Craig McMillan has retired from international and domestic cricket, citing personal reasons and health problems as contributing factors. McMillan, 31, said he wanted to go out on a high and would now spend time with his family before making any further decisions on his future.”I have decided that the time is right for me to retire from cricket to spend more time with my family, as well as look after my health, as I have had ongoing issues related to diabetes,” McMillan said. “I feel that the past season has been one of the best of my cricket career and I am happy to be retiring on a really positive note.”There had been reports that McMillan would quit to take up a contract with the Indian Cricket League and he said he would consider that option but it was no certainty. “I will now spend time with my family before deciding what direction I will take with my future,” he said.Justin Vaughan, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, said although McMillan still had plenty to offer he had been released from his national contract on compassionate grounds. “We are disappointed to be losing Craig at this point,” Vaughan said. “His performances at the recent Twenty20 World Cup were tremendous. I understand his reasons for wishing to retire and wish him all the best for the future.”McMillan sits fourth on New Zealand’s all-time ODI run-tally, behind his contemporaries Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and Chris Cairns. In his 197 one-day internationals he scored 4707 runs at 28.18, an average that perhaps did not reflect his full potential.His Test career petered out after the home series against Australia in March 2005, however his 3116 runs at 38.46 from 55 appearances made him a valuable part of the side for much of the past decade. McMillan backed up his three ODI centuries and six Test hundreds with more than useful medium-pace bowling which brought him 28 Test wickets at 44.89 and 49 one-day victims at 35.04.A destructive, though sometimes inconsistent batsman, McMillan was 20 when he was first called into the national limited-overs side in 1997 during a quadrangular tournament in India. His striking power was soon obvious – his maiden ODI half-century featured five sixes but no fours against Zimbabwe at Harare.

A Test call-up followed on the 1997-98 tour of Australia and in his first appearance McMillan showed his promise with 54 against an attack led by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. McMillan usually brought the same aggression to Test cricket as he did to the limited-overs game, and in March 2001 he broke the record for the most runs in a Test over with 26 off Younis Khan’s part-time legspin at Hamilton.However, he could also show fight and determination when his team needed it. In October 2003, after being dropped from a tour of Sri Lanka earlier in the year, McMillan justified his recall with an unusually cautious 83 not out from 190 balls as he and Nathan Astle rescued New Zealand from what looked like certain defeat against India at Ahmedabad.He twice set a record for the fastest ODI century by a New Zealand player – first from 75 balls against Pakistan in 2000-01 and then from 67 deliveries against Australia in this year’s Chappell-Hadlee Series in February. The latter effort was another case of McMillan justifying his recall; he had lost his national contract in June 2006 and considered a career as a salesman before the selectors gave him another chance.Although he had a quiet Caribbean trip at his third World Cup, McMillan sparkled in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa. During what would be his final international tournament he was New Zealand’s leading run-scorer with 163 at 40.75 and a strike-rate of 181.

Western Australia have dealt heavy blows to two of their star batsmen, and to their own Pura Cup chances, by suspending Luke Pomersbach and Shaun Marsh until next month. Pomersbach has been ruled out for two Pura Cup and two FR Cup matches while Marsh will miss only one of each.The disciplinary action came after the pair broke team rules by drinking alcohol in the lead-up to this week’s one-day and Pura Cup matches against South Australia. Pomersbach will not be considered for selection until the Pura Cup game against South Australia starting on December 14, while Marsh’s shorter ban could see him back in the side for the limited-overs clash with Tasmania on December 1.Both players scored centuries in Western Australia’s last Pura Cup match and Pomersbach in particular has had a superb start to his season. He has scored two hundreds and averages 98.75 from three Pura Cup games, sitting behind only Simon Katich on the competition run tally.The Warriors have made four changes to their squad for the Pura Cup match that starts on Friday, with Trent Kelly and David Bandy also omitted. Ben Edmondson returns from a hamstring strain and Aaron Heal has also been included, while the allrounder Theo Doropoulos and the batsman Liam Davis could be in line to make their first-class debuts.Davis, 23, played one limited-overs match for Western Australia in 2005-06 and has made a solid start to Perth’s club season with 333 runs at 47.57. Chris Rogers has also been named in the 12-man group after recovering from stomach cramps that kept him out of last week’s FR Cup game.South Australia have a strong list of inclusions with Shaun Tait and Mark Cosgrove added to the squad, as well as Darren Lehmann, who will be playing his final Pura Cup match after announcing his retirement on Monday. Mark Cleary, Shane Deitz and Cameron Borgas have made way for the returning trio.Western Australia squad Justin Langer, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges (capt), Liam Davis, Luke Ronchi (wk), Theo Doropoulos, Brad Hogg, Darren Wates, Aaron Heal, Steve Magoffin, Ben Edmondson, Mathew Inness.South Australia squad Matthew Elliott, Callum Ferguson, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcok (capt), Darren Lehmann, Andy Delmont, Graham Manou (wk), Ryan Harris, Jason Gillespie, Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait, Cullen Bailey.

