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South Africa have enlisted the help of spies in Melbourne to compile a file on Australia’s rookie fast bowler Peter Siddle, who has been rushed into the side for the first Test to replace the injured Stuart Clark. Siddle made his Test debut in Mohali in October but he is still a fresh face at first-class level and has played only 14 games.”We’ve got a pretty good dossier on him actually, from a couple of people we know in and around the Melbourne area,” South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur said in the lead-up to Wednesday’s Perth Test. “The only footage we did have was from the Indian Test match and obviously conditions are going to be slightly different.”He looks quite skiddy, he looks quite quick, I think he hits the bat quite hard. We’ve got to give him the respect he deserves. It’ll be interesting to see how he comes through.”The WACA Test is shaping as a battle of the fast men with the pitch expected to be livelier than in the corresponding match last season, when India beat an Australia side that featured four fast bowlers. There has been significant hype around the South African attack, which boasts the young and quick Dale Steyn and the tall Morne Morkel, who extracts impressive bounce, but Arthur said the veteran Makhaya Ntini remained the heart of the bowling group.”Makhaya is the leader,” Arthur said. “I think Makhaya is a better thinking bowler than he was a couple of years back. I’ve been very impressed with his net practicing and the Tests that we played against Bangladesh, where I thought that he’s got a little bit of that zip back, which is great.”Ntini’s Test record against Australia was modest until he boosted it last time the teams met, in Johannesburg in 2005-06, when he picked up ten wickets for the game. Another old head whose performances against Australia have been below par is Jacques Kallis, who has a Test average of 55.06 but a mark of 38.32 against Australia.Kallis is especially keen to lift after two disappointing series this year. His poor run began in England and he continued to struggle at home against Bangladesh, and in the six Tests in those two series he averaged 16. However, Arthur said in the four years he had been involved with the South Africa squad, this was the first lean spell Kallis had endured and he was confident it would not last.”He’s still the rock around which we build our batting,” Arthur said. “I’ve never seen Jacques so focused and so hungry to come here and perform. I’m pretty sure he’s going to have a good series. I’ve been watching him prepare and he really is focused at the moment. If you want Makhaya to be the leader of our bowlers, Jacques certainly leads our batting.”Arthur has been keen to concentrate on his own men in the lead-up to the first Test and the pre-series chat has notably come largely from his Australian counterpart Tim Nielsen. It has been a far cry from the build-up to the 2005-06 tour, when South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith came out swinging in his media appearances but his side failed to back up his words on the field.South Africa are a more mature side now and they have not lost a Test series since visiting Sri Lanka in 2006. Although he is clearly quietly confident in his squad, Arthur has been careful to give due regard to an Australian side that remains No. 1 in the Test rankings.”We’ve got a huge amount of respect for Australia, they’re still the best team in the world,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of unbelievable cricketers. They haven’t been beaten in Australia for 17 years and we really respect that. But by the same token we’re a confident team at the moment, which is very nice.”We’re not letting any outside distractions get to us. We’re pretty calm, we’re pretty relaxed. This is the most focused and relaxed I’ve seen this team, which is fantastic. Over the last two years I think the guys are in an unbelievable place. We’re only worrying about our game.”

