Ricky Ponting is worried by the “danger” of private Twenty20 tournaments taking away players from international cricket. The Indian Cricket League’s (ICL) deals with four Pakistanis changed Ponting’s attitude towards the lucrative series and he has called for cricket boards to develop official competitions.”I am a bit more concerned this week with the new signings,” he said in the Australian. “It looks as though the Pakistanis and a few of the New Zealanders have signed as well. The danger is that it attracts the guys who are playing international cricket at the moment. If it is only attracting guys who are retired then it won’t affect us whatsoever.”The ICL is due to start next month and Ponting fears events in the future could run in competition to the World Cup. “We have seen that there is more money in these Twenty20 comps than there is in the whole World Cup,” Ponting said. “What will the players do: play in the World Cup or in the Twenty20 tournaments? They are going to have to make a decision and pretty quickly.” However, Adam Gilchrist believes the competition is healthy.There are rumours a group of New Zealanders may sign up to the ICL with permission from New Zealand Cricket, which is due to make a decision next week. Reports suggest the players’ earnings could be double what they are paid on their national contracts.”The concern I have is how lenient the boards are with the players,” Ponting said. “I heard a whisper the other day that the New Zealanders might be going with the board’s blessing because they have no cricket at that time of the year.”Ponting said the boards needed to be proactive and look at an official Twenty20 competition. “If they don’t they run the risk of not having any players,” Ponting said. “The amount of money I heard being thrown around for the ICL is big money for a month’s cricket.”The boards have to get very proactive and make sure they are getting something in place, otherwise they will run the risk of losing a lot of international players, particularly those who are coming towards the end of their careers and maybe some of the ones on the fringe.”

1989

January 13-14, Karachi
Scores 201 not out on a greentop for United Bank Limited in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Haroon Rashid, the former Pakistan batsman and coach, considers it the best innings he has ever seen.

1989-90

Finishes the season with 1645 runs at an average of 60.92, with six centuries and as many fifties in 21 matches.

1991

November 22, Lahore
Has to contend with a fiery line-up of Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop, Malcolm Marshall and Patrick Patterson on his ODI debut. Manages 20 before being bowled by Marshall. The game turns out to be a thriller and ends in a tie.

1992

January 17, Multan
Scores his first ODI hundred – a 101 – in alosing cause against Sri Lanka. Follows up with a century in the next game, as Pakistan thump Sri Lanka by 117 runs in Rawalpindi to take the series 4-1.March, Australia-New Zealand
World Cup heroics. His volcanic 60 at Auckland in the semi-final against New Zealand separates the two teams. Later, a thrilling 42 in the final proves crucial in Pakistan’s dream triumph.June 4, Birmingham
Test debut. Not much batting for Inzamam in a high-scoring draw against England.

1993

May 2-4, St John’s, Antigua1993
Another high-scoring draw, but Inzamam manages to notch up his maiden Test century, despite having to shepherd the tail for much of his innings.

1994

April 20, Sharjah
Partners a world record. A monstrous stand with Aamir Sohail takes New Zealand to the cleaners. They add 263 for the second wicket, at the time a record ODI partnership for any wicket, with Sohail belting 134 and Inzamam 137.October 2, Karachi
Stars in a cliffhanger. Not many nails are left at the end of this one as Inzamam and Mushtaq Ahmed engineer a minor miracle against Australia. From 258 for 9, Pakistan manage to surmount the target of 315 and go one-up in the series. Ian Healy misses a stumping when three runs are needed and Pakistan prevail in one of the closest finishes of all.

1996

July 25-29, Lord’s
On the opening day of a series against England at Lord’s, Inzamam walks in at 12 for 2 and revives the innings before stamping his authority with a magnificent 148. He tightens the noose in the second innings with 70 more as Pakistan wrap the match by a 164-run margin.

1997

September, Toronto
After being endlessly mocked by a spectator through a megaphone, about his nickname “Aloo” (potato) and his religion, Inzamam finally snaps. Armed with a bat, he wades into the stands and thumps his tormenter. Fortunately, the crowd and security staff prevent him from landing any telling blows, but it is 40minutes before play can resume amid the chaotic scenes. He is subsequently banned for two matches.

