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The last Test of Australia’s home summer is a dead rubber but for several members of Ricky Ponting’s side, it’s anything but. Marcus North is barely clinging on to his No. 6 spot, Peter Siddle needs wickets to ensure he remains a first-choice bowler, and Ponting himself is in danger of completing his leanest home Test summer in a decade.It means that, with a tour of New Zealand two months away, there are plenty of reasons for the Australians not to ease up as they search for a 3-0 cleansweep over Pakistan. Victory in Hobart would give Australia five wins from six Tests this season but they have relied heavily on Shane Watson, Simon Katich and Michael Hussey for runs, while the wickets have come primarily from three of their four bowlers.Consider this: Nathan Hauritz has scored more Test runs than North this summer and has a better batting average than both North and Ponting. In the same period, Siddle has one more wicket than Ben Hilfenhaus, who only played the first Test of the season.Hilfenhaus’ knee injury has let the selectors avoid the decision on whether to drop Siddle, a question that will be raised in the lead-up to New Zealand. Ponting defended the Victorian fast man, whose six wickets for the summer have come at 68.33, while Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger and Hauritz have each collected 20-plus victims.”I’m not that worried about the wicket column next to his name because what he’s doing at the moment is forming part of a really good bowling attack,” Ponting said. “That’s one thing that I’ve stressed with the selectors the last couple of years – it’s about making sure we pick an attack and not just trying to look at the next best bowler that’s going around the scene. I think it’s important that the bowlers in the line-up really complement each other well.”Sids has had to do the bullocking sort of work and charging from one end and pretty much keep the run-rate down and not worry about attacking too much. It could have been a different story last week – he had a chance put down at first slip early on in Sydney and that could have changed things for him but what he’s been able to do is still bowl consistently well and bowl good spells. What that does is make life a bit easier for the guy he’s bowling in tandem with.”While Siddle can keep running in all day in an effort to turn his results around, North is anxiously aware that one mistake could be enough for the axe to fall. He is a feast-or-famine batsman, who 13 times in Tests has been out for less than 20, six times has made 60-plus, but only once has scored in the 20-60 range.Most worryingly for North, he has not passed 10 in his past four innings and is not yet well-enough established in the side to sustain a prolonged period of poor form. Ponting, who himself has made only two half-centuries for the season, can sympathise with North and said the No. 6 had not been told that Hobart was a make-or-break match for him.”We sat down during the second innings of the Sydney Test match last week together,” Ponting said. “I think we’re both feeling a bit the same about the game at the moment, it feels like the game has got hold of us both a little bit and won’t let us go. Talking to him about it, it feels like every little mistake that we’ve made has tended to mean that we’re out.”But it’s probably only a couple of games for him. It’s not that long ago that he was our standout batsman in our line-up. If you look back at the Ashes, he was our best player right through the Ashes series and started the summer well in Brisbane. It’s only a couple of games ago that he was on top of his game and that’s how quickly it can change.”North was one of Australia’s best performers during the Ashes but with only five Tests – Hobart, two in New Zealand, and two against Pakistan in England – until the return series, he is no certainty to be part of the push to regain the urn. However, Ponting said results like the unexpected triumph in Sydney have given Australia’s players in general a greater feeling that they belong at Test level.”There’s a lot more self-belief around the side than there probably was at the start of this summer,” he said. “It’s one thing we’ve lacked a little bit in the last couple of years. We’ve had moments in most Test matches that we’ve played in the last couple of years to put sides away and haven’t been able to do it. A lot of that comes down to that inner belief and self-belief that you’ve got the ability to get the job done.”Nobody can question Ponting’s self-belief. This is the perfect time for North and Siddle to display it as well.

