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“We are very confident,” said Trinidad and Tobago team manager Colin Borde at the end of a three-day practice match at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain, Couva.The match was in preparation for the 2008 Carib Beer Challenge final against Jamaica next week (April 24-28) in Jamaica, and Borde believes the national squad are ready for the contest after a two-week break for the series between West Indies and Sri Lanka.”We trained for three days last week and the guys have been playing in this three-day match here and I think they will be ready for the final,” Borde said. “We are the defending champions and the guys know what it is all about and I am not worried …I am confident that they can get the job done.”T&T, who defeated Barbados in the final last year at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, will have to travel to Jamaica to take on this year’s Carib Beer Series champions and will be without the services of West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo.Borde said: “Denesh Ramdin will be available and we are confident we have good players who can step up (in the absence of Bravo). Darren Bravo, who scored 153 in the practice match, had a good knock and he is an exciting prospect and [Adrian] Barath had a dream debut season, but it has been rough this year, but I am sure he knows what it takes … he is a hard-working youngster and he knows what has to be done and I think he will come good.”Speaking about the rest of the team, Borde said: “Amit [Jaggernauth] is now our strike bowler and we have [Rayad] Emrit, [Richard] Kelly, Ravi Rampaul and Dave Mohammed, so I think we have some good bowling options.”Borde is also confident that captain Daren Ganga can recover from his bad patch of form this season. “He is a big-game player and I am not worried … he will step up for the occasion. He [Ganga] had a good knock today and he is in good touch…we have what it takes and we are confident of victory. The guys are going back to their clubs to continue playing more competitive cricket over the weekend. We will be ready for Jamaica.”

Imran Khan, the former Pakistani captain, lashed out at the team management for shabbily treating Younis Khan ahead of the Champions Trophy in India.”If anyone had treated me as shabbily as they have Younis, I would certainly have punched a member of the team’s think-tank,” Imran wrote in his column in the . “While I certainly don’t condone his behaviour, the Pakistani team management certainly had it coming.”Younis stepped down as captain apparently over the team selection, saying he was not a “dummy skipper”. He was reinstated just a few days before the team’s departure.”He [Younis Khan] is the most selfless and accommodating cricketer to play for Pakistan, and has been shunted around for the last four years,” said Imran. “He has been so shabbily treated since his debut that it almost seems like there is a conspiracy against him.”Imran said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the team management should have involved Younis in the selection process.”In cricket, the captain always bears the brunt of a failed campaign, and it is patently unfair to Younis that he was handed over a team and told to lead it,” said Imran, captain of the 1992 World Cup-winning squad. “The management and the PCB knew that Inzamam would be banned, so they should have involved Younis in the selection process. The board has been functioning in the most arbitrary manner possible since 1999.”Imran said the Pakistani team were capable of doing well in the Champions Trophy despite Inzamam’s absence. “The only setback for Pakistan is the absence of Inzamam the batsman. He is still a positive, solid and important figure in the line-up.”Pakistan cricket has always done well despite the system and not because of it. The system sucks, but Younis Khan’s team might still do well in the Champions Trophy.”Pakistan play their first match in Jaipur on October 17 against the winners of Sri Lanka-West Indies game. The other teams in their group are South Africa and New Zealand.