Pakistan’s jaunt to Abu Dhabi for three ODIs against West Indies maynot be the most high-profile series in this year’s cricket calendar butfor the displaced home side, the contest has significance.This will be Pakistan’s first ODI since July in a Test-less year; betweenthe Asia Cup in June-July and next week when they take on West Indies,Pakistan have only played four Twenty20 internationals. They go to AbuDhabi with a brand new coach and management team and hoping for an upturnin cricketing fortunes.At a two-day practice camp in Karachi before they depart, the relief at aninternational assignment was apparent. “Any series is important,” saidcoach Intikhab Alam. “After this India is coming so this is a challenge for thenew management.”Ever the poster-boy for optimism, Intikhab wasn’t willing to dwellunnecessarily on the lack of international cricket for Pakistan in 2008.”I don’t believe in making excuses that we haven’t played that often. Okay,we haven’t played but we can’t look at that negatively and use it as anexcuse. This is an important series because when you win and settle downon a combination confidence is built and winning can become a habit.”Pakistan trained energetically, mostly under the guidance of Aaqib Javed,the new assistant coach, whose role may well become more significant overtime. Intikhab and the new manager Yawar Saeed held a long meeting withthe team in the morning, a start of sorts to lay a new agenda.”We had a very open meeting today with the team,” said Intikhab. “Wetalked mostly about discipline and how there will be no compromise onthat. We also talked about how our aim should be to move up [in therankings] from six to two or one.”The entire squad has at least benefited from playing in the ongoingPentangular Cup and as Shoaib Malik, the captain, pointed out later, mosthave been in good form. Pakistan’s squad has five fast bowlers and they,more than others, have felt the benefits.Umar Gul is fit again and Sohail Tanvir and Rao Iftikhar come in with agood number of overs behind them. Above all, Shoaib Akhtar is approachingfull match fitness and the management was impressed by his performances inthe Pentangular. David Dwyer, the team trainer, is also working closelywith Shoaib, who has played little cricket this year, to have him readyand primed for the India series early next year. And unlike a couple ofother coaches, Intikhab has no plans to ask him to reduce his run-up.”I watched Shoaib Akhtar in the Pentangular in Islamabad and he was verygood,” said Intikhab. “I had a long chat him as well and he is on board.All coaches have their own thinking on his run-up. He is a genuine fastbowler and his run-up is important. If you shorten it, it might affect hisbowling. But we will work on making sure he takes four minutes for anover.”We have other really good bowlers as well and I’m hoping Mohammad Asifcan come back soon as well because he is a match-winner.”Another big winner this week, revealed Intikhab, was used as an unusualsource of inspiration in his first proper team meeting. “I asked the teamin the meeting today what the miracle of the century was. One said it isBarack Obama getting into the White House. An African-American in the WhiteHouse, imagine? And he did it with focus and discipline. That provesanything is possible and Pakistan should take inspiration from that.”

Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, has praised his team for fighting back to win the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong. New Zealand were dismissed for 171 in the first innings, conceded a lead of 74, were set a target of 317 and completed the victory with three wickets in hand.”We didn’t play all that well in our first batting innings,” Vettori said. “We were pretty disappointed and the guys knew that it was not really acceptable putting on only 171. But I was pleased with the fightback to restrict Bangladesh to 240-odd in both innings because the pitch got better as the game went on. I still think we are a long way off from playing to our potential but we got the job done here and that has been pleasing.”New Zealand scraped through by three wickets largely due to a Man-of-the-Match performance from Vettori with both bat and ball. He took nine wickets and scored two half-centuries: his 76 in the second innings played a crucial part in New Zealand’s victory.”I was there as a nightwatchman,” Vettori said for he had come in at No. 4 late on the fourth day. “Obviously I played well in the first innings and thought that it was easier for a left-hander to play the spinners so I wanted to put myself up the order. I had some pretty good form and gave myself a chance before the next new ball and it worked out pretty well. I think it is always important for the captain to set standards so it was pleasing for me to have made a contribution with bat and ball.”Vettori underlined the concerns over the New Zealand batting, which has struggled throughout the tour, but lauded the efforts of the youngsters in the team. “We just asked our batsmen to put in a bit more commitment. Our batting hasn’t always stood up to the test but over the last day and a half it was very pleasing, particularly the performances of Aaron Redmond, who was playing his first Test in the subcontinent, and Daniel Flynn. The conditions weren’t easy but for those two young guys to stand up and show us that they want to perform has been very exciting for us as a team.”He gave credit to Bangladesh and believed they were “good enough to stay in Test cricket”, especially with the talent present in the squad. While Shakib Al Hasan stood out for the hosts with his first-innings figures of 7-36 and a gritty 71 in the second, Abdur Razzak was equally impressive with the ball and did most of the damage during the chase.”I was particularly impressed with Shakib. He maintained his line and length, bowled a lot and obviously batted well,” Vettori said. “For a young guy coming into his seventh or eighth Test match to bowl that well consistently must be very encouraging for the Bangladesh side. Shakib and Razzak bowled exceptionally well throughout the Test so it was not an easy challenge. If you look at the Bangladesh players from an individual level there are some really talented guys and now they have got to try and put it together as a team.”Having taken in a 1-0 lead, New Zealand will look to wrap up the two-Test series. The second Test begins on Saturday in Dhaka.

