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Brad Hodge and Shane Harwood return to Victoria’s Pura Cup side for the match against Western Australia which starts on Friday in Melbourne. Hodge is back from Australia’s tour of India, and he will take the place of the allrounder Andrew McDonald, who has had a shoulder operation.Harwood slots in for Peter Siddle, who bruised his heel during last week’s FR Cup match against South Australia, in which Harwood captured five wickets to take Victoria to the 16-run win. Siddle’s loss is a blow as he impressed in the Pura Cup match, bowling sharply to take seven wickets, including five in the second innings.Hodge has a few points to prove following a less-than-impressive display for Australia. He averaged 9.83 in six one-day innings, with a top score of 20. “I’ll be looking to get my own form back on track after a disappointing Indian tour,” he said, “and can’t wait to play a four-day Pura Cup match and build on the Bushrangers’ impressive first-up win last week.” Victoria beat South Australia by 270 runs.Victoria squad Michael Klinger, Robert Quiney, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Nick Jewell, Cameron White (capt), Matthew Wade (wk), Gerard Denton, Bryce McGain, Shane Harwood, Dirk Nannes, Allan Wise.

Injury worries plagued both North Zone and Sri Lanka A ahead of their clash in the Duleep Trophy final at Kolkata tomorrow. VRV Singh, the Punjab fast bowler, has been ruled out with a viral fever while Malinda Warnapura, Sri Lanka A’s star batsman, and Upul Chandana, their legspinner, are unlikely starters.Warnapura, the only Sri Lankan batsman to score a hundred in the tournament, injured his shoulder during a fielding drill, while Chandana pulled a hamstring. Neither Warnapura or Chandana have been ruled out of the match and a decision will be taken tomorrow, according to the medical staff. The back-up options for both players are Jeewan Mendis, a left-handed batsman, and Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner with international experience. Ishara Amerasinghe and Kosela Kulasekara, both right-arm medium pace bowlers, are the other bowling options.The two captains, Mithun Manhas and Thilan Samaraweera, reckoned it was a good pitch to bat on after inspecting it during practice. “Its firm and should not break in five days,” said Manhas. “Gautam [Gambhir] and [Ashish] Nehra didn’t practice because they were yet to arrive, but we have no worries.”Sri Lanka A, in their Duleep Trophy debut, brushed aside West Zone by 195 runs before staging an improbable comeback, thanks to a battling lower order, against South Zone at this same venue. Samaraweera felt his side had the advantage. “We’ve been here [in Kolkata] longer than North Zone have, and we’ve played here before,” he said. “We’ve got contributions from everybody yet not many big scores from the top order. On such a pitch like the one here, it’s a case of getting runs on the board.”Sri Lanka A are the first foreign team to compete with the Indian zonal sides – after England A, Bangladesh Academy XI and Zimbabwe A had been completely outclassed. But they will need something special if they’re to upstage North Zone, a team with a record 16 Duleep Trophy titles.

Chris Simpson, the 23-year-old allrounder, has been rewarded for his off-season performances with places in the opening Queensland ING and Pura Cup teams. Queensland open the summer with a one-day match against New South Wales at the Gabba on Friday and then host Tasmania in a four-day game starting on Monday.One of the three fittest players in the Bulls squad, Simpson missed more than half of last season with a wrist injury, but he impressed the selectors when captaining the Queensland Academy of Sport during the State Institute Challenge in August. An offspinner, Simpson has already collected 15 grade wickets for Wynnum-Manly.The Australian players Andrew Symonds and James Hopes will return from international duty for the fixtures while Michael Kasprowicz’s fitness is being monitored after suffering a minor hamstring problem two weeks ago. New South Wales, who are in camp on the Sunshine Coast this week, will also have Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken on duty.Jimmy Maher and Brad Haddin, the two captains, will be able to use power plays and super subs for the first time as the domestic competition adapts the new ICC one-day rules.Queensland ING Cup squad1 Jimmy Maher (capt), 2 James Hopes, 3 Andrew Symonds, 4 Clinton Perren, 5 Craig Philipson, 6 Chris Simpson, 7 Chris Hartley (wk), 8 Andy Bichel, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Mitchell Johnson, 11 Michael Kasprowicz, 12 Brendan Nash.New South Wales
1 Phil Jaques, 2 Matthew Phelps, 3 Dominic Thornely, 4 Corey Richards, 5 Ed Cowan, 6 James Packman, 7 Brad Haddin (capt, wk), 8 Aaron O’Brien, 9 Matthew Nicholson, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Doug Bollinger, 12 Stuart Clark.Queensland Pura Cup squad
1 Jimmy Maher (capt), 2 Clinton Perren, 3 Martin Love, 4 Andrew Symonds, 5 Craig Philipson, 6 James Hopes, 7 Chris Simpson, 8 Lachlan Stevens, 9 Chris Hartley (wk), 10 Andy Bichel, 11 Michael Kasprowicz, 12 Mitchell Johnson.

