Andrew Flintoff has raised the prospect that he might miss the third Test in India next March to attend the birth of his second child.Flintoff’s wife Rachel is due to give birth on 20 March, which is during the Mumbai Test. He told the Mail on Sunday: “I’ll have to speak to them [the England management] before any announcements or decisions are made.”Andrew Strauss missed the third Test in Pakistan last month when he flew home for the birth of his first child.”The England management are very supportive in players making individual choices as regards that sort of thing,” Strauss told the BBC. “Freddie will probably be making up his mind in the next couple of months or so.”

The ICC has named Javagal Srinath, the former Indian fast bowler, in a five-member Bowling Review Group (BRG) that will assess the appeal against the one-year ban on Shabbir Ahmed, the Pakistan seamer. The hearing will take place in Dubai on January 21.According to an ICC Media release, the group will be headed by Sir Oliver Popplewell and will also include Roshan Mahanama, an ICC match referee, Dick French, a former international umpire and Dr Marc Portus, human resource expert, besides Srinath. Saleem Altaf, PCB director, and Prof Bruce Elliott will also attend the BRG meeting. Altaf will represent Shabbir while Elliott will make a presentation on his independent assessment of the bowler.Shabbir is the first player to be banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months after being reported for the second time in two days during the first Test against England at Multan last year.The decision of the BRG will be communicated to Shabbir through the PCB within 48 hours of the hearing being adjourned. The decision of the BRG will be final and binding. The BRG will consider video evidence from the Multan match, the match officials’ report from the Test and an independent assessment of the player’s action.

9.5 Younis Khan
If it’s India, it must be Younis. Over 500 runs again, two big hundreds, two fifties and captained his side astutely for the Karachi win. Loses a half a point for dropping a catch and getting out first ball on a seaming pitch but otherwise, more than anyone else, Younis demoralised the Indians with his running (and clapping) and hardly looked like relenting.9 Mohammad Asif
In Karachi, Asif produced as incisive a spell of seam bowling as has been seen in Pakistan for some time, moving the ball in, out, up, down and working out the cream of the Indian top-order. Additionally, he bowled long spells and rarely flagged for pace and, crucially, his accuracy, which helped in Faisalabad. It’s been said for two months that he is the most improved pace bowler in Pakistan; we know it now.9 Kamran Akmal
If his centuries against England and India at Lahore (incidentally, the fastest by a wicketkeeper batsman) were special then how do we classify his epic at Karachi? Simply, it will rank as one of the best seen in this country. Dropped a catch but was more than efficient otherwise and did also open and score a fifty. Seriously, seriously special.8.5 Abdul Razzaq
He gave, in Karachi, the most influential Test performance of his career, reminding everyone that some time ago, he was one the most promising allrounders on the scene. He took big wickets, scored runs when they were really needed and was a strong claimant for the match award. After a couple of indifferent years, this could be the boost his career needs.8 Mohammad Yousuf
Scored runs for fun at most times and was as responsible as Younis for deflating the Indians. His form here, and against England, suggests the impending responsibility of being the team’s most senior batsman is sinking in.8 Shahid Afridi
Mr. Consistency? As scary as it sounds Afridi, with over 300 runs, two centuries and a fifty, was a model of efficiency. Naturally, with a strike rate of 121, his efficiency inhabited a different plane to the rest of the world.7.5 Inzamam-ul-HaqA low-key series as dead pitches and a bad back confined his role and influence. A typically controlled century at Faisalabad, notable for his battle with his own fitness rather than the Indian bowlers in the second half of it. But his back will be closely monitored from now till the World Cup in 2007.7.5 Faisal Iqbal
The third coming and, hopefully, one that will seal his place in the squad. He was talented we knew and all the beauty of his backfoot game was on display in his important maiden Test century at Karachi. The timing of his knock, with Inzamam’s back trouble likely to leave a middle-order gap often enough, is pretty good too.6 Shoaib Akhtar
Will curse the wickets he was given but still managed to put in a couple of vicious spells. Didn’t have the results to show but at key moments, as in Faisalabad and the start of both Indian innings at Karachi, he rattled the Indians. And, whisper it, but he’s now played six Tests in a row without breaking down.5.5 Imran FarhatWorked his way back into national reckoning as an opener after a year out, and managed to impress with a fifty in the second innings at Karachi. But his dismissal to loose shots in both knocks also highlights why he was dropped in the first place.5 Shoaib Malik
Truncated series leaves the question of his potential as opener still unanswered. Scored a fifty at Lahore where others hammered hundreds but, with Farhat back on the scene, competition is heating up.4.5 Salman Butt
Hugely disappointing series on such flat tracks, with one fifty, an average of 24 and numerous loose dismissals. Sri Lanka will be an important series for him.4.5 Danish Kaneria
The first series in a year and a half where Kaneria hasn’t played a major part. Bowled a tight spell to Dravid and Laxman in Faisalabad, and wasn’t needed in Karachi.3 Mohammad Sami and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan
To differing extents both men have been overshadowed by Asif. While Sami’s dropping may be longer-term Rana, on the back of the England series, is still likely to play as a third seamer when needed. But that both men are on the sidelines highlights just how rich Pakistan’s pace-bowling resources are at the moment.