Intikhab Alam has emerged as the leading contender for the position ofPakistan coach after the removal of Geoff Lawson yesterday.Intikhab said he has been offered a two-year contract but added that an official announcement will come from the board. “Yes, chairman Ijaz Butt has talked to me and offered a contract for two years. But they will officially announce it next month,” Intikhab said.There was initially some confusion, however, as Butt said Intikhab had only been appointed for the one-day series in Abu Dhabi against West Indies in November. “Intikhab will be coach for the Abu Dhabi series but we are considering two or three candidates for a long-term contract,” Butt said.But it later emerged that Intikhab was the leading long-term candidate and only a formal approval was needed. “We would like to appoint Alam for a two-year contract, but the final decision will be announced after we take the approval of (PCB’s) governing board members,” Butt told .On the task at hand, Intikhab said, “It’s not an easy job and I have taken up this assignment as a big challenge. Nobody is (player) bigger than the game and instilling discipline among the players will be my priority.”The PCB released Lawson from his contract with three monthscompensation pay insisting they were not satisfied with his performance.Lawson, who was supposed to complete a two-year contract with the national team next year in August, is still in Lahore. The new administration has been keen to hire a local coach, and the names of Javed Miandad and Aamer Sohail have also cropped up.Intikhab has a successful track record as coach, having first been at thehelm when Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup and then in 2000. He has also coached the Indian Punjab team in their domestic Ranji Trophy tournament for two seasons, taking them to the final in 2004-05.Since 1997, Pakistan have had nine different coaches, some of whom, likeJaved Miandad and Richard Pybus have been in the position more than once.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Ishant Sharma bent his back on a benign pitch to help Delhi restrict a star-filled Rest of India batting line-up on the first day of the Irani Trophy. He triggered a dramatic collapse after a free-stroking Wasim Jaffer and a circumspect Rahul Dravid had raised 77 for the first wicket. From 105 for 1 at lunch, Rest of India slumped to 187 for 8, before a mix of adventurous strokes from the tailenders gave a semblance of respectability to the innings.Ishant extracted variable bounce from a pitch that offered no pace or lift to bring the game alive in the post-lunch session. Even in the first session, he had managed to trouble Dravid enough to induce an exasperated slash outside the off stump, and he eventually got his reward by trapping him lbw with an incoming ball that had a hint of reverse-swing. He also harried VVS Laxman with a few balls that climbed up the batsman’s throat.Ishant claimed Badrinath soon after when the batsman played on to a length ball wide outside off stump. Badrinath had survived a similar shot earlier when an inside edge missed the stumps on its way to the fine-leg boundary. Mohammad Kaif survived a close leg-before appeal from Ishant but by then Delhi were in charge. His second spell of 7-2-14-2 allowed the other bowlers to turn on the pressure.At one end Chetanya Nanda, the tall legspinner, bowled an unbroken and tidy spell of 17.1 overs after lunch, while medium-pacer Pradeep Sangwan angled deliveries away from Rest of India’s right-hand line-up. Dhoni edged one such delivery and Aakash Chopra, who had dropped Dravid on two, didn’t falter this time. Laxman had already departed trying to loft one over midwicket.Anil Kumble, the Rest of India captain, chose to bat knowing the pitch was slow and could disintegrate in the next few days. Through the first session, with the ball keeping low, Delhi’s fast-bowling trio of Ashish Nehra, Ishant and Sangwan found it hard to beat the bat.But the contrasting styles play from the Rest of India openers allowed Delhi to experiment with the bowling. While Jaffer was using his wrists to drive across the ground, Dravid was biding his time before he could open up. But Dravid looked scratchy throughout; the life he received from Chopra’s dropped catch was off a shorter delivery from Ishant that hit him on the thigh and deflected towards the second slip. Replays suggested he had inside-edged it.Jaffer hit successive fours off Sangwan, the first clipped to the leg side off a fuller delivery and the next between cover and mid-off. Sehwag introduced spin after the first hour and got his first wicket soon after. Jaffer reached his fifty with a single off Nehra but once again he failed to convert it into a big score, falling in Nanda’s fifth over. He tried to push a flighted delivery to midwicket but got a leading edge instead, which was caught by Virat Kohli, positioned at short cover for that sort of error.The tailenders, RP Singh, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan Singh, added 65 for the last two wickets. They rotated the strike and combined slogs with clean hits to give their side a competitive total.

