Hasan Raza, currently leading Karachi Urban against Mumbai in the Mohammad Nissar trophy, has been called up to the Pakistan A squad for the first Test against Australia A along with Asim Kamal, after the two had failed to make it to the one-day team.Pakistan won all three ODIs against Australia and were scheduled to play two Tests – in Faisalabad from September 12 to 15 and in Lahore from September 19 to 22.While internationals Yasir Hameed, who made two centuries in the one-day games, and Taufeeq Umar retained their place in the Test side, Tahir Khan, Shahid Yousuf, Rafatullah Mohmand and Junaid Zia missed out. Sohail Tanvir, the Rawalpindi allrounder who was named as Shoaib Akhtar’s replacement in Pakistan’s Twenty20 team, left the A squad for South Africa.Adnan Raza, Lahore’s left-hand batsman, and Rizwan Ahmed, the Hyderabad allrounder, were the new players in the side.Australia named an unchanged squad from the ODIs but Stuart MacGill, the legspinner, arrived in Pakistan only in time for the Tests and should boost his team’s chances.Pakistan A: Faisal Iqbal (capt), Taufeeq Umar, Hasan Raza, Khalid Latif, Yasir Hameed, Naved Latif, Adnan Raza, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mansoor Amjad, Atif Maqbool, Mohammad Khalil, Abdul Rauf, Mohammad Irshad, Najaf Shah and Rizwan Ahmed.Australia A: Phil Jaques, Chris Rogers, David Hussey, Adam Voges (capt), Cameron White, Luke Ronchi (wk), James Hopes, Jason Gillespie, Ashley Noffke, Cullen Bailey, Dan Cullen, Luke Butterworth, Doug Bollinger and Stuart MacGill.

Kyle Mills’ long-awaited return from injury has been delayed again after he strained a calf during a pre-season tournament in Australia. Mills has been replaced in the Test squad to tour South Africa by Iain O’Brien, the Wellington fast bowler who played his only two Tests in 2005.Mills has been out of international cricket since the CB Series in Australia in January as a serious knee injury kept him out of the World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20. He was warming up for the South Africa trip by touring with a New Zealand representative side playing practice matches against Australian states in Queensland last week when he hurt his calf.”The selectors are not satisfied that Kyle will be fit enough to leave with Black Caps Test team next week and decided today to remove him from the Test section of the tour,” the side’s general manager Lindsay Crocker said. “It is hoped that when Kyle recovers from his injury and has some game time under his belt he will be considered for the one-day section of the tour.”O’Brien is the second late addition to the Test squad after Lou Vincent was called up last week to replace Peter Fulton, who requires knee surgery. The 15-man group departs on October 18 and has two warm-up matches before the two-Test series starts at Johannesburg on November 8. A Twenty20 international and three ODIs will follow the Tests.

Dav Whatmore, the former Bangladesh coach, is set to become the first director of operations of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.”I’ve agreed, but the announcement should come from the board … I don’t wish to break protocol,” Whatmore was quoted as saying by the , a Kolkata-based daily. “The contract is for three years and I’ll be in Bangalore by the end of this month.” Whatmore had been made the offer by Ravi Shastri, the NCA chairman.Looking ahead to the job at hand, Whatmore indicated that there were several plans for the NCA. “I’m excited and Ravi wants it to become a real finishing school. In fact, I’d like players from overseas too to graduate from there.”The specifics have to be worked out, but I expect the NCA to be operational for 8-10 months [in a year]. Eventually, one would like Indian coaches to impart all the training but, if needed, one may call specialists from overseas. However, one doesn’t have to cross that bridge right now.”Whatmore had been one of the leading contenders to replace Greg Chappell as India coach, but he wasn’t even called for the interview by a panel which included Shastri. Whatmore, though, said that didn’t affect his decision to take up the NCA offer.”I’d rather talk of the NCA,” he said. “It didn’t take me long to realise there’s value in being associated with it. Plus, I can give something. I know Ravi’s on the coach-appointing committee, but I didn’t bring up what happened in June. I’ve known Ravi for a number of years. We understand each other well and I’m looking forward to a formal association with him.”

