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Beaumont aiming for tour success

Beaumont has played for the England Academy prior to her call up to the full squad

It has come sooner than she expected but new England wicketkeeper Tamsin Beaumont is determined to make the most of her call-up to the national side.

With regular keeper Sarah Taylor taking a break from the game, 18-year-old Beaumont has been picked by England to tour the West Indies next month.
"I thought it would take a lot longer. I was thinking in the next two years I might get in," Beaumont told BBC Sport.
"But I want to enjoy myself and take the opportunity I've been given."
Beaumont, who also opens the batting as well as keeping wicket for Kent, could be forgiven for feeling nervous ahead of joining up with the England side for their trip to the Caribbean.
In the last 12 months, the national team have swept aside all before them, winning both the World Cup and World Twenty20 as well as successfully defending the Ashes against the touring Australians.
Now unquestionably the number one side in the world, the team is comprised of players whose profiles have risen as a result of their achievements, including captain Charlotte Edwards and ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year Claire Taylor.

The standard of the women's game has got higher since I started playing. There are a lot more girls playing and a lot more competition and I think we're getting a lot more recognition now for how good the women's game is

Tamsin Beaumont

However, Beaumont, who kept wicket in the England Women's Academy matches against an ICC Europe XI in August and was an integral part of the Kent side that won the County Championship, refuses to be overawed.
"It's a great time to be part of the England side now and they are a great bunch of girls," she said.
"I've played with some of them and against a lot of them. They all seem very friendly so I'm sure I'll fit in really easily.
"I think Kent's successful season will help as well.
"You can transfer success and the way Kent is run and the way we work there can hopefully feed into the England team."
Beaumont's transition to the international scene from the county game should also be assisted by national skipper Edwards also being the young keeper's captain at Kent.
Both Edwards and Beaumont have made telling contributions to the 10-game run of successive wins that secured the County Championship for Kent, the latter's highlight being a superb 136 from 144 balls in the match against Surrey at Beckenham in August.

The England women's side celebrate their World Cup win

Beaumont admitted that Edwards had phoned her after she had been selected with words of encouragement - most notably that "the hard work starts now".
The youngster certainly has a tough task ahead of her to fill the shoes of the woman she is replacing.
Sussex wicketkeeper and opening batter Sarah Taylor is one of the finest talents to emerge into the England team for many years and played an integral role in the team's 2009 success.
While Beaumont is doubtful that she will be asked to undertake Taylor's role at the top of the batting order, she is aware that her predecessor sets a high benchmark to follow with the gloves.
"Sarah is a brilliant wicketkeeper and if I can be nearly as good then I won't have done too badly," said Beaumont.
England are due to play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches against the West Indies in St Kitts as they prepare for the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, the group stages of which will be played on the same island.
Helping England to success on her first tour is Beaumont's chief aim, but she admits that the trip will give the side a good opportunity to acclimatise for next May's tournament.
"We want to continue the success that the team has had over the summer and we are looking to win the series (both ODI and T20) first and foremost," she said.
"Secondly, I think we will try and work out what the conditions are like out there ready for the World Cup next year.
"I don't think the England team have toured West Indies in quite a long time so it could be a new experience for most of us."
Although the West Indies currently lag behind the likes of England, Australia and New Zealand, Beaumont admits that the general standard of the women's game has improved in recent years, which along with England's recent success has led to a better public awareness.
"I definitely think the standard of the women's game has got higher since I started playing," said Beaumont. "There are a lot more girls playing and a lot more competition and I think we're getting a lot more recognition now for how good the women's game is.
"I remember going for my Kent trial when I was 10 and there were only about 13 girls trialling and I know now because I've got a friend who is a coach that they trial about 30 girls, all under 11."

Claire Taylor delighted by 'special' MBE honour

Taylor was Player of the Tournament in the World Cup and World Twenty20

England batter Claire Taylor described her MBE as a "bit special" after being named in the New Year Honours List.

"Getting cricket-specific awards is great because it's recognition within cricket," the 34-year-old said.
"But this is recognition in the wider community so this is special but in a completely different way."
Taylor helped England to a World Cup/World Twenty20 double in 2009 and two months ago was named Women's Cricketer of the Year.
In April, she also made history by becoming the first female cricketer to be chosen as one of Wisden's five players of the year.

Taylor, who is currently in the middle of a break from the game in order to concentrate on work commitments and will miss England's upcoming tour to India, said her MBE had capped "a really brilliant 2009".
She expects to return to action for England's defence of the World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean in May.
Looking further ahead, she hopes the profile of the women's game in England - and around the rest of the world - will continue to grow over the next few years.
She wants cricket to be "an accepted sporting path for a girl, and for younger and older women as well".
Taylor added: "The elite players need to keep pushing forward and keep pushing the boundary of the quality of the game that we play and to keep building that respect that there is for the game.
"Other countries will get better and it's not just a matter of throwing money at it, I don't think that's the answer at all.
"It's making sure that we play the right competitions and we have the right opportunities to play against international opposition."

