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	Intikhab Alam: “[Danish] Kaneria is still a very good legspinner. We should give him confidence and help him regain self-belief ” © AFP

Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, has backed legspinner Danish Kaneria to bounce back during India’s forthcoming visit early next year. Kaneria has not played a first-class game since he broke a finger while representing Essex, and in his past has been reprimanded by the PCB after making comments on his demotion to category C among Pakistan’s centrally-contracted players.”Kaneria is still a very good legspinner,” Alam told the . “We should give him confidence and help him regain self-belief and once he [Kaneria] does that I’m sure he will do wonders for us.”Kaneria has been a regular in Pakistan’s Test team since his debut in 2000, and with 220 wickets in 51 Tests, he’s only 16 behind Abdul Qadir’s tally of 216 scalps. But Kaneria hasn’t cemented a place in the limited-overs side, last playing during the 2007 World Cup. His last appearance for Pakistan was against India in Bangalore; he had a poor run during the three Tests, and since then Pakistan have not played five-day cricket.”You cannot just label a player by saying that he is only good enough for Tests or one-dayers,” he said. “As far as Kaneria is concerned I’m sure we can get the best out of him in any form of cricket. He can once again be a true match-winner.”Kaneria has recovered from his finger injury – he had a wire inserted to aid mend the fracture – and is expected to return for India’s visit, which has recently been under doubt due to security concerns. The coach expects a fully-prepared team to take on the traditional rivals. “I want my team to be the best possible and best prepared for the series against India,” he said. “We need our fast bowlers and the spinners to be fully ready while the batsmen should also be prepared.”

	Gary Kirsten: “I’m almost sure that regardless of what he [Kumble] is physically, he would be ready to represent the country” © AFP

Gary Kirsten, the India coach, has said he is not worried about Anil Kumble’s wicketless show in Bangalore, which was only the third occasion the bowler had failed to take any in a Test, and the first time in India.”We don’t look at one Test, but over a long period of time,” Kirsten said. “Kumble is one of the greatest Indian cricketers ever. A great player struggles [momentarily] before coming back stronger. Kumble has been doing the same for 17 years and I believe he would come up with a match-winning performance here.” Kumble hit out at the media’s “uncharitable” comments on his fitness, calls for retirement, and his performance as a player and captain in his newspaper column on Wednesday.Kirsten was hopeful that Kumble will recover in time for the second Test in Mohali starting Friday. Kumble injured his shoulder last week during the Bangalore Test which forced him to bat down the order and bowl only eight overs in Australia’s second innings.”We are watching him and at the moment he looks alright. There’s a little pain but we hope he will be ready in two days. He is a warrior and is very keen to play. I’m almost sure that regardless of what he is physically, he would be ready to represent the country.”Twenty-four of the 30 wickets that fell in the first Test went to fast bowlers and Kirsten said it was exciting to see pace bowlers dominate a match in India. He praised Zaheer Khan’s Man-of-the-Match performance but also warned that India needed to be careful against Brett Lee. “I think what makes him [Zaheer] such a force is that he has tremendous belief in himself, which helps any player. He has got great variations, knows which ball is to be bowled to which batsman.”Kirsten was happy with India’s performance in the first Test where the team salvaged a draw after batting out the fifth day. “Most made some contributions to the side, they were not big scores but still some sort of contribution and that too in pressure situations. Even from my playing days, I have never seen such unity and togetherness in an Indian team. They are eager to win the Test series against Australia.”We had a great preparation and I think the greatest catalyst was the fact that we are playing the world’s number one team. Everyone is talking about the team and not individual records. This Indian side firmly believes they can beat Australia.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has downplayed the prospects of impending legal complications with Geoff Lawson, the outgoing Pakistan coach, of outstanding dues owed to him after the termination of his contract.Lawson was removed from his post yesterday and given three months salary as per his contract agreement. But as Cricinfo reported yesterday, it is believed that the amount given to Lawson with his termination notice was “thousands and thousands of dollars” less than what it should have been. As a result the cheque was sent back to board officials by Lawson and the discrepancy in amounts pointed out.”I believe something has come back from Lawson regarding the outstanding payment,” Salim Altaf, director-general PCB, told Cricinfo. “There is no major problem and if there is a difference then it will be handled by our lawyers as per the contract and sorted out.”The error may have come from the fact that Lawson had apparently been paid his salary in advance till December 31, 2008. As he was fired on October 24, a three-month compensation package would mean that he was paid till January 24, 2009. Having been paid till the end of the year, he is now, according to the PCB, owed money for 24 days.It is believed that Lawson has contacted the Australian High Commission for legal advice on the matter and will not leave Pakistan until the matter is satisfactorily resolved.

