Shane Watson’s endlessly enigmatic Test career for Australia is over. He had played 59 Tests beginning in 2005, scoring 3731 runs at 35.19 and taking 75 wickets at 33.68. Injury issues afflicted Watson for much of his time around the side, and he never reached the heights that many, including himself, had expected of him in Tests.Watson’s decision to quit the longest format comes in the wake of Australia’s loss to England in the 2015 Ashes, a day after he had to leave the field during a one-dayer at Lord’s due to “minor right calf strain”. He announced his decision after it was decided the strain would keep him out of the rest of the ODI series.”It has been a decision that hasn’t come lightly, over the last month especially,” Watson said while announcing his decision. “I know it’s the right time to move on and still hopefully play the shorter formats of the game, one-dayers and T20s. I’ve been through a lot of different waves of emotion about what is right for myself, my family and most importantly, the team as well. There wasn’t really one exact moment, because I’ve been through a lot of different sort of mindsets: believing the right thing is to play on, to the next day to ‘nah, I think the right thing is to retire from Test cricket’.”The past couple of days, for whatever reason, I had the clarity in my mind about what the right decision is. I just know that I’ve given everything I possibly can to get the best out of myself. I just know it’s the right time to move on. I don’t have that real fight in me, especially for Test cricket, knowing the lengths physically that I’d have to go through, mentally and technically as well, to be at my best in Test cricket, so I just know it’s the right time.”A measure of Watson’s battles with injury can be found in the fact that he has played around half of Australia’s Test matches since his debut against Pakistan at the SCG in January 2005. By that stage he had already fought numerous fitness battles, largely soft tissue injuries related to bowling, and they would continue to a point when he was told by CA medical staff that it would be easier for Watson to simply give up his allrounder status.However he was able to find a greater level of physical durability as a result of work with physios outside the team, including the Brisbane-based Victor Popov and the Rajasthan Royals’ John Gloster. It was in the IPL that Watson first showed he would be able to build a more substantial career, as the dominant player in the Royals’ unexpected victory in the inaugural tournament in 2008. From there Watson would go on to regain his Test place, and develop a highly effective opening combination with Simon Katich after they were thrown together during the 2009 Ashes tour.Over the next two years they were the world’s foremost opening combination, and one of few components of the Australian side to work effectively as Ricky Ponting’s captaincy tenure wound down. Ponting and Watson have always been close, and over this period he was at his most consistent with the bat while also bowling key spells with the ball. Nevertheless, his recurring tendencies to get out lbw and also to lose his wicket short of a century were both in evidence even then.After Katich was unjustly dropped from the list of Cricket Australia contracted players in mid-2011, Watson’s role changed as he became vice-captain under Michael Clarke, bowling more frequently but also losing the thread of his batting. The increased workload with the ball led to another bout of injuries, and he spent much of the next two summers sidelined from the Test team. His leadership axis with Clarke proved unworkable, and their differences were to spiral into the “Homeworkgate” fiasco that enveloped the team on their tour of India in March of 2013.Suspended from the XI to play in Mohali, Watson flew home to be with his wife Lee for the birth of their first son, and made it patently clear he did not agree with the direction of the team under Clarke and the coach Mickey Arthur. Bizarrely he would return to lead the side in the final Test of the series as Clarke was himself injured, but upon returning to Australia the vice-captaincy was handed to Brad Haddin. Subsequent off-field problems during the Champions Trophy in England led to the sacking of Arthur, and Watson took some satisfaction from standing up for his views of how the team should work as Darren Lehmann took over and the Ashes were returned in a 5-0 sweep at home.However the comfort Watson now felt about the team set-up did not translate into the strong performances expected of him, and his run-making would go into an irretrievable downturn following his fourth and final Test century against England in Perth in December 2013. The selectors persisted