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Saqlain Mushtaq, who signed a two-year deal with Sussex last February, has been released at his request for personal reasons.Saqlain had not featured much this summer and made only four Championship appearances taking 14 wickets.”I would like to thank the whole team at Sussex for all the opportunities they have given me this season,” he said in a brief statement. “The club has been wonderful and it is with a heavy heart that I am having to say goodbye for my own personal reasons.”As recently as July, Saqlain, 30, who qualifies for England next April under residency rules, was taking about possibly playing for England. But he has been increasingly troubled by knee injuries and this latest news now raises doubts about his future in the game.

Have you had problems getting tickets – or even getting through to the website – or have you found everything as smooth as silk. Click here to send us your views on the sale of Ashes tickets

The first day of cricket’s biggest and most unusual family went as smoothly as many more traditional gatherings, with lengthy delays, grumpy arguments and disappointment about missing out on presents. As Cricket Australia’s locals-only policy for Ashes tickets was opened to the Australian Cricket Family, members of the 128,500 unit were furiously mouse-clicking in the search of the promised seats in stints that lasted the equivalent of three sessions of play.The current slogan for the summer is “It’s definitely on”, but today it should have been changed to “It’s definitely crashed” as computers all over the country – and in England for those with Australian-resident friends – refused to budge on the ticket-selling websites. Seats went on sale at 9am, by which time the server on Cricket Australia’s page had turned off due to overload. The online outlets Ticketmaster, who was selling for the Gabba, the WACA and the MCG, and New South Wales’s Ticketek quickly joined in as pages loaded at a pace that would have made even Chris Tavare yawn. Telephones lines were engaged as workers worried that they would end the day empty-handed.”Our system is currently busy due to a large event on sale,” the Ticketmaster site read. “We apologise for the inconvenience.” Servers spent more time going down than big ships in blockbuster movies, and buyers who were told to rush to avoid missing out were being ordered to be patient.After five group emails and months of signing up members, Cricket Australia and the ticket sellers knew exactly how many people were prepared to purchase and they expected the “unprecedented” surge. Unprecedented has been the favourite word of the publicity campaign – it was the headline of a Cricket Australia email an hour after the release – and can be used again. The delay in getting tickets to a Test was unprecedented.”We understand that due to the volume of interest systems are sometimes slower than expected,” James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said generously. “I would urge all members of the Australian Cricket Family to continue to be patient through this process as the day continues.”Andrew Symonds had surgery this week on a wrist problem that flares during heavy periods of batting. He will be in demand for tips on prevention and cures after the mass development of RSI for users who spent the day trying to refresh the pages – or attempting to get into the main ticket sites. Australian supporters must hope the five-Test campaign is better planned and runs more smoothly than this family affair.

There isn’t much that Shane Warne hasn’t achieved during his illustrious career, but one of the few missing accolades is a medal from a domestic Lord’s final. In 2005 he was with the touring Australians when Hampshire beat Warwickshire in the C&G Trophy – keeping in touch by constant text messages – but this year he has the chance to play a leading role himself.”Last time I had some very important duties to do at Essex as 12th man,” he said. “I was a little disappointed they didn’t allow me to play but I understood the reasoning that there was one Ashes Test to go and I may have got injured. It’s not just another game, we’ve worked hard to be here.”He has a history with Lord’s finals. His previous appearance with a trophy at stake was the 1999 World Cup final when his 4 for 33 paved the way for Australia’s crushing victory over Pakistan. Now, with his international career over, Warne’s focus is purely on steering Hampshire to more silverware over Durham – who like Warne, are making their first appearance in a domestic final.It is rare for any team including Warne not to be favourites and with Kevin Pietersen and Chris Tremlett back in county colours, plus Daren Powell’s strong form, Hampshire start with their noses in front. However, Durham have made a habit of proving people wrong. Last year they almost made the final and this season overcame Essex in an extraordinary semi-final at Chester-le-Street to take another major stride in their cricketing development.They have come a long way since Ian Botham, Wayne Larkins and David Graveney lined up for them during their debut season in 1992. The county now provides regular players to the England side and has an impressive turnover of youngsters. But they aren’t afraid to tap into the overseas market, either, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul has strengthened the batting for the latter third of the campaign – his run-scoring feats for West Indies in the first half of the season are still one of highlights of the summer.Steve Harmison’s withdrawal with a back problem is a major blow, not necessarily because he has strong recent form with the white ball but because it will deny the crowd a contest with Pietersen. However, there are other match-ups to whet the appetite.Warne has enjoyed enthralling duels with Chanderpaul and Paul Collingwood. During the winter Warne was always quick to have a few words to Collingwood, often involving MBEs, even after he hit a double-century at Adelaide. “The Friends Provident Trophy would look better on my mantelpiece, and my knighthood is on the way,” joked Warne. “Whatever Paul wants to say is fine, if he thinks the trophy would look good next to his MBE, good luck to him.””I’m just going to get on with my business, he came out and said stuff, if that made him feel better and helps him prepare – good old tough Paul – then good luck to him. We’re just going to go out and play.”Collingwood continues to be a vital part of the England side and now leads them in one-day cricket, but he remains immensely proud of his North-East roots and encapsulates Durham’s spirit. Collingwood, like Durham, has made the most of every ounce of talent.Nowhere is that more true than with Ottis Gibson, who is having a golden twilight of his career. Earlier this season he claimed all 10 wickets in an innings against Hampshire and is the second-leading bowler behind Mushtaq Ahmed. Not bad for a 38-year-old. At the other end of the age spectrum is Phil Mustard, 24, who is making a strong claim to be considered as England’s wicketkeeper, and he won’t hold back from attacking Powell and Tremlett with the new ball.Hampshire, too, have plenty of experience to fall back on. John Crawley has played in six previous Lord’s finals (five for Lancashire and one for Hampshire) winning them all, while Shaun Udal captained the team to their 2005 triumph.With 16 players who are either current or former internationals it has the makings of an outstanding final, and is another chance for county cricket to shine. The romantics will want Durham to claim their first silverware, but Warne doesn’t like losing.

