Patel still has issues to digest

Samit Patel is enjoying his role at No. 7 but still has work to do on his fitness

It would be an obvious pun to suggest that Samit Patel has a voracious appetite for success. And, during Tuesday's media conference, there are barely-concealed giggles when Patel states he has "too much hunger" before quickly adding "for cricket". Indeed, most of the conversation is littered with queries over his diet tips. It is a bit like asking a lion about vegetarian cooking.But with Patel the issue of fitness - and his diet - is never far away. While there must have been some irony in the sight of a group of somewhat corpulent journalists sitting around a table grilling Patel - or chewing the fat, if you prefer - on his weight issues, it is actually the England team management who instigate the talk.Kevin Pietersen, England captain at the time, memorably described Patel as "fat, unfit and lazy" in 2008, while Andy Flower, England head coach, admitted his frustration when omitting Patel from England's squad for the 2011 World Cup. "He was chosen on the condition that he would improve his physical state to be in consideration for this squad of 15," Flower said at the time. "All we were saying was 'get into reasonable shape'. It didn't have to be perfect. In fact, all we wanted to see was an improvement. He hasn't done that."More recently, following the 5-0 ODI whitewash England suffered in India at the end of last year, Flower complained that Patel "hasn't properly addressed his fitness issues". Furthermore, Flower said Patel's "commitment in that regard has to be questioned, his fielding let him down and let us down." Earlier this tour, Flower, with a smile, said Patel was "inching towards" better fitness.On the surface, Patel's fitness looks to have improved a great deal. He is noticeably slimmer than in the past and, having scored just one century in 2008 and 2009, he bounced back in 2011 with three centuries, over 1,000 first-class runs and 33 first-class wickets. Such figures meant he had to be in the selectors' minds when considering limited-overs options or indeed, options for the Test matches in Asia. He could, with a good series here, sneak into the squad travelling to Sri Lanka in March.For now though, Patel's job is to come in at No. 7 in the ODI side - not an easy position at all - and fulfil the role of second spinner. It was a role he performed very well in the first ODI, providing England's innings with a late boost, as he contributed a selfless 17 in just 12 balls before claiming three wickets with his teasing left-arm spin."I'm loving the role at the moment," Patel said. "It actually gives you a bit of freedom. There's a no-fear attitude and you just have to score the runs. There are risks you're going to have to take and sometimes it won't work out."One thing Patel does not lack is confidence in his ability or the ability of his team. While some might expect confidence in the England ODI camp to remain somewhat muted - they have, after all, won just one ODI against an Asian team, excluding Bangladesh, in Asia since 2007 - Patel talks with remarkable positivity."We're looking to absolutely nail this series," Patel said. "We want to beat them 4-0. It would be a bit of payback for the Test series. The boys are geared up for it; we know exactly what it's going to take."It would be a great achievement to beat them 4-0 in their own backyard. But that's the aim. That would be fantastic. We've got to aim high."But he is aware of England's need to improve against Pakistan's spinners. Saeed Ajmal, with his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs, and Shahid Afridi, with two lovely deliveries to dismiss Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, still shared seven wickets between them and the sense is that, without a very fine innings from Alastair Cook, England would have struggled to set a competitive total."It's important to highlight the skill levels we need against their spinners," Patel said. "We didn't go too well in India but we've got to look forward and this series is about putting a marker down about playing in the sub-continent and playing well against spin. We're aiming to try to win the World Cup. It starts playing in tough series like this against good opposition."We can be dangerous. We have a lot of talent in our squad: the likes of KP, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan in the middle-order and Craig Kieswetter, there's a lot of firepower. Then Steve Finn blasts away and with Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, we're looking a good squad. And we've not even mentioned Graeme Swann yet. We're going in the right direction."England's mood was improved further by the news that Jos Buttler's hand is also improving and that there will be no need to send him home. The doctor has said Buttler, who received nine stitches in the webbing of his left-hand during the final game of the Lions tour to Sri Lanka just over a week ago, could play in an emergency. But he will not be considered for selection for Wednesday's ODI to ensure he is not rushed back into action too early. Tim Bresnan will be considered and could, with his extra batting ability, squeeze James Anderson out of the team.The most pressing worry remains the form of Pietersen. While few doubt Pietersen's hard work or talent, he currently looks a shadow of the batsman he used to be. He has made just three half-centuries in his last 35 ODI innings and, since the start of 2009, averages just 24.85 in ODI cricket. In adopting an overly cautious approach to his innings on Monday night - he scored 14 in 36 balls - he undermined the point of promoting him to the top of the order. Unthinkable though it would have seemed not so long ago, Pietersen's position, in the ODI team at least, is under threat.It is interesting to note that on Thursday, Pietersen will take part in a media event to launch the Delhi Daredevils' new IPL shirt. But he will not take questions and all members of the UK media are excluded.

