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By coincidence Chennai Super Kings, after five matches, are in the same spot this year as they were in South Africa in 2009: three matches lost and an uphill climb to the semi-finals. Injuries to key players have hampered their campaign and, with only nine games remaining, MS Dhoni’s team is up against it to make the final four for the third season running.The most damaging setback was the freak injury to the captain, who got hit on the elbow by a short ball from Shane Bond. In the absence of Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram from the entire season, Chennai rely on Dhoni and Matthew Hayden to provide momentum.That reliance is evident from Chennai’s experience so far. Hayden failed against Deccan Chargers and, though Dhoni led the rearguard action, Chennai lost by 31 runs. Dhoni then rescued the innings from a top-order collapse against Kolkata and his 109-run stand with S Badrinath was instrumental in the 55-run victory. Hayden unleashed the Mongoose against Delhi, ensuring his aggression made up for Dhoni’s absence, while chasing a stiff target. But Hayden’s dismissals in the 30s during the next two games, coupled with Dhoni’s injury-forced absence, was too much for Chennai to cope with and they were beaten by both Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore.”Yes, that is the bottom line. The key players are relied upon. Certainly with injuries, they are relied upon more,” coach Stephen Fleming said.Such is Dhoni’s versatility that his absence deprives the line-up of someone expert at building, as well as finishing, the innings. The other man capable of destroying bowling during the final overs is Justin Kemp, but he too missed the last game with a back injury. “We do miss a finisher,” Fleming said, ahead of the match against Mumbai Indians. “We saw that in the game against Punjab and we played the extra batter yesterday [George Bailey against Bangalore]. But if Dhoni comes back, the balance of the side changes again. We have got injury problems at the moment: we have lost Flintoff, Oram and now Kemp. So that is a big dent to the way we play our game.”Fleming hoped Dhoni would return to lead the side in Mumbai but said a decision would be made on match day. “[Dhoni] Looks good,” he said. “He is back with the team and he is training today. But we will make a call after training today, and then again tomorrow, to see how his arm reacts to doing a bit more work. We are happy at this stage, we hope he’ll be playing.”When asked if Dhoni would play as a wicketkeeeper, Fleming said they were “looking at full fitness.” “There is obviously a responsibility to Indian cricket as well, so there are a lot interested (in his fitness). Like I said, we will be cautious but we are optimistic.”The floating middle order is another of Chennai’s problems, one acknowledged by VB Chandrasekar, one of the team’s coaches. Dhoni’s absence has led to a change of plans but to make someone like M Vijay, who is more assured while opening against the new ball, bat at three different positions in five matches suggests there is uncertainty about the role each batsman must perform. The captain cannot return soon enough.

