Sports journalists are always told to avoid words like “tragedy” and “disaster”. In the wider world, or the real world as it is sometimes called, such words are reserved for plague, pestilence and allied trades. Even so, it is hard to find suitable alternatives to describe the bowling performance of Leicestershire’s Scott Boswell.His name could have been borrowed from a jazz musician (Scott Boswell and his Swingers) but his repertoire in the two overs he bowled was confined to the score of Land of Hope and Glory. “Wider still yet wider” came to mind as the poor chap suffered one of those nerve-numbing moments that this game is all too likely to evoke.His first over was pretty poor. There were a couple of wides and some searing shots. His second, and last, was unimaginably poor. As he struggled to bowl a legal second ball in the over, it seemed that it might never end. The Laws of Cricket are reasonably comprehensive, but do they accommodate a bowler who simply cannot bowl a legal delivery? In theory, it could have gone on until it got dark, but after eight wides and, therefore, 14 deliveries in total, it mercifully came to an end. So, too, did Boswell’s involvement as a bowler in the match.Unfortunately for Boswell, it was not to be the end of his involvement as a whole. While he contemplated his fate at third man, the ball was run down to within a few yards of him. He moved to his right, dived, but thudded into the turf rather than sliding across it and the ball evaded his outstretched hand, A sod was dislodged from the outfield which, had it been only slightly larger, could have concealed him entirely. He would have no doubt settled for that, while the words “outfield”, “sod” and “dislodged” were no doubt running through his captain’s mind, though not necessarily in that order.Meanwhile, the Somerset innings evolved. Confident enough to bat first despite the warnings of history in this fixture, they were 107 for 1 in the 26th over. Shahid Afridi had been widely touted as a potential man-of-the-match for his explosive batting skills. Instead, it was his leg-breaks that very nearly destroyed the innings. Bowler, Blackwell and Cox were all bowled in the space of six overs while a mere 25 were added, and when Vince Wells had the dangerous Michael Burns well held by Darren Maddy on the mid-wicket boundary, Somerset were 176 for 5 with only 18 overs remaining.But how those overs were utilised by Keith Parsons and Rob Turner. They began with the judicious accumulation of singles and ended with Parsons depositing the last two balls of the innings into the crowd in front of the tavern for a priceless dozen runs.So much now depended on Afridi. At his best he might have had Leicestershire collecting the trophy, celebrating and still getting a way up the M1 before it was dark. He had scored all the 20 runs on the board in the fourth over, which had included three boundaries, when he swung once more, the ball rose skywards and descended into the gloves of wicket-keeper Turner.Trevor Ward did his best to fill Afridi’s boots, sprinkling his 54 with ten boundaries before Parsons bowled him, and Wells followed with 111 on the board. Where was that noted West Country upholder of susperstition, David Shepherd, when he was needed? With Ben Smith and Darren Maddy following, the fifth wicket fell in the 32nd over, but Leicestershire’s position was 20 runs poorer than Somerset’s. Before that deficit had been erased, another wicket had fallen, and then it was downhill with the wind behind and a brick in the front for Somerset. There was a brief flurry before the last man was out for two. It had to be Boswell who was out to complete a miserable day for him and his side.During the Ashes series, the spirit of Botham in 1981 was invoked many a time. At Lord’s, the ghost of the Botham, Garner, Richards era was laid as Somerset took their first title since the predecessor of this competition was won in 1983.

