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	Mahendra Singh Dhoni isn’t worried about his inability to hit boundaries as long as the runs are flowing © Getty Images

It’s hard to predict the nature of tomorrow’s encounter between Australia and India considering how the two sides have played in the tournament so far. Even though Australia are nine points ahead of India, Ricky Ponting’s team are facing the same hard questions as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Co. Batting remains the main concern for the both these teams with majority of their famed batting line-ups struggling for consistency.The problems begin at the top with the openers unable to provide stability. Except for Adam Gilchrist, the others like Sachin Tendulkar, Matthew Hayden and Virender Sehwag have struggled for runs through the series. The problems get compounded when you take into the account the brittle nature of their middle orders, especially Australia’s with batsmen like Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds in a rut – Ponting has an average of 10.66 while Symonds has made 42 in six games at 8.40.India might gather confidence from the fact that most of their batsmen have got the starts. Batsmen like Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Irfan Pathan have shown the character to hang around and have come up with some constructive innings. They have tried at least if not convincingly. For Australia it’s been a matter of squeezing out a respectable target and then relying on their bowling to turn the match in their favour.And both teams have relied on individuals who have shown a strong temperament to hang in the middle and carry out the rescue job. And these guys have carried the burden of the collective failure of their mates without complaining. If Dhoni has proved he is an able leader, the Michaels – Clarke and Hussey – have delivered for Australia.”We are doing well in bits and pieces. If they can be consistent that will be good,” Dhoni said, as India came out for their final practice session at the SCG on Saturday. India have been experimenting with their batting order but Dhoni insists that is not the reason for the batsman’s problems. “We are pretty much sure about the pattern of the batting order. One of the good things is that most of our batsmen adapt well at any position, so that really helps.”In the previous game, against Sri Lanka in Adelaide, Dhoni remained undefeated on 50 as he led India to victory. Surprisingly, despite his explosive batting skills, the Indian captain didn’t even score one boundary or a six. He altered his game according to the conditions. “It’s difficult to adapt, but it’s important to get runs and play according to the demands of the game,” he said. “As long as you can maintain a strike-rate it doesn’t matter if you don’t hit fours.”

	It’s been a rough series for Andrew Symonds and Ricky Ponting © Getty Images

Despite reaching the finals, Australia are not sitting pretty and the main cause is their batting failure. James Hopes, the Australian allrounder, had a different take on the situation. “You can call it bad batting or exceptional bowling. The wickets are slow and it takes a bit to get in for a batsman.”The batsmen are not scoring a lot of runs given the conditions we are playing in where some of the pitches are low and slow,” Hopes said. Still Australia have lost only one game so far and Hopes feels one advantage is the toss which Ponting has called right on most occasions. “We are getting to bat first, so our bowlers know what they are bowling to.”Hopes insisted Australia won’t be taking tomorrow’s game lightly. “India have some of the form bowlers and class players like Sachin, Sehwag, and Yuvraj [Singh] have started to score runs. They will come hard knowing that if they beat us tomorrow they will be the form team going into the final,” he said. “We will be trying to get the psychological edge tomorrow regardless of whether it is a high scoring or low scoring game.”Meanwhile, India need to work out whether to continue the five-bowler theory the Indians utilised in their last two games or go with an extra batsman. “To play five bowlers the batsmen need to be on the top of their form”, Dhoni said. “With five bowlers you are getting the opposition out early but you are not getting the runs. But at the same time, if you play four bowlers your part-timers might give some runs.”With runs being the need of the hour, India might recall Sehwag at the expense of allrounder Praveen Kumar. As for Australia, with Brett Lee coming back after a two-game break, Mitchell Johnson is likely to sit out.Teams
Australia (likely) 1 Adam Gilchrist, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 James Hopes, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Stuart Clark, 11 Nathan Bracken.India (likely) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 7 Robin Uthappa, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Munaf Patel.

Gill Woolmer believes the police investigating her husband’s death are doing a good job © Getty Images

Bob Woolmer’s wife did not want him to take the job as Pakistan coach in 2004 but she said there was no indication he was “scared” in the lead-up to his murder. Gill Woolmer also said in an interview with she thought the police investigating her husband’s death were doing a “good job” and she wanted a “speedy conclusion” to the inquiry.She told the paper Woolmer was not keeping a World Cup diary but was intending to write a book about his time as Pakistan coach, though it “is best if that book never appears now”. “If it is going to cause upset, it is not worth publishing,” Gill Woolmer said.Woolmer had sent his wife emails from the West Indies but there was “not even a hint in them of his being scared, or of anything to do with match-fixing,” she said. However, she was not keen for him to take the Pakistan role in the first place.”I said to him, ‘I cannot believe you are thinking of doing this’,” she said. “He knew the Pakistan side fluctuated in form, but he liked a challenge, and no one else tried to prevent him taking the job.”Gill Woolmer also praised Mark Shields, the chief investigator, for his efforts to find her husband’s killer. “Obviously I have not met Mark Shields but he seems to be doing a good job,” she said. “He is under stress and is tired and requires help because there are so many things to look into. We need to bring this to a speedy conclusion.”

