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James Franklin arrived in Wales insisting he is ready for a county season with Glamorgan, his knee troubles now behind him.After being told last week that he required surgery on his knee, Glamorgan began a search for another bowler. But this week, a second opinion cleared Franklin to play this season. And he is keen to show his county that he isn’t just a bowler who can bat; his hundred in the second Test at Cape Town proves, he says, that he is an allrounder.”Being an all-rounder has been my job for Wellington and I know I can bat,” Franklin told . “But I guess getting that hundred in the second Test at Cape Town has opened a few other people’s eyes. When I do start for Glamorgan I want to show I can do an equally good job with the bat as well as the ball.”The chance for a New Zealander to come over and play county cricket has been rare in the past. But now there are a few of us popping up and it’s a chance I’m relishing. I’ve had a little bit of experience in county cricket with Gloucestershire and I’m really happy to be here.”Franklin also spoke of his fears last week after finding out about the knee problem. “It’s been a bit of a turnaround after finding out 10 days ago I was going to have surgery. But now I’m ready to play the rest of the county championship season.”The MRI scan in South Africa showed their was a tear in my knee, so New Zealand Cricket flew me home to see two surgeons. I met them both, but they both said conclusively that they didn’t want to operate.”I know the scan shows a tear, but I did play with it throughout the Test series, and I’m confident I will be able to play on it over here. So, in conjunction with New Zealand Cricket and Glamorgan, I find myself in Cardiff and, hopefully, playing soon.The county will wait to officially register Franklin until he has proved his fitness over the weekend. “Chris Towers (Glamorgan physio) has had a good look at the knee and he is pretty happy with it. I’ll put it though its paces over the next few days and I’m confident I’ll shape up after that. It will be up to Chris and John Derrick (Glamorgan director of cricket) then to see if they want me to play against Worcestershire on Tuesday.”

Glenn Turner plans to nominate for New Zealand’s selection panel ten years after being dumped as convenor and coach. Turner, who recently ended a four-season coaching stint with Otago, would give the group, which is led by John Bracewell, some much-needed batting balance.”I would think the right time to become involved is now while the players are still fresh in the mind – not after having had a break,” Turner told NZPA. “I’ve still got a very keen interest and intend doing a professional job.”Turner’s previous appointment to the panel ended in 1995-96 after crucial differences with the players, especially Chris Cairns, and he was dropped as coach and selection convenor. Turner said he saw the new position as an opportunity to provide ideas and be a sounding board, but Bracewell would be in charge and carry the final say.The current bowler-heavy set-up includes Bracewell, Sir Richard Hadlee, Brian McKechnie and Ross Dykes, and applications for two-year deals close on May 13. Ian Smith called for a batting specialist to be included after New Zealand’s disasters against Australia last summer and Turner, a former Test player who averaged 44.64 in 41 Tests, will be a strong candidate.

Zaheer Khan is returning to India and will take no further part in the Test series against Pakistan. An MRI scan revealed that Zaheer had pulled a muscle in his right leg, and it was not the hamstring that was injured, as was suspected earlier.Ratnakar Shetty, the team’s manager, added that Andrew Leipus, the team physiotherapist, spoke at length to local doctors and they decided there was no chance that Zaheer would recover in time for the third Test. It was then decided that he be sent back home.Zaheer’s injury happened during the historic maiden Test win at Multan. He bowled 23 overs in the first innings and took 1 for 76, but limped off the field and could not bowl in the second innings.Ashish Nehra, Zaheer’s replacement, has already arrived in Lahore. He had an extended bowl in the nets, and, despite wearing plaster on the webbing between his index finger and thumb, is fully fit. Nehra split the webbing on his finger in the second one-dayer at Rawalpindi, and had to return home, but is now back raring to go.”It’s good to return to Pakistan and be a part of the team again,” Nehra said. “The team is doing well, and I am also confident of contributing to the team’s cause if I am picked to play in the second Test.”Nehra’s short international career has so far been hampered by a host of injuries, something he admitted he found frustrating. “When you pick up an injury like this one in Rawalpindi, or like the one I did in the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka there’s nothing much you can do about it,” he said. “But it’s definitely frustrating to be in and out of the side.”As far as my ankle is concerned, that is something I have to live with for the rest of my life. I have had two surgeries on my ankle, and it is no big deal. I don’t have pain all the time, but sometimes, there is a bit of swelling, and then all I can do is ice it. It’s not something new for any fast bowler. It’s the same kind of injury Brett Lee and Allan Donald have had.”But now he’s fit, he knows that he won’t walk back into the side: “Pathan and Balaji are bowling well, and that is good for the sake of the team. There is a healthy competition between all of us, and that can only be good news for Indian cricket.”With two days to go before the start of the second Test, there’s still plenty of grass on the wicket. Lahore is abuzz with talk of a greentop, and India are certain to go into the match with three fast bowlers. Irfan Pathan is sure to play after his fine display in the first Test, and this leaves Lakshmipathy Balaji, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar fighting it out for the last two bowling spots.

