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Justin Langer and Ben Hutton put Middlesex back in the running for a National League Second Division promotion place with competition-best perfomances at Edgbaston.Skipper Langer’s patient 93 laid the foundations for a commanding 201 for nine and Hutton’s four for 32 undermined Warwickshire as they floundered under the Edgbaston floodlights.Hutton needed to take the wickets to get back in favour with Langer after he was involved in the run out that cost his captain a certain century.Langer had taken no risks and appeared in no trouble in a sensible 122-ball innings until Hutton changed his mind about a quick single in the penultimate over and Langer was unable to beat Dominic Ostler;s throw from midwicket.Langer gave Hutton a backward glance as he trudged back to the pavilion but the youngster, the grandson of Sir Leonard, was quickly forgiven as he applied the brakes to Warwickshire’s innings.Hutton, bowling gentle seamers, concentrated on line and length and struck in his first over when he had Ashley Giels stumped.The wickets of Dominic Ostler and Trevor Penney, both LBW, and Michael Powell, who was bowled through the gate followed, as Warwckshire slipped to 186 all out and their fourth straight home defeat in the competition.Langer said when he won the toss and opted to bat first that he did not fancy the chances of the side batting last under the temporary floodlights and so it proved.His innings ensured that Middlesex had just enough runs to force victory but his stands of 68 for the third wicket with Mark Ramprakash and 73 for the fourth with Irishman Ed Joyce enabled Middlesex to survive a late clatter of wickets of their own.

Justin Kemp, whose obdurate batting helped Jacques Rudolph to save the Perth Test, could miss the Boxing Day game with a niggling shoulder injury. Kemp had not trained for the past two days and was rated as a 50-50 chance despite intensive treatment from the medical staff. He faced a fitness test on Christmas day.Kemp waited 47 Tests for a recall, and his uncharacteristically dogged knock at the WACA included a titanic tussle with Shane Warne, who had quickly dubbed Kemp ‘Darryl’ and adopted him as his new bunny. If Kemp managed to prove his fitness, he was likely to face a two-prong legspin attack, with Stuart MacGill expected to link up with Warne at the MCG.Meanwhile Jacques Kallis, South Africa’s most respected batsman, was confident of recovering for the biggest date on the Australian cricket calendar. Both sides head into the Boxing Day Test predicting changes and the tourists are desperate for Kallis to play after he missed the drawn match in Perth.Kallis has batted in the nets in Melbourne this week and said his injured elbow would have to heal fully for him to be picked. “We’ll see how things go for the next few days but I’m pretty confident that I’ll be 100%,” Kallis said in . “I don’t know if it is an injury you can take in 90% because if you tear it again you’re out again.”After three weeks of being under pressure with poor warm-up results and injuries, the South Africans enter the match in a buoyant mood following the hard-fought draw in Perth on Tuesday. “The momentum seems to be with us and Australia is feeling the pressure,” Kallis said. “They should have knocked us over but we survived. It’s a huge turning stone for a lot of guys’ careers the way they played there.”The MCG drop-in wicket is expected to suit the fast bowlers but MacGill is determined and pleaded his case in the . “Personally, I would expect to play here, particularly seeing as we failed to bowl them out in Perth,” MacGill said. “Conditions may have conspired against the bowlers there but you always wonder whether it would have been the same if I were there.”Whilst it’s a slow transition, I think the public and cricket in general is starting to come around to the fact that you need to bowl your most potent wicket-taking team to win Test matches against sides that are prepared to stick around. Providing your team with wicket-taking opportunities is what I’m about.”MacGill is battling for a place with the left-arm swing of Nathan Bracken and Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, was pleased with his performance at the WACA, where he dismissed Graeme Smith twice. “Regardless of the surface here I’m confident and satisfied in making a claim for a position in this 11,” MacGill said. “I think I can provide Ricky Ponting with extra wicket-taking opportunities, even on a green-top.”

Although primarily qualified as nurse and midwife, Glynis has run her own medico-legal business for 18 years. She has qualifications is business studies but keeps her hand in the midwifery stakes with six grandsons! With three of her six children in various countries around the world, she travels a great deal but mostly in the winter!She is a school governor and been a fund raiser for Naomi House Children’s Hospice for 15 years.Although having only been a member at Hampshire for two years she has actively supported the “Development of the Cricket Team” in that time. She has sponsored the Howzat initiative in schools and raised awareness of the rolling programme and resource material taken into schools. She hopes the new optimism at the ground will produce a great result for the Howzat Benefit to ensure our great grandchildren will still be able to watch the game we all love.e-mail contact: [email protected]

