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Jack Russell, the former England wicketkeeper who retired last year, has been asked to help Geraint Jones improve behind the stumps.The request came from England’s management team of Michael Vaughan and coach Duncan Fletcher, according to the Sunday Express. Russell told them: “Duncan and captain Michael Vaughan have asked me to build a good relationship with Geraint and give him whatever specialist help he needs.”Russell, who’s now 41, is generally acknowledged as the finest English wicketkeeper of recent years. He played 54 Tests, even though he often missed out to the superior batting of Alec Stewart, but still made 165 dismissals, and scored 1897 Test runs of his own, with two centuries.Jones, who was controversially preferred to Chris Read for the final Test in West Indies last year, and has held his place ever since, fumbled a number of catches and takes during the South African series. But, according to Russell, “He has got the ability to play 100 Tests for England – he has the right attitude and, as long as he keeps doing the business, there is no reason why he can’t go down as one of the best.”

Pakistan’s obsession with Shoaib Akhtar’s fitness and commitment, increasingly a pre-series ritual, has once again got underway. Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach told Cricinfo in an exclusive interview that he still has concerns over the fast bowler’s fitness.”I understand that Shoaib Akhtar runs thirty metres to bowl and he puts a lot of effort into it. He bowls very quickly and is a massive asset to any team. But in order to do that you have to be a lot fitter than he is at the moment.”Shoaib has not played for Pakistan since January this year; he missed the tour to India with a strained hamstring and was overlooked for the subsequent Caribbean tour on the grounds that he wasn’t fit enough. Since then, he has played a handful of games at county level, the Afro-Asia series where he looked impressive and two ODIs in the recently concluded Super Series against Australia. He wasn’t included in the World XI Test squad for the one-off Test at Sydney, although Graeme Smith, the captain, was at pains to point out it wasn’t due to lack of fitness.Woolmer and the Pakistan board are keen that Shoaib proves his fitness before the England series. His largely unimpressive performance in the Super Series ODIs have not been reassuring on this count.Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan board chairman, too has sought assurances from Shoaib about his commitment to the team and fitness, and set both down as a condition for a comeback.Shaharyar told the Karachi-based daily, , that he had spoken long and hard to Shoaib during the Super Series and explained to him exactly what he needed to do to get back into the team. Shoaib, according to Shaharyar, guaranteed him his full commitment.Woolmer expects Shoaib to play in two games before the England series, including the four-day practice game between a Pakistan XI and Lahore, in Lahore from October 26. A source close to the Pakistan team told Cricinfo that nothing short of sustained spells of fast bowling, in these conditions, over a few days, will convince the management of Shoaib’s fitness levels.Woolmer said, “He’s coming to the training camp on the 21st and he’s playing on the 26th in the practice game in Lahore so I want to see him get stuck in. We have a very important series coming up against England and it’s not about Shoaib Akhtar or Bob Woolmer.”Given that, for the first time in over a year, Pakistan have considerable depth in the fast bowling department – Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul are fit again, Shabbir Ahmed has been allowed to resume bowling and the likes of Mohammad Asif, Najaf Shah and Mohammad Khalil have also impressed recently – there will be added pressure on Shoaib to prove his fitness.Woolmer added, “The only thing I believe Shoaib has to consider is that he must get himself fit if he is to bowl consistently fast for the rest of his career. He’s 30 now so his fast bowling career has probably four years left. It doesn’t take two years to get fit, it takes two months; he has an opportunity to do that.”Woolmer also touched on problems relating to getting the message across to Shoaib, saying that he might be receiving advice from people outside the game of cricket. “It’s a major problem if you have contrary advice; either you listen to the cricket coach or you listen to people who don’t know anything about cricket. If Shoaib wants to do it his way and if he doesn’t fit the bill, he has to understand he might not get selected.”

The two-man delegation from Pakistan has inspected the stadium in Mohali – the venue for the forthcoming first Test against India – after being shown around the ground today.According to Reuters, the Pakistanis – Zakir Khan, the general manager of the Pakistan Board, and Sohail Khan, the senior superintendent of the Lahore police – pronounced the ground and its facilities to be “excellent and very impressive”.Zakir told reporters that there was nothing sinister in his inspection, saying such visits were now commonplace and “a part of the cricket family system”.Sohail, meanwhile, claimed that reports that Pakistan were not keen on playing in Ahmedabad were only speculation. “It has all been generated by the press. We will talk to the local administration in Ahmedabad and the final decision will be taken by the two boards.”

