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Andrew Flintoff is heading to India with Lancashire’s academy in late-February, as he steps up his rehabilitation from ankle surgery, and hopes to join his county colleagues in a tournament in the UAE in March if he manages to prove his fitness.Flintoff hasn’t played for England since the World Twenty20 in South Africa last September, having undergone his fourth ankle operation over the winter. He was originally earmarked for the England Lions tour to India, which gets underway on Thursday, but an ECB spokesman said his absence from that trip was not a cause for concern.”It was never definitely decided that Andrew was going to join up with the Lions squad, it was only ever a possibility,” the spokesman told BBC Sport. “The medical team have decided that it would be in his best interests to continue his progress, which is going very well, with Lancashire.”Lancashire’s cricket manager, Mike Watkinson, reiterated the ECB’s faith in Flintoff’s progress. “Lancashire’s pre-season training camp is in Dubai in mid-March, and if everything continues as planned Freddie will be part of that,” he told BBC Sport.The 14-man Lions squad has undergone several changes since it was originally picked last month. Essex’s wicketkeeper James Foster, Gloucestershire’s fast bowler Steve Kirby and the Nottinghamshire seamer Charlie Shreck were called up on Tuesday because of injuries to the Worcestershire pairing of Steven Davies and Kabir Ali. The squad also includes Monty Panesar, who will link up with the senior squad at the end of February for the Tests in New Zealand.

Baroda left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh took his maiden List A five-for as Tripura collapsed for a mere 58 in Delhi. Baroda lost four wickets in their chase – including three in the first three overs – but took only 37 deliveries to complete a six-wicket win.Tripura’s innings lasted only 22.2 overs as Swapnil, Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan cut through the line-up. Manisankar Murasingh, the Tripura captain, was the only player to score in double-figures, reaching 10 before he was trapped lbw by Swapnil. The left-arm spinner ended with returns of 5 for 25, complemented by Irfan’s 2 for 8 off four overs, and Yusuf’s 3 for 24.Tripura left-arm spinner Chiranjit Paul took 3 for 27 in Baroda’s chase.In another low-scoring Group C game, Vidarbha bundled Andhra out for 87 and then achieved the target in the 20th over with ten wickets to spare.Put in to bat, Andhra had a poor start, and were struggling at 31 for 4 by the ninth over. The Vidarbha quicks, Umesh Yadav and Shrikanth Wagh, inflicted the early damage and, after a brief 39-run partnership between Andhra captain Prasanth Kumar and TK Ganesh Kumar, left-arm spinner Akshay Karnewar helped wrap up the innings. Prasanth’s dismissal in the 21st over saw Andhra lose their last six wickets for only 17 runs, with the innings closing in the 26th over. Karnewar, playing only his fifth List A match, finished with 4 for 13, while Umesh took 3 for 16 in 5.3 overs.Vidarbha’s openers, Jitesh Sharma and Faiz struck unbeaten knocks of 47 and 44 respectively to seal the win.Manan Sharma and Pawan Negi picked up three scalps apiece, before Dhruv Shorey and Milind Kumar stroked fifties to lead Delhi to a five-wicket victory against Maharashtra at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Maharashtra, after being inserted, were dealt blows at regular intervals by Manan (3 for 21) and Negi (3 for 38), and soon found themselves floundering at 99 for 6. Handy knocks from Swapnil Gugale (44) and the captain Kedar Jadhav (48) lifted the team, but with no other batsman able to score more than 18, Maharashtra were restricted to just 194 for 9.Delhi’s chase was marshaled by a 59-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Milind and Shorey. Though Shorey was run out for 57, Milind remained unbeaten on 58, with five fours and a six, to complete the win with 10 balls to spare.

