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Shoaib Akhtar may face more action from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his alleged outburst at the board’s headquarters in Gaddafi Stadium on Friday, following the imposition of a fine of approximately US$5000.On Friday, Shoaib reportedly clashed with several board officials over the fine, and specifically because he felt he wasn’t provided a chance to clear his position. The board announced his punishment on Wednesday, after Shoaib did not turn up on Tuesday to clarify why he was absent from the national training camp in Karachi on August 4.Shoaib has reportedly insisted that he received the letter for the original disciplinary hearing on Friday, and not Tuesday as the board claims. Shafqat Naghmi, the board’s chief operating officer, however, contradicted this, telling that he had been in touch with Shoaib earlier.”Shoaib rang me up and admitted that it was wrong of him not to attend the camp in Karachi and the PCB had rightly imposed a fine on him,” said Naghmi. “He expressed annoyance over the manner in which one of the PCB officials had inquired of his whereabouts from his family.”Naghmi said he will be looking into the matter now personally. “I will be in Lahore on Monday and will inquire from the PCB staff about the actual incident which happened on Friday,” he said. “After that, we will then decide on a course of action.”

Western Australia are in danger of losing their star opening batsman Chris Rogers, who is meeting with the state’s officials to decide his future. Rogers is reportedly unhappy with his continued omission from the state’s one-day side, which he believes is limiting his chances of further international call-ups.He has attracted interest from South Australia and Queensland, while Tasmania’s captain Daniel Marsh also said the Tigers would love to have him. Rogers is speaking to the Western Australian Cricket Association’s chief executive Graeme Wood, the coach Tom Moody and the state match committee chairman Tom Hogan to assess his options.”There is no way we would like to see him go, he is a critical part of our future,” Moody told AAP. “He is highly regarded in this state, his record speaks for itself. Hopefully after those discussions with him he will be with us and looking forward.”Rogers, who holds a Cricket Australia contract, was named State Player of the Year in 2006-07 and made his Test debut at home in Perth this season. However, despite another solid Pura Cup season in which he made 744 runs at 43.76, Rogers is continually overlooked for limited-overs games and made only two FR Cup appearances this summer.A move to Adelaide would be a major coup for South Australia, whose top order has struggled severely since Darren Lehmann’s retirement. Queensland have also lost an experienced key batsman in Jimmy Maher, while Rogers could be a direct replacement for Tasmania’s departing opener Michael Di Venuto.Western Australia have also lost a top-order veteran with the retirement of Justin Langer, who was a regular one-day player for the state, and his absence might open a door for Rogers in the shorter format. Langer hopes whatever Rogers decides he does not let the matter drag on for too long.”It will be good for him to move on and the WACA to move on, whichever way he chooses to go,” Langer said. “If he wants to stay – and I would like to see him stay – then that is great, but if he decided he is not going to then he should make his decision.”

