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Shane Watson, the Australian allrounder, has said that he hopes to be fit and available for selection for the tour of South Africa beginning in February 2006.Watson had to undergo arthroscopic surgery after dislocating his shoulder in the first Test against West Indies at Brisbane and was subsequently ruled out of the remaining Tests against West Indies and the home series against South Africa in December.He also said that he wanted to play for Queensland before the tour of South Africa. “Hopefully I can get back and play a few games before that tour gets picked, that’s my goal at the moment,” Watson told ABC Sport. “It’s hard to really set a big goal because you never really know how it’s going to progress. It could come back earlier or it might take a little bit longer, so you’ve just got to keep doing absolutely everything you can and hopefully South Africa is my goal.”Watson felt that Michael Clarke would soon reclaim his place in the Test team. “He’s obviously been feeling a bit and hasn’t been his fearless self, like he was when he first came onto the scene, so he’ll definitely come back a bigger and better player. Everyone knows that and I’m sure once the dust settles with him, he’ll definitely realise that it’s a blessing in disguise.”Clarke, who was dropped from the squad for the third Test against West Indies because of a bad run of form, was replaced by Justin Langer, who has recovered from a broken rib he sustained in a domestic game. Mike Hussey and Brad Hodge have retained their places in the squad for the third Test at Adelaide after impressive performances in the second Test.

Scorecard

Brad Hogg hit a fighting century and Ben Edmondson struck with two late wickets to rescue Western Australia from a horror opening against South Australia at Adelaide Oval. Winning the toss and batting, Western Australia were in deep trouble at 6 for 92 after Shaun Tait took four wickets in the first session.Hogg replied with 109 from 118 balls, including 14 fours and two sixes, as he dominated the lower-order partnerships and saved his side. He was 83 when Edmondson, the No. 11, walked out and collected 26 of the 30-run partnership to reach his fourth first-class century.Edmondson then made life difficult for South Australia, taking the wickets of Tom Plant and Mark Cosgrove with his first two balls as the Redbacks slumped to 3 for 4. Greg Blewett and Callum Ferguson ensured there was no further damage until stumps.

Ireland and the West Indies qualified to compete in the next Women’s World Cup in South Africa after finishing on top of the International Women’s Cricket Council tournament in the Netherlands yesterday.The Netherlands, who have played in the last four tournaments missed out on a fifth tournament. Ireland has played in the four previous tournaments also, while the West Indies, who last played in 1997, will be making their third appearance in 2005.Ireland were unbeaten during the tournament and finished by beating Scotland by 132 runs. They scored 228 for 5 in their 50 overs with Clare Shillington scoring 45 and Emma Beamish 40 in only her second international match. Scotland were all out for 96 in 31 overs with Kari Anderson top scoring with 46. The only other score above three was Alison Ramsay’s 26. Isobel Joyce took 4 for 31 in nine overs and Catherine O’Neill 3 for 27.The West Indies romped to victory in only nine overs against Japan. All out for 59 in 49 overs as Phillipa Thomas took 3 for 5 from eight overs, the West Indies lost no wickets as Nadine George finished 35 not out and Nelly Williams 18 not out.The Netherlands were too strong for Pakistan. Batting first the home team scored 169 in 49 overs thanks to Maartje Koster’s 49, Caroline Salomons 39 and Debby Kooij’s 34. Shaiza Khan took 3 for 21. Pakistan were nine wickets down for 105 in their 50 overs as Salomons took 2 for 15 off 10 overs and Sandra Kottman 2 for 17 off 10.Final standings were: Ireland 10, West Indies 8, Netherlands 6, Pakistan 4, Scotland 2, Japan 0.

Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee will sharpen their knives for the New Zealand batsmen after the tourists’ top order again wobbled at the end an eventful day against Queensland in the tour match at the Gabba today.The Australian pace bowlers would have enjoyed watching the Black Caps crumble to 3-9 in their second innings, and it would have been 4-25 if Martin Love had clung to a catch at first slip from Craig McMillan.The Black Caps crawled away from the top order collapse to reach 3-53 at stumps on the third day, leading the Bulls by 150 runs with just one day to play.New Zealand still took confidence from the day following the performance of Chris Cairns, who began slipping into a groove with 5-71 as Queensland’s strong batting line-up was dismissed for 347.It was the first real sign of life for the Black Caps bowlers, with Cairns attempting a hat-trick during a fall of 7-76, on a wicket that gave very little help to the bowlers.”Getting two wickets on this deck was a bag (of wickets) but it was nice to be progressing and bowling some tighter lines,” Cairns said.”On a wicket like that you’re not going to blast people out. It’s a matter of being patient and waiting for batsmen to make a mistake.”Cairns is returning from knee surgery and his performance today, along with the news that spinner Daniel Vettori is likely to play the first Test on Thursday, should boost New Zealand’s hopes.But the Black Caps’ top order now has some questions to answer after another shaky innings, rescued only by the patience of McMillan (20 not out) and Mathew Sinclair (17 not out).It took just three balls for Michael Kasprowicz (1-9) to knock over Mark Richardson with a regulation catch behind before Test squad member Andrew Bichel claimed the wickets of Matthew Bell (four) and captain Stephen Fleming (zero) in three balls.Richardson and Bell came to Australia with a solid reputation but the pair has managed partnerships of zero, 10 and nine in its most recent outings, leaving them with the prospect of a short life-span in the Tests.It won’t get easier on Thursday when Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell Jr is expected to produce a wicket which will contain the typical Brisbane spice on the first day.It has been missing throughout this match, enabling Queensland’s top six batsmen to build solid starts.Matthew Hayden went on to make 97, falling to a leading edge off Chris Martin (1-66), but the rest were dismissed between 34 and 48.Cairns orchestrated a collapse with the second new ball, taking the wickets of Clinton Perren (34) and Wade Seccombe (one) while left-armer Shayne O’Connor (1-43) was rewarded for his consistency with the wicket of Andrew Symonds (48).The New Zealand bowlers can look forward to another workout tomorrow with Fleming expected to set Queensland a run chase.

ScorecardFile photo – Rohan Prem scored more than 50% of the runs scored on the first day•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kerala and Hyderabad played out an attritional first day, with Kerala scoring scoring at just over two runs an over for the entire day in their Group C match against Hyderabad. After choosing to bat at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium Kerala ended the day on 186 for 5.Rohan Prem scored the bulk of those runs with an unbeaten 106 off 245 balls – a knock that included 13 fours and two sixes. Vijay Jagadeesh’s 160-ball 42 was the next highest individual score of the day, with no one else crossing 10.Jagadeesh and Prem shared a 91-run second-wicket stand but Jagadeesh’s dismissal just before tea opened the gates for a clump of wickets in the final session. Sanju Samson, batting at No. 5, was caught behind for 1. Raiphi Gomez and Prem batted out the last 13 overs without further loss. Vishal Sharma and Akash Bhandari picked up two wickets each for the home team.
ScorecardThree half-centuries put Services in a position of strength after being inserted on the first day against Goa in Porvorim, to finish at 230 for 3 off 85 overs.Anshul Gupta and captain Soumik Chatterjee hit steady fifties and combined in an 89-run opening stand before Shadab Jakati had Chatterjee trapped lbw in the 40th over.Rajat Paliwal provided the impetus late in the day with an unbeaten 71-ball 57. Amit Yadav had Gupta lbw in the 80th over for 89 but Yashpal Singh blocked out 22 deliveries without scoring. Saurabh Bandekar took the other wicket to fall, also having Ravi Chauhan lbw for 23.Jammu & Kashmir 274 for 8 (Rasool 101, Singh 47, Dhawan 3-98) v Himachal Pradesh
ScorecardParvez Rasool struck his seventh first-class century to end an evenly contested opening day as Jammu & Kashmir finished at 278 for 8 against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala.Rasool remained unbeaten on 101 at stumps, and struck eight fours and three sixes. Although no one else scored a fifty, middling partnerships throughout the innings ensured that J&K had a decent total on the board.Adil Reshi and Ian Dev Singh contributed with 45 and 47 respectively. All bowlers except Ronit More, picked up at least a wicket, with Rishi Dhawan being the most successful having claimed three.Jadeja’s all-round efforts put Saurashtra in lead

