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Mitchell Johnson’s stunning form in India has fuelled his belief that he is ready for a Test debut at the Gabba on November 8. A five-wicket haul in the fifth ODI in India has highlighted his growing maturity on the international stage and leaves him in perfect shape to face Sri Lanka alongside Brett Lee and Stuart Clark.”I’d be absolutely thrilled if I get picked,” he said in the . “I think where I was last season when I was 12th man [for the Ashes], I probably wasn’t ready. But now I back myself more. If I get that selection, I’d be very thrilled and I think I’d be ready for it.”Johnson has spent a lot of time learning over the past year, which included long stints on the sidelines as he waited for openings in the Test and one-day teams. In India he has been a regular, taking 11 wickets at 19.45, and he showed he could perform under pressure with a double-wicket maiden to shut out India in Nagpur on Sunday.”It’s been a long ride, being 12th man last summer and with the World Cup stuff, but it’s been an exciting one for me and I’ve just enjoyed the whole experience,” he said. “If I wasn’t around the team [as 12th man], I wouldn’t be in this situation now. If I was sitting back at home watching and not being around the guys, it would probably be a different story.”Johnson, who went to Chennai on a pre-season trip to the city’s pace academy, has been surprised by his success in India. “I probably didn’t expect to get as many wickets as I did,” Johnson said. He has another chance to add to his collection during the seventh match in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Sri Lankan legspinner, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, is expected to be out of action for two months after undergoing an operation on his dislocated right index finger.Lokuarchchi sustained the injury while attempting a return catch off Ravi Bopara during England’s first innings of their match against a Sri Lanka Board President’s XI in Colombo.Initially it was feared he had sustained a break, but his coach, Chandika Hathurusinghe, confirmed that the blow had dislocated a knuckle without severing the surrounding tendons. Nevertheless, he is expected to spend three weeks in plaster, and it will be a further month before he is fit to bowl again.Though Lokuarachchi was not in contention for the forthcoming Test series against England, he was very much in the selectors’ thoughts for the CB Series in Australia in January and February. He played in the final two matches of England’s recent ODI series in September and October, and has taken 31 wickets at 23.38 in 31 matches to date.

Otago’s success in taking the first innings points proved invaluable. With the abandonment of play, it secured the four points from the game and took an 8-4 points lead in the Southern Zone competition, which has two games to be played, in Ashburton on Friday, and Westport on Sunday.Otago did well to pass a solid Canterbury total, especially when without Chris Gaffaney, the star of the game the day before in Gore. Andrew Hore’s good form in club cricket was reflected in the early part of the innings while Lee Germon showed he was well on the way to making a significant impact for the side in the latter part of this series and in future commitments for the side.Craig Cumming’s form was welcome after some disappointment in Gore and the sight of Karl O’Dowda guiding the side to victory with a controlled innings was a hint of the role he might have in the Shell Cup later in the summer.Canterbury enjoyed a profitable assault when Warren Wisneski was at the crease and there’s no doubt when he gets cracking from the outset the impetus is well and truly applied to the innings. With some hard-hitting players further down the order like Darren Reekers, Cleighten Cornelius and Stephen Cunis there is a hint that a huge score is not far away for Canterbury, but it needs to produce the goods soon.It’s not really fair being a bowler in these games, but for the bowler’s who get their length right the rewards are to be had and Otago’s Kerry Walmsley, who conceded only one run in the ninth over of the Canterbury innings, and Canterbury’s left-arm spinner Danny Bulman, who was sitting on a hat-trick, showed rewards could be had.The pressure goes on Otago in the last two games, as it will be without Walmsley, who is off to South Africa.

