England have delayed naming their squad for the fifth and final npower Test against South Africa at The Oval, after their preparations were hampered by a number of fitness concerns. James Kirtley has been ruled out of the squad after medical scans revealed that he is suffering from shin-splints, while Martin Bicknell is also doubtful with a hamstring injury.”We need more time to re-assess our options in light of the injuries to Kirtley and Bicknell," said David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors. "Delaying the announcement will enable us to make further checks on the form and fitness of possible replacements.”England are already due to be without Nasser Hussain through injury. He will miss next week’s match at The Oval with a broken toe sustained during the fourth Test at Headingley. Graham Thorpe is on standby for a recall.The squad is now due to be announced at 9.05am on Sunday morning.

Stephen Fleming said that New Zealand had come to India eminently prepared to meet every challenge thrown at them, but he added that executing tactical plans in Indian conditions would prove to be the real challenge. “We have a lot of plans,” he said in Visakhapatnam, where New Zealand start their first three-day game tomorrow. “A lot of things in mind for a number of players. But the most important part in India is executing those plans.”According to Fleming, the Indian tour would be even more arduous than tours of the West Indies and Sri Lanka. “India have three or four of the top batsmen in the world. They also have a very good spin attack. That’s where the challenge lies.”New Zealand beat India 2-0 late last year, on green wickets that came in for a fair bit of stick. Fleming reckoned that the wickets prepared for the upcoming series would also have a similar influence on the outcome. “Generally, spin bowlers get assistance from Indian tracks while the pacers have to do it the hard way. I’m not saying that we’re not talented, but we have to play extremely well to put it across India in the coming series. Also, spots are up for grabs in the side.”His hopes of at least attaining parity rested largely on the two slow bowlers, Daniel Vettori and Paul Wiseman. “Daniel is the more experienced bowler, while Paul has developed his skills and is also now turning the ball well. They have got different roles to play and we will make full use of their skills,” he said. Vettori and Wiseman bowled well in Sri Lanka, where New Zealand managed to end Sri Lanka’s triumphant nine-match run in Test matches.The first challenge for New Zealand starts tomorrow when they take on a Board President’s XI captained by Virender Sehwag.

Bruce Blair’s exposure to the preparation and planning required for international play was greatly enhanced by his stint as a coaching observer with the New Zealand team during the recent Test series with India. Blair was sent, at New Zealand Cricket’s expense, to India to be part of the tour management team. Auckland coach Mark O’Donnell is there now, and Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson will be in Pakistan for that leg of the tour.Blair had been to India before, but many years ago, and said as always India had been an awakening, a life experience in a culture so diverse from New Zealand that it was pretty eye-opening.But as far as the playing and preparation was concerned he felt there was a lift in intensity from that he had experienced on the first-class scene in New Zealand with his Northern Districts side. “When you go into a Test series, you know who you are going to play against and that is different to domestic cricket. The level of planning for the Tests was extremely comprehensive and New Zealand’s effort was no accident.”Blair said he felt the New Zealanders had surprised the Indians in terms of how competitive they were. “It was quite disappointing at the end of the second Test that we had not been able to force a victory. We were right on the money with where we wanted to be during the Test but just couldn’t finish it off. It was a quiet dressing room afterwards because we were so close.”But the plan turned out to be a good plan and I think that did surprise the Indians. As a batting unit we left New Zealand with no player having scored a Test century in India and now five have scored them, while Jacob Oram added another against India A,” said Blair.Everyone had contributed from a bowling point of view while the fielding had also been good. Blair said from a coaching point of view having observed Daryl Tuffey working harder at his own game and fitness, which didn’t suggest he hadn’t worked hard before, to lift himself to a new level and then get the results, such as on the last morning in Mohali, had been most enjoyable.For medium-fast bowlers having to run in and bowl hard on flat tracks, Tuffey, Ian Butler and Jacob Oram couldn’t help but come back as better bowlers for the experience. Butler had hurried up some good bowlers in those conditions which was a demonstration of his capabilities. With speed guns in India showing Butler constantly bowling around the 147 km/h mark, Blair was not surprised that he showed up faster than he had in New Zealand.”I knew he was bowling too briskly onto batsmen for the New Zealand speed figures to have been slower.” Another of his Northern Districts charges, Daniel Vettori had been highly respected by the Indians. He had a good economy rate and the batsmen were playing him into the safety zones to minimise the risks.Asked what he felt the benefits might be for Northern Districts from his trip away, Blair said that his goal had always been to have all the players in his side capable of stepping up to international cricket. He said he came away from the tour with the view that cricket can only be enhanced, not only for the Northern Districts Knights but also for all the other cricketers he comes into contact with.”There are various systems I saw that I will introduce straight away, there are some that I will explore to a new level but there was plenty of good to come out of it overall,” he said.”It was fantastic to have the opportunity to go and if it is ongoing then the next time they need to select a New Zealand coach there should be six first-class coaches who put their hands up. If it goes ahead, it can only be good for New Zealand.”Blair was full of admiration for Nathan Astle’s effort to overcome illness to go out on the last afternoon of the first Test in Ahmedabad and help save the match. “He was physically sick with not a lot of control. But he adjusted to batting in extremely difficult conditions of 37-38 degrees. He showed tremendous courage and determination. I think they can take great heart out of the way they performed. They scored a lot of points over there,” Blair said.

