Glenn McGrath, the Australian fast bowler, has warned Graeme Smith, the World XI Test captain, that he can expect the same verbal aggression in the Super Test that he was subjected to in his Test debut.Smith, after his debut series against Australia at Cape Town in 2002, went public with his shock and dismay at the tactics employed by Steve Waugh’s side and named Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden, Brett Lee and McGrath as the chief intimidators in a magazine interview. Smith’s outburst angered the Australians, who claimed that what had occurred on the field should not be dragged into the open.McGrath has hinted at a similar reception for Smith. “I’m sure we won’t hold back. We’ll play as we normally do,” McGrath was quoted as saying by , the Melbourne-based daily. “It’d be nice to knock him [Smith] over cheaply a couple of times. He might have that in the back of his mind when he comes back over here.”Smith admitted last week that he should not have been so forthcoming in his statements in 2002, but added that he would still maintain the same attitude on the field and play in the same manner. South Africa are due to tour Australia later this season, and Smith intends on playing hard then as well. “I play the game the same way, I play it hard and I don’t think there will be anything held back in Sydney and again at the end of the year when I come back with South Africa.”For now though, Smith has the challenging job of marshalling a World XI side seemingly low on confidence after being whitewashed 3-0 in the one-day internationals that have preceded this week’s Super Test.

England’s raucous band of Barmy Army supporters began arriving in Pakistan on Tuesday, dismissing security fears and bringing smiles to the faces of hoteliers in the Test venue cities.One of the first to arrive was veteran supporter Phil Long and his three travelling companions Keith Smith, John Freeman and Jonathon Dyson. All were on their way to the Pindi stadium to watch England take on the Patron’s XI. “We’re the first batch,” Long told AFP. “It’s as important a tour as the Ashes for England, and beating Pakistan in their den could be even tougher than beating the Australians.”Hoteliers are expecting full houses in the three Test venue cities of Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore as England supporters descend on Pakistan. “It’s fun to be in Pakistan,” said Smith, who said he faced no security problems. “There are no fears and we’ve been well received [here].”

The postponement of the Asia Cup will hamper the development of cricket in the region and deprive the sport of much-needed revenue, Ashraful Haq, chief executive of the Asian Cricket Council, told AFP on Sunday. The tournament was indefinitely shelved last week after a request from the new Indian board.”It (postponement) is a significant loss to cricket in the continent, because the finances generated were due to be spent on development,” Haq said, adding that the event is unlikely to be rearranged for at least two years. “Since the schedules of teams at international level are so hectic it would not be possible to hold the Asia Cup until 2008. An ideal opportunity to distribute funds among member countries was wasted.”Countries like Oman, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Nepal and the Maldives needed these funds to raise the infrastructure, but they now have to wait for a few more years.”The Asia Cup was expected to generate around $16.5 million from TV rights and sales. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka received about $2.5 million each from the $19 million in revenues from last year’s tournament. Hong Kong and the UAE, who also played there, received $300,000 each, while the rest of the fund was spent on developing cricket among the associate-member nations.

ScorecardAnother impressive all round performance from Bangladesh ended England’s faint hopes of making the final of the Under-19 triangular tournament. Needing to win their last two matches, with bonus points, England were committed in the field but fell short despite 72 from Moeen Ali – their Supersub.Mushfiqur Rahim again showed why he has already played Test cricket, as his unbeaten 78 off 73 balls guided Bangladesh out of a potentially troublesome situation of 91 for 4. Nicholas James had struck two quick blows for England with the new ball before Rahim and Raqibul Hasan steadied the innings.Hasan played the early anchor role, taking 99 balls over his 61, until being stumped of Rory Hamilton-Brown, the Surrey allrounder. At 142 for 6, England still harboured hopes to restricting Bangladesh to under 200 but Rahim found more support from Mehdi Hasan. The pair added 56 ensuring England faced a testing target.They made a positive start through Varun Chopra and Greg Wood but stuttered to 103 for 4 after the opening stand was broken by Ishraq Sonet. Ali, however, kept England in the hunt with a powerful 72 off 66 balls, as he clubbed three fours and three sixes. While he was at the crease England had a sniff but his departure left the tail with too much to do.Five Bangladesh bowlers chipped in, as their superb tournament continued. They now have five wins from five, while England have yet to register a win with just one match remaining. The Bangladesh youngsters have shown immense promise, but for England it has been a humbling experience.

