New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and coach Andy Moles have been appointed to their national selection panel as part of an overhaul of their selection process.

The pair will replace John Wright and Dion Nash and join Glenn Turner and Matrk Greatbatch, who was promoted to a full-voting member of the four-man panel.

Wright will remain involved as an advisor to the panel but no longer with a vote while Nash stepped down to focus on his business and family commitments.

“The make-up of this selection panel — with the inclusion of both the coach and captain — is innovative but consistent with the way we have been operating,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan said in a statement on Sunday.

“In many other countries the captain has a large say in team selection decisions but we are willing to go the extra step and formally include Daniel on the panel.”

“As coach, Andy needs to have a say in team selection. He will also have a role in liaising with our first-class coaches and assessing their views on the leading players in our domestic competitions.”

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said his current side were well-placed to avoid the errors that saw them lose the Ashes in England in 2005 as he prepared to lead them into this year’s edition.

“Where we were deficient in 2005 was not winning the crucial moments in that series,” Ponting, who oversaw Australia’s 5-0 Ashes series win on home soil in 2006/07, said at Sophia Gardens, where the first Test starts on Wednesday.

“We made enough mistakes to give England an opportunity to win some of those games,” the star batsman also said Tuesday.

He added: “We also saw from 2005 you can have a couple of stand-out players but still lose the series.

“Where we are at at the moment, the way we’ve prepared, the feel around the group, I am just sure we won’t make those mistakes again. I’ve got a really good feeling we are good enough.”

Ponting has yet to win an Ashes series in England as captain but he stressed it would be no more special for him to win them as skipper than as a player.

“It would be great for me, great for everyone in our squad.”

Australia will be without Brett Lee after the fast bowler was forced to withdraw Monday after damaging an abdominal muscle in his left side.

Now the 32-year-old, who has taken 310 wickets in 76 Tests, could be out until at least the third match of the series at Edgbaston.

However, Australia know about life without Lee, who missed their series win in South Africa earlier this year following foot and ankle injuries, with left-armer Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle sharing the new ball.

Ponting insisted the remaining competition for a spot in Australia’s attack had not come down to a straight choice between paceman Ben Hilfenhaus and off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, whose two wickets on this tour have cost 260 runs.

“We’ve got a number of different ways we can go. Do you play four quicks, three quicks and a medium-pacer (Andrew McDonald or Shane Watson), or three quicks and a spinner. All those things are right in the equation for us.”

This will be Australia’s first match in Cardiff since their shock loss here to Bangladesh in a One-Day International in 2005, where controversial all-rounder Andrew Symonds was dropped from the side on the morning of the game after a late night out in Cardiff.

“I don’t remember the Bangladesh game to tell the truth,” said Ponting, There’s a completely different feel around the ground.”

This will be the first Test ever played in Cardiff and Ponting, jokingly, said: “I’m expecting a lot of support down here, considering we are in Wales.

“The fans in England really appreciate good cricket. Yeah, we’ll kop a bit through the next couple of months but at the end of the day it’s generally pretty light-hearted and can help you get through a day’s play.

“The guys know the intensity in this series will lift from anything they have played in the past.”

Ponting added he first became aware of the importance of the Ashes as a teenager in Tasmania when his uncle, Greg Campbell, was selected for the 1989 squad that toured England.

“It goes back a long time for me. My uncle was selected in the 1989 Ashes touring squad. I remember going down to his house just after his kit arrived, with his baggy green (cap), his jumper and his playing shirts.

“To go through that and touch the baggy green cap was where the dream of playing Ashes cricket really all started.”

Australia captain Ricky Ponting heads into the upcoming Ashes series against England looking to erase the one blot on a CV filled with outstanding achievements.

Ponting, one of the most talented batsmen of his and many another generation, has yet to captain his country to Ashes glory in England.

He was in charge when Australia lost their first Ashes series in nearly 20 years when England won 2-1 on home soil four years ago.

“I was disappointed to lose the Ashes in 2005 as the entire touring group were,” said Ponting. “I’ve been lucky to play in an era of Australian cricket that’s been very dominant.

“One thing I haven’t been able to achieve as captain is to win an Ashes series in England and I’ll make sure that I get that point across to the rest of the guys.”

Will he ever.

The fact the Tasmanian was in charge when Australia regained the Ashes 5-0 ‘Down Under’ in 2006/07 won’t lessen his determination to do well now.

His captaincy skills have been repeatedly ‘bagged’ with former Australia fast bowler Jeff Thomson stinging in his criticisms again this week.

But Thomson also said Australia had the better line-up and that may yet prove to be true even though they are now without retired stars Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist.

The loss of leg-spin great Warne and accurate paceman McGrath, who between them took 49 wickets in the last Ashes series, has made life harder for Ponting in the field, as it would for any captain.