Ever since Keith Miller, Alan Davidson and Richie Benaud moved on, Australia’s search for a quality allrounder has been almost as futile as trying to discover what happened to aircraft that vanished over the Bermuda Triangle. Steve Waugh was almost the real deal. Simon O’Donnell never lived up to his potential for various reasons, and Shane Watson spends more time on the treatment table than on the field.The Australian women have no such problems. Ellyse Perry came out to bat this afternoon with the innings listing at 5 for 71. A 56-run partnership with Kate Blackwell took Australia to a competitive total, with Perry contributing a bustling 29 from just 25 balls. It was the 17-year-old’s first Twenty20 game, but there was no hint of nervousness whatsoever as she got going with a nonchalant one-bounce four over square leg.A magnificent six over long-on off Isa Guha helped finish the innings with a flourish, and we then had to wait until midway through the England innings to see what she could do with the ball. Quite a bit, as it turned out. Blonde ponytail swaying from side to side, she bowled full, straight and at lively pace with a lovely, rhythmic action. Figures of 4 for 20 didn’t flatter her, and she also played a part in the key dismissal, ending Claire Taylor’s defiant knock of 34 with a casual flicked throw on her follow through.The cricket fraternity must do its utmost to hold on to her, because Perry also happens to be a Matilda, a member of Australia’s soccer team. The side that once made global headlines for its nude calendar is probably a more glamourous proposition than the Southern Stars, and Cricket Australia must do what it can to make sure that she becomes a 21st-century Denis Compton, known more for her cricket than the football.You realise how young she is only when you talk to her. With braces and a shy smile, she looks like a teenager, and I ask her what it was like to bowl at the MCG in front of a crowd that was rapidly filling up for the men’s game. “Sensational,” she says with a grin. “I’ve never played in front of a crowd like this, and to do so in your home country is just great.”So, will she have to choose between her two loves? “I guess I might eventually,” she says. “But I’m pretty lucky in that the seasons are different for cricket and soccer. For the moment, I’d like to keep playing both.”Perry has the X-factor, but she wasn’t the only one to catch the eye. Twenty20 is supposed to be a game for youngsters, but the tone for this engrossing contest was set by one of the old stagers. Taylor is 32, and an excellent diving stop on the boundary line was emblematic of an exceptional fielding display. She also took a stunning leaping catch at slip, but unfortunately, Nicky Shaw had overstepped.The choice of music was unfortunate. With more cops and volunteers than fans in the opening stages of the game, there was hardly anyone to cheer, and when Shelley Nitschke smacked a Jenny Gunn full toss for four, they chose to play Garbage’s . Er, what?Rosalie Birch bowled a tidy spell to rein Australia in, but there was still time to be entranced by a little cameo from Lisa Sthalekar. Like every great batsman, she has so much time to play her strokes. There was a gorgeous cover-drive before she went for one shot too many, and the first strains of the Cyndi Lauper anthem, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, suggested that even the music was picking up.It would be easy to resort to cliché and label players like Sthalekar and Karen Rolton the Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden of their sport, but they’re tremendous players in their own right, with a refined style that’s quite far removed from the biff and bang of men’s limited-overs cricket. Perry though is the future, a golden one at that.This was the first time I’ve watched the women play. It certainly won’t be the last.

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

As the temperature soared in the afternoon, Sachin Tendulkar appeared oncourse to replicate his achievement as an 18-year-old, when he madecenturies in Sydney and Perth. But a poor decision from Asad Rauf, andthree poor strokes from the Indian batsmen redressed the balanceas Australia fought back tigerishly in the final session.Tendulkar departed for 71, and Rahul Dravid fell seven short of a century,leaving MS Dhoni and the tail with the task of propelling India to asizeable total on a pitch that was nowhere near as fearsome as it had beenhyped to be. Despite play being extended by half an hour, Australia stillfinished six overs short, a deplorable state of affairs that the matchreferee will surely investigate.Tendulkar and Dravid had been largely untroubled while adding 139, thoughAustralia may yet look back ruefully at the chance that Michael Clarkeshelled at first slip when Dravid had made just 11, and India, 85. Indiahad gone to tea on 2 for 177, and after seeing an edge fall short ofsecond slip soon after, Tendulkar had once again showcased his positiveintent with a magnificent off drive off Stuart Clark.Cue Lee, who had bowled at furious pace all day, and a delivery thatthudded into the flap of Tendulkar’s pad even as he hopped up a little.Rauf had a think and then raised his finger, leaving Tendulkar to trudgeoff, shaking his head in disappointment. Sourav Ganguly opened with alovely off-drive off Clark, but was then distinctly fortunate to see aninside edge streak past his leg stump.His good luck didn’t last long though, and a casual slap to a widedelivery from Mitchell Johnson was brilliantly caught low to his right byMichael Hussey at gully. Suddenly 2 for 198 had become 4 for 214, andAustralia’s effort with the ball and tireless commitment in the field hadits reward.It should still have been India’s day through. VVS Laxman got going with acouple of languid caresses past point, and Dravid (on 67) got a reprievefrom Billy Bowden when a Johnson yorker struck him on the boot palpably infront. They capitalised too, with Dravid cutting the ball crisply and thentaking to spin when Ricky Ponting attempted to make up for the appallingover-rate. Michael Clarke was glanced and then cut for four, and Andrew Symondswas swept through midwicket as Dravid moved into the 90s.

