Raina, spinners deliver big win for UP

Uttar Pradesh 302 (Raina 123, Utkarsh 5-73, Bhatt 5-105) and 294 for 6 dec (Srivastava 125*, Raina 65) beat Baroda 228 (Wakaskar 70, Rayudu 65, RP Singh 4-50) and 186 (Rayudu 56*, Gupta 4-14) by 182 runs
Scorecard

Baroda failed to show fight for sustained periods on a wearing fourth-day pitch at Moti Bagh, conceding the game by 182 runs to Uttar Pradesh. Baroda were on the back foot coming in to the final day, having lost two wickets for virtually nothing late on the third day after they were set 369. Baroda resisted through a counterattacking stand of 82 for the sixth wicket between Yusuf Pathan and Ambati Rayudu, but a reckless shot from Yusuf triggered a collapse.

Resuming at 5 for 2, Baroda were fortunate on two occasions in the morning. Abhimanyu Chauhan looked to drive RP Singh through the off side but the umpire failed to pick up the thick edge to the keeper. Shortly after, Chauhan's partner, Utkarsh Patel went down the track to the spinner and survived a regulation stumping chance. UP struck in the 22nd over when Patel chopped Imtiaz Ahmed onto the off stump. Chauhan himself was bowled by the captain Suresh Raina, leaving UP in further trouble at 73 for 4.

Rayudu and Yusuf, however, seemed undeterred by the ball not only turning square but also shooting through low. They charged the spinners and cleared the infield in their positive stand. Rayudu had a close call when he fended off a short ball from RP, with the ball shaving the stump but not dislodging the bails. With this coming after the umpiring howler, it clearly wasn't RP's day.

Pathan, who scored 42 of his 49 runs off boundaries alone, showed welcome signs of a return to form. He charged Piyush Chawla and launched him high over long-on and when he looked to clear the on side again the following ball, he ended up dragging it onto his stumps.

It was the start of the end for Baroda as the left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta ran through the lower order with three wickets in an over. Rayudu was left stranded on 56 and though he was let down by his team-mates in the end, it was a commendable innings from him on a tough pitch.

UP claimed their first win while Baroda, having been denied by rain in the first round, were still looking for their first win.

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Jaffer hits yet another hundred, Sehwag's dismal run

Sehwag's poor run, Venugopal Rao's first hundred in six seasons, Akshar takes maiden five-for
Gujarat v Delhi, Surat
Virender Sehwag scored 1 and 15 in the two opportunities he got in this match; he has now gone 13 first-class innings without hitting a half-century. Venugopal Rao hit his first hundred in six first-class seasons, in Gujarat's first innings. In five first-class seasons before this one, Venugopal had scored 939 runs from 24 matches at an average of 24.71, including five fifties. This was Venugopal's first century for Gujarat. Playing for Gujarat in the last season, Venugopal had scored 110 runs from nine innings at an average of 12.22. Sumit Narwal took 6 for 71 in Gujarat's first innings - this was his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Akshar Patel took 6 for 55 in Delhi's first innings. This was his first five-wicket haul in his first-class career in only his second match. Mithun Manhas also hit a century, the 23rd hundred of his first-class career.

Samson's productive run
Kerala v Andhra Pradesh, Kannur
Sanju Samson followed up his double-century against Assam in the first round with another hundred against Andhra Pradesh in Kannur. This was his fourth hundred in first-class cricket and his second against Andhra in three innings. Samson followed it up with another half-century in Kerala's second innings. Samson's score in his last five innings read - 122, 51, 211, 115, 51*. Samson now averages 54.14 in first-class cricket in 16 innings.

Jaffer hits yet another hundred, Rajwinder takes maiden five-for
Punjab v Mumbai, Chandigarh
Wasim Jaffer hit his 33rd hundred in the Ranji Trophy and the 49th of first-class career, in the first innings against Punjab. Jaffer leads the list of batsmen with most centuries in the Ranji. Ajay Sharma (31) and Amol Muzumdar (28) are next in the list. Vishal Dabholkar, thrust into the role of lead spinner for Mumbai, took his first five-for and his first ten-for to wreck Punjab .

