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Brad Haddin has spent plenty of time as a spectator this year so he was simply pleased to get a decent hit in Australia’s opening ODI against India on Saturday. Haddin made 69 in Australia’s imposing 307 at Bangalore but he could miss Tuesday’s match at Kochi as Ricky Ponting recovers well from a hamstring injury.Haddin was part of Australia’s World Cup-winning squad in the Caribbean but did not play a game and was used as a specialist batsman in two matches at the ICC World Twenty20, facing a total of 20 balls. His effort on Saturday was his second half-century in 22 ODIs and justified Australia’s decision to include him and Adam Gilchrist in the same side.”I’m always a wicketkeeper first,” Haddin told the . “I’ve spent a bit of time working on my batting and I’ve been lucky enough to make my way into the team with the bat, so I wanted to make a statement that I can bat as well.”I didn’t take too much notice of the scoreboard. I usually look at it all the time, but I didn’t think too much about it. I didn’t want to complicate things. I hadn’t had a hit for a long time, so I was just trying to worry about the ball.”Haddin was one of the leading scorers in Australia’s domestic one-day competition last year when he made 406 runs at 67.66. However, if Ponting continues his quick recovery it could force Haddin back on the sidelines in the second ODI.Gilchrist said he was pleased Haddin had showed his potential. “People may think he only gets picked in these squads as a backup keeper but to me he is very much here on his own batting ability,” Gilchrist told the . “He was in the World Cup squad as a spare batsman and it is a bonus he is also the next-in-line wicketkeeper.”

Pakistan now has two players in the top five of the Test batting rankings following the drawn first Test against England at Lord’s. Inzamam-ul-Haq has climbed one place to third in the list after twin half-centuries and he has been joined in the top five by Mohammad Yousuf, who made 202, his second successive Test double hundred against England.Yousuf is up two spots to fifth place and now has his best-ever ranking and his highest tally of points. Completing a trio of Pakistan batsmen in the top 10 is Younis Khan, who missed the Lord’s Test through injury. He lies seventh in the table.The only players Inzamam now trails in the rankings are his opposite numbers Ricky Ponting of Australia and India’s Rahul Dravid. England, by contrast, has just one batsman in that top 10, Kevin Pietersen in 10th position, but below him, several of his team mates are making positive moves.Andrew Strauss’s ninth Test hundred has seen him rise two places to 12th (overtaking team-mate Marcus Trescothick in the process) while Paul Collingwood’s Test-best 186 has boosted him up to joint 34th position, a climb of 16 places.Ian Bell and Alastair Cook, two more century-makers from the Lord’s Test are up to joint 42nd and 51st place respectively, and the duo – along with Collingwood – have career-best ratings.The bowling ranks have seen no changes in the top 20 with England’s Matthew Hoggard still the highest-placed player from either side. He remains in fifth spot, ahead of injured team-mate Andrew Flintoff in sixth and another injured player, Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, in seventh position.Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan remains top rankings, clear of South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini.

Sohail Tanvir, a Rawalpindi allrounder, has been called up to the Pakistan Twenty20 squad as a replacement to Shoaib Akhtar, who was sent home from South Africa after being involved in a dressing-room scuffle with team-mate Mohammad Asif.The ICC’s technical committee approved Tanvir as a replacement for Shoaib on the basis of “exceptional circumstances”. A statement released by the ICC cited the following reasons for the approval: “the incident and disciplinary action taken by the Pakistan board is not related to the matches in the event; the tournament has not commenced; and there is a precedent to support the replacement.”Tanvir, 22, who bowls left-arm medium-fast, played only two matches for the Rawalpindi Rams in Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 tournament in the last season. He has scored 84 runs and taken no wickets in the 10 Twenty20 games he has played in the last three years. But he impressed national selectors in a series of training camps and practice matches over the summer and was said to be close to a place in the original squad. He is highly-rated by Aaqib Javed, coach at the National Cricket Academy, who says his wrong-foot action and pace are deceptive.Shoaib was handed an indefinite suspension after he allegedly hit Asif with a bat. He was already on six weeks’ probation following a breach of discipline last month after he left a training camp in Karachi without informing officials.Pakistan’s first match of the tournament is against Scotland in Durban on September 12.