The Asian Test Championship final at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore starting 6 March is an occasion to celebrate for Pakistani cricket lovers more so, because they have starved long for a chance to enjoy international cricket on their own soil. The drought started when India backed out of a regular tour on political grounds two years back. Then came the fateful 11 September 2001 disaster that struck a further blow to hosting international cricket in Pakistan.Pakistan, which happens to be Afghanistan’s next door neighbour had to bear the brunt of the security concerns expressed by scheduled touring sides. The foreign teams cancelled their tours, not only causing the PCB a colossal loss of funds but also depriving the cricket loving public of the fun of watching international cricket live. Another fall out from the crisis boiled down to the Pakistan Cricket Team losing vital match practice.While New Zealand cancelled their tour, a compromise was struck with the West Indies Team to play the scheduled series at Sharjah instead of in Pakistan. Despite being out of practice, it was fortunate for Pakistan team to win both tests as well as the one-day encounters.The situation having eased up considerably, it is nice to see Sri Lanka coming over to play final of the Asian Test Championship at Lahore. This match is in fact the unfinished agenda of the championship that commenced last year. India having declined to participate, only three teams Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were left in the contest. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka having thrashed Bangladesh by an inning’s margin, the two teams jumped into the finals. It may be recalled that Pakistan won the first Asian Championship in 1999 also participated by India. Pakistan shall thus be defending their honour. Let us see who becomes the new Asian Champs?The two sides have not only been announced but have had also net practice sessions at Gaddafi. The Pakistan team has two major omissions. The prolific opener Saeed Anwar is either not recovered from his injury or is away on personal business. Former skipper Wasim Akram has been sidelined for doubtful physical fitness, an assessment of the selectors that he has refuted in the press. Out of those selected, Inzamam remains pathetically out of his elements. Surprisingly, a batsman of a very high caliber, the Pakistan vice-captain was seen struggling with the bat against Bangladesh, a rare phenomena for the big man who had never faced such a crisis in his career. He is, however, quite capable of striking back at any time or can even be a match winner on his own.Two youngsters who gave remarkable performances against the West Indies at Sharjah could not possibly be ignored. The budding all-rounder Shoaib Malik who played a match winning innings in the second one-day game at Sharjah fully justified his inclusion in the side. Same was the case with Mohammad Sami, who not only bowled Pakistan to victory but also joined the ranks of bowlers to perform a hat trick in one-day games.Sri Lanka also has a very balanced side. Giving Pakistan due credit, skipper Jayasuriya visualizes a tough battle between the two teams. He is of the view that his team is now on the right track and direction and with some excellent performance in the recent past, he expects his boys to do well in the final. With Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Russel Arnold, Tillekeratne and Jayasuriya himself, the Sri Lanka team has quite a depth in its batting line up. They, however, feel the pinch of not having played any cricket in the last 10 weeks compared to Pakistan who recently won the two Test series against the West Indies at Sharjah. One should not, however, lose sight of trump card Muttiah Muralitharan who can take Sri Lanka to the vistory stand single-handedly on his day. Both sides look determined to win which indicates that it will be an excitingly tough battle to watch.The teams were given a joint reception by PCB and the match sponsors at a local hotel last evening in which brief speeches were made. In a battle of wits, the two managers expressed their desire ‘to turn the tables on the other’, the whole thing ending up in good humour.The nature of the pitch would only be known just before the match starts but it is expected to be sporting. The weather is clear with excellent daylight required for good cricket. Athar Zaidi and Darrel Harper will be the field umpires while Saleem Badar will act as TV umpire and the ICC match referee will be AM Ebrahim (Zim).

Sussex have confirmed Ryan Harris has terminated his contract with the club with immediate effect. The county was forced to withdraw Harris from their Championship opener against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl on Wednesday after he signed a three-year deal with Queensland.Harris, who grew up in and appeared for South Australia, was originally picked up as a Kolpak player and joined on the basis he held a British passport and met current ECB regulations. However, the conditions also stipulate players cannot perform in another country as a local.”This has been a very difficult decision for Ryan but the only decision he could make after it was announced on Wednesday that he had signed a three-year contract with Queensland to play as a local player and not as an overseas player,” Gus Mackay, Sussex’s chief executive, said.”This is extremely disappointing for the club given that Ryan is an exciting cricketer who we were looking forward to being part of our title defence.” Harris played in the season’s traditional curtain raiser – Sussex, the County Champions, against MCC – and bowled swiftly at Lord’s last week, picking up 4 for 36.

