Maxwell and Hogg in World Twenty20 squad

Australia's selectors have sprung no surprises with the squad for the ICC World Twenty20, naming the same 15 men they chose for the T20s against Pakistan in the UAE. The offspinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell is the only uncapped member of the squad, which also includes the 41-year-old spinner Brad Hogg, who originally retired from international cricket four years ago, before storming back into contention through the Big Bash League last summer.

They will form a three-man spin contingent along with Xavier Doherty, while the pace duties will be shared by Pat Cummins, Clint McKay, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Starc, along with the allrounders Daniel Christian and Shane Watson. Cameron White has been included after losing his place in the side and the national captaincy in January and will be one of several middle-order choices, along with David Hussey, Michael Hussey and the skipper George Bailey.

Matthew Wade will be Australia's gloveman for the tournament - Brad Haddin retired from T20 internationals last September - and will also be an important batsman who can play in a variety of positions. There was no room for Mitchell Marsh, Ryan Harris, Aaron Finch, Mitchell Johnson, Steve Smith or a number of other fringe T20 men who were part of the 30-man preliminary squad, although that was not surprising as the selectors showed their hand last month when they named the 15 for the UAE series.

Australia's Twenty20 players have three matches against Pakistan in Dubai on September 5, 7 and 10, before the fly to Sri Lanka for some warm-up matches ahead of the World T20. They have been grouped with West Indies and Ireland in the first stage of the tournament, with their first match against Ireland on September 19 in Colombo.

"A real strength of the squad is its flexibility and versatility," the national selector John Inverarity said. "It's a well-balanced side that will provide the captain, George Bailey, with plenty of options in both the batting line-up and bowling possibilities.

"The seam bowling has depth with Clint McKay, Pat Cummins, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitch Starc along with all-rounders Shane Watson and Dan Christian, and to a lesser extent Michael Hussey, who could be useful for an occasional over or two. Similarly there is depth in the spin bowling department with Brad Hogg, Xavier Doherty and also allrounders Glenn Maxwell and David Hussey. You can then add to that the possibility of the wrist spin of Cameron White and David Warner.

"There is a great deal of explosive strike power in the batting line-up that could see Matthew Wade at six, Cameron White at seven and either Dan Christian or Glenn Maxwell at eight. There is also a good blend of left and right handers with David Warner, Michael Hussey and Wade likely to be in the top seven.

"The ICC World Twenty20 promises to be a very exciting event as T20 cricket is so unpredictable. Our squad will be well prepared and we look forward to them playing some outstanding cricket and acquitting themselves especially well."

Australia squad David Warner, Shane Watson, Matthew Wade (wk), David Hussey, Michael Hussey, George Bailey (capt), Cameron White, Daniel Christian, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Hogg, Xavier Doherty, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Ben Hilfenhaus.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here

Feeds: Brydon Coverdale © ESPN EMEA Ltd.

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England players innocent in Twitter send-up Documentation seen by ESPNcricinfo proves that the parody Twitter account @KevPietersen24 is not managed by a player despite Pietersen's suspicions to the contrary I need to start afresh - Harbhajan Offspinner reveals how he battled various fears in the last year to stay strong Sri Lanka set for its Twenty20 league Despite severe teething troubles, the league could be the facelift and morale-booster the beleaguered SLC needs Selections pose more questions than answers While fans anticipated some response to 0-8, the selectors gave it all a farcical turn with strange picks for reserves Rohit Sharma and the talent problem It's not just about being gifted but about being able to summon that gift when needed
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'Batting let us down' - Dockrell

England players innocent in Twitter send-up

Documentation seen by ESPNcricinfo proves that the parody Twitter account @KevPietersen24 is not managed by a player despite Pietersen's suspicions to the contrary

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Offspinner reveals how he battled various fears in the last year to stay strong

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Pietersen World Twenty20 hopes recede

