

Afghanistan coach Rashid Latif has said he inspired his team for the Asian Games final against Bangladesh by narrating how underdogs India beat the all-conquering West Indies to win the 1983 World Cup. “The Indians were not as fit as their rivals, nor was their skill superior to the West Indies, yet on that day they played better and won,” Latif told . “My team here was the fittest and they had good skills too, but I warned the boys not to take Bangladesh lightly.”Having stunned favourites Pakistan in the semi-final yesterday, Afghanistan proved worthy opponents against Bangladesh, taking the final to the last over before losing by five wickets.Latif, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, said Afghanistan’s ultimate aim was to play Test cricket. “The result proved me right, but I am happy we are on the right path. We will improve further if we play the big teams regularly. The aim is to be a Test nation soon and play against the best. I want to bring youngsters into the game so the sport continues to grow in Afghanistan.”Afghanistan have made rapid strides, rising through the ranks from the lower divisions of the World Cricket League. They played in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean earlier this year and narrowly missed qualifying for the 2011 World Cup.Mohammad Nabi, the Afghanistan captain, said passion for the game kept the players going. “The war has been going on for three decades, but we have been playing cricket there for the last 10 years despite the lack of proper facilities or grounds. Cricket has caught on back home. More people are playing the game or following it on radio and TV.”Nabi was disappointed to lose the final, but said the silver medal had buoyed his team for the five-day Intercontinental Cup final against Scotland in Dubai from December 2. “We want to play as much as possible, wherever possible. The aim is to join the big league.”Afghanistan received backing from Bangladesh, who won their country’s first ever Asian Games gold medal. “We are celebrating, but I hope Afghanistan will celebrate too because they deserve the silver medal,” Imran Sarwar, the Bangladesh coach, said. “They are a very good side and I am sure they will become a top team in the near future. Their rise has been remarkable.”This was not an easy win at all. We expected them to make around 100 or 110, but they went to 118 and then kept us under pressure till the end.”

Chris Gayle, the former West Indies captain, has reiterated his support for his successor, Darren Sammy, as West Indies embark on a challenging tour of Sri Lanka. Gayle and some of his team-mates left for Sri Lanka on Thursday, while the remainder of the squad would fly out on Friday.Sammy, who has played only eight Tests and wasn’t a regular member of the Test team, was handed the captaincy after Gayle, as well Dwayne Bravo, turned down his central contract. Bravo was replaced by Brendan Nash as the team’s vice-captain.”It will be a new role for Sammy. I wish him all the best and we will all be there to rally around him and give him the necessary support,” Gayle said. “He is the one who will have to take charge and lead from the front and we all know he is capable. We are all there to try and guide and help him.”The West Indies squad trained in Barbados as preparation for the Sri Lanka trip and Gayle said he was “feeling good” and “hitting the ball really well”. “I hit a lot of balls in the camp and I’m looking forward to the tour,” he said. “We are looking to have a winning tour. The preparations went really well and you could see everyone putting in the hard work. It will be different conditions to what we are accustomed to. We have a three-day warm-up game to get acclimatised and take it from there.”West Indies will play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international on the Sri Lanka tour, which begins with a warm-up match at the SSC in Colombo on November 10.

William Porterfield, the Ireland opening batsman, has left Gloucestershire after signing a three-year deal with Warwickshire. Gloucester have also lost medium-pacer Gemaal Hussain who too is likely to move up to Division One if he joins county champions Nottinghamshire.Gloucester had a disappointing 2009 season, being placed fifth in Division Two after losing nine and winning only six of their matches. Porterfield and Hussain’s departures come in the wake of Steve Kirby and Anthony Ireland’s exits from the county.The county were unhappy with Hussain’s decision but the bowler said he had to make the move if he wanted to improve his chances of playing for England. “I feel I need to challenge myself by playing Division One cricket,” Hussain told the county’s website. Tom Richardson, Gloucestershire’s chief executive, said he didn’t agree with Hussain’s view. “It’s very disappointing as you’ve got this guy who came to us last year from nowhere,” Richardson told . Hussain was the division’s leading wicket-taker with 67 at 22.34 from 15 matches.Porterfield will join his Ireland team-mate Boyd Rankin at Warwickshire. Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, was pleased with the season’s signings which include Pakistan batsman Younis Khan. “Will has proved his potential at international and domestic level and I believe he has a great deal more to offer.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe pressure of a tight chase hardly showed on Aaron Finch•Associated Press

