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South Australia’s build-up for the forthcoming season got underway today with fitness testing at the Kidman Park Sports Institute in Adelaide.The squad got together yesterday to lay some programs and put plans in place for the new season. The rest of the week will be occupied with a variety of speed and agility, weight and fitness programs.The squad has been bolstered by the return from Britain of vice-captain Greg Blewett, wicketkeeper Graham Manou and 2003 Bradman medalist Ryan Harris. New state coach Wayne Phillips said he was looking forward to getting the team together.”The physical side of pre-season starts tomorrow, and we will be usingexperts at SASI to help with the physical preparation of the squad,” hesaid. “I’ve been in the job for a month now, have talked individually with theplayers and I’m now looking forward to getting into the physical side oftheir preparation.”

India has yet again lost the first Test of an away series. It comes as no surprise then to see Sourav Ganguly and his men being roasted by all and sundry. Rahul Dravid opening the Indian innings, meanwhile, has also figured prominently in many dinner-table discussions across the country.According to present indications, Dravid might continue at the top of the order in the second Test too, despite his failures at Bloemfontein. Ganguly said in the post-Test conference that it was Dravid who volunteered to take up the job. If that indeed was the case, there was very good logic behind having him, and not the untried Connor Williams, do the job. As for those saying that Dravid was being treated as a sacrificial goat and that we would have been better off making an offering of a lesser player, say Deep Dasgupta, is that not taking a tinted and very negative view of the whole affair?A lack of a stable opening pair has been the bane of Indian cricket for a long time. In fact, since Sunil Gavaskar’s glorious leave-taking at Bangalore, which saw him break up with long-time partner Krishnamachari Srikkanth, there has been no pair that has offered either stability or hope. Shiv Sunder Das’ arrival on the international scene last year has meant that we now have at least one opener of potential. But the problem of a proper opening partner for Das has persisted.

Sadagoppan Ramesh, his partner during the Sri Lankan tour, for instance, has so many technical flaws that, based on them, you can probably write a best-seller, photos and all, on how not to open a Test. Connor Williams, the latest in the list, is another opener whose technique has not yet been fully tested at the highest level.So, considering all this, Dravid being promoted to opener can only be seen as a good move with the future in mind. The 28-year-old has an excellent defensive technique and has scored tons of runs against the new ball. In fact, as a No. 3 batsman, home and away, he has scored 2,931 runs with seven hundreds and 15 fifties at an average of 56.36. If we narrow our search down to his innings as a one-down batsman on foreign soil, his record is all the more impressive – 1,405 runs, including four hundreds, at an average of 58.54. No Indian batsman across the eras has done better. Sachin Tendulkar, one of the few other Indian batsmen to do well abroad, for instance, has an average of 54.52 in comparison.On most of the above-mentioned occasions, Dravid would have, considering our opening stands in recent times, walked in during the first 10 overs of the innings. That he has scored so many runs at such an excellent average indubitably proves that he has the technique to open the innings. Moving to his perceived lack of comfort in the opener’s slot, that is an argument best stowed away if Ganguly used volunteered in the sense that all dictionaries use it. And knowing Ganguly and his straight-talking ways, it could not have been otherwise.

Let me then end by saying that we would do well if we avoid reading too much into Dravid’s first two dismissals. The Indian vice-captain has in the past bounced back spectacularly after failures in the first Test of a series; the previous South African tour, the 1998-99 New Zealand tour, and the recent series against Australia at home are all noteworthy instances. For all we know, if Dravid is left at peace to prove himself, he might well do that against what is the weakest South African attack in years. And Dravid’s success could consequently make a world of difference to the Indian team in the coming years.

