England to abandon India tour

England have decided to abandon their current cricket tour of India and return home following the deadly Mumbai attacks, an official source told AFP Thursday.

"They are packing their bags, they are going home," the source said from Cuttack, where England played the fifth match of the seven-game one-day series on Wednesday night.

England will not play the last two games of the series in Guwahati and New Delhi, he said.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) also reported that Kevin Pietersen's men had decided to fly home.

An official announcement was expected to be made shortly.

At least 100 people have been killed in coordinated attacks by Islamist militants in India's commercial capital of Mumbai.

It was, however, not clear if England would return for the two-Test series scheduled to start in Ahmedabad on December 11.

The second Test is due to be played in Mumbai from December 19.

England Cricket Board faces player rebellion over IPL

The IPL bosses are possibly watching with amusement from the sidelines as England's players continue to put pressure on their board. Clearly, the players don't want to miss a chance of pocketing the big dollars on offer and are finding cricketing logic to make their case.

England's cricketers have had a torrid time in India for most of the tour so far but that hasn't dampened their enthusiasm for the country. Most of them want to return to India in April to play in the IPL and the league's bosses are keen on their presence.

"They have said that, we have said that. Now, it is for the ECB to decide," said Sundar Raman, CEO of the Indian Premier League.Not surprisingly the pressure on the ECB is being generated by those men who are likely to be worth megabucks if they become available.Kevin Pietersen is one, who has spoken openly of his desire to play the league and Andrew Flintoff has now given voice to that call, saying, "India's players played in the IPL and have brought that into the 50-over game. It's something I'd be keen to have a go at it on the Indian pitches, with the Indian players and international cricketers. It's possibly now an important development in a player's life."

There is also talk that England's players will hold off signing their central contracts if the ECB doesn't relent. Although, their public stand remains diplomatic."I think somewhere down the line, we want guys to play the IPL because Indian cricket has benefited hugely by being in and around all the great players and I think the English players being in that system could also get benefited by being around the great Indian, Australian, South African players," said former England skipper Michael Vaughan.

IPL bosses want England's players to be available for a substantial part of the seven-week long tournament. For that to happen, either England's domestic season will have to be pushed back or the players will have to rebel against their own board.

England accept power of spin and call in Swann to turn the tide

England will accept the inevitability of India tomorrow and choose a specialist spin bowler for the first time as they seek to recover from 2-0 down in the seven-match one-day international series. And if the selection of Graeme Swann, the Nottinghamshire off-spinner and one-day specialist, does not reverse two heavy defeats, then expect serious consideration of a call-up for Monty Panesar by the time England reach Bangalore.

The belated realisation that England cannot prosper in India without a specialist spin bowler begs the question about what is actually taught on the History GCSE syllabus. And if history makes no impact, then you might wish to consider current affairs instead: in the last Test played in Kanpur, against South Africa in April, India prepared the pitch to favour spin, then saw their spinners take 14 wickets in the match. Harbhajan Singh even took the new ball in the second innings.

Panesar, who flies out to India this week with the England Performance Squad, purportedly to prepare for the Test series, is England's finest spinner for a generation yet has been overlooked for the one-day squad in the belief that he should be regarded as a Test specialist. The irony is that he has been sounded out to play Twenty20 in the Indian Premier League.

The usual reluctance remains to draft in Panesar and admit that the initial squad was misconceived but, if England with Swann do not show dramatic signs of improvement at Green Park, then Monty will be on hand in Bangalore. As England bat deep anyway, with the increasingly impressive Stuart Broad as low as No9, it begs the question why Swann's extra batting ability compared with Panesar's mastery of the No1 spot matters anyway.

England refused to confirm the possibility of a call-up for Panesar yesterday. India - in an opinion voiced by Yuvraj Singh and privately shared by his teammates - are perplexed by his absence. Plans to prepare Panesar for the Test series with one-to-one coaching sessions with a new spin-bowling coach, Mushtaq Ahmed, have foundered because Mushtaq has yet to gain a work permit, so the logic is taking hold that he might as well join the England one-day party anyway.

England's other concern surrounds their opening batsman. Matt Prior's selection at the top of the order has so far failed to provide the dynamism expected. Ian Bell's one-day reputation is diminishing; Kent's Joe Denly should have been selected but Alastair Cook is here as back-up opener instead. India's opening batsmen have set the bar so high that Cook's orthodoxy seems increasingly outdated in the one-day game. There is even talk of experimenting with Luke Wright.

England have potentially the best 7-8-9 in the world in Samit Patel, Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad, yet in Indore - admittedly facing a highly improbable target - they came in to bat with the match already lost. Coaches talk endlessly these days about the need for players who can finish a game. But it is not a finisher that England need; it is a starter.

As England's thoughts turned to spin, coincidentally they all but abandoned hope of their left-arm seam bowler Ryan Sidebottom featuring in Kanpur when he was sent for a scan on his lower back following the team's arrival. England's itinerary - long on travel every third day - is more exhausting than most realise and Sidebottom's body, it seems, cannot cope. He has been dogged by persistent injuries and it is no surprise to learn that his back is playing up again. His brief England career has been a tribute both to his own persistence and skill and to the values of county cricket but there is a sense that England are not being altogether straightforward about his ailments.

England have rejected a request from the Indian board to delay the start of the Ahmedabad Test by a day because the final of the inaugural Champions League - which might involve the India captain, Mahdendra Singh Dhoni - ends the previous evening. The ECB, aware that hundreds of England supporters had already made travel arrangements, resisted the change and Sean Morris, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers Association, praised the ECB's efforts to "preserve the sanctity of Test cricket".

