In a frank admission, Abdul Razzaq has spoken of his slow descent as an allrounder and the effect different captains have had on his career. found him in a candid mood – and perhaps without the team manager, whose brief was to filter players’ statements before they were released.”I think Moin and Wasim were the best captains for me,” said Razzaq. “When I started, Wasim was my skipper and he utilised me well and it was the same with Moin. They knew my potential and backed me well.”I know I have not been up to the mark in recent times. But I am trying to lift my game so that I get back onto the top rung of allrounders again.” In past years, observers noticed that while his batting had flourished and he became more aggressive in the final overs of one-dayers, his bowling form dipped significantly. However, his bowling stock began to rise towards the end of the VB Series in Australia, when he cut and swung the ball both ways.”Now I bat way down the order and they tell me that you cannot bat the full 50 overs. You’ll only get to bat in the last 10. That, in a way, has helped me develop my big hitting.”

Andre Nel was upbeat about a South African victory in the second Test at Trinidad after the top-order batsmen began their reply in a strong fashion. Nel was confident that South Africa could take the lead in the first innings and dismiss West Indies again.South Africa ended the second day on 182 for 3, with Graeme Smith anchoring the innings with a composed 90 not out, in reply to the West Indies’ score of 347. “The pitch is going to get lower and perhaps a bit faster,” Nel told Reuters. “We’re going to try and bat once only, and I’m sure we can bowl them out again.”Dwayne Bravo, though, kept West Indies in the hunt with the crucial wicket of Jacques Kallis with the fourth ball before stumps were drawn. Nel termed that as “disappointing” but added, “but we have a lot of batting to come and I’m sure we can take the lead. Our batsmen are going to have to play with a lot of patience, that’s the only way to bat on this pitch.”Nel finished with three wickets in the West Indian first innings, including the prize scalp of Brian Lara. This was the sixth time that Nel had dismissed Lara in nine innings and deprived him of his first Test double century on his home ground. “I wasn’t sure what had happened,” Nel clarified, “because I didn’t see the bail fall off. Then I saw Boucher celebrating, and it hit me.”

Pakistan A 239 for 3 (Faisal 102*, Aamer 65*) beat England A 125 by 114 runs
Scorecard
Points tableEngland A’s winter ended with a whimper, as they crashed out of the triangular tournament after a crushing 114-run defeat to Pakistan A at Moratuwa. While Ian Bell’s side head home, Sri Lanka A will now face Pakistan A in the final on Tuesday, but they will face a stern test: Pakistan have won all four of their group matches.Faisal Athar and Aamer Bashir set up Pakistan’s latest triumph, their unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 168 lifting their side to 239 for 3 after a stodgy start from the top order, who were limping along at little more three an over. But Faisal and Aamer floored the accelerator when the dismissal of Ashar Zaidi – who made a painstaking yet painful 17 from 69 balls – brought them together in the 21st over. Faisal struck an unbeaten 102 from 133 balls and Aamer joined in the fun, bashing 65 not out from 79 balls.England’s batsman struggled from the outset and the writing was firmly on the wall at 25 for 4, the opening pace attack of Mohammad Asif and Abdur Rauf taking two wickets each. Imran Tahir then helped himself to the next three wickets to kill off England’s slim hopes (71 for 7).Richard Dawson and Paul Franks gestured at revival, putting on 38 for the eighth wicket, but it was far too little, far too late and England slumped to 125 all out.

Titans 115 for 2 (Bodi 47) beat Western Province Boland114 for 9 (Kemp 3-19) by 8 wicketsWestern Province Boland finished a dismal season at Newlands in CapeTown taking an eight-wicket drubbing from the Titans in the final round-robin game of the PRO20 Series.Sent in to bat, WPBOL’s innings never got off the ground as first DaleSteyn (2 for 10) sent them crashing with some very quick bowling andthen Justin Kemp (3 for 19) cleaned up the top order. With only DerrinBassage, Wian Smit and Renier Munnik able to get into the twenties, WPBOLcollapsed to 114 for 9 at the end of the 20 overs.In contrast, the Titans innings started well with Goolam Bodi andAlviro Petersen putting on 43 before Petersen was caught behind for 20off 15 balls. The hard work had been done up front leaving Bodi andZander de Bruin the easy task of looking for a run-a-ball and theoccasional boundary. A great catch at short fine leg saw the end of Bodihaving scored 47 off 43 balls to leave the Titans 18 runs short of thewin. Justin Kemp strode to the crease and after getting away with anedge off the first ball took just seven ball to hit 14 and the win forthe Titans.Warriors 145 for 6 (Henderson 62) beat Eagles 141 for 8(Beukes 49, Jacobs 40) by 4 wicketsAt Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein, the Eagles were knocked out of a homesemi-final spot as the Warriors beat them by four wickets to claim thesecond spot on the table.A slight wobble at the start of the Eagles’ innings saw Jonathan Beukesand Davey Jacobs recover from 2 for 14 to 3 for 90 after 11 overs.Jacobs struck 40 in his 26 balls while Beukes played a more conservativerole scoring 49 off 45. Benjamin Hector was next best with 15 as thelower order failed to leave the Eagles on 141 for 8.The Warriors lost both their openers for 37 but a 56-run partnershipbetween Arno Jacobs (22) and Tyron Henderson saw them edge closer to thetarget. With Henderson once again on fire, striking six sixes and twofours in his 62, the Warriors eased to a four wicket win with 5 balls tospare.