Derbyshire’s push for new signings continues with the appointment of Andrew Brown, their former batsman, as assistant coach to John Morris.It is Brown’s fourth spell on the staff, having had two stints as a first-team player in the ’80s and early ’90s, and then he was the second XI captain/coach from 1997 to 2000.Morris was delighted with the signings and he said: “Andy has been coach of Suffolk in Minor Counties cricket for the last five years culminating in them winning the MCCA Trophy last season and I am delighted to have someone with local knowledge, bags of experience and lots of enthusiasm joining our staff.”Brown said: “It is a pleasure to be back after seven years away from the club. Working at Suffolk and at Chesterfield CC has been fantastic but this is the level of the game that I want to be involved in. Derbyshire is a club close to my heart and as soon as I got the call from John I knew that the County Ground is where I want to be.”

Daren Ganga, the former West Indies captain, and Pedro Collins, the left-arm medium-pacer, have been added to the West Indies squad for next month’s tour of South Africa. The tour, which includes three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 matches, begins on December 16, after a five-ODI series against Zimbabwe.Ganga and Collins will replace Narsingh Deonarine and Ravi Rampaul, who will fly back from Zimbabwe. While Collins has not represented West Indies since the home series against India in July 2006, Ganga captained the side for two Test matches during the tour of England in 2007 following Ramnaresh Sarwan’s injury in the second Test. He was, however, omitted for the Natwest Series that followed as well as the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 and failed to find a place in the ODI squad against Zimbabwe even after being named as Trinidad & Tobago’s cricketer of the year. He also lost the vice-captaincy spot to Dwayne Bravo for the tour of Africa.Collins’ last ODI appearance for West Indies dates back to May 2005 but he was part of the squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in September. He then signed for Surrey as a Kolpak player, a decision that seemed to put his international career in doubt.Squad Chris Gayle (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Fidel Edwards, Daren Ganga, Rawl Lewis, Runako Morton, Brenton Parchment, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor

The Indian selectors have sprung a major surprise by recalling Virender Sehwag to the Indian team for the four-Test series against Australia. Although he was not in the list of 24 probables Sehwag has got a recall after Gautam Gambhir was advised three weeks rest with a sore shoulder.There was also place in the 16-man squad for Pankaj Singh, the young Rajasthan fast bowler. Munaf Patel, who was thought to be a front-runner for a spot has been advised to play more domestic cricket before he will be considered for selection in the future.All season Pankaj has impressed with his performances for Rajasthan. Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, has spoken highly of Pankaj on more than one occasion. A string of good bowling for Rajasthan Under-19 pitchforked Pankaj into the the first-class team in 2003. But it was in late 2006 that he really showed signs of maturing by leading the Rajasthan attack and taking them to the plate league final. In 2007 he broke into the India A team and was successful in the tour of Kenya and Zimbabwe and then played in the home series against South Africa A.Sehwag makes his return to the Test team after being ignored after India’s tour to South Africa in 2006-07. His last Test was in Cape Town, and since then he has played only ODIs and Twenty20 internationals. Sehwag hasn’t been in great touch in the Ranji Trophy, with 66 runs in five innings for Delhi.Dinesh Karthik held onto his place in the squad, after scoring a half-century on the final day of the drawn third Test against Pakistan. Also included in the squad are Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan, who were included in India’s squad for the final Test against Pakistan after a spate of injuries to fast bowlers.Ishant, who took five wickets in Pakistan’s first innings, said he was happy on being selected though he hadn’t been mulling over it during the Test in Bangalore. “I didn’t think my performance in Bangalore would have played such a part in my selection,” Ishant told Cricinfo. “My aim was to bowl properly and I didn’t stress myself by thinking ”will I be picked or not. The Australian wickets will surely be an advantage to my style of bowling, with the bounce and pace, and my job now will be to hit the right areas.”From the current squad there was no place for Murali Kartik, the left-arm spinner, but this was expected given the fact that India were only going to take two spinners on a tour of Australia.With Sreesanth unfit the pace attack is led by Zaheer Khan and backed up by RP Singh, Ishant, Pathan and Pankaj.Commenting on the selection, Ricky Ponting told Cricinfo in Adelaide that he didn’t think were too many surprises. “I must admit I didn’t think Sehwag would make the final touring party but he’s here and he had some successes against us last time,” he said. “A terrific 195 or something. He can be a dangerous player but we will worry about that once we’ve got this Chappell-Hadlee Series out of the way.”India’s Test squad for Australia
Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble (capt), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Pankaj Singh.

