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While all the speculation over Tuesday’s selection committee meeting surrounds the appointment of a new captain for the seven-match home ODI series against Australia, the day’s agenda goes beyond that. They have to answer some tricky questions when they pick the one-day squad, the foremost being whether Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag have done enough to make a comeback. They will also have to see how to find room for Irfan Pathan.In the recent past the selectors have resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes to the limited-overs team, chopping and changing only when fitness issues arose. And there is one in front of them: Munaf Patel, who was drafted into the team in place of Sreesanth for the ODI series in England, fell well short of expectations. He managed no more than a handful of overs at decent pace and Venkatesh Prasad, the bowling coach, questioned the “intensity level” with which he was operating. The timing and manner of Prasad’s statements – openly to the media, midway through the series – were surprising but it’s indicative that the team may have run out of patience with Munaf.Munaf’s exit will likely afford Ajit Agarkar another chance in the one-day team, something that might otherwise have been in doubt.Irfan Pathan has rediscovered the swing that made him such a potent force when he arrived in international cricket and has made telling contributions with the bat and on the field for India A. Though he is far from back to his best – the rhythm and pace still need plenty of work – he is clearly on the road to rehabilitation. When Pathan was axed from the team his bowling had fallen apart, with no swing and no real pace making him cannon fodder for the batsmen.If the Pathan question is easily answered by Munaf’s exit, the selectors have a slightly more tricky task deciding on what to do with Sehwag and Harbhajan. Neither has performed exceptionally well in the ICC World Twenty20 but Harbhajan has been on the ball. He has bowled with control and good rhythm, and would surely have been pushing for a place had the two incumbent spinners, Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar, not done so outstandingly well in the last series.While the medium-pacers came in for some tap, both Powar and Chawla exerted great control over England’s batsmen. Even Kevin Pietersen, who has dominated spinners of the quality of Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, found it hard to get both Powar and Chawla away. Powar slowed things down cleverly while Chawla had the advantage of being able to bowl his legbreak and googly from the same line. The fact that both spinners held their own might just make it hard for Harbhajan to force his way back in.The question of Sehwag is more tricky. The fact that he doesn’t find a place in either the Test or one-day team makes things a bit difficult for Dilip Vengsarkar and company. It’s no secret that Sehwag was being groomed for the captaincy, the thinking being that he was the link between the Tendulkar-Ganguly-Dravid generation and the one that would succeed it. This fact kept Sehwag in the team longer than many expected, even after he lost form, but now the case for Sehwag might build again, with Dravid giving up the reins.This could spell the end for Rohit Sharma, who was in the squad but did not get a game in the seven-match series in England and is yet to find a place in the eleven in the ICC World Twenty20.Vengsarkar is tight-lipped about the selection, and it seems his colleagues aren’t fully in the loop when it comes to the captaincy question. All will be revealed on Tuesday, and though there is room for surprises, don’t be surprised if Vengsarkar doesn’t ring in too much change.

Jamie Siddons has become the latest Australian to take charge of a Test team after accepting the role as coach of Bangladesh. Siddons, an assistant coach with Australia, will arrive in Dhaka on Monday to finalise his contract.Last month it was reported that Siddons was unlikely to become the team’s coach after his terms and conditions did not match those of the Bangladesh board. But today Siddons said: “I am thrilled to announce that I have accepted an offer from the BCB to coach the Bangladesh national team.”Siddons is considered one of Australia’s greatest domestic players never to win a Test cap. He made 11,587 first-class runs at 44.91, playing for Victoria and South Australia between 1984-85 and 1999-2000, and played a solitary ODI in Lahore in 1988.Siddons has been continually involved with the national team since retirement. He was appointed as a senior coach at the Centre of Excellence before the 2005 Ashes and then became an assistant coach with the Australian team.Bangladesh have been looking for a coach since Dav Whatmore decided to quit the post following India’s tour of Bangladesh in May. Shaun Williams, the assistant coach, has been in charge of side since then. Siddons’ appointment means Australia, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh all have former Australian state or international players coaching them.