Sourav Ganguly is free to play in the first Test against South Africa at Kanpur, which starts on Saturday (Nov 20), after the ICC decided that it was impractical for the appeal against his two-match ban to be heard before the match.Ganguly was banned for two Tests by Clive Lloyd, the ICC referee, after India bowled their overs very slowly in the one-dayer against Pakistan at Kolkata last Saturday. But the Indian Board decided to appeal against Lloyd’s sentence, and Tim Castle, the ICC’s appeals commissioner, realised that the earliest date that the appeal could be heard was on the morning of the first Test.The ICC announced: “After considering the implications of having this type of discussion on the morning of a game, Mr Castle elected to schedule the teleconference for the earliest possible time after the scheduled finish of the game rather than disrupting the Indian team’s preparations. All parties consented to delaying the matter until after the scheduled finish of the game.”Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, explained: “It is impractical for this teleconference to take place on the morning of a match when the outcome may have been that the captain of one of the teams is unable to take his place in the side.” He confirmed that since the appeal will not be determined before the game, Ganguly is now free to take his place in the first Test.Ganguly’s availability might be bad news for Mohammad Kaif, who might now miss out on playing in front of his home fans.

Hampshire gave first-class debuts to three young cricketers Dominic Clapp a trialist who had been on the Sussex books, James Bruce and Mark Thorburn (who had previously played the standard for Durham UCCE) for the visit to the Parks. The Drawn 3 day match against Oxford Universities Cricket Center of Excellence was finally finished when heavy rain led to an earlier abandonement.Chosing to bat first the Oxford captain Joe Sayers took advantage to post a five and three quarter hour century. The opening bowlers Bruce and Thorburn showed some pace with the new ball, and all the seam bowlers shared the spoils as the home side made a credidable 281. The oldest man in the Hampshire side showd his experience, Shaun Udal finally dismissing the Yorkshire born Sayers, then polishing off the tail for figures of 4-50.Will Kendall emulated his opposite number when he batted for Hampshire with a splandit 114, the former Oxford Blue smiting 16 fours in the process. he shared a 161 run partnership with Lawrence Prittipaul, then after his dismissal declared 19 runs behind.Australian Ed Cowan gave the Oxford second innings imputus, and was very unfortunate to receive a ball that hardly lifted off the ground from Udal to be adjudged LBW on 99. Stuart Airey with a late burst enabled Oxford to set a target of 290 in approximately 50 overs. Udal again finished with 4 wickets.For just a few minutes in the Oxford 2nd Innings, an up and coming young player took the field as 12th man for Hampshire, one Robin Smith.Despite a good start from Derek Kenway and James Hamblin posting a century partnership in 14 overs. Both were dismissed in quick time however and the task against the spinners on a slow low wicket was never going to be on, so the rain came as a sort of relief to both sides.

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.

Challenging light conditions and a system crash contributed to the unavailability of ball-tracking for an lbw appeal against Jason Holder late on the final day of the Boxing Day Test, the technology operators EagleEye have revealed.An ageing ball and stark shadows across the MCG were making it difficult for ball-tracking cameras to pick up the ball to a level that satisfied the technology’s handlers, causing them to state to the broadcast producer that they could not provide a ball-tracking model of the Holder lbw appeal immediately.When EagleEye operators then attempted to track the Peter Siddle delivery via Nine’s video footage – the secondary option – a system crash meant they were unable to do so in time for the DRS referral, though it was shown later to demonstrate the ball was missing leg stump.Such eventualities are accounted for in DRS protocols, with the third umpire Ian Gould duly compelled to return to the on-field umpire Marais Erasmus’ original decision of not out. Australia did not lose a review as a result of the course of events. Ian Taylor, head of the New Zealand company Animation Research that provides EagleEye for the broadcaster Channel Nine, said the firm took responsibility for the outcome.”The guys weren’t happy with the first data they got because of a lighting issue so they did a re-track from the video. Unfortunately when they did that the system crashed and they lost the video,” Taylor told ESPNcricinfo. “Doing the re-track without the video takes much longer.”They had to let the producer know they weren’t happy with what they had and advised him there was no useable track available at the time. That is part of the protocol and in that case ‘umpire’s call’ stands. They did retrieve the track in the end but it was too late to use, but they did put it to air.”I want to be clear this is our responsibility. We weren’t able to track this ball to a satisfactory standard and said so.”Taylor said this was only the third such occasion that EagleEye operators had needed to indicate they were unhappy with the data they were getting, in an association with cricket in Australia that dates back to the 2010-11 Ashes summer. By contrast, Taylor said that the Marlon Samuels lbw in the first innings of the match – considered by many to be out though tracking had the ball clearing the stumps – was not a source of consternation for the company.”They were happy with it,” Taylor said of the operators at the MCG. “Side-on showed he was on his tip toes and he was hit on the top of the pad. They felt happy with that tracking, based on what the side-on cameras showed.”There are ongoing discussions between technology operators and the ICC about how to further improve the system, including the advent of a specialist third umpires rather than the current rotation between on-field and off-field duty. It is believed that this concept is also supported by the umpires themselves, as they find it difficult to make the adjustment from the instincts required in the middle to the data analysis of the television review job.Taylor is also an advocate for a system of universal DRS training to be undertaken by umpires and technology operators alike, so all are accredited with the same knowledge base and thus have a greater degree of trust in each other. The Holder lbw was discussed between the match referee Chris Broad and officials from both teams following the conclusion of the Test. Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann said his team remained staunch supporters of the system.”You just want them to get it right, that’s all, make sure the technology is up to speed,” Lehmann said. “Everyone loves it, we’re pro it, it’s just making sure they get it right. It was missing leg stump, they handled it well from a match referee/ICC point of view, where we didn’t lose a review, got that back. Making sure it’s working 100% of the time is the key.”