Consistent individual displays of batting from Plate A’s willow-wielders gave their side the slight edge in their drawn encounter against Elite A in the Duleep Trophy match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.Winning the toss, Plate A skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar opted to bat first, but he himself could make only six. But batsmen across the line-up did enough to get their side to a formidable 373 midway through the second day’s play. Opening the batting, R Jaiswal and Barrington Rowland made 80 and 75 respectively, putting together a first-wicket stand of 147.Plate A then experienced some hiccups in the middle-order before lower-oder bats Sunil Joshi and Dodda Ganesh added 117 runs for the eighth wicket. Joshi made a sedate 73 off 167 balls, with eight fours and two sixes, while Ganesh hit up a relatively rapid 72 off 112, striking eight fours and four sixes. For Elite A, left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan took five wickets for 88 runs.Elite A responded with 281, 92 runs in deficit and thereby ceding first-innings points to Plate A. The final score of 281, too, was based largely on Sridharan Sriram’s hundred. Playing on his home ground, Sriram made 119 off 240 balls, with 11 fours, but he found little support from his team-mates; the next highest scorer was Y Venugopal Rao, who scored 30.Plate A continued to impress, and in their second innings, recovered from a precarious 78 for six to hit up 342 runs. Joshi and Ganesh did well again, making 66 (78, 9×4, 2×6) and 63 (96b, 8×4, 2×6), but it was stumper Thilak Naidu who top-scored this time, scoring 83 off 151 balls, with 11 fours and a six.The target of 435 was clearly beyond Elite A on the final day of the contest, and the match was declared a draw when Elite A were 102 for three. Plate A took away five points from the game, while Elite A took three.

After a day of mixed fortunes Sussex skipper Chris Adams faces a tough decision over when to declare against Durham at Chester-le-Street.An astonishing spell of four for six by Adams was not enough for Sussex to enforce the follow-on as they seek their fifth win in six matches.The captain is on 33 not out as Sussex go into the final day on 135 for one in their second innings, leading by 217.He could be influenced by an elbow injury to his leading wicket-taker Jason Lewry, who retired today just as the new ball was due.Durham had already passed the follow-on target by then, but there was further frustration as Mark Robinson had to be removed for running down the wicket and Adams had to bowl again.He finished with 4-28, beating the career-best 4-29 he took for Derbyshire against Lancashire at Derby in 1991, but Durham’s last two wickets put on 115 before they were all out for 360.Replying to 442, Durham were 222-3 when Adams introduced his gentle medium pace and induced a skied return catch from Nicky Peng off his first ball.Paul Collingwood skied a catch to mid-wicket, Martin Speight was bowled shouldering arms and Danny Law was stumped down the leg side.When Lewry had Graeme Bridge lbw Durham went into lunch on 245-8, still needing 48 to avoid the follow-on.But wicket-keeper Andrew Pratt led the revival, making 51 not out, his second Championship half-century.

Neil McKenzie scored his second century in five weeks for the Northerns Titans, guiding his team to a first innings total of 306 for seven in their Supersport Series match against the Highveld Strikers at the Wanderers on Friday.The 24-year-old rescued Northerns from a dismal start of 28 for two, scoring 123 runs of his own and starring in a crucial third-wicket partnership with Martin van Jaarsveld.McKenzie’s early-season form has been nothing short of brilliant. This performance comes on the back of his scores of 70 and 75 against the Griqua Diamonds at Supersport Park last week.It is also his second century in five weeks following the one he scored against Western Province in their Standard Bank Cup game.Northerns captain Gerald Dros won the toss and elected to bat first on Friday. But the Strikers’ attack hardly had to break a sweat in claiming the first two wickets, with Jacques Rudolph dismissed for only three and Rudolph Steyn doing only slightly better before departing on a modest score of 22.Van Jaarsveld brought some stability to the innings with his 59, laying the platform for McKenzie to turn a dismal innings into something decent by the end of the day. And it was largely at the expense of a mediocre bowling performance by the Strikers.McKenzie entered the fray just under two hours before lunch, and together with Van Jaarsveld guided Northerns to 96 for two by the end of the first session. The duo put on 124 runs for the third wicket before Van Jaarsveld was caught behind off the bowling of Zander de Bruyn.Northerns went into the tea break at 160 for three, with McKenzie on 70. In exactly the 10th over after the break, McKenzie unleashed his bat on the bowling of De Bruyn. McKenzie hit four boundaries in the over to bring up his century, coming in 247 minutes, off 188 balls and including 18 fours.With Gerald Dros as his partner, the duo put on 99 runs for the fourth wicket, with the Strikers desperately trying to contain their opponents.Walter Masimula eventually made the vital breakthrough for the Strikers when he had McKenzie caught at mid-on by Andre Seymore, with the batsman eventually making 123, scoring hitting fours in his 282 minutes at the crease.But with this kind of form, McKenzie can surely count on building on his three Test appearances for South Africa.

Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu has confirmed he will play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) next month. As he is centrally contracted to Zimbabwe Cricket, Taibu must have sought and obtained their permission to take part.Taibu will join the Kolkata franchise on April 11 having played some matches in Zimbabwe’s domestic Twenty20 which gets underway next week. However, because the Logan Cup, the country’s first-class competition, has been rescheduled to start on April 17, Taibu will miss all the matches.It will be Taibu’s second stint in domestic cricket in the subcontinent. He previously played in Bangladesh during his international exile following a row with Zimbabwe Cricket.Two other former Zimbabwe internationals, Heath Streak and Murray Goodwin, have signed with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League, although neither was expected to feature in domestic games.

Adidas, the sports good manufacturer, has dragged Nike, its competitor, to court over the use of Sachin Tendulkar’s images in advertisement campaigns. Adidas petitioned the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) on Friday over the use of Tendulkar’s images for endorsements when he is not playing for India.An MRTPC bench headed by Justice OP Dwivedi accepted Adidas’s petition and sent notices to Nike India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Tendulkar and Iconix, the firm that manages Tendulkar. The respondents have three weeks’ time to reply to the notices served to them.Adidas has alleged that Nike are violating Adidas’s exclusive personal endorsement agreement with Tendulkar. Adidas argued that Nike, who sponsor the Indian cricket team, have the right to use images of Tendulkar only when he is playing for the country.”Sachin Tendulkar is our brand ambassador since 1997 and… is in public perception not only in India but globally too… What is the basis of their right,” Shailendra K Kapoor, the counsel for Adidas argued before the commission. “Nike tried to indicate that Sachin’s brand name was with them, which is an unfair trade practice by them. We are the exclusive owner of that brand name globally.”Adidas also said it had previously sent Nike evidence of its exclusive endorsement rights with Tendulkar, and furnished a letter written by Tendulkar. In that letter Tendulkar states that he had signed an exclusive deal with Adidas and that Nike had no right to use him in their endorsements.”Personal endorsement right was never subject to Nike’s contract with BCCI for sponsorship of Indian Cricket squad… for that they would have to deal with the cricketers independently,” said the counsel for Adidas, indicating that they would seek compensation from Nike.When contacted, Nike did not wish to react to the story. “Nike has not been served with an official notice from the MRTPC regarding this matter. We are therefore not in a position to make any comment at this stage,” a Nike spokesperson told . “However, Nike believes its actions have been consistent with the rights granted by the BCCI.”

Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is all set to return to the Indian cricketing map. The exotic locale of the Himalayan valley will play host to a first-class game for the first time in 16 years when a series of Ranji Trophy matches of the 2006-07 season are held later this year.”Teams from North India will play matches against Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar this year,” Peerzada Mohammad Syed, Minister for Youth Services and Sports, said today. It would be the first time that Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic championship, matches will be played in Srinagar since the eruption of militancy in 1989-90.Peerzada said he had directed the officers of his ministry to undertake necessary renovation of Bakshi stadium, indoor stadium and youth hostel, and also make lodging arrangements for the visiting players for the proposed Ranji Trophy matches.

In the build-up to this year’s showcase event, all the talk had centred on who would face Australia to win the honours. It was widely expected that the World Cup final would be a repeat of the last one; the pundits were only half-wrong. For Australia’s contestants won’t be New Zealand – which would be a repeat of the women’s final – but India, in a repeat of the men’s.If one team to make the final was difficult to pick – in truth, England, New Zealand and India all had a shout – then the four-times world champions Australia were a shoo-in. If you’re looking for a sure bet this weekend, forget the Grand National.”Our motivation is that we don’t hold the Cup,” Clark said simply, flatly, matter-of-factly, her side having been pipped to the post by New Zealand in 2000. The Australians responded emphatically: they rolled up their sleeves and have been polishing their skills for the last four years, their eye firmly on one thing.The results have, so far, come up brightly: they swept allcomers aside to march unbeaten into the final, having already brushed aside the holders New Zealand 3-0 in the annual Rose Bowl trophy leading up to this event. They now are on the verge of cleaning up.

But India could muddy the waters. While few would bet against Australia, the underdogs India, who have never been in the final, have an outside chance, and this a two-horse race. They beat Australia three times in the run-up to the World Cup, albeit in a series they lost 4-3.Yet to beat Australia at all shows they can do it, and coming back into that series after being down and out shows their bouncebackability. They have it in spades. If Clark embodies Australia’s vim and vigour, then Mithali Raj encapsulates India’s heart. Nobody evidences their tough spirit more than Raj, their brave captain, who has vowed to play through any pain her injured knee may inflict on her on Sunday. “I will definitely play the final, I cannot just leave my team now,” she said after her side beat New Zealand in the semi-final. That’s fighting talk.