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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.

When India and Pakistan clash, the buzz is generally around the players who could turn in the match-winning performance, but thanks to all the rain around Durban the weather has taken centrestage on the eve of this high-profile game – the forecast predicts 60% chance of evening showers.Pakistan have already qualified for the Super Eights and can, if they choose to, take this as a practice match before the next stage. India, though, have more at stake: if they lose such that their run-rate is more than 2.55 lesser than Pakistan’s (by more than 51 runs if Pakistan score 160, or if Pakistan chase down India’s 160 in 15 overs or lesser), they will be knocked out of the Super Eights stage of a World Cup for the second time inone year.Despite all the talk by Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the contrary, the Indians will be feeling the pressure when they step out at Kingsmead on Friday.Bat play: The Indians missed out on an opportunity to get a hit in the middle, but Dhoni mentioned after the wash-out that the same 12 have been chosen for Friday. That probably means the same XI will play, and the batting line-up will be exactly the same as well. There are potential match-winners there, but the challenge will be to step it up against a dangerous bowling attack in conditions which will be unfamiliar for theIndians.Pakistan’s batting wasn’t entirely convincing either, but it always looked like they weren’t pushing the accelerator at full throttle. Even with qualification not on the line, expect them to come hard at the Indian bowlers. A promotion up the order is on the cards for Shahid Afridi.Wrecking ball: Umar Gul had a field day against Scotland, and if conditions remain overcast – and forecasts suggest they will – expect Gul and Mohammad Asif to ask plenty of questions of the Indian batsmen. India have Sreesanth, RP Singh and Ajit Agarkar in their ranks, but if conditions assist swing, Irfan Pathan, who already has a hat-trick to his name against Pakistan is Tests, could be the one to watch out for.Keep your eye on: Asif. The Indians have generally struggled against him, and even in a batsman-dominated game, his four overs could push them back significantly.Shop talk: Most players like to play down the significance of an India-Pakistan match, but Salman Butt, the Pakistan opener, made no attempt to pass it off as just another game. “It’s the biggest game there is,” Butt said. “The whole nation will be depending on us to do well. There are two sides to the coin. You can either see the match as a pressure situation or as an opportunity to perform.”Dhoni, on the other hand, refused to believe the washout against Scotland had placed his team under extra pressure. “There is so much pressure in international cricket that a little extra expectation makes no difference.” The Indians will also be putting on the line their record of never having lost to Pakistan in a World Cup match: they have beaten them four times, though they were all in the 50-over format.Pitching it right: If the first two games here were any indication, the pitch should offer a few challenges to the batsmen – there was sideways movement on offer, which could be exaggerated under cloudy skies.Teams
India (likely): Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir,Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), IrfanPathan, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, Sreesanth.Pakistan (likely): Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir,Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal,Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif.

Ireland have earned a place on the ICC ODI championship table after beating a Test-playing nation for the second time at the World Cup. Ireland’s 74-run win over Bangladesh at Barbados means they will be on the official rankings list that will be updated after their final Super Eights game, against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.Ireland graduates from the ICC Associate rankings and joins Kenya as the only non-Test countries in the full ODI championship. An Associate can be promoted when it has played at least ten one-day internationals and has beaten two Full Members, or has defeated one Full Member and won more than 60% of its games against other Associates.Having upset Pakistan in their group match, Ireland needed only one more win to take the next step. In accordance with a previous ICC decision, Ireland has ODI status until 2009, along with the other top Associate Members – Kenya, Scotland, Netherlands, Canada and Bermuda.

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.

16 wickets fell in a frenetic first day at the Rose Bowl, where the two bottom clubs Hampshire and Derbyshire met in the Division Two clash of the Frizzell County Championship.The warm weather spell continued as John Crawley chose to bat first, it was a decision he had to rue later as he saw his side capitulate to the bowling of Dominic Cork. The cloud cover and humidity helped him and the other Derbyshire seamers to make the ball swing, and it was Crawley himself who held up the progress with a spirited 49.Troubled with a back injury after completing a third run, he had to have treatment on the field, then latterly used a runner (James Adams).Iain Brunnschweiler and Chris Tremlett hit 39 late runs but the total of 143 was woefully short.Chaminda Vaas playing his first Championship match for Hampshire took the first three wickets to fall. Batting was not easy and slow progress was made by the visitors in building a short lead. Dimitri Mascarenhas bowled 9 overs after tea conceding just two runs for one wicket.Shaun Udal making the odd ball turn then finished the day with 2 wickets including in the last over the vital wicket of the Derbyshire skipper Dominic Cork.

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.

