Eleven days after he was hit on the face by a Shahid Nazir bouncer and a day after Jagmohan Dalmiya termed him a , Sourav Ganguly is in the eye of another potential storm. Speculation is rife about his possible rehabilitation, even though partial, in the form of a place among the 30 probables for the Champions Trophy.It all originated from a quote from an unnamed national selector who said Ganguly, who hasn’t played for India after being dropped following India’s tour to Pakistan last year and whose last appearance in an ODI was in last September, was very much in the frame for the long list. Since then, the story has already aquired layers of intrigue.Giving credence to the rumours is the talk of a bargain struck between Ganguly and the Indian cricket bosses. Ganguly wrote a dramatic email to his brother, which was made public in a press conference, accusing Jagmohan Dalimya, among other things, of having played with “my career”. The timing of the letter was significant: it came about a week before the CricketAssociation of Bengal election, in which Dalmiya was facing a tough challenge from Prasun Mukherji, the police commissioner of Kolkata, who was being publicly backed by the West Bengal chief minister.In return for his support to Dalmiya’s rival, Ganguly, it was suggested, had been offered a passage back to the Indian team. A charitable view is that having experimented with newcomers, the selectors were now ready to finalise the squad for the World Cup. Twenty-nine year-old Dinesh Mongia, who has not played for India since been found wanting in the last World Cup, has been recalled, and Anil Kumble is back in the fray for the Champions Trophy. So why not Ganguly, who has more than 10,000 runs in one-day cricket?Mongia of course has been recalled on the basis of solid performances in county cricket, and with Kumble, it is only a question of age and agility in the field. With Ganguly, there is a serious question of form. He managed 71 in the only one-day game he’s played so far for Northamptonshire and averaged 27.5 in nine Twenty20 matches. One can point to the fact that he snapped up 11 wickets in the Twenty20 but can’t discount the economy rate of 8. And from sixfirst-class innings, he has totalled a mere 24 runs.As expected, there has been a flurry of reactions. Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, has insisted that there is no order from “anywhere to consider or drop anybody”. Kiran More, the chairman of selectors, has dismissed the report as a piece of “kite-flying”. And Raj Singh Dungarpur, the former board president, termed it as “retrograde” and “disgraceful”.However, one selector, speaking to Cricinfo, felt that the whole speculation was triggered off by a section of the Indian board, “a political move rather than anything based on cricketing logic”.

Darren Gough has been ruled out of the remainder of the Natwest Series due to an injured left shin. Graham Onions, the Durham pace bowler, who is in England’s Champions Trophy 30 has been called up as a replacement and will join the squad on Monday.After playing in the Twenty20 against Pakistan as well as the opening two matches of the NatWest Series, Gough will miss the last three matches after an MRI scan revealed a bone stress reaction in his left shin.”Darren has been released following pain in the outer aspect of his left leg,” Dr Peter Gregory, the ECB Chief Medical Officer, said. “Prior to the Twenty20 he had rested for two weeks to settle mild bone bruising of the left shin. The pain from this had settled when he joined the England squad but has returned over the course of the past three matches.”An MRI scan today showed a marked bone stress reaction in his fibula and Darren has been advised to rest from bowling for six weeks. He will return to Essex to receive ongoing assessment and rehabilitation.”Gough added: “I’m obviously extremely disappointed that this injury has ruled me out of the England side, I was looking forward to a strong NatWest Series which could have helped my chances for the upcoming winter tours.”I’ve had a niggle for about a month which seemed to clear up with a couple of weeks rest before the NatWest Series but unfortunately it has returned to the point where I can’t go any further at the moment.”Gough failed to take a wicket during his brief return to the national team, suggesting he has lost penetration with the new ball. However, the bowler himself said: “I was pleased with the way I bowled without much luck during the first few matches so it’s disappointing I won’t be able to play any further part in this series.”England were already due to name a replacement pace bowler in their squad after Steve Harmison was ruled out with a back problem before the opening match. England are 1-0 down in the five-match series following Sunday’s seven-wicket defeat at Lord’s.

