Glenn McGrath is still hoping to make his international return at the Champions Trophy in India in September. McGrath has not played since January when his wife Jane again fell ill to cancer, but with her recovery he is set for his comeback.”Things are going really well at home and Jane continues to improve each day,” McGrath told the . “She is more than happy for me to get back into some serious work. I’ve been doing plenty of indoor work and everything has been feeling great. Now it’s time to build up with some extra sessions outdoors.”McGrath is due to visit Brisbane next week for a rigourous workout at the Australian Cricket Academy. “A few of the guys, including Michael Clarke, have indicated they want to travel up there with me and ‘Pup’ [Clarke] is pretty keen to face me,” McGrath said. “I can’t wait to get to Brisbane for the outdoor stuff.”He believes the flat batting tracks in India will be ideal practice for the Ashes campaign. “I can think of no better preparation for the Ashes than a six-week build-up on the flat sub-continent wickets,” he said. “That will be all the workout I need leading into the summer.”He has received support and encouragement from the former greats Dennis Lillee, Richard Hadlee and Allan Donald. Lillee felt McGrath should be handed the new ball in the first Ashes Test and Hadlee said there was no reason why McGrath could not return “as strong as ever”. “What you lose in pace you make up for in experience, skill and variation,” he said.”It’s great to hear positive things from people who know what the game is all about, as opposed to the opinions of a few who are less informed,” McGrath said. “They are all quality fast bowlers – three of the greatest ever – and that level of support has given me a lift.”McGrath revealed that if everything goes to plan he will feature in the World Cup 2007. “I’ve always said the next World Cup is a realistic goal – and the way I’m feeling, there is no reason why I can’t go beyond that,” he said. “As the guys have said, it’s all about experience and I still have some good years, maybe even my best years, ahead of me.”

Former first-class cricketer Nasir Wasti died in a traffic accident, on the night between Friday (July 21) and Saturday, in a collision between a car he was travelling in and a trailer on the Super Highway in Karachi.Nasir Wasti, born in Karachi on September 6, 1967, was just 38 years old. He was a capable middle-order right-handed batsman and an occasional medium-pace bowler who played all his first-class cricket for the now defunct Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) team. Nasir Wasti’s career at the top level lasted almost a decade and a half, his stint in first-class cricket running from 1986-87 to 1999-00. He also captained the PNSC during his last two seasons.In all, Nasir played in 83 first-class matches, his 3,293 runs being scored at an average of 26.55. He made three hundreds — highest 134 — and as many as 22 half-centuries and held 51 catches as fieldsman. He also captured seven wickets at 69.00 runs apiece with best figures of 2-33. In 74 major limited overs matches, Nasir scored 1,249 runs at an average of 21.91 with a highest of 76 not out among his five fifties. He held 22 catches and took 20 wickets at 43.45 runs each with a best of 4-25 and an economy rate of 4.83.

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

A superb rearguard display by Sri Lanka lifted them to within 40 runs of South Africa’s total as the second Test was tantalisingly poised after two days of absorbing action. Reduced to 86 for 5 after a couple of fiery bursts from Makhaya Ntini, Sri Lanka recovered thanks to two superb century partnerships, finishing on 321. South Africa were left with two overs to bat out, which they did without too many alarms, finishing on 6 without loss, an overall lead of 46.South Africa managed a handy lead, but it could have been far more significant had it not been for the Sri Lankan lower order. Chamara Kapugedera (63) and Prasanna Jayawardene added 105 for the sixth wicket, while Chaminda Vaas and Farveez Maharoof further frustrated South Africa with a 117-run stand for the eighth. Dale Steyn returned with the second new ball to finish off the tail and help himself to his second five-wicket haul in Tests, but by then South Africa’s advantage had been significantly whittled away.The pitch wasn’t much different from the first day – there was some bounce and pace on offer for the fast bowlers, while Nicky Boje managed to turn a few deliveries substantially, but the ball was also coming on to the bat, allowing the batsmen plenty of opportunity to play their strokes, once set. During the two significant partnerships, none of the batsmen were bothered by pace or spin, suggesting that there are still plenty of runs on offer.The day started in the worst possible manner for Sri Lanka, though. Ntini had gone 31 overs without taking a wicket in the first Test, but here he needed just nine deliveries to strike, and by end of his eighth over he had fantastic figures of 4 for 22 as the Sri Lankan top order floundered against his pace, accuracy and aggression. Ntini was outstanding before lunch, landing the ball just short of good length, moving it a bit off the seam, and always keeping the attack around off stump.Upul Tharanga perished to an ill-advised pull, Kumar Sangakkara flicked to short midwicket – ensuring there would be no repeat of the SSC run-fest – and after Steyn had taken care of the other star from the first Test, Mahela Jayawardene, Ntini returned just before lunch to nail Sanath Jayasuriya, who had battled hard for his 47, and Tillakaratne Dilshan. At 86 for 5 South Africa would have been eyeing a huge first-innings lead, but the next two sessions belonged largely to Sri Lanka.

Kapugedera and Prasanna began the rescue act, but in a manner which was astonishing for its aggression – the stand of 105 took only 20.3 overs. Kapugedera announced his intentions early, hoicking the third ball he faced, from Ntini, over fine leg for six. Prasanna repeated the act in even more emphatic manner, pulling Ntini off the front foot in a style reminiscent of Ricky Ponting, complete with a flourish and a swivel for a follow-through.That sparked off a deluge of runs, as both batsmen launched into a stunning counterattack. Whenever the ball was even fractionally overpitched, the straight-drives and cover-drives were uncorked, and neither batsman flinched against the short stuff, instead using the pull shot to great effect. Kapugedera, playing his fourth Test, went on to register his second Test fifty, and his highest score, while Prasanna looked nothing like a batsman with a highest of 5 in three previous Test innings – when Steyn returned for a spell after lunch, Prasanna greeted him with four fours in one over, including another glorious swivel-pull and an effortless punch through extra-cover.The pendulum briefly shifted South Africa’s way again when both perished at the same score within six balls of one another, but that only signalled the start of another stubborn partnership, as Vaas and Maharoof got together.Vaas has been growing in stature as a batsman of late – he was dismissed just twice in three Tests against England and averaged 92 with the bat, and here he was equally determined to put a huge price on his wicket. Completely organised in defence and attack, Vaas played both pace and spin with complete assurance, hardly giving the bowlers any chance. Both he and Maharoof played the drives down the ground exceptionally well.The South African attack flagged noticeably in the intense heat and humidity – Ntini’s pace dropped to around 130 kmph, while Shaun Pollock struggled to even get up to 120 kmph. Nicky Boje obtained sharp turn and bounce at times, but didn’t always control his line and length.Ashwell Prince finally needed the second new ball to break the resistance, with Steyn blasting out the lower order with his pace. He went at more than six an over, but when he landed the ball in the right places, he was a handful – Jayasuriya was distinctly uncomfortable against the short stuff which was hurled at him at more than 145 kmph, and Steyn, to his credit, didn’t flag even when he was hit around for runs. Thanks to his late strikes, South Africa managed a slender lead which could yet prove invaluable over the next three days.

Upul Tharanga c Boje b Ntini 2 (16 for 1)
Kumar Sangakkara c Amla b Ntini 14 (43 for 2)
Mahela Jayawardene c Boucher b Steyn 13 (74 for 3)
Tillakaratne Dilshan b Ntini 4 (85 for 4)
Sanath Jayasuriya c Gibbs b Ntini 47 (86 for 5)
Chamara Kapugedera b Boje 63 (191 for 6)
Prasanna Jayawardene b Steyn 42 (191 for 7)
Farveez Maharoof b Steyn 56 (308 for 8)
Chaminda Vaas c Boucher b Steyn 64 (317 for 9)
Muttiah Muralitharan c Hall b Steyn 0 (317 all out)

One of the perils of trying to play cricket as autumn looms was highlighted when the first legs of the final and the third-place play-off matches in the inaugural Twenty20 Floodlit Cup fell victim to the weather.Essex reached 158 for 4 against Derbyshire in front of 3500 spectators at Chelmsford in the 14th over of a match already reduced to 15-overs-a-side when a torrential downpour ended proceedings. The game had already been interrupted by rain for 40 minutes when Essex had made 22 for 0. Mark Pettini (72 off 32 balls) led the charge either side of the break as he and Ronnie Irani (37) put on 78 for the first wicket. When Irani departed, bowled by Ant Botha, Pettini really opened up, but his explosive innings ended when he was stumped off Jake Needham. Botha came back to pick up two more wickets in an over as Andy Flower (10) and Andy Bichel (1) fell cheaply. James Foster and Andre Adams added 30 off 12 balls before the heavens opened.At Hove, Sussex and Glamorgan did not even manage to take to the field, and although Sussex won the toss, there was never any realistic chance of play starting as heavy storms lashed the south coast.Derbyshire now host Essex in the second leg of the final on Friday while Sussex travel to Glamorgan to decide third place on the same night at Cardiff. With both ties being reduced to one-off games the potential for either being decided by a period of extra-time – consisting of four overs-per-side – if each team won one game is now out of the equation.

