ScorecardWith Charl Langeveldt injuring his back, David Terbrugge gave the South African selectors a timely reminder of his form as his 5 for 42 bowled the Titans into submission at Potchefstroom. Batting first after winning the toss, Daryl Cullinan (70) and Justin Kemp (42) briefly stopped the Titans’ slide with a 83-run fourth-wicket partnership, but the Lions were evntually bowled out for 204 – Werner Coetsee and Garth Roe shared the remaining wickets. The Lions were 9 for 0 when bad light ended play 11 overs early.
ScorecardAt Newlands, the Warriors pace duo of Mornantau Hayward and Monde Zondeki proved too good for Western Province-Boland, with only Herschelle Gibbs and Derrin Bassage coming to terms with a difficult pitch. Batting at No. 4, Gibbs joined Bassage at 0 for 2, and they added 123 runs before Bassage was caught behind for 45. Gibbs followed soon for 76, an innings that included 52 runs in sparkling boundaries. A further 50-run partnership between Conde Lange (37) and Rory Kleinveldt (24) assisted in getting the home team to 206. At the close, Warriors had progressed to 40 for 2 with Klienveldt bagging both wickets.
ScorecardAt Durban, the Dolphins’ bowlers were made to work hard as the Eagles crawled to 254 for 7 when bad light stopped play three overs early. The hard-hitting pair of Davey Jacobs (83) and Loots Bosman (65) proved troublesome, stroking 25 fours between them. Klusener and Russell Symcox each picked up two wickets with Mfuneko Ngam improving with every outing.

Simon Jones will be given more time to prove his fitness for this winter’s tour of Pakistan, even though he seems certain to be named in the touring squad when it is announced on Monday. Jones, 26, whose 18 wickets at 21 apiece were an invaluable contribution to England’s thrilling Ashes victory, was forced to miss the fifth Test at The Oval after developing a bone spur on his right ankle.According to a report in The Guardian, it is still unclear whether surgery will be required to sort out the anterior impingement, a problem very similar to the one caused Andrew Flintoff discomfort during last winter’s tour of South Africa. Like Jones, Flintoff underwent a course of anti-inflammatory tablets, injections and ice treatment to see him through the series, but eventually flew home after the fifth Test at Centurion for a successful operation.”With this kind of injury you have to be patient and wait,” Dr Peter Gregory, the England & Wales Cricket Board’s chief medical officer, told The Guardian. “What we weren’t able to do was give him a good rest because of his fitness test before the final Test. We will have a better idea at the end of next week. There is no definitive on whether to operate or not, it is not as simple as that. It is a pain thing and some people can get through better than others.”Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, remains “optimistic” about Jones’ powers of recovery, although he admitted that his ability to reverse-swing the old ball would be of vital importance to England on an arduous tour of the sub-continent. “He will be key to us,” Fletcher said. “The wickets they produced last time we toured were for spinners. If they try to take us on with spin they have a huge problem now because it will play into our hands. If they prepare those dry wickets we can fight with reverse-swing.”

Robert Key has been named as Kent’s new captain for the 2006 season, and believes the appointment can help him regain his place in the England batting line-up.Key, 26, played the last of his 15 Tests against South Africa during the 2004-05 tour of South Africa and has not been selected for the forthcoming trip to Pakistan. However, after succeeding David Fulton at Canterbury, Key was adamant that his new duties could help him in his quest to get back into the Test side.”I am thrilled to have been asked to captain Kent and look forward to giving it my best shot,” said Key. “I remain committed to getting back into the England side and am sure that my added responsibilities at Kent will help me do this.”Kent, who were in the running to take the 2005 title, eventually finished fifth in the County Championship but a lowly eighth (out of nine teams) in the one-day totesport League second division. But Key said that with the former England left-arm spinner, Min Patel, as his vice-captain, Kent could expect an upturn in their one-day fortunes.”Min and I will work together. He has committed himself to all forms of cricket and I hope we can play positive championship cricket and make amends of our recent poor performances in one-day competitions.”Graham Johnson, Kent’s chairman of cricket, added: “We conducted a rigorous process before reaching this conclusion – we studied a range of captaincy options, including overseas candidates. Having considered suitability and availability of all the contenders we decided to ask Rob to take on the role and I am delighted he has accepted the challenge of leading us in 2006.”We need to redouble our efforts in the championship whilst reinventing ourselves as a one-day force. We were impressed by how much desire both Rob and Min have to want to shape and be part of a successful Kent team and how much they are up for the job.”