Slow alternatives

James Tredwell Kent, Age 26

This off-spinning all-rounder who is also a fine slip fielder, has fallen from favour this year but was a member of the performance squad in 2007 and was brought into the full England squad in New Zealand last winter

Adil Rashid Yorkshire, 20

The most successful England-qualified spinner last summer with 65 first-class wickets. He can bat too. But this leg-spinner is only 20 and is thought not to be ready yet

Gareth Batty Worcestershire, 31

Test ave 66.63. ODI ave 73.50

Played in seven Tests and seven ODIs but perhaps England discarded this combative all-rounder too soon.

England in deadlock over deal to release players for IPL

Talks held in Bombay were described as constructive, though that does not mean very much in a place where as much falls down as is built.

Meanwhile, England coach Peter Moores must try to get his players to focus on the second one-day international against India here, never easy when players with unsigned central contracts are watching developments about IPL more closely than Harbhajan Singh's doosra.

There must be money, egos and reputations at stake for the ECB not to have sorted this out by now (meetings are scheduled over the next few weeks). Having provided the team with four coaches, a national performance centre, a sports psychologist, a masseur, a trainer, a doctor and two security officers to prepare for this tour, they seem prepared to allow ongoing uncertainty over the IPL to undermine it all.

It isn't just a boardroom duel between the ECB and Board of Control for Cricket in India. The Players Union, the PCA, negotiate central contracts on behalf of players and want their say, too. Sean Morris, the PCA chief executive says that most of the England team have been in talks with IPL franchises, a claim not upheld by Paul Collingwood.

"I haven't had an approach," Collingwood said. "I would like to play in the IPL if there is a window and it doesn't get in the way of playing for England.

"The main thing for me, my love, is wearing the Three Lions and putting on the England shirt. Obviously the benefits of playing in the IPL are huge financially and if there is a window available, of course players will want to play in it."

One of England's leading one-day cricketers, Collingwood professed surprise that central contracts hadn't been signed. Last year's weren't signed until January, but the sticking point there was image rights, not Twenty20 cricket in India.

"We haven't signed our contracts yet and to be honest I don't know why we haven't signed them," Collingwood said. "It's an issue between the PCA and the ECB. Last year we didn't sign our contracts until January so you can read into that what you like. I don't think there are any issues with IPL, it's just been delayed."

Money, not cricket, is the real driver here. The IPL is scheduled for six weeks starting around April 10. That clashes with the first tranche of Tests and one-day matches played in England, scheduled to be against Sri Lanka, but under pressure because leading players from there and West Indies, the alternative opponents, are involved in IPL.

Cancellation of those early internationals, while perhaps prudent from a player point of view, is not really feasible financially, the ECB's lucrative TV deal with Sky having been struck with them in mind.

Then there is the English Twenty20 league.To get maximum value from TV rights, the ECB need Indian players so it can be sold to Indian TV. But Lalit Modi, deputy commissioner of the BCCI and IPL's creator, will only release them if there is a quid pro quo with English players in IPL, though not for the brief window the ECB are proposing.

Modi wants them to be available for most of the six weeks and to sign for two years, something the ECB cannot possibly commit to. Clearly, something has to give and with both clout and money already guaranteed by the IPL, it doesn't look like being Modi and the BCCI.

England left reeling by Yuvraj Singh onslaught

Kevin Pietersen had insisted that his team and their supporters should not fret about England's recent displays against the Stanford Superstars in Antigua and a Mumbai second XI here in India, even though England were bowled out for 99 and 98 respectively.

According to him, these were temporary blips, performances that would not be repeated once the serious cricket started and his players switched on their big-match temperament. Well, the serious stuff started here yesterday morning and it made little difference to the quality of England's performance. To say that England were totally outplayed by India in the first of seven one-dayers would be a grave understatement: Pietersen's side were pulverised, conceding a whopping 387, more than any of the previous 498 teams selected to play one-day cricket for England.

In reply to India's huge score, a total dominated by an often brutal, occasionally beautiful but always brilliant unbeaten 138 from Yuvraj Singh, England were dismissed for 229. The 158-run defeat was the fourth-heaviest England have suffered.

The manner in which the match unfolded was in stark contrast to when Pietersen captained England against South Africa at the end of the summer. Then he could do no wrong. Every decision he made came off whether it be selectorial or tactical.

Yesterday, no matter how hard he tried, nothing went right for him. Pietersen's logic was right when he won the toss but the ball swung for one over. In August the ball went to wherever he moved a fielder; yesterday it went where he had moved him from. On the couple of occasions he tried to be cute it backfired too. Bringing Paul Collingwood on immediately after the drinks break was not a ridiculous move, but the over conceded 19 runs and India were away again.

In the long run Pietersen should benefit from the experience. If his honeymoon as captain did not end in Antigua a fortnight ago it has now, but the adventure will have given him a better idea of what the job truly entails. "It was difficult and it is always hard to take a loss," Pietersen admitted. "I hate losing but when Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag play like that you are always going to be behind the game. There are improvements we can make. I am not excited by the fact we were 40 for 4 on that pitch.

"I am a little concerned that we have lost the momentum we had at the end of the summer, but I know you are not going to win every game as captain. It is how you bounce back that counts. We are 1-0 down but there are six more games and we will have to show mental strength to come back and hit India hard at Indore on Monday."

Whether his bowlers will have recovered from their public flogging by then is another matter. With the exception of Andrew Flintoff, whose initial eight overs cost only 34 runs, England's attack was laboured. On an unresponsive pitch with short boundaries Samit Patel was always going to struggle but James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Stephen Harmison all looked short of match practice.

Flintoff showed that Indian batsmen can be contained if the bowling is accurate and aggressive but Harmison, who bowls in a similar manner to his best mate, does not possess the same control. Anderson and Broad pitched the ball up looking for swing, but when it did not deviate off the straight they had nowhere to go.

A sure sign of not being primed was the inability to bowl yorkers. England's bowlers tried to hit the length but most ended up being full tosses or length balls, which Yuvraj dispatched with ease. Even Flintoff disappeared, conceding 33 in his final two overs. In all the final 10 overs cost 124 runs.

