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A dead rubber never inspires much interest or enthusiasm. The finalday of the MRF Buchi Babu invitation tournament semifinal clashbetween the National Cricket Academy XI and Indian Airlines passedwithout much ado. Resuming at 350/5, the NCA boys added 88 to theirovernight score before succumbing. Skipper Reetinder Singh Sodhi whocame to this match with scores of 0, 0 and 1 in the last three inningshe played, got some much needed batting practice. The lad lookedconfident on the way to making an unbeaten 29 yesterday. Today, heextended himself further, stroking his way to 71 when he was finallydismissed. Just two runs later the NCA were all out for 438.The stars of the Indian Airlines team did not see much point in takingthe field on a hot Chennai day. With absolutely nothing to play for,VVS Laxman cooled his heels in the pavilion and let the youngsterssweat it out. Ravneet Ricky and Manish Sharma opened for Airlines,continuing an association that paid India rich dividends in theUnder-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Sharma however did not last long.After making just eight, he was scalped by India Under-19 mediumpacerMrithyunjay Tripathi. Ricky then took over, cutting and pulling withabandon. The wicket did nothing to assist the fast bowlers and anyattempt to bang the ball in short was treated with contempt.Ricky was also unafraid to use his feet against the spinners. Comingdown the track, he cleared the infield with consummate ease on morethan one occasion. When he finally fell, it was to a brilliant catchby substitute fielder Nikhil Doru. Stretching full length on the ropeswide of mid off, Doru plucked a ball out of the air just before itsailed over the ropes. Ricky’s entertaining 76 had ended in dramaticfashion.Shafiq Khan came in at the fall of the first wicket and hecomplemented Ricky well. If anything, he was more positive. Althoughnot as solid as the lad from Amritsar, Shafiq Khan hit the ball hard,taking a few risks too many. One such heave to the on side was snappedup by Rakesh Dhruve running in from long on. Shafiq Khan had made abrisk 63 from 55 balls.At tea, Vijay Dahiya and Arunkumar were toying with the bowling whenthe two captains agreed that enough was indeed enough. Over hot cup ofChennai `chai’ Dahiya informed the umpires that he had spoken to hisopposite number and that they had agreed to call of play. The umpireswere only too grateful and called stumps.Although there were a few muted celebrations in the NCA camp, the factthat they had advanced by virtue of first innings lead yesterdayitself rendered the whole day meaningless. In the other semifinalencounter, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation XI managed to squeakpast the New Zealand Cricket Academy XI in a tight finish. As aresult, the NCA XI takes on ONGC XI in the three day final whichcommences on September 1 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk.

North Riding WCC (Yorkshire) and Gunnersbury WCC (Middlesex) will face eachother in the ECB Premier League Women’s Club Final on Saturday 1stSeptember, having won their respective North and South Premier LeagueDivisions.The match takes place at Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, starting at 12 noon.North Riding field several players from Yorkshire’s Championship-winningside which retained the County Championship crown for the tenth time in 11 years earlier this month.England U-19 Captain Arran Thompson will open the batting for North Riding,together with Melissa Reynard, who narrowly missed out on an England placethis summer after seven years with the senior team.Overseas players will feature in the final with Gunnersbury’s Cahndra Kaulavailable, the ex-India captain who assisted Middlesex to promotion in theCounty Championships and has proved a prolific run-scorer this season.North Riding field the ex-Holland international Van Noortwyck; both playersnow live in England.This will be Gunnersbury’s first appearance in the Premier League Finalfollowing promotion in 1998. North Riding contested the final in 1999,losing to Kent side Invicta LCC.

