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Andrew Flintoff seems almost certain to miss England’s Test series against Sri Lanka in December after his latest consultation with an ankle specialist in Holland.Flintoff is currently awaiting the results of yet another scan on his troublesome ankle, but he is not expected to feature in any more cricket in 2007, and could yet be forced to pull out of the tour to New Zealand next February. The specialist’s report is due to be sent to the ECB shortly.”We would love to have him in the squad but we won’t risk Andrew in the Test matches,” said England’s coach, Peter Moores, after Flintoff was reported by the Daily Mail to be “frustrated and worried” by his constant struggle for fitness.”He has not done any training since returning from the World Twenty20 in South Africa and the earliest he could be back is in New Zealand in February,” added the source, “but there’s no guarantee of that, either.”We are looking anywhere on the planet for help. There might be a surgeon in America, for example, who has encountered something like the problems Freddie is suffering … maybe a baseball player or basketball player … anything, to be honest.”England depart for New Zealand on January 28, where they are scheduled to play two Twenty20 games, five one-day internationals and three Test matches, starting in Hamilton on March 5.

Umpire Billy Doctrove has said that he is relieved to be back into the international fold, after the controversial Oval Test in September. Doctrove will officiate in the five-match one-day series between India and South Africa which begins on Saturday.Doctrove partnered Darrell Hair at The Oval where Pakistan forfeited the Test after Hair accused them of ball-tampering. Doctrove and Hair were omitted from the Champions Trophy in India following an ICC hearing, and Hair was subsequently banned by the ICC. Doctrove described the period as “one of the most testing moments in his career”, and was determined to put the controversy behind him.”I have always been a positive person and it is my intention to go out there and continue to do what I have been doing and do my best so that I can make myself, my family and my country proud,” he told The West Indies Cricket Board’s official website. “What has happened has happened. The controversies are all behind me. I consider them as history.”Doctrove, who has umpired in nine Tests and 56 one-dayers, was confident that he wouldn’t be under intense scrutiny when he takes the field again.”I do not believe that there is any additional pressure placed on me because of what happened at The Oval,” he added. “You have to take your bruises in life and get up and fight. That is exactly what I am doing.”

Michael Clarke feels No. 4 is his best position and he is not planning any major restructuring to counter complaints his technique is too loose for the important role. Bumped up a spot to replace Damien Martyn in the Super Test after a mixed Ashes tour, Clarke has come under criticism from Mark Waugh, who felt he was not ready for the spot and had too many shots, Kerry O’Keeffe and Jamie Cox.”That’s my ideal position,” he said in the . “It’s where I’ve batted for NSW for a while and hopefully I can cement my spot there for Australia.”Clarke has asked his critics to pass on any tips but is confident with the technique that “got me this far”. “They’re entitled to their own opinion, no matter who it is,” Clarke said. “I’d probably prefer those sort of guys to give me a call if they’ve got any ways of helping me.”Darren Lehmann, who offered his spot to Clarke in India last year, said in the Clarke was a class batsman who would go on to captain Australia. “We have got to work towards that and let him progress,” he told the paper. “He is going to go through troughs and highs and we have to ride those as we did with Steve Waugh in his early years.”Struggling in his second year of Test cricket, Clarke, the Allan Border Medal winner, has scored only 452 runs at 30.13 in 2005, and the lean patch has brought his career average below 40 for the first time. “My batting’s improved out of sight through the England tour,” he said. “I learnt a lot about my own game. I had to work very hard to make runs over there. I hope it continues to improve. I’m disappointed I haven’t made a big score in Test cricket of late, but I feel like I’m hitting the ball pretty well.”

The former Zimbabwe allrounder, Sean Ervine, whose international career has been cut short by the ongoing dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Board, will play his first matches as an Australian state cricketer this weekend, as Western Australia’s squad takes part in two trial games at Lilac Hill.Ervine impressed Australian audiences during Zimbabwe’s two-Test tour Down Under last winter. He scored a one-day century against India during the VB Series, and it was at Perth that he scored his maiden Test half-century, in the same match in which Matthew Hayden scored 380 to claim Brian Lara’s world record – albeit only briefly.The trial matches – between North and South – will feature several other prominent names. Their captain, Justin Langer, will have his first run-out of the season, before joining up with the Australian squad for their tour of India, while the fast bowlers Brad Williams and Michael Clark will be testing their fitness after back problems.All of Western Australia’s contracted players will be playing, except for Chris Rogers, who is recovering from hamstring surgery. Entry to the match is free.