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An inspired allround display from Muttiah Muralitharan took the gloss off what was otherwise a hard-working and productive display from England on the second day at Galle. Murali scored a whirlwind 38 from 37 balls to help Sri Lanka recover from 239 for 7 to reach a useful 331 all out. Then he removed Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick late in the day, and England closed on 97 for 2.Vaughan will be disappointed that England surrendered their strong position after a fruitful morning session, in which they took charge with three wickets. But after losing the toss yesterday, they could still take satisfaction from their efforts after a long and tiring day – and this time one with no breaks for rain.At the start, all Sri Lankan eyes and hopes were on Kumar Sangakkara, their one remaining specialist batsman. He was in sublime touch on Tuesday evening, and soon brought up his fifty with some extravagant shots off Ashley Giles, in particular. Vaughan turned early to his spin pairing of Giles and Gareth Batty, but the Sri Lankans remained keen to impose themselves, as Thilan Samaraweera showed when he danced down the track and slammed Batty over midwicket for four.It was the new ball that did the trick for England. With his very first delivery, Richard Johnson found the perfect line and length to trap Sangakkara lbw for 71 (202 for 5), as he played back and across. And when Samaraweera chased and edged a wide one from Andrew Flintoff, England were well on top (238 for 6).Upul Chandana battled hard for his 21, but with Flintoff on a roll, Chandana was adjudged lbw by Daryl Harper, although the ball appeared to be skimming over the top of middle stump. Sri Lanka, who had packed their middle order with spinning allrounders with a view to a quick victory, were beginning to regret their shortage of specialist batsmen.But Kumar Dharmasena and Chaminda Vaas held up England’s progress with a handy partnership worth 40 stubborn runs, which was ended by Batty’s first wicket of the match. Dharmasena tried to sweep but missed the ball, which pitched outside off and hit him in line, and he was adjudged lbw by Venkat (279 for 8).It was a deserved wicket for Batty, who, like Matthew Hoggard, had bowled tirelessly but without any luck while Sri Lanka pushed towards 300. And Batty got more reward when Dinusha Fernando, on his Test debut, prodded forward and edged a low chance to Paul Collingwood at short leg, who took his third catch on his debut (291 for 9).England were thrilled at the prospect of restricting Sri Lanka to less than 300, but they didn’t bank on Murali. Before this series, they probably didn’t spend much time fretting over his batting talents, but a last-wicket stand of 40 between Murali and Chaminda Vaas kept a frustrated England waiting in the field.Murali immediately enlivened the crowd by slapping his first ball over mid-off for four, and then he signalled the 300 with a huge straight six off Batty. He flicked Batty over mid-on for another four, and Vaughan was beginning to get a little edgy. He brought back Flintoff to finish the job off, but he couldn’t.Murali top-edged him over the slips for two fours in consecutive balls, and continued to frustrate the bowling with his unconventional style. He finally fell when he edged Giles to Chris Read, but he was smiling all the way to the pavilion, knowing England would have an uncomfortable final session.Trescothick and Vaughan made a confident start, though, as they cruised to a fifty partnership with little fuss. Vaughan started off with a bang, creaming Fernando through midwicket and then straight past him in successive balls. Trescothick started more sedately, but then stamped his authority. He twice punched Fernando through the covers for four, and followed that up with a sumptuous straight-drive for four more.