Kenya’s miserable 2009 continued with humiliating defeats in both Twenty20 internationals against Uganda in Nairobi. The matches, which were intended to help prepare the Kenyans for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers early next year, have instead raised even more questions about the quality of the national side.Even though Uganda are widely touted as one of the up-and-coming Associates, they should not have troubled their better equipped and professional neighbours. But in both games Kenya, who batted first, failed to score nearly enough runs. In the first match they were bowled out for 88 and were beaten by four wickets; in the second, they did little better, making 104 for 7 before going down by two wickets with two balls in hand.The top-order batting looked weak and folded under the first sign of pressure. That gave their bowlers almost nothing to play with and, in the circumstances, they did well to keep their side in the contest for as long as they did.The beleagured Kenyan selectors will point to missing names, but that will cut little ice with an increasingly frustrated cricket fraternity. However, Uganda will be rightly buoyed by the results.A one-day series follows. Anything other than a comprehensive success for the Kenyans could lead to quiet mutterings becoming altogether more hostile criticism.

Paul Stirling, the 19-year-old batsman, will join fellow Irish-born cricketer Eoin Morgan at Middlesex next season, in a three-year deal.Stirling has represented Ireland in youth cricket and made his international debut in 2008. Now centrally contracted with Ireland, he will be unavailable for Middlesex when required on international duty.While playing for Ireland in the Friends Provident Trophy, Stirling demonstrated his potential last season with a fifty against Worcestershire and 80 against Leicestershire. Lord’s will be familiar for Stirling since he has been involved with the Middlesex youth sides and the Second XI team already.Unlike Morgan and former Middlesex man Joyce, who both chose to play for England, Stirling is currently committed to Ireland and Angus Fraser, the Middlesex director of cricket, said Stirling wants to use his experience at Middlesex to develop his international credentials.”Paul has been involved with the Middlesex youth sides and Second XI and we are delighted that he has now signed a full-time contract with the club. His batting for Ireland in 2009 highlighted his potential. Paul has a central contract with Cricket Ireland and we are happy that representing Ireland will be his priority for the time being.”

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has criticised the limp top-order batting after the defeat in the first one-dayer against Zimbabwe in Mirpur but was confident of bouncing back to win the five-match series.None of the top five Bangladesh batsmen crossed 20, and at one stage the home side were tottering at 62 for 6 before Mushfiqur Rahim’s 56 helped them post a decent total. “We made too many mistakes,” Shakib said. “The batsmen, myself included, needed to stay at the wicket. Too many wickets were lost in the early part of the innings and we never recovered.”Bangladesh have dominated encounters with Zimbabwe over the past few years, and were heavy favourites coming into the series. Shakib felt his side was still good enough to live up to their billing and take out the next four matches. “This is a nice wake-up call. I definitely feel that 4-1 is possible from here if we don’t repeat the errors in this game. We are a better team than they are.”Despite Mushfiqur’s efforts, Bangladesh could only make 183 which Shakib felt was at least 50 runs short of what they should have put up. “I will not say it was a 280 wicket. It is not a 180 wicket either. Something like 230-240 could have been very handy.”The home side pulled things back early in the chase with Abdur Razzak’s triple-strike, and snared two more to have Zimbabwe in some trouble at 90 for 5. But Man-of-the-Match Elton Chigumbura and Stuart Matsikenyeri piled on an unbroken 99-run stand to confirm the defeat. “Once we had them five down we felt we had a genuine chance,” Shakib said. “Another wicket at that point and we would have been into the tail and [Prosper] Utseya might not have batted.”Hamilton Masakadza, the Zimbabwe vice-captain, though said there were no nerves despite the loss of three quick wickets. “We were already 54 at that stage and when you are chasing a low score on that wicket we just knew that one good partnership would clinch it for us.”The one downer on a victorious day for Zimbabwe was the ankle injury to their captain Utseya, the seriousness of which was yet to be diagnosed. “He has a sprained left ankle and it doesn’t look too good at the moment,” Masakadza said. “We’ll see how he goes tomorrow.”

South African batsman JP Duminy is fit to play the second one-day international against Zimbabwe at Centurion on Tuesday, having recovered from a shin injury. Duminy and Jacques Kallis were ruled out of the opening game in Benoni on Sunday, but the team’s physiotherapist Brandon Jackson has said that both were expected to take part in the second game.”JP has had a mild dose of shin splints,” Jackson told Cricket365.com. “We thought it would be advisable to rest him for a couple of days, and he is now clear to resume full activity.”Regarding Kallis, who experienced some discomfort in his side, Jackson was hopeful of him being able to contribute as an allrounder. “Jacques has been batting for a few days now without any problems,” Jackson said. “He bowled five light overs during the lunch break today. He came through that symptom free and should be ready for full activity by the weekend.”However, Jackson confirmed that Wayne Parnell, the left-arm fast bowler, will not be available as he’s yet to recover from his ankle strain. “He is probably still 10 days away from a return to full activity,” Jackson said.That means Parnell could miss the two Twenty20 internationals against England, on November 13 and 15, and make his comeback only in the ODI series, starting November 20.

