Forget the past week. The Super Test starting on Friday is the match of the series. Run over in the limited-overs games in Melbourne, the World XI have six days to rediscover their sparkle and show their undoubted quality. The contest is vital for both teams – an all-star bunch and a revitalised Australia – who will determine the validity of the Super Series.Home and happy, Ricky Ponting can gain further distance from the Ashes and add the novel prize of taking on the World and winning. The Australians displayed incredible excitement at securing the one-day series 3-0 but the resurgence – Ponting would call it consistency, but they have improved significantly since England – would mean nothing if the intensity and ferocity is not matched at the SCG.Overseas and currently overpaid, the World are struggling to merge their skills and roles while holding unfamiliar positions. John Wright, the coach, understands his team cannot match the collective desire of his opponents and will rely on a clutch of high-class performances in an arena that gives individual genius more chance to thrive. Today they cut Shoaib Akhtar from the squad and will finalise the side on Friday morning.The combinations and head-to-heads are mind-blowing; the mood in Sydney is expectant. Four specialist spinners are massaging their fingers and almost gleaming at the prospect of their bowl-off. Shane Warne said Daniel Vettori and Muttiah Muralitharan were the most dangerous of the World XI’s components. “Expect a very good showing from these guys,” Warne said of the opposition. “You get the true indication in a Test because the best side will always win.”Graeme Smith has never handled a quality spinner and his leadership and tactical nous will be tested as sternly as his batsmen from the Warne and Stuart MacGill threats. “The responsibility falls on myself and Murali to help us through that,” Vettori said. “We have to guide Graeme. He’s obviously a strong character and will have his way of doing things, but in the end it will come back to us to work out what we need.”Australia named both spinners in their team today and included the allrounder Shane Watson while Brad Hodge was 12th man. Michael Clarke will slot in at No. 4, the spot formerly held by Mark Waugh, another New South Wales batsman who grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney. “He looks at home whenever he strides to the crease in both forms of the game,” Ponting said. “He’s got a big future and will certainly be around for some time.”The World XI’s problems are much tougher as they attempt to squeeze 13 experts into 11 chairs. Shoaib has already been considered excess baggage, but Smith said the decision was not based on fitness. “Combinations are very important for us and we are pretty confident in the 11 we will pick,” he said. “Shoaib’s been left out and it’s got nothing to do with his weight. We didn’t feel he’d fit into the 12 we picked.” Shaun Pollock, the one-day captain, was dropped on the morning of the match with the England pair of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison set to open the attack.Spinning duels will definitely provide some of the highlights, but there is suitable competition from the batsmen. Will a player come close to matching the immediately recalled achievement of Garry Sobers’s 254 at Melbourne in 1971-72 for the Rest of the World? Or the batting of the Chappells? Or can a bowler mirror the force of Dennis Lillee?Virender Sehwag lifts himself for the Tests and the pride of Dravid, Lara and Kallis is bruised following the one-day matches. A similar feeling applies to the current Test specialists Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer as they face Flintoff and Harmison after the England loss. Ponting, too, is keen to make points with bat and captaincy.Five Tests were played during that summer 24 years ago, this time it is a one-match shoot-out with Test instead of exhibition status. At every point there will be intriguing subplots but the result is what will matter. The closeness of the contest will determine how super the series is, and whether it will be repeated in four years.Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Simon Katich, 6 Shane Watson, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Glenn McGrath, 11 Stuart MacGill, 12 Brad Hodge.World XI 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq, 5 Brian Lara, 6 Jacques Kallis, 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Mark Boucher, 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball
How they were out

When Test cricket rose from the Ashes to sweep up a fresh set of fans this summer, there were fears the newcomers wouldn’t see an enthralling match again for a while. Pakistan’s bowlers brushed aside such worries with a devastatingly hostile display which blew England away for 175 and clinched a 22-run victory on a pulsating final day at Multan.Two wickets in four balls from Danish Kaneria triggered a collapse in which England lost nine wickets for 111 runs and although a dogged eighth-wicket stand of 49 between Geraint Jones and Shaun Udal brought England back into contention, it was unable to save them.While both sides’ batting was inconsistent, England will be worried by the fact that more than half of their runs in the match came from two batsmen – Marcus Trescothick and Ian Bell. No other player notched a fifty.But the day belonged to Pakistan who thoroughly deserved their victory. After coming up on the outside for the best part of two days, their bowlers cemented a solid position on the final morning, taking six wickets to reduce England from 64 for 1 to 117 for 7.