HARARE, Oct 1: England cruised to a 138-run win over Zimbabwe ‘A’ intheir opening tour match at the Alexandra Sports Club Monday, thankslargely to an innings of 95 by Graham Thorpe.The Surrey left-hander, who only joined the tour as a late replacementfor the injured Craig White, was in excellent form. His runs came off120 balls and included eight boundaries and some quick running, whichshifted the momentum away from the hosts.England captain Nasser Hussain won the toss and elected to bat, adecision vindicated when his side scored 262 for eight in theirallotted 50 overs. Zimbabwe ‘A’ could only muster 124 runs in reply.While the result appeared convincing, England were reeling at 61 forfive after 16 overs in the morning. But a 158-run sixth-wicket standbetween Thorpe and Ben Hollioake enabled the tourists to compile atotal that was always going to be out of reach for the hosts.The two rotated the strike well, never allowing the Zimbabwean bowlersto drive their advantage home in a stand occupying 29 overs. Hollioakescored a valuable 61, which came off 77 balls and,uncharacteristically, only included two fours. His innings came to anend when he mistimed a pull off right-arm seamer Sean Ervine and wascaught at mid-wicket by Douglas Hondo.Thorpe perished at a time when he was increasing the pace of theEngland innings. He was caught in the deep by Stuey Matsikenyire offErvine, but by then he had done enough ensure his side were well setfor victory.Earlier, England lost opener Marcus Trescothick in the first over,bowled for four by right-arm medium Pommie Mbangwa.Nick Knight scored 22 and Hussain 16 in a 39-run second wicketpartnership. Their wickets were followed quickly by those of MarkRamprakash (2) and Andrew Flintoff (1).Later, debutant Jeremy Snape added a rapid unbeaten 27 from 19 balls,which included two fours and a six, as England scored 82 runs in thefinal 10 overs.Ervine was the best of the home side’s bowlers, taking three for 53 inhis 10 overs.Zimbabwe ‘A’ never maintained the required 5.26 run rate in theirchase, losing wickets at regular intervals.Only captain Gavin Rennie (28) and Barney Rogers (30) offered anyresistance, but even their contributions were meagre.Snape made an impressive debut with the ball as well, taking two ineight overs.England play Zimbabwe in the first of five One-day Internationals atthe Harare Sports Club Wednesday, going into the series on the back of11 consecutive defeats in One-day Internationals.

Chris Cairns unleashed one of his cyclonic knocks today to lift the chins of a New Zealand touring squad which still believes it can knock over Steve Waugh’s Australians next week.Cairns hammered an unbeaten 119 in 81 balls in a drawn match against the Queensland Academy of Sport, proving he is ready to dish out similar punishment to an Australian team he tortured in New Zealand last year.Craig McMillan also warmed up for the first Test on Thursday week with an unbeaten 116 at Allan Border Field, as New Zealand reached 8-498 in its first innings in reply to the Academy’s 6-477 declared.Cairns was outstanding, blasting seven sixes in his 67-ball century, but the batting hasn’t been a problem since the New Zealanders arrived two weeks ago.The bowling is causing pain, and the Black Caps have just one match to get it right.So far, the visitors have been thrashed by batsmen who don’t play regular state cricket, leaving a huge doubt over whether they can dismiss Australia twice in five days.The QAS treated them like net bowlers yesterday and the ACT Invitation XI were hardly bothered by them last weekend, knocking up a combined score of 12-955.The Black Caps have been unable to maintain pressure without topline spinner Daniel Vettori, whose injury left a huge hole in the bowling attack, but captainStephen Fleming was positive heading into Thursday’s opening first-class match against Queensland.”It would be wrong to say we weren’t concerned with yesterday’s performance but we have to keep it in perspective,” Fleming said.”We would have liked to bowl sides out and we haven’t made inroads into any side and as long as that continues it develops anxieties but you just push on.”But we are a lot further down the track than the results would suggest.”Chris Cairns won’t bowl like that again because he is too good a player and it’s great to have Dion Nash back. I’m very satisfied with where he’s at.”Cairns and Nash are the key hopes for the Black Caps and both are returning from injury breaks.Cairns conceded 25 boundaries from his 25 overs yesterday while Nash showed promise, escaping significant punishment from the bats of Lee Carseldine (200 not out from 188 balls) and Jerry Cassell (163).But paceman Daryl Tuffey didn’t help with an erratic performance and the spinners were in danger of hurting their necks as they watched their deliveries dispatched across the ground.Paul Wiseman went for 36 runs from six overs and Glen Sulzberger, whose name read G.S.Berger on the scoreboard, almost had to go to the nearby McDonald’soutlet to retrieve a six during his four overs for 43 runs.”We’re under no illusions about what we need to do,” Fleming said.”It was a big hammer blow when Dan went down but we can’t do much about that.The Black Caps had a much better day at Border Field today, with young batsman Lou Vincent (136) joining the list of century-makers.His careful knock was almost buried beneath the Cairns-McMillan avalanche but it gave tour selectors another player to consider for the three Test series.

