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Shaun Tait is due to make his long-awaited comeback from elbow surgery after being named in South Australia’s FR Cup squad to face Victoria on Friday. The problem forced Tait out of Australia’s tours to South Africa and India and prevented him from playing in South Australia’s humiliating Pura Cup defeat to the Bushrangers this week.While Tait is expected to play, Darren Lehmann is still missing after injuring his hamstring in the pre-season. The Redbacks have chosen Andy Delmont, the uncapped allrounder, in the squad after he posted 134 for University in the Adelaide grade competition.Delmont has been working with the new coach Mark Sorell to make his game more consistent. “I am rapt this has paid off and that I have been given this opportunity,” he said.Victoria’s successful Pura Cup debutant Matthew Wade has been overlooked and Adam Crosthwaite is set to take the gloves. Victoria will also be boosted by the inclusion of the fast bowlers Shane Harwood, Mick Lewis and Clinton McKay, while Aaron Finch and Aiden Blizzard could slot into the batting line-up.Wade, Nick Jewell, Dirk Nannes and Gerard Denton were left out of the one-day squad despite being part of the side that thrashed South Australia. Denton and Nannes each took five wickets in the first-class win, while Wade marked his debut with 83 and six catches.Harwood’s pre-season was hampered by a shoulder injury but he has been included in the 13-man squad after a successful performance for his club side on the weekend. A state debut for Finch, 20, would be a pleasing turnaround after he was suspended from the Centre of Excellence in July for keeping his room continually untidy.Cameron White said the additions would strengthen Victoria’s chances in the 50-over format. “It was a pretty emphatic win this week, but then again the Redbacks’ form in the FR Cup has been stronger than the Pura Cup in recent seasons,” he said. “There’s no doubt we’re hell-bent on leaving Adelaide with points in both matches and the inclusion of guys like Shane Harwood, who’s been our best one-day bowler, gives us a great boost.”South Australia squad Matthew Elliott, Daniel Harris, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcock (capt), Andy Delmont, Graham Manou (wk), Mark Cleary, Dan Cullen, Jason Gillespie, Ryan Harris, Shaun Tait.Victoria squad Michael Klinger, Robert Quiney, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Aiden Blizzard, Aaron Finch, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Clinton McKay, Bryce McGain, Peter Siddle, Mick Lewis.

The one-day series between England and New Zealand is one of the most eagerly awaited in years by local fans who are still unsure how good Daniel Vettori’s team is. Recent performances have given little away and the side to play England has a new look.Since the last time the teams met, when New Zealand won convincingly at the World Cup, the home side is missing five players and the regenerating team lost the Twenty20 series 2-0. The two most notable absentees are Stephen Fleming and Shane Bond. Fleming, who retired after 280 matches and 8037 runs, left a big gap when he departed, but the loss of Bond is bigger.Bond, who has terminated his New Zealand contract and joined the Indian Cricket League, has been the spearhead whenever he has been fit to play. In 67 ODIs he has taken 125 wickets at the phenomenal average of 19.32 and his departure is as significant as when Richard Hadlee stepped down in 1990. Justin Vaughan, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, felt the departure of Bond was by far New Zealand’s biggest loss to the ICL and was a concerning development for the international game. The upshot is they now lack a genuine fast man.The others not included since the previous encounter are Lou Vincent, who has been dropped, Craig McMillan has retired and James Franklin is injured. In another major blow, Vettori may not be fit for the beginning of the series. He rested from the two Twenty20 matches with an ankle injury and is in doubt for the first ODI.Brendon McCullum, the stand-in captain, said Vettori would be sorely missed. “Dan’s injury is quite a big blow to the make-up of our bowling stocks,” he told NZPA, “and also just the general team.”With the loss of experience, the remaining senior players must step up if New Zealand are going to retain third place in the ODI rankings. Scott Styris, Brendon McCullum and Peter Fulton will need to score their share of runs, while Chris Martin and Kyle Mills will lead the bowling attack.Although Styris has just announced his retirement from Tests, he must now lead the ODI batting line-up. He has an impressive recent record in ODIs and this will need to continue if New Zealand are to compete with England. “The rigours of international cricket have become increasingly demanding,” he said, “and I would like to extend my career by focusing on the shorter versions of the game.”The niggles and injuries he has suffered by playing first-class cricket over recent years have made it difficult for him to get on to the park. “I am really enjoying both one-day and Twenty20 cricket,” he said, “and am looking forward to being heavily involved with New Zealand on our journey to the World Cup in 2011.”While his fitness to stay involved in the first-class arena was a concern, there are no worries about his productivity in limited-overs affairs. Styris excelled at the World Cup, making 499 runs at 83.16, and followed that up in South Africa where he averaged 62.Among the bowlers, Mills has a good ODI record and much will depend on him as they try to cover for Bond. He has already shown his ability to take wickets without having Bond at the other end. In the three match ODI series in South Africa late last year he took nine at 11.33, while he captured another nine against Bangladesh at 12.55. England will offer a greater challenge to his improvements.Martin, on the other hand, has a less than impressive record, but has come of age in Tests over the last few years. In the shorter version of the game, he has played just 15 matches and faces a steep learning curve against an England team of young and experienced batsmen. His omissions over recent seasons have been due to his high economy rate of 4.95 runs per over and it must be brought down closer to four for him to be useful over the next five matches.