	Allen Stanford: caught in a row with West Indies’ sponsors, Digicel © Getty Images

The organisers of November’s Stanford 20/20 for 20 have hit back in the row over sponsorship rights that is threatening to engulf the contest, accusing Digicel, the main sponsors of West Indies cricket, of “bullying” tactics as they attempt to secure the billing to which they believe their five-year deal with the WICB entitles them. In the opinion of the Stanford camp, their behaviour is little more than an attempt to muscle in on the considerable media attention that is being generated around the US$20 million event.Digicel maintains that its existing contract includes the Stanford match as it is officially sanctioned by the board and the team is, in effect, a fully representative side. Stanford counters that its “All-Stars” side is not official and, as such, is outside any existing sponsorship deal, and in a strongly worded press release on Monday afternoon, stated that it was “disappointed, though not surprised” by Digicel’s behaviour. The matter has already reached the High Court in London where Digicel were granted an injunction against Stanford proceeding with the event, and arbitration is due to begin on October 3.On Sunday, Digicel accused Stanford 20/20 of “inaccuracies” in its presentation of the facts of the case, and claimed that its representatives had “flatly refused” to consider a compromise deal. The Stanford camp has rebutted this charge and responded to the accusations with some robust language of its own. “Stanford 20/20 has no wish to conduct its business through the media,” read a statement, “but feels it must respond to the inaccurate and misleading statements being issued by Digicel in this regard.”In particular, the Stanford camp objects to the suggestion that Digicel’s original compromise solution – which involved the All-Stars side wearing official West Indies kit with Digicel branding, with no other telecommunications company involved in the event; and with Digicel’s costs being paid for by the board – was “rejected outright” by the organisers. Stanford claim that, after Digicel made its proposal public on September 11, a counter-proposal was returned and “ample time” was allowed for Digicel to respond away from the pressure of media scrutiny.”There is absolutely no merit in Digicel’s latest suggestion,” read the statement. “After careful consideration with WICB and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Stanford 20/20 agreed to the majority of Digicel’s original demands, even offering valuable sponsorship rights to which Digicel was not entitled under its agreement with WICB, and offering to pay Digicel’s legal costs. Stanford 20/20 declined to meet only one of Digicel’s demands – the demand that the Digicel logo appears on the Stanford Superstars jersey at no cost for a five-year period.”Digicel has contended repeatedly in the media that it already owns the right for the Digicel logo to appear on the Stanford Superstars jersey and that it has already paid for such right,” the statement continued. “In fact, such claims go way beyond any rights Digicel has in its contract with WICB and, so far as Stanford 20/20 is aware, Digicel has not made any similar claims in its court proceedings against WICB. Stanford 20/20’s counter-offer addressed all of Digicel’s legitimate rights under its agreement with WICB and so Stanford 20/20 is mystified as to why Digicel publicly continues to demand more.”Stanford 20/20 suspects that such claims are in fact a barely concealed attempt to create media pressure upon Stanford 20/20 in order that Digicel can achieve some commercial advantage beyond that to which it is entitled. It is hard for Stanford 20/20 to understand how such behaviour can be deemed to be in the “best interests of West Indies cricket” as Digicel continually claims. Stanford 20/20 will not be bullied in this way and will respond appropriately to such behaviour under legal advice.””Stanford 20/20 has informed Digicel that should it wish to have its logo carried on the Stanford Superstars jersey the two companies can engage in negotiations for Digicel to come on board as a presenting sponsor for the Stanford Super Series. Digicel has rejected this outright but that offer remains open for discussion as far as Stanford 20/20 is concerned.”

