Umar Gul, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been included in the Pakistan A squad for India’s first warm-up game of the forthcoming tour of Pakistan on January 7.Gul is making a comeback after a back injury sidelined him for more than a year. In his last Test, Gul took 5 for 31, a haul that included the cream of the Indian batsmen.”Gul has been recalled because he has now been playing at the domestic level and appears to have made a complete recovery from his injury”, a Pakistan Cricket Board official told Reuters. India will arrive in Pakistan on January 5 and play three Tests and five one-day internationals. The first Test begins on January 13 in Lahore.Meanwhile, Abdul Razzaq was admitted to hospital Wednesday with high fever and a chest infection but said he hopes to be fit before the India series next month.Razzaq told AFP, “I have been advised to rest for one week and have undergone tests on achest infection. The high fever has weakened me. I hope that I will regain fitness before the India series.”Razzaq, a key allrounder for Pakistan, missed Pakistan’s three-Test series against England due to an elbow injury, but played in all five matches of theone-day series which ended last week.Pakistan A
1 Hasan Raza (capt), 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Mohammad Wasim, 4 Faisal Iqbal, 5 Asim Kamal, 6 Bazid Khan, 7 Zulqarnain Haider, 8 Mansoor Amjad, 9 Mohammad Irshad, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Iftikhar Anjum, 12 Yasir Arafat.

As Cyclone Baaz lies pretty much stationary somewhere over the Bay of Bengal, so too do predictions on whether the India’s first Test series against Sri Lanka on home soil in eight years will begin as per schedule. As and when Baaz makes its move Chennai may be hit by heavy showers, in which case the game will be disrupted if not off, or be shaken by winds of 80-odd kmph, in which case, to land it at the appropriate spot, bowlers will need to release the ball from a barge positioned strategically in the Indian ocean.It is time that the Tours, Programmes and Fixtures Committee of the Indian board affixes a weather chart to their rotation chart. It might learn that the Northeast monsoon, or the Retreating Southwest Monsoon, between October and December, is the principal wet season for Tamil Nadu, accounting, we are informed by the Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai, for 60 per cent of the annual rainfall in the coastal districts. This year, of course, has been an exaggeration, with the Southwest monsoon falling short by 27 per cent while the Northwest has registered a destructive excess of 160 per cent.Even so, you’ve got to hand it to the administrators for the tenacity with which they adhere to their follies. Not a ball has been bowled in the last one-day match slotted here, versus South Africa ten days ago, and the previous one against New Zealand was abandoned after 26.5 overs. The last Test match here, against Australia, ended without what had promised to be a tantalising final day. The one before that, against West Indies, got a result but was disrupted by bad light and drizzles.On that last occasion, the committee had, in what can only be termed a last-minute masterstroke, switched dates with Mumbai, with the result that Chennai was pushed deeper into its monsoon and Mumbai closer to the end of its. Thus, having barely had any time to work post the rains, groundsmen at the Wankhede on match-eve were spotted painting large swathes of the eroded outfield with what appeared to be a respectable shade of green as it was being applied but which somehow managed to dry to a lurid aquamarine, the kind associated with iffy mocktails. All in all, more power to Suresh Babu of Gummidipoondi.It is hard to know how dampness might affect it, but otherwise the pitch is criss-crossed in breadth and length with little cracks, giving it the appearance of one of those exercises found in children’s art-and-craft books where patches are to be coloured corresponding to the numbers printed in them. Spin it will. Let it be known that in the last two opening days here, Anil Kumble has winkled out as many as twelve Test victims, seven of them Australians. Muttiah Muralitharan, meanwhile, had snapped up eight first-day Indians in the last Test between the teams, on a batting beauty at the SSC in Colombo. Both sides are expected to include two specialist spinners, though neither has announced even a XII.It was a morning so grey in Chennai that the sky felt an extension of the concrete pillars and roof at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Both teams had a long and comprehensive practice session. Media interest was at its highest when Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh occupied the twin nets in the Indian corner.Who between these to pick into the XI is one of the trickier selections for India in recent times. Yuvraj has been batting with increasing impressiveness. After five years on the international circuit, you sense that the time has arrived for him to be given a proper go at Test cricket. Whether or not he will be able to hack is something to watch, but if Indian does not ring in the changes one at a time, there lies the danger of having to perform a complete middle-order transplant in a couple of years. Certainly on current form Yuvraj ought to be played and be given the full series to show what he is able to offer.At the same time one can’t help feeling that it would not be entirely fair to leave Ganguly out. He has been nudged out as one-day captain, then dropped as one-day player, then sacked as Test captain. His biggest backer in the board is now out of power. The three selectors who voted for his inclusion in the Test squad have been dismissed. The only thing that can talk for him now is performance.The past month he has played match after match in domestic cricket, made two important hundreds to cancel out his pair against Zaheer Khan, and bowled away till the point that on the opening day of the last game he sent down an eye-catching 22 overs (23.2 if you include no-balls). Now reunited with team, he has, according to Greg Chappell said, “Grooved in nicely over the last two days”. Does he not deserve a chance to show whether or not he’s worked his out? To show whether or not he is committed to giving back to the team what the team gave him over the past five years?It’s a mighty difficult decision and though the feeling in media circles is that Ganguly is certain to be selected, it is a call that will not be taken lightly.Inevitably, there will be an outpouring of I-told-you-sos as events take whatever course they will over the next few days. Don’t listen to any of it. Nobody really knows. It’s the single biggest reason why we keep watching.India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Sourav Ganguly, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Ajit Agarkar, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 Harbhajan Singh.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Marvan Atapattu, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakarra, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Farveez Maharoof, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Muttiah Muralitharan, 10 Malinga Bandara, 11 Lasith Malinga.

