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South Africa should use the upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka to deepen their pool of international players, according to the former national selector Hugh Page. Sri Lanka travel as the underdogs – not only do they have the historical disadvantage of never recording a Test win in South Africa, but their current form is dismal – they have not managed one Test victory this year. Page sees it as a chance to blood fringe players ahead of a year which includes tours to New Zealand, England and Australia.”If you are going to give guys an opportunity, this is the series to do it,” Page told ESPNcricinfo. “South Africa currently have a very healthy situation, the nursery is full. But, they don’t want a situation where when some of the old guys go; you have five or six totally new players.”Page, who was part of Omar Henry’s selection panel nearly ten years ago, identified two key areas for South Africa’s selectors to zone in on: wicketkeeping and batting. The former is a particularly prickly issue, with no clear successor being earmarked in place of Mark Boucher, who had a poor series against Australia and is under pressure to produce with the bat. Page identified one candidate who could be tried.”Mark Boucher probably does not have a long time left and I like the look of Dane Vilas,” Page said. Vilas plays for the Cobras where he bats in the lower-middle order and boasts a first-class average of 46.62. He scored an authoritative, unbeaten 161 in a match against the Titans in this year’s SuperSport Series.According to Page, South Africa’s top-six could also use a shake-up, which would involve moving Jacques Rudolph down the order. “I would recall Alviro Petersen. He should open the batting and Jacques Rudolph should come in the middle order,” Page said.Petersen was dropped in favour of Rudolph for the two-Test series against Australia. Rudolph topped the SuperSport Series rankings last season and has the same so far, this season. But, Rudolph had an unremarkable return to Test cricket, top-scoring with 30 in four innings. His opening stands with Graeme Smith never lasted more than 40. Petersen and Smith had nine opening stands of at least 50 in the nine Tests they played together. “Petersen and Smith also form that left-right combination which is quite a nice asset to have,” Page said.South Africa’s attack is not a cause of concern for Page, although he would like to see an injection of youth with players such as Wayne Parnell and Marchant de Lange on the radar. de Lange has only played 14 first-class matches but made a big impression in last month’s tour match against the Australians, where he took 5 for 56. Page suggested South Africa emulate their recent rivals when it comes to fast-tracking players. “Look at Australia, their two debutants [Nathan Lyon and Patrick Cummins] took five-wicket hauls in their first series. Same with Vernon Philander. We should do something similar with our youngsters.”Seamers are expected to play a major role in the series, with the hosts likely to prepare pitches that favour pace and bounce. Sri Lanka are depleted in the pace department due to injuries. Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Kulasekara, Shaminda Eranga and Dhammika Prasad are all injured. “When we go there, they won’t do us any favours, so we shouldn’t do them any over here, especially when they are down,” Page said.While Page was in favour of experimentation in the Test squad, he warned that the ODI leg of the tour may prove trickier. “In the one-dayers, we will have to be wary of them, they are a very good side and we should be sensible in our selections there.” South Africa lost their three-match ODI series against Australia 2-1 and, after crashing out of the World Cup in the quarter-final stage, still have a few unanswered questions about the make-up of their limited-overs squads.The South African selectors have some time before they pick the ODI squad but are expected to announce the Test squad on Tuesday. Sri Lanka’s tour will begin next Friday, with a three-day warm-up match against South African A in Benoni.