Aparajith completes 1000 runs, Badrinath hits third Ranji double-century
Tamil Nadu v Madhya Pradesh, Indore
B Aparajith completed 1000 runs in first-class cricket in Tamil Nadu's second round Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh. Needing just eight runs to reach the landmark before the match, he hit his fourth century in seven innings and the fifth of his career. He now averages 61.66 in first-class from 24 innings. S Badrinath hit his third double-hundred in the Ranji Trophy and the 30th century of his first-class career. He fell two runs short of his highest first-class score of 250, which he scored against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy in 2009.

Dinda takes 200 first-class scalps, Aniket's maiden first-class five-for
Rajasthan v Bengal, Jaipur
Sourabh Chouhan's wicket in Bengal's match against Rajasthan was Ashok Dinda's 200th wicket in first-class cricket. Dinda has taken 203 wickets at an average of 30.64 and a strike rate of 59.3 in 58 first-class matches. Rajasthan's Aniket Choudhary took 5 for 93 in Bengal's first innings at Jaipur - his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. These were also his best bowling figures in a match.

Gokul completes 1000 first-class runs, Sibsankar hits his maiden hundred
Assam v Hyderabad, Guwahati
Gokul Sharma's 161 batting at No. 7 in the first innings against Hyderabad was Assam's highest individual score at No. 7 in first-class cricket and his third century in first-class cricket. Assam's Sibsankar Roy also hit a hundred in the first innings; his maiden first-class hundred from 19 matches.

Raina and Tanmay hit hundreds
Baroda v Uttar Pradesh, Vadodra
Suresh Raina bettered his chances of travelling to South Africa as India's reserve middle-order batsmen with a century in UP's first innings. This was his 13th first-class hundred. Tanmay Srivatsava also hit a century in UP's second innings, which was his eighth in first-class cricket.

Keenan Vaz's first half-century, Jakati's five-for after a while
Jammu Kashmir v Goa, Srinagar
Goa wicketkeeper Keenan Vaz hit 99 in Goa's first innings, which was his first fifty in first-class cricket in five games. He added another fifty to the tally in this match with a half-century in the second innings also. Vaz had scored 67 runs from six innings before this match. Shadab Jakati took a five-wicket haul for Goa in Jammu and Kashmir's first innings. This was his eighth first-class five-for and his first since November 2010 in 18 innings.

Mayank hits 90 on debut, Nadeem's highest first-class score
Karnataka v Jharkhand, Mysore
Mayank Agarwal hit 90 on his debut in first-class cricket, for Karnataka. Jharkhand captain Shahbaz Nadeem's 85 in their first innings was the fourth half-century and the highest score of his first-class career.

Jaydev and Anureet both take their fifth five-for
Railways v Saurashtra, Delhi
Jaydev Unadkat and Anureet Singh both took their fifth five-wicket hauls in this match. Unadkat has now taken 91 first-class wickets from 32 matches at an average of 33.37. Anureet has taken 78 wickets from 23 first-class matches at an average of 29.65.

Jayant Yadav takes his first five-for, Wagh's best bowling figures in a match
Vidarbha v Haryana, Nagpur
Jayant Yadav's bowling figures of 5 for 77 in Vidarbha's first innings were his best in first-class career and his first five-wicket haul. Jayant's figures of 6 for 84 for the match were also his best in first-class cricket. Shrikant Wagh took 7 for 109 in the match, which was his best figures in a match in first-class cricket. This included a five-wicket haul - his third in first-class cricket.

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Ferguson to face England again in tour match

Callum Ferguson, Aaron Finch, Adam Voges and Steve O'Keefe are among the players who will face England in a four-day match in Sydney this week as part of a Cricket Australia Invitational XI. As they did for the Australia A squad that played in Hobart last week, the selectors have picked a strong batting line-up featuring several players who could come into international contention soon, but a weakened bowling attack.