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 …

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

India’s bowlers fought back from a blistering opening by Matthew Hayden to snatch an eight-run victory and keep the seven-match series alive. Two of India’s additions at Chandigarh, RP Singh and Murali Kartik, bowled superbly in the dying stages and Zaheer Khan held his nerve with a composed last over to secure the win.Too much was left for James Hopes and Brett Lee, who had to find 22 runs from the last two overs and then 17 from Zaheer’s final six balls. The 31 wides Australia conceded as India reached 291 were costly, but the real turning point was when Singh bowled Andrew Symonds for 75 in the 47th over of the chase. Singh followed up the next ball by throwing down the stumps at the striker’s end to run out Brad Hogg and the pressure was squarely on the visitors.Zaheer had only to avoid a final-over blowout and despite an early scare when Hopes drove the first ball for four, he fired in a succession of yorkers that gave the Australians little chance.Australia appeared to be cruising with ten overs remaining. The asking-rate was seven, they had six wickets in hand and a calm Symonds at the crease, but the out-of-form Brad Hodge struggled to rotate the strike and the required run-rate gradually expanded.India were kept in the game largely by their spinners, Kartik and Harbhajan Singh, who built the pressure on Hodge by denying him singles which kept Symonds away from the strike. Irfan Pathan was also difficult to get away and Singh’s return after a miserable start was superb.Harbhajan removed Hodge when Mahendra Singh Dhoni stumped him off a wide for 17 from 29 balls but the wicket of Symonds was the killer blow. He looked to have paced his innings to perfection, pushing singles and twos and finding the occasional boundary and setting himself for a late assault. However, he backed away trying to hit Singh through the off side when boundaries were needed and was bowled.Hayden had built a solid base with 92 at a run a ball but the pressure began to mount when he departed. Like Symonds, Hayden scored his third consecutive half-century and gave Australia a terrific start as they raced to 106 for 1 from 15 overs. Singh was wayward and Zaheer costly as Hayden continued his remarkable run in 2007, falling just short of his sixth century since January 1.He muscled boundaries all around the ground in his usual manner, walking at the bowlers and hoisting several balls over the infield. The new-ball bowlers gave him too much width and his best shots included a flick off his pads for four off Singh – it went along the ground all the way – and a trademark clip over midwicket for six off Zaheer.

But Hayden appeared to tire as the day wore on and he fell to an intelligent piece of bowling from Kartik, who was terrific in his first ODI in 18 months. Hayden advanced to Kartik and, despite not getting to the pitch of the ball, lofted a four over midwicket, but when he tried the same thing two deliveries later Kartik pulled his length back even further. Hayden’s legs were not as limber as early in the innings and he ended up reaching for the ball, striking it one-handed and finding Zaheer on the midwicket boundary.In contrast Australia’s spinners, Hogg and Symonds, were far less effective through the middle overs as India built a platform for a late blitz. Dhoni and Robin Uthappa’s final attack carried them to 291 for 4 as India scored 89 in the final ten overs, including 20 from the last six balls off Nathan Bracken.It was an awesome turnaround after one of India’s more embarrassing starts, with Tendulkar initially looking out of place as the fast men swung the ball at will. He just could not lay bat on ball – Lee was especially threatening – but despite two close lbw shouts and a possible inside edge that was turned down by the umpire, Tendulkar did not give up.Early in his innings he had 17 consecutive dots but once the ball stopped swinging, he worked his way back into form with a few glimpses of his brilliance. His 79 anchored the innings and he had good support from Sourav Ganguly, who returned to the side after missing two matches.Like Tendulkar, Ganguly struggled early but his determination not to let the bowlers dictate terms was important in India’s turnaround. Ganguly finished with 41 before Dhoni and Uthappa came home with a bang.Dhoni scored 50 from 35 and Uthappa made 30 from 18 as India continued the high-scoring trend for teams batting first in this series. India’s victory means Australia lead the seven-match series 2-1 ahead of the fifth game at Vadodara on Thursday.

Tasmania face a difficult task in the Ford Ranger Cup game in Hobart on Sunday after the Australia one-day trio of Simon Katich, Michael Clarke and Nathan Bracken were confirmed for New South Wales. The players have returned from Australia’s successful Champions Trophy campaign and Clarke and Bracken were today overlooked for the first Ashes squad.Katich, who made 55 in the second innings against England on Tuesday, will captain a Blues side also including the internationals Brad Haddin, Stuart MacGill and Phil Jaques.Tasmania have made one change to the side that lost to Victoria at the MCG on Sunday. Ricky Ponting has left the squad to lead Australia in their Ashes preparations and will be replaced by Michael Bevan, who has recovered from a hip problem, while Xavier Doherty, the left-arm spinner, comes in for Dane Anderson.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Simon Katich (capt), Michael Clarke, Dominic Thornely, Aaron O’Brien, Brad Haddin (wk), Daniel Christian, Moises Henriques, Aaron Bird, Nathan Bracken, Doug Bollinger, Stuart MacGill.Tasmania squad Tim Paine (wk), Michael Di Venuto, Travis Birt, George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Daniel Marsh (capt), Luke Butterworth, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith, Ben Hilfenhaus.

