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Wayne Parnell, the Delhi Daredevils fast bowler, has been ruled out of the IPL because of a groin injury and will fly to South Africa this week. He sustained the injury during a warm-up and will be assessed by Cricket South Africa’s medical staff on his return.The blow is another setback to Delhi’s campaign with Parnell, who was bought for $610,000 at the 2010 auction, joining his captain Gautam Gambhir on the injured list. Gambhir suffered a hamstring injury while fielding in the game against Mumbai Indians and did not bat, as Delhi slid to defeat. He missed the next two matches as well, both of which Delhi lost, derailing a campaign that had started with two victories.There was another injury worry for South Africa with Chennai Super Kings’ Justin Kemp hurting his back during the game against Kings XI Punjab. He left the field after bowling one ball and could not bat at his normal position.

The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) has expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements being made for the IPL, becoming the first players’ organisation to give the green signal to their cricketers to feature in the Twenty20 tournament.Player safety has become a major issue after an independent report, commissioned by the players’ unions in England, South Africa and Australia, had said there was a credible security threat to the IPL, and suggested moving the tournament out of India.WIPA’s comments backing the Caribbean players’ participation in the 2010 edition comes a day after Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, had insisted the tournament would be held in India and strongly criticised those who had expressed security concerns.”Apart from being in contact with a number of key IPL personnel, WIPA has also sought independent advice from organisations which have conducted similar security tests,” WIPA said in a press release.”WIPA is convinced that the organisers and the government are sparing no effort to ensure that players’ welfare and security are not in any way compromised. WIPA will therefore support its players’ participation in the IPL tournament.”Among those who have been most concerned over safety are Australian cricketers, whose players’ association helped formulate a list of security demands for IPL organisers earlier this week following a meeting attended by a majority of Australian cricketers due to play in next month’s tournament.Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, had also warned earlier this week of a spate of player withdrawals from the IPL after the England team’s security adviser Reg Dickason said the threat from the 313 Brigade was credible and that security could not be guaranteed in India.

Ross Taylor has been named as ‘stand-by’ captain for the upcoming Bangladesh and Australia series, giving him a more senior role with the national team. A statement by New Zealand Cricket said Taylor was not vice-captain but will take over as leader if Daniel Vettori is unavailable for any match over the home summer.Brendon McCullum was Vettori’s deputy till last October but was relieved of his duties soon after Andy Moles stepped down as national coach. Geoff Allott, NZC’s general manager of cricket, said both McCullum and Taylor were potential captains and that the latest move was an effort to polish Taylor’s leadership skills.”The Black Caps have deliberately not named a vice-captain in recent times as we wish to allow development of a broader leadership group,” Allott said. “We are fortunate to currently have two outstanding individuals in Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum, who could both assume the captaincy in the event Daniel Vettori was not available.”The elevation marks a rapid rise for Taylor, who made his international debut less than four years ago. “Brendon has recently fulfilled the role of stand-by captain, and Ross now gets his opportunity this summer,” Allott said. “Both players have offered on-field support and assistance to Dan during recent tours and it is anticipated that this will continue.”Taylor’s appointment should not be seen as a demotion for McCullum, said Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief executive. “This by no means is saying the Ross is number two and Brendon is number three – that isn’t the case,” he said. “Brendon will play the stand-by captain’s role in future series.”New Zealand’s next international assignment is the Bangladesh series, which starts with a Twenty20 on Wednesday in Hamilton.

