The Somerset captain Justin Langer is in talks with the county to sign a new one-year contract to extend his stay until 2008. Langer had a six-week stint at Taunton last year and agreed to captain Somerset following his international retirement after the 2006-07 Ashes in Australia.”Justin has already publicly stated that he wants to come back and play for Somerset in 2008,” Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, told the county’s official website.”He is thoroughly enjoying his cricket with Somerset and has been making positive noises, in addition to which his family is enjoying their time over here in England as well.”Richard Gould, the chief executive at Somerset, said: “Discussions with Justin regarding his likely return to Somerset for next season are at an advanced stage and an official announcement will be made later this week.” In 12 first-class matches for the county this season Langer has scored 953 runs at 59.56 and he has added another 555 in the one-day competitions.

New Zealand teams could compete in Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition as soon as 2008-09. The boards of Australia and New Zealand are discussing the potential for a Trans-Tasman tournament, with the top sides going on to compete against teams from India, England and South Africa in the newly-announced Champions Twenty20 League.Glenn McGrath and Stephen Fleming were in New Delhi on Thursday for the launch of the ICC-sanctioned competition, which is seen as an official alternative to the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Although no players were named as definite participants Fleming and McGrath, both of whom had been courted by the ICL, would appear likely to play. Shane Warne’s decision not to sign with the ICL has also fuelled speculation he might join the Champions Twenty20 League, which will start in October 2008.The details are still being fine-tuned but the initial plan is for domestic teams that progress to the international tournament to be allowed to top up their squads with guest players. That could mean Warne or McGrath might sign with an Indian or England domestic team, for example, while an Australian state side could try to lure top players from other countries.”That is certainly a possibility in the Champions League and, in some respects, that is part of the attraction,” Cricket Australia’s CEO James Sutherland told the . “It’s a concept where we have the best of the best at domestic level playing against each other. Previously, apart from really isolated instances, this just hasn’t happened before.”In the first season, the two Australian states that reach the KFC Twenty20 final will earn a place in the Champions League. However, after 2007-08 the states will probably have extra competition for a spot in the worldwide tournament.”We have had preliminary talks with Cricket Australia about establishing a trans-Tasman league which will feed into subsequent global championships,” New Zealand Cricket’s CEO Justin Vaughan said. “Both New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Australia are interested in exploring this potential further with the possibility of a trans-Tasman league starting as early as the 2008-09 cricket season. The two top teams from this league would then progress to the Champions Twenty20 tournament to play teams from Indian, African and European leagues.”

Pakistan have dropped to seventh place in the ICC Test Championship table after their 1-0 series defeat to South Africa. Pakistan, who were earlier in sixth place with 99 points, lost three points and are now only ahead of West Indies (72) and Bangladesh (4).South Africa, on the other hand, stay in fifth place, but they are now only two points behind India and Sri Lanka, who both have 107 points.For Pakistan, it’s been a particularly painful slide – they were placed third earlier this year, but have since lost two successive series against South Africa, going down 1-2 on their tour to the country earlier this year.Pakistan’s chance to prop up their ratings comes soon, when they tour India next month for a series that includes five ODIs and three Tests. South Africa can further close in on the higher-ranked teams when they host New Zealand for a two-Test series next month.Australia remain firmly ensconced on top of the leader board with 141 points, 30 clear of second-placed England.

Australia have chosen a squad heavy with young allrounders for the Hong Kong Sixes tournament that starts on the weekend. Aaron O’Brien is the most experienced member of the seven-man group, which features three players who have played first-class cricket.O’Brien, a left-arm orthodox spinner and middle-order batsman, will be a key player for Australia having 20 first-class matches to his name at New South Wales. Shawn Gillies and Steve O’Keefe have also played in the Pura Cup, while Nathan Reardon, Michael Buchanan and Matt Johnston have domestic one-day experience.Tasmania’s Alex Doolan is the only member of the squad without a state game to his name. Australia’s first match is against Bangladesh on Saturday. Also in their pool is South Africa and an All Stars team that features Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Brian Lara, Craig McMillan, Heath Streak, Anil Kumble and Geraint Jones.Squad Aaron O’Brien, Michael Buchanan, Alex Doolan, Nathan Reardon, Shawn Gillies, Matt Johnston, Steve O’Keefe.