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has made a two-month contract extension for players in the national squad, with plans to review the payment structure based on performances in the National Cricket League.”The contracts expired on September 30, but we have decided to extended it by two months” Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the chairman of the board’s cricket operations committee, told the Dhaka-based .”We have extended the contract to create a level playing field for the cricketers in the upcoming National Cricket League before confirming the new salary structure. We want to see how the national players make the difference with the others in the competition. Performance should be the only yardstick.”The BCB currently has 21 players, divided into three categories, under its payroll. Hossain said that stand-out performers would be given national contracts. “We are determined to ensure that the country’s first-class competition would be meaningful all the way. We will love to see them [cricketers] give the tournament similar importance like international cricket.”The BCB has also decided to conduct interviews for physiotherapists to handle the six divisional teams taking part in the competition.

John Buchanan’s son Michael is on the verge of a Queensland one-day debut after being named in the Ford Ranger Cup squad for the season-starting game against Tasmania at the Gabba on Wednesday. Buchanan, a batting allrounder who played in the Twenty20 competition last season, was the only new face in a squad missing Michael Kasprowicz with a worrying back injury and the Australian trio of Symonds, Watson and Johnson.Buchanan, 23, last night delivered the news to his father, who is with the Champions Trophy squad in India, and the Australian coach was “thrilled”. “He’s very happy at the moment,” Michael, who scored a century in a 2nd XI match against South Australia last week, said. “He’s been a very big influence, not just for cricket, but rugby as well.”While batting is Buchanan’s preferred discipline, he has been opening the bowling for his new club University while Kasprowicz has been injured and his versatility appealed to the Queensland selectors. Buchanan is not assured of a place in the final XI on Wednesday and will probably battle for a spot alongside Chris Simpson and Nathan Rimmington. Rimmington has also been named in the Pura Cup side for the game on Friday as a replacement for Kasprowicz.The squad announcement coincided with Terry Oliver signing a new two-year deal that will take him past Buchanan as Queensland’s longest-serving coach. Oliver has been in charge for the past four seasons and was behind the Pura Cup victory at the Gabba in March.”I’m not a big one for milestones so I wasn’t aware that I would go past Buck,” Oliver said. “It’s very pleasing in a way because Buck set the platform up for the coaches who have followed in Bennett King and myself.” Buchanan was coach between 1994 and 1999 while Oliver took over from King in 2002.Tasmania’s Michael Di Venuto and Adam Griffith have been passed fit for Wednesday’s game and the Pura Cup fixture after returning from county stints with minor injuries that forced them out of the squad’s pre-season tour. However, Tim Coyle, the coach, said both players will be “100 percent ready” to face the Bulls.Queensland FR Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Matthew Hayden, James Hopes, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Brendan Nash, Michael Buchanan, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Chris Simpson, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Rimmington.Tasmania FR Cup squad Daniel Marsh (capt), George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Travis Birt, Luke Butterworth, Michael Di Venuto, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Ben Hilfenhaus, Tim Paine (wk).Queensland Pura Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Matthew Hayden, Martin Love, Clinton Perren, Lachlan Stevens, James Hopes, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Ashley Noffke, Daniel Doran, Nathan Rimmington, Brendan Nash.Tasmania Pura Cup squad Daniel Marsh (capt), George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Travis Birt, Luke Butterworth, Sean Clingeleffer (wk), Michael Di Venuto, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Ben Hilfenhaus, Tim Paine.