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Morne Morkel, the young fast bowler, has been included in South Africa’s 14-man squad for a two-Test series in Pakistan next month. He is the fifth pace bowler in the side after Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn and Andre Nel while batsman Jean-Paul Duminy has earned his first Test call-up.Morkel, 22, has been in good form in the ICC World Twenty20 at home, taking eight wickets in four matches at an average of 11.00. He made his Test debut against India in December as a replacement for the injured Steyn.National selection convener Joubert Strydom, when accouncing the squad, stressed on the importance of the series for Herschelle Gibbs. “The two Tests will allow Herschelle Gibbs the opportunity to establish himself as Graeme Smith’s regular opening partner,” he said. “We also feel it is important for JP Duminy to gain experience of the Test match environment and of cricket on the sub-continent generally.”This is a settled Test squad that developed very well in the home Test series last season and it is important that they continue to grow ahead of very demanding away series against India, England and Australia in the course of the next 15 months.”South Africa depart for Pakistan on September 25, the day after the World Twenty20 final. They will play a three-day warm-up match in Karachi starting September 27 followed by Tests in Karachi from October 1 to 5 and Lahore from October 8 to 12. South Africa’s squad for five one-day internationals following the Test series will be announced after the Twenty20 tournament.South African Test squad: Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn.

Tasmania 214 (Bailey 86, Dighton 63, Bollinger 6-68) and 4 for 141 (Birt 68*, Butterworth 62*, Bollinger 4-36) trail New South Wales 7 for 512 dec by 157 runs
Scorecard

Doug Bollinger picked up three wickets in four balls to register his first ten-wicket match and put New South Wales on the brink of an innings victory against Tasmania. Bollinger bundled out four of the Tigers’ top five batsmen for ducks in their second innings before a fightback from Travis Birt and Luke Butterworth steadied Tasmania’s freefall.At the close the Tigers still trailed by 157, reaching 4 for 141 with Birt on 68 and Butterworth on 62. Bollinger was on a hat-trick in his second over, when he had Michael Di Venuto caught behind from the third ball and Daniel Marsh lbw. George Bailey survived the next delivery but no more than that, giving Bollinger his tenth victim for the game.The Tigers were 4 for 11 by that stage, as Bollinger had already bowled Michael Dighton from the first ball of the innings. The Butterworth and Birt partnership rescued Tasmania from complete annihilation and left the scorecard even more lopsided than in the first innings.Bollinger was also the first-innings destroyer and he helped finish the job by adding Brett Geeves (15) to his overnight total of five wickets. That left him with a career-best 6 for 68, while Nathan Bracken and Beau Casson played a part in wrapping up the Tigers’ tail for 214.Simon Katich enforced the follow-on after a rain delay early in the day suggested the Blues might not have their full allotment of overs to dismiss Tasmania a second time. Bad light stopped play during the final session but the Tigers still faced a major challenge to avoid defeat and put their title defence back on track.

Skipper Hrishekesh Kanitkar’s fine batting display placed Maharashtrain a commanding position on the first day of the West Zone Ranji Matchagainst Gujarat at the Shivaji Stadium, Karad.Gujarat won the toss and invited Maharashtra to bat. The Maharashtrabatsmen made merry of the conditions with big partnerships in the daypiling a healthy 318 for five in 90 overs. Opener Bhave (71) andKanitkar (94) shared a 121 run partnership for the second wicket.Kanitkar and Abhijit Kale (35) added 82 for the third and the fourthwicket saw Kale and K Aphale (53 not out) add 60 in their turn at thewicket. Kanitkar caressed the ball to the fence on 14 occasions of 170deliveries and Bhave smashed the ball 13 times in his 131 ballinnings. Hitesh Majumdar bagged three of the five wickets to fall onthe first day.At the end of play K Aphale and Mandar Sane (5) were at the wicket.