Calm Dhoni delivers nerve-shredding tie

With four needed to win, MS Dhoni carved Lasith Malinga's last ball over the covers for three to tie the Adelaide ODI

Sri Lanka 236 for 9 (Chandimal 81, Jayawardene 43, Vinay 3-46, Ashwin 2-30) tied with India 236 for 9 (Gambhir 91, Dhoni 58*, Thisara 2-45) 

The best death-overs bowler in the game went up against the best finisher in the business with four to defend off the last ball. It was only fair that neither Lasith Malinga nor MS Dhoni ended up on the losing side of that contest. Malinga's wide full-length ball would have hoodwinked most batsmen who would have been setting themselves up for the swing to the leg side. Not the fleet-footed Dhoni, though, who calmly stretched across and carved high over the covers even as he teetered on one foot. The ball didn't have the strength to beat Sachithra Senanayake on the boundary, but Dhoni and last-man Umesh Yadav bounded through for three runs to tie a nerve-wracking classic at the Adelaide Oval.The beauty of the ODI format shone throughout the duration of the chase, with the best minds in the game feeling the pressure of a close finish. India were coasting on the back of another polished effort from Gautam Gambhir, whose faultless 91 showed he has moved on well from his Test-match woes. Dhoni had added 60 runs with Gambhir off 12.5 overs, leaving India needing 59 off 58. At that stage, Dhoni made the first decisive error, when he sold Gambhir dear after calling him for a single. Gambhir was caught short by a direct hit from Nuwan Kulasekara, and his fall gave Sri Lanka an opening; Dhoni would later say it cost India victory.The wicket was followed by a 28-ball phase that yielded only 13 runs for the loss of Ravindra Jadeja's wicket. Sri Lanka's seamers bowled out of their skins, backed by enterprising field placements from Mahela Jayawardene that cut off the singles. With two overs of Malinga left, Dhoni went after Thisara Perera in the 46th, dumping him for a huge six down the ground, before R Ashwin skimmed another four over the covers. Malinga returned after a quiet over from Kulasekara, with India needing 28 off 18. Mistakes began to sprout from every corner now.Malinga got Ashwin to sky a slower ball, and Kumar Sangakkara called for, and clanged the chance as he ran towards point. Ashwin continued blundering against the slower ball, heaving and missing one, before chipping straight to cover. With 24 needed off 12, Jayawardene turned to Angelo Mathews who trotted in from round the stumps to cut Dhoni's swinging angle. Mathews lost the plot against Irfan Pathan, though, delivering a high no-ball that Irfan deposited over square leg for six. Irfan was run out next ball, sacrificing his wicket after failing to get a slower ball away. India needed a boundary, and Mathews obliged with another full toss that Dhoni swiped through midwicket to reach 50. Nine was needed off the last over, from Malinga.In the previous game, Dhoni chose to take the game to the very end. This time, he was forced to do so by Malinga's unhittable lengths. While he bowled impeccably, Malinga's fielding was ordinary, and he missed a couple of returns that would have yielded run outs in the last over. A couple off the first ball was followed by three singles before Vinay sacrificed his wicket to give Dhoni strike for the final ball. One could argue that Malinga should have gone full and straight, but the counter-argument would be that even a fractional error in length would have allowed Dhoni a free swing over the short square boundary. As it transpired, Malinga went wide, Dhoni went high and there was poetic justice in the denouement.Sri Lanka were left ruing a collapse in their batting Powerplay, that left them at least 20 runs short. They stumbled from a heady 168 for 3 in 35 overs, losing 18 for 3 in the Powerplay, including the two set batsmen - Dinesh Chandimal and Jayawardene - who had added 94 runs without a fuss. The complexion of the game changed so drastically in that block, that Ashwin bowled with two slips in the 40th over.Until then, Chandimal ran the show with admirable poise, imposing himself with a series of pulls and whips through the leg side, imparted with a flourish that was once the trademark of Marvan Atapattu. In his company, Jayawardene shrugged away the poor form that had dogged him since the South Africa tour, as Sri Lanka recovered from their sluggish start.India made three crucial early strikes, which meant they were only one wicket away from the lower order even during the Chandimal-Jayawardene association. Vinay Kumar preyed on Upul Tharanga's unending troubles outside the off stump, before Irfan celebrated his return to the venue where he made his international debut in 2003 with pleasing swing, and the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan. Ashwin then worked over Sangakkara with spin and variety to peg Sri Lanka back. Chandimal and Jayawardene fought hard to revive the innings, but India were the happier side after 50 overs.Gambhir took charge of the chase with assurance, and it will be interesting if India will continue their rotation policy and bench him for the next game. Sachin Tendulkar's rustiness, too, suggested the break from Sunday's game didn't do him much good. Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma all perished after scoring 15 runs apiece, as Sri Lanka made timely dents. Suresh Raina's failure meant India were wobbling at 122 for 4 in the 28th over. But they had just the right man coming in at that stage.It wasn't just the players that erred on the tense night. Umpire Nigel Llong's miscounting meant Malinga only bowled five balls in the 30th over. India will believe they would have got the winning run off the ball that was missed. Sri Lanka will believe they could have got the tenth Indian wicket off it. How perfect then, that we will never know how it could have ended.