Poorly as England bowled, huge credit must be given to Yuvraj because his was a very special performance. The enigmatic left-hander struck the ball beautifully, smiting 16 boundaries and six sixes in his 78-ball innings. That Yuvraj is not considered good enough for India's Test side highlights the quality of cricketer the country now possesses.

Much will be made of Yuvraj's back injury and his use of a runner for the majority of his innings. The ailment did not appear to affect his strokeplay and there were many quizzical looks as he lithely sent the ball flying to and over the boundary. Some will feel it was a calculated decision so that he remained fresh. It is hard to believe. A runner normally causes huge mix-ups that often result in a run-out, and Yuvraj would not have wanted to be dismissed through no fault of his own.

He will grab the headlines but it was the excellent opening partnership of 127 between Gambhir and Sehwag that allowed him the freedom to play as he did. Suresh Raina highlighted his potential too before Mahendra Singh Dhoni added the finishing touches with Yuvraj.

England's reply got off to an awful start with Matt Prior and Owais Shah falling in the opening five overs; Ian Bell and Flintoff soon followed. Pietersen passed 50 but a record defeat loomed when he was run out. Lusty, carefree batting from the lower order helped England avoid total humiliation but that could follow in the coming week if Pietersen's troops continue not to "switch their heads on".

India's run glut: Rajkot landmarks

*Yuvraj Singh's first hundred runs came up in 64 balls – the ninth-fastest ODI century and the fastest against England.

*India's 387 for 5 is their highest ODI score at home and their second-highest anywhere. The highest was against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup.

*India's total beats Pakistan's 353 in Karachi in 2005 as the highest ODI total conceded by England.

*It was England's second-heaviest ODI defeat in terms of runs.

England Team Suffers From Bad Grammar

The England cricket team is, or 'are', facing enormous problems ahead of the One-Day Series against India, as, for the second time in 10 days, it was, or 'they were', depending on your grammar, skittled-out for less than, or 'fewer than', 100 runs in Mumbai.

Chasing the Mumbai President's XI's rather modest total of 222 for 7, England collapsed to 98 all out, in what was supposed to be the final warm-up match ahead of the seven-match series.

Just last week, in the Stanford Allstar Superseries in Antigua, they were humbled-out for a marginally better 99, and it now seems they are experiencing the 'Nervous Nineties', a condition that usually applies to a batsman when he starts to get within a whiff of his century.

The tension being felt by the team may have something to do with the question over whether they/it should be referred to as a single or a plural noun.

Many commentators write about the England team in a singular way:

"The England team is facing defeat."

Others talk about them in the plural sense:

"The England team are facing defeat."

It's this confusion which is thought to be causing the unrest and lack of concentration amongst the team, and Kevin Pietersen (without an 'o' for goodness sake!) needs to put the grammatical anomaly right quickly, if they are to challenge the Indians in the upcoming, or up-coming, Test Series. (is that right with capitals?)

ECB anger at 'garden party'

Players' chief Sean Morris has likened the organisation of the much-hyped Stanford Super Series to that of "a garden party".

Morris, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, is in Antigua for Saturday's showpiece '20/20 for 20' match between England and the Stanford Superstars and has revealed he is concerned by a lack of professionalism in the event.

The England and Wales Cricket Board are thought to be preparing a review of the competition after concerns over the quality of the pitch and floodlights.

There has also been criticism of the match's benefactor, Sir Allen Stanford, who was seen cavorting with some of the players' wives and girlfriends and has enjoyed access to the dressing rooms.

The Texan billionaire has played down these worries, insisting the pitch and the lighting would be better in the final and dismissing the WAG incident as a piece of harmless fun for which he has apologised.

But Morris said: "We met last night with the majority of players and there is a feeling that they are pretty uncomfortable with a number of things.

"It all gives you a feeling that you are turning up for a garden party, which shouldn't be the case with England cricket. They are turning up for a tough game of international cricket and it doesn't feel that way.

"Instead there is a sense that the game has been devalued in terms of a contest because there is a little more luck involved on these sort of pitches. And that, mirrored with a couple of things off the field, created a feeling that it is not entirely the most professional event they have attended."

Kevin Pietersen's England take on Chris Gayle's team on Saturday night in a winner-takes-all showdown worth $1million to each member of the winning side and $20million in total.

Stanford farce forces ECB to act

With the destiny of the bounty yet to be decided, the men running English cricket yesterday announced a review into their relationship with the Texan multi-billionaire Sir Allen Stanford. Three days before the $20m winner take all match is due to be played here it appeared to dawn on the England and Wales Cricket Board that they might have made a catastrophic error of judgement.

Their belated concerns, however, might not prevent serious questions about the futures of the Giles Clarke and David Collier, respectively the ECB's chairman and chief executive. The Stanford Twenty20 Super Series, although at last adorned with a close and thrilling game on Tuesday night in which not a brass farthing was being played for, has been a public relations disaster. Whatever the complications of the deal and however apparently irresistible the money was, the tournament has become less and less desirable by the day.

The cricket has largely been of poor quality, the pitch and the floodlights have been criticised, the backer himself was forced to apologise to England for his faintly curious behaviour with some of the players' wives and the players themselves are fed up with being asked about the loot.

Painfully aware of the opprobrium being shoved in their direction, the ECB probably had no option but to respond – although the other choice was to get out of Antigua with the loot before saying anything. "There are lessons to be learned for us all from the events of this week," said a spokesman. "That was always going to be the case because it is new territory for all of us, the ECB and Sir Allen. With four years of the agreement still to run there may be things we can do differently."

The ECB can say that again. They have this series and a quadrangular Stanford T20 tournament in England for the next four years to survive yet. It may not be their fault that the cricket has not quite lived up to Twenty20 expectations but they should have expected all the scrutiny and scepticism that have emerged this week. From the moment that the ECB and Sir Allen unveiled a case filled with $20m in cash at Lord's last June to be paid for an exhibition match between England and the Stanford Superstars it has been plain that this event has been almost exclusively about the cash and the rich man supplying it.

