England fall over again

At the end, England must’ve been wondering what else they need to do to win a game in India. If it was Yuvraj Singh’s centuries in Rajkot and Indore that took the games away from them, it was bad light in Kanpur that ensured England ended Thursday three down in the seven-match ODI series.

The visitors, for once, did many things right at Green Park in their quest to mount a comeback in the series. Openers Ian Bell and Ravindra Bopara got off to a solid start, and their frontline bowlers Andrew Flintoff and Stuart Broad bowled with fire to rattle the Indian top-order. But the failure of the England team management in handling the fading light, more than anything else, seemed to cost them the game.

On the other side, Mahendra Singh Dhoni had done his homework well in advance, keeping India ahead of the asking rate right through as per the Duckworth/Lewis system. The hosts eventually won by 16 runs as bad light predictably forced the match to end 40 overs into the Indian chase, which finished on 198 for five, comfortably clear of the 182 needed at that stage with five wickets in hand.

There had been some nerves early on when Broad and Flintoff bowled with purpose to dismiss Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina in quick time. But a gritty 68 by Virender Sehwag and a crucial 52-run partnership between Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni first settled the innings and then gave it some impetus.

Different strokes

Sehwag, after being troubled by Broad’s swing, had to cut down on his stroke-play. It was a measure of how well England were bowling, and even off-spinner Graeme Swann, who got his first game of the series, was difficult to have a go at. Still, Sehwag kept finding the fences intermittently before completing his 31st ODI fifty with a towering six off Swann.

England sensed their opportunity after Sehwag’s dismissal but the third power-play, in fading light, ended their hopes as Yuvraj and Dhoni cut lose. Yuvraj got 14 in Swann’s last over. And though he was dismissed soon after, he and Dhoni had done enough by then, giving India 38 runs from the four-over quota. When it had been England’s turn, they had scored only 21 from their batting power-play. In the final analysis, that could be seen as the difference between the two teams on Friday.

Bad light notwithstanding, England will once again have to blame their batsmen for the loss. They failed to seize the advantage, after getting their noses ahead early following Kevin Pietersen’s decision to bat first. Only a succession of poor strokes stopped them from posting a big score. Bell’s breezy 46 ended with a feather-touch to wicketkeeper Dhoni, and Pietersen holed out against Harbhajan Singh, who finished with three wickets.

England know they need to get their act together before the next match in Bangalore on Sunday, but they’ll have to figure out how to do that quickly. “It won’t be easy but we we’d like to win all the remaining games,” Flintoff said.

Tendulkar back in team

Sachin Tendulkar was named in India’s one-day squad for the next two matches against England on Thursday, getting back to the one-day fold after eight months.

Baroda paceman Irfan Pathan was also included in the squad while RP Singh and Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay, who were in the team for the first three matches of the seven match series, have been left out.

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautham Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Virat Kohli, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan
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British media:Umpires robbed England of win in Kanpur

India's Duckworth/Lewis win in the Kanpur one-dayer against England was dubbed 'farcical' by an angry British media, which lambasted umpires Russell Tiffin and Amiesh Sahiba for their "lack of common sense" in conducting the game.

India won by 16 runs in the 49-overs-a-side match that started late and ended early under fading light, much to the frustration of English team which is now 0-3 down in the seven-match series.

English skipper Kevin Pietersen minced no words in saying that his side had been robbed of a win by the way officials conducted the match and his views were seconded by an equally furious media in London.

"The International Cricket Council is always changing its playing regulations, but one rule that it claims umpires can apply at any time is common sense, something utterly lacking in Kanpur," wrote 'The Daily Telegraph'.

"...you could understand their (England players') anger at seeing their best chance of winning a game in this one-day series disappear at the click of a light meter," it said.

Putting the blame squarely on Tiffin -- the senior of the two officials -- the newspaper said the match could have done with a shorter lunch break, as suggested by Pietersen and England coach Peter Moores. The daily said deducting just one over a side after a 45-minute delay was also a logic-defying decision.

"He (Tiffin) should have shortened the lunch interval, which umpires can do, following the one-day farce at Edgbaston last year, when play was called off just one over short of constituting a game," the newspaper said.

"Their biggest mistake was made at the start, when Tiffin announced that the match would be 49-overs a side. Fitting that many in after losing 45 minutes at the start was always overly optimistic and, given a 10-minute tweak at lunch, 45 overs-a-side would have been about perfect."

'The Guardian' was also scathing in its criticism of how the game went about and said, "The match was delayed by 45 minutes for morning mist, but nonsensically the overs were reduced only by one over per side to 49. By 4.30pm, the light was predictably fading, and even though England's spinners were bowling, umpires Russell Tiffin and Amiesh Saheba offered India bad light and victory by the dreaded Duckworth-Lewis calculations.”

"Appoint an umpire called Tiffin to a match involving India and England and it is to be expected that he comes over all 'old colonial' and stops for tea at 4.30," the newspaper fumed.

'The Independent' felt the umpires robbed England of what could have been a hard-fought and deserving win. "The Kanpur smog ruined Englands chances of fighting their way back in to the seven match series when the umpires offered India's batsmen the light with the game delicately placed.

"India still required 43 in nine overs with five wickets in hand when the match officials deemed the conditions not to be fit, a decision that robbed England the chance of a victory they had worked so hard to achieve," the daily wrote.

'The Times' echoed the sentiment and said the officials' surprised one and all with their decisions despite being well aware of the weather conditions in the Indian city.

"For all that, questions need to be asked over why the game was allowed to end before time. Anybody who has been in Kanpur this week knew that the light starts to fade around four o'clock in the afternoon.

"The second mistake of the officials was to dock just a single over from each innings instead of reducing the break between innings. Those two decisions created a farce that was waiting to happen," it said.

Wide-selling tabloid, 'The Daily Mail' described the umpires' decision "crass" and wrote, "Cricket's capacity to shoot itself in the foot knows no bounds and the farcical end to the third one-day international here yesterday was another example of rules and regulations holding sway over the interests of spectators and simple common sense. At the end of it, England's slim chances of taking anything from this series had all but disappeared."

No regrets for elbowing Watson: Gambhir

NEW DELHI: Gautam Gambhir had to sit out the Nagpur Test against Australia for elbowing Shane Watson, but the Indian opener said he was provoked
by the all-rounder and had no regrets for what he had done.

"No gentleman can hear things that Aussies were saying in Delhi. If what I did was wrong, then even sledging should be stopped, it has no place in the game," said the left-hander.

"Aussies sledge from all corners, they sledged at me in Bangalore, Mohali and then in Delhi. I could have taken (their sledging) only to a point but they tend to get personal which is just not on.

"I agree that I shouldn't have crossed a certain line but people should take the holistic view rather than blaming just me for the episode. Frankly, I don't regret the Watson episode," he said.

Gambhir, who scored a double century in the third Test in Delhi and a hundred before that in Mohali, said Australians never liked their opposition giving a tough fight to them.

"They don't like when the opposition reacts the way we did. Australians were never expecting that we will come hard at them and that's why they reacted the way they did."

The Delhi batsman, who emerged the highest run-getter in the four-match Test series with 463 runs, said he was unhappy for being ignored for the Man of the Series Award, which was bagged by Ishant Sharma.

"I have never been that lucky, may be I need to get 400! I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. I take comfort in the fact that the team won the series and I am really happy for Ishant who bowled his heart out in the series," Gambhir told a website.

The opener though said he would never shed his aggressive image despite the recent tiff with the Australians.

"I like to be aggressive, I am a fighter who plays for his team, his country and will do everything to restore that pride and never you'd see me taking a backward step."

Reacting to Shahid Afridi's comment, that the ban on playing Nagpur Test would hlep the India opener learn lessons, Gambhir said, "It is a joke coming from Afridi, actually, he should concentrate on his own game rather than telling me what to do. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at others, I can't take Afridi seriously."

On criticism against him for getting out in the 60s and 70s, Gambhir said, "Frankly, it doesn't really bother me what critics say as long as I help my team and my country win series after series and tournaments after tournaments,"

"VVS Laxman told me in Sri Lanka that my biggest challenge will be playing against Australia and I need to pass that test. I met him in Nagpur and asked him if did clear that test, he told me, 'you have not only passed the test but passed it with a distinction.' I don't think I need any more approvals from anyone."

Ponting never put myself ahead of the team

NAGPUR: A hurt Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Monday hit back at his detractors, saying he never kept himself above team's interest when he
asked part-timers to bowl to make up for the team's slow over-rate on the penultimate day of the fourth and final Test against India.

Ponting, who would have invited suspension for the team's slow over-rate, said he never felt bowling part-timers, with some impressive performances under their belt, and not the regular fast bowlers was a "negative" tactic, as depicted by his critics, including Cricket Australia Director and former captain Allan Border.

