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New Zealand quick bowler Shane Bond has said there is a danger of losing more fast bowlers from Test cricket unless boards and team managements rest them periodically.”Bowlers are almost going to be like pitchers, where you play a game and sit out the next, because of the amount of cricket played these days,” Bond told Cricinfo. “I worry that fast bowlers are going to withdraw from Test cricket early to play limited-overs cricket.”New Zealand’s often-injured pace spearhead, who retired from Test cricket last year, said Australia were possibly the only team in a position to give their fast bowlers a break. “They win more than they lose. They seem to rotate bowlers even during series and still win. People tend to forget they are resting and rotating and giving guys a week off here and there. A lot of the other teams, because they are struggling to win 50-50, are just playing their best team all the time, and they suffer when there are injuries.Bond turned out for Kolkata Knight Riders in the recent IPL and is now on show in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. He tipped the short format to develop as a showcase for fast bowlers. “You are not risking injury [in Twenty20] like you would when bowling eight- to nine-over spells, which sometimes can be dangerous.”Bond said his laziness as a teenager was to blame for the repeated breakdowns for which he became notorious over an all-too-short Test career. “The thing that hurt me the most was, I was really lazy in my late teens. Because of that, I got a lot of back problems. So I missed a lot of years from 17 to 23. I never had a good base for bowling. I just lacked it.”I went away from cricket, and then I am back and all of a sudden bowling proper fast. I went from a little bit of cricket to international cricket, where I am bowling fast. That catch-up was too much. The difference in intensity at domestic and international levels is massive and people don’t appreciate how big it is.”He ruled out a return to Tests but said younger bowlers could continue in the format as long as they managed their comebacks from injuries wisely. “I still see it now when I play with guys who are injured and they want to be back for a game that is, say, six weeks down the line. You’ve just got to come back when you are fully fit. Too many people – and I have made the mistake in the past – sometimes rush back to make a tour or a series even when they are not a 100% fit. You are better off taking it step by step.”Bond said the decision to quit Tests had been hard for him because he had badly wanted to get to 150 wickets in the format. “When I came back against Pakistan, I felt I had the opportunity once again to achieve those goals, and then, bang, I got injured. It was demoralising.”Test cricket is about getting people out and that’s what I do: I got people out. A lot of goals I wanted to achieve were built around Test cricket, but I am also a realist. I realised every time I played four- or five-day cricket, I broke if I played few games on the bounce. It is just the way I played: I find it difficult to hold back. I just go hard. It hurt me.”

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has singled out his team’s fielding as the major worry ahead of the semi-final against Australia in St Lucia. Pakistan dropped two catches in the defeat to Australia followed by three more against England in the Super Eights which took them to the brink of elimination, before they fought back against South Africa to keep their semi-final hopes alive.”We are playing well overall but we are missing opportunities by dropping catches. In any format, it is the fielding that wins you the matches,” Afridi said. “The opening partnership is very important and so is the fielding. The first six overs while batting as well as bowling are very important.”Afridi acknowledged Australia had improved significantly in the Twenty20 format, but said his team was confident on a track that has been of assistance to spinners and added he also had plans for Australia’s prolific opening pair of David Warner and Shane Watson. “We have three regular spinners, and Abdur Rehman is bowling very well,” he said. “There are a few areas where Watson and Warner go for the big runs, like midwicket and mid-on, and we’ve made plans against them as to where to bowl.”When asked whether Hammad Azam, the allrounder who is yet to get an international break, would play against Australia, Afridi said it was unlikely. “Azam is young, and he’s played some of the practice matches. He’s not very confident now, but we hope that if he tours more he can develop into a mature cricketer.”There has been no international cricket in Pakistan since the Lahore attacks in March last year, and Afridi said victory in the tournament would be a massive boost for fans back home. He also called on India and Sri Lanka to come to Pakistan’s support in these trying times, and reciprocate for Pakistan touring their countries when the situation there, as Afridi believed, was “not very good.””We are here to play good cricket and win this competition because there’s no cricket in Pakistan,” Afridi said. “The situation in India was not very good around five to six years ago and Pakistan played there as well as in Sri Lanka. Pakistan was the only team to play there. This is how we should continue our cricketing relationship.”