For the majority of his tenure at the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Roger Brathwaite always appeared to be batting on a sticky wicket.During the four years he spent at the most visible sporting organisation in the region, the outgoing chief executive officer attracted a host of balls that jumped off a good length. In essence, the problems weren’t often of his doing. It was a turbulent environment and sooner or later, it was inevitable he would be a casualty. He leaves office at the end of the month with some measure of respect even if his resignation was clearly a case of jumping before he was pushed. It was no secret that he had been asked to step down, perhaps a surprise that he wasn’t requested to do so earlier.To his credit, Brathwaite brought to the very demanding job a sound knowledge of the business of cricket, and tireless commitment, qualities recognised by Ken Gordon, the WICB president. Brathwaite was professional, articulate, and astute, but let’s not make any bones about it; he had a difficult time at the WICB. He was still acting chief executive when there was the first ever players’ strike in regional cricket during the 2003 semi-finals of the Carib Beer International Challenge.At the very same time he was confirmed in the post, there was the embarrassment of the WICB announcing the appointment of Bennett King as coach subject to completion of contractual negotiations, only for the Australian to later indicate he wouldn’t be accepting the job. Over the latter half of his tenure, Brathwaite couldn’t escape the public microscope. As the WICB’s relationship with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) deteriorated, fingers were often pointed in his direction.The circumstances that led to the Digicel contract was another issue in which his name surfaced, but the WICB was quick to come to his defence, strongly “deploring the imputations against the integrity of some of its officials, in particular its immediate past president, the chairman of the marketing committee and the chief executive officer”.In recent weeks, whispers emerged that the top brass of the WICB wasn’t fully satisfied that Brathwaite had done enough to cut down on high levels of expenditure. While Brathwaite batted on a sticky wicket for most of the tenure, he appeared to have the skills to cope with the surface when he first sat at his desk on May 17, 2002. He assumed the position of chief marketing officer with all the necessary credentials, bringing a wealth of experience in senior management and global marketing, having worked successfully with the multi-national oil company Shell for 20 years. His last 14 years were spent in the capacity as external affairs manager, a position in which he played a significant role in the development of the Shell Cricket Academy of St George’s University in Grenada. He held responsibility for Shell’s reputation management in 14 Caribbean territories and also had overseas postings with the company in Switzerland, St Maarten and South Africa.Against that background and together with his involvement in West Indies cricket at the time, it might not have come as a surprise that he was made head of marketing at the WICB. In less than five months, he had created such a favourable impression that when the WICB fired its then chief executive officer Gregory Shillingford, Brathwaite was asked to act in the position until a successor was appointed.In the six months that followed, Brathwaite so impressed the board that it appointed him to the post without even advertising the job. With the benefit of hindsight, it might appear it wasn’t the best decision. Chetram Singh, a long-standing WICB director, was one who believed Brathwaite’s strength was in marketing, a view many others might share based on his background. As the debate continues over Brathwaite’s resignation, it might be easy to miss a trend that is developing at the WICB.For whatever reasons, there have been a host of departures among senior management at the WICB’s secretariat in recent years. Throughout that period, presidents have come and gone and directors have changed. In all of it, it is difficult to identify a single denominator. Brathwaite’s departure perhaps just reflects the chaos and controversy that have highlighted the administration of West Indies cricket in the past decade.