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed BCCI’s plea seeking review of an earlier verdict that struck down the controversial amendment to the conflict-of-interest clause. The BCCI had filed a review petition soon after the verdict, but the apex court dismissed it, reckoning there was no merit to the case.A legal expert told ESPNcricinfo that review petitions were “rarely entertained.” “Ordinarily, these reviews are heard in the chambers,” he said. “If there is an error apparent in the face of the judgment, then they will review it.”It’s an extraordinary power and is not meant to be used lightly. If they have made a glaring error, then they will review it and correct it, otherwise they won’t exercise powers.”In January, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment pertaining to the 2013 IPL corruption case, struck down the amendment to the BCCI constitution’s clause 6.2.4 that allowed board officials to have a commercial interest in the IPL and the Champions League T20, calling it “the true villain of the situation at hand.” The amendment to the clause was effected in September 2008, six months after the Chennai franchise was sold to India Cements, a company owned by then BCCI secretary N Srinivasan.The judgment had far-reaching consequences with the court ruling that while the BCCI was a private body, it performed a public function and was therefore amenable to judicial law and review. It was the first instance of an external agency amending the BCCI’s constitution.The rule was deemed by the Court to be “void and ineffective”, “unsustainable and impermissible in law” as it was said to have “authorised” the “creation and continuance” of a conflict-of-interest situation. The two-man bench of Justice TS Thakur and Justice FMI Kalifullah said the amendment had perpetuated the conflict.In an ostensible bid to act on the Supreme Court’s ruling, the BCCI’s current dispensation had in July asked representatives of state associations and members of the Board to sign a declaration stating they had no conflict of interest. The decision, however, met with resistance from some of the members associations, and the issue was slated to be raised at the working committee meeting on August 28, which was subsequently adjourned owing to Srinivasan’s presence.

ScorecardDawid Malan top-scored for the Lions with 51 but it was not enough to secure victory•Chris Whiteoak

An unbroken century stand between Iftikhar Ahmed and Babar Azam helped Pakistan A to a seven-wicket win in the first unofficial T20I against England Lions at the ICC Academy in Dubai.Dawid Malan top-scored with 51 from 44 balls, including three fours and three sixes, for the Lions and they looked to be in control when Pakistan A slipped to 25 for 3 in the fifth over. However, Iftikhar and Azam, both of whom featured in the recent ODI series against England, successfully regrouped with unbeaten half-centuries as they finished off the chase with an over to spare.Jake Ball claimed the scalps of Shahzaib Hasan and Sohaib Maqsood in the space of three balls after Reece Topley had found Fakhar Zaman’s edge in the opening over of the innings. But with canny strike rotation and selective hitting, particularly against the spin pairing of Liam Dawson and Stephen Parry, Pakistan A’s fourth-wicket pair turned the tide.Iftikhar struck two fours and three sixes in 66 not out while Azam finished unbeaten on 53, with six fours and a six.With the World Twenty20 looming in March, the Lions fielded four members of the team that beat Pakistan 3-0 last month – and it would almost certainly have been a fifth had it not been for the decision to allow David Willey to take up an offer to play for Perth Scorchers in Australia’s Big Bash League.James Vince, who impressed in each of his three innings for the senior team, fared less well as the Lions captain on this occasion. He fell in the second over of the match for 2, bowled by the impressive Aamer Yamin, who delivered a similar knockout to Jason Roy in Sharjah last week to claim a wicket with the first ball of his T20I career.Tom Westley made 11 from 17 balls before being stumped off the bowling of Bilal Asif, but the arrival of Sam Billings at No. 4 helped to kick England’s innings into action. He made 31 from 21 balls, with three fours and a six, and added 47 for the third wicket with Malan in the space of 6.1 overs.Two overs later, Billings became Bilal’s second victim as he holed out to midwicket but Ross Whiteley ensured that the Lions’ tempo was maintained in the closing overs with two sixes in a 15-ball 22. His stay was ended by a Rumman Raees slower ball, and Raees then added his second with the penultimate ball of the innings to remove Joe Clarke for 15.The second of the five-match series will take place under lights in Dubai on Thursday.

