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Younis Khan, the Pakistan vice-captain, is unavailable for selection for the final one-day international against West Indies at Karachi on Saturday because of his brother’s death last week. Younis had missed the third and fourth ODIs as well. However, Mohammad Yousuf, who also missed the fourth ODI at Multan to be with his sick wife, is certain to play at Karachi.”Younis doesn’t feel he is in the right frame of mind presently. At the same time we felt it would be an unwise move to ask him to play after this latest bereavement in his family. Our sympathies are with him,” Wasim Bari the chairman of selectors, told . “Yousuf is a definite starter for the Karachi match.”Bari was hopeful that Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, would recover from a finger injury in time for Saturday’s encounter. Inzamam had injured the little-finger in the field during the third ODI and needed three stitches on his left hand.Pakistan were leading 2-0 in the series after the first match was washed out but West Indies pulled one back at Multan where Pakistan were without Inzamam, Younis and Yousuf to keep the series alive.Shahid Afridi, whose poor form continued at Multan, could get another opportunity to come good at Karachi and Mohammad Sami was also likely to play. Bari hoped that Pakistan would be able to field their strongest team and said that no drastic changes were necessary at this stage of the series.Probable squad: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Umar Gul, Mohammad Sami, Rao Iftikhar, Abdur Rehman, Faisal Iqbal, Shoaib Malik, Danish Kaneria.

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.”

West Indies 191 for 6 (Ganga 77*) trail Pakistan 304 (Yousuf 102) by 113 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
West Indies how they were out

A battling unbeaten 77 by Daren Ganga kept West Indies in the game as they closed the second day on 191 for 6, still 113 behind Pakistan’s first-innings total of 304. Ganga fought off an inspired spell of reverse-swing bowling by Umar Gul – who rocked West Indies with three wickets in two overs after smashing a crucial 26 earlier in the day – and the relentless accuracy of Danish Kaneria in an attritional 212-ball innings which ensured that Pakistan didn’t completely take the day’s honours.The lack of pace and bounce in the pitch were deterrents for the bowlers, but they had other factors going in their favour. The track was dry and abrasive, while the outfield was rough, and together they were perfect conditions for reverse-swing, an art in which Pakistan have long excelled. Gul led the way with two outstanding deliveries to get rid of Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan – both for ducks – while Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Nazir consistently asked questions of the batsmen with their ability to move the ball late. Danish Kaneria was hampered by the lack of bounce, but he varied his line and flight, turned the ball appreciably, and ensured that there were few scoring opportunities.In such testing conditions, Ganga’s innings was a gem. It contained few strokes to light up the ground or bring the crowd to their feet – Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul took those honours – but for sheer technical excellence, poise, composure and powers of concentration, it was a top-class effort.Against the late swing from the fast bowlers, he displayed a compact defensive technique, getting a big front-foot stride and playing with bat right beside pad. The lack of pace also allowed him to adjust late, and he rarely committed to his shots early. Kaneria has troubled him in the past, but here even he struggled to breach Ganga’s rock-solid defence. Amid all the doggedness, Ganga also produced a few glorious strokes – when the ball was pitched up he unfurled a couple of copy-book correct off-drives, while a cut shot off Gul, played off the front foot, showed just how well he had adjusted to the surface.While he negotiated the swing and the spin five of his mates fell to a combination of outstanding bowling and bad luck. Gayle started off at a frenetic pace in the morning, driving superbly down the ground and getting to 40 in quick time before mistiming a long hop straight to mid-on. If that was a wicket gifted away, the next two certainly weren’t. Gul, bowling an inspired spell in the afternoon session, first took care of Lara with one that pitched on middle, moved away, beat Lara’s hesitant second-ball prod, and took off. In his next over Sarwan – back in the side after missing out at Multan – was clueless against the perfect inswinging yorker. Fifty-one without loss quickly became 51 for 3, before Shivnarine Chanderpaul produced the second fluent cameo of the day.Timing the ball as sublimely as Mohammad Yousuf had on the first day, Chanderpaul started off with two crisply timed clips off his legs for fours, and raced to 36 from 49 balls before Imran Farhat took the first of two slightly fortuitous catches at short leg as Chanderpaul flicked one from the middle of the bat.Runako Morton’s technique was severely tested by the ball swinging in to him, but he survived and managed to add 39 with Ganga, before Farhat plucked off another one – this time the ball hit Farhat’s shoulder, and perhaps grazed the visor, before lobbing into his hands. There was a moment of controversy too, as the third umpire was called in to check if the ball had indeed touched the helmet, in which case the batsman would have been ruled not out. Replays were inconclusive, and Kaneria had his second wicket of the day.Those wickets buoyed up Kaneria, who wheeled down 28.4 overs with unflagging enthusiasm throughout a long day, and he soon had another dismissal to celebrate, as the out-of-sorts Dwayne Bravo finally ran out of patience and bottom-edged a cut to the wicketkeeper. Ganga kept West Indies afloat, but with 113 in the arrears, West Indies still have plenty of work to do on the third day.