Rain left Natal 63 runs shy of what would have been their first win in a first-class match this season.Instead, the match was drawn as Natal’s progress was halted at 198 for four in search of a target of 261 with 36 overs still to be bowled.The home side earned their shot at victory by efficiently wrapping upGriqualand West’s second innings for 222 after they had resumed on 167 forfive. Griquas scored 279 in their first innings, to which Natal replied with241.That meant Griquas’ last five wickets, which tumbled in 17.1 overs, wereworth just 55 runs. As has been the trend throughout this match, battingerrors rather than penetrative bowling caused most of those wickets to fall.The last of them belonged to 20-year-old number seven Johan Louw, whoconverted his overnight 14 into a solid 50, his maiden first-classhalf-century in only his second match.The visitors’ most stubborn partnership on the final day was mounted by Louwand Zahir Abraham, who added 49 for the eighth wicket.Natal’s run chase was entertainingly sparked by Ahmed Amla, who went afterGriquas’ mediocre bowling with gusto to score 69 off 115 balls with ten foursbefore being trapped in front by medium pacer Louw ten overs from theenforced close.The elegant Amla rode his luck and was dropped three times, each time offthe bowling of off-spinner Martyn Gidley and twice by the bowler himself.Amla’s dismissal ended a fourth-wicket stand of 55 shared with his captain,Dale Benkenstein, who took over the aggressor’s role impressively to finishwith 42 struck off 53 balls, including two fours and three sixes.Griquas were hampered by the absence of fast bowler Wayne Kidwell, whorequired four stitches after splitting the webbing between his thumb andforefinger while fielding.

For the first time in 19 matches, and nearly 15 years, England’s men experienced a Test victory in Australia as the MCG raced to the second two-day finish of the Ashes series. On a tough surface which will continue to come under the spotlight in the aftermath, England’s top order met their target of 175 with aggression and they eventually got home with four wickets in hand.It was only the fifth time in Test history that a series had included multiple two-day finishes, and before this summer, there had only been two in history in Australia. Although more than 186,000 had attended the match across two record-breaking days, it left Cricket Australia facing another significant financial loss – the Ashes has proved a costly affair, and Ben Stokes acknowledged it was far from ideal, but England have avoided the risk of another whitewash down under.Jacob Bethell, who was recalled for this match, compiled 40 to give a glimpse at his potential, but his dismissal meant this would be the first Test in Australia without an individual half-century since 1932 and just the fifth overall. Bethell’s wicket was followed by a little wobble with the winning line in sight. Joe Root was lbw to Jhye Richardson and Stokes carved an edge off Mitchell Starc with ten need, but four leg byes finished the job to roars from the travelling support, although more muted celebrations from England.Related

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Australia, who had earned a first-innings lead of 42 on the manic opening day which brought 20 wickets, could only manage 132 the second time around as Stokes and Brydon Carse shared seven wickets, while Josh Tongue added two more to his impressive match tally. It meant they were able to overcome the loss of Gus Atkinson to a hamstring injury early in the day.Still, the target was comfortably the highest total of the match. But the intent from Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett was clear and they wiped off 51 inside seven overs. Duckett pinged Starc through the leg side first ball and Crawley launched Michael Neser down the ground in his first over to set the tone. Starc produced some gems, especially to Duckett, and came within fingertips of getting to a return catch from a leading edge.Tellingly, though, the first ball that Alex Carey came up to the stumps against Neser, Crawley launched him straight down the ground for six and followed that with a blazing drive through the covers. Duckett also took on Neser, a top-edged hoick flying to deep third and then, most stunningly, a scoop going for six. Perhaps there was life in Bazball, after all.Scott Boland got rid of Zak Crawley to raise Australia’s hopes•Getty Images

