Zimbabwe’s selectors met in Harare last Wednesday to pick two squads, the first to represent the country at the Afro-Asia A-team tournament in Bangladesh next month, and a second squad to take part in the last round of the South African Airways Challenge Cup in February.Alester Maregwede, who captained the Under-23 side which returned home empty handed from the first round of the competition, was dropped from both squads, as were former Under-19 skipper Tinotenda Mawoyo, Matabeleland top-order batsman Tinashe Hove and pace bowler Christopher Mpofu. The first three were omitted after poor performances, but Mpofu was rested.A provisional squad of 24 has been named for the Under-23s, which will be trimmed down to 16 a week before the team departs for South Africa, where they will take on KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Province, Border, Bolland and Western Province in both three-day and limited overs matches.Andy Pycroft, who led Zimbabwe to the NatWest Series final in 2000, will take charge be in charge with Stephen Mangongo as his assistant. Rather confusingly, Phil Simmons, who was sacked as Zimbabwe coach in August and took the board to court claiming unfair dismissal, has been named as the A-team coach in Bangladesh.No captain has been named for the A-team, and it is not even certain that those selected will agree to take part. Almost all of the players have said that they will refuse to play for Zimbabwe while Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute remain in charge of the board.They are likely to train normally so that they are fit and ready should the dispute be resolved by January. If it has not, then a meeting is expected shortly before the A-team is scheduled to leave at which a final decision is expected.Zimbabwe A Brendan Taylor, Dion Ebrahim, HamiltonMasakadza, Colin De Grandhomme, Charles Coventry, Blessing Mahwire, Keith Dabengwa, Prosper Utseya, Antony Ireland, Waddington Mwayenga, Edward Rainsford, Bernard Mlambo, Phil Simmons (coach), Babu Meman (manager).Zimbabwe Under-23 Brendan Taylor, Stuart Matsikenyeri (captain), Gregory Strydom, Vusumuzi Sibanda, Hillary Matanga, Colin De Grandhomme, Allan Mwayenga, Benard Mlambo, Tawanda Mupariwa, Prosper Utseya, Antony Ireland, Waddington Mwayenga, Edward Rainsford, Charles Coventry, Terrence Duffin, John Nyumbu, Ryan Bennett, Elton Chigumbura, Matthew Waller, Zubair Patel, Thomas Dangarembizi, Johnson Marumisa, Ben Hundermark, Andy Pycroft (coach), Stephen Mangongo (assistant coach), Christian Chiketa(manager).

Jacques Kallis, the South Africa vice-captain, may find himself ruled out of South Africa’s second three-day tour match after aggaravating a chronic elbow injury during a practice session at the WACA ground in Perth on Sunday.A scan on Kallis’s left elbow – first injured during South Africa’s recent tour of India – showed that there was a slight tear and some inflammation of a lateral tendon. The injury has already seen Kallis sit out a tour match against Western Australia, currently being played at the WACA. Shane Jabbar, the team physiotherapist, hoped Kallis would be fit for South Africa’s three-day tour match against a Western Australian XI, starting at the University of Western Australia on December 11.Kallis’s absence meant Mark Boucher, the wicketkeeper, took over as captain for the match against Western Australia with Graeme Smith also out with an injured finger.The first Test against Australia starts at Perth on December 16.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball-details