But it wasn’t long before Hashan Tillakaratne turned to that man Murali, and immediately things started to happen. Vaughan was lucky to survive an lbw shout on 18 when he miscued a sweep shot and was hit in front of middle, but Trescothick wasn’t quite so fortunate – in fact he copped a rotten decision from Daryl Harper.Murali fizzed down a quicker one which turned sharply and beat Trescothick’s forward prod. Sangakkara collected the ball cleanly, and made a token shriek as an appeal for caught-behind, and to some astonishment, Harper gave him out (56 for 1). And worse was to come when Vaughan padded up to a vicious offcutter and was bowled through his legs. The ball pitched way outside off, then spun back underneath Vaughan’s front leg, and clipped the top of off stump (67 for 2).Mark Butcher and Graham Thorpe averted any collapse, as they held firm and made sure England stayed well and truly in the game with a watchful 30-run partnership. Butcher and Thorpe accepted the offer of bad light with a few overs remaining, with all to play for tomorrow in this close contest.

NSW Speedblitz Blues players will be a welcome boost to Sydney grade Cricket teams as Round 13 begins this Saturday. With just three remaining rounds, competition will be fierce, as team’s battle for the right to feature in finals cricket. Sunday will feature semi finals of the one-day competition. Bankstown will host Eastern Suburbs at Bankstown Oval while Mosman take on Sydney University at Rawson Oval. Mosman have been involved in the last four one-day semi finals and will be keen to claim a title, which has so far eluded them. They take on a rejuvenated Student’s outfit that welcomes back the experienced Greg Matthews for the encounter.Mosman have consistently shown their ability in the one-day cricket format being involved in the past three semi finals. Whilst playing in the final two seasons ago, the Whale’s are keen to end their title drought. Mosman believe their strength is in their experienced bowling attack, which features three former NSW pace bowlers in Warwick Adlam, Phil Alley and Trent Johnston. "We all seem to be bowling as quick as we did three years ago, but with more experienced heads now", Adlam said.The 32 year old Adlam claimed his 500th first grade wicket in his teams recent clash with Sutherland and sits second only to Aaron Bird (59) with 48 wickets so far this season. Adlam further believes the Clubs latest acquisition in Nottingham’s Guy Welton is a secret weapon. "Guy is a powerful hitter who has an uncanny resemblance to Ian Botham in physique, batting style and looks". The Whales will be hoping Welton (568 runs) can continue his form with his adopted club.Bankstown will be looking to continue its current form in their semi final with Eastern Suburbs. Talented Bankstown speedsters Aaron Bird and Scott Thompson will target NSW Speedblitz Blues hard hitter Brad Haddin and former Blues batsman Mark Patterson in their clash. The encounter should be an enthralling one with two of the form teams in the competition.In Round 11 matches; Fairfield-Liverpool v Campbelltown-Camden at Rosedale; Blacktown v UTS-Balmain at Joe McAleer; Hawkesbury v Randwick Petersham at Owen Earle; Manly-Warringah v Eastern Suburbs at Manly; Mosman v North Sydney at Rawson; Northern District v Bankstown at Waitara; Parramatta v Sydney University at Old Kings; St George v Gordon at Hurstville; Sutherland v Penrith at Caringbah and University of NSW v Western Suburbs at Village Green. . All Saturday games will commence at 11.00am, while Sunday’s semi finals will commence at 10.00am