Kiran More: ‘In one-day cricket, even VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble remain in contention’ © Getty Images

Kiran More, the selection committee chairman, today refused to confirm whether Sourav Ganguly would be considered for the first Test against England starting in Nagpur on March 1. The squad for that match will be announced in Baroda on February 23.More, however, denied that Ganguly’s career was over saying “if Sourav continues to perform, no one can stop him from playing for India. But it is still early to comment on the team for the first Test and we will see how things go,” More told PTI. “It would be unjustified to say that only Sourav has a challenge on his hands in the presence of the youngsters who have excelled on this tour. I think it is a challenge for everyone. The best thing about this team is that there is a lot of competition which is a healthy sign.”More said that the door had not been shut on any player. “In one-day cricket, even VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble, besides Sourav, remain in contention. The important thing is that they are playing cricket and can be called if and when required.”The three players were excluded for the one-day series against Pakistan. More took a swipe at some former cricketers who have accused him of being a “rubber stamp” and a “toothless” chief selector. “They are sitting on various television channels and need to speak something different. They have no clue what they are talking and what damage they are causing to the team,” fumed More. “Besides, they are highly paid and need to speak things that are controversial, have spice and can glue the viewers on the television screens.”Prior to the start of the series, they were questioning the credentials of Rahul Dravid as captain, the form of Sachin Tendulkar and emphasising on the negative effects Ganguly’s presence would have on the team,” More continued. “These proved to be nothing but rubbish. I agree that when the team is winning, the job of the selectors becomes easy. But we take decisions which we think are in the best interests of the country and the team.”Turning to the performance of the team on the Pakistan tour, More expressed satisfaction but added that India needed more quality fast bowlers and safer fielders. “Generally, fielding has been good and there has been a marked improvement. But still, we did not field well in the Tests and need to certainly improve in that area. We have a few good fast bowlers but we need more as today teams require quality fast bowlers to pressurise the opponents. Of course, when we talk of quality, there are several things included and pace is certainly very high on that list.”

Light and dark: Stephen Fleming’s mood swings from self-deprecating jokes to a ban on talking about Australia© Getty Images

WeatherTwo series are currently showing the best and worst of international cricket. While Pakistan and India share a competitive contest that improves international relations, South Africa is crushing and cursing Zimbabwe. New Zealand’s hosting of Australia falls on the downside: it won’t be a farce, but please hurry up and finish it.There are a couple of hurdles that make this three-Test affair a stop-off rather than the destination. For Australia the Ashes are smouldering and July’s events were more of a discussion point in the departure lounge before this tour began. New Zealand are also looking ahead to Sri Lanka’s return and two matches they could win. The same prognosis is unlikely even in their Christchurch dressing-room when the opening Test begins on Thursday.The Kiwis were supposed to resist Australia in the top-of-the-world one-day series before being grounded 5-0. Sri Lanka’s tour, postponed because of the tsunami, was meant to build confidence before Australia arrived. Instead it will probably be needed to restore it once they leave.Another problem affecting the billing is the familiarity of the teams. The neighbours have spent most of the season in each other’s backyard, and the relationship is gratingly predictable. They went on road trips to Tests at Brisbane and Adelaide in November, then faced three one-day invitations for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. The short games strengthened the relationship and forged great expectations for the reciprocal visit.Now the closely-matched friends are struggling acquaintances who can’t help but pick arguments. They have another three more weeks in close proximity. It is a compelling reason for Test schedules to avoid home-and-away series in the same season.The Australians have copied Homer Simpson and enjoyed the hospitality too much, giving their opponents nothing in return. They gatecrashed the Twenty20 wearing comparatively lame costumes; they made New Zealand suffer through their first five-match clean sweep on their beautiful grounds; they have sent batsmen to ruin figures of any vaguely promising recruit; and delivered Brett Lee on Michael Papps and Brendon McCullum. And to add insult to those injuries, Lee has been deemed surplus to requirements for this Test – he’ll need to do more than clatter batsmen on the helmet to usurp Mike Kasprowicz.Stephen Fleming was so fed up with answering questions about Australia that he banned talk of them at his press-conference table. Instead he has made jokes about his desperate injury situation and the search for replacements. “Anyone wearing whites or coloured clothes is in the frame at the moment,” Fleming said during the crisis.The coach has tried mixing wacky humour with bizarre ploys that successfully rile the Australians. Like a father trying to stay fashionable in his children’s eyes, John Bracewell attempts zany methods of protection from the bullies. He has succeeded in deflecting the attention from his players by becoming the main figure of mocking. The former gravedigger may be preparing his own. His plans have stayed the same – the results have become worse.While the one-day series was a mismatch between Nos. 1 and 2, the Tests pit the world champions against a seventh-ranked team already well below top health. Seven serious contenders were unavailable for the first Test with injury and New Zealand’s best hope is for Australia to think too much about Lord’s and Edgbaston and not enough about Martin, Franklin, Marshall and Cumming.