Clive Field, the representative of Zimbabwe players, has warned that political pressure is likely to be brought to bear on those still on strike to return to work.Most of the country’s leading players have been on strike since November in a bid to force Peter Chingoka, the board chairman, and Ozias Bvute, the MD, to stand down over allegations of serious mismanagement. Large sums of money are reported to be unaccounted for and some players have not been paid for over four months.The Sports and Recreation Committee’s decision to re-appoint Chingoka as chairman of the interim board is a slap in the face for the players who had hoped that the SRC would look on their arguments favourably, especially after it published a report slamming the Chingoka regime last month.But the strikers now have a choice. To continue their action or to return to work. Field is concerned that a number of them will face financial and political pressure to resume playing, all the more so as many of them are teenagers.”I suspect that a number of them will be induced to carry on playing because of financial or other issues,” he said. “The younger players, particularly, will be under pressure to play. The more senior guys, I believe, will decide they can’t carry on.”It just depends on how far the players are prepared to go now in sticking to their original concerns. If they are, I think it does mean the end because the players clearly won’t play under these guys.”The new board will not be in a mood to be conciliatory, and Chingoka is predicted to look for revenge against those who tried to topple him. The players owed money – and the total sum is around US$200,000 – are likely to be told that they pay or they won’t get anything owed to them. Those who have already quit, such as Tatenda Taibu and Heath Streak, could lose out altogether.In a country with massive unemployment and hyperinflation, others are expected to face a stark choice between compromising their principles or facing a bleak future without work.Even if most of those on strike are persuaded to resume playing, it is far from clear if Zimbabwe will survive on the international scene. One source told Cricinfo that even the best side they can field at the moment wouldn’t be good enough to beat the second XI of any of the other Test-playing countries. And this will make the other boards, conscious of the lack of marketability of the current Zimbabwe side, sit up even if the personal plight of the players hasn’t done so far.The last word was with Field who admitted it was a grim day. “”I think we’re stuffed,” he shrugged, “more stuffed than we’ve ever been.”

With two full sessions lost due to a very damp outfield and square, Windward Islands had reached 48 for 2 against Trinidad and Tobago in the Carib Beer Series fixture at Shaw Park on Friday.Rawl Lewis, the Windwards captain, reckoned the damp conditions that persisted, even after a day of steady sunshine, were better to bat in than field. His decision, at least in the 25 overs possible yesterday afternoon, seemed dubious. The loss of key batsman Devon Smith with less than five overs to go in the abbreviated day, followed less than two overs later by his opening partner Rommel Currency, gave the first day advantage to T&T. Dave Mohammed took both the wickets.The wait for play was long and frustrating for both sides, especially perhaps for the Windwards players, who had sat through four days at Mindoo Phillip Park in their previous match against the Leeward Islands without any play.

Scorecard

Jason Gillespie sliced through Queensland’s middle order with a five-wicket haul as the Bulls were bowled out for 252 on the first day of their Pura Cup match against South Australia. In reply, the Redbacks’ top order struggled, finishing the day at 3 for 41 with Andy Bichel claiming all three victims.Queensland seemed comfortably placed at 3 for 117 until Gillespie struck, dismissing James Hopes for 8, caught by Cameron Borgas. Brendan Nash failed to open his account and Gillespie then removed Chris Hartley and Bichel off successive deliveries, leaving them limping at 7 for 136. Clinton Perren and Ashley Noffke resurrected the innings with an 82-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Perren hung on almost to the end, adding a further 32 with Daniel Doran, after Gillespie clean bowled Noffke to take his fifth wicket. Perren finished with 74 with ten fours and a six.The Redbacks lost Ben Cameron early, edging the ball to Perren who dropped it, but the deflection was taken by Martin Love at first slip. Greg Blewett and Borgas took the score to 39 but both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession by Bichel.

