Andrew Hilditch, the selector accompanying the Australian team in KualaLumpur, lavished praise on Mitchell Johnson after his stunning four-wicketburst against India, but insisted there were no second thoughts overthe decision to send him home midway through thetournament. With two league matches left, Australia are set to relyon more experienced hands, with the likes of Matthew Hayden, AndrewSymonds and Brett Lee coming back into the XI.”We made a decision at the start of the tournament to bring a larger groupthan normal,” said Hilditch. “We brought 18 players. We’ve got long- andshort-term goals for Australian cricket, and we took the opportunity tohave a look at some very exciting young players. The tour group is toolarge and we told them in advance that they’d be playing only the firsttwo games.”We’re thrilled with how they’ve gone. Obviously, Mitchell Johnson’sperformance last night was fantastic, a big moment for Australian cricketand for him. But now we get on with the rest of the tour. We’ve got Haydos[Hayden] coming back, which is exciting for us and for him.Michael Hussey will captain tomorrow, and Symonds and Lee come back intothe team.”When it was suggested that the move might halt Johnson’s momentum,Hilditch disagreed. “There’s a much bigger picture. He was told what hehad to do, and he’s taken his chance. That’s all you can do in cricket.This tournament is pretty unique in that we’ve not had any internationalcricket for about five months. We planned pretty carefully to get the bestout of it for the players and Australian cricket. It’s probably a one-off,but there were a lot of players we wanted to see exposed to internationalcricket.”After the Ashes last year, there was an opinion that the Australian teamwas past its best, and too dependent on an ageing core. The decision toblood youngsters was a conscious one, done to ensure that there would beno downswing similar to that caused by the exits of Greg Chappell, DennisLillee and Rodney Marsh in 1983-84.”The Australian side’s been a great side for a long period of time,” saidHilditch. “Some of the players that are going to leave Australian cricketare legends. Part of the process is to get these younger players aroundthe senior players and learning from them.”The biggest concern following the Ashes defeat had centred on the paceattack, and how it would cope in Glenn McGrath’s absence. The emergence ofJohnson, and the return from injury of Shaun Tait now gives the selectorsenviable options ahead of the Ashes. “I think we’ve made a fair bit ofprogress,” said Hilditch. “We’ve got a lot of good fast bowlers still notin the squad. Jason Gillespie’s there, one of the greatest bowlersAustralia’s produced with over 250 Test wickets. He’s going to push hardfor the Ashes. Tait’s an exciting prospect, and Mitchell’s seizing hisopportunities. His progress over the last six months has been quiteamazing. And we have Stuart Clark, who played really well in SouthAfrica.”He said that Tait had been close to selection for this tour, but “he’sstill got a bit of a shoulder issue that stops him throwing fulldistance”. And while appreciative of the variety that Johnson gave theattack, Hilditch wasn’t of the view that being a left-arm bowler gave himany special status. “I think the Australian cricket team’s at its bestwhen it’s got its best players on the paddock, whether they’re left orright-handed,” he said. “Left-handers obviously have certain advantages,if they can swing it. But if a right-hander swings the ball, he’s gotadvantages too.”He paid tribute to the system that nurtures talent – “We’ve got a verygood identification programme, a very good academy, and we’ve been followingMitchell’s progress for five years really” – and he reckoned that sterlingperformances from young players didn’t necessarily upset the selectionaims. “If a young player takes an opportunity, it doesn’t complicatethings, it’s just good,” he said. On Saturday’s evidence – Shane Watsonsmashed 79 from 74 balls, before Johnson stole the show – it was hard toargue with such an assessment.