Ajmal's county stint in doubt

Saeed Ajmal hoped to return to Worcestershire in 2012 

Saeed Ajaml's move back to Worcestershire this season could be in doubt because of Pakistan's proposed tour of Sri Lanka. Ajmal had signed to play in the Flt20, which begins in June, but now may be unavailable because of international commitments.

Ajmal played a major role in a short stint for Worcestershire in the latter half of last season. He took 6 for 124 against Sussex at Horsham to bowl Worcestershire to a victory that went a long way to securing their survival in Division One of the County Championship.

He bamboozled England in the recent Test series with 24 wickets, helping Pakistan to a 3-0 whitewash, and Worcestershire were keen to bring him back to New Road in 2012.

"We were aware when we signed Saeed that there was the possibility of Pakistan touring Sri Lanka," Worcestershire chief executive David Leatherdale toldPress Association Sport. "There has been no definitive answer. We don't know if they will be touring or not.

"Saeed has signed for us and he is desperate to come. He is a class act and if he can't come back it will be a blow. If he is available then fantastic, if not then it will be a real shame but we will look at some other plans."

Gladiators outgun Chris Gayle

Dhaka Gladiators 208 for 5 (Mahmood 77*, Nazir 58) beat Barisal Burners 187 for 5 (Gayle 116) by 21 runs

Dhaka Gladiators needed three of their overseas pros to play explosive innings to outgun the marauding Chris Gayle. Imran Nazir made 58 off 35 balls, Azhar Mahmood 77 off 47 and Kieron Pollard 36 off 15 to lead the Gladiators to 208 for 5. Gayle came out swinging for Barisal Burners, clobbering 11 sixes on his way to 116 off 61 balls. A Gayle century usually ensures victory for his team. Not this time. The Gladiators had scored 21 too many.

