Franchise coaches taste national set-up

While the South African players did their warm-ups on the first morning of the Wanderers Test against Pakistan, someone not usually involved at national level was keeping an eye on them. The Titans' coach Matthew Maynard observed proceedings as part of a new program which aims to involve franchise officials in the national team.

All six local coaches will be invited to spend time with the national team during the series against Pakistan as part of an information sharing exercise. During their time the coaches will attend training sessions, go to team meetings and in Maynard's case, stay around for some of the first day's play.

With three of South Africa's franchise coaches - Paul Adams of the Cobras, Geoffrey Toyana of the Lions and Lance Klusener of the Dolphins - in their first season in the job, the national management is also hopeful that involving the domestic coaches will make the transition from franchise to international cricket smooth for players.

"We wanted to give our franchise coaches the opportunity to experience how things work at international level," Gary Kirsten said. "This is about creating synergy between the international and domestic platforms, and making sure information sharing happens continuously so that the move from domestic cricket for the players is as smooth as possible.

"It's also an opportunity for the coaches to see how things operate at this level. The coaching landscape is always changing and moving and it is important from our point of view to touch base with the next tier and to share information and ideas."

Maynard is not a stranger to the international coaching scene. He was the England assistant under Duncan Fletcher but has not been with a national team since 2007. He said he valued the time given to him by Kirsten and has learnt things to take back to the Titans.

"It was a great experience for me to see the environment that Gary and Graeme have created around the team. It makes it unsurprising that they have been so successful over a good period of time. I picked up a good number of things in the way they prepare and how the environment operates.

"It was great to see the intensity from the senior players during their practice sessions. Some of the drills are nice and simple, they aren't complicated but they are expected to be done with great precision and that is the attention to detail Gary brings to the set-up."

Kirsten's desire to expand the coaching set-up was also evident when he handed over reins of the Twenty20 squad to his assistant Russell Domingo. Although Kirsten remains in charge of the team and takes calls on selections, Domingo is the head coach in the shortest format.

Sana Mir wants improvement in shot selection

After the uncertainty surrounding their participation in the tournament and the venue of their matches, Pakistan began their Women's World Cup campaign promisingly, but it did not last. They restricted Australia to 175 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, but their batsmen did not make it even halfway to the target.

Despite the World Cup being held in India, the favourites to win are defending champions England, New Zealand and Australia. While India have the underdog billing, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are rank outsiders. While Sri Lanka upset England to state they are not here to make up the numbers, Pakistan started positively but their challenge fizzled out against Australia's experience and tactics.

Neither captain expected a high-scoring affair on a low and slow wicket, and when Pakistan had reduced Australia to 99 for 6 in the 29th over, they would have been hoping for a win against the odds. The tail, however, came to Australia's rescue, as it does consistently. Sarah Coyte's unbeaten 35 at No. 9 ensured Australia made it past 170.

"Our team bats from 1 to 11. We are quite confident about that," Jodie Fields, Australia's captain, said. "As Sarah came out and had a partnership lower down the order, just proves that our batting depth is great. I knew that if we got closer to 175, we could bowl to it."

Once they got to the desired total, Australia's all-round bowling performance helped them win without much difficulty. While the Australian bowlers stuck to their plan of "bowling straight", Pakistan's batters played too many rash strokes.

"It was a case of poor shot selection from our batters," the Pakistan captain Sana Mir said. "After we lost early wickets, I would say when I got out, I think that was the turning point. We have to be more disciplined, we have to be responsible, because we couldn't capitalise on all the hard work done by the bowlers.

"The pitch was keeping low, no doubt about that. But there is no excuse for this kind of performance [with the bat]. I hold myself responsible."

Mir, however, took positives from her team's bowling and fielding effort, which produced in four run-outs. "I think this has been our best bowling performance till date against a top opponent like Australia," she said. "The performance we produced with the ball and in the field is really encouraging. If we can restrict Australia, we can restrict any team ... be it New Zealand or any other."

While Australia will need to improve their batting against South Africa at the DRIEMS Ground on Sunday, Pakistan will hope to challenge New Zealand at the Barabati. And it being a Sunday, the Odisha Cricket Association will hope the security personnel don't outnumber the spectators in the stands, like they did today.

Eagles hold on for thrilling draw

Matabeleland Tuskers 268 (Williams 69, Shafayat 51, Price 4-62) and 269 for 6 dec (Shafayat 53) drew with Mashonaland Eagles 250 (Chakabva 79, Matsikenyeri 78, Meth 6-41, Querl 4-53) and 261 for 9 (Chibhabha 104, Chakabva 80*)
Scorecard

A fighting century from Chamu Chibhabha and an unbeaten knock of 80 from wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva helped Mashonaland Eagles secure a draw in a thrilling finish against Matabeleland Tuskers in Harare. Chasing 288, Chibhabha's wicket, which fell 14.2 overs before stumps on the final day, sparked a collapse and Eagles slipped from at 192 for 4 to 218 for 7. Tuskers picked two more wickets, the ninth in the last over of the match, but could not take the final one.

The match, over the course of four days, had been evenly contested, with no team scoring more than 269 or less than 250 in any innings. After scoring 268 in the first innings, led by half-centuries from Sean Williams and Bilal Shafayat, Tuskers had reduced Eagles to 55 for 5. Seamer Glen Querl had done most of the damage, taking four of the five wickets. The captain Stuart Matsikenyeri and Chakabva rescued Eagles with a 148-run stand, scoring 78 and 79 respectively. The Eagles were eventually bowled out 18 runs short of their opponents' score, with seamer Keegan Meth taking six wickets.

Tuskers put on a commanding batting performance in their second dig, with another fifty from Shafayat, and decent contributions of 44, 44, 38 and 31 from four of their other top-order batsmen. They declared on 269 for 6 on the final day, before a spirited chase from Eagles looked likely to achieve the target. But left-arm spinner Williams turned the game around with three quick wickets, and the match ended with Tuskers one wicket short of achieving a win.

Taylor leads Chittagong to easy win

Chittagong Kings 137 for 2 (Taylor 65*, ten Doeschate 41*) beat Khulna Royal Bengals 136 for 5 (Wessels 35, Enamul 3-28) by eight wickets
Scorecard

Chittagong Kings gave their boisterous home supporters some joy with an eight-wicket victory against Khulna Royal Bengals. It was their first win at the MA Aziz Stadium, and only their second in the tournament.

The packed stadium witnessed a battle of attrition as the Kings overcame a poor start to reach their target of 137. The pitch offered low bounce as the game progressed, and Brendan Taylor worked the ball around the bumpy outfield when it became difficult to loft it. Taylor, who steered the Kings' chase with a half-century, captained team after Mahmudullah had asked the team management for a break from the role.

Taylor hit seven fours and a six in his knock of 69 off 49 deliveries. Ryan ten Doeschate gave Taylor valuable support with a 34-ball 41, and adding 93 runs for the third wicket. Legspinner Samuel Badree and left-arm spinner Sanjamul Islam had taken a wicket each by the seventh over, before the big partnership finished the game and gave the home supporters, who had patiently waited for a win, a result to be happy with.

The Royal Bengals suffered their fifth defeat in seven games and have been without a win since they left their home ground last week. Their openers Lou Vincent and Shahriar Nafees got out for 9 each, and they limped to 47 for 3 in the tenth over. Travis Birt and Riki Wessels added 41 for the fourth wicket before Wessels, who top scored 35 off 32 balls, added another 33 with Daniel Harris.

The Royal Bengals' batsmen managed only nine boundaries in 20 overs, as the Kings bowled tighter than they had in their last two matches. Enamul Haque jnr took three wickets after Rubel Hossain and Shaun Tait had given the side a solid base with reasonable spells. The bowling performance also masked the Kings' fielding errors: Kevon Cooper and Mehrab Hossain jnr dropped a catch each.