The build-up to the 2007 World Cup moved up a gear for 23 players from six Associate countries as the ICC launched its first Winter Training Camp (WTC) in Pretoria.Players from Bermuda, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, Kenya and Scotland are all set to feel the benefit of the residential camp which will offer the attendees technical, tactical, physical and mental trainingThe camp, part of the ICC’s High Performance Program (HPP) for the six Associate countries heading to the World Cup, runs until December 21 at the University of Pretoria’s high performance centre.The WTC was officially launched on Monday by Percy Sonn, the ICC’s vice-president, who said it offered the players attending the chance of a lifetime. “Every player here has the dream of playing for his country in the World Cup and the Winter Training Camp can help them fulfil that dream,” Sonn said. “This camp will allow them to develop their skills thanks to the expert coaching and world-class facilities available and if those attending can take advantage of being here then they could be competing against the likes of Ricky Ponting, Shaun Pollock and other great players in less than 18 months’ time.”Explaining the idea behind the WTC, Richard Done , the ICC’s high performance manager, said: “As each of these six countries have similar needs in preparing for the World Cup it makes perfect sense to share coaching and training resources in this way. The WTC will be staffed by coaches with a wide experience of working with Associate member countries so they will be well aware of what is required to achieve success with these players.”Those coaches are led by Scotland coach Andy Moles and include Done, former England fast bowler and bowling coach Bob Cottam and Mark Lane, who previously coached with Moles in Kenya. In addition to cricket-specific training, the WTC includes work on physical fitness, nutrition, vision, psychology and recovery as well as specialist sessions from current and former South Africa players. Each of the other national coaches not already present will also be invited to attend for two weeks.The camp is being attended by eight players from Scotland, four each from Bermuda and Canada, three each from Ireland and Kenya and by one player from the Netherlands. Scotland’s additional numbers are based on the fact they had already planned to send players to South Africa before the WTC arrangements were confirmed, as well as Moles’ presence to head up the program, a presence that is funded by Cricket Scotland.