The BCCI has suspended Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, for “alleged acts of individual misdemeanours”, bringing down the curtains on one particularly unsavoury episode in the BCCI’s history but very possibly leaving the door open for more twists in this saga. Modi’s three-year reign was effectively ended moments after the conclusion of the tournament final in Mumbai on Sunday and he responded in melodramatic fashion with an emotional speech at the awards ceremony.The suspension notice was served on him by Rajeev Shukla, a BCCI vice-president, at the conclusion of Sunday’s game, with N Srinivasan, the board secretary, sending an email to the same effect. It followed a day of negotiations with interlocutors attempting to persuade Modi to resign but pre-empted a potentially flashpoint at Monday’s scheduled IPL governing council meeting, which Modi had said he would attend. He is now officially barred from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL and any other committee of the BCCI and has 15 days to respond to the charges levelled at him.The public confirmation of his suspension came in a statement from BCCI president Shashank Manohar issued shortly after the end of Sunday’s final. “Alleged acts of individual misdemeanours of Mr Lalit K Modi, chairman IPL and vice president BCCI, have brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself,” it said.”I have waited for IPL 2010 to conclude in order to respond to the situation as I did not want the event to be disrupted in any manner. Immediately after the conclusion of the IPL final, the secretary, BCCI Mr N Srinivasan has in consultation with me issued a show cause notice to Mr. Lalit K Modi under Rule 32 (iv) calling upon him to show cause within 15 days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him. Simultaneously, in exercise of the powers vested in me under Rule 32 (vii), I have suspended Mr. Lalit K Modi from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL, the working committee and any other committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.”Modi had apparently received that notice by the time he went up to the podium for the post-match presentations, and it prompted an emotional, lengthy speech. “We have had some off field unpleasant dramas only based on innuendo, half truths and motivated leaks from all kinds of sources,” he said. “I assure you all decisions have been taken jointly by the governing council and approved by the general body… Still, as the leader of the team, if there is any flouting of rules or any other financial irregularity, I will take full responsibility.”Earlier, before he received the notice, he had taken a similar combative stand while talking to . Informed of the imminent suspension, he said: “”Good for them. Are they so scared of me attending? Are they so scared of the truth?”His allusion was to the growing perception that Modi alone was not responsible for the alleged misdemeanours, that there were other, possibly more powerful forces at play as well. Those forces would have preferred Modi to resign, resulting in a swift and clean break, rather than be sacked, which would necessitate a formal inquiry and the production of potentially damaging documents.In any case, Modi’s suspension rules him out of Monday’s IPL governing council meeting. The meeting had been convened by Srinivasan but Modi had, on Sunday evening, sent out an agenda that included “a discussion on any complaints received in writing from members of the governing council against the chairman, other members of the council and/or the BCCI.”It also said members of the governing council “had been requested to give all such complaints in writing with the requisite supporting documents”.The agenda is now likely to focus more on life after Lalit: picking an interim IPL chairman and working out a plan for the future. BCCI sources say for the moment Manohar will himself take charge of the IPL sub-committee. The first few weeks are likely to be spent in a clean-up operation and a scrutiny of the Modi-era transactions.The actual management of the league is likely to be handed over to a CEO – probably appointed from outside – with reduced powers but greater assistance. He could be assisted by department heads for marketing, finance, logistics and the like.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes England need to play five bowlers if they are to win an Ashes series in Australia for the first time since Mike Gatting’s side did it over 20 years ago. However, Vaughan feels the current England set-up, led by coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss, will choose to play an extra-batsman instead.”The debate all summer will be about England’s formation,” Vaughan told AFP. “Will it be six batters and four bowlers, or five and five? I firmly believe they are going to need five bowlers in Australia but I think this management group and Strauss will go with six and four.”They will say they win as many games with four (bowlers) as they do with five. I guess the question I will say is ‘well how many real top teams do we beat with four?'”Vaughan opted for a five-man attack during England’s thrilling home win over Australia in 2005. That line-up was led by a rampant Steve Harmison, and included Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard and Ashley Giles. He also pointed out that England used five bowlers in their two Ashes Test victories in 2009.”We beat Australia last year with Freddie (Flintoff) in the team twice, at Lord’s and the Oval, and with five bowlers. I think we need five bowlers. I think Tim Bresnan is a good enough batter to bat at seven, with Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad at eight and nine. But I think they will go in with six (batsmen).”Vaughan, while praising Swann, expressed concern that Australia could target England’s player of the year if he was part of a four-man attack. “He’s had a wonderful year but I just worry that if Swanny doesn’t get it right and the opposition do attack him a little bit more, three seamers on days one and two looks very, very light,” he said. “Maybe they’ll get some overs out of Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood but they are not going to do much damage. We’ll wait and see. But from what I’ve seen of Andy Flower, I think they’ll go with six batters.”Vaughan went on to applaud England’s victory in the World Twenty20 final, the team’s first win in an ICC tournament, calling it an “amazing achievement”. But he insisted it still didn’t compare to the Ashes. “It’s not as important as the Ashes, don’t get me wrong. The Ashes is the pinnacle but, as an achievement, it’s right up there.”

