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England received an eve-of-Test boost with the appearance of Kevin Pietersen at their practice session on Wednesday. He had been confined to his hotel room yesterday with a high temperature and was put on antibiotics.”He’s alright,” said England’s captain, Michael Vaughan. “He had a net but didn’t take part in the run-around fielding drill, but he’ll be fine to go into tomorrow’s game.”It was just a virus,” said Vaughan. “It was slightly worrying yesterday but the doctor said so long as he got his tablets down he’d be okay. Obviously it’s better for seeing him here having a bat, and a big relief for the team because he’s such a big player.”Pietersen is England’s second-highest run scorer in the series with 203 runs at an average of 50.75. He won the Man-of-the-Match award for his 134 in the second innings at Lord’s which gave England the upper hand in a drawn Test. At Trent Bridge, Pietersen was the fielder at whom Zaheer Khan waved his bat angrily during the jelly bean controversy. He was dismissed lbw by RP Singh for 13 in the first innings and 19 in the second, a short while after he evaded a head-high beamer from Sreesanth.In Pietersen’s absence, England’s penultimate practice session involved just 10 players, because the reserve seamer, Stuart Broad, had been released to play for Leicestershire in a Pro40 match at Derby. No reserve was summoned to cover for Pietersen.

Bangladesh have announced their squad for the Under-19s World Cup in February, adding batsman Amit Majumder to the squad which completed a tour of South Africa this month.Bangladesh U-19s returned from South Africa where they drew the two-Test series 0-0. They qualified for the final for the tri-nation tournament that followed, including South Africa U-19s and India U-19s, but lost to India by 137 runs.Bangladesh U-19s will host Nepal U-19s, who arrive on January 22, for a week-long tour in the lead-up to the World Cup. All three one-day matches will be played in Khulna. The West Indies U-19s will visit after Nepal for four one-day matches, three of which will be held at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium (SCS) in Bogra and the other at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium.The World Cup begins on February 17 in Malaysia with the final on March 2 at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur.Squad: Suhrawadi Shuvo (captain), Dolar Mahmud, Marshall Ayub, Subashis Roy, Rubel Hossain, Golam Kibria, Rony Talukder, Mahmudul Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Shakil, Nadimuddin, Mithun Ali, Saikat Ali, Amit Majumder, Ashiqul Islam

Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, has said that it is important to be No. 1 in the one-day rankings after blanking Bangladesh but added that what his team really wants is to beat India in the three-Test series starting in Chennai on March 26.”We have achieved one of the goals we had set out for the team. And being No. 1 is absolutely great. But it will be better still if we are No. 1 next year too because that would mean we would have beaten Australia in two series,” Arthur told Cricinfo.”We will go all out to win the series in India,” Arthur said. “The Bangladesh win has set us up nicely for the India series. Frankly, we always saw this (Bangladesh) tour as pre-India tour preparation where we got our game and gameplans right for the big one. It’s going to be a fantastic Test series simply because India is a huge team to beat in their own country, and we are not prepared to be just another ordinary rival.”Arthur also spoke of setting high standards for the team, which he admitted will be tested in India. “Not many teams go to India and win, so that’s one of our main goals for the year.”Arthur also said that he has appealed to fast bowler Andre Nel, who was replaced for the India tour by Charl Langeveldt under Cricket South Africa’s transformation policy, to play on for the country. “We have spent a lot of time with him because we believe strongly that he is a vital cog as we go forward, especially against England and Australia who are on our calendar this year. So I hope he decides to stay on with South Africa. But ultimately, it’s his decision because only he knows what’s best for himself.”Nel is believed to be in talks with the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL) after being dropped in tune with a CSA selection policy that mandates at least six players of colour in a 14-man squad.South Africa swept the two-Test series against Bangladesh and wrapped up the one-day series 3-0 with a seven-wicket win in Mirpur on Friday. The team will leave Bangladesh on Saturday and is scheduled to fly out from Johannesburg for Chennai on March 21.

Ian Harvey (73*) and Brad Hodge (63*) have led an excellent fightback to rescue Victoria late on day three of the Pura Cup match against Queensland at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane. The pair’s unbroken stand of 133 for the fifth wicket has carried the visitors to a second innings score of 4/216 by stumps, a tally which affords them an overall lead of 118 runs.The memory of Victoria’s disastrous late collapse in its first innings, though, will continue to fire the Bulls’ prospects of claiming outright points at some time tomorrow. Queensland captain Stuart Law admitted as much after play when he indicated that his team unarguably still holds the whip hand in the contest.”They’ve got their backs to the wall and it’s up to them now if they want to salvage something,” he said. “I’m confident of winning.”Before Harvey and Hodge had come together, Queensland’s charge toward outright victory had been ignited by rugged paceman Joe Dawes (4/64). Dawes snared all four of Victoria’s second innings wickets when he spectacularly removed Jason Arnberger (20), Shawn Craig (35), Matthew Mott (19) and Michael Klinger (2) in quick succession in mid-afternoon. Showing all the hunger and passion that might be expected from a player who has been twelfth man for his state almost as many times as he has played, he claimed 4/38 in the space of ten overs at one stage, and also had Craig dropped by Law at second slip.Earlier in the day, Queensland’s first innings had ended at a total of 347. Around a fine spell from Michael Lewis (4/74), the Bulls owed their progression to their ninety-eight run lead largely to the efforts of Wade Seccombe (35), Adam Dale (25) and Andy Bichel (21). Colin Miller (1/93) also bowled well, albeit without producing particularly flattering figures, as he continued to press his claims for Test selection later this month.