Wickets tumbled on the second day at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium where State Bank of Pakistan finished on top against Rawalpindi. Starting the day on 162 for 4, SBP were bowled out for 238. Reeling at 173 for 7 at one stage, they recovered thanks to a lower-order resistance from Rameez Alam and Gulraiz Sadaf, who chipped in with useful contributions. For Rawalpindi, seamer Mohammad Rameez picked up five wickets for 38. While the bowlers brought Rawalpindi back into the match, the batsmen let them down. Usman Saeed managed a top score of 22 in an innings that was ripped apart by seamer Saad Altaf, who grabbed 7 for 59, his career-best effort. He helped SBP bowl out Rawalpindi for 121 in just 30 overs. Having secured a lead of 117, SBP were 24 without loss by the close.Water and Power Development Authority held the advantage over Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. By stumps on the second day, they had secured a 52-run lead with six wickets in hand. WAPDA lost Rafatullah Mohmand, Asif Khan and Ayaz Tasawwar after the trio had got starts but Aamer Sajjad and Bilal Khilji rebuilt the innings and turned the tide. Sajjad struck 13 fours and a six in his unbeaten 106, his eleventh first-class ton, and added 148 for the fourth wicket with Khilji, who made 70 before being dismissed. At stumps, WAPDA were 284 for 4.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited piled up 498 for 9 in their first innings against Abbottabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. The hosts were 82 for 3 at stumps, the initiative still firmly with the visitors. ZTBL were resting comfortably at 305 for 3 overnight and though they lost Shahid Yousuf for 83 early in the day, Haris Sohail built on his half-century to finish with 151, his fourth first-class century. Zohaib Khan supported him with 51 in a fifth-wicket stand worth 116. Seamer Ahmed Jamal helped reduce the damage somewhat and ZTBL eventually declared. In their response, Abbottabad lost opener Rameez Ahmed, Almar Afridi and Asif Ali before the close, still 416 runs adrift.Faisalabad had the edge over Habib Bank Limited in an intriguing clash at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. At 219 for 8 overnight, Faisalabad folded for 247 on the second morning; Danish Kaneria picked up 6 for 91. HBL, however, capitulated in their response. Only Khaqan Arsal put up any significant resistance with his 71; seamer Abdur Rauf collected 5 for 53, Naseer Akram took 3 for 41 and all HBL could manage was 156 in 55.5 overs, conceding a lead of 91. There were more twists in store: Fahad Masood removed opener Shahid Siddiq and nightwatchman Shoaib Shah in quick time, leaving Faisalabad on 13 for 2, a lead of 104.National Bank of Pakistan were on track of taking control of their contest against Karachi Blues at the National Stadium in Karachi. Left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz tore through the Karachi batting, which had won its team the honours on day one, picking up six wickets. His victims included the centurion Asad Baig in a collapse during which Karachi lost six wickets for 49 runs. NBP replied strongly and were in an excellent position to take a first-innings lead, reaching 227 for 2 by stumps. Opener Nasir Jamshed made an unbeaten 127 and Aqeel Anjum supported him in a stand of 198 that is still ongoing, helping NBP overcome the loss of two early wickets. NBP are now 71 runs behind with eight wickets in hand.Big centuries from opener and captain Kamran Sajid and Faisal Iqbal helped Pakistan International Airlines amass 505 against Sialkot at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Kamran went on to add 51 more to his overnight score of 122, while Faisal, on 46 at stumps on day two, made an unbeaten 165. He struck 22 fours while his centurion partner struck 24; the pair’s stand was worth 204. Faisal also shared productive partnerships with Fahad Iqbal and Shoaib Khan snr before his captain declared, with just four wickets down. In their response, Sialkot lost opener Jawad Ahmed for 10 and ended the day on 62 for 1.

