The Pakistan board has shortened its probables list for the A team’s tour to Kenya from 35 to 20 players. The squad will bechosen from the shortened list to play Kenya in two four-day games, and then play them and India A in a limited-overs series. The final team will be announced on July 24, and will leave the country on August 2.Pakistan A probables
Salman Butt, Taufeeq Umar, Naved Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal (Wicket Keeper), Qaisar Abbas, Mansoor Amjad, Riaz Afridi, Rao Iftikhar, Zahid Saeed, Naved Ashraf, Junaid Zia, Bazid Khan, Naumanullah, Shahid Yousaf, Mohammad Khalil, Shoaib Khan, Nasir Khan, Mohammad Irshad.

The International Cricket Council has admitted it made an error, after a private letter of chastisement to Wasim Bari from Malcolm Speed, their chief executive, was allowed to enter the public domain.Bari, Pakistan’s chief selector, had been scathing in his criticism of David Shepherd’s umpiring, following two poor decisions in the final of the tri-series against Australia at Amstelveen in August. "Shepherd’s decisions were like target killing and cost Pakistan the final,” Bari was reported as saying, after the controversial dismissals of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana had contributed to a 17-run defeat. “His decisions were not only doubtful but disgraceful," he added, saying that it was time for Shepherd to retire.As a consequence, Bari was severely reprimanded by the ICC, with Speed branding his remarks as “inflammatory” and “out of order”.”Wasim, please rest assured that any future public criticism of ICC officials by you while you are chairman of selectors for the PCB will be dealt with very firmly under the ICC code of conduct,” Speed wrote in his letter. “You have been in and around the game long enough to know that you were well and truly out of order in making these comments.”Unfortunately, Speed’s response found its way to the press owing to a lack of clear instructions about its publication. “I should have been more explicit in my instructions within my department so that this unfortunate situation would have been avoided,” said Brendan McClements, the ICC’s corporate-affairs general manager. “I understand that this has now placed [Wasim Bari] in a difficult position, a situation that all of us would prefer not to have occurred.”The current ICC regulations do permit selectors to make such comments, although players and team officials are forbidden from doing so. Since Bari made his remarks, however, Speed has taken steps to tighten this loophole.

Two uncapped young players, AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn, have been included in South Africa’s 13-man squad for the first Test against England that starts at Port Elizabeth next Friday (December 17).de Villiers, 20, is a right-hand opening batsman for Titans, while Steyn, 21, who also plays for Titans, is a right-arm fast bowler. Though de Villiers can keep wicket, if he is picked as an opening batsmen, as is likely, Thami Tsolekile will retain the gloves.The squad was announced by Haroon Lorgat, South Africa’s new convenor of selectors. “de Villiers and Steyn are two of the most exciting young players in the country at the moment,” he said. “AB has been in rich form in the SuperSport Series both this season and last and has followed that up with good form in the Standard Bank Cup. He will be a strong candidate to open the batting with Graeme Smith.”Steyn has that rare commodity, real pace, and although he is relatively inexperienced, he has shown tremendous potential this season and his form has been outstanding.”Herschelle Gibbs and Andre Nel are both recovering from injury and so were not considered for the squad, while Nicky Boje, who has recently had minor surgery to remove a growth from his neck, will have to pass a fitness test before the game. The only change from the side that lost at Kolkata last week is Justin Ontong, who has been left out.”We have stuck, by and large, to those players who toured India, and displayed grit and courage in very tough circumstances,” Lorgat added. “We need battle-hardened mentally tough players for this series, and I believe we have them.”South Africa squad for first Test
Graeme Smith (capt), AB de Villiers, Andrew Hall, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Boeta Dippenaar, Zander de Bruyn, Shaun Pollock, Nicky Boje, Thami Tsolekile (wk), Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini.

The uncertainty regarding Simon Jones’s future at Glamorgan resurfaced yesterday when he told reporters that he had not yet decided on his plans.Speaking as the England team arrived in Namibia, Jones said that while he still had a contract, he was not sure if he would stay with the Glamorgan when it expired. “There’s a little bit of doubt in my mind,” he admitted. “I cannot be approached by another county because I am not out of contract, but there are options open.”Jones fell out with Glamorgan last summer when he was left out of the Championship side even though he had been released by England and was available. “I was not given any reason why I was not playing,” he shrugged. “I was just taken along for the ride, really.”And in six seasons he has appeared in just 10 one-day matches for the county. “It is very frustrating not playing, because if you play a lot of one-day cricket it rounds you as a cricketer … so I have missed out there,” he explained. “I was just the drinks boy for Glamorgan. I was very frustrated because I would rather be on the field than carrying the drinks and I knew I should have been in the team.”I am not saying I am going and I am not saying I am staying,” he said. “I am just thinking about it and trying to do what is best for me.”