*Yuvraj Singh gives Punjab an upper handA century from skipper Yuvraj Singh saw Punjab take the upper hand intheir Ranji Trophy league match against Haryana at Gurgaon.Haryana, winning the toss, could not take full advantage of it, beingbowled out for 204 in their first innings. Only Jitender Singh came toterms with the wicket and the bowling, making 89 off 244 balls andforming the anchor for Haryana. He finally fell as the last wicket,unable to extend his side’s total due to lack of support.Punjab, in their own batting effort, lost their openers early. YuvrajSingh and Ankur Kakkar put on 140 runs for the fourth wicket, however,stabilising the innings. Yuvraj, making his runs faster, got to hiscentury first and then fell with the score on 191.At the close of play on Day Two, Punjab were 258/7, with Kakkar stillat the crease on 81. For Haryana, Sumit Narwal took 5-69.*Tamil Nadu proceed to take upper handA steady rather than excellent batting display from Tamil Nadu’s toporder saw the home side gain a slight edge over Goa in their RanjiTrophy league match at Chennai on Sunday.Managing to bowl Goa out for 238, Tamil Nadu had a definite upperhand. MR Shrinivas took 5-57, playing a vital role in the collapse ofthe visitors’ batting line-up.Sadagopan Ramesh, opening the Tamil Nadu innings, must have beenhoping to impress the selectors with a sterling display and regain hisposition in the Indian team. He managed, however, to make only 35 off94 deliveries. His partner, Somasetty Suresh, made 65 off 130 balls,top-scoring in his side’s innings.Suresh fell with the score on 114, and Hemang Badani and Hemanth Kumarfell relatively cheaply. S Sharath and skipper Robin Singh thenstabilised the innings, taking Tamil Nadu’s total to 187/4 by theclose of play.*Andhra take the lead on Day TwoDespite a five-wicket haul by Kerala left-arm spinner Mani SureshKumar, Andhra Pradesh took the first-innings lead in their RanjiTrophy league match at Cochin on Sunday.Y Venugopal Rao, coming in at the fall of captain MSK Prasad, added 70runs for the fourth wicket with Illa Srinivas (22). No partnershiplasted quite so long after the fall of Srinivas with the score on 133,although Venugopal Rao plodded along slowly making 76 off 220 balls.Once Venugopal Rao fell with the score on 180, Kerala must havesniffed a chance of bowling their rivals out. The lower order,however, defied the bowlers, with Hemal Watekar (24) and KhatibSahabuddin (27*) taking their side past the 200-run mark.At stumps, Andhra Pradesh were 234/8, with Sahabuddin and MohammedFaiq (6*) at the crease.*Uttar Pradesh wins at KanpurUttar Pradesh notched up a 155-run victory over Vidarbha on Day Fourof their Ranji Trophy league match at Kanpur on Sunday.Powered by a solid middle-order performance, Uttar Pradesh declared ata second-innings total of 329/9. Mohammad Saif and Nikhil Chopra,unbeaten overnight, made 48 and 47 respectively, keeping Pritam Gandhe(4-78) out long enough to propel their side to a sizeable total.Set a target of 293, Vidarbha could not even hold on for a draw, letalone make a significant dash for victory. With Harshal Shitoot’s 28being the top score, Vidarbha’s batting line-up crumbled in the faceof accurate bowling from Uttar Pradesh. The star of the bowling atackwas undoubtedly Mohammad Kaif, who returned stunning figures of10.5-7-4-3.With Vidarbha being bowled out for 137, Uttar Pradesh notched up eightpoints from this victory.*Madhya Pradesh hold on for exciting drawWith only one wicket remaining, Madhya Pradesh batsmen pulled off anexciting draw against Railways in their Ranji Trophy league match atIndore on Sunday.Railways, declaring at 291/7, reached its second-innings total due tosome fine batting from its top three batsmen. Jai P Yadav (92), AmitPagnis (70) and Yere Goud (50) all scored fifties, with Goud remainingunbeaten till the end of the innings. A brief middle-order collapsewas brushed aside as S Raza Ali also contributed lower down the orderwith 40 off 51 balls.Set a target of 514, Madhya Pradesh had no option but to play for adraw. This too looked doubtful as wickets collapsed in a heap at thetop of the order. KS Parida, the first-innings hero, took three morewickets here, but skipper Sulakshan Kulkarni batted bravely (30*) withthe tail to ensure a draw for his side.Railways, by virtue of their first-innings total, pick up five pointsfrom this tie, while Madhya Pradesh pick up three.*Mumbai pull off comprehensive winA second-innings collapse from Maharashtra saw Mumbai pull off aseven-wicket victory in their Ranji Trophy league match at Mumbai onSunday.Reaching a first-innings total of 250 thanks mainly to some late-orderheroics, Mumbai must have felt that they did not have nearly enoughruns in the bank. Iqbal Siddiqui was the most impressive Maharashtrabowler, returning figures of 7-91.Ramesh Powar, however, returned his own impressive figures for Mumbai,taking 6-30 off 19.5 overs. The Maharashtra innings collapseddramatically; with only the openers getting to double figures, theside was dismissed for 98.Set a target of 65 for victory, Mumbai brushed off minor hiccups tonotch up a seven-wicket victory. They now garner eight points fromthis match, their first of the Ranji season.