Division One

Hampshire v Surrey at Southampton
Nic Pothas is set to return for Hampshire after missing the last two one-day games with a broken finger. Kevin Pietersen is on England duty so more will rest on the shoulders of John Crawley and Craig McMillan. Graham Thorpe leads Surrey with Mark Ramprakash suffering from his broken thumb, while Mohammed Akram and Rikki Clarke return after missing the draw against Middlesex, at Lord’s.Middlesex v Glamorgan at Southgate
Melvyn Betts is fit again for Middlesex and is likely to replace Chris Wright at the beginning of the Southgate festival. Glamorgan are boosted by the return of Alex Wharf, who has been out for five weeks, and his availability will help Glamorgan as they continue to search for their first Championship win of the season. Michael Powell is dropped after a poor run of form, with Richard Grant included in the squad.Sussex v Nottinghamshire at Arundel
Johann van der Wath misses this match, with the choice between Luke Wright, an allrounder, and the offspin of Mark Davis being left until just before the toss. Darren Bicknell returns for Nottinghamshire after recovering from a back problem.Warwickshire v Kent at Edgbaston
Warwickshire are unchanged following their innings win against Gloucestershire, which took them top of the table. Kent bring back Justin Kemp and Simon Cook in place of James Tredwell and Martin Saggers, despite winning by 10 wickets against Glamorgan last week.

Division Two

Derbyshire v Lancashire at Derby
Steve Stubbings faces a late fitness test with Hassan Adnan on standby if he doesn’t make it. There are also recalls for the seamers Ian Hunter and Nick Walker. Lancashire bring back Muttiah Muralitharan now he has recovered from his thigh injury, while Glen Chapple will play after a slight side strain ruled him out of the National League defeat against Nottinghamshire.Leicestershire v Worcestershire at Leicestershire
Leicestershire opener Darren Robinson has recovered from a thigh strain. His return will be vital as he has been averaging 51 in the Championship with two centuries. Darren Masters, the medium-pacer, also returns to the team after missing the draw against Somerset. Worcestershire are led by Graeme Hick, back in the captaincy role as Vikram Solanki and Gareth Batty are with England. Chaminda Vaas plays his last game for Worcestershire before Shoaib Akhtar begins his stint at New Road.Northamptonshire v Durham at Northampton
Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar has been added to the Northants squad, who failed by only two wickets to beat Lancashire, at Old Trafford, two weeks ago. Liam Plunkett returns for Durham who are still flying high at the top of Division Two

Inzamam-ul-Haq has suggested that the emerging nations should get more international exposure in order to reduce the gap with the top teams, and also expressed disappointment with the new format of the 2006 Champions Trophy to be held in India.”I think the emerging nations deserve more exposure so that they can narrow the gap between the top teams,” Inzamam told Press Trust of India. “But I fear that with the format of the 2006 Champions Trophy, that gap will be widened.”The ICC had announced earlier that next years’s Champions Trophy would comprise the top eight teams. While the top six teams as on April 1, 2006, will get direct entry, the remaining four Test playing nations will participate in a pre-tournament qualifier and the top two sides will complete the fray.”The 2007 World Cup will include 16 teams. I think we should provide maximum opportunity [before the event in the West Indies] to the younger teams so that they can have a feel of international and top-grade cricket,” Inzamam explained. “I think by restricting the Champions Trophy to eight teams, we are probably denying among others Bangladesh and Zimbabwe the right to prepare themselves for the World Cup.”

The West Indies selectors delivered a significant vote of no-confidence in Mehendra Nagamootoo yesterday, omitting the leg-spinner from the squad for the second Test against India in spite of a bare pitch seemingly tailored for the Indian spinners.Nagamootoo was the only one dropped from the 11 that lost the first Test in Mumbai by an innings and 112 runs.Jermaine Lawson, the 20-year-old fast bowler, and his fellow Jamaican, off-spinner/batsman Gareth Breese, 26, neither of whom has yet played Test cricket, were included in the 12 from whom the final team would be named at the start.Both were expected to make their debut with Lawson gaining final preference over aging fast bowler, Cameron Cuffy, 32.Manager Ricky Skerritt said Nagamootoo was unfortunate to lose his place but added he seemed to be lacking confidence.The fourth leg-spinner used by the West Indies in the past six years, after Rajindra Dhanraj, Dinanath Ramnarine and Rawl Lewis, Nagamootoo’s five Tests have been spread one at a time (against England in England in 2000, Australia in Australia in 2001, India and New Zealand in the West Indies in 2002 and India in the first Test in Mumbai).His 12 wickets have cost an average 53.08 runs each and taken a strike rate of one every 20.75 overs. He had three for 132 from 47 overs in the first Test but his first was not until his 38th over.The 12: Carl Hooper (captain), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ryan Hinds, Gareth Breese, Ridley Jacobs, Merv Dillon, Jermaine Lawson, Pedro Collins and Cameron Cuffy.

On the verge of an embarassing three-day defeat, Western Province Boland’s lower order came to the rescue and put up enough runs to take a minor lead, though a heavy loss still looked likely on the fourth day.The Titans enforced the follow-on after dismissing WPBOL for 233, where Con de Lange top-scored with 87 and Alfonso Thomas mopped up the tail. Following on, WPBOL started terribly. They were soon 106 for 6 before Thami Tsolekile (77 not out) and Rory Kleinveldt (92) put on 148. Kleinveldt had bettered his high score by a long way; his previous best was 27. Quentin Friend, coming in at number nine, also passed his previous best to end the day on 42 not out. The tail had put on 219 between them and allowed WPBOL a lead of 34 going into the final day.A tough match lead to what could be a riveting final day in Blomfontein. The Lions, set a target of 291, eased themselves to 142 for 1 with Adam Bacher on 63 and Justin Ontong on 58.The Eagles had extended their overnight lead to 185 when Boeta Dippenaar was the first to go on 71. Nicky Boje was then dismissed for 51, and Free State ended on 330. The Lions then lost Steven Cook (17) early before Bacher and Ontong took control, putting their team on the road to victory. The pitch had had lost its venom and allowed Free State back into the game.The Dolphins could only add 22 runs to their overnight total of 201 for 7 as Mornantau Hayward cleaned up the tail. With a deficit of 126, the Dolphins fought back strongly, as the pace attack of Johann Louw (3 wickets), Lance Klusener (3 wickets) and Andrew Tweedie (4 wickets) demolished the Warriors. A 54 from Mark Boucher and 46 from Robin Peterson hauled the Warriors out of serious trouble. They were eventually bowled out for 165, setting the Dolphins a target of 292 runs. At close the Dolphins had moved to 28 for 1.

England have named an unchanged squad for the third Test at Old Trafford following their two-win at Edgbaston to level the series at 1-1. Chris Tremlett retains his place and England resisted the urge to call-up a second spinner despite the likelihood that the Old Trafford pitch will turn.David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said: “Yesterday’s result was fantastic not only for everyone connected with the England team but for the game of Test cricket as a whole. Both teams will be tired after Edgbaston and it will be important for us to ensure that we recover properly and prepare well for Old Trafford.”In the past we have included two spinners in our squad for an Old Trafford Test, but on this occasion, we feel that reverse swing is likely to be as important a factor as spin and we have that option available to us within our twelve.”The pitch can also provide extra bounce for the quicker bowlers at Old Trafford, and again, we feel that we do have a number of bowlers within our party who can exploit that if required.”England squad Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (capt), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones, Chris Tremlett

Dennis Lillee has called for the debut of Shaun Tait as he voiced fears the current side were losing their grip on the Ashes, with the teams going into Thursday’s fourth Test with the series level at 1-1.Lillee, who took 167 wickets in 29 Ashes Tests from 1970 to 1983, said Australia were a team in decline with a number of players reaching the end of their careers together. “England are on top while Ricky Ponting’s side are on a downhill run, coming towards the end of an extraordinary time when they have conquered everything in their path for many years,” Lillee told .”This is a very good England side playing against a team containing some players reaching their sell-by date,” said Lillee, whose tally of 355 Test wickets was a then-world record until beaten by Ian Botham in 1986.Lillee was particularly impressed by the “best England attack I’ve seen for years”, highlighting the fact that in Stephen Harmison, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones the hosts have three men capable of bowling at over 90mph. “The pace of England’s bowling has exposed technical problems caused by advancing years and playing against some mediocre attacks in recent times,” Lillee said.”Openers Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden are 34 and 33 respectively. Damien Martyn is 33, Adam Gilchrist 33 and Simon Katich is 30 today [Sunday]. Batsmen cannot escape the problems caused by anno domini. That lack of sharpness is never more exposed than by a pace attack such as the blindingly quick one England have deployed.”Lillee said Tait should be included for the fourth Test at the expense of Jason Gillespie, who said his place was under threat after taking just three wickets at an average of 100 apiece in the opening three matches. “Now is the hour for the Australia selectors to pick Tait, the fast bowler I believe should have been thrown into this series from the first Test.”Picking the 22-year-old bowler from South Australia is no risk. He has all the resources in his armoury to stick the ball right up the noses of the England batsmen, as Brett Lee has done so effectively in taking 15 wickets in the first three Tests.” Tait’s inclusion would also help reduce the age of an Australia side where 24-year-old batsman Michael Clarke is the current outstanding young player.”We are seeing one of the greatest contests of all time,” Lillee said. “But what concerns me is that I am not sure we have the resources to maintain our standards when this side breaks up. This team has been together so long that a generation of players who could have played for Australia have been skipped. I don’t see too many Michael Clarkes in the wings. I hope I’m wrong but I’ll settle for Shaun Tait’s promotion for now.”