Ferguson is the only member of that Australia A side who will play in this week's match, as the severely rain-affected game in Hobart allowed him only 23 balls at the crease for an unbeaten 15. Phillip Hughes was originally meant to be part of the Cricket Australia Invitational XI but instead has been released to play for South Australia, to make way for his state team-mate Ferguson to have some more time in the middle against England.

Usman Khawaja, who the selectors had also intended to play against England in Sydney this week, has also been released to play for Queensland, due to their growing injury list. Khawaja will play for the Bulls against New South Wales in Brisbane, while Hughes will play for the Redbacks in Adelaide against Western Australia, in a round of Shield matches that begin on Wednesday, the same day as the England tour game.

"In selecting the final XI, we have tried to be flexible given the needs of particular states and individual players following the latest round of first-class matches across the country," Cricket Australia's general manager of team performance, Pat Howard, said. "We recognise the injury situation in Queensland, so it is appropriate to release Usman Khawaja from this tour match to support his state.

"We have also taken the view that due to the rain-affected match in Hobart, Callum Ferguson didn't get the depth of international exposure we hoped to give him through his Australia A selection. Through consultation with the SACA, we felt it made sense to select him in the next tour match against England. In light of Callum's selection, Phil Hughes, who has played a lot of international cricket in recent months will remain with South Australia for its next Shield match."

The invitational side will be captained by the New South Wales wicketkeeper Peter Nevill and will feature mostly New South Wales players, with only Voges, Ferguson, Finch and Ed Cowan coming from interstate sides. Although none of the batsmen are expected to be in contention for the first Ashes Test, they are all close enough to the fringes to hope that a big score against England might help them move closer to a call-up.

Ben Rohrer and Ryan Carters round out the batting line-up, while the bowling attack will be made up of O'Keefe and fringe Blues fast men Josh Lalor, Chris Tremain and Nic Bills. Geoff Lawson will coach the side for the four-day encounter at the SCG, which is England's last practice match before the first Test begins at the Gabba on November 21.

Cricket Australia Invitational XI Ed Cowan, Aaron Finch, Callum Ferguson, Adam Voges, Ben Rohrer, Ryan Carters, Peter Nevill (capt, wk), Steve O'Keefe, Josh Lalor, Chris Tremain, Nic Bills.

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Carberry gains from Flower's ruthless call

England's batting order has lost some of its stability with Alastair Cook set to have his third opening partner of the year and Michael Carberry's resurgence has surely shut the door on Nick Compton

Michael Carberry's path towards an opening batting position in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba highlights how quickly fortunes can change. After launching his Australia tour with scores of 78 and 153 not out it seems inevitable that he will now walk out with Alastair Cook having usurped two other men who have held the position this year.

For Joe Root the impact will be limited to a change in position - back to the middle order where he made his debut against India less than a year ago - but Nick Compton's career has slid much further than purely batting slots. The prospect of Compton adding to his nine Test caps (during which he scored two hundreds) were already slim after he was cut shortly before the previous Ashes; Carberry's re-emergence has all but put a full-stop on that brief top-level career.

Compton struggled in the two home Tests against New Zealand, during the second of which at Headingley Root made his maiden hundred in an energetic stand with Jonny Bairstow, and afterwards Andy Flower hinted at a change as Compton returned to county cricket while England embarked on the Champions Trophy. "Hopefully he goes away and can get back in the runs as quickly as possible," Flower said at the time. He made 166 in his first Championship match after the New Zealand series, followed by scores of 81, 34, 79 and 26 against the Australians for Somerset and Worcestershire but it was not enough - even for a place in the performance squad.

Compton's axing has been viewed as one of the more ruthless decisions by this selection panel - he scored 1001 runs at 50.05 in the 2013 County Championship season compared to Carberry's 687 at 42.93 in Division Two - but speaking in Hobart, after England's match against Australia A, Flower said that there are never any promises made regarding selection. His comments gave an insight into the deeper workings of England's selectors, who use far more than pure statistics, while acting as a cautionary tale for others who are sent away with a familiar message.