Mark Ramprakash has said he has sympathy for the player who picked the seam during a match against Nottinghamshire in the early stages of last season.The player, who refused to own up and whose identity has yet to be revealed despite an internal enquiry, cost Surrey eight points – ultimately sending the county down to the second division.”I have a lot of sympathy for the person who did it because it was naivety,” Ramprakash told the BBC. “Whoever it was did it for the right reasons.”During the game at The Oval, Nottinghamshire had amassed an enormous total of 692 for 7 declared, with the captain Stephen Fleming making 238. Ramprakash, captaining Surrey in Mark Butcher’s absence, takes up the story:”We were bowling, Notts were about 200-0, the umpires came over and said: ‘Look we feel this ball doesn’t look right and we feel something is wrong with the quarter-seam.'”This time they said we are not happy with this, somebody has obviously tampered with the ball. I had never come across someone picking the quarter-seam before.”Obviously somebody was trying to gain an advantage for Surrey and quite rightly we were penalised and punished. To this day we don’t know who did it, and of course people say those were the eight points that cost us and ensured we were relegated.”

MoodyOn the fitness worriesA number of players are suffering with various illnesses – a viral stomach bug and flu. It’s no different from the Indian team. A couple of guys stayed back at the hotel to rest, and we’re hoping to pick from a full squad.Once the match starts, we’ve got to get on with it. The adrenaline takes over, and you’ve seen many fine performances from players who are injured or ill.On Dilhara Fernando and Chaminda VaasThey have a bit of fever, but we’re pleased that it’s 24 hours before the match because these things ease off. But they’re not 100 percent at the moment. Marvan [Atapattu] is also suffering a bit from flu, and has been going about things in a low-key way.On the pitchIt looks much the same as the one we had for the ODI. It’s a good cricket wicket, and it looks like there’ll be turn. It should be a good-scoring game.On what the team approach would beWe have a series to save, and a Test to win, which we’ve never done before in India. There’s obviously pride involved. We’re going with in confidence, like we did in Delhi. The defeat has not taken that away.On the batting collapses in DelhiI can’t do anything about that. It’s up to the players to learn from them. Delhi was not a difficult pitch to bat on. It was just the first 20 minutes when you were unsure if you were in or not in, which was probably why wickets fell in bunches there. But once a batsman was established, it was hard to budge them. We need to review our performance, look where we went wrong and correct those mistakes. That’s the difference between a good team and an average one.We lost that match over the course of 60 minutes of bad batting. This time, we won’t make the same mistakes, and we will hope that it’s the opposition that make them.JayawardeneOn recovering from DelhiDelhi is finished. We start all over again here. We have talked of attacking their bowlers, and depending on the pitch and the match situation, we’ll try and do that again.On Anil KumbleWith close to 500 wickets, he’s way up there with the great bowlers. He’s been a great campaigner for so long, and a very intelligent bowler. The way he’s been bowling, he’s the best in their side.On whether Sanath Jayasuriya was being missedWhen someone has played 100 Tests, will you not miss him? We miss the experience and the contribution he could have made if he had been around, but we can’t think about it now. There are some talented players here, and we have to perform.

Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, said on Wednesday that Asia could only host the 2011 World Cup if Australia didn’t make a bid for organising the mega event.”The ICC has decided under a rotation policy that every third World Cup would be held in Asia. In 2011 it’s the turn of Australia to host the event but they’ve not yet decided on what to do. If they say no then Asia can bid for the tournament,” said Mani.The next World Cup is due to be held in the West Indies in 2007 and Mani said the ICC had sent all the relevant documents and papers for the 2011 edition to the Australian cricket board who’ll now take their time and convey their decision to the ICC. James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s (CA) chief executive, said last week his board had not decided about hosting the World Cup while the Indian and Pakistan boards have indicated their willingness to organise the coveted event. Of the eight World Cups, Asia has hosted two – in 1987 when Australia won – and in 1996 when Sri Lanka won.Mani said even if Asia could not host the World Cup in 2011 it would automatically do so in 2015 under the rotation policy. “India has shown its interest and so has Pakistan. But personally if possible I would like to see the 2011 World Cup being hosted jointly by the four Asian Test-playing nations – Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It would be something to look forward to and give the game a big boost,” he stated.Mani said no deadline had been set for Australia to confirm their willingness to host the tournament. He added that the ICC would handle all the finances of the World Cup while the host country would be providing the facilities and technical support, saying, “We expect from the World Cup hosts to provide the best playing facilities, good coordination with the local authorities, assuring anti-piracy and exemption from taxes. Prevention of ambush marketing, sponsorships and related issues are handled by the ICC.”Taxes have been a major issue when it comes to India hosting international events as nearly 44 World Cup 1996 cases are pending in the country’s supreme court.

Despite having a harrowing day in the field, with Pakistan scoring at more than four an over, Rahul Dravid has defended his decision to play five specialist bowlers, stating that it was their best chance to get 20 wickets and win a Test match. He added that Sourav Ganguly had been “unlucky to miss out”, and hoped that India could reprise their heroics at Adelaide in 2003, when they conceded more than 400 runs on the first day but still ended up winning the game.”It’s very difficult to drop someone like Sourav,” said Dravid at the end of a tough day. “Considering his experience and considering what a good player he is. We picked the right combination, one that will give us the best chance to win this Test. We’ve got to try and win Test matches, irrespective of the conditions and we need to look at the best combination to win it. We hadn’t bowled very well in the last match and decided to strengthen the attack with five specialist bowlers.We thought we needed five bowlers to get us 20 wickets and to have a serious chance to win it. It would give us a chance to rotate our bowlers, keep them fresh. We struggled a bit in Lahore in that aspect, and with a long season coming up we need to keep all our bowlers fit and going. It was a tough decision to make and Sourav is unlucky to miss out.”Dravid felt that India had done well in the first two sessions of the day and said they had failed to seize the opportunity when two quick wickets pulled them back into the game. “Having lost the toss, at 216 for 4 we were in control of the game. But they had a very good partnership, especially the last hour when they played positively. I thought the game ran away from us in the last hour. Until then we had had a good day. “While admitting that he had been “disappointed” with the surface, he was confident that India could still pull things back. “It still looks a good batting wicket,” he continued. “We’ll need to bowl well tomorrow and obviously try and back it up with the sort of batting we put up in the last game. We’ve won a game after conceding 400 in one day and all is not lost. They have the advantage but there’s a long way to go. If we can bat well in the first innings, things will change. One or two more wickets today would have made a difference. We could have done better than that, especially in the last hour. You also got to understand that you don’t often start of Test matches on such a dead wicket. “There was a word of consolation for Irfan Pathan – “He’s only 21 or 22 years old. He’ll sure learn” – but he hailed the debut performance of Rudra Pratap Singh. “There wasn’t much in the track, the ball didn’t swing much, but he got a wicket early on. RP Singh bowled with a lot of energy.” He was particularly elated with Yuvraj’s catch, a moment of brilliance when India were under pressure, and firmly said it was one of the best he had seen.

Michael Bevan, the former Australian batsman, remains uncertain about his future with Tasmania following a dispute over his role for the state side.The Tasmanian Cricket Association discussed Bevan’s contract as it neared the end of his two-year term and instructed the 35-year-old to either focus more on coaching, drop the responsibility entirely, or take a pay-cut.Speaking to ABC Radio, Bevan was adamant that full-time coaching was not an option. “I think realistically that scenario won’t happen,” he said. “It would mean I’d be down in Tasmania for 12 months and I wouldn’t be willing to bring my family down here.” Bevan’s wife and children still reside in Sydney.David Johnston, the TCA’s chief executive, denied rumours of a stand-off. “We’ve been talking to him right through this season,” he said. “We’ve put an offer to his management and he’s considering it.”Since moving from NSW to Tasmania two seasons ago, Bevan has picked up the Pura Cup Player of the Year award for his record 1464 runs and eight centuries last season. Ricky Ponting, who is still serving as Tasmania’s official captain, was diplomatic on the issue. “Look, I’m not sure what they’re thinking as far as his coaching role, but certainly as a player [he’s worth retaining],” he said.

