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Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand will open on December 8 with a three-day match against Canterbury at Hagley Oval while Auckland will play the tourists in the second of their pre-Test warm-up matches. The first Test is scheduled to begin on December 19 in Hamilton.As a bridge between the Tests and one-day internationals, a one-day match against Wellington will be played at the Basin Reserve, where Pakistan will have just completed the second Test match of the series. Northern Districts will host the opening one-day match against South Africa on February 12 while another major association side will play a three-day match as a warm-up for the South Africans before the Test matches from March 5-7.New Zealand’s domestic four-day programme, the State Championship will open on December 1 with matches continuing throught the Christmas-New Year period which has traditionally been when one-day matches have been played. However, Major Associations have been critical that they have suffered a drop-off in crowds in this period while State Shield one-day matches clash with New Zealand’s international games. By staging the one-day programme between the Pakistan and South African series, although there is a conflict for the early part of the programme with the Pakistan tour, there should be a chance for greater local interest in the domestic matches.When the Championship programme ends on January 9, the teams placed first, second and third will play their final three games against fourth, fifth and sixth, and with points carried on, the two highest scoring teams after eight rounds will play off in a final played from March 4-7.The Shield programme will start on January 8 with the final scheduled for Waitangi Day, February 6, New Zealand’s national holiday.The State Championship programme is:Monday Dec 1 – Canterbury v Otago, Aorangi Park, TimaruThursday Dec 4 – Northern Districts v Auckland, Westpac Park, Hamilton; Wellington v Central Districts, Basin Reserve, WellingtonSunday Dec 7 – Northern Districts v Central Districts, Harry Barker Reserve, GisborneWednesday Dec 10 – Auckland v Otago, Eden Park Outer Oval, AucklandFriday Dec 12 – Wellington v Canterbury, Basin Reserve, WellingtonThursday Dec 18 – Auckland v Wellington, Eden Park Outer Oval, AucklandSunday Dec 21 – Central Districts v Canterbury, Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North, Otago v Northern Districts, Carisbrook, DunedinSaturday Dec 27 – Auckland v Central Districts, Eden Park Outer Oval, AucklandTuesday Dec 30 – Canterbury v Northern Districts, Hagley Oval, Christchurch, Otago v State Wellington, Carisbrook, DunedinSaturday Jan 3 – Canterbury v Auckland, Hagley Oval, ChristchurchTuesday Jan 6 – Central Districts v Otago, Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, Northern Districts v Wellington, Westpac Park, HamiltonOn the completion of the series of five rounds, all teams will be placed from 1 – 6 according to the points obtained. A draw for the remaining three rounds of the competition will be based on teams finishing 1, 2, 3 each playing the teams finishing 4, 5, 6. Points earned in the first five rounds will be carried forward to the remaining three rounds. At the conclusion of the eight rounds the two teams with the most points will play off in the final.Saturday Feb 14 – 1 v 6Tuesday Feb 17 – 2 v 5, 3 v 4Friday Feb 20 – 1 v 5Monday Feb 23 – 2 v 4, 3 v 6Thursday Feb 26 – 1 v 4Sunday Feb 29 – 2 v 6, 3 v 5Thursday Mar 4 – Sunday Mar 7 FINALThe State Shield draw is:Thursday Jan 8 – Northern Knights v Wellington Firebirds, Westpac Park, HamiltonFriday Jan 9 – Central Stags v Auckland Aces, Pukekura Park, New Plymouth , Otago Volts v Canterbury Wizards, Molyneux Park, AlexandraSunday Jan 11 – Wellington Firebirds v Canterbury Wizards Basin Reserve, Wellington, Central Stags v Northern Knights Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North, Otago Volts v Auckland Aces, Molyneux Park, Alexandra.Tuesday Jan 13 – Canterbury Wizards v Auckland Aces, Rangiora Recreation Ground, Northern Knights v Otago Volts, Harry Barker Reserve, Gisborne, Wellington Firebirds v Central Stags Basin Reserve, Wellington.Friday Jan 16 – Auckland Aces v Wellington Firebirds Eden Park, Auckland, Canterbury Wizards v Northern Knights, Rangiora Recreation Ground, Central Stags v Otago Volts Queen Elizabeth Park, Masterton.Sunday Jan 18 – Auckland Aces v Northern Knights Eden Park, Auckland, Central Stags v Canterbury Wizards Waikanae Park, Waikanae, Otago Volts v Wellington Firebirds Centennial Park, Oamaru.Wednesday Jan 21- Northern Knights v Canterbury Wizards Westpac Park, Hamilton (D/N), Otago Volts v Central Stags Carisbrook, Dunedin, Wellington Firebirds v Auckland Aces Basin Reserve, Wellington.Friday Jan 23 – Central Stags v Wellington Firebirds New Plymout , Canterbury Wizards v Otago Volts Aorangi Park, Timaru,Northern Knights v Auckland Aces Westpac Park, Hamilton (D/N)Sunday Jan 25 – Auckland Aces v Central Stags Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland, Canterbury Wizards vWellington Firebirds, Hagley Oval, Christchurch,Otago Volts v Northern Knights, Queens Park, InvercargillTuesday Jan 27 – Auckland Aces v Otago Volts Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland, Wellington Firebirds v Northern Knights Basin Reserve, Wellington, Canterbury Wizards v Central Stags Hagley Oval, Christchurch.Friday Jan 30 – Auckland Aces vCanterbury Wizards Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland, Northern Knights v Central Stags Westpac Park, Hamilton (D/N),Wellington Firebirds v Otago Volts Basin Reserve, Wellington.Monday Feb 2 – Semi- Final (2 v 3)Tuesday Feb 3 – Reserve DayFriday Feb 6 – FinalSaturday Feb 7 – Reserve Day

