Stewart Returns To Surrey

Former England and Surrey captain Alec Stewart is to take up a coaching position with the county.
Stewart, who retired from the game six years ago, will return to The Oval dressing room on a part-time basis to work under new professional cricket manager Chris Adams.
The 45-year-old has undertaken ambassadorial duties for the county since ending his playing career but will now expand his remit to include coaching, mentoring and consultancy.
He will join another former Surrey and England batsman, Graham Thorpe, on Adams' cricket management team.
Stewart, who played 133 Tests and 170 one-day internationals, said: "I have been a Surrey man all my life and am relishing the opportunity to get back involved in a cricketing role at the club.
"We have some bright young talent on the staff and I hope I can help them wring out every drop of their ability to secure success for both Surrey and England over years to come."
Stewart, who will specialise in batting and wicketkeeping coaching, played 587 times for Surrey in all competitions, scoring 24,683 runs and taking 665 catches.
He will combine the new role with his business and media commitments.
Adams said: "A true great such as Alec Stewart should always be involved at his club and I could not be happier to welcome him onto our coaching staff.
"I saw Alec do some coaching when I was at Sussex last year and getting him involved in the first-team set-up was one of my key goals when I started at Surrey.
"He is still a model professional and utterly exemplifies the excellence I want my players to aspire to."

New Yorks Deal For McGrath

Yorkshire captain Anthony McGrath has signed a new three-year contract taking him through until September 2011.
McGrath was the White Rose county's leading run scorer in Twenty20 cricket last year, scoring 400 runs and will captain the first XI this season in his benefit year.
The 33-year-old said: "I'm delighted to stay at the Club for the next three years. I have enjoyed a fantastic career here so far and I think the next three years will be an exciting time for the club and for me, especially in my new role as captain."
Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said: "It's great news that one of our most senior players and our captain has chosen to commit himself to the club for another three years.
"Under Anthony's leadership I'm confident that 2009 will be a successful year for the team and Yorkshire County Cricket Club."

Notts Announce Profit

Nottinghamshire have announced pre-tax profits of £148,426 for the year ending September 30, 2008 the club's members have been told.
The county are forging ahead with improvements at Trent Bridge ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 games to be staged there this summer.
Ray Dawson, chairman of the commercial and financial sub-committee, told the annual general meeting at County Hall: "We saw the benefits of significant investments in the venue and the team in 2008 and it is pleasing to have recorded a pre-tax surplus.
"Like any business, we won't be immune from the economic downturn but I firmly believe that we have laid sufficient foundations to emerge strongly when recovery comes."
Director of cricket, Mick Newell, added: "The bowlers were superb throughout the season and we'll be looking for our top order batsmen to show an improvement to help the middle order.
"Planning for 2009 has been challenging because of the uncertainty surrounding the availability of our England players. We should treat any appearance by Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad as a bonus and we also expect Samit Patel and Graeme Swann to be away for long periods."

Warner Off To Durham

Durham have signed Australia one-day batsman David Warner as their overseas player for this year's Twenty20 Cup.
The left-hander will arrive in the north east towards the end of May after playing for the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.
Warner has played six one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches for his country after a dramatic rise to prominence with New South Wales.
He smashed 89 from 43 balls against South Africa in his Twenty20 debut but was dropped for the final two matches of the Chappell-Hadlee Series with New Zealand.
"I've heard great things about Durham and I'm delighted to be joining them later this year," Warner said.
"The team has done really well recently and I want to be able to play a major role in making sure that success continues.
"I enjoy playing Twenty20 cricket and to be brought in especially to play in the UK's domestic competition is a real honour and challenge."
Warner will play in the domestic competition before making way for Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who will arrive in June after completing his international commitments with the West Indies.

Fourth Test Preview - West Indies Vs England

By all accounts Sir Allen Stanford has made a howler or two recently, but has he ever been wider of the mark than in calling Test cricket 'tedious'? At times the Wisden Trophy 2008/9 has been atrociously umpired, embarrassingly played and incompetently managed, but - with the FBI's words 'fraud of shocking magnitude' providing an outrageous sub-plot - no-one is saying it has been dull.
After the third Test at St John's we might yet get some cricket out of the whole thing. As they did against India three years ago, the West Indies fought to the very final ball to salvage a draw in one of the outstanding recent Tests and hopefully the series is now on track. The anger with the referrals system, the England batting collapse and the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium debacle has subsided; cricket will move on easily enough from the Stanford embarrassment even if the legacy for Antigua is far more serious.
England will be feeling the pressure at 1-0 down with two to play, but the remaining Tests are at Bridgetown and Port of Spain. Neither of these grounds has produced a draw since April 2001, a run of 12 matches encouraging the tourists to believe that all three series results are still possible.
More difficult to spin is the reality of team selection. England admitted that the third Test draw felt like a defeat and now the engine room has gone kaput, Andrew Flintoff ruled out with a hip problem and Matt Prior playing peek-a-book in a Hove-area BUPA. Andrew Strauss must therefore choose between six batsmen or five bowlers for a Test he's desperate to win on a green, bouncy track prepared to help fast bowlers.
Given the pitch reports and England's conservative selection there can only be one serious option. Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara are head-to-head for Flintoff's spot with the decision likely hanging on a selector's hunch. Both scored runs against the BCA President's XI, Bopara a century and Bell 72, but the opposition was marginal. The question is whether they want to shake things up with the volatile Bopara or stick with the devil they know in Bell. The opportunities afforded to the Warwickshire batsman in that tour match suggest he has the advantage.
Tim Ambrose is restored to wicketkeeping duty. The Warwickshire man first took over from Prior in 2008 after 10 Tests and played 10 himself before losing the gloves in India. Prior had re-established himself since Chennai, batting well and cutting out the costly drops so Ambrose will have to do something special to keep his place. We might even argue that this is a missed opportunity to blood a serious rival to the incumbent.
If Strauss hits the Carib Beer hard he might be tempted to restore Ambrose to six, where he was so dreadfully exposed against South Africa last year, and pick five bowlers including Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Adil Rashid, all of whom can bat. Already an uncharacteristic gamble, doubts over Swann's fitness - he is rated at 85% with a piece of floating bone in his elbow - and a seamer's track surely rule this out.
Instead the choices will be much more straightforward. Swann plays if fit, Broad plays if breathing and then perm two from James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Steve Harmison and new arrival Amjad Khan. Harmison, like Rashid, is a dubious option as one of four bowlers though for very different reasons. He and Anderson are the men in possession and after the toothlessness in St John's it will be tempting to shake up the seam attack for a fast, grassy surface. If Sidebottom is carrying an injury, and there are times when it looks that way, then Khan is in contention for a debut after his tour match five-fer; if Swann is ruled out Strauss may prefer a fourth fast bowler to the down-on-his-luck Monty Panesar.
No such trials and tribulations for the West Indies, who retain the same 13 from the second and third Tests on Antigua. However there must be a temptation to replace two of the great underachievers in this generation.
Devon Smith has made six, 38 and 21 in the series so far and though he showed better patience at St John's - a constant gripe against the left-hander - he is under severe pressure from Lendl Simmons, compiler of 282 for West Indies A in a tour match that now seems some months ago.
Daren Powell was under even greater scrutiny after a poor display last week: wayward in the first innings, he only picked up two wickets in the second as England suffered collective insanity, but he played two doughty knocks, one as nightwatchman, that effectively saved the game. If the selectors are unmoved by his courage then the young Montserrat bowler Lionel Baker will add to a forgettable first cap at Dunedin late last year.
When back-to-back Test matches first became a regular feature a few years ago, much store was put by the momentum gathered by winning the first but now they are so regular that this is hardly mentioned. The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium abandonment did the home side few favours after the first Test annihilation of England but Chris Gayle will look at a weakened visiting team and fancy his chances if Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards can replicate their best spells from St John's and Suleiman Benn accepts that Test cricket is not always as easy as Sabina Park suggested.
After all of the off-field chaos, the ICC seems almost determined to undermine the event. Russell Tiffin of Zimbabwe becomes the latest non-elite official to stand in the series alongside Aleem Dar. Daryl Harper is restored to the television referral box where the hapless match referee Alan Hurst is retained to defend his every obtuse verdict.
Key Players
West Indies: Shiv Chanderpaul has a fine record in Bridgetown and the last man Strauss will want to hang around as he seeks 20 wickets from a ragged attack.
England: Stuart Broad has improved considerably in recent months without looking capable of a Test-winning performance on his own. On a bouncy track, that will need to change though his fellow seamers have room for improvement too.
Prediction
West Indies seem to have done the hard part in St John's. England have struggled for 20 wickets with five bowlers so are really up against it now.
Last Five Head-to-Head:
2009: 3rd Test: Match drawn at the Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's.
2009: 2nd Test: Match abandoned at Sir Vivan Richards Stadium, North Sound.
2009: 1st Test: West Indies won by an innings and 23 runs at Sabina Park, Kingston.
2007: 4th Test: England won by seven wickets at Chester-le-Street, Co. Durham.
2007: 3rd Test: England won by 60 runs at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Likely Teams:
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ryan Hinds, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brendan Nash, Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards.
England: Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Owais Shah, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.
Dates: 26th-2nd March, 10.00-12.00 (14.00-16.00GMT), 12.40-14.40 (16.40-18.40GMT), 15.00-17.00 (19.00-21.00GMT).
Match Referee: Alan Hurst.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Russell Tiffin and Daryl Harper (third).