"To tell you the truth I'm a little bit disappointed with some of the criticism, particularly from former Australian captains and CA board members," he said after conceding a 172-run defeat and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the new VCA stadium.

"The thing I'm most disappointed about is there seems to be this inference out there that I've put myself totally ahead of the team. Anybody that knows me or knows the way I play my cricket or operate around the Australian team or any team would hopefully not say that's the case," he shot back.

"I'd like to think as far as team players go that there haven't been many who have ever played for Australia would do more than I have for the team," he claimed.

Ponting's strategy of using part-time spin bowlers to speed up the over-rate which was very tardy and not coming hard at India with his frontline pacers when the hosts were struggling at 166 for six, helped the latter set a target of 382 for a win which proved too much for his batsmen.

"Everyone's got a point of view on how I captain the team and the way the team plays," he said, as a parting shot at Border.

But he admitted there was a need for his fast bowlers to quicken up the over-rate and said this problem had been cropping up since the Perth Test against India late last year.

"Absolutely. We speak about it at every team meeting. I've told the bowlers, the whole team, for a couple of years now that if we keep going the way we are there's going to be some time or moment where it's really going to come back and hurt us or bite us.

"I'm not saying this right now but there have been other times where we've had to do that. I remember Perth last summer. It was almost exactly the same. We got down to eight or nine overs down there as well. So it absolutely can hurt you," he said.

Coming back to the Test series lost by his team 0-2, Ponting said that India had totally outplayed the tourists.

"On this tour we've just been totally outplayed. With the exception of the first Test where we pretty much dominated that game, any other game we've got back to level but never really got in front," he said.

He also rued losing the toss in the last three Tests and said that in Indian conditions this could turn out to be a big disadvantage if a team does not do well in the first innings.

"After losing three tosses in a row if you don't get yourself back in front after the first innings it's very hard to win here. Coming here on the third morning I was really positive about how the game was going," Ponting said.

"India adopted a certain style of play that made it very difficult for us, they chipped in with a few wickets and the scoreboard was going nowhere. Being behind on first innings again wasn't ideal and chasing 380 today was exceptionally difficult," he added.

Without pointing a finger at his non-firing fast bowler Brett Lee, Ponting sounded disappointed overall with the team's bowling and batting efforts on this tour.

"I'm not pointing the finger at anyone or any aspect, (but) I think at certain times our bowling's been off, at different times our batting's been off as well. India have been better than us in every aspect of the game. When we're outplayed I'll always be the first to say we have been," he said.

Ponting said Indian bowlers used the conditions better and rued that his own bowlers had to try their best after losing the toss when the wickets were at their best.

"There's no doubt they've used the conditions better. They've had a chance to bowl on older wickets, we've bowled first in the last three Tests where it's hard to get the ball reversing till really late in the day's play. Their batsmen have out-batted us as well," he admitted.

However, on an optimistic note he praised the bowling of debutant Krejza and also said this tour was a good learning experience for his team that would stand them in good stead.

"Jason's debut is astounding really. For someone to take 12 wickets on debut is a magnificent achievement. He's worked exceptionally hard the whole time he's been here. He's been waiting for an opportunity, it presented itself in this last Test and he's stood up to be counted, probably more than anybody else has in the whole series," he said.

"We've all learned, particularly the younger guys, about how high that level has to be if you want to win Tests series in this part of the world," he said.

ICL final Hyderabad vs Lahore, again

AHMEDABAD: In a repeat of last year’s ICL, Hyderabad Heroes will take on Lahore Badshahs in the best-of-three finals of the ICL Season II at the
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium. In the second semifinal on Tuesday evening, defending champions Hyderabad Heroes defeated Royal Bengal Tigers by three wickets in a thrilling encounter. Hyderabad reached their victory target of 162 in the last over, losing 7 wickets in the process.

Hyderabad looked in complete control at the start of the innings when Jimmy Maher and Ibrahim Khallil launched the onslaught. But two quick wickets for just one run between the 10th and 11th over changed the complexion of the game.

Defending 161 on an easy-paced track with slight dew on the outfield was always going to be tough. But the Bengal spinners bowled their heart out and kept Bengal alive in the match by picking wickets in regular intervals and also checking the run flow. But in the end, it was all for a lost cause as skipper Chris Harris thumped the third ball of the last over to the midwicket fence to seal the issue. Before that, Maher, Khallil, Abdul Razaq, Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny all made notable contributions to keep the run-chase on track.

Earlier, Bengal top-scorer Hamish Marshall got ready some 10 minutes before the umpires walked in. Standing near the ropes with his batting gear on, Marshall was looking at the centre, his eyes lit, like a tiger about to pounce his prey. But Abdul Razzaq and his new-ball partner Syed Shahabuddin had different plans. Both of them were really bending their backs extracting considerable bounce and pace from the wicket and pushed the Bengal batsmen on the backfoot.

It was Shahabuddin who gave the early breakthrough, getting rid of Deep Dasgupta caught-and-bowled on the follow-through. Then history repeated itself, almost. Remember Lance Klusener and Allan Donald’s famous run out in the 1999 World Cup semifinal against Australia in Edgbaston? Zullu was at it again in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. He ran Marshall out in a moment of madness when both the batsmen were almost stranded in one end. Bengal skipper Craig McMillan too didn’t last long and they were already staring down the barrel with three wickets down by the fourth over and with just 10 runs on the board.

Donald’s run out in Edgbaston was the end of it all but on Tuesday, Klusener got an opportunity to somewhat rectify the earlier mistake as he joined hands with another southpaw, Rohan Gavaskar, to give Bengal’s innings some respectability. Both of them stitched together 145 runs off 94 balls for the fourth wicket as Bengal posted 161 for the loss of four wickets in their stipulated 20 overs. This also happens to be the highest partnership for any wicket in ICL. They broke the record of Murray Goodwin and Ryan Cambell’s 137-run first wicket stand off 72 balls against Bengal.

Rohan was out caught by IS Reddy off Harris for 74 in the last over while Klusener remained not out with 78.

Ranji Trophy Pujara, Jadeja set world record

LUCKNOW: Cheteshwar Pujara (302 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (232 not out), junior India players, set a world record in first class cricket, when
they became the first pair to put on over 500 runs for the fifth wicket. They did it in a Ranji Trophy match for Saurashtra against Orissa at the new Khandheri stadium on the outskirts of Rajkot.

The duo came together when Saurashtra were struggling at 100 for four on the opening day. They then added 520 runs for the unconquered fifth wicket, only the second time over 500 runs were added by a pair in FC cricket in India. The first is another world record of 577 for the fourth wicket by Vijay Hazare and Gul Mohammed for Baroda against Holkar at the Central College ground in Baroda in 1947/48.

The pair of Pujara and Jadeja overhauled the earlier fifth wicket world record that was in the name of Waugh brothers -- Mark and Steve -- of 464* for New South Wales against Western Australia at Perth in 1990-91.

The earlier Indian FC record for the fifth wicket was of 410* by Aakash Chopra and S Badrinath for India A vs South
Africa A in New Delhi last year.

It is also only the ninth occasion in first class cricket that over 500 runs have been added for any partnership. However, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have set the highest run partnership for any wicket when they made a third wicket partnership of 624-runs for Sri Lanka in a Test against South Africa in Colombo in 2006. The second highest is the Hazare-Gul Mohammed partnership of 577 (fourth wicket). Besides, there were Saurashtra records today:

Pujara became the first to score triple century for Saurashtra. Jadeja became fifth double centurion for the state:

The list: 1. C Pujara 302 no, 2. Sudhir Tanna 253 no, 3. R Jadeja 232 no, 4. Yajuvendra Singh 214, 5. Bimal Jadeja 203.

Saurashtra crossed the 600-mark for the first time, overhauling their previous 596 against J&K in 2004-05.

Mumbai Thrash England in tour game

Chasing a modest 223, England slumped to 98 all out in 25 overs to set alarm bells ringing ahead of the seven One-Day Internationals.
England captain Kevin Pietersen afterwards tried to downplay his side's failure against unimpressive opposition.

"I think the guys are all right," he said. "Today and what happened the other day doesn't really count in the grand scheme of things. What counts is the internationals.

"This really doesn't matter, but it has taught us a few quick lessons."

The England bowlers did well to restrict Mumbai President's XI to 222-7 off 50 overs after electing to field with paceman Steve Harmison and left-arm spinner Samit Patel picking two wickets each.

The local team owed their total to Sushant Marathe, who struck a fine 65 with seven fours, and opener Paul Valthaty, who made a patient 44 off 75 balls. Shoaib Shaikh boosted the total further with a cameo 35-ball 37.