Matt Bulbeck just can’t wait for the start of the 2002 season,when he can get back to where he was and “start taking wickets again.”The left arm seamer who celebrated his twenty second birthday just recently told me of his frustrations during 2001. “I want to put two bad years behind me and get back to where I was before all of this happened” he said.Certainly Matt, who announced his arrival on the scene in 1998 by taking 26 wickets to top the Somerset averages,has been working hard to ensure that he back to full fitness by the time the 2002 season gets underway.Every morning for the last couple of months he has been a regular visitor to The Academy Fitness Centre at The County Ground where he has been following a rigorous training programme under the watchful eye of Club Physio Darren Veness and Fitness Trainer Andy Hurry.The Physio told me “Matt is training very hard, and his fitness is better now than it has ever been.He’s naturally fit so we have to step things up a gear for him.”What about next year I asked him. “We are looking for Matt to start 2002 as a definite first team prospect” the Physio replied.Matt will have the added bonus of training in the sunshine during the winter months because he is jetting off to Australia just before Christmas where he will be spending three months at The Paul Terry Cricket Academy in Perth.During his time in Perth Matt will continue with his fitness programme and will have daily nets working with former Aussie bowler Bruce Reid. He will also play cricket for a local club at the weekends.By the time he returns to Taunton in March “I want to be better than I was before I got injured” Matt told me, a sentiment that will be echoed by all Somerset supporters.