Gayle did not have much support from his Burners team-mates. The Gladiators captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who took 2 for 20 in four overs, got Ahmed Shehzad and Mominul Haque cheaply, while Darren Stevens dismissed Brad Hodge for a duck. Mithun Ali made 38 off 32 balls but his supporting act wasn't substantial enough. When Gayle was dismissed, the Burners needed 46 off 2.3 overs, a task that was beyond them. They finished on 187 for 5.

The Gladiators' innings had also got off to a poor start - they were 19 for 2 after four overs. Mahmood and Nazir scored at a scorching pace, though, and by the time they were separated, the score was 105 in 11.4 overs. Pollard and Mahmood continued the blitz, with Pollard hitting five of his 15 balls for six. Yasir Arafat and Kabir Ali were the only Burners bowlers to concede fewer than ten runs an over.

Kabir Ali was playing for the Burners because he was a replacement for Shane Harwood, who was ruled out of the BPL with a toe injury.

Federer forgets his Davis Cup disappointment

Roger Federer on Monday began putting his weekend Davis Cup disappointment well behind him as the popular Swiss made a return to the Rotterdam Open for the first time since winning the 2005 title. The world number three and his family flew to the Dutch port city only a day after Switzerland suffered a 5-0 thrashing from the United States in Davis Cup play in Fribourg. Adding insult to injury was the mis-translation of Federer s French remarks into English after he and Olympic gold-medal partner Stanislas were beaten in doubles. While Federer said: "I played a good doubles, and Stan not a bad one," the remark was reported in English as Federer saying his partner played poorly. But the Swiss said the matter has been put to rest along with any lingering memories. "It was a tough weekend for us, we were clearly not at our best at home," said the 30-year-old, who begins Rotterdam play as top seed on Wednesday night against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. "It was a disappointing result. But I had a day to recover on Sunday and that helped. The Stan comment was taken completely the wrong way. "I d never say that, and I ll move on quickly. I spoke with both (captain) Severin (Luthi) and Stan to make sure there is no misunderstanding." Federer will be competing at the Ahoy stadium for the seventh time in his career and is keen to come good after seven years away. On court in the first round, French fifth seed Richard Gasquet became the first man into the second round as he defeated Italian Flavio Cipolla 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.