The England selectors sprung a major surprise as they unveiled their squads for the forthcoming ODI and Test series in New Zealand. Though Andrew Strauss has been recalled to the Test squad as anticipated, the shock omission is that of the wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who has paid the price for one dropped catch too many in the Sri Lanka series.The uncapped Warwickshire wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose wins a place in both squads at the expense of Prior, while Kent’s offspinner James Tredwell has also been called up to the one-day squad for the first time. Strauss, who was dropped in October for the first time in his 43-Test career, will join up with the tour party in New Zealand after playing for Northern Knights in the State Shield and Twenty20 competitions.”Tim Ambrose fully deserves an opportunity at this level following impressive performances for the England Performance Squad in India before Christmas and for Warwickshire last season,” David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said. “Matt Prior performed well with the bat in Sri Lanka and it has been a difficult decision to leave him out of this tour. But the selectors feel that he needs to further improve his wicket-keeping in order to realise his full potential in international cricket.”Andrew Strauss needed a break from international cricket in our view and he will now be keen to re-establish himself in the Test side. His experience will be of benefit to the squad as a whole and his inclusion will also provide us with alternative options if required at the top of the batting order.”James Tredwell has performed well for Kent in the domestic one-day game and continued to impress in India with the Performance Squad. This is an excellent opportunity for him to show that he can step up to the next level.”Meanwhile, the Sussex batsman Michael Yardy has been named as captain of a 13-man England Lions squad which will compete in the Duleep Trophy in India later this month. Monty Panesar will tour India with the Lions prior to joining up with England’s Test squad in New Zealand.England Test squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Phil Mustard, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann.England ODI squad Paul Collingwood (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Phil Mustard, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.England Lions squad Michael Yardy (capt), Kabir Ali, Michael Carberry, Steven Davies, Joe Denly, James Hildreth, Ed Joyce, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Alan Richardson, Jonathan Trott.

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

New Zealand stormed back from an indifferent second day to dismiss a submissive Bangladesh for 254 and wrapped up a nine-wicket win before tea on day three at Dunedin’s University Oval.A four-pronged seam attack turned the Test quickly in the first session, grabbing the opposition by the scruff of the neck after a 161-run opening stand, before Daniel Vettori mopped up the tail quickly after lunch. With Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique dismissed in succession it all fell apart in the second innings rather spectacularly for Bangladesh, who lost ten wickets for 93 runs to hand the hosts a series lead with one to play.If the batsmen did this pitch some justice on day two, with 349 runs, then the seamers struck quickly on day three to level the contest. The pitch played a little slow and low yet the ball moved around enough to put some doubt in the batsmens’ minds. The seamers were tidy, rarely slipping down leg with a packed off-side field, and responded to their captain’s call with five wickets in the first session.As thoughts trained towards Bangladesh’s highest partnership for any wicket and a debut hundred for Tamim, Kyle Mills struck. The ball nipped back in off a perfect length, kept a little low, and drew an inside-edge from his bat. The look of relief on the fielders’ faces was palpable.As often happens when one dominant partner departs, the second followed. The ball looked about ready to reverse-swing late on day three and Chris Martin achieved a hint of it, operating from around the stumps. Siddique failed to keep one down and edged to a sharp Stephen Fleming in the slips for 74. Bangladesh were still 53 behind at that stage but with the openers removed the tone of the innings changed dramatically.After a wonderful opening platform like that, it was disappointing to see how quickly the side pressed the detonation button. Habibul Bashar endured another poor score, tamely cutting Jacob Oram to gully for 11; Mohammad Ashraful was due for some runs but made just 23 before he chased one straight to Craig Cumming at backward point; it got worse as Aftab Ahmed bagged a pair, producing a shot to beat Ashraful’s minutes before lunch. Iain O’Brien’s double-strike atoned for a costly fielding lapse – he dropped Tamim on eight in the second session yesterday – and brought his bowling average down to 64. Brendon McCullum’s constant chirp of “five for 200 at lunch, boys” turned out to be very accurate.There wasn’t much turn or bounce in the track but Daniel Vettori backed himself after the interval. He struck twice in one over, picking up Mushfiqur Rahim and a trigger-happy Mashrafe Mortaza, and later ended a relatively solid innings from Shahriar Nafees (28 from 82 balls) with a clever arm-ball and handed Shahadat Hossain a pair as well. With Bangladesh 254 for 9 Vettori beckoned for Martin, wrecker-in-chief on day one, and he finished the innings with a smart bouncer.Set 35 to win, New Zealand knocked off the target with one casualty, Craig Cumming failing again, to complete trouncing of a side they’ve dominated all tour. This win, their first in over a year, included a fairytale century from comeback man Matthew Bell – the first by a New Zealand opener in 22 Tests – and it’s from such positives that the side must build.Conversely, Bangladesh have plenty to ponder after folding so meekly on the third day, especially after the debut openers led a most stirring resurgence on day two.