ScorecardGreg Smith followed a career-best batting performance with four wickets as Glamorgan folded feebly to put Derbyshire in sight of victory at the end of day three of their County Championship match at Derby.Smith scored an unbeaten 165 from 329 balls and shared a last-wicket stand of 78 with Welshman Steffan Jones that earned Derbyshire a first-innings lead of 91 and took the game away from the visitors.Only Gareth Rees, with his ninth first-class century, offered any resistance as Glamorgan collapsed to 211 all out – leaving Derbyshire a target of 121. And by the close they were 26 for 1 – only 95 runs away from a second win of the season.The game was in the balance at the start of the third morning when Derbyshire were only 13 runs in front but Smith and Jones stayed together for 86 balls, setting a Derbyshire 10th-wicket record against Glamorgan, to give their side the advantage. Jones survived a blow on the helmet from Chris Ashling to reel off some handsome drives and Smith pulled the young pace bowler for his second six after passing 150 for the first time.David Harrison ended the stand by having Jones caught behind off a rising ball for 33 but the force was now with Derbyshire and, although Graham Wagg’s Achilles tendon injury left them a bowler short, they preyed on some fragile batting to take control.Glamorgan needed a big innings from Mark Cosgrove but the Australian departed before lunch for 11, upper-cutting a short ball from Tom Lungley into the hands of Jones at third man. The visitors were still 41 runs behind when Michael Powell half swept at Robin Peterson and lobbed a simple catch to short leg and they were only 10 ahead when Ben Wright chased a wide one from Jones and was caught behind.Skipper Jamie Dalrymple was lbw for 3 shouldering arms to Garry Park and Glamorgan’s hopes of setting a testing target all but disappeared when Jim Allenby was leg before to Peterson for 12.Glamorgan were now only 36 in front with half the side gone and although Rees was playing the sort of innings the situation demanded, no one could stay with him for long. Mark Wallace was bowled by Smith for 11, swinging across the line, and although Cosker lifted the off-spinner over mid wicket for six, he then lobbed a gentle catch to slip trying to reverse sweep.Rees completed his fourth hundred against Derbyshire from 160 balls out of a sorry total of 171 for seven but he added just two more before he also became a victim of the reverse sweep when he was lbw to Smith. Harrison was the only batsman who could claim he was betrayed by the pitch when he was bowled by one from Smith that kept low and, although Ashling and Huw Waters struck some defiant blows, Glamorgan were facing almost certain defeat.Cosker gave them a glimmer of hope when he had Wayne Madsen lbw for 17 offering no shot but Derbyshire should finish the game off before lunch on the final day.

Pakistan chief selector Mohsin Khan believes that Mohammad Yousuf, who announced his retirement from the game following the ban imposed by the PCB, has a Test future and should reconsider his decision.”Pakistan still needs him in Test cricket and we have him in our plans for our upcoming tour of England,” Khan told Reuters, after Yousuf’s announcement.Yousuf was banned indefinitely by the PCB earlier this month as a part of the large-scale cull of the national side, following the diastrous tour of Australia when the team returned defeated in every single game.Zaheer Abbas, the former Pakistan captain, echoed Mohsin Khan’s views and believed Yousuf had more to offer. “Yousuf is a world-class batsman and can still play Tests for Pakistan,” Abbas told AFP. “Everyone knows the reason behind his decision, so he should decide on his future and we must respect that.”Yousuf has served the country for 12 years and deserved a better end to his career. It’s now a catch-22 situation for him, but he will have to think about his future himself,” Abbas said.Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq doubted whether his long-time team-mate Yousuf would reconsider his decision.”I don’t think he will change his decision this time because he is extremely hurt at the way the board has made accusations against him and banned him,” Inzamam said. “You don’t treat senior players like this, there is total confusion and contradiction in the charges made against Yousuf by the inquiry committee.”Ramiz Raja, another former captain, blamed the torrid happenings in recent times for Yousuf’s retirement. “For the last six months controversies have followed him and forced him to take this decision”, Raja said.