The visitors struggled from early in their innings when in-form opener Ian Bell, who made 58 in the side's 122-run victory in the opening tour match on Sunday, was caught behind off Waingankar for six.

Pietersen was out for a duck, trapped leg before by Waingankar who also accounted for Patel (13), Ravi Bopara (nine) and Luke Wright (one).

Andrew Flintoff failed to sustain the form that saw him smash an unbeaten century in Sunday's game, edging behind off Rahil Shaikh having made just five.

The Rajkot One-dayer will be followed by matches in Indore (November 17), Kanpur (November 20), Bangalore (November 23), Cuttack (November 26), Guwahati (November 29) and New Delhi (December 2).

The One-day series will be followed by two Tests in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Brief Scores:

Mumbai Cricket Association XI: 222-7 in 50 overs (S. Marathe 65, P. Valthaty 44; S. Harmison 2-38, S. Patel 2-50)

England XI: 98 all out in 25 overs (G. Swann 24 n.o.; K. Waingankar 5-37).

Spinners inspire India to 2-0 win against Australia

At the end of a schizophrenic session, India maintained their authority over the final Test, taking three wickets in the first two hours on day five to leave Australia at 111 for 3. After a good catch to dismiss Simon Katich and a brilliant run out by Amit Mishra to nail Ricky Ponting, India's butterfingered fielders dropped Matthew Hayden twice and misfielded with sloppy regularity. Hayden rode his luck to finish the session on 46, helping Australia score 98 at 4.56 an over in the session. The intent was clear, despite the early wickets, but Australia still face a tough ask to square the Border-Gavaskar trophy

India began the day well. Katich had played the horizontal shot a couple times, once connecting with a swing to the deep square-leg boundary, but trying to work a short ball across to the on side once too often, he skied Ishant Sharma into orbit. Mahendra Singh Dhoni didn't for a second take his eyes off the swirling ball - 29 for 1.

Zaheer Khan produced an edge from the first delivery bowled to Ponting, squared up on the back foot, but the ball didn't carry to Rahul Dravid at first slip. One classy on-drive later, Ponting, was wastefully run out for four. He dabbed and set off for an extremely ambitious single and Mishra, screaming in from mid-off, threw down the stumps with a brilliant underarm pick-up and fling - 37 for 2.

Ishant couldn't believe Michael Clarke wasn't given lbw by the umpire Billy Bowden in the next over when the ball incriminatingly thudded into his left pad - replays showed it would have clipped leg stump - while Zaheer grit his teeth when the batsman twice edged wide of second slip in three balls. Hayden also chopped through the slips, looking to score off almost every delivery against the new ball. But India missed a big opportunity when he was on 30. Harbhajan Singh came in after 12 overs and cursed under his breath when Dhoni dropped a regulation edge as Hayden went to cut the second ball for four as well.

The dismissal of Clarke for 22, nibbling at a lovely delivery after Ishant plugged away on an exemplary length, seemed to have nailed it decisively India's way at 82 for 3. Then Dravid, at slip, dropped Hayden on 36 when the batsman went for another powerful reverse-sweep. To add to the mess, needless overthrows and misfields in the circle allowed Australia easy runs as they set about chasing a big score.

Goodbye Prince of Kolkata, hello Rahul Dravid

Even 20 minutes after his dismissal, Sourav Ganguly could be seen all padded up in the Indian dressing room. There was a bewildered look on his face, a shocked expression in his eye: clearly, this wasn’t the fairytale finish that he had been dreaming of over the last few weeks.

He walked in to bat for the last time at a delicate moment, with the match poised on a sharp edge. Virender Sehwag had given a rousing start to the second innings; but India suddenly lost three wickets and the Test was smacked open. Ganguly looked calm and regal, eager for the grand tryst with his destiny.

He was given a warm welcome, even by the Aussies, and he took guard confidently; Jason Krejza, who had stunned VVS Laxman with a particularly special delivery, wheeled in for his next one. Attacking the same rough outside off (leg for the left-hander), he managed to draw Sourav forward, luring him into the vacant on-side. But the ball suddenly dipped and the bat closed a split-dimension sooner.



Krejza dived forward and accepted the catch triumphantly. Ganguly stood there for a few agonizing seconds, soaking in the cruel irony: a century in his first innings; and a first-ball duck in the last one. Eventually, he had to begin his final journey back to the Indian dressing room.

As he walked away, he looked towards the skies (was it anger, was it gratitude?) and had one last conversation with his God; then, he ran his eyes all around the ground, took in the stunned silence in the stands which was soon replaced by a deafening burst, to freeze the image and sound in his mind forever.

One doesn’t know how long he sat there, with his pads on; but during those 20 minutes or so, India seemed to be losing the plot, almost hurtling towards another numbing last Test defeat. But luckily, Australia soon got caught in the slow overrate whirlpool and could only watch as India clawed back into the game.

In the end, India made 295 to set up an imposing 382-run target. They may or may not drive the final nail into Australia’s arrogance on Monday, but one thing is clear: they can't lose this Test from here; they may have lost something far more important during this series though: the confidence in Rahul Dravid.

Opener Batsman Amla century sets up big win for South Africa

Opening batsman Amla struck an elegant 140 off 134 balls as South Africa slammed 358 for four, their highest total in a One-day game against Bangladesh.

The tourists replied with 230 all out as South Africa took a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal thrashed 41 off 22 balls at the start of the Bangladesh innings but the rest of the Bangladesh batsmen, with the exception of Junaid Siddique (47) struggled against South Africa's pace-based attack.

Amla shared in century partnerships with captain Graeme Smith (65) and Jacques Kallis (49).

It was a successful return for Smith, who was playing in his first match since returning from a tour of England in August because of a tennis elbow injury.

Smith and Amla set the foundation for South Africa's big total with a first wicket stand of 136 after Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful won the toss and sent the home side in, hoping to take advantage of overcast conditions and the possibility of rain later.

Smith looked in good form and showed no ill effects from his injury as he made his 65 off 67 balls with six fours and a six.

Both batsmen were dropped, Amla on 15 and Smith on 54, as Bangladesh's fielding fell below the standard they achieved in Potchefstroom Friday when they were beaten by 61 runs in the first game of the three-match series.

Amla took full advantage of a let-off by Mashrafe Mortaza at deep backward square leg off Syed Rasel.

Regarded as a Test match specialist before replacing Smith in the last two one-day internationals in England, Amla produced an array of classic strokes in the early overs and showed the ability to hit out later on. He hit eight fours and four sixes.

The left-handed Tamim Iqbal, 19, blazed away at the start of Bangladesh's innings, hitting four boundaries in Johann Louw's first over, then hitting Steyn for two fours and a hooked six in the next over.

It was too good to last, however, and he tried one big shot too many, top-edging a hook off Steyn to square leg.

Siddique also started aggressively but became tied down before he was leg before to off-spinner Johan Botha for 47 off 80 balls. Botha and Steyn took three wickets each for South Africa.

Symonds Back to Australian squad for Twenty20 tie

MELBOURNE: Embattled all-rounder Andrew Symonds on Monday made a comeback to the Australian team for Friday's Emirates All Star Twenty20 match in Brisbane.
Australia's Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said in a statement that Symonds, dumped from the side after the 'gone-fishing' episode, has successfully completed the prescribed "welfare process" and his return was a result of much hard work on his behalf.

"I have been in regular contact with Andrew over the last month or so. He has made significant progress during his enforced lay off and we are happy that he is now available to be selected for Australia again," Sutherland said.

"I know Andrew has had a very strong desire to fight his way back into the Australian team and I am confident that desire will be reflected in his actions over the coming months," he added.

National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch said he was only too happy to see Symonds back.

"Cricket Australia advised the NSP late last week that Andrew Symonds had completed the welfare process he has been undertaking over recent times and it was with great pleasure that we were able to select him for this game," he said.

Symonds will be part of a Michael Clarke-led side which will take on an Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) All Star team which would have Adam Gilchrist as their skipper.

"The NSP, after consultation with our medical and coaching staff, has decided that after a tough tour of India a number of players will have their workloads monitored and managed. Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark will not take part in this match as part of their preparation to be available for selection for the first 3 mobile Test match in Brisbane," Hilditch said.

Squads: Australia: Michael Clarke (captain), Michael Hussey (vice-captain), Brett Geeves, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, David Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson and Cameron White.

ACA All Star team: Adam Gilchrist (captain), Dan Cullen, Michael Dighton, Brendan Drew, Ryan Harris, Brad Hodge, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Dan Marsh, Steve Magoffin, Ashley Noffke and Rob Quiney.

Sreesanth noisy fight in a crowd

After reports surfaced that Indian bowler S Sreesanth's birthday bash had turned ugly at an apartment in Bangalore the bowler on Sunday rubbished the same and said, "Reports on brawl are false and nothing of this sort happened at the party."