Playing his first match of the tour, Jacques Kallis stroked an assured 81 from 95 balls as the South Africans eased to a 50-run win against Sir Paul Getty’s XI at Wormsley yesterday. Kallis, who joined the squad late owing to a family illness, received excellent support from Graeme Smith (67) and Herschelle Gibbs (52) as South Africa amassed 276 for 6 from 50 overs. Despite getting off to a fine start, the Getty XI could only manage 226 for 9 in reply.Against an attack which included Henry Olonga, England’s Paul Franks and Peter Such, and South Africans Kevin Pietersen and Martin van Jaarsveld, Kallis was polished in his shotmaking and sounded an early warning to England and Zimbabwe ahead of the triangular NatWest Series.The Getty XI began their run-chase strongly, reaching 110 for 1 before Nicky Boje engineered a middle-order collapse. van Jaarsveld (40), Darren Maddy (0) and Chris Rogers (67) were all trapped lbw, and despite a fighting 50 by Pietersen, the Getty XI fell well short of the target.The match, the first big one to be played at Wormsley since the death of Sir Paul Getty, was attended by many prominent personalities, including the former England players Raman Subba Row, Derek Underwood, Mike Gatting and Doug Insole, and the film director Sir Richard Attenborough.South Africa play Worcestershire tomorrow in their last warm-up game before taking on England in Saturday’s NatWest Series match at The Oval.

What a difference a day made to the spite buried in the Lincoln Green pitch when the State Auckland Aces’ lower order batted in nearly sublime conditions today compared to those of the first day.The New Zealand Academy could only feed deliveries into the Auckland run blender which then churned out 158 runs, off 266 balls, for New Zealand bowler Kyle Mills, 79 for Andre Adams and 62 for Tama Canning.Auckland when all out for 403, had a lead of 235 runs on the first innings, something that Academy opening batsman Jamie How set about righting on his own in a commanding innings of 80, from 75 balls. His onslaught only ended when he was bowled by left-arm slow bowler Mark Haslam.By stumps the New Zealand Academy had slumped to be 111/3 at stumps.But it was the Auckland lower-order that commanded the day, and probably the game.Adams and Mills set the trend for the day when digging Auckland out of their overnight hole of 122/6. They added 108 for the seventh wicket before Adams, who during the innings achieved the distinction of being the first batsman in five years of use at the ground to hit a ball far enough to break a window on the adjoining Lincoln University glasshouses – a significant achievement.He was out for 79 with his runs coming from 71 balls, including 11 fours and four sixes.The torture wasn’t over for the Academy however. Canning joined Mills and settled in for an even longer stay as 178 runs were added for the eighth wicket. Canning was next out, for 62 scored from 124 balls. Both Adams and Canning departed to Nathan McCullum’s off-spin, Adams being caught and Canning leg before wicket.However, Mills was still in the mood to score and he achieved his 150 before being the last man out, caught at backward square leg trying to blast How for what would have been the sixth six of his innings. He also hit 20 fours before finally being out for 158, scored off 266 balls.McCullum ended with three for 51 from 15 overs while Luke Woodcock took three for 84 and James Franklin had two for 55.How, who did not enter the Academy earlier in the year with bowling in his repertoire, continued his development as an off-spinner to finish with one for 25 from 6.5 overs.He was then straight into action with the bat in what developed into a lively opening response from the Academy, albeit unable to be maintained until stumps. He was first man out with the score on 98, but before six more runs had been scored, Woodcock, his opening partner, was bowled by Brooke Walker for 19 and Shanan Stewart was leg before wicket to Walker for a duck.The Academy faces a huge battle to avoid an innings defeat tomorrow, especially as Walker looks to be the bowler capable of making significant inroads into the batting with the Academy still 125 runs short of making Auckland bat again.