South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje have both made themselves available for selection to play in the Champions Trophy in India in October and November.Gibbs and Boje have avoided touring India since 2000, as they have failed to obtain any assurance from India that they will not be detained by the police with regards to questioning on the match-fixing scandal.Gerald Majola, the board’s chief executive, said: “Herschelle and Nicky have confirmed that they will go to India if selected and that they will co-operate fully with any interviews which the Indian Police may wish to hold with them.”Cricket South Africa will now put forward their names to the selection panel and support them in need, which we hope will assist in the investigation, in order to minimise any disruption to the team’s training and playing programme. Their lawyers will also be available to take appropriate steps to protect all of their rights.”Gibbs had earlier confirmed his desire to travel to India but had inflamed the situation with criticisms of the Indian authorities.In an interview with in South Africa, Gibbs told features editor Mark van Dijk: “Ja, I am going to go. But my lawyer’s coming with me. I’ve put forward a proposal to Cricket South Africa, which was discussed on Thursday. I’ve proposed that my lawyer and I will travel with the team, and once we get to the hotel, they can then do the questioning at the hotel.”I’ve got the 18 questions that they want to ask me. It’s basically exactly the same stuff that I answered at the King Commission. I’ll just be repeating myself.”Gibbs claimed that the delays were all at the Indian end: “They haven’t really played their part,” he shrugged. “You know, we’ve asked them many a time to come question me on neutral territory, and they refuse. So it’s not like I haven’t made the effort. It’s them being hard-arses. That’s it.”However, KK Paul, the Delhi Police commissioner, rebutted the claim. “I haven’t received any such communication,” he told Cricinfo. “If he has to say anything, let him communicate through the board. So far, I haven’t received any such offers from the board or from him.” Gibbs responded later on Thursday in a statement issued via Cricket South Africa in a placatory manner: “I recognise that the police have their processes to follow and I am sorry if it has appeared that I was critical of these. I think whatever I said may have been taken out of context. I’m now really looking forward to representing my country in India at the ICC Champions Trophy.”Tony Irish, the chief executive of the South African Cricketers Association, added: “Over the last five or six years there was uncertainty about a number of things. Legal advice obtained by Herschelle and Nicky has understandably been cautious. I think however, that the players’ great desire to play cricket in India again and to participate in this ICC Champions Trophy has overtaken everything else.”

Five Australians will make their debut against New Zealand on Wednesday in the first women’s Twenty20 international to be played in Australia. Sarah Andrews (NSW), Melissa Bulow (Qld), Michelle Goszko (NSW), Leah Poulton (NSW) and Jodie Purves (Qld) are in the Southern Stars’ starting line-up for their opening experiences of the short-form game at Allan Border Field.It is only Australia’s second Twenty20 after the seven-wicket win against England during the 2005 tour. Karen Rolton smashed an unbeaten 96 from only 53 balls as they reached the target with more than two overs to spare.The game on Wednesday is part of New Zealand’s tour of Australia, which includes a battle for the Rose Bowl over five ODIs. Rolton will lead the side during the series and the first one-day match begins on Friday.Australia Twenty20 side Karen Rolton (capt), Lisa Sthalekar, Sarah Andrews, Kate Blackwell, Melissa Bulow, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Michelle Goszko, Julie Hayes, Kirsten Pike, Leah Poulton, Jodie Purves (wk).New Zealand squad Haidee Tiffen (capt), Nicola Browne, Maria Fahey, Louise Milliken, Helen Watson, Aimee Mason, Rebecca Rolls, Sarah Burke, Sara McGlashan, Ros Kember, Sophie Devine, Anna Dodd, Sarah Tsukigawa.Itinerary
October 18, Twenty20, Australia v New Zealand (all games at Allan Border Field, Brisbane)
October 20, 1st ODI, Australia v New Zealand
October 22, 2nd ODI, Australia v New Zealand
October 24, 3rd ODI, Australia v New Zealand
October 26, 4th ODI, Australia v New Zealand
October 28, 5th ODI, Australia v New Zealand

