If he’s not careful, there’s a danger that Paul Harris might become the kind of multi-skilled cog in the machine his country is so renowned for producing, rather than the uni-skilled square peg in a round hole everyone loves.What other conclusion can be reached on a day when he first helped South Africa add valuable, unexpected lower-order runs with a career-best 46 and then took two wickets to halt an impetuous Pakistan start?Harris’ innings was built on brave, if awkward, foundations. He was struck on the head early, but eventually recovered to play some suspiciously well-oiled sweep shots and one on-drive that lit up the day. Mickey Arthur was asked whether he was surprised by Harris’ innings, a laugh accompanying the query.Decorum allowed Arthur only a little snigger, but he said, “Look I have to be honest, he’s worked damn hard. With the team that we have gone with we have a pretty long tail and something we haven’t had for a bit. I’ve given those players responsibilities and asked them to take it. It worked out well and I was really happy for Harry that the hard work paid off today.”With Mark Boucher, Harris put on 88 runs, each one sapping Pakistan’s spirit a little more. It allowed South Africa to go past 350, when this morning 300 might have been wishful. “It was a fantastic partnership. We knew we needed one big partnership this morning. We needed someone to hang around with Mark as he was going to be the key for us. Harry did fantastic because not only did he hang around, he also scored.”But even Harris’ uniqueness has been accompanied by solid contributions from the rest and it has been that way through the tour so far. Andre Nel and Dale Steyn have worked well with Harris and dominant though Jacques Kallis has been, he’s gotten by with a little help from the other batsmen – Hashim Amla, Ashwell Prince, Boucher and even the openers. No changes in the script today and Nel, in particular, came in for some praise.”Nel is giving us exactly what we’ve known and come to expect from him. He gives us two options and we can attack with him and defend with him. He’s been fantastic for us through the series.”And that series is very nearly in the bag, though not quite, as Arthur was at pains to point out. “I certainly wouldn’t say the series is wrapped up. We’ve done the right things apart from our burst with the new ball where we probably over-attacked and tried to take a wicket every ball instead of trying to sit in a more defensive pattern. Other than that we’ve done the right things in this Test and put ourselves into a good position. There’s still a long way to go but we’re heading in the right direction.”That Inzamam-ul-Haq, after a rusty start, was still standing possibly prompted the caution. Appearing in his final Test, Inzamam was given a guard of honour by the South African team as he walked to the crease, something the team had briefly discussed but was essentially a spontaneous gesture. “I was very proud to see our team do that and it was the right thing to do.”Sending him back early tomorrow, he will be equally proud of, however. “He’s a quality player and will be hard to get out. We’re going to have to execute our game plans against him pretty well to remove him. We know what he can do, we know what he’s achieved.”Anything can happen in a session so there is still a long way to go. This series has fluctuated through sessions. We just need to do the right things tomorrow, sit down, plan it and strategise tonight, come out and execute it. If we do that, we’re heading in the right direction.”

A senior Pakistani minister has been denied a visa to visit India for the second one-day international between the hosts and Pakistan. The news comes after 46 Pakistani journalists, awarded media accreditation for the five-ODI and three-Test tour, were unable to cover the first match as they were yet to be issued visas by the Indian High Commission (IHC).Railways minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed intended to watch Thursday’s second match at Mohali, but was informed by the IHC in Islamabad that he could not be issued the required visa. “I was planning to travel on Wednesday but they left me disappointed,” he told . “They didn’t give any reason for not granting me the visa.”This time I had got invitation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India and even then they did not give me the visa at the eleventh hour.”According to the minister, official permission was sought from the Pakistan government for the required travel and as a result, a protest has been lodged and the Pakistan prime minister informed. No official from the IHC was available for comment.While visas were famously relaxed and citizen-to-citizen contact was actively encouraged during the last three series between the two countries, a similar trait has yet to be seen this time around. This surprised the minister, who firmly believed that “there should be people-to-people contact between the two countries.”