ScorecardCharlie Shreck and Steve Kirby shared seven wickets as England Lions completed a 30-run victory against a Mumbai Cricket Association XI in a warm-up match. The pair, neither of whom were in the original touring party, ensured the MCA XI fell short of their 261-run target and allowed the Lions to head into their opening Duleep Trophy match in good spirits.The Lions began on 86 for 7 and extended their second innings to 114 before Jonathan Trott was last man out for 34 to hand Dhaval Kulkarni a five-wicket haul. Mumbai were soon in trouble as Liam Plunkett claimed his first wicket of the match and Shreck struck twice with the new ball to leave them tottering on 48 for 3.Hiken Shah (23) and Aditya Tare (39) began to repair the damage with a fourth-wicket stand of 55 before Kirby snared both in the space of five overs. Shreck worked away at the middle order and Adil Rashid, given his first bowl of the match ahead of Monty Panesar who sat out the second innings, collected Kulkarni as the Lions closed in.However, they were made to wait by a feisty last-wicket stand of 42 between 19-year-old Omkar Gurav and Usman Malvi. They chipped away at the target, but just as it was coming into view Kirby returned to remove Gurav for a battling 46.England now travel to Vadodara ahead of their opening Duleep Trophy match, against Central Zone, starting on February 3.

Scorecard

South Africa secured their place in the 2009 Women’s World Cup after overpowering Ireland by seven wickets. South Africa have been a cut above the other teams seen in the tournament and proved too powerful as they knocked off the target with more than 22 overs to spare.”We’re really relieved and very happy to have pulled it off,” captain Cri-Zelda Brits said. “The team haven’t let me down since I’ve taken over the captaincy and we’ve stuck at it and come to the party at this event with the bowling.”The victory was set-up by another impressive bowling performance. Ireland suffered an early setback when Isobel Joyce was caught behind for 0 and the innings never got off the ground. Sunette Loubser produced another miserly spell of offspin and claimed two middle-order scalps while sharp fielding engineered three run outs.Cecelia Joyce fought hard and carried her bat with a determined 43, however the fact it took 143 deliveries show how difficult it was for the Irish.Isobel Joyce caused a few early alarms in South Africa’s chase with two wickets but there wasn’t enough firepower to seriously trouble the home side. Olivia Anderson anchored the innings and the job was finished off in rapid fashion by Annelie Minnie’s breezy 27.Ireland captain Heather Whelan said: “I think everybody is absolutely gutted. We trained so hard for so long for this in order to try to go to the World Cup in Australia but it’s not going to be.”We’re not going to the World Cup but we will battle on and we’ll be here again in four years looking for a place in the World Cup and we expect to make it next time.”
Scorecard
A superb performance from Pakistan’s bowlers, dismissing Netherlands for just 68, handed their team a fine 94-run win and entry into the 2009 World Cup.Pakistan’s meagre total of 162 was set up by their openers, Tasqeen Qadeer and Bismah Maroof, who put on 79 for the opening wicket. But Netherlands’ bowlers hit back, prompting a collapse in which Pakistan lost 9 for 83 in 25 overs. Bismah Maroof top-scored with 45 from 77 balls but, after her and Tasqueen (27), only Sana Javed reached double figures as the lower-order capitulated to Lotte Egging’s medium-pacers.A target of 163, however, proved more than enough. Violet Wattenberg fell to the second ball of Netherlands’ chase, edging Asmavia Iqbal straight to slip, while Helmien Rambaldo was bowled by Qanita Jalil to leave them on 0 for 2. Annemarie Tanke cracked five fours in her brave 41 from 70 balls and Caroline de Fouw remained unbeaten on a defiant 11 (from 44 balls), but there was little else from Netherlands’ lower order who were skittled for 68 in the 32nd over.”It’s an absolutely awesome feeling. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels,” said Urooj Mumtaz, the Pakistan captain. “That was the task we came here to do and I think we pulled off a great win. We are very excited to be going to the World Cup.”Every single girl did their job on and off the field. In fielding, batting and bowling, everybody did their task – it was an absolutely brilliant performance.”Pakistan meet South Africa – who beat Ireland in the other semi-final today – for the tournament’s final on Sunday.5th place play-off semi-finals
In the battle for the remaining places, Scotland overcame Papua New Guinea by four wickets to move into the play-off final and Zimbabwe outclassed Bermuda, who have been embarrassingly out of their depth throughout the tournament, by 125 runs.