As openings go, this one was out and out one-sided. One team rejoiced after an inspirational century and two vital fifties, under sunny skies on a featherbed of a pitch, and took control. Another side started the day with a selection conundrum and ended it with several other riddles to ponder over.Pakistan made the most of their fortune at the toss. They saw off the new ball, consolidated in the second session, and finished with a mighty flourish, shredding the bowling to bits. India, not for the first time in the last year, ran into a red-hot Younis Khan and wilted in ideal batting conditions in a half-full, yet joyous, Gadaffi Stadium. No greentop, no wintry conditions; simply one jolly run-fest. Welcome to Pakistan.If it’s India it must be Younis. Carrying on from his heroic efforts on the Indian tour series earlier this year, he displayed his array of flourishing twirls and spanking straight-drives against an attack that failed to summon too much incisiveness.Cheering his partners with customary vigour – applauding, smiling, wrist punching – he propelled Pakistan right through the day, reached his tenth Test hundred with a magnificent straight-drive and entered a blistering zone as the light began to fade. Shoaib Malik had lent solidity earlier this morning and Yousuf gave him company through the afternoon merrymaking and Pakistan were wrenching away the momentum too early, too well. Forget the rest. When Anil Kumble finishes the first day with none for 93, you know that it’s been tough going.Walking in in the third over of the day, after a wandering Salman Butt had been run out by Yuvraj Singh in one of few inspirational moments India could manage, Younis latched on to the full deliveries with glee, driving assertively to the straight boundary. The paddle-sweeps against Harbhajan Singh and the classy cuts off Kumble put them off their rhythm, before cute late jabs, when the ball went finer and finer as the day progressed, and macho swipes took over. Amid all this, though, was some canny scampering as the fielders found themselves scattered in various parts of the park. Having had an indifferent series against England, Younis couldn’t have chosen too many bigger stages to stamp his authority, with the most emphatic of opening salvos.Just like at Kolkata earlier this year, he found an able ally in Mohammad Yousuf, the touch artist, who as always, handled the spinners with ease – paddling, sweeping, pulling the long hops and dancing down the track – as the attack slowly began to lose its bite. Kumble’s long hops were dismissed over midwicket, Pathan’s wide ones caressed through covers, and Harbhajan’s flighted offerings creamed through, well, anywhere on the off side. Cruising to fifty off 72 balls, he delicately dismantled the Indian attack, sometimes even summoning the courage to dance down the track to Kumble. He offered a chance when on 90, flashing at a wide one from Agarkar, but was smiling again when Virender Sehwag, at gully, reacted a tad too late.The importance of the third big knock of the day shouldn’t be under-estimated. Malik, who was retained as an opener, bided his time against the faster men and executing the glide to a nicety. Playing with soft hands, mostly in control, he regularly found a gap between the three-man slip cordon and gully. The flick was also one of his favourites and was helped by the fact that the bowlers slid down the legside on quite a few occasions.He was in no mood to get bogged down by Harbhajan Singh, who extracted some turn in his opening over, and waltzed down the track in his second over, tonking him over midwicket for a superb six. He brought up his fourth Test fifty, his first in nearly six months, with a similar stroke and gradually began opening up at the end of the first session. His aggression probably got the better of him and he fell soon after the break, driving uppishly against Pathan only for Harbhajan to take a simple catch.Rahul Dravid juggled his bowling options around, and tried a few innovative field settings – including two close in on the leg-side for Malik – but it was tough going all day. With the ball not swinging too much in the air, Pathan and Agarkar lacked the incisive edge while the spinners, though extracting a bit of turn, found it tough against batsmen who read the length of the ball early.Ganguly, who was included in the side at Gautam Gamhir’s expense, also tried his hand, keeping it tight and not experimenting too much, and all the bowlers were forced to do the same as the day progressed. It didn’t matter. On a day such as this, when the ignition refuses to switch on, nothing, yes nothing, will work.

Salman Butt run-out (Yuvraj) 6 (12 for 1)
Shoaib Malik c Harbhajan b Pathan 59 (136 for 2)

Rahul Dravid has said that experiments during the one-day series against Pakistan will depend on strategy and indicated that key players will play in their usual positions.”Shuffling of batting order will depend on strategy and other conditions but the postmortem of the Test series shows that we will have to play the key players in the positions suited to them,” said Dravid. “It [the ODIs] would be an altogether different ball game from the Tests. We have a young team and we will not make many changes in it. We would mostly be opening with Sehwag and Tendulkar. We also have Gautam Gambhir.”He ruled out notions of the team having low morale after the loss in the third Test at Karachi. “We do not need any extra motivation for the ODIs. That we are playing Pakistan is motivation in itself for the team. Pakistan are playing at home and we know that we are up against a good side. They’ve done well so far. It will be a nice challenge.”We didn’t do well with the new ball and we’ve to learn to play well under pressure,” said Dravid when asked to comment on Sunil Gavaskar’s criticism of India’s performance at Karachi. “We also need to have a bowler who can take 20 wickets in Test.”

