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Marcus Trescothick’s double-century against South Africa at The Oval has propelled him nine places into ninth spot in the PwC ratings for batsmen. Inzamam-ul-Haq’s matchwinning hundred against Bangladesh took him up three places to No. 5. There wasn’t much to celebrate for Michael Vaughan, though, who slumped to 15th place after a disappointing series against South Africa. Graeme Smith fell back to No. 25 after managing a mere 93 from his last six innings.The top three slots in the bowlers’ list remained unchanged, but Shoaib Akhtar and Jacques Kallis both leapt four places after impressive performances in the recent Tests. Three of the South African bowlers who played the series figured in the top 15, while none from the England squad made it to the top 30. In fact, the top three England bowlers in the list were Andy Caddick (No. 10), Matthew Hoggard (No. 22) and Dominic Cork (No. 30). Among the bowlers who played for England this season, Steve Harmison was the highest ranked, at a modest No. 32.

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United Cricket Board chief executive Gerald Majola has denied saying that the third Test match between South Africa and India will go ahead on Friday on the basis of assurances given him by Indian cricket officials.India have threatened to boycott the match if ICC match referee Mike Denness is not replaced after finding Indian batting star Sachin Tendulkar guilty of ball tampering as well as imposing a variety of sentences on five other Indian players for excessive appealing. The harshest punishment dealt out was a one-Test ban for Virender Sehwag which would have prevented him playing in the third Test.Frantic negotiations have taken place since Tuesday between South African and Indian officials and the ICC in an effort to ensure that the match goes ahead, but, speaking on Thursday morning, Majola said he had not yet been given any assurance by the Indian governing body that the match would be played.A report on the BBC website claims that Majola had said that the Indian board had given assurances that the match would proceed. Majola said he had not spoken to anyone from the BBC.

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has said his team will take plenty of positives from their tour of Africa, despite losing the one-day series to South Africa 2-1. The tour finished with New Zealand’s loss in the final ODI in Durban on Wednesday, but they had beaten Zimbabwe in the ODI series that began the trip, beat Zimbabwe in a T20 and shared the T20 series with South Africa.New Zealand entered the tour without some of their key players, with Brendon McCullum and Tim Southee rested, and Trent Boult and Corey Anderson missing due to injuries. Kane Williamson captained the squad in McCullum’s absence and Hesson said he was pleased with the way several newer faces took to international cricket.”It was a pretty fair reflection of the performance,” Hesson said. “I think we were a little bit off song in all three departments. South Africa were on song, they adapted to conditions better than we did and they put us under pressure.”Overall I’m still delighted with the tour in terms of what we wanted to achieve. Sure, it’s a disappointing way to finish but it doesn’t take the gloss off what’s been an excellent tour for us moving forward as a cricket side. We’ve unleashed a number of new players and a few other players have come back into the fold as well.”Tom Latham was New Zealand’s third-leading run scorer across the whole tour and scored his maiden ODI century against Zimbabwe, and Doug Bracewell enjoyed the South African bowling conditions in his first one-day internationals for more than two years. Legspinner Ish Sodhi was another who was given a chance and claimed six wickets in the first six ODIs of his career.”Ish played a lot of cricket and I thought he got better and better as the tour went on and grew in confidence,” Hesson said. “He didn’t pick up the wickets I thought he deserved at times but I thought he was excellent. The South Africans looked to go after him and I thought he held his composure nicely.”We couldn’t ask any more of Tom. He and Martin were outstanding at the top throughout both the one-day series. He scored at a good rate, playing good quality cricket shots. Delighted to be able to give Tom some consistent opportunities and then for him to take it adds to our depth nicely.”We had a very strong seam bowling attack over here even without Trent and Corey. We had a lot of competition for places. Doug certainly forced his hand through performances and earned the opportunities that he got. Really pleased with the consistent areas he bowled and the way he adapted to different conditions.”