Boyd Rankin is recovering well from the foot injury that ruled him out of Ireland’s tour of Sri Lanka and the World Twenty20 Qualifiers in UAE in February, and expects to be fully fit and available for the World Twenty20 in West Indies, which begins on April 30.”I’ll be fine for the West Indies,” insisted Rankin. “The foot is nearly fully healed now. The plan is to start gradually building up bowling when Warwickshire arrive in South Africa for pre-season.”The county side, for whom the tall seamer has been with since 2007, will be in Bloemfontein for two weeks from March 10 for a training camp. They will be playing a one-day and a two day game against a local side made up of provincial players.Rankin, 25, has played in 20 one-day internationals, taking 28 wickets at 24.75, and four Twenty20 internationals and has also caught the attention of the England selectors, being included in the fast bowling programme for the 2009-10 winter. He was Ireland’s leading bowler at the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, taking 12 wickets at 27.Ireland have been drawn in Group B at the World Twenty20 along with hosts West Indies, who they play on the opening day in Guyana, before taking on an England side featuring former team-mate Eoin Morgan on May 4 at the same venue.

New Zealand could field up to three Test debutants in the one-off match against Bangladesh after calling up the opener Peter Ingram, the batsman Neil Broom and the fast bowler Andy McKay. The trio is part of a 13-man squad that does not feature the out-of-form Daniel Flynn, who has been dropped for the Hamilton Test that starts on Monday.Grant Elliott and Jesse Ryder were unavailable due to injuries, while Iain O’Brien was also out of contention from New Zealand’s most recent Test side having retired from international cricket. The coach and selector Mark Greatbatch said the three new faces had forced their way in thanks to strong domestic performances.”Peter Ingram has been picked based on the form he has shown in the longer versions of the game over the last three years of domestic cricket,” Greatbatch said. “We always had an eye on him for the Test matches, and this is his chance to step up. The top order is an important area where we need to improve and we want to see how Peter goes at the next level.”Neil Broom has been picked on the weight of domestic runs he has scored. We have moved Martin Guptill down the order. We feel that this is a more natural position for him and he is better suited there. He is a quality young player and he needs a chance to play longer innings.”Andy McKay has been a big improver this year with Wellington. He took his opportunities in the ODI games he played against Bangladesh and in all formats of the game for Wellington, so now he has a chance to prove himself the Test arena. Andy has some good pace and can move the ball around, which is always going to bother even the best of players.”New Zealand squad Tim McIntosh, BJ Watling, Peter Ingram, Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill, Neil Broom, Daniel Vettori (capt), Brendon McCullum (wk), Tim Southee, Daryl Tuffey, Andy McKay, Jeetan Patel, Chris Martin.

Scorecard
Mohammad Nabi produced a magnificent allround display to continue Afghanistan’s fairytale rise in international cricket with victory over Ireland, in a gripping match at the World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai.In a fluctuating contest, neither side were separated for long until Afghanistan surged to victory with four wickets from the final four legitimate deliveries of the match. The day began with William Porterfield winning the toss and inserting Afghanistan on a lively pitch in the International Stadium. Trent Johntson, Ireland’s evergreen opening bowler, made the most of the bounce available, getting his side off to an ideal start with two quick wickets. Karim Sadiq was bowled in Jonhston’s first over before Shafiqullah, lashed out after a couple of dot balls to be caught smartly by John Mooney.It could have been worse for Afghanistan as a number of chances were spilled before Noor Ali and wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad steadied things with a 47-run third-wicket stand in just under seven overs. At 57 for 2 at the half-way stage the foundations had been laid for a decent total but Shahzad was run out by Mooney for 12 before Ali fell soon after. He was dismissed by a full-length diving catch by Paul Stirling as he tried to flick Andre Botha into the leg side. It left Afghanistan reeling at 69 for 4 with just over seven overs to go.Nabi immediately arrested the momentum with successive sixes off young left-arm spinner George Dockrell, which was followed by another captain Nowroz Mangal. Though Mangal was stumped the next ball, trying to repeat another heave, the damage had been done with 23-runs from the over. As wickets tumbled around him, Nabi’s blend of quick running and occasional boundary swiping lifted the total to 139 and he finished unbeaten on 43 from 25 balls.As a captain opening the innings, Porterfield had an important role in calming the nerves and setting the tone for the run chase. With a four in the first over and successive, massive sixes over midwicket off Shapoor Zadran in the third, he got off to a flyer. Zadran held his nerve, however, and removed Niall O’Brien off the final ball of the third over. Having already taken 14 from the first five legal deliveries, there was no need for O’Brien to try and smite another boundary, it proved his undoing as he was caught by Ali for 2.Stirling, Ireland’s most promising young player, joined his captain as the two calmly lifted the total to 49 off just six overs. At that stage Ireland looked like they could coast home but Sadiq made up for his earlier disappointment with the bat with a crucial double-strike in the seventh over. First Porterfield was bowled by a sharply-spinning offbeak and then Andre Botha was bowled through that gate from one that came back at him for a duck. Kevin O’Brien and Stirling soon followed as Afghanistan took charge to leave Ireland at 98 for 7, still 41 needed from 33 balls.Johnston and Mooney then wrestled back some of the momentum, putting on 27 in four overs to keep Ireland in the hunt, before Johnston holed out off a full toss from Nabi to leave Ireland needing 14 from the final six balls. They didn’t get close as Hamid Hasan ran out Peter Connell from the first ball and castled Mooney off the second to secure Afghanistan a sensational start in their quest to reach a global tournament.Speaking after the game Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan was delighted with his side’s performance. “It is very heartening to beat a top side like Ireland on a consistent basis. This reflects that we are learning and learning fast,” he said. “It is certainly a jump start for my side as Ireland is the best side in the tournament. The victory has given us a tremendous boost and confidence.”Porterfield, meanwhile, was very disappointed with the way his side imploded today. “We lost it all round really. I don’t think we deserved anything from the game, the way we went at it,” he said.”We didn’t bowl badly but we probably gave them 20 or 30 runs with the amount of dropped catches. But even walking off the field, I would have taken 140, I wasn’t too disappointed to be chasing that. Just the way we went about it with the bat wasn’t good enough. The way we’ve been preparing for the last two weeks has been nowhere near that standard, and it wasn’t good enough.”