It was easy to forget that a Test match was being played out at the National Stadium in Karachi today, a crucial one at that. And it was easier to forget that, as the day dawned, it was still a closely-run affair. Mohammad Yousuf dwarfed most of what happened on the field; a neat second Test century from Mohammad Hafeez was overshadowed and even the fact that the game, and the series, had truly run away from West Indies.Brian Lara is a sharper man than most and despite the celebratory feel of the day – standing ovations were as regular as Yousuf’s centuries this year – he was fully aware of the grave situation his side find themselves in now. “The situation resembles the one we faced against India at St Lucia earlier this year,” he told reporters. “We got out of that though and we have recognized batsmen to follow after me and Ramnaresh Sarwan. We just have to stay out there and fight it out through the whole day.”Had they taken all the chances that have come their way – Yousuf has been dropped six times in this series – they would not find themselves in the position they are now, in the Test or the series. Catches were shelled this afternoon, two more from Yousuf though Lara insisted it did not matter for the now. “That part of our game is over. We have to concentrate on tomorrow. It has hurt us, yes, but our next Test is in May. We have to work on it and the catching will affect us more in the ODI game.”If the Test now rests greatly on Lara’s magic, it will also rely, in part, on a surface that has apparently improved as the Test has progressed, confounding all pre-Test worries of chronic deterioration on the fourth and fifth days. Lara said, “It’s a tough pitch for anyone and it hasn’t lived up to expectations. But we needed to bat better in our first innings and build up a lead to put them under pressure. We bowled really well and I can’t fault our bowlers at all for their effort.”The pitch was also on Yousuf’s mind and despite becoming only the sixth Pakistani to make two hundreds in a Test, he was adamant that it wasn’t up to standard. “It isn’t easy to bat on. And it is definitely not a Test wicket.”But in the blizzard of all of Yousuf’s landmarks, a significant one awaiting Lara has been all but forgotten. Seventy-eight more runs and he will become the first man to make 12,000 Test runs though understandably, as a priority, it finds itself low. “It’s not on my mind at all. I just need to bat out the entire day. That is my number one aim. Sarwan and I need to do it and if needed others do as well.”Three delicious boundaries in Lara’s unbeaten 18 were evidence of form and would be enough to spark some trepidation in most sides. West Indies need 405 runs from 90 overs and improbable as it appears, betting against Lara is rarely the clever option. Yousuf admitted, “We are in a strong position, but Lara’s wicket is the key tomorrow.”Lara himself would not be drawn into predictions. “The total is not on our mind. We just want to bat out the entire day. That is our aim. We will take it hour by hour and hope that our batsmen will play their natural game,” he reasoned.It can be argued that if Lara does bat the entire day, then few targets are safe. If so, then it may make for a truly spectacular farewell Test appearance in Pakistan. And it is possibly the only achievement that could eclipse the feats of Yousuf.