Brett Lee has been left out of the Australian squad for the third Test to enable him to play for New South Wales against Western Australia in an ING Cup match on January 2. Stuart MacGill, the legspinner, and Shane Watson, the allrounder, have been added to the XI which won the second Test against Pakistan at Melbourne.Trevor Hohns, the chairman of the national selection panel, said the decision to release Lee was taken after discussions with the player. “Following discussions with Brett, we have agreed to give him the chance to get some more game-time under his belt by being available to play for New South Wales,” said Hohns. “We felt it was unlikely Brett would be selected to play in Sydney, as the three fast bowlers currently in the XI are doing a very good job. So in Brett’s best interests, we feel it is important for him to get some solid match practice, not just for New South Wales, but also for Australia A over the next couple of weeks.”Hohns added that the selection panel was sensitive to Lee’s position. “We acknowledge that the last few months have been frustrating for him, but his attitude and work ethic have been first-class.”Watson came in for special praise, with Hohns describing him as an “an exciting young talent”. Hohns added: “Shane gives us the option of going into the match with a combination of two fast bowlers, two spinners and a seamer. His inclusion in the squad certainly gives us some variety if needed. Although he has yet to play a Test, Shane has plenty of experience as part of this squad, most recently in India, so if selected, we feel that he should be able to settle in and do a job for us.”Hohns also gave MacGill the thumbs-up. “Stuart gives us the ability to play two spinners if needed. He has taken a lot of wickets for New South Wales, and has plenty of experience at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He is a proven performer for us, whenever opportunities have been presented to him.”The third Test against Pakistan begins on Sunday (January 2) at Sydney.Australia squad 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Darren Lehmann, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Glenn McGrath, 12 Shane Watson, 13 Stuart MacGill.

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A sensational spell of bowling from Paul Wiseman for Canterbury resulted in the second-best haul in an innings in New Zealand cricket history. Wiseman took nine for 13 off 16.4 overs as CD slumped to 122 all out, and defeat by 343 runs. Only AE Moss, who took 10 for 28 for Canterbury in the summer of 1889-90 on his first-class debut, has done better.It was a stunning performance in a match where the bat had dominated the ball, but Wiseman said afterwards that it was an ideal pitch for spin bowling because of the bounce it possessed and the footmarks left by Central Districts’ two left-arm medium-fast bowlers.What was expected to be an all-day battle for CD was over before lunch with Wiseman joining three other bowlers in New Zealand to have taken nine wickets in this country, not forgetting Sir Richard Hadlee’s nine wickets in an innings at Brisbane in 1985-86.Chris Martin was the only other wicket taker in the innings, having taken Jamie How’s wicket, the first to fall in the innings. CD were two down overnight and then Wiseman struck, as eight wickets fell for 24 runs.
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Otago needed to bat well into the second session to be in a position to deny Northern Districts an outright win at Gisborne’s Harry Barker Reserve but they were unable to prevent an eight-wicket defeat. Craig Cumming, the Otago captain, achieved his 10th first-class century after being 99 not out overnight, but could add only seven more runs before being dismissed. The end came all too quickly, with the last five wickets falling for 12 runs as Joseph Yovich and Graeme Aldridge cleaned up the innings. Yovich took 4 for 42 and Aldridge 3 for 55.This was a remarkable win, with the highlight being four young players making their debuts in the same game. One of them, Brad Wilson, who just missed a century on debut in the first innings, was unfazed by the importance of the job ahead of him as ND chased down the 186 they needed for victory. Wilson scored another 35, while BJ Watling, who debuted earlier in the season, scored 64. Matt Hart, the side’s old hand, was there when the winning runs were scored.
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Wellington head into the last day of their match with Auckland in danger of undoing the chance they have of beating the home side at Eden Park. Having achieved a 99-run lead on the first innings, Wellington slipped to 97 for six by stumps, as Kerry Walmsley (3 for 23) and Andre Adams, with two for 24, pinned them down. It was the first time in the series that Auckland had been denied first-innings points.Auckland struggled through the latter stages of their innings. Aaron Barnes scored 75 and at 310 for 6, they were looking competitive. However, they lost their last four wickets for only 18 runs as James Franklin, who took four for 64, and Iain O’Brien, with four for 76, did the damage.Wellington then set out to build an unassailable position only to find the Auckland bowling shut them down. Neal Parlane’s innings typified this as he top-scored with 41, painstakingly compiled in 132 minutes. Matthew Bell also laboured 108 minutes for 17.

