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Zimbabwe Select are set to recall former national captain Terrence Duffin for the second match against India A which gets underway at Queen’s Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday (July 30).Duffin missed the first game, which India A won by nine wickets, because he was suffering from a cold but he is likely to replace Tinotenda Mawoyo who has failed to rekindle the same form that he produced during the Logan Cup. Duffin took part in a net session on Sunday.Duffin should open the batting with Hamilton Masakadza, with Vusi Sibanda and Tatenda Taibu, who hit a hundred on his comeback, in a strong middle order. Taibu’s successful return only adds to the likelihood that the short-term international career of wicketkeeper-batsman Brendan Taylor, named in the squad but still believed to be in Europe, is over.Zimbabwe’s bowling was less impressive and while the pace bowlers are likely to be retained, there is doubt if the selectors will play two spinners. If they opt not to, then legspinner Graeme Cremer will be the one to miss out as Prosper Utseya made useful runs.The Zimbabwe squad arrived in Bulawayo by road from Harare on Saturday evening and had a net session without Kevin Curran, the coach. He had decided to travel in his sponsored car, a move which did not go down well with some of the his technical team.India A flew into Bulawayo on Sunday morning and had a practice session at Queen’s in the afternoon.

Andrew Flintoff has begun the slow path back to bowling fitness with a few gentle overs during Lancashire’s training and is targeting an England return as early as the first Test against New Zealand on May 15.Flintoff has been undergoing a very cautious rehabilitation since the ankle operation – his fourth – he had late last year and his four overs, off two or three paces, was the first time he’d bowled since the ICC World Twenty20 in September. His recovery programme has included a spell with the England Lions in India, where he played two one-day matches as a batsman, and he is now preparing for Lancashire’s pre-season trip to the UAE.”I’ve had a good few weeks, I was in India for three weeks with the Lions and the academy of Lancashire and this morning was the first time I’ve turned my arm over,” Flintoff told . “I bowled off about two or three paces for four overs and it feels fine, but I think the acid test is when I get back playing properly, probably halfway through the summer to see if stands up to what it needs to.”I’m hoping to start the season fully fit batting and bowling. I think the first game we’ve got is at the Oval for Lancashire.”However, a possible international return during New Zealand’s visit in May is a far more positive prognosis than had previously been suggested. Flintoff was expected to spend much of the summer with Lancashire with a possible comeback against South Africa for the second series of the season – at one stage the following winter tour was the target.”I’m going to have to perform for Lancashire to put my name in the hat for England,” he said. “So first and foremost I’m concentrating on this Dubai trip and starting the season well for Lancashire and hopefully I can be playing on May 15 at Lord’s.”If Flintoff’s pre-season trip with Lancashire goes to plan and he doesn’t suffer any reaction in his ankle he is also expected to play for MCC against Sussex in the season-opening fixture at Lord’s, starting on April 10.

ScorecardDoug Bollinger was the matchwinner for New South Wales with his second five-wicket haul destroying Western Australia and keeping the home side well placed heading into the final exchanges. Phillip Hughes’ unbeaten fifty helped the Blues knock off the 75 required for the nine-wicket victory, ending Tasmania’s hopes of defending their title.Aaron Heal fell early – he was Bollinger’s first wicket of the day when caught by Beau Casson – but Marcus North (37) and Luke Pomersbach (81) held them up with a 70-run stand. Dominic Thornely finally broke through, holding a return catch to send North back, but Pomersbach lingered on. Finally Nathan Bracken bowled him and Bracken’s only wicket for the innings was an important one.Pomersbach’s efforts at least forced the Blues into bat again after it had seemed likely they wouldn’t have to when the Warriors resumed in the morning at 4 for 45. Before and after Pomersbach’s dismissal, Bollinger found Steve Magoffin’s edge and then Ben Edmondson’s pad to close them out and set up a straightforward chase. Hughes duly made 54 from 67 balls with six fours and a six while Greg Mail was unseated by Magoffin.Bollinger’s purple patch is so violet (or, as the batsmen may see it, violent) that his 10 for 126 is not even his best match analysis of the season – it came with 12 for 131 against Tasmania on the same ground. His 44 first-class victims bring him level with Ashley Noffke for the leading Australian wicket-taker, although Bollinger’s have come from six games rather than eight. Notwithstanding Mark Cameron’s one-match five-wicket showing, Bollinger has the best first-class average of any Australian at 14.02 and the national selectors must be keeping a close eye on him.