Ashley Giles, the England spinner, admits he is concerned over his future with the national side.Giles, 33, underwent surgery on a dodgy hip and missed out on England’s tour to India. He has not bowled since the Pakistan tour in late 2005 and said that it is hard to imagine bowling anytime soon.”I have to face the fact that the injury is career-threatening,” Giles told The Mail on Sunday. “If the rehab doesn’t succeed, the alternatives are obvious. The specialist thought the hip would have done most of its healing after three months but that hasn’t happened. Hopefully this will give it an extra nudge to aid the growth of the new cartilage material.”Though the procedure was undertaken to speed up his recovery, Giles believed that it will take a lot of mental strength to gear himself up. “At some stage I am going to have to take a leap of faith and try to bowl again,” he said. “It may even be a case of having to play through a pain threshold to play. But if the pain was anything like it was in Pakistan, or towards the end of the Ashes, which I only managed to get through with a cortisone injection, I really don’t think it will be possible for me to continue.”Giles, with 140 wickets from 52 Tests, has been a key member of the England side for the past few seasons. But with Monty Panesar and Shaun Udal, the frontline spinners on the tour to India, having performed credibly Giles admitted that it increased the odds against him. England’s domestic season is less than a month away and Giles said he was “struggling” to make himself available for a Test series against Sri Lanka beginning early May.”My targets are still the same – to get fit and to play for England again,” he said. “But I’ve missed all the time-lines so far. I missed the Test series in India, I missed the one-day series and now we are approaching the start of the domestic season.”

Matthew Elliott has pulled out of his county deal with Glamorgan after finally succumbing to the knee injury that has plagued his season for South Australia. Mark Cosgrove, Elliott’s team-mate in Adelaide, will take his place after an impressive domestic season.Elliott’s withdrawal means Glamorgan have lost both their original overseas players following Michael Kasprowicz’s decision to turn down the county to prolong his Test career. However, Elliott is confident Cosgrove will prove an able replacement. He old the : “Mark is one of the best young batsmen in state cricket and he will play for Australia one day. I am sure he will score a lot of runs for Glamorgan this summer.””I am very disappointed to be missing the 2006 county season for Glamorgan,” added Elliott. “The club have been very understanding of my situation but at the end of the day I have to follow the surgeon’s advice, I can’t take any risks by rushing my comeback.”I love playing for Glamorgan and have made a lot of friends in Cardiff. I definitely want to go back to Sophia Gardens next year.Glamorgan are still in the market for a second replacement overseas player to cover for the loss of Kasprowicz, but have said they won’t sign a player just for the sake of it. In a commendable approach they have refused to bolster their squad with Kolpak signings, instead giving youth a chance, which has resulted in them struggling in recent seasons but could still bring benefits in the long-term.They were relegated to the Second Division of the Championship last summer, but are in the top flight for the revamped Pro40 league.

Stuart Clark, Phil Jaques and Mitchell Johnson are the three new faces in the list of contracted national cricketers, a 25-member group that Cricket Australia announced today. They replaced James Hopes, Cameron White and Mick Lewis. Brett Dorey, who was also upgraded to a contract after selection for several VB Series matches last summer, has not been offered a full contract.”Jaques, Clark and Johnson have all performed very well over the past 12 months and have been rewarded with contracts, while Hopes, Lewis, White and Dorey’s contracts haven’t been renewed on this occasion,” said Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of the National Selection Panel (NSP). “However, they are quality players and we look forward to them performing well in domestic cricket and putting their name forward again for future selections.”The contracted players are paid a base retainer, which is levelled according to a player ranking system decided by the NSP. Each player also receives match fees, tour fees and prize money for on-field success.List of contracted playersNathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Daniel Cullen Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Michael Hussey, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Warne, Shane Watson.

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Streaming Audio: Real :: WMAIndia surprised their supporters at the start of the Antigua Test, going in with six specialist batsmen and four specialist bowlers, deviating from their earlier strategy of being aggressive and playing five specialist bowlers. Sambit Bal, Cricinfo’s editor, tells Amit Varma that he is shocked by this negative selection. However, he points out that while the Indian think-tank has been conservative regarding the balance of the side, they’ve been adventurous with the bowlers picked: VRV Singh and Munaf Patel play while Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh sit out.Bal is not happy with Harbhajan’s exclusion, though. If teams pick their best batsmen regardless of conditions, he says, so should they pick their best bowlers.Listen in.Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
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The wife of Australia’s former captain, Steve Waugh, has undergone surgery for a blood clot on her brain. Lynette Waugh, 38, was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick on Thursday and underwent the operation the following morning.Steve and Lynette have been married for 15 years and have three children, Rosie, 10, Austin, six, and Lily, four. She is “fighting and fighting very well,” her father-in-law, Roger Waugh, told the Nine Network, while Steve’s twin Mark and his wife Kim have both visited the hospital. “We’ve seen her,” said Mark. “She’s going well.”Waugh, 41, was named Australian Father of the Year last year, but lauded Lynette’s role during the years he spent away on tour. “While I was away for a lot of years playing cricket, [Lynette] was basically the lone parent,” he said. “So I congratulate Lynette, this award is probably more for you than me.”