While India and South Africa fought for the No.1 ranking in Kolkata, another No. 1 side – with no threats to its position – slipped into the country for a series comprising five ODIs and three Twenty20s as preparation for the World Twenty20 in May. Unlike South Africa, who have been successful in India, this team considers the country a final frontier of sorts.The England women are world champions in ODIs and Twenty20 as well as Ashes winners. Over the last two years they have beaten New Zealand and Australia in their backyards and a resurgent West Indies in the Caribbean. But they are yet to win in India. The last time they were here, for the Quadrangular Series in 2007, they sneaked in at third place despite having fewer wins than fourth-placed India.But things have changed since then, as captain Charlotte Edwards said. “A lot has happened over the three years. We are a much more confident team but we are not going to take it for granted. We have got a young team out here and are desperate to do well.”Ten players from that squad make the trip this time but their overall attitude towards touring has changed. Last year the England board sent 10 players to India to prepare for the World Cup in Australia. England opener Claire Taylor, who was part of the camp but is missing from the current squad, has said the Quadrangular performance forced the team to introspect and work hard to turn things around. Now England are one of the fittest teams in the circuit and of course the confidence accruing from two world titles – secured in a space of three months – cannot be underestimated.India, on the other hand, are coming off a long layoff. They have not played any international matches since the World Twenty20 in England last June and are banking on their domestic form going into the series. The selectors have brought back offspinner Nooshin Al Khadeer, dropped for the two World Cups, and left-arm spinner Preeti Dimri for the first two ODIs. India last won a series in 2008 – the Asia Cup – where their opponents were all minnows of the subcontinent.So the series is evenly poised: India, a team that is struggling to click but has home advantage, against a dominant England side out to improve its record in India. Where India have the edge, according to captain Jhulan Goswami, is its strength in spin. “This is the end of the season in India so all the wickets will be slow. Spinners will definitely play a major role in the series,” she said. For England, a loss in the series may not pose as many questions as it will for India ahead of the World Twenty20. India will not only have to reconsider their selections, but also rethink their fitness levels and the number of matches they play in a season.Players to watch
Legspinner Priyanka Roy was the first player to take a five-wicket haul in the World Twenty20 – shortly before Umar Gul took five on the same day. She also took 12 wickets in seven matches at the 50-over World Cup last year and at 21 is an exciting prospect for India.Mithali Raj averages 40.17 from 33 matches against England. Six of her eight half-centuries against side have come between 2006 and 2009, a period in which she averaged 57.11 in 14 ODIs against the side.England’s opening batsman and wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor kicked off the tour with a half-century in the warm-up game. She also got her maiden ODI century in India during the Quadrangular Series. England will hope she can make up for the absence of Claire Taylor at the top of the order.Captain Charlotte Edwards will be interesting to watch not only for her on-field decisions but also for her performance as an opener. She said the plan was to have her open while keeping the run-scorers in the middle order to “to play when the ball gets soft and run the opposition ragged”.

An important question ahead of Tuesday’s IPL auction is: If there are equal bids for a player, how do you break the deadlock? After weeks of uncertainty, the league has finally devised a ‘silent tiebreaker bid’ that, according to the organisers, would end the impasse. The proposal, though, has met with objections from various franchises.The method may be used in a scenario where a player has attracted the maximum bid – each franchise has a cap of US$750,000 in total to spend at the auction – from more than one franchise. The franchises would then have to put in a separate, additional bid – to which there will be no cap – to break the tie. Whoever submits the higher additional bid will get the player. However, the controversial part is that the additional amount would go to the IPL and not the player.To simplify the new rule: take an example where two teams are bidding for a player at $750,000. Both would then be asked to submit a fresh bid. In case one of the two submits a new bid of $800,000, the player still receives $750,000 and the additional $50,000 goes to the IPL.Understandably, the franchises are reluctant to shell out more money, especially when they know the investment would last only till the end of the year. The proposal was suggested to the franchises on Saturday but most of them objected because they strictly do not want to spend more than the $750,000 purse available to them for the auction on January 19.”Most of the franchises are not at all happy with it and objected to the proposal on the basic principle that the sanctity of the purse must be protected,” a franchise official told Cricinfo.His suggestion, echoed by few other franchises, to resolve the issue was there should be a lucky draw. “If there are equal competing bids, then you draw lots”.However, Lalit Modi, on his Twitter page made it clear that the tie-breaker rule “will be enforced”. “It’s part of the 2010 IPL auction rules, so anyone not agreeing is a non-issue.”

Anthony McGrath has resigned as Yorkshire’s captain after one season in charge, and will return to the ranks for the 2010 campaign, with a new leader expected to be unveiled at a press conference at Headingley on Tuesday.McGrath scored 871 runs at 33.50 in Yorkshire’s Championship campaign, with a highest score of 211 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in May. However, his form tailed away towards the end of the summer, as Yorkshire’s successful battle against relegation became his first priority.”It was a difficult decision to give up the club captaincy,” he said. “I always said that I knew exactly what it meant to be given such a prestigious job and I was really honoured to lead the side in 2009. I sat down with Martyn Moxon at the end of the summer and I came to the decision that the captaincy had affected my form in the latter part of the season. I therefore felt that it would be in the best interests of the team if I stood down and concentrated on scoring runs again.””I would like to thank everyone at the club who helped me during my time as skipper, particularly Martyn Moxon and the coaching team. I would also like to thank the members and supporters for their support. I am right behind the decision to appoint the player who will be unveiled on Tuesday as Yorkshire ‘s new captain. He will bring a lot to the role and has my full support. As a senior figure in the side in 2010 I am there if he needs any advice or support.”The side that is taking shape at Headingley Carnegie is particularly exciting,” added McGrath. “We have eleven players on various levels of England duty this winter and plenty of talent continues to come through our Academy. I really do think that there is an exciting future for the side and success is not too far away. I am really looking forward to playing a big part in making that success happen.”Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of professional cricket, said: “I know how much hard work Anthony put into the captaincy this summer and his decision to step down says a lot about him and how much he cares for this Club. He has been a pleasure to work with as skipper and he will be an invaluable senior voice for the Club’s new captain to have on and off the field. We have a young squad in 2010 and Anthony is a very key member of the side. The side needs his runs and experience and I am sure he will provide both.”

