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Makhaya Ntini is in serious doubt for the third Test after suffering knee tendon damage in Melbourne this week. Ntini, who took 3 for 70 in the first innings and 0 for 17 yesterday, did not bowl today after the team’s medical staff decided not to risk further damage to their strike bowler.”A scan revealed he sustained an injury to one of the medial tendons of his left hamstring behind the knee,” Shane Jabaar, the team physiotherapist, said. Ntini played in a game of frisbee during the side’s warm-up this morning but Haroon Lorgat, the selection convenor, said they preferred to withdraw him from the attack, which suffered from the heavy hitting of Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds as Australia set a target of 366.”Ntini is our strike bowler and we will not take any risks with him,” he said. “We will only play him once he has fully recovered.”South Africa have received a better report from Justin Kemp, who injured his right shoulder during the first Test in Perth. Kemp scored a vital second-innings half-century at the WACA and Jabaar said he was making “steady progress”.The early arrival of Johan Botha, the off-spinner, to Australia may lead to a call-up for next week’s final Test. Botha, 23, is a member of the tourists’ squad for next month’s triangular one-day series with Australia and Sri Lanka but has yet to play Test cricket.Botha told AFP in South Africa, before leaving, “I’m not sure whether I’m going to be considered for the Test, or whether I’m just going for the one-dayers. But it’s interesting that I’m going to Australia at this stage. It will be quite a challenge to walk into the series if I play in Sydney. But I’m not daunted — this is the kind of thing you dream about as a kid.”Australia are expected to play Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill at Sydney, traditionally a spinner’s paradise and South Africa may consider partnering Nicky Boje’s left-arm spin with Botha. Lorgat told Australian Associated Press, “Yes, he (Botha) will be in our one-day squad but he’s coming over a little earlier. He’s the young kid on the block and we thought we’d give him a chance. He will arrive in the next day or two. We’ll look at our options for the next Test.”

Leicestershire are seeking to placate residents’ concerns over their plan to install permanent floodlights at their Grace Road ground as they seek to join the mass adoption of evening Twenty20 matches which are regarded as a vital component in ensuring English cricket’s professional survival.Without floodlights, Wasim Khan, Leicestershire’s chief executive, who has been entrusted with reviving the ailing county, has warned it could disappear within five years.Fourteen of the 18 first-class counties now have permanent floodlights, which has enabled them to push back the start times of matches in the NatWest T20 Blast, allowing spectators to get to the matches after work and acting as a prime driver of record attendance levels.Only Worcestershire, alone among the 18 first-class counties, have not begun to draw up plans for permanent floodlights – their New Road ground is on a flood plain – with the recognition now universal that they are essential for maximising the appeal of Twenty20 cricket in England.Of the late adopters, Gloucestershire were granted planning permission in April after Bristol City Council reversed its decision and overturned residents’ protests, an outcome that was also necessary for the county to stage matches in the 2019 World Cup.Somerset are also drawing up a planning submission for floodlights with the 2019 World Cup partly in mind, as part of the next phase of redevelopment at Taunton that will include improved drainage, a new stand and an upgraded scoreboard. They held a public meeting in September to appease concerns.Leicestershire’s submission is for 40 metre high permanent floodlights at Grace Road ground as part of a £1 million investment. This has been met with concerns in a resident’s meeting about potential light pollution in a residential area and the appearance of the floodlights.Khan said: “I spoke to the residents and tried to get across that the way cricket is moving we need to be sustainable or we might not be here in five years’ time.”We need the lights to be able to play later in the evening. It means we could start later T20 games later and get more people in the ground who would come after they finished work.”I understand people’s concern about light spillage but I think that is based on the experience of the temporary flood lights that the club used a few years ago. The science and technology has moved on so much since then. We are talking about getting the best floodlights available and there really will be minimal light spillage.”Khan hopes Leicester City Council will grant planning permission for the lights so that Leicestershire can start work on erecting them in February.Floodlights at county grounds now bear little resemblance to the temporary structures that were initially used in the early days of T20. They were barely adequate in terms of the quality of light cast on the playing area and light escaped over a wider area.Experience at other counties with permanent lights suggests that initial opposition has not been followed by widespread complaints once the floodlights have come into use. Far from being regarded as an eyesore – the sort of hostility reserved by some towards wind farms – some have even been regarded as alluring from a distance, as many who look upon towards Headingley’s lights from outlying suburbs such as Chapel Allerton can now testify.The reputation of T20 cricket in England was undermined during a quarter-final between Worcestershire and Hampshire at New Road in August. The match ended in farcical circumstances as bad light forced an early end to proceedings, Hampshire progressing to Finals Day with the help of rain tables, having bowled just 8.1 overs in Worcestershire’s run chase.