Real go 10 points clear, Barca vow to fight on

Cristiano Ronaldo hit his sixth hat-trick of the season as Real Madrid took a huge step towards winning La Liga on Sunday, coming from behind to beat Levante 4-2 and open a 10-point lead over Barcelona. After Gustavo Cabral gave Levante a surprise early lead, Ronaldo got his first from the penalty spot following a handball by Vicente Iborra, who was also dismissed for his second yellow card. Ronaldo headed home a Gonzalo Higuain cross after 49 minutes and then completed his hat-trick with a wonderful 30-yard strike which flew into the roof of the net. An Arouna Kone header briefly gave a glimmer of hope for Levante but Karim Benzema slotted in a fourth for Real after 65 minutes. While Barcelona, beaten 3-2 by Osasuna on Saturday, have stuttered on their travels, Real have been in ominous form winning 19 of 22 games and scoring 75 goals which has put them on course for their first league title since 2008. Levante are the only team along with Barcelona to have beaten Real this season and when Cabral headed home a free-kick, which flicked off Sergio Ramos, after just four minutes, Real must have feared another setback. But Ronaldo’s penalty, a minute before the break, helped settled their nerves. “There are still a lot of points and a lot of matches ahead with all of them difficult because there is a lot at stake,” said Real coach Jose Mourinho. “We need 39 points more to be champions — 13 victories but these 10 points now give us a margin for error.” Mourinho also took the opportunity to praise Ronaldo who now has 27 league goals this season and whose hat-trick represented a landmark moment for the Bernabeu. “It was a goal to celebrate, it was fantastic as everyone could see and the 4,000th goal here.” Mourinho also could not resist a criticism of Barcelona. “In some stadiums when you pass and pass the ball they consider it wonderful but here they whistle and for that reason the players want to continue attacking and taking risks,” he said. “We won’t win the league through goal average though but by points and so it doesn’t matter if you win 8-0 or less.” Despite their 10-point deficit, Barcelona captain Carles Puyol says the champions will not throw in the towel. “The league is not lost but it is going to be complicated. This team always fights to the end and what we have to do is try and win every week. We have to concentrate on ourselves and see where we get,” he said. Valencia moved eight points clear of the chasing pack in third place with an emphatic 4-0 victory over relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon which brought to an end a run of five league games without a win. Second-from-bottom Sporting started solidly under coach Inaki Tejada in his second game in charge, but after a cagey opening spell Valencia had the first chance with Aritz Aduriz firing wide. Then Sofiane Feghouli gave them the opener after 33 minutes with a fine finish from a Jeremy Mathieu cross. Sporting were unable to bounce back and Aduriz missed another excellent opening before the break while, after the restart, Valencia dominated the match as the visitors’ rearguard was unable to cope. A deflected Feghouli shot off Alberto Botia gave Valencia a two-goal cushion and then in injury time substitute Jonas Goncalves bagged a double to add gloss to the win. The teams are now bunching up below Valencia with Espanyol still level with Levante on 32 points after losing 2-0 at home to Zaragoza. Atletico Madrid are a point behind after they drew 0-0 away to Racing Santander and level with Osasuna and Malaga who beat Mallorca 3-1. Villarreal continued their upturn in form under new coach Jose Francisco Molina and their 3-1 victory over Granada was their third win in four games with the other match a 0-0 draw with Barcelona. Marco Ruben put the home side ahead after 16 minutes from a tight angle but there was little between the teams and Inigo Lopez was unlucky to see a header come back off a post. After the break Lopez headed Granada level and the home fans were becoming frustrated when Borja Valero volleyed Villarreal back in front with a moment of magic. Still Granada looked to battle back but an own-goal from goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who punched the ball into his own net, gave a scoreline that flattered Villarreal.

Younis’ advice to Pakistan: Don’t Panic

Experienced batsman Younis Khan hopes Pakistan do not panic and try their best to bounce back against a resurgent England in the second day-night international on Wednesday. England on Monday took the first of four one-day matches by a convincing 130-run margin after Pakistan were bowled out for just 130, with paceman Steven Finn taking a career-best 4-34. Skipper Alastair Cook had hit his highest one-day score of 137 to guide England to a challenging 260-7, a target Younis said Pakistan should have achieved. “I hope there is no panic,” said Younis. “We should not panic because we have not batted badly in the last four five matches, so we need to try our best and put Monday’s performance behind us.” Pakistan never recovered after Finn claimed their top four batsmen in just 29 balls and Younis believes that lack of partnerships let the team down. “England had a very good partnership between Cook and (Ravi) Bopara and that helped them,” he said of the 131-run third wicket stand. “It wasn’t a difficult chase but we failed to put up a reasonable stand.”Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who took 24 wickets in the preceding 3-0 Test series win, grabbed a career-best 5-43 but England still managed a challenging total. “We couldn’t cash on the two wickets by (Shahid) Afridi but still we should have got that total. England bowled the first 10 overs well, they outclassed us and Finn was very impressive,” said Younis, who made 15. For Pakistan, Afridi top-scored with 38 as they were bowled out in 35 overs. Younis praised Cook’s knock. “When the captain of the team plays like this the whole team is inspired and Cook’s knock lifted England so we have to match them in their body language and performance,” said Younis. For his part, Cook said he hoped his side keeps their feet on the ground after securing the much-needed win. “It’s only one game, so let’s not get carried away too much. It was a really good performance and we will enjoy the feeling and make sure we come back as a side on Wednesday,” he said. England’s one-day captain was full of praise for Bopara and Finn. “I thought the way Ravi played and handled the pressure when we lost those two quick wickets was a real key moment because if we’d lost another couple of wickets it would have been ‘here we go again’. “Finn was outstanding. At 40 for four after 10 overs it’s never over – with Afridi coming in at eight – but that was outstanding bowling and we played close to our potential which was pleasing,” said Cook. The remaining two matches will be played in Dubai on February 18 and 21. Both teams will also play three Twenty20 internationals.