"Usually in conversations when you do leave players out, often players will ask 'well what do I need to do?' One of the things that's inevitable is that they must go away and score runs because there's nothing else they can do usually. So it wasn't a binding contract and it never is with a batsman that you leave out," Flower said. "The selectors say to him, 'go back to your first-class side and score some runs' but it doesn't mean that once they have scored some runs they are re-selected. There are other people in the mix.

"I think most selection decisions are fairly difficult because you're making decisions about people's careers. We take those decisions seriously."

It all points to Compton's fate having been decided well before the names were made official. England's selection panel under Geoff Miller - who is about to hand the role over to James Whitaker - has not erred in many decisions and their judgement could be about to be borne out even though without Cook's dodgy back in Perth, Carberry may not yet have played on this tour.

"We selected him in the squad initially so we did see certain qualities about him," Flower said. "He is a mature bloke, a mature cricketer. He leaves the ball well, he's got a good range of attacking shots. I think he is well balanced at the crease and those are some of the qualities he will bring to his batting and to the England team.

"Cook stepped off the plane and had that back trouble. We had three openers on board so as soon as Cook started talking about his back it was a very obvious move to have both Root and Carberry open in the Perth game. I think one of the advantages we have is that we've got flexible players. Carberry himself is happy batting down the order. Root we know can do both and so we're pretty comfortable to be flexible."

Flexibility, however, would ideally go out of the window for England in their final-warm match against a Cricket Australia Invitational XI where Flower would like to select to the Test top seven, but the injury concerns to Matt Prior and Kevin Pietersen could yet force his hand. This has been far from the smooth, clinical, build-up England enjoyed on the 2010-11 tour.

"Things don't always work out perfectly and this preparation has been different to the previous Ashes tour that we were on," Flower admitted. "But that's okay. Sometimes you can't recreate the past and actually I think it's a dangerous thing to try sometimes. We haven't had a perfect lead-in to that New South Wales game but that's okay. I think we're pretty comfortable that we'll ensure we're ready for that first day of the Brisbane Test. I'm confident our guys will be ready in Brisbane."

The other issue to confront England in recent days has been the leak of their dietary demands for the Test series in an 82-page document. Flower did not want to linger on the subject - "I don't think it's a very serious issue or story" - but did reveal that consideration has been given to having a chef with the squad. "We have thought about it but we don't think it's necessary," he said. Clearly, one Cook is enough for England. Now he just needs a regular opening partner.

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Qualification would be 'massive' for Scotland - Coetzer

Scotland captain, Kyle Coetzer, has targeted Afghanistan and Netherlands as the two main sides to beat in his team's World Twenty20 Qualifier group. Scotland are one of 16 teams competing for six places at next year's World Twenty20 and Coetzer said that qualification would be "massive for cricket" in the country.

Teams have begun to arrive in the UAE ahead of the tournament, which runs from November 15-30. Scotland, who played in the first two World Twenty20s in 2007 and 2009, will form part of Group B alongside Kenya, Bermuda, Denmark, Nepal and Papua New Guinea, as well as two of the favourites.

"Getting over Afghanistan or the Netherlands will fill our side with confidence," Coetzer said. "Afghanistan has been a side we have not had a huge amount of success against. So we want to make a statement that we are here and we mean business.

"It will be massive for cricket in Scotland and for all the supporters we get from throughout the country. We have not been involved in a world tournament for a couple of years now, so it will be nice to get back in the world stage."

Scotland have lost one of their key players to injury in vice-captain Preston Mommsen but should be among the contenders in the UAE. They are currently ranked 12th in the world in T20 cricket, below Ireland and Afghanistan but above Netherlands.

"Missing Preston is massive and leaves a big hole, but we have got guys who are capable of taking up his spot which is very important," Coetzer said. "We feel we have all bases covered in terms of flexibility in the squad like right-hand/left-hand combination in batting, different aggressiveness styles as well.