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, feels his wicket of Mahendra Singh Dhoni shortly before stumps on day two was a turning point for Pakistan in the Feroz Shah Kotla Test. Kaneria said that moment allowed Pakistan the chance to come back in the game, and given the aim was to set India at least a 300-run target, he could have a winning role in the series opener.”Sachin Tendulkar’s run out and disturbing the Dhoni-[VVS] Laxman partnership were important” said Kaneria after an absorbing day’s play. “Dhoni’s wicket was a good breakthrough, especially when they have a long tail. Dhoni is in good form and is an aggressive player who keeps the scoreboard ticking. So claiming his wicket has helped the team a lot.”India were in serious trouble at 93 for 5 but a115-run sixth-wicket stand between Laxman and Dhoni took them extremely close to Pakistan’s total of 231. Kaneria still felt the match was could swing either team’s way.”This is a five-day match and every day is different with one team up one day and another the next day. Today it is balanced,” he said. “We have come back in the match after the breakthrough. Tomorrow morning we will do well.”Batting on day four, said Kaneria, would not be easy. “We did not have the first innings advantage but we’ll give them a target as the fourth day will be difficult to bat with the wicket deteriorating and becoming very slow and low. If we give them a target of 300 we can win the match.”There has not been much sunlight on these two days so wicket has not broken yet. It could be difficult to play spin tomorrow. We will like to come and bowl them out in the morning tomorrow. I can have a vital role in winning the match for Pakistan.”Meanwhile, injured fast bowler Umar Gul, ruled out of this Test with a back sprain, remains in doubt for the second Test. According to Salahuddin Ahmed, chief selector, Pakistan may call up Rao Iftikhar Anjum as his replacement. “I don’t think Gul will be fit for the second Test. We may bring Iftikhar Anjum back to India,” Salahuddin told PTI. “Iftikhar did very well in the ODIs against South Africa.”An unnamed source in the Pakistan team disclosed that a decision on Gul would be taken in the next few days. “We have sent the [MRI] reports to Pakistan and after consulting with the orthopedics and other medical experts a decision will be taken on whether to retain him or send him back,” the source said.

Caribbean Premier League chief executive Damien O’Donohoe has said that the league is committed to put development over profits as the key aim of the CPL’s foray into the United States for the 2016 season. The CPL announced on Wednesday that six games will be held in the USA this July and O’Donohoe says making tickets affordable to bring in new fans is a high priority.”I think the opportunity to play games is obviously a huge opportunity both for ourselves and for the ICC in terms of developing the game,” O’Donohoe said from the CPL draft in Barbados. “We’re going to be the first professional league. We’ve seen the All-Stars games go in there in November and it was great to see the turn-out even though the ticket price was very expensive.Less than 15% of the available tickets for the Cricket All-Stars matches in New York, Houston and Los Angeles originally went on sale for $50-75, while the overwhelming majority of tickets were priced at $150 or more all the way up to $325 in Los Angeles. Though the crowds were large compared to other venues around the world, the vibrant scenes were dwarfed by empty seats, especially in Los Angeles with a crowd of 20,900 showing up to the 56,000-seater Dodger Stadium.When West Indies hosted New Zealand in 2012 at the Central Broward Regional Park [CBRP] in Florida, general admission on the grass bank on the north boundary cost $20 while reserved seats under the south grandstand were priced at $30. The low prices produced an estimated crowd of 15,000 people for the opening T20I of that series. It was recognised as a sell-out crowd for the CBRP, though temporary seats could have been added to accommodate up to 5,000 more