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.

The injured Bangladesh fast bowlers Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel will be fit for the Champions Trophy, Dav Whatmore, the coach has confirmed. Mortaza and Rasel missed the first of Bangladesh’s practice games while the second one at Savar was washed out without a ball being bowled.Mortaza, the architect of Bangladesh’s recent 3-0 whitewash of Kenya in an away one-day series, sustained an ankle injury earlier this month while Rasel had a foot injury.Meanwhile, Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain who has recovered from the finger-injury he sustained in Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe in July, regretted that the side could only play one practice game before the Champions Trophy. “We are looking forward to the only practice match in India,” Bashar told , a Dhaka-based daily. Our target is very simple. We want to play in the second round and I honestly believe that we have the ability to make it happen.”It is tough as Sri Lanka are in very good form while West Indies played good cricket in their last tournament and Zimbabwe won the last series against us but still it is not impossible for us. We have to win at least two games if we want to reach the second round that’s why we will try to win all our three games. There have been much talk about the Zimbabwe match but it will not surprise me if we qualify for the main tournament beating the strong opponents.”Whatmore accepted that the most realistic ambition for Bangladesh was qualification, and said that the team was determined to win all three qualifying matches. “West Indies played pretty well in the DLF Cup in Malaysia. They made it to the final. So, for us to make it through to the Champions Trophy proper, it will take really a good effort but we are capable of it.”It would be preferable to get some runs at the top. If we are able to get some good runs without losing too many wickets then that would be a nice start. At times we expose the middle order and the lower order a bit early that is not nice. But this is a young team and have tremendous potential,” he added.The chief selector Faruq Ahmed said the primary goal of the side was to beat Zimbabwe, to whom Bangladesh lost 3-2 in Harare. “We have to do it to prove that we are better than the Zimbabweans,” Ahmed said. “But it will not be easy to beat the West Indies or Sri Lanka as both are playing good cricket.”Bangladesh have to win at least two ties of the qualifying round, which features West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, but the injury news will be a boost.

Brian Lara suggested that he would continue to bat low down the order if the situation demanded it, when he spoke to the media in a pre-match press conference ahead of their crunch semi-final against South Africa. “Things have worked well for us in the three games we played. First we set a target that Australia couldn’t get. Then in the last game we got 272 which people might say was 15-20 runs too few,” he said. “We had two centurions in that game and so we’re quite happy with the way the guys are expressing themselves irrespective of the batting order. We don’t know what’s the settled order, we’ve been unorthodox in this tournament and I can never say we’re going to have a fixed order.”Lara’s back continues to improve, and although it has not forced him out of a game in the tournament yet, he admitted he was not totally fit. “I’m a lot better. I’ve had a couple of days rest,” he said. “I didn’t bat too long in the last two games. I feel ok. I felt ok after those games. I’mnot 100% but getting over those games has given me the confidence to go on.”Lara looked back at the previous edition of the Champions Trophy, which his team won, and underscored its significance in West Indies’ development as a team. “Winning that tournament after the losses against England in the Tests home and away seven-nil,” he said. “The guys really wanted to win. We knew every day that we could be on a flight home the next day andwere desperate for a win. Beating England in the final did us a lot of good. Unfortunately we didn’t kick on from there.”Like Graeme Smith had done earlier in the day, Lara sought to underplay the bad blood between the two sides which has manifested itself in ugly on-field confrontations. “I just want to surround myself with the fact that we’re playing good cricket, and executing the tasks we need to reallywell,” he said. “We have dissected the South African cricket team and we know exactly what we want to do against them. In terms of bad blood and all that sort of fickle stuff I think it is unnecessary. We just need to take one game at a time.”Smith had talked in some detail about the cracks and fissures in the pitch, and the fact that his fast bowlers might get something from this, but Lara’s take was a bit different. “It’s a good pitch if you get set. Teams playing here have got good starts and then folded later on,” he said. “We have to take that into consideration. It’s hard to nail down any particular preference about the pitch, the surface or the surroundings. I still feel the team that plays better on the day is going to win, whoever bats first or bowls first is of little relevance.”The West Indies come into this game knowing they emerged from a group which was thought to be the tougher of the two, comprising teams like Australia. But Lara said there wasn’t anything to take from the fact that they had beaten the World Champions earlier in the tournament. “That is dead and buried now. What’s happened has happened and we have a different tournament ahead of us,” he said. “We have two matches left and we just have to take on the opposition in front of us. It’s good to have been in a tough group, and I know that Australia and India were the favourites to come out of it. But we were quietly confident of our ability to qualify.”In the last two times these teams have faced each other in big tournaments – the World Cup and the Champions Trophy – West Indies have come out on top. But Lara did not feel this gave them an advantage. “There’s no edge. I just feel that we’re playing good cricket. Beating South Africa in the opening match of the World Cup was a big game for us,” he said. “Then we were underdogs, in the Champions Trophy in 2004 we were underdogs, and here as well. Tomorrow, South Africa being a higher ranked team will start as favourites. But we know our game so much better now than at any other time of the year and even before.”