Sri Lanka cricketers Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga are to be honoured by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) at a gala dinner at the Cinnamon Grand hotel on Sunday, November 19 for their recent achievements on the international fold.Jayawardene, who took over as captain from Marvan Atapattu, was named the captain of the year in the recent ICC Awards held in Mumbai. His excellent leadership and batting, especially during Sri Lanka’s tour of England and in the home series against South Africa, helped him win the prize. He established a world-record partnership of 624 with Kumar Sangakkara in the first Test against South African at the SSC, the highest partnership in Test and first-class cricket history for any wicket.Jayasuriya and Tharanga also figured in a world-record stand when they put on 287, the highest opening partnership in ODI history, against England at Leeds last summer. Jayasuriya scored 152 and Tharanga 109.”We must honour the players who bring glory to the country with their achievements on the cricket field,” said K Mathivanan, the Sri Lanka Cricket secretary. “This sort of recognition will motivate not only the national cricketers further but others as well.”The 400 guests will include past presidents and secretaries of Sri Lanka Cricket, the 47 clubs affiliated to SLC and former national cricketers. Among the honoured guests expected to grace the occasion are Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lankan captain, Aravinda de Silva, Jayantha Dharmadasa, SLC’s interim committee president and Jeevan Kumaratunga, the Sports Minister.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A five-wicket haul by Abdur Razzak helped Bangladesh gain anunassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match one-day series, as they beat Zimbabweby 26 runs in the third match at Bogra. Zimbabwe gave themselves a shot atgaining their maiden victory of the series after a committed display in the field,restricting the opposition to 220. However, the batsmen, barring SeanWilliams, failed to respond to the task as they were bowled out for 194.Razzak, continued his purple patch in this series with superb figures of 5 for 33, his best figures in ODIs.As has been the trend in this series, Bangladesh rode on the performance of their spinners and an impressive opening burst by their fast bowlers, who gave little away.Brendan Taylor was the first to go, beaten for pace by Shahadat Hossain. Stuart Matsikenyeri wasn’t afraid to free his arms, and that approach fetched him a few powerful boundaries through the off side off the seamers. But Zimbabwe’s struggles against spin continued as Razzak – brought in as early as the 10th over -struck with two wickets in his first over. Matsikenyeri failed tocapitalise on his start and was bowled trying to swing across the line, while twoballs later Chamu Chibhabha was sent packing, trapped in front. HamiltonMasakadza went soon after, slashing hard at an outswinger, and at 48 for4, Zimbabwe were in dire trouble.They nearly lost a fifth when Shahriar Nafees dropped a sitter atthird man, giving Williams a reprieve on 2, and his 75-run stand withElton Chigumbura gave Zimbabwe hope. Both though, were forced to graft itout, with spinners operating from both ends. The pair managed just threeboundaries in a space of ten overs as the asking rate mounted. Razzak,Saqibul Hasan and Mohammad Rafique managed to combat the dew and stick toa restrictive line, not allowing any width as the trio conceded just 116runs in 30 overs. Mashrafe Mortaza, brought back for a second spell,rocked Zimbabwe further as Chigumbura gloved one down the leg side for 31,with his side still 98 adrift of the target. Williams and Keith Dabengwadid, however, revive Zimbabwe’s fortunes with a fluent 58-run stand, but it was too little too late. Razzak returned for his second spell and claimed two wickets to seal Zimbabwe’s fate.

It was a pitch which tested the batsmen from both teams – Bangladesh’s batsmen struggled too after getting off to a flier. Put in to bat, Bangladeshlooked set to post a tall score as the openers, Nafees and MehrabHossain, exploited the wayward offerings by the Zimbabwe fast bowlers, who struggled to control the early swing. Nafees’s dismissal, caught brilliantly by GaryBrent at leg gully, brought Aftab Ahmed to the crease and he wasted notime in stating his intent, charging down the pitch against Ed Rainsford,picking up a streaky boundary down to third man, followed by a morecontrolled loft over midwicket. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, it ended upbeing one of his typical cameo knocks, as he top-edged a sweep to shortfine leg for 16, immediately after Prosper Utseya brought himself on.Zimbabwe then clawed back as several batsmen were guilty of hurrying into theirstrokes on a sluggish pitch.Bangladesh were comfortably placed at 100 for 2 at the end of the 20th over, but the next ten yielded only 25, owing to miserly spells by Utseya and Williams, the left-arm spinner. The reintroduction of Christopher Mpofu,the medium pacer who had a nightmare opening spell, yielded immediateresults as he accounted for Hossain and Habibul Bashar in quick succession- both dismissals characterised by the ball stopping on the batsmen.Mpofu later cleaned up the tail to pick up a four-wicket haul.With runs hard to come by, Ashraful finally broke the shackles with acouple of boundaries and showed more urgency with his running. Dabengwa, the third specialist spinner – who was held back by Utseya tillthe 42nd over – struck soon, with three quick wickets, accounting forKhaled Mashud, Rafique and Ashraful. The body language of the Zimbabweansreflected in their sprightly performance in the field, as they pouched some sharpcatches. Mashrafe Mortaza’s late-innings fireworks proved crucial as itlifted Bangladesh to 220, giving their bowlers a competitive total todefend.

