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After the unexpected victory at the Wanderers, India head into this DurbanTest full of confidence, but Rahul Dravid was all too aware that therecould be no hint of complacency given South Africa’s formidable record atKingsmead. Having announced the 12 for the game, he spoke at length onkeeping faith in the opening combination and the decision to send IrfanPathan back home.”We’re under no illusion that South Africa are going to come hard at us,”he said, before India had one final tune-up in hot and humid conditions.”Obviously they’re very disappointed with what happened in Jo’burg. We’vejust got to play good cricket like we’ve shown we can, fight really hardand do the basics well. If we accomplish the targets that we’ve setourselves in batting, bowling, then it’s going to be a good Test match. Incritical situations, we played some good cricket, whether it was with thebat or the ball. There’s no sense of complacency.”While South Africa arrived in Durban only on Saturday, the Indians playedan unscheduled tour game against a KwaZulu-Natal Invitation XI, with thebatsmen getting more time in the middle and Munaf Patel an opportunity toprove his fitness ahead of the Test match. “It looks a good wicket,” saidDravid, after having scrutinised the dark-brown strip prepared atKingsmead. “It’s got some small cracks. It’ll be interesting to see how itunfolds. A lot depends on the weather. If there’s a lot of sunshine andheat over the next few days, then it [the cracks] may become a factor onthe fourth and fifth day. But if it’s like Jo’burg – drizzle and rain witha lot of moisture in the air – then it might not be a factor.”Munaf’s inclusion is a calculated gamble, given that his lastinternational outing was at this very ground more than a month ago. “Hepulled through well after the eight overs he bowled the day beforeyesterday,” said Dravid. “He came and practiced yesterday and bowled a fewovers. We’ll take a decision tomorrow morning based on how he feels, howconfident he is, and whether he can last the course of the Test match.”The decision could also be influenced by what happened to Dale Steyn atthe Wanderers, with the recurrence of a quadriceps strain forcing him offafter just 10.1 overs.With India having struggled to get half-decent starts on the tour, severalquestions focussed on the retention of Wasim Jaffer, whose eight inningson this tour have produced just 30 runs. “Wasim is a proven performer forus,” said Dravid, after Gautam Gambhir was left out of the 12. “Only threeor four matches back, he got a double-hundred for us in difficultconditions in Antigua. He’s not had the best of tours, but his recent Testrecord is very good.”He’s got runs behind him in domestic cricket and we have to give him asmany opportunities as we can. He’s working really hard in the nets, andseems pretty keen and focused. I think this will probably be the matchwhich will turn it around, turn his series around. I won’t give up onWasim that quickly.”Asked what factors had been considered while picking the 12, Dravid said:”We have a lot of faith and confidence in Wasim and Viru [Sehwag], and wehope that they’ll give us the sort of starts that we know they can.Getting off to a good start in the first 25 or 30 overs against thisKookaburra ball is quite critical. If we can get through that period withminimum damage, then we have the kind of middle order that can really putpressure.”Like Jaffer, Sehwag too has found runs hard to come by on the tour, andhis Test record over the past year hasn’t been anything like as imposingas it was earlier. Dravid, though, was certain that he too would come goodwhen it mattered most. “Viru did well in the West Indies, especially inone or two innings. He made a difference to the series, and has a provenTest record.”You obviously hope that he can get more runs because he makes a bigdifference to the game if he scores, in terms of the impact he has at thetop of the order. He hasn’t done as badly in Test cricket as people makeout or believe. We’ve got confidence in our opening pair. They did a goodjob for us in the West Indies. You also have to consider that theconditions weren’t exactly conducive to batting in the last game. Theiropeners struggled as well.”Graeme Smith, going through such a wretched run of late, certainly won’tdispute that.

Mark Ramprakash has turned down an offer to join the Indian Premier League, according to a report in The Times.Ramprakash, whose contract with Surrey expires at the end of the 2009 season, was approached by the Rajasthan Royals to plug a two-week gap left by the late arrival of Graeme Smith but the move was rejected after consultation with county officials.”There are bound to be other approaches and not just to Mark,” Paul Sheldon, Surrey’s chief executive, told the newspaper. “We are looking at the possibility of 12-month contracts but we don’t want to prevent any of our players from extending their earnings out of season provided that offers come from officially sanctioned leagues and the dates do not conflict with commitments to Surrey.”We have to be open-minded. We are hoping that the IPL might take place in future in March or October, in which case the opportunities would obviously increase.”

