Law agrees to new one-year contract

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Stuart Law, the Lancashire batsman who had expressed doubts about playing for the club next season, has signed a new one-year contract.”Stuart is an exceptional batsman and has just finished another great season for the club,” Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s cricket manager said. “His experience at both a domestic and international level is invaluable, and he brings a lot to the squad both on and off the field.”Law, 39, joined the county in 2002 and has been the club’s leading batsman with 7,141 first-class runs at an average of 58.53.”Lancashire is one of the biggest clubs I’ve even been involved with,” Law said. “I thought that Queensland had a big fan base, but Lancashire probably has the biggest in the world and the pressure for success is immense – which makes it an even bigger privilege to play for such a passionate county.”I’ve always wanted to play for Lancashire ever since playing League cricket for Littleborough in 1991-92, and I’m very grateful I’ve got the opportunity to continue my career at Old Trafford for at least another season.”Law will be taking part in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) later this month before spending Christmas in Brisbane, where he can inspect the newly opened stand named in his honour at the Allan Border Field.

Gibbs returns to one-day squad

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Herschelle Gibbs has recovered from a knee injury sustained during the second Test © AFP

Herschelle Gibbs, the South African batsman, has been declared fit and will be part of the one-day squad for the second and third matches against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town on Friday and Sunday.Gibbs had hurt his knee during the second Test in Centurion, which South Africa won by an innings and 59 runs to wrap the series 2-0. He missed the Twenty20 international and the first one-dayer in Durban, which South Africa won off the last ball to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.”Shane Jabaar [the team physiotherapist] told me that Herschelle came through his fitness test very well and could have played as early as today [Wednesday],” Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, said.Morne van Wyk, who was called up as cover for Gibbs, was released from the squad and would play for the Eagles in their Supersport Series match against the Warriors in Bloemfontein on Thursday.

It's anyone's game – Bayliss

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Sri Lanka must bowl out England quickly and put on an improved performance with the bat to win the Test © Getty Images

Trevor Bayliss, Sri Lanka’s coach, has termed the first Test between Sri Lanka and England an evenly-poised affair at the end of the second day and said that either of the teams can win the contest if they play well from now till the end of the match.”We obviously didn’t have a great day yesterday. But I thought we fought hard and got ourselves back into the game today,” Bayliss said.”On a wicket that suits spin bowling, we knew if we could keep England down to areasonable total even if they passed us, we can hopefully match them in our secondinnings as chasing 180 to 200 in the final innings will turn out to be a tough job.”Bayliss expressed disappointment that Muttiah Muralitharan could notbreak Shane Warne’s world record of 708 Test wickets before play was called off for the day due to rain.”It was a bit disappointing for everyone watching and I am sure for him as well. Hewould have liked to have got it out of the way today. But all along our focus hasbeen on the team’s performance. Everyone knows it that Murali will take thosewickets somewhere in one Test or another.”Bayliss, however, did express his disappointment at Sri Lanka’s failure to post big first-innings totals.”They [the Sri Lankan batsmen] do a lot of hard work and it’s not from lack of trying, that’s for sure. We were here early this morning working on the batting and we are hopeful that in thenext two Test matches we can turn that around in the first innings.”We are going through a little bit of a transitional period with the team. There are a number of inexperienced and younger players in the team trying to learn the firstclass game of cricket in the international arena. In that case they are not going tobe as consistent as we might like it to be. Hopefully, with the experience of playingteams like Australia and England, some of these guys will step up to the mark prettyquickly.”Questioned on the impending retirement of Sanath Jayasuriya, Bayliss said: “Hehasn’t said anything to us at this stage. Obviously he is getting close, exactly howclose we are not very sure.”