Billed as Pakistan’s trump card against India, Danish Kaneria has said it will be a new and tougher challenge for him but he is determined and motivated to play a leading role in the upcoming series at home.”The series will be tough for me in several ways, like different balls to be used in the series and tough weather conditions in which the Tests would be played,” Kaneria said. “But the bottom line is that it will be a new series and we as a team will not try to live in the past glories and would try to extend our success run.”Kaneria, 25 – who took 19 wickets against India last year – said the Tests would be played in the chilli Punjab weather which could make it difficult for spinners to bowl.”The fingers take time to warm up,” he said, “and sometimes you struggle toproperly use the wrist. I think my experience with Essex would help me inthe series against India in more than one way.”Kaneria added that he was getting adjusted to playing with different types ofballs; he bowled with SG balls in India and Australian Kookaburras against England at home.”The SG balls have lifted seam but after 15 overs or so, the seamsoftens whereas the Kookaburra balls don’t have lifted seam at all,” he said. “I know different bowlers prefer to bowl with certain balls but I am a professional who would like to be equally good with whichever ball I bowl with.”I mean in England (with Essex), I bowl with Dukes. In professionalcircuit, you should know how to ball with different balls because there isno excuse in international cricket (sic).”India arrive on Thursday for their second tour of Pakistan in threeyears and play Pakistan in the first Test at Lahore, followed by Testsin Faisalabad and Karachi. Kaneria was diplomatic when asked which Indian batsmen he would be targeting but revealed he would like to grab frontline players.”There is no specific Indian batsman I would be targeting,” he said. “India has astrong batting line up and to win a Test, we will have to bowl them out. Iwould be more than happy to grab as many frontline batsmen as I can.”On paper, India has the strongest batting lineup in the world. We knowthat and we are chalking out strategies to counter that. I will be regularlytalking and consulting my captain and coach because their experience andadvice will surely help me.”There is nothing like winning and the victories in tough games andfrom crunch situations has given us the confidence that we can beat any teamfrom any situation. Each player is bubbling with confidence and I am sure like me, all theplayers are waiting for the series against India to start. This is themother of all series.”

Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson will spend the one-day tour of South Africa fighting for the allrounder’s spot for the three Tests starting in March. Watson has returned to the international squad after only two first-class matches and if his limited-overs comeback is successful he will put Symonds under extreme pressure to hold his place in the longer game.Symonds found his way slowly at Test level this summer, finally breaking free with a powerful half-century and five wickets with his medium pace at the MCG, after replacing Watson when he partially dislocated his shoulder at Brisbane. Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, said Watson would be considered for the Test side “now that he is fit and playing again”.Watson, who has appeared in three Tests and 40 ODIs, said the situation was tight. “In the whole package there is not much between us,” he said in . “Roy’s [Symonds’s] fielding is amazing consistently. I hold my own, but he is one of the world’s best fielders. All I can do is continue to develop my bowling, which is obviously a major part, especially with Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne coming to the end of their careers.”The addition of Watson and Mitchell Johnson, his Queensland team-mate, in the 14-man touring squad disappointed Darren Lehmann, the South Australia captain. “We are close to being in the finals of the one-day competition and we still can’t get anyone in the Australian side,” Lehmann said in . “We have one of the leading run-scorers [Mark Cosgrove] and blokes who are getting wickets.”Lehmann feared the announcement meant that Jason Gillespie’s international career was over. “The big thing is they have probably moved on from `Dizzy’,” he said. “They are probably not looking at him for the next World Cup. It looks like they have made their decision.”Geoff Lawson, the former Test bowler, said Johnson’s selection was a disgrace after only eight wickets in the ING Cup this season. “His stats do not stack up,” Lawson told Sydney radio . “There are 25 bowlers in Australian cricket who have much better numbers than him. So how he gets in the team is an absolute disgrace.”

West Indies A have made two changes to their 13-man squad for the final three one-day matches against England A. Patrick Browne, the wicketkeeper, and Alan Richardson, the seamer, have been replaced by Carlton Baugh and Tino Best.The series is currently level at 1-1 after West Indies won the opening match at St Lucia before England levelled the series at the same venue by 57 runs.The next match takes place at the 3Ws Oval in Cave Hill on March 14, before the final two matches at the Windward Cricket Ground on March 17 and 19.West Indies A squad Sylvester Joseph (capt), Carlton Baugh, Gavin Tonge, Marlon Samuels, Tino Best, Narsingh Deonarine, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Ryan Hinds, Darren Sammy, Omari Banks, Dale Richards, Lendl Simmonds, Richard Kelly