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47031000/jpg/_47031667_cook_ap466i.jpg

England's batsmen played some poor shots but fought back to finish day two of the third Test in Cape Town on 241-7 in reply to South Africa's 291.

Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen made just two runs between them as England slumped to 73-4 on a good wicket.
Alastair Cook (65), Ian Bell (48) and Matt Prior (52 not out) slowly rebuilt the innings, but the bowlers dominated.
England had finished off South Africa's innings by grabbing four wickets in 17 balls, with James Anderson taking 5-63.
Three more wickets tumbled in a dramatic first session but England, seeking to preserve their 1-0 lead in the four-match series, looked to be recovering until Morne Morkel trapped Paul Collingwood lbw for 19 soon after that lunch.
That wicket left the tourists gasping for breath as they trailed by more than 200 with four top batsmen dismissed on a sunny day at Newlands.
However, three much-needed partnerships of 60, 41 and 51 meant England still had a chance of establishing some sort of lead - though Prior and Graeme Swann (five not out) will face a ball just 10 deliveries old on the third morning - and thus far the new, hard ball has proved a dangerous proposition for batsmen.
When play started 15 minutes early on Monday, England's bowlers had a ball that was barely three overs old at their disposal, and they used it quite brilliantly.
With the second delivery of the day, Graham Onions bowled a terrific, fast leg-cutter at Jacques Kallis which South Africa's star batsman could only edge to Prior having failed to add to his overnight 108.
Anderson then got seriously busy, striking with his first ball, the seventh of the morning, as Dale Steyn edged to a diving Jonathan Trott at fourth slip.

Cook hopes England can close gap

Three balls later he got one to jag away from the left-handed Morkel, Swann diving full length to take the catch at second slip, and the man from Burnley wrapped up the innings with his seventh delivery as Friedel de Wet was beaten by an inswinger and adjudged lbw.
It had taken just 17 balls for England to take South Africa's last four wickets, but the wicket-taking vibe was swiftly picked up by Morkel and Steyn on a perfect summer's day in Newlands widely predicted to be tailor-made for batting.
Strauss, playing with the freedom of man who scored 1,172 runs in 2009, was a bit too confident. Aiming a drive at a wide ball nipping away from him, the last ball of the first over, his thin nick was caught by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.

Morkel led South Africa's bowling attack well in Cape Town

Cook and Jonathan Trott made steady, largely untroubled progress as the new ball gradually softened and consequently moved off the seam less.
But they could not reach the sanctuary of lunch unscathed as Steyn, surprisingly not called upon to open the bowling, took two wickets in his third over.
First Trott, defending on the back foot to a ball he could have allowed to pass over the stumps, saw the ball crash onto his stumps off an angled bat. Then Pietersen lasted just two deliveries, coming forward to a straight, full-length ball but playing too early and knocking a catch back to the bowler - which Steyn took well, one-handed, to his right.
Cook's stand with Collingwood lasted 11.3 overs either side of lunch, with 37 runs added. Once again, neither man looked inconvenienced until the next wicket fell - Collingwood missing a straight ball from Morkel, possibly defeated by pace, the ball thudding into his pads in front of middle stump.

Uneven wicket thrills Kallis

There was some pace and bounce in the wicket but it seemed curious that the bowlers were dominating. Then England achieved a more meaningful stand, through Bell and Cook, the two centurions in England's victory in Durban in the previous Test.
Bell's innings was patience made flesh - there was just one scoring shot from the first 36 balls he faced, a cover-drive for four off Steyn - but he was happy to build slowly while Cook stepped it up with some aggression against Paul Harris.
The spinner did not enter the attack until the 37th over and was not allowed to settle as Cook swept him for two fours and confidently advanced to loft him over short mid-wicket for another.
Bell moved into the 20s with a couple of well-placed cut shots off De Wet before Cook survived a big scare when sweeping JP Duminy against the spin, his top-edge looping over Hashim Amla at short-leg and just evading the fielder's dive as he turned and tried to get under the ball.

Dale Steyn catches Kevin Pietersen off his own bowling

The low point of England's day: Steyn removing Pietersen for a duck

England took tea at 133-4, with Cook on 65 and Bell 24 in a partnership worth 60 at that stage, but Cook played a dreadful shot four balls into the final session, a gentle pull shot he intended to lap round the corner. But he got it all wrong and Ashwell Prince, standing just in front of square-leg, sprang to his left to take a neat catch.
It appeared to be a massive blow for England to suffer at that stage, but Bell's initial reaction was to stroke three cut shots for four in a single Steyn over - each placed at a slightly different angle - as Graeme Smith's efforts to plug the gaps was defied. It was the sort of batsmanship from Bell that Wally Hammond was fabled for producing.
But having worked so hard he played a shot that was just plain Wally - a flat-footed cut that this time picked out the midriff of Duminy at point to gift Kallis a wicket.
South Africa's seamers scrapped hard all day, rarely bowling poor deliveries, but the chance of gaining a big lead inside two days evaporated late on as Prior and Broad scored at a brighter rate than England's earlier batsmen.
Finally, Steyn hurried one through Broad's defences to bowl him for 25, matching Morkel's three wickets with a trio of important scalps of his own.
Prior played the best shot of a gritty innings when pulling Morkel for four as the new ball was taken and the Sussex wicket-keeper has the chance of inconveniencing South Africa further on Tuesday.