The prospects of a bilateral series between India and Pakistan seem to have moved a step forward on Saturday with India offering a series at home later this year. However, Pakistan’s initial response to the offer – pending high-level consultations – has been to reiterate that, according to the Future Tours Programme (FTP), they are to host the series in the UAE. This, and security issues on both sides, leaves the actual prospects of bilateral cricket still far from confirmed.”At about five in the afternoon yesterday, I was giving a lecture at Lahore Universty of Management and Science (LUMS) when [BCCI president] Shashank Manohar called me,” PCB chief Shaharyar Khan said on Saturday. “He told me that the Indo-Pak cricketing ties should resume and the BCCI has got the permission from the Indian government. He said Pakistan should travel to India to play the series.”According to the ICC’s FTP India were meant to travel to the UAE to play Pakistan pending the federal government’s permission. After the BCCI’s AGM in Mumbai on Monday, Manohar had said that the board would be approaching the Indian government as soon as it was possible. Manohar told PTI the board had not yet met with the government. “We have not yet approached the government. But yes, I have talked to him [Khan] over phone and we may talk again in the next couple of days.”BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur confirmed the development, but said that the only way possible for the cricketing ties to resume was if Pakistan travelled to play the series in India, and the board would go ahead and meet with the government only if Pakistan agreed to play the series in India.”We can only start talking if they agree to play in India,” Thakur told ESPNcricinfo. “It was not possible to play in Pakistan and a neutral venue as the Indian government would not give the permission. To keep the India-Pakistan series alive the BCCI has made an effort and spoken to the PCB [to see] if they are keen to play in India. Then we can take matters forward, and we can talk and discuss with the [Indian] government and further work out the details of the series.”According to Khan, the telephone line was not clear and the surrounding noise at LUMS did not help either. “I only understood slowly, after a lot of disturbance, about his offer to play in India. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between both countries [last year] had stated that both countries would play in the UAE.”Manohar told Khan that the security of the Pakistan team would be taken care of by the BCCI. “Secondly, he said we would play the matches at places where there is no danger, like in Mohali and Kolkata,” Khan said.”Thirdly, he said that the Indian board would make some arrangements so that the loss of revenues emanating from not playing the home series can be taken care of.”According to Khan, he responded to Manohar by simply reminding him that India must play Pakistan in the UAE according to the MoU. “I told him that we had signed the agreement to play in the UAE and we want to stick to that. Secondly, we would suffer massive losses, considering hosting even one series would amount to $50 million. And we are talking about the MoU, which was signed for six series. I told him I am not saying we are coming to India to play the series, but what is it that you are thinking of to offset such a big loss?”Khan also expressed scepticism about playing in India as, despite Manohar’s assurances on security, he was still concerned about the opposition expressed by certain political organisations like the Shiv Sena to Pakistan playing in India. Last month Khan and his PCB team had to return home disappointed after their scheduled meeting with Manohar in Mumbai had to be put off after Shiv Sena activists barged into the BCCI headquarters saying they would not allow the talks to take place.”You are saying we should come to India, but whenever any Pakistani goes there Shiv Sena and others oppose that,” Khan said. “That creates a security problem for us. Why are you then saying we should come to India? You should come to a place [the UAE] where there is no problem of security.”Khan said that it was not the right time at the moment to play in India, given recent incidents involving eminent personalities from Pakistan: legendary artiste Ghulam Ali decided to opt out of a concert in Delhi and said he would only perform in India when the political environment was appropriate, while in October the Shiv Sena opposed the book release of former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri.Given the connectivity issues during the call, though, it was decided that Manohar would send a detailed offer over e-mail/letter/fax, which would help the PCB make a decision. “We are just waiting for a clarification as to what exactly they are offering,” Khan said.While Khan said that Manohar’s formal offer would arrive in “one or two days”, he maintained BCCI’s move was not correct. “In my opinion it is not appropriate for PCB [to play in India]. You have signed it [the MoU] and we have finished [finalizing] our broadcasting rights.”Khan also pointed out that he could not take any unilateral decision on the matter. He said he would present the details of the offer to the PCB board of governors next Tuesday and seek their opinions. “Importantly, I need to speak to the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take his permission, and only after that I will respond to them.”The Pakistan series holds a lot of importance for the BCCI. Two years ago, the BCCI, under N Srinivasan, had recognised the importance of and need for a well-defined home season. That became an integral part of the ICC revamp, designed by the Big Three of India, England and Australia; the revamp ensured the bigger teams would visit India for marquee series during their winter, thus establishing their own home season, like Australia, England and South Africa already have in place.The BCCI’s attitude towards playing Pakistan as scheduled has so far been lukewarm, but now the Indian board wants to make the series happen given once the final Test of the South Africa series ends on December 7, India have month-long window without any international cricket. Their next assignment is a limited-overs tour of Australia, comprising five ODIs and two T20Is between January 12 and 31, 2016.