"In bowling, we have right-arm and left-arm bowlers, which we have not had in the previous couple of tournaments. So it is nice to have that option, we have three left arm bowlers in our ranks, which give us variation."

Coetzer, 29, is coming off the back of a successful season with Northamptonshire, during which the team secured promotion from Division Two of the Championship and won the Friends Life t20 competition. Allied to his own experience, the team will be able to draw on the knowledge of England's World Twenty20-winning former captain, Paul Collingwood, who has taken up a coaching role with Scotland over the winter.

"In terms of batting, he is really helping guys understand how to get about scoring their runs, or chasing down totals and setting a certain total," Coetzer said. "Having someone like Colly will be a massive advantage to our boys."

The Scotland squad have recently been on a training camp in Sri Lanka, to help acclimatise to conditions in the UAE as well as gain experience of subcontinental conditions, with the World T20 to be held in Bangladesh next March and April. They will prepare for the World T20 Qualifier with warm-up matches against USA and Namibia before taking on Bermuda in their opening fixture on Friday but Coetzer was not worried about his side's ability to adapt in the UAE.

"We played out there a couple of times in a year so it is not like the conditions are absolutely foreign to us," Coetzer said. "I would probably say that the conditions don't suit us as much as others, but you can't use that as an excuse. You've just got to find a way to perform the best in those kinds of conditions."

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Cutting departs from script

Ben Cutting's spell during the afternoon may have caught the selectors' eye, whilst also giving England the testing workout they craved

As he watched Ben Cutting charge in at England's batsmen on an otherwise turgid final afternoon of the Australia A match in Hobart, it is likely the selector on duty, Rod Marsh, would have been equal parts impressed and peeved.

Impressed because Cutting was taking the opportunity presented to him in a way few of his team-mates did across the match, striving to earn higher honours rather than going through the motions to avoid injury. But peeved because Cutting's rhythmic speed, lateral movement and sustained accuracy was providing England with the sort of quality batting work-out that Marsh, the national selector, John Inverarity, and the team performance manager, Pat Howard, have been deliberately trying to withhold from the tourists.

After completing a spell of 9-3-17-2 that included the significant wicket of Jonathan Trott, Cutting revealed his bowling was not only the result of earnest endeavour but also malice aforethought, including a phone call to his Queensland compatriot Ryan Harris to discuss Australia's Ashes plans for the touring batsmen. Trott faced up to a leg slip before edging a good one behind, and Joe Root floundered visibly against the ball well pitched up.

"Leading into this game when I thought I was going to be playing I spoke at length to Ryan Harris about bowling plans," Cutting said. "He did so well over in England I couldn't think of a better person to ring and talk to. That [leg slip] was one of his ideas and I decided to run with that and give it a go myself. I don't know if I was bowling that quick, I haven't seen the gun, but I only bowled one bouncer all day. I bowled a handful on day one, but in saying that I didn't bowl one to Alastair Cook, so I do pick my targets."

It was all very good and very thoughtful bowling, suggesting that the 26-year-old Cutting has matured into a paceman as intelligent as he is hostile. Looking on from the England viewing area, the team director, Andy Flower, could not help but approve of Cutting's expertise and the resultant stiffening required of the touring batsmen to counter him. For those nine overs, a lifeless game briefly mimicked something like the intensity of a Test match.

"I thought he bowled superbly," Flower said. "He bowled an excellent length, conditions were a little subcontinent-like, with the bounce of the ball. He bowled a perfect length for that pitch and he was good on the first day as well, I thought, without much luck. But he was excellent today. It was good for us to face that sort of quality bowling."

	On day four, Cutting departed from the script so markedly that Flower learned more about several batsmen in just over an hour than he could have deduced from the previous 13 days on tour

Good for England, but in all probability too good for the aims of the Australia selectors. In much the same manner as last summer when compiling the Australia A team to face the South Africans in Sydney, Inverarity's panel had hoped to prevent England from gaining much sight of top-class fast bowling before the first Test in Brisbane. The team for Hobart was lopsided, leaning heavily on batting and choosing only the seamer Trent Copeland to share the new ball with Cutting.