In the 2005 Ashes, word slipped out that England’s organisers hadbooked their open-top bus parade a full week in advance, and the ECBwere rightly accused of hubris. Nobody, however, has bothered to levelthe same charges at the committeemen at the Asgiriya in Kandy. MuttiahMuralitharan’s face is everywhere at the moment – on one billboardhe’s posing with the number 709, on another he’s already beingcongratulated for reclaiming his crown. No-one has doubted his destinyin this match – least of all, it seems, England’s batsmen.England’s cricket on the second day was naïve but not unexpected. Theysquandered a position of undoubted strength, and yet, such was thebug-eyed fervour with which Muralitharan hounded them back to thepavilion, it would be harsh to chastise them too severely for theirfailings. They tried their best, but their best was found wanting, asit surely will be tomorrow as well. England’s tail is as long andbrittle as a deep-frozen anaconda, and Murali must be odds on tocomplete not only his bid for the world record, but his secondeight-wicket haul in consecutive Tests against England.”It’s disappointing because we were in a very good position, butthat’s why Murali is the best in the world,” said Ian Bell. He wasEngland’s most fluent batsman against the seamers, but unsurprisinglyfound Murali a completely different proposition. “It’s important we goout tomorrow and build some partnerships around Colly [PaulCollingwood]. We’ve got a chance to get a decent lead and the guys cancome out and bowl like they did in the first innings.”It all looked so promising after the first hour’s play. Michael Vaughan was entrenched but enduring, absorbing Murali’s wiles while Bell watched and learned from the non-striker’s end. This was the first time Bell had faced him in the longest form of the game, and it wasn’t until he had made 56 from 72 balls that he finally crossedwith his captain and went to take guard.”I was pretty happy to be honest for the skipper to see him off,” saidBell. “I was trying to watch from the non-striker’s end, trying topick in my own mind what it was he was bowling before I got downthere. It gave me a bit more opportunity to give myself the bestchance.” Several hours in the nets with Merlin, the ECB’sspin-replicating machine, had helped Bell to visualise the moment, butnothing could adequately prepare any of the England players for thetrials they were about to face.

Bell’s own innings included moments of aggression against Murali – atwo-step down the pitch resulted in a chancy swipe over mid-on forfour, and his eventual dismissal was a shot of similar intent. But asEngland had preached beforehand, gameplans are everything when itcomes to negotiating his menace.”I just wanted to be positive,” said Bell. “I’ve learnt so far in myshort career that I want to play my game and use my feet, and be aspositive as possible against the spinners. From what I’ve learnt fromplaying Warne and those guys, if you just try to survive they aregoing to get you out anyway. I wanted to be positive in defence aswell as attack, watch the ball and trust myself.”Bell and England’s gameplan also included lots of quick singles, butthat was one aspect of their play that simply didn’t materialise.Murali’s 30 overs included just 19 scoring shots, a tribute to hismasterful accuracy but also indicative of a side that seemed trappedin his headlights. “It’s disappointing but that’s why he’s the bestbowler in the world,” said Bell. “His record in Sri Lanka speaks foritself.”England’s prospects for the rest of the match now look as bleak as theweather, which might in fact be their best hope of salvation. “Thepitch has been low from day one, and that’s what it’ll be like for therest of the game,” said Bell, as the prospect loomed of anotheragonising masterclass in the fourth innings. “I think that it’simportant for the bowlers to hit a line and length and be patient,because it’s going to be harder to score as the game goes on.”England’s bowlers answered that brief magnificently in the firstinnings, but Murali doesn’t even need to be posed the question. Heknows what he’ll be producing for the rest of the match. England knowit too, as of course do his expectant hometown fans. Their ardour has beendampened by consecutive days of anticlimax, but Murali and hiscelebrations will not be delayed for much longer in this game.

