Danish Kaneria is ready to take over as Pakistan’s main strike bowler in the absence of Shoaib Akhtar who was dropped from the squad because of injury.Kaneria took 11 wickets when the sides met in Pakistan late last year and though he was wicketless in Faisalabad, his spells in the second innings at Multan and Lahore were crucial in securing Pakistan wins.In his exclusive diary for Bigstarcricket.com, Kaneria said, “I will try 101 percent to step into Shoaib’s shoes and lead our attack. I do not mind the pressure of being our main strike bowler. I will work hard and try to take wickets for my country and make my captain proud. I think my two years playing for Essex will be a great help to me, knowing how to bowl on English wickets.”Kaneria can take heart from recent England displays which reveal that though they have improved against spin, they are still suspectible; Shane Warne in the last Ashes series, Kaneria himself in Pakistan, Anil Kumble in India and recently Muttiah Muralitharan have revealed this weakness.”Warne took 40 wickets against England in the Ashes last year and Murali spun them out at Nottingham a few days ago so it shows me that their batsmen are not too comfortable against the top-class spinners,” he explained. “Murali and Warne are easily the best two spinners that ever lived and I want to prove that I can also be as good as them even though I still have a lot to learn. They are much more experienced than I am, but I will try my best to make things difficult for England as they did.”But he acknowledged that despite their weakness and a long injury list, England at home will be a demanding prospect. “It will be a tough series for us because England are difficult opponents in their home conditions, but we have been playing very good cricket over the last couple of years and we are confident about what we can achieve. Each and every player wants to perform at the highest level and we are determined to win over there.”Kaneria is hoping to take his wife and daughter along with him to England. He said, “I’ll be bringing my wife and daughter over for the first couple of weeks, so she will see me fulfil my lifelong dream of playing a Test match at Lords. I am just hoping it can coincide with a victory.”

Graeme Smith has been ruled out of South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka meaning that Ashwell Prince will become the country’s first coloured captain. Smith tore ligaments in his right ankle when he slipped while running on Saturday in Knysna and could be out of action for up to 12 weeks.After an X-ray and a scan as well as a consultation with the team physiotherapist Shane Jabaar, Smith was diagnosed with two torn ligaments. He under underwent surgery on Tuesday, at a Pretoria hospital, to repair the damage and”The stress X-ray conducted by an ankle specialist in Pretoria confirmed that Graeme had torn two ligaments on the lateral side of his ankle,” said Shane Jabaar, South Africa’s physiotherapist. “He will wear a cast for a period of six weeks. Graeme will be out for a period of eight to twelve weeks depending on rehabilitation.”Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of selections, said Prince will lead South Africa in the two-Test series with the one-day squad and captain being named after the first Test and Lorgat admitted: “This is surely not an ideal way to start our season, but if we are to experience any misfortune during this year, I would rather have it now than later.”Jacques Rudolph, who had a successful tour of Sri Lanka with the A team last year and was surprisingly omitted from the original squad, has been named as the replacement for Smith. South Africa were already without Jacques Kallis for the tour after he underwent surgery on his tennis elbow problem.

Adam Gilchrist, the Australian wicketkeeper, says he is looking at remaining in cricket beyond next year’s World Cup in the Caribbean. Gilchrist, 34, who requires 41 more dismissals to usurp compatriot Ian Healy at the top of the Test wicketkeeping list, had previously indicated that he might quit the game after the tournament to spend more time with his young family.Exhausted after a year of near non-stop cricket, Gilchrist headed home from Bangladesh last April and wondered how much longer he could maintain his packed playing schedule. “If you had sat me down after Bangladesh and asked me how much time I had left in the game, you probably would have gotten a different answer to now,” Gilchrist told . “I’m not keen on making any big statements, but right now I am looking to keep playing.”I have voiced the opinion that I think there is too much cricket being played at the moment but, after a three-month break, I am dead keen for the [Australian] summer to start and the Champions Trophy, the Ashes and the World Cup to begin. Beyond that, you never know if your physical game or the skills are still going to be there but, if they are, I can’t see why I would stop. The schedule is pretty clear for a while after the World Cup.”Since making his debut in 1999, Gilchrist has not missed a Test. He has scored 5124 Test runs at 48.80 with 16 centuries in 85 Tests and is tied for third with Rod Marsh on 355 dismissals. Fitness permitting, Gilchrist may become the first wicketkeeper in Test history to claim 400 dismissals.”I will go to my grave saying that my job is to keep wickets,” Gilchrist said. “The keeping has been really pleasing lately. There is still plenty of motivation for me to keep playing. I can’t see any value in playing just one form of the game, either.”Gilchrist’s batting has been under fire since England’s regaining of the Ashes last year. Since Andrew Flintoff unveiled his highly effective around-the-wicket, at-the-body line throughout last year’s Ashes series, Gilchrist has averaged 26.88.”I might have fallen short of my own standards with the bat, but I still am doing quite well compared to the other keepers over the course of history,” he said. “That’s not to say that I won’t be working hard to get the batting right. My century [144 against Bangladesh in Fatullah] recently was one of my better ones, and has given me a lot of confidence.”I’m thinking about facing [Flintoff] again the same way I thought of it in the ICC Super Series. I am just really looking forward to getting back out there against the likes of Flintoff and [Stephen] Harmison and enjoying the challenge in the Ashes series later this year.”