Prior Engagement Leaves England Short

When Michael Vaughan left the field at Headingley in 2004 to witness the birth of his son he was described as 'summing up everything wrong with English cricket', which seemed a little unfair. Martin Saggers picked up a second cap - and two for 91 - in the same Test.
Vaughan was a sort of Emmeline Pankhurst of his day though and five years later the stigma has passed. We now live in more enlightened times, and a post-Mary Poppins paternal attitude to children is no longer considered mental weakness. Players are more or less encouraged to skip a tricky morning session when the ball's nipping around to instead attend a childbirth.
Matt Prior is the latest England man to take advantage of his central contract paternity clause, and doing so without a word of protest from the press. Rather than manning up to face the West Indies on Thursday he is back in Blighty with wife Emily, until now most famous for bouncing on Sir Allen Stanford's knee in November. There is no confirmation yet that the big man has got the nod as godfather, but he has been incommunicado recently.
Although this is all totally reasonable, I can't help clacking my tongue in irritation. Vaughan left for an hour against opposition featuring Michael Papps and Daryl Tuffey; Prior was England's best hope of fielding five bowlers in the fourth Test at Bridgetown. If childbirth were truly a miracle, surely it could leave the outcome of an important series unaffected.
In an unsettling twist England now turn to Tim Ambrose, whose small, bald, rounded face makes him look like a newborn - at least, until he pops a Marlboro light in there. The circle of wicketkeeping life is complete.
The spectre of Headingley '08 surely forbids playing the Warwickshire gloveman at number six, where Prior likely would have batted after Andrew Flintoff's injury. A recall for Ian Bell would be widely derided but Ravi Bopara has been overhyped by England's underachievement: he is certainly a talented player and a potential one-day performer, but with a lot more to prove than those demanding all-out change want to accept.
Forget ye not Galle in 2007 when England won the toss and inserted Sri Lanka, who promptly racked up 499 for eight declared before bowling out the tourists for 81. Only the rain saved England from defeat, and their new number six from much greater ridicule. A 'pair' is two ducks and a 'king pair' is two golden ducks, but there really should be a name for a seven-ball duck out of 81 followed by running yourself out first ball when the team is trying to bat for a draw.
Bell v Bopara comes down not to runs in the recent tour match but a hunch: do England want to shake up things up or settle them down? Probably most people now favour the former option, and understandably so. But let's not expect miracles from the Essex man.
A more interesting case is that of Amjad Khan, another who has enjoyed himself against the BCA President's XI. He gets sharp pace and reverse swing, and England need 20 wickets without their best bowler. Ryan Sidebottom's attractions are obvious as part of a four-man attack since he will send down a lot of overs in a day. But the memories of the speed gun clocking him in the late 80s in Sri Lanka now seem like a hoax and he still doesn't look match fit. Steve Harmison and James Anderson together in a four-man attack is a suicide note so if Sidebottom is not fit, or no more likely to start taking wickets, then Khan must have strong claims.
Regrettably a third way to shake things up - the inclusion of Adil Rashid - is now off the table unless England want to expose their young legspinner as one of four bowlers. Against a top six that had four left-handers in St John's, that seems less a gamble than desperation.

Oz Turn To Pacemen

Australia have named three potential debutants in their 12-man squad for the first Test of the return series against South Africa, which starts at the Wanderers on Thursday.
Opening batsman Phillip Hughes, all-rounder Marcus North and swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus are all included as Ricky Ponting's troops seek to avenge their home series defeat to the same opponents at the turn of the year.
Spinners Nathan Hauritz and Bryce McGain have been omitted - Australia's bowling attack will be led by rookie seamers Peter Siddle and Doug Bollinger, supplemented by two of Hilfenhaus, medium pacer Andrew McDonald and part-time off-spinner North.
"It's going to be a great challenge, in particular for the younger guys," Ponting said. "We played some very good cricket at times in Australia but not enough to put a very good South African side away."
Ponting is expecting the wicket at the Wanderers to aid his inexperienced seamers and remains upbeat despite the recent 2-1 reverse on home soil.
"It's pretty much all for the faster bowlers here, particularly swing bowlers, given the pitch is a bit soft and the (cloudy) skies that are around," added the Tasmanian.
"Spin bowlers don't have a very good record here.
"In the two Test matches that we lost in Australia we played very good cricket and dominated at certain times.
"But unfortunately we weren't good enough to put a very good South African team away."
South Africa appear certain to stick with the same starting XI that played all three Tests in Australia.
Vice captain Ashwell Prince was left out of a 12-man squad despite having recovered from his broken hand, meaning JP Duminy - who averaged 61.50 in Australia - will continue at number six.
Uncapped left-arm seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe is set to carry the drinks.
"It would be a good, satisfying feeling to be number one and it would be a sign of our success," said Proteas skipper Graeme Smith, whose side can overtake Australia at the top of the International Cricket Council Test rankings during the three-Test series.
"We've taken a lot of confidence out of (winning in) Australia but there's definitely a feeling of feet on the ground and wanting to achieve more.
"If we can beat them at home that will be a comprehensive beating of Australia home and away - and that's something we really want to achieve."