Glenn McGrath’s absence has forced Australia’s selectors into a major reworking of the bowling attack for the three back-to-back Tests against South Africa starting next week. Instead of praying for one player to mirror McGrath’s world-class performances, Trevor Hohns’s selection panel decided to create a line-up capable of covering any conditions with a mixture of the old, new and settled in today’s 14-man squad.Brett Lee is the only permanent Australian fast bowler after Michael Kasprowicz earned a recall for his all-terrain efforts and Shaun Tait’s “bit of oomph” secured him a back-up spot despite still being unable to throw after shoulder surgery. Stuart MacGill takes his place one seat behind Shane Warne, Stuart Clark’s similarities to McGrath were considered essential to the squad and Andrew Symonds’s mix of medium-pace and offspin complete the heavy list of options.With flexibility so desirable, the obvious omission was the left-armer Nathan Bracken, but his lack of swing in the current one-day series was crucial. “He can consider himself unlucky,” Hohns said in Brisbane. “We were looking for someone with a little more penetration. McGrath is almost impossible to replace so we had to look for a squad of fast bowlers to replace him.”Kasprowicz, who will push Clark for the No. 2 duties in the first Test on March 16, impressed with his variation in leading the Pura Cup wicket list with 44 at 23.13 and finished ahead of his former team-mate Jason Gillespie. “Michael has been bowling fractionally better than Jason but it could have been an either-or call,” Hohns said. “He’s been doing well in all sorts of conditions and is ready after losing form in England. Shaun offers that bit of oomph and if required he can provide some extra punch.”After speaking about his emotional return – he was happy to be back but sad for McGrath, who is caring for his sick wife Jane – Kasprowicz talked with Trevor Hohns outside Queensland Cricket’s headquarters for the first time since the final Ashes Test last September. “I think it’s protocol now that Michael Brown [Cricket Australia’s operations manager] lets you know when you’re in and Trevor lets you know when you’re out,” Kasprowicz, who is eyeing a tenth Test recall, said.The side has a distinct 2005 feel with the addition of Tait, Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke, and Kasprowicz was ready for an “Ashes reunion”. “I never thought that was it after England,” he said. “If I felt my performances had started to slip then maybe [my international career was over], but I didn’t feel like that.”

While Kasprowicz’s state numbers this summer were impressive, Martyn was picked on a hunch ahead of Hodge, who was devastated by his omission two Tests after collecting a double-century against South Africa. Martyn’s experience swayed the selectors just five months after he seemed headed for a full-time break, and he has an unexpected chance to add to his 61 matches and 12 hundreds.”He’s been chosen in the squad to start at No. 4 – it’s a judgment call,” Hohns said. “He always looks as if he’s batting well and this tour is going to be a tough one.” Clarke was preferred as the spare batsman after Hohns said “he’d done everything asked of him”.Hodge averaged an extraordinary 58.42 in his first five Tests and expected to hold his spot, but he failed to make a four-day century for Victoria and there were also suspicions over his driving technique outside off stump. “I’m obviously devastated at the decision,” Hodge said. “I felt I had performed well enough in my initial Tests to retain my place, but I expect disappointment as part of my job.”Australia squad Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Michael Kasprowicz, Stuart MacGill, Stuart Clark, Shaun Tait.