Opener Regis Chakabva and Tinotenda Mutombodzi struck 61 each to help Masholand Eagles chase down a revised target of 225 in 48 overs against Matabeleland Tuskers with 12 balls and four wickets to spare by Duckworth-Lewis method in Harare.Chamu Chibhabha was dismissed cheaply but Chakabva kept the scorecard ticking as Eagles reached 52 for 1 before the rain arrived. Cephas Zhuwao was bowled by Tiwanda Mupariwa off the first ball after resumption but Chakabva and Mutombodzi added 36 together, after which Ryal Burl applied the finishing touches to the chase.Earlier a collective bowling effort saw Eagles restrict Tuskers to 227. Seven batsmen passed double figures but none managed to make a big score. Mbekezeli Mabuza hit 39 off 47 balls with the next best score being Mupariwa’s 31-ball 37. He clubbed two fours and two sixes but the total of 227 was not adequate in the end.Mountaineers beat Midwest Rhinos by 18 runs in the Pro50 Championship fixture at the Kwekwe Sports Club in Harare. Mountaineers made 242 for 4 on the back of half-centuries from Timycen Maruma (69) and Hamilton Masakadza (65). Donald Tiripano, the pacer, then recorded figures of 5 for 47 off 10 overs, his best List-A performance, as Rhinos were bowled out for 242 in the penultimate over.Rhinos’ top order floundered as they were reduced to 53 for 4, before Prince Masvaure (91) and Remembrance Nyathi (46) came up with the rescue act. The pair added 125 for the fifth wicket before falling in successive overs. Nevill Madziva made an unbeaten 27 to keep their hopes alive, but that was scant consolation as the last four batsmen could manage just nine runs between them.

As per reports from Spain, Tottenham Hotspur, and by extension transfer chief Fabio Paratici, are now eyeing a move for West Ham United defender Ben Johnson.

The Lowdown: Conte eyeing full-back upgrade?

According to reliable sources, Lilywhites boss Antonio Conte, was eager for the club to sign a right wing-back upgrade in January who would be tailored for his back-three formation.

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Spurs attempted to sign a makeshift option in former Wolves star Adama Traore for most of the month but to no avail as Barcelona swooped in to hijack the winter move.

This has left Conte with Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty as his options on that side, and while the latter may have played his way into the Italian’s plans after a stunning performance against Leeds, doubts surround his team-mate.

Indeed, there are question marks hanging over Royal’s ability to create in the final third, with Paratici now eyeing an unlikely alternative from one of Spurs’ London rivals.

The Latest: Spurs eye Ben Johnson move…

According to Spanish sources, Tottenham are one of the clubs in a three-way battle to sign West Ham starlet Johnson in the summer, even after the Hammers apparently activated a two-year contract extension option.

Indeed, Paratici and co are allegedly targeting the homegrown ace to add both offensive and defensive quality for Conte’s side.

The Verdict: Great option…

The 22-year-old would come as a very good signing for Conte going by his early promise.

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West Ham manager David Moyes recently called Johnson a ‘really important’ player for his team, while pundit Noel Whelan has recently raved over the ‘exciting’ and ‘very aggressive’ full-back (Football Insider).

However, after the Irons triggered the two-year extension option in his contract, and with a potential reluctance to do business with a positional and geographical rival in Spurs, this move could be a tricky one to pull off for Paratici.

In other news: ‘Worrying’…Insider shares what ‘in the know’ source is now ‘reporting’ at Tottenham, find out more here.

Naved Latif lifted National Bank of Pakistan’s (NBP) spirits and helped them reach a creditable 256 for 6 by close on the opening day of their first-round replay against Sialkot at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday.Put in to bat, NBP lost opener Nasir Jamshed (13) early but a 63-run second-wicket partnership briefly lifted them before a flurry of wickets – three for 26 – pegged them back again. Fawad Alam then played a rescue act with Latif as they carried NBP towards the 200-mark before Alam was cleaned up by Nayyer Abbas for a 46-ball 33. At this juncture, Latif and Mansoor Amjad, NBP’s captain, joined hands in an unbroken 75 run-partnership for the seventh wicket that took NBP to close.Most batsmen contributed well as Rashid Riaz’s 48 came off 124 balls with six fours, Naumanullah, already the highest scorer in the tournament, took his tally to 945 with his 34 off 58 balls. Latif’s unbeaten 62 at close had come off 112 balls as Mohammad Ali, who finished with three wickets for 69 runs, took his tournament tally to 40 wickets.The first-round tie between these teams in October was abandoned after unplayable conditions at Jinnah Stadium.The 11th and final round of the Championship begins with three Group A matches from Wednesday in addition to five Group B matches. Habib Bank Limited (HBL) are on top of the Group A table with 66 points and a win against Karachi Whites in their final round encounter will take them into the final.NBP need to win both their last two matches and gain the full 18 points. At the same time, they would be hoping that HBL are beaten by Karachi Whites. Group B leaders Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) have already qualified for the final, which will be played from January 1, 2008.

