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Australian cricket has not seen such ferocious demand for tickets since the bloodlust of the 2006-07 Ashes series when Australian cricket fans clicked, clicked, and clicked again to purchase Ashes seats, only to send Cricket Australia’s ticket sales operator into meltdown.There was no website crash today but it took just 30 minutes* for the WACA to sell out ahead of Saturday night’s Big Bash League semi-final between the Perth Scorchers and the Melbourne Stars.There are mitigating factors of course. The WACA, alongside Bellerive, is the smallest cricket venue in Australia, with a capacity of around 20,000. The Shane Warne road show is also in town. The 42-year-old has been playing at sold out venues all tournament.Perth also has form. In 2005, 20,071 fans packed into the WACA for the first professional T20 ever played in Australia, a one-off experimental match between Western Australia and Victoria. Again Warne was in action. But more attended that night than to any international in the preceding 24 years.But when you consider this is cricket’s “show about nothing”, a competition that in its current form is as old as David Warner’s Test career, with franchises that were created from thin air, featuring players that will only play together for six weeks, it is astonishing to think of the crowd support and television figures the competition has generated. Host broadcaster Fox Sports have boasted record ratings, whilst the crowd numbers have swelled throughout the tournament.Brisbane had record domestic crowds at the Gabba. The MCG hosted more than 40,000 for a Melbourne derby that was shortened by rain. Likewise, the Sydney derby was rain-affected, yet 31,262 still made the journey to ANZ Stadium in Sydney’s west.Now a sell-out in Perth, and most likely a packed house in Hobart, will witness the inaugural Big Bash League semi-finals.All of this is even more impressive considering the interest surrounding the longest version of the game has never been stronger. The Border-Gavaskar trophy, already secured by Australia, has played out in front of full houses in Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth with the Adelaide Test still to come.Even the traditionally low-drawing New Zealand managed a record audience at the Gabba for the first Test.Cricket Australia officials, without precise figures, claim they are on track to register the highest ever combined total attendance for cricket across all forms, both international and domestic, in a single summer.Given the amount of time, money, and energy they have poured into selling the Big Bash League in its new, and apparently improved format, they would be ecstatic with the results.With a sell-out already locked in for the first semi-final, it did not need any extra selling points. But someone forgot to tell Brad Hogg. The rejuvenated 40-year-old took umbrage to Melbourne Stars coach Greg Shipperd’s criticism of the scheduling, claiming the Stars were unfairly disadvantaged by the two-day turn-around from their Thursday night clash with the Adelaide Strikers to the Saturday night semi against the Scorchers.Hogg did not miss Shipperd when asked for his thoughts.”Stop complaining, seriously,” Hogg said on Friday. “There are people out there digging holes for a living and we’re actually playing cricket. I grew up on a farm and did a lot of sheep work and that. When you do get paid for doing what you love, you appreciate it a lot more.”There’s absolutely no complaints. You can get me on a plane tomorrow and I’ll go and play for anyone. I just love the game. So stop whingeing.”Saturday night is suddenly a mouth-watering prospect. With Warne, Hogg, and three hours of action-packed cricket to look forward to, it is no surprise it took 30 minutes to sell out.* – 14.20GMT – .

