Shoaib Akhtar is unlikely to bowl again in the second Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth, after picking up a hamstring injury.A source close to the team told Cricinfo that Shoaib “had found a problem with his hamstring and it is likely that he will not bowl again in the second innings. A scan will be arranged to examine the nature of the injury, but it is almost definite he will not bowl again.”The news will come as a significant blow to Pakistan’s hopes in this Test. Though they have established a more than useful lead on first innings of 141, Shoaib was instrumental in dismantling South Africa on the first day for 124 and without a key bowler, will rely heavily on Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami and Danish Kaneria in the second innings.Ironically, Shoaib was not originally picked for the 17-man squad to South Africa, on the grounds that he wasn’t match-fit. The assertion was widely disputed at the time, but an ankle injury to Umar Gul during the warm-up game before the first Test at Centurion left Pakistan dangerously short of bowlers and seemingly with no choice but to call up Shoaib. Having played in half a domestic game, in which he picked up six wickets, Shoaib was called up to the squad as cover, during the first Test.He returned yesterday in sensational fashion, picking up four for 36 from 11 overs, as Pakistan ran through the hosts. It was his first Test in nearly a year for Pakistan, a period which has seen him first battle serious ankle and knee injuries. He hadn’t played any international cricket since August, having been found guilty of using the banned anabolic steroid Nandrolone in internal doping tests conducted by the PCB.He was banned initially for two years by a committee before successfully appealing and having his ban completely overturned.

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Grant Elliott’s maiden one-day century came at the perfect time to guide Wellington from 37 for 4 when he walked in to a thrilling three-wicket win over Canterbury at Village Green. Elliot’s century included 11 fours and, thanks to his useful stands with Stu Mills and Luke Woodcock, ensured that they crossed the tape.
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Scott Styris clattered a quickfire 74 to lead Auckland to a comprehensive six-wicket win over Otago at Eden Park. Chasing a modest 231, Auckland rode on Styris’s innings along with handy knocks from Richard Jones and Rob Nicol. Earlier, Chris Martin and Paul Hitchcock, the fast bowlers, restricted Otago to 230 for 8. Aaron Redmond and Greg Todd cracked 53 each but Otago couldn’t step up the run-rate when it was required.

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Robert Quiney and David Hussey put Victoria in a position to set Tasmania a testing final-day target as they built a 286-run lead at Hobart. The Bushrangers, who lost the first-innings points on day two, quickly moved ahead and Quiney and Hussey combined for an important 110-run stand.Quiney, who is on debut, was responsible for guiding Victoria in the early stages and he collected a maiden half-century. However, his push for a hundred was ended when Dan Marsh had him caught at first slip for a well-made 82.Hussey, the captain, collected 11 fours as he eased to 80 off 141 balls before he fell charging Marsh in the push for quick runs. Michael Klinger (41) and Andrew McDonald (59) made useful contributions and Victoria, who lost two late wickets, reached 7 for 311 at the close. An outright result is important for both sides with Victoria sitting in second and Tasmania in fourth on the Pura Cup table.

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Travis Birt picked a timely day to produce his first Pura Cup century of the season and he lifted Tasmania to an enviable position at Adelaide Oval. South Australia, who were bowled out for 139 on Thursday, fought back with three wickets in the first session to have the Tigers at 5 for 216, but Birt was helped by Sean Clingeleffer to end the challenge.Birt, an Australia A representative last winter, had struggled for sizeable scores during the summer and overcame his problems with a controlled 102 that kept Tasmania on track for a spot in the final. The Tigers grabbed the competition lead with their first-innings points and Birt strengthened the advantage during his 202-ball contribution that included nine fours.His partnership with Clingeleffer, who picked up a useful 46, was essential in preventing South Australia from facing a small deficit. Birt fell to an edge off Paul Rofe, who had earlier picked up Michael Dighton for 52, and Dan Cullen added Clingeleffer to accept his second victim. Mark Cosgrove’s occasional offerings concluded the innings at 337 and he returned a surprising 3 for 3 off nine overs.South Australia’s reply started badly when Jason Borgas was caught at point for 1 and Darren Lehmann departed on the final ball of the day when he was taken sweeping Xavier Doherty. The Redbacks were 2 for 53 and still 145 in arrears.