Two New South Wales players who are enjoying amazing domestic seasons have won more support for promotions to the national teams. Glenn McGrath believes Doug Bollinger, the left-arm fast bowler, is “in the mix” while Simon Katich, who has 1067 runs in seven Pura Cup games, has won the notice of Australia’s selection panel.David Gilbert, the New South Wales chief executive, could not believe Chris Rogers replaced Matthew Hayden for the third Test in Perth instead of Katich and complained. He has since talked to Jamie Cox, one of the four selectors, and learned Katich is a serious contender for the spare batting place on the March tour to Pakistan, which is currently in doubt due to political instability.”It’s fair to say [Jamie] was disappointed that I had spoken publicly about my concerns about Simon getting what I believed was a raw deal,” Gilbert told the Sun-Herald. “My point was that his performances this year had been Bradmanesque, but he seemed no closer to getting a look-in for the Test team.”After talking to ‘Coxy’, my mind is more at ease. Coxy assured me he’s being noticed by the selectors and that he’s in line for the spare batting spot in Pakistan.”Bollinger is the leading wicket-taker in the Pura Cup with 44 – eight more than Queensland’s Ashley Noffke – and McGrath is impressed with his “tremendous potential”. “He’s a left-armer, he swings the ball and has good control,” McGrath told the paper.”He’s unplayable on a wicket that offers a lot, but if he can fine-tune his game on wickets that aren’t bowler-friendly, he’ll improve. But he has done enough for an [Australia] opportunity.”

