Smith confident despite brief preparation

Graeme Smith does not feel underprepared ahead of next week's Test series against Pakistan despite being out of action since May and batting for only 30 minutes in the warm-up fixture against Pakistan A.

Smith was out lbw for 2 in the first innings of the match and did not make an appearance in the second because of workload management. South Africa chose to juggle their line-up to expose the middle and lower order to the new ball and spinners.

It leaves Smith with only two short stints of match time - he played a warm-up game for Cobras last week, in which he also scored 2, and the Sharjah warm-up - ahead of South Africa's first Test series in seven months.

Smith is confident the lack of game time will not affect the way he plays when it counts the most. "I've been following the programmes in place to make sure I can get out on the field on Monday," he said. "That is the ultimate goal, to lead in a Test match."

Those plans include careful management of his return from injury. Smith was on a personalised training schedule over the winter and made incremental progress as the series approached. On departure from South Africa he said he had "upped his cricket skills" in the last two weeks so it was about "getting mentally ready" in the UAE but he wanted to "maximise the preparation available to me".

One interpretation of that would have been to get another innings under his belt but Smith explained overload was not the answer: "Not batting today was just a management process. I've had major surgery five months ago so it's about following protocols and listening to the medical team."

He admitted he would have preferred to bat longer in his first innings but did not read too much into being the only member of the top five who did not score a half-century. "I would have liked more time out there," he said. "But it's not the first time it has happened to me and it won't be the last. That's cricket. You take the good with the bad."

Later that afternoon, Smith held a long net session with coach Russell Domingo and he is certain to have a couple more before the Test. He has been working on "quite specific" aspects of his game which include, "maybe 10 to 15 minutes with the new ball and then some spin bowling" but said it's "no different" to the way he has trained in the past. "Having toured the subcontinent and the UAE before, I understand what needs to be done," he said.

This is not the first lengthy injury layoff Smith has had. His ankle has caused him problems in the past, as recently as before last year's England series when he did not play for a while before the Tests but returned with a century in his 100th game. "Last year, I didn't spend a huge amount of time in the middle before the series but I felt good about my game," he said. "You don't get it perfect like that all the time but the motivation is there."

Smith is not the only member of the side making a comeback. Jacques Kallis has not played any cricket since the IPL, after opting out of the Champions Trophy squad, and JP Duminy's ruptured Achilles has kept him out of whites since the England tour of July-August 2012. Claude Henderson, South Africa's spin consultant, said Kallis had two net sessions before declaring himself ready for the Tests and Smith knows his premier allrounder is good to go. "Jakes has the experience - he knows what it takes to come back from a layoff."

Duminy's form - in the one-day format, the unofficial Test against India A and this match - suggests he is also ready to get on with the job. "JP has played a fair amount of cricket since his injury," Smith said. "Watching him bat in the nets, it looked like he had had a whole season out there. I am very happy with where everybody is."

Although a quick glance through the scorecard of the warm-up match will illustrate that it was nothing more than a glorified middle practice, Smith said the team were able get used to the conditions, particularly the temperature. "Apart from the match, we had two pretty tough training sessions and a lot of other work in the heat," he said. "There has been a fair amount of acclimatising. We are all feeling a little more settled under the heat than we were earlier."

The squad will travel to Abu Dhabi tomorrow and Smith hopes they will settle in quickly and get ready to do what he knows they can. "This team has the ability mentally to step it up going into a big series." History has shown Smith does too, whether he has had game time or not.

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A tale of two innings

The numbers of BJ Watling and Mominul Haque's innings offer an insight into the mindset as both batsmen reacted quite differently when faced with a similar kind of pressure

The striking contrast between BJ Watling's second Test hundred and Mominul Haque's highest Test score was evident in their boundary count. Watling struck six fours and two sixes in his four-hour stay at the wicket. Mominul already has 13 fours in a 71-ball 77, which is rather uncharacteristic of his natural game.

The numbers said much about their mindset at the crease, which played a key role, as they gathered knowledge of the conditions and reacted to the situation of the match.

Mominul arrived with the score at 8 for 2 in the fourth over, with Bangladesh still 461 runs behind. He also had to contend with the possibility that a failure here might mean his exit from the XI with Naeem Islam waiting in the wings.

Watling only had tailenders for company since the seventh ball of the day's play. He had every option to attack, since he had little to lose from that point, and since he would have been forgiven for trying to up the tempo and grab what he could as their innings was starting to slide downwards.

Instead Watling chose to grind like the top-order batsmen on the first day, making sure the bowlers came to him rather than him chasing after them. A sound strategy on a slow wicket, considering the majority of the bowler's successes would revolve around the batsman making a mistake.

It came when Watling was on four as he flung at a Rubel Hossain delivery way outside off-stump and Nasir Hossain taking the catch at gully. But it was a no-ball, as revealed by the later TV replay, and Watling tightened his game.

"I am obviously feeling rather lucky today," Watling said. "It happened to one of them [the Bangladesh batsmen] too. It's great to get that opportunity to keep going and make it count and try to make a decent contribution.

"I just tried to switch back on and start again really, learnt from the mistake that I made. It was a pretty rash shot so it was good to get a chance to redeem myself and try to score as many runs as possible."

The 127-run stand for the tenth wicket with Trent Boult was more down to Watling's doing as he farmed the strike cleverly in the first hour and let Boult free in the second half of their stay at the crease.

For Watling, who was playing only his third Test innings in the sub-continent, it was only a matter of getting used to the pitch. The one in Chittagong is a typical Bangladeshi wicket which offers very little bounce to play any horizontal bat shots or any pace to work the ball.

"I wanted to be patient and wait for them to bowl some bad balls," he said. "I think if you bat a lot of time on that wicket you can get used to it and you can score runs when the bowler starts to tire."

For Mominul, this was the sort of innings that would answer some of the questions on his ability to play Test cricket. He has scored two fifties in four matches but he found things difficult in the only Test he played in Zimbabwe, and in the ODI series where they experimented with him at No. 3 for a while. He had also averaged just over 28 on Bangaldesh A's tour of England, which was disastrous for most of the tourists.

However, Mominul benefited from some ill-directed bowling. He didn't have to go out of his way to strike three consecutive fours off Bruce Martin's first over. It was the same story against Doug Bracewell in the next, and as he moved to a half-century off just 36 balls.

Mominul's innings transferred the pressure back on New Zealand as he and Marshall Ayub added 95 runs for the unbroken third wicket to take Bangladesh through till end of day's play.

The overnight batsmen's first task is to see out the first hour, whatever the quality of bowling is, especially considering Bangladesh have more often than not lost wickets early after a promising overnight score. Mominul and Ayub should take a leaf out of Watling's book, for he displayed patience when he could have easily taken the safer route of batting for himself.

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Pujara, Gambhir put India A ahead

India A 334 for 3 (Pujara 139*, Gambhir 123) lead West Indies A 268 by 66 runs
Scorecard

It was a distracting sort of day in Hubli. Even before Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement, taking the fizz out of the game, there was enough to sidetrack you. West Indies A used four wicketkeepers - one of them not even part of their XI, but allowed on humanitarian grounds, - on two separate occasions bees invaded the field forcing the players to lie prone for minutes, a batsman was hit-wicket and bowled to the same delivery, and the goods train kept honking its horns on the nearby railway track. Gautam Gambhir, though, managed to put all that aside, concentrated hard, got lucky when the concentration broke on the rare occasion, and scored his third first-class century of the year. He has scored only three since January 2010, which is why he finds himself out of the Test side.

With Gambhir, for a majority of the innings, was a man with whom he has been discussing batting in the lead-up to the match, Cheteshwar Pujara. The two put on 207 for the second wicket to put India A in a position from where they can push for a win. At the end of the second day, they led West Indies A by 66 runs with seven wickets in hand. While Pujara remained unbeaten on 139, Virender Sehwag fell for a middling 38 after he had begun well and had the dispirited West Indies A attack at his mercy.

If that soft dismissal wasn't enough for Sehwag, he walked back to the news that his good friend, ODI opening partner, mentor and team-mate of 93 Tests, had retired. His reaction was a stunned "Oh, he is retiring?"

Gambhir had already been dismissed by then. His century was not quite a scratchy effort, but it had periods where the conviction was missing. It isn't entirely unexpected of a batsman fighting to come back to form. There were the reassuring off-drives and late cuts, and the milking of the spinners to go with it. Along the way he was helped by the generous fielding: 10 overthrows came his way to go with a dropped chance.

Gambhir's day began with two plays-and-misses in the first over, but he saw off the new ball well. Even during the spells when boundaries didn't come regularly, he didn't go out of his way looking for them. He left well on length, and reacted well to the fuller change-up deliveries, either driving them down the ground or clipping them to leg.

The first blip in concentration came in the last over before lunch when Gambhir went driving at a wide delivery, but was dropped at second slip by Ashley Nurse. He was 56 then. Soon after lunch other elements would test his concentration. In the first over after the interval, wicketkeeper Jahmar Hamilton hurt his finger, handing the gloves over to Jonathan Carter, who looked pretty uncomfortable but there was no better option around. Soon Carter hurt his finger too, and Nurse had to don the gloves. While that was happening, bees attacked the field. The crowd went wild. Minutes were wasted, and the batsmen wondered what was going on.

By the time Nurse took a knock himself, the match referee had allowed West Indies A to use the specialist wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton, who had sat out this game. Even as the surreal session went ahead, the odd delivery would jump out of nowhere. Gambhir was 85 when he tried his dab to third man, but was beaten by a stinger from Delorn Johnson.

When Gambhir was 93, the tea break arrived. After the break he went from 93 to 99 without fuss, but grew awfully nervous on one run short of the hundred. The first two balls on 99 went well, but the next six were excruciating even as the 15,000 spectators cheered him on. He tried to rock back and cut, he tried to step out and loft, on the odd occasion he began to run after hitting straight, and also survived a loud lbw shout when he played Nurse across the line.

Finally Nurse provided him a long hop, which Gambhir pulled in the air - not high enough to go over the head of a fielder - but in the gap between the two midwickets placed for him. Gambhir couldn't carry on for much longer. When he went back to cut Narsingh Deonarine, he went too deep into the crease, the bat came down on the middle stump, after which the ball hit the stumps.

Gambhir was given out bowled. Just like "bowled" takes precedence even though a decision against a batsman for any other method of dismissal is justified, the Tendulkar news was bound to take precedence.

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Perera hits belligerent 150 as team folds

Development XI 299 for 9 (Perera 150, Jayasuriya 56, Senanayake 3-82) trail Board XI 575 all out (Silva 125, Sangakkara 107, Eranga 4-95) by 276 runs
Scorecard

On the day Tillakaratne Dilshan officially announced his retirement, Kusal Perera made a play at his vacated opening position, slamming 150 from 142 balls on a rain-effected day three of the four-dayer at the P Sara Oval. Development XI could not offer much else with the bat though, as they finished the day on 299 for 9, in response to Board XI's 575.

Offspinner Sachithra Senanayake took three wickets in the day, while medium-pace bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara and Suranga Lakmal took two apiece. Board XI will struggle to push for an outright win however, after 49 overs were lost to rain early in the day.

Perera began the day on 70, and though he lost overnight partner Shehan Jayasuriya in the first over, he continued to score briskly, as he had the previous evening. Development XI lost four batsmen to pace bowling in the first 12 overs of the day, during which Perera scored all but six of the runs to come off the bat. He hit12 fours and six sixes in his innings, and was eventually trapped in front by Senanayake.

Niroshan Dickwella was the only other batsman to make more than 15 on day three, hitting 42 before giving Ajantha Mendis his only wicket. Malinda Pushpakumara and Vishwa Fernando finished unbeaten at stumps.

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Five-bowler strategy a positive sign for Bangladesh

Playing five bowlers paid off for Bangladesh late on the first day in Chittagong, and it's a combination is likely to work better for them in Test cricket

Bangladesh's decision to field five bowlers is one that the team management should be encouraged to take more often. This Test was the second occasion when they tried out such a combination in the past four years, and they were rewarded instantly.

Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak got the late wickets of centurion Kane Williamson and Brendan McCullum to leave New Zealand on 280 for 5. The day mostly belonged to the visitors but, with the extra bowler, Mushfiqur dared to take the second new ball as soon as it was available. He wasn't intending to use both pacers at the time, but the harder, newer ball was always going to give the two left-arm spinners more bounce and a little more bite off the pitch.

The addition of Razzak was necessary. Effectively, he replaced Ziaur Rahman in the line-up, but the inclusion of Razzak actually kept Mahmudullah - who has been played as a specialist batsman in Tests recently - out. Mahmudullah's sudden lull in form - 34 runs in his last six Test innings - played against him. He insists that form isn't an issue as he has scored some runs in the Dhaka Premier League, but it is time for Mahmudullah to look for a different role.

As a specialist batsman, he has been employed at No. 8 for ten Tests out of the 17 he has played so far, between 2009 and the first Test against Zimbabwe last May. He has scored 591 runs at this position, including a century and four fifties, averaging 42.21 with a strike-rate of 60.80. The numbers seem fine but it is extremely rare for a team to play a specialist batsman that low down the order. In fact, none of the 29 players who have scored more runs than Mahmudullah there are specialist batsmen. Their stronger suit is bowling or wicketkeeping.

It was always a defensive move, but previous selectors have described it as a necessary move to insulate against top-order collapses. But what it has done in the past is offer too much comfort to the batsmen above Mahmudullah, resulting in him having to clean up the mess with the tail.

Instead, Razzak's presence in the attack means that Shakib can bowl freely and be used sparingly by Mushfiqur. This was probably the first time in the last five years that Shakib wasn't bowling when Bangladesh had spinners attacking from both ends. Sohag Gazi too could be used properly, despite bowling a long first spell.

Bangladesh played four and a half bowlers in their last Test also, which resulted in a 143-run win over Zimbabwe. Ziaur Rahman, who made his debut in that game batting at No. 8 and was asked to bowl his medium-pace, took four wickets in the second innings. Some called it a lucky move because Ziaur's bowling had lost its bite several years ago after a knee injury, but one extra bowler capable of even holding up an end matters for Bangladesh.

With only the four bowlers at his disposal, Mushfiqur often delays making attacking moves. The spinners are usually tired, trying to do both, maintain the run-rate and pick up wickets. The seamers are not fresh, as they have to toil with the old ball from one end. Shakib has had to plug away for 35-40 overs a day, often the only attacking and defensive option.

Moreover, Mushfiqur has to consider the fickle nature of his batting line-up when handling his bowlers. There have been times when the bowlers didn't have the time to have a considerable amount of rest before they had to bowl a second time in the game.

The result of this Test match or the ones that follow should not push the management into thinking that a batsman at No. 8 is necessary. It doesn't add strength to the line-up, it offers unwanted comfort. The Bangladesh top order is aggressive, so those batsmen being made to take on a bit of extra responsibility wouldn't hurt. A second innings chase or a final-day save could be one of those days when the No. 8 would be missed but the onus would fully be on the top seven, enough batsmen for any side.

Most importantly, it is not just runs that would win them a Test match. Five bowlers would give them more opportunities to take the 20 wickets that would actually get them closest to a Test win.

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SA plan on sole spinner for Pakistan Tests

If Claude Henderson, South Africa's spin consultant, had it his way, he would "absolutely," play all the slower bowlers available to him in the two Test series against Pakistan. Head coach Russell Domingo has indicated South Africa will go into the series with just one specialist spinner, likely to be Robin Peterson, but Henderson hopes the others can also play a role.

"It's going to be such a tough decision, especially if we know it will turn square, to decide who to leave out," Henderson said. Along with Peterson, South Africa have recalled Pakistani-born legspinner Imran Tahir to the squad and have the services of JP Duminy, who is set to play a bigger role with the ball.

None of them was able to extract much from the pitch during the practice match in Sharjah - one that Peterson called so flat it is "difficult to tell anything on, in terms of skill level", but Henderson said they've all been hard at work to fight for a Test spot. He was particularly pleased with the progress Tahir had made after being dropped following a dismal showing in the Adelaide Test against Australia last year, when he conceded 260 runs and did not take a wicket.

"It's great to see Imran back after a tough time. It was really brave of him to come back and perform today. He is in a good space at the moment," Henderson said. Tahir got better as the day went on but started with a spell that questioned whether he had made any progression at all. His first spell included too many full tosses and made use of too many variations, but he started to trouble the batsman towards the end of the day as he turned the ball a touch and zoned in on better lengths.

In complete contrast, Peterson needed no time to adjust and immediately did a good holding job. He was also the first bowler to take a wicket. "Robin is improving day by day, in terms of tactics and technically," Henderson said.

Duminy was also economical and created chances towards the end of the day, one just missing Asad Shafiq's outside edge, to endorse Peterson's claim that he is a "genuine wicket-taker." Duminy will likely bowl a significant number of overs in the Test series as South Africa groom him for greater things. "JP is now realising he can bowl and his challenge is now to become a good all-rounder," Henderson said.

With Duminy and Peterson likely to start, South Africa will have two slower bowling options but Peterson confirmed it remains a dream of his to play in an attack with Tahir: "I'd love to play in a Test match for South Africa with two specialist spinners. I love bowling with Imran and I think we work well together."

Despite equipping themselves adequately with spin, South Africa are being realistic about their prowess in that department. When asked to rate his spinners using Pakistan's as a yardstick, Henderson refused. "I won't compare my spinners to anyone else," Henderson said. "I look at a guy and see how he can become the best bowler he can be. I will not say go and be like Saeed Ajmal, because that is the standard."

Even Azhar Ali, the Pakistan No. 3, would not be drawn into talking about the two attacks. An expert blocker, both on the field and in the press conference, he merely said it was "difficult to say" how South Africa's spinners measure up but that it was "enjoyable batting against them." Read what you will into that.

It probably indicates what we all already know: that pace remains South Africa's strength, even on subcontinent-like surfaces. That's why what the fast bowlers ended up with may have had them questioning whether they will be able to get results on tracks on the tour.

Only Morne Morkel took a wicket while Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander were made to work hard. Peterson does not believe the way they performed today is a reflection of how they will do in the coming two weeks. "Dale and Vernon are quality bowlers and when they put on that Test cap and walk over the white line, that's something completely different," Peterson said.

The same has been said of Graeme Smith, who was the only South African in the top five not to score a half-century on the first day of the match. He will cross the boundary rope tomorrow to try and rectify that and show his readiness for next week's Test.

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Pawar to contest Mumbai Cricket Association elections

Sharad Pawar, the former ICC president, has filed his nomination papers for the president's post of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), the first official indication of his interest in returning to active cricket administration.

Pawar, who headed the MCA for 10 years, submitted his papers at the MCA office on Wednesday, two days before the deadline for filing nominations for the election, due on October 18. As of now, Pawar, the federal agriculture minister, has a challenger in Gopinath Munde, deputy chief of the principal opposition party in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament. Munde, who was earlier expected to contest the vice-presidency, surprisingly filed his papers for the president's post on Tuesday. The last date for withdrawals of nominations is October 15.

Pawar's anticipated return to cricket administration is considered a significant development not only for the MCA, which is in a financial and administrative mess at the moment, but also in BCCI politics. If elected, Pawar will be eligible to sit in on BCCI meetings, despite acting president Ravi Savant being a BCCI vice-president.

As was evident during his three-year stint as the BCCI president from October 2005, Pawar has the ability to unite the board. With the muddle that the BCCI finds itself in, with president N Srinivasan deciding against standing down on grounds of propriety following his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's alleged involvement in the IPL corruption scandal, a section within the BCCI is looking up to Pawar to return and start constructing an organised front against Srinivasan.

It is believed that lack of a candidate that could have taken on Srinivasan during last week's BCCI election resulted in Srinivasan being able to exploit the constitutional provisions and retain his seat unopposed for another year. If Pawar is elected as MCA president and can spare "some of his time regularly" over the next year, Srinivasan detractors may be able to pose a threat to his throne ahead of the next year's election.

However, for that to happen, Pawar first has to ensure that he wins the MCA elections, a field of 329 voters, and then shows inclination towards displacing his friend-turned-foe.

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Younis' ton lifts Pakistanis to 317

Pakistanis 317 (Younis 103, A Akmal 71, Raza 2-59) v United Arab Emirates
Scorecard

Younis Khan extended his good run of form with a century for the Pakistani side against the United Arab Emirates in a tour game in Abu Dhabi. The Pakistanis finished the first day of the two-day game at 317 off 86 overs, scoring runs at nearly 3.70 runs per over. The tour game is a preparatory exercise for the Pakistan side ahead of the Test series against South Africa, which starts next week.

Batting first, the Pakistanis lost Khurram Manzoor for 1, but wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal and Younis then added 188 runs for the second wicket. Akmal remained unbeaten on 71 off 136 balls with nine fours, while Younis scored 103 off 160 balls before retiring hurt.

Misbah-ul-Haq got a start, reaching 27 off 44 balls but couldn't carry on for a big score. Abdur Rehman also made a fifty, scoring 52 off 71 balls.

The spinners had most success in the UAE attack. Offspinner Nasir Aziz, left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza and right-arm slow bowler Rohan Mustafa all took two wickets apiece, with Aziz grabbing his wickets in quick succession towards the end of the Pakistani innings.

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'We can't get complacent against Australia' - Rohit

George Bailey's side may be no match for the great Australian teams of recent vintage but Rohit Sharma feels India cannot afford to take them lightly during the seven-match ODI series, given the visitors' experience of playing in Indian conditions.

"They are a very competitive side with most of their players having featured in the IPL and the Champions League," Rohit told PTI. "They know the Indian conditions well. We can't get complacent against them. Australia on a given day are a very dangerous side."

Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson are the only two players in the Australia squad to have featured in more than 100 ODIs but Rohit refused to read too much into the relative inexperience of the others. "They are still a very competitive side," Rohit said. "Their batters are match-winners. We have to be at our best against them."

However, Rohit admitted that Australia would miss their regular captain and most experienced player Michael Clarke, whose chronic back problem has ruled him out of the series.

Following years of largely underwhelming performances in the middle order, Rohit has enjoyed success after being promoted to open the batting this year, and averages 41.42 in 16 ODIs since. However, his strike-rate in those matches dropped to 68.63 compared to a career figure of 75.61. With two new balls being used in ODIs now, Rohit said an opener had to be watchful initially.

"You need to be cautious with the new ball upfront. You have to plan your strategy accordingly. The shot selection becomes important for you as an opener, like what shots you have to play, which areas you have to go after. The new rules are more helpful to bowlers."

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CSA offer first women's contracts

Cricket South Africa will offer central contracts to their women's internationals for the first time this season.

Through the increased investment of CSA's main partner, final services provider Momentum, six players will be afforded contracts. In December 2012, the sponsorship enabled CSA to employ a full-time women's coach, Hilton Moreeng.

In a boost for the women's game, the move sees South Africa join England, Australia, West Indies and Pakistan in centrally contracting some women's internationals.

Captain Mignon du Preez, allrounders Dané van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp, bowlers Marcia Letsoalo and Shabnim Ismail and wicketkeeper Trisha Chetty are the players to benefit in the forthcoming season.

"Momentum once again deserves to be praised for being more than just a major sponsor of cricket in South Africa," CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said. "Involvement is not merely investing money in cricket but goes much further through an impressive social investments programme which seeks to build a society that promotes family values and support for under-privileged cricketers."

Danie van den Bergh, head of Momentum brand, added: "I have said this on previous occasions: nothing unites our country more than success on our fields of play and the more we expose our children to the spirit of the game, the more chance we have of shaping future champions. The heroes of our future are born from the boys and girls that dream about taking to the field for real and not just during match breaks."

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