Allan Border, the former selector, wants to know if Australia can cope with using only five batsmen, which would allow the luxury of picking another bowler. Border believes the second Test against the struggling West Indies at Hobart next week offers the ideal opportunity to retain Adam Gilchrist at No. 6 and include the legspinner Stuart MacGill.”It’s a bit of an experiment – maybe it’s time to see whether we can cope,” Border said in . “We are getting more runs out of Brett Lee and Shane Warne, and [Nathan] Bracken is batting quite well. So maybe it’s time to give that line-up a bit of a run and see how it performs.”Australia have been reluctant to change from the traditional six batsmen and four specialist bowlers, but the flexibility provided by Shane Watson, the allrounder who suffered a shoulder injury in the first Test, has prompted calls for the extra risk. “I think it will do well against West Indies, whether it’s a team we would field if we were playing England next week in Hobart … it’s an interesting situation,” he said on . “You know it’s a pretty good batsman-friendly wicket at Bellerive so back the batsmen to score enough runs for you and then that gives you a lot more options.”However, the changes would create greater pressure on an order with fresh faces already struggling to impose themselves. Mike Hussey is expected to play his second Test after Justin Langer was ruled out and Michael Clarke and Simon Katich are battling for runs.Watson had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder in Melbourne last night and was suffering ligament and joint damage after the dislocation while fielding in Brisbane. Dr Trefor James, the Cricket Australia medical officer, said Watson’s arm would be in a sling for four weeks before he could begin a rehabilitation program.”The speed of recovery in this more intensive phase can vary, so we have not set a time-frame for Shane’s return, but it is fair to say he is unlikely to be back before the end of the international summer,” he said. “We are mindful of the long term and will not take any unnecessary risks.”

Imran Khan, the legendary allrounder, has termed Pakistan as favourites to win the upcoming three-Test series against arch-rivals India.Hailing Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shoaib Akhtar as a “matchwinning pair,” Imran said the timing and weather would also help the Pakistani fast bowlers. “The last time when India visited it was summer [April] and now it is winter [January], which will benefit our bowlers,” Imran was quoted as saying by the Pakistani daily .On the issue of Karachi hosting a Test between the arch-rivals, he said India must play in the port city since the successful conduct of a one-dayer against England recently had proved that conditions there were “quite satisfactory”. Imran, however, lashed out at the functioning of the Pakistan Cricket Board, saying it was time to put in place a democratically-elected board as in Australia and India.”There is one-man show in PCB. One man is taking all the decisions. By the way, what are the qualifications of present board officials who are working on ad hoc basis.” He said since the PCB did not have a constitution, it made it easier to avoid accountability. “The constitution ensures accountability for irregularities and transparency in affairs.”

Australia will proceed with a bid to stage the 2011 World Cup, a Cricket Australia offical said on Tuesday, despite reports that a joint Asian bid is being lined up. At the weekend it emerged that Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were uniting to bid for the tournament, and Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan board chairman, indicated that Australia would not challenge them.But Peter Young, Cricket Australia’s general manager of public affairs, said that was not the case. “At this stage the ICC is just asking for expressions of interest and we are interested,” he told Reuters. “The deadline is February and we will be going ahead with that.”The Australian bid could be in association with New Zealand, and Young said that they were confident they would be a strong candidate. “We haven’t hosted the World Cup since 1992 and we have all the facilities and personnel to stage an event of this size again,” he said. “We’re exploring the option of a joint bid with New Zealand but if necessary we could go alone.”For the first time since the first World Cup in 1975, member nations are being asked to bid for hosting rights. The 2007 tournament in the Caribbean will be the last to be staged under a gentleman’s agreement struck by the ICC which meant the event staging was rotated.

After yesterday’s washout, today’s semi-final was reduced to seven overs per side between Cape Cobras and Titans, with Australia’s Ian Harvey taking the Cobras through to the final. Harvey’s blistering 45 was made from just 18 balls, with five fours and three sixes, after the Cobras had won the toss and chosen to bat. Their total of 95 for 5 from seven overs proved too much for the Titans, who lost Bodi in the second over for one. AB de Villiers, however, was striking the ball cleanly, hitting three sixes and a couple of fours in his knock of 30. But his wicket spelled the end of Titan’s chances of making it to the final, and they fell 22 runs short.Soaking rain all day forced the postponement of the Standard Bank Pro20 semi-finalbetween the Eagles and the Lions in Bloemfontein on Sunday. The match was rescheduled to 6 PM on Monday, and the winners will meet the Cobras in the final next Sunday.