The ICC has announced a seven-man local advisory panel in the USA whose aim is to form a meaningful strategy for the future promotion and development of cricket in the country. The announcement comes in the wake of the USA Cricket Association’s Associate membership being suspended at the ICC Annual Conference in June.At the time of the suspension, ICC chief executive David Richardson stated that cricket in the country was “fragmented” and that the only way for the sport to move forward was for the warring factions, most notably USACA and the American Cricket Federation, to come together. In a sign of that potentially becoming a reality, ACF chairman Jagan Jagannathan and USACA liaison Dr Vincent Adams were two of the seven people who have been added to the advisory panel, which will be under the direction of ICC head of global development Tim Anderson.Former ACF chief executive Jamie Harrison remained staunchly against any reunification of the ACF and USACA. Most of the ACF’s member leagues are formerly USACA members who split away in the fallout of the controversial 2012 USACA general election, when two thirds of member leagues were barred from voting. Jagannathan’s presence on the advisory panel is an indication that the ACF’s hardline stance has softened since Harrison’s resignation in May.Adams was a former member of the ACF’s advisory board until he decided to run for president against Gladstone Dainty in the USACA general elections, which took place in March. After losing to Dainty, Adams was appointed to a USACA liaison committee whose aim was to rectify issues raised by the ICC at the June 2014 ICC Annual Conference in hopes of avoiding suspension.Two other members of the panel, former USACA board member Brian Walters and USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville, were both part of USACA’s governance review committee established in February 2013. That committee was formed in conjunction with TSE Consulting’s governance reform recommendations for a new USACA constitution – one which would have set term limits for the current board and cut its power by 50% – that was ultimately never passed. Walters resigned from the USACA board in March 2014 over frustration from lack of progress in governance reforms, a week after the resignation of former chief executive Darren Beazley.The TSE report also recommended athlete representation on a USACA board under a new constitution. The ICC announced that its own USA advisory panel included Usman Shuja, who recently retired as USA’s all-time leading wicket-taker in 50-over cricket in a national team career stretching from 2006 to 2014. Shuja, 36, has an MBA from Northwestern University’s prestigious Kellogg School of Management and is now working as a vice president of sales and business development for Texas-based startup company SparkCognition.The other two names on the advisory panel are Jim Isch, formerly of the NCAA, and Patrick Sandusky, chief communications and public affairs officer of the US Olympic Committee.Isch worked for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 1998 through 2015, the last five years as the NCAA’s chief operating officer before retiring early this year. He also served as interim president after the death of Myles Brand in September 2009 until current president Mark Emmert took over in October 2010. According to sources, the ICC initially came into contact with Isch in October 2013 during former ICC president Alan Isaac’s trip to Indianapolis to evaluate the progress of the Indianapolis World Sports Park complex.The NCAA is headquartered in Indianapolis and it is understood that the ICC views the city’s multi-sport base – the NFL’s Colts, NBA’s Pacers, minor league baseball and soccer franchises also call the city home – as an attractive launching pad for professional administration and development of cricket in the country. It’s one reason why the upcoming ICC Americas Cricket Combine was designated for Indianapolis instead of other potential venues and a sign that USACA’s headquarters might be shifted there from a currently rented office space in Lake Worth, Florida.