Uganda’s women will host their counterparts from Rwanda between October 12 and 14 in a series of warm-up games at Lugogo Cricket Oval.The matches are aimed at preparing the sides for the ICC Eastern Africa Regional women’s tournament which takes place in Nairobi this December. Four countries will participate – Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.Uganda and Rwanda were due to meet this weekend but the games were postponed. “Most of the Rwandese players are doing exams and their coach Eric Mbanga has requested us to postpone the series to next weekend,” a Uganda Cricket Association official told The Monitor.Uganda are the defending champions of the ICC Eastern Africa women’s regional tournament.

The Sri Lanka Under-19 team will be arriving in Bangladesh on Monday for a five-match ODI series against the Bangladesh U-19s. The 15-man squad, coached by Roger Gerard Wijesuriya, will play the first match at Bogra on December 12 followed by two more matches at the same venue. The teams will then move on to Fatullah for the final two matches on December 18 and 20 before the visitors head back to Sri Lanka the following dayBangladesh U-19 have just returned from a successful tour of Pakistan where, after drawing the one-off Test in Karachi, they staged a remarkable comeback to win the five-match ODI series 3-2 after losing the first two matches.Bangladesh U-19 squad Sohrawardi Shuvo (capt), Dolar Mahmud, Marshall Ayub, Ashraful Aziz, Shubhashis Roy, Rubel Hossain, Syed Gulam Kibriya, Rony Talukder, Mahmudul Hasan Limon, Nasir Hossain, K. M. Shakil, Mohammad Nadimuddin Mintu, Mithun Ali (wk), Hamidul Islam Himel, Ashraful HossainSri Lanka U-19 squad Ashan Priyanjan Subasinghe (capt), Sachith Shanaka Pathirana, Rumesh Lahiru Thirimanna, Imesh Udayanga Rajapaksha, Dinesh Chandimal Lokuge, Roshane Shiwanka Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Dilshan Yasika Munaweera, Hasitha Nalinda Ekanayaka, Chatura Madusanka Peiris, Kashapa Wimanga Kodikara, Lahiru Shashendra Gunatilaka, Dasun Madumal Dinayadura, Navin Madushan Kavikara, Harsha Denuwan Fernando

England depart on Saturday for a two-month tour of New Zealand with their coach, Peter Moores, under pressure to reverse a recent run of poor results in Tests which has brought consecutive defeats against India and Sri Lanka. However, the first challenge is in the one-day format where England’s fortunes have taken a significant upturn during the last six months.Paul Collingwood, after an uncertain start to his captaincy tenure against West Indies, has presided over a 4-3 success against India and an even more impressive 3-2 victory in Sri Lanka and is a forming a promising team alongside Moores. The relationship appears to have settled more quickly than the Moores-Michael Vaughan axis in Tests.”I never saw myself having a honeymoon period as such because you are always under pressure to deliver when you are working with England,” Moores said. “To me, you work as hard as you can with the players at your disposal and you will be judged accordingly at the end of whatever time you’re given in the role.”To me the aim is always to try to build towards something that’s sustainable and that you can pass on to the next guy. Every time England plays is a challenge and we have to try to win, build momentum and keep moving forward.”On paper it’s the one-day side who have the tougher task on England’s second winter trip. New Zealand are in an even more uncertain phase than the visitors with doubts surrounding the future of Shane Bond. Despite this they remain a competitive one-day unit and on England’s last visit in 2001-02 took the series 3-2 in the final match.”New Zealand are a very competitive side who get stuck in and generally make the most of what they have,” added Moores. “On their own patch they can be pretty tough to play but if you didn’t expect to win there would be no point in playing and we expect to win both the one-day and Test series.”Although England’s one-day record is improving the team is still not entirely settled and two new faces are making this tour, James Tredwell, the Kent offspinning allrounder, and Tim Ambrose, the Warwickshire wicketkeeper. Tredwell replaces Monty Panesar who has been sent off to India to re-learn the art of flight and guile while Ambrose’s situation is an odd one.When he was named in both the one-day and Test squads, David Graveney – the now former chairman of selectors – said Ambrose was almost certain to start as the Test keeper, but will have to play second fiddle in the one-dayers to Phil Mustard who kept in all five ODIs against Sri Lanka. Graveney then added that if Mustard has an outstanding series he could stake his Test claims, so an unclear situation could be muddied further over the next month.The core of England’s team, though, remains the same and the quick bowlers – James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad – will enjoy the conditions in New Zealand. The batsmen, too, who struggled on the sluggish surfaces of Sri Lanka, should find opportunities to cash in more accessible.England arrive in New Zealand on Monday before two warm-up matches against Canterbury on February 2 and 3. The first Twenty20 international is in Auckland on February 5 with the first ODI is in Wellington on the 9th.