Warne Joins Sky Sports Elite

Australian legend Shane Warne will be part of Sky Sports' esteemed commentary team for this summer's Ashes.
The leg-spinner bagged 708 Test victims in a prolific career, including 195 against England, but will now line-up alongside former rivals Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain when Sky Sports covers the five-Test series ball-by-ball.
"I can't wait to join the Sky Sports team," said Warne, who burst onto the Ashes scene by bowling Mike Gatting with the 'ball of the century' at Old Trafford in 1993.
"I loved playing in the Ashes, I love watching cricket and I love talking about it. If I'm not playing, the best place to be is in the Sky Sports commentary box and I look forward to working alongside the guys throughout the series."
This year's Ashes will also be screened on Sky Sports HD, offering Sky+HD customers high definition images and Dolby 5.1 surround sound, while there will also be extended highlights each evening.
Warne was just 11 when the heroics of Ian Botham - now Sir Ian - inspired England to a famous victory at Headingley in 1981, a win that is etched into cricketing folklore.
Welcoming Warne onto the team, fellow Sky Sports commentator Sir Ian said: "Warney is special - full stop. It's going to be terrific for the viewers, and great for the commentators, to have him with us in the box for the Ashes.
"He has been a great friend over the years and I'm sure there'll be some good banter between us on-air. He has some really original thoughts and ideas on the game and he will bring another dimension to the Sky Sports coverage."
Warne, 39, played in eight Ashes series in total and ended up on the winning side seven times but he was unable to prevent Michael Vaughan's side reclaiming the urn in 2005 despite weighing in with 40 wickets at just 19.92 runs apiece.
The spinner gained swift revenge as part of the Australian side that whitewashed England 5-0 in 2006/07 - a series in which he became the first bowler in Test history to claim 700 wickets and also claimed the 1,000th scalp of his 15-year international career.
As well as playing domestic cricket for his home state of Victoria, Warne captained Hampshire for three seasons after making his debut for the county in 2000.
After deciding to leave the Rose Bowl in 2008, Warne switched to the IPL and captained the Rajasthan Royals to victory in the inaugural year of the 20-over tournament.

IPL Auction Minute-By-Minute

07:45 GMT: In summation then - Flintoff and Pietersen, as expected, fetched the biggest price tags, respectively going to Chennai and Bangalore for $US1.55 million a pop. Mumbai snapped up Duminy for $950,000, while the Rajasthan Royals signed Tyron Henderson for $650,000. Mortaza went to Kolkata for $600,000 but Bangladesh team-mate Al Hasan went nowhere, while Englishmen Luke Wright and Samit Patel were not signed. Shah and Collingwood were, but a host of other hopefuls were not. That's pretty much the nutshell, but do scroll down and see how the glitzy event in Goa panned out.
07:40 GMT: The final sale of the day belongs to the Kings XI Punjab, who beef up their bowling attack with the purchase of Jerome Taylor for his base price - $150,000.
07:37 GMT: The auction is entering its final stages, with only the Mumbai Indians and the Kings XI Punjab able to bid for overseas players. The other six franchises have maxed out their 10-player limit. The leftovers - Kapugedera, Sarwan, Patel, et al - will go under the hammer again.
07:34 GMT: Tasmanian batter George Bailey does himself proud, going to Chennai for $50,000.
07:30 GMT: Yusuf Abdullah, Daniel Harris, Kemar Roach, Aaron Bird, Michael Dighton, Michael Hill and Brett Geeves step up... and step down. No sale for any of 'em.
07:26 GMT: Shame. Samit Patel can't emulate Collingwood, Shah and other Englishmen, failing to fetch a bid from any of the franchises.
07:16 GMT: Kolkata and the Kings XI Punjab bid and bid and bid for Mashrafe Mortaza, with the former eventually bagging him for $600,000. His base price was $50,000. Wow, that's a biggie and the paeman becomes the first Bangaldeshi to officially join the IPL ranks. There's plenty of 'em in the ICL, of course.
07:16 GMT: South African opener Gulam Bodi and West Indies fast bowler Daren Powell go unbid for.
07:08 GMT: The Mumbai Indians don't want Dominic Thornely (Remember him? The Shaun Pollock lookalike) again this year. They don't put in a bid and the Aussie remains on offer.
07:03 GMT: Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Bryce McGain, Jon Moss, Aiden Blizzard, Michael Klinger (Australia), James Franklin (New Zealand), Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies), Kaushalya Weeraratne and Prasanna Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) all go under the hammer but all remain unsold.
06:55 GMT: After a string of non-bids, Windies all-rounder breaks the shackles, going to the Deccan Chargers for $100,000.
06:50 GMT: Tigers captain Mohammad Ashraful can't even fetch his lowly base price of $75,000. His willow-wielding antics clearly are not on any bidder's agenda for now.
06:45 GMT: Al Hasan and van Wyk aren't alone, Aussie duo Steven Smith and Ashley Noffke remain untouched, as well as West Indian fast bowler Jerome Taylor. Shame.
06:40 GMT: Surprisingly, there are no bids for Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan. He has had a superb past couple of months, resulting in his rise to the top of the ICC all-rounder rankings. South African wicketkeeper-batsman Morne van Wyk can't crack a bid either. It's off to the pile of leftovers for the two of 'em.
06:33 GMT: Jesse Ryder almost joins the leftovers but Bangalore bag him for $160,000.
06:30 GMT: New Zealand's bunch enter the fray, with Kyle Mills shipped off to the Mumbai Indians for $150,000.
06:27 GMT: Sri Lankan pace ace Thilan Thushara will play for the Chennai Super Kings, they've garnered his prowess for a cool $140,000.
06:26 GMT: As with Wright, Kapugedera and Haddin, nobody wants to purchase Nuwan Kulasekara just yet... or ever(?).
06:25 GMT: The Kings XI Punjab enter the bidding, fetching the services of Ravi Bopara for a sumptuous $450,00, staving off the threatening bids of Chennai and Bangalore.
06:20 GMT: No franchise wants Luke Wright for the time being, he'll have to join Kapugedera and Haddin in the leftovers bid later.
06:15 GMT: The Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals endure a humdinger bid for Tyron Henderson, with the big-hitting all-rounder eventually going to the Royals for quite a pretty penny - $650,000, to be exact.
06:06 GMT: Delhi bring in Paul Collingwood to join England team-mate Shah in their ranks, buying the former captain for $275,000 as well.
06:05 GMT: Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata bid ferociously for Owais Shah, with Delhi winning in the end. They've snapped the England star up for $275,000, $125,000 more than his base price.
06:05 GMT: Sri Lanka's Chamara Kapugedera and Aussie wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin go on sale, but nobody wants to touch them yet. They'll have to re-enter the auction a bit later.
06:00 GMT: The Deccan Chargers reckon Windies paceman Fidel Edwards is worth his base price, snapping him up for $150,000.
05:55 GMT: Kevin Pietersen matches his England team-mate's price, going to Bangalore for $US1.55 million.
05:50 GMT: Chennai gain the services of Andrew Flintoff for whopping $US1.55 million.
05:45 GMT: Mumbai Indians buy JP Duminy for $950,000. Duminy's base price was set at $US300,000.
05:40 GMT: Rajasthan Royals purchase Shaun Tait for $US375,000, keen to find an able replacement for barred Pakistan star Sohail Tanvir.
Who's Up For Grabs today. (Base price in USD in brackets)AUSTRALIA: Aaron Bird (45,000), Brett Geeves (45,000), Bryce McGain (50,000), Daniel Harris (50,000), Dominic Thornely (50,000), George Bailey (50,000), Jonathan Moss (50,000), Michael Dighton (85,000), Michael Hill (50,000), Phil Jaques (100,000), Shane Harwood (75,000), Shaun Tait (250,000), Steven Smith (75,000), Stuart Clark (250,000).BANGLADESH: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (50,000), Mohammad Ashraful (75,000), Shakib Al Hasan (75,000), Tamim Iqbal (50,000).ENGLAND: Andrew Flintoff (950,000), Kevin Pietersen (1,350,000), Luke Wright (150,000), Owais Shah (150,000), Paul Collingwood (250,000), Ravi Bopara (150,000), Samit Patel (100,000).NEW ZEALAND: James Franklin (50,000), Jesse Ryder (100,000), Kyle Mills (150,000).SOUTH AFRICA: Gulam Bodi (100,000), JP Duminy (300,000), Morne van Wyk (100,000), Tyron Henderson (100,000), Yusuf Abdullah (25,000).SRI LANKA: Chamara Kapugadera (150,000), Kaushalya Weeraratne (50,000), Nuwan Kulasekera (100,000), Thilan Thushara (100,000).WEST INDIES: Dwayne Smith (TBC), Fidel Edwards (150,000), Jerome Taylor (TBC), Kemar Roach (50,000), Kieron Pollard (60,000).