There are large shoes to fill and then there are boots. Colin Ingram will need feet the size of the latter if he is named in South Africa’s starting XI to play Sri Lanka in the third ODI on Tuesday in Bloemfontein.Ingram will likely slot in at No. 3, the spot previously occupied by Jacques Kallis who is being rested for the remainder of the series. Kallis played an important part in holding South Africa’s batting together in the previous two matches, with scores of 72 and 37.However, Kallis has indicated his desire to play in the 2015 World Cup and is currently being managed carefully in order to make it to the tournament. He will miss some of South Africa’s future ODIs, opening a spot for players like Ingram to fill.”I am hoping to bat at No.3. That’s the feeling I get about where my role will be,” Ingram told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s definitely my preferred spot. I used to open as a youngster but I am most comfortable at three.”Ingram’s ability to open the batting gives the selectors options at the top, which they will need as they attempt to finalise an unsettled top three. Hashim Amla will also not feature in the rest of the series as he has been given time off for paternal duties and former captain Graeme Smith is struggling for form. Alviro Petersen has also been called up, presumably to replace Amla, which leaves the No. 3 position to Ingram.Ingram has played 12 ODIs, scored two centuries and has an average of 41.55. He last featured during the 2011 World Cup, where he played one match, against Ireland in Kolkata and scored 46. The experience was a painful one for South Africa after they crashed out in the quarter-finals in an all too familiar fashion. While most of the players were badly affected by the manner of the defeat, Ingram said he escaped any serious emotional scarring.”It was a big disappointment especially because there was such a good vibe and belief in the squad. I’d say we left with some pages unwritten,” he said. “But, I didn’t play much so I got over it quite quickly. I could see it as an outsider looking in as well.”Since then, Ingram captained the Warriors franchise to the final of the 1-day cup. He was the third highest run-scorer in the competition with 505 runs at an average of 45.90. “Captaincy pushed me to a degree,” Ingram said. “It was good for my game as well. I was lucky because I had a few guys in the team who had captained before and supported me.” The Warriors franchise includes stalwarts like Nicky Boje, Arno Jacobs and Makhaya Ntini, who would have all helped Ingram develop his leadership.Always a player with a solid head on his shoulders, Ingram now has the experience to back up a sustained run in the national side. Ingram’s attitude to the game will sit well with team management that has stressed the need for cool heads as the series reaches a possible turning point. Victory in Bloemfontein will see South Africa win the series, defeat will put some pressure on them and how they deal with that will be vital.Ingram expects Sri Lanka to turn up the heat as they continue improving. “They are a very proud team and their bowling unit offers a few different things,” he said. “They are lacking a few seamers at the moment to back [Lasith] Malinga up but they will come back.”As much Sri Lanka grow in confidence, South Africa will have to on wariness and Ingram believes they will make the mental adjustments. A youthful squad, led by the feisty AB de Villiers, has shown creativity and innovation, which Ingram said will continue, despite the changes in team make-up.Although South Africa will have to juggle their line-up, they have maintained a continuity of sorts in the squad by recalling players who have been part of the set up before, such as Ingram. He’s worked with Gary Kirsten before, when Kirsten was a batting consultant at the Warriors franchise and also attended the 28-man national training camp held in late August, which was Kirsten’s first introduction to the national team. Ingram said that experience means he knows exactly what to expect from both coach and captain. “Gary and AB will promote an open, honest environment. They set high standards and expect big things.”