Fleming denies quit talk

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Still in the runs: Stephen Fleming says he has no plans to quit Tests © Getty Images
 

Stephen Fleming, the former New Zealand captain, has denied that he is on the verge of retiring after rumours began circulating during the second Test against Bangladesh in Wellington.Fleming stepped down from the one-day captaincy following the World Cup and subsequently lost the Test job to Daniel Vettori. However, he has retained his position in the Test team – hitting 87 against Bangladesh in Wellington – and was surprised to hear talk of him walking away from the international game.”Unless it has come from [Glenn] Turner or [Richard] Hadlee or [Dion] Nash or [John Bracewell], then it’s not the case,” he said after the Test.Fleming is now focussed on preparing for the visit of England, who arrive later this month for a tour that includes two Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs and three Tests. “I’m working hard on a couple of things batting-wise with that in mind. I’ve got three weeks now to work away at domestic level.”His 87 against Bangladesh was another example of Fleming failing to convert into three figures, something he has managed only nine times in 108 Tests. “It’s the story of my career really. The plan was to put that one into the Don Neely scoreboard, the next one into the scaffolding, and a single for the hundred.”It’s a short boundary with the wind behind me and I should be able to execute that better. My execution twice was poor. I could have sat on it and just played the percentages and got there.”Whenever Fleming does decide his time is over at the top level he admits that his lack of hundreds will be a disappointment. “That’s probably one of the regrets I’ll have with my 43 fifties – there are a lot where I look for the positive option and just don’t execute, or get carried away, get impatient.”

India's tour match abandoned due to rain

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Seagulls frolic in a puddle as the last day was washed out © Getty Images

As warm-up matches go, the players didn’t get very warm. India’s only game before the Boxing Day Test was called off after only 48 overs because of persistent heavy rain in Melbourne.Three days against Victoria were scheduled at the Junction Oval but overnight showers and a wet pitch meant no play was possible on the third day. It leaves their bowlers with no match practice before the first Test as the Indians finished at 4 for 133 with Rahul Dravid on 38 and Yuvraj Singh on 6.Two-and-a-half hours were played on the first day before torrential rain saturated the ground and only ten overs were possible on day two. The Indians used much of the downtime to train at the MCG indoor nets and they will have little choice but to complete their preparations under cover with more rain expected over the next couple of days.However, the Test should not be affected with a warm change forecast for Melbourne on Christmas Day. Sunny conditions are predicted for the first few days of the Test.

Melbourne conditions will suit Australia

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Ricky Ponting hopes for better luck against India after a wash-out in the opening game in Brisbane © Getty Images
 

Ricky Ponting says Australia will carry their momentum into Sunday’s game against India in Melbourne after his side demolished Sri Lanka by 128 runs at the SCG. India are coming off two wash-outs in Brisbane, whereas Australia enjoyed using a two-paced pitch on Friday.With further low bounce expected at the MCG, Ponting hopes his men will have the edge. “We’ve got a full game of cricket and a really good, comprehensive win,” Ponting said after the Sydney success, which put them on top of the CB Series table.”We’re probably going to get similar types of conditions in Melbourne as well. The wicket all year down there hasn’t offered much pace and bounce either, so what we’ve got out of this game we can take down there and hopefully adapt to their attack and adapt to their batting line-up.”Nathan Bracken collected five wickets in Sydney, switching from a three-over new-ball spell of swing to useful cutters later in the innings. Ponting was especially pleased with the variety in his bowling arsenal with Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson and Brad Hogg all chipping in with important breakthroughs.”We’ve got a really good mix and balance with our bowling attack in both forms of the game right now,” he said. “Our one-day attack the last couple of years has been very solid.”India will be desperate to get a full match in at the MCG following their rain-affected Gabba clashes and Ponting said the visitors had shown glimpses of their potential. “They played pretty well up in Brisbane the other night with the bat,” he said of India’s effort in posting 267 against Sri Lanka.”But certainly our bowlers controlled them in Brisbane a few days before that. Hopefully we can just take a bit of momentum out of this game down to Melbourne on Sunday.”

ICL players face county bar

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Shane Bond: down and out? © Getty Images
 

A number of counties face starting the 2008 season without their high-profile overseas players after it was revealed that anyone who has signed with the breakaway Indian Cricket League is unlikely to be given the necessary clearance to play by their own boards.Any non-English player needs a “no objection certificate” (NOC) from their home board before being allowed to play in England, and it is believed that several, including New Zealand Cricket and the Pakistan Cricket Board, are refusing to issue them. It comes as the leading boards adopt a hard line towards unauthorised tournaments.Shane Bond, who signed with the ICL last November, in effect had his career ended by NZC as a result, but earlier this month he signed for Hampshire for the 2008 season. However, without the NOC he will not be allowed to play.Cricinfo has learnt that Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has already been declined an NOC and it seems likely that others, such as Mushtaq Ahmed, will also be left out in the cold.”We’re about to start the season and suddenly some counties will have to reconsider deals struck some time ago,” Paul Millman, Kent’s chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph. “It would have been good if a line could have been drawn, and any agreements made in good faith before that left alone. I don’t think you should abandon contracts on a whim. But this is a complex situation.”Kolpak players, who do not need NOCs to play domestic cricket, will not be affected.