The winter chill has set in in Ahmedabad. There’s a nip in the air and it gets slightly foggy as the sun dips behind the Sabarmati. What it means for the Challenger Trophy tournament, which starts on Thursday, is that dew will play a crucial role in the games, all of which are day-night contests. Dhiraj Parsana, the chief curator at the ground, warns that the period between 7pm and 8pm is the danger hour when the dew is likely to set in, and perhaps have a bearing on the result.The Motera stadium has been Parsana’s nursery from 1982, when the ground came into existence. At 60, Parsana, a former Gujarat left-arm medium-pacer who played a couple of Tests in the late 1970s, retains the same kind of enthusiasm today as he did when the late Polly Umrigar recommended him to the Gujarat Cricket Association for the groundsman’s job 25 years ago. Parsana, who is a consultant on the BCCI curators committee, is of the firm belief that dew “will be a factor”, but he is doing his utmost to ensure that the moisture doesn’t rise up too much.The process starts five to six days before the match. “First, we start by cutting the grass low on the outfield. If the height of the grass is high the dew sets on it, so we cut the grass to a height of between two to four millimetres.” His caution: cut it too fine and the fielders will have bruised bodies and dirty laundry.The second important factor is not to leave the ground damp just before the match. “We don’t water the ground for a day and a half before the game. So, I will water the ground today [Wednesday] around mid-day, and the next time I will water the outfield will be on Thursday evening after the game.”His other important task is to ensure that the pitch is good for one-day cricket, and remains fair to both teams over the entire duration of the match. He explains his perfect formula: “Maintain around two inches of hardness immediately below the top surface, and below that at least four inches of moisture is needed to help keep the shine on the surface and bind it.”

To ensure that the moisture level is just right, Parsana has an indigenous method in which he pushes a screwdriver, around four centimetres in length, into the pitch surface. Parsana explains how it works: “If it goes smoothly you will roll again to try and achieve an inch or two of hardness in the top surface.” The perfect state is achieved when you have to use both hands to push the screwdriver, the bottom half of which should feel cool to the touch because of the moisture.It might sound a trifle primitive, but Parsana says it works just fine. He also points out that the best thing that happened to Indian curators was when Jagmohan Dalmiya got experts from the New Zealand High Performance Centre almost a decade ago to help make better grounds across India. He has the Meteorological department supplying him the early morning, day time and late evening temperatures along with the humidity figures that help him work out how much watering he needs to carry out the following day. Parsana, along with his trusted groundsman of 25 years, Kaloji Thakur, have been the first men on the field for the last week to get the ground in the right shape, and the next four days will be crucial for both.Parsana, though, is confident that the combination of modern research along with his own knowledge and experience will ensure that everything works out right. “It has helped in the past and I’m relying on that.”

Andre Adams has revealed his significant frustration with New Zealand’s selectors, which led him to make himself unavailable for the ODI series in South Africa. Adams has also hinted that he might not be willing to play Test cricket if selected, which would effectively mean retirement from international cricket.Adams, 32, is the form bowler from the first two rounds of the State Championship with 13 wickets at 8.76. He said he had turned down queries from Richard Hadlee, New Zealand’s selection manager, as to whether he was available for the South Africa trip.”I’m pretty disappointed with the treatment I’ve received over the past year, especially not being picked for the World Cup,” Adams told the . “When I was also left out of the Twenty20 world champs, I thought ‘well, if I can’t get in ahead of Bradley Scott I must be a fair bit off the pace’.”I’ve watched some players who were picked ahead of me have a pretty average time of it, and they just kept playing. I’ve sat on the bench and watched, and I’ve had enough – simple as that.”Adams conceded he did not have a great relationship with the New Zealand coach John Bracewell and he suggested the national squad, which has struggled in South Africa, might not be a pleasant environment. “Are they a happy team?” Adams said of the players in South Africa. “That’s a tough question and one that I’ve got some pretty strong views on but I’m not prepared to speak about it publicly at the moment.”Although he has played 42 ODIs, Adams has not represented New Zealand since the home series against Sri Lanka in January. He said he was not willing to play any more one-day internationals under the current administration.After New Zealand finish their disappointing South Africa tour they will visit Australia for the three-match Chappell-Hadlee series. Although they won the last Chappell-Hadlee installment in February it was a rare highlight for New Zealand in recent years.Steve Rixon, their former coach, said the side had not made enough progress under Bracewell. “Braces has been in the job for four years and I haven’t seen too much improvement in the team, which disappoints me,” Rixon told the .New Zealand start their tour of Australia with a Twenty20 international in Perth on December 11. Three ODIs follow in Adelaide, Sydney and Hobart.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