Scorecard
An unbeaten 53 by Mark Cosgrove lifted South Australia to 2 for 103 on the second day against New South Wales, who were earlier bowled out for 288 in their first innings. Cosgrove and Cameron Borgas added 90 for the third wicket after the early dismissal of both openers, but South Australia still trailed by 31 at close of play.After bundling out the Redbacks for just 154 in their first innings New South Wales had the opportunity to amass a huge lead, but fine bowling performances by Shaun Tait and Jason Gillespie restricted their advantage to 134. Tait nailed three middle-order batsmen and finished with 4 for 97, while Gillespie wrapped up the tail and ended with fine figures of 3 for 46.Resuming at 2 for 96, the Blues quickly lost a couple of wickets to slump to 4 for 111 before Aaron O’Brien and Brad Haddin rescued them with a 72-run stand. Haddin finally fell for 46, but O’Brien carried on and top-scored with 74, before being dismissed by the left-arm spin of Darren Lehmann. Stuart Clark contributed 25 and helped add 56 for the seventh wicket to ensure New South Wales ended with a sizeable lead.Clark then struck crucial blows with the ball as well, dismissing Matthew Elliott and Shane Deitz with only 13 on the board. Cosgrove and Borgas fought back spiritedly, but with the Redbacks still trailing by 31, New South Wales still held the upper hand.

Zimbabwe made their victory charge just a little too late, losing by 13 runs to India, their second successive defeat in the Champions Trophy in Sharjah. On an evening when there was much less dew in the outfield, the Indian attack spearheaded by Zaheer Khan were able to hold off Zimbabwe, but not without a measure of discomfort. A gallant 118 run third wicket stand between Andy Flower and Stuart Carlisle laid a sound platform for the final surge. Flower was the more adventurous of the two, always ready to take a risk or two in order to disrupt the rhythm of the bowlers.He fell for 63 (68 balls), sweeping at Tendulkar but failing to clear Joshi at midwicket. Carlisle had been an able lieutenant, opening out after a slow start to play some rasping pulls through the midwicket region. When Joshi bowled him for 60 (99 balls) as he made room to cut, it left Zimbabwe at 165/4 in the 37th over. The loss of both these protagonists in quick succession as they sought to raise the ante did not quite leave Zimbabwe out of the picture.Grant Flower and Guy Whittall then added 49 at a run a ball and entering the final six overs, Zimbabwe were actually ahead of India at the corresponding stage. But they were unable to match the Indian tailenders in making optimum use of the final few overs. Flower was caught at the edge of the circle by an Agarkar slower ball and then although Heath Streak struck the same bowler for a massive straight six in the penultimate over, the target was just out of their reach as they settled at 252/6.Zaheer Khan was declared man of the match for his brilliant spell of 3/37. His fifth ball had seen Alistair Campbell, back after a onematch suspension, offer a stinging catch to the left of Rahul Dravid at second slip which was put down. Zaheer was not to be denied as Doug Marillier found out in the fifth over, having his offstump knocked back to leave Zimbabwe at 21/1. Prasad had a good leg before shout against Campbell turned down by Daryl Harper but the in-form opener failed to make the most of his chances. Zaheer got one to cut back sharply and cannon into off stump as the batsman tried to steer it square of the wicket.Earlier the Indian tail wagged with abandon to provide a breezy climax to an innings built around a rocksolid 85 by Rahul Dravid, promoted to open the batting. None of Dravid’s colleagues at the top of the order were able to show similar application, throwing their wickets away after getting set. Yuvraj Singh played a delightful cameo of 34 which gave some momentum in the middle overs but it was really the efforts of Vijay Dahiya and his cohorts at the fag end which bolstered India to a once unthinkable 265. Ironically it was Dravid’s fall that provided the impetus as the 5.4 overs post Dravid produced a mammoth 59 runs.Inserted to bat, India began quietly with Dravid and Tendulkar playing out a maiden apiece. Having survived a dropped chance by Guy Whittall at short midwicket, Tendulkar was enticed into a full blooded drive off a lovely outswinger that was pitched up from Streak, the faint edge being snapped up by Andy Flower.Vinod Kambli, he of the wretched luck, arrived at No.3 and promptly took charge of the situation. The Zimbabwe bowlers erred in line, pitching on Kambli’s legs, and the lefthander, fluently but chancily, kept whipping the ball off his legs through midwicket and squareleg. Travis Friend replaced Streak and Kambli pulled him to the midwicket fence to bring up the fifty.Friend surprised Kambli with a lifter that struck him on the forearm and the physio came on for some treatment. After the break, another short delivery was fired in at shoulder length, and Kambli pulled it to the man at square leg on the edge of the circle. The batsman looked beseechingly at both umpires for any sign of a no-ball call. No response was forthcoming and Kambli departed for 18.Ganguly had suggested in his pre-match comments that he was shunting himself down the order to handle Zimbabwe’s two spinners. Well, Friend scotched any such pretensions by getting rid of the Indian captain in the 23rd over. Friend had been unafraid to bounce Ganguly, even if it meant giving away a stray no-ball or two. Following one such delivery which ruffled Ganguly just a bit, he slipped in an innocuous ball down leg which the batsman glanced loosely to Andy Flower who gathered the catch well.Left arm spinner Dirk Viljoen was brought on by Streak and he immediately copped some punishment from Dravid who, with no sweeper stationed, rocked on the backfoot to get him away to the cover boundary. That brought up the hundred in the 24th over and Dravid posted his half century in the same over off 74 balls. Yuvraj took a little while to adjust himself to the pace off the wicket but it was a treat when he finally cut loose. He picked out Grant Flower for some choice treatment, lofting him into the first tier of stands over long on and then flatbatting the bowler in his second over for another six over midwicket.But it was that man Friend who struck again. Coming back for his second spell, he hustled one round Yuvraj’s legs that just nicked the leg bail on its way through to Flower. A blissfully ignorant Daryl Harper had actually signalled wide before his eyes homed in on the fallen bail and Yuvraj was on his way for a swift 34 off 39 balls.The fifth bowler’s duties had been apportioned between the three slow bowlers – Viljoen, Flower and Campbell – who went for 65 in their ten overs. Robin Singh was unfortunately run out and Dravid who was nearing the end of his tether now holed out to Grant Flower on the square leg boundary for 85 (121 balls).Sunil Joshi, who’d stepped in for the injured Anil Kumble, (19 off 13) belted a nice juicy full toss from Friend over the bowler’s head for six before his stumps were rearranged by Streak. Dahiya mauled Friend’s figures further in the penultimate over of the innings, slicing a full toss to deep backward point for four and following it up by lifting a half volley for a straight six. He fell for 32 in 23 balls, but Ajit Agarkar provided the icing by blasting Streak into the first tier of the stands over long on in the last over. Friend who was taken for plenty in his last spell finished with the best figures of 4/55.

