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From 1-0 up to 3-1 down, England’s one-day campaign has taken a decided turn for the worse. A jammy tie at Bloemfontein – where South Africa were a mis-hit full-toss away from victory – was followed by three defeats in a row, and whatever the scoreline might claim of Wednesday’s seven-run reversal at East London, the last two games have been as one-sided as they come.In fact, without the extraordinarily brusque strokeplay of Kevin Pietersen, there would hardly have been a contest at all. His series aggregate of 338 runs includes 175 in those two matches alone – 75 from 85 balls at Cape Town (where no other batsman passed 20) and an astonishing 100 not out from 69 balls at East London, which was England’s fastest one-day century of all time, and Pietersen’s second in four matches.So it is no exaggeration to suggest that England’s hopes of salvaging something from this series are already resting on his broad shoulders. Happily for England’s flagging resolve, he was far from satisfied after his final-ball six had secured a hundred – but not a victory – at Buffalo Park. “It was fantastic to get a hundred, but I’m not happy with the result,” he told Sky Sports straight after the match. “We’ll be looking to knock them over at Durban and Pretoria, and tie the series.”How England hope to knock them over, however, is less clear. In the absence of Andrew Flintoff, and with Steve Harmison beset with form and homesickness demons, the attack is severely lacking a cutting edge. Darren Gough, with his snazzy new haircut, has been urging his 34-year-old knees into an heroic assault on the bowling crease, while Kabir Ali has impressed in patches. But Matthew Hoggard has been demonstrating why he has not played one-day cricket in over two years, while Paul Collingwood and Marcus Trescothick are liabilities as the fifth bowling option.Michael Vaughan was particularly critical of his bowlers after they had conceded a ground-record 311 for 7 in the last match. “The bowling is an area we definitely need to address,” he admitted to reporters. “To get within hitting range was a great effort by the batters, but we allowed them to score too many, and if you do not get wickets, you are going to face a barrage in the final 15 overs.”That is precisely what happened, as Graeme Smith and, especially, the big-hitting Justin Kemp launched into the bowling. They took 111 runs off the final 15 overs, taking advantage of the short boundaries and a lacklustre attack. Smith finished on an unbeaten 115 – his second one-day century – but the Man of the Match award rightly went to Kemp, whose 80 came from 50 balls, and included seven massive sixes. “It is dangerous at the other end when he comes in,” said Smith. “He is playing superbly, and it is great to have people at the bottom who can hit the ball out of the ground.”Nine years ago, England capitulated from a 1-1 scoreline to a 6-1 defeat, and such is the way this series has gone, that something very similar is on the cards at Durban. It represents quite a turnaround for a side that, at the start of the series, had managed just one win in their last 13 matches – and that had come against Bangladesh.But ebb and flow was the feature of the Test series, and with Pietersen in tow, England will not have given up hope of squaring the series just yet. “We have pushed them really hard in four of the first five games,” said Vaughan, “and I believe we can turn it around and force a 3-3. If we can exert some pressure they could fold like any team in the world.