with Watson, largely due to his bowling, but by the time of this year’s Ashes tour it was clear he was struggling to find his way.Pairs of starts, lbw dismissals and unsuccessful DRS referrals in Cardiff provided a tragicomic last glimpse of Watson at the Test match batting crease, though it was his indifferent bowling that ultimately caused the selectors to lose patience at last. He had plenty of time to think over his career while running drinks in the four Tests that followed, and has now decided to concentrate on ODIs and T20 matches – the two formats where Watson has rather more effectively fulfilled his potential.”There’s a lot that I’m proud of,” Watson said. “The thing I’m most proud of is I’ve given everything I possibly can to get the best out of myself. I haven’t achieved certainly all the things I dreamed of achieving in Test cricket – average 50 with the bat and in the 20s with the ball. That’s obviously the dream as an all-rounder to achieve and obviously I didn’t get anywhere near that, but I do know I gave it everything I possibly can to be able to get the best out of myself. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle’s lack of cricket during the Matador Cup has compelled the national selectors to give the New Zealand tourists an unexpected sighter of one of their likely Test opponents in two warm-up matches in Canberra.In addition to joining Michael Hussey in the day-night Prime Minister’s XI fixture to be played with a pink ball on Friday, Siddle will also play the two-day match with a red ball from Saturday.It is unusual for any touring team to be given a sight of the bowlers they are likely to face in the Tests, with the host nation preferring to field lesser combinations that mean a significant step up to international contests. However, Australia’s selectors were left without a choice by the Bushrangers’ preference for James Pattinson, John Hastings and Scott Boland in their limited overs XI.Some have suggested that Siddle might have played in the Cricket Australia XI added to this year’s Matador Cup as a way of affording further opportunities for younger players, but this possibility seems not to have been considered in the short timeframe that followed the postponement of Australia’s tour of Bangladesh. That decision left numerous players without their previously planned schedules, leading to criticism of how the Australian team will lead into the Gabba.Mitchell Johnson pointed out that it was “not ideal” for the hosts to be playing one Sheffield Shield game with the pink ball before playing two Tests with the red and then the first day-night Test in Adelaide to conclude the series. Meanwhile New Zealand get a pink-ball game against the PM’s XI, then two red-ball warm-ups in Canberra and Sydney, before another pink-ball practice fixture in Perth between the second and third Tests.Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann had previously speculated that Siddle might be left with only club cricket ahead of the sole Sheffield Shield round that precedes the first Test of the summer at the Gabba, after expressing his displeasure at how Victoria had declined to play him in their Matador Cup team.However the selection chairman Rod Marsh said the need to give Siddle decent match practice ahead of the Trans-Tasman series had overruled any desire to keep the Test bowlers away from New Zealand before they reached Brisbane.”We believe it is important to field a strong squad against what we know will be a very competitive New Zealand side in these tour matches,” Marsh said. “Peter performed well at The Oval in the final Ashes Test and as part of his preparation for the summer we want to give him some high-standard match practice.”These tour matches and the first round of the Sheffield Shield give Peter important opportunities to impress ahead of the Test series.”Having spent the past two weeks running drinks and looking on from the sidelines, Siddle was relieved to be getting a chance to play anywhere. He will link up with the PM’s XI coaching duo of Ryan Harris and Greg Blewett next week.”It’s truly an honour to be selected in the Prime Minister’s side,” Siddle said. “I haven’t played in that match before and I’m really looking forward to it and the following two-day tour match. This will give me a good opportunity to experience the pink ball as well as face-off against New Zealand.
”It will be great to work alongside Mike as captain and I’m looking forward to seeing who else may be selected in the squad.”Siddle went to England for the Ashes without the security of a CA contract, and will need to play more Test cricket this summer if he is to secure an incremental version of the deal he had held consistently over the past seven years.