The photograph of him in close contact with some of the players' partners at England's opening game on Sunday – for which the women have been most unfairly maligned – merely supplemented the vague tackiness of the event. When he was seen joshing in the stands with David Collier the night after (he must tell really smashing jokes) it seemed entirely in keeping.

The players also realise that they face criticism but are being much more thoughtful and less disingenuous than some concerned. As fast bowler Stephen Harmison said yesterday: "I think it is good for the game, but at the wrong time. The game will benefit as well as the players in the long run because the money will filter down to the right places. But at the minute with the squeeze on credit and what's happening in England and the world people will criticise the players."

Collier remains adamant that the ECB had no option but to take the cash. With government funding for all sports down he may have a point and the £3.5m of the pot which will go into the ECB's coffers will be useful, although not so handy as the £13m that might make its way to the players.

It will certainly help to fund the £600,000 that the board loaned to each of the 18 counties earlier this week to get them out of the financial mire. There is a feeling at the ECB that if they had not taken Stanford's cash somebody else might have done. But it has already been a high price to pay.

Middlesex denied in Champions Cup

Trinidad & Tobago claimed the big-money Champions Cup in the Stanford Series, beating Middlesex by five wickets.

Middlesex started slowly, and at the halfway point of the innings were 40-4.

Eoin Morgan made 30 and Neil Dexter hit two fours and three sixes in 39 from 25 balls as 37 came from the final three overs and Middlesex mustered 117-8.

Middlesex had their opponents at 50-4 after 11 overs, but three catches went down, Denesh Ramdin hit 41 and a Darren Bravo six won it with four balls left.

The victory was worth $280,000, not the $20m for which England and Stanford Superstars compete on Saturday, but rather more than taken at an early season match at Southgate.

Middlesex chose to bat and although it was the spinners who exerted the pressure, West Indies seamer Ravi Rampaul picked up the early wickets with some lively pace and bounce.

Neil Carter, the controversial loan signing for Middlesex's Twenty20 campaigns this winter, failed again with the bat, deceived by the extra lift from Rampaul and edging to the keeper backing away attempting to force through the off-side.

Ed Joyce also only made a single, fishing at one outside off-stump from Rampaul.

Andrew Strauss was clearly conscious of the overs ticking by and succumbed to a pre-meditated charge down the wicket at Sherwin Ganga, younger brother of the captain, Darren.

Ganga jr fired the ball in wide of off-stump and Strauss was way out of his ground.

Tyron Henderson returned to the Middlesex team after injury but his renowned big-hitting was restricted to one brutal swipe for four before another flat, quicker ball from Ganga jr surprised him and uprooted the off-stump.

Catching was the main talking point of Sunday's match with England, and was to prove decisive in this game, but only two high chances were offered in the Middlesex innings, William Perkins never looking likely to take the first one as Dawid Malan's lofted stroke slipped straight through his hands.

The talented Malan made only three, however, before he flicked straight into the midriff of backward square-leg.

But it was Dexter who gave the innings some impetus and some bold strokeplay worked for him, his first six a sweetly-timed shot straight down the ground that bounced on the top of the large grandstand roof.

Amit Jaggernauth did take a catch in the deep when Dexter launched another big hit, but his momentum carried him over the rope.

Dexter hit 10 off the first three balls of Rampaul's final over, but the big seamer struck twice in two balls, finishing with 4-25 that was to earn him man-of-the-match, Shaun Udal suffering a golden duck in addition to his tweaked hamstring in the warm-up.

The first over of the match was bowled by leg-spinner Samuel Badree but Udal opted for a seam attack, and found immediate success.

Perkins drove the third ball straight back at Tim Murtagh and Carter's first delivery swung up to trap Lendl Simmons.

Udal brought himself and spin twin Murali Karthik into the attack with 94 needed from 84 balls but the Ganga brothers calmly brought their side back into contention with a stand of 45.

Leg-spinner Malan was brought into the attack to try to break the partnership and did so with his very first ball, Ganga jr hoisting straight to the mid-wicket boundary where Murtagh judged the catch expertly in his midriff.

In the same over Malan produced a delivery of Shane Warne proportions, drifting and spinning sharply to lure the captain out of his ground and Ben Scott whipped off the bails.

Bravo, younger brother of injured West Indies all-rounder Dwayne, had made six when Joyce spilled a chance that went straight to him at long-on and 45 were needed from the final 30 balls.

Middlesex spurned another catch, this time lower and closer to the wicket, as Carter fumbled at backward point, Karthik again the unlucky, and incensed, bowler.

Two balls later and Carter was hit for six, a startled Morgan fumbling the opportunity on the boundary, and as the pressure intensified Carter was no-balled for a high full toss that was expertly cut away for six more by Ramdin.

Although Ramdin was stumped in the penultimate over by the alert Scott when his back foot hovered inches above the ground, the damage had been done for Middlesex and Bravo thumped the winning hit high over long-on.

I have nothing to explain says Mushtaq Ahmed

England's new spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed is not concerned by reports the ICC will investigate his past links with bookmakers.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) hired Mushtaq, 38, this month to tutor spin bowlers like Monty Panesar and aspiring internationals.

The former leg-spinner was available having retired from first-class cricket this year due to a knee injury.

"I am not concerned by this because I was assistant coach with the Pakistan team twice in recent years," Mushtaq told Reuters by telephone from Lahore.

"I have no issues to explain and I am satisfied with what I am doing. Hopefully everything is sorted out now with the ECB."

The Sunday Telegraph claimed the International Cricket Council (ICC) was unhappy that the ECB had appointed Mushtaq.

It said the ICC would send the ECB a letter "to be written by chief executive Haroon Lorgat in consultation with their Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (that) will demand to know if the ECB were aware of Mushtaq's tainted background and took it into account when they made the appointment."