International players should be allowed to retire and take up lucrative contracts with Twenty20 leagues in India, according to Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations. May said any move by national boards to stop such retirements, or to ban players who join Twenty20 leagues, could be a restraint of trade and might result in court action.”If a player wants to retire from international cricket because he’s had enough and wants to spend more time with his family and he can seek employment elsewhere, to allow him to spend more time with his family, then, like any other employee, he should be allowed to,” May told the .”We will resist that [banning players] with everything we have. That is an unreasonable restraint of trade, which will be up to the players and the courts to test.”But while May said there was the potential for competitions like the Indian Premier League and the Indian Cricket League to lure players away from their international contracts, national boards also have another potential problem. The IPL’s franchising system has raised questions over possible sponsorship clashes.It is feasible that a Cricket Australia-contracted player could sign with a team owned by a company that provides services in competition with Cricket Australia’s major sponsors, the Commonwealth Bank and Travelex. “That’s a hypothetical question,” James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive said.”The facts are that we deal with these situations day after day, with players playing county cricket or in other situations. Players will need to work around these situations to be released.”Justin Vaughan, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, said his board would have to revisit its payment structure to ensure non-IPL players are not easily enticed to a rebel Twenty20 outfit.”We’ll talk to the players’ association because they are very mindful of that situation and we certainly don’t want these players being lost to international cricket,” Vaughan told the . “But it’s great our players can make a lot of money playing cricket. That’s fantastic.”The initial IPL sign-on fees were announced last week, with Shane Warne receiving a US$400,000 deal, Glenn McGrath attracting US$350,000 and Justin Langer signing up for US$175,000. However, those figures are base fees for being part of the player pool and do not include the salaries they will be paid by whichever franchise they join.

The difference a day makes
It was like watching two different teams when Bangladesh began their innings. After showing scant regard to anything South Africa sent down last night, they offered the Australian attack much more respect. Brett Lee and Co, though, didn’t begin with a series of tempting half volleys and it wasn’t until Lee had to protect himself against a free-hit that he pitched the ball up. Bangladesh’s first boundary was a fortunate edged cut between the wicketkeeper and slip and there was a huge amount of playing and missing. The difference was summed up by Aftab Ahmed, who yesterday creamed 36 off 14 balls and here made 31 off 34.Top-left-corner
Bangladesh’s batsmen spent most of the early overs planted firmly on the back foot and as hard as they tried they couldn’t break the shackles. Facing a rapid bouncer from Mitchell Johnson, Nazimuddin went for a pull but was so late on the shot that he was clattered flush on the helmet. The ball ballooned to backward point and they ran a leg-bye. It was a fine glancing header that wouldn’t have looked out of place a few days ago at the other Newlands sports stadium when theSouth African football team played Zambia.Double free-hit
Australia continued to have a few problems with the front line and Johnson, in his second over, followed one no-ball with another. After the first one Tamim Iqbal had a wild swing-and-miss, then when the free-hit was carried over to the following delivery he went for another wild mow and didn’t make contact. So, apart from the extra run for the no-ball, the free-hit had cost Australia the grand total of one bye. That’s an escape and a half.Second chance Sunday
It was fairly clear that events were going Australia’s way when Ricky Ponting showed his brilliant reflexes to hold Nazimuddin’s powerful drive at extra cover. The shot sped towards Ponting and popped straight out of his hands, but the momentum carried him forward and he snapped up the chance on the rebound.Have a single for that
Aftab was trying his best to hold the innings together, and unfurled a trademark clip over midwicket which soared high into the air. The batsmen were sure it was going for at least four, but the Newlands outfield is still fairly soft and slow. Like a fine nine-iron into the green, Aftab’s shot pitched and plugged almost on the spot allowing deep square-leg to haul it in. Aftab only realised too late, and didn’t even make it back for two.Another Twenty20 first
After the first Twenty20 century, by Chris Gayle against South Africa, this match brought the first hat-trick in the international version. Brett Lee was the man with the honour as his pace proved too much for the middle order. Shakib al Hasan edged a catch behind, Mashrafe Mortaza was speared by a yorker and Alok Kapali was trapped in front. It nearly got better for Lee, his next delivery missed the stumps by a fraction, but he had overstepped. The free-hit found the hands ofJohnson at long-on, and didn’t count. But the over had had enough wickets.Catches win…oh dear
Bangladesh needed early wickets, and they nearly got one. With the fourth ball of the innings Mortaza brought an edge from Adam Gilchrist which flew towards Alok Kapali at slip. He moved quickly to his left, got a decent amount of hand on it, but couldn’t hold on. Australian batsmen don’t offer many chances and they hurried the game towards its conclusion.