Mike Procter, the match referee, has delayed Harbhajan Singh’s code-of-conduct hearing, originally scheduled for Saturday, until after the conclusion of the ongoing Test in Sydney on Sunday. Harbhajan was charged with a level-three offence under the ICC Code of Conduct following his on-field altercation with Andrew Symonds on day three of the second Test.”At the request of the India team manager and under the circumstances I have exercised my discretionary powers to postpone the code-of-conduct hearing until the conclusion of this Test match,” Procter said. “I am satisfied that with a further 24 hours India will have time to sufficiently prepare for this hearing.”The possibility of lawyers getting involved cannot be ruled out. The charge was laid by match umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor after the close of play after they received a complaint from the Australia captain Ricky Ponting.”They reported to me that there was a breach of conduct, reported to them by Ponting,” Procter said while talking to . “It’s a level three, which is pretty serious. The umpires didn’t hear anything, they didn’t know anything about it. I’m the adjudicator at the hearing, there will be witnesses called. The end result is what I want to achieve. To answer your question, yes lawyers could be involved.”The incident occurred while Harbhajan was batting and Matthew Hayden walked past Harbhajan after his confrontation with Symonds but did not reveal any details of the accusations or the conversation. “We believe we have a very strong case,” Hayden said at the close of the fourth day.”It’s a scenario none of us want to be in, we love the game and we hope we can move forward. Andrew’s a very strong character who had a great, tough upbringing in Charters Towers [in north Queensland] and we all love him and Australia love him.”Meanwhile, the ICC have asked British barrister Nigel Peters QC to advise Procter during the hearing. Talking to PTI, an ICC spokesperson said that Peters, who is also an elected committee member of the Marylebone Cricket Club, had assisted them in the past.If found guilty, Harbhajan could face a ban of between two and four Tests or four and eight one-day internationals. The hearing will take place after the conclusion of play on Sunday.

ScorecardNasir Hossain’s five-for included the wickets of Suresh Raina and Unmukt Chand•PTI

A sparkling all-round performance from Nasir Hossain led Bangladesh A to a 65-run win against India A in the second one-dayer, helping them level the series 1-1. Coming in at 82 for 5 in the 19th over, Nasir pulled Bangladesh A out of troubled waters with an unbeaten hundred, his third in List A matches, to lead them to a competitive 252 for 8 and then took five wickets, including those of Unmukt Chand and Suresh Raina, to make the win comfortable in the end.The India A chase looked on course when they were 119 for 1 in the 28th over, with Chand on 56, and even when Raina smacked Rubel Hossain for a six three overs later with the hosts needing 116 runs from 19 overs. But Nasir had Chand caught behind down the leg side, and had Raina and Karun Nair stumped within four balls to leave India A struggling at 146 for 5.Bangladesh A captain Mominul Haque brought Rubel back into the attack immediately from the other end, and the bowler did the needful by removing Sanju Samson for a golden duck and Karn Sharma for 2. Nasir then knocked over Rishi Dhawan’s off stump, also for a duck, thwarting India’s chance of a win.

India A captain Unmukt Chand on…

Squandering the start after Bangladesh A were 82 for 5
“We could not capitalise on the early wickets between the 20th and the 40th overs, we probably could have had more intensity on the ground.”
If complacency crept in while batting
“If there was any scope of complacency, it was in this match and we were a bit complacent, to be honest. We’ll probably come back stronger in the next match.”
Reasons for losing the match
“On wickets like these, it is important to hang in in there. It’s just a matter of staying there and letting the partnership flourish. I got out, then Manish got out, then all of us got out in quick succession. We didn’t have partnerships and that was the reason we lost this match.”
If 253 was chaseable
“Of course it was achievable on this wicket and with this outfield. In the last match also we saw runs are possible here and we were 120 for 1. But there were soft dismissals and this shows you what cricket is all about.”