Andrew Flintoff has spoken of his astonishment at the hostile response by the Australian media, following Australia’s Ashes defeat earlier this month. Speaking to reporters before boarding a flight to Melbourne, for next week’s Super Series against Australia, he said the Australian media’s criticism of their cricket team has been unduly unfair.”They are the world’s No. 1 nation and rightly so, as they’ve dominated for 10 years or so,” Flintoff told the . “We have played good cricket for two years and, while we won the Ashes, it was hardly a whitewash.”Since losing the Ashes, the Australian media, including former players, have taken pot-shots at the Australian team, with Ricky Ponting’s leadership again being questioned. Flintoff remained bullish, however, reminding reporters that England were a side very much in the ascendancy, and considered his team’s chances of retaining the Ashes in 14 months excellent.”We have to continue to prove ourselves, and let me tell you we have great belief that the England squad is on the verge of greatness in coming years,” he added.”We back our ability and most of us are 27 or 28 and just approaching our prime, so anything is possible. We’re certainly getting closer to Australia.”Before this summer’s Ashes series, many questioned whether Flintoff had the skill and tenacity to compete against Australia. His only previous encounters had been in a clutch of one-day matches, which were largely forgettable performances. However, after his series-winning and country-binding performances in 2005, he is excited at the opportunity to face Australia so soon after the dust has settled on this summer’s Ashes.”It is a great honour for me to be involved in this series and I’ll be going hard at it. It will be good, hard-fought cricket.”Flintoff and the World XI face Victoria in a practice match on Sunday, before the first one-day match against Australia gets underway at Melbourne, on October 5.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Michael Vaughan returned to form as England first lost, and then regained,the initiative on a rain-affected day at Johannesburg. They made a gloomystart, losing three quick wickets after a rain delay – but Vaughan sharedtwo fifty partnerships in the final session of the day, with AshleyGiles and Steve Harmison, as England fought their way back from a middling 278 for 7 to a prosperous 411 for 8 when indifferent light brought an early close.Such riches looked unlikely as the clouds hovered over England earlier inthe day. Their batsmen were unsettled after waiting two hours for play tobegin, then they were taken off for bad light again … and a combination of a juiced-up pitch and clammy overhead conditions that were conducive to swing bowling made their job no easier when they returned.Makhaya Ntini struck twice in quick succession, first trapping thewide-eyed Matthew Hoggard, a rabbit in the floodlights, as he fended to AB deVilliers in the gully for 5 (273 for 5). Then, after play was halted for 20 minutes, Andrew Flintoff became Ntini’s fourth victim as his brainless back-foot prod to a widish delivery flew straight to Graeme Smith at first slip. Flintoff made 2, England were in trouble at 275 for 6 – and there was worse to come.Vaughan valiantly held up one end, playing a largely defensive game andovercoming his teen angst as he passed 20 for the first time in seven innings in this series, having reached 10 in all of them. But he soon lost his new partner, Geraint Jones, for 2. This time it was Shaun Pollock’s turn to strike as Jones pushed forward at a good-length ball that left him off the seam, and Smith was in action again. England, who had been cruising at 262 for 2, were now sinking after losing five wickets for 16 runs.But after an extended tea brought on by more bad light, the fightback began. It was spearheaded by Vaughan, whose increasingly brilliant innings lit up proceedings. His was a true captain’s knock, as he hooked and shook his way tohis second fifty in 12 Test innings. And where Vaughan led, his mate Giles followed, creaming Pollock for four fours in seven balls. Between them, they brought up their fifty partnership in 70 balls as England grabbed back the initiative.

It was not a chanceless innings from Giles, as he flirted with slip andgully. And then, just as England were inching towards the par first-inningsscore at the Wanderers – a portentous 333 – Giles’s luck ran out. Dale Steyn made an immediate mark when he was brought back into the attack, and Giles flashed hard to Herschelle Gibbs in the gully (329 for 8).But Vaughan stood firm, bringing up his half-century with a quiet single, whileHarmison found his groove. He looked nervous at first, but then he found his feet, and even had the temerity to send first Steyn, then Ntini, back over their heads for two cracking fours.Another fifty partnership – from 66 deliveries – was secured as Ntinisprayed a wide one which Harmison slashed through point. And it didn’t stopthere. Vaughan and Harmison have so far put on 82, and they were still unbeaten at the close. The previous-highest partnership for England’s ninth wicket in South Africa was 71, by Harry Wood and Jack Hearne in 1891-92.For his part, Harmison enhanced his allround credentials, following up his top-score of 42 at Cape Town with an undefeated 32 here. It took his batting average for the series to 29, to go with a bowling average of 61. You’d have got long odds on that six weeks ago.But Smith pooped England’s impromptu party, complaining repeatedly about the light until Steve Bucknor offered it to the fielding side. Smith’s relief, andEngland’s frustration at the decision, neatly reflected the shifting balance of power in this game. It looked unlikely in mid-afternoon, but Vaughan’s men were left holding all the aces by the end.

