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Australia were reduced to just two bowling options for much of Friday morning at Lord’s, but reinforcements are on the way. Brett Lee, Australia’s senior fast bowler with 310 Test wickets, has declared himself on track to play the third Test at Edgbaston, while Shane Watson has returned to bowling at full intensity and is available for selection as anallrounder after Lord’s.News of Lee and Watson’s progress might not solve Ricky Ponting’s problems in the short-term – Nathan Hauritz’s dislocated finger and Peter Siddle’s illness left him with just two frontline bowlers on the second morning of the match – but will certainly expand Australia’s options for the last three Tests of the series. Lee completed a series of sprints under the supervision of team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris on Friday morning, while Andrew Hilditch observed Watson bowling from his full run-up in the Lord’s nets.Watson’s recovery from a thigh strain is at a more advanced stage than Lee’s recuperation from a rib injury, but both could figure in Australia’s plans for the Edgbatson Test, beginning July 30.”I’m very optimistic that I can get up for the [Edgbaston] Test, selection pending,” Lee told Cricinfo after Friday’s training session. “I’ll be giving myself every opportunity. If I don’t feel like I’m ready to go I won’t push it. We’ve obviously got a massive serieshere. You don’t want to turn a three week injury into a six month thing if you tear it right through.”I haven’t had a bowl as yet. It’s ticking off every box. You start off with a light walk, progress to some light jogging, then heavy jogging then sprints. There are a couple of little stages I have to get through first. I’ll be doing a bit of medicine ball stuff before I can bowl. Provided I’m pain free the bowling will start. Whether that’s in a day’s time, two day’s time or four day’s time will be determined by how quickly I progress withthings.”Lee struggled to watch Australia’s bowlers on the receiving end from Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook on Thursday morning, but drew encouragement from their late innings riposte. Mitchell Johnson, in particular, could find himself under pressure if Lee returns for Edgbaston, given the left-armer’s errant lines and profligate economy-rates thus far this series.”It was difficult to watch, to say the least,” Lee said. “I don’t enjoy watching cricket, period. I think I’ll enjoy it more when I’m finished. I just feel like I want to get out there and play. It’s frustrating – if I’m on the sideline and injured, you just really want to try and get out there for your team. It was hard yesterday. I thought the guys early on, it wasn’t our best start. However, the way the guys fought back, it showed a lot of character in ourbowlers. To have them 1-200 and at stumps 6-360, with another wicket in ourfavour the day could have gone to us.”

Stuart Clark and Brett Lee are not yet assured of places in the starting XI for Cardiff, but that hasn’t stopped them placing Andrew Strauss in the crosshairs for the summer. Australia’s senior pacemen, who began their quest for Ashes selection in Hove on Wednesday, applied the pressure on the England captain in a less demonstrative, more insidious manner to the naming-and-aiming approach favoured by their predecessor, Glenn McGrath, however the intent was just as clear.Clark and Lee have dismissed Strauss a combined nine times in 10 Tests, but their battles pre-date their international careers. Clark remembers Strauss as a batsman short on confidence in his days playing for Sydney grade club, Mosman, and hinted the Australians have uncovered modern-day glitches in his technique they will aim to exploit over the summer.”Andrew Strauss, being the captain, if we put some pressure on him early I reckon we can make some real inroads,” Clark said. “I’m not going to say I’m going to target him individually, but I think being captain there’s a lot of pressure on him now, if we can really get after him early on in the series we can maybe create some extra pressure that he maybe doesn’t need with his batting.”I played against him in grade cricket when we were much younger. I think he was a lot younger and didn’t believe in his batting as much then. He’s very good in English conditions, where probably the bounce isn’t as quick off the wicket as you get in Australia. He probably got found out a little bit in Australia in 06-07. I looked at some footage earlier and there are some definite things that we as a bowling group have talked about and we’re going to keep talking about.”Lee played alongside Strauss for Mosman between 1999 and 2001, and described him as a “class act”. But, like Clark, he also applied pressure on the England captain by reliving memories of past Ashes successes. Clearly, the summer’s phoney war has commenced.”I won’t choose any batsman as a bunny, I hate that, but I’m happy with the record I’ve got against Straussy,” Lee said. “I’ll be looking forward, if I get the opportunity, to play against him again. He’s a hard batsman to bowl to, but hopefully the success I’ve had against him, I’ll put that in the back of my memory bank and hopefully use it.”Clark and Lee are both returning from injuries that curtailed their Australian summers, and will be desperate to impress the selectors at Hove and Worcester. Clark has played a handful of Sydney grade and one-day international matches since undergoing surgery to his right elbow last November, while Lee has been limited to Twenty20 cricket for Australia and Kings XI Punjab after returning from an ankle operation.Both men recognise, however, that they are likely to be regarded as support acts to the main man of Australia’s current attack. “I think Mitchell [Johnson] is by far and away No. 1 and the rest of are competing, and it will depend up on what make-up they want to go with,” Clark said. “I will say that they need someone to bowl into the wind, and I have done that for 13 years.”We’ve all been doing this for a long time. I’ve been in and out of the team a few times at state level. It’s just the way it is. It’s the job. I’m getting to the stage now where the young guys want my spot. I suppose they had it in South Africa and I want it back.””Mitch and I complement each other well,” said Lee. “We’re a left and right-arm combination, two opening bowlers who can bowl over 150kmph. It’s a scary thought for any batting line-up, because no batsman likes facing a fast bowler on song, no matter what they say.”But if you’re not on the right spot, it’s money for jam, because the ball comes off the bat quicker, and goes to the fence quicker. You’ve just got to be confident and back yourself, and I’ll be giving myself every chance in my preparation.”