*Gujarat manage tight victoryA six-wicket haul from Lalit Patel saw Gujarat notch up a tight ninerun win over Ranji champions Baroda in their Ranji Trophy league matchat Vadodara on Sunday.Set a total of 237 for victory, Baroda looked to be coasting towardsit during an 80-run stand between Tushar Arothe (47) and Ajit Bhoite(42). The former, in particular, played aggressively, making his runsoff 69 deliveries.Arothe’s fall at 209, as the sixth wicket, triggered off acollapse.The last four wickets fell for only 18 runs, as none of thetailenders could even slog their way to victory. Gujarat, by virtue oftheir outright win, pick up eight points from this match.*Amit Bhandari gives Delhi the edgeFigures of 6-55 saw Amit Bhandari rip through the Jammu & Kashmirline-up to give Delhi the edge in their Ranji Trophy league match atDelhi.Delhi, batting after being put in by the visitors, scored 286 in theirfirst innings. Akash Chopra, opening the innings, top-scored with 71,but the innings total was really boosted by Sarandeep Singh’s inningsof 54 off 62 coming in at No. 11. Vijay Sharma, for Jammu & Kashmir,picked 5-91.The visitors started their innings badly, losing the openers with just13 on the board. Aside from Kavaljit Singh, who made 56 and was theeighth wicket to fall, none of the players looked comfortable againstthe Delhi attack. Bhandari knocked off the top order and then returnedto play an encore against the tail.In their second innings, Delhi were 46/1 at the close of play on DayTwo, with Chopra and Pradeep Chawla at the crease.*Services, Himachal Pradesh battle it out at UnaHimachal Pradesh negated in part the advantage that Services gained byvirtue of their sizeable first-innings total in their Ranji Trophyleague match at Una.Services, winning the toss, made 329 in their first innings, withJasvir Singh top-scoring with 81 off 238 balls. He received goodsupport from Sanjay Verma (73), and their partnership formed the spineof the total. For Himachal Pradesh, Shakti Singh picked four for 67.Himachal Pradesh, responding to Services’ total, lost an opener early.Sandeep Sharma and Rajiv Nayyar put on 101 runs for the second wicketbefore the former fell with the score on 119, having made 80.At the close of play, Himachal Pradesh were 142/2, with Nayyar (50*)and Sangram Singh (3*) at the crease.

It was good, and after recent disasters rather a relief, to see Zimbabwe able to take all three one-day internationals against Bangladesh without being unduly stretched. Our team finished the tour with an unbeaten record, and would almost certainly have won all matches were it not for the rain that wiped out the last two days of the First Test.It was great to see the successes of Dion Ebrahim and Craig Wishart, whose batting dominated the tour. Andy Flower perhaps does not find Bangladesh enough of a challenge, although as a true professional he would never take such a match casually.Ebrahim, not a natural opening batsman, did not do too well in the Tests, but won the Man of the Series award in the one-day internationals. He is one of the most likeable and positive players around and everybody who knows him will be happy for him. He still has to come to terms with his difficult job in Test matches, but hopefully has gained in confidence from his successes in the one-day series and will go from strength to strength.Wishart has had a raw deal over the years from selectors, who were unwilling to give him the extended run in the side that Ebrahim has had. Now he has enjoyed success in both the Tests and the one-day matches, scoring a total of 360 international runs on tour for three dismissals; he did not fail once. He is very much a player who needs confidence, and needs to have confidence shown in him. Hopefully he has turned the corner and will now be a regular member of the team for years to come.But now Ebrahim and Wishart, and the team as a whole, go from one end of the scale to the other. Sri Lanka has been the hardest venue of all for Zimbabwe overseas. We have lost every single international match we have played on the island: four Tests and seven one-day internationals.Actually, we should have won the last Test we played there, at Colombo four years ago. Zimbabwe had Sri Lanka at 137 for five, chasing 326 to win and the last two recognized batsmen together. At this stage the two umpires stopped functioning, and in an appalling travesty of justice refused to give out the two remaining batsmen, Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga, to a number of justified appeals, especially early in their innings, and they took their team through to what the record books would appear to indicate was a truly great Test victory.In fact, it was a truly great travesty of justice. Should any doubt this, I can only say that Dave Houghton has the evidence on videotape, and a neutral reporter, Geoffrey Dean, then of the Daily Telegraph, said as much in his match reports. Zimbabwe should have won, and the discredited Sri Lankan victory set back Zimbabwe cricket very seriously; in fact, it may well