The Kerala pacer has also accused his neighbours for maligning his image for publicity.

He added, "Firstly, it was not even a party. It was just a get together with few of my close friends. What ever the neighbours claim is rubbish and my friend was injured because a brick fell on his head, as we were in the terrace open for everyone in the apartment."

Earlier, it was reported that Sree's birthday bash turned wild at an apartment in Bangalore, as a guest had to be carried out with severe bleeding in his mouth.

Infact, things had got so chaotic that neighbours in the upscale apartment were forced to seek police help to restore peace. The neighbours lost their cool after the music turned into a decibel assault and they started howling for peace.

With no order in sight, some of the residents had asked the security to take things in their hands. When the guards went up to see what was happening, to their shock, they saw a profusely bleeding youth being carried out. Pointing to a possible brawl, a portion of a wall on the terrace garden had also been damaged.

Sources said that the Elgin Apartments Resident Welfare Association has complained to the Ashok Nagar police about the incident.

SOURAV Ends with duck

I am writing this in the early-morning Sunday quiet of my Mumbai flat, an eye on the clock, my nerves tingling a bit, the sense of keyed-up anticipation that all addicts know flowing through my system as I wait for the fourth day's play in Nagpur to begin.

I am relishing the wait; the hours leading up to the first ball are an excruciatingly slow, gorgeously pleasurable wind-up. Thank heavens for Test cricket - again: play gets underway as early as 9.30am.

It's a big day in a big game in a big series. But hang on. Isn't there something else too? Yes, at some point later today, Sourav Ganguly is likely to come out to bat for the last time in his international career.

I have just returned from Kolkata, my - and Ganguly's - hometown, and the public discourse over there in clubs, bars and street corners (sorry, that may not be a fabulously representative sample, but those are the places I tend to hang out at when I go to Kolkata on my annual visit) was dominated by the former captain and his decision to quit. Was he pushed? Should he have quit? Couldn't he have played for a little while longer? Oh, Dada!

Hell, the largest-selling Bengali daily put Ganguly in as part of the headline the day Sachin Tendulkar got his 40th Test hundred. (Ganguly was 27 not out at stumps.)

You wouldn't think it talking to the man on the street and reading the Bengali papers but there is among many members of the educated elite in Kolkata a tendency to go against the grain and profess no extra love for Ganguly. The way it works is to specifically say that the masses illogically, irrationally support Ganguly. In a way, this stands to reason: Kolkata is a city of self-conscious irony; it is bashfully apologetic about itself and is suffused with a severe abhorrence of self-congratulation in certain circles.

Several of my friends resort to this sort of thing. I never have. I have always been an admirer of Ganguly's. And I insist that my admiration has nothing to do with being parochial. Nor do I think I need to go against the grain in this respect to exhibit my distinctiveness from the masses.

But I have been thinking about it this morning. And, you know, I've been asking myself if it is at all possible to entirely divorce parochialism of some form or the other from support. Isn't all support a sort of tribalism? Isn't that what it's all about? I mean, I am a big fan of Roger Federer and John McEnroe and Diego Maradona, but with cricket, a sport in which we are actually good? You tell me.

Well, Bengal's fanaticism about Ganguly is to do with parochialism. I am not sure if this is something to be bashfully apologetic about. Sport, you see, as Nick Hornby writes in The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, is part of popular culture, however much some of us try to deny it sometimes. And Bengal has been traditionally big on culture - and tremendously proud of it. If you don't have much else to show - like, say, top industrialists, or a lot of money, what else can you do? Culture is your badge of privilege, of genuine distinction.

Now we always had people who would talk about cricket; who would pride themselves on forming the most literate, intelligent cricket crowd in India (a patent lie. I think it went by a name in the popular press: congnoscenti); who would say that the Eden Gardens had the most atmosphere (a nebulous assertion because one isn't quite certain what "atmosphere" might really, objectively, mean); and who would talk about Kolkata's culture of following cricket in a, well, cultured way.

We had everything, you see. The trouble was, there was no one to follow. We didn't have the players. I mean, okay, Pankaj Roy was from Bengal, but to find people who could recall him in his pomp - well, let's just say you won't find too many of them hanging around at street corners or clubs or bars.

Ganguly fired Bengal's imagination because he was the talisman Bengal had been looking for for decades; he gave us someone to specifically root for. Every state had its players in the national team. Where were Bengal's?

Here was a state that had historically produced nearly no Test players of any stature. In Ganguly came the answer to years of prayer for a hometown boy who had made good. And how good he made. But that's not quite why I admire Ganguly. Or at least that is what I think.

All this I have figured out, keyed up, in the early-morning, Sunday quiet of my Mumbai flat, waiting for play to begin.

I think I am a huge Ganguly fan because of the way he has changed Indian cricket. I have written about this before, but it bears repeating. (Fans can't ever have too much of repetition.)

Becoming captain in November 2000, he forged on the anvil of his spectacular, stare-you-in-the-eye-and-not-blink, tough, provocative leadership a side that went from being crumbling-pitch bullies in India to the team that has beaten the (still) world champions, Australia, on more occasions than any other side in this century; the side that has won around the world; the side that has played with audacity and impunity and courage and guts and beauty.

Indian captains were supposed to be polite, stoic, decent, not overly, demonstrably ambitious, middle class in sensibility if not lineage. Ganguly changed all that.

He was the fulcrum around which the contemporary game's premier confrontation, India versus Australia, was built. Indian cricket was always about silk, about splitting cover and extra cover with neither fielder moving. It took Ganguly to put the steel in it.

Flintoff Glorious 100 against mumbai Xl

A quick-fire 85-ball unbeaten 100 by all-rounder Andrew Flintoff helped England start their India tour on a bright note as they trounced Mumbai XI by 122 runs in their first practice match at the Brabourne Stadium here today.

Batting first, England made 297 runs for the loss of four wickets in their allotted 50 overs, riding mainly on Flintoff`s 100 not out and Owais Shah`s 83.

In reply, Mumbai XI ended at 175 for 8 in 50 overs with Abhijeet Shethye top-scoring with 50.

England began on a shaky note losing the wicket of opener Matt Prior (13), bowled by Vinit Sinha, in the fifth over of the innings.

But a partnership of 78 runs by Ian Bell (58) and Owais Shah (83) for the second wicket brought up the 100-run mark for the English team.

Flintoff, whose splendid knock contained 12 fours and three towering sixes, was dropped twice while on 7 and 27.

Chasing a target of 298 runs, Mumbai XI were in a tight spot throughout the match, losing wickets at regular intervals.

Besides Shethye`s knock of 50 from 118 balls, other contributors were Paul Valthaty (25) and Shashant Singh (23).

James Anderson (3-15), Samit Patel (2-38), Flintoff (1-22) and Graeme Swann (1-37) shared the spoils for England.

“The century before the season is good,” Flintoff said after the match.

India set target 382 to Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Nagpur, Nov 09: India overcame a nightmarish second session on the penultimate day of the fourth and final Test match in Nagpur to have a steady post-tea game in which, skipper MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh cruised India past the 250 runs mark. Later India folded for 295, giving Australia a target of 382 runs to win the game and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Already enjoying a lead of 86 runs from the first innings, Virender Sehwag and debutant Murali Vijay gave India the perfect second innings opening, taking the score to 116 for no loss.

Soon after lunch, Shane Watson struck twice for Australia in quick time. First he sent impressive Vijay back to the pavilion for a well made 41 and later rubbed salt to Dravid’s wounds of poor form by inducing him into an edge behind the wickets, and sending him back for a duck.

Virender Sehwag fell in the nervous nineties for the second time in the series when he edged a bodyline delivery by Brett Lee into the hands of wicketkeeper Brad Haddin for 92. He had proved to be Australia’s nemesis as he put the Oz bowlers to the cleaners for his clinical show. The double blow by Shane Watson seemed to have nil effect on the swashbuckling batsman as he had continued his onslaught on the visitors before falling to Brett Lee.
Meanwhile, Jason Krejza continued to add wickets to his kitty after he struck twice to pick VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly back-to-back, leaving India struggling to put up a decent target for the Kangaroos.

Laxman returned back to the pavilion after he was clean bowled off an unplayable delivery by Jason Krejza that turned miles.

The Prince of Kolkata, Ganguly, too had a short life on the crease as he fell prey to the ‘K’ factor. He ended his glorious cricket career on a dismal note after he was sent back for a first ball duck by Australia’s Test debutant.

On the last ball before tea, Sachin Tendulkar and skipper MS Dhoni got mixed up in a call for a run that resulted in a massive blow to India in the form of Tendulkar’s dismissal. Sachin’s loss meant India were six down for 166 in their second innings, only 252 runs ahead. India lost 6 wickets for 50 runs before the bell for the tea break went off.