Frizzell County Championship Division One

Surrey 245 for 3 v Kent at The Oval
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Report to follow at the close of play.Essex 6 for 2 v Lancashire 218 at Chelmsford
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Report to follow at the close of play.Leicestershire 72 for 1 v Warwickshire 253 at Leicester
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Report to follow at the close of play.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDerbyshire v Yorkshire 314 for 7 at Derby
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Report to follow at the close of play.Northamptonshire 20 for 3 v Hampshire 125 at Northampton
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Report to follow at the close of play.Somerset 100 for 2 v Gloucestershire 228 at Taunton
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Report to follow at the close of play.Worcestershire 218 v Durham 100 for 8 at Worcester
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Report to follow at the close of play.

Kaushal Lokuarachchi has been suspended from all forms of cricket pending a disciplinary inquiry, following his involvement in a car crash that killed a woman and injured her son, in the district of Gampaha in the early hours of Saturday morning. If found guilty of bringing the national team into disrepute, he could be banned from playing for Sri Lanka for as long as three years.Lokuarachchi, a newcomer to the Sri Lankan team, was at the wheel of a car borrowed from another player – without a valid driving licence – and was returning home from a late-night party when the accident occurred. Since being arrested, Lokuarachchi has been released on a bail of 57,500 Sri Lankan Rupees (approximately US$ 580).According to the police, Lokuarachchi had suffered only minor injuries thanks to the activation of an airbag in the car. He was not believed to have been under the influence of alcohol.

Brad Williams, who watched his first Boxing Day Test at the MCG while still a kid, admitted that he had goosebumps as he walked off the field to sustained applause after having scalped four Indian batsmen for 53 on what may turn out to be the pivotal day of this engrossing Test series.”I was about nine, and what I remember is that there were a lot of people. I couldn’t even tell you which game it was … I was about 15 when I thought I had a little bit of ability, but to come and do well here is a dream come true,” said Williams, who left Victoria and the MCG for Western Australia in 1999, in search of better opportunities.Williams was a surprise pick ahead of Andy Bichel for this game and he confessed that he hadn’t been sure where he stood with the team management in the lead-up to the game. “Bichel bowled really well at Adelaide, and Nathan Bracken’s been in good form of late. So it was just fingers crossed.” Asked if the uncertainty had affected him, he said, “Not really. You’re prepared to play no matter what. Anything can happen … someone can get injured during the warm-up … “He said Australia had reaped the rewards after containing the Indian batsmen for the opening two sessions. “At the start of the day, we wanted to maintain the pressure. They got away a little bit after tea, but we were able to pull it back.”He was candid in his assessment of Rahul Dravid’s batting, saying, “He’s a very patient player. If you over attack him, he’ll hit the bad ball for four. Mentally, he’s very switched on. He’s made a lot of runs in this series, and maybe we need to come up with a new plan for him.”Williams said that the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar was “always a good one to get, since he’s one of the world’s best batsmen”. Asked whether the delivery slightly wide of off stump had been part of a plan, he laughed and said, “It was my plan, I’m not sure if it was in the team plan. I just tried to get him driving.”Williams started the day dramatically enough, striking Sourav Ganguly on the back on the head half-an-hour into the morning. “You don’t want to see anyone get seriously hurt on a cricket field. But I didn’t expect him to walk off, didn’t think it was that bad at the time. I’d felt a bit flat on the first day, but this morning, I came out firing.”Dravid, whose epic 244-ball 92 spanned most of the day, reckoned India would need a miracle to leave Melbourne unbeaten. “It would’ve been nice to get a 100 more runs,” he said. “Till tea, they were very disciplined. They sussed out the pitch, bowled the right length. We broke the shackles a little after that, but they came back well to take wickets with the new ball.”

Dravid said it had been an uphill struggle for most of the day, as India started 165 in arrears. “It was never comfortable. When me and Sourav were going well, there was a bit of hope. But to be honest, we needed something special to happen, an Eden Gardens or an Adelaide. And those things don’t happen everyday.”As in the first innings, Dravid’s dismissal was crucial, signalling the start of an Indian collapse. “I just think it was the wrong time to lose a wicket,” he said ruefully. “In the first innings too, we lost our last six wickets cheaply.”That first innings collapse appeared to be a turning point at the time, and with Australia now poised to square the series and go to Sydney on even terms, it takes on even greater significance. For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost, or so we were taught when kids. For want of a tail, a Test match – series too? – was lost, would be more appropriate in today’s circumstances.