people. O’Donohoe hopes that same formula will lead to success for the CPL in the USA.”We’re going to go in a very low-end ticket price and make these games accessible to everyone because this is about developing the game, building a fan base in the US and growing the game internationally. The West Indies have hosted games there but we’re going to be the first professional T20 league. Now that’s an opportunity obviously but it’s also a risk.”Although the CPL release stated only that games would be played in the USA, the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida is the only ICC-certified ODI stadium venue in the country. Multiple sources told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday that the CBRP has been reserved for use by the CPL from July 17 to 31. Even though O’Donohoe would like to plant the seeds of CPL interest beyond Florida, having a lone ICC-certified turf pitch venue limits his options.”We haven’t confirmed exactly where we’re going to play the games just yet,” O’Donohoe said. “Obviously the lack of stadiums is always going to be a challenge. There’s only one at Lauderhill as we know but we’ve always wanted to play games in the US as part of CPL and we’ve said that from day one. So now we have the opportunity and we’ve been working very closely with Tim Anderson and Dave Richardson at the ICC in terms of just how we’re going to enter the US market but we really have one chance and we need to make sure we get it right.”With everything that we do there’s a Caribbean flavor and hopefully we can mirror what we did in the Caribbean in the US. Cricket has been on the decline a little bit here. No one makes any secret of that and I think CPL has done amazingly well to revitalize and reenergize cricket here in the Caribbean and we want to take that same approach to the US.”O’Donohoe says both the quantity and quality of player applications took a big step up for this year’s competition, an indication to him that the CPL is fast turning into a desirable destination for both players and fans. He hopes that bringing matches to the USA is another forward step in building up the profile of the league one he feels is worth mentioning in the same category as the IPL and Big Bash.”The standard of players that we’ve had apply and from 14 or 15 countries around the world, it just shows how far CPL has come,” O’Donohoe said. “I think playing the games in America is just another statement just to show how serious we are and hopefully that we’re seen now as one of the big three in terms of the T20 leagues around the world.”

Delhi and Uttar Pradesh shared honours on an eventful day’s play onthe opening day of the three day Vijay Merchant Trophy (under- 16)final at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. UP did well in dismissing Delhifor 155 in 72.5 overs but they themselves lost two wickets for 42 off28 overs by stumps.Put in to bat, Delhi made a bad start losing three wickets for 42runs. However, opener Shikkhar Dhawan (68) and Abhishek Nag (21)initiated a recovery process by adding 70 runs for the fourth wicket.Both fell in quick succession and this put Delhi again on thebackfoot. Dhawan was fifth out at 114. He hit 14 fours. Avinash Yadav,who dismissed Dhawan then had the wickets of Sumit Kapoor and AbhinavBali at the same total. From 112 for three, Delhi slid sharply to 114for seven. Kuldeep Rawat (23) and Abhishek Sharma (14 not out) added24 runs for the eighth wicket before the innings came to an end.Avinash Yadav was the most successful bowler with four for 33 off 11.5overs. But Vishal Francis also caught the eye with the ratherremarkable figures of 20-11-18-2.When UP batted, they were rocked by the third ball dismissal of RaviKant Shukla who was caught by Shikhar Dhawan off Kuldeep Rawat. Theother opener Shiva Kant Shukla also did not trouble the scorers verymuch and was leg before to Sumit Kapoor for four off 46 balls. ThenTaheer Abbas, who was shaping well retired hurt at 37 for two in the25th over. He had hit five fours in his 28. At close Aris Alam (8) andRahat Ilahi (1) were at the crease.