Faisalabad required only two days to defeat Karachi Harbour by an innings and two runs at the Gaddafi Stadium and boost their chances of winning the Pentangular Cup Cricket Championship.After having recovered from 168 for 7 to 312 on the opening day, Faisalabad dismissed Karachi Harbour for 144 and 166 on the second day. Shahid Nazir, the former Pakistan fast-medium bowler, picked up 4 for 34 in Karachi’s first innings, while Asad Ali took 3 for 30 in nine. In the second innings, Samiullah Niazi, the left-arm bowler, and Ahmed Hayat collected three wickets each.For Faisalabad, Mohammad Salman, the wicketkeeper, not only top-scored in the match with 71 but also kept impeccably, conceding only one bye and claiming five dismissals including two stumpings in the last few overs.Fawad Alam contributed usefully in both Karachi innings, scoring 30 off 60 balls in the first with four boundaries, and then remained unbeaten with 56 off 90 deliveries with nine fours. Opener Khalid Latif also made 56 runs in the second innings for Karachi Harbour and shared a 78-run fifth-wicket stand with Fawad.Faisalabad have ended their match programme, having won three and lost one of their four games to finish with 27 points. With table leaders National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) surrendering the first-innings lead to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in Multan, Faisalabad have gained a reprieve in the meantime.National Bank of Pakistan’s ambition to win the 2005-06 Pentangular Cup Cricket Championship received a dent as they conceded a crucial first-innings lead to Pakistan International Airlines on the second day at Multan.Thanks to some effective performances by the fast bowlers, NBP were bowled out for a modest 207 which gave PIA a lead of 35 as they had scored 242 on the opening day. By the close of play, PIA’s openers had rattled off 86 and gave their team an overall lead of 121 with all second-innings wickets in hand.After Salman Butt had been dismissed cheaply, Nasir Jamshed (36) and captain Naumanullah (27) added 60 runs for the second wicket for NBP. Then, within seven runs, NBP slipped to 69 for 5. The sixth-wicket stand added 53 runs, with Yasir Arafat scoring 31, but the score was soon poor at 123 for 7, 119 runs short of PIA’s total. Allrounder Imran Javed and Mohammad Sami then added 76 runs for the eighth wicket.Sami, who has not only been among the wickets but is also scoring useful runs since being dropped from the national squad, hit 45 off 48 balls with three fours and a six. Imran remained unbeaten with 38 off 54 deliveries with five boundaries.Umar Gul captured 4 for 64 while his new-ball partner Fazl-e-Akbar, Najaf Shah and Jannisar Khan all bagged two wickets each.Ghulam Ali, ended the day at 38 not out off 70 balls with four fours and the other PIA opener Agha Sabir scored an unbeaten 41 off 76 balls with the help of six boundaries.NBP, who still have another match in hand after this one, need to better Faisalabad’s final points tally of 27 to win the Pentangular Cup. They have currently 18 points but won’t get more than six points even if they come back and beat PIA, as they’ve already conceded the first-innings lead.

Opening batsmen

He’s been hot for years on the domestic scene but has gone cold after a couple of centuries against England at the start of their tour. An aggressive left-hander, Jaques stormed into the one-day side with 94 on debut in 2005-06, but was promptly dropped in favour of the incumbent Simon Katich. He’s played two Tests and four ODIs so is already in the selectors’ thoughts.
The Jaques push from New South Wales is strong, but the voices in the west are demanding the promotion of Chris Rogers. A conversation with David Boon, the Australia selector, where Rogers was told to bat all day instead of aiming always to attack, has led to outstanding results. He has scored 799 Pura Cup runs this summer, including 279 at Perth and a century on a tricky Hobart pitch, and worked on his slow-bowling play with Monty Panesar during an off-season stint at Northamptonshire. Australia’s Test players know him too – he scored 219 against them when at Leicestershire in 2005.
Opening is his favourite spot and after starring for Australia in the middle order during his first two summers he deserves to be asked where he wants to camp.Spin bowling

Replacing Shane Warne is going to be impossible, at least in the short to medium term, but Stuart MacGill is the most qualified after being the perennial understudy. His 198 Test wickets at 27.20 are an impressive return and he has the second-best strike-rate of any Australian with more than 100 Test scalps, although he was overlooked for the Ashes for the second series in a row. A knee injury and a club suspension for abuse disrupted his summer and at 35 his international career is teetering. It could be over unless Australia need him desperately, so he might be back in a couple of Tests.
Young and critically acclaimed, Dan Cullen shares the same mentor as Shane Warne. Terry Jenner spends hours working on Cullen’s offspin in Adelaide and he made his Test debut alongside Warne and MacGill in Bangladesh. He burst on to the state scene with 43 wickets three summers ago, surprising people with his control and a version of the doosra, but his average has expanded (27 wickets at 46 in 2005-06 and 3 at 76 this season) and he also struggled during a stint at Somerset. It is a crucial year.
Cullen Bailey, a legspinner, is another in Jenner’s South Australia stable and has been given a licence to attack under Darren Lehmann’s captaincy. He’s only 22 so don’t predict miracles, but he has shown enough to be a contender as he matures. Bailey has captured 17 wickets at 40 in four Pura Cup games this season and will battle for recognition with the New South Wales pair of Beau Casson and Nathan Hauritz.The fast men