Mayank Agarwal had given the chase an attacking start with three fours within the first four overs but fell to Rubel’s pace while going for a drive, for 24. Chand then took charge, alongside a circumspect Manish Pandey, and hit three fours in the ninth over off Shafiul Islam to push the run rate towards five. He was dropped on 21 by Liton Das off Rubel, and cashed in to cross 50 and take his team past 100. With things not going Bangladesh A’s way, Mominul used seven bowlers by the 27th over in a bid to break a partnership that grew to 88.It worked when Chand edged one off Nasir and Pandey made room against Rubel three overs later only to find his middle stump scattered. Rubel and Nasir combined to take six wickets for 20 runs and Gurkeerat Singh was the only batsman to hang on, scoring a 30-ball 34, before he ran out of partners.Earlier, put in to bat, Bangladesh A were thrown off track by double blows from Dhawan and legspinner Karn after they lost Rony Talukdar early. Soumya Sarkar and Anamul Haque had just started to push the throttle after a watchful and edgy fifty-run stand for the second wicket when Dhawan struck. Sarkar, who had been dropped twice, dragged one onto his stumps for 24 and Dhawan got Mominul’s edge in his next over. Three overs later Karn took a return catch off Anamul for 34 and struck Sabbir Rahman’s middle stump, after the batsman stepped out and missed, to leave the side at 82 for 5.The innings was resurrected by two crucial stands – the sixth-wicket partnership between Liton and Nasir for 70 runs, and seventh-wicket one between Nasir and Arafat Sunny for 50. Liton led the first partnership, collecting four fours between the 18th and 21st overs, and the two batsmen had just settled down when Dhawan came back for his second spell and Liton pulled him straight to the deep square leg fielder for 45.It was a Nasir Hossain show from there. The pitch seemed better for batting and he farmed the strike in the company of Sunny, Shafiul and Rubel. Soon after he brought up his fifty with a sweep in the 37th over, he smashed Karn over long-off like a confident top-order batsman for six. After Sunny and Shafiul fell within 16 balls, Nasir provided a strong finish by smacking Raina for three fours in an over – a slog sweep and two cover drives – to race from 76 to 88. With three overs still to go, he reached the three-figure mark off 94 balls and took his team single-handedly past 250, collecting 41 runs in the last five overs with the tail-enders

It took only seven balls for Samiullah Shenwari’s delight at Afghanistan’s first appearance in a World Cup to descend into personal disaster as the focus turned once again onto the umpiring confusion that has scarred the first week of cricket’s biggest tournament.Seven balls for Afghanistan’s designs on a victory against Bangladesh to adorn the greatest day in their cricketing history to run into difficulties as Shenwari was barred from the attack for running on the pitch amid unclear umpiring signals that had countless millions of viewers mired in confusion.The ICC insisted that Steve Davis, the Australian umpire, had twice warned Shenwari for running on the pitch and that correct protocol under Law 42.12 had been followed.Andy Moles, Afghanistan’s coach, made no protests, merely indicating that Shenwari had never before fallen foul of umpires for running on the pitch.But that did not disguise the fact that Shenwari’s punishment caught commentators and many millions of viewers by surprise – and that for the second time in a matter of days umpiring standards were under scrutiny.Three officials – Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena and Billy Bowden – were involved in another controversial decision during the World Cup opener between Australia and England in Melbourne, where James Anderson was adjudged run out on the same delivery after James Taylor had reviewed a leg-before decision against him, which was overturned by the DRS. The ICC later admitted that the ball should have been deemed dead.

Law 42.12

Bowler running on protected area after delivering the ball
(a) A bowler will contravene this Law if he runs on to the protected area, either after delivering the ball or, if he fails to release the ball, after the completion of his delivery swing and delivery stride.
(b) If the bowler contravenes this Law, at the first instance and when the ball is dead, the umpire shall:
(i) caution the bowler and inform the other umpire of what has occurred, this caution shall apply throughout the innings.
(ii) inform the captain of the fielding side and the batsmen of what has occurred.
(c) If, in that innings, the same bowler again contravenes this Law, the umpire shall repeat the above procedure indicating that this is a final warning. This warning shall also apply throughout the innings.
(d) If in that innings the same bowler contravenes this Law a third time, the umpire shall:
(i) when the ball is dead, direct the captain of the fielding side to suspend the bowler forthwith. The bowler thus suspended shall not be allowed to bowl again in that innings.