Seamer Gurinder Sandhu and batsman Jimmy Peirson starred in Australia‘s 71-run win over Scotland in Brisbane. Australia put up 315 runs after Peirson smashed his way to a 123-ball 128. Scotland stayed in contention during the chase, courtesy Mathew Cross’ 104, but Sandhu’s five-wicket haul, which included a hat-trick, finished the contest.Sandhu’s effort overshadowed Scotland left-arm seamer Aman Bailwal’s 5 for 52; he ran through the Scotland’s middle and lower-order as the last six wickets fell for four runs to eliminate Scotland’s chances of an upset.In a last-over thriller, captain and opening batsman Chad Bowes’ 104 not out carried South Africa to a four-wicket win against Bangladesh. When the sixth wicket fell in the last ball of the 49th over, South Africa still needed 10 runs to win. But a nerveless No. 8 Prenelan Subrayen, who smashed a six in the last over, helped them reach home with a ball to spare. For Bangladesh, Al-Amin shone with both bat and ball; he scored a 73-ball 60 and later picked up a couple of crucial wickets.Naresh Budayair’s 114 wasn’t enough to help Nepal beat the target of 268 against New Zealand, as the team fell short by 19 runs. In a spirited chase, Nepal was well on course after opener Subash Khakurel, who scored 59, and Budayair added 129 for the second wicket. But only one other batsman made a double-figure score as New Zealand came back into the match by picking wickets regularly. With Budayair’s wicket in the 48th over with 37 runs to win, Nepal lost their chance to inflict an upset.New Zealand’s innings revolved around captain Will Young, who scored 97, and middle-order batsmen Henry Walsh, who scored a half-century, and wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher. Seamer Saurav Khanal took three wickets.Left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh’s five for 32 helped India dismiss Afghanistan for 219 to allow India to record a 52-run victory. India’s innings was based on three half-centuries by the top three batsmen – Prashant Chopra, captain Unmukt Chand and Baba Aparajith. Their innings faltered later with the last five wickets falling for 38 runs, as they ended up with 271 for 7.Afghanistan got off to a positive start with an opening stand of 42 runs, and half-centuries by captain Javed Ahmadi and Shabir Noori seemed to be guiding them towards victory. But a flurry of wickets, similar to the Indian collapse, with seven wickets falling for 56 runs as Harmeet ran through the middle and lower-order, put paid to their hopes.Zimbabwe collapsed for 89 against England to lose by 131 runs, with only three of their batsmen registering double-digit scores. They were in deep trouble at 31 for five before Campbell Light and Nyasha Mayawo briefly led a recovery with a 29-run stand, but the contest was over by then, with a target of 221 well out of reach. Seamer Brett Hutton took three for 28 in his nine overs; Shozair Ali, captain Adam Ball and Tom Knight were the other wicket-takers.Hutton also shone with the bat, with 55 off 66 balls, to rescue his side after they were eight down for 167 in the 42nd over.In a low-scoring match, a six-wicket haul by offspinner Tharindu Kaushal ripped apart Ireland‘s middle-order, allowing Sri Lanka to win by 50 runs. A 55 by Ireland opener Ryan Hunter, which was the highest any batsman had scored in the match, was the only contribution of note. Wickets fell regularly throughout the match but unlike Sri lanka, Ireland couldn’t string small partnerships together. Apart from a 65-run stand for the second wicket there was little the Ireland batsmen could offer.The highest scorer in Sri Lanka’s innings was 29 by opener Pabasara Waduge, but with four batsmen scoring in the 20s, and 32 extras, they reached 188.West Indies crushed Namibia under a weight of a commanding total of 328, limiting them to 182 to win by 146 runs, thanks to a century by Sunil Ambris, half-centuries by captain John Campbell and Anthony Alleyne, and contributions from fast bowlers Ronsford Beaton and Marquino Mindley.For Namibia, No. 3 Jano Coetzee put up a resistance with 89, but four wickets by Beaton and three by Mindley put paid to Namibia’s hopes. Beaton destroyed the top-order, reducing Namibia to 41 for 3, and Mindley took the final few wickets to complete the win.Pakistan opener Sami Aslam scored a 99-ball 132 to guide them to an eight-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea. Aslam’s century contained 22 fours and three sixes as Pakistan reached the target of 195 in the 33rd over. For Papua New Guinea, opener Lega Siaka, who scored a century in their previous warm-up game against Nepal, top-scored with 46, as middle-order batsmen Dogodo Bau and Nigel Boge struck a 91-run partnership to help them reach 194. Legspinner Usman Qadir took three wickets.