But a century still proved elusive, with a horrendous hoick at Symonds flying off the top edge to Ponting at cover. That was bad enough, but it got worse soon after when Laxman miscued apull off Lee to Shaun Tait at mid-off. Once again, he had made a start, only to fritter it away in cavalier fashion.That was pretty much the story of India’s day, one that began with theopeners adding 57 on the surface that was supposed to be leastIndia-friendly. Lee started at blistering speed, and Johnson at the otherend wasn’t much slower. A well-timed cover-drive got Virender Sehwag off the mark,and he followed up with a couple of magnificent shots through the coverswhen Lee erred in line. With runs being leaked, Ponting replaced Johnsonwith Clark, but Sehwag was in no mood to slow down, clipping onebeautifully through midwicket.Though Clark was the slowest bowler on view, he also appeared the mostdangerous, frequently beating the bat with subtle seam movement. Johnsonreplaced Lee at the other end, but even with the wind behind him, hestruggled to find his rhythm. Clark’s control though was making all thedifference, though Sehwag marked the 50 of the innings with a crunchingshot through extra-cover that bounced back into the field of play off theboundary boards.After 56 came in the first hour, progress slowed, and the pressure createdby Clark’s accuracy was finally capitalised on by Johnson, who got someextra bounce to catch the upper edge of Sehwag’s bat as he went foranother audacious slash. The Melbourne encore [he made a thrilling 195 onBoxing Day in 2003] hadn’t materialised, and it went slightly pear-shapedthereafter, with Wasim Jaffer edging Lee behind.Tait, unleashed only 20 minutes before lunch, and Lee then ensured atorrid passage of play for Tendulkar and Dravid, but India’s premierbatsmen went to lunch with no further damage to the scoreboard. Tendulkartwice saw edges whiz past the slip cordon, but with the temperaturesoaring past 36ºC in the afternoon, it was Australia’s bowlers who feltthe heat.Tait was erratic, and Tendulkar made full use of the fact that hardslashes were always likely to clear the slip cordon. An edge off Tait didexactly that, and when Lee got one to bounce steeply, Tendulkarnonchalantly bunted it down to third man for four. With both batsmenthreading Tait through the off-side field for fours, Ponting opted forchange in the shape of Johnson and Clark.With the runs accumulating steadily and options running out, themedium-pace of Symonds was called on. And with the kettle boiling for tea,India had their second alarm when Tendulkar survived an excellent shoutfor leg before. Soon after, he scythed the returning Tait over slips toget his half-century from 91 balls. At the other end, Dravid, reprieveapart, was solid, and an elegant off-drive off Tait emphasisedIndia’s ascendancy.As has so often been the case in recent times though, it was the Australiantenacity that had the last word.

Zaheer Khan, India’s left-arm seamer who is currently recovering from injury, is unlikely to be fit for India’s first Test against South Africa, starting on March 26 in Chennai.India’s Test specialists are set to undergo routine fitness tests over the next few days but Zaheer isn’t part of the list, it’s learnt. Sources have indicated that it’s not clear yet if he would be available for any part of the series.”He is currently in South Africa,” board secretary Niranjan Shah told Cricinfo. “And we will know the status of the injury in a day or two.” Zaheer is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Centre for Sports Medicine in Johannesburg.Zaheer injured his left heel on the eve of the Sydney Test in early January. It was the same injury that sustained during the third Test against Pakistan in Bangalore a month earlier.Meanwhile RP Singh, the other injured left-arm seamer, will undergo a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore on Friday and Saturday. He had injured his hamstring during the final Test in Adelaide and missed the entire CB Series. RP played a couple of Ranji one-day matches for Uttar Pradesh recently – taking two wickets in each and making good contributions with the bat too.Rahul Dravid was the other injury concern – having damaged his finger during the Adelaide Test – but is expected to be fit for selection. He skipped the South zone Ranji ODI tournament (because he was still in pain) but began training a couple of days ago. He is expected to play a couple of Deodhar Trophy matches for South Zone before the first Test against South Africa in Chennai.Meanwhile India’s Test specialists are set to undergo routine tests at the NCA over the next three days. This follows a BCCI policy to have periodic check-ups prior to all selections for players who have been out of action. VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer, Sourav Ganguly, Dravid, VRV Singh, Pankaj Singh and Anil Kumble haven’t been part of the side since the Adelaide Test and will need to go through the paces before their names are cleared for selection.They will undergo tests under Paul Chapman, the trainer at the NCA, Paul Close, the physiotherapist, and Dav Whatmore. The NCA will in turn forward the reports to the board on Saturday.The squad for the first Test will be picked on Sunday in Mumbai.

