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Mark Boucher has been named in the South African squad for the last two Tests against England. Boucher last played for the Test side during the tour of Sri Lanka last August. He had played 74 consecutive matches before being dropped for their tour to India in November. Thami Tsolekile, who replaced him on that tour and kept wicket in the first Test at Port Elizabeth, has been released to turn out for Western Province Boland. Boucher’s selection clears the way for AB de Villiers, who has kept in the last two matches, to open the batting as there are concerns about the form of Herschelle Gibbs there.”I’m absolutely delighted, but also quite shocked to be recalled now,” Boucher told Reuters from Centurion, where he was playing for Warriors against Titans in a SuperSport Series match. “I thought my chance to be involved in the series had gone when I wasn’t selected in the second and third Test squads because we had no domestic cricket. All I’ve been able to play over the festive season is beach cricket. I’d be lying if I didn’t think at one stage that my international career might be over.”Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of selectors, explained the decision: “With the series now locked at one-all with two to play, experience is going to be a critical factor in the outcome of the last two Tests, and Mark brings plenty of that to the squad environment.”Charl Langeveldt, who fractured a bone in his left hand at Cape Town, is in the squad pending a fitness test before the fourth Test. A replacement will be called up if he is not fit.The fourth Test starts next Monday (January 13) at the Wanderers ground in Johannesburg.Squad Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, Boeta Dippenaar, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt.

ScorecardAn accomplished bowling performance from Railways restricted Rest of India to a disappointing 223 on the opening day of the Irani Trophy match in Delhi. Kulamani Parida, with 4 for 61, ended with the best figures but the significant damage was done by Harvinder Singh and Murali Kartik.The game was very different during the opening exchanges after Rest of India had chosen to bat. Gautam Gambhir and Dheeraj Jadhav laid a solid platform with a stand of 82 before Parida made the first breakthrough.Once Railways had made an opening wickets fell at regular intervals as 117 for 1 became 179 for 7 at tea. Jadhav reached his half-century but fell shortly afterwards, trapped lbw by Harvinder. Kartik removed Suresh Raina and Venugopal Rao while Parthiv Patel also fell to Harvinder.Parida’s offspin wrapped up the tail during the evening session leaving Amit Pagnis and Sanjay Bangar with six overs to play out to end a highly satisfactory day for Railways.

There was an eerie sense of calm surrounding Port Elizabeth on the eve of the first Test at St George’s Park. All that can be said has been said, and at some length as well, with both sides jostling for the psychological high ground before, during and since England’s little hiccup at Potchefstroom. But now, with just a day to go until the first ball is bowled, it comes down to two proud sides, with two even prouder records.Since England embarked on their spectacular run of 10 victories out of 11 Tests in 2004, it has been a conveniently overlooked fact just how formidable their opponents are when placed on home soil. Regardless of their slide down the ICC world rankings, South Africa have suffered just eight home defeats in 59 Tests since their readmission to international cricket in 1992, and in their last ten Tests at St George’s Park, they have won six and lost just the once – a low-scoring thriller against the Aussies in 1996-97. “This is our back garden,” has been the oft-repeated message. Over their dead bodies will South Africa allow England to dictate terms here.It is a message that has sunk in as well, if Michael Vaughan’s pre-match remarks are anything to go by. Since he returned from an attritional and ultimately disappointing tour of Sri Lanka last winter, aggression has been the watchword of Vaughan’s captaincy. In Jamaica last March, it gave us the surreal sight of Steve Harmison steaming in to a nine-man slip cordon; at Lord’s and Trent Bridge in the summer, it provided us with a pair of exuberant run-chases en route to a clean sweep against New Zealand. But on Monday, we saw the flip side of such a heady approach, as England’s top order flashed a succession of edges into the slips, and stumbled to a cocksure downfall against South Africa A.