The newspaper said the ICC would also question the ECB for hiring Mushtaq's former team mate Waqar Younis, who was named along with Mushtaq in a report in 2000 by Justice Qayyum, who conducted a thorough investigation into match-fixing.

Both Mushtaq and Waqar were censured and fined by the Qayyum Commission in Pakistan. Qayyum was quoted as saying of Mushtaq at the time: "He has brought the name of the Pakistan team into disrepute with, inter alia, associating with gamblers."

Mushtaq was fined 300,000 rupees (£3,789) and Waqar 100,000 (£1,264), the newspaper said. It added that the commission recommended Mushtaq should be "kept under close watch and be not given any office of responsibility in the team or on the board", while Waqar "should be kept under observation and investigated".

While Lorgat, who joined the ICC in July, may question the ECB's moral responsibilities he also knows the ICC does not have the powers to hand down a ban.

The ECB, in turn, would probably ask the ICC why it did not raise the same concerns with the Pakistan Cricket Board when Mushtaq coached their team.

"I don't want to go into details about the past, I just want to do my job and serve cricket and I shall not be worrying about these things," Mushtaq added.

"I am unsure why this has surfaced when I was assistant coach to Bob Woolmer in 2005 and 2006 for two series against England and India.

"Then I worked with Bob again at the 2007 World Cup. I'm passionate about my job and that is all I am thinking of."

Ashes are all that matter, not T20 distraction

It may come as a surprise to Kevin Pietersen that some things are simply impossible. Neither the word nor the concept is familiar to him. But he was being quite ridiculous when he said last week, looking forward to England's winter: "Playing Australia is hard but I want to steer away from Ashes, Ashes, Ashes. It's very important what's happening in the next couple of months."

He might have tried whistling in the wind to be certain of being heard more clearly. All roads this winter lead to the 2009 Ashes for England. For Pietersen, the new captain, it is both a curse and a blessing.

Whatever England do and wherever they go in the next eight months, they will be scrutinised in the context of next summer's renewal of the oldest cricketing rivalry. In microcosm, that will apply to Pietersen more than anybody else.

The exception to this may, just, be the events of the next few days and in particular the match taking place in Antigua next Saturday: Stanford Superstars v England, worth $1m (£609,190) to each member of the winning team and $20m in all – the so-called Twenty20 for Twenty. This match has no relevance to the Ashes or anything else. It is a one-off and Pietersen, while doing his employers' bidding, is clearly discomfited by it and what surrounds it.

He made a spirited defence of Test cricket to a gathering of reporters, all of whom were weaned on Test cricket and consider it to be akin to mother's milk, and it was clear from everything he said that the matches which will truly exercise him in the next year are all played over five days: two against India, four against West Indies, two against whomever can be persuaded to play England next May and then the little matter of the quintet against Australia.

But Pietersen is painfully aware that the landscape is changing, and was unruffled by the suggestion that its time may be up. "From my point of view, Test cricket is the big stuff," he said. "I know that my kids or even 10-year-olds right now might just be thinking that they just want to play Twenty20. It is worrying, but that might be the future. Look at televisions, they are high definition now, not black and white with fuzzy screens. That's just the natural progression."

But Twenty20 has changed the way players operate. For instance, as Pietersen pointed out, England will play a Middlesex side tomorrow containing the Warwickshire all-rounder Neil Carter, who is on loan for the county's T20 assignments this winter. "Since the Indian Premier League came in, people are franchising themselves, like Carter, playing against us, which is a disgrace really."

Despite his passion and his nous, it had not seemed to occur to Pietersen that Tests might also be in trouble because nobody is watching them. "The fortunate thing for England is that we play in front of capacity crowds all the time. You want to challenge yourself and part of that is playing to full houses, and we do that here. Hopefully in the Ashes next year we can captivate a huge audience. Of the 40-odd Tests, I don't think I've played in any as close as the five against Australia in 2005.

"The tickets have sold for it quicker than for a Robbie Williams concert. The Ashes is something special, I really don't think we'll have to worry here. I haven't spoken to many people about Test crowds elsewhere but I will after this."

See how hard it was to avoid talking about the Ashes. He might understand the folly of doing so because there are indeed more imminent contests, but he could not help himself when asked. Pietersen is still in his honeymoon period as the official England captain, a period extended by his remarkable start in the job – played five, won five.

This might also apply to his relations with his bosses at the England and Wales Cricket Board. As long as Pietersen keeps winning he can more or less call the shots, even if they are as outrageous as the ones he plays.

The IPL clearly still appeals, and it seems that negotiations are advanced for him to play there next year. Theoretically, this could mean him missing two Test matches which are not yet set in stone but which the ECB seem determined to play. But Pietersen was not being completely disingenuous by pointing out that England players needed T20 experience before next year's T20 World Championship.

It is, as usual, some winter ahead for England and some summer after that. The sooner the Antiguan distraction is done the better for all concerned. And then, as Pietersen must know deep down, all the signs thereafter – whether they be from Ahmedabad in December, or Port of Spain in March – point only one way.

ECB boost domestic prize money

As England's one-day team began preparations for a match which could net players $US1 million ($A1.49 million) each, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a 150 percent increase in domestic prize money.

The board is keen to safeguard the primacy of Test cricket and the first-class game that prepares players for what most English fans still regard as the pinnacle of the sport.

To that end the total sum on offer to the winners of the four-day first-class County Championship will rise from STG100,000 ($A242,000) to STG500,000 ($A1.21 million).

Players in the winning county will receive STG350,000 ($A848,000) in prize money and the county itself collecting STG150,000 ($A363,500) as a reward payment.

The total prize money and reward payment for the Championship will rise to STG1.06 million ($A2.57 million). The runners up will receive STG225,000 ($A545,000) of which 175,000 pounds will go to the players and 50,000 to the county. In 2008 the runners-up received 40,000.