The next McGrath will soon be the now McGrath. Five hundred Test wickets might be a bit much to ask for, but three or four years of solid service will help the transition while Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait develop into frontliners.
A bouncy left-armer, Mitchell Johnson may benefit most from McGrath’s departure as it will open up a space. Johnson has spent the Ashes series travelling the country as the 12th man after he was superb at the Champions Trophy and the Malaysian tri-series. Now he waits for a Test chance.
The shoulder injury that stopped Shaun Tait’s progress after he played two Tests on the Ashes tour is fixed and he is back to slinging reverse-swinging yorkers and un-playable short balls. Like Johnson, he has been in Test squads this summer. Like Johnson, he hasn’t found an opening.
A bricklayer before last season, Ben Hilfenhaus has quickly built himself an impressive reputation as a swing bowler. A fast man from Tasmania is a rare breed – the last one to play a Test was Greg Campbell in 1989 – and he now needs to prove he can get consistent wickets away from Bellerive Oval.Can you think of any others? Comment here.

Shaun Williams, the Bangladesh assistant coach, has not been offered an extension to his contract, which runs out in June. Williams, who took over as coach after Dav Whatmore’s resignation last year, will continue till his contract expires.Williams went to Bangladesh as national game development manager and had played a key role with the Under-19 and A teams. He was an assistant coach with the national side during the World Cup in the West Indies, during which Bangladesh made it to the Super Eights, and registered victories over India and South Africa.With Bangladesh not able to find a suitable replacement, Williams was appointed as interim coach for the Sri Lanka tour and the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, before fellow Australian Jamie Siddons took charge in October.Bangladesh haven’t had a great run of late, they were whitewashed in both Tests and ODIs on the tours to Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and failed to make an impact during South Africa’s visit as well. They however had something to cheer with 3-0 cleansweep in the ODIs against Ireland.Bangladesh travel to Pakistan in April for a five-match ODI series.

The condition of former Indian cricketer Manoj Prabhakar, admitted toa nursing home in Haldwani following a suspected brain stroke, wasstated to be ‘stable’ on Wednesday, a day after he was remanded to 14days judicial custody in a chit fund scam.Though Prabhakar has developed swelling on the right side of hisbrain, his condition is ‘stable’, Dr GS Khurana, attending on him,said.The CT scan conducted on him on Tuesday night showed he had developedswelling on the right side of the brain, he said.Prabhakar was admitted to the clinic on yesterday after he complainedof pain and stiffness in fingers and legs.Haldwani Judicial Magistrate Ashok Kumar, who visited Prabhakar at theclinic, had ordered that a medical report of the former cricketer besent to the court on a daily basis. He also said Prabhakar could stayin the clinic so long as he was medically unfit.Prabhakar was arrested by Uttaranchal police from his South Delhioffice on Monday following a non-bailable arrest warrant issued on May11 by the Magistrate in connection with a chit fund company APACEInvestment Ltd case.Police had alleged that Prabhakar, as director of the company, haddefrauded and cheated people while accepting deposits from them.