Victory for Pakistan hadn’t seemed likely while Bell and Andrew Strauss were busy bossing the early exchanges, and bringing up their fifty partnership in no time at all. Neither batsmen had trouble dispatching the loose stuff from Shoaib Ahktar and Shabbir Ahmed, against a ball which wasn’t swinging and on a pitch which was offering no movement.Pakistan were losing ground: time for Inzamam-ul-Haq to jostle two more bowlers into position. It did not take Kaneria long at all to induce the edge, as Bell gave himself room for the cut which flashed through to Kamran Akmal. Strauss fell a blink later, similarly bamboozled, his defensive prod finding first slip.Mohammad Sami blazed in at the other end with whole-hearted fervour. Paul Collingwood had no answer to him, and no question to ask either when a ferocious inswinger trapped him plumb.This was a situation made for Kevin Pietersen and Flintoff: both men for the big occasion. But with Kaneria finding turn and bounce on this fifth-day surface, this would be no cakewalk, as Flintoff was soon to find out.He made an encouraging start to his innings, a cover-driven four off Sami to settle in, and he began to work the ball around. But just when England needed a hero, a rush of blood got the better of him and he swept away a legside delivery straight to Younis Khan at midwicket. It was an ill-advised shot at the best of times. This was not the best of times.If Pakistan were licking their lips with Flintoff’s dismissal, they were positively salivating when Sami went on to remove Pietersen with the faintest of edges. As usual, Pietersen oozed attacking intent, a six off Kaneria over his favourite midwicket region announcing his arrival. His departure, though, came not long afterwards.In among the wickets, the appeals were coming thick and fast, and the umpires had their work cut out. So did England, who were struggling to recover from a nervous 90 minutes.They were soon rocked again. As Pakistan’s amazing comeback gathered more steam, so did Akhtar, who took his cue from the energetic Sami.

Coming on for a second burst, he quickly removed Ashley Giles with an inswinging yorker which sent middle stump, leg stump and England stomachs cartwheeling. Udal joined Jones at the crease, with a mammoth 81 runs still needed. They erased 21 of those before the much-needed break.But with their tails up and their noses in front, Pakistan scented more blood after lunch, although Udal and Jones played an evasive game: edging, nudging and nurdling their way towards their target. Time to bring together the premier hunters.Akhtar instantly went for the kill, roaring in to remove Jones with a searing inswinger and Udal fell two balls later, Kaneria’s fourth wicket of the day. Akhtar applied the coup de grace not long after, with Steve Harmison caught at slip.Before this match England had laughed off concerns about their shaky batting on the warm-ups. But their middle-order really wasn’t at the races; stumbling, faltering and being finally unseated. They have some thinking to do ahead of the second Test which starts on Sunday. Pakistan will take a moment to reflect on their success at turning from hunted to hunter.

EnglandMarcus Trescothick b Shabbir 5 (7 for 1)
Ian Bell c Akmal b Kaneria 31 (64 for 2)
Andrew Strauss c Raza b Kaneria 23 (67 for 3)
Paul Collingwood lbw b Sami 0 (67 for 4)
Andrew Flintoff c Khan b Kaneria 11 (93 for 5)
Kevin Pietersen c Akmal b Sami 19 (101 for 6)
Ashley Giles b Akhtar 14 (117 for 7)
Geraint Jones b Akhtar 33 (166 for 8)
Shaun Udal b Kaneria 18 (166 for 9)
Steve Harmison c Younis Khan b Akhtar (175 all out)

Pakistan will host the first women’s Asia Cup amid growing female interest in cricket, in Karachi at the end of the month.”Pakistan has the honour of hosting the first Asia Cup from December 28 to January 4,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) women’s section secretary Shamsa Hashmi told AFP.Pakistani women cricketers follow a strict Islamic dress code, wearing baggy trousers and long shirts. “We don’t allow male spectators, but families can come and watch the matches,” said Shamsa, also the captain of the Pakistan team. “When we hosted India it was great to see families coming and encouraging us.”Pakistan’s arch-rivals India along with Sri Lanka would play on a double league basis, but Bangladesh would not take part as it was still in the development phase of women’s cricket, Shamsa explained.India are the top Asian nation in women’s cricket, having finished as runners-up to Australia in the women’s World Cup held in South Africa early this year. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh failed to qualify for the women’s World Cup.Cricket has been drawing a growing female fan base in India, while across the border the women’s sport got a shot in the arm earlier this year when it was placed under the supervision of the PCB.Pakistan hosted its inaugural national cricket championship for women in March and then invited the Indian Under-21 team for a first-ever women’s cricket series between the rivals in October, an event which India won.The conservative society does not encourage women to play on open fields, but President Pervez Musharraf’s government has supported female sports, paving the way for the first women’s football championship in September this year.ScheduleDec 28: Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Dec29: India v Sri Lanka
Dec 30: India v Pakistan
Dec 31: Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Jan 1: India v Sri Lanka
Jan 2: India v Pakistan
Jan 4: Final

The Supreme Court today sought a response from Prasar Bharati, the state-owned broadcaster, on whether it was willing to share the Ten Sports’ feed of the upcoming India-Pakistan series without any alteration. A bench headed by Ashok Bhan posted the matter for further hearing tomorrow, and asked GE Vahanvati, the Solicitor General, to elicit Prasar Bharati’s position on the issue.Ten Sports, the exclusive telecast rights-holder for the series, had on January 8 moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay of the Indian government’s decision making it mandatory for private television channels to share feed of sporting events of national importance with Prasar Bharati. The petition, filed by Taj Television Ltd, owner of Ten Sports, had termed the decision arbitrary and contended that the government had no authority to take away its exclusive right which was negotiated with a foreign sports body.Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati has already filed a caveat to pre-empt Ten Sports from taking any ex-parte interim order against the Bombay High Court order which refused to grant any relief to Ten Sports on the matter.Terming it as a malafide exercise of power by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for making money at the cost of private channels, Ten Sports said it alone has the exclusive right to decide with whom it wants to share the feed and in India it has chosen the cable operators.

Abdul Razzaq, Pakistan’s experienced allrounder, faces a race against time to be fit and available for the first Test against India from January 13, after being hospitalised with a severe chest infection in Lahore. Razzaq, who has played 37 Tests and 201 One-day Internationals, was taken to hospital after running high fever and severe coughing bouts which were diagnosed to be due to a chest infection.”Doctors say that the recovery process is going to be slow because the infection is severe and will take time to be eliminated. I am feeling very weak at the moment and really don’t know when I will be able to resume full training and playing cricket again,” Razzaq said on Wednesday.Razzaq has been a key member of the Pakistan Test and one-day squads for the last two years and recently also missed the Test series against England due to an elbow injury, the cause of which was found to be a damaged tissue in his hand.He recovered in time to play in all five One-day Internationals against the England side. “I am very disappointed because I am looking forward to the Indian series and the training camp also starts from January 6. I don’t know if I would be able to join the camp or how long it will take for me to make a complete recovery,” he said.Razzaq said he was hoping to be fit for the first Test in Lahore but would act only on doctors advice. Another allrounder Shoaib Malik has also undergone surgery on his heels five days back to remove painful corns, which caused him a lot of problems during the series against England. Malik who opened against England has however been told by his doctors he can resume training in a week’s time.

Scotland coach Peter Drinnen has said solid performances from his players at the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka could catapult them into contention for the senior event in the Caribbean next year.”It is all there in front of them,” he said in Colombo on Monday. “They have got a World Cup now and they have possibly got a World Cup next year if they can put their best foot forward and put their names up in lights. To compete in two World Cups would be pretty special for any young player and they know that is on offer.”If they can put together a couple of solid performances here and a solid domestic season back home then some of them will not be too far away from the West Indies next year which is pretty exciting for them,” added Drinnen, who recently took over the coaching role of the senior side.The Caribbean is, of course, in the future. In the present looms the immediate task of the Scotland U-19 side trying to compete with the hosts Sri Lanka and tournament favourites India as well as Namibia in what appears to be a very tough group for the Associate country. But far from being intimidated, Drinnen said he and his players were looking forward to the challenge those matches presented, especially their opening fixture against Sri Lanka.”It is exciting to play the home nation, it is fantastic,” he said. “Obviously they will be familiar with conditions and that is the biggest advantage they can have but we do not feel extra pressure.Everyone considers Scotland as underdogs and that is a fantastic title to have. We will look after our game, prepare very well and if the players do the jobs asked of them then I think we will put up some strong opposition.””I do not know whether the pressure is on Sri Lanka or us,” added Kasaim Farid, Scotland’s captain. “It is obviously big to be here and play India and Sri Lanka but all we can do is to take each game into consideration. Sri Lanka are the ones who have got to perform in front of their home crowd so it balances both ways.”Scotland’s biggest problem, even before they lock horns with two of the tournament’s big guns, is in adapting to conditions which are about as different from back home as it is possible to find.”It’s quite simple,” said Farid as he reflected on that difference. “Scotland is cold and Sri Lanka is hot – that sums it up.”Drinnen said the players had been training hard since September in an attempt to get ready for the heat and humidity and four of them – Farid, Richard Berrington, Gordon Goudie and Sean Weeraratna – had also spent 12 weeks at the ICC Winter Training Camp in South Africa. But he said the players would have to come to terms not only with the high temperatures but also the pitches, which are totally different to those they are used to in Scotland.”We have played one practice match and I thought we dealt with that quite well although the bowlers toiled more than the batsmen,” he said. “It is a case of finding the right length to bowl and that is something we are exploring.”One potential weakness in the Scotland line-up is their lack of a top-class spinner, which could be a crucial handicap in conditions that traditionally favour that style of bowling. “Our spinners are still learning, as are our seamers,” said Drinnen. “They have to come to terms with conditions quickly but if they [the spinners] can adapt I think they will do a very fine job.”Drinnen said pushing allrounder Goudie (who is on the playing staff with English county Middlesex) up the batting order to fill a pinch-hitting role was a possibility. “It is an option although I do not see Gordon as a pinch-hitter,” he said. “He may go up the top of the order and if he does he will play his game. The way he plays is pretty aggressive and he can get us away to a pretty positive start. I think he is a bit better than a pinch-hitter but it is an option and one we may well look to use.”Scotland open their campaign with a match against Sri Lanka on Sunday before facing up to India on February 8 and Namibia the following day to complete their Group C commitments.The top two sides from each of the four groups in the tournament will progress to the Super League stage, which consists of knock-out quarter- and semi-finals and a final on February 19.Scotland squad Kasiam Farid (capt), Robert Cannon, Richard Berrington, David Bill, Tyler Buchan, Gordon Goudie, Andrew Hislop, Moneeb Iqbal, Scott MacLennan, Calum MacLeod, Aamir Mehmood, Umair Mohammed, Rajeev Routray and Sean Weeraratna.Manager – Tino Weeraratna, Coach – Peter Drinnen, Asst. coach – Andrew Lawson, physiotherapist – Andrew Raselli.The ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup 2006 will take place between February 5 and 19. 16 teams are scheduled to play 44 matches in 15 days at five different venues in Colombo.

Scorecard

A four-wicket haul by the pace bowler Adam Griffith helped Tasmania trounce Victoria by 114 runs at Melbourne on Saturday. With this defeat, Victoria also squandered their chance of making the ING Cup finals.Victoria went into the match resting their key players – Shane Warne, Brad Hodge and Mick Lewis. Chasing 243, the Bushrangers got off to a disastrous start losing both openers to Griffith without a run on the board. Liam Buchanan fell shortly after, with the score on 14, and the Bushrangers struggled to construct substantial partnerships, the highest being 43 for the fourth wicket between David Hussey and Aiden Blizzard. Griffith claimed two more wickets to finish with 4 for 36, which were his best figures in the competition.Tim Paine and Michael Di Venuto built a strong foundation for Tasmania after Travis Birt fell early. After both openers were dismissed, Michael Bevan and George Bailey staged a useful partnership. Bailey, who made 42, struck a huge six which landed on the adjacent tennis courts as Tasmania ended on 7 for 242.

An extensive report conducted on behalf of the ICC has concluded that the South African team was subjected to racial abuse on their recent tour of Australia, and that it is was premeditated, co-ordinated and calculated.The independent findings of India’s Solicitor General, Goolam Vahanvati, were discussed at the ICC board meeting in Dubai. It confirmed that the racial taunting had taken place as reported by the players. Vahanvati also concluded that it would be wrong to attribute the racial abuse only to South African expatriates or explain it away as being the result of drunken behaviour.The report added that there is a grave problem in Australia relating to crowd behaviour, particularly with drunken spectators, which needs to be tackled seriously. After noting Vahanvati’s conclusions, which included an assessment that Cricket Australia’s approach following the incidents had been appropriate, the board appointed a three-man committee to provide recommendations to the next meeting on April 30.This committee will comprise Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, and the United Cricket Board of South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola.

West Indies cricket has reached a new level of maturity with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) agreeing on the new retainer contracts, says Wes Hall, the fast bowling legend who was a former president of the WICB.As Hall hinted last week at the Legends of Cricket Barbados launch, the WICB decided to name Brian Lara as captain. Hall said he was delighted with this move and added that Ramnaresh Sarwan should be named as the deputy. Hall said that the original idea was to have a succession plan and this must now be put back in place. He said it was unfortunate that Guyana never made him their leader.”The whole process now has to be developmental. We can’t waste another day. The youngsters in the team have been around for a few years and we now look at maturity and progress once given the tools.”In welcoming the news of the deal between WIPA and the WICB which was concluded early yesterday, Hall said it was time to take West Indies cricket forward, bury the hatchet and arise from the “dark days” which have threatened to destroy the fabric of the game in the region.”They [WIPA and WICB] both needed to bite the bullet and narrow the negotiable gap for the good of West Indies cricket. Happily this has happened,” said Hall. “This is a new beginning and a chance to move forward. We have to plan for a year to get it all right for the World Cup. We have now to move forward and forget the ad hoc attitude that has worried West Indies cricket. There was no need to be adversarial in our dealings. We needed to come together and get our best team and we need our best team at all times.”Last week Hall warned the players that they needed to get on with the business at hand or face the possibility of losing public support. He added, however, that not all of the previous problems were the fault of the players’ body. The board also needed to shoulder some of the responsibility for the difficulties over the years, he said.Hall, a former government minister, said the process now needed to be taken one step further. He believes if WIPA is offered a place on the board of directors of the WICB, it would bring the various arms of West Indies cricket even closer together. He also called for the board to be reduced to eight members – one each from the six territorial boards, along with the president and the WIPA representative.”You need to reduce the board. That’s revolutionary, and I would like to see the players come into the picture so that they would be part of the solution and not part of the problem,” Hall said. “If the players had a representative on the board it would bring a different mindset. In Barbados today the union now has representatives on statutory boards and has been a major player with the government and the private sectors and has played a major role in set-up in Barbados, and it works well.”That’s the example that has been used, but we have seen that they are beneficial and have a very positive influence on the workforce situations. If there is going to be reconciliation there, we need to make the West Indies the embodiment of world cricket again. We have been down and have to get back up on our own. Instead of talking about how good we were, we need to realise how we got there and repeat that process.”It has been almost 11 years since the aberration when we lost to Australia in Kingston and we have been kicked off the world pedestal ever since.”It has always been my view that once we do the right things from now until the World Cup we will get into the last four and get close to winning the tournament. We need three strike bowlers bowling at 90 miles an hour, and we can take on the world.”He also said there should be some liaison with the governments of CARICOM. He said the governments have now become a major shareholder with the investment in Cricket World Cup and should have closer links through the sub-committee on cricket.

Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh’s middle-order batsman, has been dropped from the squad for the second one-day international against Australia at Fatullah tomorrow. Alok Kapali, another middle-order batsman, has been called up as replacement.”He [Ashraful] is a little bit out of form at the moment and his confidence is also down, so we feel he should have a break,” Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh’s coach, told Reuters. Habibul Bashar, the captain, said that it was a decision the team management was forced to take. “It is very unfortunate that we have to drop a batsman like Ashraful,” he said. “But we have no other option as he looked out of form.”In the first one-day match at Chittagong, Ashraful scratched around for 23 deliveries and made just 5. Kapali, who has played 51 one-day internationals since his debut against Sri Lanka in 2002, was withdrawn from the first match, which Australia won by four wickets, after he was struck in the face by a ball in practice.Bangladesh have also called up Shahadat Hossain, the fast bowler who impressed in the Tests, to replace Syed Rasel, who went for 35 runs in four overs at Chittagong. Australia, meanwhile, have named an unchanged side for the remaining two matches at Fatullah.Bashar added that his side was keen on making correcting their batting errors and make a contest of the three-match series. “We want to come back…our target is to complete the 50 overs and go for a win,” he said. “We were near a win [at Chittagong], and maybe 20 more runs would have made the difference. We have to remedy that and make less mistakes. We play well sometimes, we need to gain self-belief that we can play well consistently.”Faruque Ahmed, a former national captain and current chief selector, said that Bangladesh had performed credibly in the series. “We have a long way to go to establish ourselves as a competitive side but there was an evidence in the series that we are gradually improving in this level and at least a little bit settled as a team,” he told the . “The way we defended a small total in the first limited-overs match gave the clear indication of an improving side. I am hopeful of watching a much better performance in the last two one-day game to finish the series on a high.”Bangladesh (probable): 1 Shahriar Nafees, 2 Rajin Saleh, 3 Aftab Ahmed, 4 Habibul Bashar (capt), 5 Tushar Imran, 6 Alok Kapali, 7 Khaled Mashud (wk), 8 Mohammad Rafique, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Shahadat HossainAustralia (probable): 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Brett Lee, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Dan Cullen, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Mitchell Johnson