be that the team would be playing better today had they won. That is not overstating the case; victories, especially overseas, are so rare for Zimbabwe that to have won this match would have been a major breakthrough.Undoubtedly four of the Zimbabwean players in Sri Lanka right now will have bitter memories of this match: the Flower brothers, Wishart and Heath Streak all played, and in fact it was a magnificent century by Andy Flower and superb seam bowling by Streak that would have won the match for Zimbabwe, given a fair deal from the umpires. They will be especially hungry for revenge, and let us hope this does not spill over into unpleasantness on the field.Last time Sri Lanka toured Zimbabwe, they ran out Murray Goodwin as he moved out of his crease to look at the pitch, so Zimbabwe do not hold Sri Lankan sportsmanship in high regard. That is unfortunate, as Sri Lankans are the friendliest of people off the field, but the cynical world of Test cricket seems to have affected the way they play and support the game. There have been strong suggestions that the reason why the umpires refused to give decisions against de Silva and Ranatunga in Zimbabwe’s last Test there was that there had been such an outcry over a bad decision against a home batsman earlier in the match that they were afraid of suffering violence were they suspected of contributing to a Sri Lankan defeat.So let us hope for a good series between the two sides for a change. We cannot realistically hope for such a turnabout as to allow Zimbabwe to win a series there, but just one win on tour would be a great boost. Obviously Muttiah Muralitharan will be at the centre of attention, probably the greatest spin bowler in the world on current form, and on his home pitches that will be a great challenge. Zimbabwe’s confidence drawn from victories in Bangladesh will be put to a tough test.INDIA v THE ICCThe cricket world this week stands on the brink of disaster, as a result of the refusal of the Indian Board to accept the rulings of match referee Mike Denness, backed by the ICC.Last week I suggested these rulings might have been better handled, but I feel strongly the Indians should have played out the final Test against South Africa in accordance with the ICC regulations, though under protest. India were a party to the regulations involving match referees, and if they are allowed to get away with breaking them, only chaos can result.The villain of the piece appears to be Jagmohan Dalmiya, former ICC chairman and now in charge of own country’s board. His refusal to fall in line with the ICC rulings is a case of putting his own agenda ahead of the good of the game as a whole. Whether it is deserved or not, he has already acquired a reputation in some quarters, even among some in his own country, of being arrogant and intransigent. This current affair seems to fit in completely with those accusations.Even if we accept that Mr Dalmiya is justified in all that he believes about the Denness affair, I cannot see anything but harm coming to the game, both in India and elsewhere, should he continue to oppose the rulings of the ICC, however unjustified some may think them to be. ICC simply cannot afford to back down, or that would be opening the floodgates of anarchy. If they cannot make rulings that must be obeyed, nobody can.We could easily have a situation now whereby England pull out of their tour and are awarded the series by default, and what will happen to India then? If the other Test-playing countries will back the ICC, as they must if we are to avoid anarchy in the cricket world, then India will be isolated. If some decide to support India, then we have a split in the game. Either would be a catastrophe, with the latter the worse of the two options. India is a great cricketing country and we cannot afford to lose them, but their president is putting the cricket world in an impossible situation.For the good of cricket, Dalmiya must back down. If he doesn’t, the game will inevitably suffer. If the ICC were to back down, the game worldwide would suffer because there would no longer be anybody able to run it. The next few days will show how much this man really has the good of cricket at heart. However much he believes he is right, he must back down or reach a workable compromise, or he will do possibly irreparable harm to the game he is supposed to serve.THIS ISSUEBesides the usual reports in this issue, we include updates of Zimbabwe’s records in Test and one-day cricket. On the historical side, we have completed our survey of the matches played by this country, then Rhodesia, in the South African Currie Cup competition of 1971/72. This was a season of hope for the country, as the great all-rounder Mike Procter took over as captain and almost took the team through to win the Currie Cup itself.It was Ray Gripper’s last season in first-class cricket, it saw the debut of a very exciting opening batsman in Brian Barbour, and the graceful left-hander Stuart Robertson enjoyed his best season for the country. The legendary left-arm spinner Richie Kaschula also played his first season in the A Section competition.

Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar pulled out of next month’sBangladesh tour after being diagnosed with a stress fracturein his left hand.The left-hander has been ruled out from competitive cricketfor three months which practically ends his hopes of facingthe West Indies who are due here on Jan 26 for three Testsand as many one-day internationals.Pakistan leave for Bangladesh on Jan 2 for two Tests andthree one-day internationals.The fracture was revealed in a bone scan Tuesday. The 33-year-old batsman had suffered the injury during October’sSharjah Cup. On the basis of MRI tests and advice of a Dubaispecialist, Saeed rested for six weeks before resuming hiscricket this month. However, the injury aggravated whichforced him to undergo bone scan.The PCB has not named his replacement though a place hasbecome vacant which deserves to go to Shahid Afridi whopicked up five wickets in his debut Test and followed upwith a match winning century against India at Chennai in1999.Shahid, however, has been named as three replacements forthe one-day series which follow the two Tests at Dhaka andChittagong.Saeed, a reborn Muslim, has recently struggled to maintaintop class fitness. Earlier this year, he returned from NewZealand after the one-dayers while he also missed the entiretour to the West Indies last year.Prior to that, he missed most of his cricket due toundiagnosed stomach disease.

A century from opener Amit Pagnis saw Railways run up a healthy 291for five at the end of the first day of their match against Delhi atthe Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi on Wednesday.Raliways lost opener JP Yadav early after their skipper had opted tobat in the morning. But Pagnis and TP Singh then got together, puttingon 143 runs for the second wicket. The departure of Singh, who made anaggressive 84, proved a temporary setback. Yere Goud though proved anable replacement. Pagnis duly completed his hundred making 132 off 213balls with 21 fours and a six before falling to part-timer MithunManhas. Goud followed soon after being dismissed after a patient 34.When stumps were drawn, skipperAbhay Sharma and Murali Kartik wereholding fort.

Another quiet week in Zimbabwe cricket, except at Mutare, where Nigel Fleming reports on a serious incident that requires strength and direction from the administrators. Our national players prepare to go to India, without actually knowing who will be in the team.Besides our main contributions on club news and provincial cricket, we include the promised interview with Guy Whittall on the Board XI’s matches against Easterns in South Africa. Guy also includes his views on the state of Zimbabwe cricket at present.The Board XI were due to play Border B at Harare South this weekend, but the Border administrators instead requested that the match be played on their ground, so there will be no live report on that match. We hope it will be possible to get a player’s views on those games for our next issue.

The long awaited suspense over announcement of Pakistan squad for next year’s World Cup in southern Africa will end on Tuesday afternoon when the national selectors unfold the 15-man party in Lahore.Chairman of national selection committee Wasim Bari was scheduled to arrive in Lahore on Monday evening to discuss the finalization of the squad with fellow selectors Shafiq Ahmed and Abdur Raqeeb.The squad will be approved by chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Lt Gen Tauqir Zia at the board’s council meeting on Tuesday morning before it is made public at a press briefing later in the day.The task in front of Bari and company is definitely tricky, although most of the squad, who were on duty during the recent one-day series in Zimbabwe and South Africa, pick themselves. But in this country where everything is possible, a few surprises in the final list cannot be ruled out.After the calamities in the Morocco Cup, the tri-series in Nairobi, the ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo and the 4-1 thrashing against Shaun Pollock’s Proteas, the PCB has already come under a barrage of criticism.The selectors must keep in mind that the time for whatever experimentations is over and they must ensure the best available team is picked for cricket’s most prized trophy. They are left with no alternative but to include a few players who were not considered for selection despite having strong claims.Saeed Anwar, barring a last minute change of mind by the selectors, is almost certain to be recalled for the mega event after being constantly overlooked since the ICC event in September.The left-handed opening batsman, a veteran of 242 One-day Internationals, was sorely missed in South Africa where his experience would have surely come in handy at the top of the order where time and again Pakistani openers failed to deliver.Another ex-captain who is hotly tipped to make a comeback is Moin Khan. According to well-placed sources, Moin, who was dumped