England allrounder Samit Patel has admitted that his fitness problems are not behind him yet, but insisted that his work ethic has changed and he’s headed in the right direction.Before he was recalled this summer, Patel had been out of the England set-up since their last tour of India in 2008. It was made clear by the England management that it was his attitude to fitness that was keeping him out of the side, and there was always the feeling that he had the talent to be an England cricketer if only he take on board the team’s strict work ethic.”If I did the right stuff I was very confident of getting back and I had good vibes from the management,” Patel told reporters in India after England’s arrival for their limited-overs series. “I knew my cricket wasn’t the issue, it was the other stuff.”There is no place for complacency in the England team under coach Andy Flower’s tutelage, and the attitudinal shift to accept the mantra of constant self-evaluation and improvement has been perhaps the hardest challenge for Patel. “It’s a big one really,” he added. “To be willing to do the work and show the attitude to do it was a big thing for me. I hope I’ve overcome that now. Not fully yet. It doesn’t change overnight, there is a long way to go.””It’s a combination [of things], training harder, doing the hours. The willingness to train was probably one of the issues, but attitude-wise I’m back on track and going in the right direction.”You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. But things are going quite well. I’ve lost a bit of weight and attitude-wise, training is the big one for the ECB and England, the willingness to do the work. Maybe I didn’t show that but now I’m doing it.”Patel’s change in direction did not come in time for him to win a World Cup place with England earlier this year, however, and he admits there is no-one to blame for that regret but himself. “It was huge, very disappointing,” he added. “The fact that I should have been there was so disappointing. But I can’t blame anyone else but myself.”Despite spending much of the last three years in the international wilderness, Patel was kept informed by the England management and always knew what was required of him. “They always kept me in the loop and told me what to do. They wouldn’t have picked me in the summer otherwise.”The issue of discipline will not apply only to Patel as England seek to extend their successful summer overseas. The bowling attack will be without James Anderson and Stuart Broad, and there will be plenty of pressure on a young seam attack featuring Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, Chris Woakes and the uncapped Stuart Meaker.Bresnan, who has built a reputation for metronomic accuracy with the new ball, will have to take up to role of senior bowler in the absence of Anderson and Broad. “It’s obviously different bowling in England than in India,” said Bresnan. “In England, you may gather some seam when the ball is new. With wickets playing different in India, I view it as a challenge.”We have to bowl very tightly with the new ball. We have to bowl very accurately and very straight. Otherwise, you will be hit for runs. We have young bowlers who have a lot of talent. If we bowl well, we can pick up early wickets.”It’s a fresh start and a new challenge for us. We are going into this series with exactly the same mentality with which we won in England. We are still looking to improve and looking forward to the challenge.”

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Another century by Shivnarine Chanderapaul further undermined Yorkshire’s holdon Division One status and edged Warwickshire closer to the CountyChampionship crown at Edgbaston.Needing to make 350 to have enough bonus points to overhaul Lancashire afterthe leaders’ early defeat at Worcester, they were just about on course asChanderpaul’s 110 from 182 balls helped level the scores with six wickets downat the end of the second day.Having dismissed Yorkshire for 281 in the morning, when Rikki Clarke mopped upthe last two wickets after signing a new two-year contract, the title-chasingMidlanders did not have things all their own way when they batted. Ryan Sidebottom and fellow-seamers Ajmal Shahzad and Moin Ashraf bowled with purpose to capture the first four wickets for 137, but the in-form Tim Ambrose made an unbeaten 68 and shared in a stand of 135.For the second time in nine days Yorkshire’s bowlers were run ragged byChanderpaul’s powers of concentration and destruction. Having made 193 in 434 minute at Headingley Carnegie last week, the West Indies left hander adopted his familiar pose, crouched over the crease, almost square on to the bowler, and refused to budge for four-and-a-half hours.It has been Yorkshire’s misfortune to run into an exceptional player who istargeting a third county championship after previously winning successive titleswith Durham. His arrival for the last five matches could be the key component instrengthening a batting line-up in which only one of the top-order regulars hasaveraged more than 40.This fragility was evident as Varun Chopra and William Porterfield edgedcatches off Shahzad and Sidebottom, but Ian Westwood found some form as hecomfortably outpaced Chanderpaul in a stand of 67. Seven fours helped the opener to 55 before he was caught at first slip off Sidebottom, and when Jim Troughton followed suit, flashing at a ball from Ashraf, Yorkshire seemed to be in the box seat.However Chanderpaul continued to be the immoveable object, although not withouta delicate touch in finding gaps in the field. Ambrose, with ten fours in hishalf-century, was generally the more forceful until his partner quickened upwith two sixes and six fours after reaching 50.Sidebottom finally gave Yorkshire renewed hope by breaking a stand of 135 whenChanderpaul nicked a catch behind the wicket and the former England bowler alsotrapped nightwatchman Chris Metters lbw in the final over. Somehow the Tykes have to find a way to win this match and then beat Somerset in the final fixture to have a realistic chance of finishing above resurgent rivals Worcestershire and Hampshire.