1999

March 12-14, Dhaka
His first Test double-hundred comes in the final of the Asian Test Championship against Sri Lanka. Ijaz Ahmed joins in the run-glut and Pakistan sail to the title.November 18-22, Hobart
His only century against Australia comes in a losing cause, but it is made with the match very much in the balance. Australia have managed only a slender lead and he consolidates Pakistan’s position with a controlled 118. It almost turns into a series-levelling knock until Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist begin their daylight robbery.

2000

Aggregates 1000 runs in both Tests and ODIs in the calendar year. Scores 1090 runs in 12 Tests, including four hundreds and six fifties at an average of 60.56; in 34one-dayers, it was 1074 runs with a lone hundred and nine fifties at an average of 42.96.

2001

May31-June 4, Manchester
With the series in the balance and Darren Gough, Andy Caddickand Matthew Hoggard swinging it on the first morning, Inzamam responds with a rattling 114. A tenacious 85 in the second innings sets the game up, as Saqlain Mushtaq and friends take eight wickets in the final session to seal the series-levelling win.

2002

May 1-2, Lahore
The triple. For nearly two days, New Zealand have no respite in the searing heat and are clobbered to all corners of the Gaddafi Stadium. Inzamam’s 329 is the second-highest score by a Pakistan batsman, behind Hanif Mohammad’s 337, and the tenth-highest score in Test history.

2003

March, South Africa
Has a miserable World Cup. Scores 19 runs in six innings in Pakistan’s shambolic World Cup performance. Perhaps the 23 pounds he lost in the run-up to the tournament reduced his appetite for runs. Is one of many who are dropped in the aftermath.September 3-6, Multan
The jailbreak. Chasing 261 in the final Test against Bangladesh, Pakistan are 205 for 8 and in danger of giving Bangladesh their first Test win. Inzamam has none of it, however, and with sizeable help from Nos 10 and 11, inches them past the line.October 24-28, Faisalabad
In his first Test as captain, his calm presence on the final day earns Pakistan a nervy draw against South Africa.

2004

March 13, Karachi
In a coruscating display of mind-blowing strokeplay, Inzamam nearly makes the impossible happen against India. No team had successfully chased down 350 in an ODI at the time, but his 122 off 102 balls is like a divine bolt that landed in Karachi. Pakistan fall just short, but it is undoubtedly the innings of the series, maybe even the best of his career. However, Inzamam’s team is unable from preventing India from clinching victory in both Tests and ODIs.July
Spat with Shoaib Akhtar comes out in the open. Differences between the two emerge after the loss at home to India, where Shoaib limps out of the Test series with an injury.September, EnglandLeads Pakistan to the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, where a puzzling decision to bat first – akin to Wasim Akram’s decision in the 1999 World Cup final – sees his side crumbling to 131 (132 in 1999), chased by West Indies with seven wickets to spare.

2005

January, Australia
Misses two of the three Tests, as Pakistan are trounced 3-0.March 24-28, Bangalore
Makes a stellar 184 in his 100th Test as Pakistan level the series 1-1 in the final Test. In the one-dayers that follow, Pakistan win 4-2, with Inzamam topping the averages for Pakistan.

August
Captains Asia XI in the inaugural Afro-Asian Cup.October
Is named in both World Test and ODI XI of the year. Surprisingly though, isn’t picked for the teams to play Australia in the Super Series. However, he finally does play in the Super Test, being named as a replacement for Sachin Tendulkar. That too isn’t without drama, as he refuses initially, still angry at the snub in the first place.November 20-24, Faisalabad
In the second Test against the visiting Englishmen, an umpiring gaffe sees Inzamam declared run-out for 109 as he tries to evade a throw aimed at the stumps by Steve Harmison on his follow-through. Inzamam moves out of the way, but is caught short when the ball thuds into the stumps. Since Inzamam is not attempting a run, there is no way he can be given out. Inzamam’s 109 in Pakistan’s first innings equals Javed Miandad’s Pakistan record of 23 Test centuries, and he goes better in the very next innings with an unbeaten 100.Pakistan win the series 2-0. With 431 runs at 107.75, he is the Man of the Series. Also completes 1000 Test runs in a calendar year for the second time in his career.