Aaron Finch scored a nerveless 93 off 60 balls as pre-tournament favourites Victoria overcame a spirited effort by Central Districts, to chase 166 with two balls to spare. Central Districts punched above their weight for a large part of the match, with their captain Jamie How scoring an equally memorable 77, but their bowlers wilted against Finch’s assault, which was aggressive and measured in equal parts.Central Districts had finished their innings on a high, How turning around a lacklustre beginning with a flurry of boundaries at the end. The pressure was on Victoria, desperate to live up to their pre-tournament billing. Their reply ran into rough weather early, Rob Quiney and Matthew Wade perishing before they could get off the blocks, raising visions of the failed chase against Warriors in their tournament opener. Finch, however, was reading from a different script.While David Hussey struggled to connect with the big hits, Finch kept Victoria ticking with some aggressive running and the odd four. Without taking risks, he stole four of the five boundaries that came in the six overs following Wade’s dismissal. A punch off George Worker through extra-cover in the 12th was followed by a mow off Kieran Noema-Barnett through midwicket to bring up his fifty in the 13th over, off 40 balls. Hussey’s fall in the next over once again gave Central Districts the upper hand, but Finch carried on as if nothing had happened.Fifty-seven were required off the last five, not your regular walk in the park, but Finch wore an air of calmness that belied the pressure of the situation. Worker was heaved over square-leg in the 16th over; Michael Mason was top-edged to fine-leg in the 17th. Andrew McDonald joined in the fun, cross-batting Mason over long off to reduce the equation to 36 off 18.Central Districts’ limitations were exposed towards the end, as Seth Rance struggled to land his yorkers. Finch tucked in with two boundaries towards fine-leg, before carting Mason inside-out for six more. Brad Patton dropped McDonald off the last ball of the 19th, more importantly conceding two runs and leaving Victoria needing 12 off the last over. The force was clearly with Victoria, and Finch sealed the deal, edging Doug Bracewell through third man before launching him out of the park to end the game.If Finch’s innings was an exercise in maintaining the momentum and staying in touch from start to finish, How’s knock showcased how to get used to the pace before exploding. Victoria had begun well, Peter Siddle striking twice in his opening over, coming back after seven-and-a-half months. Mathew Sinclair and Worker fell by the wayside after getting off to starts, leaving the innings rudderless at 83 for 4 in the 14th over.Luckily for them, How had managed to see off the attritional period and was primed for a late assault. He top-edged Siddle over third-man in the 15th over and followed it up next ball with a gorgeous pull into the midwicket stands. Bryce McGain was smashed down the ground for six more, and Dirk Nannes paddled to fine-leg as How warmed up for the final flourish.Brendon Diamanti set the tone, lofting the first ball of the 18th over over the long-off boundary before turning the strike to his captain. What followed was an exhibition of immaculate stroke-making as How picked his spots with precision. He drove the next two balls down the ground, and followed it up with a paddle-sweep and a tickle to third-man, all for fours. The last of those was above waist height and had to be rebowled. How cashed in, drilling the length offering over Hastings’ head as 28 came off the over.At that point it seemed Central Districts had done enough for their first win in the tournament. Finch, however did not flinch; even in the 17th over of the chase, when he was beaten outside the off stump, with the asking rate mounting out of control, he kept his cool. No wild, desperate swishes of the bat either – he simply popped a bubble in the gum he was chewing, and carried on. On this day, he could do no wrong. And he knew it.

Shahid 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 getsome victories. I know it’s very important for the team. Yesterday the performance was muchbetter, 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.”

Tamim Iqbal, who is set to go to Australia for treating a persistent wrist problem, and Mohammad Ashraful, whose place in the side has been uncertain following a prolonged bout of poor form, have been included in a 26-strong provisional squad released by the BCB for the upcoming series against New Zealand.There were no surprises in the squad, and all the players who were on the tour to England, Ireland and Scotland, were included.The players will begin their preparations for the series on August 21, under the supervision of coach Jamie Siddons and newly appointed fielding coach Julien Fountain.Provisional squad: Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Jahurul Islam, Raqibul Hasan, Naeem Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Faisal Hossain, Nazimuddin, Shahriar Nafees, Mahbubul Alam, Dolar Mahmud, Mohammad Sohrawordi, Robiul Islam, Shamsur Rahman and Sahgir Hossain