Ricky Ponting said Australia would not be getting too carriedaway after their emphatic 83-run victory over the world No. 1 SouthAfrica, adding that his team’s bid for a third consecutive World Cupwas only just building up its momentum.”It was a big win for us,” Ponting, whose team now travels toAntigua for the Super Eights stage of the competition, said. “Taking thosetwo points with us and a pretty healthy run-rate as well – it’s anideal start to the tournament. But that’s all it is for us, it’s oneof the games down and we’ve got to focus and turn things round prettyquickly for the big game against West Indies on Tuesday.”Tuesday’s match will be the inaugural fixture at the new Sir VivianRichards stadium in Antigua, and Ponting said his side had to bewary when facing West Indies on home soil. “They’re a very dangerous team, and they should know these conditionsvery well,” he said. “They have great crowd support from all over theCaribbean, and once again it’s one of our biggest games in this WorldCup. Every step you take in this tournament becomesmore and more exciting.”Right at the moment things are going really well,” Ponting said,as Australia have won three matches out of three in the group stages inSt Kitts. “We just wanted to go out there and play a great game today.This win is no more satisfying than any other against South Africa.They’re a good side so whenever we beat them it’s a good achievement.”Though South Africa eventually slumped to a sizeable defeat, it wasnot until Australia’s bowlers had been given a fright in the opening25 overs of the run-chase that they began to take control. “To get through that challenge today willbe great for us,” Ponting, whose bowlers failed to defendconsecutive scores of 330-plus against New Zealand last month, said. “Thelast few times we’ve been challenged that way, we haven’t performed atour best, but today we really kept in there and waited forsomething special.”That something special came courtesy of a brilliant run-out from theboundary’s edge by Shane Watson, and Ponting admitted that the throwhad probably changed the course of the game. “The way we executedtoday after that first breakthrough was terrific,” he said. “We justhung in there, our fielding was good, and once we got a bit of a sniffwe were all over them and went in for the kill.”Whenever a side is chasing a total like that, if they have one littleslip-up or one brilliant piece of fielding from us, then it puts themon the back-foot pretty quickly and that’s what happened today. It’salways hard work chasing big totals like that. South Africa have doneit reasonably well in the past, but in this big game they weren’t ableto do it.”Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, was proud of the effort that hisside had put into the chase, but admitted that they had “lost theirway” at crucial moments of the match. “We bowled well at times at thedeath, for little bursts, and even with the bat, going into the 35thover, we were ahead of our targets,” he said. “But we just left ourselves toomuch to do in the last ten. We had opportunities to win and we move onwith confidence to our next game against Sri Lanka.”

Kyle McCallan, the Ireland spinner, is fed up of hearing critics say they have no right to be in the Super Eights. After being the surprise of the group phase with a win over Pakistan and a tie with Zimbabwe, Ireland are now under increasing scrutiny to prove they should be in the second stage.”I am reading so many comments at the moment, saying Ireland shouldn’t be in the Super Eights,” McCallan said. “No matter what you do, people are trying to knock you down. They are saying we have qualified on the basis of one performance.”Hasn’t everyone? England lost to New Zealand. They are only in the Super Eights because they beat Kenya. They’re all motivating factors for us to go out and perform another upset.”Ireland get their chance to prove they belong in the second round when they face England in Guyana on Friday. It will be the second match between the teams in nine months after England won by 38 runs last June.”We were disappointed at how we bowled against England in Belfast,” McCallan said. “They haven’t got Marcus Trescothick, who got a big hundred against us, albeit they now have Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, but we didn’t disgrace ourselves in that match and we’ll take that experience into Friday’s game.”They’ve lost Harmison from that attack and while we cannot be overly-confident going into the game, we can realistically compete with them. Having heard what we’ve heard about the pitch here, apparently it suits the slower bowlers so I hope that they will play the pace bowlers. It will come on to the bat and make for faster scoring.”The guys have coped with the quicker bowling rather well and if we can hit the ball down the ground in the middle overs, we should get more runs. The batters know what they have to do.”