Standard policy for West Indies captains is usually, if in doubt, hand the ball to the biggest, meanest-looking bowler in the team. In the glory days, it would be Joel Garner or Curtly Ambrose, and they would duly hurl down bouncers that fizzed past heads. The 200-centimetre Sulieman Benn did the job for Chris Gayle today, the only difference being his 90kph offerings were awkward rather than life-threatening.Benn’s 5 for 155 at Adelaide Oval won’t jump out in the history books as an all-time great performance but it was invaluable after Australia began the day at 0 for 174, with a terrific chance to bat West Indies out of the game. The obituaries of the tourists’ tour, drafted following the debacle in Brisbane, were being further fine-tuned after stumps here on day two.But beginning with Dwayne Bravo and Brendan Nash with the bat, redemption has been the theme of the team’s Adelaide effort and there was no way Benn was going to let Australia run away without a fight. While the shorter fast man Kemar Roach impressed from the Cathedral End, the gangly Benn loped in at the City End. For 37 overs in the day – and 53 for the innings – he made life difficult with his natural bounce, drift and turn.”It’s certainly different,” Michael Hussey said of facing such a tall slow bowler. “He’s probably the most unique spinner I’ve faced in my career. He does use bounce very well with his height and I think he’s pretty wily with his changes of length and changes of pace as well.”Certainly the more you get to face him the more comfortable you feel with it. I thought he bowled outstandingly well and to bowl 50 overs is a huge effort. I think he stuck to his disciplines pretty well throughout that whole 50 overs. He still was landing the ball pretty consistently [at the end] and he was difficult to get away.”Benn appeared confident throughout the day, following through a few extra steps to make sure a batsman saw his glaring face and towering physique, or voicing his opinion to the opposition or his team-mates. After play he was quietly spoken and brief. He said that it had been pleasing to collect his maiden Test five-for.”It’s my first five-wicket haul in first-class games for a little while too,” Benn said. “It’s always nice to know you can get five wickets in a Test match and against Australia as well, so I feel pretty pleased about that. It gives you a sense of belonging. Sometimes you can doubt yourself.”Among West Indies spinners only Gayle and Dinananth Ramnarine have taken five wickets in a Test innings in the past decade. It’s hard to believe that coming from Barbados, which produced great fast men such as Garner and Malcolm Marshall, Benn would choose to commit himself to orthodox spin, but he said it was a decision that he made before he started to tower over his school mates during his teenage years.”I can’t say anything attracted me to it [spin bowling],” Benn said. “It’s just something I started doing from very young, eight or nine years old. I never thought about bowling fast, I never had a passion for it. I started bowling spin, I liked it, and I continued.”And continued, and continued. For much of the third day it seemed like Gayle had forgotten he had the power to alternate his bowlers and Benn sent down 24 overs unchanged from the start of play until drinks in the second session. Benn said it was no great hardship and he was happy to shoulder a heavy workload.”I’m fairly used to that,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for a while. It comes natural to me now because I’ve been doing it from school and my club and then for Barbados and now West Indies. I’m pretty comfortable doing it.”His unfailing efforts, combined with the difficult, skiddy fast deliveries being sent down by Roach, ensured West Indies took a small first-innings lead. The quicker that Gayle and his top-order colleagues accelerate on the fourth day the less comfortable the Australians will feel, and Benn said he was happy with the position he had helped West Indies achieve.”Hopefully they are under some sort of pressure,” Benn said. “The game is slightly in the balance, obviously we didn’t get the lead that we would like but hopefully they are under some sort of pressure.”