Even the ICC’s assurances could not hide the fact that the visible protocol employed by umpire Ian Gould when Mohammad Irfan ventured on to the danger area in Pakistan’s opening match against India was markedly different to that displayed by Davis, who was less clear.Against India, Irfan was obviously warned twice after which he switched his line of attack to round the wicket for both right- and left-hand batsmen and finished his quota of 10 overs. Gould signalled a first warning and second warning for everyone to see. By contrast, Shenwari’s fate took onlookers by surprise. Umpire Davis issued what was assumed to be the first warning from the last ball of Shenwari’s first over then banned him after the first ball of his next. Presumably, an earlier caution had been missed.What occurred therefore was inconsistency in protocols at best; ordinary umpiring at worst.Law 42.12 requires an umpire to “caution the bowler and inform the other umpire of what has occurred” in the first instance, and also “inform the captain of the fielding side and the batsmen”. If in the same innings the bowler runs on to the danger area again, the umpire has to repeat the procedure indicating that it is a final warning.In Irfan’s case, during the 26th over of India’s innings, Gould was clearly seen to warn Irfan and his captain on two occasions. At the first warning, after the first ball, he was seen raising one finger. After the fourth delivery of the same over he was seen raising two fingers to suggest it was the second warning. Nobody could be in any doubt.The commentator, and ESPNcricinfo contributor, Mark Nicholas remarked that Irfan had also been unofficially warned when bowling from the other end by umpire Richard Kettleborough – a friendly piece of advice prevalent in the game.Davis’ gestures – hardly designed for the masses – were so understated that the ICC felt compelled to state that correct procedure had been followed. According to the ICC, the match officials stated that Shenwari, the bowler, and his captain were nevertheless warned twice in the first over and that after bowling the first ball of the second over, Shenwari was therefore quite correctly removed in accordance with Law 42.12.But in Shenwari’s case, only at the end of Shenwari’s first over, does the video show Davis issuing a clear warning, with the raising of one finger. When Shenwari came back to bowl the first ball of his second over, he contravened the law again, and was taken off immediately.Even allowing for the official explanation that Davis did issue a first caution earlier in Shenwari’s opening over – and there is no visual evidence to support that – then the signals and gestures made by the two umpires were inconsistent and were designed only to create confusion.Umpires have their own variations of signals and gestures for various decisions, but they rarely differ as wildly as Gould and Davis have in this scenario: a fact the ICC might now have to consider tightening up to be more accessible in an age of mass TV.And, if Nicholas was correct that Irfan also received an unofficial, friendly warning from Kettleborough that he was in danger of punishment before Gould then twice issued official warnings then, by comparison, Shenwari, on the greatest day in Afghanistan’s history, seemed to have fallen foul of umpiring at its most authoritarian.Moles, typically for all those who knew him in his county days at Warwickshire, took a lugubrious view. Afghanistan have had tougher challenges than authoritarian umpires with dodgy hand signals.”It’s disappointing for him, but I don’t think it had an effect on the outcome of the game,” he said. “It’s something we’ll have to go and work on. In the seven months I’ve been in the job I’ve never known him to be called for it before but looking at the TV evidence he certainly was in the infringing area.”If Afghanistan did not know that it is tough playing cricket with the big boys in a World Cup, they certainly know that now.