Darren Sammy has said batsmen tend to get out to him because they underestimate his bowling. He has been West Indies’ most-successful bowler on their tour of India so far, with eight wickets in the Test series. On the third day at the Wankhede Stadium, he dismissed Virender Sehwag for the third time in four innings. Sammy said Sehwag looks to attack him which leaves him with the chance of picking up Sehwag’s wicket.”Through the series I have bowled first change, not as quick as other bowlers. After the first Test it seems Sehwag wants to hit me out of the attack,” Sammy said. “But I don’t mind him playing a few shots because he could present me with an opportunity to get him out. So far, he has done that in three innings.”I work hard for every wicket. My job in the team is to be the workhorse, bowl lots of overs. I guess the mistake batsmen make is they underestimate me and get relaxed when they face me. It presents an opportunity to slide one through and get a wicket.”Sammy’s dismissal of Sehwag was one of only three wickets to fall in the day, leaving India on 281 for 3 in response to West Indies’ 590, and the game poised for a draw. Sammy, though, said West Indies were still in with a good chance to win. “A few wickets in the first session tomorrow can change things; there’s a lot of time left in the Test match. The pitch seems to be quite good but having scored nearly 600, we can still get a 200 or 150-run lead and come back and set a target.”West Indies could have had another wicket when Sachin Tendulkar was dropped by Carlton Baugh on 38, and Sammy said taking their chances would be important on the fourth day. He said his bowlers could take inspiration from the way R Ashwin and Varun Aaron persisted for India.”We saw how two of the India bowlers toiled and worked hard for their wickets. We are prepared to do that and hopefully we could get more wickets quicker than the India team did. We have our game plan and we bowled to it. We did create an opportunity to get Tendulkar out but unfortunately we didn’t take it.”While Baugh’s chance to dismiss Tendulkar should have been a wicket, Ravi Rampaul’s dismissal of Gautam Gambhir for 55, perhaps, should not have been one. Gambhir was adjudged caught-behind but replays seemed to suggest he had not nicked the ball. Gambhir, though, said he is happy to play without the DRS since good and bad decisions even themselves out.”There are times they go in your favour and there are times they don’t,” he said. “I could say that today I missed DRS but there will be occasions in the future where I will be grateful there is no DRS. The important thing is everything evens out.”Gambhir’s half-century was his second of the series but he has failed to convert on the starts. He also had two half-centuries in the recent home ODI series against England but failed to get a hundred. “The important thing is how you are hitting the ball and I have been doing that well,” he said. “Even during the one-dayers against England I was not able to convert fifties into hundreds, and that is on my mind. But I have been giving the team good starts.”All the talk going into the fourth day at the Wankhede Stadium is about whether or not Sachin Tendulkar will get his 100th international century but Gambhir pointed out that India still needed to do some work to avoid the follow-on, and that was more critical. “The team is not thinking much about Sachin’s 100th hundred but what we require at the moment. West Indies have set a big target and it’s important to save the follow-on. If Sachin gets his 100th ton in that course it’s good, but we are focused on the team objective.”

A century from Imran Khalid helped Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) take complete control of their game against Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium in Sind. SNGPL amassed 461 for 7, with Khalid making an unbeaten 101. He was well supported by Khurram Shehzad, who made 91, and Jahanzeb Abdullah, who made an attacking 84 from 81 balls, with ten fours. Having taken a first-innings lead of 364, SNGPL then made early inroads into Hyderabad’s second-innings, as Bilawal Bhatti picked up two more wickets and Adil Raza one to leave their opponents all but defeated on 32 for 3, still trailing by 332 runs.New-ball bowler Tabish Khan picked up seven wickets as Karachi Whites knocked over Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) for 122 at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex in Karachi, giving them a first-innings lead of 138. Karachi then extended that lead to 172 for the loss of two second-innings wickets. Tabish took three of the first four wickets to fall to reduce KRL to 42 for 4. He also claimed three of the last four wickets to fall to end up with figures of 7 for 38 from 22 incisive overs.Peshawar took an 87-run first-innings lead over United Bank Limited (UBL) at the Arbab Niaz Stadium, thanks to left-arm spinner Noor-ul-Amin’s five wicket haul. Having started the day on 63 for 0, UBL had progressed to 112 for 2 when ul-Amin had Saad Sukhail caught for 21 and that triggered a collapse that resulted in UBL losing their last eight wickets for 61 runs. Peshawar were in a little bit of trouble in their second innings at 40 for 2, but recovered to 115 for 3, with Sajjad Ahmed unbeaten on 40, to stretch their lead to 202.Opener Mohammad Ahmed led Multan to 162 for 2 in reply to Lahore Ravi‘s first-innings total of 383 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The hosts’ Usman Salahuddin could only add six to his overnight 125 but wicketkeeper Mohammad Zohaib kept the innings ticking, narrowly missing out on his century when he was caught off the bowling of Haziq Habibullah for 97, but ensuring his side posted a healthy score. Ahmed led Multan’s response with a well-crafted 90 not out, adding 89 runs with Naved Yasin, who is on 39.Quetta held the upper hand over Lahore Shalimar at the Lahore City Association Ground thanks to an incisive bowling performance. Having begun the day on 212 for 6, Quetta lost Badar Ali early edging a delivery from Imran Talib to the keeper when on 99, having added just one to his overnight score, but a last wicket partnership of 51 between Gohar Faiz and Shahzaib Ahmed pushed their score to 276. Lahore Shalimar lost early wickets before captain Fahad-ul-Haq and Adnan Raza steadied the innings, taking their team to 154 for 3 before Raza fell for 31. His wicket started a mini-collapse, with three more wickets falling for the addition of 30 runs. At stumps, Lahore were 183 for 7, with ul-Haq on 57.