Peter Siddle (left) saw Imran Farhat dropped off his own bowling

Australia's bowlers salvaged some pride with seven late wickets on day two but Pakistan still looked strong in the second Test with a lead of 204 runs.

Resuming on 14-0, Pakistan openers Imran Farhat (53) and Salman Butt (71) put on 109 for the first wicket and the tourists looked in control at 205-2.
Mohammad Yousuf and Umar Akmal also impressed but Australia hit back with the ball as Pakistan closed on 331-9.
Doug Bollinger claimed three scalps and Shane Watson picked up two late ones.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting will be pleased with the way his players battled back following their disappointing first innings total of 127 on the opening day at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Star bowler Bollinger, who ended the day with figures of 3-70, said :"It was a good fightback by the guys. It was a bit frustrating early but they were two-for at tea and now they're nine down.
"I think just try and get out the last one and then get our batting hats on and get something to bowl to in the second innings."
But it was steady progress for the Pakistan openers early on and Imran Farhat, dropped on 11 by Marcus North off Peter Siddle, secured his 13th Test half-century just after lunch.
The left hander's three-hour innings came to an end soon after when his attempted sweep off Nathan Hauritz popped into the hands of Brad Haddin.
Haddin also held a catch to end Butt's innings, with Mitchell Johnson the bowler.
Faisal Iqbal (27) was the first to fall after tea when he slashed a wide one from Siddle and was caught by Watson at deep point.
Skipper Mohammad Yousuf hit a quick-fire 46 to maintain Pakistan's momentum and Umar Akmal struck 49 off 48 balls before being trapped lbw by Bollinger.
It was an important breakthrough as Bollinger then picked up two more victims with the new ball to leave Watson to remove two tailenders shortly before the close.
Pakistan's highest scorer was Butt with 71 and the stylish left-hander warned the Australian batsmen they would face a tricky time when they commence their second innings.
"The time you think that you're in and suddenly the ball does something, so you've got to have a good laugh about it and stay relaxed because it's not under your control," Butt said.
"Definitely this pitch is not going to change completely. It's not going to become a batting paradise.
"There will always be something for the seamers and hopefully the spinners also get help and if Danish (Kaneria) can do what he's capable of we'll be well off."

Jonathan Agnew column

Eleven wickets fell on a dramatic second day that felt right for batting. Clear blue skies and warm sunshine counted for nothing as, Jacques Kallis apart, none of the batsmen can claim to have been undone by difficult deliveries.

Bell fell two runs short of what would have been his 22nd Test fifty

Once James Anderson and Graham Onions had blown away the remaining four South African wickets for just 12 runs in 17 balls - with Anderson claiming a remarkable 3-1 - England had to bat patiently and aim to repeat the procedure that had been so successful in Durban.
But they were given a poor example to follow by captain Andrew Strauss, who drove loosely at the sixth ball of the innings, which was well wide of his off-stump, and edged Morne Morkel to the wicketkeeper.
Strauss is clearly in good touch, and was keen to continue batting positively, but it was a bad stroke and one that lifted South African spirits after their thoroughly deflating batting display.
Jonathan Trott was the next to perish to a bad shot when he aimed to force Dale Steyn through the off side, but did not move his feet and chopped the ball into his stumps for 20.
Two balls later, Kevin Pietersen drove a return catch to Steyn for a duck and England were subsiding on 36-3.
Paul Collingwood joined forces with Alastair Cook and added 37, but he misjudged a straight, full-length delivery from Morkel to which he went onto the back foot and was plumb lbw for 19.
This brought Ian Bell to the crease, fresh from his excellent hundred in Durban but, at 73-4, to face a situation in which he has never thrived.
He was off the mark with a lovely cover drive, and patiently waited 22 balls before his next scoring stroke. With Cook, he battled away throughout the afternoon as South Africa made run-scoring very difficult.
Cook, attempting to lift the rate, pulled the fourth ball after tea from Morkel straight to Ashwell Prince at square leg for 65, but Bell continued to bat with increasing fluency, even if most of his cover drives were hit straight to the fielders.
But having done the hard work, scoring 48 in nearly three hours and with Steyn tiring and skipper Graeme Smith having to consider his options, Bell received a wide long hop from Kallis which he cut straight to JP Duminy at point.
His dismay was obvious - he could barely bring himself to drag himself away from the crease - and the pressure was firmly back on England.
Matt Prior and Stuart Broad batted busily, but judiciously, to add 51, but Broad was cleaned up by Steyn on the stroke of the second new ball to leave England 50 runs adrift.

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Beaumont aiming for tour success