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The in-form batsmen Usman Khawaja and Michael Hill were among the runs again as the Australian Institute of Sport crushed the Bangladeshis by nine wickets in the fourth warm-up match. The win was set up by fast bowlers Grant Sullivan and Trent Kelly, who scythed through the Bangladeshi top order to limit the visitors to 229.Sullivan had the openers, Tamim Iqbal and Mehrab Hossain jnr, out cheaply while Kelly sent back the dangerous pair of Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib Al Hasan. With none of their top five passing 14, the tourists were floundering at 5 for 95 before Alok Kapali made a battling 62 and the lower order chipped in to provide some respectability to the total. Sullivan finished with impressive figures of 4 for 30 from his 10 overs while Kelly took 3 for 41.Australia’s chase never looked in trouble as their openers provided a solid platform with a 74-run stand before Theo Doropoulos was dismissed. The other opener Khawaja and No. 3 Hill were then involved in an unbroken 154-run association to secure their third win in four matches. Khawaja, who made 94 in the previous match, didn’t miss out on a century this time, collecting a 101 that featured five sixes. Hill continued his good showing in the tournament, finishing on 87 off 91 balls.Bangladesh have one more warm-up match, against a Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI, on Wednesday before their three-ODI series starts on Saturday.

	Andrew Flintoff was on roaring form © Getty Images

Contest of the day
Out of the puddles of a wet and winding final session roared Andrew Flintoff in a titanic 10-ball duel that evoked memories of Allan Donald’s assault on Michael Atherton at Trent Bridge ten years earlier. The man in Flintoff’s sights was the lynchpin of South Africa’s innings, Jacques Kallis, and then as now, the bowler was fuelled by the raw anger of injustice. Alternating yorkers and bouncers with a skill and aggression that is the preserve of few, Flintoff’s Donald moment arrived with the fifth ball of his onslaught, when he struck Kallis flush on the toe with a ball that could only have demolished middle stump. Aleem Dar saw differently, and a livid Flintoff spent the whole of the next over telling the umpire what he thought while ticking like a timebomb at square leg. Kallis summoned all of his skill to survive Flintoff’s next four balls, but the fifth was too good. An outswinging yorker that clipped the outside of the off stump, to spark delirium in Birmingham.Replay of the day
The seeds of Flintoff’s fury were sown during a luckless morning session. In the seventh over of the day Neil McKenzie, on 29, was given the first of two vital reprieves. Flintoff found the perfect line on off stump, with a shade of away movement, and McKenzie’s angled defensive skidded low off the edge and into Andrew Strauss’s hands at first slip. Immediately, however, there was doubt in Strauss’s eyes, unquestionably as a result of the Vaughan/de Villiers controversy in the Headingley Test. Replays suggested that the ball might have bounced up off Strauss’s fingertips and into the palms of his hands, but in the current climate, he wasn’t about to risk accusations of gamesmanship. The decision was sent upstairs to the third umpire, Ian Gould, who had no option but to call the batsman back.Drop of the day
McKenzie’s second let-off was a much more clear-cut affair, and no prizes for guessing the culprit. Poor Paul Collingwood is enduring a shocking match, and the further he dwells on his misfortunes, the more he manages to compound them. He would normally have guzzled the low edge that flew to his right at second slip, as Flintoff pounded in in search of his 200th Test wicket. Instead – and unsurprisingly – his mind had drifted to other weightier matters and the chance went down. McKenzie had made 57 by this stage, and England’s hopes of clawing their way back into contention had taken another battering.Catch of the day
If the fielders can’t do the job for you, then sometimes a bowler has no option but to do it all himself. That’s precisely the route that James Anderson took, in a moment of commitment that hinted at the dramas to come. A sharp inducker grazed the inside edge of Hashim Amla’s bat, rebounded off the pad-flap, and ballooned out towards the vacant silly point. Anderson sized up the situation in an instant, veered sideways in his follow-through, and hurtled across the pitch to launch himself one-handed towards the turf. He scooped the ball inches from the ground, but this time, the catch was clear-cut enough to prevent the South Africans from marching out of the pavilion to instruct their man to stay put.Milestone of the day
Flintoff may have struck with his second ball of the match last night, but with McKenzie leading a charmed life, he needed another 13 overs to double his tally today. It looked for a while as though McKenzie was going to escape his clutches for good, as he whipped and drove two fours for consecutive balls move into the 70s, but with his very next ball, Flintoff roared back in to pin him lbw with a perfectly pitched inswinger. The wicket was his 200th in Test cricket, although the pedants will point out that only 193 of those have been taken for England (seven came for the Rest of the World against the Aussies in 2005). Still, his efforts ensured he became the tenth man to do the double of 3000 runs and 200 wickets. Curiously, his tally of two five-wicket hauls was the fewest by any bowler with that many wickets to their name.Batsman of the day
It’s been a quiet tour for Kallis – with the bat, at any rate. He’s cut a slightly forlorn figure out in the middle in the first two Tests, mustering scores of 7, 13 and 4 while each of his top-order colleagues has racked up at least one century. But Kallis’s commitment in this innings was a replay of his glory years. A pair of unbeaten half-centuries against Bangladesh A got him back into the groove last week, and after a few quiet jibes about his weight in the early part of this trip, his extra commitment in training has been notable. The upshot was a wholehearted 64, a performance that lifted South Africa from a dicey 135 for 4 to a potentially vital first-innings lead. His stay was ended only by a performance that is already sure to go down in folklore.