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC), the body that lobbied to get cricket included in the Asian Games, says it was caught off guard by the BCCI’s decision to not send its teams to the event in China in November.”It has come as a surprise for us,” Ijaz Butt, the ACC president, told the Pakistani paper . “To pull out at the eleventh hour without any notice or information is surprising to say the least. Everyone had agreed in principle to send teams for the event.”On Tuesday, the BCCI had announced it would not be sending a team to the games due to international commitments.The council has not yet formulated a response to the BCCI’s decision because Butt has been unable to get in touch with Indian board president Shashank Manohar. “I have been trying to get in touch with the BCCI president to find out what prompted him to take the sudden decision. Until I get to hear from him, I can’t make a comment,” he said.Butt, who is also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, confirmed Pakistan would be sending a team to China, but it would be a second-string side as their main players will be involved in a month-long series against South Africa in the UAE at the same time. “We will send a good team of youngsters and have already selected a preliminary squad of 30,” Butt said.The Pakistan government has championed the effort to spread cricket in China, going so far as to appoint PCB director-general Javed Miandad as a cricket ambassador to China. “We will send a team to the Asian Games as it is our commitment and China is our close friend,” Miandad said.The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chose to stand aside and let the ACC handle the situation. “The ACC worked really hard to get cricket included in the Asian Games,” IOA secretary-general, Randhir Singh, told . “So, it is their responsibility to take up the issue with the BCCI.”

Match Facts

Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)
The return of Shoaib Akhtar and Shoaib Malik could add to the interest surrounding the opening game•AFP

The Big Picture

Pakistan cricket is in the spotlight, once again. Having endured a period of internal upheaval, they have zeroed in on a squad full of surprises. One former captain retired, while two others appealed successfully against their bans. One of those two – Shoaib Malik – returned to the side and will be playing under a new leader, Shahid Afridi, who not very long ago accused Malik of back-biting. Out of nowhere, the once spectacular Shoaib Akhtar was recalled. Even faithful fans struggle to keep track of the changes, while critics question the madness surrounding the method. But one thing everyone will acknowledge is that the selectors have hit upon a reasonably balanced ODI outfit.Pakistan have traditionally under-performed at the Asia Cup, winning just one tournament, and their recent one-day record is miserable, but they have managed to lift their game in recent multi-team events. Admittedly, three of those four have been in the Twenty20 format, and there-in lies the danger Pakistan poses – both to their opponents and to themselves. They have the ability to go all the way with short and sharp bursts of inspiration, but are just as likely to combust.Sri Lanka’s selectors, on the other hand, have shown creativity and foresight, while their core group for the 2011 World Cup is set in stone. Sanath Jayasuriya and Ajantha Mendis were the heroes of their 2008 Asia Cup triumph, but both of them miss out this time, for differing reasons. Jayasuriya’s form has finally taken precedence over reputation, while Mendis’ exclusion is to enhance his biggest weapon – his mystery. Tillakaratne Dilshan, who could not buy a run in the World Twenty20, was sent to Zimbabwe to regain touch, which he accomplished in style. Farveez Maharoof has been included in the squad for his past exploits on the seaming Dambulla wicket. There are several names such as Thilina Kandamby, Thilan Samaraweera and Chamara Kapugedera competing for middle-order slots. Add the pedigree of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan to the mix and Sri Lanka will take some beating.

Form guide (most recent first)

Pakistan LLLLL
Sri Lanka WLWWL

Watch out for…

Ever since he began opening during the IPL, Mahela Jayawardene has been in sublime form in the Twenty20 format. He is expected to return to the middle order for ODIs, but for a batsman with his range it should be an easy transition. He is the most prolific run-getter on this ground, followed by his captain Kumar Sangakkara, and their middle-over association could dictate the course of the game.Umar Akmal has quickly grown within the Pakistan establishment and, in the absence of Misbah-ul-Haq, will be expected to play responsibly in the middle order. So far, the biggest threat to Umar’s performance has been his impulsiveness, and it will be interesting to see if he can temper his natural aggression for the team’s cause.

Team news

Pakistan are expected to give 20-year old left-hand batsman Umar Amin a debut. Shahid Afridi will mull the option of playing three quicks, with Shoaib Akhtar returning alongside Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. It remains to be seen if Shoaib can bowl his full quota of ten overs, and Pakistan have hinted they will use him in short bursts.Pakistan (possible) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Umar Amin, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Saeed Ajmal, 9 Shoaib Akhtar/Abdur Rehman, 11 Mohammad Asif, 12 Mohammad AamerRangana Herath got a surprise call-up as the third spinner, but he is unlikely to get a look-in given Suraj Randiv’s recent exploits. On form, Nuwan Kulasekara deserves to play, which could delay Maharoof’s comeback unless the selectors decide to leave Lasith Malinga out.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk) 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Thilina Kandamby/Chamara Kapugedera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara 9 Farveez Maharoof/Lasith Malinga 10 Suraj Randiv, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan..