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

A solid batting effort from New Zealand had West Indies against the wall on the second day at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Stephen Fleming grabbed the bowling by the scruff of the neck to hit a fluent 97, Peter Fulton stroked his maiden Test fifty and Nathan Astle held firm after a minor collapse as New Zealand gathered a healthy 143-run lead.Fleming was the perfect senior partner in a 165-run stand for the third wicket with Fulton and played as authoritative an innings as it can get. He had come to the crease with New Zealand on 3 for 2 and provided the much-needed damage control from the word go, cutting Ian Bradshaw through point for boundaries in four successive overs. Fluent in the arc between cover-point and gully, he took a particular liking to Bradshaw’s inconsistency. A half-volley outside off was caressed through covers, a long-hop was dismissed over square leg for six, and two full-pitched deliveries were eased between the bowler and mid-on as Fleming announced his intentions. It was just what New Zealand needed and Fleming could not have timed his counter-attack better.Elegant to the point of appearing lazy, Fleming was at the top of his game today, crunching drives off the back foot or whipping anything full on the legs through square. After lunch, he refused to get bogged down by Chris Gayle’s tight spell and slapped a four past gully and a chip past mid-on to keep himself ticking. He was helped by the return of Bradshaw and got himself to two more boundaries square of the wicket for good measure. Fleming went into the nineties for the first time at the Basin Reserve with the shot of the day – a perfect straight drive for four off Fidel Edwards – and eased a four through his favorite region to get to 97. But he fell short of the landmark when he slashed at Dwayne Bravo and was caught at wide third man two deliveries later. However, his innings had put New Zealand firmly on top, .Fulton played very well for his 75 and his contribution to the stand was priceless. Essentially a square-on player, he was allowed room to free his arms and this is where he grew in confidence. A stunning lofted drive over long-off for maximum off Gayle took him into the forties, and in the bowler’s next over he repeated the shot on the other side of the pitch to get to his maiden Test fifty. Technique is essential to any innings, and Fulton impressed in his ability to get right behind the ball and work around the basics. A third six brought up the New Zealand lead before tea.

He fell first ball after the break as, in a momentary lapse of concentration, he was rooted to the crease and edged Daren Powell to the `keeper. Powell then removed Scott Styris and Brendon McCullum – brilliantly taken by an air-borne Denesh Ramdin – but a gem of a partnership between Astle and Daniel Vettori flattened the opposition once again. At ease against pace and spin, Astle was quick to punish anything short and helped himself to another fifty. His 86-run stand with Vettori, who cantered to 42 before falling to Edwards just before stumps, ensured that the hard work done by Fleming and Fulton did not go to waste.The post-tea spell aside, the bowling was pedestrian for most of the day, and West Indies only enjoyed wickets in two bursts. Having nabbed Hamish Marshall and Jamie How with full, swinging deliveries in a frenetic opening burst, both new-ball bowlers turned to half-track mode and their threat was quickly negated. Bradshaw was wayward, Edwards was energetic but testing only in patches, while Rawl Lewis, bowling his legspinners in a Test for the first time since 1998, was workmanlike. Powell, with 3 for 69, was the most successful bowler. Fifteen no-balls didn’t help, and the fielding left a lot to be desired. Catches went down with regularity – mid-off, fine leg and second slip each spilt straightforward chances – and both veteran and rookie made sure to cash in on these lapses in the first two sessions.From start to finish, West Indies were made to toil. Play had began a half-hour early to make up for lost time on a rain-interrupted first day, and Kyle Mills did not need long to send them packing for 192. Taking a leaf from yesterday’s hero James Franklin, Mills kept the ball up to the batsmen and forced Powell and Edwards to drive loosely. His two swift strikes gave New Zealand a good start to the day before Fleming, Fulton and Astle ground West Indies into further submission and treated the supportive Wellington crowd to a batting special.How they were out
West Indies
Daren Powell c How b Mills16 (186 for 9)
Fidel Edwards c Fleming b Mills 0 (192 for 10)
New Zealand
Hamish Marshall c Chanderpaul b Bradshaw 3 (3 for 1)
Jamie How b Edwards 0 (3 for 2)
Stephen Fleming c Bravo b Edwards 97 (168 for 3)
Peter Fulton c Ramdin b Powell 75 (207 for 4)
Scott Styris c Morton b Powell 8 (219 for 5)
Brendon McCullum c Ramdin b Powell 23 (246 for 6)
Daniel Vettori c Chanderpaul b Edwards 42 (332 for 7)