West Indies 559 for 4 dec beat Bangladesh 284 and 176 by an innings and 99 runs
ScorecardPreview – Windies determined to make ammendsDay 1
Bulletin – Bangladesh recover to reach 264Day 2
Bulletin – Lara and Sarwan hundreds put West Indies in controlDay 3
Bulletin – Sarwan’s 261 puts West Indies in control
Quotes – Sarwan: ‘I was pretty pleased’Day 4
Bulletin – Collins steers West Indies to innings win
Verdict – Too many snakes, not enough ladders

Pakistan Customs were headed towards a big defeat as they finished the third day of their Patrons Trophy match against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at Karachi on Sunday, still needing 298 runs to win with only five wickets remaining.After having dismissed them for a poor 97 in the first innings, ZTBL left Customs a whopping target of 395 to achieve an improbable win. By stumps yesterday, Customs were tottering at 97 for 5 in their second innings. Mohammad Khalil, the left-arm seamer, who was at the centre of the ball-tampering controversy on Saturday, followed his figures of 4 for 38 with 3 for 14 in eight overs on Sunday. All his three victims failed to open their account.In their second innings, ZTBL raised a total of 238, thanks to a 103-run stand for the sixth wicket between Inam-ul-Haq (52) and Adnan Raza (55). The Customs bowlers acquited themselves well, with paceman Rizwan Akbar taking 4 for 62 and Junaid Zia polishing off the tail, ending up with figures of 3 for 50. Kashif Siddiq was the lone fighter in Customs’ second innings, batting on 59 as his side ended the day at 97 for 5.National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) required another 113 runs to beat Habib Bank with five wickets in hand, as they ended the third day of their Patrons Trophy match at Karachi on Sunday.Mohammad Sami gave the national selectors another reminder as his 4 for 79 restricted Habib Bank to a second-innings total of 217. He finished with a match-haul of nine wickets for 167 runs. Habib Bank had earlier gained a 41-run first innings lead over NBP, who were then left with 259 to register an outright victory. At stumps yesterday, they reached 146 but lost five wickets on the way.A quickfire stand of 53 for the eighth wicket took Habib Bank past the 200 mark. Captain Shahid Afridi hammered 35 off 41 balls with six fours while wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat, in his characteristic aggressive style, needed only 36 balls to make 38, with seven boundaries.NBP were rattled by former Pakistan seamer Irfan Fazil, who ended the day with 3 for 34, as four wickets were gone with only 32 runs on the board. Naumanullah, the captain, then lifted the team’s morale with an unbeaten 69, off 145 balls with 10 boundaries. He was involved in a 47-run stand with Naved Latif and with Qaiser Abbas, he added an unbeaten 67 for the sixth wicket.Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) restricted Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to a first innings score of 253 and, then, finished the third day of their Patrons Trophy match at 17 for 1, at Sheikhupura on Sunday.After having been put in, SNGPL reached 154 for 5 in 44 overs in the opening day, hit by poor weather. The second day was then completely washed out. Yesterday, SNGPL added another 99.Azhar Shafiq missed a well-deserved hundred by just eight runs, after having staged a tough battle against the PIA bowlers. His 92 came off 183 deliveries with 11 fours and a six. For PIA, left-arm fast-medium bowler Najaf Shah chipped in with four wickets. Legspinner Imran Tahir dismissed the lower order, with figures of 4 for 58.With both Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) having already qualified for the quadrangular stage of the Patrons Trophy, WAPDA utilised the entire third day for batting practice, at Rawalpindi on Sunday. WAPDA resumed at their overnight score of 108 for 1 and finished at 355 yesterday with one wicket remaining.After the first day on Friday was completely washed out and only 53 overs was possible the following day. Sialkot’s Masood Asim top-scored for WAPDA with 83 off 294 balls with ten fours. His second-wicket stand with Aamer Sajjad (45) produced 73 runs and the third-wicket partnership with Jahangir Mirza (46) fetched another 82.Aamer’s 45 took only 88 balls with four fours and a six while Jahangir made his 46 off 102 balls with five fours and a six. Later, the in-form Bilal Khilji chipped in with 49 off 85 deliveries with eight boundaries. For KRL, seamer Abdur Rauf and offspinner Saeed Ajmal captured four wickets each for 59 and 114 runs, respectively.Although points are of no consequence in this match, the two teams might try to infuse some interest on the final day today trying at least to gain a first innings lead.