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).

The crisis gripping Pakistan cricket intensified on Monday with the resignation of the PCB’s director of operations, Abbas Zaidi.”Abbas Zaidi has resigned and we have accepted his resignation,” Nasim Ashraf, the newly appointed PCB chief, told reporters after a meeting of the board in Lahore.Zaidi’s departure comes three days after the resignation of the former PCB chairman, Shaharyar Khan, and two days after Mushtaq Ahmed was sacked as assistant coach for the Champions Trophy.Pakistan cricket has been in the spotlight since August’s Oval Test against England when the captain, Inzamam-ul Haq, refused to take his team back on the field after it was accused of ball-tampering.Inzamam was acquitted of tampering but was handed a four-match ban for bringing the game into disrepute, and according to Zaheer Abbas, who was Pakistan’s manager on the tour, he had “lost the confidence” of senior board officials.Inzamam’s replacement, Younis Khan, last week refused to lead the side, saying he did not want to be a “dummy” captain. The refusal prompted Khan to resign, although he was reinstated by Ashraf on Saturday, hours before the team’s departure for India and the Champions Trophy.Ashraf said that Inzamam would captain Pakistan against West Indies, who are set to tour in November and December for three Tests and five one-day internationals.”Inzamam will lead Pakistan in the home series against West Indies,” said Ashraf. “Younis was only appointed for the Champions Trophy.”

England will use the taste of success they experienced in the Champions Trophy in September, where they reached the final, to push their bid to regain the Ashes, according to Andrew Flintoff. Flintoff, in an interview with the Sun, said it would be the “closest-fought series they’ve had in a while”.”Hopefully, by September, we shall have won the Ashes,” he told the United Kingdom tabloid. “In the past 18 months, under Michael Vaughan’s captaincy, we have improved to such an extent that we believe we can beat anybody.”Flintoff said Australia were a great side and deserved to be No. 1 because of their treatment of other teams. “We got the taste against them last year by beating them in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy and now we want those Ashes back,” he said.Returning to bowling for Lancashire after an ankle operation, Flintoff is ready for the two Tests against Bangladesh. He will be further rehabilitated in preparation for his first Test against Australia during the two one-day series before the Ashes begins at Lord’s on July 21. “No matter what I have achieved before in my career, I know I shall get judged on what I do against the Aussies,” he told the paper.

As the ball soared into the sky and landed with a thud onto the concretestands behind long-on, you braced yourself for the explosion of noise thatusually accompanies any Mahendra Singh Dhoni big hit. Instead, there waseerie near silence. With only a few reporters and a sprinkling of othersin attendance, there was no danger to eardrums from the Indian team’spractice match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.You’ve grown so accustomed to the hype and hoopla that follows these boysaround that the idea of them playing in front of the proverbial three menand dog seemed out of the realms of fantasy. They seemed to enjoy itthough, especially Dhoni, who smacked 32 from 30 balls before one loft toomany against the offspin of Ramesh Powar. The match billed as Rahul[Dravid] XI against [Ajit] Agarkar XI was more a straight contest betweenbat and ball, though Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh enacted both rolesbefore the 40 overs were completed.Both sides had been given targets by the team management. The bowlers wereasked to choke off the runs, and look to concede less than 35 in 10 overs,whereas the batsmen were to rattle along at 75 runs in the same period.With Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in fine fettle, that certainlyappeared a possibility. Tendulkar’s ability to throw from the deep may bea subject of debate, but there’s nothing whatsoever inhibiting hisshotmaking ability. He drove and cut with élan during a cameo of 26 (24balls) and it ended only with an outstanding catch on the run from DineshMongia at deep midwicket.Not to be outdone, Dravid stroked 10 fours before retiring to make way forYuvraj Singh, and Virender Sehwag thumped 28 in even time before Sreesanthgot one to keep low and trap him in front. Yuvraj, whose form in theone-day game was one of the features of India’s resurgence last season,crafted an elegant 41, and while he and Dhoni were in the middle, the bigshots were never too far away. Yuvraj played one superb sweep offHarbhajan and then spanked one straight down the ground, but an attempt torepeat the stroke ended up at long-on. Harbhajan, having won that littlebattle of the Punjab, couldn’t restrain his laughter.With Ian Frazer and Greg King umpiring, and Greg Chappell watching fromthe stands, Suresh Raina and Pathan didn’t stay too long, leaving MohammadKaif, very much the mid-innings anchor, and Harbhajan to see it through tothe close of play. By the time the players retreated to the shade andlunch inside the National Cricket Academy premises, 242 runs had come from40 overs, much nearer the batsmen’s target than the bowlers.