Practice match or not, Australia’s players psyched themselves up for the Adelaide encounter with India as the start of their campaign to lift the World Cup. Pat Cummins rated the hosts’ display as a nine or 10 out of 10, and based on the even contribution of numerous players and the wide margin it was hard to argue.”We lost a few wickets but to get 370-odd and on a really good wicket keep them down to much less than that, I think it was pretty much as good as we could have asked for,” Cummins said. “We looked at it as the first game of our World Cup campaign and everyone’s really excited to be in camp for the World Cup and I think it showed out there especially when we were fielding, everyone was buzzing around.”Most pleasing was that we were pretty clinical almost the whole 100 overs. The batsmen went and were fearless but batted quite normally, and then in the field it was great to see everyone buzz around. So really happy. I think the fact there is 15 players, when you do get your chance you really want to go well. So if we’re only going to bowl six overs we’ve got to make sure our six overs are the best we bowl. Pretty happy tonight.”The pressure for spots that Cummins spoke of has drawn greater accountability from Glenn Maxwell, who showed his development as a batsman of rare power but also an effective spin bowler in another match award-winning display to follow the triangular series final against England in Perth.”Phenomenal isn’t he?” said Cummins. “He’s done that a few times this summer, he’s a freak to watch bat. I think even us who’ve played with him a lot and seen him in the nets, we don’t know what’s next. He surprises himself half the time and I wouldn’t like to be bowling to him.”I think he’s been bowling beautifully this summer in one dayers. He’s certainly more than a part-timer, most games he’s getting eight or nine overs out and taking some crucial wickets. I think his spin overs are really important.”The only odd note struck during the course of India’s innings was an exchange between Shane Watson, David Warner and the umpires after a return throw bounced on the pitch. Cummins indicated the players had been told to keep their throws up to preserve the ball, something that was not appreciated by Warner in particular – warm-up matches do not have a match referee.”It was all pretty casual banter,” Cummins said. “One of the boys threw the ball in, the umpire said keep it up and the boys seemed to be complaining or something. But nothing too much to it.”Australia’s squad departs Adelaide on Monday morning ahead of their second and final practice match against the UAE at the MCG on Wednesday. India face Afghanistan in Adelaide on Tuesday.

Simon Jones is the latest England quick bowler to question the selection of Darren Pattinson for the second Test against South Africa. Jones was overlooked for a recall along with Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison, with the selectors preferring Pattinson who had played just 11 first-class matches.Since his success at the 2005 Ashes, Jones has been riddled with injuries but this season has returned to fitness. He is Worcestershire’s second leading wicket-taker with 32 scalps from seven matches.”I was a bit disappointed with the last Test, with the selections,” Jones told the . “They obviously chose him [Pattinson] because they thought he was the right man for the job but I’m sure a few bowlers around England were a bit disappointed.”Jones believes reputation alone is not good enough for the England selectors. He knows that he must prove himself by bowling his way back into the line-up. “It’s just a matter of keeping on taking wickets and pushing” he said. “I’d love to get back into the side and I’m sure Hoggy would too, and Steve Harmison.”However, he is hoping that his return to bowling with sustained pace will put him firmly back in the England frame before long. “It’s been a really good feeling to get back up to 91mph – that’s a good way to put your point across”.Jones’s confidence in regaining his Test place is not matched by Hoggard. “At the moment I think my international career is over.” Hoggard said following his omission at Headingley. “I’m back in the ranks and everyone has got to prove themselves and pick up the wickets to get back to that level.”

A strong MCC squad, managed by Tony Dodemaide, the Club’s Head of Cricket, is to tour Australia over Christmas and the New Year.MCC will play five matches in Melbourne and Sydney, including a game against Melbourne Cricket Club on 31st December.In addition to Tony Dodemaide, the former Australian Test all-rounder, the touring party includes Derbyshire’s Kevin Dean, plus three former county cricketers – Tim Hodgson (Essex), Mark Scott (Worcestershire) and Richard Kettleborough (Yorkshire and Middlesex).The touring party will leave for Australia on Christmas Day, and return after its final match, on 10th January, against a Bradman XI at the Bradman Oval.Over the coming year, other overseas tours will take MCC teams to places as diverse as Italy, Papua New Guinea and Nepal.MCC’s first tour to Australia took place 99 years ago (in 1903/4) and, in total, the Club’s teams now play almost 500 matches a year.The full touring party is:Tony Dodemaide (manager)
Tim Kirk (captain)
Dave Burden (umpire)
Brian Mulholland (scorer)
Graham Beckett
Kevin Dean
Stephen Dyer
Jim Freeth
Tim Hodgson
Richard Kettleborough
Bobby Lowe
John Marx
Joe Porter
Andy Roberts
Mark Scott
Robert WalkerThe tour itinerary is:31st December
Melbourne Cricket Club (Melbourne Cricket Ground)2nd January
Crusaders (Hume and Hovell Cricket Club)6th January
Australian Old Collegians Cricket Association (St Ignatius College)8th January
Sydney University (Sydney University)10th January
Bradman XI (Bradman Oval)