Prasanna Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan Test wicketkeeper, is in a Wellington hospital after undergoing an emergency appendix operation. Jayawardene was admitted on Tuesday night after complaining of acute stomach pain and had surgery yesterday.The illness is the latest setback for Jayawardene after he was struck on the wrist by Shane Bond, while batting in the second innings of Sri Lanka’s series-leveling win at Wellington. Kumar Sangakkara took over the wicketkeeping duties in New Zealand’s second innings. Jayawardene, a Test specialist, was not chosen in Sri Lanka’s one-day or Twenty20 squads.Meanwhile, Malinga Bandara and Ruchira Perera, who toured with the Sri Lanka A squad in the West Indies, are expected to join the team on Friday. Both are likely to be considered for the second Twenty20 international at Eden Park, Auckland on December 26. The first Twenty20 international begins tomorrow at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium.

England’s preparations for the first Test were given a lift as Steve Harmison underwent a workout in the nets at the Adelaide Oval. However, there are still no guarantees that he will be fit for Brisbane and England will wait until Sunday morning to assess his fitness to see how he responds.Harmison began gingerly off two or three steps but he stepped up the pace before bowling off a longer run. Andrew Flintoff, the England captain, said Harmison would be re-assessed early on Sunday on the team’s return to the ground for the final day against South Australia.”Harmy’s bowled somewhere between 12 and 15 overs. He’s run in, he’s bowled and injuries for fast bowlers are part-and-parcel of the job, so we just have to see what happens tomorrow morning, how he pulls up. He’s a key player for England, has been for a numerous time now in the Test side. We still want Harmy fit, but we’ll know more in the morning.”After Harmison woke up on Friday morning with pain in his side, the England management took the decision not to risk him against South Australia, calling in Sajid Mahmood. The problem was a recurrence of the one that caused him to miss the one-day series against Pakistan in September. He went for a scan which proved inconclusive before being given a cortisone injection.A spokesman said that the team management was “pleased with the way he came through”. However, Duncan Fletcher has voiced his concerns about Harmison’s lack of bowling ahead of the Ashes with him having sent down just 25 overs in competitive action on the tour.”He’s been an effective bowler for us and the other bowlers feed off him,” Fletcher said on Friday. “We’ve just got to monitor the amount of balls he bowls because we’ve got to get some mileage in his legs.”Meanwhile, Flintoff was satisfied with his steady build-up to next Thursday’s Ashes opener in Brisbane after returning to full bowling duties following his ankle injury. “In the first innings I bowled a little bit quicker than what I have done and I’m pleased with the way I’m progressing,” he said. “I’ve had no ill-effects from the ankle, everything’s been fine, I’ll bowl a few more overs tomorrow just to top up a little bit.”

Nottinghamshire’s best day of the season has left them in striking distance of a first Championship win at Trent Bridge since May 1999. After taking their own first innings score to 371 and picking up one Glamorgan wicket during the morning session, they took nine more wickets in the period between lunch and tea to bowl out their visitors for just 187.Following on, 184 behind, Glamorgan fared little better at the second time of asking. Without a run on the board Robert Croft should have gone. A casual flick off his legs flew straight to Paul Johnson at square leg. Inexplicably the `dolly’ went down – to rub salt in the wounds with Johnson holding his head in his hands and the ball at his feed the batsmen ran a cheeky single.The unlucky bowler Paul Franks soon had cause for double celebration dismissing Croft and Powell in the same over. The off spinner tried to cut a rising delivery and for the second time in three hours was taken by Hewison in the gully.Michael Powell clipped his first ball for four and then lost his off stump to the next. Franks jubilation was understandable if not, perhaps, a little excessive.Things got even better for the England one-day international when he picked up the prize scalp of Matthew Maynard in his next over – again it was the off stump that took the pounding and again it preceded wild scenes of delight.At 20-3 the departure of Glamorgan’s captain would surely have dented the spirit of the dressing room but their day of suffering ended shorly afterwards when bad light halted the day’s play, with still 28 overs remaining.Franks had taken all three wickets, at a personal cost of just eight runs. In Glamorgan’s first innings the pick of the Notts bowlers was AJ Harris, who bagged 5-69 to take his haul for the season to 40.With still two full days remaining Notts could yet revive their fading hopes of promotion from division two.

Scorecard
A fine hundred from Matthew Elliott and the final-over heroics of Cameron Borgas sealed a five-wicket win for New South Wales in the rematch of last season’s one-day final. Set a revised target of 267 from 43 overs, the Redbacks owed much of their chase to Elliott, who hit 111 from 112 balls with ten fours and three sixes, but it was Borgas who stole the win from the Blues.South Australia needed 18 from the final over off Matthew Nicholson and Borgas blasted three sixes to end the game with two balls remaining. Borgas finished with an amazing 31 from nine balls.New South Wales were put into bat by Darren Lehmann and did well to post 291. There were useful runs from Aaron O’Brien (58*), Dominic Thornely (45) and Moises Henriques (43*), but every batsman chipped in. Fifty-run partnerships for the first, third and fifth wickets highlighted a stable batting order and a team to watch out for this season.In what was a repeat of last year’s decider, South Australia started their reply in enthusiastic fashion thanks to Elliott and a top order that all made starts. Barring Nathan Hauritz, a last-minute replacement for the injured Stuart MacGill, no bowler managed to restrict their economy rates to below five an over. When Elliott was caught by Hauritz off Henriques in the 40th over, the Redbacks needed 41 from 18 balls. Borgas made sure they made it.

Andre Nel, the South African bowler, has been fined 20% of his match fee for breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct during the 5th ODI between South Africa and India at Mumbai on November 28.Jeff Crowe, the ICC Match Referee, concluded that Nel was guilty of using foul language – a breach of ICC Code 1.4 – after conducting a hearing with Nel, Graeme Smith, and Goolam Rajah, the South African team manager, after the match. ICC Code 1.4 relates to “using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting” which includes swearing in frustration at one’s own poor play or misfortune. “While not wanting to stifle the character of a lively player such as Andre, his explicit obscene language that was witnessed by TV viewers is unacceptable,” Crowe said in an ICC media release.All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50% of a player’s match fee. The charge was brought by Daryl Harper and Hariharan Krishna, the on-field umpires, as well as Ivaturi Sivaram, the TV umpire , and Ravi Subramanium, the fourth umpire .

Michael Hussey has been thrust into the Australia squad as cover for Justin Langer, who is fighting a fractured rib to prove his fitness for the first Test against West Indies on Thursday. Langer, who was hit while batting for Western Australia in an ING Cup match on Saturday, has not been ruled out of the side, but Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, decided to give Hussey time to adapt in case he was asked to make his debut.”The reports from team medical staff suggest that Justin will aim to practice tomorrow, but in the event that he’s not fit to play, we want to have a player on stand-by in Brisbane,” Hohns said. “Although Justin has signalled his intent to train and make himself available for the Test, we must cover all of our bases.”Hussey will join the team from Perth today and his impressive ODI performances since being recalled in March – he has an average of 119.25 in his past 17 matches – and position as a specialist opener pushed him above Brad Hodge and Phil Jaques. “Hussey has played some fine cricket for Australia in the one-day international arena, so he is familiar with the set-up within the national side,” Hohns said. “He is a quality top-order batsman in first-class cricket and we believe he can fill a role in the Test side if required.” reported today that Langer risked puncturing a lung if hit again, but he was desperate to prove his fitness. “He would almost certainly wear a guard and he risks sustaining further injury, such as a punctured lung,” Dr Trefor James, the team doctor, told the paper. “It’s not a high risk, but the thing about it is it’s quite a serious injury. That will have to be explained to him.”Dr James said if Langer was restricted in any of his batting and fielding movements he would be ruled out. This is the second time in a year Langer has been injured in the lead-up to a Test, but he recovered from a back problem to play at the MCG last Boxing Day.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

New Zealand’s swing bowlers outwitted Sri Lanka’s batsmen to wrap up an emphatic series-winning, innings-and-38-run victory at the Basin Reserve. Sri Lanka’s hopes of a successful rearguard slowly faded during the fourth day as their middle order melted in the second session. Tillakaratne Dilshan fought back with a sizzling 73 from 99 balls in the evening, but by then it was too late.Farveez Maharoof, the nightwatchman, resisted in the morning with an impressive 36, Kumar Sangakkara collected 45 with a steely glint in his eye, Dilshan threw caution to the wind during a daring counter-assault and Chaminda Vaas stood firm for a while in making 38. But no Sri Lanka batsman was able to construct the big hundred needed to cancel out the 311-run deficit and save the game.James Franklin, bowling with his best rhythm of an otherwise inconsistent series, provided the key breakthroughs, claiming the prize wicket of Marvan Atapattu, one player capable of a long defensive innings, in the first session. He followed lunch with the scalps of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and fittingly finished it off with the last wicket as Vaas chopped on.Franklin’s efforts were well supported by Kyle Mills, who rediscovered some rhythm and confidence to make his first real impact with the ball in the series, and Nathan Astle, who bowled gunbarrel-straight and wobbled it around enough to finish with 6 for 62 in the match. New Zealand’s best bowler in the series, Chris Martin, had a quiet day, but his dismissal of Sanath Jayasuriya yesterday started the victory charge.

For New Zealand, the 1-0 series triumph ended a difficult summer on a high. After their confidence-draining pummelling against Australia, they showed considerable fortitude to bounce back so strongly. The magnificent batting of Lou Vincent, an obvious choice as Man of the Match for his 224 that set up the victory, was surely the highlight.Sri Lanka, who were bitterly disappointed afterwards, were left ruing a disastrous wicket-tumbling first morning after losing the toss and being put in to bat. They fought hard in patches to reclaim the lost ground but were never likely to survive when the bad weather cleared, leaving them to bat six straight sessions for survival.They started promisingly in the morning as New Zealand were left frustrated by a wicketless first hour. Mills and Franklin initially lacked menace as the ball refused to swing, and Maharoof and Atapattu added 43. However, with New Zealand’s disappointment starting to mount, Franklin delivered the perfect line-and-length ball to draw Atapattu into one of his signature high-elbowed cover-drives. The ball was sliding across him and he edged straight to Fleming at first slip.Maharoof and Sangakkara then shared a useful stand, adding 48 in an 18-over period. Fleming, however, changed the bowling shortly before the break and Mills suddenly clicked, moving the ball away from the right-hander Maharoof, and eventually created a chance that was swallowed by Astle at second slip. It ended a promising innings from Maharoof, who showcased his obvious long-term potential as he occupied the crease for two hours, sheltering the middle order from the new ball.But Maharoof’s unexpected resistance was wasted during the afternoon as his team-mates crumpled. Soon after lunch Jayawardene (13) tried to leave a short ball from Franklin too late and ended up running a catch to Brendon McCullum off the face of his bat. Sangakkara played himself in watchfully and stroked a few elegant boundaries before his off stump was flattened by a full-length inswinger that found a gap between bat and pad to leave Sri Lanka on 137 for 5.Sri Lanka’s problems escalated in the second hour of the session as Astle was introduced with instant success as he persuaded Thilan Samaraweera (17) to nibble defensively at a gentle outswinger. The ball travelled quickly to Fleming, the only slip, but straight to hand. Shantha Kalavitigoda, under pressure in his first game, was then toppled in the final few minutes before tea by Mills.Dilshan, who was given a thorough working-over with the short ball after an unconvincing display in the first innings, was left with the tail and he decided that Sri Lanka’s only hope was attack. He came out after the break with Vaas, all guns blazing – flashing through point, crashing through the covers and launching one mighty six straight down the ground. Vaas followed his example with some equally meaty blows.But Dilshan was taking unsustainable risks and eventually overboiled, heaving wildly against a straight ball from Astle. It was an ugly and reckless smear that took the gloss off an entertaining innings. His departure hurried the match towards its conclusion as Upul Chandana missed a straight ball and Vaas dragged a wide half-volley on to his stumps.How they were out

Tried to cover-drive but edged to first slip
Nicked good ball for comfortable take at second slip
Decided to leave too late and feathered catch behind
Missed full-length inswinger that knocked back his off peg
Prodded forward defensively and edged to first slip
Brilliant one-handed catch after nicking outswinger
Bowled after ugly leg-side slog
Missed straight ball
Dragged on while trying to carve through the covers