Dubai Tri-Series Cancelled

Pakistan cricket has received a further blow with the cancellation of a tri-series in Dubai scheduled for late March due to the unavailability of the Sri Lankan team, according to a top official.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief operating officer Salim Altaf told AFP that the event would be scrapped.
"We have been told by organisers that the tri-series has been cancelled because, I believe, the Sri Lankan team is unavailable," said Altaf. The third team was to be Bangladesh.
Altaf said he did not know why Sri Lanka could not participate.
The event was part of a nine-million dollar deal with Dubai Sports City last year, which was to provide Pakistan with cricket at a neutral venue after foreign teams refused to tour the country over security fears.
Pakistan did not play a single Test last year after Australia postponed a tour in March citing security risks. They rescheduled the tour in two visits - for one-dayers in 2009 and Tests in 2010.
But the proposed tour of Pakistan was cancelled again after Canberra refused permission over fear that players could be targeted because the Australian army is among international troops deployed in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The series will be played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from April 24 to May 7.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) also withdrew the eight-nation Champions trophy from Pakistan after three teams refused to tour.
The ICC will decide the new venue in April.
Pakistan cricket suffered another setback when India refused to send its team across the border following heightened tension in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.
Pakistan have admitted that part of the planning for the attacks, which killed 165 people, was conducted within their borders.

Lorgat: Pakistan Must Be Monitored

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has asked for the 2011 World Cup organising committee to keep their options open in case the political situation in Pakistan worsens.
With Pakistan one of four countries due to host the tournament - India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the others - Lorgat said the climate needs to be monitored.
Last year the ICC was forced to postpone the Champions Trophy due to continual security problems in Pakistan, and they recently confirmed that the tournament will be moved elsewhere when it takes place later this year.
With this in mind, Lorgat wants the 2011 organising committee to consider alternative venues.
"It [alternate venues] is a consideration that we have to give attention to," he said at a meeting in New Delhi to discuss preparations for the tournament.
"This is not something we discussed today, except to ask the organisers to consider alternate host city venues within the country as well as alternate country venues in the event something is not favourable in one of the particular host countries."
India cancelled their scheduled tour of Pakistan, which was due to take place in January, as relations between the two countries continued to break down in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. However Lorgat does not feel that the current tension between the two countries is something to be alarmed about.
"This issue must be approached with an optimistic viewpoint, certainly because we still have some time in our hand. I think it's way too early to be presumptuous and assume that things won't work," he said.
"When we come close to the event, obviously we have to pay much more attention to the issues like safety, security and relation between the countries. But I can assure you at this stage we are planning a World Cup for all four countries."
Lorgat confirmed that the tournament will be shortened to six weeks in duration and said a number of groups had been created to produce "a successful, world class event."
Salim Butt has been appointed by the planning committee to take up the position of managing director for the tournament.
It was also decided that subject to final ICC Board approval, the opening ceremony for the event would take place in Bangladesh on 19 February 2011.

Bangladesh Claim Series In Dhaka

Shakib Al Hasan put in a match-winning performance with both bat and ball to steer Bangladesh to a 2-1 series win over Zimbabwe in the third one-day international in Mirpur.
In a match reduced to 37 overs per side due to heavy fog, Shakib took the spotlight in both knocks as the Tigers chased down their opponents' 119 with six wickets in hand.
Shakib turned in a miserly spell of eight overs for 15 in the first innings, collecting three wickets along the way.
Amazingly, four of the 24-year-old's overs were maidens as the tourists struggled to establish any rhythm at the crease.
He was at it again in the Bangladesh reply, putting together a measured 33 not out to see his side home.
The day started poorly for Zimbabwe after play belatedly got under way with the impressive Mashrafe Mortaza trapping Vusi Sibanda leg before without a run on the scoreboard.
Mortaza, impressing with the new ball, quickly removed Hamilton Masakadza and Stuart Matsikenyeri for 10 apiece to leave the batting side wobbling at 31 for three.
Sean Williams weighed in with 38 valuable runs, including five boundaries, in a productive partnership with Keith Dabengwa, who finished undefeated on 21.
Tamim Iqbal got the chase off to a good start, hitting five fours on his way to a 49-ball 34, but an early run out and danger man Mohammad Ashraful's dismissal for just three gave Zimbabwe hope.
Spinner Ray Price was responsible for that wicket, one of two he claimed in a remarkable spell of 7-2-9-2.
But even that level of economy was not enough to hold off Bangladesh as Shakib (33 not out off 36 balls) and Mushfiqur Rahim (20 not out off 31 balls) secured the six-wicket victory.