The Indian selectors have called up Subramaniam Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu batsman, to the ODI squad as replacement for Gautam Gambhir, who suffered an injury at the nets on Sunday.The board secretary, Niranjan Shah, said Gambhir slipped while batting in the nets and sustained a right groin muscle strain, which, while not serious, is expected to rule him out of action for the next two weeks. Badrinath has not been told how long he will be with the side, but only that he was replacing Gambhir. “I saw in the news that he is out for two weeks, so I presuming I will be there for the next three ODIs,” Badrinath told Cricinfo in Rajkot, where he is representing Rest of India in the Irani Trophy match. The current squad is till the next ODI, on Thursday, and a fresh side will be named for the last two games.To Badrinath the news didn’t really come as a surprise. He has been one of the most consistent batsmen on the domestic circuit for the last two seasons and especially prolific with the India A team over the last three months. He averaged 70.66 in 2005-06 when he was the second-highest run-getter in Ranji, 92 in 2006, 55.91 in 2006-07, and in the current season he has got out only twice and has scored 687 runs. His double-century against South Africa A was an effortless knock, and he also starred in the one-run win over the South Africans last week in the only unofficial ODI of the series that was completed, scoring 88 off 89 balls and taking 4 for 43. Badrinath said he has not been putting pressure on himself by thinking about the selection, despite the prolific run. “It’s tough to be expecting selection every time and you don’t make it to the team. So I’d say it has come at the right time.”Badrinath, 27, had emerged as a compact batsman – a grafter, but has expanded his repertoire of strokes with age. “I have worked really hard on my shots,” said Badrinath. “I have worked on getting stronger, so that I can play the big shots and clear the field, which is a good thing for even Tests.”There was also some speculation over Sachin Tendulkar’s fitness – he did not take the field for Australia’s innings after scoring 79 – but John Gloster, the physio, said he had a mild knee strain that would be assessed in the morning. “He has a little strain and that’s why he did not field today, ” Lalchand Rajput, the team manager, told . “It’s not serious and I guess he would be okay by tomorrow. It’s too trivial a niggle to make him doubtful for the next match.”

A bumper performance in the recently-concluded Bangladesh Premier League helped uncapped left-arm seamer Abu Hider earn his maiden call-up to a preliminary Bangladesh squad for a proposed T20 series against Zimbabwe in mid-January, February’s Asia Cup T20 in and the World T20 in March.Hider took 21 wickets from 12 matches, one short of equalling the top-wicket taker in BPL, at an average of 15.04 and economy rate of 6.91. Batsman Mosaddek Hossain, left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib and wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan are the other uncapped players in a squad of 30, who will meet for a training camp that begins on January 3.

Bangladesh’s preliminary squad

Tamim Iqbal, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Mashrafe Mortaza, Imrul Kayes, Mustafizur Rahman, Jahurul Islam, Abu Hider, Liton Das, Al-Amin Hossain, Anamul Haque, Shafiul Islam, Mossadek Hossain, Mohammad Shahid, Mohammad Mithun, Abul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Taskin Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mahmudullah, Arafat Sunny, Nasir Hossain, Saqlain Sajib, Nurul Hasan, Sohag Gazi, Shuvagata Hom

Pacemen Shafiul Islam, Mohammad Shahid, Abul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed, batsmen Mohammad Mithun and Jahurul Islam and spinner Shuvagata Hom have also been included despite not playing T20s for Bangladesh in their last assignment, against Zimbabwe in November.The chief selector Faruque Ahmed said they had to keep fast bowler Rubel Hossain out of the preliminary squad due to his calf injury and added they don’t have opening batsman Rony Talukdar and legspinner Jubair Hossain in their immediate plans.The BCB are still working on plans to have a three or five-match T20 series against Zimbabwe, ahead of the Asia Cup and World T20.

Essex’s injury-hit season continues with Andrew McGarry, who only rejoined the club this month, unlikely to bowl again this season after injuring his hand against Nottinghamshire.McGarry picked up the injury during his third over of the first innings attempting to field a straight drive from Mark Wagh. “An X-ray today has revealed a spiral displaced fracture of his fifth metacarpal of his right-hand,” said Essex physio Mark Thomas. “This will likely require surgery and Andrew will hopefully have this performed in London in the next day or two.”Earlier this week Essex lost the services of Mervyn Westfield and Maurice Chambers for the remainder of the season after they both suffered stress fractures of the back. However, Darren Thomas (shoulder), Alex Tudor and Tony Palladino (abdominal strains) and Jahid Ahmed (back) are returning to action and are expected to be available for first-team places soon.Captain Ronnie Irani, who has missed the last two matches, is waiting for a surgeon’s report on his right knee.