There were also what the ECB said were "significant rises" in the prize money and reward payments for the winners of the final NatWest Pro40 competition and for the county which lifts the Friends Provident Trophy at the Lord's final in late July.

England players have been barred from appearing in the lucrative Indian Premier League because the dates have clashed with international commitments.

England moots plan to host all-Asian cricket tests

England could host tests between Asian countries in a bid to capitalize on immigrant populations and boost dwindling crowds for the five-day game.

The England and Wales Cricket Board believes Pakistan could attract a bigger attendance at grounds like Headingley, in the heart of Yorkshire's large population of south Asian origin, than at home.

ECB chairman Giles Clarke's proposal comes amid security concerns in Pakistan. Leading teams indicated they wouldn't attend the Champions Trophy slated for last month, forcing the biennial 50-over event to be postponed.

"It might be said that Pakistan might get a better crowd in Leeds than in Karachi," Clarke told The Wisden Cricketer magazine. "It's something we are considering, how we play these types of games and where we can play them.

"I like the idea of providing the opportunity with our fabulous grounds and our huge ethnic minority populations, who are keen to see their own heroes. And it may be in the interests of cricket; that's the most important thing for me."With the Twenty20 format emerging as a more lucrative form of the game, Clarke is also keen to protect test cricket's status.

"I doubt very much whether we will play fewer than five tests against Australia and we have negotiated 'icon series' status with South Africa and will play five tests there on our next tour," Clarke said. "There is a strong awareness within the ICC of how important test cricket is and of the importance of looking after it. There is only so much I can do."

Waqar to be bowling coach of ECB Academy

Former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis has accepted an offer from the England and Wales Cricket Board to tour India with their academy team as a bowling consultant.

"They asked me if I could accompany their academy team which is going to tour a work with young bowlers," Waqar said in Toronto where he is commentating on the four-nation Twenty20 tournament.

"They felt that with my experience of subcontinent pitches and having played in India I would be able to play a part in developing their bowlers," he said. Pakistan's former leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed has also accepted a role as bowling consultant with the ECB for next year.

Waqar said he was willing to work as a coach with the Pakistan team if the right offer was made to him. "I have a lot of respect for the new Chairman, Ejaz Butt. He is a good man and I will speak to him. If he has something in mind I will definitely consider a coaching position with the team," the former captain said.

Waqar stepped down as bowling coach of the Pakistan team before the 2007 World Cup after differences with the former Chairman Nasim Ashraf. Meanwhile, the former Pakistan captain also had a word of advice for Shoaib Akhtar, who, he felt, could play for another three years.

"Shoaib has always been a quality bowler and he can play for another three years but he has to look after himself and pay lot of attention on his fitness. He will have to readjust his bowling priorities as well to continue playing at the international level," Waqar said.

England cricket coach jailed over child porn videos

A New Zealand-born fitness coach with the England cricket team was jailed in Britain overnight for six months for downloading "disgusting" child porn movies.

Marques Church, 31, who has worked with star players including Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen, was arrested after running up a £23,000 ($62,670) on his laptop in just a month, Britain's Daily Mail reported .

The internet account was paid for by the England and Wales Cricket Board, which launched an urgent inquiry into the huge bill.

Horrified officials found 13 indecent video clips involving children as young as four in a folder on the machine marked "incomplete".

Leicester Crown Court was told that 10 of the films were categorised as Level Four and one at Level Five, the most serious category.

Police were called and Church, who specialised in strength and conditioning training, was arrested at his home in Loughborough, Leics.

He said he had been through a relationship breakdown and was a "low point" in his life, and claimed he had deleted the images after looking at them.

He began working with the England cricket team in April last year but resigned when the offences came to light in June.

Jenny Carter-Manning, defending, said Church had committed the offences during a 'truly awful time' in this life. His fiance of eight years had left him, his father's mutiple sclerosis worsened and a grandparent died.

He had suffered what could only be described as a "total breakdown" she claimed.

Church, who admitted five counts of making indecent images of children, claimed he had no sexual interest in children and intended to return to New Zealand as soon as possible.

Passing sentence Judge Michael Pert, QC, told him: "It should be made clear these are video films you deliberately obtained of young girls involved in sexual activity with adult men.

"That sort of material is wholly unacceptable and only brought about by the exploitation of young children in countries where there is little money.

"You have fuelled that trade. You would not be the first person with a sexual interest in young children to deny it.

"We have to take these matters seriously - these are disgusting offences.'

The court was told Church had been a rugby player in his native country before coming to live in Britain several years ago.

He accompanied the England cricketers on their tour of New Zealand for the first Test earlier this year and travelled with the A team to India last year.

England cricket coach on child porn charge

A New Zealand-born fitness coach with the England cricket team is to be sentenced in Britain this week after he admitted downloading child pornography.

Marques Church, 31, was arrested after running up a 61,000 dollars bill on an Internet connection account paid for by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

When officials investigated the bill, they found 14 indecent images of children on Churchs laptop in a folder marked incomplete.

The images included pictures of an 11-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy, the Mail Online website reported.

Church, who has worked with star players including Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen, was understood to have resigned from his job as the teams strengthening and conditioning coach.

At a hearing in Loughborough Magistrates Court, prosecutor Lynn Manning said Church had become obsessed by the images after a breakdown in his long-term relationship and was previously of good character.

Church will be sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Friday.

Pietersen backs Vaughan to be given England central contract

England will on Tuesday reveal which players are to be most handsomely rewarded over the coming months - and the presence or otherwise of Michael Vaughan's name will be most intriguing.

Former captain Vaughan, 33, is expected to be among the dozen rewarded with 12-month central contracts despite his lack of form for Yorkshire since relinquishing the Test leadership to Kevin Pietersen.

Of Englishmen, only Michael Atherton captained England on more occasions than the 51 Vaughan managed and no-one comes close in the wins column.

But the selectors must look beyond the sentimental vote and consider whether he is still good enough to feature for his country over the next year.