Col Egar, the former Test umpire and Australian cricket administrator, has died in Adelaide at the age of 80. Egar was one of the leading umpires during the 1960s and went on to serve as the chairman of the Australian Cricket Board from 1989 to 1992.He officiated in 29 of Australia’s 30 home Tests during the 1960s and is probably best remembered for his part in the Ian Meckiff throwing incident. In the first Test of the 1963-64 series against South Africa, Egar no-balled Meckiff, the Australia fast bowler, four times in his first over.It finished Meckiff’s career and also brought death threats for Egar, who went on to continue umpiring at the highest level for five more years. He also stood in the tied Test between West Indies and Australia in Brisbane in 1960-61 and, along with his colleague Col Hoy, earned the praise of the visiting captain Frank Worrell for their calm and unobtrusive officiating.After retiring from on-field duties, Egar stayed involved with the game by joining the board of the South Australian Cricket Association. He was a board member from 1971-72 to 1999-2000, including 12 years as vice-president, and sat on the Australian board from 1981 to 1998. During that time Egar managed several Australian tours, including the 1988 visit to Pakistan when he helped keep the tour on course despite disputes over umpiring standards.Creagh O’Connor, the Cricket Australia chairman, said Egar had given lifelong service to the game. “Col will be best remembered by cricket followers as an outstanding international cricket umpire who was involved in several historic moments on field,” O’Connor said.”But those of us who knew and worked with Col will also remember him with high regard for his selfless service to SA and Australian cricket as an administrator and volunteer, and as a manager of Australian touring cricket teams. He gave a lot to cricket and the Australian game is all the better for that.”

ScorecardIreland’s rain-affected match against Canada was frustratingly cut short with no play possible on the fourth and final day.Despite the draw, both sides scraped three points which has closed the gap for Ireland on third-placed Kenya, whose loss in form should make for a fascinating conclusion to this year’s competition. Ireland trail Kenya by four points and only 10 separate the top four teams, with Namibia leading on 82.The next match is between Netherlands and Kenya on August 16.

Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey have both confirmed that Australia’s tour match in India in early October will take precedence over their potential involvement in the Champions League. Their comments are in contrast to the claim of IS Bindra, a member of the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council, who said the pair would play for their IPL team, Chennai Super Kings, even though the Champions League clashes with Australia’s tour of India.Only one warm-up match is scheduled, to take place from October 2 to 5, before the first Test in Bangalore, which begins on October 9. Australia will have just been to the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, provided they do not pull out, and their players will be desperate for a lengthy hit-out ahead of such a major Test series.Hayden said his IPL contract left no doubt that Australia’s match would be his sole concern. “The rule is simple on this one,” Hayden told the . “If we are playing for Australia in any form our decision will be to honour that commitment first. There are no grey areas here.”For Hussey, playing for Chennai appears to be his third priority. He has already confirmed that he would prefer to represent his home state Western Australia, who have qualified for the Champions League as one of the two top Twenty20 teams in Australia’s domestic tournament.Although he would have reluctantly accepted that his contract gave Chennai precedence over Western Australia, the issue will probably be irrelevant in any case. The has reported that Hussey told team officials on Sunday that he expected to be playing in the tour match and not in the Champions League.