Scorecard

A captain’s knock by Haidee Tiffen helped New Zealand defeat India by five wickets in the second ODI at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln. Tiffen’s 66 came at more than a run-a-ball, as New Zealand easily chased 158 in only 28.2 overs and gained a 2-0 lead in the series.Sent in to bat, India struggled to put up a challenging score after a steady start, with the openers Karu Jain and Jaya Sharma putting on 57. After Sharma’s dismissal for 30, India lost wickets at regular intervals and were unable to step up the run-rate and finished on 157 for 7 in their 50 overs.Anna Dodd, the offbreak bowler, bowled a tight spell, returning with the economical figures of 2 for 19 from 10 overs. In reply New Zealand set out on their chase scoring at a brisk rate. Tiffen, who struck six fours in her innings, missed her chance to score the winning runs, stepping down the track, only to be stumped by Jain off Devika Palshikar when the scores were level.

Michael Papps, the Canterbury opener, has been recalled to the New Zealand Test squad for the tour of South Africa beginning next month. Allrounder Jacob Oram has also been declared fit to tour after missing the ongoing Tests against West Indies.Papps made his debut against the South Africans during their three-Test tour in 2004, scoring a half-century at Hamilton. He last played for New Zealand in the Leeds Test against England in 2004 and has played four Tests overall with reasonable success.John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, expressed confidence that his side would adjust well to the conditions in what looks to be a challenging tour, against a strong South African side. He also defended the selection of Papps, who has notched up some good scores for Canterbury in the domestic season.”We expect to have a challenging time in South Africa. It is important that we quickly make the transition to the altitude, climate and playing conditions, as well as to the intensity that the South African team will bring to these matches,” Bracewell said.”Michael Papps provides us with cover as a specialist opener and adds balance to the team. He has performed well for the Blackcaps in the past and now appears to have addressed issues with his technique.”Lou Vincent and Mathew Sinclair, two other openers, were not considered due to personal commitments. Vincent wishes to be home for the birth of his first child, due April 15, while Sinclair is getting married, also on the same date. Both players would be on standby after the first Test, should the team management seek any replacements.The tour begins with a three-day match against the Rest of South Africa at Benoni on April 7. The first Test will be played at Centurion beginning April 15 while the remaining matches are scheduled at Cape Town and Johannesburg.The selectors were due to name the squad after the final Test against West Indies at Napier but persistent rain means that a draw is almost certain, resulting in the early announcement of the team.Squad Stephen Fleming (capt), Daniel Vettori, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Peter Fulton, James Franklin, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum (wk), Hamish Marshall, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Michael Papps, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris

Rahul Dravid expressed his satisfaction at another perfectly-executed run chase, but added that he wouldn’t tolerate any complacency in the lead-up to next year’s World Cup.He praised the spirit and attitude of his young team, but added that they were far from being the finished article. “It was a very good way to finish,” he said, “chasing down 290 the way that we did. We played very well right through the series, and it’s satisfying to take it so convincingly. To win with such a young batting order, and one guy making his debut, was a fantastic effort. The way we fought back after the Mumbai Test has been brilliant.”It’s hard to single anyone out,” he explained when asked to name a standout performer or two. After rattling off several names, he added: “The number of names mentioned is a reflection of how well we’ve played as a team. Everyone in the squad, and all the support staff have contributed.”While praising S Sreesanth, whose 6 for 55 stifled England’s charge in the final overs, Dravid said that no one could take their places for granted. “I hate telling anyone that they’re a regular, including myself. We’ve all got to keep performing.” He also brushed off the hackneyed questions about experimentation, saying: “We’ll continue to see what combination gives us the best chance to win games. And in many cases, experimentation has been necessary because of lack of form or fitness.”When asked if the younger brigade had pushed some of the senior bowlers out of the reckoning, Dravid went back to the perform-or-perish mantra. “Whoever performs will keep getting chances. There’s no question of junior or senior. Some have been injured and others have lost form, and we’ve had to give the younger ones responsibility. They’re learning quickly.”Yuvraj Singh, who scooped a third consecutive Man-of-the-Series award, was quietly content with his efforts, but suggested that the matches against South Africa and Pakistan had provided a stiffer test. “I’ve improved a lot, and the year has been very good for me.”Dravid added that the responsibility of being one of the senior players in the squad had aided Yuvraj’s development. “He’s playing a lot straighter,” he said, when asked to delve a little deeper. “The way he’s finished games off for us has been exceptional, and with Raina and Dhoni, he’s formed a potent combination down the order.”After another resounding defeat, Andrew Strauss, standing in for the rested Andrew Flintoff, preferred to look at some of the positives. “The young seam attack did very well in testing conditions,” he said. “We’ve gained a lot of experience about what it takes to win in these conditions which are very foreign to us.””Momentum’s very important, and India are on a bit of a roll at the moment. Whenever you’re missing experienced players, it’s going to be tough. Even India found that in the last game. It’ll stand us in good stead to have more players with international experiences ahead of challenges like the Champions Trophy and the World Cup.”According to Strauss, the failure of the batsmen to kick on was the difference between the two sides. “We’ll have to look at our batting,” he said. “We didn’t score a hundred in six games. And at important moments, we lost too many wickets. The inexperience showed a little, and we’ve got to learn our lessons from that.”Asked about the absent Flintoff, who was restricted to ferrying drinks to the middle, Strauss suggested that a rest was long overdue. “He’s a very very important player for us. We have a lot of cricket coming up, and it’ll be good to have him refreshed before the first Test of the summer.”