In the build-up to this Test, playing in Sri Lanka has been described as one of the game’s toughest challenges and England responded with an outstanding bowling performance on the opening day at Kandy. Matthew Hoggard took four wickets in 25 balls during the morning session as Sri Lanka hit the depths of 42 for 5, then Monty Panesar chipped in with three after a partial resurrection from Kumar Sangakkara and Prasanna Jayawardene who added 106 for the sixth wicket to lift them to 188.The morning session was a dream for England as Hoggard, playing his first Test since June, swung the ball as though back on home soil at Headingley. Three of Sri Lanka’s middle order were dispatched for single figures as Hoggard added Kandy to his list of overseas success stories, alongside diverse locations such as Nagpur, Adelaide and Johannesburg. However, home embarrassment was averted to some degree by Sangakkara and Jayawardene who mixed caution with aggression before the second collapse of the innings as the last four wickets fell for eight runs.But England couldn’t finish with their full card intact after facing 17 overs. Alastair Cook went third ball, planting his front foot across the line to Chaminda Vaas, using his 100 Tests worth of experience with the new ball as Hoggard did so successfully. Michael Vaughan could have gone, too, but Asad Rauf gave him the benefit of very little doubt against Lasith Malinga. There were three overs from Muttiah Muralitharan; that’s a battle that will unfold on Sunday.It was always expected that this ground would offer England their best chance in the series, the conditions being less fierce than Colombo and Galle while the pitch offers more for seam and swing merchants. But Vaughan would have had no hesitation in batting first and Mahela Jayawardene was smiling widely at the toss. However his grin disappeared as quickly as Sri Lanka’s openers; Sanath Jayasuriya driving to backward point to increase speculation he will be forced to retire and Michael Vandort chipping limply to mid-on to open Hoggard’s account.The next three came in a rush with Matt Prior holding three outside edges. Jayawardene was undone straight after drinks, Chamara Silva was squared up by a beauty and Jehan Mubarak completed the trio with a lazy prod at his fifth ball. Hoggard was making the ball talk, adjusting faultlessly between left- and right-handers and England sensed a chance to run through a shocked batting line-up still suffering a hangover from Australia.

But after Hoggard’s burst, it was much more how Test cricket is meant to be in Sri Lanka; batsmen settling in while the pitch is at its best for scoring and bowlers having to bust a gut. Sangakkara followed his efforts in the Hobart Test last month, where he scored 57 and 192, with another innings to show why he is ranked No. 3 in the world. He had two moments of concern, an edge off James Anderson which flew through a vacant third slip before lunch and a close lbw appeal against Panesar when he padded up to a ball which spat out of the footmarks. As Sangakkara escaped, Muralitharan may just have made a mental note in the dressing room.Sangakkara’s half century took 80 balls and he played Hoggard, who only bowled four overs in the afternoon after 10 in the morning, with more ease than any of his team-mates. Vaughan began to work harder with his field settings, putting men on the drive and sweepers on the fence to try and stifle the scoring. England benefited from youthfulness, maintaining their focus except for lapses apiece from Ryan Sidebottom and Hoggard which allowed boundaries to escape.Jayawardene belied his recent form – a pair at Hobart – with a positive innings after taking 17 balls to open his account. He always gave the bowlers a chance, but there were a fair share of handsome boundaries. Panesar struggled to find his rhythm, but his confidence was given a timely boost when Jayawardene chipped straight to short leg, where Cook held on after a juggle, and he added two more either side of tea as he settled into his role.Sangakkara deserved a century, but left with the tail he chanced his arm and skewed an outside edge towards backward point where Paul Collingwood leapt to his right to hand Anderson reward for an economical performance. The last wicket came in typically comical style as Malinga heaved the ball through midwicket and Muralitharan was nowhere near making the second as Ravi Bopara, handed his debut after edging out Owais Shah, acted swiftly in the outfield. But Muralitharan’s main role is with the ball and, having seen the turn on offer for Panesar, he is the biggest threat to England’s strong position.