2006

August-September, England
Inzamam is at the centre of perhaps the most controversial episode in the history of the game. The first forfeiture in Test cricket takes place on August 20, after Inzamam and his team refuse to take the field after tea on the fourth day at The Oval. The spark that starts it off is the decision of the umpires – Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair – to give five penalty runs to England after the 56th over as they feel the ball has been tampered with by the Pakistan players. The ball is changed, but it is only after a while at tea that the Pakistan players decide to protest by staying in the dressing room. Finally, when the players decide do step out, the umpires stay put, and going by the rulebook they deem Pakistan to have forfeited the match. Pakistan are later cleared of the charges, but Inzamam is handed a four-match ban, that rules him out of the ICC Champions Trophy in India. Pakistan lose the series in England 3-0.

2007

March 17, Jamaica
For the second time in succession, Pakistan are knocked out of the World Cup in the first round. Ireland pull off the upset of the tournament on St. Patrick’s Day, and Inzamam’s future at the helm looks in imminent danger.March 18
Announces retirement from ODIs and steps down from Test captaincy on the same day that Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, tragically collapses and dies at the team hotel.August
Joins ICL, along with team-mates Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Farhat and Abdur Razzaq. Inzamam’s decision comes after he is not offered a central contract by the PCB in July.October
Is selected for the second Test against South Africa in Lahore, which is his farewell Test. Scores 14 and 3, falling two short of Javed Miandad’s record for the highest Test aggregate by a Pakistan batsman. Ends with 8830 runs in 120 Tests, falling 60 runs short of a career average of 50.

Scorecard

Sudeep Tyagi, Uttar Pradesh’s 20-year-old right-arm medium-pacer, made a sensational first-class debut, taking 6 for 46 to bundle out Orissa for 216 within the first two sessions in Cuttack.Orissa had a disastrous start, Tyagi striking three times in his third and fourth overs to reduce them to 8 for 3. Shiv Sunder Das, the former India opener, and Pinninti Jayachandra led a brief recovery with an 86-run fifth-wicket partnership but Piyush Chawla removed Jayachandra in his first over for 55. Jayachandra ran only three of his runs, scoring the rest in boundaries. Tyagi came back to get the important wicket of Das for a patient 75 and, once he was out, the rest folded easily.In reply UP made a shaky start too before Shivakant Shukla and Suresh Raina lifted them from a precarious 35 for 3 to end the day at 84 for 3, still 122 in arrears. Raina scored a quick unbeaten 27 off 32 balls.
ScorecardKarnataka had another ordinary opening day to the Ranji Trophy as they struggled their way to 189 for 9 after winning the toss in Mumbai. The first day of the 2005-06 season saw them bowled out for 85 by Baroda in a match they eventually lost outright.Barrington Rowland’s dismissal, off the fourth ball of the morning, was followed by wickets falling at regular intervals: the 49 that Rahul Dravid and C Raghu put together for the third wicket was the highest partnership. Dravid looked good for his 40 but fell to Powar on the stroke of lunch. Powar did the bulk of the bowling and his reward was a five-for. B Akhil battled hard for his unbeaten 53, even as wickets kept falling regularly at the other end.

ScorecardHimal Watekar, Andhra’s right-hand opener, scored a maiden first-class century to rescue Andhra after a Gagandeep Singh blitz had left them reeling at 19 for 3 in Amritsar. Andhra lost two quick wickets towards the end of the day’s play to finish at 294 for 6. Watekar got out half an hour before stumps for 137.Watekar was ably supported by captain MSK Prasad, who scored a patient 127-ball 51. Watekar and Prasad put on 142 runs for the fourth wicket, as Gagandeep found no support from an inexperienced attack. He pulled his hamstring when he came back for his third spell of the day, but Karan Goel, who completed the unfinished over, trapped Watekar lbw in his second over.
ScorecardAlmost every Saurashtra batsman got a start, but none went on to get a big score as they ended the first day at 262 for 6 in Dharamsala, after choosing to bat first. Cheteshwar Pujara topscored with 64 as four other batsmen passed 20, but wickets kept falling regularly. The highest partnership came for the third wicket – 86 runs between Pujara and Kanaiya Vaghela, who scored an extremely watchful 40 off 190 balls.For Himachal Pradesh, left-arm opening bowler Ashok Thakur took three wickets, including the crucial one of Pujara, and former India offspinner Sarandeep Singh chipped in with two.

Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman, has been made the vice-captain for New Zealand’s tour of South Africa.The squad’s general manager, Lindsay Crocker, said McCullum had displayed ‘leadership qualities’ on and off the field during New Zealand’s ongoing tour match against a South African Invitational XI at Bloemfontein. He scored a vital 46 and was involved in a 100-run stand for the seventh wicket with captain Daniel Vettori to take New Zealand to 318.”He gets around the other players and keeps them involved with what’s happening. He was an obvious candidate for the role,” Crocker told , a Wellington-based website, adding that the role was only for this tour and would be reviewed on a series-by-series basis.New Zealand had not named a vice-captain when they flew to South Africa but McCullum was considered to be in the core group of the 15-man squad.

The Indian Premier League has expanded to 49 players with the signing of three South Africans and two West Indians. Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini are joined by Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies captain.”IPL had publicly promised the Indian cricket fans of delivering high voltage Twenty20 cricket action through some of the most talented international and national cricketers,” Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman said. “In line with that commitment, I am happy to state that we have completed the first phase by signing some of the best international talent available.”The five players are the latest high-profile members of a star-studded line-up which includes Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi. The tournament gets underway next April.

“I don’t believe in moral victories. It’s really crazy, I don’t know why people talk about moral victories,” Anil Kumble said, rather emphatically at the end of the second Test when it was put to him that Geoff Lawson, Pakistan’s coach, had suggested that his team had won a moral victory in battling out a draw. “When you struggle to pick up five wickets in both innings, that’s no moral victory to me. To me what matters is the result and I think overall we dominated the match over the five days.”Just minutes before Kumble’s press conference Lawson had addressed the media, and when asked if his team had won a moral victory, he said, “At 78 for 4, you know you had a lot of work to do but in our batting order we had a few down the order who had spent some time at the wicket in the first innings. So you feel you can survive. And the two experienced players [Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf] batting in the middle, did prove they were the two most experienced players. When you have people who have been in that situation before, you always believe you can escape with a draw. You are obviously a bit nervous, but we felt that the pitch was still good enough for us to get through. Younis and Yousuf played like veterans and the highly talented players they are. It took a lot to get through but they were good enough.”The one thing Kumble and Lawson, and just about everyone else who watched this game, agreed on was the nature of the pitch. “I think we all expected the pitch to do a bit more on the fourth and fifth day,” said Lawson. “It was just the foot-holes that did something and it did hang together quite well so that made batting a little bit easier on the fourth and fifth day. I think it surprised a lot of us that it was so good for batting on the last day.”Kumble said it had been tough to bowl on the pitch. “It got slower and slower and even when it spun, it spun very slowly. Considering the pitch and the conditions I thought our bowlers put in a fantastic effort,” said Kumble, and suggested it was the time of the year that ensured that pitch did not break up more than it did, even on the final day. “It’s winter here so there’s a bit more moisture in the surface so even if the sun comes out, and it’s not really harsh, the wicket tends to be on the slower side. Maybe that’s one of the reasons. It’s produced two good Test matches, but not really for the bowlers. It’s been really tiring for the bowlers to try and ensure that 20 wickets are taken. We did really well to get at least 14.”But pitches in Kolkata have not always been bowling graveyards. In the past India has won dramatic victories in the last couple of days of Test matches. “They [earlier pitches] had a bit more pace and that really helped. As the game progressed when there were a few footmarks and the ball landed in them the ball carried.”Kumble did not want to look forward to the Bangalore Test just yet. “I’ve said it in Delhi and at the start of the Test. I’d like to re-iterate it here: toss, pitch and weather are things I don’t want to think about,” said Kumble when asked if the toss would be crucial in the last Test.Lawson suggested, with tongue firmly in cheek, that his team was thinking about the possibility of a win late on the final day. “In the last 15 overs we only needed 11 an over to win. So I did actually mention it in the dressing room and the fact that Younis was batting and he did play a sweep shot past point last ball before the drinks break, I thought he must be thinking the same thing. Yes, I did think about it but we decided to play out time.”