Sneaky England supporters plan to raid Cricket Australia’s family-orientated Ashes ticket system when seats go on sale on Thursday morning. Organisers of the Barmy Army expect to have 15,000 people supporting Andrew Flintoff and Co on the first day of the SCG Test, according to Sydney’s .”We are a bit more street-wise than the average Aussie fan,” the Barmy Army’s Craig Gills told the paper. “We have done this before on many campaigns, in Europe and World Cups etc. Whether by hook or by crook, we will get the tickets.”Cricket Australia expects a small amount of “leakage” to overseas buyers, but their Australia Cricket Family registration method was designed so parents and their children could get seats. More than 128,000 people signed on for the project and they must provide an Australian address as proof of their residency.The reported tens of thousands of England supporters had joined the family and others were expected to on-sell the tickets to the Barmy Army. Seats go on general release from June 19, with Cricket Australia-registered buyers given a two-week headstart from 9am eastern standard time on Thursday.In the the paper revealed that England fans complaining about the lack of access to Australia grounds for next summer were getting a better deal than their counterparts in 2005. The paper said Lord’s made 3.5% of its seats available to Australians while Old Trafford was 2%, Edgbaston 3% and The Oval 0%. The SCG and MCG are expected to have at least 10% of tickets going to England supporters.”People need to know they’ve got to get in early,” Peter Young, a Cricket Australia spokesman, said in the . “If Sydney people wait until Thursday afternoon there is a significant risk of disappointment. There’s a strong sense that days one, two and three are going to sell very quickly.”

Michael Yardy held the Sussex batting together against Kent on the opening day at Hove. He struck his second century of the season and formed the major stand of the day with Murray Goodwin as the pair put on 141 for the third wicket. However, when Goodwin was stumped off Min Patel the innings went into decline as Sussex lost 4 for 44. Yasir Arafat provided valuable support while Ollie Rayner and James Kirtley offered similar solid support. Patel was the pick of the Kent attack with three wickets.

Gloucestershire relied on a team effort rather than individual brilliance on a solid first day against Essex at Bristol. Craig Spearman and Kadeer Ali laid the foundations with a solid fifty opening stand before Ali was trapped in front by Alex Tudor, who showed pleasing form with three wickets. Spearman progress to 70 and further substance came from Alex Gidman’s 87 and Steven Adshead’s 68 – the pair adding 129 to turn the innings around from 139 for 5 – but there was a sense of a Twenty20 hangover in the way batsmen didn’t covert into larger scores. Darren Gough chipped in with three wickets but the Gloucestershire lower-order proved hard to shift.

The fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval was plunged into controversy on Sunday in an ugly row over ball-tampering. The tourists risked forfeiting the Test after making a tea-time protest over being docked five runs for allegedly altering the state of the ball.But just as it had seemed the match was about to restart, the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said a fresh delay had been caused by the refusal of umpire Darrell Hair to continue standing in the match. Pakistan were docked five runs at the end of the fourth day’s 56th over which had been bowled by paceman Umar Gul.It was Gul’s 14th over with England 230 for 3 when the umpires inspected the match ball. Play was eventually called off for the day at 6.13pm local time (1713GMT) with England 298 for four in their second innings, a deficit of 33, with the future of the match still uncertain as the crisis meeting is yet to take place.As the meeting got underway at 7.30pm local time (8.30GMT), a band of journalists, including Cricinfo, were told in no uncertain terms that they must get out of the building it was taking place. The meeting will determine, among other things, whether the match goes ahead tomorrow. It is believed that Mike Procter, the two umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove, Bob Woolmer and an England representative James Avery were present. It’s not known whether Duncan Fletcher is attending.The players, meanwhile, left the ground with a police escort. As at 7.30pm, there was a strong police presence at the Oval, though it is purely precautionary – there are two policemen inside the pavilion and a line of them outside. As one policeman explained to Cricinfo, there was no information given to the crowds all day long and the bars were still open, and that combination makes for an inflammatory situation in his experience. And indeed the crowds were getting restless. “If I had bought a ticket for the day,” he added, “I wouldn’t be impressed.”The controversy began at 2.30pm local (1330GMT) when veteran Australian official Hair, standing with West Indian umpire Billy Doctrove, signalled to the scorers that five penalty runs were to be added to England’s total, taking it up to 235.Then, after an early tea had been taken because of bad light, the umpires walked back out onto the field at 4.40pm local time (1540GMT) only for no Pakistan fieldsmen to follow behind them before walking back in. Some 15 minutes later the umpires returned followed by England batsmen Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell only for the Pakistan team to remain in their dressing room.The batsmen and umpires walked back in, with Pakistan – already a losing 2-0 down in the series – in danger of forfeiting the match. Both umpires removed the bails, returned to the pavilion and the covers came on.Pakistan then appeared on the field, to boos from the crowd, at 5.25pm (1625GMT) but there were neither stumps in the pitch nor umpires. After several minutes without either Hair or Doctrove, or the England batsmen, Pakistan walked back off.The fresh delay was caused by Hair’s refusal to continue.Cricket’s Law 21.3 states clearly states “that, in the opinion of the umpires, a team refuses to play, the umpires shall award the match to the other side.” This was the first time such a five-run penalty for ball-tampering had been imposed in Test cricket, an International Cricket Council [ICC] spokesman said.Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer told AFP: “The team is upset that they have been accused of tampering with the ball and therefore ‘cheating’. “It is a no-win situation as now Darrell Hair has refused to umpire.”The PCB chairman Shahrayar Khan, who had talks with England counterpart David Morgan, insisted the reason for the continuing impasse lay at the door of the umpires. “The boys are extremely upset at the slur of ball tampering. As a result they registered a protest with the match referee for the decision unilaterally taken by the umpires.”Once we did that, we were ready to go out and play but it seems the umpires are reluctant to go out. The whole team felt very aggrieved and Inzy (Pakistan’s captain Inzamam-ul-Haq) more angered than the rest. He felt we should make a protest but once that had been registered he was perfectly prepared to go on.”We felt very deeply insulted by what was in the umpire’s report and there seems to have been no evidence given. I felt the matter had been resolved but it now seems the umpires are reluctant.”We feel it is extraordinary that we are ready to come out and the umpires say they cannot continue. It is very sad. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. I want the tour to continue,” said Shahriyar ahead of the five-match one-day between England and Pakistan.The match referee Mike Procter said talks would continue. “Following issues raised by the onfield umpires, which need to be resolved, meetings will be held between the match referee and both teams after play to determine whether any further play will be scheduled in this match.”Umpires have refused to stand in Tests before although the majority of major flashpoint incidents came in the days before the introduction of ‘neutral’ officials. Back in 1973, English umpire Arthur Fagg stayed off the field during a Test match between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston after being upset by West Indian reaction to his decision to give England’s Geoff Boycott not out, although he did later take the field.And in Dunedin in 1980 the West Indies briefly refused to take the field during a Test in protest at New Zealand official Fred Goodall.At Faisalabad in 1987, Pakistan’s Shakoor Rana refused to stand until he’d received an apology from England captain Mike Gatting after the pair had had an on-field row. Gatting scribbled an apology and the match continued.Pakistan’s 1992 tour of England was blighted by allegations of ball-tampering with pace great Waqar Younis, now Pakistan’s bowling coach, coming under intense scrutiny.And in 2000 Waqar himself received a one-match ban for ball tampering following a one-day international against South Africa in Sri Lanka while Azhar Mahmood was fined for “abetting” the infringment in the same match.The Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, ruled out of the current series with because of an ankle injury, received a reprimand in November 2002 for the same offence after a Test match against Zimbabwe in Harare.And the following year, in May, Shoaib was given a two-match ban for ball tampering after a one-day international against New Zealand in Dambulla.