The New Zealand opening combination will be another interesting focus of the series. If the young Auckland batsman Jesse Ryder opens with McCullum, there could be fireworks from the beginning. Ryder’s selection has met a mixed reaction. Adam Parore, the former New Zealand wicketkeeper, is a critic and told he had seen Ryder on the evening news and “there was no room for fat players in international cricket because the days of David Boon are gone”.But Hadlee, the chairman of selectors, believes Ryder can form an explosive opening partnership with McCullum. “He has certainly dominated New Zealand A tours,” Hadlee said, “and deserves an opportunity.”His performance is as highly anticipated as the series itself due to the debate over his selection and because he has been involved in a number of disciplinary problems off the field. One of these was when he signed to play for Ireland last year as an overseas professional and failed to turn up to the match against Surrey at the Oval.If the opening partnership can succeed and the bowling attack can get some quick wickets, New Zealand have a good chance of winning the series. But if not, their fans may decide they are no longer a team of the quality that drove them to a world cup semi-final.The 2-1 loss in South Africa was disappointing, but very few teams come away from there satisfied, and the victory was only the second New Zealand success in that country. On the way home Vettori’s men faced Australia in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy and were comprehensively beaten, something most teams encounter.The next assignment was a home series against Bangladesh, who were annihilated as expected. This is why the jury is still out on Vettori’s regenerating team. With the arrival of England, there are no expectations either way, so the fans will finally have a chance to decide how good, or bad, their national side is.

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

A hundred from Mohammad Yousuf and a fine all-round performance by Shoaib Malik led Pakistan to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Yousuf and Malik put on 141 for the third wicket to steer Pakistan’s chase, with Yousuf’s 14th century the first in what has been a horribly one-sided Mobilink Cup. Malik’s 88 added to the three wickets he took earlier to restrict Zimbabwe to 244.The pair came together after Pakistan’s newbie openers had gone by the 15th over. Malik had already settled by then, returning to the one-down role he had once made his own, with Younis Khan resting. He averages over 40 from 34 innings at No.3 and it was immediately easy to see why so many argue for him to move up the order. He was off the mark immediately, clipping off his toes for four and in the next over he drove and cut Gary Brent for a couple more.Soon after, he twice cut Elton Chigumbura and then did likewise to Brent five overs later. Having grabbed the initiative then and with no real pressure, Malik’s calculating approach came out, as he dabbed and nudged runs for fun. A swift fifty was brought up, and though he lofted Ray Price over the boundary and welcomed Hamilton Masakadza with a brace of boundaries soon after, he was more than happy to play second fiddle.Yousuf, meanwhile, began regally, picking up singles when he felt like it and only occasionally breaking sweat to find the boundary. It seemed for a while as if he wasn’t even there, at least until a late dab to third man in the 27th over brought up the fifty partnership.He made his presence known after it, twice depositing Masakadza over wide mid-on to bring up his own fifty. His pace picked up to such an extent that only 34 balls later, he was bringing up an effortless hundred, the highlight of which was a magnificent loft over long-on off Price. The only blemish on a flawless innings was a mix-up with Malik, which prevented the captain from reaching a hundred of his own.It didn’t prevent Malik from taking the Man-of-the-Match award. He had already excelled earlier, prompting a slump as Zimbabwe – not for the first time in this series – let slip a position of considerable strength after opting to bat. Sean Williams and Tatenda Taibu had rescued the innings early, with an intelligent 85-run partnership, but just when much was promised, Malik dismissed both, and Brendon Taylor, during eight mid-innings overs.The pair have been Zimbabwe’s best batsmen this series and it was soon apparent why. Taibu repeatedly came out of his crease to neutralize the early swing which so bewildered the openers, most effectively when he drove Kamran Hussain past mid-off for the day’s first boundary. He cut twice soon after, but the real spurt came from Williams in the 14th over.Hussain tired after an impressive opening spell and Williams took toll, twice flicking him through midwicket for three and driving over point to bring up Zimbabwe’s 50. He then targeted Shahid Afridi, driving him elegantly through extra cover to mark the fifty stand, before cutting and lofting him for six an over later.Taibu provided typically impish support and at that stage, until Malik brought himself on little was of concern. But in his second over, Williams inexplicably chipped back two short of what would have been his third fifty of the series. Taylor went in Malik’s next over and the drive quickly petered out of the innings. Taibu fell immediately after getting to his ninth half-century and runs soon slowed to a trickle.Singles were grudgingly given up, boundaries even more so. Chigumbura and Chamu Chibhabha battled well without any great urgency and it was only at the death, through Keith Dabengwa, that Zimbabwe rallied. He took 19 off the last over, part of a 33-ball 45, to drag Zimbabwe to a competitive score. Competitive, but no more.