Kevin Pietersen's chances of being reconciled to the England set-up and winning a place in their World Twenty20 squad appear to have receded after the ECB and Andrew Strauss confirmed that further discussions between the parties were needed, despite Pietersen's apology for sending "provocative" texts. Strauss, England's captain and the subject of the allegedly derogatory texts sent by Pietersen to members of the South Africa squad, said "underlying issues on trust and respect" had to be addressed but that this was unlikely to take place until after the third Test against South Africa, for which Pietersen has been dropped. The deadline for England to submit their World T20 squad is Saturday, the third day of the Test, suggesting that Pietersen will not be recalled, as he desires. After the ECB confirmed the receipt of Pietersen's apology, Strauss said that there were "broader issues" to be dealt with. He called the selectors' decision to leave Pietersen out "brave and very correct", saying that the batsman's presence at Lord's would have been "untenable". "The truth is a lot has happened over the last seven days," Strauss said. "The England team has been in the news for the wrong reasons. We all want to move forward but there are some underlying issues on trust and respect that don't get dealt with over night and it's going to take quite a long time to overcome those. My personal point of view is that I prefer those issues to be dealt with in private, away from the media, without the help of PR companies and press releases and that is certainly the way I'll be approaching it going forward. "The apology is a first step, definitely, but there is a lot more to investigate with all of this and in truth if there is a way forward those issues regarding trust and mutual respect have to be dealt with and it is not just a one-way process and we need to deal with those behind closed doors. "It's been hanging over us since Kevin's press conference after the Headingley Test match. There was a certain amount of relief on Monday that a decision had been made and we can focus on Test. The challenge this week has been to not let it affect us on the field." Discussions have been ongoing between the ECB and Pietersen's representatives after the batsman was omitted from the England squad for the third Test against South Africa. Pietersen was dropped for refusing to apologise for the texts, which he has now admitted sending, despite the ECB demanding it as a condition of his selection for the third Test. In a statement, England managing director, Hugh Morris, said: "We are in receipt of Kevin's apology, but further discussions need to take place to establish whether it is possible to regain the trust and mutual respect required to ensure all parties are able to focus on playing cricket and to maintain the unity of purpose that has served us so well in recent years. Critically, those discussions should take place behind closed doors, rather than in the media spotlight. "A successful conclusion to this process is in everyone's best interests and is required for Kevin Pietersen's potential selection in all forms of the game to be considered. At the moment we have an important Investec Test match to focus on and therefore ECB will make no further comment until such time as is appropriate." South Africa have publicly described the text interactions as "banter", a word Pietersen echoed in his apology, whilst acknowledging the "upset and tension" the situation had caused. Pietersen said: "I did send what you might call provocative texts to my close friends in the South Africa team. The texts were meant as banter between close friends. I need to rein myself in sometimes. I apologise to Straussy and the team for the inappropriate remarks at the press conference and for the texts. I truly didn't mean to cause upset or tension particularly with important games at stake." Strauss has seen the build-up to his 100th Test overshadowed by the Pietersen imbroglio but was diplomatic about having to become involved. Pietersen has been in negotiations over his international workload with the ECB for some time - leading to his now-reneged retirement from limited-overs internationals earlier this year - but until his outburst in the wake of the Headingley Test, Strauss had not been party to the process. "I wasn't involved in Kevin Pietersen's dispute with the board in any real way but once the players got involved it was very important that I got involved for the very reason that the feelings in the dressing room, the way the players interact with each other, the values we have as a group, are of vital importance to me and I'm not willing to turn a blind eye to that. "It's going to be a long process. It is not the sort of thing that happens overnight. Unfortunately we have to address this issue. It is not one that we can sweep under the carpet. In order to move forward we need to address these issues head on and try and find some resolution to those. "It is a broader issue than just the text messages. A lot has happened over the last week or so. It's about trust and mutual respect and any team that operates successfully needs to have that. And that is something we need to work on. It is not between me and him, particularly. The text messages sound like I was involved with it, but it is a broader issue, it is about the team and Kevin and how we interact with each other." "He is a world-class player, I don't think anyone would deny that, and when he is playing well and everything is happy in the dressing room he is a great asset to the side but that is not where we are right at the moment and I think the selectors made a brave and very correct decision for this particular Test match that he didn't play because without the resolution to the issues that we need to resolve things would be a bit untenable in the dressing room for this game." England must win the third and final Test of the series in order to defend the No. 1 Test ranking and Strauss admitted the side's preparations had not been ideal. "It's going to be testing," he said. "As England captain things are sometimes thrown your way in a way that you have not necessarily been prepared to deal with. "We have to look at the best way of moving forward and quite frankly for the next five or six days it is not going to be in the forefront of my mind. I have to concentrate on my batting and leading the side out in the middle and we will address these issues come the end of the Test match. "Adversity can bring you slightly closer together. We have seen that before with us on a number of occasions. That is going to be the test of us this week. I have got every confidence that we can win this Test match. This is a great opportunity for us to show some strength and resolve and come through."
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Spot-Fixing: Haider threatens to name Pak players