Australia’s Test cricket season started with a row between Cricket Australia and various media groups which led to several organisations being locked out of the Gabba after they refused to agree to new terms demanded by the board.The world’s top three global news agencies – Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press – have suspended all coverage of the season unless a deal can be agreed. The stand-off also involves Getty Images, who provide photos to newspapers and websites across the world.Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said he hoped the matter would be resolved amicably. “It’s a very complicated issue,” Speed admitted. “CA has been firm, based on principles. It’s a sensitive issue. Only time will tell [how it’s resolved].”In a separate incident, CA officials were forced to apologise for an “inappropriate comment” that led to News Limited reporters being ordered not to report on the match. A resolution over the media accreditation dispute between CA and News Limited had been agreed in principle shortly before the match was due to start, but senior management ordered its journalists back to their offices after a radio interview given by a CA official.Peter Young, CA’s general manager of corporate affairs, told the ABC that News Limited’s proposals would transfer money available for community cricket “into the pockets of [News Limited boss] Rupert Murdoch”. James Sutherland, CA’s chief executive, apologised and retracted the comment. “I hope we can resolve current discussions as soon as possible,” he said, “and get back to the business of staging and reporting cricket.”As the players returned to the field after a morning rain break, the reporters left the footpath outside the ground and at the time News Limited, which publishes papers including the Australian, the Daily Telegraph, the Courier-Mail and , had no plans to cover the match. However, a deal was signed late in the day.The main problem centres around rights to photographs and the amount of text and data allowed to be sent from the ground.”It is most regrettable that we are unable to provide our usual comprehensive coverage of cricket due to CA’s refusal to extend reasonable accreditation terms to international agencies,” Pierre Louette, the AFP chairman, said. “The accreditation terms imposed by CA make it impossible for news agencies to achieve the impartial and independent coverage that is our core mission.”Fairfax, which publishes the and the , and , the national news agency, reached agreement with CA in the lead-up to the match. CA has tightened its regulations with the emergence of new media and the organisation believes money made from commercial interests should be shared with the game. “Where cricket generates commercial value, we believe that some of it should be available for investment in the future of cricket,” Young said earlier this week.The global agencies declined a compromise offer from CA under which they would pay a license fee to resell photographs, arguing such a charge would run counter to the fundamental principles of news coverage. “Among the principles that we will not cede on is that we will not pay to cover news,” Louette said.The agencies are part of a coalition of more than 30 media organisations set up to oppose CA’s stance and say they will not “allow CA to have control over the way news is presented”. The agencies still hope, however, that the latest dispute can be resolved.”We are ready to continue negotiations with CA and sincerely hope that we will be able to agree on acceptable conditions that will allow us to resume normal coverage of Cricket Australia events,” Louette said. A similar stand-off occurred in the lead-up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, but the International Rugby Board relaxed its regulations after photographers who turned up to a major promotional shoot for a sponsor pointed their cameras at the ground.

The England batsman, Kevin Pietersen, has revealed he turned down the lucrative opportunity to participate in the Indian Cricket League (ICL).The tournament has yet to be sanctioned by any of the world’s cricket boards, prompting India to form another tournament: the Indian Premier League which features the best domestic Twenty20 sides from around the world. Pietersen, though, has rejected them both for the time being.”I was approached with an offer to play in India and it was a very lucrative one – but I kicked it straight into touch,” Pietersen told the . “It would be ridiculous for me to put my England career in jeopardy after all the work I have put in.”There may come a time when tournaments like this sit in with our schedule and if the authorities were happy for us to play we would have another look at it. But at the moment it’s a no-go area.”Pietersen revealed that he has been keeping a close eye on events in Australia, and has even “turned into an Australian fan”.”The Aussies are playing Sri Lanka in a Test series at present and could do us a real favour by knocking the Sri Lankans’ confidence before we play them,” he said. “It would be great if their batsmen came into our three-Test series struggling for form.”After Australia, Sri Lanka is the hardest place in the world to win a Test series and anything Ricky Ponting and co could do to help us out will be appreciated – until we play them again!”