If you’d told the average Indian at the end of the catastrophic one-dayseries that they’d be heading to Cape Town, and the most beautiful groundin the world, on level terms in the Tests, you might have been greetedwith an incredulous look or two. But a month on, the team arrives atNewlands with more than a tinge or two of regret. Having won so convincingly against all odds at the Wanderers, they had more than their fair share of opportunities at Durban. But South Africa’s greater desperation prevailed on a tense weather-interrupted final day, leaving the series beautifully poised.When they look back at the Kingsmead game, India will be able to isolatetwo or three key moments where the game slipped away. On the opening day,Sachin Tendulkar gave Ashwell Prince a reprieve at slip. Prince, then on41, went on to make a doughty 121, putting together a priceless 73 withthe last two batsmen on the second morning.When India batted, Tendulkar provided a measure of atonement by managing his first half-century of the year. But with the situation incontrol, he played a distinctly ordinary shot to give South Africa a toein the door. The tail wagged as it has done all series, but a deficit of88 was always going to be hard to bridge.They still gave themselves a chance, with the outstanding Sreesanthsparking a collapse that saw South Africa lose six second-innings wicketsfor 44. But again, they couldn’t finish the task, with Shaun Pollock’sunbeaten 63 buttressed by valuable cameos from Andrew Hall andthe impressive Mornè Morkel.The vagaries of the weather, and the grey skies that descended everyafternoon meant that survival was still very much an option, but India’sbatting the second time was as woeful as it could possibly have been.Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s brave 47 delayed the inevitable and offeredtantalising glimpses of light, but the abject failure of the top order puttoo much pressure on those that followed. With Makhaya Ntini leading theline splendidly, South Africa always had that little bit in reserve.India’s bowlers could still feel proud of their efforts, with Sreesanthtaking his series tally to 16 wickets, and the attack will be furtherstrengthened by the return of Munaf Patel in Cape Town. VRV Singh bowledwith real pace and menace in patches, but has yet to acquire theconsistency needed at this level. If his ankle gives him no trouble, Munafwill be a far tougher proposition, capable of extracting steep bounce offa naggingly accurate length. With Zaheer Khan causing all manner ofproblems with the new ball, and Anil Kumble applying the tourniquet, SouthAfrica certainly won’t enjoy facing India’s four-man attack.Unfortunately, rapid strides on the bowling front have gone hand-in-handwith a steady regression on the batting side of things. Wasim Jaffer gotgood starts in both innings at Kingsmead, but his partnership withVirender Sehwag has been a non-starter all tour. The team management isn’tin favour of drastic action – there was a great deal of heartburn oversending Irfan Pathan home – but Sehwag’s wretched form demands drasticmeasures. Expect Gautam Gambhir to be padding up at Newlands.

The other less likely change could be behind the stumps. Despite a coupleof fingers on his right hand being terribly bruised, Dhoni showedtremendous courage both with the bat and the big gloves in Durban, thoughyou could clearly see him grimacing each time he collected a delivery sentdown at nearly 140 km/h. With Dhoni being such an integral part of theWorld Cup plans, he might not be risked unless the team management iscertain that he can handle five more days of finger-pounding. Though theman himself would be loathe to miss out, Dinesh Karthik is a more thancapable deputy.South Africa’s problems also centre around their top order. Graeme Smithfinally made some runs in Durban, but if Jacques Kallis returns from aback injury, Hashim Amla might have to make way at No.3. The other optionis Jacques Rudolph, though he did fail in both innings in the tour gameagainst the Indians at Potchefstroom.Depending on the surface at Newlands, South Africa may elect to give PaulHarris, the left-arm spinner, a game. If he plays, Andrew Hall could bethe one to sit out. The fourth pace slot will also come under the scanner.If he can convince the team that his fitness worries are behind him, DaleSteyn should return, with Morkel making way after a promising debut.The pitch will attract as much attention as the final XIs. A dry surfacethat was watered excessively ahead of the Test against Australia earlierthis year produced a three-day finish, with Stuart Clark routing the hostson his debut. But less than two months later, the game against New Zealandwas a run-fest, with both team scoring in excess of 500. South Africa willbe wary of a surface that’s too dry, given Kumble’s quality, but asSreesanth and Zaheer have shown already, even a fast and bouncy pitchwon’t be any guarantee of success. The various permutations should makefor one hell of a game.