Chasing a small target is sometimes tricky, the balance between an attacking approach and a defensive one is delicate. Victoria began their pursuit of Wayamba’s 118 by going hard at everything on a sluggish pitch but at the half-way stage of the chase the Australian side had lost its way. Having recorded the Champions League’s lowest score after ten overs – 37 for 2 – Victoria refocused and concentrated on reaching 84, the total needed to ensure qualification for the second round on the basis of net run-rate.Both teams had played one match in Delhi and so they knew what the pitch held in store. The best formula to succeed in the Twenty20 format is to adapt on the run but Victoria found the going tough. “We were thinking of winning the game but the conditions were difficult and our priority was (then) to get through the next round,” Brad Hodge said, when asked if the pressure and the pitch forced the batsmen to change their priorities. He and his team-mates, with the exception of Andrew McDonald, were rarely able to dominate the Wayamba attack in challenging conditions.Moises Henriques, the young New South Wales allrounder who has had success at the Kotla, had talked about “scrambling to get to the other end” being one of the best ways to get used to the surface. According to Henriques it allowed him to settle down initially and later he could determine clearly which balls to attack.None of Victoria’s batsmen exhibited Henriques’ confidence. They lost two early wickets and their most experienced batsmen – Hodge and David Hussey – stagnated against Wayamba’s suffocating lines. The batsmen tried to hit hard but their efforts found the fielders. In the first five overs, with field restrictions in place, Victoria hit only two fours and a six. Their next boundary came off the fourth ball of the 11th over.Hussey’s innings – 7 off 22 balls – came to an end when he played on, trying to hit too hard when the ball was too close to his body. The safer, and productive, option would have been to play with soft hands and nudge the ball into the gaps. Cameron White hit Ajantha Mendis over long-on for the second six of the innings to ease Victoria’s nerves but his side was still struggling.McDonald’s arrival finally gave the chase direction and the allrounder stole singles to move Victoria steadily towards the qualification target. Once they were close enough, McDonald attacked Kaushal Lokuarachchi, hitting the legspinner for three fours and a six to eliminate Wayamba.Wayamba were the eventual winners, by 15 runs, but it was of little consolation to them. They were aware that they would need at least 130-140 if they batted first – given the net run-rate situation – and yet they held Mahela Jayawardene, their best batsman, back to No. 4. By the time he arrived at the crease in the 15th over, Jayawardene barely had any time to make an impact. In the field Jayawardene’s prowess as a catcher, particularly at slip, is renowned but today he kept wicket for Wayamba with little success. He missed a stumping of White, a potential turning point in a tight game. In the end, though, it was Wayamba’s inability to post a slightly larger total that led to their elimination from the Champions League.

