No change: Zimbabwean all-rounder Sean Ervine is staying at Hampshire after rejecting the chance to play at the Word Cup Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Telegraph staff and agencies 7:56PM GMT 26 Jan 2011 Comments The all-rounder was named in his countrys preliminary 30-man squad and, having agreed to return to the international fold following his retirement in 2004, was then selected in the final party of 15. That would have rendered the 28 year-old an overseas player for county cricket purposes and spelled the end of his career at the Rose Bowl, where he has been a key figure in recent years including during last seasons victorious Friends Provident t20 campaign. Now, having had time to consider the impact on his personal and professional life, Ervine has opted to withdraw from the Zimbabwe squad in favour of returning to Hampshire. The decision means he will almost certainly not add to his international record of five Tests and 42 one-day internationals. Ervine said: After...

Melbourne: Struggling Australian stand-in skipper Michael Clarke has turned to his childhood mentor and Indian-Origin coach Neil DCosta in a bid to revive his batting form ahead of the upcoming World Cup in the sub-continent. The move comes a day after national selector and former India coach Greg Chappell publicly backed the batsman to return to his best. Emphasising on the three successive victories in the ongoing series against England, DCosta has told his protg to relax and start focusing on his game as Australia seems to be back on track. A lot of captains, at different times... they dont put their gas mask on first, the Indian origin coach said. Theyre running around trying to fit everybody elses gas mask. I feel as though, with the team back winning, he can get a little bit of oxygen in his lungs and settle back in his innings and we can see some runs, DCosta told the Sydney Morning Herald. Clarke has s...

HYDERABAD: The biggest moment of his life was January 15 this year when he lifted the Ranji Trophy as captain of the winning side. After 16 years of toil in first-class cricket, Hrishikesh Hemant Kanitkar's dream of winning the Ranji Trophy came true when he led underdogs Rajasthan to their maiden win. It has been the most remarkable journey for the 36-year-old left-handed batsman. Son of Hemant Kanitkar, who played two Tests for India in the 1974-75 season, the Maharashtra-lad was always considered India material. A gutsy left-hand middle-order batsman, an accurate off-spinner and a brilliant fieldsman, Kanitkar, who was flown halfway round the world from West Indies, where he was leading the India A team, to represent the Indian team in Australia as a replacement for Ajay Jadeja, was not able to find a regular place in the side despite a couple of good performances. Kanitkar, whose name will forever be linked with his winning boundary off Saqlain Mushtaq in fading light in...

JONATHAN TROTT struck an ice-cool century as England arrested their slump in one-day cricket with a 21-run victory over Australia in Adelaide. The No3 stroked 102 from 126 balls to build on Matt Prior's quickfire 67 at the top of the order to take Andrew Strauss' side to 299-8 their highest limited overs score on Aussie soil. Trott, 29, then completed an all-round performance as he claimed two wickets, his first in one-day cricket, to help restrict the hosts to 278-8 and ruin their Australia Day celebrations. A win for the home side would have wrapped up the seven-match series with three games to go, but Strauss and Co now have a sniff of what would be an impressive comeback. And the skipper did not rule out an improbable 4-3 series when asked about it.Strauss said: "I don't see why not. We absolutely desperately needed to a victory and we were very determined to do so, but we needed a couple of good performances."Jonathan Trott's hundred was a very high qual...

ADELAIDE: England won the toss and chose to bat against Australia in the fourth one-day international at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday. Scorecard Australia lead the seven-match series 3-0 after wins in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney, and named an unchanged side from the winning team at the SCG on Sunday. England were forced to leave out spinner Graeme Swann and allrounder Tim Bresnan, who were both sent home early because of injury in a bid to have them fit for next month's World Cup. Swing bowler James Anderson returned for his first game of the series at the expense of youngster Chris Woakes, while Kevin Pietersen was recalled for Luke Wright. Teams: Australia: Michael Clarke (capt), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Cameron White, David Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Steve Smith, John Hastings, Xavier Doherty, Brett Lee, Doug Bollinger. England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Matt Prior, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Michael Yardy, J...

And still they keep falling like the flies that beset Australia. Another England Ashes hero flew home yesterday and will miss the rest of the one-day series here in a desperate attempt to ensure fitness for the World Cup.Graeme Swann has joined Tim Bresnan in leaving the tour early, with some concern that he may not make the start of the tournament on 22 February. Swann, who had already suffered a severely bruised knee, was sent home after he also strained his lower back while bending down. Bresnan, who arrived in England yesterday, has a torn calf muscle.Both will need intensive and extensive treatment if they are to take their place in the side against the Netherlands for Englands opening match of the World Cup and, perhaps more saliently, for their second against India at Eden Gardens in Kolkata five days later.The damage to both bowlers is indicative of Englands demanding schedule in the last 12 weeks. Five Test matches in six weeks are being followed by...