Dolphins have signed Loots Bosman, the hard-hitting opening batsman who has left the Eagles.Bosman, 32, scored the fasted fifty (from 22 balls) in South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 competition and has played 12 ODIs and four Twenty20s for his country.”I am very excited for the prospect of playing for the Nashua Dolphins and achieving success with them,” said Bosman. “I have always enjoyed playing at Kingsmead. I want to perform consistently well and get back into the national team.”As plans are put into place to improve the performance of the team and take it from strength to strength in the upcoming 2009-10 season, Graham Ford has also been appointed as head coach of the team.Ford, who is presently the director of cricket at Kent, and has coached the South African national squad and Dolphins as well, will return to Durban at the end of the county season, announced Cassim Docrat, the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) Cricket Union CEO.”I am excited at the prospect of Graham taking over as head coach as he brings with him a wealth of experience and is familiar with our structures and players,” said Docrat.Former Dolphin head coach Yashin Hassan will now take up the position of head coach of the Suncoast Dolphins Academy which involves the Emerging Dolphins programme. “With the accumulated experience that Yashin has gained over the past eight years with the KZN Amateur team, the National Academy and the Nashua Dolphins, he plays an important role in bringing forward youngsters within our system,” Docrat said.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outDwayne Smith’s late push was the turning point•Associated Press

Smart team changes by the Deccan Chargers and a spineless batting display by the Rajasthan Royals contributed to a mismatch in Kimberley. Deccan dropped two under-performing overseas players but their replacements – Dwayne Smith and Chaminda Vaas – contributed significantly in shaping a comprehensive 53-run win. Smith slammed 47 to help Deccan surge to a competitive total while Vaas took two early wickets before Rajasthan’s middle order imploded.Rajasthan were in the game for the first 15 overs. Then Smith walked in and, first, negated the effect of the spinners, who till had the batsmen on a tight leash. He smashed four sixes in his 32-ball 47 and pushed Deccan to a score that was sure to test an unpredictable opposition. The chase lacked fight and the loss cost Rajasthan their No.3 spot.Rajasthan’s slide began in the second over of their chase, when Graeme Smith was trapped lbw by Chaminda Vaas. Replays showed the ball hitting Smith high above the knee roll but it evened out for both teams as Adam Gilchrist was also given out in doubtful circumstances.While Smith had the right to blame fate for his dismissal, Lee Carseldine had only himself to blame for his departure. Distracted by an lbw appeal off Vaas, he accidentally strolled out of his crease and failed to notice that Gilchrist was in possession of the ball during the appeal to effect the stumping.Naman Ojha hit two fours before he misjudged a single towards point. Dropping the ball towards the fielder, he set off for the run but Ravi Teja’s arm was too quick for him as he threw down the stumps with a direct hit.Swapnil Asnodkar resisted at the other end and tried to break free by making a lot of room to loft inside out. Rajasthan needed somebody to support Asnodkar and play a role similar to Smith’s but their most valuable player in the middle order, Yusuf Pathan, let them down. He slapped Pragyan Ojha straight to long-off and at 74 for 4 in the 12th over, the wheels had effectively come off.