Click here to listen to the full audio interviewBrad Haddin missed the third Ashes Test due to a broken finger, and has ruled himself out of the Champions Trophy•Associated Press

Brad Haddin has revealed that the finger broken during the Ashes series was worse than originally thought, and has forced him to push back his comeback date to Australia’s one-day tour of India. Surgeons inserted two plates and five screws into Haddin’s left ring finger during a two-and-a-half hour operation last Thursday, with the ensuing recovery period expected to extend beyond Australia’s one-day series in England and the Champions Trophy in South Africa.Haddin broke the finger moments after the coin toss before the third Test at Edgbaston, forcing Australia’s team management to draft in Graham Manou at short notice. Australia’s senior wicketkeeper recovered to play the final two Tests of the Ashes series with the assistance of pain-killing injections, but was ordered home ahead of the limited-overs series in England for further scans.Those revealed significantly more damage to the top of Haddin’s finger than initially thought, and prompted a revision of his likely comeback date. Haddin had originally hoped to return in time for the Champions Trophy, but is now targetting the seven-match limited-overs series against India, which will begin in Jaipur on October 25.”The surgery was a success from the point of view that the surgeon got everything back in the place it should be, but he also said that it will probably take a little bit longer than we first thought with the rehab,” Haddin told Cricinfo’s Switch Hit podcast. “There was a bit more damage in there than they first thought going in. It’s going to be a long road back. By the time I come back it should be 100% this time.”I’ll be definitely back for the first Test of the Australian summer and I’m hoping to be right for the seven one-dayers in India. I’ve just got a week or so until the stitches come out and then I’ll know a bit more about how the joint is and how I respond to some treatment. In the past when I’ve broken fingers my joints have come back into working order pretty quickly.”Haddin only entered the Test arena after Adam Gilchrist’s retirement, but has already suffered two broken fingers in the line of duty. The first came in the opening session of his debut Test at Sabina Park last year, and resulted in him handing over the gloves to Luke Ronchi for the ensuing one-day series against West Indies. The latest injury has opened the door for Tasmania’s Tim Paine, and Haddin admitted his annoyance at the prospect of another extended stint on the sidelines.”It’s extremely frustrating,” he said. “We’ve played a lot of Test cricket over the last 12 months and I was really looking forward to playing some one-day cricket. I’ve been happy with the way things have been going in my one-day game. But those are the breaks of the job we do. I can’t whinge about it too much. I’ve just got to get on with the rehab and make sure when I come back that it doesn’t happen again.”Haddin conceded the broken finger had caused him significant discomfort during the second half of the Ashes series, though not nearly as much as the pain of defeat at The Oval. “Once you pass yourself fit and step on the field, broken fingers all go out the window,” he said. “It was an uncomfortable time. The wicketkeeping was okay. The biggest problem was with the bat because you couldn’t have any protection on it because it didn’t fit in the glove.”It was obviously disappointing to go out there and lose the Ashes especially when you sit back and take the emotion out of it and look at the stats of some of our guys throughout series. I think from a statistical point of view we were way in front of England but we let ourselves down in a couple of big moments. We’re not far away. We’ve just got to be a bit more consistent and recognise those big moments in the game a bit better.”

Jacob Oram and Brendon McCullum, who are among the six New Zealand players who will miss the beginning of the IPL next year to play the Test series against Australia, have admitted signing the national contracts last month had been a difficult decision.The players said while they were now fully committed to their national side, it had been hard to choose New Zealand contracts over the money they had to forgo for missing a large part of the IPL.”You can criticise us for our hesitation but we have all signed,” Oram told the . “We’re not getting paid any compensation; we’re not leaving after day three of the second Test against Australia. We’ve thought about it long and hard and we want to keep playing for New Zealand. You cannot begrudge us the time to think about it and discuss with our wives, families, mentors.”McCullum hoped the delay in signing would not affect his chances of captaining New Zealand in the future. “I’m not going to lie to you, it was tough,” McCullum told New Zealand’s . “The cold, hard facts are there for anyone to see. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to play cricket for New Zealand but I guess the immediate financial security that sort of money can provide for your family was a factor. It was difficult knowing how much money I was turning down and I also had to think about the captaincy at Kolkata. I would have liked to have had the opportunity to turn around what happened earlier this year after our disappointing tournament.”In the end, I feel very comfortable with the decision I made and I feel that it was the right one to make.”McCullum and Oram said New Zealand’s performance at the World Twenty20, where they only won matches against Scotland and Ireland, had been disappointing and it was important for senior players to step up and lead the way.”If those of us in the New Zealand team at the moment want to leave any sort of legacy behind when we retire, we have to start fronting up in the big tournaments and start trying to get some silverware in the cabinet,” McCullum said.He also said New Zealand’s aim for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka was to win at least one Test. “… drawing games would not be considered a success in my mind,” McCullum said. “I’d much rather see us risk losing to try and achieve something special like winning a Test over there.”Oram, who has returned to the Test squad after a spate of injuries, said he was keen to get 100 wickets and a couple more Test centuries as an allrounder. He said his Test batting average of 37.04 and bowling average of 31.18 did not bother him for he just wanted to do as well as he could. “I learned from an early age that statistical goals and averages were a peripheral pressure I didn’t need; I have other ways to get up for a match,” Oram said.”I’m very keen to start turning us into a winning unit and the 2011 World Cup for me is an absolute must-win, or at least we cannot stumble at the second-last hurdle like we have at recent ICC tournaments, or at the quarterfinal as was the case at the world Twenty20.”In contrast to the IPL players, Shane Bond, the fast bowler who quit the ICL to return to the national team, said he couldn’t wait to sign the contract and get his chance to play for New Zealand again. “That was the one thing I wanted – to just come back into the fold and have another chance to play for New Zealand, so the decision was pretty easy for me,” Bond told the .Bond said he had worked hard on his fitness and on avoiding injuries in preparing for the comeback. “But the first thing is actually getting back in the team and playing that first game, that will be incredibly exciting for me and I’ll take it from there. If I can make it into the team for the Champions Trophy that’s another big event and I’ll take it as it comes. I know what’s coming up after that but I’m experienced enough not to get too far ahead of myself.”Bond, who will be touring India with the A team before heading to Sri Lanka, said some IPL franchises had expressed interest in signing him. “… but officially there’s nothing forthcoming until the boss [Lalit Modi] sets the rules around the ICL players.”New Zealand play three Tests against Sri Lanka and a ODI tri-series, which includes India, between August 18 and September 14.

Dismissal of the day
On Friday, Ricky Ponting became Australia’s leading run-scorer in Test cricket, but today he was stitched up a treat – bowled through the gate by a perfectly pitched ripping delivery that hit middle-and-leg from outside off. The delivery came moments after Ponting had survived a desperately tight lbw appeal, and if Graeme Swann doesn’t claim another wicket in his Test career (which is unlikely), he can die happy after one of the most special moments an offspinner can ever hope to produce. Michael Vaughan, who bowled Tendulkar through the gate at Trent Bridge in 2002, was so content with that moment he picked up just six wickets in his entire Test career. Admittedly, the single biggest weakness in Ponting’s career has come against conventional finger spin, with Harbhajan Singh a regular tormentor. It is as peculiar in its own way as Graham Gooch’s failings against medium-pace, but right now, Swann won’t be concerning himself with such minutiae.Momentum-seizer of the day
And of the series for that matter. For the third time in three Tests, Matt Prior’s arrival at the crease was the moment that England dispensed with the dawdling and indulged in some serious momentum-seizing stroke play. His 41 off 59 balls may have ended with a limp pull to mid-on, but it set the tone for what followed. He cracked six fours in his stay and added 89 in 15.3 overs with Andrew Flintoff, as England’s run-rate vaulted from 3.1 per over to a final figure in excess of 4. Prior has now made 180 runs at 36.00 in the series, but it is the speed of his scoring that really catches the eye. His strike-rate of 87.80 is more than 10 runs quicker than any of Australia’s players, and more than 25 runs quicker than anyone else in England’s top six.Swinger of the day
On the second day of this match, England’s bowlers (in particular James Anderson) found prodigious quantities of swing to rout Australia in their first innings. Second-time around, however, they struggled to bend the ball to quite such devastating effect, much as they had struggled in a truncated 30-over session on Thursday. Perhaps it’s a peculiarity of the thirty-something ball, because when Ben Hilfenhaus picked up the attack for Australia in the 37th over today, he hooped it all over the shop from an immaculate full length, and claimed two key wickets in his first 14-over spell – the overnight mainstay Andrew Strauss for 69, and Paul Collingwood, who drove three outswingers for four in a single over, but then snicked his next attacking stroke to second slip.Confrontation of the day