Radical measures could be taken to prevent their players from signing lucrative contracts with the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and turning their backs on their country, Justin Vaughan, New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive, has said. These measures include increasing the number of centrally contracted players to 25 as well as increasing the value of player retainers.The inaugural edition of the ICL included retired players from New Zealand like Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan and Chris Harris. While New Zealand lost just two current players to the league – Daryll Tuffey and Hamish Marshall – Vaughan fears that the number could increase, with the ICL organisers announcing plans for four new tournaments next season and also increasing the number of teams from six to eight. ICL-contracted players are allowed to play domestic cricket in New Zealand but are not eligible for selection for national or A teams.”We have a shallow player pool and we can’t afford to lose players,” Vaughan told the New Zealand’s . “But we are keeping an eye on it and maybe there are things that we can look at in the structure of our contracts.”The Indian board has also lured New Zealand’s premier players like Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram and Scott Styris, to sign up for its officially-sanctioned, cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), set to commence in April next year. While these players have agreed to honour their country ahead of their franchise teams and that the IPL is not viewed as a threat unlike the ICL, Vaughan felt that the board will have to ensure they aren’t tempted by the financial incentives being offered by the BCCI to participate.”The process of picking these players is the BCCI’s business and we’ve put forward our best players for consideration and they choose who they want,” Vaughan said.Vaughan said the matter was being discussed with the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association to work out a new structure for the contracts. Retaining elite players would, in all probability, be given more importance than increasing the pool of untried contracted players.”We don’t know how we might structure that but we will be working very closely with the [New Zealand] Players’ Association on this one,” Vaughan said. “We are starting to talk to Heath Mills, [Players’ Association head] about what might be possible. It’s this balance – yes we’d like to lock up as many players as possible but, you can either pay fewer people more or more people basically what they’re getting now.”

The touring Zimbabwean team is in a confident mood ahead of the five-match ODI series against Pakistan starting next week, according to Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwe’s captain. The Zimbabweans folded meekly in their only practice match before the series, not only losing to Patron’s XI side by an innings and 34 runs but also failing to impress with either the bat or the ball.”We didn’t play to the best of our abilities [in the tour match] but we did manage to get a lot of positives out of the loss,” Utseya said at a press conference today. “Our bowlers got a chance to bowl long spells against good opposition and a couple of our batsmen scored over fifty, so that is a good sign.”Utseya, who had to sit out the match due to an ankle injury he picked up in South Africa, will face a fitness test on the eve of the first ODI. Rating his chances of leading the side for the opening ODI as very good, Utseya warned doubters not to write off his team on strength or age.”We are young in age but a few of our players have played over 50 ODIs and with victories over Australia and West Indies behind us, we are in a positive frame of mind and in a confident mood.”Utseya welcomed the return of senior players to the fold, especially RayPrice – who got four wickets against Patron’s XI in the tour match – andGary Brent – who put on a defiant 96-run seventh-wicket partnership withKeith Maruma – adding that experience was a key ingredient if Zimbabwe were to make a successful Test comeback.”We obviously want to return to Test cricket and for that, we need to put some wins under our belt. Price forms a good spin bowling partnership with me and together with Brent, they bring in a lot of experience.”We have a good all-round team and these guys can help us get more experience. We need to put ourselves in a good position not only for this series, but also for the future and the only way we can do that is by winning.”Zimbabwe will get a chance to work on Utseya’s words on Monday when theytake on the home side under lights at the National Stadium, Karachi.

Adelaide comes alive
You couldn’t miss the fact that it’s Australia Day. More flags than usual were ondisplay and people made an extra-special effort to wear the green and gold.Adelaide residents are very proud of getting the Test back at this time of the year – it’srecent home has usually been in December – and so popular is the holiday that theday was a sell-out.A 21-gun salute and barely visible mid-day fireworks sparked the celebrations whilein town a parade of people wearing their national costume shuffled heavily along inthe dry-but-fierce heat. Many nationalities were represented including Chinese,Filipino, Belgians and Indians. For India, it’s Republic Day too, though the day ofindependence, August 15, tends to be a bigger deal.Teenage sensation
Ishant Sharma showed his ability to produce wicket balls was no Perth fluke when heupended Matthew Hayden with a classic reverse-swinging inswinger. Coming from aroundthe wicket, Sharma’s delivery swung through Hayden’s defensive effort and thumpedinto his off stump. Hayden was 103 and had looked as steady as the four AdelaideOval light towers. Sharma, the 19-year-old, had burst through again.Modus operandi
While none of the Indian batsmen were bowled in their innings, all three Australianwickets fell in that fashion. Phil Jaques will blame himself for swiping across theline to one that angled in from Kumble but Hayden and Michael Hussey wereundone by jaffas that swung into them. Ishant produced the ball of the day tocrash through Hayden’s defences while Irfan Pathan swerved one in to beat Hussey. Ona wearing pitch, expect more in this Test.Luck of the bounce
Trouble has followed Ricky Ponting during the series, but he was able to avoid whatwould have been an unfortunate dismissal to the courageous Ishant. While the Indiansappealed for an lbw decision, the ball popped over Ponting’s head and was droppingbetween the batsman and the stumps when it hit his bat. With Ponting looking towardsIshant, the ball was diverted from around leg stump towards off before skirting awayfrom danger.Pathan walks the line
Pathan was flirting with trouble all day. First he had a long chat withHayden when an lbw appeal was turned down before lunch, prompting Hayden towalk up to Billy Bowden and complain. Pathan later had an inordinately long appealagainst Hussey before being in the thick of action when Harbhajan Singhcollided with Ponting. Anything for a good verbal joust, it seems.

Revelations that the MCC is holding discussions with Middlesex with a view to a possible merger have received support from Paul Sheldon and Jim Cumbes, the chief executives of Surrey and Lancashire.”I am sure a merger would make perfect sense in that Middlesex would be the county of MCC,” Sheldon told The Times. Asked about concerns that a merged outfit would destablise the domestic game, he said: “The best way of ensuring rough parity between counties is to introduce salary capping. Surrey have always been in favour of salary capping. It would prevent the wealthiest three or four counties dominating the game.”Cumbes said that any merger would strengthen the standard of county cricket. “I can see some grumbles from smaller counties over unrivalled wealth, but that’s life,” he told the newspaper. “I can’t see any real downside and I don’t foresee more than two Tests a summer being played at Lord’s. It’s not the first time a proposal has been made for an MCC team to take part in the county championship. Only one question pops out: how does MCC’s responsibility for the Laws sit with this?”If Middlesex and the MCC reached agreement – and talks are at a very early stage – then the move would still need the approval of the ECB as well as the 18,000+ membership of the MCC.

Mark Taylor has joined Stuart Clark, the Australia fast bowler, in saying the game could become boring if measures are taken to ban sledging and confrontation during matches. The ICC has asked teams to improve their behaviour through a “zero-tolerance policy” over verbal abuse.”How are we going to remove something that has been so much part of the game?” Clark told Sydney radio station . “Put it this way – it’s going to be very boring for six hours if you can’t talk to one another and can’t do anything like that. What is a sledge and what’s not a sledge is my big question there.”Cricket Australia says the ICC’s code of conduct already covers the issue and said a total ban on sledging, which was raised during an ICC meeting in Kuala Lumpur last month, had not been supported. The behaviour reminder comes after Australia’s often heated series with India over the past four months.Taylor, a member of the ICC cricket committee, said it was important not to go “over the top” with the regulations. “When you get a close series like we had this year with Australia and India you are going to get confrontation,” he said in the Courier-Mail. “Provided it’s kept in reasonable check it is all good.”That’s the kind of competition people want to see. We can’t go over the top, make the players the same and the game very boring.”Clark, who appears to be one of the more quiet members of the Australia squad, said removing sledging would be “detrimental to the game”, but he supported eliminating racial and political barbs. “It’s going to be a hard one to police because there are going to be times where people are going to be talking and it’s going to be misconstrued or taken the wrong way,” he said. “I can’t say what they [the ICC] are thinking but the removing of sledging completely from the game of cricket … I think it’s going to be detrimental to the game.”