In the post tea session, the home team managed to gain some composure as Harbhajan and Dhoni build a 108 run partnership to give India a comfortable lead. The duo was quick and determined enough to pick those crucial runs by swiftly running between the wickets, and occasionally sending the cherry past the boundary rope.

The captain courageous later got caught by Michael Hussey at the silly point on a Krej-zy delivery after he celebrated his 13th Test half-century. He departed for 55 runs.

Bhajji too scored a half century, his 6th in Test cricket before being bowled out by Watson. Bhajji contributed a crucial 52 runs to India’s score.

Krejza struck again to claim his fourth victim of the innings in the form of Zaheer Khan as he got out caught by wicket-keeper Brad Haddin. Haddin struggled and juggled the ball twice to grab the cherry and dismiss Zaheer for 6 runs, which comprised of one boundary

Steyn burst destroys Bangladesh

Paceman Dale Steyn took a devastating 4-16 as South Africa won the opening one-day international against Bangladesh by 61 runs at Potchefstroom.
Jacques Kallis hit 50 in South Africa's 283-8, which was boosted by 66 runs coming from the final five overs.
Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful struck 10 fours in a superb 73 from 78 balls in reply, sharing 92 in 20 overs with Shakib Al Hasan who made 51.
But Steyn returned to oust Ashraful and Raqibul Hasan in successive deliveries.

The South African batsmen had been frustrated by a slow surface, some accurate bowling and enthusiastic fielding from the Tigers.
Kallis hit only two boundaries in making his 69th one-day fifty before he was dismissed in the 34th over, while several players struck cameos without going on to a significant score.
But their decision to delay the new batting powerplay option until the final five overs of the innings paid dividends.
Johann Louw, batting at number nine, hit the first two balls he faced for six and raced to 23 off seven balls.
Skipper Johan Botha made 23 off 15 deliveries, while Albie Morkel finished on 32 not out when he hit the last ball of the innings from Syed Rasel for six.
After Steyn struck twice in his opening four overs, Ashraful and Shakib had to rebuild the innings and it took them 90 balls to post a fifty partnership.
Then came an exhilarating acceleration, with the next 42 scored off 29 balls, before Steyn made a stunning return with the mandatory change of ball after 34 overs.
He produced an outstanding first delivery that left Ashraful at pace late on and took the edge, as well as Bangladesh's chances of a famous win.
"Dale came back nicely," acting skipper Johan Botha said, after adding a 50-over victory to the Twenty20 success his team enjoyed earlier in the week.

England Team Ready for India Battle

England captain Kevin Pietersen expects the two Tests and seven one-dayers in India to be a huge challenge.
After a 50-over series win over South Africa and a miserable loss to the Stanford Superstars, England now face a team on the verge of beating Australia.
"India are playing fantastic cricket at the moment, it's going to be a difficult series," Pietersen said.
"We drew the 2004 Test series (in India), but got smashed 5-1 in the one-dayers. We're looking to improve."
England arrived in India on Thursday ahead of the first one-day international in Rajkot on 14 November.
Pietersen, who took over as England's captain last summer during the home series against South Africa, explained how important it was to deal with the conditions in India.
"Coming to India is tough, beating India in India is tough," the 28-year-old said. "The Indian pitches are pretty flat. Reverse swing is important for picking up wickets and spin comes pretty soon into the game.
I like to give my players the confidence to know they can go out there and perform.
"We too have been playing good cricket. We're learning how to win... beating South Africa 4-0 is something we haven't done before."
With India currently playing Australia in the fourth and final Test of a series they are leading 1-0, England have to overcome their recent 10-wicket defeat to the Stanford Superstars and missing out on a $20m (£12.4m) prize fund.
Pietersen, who only scored seven in that match, added: "We went into the Stanford game not knowing what was going to happen. We dived into depths of uncertainty but learned a lot of things."
England coach Peter Moores believes his players need to quickly forget events in the Caribbean.
"That was a different sort of competition. It produced a very big game in Twenty20 cricket, but we're going to play 50-over cricket now," he said.
"We finished very strongly against South Africa in the one-dayers. We've a new captain in Pietersen bringing his style of captaincy to India.
"India have got strong players with (Mahendra) Dhoni being the key member of the team," said Moores, adding that the absence of batsman Sachin Tendulkar for the initial three one-dayers was a "bonus" for England.
The first Test between England and India takes place in Ahmedabad on 11 December.

Australia's Simon Katich slams century

Australia opener Simon Katich scored his third century since returning to the national team as the visitors clawed back India's advantage Saturday on day three of the series-deciding fourth test. Australia went to lunch at 231-3 following a subdued opening session, in reply to India's 441.
Katich, who was dropped from the test team in 2005, was brought back in May and his 102 from 189 balls added to his fine record of 652 runs at an average of 59.27 over the past seven matches.

Michael Hussey and Katich combined in an unflustered 155-run stand that moved Australia into a position to challenge for the victory it needs here to square the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Katich's fifth career century came with a four off Ishant Sharma to third man.
The pair added just 40 runs in the morning session before Katich, who was dropped at first slip by Rahul Dravid on 94, was lbw to Zaheer Khan to a ball swinging into the left-hander.
Hussey registered his half-century with an edge through the slips and by lunch was 64 not out from 177 deliveries, while Michael Clarke was unbeaten on 1.
Australia had eased to 189-2 at stumps on the second afternoon - with Katich on 92 and Hussey on 45 - but scoring was much more difficult on the third morning.
India, needing only a draw in this match to claim the series, employed defensive tactics for its pacemen, placing eight fielders on the off-side and bowling outside off stump to restrict the batsmen's options.

Virender Sehwag named vice-captain of Team India

New Delhi, November 7: Opening batsman Virender Sehwag has been named the vice-captain of the Indian team for the upcoming one-day internationals and Test series against England.

The Delhi cricketer is also the vice-captain of the team for the fourth and final Test against Australia after Mahendra Singh Dhoni was elevated to the Test captaincy following the sudden retirement of Anil Kumble.

In the one-dayers, however, Sehwag replaced Yuvraj Singh, who is struggling with his form for sometime now.

"Virender Sehwag will be the vice-captain of the Indian team for the Nagpur Test against Australia, as well as the ODI and Test series against England," BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement issued on Friday. England arrived on Thursday to play seven ODIs and two Tests in India.

Krejza's Taken 8 wickets in debutant test match against india

A purposeful, fluent and unbeaten 92 from Simon Katich kept Australia ticking at the end of a day that saw effortless batting on either side of a dramatic bowling spell. India batted smoothly through the morning, and Katich's 115-run partnership with Michael Hussey gave Australia plenty of breathing room in the late afternoon, but the collapse of five Indian wickets for 19 runs in between was scripted by the day's unlikeliest hero, Jason Krejza.

Krezja, the offspinner, had a bittersweet first Test outing with 8 for 215 - the eighth-best figures but also the most runs conceded in an innings on debut - to help Australia dismiss India for 441. Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni had batted wonderfully together in the morning, adding 119 for the sixth wicket, but fell in Krezja's second over after lunch, setting off the drama. Krejza came into this match with a few eyebrows raised over his capabilities but, in this one innings, leapfrogged Brett Lee to become Australia's second-highest wicket-taker this series.

India had cruised through the first session and the innings of the morning belonged to Ganguly, all off-side grace and on-side elegance in his last Test. He played himself in, defending well and only collected his first four when Mitchell Johnson gave him plenty of room outside off. His shots didn't lack timing, evident by a beautiful drive off the front foot and a flick off the pads, both against pace, but the bulk of his scoring came through good running. The fluid drives and whips off the pads came after he crossed his 35th fifty with a couple driven past extra cover, and there was even a vintage six, his 57th in Tests.

Dhoni's was a controlled innings, with several neat punches on the off side and some wristy steers to leg, but the highlight was how he pushed Ganguly to hustle. Always shuffling on the crease, Dhoni worked singles into the spaces easily and constantly applied pressure on tired Australian feet. There were six triples and 13 doubles in the Ganguly-Dhoni partnership, most urged by Dhoni and reciprocated rather well by Ganguly.

In the first over after lunch, consecutive boundaries off Johnson, one driven with control, one slashed wide of slip, brought Dhoni his fifty from 88 balls. Both batsmen were well set, and what followed was out of the blue.

Krejza conceded his 200th run when Ganguly tucked a single off his pads, but picked up his fourth wicket two deliveries later when Dhoni got too far across his stumps and missed a paddle. If Krejza's reaction was energetic, the roar that emanated across the caverns of a near-empty VCA Stadium to the ball after that was palpable. Ganguly pushed at one turning away and edged to a tumbling Michael Clarke at slip, thus becoming Krezja's fifth wicket.