Rahul Dravid will watch from the sidelines as the Indians take on Rest ofSouth Africa in a four-day game at Potchefstroom that starts on Thursday, and he’ll haveplenty to assess from beyond the boundary as his team bids to inject somelife into a tour that has been an utter nightmare so far. Speaking to themedia ahead of the game, Dravid made no attempt to play down theimportance of the game, and expressed his disappointment at having to missout.”It’s good that it’s a four-day game,” he said. “Hopefully, there’ll betwo chances for us to bat, and the guys will get some time in the middle.The bowlers will also need to show intensity during long spells, and getinto Test-match mode.”I can’t fault the effort. As a group, we just haven’t played the bouncewell. It has a lot to do with the fact that we’ve come here with guys whoare out of form. That has accentuated the struggle.”Despite the heavy defeats in the one-day games – three drubbings by morethan 80 runs, and one nine-wicket defeat – Dravid insisted that the tourwas far from a lost cause. “We’ve got to remain positive,” he said. “Wehope this game will be the start of that. We know we can play much bettercricket than we showed in the ODIs. We won our last Test series in theWest Indies, and we’ll take some confidence from that. If the experiencedplayers get runs, we can put pressure on them and take 20 wickets.”Along with Dravid, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Karthik and Munaf Patel are restedfor the game, and the team management will choose between Gautam Gambhirand Irfan Pathan on the morning of the game. Sachin Tendulkar hasrecovered fairly well after Andre Nel caused bruising in a forearm boneduring the last ODI at Centurion, but there’s understandable concern atMunaf’s failure to recover in time from his ankle troubles.”It wasn’t progressing as well as it should,” said Dravid, when askedabout Munaf. “The surgeon in Cape Town had suggested that he might beready to play this game, but now we’ve sent him to Johannesburg foranother check-up. Anil [Kumble] has gone with him since he’s been herebefore for treatment. Hopefully, he’ll be ready for the first Test.There’s a whole week to go.”There were no worries about his own broken finger. “I’ve been knockingaround a little in the nets,” he said, “and I’m hopeful that I’ll play thefirst Test. Fielding in the slips will be a challenge, but Sachin’s beencatching beautifully there, and [VVS] Laxman will take his usual place at secondslip. I’ll start batting in the nets in a couple of days.”According to Dravid, the final composition of the XI for the tour gamewould be decided by the captain for the game, Laxman. “Wasim Jaffer and[Virender] Sehwag will open,” he said, when pressed about the opening positions. Andwhen asked where that left Gambhir, Dravid said: “If we play theextra batsman, he may play at No.3, unless Laxman wants to bat there.We’ll take a look tomorrow morning and then decide.”Dravid didn’t read too much into Sehwag being replaced as vice-captain,but talked of how he and Laxman would gel well together. “He has a goodhead on his shoulders,” he said. “We go back a long way. We can be frankwith each other, and he won’t be shy of telling me what to do.”Though the debate continues to rage on the subject, Dravid flat-batted away aquestion on the need for a bowling coach or consultant. “The batsmen wehave here have played in these conditions before. We know what lengths andlines to bowl. We’re clear about that. Zaheer [Khan] has been here before, andwe’ll tap into his experience. Anil has bowled all around the world, andwe’ll make use of his knowledge too.”India last sent an Under-19 or A team to these parts nearly five yearsago, and Dravid admitted that other international sides had stolen a marchover India in that regard. “Even if they don’t send A teams, mostcountries send players to MRF [Pace Foundation, Chennai] or to the CCI-runWorld Cricket Academy. Alastair Cook is a good example of a guy who hadplayed in India before coming out for the last Test tour. They’ve gotacclimatised to the conditions in the subcontinent, and there’s a case forlooking into such tours for young players. You can work up tie-ups withteams. Even a Ranji Trophy side could work out a reciprocal arrangementwith local associations elsewhere.”As expected, he was asked a question about Sourav Ganguly’s return to thefold. “We hope he’ll make runs for us,” said Dravid. “He has theexperience of these conditions to play match-winning innings for us.”It will take more than one man though to halt India’s slide on this tour.