Durham

Captain Dale Benkenstein Coach Geoff Cook Overseas Neil McKenzie, Albie Morkel (SA), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
After a coming-of-age season in 2007 where they won the Friends Provident Trophy and were runners-up in the Championship, Durham are now established as a force in the county game. The challenge is to continue the progression and the good news is that they have the core of last year’s team still around, minus the heroic Ottis Gibson. The batting will be well served by McKenzie and Chanderpaul, but it will need one of the young bowlers such as Liam Plunkett or Graham Onions to fill the hole left by Gibson. Andrew McGlashan
High value Phil Mustard – likely to be away with England for parts of the season, but is a crucial part of Durham’s one-day jigsaw.
Long-term investment Moneeb Iqbal – a raw legspinner at the moment but a talent worth persevering with.
Prospects Have the right balance of youth and experience to challenge for silverware again, especially in the one-day game.

Hampshire

Captain Dimitri Mascarenhas Coach Paul Terry Overseas Shane Bond (NZ), Shane Watson (Aus)Hampshire have had a trying time pre-season, what with the departures of Shane Warne and Shaun Udal, the conflicting aspirations of Dimitri Mascarenhas, the retirement of James Bruce, and uncertainty over whether Shane Bond would be joining the club. That last, at least, has now been resolved, and Jimmy Adams is likely to lead the side while Mascarenhas is with the IPL in India. At present the new captain is expected to miss only two weeks’ cricket, but many another county chairman would not have been as forgiving of him as Rod Bransgrove has been. Warne’s great regret will have been not winning the County Championship and much will depend now on the fitness of Chris Tremlett and how many wickets the two spinners, Liam Dawson and Greg Lamb, take between them. Ivo Tennant
High value Kevin Pietersen – but for how many matches will he be available?
Long-term investment Liam Dawson – the teenage left arm spinner with an England future ahead of him.
Prospects A difficult summer ahead. Relegation not out of the question in the Championship.

Kent

Captain Robert Key Coach Graham Ford Overseas Yasir Arafat (Pak)
The captaincy of Rob Key, arguably prematurely discarded by England, is beginning to earn impressive notices. It is 30 years since Kent were last county champions, and although their side does not compare with that of 1978, they have a chance of replicating that success. For a club that has taken much pride in nurturing talented players, too many discarded cricketers from other counties have been signed over the past decade or more, but in Joe Denly and Sam Northeast, Kent have unearthed two exciting young batsmen. Ryan McLaren, described by Key as “a seriously serious cricketer,” took a hat-trick in the Twenty20 final, helping Kent win a knockout competition for the first time since the 1978 side achieved that, also. Alas for the club, Justin Kemp’s registration has been turned down by the ECB, and less enticing is the re-development of the St Lawrence, Canterbury, which will affect the ground’s aesthetic charm. Ivo Tennant
High value McLaren – with both bat and ball, and who is intent on playing for England.
Long-term investment Denly – unless England claim him for a central contract.
Prospects Probably their best in both first-class and instant cricket since, well, 1978.