The national selection committee announced a squad of 26 players to attend the third and final training and fitness camp to be held in Karachi. The camp, that runs from July 27 to August 6, will be supervised by Talat Ali with Haroon Rashid and Aaqib Javed serving as batting and bowling coaches respectively.Asim Kamal, thought by many as the perfect heir to Inzamam-ul-Haq, has been omitted from the third fitness camp even after being part of the 22 that took part in the second camp in Lahore. Five new faces, including fast bowler Mohammad Irshad, batsmen Shahid Yousuf, Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor and left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir have been added to the squad for the Karachi camp.Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, a prolific performer for Pakistan during the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, has been overlooked again for the camps. Naved, currently playing for Sussex, was neither named in the first two camps nor was he awarded a central contract.A 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa will be named at the end of the camp. According to sources, Younis Khan, who is currently playing county cricket in England, is most likely to be selected in the 15-member squad despite not being included in the list of 26 probables. The selected squad would then attend the final phase of the camp at Gaddafi Stadium from August 19 to 26.Squad: Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Najaf Shah, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Irshad, Khurram Manzoor, Shoaib Akhtar, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Hafeez, Rao Iftikhar, Imran Farhat, Sohail Tanveer, Yasir Hameed, Naveed Latif, Shoaib Malik, Faisal Iqbal, Abdul Razzaq, Umer Gul, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, Shahid Yousuf, Misbah Ul Haq, Imran Nazir, Khalid Latif

The $5 million winner-takes-all Stanford 20/20 SuperStar game between West Indies and South Africa due to be played on November 10 has been cancelled.The decision was made almost inevitable once the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to amend the itinerary for the forthcoming West Indies tour to allow leading players to take part in the Stanford match.”To say I am disappointed is an understatement,” admitted Allen Stanford, the Texas-based millionaire who is the main organiser behind Stanford 20/20. “We are frustrated at the turn of events, especially in light of the fact that the date for the Stanford Super Star Match was approved by both the WICB and the ICC from January 2006. However, we have always said that we would not do anything which conflicts with, or compromises West Indies cricket and so we have decided that it is in the best interest of everyone involved, especially the players, that we cancel the Super Star Match.”Perhaps the most disappointing fact about the cancellation is that the West Indies tour to Pakistan was not finalised until August, more than two months after the agreement with South Africa for the November match was confirmed. The West Indies board informed Stanford that an application had been submitted to the PCB to delay the start of the tour so that the conflict could be resolved. The PCB was unable to accommodate the request.In a last ditch effort to salvage the match, Stanford asked if the WICB could provide the names of those players that would be on the team to Pakistan so that a side could be selected out of those not going on the tour, but a spokesman for Stanford said this was also “not accommodated by the WICB leaving no alternative but cancellation”.Some of the players training at the Super Star team camp would be a natural choice for the Pakistan tour. “We did not want to put these players in a position where they would have to choose between our event and playing for the West Indies,” explained Stanford. “This would be unfair to them, and one of our goals has always been to foster the positive and successful development of our athletes.”The Super Star camp began in Antigua on August 23 and yesterday Stanford himself gave the news to the players via teleconference. “I am very, very hurt and disappointed,” said Pedro Collins. “I wish that things like this could be resolved amicably in future. Playing against South Africa would have been a great opportunity for the young players to establish themselves in world cricket.”The Stanford 20/20 board will meet on Monday in Antigua where the future of the Stanford 20/20 programme will be discussed.