Ireland have been hit by the withdrawal of Andrew White ahead of their Intercontinental Cup clash against Netherlands, which starts in Rotterdam on Wednesday.White misses the game due to personal reasons, and his place in the squad of 13 is taken by James Hall, the Waringstown allrounder who played for Ireland during the Friends Provident Trophy, but missed out on the Aberdeen tri-series defeats with a foot injury.White cracked an unbeaten 152 for Ireland in their last match against Netherlands in 2004, helping his side to an innings-and-47-run win.

Simon Katich’s vow to enjoy an unexpected Test recall paid off as he produced a gritty third Test century to guide Australia to 259 for 3 on the opening day against West Indies. Benefitting from Matthew Hayden’s tour withdrawal, Katich opened for the second match in a row and was rewarded for a more considered approach with an unbeaten 113.Katich has done a lot of thinking and working on his technique – he hits the ball straighter now – in the two-and-a-half years he spent out of the side and believes he is more relaxed. “I sort of thought to myself, whatever’s left, I just wanted to enjoy it,” he said. “Once you get to 30 a lot of people ask you what are you going to do when you finish playing and it was starting to dawn on me that it wasn’t that far away. That’s changed my mindset. If I’ve only got a few years left I’m going to enjoy it.”Katich said he was “too revved up” in the opening Test in Jamaica, where he scored 12 and 1. “Definitely in the first innings, I felt like I blew a good opportunity,” he said. “Sometimes the problem as a batsman is that you can play with a bit too much intent and pay the price. Today I felt a bit more relaxed and content just to occupy the crease.”While he was with New South Wales he never gave up hope of returning to the national team he left in 2005. “But at times you’re always thinking at the back of your mind whether that opportunity may come again,” he said. “Particularly as the years were starting to tick over. It’s just nice to be back and playing.”His first Test century came against India in 2003-04 and he picked up another in New Zealand the following year before his struggles against England and West Indies led to his sacking. In Antigua he started the second Test by batting throughout the day, facing 241 balls and striking nine fours.”It felt special because it’s obviously been a long time,” he said. “As a Test batsman that’s what it’s all about, trying to score hundreds. That’s what perhaps happened first time around, I probably got too many starts and didn’t go on with it and convert.”Ricky Ponting, who posted a handy 65, wants Australia to build quickly on their total when Katich and Michael Clarke, who is 38 not out, resume on the second morning. “It’s a good day, a very pleasing day,” Ponting said at stumps. “Whenever we win the toss and bat the whole objective for us is to try and bat once in the game, or get enough runs for me to have a decision whether to enforce the follow-on or not. We’ll be trying to make a really big score from here.”Australia were able to move more freely in the final session after West Indies had tied up the visitors earlier in the day. “Katich has played a great innings and Michael has looked a million dollars since he’s been out there,” Ponting said.Katich benefitted from a dropped catch by Runako Morton on 90 and Xavier Marshall, who came into the side, felt the toll of playing back-to-back Tests may have had an effect on his team-mates. Chris Gayle had hoped to return for the game, but he was ruled unfit and Marshall stepped up to take the place of Brenton Parchment, who struggled in the 95-run loss in Jamaica.”I’m a bit surprised [to be picked] but I’ve been working hard over the past few months and I guess when you work hard it pays off,” Marshall said. “I am a bit more mature. People used to think I was a bit rough, now you can see I am more relaxed, enjoying my team-mates, friends and so on. I think I am getting there.”