The ICC is planning a meeting with television broadcasters in March to sort out problems arising from the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS). Speaking on Cricinfo’s show, Dave Richardson, ICC’s general manager, said the system – which he said has reduced errors in decision-making since its implementation – would improve with standardisation of technology, and the meeting would discuss the cost implications in this for the member boards and broadcasters.”The only way for us to successfully standardise the technology specifications and develop protocols is first of all to discuss and determine them,” Richardson said. “The first step will be to get together with the broadcasters and the technology suppliers and come up with a more refined set of specifications. And [then] to implement those protocols and practice them.”The overall consensus across the board, whether from umpires or players or the media, is that the UDRS has worked well; that we should continue to implement it but we should look at ways of improving the technology, refining the technology and certainly as far as possible standardise the technology across all series.”One serious issue is inadequate equipment – there are currently four Hot Spot cameras available worldwide and the technology has not been used in all Test series since the UDRS was made mandatory last October. Richardson admits to the problem but says having less equipment is better than none – at least some errors will still be caught this way.However, the main hurdle on the way ahead is the cost involved in getting the system up to scratch. Richardson conceded that things were difficult “with existing agreements in place between members and broadcasters” when the system was implemented but disagreed with suggestions that the ICC should take on the cost burden to implement the technology. “When someone says the ICC must pay, in effect what we are asking is for the members to pay. Now some will argue, why should members like Afghanistan, Ireland, Holland – or even some of the other full members who do not have as many Tests – be paying the costs for Tests put on in some other full-member country?”The misgivings surrounding the UDRS reached a flashpoint during the recent fourth Test between South Africa and England in Johannesburg with umpire Daryl Harper at the centre of controversy. When Graeme Smith, on 15, cut Ryan Sidebottom, England went up for the top-edge. However, Tony Hill, the on-field umpire, turned down the appeal and Andrew Strauss asked for a review. There was no noticeable deflection on the replays so the noise from the stump microphone would have to be the decisive evidence. Harper said he couldn’t hear anything and upheld Hill’s verdict.The problem, as David Lloyd, the former England coach, explained on , was a multiplicity of broadcasters. “The [host] broadcaster, SABC, had a technical glitch in their sound department at that time so the director and the two commentators didn’t hear the nick either,” said Lloyd, who was on the commentary panel for that series. “So the information fed to Harper meant that he didn’t hear the nick, but on Supersport and Sky [who were also broadcasting the game], with different technicians, everybody heard the nick. So there is a real problem there for the ICC and the review system to ensure the broadcasting body has got the right people and the right equipment to hear the nick. Harper was also looking at a totally inadequate monitor. He has got to have the best monitor available.””[That] was a very good example of how complicated this can all get,” Richardson conceded. “Obviously if we had that series again we would make sure that the same levels or specifications that the host broadcaster was using was also being used by the other broadcasters so that there was no room for different feed going out to different people.”One of the key reasons behind the introduction of the UDRS was to reduce the scrutiny on the umpires but the Johannesburg Test showed that the results can sometimes be the opposite. “Obviously the DRS system is going to involve much more scrutiny on the third umpire himself and the role of the third umpire is crucial to the success of the system,” said Richardson. “But we are hoping that once everyone gets used to the DRS being used it will be used like it is in tennis. In so doing actually, the end result will be that the umpires won’t be blamed necessarily for causing series to be lost or players’ careers to be ended and everyone will just accept that the best decision was reached in a majority of the cases.”There is a view that the UDRS should have been trialled at the first-class level before it was introduced at the Test level but Richardson disagreed. “The problem with that is purely a practical one. First, there is very little first-class cricket that is televised. Secondly, if it is even televised, the technology that is available at those matches is very scant. Thirdly, what is needed is for players to get better understanding of when to use the system and when not to. The umpires also need to get practice at implementing the various protocols. I don’t think we would have made any progress had we initially trialled it at first-class level.”In the 13 Tests the UDRS had been used in since October 2009, the correct decision percentage had gone up from 91.3% (had the UDRS not been used) to 97.4%. But Richardson conceded that “when it comes to decisions involving thin edges, more often than not in fact, the TV technology that is available does not always help on every occasion”.The answer, he reiterated, is standardisation. “Unless we are able to improve and refine the specifications it may well be that in the end we think this is too complicated and we leave it to the on-field umpires. But I think we have already learnt enough to see that the percentage of decision-making can be improved using the DRS and, yes, it is not going to be perfect 100% of the time, so if we can get correct 97% of the time then it is all worthwhile.”