Australia praying for rain and the English media heralding a bright new dawn? Something strange has come to pass at Old Trafford over the past three days. For all the faux-excitement in the British tabloids about the start of the football season, one needed only peel a couple of pages beneath the surface to discover the story that’s really got tongues wagging this summer.”Make no mistake: England are on top in the Ashes now, and we LOVE it,” bellowed Mike Walters in The Mirror, under a banner headline that paid due reference to England’s star turn of the second day. “We’re Giles ahead!” cackled the paper, after our Ashley had produced his own imitation of Shane Warne’s ball of the century to bowl Damien Martyn for 20.”Spinball Wizard,” agreed The Sun. “Same place, same spin and the same devastating result,” elaborated their correspondent, John Etheridge. “The King of Spain’s incredible fizzer landed on a leg-stump line before turning so wickedly it clipped the top of the off pole.” even diverted their chief sports writer, Steven Howard, away from his football duties to pass comment on the proceedings. “Suddenly it’s all gone quiet over there,” he intoned. “The Poms were giving their boys one hell of a beating.”Such incendiary comments really got the Aussies’ goat during the one-day series, with The Australian newspaper suffering a back-page sense of humour failure following ‘s depiction of their fast bowlers as “Sheilas”. Today, however, they were meekly resigned to their fate.”If any slim doubts remained as to the uphill battle Australia faces to retain the Ashes, they were duly erased by England’s further domination,” stated Andrew Ramsey in The Australian. “The poise and self-belief displayed by the home team’s middle-order was in marked contrast to another slipshod effort by Australia’s bowlers and fielders, who are showing frailty under sustained pressure.””Australia were battling for survival in the third Test on Friday evening,” agreed Chloe Saltau in The Sydney Morning Herald, after enduring “one of their worst days in the field” on Thursday, and losing Justin Langer to “a stroke of brilliance before tea”. These are words that could have summed up any given England performance of the last 20 years. When they are applied to Australia it is confusing in the extreme.And hot on the heels of the poor performances … come the recriminations. Michael Slater, currently a commentator for Channel 4, decided that, following a spate of costly dropped catches, the object of his ire would be Australia’s coach, John Buchanan.”It makes me question their practice regimes at the moment, which is the coach’s responsibility,” he told The Courier Mail. “Are they practising with enough intensity, because if you don’t you won’t be able to take it on to the field. The big moments are taking those catches and Australia have prided themselves on taking even half-chances. It surprises me how many let-offs Australia are giving England.”Slater’s co-commentator, Geoffrey Boycott, pinned the blame on Jason Gillespie, the undoubted weak link in a hitherto invincible bowling attack. “Gillespie was ineffective and hardly moved the ball all day,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph. “At this level of Test cricket you have to be able to swing or seam the ball or do something with it. It’s all right saying that Gillespie has a good reputation (but) all players have to live on facts and figures and Gillespie’s are not very good at this moment.””Any decision to axe Gillespie would be taken with a heavy heart,” said Ramsay, because he is “one of Australia’s most respected and best-loved players for his willingness to bowl his heart out in any conditions or circumstances,” but Peter Roebuck, in The Sydney Morning Herald, believed his form brooked no argument. “Jason Gillespie has looked a spent force and can no longer command a regular place in the side. Nor is it surprising. Not even the greatest sportsman can stop the clock.””It is way, way too early to gloat,” Matt Price, in The Australian, warned England’s fans. But it wasn’t too early for the vitriol to start spouting. “Adam Gilchrist seems to have morphed into Geraint Jones, spilling everything and appearing to have seven thumbs jammed into each margarine-coated glove. Perhaps the transformation has been mutual, so by the time you read this Jones will have knocked up 150 in a session to steer England to 700 and beyond.”But the real target of Price’s wrath was the most convenient scapegoat of all, Billy Bowden. “Bowden is a pain in the neck,” he raged. “I’ve never been the slightest bit enchanted by the New Zealand umpire’s contrived antics, leaping about and waving his arms like some kind of unco-ordinated, computer-generated tai chi exponent.”Officials should be permitted their quirks,” he conceded, “The Bucknor pause, the Shepherd hop. But Bowden oversteps the line between idiosyncratic and idiotic. Umpires, like children and John Howard’s backbenchers, should be seen and rarely heard.”