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

A magnificent spell of 6 for 49 from Dale Steyn decimated a feeble New Zealand and led to South Africa winning the second and final Test at Centurion inside three days by an innings and 59 runs. It was Steyn’s second ten-wicket haul in consecutive Tests, and New Zealand now limp towards a three-match one-day series.This was a rout of frightening speed. It took South Africa just 34.3 overs to steamroll New Zealand for 136, a total that included Stephen Fleming’s 54. Scott Styris scraped together 29; Brendon McCullum 21, while extras stole 11. The rest aren’t worth talking about.Steyn, however, is. For the second time in consecutive Tests he baffled – even occasionally frightened – New Zealand’s wary top-order with pace, movement and aggression. As was the case in Johannesburg, he received fine support from Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel and Jacques Kallis – all of whom were good, if not as exemplary as their young colt. Today, however, Steyn had one other helping hand: the finger of Mark Benson.Lou Vincent was the first unlucky recipient when Benson adjudged that a leg-side slider would somehow have hit the stumps. It was a dreadful decision, but such is the way of the world when all is against you. Steyn, roaring up to the crease and in excellent rhythm, removed Michael Papps leg-before (plumb, this time) while Kallis ended Styris’ staunch support of Fleming when he induced a thick outside edge.Fleming batted angrily, petulantly and excellently – as he has in both these Tests – taking the aggressive route and seizing upon another short and wide. Of course, 105 Tests have taught him the value of patience and experience – both attributes which New Zealand lack in spades, as exemplified by Ross Taylor.After thumping two fours, Nel roared a typically raucous and unlikely appeal for lbw which Taylor, and the umpire, dismissed out of hand. Noticing he had wandered from his crease, Hashim Amla at short-leg grabbed the ball and flicked it onto the stumps to run him out. Clever of Amla; careless and plain daft from Taylor. It rather sums up New Zealand cricket at the momentFleming too fell victim to a debatable decision when a Steyn inducker trapped him in front, fifth man to depart, for a valiant 54, and the last four (Craig Cumming flew home yesterday following surgery) fell within 28 balls to complete the trouncing.South Africa cricket is shining at the moment. First their success in Pakistan, now a thrashing of New Zealand – but two shadows lurk. The first is the pitches which have been criticised by the captain, Graeme Smith. South Africa didn’t have it all their own way today – they collapsed, too, from 272 for 3 to 332 for 8 owing to a fine debut performance from Mark Gillespie. 17 wickets have fallen on a third-day pitch.Secondly, South Africa only needed three people to win this series: Amla (291 @ 145.50), Kallis (346 @ 115) and Steyn (20 wickets @ 9.20). This says more about the paucity of talent in New Zealand cricket, of course, but the home side were only remotely troubled in three sessions out of two Tests. It has hardly tested their mettle.What an introduction to Test captaincy it has been for Daniel Vettori.

After risking their careers by joining the Indian Cricket League, a few Hyderabad cricketers defended their decision – citing selection flaws and the increased opportunities – to turn their backs on their home state. Hyderabad had a mass exodus of players including Ambati Rayudu, Alfred Absolem, Inder Shekar Reddy, Ibrahim Khaleel, Shashank Nag, D Vinay Kumar, Kaushik Reddy and Anirudh Singh.”I’m a professional cricketer and it doesn’t really matter where I play, but with ICL now my standard will only improve,” Absolem told reporters in Hyderabad. A right-arm seamer, he has played just one full season for Hyderabad and made an instant impact, picking up 30 wickets from six matches at under 20.Seamer Kaushik Reddy said that they had no choice but to take such a drastic step, citing anomalies in team selection where deserving players weren’t allowed to progress. “There are many private grounds and we need not depend on Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) facilities to train and practice,”said Reddy. “We have not lost hope but we had no choice.”Perhaps the biggest loss for the side was Ambati Rayudu, the promising top-order batsman who has been on the fringes of national selection since his days as a junior cricketer. He said it was a “reality check” and, when asked about his future, said that his employers had assured him of help.The BCCI has taken a firm stance by banning all players from associating themselves with the ICL, denying them use of its facilities and privileges. The HCA said none of the players had consulted them before joining and new talent would be recruited, hinting that all the ICL players were not eligible for selection.

Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan batsman, may not be available for the Indian Premier League’s auction on Wednesday because of a legal complication. Lawyers for the Indian Cricket League (ICL) have, in a letter to the owners of the IPL’s eight franchises, said Yousuf’s legal status is currently the subject of arbitration, under which his participation in the IPL has been stayed.”Mohammad Yousuf cannot participate in the tournament organised by the IPL or any other tournament organised by any other league in direct competition with the Indian Cricket League,” ALMT, the lawyers representing the ICL, said in the letter. “Such participation would amount to breach of the order and our client reserve their right to take such other legal recourse against all parties concerned.”Yousuf initially signed up with the ICL after being dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the World Twenty20 last September. Soon after, however, he was convinced by the PCB to turn his back on the ICL, represent Pakistan and also sign up with the IPL, the rival tournament officially sanctioned by the BCCI.The matter went into arbitration where Yousuf’s lawyer, Tafuzzal Rizvi, argued he had “no contract” with the ICL as the money [paid to Yousuf] was “received back by the ICL without any objection”. However the presiding judge passed an order on December 15, 2007, restraining Yousuf from appearing in the IPL or any league rivalling the ICL, and to maintain status quo till further orders.Wednesday’s high-profile auction in Mumbai will see the eight franchises bid for 80-odd players, including several top internationals. Yousuf’s name is included in the IPL’s roster but whether it will be there on Wednesday morning is a moot point.

Victoria’s emerging fast bowler Peter Siddle says he will draw extra motivation from playing against a near Test-quality New South Wales team in the Pura Cup final. The Blues have included Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Stuart MacGill, Michael Clarke, Phil Jaques and Brad Haddin, but Siddle believes the less well-known Victorians have nothing to fear.”You always want to play against the best players,” Siddle said. “These names come back and they’re the blokes playing for Australia at the minute, and obviously if you do well against these type of players the selectors take notice.”Unlike New South Wales, Victoria have a reasonably settled line-up, although they have had injury concerns with their fast bowlers. Siddle has had ongoing shoulder worries – he had a reconstruction in 2006, dislocated it earlier this year and aggravated it a couple of weeks ago – but he is confident he is now fully fit.The niggles have limited him to four Pura Cup matches this season, however his results have been outstanding. He has 24 wickets this summer at 14.70 and has drawn praise from Victoria’s coach Greg Shipperd, who believes Siddle, 23, should be in the national selectors’ plans for the years ahead.”He’s bowled brilliantly in the games that he’s played for us,” Shipperd said. “He’s a really hit-the-wicket-hard, aggressive character and we have high hopes for him in the game and in the future.”The burden will not be entirely on Siddle when the final begins at the SCG on Saturday, with all of Victoria’s top bowlers available apart from Gerard Denton, who has ankle soreness. Shipperd said he had no doubt the Bushrangers could overcome the disadvantage of playing away from home.”It’s a wicket that is going to attract an outright result and so that’s what we need,” Shipperd said. “We played up there recently and the ball spun enormously day one, so we think that will assist all spinners in the game but it will also attract the opportunity to take 20 wickets and that’s what we’re looking for to win the game.”Last time Victoria played in a Pura Cup final they were destroyed by Queensland, who piled on 6 for 900 at the Gabba. That was only two seasons ago but the state’s personnel has changed significantly in that time and Shipperd is certain there will be no lingering anxiety in the current squad.”That’s in the distant memory now,” Shipperd said. “We’ve got different faces in the team, we’ve got a different bowling attack, we’ve got a side that’s got two years’ more experience under its belt.”Siddle was only a rookie back then and was not required for the decider. He has vivid memories of Victoria’s most recent Pura Cup triumph, which came at the MCG in 2003-04 when Siddle, then 19, was still making his way with his club side Dandenong.”It’s amazing, I can remember coming here four years ago when they won it at home here against Queensland, just watching those blokes then,” Siddle said. “Hearing about the celebrations and being part of the team and winning something so big, it is exciting and hopefully I can be a part of that myself.”Siddle and Shane Harwood are the two inclusions in Victoria’s 13-man squad with Darren Pattinson dropped from the side that beat Queensland on the weekend. The two main decisions for the selectors are whether to ask Rob Quiney or Lloyd Mash to open with Nick Jewell, and which of Clint McKay and Dirk Nannes will be retained in the attack.Victoria squad Nick Jewell, Rob Quiney, Lloyd Mash, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Peter Siddle, Clint McKay, Bryce McGain, Dirk Nannes.