January 7
News – McGrath backs former team-mates
January 6
News – Kumble questions Australia’s spirit
Peter English – Australia’s attitude lacking in appeal
Martin Williamson – Not walking is not cheating
News – India seek to replace Bucknor for Perth Test
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan – A frustrating end
Audio – Ravi Shastri: Tough for India to come back
Audio – Ian Chappell: India let Australia off the hook

A sense of deja vu prevailed amid the light mist engulfing the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Zimbabwe won the toss, stumbled at the start, Tatenda Taibu and Sean Williams put on a rescue act, a stutter followed and they ended at least 50 short of a competitive total. The script was very similar to that of the second match in Hyderabad where Zimbabwe had let the initiative slip.Early successes in the field followed, but the shallowness of their bowling attack, and a lack of pace and penetration resulted in their fifth successive loss of the tour.Disappointed by his own performance as well as the team’s overall show in the field, Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe’s stand-in captain, said his bowlers simply didn’t create enough chances.”Sean and Tatenda provided a great start once again but, as before, we failed to capitalise on that,” Masakadza said. “There is a lot of disappointment but by not creating opportunities, we made things difficult for ourselves. We have a match to go and we need to improve our bowling in order to get a result out of it.”The failure of the top order has been a worry for Zimbabwe. Vusi Sibanda and Masakadza have managed starts of 45, 16, 10 and 7 so far in the series. The pressure, as a result, fell on a middle order that has coped remarkably well. Taibu has three half-centuries in the serieswhile Williams followed up scores of 51, 3 and 71 with an attacking 48 off 56 balls today.”Our strength is our middle order and they have been staging the recovery in light of our poor performance at the top,” Masakadza said. “I think it is a matter of playing as many matches as possible to gain the required amount of experience and not repeating the same mistakes again.”Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, was all smiles after a Man-of-the-Match winning performance with three crucial wickets and a 99-ball 88 at No.3, in place of the rested Younis Khan. Malik praised a fine team effort, as well as an enterprising century from Mohammad Yousuf, and was confident of completing a 5-0 whitewash with his young side.”The youngsters have been really impressive in the series so far,” Malik said. “Winning is not easy even if you are playing a weaker side and it has been a commendable effort from the young bowling attack to restrict Zimbabwe.”Shrugging aside calls that his team, especially the debutantes, have not been tested thoroughly by Zimbabwe, Malik argued that the players performed impressively in conditions which tested them.”The pitch was on the slower side today and the ball wasn’t really coming on to the bat. Yousuf played a gem of an innings but the good start was given by our bowlers early on.”Pakistan will get another opportunity to test more new players in Sheikhupura where the final match of the series will be played, on Saturday. For Zimbabwe, it will be a chance to put a disappointing tour behind them and deliver the performance that their captain and coach have long been talking about.

Johmari Logtenberg, who it’s no exaggeration to call a batting sensation, has surprised the world of women’s cricket by suddenly giving up the sport for golf. More unexpected still is the fact that the cricket star, who averaged 422.50 in a domestic season and has been instrumental in the international set-up since the age of 14, has only just taken up golf on a whim and she doesn’t know if she will be any good at it.”I didn’t plan to play golf,” she told the Times of South Africa. “It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision”It seems an extraordinary move for the girl, still only 18, who had the cricketing world at her feet with two one-day international centuries and five fifties under her belt. Then again she didn’t earn any money from it – English counties offered to pay her travel expenses “I would have ended up playing for charity” – while a successful women’s golfer can earn a lucrative sum.With great hand-eye co-ordination, the one thing that perhaps will not raise eyebrows is that she’s already got a handicap of 12 despite these being early days where golf is concerned.She has enrolled at Gavan Levenson’s golf academy to improve her game further but if it doesn’t work out she hinted there would be a chance she could go back to cricket. “We’ll only see after this year whether golf is for me.”