Darren Lehmann will bolster South Australia’s fragile batting line-up when he returns to the side this weekend after recovering from a torn hamstring. Lehmann is one of four inclusions for the Pura Cup match against Tasmania starting on Monday at Bellerive Oval following the Redbacks’ 270-run humiliation at the hands of Victoria in their season opener.Cullen Bailey’s hopes of a national call-up this summer suffered a setback as he lost his place in the side following match figures of 1 for 103 against the Bushrangers. Jason Borgas, Cameron Borgas and Daniel Harris were also axed to make way for Shane Deitz, Shaun Tait and Andy Delmont.Deitz, who kept wicket last season and was one of South Australia’s most consistent run-scorers, might play as a specialist batsman as Graham Manou has been retained in the 12-man group. Delmont made his FR Cup debut in the middle order last week and could follow it with his first-class debut, while Tait’s successful return in the one-day match against Victoria has led to his inclusion for his first four-day game after elbow surgery.The Redbacks will also take on Tasmania in an FR Cup match in Hobart on Saturday and their limited-overs squad is more settled. The only change is the return of Lehmann at the expense of Cameron Borgas, who made 0 in the last game and a pair in the Pura Cup match. The Hobart games will be Lehmann’s first outings for South Australia since quitting the state captaincy at the end of last season.Tasmania have regained Ben Hilfenhaus for the one-day clash after his trip to India with the Australia squad, while Luke Butterworth also returns from injury. Ricky Ponting will miss the FR Cup game due to cortisone injections but is expected to be available for the Pura Cup match.South Australia FR Cup squad Matthew Elliott, Daniel Harris, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcock (capt), Darren Lehmann, Andy Delmont, Graham Manou (wk), Ryan Harris, Mark Cleary, Jason Gillespie, Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait.South Australia Pura Cup squad Matthew Elliott, Shane Deitz, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcock (capt), Darren Lehmann, Andy Delmont, Graham Manou (wk), Ryan Harris, Mark Cleary, Jason Gillespie, Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait.Tasmania FR Cup squad Michael Dighton, Travis Birt, Michael Di Venuto, Daniel Marsh (capt), George Bailey, Tim Paine (wk), Luke Butterworth, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Ben Hilfenhaus, Adam Griffith.

Amol Muzumdar, the 32-year-old middle-order batsman, has been named captain of the Mumbai team for the forthcoming Ranji Trophy season. Muzumdar replaces Nilesh Kulkarni, the left-arm spinner, who led the side last season.Explaining the decision, Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, said: “The selectors wanted Nilesh to concentrate on his bowling. He is our main strike bowler and captaincy was affecting his bowling.” also quoted Vengsarkar as saying that the four-member selection committee – which also included Sanjay Patil, Milind Rege and Abey Kuruvilla – unanimously decided to opt for Muzumdar. Pravin Amre, the Mumbai coach, supported the decision as well, saying that batsmen usually made better captains than bowlers.Muzumdar had been in contention for captaincy last season as well, after Sairaj Bahutule left for Maharashtra, but Kulkarni was handed the job instead. Reacting to the decision, Muzumdar said he was “thrilled and excited”, and hoped to pass on his experience to the younger players. “I would like to display whatever I have learnt over the past 13 seasons in my stint. Guiding the youngsters will be my primary task.”Muzumdar has played 113 first-class matches and averages 51.23, with 20 centuries. He was especially prolific in the Ranji Trophy last season, finishing sixth in the averages list in the eight matches he played.