Damien Martyn’s Test rebirth began on the 1999-2000 tour and he narrowly missed his maiden century in the third Test at Hamilton© Getty Images

Similar slips happened in 1999-2000, when their batting was in trouble in each Test on seaming pitches, but they recovered in the middle of an amazing 16-Test winning streak. Damien Martyn returned to the side after a lengthy absence on that trip and has grown into a treasured batsman. His role will again be important if Chris Martin or James Franklin manage to send a shudder through Hayden, Langer or Ponting.The countries have played only 19 Tests in the Shaky Isles and New Zealand are well placed with five wins, the last coming four Tests ago in 1992-93 when Danny Morrison and Dipak Patel bowled them to victory and Martyn scored 1 and 74. The more relevant matches are the two in Australia four months ago, when New Zealand lost by an innings and 156 runs at the Gabba and 213 runs at Adelaide Oval. Four players – Mark Richardson (retired), Mathew Sinclair (poor form), Scott Styris and Jacob Oram (both injured) – are missing from the outfit that approached full strength, and Daniel Vettori and Nathan Astle are fighting uncomfortable injuries.Australia’s concerns ended when Matthew Hayden was passed fit from a shoulder problem, but fatigue could become a factor. Both teams have been running since September’s Champions Trophy in England, although the Kiwis had a midsummer’s break when the Sri Lankans returned home. It’s a potentially small opening that should make no difference, but the undermanned, overwhelmed neighbour must irritate any scratch in the hope of sending their familiar rivals packing.Peter English is Australasian editor of Cricinfo.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has reacted to doubts over New Zealand’s willingness to play five one-day internationals next week by threatening to pull out of their tour to New Zealand next month.New Zealand are scheduled to play five one-day internationals in Pakistan, starting with the first game at Faisalabad on November 22, but the series has been cast into doubt after they received a threat regarding their safety.However, Tauqir Zia, the PCB chairman, said “It is a policy decision that we will not go to New Zealand if they don’t come to play in Pakistan.”Pakistan had earlier threatened to sue the South African board for US$ 7 million after they suddenly refused to tour Pakistan in September when a bomb exploded in an empty building in Karachi. However, the PCB agreed to revise the itinerary and excluded Karachi so that the South Africans could play five one-day internationals and two Tests in Faisalabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi.However, it may prove more difficult to persuade New Zealand to come over. Their last tour of Pakistan in May last year was abandoned ahead of the last Test after a bomb exploded outside the players’ Karachi hotel, killing 14 people. This one-day series was planned as the replacement to help Pakistan recover from the losses.A spokesman said: “The PCB won a case against New ZealandCricket in the ICC Disputes Resolution Committee when Tauqir Zia pleadedthat the Kiwis had not fulfilled their Future Tours Programme (FTP)commitment in 2002.”The ICC Disputes Committee had ordered NZC to eithercompensate PCB or participate in a series in Pakistan. NZC had agreed tothe five-match one-day series to avoid huge compensations that couldhave fetched the PCB millions of dollars”.The PCB also termed the threatening letter to New Zealand as a hoax. “South Africa also received a similar hoax letter before coming to Pakistan,” said the spokesman, “but after we gave them all the security assurances they believed us and sent their team. We have passed the letter to the concerned authorities for further investigations”.New Zealand are scheduled to play five one-day internationals on its short 12-day trip, with Faisalabad hosting the only day game on November 22. Rawalpindi is to host back-to-back day-night games on November 24 and 25 before the teams play the remaining two games at Lahore on Nov 29 and December 1.