It has fallen upon this final at the great venue of Kensington Oval, Barbados, not just to deliver a champion of the world but to save face for the game on its biggest stage. For all its supposed wonderful health, the tripe dished out over the past two months has been an embarrassment. All the proper players in the world plus a few others were put in the most evocative of destinations and look what they came up with. It was hoped the last week might rescue the tournament. Nothing of the sort. Two one-sided romps and fans asking each other when?In lovely St Lucia on Wednesday the occasion failed to feel like a World Cup semi-final. In inviting bids that covered a wide range of requirements the organisers may have been trying to do the fair thing. But what price a cricket culture?As absent as it was in St Lucia, so unmissable it is in Barbados. Cricket sprouts out of the very earth of Barbados. More than any other Caribbean territory, and by extension any place in the world, cricket has been its making, it has described its society, its culture, its life, its times. Whether or not there will be local flavour at the ground – even in Barbados it is not uncommon to be told they’d just sit this one out thank you, and be back when regular cricket comes around – the ethos of cricket is in the air. This thing matters, it is reassuring to feel.Two teams have shone in the ninth World Cup and their anticipated match-up is the closest fans have been able to come to a wet dream in the tournament. Australia and Sri Lanka do their thing and at their best they have between them all of cricket covered. Mahela Jayawardene, in whom captaincy has brought out the player of the calibre observers had detected from an early age, has spoken again and again about Sri Lanka needing to play their own brand of cricket. There is a defiance to this. We do not need to be Australia to beat ’em. South Africa tried it and failed, he said.What it means is that Australia’s power can be deflected rather than met head-on. It is relevant in the nature of the general vibe, and it is certainly in the batting – the Lankans prefer twirling to belting – but in the most vital aspect these two teams are more similar to each other than any other.Each has the kind of bowling line-ups usually found on paper, where specifications can be constructed to fancy. The first over is bowled by a slyly tormenting pin-point left-arm swinger at 125kph. His new-ball partner is normally a firebrand slingshot of terrible pace and inexplicable method. Each has a wrist-spinner of mystery who has had a superb tournament.Hereabouts Sri Lanka have the edge, for no matter the excellence of the Australian trio, there is something more to be said for the greatness of Chaminda Vaas and especially Muttiah Muralitharan. The difference is in the other specialist bowler. Australia have Glenn McGrath.And McGrath it is who will enjoy this Barbados pitch more than any bowler in contemporary cricket, especially if he should get to use it first. He certainly did a fortnight ago with three wickets in his opening spell in the rout of Ireland. McGrath has never really needed more than an off stump and an outside edge to aim at. Giving him bounce is presenting him nail, hammer and coffin. He is hoping it will do for Sanath Jayasuriya as it has done several times down under.

If a weakness must be found in Australia it is that they haven’t been fully tested, though if it was any other way it would have been undoubtedly played up as proof of their vulnerability. So dominant have they been that, for instance, Michael Hussey has got just two hits in the last six games, and he didn’t get past nine runs in the first four, mostly because he came in so late. Moreover, as Jayawardene says: “They are human.””This game doesn’t get any bigger,” Ricky Ponting, the finest batsman and leader of the best team in the world, said. “For guys who have been around quite a while like myself this is the reason you still play the game.”A Sri Lankan win will be the bigger story, for it will be as much a case of winning against the odds of the system as Australia’s would be direct product of theirs. Whenever Jayawardene has been asked about the ’96 World Cup he has answered within a historical context which suggests an awareness of both what the game means to the country and what it means to be good at the game. From amateurism to world champions in such a short time was one of the remarkable stories of the game, and if Jayawardene’s men can rise to this success from the pit of power-mongering and chaos that is the administration of Sri Lankan cricket then it may be almost comparable. And even as the team arose this morning in the Caribbean, back home the international airport at Colombo was closed for fear of an LTTE strike. In times of trouble citizens turn to sport for hope and those of Sri Lanka could use some now.Let us hope for a glistening, fabulous, luminous match, a match that brings forward the finest, most varied skills of the game in the most challenging of circumstances in the most stirring of ambiences: a match which does the sport proud, a match which leaves a shining gloss on this long and largely despondent affair.Likely teams
Australia – 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Shane Watson, 8 Brag Hogg, 9 Shaun Tait, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Glenn McGrath.Sri Lanka – 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Dilshan Tillakaratne, 6 Chamara Silva, 7 Russel Arnold, 8 Dilhara Fernando, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of the second Test at Headingley starting on Friday after failing to convince the selectors that he was fit enough to bowl.”It was deemed that Andrew’s ankle did not demonstrate sufficient improvement after his first bowling session today (Wednesday),” the ECB said in a statement. “In order to allow the ankle to rehabilitate effectively and continue to improve it was felt the best decision was to rule him out now without a further assessment tomorrow.”Flintoff will rejoin his county “where he will continue to undergo rehabilitation and revue. He will only begin to bowl at an appropriate stage and any participation in Lancashire’s forthcoming county matches will be made in due course.”Flintoff missed the opening Test after suffering discomfort in the same ankle that has already been operated on twice in three years.With Matthew Hoggard also ruled out through injury and with England’s lack of firepower at Lord’s so evident, it seems likely that Ryan Sidebottom and James Anderson will be recalled for the match with a batsman – probably Andrew Strauss – missing out to make way for Michael Vaughan.Squad Michael Vaughan (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Stephen Harmison, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Prior (wk), Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss.