Mohammad Ashraful is the new Bangladesh vice-captain in an expected 14-man squad for the one-day series against India this month. Habibul Bashar kept his place as captain, even though it was reported that he would retire after the World Cup, as theBangladesh Cricket Board retained 14 of the 15 players that toured the Caribbean recently. Only Rajin Saleh, who didn’t play a game during the tournament, missed out., a Dhaka-based newspaper, said that Bashar, 34, was likely to retire after the series against India. Faruque Ahmed, the chief selector, had hinted that the selection committee was unlikely to make any changes, and added that the Test side would be announced during the three-match ODI contest.Bangladesh played their last Test in April last year against Australia at home.Bangladesh ODI squad:
Habibul Bashar (capt), Mohammad Ashraful (vice-capt), Javed Omar, Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Rafique, Farhad Reza.

Somerset have confirmed that Justin Langer, who is retiring from Test cricket after the final Ashes Test at Sydney, will be their captain for the 2007 season. In a brief period at Taunton last summer Langer scored a career-best 342 against Surrey and amassed more than 400 runs in the Twenty20.The Somerset director of cricket Brian Rose told the Press Association: “I was delighted to agree a provisional contract with Justin at the end of his highly successful five-week spell with the club in 2006, which he has now confirmed.”We are absolutely delighted that Justin is coming back to join us as captain for the whole season, initially on a one-year contract with a provision that he may come back again for a further year in 2008.”Somerset have endured a barren period despite having the short-term assistance of players such as Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith, Sanath Jayasuriya and Langer. The Twenty20 title in 2005 is their only recent silverware.”Over the last four seasons, Somerset have lacked consistent leadership -and this is what we expect Justin to bring, especially after his vast experience inTest match cricket and as captain of Western Australia,” Rose added. “His presence and influence on the side will boost our experienced players as well as helping us develop the younger players we have on the staff.”During his press conference at the SCG, Langer said: “I can’t imagine not playing for the next couple of seasons. There’s an amazing challenge at Somerset. They’re at the bottom of everything, and I’ve got a great regard for the coach over there and I’m looking forward to that challenge.

A serious injury to Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who crashed into the advertising hoardings, overshadowed the day at Chester-le-Street. Rana was taken to hospital after a 50-minute delay while he was treated on the outfield and an ambulance summoned. It was later announced he had suffered a dislocated right shoulder and he will be kept in hospital overnight. On the field, Durham, who must win to keep their title hopes alive, squeezed a 26-run first innings lead over Sussex thanks largely to Mark Stoneman’s maiden Championship hundred. But from 233 for 2 they lost six wickets for 50 runs to Saqlain Mushtaq (4 for 59) and Mushtaq Ahmed (3 for 125). The in-form Ottis Gibson took his season tally to 75 with three wickets to reduce Sussex to 27 for 3, and although Murray Goodwin and Chris Adams appeared to have seen them through to the close without further alarms, Goodwin fell to Mark Davis in the final over.A hundred from VVS Laxman put Lancashire in a strong position against Warwickshire at Old Trafford as his team-mates struggled against Heath Streak and Neil Carter (5 for 62). Oliver Newby helped Laxman through to his hundred during a ninth-wicket stand of 60, steering Lancashire to a first-innings lead of 205. Ian Westwood and Michael Powell gave Warwickshire a sound start with a stand of 60 before Powell edged to slip, and Keedy struck for a second time shortly before the close when he removed Westwood for 50. Rather bizarrely in this sodden summer, sun at the Stretford End stopped play with 13 overs of the day remaining and Warwickshire still 80 in arrears.Relegation-threatened Kent had another good day against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl, moving to 395 and then reducing the home side to 186 for 7. Martin van Jaarsveld fell without adding to his important 112, but the lower order rallied, with fifties for Geraint Jones and James Tredwell. Hampshire got off to a good start, with 79 on the board for the openers before Tredwell claimed four amid a collapse where they lost seven wickets for 60.