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have played eight games in Dambulla and lost six of them; four of those defeats came in five games against the hosts. Sri Lanka have won 17 of their 24 games at this venue.
• Muttiah Muralitharan relishes bowling here, with 39 wickets in 18 games at an average of 16.87 and an economy rate of 3.73.
  

  Quotes

  “Akhtar is an influential player. The type of effort he’s putting in, hope he’ll prove a point.”
  “I think it is a timely and great decision to have someone with that experience on the panel of people that has to decide on the future as well as the present.”

Andrew Strauss admitted he was “annoyed” that England had let slip the chance of a 5-0 whitewash against Australia, but played down suggestions that he had erred tactically in once again choosing to bowl first after winning the toss. After allowing Australia first use of a fast and true wicket, England were set an imposing target of 291, their highest run-chase of the series so far, but were bundled out by Ryan Harris for 212 in 42.4 overs.”We didn’t get enough things right today,” said Strauss. “We got off to a pretty good start with the ball, but [Michael] Clarke and [Ricky] Ponting played really well in the middle period, where we had done best in the first three games. We struggled to find ways of ‘dotting them up’, which was a little bit frustrating. We tried seven bowlers, but on a flat wicket it was easy to hit through the line of the ball.”Bowling first has been England’s modus operandi throughout the series to date, even though such a tactic flies in the face of conventional wisdom. With a varied attack that had helped to carry England to a run of eight ODI victories in a row – their best run of form since the 1992 World Cup – and batsmen of the calibre of Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen, England believe they have the personnel to keep any target within reach. But that notion received a bit of a reality check on a chastening day at The Oval.”It wasn’t as good a performance as the first three, and we’ve got what we’ve deserved,” said Strauss. “The idea of chasing down anything Australia set us has worked pretty well in the first three games – and we didn’t see any particular reason to change that today. When you lose in that fashion, you always think ‘Well, maybe we should have batted first’. But I’m pretty comfortable with that decision. I just don’t think we did enough things well today.”England have improved markedly as a one-day unit in recent months, but as Ponting made clear with his memorable “bragging rights” comment at Cardiff, they have an awfully long way to go to match the achievements and consistency of Australia’s one-day side – who, after all, haven’t lost a single World Cup match in the whole of the 21st Century. Another victory at Lord’s on Saturday would transform that 5-0 ambition into a far less imposing 3-2 result. It remains to be seen whether Strauss sticks to his guns by fielding first in that game.”You’ve got to play to your strengths, it’s as simple as that,” was Ponting’s take on the tactics. “If they think it’s in their interests to keep chasing they’ll keep doing it. They obviously like bowling first and trying to chase the runs down, although it’s not my preferred way of playing. If it’s dry when you start, it always gets that little bit tougher and it makes chasing hard.”But I wasn’t as surprised they bowled first as I was at Manchester,” Ponting added. “That was a wicket I thought looked particularly dry and hard to chase on, and as the game went on it certainly was that. But they seem to be very structured in everything they are doing at the moment, the way they are playing their cricket. We’ll see what they do at Lord’s.”For Strauss, the disappointment of the result was tempered by the small successes that came out of the game, such as Michael Yardy’s maiden ODI fifty – a tenacious but even-tempoed 57 from 63 balls that prevented England’s challenge from disintegrating until the final ten overs.”He played really well, and has played a lot of innings like that for Sussex – knocking the ball around, accumulating pretty quickly, and clearly we needed him to do that today,” said Strauss. “He stepped up to the plate – and on the back of his bowling in the first three games, it was good to see him scoring some runs. If you haven’t scored a one-day international fifty before, the first one is very important – regardless of the situation of the game.”The whitewash wasn’t a secret hope. We were very hopeful we could do it,” he said. “What we were trying to focus on was getting it to 4-0, trying not to look too far ahead. But Australia did what you expect them to do; they came back hard at us today and put in the better performances. They had three excellent performances in the game, and that’s why they won.”