Neil McKenzie, the South African Test batsman, has been released by Easterns and will now play for the new Highveld Lions team. McKenzie, 28, has scored 2028 runs in his 41 Tests, with two centuries.McKenzie had not been selected for the Titans in their first two Standard Bank Pro 20 matches, Brandon Foot, Easterns’ chairman, explained that he had been released by the franchise to further his career. He said: “Neil has indicated to me that, as a national player striving to achieve recognition in the limited-overs version of the game, it is important to him that he play as many Pro 20 matches as possible. We have elected not to stand in Neil’s way, but to afford him the opportunity of competing for the Highveld Lions, in the best interests of his career. This is, of course, also in line with the decision of the UCBSA to reduce the number of professional teams competing in South African domestic cricket and to ensure that playing strength is spread evenly amongst all the franchises in the country.”Dave Nosworthy, the Titans’ coach, said it was obviously a blow to lose a player of Neil’s calibre. “Neil has served Northerns well and is a player of quality. We wish him all the very best for his future career.”McKenzie concluded: “I would like to thank Northerns Cricket Union for all that they have done for me. Northerns is a truly professional set-up from their administration right down to the change-room attendant. I believe other unions can take a leaf out of Northerns’ book, who always allow cricket to prevail. I am sad to be leaving the Nashua Titans and will always be grateful to them for having afforded me the opportunities necessary, to allow me to be selected for South Africa. I wish them well in the future.”

A classy century from Simon Katich led NSW to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Victoria in the ING Cup cricket match at Bradman Oval today.Katich, coming off his successful return to Test cricket last week when he made a half-century and took five wickets, opened the NSW innings and looked untroubled while making 131 from 129 balls.After electing to bat, Victoria slumped to 4-55 but 101 from Brad Hodge, who missed a $50,000 jackpot for hitting one of the sponsors’ signs by mere centimetres, pushed the Bushrangers to a respectable total of 9-244.Katich and Dominic Thornely (33) made a swift 77-run opening stand from 17 overs to send the Blues on their way.NSW captain Steve Waugh, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of 5,000-plus in his first appearance at the famous little ground, hit 38 from 58 balls but Katich, who made 52 and took 6-65 for Australia against Zimbabwe at the SCG, was the standout.His ton came from 108 balls.Hodge was heading for a cash windfall when a six from left-arm spinner Aaron O’Brien flew straight towards the ING sign at mid-wicket. The crowd celebrated when they heard the sound of the ball hitting steel, but the ball had hit the posts supporting the sign and Hodge was denied the $50,000.Stuart Clark (2-35) and Don Nash (3-34) were the pick of the NSW bowlers.Stand-in wicketkeeper Nathan Pilon was razor sharp behind the stumps, taking five catches and fumbling nothing.

CloseCanterbury 499 and 247 for 6 dec (Fulton 113*, Wiseman 35*, Patel 3-106) drew with Wellington 393 and 291 for 7 (Jones 82)Canterbury will regret batting on to leave Wellington a target of 354 runs on the final afternoon of their State Insurance match at the Basin Reserve. As it turned out, Wellington held out, seven wickets down, for the draw.Memories of being caught short before might have been on Chris Cairns’s mind as he delayed his declaration. The pitch was good enough for a strong Wellington team to chase on, but so far in this year’s series, Wellington have not always put a good performance together.Realising that they were on course to take no points out of the match, if they didn’t win, Wellington at least made a genuine effort for victory, but in the end the target was too steep. Richard Jones attacked and scored 82 off 122 balls before being caught at the wicket by Brendon McCullum from Paul Wiseman’s bowling.At one stage Wellington were 263 for 3, but time for an improbable victory was running out and the Wellington lower-order, with two experienced hands, Chris Nevin and James Franklin, holding out, Canterbury were denied.Earlier, Canterbury had the benefit of another century to Peter Fulton. It was his second of the season and when the declaration came he was unbeaten on 113, scored off 174 balls. Paul Wiseman, who scored 75 in the first innings, was also not out on 35 when the declaration came, having added 60 runs for the seventh wicket.Jayesh Patel, the Wellington offspinner, came in for some punishment, conceding 108 runs off his 16 overs, but he did pick up three wickets – those of Craig McMillan, Chris Harris and Cairns, when the chase was on for quick runs.