Counties take advantage of ECB loans

Thirteen English counties have taken advantage of £1million loans offered by the ECB to help boost the domestic game.

In total, £18million is available between the counties who show evidence of a suitable business plan and the counties are required to meet certain targets relating to stadia and facilities, customer relations, community programmes and business operations.

Only five counties - Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Nottinghamshire and Sussex - have yet to take advantage of the scheme but are expected to send business plans later in the year.

The loans will supplement the annual fee payments made to all 18 counties each year. Last year total expenditure on the domestic game was £49.1million, £42.6 million being fee payments to the counties.

ECB chairman Giles Clarke said: "With all sports facing increased competition for resources in a tougher economic climate, it is imperative that our first-class county clubs are financially robust, boast modern, spectator-friendly facilities and can continue to act as centres of sporting excellence within their local communities.

"The increased investment will help the First Class Counties plan for the future with greater confidence and implement a programme of change which will help make our domestic game even more attractive to spectators, broadcasters and sponsors alike."

There was also a further boost for community clubs badly hit by last year's wet weather with the ECB board allocating an extra $420,000 to the worst hit grounds.

Kamini ends long break in style

Thirush Kamini, who became the first Indian to make a hundred in a Women's World Cup, said she had "too many things running" in her mind when she walked out to open in her first international match in nearly three years. Despite a slow start, she went on to add 175 for the first wicket with Poonam Raut, setting up a match-winning total of 284 for 6 against West Indies.

Kamini's previous match for India was in February 2010, but she calmed whatever nerves there may have been at the start to allow Raut to take charge, before opening up to overtake her opening partner. Mithali Raj, the India captain, had spoken about India's strong opening combination going into this World Cup, unlike previous editions.

Kamini said she had worked on her strokes during her time away from the national team. She had made an unbeaten 95 during the domestic Challenger Trophy in December 2012. "I was coming back from an injury. I had focused a lot on knocking," Kamini said. "Today, I decided to take it ball by ball. I made a slow start but I knew I could make up later, which I was able to."

It was a perfect start to the tournament for the hosts as they piled on an imposing total after being asked to bat by West Indies, before defending it comfortably. Raj said she was "surprised" at being put in, and would have batted on the flat pitch had she won the toss.

Raj believed chasing such a big total was a difficult task but West Indies captain Merissa Aguillera felt it was her batsmen, and not the bowlers who let the side down. Aguillera said with batsmen such as Stefanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Shanel Daley, West Indies should have batted much better than being dismissed for 179. Batting seemed to get slightly difficult in the evening as India's seam bowlers got the ball to move around through the chase, but Aguillera refused to give much weight to that, saying her side should have been able to adapt to the conditions.

Dottin gave India a brief scare as she cracked four powerful sixes on her way to 39 off just 16 deliveries. Her cameo lasted a little more than four overs but it was a "dangerous period", according to Raj. "I am glad she didn't continue further," a relieved Raj said.

The promoted Jhulan Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur had earlier played cameos of their own as India kicked on to take 109 off the final 13 overs after the big opening stand. Raj said the team had worked on having a slog and decided to send the two batsmen before her so that they could go after the bowling.

With India's bowlers constantly keeping West Indies under pressure, Raj did not feel the fielding had been tested much and warned that tougher contests lay ahead against sides such as England.

Taylor recalled to New Zealand squad

Ross Taylor will make his return to New Zealand colours in the Twenty20 series against England having been named in the squads for both that and the one-day internationals which follow.

Taylor, who took a self-imposed break from the international scene following his controversial removal as captain after the Sri Lanka tour, recently returned to action in the Plunket Shield and has also been included in the New Zealand XI squad to face England in two warm-up matches next week.

The other notable inclusion comes in the Twenty20 squad where Hamish Rutherford, the son of former New Zealand captain Ken, has been handed his first international call-up. Rutherford, 23, has been in consistent form for Otago this season.

There is a recall to both squads for allrounder Andrew Ellis after he missed the South Africa tour through injury. Ian Butler, the pace bowler, has also been recalled to the New Zealand set-up for the first time since December 2010 when he played the last of his 15 T20 internationals.

Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, said: "Andrew proved his worth with the team last summer while Ross is a world-class batsman who is a key part of this Blackcaps side. Hamish has shown he is an explosive batsman and we hope he can bring that form to the Blackcaps."

Tim Southee remains sidelined with his thumb injury while Corey Anderson, who was on the South Africa tour, has not recovered from the broken thumb he picked up earlier this month. Martin Guptill, who had a poor one-day series against South Africa, retains his place in the 50-over side.

Kim Littlejohn, the general manager national selection, said: "There are a couple of changes that have been forced through injury but essentially we want to be seen to provide continuity from one series to the next."

"We are however looking at developing talented youngsters and finding a new crop of allrounders in our build-up to the Champions Trophy in June and the 2015 World Cup."

The three-match Twenty20 series against England begins in Auckland on February 9.

Twenty20 squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, Ian Butler, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Roneel Hira, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Ross Taylor

One-day squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson

County pro Di Venuto to mentor batsmen

A county career that ended only last year will provide Michael Di Venuto with a wealth of relevant experience to pass on to Australia's batsmen about England after he was named the national team's fulltime batting coach.

Di Venuto, 39, will start his role on this month's tour of India, but his value to Ashes preparations figured prominently in his election, after more than a decade of first-class matches for Sussex, Derbyshire and Durham, with whom he retired as senior pro in July 2012.

The appointment follows a period in which Australia tried several batting mentors in the wake of Justin Langer's decision to become head coach of Western Australia, including the former Test batsmen Stuart Law and Dean Jones. It is also a further endorsement of Tasmania as a source of coaching and playing talent, as Di Venuto joins the man he replaced as the Tigers' assistant coach, Ali De Winter.

"We are delighted to have Michael on board," Australia's coach Mickey Arthur said. "We wanted a batting coach who was working within Australian cricket and who had also represented Australia as a player and Michael certainly brings those two aspects to the table, as well as a wealth of experience in first-class cricket.

"We felt it was important that the appointed person had demonstrated coaching experience. This aligns with our coaching pathway plans which is an Argus review recommendation. Michael spent some time around the Test squad while we were in Hobart ... we were impressed with the way he went about his work and we look forward to him joining us on a full-time basis."

Despite a prolific record as an aggressive first-class and limited overs batsman, Di Venuto's international career was limited to nine ODIs in the late 1990s, and was ended by Adam Gilchrist's rise to prominence as an opener in one-day matches.

More recently he represented Italy, the nation of his ancestry, in World Twenty20 qualifiers.

India begin against dangerous West Indies

India are playing the tenth Women's World Cup, this one in home conditions, but apart from the weather their captain Mithali Raj does not believe being hosts grants them any particular advantage. India, who finished third in the 2009 edition, play their opening game against West Indies under lights at the Cricket Club of India on Wednesday.

West Indies finished fifth in 2009 in Australia "as underdogs", but have gained plenty of experience since then and are here to win this time, said their captain Merissa Aguilleira. West Indies have played 38 ODIs since the previous World Cup, only one behind England, who have played the most.

India have been restricted to 26 one-dayers in the same period and their previous ODI was as far back as July 2012. Raj said she would have liked to play more games, but was nevertheless satisfied with the side's preparation and their showing in the two practice matches.

"It depends on the board completely to give us a number of matches," Raj said. "As players, whatever amount of games we get to play before the World Cup, we try and make the best of it. As a player, I would definitely want to have more tournaments, more international games to play.