ScorecardCJ de Villiers started England’s collapse with two wickets•Getty Images

It wouldn’t be an England tour without a warm-up embarrassment and on cue, after two impressive 50-over displays, the tourists capitulated for a paltry 89 on a slow pitch at Bloemfontein to a strong South Africa A side. A four-wicket defeat is hardly ideal preparation four days before the opening international of the trip, but reinforces the notion that England’s 20-over game is still some way off the pace.Andrew Strauss had hoped the good work of recent days wouldn’t unravel after passing over the captaincy to Paul Collingwood for the Twenty20 matches. After batting with freedom and confidence in their first two warm-up matches, England couldn’t find any momentum on a stodgy surface and weren’t helped by three comical run outs. They failed to use 15 of their allocated deliveries as the last six wickets fell in 26 balls.The day hadn’t started well for the visitors when James Anderson pulled up with a sore knee and was rested as a precaution. He is expected to be fit for Friday’s opening Twenty20 international, but it left England without any of their frontline quicks as Stuart Broad (shoulder) and Graham Onions (back) were still sidelined.Alastair Cook’s top-score of 22 summed up England’s evening as he used up 30 balls and was given two lives in the process. In total the team managed just five fours and a six during the innings in conditions not suited to free-flowing scoring and against an eager attack.The damage was started by CJ de Villiers – who is making a name for himself after his Super Over exploits for the Eagles against Sussex at the Champions League – when he had Joe Denly caught behind after the bowler had spilled consecutive chances off both openers. In his next over de Villiers bagged the in-form Jonathan Trott who sliced to point.Collingwood tried to counter attack as he struck his first two balls for four and six against de Villiers, but Morne Morkel sustained the pressure with a tight spell and Collingwood was bowled by Thandi Tshabalala’s first ball. England scored at a crawl as Cook and Eoin Morgan attempted to rebuild but the innings fell apart swiftly when both departed in the space of three balls. Matt Prior, Luke Wright and Tim Bresnan were all run out and when Sajid Mahmood fell for the final wicket, England had failed to reach triple figures or bat out their overs.Having assessed the surface the new ball was thrown to Graeme Swann and he responded with another impressive spell of 2 for 9 as South Africa A were made to work. Adil Rashid also collected a couple in an encouraging display, but Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Rory Kleinveldt ended any doubts over the result with some powerful hitting.England won’t read too much into the result – they have a history of recovering from such setbacks – and conditions in the highveld will be much different. However, if they cared to flick through the TV channels they would have come across pictures of South Africa wiping the floor with Zimbabwe at Centurion Park. This was a day where they were reminded how tough this tour will be.

Match facts

Sunday, November 8, 2009
Start time 10.00am (8.00GMT)Ryan McLaren has left behind his county career and now has his South Africa chance•Getty Images

Big picture

After South Africa’s early-season flop in the ICC Champions Trophy, a short two-match series against Zimbabwe gives them a chance to warm-up before facing England in the main event of their summer. Although the home side are missing a few big names – Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy and Wayne Parnell are recovering from injuries – the opposition shouldn’t provide too many problems, but the contest will provide a useful experience before tougher challenges.The Champions Trophy failure was another blot for the team at global events, but South Africa still have an impressive one-day pedigree. They will take the opportunity to look at a few of their fringe players against Zimbabwe and strong performances could lead to more rewards down the line. The experienced pair of Herschelle Gibbs and Makhaya Ntini have both been dropped as the selectors begin to plan for the future.It was the bowling and middle-order hitting that caused concerns during the Champions Trophy. There is pressure on Albie Morkel to live up the hype over his striking power and provide more success with the ball.Zimbabwe enter this series after a 4-1 defeat in Bangladesh which included a dismal collapse to 44 all out. Their game is slowly starting to find its feet after a hugely troubled period, but for each step forward there are likely to be plenty backwards in the short term. Making South Africa work for victory would be counted as a success in this match

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)South Africa – LWLLW
Zimbabwe – LLLLW

Team news

South Africa have announced their line-up a day ahead of the match with Ryan McLaren named for his international debut following the end of his Kolpak time in county cricket. There are also recalls for the hard-hitting Alvrio Petersen, swing bowler Charl Langeveldt and left-arm quick Lonwabo Tsotsobe.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Mark Boucher (wk), 5 Alvrio Petersen, 6 Albie Morkel, 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Lonwabo Tsotsobe, 11 Charl Langeveldt.Captain Prosper Utseya injured his ankle in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe missed his bowling skill so his fitness will be closely monitored. Zimbabwe are likely to need more pace options than they used in Bangladesh which could mean a recall for Kyle Jarvis who has made a promising start to his career.Zimbabwe: (possible) 1 Mark Vermeulen, 2 Hamilton Masakadza (capt), 3 Brendan Taylor (wk), 4 Elton Chigumbura, 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 7 Chamu Chibhabha, 8 Ray Price, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Kyle Jarvis 11 Chris Mpofu.