(D/L method)
One-over Eliminator
ScorecardWill Jefferson booked a spot in the final for Leicestershire by smashing three boundaries in the Super Over•Getty Images

Twenty20 Finals Day was introduced to its first one-over Eliminator as a mad-cap semi-final swung one way and the other before settling in Leicestershire’s favour as Will Jefferson clubbed 15 runs off four balls in a dramatic finish. The victory booked Leicestershire both a place in the final and a spot in the Champions League qualifier next month, but for now their thoughts will be on the Birmingham finale.After rain had twice curtailed the game to leave Lancashire needing 80 from 11 overs, Gareth Cross clubbed a six off the final delivery to leave the scores level and set up the Eliminator. Stephen Moore had been Lancashire’s highest scorer in the tournament and was given the responsibility of setting the target with Steven Croft. Moore started with a six down the ground and added a four as the fielder at deep-square leg misjudged on the boundary. Claude Henderson, however, finished with two dot balls.Leicestershire had to chase 14 in their over and Jefferson made it look easy. Earlier he had seemed in good order during a 15-ball 23 but found better range against Gary Keedy. The first delivery was clattered through midwicket for four and the second down the ground. With four needed from the last two balls, Jefferson mowed a huge six deep into the stands over midwicket, sparking wild celebrations from both the Edgbaston crowd and the Leicestershire players.Though it ultimately made for a thrilling finish, the clouds that stalked the ground all day twice delivered downpours to interrupt the game. The first, in Leicestershire’s innings, lopped the match down to 18 overs a side but the second – after eight overs and one ball of the chase proved more decisive.Lancashire had skipped out of the blocks to take 38 from the five Powerplay overs but were bogged down by Henderson’s left-arm spin to be 53 for 1 when the rain arrived. With three games to squeeze into the day the chase was curtailed by the delay to leave Lancashire needing 27 from 17 more balls.Their response was to hack wildly. Batsmen walked in and off a procession as five wickets fell. Joshua Cobb, whose contribution had been limited to a diamond duck, was given the penultimate six balls and delivered a fearless over of offspin that gave away just six runs and brought two wickets. Wayne White’s final over had been superb until the last delivery – a low full toss – was dispatched by Cross over long-on to tie the scores. The crowd had started the day quietly but became ever more gripped by the wildly fluctuating match and were in raptures by the time the six set up an eliminator.Up until that Super Over, the first semi of Finals Day had proved a tale of two matches. Batsmen profiting against seamers and hamstrung against spin. Through the match 18 overs from the quicker men went for 157 while the spinners shared five wickets for 44 in 11. Hampshire’s trio of twirlers would have eyed each rasping turner with giddy anticipation.While the wicket may have raised eyebrows it was not unexpected. Peter Moores, the Lancashire coach, said afterwards he had no complaints. “The wicket played pretty much what we thought,” he said. “Edgbaston is pretty consistent, it sticks in the pitch a bit, mix your pace, it turns a bit. And it’ll turn a bit more probably as the day goes on. But its nothing different. Normally 150 will be a good score, and that’ll hold sway throughout the day.”That Leicestershire ended up victorious was all the more unlikely after they lost their way batting first against Keedy and Stephen Parry’s left-arm spinners. With the ball gripping violently they were reduced to 82 for 5 by the 12th over. But, after a slow start Abdul Razzaq launched three sixes and two fours – sharing a crucial 40-run stand with Paul Nixon to haul them up 132. It proved enough, just, to extend Nixon’s career that little bit more.