New Zealand Postpone Tour To Zim

New Zealand's scheduled tour to Zimbabwe in July has been postponed until June 2010 because of Prime Minister John Key's opposition to the trip.
Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket (NZC), said the two boards agreed at an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Johannesburg to put back the three one-day matches due to the New Zealand government's lack of support.
"This is a pragmatic solution that allows the situation in Zimbabwe to be monitored over the next year," Vaughan said in a statement.
"Given Zimbabwe remains a full member of ICC we have continuing obligations to play them on a reciprocal basis, therefore this agreement is an acceptable outcome."
The centre-right National-led government, like the Labour-led administration it ousted last year, previously said it did not favour the tour to Zimbabwe.
"I'm pretty reluctant for the Black Caps to travel," Key told Television New Zealand on Monday.
"There are very real, genuine security risks for our players."
Zimbabwe has agreed to miss the Twenty20 World Cup in England in June to end a deadlock over demands for its suspension from international cricket because of Robert Mugabe's government.
The African country has not played Tests since January 2006 after the team were left depleted following disputes between senior players and the administrators.

Sketchy Triumph For West Indies

The West Indies beat Bermuda by six wickets in game two of the Scotiabank Series in King City on Wednesday.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, the Windies restricted the Bermudans to 158 for nine in their allotted 50 overs. Chris Douglas top scored for the minnows with 53, while Dwayne Leverock pitched in with 20 down the order.
Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller was the pick of the bowlers with three for 19, and debutant medium-pacer Kemar Roach nabbed two for 29.
The West Indies made a slight meal of their reply, losing openers Xavier Marshall and Sewnarine Chattergoon for nought and seven respectively.
But Shawn Findlay (41) and Leon Johnson (27) steadied ship, before captain Ramnaresh Sarwan (49 not out) and Australia-born Brendan Nash (27 not out) led their team to victory with 18.1 overs to spare.
Game three of the triangular series sees hosts Canada take on the West Indies on Friday.

Morgan Back For Ireland

There were no surprises in the Ireland squad of 15 announced today for the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa.
The return of Eoin Morgan, currently on tour with England Lions in New Zealand, at the expense of Strabane bowler Phil Eaglestone is the only change from the squad which won the Intercontinental Cup in last November.
Ten of the squad played for Ireland in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.
Coach Phil Simmons said: "The players have all worked hard and they all know what it means to play on the world stage.
"They've had a taste of it and they want to embrace it again. It's also good to have a few newer faces like Regan West and Peter Connell coming in to keep it fresh and add something new.
"With so much at stake in terms of qualification, and the associated financial rewards, there's bound to be a lot of pressure games, and I think the squad that's been selected is better placed than most to handle it.
"They've been in a lot of tough games over the years and acquitted themselves superbly. There's a good balance to the squad and having so many quality all-rounders gives us lots of options."
Ireland have been drawn in Group A, along with Scotland , Canada , Namibia , Oman and Uganda .
Squad: W Porterfield (Gloucestershire), A Botha (North County), P Connell (North Down), A Cusack (Clontarf), T Johnston (Railway Union), K McCallan (Waringstown), J Mooney (North County), E Morgan (Middlesex), K O'Brien (Railway Union), N O'Brien (Northants), A Poynter (Clontarf), B Rankin (Warwickshire), R West (CSNI), A White (Instonians), G Wilson (Surrey)
Reserves: P Eaglestone (Strabane), P Stirling (Cliftonville), R Strydom (North County).

Dhoni Bemoans Poor Batting

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was left to rue a costly middle-order collapse as New Zealand drew first blood in the opening Twenty20 international at Christchurch.
After losing the toss, Virender Sehwag gave India a near perfect start by smashing youngster Tim Southee for three consecutive sixes in the opening over.
But, having reached 32 for one after just three overs, a mixture of tight bowling and inept batting saw the tourists slump to 61 for five.
Sehwag (26 off 10), Rohit Sharma (seven), Yuvraj Singh (1) and captain Dhoni (two) joined Gautam Gambhir (six) in suffering quick dismissals.
It took a 61-run partnership between Suresh Raina, who top-scored with 61, and Harbhajan Singh (21) to propel the tourists to a competitive total of 162-8.
"We got off to a good start but there was nobody who took the responsibility of staying there in the middle," Dhoni said.
"It's very important to have wickets in hand so you can capitalise on maybe the last four of five overs."
The Indian skipper was happy with his bowlers, particularly Harbhajan, who finished with one for 19 off his four overs.
Zaheer Khan (one for 20) also impressed and Ishant Sharma (one for 35) was unlucky not to have finished with two wickets after striking Martin Guptill leg before with the very first ball he faced.
"I'm quite happy with the way the bowlers bowled. It was a tough wicket, good for batting, so I'm happy with the bowlers," Dhoni told Sky Sports.
"It was nice to see Harbhajan in a good rhythm.
"In a Twenty20 game you don't really want to give them too many runs by giving them too many loose deliveries. If they score off a good ball then fair enough, especially when the ground is so short."
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori was delighted to start the series, which includes one further Twenty20 match, five ODIs and three Tests, with a win, especially after the agony of missing out by one run in the previous game against Australia.
Brendon McCullum batted through, hitting a patient 56 off 49 balls, and forming valuable partnerships with Guptill (54), Ross Taylor (50) and Jacob Oram (60) to steer the Kiwis home.
"It's nice to go 1-0 up, particularly with our record, it hasn't been that great of late," said Vettori.
"We still think we're a decent Twenty20 side but you've got to put results on the board. Hopefully this is the start of something."
Man-of-the-match McCullum was pleased with the way the batsmen constructed the run-chase after a below-par showing saw them score just 149 against Australia in Sydney.
"There was a bit more emphasis put on the singles. We knew that we chased in Australia 90 per cent well and that we probably missed out in key areas," he said.
"We learned from that. To beat a very strong India team, the world champions in Twenty20, is pretty satisfying."

Pakistan Call For Reinforcements

Pakistan have called up five players as reserves for the second Test against Sri Lanka, which starts on Saturday in Lahore.
The same 15-man squad on duty for the drawn series opener in Karachi has been retained by the hosts.
All-rounder Shahid Afridi, pace bowlers Sohail Tanvir and Abdur Rauf, off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and opening batsman Nasir Jamshed are the additional five players put on stand-by.
"These reserves will not be part of the squad but depending on the pitch and if the need arises, the team management can play anyone from the reserves," Pakistan's chief selector Abdul Qadir said.
Pakistan: Younis Khan (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Shoaib Malik, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Asim Kamal, Umar Gul, Sohail Khan, Yasir Arafat, Danish Kaneria, Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad TalhaReserves: Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rauf, Nasir Jamshed