Keegan Meth could return to international cricket during Zimbabwe’s Twenty20 series against New Zealand after being named in their squad for the matches on October 15 and October 17. Meth suffered a horrific mouth injury after being struck by the ball during an ODI against Bangladesh in August, but has showed good all-round form since returning to competitive cricket with Matabeleland Tuskers.The names on Zimbabwe’s team list showed continuity in selection after their home series against Bangladesh and Pakistan, but Brian Vitori’s was a notable absence. After an explosive start to his international career against Bangladesh, Vitori found Pakistan more of a challenge and was sidelined by a shin niggle during their visit. He has not played a competitive match since the third ODI against Pakistan, and has not taken part in the opening rounds of matches in Zimbabwe’s domestic season.He is yet to regain full fitness, but is expected to return in time for the one-off Test against New Zealand on November 1. Another injury casualty, batsman Craig Ervine, will play no part in the tour, however, after being ruled out with a shoulder injury.”I’m happy with the balance of the side, but obviously the injuries to Ervine and Vitori mean that we have to make minor changes to our plans,” said coach Alan Butcher. “But I feel we have a strong squad which can compete against New Zealand. New Zealand are bringing a very strong squad, but it’s going to be important for the players to believe that they can compete which hopefully can see us cause some surprises.”Chris Mpofu and Kyle Jarvis will lead the seam attack in Vitori’s absence, with Meth and former captain Elton Chigumbura able to provide medium-paced support. Indeed, depending on what bowling combination is opted for, Chigumbura and Meth could both be competing for one allrounder’s slot in the line-up, particularly as both Ray Price and Prosper Utseya are in the squad and likely to play.There is also a third slow-bowling option in the group in the form of Mountaineers legspinner Natsai Mushangwe. Mushangwe, 20, has risen through the ranks during Graeme Cremer’s injury lay-off, and was part of the Zimbabwe XI team that took on A sides from Australia and South Africa during the winter.With Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda and Tatenda Taibu virtual certainties in the starting XI, there will be some stiff competition for batting places between Charles Coventry, Chamu Chibhabha, Forster Mutizwa and Malcolm Waller.Waller and Mutizwa have both started the domestic season in purring form, Waller having slammed 174 during his 341-run stand with Gary Ballance in the innings victory over Southern Rocks and followed that up with an unbeaten 59-ball 86 in the tied one-day match against the same opposition. Mutizwa has also found the Rocks attack to his liking, his 73 guiding Mashonaland Eagles to a six-wicket win over them at Masvingo Sports Club and his unbeaten 164 securing a hefty fourth-innings run chase in the Logan Cup.Coventry, on the other hand, has not played any domestic cricket since Pakistan’s visit, while Chibhabha has managed a pair of first-class half-centuries in two Rocks defeats. Both men have undeniable potential and international experience, however, which may swing selection in their favour.After the two Twenty20s in Harare, Zimbabwe will play three one-day internationals against New Zealand, the third of that will be played at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, which is also the venue for the Test match which begins on November 1.Zimbabwe Twenty20 squad: Brendan Taylor (Captain), Charles Coventry, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Keegan Meth, Natsai M’shangwe, Christopher Mpofu, Forster Mutizwa, Raymond Price, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Prosper Utseya, Malcolm Waller

Scorecard
Vikram Solanki was the backbone of Worcestershire’s innings but they suffered a collapse•Getty Images