ScorecardA century from captain Alex Gidman helped Gloucestershire to a comfortable six-wicket victory over the Unicorns in their Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Exmouth.The Unicorns are yet to win in the competition this season although half-centuries from James Campbell and James Ord gave them a sound footing before Alex Gidman’s innings wrapped up the win for the Gladiators.It was his brother, Will Gidman, who took the early wicket of Michael Thornely but Campbell (58) and Ord (55) then put on 96 runs for the second wicket before the former was caught off the bowling of Kevin O’Brien.Ord was the next wicket to fall to Jack Taylor and when Jayden Levitt became Taylor’s second victim, with Keith Parsons and Josh Knappett falling cheaply either side, the Unicorns were in trouble. Luis Reece and Amar Rashid managed to guide the hosts on to 234 for seven at the end of their 40 overs.Gloucestershire were quick out of the blocks at the start of their reply and when O’Brien (46) was out off the bowling of Reece in the ninth over the visitors had already accrued 89 runs. James Fuller was then bowled by Reece before Alex Gidman (106no) and Hamish Marshall (60) piled on the runs until Reece struck again to dismiss the latter.Kane Williamson became Reece’s fourth victim soon after but Gidman stayed firm and saw his team home as Gloucestershire won their fourth group match of the season.

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Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal took four wickets as Worcestershire beat Northamptonshire by six wickets in the Friends Life t20 at Campbell Park. Ajmal registered superb figures of 4 for 14 as the rock-bottom Steelbacks again batted poorly in making just 129 for 9 from their 20 overs, with 17-year-old seamer Aneesh Kapil claiming an excellent 3 for 9.The Royals then recovered from a shaky start to reach their target with three deliveries to spare, with Vikram Solanki making 62 not out off 61 balls and David Lucas’ 3 for 18 coming in vain.Northamptonshire won the toss and chose to bat, but they lost Bilal Shafayat for a four-ball duck in the fourth over when he chipped Gareth Andrew to James Cameron at cover. Fellow opener Rob White clattered 33 off 27 balls before launching Kapil high into the air, Cameron taking the catch at point.Steelbacks wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien then scored at the same rate as White before he departed when he smashed Kapil straight to Solanki at long on. Alex Wakely (10) followed four deliveries later when he edged Kapil to Worcestershire wicketkeeper Ben Scott to give the youngster his third wicket.South Africa international Johan Botha plundered 17 before he hammered Andrew to Jack Shantry at long-off. Ajmal then trapped Northamptonshire captain Andrew Hall lbw, with the South African departing for a duck.Ajmal bowled a triple-wicket maiden in the final over as he pinned Rob Newton lbw for 22 before both Stephen Peters and Lucas were caught and bowled without scoring.Chasing 130, the Royals lost Moeen Ali for seven in the second over when he smashed Lucas straight to Lee Daggett at extra cover. The same fate befell Holland international Alexei Kervezee, who chipped a loose shot to Daggett, again at extra cover, off Lucas.Daggett’s searing delivery then clattered into Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s stumps before Hall caught Cameron superbly at midwicket off the bowling of Lucas to reduce the visitors to 45 for 4.But they regained their composure in the middle of their innings and they needed 41 runs off their last five overs with Solanki and skipper Daryl Mitchell at the crease. Solanki reached 50 off as many balls as he and Mitchell, 40 not out off 31 balls, made an unbroken 85 between them and Solanki knocked the two winning runs through extra cover off Daggett.

Lahore Lions put themselves in prime position for a semi-final spot after beating Islamabad Leopards comfortably at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, despite suffering a batting collapse in their innings. The 43-run margin of victory means Lahore’s net run-rate is +2.2, which will make them hard to catch at the top of Group A. Lahore had lost five wickets for five runs in their innings, but Islamabad suffered two collapses, first losing four wickets for nine runs and then four for 11.The collapses meant Islamabad’s chase never got going, and they were bowled out for 105 in 18.5 overs, with Shan Masood’s 32 the only significant contribution. Seamers Emmad Ali and Imran Ali did the early damage for Lahore, taking two and three wickets each, and then spinners Saad Nasim and Adnan Rasool finished the job. Lahore lost early wickets after electing to bat, but a 37-ball 44 from Kamran Akmal meant they kept scoring at a brisk rate. At 99 for 3 in the 13th over, they looked set for a big score, but a collapse meant they needed No. 9 Imran Ali’s 27 off 19 balls to get to 148.