COLUMN

Australia's long lead-up to this summer's Ashes defence continues in Johannesburg this week and Ricky Ponting's side must be going into South Africa's backyard with a fair amount of trepidation.
The Australians will have learnt a lot about the Proteas' resilience during their 2-1 Test series defeat at the turn of the year when the performances of Hashim Amla and JP Duminy in particular seemed to take them completely by surprise.
Graeme Smith has a competent, high-powered bowling attack at his disposal and his team now has the top of the ICC's Test rankings in its sights; now is not the time for Australia to underestimate their opponents.
No-one deserves the Australians' respect more than Jacques Kallis, who will need just 12 when he walks to the wicket to become only the eighth batsman to rack up 10,000 Test runs.
I never think Kallis gets the credit he deserves, not least because Smith is still asking him to bowl a fair amount of overs.
We say Andrew Flintoff's an indispensable member of England's team but compare Kallis' record with bat and ball (9,988 runs at 54.57, 252 wickets at 31) to Flintoff's (3,645 runs at 31.69 and 218 wickets at 32) and there is only winner.
Kallis has been short of runs recently but he will come back to form; this is a milestone he thoroughly deserves; I'm sure he'll have his eye on getting up towards 12,000 runs.
South Africa have had some tough series recently, Bangladesh aside, having drawn in India and beaten both England and Australia. You can't underestimate their pedigree and since Shaun Pollock retired Kallis has stepped up and become the main player for them.
I can see Smith's side winning this series by a single Test which will leave Australia with something of an inferiority complex going into the Ashes.
Defeat will, of course, intensify the pressure on Ponting but I can't see him being sacked as captain before the summer.
The Australian way - unlike the English - is to ditch a player once he's lost the captaincy but Ponting is still clearly one of the leading batsmen in the world so I think his position is safe until after the Ashes should Australia lose.
He's now finding out what it's like to skipper a moderate bowling attack - one that let him down badly in the home series against South Africa.
Whether you are Don Bradman, Clive Lloyd or Mike Brearley you are only as good a captain as the bowlers you have at your disposal.
I'm sure that the Australian selectors are rather keeping their fingers crossed that one or two of the emerging players - Ben Hilfenhaus, Marcus North and Bryce McGain - will flourish because the bowling really did look threadbare at times during the home series.
Australia are going to have to hope that Mitchell Johnson can be the mainstay of the attack and the others develop around him.
One player I'll be keeping a close eye on in particular is opener Phil Hughes, who has surprised many by leapfrogging above other guys who have had international experience.
The last generation of Australian players - the likes of Justin Langer and Michael Hussey - did a very long apprenticeship before they got a chance in the side.
That isn't the case with this new broom that has swept through Aussie cricket and it remains to be seen what the tourists can make of a clean slate.

Cricket Photos Gallery

Cook, Bell And Amjad Khan Impress In Barbados

New Zealand Tour Of Zimbabwe Postponed To 2010

Waugh and Hayden Support Charity T20

Cricket Equipment

Gunn & Moore Makes Major Investment In UK Bat-Making
2 February 2009

In the current economic environment of doom and gloom, UK cricket manufacturer Gunn & Moore is pleased to announce the completion of a major investment in excess of £500,000 in its bat-making process at its factory in Nottingham following a 4-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) sponsored by the DTi.GM entered into this arrangement to look specifically at process, technology and manufacturing improvements into its cricket bat manufacture undertaken in Nottingham since 1885.

The project highlighted improvements that could be made into the whole process of bat manufacturing from sourcing and selection of willow trees, through to use by players from the grass roots to the test arena, as follows:• improving the storage of both willow and cane to ensure optimum moisture content before machining• improve the performance of each blade by changes to the pressing process and • improve the weight distribution and therefore pick-up by the use of a 5 axis CNC machine which combined with state of the art CAM/CAD software would give significant design options and improved feel.
This investment has made a quantum leap in the manufacturing consistency and level of performance of cricket bats, which will benefit cricketers of all levels to maximise their skills and enable cricket retailers to stock and sell these bats with increased confidence. It puts Gunn & Moore in a unique position in the world of bat-making.Gunn & Moore managing director Peter Wright says:
“Although Gunn & Moore could, like its major competitors, have moved production to India or Pakistan, the 4 years of research pointed to a more long lasting and cost effective way of sourcing and converting English willow into cricket bats.“By using a perfect blend of tradition and technology, the company has been able to develop even further the art of bat-making developed in Nottingham by a long line of Gunn & Moore master craftsmen for over 120 years.”

ICC Women's World Cup 2009

Pakistan Women Have Mountain To Climb In Australia
24 February 2009

Young and inexperienced but ambitious, the Pakistan team is taking inspiration from its performance in Stellenbosch, South Africa, 12 months ago as it prepares to go head to head with the best in next month’s ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 in Australia.Last February in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier, Pakistan put up series of strong performances to spring a surprise on eighth-ranked Ireland by 57 runs, Scotland by 252 runs and Zimbabwe by 94 runs before upsetting 10th-ranked Netherlands in the semi-final by 94 runs which won it a place in the main round for just the second time in its history.“We can take a lot of heart from our performance in South Africa where not many people gave us any chance. But we showed we were second best in that group and won the right to play against the best,” said Pakistan captain Urooj Mumtaz.“There are a lot of expectations on us in the World Cup but we have to be realistic. And the reality is we are the eighth-ranked team in the world, we are short of international experience and exposure, and we’ll be competing against teams who we have either never beaten or never played.“It leaves us with the task of scaling a mountain. But if we can turn the tables in Stellenbosch, I have no reasons why we can’t do again in Australia. It needs the same passion, dedication and commitment, and I am happy to say we are not short of those qualities.“The bottom line is we have got nothing to lose and everything to gain from the World Cup. We will give our best shot, try to learn and achieve as much as we can so that it could help us become a better team for future tournaments and series. The learning process has to continue.“We have short and long-term plans in place and no matter what anybody thinks, we know we are heading in the right direction. The players are gaining experience and learning with every match what it requires to excel at the highest level,” said the veteran of 30 ODIs.“Our objective in the World Cup is to improve our current eighth-ranking. We have never beaten Sri Lanka but we sense an opportunity against them as we feel we are not too far behind them. If a couple of our players fire on that day, we could end our win drought against them.“A victory against Sri Lanka will ensure we improve our ranking, it will enhance our chances of a place in the Super Six stage which would be a massive boost to the team and women’s cricket in Pakistan,” said Urooj.If Pakistan finishes at the bottom on Group B, it will still have a chance to achieve its objective when it will play the bottom-placed team from Group A in the seventh and eighth-position play-off match at North Sydney Oval No. 2 on Saturday 14 March.Urooj said it was a lifetime opportunity for her team to play in the World Cup. “Many of us never thought we would ever get this far. But now that we are here, we want to stay.“We are taking it as a massive opportunity to learn what it feels to play at the highest level and what it requires to consistently perform at that stage. With ESPN STAR Sports covering the matches at North Sydney Oval, we have, at least, one opportunity (against England on 12 March) to give a good account of ourselves on a global stage and let the world know that women’s cricket in Pakistan has come of age and is on the rise.“Our opening match is against India and though many think it will be a match between arch-rivals, frankly speaking there is nothing like this in women’s cricket. We have played quite a few times against each other but those were just games of cricket. We respect India because of what it has achieved in women’s cricket.“When we play our opening match, we will try to forget it’s a World Cup match because that thought can unsettle you, make you nervous and prevent you from giving your best. I don’t think cricket is a difficult game if you stick to basics.“I think the word ‘ICC’ makes this event prestigious and I feel honoured and privileged to not only wear the green blazer but to also lead my country at the highest level which is a dream for any sportsperson.“My team is not different. It is also looking forward to the tournament and is keen to make the nation proud. It is a tough task but not impossible,” said Urooj.Pakistan will play two warm-up matches in the lead up to the World Cup. It plays New Zealand at Manly on Tuesday 3 March and South Africa at Village Green on Wednesday 4 March.PAKISTAN – Urooj Mumtaz (captain), Sana Mir (vice-captain), Almas Akram, Asmavia Iqbal, Armaan Khan, Batool Fatima, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan, Nain Abidi, Nahida Khan, Naila Nazir, Qanita Jalil, Sajida Shah, Sania Khan, Sukhan Faiz.