A innings of 124 by Vikram Solanki helped guide Worcestershire to within a whisker of County Championship Division One safety before they collapsed from 255 for 3 to 288 all out against Durham at Chester-le-Street.The visitors needed to reach 300, giving them the third batting point, but events at the Rose Bowl mean there is no more likelihood of them going down than there is of Durham winning the title.It will be beyond Durham once leaders Warwickshire have avoided defeat, which they surely must after amassing 493. Equally, Hampshire have next to no chance of the win they would need to send Worcestershire down.Trailing by 24, Durham had 18 overs to bat in their second innings and reached 51 without loss, despite the first runs off the admirable Alan Richardson not coming until the fifth ball of his seventh over.Worcestershire did not lose a wicket in the morning and only two in the afternoon, but the last five went down for five runs to the new ball, which was still six overs away when Paul Collingwood suddenly took two wickets in three balls in the first over after tea. The collapse was started by a stunning catch from Dale Benkenstein, who leapt to cling on one-handed at mid-wicket to get rid of Alexei Kervezee for 43.Two balls later left-hander Matt Pardoe sliced Collingwood to gully then Solanki and Gareth Andrew added 28 before the new ball produced extravagant bounce and four edged catches. Solanki departed for 124 when he fended Callum Thorp to second slip and the rest quickly followed, Thorp picking up three more wickets inside two overs.Both he and Graham Onions had been out of luck in the morning, when Durham kept four slips and two gullies for most of the session. The breakthrough finally came when left-hander James Cameron tried to paddle Ian Blackwell round the corner and was bowled for 74.He had put on 138 with Solanki, who had 11 fours in his 72-ball half-century but showed unusual restraint in adding only 42 during the afternoon. When legspinner Scott Borthwick was finally introduced Solanki edged him for four then drove him for six over extra cover to reach 99.He went down the pitch to the next ball and survived a stumping chance before turning the next ball just out of short leg’s reach to complete his third hundred of the season off 186 balls.

Pakistan will play three back-to-back Tests against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE from October 18, the PCB has announced.The first three games of the subsequent one-day series in November will be played in Dubai while Sharjah will host the fourth ODI on November 20. The teams will move to Abu Dhabi for the final one-dayer and the only Twenty20 international to be played on November 25.Pakistan have been forced to play their ‘home’ series on overseas territory since the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009 and have favoured UAE as their venue of choice.”We had a choice of neutral venues but we opted for UAE because it allows us to manage things smoothly,” Subhan Ahmad, the PCB chief operating officer, was quoted in the as saying.The third Test of the series will mark the return of Test cricket to Sharjah which has hosted only two one-dayers between Afghanistan and Canada after being ignored as an international venue since 2003.

Michael Kasprowicz, the former Australian fast bowler, has been chosen by Queensland Cricket to replace Matthew Hayden as one of the state’s representatives on the board of Cricket Australia.Currently the president of the Australian Cricketers Association, 39-year-old Kasprowicz will step down from his position with the players’ union, and will add valuable perspective to the CA board at a time when it is about to consider the findings of the Don Argus-led review into the performance of the Australian team.The review is expected to table its findings at CA’s next board meeting on August 18-19.Hayden was required to leave his position on the boards of QC and CA after returning to playing ranks as a member of the Brisbane Heat’s inaugural Twenty20 Big Bash League squad.His return to the batting crease has opened a door for Kasprowicz, who had ended his playing days as a participant in the ICL T20 competition in 2008, before taking up the ACA presidency in November 2010.An amendment to the QC constitution made last year means that neither of the state’s CA directors are permitted to sit on the state board, in a sign of the game’s future governance direction. A review of the game’s outmoded board structure is also being conducted by the corporate and sporting governance experts David Crawford and Colin Carter.Upon taking the ACA post, Kasprowicz had said managing the introduction of the BBL, set to begin this December, would be one of the key tasks ahead of cricket administrators.”That’s something pretty exciting in Australian cricket,” he said last year. “It’s a great thing that we can take the game further, certainly at domestic level. What [the Big Bash League] provides for all the players is more opportunities to get noticed with eight teams in place. There are so many good outcomes that I think everything is looking forward.”Kasprowicz claimed 113 wickets in 38 Tests for Australia between 1996 and 2006.