"We had the domestic season and after that we had two camps, one in NCA and the other one in Mumbai. We have prepared really hard and we get into the tournament will full preparation. But again we will take it one match at a time. I personally would not emphasise more on the results, I'd rather go with the process. If everything goes well, then … we might … do it."

Raj was expecting flat pitches which she felt would restrict India's home advantage to their experience of the weather. "It is going to be the humid conditions. During the practice games, we have had very flat wickets, and scores have been generally high. Basically, the ICC has provided batting tracks so that a lot of runs are scored in the tournament. We have had a camp in Mumbai so our players are used to the conditions. We are also used to slightly slower wickets.

"If it is a flat track, it is definitely not an advantage. In an ICC tournament everybody would want to see 300 on the board rather than 89 all out. I guess that is the reason, everybody around the world wants to prepare a batting track.

"I feel when it is a flat track, it could be anybody's game. There will be a lot of runs. The bowling needs to be tightened up. The crucial thing would be the fielding because the wicket will not change over both the innings."

Compared to previous World Cups, Raj felt India had a strong opening combination going into the tournament. "One thing I have always felt is that India never had a very good opening pair. That was a concern. This time we have Thirush Kamini who has made a comeback. In both the [practice] games, the openers [Kamini and Poonam Raut] have given us a good start.

"We do have the senior players Jhulan Goswami and Amita Sharma. We have the vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur. We have two comeback players, Kamini and Karu Jain. I hope with this kind of combination we will do very well."

India lost the ODI series 2-1 on their Caribbean tour in early 2012. Raj said West Indies were a constantly developing side. "They have very talented players and some hard-hitters too. With Indian conditions, and I guess some of their players not keeping well, they are still to get acclimatized to the conditions, that might help us and also the kind of form we are in, I am sure the girls will put up a good show."

The experienced offspinner Anisa Mohammed had troubled the Indians in West Indies and Aguillera said her spinners would play a key role in India. "We are an all-round team. We have five spinners in the side and that has worked really well for us," Aguilleira said. "We'll make an impact with the compact side that we are.

"We went into the last World Cup as underdogs and lacked experience. But we've gained a lot of experience in the past four years and are not just taking part but competing this time."

West Indies were so tired after their trip from the Caribbean that they cancelled their second warm-up fixture following a heavy defeat to Australia Women in their first practice match. However, they are coming off a tied ODI series against South Africa at home and should not feel short of time in the middle. Aguilleira said the South Africa games had helped the side adapt to the new ODI rules which mandate a maximum of four fielders in the deep.

Brown tipped to get top Warwickshire job

Warwickshire are expected to confirm Dougie Brown, their assistant coach and Academy director, on Thursday morning as the successor to Ashley Giles as their new director of cricket.

Brown has fought off other leading candidates for the job such as Graeme Welch, his former Warwickshire team-mate and the county's bowling coach, and the West Indies coach Ottis Gibson, who has also been discussing the details of a promised new contract with the national side.

Brown, who worked in close association with Giles as Warwickshire won the Championship last summer, and also reached the final of the CB40, is a former England and Scotland allrounder who can be sure to bring a passionate approach to the role. He is also a former PCA chairman.

Other candidates for the Warwickshire role included David Parsons, the ECB performance director, David Hemp, former Glamorgan and Bermuda captain and now coaching at Solihull School and Andy Moles, the former Scotland, Kenya and New Zealand coach, who was discounted before the interview stage.

Clarke, Ponting get maximum reserve price

Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting, the current Australian Test captain and his predecessor, have attracted the highest base price of $400,000 each ahead of the IPL player auction, which will be held on February 3 in Chennai. The Australian duo form part of the 101-strong list comprising players from eight countries, which was finalised by the IPL on Wednesday and distributed to the nine franchises.

In addition to a host of lesser-known players mainly from Australia and South Africa - the breeding ground for Twenty20 cricket - the list includes seven Indians, two Englishmen and Kevin O'Brien, the Ireland allrounder, who is the lone representative from the Associates. The list once again does not feature Pakistan players.

Though Clarke has not played for Australia in Twenty20s since he retired from the format couple of years ago, he was signed by the Pune Warriors last year outside of the auction. But now released by the franchise, Clarke is expected to be one of the few marquee names to go under the hammer. What stands in his favour are his successful leadership abilities along with a strong batting form last year.

In comparison, the 38-year-old Ponting, who retired from all forms of international cricket last November, may not sell as an equally-hot entity. Ponting made his IPL debut in 2008 with the Kolkata Knight Riders, but in 2010 the franchise bought out his contract.

Darren Sammy, who led West Indies to the World Twenty20 crown last year, tops the list of first-timers with a base price of $100,000, and is part of the allrounders set. Ravi Bopara, the England allrounder, also has a list price of $100,000, the same as last season when he remained unsold. Another England player who was ignored last year, but has once again put his hat in the ring, is Matt Prior ($200,000), who is one of the wicketkeepers available.

RP Singh and Abhishek Nayar top the list of players whose fortunes crashed badly last season. Singh, who was bought by Mumbai Indians in 2012 for $600,000, was released by the franchise after a lukewarm performance where he bagged 10 wickets from 11 matches and thereafter has failed to impress in the domestic cricket.

But a player who could curse his luck would be Nayar, who hit prolific form during Mumbai's victorious Ranji Trophy season this year to finish as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament. Nayar was bought by Kings XI Punjab in 2011 auction for $800,000, but after a dismal form in the 2012 edition, the franchise opted to release him. Nayar has now entered the auction with a reserve price of $100,000.

Among the overseas players, Johan Botha is back in the auction at a list price of $300,000, after the Rajasthan Royals released him. The Royals had paid an eyebrow raising $950,000 during the 2011 player auction to bag Botha, a move that seemed puzzling considering Shane Warne was still the leading spinner for the inaugural IPL champions. Last year Botha fetched a poor return, bagging just nine wickets and scoring 58 runs in the eleven games he played.

This time around the majority of the franchises have predicted a low-key auction, reasoning that they had most bases covered during the previous two auctions. "Apart from filling in certain small gaps, I do not see any big action happening this time around. Also with the player contracts expiring after the 2013 season, it would be difficult to place your bets on any big buys," a franchise official told ESPNcricinfo.

Even the trading window, which opened on November 19, attracted scant attention from the franchises with one formal trade registered: T Suman, who played for Mumbai Indians in 2012, shifting to neighbouring Pune Warriors. The second trading window will be open from February 4 to 15. Each franchise has a salary cap of up to $12.5m to spend on their 2013 squad, which can contain a maximum of 33 players, including 11 from overseas.

Click here for the full list of players and reserve prices.

Doherty, Henriques in Test squad for India

Australia have confirmed a 17-man squad for their upcoming four-Test tour of India with the allrounders Moises Henriques and Glenn Maxwell the only two uncapped members of the group. The touring party also includes Steven Smith and Xavier Doherty, neither of whom have played Test cricket since their cameo roles in the 2010-11 Ashes debacle, along with Usman Khawaja as a potential No.6 and a five-man pace-bowling group.

James Pattinson is back in the mix after making his Sheffield Shield return last week following two months on the sidelines due to a rib/side injury and will form the pace corps along with Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Jackson Bird. The veteran Ben Hilfenhaus, who has not played since breaking down during the Hobart Test in December, was not selected, and nor was Steve O'Keefe, the leading spinner in the Sheffield Shield this summer.

The large squad is an attempt to cover all bases as the Australians acclimatise to life without both Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, and with Shane Watson having given up the idea of being an allrounder for the time being. Now a specialist batsman, Watson is likely to slot straight back into the top order for the first Test in Chennai on February 22 after sitting out of international cricket since re-injuring his calf during the Boxing Day Test.

"It is a large squad and we felt as though we needed that for flexibility," John Inverarity, the national selector, said. "We're certainly looking for a right-arm finger-spinner and a left-arm finger-spinner. Xavier [Doherty] has been bowling very well lately. The four contenders for that position [were] Jon Holland, Michael Beer, Xavier Doherty and Stephen O'Keefe. Two of those [Holland and Beer] are injured and we preferred Xavier Doherty to Stephen O'Keefe."

The presence of Maxwell and Smith also provides the option of allrounders who can bowl offspin or legspin respectively, although Smith has hardly bowled this Sheffield Shield season and has been included largely as a backup batsman. Smith, who is still only 23, played five Tests in 2010 and 2011 but struggled to justify his inclusion as either a batsman or bowler, but Inverarity said he had been impressed by the development of Smith's batting.

"Steve Smith has matured a lot," Inverarity said. "A lot of his play this year he has played especially well, although he hasn't gone through to the big scores. His score [of 72] just recently in the Shield match was very good against Western Australia in Sydney. We see him as a young player of the future, enormous potential and one thing in particular in his favour is he uses his feet really well and plays spin bowling really well. He will be there as a backup batsman and certainly to gain experience. We're really hoping that he's one of the players who comes through in the next couple of years."

Another man who fits that category is Henriques, who won his position thanks to Watson's decision to concentrate on his batting. The selectors were keen to include a seam-bowling allrounder and injuries to Mitchell Marsh and Andrew McDonald, and a disappointing summer for Daniel Christian, left Henriques, who has averaged 77 with the bat and with the ball this Sheffield Shield season, as the leading candidate.

"It's a very good test for him," Inverarity said. "We feel there's a great need to have an allrounder there and Moises is a young cricketer of terrific potential. We're hoping he really comes though. He's got a lot of talent and we're hoping that being around the Australian group brings out the best in him."

The balance of Australia's side for the four Tests in India will depend on how the selectors decide to structure the attack, and while Inverarity said they were keen to have five bowling options in a match, he also indicated Usman Khawaja had a strong chance of playing the first Test in Chennai.

"Usman is very much to the fore of our thinking," Inverarity said. "I was in Canberra the other day when he got 69 [for the Prime Minister's XI] against the West Indies and played really well. I think Usman is a very good chance of being in the first Test team."

Inverarity is also confident that David Warner will be part of that side in Chennai, despite suffering a fractured thumb after being hit by Johnson in the WACA nets on Wednesday while training ahead of the first ODI against West Indies. It appears unlikely that Warner will take any part in the one-day series, although Inverarity said he was expected to be fit for the Tests in India.

"The chances are very good," Inverarity said. "The early indication is it's a slight fracture. The indications are he'll certainly be okay for the Test starting on the 22nd of February, and what we're looking to do is during the next couple of days get more feedback as to exactly when he'll be able to come back ... But I'd say the chances are that it's unlikely that he'll be playing the ODIs at this stage."

Some members of the Test squad will fly to India while the West Indies limited-overs series is still on, in order to better prepare them for the Indian conditions. The trip begins with two warm-up games in Chennai on February 12-13 and February 16-18. Splitting the squad is required because the West Indies series does not finish until February 13, when the teams play a Twenty20 in Brisbane.

Squad David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Jackson Bird, Xavier Doherty, Nathan Lyon.

Finch strikes put England on victory path

South Africa Under-19s 194 and 66 for 4 (Finch 3-7) need another 205 to beat England Under-19s 313 and 151 (Sibley 62, Pillay 3-23)
Scorecard

England ended day three on course for victory in the opening Test after Harry Finch took three of four South African wickets early in their chase of 271. England had faltered with the bat to set a target less challenging then they would have wished but left South Africa with a daunting task on the final day.

After taking a 119 first-innings lead, England were looking to bat South Africa out of sight and make smooth progress in the morning session through Dominic Sibley, the right-handed opener from Surrey. But the opening stand of 35 between Sibley and Jonathan Tattersall proved the best of the innings as Sibley was the only batsman to make more than 17.

They were sitting healthily at lunch on 79 for 2 but then crumbled to Shaylin Pillay's right-arm medium pace. He removed Kishen Velani and Callum Jackson in the same over on the way to 3 for 23. Vincent Moore then dismissed Sibley as England lost 5 for 23. A brief 17 from first-innings centurion Ed Barnard extended England's lead but momentum had swung.

Andries Gous led South Africa's chase well with 30 not out by the close but four wickets at the other end saw England regain the initiative. Finch, 17-years-old from Sussex, removed Pillay and Diego Rosier in consecutive overs, both lbw, to leave England in a good position to take the lead in the series.

Essex could get tough on IPL absentees

Essex have indicated they could follow Nottinghamshire's example in future seasons by banning their players from taking part in the IPL during the English season as signs grow that the counties are considering a firmer line towards the tournament.

Paul Grayson, Essex's head coach, has admitted the issue has become a regular topic of discussion for the Essex committee as they consider withdrawing permission for their players to pursue IPL deals in 2014.

England's managing director, Hugh Morris, confirmed after their one-day tour of India that England's Test programme would remain sacrosanct and there would be no concessions in the new central contracts currently under negotiation and due to come into force in September.

England's centrally-contracted players who are in the running to play the first Test against New Zealand have to return by May 5 which entails missing nearly half the IPL which runs from April 3 to May 26.

The counties are responsible for issuing No Objection Certificates for players contracted directly by them - and the disruption they face is even greater with the Championship season beginning on April 10.

Nottinghamshire became the first county to stand firm and protect the integrity of the county season. Faced by losing Michael Lumb, Samit Patel and Alex Hales for the first part of the new season, a period which could conceivably end their Championship ambitions, Notts' director of cricket, Mick Newell, instructed his players not to put themselves in the IPL auction on February 3.

Essex's problems run just as deep. Ravi Bopara will be in the IPL auction and could become a third Essex player to potentially miss six County Championship matches and three CB40 fixtures of the new season. Ryan ten Doeschate already has a deal with Kolkata Knight Riders and Owais Shah is signed to Rajasthan Royals.

"It's something we keep discussing on a regular basis about what we're going to do," Grayson told the Essex Chronicle. "Eventually we might make a decision and say: 'Enough is enough: you either play for Essex or you play somewhere else'.

"Some counties are putting a stop to it and not letting their players go. Notts were the first ones that said if their lads go to the IPL then they don't play for Notts. It's up to them what they decide to do."

Middlesex will also suffer as Eoin Morgan has a contract with Kolkata but, as an England-contracted player, he is not bound by the wishes of his county. Last season Morgan played a full season of IPL when he was dropped from the England Test side and should be available to do so again with his selection for England's Tests against New Zealand in May unlikely after his exclusion from the tour party for New Zealand in March.

Essex do have control of their players because they are not centrally contracted and Grayson said the club are working with the ECB and the Professional Cricketers Association to avoid potential legal problems.

Their fear is that the situation could lead to players moving to counties willing to grant them a window to be available in the IPL. Only if all 18 counties followed the principle that the county season came first would English cricket avoid some high-profile transfers and even then they might not be able to hold the line against overseas players hoping for an IPL deal.

"If they're under contract, players can't do anything about it," Grayson said. "But if they're at the end of their contract they might go to another club that lets them go to the IPL, if that's what they want to do.

"It can be a bit of a problem but it gives one or two of the younger lads a chance to go out and show what they can do; the Mickleburghs, the Westleys and Foakes can come in and the others will have to wait their turn before they come back in to the side. Just because they go to the IPL there's no guarantee they'll walk back in to the side. You've got to be loyal to players, it works both ways."

Despite missing Shah and ten Doeschate for the first part of last season, Essex began well, winning one and drawing four of their opening five matches. When Shah returned, Essex lost to Derbyshire in their next match. But overall both Shah and ten Doeschate enjoyed good seasons. Shah made 589 runs in eight first-class matches at 49.08 and ten Doeschate 412 runs at 45.77 from his nine games as well as their impact in the limited-overs formats. Such players are not lightly lost.

Essex had batting cover at the start of the season with South African batsman Alviro Petersen playing seven matches, although he only managed 90 runs in 10 innings either side of making 145 against Glamorgan. This season, Essex have signed Rob Quiney, the Australian batsman, for the whole campaign.

Imad fifty secures Islamabad draw

Islamabad 179 (Afaq 3-12) and 221 for 5 (Imad 52*) drew with Peshawar 103 (Iftikhar 5-28) and 439 for 9 dec. (Israrullah 155*)
Scorecard

Islamabad batted out for a draw on the final day against Peshawar to secure a draw. Chasing 364 to win and all day to get the remaining 312 runs, they were always scoring too slowly to threaten the target and contributions from all top seven batsman denied Peshawar.

Imad Wasim was the only one to go on to a half-century, finished unbeaten on 52. He shared a partnership of 64 that ended Peshawar's hopes. Zohaib Ahmed proved his stickability, facing 99 balls for just 15 runs.

Peshawar took a while to break through as Raheel Majeed made 36 in 56 balls - by far the liveliest innings on the card - and Shan Masood scored more conservatively for 37 but had hope when they removed two wickets for the addition of only one run to leave Islamabad 106 for 3. Fahad Iqbal then dug in and Imad's knock secured the draw.

Price dropped from Zimbabwe limited-overs squad

Ray Price, the left-arm spinner, was dropped from Zimbabwe's limited-overs squad for the upcoming tour of West Indies, but he would join the team for the Test series that follows the ODIs and the Twenty20s. Left-arm seamer Brian Vitori, who has been part of all three squads since making his debut in August 2011 against Bangladesh, was dropped for the tour.

Left-hand batsman Sean Williams, who has played 47 ODIs and a T20 before, was included for the Tests for the first time while he has been left out of the limited-overs team. He played his last international match - an ODI against Canada - during the 2011 World Cup.

Another new name to feature in both Test and limited-overs squads is Tendai Chatara, the Mountaineers right-arm seamer, who has picked up 13 wickets in three first-class matches this season.

The team will play three ODIs, two T20s and two Tests in what happens to be Zimbabwe's first tour of the West Indies in 13 years. It is the first time they are playin a two-Test series since playing India in 2005.

Four members of the limited-overs squad - Craig Ervine, Chamu Chibhabha, Tino Mutombodzi and Natsai M'shangwe - will return after the ODIs and T20s and will be replaced by Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Ray Price and Graeme Cremer for the Tests.

ODI and T20 squad: Brendan Taylor (capt), Hamilton Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda, Tino Mawoyo, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Prosper Utseya, Regis Chakabva, Malcolm Waller, Keegan Meth, Craig Ervine, Chamu Chibhabha, Tino Mutombodzi, Natsai M'shangwe

Test squad: Brendan Taylor (capt), Tino Mawoyo, Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, Regis Chakabva, Malcolm Waller, Kyle Jarvis, Keegan Meth, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Raymond Price, Graeme Cremer

Rawalpindi held despite huge advantage

Abbottabad held on for a draw against Group II leaders Rawalpindi in Swabi, despite having been bowled out in their first innings with a 352-run deficit. Having lead by 493 overnight, Rawalpindi chose to bat on, reaching 289 for 8 before declaring. That left Abbottabad with an unlikely target of 642 for victory but despite slipping to 80 for 5, they were only required to bat for 37 overs to secure the draw.

Rawalpindi's dominance was built on a career-best 183 by Umar Waheed, as they racked up 498 in the first innings. Saad Altaf and Hammad Azam then claimed four wickets apiece as Abbottabad were dismissed for 146 but, rather than enforce the follow-on, Rawalpindi chose to bat again. Umar Amin, Mohammad Nawaz and Adnan Mufti all made half-centuries, while Abbottabad's Aziz-ur-Rehman picked up five wickets but in the end there was not time to force a result.

Neither Bahawalpur or Karachi Whites could force a result in Multan, although the three points collected by Bahawalpur was enough to move them off the bottom of Group II. After making 362, largely thanks to Kamran Hussain's 139, Bahawalpur secured a slender first-innings lead by dismissing Karachi for 351, wicketkeeper Owais Rehmani making an unbeaten 146.

Four wickets for Faraz Ahmed left Bahawalpur's second innings in trouble at 109 for 6 but Kamran struck his second century of the match, to help haul the total up towards 250. With eight wickets down, Bahawalpur declared to set Karachi 257 to win and although they set off at a decent scoring rate, the chase was called off after 12 overs. The draw meant second-placed Karachi lost ground on Rawalpindi.

In Mirpur, Hyderabad condemned Faisalabad to their third defeat in five matches in a low-scoring encounter. Set 210 to win, Faisalabad were five down at the close of day three and could only muster another 32 runs to be dismissed for 122 and lose by 87 runs. Slow left-armer Nauman Ali claimed 4 for 31, while three other bowlers shared six wickets between them.

After being asked to bat first, Hyderabad made the highest score of the match, Sharjeel Khan and Lal Kumar making 63 and 64 respectively in a total of 254. Faisalabad then made 187, after being 18 for 4 early on, but they were given a chance by Asad Ali's 6 for 53 - to go with five wickets in the first innings - as Hyderabad could muster only 142. But that turned out to be more than enough.

In Group I, Karachi Blues extended their lead at the top despite failing to chase a target of 86 against Lahore Ravi. The match at the Gaddafi Stadium ended in a draw with Karachi 69 for 5 from 10 overs, as time ran out. Adnan Akmal's unbeaten 108 in Lahore's second innings helped his team to 305 all out, with Saadullah Ghauri absent injured, but it was a crucial ninth-wicket partnership of 64 that helped eat up enough time to deny Karachi victory.

After Imran Farhat's century had underpinned Lahore's 261, Karachi piled on the runs to build a lead of 220. Akbar-ur-Rehman was largely responsible for that advantage, compiling 225 - only his third first-class century and his highest score - but a second-innings half-century from Farhat and Adnan's rearguard with Asif Ashfaq staved off the possibility of defeat.

There was another draw across the city at the Lahore Cricket Association, as Quetta closed on 193 for 3 in pursuit of 270 to beat Sialkot. Again a stubborn lower-order partnership proved pivotal, as Mohammad Ayub (94 not out) added 52 runs with last man Mohammad Abbas. Fifties from Bismillah Khan, Ali Asad and Qaiser Abbas were not enough for Quetta, whose chase was abandoned after 54 overs.

Their target to win would have been the highest score of the match, after both teams failed to pass 250 in the first innings. Sialkot took the three points, having made 232 with half-centuries from Faisal Khan and captain Shoaib Malik, as Quetta subsided to 225 after a century opening stand between Bismillah and Mohibullah.

Rajshahi set up victory with record total

Duronto Rajshahi 213 for 6 (Tamim 66, Coventry 62, Kapali 3-23) beat Barisal Burners 209 for 7 (Mahmood 54, Abul 2-43) by four runs
Scorecard

Duronto Rajshahi bounced back from three consecutive losses to beat Barisal Burners by four runs in a high-scoring contest. Rajshahi's 213 for 6 was the highest score in the BPL, surpassing Dhaka's 208 for 5 in the first season, but the Burners' 209 for 7 is now in second place after they maintained a high run-rate but missed vital partnerships in the chase.

Charles Coventry started the big-hit party with a 25-ball 62, with seven fours and four sixes. He reached 50 off just 20 balls at the end of the fifth over, when his opening partner Tamim Iqbal was 8 off 11 balls. Coventry fell two overs later after attempting one more charge at Alok Kapali.

Tamim took up the charge after Coventry's departure. He was severe on the spinners, and scored 66 off 47 balls. He struck five sixes and three boundaries, and maintained the 10-plus run-rate throughout his stay. Sean Ervine kept up the pace with an unbeaten 30 off 11 balls, hitting three sixes. Off the last seven balls of the innings, Ervine and Abul Hasan struck four sixes.

Kapali and Shafiul Islam conceded only 46 runs off their 8 overs, while the rest of the Burners attack was taken for 167 runs at a rate of 13.92 per over.

Burners replied in earnest but scoring 10.70 per over was a hard task. Brad Hodge blasted a few before falling to a catch at sweeper for 23. Sabbir Rahman and Joe Denly contributed slightly, while Azhar Mahmood threatened Rajshahi before Ervine had him leg-before on 54 off 28 balls.

The Burners' batsmen tried to replicate Rajshahi's 13 sixes but fell short by three, and more importantly they didn't have the sizeable partnerships that anchor such large chases. Burners slipped to the bottom of the seven-team competition after suffering their fourth defeat in five games. They haven't won a game since on January 20.

England U-19 bowlers earn big lead

England U-19s 313 (Barnard 114, Williams 4-71) and 24 for 0 lead South Africa U-19s 194 (Coetzee 50, Stone 4-40) by 143 runs
Scorecard

Oli Stone, the England Under-19 captain, took four wickets to earn his team a 119-run lead on the second day in Cape Town.

Stone was not the original captain for the trip but replaced the injured Shiv Thakor last week. He did not bring himself into the attack until six other bowlers had been used, after suffering a dislocated finger in the warm-up match, but soon made an impact with two wickets in two balls removing South Africa's top-scorer, Murray Coetzee (50), and Vassilli Orros as the home side slipped to 120 for 5.

He claimed two further wickets to complete an efficient display by England who had earlier extended their first innings to 313. Ed Barnard, who scored a century on the opening day, was only able to add seven to his overnight score before being bowled sweeping.

South Africa made a solid start in reply before Harry Finch, a 17-year-old from Sussex, had Andries Gous and Shaylin Pillay caught behind in quick succession. A partnership of 60 between Coetzee and Diego Rosier, the captain, followed to leave the game evenly balance but Miles Hammond had Rosier lbw to start the collapse.

Giles surprised at Root's success

Ashley Giles, England's limited-overs coach, has admitted being taken by surprise at how quickly Joe Root has settled into the international arena. Root, the Yorkshire batsman, was one of the players to significantly enhance his reputation during the ODI series against India that finished on Sunday.

A mark of Root's swift rise is that he will now be involved in all three formats on the tour to New Zealand, having previously been expected to only be a fringe player this winter. First, he was given a Test debut in Nagpur, then he was added to the Twenty20 squad before Christmas when Jonny Bairstow was ruled out, and the same situation emerged for the one-dayers when Bairstow remained unavailable.

His success in India then prompted the selectors to remove him from the Lions tour to Australia, where he was due to be captain, and send him for the ODIs in New Zealand, while Danny Briggs' injury opened up a spot in the Twenty20 squad.

Root's standout performance came in the fourth match, when he struck 57 off 45 balls and then followed that with 31 in England's successful run chase in Dharamsala. However, he also impressed in the field and with the ball, and his offspin became a useful option for Alastair Cook.

"I didn't know he could bat as well as he has," Giles said. "He had all the ingredients to show that he could bat really well. He just looks at home and he's the sort of player with which English cricket is in good hands.

"Joe's had a fantastic first tour and has developed game on game into someone who is playing all forms of the game."

The other player to shine consistently through the one-day tour was offspinner James Tredwell, who claimed 11 wickets at 18.18 in the five matches. His success has been enough for Giles to suggest that England could consider playing both him and Graeme Swann in the same team, although the likelihood is that Tredwell will be back as the reserve for the ODIs against New Zealand next month.

"It just gives us great options - I don't see at some point why you couldn't play two offspinners in the same side," Giles said. "Tredders has been fantastic this trip."

The five-match series was also a steep learning curve for Giles in his first assignment as the limited-overs coach, having taken over from Andy Flower in the new England coaching structure. Giles now takes the squad to New Zealand for three Twenty20s and three ODIs, the latter will provide more fine-tuning ahead of the Champions Trophy, and he is feeling more at home with each match.

"Certainly I have learned a lot about this level and as the tour has gone on I have become more and more myself," he said. "It has been an enjoyable tour, playing cricket in these beautiful arenas, and while we are disappointed to lose, we have learned a lot."

England have a couple of days off after arriving in Auckland before starting their preparations for the warm-up matches ahead of the Twenty20 series. They play two matches against a New Zealand XI that will include former captain Ross Taylor, as he continues the process of returning to the national side following his self-imposed break during the South Africa tour after his controversial sacking.

Pakistanis tighten grip with big lead

Pakistanis 329 (Safraz 93, Harmer 5-88) and 240 for 5 (Hafeez 83, Jamshed 51, Misbah 51*) lead South African Invitation XI 257 (van Jaarsveld 92, Vilas 62*, Ajmal 3-66) by 312 runs
Scorecard

The Pakistanis put themselves in prime position to record a first victory on their visit to South Africa as they bowled the hosts out and built a significant lead on the third day in East London. Nasir Jamshed and Mohammed Hafeez were among the runs again, while Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan and Umar Gul all flexed their wicket-taking muscles.

Pakistan's latest sensation, the 2.03 metre tall Mohammed Irfan, only bowled 12 overs in the first innings as team management called for fast-bowling reinforcements to be sent to South Africa. He was not needed on the third morning as it took Ajmal and Junaid just 13.1 overs to get rid of the South African Invitation XI's tail. Both finished with three scalps, while only Mohammed Hafeez went wicketless.

For the second time in the fixture, Pakistan's opening pair appeared solid. Hafeez and Jamshed put on a century stand with both making half-centuries. Hafeez was the more aggressive of the pair - his 83 coming off 109 balls before he was caught behind off the innocuous bowling of part-time medium pacer Stiaan van Zyl.

Jamshed was more circumspect. His spent four minutes short of three hours at the crease to compile his 51. Even though he seemed well set, he departed the over after Hafeez, bowled by Kyle Abbot.

Jamshed's performances in the match give Pakistan an interesting problem ahead of the Test series. Should they open the batting with the in-form debutant or, fitness permitting, return to the tried and trusted Taufeeq Umar? Taufeeq was forced to sit out the practice match because of a leg injury. He was assessed by a radiologist on Friday in East London and is awaiting the results before a call is taken on his availability.

Pakistan may consider using both players, with one batting at No.3, after Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq all failed again to leave the middle order looking shaky. They were all caught behind suggesting that some adjustment still needed to be made for South African conditions and the Invitation side would have sniffed an opening at 191 for 5.

But Misbah-ul-Haq came good and reached a half-century as stumps loomed. Sarfraz Ahmed was with him at the crease. Having already scored 93 in the first innings, Sarfraz may not need too much more practice time and the Pakistanis will look to let their bowlers have another run on the fourth day. The Pakistan squad will travel to Johannesburg on Tuesday to begin preparations for the first Test, which starts on Friday.

Barnard hundred leads England rally

England Under-19s 277 for 7 (Barnard 107*, Williams 4-61) v South Africa Under-19s
Scorecard

Ed Barnard made an unbeaten century to lead England Under out of trouble on the first day in Cape Town. Batting got easier as the day went on and Barnard relished the better conditions to put England in a fair position at the close.

Barnard, a 17-year-old from Shropshire, struck 11 fours in a composed innings of 168 balls. His innings was vital because the top order had been blown away by the new ball after South Africa won the toss and chose to field.

Coming in at 89 for 5, Bernard shared stands of 63 with Callum Jackson and 60 with Oli Stone to prevent his side from falling well behind in the Test match. Kishen Velani had earlier made 49 as England finally got some runs on the board but he was the third of four wickets for opening bowler Lizaad Williams just after lunch.

Williams had put South Africa in firm command in the morning session, reducing England to 14 for 3 in the fifth over. Jonathan Tattersall went caught behind for 2 and Harry Finch was trapped lbw for 9, both after Dominic Sibley fell to Craig Kirsten for a second ball duck. Kirsten later left the field with a stress fracture of the lower back, an injury that could rule him out for two months.

Williams went on to bowl Jackson for 49 as England's recovery was trimmed, but with the second new ball not as threatening and Barnard in good touch, England ended the day in positive shape, adding 109 after tea.

Captains hope for strong crowds

Jhulan Goswami, along with a couple of her India Women team-mates, sauntered through the lobby of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai. Not one of the few people present turned her way to acknowledge they were watching the second-most successful bowler in women's cricket. Outside the hotel, the Sunday crowd continued to throng the seafront alongside the Gateway of India. A few stopped to take photographs. Not of Goswami, but of the landmark hotel, completely unaware that seven international teams were staying there.

There is a World Cup in town, a cricket World Cup at that. It has been in the news because some people didn't want a particular team coming over while other people wanted a particular stadium for their own use, to the exclusion of the women. Over the next three weeks, the tenth Women's World Cup, to be held in Mumbai and Cuttack, will strive to make headlines for the cricket played by the eight participating teams.

The captains of four of them, hosts India, England, Sri Lanka and West Indies, were present at the tournament's first press event, attended by a generous gathering of journalists and cameramen.

The general public may remain largely ignorant, or indifferent, but the players know how much progress has been made on the ground. Charlotte Edwards, captain of defending champions England and one of the game's greats, spoke of how far women's cricket had come from the time she scored 173* in Pune a day before her 18th birthday, in the 1997 World Cup.

"My first time was when I was 17, a quite memorable one, first time I think I had been out of England," Edwards said. "Now with the ICC and the professionalisation that has come in, is fantastic. I think it is safe to say that the game today is unrecognisable from when I played back in 1997. The games are televised now, which they weren't back in 1997. Very proud of where the game is at the moment.

"Recent ICC events have shown that the game is becoming popular. I have heard we are attracting loads of young girls who want to play the game. That is the most important thing for us as players. I think we have changed people's perceptions about women's cricket a lot. Hopefully this tournament will be another step in hammering that message home."

Mithali Raj, the India captain and another big name, was hopeful of substantial turnouts at the grounds. "It is a great moment," she said. "It is the first time after 1997 that we are hosting a World Cup, [and] under the BCCI. The kind of media attention and awareness is great. So I am hoping a lot of people will turn up for the matches."

Raj said the best way to popularise the women's game was to have matches on television. Not only World Cup or World Twenty20 matches, but also bilateral games. "Lot of people question me about the follow-up of women's cricket. It would be nice if more games are televised when we tour abroad," Raj said. "Most of them follow Star Cricket, ESPN, where, if women's cricket is televised, then gradually it will catch people's awareness. Some of the girls are definitely known faces. Not only the ICC tournaments, but also two-nation series like England v India or Australia v India should be televised on good cricketing channels for them to follow women's cricket."

This World Cup will be broadcast live on television alright. Now only if those grounds could be filled.

Gibson calls for climb up ODI ladder

Ottis Gibson wants his West Indies side to use their Twenty20 success to help improve their one-day cricket. They go into the series in Australia ranked seventh in ODIs and Gibson is looking for them to move up the ladder.

West Indies open their tour against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on Tuesday with speculation surrounding Gibson's future. He will almost certainly be in charge for the five-match ODI series and the one-off T20 - West Indies first match against a major nation since winning the World T20 in October.

"We are the T20 world champions and we are proud of what we achieved in that tournament but that doesn't put any added pressure on the team," Gibson said. "Hopefully with that victory and what we achieved more people will come and watch us.

"It's something we have to move on from and think about moving up the ladder in one-day cricket and getting ourselves in the mix with the best teams in the world. We believe we're a top team but we now have to show it with the way we play."

West Indies welcome back Ramnaresh Sarwan into their squad, which Gibson described as having a "good mix" of young and experienced players. They prepared with the Caribbean T20, which Gibson saw as a positive with all his players getting game time and playing themselves into form.

"We're hoping we can hit the ground running," he said. "The Prime Minister's XI is our one opportunity for preparation and it gives us a good chance to get some practice. Hopefully we put on a good show but the main aim is to get our preparation right for the one-day series on Friday."

West Indies captain Darren Sammy echoed his coach's sentiment on getting their preparation right. "The guys have been playing a lot of cricket back home and hopefully we can get this series off to a great start here. As an individual and as a team we have just got to get the basics right and execute if you want to win."

West Indies lost their last ODI series 3-2 in Bangladesh, and the series against Australia comes less than 12 months after the sides drew 2-2 in the Caribbean last March.

"It will be competitive out here, that's for sure," Sammy said. "I see it as a continuation of what happened in the Caribbean. We want to play hard, competitive cricket. It's always a challenge to play Australia anywhere in the world, but even more so in their own backyard. We believe we can come here and if we can execute our plans and play to our strengths, we can be successful."

West Indies have a poor recent record to overcome. They have not won an ODI in Australia since January 1997 - 13 completed ODIs ago - and their last series victory came in 1992, when they won a tri-series also involving Pakistan.

"We have a lot of respect for Australia, you can never count Australia out," Sammy said. "They're professionals and know how to dig themselves out of a hole. We won't watch the results of the Sri Lanka series but we'll look at some areas to implement in our game. I expect it to be a hard-fought battle and we're looking to play it very hard."

As might be expected, Sammy is looking to Chris Gayle to have a defining impact for them. West Indies played at the same venue against the Prime Minister's XI two years ago and made 399 for 5 off 45 overs. Gayle made 146 off 89 balls.

"I remember Chris hitting the ball all over the park," Sammy said. "I'm expecting Chris to have a good tour as a whole. When he came back home he looked really good and I think he almost had the most runs in the Caribbean T20 tournament after just a couple of games. We all know what he's capable of, but the strength for us is the way the team has performed together. We are getting stronger as a unit."

Jaydev Shah confident Saurashtra can rally

Saturday was a thoroughly dispiriting day for Saurashtra. After all the excitement about their first final since Independence, their batting crumbled against a good but unexceptional bowling performance from Mumbai in the first session.

There wasn't much help for the spinners - quick bowler Shardul Thakur's figures of 12-2-31-0 hide how regularly he sprayed the ball wide of the stumps - while Ajit Agarkar took the new ball but bowled only three overs in the first hour. Only Dhawal Kulkarni posed a consistent threat, keeping the batsmen guessing around the off stump and choking the runs. Several wickets went down to poor strokes: Shitanshu Kotak played a loose shot off the backfoot, Jaydev Shah tucked a harmless delivery straight to midwicket and later, when much of the damage was already done, Kamlesh Makvana slapped a wide ball to backward point.

What made it worse for Saurashtra was that bowling is generally considered to be Mumbai's weaker department, with the hosts missing the experience of Zaheer Khan. Also, Saurashtra's success this season has been based more on their spinners than the quicks and the Wankhede pitch is unlikely to offer much for the slow bowlers this early in the match.

Just one day into the game and Mumbai already look to be certainties for the title. Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah didn't share that view, though. "Of course, why not?" he said emphatically, when asked whether he had the resources for a fightback. "Today you can see they were also getting beaten very easily. It is cricket, they can get out for 100 or 200, though 200-250 would have been a better score [from us]."

Shah denied that his team was overawed by the occasion and said the toss played a crucial role. "First the pitch was damp, then it dried up, so the toss makes a difference. I have never seen Bombay, who have such a huge batting line-up, decide to bowl. They would not go and bowl, [unless] there is something in the wicket."

In the second session, with the pitch drying up, Aarpit Vasavada and Makvana seemed at ease in the middle, putting up Saurashtra's only significant partnership of the innings and perhaps pointing to better batting conditions on the second day. Shah disagreed. "It was not easy to score runs. We gave their batsmen eight overs and they just scored about 10-12 runs, so it was difficult for them, too."

For Saurashtra to compete, they will need someone to bowl like Kulkarni did. He cut out the loose deliveries, and generally probed around off, getting the odd one to kick up and others to snake around. It helped him that he got a wicket in his first over itself, when Sagar Jogiyani nicked the ball to slip. "I was confident, got five wickets before this game, so I just carried it forward," Kulkarni said. "I would have felt great if I had got that five-for [again]. I was bowling well throughout the season, the only thing missing was the wickets."

Like Kulkarni, Mumbai, too, can be pleased with their first day's efforts. And unless Saurashtra manage to pull off a dramatic turnaround, the whispers around their batting thriving only on the notoriously flat pitches of Rajkot will get louder.

I would like to bat higher - Raina

Suresh Raina, whose unbeaten 89 in the fourth ODI against England in Mohali sealed a series win for India, has admitted that he would like the opportunity to bat further up the order. Raina has spent the majority of his 158-match ODI career coming in at Nos. 5 or 6, and it was from a position of three wickets down that he scored his 27th half-century on Wednesday.

"Definitely, I would like to bat higher up the order," he said, ahead of the fifth ODI. "If I am given a chance, I would like to give 100% as it will also give me an opportunity to play more overs. I have enjoyed batting at five, six, seven, where you need to bat till the finish."

Yuvraj Singh has occupied the No. 4 spot for India in recent years, although Raina has an impressive record batting there - albeit in just nine innings - averaging 58.85, with four fifties and his best ODI score of 116 not out. Raina has, however, been in good form in his current slot in the line-up, scoring half-centuries in each of his three innings against England so far to make him the leading run-scorer on either side.

Raina, 26, also said he hoped being able to bat for longer periods and building an innings would aid his chances of returning to the Test team. Raina's average from 17 Tests is just 28.44 and he has made six single-figure scores - including three ducks - in his last eight innings. After a year out of the side, he played in India's two Tests against New Zealand in August, scoring 3, 55 and 0 before being dropped in favour of the returning Yuvraj. "If you talk about my Test performance, I scored a fifty in one of my last three innings," he said. "I believe that I can make a comeback in Tests."

An impressive performance in the Irani Cup - a one-off Indian first-class match featuring the Ranji Trophy winners and a Rest of India side - which will begin on February 6, could push him back into the selectors' thoughts ahead of the arrival of Australia later in the month. But Raina was keen not to look too far ahead and hoped to help India secure another win over England in Dharamsala.

"Yes, Irani Trophy will be very important, but at this point I want to focus on doing well in tomorrow's match," Raina said. "Although, we have won the series, it would be nice if we can finish with a 4-1 margin."

Preventing that from happening is the priority for the tourists and Joe Root, a rare recent success story for England's one-day team in India, said the players were pulling in the same direction and eager to finish on a high. "We're obviously very disappointed as a team with the way the series has gone," he said. "It has been nice for me to score some runs and put in a few performances, but it always feels better when you're winning."

Sarfraz, Gul lead strong Pakistanis display

SA Invitation XI 213 for 7 (van Jaarsveld 92, Gul 2-32, Ajmal 2-49) trail Pakistanis 329 (Sarfraz 93, Harmer 5-88) by 116 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

An all-round display by Umar Gul, who scored 49 runs and later picked up two wickets, and a plucky knock of 93 by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed helped the Pakistanis have the better of day two of their four-day tour match against a South African Invitation XI.

The Pakistanis resumed on 178 for 6 at the start of the day but the lower order, led by Sarfraz, added 151 runs before they were dismissed. Sarfraz and Gul took their seventh-wicket partnership to 81 runs, before Gul was stumped by wicketkeeper Dane Vilas off Simon Harmer's bowling. The offspinner was the most effective South African bowler, dismissing both Gul and Sarfraz to end with figures of 5 for 88.

After Gul's departure, Sarfraz stitched together important partnerships with tailenders Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan. The right-hand batsman, who made his Test debut against Australia in 2010, began sedately but cut loose soon after reaching his 50 to take his side past 300. His innings included 12 fours and a six.

In reply, the South African XI got off to a quiet start before Junaid and Gul struck with quick wickets. Gul dismissed opener Davy Jacobs and middle-order batsman Cody Chetty in the ninth over, to leave South Africans at a shaky 31 for 3. The left-hand batting pair of Stiaan van Zyl and Vaughn van Jaarsveld then stabilised the innings with a partnership of 89, which was broken when Irfan effected a run-out to dismiss van Zyl. Vilas was the only other batsman to offer some support to van Jaarsveld before the latter was given out leg-before off Saeed Ajmal's bowling, seven runs short of a century.

The Pakistani bowlers kept the batting side in check, making regular breakthroughs. Gul and offspinner Ajmal each picked up two wickets while Junaid and Irfan also had dismissals to their credit.

Thorpe appointed one-day batting coach

England have named Graham Thorpe as batting coach for the one-day international and Twenty20 series in New Zealand in a decision which moves closer towards separate coaching set-ups for the Test and one-day sides.

Thorpe replaces Graham Gooch, whose role as Test batting coach for next summer's Ashes series remains assured.

The reshuffle follows the appointment of Ashley Giles as England's new coach in the shorter formats of the game to reduce the touring workload on England's director of cricket, Andy Flower, whose day-to-day coaching involvement is now restricted to the Test arena.

England's managing director Hugh Morris has stressed the appointment of Thorpe, who has cut his teeth as batting coach for England Lions, will be reviewed at the end of the New Zealand tour, although his fulltime appointment seems inevitable.

England entered the final one-day international against India in Dharamsala on Sunday 3-1 down with one to play, and with the series already lost, but suggestions that Gooch has been removed from the one-day set-up at Giles' behest because of another failure in an Indian ODI series are an overstatement of the case.

England are committed to developing distinct coaching set-ups in Test and one-day cricket and Thorpe's introduction, which has been built towards for some time, is a natural consequence of that and has Giles' full support.

Gooch, like Flower, has always had mixed feelings about the lengthy amount of time spent away from home in England's crowded international schedule. David Saker, England's bowling coach, was also briefly tempted by the Warwickshire director of cricket role for identical reasons before the lure of back-to-back Ashes series persuaded him that he had "unfinished business" with the England side.

Challenges will come thick and fast for Thorpe if, as everybody expects, he passes his probationary period. Following the ICC Champions Trophy in England this summer England face a World T20 in Bangladesh in March 2014 and a World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year.

Morris said: "Graham Gooch's work in India made a real step change to the way we played spin bowling and was a factor in us winning that Test series. We've got an enormous amount of very high-profile Test cricket and we want Graham to focus his attention on working one-on-one with our Test players.

"Graham Thorpe, who has been working alongside the Lions as one of our coaches for the last 12 months or so, will be going to New Zealand as one-day batting coach. He's made a good impression as a batting coach and he is looking forward to the opportunity to go there."

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