Even so he still led Australia to a Test series win in South Africa after the Proteas had had to perform brilliantly to win the preceding series in Australia.

They don’t have those legends they had but the guys that have come in have done a good job and they will be determined to make their own mark in Australian cricket,” said England captain Andrew Strauss.

In left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson and the emerging Peter Siddle, Australia have a lively pair of fast bowlers.

Meanwhile the way veteran quick Brett Lee reverse-swung the ball to take five wickets against England Lions at Worcester on Thursday suggested a skill that proved their undoing in 2005 has been mastered by at least one Australian.

But the question is have Australia’s batsmen got better at playing it? Left-hander Gilchrist was driven to distraction by Andrew Flintoff’s bowling in 2005 and Australia’s top order contains several of his fellow southpaws.

However, taking 20 wickets in a Test has proved a problem for England in recent times.

Flintoff, England’s hero four years ago, is coming back from a knee injury while star batsman Kevin Pietersen heads into the Ashes under the cloud of an Achilles problem.

England do at least appear to have more and better spin options than Australia although it will be up to the home side’s batsmen to give the likes of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar something to bowl at, even on a Cardiff pitch for next week’s Ashes opener which has a reputation for taking turn.

Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, an unusually conservative selection by Australian standards, has rarely looked like taking a wicket so far on tour, a vindication of the damning assessment of former Australia captain Ian Chappell that containers should remain the preserve of the shipping industry.

“One of the great strengths of Australian cricket has been how adaptable we’ve been over a long period of time,” said Ponting.

“Yes Swann has done a good job in the games he’s played but I see him as being fairly similar to Nathan Hauritz. They are not overly big spinners.”

If Australia do leave Hauritz out, it will mean Ponting having to fiddle overs from the likes of Michael Clarke and Marcus North if his quicks are not to run the risk of burnout.

Australia opener Phillip Hughes burst on the scene in South Africa with back-to-back hundreds in only his second Test but the unorthodox left-hander was roughed up by fast bowler Stephen Harmison against the Lions.

Having said that Harmison, equally capable of sending the ball to second slip as he is of sending down a blistering bouncer, is currently out of the England side and may not feature in the Ashes at all.

In Strauss, England have a captain who helped unify the side after the fall-out from Pietersen’s enforced resignation from the post.

A sound opener it will be up to him and fellow left-hander Alastair Cook to give England a solid platform at the top of the order.

New England No 3 Ravi Bopara looked good against a lacklustre West Indies but how he goes during the Ashes remains to be seen – as indeed does the latest chapter in cricket’s oldest international rivalry.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle has signed up for Western Australia’s Retravision Warriors for this year’s domestic Twenty20 competition, officials said on Wednesday, hailing a major coup.

The left-hander, who is the world’s only international Twenty20 centurion, will play the ‘Big Bash’ competition between the Windies’ Test and One-day series here in November and December.

“With Chris we have secured one of the game’s best Twenty20 players,” said coach Tom Moody.

“Not only is he one of the most exciting batsmen in the game, he adds considerable experience as a Twenty20 player with international and Indian Premier League experience.”

West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo earlier signed for the Victorian Bushrangers team for the Big Bash.

England captain Andrew Strauss said on Tuesday that Andrew Flintoff was not immune from being dropped for disciplinary reasons after the all-rounder’s latest indiscretion.

Ex-England captain Flintoff missed the team bus for the squad’s Saturday morning visit to the World War One trenches at Ypres.

Strauss, who made a big point about player responsibility when appointed captain in January, also revealed there had been several other incidents of players turning up late since he’d become skipper.

Opening batsman Strauss found himself having to comment on Flintoff’s failure to turn up on time after it was reported in the British press Tuesday.

The incident, which happened the morning after a team dinner, took place during England’s pre-Ashes ‘bonding’ weekend away in Belgium and just over a week before the first Test against Australia starts in Cardiff on July 8.

It was not the first time the 31-year-old Flintoff had courted controversy for his off-field behaviour.

During the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean he was briefly dropped from the England side and stripped of the vice-captaincy as punishment for an alcohol-fuelled night which ended with him capsizing a pedalo in the early hours of the morning in St Lucia.

Prior to that the Lancashire star, when captain of England, was sent away from training by then coach Duncan Fletcher after turning up to a practice session in Australia during an Ashes series his side lost 5-0.

Strauss, asked at a news conference at Edgbaston here on Tuesday, if he would be prepared to drop Flintoff – the star of England’s 2005 Ashes series win – on disciplinary grounds, replied: “That has got to be an option with anyone who transgresses badly enough.

“But I am absolutely certain it’s not going to come to that and it would be a very sad day for English cricket if we had to do that.

“But it’s vitally important to a team functioning properly that everyone is treated the same.”

Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds was sent home before last month’s World Twenty20 in England because of an alcohol related incident.

Opening batsman Strauss, asked to describe Flintoff’s relationship with alcohol, replied: “I don’t know, that’s something for him to answer. I think it’s something he’s been working hard on.

“I think he recognises when the times are to drink and when they are not to drink. It’s important clearly, career-wise, he stays on the right side of that and I think the vast majority of the time he has done.”

Concerningly for England, Strauss revealed that Flintoff’s was not the only lapse in time-keeping by a member of the squad. “He missed the bus but punctuality has been a bit of an issue recently with a few players.

“We had a team dinner, alcohol wasn’t banned, but there’s no reason to suspect anything massively untoward happened.”

Strauss, who refused to name names, added: “It’s something we are trying to iron out and we’ve taken steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Freddie accepts he’s made a mistake.”

The England captain also declined to reveal if Flintoff, who last played a Test in February before being sidelined by a knee injury, or any other player had been fined, saying only: “The appropriate action has been taken.

“He (Flintoff) knows he musn’t do it again and I think the other players who have been letting things slip in that respect know it’s not acceptable going forward.”

Flintoff has only recently returned to the England squad and Strauss said: “We all know that if he is playing well in the side he’s a massive asset to have but at the same time we don’t want ‘one rule for one and one rule for another’, so it’s important we have that consistency in how we treat people.”

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam is in favour of one captain for all forms of the game since it fosters better co-ordination among team members.

Alam, who hinted he was not informed by Younis Khan before announcing retirement from Twenty20 cricket after winning the World Cup, said he would prefer him to lead all three teams — Test, ODI and T20.

“Having one captain for Tests, ODIs and T20 cricket means you have more harmony in the team and the players are also comfortable with their captain. The communication levels improve a lot with this arrangements within the team,” Alam said on Wednesday.

The former Test captain, who has the rare distinction of guiding two separate Pakistan teams to World Cup glory in ODIs and T20, said he would like to see Younis reconsider his decision.

“He didn’t talk to us about it. His announcement came as a surprise to me as well,” he added.

Alam said the Pakistan Cricket Board and selectors would now have to take a call on who would lead the country in the T20 international during the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

“I am happy that Younis has handled things very well. He is a very good captain and showed lot of maturity in the World Cup and the players responded equally well,” he added.

Younis had said he took the decision to retire from T20 cricket after much thought as he was too old for the shortest form of the game.

Looking ahead to the tour of Sri Lanka, Alam said the players would start preparing for the Test series after a few days’ rest.

“Mohammad Yousuf is back which is good news for our batting. The players have been told to change their mindset for the coming Test series as Sri Lanka are a very good side and hard to beat on their home ground,” he said.

The former skipper said the players were well aware of the challenge they would face against the Sri Lankan spinners in the Test series.

The team leaves for the Emerald Islands on June 27 to play three Tests, five One-Day Internationals and a T20 match.

Alam hoped the T20 World Cup victory would help Pakistan host more international matches.

“The victory has come at a good time. It has enhanced our image as a sports loving nation and also lifted the gloom of the people,” said Alam.

Fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza has been named Bangladesh’s new captain for an upcoming tour of the West Indies, the country’s cricket board announced on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old paceman replaced Mohammad Ashraful, who was removed on Monday after the team’s first-round exit from the recent World Twenty20 in England.

“We believe we have picked the ideal person as captain,” Mohammed Jalal Yunus of the Bangladesh Cricket Board said in a statement.

“Apart from his obvious match-winning ability, Mortaza is a proven fighter and has the experience. He can inspire and motivate the team. This is a new challenge for him and we know that he loves challenges.”

Mortaza has so far bagged 78 wickets in 35 Tests, and 135 in 103 One-Day Internationals.

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was named as his deputy.

Bangladesh will play two Tests, three One-dayers and one Twenty20 match on the West Indies tour, starting next month.

Ashraful, who led the country for two years, came under fire when his team failed to qualify for the World Twenty20 Super Eights after losing both of their league matches against India and Ireland. He contributed just 25 runs.

“The board wants to sincerely thank Ashraful for his contribution as skipper,” Yunus added. “The decision to replace him was taken with the intention of relieving the load on him so that he can play his natural game.

“We all know his quality and what he is capable of as a batsman and we are confident that without the burden of captaincy his batting would flourish and he would contribute more to the team.”

Bangladesh Test squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan (vice-capt), Tamim Iqbal, Zunaed Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Roqibul Hassan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Enamul Haque Jr, Sahagir Hossain.

Newly appointed captain Kumar Sangakkara has said his role as a leader got a special dimension to work on Sri Lankan players’ mental framework following the recent terror attack on them in Lahore.

The 31-year-old said every one had to fire up before the Twenty20 World Cup in England and the focus was not just on cricketing skills but “group mentality”.