Four days before the first of their three Tests against South Africa, the West Indies should have been engaged in their last chance for meaningful match practice against South Africa A in East London.Instead, chastened by their ten-wicket defeat in three days on Friday, they took an early coach ride to Port Elizabeth, arriving in time for a couple of hours of practice on a warm, cloudless afternoon at St George’s Park, the venue for the Test that starts on Boxing Day – and, as any scrap of encouragement is welcome, also their victory over South Africa in the 13-overs-an-innings Twenty20 international a week ago.The sight of captain Chris Gayle participating in every discipline raised hope that his right hamstring, torn in the second ODI in Zimbabwe, would be deemed sufficiently healed by physiotherapists Jacqui Mowat-King and CJ Smith for him to lead the team in a Test for the first time and, just as critically, to take his place at the top of the order.His movements are, without overstating the case, measured at the best of times so it is impossible to make out the extent of his progress. But he is so vital to the fragile batting that he will almost certainly turn out if at all possible.The attention of new coach John Dyson and his associates, Hendy Springer and David Williams, needs to be directed rather on the mental than on the technical and physical.The failure of the batting in both innings against South Africa’s reserve fast bowlers presented an immediate challenge for Dyson, the Australian who has been with the team only since its arrival from Zimbabwe two weeks ago.Monde Zondeki, tall, slim and sharp, has regained the form and fitness that gained him Test selection in 2003, aged 21, and a tour to the West Indies in 2005 when he numbered among his victims Brian Lara for 4 in the Antigua Test that featured four hundreds for either side.Even though he was the first to 50 first-class wickets for the current [South African domestic] season in the West Indies match [earlier than any previous South African] and as well as the experienced Charl Langeveldt might have bowled, they are not in the class of the Test quartet of Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, Shaun Pollock and, the fastest and most threatening, Dale Steyn.Steyn, with a little help from the others, so destroyed New Zealand with 20 wickets in the two Tests in Johannesburg and Centurion last month that they were routed for totals of 118, 172, 188 and 136 and were beaten in four days by 358 runs in the first and in three days by an innings in the second.Events in East London have reinforced general opinion here that the coming Tests will follow the same pattern.South Africa have moved up to No. 2 behind Australia on the ICC Test rankings but are keen to pull clear of India and Sri Lanka with whom they are level.They can be expected to be as ruthless as they were in their two previous home series against West Indies that yielded eight wins in nine Tests with the other drawn. Yet their former captain, Kepler Wessels, has held out some hope for the West Indies to at least make a fight of it.”The best opportunity for the West Indies will be in the first Test,” he wrote in his newspaper column on Saturday.With Graeme Smith rested on medical advice after the ODIs against New Zealand and Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher, Hashim Amla, Nel and Ntini all excused from duty for their provincial sides since the New Zealand series ended three weeks ago, Wessels warned South Africa “might be a bit rusty”.”They may also regard beating West Indies as a formality so it is important from the touring team’s point of view that they start well and make an impression,” he said. “Once South Africa hits its straps, it will need a special effort for the West Indies to compete.”The problem is that the “special effort” demands attributes palpably lacking in West Indies teams for more than a decade. “The key for the West Indian players will be mental strength and physical toughness, as well as good discipline and a high work ethic,” Wessels wrote. Such a sudden transformation would be nothing short of a miracle needed to make the match, and the series, a real contest.