Andrew Strauss has rejected Cricket Australia’s suggestion that umpires from England and Australia be allowed to officiate in this year’s Ashes. Reacting to the idea which came up a couple of days back, Strauss said he was happy with the system which is currently in place.”From my point of view the regulations the ICC have in place are perfectly adequate and I don’t see any reason to change that,” Strauss said, a position which was supported by an ECB spokesman as well: “The ICC have the well-established principle of appointing neutral umpires for Test matches. It is a process that the ECB is comfortable with.”Cricket Australia had earlier suggested that a contest between the two best sides in the world should have the top umpires officiating. “In a perfect world, it would be great for a series that will not only determine who wins the Ashes but could decide the world No. 1 ranking to be officiated by the world’s top-ranked umpires,” Peter Young, a spokesman for Cricket Australia, had said.Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, also concurred. “I’d just like to have the best umpires to umpire cricket around the world all the time,” told reporters at the team’s camp in Coolum on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. “It’s the highest standard of cricket we play so we have to have the best umpires in those games. Whether that means they are Australian, or two Pakistanis, or two Englishman, it doesn’t matter to me as long as they are doing a good job in in the middle. “Simon Taufel is currently regarded as the best umpire in the world, while there are three other umpires from the two countries in the ten-member Elite Panel – Daryl Harper and Darrell Hair from Australia, and England’s Mark Benson. If the ICC doesn’t agree with Cricket Australia’s suggestion, the umpires for the series will be selected from the six others in the panel – Steve Bucknor and Billy Doctrove from the West Indies, Aleem Dar and Asad Rauf from Pakistan, Billy Bowden from New Zealand and South Africa’s Rudi Koertzen.

Michael Hussey will have to think twice about taking sharp singles in the near future, with dark plans afoot in his team to bring his phenomenal one-day average down. His unbeaten 88 during Saturday’s match against New Zealand lifted his mark from 129 to 151, a world record for any player in his first 15 one-day innings.The next best is England’s Kevin Pietersen, who reached 87.33 after 15 innings, which came up in his 24th match. In 21 games and 15 innings Hussey has scored 604 runs and been dismissed only four times. “A few of the boys are talking about running him out, actually,” Ricky Ponting joked after his side’s two-wicket loss at Christchurch.The highest batting average for any player to have played 30 games or more is 53.58, which is held by Michael Bevan. “I’m copping a bit of stick about it from the boys,” Hussey said. “But I can assure you I’m doing everything I can at the end to try and get out, but at the moment it seems to be going my way.”It’s amazing really, I can’t really understand it. But I guess batting where I do [No. 7] there are going to be opportunities to get the big not out at the end of the innings.”Rather than batting cautiously to build up his average, Hussey has racked up the runs in rapid style with his 88 against New Zealand coming off 56 balls. He has now returned to Australia for the first Test against South Africa starting on Friday. And his average from six Test match innings? It is 120.33.