Sri Lanka 470 and 211 for 4 dec beat South Africa 189 and 179 (Dippenaar 59*, Boucher 51, Vaas 6-29) by 313 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A superb display of swing bowling by Chaminda Vaas sent South Africa hurtling to a 313-run defeat at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, giving Sri Lanka a 1-0 series victory, their first over South Africa. Vaas gave Sri Lanka the early momentum on the fifth morning, taking two wickets, and then returned to finish off the South African innings for 179. He ended up with the exceptional figures of 6 for 29.The weather forecast for the day had been bleak, but Sri Lanka’s prayers were answered when dawn arrived bright and dry. Their morning got better, too, as South Africa started disastrously with three wickets tumbling for 14 runs in the first half-hour. Boeta Dippenaar (59 not out) and Mark Boucher (51) provided the main resistance, adding 101 for the sixth wicket. But another slide followed, and five wickets tumbled for 42 after lunch, as South Africa were bundled out for their lowest total against Sri Lanka.After an astonishing effort by the groundstaff to mop up in time after the heavy deluge the previous evening, Vaas needed just three balls to grab the prized wicket of Jacques Kallis, the one batsman that Sri Lanka feared could bat through the day. Kallis was unfortunate, as Vaas produced a wicked delivery that spat up from a good length to find the outside edge. Tillakaratne Dilshan was presented with the simplest of catches at second slip (24 for 3).Graeme Smith, meanwhile, was setting out his stall for a long rearguard. But in the fourth over of the day, he gloved an attempted pull off Lasith Malinga. The ball ballooned up off his thigh-pad and was caught at backward short leg. Five balls later, South Africa were left in complete disarray when Jacques Rudolph succumbed lamely for the second time in the match, top-edging a pull that sailed straight to Malinga on the long-leg fence (36 for 5).While the excited schoolchildren in the stands chanted “Go Lanka Go” in celebration, Dippenaar and Boucher quietly and efficiently dug in.They survived Vaas and Malinga’s early four-over bursts, and lookedsecure against the slow bowlers. The odd ball turned sharply and popped up,but there were no great alarms. The closest they came to being dismissed waswhen Malinga was drafted back into the attack for a short burst beforelunch. Finding some reverse-swing, he came perilously close to trappingDippenaar lbw when he had made 25.After lunch, Marvan Atapattu turned back to Vaas. Once again, he rose to the occasion and grabbed a much-needed breakthrough with a skilful legcutter that drew Boucher forward and nipped away enough to brush the edge. Romesh Kaluwitharana, whose glovework had been untidy throughout the match, very nearly let the ball pop out from his bright-yellow mitts (137 for 6).Having broken through, Sri Lanka pushed home their advantage. Next over, Shaun Pollock mistimed a clip off Dilshan’s part-time offspin and picked out Atapattu at short midwicket. Dilshan burst into an Olympian lap of celebration. But Vaas was the main hero and he soon worked through Nicky Boje’s defences with an indipper that pinned him in front. Two balls later, Makhaya Ntini departed for a duck after an airy waft (163 for 9). Malinga wrapped up proceedings with the wicket of Nantie Hayward, who knocked back the simplest of return catches.Sri Lanka’s series win reconfirmed their new-found confidence under Atapattu’s leadership, and lifts them to fifth position in the ICC Test rankings, behind Australia, England, Pakistan and India. South Africa, meanwhile, slide three places to sixth slot, their lowest ranking. Their ODI ranking will also be under threat when they start a five-match series on August 20. First, though, they have a few days to regroup.