Exactly four weeks after Faf du Plessis predicted South Africa would be presented with “the worst”, that is where they find themselves. With the series lost and the certainty they used to have over their best XI shattered, South Africa face the final Test with a different focus than winning: to reignite the confidence of their younger crop, who have come under criticism for the way they have handled conditions.”I’m a senior player and I’m finding it tough because the conditions dictate the way you play and your performances. It’s important for us to try and keep the younger players positive, and we’ve done that,” du Plessis said.Like his captain, Hashim Amla, du Plessis called the Indian surfaces the most difficult he has faced and cautioned against using them as a benchmark to assess performances. “These have been the toughest conditions that I have played under, it’s also been a challenge for the young guys coming in,” he said “It’s a hard task for them because they get judged by playing Test cricket in these conditions where you have found that even our experienced players have found it tough. We have to keep motivating them and to keep the spirits high.”He had particular praise for wicket-keeper Dane Vilas, who was on his first tour as the frontline gloveman after he travelled to Bangladesh as a reserve, and is already facing the chop after unconvincing performances in front and behind the stumps. “I thought that Dane kept really well on a wicket with spin and bounce and with the ball sometimes keeping low,” du Plessis said. “What we have to try and do is to focus on the positives. Coming and facing this in your first Test series abroad is a challenge.”Like Vilas, Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl, and even du Plessis himself have never played Tests in India before. Although du Plessis has been in the national team for longer than the other three, he is looking at this outing as an education. “The good thing about it is you can learn from this and improve your game. Even I have learnt a lot about my game in the last few matches,” he said, adding some advice for the rest. “I’ve concentrated on my defence against spin in the first 20 balls I face.”But soon after that, du Plessis suggests getting a move on, before either the surface or one of the India spinners gets the better of the batsman. “In South Africa, Australia and New Zealand you can take your time, even if you aren’t getting bad balls but the surface here doesn’t allow that to happen. This is a huge learning curve for us and also something we can take forward.”The extent to which du Plessis applied what had he learnt was evident in the second innings in Nagpur when, along with Amla, he ground out the highest partnership of the match and threatened to stage a rearguard action that could have put India under pressure. None of South Africa’s other batsmen have shown that sort of application yet. If they are able to in Delhi, South Africa may feel that they have conquered some of the worst, even though they have been far from their best.

Northerns went to the top of the Logan Cup table with a convincing innings-and-83-run victory over Westerns at Harare Sports Club to follow their defeat of defending champions Easterns in the first round. Hundreds from Elton Chigumbura and Alois Tichana steered Northerns to 417 for 6 and then Westerns were bowled out twice in five sessions. Ray Price did much of the damage, taking 4 for 24 and 3 for 32, and only Thabo Mboyi with 67 in the first innings and Tafadzwa Ngulube with 51 in the second passed fifty for Westerns.Defending champions Easterns bounced back from their first-round loss to beat Southerns by an innings and seven runs in Mutare. Southerns were bowled out for 271 on the opening day, and Easterns took a first-innings lead of 116, thanks to a double hundred from Stuart Matsikenyeri, after seeming set to be bowled out cheaply. Matsikenyeri added 97 for the seventh wicket with Steven Nyamuzinga and exactly 100 for the tenth with Shingi Masakadza. Tafadzwa Kamungozi finished with career-best figures of 7 for 104 from 33 overs. In their second innings, Southerns limped to 109, with Prosper Utseya picking up 4 for 25.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s captain in the shorter versions of the game, hopes the authorities will check the sequence of events rather than go by what television footage in the Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth controversy.Comparing the row to the one between footballers Zinedine Zidane and Marco Matterazi at the last World Cup final, Dhoni felt that the act of provocation needed to be checked too.Harbhajan was temporarily suspended from the Mumbai Indians side for allegedly hitting Sreesanth after the match between Mumbai and Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Friday. His hearing, today, is based on additional footage of the incident from one of the host broadcaster’s 21 cameras at the match. In the World Cup final, Zidane was sent off the field for head-butting Matterazi after the latter allegedly provoked him with personal remarks.”What Zidane did was wrong, but Materazzi also was not completely in the right,” Dhoni wrote in his column for the . “Harbhajan is a very aggressive cricketer who plays hard and is there for his team-mates whenever they need him. Even Sreesanth has seen this supportive side of Harbhajan in the Indian dressing room. Sreesanth is also a very aggressive cricketer who likes to express his highs and lows very passionately on the cricket field. Off the field, you will not meet a more soft-spoken guy than Sree.”Dhoni was happy to know the two players had sorted things out between themselves and said the incident was unlikely to have any effect on the Indian dressing room.”The incident … was unfortunate because I know both of them, and they are not bad guys at all. Everybody is passing judgment based on what is reported in the newspapers, and I am too far from the scene to actually comment on it.”