Zaheer Khan was the sixth, dragging a boom drive back onto his stumps, and Krejza found himself on a hat-trick when he snuck one past Amit Mishra's defence. When Simon Katich snapped up a smart catch at forward short leg to get Ishant Sharma, Krezja had taken five in 26 deliveries, and returned the fourth-best effort from an Australian bowler on debut. After being mauled for 32 in his first three overs yesterday, Krejza understandably took time to settle into his stride. Without ever looking dangerous, he plugged away and achieved some genuine spite from the flat track. Though he bled runs, Krejza's was a very satisfactory display and he could also feel thrilled with an effort that included the wickets of Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Dhoni and Ganguly, with 31,038 Test runs between them.

No Retirement plan for 10dulkar

Two of his celebrated peers, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly have decided to walk into the sunset after glorious careers but Sachin Tendulkar says his body is "doing fine" and he has no plans to retire in the immediate future.

"My body is doing fine and at the moment I am not thinking of any plans to retire. Normally I prefer to think of the present, not of what I am going to do in the next four, five of six years of my life," he said.

"If I think it is time to hang up I will let everybody know. There is nothing to hide in it. I know it will make news but that I don't think it is a negative news that I have to hide from everyone," he added.

Tendulkar was non-committal when asked if he was thinking of playing in the 2011 World Cup which will be held in the sub-continent.

"I normally prefer to think of which match I am going to play next and what sort of planning I should do and which bowling attack would be used on me.

"Even if I have to play in 2011 World Cup it is 700 days to go. For now my focus is on the next four days against Australia," he told a news channel.

Tendulkar, who hit his 40th Test hundred in Nagpur, said he will miss Sourav Ganguly with whom he shared a special understanding on the filed while batting.

"I will definitely miss him. It happened many a times with Sourav that when we were on the wicket and between the overs we used to know looking at each other's face that there is a lot of stress and the situation is important or whether it is necessary to relax.

"When you go to play the next ball then it is important to have 100 per cent concentration. But when you do not need 100 per cent concentration it is important to relax. So at that time I use to try to speak to him in Bengali whether it was correct or not. So the atmosphere gets relaxed and we play our natural game," he said of his 12-year association with Ganguly.

Talking about the captains under whom he has played in the 19 years of his international career, Tendulkar said Rahul Dravid was different from a Ganguly or a Krishnamachari Srikkanth in that he was a serious sort who wants to maintain peace in the dressing room.

"Rahul is a serious sort of a player. He is focussed and he likes to maintain peace in the dressing room. So he was a different captain. There is a Srikkanth who used to crack jokes and laugh and there is Rahul who is focussed and serious.

"Srikkanth used to joke with me then (when I first played under him) and also when I became 35-year-old. When there is tension in the dressing room he would crack some jokes to try to make a relaxed atmosphere and prepare everyone for the game. He used to prepare in a different way.

"Like Srikkanth, Sourav also used to entertain teammates. He used to crack different jokes and try to ease off pressure."

300th wicket for Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh displays the ball with which he took his 300th Test wicket after the dismissal of Ricky Ponting during the second day of the Nagpur Test.

The Punjab offie, who is playing his 72nd Test, is behind just-retired Anil Kumble (619 from 132 Tests) and Kapil Dev (434 from 131 Tests).

He is only the fifth spinner to join the 300-wicket club after Muttiah Muralitharan (756), Shane Warne (708), Kumble and Lance Gibbs (309) and second Indian spinner after Kumble.

By claiming the wicket of Ponting, whom he has dismissed for the 10th time so far, Harbhajan has claimed his 200th wicket on India soil.

The feisty off-spinner, who made his Test debut against Australia in Bangalore in March 1998, has 195 ODI wickets to his kitty from 175 matches.

40th Ton For Tendulkar in Nagpur Test

NAGPUR, India, Nov 6 (Reuters) - A stunning 40th test century by Sachin Tendulkar enabled India to take early control of the final test against Australia on Thursday.

Tendulkar, the highest run scorer in test cricket, compiled 109 and put on 146 for the fourth wicket with Vangipurappu Laxman (64), playing in his 100th test, to help India close day one at 311 for five.

At the close, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (4) was at the crease with former captain Saurav Ganguly (27), who is playing in his final test.

Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson dismissed Tendulkar lbw with the second new ball after debutant off-spinner Jason Krejza took his third wicket when he pegged back the hosts by dismissing Laxman caught behind by Brad Haddin.

"Today I can also thank God," Tendulkar told a news conference referring to the three chances he had nearing his century.

"I think after Adelaide, I have played around six or seven matches. I know I am batting well, but I was not getting to the three-figure mark."

The 35-year-old Tendulkar had guided India out of trouble after Krejza took two quick wickets to put the brakes on after a blazing start by Virender Sehwag.

Sehwag hit a breezy 66 with nine fours and a six and put on 98 for the opening wicket with debutant Murali Vijay (33) after the hosts chose to bat.

India lead 1-0 in the four-match series after winning the second test at Mohali by a record 320 runs. The other tests were drawn.

South African Opener Herschelle Gibbs miss series

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Opener Herschelle Gibbs will miss South Africa's one-day international series against Bangladesh after breaking a team curfew, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said on Thursday.

Gibbs broke the curfew before Wednesday's Pro20 match against Bangladesh in Johannesburg, although he looked in fine touch during the game, hitting four fours in an over and scoring 18 off 10 balls.

"Herschelle's behaviour is unacceptable in the context of team discipline," national coach Mickey Arthur was quoted as saying in a CSA statement released on Thursday.

Gibbs will miss the three-match series at a time when he was under pressure to keep his place in the national side.

The statement said the 34-year-old would also have to undergo an alcohol rehabilitation course.

"We are not trying to punish Herschelle but rather to help him," Dr Mohammed Moosajee, the team manager, said.

"He has been under a lot of pressure lately, notably from the publicity surrounding his recent divorce. It is clear that he has developed a problem that needs to be addressed."

Gibbs has a history of ill discipline, having been banned for six months in 2001 for accepting money to under-perform in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing saga.

Later that year he was one of six South African cricketers fined for smoking marijuana on a tour of the West Indies.

Last year he was banned for three games for making racist comments to the crowd, and received a fine and three-match ban for staying at a nightclub in Cape Town until after 2am ahead of one-day match against Australia in 2000. (Reporting by Ken Borland; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Off-spine Krejza Debutant Test in India

NAGPUR, India, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Australia debutant off-spinner Jason Krejza attributed three crucial wickets on Thursday to the lessons he had learned from his Indian counterparts.

Krejza, 25, dismissed Rahul Dravid (0) and Virender Sehwag (66) and then sent back Vangipurappu Laxman (64) in the final session on the first day of the fourth and final test. He also had India's leading batsman Sachin Tendulkar dropped twice.

"There's a lot I've learned, patience is the key here and now it's starting to shine through, so I'm very pleased," Krejza told a news conference.

Krejza was picked in place of seamer Stuart Clark as a second specialist spinner alongside Cameron White to exploit the spin-friendly conditions. Australia are trying to avoid their first series defeat since the 2005 Ashes tour of England.

At first it was a baptism of fire as Sehwag hit Krejza for a four and a six off consecutive balls in his opening over.

"I was expecting for them to come after me early. I kept my head on my shoulders and had a bit of a chat with Ricky (Ponting) and Matty Hayden and got my nerves down and bowled quite well," he said.

Krejza, whose father is a footballer from Czechoslovakia and whose mother comes from Poland, was expensive in the only tour match he played in Hyderabad that spoiled his chances of earning an early debut.

"It was good to have the time to fine-tune what I was doing. I saw a lot of footage of what I did there and of the Indian spinners, and that helped," said Krejza who also had a chat with former India spinner Bishan Bedi before the third test.

"He was a bit unlucky," Tendulkar said. "He had a first wonderful day. As I said there is a lot more cricket to play, so we have to wait and see but he has had a good day." (Editing by John Mehaffey)

England team ready to conquer India

London: The humiliating 10-wicket loss in the Stanford Twenty20 match has made England learn a few lessons and team coach Peter Moores believes that his wards would be far more disciplined and stronger when they take on India in the upcoming ODI series that begins later this month.

''We are going to India and have we learned a lesson? I think in many ways we have, in that you can never lose focus on the game. We played against a very hungry and disciplined side and we lost.

Looking back on it now, we will be stronger and wiser for it,'' Moores was quoted as saying by 'The Daily Telegraph'.

In this weekend's winner-takes-all Twenty20 Super Series England were handed a humiliating defeat by Stanford All-Stars to take the 20-million dollar prize money.

England will now fly out to India for a seven-match ODI series that begins on November 14 and if the last encounter between the two sides is to have any effect, the visitors' morale might go down.

India defeated England 5-1 in the last ODI series that the two teams played against each other.

However, Moores was confident that the Kevin Pietersen-led England team is competent enough to post a win on the Indian soil.

''We will go to India very hungry. This (the Stanford experience) is not going to be a problem for us to get over. Everyone is excited about going to India and taking them on because when we look at our team we think we can compete with them,'' he asserted.

The England coach said some of the players who have the experience of playing in India will play an important role this time in India.

''Once we go away from here and go to India the whole focus will change. We have a lot of lads who were on the tour there two years ago and lost quite badly.

''We want to go back and prove we have improved as a team and go and compete with them in difficult conditions,'' he added.

New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram pulled out out of Australia tour

Wellington: New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram pulled out of the upcoming two-Test tour of Australia on Tuesday as he continues to be hampered by a nagging back injury. The injury-prone Oram returned home after the first Test of the recent Bangladesh series complaining off stiffness and pain. An MRI scan cleared him of serious injury but he is not expected to be fully fit until next month's West Indies tour of New Zealand, Cricket New Zealand said in a statement Oram told Radio Sport he could have pushed to make the Australian tour but it was not worth the risk. "We could have tested it, trialled it, maybe even gone and had a fitness test to see if I could have made it," he said. "But the worrying thing was that it isn't 100 percent at the moment, and if we made it even worse then it meant the West Indies series was probably in jeopardy." Oram, who was sidelined for most of 2005 with a back problem, also admitted he had considered giving up bowling and concentrating on his batting, particularly with an eye on the 2011 World Cup. "If I want longevity in the game, I don't think I can go along doing what I'm doing now and hope to play for another four or five or six years. "I just can't see that happening." The 30-year-old Oram has a Test batting average of 37.04 and has taken 60 wickets at 31.18. In one-day internationals his batting average is 25.50 and he has taken 128 wickets at 30.14.

Harbhajan fit for last Test against Australia

NAGPUR: Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who missed the drawn third Test against Australia because of a toe injury, on Tuesday declared himself "fully fit" to play the crucial fourth and final match from Thursday.

"I am fully fit," said Harbhajan after the team's practice session at the old VCA stadium.

Harbhajan said the entire team was looking forward to winning the series 2-0 by clinching the Test and would not let the retirement of Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly to distract their focus.

"Our focus will be there to win the series 2-0 by winning the Test. We are all looking forward to playing at the new stadium. We intend to go and practice there on Wednesday," he said after both the teams practiced at the old venue as the VCA officials wanted their own focus to remain undivided and for security reasons.

About the break-up of his excellent combination with veteran leg-spinner Kumble following the latter's retirement after the third Test at Delhi, the combative bowler said he would definitely miss bowling alongside his long-time comrade-at-arms who has grabbed over 600 Test wickets.

"I have always enjoyed bowling with Anil bhai who is a great bowler. I will miss him definitely. But I'm sure whoever replaces him would be good enough and will perform well in course of time," he said.

About the game which is coming up, Harbhajan said it was a very important game and the entire team was eager to play good cricket and win it.

"It's a very important game for us. We all want to play top class cricket and win it and with it the series 2-0. We are not worried about the new wicket and stadium," Harbhajan said.

The Test is to be played at the newly built stadium in Jamtha. Harbhajan said he did want to complete 300 wickets at Mohali, his home ground, but would be happy to complete the feat at Nagpur.

"I would have loved to complete 300 wickets in Mohali which did not happen. But I would be happy to get it here."

The offie said speedster Zaheer Khan and Ganguly missed Tuesday's practice to rest in the team hotel. "They wanted to take rest. They are fatigued," he said.

The Jalandhar player said Kumble and Ganguly would be missed by the team after the series and the duo would be difficult to replace but added young players who replace them would get the chance to prove their worth.

"Obviously, two great players are retiring. I have enjoyed playing with both Anil bhai and Sourav (who is to call it quits at the end of the November 6-10 Test here). I have played a lot of cricket and learnt a lot from them. They are great players and it will be difficult to get them replaced adequately," he said.

"At the same time, it gives young players the opportunity to prove themselves," he said

Asked about whether the team members have planned farewell to Kumble, who is also here, and Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh first said the Cricket Board was taking care of it.

On being pressed further he said, "Yes, we will give them a fitting farewell, but I want it to be kept very private."

Gambhir appeals upheld

On Tuesday, the ICC-appointed Appeals Commissioner, Justice Albie Sachs, upheld the ban on the batsman, triggering an instant reaction from BCCI which protested against the undue haste and unfair manner in which the decision was taken.

Justice Sachs' ruling — which means Gambhir may have to sit out the Nagpur Test beginning on Thursday — was arrived at without giving the batsman a hearing.

Gambhir had earlier pleaded guilty to the level 2 charge of not conducting himself "in the spirit of the game" during the Delhi Test match and ICC rules permit the appeals commissioner to decide the matter without conducting hearings.

But the swiftness with which the decision was taken has miffed BCCI. After shooting off a letter to ICC protesting the decision, the Indian board said in a statement, "The order has been passed without affording the player an opportunity of personal hearing, legal representation and without acceding to his request for certain documents or recordings to be given to him and also denying him any extension of time."

The ball is now in ICC's court. If it doesn't reply to BCCI's letter of objection within 48 hours, the Indian board, under the ICC rules, can go ahead and name Gambhir for the Nagpur Test.

If the ICC takes cognisance of the letter then it would mean another bout of legal proceedings making Gambhir's presence in the Nagpur Test a certainty.

That the BCCI is headed by a legal eagle, Shashank Manohar,was evident in the manner it went about naming Gambhir's replacement - the prolific Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay - for the fourth Test. "We have decided to keep him so that tomorrow the ICC should not tell us we didn't do our part of the job. But we have refused to accept the decision on Gambhir. By Wednesday, we should have a clear picture," BCCI secretary N Srinivasan told TOI.

Gambhir's run-in with Australian all-rounder Shane Watson on the opening day of the Kotla Test last Wednesday had resulted in a one-Test suspended sentence.

The sentence was announced by the match referee Chris Broad on Friday, the third day of the Test. BCCI swung into action immediately and went in for an appeal the same day.

It gave an allowance of seven days for ICC to take further action. BCCI, which though it had managed to ensure Gambhir's presence in the crucial match of the Test series against Australia, were stumped when ICC hastened the proceedings. With 463 runs in three Tests, the Delhi opener is the highest scorer in the series so far.

Sachin, Sehwag set to return to ODI squad

Nagpur, November 4: Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who missed the last ODI series in Sri Lanka, are set to return to the Indian limited overs squad when the national selectors meet in Nagpur on Wednesday to name the team for the seven-match series against England commencing on November 14 at Rajkot.

The selectors are expected to name almost the same team led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has now become the regular Test skipper too following the retirement of Anil Kumble, that won the away series against Sri Lanka 3-2 in August-end.

Yuvraj Singh, young guns Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma, who featured in the domestic Challenger Series and are playing in the ongoing Ranji Trophy championship for their respective state teams, would be eager to get back into international action.

ODI specialists with all-round skills, Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan, are also set to make the squad along with Delhi youngster Virat Kohli who made his international debut in Sri Lanka.

Subramaniam Badrinath, part of the Test squad against Australia without being able to make the playing eleven in the first three matches of the rubber, is also expected to be named in the team.

Zaheer Khan, who is spearheading the bowling admirably against Australia, would be leading the pace attack with Munaf Patel and Rudra Pratap Singh, unless the selectors decide to rest him after his long stint against Australia.

Harbhajan Singh would be leading the spin attack while it remains to be seen who would be his support at the other end with contenders being left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and leg spinners Amit Mishra, who has impressed in the Test series against Australia, and Piyush Chawla.

Muralitharan's actionAdam Gilchrist has said he believes Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan offspinner, has a suspect action, but blamed the ICC for

Adam Gilchrist has said he believes Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan offspinner, has a suspect action, but blamed the ICC for allowing him bowl in international cricket.

Gilchrist wrote in his autobiography that there was no doubt in his mind that as per the laws of the game, Murali and many others have been guilty of chucking.

"I don't think he's personally to blame: he bowled the way he bowled, and it was not up to him to do any more than he was asked," Gilchrist wrote in his newly published book True Colours. He said though the argument that Murali's suspect action was an optical illusion was legally correct, it was a "direct attack to the spirit of the game".

"As much as I like Murali, my sympathies lay more with those batsmen, from every other nation, whose careers suffered because of a bowler who was in technical breach of the rules and seemed to enjoy a kind of political protection."