Match facts

November 26, 2015
Start time 8.00pm local (1600GMT)

Big Picture

England are on a three-match winning streak in T20, but those matches have been spread over more than a year. Since being humbled by Netherlands in their final outing of the 2014 World T20 they have played just four games but are already on the countdown to the next global event which will take place in India during March.So it was not without good reason that Reece Topley pinpointed the three-match series against Pakistan as both a rare and vital chance to hone skills ahead of India. For the likes of Topley, new to international cricket, it is a chance to further press his claims for a place in the final 15-man squad while for more senior figures the matches are an opportunity to focus on the shortest form for more than just a day or two.Pakistan have frequented the format much more regularly than England with 11 matches since the last World T20 – they have also played more T20s (92) than any other side since the format began internationally. They are on a run of six matches unbeaten against a combination of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka so this series gives them a chance to put a poor one-day series behind them.The Pakistan squad is an interesting collection of inexperienced players such as Aamir Yamin and Bilal Asif, experienced veterans in Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, those who just play T20s in Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir and the wildcard of uncapped 39-year-old Rafatullah Mohmand. The shortest format could just be what Pakistan need to free themselves of their ODI malaise.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWWW
England WWWLL

In the spotlight

Boom Boom is back. Shahid Afridi remains part of Pakistan’s T20 set-up – as captain, no less – and cricket is rarely dull when he is involved. He has just two wickets in seven matches this year, but England will need to be wary of his skidding legbreaks. The batting is even more hit-and-miss but his 45 off 22 balls against Sri Lanka in Colombo was a reminder of what he can do when the mood takes him. And one thing you can be sure of is that the noise level will go up a few notches whenever he has bat or ball in hand.When it comes to the white ball, at least, Jos Buttler is well and truly back in form after his scintillating 52-ball 116 in the final ODI. Key to that innings was his promotion to No. 4, which gave him 13 overs to make the most of the platform laid by the top order – even if the results were more than anyone could have imagined. England are not short on clean strikers but they will want to make sure they give Buttler the optimum chance to make an impact.

Teams news

Pakistan have Umar Akmal available after he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the PCB while they are likely to give the 39-year-old Rafatullah his debut at the top of the order. Yasir Shah and Zafar Gohar are not part of the T20 squad so Bilal Asif could come into the side as another spin option alongside Afridi and Malik. Anwar Ali struggled with the ball during the ODIs and could be under pressure for his spot.Pakistan (possible) 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Rafatullah Mohmand, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Anwar Ali, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Mohammad IrfanIn England’s previous T20, against Australia in Cardiff, Joe Root was rested which meant Moeen Ali slotted in at No. 3 and he responded with a career-best 72 off 46 balls so it will be an interesting decision to see how the pack is shuffled now that Root is available again. James Vince could make his debut but beyond the openers it is likely that England’s order will be very fluid depending on the match situation. Liam Plunkett has been on the tour throughout and Chris Jordan since the first Test, when he replaced Steven Finn, but both are still waiting for their first full appearance in the UAE. They may have to wait a bit longer.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 James Vince, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

There was drizzle in Dubai on Wednesday which meant England had to train at the ICC Academy rather than the main ground but the forecast is fine for match day. The pitch in the ODI was the best for the batting of that series so it bodes well for a free-scoring encounter.

Stats and trivia

• The two teams have met 10 times in T20s with England leading 7-3
• Four of Pakistan’s squad – Hafeez, Malik, Akmal and Afridi – are among the 20 players to have scored 1000 T20 runs. That is the most for any country
• The only team to have played fewer T20s than England since the last World T20 is Papua New Guinea

Quotes

“We have won the last six games. We did make small mistakes, but we are going through a process and are trying some new players.”
“Our strategy is quite simple – to continue testing ourselves, our ability, regardless of any situation we play. We are trying to test our boundaries and capabilities as players.”

The final day’s play in the match between the visiting Kenyan team andthe Mumbai CA XI at the Wankhede stadium was not devoid of excitement.Ultimately however the three day game ended in a draw.The home team, resuming at 70 for two, declared their second inningsat 199 for eight. Opener Praful Dhule top scored with 52 off 105 ballswith the help of four fours and a six. He and the other overnightbatsman Milind Tahamane (24) added 57 runs for the third wicket off11.4 overs. Wickets then fell at regular intervals and F Otieno pickedup three for 41.The declaration left the Kenyans a victory target of 226 runs and theygot off to a fine start with openers Ravindu Shah (97) and KO Otieno(38) putting on 112 runs off 21 overs. Then TM Odoyo (34) and Shahadded 68 runs for the fourth wicket off 16 overs. After that howeverwickets fell in a heap as the Kenyans went for runs and off 49 oversthey were 190 for eight when stumps were drawn. Shah who was fourthout at 185 batted almost three hours, faced 119 balls and hit threefours and a six. Sandeep Odoyo took three for 34 while NS Shettyfinished with four for 40.