Bangladesh’s only hope of saving the first National Bank Test against New Zealand in Hamilton rests in the weather which ruined the first two days and, from their point of view, the signs are not good.This has been a match which has dramatically highlighted the Bangladeshi inexperience in Test match play.New Zealand bowled below standard, failing to pressure the visitors, who were only too willing to cash in on the plethora of unnecessary short-pitched bowling. And they could be thankful the visitors were not more experienced in the ways of Test cricket.The home bowlers disappointed in the first innings. Perhaps it was a hangover from their time in Australia, but they failed to get the measure of their length in conditions that demanded fuller bowling to force the Bangladeshis onto the front foot, rather than rocking onto the back foot as is their wont.However, there were some more worrying signs for the tourists by the end of the day as Chris Cairns looked to be starting to find his rhythm, most notably with the return of his vaunted slower ball, a sure sign of rising confidence.In the first innings Bangladesh got too close for comfort as the follow on neared, and it was not without significance that it was a Shane Bond that accounted for Khaled Mahmud, a troublemaker in the bottom of the order who hadn’t heard about giving up without a fight.Mahmud, a fiesty batsman who revelled in the challenge, led a stunning assault on the wayward New Zealand attack and almost single-handedly took his side through to the 216 they were looking for.The tea break possibly unsettled him, but his was a welcome wicket as the innings was all over one run later with Bangladesh 11 runs short of the mark.Earlier, Habibul Bashar gave a demonstration of the latent batting talent waiting to benefit from more experience at international level with a nicely balanced innings of 61 runs, scored off 84 balls and including eight fours and a six.He took 12 runs off one Chris Cairns over with an elegant cut, a well-timed pull and a lucky squirt through a vacant section of the slip cordon. Cairns in the first innings bowled without effect, but he did turn his performance around in the second innings, unveiling his slower ball again, to great effect.Habibul hooked a ball from Craig McMillan for six runs to go to 49 and brought up his 50 off 38 balls having hit eight fours and six.However, the arrival of Daniel Vettori and Chris Martin stemmed the run flow which placed a different sort of pressure on the batsmen and their patience wore out too quickly for comfort.They went to lunch at 93/3 but almost immediately after the break Vettori had Mohammed Ashraful nicely caught at slip by Mathew Sinclair who slipped, but then managed to recover and lunge towards the ball to hold the chance.Then the tension told on Bashar as Vettori kept his stranglehold and forced the batsman to offer up a chance to wide mid on where Martin held the chance.But any thoughts the New Zealanders had of a quick finish were unrealised as they paid the price for their indifferent bowling.Sanwar Hossain stepped into the batting breach and scored 45 off 72 balls but was undone as McMillan picked up two cheap wickets for four runs before he gave up 19 runs off one over.Bond showed the advantages of having a fast man bowling at the tail-enders as he quickly cleaned up and ended with four for 47.New Zealand then picked up three wickets for three runs, with Cairns sitting on a hat-trick at the top of the second innings to make Bangladesh’s job that much harder.Earlier, in the day, New Zealand added another 59 runs in 9.1 overs, a wise move as it turned out, as it ensured a slightly tougher follow on requirement for the visitors.Mark Richardson went on to be out for 143 as Mohammed Sharif cashed in on New Zealand’s loose approach to finish with three wickets for 114, after ending the first day with none for 87.