Close Day 2 East Zone 287 for 8 (Arindam Das 70, Kiran Powar 69*) trail North Zone 330 (Paul 5-83) by 43 runs
Scorecard
Arindam Das and Kiran Powar stroked contrasting half-centuries for East Zone as the Duleep Trophy final hung in the balance at the end of the second day at Mohali. Arindam provided the stability after the loss of some early wickets, while Powar clattered the bowling after a middle-order slump. East Zone were only 43 adrift by the end, and Powar, whose brother Ramesh was recently included in India’s one-day squad, remained unbeaten with a crucial 69.There were some other good performances, too. Ashish Nehra proved his fitness with four spells of disciplined bowling, and extracted some decent bounce as the day wore on. After North Zone had folded for 330 in the morning, with Shib Shankar Paul finishing with 5 for 83, the attention shifted to Nehra and his untested limbs. His first spell was of eight overs – more of a loosener than anything else – but his accuracy ensured that it cost him only 13 runs. Even MS Dhoni (21), who was trying to smash every ball, couldn’t get him away.Nehra enticed Shiv Sundar Das (12) to fiddle at a slightly wide one, and Aakash Chopra easily pouched the catch at second slip (44 for 2). Nehra changed ends for his next two spells, but remained tight, conceding just ten runs from his next five overs. It was now that he managed to unsettle the batsmen with that bounce. And at the end of the day, he tilted the balance in North Zone’s favour with an important wicket. After bowling 20 overs with no sign of discomfort, Nehra should now have booked his ticket to Pakistan.Early on, Rohan Gavaskar was adjudged lbw to a ball that appeared to be heading over the stumps, and at 46 for 3, East Zone were in a tricky spot. But Arindam and Devang Gandhi shared a valuable 93-run stand, eschewing all risks and stabilising the situation. Arindam was solid in defence, getting in behind the line most of the time, and he unfurled a few crisp cuts after reaching his half-century. He was given a life on 65, dropped at second slip by Chopra, but was soon undone by a dream ball by Sarandeep Singh.Sarandeep’s first wicket had come with the last ball of a soporific second session. Gandhi (42) suddenly got one that zipped and turned, and ended up gloving it to short leg (149 for 4). But the delivery that got Arindam ensured that everyone woke up. Slower through the air and drifting a shade away, it spun in viciously after pitching, sneaked through his defence and dislodged the bails (174 for 5) – an offspinner’s delight.Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Saurashish Lahiri fell trying to step up the scoring rate, and, still 130 adrift, East Zone needed a fighting partnership. Utpal Chatterjee hung in grimly while Powar drilled some fierce cuts. He latched on to anything short, and pierced the gaps effortlessly. He also nudged and nurdled, when the field was spread out, and showed great maturity in handling this nervy situation. Chatterjee wasn’t as authoritative: he wafted at some wide ones, and edged a couple through the slips. This pair added 86 in quick time, to rescue East Zone from a perilous position. But Chatterjee fell to Nehra for 39 right at the end, which gave North Zone a slight edge.Karsan Ghavri, East Zone’s coach, wasn’t too perturbed about first-innings honours. “Even if we concede the lead, it won’t be more than 10 to 20 runs,” he reasoned. “We can still come back in the second innings and get back into the game.”Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is on the staff of Wisden Cricinfo in India.

Nepal and Malaysia qualified for the Youth Asia Cup final after both Saturday’s semifinals in Karachi were washed out.

The match at Quaid-e-Azam Cricket Park between Malaysia and Qatar was called off without a ball being bowled, and at the National Stadium, only 33 overs were possible – with Nepal reaching 110 for 5 against Kuwait.Nepal and Malaysia were awarded places in the final after securing more victories in the preliminary round matches. The final is slated for Sunday, with Monday being a reserve day.More monsoon rains are forecast for the coming week. If the final too is washed out, then Nepal will be adjudged winners of the competition, having accumulated 21 points to Malaysia’s 20. The winner qualifies for next year’s Youth World Cup to be played in Bangladesh.Scores in brief:
Nepal 110-5 in 33 overs (Yashwant Subedi 42, Manjeet Shreshta 24*; Waqas Jamal 3-26) vs Kuwait. Match washed-out.Malaysia vs Qatar: match washed out.