In the aftermath of the comical controversy, in which Ishant Sharma was left out of Delhi’s Ranji Trophy squad as he didn’t respond to phone calls and text messages, the team’s newly appointed coach Ajay Jadeja has admitted there is a need to “communicate better with the media.” After the issue generated headlines, Ishant was included in the squad though he only made himself available from the second game of the season, leading to another round of embarrassing headlines for the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA).”I think we need to get better at communicating with the media and putting out clearer statements and making life easier for the media, so that they can have the right story and have one person talk about it,” Jadeja told ESPNcricinfo. “For the players, there should not be pressure on them to reply to the media or even for the selectors. We need to get better at communication, but every story that I have read says the same thing. The headlines keep changing, the stories say the same thing – that when he is ready, he will walk in. I don’t think anyone who has played the game or been around the game would question that. Which team in India would not like Ishant to play for them if he is available?”Jadeja, 44, comes into the role of head coach at a tricky time for Delhi cricket. Reports of rampant factionalism have dogged the early part of the season. Veteran players, such as Virender Sehwag and Mithun Manhas, have moved on to other associations, while some, like Rajat Bhatia, have been dropped altogether. Jadeja, who came through age-group cricket in Delhi and has played for the state in the past, recognises the challenges that await him.”Since it (Delhi) is the capital, it is always in the news, mostly not for the right reasons but fortunately till now I was given an offer to work with the team a few days ago,” he said. “I must confess that I haven’t faced a problem till now. The team has been picked by three selectors who are chosen by the government. I have been gratified by the association. I heard that there were three teams that were first put out but at the moment, things are looking good and that is what we hope.”File photo – In the absence of senior players like Virender Sehwag, Delhi’s responsibilities will rest on their captain Gautam Gambhir•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In the absence of this core group of senior players, Delhi have named a young squad. Jadeja, who has been a player-coach in his stints at Haryana and Rajasthan, is excited about the opportunity to shape young careers.”For any coach, when you have young players coming in, their mindset or game plans are not set. It is easier to mould someone who is young and does not have set ideas,” he said. “I think it becomes easier for a coach when you have someone who is 18, 19 or 20, and not too experienced. It is easier to chat and talk to them because they are open to ideas whereas all of us who get old and are coming towards the end of our careers, have made up our mind that this is our limit, this is the way I play and I don’t want to tread a new path and I know what I am doing.”Jadeja also expects to forge a strong working relationship with captain Gautam Gambhir, the only player of international pedigree available for Delhi at the start of the season. While conceding that they have few shared interests outside cricket, Jadeja insisted having two individuals not afraid to “voice their opinion” at the helm will be a positive for the team.”He has always been the man who leads the team and he will be the man who leads this Delhi team as well because, whether it be KKR [Kolkata Knight Riders] or the time he led India, he likes to lead from the front,” Jadeja said. “I would be sitting on the backseat with a hat on top and, if needed, I’ll guide him, but he is the man in charge.”Whether we win the Ranji Trophy at the end of the season remains to be seen but the only aim of anybody who walks into that dressing room is to win the Ranji Trophy because we are not here to participate, we are here to win. That is what I, my captain and each of us believe and that is why we are going to the ground every morning and trying to do the best we can.”

Scorecard1:11

Mumbai, Saurashtra dominate Day 1

A five-wicket haul from Jaydev Unadkat gave Saurashtra the early impetus in their quarter-final in Vizianagaram, as they bowled Vidarbha out for 151. Saurashtra made a strong start to their reply as well, ending the day 70 for 1 with Cheteshwar Pujara batting on 45 off 71 balls (9×4) and sharing an unbroken 60-run stand with Sagar Jogiyani after the early loss of Avi Barot to Umesh Yadav.Saurashtra sent Vidarbha in after winning the toss and Unadkat, the left-arm seamer, made an almost instantaneous impact, dismissing Jitesh Sharma with the second ball of the match. Hardik Rathod picked up the next two wickets as Vidarbha slumped to 30 for 3, and there was little respite thereafter, with a 33-run fourth-wicket stand between S Badrinath and Wasim Jaffer finishing as the highest of the innings. Jaffer top-scored with 41, facing 86 balls and hitting seven fours. The seamers picked up all ten Vidarbha wickets, with Rathod and Chirag Jani bagging two each and Unadkat finishing with figures of 5 for 70.
ScorecardPacers Siddarth Kaul and Barinder Sran cut through Assam’s batting line-up, but Syed Mohammad unbeaten 50 pushed his side past 200 in the second quarter-final in Valsad.Coming in at No.7, Syed Mohammad rallied with the lower order, bringing up his second fifty of the season. It had come after forties from opener Pallav Kumar Das and No.4 Amit Verma, but the rest of the middle order did not have answers to Kaul and Sran who had combined figures of 47-8-148-6.Dhiraj Goswami was dismissed just before stumps, as Assam made slow progress to 223. Captain Harbhajan Singh managed only one wicket, but gave away only 11 runs in as many overs. Left-arm pacer Deepak Bansal, playing his third first-class match, took the other wicket to fall.
ScorecardAkhil Herwadkar’s century and Suryakumar Yadav’s half-century led Mumbai to 303 for 6 at stumps on the first day of their quarter-final clash against Jharkhand in Mysore.Having opted to bat, Mumbai lost opener Jay Bista early, but Herwadkar, joined by Shreyas Iyer, who scored a brisk 45, put on a 70-run partnership to lift Mumbai. Iyer fell with the score at 91, but Herwadkar found good company from Suryakumar as Mumbai pushed past 200. Suryakumar struck nine fours and two sixes during his 70-ball 75. Herwadkar’s effort, on the other hand, was built on patience. He took 217 balls for his 107, during which he hit 12 fours.Jharkhand made late incisions, reducing Mumbai from 227 for 2 to 303 for 6. Pacer Jaskaran Singh and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem picked up two wickets each for Jharkhand.

Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, said he would be looking to bring imagination into his captaincy as he directs the hosts’ bid to win the Twenty20 World Championship starting next week.”When one-day cricket started it was very different to how it was played now, it has developed a lot. And now we are at the start of Twenty20 cricket and everything will be different as well,” Smith said.”Tactics are obviously going to be very important. Captains are going to have to bring some imagination into the game,” Smith said. “Players who are unorthodox and can think on their feet will be crucial, and captains are going to need to trust their players and allow them to just go out and play.”We are very excited about the tournament because we’ve had quite a long break since the World Cup. And I’m excited about the side we’ve got because it’s a mix of youth and experience and we’ve got some guys who’ve done very well in domestic Twenty20. Hosting the inaugural tournament is an awesome opportunity for us and I think we’ll be seeing the next generation of international stars coming to the fore.”Coach Mickey Arthur said the South Africans would spend the week before the tournament starts on September 11 working hard in training.”Graeme and I have a pretty good idea of what we want for the tournament and hopefully we will confirm that during this week,” Arthur said. “We have a pretty intensive programme lined up to assess exactly where we are.”We haven’t won a major ICC event since unity and this is a huge opportunity for us to get the country behind us and to win a substantial event. It is attainable if we play to our full potential.”

Though it ended badly, with a 127-run hammering in Australian hands, BrianLara was fairly satisfied with West Indies efforts over the pastfortnight. And though they have to pre-qualify to defend their ChampionsTrophy crown, Lara was confident that those three matches would help theircause before they came up against the big boys.”I thought in the first half of the game, in the field, the guys workedreally hard,” said Lara, when asked for his thoughts on the match.”Unfortunately, we didn’t get things going in the second half. We lost toomany wickets early on, and put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We havecrumbled in the past in this tournament, and it happened again this timefrom the beginning.”Getting to the final was a plus. We’ve got a week in Malaysia beforegetting to the ICC [Champions Trophy], and we’re going to be trying ourbest there. We are the defending champions and we have to go into that full ofbottle, full of zest, and do ourselves proud.”Lara reckoned that the format might even play into West Indian hands. “Isee it as a good way of going into the tournament,” he said. “Australia,England, and Pakistan will arrive for their first game, but we willalready have had three games going in. That’s a slight plus.”Qualifying for the final here, ahead of a higher-ranked Indian team, wascause for satisfaction. “I do feel that being second-best against twoteams rated higher than us was a good effort,” he said. “I still haveconfidence in the guys, and it’s just a question of working on thephysical, mental, and technical aspects of our game.”It also pleased him that West Indies beat both Australia and India duringthe fortnight even with some players patently out of form. “Some guys arelimited in their skills, and they want to work and enhance their game asmuch as possible,” he said. “We have two or three coaches. We’ve gottrainers, physios, and everyone trying to gel together and ensure not onlythat we win tournaments, but that we get better.”Despite a brittle middle order, Lara was optimistic when asked whatpositives he took from the tournament. “I think Dwayne Smith – we justneed to get his batting together,” he said. “You can see he’s apower-hitter, but we need to get him to spend more time in the middle. Ithink Jerome Taylor improved as the tournament progressed. Chris Gayle hada pretty good tournament. We’ve got five or six in and around form. Thereare other players we have to massage and get together. I still believe inthem.”There was also no fuss over his own dismissal, given out caught after thebat had brushed the pad. “Of course I was disappointed to get out, but thesethings happen,” he said. And though he trudged back slowly, Lara suggestedthat he certainly hadn’t been angling for a recall to the middle. “Whenthe umpire gives me out, I’m not going to go back,” he said, perhapsreferring to the Sachin Tendulkar incident on Friday evening.They may have come up well short today, but on placid Indian pitches withlightning fast outfields, the West Indian batting remains capable ofshocking anyone. And if they can get Corey Collymore fit and into rhythm,they’ll be dangerous floaters in a draw that has several teams strugglingfor a semblance of form.