Andre Nel says he is very pleased to be away from international cricket and loves the opportunity he’s got to play the English county game. Back for two months with Essex, for whom he played in 2005, Nel – by his own admission a little ‘like a schoolboy’ – felt he had more than just his bowling services to offer the club.”I haven’t played domestically for almost two years in South Africa,” he told the ECB’s website. “But it’s very different to international cricket. The nice thing is that it’s not as intense. You can be more relaxed and you can have a bit more enjoyment rather than being positive and focused all the time. You can have a little bit more fun and you don’t have as much pressure on your game. It’s not as stressful as it is in international cricket.”Apart from bowling, Nel said he was keen on passing on tips to some of the youngsters in the side.”When I came over here two years ago the people were really friendly and welcoming. Ronnie Irani likes the way I play, being competitive. There’s a lot of excitement at Essex that there are several youngsters coming through who could take the club quite far.”The nice thing is that there are a lot of all-rounders and they’ve got a lot of skill,” he added. “They are a young bunch and that’s where you get your enjoyment. That is why I want to come back here as much as possible if they want me. I’m pretty lucky because I’m like a little schoolboy – quite naughty – in the changing rooms, so I fit in quite well. I get along with a lot of the youngsters because I’m quite young at heart. I hope I teach them something in a good way. If not, I’m doing something wrong.”Nel, 29, said that injuries to Essex had been tough on the other bowlers. “It’s been quite hard. The wickets have been flat,” he said. “I’m trying to give the guys energy when I bowl and help some of the younger guys, but on the flat wickets there isn’t a lot of back-up – although Danish [Kaneria] is unbelievable. But I’m certainly enjoying it and trying to take as many wickets as I can.”As for the opposition and Essex’s shot at the Division Two championship, Nel was, unsurprisingly, not lost for words. “When you play against the top sides, I think Essex will be up for it. We should do well because we’ve played good four-day cricket and we are keen to do well in the four-day competition,” he said. “I just go on the field and give it my all every time I play,” he added. “I think the biggest thing is that you can’t worry about it. You have got to do the basics and get them right first.”

Michael Vaughan’s first-up match heroics in yesterday’s series-equalling thriller at Eden Park have made him flavour of the week in England’s Sunday newspapers.But, as with New Zealanders now embroiled in the annual diet of Super 12 rugby, so the English, who are in the midst of their soccer season, are forever competing with soccer for news space, the prospect of a series final has provided plenty of news space for the cricket.A sampling of English opinion follows:The Sunday Times: “If England’s cricketers ever learn how to leave the blocks fast they could be world-beaters, because they certainly know how to fight themselves out of corners. A clinical performance in Auckland yesterday, their second in four days, secured a win by 33 runs to level the one-day series at 2-2 and render the humiliation in Wellington last weekend a distant memory.”Not for the first time, Nasser Hussain and his team have transformed themselves from chumps to champs in little more time than it takes to write their obituaries. Now all eyes turn to Dunedin on Tuesday, where they will start favourites to win a series they looked certain to lose after going 2-0 down with a perplexing lack of focus.”Seven days ago, there were villains galore. Yesterday, in front of a capacity crowd of 35,000 eager to see the home side put matters beyond reach, several of the visitors vied for the limelight as the hosts looked more like the drop-outs on Eden Park’s portable drop-in pitch.”If one man did more than any other to set up victory it was Michael Vaughan. Bristling to justify his recall in place of Owais Shah after impressing his captain in the nets on Friday, he hit the ball as sweetly as he can ever have done for 59 at better than a run per ball. It was an innings that gave substance to the middle of an England innings of 193 for six, reduced from 50 to 40 overs by two stoppages for rain.”The Guardian: “With more drama than a Coronation Street episode at Eden Park, even a Duckworth popped in at half-time to tell us how many runs New Zealand wanted. With all that was going on, it was hard to believe that it wasn’t Vera.”Messrs Duckworth and Lewis conspired through their unfathomable but ultimately fair system to invite New Zealand to score 30 more than England scored for victory. The upshot was that in an incident-packed, rain-interrupted game, England won by 33 runs to square the series 2-2 with one match to play in Dunedin on Tuesday.”According to the playing conditions, this 50-over game was scheduled to be played over two days in the event of rain, but was reduced to 46 then 40 overs per side much to the enjoyment of a capacity 35,000 crowd. Confusion was the order of the early part of the day as England made a workmanlike 193 for six.”On a pitch prepared on the number-two ground and transported 300 yards on a huge wheeled cradle, both sets of bowlers enjoyed themselves, while Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan excelled with the bat. Thorpe’s 59 in 67 balls was a masterly exhibition of his craft, all nudged singles and thumping boundaries. He has not had the easiest of times lately, but his domestic situation is now more clear to him and his cricket will prosper once more as a result.”Vaughan was a revelation as he dominated even Thorpe with his innings of 59 in 53 balls. He also held two quality catches early in New Zealand’s innings before his untimely exit from the field with a jarred shoulder. His innings was all that a one-day knock should be, with plenty of straight drives, square cuts and pulls, coupled with that deft glide to third man. This was not a cobbled-together innings but one of great maturity.”The Independent on Sunday: “From zero to hero is usually a long, arduous journey between diverse points separated by rather more than 18 letters of the alphabet. England have made it look as easy as ABC in a week.”After being two down in the series against New Zealand and all but out, they pulled level yesterday with one match to play. Seven days ago the tourists were washed up when they were all out for 89, suffered an abject defeat by 155 runs and were fortunate to keep it so close. Now, they are riding the crest of a wave.”It was New Zealand’s turn to flounder, although when they were drowning in Eden Park last night they still managed a determined wave. Having been dealt an unkind hand by the vagaries of the Duckworth-Lewis Method – though coldly statistical vagaries – they were simply never on the required pace.”The Sunday Telegraph: “First it was India who were given a shock, and now it is New Zealand. England are making a habit of fighting back when all hope looks lost, and Saturday’s win, with a little help from the Duckworth-Lewis method, has set up a mouth-watering series finale on Tuesday.”Reading the newspapers in New Zealand last Sunday, you could have been forgiven for thinking England were one of the worst teams to have set foot in their country after the annihilation in Wellington. New Zealanders must surely have wondered how England had hit back to level the series 3-3 in India, of all places. Now they understand why, and Nasser Hussain’s team must start as favourites in Dunedin after squaring the series at 2-2.”Brilliant batting from Michael Vaughan and Graham Thorpe set up the prospect of a commanding total until two lengthy breaks for rain curtailed England’s innings by 10 overs, and then the Duckworth-Lewis method intervened to leave New Zealand with a stiff target of 223 in 40 overs after England had made 193 for six.”Their top order again made heavy work of it and, despite explosive batting from Chris Cairns – the first time he has fired with the bat this series – and Andre Adams, the task was too great.”

