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.

Tim Nielsen, the new Australia coach, wants his team to be conscious of their behaviour and has suggested any lapses could have an impact on selection. As the side prepares for its season of regeneration – Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer and John Buchanan have departed – Nielsen said the unit was no longer in a position to fall back on the performances of the greats and the next rung of players would have to “present well”.”All the little things that add up into selection will come into play,” he said in the Herald Sun. “If any player doesn’t present himself well and shows he is not able to handle the pressure, it’s probably going to be a little bit of an issue for the selectors to look at when they pick their first Test team.”Nielsen told the paper Stuart MacGill had already been spoken to and the issue would be addressed as a group during the pre-season camp in Coolum later this month. MacGill was suspended for two weeks after an incident with an umpire in Sydney grade cricket last summer and was upset to have suffered a knee injury during the pre-Ashes boot camp.”I know [Stuart] is aware of the little issues that may be there,” Nielsen said. “He is now perceived as the senior spinner in Australia and his Test record is outstanding.”But the biggest challenge for him … is to show being the senior spinner is not just about the most wickets, it’s about leading and presenting himself well and assisting the younger players coming through.” MacGill is part of the Australia A tour to Pakistan next month and will have the dual duties of bowling himself into form and guiding Cullen Bailey, Dan Cullen and Cameron White.Australia face a busy schedule starting with the Twenty20 World Championship in September and Nielsen said the players had to look outside their results and consider their behaviour. “If you want to be seen as the best, it’s not just about winning and losing,” he told the paper. “The whole kit and caboodle goes with it.”It’s a balancing act of understanding the situation. As the leading team in the world, we don’t get as much leeway as other teams get in that area. We need to be really conscious of it.”MacGill seems ready to take on the responsibility. “Cricket is a team sport and while I may not feel I have let myself down with some of the decisions I make, I feel guilty that it can impact on others,” MacGill told the . “I’ve had some long chats with Tim and I get along with him really well. He’s very direct.” MacGill said he didn’t want to get into a situation where he let down Nielsen or the team.

With the promotion issues all but settled, there was a low-key feeling to the final round of matches in Division Two, especially as all the attention was centred on the Division One title race.The only hypothetical matter to be resolved came about in the afternoon when Nottinghamshire secured the one point they needed to cement their promotion. They may have been bowled out for 158 at Trent Bridge by title-winners Somerset, but that was enough. Charl Willoughby took 4 for 39 from 14 overs, and Peter Trego three, as they weaved their way through the line-up, with only Mark Wagh’s 41 standing out. Marcus Trescothick led Somerset’s first-innings reply, his unbeaten 76 taking them to a 36-run lead with six wickets still remaining and Ian Blackwell on 70 not out. This means that Notts, like Surrey last year, have immediately bounced back to the top division following relegation.Essex took charge against Middlesex at Chelmsford where Grant Flower’s hundred steered them to 345 for 7 amid the late-season chill. Flower was unbeaten on 145 at the close, but Middlesex should have had him when he had made 25 but Ed Smith spilt a fairly straightforward chance at first slip.Flower’s main support came from James Foster, the pair adding 181 for the fifth wicket before Flower sold his partner down the river by calling for a suicidal run to Andrew Strauss at point with Foster four short of a hundred for the second time in successive Championship matches.Mark Pettini eased down the order to No. 5 after chatting with Paul Grayson, the coach, but it did little good – he made 6. He was one of four victims for Robbie Williams, making his Championship debut.Hamish Marshall’s third hundred of the summer put Gloucestershire in charge against Glamorgan at Cardiff where the visitors closed on 262 for 4 after overnight rain had delayed the start until almost 1.45pm. The damp pitch encouraged David Hemp to stick Gloucestershire in, and had Glamorgan held their catches then it might have been a different story – Marshall was put down at gully and slip when on 16 and 25. With Kadeer Ali, Marshall added 192 for the third wicket after they were wobbling on 22 for 2, cutting lose to bring up his century off 105 balls. He was eventually dismissed for 121, and 11 runs later Ali followed.Derbyshire wrestled to 43 for 3 in the 41 overs possible against Northamptonshire in between the showers at Derby. Nineteen-year-old Paul Borrington made his maiden first-class fifty. Hassan Adnan bagged a duck.

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.

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.

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.

Global news agencies have struck a deal with Cricket Australia (CA), ending a week-long media rights dispute which affected coverage of the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Brisbane.”The News Media Coalition has reached an agreement in its talks with Cricket Australia regarding news coverage during the current season,” a statement, issued by a coalition of media groups including Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Associated Press and Getty Images, said.The agencies had blacked out coverage of the first Test, after deciding to boycott the 2007-08 season in protest against new terms imposed by the Australian board.Coverage of the ongoing second Test at Hobart will begin with immediate effect.

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.

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.

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.”