First Division

Yorkshire completed a comprehensive innings-and-27-run victory against Hampshire at Headingley as the visitors were bowled out for 212 in their second innings. Only Michael Brown offered any real resistance before he fell to Ajmal Shahzad for 81. Five bowlers took two wickets each, including Matthew Hoggard who finished with eight scalps in the match to push his claims for an England recall.Lancashire and Somerset played out a quiet draw at Old Trafford after the third day’s play was abandoned. Lancashire declared on their overnight 221 for 9, but there was never any serious chance of a final-day contest. Justin Langer made 76 and Ian Blackwell (58) struck his second half-century of the match. Glen Chapple collected four wickets while Brad Hodge, in his final action before heading to the IPL, grabbed two late wickets as the match drifted to a finish.Martin van Jaarsveld guided Kent to a draw against Sussex at Hove after being left a target of 337. He and James Tredwell added 93 for the second wicket to nullify the threat from Mushtaq Ahmed, who only collected a further two wickets to add to his first-innings five-wicket haul. van Jaarsveld’s unbeaten 82 came off 148 balls as he bounced back from his golden duck on the second day. Sussex’s last three wickets had fallen for eight runs in the morning session as Azhar Mahmood finished with 5 for 30, but in the end the time lost to rain proved crucial.Steve Harmison picked up two wickets in Surrey’s second innings after Durham set them a target of 270 in 53 overs at Chester-le-Street. Bad light cut into the final session although Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher were guiding Surrey to a draw. Dale Benkenstein (63) and Phil Mustard (53) added 114 as bat dominated for a rare extended period. Saqlain Mushtaq hastened Benkenstein’s declaration by claiming 6 for 50.

Second Division

A captain’s innings from Darren Maddy, who made 130, and some valuable contributions from the lower order carried Warwickshire to a thrilling two-wicket win against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Set a stiff 383 off a minimum 82 overs, Maddy built a solid platform alongside Ian Bell (62) who stroked 11 boundaries in his 74-ball innings. For the second time in the match Bell fell to Nicky Boje, but Maddy – whose century came off 141 balls – added a further 103 with Jonathan Trott. Monty Panesar then claimed his first two wickets of the match to remove both Maddy and Trott and bring Northamptonshire back into the contest. Warwickshire kept going for the target and wickets kept falling to set up the tight finish where Ian Salisbury’s nine-ball 20 lifted his new county over the winning line. It completed a significant turnaround by Warwickshire, who were struggling to avoid the follow-on during the second day until Salisbury bailed them out with an unbeaten half-century. Despite just two wickets in the match, Salisbury has already made his mark.Mark Pettini is a young captain who is still learning the ropes, but he will be regretting the decision to leave Derbyshire an attractive target of 265 from 66 overs at Derby as the home side eased home by four wickets to hand Essex their first defeat of the season. The first sight of declaration bowling, as Essex gave up 234 runs in 31 overs, set up the final afternoon. Steve Stubbings set the innings rolling with 57 off 81 balls before a mini stumble as three wickets fell for 30. Rikki Clarke played positively for his 37, but when Chris Rogers fell for 77 the match still needed closing out. Jamie Pipe (37 off 24 balls) and Graham Wagg (25 off 18) mixed calm heads with the necessary big shots to seal a surprising result.Ed Joyce spent valuable time in the middle as he made 86 while Middlesex batted out the final day for a tame draw against Glamorgan at Lord’s in a match also effected by the weather. So early in the season it was unlikely the captains would make a game of it, so there was a sedate feel to proceedings throughout. Andrew Strauss was caught down the leg side for 49 one ball after being dropped. Joyce batted nicely until he was given out off former team-mate Jamie Dalrymple and he was clearly unhappy as he made his way slowly off the ground. David Nash (63 not out) picked off some easy runs against the spinners during the final session.The game at New Road between Worcestershire and Leicestershire also ended in stalemate. Worcestershire left a notional target of 282 in 37 overs and the game was called off after 18 overs of the chase. However, the most important aspect was that this was a return of cricket to Worcester after last year’s floods. In that sense it was apt that rain played a significant part in the game.