New Zealand 402 for 2 (McCullum 166, Marshall 161) beat Ireland 112 (Southee 3-23, Mason 3-34) by 290 runs
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	Brendon McCullum celebrates his maiden one-day hundred at Aberdeen © Cricket Europe

It was a day of records and near-records at Mannofield Park in Aberdeen, as a rampant New Zealand team totally outclassed a threadbare Ireland by a record ODI margin of 290 runs. New Zealand, put in to bat, did much as they pleased with the weakened Irish attack. The star performers were Brendon McCullum with 166 and James Marshall on 161, both hitting their maiden ODI hundreds. The opening partnership of 266 was only 20 runs short of the world record, achieved by Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka against England, two years ago to the day.Ireland, already depleted by players opting to stay with their counties and a host of others unavailable, were struck by another late injury blow. Allrounder Alex Cusack, who won the Man-of-the-Match award on his debut against South Africa last year, had to pull out with a broken finger. Captain Kyle McCallan, Andre Botha and Reinhardt Strydom were the only players remaining from Ireland’s last ODI, against Bangladesh, in Dhaka.With the home side not involved, fewer than 100 spectators were present to watch the slaughter. The weather was dry, with the sun showing through the light cloud cover occasionally, but blustery, and the wind worsened during the day. If Ireland thought it might help their bowlers, they were sadly deceived.New Zealand, after ending a stressful tour of England with one-day success, were relaxed in their approach but not careless or over-confident. Peter Connell beat the bat a couple of times early on, but otherwise the batsmen were never in trouble. In the seventh over McCullum decided it was time to take charge. Lashing out, he hit two skiers off Connell over the covers, beyond the reach of the fielders, taking two runs apiece. The next two went for four, and he was set. Philip Eagleston went for successive sixes over long leg and midwicket, and McCullum raced to his fifty off 37 balls.Perhaps his colleagues slipped a tranquillizer into his morning drink, because he slowed down for a while after that, even allowing balls faced to exceed runs scored. Then he lofted McCallan for two successive sixes, and was away again. His hundred came off 107 balls, and his onslaught then became so fierce that his next fifty took only 20 more deliveries. Finally, though, with the world record ODI opening partnership record seemingly within their grasp – and the first ODI double century on offer – McCullum was out to a fine boundary catch as he aimed for yet another six over cover. His figures: 166 runs off 135 balls, with 11 fours and 10 sixes.