Marcus Trescothick is looking increasingly like a genuine candidate for England’s one-day side later this summer.The 24-year-old Somerset left-hander underlined his immense potential with a brilliant 92 not out as the National League leaders made it maximum points from four games with a nine-wicket thrashing of Kent at Taunton.Trescothick has already been invited to join the England squad for experience twice this summer following his A tour selection in the winter and clearly rates highly with coach Duncan Fletcher.He showed why with a devastating display of clean hitting that enabled Somerset to race to their victory target of 180 with 9.5 overs to spare.An opening stand of 145 with skipper Jamie Cox offered a feast of batting. Cox drove the ball ferociously throughout his 83-ball innings, making 62, including 7 fours and 2 sixes.But even the Australian’s elegant strokeplay paled in comparison with his partner as Trescothick timed the ball sweetly from the start and became murderous as his innings progressed.He scored his unbeaten 92 off 109 deliveries, savagely pulling Matthew Flemingover mid-wicket for six and featuring a dozen other meaty boundaries in a powerful display.By the time Cox was out in the 29th over, caught by Matthew Walker at cover off another fizzing drive, Kent were already resigned to defeat.All bowlers were coming alike to Trescothick and Piran Holloway needed only to hold up an end as the victory charge reached an inevitable climax.Kent’s batting had let them down after Cox had won the toss and elected to field. Andy Caddick was predictably hostile in bowling his nine overs straight through at the start, sending back Robert Key and Rahul Dravid, in an excellent spell of 2-15.But other wickets were tossed away. Alan Wells and Mark Ealham were stumped off leg-side wides, both victims of brilliant work by Rob Turner, standing up to the medium-pacers.Skipper Fleming marched out at 84-6 and soon saw that score worsen to 112-8. But he then launched an impressive counter-attack, finding a resolute partner in David Masters.Together the pair added 66 for the ninth wicket, with Fleming flourishing after a watchful start to blast 63, off 69 balls, with 7 fours and 2 sixes.The 44th over of the innings, sent down by Trescothick, cost 21 runs. A no-ball beamer was flicked for four by Fleming, plus the extra two runs, and the following free-hit was deposited over the mid-wicket boundary for six.Trescothick’s bowling figures were transformed from 2-21 off seven overs to 2-42 off eight. Presumably, he spent the tea interval contemplating revenge.There was one oddity in the Kent innings when Wells, on one, was adjudged run-out by umpire Allan Jones after Trescothick had thrown the stumps down from second slip with the batsman out of his ground.Wells was clearly unhappy with the decision, which was rescinded when it was realised the ball had reached Trescothick via wicketkeeper Turner and was therefore deemed to be dead when the throw was made.

The Bengal-Assam Cooch Behar Trophy Under 19 encounter ended on thesecond day itself after Bengal thrashed minnows Assam by an inningsand 140 runs. On winning the toss at the world famous Eden Gardenscricket ground at Calcutta, Assam put Bengal into bat. Apart fromlosing the toss, Bengal could do nothing wrong.Opener Arindam Das with a solid 133 (209 balls, 10 fours) gave Bengalexactly the kind of start they needed. Although his partner andskipper AP Chakraborty managed just 29, Arindam Das found an ablepartner in Subhamoy Das. Coming in at the fall of the first wicket,Subhamoy Das helped himself to 103 (141 balls, 10 fours, 1 six) andshared a partnership of 240 runs for the second wicket. Goodcontributions following the demise of the centurions saw Bengal reach336/4 in just 73 overs. Having declared at this stage, Bengal ruinedAssam’s chances by reducing them to 21/5. The first three batsmenfailed to score for Assam.On the second day, the misery continued for Assam as they slipped to42/8. A quick 35 from B Baruah at number nine enabled Assam to reach92 before being all out. Sabir Ali, who opened the bowling for Bengalreturned figures of 5/28 from his 12 overs. Having failed to make thecut, Assam were asked to follow on.In their second stint at the crease, the visiting side did onlymarginally better. They were shot out for 104, with all batsmenfailing once more. On this occasion it was Gourav Sharma who rippedthrough the batsmen, picking up 6/36 off 17 overs. What Sharma failedto do, Tanweer Hyder Khan finished, claiming the remaining wickets andbagging 4/22. In the end, Bengal had immense reason to celebrate,having registered a thumping win by an innings and 140 runs.