Ashley Ross, one of the technical directors of New Zealand Cricket, has been chastised for making sexual innuendoes in a presentation. Ross, who briefly coached New Zealand, is alleged to have delivered a coaching presentation titled “Phone sex, masturbation and the real deal: Cricket training as it has always been”.Ross is said to have compared phone sex with throw-downs, masturbation with net practice and the “real deal” with simulated game situations. The presentation apparently tried to bring out the the parallels between three different levels of cricket practice, and the three different levels of sexual practice. It is believed to have been delivered to at least two groups of qualified coaches over the past year.New Zealand chief executive, Martin Snedden, condemned this approach and said that he wasn’t comfortable with these methods. The quoted him as saying, “It’s certainly not the angle we would usually take on coaching, and it’s fair to say I’m not comfortable with it. That sort of thing does not fit easily with the NZC culture – it’s not the way we go about things.”Snedden also cautioned against over-reaction and felt that the issue shouldn’t be blown out of proportion “The bottom line,” he continued, “is that Ashley was delivering a presentation to a closed group of coaches who he knew very well.”Emily Drumm, the former captain of the New Zealand women’s team, said that this latest strategy stretched the boundaries of common decency and termed it as “an absolutely disgusting analogy”.Drumm, who had earlier decided to skip the tour of England and Ireland, added, “It’s a ridiculous way to discuss the issue. He’s obviously become bored, has tried to come up with a fresh approach, and has overshot the mark by quite some distance. The shame is that Ash is a sound technical coach and has often offered fantastic advice. He’s been a great help for the top women cricketers, and is an excellent source of information.”

Arul Suppiah and Michael Parsons, two young prospects, have signed for Somerset for the 2005 season after accepting offers made to them in September.Suppiah, 21, made his first-class debut for the county in 2002, but has so far played only three Championship matches in three years. He is the only known Malaysian playing cricket. Paceman Michael Parsons, 19, has yet to make his first-team debut. The allrounder Wes Durston, 24, will also play for the county again next season.England Under-19 batsman Jamie Hildreth, 20, is still negotiating a three-year contract. He scored 760 runs in the 2004 Championship at 38.45, with a highest score of 108.Somerset are also in discussions with the 24-year-old batsman Matthew Wood and the offspinner Gareth Andrew, 20, over two-year deals.

In a mix-up over the interpretation of the eligibility rules, Kevin Stoute, the Barbados opener, has been withdrawn from the squad for all the remaining matches of the Stanford 20/20 in Antigua. He has been replaced by Rashidi Boucher, the 17-year-old Barbados youth team opener.Stoute was not in the 16-member squad originally submitted by the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) to the board of directors of the tournament. This was pointed out to the BCA by Stanford officials, who made it clear that players away on West Indies duties at the senior or junior level are eligible to be included in the squad and the selection of other players will have to be approved by the tournament directors first.Last week, Stoute and Patrick Browne, the wicketkeeper, had replaced Ahmed Proverbs and Carlo Morris in Barbados’ 13-member squad for Friday’s quarter-final match against Grenada. Browne was away playing for the West Indies’ senior team on the tour of South Africa, which meant he was eligible for selection.A section of the tournament guidelines stated: “Should a country want to include a player not originally selected in its squad of 16, it shall be required to submit a written request to the Stanford 20/20 Board of Directors for its consideration. The decision of the Stanford 20/20 Board of Directors will be final and binding.”You will also at that time submit a new 16-member squad, indicating the players who will be replaced. Please be guided that this 16 will be your 16 for the tournament and those omitted will no longer be eligible for selection unless there is injury and an application sent to the committeealong with a doctor’s certificate.”Rollins Howard, the BCA’s operations manager, expressed regret over the mix-up.”It was a misinterpretation of the word “new” as it related to changes in the squad,” Howard was quoted in a report in the BCA’s website.In the same report, Roddy Estwick, Barbados’ chairman of selectors, said, “It was a very, very unfortunate misunderstanding pertaining to the ruling of the Stanford policy.”The information given to the selectors was that we were to pick a new 16-man squad so we selected Kevin Stoute, who was in our initial squad of 20, only to be told by the Stanford committee that he wasn’t eligible for selection based on the fact that he was not in the original 16. I will be apologising to Kevin personally and on behalf of the selectorsand all of the relevant parties.”Stoute said he had put the unfortunate events behind him and was now looking ahead to the remaining matches of the Carib Beer Cup.”With every disappointment, you can take some positives from it and something like this can only make you stronger,” Stoute told the . “There are three more Carib Beer games left, so right now I am focusing on them. If selected, I would be looking to give 100% for Barbados.”Revised squad – Dwayne Smith (capt), Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Derick Bishop, Rashidi Boucher, Patrick Browne (wk), Jonathan Carter, Ryan Hinds, Alcindo Holder, Ryan Nurse, Dale Richards, Khalid Springer, Kenroy Williams