Muttiah Muralitharan reached yet another milestone in a record-filled career, becoming only the second bowler in Test history to claim 600 wickets, on the third day of the second Test at Bogra. Only Shane Warne, currently with 659 victims, is ahead of him and it may not be too long before the duo resume their battle for top honours.Murali, who was on 598 when the innings began, got one step away with the wicket of Shahriar Nafees, who attempted a reckless slog sweep and holed out to mid-on. He reached the landmark in the 32nd over of the Bangladesh second innings, thanks to a doosra, when he got Khaled Mashud to top edge a sweep to long leg. Lasith Malinga, patrolling the boundary, completed a good running catch, leaving Murali in an ecstatic mood as he was mobbed by his team-mates.It was also Murali’s 50th wicket against Bangladesh, in, just his sixth Test, and he became the first bowler to pick up 50 wickets against every Test playing nation.Murali had conquered another peak in the previous game at Chittagong, his 100th Test, when he became the first bowler to take 1,000 international wickets. Strangely, it was Mashud was his victim on that occasion as well. His five-wicket haul in the first innings had got him closer, when he snapped up his 50th five-wicket haul, and he finally reached the magical mark at 1:10pm today.Bogra, the nerve-centre of northern Bangladesh, may be renowned for some historical sights, and this was the venue’s first Test, but cricket lovers will long remember it as the site where a smiling genius nailed his 600th scalp.

Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, hinted that top players like Andrew Flintoff could be rested for the Champions Trophy in India in October and November this year, in preparation for the Ashes. Fletcher expressed concern that the players would not have enough time to rest and recuperate before the first Test at Brisbane on November 23, which starts just three weeks after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy, on November 5.”We will look to see who will need a rest before going to Australia and we will make plans accordingly,” Fletcher told . “We will have to look at the Champions Trophy and see what our attitude is towards it.”Flintoff was rested for the sixth ODI against India at Jamshedpur, with the hosts already having clinched the series 4-0. England face a packed home season against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which includes a maximum of seven Tests and ten ODIs. This will be followed by the Champions Trophy, the tour of Australia from November to February and the World Cup in the West Indies in March and April. The home season commences with the first Test against Sri Lanka starting on May 11 at Lord’s, less than a month after the seventh and final ODI at Indore on April 15.Fletcher added, “I’m looking at all the players all the time. That’s why I’m pulling guys out because I’m looking at September when people are just looking at the next week. You’ve just got to look quite a long way away down the line.”England, who finished runners-up in the previous edition of the Champions Trophy, have been grouped with world champions Australia, hosts India and a qualifier from the group stages.

Pakistan A 288 for 4 (Hasan Raza 106*, Misbah-ul-Haq 73) beat India A 252 (Sodhi 70, Rao 69, Mansoor Amjad 4-68) by 36 runs
Scorecard

A century from Hasan Raza was the anchor for Pakistan A’s 36-run victory over India A in the final of the EurAsia Series in Abu Dhabi.Pakistan came into the final on the back of a defeat when the two sides met in the group stage, but they deserved their win after outplaying India in all departments.Raza’s unbeaten 106, made off 112 balls, came at a time the innings had lost some momentum after the loss of two wickets in quick succession reduced them to 88 for 3. Raza found valuable support in Misbah-ul-Haq who made a vital 73 from 94 balls with four fours and a six. The pair, who came together at the end of 15th over, added 174 runs for the fourth-wicket which was only broken with Misbah’s run out in the penultimate over of the innings.India started badly, losing both openers six balls after they had laboured to 42 in the 11th over, but Venugopal Rao (69) and Reetinder Sodhi (70) put them back on course with a stand of 147 in 29 overs.The decisive moment came when Mansoor Amjad dismissed them both within four balls, and with an asking rate of ten-an-over and no set batsman at the crease, India folded, losing their last six wickets for 40 in six overs.

Malcolm Speed has hit out at critics who have accused the ICC of apparent indifference to player workloads, stating that they are “quite simply ill-informed and wrong”.Speed, the ICC chief executive, wrote in an article published on Cricinfo that the ICC was all too aware of the strain on players.”Avoiding that cycle of problems was one reason why the ICC recently introduced its new six-year Future Tours Program (FTP) to replace the existing five year schedule,” he explained. “[It] was put together following extensive consultation and has factored in guidelines, supported at the ICC Cricket Committee, by players at the captains’ meeting and by player representatives, including FICA, concerning the highest volume of matches each side should be playing.”He went on to outline the demands on each country, which should mean that no teams should play more than 15 Test matches and 30 ODIs in a 12-month period, although he added that “teams rarely come close to this limit”.But he warned that some of the scheduling was outside the ICC’s control and was down to the member countries themselves. “There is a reliance on members to be responsible in scheduling additional commitments above and beyond those required by the FTP – two Tests and three ODIs home and away against each other during the six-year period. The ICC recognizes the need for Members to look to maximize their revenue in order to grow the game … but, at the same time, they have to be mindful that the players are their prime assets and overworking them would benefit no one in the long run.”