Ricky Ponting says Cricket Australia should not attempt to make itssponsorship deals globally recognised if such a move would stop currentAustralian players joining the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Australianboard is concerned that its players might endorse products that clash withits own deals, as part of their IPL agreements.However, the IPL chairman Lalit Modi said the league would press onwithout Ponting and his men if Cricket Australia pursued worldwidesponsorship protection, and Ponting was not keen on that possibility.”There are already some globally-protected sponsors of Cricket Australia,there are a couple of them,” Ponting said.”I don’t think Cricket Australia would be able to make any of their othersponsors global sponsors … If they tried to do that I’m sure theplayers’ association would have something to say about it. It would be alittle bit unfair if that was the case.”Ponting and his team-mates stand to earn significant pay cheques forjoining the IPL and they would be understandably frustrated if theiragreements fell through. He saw no reason for Cricket Australia not toclear players to take part in the league.”It’s a domestic competition, as county cricket is,” Ponting said.”There’s never been any worry about Cricket Australia releasing guys to goand play county cricket. That’s the reason Cricket Australia backed it allin the first place, because it was a domestic tournament and it wouldn’tbe actually taking Australian players away from their domesticcompetitions or the Australian team.”However, the chances of seeing Ponting and his men representing IPLfranchises this year depend largely on whether Australia’s scheduled tourof Pakistan goes ahead, as the trip would clash with the Indiantournament. Ponting said with the exception of the retiring AdamGilchrist, who looks set to play, the Australians hadshelved all thoughts about the league for the time being.”I haven’t even thought about the IPL,” Ponting said. “We’ve had a lot onour plate over the last few weeks. The likelihood of us Australian playersbeing able to play this year anyway was pretty minimal. We’ll worry aboutall those other outside distractions, if you like, once this summer isover and done with.”

Mohammad Rafique, the veteran left-arm spinner, has informed the Bangladesh selectors that the upcoming home series against South Africa will be the final leg of his 13-year stint with the national squad.”Rafique is our most experienced spinner. We have recalled him [after he missed out of the New Zealand series] because our chances of winning the series depend on him,” Bangladesh chief selector Rafiqul Alam told AFP, adding that Rafique told him about the his decision to retire.Rafique, who is Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs with 94 and 119 wickets respectively, is aiming to sign off by becoming the first bowler from his country to take 100 Test wickets.He made his ODI debut against India in Sharjah in April 1995, and played in Bangladesh’s inaugural Test in November 2000, also against India, and was their most economical bowler with figures of 3 for 117 in 51 overs. Rafique played starring roles in Bangladesh’s first ODI and Test wins: against Kenya in 1999 he followed three wickets with 77 as opener and, against Zimbabwe in early 2005, he claimed figures of 5 for 65.An aggressive lower-order batsman, Rafique has scored 1035 at 19.52 in his 31 Tests, his only century coming while batting at No. 9 against West Indies in St. Lucia, when he helped Bangladesh claim a vital first-innings lead.In the one-day format, Rafique has scored 1191 runs at 13.38, and is the first Bangladesh player to achieve the 1000 runs and 100 wickets double in ODIs.

Andre Adams, the New Zealand allrounder, has signed a two-year contract with the Indian Cricket League (ICL). His move comes after his recent criticism of the New Zealand coach John Bracewell and the rest of the selectors for continuing to exclude him from the national squad.”It’s an opportunity I simply can’t turn down,” Adams told the . It also offers me the chance to play in India for the first time with and against some high profile players. I’m excited about the challenge.”Adams had lashed out after failing to make the Test squad for the home series against Bangladesh despite leading the State Championship bowling averages with 29 wickets at 8.27.”I’m pretty disappointed with the treatment I’ve received over the past year, especially not being picked for the World Cup,” Adams had said. “I don’t have any loyalty to New Zealand Cricket. I have done my bit for them and if it means I had to knock my aspirations of playing Test cricket again on the head, so be it.”The last time Adams turned out for New Zealand was in January 2007, and after missing out on the inaugural ICC World Twenty20, he said: “I’ve watched some players who were picked ahead of me have a pretty average time of it, and they just keep playing.”When I was also left out of the Twenty20 world champs, I thought `well, if I can’t get in ahead of Bradley Scott I must be a fair bit off the pace.”Adams’ decision means he becomes ineligible for national selection, thereby bringing his international career to a halt. He played 42 ODIs and scored 417 runs at 17.45 and claimed 53 wickets with career-best figures of 5 for 22 against India. He also played a solitary Test, against England in 2002, when he claimed six wickets.