New Zealand beat Zimbabwe to win T20 series 2-0

Kiwis completed the largest successful run chase in its history with two balls to spare to take the series 2-0. Captain Brendan Taylor, with an unbeaten 75, led Zimbabwe to 200-2 batting first - its highest score in a Twenty20 - and New Zealand rode highs and lows before sneaking to victory from the fourth ball of the final over. The win left New Zealand unbeaten in all forms of the game in the series against Zimbabwe. It won the one-off test by an innings and 301 runs, swept the three one-day internationals and took the opening Twenty20 by seven wickets. "Zimbabwe played how we thought they would at some point on the tour," captain Brendon McCullum said. "They played well, put us under pressure and we didn t respond well which is something we ll have to look at. Now we move on to South Africa pretty pleased with where we re at." New Zealand now faces South Africa in three tests, three one-day and three Twenty20 internationals. The first Twenty20 is at Wellington on Friday. Zimbabwe turned in the most competitive performance of its tour in its final match, taking advantage of an outstanding start provided by Hamilton Masakadza and Stuart Matsikenyeri who put on 76 for the first wicket from 42 balls. Masakadza reached a half century from 26 balls, the fastest by a Zimbabwe player in Twenty20s, and went on to make 62 from 42 balls in an innings which set up Zimbabwe for a substantial total. Matsikenyeri made 32 from 19 balls and the openers set the tone for the innings and the match, smashing seven sixes and five fours. Masakadza hit the first six of the innings in the third over, planting a long hop from Kyle Mills onto the roof of the grandstand at Seddon Park. Matsikenyeri followed suit, hitting two sixes from the fourth over of the innings bowled by Michael Bates. The first, down the ground, struck the sight screen on the full. In that mood, the openers guided Zimbabwe to 40 without loss after four overs and to 65 after six. Matsikenyeri was first out, in the seventh over, but Masakadza kept the runs flowing in partnership with Taylor, taking Zimbabwe to 98-1 after 10 overs. He was out when Zimbabwe was 121-2 in the 14th over and Taylor then steered the innings with his unbeaten 75 - the second-highest total by a Zimbabwe batsman in Twenty20s. He reached his half century from 31 balls with four fours and three sixes and took Zimbabwe to 200 for the first time in its Twenty20 history from the last ball of the final over. New Zealand promoted allrounder James Franklin to open the innings with Rob Nicol in the absence of Martin Guptill, who was rested after scoring half centuries in his five previous innings against the tourists. Franklin looked out of form early on and Nicol set the pace of the innings, lifting New Zealand to 46 without loss after five overs. But Franklin hit successive sixes off Shingirai Masakadza in the eighth over to gain some confidence and went on to post a century partnership with Nicol from 58 balls. New Zealand s scoring rate slowly lifted to match Zimbabwe s. It was 103 without loss after 10 overs and 148-2 after 15, needing 53 to win from 30 balls. Nicol made 56 from 37 balls and Franklin 60 from the same number of deliveries to give New Zealand a solid platform. Brendon McCullum then made 38 from 24 balls to keep New Zealand on target. But Kyle Jarvis put Zimbabwe back in the match when he removed McCullum and his brother Nathan with successive deliveries in the 19th over, leaving New Zealand 187-5 and needing 14 to win off the last over. Andrew Ellis, in his Twenty20 debut, took a single from the first ball and Kane Williamson then hit four, six and four to carry New Zealand to its winning total and to finish 20 not out from only five deliveries.