Just as one Ashes series victory did not make England the best side in the world, neither did one poor tour of Pakistan signal a crisis. However, as the final ticks and crosses are put to the squad to tour India, to be announced at 11.30 on Friday morning, there are some familiar questions for the selectors to answer.The news that Michael Vaughan and Ashley Giles are making promising progress with their rehabilitation, following knee and hip surgery respectively, will ease some of the concerns, although David Graveney remains wary. “The players themselves are making some positive statements but you’ve always got to be cautious,” he told . “Let’s remember we were pretty positive about Simon Jones playing in the last [Ashes] Test and that didn’t work out.”Jones is on course to be fit for this tour after missing the whole of Pakistan. His comeback means that England are set to return to their tried and tested formula of four quicks and one spinner, when the Test series begins at Nagpur on March 1. But with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh pencilled in for India they may be forced to consider two spinners if they encounter a raging turner.Shaun Udal was treated with brutal disdain during the final Test against Pakistan, at Lahore, but had done a fair job in the first two matches. With the second spinner needing to be ready for action at short notice, Udal’s experience and level head is a better bet than one of England’s youngsters. Monty Panesar, the left-armer from Northamptonshire, who has received support from all corners in the last week, is the most attacking option if the selectors want to consider a long-term bet.However, there are just two warm-up matches before the first Test. So for the development of Panesar it would be better for him to be part of the A tour in West Indies than kicking his heels in India. Alex Loudon, who now has the experience of a full England trip behind him, can get back to actually playing on the A tour as he continues to work on his doosra.The same policy can be taken with England’s back-up quick bowlers. If there is full confidence in Jones’s ability to handle three Tests in three weeks, then one reserve fast bowler is sufficient. Liam Plunkett showed ample promise in Pakistan to edge out James Anderson, who can continue to re-groove his outswinger in West Indies with an eye to him taking the new ball there in the World Cup.Despite the batting imploding twice in Pakistan – in the second innings at Multan and Lahore – there will be no changes to the top-order personnel. When the final cut is made for the Tests, Paul Collingwood will again be the fall-guy as Vaughan returns to No. 3. One headache for England will be the likely loss of Andrew Flintoff, for the final Test at Mumbai, when he returns home for the birth of his second child. There is certainly no like-for-like replacement so Robert Key, Owais Shah and Alastair Cook can join the A tour with the incentive of a possible call-up to act as a reinforcement.With the one-day series consisting of seven matches, and the need to cover for Flintoff, that squad could be heavier as England continue to try and work out what their best side is ahead of the World Cup.England Test squad (probable) Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones, Matt Prior, Ashley Giles, Shaun Udal, Liam Plunkett, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Steve Harmison.One-day squad (probable) Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Vikram Solanki, Geraint Jones, Matt Prior, Ashley Giles, Ian Blackwell, Liam Plunkett, Simon Jones, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In a gripping match under the lights of Melbourne’s Telstra Dome, where the advantage flashed from side to side, New Zealand collected their first win of a horror tour when Brendon McCullum stole a single from the third-last delivery. New Zealand had a demoralising and dispiriting Test-series loss at Adelaide five days ago, but a change of clothes has made a world of difference.New Zealand have been in Australia for almost a month, but finally the summer had a close contest. In a crisis in whites, they were unable to eye the world champions during the two Tests, but chasing Australia’s 246 they were as cool as the stadium’s air-conditioning in the final 10 overs even though the result was in doubt.The 48th over virtually sealed the four-wicket victory, as Michael Kasprowicz was belted for 22. It included one delivery which went for five wides, and two fours to McCullum and one to Hamish Marshall, who combined for a thrilling 39-run stand off 21 balls. Marshall, the Man of the Match, timed his innings perfectly while McCullum’s 20 from 13 provided the late-innings burst they had always planned.Nathan Astle and Mathew Sinclair set the platform for the acceleration with a 128-run partnership that followed a fine bowling comeback, and the Aussies were in a contest for the first time since the second day of the Brisbane Test. Australia briefly regained control after Sinclair was run out by Andrew Symonds after backing up too far to make it 2 for 128.A run was never an option, and Sinclair’s snooze was even more costly as Astle departed in the next over for 70 off 102 balls when Ricky Ponting caught him spectacularly. The run-chase faltered briefly, but Marshall, Jacob Oram and Chris Cairns kept them close enough to pounce. Then Marshall and McCullum took to Kasprowicz. Australia, so dominant during the Test series, now face two must-win games at Sydney on Wednesday and Brisbane on Friday to lift the glittering new Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.Brett Lee, who only got his opportunity when Australia rested Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath, their two most experienced bowlers, was happy to be finally marking his run-up and raised the excitement levels of Australian fans expecting another New Zealand walloping. He thudded a 152kph delivery into Stephen Fleming’s pads with the second ball of the innings, and a second wicket popped out of Ponting’s hands when Sinclair dabbed at an outswinger. He returned at the death to claim Cairns, the opposition’s own returning glamour boy.Cairns has decided to play only one-day matches, and he showed how much New Zealand missed him during the Tests when he joined Daniel Vettori in pegging back a dangerous early onslaught. They applied the brakes after sending the opposition in and then inflicted serious damage as Australia’s early sprint became a limp.Adam Gilchrist had launched Australia’s one-day summer with a spectacular 68 from 54 balls, and they looked like reaching 300 without breaking into a sweat. The speedy opening partnership was ended by a sensational catch by Sinclair on the boundary at square leg. Diving full-length to his left, Sinclair grabbed the chance from Matthew Hayden off Oram (1 for 64). Vettori then snapped up the middle order with three wickets, but it had been Cairns who had prompted an Australian collapse – four wickets for 10 in 18 balls.Cairns has spent his time away growing a bushranger’s beard, and he watched Australia reach 50 in the seventh over by attacking Kyle Mills and Ian Butler. He slowed the run-rate and grabbed the crucial breakthrough when he surprised Gilchrist with one that ducked in through his defence (2 for 113). Relieved to have ended Gilchrist’s fireworks, New Zealand celebrated again when Vettori trapped Ponting lbw, despite an under-edge, and cheered again when Symonds and Damien Martyn soon followed. Symonds mis-hit Vettori to Mills at mid-on while yet to score, and Australia were under pressure at 5 for 123.Darren Lehmann, who finished with a half-century in even time, and Michael Clarke put on 71 for the sixth wicket to stop the rot before Cairns hit Clarke’s leg stump. When Butler found Shane Watson’s edge, Australia had to give up on reaching 250 – unthinkable 30 overs before. They finally managed 246, but it wasn’t enough.

The decision to suspend Michael Smith, Border’s opening batsman, has triggered a row which threatens to have serious repercussions .Smith was suspended for talking to the press and left out of the match against Western Province as a result of the decision by Simpiwe Ndzundzu, Border’s convenor of selectors.Smith was punished for allegedly speaking to the Daily Dispatch after being dropped two weeks ago. He admitted that he was approached by the paper and asked if he was injured or unavailable, but added that he had no contract with Border and so was not bound by any conditions as long as he did not bring the side into disrepute. It also is claimed that Ndzundzu took the decision without consulting other selectors or giving Smith the chance to defend himself.Smith issued a press release in which he said that Ndzundzu had told him that he “wasn’t good enough to make the team this time,” and that he “did not fit into the make-up of the team.After being left out, Smith said he showed Ndzundzu a letter from the journalist concerned stating that he had approached him first for comment. “The convenor then said that by then it was too late to do anything and I was still to be disciplined for answering the questions,” Smith added. “It is amazing that one man who supposedly has cricket at heart, can manipulate matters to suit himself. It is not surprising that a number of the Border amateur players are looking to play their cricket in other provinces next season.”The row has opened up a debate over the role of Ndzundzu, with reports suggesting that some of the side are unhappy with the way he operates, accusing him of arbitrarily making decisions and of favouring players from Good Hope where he is chairman.Ndzundzu would only say that he had drafted a letter to the Border Cricket Board outlining what had happened, adding: “In the meantime I can confirm that Smith has been suspended for one match for ill-discipline.”Mark Taljard, the coach at Old Selbornians, Smith’s club side, was livid at the decision and slammed Ndzundzu. “They (Border selectors) are cutting short Michael’s career and are sending out a clear signal that it doesn’t matter how good you are. If you have a white skin you stand no chance of getting selected for Border. Nine out of the 12 players in the Border squad are players of colour. All I want to see is the best players on the Border in the team. Why do they pick players from the bottom eight clubs and ignore the players who play for and against the top six clubs?”