Five stats New Zealand’s 290-run triumph eclipsed the previous record for the largest win (by runs) by 33 runs. James Marshall and Brendon McCullum became the first opening pair to pile up 150-plus scores in the same innings. It was also the first ODI hundred for both Marshall and McCullum. New Zealand’s total of 402 for 2 is their best in ODIs, and the sixth ODI total over 400. The 266-run stand between Marshall and McCullum is by far New Zealand’s highest partnership, and the second-best opening stand in ODIs. The 18 sixes hit by New Zealand equals the record for most sixes by a team in an ODI. McCullum was just two hits short of the record for most sixes in an innings by a batsman.

Marshall had been overshadowed, but when McCullum left he took over his mantle and began to hit out; in fact, the hectic scoring rate actually increased, with Ross Taylor also cashing in. Marshall’s century came up off 120 balls and a further fifty came in the next 14, even exceeding McCullum’s rate. In the final over he skied a catch, well held by the bowler, and departed for 161 off 141 deliveries. Taylor finished with an unbeaten 59 off 24. New Zealand’s 402 for 2 beat their 397 for 5 against a decimated Zimbabwe team two years ago.If this had been a boxing match, the referee would have stepped in long before, but Ireland had to keep going to the bitter end. They never gave up trying and even at the end fielders were still diving for the ball, usually in vain, and backing up with vigour. Their only realistic hope was to put up a good enough batting display to allow themselves to finish with dignity and to score more than 146, which would enable them to avoid the heaviest defeat in ODI history – India’s World Cup victory over Bermuda by 257 runs in 2007.This they were unable to do, though it cannot be said that they gave it away early on. Strydom began defiantly by driving Tim Southee through the covers for four second ball. But the approach was perhaps a little too aggressive, given the hopelessness of the situation. The batsmen went for their strokes and there was a steady slide of wickets, rather than a collapse. A more measured approach would surely have resulted in a better total. Opener Gary Wilson (21), for example, was their one recognised batsman to reach 20, but it came off only 17 balls. Southee and Michael Mason took three wickets each, but the innings did not even last 29 overs.After the match, McCallan confessed it had been a humiliating experience for his team, that they had set themselves batting targets but totally failed to meet them. He was not willing to make excuses, but added his team needed to come out fighting in their match against Scotland on Tuesday. Daniel Vettori for his part was very pleased with the professional performance of his team, and paid tribute to his openers: “The way they set their innings out was amazing.”

	Bomber Wells: ‘a summer’s day in his face and laughter in his soul’ © Getty Images

Bryan “Bomber” Wells, the former Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire offspinner, has died aged 77.Wells was one of the old school who regarded cricket as something to enjoy rather than a job. A man of wide girth and rolling gait, he had – in the words of Michael Parkinson – “a summer’s day in his face and laughter in his soul”. The son of a blacklisted trade unionist in Gloucester, he never changed from the happy-go-lucky club cricketer he had been when first summoned to play for the county. His batting was agricultural, his fielding leisurely and he bowled brisk offspin off a one-pace run that caught many batsmen unaware. The tales of him are legion: from his exchanges with his amateur captain to the mix-ups running between the wickets. “For God’s sake, call,” Sam Cook once begged him and back came the reply: “Heads.””As a batsman he really had only one shot, a great agricultural mow over mid-wicket, but it was spectacular when it connected,” wrote Stephen Chalke on the Gloucestershire website. “As a fielder he was even less like a modern cricketer. A leisurely figure on the boundary, he liked to chat to the nearby spectators, on one occasion contriving to hold a catch while juggling a cup of tea in his other hand.”He played 302 first-class matches between 1951 and 1965, finishing just short of 1000 wickets with 998 scalps at 24.26. His career-best 8 for 31 came in 1953 against Somerset and he finished his career with six years at Nottinghamshire, where there was less help for his bowling.He attended the opening day of the recent Gloucester festival but had since become unwell.

	Dirk Nannes’ hat-trick helped Middlesex to an unbeaten start in the Twenty20 competition © Getty Images

Australia have been playing an entertaining third Test against West Indies in Barbados over the past week, but in England the focus was on the Twenty20 tournament. For some of the Australian contingent it’s their last chance to book a place in the money-swilling Champions League.Stuart Law made a good start to his campaign, leading last year’s semi-finalists Lancashire to three wins in their first three matches of the North division. He made 22 from 17 balls against Leicestershire at Grace Road, wasn’t required in a ten-wicket success over Derbyshire in Derby and then picked up 21 from 10 in their first home match when they beat Leicestershire easily at Old Trafford.Darren Pattinson, who hasn’t been able to force his way into the first team of the Twenty20 Champions League-qualifiers Victoria, went wicketless in Nottinghamshire’s first match, a tight win against Yorkshire with four balls to spare at Headingley. His county team-mate Adam Voges, who is through to the Champions League with Western Australia, made an unbeaten 40 from 22 balls but could manage only 7 in their win against Durham at Trent Bridge, where Pattinson took two victims.The game proved to be Michael Di Venuto’s third shocker in a row – on a personal level at least. It was one of two ducks in three innings – his other score was 5 – but the team fared better. In the same division Chris Rogers was missing for Derbyshire while having a break, but he may come back in the latter stages.Dirk Nannes was the stand-out performer with a hat-trick as Middlesex made it three wins in three in the South/East division. He took 1 for 35 in the opener against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl and 1 for 22 in the second game, beating Essex at Lord’s, but it was in the third match that he really made a mark. He grabbed 4 for 28 against Essex at Chelmsford including a hat-trick. At one stage he had four wickets for two runs from two overs, having nailed Varun Chopra, Grant Flower and Ryan ten Doeschate in succession.Hampshire are breathing down Middlesex’s neck. Aside from their loss to the group toppers, when Sean Ervine took 1 for 30 from two and made 31, they won their other two affairs. Ervine collected 1 for 9 and a not-out 38 against Sussex at Hove, though he did not play against Kent on the Saturday. The fellow Australian and these days Twenty20 specialist, Ian Harvey, scored 22 in the Middlesex defeat then 29 in Hampshire’s successful chase of 205 against Sussex, which was completed on the final ball. He also posted a two-runs-a-ball 22 and took 1 for 28 from his four overs against Kent at Southampton.Matthew Nicholson has played only one game for Surrey so far. He was run-out for 7 and took 1 for 22 from three against Essex at The Oval.Over in the Midlands/West/Wales division Justin Langer could be forgiven for being a bit peeved that his team-mates haven’t backed up his runs, as Somerset lost all three of the opening matches. He got 32 in 30 balls against Northamptonshire in their opener at Taunton, 62 from 43 in a failed chase of Glamorgan’s 170 at Cardiff and 39 off 30 against Warwickshire at home.Marcus North’s 45 from 40 wasn’t enough for Gloucestershire against Worcestershire at Worcester and his four overs went wicketless for 28. Steve Magoffin’s four went for a painful 42, but he was soothed by the win and the dismissal of the dangerman Craig Spearman for 11. North’s last-gasp wicket ensured Gloucestershire tied an exciting fixture with Warwickshire at Bristol after he had made an unbeaten 31 from 29. His 36 from 29 couldn’t help against the unstoppable Northamptonshire, also at home.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) today announced a 13-man squad to play in the Australian Country Cricket Championships in Bundaberg during January.The side sees former South Australian player, Ashley Hammond, take up the captaincy, with batting all-rounder Rob Johnson, vice captain.The SA Outbacks Squad is:

Ashley Hammond (c) (Mid-north)
Rob Johnson (vc) (Mid-north)
Paul Attard (Barrier)
Peter Cameron (Mid-north)
Greg Fiebig (Upper North)
Luke Fitzsimmons (Murray Districts)
Mark Johns (Barrier)
Mark Johnson (Mid-north)
Liam Knight (Eyre Peninsula)
Chad Parrish (Eyre Peninula)
Barry Steele (South East)
Travis Wilton (Murray Districts)
Matt Whitelum (Mid-North)

The SA Outbacks is coached by former Australian and State fast bowler, Jeff Hammond.