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International Cricket Council

ICC Learns That Anti-Doping Code Is WADA Compliant

24 February 2009

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has confirmed that the International Cricket Council's (ICC) revised anti-doping code is WADA-compliant.
On day one of the ICC Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) meeting in Johannesburg, members heard that WADA had approved the code, which allows cricketers to be tested out of competition. Member boards continue to be educated about the new code.
Talks on the development of the Future Tours Programme, promotion of Test cricket and the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit were also held while discussions over the abandoned Test match in Antigua will continue into a second day.
The CEC comprises the chief executives of the ten Test-playing nations and three representatives from ICC Associate members and is chaired by Haroon Lorgat, the ICC Chief Executive.

Twenty20 Cricket

Stalemate After BCCI, ICC And ICL Discussion
23 February 2009


No agreement to end an ongoing dispute was reached despite three hours of talks between the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Cricket League (ICL) in Johannesburg.
The three parties had come together to discuss the ICL's application to be recognised by the ICC as unofficial cricket and that proposition will now go back before the ICC Board meeting in Dubai in April.
In attendance were David Morgan and Haroon Lorgat (ICC), N. Srinivasan (BCCI), Subhash Chandra and Himanshu Mody (Essel Group, which runs the ICL).
“I am grateful to all parties for coming together with the best of intentions and the discussions took place in a friendly and cordial manner but, unfortunately, we were not able to come to a successful conclusion in our discussions," ICC President Morgan said in a statement.“The ICL’s application for approval as unofficial cricket will now go before the ICC Board at its April meeting in Dubai," he confirmed.

South Africa v Australia, 1st Test, Johannesburg

South Africa v Australia, 1st Test, Johannesburg
Australia opt for all-pace attack
The Preview by Brydon Coverdale in Johannesburg
February 25, 2009
Match factsFebruary 26-March 2, 2009Start time 10.30am (08.30G)

Big PictureSouth Africa's tour of Australia was such a short while ago that it feels like this is the fourth Test in a six-match series. Following their 2-1 win, South Africa headed home and their players had a break of sorts, although there was some domestic cricket on the calendar. Australia faced New Zealand in a one-day contest before rushing to the airport to set off for Johannesburg. Australia enter the series hanging on by a fingernail to their No. 1 Test ranking. They avoided handing it over at the SCG last month but a South African series win this time will mean the end of the long reign of Ricky Ponting's men.
It's only three years since Australia's last Test tour of South Africa but a lot has changed in that time. Only three members of the current squad - Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey - made that trip. Where once there was Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee, there are now names like Bryce McGain, Phillip Hughes and Ben Hilfenhaus. How Australia's newer faces handle the pressure of a Test tour will be a key factor in the final results. There are no such squad issues for South Africa, who have retained the core group that won in Australia and have such a strong line-up that Ashwell Prince couldn't find a spot.
The other fascinating part of the series will be how the two teams use the umpire referrals. Neither side has played under the trial system, which will be overseen in all three Tests by Billy Bowden, Asad Rauf and the retiring Steve Bucknor.

Watch out forDale Steyn lived up to the hype in Australia and finished as the leading wicket taker and was a major reason why South Africa won the series. On his home pitches he will again prove a handful, particularly if the prodigious swing that is expected does happen. As if he wasn't threatening enough, he has spent his time off toughening up by wrestling crocodiles.
Phillip Hughes will become Australia's youngest Test debutant since Craig McDermott in 1984 when he walks out on Thursday at the age of 20 years and 88 days. A supremely talented left-hand opening batsman, Hughes has piled up runs for New South Wales over the past 18 months but his most striking characteristic is his ability to perform on big occasions. They don't come much bigger than a tour of South Africa where the No. 1 ranking is on the line and the ability of Hughes and Simon Katich to provide strong starts will be critical to Australia's chances.
Team newsSouth Africa have named a 12-man squad for the first Test and there isn't much doubt about who will play. The left-arm fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe has been included but will almost certainly be the man to miss out as the settled group that beat Australia at home continues its push for the No. 1 spot. The spinner Paul Harris is likely to play in a team that was so good in Australia that Prince could not break back into the side having fully recovered from his broken thumb.
South Africa (likely) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Neil McKenzie, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Morne Morkel, 9 Paul Harris, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Makhaya Ntini.
The rain and pitch conditions at the Wanderers have encouraged Australia to name a 12-man squad with both the specialist spinners Bryce McGain and Nathan Hauritz left out. It means an all-pace attack and the main decision now is whether to include the medium-pace allrounder Andrew McDonald or go for four out-and-out fast men in Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus. The batsman and handy offspinner Marcus North should have confirmed his Test debut thanks to his strong performance in the tour match in Potchefstroom. However, the only one of the three uncapped men in Australia's 12 who is certain of making his debut is the opener Phillip Hughes.
Australia (likely) 1 Phillip Hughes, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Marcus North, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Doug Bollinger, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus, 12 Andrew McDonald.
Pitch and conditionsThere was some rain in the lead-up to the match, which meant that until a couple of days ago the players had not seen the pitch, which was covered by a tent-like structure that allowed the groundsmen to continue working on it. However, both teams are expecting plenty of swing, particularly on the first day, while it could be hard going for batsmen and spinners. There are further storms forecast for the first few days of the Test.
Stats and Trivia
Jacques Kallis needs 12 runs to become the first South African to reach 10,000
AB de Villiers will become the fourth South African to play 50 consecutive Tests
Australia have won the last three Tests between the two sides at the Wanderers and two of the successes were innings victories.
Quotes"We've spoken about the moments of the last series where we were a bit deficient. The guys have learnt a lot from those moments and what we have to do better next time. We can't forget that some of these guys are playing their fourth, fifth, some of them are playing their first Test out here."Ricky Ponting on the eve of the Test.
"I definitely won't mind seeing Australia bat and having Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel running in on the first morning."AB de Villiers wants to bat first but thinks there would be benefits in sending Australia in.