It was an abrupt and faintly embarrassing end to their year of unmatched dominance, and called into question the wisdom of such a limited build-up to such an important series. But it was nonetheless a timely reminder of the challenge that lies ahead, and in this climate of mild uncertainty, Vaughan has called on his players to tap into their mental reserves, as they contemplate the renewal of hostilities with a side that is much changed from the one they beat so memorably at The Oval in 2003. “Patience will be our keyword,” declared Vaughan. “Patience with the bat and patience with the ball.”The mental side of England’s game is not all about introspection, however, and Vaughan let it be known that Clive Lloyd, the ICC’s match referee, could be a busy man in the coming days. “We have our plans for certain players,” Vaughan revealed. “It’s all about how a man reacts in certain situations. A few verbals in the right direction can affect some players more than others. There’ll be plenty of battles and confrontations out there, but we’re certainly up for it. We’ve done our research.”South Africa have done theirs as well, although patience doesn’t seem to rate quite so highly in their game plan. In the selection of the thrusting young batsman AB de Villiers, and the probable appearance of the raw quickie, Dale Steyn, South Africa have invested their faith in youthful exuberance. It is a gamble, albeit one that is backed up by veterans such as Shaun Pollock, who has been stealthily silent in this week’s build-up. But South Africa’s hand has also been forced by circumstance, in particular the injuries to Jacques Kallis, who will play but may not be able to bowl in the first innings, and Nicky Boje, who has been ruled out after an operation to remove his thyroid gland. Smith explained: “There are still too many ifs about his fitness at the moment. He is bowling in the nets, but he’s just not doing enough physical work to make it through a Test match.”

The pitch, though currently green, mottled and not a little unsettling at first glance, is unlikely to assist either pace battery greatly, and South Africa could well rue the absence of Boje, given the assistance that St George’s Park has offered to the spinners in the past. “It’s pretty soft,” was Vaughan’s assessment of the strip, although with a baking hot weekend and a dry westerly breeze in prospect, any early demons ought quickly to be flattened out.Whether the demons in Steve Harmison’s mind can be as easily erased is a different matter. A reluctant tourist at the best of times, Harmison was well below his destructive best on a pacy pitch at Potchefstroom, and as the world’s current No. 1 bowler, he is sure to have been targetted by South Africa’s batsmen, in particular de Villiers, who has been given licence to play his natural attacking game, and intends treating Harmison as “just another bowler”.Vaughan, however, has no doubts about the potency and variety of his four-pronged pace attack, which has carried all before it in the past 12 months. “It’s all about bowling as a unit,” he explained. “We’ve come out on top in all sorts of different situations, and on different surfaces this year. We have some fond memories to fall back on as we go into this series.”As for Harmison himself, Vaughan was adamant that his man would rise to the challenge of defending his No. 1 status. “I’m sure South Africa have a game plan to get on top of Harmo,” he said. “It’s only natural because he’s a genuine threat. But I have no doubt that at some stage of the series, he is going to produce a spell that changes a game.”South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 AB de Villiers, 3 Jacques Rudolph, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Boeta Dippenaar, 6 Andrew Hall, 7 Shaun Pollock, 8 Zander de Bruyn, 9 Thami Tsolekile (wk), 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Dale Steyn.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 Steve Harmison.

Zimbabwe 211 for 2 (Carlisle 103*, Gripper 65) drew with Bangladesh 168
Scorecard