The facilities available for use during the WTC include the accommodation, turf grounds and nets, a modern gymnasium, swimming pool and recovery, sports science and sports medicine areas. Players will also get the chance to complete their Level Two coaching awards.Two current players, Canada’s John Davison and Clay Smith of Bermuda, will also be involved as coaches and are being encouraged to develop their coaching skills as there may be opportunities to become more involved in their countries’ respective coaching programs in the future.The WTC has been financed by a combination of the ICC High Performance Program budget, the $500,000 preparation grant afforded to each Associate country after they qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup and contributions from the countries.Players attending the WT:-BermudaJekon Edness – 22 years of age, right-hand middle- and lower-order batsman and wicketkeeper, played for Bermuda at every level from U15 onwards. Reserve for the ICC Intercontinental Cup finals squadJim West – 23, right-hand lower-order batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler, represented Bermuda at U-19 level and has played county cricket in Bermuda. Reserve for the ICC Intercontinental Cup finals squadStephen Outerbridge – 22, left-hand opening batsman, part-time right-arm off-spin/medium-pace bowler, played for Bermuda from U-15 levelAzeem Pitcher – 25, left-hand top-order batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler, played for Bermuda at U-19 level. Reserve for the ICC Intercontinental Cup finals squadCanadaQaiser Ali – 28, right-hand middle-order batsman and right-arm off-spin bowler, played for Pakistan U-19s v England A in 1995-96. Made his Canada debut in 2005 and played in both ICC Intercontinental Cup matches (v Bermuda and the Cayman Islands) and against the MCC in September 2005Umar Bhatti – 21, left-hand lower-order batsman and left-arm fast-medium bowler, played for Canada and U-19 and senior levels, part of the squad that played in the ICC Trophy 2005 in IrelandKenneth Carto – 19, right-hand top-order batsman and wicketkeeper, played for Canada in ICC U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004Henry Osinde – 27, right-hand lower-order batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler, originally from Uganda but moved to Canada five years ago. Took 7 for 53 against the Cayman Islands in the ICC Intercontinental Cup match earlier this year.IrelandTrevor Britton – 23, right-hand middle-order batsman and right-arm offspin bowler, played for Ireland U-23s and in the Inter-Provincial tournament for the North West for the past three yearsKenneth Carroll – 23, right-hand batsman and left-arm wrist-spin bowler. Played for Ireland U-17 and U-19 and last season played at U-23 level; replaced Johnny Thompson from original squad for WTC after Thompson suffered back and hamstring injuriesEoin Morgan – 19, left-hand batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler. Played county cricket in England for Middlesex in 2005, a member of Ireland’s ICC Trophy squad this year and is a member of Ireland’s squad for the ICC Intercontinental Cup finals. Played for Ireland at every level from U-13 and for Middlesex from U-17 onwards.KenyaNehemiah Odhiambo Ngoche – 22, right-hand lower-order batsman, right-arm medium-fast bowler, played for Kenya at U-17 & U-19 levelsAlfred Luseno – 23, right-hand lower-order batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler, played for Kenya at U-17 and U-19 levels and part of the ICC Intercontinental Cup squad of 2004. Made his ODI debut for against Sri Lanka in the Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup in April 2003 but is yet to appear againKalpesh Patel – 20, right-hand batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler, currently with Kenya on their tour of Zimbabwe and part of the squad for the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup finals. Occasional wicketkeeperNetherlandsTom de Grooth – 26, right-hand top-order batsman, part-time off-spin bowler, played for the Netherlands from U-12 onwards and has captained the Dutch U-23 and A sides. Part of the squad that played in this year’s ICC Trophy in IrelandScotlandRichard Berrington – 18, right-hand top-order batsman and right-arm seam bowler, played for Scotland at every level from U-13 onwards and represented the European Cricket Council Development teamKasim Farid – 19, right-hand top-order batsman and right-arm leg-spin bowler, played for Scotland at every level from U-13 and has also been part of the European Cricket Council Development teamGordon Goudie – 18, right-hand lower-order batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler, played for Scotland at every level from U-13s onwards as well as the MCC Young Cricketers and Middlesex second XI. Made two appearances for Scottish Saltires in UK National League in 2005Ross Lyons – 20, left-hand lower-order batsman and left-arm spin bowler, played for Scotland at every level from U13 onwards. Played in U-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004. Made six appearances for Scottish Saltires in UK National League in 2005Dewald Nel – 25, right-hand batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler, played for Scotland at U23 and senior levels. Born in South Africa, part of the ICC trophy squad in Ireland this year, playing in one match. Made 11 appearances for Scottish Saltires in UK National League in 2005Qasim Sheikh – 20, left-hand top-order batsman and left-arm medium-pace bowler, played for Scotland at every level from U-13. Also played for the MCC Young Cricketers. Made four appearances for Scottish Saltires in UK National League in 2005Fraser Watts – 26, right-hand batsman, right-arm off-spin bowler, played for Loughborough University Cricketing Centre of Excellence in the UK as well as Scotland at all levels. Played in ICC Trophy in 2001 and 2005 and made 17 appearances for Scotland in the National League in 2005 (most by any Scotland player)Sean Weeraratna – 19, right-hand lower-order batsman and right-arm seam bowler, played for Scotland at every level from U-13 onwards. Made four appearances for Scotland in the National League in 2005

Brett Lee has said that missing out on the Perth Test against Pakistan was the most disappointing moment of his career. Lee’s pace would undoubtedly have harried a brittle Pakistani batting line-up, but the selectors opted instead to retain faith in Michael Kasprowicz, who vindicated that with a superb five-wicket burst in the first innings.In a column for the newspaper, Lee wrote, “When I found out on Wednesday night that I would not be in the starting XI for this Test match against Pakistan I was totally gutted. I would go as far as to say that it was the worst feeling I’ve experienced in my career.”Lee said that he had expected to be given a go in Perth, given the condition of the pitch and how he had been bowling in the nets. “The fact that I didn’t get a chance left me feeling awful and to say I was disappointed would be an understatement,” he wrote. “I was devastated.”Lee admitted, however, that he had no quibbles with the attack chosen. “Dizzy, Pigeon and Kasper are completely on top of their game and are bowling superbly.”I completely respect the selectors’ and captain’s decision. I’m not angry with them. It’s simply my own frustration about not playing for Australia, especially under such favourable conditions.”Lee missed out on New South Wales’s Pura Cup match against Tasmania as well, and he said that the lack of match practice was becoming a worry. “I bowl my best when I’m fittest and the best way to get fit is to bowl. That’s how you get your rhythm. You can’t really find a rhythm by bowling in the nets.”Despite his disappointment, Lee said he was delighted for Kasprowicz, who has cemented his position as third seamer over the past few games. “We are great mates and I was first to give him a hug after play on Friday when he got five wickets,” wrote Lee. “I don’t want to see it as a competition between me and him because he deserves all the rewards he is getting now.”