The ball after Duckett cracked his fourth boundary behind point, Starc speared a full delivery through him, but the openers had shifted the mood. England pulled a trick, promoting Carse to No. 3, but he sliced down to deep third, which opened the door for Bethell to play what could prove a significant innings.Bethell got away with a leading edge first ball, then drove Scott Boland confidently down the ground. He started the final session by reverse-scoping Boland over Carey, then nailed a cover drive.Boland, who curiously had not been introduced until the 11th over by when England already had 70 on the board, conjured thoughts of another MCG burst from him when he trapped Crawley lbw and had Bethell caught at cover, but Australia didn’t have quite enough runs to play with.Australia had resumed one over into their second innings with Boland having survived amid heady scenes the night before. He hung around for five more overs before Atkinson found the outside edge to remove a potential frustration for England. However, Atkinson’s day – and potentially series – was soon done when he walked off holding his hamstring at the end of his fifth over, leaving three frontline quicks.The captain took on the task, Stokes striking in his first over when Jake Weatherald misjudged a delivery from around the wicket which he left alone at the last moment and was bowled. After his excellent first innings in Brisbane, returns have been lean for Weatherald, who faces a big outing in Sydney next week before Australia’s lengthy gap in Test cricket.By now, the pitch was offering some uneven bounce as well as sideways movement. Marnus Labuschagne took two blows on the gloves before being drawn into poking outside off stump, edging to first slip in a manner that suggests his game is still not in top working order, although conditions provided some caveat.Travis Head was bowled by a beauty from Brydon Carse•PA Photos/Getty Images

Travis Head was playing as well as anyone had all game, latching onto anything loose but not breaking into the full-blown attack seen in the second innings in Perth. However, even someone who had survived more than an hour and a half could do nothing about the delivery from Carse, which jagged off the seam to take the top of off stump.Three balls later, Usman Khawaja top-edged a well-directed short ball from Tongue to long leg. There was no rescue act from Carey this time as he steered a delivery to second slip, where England’s catching continued to be secure.Either side of lunch, Steven Smith and Cameron Green held firm for nine overs, adding 31 runs, to tip the balance once again. Without ever looking entirely secure, Green again got himself set, as he had in the first innings before running himself out, but flashed an edge to second slip when he drove at a short delivery.In the absence of Atkinson, Carse lifted impressively and clutched a sharp return catch, full stretch to his left, to remove Neser. Then, with the seventh delivery of the over after a no-ball, he had Starc edging to slip.Smith showed no inclination to shield No. 11 Richardson (who has a first-class average of 20.70) and a crunched straight drive suggested it was a fair call, but Richardson carved Stokes into the off side to leave England with their target. The pubs, golf courses and Boxing Day sales around Melbourne could get an unexpected boost.

New Zealand will want to iron out their top-order batting woes when they host Bangladesh in Test and ODI series over the next four weeks. The lack of a steady opening Test pair has been a problem that dates back to the early 1990s for New Zealand, and the lack of a consistent combination at the top seems to have now infiltrated the one-day game. The recent tour of South Africa was another disappointing one for New Zealand, and their poor starts were probably the biggest cause for concern.There were high hopes that the selectors had found a viable opening combination for the Tests in Craig Cumming and Michael Papps. Cumming showed some form – before having plates inserted into his face after being hit by Dale Steyn in the second Test – but the opening stands in the two matches were 16, 12, 26 and 4. This was largely due to Michael Papps, who had a record-breaking domestic season in 2006-07 but was unable to cope with the pace of the South African attack. His failure to reach double figures in the Tests gives the selectors a major headache. Do they persevere with him or bring in yet another opener? Jamie How had a great one-day series at No. 3 in South Africa, and is used to opening. On the other hand the Wellington captain, Matthew Bell, has scored a huge number of domestic runs already this season and has international experience, having appeared in 13 Tests between 1998 and 2001. Whatever the selectors decide, it is important to find a combination and stick with it, as England will provide tougher competition when they arrive in February.The one-day opening problem has emerged in the wake of the retirements of Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle, and Lou Vincent and Brendon McCullum have been used since then. In South Africa, the first wicket contributed 12, 9 and 7, but despite the poor return McCullum seems to be maturing in the position; in the Chappell-Hadlee Series he opened with 96. However, having two dashers at the top carries the risk of exposing the middle order too early.Even if New Zealand can’t sort out these issues, they are still favoured to beat their next opponents. Bangladesh’s World Cup victory over India was seen as a turning point for them, but they haven’t come close to repeating that performance in any form of the game since.Bangladesh come to New Zealand after a disastrous tour of Sri Lanka, where they were defeated by more than an innings in all three Tests, and failed to win an ODI. The tour opens with a one-day match against Northern Districts in Hamilton on the 16th, and the ODI series will be held between Christmas and New Year. Dunedin’s University Oval, which has come in for criticism after a first-class match was completed inside two days there, will host the first Test from January 4 before the series is completed in Wellington.One major concern for the new coach Jamie Siddons, who was appointed in October, is that the team was dismissed within 50 overs in each match, and it is something he is working on. “If you can stay at the crease long enough, then you’ll score a lot of runs, whether it is one-day cricket or five-day cricket,” he told tigercricket.com. “So we’re going to practise not getting out; we’re going to practise still being aggressive cricketers, innovative cricketers, and along the way we’ll win some games.”It is in the limited-overs formats that Bangladesh will offer the most resistance, although Mohammad Ashraful’s side is relatively inexperienced. “For the one-day series, it’s a very young side, very inexperienced, but full of enthusiasm,” Ashraful told NZPA. “That can go a long way to winning games.”Despite the inexperience of their opponents, New Zealand will remember Bangladesh’s defeat of India, which helped seal a spot in the World Cup Super Eights. However, things in New Zealand are different to the Caribbean and Bangladesh will have to adapt to the conditions to be competitive. They will not be able to rely as much on their spinners, and a great deal of responsibility will be placed on the pace spearhead, Mashrafe Mortaza. Tutored by the West Indian Andy Roberts, Mortaza has played 25 Tests, taking 59 wickets. He has to build on this record during the two Tests in this series. He has 91 wickets at 29.70 in 69 ODIs, with a respectable economy-rate of 4.6, and will be crucial as Bangladesh try to exploit the weaknesses of New Zealand’s shaky top order.