Andrew Flintoff – superb exhibition of stroke-play Photo © CricInfo

Lancashire, the specialists of one-day cricket, had their sight fixed firmlyon a Lord’s final as they moved so comfortably towards it with an emphaticeight-wicket victory over Surrey, with fourteen overs to spare, in aquarter-final of the NatWest Trophy.Going by the performance of these two sides in the other competitions – theyare the top two teams in the county championship and while Lancashire are atthe bottom of Division One in the National League and Surrey on top ofDivision Two – this fixture was expected to provide an exciting tussle and aclose finish.As it turned out, Surrey were totally outplayed on a day when Lancashire’sburly all-rounder Andrew Flintoff produced an awesome batting display. Itwas a superb performance, not one of wild slogging but, indeed, ofhard-hitting, entertaining stroke-play. Surrey’s bowling was depleted in theabsence of the in-form Martin Bicknell, who suffered a back injury bowlingin the nets yesterday. But with Flintoff in such form, a full attack ofSurrey would have made little difference.Dominating partnership – almost 200!Having been set a fair target of 211 for victory, Lancashire lost a quickwicket, that of Michael Atherton, to the third ball of the innings, withouta run on the board. But that was to be Surrey’s only success – and one thatraised their hopes – until towards the end of the innings when SouravGanguly lashed out at a ball from Alex Tudor to be caught at slip havingreached a relatively patient half-century from 85 balls.The magnificent partnership between Flintoff and Ganguly, which ended justten short of a double century, took the game rapidly away from Surrey asFlintoff, in particular, dominated the bowling during his 110-ball innings of 135 not out.Astonishingly, a hundred of those runs came from boundaries and that shouldbe an accurate indication of the power in his shots. With a battingexhibition such as that, and Flintoff in such belligerent mood, Ganguly,himself such a brilliant batsman, was happy to play the supporting role.Flintoff reached his half-century with two sixes in one over from JasonRatcliffe and increased the tempo of his batting as he progressed towardshis century. On 67, however, he was lucky not to have been given out legbefore wicket in Ian Salisbury’s first over and a run later he was droppedin the slips off the same bowler. But, following the pattern of batting inlimited-over’s cricket he went on, undeterred, to see his side home.Surrey’s confident start checked by spinnersSurrey had, earlier, justified their decision to bat first with an openingstand of 80 and then lost wickets to the turning ball as the combination ofoff-spinner Gary Yates and leg-spinner Chris Schofield rocked them back ontheir heels.Alec Stewart had set the scoring pace early for Surrey with his confidentstroke-play and was well supported by Ian Ward. But having got off to a finestart, Stewart, just one short of his half-century, attempted to square-cutleft-arm spinner, Gary Keedy but chopped the ball on to his stumps.The next two wickets went in quick succession with Yates drawing Ward out ofhis crease to be smartly stumped and then he had Alistair Brown caught froma reverse sweep. Surrey were 109 for 3.Schofield takes important wicketsThirty runs later, the Hollioake brothers fell in the same over. Schofieldfirst bowled Adam as he tried to sweep him and four balls later Ben wentdown the wicket, missed the ball and wicket-keeper Warren Hegg did therest.Graham Thorpe meanwhile picked up the runs steadily and when he was finallycaught at deep mid-wicket off a full toss from Schofield, for 55 from 67balls, Surrey were 182 for seven.With the help of Ian Salisbury, 21 not out, Surrey eventually reached 210without further loss, from 50 overs of which Schofield bowled ten andclaimed four important wickets for 41.

Crystal Palace are thought to be one of the sides leading the race for Birmingham City midfielder Jordan James, TEAMtalk report.

The Lowdown: James profiled

James is 17 years of age and recently penned a professional contract at St. Andrew’s through to 2024.

The youngster has been a regular for The Blues since signing that deal, making 17 Championship appearances this season.

He is primarily a central midfielder but has actually turned out in defensive and attacking midfield roles, while also playing on either flank, showing impressive versatility at such a young age [Transfermarkt].

Lee Bowyer has described James as a player with plenty of energy who ‘ticks a lot of boxes’, and it seems as if his displays in the second tier have caught the eye at Selhurst Park.

The Latest: Palace links

TEAMtalk journalist Michael Holland shared a story on Wednesday afternoon regarding Jones.

They led with a title suggesting that Palace, Everton and Wolves are leading the way in the race to sign the midfielder, whereas Brighton, Southampton and West Ham were also name-checked with an interest.

The Verdict: Shrewd move?

Palace have already acquired the services of young striker Luke Plange from Derby County in 2022, and it seems as if they now have their eye on James.

The Eagles agreed to loan Plange back to Derby for the second half of the season, and a similar agreement with Birmingham in the summer could be appealing.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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You’d expect Palace view James as a long-term project at just 17 years of age, so a permanent view and loaning the player back to the Midlands could be worth considering for the highly-rated midfielder.

In other news: Huge Palace transfer news emerges as Parish lines up £15m bid for ‘special’ player.  

ScorecardBrett Geeves bowled Tasmania into a winning position on the second day against Queensland as the Bulls faced the prospect of a huge first-innings deficit. Geeves collected 3 for 38 and all the Tasmania bowlers contributed as only Shane Watson and James Hopes offered any real resistance at Bellerive Oval.It was the continuation of a dismal Pura Cup season for Queensland, who stumbled to 7 for 154 at stumps with Hopes on 49 and Chris Hartley on 4. The Bulls have not won a match this summer and are on the bottom of the competition table, and although Tasmania are second-last there appeared to be a gulf between the two sides.Geeves collected both Queensland’s openers and returned to have Ashley Noffke lbw for 6 late in the day as the Bulls closed still trailing by 300. Watson dropped down the order to No. 4 – his six innings as an opener this season had brought 28 runs – and posted 44.Batting had not been so difficult for the Tigers, who racked up 454. Tim Paine’s unbeaten 65 added to Queensland’s frustration after Noffke grabbed five wickets to give them hope of a quick kill in the morning.Daniel Marsh had resumed on 132 and only added two before he was caught off Noffke’s bowling. But Paine and Chris Duval (25) added 72 for the ninth wicket after Geeves had also chipped in with 16.