Pakistan’s players have been ruled out as suspects in the murder of Bob Woolmer, according to the deputy commissioner of Jamaican police. Mark Shields, the detective in charge, said: “It’s fair to say they are now being treated as witnesses.”I have got no evidence to suggest it was anybody in the squad,” he said in Australia’s Herald Sun. “There is still a very strong possibility that [Woolmer] knew the person or persons.”Shields said the players could be ordered back to the West Indies if the situation changed, but there were two diplomats from Pakistan’s Washington embassy representing the squad in Jamaica. “[The diplomats] were taken to the crime scene for the first time today,” Shields said. Pakistan left the Caribbean on Saturday and stopped over in London on their way home after exiting the World Cup in the first round.Shields said investigators were “nowhere near” being able to pinpoint potential suspects or name names and said reports of three fans who were wanted for questioning were “unhelpful”. The British press “are totally wrong with all due respect on this occasion,” Shields told a news conference. “The reality, as I’ve said before, is that there are many potential suspects in this investigation and even more potential witnesses, and we are nowhere near the stage of being able to start naming names in terms of suspects.”Shields was earlier quoted by saying detectives were trying to trace three Pakistani fans who socialised with players at Kingston’s Pegasus Hotel where Woolmer was strangled. The report said the three were believed to have left Jamaica shortly after Woolmer was found dead on March 18.CCTV footage from the 12th floor of the Pegasus Hotel is expected to help the investigators, who have started viewing the tapes of the day Woolmer was strangled. They have also begun to go through Woolmer’s laptop to see if anything on the hard drive can help their inquiries.Jeff Rees, the ICC anti-corruption chief investigator, is due to look at the report of Chris Broad, the ICC match referee, from the Ireland-Pakistan match to determine whether there is any link between the result and Woolmer’s death a day later. Shields said he was looking at the possibility the killing was connected to match-fixing, but stressed he was keeping all lines of inquiry open.

Scorecard

New Zealand need only one victory from the remaining two matches of the Rose Bowl after Nicola Browne’s unbeaten 59 guided them to a five-wicket win and a 2-1 lead over Australia. In a contest where both top orders struggled on the Lincoln surface, it was the home team’s fine recovery that sealed the success in the 43rd over and put them in sight of their first triumph in the series since 1999.In trouble at 36 for 3 chasing the visitors’ 170, New Zealand relied on the rescue act from Sara McGlashan and Browne, whose partnership of 100 eliminated any doubts of defeat. McGlashan left on 41 when she became Shelley Nitschke’s second victim, but Browne stayed till the end, hitting five boundaries during her 93-ball innings.Australia won the toss, batted and soon wished they had bowled after dropping to 24 for 5, including two run-outs in the first five balls. Ellyse Perry, the 17-year-old allrounder, picked the perfect time to score her maiden international half-century and combined in important stands of 40 with Jodie Purves (21) and 80 with the wicketkeeper Leonie Coleman. They were the only Australians to reach double figures, with Coleman’s career-high 44 off 42 balls and Perry’s 51 allowing them to reach a useful but below-par total.”Our batting let us down again and losing five early wickets was obviously not ideal,” Karen Rolton, the Australia captain, said. “However, Jodie and Ellyse did really well to get the innings going and Leonie was great.”When we had them at 3 for 36 we were in with a chance, but they batted too well. We’re having a bit of trouble getting Nicola Browne out at the moment. Down 2-1 in the series, we know exactly what we need to do in the last two matches, so we’ll be looking to improve the batting on Saturday to give ourselves a chance.”New Zealand also benefited from strong fielding and the confusion of their opponents as they gathered five run-outs in Australia’s innings, which ended when Perry was bowled by Sophie Devine. Devine finished with 2 for 33 while Helen Watson, who gave up 11 runs from her ten overs, Rachel Candy and Sarah Tsukigawa each collected a wicket.

Dr. Donald Peters has been named as the new chief executive officer of the West Indies Cricket Board, succeeding Bruce Aanensen, who resigned in August after less than four months in the job.Peters, a Dominican, has a wide academic and sports background. He has served as a college president, provost and university vice president in the USA and Bermuda. He was elected as the youngest general secretary of the Dominica Amateur Sports Association and subsequently was appointed one of the country’s representatives on the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control and manager of the national cricket team.Peters has an exceptionally successful track record at senior management level in several different academic institutions. He has demonstrated success in leading programmes that have helped organisations to meet their institutional objectives and increase their revenue streams in very complex environments.Peters describes himself as an achiever and believes in results-oriented management. He has been invited by international organisations to facilitate workshops and present papers on areas related to strategic planning, revenue generation, and organizational behaviour. He has lectured at major international institutions including Oxford University and has managed budgets ranging from US$7 – US$435 million. He has distinguished himself as a leader with strong skills in resource mobilisation and financial management.”I am excited to be selected as CEO and look forward to working with the organization to provide the support and administration necessary to make our team move once again to the top of international cricket,” Peters said.He assumes his post on November 5.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out