As a result of this, England's captain Alastair Cook and his likely Gabba opening partner Michael Carberry were able to dominate day one, playing themselves into the pinkest of form before the rain set in for two days. They were aided by a fielding display that bordered on the uninterested, leaving many to wonder whether the players involved were fully aware of the chance on offer to them, and if they would have been so slovenly were they playing for their state.

On day four, however, Cutting departed from the script so markedly that Flower learned more about several batsmen in just over an hour than he could have deduced from any of the team's previous 13 days on tour. It can only be hoped that Cutting has also forced the selectors to depart from their own planning for the Gabba by considering him for a place in the squad. Two years ago, Cutting's chances of a debut against New Zealand were checked by a back injury in the Sheffield Shield match preceding the 2011 Brisbane Test, an experience he still winces about.

"It's a funny one because it's such an amazing high and then the next day I was injured and a ridiculous low," Cutting said. "I missed a lot of cricket after that and dropped right down the pecking order, as I have done each time I've been injured, so the goal for me is just to stay on the park. I know if I can stay on the park and put the performances together that something will happen eventually."

In Hobart, Cutting put on a performance that should make his selection happen immediately. Whether Marsh chooses to look past the foiling of the selectors' subterfuge to appreciate the bowling on display will only be known when the Ashes squad is announced on Tuesday. One thing is certain: a handful of England batsmen will be hoping fervently that he does not.

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Roach sent home with shoulder injury

Kemar Roach, the West Indies fast bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour of India because of a shoulder injury. Shannon Gabriel will join the squad as his replacement ahead of the second Test in Mumbai, which begins on November 14.

Roach did not play the first Test in Kolkata either because of his injury, and will miss the limited-overs leg of the tour as well. "We're sad to announce that Kemar has to return home to the Caribbean and will not have an opportunity on this tour, where we felt he could have made a major difference," West Indies head coach, Ottis Gibson, said.

CJ Clark, the West Indies physiotherapist, said the injury was rather uncommon among cricketers. "Kemar has not made the expected recovery from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the first Test," Clark said. "He is returning to the Caribbean for ongoing management and subsequent physical rehabilitation."

Roach is currently the highest ranked Test bowler for West Indies at No. 14. He has taken 85 wickets at 27.71 in 23 Tests.

West Indies currently trail India 1-0 in the series after they lost the first Test in Kolkata by an innings and 51 runs. The defeat was wrapped up inside of three days. The second Test of the series will be Sachin Tendulkar's 200th and final Test, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman, will be playing his 150th match.

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Injured Pollard out of India ODIs

Kieron Pollard, the West Indies allrounder, has been rested from the ODI squad for the series in India because of an injury. Kemar Roach has also been ruled out of the series, which starts on November 21, with a shoulder injury.

West Indies recalled Kieran Powell, Veerasammy Permaul and Narsingh Deonarine, after they had not been chosen for the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka and the home series against Pakistan earlier this year. Powell, Permaul and Deonarine last played for West Indies in the ODIs against Zimbabwe and were not a part of the squad for the Champions Trophy.

The trio had been part of the West Indies A squad that recently toured India, playing first-class and List A games against the India A side. Deonarine was second highest run-getter for West Indies A in the first-class matches - 276 runs in three games at an average of 46 - and scored a fifty in the only List A game he played on the tour. Permaul also had a good outing for West Indies A, finishing with ten wickets in two first-class games.

The other notable inclusions in the squad were fast bowler Ravi Rampaul and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. Rampaul had suffered an ankle injury in the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka and was also sidelined for the home series against Pakistan. He returned to competitive cricket for Trinidad & Tobago in the Champions League T20. Ramdin, who has played just seven ODI games this year, had been dropped frequently due to indifferent form. His last ODI fifty was against India in December 2011.