XXXX Queensland Bulls pace bowler Ashley Noffke will miss Friday’s INGCup day/nighter against the Southern Redbacks, but remains in contentionfor Sunday’s Pura Cup match at the Gabba.Noffke was ruled out this morning after the Bulls medical and coachingstaff elected not to rush him back from a fractured right index fingerfor the one-day match at the Gabba.However they will assess him again on Saturday morning to see whether hemight be fit to take his place for the Pura Cup clash against theRedbacks that starts Sunday.The Queensland selectors have named a 13-man squad for the Pura Cup gameto cover if Noffke is unable to take his place.Queensland lead the Pura Cup competition and are in second spot on theING Cup ladder.Former Bulls captain Stuart Law has recovered from a dislocated fingerand retains his place in the ING Cup team after making his return to thelimited overs side in the win over the Western Warriors in Perth earlierthis month.XXXX Queensland Bulls v South Australia, ING Cup, Friday (D/N): MartinLove (c), Daniel Payne, Lee Carseldine, Clinton Perren, Stuart Law,Brendan Nash, James Hopes, Wade Seccombe, Nathan Hauritz, MichaelKasprowicz, Scott Brant, Damien MacKenzie (all twelve to play).XXXX Queensland Bulls v South Australia, Pura Cup, Sunday – Wednesday:Martin Love (c), Brendan Nash, Daniel Payne, Clinton Perren, Stuart Law,Lee Carseldine, James Hopes, Wade Seccombe, Nathan Hauritz, AshleyNoffke, Michael Kasprowicz, Adam Dale, Joe Dawes (one to be omitted).

Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has warned Shoaib Akhtar that his international career could be over unless he improves his behaviour.

Zia, who rarely minces his words, left no-one in any doubt about his opinion of Shoaib, the world’s quickest bowler. “Let me make this clear,” he said. “If Shoaib does not improve his behaviour and general discipline, he has no place in the team … his cricket is finished.”Shoaib, 27, was one of eight players dropped after the World Cup, although he has since earned a reprieve, after being drafted into a preliminary squad of 21 for Pakistan’s one-day triangular series in Sri Lanka. During the World Cup match against England at Cape Town, he bowled one ball at Nick Knight that was clocked at more than 100mph, but the majority of his recent headlines have centred on irresponsible behaviour and indiscipline.Zia stressed there was no place in the Pakistan team for players not willing to give 100% commitment. “Regardless of whatever the selectors might think or plan, in my book, if Shoaib can’t improve his attitude and become more focused on cricket, his career is over. The Board and myself have supported him all along and spent a lot of money on his welfare, even when match officials reported his action.Shoaib, who was reported three times for throwing before it was discovered he has an abnormally flexible elbow, has a long history of clashes with team managers. “He was allowed a lot of latitude because we thought he was a genuine match-winner,” said Zia. “But he let the country down badly in the World Cup.”