69 – The third-wicket partnership between Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. It’s the highest for that wicket for India against South Africa in Tests, beating the unbeaten 60 the same pair put together at Kolkata in 2004.14.88 – India’s average partnership for the third wicket in Tests in South Africa, with just two half-century stands in 17 tries.22.77 – The average Indian opening-wicket stand in Tests in South Africa. In 18 partnerships they’ve only managed two fifty-plus scores, with a highest of 9044 – Tendulkar’s score in the first innings, his highest in nine Test innings in 2006. If he fails to get at least a half-century in this Test and the next, it’ll be the first time since 1991 that he’ll have gone an entire year without a fifty-plus score in Tests. (Click here for Tendulkar’s career summary in Tests.)0.86 – Rahul Dravid’s scoring rate against Shaun Pollock. In 28 balls, he managed just four runs. Pollock ended the day with 1 for 14 from 12 overs, an economy rate of 1.16 runs per over40 – The number of deliveries left alone by the Indian batsmen in the morning session of 14 overs

Lydia Greenway, the left-hander, has been recalled by England for the World Series to be held in India in February .Greenway, who enjoyed fine domestic summer in 2006, is joined by Ebony Rainford-Brent, who has been working hard to recover from a back injury. She is currently on the Surrey Academy working alongside Gareth Townsend and has been involved with the England winter training squad since October. The tour will also be the first for Holly Colvin, still only 16, and Sarah Taylor, one year Colvin’s senior.”This is a really important series for us,” Richard Bates, the England coach, said, “as it will give us a great indication of where we stand against the other top teams and will be great practice with the World Cup just two years away.”One-day cricket is the most important format in the women’s game as it is what we are ranked on, so we have picked a squad geared towards that format. We’ve got great strength and depth in all departments, so we’re in a positive mood and feeling confident after our recent 4-0 win over India.”We have selected a young and talented squad, with the majority of players having toured the sub-continent before,” Bates said. “Ebony Rainford-Brent has been added to the squad as a genuine allrounder and Holly Colvin and Sarah Taylor add further depth to the bowling and batting departments. The squad is preparing well and look in good shape for a successful series.”Charlotte Edwards, the captain, spoke of her excitement at the number of “great youngsters coming through” while adding: “Ebony has worked especially hard over the last two years; she has been a bright prospect for a number of years and I’m delighted she’s got her call-up.”It’s also great to see Lydia Greenway back in the squad. She is a very valuable member, not just as a batsman, but she also has the potential to be one of the best fielders in the world.”I’m really excited about the series,” she said. “It’s a great chance to show where we’re at at the moment and to see how we rank against the other top sides in the world. We go into the competition on the back of a very successful home series and as captain I am really looking forward to it.”

Ryan Steede, the medium-pacer and Kwame Tucker, the wicketkeeper, are the two notable omissions of Bermuda’s squad for the World Cricket League to be held in Kenya later this month.Both players have been retained in Bermuda’s reserves, although there are still concerns as to whether Tucker is fit enough to serve as the main reserve wicketkeeper. Jekon Edness, the 23-year-old wicketkeeper, has also named in the reseves should Tucker not prove fit enough.Bermuda are currently training for the tournament in Trinidad and depart for Kenya on January 24. Saleem Mukuddem, Stefan Kelly and Stephen Outerbridge – each of whom missed their side’s week-long preparation in Trinidad through injury – are all included.Full squad
Irvine Romaine (capt), Dean Minors (wk), Clay Smith, Stephen Outerbridge, OJ Pitcher, David Hemp, Janeiro Tucker, Lionel Cann, Malachi Jones, Delyone Borden, Saleem Mukuddem, Kevin Hurdle, Dwayne Leverock, Stefan Kelly, Arthur Pitcher Jnr.