If Hashim Amla had things his way, he wouldn’t have to bat again at Centurion Park on a pitch likely to deteriorate over the next few days. He did his best to ensure the scenario pans out that way, making a battling 71 and helping South Africa recover from a rickety start.It was Amla’s second fifty in successive Tests, following his first-innings 63 in the series-clinching Cape Town victory over India recently. Under pressure through that series, Amla’s starring role will have come as considerable relief.”The ideal is to bat once,” said Amla. “The pitch is quite good for batting but it is already starting to deteriorate and help the spinners, so batting fourth could be difficult.”Pakistan will hope that by then Danish Kaneria can play more of a role than he did on the second day. Kaneria was one of three Pakistan bowlers who failed to make any impression whatsoever as first Amla and then Ashwell Prince and Herschelle Gibbs guided South Africa into a position of some strength. Mohammad Asif, returning to international cricket after having a doping-related ban overturned, was by far the best Pakistani bowler on display, ending with all four wickets in another impressive outing.Asif twinkled out Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers in his first three overs. He sent back Jacques Kallis after lunch as well and troubled all batsmen. Amla, having stroked a delicious, one-knee cover drive in the 45th over, edged the very next ball from Asif, a leg-cutter. It was a performance, Amla said, that reminded him of one of his more illustrious team-mates. “Asif bowled excellently. He asked good questions of the batsmen and bowled in the right areas. He reminded me a bit of Shaun Pollock.”Earlier, Makhaya Ntini was responsible for Pakistan hurtling to what is looking increasingly like an inadequate total and well below the 350-plus they had initially aimed for. Ntini took five for 83, his 16th five-wicket haul in Tests, as Pakistan paid for their compulsion to hook or pull every short ball that came their way. Six batsmen succumbed to hook or pull shots but Ntini said he had to work hard for his wickets. “It wasn’t our plan to bowl bouncers and get them hooking but when we saw how they played we put our fielders in the right places.”

The ICC has confirmed that funding to the USA Cricket Association remains suspended, despite the short-term truce between the USACA and the Council of League Presidents.The two parties have been battling for control inside the USA, and this has ended up in the courts. Earlier this month, an interim deal was announced to enable the USACA to administer the game pending the next court appearance on November 7. Critics of the USACA were quick to point out that this compromise gave all effective power to the current board controlled by Gladstone Dainty.There had been talk that the deal might persuade the ICC to release funding which has been suspended since June when it tired of the endless infighting. But the ICC has made it clear that money will only become available when a clear and undisputed body which can run cricket emerges.The interim executive is set to meet on October 29 – nine days before the court sits – and Cricinfo understands that a number of potentially contentious issues have been tabled. These include: –

John Bracewell said New Zealand needed a good win over Kenya on Tuesday to maintain their momentum leading into the Super Eights. A win would help New Zealand’s chances of progressing through the tournament as Kenya were still in the running to make it past the group phase.”We’ve got two points to carry through should England qualify,” Bracewell told . “That’s the importance of the Kenyan match. We have to win that just in case it’s Kenya who qualify because they are the other team with two points in the bag.”However, Bracewell was not prepared to look ahead at the prospect of reaching the semi-finals. “For us it’s game by game because rhythm is quite an important thing in any tournament on getting on a roll,” he said.Kenya opened their World Cup with a seven-wicket victory over Canada, meaning the winner of Tuesday’s game will sit on top of the Group C table. Bracewell said New Zealand might know more about Kenya than some sides, as they had enlisted the help of Andy Moles, the former Kenya coach who is now coaching Northern Districts in New Zealand’s domestic competition.”We’ve got a fair degree of notes from Andy Moles who worked with them over an extended period,” Bracewell said. “We’ve got a fair bit of scouting done on them.” Bracewell was keen to give the four members of New Zealand’s squad who did not face England a run during their last two group matches.