SM Yusuf, who has a special place in Indian cricket history for havingno-balled Anil Kumble’s medium-pace – prompting the switch to legspin -had scored the game, and was kind enough to provide a scorecardafterwards. Pathan went for 42 from his five overs, and will be glad thathe won’t have to come up against Tendulkar and Dravid every day, whileDinesh Mongia, who went for 30 from four overs, was reminded that morethan a Persian Gulf separates these guys from those who are lions merelyin county cricket.Ultimately though, it was a good outing for everyone, relaxed and withplenty of banter and enough of an edge to make sure that it didn’t descendinto farce. After lunch and a team meeting, it was back to the hotel and aswim to cool down. Then perhaps, a few might just tune in to watchhighlights of Sri Lanka’s remarkable win at the SSC, confirmation if anywas needed of the sterner tests that lie in wait.

Greg Chappell, the coach of the Indian side, has said that he is optimistic about the current team lifting their performance over the next few months and believes that they have improved in several areas since he took over.Chappell admitted that India had slipped up in the two finals recently – against Sri Lanka and New Zealand – but felt that it was just a matter of time before the team turned the corner and the “whole atmosphere around the team” changed.”We’re seeing some positive results of the hard work we’ve been doing,” Chappell told . “Unfortunately, it didn’t show up in the final, but in the lead-up matches, I was happy with a lot of things we’ve been working on. Our fielding, bowling and aspects of our batting are starting to show the benefits of the work we’ve done. Players are fitter than they were when we started. They are working harder. So in all ways, we’re seeing positive signs. It’s not going to happen overnight but over a six-month period, hopefully we should be seeing a different looking Indian team.”India’s woeful record in the finals of tournaments – losing 16 of the last 21 finals – was definitely a matter of concern for Chappell and he thought the “tension” surrounding these games was getting to the players. “The recent record in the finals plays on the minds of the players,” he said.” The fact that you guys are asking about it all the time – the media, the public are talking about it all the time. It increases the pressure on the players. If we’re getting into the finals, we’re giving ourselves a chance. And I’ve no doubt if we keep reaching the finals, we’ll win some and then the whole atmosphere around the team will change.”Chappell admitted that Sourav Ganguly’s continuing slump was bound to affect the “other areas of his game”, but he said the bad patch was bound to end sometime soon. “I have no doubts he can make runs again,” said Chappell, who was instrumental in Ganguly overcoming a previous slump before his successful tour of Australia in 2003-04. “He’s well aware of what he needs to do,” he continued. “There are some good signs on the way he’s batted on this tour. Again, hard work is beginning to pay off and that’s all he can or anyone of us can do in any stage of your career when things aren’t going well. You’ve to focus and work on the areas that would give you the best chance of success.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4th day
Bulletin – England hold their nerve in two-run thriller
Verdict – When defeat becomes unthinkable
Australian View – Their toughest challenge
I was there – Memories of Melbourne 1982-83
On the Ball – Losing their length
Quotes – Michael Vaughan and Ricky Ponting
Quotes – Stunned reaction from Down Under
Gallery – The drama in pictures
Stats – A humdinger for the ages
News – McGrath faces 48-hour wait
News – Jones fined for send-off3rd day
Bulletin – Flintoff takes England to the brink
Verdict – Flintoff creates his own epic
Australian view – Australia get their challenge but fail to rise
Roving Reporter – Blink and you miss it
Quotes – ‘I’m Andrew Flintoff, and this is the way I play’
Analysis – Hoggard’s importance to England
Gallery – Pictures from the third day’s play
2nd day
Bulletin – England lead by 124 after Giles answers critics
English View – England thrive in the fast lane
Australian View – Riding in England’s slipstream
Paper Round – Australian pies and kids in the candy shop
Gallery – Shots from the second day
Quotes – Giles answers his critics
On the Ball – The virtues of patience
Stats – Warne’s 100th in England
1st day
Bulletin – The barmy battle of Edgbaston
English View – England’s chancers miss a trick
Australian View – Australia ride the storm
Quotes – The Freddie and Kev show
News – McGrath a doubt for third Test
Analysis – Australia’s missing metronome
Spot of the Day – Warne revives memories of 2001
Gallery – Pictures from the first day
On the Ball – The Boundary Bounty
Preview package
Preview – England keep faith with the tried and trusted
Stats – A win-toss-and-bowl venue

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.