Otago answered several of their new coach’s calls when they outplayedAuckland towin their Shell Trophy cricket match at Eden Park today with six wicketsand a dayto spare.Otago, 157 ahead of Auckland on the first innings, stopped the morestubborn Auckland second innings at 201 late this afternoon, andcantered homewith 85 for four wickets, Matthew Horne leading the way with 50 not out.Dennis Aberhart, the burly master-mind of so many past Canterbury teamsis having his first season with Otago, and on today’s evidence his drillis producingthe right results.One of Aberhart’s aims it to get a winning habit in the Otago side.Theystarted badly in their first two games, against Central Districts andWellington.”Then we got a boost from the defeat of Wellington in the Shell Cupone-dayer and this win against Auckland makes it two in a row, and Otagodo notdo that very often.”Aberhart insists that his players develop a good work ethic, they playtosupport each other, and they try and do the basics properly.The Otago men worked very closely to those plans as they consistentlyout-played Auckland throughout most of the three days. Generally theirbowlersworked to an accurate line, although Aberhart was quick to point outthey were offcourse on the first morning when the new ball was sent zooming all overthe place.Thereafter the Otago medium-fast men kept fairly steady pressure on theerratic Auckland batsmen, with Paul Wiseman probing for other chinks inthe thinAuckland armour with his off-spin.It says much for the consistent work of the Otago bowlers, backed bycrispand energetic fielding, that no Aucklander could score 50 or over in anyof the 22innings. In fact only two Auckland batsmen, Richard King and Dion Nash(bothwho learned some or much of their early cricket skills in Dunedin) couldscore 30 ormore.King scored 34 and 49, Nash 32 and 49, and it said much for theconsistentquality of the Otago bowling that even these two batsmen seldom lookedinconfident or commanding mood.It may be the Auckland batting style on their home Eden Park No 2ground,or a quirk in the umpiring of two senior men, Barry Frost and DougCowie, butAuckland suffered from a lop-sided lbw count.\ No fewer than eight Aucklanders — five in the first innings, three inthesecond — were out leg-before, while Auckland won their only lbw appealhalfwaythrough Otago’s modest chase for victory this evening.The Otago quicker bowlers were consistent but not quite as dominatingasthat lbw statistic would suggest. Neither did the pitch contain anyspecial vices,although it was to Otago’s advantage that their skipper Matt Horne optedto bowlfirst.But the one-sided lbw count suggested, with more truth, that theAucklanders lacked concentration over longish periods, and that a reallygoodOtago delivery always had a chance to get past a lazy batting stroke.The Otago cricketers are not yet world-beaters. But on the Eden Parkevidence they are certainly not lazy about their cricket.

The chairman of the Interim Committee of the Board of Control forCricket in Sri Lanka, Vijaya Malalasekara, today pledged that the WestIndies would be here in December to play in the triangular tournament and thethree-match Test series.The Test and the triangular series against the West Indies were inthe BCCSL schedule, but there were doubts about the participation of theWest Indies since they had not confirmed anything.Yesterday Malalasekara told CricInfo, before leaving for the ICC meeting in London, that the West Indies had confirmed their participation and that they would definitely be here.Though Sri Lanka have been playing Test cricket for close to two decades, West Indies have played only three Tests against the island nation.The West Indies will start the tour with the triangular series, which also involves Zimbabwe, and then proceed to the three Tests.

March:
Cambridge 313-9 (S Kellett 105, N Mohammed 56).
Leicestershire Cricket Board 155. (T Smith 7-30).
Cambridgeshire won 158 runs.Hastings:
Sussex Cricket Board 210 (CM Mole 51).
Dorset 212-6 (GR Treagus 67).
Dorset won by four wickets.Shropshire:
Wales Minor Counties 205-9 (MJ Newbold 46, LO Jones 44, KP Evans 3-30, Asif Din3-25).
Shropshire 208-4 in 48.2 overs, (JBR Jones 48).
Shropshire won by six wickets.Cleethorpes:
Lincolnshire 254-9 (J Harrison 60, J Clarke 86, Cooper 4-32).
Staffordshire 241 (G Wright 69 & D Womble 73, D Pipes 4-47, SN Oakes 3-30)
Lincolnshire won by 13 runs.Keswick:
Cumberland 239-7 (AA Metcalfe 62, JD Glendenen 51no, TA Hunte 47).
Northumberland 221 (JA Graham 63, PJ Lawson 3-33, JM Fielding 3-59).
Cumberland won by 18 runs.

Gloucestershire carried on from their overnight score of 405 for 4, before declaring at a massive 603 for 8. Rob Cunliffe, who was not out overnight, was eventually dismissed for 120, while his overnight partner Chris Budd remained unbeaten on 159 at the declaration.Chris Budd, who plays club cricket for Thornbury Cricket Club, is a former Gloucestershire Under-19 player and is currently at the University of Bath.For Somerset Keith Parsons ended with 2 for 58 in 14 overs, Graham Rose took 2 for 84, and Cornishman Jason Hall 1 for 40 in his 8.5 overs.Matt Bulbeck did not take the field for the second day after suffering a hamstring injury on Tuesday, which is hopefully not too serious.The Somerset reply started at 2.30pm, and by close of play they had 218 for 4, with opener Chris Hunkin making 55, Mike Coles 46 and Graham Rose remaining unbeaten on 70 at stumps.