Stuart Carlisle’s second Test hundred was the highlight of the final day of the second Test at Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club – but there were no other challengers for the champagne moment on a day where both sides did little more than go through the motions.Carlisle brought up his century with a drive to the cover boundary, and the ball had barely hit the fence when the umpires removed the stumps and mercifully brought the rain-decimated match to an end. The loss of three full days was always going to make for a meaningless three sessions – the real puzzle was why as many as 50 spectators turned up to watch.When Zimbabwe wrapped up Bangladesh’s innings five balls after lunch, there was briefly a hope that Heath Streak might go for broke and try for quick runs, with the aim of bowling the fragile Bangladeshis out for a second time. The sight of Trevor Gripper striding out to bat ended any such fantasy.There was another brief flurry of excitement when, in the third over, Dion Ebrahim edged Tapash Baisya to Hannan Sarkar at second slip for 2 (5 for 1) but that was as good as the afternoon session got. Gripper, who was dismissed cheaply in both innings at Harare, set out his stall for runs by any means, while Carlisle was only marginally more aggressive.After tea, Gripper sped up, presumably for no reason other that had he continued at his pre-interval crawl he would have had no hope of reaching a hundred. As it was, that was academic – he tickled Tapash to wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud for 65 (134 for 2). Carlisle increased his scoring and reached his hundred. His first Test century came against Australia at Sydney – there is little question which one he will look back on with more satisfaction.In the morning Bangladesh’s innings had been of a funereal pace. Play started on time – remarkable given the recent downpours – and Bangladesh’s innings followed a to-be-expected course, with wickets falling and a sleep-inducing run-rate. The two-and-a-half hour session produced 80 runs and four wickets.Zimbabwe broke through with the second ball of the day, Douglas Hondo trapping Mushfiqur Rahman leg-before for 0 (89 for 6), but for the next 90 minutes Manjural Islam Rana and Mashud held firm in a seventh-wicket stand of 37 runs made at under two an over. Sean Ervine ended the torpor when he dismissed Mashud leg-before for 9 (126 for 7), and then Ray Price grabbed two quick wickets, including Manjural for a top-score 39.But Mohammad Rafique and Alamgir Kabir held firm for the last 40 minutes before lunch, Rafique clipping ones and twos while Kabir dropped anchor and showed little inclination to score. Their 24-run last-wicket stand was ended straight after the restart.

Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan legspinner, has been named as assistant coach of Pakistan for the Champions Trophy according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).Abbas Zaidi, a PCB director, confirmed to Cricinfo that Mushtaq had been appointed. “Yes, we have hired him for the Champions Trophy as assistant coach. For the moment the appointment is only for that assignment.”Despite playing his last international for Pakistan nearly three years ago, Mushtaq’s high-profile successes with Sussex have ensured that he has never remained far from the Pakistan set-up, or the selectors’ thoughts. Last winter, he was recalled as one of five spinners for the squad against England; he wasn’t eventually used and by the end of the tour he was helping Pakistan out as an unofficial bowling coach. Eventually, Waqar Younis was hired as a full-time bowling coach later in the winter.And though Mushtaq wasn’t selected for the squad to tour England in the summer, speculation was rife that he would be picked once Pakistan arrived, especially after the spate of crippling injuries their bowlers suffered. To many people’s surprise, he wasn’t chosen for any of the Tests, even though Danish Kaneria struggled throughout the summer. Instead, Mushtaq continued in his attempts to land Sussex a second County Championship title.For now, Mushtaq is back in the set-up, if only for the solitary assignment. The PCB is not yet ruling out involvement beyond that and Zaidi added that the decision will be reviewed again after the tournament. “The appointment will be reviewed on a tour-by-tour basis after that.”

Hundreds for Benjamin Hector and Boeta Dippenaar entertained a small crowd in Bloemfontein, as Griqualand West and Easterns made up ground on Western Province in the latest round of Standard Bank Cup matches.PointsTableGriqualand West 307 for 5 (Hector 126, Bosman 80) beat FreeState 300 for 9 (Dippenaar 111, Beukes 64, Kruis 3-58) by 7runs
ScorecardIn a high scoring match in Bloemfontein, Griqualand West won a close encounter against Free State. When the last over started Free State needed 14 runs for the win. Three wickets in that over, from Deon Kruis, made sure that the work Benjamin Hector and Loods Bosman had done with the bat did not go unrewarded.Boeta Dippenaar top-scored for Free State, and in the process sent a timely reminder to the national selectors. He was ably supported by Johann Beukes.Easterns 191 for 3 (Seymore 74, Hall 59) beat North West189 (De Vos 50, Morkel 3-40) by 7 wickets
ScorecardEasterns ran away with a comfortable seven-wicket win at Benoni againstNorth West. Batting first North West could only muster 189 with Dirkie deVos top-scoring with 50. Bowling honours were shared with Albie Morkeltaking three for 40.A 116-run partnership between Andre Seymore, who made 74, and Andrew Hall (59), was enough to see Easterns home in 43 overs.Eastern Province 200 for 7 (Bryant 46) beat Boland 170(Ontong 65, Hayward 4-36, Love 3-26) by 30 runs
ScorecardBoland went down by 30 runs at Paarl after Eastern Provincehad set a modest target of 200 runs. James Bryant kept Province in thegame with his 46 while too many batsmen got starts and then lost their wickets.Boland looked set to win but when Justin Ontong was dismissed at 142 the team lost momentum, with Mornantau Hayward and Geoff Love sharing seven wickets. Hayward’s return of four wickets earned him a bowling award while Love produced his best List A figures.