The medical commission which performed tests on Shoaib Akhtar earlier this week suggested that he had been suffering from stress to his lower rib cage during the third Test against India at Rawalpindi.Akhtar, who was accused of feigning injury and not bowling for nearly half of India’s innings, was in heated mood when he addressed the media after the findings were released. The News quoted him as saying, “I have made my statement and it is for them [PCB] to decide. The injury has since healed, partially, and I have been resting for the past fortnight.”Shoaib went on to talk about how the fitness levels required for batting and bowling were completely different. “You need the whole body to be perfect when you bowl – it is different when you are batting. I am surprised how someone can think I was not badly injured. I have always done justice to my job and given my 110%.”The commission carried out the tests on Wednesday, including a bone scan at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital. According to the scan report, “There is intense increased tracer uptake in the 11th left rib posteriorly going towards the lateral side of the chest. Rest of the scan is within normal limits. Result is suggestive of local pathology involving 11th left rib posteriorly and laterally in view of patient’s history. This appears to be due to persistent stress.”The final report will be released later on Friday.

The colour of the traditional baggy green cap will be used on Australia’s one-day uniforms this summer, but another icon tone has been dumped to allow the change. Gold shirts and trousers have been sent to the opportunity shops after a sun-fading reign as the dominant hue in home series fashion.Greg Chappell’s 1980-81 teams staged the “canary yellow” pyjama revolution and Australian sides have stuck with variations of it as the predominant colour through Southern Cross stars and horizontal stripes, thunderbolts striking over Craig McDermott’s chest in 1992-93 and the Spiderman style of 2003-04. In this summer’s currently name-less tri-series the only gold patches will belong to the players’ names and numbers, the stars on the Southern Cross logo and the manufacturer’s stripes on the shoulders.When the squad uses the kit for the first time against England on January 12, the Australians will show off the same dominant colour as Bangladesh, South Africa, Pakistan and Kenya, but it’s unlikely the rest of the world’s teams will be green with envy. At the first showing the kit appears to have been picked up from surplus stock of army-style casual gear during the squad’s pre-season boot camp.Designed in consultation with the players, the new-age uniforms include fabric colour-matching to an original baggy green cap, no collar, a “sun protection neck line” and a “mesh zip neck”. “It feels great,” Ricky Ponting told at the SCG launch. “It’s very light-weight. In the conditions we play in around the world it’s important that you have the right technology and materials in your shirt.

“The guys won’t have to be flicking their collars right up through the game. The zip at the front will enable the collar to stay up and keep the sun off the back of our necks, which is obviously very important.”Player kits change as often as venues for spring fashion parades and the view of Alan Barnes, the former Australian Cricket Board secretary, becomes more outdated every season. “Pardon me,” he said during the original forays into non-white fashion, “but I’ve always thought people watched cricket for the play, not the décor.”This season Cricket Australia, the swankier, 21st century version of the ACB, is using the uniform in money-making and patriotic schemes – it wants to ensure the local crowd is not out-cheered or out-numbered by England fans during the Ashes. As part of CA’s “Go Off in Green and Gold” campaign, which was also launched today, every person who buys a replica shirt will have the opportunity to stand in one of three huge photos with the Australian team in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

ScorecardEngland A took complete control on the second day of their Duleep Trophy match at Gurgaon, bowling South Zone out for 174 to claim a lead of 203, and swelling that by 88 more runs before the close.Overnight England A were 308 for 7, and managed to reach 377, mainly thanks to Essex’s Graham Napier, who made 76. South Zone then made a terrible start, losing Barrington Rowland – who was named after the former England stalwart Ken – for a duck, and his fellow opener Ibrahim Khaleel for 1. The experienced Sridharan Sriram steadied the ship, scoring 44 in a third-wicket stand of 74 with Venugopal Rao, who finished with 58 not out.But apart from Ramakrishnan Ramkumar, who hit 43 from No. 8, and with the captain S Ramesh unable to bat after being injured in the field, the rest struggled against some testing bowling. James Tredwell, the Kent offspinner who is captaining England A in this match, took 4 for 41, and the sparingly used SImon Jones grabbed two middle-order wickets for 24 in his nine overs.Leading by 203, England A wobbled at the start of their second innings, losing Michael Lumb for a duck and Scott Newman for 10. Ed Smith also ground his way to 10 – from 92 balls – before he was run out. But Kevin Pietersen, fresh from his first-innings century, was again in majestic form, and had swept to 65 out of 88 by the close.