Kumar Sangakkara believes New Zealand are tough opponents because of their discipline, which he said was an attribute other teams should pick up from Ross Taylor’s side. New Zealand lack the big names of the other two teams in the tournament but started off with a crushing victory over India, serving notice to anyone under-estimating them.”The great thing about New Zealand is they are very competitive,” Sangakkara said before the start of his team’s practice session under lights. “They play very orthodox, very structured cricket. Strategies are set and they always try to execute those strategies. That’s the discipline that I think we can all learn from New Zealand.”It’s very important in Twenty20 and one-day cricket now that you have applied executable strategies out in the middle that everyone understands and everyone can execute according to their own abilities. New Zealand does that probably the best in the world, so that makes them a very tough side.”The discipline and strategy are particularly important when batting second in the challenging conditions in Dambulla, where the team batting first has had a distinct advantage in recent matches. “It’s not mostly skill, it’s about being mentally attuned to what’s happening there and being ready with not just one but two or three plans,” he said.The tournament is seen as a part of the team’s fine-tuning ahead of the World Cup but the pitches in Dambulla aren’t the traditional subcontinental flat tracks. “Playing in conditions like this is very good for us because when it is a challenge, you got to relish it,” Sangakkara said. “The harder the things you have to do out in the middle, the improvement becomes faster. For us, that is how we are going to look at this tournament.”One aspect of Sri Lanka’s cricket which will be closely watched is the spin bowling. With no Muttiah Muralitharan around, it’s a chance for any of Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath to establish themselves in the side. “It depends on the opposition we are playing,” Sangakkara said when asked about the first-choice spinner. “Depending on that, we will pick one or the other [Randiv or Mendis]. We got Rangana Herath in the wings as well. So each time we will make sure that we play the right combination for the opposition unless there is a huge difference in form between the bowlers.”New Zealand had gone in without a spinner in the first match, but that could change in case Jacob Oram fails to recover from his hamstring problem. “We have a little bit of a niggle with Jacob Oram, just a tight hamstring, hopefully he can recover well tonight, we’ll see how he goes tomorrow,” the captain Ross Taylor said. “He’s an outstanding bowler for us, top-10 in the one-day rankings, if we were to lose him, it will be a huge loss but it will be an opportunity for whoever comes in.”A win on Friday will virtually put New Zealand in the final, but Taylor was not looking that far ahead. “I don’t want to get carried away, it was one victory and the team played well. Sri Lanka are a difficult opponent in their home conditions and we have to come out with the same attitude and the same intent in the next game, we know if we do that we give ourselves a good chance.”

ScorecardKevin Pietersen’s hopes of boosting his confidence with a big score for Surrey at Bristol were shattered in the first over of the third day’s play. The England batsman fended a lifting delivery from Gloucestershire’s Gemaal Hussain to Chris Dent at second slip to depart without adding to his first-day score of 40 not out.Resuming on 112 for 3 after the second day was washed out, the visitors were bowled out for only 186, Rory Hamilton-Brown also making 40, as Jon Lewis and Anthony Ireland claimed three wickets each. In reply, Gloucestershire, weakened by a stomach bug at the club, had reached 106 for 5 when they declared to set up a decisive finish. By the close Surreyhad made 55 for 2 in their second innings to lead by 135.The home team took the field for the morning session without captain Alex Gidman and Hamish Marshall because of illness. Several other players were affected to a lesser extent. Hamilton-Brown took three runs off the opening delivery from Hussain, giving Pietersen the strike. The third ball of the over appeared to take off and Dent held a sharp one-handed catch above his head.Pietersen had faced 61 balls and hit five fours and a six. He had batted beautifully in difficult conditions on the opening day and must have expected a longer stay. Hamilton-Brown’s typically positive 51-ball innings ended when he was caught at mid-off by Lewis off Ireland to make the score 152 for 5.From there only Gary Wilson (34) held up the Gloucestershire bowlers on a lively pitch. There was a maiden first-class wicket for 18-year-old offspinner Jack Taylor, who yorked Chris Tremlett for five. Surrey were 186 for 8 at lunch and failed to add to that score as Irelandand Lewis polished off the tail.Former Surrey player Jonathan Batty’s miserable first season with Gloucestershire continued when he was dismissed for 10 with the reply on 26. He got a leading edge to Tremlett and was caught by Tim Linley running in from mid-off.Dent followed lbw in the same Tremlett over for a duck, but Chris Taylor helped Porterfield add 75 before falling to Stewart Meaker for 33 on the stroke of tea. Porterfield had reached his half-century off 87 balls with five fours and a six, but he fell early in the final session, caught behind when trying to force a delivery from Tremlett away off the back foot.When Jack Taylor became a fourth victim for Tremlett, Gidman, who was due in next, declared 80 runs behind. Surrey lost Jason Roy and Mark Ramprakash, the latter bowled driving at Irelandfor 33, in extending their advantage.