In the tenth over of the match, the scorer in the press box made an announcement that had most people in splits. “The 39-run partnership between Gambhir and Dravid is an Indian record for the highest second-wicket partnership against England at the Feroz Shah Kotla.” Talk about cricket being a statistician’s delight. A frantic day was enlivened by a few more such announcements but the one stat that overshadowed all was reserved for the last.Harbhajan Singh, who had earlier top-scored with a reviving 37, spun to a career-best 5 for 31, bettering his 5 for 43 against the same opponents four years ago. Astonishingly, it had come after he had been caned for 22 runs in the first four (his second spell read 6 – 2 – 9 – 4). Every ball appeared to be wrapped with mystery, spin mixed with rip mixed with loop, all leaving the England batsmen quite clueless.It came after a harrowing few months for Harbhajan – wicketless in two Tests in Pakistan, missing the following ODI series (where there was even a conspiracy theory surrounding his reluctance to bowl in front of the match referee), and a modest eight wickets in the three Tests against England. Some branded him an “SG ball bowler”, a few asked questions about his technique, others spoke about a possible feeling of insecurity.But just like the Feroz Shah Kotla, with four new stands and it’s capacity increased by around 15000, Harbhajan sported a new look. Yet one must remember that he hadn’t bowled too badly in the preceding Tests, just that the results hadn’t been forthcoming. “I didn’t try anything different here,” he added, “just wanted to bowl as well as I have been doing. I knew, at some stage, the results would come.”Duncan Fletcher, in his book , has a large section dedicated to the advantages of playing the sweep shot but it was always going to be a hazardous option on this particular pitch. Four of their main batsmen succumbed to swishes across the line – three holed out in the deep, while Flintoff was trapped lbw – and played right into India’s hands. “Obviously the sweep shot gives you the option to get an lbw or a bowled,” Harbhajan said after the match. “It’s dangerous if they are not playing the right length, especially on the wicket like this when the ball is keeping low.”Support arrived from an unlikely quarter with Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan’s state-mate, turning into an ideal foil (2 for 32). “It was important that we were bowling good balls from both ends. Yuvraj bowled very well. It was nice to see him take that responsibility and bowl so well.”Harbhajan the bowler engineered the fightback but it was Harbhajan the batsman who had given them hope. After a most atrocious slog to square leg, on the last day of the Mumbai Test, not many punters might have picked Harbhajan as the top-scorer. He admitted, though, that he was doubly determined. “I had played a very bad shot in the last Test,” he continued, “and I wanted to bat well till the last over. I had to bat with Dhoni at that stage and was talking to him. Rahul and Greg told me to rotate the strike, not play shots, and look to play straight.”It helps your confidence if you do well in one form of the game. The lower-order batsmen have been working hard. We would like to keep improving ourselves and helping the team cause.”His penultimate act of the day was to deliver the last ball of the 31st over with five men preying close to the bat. The relief on his face, when he doffed his hat and thanked the gods, was palpable. A forgettable phase appeared to have been put behind. It was time to surge ahead. Dhoni duly obliged by mounting the TVS Apache – Harbhajan’s Man-of-the-Match award – and escorted him on a joyous victory lap. We were reliably informed that it was the first time a wicketkeeper from Ranchi and an offspinner from Jalandhar had ridden around half the Kotla at 4:35 in the evening.

Faisalabad comfortably defeated Sialkot by the convincing margin of 130 runs, on the final day of their Pentangular Cup match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and took a big lead over the other participants at the top of the table with the full 18 points from two matches.After having set Sialkot a stiff victory target of 389 on Friday, Faisalabad bowled them out for 258. While Samiullah Niazi, the left-arm seamer, captured four wickets for 73 runs, opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez employed his offspin effectively to take three inexpensive wickets and hasten Sialkot’s demise. Hafeez, following his scores of 113 and 60, polished off the Sialkot lower order with figures of 3 for 16 from 5.4 overs.Only opener Majid Jahangir and middle-order batsman Shahzad Malik showed some resistance, contributing scores in the 80s, although their fourth-wicket stand together amounted to a modest 66 runs. Majid faced only 108 balls for his 80, hitting 14 boundaries. Shahzad remained unbeaten with 83.Faisalabad will now meet National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) — this season’s Patron’s Trophy champions — in their third-round match at the Multan Cricket Stadium from Tuesday. NBP have played one match in the Pentangular and gained nine points from an outright win.Sialkot, who have been defeated in both their matches so far, have the opportunity to redeem themselves, as they will be playing their next game against Karachi Harbour at Lahore, also from Tuesday.

Haafiz Majid Jahangir compiled a career-best 156 as Sialkot came from behind to attain a three-wicket win over Karachi Harbour on the final day of their third-round Pentangular Cup match at the Gaddafi Stadium.Chasing a stiff target of 369, Sialkot finally got there for the loss of seven wickets. Starting from their overnight score of 160 for 2, still needing another 209 runs to win their first match in three appearances, Sialkot were put on the right path by a third-wicket partnership of 145 between Jahangir and Ayub Dogar.Dogar followed his first-innings 77 with another invaluable knock of 61 that came off 150 balls with nine fours. The 25-year-old Majid, playing in only his third first-class match of the season, scored his 156 runs off 351 deliveries in almost seven and a half hours and hit 25 fours.Tahir Mughal (42 off just 43 balls with nine fours), the captain, promoted himself up the order and helped add 74 runs for the fourth wicket with Majid. At 351 for 3, only 18 more runs were required for victory.Sialkot then lost four quick wickets in the space of 14 runs but the issue had already been settled. The win was finally achieved with three wickets still standing. As they had earlier surrendered a first innings lead of 99, they collected only six points instead of the full nine.Sialkot, who are the current national champions, have managed to lift themselves up from the bottom of the five-team table after having started the tournament with two straight defeats. They now have only one match in hand and absolutely no chance of winning the Pentangular.In the fourth-round that starts from Monday (April 17), Faisalabad will play against Karachi Harbour at the Gaddafi Stadium while table leaders National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) will face Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the Multan Cricket Stadium.