New Zealand v India, 1st Twenty20, Christchurch

McCullum fifty sets up NZ's win
The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran
February 25, 2009
New Zealand 166 for 3 (McCullum 56*, Guptill 41) beat India 162 for 8 (Raina 61*, Butler 2-29) by seven wickets

New Zealand and India adopted different approaches to their innings and in the end it was the host's more measured and sensible method that prevailed over the visitors' manic thrash. India's innings fell away after a blazing start - Virender Sehwag hit his first three balls for sixes - and they needed Suresh Raina's half-century to lift them from 101 for 7. New Zealand, on the other hand, were guided by opener Brendon McCullum, who batted through the innings while his team-mates forced the pace. McCullum took charge during the final overs, reached his half-century and ensured New Zealand won with seven balls to spare.
The small size of the AMI Stadium with its tiny square boundaries proved a temptation few batsmen could resist. India bashed 13 sixes in their innings - one short of the record for Twenty20 internatonals - but in the end had to settle for a par score. They were caught in an adrenalin rush but the early slogging came with a heavy price and the responsibility on Raina increased with every wicket.
New Zealand gave a much better account of themselves during their chase. Their start was not as frenetic as the Indians' for the new-ball attack of Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan extracted movement under lights. Zaheer beat the outside edge on several occasions but New Zealand maintained their composure even after losing Jesse Ryder in the second over.
New Zealand had a stroke of luck when Martin Guptill padded up to a big inswinger from Ishant and was hit on the pad while moving across his stumps. The disbelief on the faces of the Indians was palpable as the umpire gave him not out. Guptill capitalised on the let-off and unfurled a series of exquisite pulls - his signature shot - off the fast bowlers.
His dismissal, trapped in front by Harbhajan Singh in the seventh over, slowed New Zealand down and they managed only 29 off the next five overs. However, they kept their cool and cashed in when another offspinner Yusuf Pathan was brought into the attack. Ross Taylor, a dangerous player on the leg side, got down on his knees and clubbed consecutive sixes off Yusuf before swatting him for four the next ball. That 18-run over brought equation down to 62 off 48 balls and left India desperate for a wicket.
Zaheer broke the 50-run stand in his second spell, bowling Taylor with a leg stump yorker. That brought Jacob Oram, returning after a long injury lay-off, and he quickly settled in. McCullum flirted with danger a few times, playing cheeky paddle scoops, not all of which came off. However, he was successful when he played more conventional cricket shots. He used his feet superbly against the spinners and brought up his fifty with a lofted straight six off Yusuf. Oram finished the game soon after, smashing Yusuf to the cover boundary.
Unlike New Zealand's, India's shot selection was questionable with the top four falling while playing across the line. Gambhir was the first to perish, losing his middle stump to Iain O'Brien who also flattened Sehwag's leg stump. Rohit Sharma stylishly clipped Ian Butler for a six over square leg but was dismissed trying a similar shot the next ball, getting a thick leading edge to Brendon McCullum. Yuvraj Singh too was trapped lbw to a quicker one from Daniel Vettori while moving across his stumps.
There was a second hat-trick of sixes in the Indian innings, this time by Yusuf Pathan. He got down on one knee and slogged Nathan McCullum's first three deliveries over long-on but was caught while going for the fourth. The ball travelled flatter towards Oram at long-on who took the catch, pedalled backwards, quickly lobbed the ball in the air before going over the rope and caught it once again after coming back into play. It was reminiscent of Adam Voges' catch at the same position in Sydney recently.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan failed to support Raina and their dismissals left India struggling at 101 for 7. Raina was perhaps the only batsman who consistently succeeded in hitting on the leg side. He stayed balanced and clubbed full tosses and length deliveries from the seamers high over deep midwicket. He received late support from Harbhajan Singh, who hit consecutive fours off Southee in the final over. India did well to reach 162 but they needed more on such a small ground.

Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka Test Match Updates

Pakistan v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Karachi, 5th day
Match drawn after late drama
The Bulletin by Sriram Veera
February 25, 2009
Sri Lanka 644 for 7 dec (Mahela 240, Samaraweera 231) and 144 for 5 (Sangakkara 65) drew with Pakistan 765 for 6 dec (Younis 313, Akmal 158*)


In the end the pitch won. Pakistan created late excitement by knocking out five top-order wickets but they didn't have enough time to pull off the miracle. After four-and-a-half dreary days dominated by the bat, the game sprung alive in dramatic fashion on the final evening when Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria struck in rapid succession to leave Sri Lanka struggling at 120 for 5. Thilan Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene, however, pulled down the shutters with some cautious batting to ensure there would not be any further drama.
The final day began with all the attention centred on whether Younis Khan would go past Brian Lara's record of 400 not out, but he couldn't. He fell after adding only seven runs to his overnight score of 306, cleaned up by Dilhara Fernando. But Kamran Akmal continued Pakistan's strong reply on the flat pitch, scoring an unbeaten 158 to give Pakistan a 121-run lead.
There was little to play for when Sri Lanka began their second innings, and they even altered the batting line-up, sending Tillakaratne Dilshan ahead of Mahela Jayawardene. But some careless cricket put them in discomfort.
Gul lifted Pakistan with an early strike, inducing an edge from Malinda Warnapura. Tharanga Paranavitana missed out for the second time in this game, run out by a direct hit from Yasir Arafat. The Pakistan seamers bowled with more purpose, and sent down several short balls. Dilshan pulled one such bouncer from Gul straight to deep square leg. Jayawardene turned Danish Kaneria lazily straight to short leg and Sangakkara was caught in front, trying to play across the line. At that stage, with Sri Lanka still trailing by one run and with 17.3 overs left in the day, Pakistan had an outside chance, but when no wicket fell for the next seven overs, the home team realised the futility of the exercise.
When the day began, the focus was on Younis, who was 31 runs short of Hanif Mohammad's 337, the highest individual score by a Pakistan batsman. He started slowly, nudging the ball around, but was surprised by the movement from Fernando. The ball landed short of a length outside off stump before cutting back in quickly to beat the defensive poke and crashed into the off stump.
As Younis walked back, he was congratulated by most of the Sri Lankan fielders. Pakistan sighed in disappointment, though Brian Lara's fans in the Caribbean would have been relieved. Younis batted for 836 minutes, the third-longest Test innings in terms of minutes behind Hanif (970) and Gary Kirsten (878).
Akmal carried on unperturbed, helping himself to an easy century on the batting paradise. Sri Lanka relaxed after Younis left and tried out an assortment of irregular bowlers like Sangakkara, Dilshan, Malinda Warnapura and Mahela Jayawardene. Akmal scored 98 runs off the irregular bowlers and reached 158 off only 184 balls before Younis finally declared on 765.
Despite the late excitement, it was a predictable and fair result on the placid pitch. Neither team finished their first innings completely and had to declare - not the perfect advertisement for Test cricket, especially since this was Pakistan's first home Test in 16 months. The attention now shifts to the second Test, starting on March 1 in Lahore