Pakistan to try out youngsters for Bangladesh ODIs

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Pakistan will try out youngsters for the five one-dayers against Bangladesh next month at home. But though some new players will be given a chance, chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said Pakistan would not take Bangladesh lightly.”They can be a dangerous team on their day,” Salahuddin told the , a Pakistan daily. “For us the most important task would be to win the series and win comfortably.”After Australia decided to postpone their tour of Pakistan, the PCB searched for a team to replace them for a five-match ODI series. The PCB was keen on India to play the matches but the BCCI could not fit another series in to an already jam-packed itinerary.In their recent ODIs against Zimbabwe, Pakistan tried out opener Nasir Jamshed, bowlers Abdur Rauf, Junaid Zia, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Khurram Manzoor and Khalid Latif. They also played wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed for the last two games in place of regular keeper Kamran Akmal.But Salahuddin said Pakistan would not take any chances in playing Bangladesh. “Bangladesh proved they are a good one-day side by reaching the last-eight in the World Cup,” he said. Bangladesh beat India and South Africa in the tournament while Pakistan, along with India, made an exit in the first round.The Pakistan selectors will meet members of the junior national selection committee on March 21 for advice on the young talent available in the country and announce the squad by the end of the month.

Under-19 players included in Pakistan and SA academy squads

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Several players from South Africa and Pakistan, who featured in the Under-19 World Cup last month in Malaysia, are part of academy sides to tour Bangladesh in April for the Grameenphone Academy Cup.Fast bowlers Matthew Arnold and Reeza Hendricks along with wicketkeeper Bradley Barnes, who were part of the squad that reached the World Cup final, are part of South Africa’s academy squad scheduled to reach Bangladesh on Tuesday.Pakistan’s Under-19 captain Imad Wasim, along with Adil Raza, Ahmed Shehzad and Ali Asad, has been included in the academy squad which will arrive in Bangladesh on April 14. Batsman Khurram Manzoor, who made his international debut against Zimbabwe last month, is also part of the squad.South Africa squad
Matthew Arnold, Sammy-Joe Avontuur, Bradley Barnes, Richard das Neves, CJ de Villiers, Reeza Hendricks, Rushdi Jappie, Mondli Mahlombe, Mafinki Serame, Mthokozisi Shezi, Abdul Temoor, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Dane Vilas, Neil WagnerPakistan squad
Khalid Latif (capt), Khurram Manzoor, Raheel Majeed, Asad Shafiq, Ali Asad, Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Anwar Ali, Adil Raza, Mohammad Aamer, Azharullah, Imad Wasim, Naeem Anjum (wk), Yasir ShahReplacements for the four-day matches: Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Fawad Alam

Bennett bowls Canterbury back into final

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ScorecardHamish Bennett’s four wickets helped keep the State Championship final evenly balanced after Canterbury were dismissed for 215 on the second day. Bennett grabbed 4 for 37 as Wellington reached 163 for 6 in their reply, trailing by 52 runs when bad light stopped play.The home side had moved their score along to 90 for 2 when Bennett snared two wickets in two balls. Neal Parlane was caught behind for 39 after building a handy 72-run stand with Grant Elliott, before Stephen Gellatly was also caught by Kruger van Wyk next delivery.Elliott, who made an unbeaten 196 in his last game, had to settle for 52 this time when he was bowled by Leighton Burtt and one run later Wellington lost Chris Nevin, who was lbw to Bennett. Luke Woodcock was on 19 at stumps and Dewayne Bowden had 18.Wellington had made a shaky start, losing Matthew Bell for 3 and Michael Parlane for 11 after Iain O’Brien’s five wickets appeared to put them on top. O’Brien finished with 5 for 70 and picked up the last two victims to end Canterbury’s innings after they added 50 on the second day, with Brandon Hiini remaining unbeaten on 31.