Murali was first no-balled for his action during his first tour of Australia in 1995-96 and though he was cleared after a biomechanical analysis, the controversy didn't die out. He was called again on the 1998-99 tour to Australia and sent for further tests in Perth and England only to be cleared again.

In 2004 the ICC stopped Murali from bowling the doosra, because his arm bent by an average of 10 degrees when bowling the delivery, which was double the permitted level for spinners. But next year, the ICC tweaked the the bowling laws to allow all bowlers "to straighten their bowling arm up to 15 degrees, which was established as the point at which any straightening will become visible to the naked eye".

Gilchrist called the rule change "horse crap" and said the situation had reached an absurd point where the laws were changed to accommodate Murali. "When I heard that the rules would now allow degree of straightening - 15 degrees to be exact, a fraction more than Murali's straightening had been measured at - I thought 'That's a load of horse crap. That's rubbish."

Gilchrist said Murali's doosra seemed to pass scrutiny without rigorous examination. "Often Australian players, having seen him bowl yet another suspect doosra past the outside edge, would look at each other in changing room and say: 'Wasn't that one meant to have been sorted out?'"

County - Joyce to leave Middlesex

Middlesex batsman Ed Joyce is set to leave the county at the end of the year.

The 30-year-old is reportedly set to sign for Sussex and told Middlesex of his intention to depart during the trip to Antigua for the Stanford Super Series.

Irish-born Joyce has played in 17 one-day matches and two Twenty20 internationals for England, but he has been out of favour since the 2007 World Cup.

He will remain a Middlesex player until the end of their Twenty20 Champions League campaign in December. Joyce helped Middlesex win the Twenty20 Cup in July.

"Ed has been nothing but professional and thorough and has communicated with me through the process," said Middlesex chief executive Vinny Codrington.

"We agreed with Ed back in September that he would be available for both Antigua and the Champions League, whatever his decision, as he was an integral part of our successful 2008 Twenty20 campaign.

"He leaves with our best wishes and hopefully can help bring home the Champions League title as a leaving present. We would like to wish Ed all the best in the future."

Ponting looks to batsmen for final Test

ustralia will hope to draw inspiration from their brave batting performance in the last Test when they bid to square the four-match series against India.

India lead 1-0 going into the final Test on Thursday after winning the second in Mohali by 320 runs but have been unsettled by the abrupt retirement of captain Anil Kumble. They are also waiting on an appeal against a ban on in-form batsman Gautam Gambhir.

Australia's top-four batsmen scored fifties and Michael Clarke (pictured) hit a century in a total of 577 in reply to India's 613 for seven declared before the bowlers gave India a fright by reducing them to 93 for four in the last Test which was drawn.

It was a remarkable recovery by Australia whose shortcomings against reverse swing had been exploited during the second Test by Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said that the touring side might consider changes in the bowling attack after they took only 12 wickets in Delhi.

Australia, 2-1 winners over India at home this year, sealed their first series victory in India for 35 years in Nagpur in 2004 by winning the third Test by 342 runs.

But the world's top-ranked team are rebuilding after a number of high-profile retirements and are struggling particularly in the bowling department.

India, meanwhile, will look to wrap up the series as a fitting farewell to the country's most successful Test captain Saurav Ganguly who is playing in his last Test. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead the side.

It will also be VVS Laxman's 100th Test and the stylish middle-order batsman is in form after scoring 200 not out and 59 not out in Delhi.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, one short of 300 Test wickets, is expected to play after missing the last Test with a toe injury.

However, Gambhir's availability is uncertain after he was charged for elbowing Australian all-rounder Shane Watson during the third Test.

The Indian Board has lodged an appeal which will be heard by senior South African judge Albie Sachs by Friday, pending which he can continue to play.

Jonathan Agnew column

One thing this unusual Stanford Super Series week was always going to guarantee was that it would all end in tears for someone.

There were broken dreams and, in England's case, a public humiliation.

We will never know if such an aberration was caused by the pressure of the money, or simply that England's batsmen collectively had a bad night.

Either way, it proves that money alone can't guarantee quality sport.

Kevin Pietersen was candid in admitting that his players' focus was not on the cricket.

This was a surprising statement in that if playing for your country for a million dollars a man does not motivate you, then what on earth will?

But this will just be one element that will form part of the review the England and Wales Cricket Board will now conduct into its association with Sir Allen Stanford.

There will be pressure from the players and the media for the team to be branded differently, and certainly not as England.

Stanford won't like it, but that was a crucial difference between the two teams.

The Stanford Superstars were flying under a separate banner and were clearly a team brought together specifically for this event.

England were always uncomfortable about the image of the national team for this private, unofficial event and even spent 40 minutes discussing how they would celebrate publicly had they won the match.

There will also be pressure from the players to remove the winner-takes-all element.

Again, Stanford will oppose this vehemently because he needs to sell the England connection, and the winner-takes-all is the only thing that gives this unofficial game any special interest value.

Those decisions will certainly be an early test of the relationship between the ECB and Stanford, and an early indication of who wears the trousers.

The evening itself was fabulous, and only increased my anger at the truly appalling effort the ICC made of staging the World Cup here.

The Stanford Superstars celebrate their $20m win

Although the game itself was desperate, the atmosphere was truly Caribbean.

Let's hope that the Twenty20 World Championships which are held here in a couple of years' time will be allowed to reflect it, too.

So lots to ponder - but possibly the party with the most to learn is the West Indies Cricket Board.

I have never seen a West Indian team as fit, focused, motivated or well prepared as the Stanford team.

That is due to the investment made by the Stanford set up which allowed the team to train professionally for the past six weeks.

Now the players return to the board's care, and let's hope - for the sake of the Test series against England early next year - that the West Indies Cricket Board has now seen what its players can achieve, given the opportunity.

Spurious Stats: Two double-tons

Our fascinating weekly stats feature takes a look at those teams who have seen two players make double-hundreds in the same Test innings.

Had two Indians ever scored double-centuries in the same Test innings before, as happened at Delhi?

No, the performance by Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman in the third Test in Delhi was a first for India - and a first against Australia - although it was the 14th time overall that one Test innings had contained two individual scores of 200 or more.

The most recent instance before this one came earlier this year, when South Africa's Neil McKenzie made 226 and Graeme Smith 232 during their world-record opening stand of 415 against Bangladesh in Chittagong.

Sachin Tendulkar made his 20th score of 50 or more in Tests against Australia at Delhi. Is this the record for fifties against a particular country?

Rather surprisingly, it's not even terribly close: almost inevitably, Don Bradman of Australia tops the list - he made 31 scores of 50 or more (19 of them hundreds) against England.

Allan Border passed 50 against England 29 times, while Steve Waugh managed 24.

England's Jack Hobbs had 27 scores of 50 or more against Australia, while his long-time opening partner Herbert Sutcliffe made 24.

Sachin Tendulkar's 68 in Delhi, incidentally, put him level with Border at the top of the Test list with 90 scores of 50 or more overall.

Is it true that Michael Vaughan is related to the famous Lancashire Tyldesley family?

I'd forgotten this, if I ever knew it, but yes it is true: Michael Vaughan is related to the Tyldesleys.

His great-grandmother on his mother Dee's side was the sister of Johnny and Ernest Tyldesley, who played 31 and 14 Tests respectively between 1899 and 1929.

I noticed that Salim Durani, the Indian Test cricketer, was born in Afghanistan. Is he the only Test player so far to have been born there?

The Indian allrounder Salim Durani, who won 29 Test caps, was indeed born in Afghanistan - in Kabul - in 1934, and he is the only Test cricketer so far to emerge from that country.

The Durrani are apparently one of the largest tribes in Afghanistan, making up around a sixth of the population there.

Who had the most consecutive not-out innings in Tests?

Two players had a run of eight consecutive asterisks in Tests, and both of them were considered pretty hopeless batsmen, which just goes to show...

The first was the West Indian spinner Alf Valentine, between 1957 and 1960-61 (he made 25 runs in five Tests in that time).

His record was equalled by the New Zealand medium-pacer Ewen Chatfield, between 1983-84 and 1984-85.

"Chats" made 38 runs in six Tests, and this run included a match-winning 21 not out (which remained his highest Test score) against Pakistan in Dunedin.

Chatfield also had a run of seven successive not-out innings in the year from February 1987.

Four other players, all of them confirmed number 11s, have had a run of seven not-outs in a row: Cuan McCarthy of South Africa, Bill Johnston of Australia, Corey Collymore of West Indies, and Ishant Sharma of India, earlier this year.

When was the last time Australia lost three Test matches in a row?

It was, as you probably guessed, quite a long time ago: in 1988-89 West Indies won three successive Tests in Australia, in Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne.

Australia's record losing streak was in 1984, when they lost six matches in a row to West Indies, home and away.

Cricinfo / Eurosport