The chief executive of the ICC, Malcolm Speed, has spoken of his decision to make public Darrell Hair’s email, in which the umpire offered to resign under the condition of receiving $500,000.Speed, who flew to London last week to tackle the ball tampering crisis first hand, spoke of his consternation at Hair’s letter and how he was “shocked and disappointed” at receiving it.”It took a while for the full ramifications [of the email] to sink in,” Speed told Sky Sports. “We held a number of meetings, and I obtained the best legal advice available. I was told that if there were potential issues between ICC and PCB, I’m legally obliged to display them. The other advice was to tear it up, delete the emails and lie about it. I wasn’t prepared to do that.”Yesterday’s dramatic revelations at Lord’s were the latest in what has been a dark and depressing week for cricket. However, Speed insisted that in no way did he, or the ICC, ever consider lying about receiving Hair’s email, or the contents contained within.”[Lying about it] is fine until someone on TV or radio asks me the question. There might be court cases, someone might write a book, somehow the copy might come into the public and I wasn’t prepared to lie about it. We’re in an immensely difficult position.”Speed also emphatically denied the cynical view that he used the email as a “window of opportunity.””Not for one minute. What I always wanted to do is follow the process and have the hearing,” he said. “If the charges are sustained, that’s fine. If it’s overturned, that’s fine. It’s impractical to achieve the solution which Darrell wanted; somehow I’d have to find $500,000, conspire to keep it secret, mislead the public and lie. Why would we want to do that? It just wouldn’t work.”When asked about Hair and Billy Doctrove’s decision to abandon the match, when Pakistan failed to take to the field, Speed was equally adamant that umpires have full authority where on-field decisions are concerned.”The umpires are in control, that’s been the case for 300 years and I’d want that to continue. I can’t judge the on-field situation, or overturn their decision that the match was forfeited. If it’s their decision to forfeit the match, then it’s forfeited. They didn’t believe it was appropriate to overturn their decision – and I can’t force them to do it.”Despite the dramatic events of the past week, Speed was confident in the ICC’s ability to handle sensitive situations, adding that the game is “in robust health”.”We deal with [these situations] as well as we can. I prefer to look at it in another aspect…the news has been on the front pages, not the back. But the game is in robust health. We had the Ashes series last year, and for this winter’s Ashes sponsors are seeking to buy the rights and the broadcasters are buying rights. The game is in great health. We need to put it behind us and get on with the business of cricket.”Earlier today, Speed confirmed the hearing for Inzamam-ul-Haq’s alleged ball tampering would take place in the last week of September.

Mitchell Johnson, along with Mark Cosgrove and Phil Jaques, would be returning home. It had been decided weeks earlier that after the first two games – the Aussies arrived in Malaysia with a squad of 18 – these three would be sent back.Johnson certainly signed off his second and last appearance in the DLF Cup with a flourish, finishing with 4 for 11 from four overs before the match was abandoned as the drizzle resumed.The National Selection panel had apparently arrived at the decision even before the team left for Malaysia, and the team management was keen to emphasise that it was no reflection at all on the performances of the trio. Ricky Ponting admitted that it was disappointing that Johnson was heading home, but admitted that there was little he could do to reverse a decision that was made much earlier.With these three gone Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey will be restored to the first XI for the match against West Indies on Monday afternoon.