“With what the team has undergone in the last two weeks there is a special significance and dimension to that (captain’s) responsibility,” he said after taking over as the captain from Mahela Jayawardene.

“It is not just about our cricketing skill now, but our group mentality and the need to ensure everyone is firing for the World Twenty20 in England,” he said.

“We really have to sit down and have a very honest and open discussion about whether what has happened will change the players in any way, to talk about their families and whether we can take something good from what has happened in Lahore,” he told Al Jazeera.

The veteran of 80 Tests and 246 One-Day Internationals was among the six players injured in the Lahore attack and was hospitalised after the 25-member team was flown home last Wednesday.

“My immediate focus is on the ICC World Twenty20 and as we prepare for this and the year ahead I will be stressing on individual responsibility the players must take on to improve and develop their games,” Sangakkara said.

The wicket-keeper batsman said his prime target was to get his players mentally and physically fit as they take field in the SLC Inter Provincial Twenty20 tournament which begins on March 25.

Sangakkara will have as 36-year-old spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan as his deputy. Muralitharan is the world’s leading Test and One-day wicket-taker and only the second player after Sachin Tendulkar to hold two cricketing World records.

“Sangakkara said Muralitharan’s inspirational leadership and vast experience, coupled with his great integrity and complete trustworthiness, made him the ideal choice as vice-captain and is very much pleased that he accepted the responsibility,” the Daily Telegraph said.

England captain Andrew Strauss, in charge of his first tour, is learning the lessons of captaincy the hard way after suffering two hard-to-take results against West Indies in his opening Tests.

After an innings and 23 run defeat in the first Test in Kingston, when his team collapsed to 51 all out, came a 10-ball abandoned match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, followed by a bitterly disappointing draw in the hastily arranged third Test at the Antigua Recreation Ground.

England had the upper hand for all five days of an enthralling Test match, Strauss’s 169 helping them to 566 for nine declared in their first innings. They sat in command after setting West Indies a near impossible target of 503 to win.

But in four-and-a-half sessions of bowling, England could only get nine West Indian wickets as the last pair of Fidel Edwards and Daren Powell hung on for 10 agonising overs.

“Clearly when you get so close in a Test and you don’t make it over that final hurdle it is very hard to take,” said Strauss.

“In some ways it does feel like a defeat, but once the emotion subsides and we realise there’s a lot of positives to come out of the Test.

“The way we batted after Jamaica was the way to respond, the way Graeme Swann bowled was exceptional and Stuart Broad as well bowled very well.

“Hopefully we have shifted the momentum away from West Indies and if we can get better as the tour goes on there’s no reason why we can’t win the series.”

“Test wins don’t come easily, especially on a wicket like this even against numbers 10 and 11 it’s hard to force the issue.

“I can’t fault the bowlers, they did as well as they could in those conditions. It was just one of those things, it wasn’t meant to be,” he added.

Critics might point to Strauss’s decision not to enforce the follow-on or his sending in James Anderson as a night watchman at the end of the third day, which slowed down England on the morning of the next session.

But the England skipper was also restricted by Andrew Flintoff’s hip injury and Steve Harmison’s stomach upset.

“We had a few problems, Harmison was on his death bed with a towel over his stomach and there was Freddie’s injury. Graeme Swann woke up on the fourth day with an elbow he thought might stop him bowling at all.

“Plenty of problems to ponder and it meant the bowlers we did have had as much rest as possible. I certainly have no regrets about not enforcing the follow-on,” he said.

“We hoped the wicket would deteriorate on day five but it didn’t really, if anything it died a little and got flatter.

“The efforts of the bowlers were exceptional. We did everything we could do. Sometimes a ball goes to hand and sometimes it doesn’t, it’s those small margins between winning and drawing a Test match”.

Cricket South Africa has rejected claims in the local media that a decision has been taken to appoint separate captains for Tests and ODIs. 

“This is pure media speculation and does not emanate from Cricket South Africa,” said CEO, Gerald Majola following reports that separate captains would be in the country’s interest.

The speculation came to the fore after Johan Botha guided South Africa to the ODI series victory against Australia in the absence of the injured Smith, who led the team to the Test series triumph Down Under.

“Cricket South Africa’s position is straight forward and has not changed. The Board appoints its captains and vice-captains at the start of every season and those individuals remain in charge for the duration of that season unless they retire, resign or become unavailable for some other reason such as a long-term injury.

“This has clearly not happened in this case and CSA has full confidence in its leadership group who did a brilliant job in all formats of the game during the recent tour of Australia. The current media speculation is unfounded and has no factual basis,” said Majola.

Australia will visit South Africa for three Tests, two Twenty20 matches and five One-dayers and at stake is the number elite position in Test rankings.