And Speed said that while the strain of travelling and playing was clear for all to see, he stated that “they are engaged in their career of choice”. He continued: “They are doing something that the vast majority of people that watch them in action can only dream of, and they are well-paid too. The current crop of international stars are better rewarded for their efforts than any of their predecessors.”Players have to realise it is a two-way street. They cannot, on the one hand, complain of playing too much and then turn round and head off for a lucrative spell of English county cricket when there is a break in the schedule.” He also pointed out that not all players were unhappy, and some wanted to actually play more.Speed’s comments would seem to throw the onus back on the individual boards as it is the extra matches they squeeze into gaps in the schedules – such as the DLF Cup in Abu Dhabi this week – that greatly increase the time spent travelling and playing.What is sure is that this debate is far from over.

The Pyjama Game came to the County Ground, Jesmond, Newcastle, in September, when the NatWest Trophy winners, Somerset, met a Northumberland Invitation XI in the North-East’s first floodlit fixture.The match, played under John Player League rules, was part of Somerset skipper Brian Rose’s benefit year. It was sponsored by Dry Blackthorn Cider, and Somerset included Test stars Botham, Richards, Garner and Marks.A crowd of over 2500 packed tightly into the county ground, and there were black sightscreens, a white ball, coloured pads, and the umpires sported a nice line in brown coats. The floodlights, four sets of panelled lights, were suspended by 85ft cranes, and there was an air of anticipation as everyone waited for the ‘Northern Lights’ to flicker into action.For the visitors, Roebuck and Denning raced to an opening stand of 70 before ‘Dasher’ departed. But Roebuck strode impressively on. Even the swift exits of Richards for 12 and Botham 33, to the obvious disappointment of the crowd, were soon forgotten as Roebuck reached a splendid 106 (three sixes, 13 fours), Somerset eventually totalling 251 for 8.During the break a specially-imported calypso steel band ‘beat out that rhythm on the drum’.Northumberland were 102 for 1 from 24 overs (Halliday 65 not out) when the rain, no respecter of this historic occasion, poured down and the match was abandoned. In the warmth of the pavilion, reviving glasses of cider in their hands, the local players reflected on their first experience of floodlit cricket:”Absolutely tremendous. The ball comes onto you a lot quicker; it doesn’t swing very much.” All agreed how exciting and enjoyable it had been. Brian Rose declared himself to be “very impressed with the set-up”. Somerset won the match on a faster scoring rate. But the result wasn’t really important.

Rana Naved-ul Hasan left for London on Saturday to consult a specialist in the hope of recovering from a groin injury before the Test series against England in July.Naved, who has played eight Tests and 45 one-day internationals, suffered the injury while playing for Sussex recently but he says he still has hopes of taking part in the series. He told AFP before his departure, “I have hopes of getting fit in time to face England. If not, it would be a great disappointment because I have been waiting for this series.”When I suffered the injury during a county match I felt pain even in walking but the injury has responded to treatment and now I can run with little discomfort.”Pakistan’s selection committee reacted by announcing that they are considering sending a 15-man squad initially to England – and not 16 as was originally intended – in light of the injury crisis afflicting their pace attack. Any decision though will only be taken after a final report on Rana’s injury.Wasim Bari, chairman of selectors, said Pakistan might delay naming their 16th man till just before the start of the first Test at Lord’s, from July 13. Bari told that he might ask the team management to first assess conditions in England before asking for any replacements. “If it is confirmed that Rana cannot play then we may tell the team management to take a 15-man squad to England and see for themselves the conditions there and then ask for a replacement according to the requirements.”A number of names have been thrown up as possible replacements for Rana and fellow casualty Shoaib Akhtar should they miss part of or the entire tour. Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, has acknowledged that a recall for Mushtaq Ahmed is looking increasingly likely, while also hinting that Samiullah Niazi Khan and Wasim Khan, two untried fast bowlers from the domestic circuit, might be tried. Rao Iftikhar Anjum, the lanky medium-pacer, who has played regularly at ODI level for the last two years, is also under consideration.Any decision is not likely to be rushed, mostly because there is still no definitive consensus on how long either Shoaib or Rana will be out for. Amid this backdrop, Pakistan are keen to give as much time as possible to both before taking any final decisions. “The first Test is still almost a month away so there is plenty of time,” said Bari.Inzamam, meanwhile, has lashed out at various targets following the injury to Rana. In an interview with a local paper and TV channel he first attacked Sussex for overusing Rana. “I think he was excessively used in (county) matches and not provided proper rest. Teams have to use fast bowlers very intelligently to avoid any burnouts or injuries.”By the time Reuters had spoken to him, he set his sights onto ODI cricket, arguing “I think the number of one-day internationals being played these days is a key reason for players, especially the bowlers struggling with their fitness.”Inzamam also cited the example of England as another side that has suffered unduly. “Playing the Tests is not an issue with players because you get time to rest between games and recover from niggling fitness problems. It is the one-dayers that put a strain on us. You have to travel a lot between one-day matches and players get little time to recoup and start afresh. Eventually it gets a bit cumbersome.”