In the first game, aggressive innings by Shahid Yousuf, Mansoor Amjad and Shoaib Malik got Sialkot Stallions to an imposing total of 183 that proved too much for Hyderabad Hawks. Hyderabad made a fist of the chase, thanks mainly to Sharjeel Khan’s swashbuckling 74 off 41 balls, and at 124 for 3 in the 13th over were very much in the game. But a flurry of wickets meant they fell 33 runs short. Sialkot were put in to bat and made a quick start thanks to opener Amjad’s 39 off 22 balls. Hyderabad got back in the game with a couple of quick wickets, and when Malik and Shahid Yousuf got together Sialkot were 90 for 3.Malik did the early scoring in the partnership and got 39 off 28 balls. Shahid Yousuf dominated the latter half of the stand and ended up with 48 off 35. The chase was always going to be a difficult one for Hyderabad, but the way Sharjeel and captain Azeem Ghumman started it looked like they would race towards the target. Fast bowler Sarmad Anwar pulled things back for Sialkot with wickets off the first two balls of the eighth over. Sharjeel kept going, though, and it was only when Malik bowled him in the 13th over that Sialkot managed to seize control of the game. A collapse followed: Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, struck twice in the next over, and the lower order collapsed. Hyderabad ended up getting bowled out in 18.2 overs.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been named in a group of 15 players who will play a two-day practice game at the Demerara Cricket Ground in Georgetown on May 8 and 9, ahead of West Indies’ Test series against Pakistan.Chanderpaul has been involved in a war of words with the WICB and the team management over the past week, but has still been invited to play the game. He is likely to make the squad for the first Test at Providence from May 16.Chanderpaul’s involvement in this practice game, though, means he will not be able to play the match between Guyana and the Pakistanis, which will take place on the same dates at Bourda. Having been dropped for the one-day series, Chanderpaul had said in an interview with local radio station that he was keen to play against Pakistan before the Test series in order to have a look at their bowling.Also among the fifteen players called up for the practice game are fast bowler Fidel Edwards and uncapped 18-year-old batsman Kraigg Brathwaite. Edwards has not played for West Indies since 2009, when he suffered a long-term injury. Brathwaite has had an impressive few months of first-class cricket, which was followed by his unbeaten 168 for West Indies Under-19s against Australia U-19s last month.Fifteen players: Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Brendan Nash, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith.

Dinesh Tandon, chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association, has dismissed suggestions anything untoward occurred during the 2010 Hong Kong Sixes tournament.Heath Mills, the New Zealand Players’ Association CEO, had confirmed reports which claimed New Zealand players reported a suspicious approach at the tournament, but Tandon was confident nothing untoward had happened.We have been made aware by the ICC that an incident happened and we are investigating it further,” Tandon told the . “But I can assure you that there has been no instance of match-fixing or spot-fixing.”Members of the New Zealand side, which included Daryl Tuffey, Nathan McCullum and Scott Styris, dined with a man in Hong Kong who introduced himself as a Middle Eastern diamond dealer, but grew uncomfortable when he began offering them products. They reported the interaction to the team manager Steve Wilkins, who in turn informed NZC, and the players were subsequently interviewed by the ICC’s anti-corruption unit.”The Hong Kong Sixes aren’t the usual bilateral series or an ICC event, these sorts of events that do take place that are festivals if you like,” Mills had told ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously if there isn’t an ICC anti-corruption official there to police it, a lot of the protocols aren’t going to be followed.”But Tandon said, from their end, the tournament organisers had followed all necessary protocols. “We have strictly adhered to ICC guidelines on corruption and I’m confident nothing happened.”