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Daryl Tuffey claimed three wickets and Andrew Hall two, apart from bowlinga tight final over to kick off the Indian Cricket League in Panchkula. Ina match where Indian cricketers matched their skills with internationalones, the ‘home team’, Chandigarh Lions prevailed over Delhi Jets by eightruns.It was a day for both sport and entertainment but the intensity was hard to miss. The fielding was of higher standard, compared to what’s generally on display in domestic cricket, and Abhishek Sharma running out Imran Farhat was one of the plays of the day.Chris Cairns and Marvan Atapattu sparkled, apart from Tuffey and Hall, butthey had to slug it out against local talent trying to make a name. AliMortaza, a left-arm spinner from Uttar Pradesh who was an India Under-19star till recently, impressed with 3 for 16, including a wicket off hisfirst ball. Abhishek, the legspinner from Delhi, bagged three wickets tooand JP Yadav, the former Indian allrounder, contributed with both bat andball.Abbas Ali, the grandson of the legendary Mushtaq and a mainstay of theMadhya Pradesh middle order, cracked three sixes towards the end to openthe game up. Backing away from the stumps, he lofted the medium-pacerseffortlessly to bring the Delhi Jets to within striking distance.Hall, standing at midwicket, dropped a clanger off the first ball of the19th over – when Rajesh Sharma swung wildly – but he made amends byconceding just five in the final over, when 14 were needed.”I think he just wanted to be a hero and win it with the ball in the lastover,” joked the Lions captain Cairns when asked about the drop. “But Ithought it was a great way to kick the tournament off. Good game, goodcrowd, good entertainment . That’s all you ask for when you walk in for amatch.”

James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, is confident India’s tour will continue as planned and he has called on the captains Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting to sort out their differences in the next few days. Despite rumblings of discontent from within the Indian team, Sutherland said Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, had indicated the remaining two Tests would be played and the squad would not be heading home early.”There’s nothing to suggest that it won’t [go ahead],” Sutherland said. “Sharad Pawar, who is the president of cricket in India, has overnight made such commitments, so that’s good enough for me. We’re looking forward to Perth now.”Australia won the second Test on Sunday with barely ten minutes remaining and after the match Kumble questioned whether Australia had played within the spirit of the game. Ponting angrily defended his integrity and Sutherland said following such a tense finish it was understandable that emotions were running high.”It was a classic Test match, it went right down to the wire,” Sutherland said. “Anil Kumble had a fantastic Test match as a captain and as a player, and no doubt he was disappointed in the end.”To some extent it’s not surprising in that emotionally charged environment that he would say what he has. It is only appropriate in that circumstance for Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble to get together and to talk about exactly what differences of opinion there may be in that regard.”The match was marred by poor umpiring, contentious catches, queries over walking and a report that resulted in Harbhajan Singh being suspended for three Tests for making a racist comment to Andrew Symonds. Brad Hogg might also face the match referee over allegedly using offensive language during the match but Sutherland was unsure when or if a hearing would take place.”I don’t know any of the detail,” he said. “As I understand it a report hasn’t specifically been laid yet but it may well be pending.”The controversies during and after the game have taken the gloss of Australia’s record-equalling 16th consecutive Test victory. Sutherland said it should have been no surprise that Australia would fight tooth and nail to win the match.”It has always been the Australian way to play the game of cricket hard but fair,” he said. “Tough and uncompromising is certainly the way in which all Australian teams have played no matter who has been the captain and this team under Ricky Ponting is no exception.”

Barbados have drafted in wicketkeeper Patrick Browne and allrounder Kevin Stoute to the 13-member squad for their Stanford 20/20 quarter-final match against Grenada next Friday. Ahmed Proverbs, the opener, and wicketkeeper Carlo Morris have been dropped from the team which beat Dominica.Browne’s inclusion follows an impressive debut series for West Indies during the recent tour of South Africa. Browne made useful contributions in the last three one-dayers, finishing with an average of 59 and a strike rate of nearly 82. Stout has been rewarded after good performances in four Twenty20 warm-up matches at the Maxwell Sports Club ground in Briar Hall.Roddy Estwick, the Barbados chairman of selectors, said Browne’s inclusion was expected as he was always the first-choice wicketkeeper.”His inclusion is not a reflection of how Carlo performed with the gloves against Dominica because I thought he kept well,” Estwick told . “But it was only natural that with Patrick back, he would be picked.”Proverbs, 38, was omitted after scoring just 1 against Dominica, bowled slogging against the left-arm spinner Roy Marshall.Estwick said there was room for improvement in the batting, after Barbados struggled to 103 for 8 against Dominica.”I was disappointed with the batting generally, not just Ahmed,” he said. “I did notlike our approach and I don’t think we batted well. I am hoping that the changes we have made will bolster the batting.”Squad: Dwayne Smith (capt), Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Derick Bishop, Patrick Browne (wk), Jonathan Carter, Ryan Hinds, Alcindo Holder, Ryan Nurse, Dale Richards, Khalid Springer, Kevin Stoute, Kenroy Williams