Scorecard
Delhi moved to second place in Group A with 18 points while Karnataka remained sixth with 10 after damp conditions ruled out any chance of play on the final day between Karnataka and Delhi at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The umpires inspected the damp conditions six times, the covers came on and off repeatedly but the weather, which was predominantly wet with scanty dry patches, remained unsuitable for play. The teams got a point apiece.Delhi needed 10 wickets to secure first-innings points, but heavy rain on the third day, and a light drizzle this morning, had left the field wet. When the covers were finally removed, it was discovered that water had seeped on to the pitch and left a damp patch at one end. Even though the sun came out briefly and artificial methods of drying were used, the progress was slow. And when it began to rain steadily at 3.00 pm, the slim chances of salvaging some play vanished.

There is a lot of debate on whether Rahul Dravid did the right thing in not enforcing the follow-on in the third Test against England but I feel it was the correct decision under the circumstances.Winning a series in England is always a difficult preposition and Dravid must have kept India’s past record in mind while taking the decision. It is not often that India win a series in England and to have played it safe was quite understandable.A 2-0 margin would have been definitely better and I think Indian team could have won the last Test at the Oval with one extra bowler – spinner Ramesh Powar. If with seven batsmen they could make 664, I feel with one less they could have still made 600.Powar would have utilised the turn on the pitch. Sachin Tendulkar was turning the ball a mile with his off breaks, and Kevin Pietersen too was able to turn the ball. India certainly missed a second spinner. But to win against England in England is a difficult proposition and that is the reason I rate this Test series victory by the Indian team quite high on my card.The difficulty of winning in England is because their players are capable of exploiting the conditions better than the visitors. The victory is doubly sweet because Test cricket is the genuine form of cricket and it’s a game of thinkers. You have to think before every ball and from session to session with constantly changing conditions – weatherwise and pitchwise.Obviously, there will be a comparison between this 1-0 series victory and ours in 1971 by the same margin. Ours was obtained basically through spin bowling while this has come about due to swing and seam bowling though Anil [Kumble] also performed admirably.Compared to this team, which I feel needs to pep up in the fielding department, ours was a better fielding outfit. We hardly dropped a catch. Dravid’s team, however, is much stronger in batting with the fab four – the captain, Tendulkar, Sourav [Ganguly] and [VVS] Laxman – forming the fulcrum who guided youngsters [Dinesh] Karthik and the rest.In one area this team was blessed – in the opening partnerships between Karthik and Wasim Jaffer – as compared to ours in 1971. Harking back to our triumph in 1971 I must say that when we set out to the West Indies we were considered the weakest team and even when we won people said it was a flash in the pan, and the real test awaited us in England.The then Test series win over England was also remarkable in that almost every team member contributed to it, unlike in the West Indies when Sunil [Gavaskar] and Dilip [Sardesai] played lead roles.The present victory, in the middle part of the English summer as compared to ours in the most dry part, too can be attributed to the team playing as one unit with almost every member contributing to it. They showed tremendous team spirit and single-mindedness.The weather gods were kind to us in the build-up to the ’71 series. All our practice matches against the various counties were unaffected by weather. It helped us get acclimatised.We also played very positively, even in the first Test at Lord’s when we strove hard for victory even when the chips were down. Chandra bowled exceptionally well when we won at the Oval in the final Test. And there was the close-in brilliance on the field of Eknath Solkar.I remember an anecdote about Ekki. Alan Knott, England’s wicketkeeper, used to mark his guard by lifting the bail and using it like Shivnarine Chanderpaul does now. Ekki had noticed it and when Knott came to bat in the second innings, he found the bails missing. Ekki, after seeing Knott’s discomfiture, as most cricketers are superstitious, took them off his pocket and placed the bails on the stumps and Knotty marked his guard. But he was out second ball, caught brilliantly by Solkar off Venkat. Knotty was certainly disturbed by Ekki’s prank. And this was a very crucial wicket.Another incident comes to mind when I recall Chandra’s match-winning spell. I saw Derek Underwood play three balls from him comfortably and decided to re-introduce Bishen Bedi into the attack and he dismissed the batsman immediately.John Price came out to bat and after seeing him play Bedi comfortably I decided to bring back Chandra into the attack and he trapped Price leg before. These are just two instances where everything clicked.Talking about the present, this team needs to improve its fielding and catching. But I am happy to see it being openly aggressive and not averse to giving back to the rivals. We used to do it discreetly but present day players adopt the in-your-face style opposition even if it’s all captured by the TV cameras. You can’t take it lying down, an you?The victory was very important especially for the five seniors who are unlikely to be around when India visits England next. With the current hectic schedule one cannot visualise them being around five years later. They should be preserved and not used in Twenty20 events and against minor opposition like Zimbabwe which are ideal to field youngsters with an eye on the future. The seniors need to be used against stronger teams like Australia, Pakistan, South Africa and England.