It’s D-Day for Calmore Sports in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League, Division 1 survival battle.They must beat Andover in their last 50-over match of the season at London Road tomorrow (1 o’clock) if they are to stand any chance of avoiding relegation.But, if survival is to be achieved, they need last year’s champions, Havant to beat Portsmouth at St Helen’s, Southsea."It’s what we do that counts," Calmore skipper Tom Pegler will remind his players before the start of play."We’ve got to build on last week’s top performance against Portsmouth (which Calmore won by a massive 162-run margin) and go out and win at Andover."No other result will do," he emphasised.But Pegler, who admits to being "very nervous" about tomorrow’s match, believes Calmore can do it."The lads showed last week what they can do. Andover are a useful side, but they’ve nothing to play for. We have – our future in Premier League cricket," Pegler said.Hampshire 2nd XI all-rounder James Hibberd, Paul Cass, seamer Charlie Freeston and Pegler himself will be the key players for Calmore, who have availability doubts over John Wall and left-arm spinner Mark Boston.Andover, seventh in the overall table, plan to field the side beaten by five runs by the Hampshire Academy last week.Calmore’s neighbours, BAT Sports will be formally presented with the Premier League championship trophy before the match with South Wilts at Southern Gardens.But left-hand opener Damian Shirazi will probably be on MCC Groundstaff duty at the C & G Trophy final at Lord’s.It’s a big day for his batting partner Neal Parlane, who needs another 52 runs to beat Robin Smith’s all-time Southern League 1,015 record, set in 1982.Parlane will receive his Premier League Batsman of the Year award prior to tomorrow’s match.But, even if BAT win, there’s no guarantee they will finish top of the 50-over Pennant as Bournemouth currently boast the best record after eight (of the nine) limited-over matches.Victory for Bournemouth over Liphook & Ripsley at Chapel Gate will give Richard Scott’s side the prize.Scott captains Bournemouth instead of Farnham-bound Matt Swarbrick and will have Dorset skipper Stuart Rintoul at his side.It’s a crucial day for Bournemouth, whose 2nd XI will clinch promotion to Premier Division 3 if they win – and take a decent point haul – from their final Hampshire League game with mid-table Eastleigh & Otterbourne at Wellow & Plaitford.Bashley (Rydal) must beat the Hampshire Academy at the BCG to finish third in Premier Division 1.They might have edged ahead of the county youngsters but for a 203-runs each tie against South Wilts last week.Second XI captain Graham Pardey, who has scored almost 500 Division 3 runs this summer, is set to replace Chris Sketchley.

Adam Hollioake has exchanged his cricket spikes for his walking boots, and is ready to embark on a 2,000-mile adventure this Friday. He will trek from Edinburgh to Tangiers on a combination of foot, bike and boat to raise money for the Ben Hollioake fund, which was established in memory of his brother, Ben, who died in a car crash 18 months ago. Adam hopes to raise five million pounds in five years, with the goal of building a centre in London for the children’s charity Chase.