Mitchell Johnson’s 20th over had absolutely everything. Fifteen runs, a wicket, stand-offs between both batsmen and the bowler, and a cauldron of chanting and abuse from a fully pumped-up Edgbaston crowd. It was a passage of play in which the remaining niceties between the teams were emphatically launched out of the dressing-room window. The flashpoint came from a slashed four by Graeme Swann that flew clean over the slips – an enraged Johnson followed up with a no-ball bouncer, and a volley of choice invective that Swann was all too happy to reciprocate, as too was Stuart Broad, backing up his mate from the non-striker’s end. A guided four through backward point brought Johnson to boiling point, and though Swann lost his personal duel as Johnson came round the wicket to have him caught tamely at cover, Broad kept the fury pumping with a blatted back-foot four that scorched down the ground – a shot that concluded with the two parties nose to nose at the non-striker’s end.Cameo of the day
Broad’s belligerence was a timely reminder of the qualities he brings to the side. His returns with the ball this series have been mediocre, with too many occasions on which he’s failed to fulfill either a holding or an attacking role. But the selectors have nevertheless persevered, largely because they believe he is made of the right stuff. Today’s thumping innings of 55 from 64 balls was further proof of his all-round potential (even though “potential” shouldn’t really be the deciding factor in Ashes selection). It was his fourth half-century in 20 Tests, and carried his average above the 30 mark. If he can now start to haul his bowling average below 40, that potential might start to reach fulfillment.Throwdowns of the day
Shane Watson came into this contest with a reputation as an more-than-useful third-change seamer – in fact, in a perversely English selectorial decision, it was his ability to support the besieged Mitchell Johnson with the ball that earned him the chance to open the batting in place of Phillip Hughes. But it was clear from his first three overs that his Test bowling is a touch rusty, having not played in a five-day match since November. There is nothing that Flintoff likes more than a driveable full length, especially early in an innings, and that is exactly what Watson served up. Three times in nine balls he was thumped mercilessly through the line by Flintoff, who had rushed from 9 to 33 by the time the three-over experiment was shelved.Third strike of the day
Ian Bell’s record against Australia is, by his own admission, the weakest aspect of an international career that has spanned five years and is now just three matches shy of 50 Tests. It is, however, inching in the right direction. Today’s effort of 53 was more than double his previous average against Australia of 25.10, and moreover it was his fifth half-century in six consecutive Ashes Tests. Nevertheless, it was still another broken promise of a performance. The quality of his cover-driving, particularly in the midst of his duel with Johnson, was sublime, but having survived two excruciatingly tight lbws in the course of his innings, he could not convert his luck into anything more substantial. Johnson pitched it full and straight again, and even Rudi Koertzen couldn’t find a reason to refuse the third appeal.

Stafanie Taylor’s second fifty in as many matches wasn’t enough for West Indies who were outplayed and beaten by New Zealand by 52 runs in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 at Taunton. Suzie Bates starred for New Zealand with a thumpingly powerful 60 from 39, opening the innings – a position she doesn’t always occupy. “I really enjoyed it,” she told Cricinfo. “It’s a lot of fun. I’m enjoying opening the batting and playing on a wicket like this at Taunton, [with such a] fast outfield. It’s really enjoyable; you get value for shots.” Bates and Lucy Doolan, who made 41 from 38, put on a match-seizing stand of 94 for the opening wicket, but West Indies fought back impressively to restrict them to 158 for 6. Taylor picked up 2 for 25 but West Indies shelled a number of chances in the outfield. West Indies also got off to a good start, thanks to Taylor, but New Zealand’s bowlers were too accurate and disciplined – Doolan picking up 3 for 16 – and Taylor was left unbeaten on 58 as her side fell 52 runs short. To run salt into their wounds, West Indies could be without Shanel Daley for their next game after she was stretchered off the field with a severely sprained ankle, following a collision with her team-mate, Stacy-Ann King, on the midwicket boundary.Anjum Chopra ensured India kept their cool, guiding her side to a five-wicket win over Pakistan. Chasing what appeared to be a facile 76 to win, India slumped to 16 for 3 which soon became 36 for 4 when Priyanka Roy – the star with the ball earlier in the day – was caught by Qanita Jalil off Sana Mir. But Chopra, opening the batting, held firm in her 52-ball innings, stroking five fours in the process as India reached their target in the 18th over. The honours go to Roy, however, whose 5 for 16 decimated Pakistan. Rumeli Dhar got the ball rolling with the first three wickets, including Nain Abidi for 17 – Pakistan’s top-scorer – but thereafter Roy took control and offered no width and scant scoring opportunities as Pakistan’s feeble innings came to a juddering halt on 75.