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

One can view it as either India squandering a golden opportunity to seize the high ground or as an illustration of South Africa’s bounce-back-ability as the scales tilted in an absorbing contest at Newlands. Set a target of 211, South Africa ended the fourth day on 55 for 2 and were favourites to complete a famous comeback-from-behind series triumph. It’s likely to be a fight to the finish, on a tricky fifth-day pitch against high-quality spin, but South Africa will probably be the side that sleeps calmer tonight.India will blame themselves for turning a potentially matchwinning position to one of catch-up. Having begun in upbeat fashion, thanks to a 84-run stand between Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, they froze, crawling through the second session against a bowling attack that stuck to a plan. A couple of wickets at the end of the day, including Hashim Amla falling at the stroke of stumps, provided them with a chance but it would require an inspired bowling effort to sneak the match from here on.Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers kickstarted the chase with 36 in 9.2 overs with the latter taking the attack to Anil Kumble. India’s body language was relatively flat but two late strikes, one apiece from Zaheer Khan and Kumble, gave them a lift. de Villiers’s loose drive induced the edge while Amla missed a flipper as he was rooted to the back foot. It gave India something to cheer at the end of an attritional day but they will feel things could have been far rosier.Ganguly and Dravid put India’s innings on track either side of the lunch break – coming together at a perilous 6 for 2, with both openers falling to the new ball, they blunted the new-ball threat and put India’s innings back on track. Ganguly entered at No.4 amid confusion but didn’t appear a least bit flustered. He was lucky to not be out first ball – an airy waft to a short one outside off sped away through the slip cordon – but he was soon driving gorgeously through the off side. At the other end, Dravid survived some tricky moments early on but was soon getting fully forward or fully back, carving five fours in the period and rotated strike to make sure South Africa were unsettled by the left-right combination.Ganguly’s dismissal proved vital, setting off a period when the run-rate turned excruciatingly slow. Dravid and Tendulkar endured a painstaking 15.1 overs for only 24 runs, a period when Harris wheeled away over the wicket and into the rough, and Pollock probed outside off. Run-scoring was definitely not easy but it was baffling to see the duo not attempt to keep the scoreboard ticking. Tendulkar endured a 62-ball struggle in a scratchy 14. He didn’t try to take the attack to the spinner, surviving a few edgy moments against him, and never attempted to dominate.Three quicks wickets fell before tea, including VVS Laxman’s dismissal to a misjudged second run and Tendulkar at the stroke of tea, and India were digging themselves deeper into a mess. The runs hadn’t come, the wickets were falling and the momentum had well and truly shifted. South Africa’s bowlers had executed their plans to a tee and tightened the noose with sensible lines.It was only because of Dinesh Karthik’s lively 38 that India moved into a position of respectability. From the depths of 121 for 6, Karthik cracked six delightful fours, using twinkling footwork and text-book technique, and sparking hopes, even if momentarily, of a revival. He soon ran out of partners, though – Kumble couldn’t handle the steepling bounce, Zaheer Khan turned blind for a second run, and Munaf Patel spooned the simplest of catches to mid-off, in what was, unfortunately, the seventh ball of the over. It summed up the day – one of confusion, recklessness and South African verve.Short cuts