National selector Geoff Miller will reveal the decision at Lord's at the same time the 15-man squad to take part in the £10million Stanford challenge and seven one-day internationals in India is announced.

"What I would do is not give Michael Vaughan a central contract but I would take him on the tours of India and West Indies," former England colleague Graham Thorpe, speaking at the npower Village Cup final, said.

"Both Michael Vaughan himself and the captain would have to know that he could do it still.

"I still think he is a good enough player but there are a few unknowns to the situation.

"It might be that he turns around at some stage and says he cannot do it any more.

"There are questions that need to be answered; let's see what he is like without the captaincy; let's see if he can flourish as a batsman again.

"If he was in good form you would want him playing against Australia next year.

"It is worth knowing whether he has the drive, hunger and desire to score those kind of runs once more."

Since quitting in the aftermath of Test series defeat to the South Africans last month, Vaughan has been unequivocal in his desire to extend his international career and participate in another Ashes series next summer.

But he has failed four times with the bat for Yorkshire since and is running out of time to prove his worth ahead of the Test squad to tour India being announced on September 29.

In truth, he has been living somewhat on reputation as a batsman during the past injury-plagued three years, having shown only fleeting glimpses of the class that made him man of the series in the 2002-03 Ashes defeat and elevated his status briefly to that of Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara.

There is also the matter of how he copes post-captaincy, should the selection be favourable.

"We should applaud him on the England captaincy for the period he did the job," added Thorpe.

"But former England captains getting back into the side have found it different adapting to life back in the ranks.

"Michael Atherton did it fairly well, Nasser Hussain didn't do it as well, I would say. It is not always comfortable going back to being a foot soldier."

Centrally-contracted players are chosen primarily on their perceived worth over the following 12 months - although the award to Andrew Strauss a year ago broke the mould somewhat when he was subsequently left out for the tour of Sri Lanka.

Few changes to the 2007 set are anticipated, although Vaughan's county colleague Matthew Hoggard will be one man to drop out of the equation.

The one-day party also virtually picks itself after the crushing 4-0 victory over South Africa in the recent NatWest Series.

The unchanged XI for those matches, supplemented by Ravi Bopara, Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann and Ryan Sidebottom, if fit after a back problem, can prepare to board the flight to Antigua ahead of the November 1 showdown with Sir Allen Stanford's All Stars.

It is a date which will potentially alter lives, given the £500,000 on offer to players on the winning side, but there is no resentment towards his successors from Thorpe.

"We earned more money than our predecessors and did well out of the game and it has always been the case that the next generation has the chance to be paid a little bit more," he added.

"The next generation to this one will be going to the moon on rockets.

"But I have never been one for looking in other people's gardens - if you get the opportunity then fair play.

"Sometimes money can make people go off the rails, so it is not always good, and most will still play because they love the game."

However, cricket as it is known will change when England walk out for that 20-over match in the Caribbean, with huge purses now decided by near misses.

"Cricket may go through this change," said Thorpe.

"It's not for everybody.

"Football had to overcome a vast change in salaries and so now will cricket.

"Drop a catch in a tight game and it will not be a nice feeling.

"It is similar to football, I guess, when penalties are missed in big tournaments."

England cricket's deadly weapon: Murray Mints

The Australians have rumbled us. England's cricketers, all appointed MBEs by the Queen, apparently cheated when they won the Ashes in 2005. It wasn't superior bowling or more dogged batting - or even luck - that won England the little urn. Instead, it was their secret weapon: Murray Mints.

According to Marcus Trescothick, the opening batsman, England's bowlers used the sugary saliva from sucking on the sweets to moisten the surface of the cricket ball, making it swing through the air. Trescothick was the go-to man when a gobbet of spittle was needed and always kept a packet of mints in the pocket of his whites for such occasions.

Once this became known through the serialisation of Trescothick's autobiography in a Sunday newspaper, the Australian media gleefully leapt on the news. “The secret behind the devastating swing bowling that took England to its historic 2005 Ashes win has been revealed. They cheated,” wrote The Australian. Former players were dredged up to complain about perfidious Albion.

But bowlers have always tried to give themselves an advantage and generally, unless it has been blatant, umpires have turned a blind eye. Suncream-laden sweat or lip balm has the same effect on leather as mint-infused saliva. Why do you think so many bowlers in the 1950s wore Brylcreem? In 1921, Johnny Douglas, the England captain, threatened to report Arthur Mailey, the Australia leg spinner, for using resin to grip the ball. Mailey countered by pointing out that Douglas's thumbnail was worn to the bone by picking at the ball's seam to aid his own bowlers.

England's Murray Mint strategy is a continuation of a long history of bowlers trying to get away with it. And why not? Cricket is a battle between poachers and gamekeepers. The laws of the game, aided by modern pitches, are biased towards the batsmen, so bowlers have to be cunning, even dastardly, in finding ways to get them out.

Seventy-five years ago England invented Bodyline - bowling fast at the batsman's head - to counter the batting of Don Bradman (born, coincidentally, 100 years ago today). That was against the spirit of the game but not the rules as they then stood. Attacking a ball with mint-spit is against the rules, which say you can't use any artificial substance on the ball, but not the spirit.

Anyway, the Sunday newspaper got the story wrong. As Trescothick's autobiography makes quite clear, the mischief with the Murray Mints did not happen in 2005 but during the Ashes summer of 2001. England lost that series 4-1, proving that when it comes to cheating, we suck.

Moores will not rein in Pietersen

England coach Peter Moores says he will not attempt to discourage his new captain Kevin Pietersen from batting in his usual flamboyant way.

Pietersen will lead England in the fourth Test against South Africa at The Oval, which starts on Thursday.

"Kevin's got his way of playing and we encourage him to play that way," Moores told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"We'll have different views, as a coach and captain should, but we want to play aggressive and positive cricket."

Pietersen was unveiled as England's Test and one-day skipper following the resignations of Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood on Sunday.