SuperSport Series

A final day washout at Pietermartizburg prevented an exciting final day between the Dolphins and the Cobras. Despite conceding a first innings lead of 125, the Cobras had fought back by the end of day three, reducing the Dolphins to 83 for 6. Charl Willoughby was the chief destroyer, taking 5 for 16 off 12 impressive overs. The Cobras’ hopes were revived by an eighth-wicket stand of 111 between Vernon Philander (63) and Rory Kleinveldt (62) after the top order had fallen to 131 for 7. The Dolphins’ 392 was built around Hashim Amla’s 117, which included 13 boundaries, while Darren Smit fell seven short of his ton. However, it was the weather that had the final say.The pitch was the only winner at Bloemfontein as batsmen from the Eagles and the Titans filled their boots. Martin van Jaarsveld set the tone with his 159-ball 102, which was joined by Gulam Bodi’s unbeaten 160 as the Titans passed 500. In reply Dean Elgar, who captained South Africa at the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka last year, marched to a career-best 226, spanning 512 balls and more than 11 hours in the middle. He added 124 with Boeta Dippenaar (54) and 123 with Morne van Wyk (46) as the Eagles fell just 39 short of matching the Titans. There was little time remaining in the match and the second innings merely went through the motions.The meeting between the Warriors and the Lions at East London was disrupted enough by rain and bad light that time ran out to force a result, although the bowlers had enjoyed enough success to keep the match interesting. Tyron Henderson grabbed 4 for 46 as the Warriors reached 296 with half-centuries for Colin Ingram (64) and Justin Kreush (57). Neil McKenzie led the response with 94, but Mario Olivier’s 5 for 67 secured a 36-run lead. This was extended 234 on the final day as Arno Jacobs made an unbeaten 85 but a result was never on the cards.

Eight long years ago, the scene was remarkably similar. Australia had just completed a hit-and-miss one-day series (against West Indies), and entered the 1999 World Cup in a (relative) measure of disarray. Awaiting them on a slow track at Worcestershire were the ODI debutants, Scotland, who – for three-quarters of a keenly fought game – did just enough to ruffle a few Antipodean feathers.Then, of course, Steve Waugh weighed in with an unbeaten 49 and the rest was history, but on the eve of a rematch he can never have envisaged in a month of Hogmanays, Gavin Hamilton, Scotland’s Man of the Tournament back in 1999, was daring to dream anew. “There’s always that nagging thought at the back of your mind,” he said at Basseterre, “it only takes two or three good performances and a bad day from Australia. It’s a nice thought to hold onto.””Gav is in a great frame of mind at the moment,” said Peter Drinnen, Scotland’s Australian coach. “He’s really committed and he’s trained really hard over the last six to eight months. He sets the examples and it’s no coincidence that he’s performed well over the last five-six weeks. He’s been solid throughout and threatens with the big one. He’s certainly got the skills and capabilities.”Hamilton has, however, got a few scars as well. Since that last encounter with Australia, his career has been to hell and back. His achievement in becoming the most prolific English-qualified run-scorer in the tournament (217 in five innings) earned him an England Test debut at Johannesburg the following winter, but it was a harsh baptism. After scores of 0 and 0, and no wickets to boot, his game went into freefall – a bout of the yips destroyed his bowling and in 2003, he was acrimoniously released by Yorkshire.”To get another crack of the whip is something special,” Hamilton said. “I was probably at the peak of my game with my batting and bowling in 1999, and I think we caught them [Australia] at a pretty bad time back then as well. They were playing some pretty ordinary cricket and didn’t know what their best XI was. They were chopping and changing their bowlers, and we played some quite nice stuff. Hopefully we’ll catch them at not quite their best again.”It’s a pretty hopeful hope, for Scotland are remaining utterly realistic about their prospects in Wednesday’s contest. “It’s an incredible challenge,” Drinnen said. “We’re not going to stand here and say that we can blow Australia out of the water – what we’re concerned about is maintaining our standards, and even raising our bar a little more.”The big thing with Scotland over the years has been our batting,” Drinnen said. “We just haven’t been able to be consistent, and that’s because we just don’t get together that much.” But five weeks in Kenya for the recent World Cricket League, where Scotland reached the final only to be defeated by the hosts, might have helped to change that a touch.”What we encountered in Kenya was a consistency in cricket,” Drinnen said. “We had 17 days of cricket, and put together four or five really good totals. That was a big step forward for us. But we don’t encounter [Australian] level of attacks day-in, day-out, so that’s the real challenge. The bad balls don’t present themselves very often, so it’s what we do with the good balls that matter. We have to try to discover runs.”Drinnen said the line-up of his side was yet to be finalised, and they would only decide on four seamers or an extra spinner after the early-morning moisture had been assessed on Wednesday. But the players weren’t about to be blinded by tactics ahead of their big showdown. “We’re not going to analyse each and every player,” Hamilton said. “Our aim is to play good basic cricket, because that’s what’s made us successful against the associates and the county sides.””We’re playing in a World Cup in the Caribbean,” added Drinnen, voicing the unspoken incredulity of his whole squad. “It’s an incredible privilege to be here. We’re really looking forward to the challenge, and we hope to put in some solid performances to show these guys we’re really good cricketers.”