Highlight of the day: Sourav Ganguly came in and played a composed knockwith India’s second innings in disarrary, and the threat of a batsmanbeing timed out. By lunch, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid had put India incommand, only for some inexplicably poor batting to open the door forSouth Africa after the interval.Lowlight of the day: Poor umpiring decisions have played a significantpart in this series, but you’d at least expect Elite Panel umpires to beable to count. When Dale Steyn had Sreesanth caught at second slip, sixballs were up. But Asad Rauf appeared to be so caught up in the momentthat he allowed Steyn another go. And that was all he needed to get rid ofMunaf Patel, leaving Dinesh Karthik stranded on 38.Shot of the day: Karthik sweeping Paul Harris from out of the rough forthree runs. While his more illustrious colleagues showed no initiativewhatsoever, Karthik showed what might have been if the big names hadbrought their big games with them to the crease.Ball of the day: An absolute brute from Makhaya Ntini that lifted andjagged back to take Wasim Jaffer’s glove. He didn’t have a big part toplay thereafter, but the dismissal of the first-innings centurion was atelling moment.Catch of the day: Jacques Kallis moved adroitly to his left to pouch a lowedge from Sreesanth. The batsman hung around a while, but there was nodoubt that Kallis had taken another excellent low catch.Message of the day: He may have more than 400 Test wickets, but ShaunPollock still remains the most humble of foot soldiers despite having oncebeen the general. When he dragged one down the leg side, allowing Karthikto tickle it down to fine leg for four, he turned back to his mark andmumbled, “Sorry, skip.” With that kind of attitude, it’s no wonder he’sachieved so much.Off the park: The confusion after Jaffer’s dismissal was comical andfarcical all at once. Tendulkar was all set to come out, but it was onlythe ball before Jaffer’s exit that the fourth umpire bothered to informthe Indians that he couldn’t. During this game, the stump microphonesnoises have been filtered into the press box. Many journalists would havegiven a lot to have a similar set-up within the Indian dressing room -especially once the batting imploded in the afternoon.

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.

With only two months until the World Cup each team’s preparations should be ready for the final polish. However, the three sides contesting the month-long CB Series, which starts with Australia facing England at the MCG on Friday, still have many experiments to complete as they countdown to the Caribbean.Australia seem to have less to worry about than England or New Zealand and they already benefit from the momentum built from the Ashes whitewash and the rust-shaking limited-overs win in Tuesday’s Twenty20. Despite the smooth progression through the first half of the season, Ricky Ponting’s outfit is still tinkering with its bowling attack and the No. 4 spot while Matthew Hayden is due to return to the unstable opening slot opposite Adam Gilchrist.Michael Clarke will nestle into the spot behind Ricky Ponting following the retirement of Damien Martyn and the move will be crucial in giving him more time in the middle following shifts lower down the order. “We think that’s a really well-balanced side then with Clarke at four, Andrew Symonds five, Michael Hussey six, that sort of line-up,” Ponting told . “[Clarke] has been dying to get a chance up the order, his chance has come now.” In this team of powerbrokers he must perform almost immediately or risk being shifted by the might of Symonds or Hussey.Brett Lee has a chest problem and will miss his second match in a row, giving some of his younger rivals a chance to settle. Ben Hilfenhaus, the swing bowler, has joined the squad but Ponting said he would miss the opening affair along with Brad Hogg, allowing Mitchell Johnson and Cameron White opportunities alongside Glenn McGrath and Stuart Clark.Ponting has outlined his starting plans but the tactics of his initial opponents are in such doubt even the team management must be unsure of their preferred line-up. Michael Vaughan is back as captain and trying to lift a squad that has struggled for the past two months.”That’s our biggest challenge – to make sure we get them in a good mental state for Friday,” Vaughan said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “We realise it’s going to be tough but when tough times come about you need tough people, and that’s what we need from all the players.”

Questions remain over Vaughan’s recovery from a knee injury and there are doubts over whether to choose Paul Nixon or Chris Read as wicketkeeper. Andrew Flintoff is also a concern as he attempts to recapture the all-round form that deserted him when he led the Test side to a 5-0 loss. The batting order is noticeably stronger with Vaughan at the top, but the bowling is less assured even if Monty Panesar gets a chance to prove himself in what should be his debut series.England have 16 players in their squad but the options don’t drip with class and if they reach the three-match finals they should be considered a success. They managed only five wins in 20 ODIs last year and one of those was against Ireland. Australia succeeded in 20 of 29 games in 2006, including the Champions Trophy final, while New Zealand started the year by drawing a five-match series with Sri Lanka.New Zealand enter the tournament on Sunday against Australia at Hobart and they will try out a squad without three of their regulars. Stephen Fleming’s side, which was dismissed for 73 on Saturday, has landed in Tasmania missing Scott Styris, Jacob Oram and Kyle Mills, who may appear in the squad if they recover.However, they do have Shane Bond, who has 24 wickets against Australia in seven games, and he will attempt to scare the local batsmen during the four preliminary encounters. Each team plays eight matches in the qualifying round before two progress to the finals in what could be the last season of the three-team format.Squads
Australia Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Cameron White, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn McGrath.England Michael Vaughan (capt), Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Jamie Dalrymple, Ed Joyce, Paul Nixon (wk), Chris Read (wk), Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Chris Tremlett.New Zealand Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum (wk), Andre Adams, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, James Franklin, Mark Gillespie, Jeetan Patel, Michael Mason.

Unless Pakistan can persuade the ICC to give them an extension on naming their World Cup squad this will be the last time these two teams play with a chance of swaying opinions. At such a late stage it’s unlikely there are many spaces up for grabs, but the chance for a match-winning century or wicket haul can’t be ignored.This series, too, has yet to swing decisively one way or the other and given the crushing nature of the two wins it’s hard to say who holds the balance of power. Even the position when events were washed out at Port Elizabeth was hard to call, with run chases a testing prospect at St George’s Park.So the action moves to Newlands, already the scene of plenty of cricket this season, with both sides keen to take winning momentum into the World Cup. Minds are already shifting to the Caribbean, and it’s hard to blame the players for that, especially the South Africans who have had an arduous home campaign.”Although our focus is still on beating Pakistan, the World Cup is at the back of everybody’s minds now,” Herschelle Gibbs told . “But I would emphasise that we are all determined to win the next two games and make sure our preparations are spot on before we go to the World Cup.Gibbs added how he as big ambitions for the World Cup and is pleased to put recent events behind him after serving a three-match ban for his comments during the Centurion Park Test against Pakistan.”The whole story hasn’t come out yet but, to be honest, I don’t really want to be dredging it all up any more and I would rather just focus on my cricket,” he said. “I’ve served my time and now I want to get back to my best form and help the team to fulfill our potential.”My target is to be the player of the tournament at the World Cup and hopefully in a winning side. I have done well there in the past and I’m looking forward to it.”Pakistan are having a challenge maintaining a fully functioning squad and they’ll have to make another change as Shahid Afridi serves the first match of his four-game ban. Their gameplan has been based on a long batting order in the last two outings, but Iftikhar Anjum could be drafted into the seam attack.South Africa (probable) Graeme Smith (capt), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya NtiniPakistan (from) Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Iftikhar Anjum, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Hafeez, Zulqarnain Haider, Yasir Hameed, Abdur Rehman