Sreesanth, the Indian fast bowler, who tested positive for the H1N1 virus, is on his way to a quick recovery and is expected to be discharged from hospital on Wednesday. He was admitted to a local Chandigarh hospital after showing multiple symptoms and had to miss the second Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka on Saturday.”We have been informed by Dr Vikas Bhutani, who is attending to Sreesanth, that he has no fever and is quite cheerful,” GS Walia, the Punjab Cricket Association joint secretary, told PTI. “He has further informed that he will be getting discharged most likely by Wednesday, 16th December.”Sreesanth showed symptoms of cough, sore throat and fever when he was brought to Chandigarh’s Fortis Hospital. The Indian team’s manager Mayank Parekh was also admitted in hospital with flu-like symptoms. “The manager has been admitted to the hospital only as a precautionary measure after he developed cough and cold,” Walia said on Friday.Gautam Gambhir and the team’s video analyst Dhananjay also underwent precautionary tests which returned negative. The Indian team members were also advised to report to the team management if they had flu-like symptoms. “The tests for swine flu will only be done if there are any symptoms of flu,” Walia said. “Otherwise, players can just have a routine medical checkup.”

Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh opener, is in doubt for the triangular series against India and Sri Lanka in January after he ignored medical advice and continued to play with a fractured hand, the BCB has said.Tamim, who has scored 1864 runs in 66 ODIs at 28.24, had injured his left hand while batting against Zimbabwe in an ODI in Chittagong on November 5. Initial scans did not reveal a fracture, but the failure to recover prompted a re-examination on November 21, and a hairline fracture was brought to notice. He was advised against any batting during practice or matches until December 7.”Despite these clear verbal and written instructions, for unclear reasons Tamim had tried batting on a number of occasions, both before and after he was diagnosed with a fracture,” the BCB said in a statement. “After every time (he batted]), he complained of increased pain, swelling, and an inability to adequately grip the bat, let alone bat with comfort or competence.”This ongoing aggravation and re-injury will delay Tamim’s recovery, and could give him long term issues with the wrist. As such, there is now some doubt as to his ability to return to fitness by the next international duties in early January.”The triangular series gets underway on January 4 in Mirpur, and will be followed by Bangladesh taking on India in a two-Test series.