Briefly Cricket: England top order dust off cobwebs

Root (36) shared a 100-run stand with shadow opener Carberry but could not convert the start into a big knock and was trapped leg before by seam bowler Jim Allenby. Carberry missed out on a century when he cut a short and wide Ashton Turner delivery to the backward point. Bell and Trott took England to 270 for two at stumps,still 181 runs behind the hosts total.

Another poor decision review call by Clarke

Australia Test captain Michael Clarke has been reprimanded for showing dissent while playing for New South Wales in a domestic match,Cricket Australia said on Friday. Clarke was reported by the umpires on Thursday for challenging an umpires decision while captaining NSW in a Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in Sydney. CA said an undisclosed batsman was given the benefit of the doubt when a close-to-the-ground catch was claimed at gully and when the umpire gave a not out decision Clarke used the T sign or player decision review signal suggesting the decision should be reviewed by the third umpire. Sheffield Shield matches are not televised and therefore a third umpire is not used. As part of the code of behaviour revisions,if any player uses the T sign,even in jest,it will lead to an automatic report as it shows dissent at the umpire decision,Cricket Australia said.

Record 1 lakh expected for Boxing Day Test

Cricket Australia says all available tickets for the opening day of the December 26 Boxing Day test against England have been sold at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the crowd could break a 52-year-old world record for single-day attendance. The MCGs official capacity is 100,000,although without all the standing room seats being sold,its about 98,000 to 99,000. The current attendance record for a single day is 90,800,also at the MCG,during a West Indies test against Australia in 1961.

Kyle Mills to captain New Zealand in Sri Lanka

Veteran seam bowler Kyle Mills will captain New Zealand for the first time in its one day and Twenty20 cricket series in Sri Lanka later this month. The 34-year-old Mills was named on Friday to lead New Zealand for the first time in a career of 154 one-day internationals in the absence of Brendon McCullum and Kyle Williamson. McCullum has returned from New Zealands current tour to Bangladesh to prepare for Test matches against the West Indies in December,while Williamson quit the tour with a broken thumb. New Zealand will play three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals in Sri Lanka from November 10.

Malik,Razzaq set to return for SA T20s

Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq will return to the national team for the Twenty20 series against South Africa,according to a source in the Cricket Board (PCB). “Razzaq will get a chance to play for Pakistan in the T20 series for the first time since September,2012 when he played in the World T20 championship in Sri Lanka,” the source said. He said the selectors had decided to test out the two experienced seniors in the T20 series and if they perform well they would also be considered for the ODI series against Sri Lanka which follows in December in the UAE.