Lancashire

Captain Stuart Law Coach Mike Watkinson Overseas Brad Hodge (Aus)
Last season was Lancashire’s most agonising Championship near-miss in their history, and the ECB fixture computer clearly has a sense of humour, having pitted them against Surrey at The Oval in the opening match this time around. How well the squad have moved on from the crushing disappointment of last year is crucial, and in Stuart Law, the no-nonsense Australian who has taken over the captaincy from Mark Chilton, they have the ideal man to ensure no dwelling. Once again they don’t have the youngest squad around and it is time some of the next generation started pushing through on a regular basis. Tom Smith needs to recover from a poor 2007, while Kyle Hogg and Oliver Newby must to keep Dominic Cork and Glen Chapple on their toes. Andrew McGlashan
High value Andrew Flintoff – will have his longest stretch of county action since becoming an England regular and has the incentive of needing runs and wickets.
Long-term investment Steven Croft – an attacking batsman and useful medium-pacer who gave a glimpse of his talent last season, especially in the one-day game.
Prospects A strong squad should be a force in all competitions and the Championship is well within their grasp.

Nottinghamshire

Captain Chris Read Coach Mick Newell Overseas David Hussey (Aus), Adam Voges (Aus)
Without Stephen Fleming’s nous and wisdom, a lot rests on Chris Read’s shoulders. Elevated to captain over the winter, he doubtless has a point to prove after again slipping out of favour with the England selectors. He will lead a side who ought to be bubbling with confidence following their promotion to the first Division, though (England fans hope) he won’t have much use of Stuart Broad who hopped north from Leicestershire over the winter. Though Jason Gallian has fled to Essex, the batting line-up has a reassuringly solid feel to it. Adam Voges, the Western Australia batsman, will cover for the prolific David Hussey who is on IPL duty. Will Luke
High value Hussey – scores big runs, quick runs and lots of them.
Long-term investment Bilal Shafayat – disappointing last year(560 runs at 31.11 with no hundreds) but a gifted strokemaker who has youth on his side.
Prospects Notts’ bowling is light when the England stars are away, but their batsmen ought to keep them afloat in the Championship.

Somerset

Captain Justin Langer Coach Andy Hurry Overseas Justin Langer (Aus)
Can Somerset become county champions for the first time in their history after storming to the second-division title? It is not improbable, given that Langer has put off joining the IPL until next year – to the appreciation of many at Taunton – and that Marcus Trescothick, whose first scoring shot in Somerset’s initial pre-season friendly match was to put the ball out of the ground, will not be playing any international cricket. Then there is Omari Banks; the ever-willing Andy Caddick, who took 75 wickets last year and understandably felt he should play for England again; and a number of talented young players, including James Hildreth and Michael Munday, who should have played more often last year. And do not forget the clubbing of the ball that Ian Blackwell perennially provides. Ivo Tennant
High value Trescothick – will almost certainly score a heap of runs in this his benefit year.
Long-term investment Off the pitch, a £50m ground redevelopment; on it, Munday’s legspin, so effective at the very end of last season.
Prospects A fair chance of becoming champions, but much will depend on whether the highly respected Phil Frost can maintain an even balance between bat and ball on the Taunton square.

Surrey

Captain Mark Butcher Coach Alan Butcher Overseas Matt Nicholson (Aus)
The Butcher family alliance has helped Surrey rediscover their street-cred resilience: they fought tooth and nail to claw their way up the Championship and finish fourth last summer. Father and son have not, however, halted a few familiar faces from leaving over the winter. Out go Ian Salisbury, Azhar Mahmood, Rikki Clarke and Nayan Doshi – a strong bowling quartet – and in come Pedro Collins and Saqlain Mushtaq – “a Surrey legend”, in Butcher senior’s words. There is enough talent there to urge them to a trophy in one-dayers – 40-year-old Chris Lewis is back for the Twenty20s – but the powerhouses of Lancashire and Sussex will probably be too strong in the Championship. Will Luke
High value Mark Ramprakash – who is approaching his 100th first-class hundred and shows no sign of fading. Or ageing. Will England be tempted if and when one of their top six loses form or fitness?
Long-term investment Chris Jordon – a fast bowler of West Indian heritage and not yet 20 years old. It’s still not certain where his future allegiance lies, but Surrey will want to keep hold of him as long as possible.
Prospects Mid-table beckons in the Championship; possibly challenging for the title if their bowlers fire. Ramprakash to fill his boots again.