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) have named a strong 15-man squad for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to be played in Karachi from January 7. The squad is bolstered by the inclusion of current internationals including Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria and Abdur Rehman. Hasan Raza, a former international and HBL’s captain during some of the round matches, might captain, though Afridi and Younis are also in the running.Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar, the two openers who took part in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), have been omitted on the orders of the PCB while Umar Gul, the fast bowler, has yet to recover fully from the injury sustained on the tour to India.While HBL looks set to field a strong side on Monday, SNGPL might be missing out on the services of Umar Akmal for the final. Akmal, younger brother of Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran, has been called up to a Pakistan Under-19 camp in Lahore to prepare for the tour of Sri Lanka and the U-19 World Cup next month.Akmal has made a terrific impact this season, having scored 849 runs in eight matches in the current Quaid-e-Azam Trophy – his debut first-class season – at an average of 94.33. His tally includes 248 against Karachi Blues as well as an unbeaten 186 in the match against Quetta that was abandoned following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.SNGPL will, however, have the services of Mohammad Hafeez, their captain, who has scored 639 runs in nine matches as well as Misbah-ul-Haq who scored an unbeaten 32 in his only outing of the current domestic season.

New Zealand’s hopes of upsetting India’s World Cup campaign will hinge on how quickly their medium-pace attack – especially new-ball bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult – adjust to unfamiliar conditions at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur. The semi-final will be New Zealand’s first game at the venue, having played all their group matches in Johor and the quarter-final at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala LumpuSouthee is the leading contender for Man of the Tournament, with 13 wickets, while left-arm medium-pacer Boult has ten including the best figures of the competition, 7 for 20 against Malaysia. Dav Whatmore, India’s coach, singled out the pace attack as New Zealand’s strength.”We [India] have a sense of understanding why New Zealand have made the final four. It’s because they have a strong medium-pace attack and their fielding. We’ve got a very good economy-rate as a group [bowling attack] but they are better than us. They consistently bowl better in terms of economy.” None of New Zealand’s regular bowlers have conceded more than four runs per over. Southee and Boult, who are both from Northern Districts, have gone forless than three.However, New Zealand’s games in Johor were on pitches that were damp earlyon and assisted the fast bowlers. Boult felt that the ball swung a lot more in the air in Malaysia while back home the assistance was primarily movement off the pitch. Southee agreed, and said that getting accustomed to the swing was the only major adjustment that the bowlers had to make.”Obviously with the white ball and humidity here, it swings around more than it does in New Zealand,” Southee told Cricinfo. “The wickets have generally been pretty good though the one yesterday [against Sri Lanka at Royal Selangor Club] was quite slow and quite low. It was quite uneven as well: I got the odd one to kick through but there were a few that kept low. I bowled the opening batter with one that crept under his bat. I think we had the better of the batting conditions yesterday and it got tougher to face the pace bowlers in the afternoon.”None of the New Zealand players, apart from Southee, have played under lights before and that could prompt them to bat first so that their batsmen don’t have to face a run-chase for the first time under lights. If that is the case, Southee and Boult could avoid bowling in the searing heat and gain additional assistance with the white ball moving around in the evenings.Dipak Patel, the New Zealand coach, said the team that handles the “mental pressures” of such a tense encounter better would emerge victors, while pointing out that for most players on both sides, the stakes have never been higher. Southee, however, has played on a larger stage – two Twenty20 internationals against England in front of packed houses in Auckland and Christchurch. He held his nerve and did well for himself – taking 1 for 38 and 2 for 22. How he, and Boult, fare against the Indian top-order could make or break it for New Zealand.

Defending Carib Beer Challenge Trophy champions Trinidad and Tobago will take on Guyana in the opening game of the 2008 Carib Beer Series, set to begin on January 4 at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.T&T bowl off their campaign with the luxury of a home fixture, unlike in the previous season, and would look to utilise that advantage to the fullest before their away games against Leeward Islands, Windwards Islands and University of West Indies (UWI).Last season, T&T, who were the team to beat, fell short in their first game, losing away to Barbados by three wickets and immediately starting the tournament on the back foot.This season, T&T will travel to Carib Lumber Park, St Maarten to take on the Leeward Islands, before returning home to face newly-crowned KFC Cup champions Jamaica at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain from February 29 to March 3.Jamaica and T&T will get enough time to prepare for their clash as all the teams take a break for the 2008 Stanford 20/20 tournament, scheduled to take place between January 25 and February 25. T&T will have their last home game from April 25-28 against Barbados, also at the Queens Park Oval, while the Challenge final will take place from May 2-6 at a venue to be announced.

Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan fast bowler, was taken to hospital for an MRI scan after suffering back pain during the first day of the final Test against India in Bangalore. The scan revealed no injury but he has been experiencing muscle spasms and will not take further part in play on the first day. He will be assessed on Sunday morning.Shoaib bowled four overs in his first spell before going off the field at the end of the seventh over, during which he showed discomfort while bowling. He came back on after Gautam Gambhir was dismissed in the eighth over but once again left the field after bowling the ninth. He bowled eight overs in the first session and managed two more after the break before once again leaving the field at the end of the 32nd over.Akhtar, 32, took six wickets in Delhi and two in Kolkata, where he played with a chest infection. In this match, he can only bowl after spending as much time on the field as he did off it due to the injury.

Pakistan’s continuing troubles with their opening combination have forced the selectors to call up Khalid Latif and release Mohammad Hafeez from the 15-man squad to face South Africa in the third ODI in Faisalabad on Tuesday.Pakistan have tried two opening combinations in two games so far and Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal have provided starts of 18 and 1. Hafeez was dropped for the second ODI and the highest score by an opener remains Nazir’s 16 in the first ODI.The 21-year old Latif has been on the fringes of selection to the senior squad for some time now. He first came to national attention when he led the Pakistan U-19 team to victory in the 2004 World Cup in Bangladesh.He was unlucky to miss out on selection for the ICC World Twenty20 despite impressing during the various training camps held before the tournament. But solid performances in the recent home series against Australia A have finally paid off.Latif ended the three-match ODI series in September as the leading scorer on either side. His tally of 228 runs included one fifty and a spectacular unbeaten 142 in Lahore as Pakistan successfully chased 332 against an attack that included Jason Gillespie, James Hopes and Dan Cullen.”We are struggling with an opening pair at the moment,” Salahuddin Ahmed, the chief selector, told Cricinfo. “We are already playing Kamran as an opener to make place for an extra bowler.”Latif is a very good, upcoming youngster and was in brilliant form against Australia A recently. He fully deserves his place in the squad. Hafeez has been released and he will go back to regain his form in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.”It is understood that Latif will not play in Faisalabad but may get an opportunity later in the series. Still, Pakistan are likely to go in with their third different opening pair in as many matches; Nazir’s continuing run of poor scores means Yasir Hameed will most likely open the innings with Akmal.And in light of an impressive bowling performance in the second ODI, Pakistan will not risk Mohammad Asif for the third game. Asif sat out the first two matches with an elbow injury that flared up during the second Test in Lahore.

Adam Gilchrist insists there is nothing sinister to his surprise retirement and has promised to reveal all after his final Test finishes on Monday. Thoughts of walking away began on Thursday night and Gilchrist called his parents on Friday, telling them to fly to Adelaide to see his last days in whites.Gilchrist was feeling “really happy but a bit confused” after the response to his decision and he wanted to avoid the hype to keep the focus on Australia as they push for a series win. “There’s nothing sinister or anything to hide,” Gilchrist told Nine before the start of the fourth day. “There’s no reason why I’m not talking openly, but I can’t wait till the end of the game to share it then.”The demand for Gilchrist is high, but he asked his supporters to “hang with me for another day” before he discussed the decision and his career in depth. “It’s just been unbelievable,” he said. “I want to say to the cricketing public: I just can’t wait to focus on the Test and at the end I can’t wait to share it with everyone.”Gilchrist’s mother, father, sister and brother are in Adelaide and the only person that doesn’t seem to know about the call is his brother Glenn, who is camping in country Queensland. “He’s out of range, so if someone sees him please tell him,” Gilchrist said. “I want to track him down, I’d love him to be here.”Ian Healy said Gilchrist was not pushed from the team, but the choice was made because he didn’t have the energy to escape a “mini-glitch” in form. “It hasn’t forced the move, but I think it has made it very clear on what he should be doing,” Healy said. “It cleared everything in his mind. He decided ‘that’s it, I haven’t got the energy to get myself back up out of this sort of mini-glitch’.”He is not a thoughtful cricketer, he is a very natural cricketer. He is an instinctive cricketer and that that had been dulled a little bit for him.”

Match facts

Saturday, May 17, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

More than a battle for northern pride, this encounter will have a big bearing on who finishes where in the tussle for semi-final spots. After this game, both sides will have two home games to play, and victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla will smooth the path to the Promised Land. Sportsmen these days dislike talk of revenge, but Delhi are still smarting about the nine-wicket hammering in Mohali, and a spot of retribution will be most welcome as they look to recapture the form of the first fortnight, when they won four of their first five.Kings XI Punjab’s fortunes have waxed as Delhi’s have waned, and six wins from their last seven makes them the form side of the competition along with the Rajasthan Royals. The emergence of Shaun Marsh and the improvement shown by a chastened Sreesanth has enabled them to shrug off the disappointment of losing Brett Lee and Simon Katich to Australia’s tour of the Caribbean.Delhi’s recent losses have largely been the result of top-order collapses, and it hasn’t helped that only three batsmen, the first three in the batting order, have more than a 100 runs in the competition. The format isn’t ideal for middle-order batsmen, but the likes of Manoj Tiwary, AB de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik will need to do much more when they get the opportunity.

Tournament position

Delhi Daredevils: P10, W5, L5, NRR +0.331
King’s XI Punjab: P9, W6, L3, NRR +0.458

Form (last five matches, most recent first)

Delhi Daredevils: WLLLL
King’s XI Punjab: WLWWW

Watch out for …