ScorecardShivnarine Chanderpaul, making his Lancashire debut against his former county, survived a mini collapse today as the visitors reached 136 for 5 before rain ended play at 3pm. The West Indian ended the day on 30 not out after lobbing the final ball just over mid-off when shaping to pull Callum Thorp.After being granted a flying start by the erratic Liam Plunkett, Lancashire slipped from 52 without loss to 59 for 3 after being put in as the change bowlers capitalised on favourable conditions. The ball swung under the overcast skies and there was also life in the pitch, as Mitch Claydon proved when finding the edge of both openers’ bats as they pushed forward.Stephen Moore was first to go, caught behind for 27, and Paul Horton followed for 29 when he edged at shoulder height to Michael Di Venuto at second slip. It was just as well for Durham that Thorp was at his most miserly to counter the profligacy of Plunkett. Thorp had figures of two for 14 from 14.2 overs while Plunkett conceded 45 runs off seven overs.When he last bowled, Plunkett had performed well for England Lions and Durham skipper Phil Mustard gambled by asking him to bowl the first over. With Steve Harmison at the other end, Plunkett conceded all the 11 runs which came off the first four overs and then saw the first ball of the fifth hooked over long leg for six by Moore.The ex-Worcestershire man cut the next ball for four, forcing Mustard to bring on Thorp. His away swing accounted for Mark Chilton, who edged to Dale Benkenstein at third slip, then Paul Collingwood struck with his 10th ball in his first championship appearance for two years.He nipped one back to have Steven Croft lbw for four before Tom Smith put on 36 with Chanderpaul, who survived a sharp chance off Collingwood on 10, when an edge flew low to Di Venuto’s right at second slip.Thorp had the one post-lunch success when extra bounce saw Smith caught behind for 23 when playing defensively on the back foot. Luke Sutton contributed 14 to an unbroken stand of 26 with Chanderpaul.

England 419 (Bell 128, Prior 93, Shakib 5-121) beat Bangladesh 216 (Tamim 108, Swann 5-76) and 123 (Finn 5-42) by an innings and 80 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outSteven Finn claimed his second five-wicket haul of the series•Getty Images

Steven Finn bounced through Bangladesh to complete his second five-wicket of the series, after James Anderson had broken their resistance in an unplayable spell of new-ball swing bowling, as England surged to victory by an innings and 80 runs in a remarkable day’s play at a damp and overcast Old Trafford. Following a two-and-a-quarter hour delay, England’s decision to enforce the follow-on was amply justified, as they achieved the rare feat of claiming ten wickets in consecutive sessions.Bangladesh came out to bat with a 203-run first-innings deficit, but they never recovered from the devastating loss of Tamim Iqbal to the second delivery of the innings – and nor, to be frank, did they really try. After consecutive scores against England of 86, 14, 85, 52, 55, 103 and 108, the law of averages dictated that Tamim was due to miss out at some stage, but to do so under gloomy skies and against a swing-tastic Anderson sent a message of abject defeatism to his fragile colleagues.After punching his first delivery with confidence and aggression through the covers, Tamim fenced at his second, a zippy lifter outside off stump, and grazed a simple edge through to Matt Prior. For the first time in the series, that left his partner, Imrul Kayes, to cope on his own, and while he gutsed it out as best he could for five overs, the steep bounce of Finn eventually did for him for the fourth innings in a row, as he wafted a hook to Ajmal Shahzad at deep square leg, just as he had done during Saturday night’s collapse.Junaid Siddique joined the procession five balls later, as Anderson’s booming outswing snicked his edge and skewed to Kevin Pietersen in the gully, and Finn made it 21 for 4 when Jahurul Islam dabbed atrociously outside off, for Prior to claim his second catch – a touch gingerly, as it happens, as he was nursing a damaged nerve in his right index finger.The ever-maligned Mohammad Ashraful claimed two fours in three balls as Finn’s peculiar habit of losing his footing in his followthrough persuaded Andrew Strauss to remove him from the attack after five overs, but Anderson ended his brief stay via a looping edge to Jonathan Trott at first slip, before Ajmal Shahzad produced a beauty to snick Shakib Al Hasan’s off bail as the ball jagged back at the left-hander.At 39 for 6, Bangladesh had lost 14 wickets in the match for 129 runs, and were tumbling hopelessly towards their lowest score of all time – 62 against Sri Lanka in July 2007. But Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, two batsmen whose obduracy had not really been witnessed so far on this tour, helped patch up the scorecard in a 37-run stand for the seventh wicket. Mushfiqur required treatment for a painful blow on the fingers from Shahzad, but he wasn’t dislodged until Finn returned to the attack in the 26th over – whereupon he clipped a first-ball loosener obligingly to midwicket, and trooped off aghast for 13 from 42 balls.Mahmudullah’s response was to go down swinging – literally, as he belted consecutive bouncers from Finn for four before snicking a top-edge through to Prior in the same over, and his gung-ho attitude rubbed off on Abdur Razzak, who took advantage of Graeme Swann’s preoccupation with a bleeding finger to smash his very next over for two fours and a six over cow corner. But his partner, Shafiul Islam, wasn’t quite so proactive in his approach, and Finn mopped up his second five-wicket haul of the series as Andrew Strauss scooped a low (TV-verified) chance at first slip.Four balls later, it was all over bar the presentations, as Razzak aimed another mow at Swann, for Eoin Morgan to steady himself at long-on and cling onto a steepling chance. Despite the elation of Tamim’s century on Saturday afternoon, Bangladesh had contrived to lose 20 wickets for 213 inside two sessions. It represented a sad crash-landing at the end of a series in which they had won a lot of friends for the style and intent of their play.