ScorecardRain proved to be a spoiler in what could have been an exciting finish to the 129th Battle of the Blues schools-cricket encounter between Royal College and St. Thomas’ College played at the SSC grounds on Saturday.A sporting declaration by Royal left the Thomians a target of 244 to chase in a minimum of 71 overs in the fourth innings. After a cautious start, the Thomians took up the challenge with their openers Jehan Thahir and Fahim Saleem posting an unbroken stand of 59 off 20.1 overs before rain put an end to what would have been an exciting run-chase.The spectators, in true Royal-Thomian spirit, hung around hoping the rain would cease and the match would resume like it did on the first day but the contest was doomed to end in the 62nd draw of this time-honoured series. The game was stopped 20 minutes before tea on the third and final day and was never resumed.The Thomian last pair, Dinesh Walpita and Nilshan Fernando, added 17 runs off 59 balls before being separated when play resumed on the third day. The Thomian innings, which stood at a precarious 141 for 9 with the threat of a follow on, was eventually terminated at 198, giving Royal a first-innings lead of 102.Walpita was the last man out for 36, the top-scorer of the Thomian innings. The last-wicket stand was worth 57 runs in 76 minutes. Right-arm medium-pacer Bhanuka Rajapakse was the pick of the Royal bowlers with 3 for 32.Batting in their second innings, Royal suffered an early set back, losing opener Chalaka Bogoda for a duck, and slumped to 60 for 3 before they were rescued by Kusal Perera, who scored 41 and first-innings centurion Fernando, who took the total to 141 off 26 overs before declaring at the fall of the sixth wicket.

Central Districts batsman Andrew Dodd has been drafted into New Zealand’s squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia as a replacement for Jeet Raval.A captain wasn’t named when the squad was announced a fortnight ago, but as expected Kane Williamson has been picked for the task. Williamson scored an unbeaten 47 off 56 balls for Northern Districts against the touring Bangladeshis in a rain-affected match in December.Besides Williamson, there are four other players with first-class experience. The squad includes Corey Anderson, Greg Morgan, Tim Southee and Trent Boult, who along with Williamson, were selected for New Zealand A’s three-week winter training camp in Darwin in 2007. Southee has been called up for New Zealand’s two Twenty20 internationals against England, and will join the U-19 team later. The side also includes Michael Bracewell, nephew of former Test players John and Brendon Bracewell, and Hamish Rutherford, son of former New Zealand captain Ken.The New Zealand team leaves for Australia on Saturday for a week-long camp in Queensland before heading to Malaysia, where they are drawn in the same pool as Pakistan, Zimbabwe and the hosts. New Zealand’s first fixture is against Zimbabwe on February 18, the second day of the tournament.Squad Kane Williamson (capt), Corey Anderson, Nick Beard, Harry Boam, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Tamati Clarke, Fraser Colson, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Greg Morgan, Andrew Dodd, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Anurag Verma, George Worker.

Chris Read has been given hope of another international opportunity after Geoff Miller, the national selector, said he was discussed during the six-hour selection meeting last week.Read last played for England on the 2006-07 Ashes tour when he replaced Geraint Jones for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, but he never found favour during the Duncan Fletcher era. However, he is now captain of Nottinghamshire and has started the season in fine style with 283 runs at 70.75 in three matches.”The Notts public might have to watch this space. We will keep our options open.” Miller told BBC Radio Nottingham. “Yes, he was discussed, and he will continue to be discussed.”Chris knows we’re around the grounds all the time, and will keep in touch with how we’re feeling. From his point of view, it’s a matter of consistently putting in the performances.”England have been through a batch of keepers over the past 12 months, starting with Matt Prior this time last year before he was dropped in favour of Tim Ambrose and Phil Mustard has been given a one-day run. Meanwhile, James Foster was selected for the England Lions tour of India although Prior kept for the Lions against New Zealand last week.With a new selection panel in place there is a feeling that there is a second chance for some players to impress and earn international honours. Read’s Nottinghamshire team-mate Ryan Sidebottom, named England Player of the Year on Monday, benefited from such a move last summer. Although David Graveney was still the chairman of selectors at the time, Peter Moores had a significant say in his recall.”With this new regime it’s an open door,” said Sidebottom. “If you are performing then you could get selected at any minute. Injuries come along and the more competition for places there is the stronger England will be.”