South Africa’s cricketers will have improved financial packages for the next four years. The South Africa Cricketers’ Association (SACA), the players’ representative body, and Cricket South Africa along with six franchises signed a new contract that guarantees approximately 20% of the income generated by the board will be passed on to the players. The parties reached an agreement on August 20.”The MOU is a comprehensive document which regulates a host of issues relating not only to the Proteas but every professional cricketer in the country,” said SACA chief executive, Tony Irish. “Apart from money it regulates player contract numbers, player commercial programmes, match scheduling guidelines, conditions on which players are released to IPL and county cricket and player representation on various cricket committees.”SACA is all about ensuring that players are proper stakeholders in professional cricket and that they have a voice on issues that affect them on and off the field,” Irish said. “The MOU ensures that out of every 100 rand made by Cricket South Africa approximately 20 rand goes to the players. The players are effectively shareholders in the game, not just players on the field, so it’s in their interests to have an eye on the big picture and not only on runs and wickets.”Boeta Dippenaar, the SACA president, said: “Players have felt in the past that they don’t have a ‘voice’ in the decision-making processes which affect their lives but that is no longer the case. The players know the game and many of us have been playing it for a long time. It’s important that our views are heard and count on the various cricket committees and working groups where SACA acts as our voice and works with CSA and franchises.”Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain in Tests and ODIs, strongly supported the agreement. “This is the most thorough and powerful agreement any Players’ Association could have with its administrators. It gives us a genuine say in deciding our futures and the direction that the game is taking. From overseas players to Kolpak and IPL releases, from medical aid to pension – and whether we play 40-over or 45-over, it’s all covered in this.”CSA’s CEO Gerald Majola also spoke out in support. “The signing of the MOU between CSA, SACA and the Franchises is important as it allows us to have certainty in these key relationships and therefore work better together in driving our vision of making cricket a truly national sport of winners”.

Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, has warned his side to guard against complacency during their upcoming ODI series in Bangladesh. New Zealand play five one-dayers in early October, before the tour to India, as part of their build-up to the 2011 World Cup.New Zealand beat Bangladesh 3-0 during the ODI series in New Zealand in February, but Vettori believes Bangladesh will be a completely different proposition at home. “If we go over there expecting to walk over them like we did here, we’ll be in for a bit of [a] fright,” he told . “But if we respect them and hopefully play to our potential, then we should beat them.”Vettori returns to the 15-member squad, along with Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, who missed the tri-series in Sri Lanka in July. There is also a fair amount of inexperience in the squad: six members have played less than 10 one-dayers and Hamish Bennett, the 23-year-old Canterbury fast bowler, has earned a call-up. Bennet bowls in the mid-140 kph range, and Vettori said his pace would come handy, should he prove himself at the international level. “Andy McKay has really stepped up as well, so we are trying to produce a group of guys who can bowl a bit quicker and see if they can succeed in subcontinent conditions looking towards the World Cup.”Vettori, who missed the Sri Lanka tri-series for the birth of his second child, said he felt refreshed after the break. “It’s the longest time in my career that I’ve had away from cricket and it’s been nice to be at home with my family and get reacquainted with everyone. I feel great and I’m looking forward to playing cricket again.”Vettori had said the tour of the subcontinent would give his team an advantage over other overseas sides during the World Cup early next year. New Zealand play five of their six World Cup league games in India, and the other in Sri Lanka, while the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur – the venue for the upcoming ODI series – will host two of the World Cup quarterfinals.”We’re going to play games over there during the World Cup and probably important games,” Vettori said. “We want guys to feel pretty familiar, so when we turn up there on a short stay, World Cup time, they will know what to expect.”New Zealand play two warm-up games against a Bangladesh Board President’s XI on October 1 and 2, ahead of the first one-dayer on October 5.