ScorecardCentral Districts qualified to host the final of the State shield after beating Wellington by 72 runs at the Basin Reserve.However, CD had a mixed day. They were all out for 244 after reaching 228 for 3. Seven wickets fell for 16 and seven balls still remained when the innings came to a close. The collapse undid the good work of Craig Spearman, who hit 63 off 82, Jarrod Englefield (54 off 70) and Mathew Sinclair, who set the field ablaze with 78 in 59 balls. But, in only his sixth match, Iain O’Brien grabbed 5 for 35 to start the demolition.Wellington started poorly, teetering at 46 for 4 before a stand worth 95 between James Franklin and Michael Parlene kept them in the running. Franklin scored 63, while Parlene had 31. However, with Andrew Schwass prising out 4 for 27, Wellington could manage only 172 and slipped to defeat by 72 runs.
ScorecardNorthern Districts continued Auckland’s one-day humiliation by scoring a crushing 112-run victory at Eden Park’s Outer Oval today. The win ensured that ND would play Canterbury in Wednesday’s semi-final.Daniel Vettori opened the batting for ND after a period off with injury and celebrated his return with a fine century – his first. He scored his hundred off 119 balls, with nine boundaries. Eventually dismissed for 109 off 124 balls, he added 106 for the third wicket with Hamish Marshall, who scored 69. The momentum was maintained through the innings and ND reached one of the biggest scores of the summer with their 290 for 6.Auckland were not helped by the loss of Kyle Mills, suffering an Achilles injury. He bowled only five overs, and at a cost of 35 runs. Paul Hitchcock took three wickets, but gave away 67. The batsmen were just as unspectacular. Only Aaron Barnes with 48 was able to break the bowling deadlock. The side managed to reach 178. The bowling effort was led by Graeme Aldridge, easily the most dominant bowler in the competition, who took 4 for 34.

ScorecardZimbabwe A romped to a 2-1 series lead, after comfortably overhauling Bangladesh A’s mediocre total with more than 16 overs to spare, at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. An opening stand of 141 between Terrance Duffin and Chamunorwa Chibhabha saw them most of the way towards their target before Duffin was stumped off Enamul Haque jnr, the highly promising left-arm spinner.Bangladesh A never recovered from 10 for three early in their innings, after choosing to bat first. Bryan Strang, the left-arm seamer, bowled a very tight spell and also removed the top-score, Mahmudullah (30), to finish with 2 for 21. Innocent Chinyoka ensured there was no recovery with four wickets and only a last-wicket stand of 46 gave the score any semblance of respectability.

The tit-for-tat war of words between the West Indies board (WICB), Digicel and Cable & Wireless (C&W) escalated today when the WICB issued a press release vehemently denying claims made yesterday by C&W.Reacting to a statement from C&W which claimed that it was never given a chance to match Digicel’s $23 million offer, the WICB stated that it had offered C&W the opportunity to make a counter-offer in March 2004. It said it could produce a letter dated March 16, 2004 from Usman Saadat, C&W’s regional marketing vice-president, in which he informed them that his company had "decided not to match the rival bid.”The WICB also dismissed claims that in 2003 it had offered a similar contract to C&W for $30 million. "The initial proposal reflected a five-year sponsorship of the team on a home-and-away basis at a cost of $30 million," it stated. "C&W stated quite clearly that it was not interested in being a sponsor of the West Indies team away from home. The discussions then centred only on the home series and team sponsorship during those series on a three-year renewal basis.”According to the board, in September 2003 it reached agreement with C&W for a new three-year deal totaling almost $11 million subject. But two months later a draft contract produced by C&W was rejected as it allegedly contained conditions and provisions not previously discussed.In December, the WICB wrote to C&W advising them that, in accordance with the existing contract, it was "going to the market" to explore alternative sponsorship opportunities. Although C&W withdrew the contentious elements in had included in the draft contract, the WICB said that it would still be looking at all options.In March 2004, although C&W declined to counter Digicel’s bid, it did ask for its original $11 million offer to be reconsidered. The WICB said that it declined, advising C&W that "that discussions with representatives of the rival bidder were well advanced and were being conducted in good faith … and the board considered it inappropriate to re-open negotiations with C&W.”The WICB also denied that the personal contracts with the seven players, which are at the heart of this dispute, were submitted to the board, although it admitted that it was sent a template contract with no signatures or dates. "The board was advised by legal counsel that it would be unsafe to rely on such a specimen document.”The WICB, therefore has never been in a position, prior to March 11, 2005 to say whether the contracts ultimately entered into by C&W and the players bore any resemblance to this document. The board is now in receipt of the contracts and its legal counsel is reviewing them.”

The Wellington Firebirds have been grounded by fog that has forced a one-day postponement to their State Championship match against Otago Volts at Queenstown. Wellington’s airport was closed today due to the conditions that forced the abandonment of the first day of the second Test at the Basin Reserve, and the side will instead travel from Palmerston North tomorrow for the round-eight four-day match, which was rescheduled for Sunday.Tim Murdoch, the New Zealand Cricket administration manager, said it was the best solution after a difficult day spent hoping for the weather to clear. “They have been waiting long enough at the airport so everybody has agreed that the best way forward is to delay the match for a day,” he said.