Karachi, Aug 15: Pakistan's discarded wicketkeeper, Zulqarnain Haider has once again threatened to make some revelations about the alleged involvement of a few Pakistani players in spot-fixing.

In a message posted on his facebook account, Haider criticised the selection of wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal in the national team for the series against Australia and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

"The fact is that Kamran has not yet been cleared by the ICC of wrong doing and has only been cleared by the national selectors and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)," Haider claimed.

"If he has any clearance letter from the ICC he should show it publicly and if he doesn't do that then I will be forced to come out with the truth," he added.

Haider, who scored 84 on his Test debut against England in 2010 when Kamran was injured, said he would make some startling revelations about the involvement of some players in spot-fixing if Kamran didn't show his clearance letter.

Stating that he was forced to post his feelings as he wanted Pakistan cricket be clean and clear of corruption, Haider told PTI: "I have said what is in my mind and until now I have kept quiet in the hope that the Pakistan board will not allow players with question marks surrounding their performances to play again."

Haider also told a Pakistani television channel that chief selector Iqbal Qasim headed the same department (National Bank) for which Kamran played.

"That is why he has recalled Kamran and this should be investigated," Haider added.

Pakistan's three banned players -- Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif -- who were jailed for spot-fixing last year have also played for National bank in domestic cricket.

Meanwhile, according to sources, the PCB was looking into the latest statement by Haider and was not happy with him. "It had told him to refrain from making statements while pardoning him last year and some disciplinary action could be taken against him," the source said.

The PCB Chairman, Zaka Ashraf had claimed in a television interview that Kamran was picked in the team after the board sought advice from the ICC on his clearance.

The ICC, however, made it clear that it had issued no clearance for Kamran and his selection was purely an internal matter of the PCB.

Kamran was picked in the Pakistan squad last month for the Twenty20 matches. And on last Monday the selectors also included him in the One-day squad in place of Sarfraz Ahmed.

The experienced keeper was sidelined from the national team for about an year and a half after last appearing in the 2011 World Cup. His name was also mentioned in the spot-fixing trial held in London last year.

Kamran, who is currently in Sri Lanka playing in the country's premier league when contacted, refused to comment on Haider's latest outburst.

"I have been selected in the Pakistan team and my focus right now is on just performing for my country," said Akmal. Haider, in November 2010, had created a huge controversy in Pakistan cricket when he fled from the team hotel in Dubai and flew to London where he claimed political asylum.

The wicketkeeper had later said that he was forced to flee the hotel after being threatened by a bookmaker who wanted him to fix matches of the One-day series against South Africa in which he featured.

In early 2011, Haider returned to Pakistan on the assurances of interior minister, Rehman Malik who said he and his family would be provided all security in Pakistan.

The PCB also after fining him, cleared him to play domestic cricket and last season he resumed his first class cricket career.

PTI

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