West Indies' ODI form has been poor of late, with only seven wins in 20 matches this year. Their record away from home is worse, with five losses in as many games in 2013. Their last ODI series win was against Zimbabwe in February this year. In the previous series between India and West Indies, in India, the visitors lost 4-1.

Squad: Dwayne Bravo (capt), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons

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PCB and CSA to increase ties

The PCB and CSA have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding that will increase cricketing ties between the two countries. Pakistan will tour South Africa later this month, filling a void left by India's truncated visit, and the boards have now signalled their intention to cooperate further after a meeting between Najam Sethi, the interim PCB chairman, and the CSA chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, in Abu Dhabi.

The arrangement could see more Pakistani players taking part in South Africa's domestic competitions. Sethi said that it was time for the PCB "to stand with CSA", while Lorgat welcomed Pakistan's decision to come to South Africa for three ODIs and two T20s in November, following the ongoing meeting between the two teams in the UAE.

"[The] ideal thing would be for us is to play a series at home but unfortunately for various reasons that is not possible," Sethi said. "It's important for our players at the national and Under-19 levels to play internationally and I am very keen to support that, so when the opportunity came along, although it's a tight time frame, it was time for us to stand with CSA. We don't end up making too much money but we don't lose anything and our boys get to play South Africa in South Africa, which is very exciting."

Pakistan have already toured South Africa once this year and their players could gain further experience of the conditions by turning out for the franchises. Sohail Tanvir has been a successful recruit for the Lions over the past two seasons and his international team-mates may now follow in his footsteps.

Pakistan has not hosted a series since terrorist attacks on a Sri Lanka team bus in 2009, limiting the team's game time, although they have been successful playing in the Emirates. Pakistan players have also been excluded from the IPL in that period, after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, but Sethi expressed a hope that this situation may be reversed.

"Our players will also play in South African domestic cricket and that will give them more cricket," he said. "I have talked to Lorgat, he has promised me to encourage our players to play in their local leagues. My concern is that our players should play in India in the IPL and in county cricket, we want to do that. If they let our players in the local leagues then it will give them good outing and good education."

The visit of Pakistan was hastily arranged after India cut their South Africa tour to two Tests and three ODIs. Such was CSA's desire to arrange the fixtures, it is prepared to make a financial loss. Lorgat has been a supporter of cricket in Pakistan, travelling there as a consultant to the proposed Pakistan Super League after finishing his tenure as ICC chief executive last year. He denied, however, that a tightening of relations between the two countries would stoke the ire of the BCCI.

"We are excited and happy with that great engagement with Pakistan and it's pretty obvious that it fills a gap that has risen out of a curtailed tour," Lorgat said. Asked whether the Indian board would be unhappy with the arrangement, he replied: "I don't see why it should, Pakistan was available and it's a bilateral arrangement between the two and we are simply delighted that we can get Pakistan to South Africa."

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Bopara signs up for BBL

England allrounder Ravi Bopara has signed up to play for the Sydney Sixers in this season's Big Bash League. He will replace Chris Tremlett, who is in England's Ashes squad, for the first part of the tournament.

Bopara is part of England's limited-overs teams, putting in a series of impressive displays during the northern summer, but has not played a Test since 2012. He is currently in action in the Dhaka Premier Division and will join up with fellow England batsman Michael Lumb for the Sixers.

"I'm delighted to be joining the Sydney Sixers for the first half of the Big Bash," Bopara said. "The Sixers are famous throughout the cricketing world and I'm privileged to have the opportunity to represent them.

"The team is full of absolutely fantastic talent and I'm looking forward to catching up and playing alongside them when we meet up next month."

Bopara has scored 2850 T20 runs, including one century, at a strike rate of 113.50, as well as taking 88 wickets with his medium pace. He played in all but one of Essex's games in last season's Friends Life t20, as they reached the semi-finals.

"Ravi fills a great role for us at the Sixers, as an allrounder with excellent strokeplay and medium-pace bowling," the Sixers general manager, Dominic Remond, said. "He has played at the highest level of international cricket and will bring great experience to our team."

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