Having lost their captain, Chris Gayle, with a broken thumb and hamstring injury, West Indies are contemplating promoting Shivnarine Chanderpaul to No.3 in their bid to square the five-match one-day series against South Africa after losing the opening game at Centurion on Sunday.Speaking on the eve of the second game at Newlands, stand-in captain Dwayne Bravo said the new opening combination of Brenton Parchment and Devon Smith would be persisted with, with Chanderpaul moving one notch up the order, ahead of Marlon Samuels.”We need to get better starts at the top,” Bravo said after the team’s practice session on Thursday. “There might be a change in the order with Chanderpaul going up to No. 3 for more stability.”The top order failed to convert their starts at Centurion, losing half their side with the score on 72. Runako Morton and Darren Sammy led a late revival to lift the score to 175 in 36 overs but it wasn’t enough as South Africa coasted home with two overs to spare.Coach John Dyson also concurred with Bravo, he didn’t use the inexperience of the opening combination as an excuse, despite being up against bowler-friendly conditions. He said the newcomers in the squad should utilise this opportunity to step up and make the most of it if the conditions are more batting friendly.”[Sewnarine] Chattergoon’s played before, Parchment of course is brand new, and Devon will be looking at his tour so far and saying to himself, ‘I could have done better,’ ” Dyson said. “So whoever gets the job tomorrow, it’s got to be in their mind that this is an opportunity to cement their place in the squad.”West Indies will be boosted by the return of fast bowler Jerome Taylor, who batted and bowled in the nets after injuring his shoulder in the Twenty20 international in Johannesburg. It is uncertain, however, who he would replace as Sammy turned in a good performance with the bat to cover for his expensive spell of 1 for 57 in seven overs.Graeme Smith, the South African captain, said he was pleased to see the competition for places pushing his players to perform at their best. However, he touched upon the need to restrict the run scoring in the death overs. The bowlers couldn’t halt West Indies’ late revival at Centurion, with Morton and Sammy adding 69 for the seventh wicket.”We’ve bowled very well up until about ten overs to go, but I don’t think we’ve finished really well,” Smith said. “That’s something we’ve been discussing and working on.”I’d like to see guys really contributing in the last ten. If teams have got momentum going into the last five overs, it becomes difficult to pull it back.”South Africa will be forced to make a change, with allrounder Justin Ontong ruled out for the next two games with a knee injury. Smith said South Africa would probably go in with the same line-up which beat New Zealand at Newlands last month, with Herschelle Gibbs returning to open the innings and AB de Villiers dropping down to No.6. Offspinner Johan Botha is likely to replace Ontong.