Talking to Tanya Aldred in today’s , Hollioake revealed he isn’t exactly prepared to perfection, but, just like his captaincy, he’ll be ready for anything. “I’ve always wanted to do something like this but, like most people, I’ve never got round to it,” he said. “I love the outside; that’s what life is for me. I hate being indoors. I like feeling free. I want to see new places and cultures, to drink sangria and eat croissants.”I’m sure we’ll have some spats, come off the bikes, get some punctures, have people with injury problems, but the exciting bit is the unknown and how you deal with it. If one of your mates goes down you’ve got to help him or, if the bike breaks, you’ve got to find a way of fixing it.”Hollioake will be accompanied by his wife, parents, daughter Benaya, Matthew Church, the former Gloucestershire and Worcestershire cricketer, Iain Sutcliffe of Lancashire and Scott Welch, a heavyweight boxer. More high profile names, such as John Major and Andy Flintoff, will be joining them on the way. The crusade will ramble down through England, stopping off and recharging at cricket grounds en route, cycle to the south of France, through to Spain to Gibraltar, and then sail to Tangiers.And Hollioake is looking forward to it with more relish than he does a long English county season, something which, these days, he longs to hurry up and finish. “It sounds selfish to be disappointed when we won two trophies but we were,” he said. “At the beginning of every season I feel I’m going to enjoy it and then two-thirds of the way through I can’t wait for it to end, success or no success.”He admitted: “I don’t enjoy the game as much as I used to. The challenges are running out for me. I suppose going out on your first date is always more exciting than when you’ve been married for 20 years. I’m a professional, I’ve got a job to do, but it’s just a job now and, if I don’t play for England, there’s not much more for me to do.”It’s apparent that his England days are over, but less clear is his future. He has a year to run with Surrey, but after that, well, who knows? He has a few options: The property development business with his father, coaching, or maybe a long holiday in Australia. “I could easily stay here and do coaching but that wouldn’t be as much of a challenge as to try and be successful in another field. I really feel I need that.”But back to the exhausting, yet fulfilling, next couple of months ahead, Hollioake will have plenty of time to remember why – and for who – he is doing this voyage in the first place. “Just when you think you’ve been feeling better about it and understanding it more, then after that follows the worst period. And just when you think you can’t see light at the end of the tunnel, someone comes and helps you and gives you a hand. I wouldn’t say I had good days and bad days; I have good months and bad months. I think cricket has helped in that I’ve been trained from a young age that once you step over the rope you forget about things and concentrate on the cricket.”His daughter Benaya, named after Ben and Anna, Ben’s girlfriend, has been a godsend to him and helped eased the distress. “The worst thing in my life happened and then the best thing in my life happened. If I didn’t have that to get me through, it would have been a lot harder. You can’t afford to spend too much time thinking about yourself or the sorrow you are feeling when you’re responsible for someone else. Words can’t explain how much your daughter means to you. She’s the most important thing in your life. You love the rest of your family but your own children are something special.”And like many new fathers, he confessed to being a changed man. “I see things a lot differently now and I don’t get that uptight about things, unless it is to do with her, obviously. And when you come through the door and she comes running up to you with her arms out, wanting to come and cuddle you, then it doesn’t matter how bad your day has been, that puts everything in perspective.” And she’ll be with her father every step of the way.

The ICC has refused to comment on the latest match-fixing scandal to hit international cricket. In a press release, Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said that it wouldn’t be proper to comment on the letter which was allegedly written by Lord Condon, director of the Anti Corruption Unit (ACU), to the Pakistan board hinting at underperformance by Pakistan in two one-day international tournaments in Morocco and Kenya.Commenting on the report which appeared in , a Pakistan daily, Speed stressed that any correspondence between the ACU and a cricket board was private and confidential. “It is not appropriate for the ICC to make a comment one way or the other on these letters or any other issue in relation to potential operational matters for the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.”However, he insisted that the ICC was determined to eliminate match-fixing. “What I can say is that the ICC is committed to ensuring that the game is never again tainted by corruption and that through the Anti Corruption and Security Unit, it now has in place a professional security and investigative team with the resources to deal with this threat.”

Andrew Leipus, the physiotherapist of the Indian team, may get a two-year extension to his contract instead of the one year that he has been offered so far. Sources from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told Rediff.com that the abrupt departure of Adrian Le Roux had shaken up the management, and they were keen to make sure that Leipus stayed with them for the long term.Leipus has been on an annual contract since he began working with the Indian team in 1999. The BCCI had extended it by another year after the World Cup. But after Le Roux’s exit, the BCCI decided to preempt the possibility of Leipus quitting by offering him a two-year extension.Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the BCCI, was the brain behind the idea, arguing that a longer contract would elicit more commitment and loyalty from the physio. BCCI sources said: “He [Dalmiya] has informally spoken to Leipus, and the proposal should be ratified by the working committee soon.”It was unclear if John Wright, the coach, would also be offered a two-year contract. Wright was given a one-year extension after the World Cup.