ScorecardVusi Sibanda held Zimbabwe XI’s batting together with 91•Zimbabwe Cricket

Zimbabwe XI ground their way to 206 for 6 on an attritional first day against Australia A at the Country Club in Harare. Vusi Sibanda’s patient 91 held the Zimbabwean top order together before Australia’s spinners struck repeatedly in the afternoon to dent the hosts’ gains. Jason Krejza and Michael Beer shared four scalps after the three frontline seamers had been frugal but wicketless.Sibanda, in charge of the team in the absence of Brendan Taylor, who is out of action after undergoing nasal surgery, put together an opening stand of 117 with Tino Mawoyo, both batsmen digging in with limpet-like tenacity to see off the new ball. The ability to play long innings against quality opposition is a skill that Zimbabwe’s budding Test batsmen desperately need to master and survival, rather than dominance, was clearly their goal in the morning as Mawoyo crawled along at less than half of his career first-class strike-rate in a 177-ball 39.The tactic did work to deny Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Trent Copeland any entry to a potentially fragile middle order, and it was not until the 55th over of the day that Beer finally broke the stand, sneaking one past Mawoyo’s bat to have him stumped by Tim Paine. Hamilton Masakadza’s entry briefly lifted the tempo, but when he was run out for 12 – a fate that befalls Sibanda’s partners with worrying frequency – Australia began to chip away at the middle order.Sibanda gained in fluency and confidence as he neared a century, but fell nine runs short of the mark when he presented Siddle with a catch off the impressive Krejza. Regis Chakabva and Craig Ervine’s fourth-wicket partnership was just beginning to show promise when Krejza struck again, bowling Chakabva for a patient 28 shortly after the score had passed 200.With minutes to go before the close, a couple of quick wickets put Australia firmly on top. Allrounder Keegan Meth fell to Krejza for a duck and Ervine was then prised out by medium-pacer Mitchell Marsh as Zimbabwe XI slipped to 205 for 6. Former national captain Elton Chigumbura and Malcolm Waller held firm until the close but there isn’t a great deal of batting to come and the Zimbabweans will hope that Chigumbura can replicate his form from the two-day match at Kwekwe, where he boosted the total with a bellicose 95, as they push for a respectable first-innings total.

Zaheer Khan, the Indian seamer, has singled out his stint with Worcestershire as the “turning point” in his career and encouraged young Indian bowlers to play county cricket to prepare themselves better for international cricket. Zaheer, who was the joint-leading wicket-taker in the 2011 World Cup won by India, joined Worcestershire in 2006 after a phase in which he had struggled with injury and was left out of the national team. He topped the Division Two wickets list that season, picking up 78 in 16 games at 29.07.”In many ways it was [the turning point], Zaheer told the magazine . “The stint at Worcestershire helped me understand the game, why I am playing and other things in terms of preparations for matches and bowling on different kinds of wickets.”It was really important for me to play at the highest level, and to get back into the Indian side. I always knew I had the potential to perform but somehow I was not able to deliver. It was a great learning curve.”Upon his return to England in 2007, this time leading India’s pace attack, Zaheer topped the wickets list again, picking up 18 wickets in the Test series, including nine in India’s win in Trent Bridge.Zaheer said county experience helped players become more independent and professional and said he’d spoken to some of India’s younger bowlers, including Ishant Sharma, about playing county cricket. “I was advising all the young bowlers, like Ishant,” he said. “When you are at home, in many ways you are taken care of. But when you play a county season you have to do everything yourself and still be prepared for the game. That brings in a great sense of professionalism.”You also get a great understanding of cultures, and that definitely improves your social skills since you are out of your comfort zone. That itself is a great learning for any person, not just a cricketer.”Zaheer has been rested from India’s upcoming ODI series in the Caribbean. Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel and R Vinay Kumar comprise the pace attack.