And Moores, speaking for the first time since Pietersen's appointment, said the South African-born batsman had been the overwhelming choice for the job.

"It's always a close decision when it's something as big as the England captaincy," said Moores, who spoke to Pietersen at length before the 28-year-old was offered the job.

"But we felt he could do a really good job. Don't under-estimate Kevin, he didn't get to where he is as a player without being a deep thinker on the game and being able to think clearly.

"The 94 dismissal [in the third Test at Edgbaston, when Pietersen was caught attempting to hit a six] has been talked about a lot, but we had to take the game to them at that stage.

"We were under pressure and his partnership with Paul Collingwood was crucial in getting us to that target of 280 which gave us a great chance of winning the game."

Moores also denied that a rift had opened between himself and Pietersen's predecessor in the weeks before Vaughan's resignation.

It has been widely reported that Vaughan was unhappy with the selection of Australian-born seamer Darren Pattinson for the second Test at Headingley.

Moores said: "We were building a relationship. The press will speculate because we've changed captains.

"We'd had a run as selectors of being very consistent, although we made some tough decisions, like bringing in Stuart Broad and James Anderson in New Zealand.

"As selectors you're not always going to be right, and Darren Pattinson actually performed OK for a guy on debut under pressure."

Moores added that he expected Vaughan to fight for his place in the England team after taking a short break from the game.

"He's still a fine cricketer, it's key now he has a break, has a chance to recharge the batteries and fight to get back in the team as England a batsman," said Moores.

"The hunger is still there to do great things for England, it's not that long ago he was scoring a fantastic hundred against New Zealand.

"He had spoken in the months before about the challenges of captaining England and getting his batting right and the cumulative pressure of that.

"After the game [at Edgbaston] we sat down to discuss preparation for the next Test match and he said it was time to step down and give somebody else a go.

"I respect that and I respect the work he's done over the last five years."

Vaughan has been replaced in the 13-man squad for the final Test by Essex all-rounder Ravi Bopara, although Moores admitted Middlesex's Owais Shah had been unlucky to miss out.

"It was a tough one, we've got a few good players out there," said Moores.

South Africa coach Mickey Arthur has warned his side to be prepared to face an England side he described as being "like a wounded lion" under Pietersen.

"We are expecting a huge backlash from England," he said. "They have new leadership, a new direction, they are all going to want to impress KP, so we are expecting a really tough challenge.

"KP is going to bring a lot to the job; he has had challenges thrown at him all along the way and he has always seemed to come out doing really well - he seems to thrive on it.

"It will be a huge challenge to him. Does it affect his batting? What is his vision going to be?"

Meanwhile, Shane Warne says his former Hampshire team-mate Pietersen will need to "reconsider his whole outlook" as he begins his term as skipper.

The great Australian spinner told the Times: "Kevin Pietersen now stands at a crossroads in his life as well as his career.

"Being England captain will take up more time than he can imagine and he will need to reconsider his whole outlook.

"Within the game worldwide he has a reputation as being an individual, but to be successful a leader must be a giver not a taker - to his team, fringe players, sponsors, the public, everyone."

"Hopefully his captaincy will be similar to his batting: positive, instinctive and entertaining."

Pietersen handed England role

England have appointed Kevin Pietersen as their new captain following Michael Vaughan's resignation after the series loss to South Africa.

Pietersen, 28, will lead England against his native country in the fourth Test against the South Africans starting at The Oval on Thursday.

"I am very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England," Pietersen said.

"It's a huge honour for me and a terrific challenge for me at this stage of my international career.

"I have learned a great deal about leadership from playing under both Michael and Paul (Collingwood) and fully appreciate the level of responsibility that comes with the job of captaining your country.

"My immediate priority will be this week's fourth Test and I will be devoting all my energies to ensuring the team is properly prepared and plays to its full potential starting on Thursday."

South Africa took an unbeatable 2-0 series lead when they defeated England in the third Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Saturday.

Vaughan stepped down on Sunday after five years as England's most successful Test skipper with 26 wins from 51 Tests.

Pietersen, who made his Test debut in the 2005 Ashes series victory over Australia, was also named as the England one-day captain in succession to Collingwood, who resigned on Sunday.

"In choosing a new captain, we were keen to identify a player who could lead the team in all three forms of cricket and bring fresh enthusiasm and ideas to the role of captain," said England chairman of selectors Geoff Miller.

"Kevin is a world-class player who will command the respect of the dressing room and I am sure that he will be looking to lead from the front and work closely with both the players and the coaching staff to bring England success in the future."

Pietersen, born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, opted to play for the country where his mother was born because he disapproved of South Africa's racial quota system.

He qualified for England in September, 2004, and was selected to tour Zimbabwe where he averaged 104 in three one-day innings.

Pietersen was selected to play in the one-day series against South Africa early in 2005 and, in the face of unremitting hostility from the home crowds, struck three centuries in five matches.

He was named ahead of Graham Thorpe to play in the first Test of the memorable 2005 Ashes series at Lord's and marked his debut with two confident half-centuries in a losing cause.

In the final Test at The Oval he took the attack to the Australian bowlers in a match England needed to draw to secure the Ashes, hooking Brett Lee off his eyebrows for six on his way to 158 on the final day.

Since then Pietersen has been England's leading batsman, expanding his repertoire to include a reverse sweep of Muttiah Muralitharan for six against Sri Lanka, and striking 226 against

West Indies last year. He was also England's best batsman in an unsuccessful World Cup campaign in the Caribbean last year.

Pietersen has captained England once in a one-day international, losing to New Zealand at Lord's this year.

Ravi Bopara has replaced Vaughan in the squad for Thursday's fourth Test while Samit Patel was called up for the one-day squad with Matt Prior recalled in place of Tim Ambrose.

Test squad: Kevin Pietersen (captain), Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss

England one-day squad: Kevin Pietersen (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright