Ferling overcomes her nerves

A gangling, giggling fast bowler, all of 17, finds out she's playing an important World Cup match against the old rivals after the woman she idolizes is ruled out unfit. "Instant nerves" result, but in a low-scoring game, she pounds in, a bow holding her flying long hair together, and strikes with her first delivery. She strikes again in the first over of a comeback spell, removing the game's top-scorer. She ends with 10-0-35-3 in only her second international match. Not exactly a normal Friday for your average teenager.

But Australia's Holly Ferling is no normal teenager. And it is not the first time she's made an immediate impact after replacing an injured player. She took a hat-trick with her first three balls in men's grade cricket in her hometown of Kingaroy in Queensland. She was 14 then. She is the first female to be declared the Queensland Junior Cricketer of the Year and has reportedly impressed Jeff Thomson, the former Australia fast bowler. Today, she tested England with the bounce she generated at speeds in the late 110kphs, striking for someone so young.

Her obvious talent cannot mask her age, and when she walked into the media room at Brabourne Stadium, she looked every bit the awkward teenager feeling overwhelmed, with spotlights trained on her and people waiting to ask questions. Just like she was able to overcome her nerves on the field, though, she answered without inhibition, flashing the radiant smile of a young girl thrilled beyond measure to have done what she did.

With her inspiration Ellyse Perry ruled out with a stomach bug, Ferling found out she was going to play about an hour before the start. "I was like, 'oh my God, I am playing England'. It was an unreal feeling," Ferling said. "I was just excited to get another game."

Perry had a few words of advice for Ferling, whose international debut had come only a week ago against Pakistan. "She just wished me luck and told me to hit the deck. My goal was just to come in and bowl fast."

Brought back for her third spell in the 41st over of England's chase, Ferling felt tense again. "I was so nervous. I was trying to keep things simple which is something I have struggled with in the past, and tried to do too much. Hopefully they'd make the mistakes." Lydia Greenway, on 49, hit the final ball of that Ferling over to short extra cover.

Ferling felt she had come a long way in the past year, with support from Queensland Cricket and Cricket Australia. She then forgot the name of the place she trains at. "Centre of Excellence," the team's media manager helpfully reminded her.

Ferling's voice was laced with emotion when she revealed what Perry, who has represented Australia in World Cup football as well, meant to her. "I have always looked up to her. To do what she has done at such a young age is an incredible feat and I don't think it will ever be done again. To play alongside her against Pakistan and then to train alongside her and to be in the team environment with her is just an incredible feeling."

Didn't she feel she would be inevitably compared with her idol? The 17-year old laughed as she pointed out the differences. "I wear a bow and my hair is curly."

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McCullum has no issues with Taylor

Ross Taylor, who took temporary leave of absence from New Zealand cricket after losing the Test captaincy, is in the right frame of mind to return in style against England, according to the man who got his job.

Brendon McCullum took over the New Zealand side that lost two Tests heavily in Taylor's absence in South Africa, but which went on to pull off a surprise win in the subsequent ODI series.

Taylor's frosty relationship with the coach who replaced him, Mike Hesson, has been well chronicled, and led to prolonged soul-searching within New Zealand cricket, but McCullum insisted on the eve of a three-match Twenty20 series against England that his own rapport with Taylor was fine.

"There's not too much to discuss from our point of view - there was never really an issue between us," he said. "It was obviously an uncomfortable time for Ross and other people concerned. But as far as our relationship goes, we're fine. We're looking forward to getting out and playing some cricket together."

McCullum suggested that Taylor's reintegration into the New Zealand set-up had been a swift affair, that the player had returned "happy and smiling" and that Taylor and Hesson have patched up some sort of professional relationship ahead of the first T20 match in Hamilton.

"They seem to be working professionally together as well, and I'm sure over time everything will be healed," McCullum said. "Within the team, it's been dealt with really well. The inner sanctum of the group is working well together and it's a cohesive unit so far. We're comfortable where it sits. Everyone is fine. Ross has come back into the group, and fitted in seamlessly."

McCullum accepted that New Zealand do not have the resources to make light of disruption within their ranks. "We can't let any off-field issues have an impact," he said. ""We're not good enough as a team to allow these sorts of distractions."

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Unpaid Rajshahi players threatened boycott

The dispute over the lack of player payments in the BPL has intensified with Chamara Kapugedera confirming that he and other overseas players for Duronto Rajshahi had been set to boycott their match against Khulna Royal Bengals on Friday.

Though a pullout was averted, a source close to the situation told ESPNcricinfo that foreign players from all franchises would stop playing in the BPL if they were not paid by Monday.

Kapugedera and other overseas Rajshahi players were convinced to take the field just before the start of Friday's afternoon game by BCB officials and the match began on time, though the players remain unpaid. The situation was so dire that the Rajshahi management had to request the match referee and the opposition captain to let them field an all-local line-up even after a delayed toss.

"We were going to sit out this game," Kapugedera said in the post-match press conference. "Most of the foreign guys who have been playing these games were doing so without being paid. We played to keep BCB's respect and to give them a chance to pay. We needed to give them a point that we are not going to play without anything.

"The foreign players, seven of us, were waiting for some confirmation from BCB that our first 25% money that they are due to pay us, will go to our accounts, or some certificate that's already going. So we were just waiting for that. We didn't get the money yet but the transaction is being made. Hopefully by Monday we will get the money."

Friday's drama first became visible when Tamim Iqbal walked out for the toss, in place of Kapugedera who has been the captain in recent matches.

ESPNcricinfo understands that although the Rajshahi management had sent out a team list with five overseas players (Charles Coventry, Dilshan Munaweera, Kapugedera, Sean Ervine and Ben Edmondson) in the playing eleven, they had to ask the match referee and the opposing captain Lou Vincent if the line-up could be changed later as there was a clear threat of a pull-out. Vincent agreed and the match referee went along with Tamim for the toss but the BCB managed to avoid a boycott.

"By the time of the toss, we hadn't received the confirmation so we were waiting for it," Kapugedera said. "That's why Tamim went to the toss because we were not sure if we are going to play. But before 20 minutes, we got the confirmation."

This season the BCB have taken up the responsibility to make all payments to players, and had asked the franchises to send them the money in three installments. The Rajshahi overseas players were given assurances by the BCB chairman that the first 25% will be given to them, but according to Kapugedera, time ran out.

"We have held couple of meetings with the [Duronto Rajshahi] owners and chairman of BCB, and told them that we are not going to play if we don't get paid.

"We have played almost all the matches, we haven't been paid anything. That's what we told them, 'What is the guarantee that we will get the money by the end of this tournament?'"

As far as his decision to play this year's BPL was concerned, Kapugedera said that BCB's assurance ahead of the tournament that they would handle all payment convinced him to come to Bangladesh.

"Our agents guaranteed us. The owners were very generous, promised us that we will get money. We didn't have any doubts coming here. When we knew that everything will go through BCB, we have enough foundation to believe that nothing dramatic will be happening.

"You can't blame any one person, end of the day we had discussions. I think the problem is solved," he said.

Despite BCB's promise, Kapugedera warned that if the money doesn't arrive by Monday (February 11), the boycott would be enforced. "We haven't seen anything yet. The players will stand the same position as today, if we don't see anything in the bank accounts. But from what I have seen and heard today, there won't be any issues on Monday."

With additional inputs from Firdose Moonda

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Chittagong crush leaders Sylhet

Chittagong Kings 193 for 4 (Naeem 58, Nabi 3-27) beat Sylhet Royals 74 all out (Rubel 3-14, Enamul 3-14) by 119 runs
Scorecard

Chittagong Kings blazed to their fourth win in a row as they trounced Sylhet Royals by a whopping 119 runs. Their opening batsmen and new-ball bowlers set up the win, their fifth overall, in the most dominant fashion this season.

After trouncing Dhaka by 88 runs the previous day, they bettered the highest victory margin in the competition with this big win.

Naeem Islam and Brendan Taylor began the game with a fiery 118-run opening stand with the Bangladesh batsman taking over his Zimbabwean team-mate when it was time to attack. Naeem struck six boundaries and two sixes in his 43-ball 58 and Taylor matched his score.

After both were dismissed within ten balls of each other, Ryan ten Doeschate and Mahmudullah quickly added 56 for the fourth wicket. Ten Doeschate, the Netherlands allrounder, made 37 off 18 balls with three sixes while Mahmudullah was unbeaten on a 13-ball 24 with a couple of sixes.

Only Mohammad Nabi made any in-roads into Kings picking up three cheap wickets with his offspin, while the rest of the attack floundered badly.

But Royals were always facing an uphill task as they chased 194 runs to win. They were without captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the duo whose fifties helped them chase a big total against Rangpur Riders the previous day.

Shaun Tait removed the openers and big-hitter Nazmul Hossain Milon with his pace, before Rubel Hossain worked out the middle-order. After both pace bowlers took three wickets each, Arafat Sunny removed Mohammad Nabi who was Royals' only substantial contributor with 35 runs. Enamul Haque jnr completed the rout with three more wickets.

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Wahab takes hat-trick in nine-wicket haul

Wahab Riaz, the Pakistan left-arm fast bowler, took a hat-trick in the Quaid-e-Azam as he finished with career-best figures of 9 for 59 against Lahore Ravi to boost his chances of a recall for the one-day series against South Africa.

Riaz, 27, last played for Pakistan 11 months ago in the Asia Cup but is having a productive first-class season with 48 wickets in 12 matches so far. He was selected for recent tour of India but was not included for any of the one-day internationals.

Lahore Ravi had made a solid start to their innings with an opening stand of 70 before Riaz started to make his mark. He first dismissed Abid Ali with penultimate ball of his ninth over and returned for this 10th over to claim a hat-trick. He dismissed Ahmed Shahzad (29) - who was caught by Usman Salahuddin at first slips - and then bowled of Adnan Akmal and Waqas Ahmed with his next two balls.

In the 41st over of the innings Imran Ali prevented Riaz fron taking another hat-trick after Mohammad Salman and Emmad Ali had fallen to successive ball. Ravi crumbled up at 153 all out in 48.1 overs with Shalimar 121 for 1 in reply at the close.

Riaz hoped his performance would make a difference when it comes being in contention for Pakistan. "I am working hard and never let my hopes down," he said. "I am heading in the right direction bowling hard and keeping myself in best shape."

Riaz took a five-wicket haul on his Test debut against England, at The Oval, in 2010 and collected his first ODI five-wicket bag in the World Cup semi-final against India.

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Asif presents appeal case in Switzerland

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has presented his case to have his ICC ban for spot-fixing overturned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Asif appeared before CAS in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday to try and have his seven-year ban, with two years suspended, quashed but will have to wait at least three weeks for an outcome and it could take as many as six.

"Today was quite busy," Asif told AFP after emerging from the CAS headquarters. "They will give us their decision in the next three weeks. Hopefully I am going to win this case. I'd like to play cricket again."

Salman Butt, the former Pakistan captain, will have his hearing on Friday in an attempt to overturn his 10-year ban following the News of the World sting in August 2010 which exposed plans to bowl on-demand no-balls.

On Wednesday Butt said in a statement that he wanted the chance to resume his career. "Cricket is my life and every single day that has passed has been so painful because I have not been able to play. All I want is an opportunity to get back into cricket whilst I am still young and I can still play well."

Mohammad Amir, the third player to be caught in the News of the World sting, decided not to appeal against the five-year ban against him. The ban does not permit the players to take part in any official match - international, domestic or club - until at least September 2015. All three players served time.

Butt served seven months of a 30-month prison sentence, Asif was released from Canterbury Prison in Kent on June 3 last year after he served half of a year-long sentence while Amir spent three months in a young offenders' institution after admitting his charge at a pre-trial hearing.

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Neesham called up for Twenty20

Jimmy Neesham, the Otago allrounder, has been called into New Zealand's squad for the first Twenty20 against England after injuries picked up by pace bowler Ian Butler and allrounder Grant Elliott ruled them out of the Auckland match.

Butler suffered an ankle injury playing for the New Zealand XI against England in the warm-up matches and Elliott has a quad strain although it is hoped both will recover in time for the second match of the series in Hamilton on Tuesday.

Neesham, 22, has played three Twenty20s, all against South Africa in the series late last year, and also featured in the ODIs on the same tour which New Zealand won 2-1.

Elliott made his international comeback in that one-day series after a gap of more than two years while Butler has not played since 2010.

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Australia call up Rohrer and Coulter-Nile

The fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile and the batsman Ben Rohrer are in line to make their international debuts after being named in Australia's Twenty20 squad to take on West Indies next week. Australia's selectors have named a 12-man squad for the one-off game on Wednesday at the Gabba and it is bereft of big names because Australia's Test players will all be in Chennai by then, preparing for the first Test against India.

That means the absence of David Warner (who is also recovering from a thumb injury), Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell and Xavier Doherty, all of whom were part of Australia's squad for the two Twenty20s against Sri Lanka last month. Along with Coulter-Nile and Rohrer, the selectors have added Brad Haddin, Clint McKay and Josh Hazlewood to the squad from outside the group that took on Sri Lanka.

Coulter-Nile, 25, collected 10 wickets at 27.60 for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League this summer and is viewed as a future Test and ODI prospect by John Inverarity's selection panel. Rohrer, 31, was a remarkably consistent performer for the Melbourne Renegades this season, scoring 295 runs at 49.16 and a strike rate of 152.06, and in the longer forms he remains an important senior player for New South Wales.

The other potential debutant is Hazlewood, 22, who has already represented Australia in ODI cricket but not in T20. He played only two games for the Sydney Sixers this season but is highly-rated by Inverarity's panel and will be competing for a place alongside several other fast bowlers including McKay, who has played only four T20 internationals despite being Australia's newly-crowned ODI Player of the Year.

The Brisbane game will also mark the return of Haddin to T20 internationals for the first time in 18 months. Haddin, 35, announced his retirement from international T20 cricket in September 2011, declaring at the time that his intention was to focus on Tests and ODIs. However, Haddin has been overtaken by Matthew Wade as Australia's preferred gloveman in all formats and the selectors are keen to keep him around the national setup wherever possible as he remains next in line behind Wade.

"Ben Rohrer had an outstanding season with the Melbourne Renegades in the middle order and Nathan Coulter-Nile has shown very good form in all three formats throughout the summer," Inverarity said. "Brad Haddin and Clint McKay are experienced campaigners and Josh Hazlewood is one of our very promising young pace bowlers who has recently regained full fitness. With the Test squad being in India this fixture will provide some more players with invaluable international experience."

Australia Twenty20 squad Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, George Bailey (capt), Adam Voges, Ben Rohrer, Brad Haddin (wk), Ben Cutting, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Clint McKay, Ben Laughlin, Josh Hazlewood.

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Young franchise coaches make their mark

In another coup for rookie coaches, the two teams battling it out for the first-class title in the final week of fixtures are both managed by men in their first season in charge.

Paul Adams' Cobras are top of the table and look likeliest to clinch the prize while Geoffrey Toyana's Lions must beat third-placed Warriors and hope Cobras do not win to claim the silverware. The two franchises shared the domestic one-day cup as well after the final was rained out twice to ensure Adams and Toyana made powerful statements in their opening summers.

While the two coaches celebrate their early success, South African cricket on the whole has reason to be pleased. Yet again, the first-class competition will be decided in the final round of fixtures and this season has been one of its most closely fought.

Of the 27 matches played, there have been only six draws and three washouts. Of the 18 positive results, 13 went into the final day, 10 were completed in three days and one lasted two. The decrease in draws reflects South Africa's more aggressive attitude to cricket which is evident at Test level, especially since Graeme Smith's men claimed the No.1 ranking last year.

What it points to is that the level below international cricket is strong as South Africa continue to produce players ready to play Test cricket. "The depth of quality on the domestic circuit is huge," Toyana said. "If you look at the guys who play franchise cricket who make it to the national team and immediately perform, it is really impressive. Just look at Faf du Plessis who was magical in Australia."

Du Plessis is one example, Dean Elgar, who scored his maiden Test century against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth and Rory Kleinveldt, who replaced Vernon Philander twice due to injury, are two others. Bubbling under are Dolphins' paceman Kyle Abbott, Lions' allrounder Chris Morris and Warriors' offspinner Simon Harmer.