A century from Stephen Peters, and a pair of 70s from Rob White and David Sales carried Northamptonshire into the ascendancy on the second day against Glamorgan at at Wantage Road. After resuming on 61 for 0, Northants made steady progress all day long as Glamorgan relied almost exclusively on their spin twins, Dean Cosker and Robert Croft, who bowled 100 overs between them and took seven of the eight wickets to fall. By the close, they were being defied by their Northants counterpart, Monty Panesar, who was unbeaten on 22 from 91 balls.Ed Smith racked up his fourth century of the season and reached 1000 runs with his final scoring shot of the day, as Middlesex inched into the ascendancy in a low-scoring affair against Leicestershire at Southgate. Leicester thought they had the upper hand when they resumed on 124 for 1 in reply to Middlesex’s 176, but Murali Karthik triggered a dramatic collapse with figures of 6 for 85, with eight middle-order wickets tumbling for 17 runs. The last pair of Ryan Cummins and Jigar Naik scraped together a 14-run lead, but by the close Smith had marshalled Middlesex to 206 for 4, and a handy lead of 192.

Pakistan has been awarded the right to host the next Champions Trophy in 2008 by the ICC. West Indies, due to host the World Cup in 2007, will stage the Champions Trophy in 2010.By then the tournament promises to be more streamlined than the present version, with only the top eight teams taking part. The Pakistan edition is likely to be scheduled towards the end of September 2008 while the West Indies will do so in April and May 2010.Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), said that Pakistan was delighted to have been awarded the event. “The ICC Champions Trophy 2008 will be one of the biggest global sporting events ever held in Pakistan. The decision of the ICC board to award this event to Pakistan is a tremendous show of support in the PCB, in Pakistan cricket and in our nation. We are very honoured to have been given the responsibility of hosting this important event and look forward to welcoming the top cricket nations to our country.”Ehsan Mani, president ICC, praised the efforts of Pakistan to be ready to host such an event. “The PCB has worked tremendously hard to get to a position where it is ready to host an event of this importance. It will be the first nation to host a streamlined Champions Trophy involving only the top eight sides in ODI rankings.”The Champions Trophy is an established part of the international cricket calendar and we were inundated with members that wanted to host this prestigious event. This means that we have been able to find very sensible time slots for this and other events in the years ahead. By reducing the number of teams taking part and moving the scheduling of the event the Champions Trophy will be a very strong component of the exciting package of events through to 2015.”Ken Gordon, chairman of the West Indies board (WICB), thanked the ICC for providing the West Indies with the opportunity to build on next year’s World Cup. “I’d like to thank the ICC for understanding that it is important that we have further opportunities to make use of the excellent facilities that we are building for the World Cup 2007. The hosting of the Champions Trophy provides the perfect opportunity for us to build upon the momentum of next year’s World Cup for the long term benefit of cricket in the region.”A decision on whether the annual ICC events from 2012 to 2014 will be Champions Trophies or Twenty20 World Championships will be made after the success of the events through to 2009 has been evaluated. The hosting right, though, have been allocated for the events in 2012 and 2014. Sri Lanka has earned the right to host the 2012 event while Bangladesh will host the major ICC event in 2014.”Sri Lanka has an excellent tradition of hosting ICC events and in recent times they have successfully staged two ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cups and one ICC Champions Trophy. We have every confidence that they will stage another memorable event in 2012 be it Twenty20 or ODI cricket,” said Mani. He added that, “Bangladesh hosted perhaps the most remarkably successful ICC event during my time as president (the Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2004). The fact that they have now been asked to host a major ICC event in 2014 as well as act as a joint host of the World Cup 2011 is testament to the progress that has been made in Bangladesh cricket over recent times.”