Australia Women 2 for 153 (Rolton 60*, Jones 40*) beat New Zealand Women 8 for 152 (Lewis 30, Fitzpatrick 3-35) by 8 wickets
ScorecardAustralia shook off a food-poisoning scare to win their second Rose Bowl women’s cricket match against New Zealand by eight wickets here today. The comfortable victory gave the Southern Stars a 2-0 lead in the one-day series, meaning that the White Ferns now had to all four remaining games to take the trophy off the holders.On a slow wicket at Westpac Park, Australia easily chased down New Zealand’s modest 8 for 152, reaching the target in the 39th over. Karen Rolton, who starred with a century in the first game in Auckland last Wednesday, again led the way with a fine 60 not out from 108 balls.The result was all the more impressive given that Leonie Coleman, Southern Stars’ wicketkeeper, and Alex Blackwell, a medium-pace bowler, were struck down with food poisoning the afternoon before the game and had to be replaced. Blackwell was so seriously affected she fainted at the team hotel.Ironically, Blackwell’s identical twin sister Kate Blackwell, who was visiting her sister, was brought in as 12th player. New Zealand’s coach, Mike Shrimpton, said that the White Ferns’s 152 wasn’t enough to make the game competitive.”By and large the senior players, the ones with most experience, haven’t put their hand up and scored in anger really. We need more runs from them. We need 200 runs in order to be competitive and we were obviously 40 to 50 runs short in each game.”New Zealand’s innings started well when openers Rebecca Rolls and Maria Fahey put on 35 in 40 minutes before Rolls was bowled around her legs trying to sweep medium pacer Emma Twining. Emily Drumm looked in great form and hit four fours in her 26 off 39 balls before holing out to mid-wicket off spinner Lisa Sthalekar with the score at 63.It was the turning point of the innings as the rest of the batsmen struggled to score on a slow, low wicket. New Zealand’s captain, Maia Lewis, worked hard for 30 off 70 balls before being yorked by Australian pace bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Lewis and Aimee Mason shared the biggest partnership of the innings of 38 in 44 minutes before Mason was run out for 21 from a superb side-on throw by Sthalekar.Fitzpatrick, the destroyer in Auckland, was again effective taking 3 for 35 while Sthalekar flighted the ball beautifully to end with 2 for 20. Rolton then guided Australia to a comfortable win with good support from Melanie Jones who took just 46 balls to compile a classy 40 not out including four fours and a six.The teams meet again on Tuesday here in the third ODI, then fly to Australia on Wednesday for three games at Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart.

Dwayne Smith has been ruled out of West Indies’ first Test against England, which starts on Thursday in Jamaica. Smith dislocated a finger in his right hand while fielding in the nets.”It was a most unfortunate development for the young man,” Ricky Skerritt, the team manager, said. “But Dwayne has the right attitude towards situations likethis and there is no doubt he’ll be back stronger than ever.”The West Indian selectors have decided against naming a replacement for Smith, which means that Ricardo Powell or Ryan Hinds will take the No. 6 spot in the line-up. Dave Bernard has been added to the squad as an emergency fielder.