‘To come out and put in a performance like this was a tribute to the whole squad’ © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid and Brian Lara wore distinctly different expressions at the end of India’s 3-1 series win at Baroda. Lara, usually eloquent and warm, seemed hurried and just about ready to leave as soon as he arrived. Dravid, normally cagey and defensive, was relaxed and cracking jokes. But both sang from the same hymn sheet when asked about Sachin Tendulkar’s innings.”We were not unduly worried about Sachin. Maybe everyone else can stop worrying now so we can have a bit of peace around. But what will we discuss then?” said Dravid, eliciting laughter from the press corps. “It was a great innings. Sachin showed why he is a great player, why he can play in different conditions, why he can adapt. Not many people in the world can do this. If you have players who can do this sort of thing, you’re going to win a lot of games, no doubt about it. Sachin’s innings was truly special and one of the best I’ve seen from him.” Lara was no different. “Another very good innings. We all know what he’s capable of. I am not surprised, maybe you are,” he said. “He’s capable of producing innings like that every now and then.”But from there on, there was little similarity in what the two captains had to say. Lara acknowledged that his team had been comprehensively outplayed on the day. “It was complete domination but I wouldn’t say it was a lack of fight from West Indies,” he said. “I thought the Indians just played much better. They deserve the win. Their performance was outstanding with the bat and in the field as well.”Lara also stood by his decision to put India in, explaining it by saying, “There was nothing wrong with the decision to field. It was the same decision as the one in Madras [Chennai]. There was nothing very different about this pitch. We gave away too many runs and when it was our turn lost too many wickets. India batted pretty well and things didn’t work out for us in the first half. After they had a good foundation the likes of Dhoni and Tendulkar could accelerate in the end. We started poorly and didn’t put the ball in the right areas. Uthappa got India off to a flier, scoring at 6-7 an over and this meant that there was no pressure on the guys who came after.”Dravid was just happy with the way the series had ended. “It’s a really good way to win the series. It was a must-win game for us, to win the series,” he said. “We were under a bit of pressure. That’s good. We’re going to play some pressure games that are must-win in the future. To come out and put in a performance like this was a tribute to the whole squad.”

Promising signs: Both Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan came good in their own different ways © Getty Images

When asked if any players would be rested in the forthcoming matches against Sri Lanka, Dravid said, “Now we’re coming to a stage where we have to pick our squad and play our best fifteen with an eye to the World Cup. Who plays in specific games depends on the conditions.”Before the start of this match there was plenty of interest in how Irfan Pathan would fare in his comeback. Seven overs for 43 runs was not exactly ideal, but Dravid was comfortable with the start that had been made. “I thought Pathan bowled quite well. He bowled in some good areas,” said Dravid. “When he pitched it right he created a few problems for the batsmen. He has to get some more international bowling under his belt before we can make any judgments but the start was a good one.”Dravid was also happy with the way Yuvraj Singh was finding his feet on return from injury, and the manner in which he fielded. “He was exceptional, wasn’t he? That’s exactly what we wanted to see,” said Dravid. “One of the goals in playing Yuvraj – who feels fit and fine – was to see this. What he needed was the confidence in a match to do the things he knows he can do and has done in the past. Under pressure of a game when a catch is there your instincts take over. He was brilliant.”