It is a subject of feverish speculation as to how the portable pitch to be used in Darwin for Bangladesh’s historic international matches there will behave. Dav Whatmore, Bangadesh’s coach, believes that it might be a slow one.Speaking to ABC Radio, Whatmore said: “It’s a drop-in pitch. [There] seems to be some indication it might be slow but we’ll never really know until you start playing.”Bangladesh will not have to wait long to find out. On Friday they take on the Chief Minister’s XI, less than a week after their two-wicket win over the Commonwealth Bank Academy side. If Whatmore’s prognosis about the pitch is confirmed, they will face the Australian new-ball attack with somewhat more confidence than you’d expect from international cricket’s fledglings.Meanwhile the Chief Minister, Clare Martin, has announced the team to play Bangladesh. The local side has been bolstered by the inclusion of Michael Clarke, who will captain the team, and Australian allrounder Nathan Hauritz, who played for Queensland’s Academy XI in Bangladesh’s first tour game.”I wanted to give Territorians an opportunity to play against Bangladesh,” said Martin, “and I know a squad of local cricketers have been training in preparation for the match.”James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, said that the decision to include two CA-contracted players would help generate further interest in the game. Clarke and Hauritz have recently returned from the tour to West Indies and represent Australia’s next generation of players, having already played for the national side in one-day intenationals.Martin also renewed a call for volunteers, inviting Territorians to grab the opportunity to be involved in the staging of international cricket. She said that each volunteer would have an opportunity to watch the cricket after performing their duties, which would take up only three hours of their time. Apart from free entry, they would also receive a free polo shirt and hat, lunch and an opportunity to be involved in one of Territory’s major sporting events.Chief Minister’s XI squad
Michael Clarke (captain), Darren Treumer (vice-captain), Terry Bayly, Nick Berry, Anthony Dent, Mark Hatton, Brad Hatton, Nathan Hauritz, Tim Knox, Adrian McAdam, Ian Redpath, Ken Skewes, Ken Vowles, Ashley Williams.

Greg Mail has delivered the runs but he believes Stuart MacGill can deliver victory for NSW over South Australia in its Pura Cup match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.With two full days to play, NSW lead by 451 runs after finishing the second day at 9-415.Mail was unbeaten on 142 – his second first class century – anchoring a Blues attack which smashed 399 runs in the day.It was a remarkable turnaround from the first day when 20 wickets fell as NSW made 188 and the Redbacks replied with 142.Mail expected captain Shane Lee would declare in the morning, depriving the opener of being the first from NSW to carry his bat since Alan Turner 32 years ago.”I’d hope 450 will be enough runs,” Mail said.”The pitch is starting to crack up a little bit and there’s some variable bounce.”Peter McIntyre was turning the ball quite a bit today and I’m sure Stuart will turn it a lot – he can turn it on anything.”NSW resumed this morning with Mail on one and Michael Slater on 15. Throughout the day, Mail focused on building partnerships with some of his more illustrious team-mates.”The plan was for me to bat for a long time and to have other guys score runs around me.”A lot of our guys score quickly and pile on the shots – I just try to play to my limitations.”The tall 23-year-old formed significant partnerships with Slater (49), Mark Waugh (51), Mark Higgs (53) and MacGill (53). In each of those stands, Mail played the steady hand while his team-mates blazed quick half-centuries.And no half-century was faster than MacGill’s. He brought up his 50 off 26 balls, with seven fours and a six over midwicket off Darren Lehmann.In terms of time – 29 minutesit was the equal second-fastest half-century on record for NSW.Tibby Cotter took 18 minutes to score 50 in 1911-12 while the great Victor Trumper also took 29 minutes to reach the mark in 1905-06. No record of balls was available for those players.It was a wonderfully improvised knock by MacGill, who really had just one shot – an unorthodox swat which he could hit anywhere in the arc from cover-point tomidwicket.”I saw he was up there with Victor Trumper – no doubt we’ll be hearing about that for a while,” Mail said of his brash batting partner.In contrast, Mail took 202 minutes to bring up his half-century while his ton came up in a shade under five hours off 241 balls.His innings wasn’t without its mistakes – he survived a strong lbw appeal from Mark Harrity early in the day – but his edges all flew safely.He showed great concentration and judicial shot selection mixed with compact defence against an attack which struggled to create chances.He batted for 395 minutes and faced 299 balls, hitting 16 fours.Part-time spinner Lehmann was the leading wicket-taker for SA, with 3-42.