Indian board president Sharad Pawar has said that plans for an international Twenty20 tournament would be unveiled within the next “10 to 15 days” as the BCCI stepped up its response to the Indian Cricket League (ICL).”We don’t see any threat from the ICL,” Pawar told AFP. “The BCCI has been working for the past two years [on a tournament] that will involve current players, newcomers, retired players and foreign players. We will be announcing our plans in the next 10-15 days.”It had been reported that the BCCI was on the verge of forming a two-tier cricket league – the Professional Cricket Leagues – that would involve domestic leagues in four countries and an international league. It was believed to be along the lines of professional football, with clubs being able to hire players from wherever they like to play in a Twenty20 format. Cricket Australia (CA) was believed to be involved in the process and the International Management Group (IMG), the event manager, was putting it all together.Echoing warnings from other administrators, Pawar said Indian players who joined the ICL risked being excluded from official cricket. “The ICL is a purely commercial proposition. It doesn’t do what the BCCI does for cricket at all levels in India. The players associated with the BCCI have to choose in which direction they want to go.”The ICL, bankrolled by Subhash Chandra, who owns Indian media company Zee Telefilms, planned to hold Twenty20 tournaments between six teams for the next three years. ICL officials said they had signed up several international stars and 44 Indian first-class cricketers, adding that more top players from around the world were expected to join.Former Test captains Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul Haq lead the ICL roster that also included Pakistan players Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat, and South Africans Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje. South African allrounder Andrew Hall and former Australian batsman Damien Martyn have also been linked to the ICL.

Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan have been left out of Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the upcoming ODI series in the West Indies.The 37-year-old Jayasuriya retired from Tests last December, and wished to concentrate on his ODI career. However, he hasn’t had a great run since the World Cup, with only 305 runs in 20 innings, and there was speculation that he would be dropped from the side, especially after his poor performance in the CB Series, where Sri Lanka finished third behind India and Australia.Murali, the leading Test wicket-taker, also didn’t have a great time in Australia, but it is believed that he will be feature only in key ODI tournaments from now on. Murali will play in the two Tests preceding the ODI series in which he will be replaced by offspinner Ajantha Mendis, who with 54 wickets, is the leading wicket-taker in the Premier League Tournament, Sri Lanka’s domestic first-class competition. Mahela Udawatte, the 23-year-old hard-hitting opener, replaces Jayasuriya. Udawatte has been touted as a successor to Jayasuriya.”He [Jayasuriya] did not perform well in Australia,” Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka’s chief selector, told . “We have three years to groom a team for the 2011 World Cup and younger players must be given a chance.”Sri Lanka will also be without Lasith Malinga, out with a knee injury, for both the Tests and ODIs in West Indies. Allrounder Kaushalya Weeraratne makes a comeback to the Sri Lankan side. His last ODI was in 2003. Uncapped left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara, who was picked for the Tests, also finds a place in the ODI squad.Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Kulasekara and Ishara Amerasinghe are the other fast bowlers in the squad, while Malinga Bandara is the other spinner alongside Mendis. Besides Weeraratne, Chamara Kapugedera and Tillakaratne Dilshan are the other all-round options available to captain Mahela Jayawardene.Sri Lanka ODI squad: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Malinga Bandara, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, Jehan Mubarak, Ishara Amerasinghe, Mahela Udawatte, Thilan Thushara.