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Career-best figures from medium-pacer Shakeel-ur-Rehman helped North West Frontier Province dismiss Sind for 149 and an unbeaten 68 from captain Younis Khan took the lead to 200 by stumps on day two in Karachi. Sind had resumed on 60 for 1 but Shakeel dealt quick blows to secure his side a 54-run lead.His first victim was opener Khalid Latif, caught behind for 17 from 75 balls to make it 79 for 2. Faisal Iqbal, the Pakistan international, was out for 1 and the dangerous Shahid Afridi was removed for an 18-ball 17. Naumanullah was then bowled for 47, the best contribution of the innings, and two swift strikes cut through the tail. Pind had proceeded to lose nine wickets for 89 runs.Rafatullah Mohmand and Yasir Hameed got NWFP’s second innings off to a solid start, adding 41, but a double-strike from Anwar Ali threatened to bring Sind back. Hameed hit 26 from 30 balls before he was trapped leg before by Anwar, a former Under-19 star. Riaz Kail suffered a similar fate for 4 as NWFP slipped to 51 for 2. That became 71 for 3 when Mohmand fell to Uzair-ul-Haq’s medium-pace, but Younis proved difficult to dislodge.Coming off two fifties against Zimbabwe and a one-match breather in the clean sweep, Younis rattled his way to an unbeaten 68 off 95 balls, with 13 boundaries, by the close of play. Offering solid support at the other end was Wajahatullah Wasti, the former Pakistan opener, with a sedate 14 from 81 balls. NWFP’s tail wagged in the first innings and further such contributions could be enough to seal Sind’s fate as this match progresses.
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Salman Butt’s unbeaten 143-ball 135, in an opening stand of 191 with Mohammad Hafeez, gave Punjab a superb start to their first innings on day two in Lahore. Butt shrugged off an ordinary series against Zimbabwe by taking the Federal Areas attack to task – Punjab scored 219 for 1 at 4.56 runs an over – after Abdur Rehman and Wahab Riaz combined to reduce the opposition from an overnight 301 for 4 to an eventual 383.Butt struck 24 fours and a six , or 75% of his score, to launch a stirring reply. With Hafeez, another opener with international experience, he defied a line-up that included Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat. Hafeez was a bit more relaxed in his approach, scoring 77 from 113 balls, but with his partner going all-out it suited the situation expertly. Butt ticked along at a strike rate of 94.40, doing plenty to keep this match from meandering to a draw. Punjab still trail by 164 but with the likes of Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal to follow Federal Areas may be in for a tough third day in the field.Earlier, Rehman, who has played two Tests and 11 ODIs, snared 4 for 86 with his left-arm spin to support opening bowler Riaz. Usman Saeed and Naved Ashraf were cut short after crossing fifty and there was little action from Federal Areas’ lower order. Riaz, who had handed a maiden ODI cap against Zimbabwe last month, took 4 for 112 to help Punjab maintain damage control. Then it was over to Butt.

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Powered by a counterattacking 90 by Abhishek Nayar, and a steady display by their medium-pacers, West Zone beat South Zone by 26 runs in Bangalore to finish second in the Deodhar Trophy. Central had already secured the title by winning their first three matches with a bonus point in each of them.West had started a middle-order collapse when Nayar came into bat at 105 for 3 in the 25th over. In the next 10 overs, they stumbled to 165 for 6, and were in danger of being bowled out. That’s when Nayar found stable company in Ajit Agarkar, and by the time Agarkar got out West were in a position to accelerate in the slog overs. The two added 66 in 11.1 overs, while some lusty blows towards the end to take West to 272. Nayar was the last man out – in the 50th over, for an 80-ball 90.South’s chase never got going, and they had lost Robin Uthappa, M Vijay and S Vidyut in the first 13 overs for 51 runs. S Badrinath, along with mini contributions from the middle and the lower-middle order, kept them within an outside shot, but once Badrinath got out for 64 in the 42nd over, the task was too much for the lower order. Munaf Patel and Siddharth Trivedi took three wickets apiece.
ScorecardAnustup Majumdar and Saurabh Tiwary helped East Zone recover from a precarious situation to put up 296, a total North Zone did not have the firepower to chase. This ended a dismal campaign for North Zone, who failed to win anything and conceded bonus points in two of their matches. East finished third with nine points from four matches.When Majumdar and Saurabh came together, East had lost three wickets for 75 runs, and were in need of a partnership that would be big and one that would keep the rate up. The two did just that, adding 133 runs in 31.1 overs. Saurabh contributed 73 of those – off 74 balls, with the help of three fours and three sixes. Majumdar, though, went on to get his second List A century and his highest List A score, hitting 10 fours and two sixes in his 107-ball 109.The lack of impetus in East’s slog overs – last nine overs went for 56 – proved inconsequential, as a slow start followed by a middle-order collapse meant North were never with a shot. A mini recovery by Virat Kohli had taken North to 96 for 2 in the 22nd over, but it soon became 134 for 7 as East wrested control.