Rahul Dravid could be partnering Virender Sehwag again © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid has hinted that he will open the batting, despite terming it a short-term option, and emphasised the importance of starting well in the second Test at Faisalabad. He added that the bowlers needed to wake up to the challenge of bowling on placid tracks, lowering the bar and trying different strategies.”We already have two specialist openers available,” he said when asked if India were considering using Sourav Ganguly as an opener. “My individual success and the good partnership with Sehwag has given us some short-term options. Instead of looking at it as a difficult situation, I would like to take it as a positive. It has given us the opportunity to try a few things out. We will review it on an ongoing basis, when we go on other tours, when the pitches and the conditions are different. But we are not looking at Sourav opening as an option at this moment.”Approaching the series as a two-Test rubber, Dravid reiterated that every session from now on would be critical, and hoped for some moments of brilliance from his side. “Every hour, every session is very important now,” he continued. “With less sessions and less Tests left, you can’t afford to make many mistakes. Looking at it the other way, it also gives us the opportunity of having a couple of good sessions. A couple of sessions of brilliance from the team can put you in good positions.”Gauging the surface, Dravid termed it as being “slightly different” to Lahore. “It looks a good wicket, good for batting,” he confirmed, “and as the game progresses, maybe it will play a little up and down, helping the bowlers. Crucially, we have to play good cricket on it for five days. Let’s give it a chance, let’s see how it pans out. We are focussing on playing good cricket, and I am sure the curator has done his best in the time he has got.”When confronted with a flat track, he felt the bowlers needed to approach it as a challenge rather than curse their luck. “You throw out a challenge to them,” he noted. “In difficult conditions, it will be unrealistic to expect them to run through the opposition. But you tell them to look to keep the runs down. It’s as challenging for the bowlers to bowl on flat tracks as it is for batsmen to play in a green top or a seaming pitch. Just like a 40 on a green top can be criticial, a couple of wickets at a crucial time can be decisive. In such conditions, you have to lower the bar. Most of the bowlers are experienced, they enjoy the challenges, and they can gain and learn from the experience that will help them in better conditions.”Barring Sachin Tendulkar, none of the current squad has played at Faisalabad before but Dravid revealed that knowledge of the previous Tests provided them with indications of what to expect. “We look at a lot of numbers as part of the build-up,” he added, “and that can give you an indication of how games have gone here. But you can’t form definitive judgements based on those numbers alone, because the kind of wickets and conditions can vary dramatically. You don’t have the same wickets this month as you had the previous month, so you can’t really read too much into what happened five years back.”

AB de Villiers: set to ‘play his own game’© Getty Images

"The great, green, greasy Limpopo river …" Celebrated in Rudyard Kipling’s Just So stories as the place where the elephant got its trunk*, and situated on the Zimbabwean border in the northernmost reaches of South Africa, it is not the most likely of places to spawn a Test cricketer – let alone two in a single match. But all that is set to change tomorrow morning, when AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn are expected to make their Test debuts.There has been no standing on ceremony where these two players are concerned: neither of them has yet completed a full season of first-class cricket, but already their selection belies Kevin Pietersen’s assertion that there is no future for young white talent in the South African set-up. Steyn has just seven matches under his belt, including a nine-wicket haul against the Warriors at Buffalo Park in East London, while de Villiers has but one century to his name which, happily enough, was scored in the very week he was selected for the national squad. As wild cards go, they seem precisely the type of hungry young carnivores who should thrive under Ray Jennings’s raw-meat-eating regime.Are they green? Most certainly. Greased? Well, in Steyn’s case, his brief dalliances with the speed-gun have recorded a none-too-sluggish delivery of 147.7kph, while de Villiers’s penchant for belting the leather off a cricket ball has resulted in some lightning-quick performances in the Standard Bank Cup. And as for "great", only time will tell, but at the ages of 21 and 20 respectively, they clearly have plenty of that on their side – de Villiers especially, who has a useful little sideline as a wicketkeeper.As befits an opening batsman, albeit a strokemaking one, de Villiers is the more cautious of the pair. He watches all questions carefully onto the bat, and meets the more testing ones with a confident assertion that he will "play his own game", whatever that game may be. But he can certainly play his strokes with dismissive disdain as well. Steve Harmison, surely a daunting prospect for any debutant, is driven straight back down the ground as "just another bowler", while Test cricket itself seems no big deal either – "bigger crowds, a bit more professional, that’s it really."