The ECB has said that it will continue to monitor the security situation in Pakistan after two bomb blasts in Lahore last week killed six people.Although an inspection by security advisors in July cleared Pakistan as a venue for England’s tour next month, David Morgan, the ECB’s chairman, admitted that the board would again have to look closely at arrangements in the light of the latest incidents.”The safety and security of the players and staff is of paramount importance,” Morgan said “I don’t know much about these bombings yet, but we will keep an eye on events. We were satisfied with the inspection, but until I know more about this situation it is difficult to comment further.”The Australian A side were in Lahore at the time of the attacks, and although they were not affected, their one-day match against Pakistan A was moved to the more secure Gaddafi Stadium.

Perhaps because we’re not used to seeing it, we don’toften acknowledge it anymore. Pakistani teams, especiallyduring the 1990s, were many things; freakishly butfitfully brilliant, electric now, flat then. The linebetween success and failure was often thin enough tobe impoverished, delicately balanced on feats ofstupendous individual skill; a spell from Wasim here,one from Waqar there, a virtuoso from Saeed Anwar’swrists or an Inzamam special. Performances wereethereal and success came from an explosion of anindividual or two, while failure from an implosion ofthe collective. If a win often resulted in a streak ofthem, so too did a loss. Not often was there anythingtangible – solidity or resilience – in between.The loss of the two Ws and Saeed has been muchmourned in Pakistan – it still is. But since the WorldCup, and especially over the last year, a squad ofplayers has emerged within Pakistan with a spinesteely enough to cope with positions and situations ofdespair, often made worse through makeshift resources.Mohali last week was an exceptional and spectacularaddition to a growing body of evidence. The wins inLahore against the Indians, after the Multan massacre,and at Karachi against Sri Lanka after SanathJayasuriya had mauled them at Faisalabad wereadmirable demonstrations. Even within the 3-0whitewash in Australia, there were glimpses afterPerth that this Pakistan is not as ready to roll overas previous sides.Tellingly, they have found this spirit collectivelyand through a variety of sources, players such as AsimKamal, the leader Inzamam, Danish Kaneria, YounisKhan, Yousuf Youhana and recently Kamran Akmal andAbdul Razzaq. Calcutta, over two days, has highlightedthis trait most emphatically. They were written offafter the first two sessions had yielded 225 runs andtwo wickets; a big total on the cards, Harbhajan Singhin tow and a heavy defeat to follow. But the responsewas communal, conceived by Shahid Afridi’s dismissalof Tendulkar, continued by Abdul Razzaq’s two wicketsin two balls and concluded yesterday by DanishKaneria’s extraction of Rahul Dravid. Not a starryindividual performance in sight, it was fitting thateach of the three picked up a wicket today to end theIndian innings.Maybe because they are not as extravagantly gifted astheir predecessors, they succeed occasionally byconcentrating on the basics. They chased leather muchof yesterday but they did it with commitment,discipline and passion. Afridi’s bullish presence atthe faltering top of the order today was crucial, butmore so was the recognition by Younis Khan and YousufYouhana of the most underappreciated of cricketingbasics; the art of running as a weapon.Zaheer Abbas, in a recent interview with WAC, recalledhow Asif Iqbal and Javed Miandad had run the Indiansragged when chasing 164 during the memorable chasein Karachi in 1978-79. They had, he said, run singlesthat should never have been run, they converted twosinto threes. It was, reckons Abbas, the invention ofmodern day one-day running as we know it. The Australians,of course, have reclaimed the aggressive, cheeky runof an ODI and refashioned it for the Test game.Today, Youhana and Younis stole, created, nurdled,Deflected and angled runs, cheeky in nature but decisivein spirit. With three in the covers, a slip and shortleg, they relentlessly pursued an internationalversion of tip and run, interspersed freely withboundaries. Each run chipped away at a sizeable totaland at India’s patience. In an innings of 66 overs,there were seven maidens. Not since Miandad himself,and usually against India, had there been such anexhibition.There is, of course, a proviso – there still is withPakistan – and the threat of disintegration alwaysloiters. It has happened also in the last year and theprospect of chasing runs on this pitch remains anuneasy one, but what you cannot do is write them offeven after that. They might go down here, but theywill not, you suspect, be out. What must now beacknowledged, after Mohali, after Calcutta, afterKarachi and Lahore, is that this vintage ofPakistanis, while not possessing the sparkle ofbefore, is made of sterner stuff.