Outgoing International Cricket Council (ICC) president Malcolm Gray hasadmitted that the contracts controversy was laced with evils like “greed andparochialism”, according to a report from India Abroad News Service.Gray, who will hand over stewardship of the ICC to Pakistan’s Ehsan Mani onThursday, spoke at length about issues that have strained relationshipsbetween players, national cricket boards and the ICC. The interview quotesGray as saying: “The contracts issue was a problem that was entwined withgreed, bad management, lack of communication, nationalism and parochialism.”Further, he admitted that the ICC could have handled the imbroglio moresensitively. “We at ICC should have realised that the communication betweenthe players and the boards was lacking in many parts of the world. Maybe wecould have done more to ensure the players were properly informed and theirviews taken into account.”Gray’s statements come in the wake of a claim of £ 50 million by the GlobalCricket Corporation (GCC), who earlier entered into a US$ 550 million,seven-year sponsorship deal with the ICC. The deal assured the GCC of antiambush-marketing measures, some of which could not be fulfilled in thecourse of the World Cup.Shortly before the ICC Champions Trophy and the World Cup, uneasycompromises were reached and the tournaments got under way. It is thesecompromises that have given rise to circumstances in which the GCC can stakeits claim for £ 50 million from the ICC.Gray appreciated the gravity of the situation, but remained optimistic thata solution would be reached. “It is a complex issue and the claims that haveemanated will take time to find solutions. However, if they are approachedwith a sense of reasonability by all parties, an answer could be arrived atin a relatively short time.”

Close Sri Lanka 129 for 5 (Jayawardene 32) and 208 lead West Indies 191 (Nissanka 5-64) by 146 runs Prabath Nissanka led a Sri Lanka fightback with the ball on the second day of this decisive second Test, exploiting a juicy Sabina Park pitch to claim his first Test five-for, as West Indies were skittled out for 191. But West Indies’ pace quartet then made deep inroads into Sri Lanka’s top order to leave the match on a knife-edge at the close.West Indies held a clear advantage on the first evening after dismissing Sri Lanka for a paltry 208, but Nissanka – playing in only his fourth Test – clawed the visitors back into the game with 5 for 64. Muttiah Muralitharan chipped in with the prize scalp of Brian Lara – his 50th wicket against West Indies, in his seventh Test.The bowler’s dominance continued though the final session. Corey Colleymore livened up the Kingston crowd with the wickets of Sanath Jayasuriya (13), who was trapped lbw, and Kumar Sangakkara (12), the first innings top-scorer, who edged behind (43 for 2). When Marvan Atapattu (28), Sri Lanka’s sheet anchor, flirted at a good-length delivery to give Jerome Taylor his first Test wicket, the Sri Lankans were back in trouble (80 for 3).Mahela Jayawardene (32) and Romesh Kaluwitharana (23) shepherded Sri Lanka back into a more comfortable position during a 38 run stand for the fourth wicket. But two wickets in three balls just before the close meant it was West Indies that finished with their nose ahead. Jayawardene nicked a Fidel Edwards outswinger and Taylor flattened Kalauwitharana’s stumps. Sri Lanka closed on 129 for 5 with a slender 146-run lead.Earlier, West Indies had been given a good start by Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds. Gayle smacked 14 off Thilan Thushara’s third over, and then Hinds smashed successive fours of Chaminda Vaas. It had all the hallmarks of being a bad day for Sri Lanka when Muralitharan dropped a skyer from Gayle at mid-on. But then Nissanka weighed in. Gayle tried to leave a ball but gloved it to Sangakkara at gully for 31 (54 for 1) and then Hinds’s flashing drive got an edge through to Kaluwitharana, the wicketkeeper. Hinds made 19 (59 for 2).Lara arrived to a hero’s welcome after his double-hundred in St Lucia, but this time Muralitharan won their personal tussle, trapping the flummoxed Lara leg-before with his arm ball. Muralitharan’s delight and the crowd’s stunned silence testified to the importance of that wicket. Lara had made 10 and West Indies’ decision to play the extra bowlers meant that their tail was almost exposed to the eager Muralitharan.Much depended on Ramnaresh Sarwan, but he was bowled behind his legs by Vaas as he shuffled across his stumps for 31 (107 for 4). Thereafter, wickets tumbled. Nissanka removed Omari Banks and Marlon Samuels, both caught low at first slip by Hashan Tillakaratne, and Muralitharan bamboozled his way through the tail.Collymore and Edwards added an idiosyncratic 16 runs for the last wicket as Tillakaratne mystifyingly left Nissanka kicking his heels at long leg. When Nissanka was eventually summoned it took him four balls to end the resistance. In a low-scoring match, the runs eked out by the West Indies tail could be decisive.Day 1 Bulletin: Edwards enjoys a fairytale debut

Shahid Afridi was named captain of a 14-man Pakistan A squad for next month’s triangular one-day series to be played at Kolkata. The tournament will take place between December 13 and 21 and will include India and Sri Lanka as the other two teams.The members of the squad have been advised to report for a training camp that will start in Lahore from November 29.Squad Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed bin Nasir, Naved Latif, Amin-ur-Rehman (wk), Umar Gul, Mohammad Khalil, Mohammad Irshad, Mansoor Amjad, Faisal Iqbal, Bilal Asad, Imran Nazir, Abdul Rauf.

Lucy Pearson, England’s opening bowler, today became the first Englishwomanto take ten wickets in an Ashes Test Match throughout it’s 69 year history;but it was not enough to prevent Australia reaching 163-4 and a lead of 110runs.Pearson said “it’s amazing to be the first Englishwoman to take ten wickets,especially in a match that forms The Ashes Series. You dream of taking tenwickets in a game. The great thing is, I have a good opportunity to takemore tomorrow and that’s fantastic”.In the first session of play, England added a further thirty-six runs totheir overnight total, finishing their first innings on 187 in reply toAustralia’s 134. Emma Twining dismissed England’s final batters thismorning to match Julie Hayes’s figures of 3-32.The lead of 53 runs looked all the more substantial as Pearson trapped KrisBritt lbw in the ninth over for just 3. Six overs later she dismissed theAustralia Captain, Belinda Clark, who was caught at mid-wicket attempting topull for 16.Laura Newton removed the dangerous Karen Rolton for 15 and Pearson thendeceived Melanie Jones who nicked a quick delivery through to Claire Taylor,England’s wicket-keeper.At 49-4, Australia were still 3 runs behind England but diligent battingfrom Lisa Sthaelaker, who has relinquished her openers position, togetherwith newcomer Alex Blackwell, saw the pair remain unbeaten for the fifthwicket at stumps.Sthaelakar recorded the highest individual score of the Ashes Series so far,finishing on 65 not out, and Blackwell 51 not out. England’s bowlersfrustrated the pair following the tea interval, with Sarah Collyer again thetourists most economical bowler, and restricted the scoring rate to littleover one an hour, Blackwell staying on 20 for eleven overs.But the breakthrough didn’t arrive, despite Pearson taking the new ball withthirteen overs of play remaining.With one day of the Ashes remaining, the initiative is now back with thehome team.