ScorecardLendl Simmons’ third first-class hundred gave Trinidad and Tobago a significant advantage over Barbados on the second day of their final-round Carib Beer Series match at Guaracara Park. Backed by some top bowling and fielding T&T ended in a great position to defend their title against Carib Cup champions Jamaica; by stumps they had a 267-run lead over Barbados, who were bowled out for 184.Simmons, 23, resumed on 63 and buckled down to score 126 from 279 balls, with nine fours and a six, out of T&T’s 420. He shared in a ninth-wicket partnership of 98 in 91 minutes with Ravi Rampaul (38). Simmons, batting at No.4, was last man out to give left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn his fourth wicket.T&T then secured a 236-run lead – and four first-innings points – by dismissing Barbados for 184. Richard Kelly set the ball in motion with the wicket of opener Jason Haynes for 8 and offspinner Amit Jaggernauth and Rayad Emrit each took three wickets. Dwayne Smith (39) got a start but fell just before tea, caught behind off Dave Mohammed.Daren Ganga, T&T’s captain, decided not to enforce the follow-on and his team finished on 31 for 0 going into the third day.
ScorecardPace bowler Gavin Tonge took four wickets to put Leeward Islands in control against Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) on the second day at Grove Park. CCC could only manage 248 in reply to Leewards’ first-innings 418 and trailed by 252 at stumps as they reached 82 for 0.Resuming on 402 for 8 Leewards were aided by Tonito Willett’s 67 but could only add 16 as legspinner Gavin Wallace finished with 6 for 108 from 32.2 overs. Simon Jackson and Omar Philips, CCC’s openers, then launched a stirring attack to get their side to lunch at 71 for 0. CCC’s 50 came up in just 5.4 overs and Jackson had 55 to his name by the break as compared to Philips’ 5. The duo added 122 before Jackson fell for a 49-ball 75; from there on wickets fell at regular intervals.The veteran Floyd Reifer (26) and Chadwick Walton (32) restored the innings with a fourth-wicket stand of 52 but CCC lost seven for 51 after they were separated. Tonge, a right-arm fast-medium bowler, claimed 4 for 66 from 11 overs, backed up by Brent Defreitas’ 2 for 29.With a 170-run lead garnered, Kieran Powell and Shane Jeffers proceeded to extend Leewards’ position with an 82-run opening stand. Powell was unbeaten on 52 after top-scoring with 85 in the first innings.
ScorecardTravis Dowlin celebrated his appointment as Guyana captain by hitting an unbeaten 121 as the hosts dominated the Windward Islands on the opening day at the Providence Stadium. Guyana finished on 312 for 3 after opting to bat on a slow track and with Dowlin was Shivnarine Chanderpaul, just 22 runs away from a 44th first-class century.Dowlin and Chanderpaul came together at 161 for 3 and put on 151. Dowlin hit 14 fours during his 208-ball effort and Chanderpaul had six fours and three sixes in his 72 from 116 balls.Dowlin, 31, also put on 106 with former West Indies Under- 19 captain Leon Johnson (46) after Guyana played out a watchful first session. Krishna Arjune was the first to go, bowled by Mervin Matthew for 18 in the first hour and Sewnarine Chattergoon went for 27 from 72 balls shortly before lunch. From there on Dowlin took charge and along with Chanderpaul, totally dominated the last session.The game was scheduled to start on Friday but due to the late arrival of the luggage of the Windward Islands team, the opening day had to be delayed by a day.