Kleinveldt has been made available for the Cobras match by South African team management, and will be a big boost to the team. They have had to replace batting allrounder Alistair Gray with Richard Levi after the former broke his arm and although Kleinveldt cannot make up for Gray's absence, the presence of a national team member is always regarded as a bonus.

Cobras are a team used to success and want more of it. "We need tunnel vision for the match against the Knights. Our focus is on winning the match, not on the cup," Justin Ontong, their captain said, while Adams added that his team need to produce "top-class cricket," to win the tournament.

For Lions, the approach is more measured. They have not won a first-class competition since the turn of the millennium in 1999-2000 and are pleased to have come this far. "It's been a great experience for me and the boys. They've responded well to my coaching style and I'm quite happy with where we are. It's a photo finish in the Sunfoil Series," Toyana said.

However, amid the back-slapping, Boeta Dippenaar, the former South Africa batsman and current commentator, sees cause for concern. "Is this an indication of a more attack-minded playing mentality and 'win at all costs' attitude within the four day game? Or is it an indication that the players are playing too much one-day cricket, with the effect that the need for patience in building an innings is no longer of importance," he asked.

"I also wonder whether wickets are being prepared for a true battle between bat and ball, or are they being purely prepared for an outright result."

As a possible answer to Dippenaar's questions is that this season there have only been seven scores of over 400, compared with 18 last season and 20 the season before. That could be an indication of conditions becoming more seamer-friendly across the board, especially as South Africa claim to house the best pace attack in the world and want to ensure they have adequate replacements. Or it could be a reflection of a wetter summer which has left surfaces under-prepared.

While the administrators and pundits ponder the reasons why South African cricket has become more cut-throat, the teams involved are looking for one more big push. "It's always been good to see the sides play competitive and winning cricket. It's exciting to not have had so many draws and it's improved this season. Our depth is good and the youngsters coming through are all really impressive," Toyana said. The Test team can only benefit from that.

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Butt pleads to play again as appeal looms

Salman Butt, the former Pakistan captain, has asked for a chance to resume his playing career as he prepares to challenge his ICC ban handed down for spot-fixing during the Lord's Test against England in 2010.

Butt, who was banned for 10 years with the possibility of five suspended, and Mohammad Asif, currently serving a seven-year ban with two suspended, will appear at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, over the next two days in a last-ditch attempt to appeal against the bans.

In a statement released through his lawyer on Wednesday, Butt said: "It may be easy for some people to say that a five-year ban from cricket is all right but what they don't realise is that for a sportsman like me - this is like a lifetime ban," he said in a statement issued by his solicitors this afternoon.

"Cricket is my life and every single day that has passed has been so painful because I have not been able to play. All I want is an opportunity to get back into cricket whilst I am still young and I can still play well."

Asif's hearing is scheduled for Thursday and Butt's for Friday. Unlike criminal trials, CAS hearings are held in private and not open to either the public or media.

Lawyers from both parties - the ICC and the player - will present arguments in front of the three-strong arbitrators panel, including the current president of CAS. Butt will be represented by Yasin Patel, a London-based barrister, who was also part of the legal team that fought his case in the UK.

"We are appealing the sanctions that were imposed upon us and they should not have been so high," Patel said. It is understood that Asif's arguments will be similar.

CAS, which was formed in 1983 to rule on a variety of disputes within sport, is widely regarded as the final point in the appeal process. It cannot reverse the UK court rulings because the criminal proceedings were under UK laws, but it does have the power to reduce or overturn the ICC sanctions as they are part of the appeal system laid down in the ICC anti-corruption code. If the outcome was an alteration to the bans it is unlikely that there would be a counter-appeal process open to the ICC. No new witnesses or evidence can be produced by the players.

It is not yet clear whether the CAS will issue an instant verdict and that will depend on the arguments they have heard and if they are satisfied or if they require more time to study the case.

Mohammad Amir, the third player to be caught in the News of the World sting, has decided not to appeal against the five-year ban against him. The ban does not permit the players to take part in any official match - international, domestic or club - until at least September 2015. All three players served time.

Butt served seven months of a 30-month prison sentence, Asif was released from Canterbury Prison in Kent on June 3 last year after he served half of a year-long sentence while Amir spent three months in a young offenders' institution after admitting his charge at a pre-trial hearing.

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