Rohit Sharma picked up three wickets with his offspin, by which time Rajasthan had run out of resources and ideas to script a twist in the tale.In a tournament dominated by spinners, Rajasthan’s spin duo of Yusuf and Ravindra Jadeja had their share of success early on. Yusuf took 3 for 34 while his partner Jadeja took 2 for 26 by cleverly varying his pace. Jadeja struck with two wickets on either side of the strategy break to peg Deccan back. He drew Rohit forward with a flighted delivery and had him stumped and in his following over, flattened Symonds’ legstump with a quicker delivery. Symonds had earlier threatened to push on to his second consecutive fifty when he took on his old IPL rival Warne, pulling the bowler over midwicket before mowing him high over long-on.They controlled the scoring before Smith cut loose. Smith got off to a quiet start by his standards, scoring 14 off 19 balls before opening out. He lofted Jadeja over long-on, clubbed Pathan over square leg and flicked Trivedi delightfully over deep midwicket without much of a follow through. Warne gambled by bringing himself on in the 19th over and he too suffered at the hands of Smith as he swung him over long-on.Smith departed in the final over for 47 and thanks to his big hits, Deccan managed 69 off the last six overs and negated the impact the spinners had made earlier. He came in as a replacement for the out-of-form Herschelle Gibbs and it proved to be a masterstroke.

Group D

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) dealt a crushing blow to Habib Bank Limited‘s (HBL’s) semi-final hopes with a nine-wicket win in Gujranwala. While Asad Ali was the wrecker-in-chief during the HBL innings with 4 for 25, brilliant eighties from openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ali Waqas helped SNGPL displace HBL from the top spot, with just one more round of matches to be played. Put in to bat, HBL stuttered from the start as wickets fell regularly. The biggest partnership was 41 for the fifth wicket between Younis Khan and captain Shahid Afridi, as Asad dented the top and lower orders. Hafeez, Imran Ali and Yasir Shah lent good support, picking up two wickets each as HBL were bowled out for 196. There was little joy for HBL while defending the total, as the SNGPL opening stand put on 189. The onslaught was severe as four of the six bowlers went for more than seven-an-over. Hafeez was especially aggressive, stroking nine boundaries and two sixes during his 72-ball 82. And even when he fell, Waqas’ 102-ball 81, which comprised 11 fours and two sixes, ensured SNGPL cantered to victory in the 30th over as HBL collapsed to fourth place.National Bank of Pakistan‘s (NBP’s) six-wicket victory over the Karachi Zebras at the Gaddafi Stadium helped them draw level on points with table-toppers SNGPL and firmly stay in contention for the coveted semis spot. A whirlwind century from Salman Butt not only meant NBP overhauling the target of 213 in the 26th over, but contributed significantly in improving the net run-rate. Invited to bat, Karachi Zebras made a solid start with opener Akbar-ur-Rehman scoring 69. His 90-ball innings looked to have given Karachi the perfect start before the seamers, Uzair-ul-Haq and Mohammed Aamer, picked up four and three wickets respectively to hand the advantage back to NBP. Wicketkeeper Mohammad Hasan’s composed 52 pushed Karachi to a respectable total. Butt showed no mercy to the bowlers during NBP’s reply even as wickets fell around him. He continued undeterred and by the time he fell on 123, he had smashed 21 fours and two sixes during his 77-ball blitzkrieg.Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) gave themselves a fair chance of making the semi-finals with a six-wicket win over the Lahore Eagles at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. While captain Naved-ul-Hasan starred with the ball, fifties from Jahangir Mirza and Bilal Khilji helped WAPDA climb to third in the table. Electing to bat, Lahore made a disappointing start with right-arm fast bowler striking two quick blows. Reduced to 40 for 3, it was left to opener Ahmed Dar and Javed Hussain to steady the innings. They put on a 52-run stand before Naved removed Dar for 59. Javed battled bravely and went on to add another 54 with Muzammil Ikram (31). Javed played patiently for his 54, stroking three fours during his 90-ball stay, but could not prevent Lahore from finishing on a below-par 177. Even though Mohammad Naved gave WAPDA a scare during the chase, swiftly removing opener Shahid Yousuf and Shahid Siddiq, it was the 125-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Mirza and Khilji which steered them clear of danger. Khilji played the aggressor, scoring 64 off 65 balls, which included five boundaries and two sixes, but it was Mirza who took WAPDA home hitting three fours and two sixes during his unbeaten 71 off 104 balls.