Victoria will push for a home Pura Cup final without their regular wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who has been dropped at the business end of the season. Adam Crosthwaite returns to the four-day team for the first time this season for their match against Queensland at the MCG starting on Friday.The Bushrangers have already secured their place in the decider but they must take at least first-innings points to have any chance of avoiding a trip to Sydney for the final. New South Wales and Victoria are equal on points but the Blues have the edge as they are ahead on quotient.The MCG has this season provided slow and low drop-in pitches that have been difficult to score on and Victoria’s captain Cameron White said it would be an advantage to play for the title in familiar conditions. “In four-day games we’ve got results here,” White said. “We’ve won both ways, batting first and batting last.”It’s home conditions for us so it’s a bit of an advantage. [But] we’ve got a pretty good record up in Sydney so we’re not too fussed about where we play. Obviously we’d like it here because that gives a bit of advantage given you don’t have to win the game to win the Pura Cup.”Victoria have almost a full-strength line-up to choose from, with only Gerard Denton (ankle) and Peter Siddle (shoulder) unavailable. Dirk Nannes returns to a 13-man squad after recovering from a foot injury, Darren Pattinson is back from an ankle problem and the injury-prone Shane Harwood is being rested ahead of the final.The big surprise was their decision to axe Wade, who has played all nine Pura Cup games this summer after switching from Tasmania during the off-season. He is the competition’s leading wicketkeeper in 2007-08 with 38 dismissals and he has averaged 27.91 with the bat.Although Wade, 20, has struggled for big runs lately he has still out-performed his replacement Crosthwaite, who is the state’s preferred limited-overs gloveman, in Melbourne’s club competition. Wade’s grade season has brought 587 runs at 48.91 compared to Crosthwaite’s 316 runs at 45.14.Queensland announced their squad on Monday but have made three changes due to health concerns with several players. Martin Love has been forced out due to a sudden attack of Bell’s palsy, which causes paralysis in the facial muscles, Chris Swan has a groin injury, and Greg Moller is still recovering from concussion following a blow to the head while fielding in close in the Bulls’ previous match.Nathan Reardon and Ben Laughlin will make their first-class debuts, while the opener Nick Kruger has also been added to the squad along with Clinton Perren. Laughlin, a right-arm seam bowler, is the son of the former Australia Test allrounder Trevor Laughlin and will put his day-job as a carpenter on hold to play in the Pura Cup match.Reardon, a regular member of the Queensland Twenty20 and FR Cup sides, is coming off excellent club form with scores of 160 and 135 not out from his past two games. The Bulls will be led by Chris Simpson, who has been temporarily handed the captaincy following the retirement of Jimmy Maher.Victoria squad Nick Jewell, Lloyd Mash, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Rob Quiney, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Clint McKay, Bryce McGain, Darren Pattinson, Allan Wise, Dirk Nannes.Queensland squad Ryan Broad, Nick Kruger, Nathan Reardon, Clinton Perren, Shane Watson, Chris Simpson (capt), Aaron Nye, Ashley Noffke, Chris Hartley (wk), Daniel Doran, Ben Laughlin, Scott Brant.

Australia’s Brett Lee has emerged from Shoaib Akhtar’s shadow as the undisputed fastest bowler in the world and the fastest recorded bowler in modern times.On the first day of the second test in South Africa, Lee was recorded bowling at 157.4 kph (97.8 mph) and 157.3 kph. Previous to this Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan held the mantle as the `World’s Fastest Bowler’ due to his 157.2 kph, recorded on the 9th of June 2001 against Australia.The two express pacemen have provided an interesting tussle for the `World’s Fastest’ tag since Lee’s emergence in December of 1999. In that series, the two went head to head with Lee bowling at 154.8 kph on the 23rd of January 2000 and recording the fastest ball of the summer compared to Shoaib’s 154.7 kph timed during the second final at the MCG.On the 29th of March 2000, Shoaib bowled the then fastest ball of modern times, recording 156 kph in Sharjah against South Africa. Just two weeks later on the 14th of April 2000 in South Africa, Lee wrested the title from Shoaib by default when he stopped the gun at the same speed of 156 kph, not once but twice.These speeds were to stand until the 9th of June 2001 when Shoaib bowled a 157.2 kph (97.7 mph) howitzer to Adam Gilchrist in England to become the `World’s Fastest’ and subsequently broke down. Coincidently, this was Brett Lee’s return match from a major elbow operation. He bowled sub 140 kph but has been getting faster ever since.Lee’s quickest ball of the Ashes series was 152.4 kph followed by 154.5 kph in the third Test verses New Zealand and his sharpest ball of the recent Australian summer was 154.6 kph.Brett Lee’s new mark of 157.4 kph stamps him as the new `Fastest Bowler In The World`. It is the fastest ball of modern times, just 3 kph less than Jeff Thomson’s world record. Not since December 1975 has anybody recorded bowling so fast in match conditions. On that one day in Perth, Jeff Thomson had recorded release speeds on 200/400 frames per second photosonic cameras of 159.49 kph and 160.45 kph (99.7 mph).The blonde Sydneysider has also emerged as the front runner in the race to break cricket’s version of the four-minute mile, the 100 mph (160.9 kph) mark.Over the past four months three new 150 kph+ contenders have emerged to join Lee and Shoaib. Nantie Hayward of South Africa has recorded 154.4 kph, Makaya Ntini of South Africa notched up 151.4 kph and New Zealand’s Shane Bond was timed at 151.2 kph.Peter Robinson adds:-Brett Lee may have been clocked at 157.4 kph at Newlands on Friday, butAustralian wicketkeeper and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist wasn’t all thatconvinced that he had just taken the fastest delivery recorded since theintroduction of speed-measuring devices.”I didn’t think it was all that quick, I’ve got to be honest” said Gilchristat Newlands on Friday evening. “Those radars …I hope I’m not stealinganyone’s thunder by making this public, but sometimes take the ball and youthink, Gee, that was really quick and you look around and it’s 145. Andother times you look up and there’s a high figure up there and you don’tthink it was that quick.”So with all due respect to the sponsors of the speedg un, I’m not 100percent sure how accurate it is.”

Scorecard
The left-arm spin duo of Suhrawadi Shuvo and Mehrab Hossain jnr captured seven wickets between them to lead the Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy to an innings and 68-run win over the South Africa Cricket Academy in their four-day match at the Shamshul Huda Stadium in Jessore.The South Africans were left to bat out a little less than two sessions on the final day after Bangladeshis declared their first-innings on 507, but they folded up an hour after tea. Nazmul Hossain trapped Sammy-Joe Avontuur, after which Shuvo claimed three wickets in succession as the South Africans fell to 39 for 5. Wicketkeeper Bradley Barnes scored a 59-ball 54 and added 61 runs for the sixth wicket with Richard das Neves (21) but once das Neves was bowled by Mehrab, the Bangladeshis quickly wrapped things up.Earlier, Naeem Islam, who began the final day on 96, extended his innings to 136 while Mushfiqur Rahim struck an unbeaten 53 off 63 balls to take Bangladesh past 500. Dolar Mahmud, batting at No. 9, ensured some late-order fireworks by blasting three sixes in his 26.Bangladesh were in total command on the third day, as they rode on Imrul Kayash’s 151, which featured 25 fours and a six, to amass 319 runs for the loss of four wickets in 92 overs.Prior to that, the South Africans put up 311 in their first innings after the entire first day’s play was washed out. Reeza Hendricks did the bulk of the scoring with 131 off 188 balls and was partnered by Shadley van Schalkwyk (54) in an 84-run fifth-wicket stand. Nazmul, the right-arm seamer, stood out with figures of 4 for 63.

Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa, has emphasised the board needs to be reasonable while trying to adhere to its transformation policy.”Our transformation policy has not changed. It’s about targets, we aspire to reach certain targets,” Majola told . “But we also believe we need to be reasonable and look at what we have.”We understand that there are specialist positions in cricket and if we need four or five black players and they are mostly bowlers, then we will have issues of balance within the team,” he said. “That is why it is a target.”The selection of South Africa’s national sides have been in the headlines of late, with the latest episode seeing Charl Langeveldt opt out of the tour to India, as he was upset by the controversy surrounding his selection ahead of Andre Nel, a decision many felt was taken by the selectors to fulfil the requirements of the transformation policy, which stipulates that a 15-man touring squad must have at least seven players of colour.Prior to that, the selection of South Africa’s national team for the recent tour of Bangladesh caused a public spat between coach Mickey Arthur and CSA president Norman Arendse, who was unhappy the 14-man squad didn’t have enough players of colour. However, it’s believed the team originally selected was finally sent for the tour.Majola said that all selection matters, including the one-off decision of Monde Zondeki replacing Langeveldt, had to go through the CSA president. “The process is that the selectors sit down and choose a team and then take it to the president. Even if they are choosing just one player, they must always go back to the president.”He has a right of veto, in terms of ensuring that CSA’s policies are met.”Majola, though, admitted the recent incidents had overshadowed the performance of the team. “I think all this drama is a concern to all cricket lovers, cricket is making headlines for reasons other than the magnificent performance of the team.”It must be very frustrating for the players when things like 400 partnerships are overshadowed by players withdrawing from teams because of other issues. That’s not where we want to be.”

ScorecardNaman Ojha struck ten fours during his knock•PTI

Madhya Pradesh’s batsmen harvested the benefits of a patient approach in the morning and some inconsistent bowling to close out the day as the happier team after Bengal had invited them to bat. Half-centuries from Aditya Shrivastava, Naman Ojha and Harpreet Singh were responsible for Madhya Pradesh setting up a sturdy base for a big score.Madhya Pradesh nearly gave it away in the second session when Naman and Shrivastava fell in quick succession after a 102-run stand for the third wicket. But Harpreet and captain Devendra Bundela (42*), despite their slightly unconvincing beginning, were alert to scoring opportunities after the pitch dried out and became quicker and put on an unbroken stand of 92 runs.Manoj Tiwary had suggested on Tuesday that batting first was a no-brainer on the Brabourne pitch. Whether intended or otherwise it turned out to be a red herring as he eventually opted to bowl on a pitch that had a moderate distribution of grass. His decision received an early endorsement when Veer Pratap Singh removed opener Jalaj Saxena in the third over. While Bengal’s seamers tried to leverage what was on offer – despite the morning freshness there wasn’t any exaggerated movement, but there was decent carry – Madhya Pradesh didn’t hit back with anything flashy.Opener Shrivastava and Rajat Patidar, a pair of 22-year-olds who have begun their careers promisingly, adopted a conservative response, and fully neutralised any assistance the bowlers were getting. Runs weren’t a priority in the morning as they managed a mere eight from overs 10 to 20, playing out five maidens in the process. As it happens at times, Madhya Pradesh found their release through Patidar’s dismissal. Seamer Sayan Mondal, whose action culminates much like that of Shane Watson’s, had him bowled with his third ball, and brought Naman to the crease.Naman’s arrival brought about a slight revision in strategy, and with Shrivastava finding his bearings as well, Madhya Pradesh latched onto scoring opportunities more often. While Tiwary had a cluster of catching men on the off side to Naman – at one point he had a silly mid-off, short cover, extra cover and mid-off apart from two slips – he still coaxed the ball through the gaps. Whenever Tiwary opened up some space on the off side with a sweeper cover in position, Naman and Shrivastava ensured the fielder was made to sprint to either side.Ashok Dinda was locked in an interesting one-on-one tussle with Naman. After his ploy of getting the ball to tail in late was repeatedly met by Ojha with a dead bat or a firmer push down the ground, he resorted to short-pitched stuff. While his bowling was now visibly quicker, the pitch was slow enough for the batsman to either duck under or dead-bat the deliveries. However, just when Madhya Pradesh looked set to convert their incremental gains into something more imposing, Shrivastava fell to an innocuous delivery from Pragyan Ojha, whose length was always a touch too short. Naman went soon after as his lazy waft to Veer Pratap Singh, whose lines were fairly consistent, was snapped up at first slip. Therafter, Bundela and Harpreet made sure Madhya Pradesh built on the morning gains.Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule defended the decision to bowl first and conceded his bowlers could have done better. According to him, despite some good bowling in patches their lines helped the batsmen get away with leaving the ball frequently in the morning. Shrivastava said Madhya Pradesh would have bowled first as well on what he called a “damp pitch.” He said the ploy of wearing the bowlers down in the first session was necessary because scoring shots were hampered by the movement off the pitch.