South Africa’s Mark Boucher-led run riot against Zimbabwe at Potchefstroom yesterday has left Graeme Smith, a spectator in the crowd, very impressed. Smith has been out of action since injuring his ankle in July, but looked forward to returning to captain an aggressive South Africa in next month’s Champions Trophy in India.”It’s fantastic to see how the guys played,” Smith told the website SuperSport.com after South Africa racked up 418 for five, their second total in excess of 400 this year. “It was nice to see them push themselves. In years gone by we would have been happy with 320, but we need to take ourselves to new levels. We’re looking to be more aggressive up front in the conditions we’re going to be playing in when we get to the ICC Champions Trophy in India next month. Hitting out at the death is not as easy there as it is in South Africa.”As for his rehabilitation from the ankle injury, Smith was positive that not being hurried back into the game was the correct approach. “We’ve decided to take things a little slower and not risk the ankle,” he said. “Rather than pushing it here and maybe setting myself back for a couple of days, I’d rather be 100% for India. I’ve started batting again and running around, which feels good after sitting on my backside for six weeks.””Obviously the injury was very frustrating, but it was also a blessing in disguise,” he added. “It gave me the chance to get into a good space, a good frame of mind. More than anything else, it’s the mental side of captaincy that causes strain.Add that to your own batting, especially if you’re batting up front, and you can see how important it is to be fresh. It’s a big year, and my brain needs to be ready for it.”Boucher, whose 68-ball unbeaten 147 was the second fastest hundred in one-day history, was just glad to reach the three-figure mark for the first time. “I’ve been striking the ball a lot better than in the past, and it’s a matter of just getting the runs behind your name,” he told reporters. “Hopefully, I can build on this.”Boucher also made light of the six times he was dropped by Zimbabwe’s fielders: “It was one of those days where whatever you swing at hits the middle of the bat and whatever is in the air and goes to hand goes down. The boys in the dressing room said I used up all my luck for the season.”

Scorecard

An unbeaten half-century from Brad Haddin and strong performances from Ed Cowan and Daniel Christian steered New South Wales to a tight four-wicket victory against South Australia at Adelaide. Chasing a healthy 7 for 251, the Blues were cruising half-way through the innings before Darren Lehmann struck twice and Cowan was run-out for 74.However, Haddin, batting at No. 5, quickly re-floated New South Wales with a 47-ball 56 and secured the victory with four balls remaining. The performances of Cowan and Christian, who scored his first half-century, were also important as they replied to a Redbacks total set up by Lehmann.South Australia were in difficulty at 3 for 49 before Lehmann arrived for a 107-run partnership with Callum Ferguson (64). Lehmann, who won the toss and batted, was dismissed in the 49th over for 86 but his effort with bat and ball was not enough to stave off the challenge of Haddin and Co.

These are good times to be a first-class cricketer in India. More money has been pumped in, remuneration has increased and, at last, the games, even if only some, are being televised. But what about the state of the game itself? Has it improved?Recently, when asked if the out-of-form Suresh Raina wouldn’t be better served if he spent a couple of years in domestic cricket, a senior member of the Indian team had replied with a question: “For what? To rot?”In Mysore as Haryana’s batting deflated like cheap party balloons on the fourth morning, Ashwani Kumar, the coach, had his own answers to that question. “To be competitive at this level, you need to have faced some competition before. I am sorry but my team’s performance was not up to the Elite standard. Look … we are the Plate champions and the boys are really proud to perform for their state. I am sure they will adjust to the tougher competition at this rung and will up their own game in the matches to come.”Kumar goes on to suggest what he thinks can lead to better peformance. “Reduce the money in the Plate stage,” he asserts. “I don’t want to take any names, but there are teams in the Plate group who seem to be satisfied in just remaining in that stage. They don’t want to cope up with the pressure of playing at higher level. As a result the quality of domestic cricket suffers. I would like to see gradation in remuneration between Plate and Elite. Plate group teams should be paid less and only then there would be a motivation to compete and move up to Elite.”Now, the background may be bleak but there are at least two young players in his team that Kumar would be proud of. Joginder Sharma, the allrounder, and Mahesh Rawat, both, want to play for India. Joginder is in the midst of a great run with 18 wickets in two matches. As for Rawat, he has not only been very good behind the stumps – he flew full-length to his right to take a blinder in the first innings and was generally pretty solid – but very prolific with the bat as well.”Joginder is a great lad. He has a great attitude and is a perfect example for the rest of the guys. He is a fitness freak and guides the juniors in the team. . (If there is energy in the body, then you can bowl fast) And he has the skills. He can swing both ways with the new ball and gets reverse swing with the old ball,” Kumar explains.There is, however, the fear that Joginder is being overused. Kumar agrees. “Although he has never complained about the work load, he is our bowling machine! But the fear is there and that’s why we introduced Sanjay Bhadwar, a mediumpacer, to support him,” he says. Joginder himself sees it differently. “I am ready to do anything that my management wants,” Joginder told Cricinfo. “I am very happy with my form. The wickets are coming and I also got runs in the Duleep Trophy. I am yet to contribute [with the bat] in the Ranji Trophy and I am confident it will happen soon.”Joginder doesn’t believe in having role models and idols. “I don’t like to copy. I just concentrate on my own game, work on my strengths and weakness and try to improve. I am my own role model.” That doesn’t mean he is averse to seeking advice. He had a chat with Venkatesh Prasad, former Test bowler and Karnataka’s coach, who told him keep performing and remain patient.He is 24 years old and in India the use-by-date, so to speak, is 26. Over the last five years, 22 players under the age of 25 have made their international debut for India. Only seven players over 25 have made their debut over the same period. Joginder scoffs at the stat. “If I remain fit and keep taking wickets, there is nothing to worry. I am confident that my efforts will be recognised. I am working hard to come back into the national team,” he adds, “My future is in my own hands.” You can’t argue with that.