Division One

Phil Jaques’ second century of the season guided Worcestershire to a draw against Surrey at Guildford. His 103 carried the visitors into the lead alongside half centuries from Stephen Moore (54) and Ben Smith (66). Worcestershire were never really in danger on the final day once Jaques and Smith added 112 for the third wicket. Harbhajan Singh claimed all five wickets to fall, taking his match haul to nine, but couldn’t grab breakthroughs in clusters to force Surrey a victory. A draw wasn’t what either side needed from this match with them stuck in the two relegation places.John Crawley struck a fine century, but Hampshire couldn’t force a win against Sussex at The Rose Bowl despite handing them a scare with three early wickets. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan took out Hampshire’s middle order, but Crawley held firm and reached his hundred off 148 balls. Once Crawley had taken Hampshire to a second batting point, Shane Warne declared and Sussex’s top order wobbled. James Bruce, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Daren Powell did the damage and suddenly the pressure was on. Murray Goodwin and Chris Adams calmed nerves with a stand of 89 and Hampshire took the points honours nine to seven.Younis Khan hit an unbeaten double-century as Yorkshire and Kent played out a draw at Scarborough

Division Two

Derbyshire were decimated by Charl Willoughby and Andy Caddick, capitulating for 52 as Somerset completed a 278-run win at Derby. Chasing 331 after yesterday’s negotiations, the home side were soon in tatters at 13 for 5 as Willoughby claimed four of the top five. The spinners, Ian Blackwell and Cameron White, then ran through the tail as Derbyshire folded inside 28 overs. Ant Botha was the only batsman to reach double figures before falling to Blackwell for 21.Chris Taylor’s 101 almost enabled Gloucestershire to turn impending defeat into victory against Essex at Bristol in a match played over one innings after rain washed out the first three days. After being inserted Gloucestershire slumped to 23 for 4 and 122 for 8 against impressive bowling from Andy Bichel and Ravi Bopara. They claimed eight wickets between them, but Taylor found support from Steve Kirby and Ben Edmondson as the last two wickets added a priceless 62 runs. Gloucestershire’s attack then repeated the damage to the visitors with Kirby’s four wickets sending Essex sliding to 89 for 7. But Bichel (22 not out) and Alex Tudor (16 not out) held firm in the closing stages and the honours were shared.The match at Abergavenny between Glamorgan and Leicestershire was abandoned without a ball bowled due to unsafe run-ups. “It’s a shame for all concerned and especially Abergavenny Cricket Club but unfortunately we had to do the right thing and the run-ups were just not fit,” said umpire Barrie Leadbeater.3rd dayCenturies from Stephen Fleming and Mark Wagh put Nottinghamshire in the driving seat against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Fleming struck 19 fours and a six in his even 100, adding 112 for the second wicket with Wagh, before he was stumped off Jason Brown. Wagh then combined with Samit Patel (54) to add another 111. Wagh took 174 delivers over his third Championship ton of the season and Nottinghamshire are poised to take a lead. Earlier, the home side added 102 to their total mainly through the efforts of Johann van der Wath, who struck and unbeaten 59, and an eighth-wicket stand of 69 with David Lucas.

* – match still ongoing

England are likely to face a demanding schedule when they tour Australia to defend the Ashes in 12 months time.The tour will be sandwiched between the ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in India in November, and the World Cup in the West Indies in March. Despite the time constraints, five Tests will be squeezed together in just six weeks.The ECB and Cricket Australia are still in negotiations but, as reported in the schedule would mean England playing 25 days of Test cricket in just 45 days. Only between the second and third Tests are the players afforded a significant break of nine days.”I’m afraid I can’t comment on the itinerary because it has not been finalised, “John Carr, the ECB’s director of cricket operations, told .”There are one or two points that are under discussion. As soon as it has been agreed, we will release it because there are a lot of people who want to know the dates so that they can make their plans.”But it is going to be a very busy winter because of the Champions Trophy and the World Cup. The intention is to let the players have a couple of weeks between the Champions Trophy and the start of the Ashes tour, and a break after the Ashes series and the start of the World Cup, which will benefit both teams.”