By the time you read this, more turbulence might have engulfed thePakistan team and their crucial opening game of the Champions Trophy,against Sri Lanka at Jaipur, may end up as a mere footnote. Such is theircombustibility levels that it seems to be only a matter of time beforeanother fire ignites around Pakistan cricket. What’s unique about theteam, though, is that happenings off the field seem to rarely worry themand they invariably discover additional mental steel when expected tocrack.Interestingly Pakistan were bystanders in the last major instance when aplayer was withdrawn from a tournament for testing positive for bannedsubstances. News of Shane Warne’s diuretic travails broke just a few hoursbefore Australia’s World Cup opener against Pakistan at Johannesburg and, with a couple of players ruled out with injury, not many gavethem a chance. Few hours into the game and a whirlwind hundred from AndrewSymonds had set the tone for one of the most emphatic World Cup triumphsever.Pakistan will need to find similar inspiration. As things stand at themoment, they have 12 players to choose from for tomorrow’s game, if youdiscount Waqar Younis, the bowling coach, and Rameez Raja, the formeropening batsman who’s here as a commentator. They’re already without theirfirst-choice captain – who’s also been their most influential player inrecent times; two of their premier fast bowlers, who in all probabilitymight have shared the new ball, would have might have already reached homebefore the toss; and the concern over the openers continues. Up againstthem will be an upbeat Sri Lankan side that’s been steamrolling opponentsover the last few months, including rolling West Indies over for 80 threedays’ back.Mahela Jaywardene, though expressing disappointment at the turn of events,was taking nothing lightly. “At times when teams have such problems theycome hard at you, and we have played Pakistan quite a few times to realisethat and we are taking the game as important for us as it was yesterday,”he said on the even of the game. “I don’t know the whole extent of theevents, but it’s disappointing. We haven’t played against Shoaib for quitesome time because he was injured. We wanted to take that challenge and seehow we can come about it. So from a cricketing point of view, it’s bitdisappointing.”Sri Lanka start off red-hot favourites. The pitch – the same one whereDwayne Bravo and Corey Collymore nipped and tucked – will be to theirbowlers’ liking. If they end up bowling second, with the pitch tending toget slow and low, their spinners will be more than a handful. They’vereeled off three emphatic wins and the manner in which they mauled WestIndies wouldn’t be lost on Pakistan, who’re bound to be rusty without muchcricket.”You can see it as a disadvantage and also as an advantage,” said BobWoolmer, the Pakistan coach, when asked about lack of match practice.”We’ll be fresh and ready to go. Sri Lanka will be traveling, playing ondifferent surfaces and need to get used to this. You can see it as a glasshalf full or half empty. I’ll like to see it as a glass half full.”Considering the events of the last 24 hours, one can probably also see itas a glass ready to shatter. Towards the end of the press conference,Younis couldn’t but smile when a reporter mistakenly addressed him asYousuf. It was no doubt funny but in its own way it encapsulated theuncertainty that surrounds Pakistan. When unsure about the next step,might as well laugh.Teams (likely)Pakistan 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Shoaib Malik, 4Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Younis Khan (capt), 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8Kamran Akmal (wk), 9 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 10 Rao Iftikhar Anjum, 11 UmarGulSri Lanka 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 MahelaJayawardene (capt), 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Marvan Atapattu, 6Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Farveez Maharoof, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 MuttiahMuralitharan, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Dilhara Fernando.

The second edition of the Afro-Asia Cup is scheduled to be held at Chennaiin June 2007. Both men and women will contest in matches between Asia XIand Africa XI.The tournament was first held last year in South Africa. The serieswas drawn 1-1 with one game being abandoned owing to rain. The playerswill be selected after the World Cup in 2007. The panel of selectors willcomprise past cricketers from the two continents.The total prize money for the event is set to be US$100,000. The winner ineach game will receive US$25,000, the Man of the Match US$5000 and the Manof the Tournament US$10000. Participating players will be paid US$5000 foreach match.Schedule
Two 20/20 games on June 5, 2007
1st ODI – June 6
2nd ODI – June 8
3rd ODI – June 10