West Indies have retained the majority of their Test squad for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, with the offspinner Amit Jaggernauth the only man cut for the shorter format. The allrounder Kieron Pollard, who played his only one-dayer during last year’s World Cup, has been recalled.The 16-man squad also features two wicketkeepers with Patrick Browne, who was utilised as a specialist batsman during the ODIs against South Africa earlier this year, included alongside Denesh Ramdin. The left-arm spinner Suliemann Benn, who played his first Test at Providence last month, is the only member of the squad yet to make his ODI debut.The legspinner Rawl Lewis, the opening batsman Brenton Parchment and the fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, all of whom featured in the 5-0 loss to South Africa, have not been picked for the upcoming series. Ramnaresh Sarwan was named as vice-captain to Chris Gayle for the three games, which begin in Trinidad on Thursday following a tightly-contested Test series that ended 1-1.Squad Chris Gayle (capt), Devon Smith, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Runako Morton, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Patrick Browne (wk), Darren Sammy, Sulieman Benn, Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell.

As it cannot get much worse, things might be looking up for Bangladeshahead of the second ODI against Pakistan in Faisalabad. They were roundlytrounced in Lahore, their bowling was toothless after the first 20 overs andtheir batting never anything other than rash. Little surprise then thatJamie Siddons, Bangladesh’s stoic coach, called the 152-run loss “a littleembarrassing.”Embarrassing maybe, but not the end of the world, or the series as ithappens. “One slip-up doesn’t make the series,” Siddons reasoned. “Weaccept that Pakistan are a better side than us. They have to play badlyand we have to play really well for us to win.”It was agreed – by captain, coach and opposing captain – that Bangladeshwere at least one fast bowler short at Gaddafi Stadium. And with ShahadatHossein and Syed Rasel fit and in the squad, the decision was doublyperplexing, explained at the time as the necessary sacrifice ofspecialists to the multi-skilled.Yet whether or not they rectify that imbalance appears uncertain. ThoughMohammad Ashraful again said he felt a fast bowler short, Siddons wasn’t soemphatic about whether another would come in. “If we had a superstar fastbowler with us who we thought was better than what we had out there thensure. We didn’t bank on the pitch spinning so much later and seam earlyon. We missed one bowler but our fifth bowling options gave away 106 runsand that is too many.”One thing Ashraful won’t want a repeat of is the power fiasco that saw thefloodlights go out three times – for nearly an hour in total – which he said affected his batsmen’s concentration adversely. The first time was a complete blackout and subsequently one tower failed. The power crisis has affected the entire country, though local authorities were confident the back-up was in place at the Iqbal Stadium to avoid a similar situation.”The lights going out changed our batting game-plans,” Siddons said. Wewere chasing 6.5 an over before it and suddenly after we were chasing 9.5or something.”But natural stroke-players that they are, Bangladesh won’t mind so much theshort boundaries and an absolutely bone-dry, rock-hard surface. “Ourbatting failed in Lahore,” Ashraful said. “The power blackouts didn’t helpbut we played rash shots as well. We have team rules which we didn’t stickto then. If we do, then we should do well.”Pakistan is a very good team but we didn’t play well the other night. Wehope to do better tomorrow.” As does everyone in Faisalabad.