A century by one-drop Kashinath Khadkikar helped hosts Maharashtra to301/7 at stumps on the opening day of their Cooch Behar Trophy prequarter final game against Karnataka at the Nehru Stadium in Pune onFriday.After winning the toss and electing to make first use of the wicket,Maharashtra lost opener SK Kamathe to left arm seamer Steve Lazarus inthe third over of the innings for nought.Off spinner Mulewa Dharmichand scalped the next two wickets as thehosts slipped to 80/3 before Khadkikar and RR Dharwat (37) launched arecovery, compiling 119 runs for the fourth wicket. Both weredismissed in the space of four balls at the same scoreline of 199.Khadkikar had made 123 of those, in 175 balls with 22 boundaries. Thelower order chipped in with useful contributions and at stumps APThakur (25) and KR Adhav (20) were holding sway. Dharmichand finishedwith the best figures of 3/96.

Duncan Fletcher has agreed a new contract that will make him England’s longest-serving coach, and will formally put pen to paper in the next few days.Fletcher’s current deal runs out at the end of the 2004 English season, and there has been considerable media speculation over his future, with suggestions that he was considering a return to county cricket. But after a few weeks relaxing in Cape Town, Fletcher has decided to commit himself further to the England cause.The England & Wales Cricket Board had been pushing for him to sign a deal which would have kept him in the job until the end of the 2007 World Cup, but Fletcher, who is 55, was reluctant to commit that far ahead. Instead the compromise of an open-ended arrangement was agreed.”We believe that the new arrangement removes the scope for distractingannual speculation,” said John Carr, the ECB’s director of cricket. “The decision to move Duncan from a fixed-term contract to a staff contractdemonstrates the board’s own commitment to him and his own commitment to theEngland cause.”Fletcher replaced David Lloyd as England coach in 1999, after successful spells with Western Province and Glamorgan. Apart from two series defeats against Australia, he is widely considered to have done a good job and the news of the new contract will be a boost to England at the start of a hectic year of international cricket.

New Zealand have announced winter contracts for the first time with seven players, including Grant Elliott, on the list. The deals run from May to September and cover the Emerging Players Tournament in Queensland in July and the New Zealand A tour of India in September.”All players contracted will be under consideration for winter tours by the New Zealand A or Emerging Players Tournament sides, or even the Blackcaps,” a New Zealand spokesman confirmed to Cricinfo.”These contracts have been awarded in recognition of their performance in the last domestic season,” Glenn Turner, one of New Zealand’s selectors, said. “We have identified them as possible future Blackcaps, or as players who we expect to build on existing international experience. There is an expectation that they will keep working on their game during the winter.”The allrounder Elliott, 29, made his Test debut against England last month but was overlooked for a full contract two weeks ago. However, the winter deal gives him hope his international career will not stall at one match.Nathan McCullum is one step closer to joining his brother Brendon in the national set-up again after receiving one of the seven contracts. His only match in New Zealand colours came at the World Twenty20 last year, when he made 1 and was not required to bowl against South Africa.Neil Broom, Martin Guptill, Greg Hay, Bradley Scott and BJ Watling were also included in the list. McCullum, Broom and Scott have played together for New Zealand A in 2007, the trio appearing in the Emerging Players Tournament final in Australia where they lost to South Africa.Guptill, 21, is a former New Zealand Under-19 player who made his first-class debut two years ago while Watling, 22, played his initial first-class match in the 2004-05 season. The deals begin on May 19 and continue until the end of September, before the resumption of major association contracts.

Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lanka’s quickest bowler, is ready to return to international cricket after seven months on the sidelines. Fernando, now 24, has battled his way back to full fitness after a stress fracture – the second of his career – during a quadrangular tournament in Sharjah earlier this year.Champaka Ramanayake, Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling coach, was hopeful that Fernando would return to the Sri Lankan side soon, perhaps even for the first Test against England, which starts on December 2 at Galle. Fernando has been selected in the Sri Lankan BoardPresident’s XI, which will take on England in a three-day warm-up match at the Colombo Cricket Club from November 26.”Dilhara has recovered fully from his spine injury and has been bowling long spells for SSC [Sinhalese Sports Club] in the Premier Trophy competition without any discomfort,” said Ramanayake on Monday. “He has been out of international cricket for nearly seven months and needs to get some exposure against an international team to regain his confidence.”He had a technical error in his bowling action which is called counter rotation which twisted his spine and resulted in the stress fracture. We identified the fault and changed his alignment so that he is bowling more upright now.” Fernando has captured 12 wickets for 220 runs in four matches for SSC in the ongoing Premier Trophy, Sri Lanka’s main first class competition.The other likely contenders for Chaminda Vaas’s new ball partner in the Galle Test include Nuwan Zoysa, Dinusha Fernando and Nuwan Kulasekera. Sri Lanka are only likely to play two fast bowlers, unless conditions aid seam bowling.

With the aim of developing future Victorian and Australian cricketers, the Commonwealth Bank and Cricket Victoria today announced an exciting new partnership.The initiative will provide a clear pathway for cricketers from junior representative ranks through to first-class cricket and will be known as the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Victoria Pathway Development Program. The four-year partnership will provide junior Victorian cricketers with enhanced levels of skill and personal development, as well as access to the latest in cricket technology.Commonwealth Bank Regional General Manager, Mr Richard Porter said he was delighted to be associated with the Pathway program. “We view Cricket Victoria’s Pathway program to be consistent with many values and objectives of the Commonwealth Bank. A commitment to community, in particular providing opportunities for young people to strive for achievement is central to our philosophy and as such we are very excited."Cricket Victoria President Mr Bob Merriman said the announcement was another chapter in what has been a successful partnership. “Cricket Victoria’s association with the Commonwealth Bank has been a long and fruitful partnership for both organisations. Their commitment to the game of cricket has been quite outstanding from both a national and state perspective and we are delighted that they are going to partner Cricket Victoria’s quest to develop our state’s young players”.The Commonwealth Bank Cricket Victoria Pathway Development Program consists of a series of programs and competitions for talented cricketers beginning at Under 13 level and includes statewide championships at Under 15, Under 16 and Under 18 age levels. These programs feed players through to the State Youth teams, Victorian Bushrangers and ultimately Australian representation.

The inability of New Zealand’s opening bowlers to make even the smallest of incisions has hampered their decision to play two spinners. The pitch is starting to turn, but it has happened three wickets and four sessions too late for the Kiwis.Instead of sweeping through the lower order, Daniel Vettori and Paul Wiseman have had to wear the line-up down. If Chris Martin or James Franklin had made any sort of impact, the spinners could have tried attacking with rocks instead of pebbles. Instead, no wickets fell before lunch on either day.Australia’s innings wobbled in the second session, but by then they already had 445 on the board. Langer, wearing his baggy green and looking like a tired train driver, pulled Vettori to midwicket, and within 20 runs Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann had followed as well. The top six had fallen and the spinners had shared the spoils evenly, but since the opposition had passed 500, it was impossible to callthe make-up of the attack a success.Australia have found spin to be over-rated at Adelaide. They prefer a battery of fast bowlers to take advantage of the variable bounce. Shane Warne has just one five-for here and only during the last Ashes tour did his ground average drop below 30. This surface, however, offers more than usual and sharper turn is expected tomorrow as the pitch cracks under the extreme heat. The ball appeared to be deviating more and more with every passing over.The offspinner Wiseman was earmarked to play in this match when New Zealand picked their tour squad, and an already struggling batting order was weakened to accommodate him. The pair bowled in tandem for more than 40 minutes in the first session without incentive against Lehmann and Langer, who is a reluctant six-hitter but still managed twice to launch Wiseman over the fence.Stephen Fleming set Wiseman’s field at a Ganguly pace, but then nothing was happening quickly. Even the captain’s arm-waving drifted as he set inner rings with one or two men on the fence. Containment was the buzzword; Australia managed at least 100 runs in each of the first two sessions. When Langer fell, a flicker of enthusiasm returned, and it was sustained by the subsequent dismissals of Clarke and Lehmann. But then Adam Gilchrist walked out.It is unlikely that either spinner will have much impact – perhaps none at all – in the second innings. Even at the close of the first day’s play, Wiseman was using “if” when asked about bowling again. Probably the only opportunity the pair will have towards the end of thematch is if Australia decide to give their bowlers a rest between innings. An absence of medium-paced penetration has forced the spinners to toil, and in turn transferred all the pressure to New Zealand’s batsmen.Peter English is Australasian editor of Wisden Cricinfo.