SuperSport Series

Nicky Boje was the hero with an unbeaten 81 to help the Eagles to avoid defeat in a thrilling confrontation with the Warriors at Port Elizabeth on Sunday. The Eagles captain held firm to help his side finish on 193 for 9. Somehow they survived for the draw after having been 88 for 6 at tea. Johan van der Wath lent welcome support to Boje, and Thandi Tshabalala survived three balls to finish unbeaten on nought but the Warriors just could not find the final wicket. They had been in control of the match from the start, with Colin Ingram and Johan Botha making 107 for the first wicket. Centuries from HD Ackerman and Arno Jacobs, who put together a stand of 219 in 65 overs, a Warriors record for the fourth wicket, enabled them to post a formidable 439, with young Tshabalala claiming a career-best 5 for 68. Despite 95 from Ryan Bailey and 51 from Boje, the Eagles could manage only 289, with Botha claiming 4 for 64, meaning that they conceded a first-innings deficit of 150. van der Wath led an Eagles rally, his 4 for 27 helping to limit the Warriors to 100 for 9 declared, but they were stuttering well short of their target of 251 before Boje took charge.The Dolphins produced a clinical allround display to dismantle the Cobras by an innings and 34 runs at Newlands on Sunday. Five-wickets from the young leg-spinner Tyron Pillay were instrumental in the Cobras’ second-innings subsidence, falling alarmingly from 91 for 4 at lunch to 139 all out. The Cobras had declared on 326 for 8 in their first innings, with Andrew Puttick making 91, after half of the first day’s play was lost to rain. They were made to look foolish though when the Dolphins recovered from 179 for 4 to post 499, with Lance Klusener scoring 121 and further half-centuries for Doug Watson, Johann Louw, Kyle Smit and the captain Ahmed Amla. It was a typically blistering innings from Klusener, who had earlier taken 3 for 86, occupying just 166 balls and containing 16 fours and two sixes. Louw coaxed valuable runs from the tail after his dismissal and the Dolphins opened up a lead of 173. With just over a day to knock over the Cobras the result never looked in doubt after Pillay had bowled Ashwell Prince before lunch.Paul Harris spun the Titans to a 114-run victory over the Lions at Benoni on Sunday. Harris claimed 5 for 81 to dismiss the Lions for 232 in their second innings, despite a battling unbeaten 54 from Shane Burger. Earlier G Toyana anchored the Titans’ first innings score of 303 with his unbeaten 91, and four wickets from Albie Morkel helped to limit the Lions to 233, with Justin Ontong scoring 83, to help the Titans gain a 70-run first innings advantage. Gulam Bodi’s 88 in their second innings 276 enabled them to set the Lions an unrealistic target of 347, and Harris soon made victory a formality.

SAA Provincial Challenge

Northerns recorded a 9-wicket victory, completely outclassing Limpopo at Duiwelskloof on Saturday. Only three batsmen reached double figures in Limpopo’s first-innings 124, with Neil Wagner and Maurice Aronstam claiming four wickets apiece. Aronstam then continued his recent good form, scoring 95 to provide the backbone of Northerns’ 383, and youngsters Aaron Phangiso and Abram Ndlovu also scored half-centuries. Limpopo improved in their second innings mustering 259, Aronstam again impressive taking four more wickets, but this left Northerns with a meagre one-run target. The dismissal of Francis Nkuna to the third ball of the innings provided amusement but no threat to Northerns’ supremacy.

SAA Provincial Cup

Limpopo exacted revenge for their SAA Provincial Challenge thrashing the previous day recording a 21-run win over Northerns at Duiwelskloof on Sunday. Pieter Haasbroek and Hendrik Holtzhausen hit half-centuries at different ends of the innings to help Limpopo post 249, and a great team performance in the field limited Northerns to 228 in reply, despite an entertaining 56-ball 68 from Roelof van der Merwe.