The light-hearted nature of Twenty20 cricket was on display in Melbourne today as state players tried to smash balls across the Yarra River to launch the expanded domestic program. It was a spectacular failure – all six hitters failed to clear the water – but Cricket Australia hopes the 13 matches beginning on Monday are more of a success.Each state will play two home and two away games – twice as many as last year – before the final on January 13. Newcastle and Toowoomba will host matches and New South Wales will try to draw big crowds by including the rugby league star Andrew Johns in their team.”We saw him bat in the nets the other day,” the New South Wales opener Ed Cowan said. “It is an interesting prospect to see what Shaun Tait serves up for him because Bracks [Nathan Bracken] was bowling off about two or three steps and he was squealing when he was copping it in the thigh-pad.”Such stunts will do nothing to appease the Twenty20 detractors but the players insist they will take the contest seriously. South Australia’s Mark Cleary said his team, which has made a miserable start to 2006-07, would be looking to regain form in the shorter version. “It’s hit and giggle,” he said. “A win’s a win, so if we come out and get a couple of wins it might set us up for some momentum going into the Pura Cup and the Ford Ranger Cup.”Travis Birt, the Tasmania batsman, said it was unfair to label Twenty20 as simply an excuse to slog. “If you look at the really good players they play natural cricket strokes and seem to do well,” Birt said. “Obviously the Pura Cup is what everyone wants to win, or the Ford Ranger Cup, but it’s a trophy that’s still out there so teams really want to win it.”Twenty20 rules include two runs for no-balls with a free hit from the next delivery, a maximum of 90 seconds for a new batsman to take guard after a wicket, and penalties for teams that fail to bowl their 20 overs in their allotted 80 minutes. The first round of matches on January 1 has Queensland hosting Tasmania, Victoria travelling to South Australia and Western Australia playing at home to New South Wales.Tasmania squad Michael Di Venuto, Tim Paine (wk), Dane Anderson, Travis Birt, George Bailey, Michael Dighton, Daniel Marsh (capt), Matthew Wade, Luke Butterworth, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Damien Wright.New South Wales squad Ed Cowan, Phil Jaques, Simon Katich (capt), Brad Haddin (wk), Dominic Thornely, Daniel Christian, David Warner, Aaron O’Brien, Tim Lang, Nathan Hauritz, Nathan Bracken, Scott Coyte.Victoria squad Michael Klinger, Jon Moss, Brad Hodge, Cameron White (capt), David Hussey, Rob Quiney, Aiden Blizzard, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Gerard Denton, Darren Pattinson.

The government-backed Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) is set to read the riot act to Zimbabwe Cricket after the board was found guilty by Harare magistrates of breaching the country’s strict foreign exchange regulations. ZC was fined around US$50,000 after pleasing guilty to breaking the law with regard to payments totaling more than US$1.3 million in 2005.Local media quoted a source at the SRC as saying that by breaching the country’s exchange regulations, ZC had also breached SRC laws. “The SRC is serious these days about how sporting associations are being run. We want to call up Peter Chingoka and his board to come and explain what exactly was happening which involved foreign currency.”We all know that ZC earns a lot of money in foreign currency and there is need for us as custodians of all associations to closely monitor how the funds are being handled,” the source continued. “While the court found them guilty, we also feel there is more to it than what came out in court.”It is not the first time that ZC has been in hot water over forex breaches. Chingoka, the ZC chairman, and Ozias Bvute the managing director, were questioned last year in connection with investigations into the externalisation of huge amounts of foreign currency. Charges against the pair were, however, dropped after what the local media reported as intervention by senior government officials.