Dale Steyn: ‘I’m ready to play on any track’© Getty Images

Steyn, by contrast, has a more up-and-at-`em attitude, and plays his cricket in a style not dissimilar to a young Allan Donald, with speed through the air and late movement his trademarks. Though he has been given licence to crank up his pace at Port Elizabeth, he seems mildly disappointed that the St George’s Park pitch is unlikely to favour an out-and-out attack. "You need to bowl a fuller length down there," he concedes, "so if they want me to ping a few guys on the head I might struggle. But I’ll be up for it I promise you."Steyn has an interesting admission that belies his surname, and is sure to make readers of Die Beeld wince – he speaks no Afrikaans. "I do try …" he insists, but explains that his parents were British Rhodesians and so there was never any cause to take up the language. Already, however, his ignorance has stood him in good stead at the crease. Faced with a gutful of vitriol from Nantie Hayward, his fiery forebear in the South African team, Steyn could do nothing but shrug: "I couldn’t understand what he was on about!"They may hail from the same province, and play for the same franchise, the Gauteng-based Titans, but there was little overlap between the pair as they worked their way towards national recognition. de Villiers’s home of Belabela is a good 500km from Steyn’s stomping ground in Phalaborwa, and by the age of six he had already moved to Pretoria, where his sports-mad family gave him little option but to pursue a career in cricket.de Villiers continued his sporting education in Ireland last summer, where he played club cricket for Carrick and laid waste to records left, right and centre. Steyn, by contrast, took a much less focussed route to recognition, and it was only once he’d left school that he realised he wanted a career in the game. "They play a bit up there [in Limpopo], but no-one takes the clubs too seriously. It’s up to you want you want to do. It’s your life."Though he was mentioned in dispatches for the tour to India, Steyn was wisely left at home for that trip, for the subcontinent is no place for a young fast bowler. But he won’t exactly be on familiar territory at Port Elizabeth either – he’s never yet played at the ground. Not that he’s fazed, of course. "I’m ready to play on any track," he says. "Just to be there at all is a bonus."(* courtesy of a tenacious crocodile)

Hampshire sunk to a two day defeat against bottom club Derbyshire in the Frizzell County Championship at The Rose Bowl. Dominic Cork’s side outplayed Hampshire at both batting and bowling in what was a disapointing display by the home side.Derbyshire’s last four wickets added a further 155 runs to their first innings overnight tally, as Nathan Dumelow led the charge with a run a ball career best 75. Dumelow hit 13 fours and a six and was aided by some loose bowling and poor fielding including two apparently straightforward catches being dropped.Dimitri Mascarenhas was the pick of the Hampshire bowlers as he toiled in the heat in an attempt to stem the tide. Chaminda Vaas in his first Championship match took 4 wickets. James Bruce proved expensive, but he was the unlucky bowler to see chances go astray as butterfingers seem to rule.With a lead of 198, Derbyshire soon got amongst the Hampshire batting, four wickets fell for 24 runs, with Cork again being the main protaganist. John Crawley came in with a runner and held up the visitors progress for a while, but only Simon Katich held his end in resolute fashion.Chris Tremlett hit three fours and a six in a bright 30 to take Hampshire past 150, but the inevitable happened shortly after tea.

Dakin- Essex bound Photo CricInfo

Former Leicestershire player Jonathan Dakin has become the latest player to join Essex as part of the Club’s rebuilding programme in their quest to regain their mantle as one of the country’s leading counties.Born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, the 28-year-old all-rounder made his debut for his former county in 1993 and was a regular member of both their championship and one-day squads.Standing 6’6″ tall, he is a powerful left-handed batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler with a highest score of 190 against Northamptonshire in the championship. Last season, he topped the Leicestershire first-class bowling averages with 16 wickets at 26 runs apiece in his seven matches.Chief Executive David East said: “Jonathan is currently playing in Tasmania and is delighted at the prospect of joining us. We all believe that he can play a full part in taking the county into Division 1 of both league competitions, as he is a proven performer at that level. We expect him to prove a shrewd capture.”