New Zealand A’s players will have more than a month of opportunities to push for places in the senior team at the Twenty20 World Championships when they embark on a training and playing tour of Australia. The squad departs on Monday for a three-week camp in Darwin before the Emerging Players Tournament in Queensland starting on July 16.New Zealand are one of four sides taking part in the contest – the Australian Centre of Excellence, the Karnataka Association XI and the South African Emerging Players are the others – and they will play seven one-day games and two Twenty20 matches. “It will provide an opportunity for some players to prepare for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in September,” Ric Charlesworth, the New Zealand Cricket high performance manager, said. “But more importantly, it offers us the opportunity to view a new group of players on the periphery of the national team.”The 15-man squad, which will be led by James Marshall, will be joined at the camp by five under-19 players who are preparing for the Youth World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in February. Dave Nosworthy, the State Canterbury coach, will look after the team and be assisted by Mike Hesson and the bowling coach Vaughn Johnson.New Zealand A James Marshall (capt), Andre Adams, Hamish Bennett, Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Gareth Hopkins (wk), Jamie How, Nathan McCullum, James McMillan, Warren McSkimming, Rob Nicol, Iain O’Brien, Michael Papps, Aaron Redmond, Bradley Scott. Under 19 players Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Greg Morgan, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson.New Zealand A itinerary
July 1 v Northern Territory Strike, Darwin
July 16 v South Africa Emerging Players, Caloundra, Twenty20
July 17 v Karnataka Association XI, Caloundra, Twenty20
July 19 v Australian Centre of Excellence, Caloundra
July 20 v South Africa Emerging Players, Maroochydore
July 22 v Karnataka Association XI, Maroochydore
July 24 v Australian Centre of Excellence, Brisbane
July 25 v South Africa Emerging Players, Brisbane
July 27 v Karnataka Association XI, TBC
July 28 final and third-place play-off

You have to envy VVS Laxman. Not for his sinuous wrists, not for his graceful movements, not for his languid batting style but simply for having the pleasure of standing at second slip when India’s pace bowlers are in operation. Standing between Sachin Tendulkar, at first slip, and Sourav Ganguly, at third, he is often the silent participant in some intense discussions, ones where the two on either side chirp away merrily.While they’re batting together, though, there’s no third party. Yet they rarely relent. During their 96-run stand this morning, the early parts of which were spent negotiating the second new ball, mid-pitch conferences raged along. Whether it was advice, tactics, or plans for the evening is anyone’s guess but they often resembled doubles partners on a tennis court. They’ve played together for about ten years, they’ve opened the batting for long in the one-day format, and they’ve played under each other’s captaincy. You’d think they would have exhausted all they had to say; it appears they’ve just got started.India’s biggest challenge today, with the sun out and the pitch playing true, was to negate the effects of the second new ball. Ganguly, usually circumspect in these conditions, flowed; Tendulkar, who you’d expect to be more solid, dug a small hole for himself. Almost every time Ryan Sidebottom beat Tendulkar’s bat, or appealed for a leg-before, Ganguly had a word with his partner.At the other end, Ganguly eagerly took on Chris Tremlett and James Anderson, cover-driving as if all was well. Ganguly’s statements about the ball doing “a bit in the morning” and Sidebottom bowling “well to Sachin” must go down as big under-statements. It was doing much more than a bit, and he did much better than well. “To get through the second new ball in the morning was important,” he said. “And we knew if we could get runs on the board, we’d be in a good position to win the match.”Both handled Monty Panesar expertly, using their bats more often than their pads. Tendulkar stepped out on a few occasions, crunching an aggressive cover-drive over the infield, while Ganguly took a few big strides forward and caressed him all along the ground. What was the plan then, did they have any specific targets? “There were no targets,” dead-batted Ganguly. “Just bat. It was just the third morning of a match and there was a lot of time left. We thought we’ll just bat and whatever comes, comes.” More like, just chat.

It’s tough to spot similarities in their batting, or indeed their personalities. One is quiet, the other tends to be brash; one is a great batsman who struggled to lead, the other a great captain who sometimes struggled with the bat. Both had their innings sawed off with dubious umpiring decisions – one stood transfixed before trudging off, the other rushed off spewing venom, flaying his bat angrily. Tendulkar was spotted cooling off with an ice-cream; Ganguly was “alright”. “Some go your way, some go against”, said Ganguly who started the press conference with “I don’t want to speak about the decision” and ended it with “You have to live with it”. Simon Taufel, it seems, can breathe easy.Does he think India can pull off their first Test win at Trent Bridge? “I think 480 is still a big total. We were 280-290 ahead, and the wicket is going to deteriorate. On the third day of a Test anywhere in the world, the wicket is going to be good. It’s the fourth and fifth day it’s going to deteriorate.”But, crucially, what does he have to say about Tendulkar’s knock? “There’s nothing you can talk about Sachin, he produces it every time and hope he keeps doing the same.” If he does, and if Ganguly too keeps joining him, it’s time those stump mikes were shifted to the middle of the pitch.