after leading Pakistan in New Zealand 20 months ago, is being considered as reserve batsman and the second wicket-keeper behind Rashid Latif.Moin’s inclusion with 2853 runs in 190 one-dayers is likely to face strong resistance from Waqar Younis because the Pakistan skipper does not feel comfortable with yet another ex-captain coming under his wings with Wasim Akram, Saeed and Rashid already in the squad.Azhar Mahmood is certain to miss out because Surrey physio Dale Naylor, has intimated to the PCB that the all-rounder is making a slow recovery from an old shoulder injury that flared up on Zimbabwe tour last month and is unlikely to be fit on time.Shoaib Akhtar, meanwhile, finally arrived back in Lahore on Monday from Durban after his latest ‘disappearing act’ and is expected to appear tomorrowbefore the PCB panel of doctors who will assess whether the injury-prone speedster has recovered from reportedly sore knees.Shoaib was supposed to return on Dec 21 along with Wasim and Rashid after the conclusion of the one-day rubber in South Africa. Tauqir, must have heaved a sigh of relief to have his favourite player back. Any disciplinary action against Shoaib is unlikely because he is supposed to be the key to Pakistan’s remote hopes of repeating their World Cup triumph of 1992.This time the selectors must get the balance right otherwise another disappointing campaign is on the cards for Pakistan.On another front, the PCB is keeping its options open as regards to naming a new manager to replace Brig Khawaja Nasir, who reportedly twice clashed with Waqar during the Zimbabwe tour.However, in some quarters it is believed that either ex-Test off-spinner Hasib Ahsan or Salim Swaleh, a Karachi-based businessman, are the front-runners to take over from Nasir.Likely World Cup squad: Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Saeed Anwar, Salim Elahi, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Sami, Moin Khan and Faisal Iqbal

MELBOURNE, Jan 20 AAP – Australia could regain leg-spinner Shane Warne for Thursday’s first one-day cricket final against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).Warne reported he pulled up well from bowling for Victoria in yesterday’s match against Tasmania.National team physiotherapist Errol Alcott will examine Warne’s right bowling shoulder tomorrow.Alcott said provided there were no unexpected problems, he could clear Warne for national selection.”I’ve seen Shane today and he says his shoulder is excellent, he says he `fizzed’ a couple (of deliveries) yesterday and he’s very happy,” Alcott said.”I will `put him on the hoist’ tomorrow and examine him….he could be available as early as this week.”It (Warne’s rehabilitation) has gone as well as anticipated – I’m just happy he’s come along.”Warne dislocated the shoulder on December 15 in a fielding accident during a one-dayer against England at the MCG.He had exploratory surgery the following day, which revealed no secondary damage to the joint, and Warne made his cricket comeback 10 days ago in a one-dayer pitting his team Victoria against Western Australia at the same ground.His return, providing there are no setbacks, will be a massive boost to Australia’s World Cup chances.Alcott added Jason Gillespie, out with an elbow injury, had been “pencilled in” to play for South Australia in its January 26 one-dayer against Tasmania.Gillespie continued his rehabilitation here today with the national team, which will play Sri Lanka at the MCG tomorrow night in the last of the preliminary matches of the tri series.Alcott will also reassess paceman Glenn McGrath (back) on Wednesday when the Australians go to Sydney to prepare for the best-of-three finals against England.But fellow paceman Andy Bichel is in doubt for tomorrow’s dead rubber with a shoulder injury.The weekend’s results in Adelaide ensured England would play Australia in the finals regardless of tomorrow’s result.Australia denied deliberately batting slowly in yesterday’s win over England to ensure it would not play Sri Lanka in the finals.Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya said he could not criticise Australia after his team lost to England on Friday night.”If we won the other night, it’s a different story,” Jayasuriya said.”We lost the other night, we can’t blame anybody.”A Sri Lankan team spokesman said a squad would be picked later tonight, but Muttiah Muralitharan (thigh) would not be available.Australia will regain captain Ricky Ponting and opener Matthew Hayden, who were rested at the weekend.AUSTRALIA (from): Ponting (capt), Michael Bevan, Andy Bichel, Nathan Bracken, Adam Gilchrist, Hayden, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Brad Williams.SRI LANKA (from): Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Russel Arnold, Marvan Atapattu, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Aravinda de Silva, Buddhika Fernando, Dilhara Fernando, Chamila Gamage, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas.