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Fahad Masood, the Habib Bank Limited fast bowler, achieved career-best figures of 7 for 27 as HBL defeated Pakistan Customs by eight wickets inside three days of their fifth round Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match, at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex Stadium.After gaining a first-innings lead of 136 HBL dismissed Customs for 151 in their second innings. Needing 16 to win, HBL lost two wickets on the way before they got the required runs.Habib Bank have won all their four matches in the five-team Pool A and have 36 points. Customs, who were defeated in three of their four matches and won none, collected only three points. They will finish at the fourth spot in the points table, just above Attock Group who haven’t got any points at all.Fahad, 25, actually represents Lahore where he is settled. He started the match against Customs with exactly 200 wickets in his 56-game first-class career. After bowling normally in the first innings, with a return of 1 for 41, he was in a devastating mood in the second innings.After having lost three wickets with 46 runs on the board — two to Fahad and one to a run out — Customs were well-served by a 74-run fourth-wicket stand between Wajihuddin and Shahid Qambrani. Wajihuddin’s 37 came off 89 balls with five fours and a six while Shahid got 39 off 89 deliveries with seven fours.Fahad then got into his act, as he picked up five more inexpensive wickets and Customs’ last seven wickets crashed for the addition of only 31 runs.Earlier Farhan Iqbal and Sajid Shah added 55 for the eighth wicket. Rizwan Akbar’s fast bowling matched Zulfiqar Ali’s slow left-arm when Akbar got 4 for 98 and ended first innings at 330.Habib Bank will now join Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), both of whom qualified from Pool B, in the Quadrangular stage round that will be played from December 5 to 18. stage.Adnan Raza, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited ‘s (ZTBL) middle-order batsman, hit a splendid maiden century as ZTBL gained the first-innings lead over Attock Group, on the third day of the Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex Ground.All ZTBL needed, at the start of this match, was to gain the three first-innings lead points in order to move ahead of defending champions National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), into the Quadrangular stage of the tournament.Both ZTBL and NBP were tied on 18 points but ZTBL had a game to spare.At 79 for 4 overnight, ZTBL were still 146 runs behind Attock Group’s first innings score of 225. Adnan came in to bat at 68 for 4 and contributed 137 of the next 184 scored. With wicketkeeper Shakeel Ansar, who scored only 15, his sixth-wicket stand was worth 103 runs. The lead was achieved after the fall of the eighth wicket. The next highest score was Umar Javed’s 40.By the close of play, Attock Group were 91 for 3 in their second innings. They have a lead of 64 runs.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball
How they were out

Shoaib Akhtar demolishes Ashley Giles’s stumps © Getty Images

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.

Danish Kaneria celebrates the breakthrough © Getty Images

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.

Mohammad Sami ends Kevin Pietersen’s brief counterattack © Getty Images

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)

Just as things were looking up for West Indies cricket – victory inChampions Trophy and a new high-profile coach on board – the finger was again hovering over the self-destruct button with a showdown between the players and the board threatening to ravage team selection for the Australian tour. Wisden Cricinfo explains what the fuss is about.

Ramnaresh Sarwan is one of the players who didn’t sign the tour contract© Getty Images

What is the problem?
The main issue is that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has signed an US$20 million deal with Digicel, a major Caribbean-based telecommunications company. However, a number of players already have personal endorsement deals with a rival company, Cable & Wireless. The board wants the players to sign contracts which will prevent them from promoting any company in competition with Digicel – that might compromise their existing individual contracts with Cable & Wireless.Why is this such a major issue?
The main income for West Indies players comes from bonuses and third-party endorsements rather than salaries paid by the cash-strapped board. So by looking to restrict the additional income available, the players argue that their income will be seriously reduced. The WICB contract would also mean that the players forfeited a considerable portion of their image rights.Weren’t Cable & Wireless sponsors of West Indies at one point?
Yes. From 1986, they gave over US$50 million to West Indies cricket but they did not renew their contract after the home series against England. They will, however, sponsor the 2007 World Cup which West Indies will host.Who’s refused to sign?
Brian Lara, Dwayne Bravo, Mervyn Dillon, Sherwin Ganga, Daren Ganga, Denesh Ramdin, Courtney Browne, Ian Bradshaw, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Ryan Hinds, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Darren Sammy, Runako Morton. Early reports had indicated nine – but it’s actually 19.And who has signed?
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Reon King, Narsingh Deonarine, Ricardo Powell, Deighton Butler, Dwight Washington, Xavier Marshall.What happens now?
The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) are meeting with the refuseniks to see what they are willing to do. But being so numerous and including nearly all the big-name players, the WICB are more likely to back down.TimelineNovember 26
Tim May, chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers Association, supports the WIPA stance: “It is ridiculous to suggest that players should agree to give away the right for third parties to use their image and attributes for advertising and promotional purposes without any financial consideration,” he said. “[They are] conditions that no group of players or player association could possibly accept.” A meeting scheduled for 11.30 in Grenada between the WIPA and WICB with Owen Arthur, prime minister of Barbados and Mitchell acting as mediators, lasts six hours, but a breakthrough is reached.Both parties agreed to submit briefs by Friday (December 3) which will enable an independent adjudicator to be appointed to try to find a solution. Mitchell told Barbados’s newspaper: “Clearly there needs to be a much closer working relationship between the board and the players’ representatives. That is a major deficiency and the prime ministerial sub-committee plans to meet very soon and will be involving all the parties to look at a fundamental process for the way forward for the development of West Indies cricket.”November 25
WIPA set to meet some of the dropped players. Peter Young, the general manager of public affairs for Cricket Australia, indicated that an alternative team would be considered for the VB series if West Indies are unable to send a full-strength squad. “At the moment we’re talking about hypotheticals,” he said, “but if they don’t [agree], we will start thinking about alternatives.” Kevin Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, says he is willing to mediate. “I assume if we as leaders make a call for some form of resolution in terms of our intervention, I have a feeling the parties will respond accordingly. Given the vital importance of cricket to the social and economic development of the region, I felt it was essential to have this matter resolved in the most amicable way possible.”November 24
Sixteen players are dropped from initial squad for the VB Series. The WICB rejected the offer from the players association for a follow-up meeting, stating that it will not act “unless the WIPA indicates it is willing to review its position.” Ramnarine, maintains that his association are willing to compromise. “Everything is negotiable,” he said. “Our position from the start, with or without a mediator has been to resolve the issues.” WIPA also claimed that territorial boards are putting pressure on the players to agree to the terms of the contract.November 23
The WICB release statement: “The board has never sought to assume ownership of the individual rights of the players or requested them to forego these rights. Match and tour contracts have always honoured this practice. During the negotiations with WIPA last Thursday discussions were had as to the basis on which compensation would be paid to players in the context of advertisements and personal appearances on behalf of the major sponsor.”November 18
Meeting between WICA and board occurs. It lasts at least 14 hours, and the clash between sponsors is not resolved.November 17
In a separate issue, it was discovered that salaries and bonuses going as far back as August had not been paid to players, and that the board was waiting for a bank loan to come through.November 16
Initial deadline for terms and conditions to be signed and returedn to WICB.November 10
Ramnarine says that he’d been proposing a meeting with the WICB from November 18-20.November 9
The WICB issues a statement indicating that a copy of the invitation was sent to the WIPA on October 7 for comments before October 31. It continued: “Despite requests on four separate occasions with reminders of the need to provide the players with the terms and conditions well in advance, WIPA did not submit any comments on that contract to the WICB.”November 8
Dinanath Ramnarine, president of WIPA, the established body for determining the terms and conditions of contracts of West Indies players, claims that the WICB had bypassed them over the VB Series contracts. WIPA asked players not to sign the letters of invitation. “It is to be noted that some of the conditions stipulated by the WICB have nothing to do with cricket,” Ramnarine said, “but represent an attempt to exploit the players for commercial purposes.”November 5
The WICB send out invitations to 25 players to a training camp for the one-day triangular VB series in Australia in January and February next year, and set out terms and conditions under which players will be considered for selection, and requested the player’s consent over contracts. A copy of the invitation, with terms and conditions, which was dated November 2, was sent to WIPA.

Hampshire Hawks suffered their second successive defeat in the National League Division Two, losing to runaway leaders Lancashire Lightning by 45 runs at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire must now win one of their remaining two matches (Middlesex at Lords 14th September and Derbyshire at Derby 21st September) to gain promotion to Division One.A tidy spell from Dimitri Mascarenhas at the start of the innings had the Lightnings on the back foot, his spell of 2 for 20 in nine overs, in which he equalled Shaun Udal’s Hampshire record of 31 wickets in a season, gave the home side a boost especially as one of the wickets was the prolific Stuart Law the Australian premier batsman.At 52 for 4, with Alan Mullally and James Tomlinson chipping in with a wicket apiece, one from an outstanding Mascarenhas catch, West Indian Carl Hooper and Glen Chapple got together, posting 124 for the 5th wicket. Hooper who played as only he can built back the innings from scratch, was finally out for 73 in just 88 balls, driving Shaun Udal over mid-off for a hugh six in the process.Chapple also hit a six and with help from Warren Hegg took their side past the 200 mark.When Hampshire started their reply, which was always going to be difficult, they got off to the worst possible start losing Aussie Simon Katich and Derek Kenway with the score on 3.Some steady batting from Nic Pothas and John Crawley steadied the boat, but the accuracy of the Lancashire seamers continued to create problems. Crawley was beaten end up by a ball from Kyle Hogg, and Francis edged Wood behind having just stroked him for successive fours.Nic Pothas looked a lone soul in the battle to keep up with the run rate, but when he fell for 58 the end was in sight. Udal stayed to the end, but Hampshire were well short.Hooper with three wickets in a tidy spell was the pick of a good Lancashire attack.

Former Test cricketer Haroon Rasheed, in charge of thePakistan Junior team headed for next month’s World Cup inNew Zealand says that fielding is one of their strongpoints.Haroon told Dawn that his boys had fared exceptionally wellin the field in the recent series against the Sri LankanJuniors whom they beat 4-1.”Good fielding was an essential part of our success over theSri Lankans, and I am now quite confident that the boyswould continue in the same vein in New Zealand,” saidHaroon. But Haroon pointed out that it was not just thestrong fielding they were banking on. “We have all theelements of a good one-day side and this squad does not inany way lack in competence.”The party of 14 named by the Pakistan Cricket Board, hasthree all rounders, as many pacers, two spinners, fivebatsmen and a wicketkeeper batsman. “All of them are quitetalented and keen on faring well in the tournament.”Haroon rates all his players equally, however when pressedas to who could hold the key in the World Cup, he namedpacers Najaf Shah, Junaid Zia and Umer Gul and captainSalman Butt.The coach however refrained from making predictions on theoutcome of the tournament. “At the under-19 level it istough to say who’ll achieve what because no side has beenwinning continuously in the World Cup.Pakistan have been drawn with England, Nepal and Papua NewGuinea in a group they should not face much difficulty inclearing. Still Haroon was not one bit complacent. “No sidecan be under-rated so we would consider Nepal and Papua NewGuinea as tough as England.”Meanwhile the first phase of camp which was set up at theRawalpindi Stadium has now come to a close and the playerswould reassemble at the same venue again after Eidul Fitr.The pre-Eid training, according to Haroon focussed onweaknesses identified during the Sri Lanka series. “We havebeen working on removing the flaws that came to the foreduring that series.”Also, target bowling and batting formed part of the playerstraining who were made to practice on seaming wickets.”We are training on seaming wickets because these are thekind of pitches we are likely to play on in New Zealandwhere the ball moves a lot.”The players would now also be able to benefit from theexpertise of former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd who isset to arrive in Islamabad on January 4 on a six-daycoaching assignment.

A match that held most people at the Harare Sports Club on edge came to an end as a result of bad light, and Zimbabwe beat Pakistan to level the series by a narrow margin of five runs.”The umpire couldn’t see the ball, so he was telling the Pakistan batsmen that ‘we’re going off’,” Elton Chigumbura said. Pakistan needed 21 off 12 at that point, but Zimbabwe were eventually ruled winners after Duckworth-Lewis calculations. “In the game of cricket, you can’t relax until the very last ball. But there were a few chances that we didn’t take when we were fielding, and that’s why they ended up getting so close.”They showed some good fight, and they didn’t give up even when they’d lost six wickets early, which is cricket, and which is what you want from your team: to not give up. After the good start we had with the ball, they were under pressure. We just had to maintain that.”Chigumbura took a wicket in his third over today to snap a 111-run stand between Shoaib Malik and Aamer Yamin that had threatened to take the game away from Zimbabwe. He hadn’t bowled a ball in an international match for almost seven months but may well have ended up bowling the final over had the match gone the distance.But Chigumbura probably wouldn’t have bowled at all had legspinner Graeme Cremer not injured his ankle earlier in the afternoon. Cremer had taken a wicket with his second ball, aided by a diving catch by John Nyumbu at slip, and had found both turn and bounce off the pitch.”Definitely, that pitch would have assisted Cremer big time,” Chigumbura said. “They had confidence that we were a bowler short, and [Sikandar] Raza couldn’t bowl as well because he’d been off the field for an hour or more. So we just had to make use of the guys who were available to bowl. That’s why it was almost like a blessing in disguise that I ended up bowling as well and getting that wicket. We went back on top again after that.”Chigumbura had Yamin caught behind for 62 and then ran Wahab Riaz out to rally his side. “Obviously I should be bowling more,” he said. “It gives me confidence, what I was able to do today. I haven’t been bowling in matches for a long time, though I have been practicing my bowling and working on it. I guess today was just the right time to get the ball and have a bowl. Luckily enough, I managed to get a wicket. But we knew that we just had to take the chance that would be coming, because [Yamin] gave a couple of half chances.”Though it came in controversial circumstances, coach Dav Whatmore insisted Zimbabwe’s victory was a “fantastic effort”.”When it all clicks, it’s great,” Whatmore said. “Before the game started we had a lot negativity towards us, and in some ways it was justified, in other ways I’m not sure. But to turn it around in the way we did with the bat in that first half was just a fantastic effort given the situation that the boys were in at the start of the day. Losing the toss, being asked to bat, and to perform like that and get the score that we did was really heartening.”Raza and Elton capitalised on the hard work that was done at the top of the order. You can just see [Brian Chari’s] confidence slowly increasing. He’s going to be playing some good innings in the future if he continues to learn like he has done. And Tino [Mutombodzi’s] run out was fantastic, almost a game changer, the way he dived and stopped it to get [Mohammad] Hafeez. Pure skill. Elton had a decent one too. A lot of good things. It was unfortunate that the game finished in the way it did, but there were a lot of good things and positives today.”

West Ham United defender Sam Byram’s rare run of four straight Premier League appearances for the club came to an end when he was an unused substitute in the 4-1 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, and Irons fans have been discussing what the future holds for the 24-year-old.

The east London outfit signed the right-back – who can also play as a wing-back or winger – from Leeds United during the 2016 January transfer window, but the player has struggled to find form and been plagued by injuries since then, making just 35 appearances in all competitions.

The defender only made his first top flight outing of the campaign against Bournemouth last month as a late substitute, before he started both of the matches against Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion, before again coming off of the bench in the 2-0 win against Watford.

West Ham supporters have been talking about Byram’s future via social media, and it seems as though they wouldn’t be too upset if he left the club this summer.

While one said “he is average at everything”, another said “not good enough for the PL in my opinion”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Jimmy Maher has led Queensland to success in one-day and first-class cricket © Getty Images

Queensland will be looking out for potential new leaders this season after Jimmy Maher announced he would quit the captaincy at the end of 2007-08. However, Maher has no immediate plans to retire from first-class cricket and wants to play for the Bulls for at least another three seasons.Maher, 33, wants to help the new captain ease into the role in the same way he was assisted by his predecessor Stuart Law, and Law was helped by Allan Border. “AB played on for two more years after Law took over and was a great help to him and then Stu did the same for me when I took over, so hopefully I can help out whoever does the job and we get things on the right track,” Maher said.He said by making the decision public he hoped to avoid speculation about his future and allow the side to focus on the 2007-08 season. Maher took over the captaincy at the end of 2001-02, guiding the Bulls to a Pura Cup title in 2005-06 and a Ford Ranger Cup triumph last season. In each of those victories he led from the front with Man-of-the-Match performances.Only Stuart Law (63) and Greg Chappell (45) have led Queensland in more Pura Cup matches than Maher’s 43, which have brought 21 wins. He has also captained the Bulls 48 times in one-day games – more than any other Queensland leader – for 28 victories.

English cricket has received a pre-Ashes boost with the announcement of a new £10 million, three-year extension to their existing deal with the energy company, npower.The deal, which was signed at Ruskin Park in South London, will cover all levels of English cricket, including both men’s and women’s Test teams, village cricket, and an expansion of the “Urban Cricket” grassroots initiative, which was launched last summer and was enthusiastically received.”It’s investments like this which have helped the success the team has had,” said England’s spinner Monty Panesar, who departs for Australia with the Ashes squad on Friday. “Npower has been a fantastic supporter of English cricket from playgrounds right to the top of the sport.”Kevin Miles, managing director of npower, added: “It’s a fantastic time to be a sponsor of cricket and a stunning time to be a fan. We think that cricket’s on a roll. It’s the overwhelming success of the Ashes which is allowing us to build a great relationship with the general public and to introduce children to the game in a way which has never been achieved before.”

Muttiah Muralitharan is all set to turn it on at Sydney © Getty Images

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.