Samit Patel has won a surprise recall for England for the first time in nearly three years after Zafar Ansari was ruled unfit for the forthcoming series against Pakistan in the UAE because of a hand injury.Ansari’s selection for what would have been his England debut series was a clear indication that England were looking to the next generation, but Patel has always suggested he has never quite abandoned hope of an England recall and that faith has now been justified.Patel joins two other spin bowling allrounders in the tour party – Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid – and, as a batsman with the ability to bowl slow left-arm, he is a like-for-like replacement.For all Patel’s faith that he could force his way back into England reckoning, he has not had a good season. He has taken 25 Championship wickets at 32.40, but he has had an unproductive time with the bat, averaging only 24 in Nottinghamshire’s middle order. Nevertheless, he has shown in his time for England that he plays spin bowling as well as anybody. His director of cricket at Notts, Mick Newell, also insists his red-ball bowling has matured this season, despite an unhelpful summer for spinners.To a large extent, Patel’s recall encapsulates the dearth of spin bowling options in England, with Middlesex’s spin bowler, Ollie Rayner, arguing on ESPNcricinfo that conditions in England were hostile to the development of spin bowling.That Patel’s weight will again be a topic for discussion is inevitable, and he will just have to put up with it. It was held to be a reason why England looked elsewhere last season at a time when the pundit and former England coach, David Lloyd, termed him the form player in county cricket. He looks trim.But the old jokes are the good ones. As one cynic was quick to observe when his recall was announced: “Zafar Ansari got a first at Cambridge; Samit Patel had seconds at lunch.”Patel played five Tests in 2012, taking only four wickets at 62 runs apiece. His last Test was against India in Kolkata in December of that year, a match that England won by seven wickets en route to a remarkable 2-1 series victory.Upon signing a new three-year deal with Notts in March this year, he insisted: “I still harbour England ambitions and playing with Nottinghamshire will give me the best chance of doing that.”Ansari is distinctly unfortunate. It was on the day he was called up to his first England Test squad that he suffered an open dislocation of his left thumb against Lancashire at Old Trafford and was sent to hospital.Surrey confirmed the extent of Ansari’s injury in a tweet at 10pm on Tuesday, but the club had been fearing the worst from the outset. Fielding at cover point, Ansari dropped a very difficult catch off Lancashire’s Ashwell Prince and immediately gestured for assistance from the dressing room. He left the field holding a bandage to his left hand and soon went to hospital.His withdrawal from the tour was confirmed following an MRI scan during a visit to a hand specialist yesterday. He will now undergo further rehabilitation with his participation in the EPP and Lions tours of the UAE subject to a further assessment from the ECB and Surrey medical teams in approximately three weeks’ time.”The timing of this injury, on the day his selection was announced, was particularly cruel for Zafar and he is naturally extremely disappointed to have to pull out of the tour,” James Whitaker, the national selector. “As a left-arm spinner and a middle-order batsman, Samit is a similar type of player to Zafar and his previous international experience, and in particular, experience of performing for England in sub-continental conditions will be an extremely useful asset to the squad in the UAE.”Ansari was one of three players uncapped at Test level included in England’s 16-man squad for the three Test series against Pakistan which starts on October 13. Alex Hales, Patel’s Nottinghamshire team mate, and Rashid were also named.England Test squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood.One-Day International squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Taylor, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.T20 International squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Stephen Parry, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

ScorecardFile photo – Adam Voges prepared for the upcoming Tests against New Zealand with a patient 149•AFP

Ed Cowan retired hurt and will take no further part in the match after being struck on the helmet by a Joel Paris bouncer as New South Wales started out in their effort to reel in a first innings deficit against Western Australia on day three of the Sheffield Shield match in Christchurch.Only four more deliveries were bowled after Cowan’s blow before the umpires decided to end the day early due to bad light. Momentarily stunned and distressed, Cowan was able to make his own way off the field after speaking with the NSW team doctor – and Cricket Australia chief medical officer – John Orchard.Under CA’s concussion and head trauma policy, overseen by Orchard, any symptoms of possible concussion require full off-field assessment and a conservative recovery plan. It states in part:”The full assessment is critical in determining medical management decisions for the participant. Serious head injury cannot be ruled out by a 30 second assessment due to the variability of the presentation of symptoms, delay in evolution of presentation of symptoms, difficulty in making a timely diagnosis and the specificity and sensitivity of sideline assessment tools.”The bulk of the day saw WA’s batsmen dominate, with the Test No. 5 Adam Voges making a patient 149 as the backbone of the innings. He was aided by a fluent 93 from the wicketkeeper Sam Whiteman, while Nathan Rimmington enjoyed himself in making 48 down the order.Doug Bollinger, Trent Copeland and the Test spinner Nathan Lyon claimed three wickets apiece, though all were taken for more than 100 runs each as the Warriors settled in on a friendly batting pitch at Bert Sutcliffe Oval.Left with a handful of overs before the close, Paris struck quickly by bowling Daniel Hughes, before the blow to Cowan had Lyon coming out to bat as nightwatchman. The Blues still need another 78 runs on the final morning to get back into credit.

Chris Harris hopes he can still play domestic matches for Canterbury this season despite signing with the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Harris joined his former New Zealand team-mates Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle and Hamish Marshall in joining the ICL, which does not have official backing.Harris turned down a new deal with Canterbury for 2007-08 as New Zealand Cricket said none of its nationally or provincially contracted players would be released to play in the ICL. But Harris expects his ICL commitments to finish in late December and he would like Canterbury to consider picking him after that.”I’d like to think I could play for Canterbury again but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet,” Harris told the . “It was hard turning down the Canterbury contract but I wanted to keep my options open. I’d still love to play for Canterbury, if they wanted me in the future.”Although he turns 38 next month, it appears Harris still has plenty to offer at first-class level. Last season he made 428 runs at 42.80 in the State Championship, and collected 13 wickets at 41.38. He was Canterbury’s leading one-day run-scorer with 362 at 60.33 and has just returned from a stint in the Lancashire league, where he topped the competition’s wicket tally with 83 victims.He said reports that he could be paid up to NZ$500,000 for signing with the ICL were not true but the deal was still worth his while. “The numbers are nothing like what have been quoted in the media but are still significant,” he said.Harris was confident the ICL would draw a strong following from the Indian public with big names like Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq already committed to play. “Given how the world Twenty20 event took off and that India won it I’m sure it will be well received over there,” Harris said. “It should be great for the game.”

The BCCI put on a show to match (and in some ways outdo) the ICC awards last night, when they handed out the CK Nayudu awards for lifetime achievement in Indian cricketand felicitated former chiefs of the board and captains of the Test team.Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag were the glamour boys,but it was an evening where the achievements of several greats, the spinquartet in particular, were fondly remembered.A red carpet stretching from the Vinoo Mankad Gate well inside theWankhede Stadium led to an impressive podium set up in front of the SachinTendulkar stand, and on it Ravi Shastri, a former Indian captain himself,acted as the master of ceremonies reading out a roll call of names thatwould impress any cricket fans. And Shastri, unlike some of the Bollywoodbeauties who chattered on and on during the ICC awards, did notmispronounce any cricketers’ names. This was a function for thecricketers, by the cricketers, crisp and to the point, and in that sensefar more enjoyable than the one the ICC had put up at a considerably greater expense.The CK Nayudu Awards for Lifetime achievement were conferred by the famousspin quartet of Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna andS Venkataraghavan as well as Nawab Ali Khan ‘Tiger’ Pataudi and Chandu Borde, former captains of India, and BB Nimbalkar, whose record score of 443 is stillthe highest by an Indian in first-class cricket. The Nayudu Award comeswith a citation and Rs 5,00,000 in cash, an increase from the Rs 2,00,000the previous awardees used to received.The BCCI also used the day to formally inaugurate their headquarters, abuilding housed in the Wankhede Stadium that has been constructed inrecord time. Interestingly, the presence of Mohammad Azharuddin – which initially raised eyebrows among the ICC – did not cause a negative stir. Instead, he was one of the star attractions among the media and the officials of the cricket board.Three former captains – Polly Umrigar, who is ailing, Sourav Ganguly, whois playing in the Duleep Trophy, and Kapil Dev – were not present. Amongformer board presidents BN Dutt, Jagmohan Dalmiya – no real surprise there- and AC Muthiah, did not turn up. That apart, the function was anunqualified success and, just in case you thought Bollywood was notrepresented, Saif Ali Khan, the son of Tiger Pataudi, was very much aroundwith his two children in tow, as was Sangeeta Bijlani, wife of Azharuddin.And they certainly beat anyone the ICC could throw up – barring PreityZinta, who endorses Hyundai, the sponsors of the ICC awards – in starvalue.List of CK Nayudu awardees: BB Nimbalkar, MAK Pataudi, Chandu Borde,Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna, S Venkataraghavan.Past presidents felicitated: PM Rungta, NKP Salve, BN Dutt (absent), ISBindra, Raj Singh Dungarpur, AC Muthiah, Jagmohan Dalmiya (both absent),Ranbir Singh Mahendra.Past captains felicitated: Nari Contractor, MAK Pataudi, Chandu Borde,Polly Umrigar, Ajit Wadekar, S Venkataraghavan, Bishan Bedi, GR Visvanath,Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, KrishnamachariSrikkanth, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, RahulDravid, Virender Sehwag.

October 27 marks 500 days until the opening ceremony for the 2007 World Cup on Sunday March 11, 2007, and it’s a landmark that event officials and stakeholders should be keenly aware of, explained Donald Lockerbie, the venue development director.Currently in the midst of preparing for a venue summit happening next week in Barbados, he noted: “500 days is a significant milestone. The next 365 days are really most important because the end of October 2006 is the time all host venues have contracted to have the permanent sections of their stadiums completed.” The remainder of the time will be spent outfitting each tournament venue – to ICC specifications – to host the biggest and most spectacular matches in international cricket.”That leaves us with 135 days to get stadiums event-ready. These 500 days will therefore be the busiest as far as venue development is concerned. It will be very exciting for the region,” added Lockerbie, who is also chief operating officer at the tournament.Staff at the World Cup offices in Kingston, Jamaica, celebrated the occasion with photographs at their headquarters on St. Lucia Avenue and in CWC Park – a green space adopted by ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. – on the opposite side of the road. Flags of all nine host venue nations, the 16 participating teams in the 2007 tournament and the ICC were recently raised outside the premises. The tournament logo and a mascot, Mello, have also been erected on the exterior of the building.

Sachin Tendulkar may not be fit in time for the first Test against Australia, which starts in Bangalore on October 6. Andrew Leipus, the team’s physiotherapist, said that it was the worst injury of Tendulkar’s career, and also revealed that the tennis elbow had been aggravated when he was hit by an Ajit Agarkar delivery in Holland.The reported Leipus as saying: “Initially, he responded well in the nets in Holland for the first two days and batted well against the spinners. But then he faced the first ball from Ajit Agarkar which he went back to play down – it kind of complicated his recovery process completely.”The target for Tendulkar, according to Leipus, would be to bat 300 balls a day without experiencing any pain and he added, “We’re looking for him to grab a bat again in another ten days’ time.”Regarding talk that Tendulkar would turn out for the Board President’s XI against Australia in their tour game, Leipus had his doubts. “Usually he doesn’t bother to play in side games, but since he has been out of practice, he might have thought about giving himself a try in that game and made himself available. But I wouldn’t think he would be playing that game.”Tendulkar has been dogged by a number of injuries in the past, but Leipus felt that this was the worst of the lot. “He has had injuries in the past – I wasn’t there when he injured his back – but compared to his toe and finger injury, this could be the worst of his career. Just the fact he wasn’t able to lift the bat has been extremely frustrating to him.”The first Test, in what has been billed as the series of the year, could set the tone for the rest of the four-match contest, and Australia are well aware that they haven’t managed to win a series in India since Bill Lawry’s team triumphed in 1969-70.

Shane Warne has been given permission to play in charity and testimonial matches during his ongoing 12-month drug ban. Cricket Australia (CA), while suspending Warne for his use of diuretics just before the World Cup this year, had included charity and testimonial games in the ban. The Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), the body that represents the players, had challenged CA’s authority on this matter. The independent arbitrator who took up the case has now ruled in favour of Warne.Peter O’Callaghan, the barrister arbitrating this case, agreed with the ACA that the memorandum of understanding between the ACA and CA did not give CA the right to prevent players from playing in matches that were not under its aegis. O’Callaghan is expected to give detailed reasons for his decision by the end of this week, with neither party allowed to comment on it until then. Both sides, however, have agreed to abide by the decision.The issue arose when Warne was earlier approached by Lashings, the English charity side, but was not allowed to accept the offer by CA. Warne, who is allowed to train with state and national sides and take part in coaching and promotional clinics, protested, and the matter duly reached arbitration.