Sussex

Captain Chris Adams Coach Mark Robinson Overseas Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak)
Aiming for a hat-trick of Championship titles, Sussex went through a nervous pre-season waiting to hear if they would have the services of Mushtaq Ahmed after his time in the ICL. His availability means Sussex will again be the team to beat over four days, while Ryan Harris looks a useful acquisition from South Australia. The batting should look after itself, especially with Matt Prior back to boost the middle order and prove his worth to England. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan’s bowling will be missed, but Sussex know what it takes to win titles. The main issues are off the field as they try to develop Hove to keep up with changing times. Whatever the final plans, let’s hope it doesn’t lose its character. It’s part of the Sussex package. Andrew McGlashan
High value Mushtaq – one of the shrewdest county buys of all time and continues to handsomely reward Sussex.
Long-term investment Ragheb Aga – a pace bowler who has played ODIs for Kenya and made a good impression during pre-season.
Prospects They will be in the Championship mix throughout, but should be pushed all the way in a strong division. Harris and Prior will help their one-day chances.

Yorkshire

Captain Darren Gough Coach Martyn Moxon Overseas Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (Pak), Morne Morkel (SA)
The confirmation of Rana Naved’s availability is a boost and Yorkshire will boast an international-class bowling attack, with Matthew Hoggard eager to prove his England worth and Morne Morkel on early-season cover. Darren Gough’s first season back promised much before Yorkshire faded in the final stages, but there is still a positive vibe around the club. This will probably be Gough’s final year and you wouldn’t put it past him to go out on a high. However, the squad doesn’t appear quite strong enough for the Championship crown. All eyes will be on the further development of Adil Rashid; his England days are drawing closer. Andrew McGlashan
High value Jacques Rudolph – will need to fill his boots as some of the top order are unproven.
Long-term investment Ajmal Shahzad – another locally produced player of whom much is expected in the near future.
Prospects The squad appears more suited to one-day success as they aim to give Gough a fitting send-off.

Match facts

Sunday, April 20, 2008
Start time 18.30 local time (13.00 GMT)
This is the first-ever Twenty20 international game to be held in Pakistan.

The Big Picture

In 22 ODI games since their win against South Africa in the World Cup, Bangladesh have lost 19, winning three against Ireland. Having suffered a whitewash in the ODI series, the Twenty20 game offers Bangladesh a final chance at redemption. Shakib Al Hasan pushed his case for captaincy with a consistent performance with the bat during the series but has lacked support from the top order.Player to watch for Pakistan: Kamran Akmal hit a ferocious 81-ball hundred with 16 fours and a six in the third ODI and he would look to up the ante in the Twenty20 game. He has a strike-rate of 116.92 from 11 Twenty20 games but he would be looking to better his average of 15.20. Bangladesh’s weak bowling attack gives him the chance to do exactly that.Player to watch for Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal is an attacking player but with almost a suicidal instinct at the crease. He averaged 29.20 in the ODI series and has one final chance to leave his imprint on the tour. His weakness, like most of the Bangladesh top order, is a lack of patience and a tendency to charge out to the fast bowlers. It has led at times to some breathtaking assaults, as India experienced in the World Cup, but has led to his dismissals often. Eventually, it might come down to Shakib Al Hasan, the sole reliable performer in the line-up, to shoulder Bangladesh’s burden again.

Team news

Pakistan have dropped Mohammad Yousuf, the highest run-scorer at this venue in ODIs for Pakistan, for the Twenty20 game. Yousuf was also left out of Pakistan’s World Twenty20 team.Pakistan (likely) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Younis Khan, 4 Shoaib Malik (capt), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Nasir Jamshed, 8 Naumanullah, 9 Mohammad Asif, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Umar Gul.Bangladesh (likely) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Junaid Siddique, 3 Aftab Ahmed, 4 Mohammad Ashraful (capt), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mashrafe Mortaza, 8 Farhad Reza, 9 Dhiman Ghosh (wk), 10 Syed Rasel, 11 Abdur Razzak.

Pitch and conditions

The format of the game obviously demands that the pitch to be loaded in the batsman’s favour and the Karachi track is unlikely to be any different

Stats and trivia