South Africa have been fined for their slow over-rate in the first Test against India in Chennai. Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, found the side was two overs short of its target after time allowances were taken in to consideration.On day three South Africa managed only 85 overs as India pushed to gain a first-innings lead. It was the day Virender Sehwag raced to the fastest Test triple-hundred, his second in 55 Tests.According to ICC Code of Conduct players are fined 5% of their match fees for every over lost while captain is fined double of that. Consequently South African players lost 10% of their match fees and Graeme Smith lost 20%. The team cannot appeal the fine.After a dull draw in the first Test the two sides now move on to Ahmedabad for the second one starting on April 3.

The final leg of the league phase of the Duleep Trophy kicks off on Monday with all four teams involved having a chance of making the final in Mumbai.In Group A, East Zone and North Zone, who have both won their games against South Zone, clash in Rajkot, while Group B’s table-toppers England Lions take on West Zone in Vadodara.The Lions are best placed to advance, with a two-point lead over second-placed West, and only need to avoid defeat to qualify for the title clash. They will also be buoyed by the two wins they have notched up since arriving in India, especially their successful pursuit of a stiff 296 in the fourth innings against Central Zone [the other win was in a tour game against a Mumbai Cricket Association XI].Lions’ fast bowler Steve Kirby, though, was wary of West, who have a strong side with several players with international experience like Parthiv Patel and Ramesh Powar. “Tomorrow’s game is going to be the hardest we have on the tour,” he told . “We know that they have got a lot of fantastic cricketers in their side. I think we’d be wrong not to be thinking about both those players. But if we stick to our basics and stick to our confident way of playing, it isn’t going to matter who we come up against.”In the other game, North, with their experienced batting line-up, will be confident after their commanding performance against South. With both North and East tied on five points, a draw after gaining the first-innings lead will be enough for either side to go through.

Uncertainty over the future of the Sheffield Shield final has been underlined by the announcement that only three of six states will have access to their prime venue for the competition decider in late March.Top-of-the-table Victoria have nominated Traeger Park in Alice Springs as their choice for the final rather than the unavailable MCG, while second-placed South Australia have plumped for Gilderol Stadium at Glenelg in place of Adelaide Oval.New South Wales are yet to confirm their choice of ground but are understood to have suggested Coffs Harbour, with Cricket Australia to review its appropriateness as a ground during the Blues’ forthcoming Shield fixture on the north coast.”Three of our six states are in positions where their regular season venues are unavailable, meaning they needed to nominate an alternative ground for Cricket Australia approval,” CA operations manager Sean Cary said.”A venue for New South Wales will be confirmed closer to the Final should they look likely to finish in top position. This Sheffield Shield season has been one of the most notable in its 123-year history, including hosting two games under day-night conditions as well as playing the first ever match overseas in Lincoln, New Zealand last week,” Cary added.Last October, the outgoing CA chairman Wally Edwards and the chief executive James Sutherland both expressed doubts about the future of the final, which is being squeezed by various fixture pressures such as the Big Bash League. Football’s insistence on taking possession of the MCG, Adelaide Oval and the SCG before the end of the Shield season is also affecting the issue – Victoria hosted Western Australia in Hobart last year.”The Shield final, over many years, has proved itself to be a bit of a non-event, to be honest,” Edwards said following CA’s AGM. “There probably have only been three or four good Shield finals.”The rest of them have been shockers, a bad advertisement for the game. I think it confuses the back end of our season. I think the best team should win in Shield cricket. If you play eight or ten games, that should sort it out.”Sutherland echoed Edwards’ views, noting how the expansion of the BBL was leaving fewer and fewer spare days in each season. “I think Wally is right. If you do look through history, the Shield finals have been absolutely dominated by the home team or a long draw,” Sutherland said.”I don’t think we should change it unless there was good reason to change that. But, at the same time, we are in a good position at the moment of having a burgeoning Twenty20 domestic competition that is in big demand.”At some stage in the future, we will be looking at ways in which we can expand that, whether that is expansion through number of matches or number of teams, of what have you. That might put pressure on other parts of our program.”