On Pakistan’s bowling problems in the ODIs and the first Test
We have had some problems with our bowling and we haven’t bowled well thus far. The discipline continues to be a bit weak. We improved on the second day considerably and I thought we were unlucky. The fielding has been poor in this game. A long bowl will help us in a way, because it gave the bowlers a chance to get their rhythm back. The Indians stuck to a line and length and they bowled well.On the pitch
We want to play on positive, sporting pitches. These types of wickets do not suit us or help us to play positive cricket. Our attack consists of pace bowlers, not seamers, so we would like hard and bouncy pitches. There was communication between the team management and the curator as regards the pitch, but that type of wicket obviously couldn’t be produced.On the need for a bowling coach
If spinners don’t bowl well, do we then need a spinning coach as well? How many coaches do we need? If a team doesn’t perform well once or twice, it doesn’t suddenly mean that we need all sorts of coaches.On saving the match
It is difficult but if we continue to bat as we did today, when we were attacking, we can do it. There is still a lot of life in the match. Our batting has been good throughout the series and we performed well today – 364 for 6 isn’t such a bad score, it just seems small against a score of nearly 700. Razzaq, who batted well, is still there and Saqlain and Sami can bat. We need 111 runs to save the follow-on and if we bat like this tomorrow, I am confident we can save the match.On Yasir Hameed and the nervous nineties
If he keeps getting nineties all the time, I won’t be too displeased. He played well today, but maybe he gets nervous when he gets close to the century. If so, then he needs to work on that.On debatable dismissals … like his and Yousuf Youhana’s
All the batsmen were well set when they got out, so it was very disappointing. I can’t say anything about the dismissals, but you have all seen the TV replays so it is up to you to decide whether or not they were debatable.On Saqlain’s poor performance, and an extra spinner
He has been out for some time but he tried very hard on a very flat pitch. Let’s see what happens in the remainder of the match. An extra spinner would not have made much of a difference on what is a batting paradise.On not congratulating Sehwag, and Tendulkar’s near-miss
All the players did congratulate Sehwag on his effort, but I will do it now officially: Congratulations Virender Sehwag, on your magnificent triple-hundred! [Referring to Tendulkar:] Every team plays to its own plans. If someone was so close in my team, I would let them bat on for the double-century.

Sri Lankan cricket authorities have confirmed that they have written to the ICC expressing concern over the conduct of Chris Broad, the match referee for the recent series against Australia.According to the state-run Sunday Observer, Broad was allegedly found “boozing with Australian cricketers during the February-March series, which Sri Lanka Cricket claimed is gross misconduct in breach of the ICC rules”.Broad, the former England opener, was in charge for the series and reported Muttiah Muralitharan’s action to the ICC, claiming that it was suspect.Mohan de Silva, the board president, insisted that the letter was an informal way of making the ICC aware of its feelings on the matter. “We have brought to the notice of the ICC his [Broad’s] general conduct,” de Silva said on Sunday. “It is not a formal protest or a complaint, but a letter to keep the ICC informed. We feel it is part of our responsibility.”Meanwhile, Bruce Elliott’s biomechanics team at the University of Western Australia has concluded that Muralitharan should be allowed to continue using his doosra until the completion of further biomechanical research into slow bowling.

Brad Williams is hopeful that a back injury which has cut short his Zimbabwe tour after only five overs is not a recurrence of the more sinister stress fractures that plagued his early years.Williams felt a pain "like somebody jabbed with a needle" during his first over of the opening one-dayer in Harare. He struggled on for five overs before leaving the field and will arrive home tomorrow."In my last over I was really gritting my teeth," he said. "It felt very similar to when I was a youngster and I had stress fractures. But it would be very unusual at my age to have stress fractures."Alex Kontouri, the team physiotherapist, has recommended that Williams return home for diagnostic scans. "Brad is experiencing significant pain in his lower back and there simply isn’t enough time remaining on this tour to investigate the problem fully," said Kontouri. "With his history of back problems, we felt it would be wise to send him back to Australia rather than stay in Zimbabwe when there are just a few days of the tour remaining."He was treated for back pain earlier in the tour, but after rest and treatment following the tour match the condition improved. That the pain has flared up again is a concern."Williams was downbeat but philosophical. "It’s disappointing because we have been waiting so long to begin this tour," he said. "Basically I’ve been here for two weeks, bowled just five overs in match conditions, and now this happens. It’s a real let down. By going home early hopefully I can get the problem solved, making sure that I’m fit and available for selection against Sri Lanka next month."With Glenn McGrath returning after 10 months on the sidelines, Shane Watson also on the comeback trail and Williams striving to make himself a team regular, the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. No replacement will be sent over, with Watson, Ian Harvey and Brad Hogg all in contention to get a run in these evening’s second match.