Scorecard
Abu Nechim, Anand Katti, and Sathiamoorty Saravanan bowled Assam to an innings and one run victory over Kerala on the third day at Palakkad and put themselves at the top of the Plate Group points table. Saravanan, who didn’t bowl in the first innings, removed two top-order batsmen before he finished off the tail, while Nechim and Katti ran through the middle order. Only Preambhastn Prem, with a 159-ball 67, and M Vipin Lal (45 from 148 balls) offered any resistance as Kerala folded for 203 and saved Assam’s batsman the time to pad up again.
Scorecard
Despite career-best efforts from Sagun Kamat and Robin D’Souza, Goa finished the third day’s play 145 runs adrift of making Railways bat again at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Kamat, the 23-year-old opener, resumed the day on 54 and progressed to his maiden first-class hundred, a dogged 130 from 318 balls, with 16 fours. A middle-order collapse at the hands of Harvinder Singh and Murali Kartik threatened chaos, but in D’Souza, Kamat found a reliable partner and the two added a vital 132 for the seventh wicket. D’Souza’s dismissal for 79, with the score at 360 for 8, triggered another collapse and no further runs were added to Goa’s total. Following-on, the tourists lost two wickets to Jai Prakash Yadav, the former Indian allrounder, and Kamat, unbeaten on 14 from 57 balls, may have to bat out of his skin for the second time in two days.
Scorecard
Sandeep Singh, Vidharbha’s opening bowler, led a competent bowling display to dismiss Madhya Pradesh for 221 and leave his side 151 to win at Nagpur. Along with his new-ball partner, Chandrashekhar Atram, Singh rocked MP’s top order to leave them at 57 for 4. Syed Abbas Ali, MP’s captain, defied the odds with a 137-ball 85, but no other batsman really came good. Faiz Fazal and Amit Deshpande, Vidarbha’s openers, played out 13 overs to finish the day on 39 for no loss.
Scorecard
Orissa’s batsmen had a field day against Jharkhand, adding 305 runs to take a sizeable lead on the third day’s play at Cuttack. Debasis Mohanty, who picked up four wickets on day two, batted just shy of three-and-a-half hours for his 67, while Pinninti Jayachandra (86 not-out) and Rashmi Das (a career-best 82) put on 157 for the seventh wicket to take Orissa past 400. Subit Biswal, overnight on 22, chipped in with 59. Sanjay Satpathy, the offspinner, shared the new ball with Mohanty and picked up the wicket of Manish Vardhan in his first over as Orissa made an inroad into Jharkhand’s line-up.
Scorecard
Soomik Chatarjee and Jasvir Singh backed the good work done by the bowlers with an unbeaten 148-run second-wicket stand to help Services take a 64-run lead over Jammu and Kashmir at New Delhi’s Palam Stadium. Chatarjee was 11 runs shy of a maiden first-class hundred, and Jasvir was on 70. J&K resumed the third day on 231 for 5, but could only add a further 98, thanks primarily to a career-best 52 from Samiullah Beigh at the No. 10 spot. Arun Sharma finished with 4 for 93, and was backed up by Manish Jha’s 2 for 68.
Scorecard
After only 15 overs were bowled yesterday, conditions improved only slightly on the third day at Dharamshala with just 33 overs completed on another fog-hit occasion. Resistance from the lower order helped Himachal Pradesh extend their overnight score to 341, and the bowlers then reduced Tripura to 60 for 3 before play was called off.

Dayle Hadlee, the former New Zealand fast bowler and brother of legendary allrounder Richard Hadlee, has been appointed as New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) head bowling coach. Hadlee had previously been in charge of New Zealand Cricket Academy programme and was a former coach of the New Zealand Under-19 side.”This is a new position that provides specialist bowling coaching, administration, direction and leadership within the NZC high performance programme,” Ric Charlesworth, the NZC High Performance Manager said. “Dayle will be responsible for setting up a network of specialist bowling coaches who will be aligned with the best talent throughout the country.”Charlesworth also announced the appointment of Steve Jenkin as NZC’s case manager. Jenkin is currently the coach of the White Ferns, New Zealand women’s team, and Charlesworth added that Jenkins would continue his existing role as coach, in addition to overseeing player development plans for select athletes in the NZC high performance programme.

Michael Vaughan, the England captain, will miss Friday’s CB Series match against Australia in Brisbane due to a torn left hamstring. Scans showed Vaughan had a grade one tear after injuring the leg while fielding in the three-wicket win over New Zealand in Hobart on Tuesday.Vaughan, who needed a runner during his innings of 17, will stay with the squad and an ECB spokesman said a decision on who will captain England will be made in due course. Andrew Flintoff, who led the team during the 5-0 Ashes loss, and Andrew Strauss, the struggling opener, are the two candidates for the position.Despite the decision to retain Vaughan, who will be reassessed over the next two days, England have called up Mal Loye, the Lancashire batsman. Loye was named in the 30-man preliminary World Cup squad this week and will join the squad in Brisbane on Wednesday night.