Watch out for…

Ryan McLaren has waited a long time for his international chance. It almost came last year, but he had to withdraw from the squad to face Kenya and Bangladesh because of his Kolpak status with Kent in England. Now he has left that behind and given South Africa another crack. McLaren became eligible on October 1 and the selectors have wasted little time drafting him in. He gives the ball a strong thump and came to the fore during the recent Champions League when two late boundaries forced a tie for the Eagles against Sussex after which the Eagles won the one-over eliminator. His wicket-to-wicket bowling has also proved effective in Twenty20 and he claimed a hat-trick at the 2007 Finals Day at Edgbaston.Zimbabwe didn’t have a particularly happy time in Bangladesh, but Brendan Taylor ended the series in fine style with an unbeaten 118 off 125 balls – his maiden ODI hundred. He is a key part of the top order as it develops for the future and a possible return to Test level. Taylor is capable of dominating attacks and is also important in balancing the side with his role as wicketkeeper.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have an overwhelming 24-2 advantage in head-to-head matches against Zimbabwe.
• The last time the sides met was for a three-match series in Zimbabwe in 2007, when the visitors eased to a 3-0 victory.

Quotes

“It is a dream come true. It has been a long process to get there and I am really looking forward to this opportunity. It is lovely to be part of the team and I hope to contribute in as many areas as possible.”

Group C

Cape Cobras v Otago, Hyderabad

Start time:
October 10, 10.30 GMTHerschelle Gibbs will be raring to go at his IPL team Deccan’s home ground•Getty Images

Cape Cobras look good for the second stage of the tournament thanks to JP Duminy’s breathtaking 99 which pulled the rug from under the feet of the fancied Royal Challengers Bangalore on the opening day. A victory on Saturday against Brendon McCullum’s Otago will ensure qualification while a defeat will leave them sweating over the result of the group’s final league game.Otago haven’t had the smoothest of build-ups to the tournament, losing both their warm-up matches. IPL champions Deccan Chargers beat them narrowly, but Justin Langer’s Somerset thrashed them by eight wickets. They were without the members of the New Zealand national team – McCullum, Ian Butler, Neil Broom and Aaron Redmond – who only arrived in India on Thursday, leaving little time to get used to subcontinental conditions.Watch out for:Herschelle Gibbs will be back at his IPL team Deccan’s home ground. He will be looking to make amends for his first-ball duck against Bangalore, especially against a bowling attack which looks to be lacking in firepower.Hamish Rutherford, son of former New Zealand captain Ken, is not too well known outside his country, but was in devastating form in the State Twenty20, clobbering 220 runs at a strike-rate of 167.93. That’s among the best strike-rates around over the past year.

Group A

Deccan Chargers v Somerset, Hyderabad

Start time:
October 10, 14.30 GMTAndrew Symonds’ versatility will be a major asset to Deccan•Associated Press

This is the first game of Group A, and features the two stronger teams in the group, the other being Trinidad & Tobago. With their knowledge of the local conditions and a capacity crowd expected to be egging them on, Deccan start as favourites (though those factors didn’t help Bangalore in the face of JP Duminy’s onslaught). They have plenty of proven match-winners like Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds, but two of their big Indian stars – Rohit Sharma and RP Singh – have struggled over the past few months. Somerset will need big performances from their pair of senior pros, Marcus Trescothick and Justin Langer, the only players in the squad with significant experience on the subcontinent.Watch out for:Andrew Symonds will be playing his first high-level cricket after being sent home just before the start of the World Twenty20 in June. A lethal hitter of the ball, an agile fielder, he can also bowl either spin or seam-up; his versatility is a major asset to Deccan, the reason why they splashed out US$1.35 million a year for his services.Marcus Trescothick has been sweeping the end-of-season awards in England after a stunning year in which he piled on 2,934 runs across all competitions. This will be his first overseas assignment since pulling out of Somerset’s pre-season to Dubai in 2008 due to the stress-related illness which forced him out of tours to India in 2005 and the Ashes in 2006-07.