Under immense pressure for his poor batting form, Hamish Marshall has been instructed by John Bracewell, his coach, to raise his performance in the third Test against West Indies at Napier or face the axe. Marshall, New Zealand’s makeshift opener, has endured a lean period in the last 11 months and was included in the Test squad mainly because of his willingness to open the batting.Bracewell has taken a few drastic decisions of late with regard to New Zealand’s batting order, particularly with Lou Vincent’s controversial omission from the Test squad. The selectors have been keen on blooding new players and the advent of batsmen like Jamie How and Peter Fulton has increased the competition in the batting order.However, Marshall remained confident when asked about dealing with pressure. Speaking to the , Marshall said, “If you’re not scoring many then there’s always going to be people commenting on your game and the selection issue will always come up as well; that’s just the reality of cricket and sport. I just have to go out and hopefully get some runs, and if things go my way hopefully I can hang in there and make a decent knock of it.”Marshall would have fond memories of Napier, where he scored 160 against Sri Lanka last April, rounding off an impressive home season, which included a productive series against Australia. However, Marshall’s lean trot began with the tour of Zimbabwe in August, scoring just 20 and 13 in the two Tests. He was promoted to open the batting in the first Test against West Indies at Auckland with debutant How, but has flattered to deceive, averaging just 12.66.He said he was not averse to opening the innings and that he would require more time to get settled in his new role. “I’m still getting used to the mindset of opening, and instead of being so defensive in terms of survival I just have to go out there and play my shots. If there’s a bad ball I need to hit it, rather than defend it.”It’s a new role and I’m still getting the feel for it. I was probably a little tentative in the way I approached it, but in the second innings in Wellington I thought ‘what the heck’ and just played the bad ball.”

Ashley Mallett, the former Australia offspinner, has been hired as a consultant spin coach for Sri Lanka. Mallet is the third foreign expert to be hired by Sri Lanka following the appointments of the Australian Tom Moody as coach and the Zimbabwean Trevor Penney as assistant coach.In fact it was Moody, a fellow Australian, who recommended the appointment.Mallett, 60, has signed a three-year contract that will commit him to four two-week visits each year, with the first stint scheduled to start next week at the Max Cricket Academy in Colombo. His duties include coaching spinners from all levels in Sri Lanka and training other coaches, Sri Lanka Cricket explained.In 38 Tests for Australia, Mallett picked up 132 wickets at 29.84 and in a 183-match first-class career he claimed 693 wickets at 26.27.

Steve Waugh has sent out a message to the ageing members of the current Australian side to retire when they feel it’s best for each of them, rather than getting caught in unnecessary media publicity.”It’s a high-profile sport. As a player, you can make the decision and let everyone know and then get on with it,” Waugh told the . “Just go ahead and do it, if that’s your plan.”Waugh’s comments follow Justin Langer’s, who hinted that he may retire after the Ashes series early next year. Langer cautioned other players of announcing their decision too early, as it would be a huge distraction and that it was up to each individual to decide how much attention they wished to attract.Waugh was speaking out of personal experience. He went public with his retirement plans before the 2003-04 home series against India. Waugh also pointed out that such a situation could put a lot of pressure on the new captain.”It’s different when you’re a captain compared to being a player,” Waugh said. “As captain, you get all the talk about who is going to be the next guy in charge.”We were able to deal with that. Ricky [Ponting] was given the job almost straight away so that was taken care of. People had been talking about whether I was going to stop playing for so long and I wanted to put an end to it.”With these guys, if a few of them are leaving, there won’t be just one bloke caught up in it. Ideally, you probably want to leave the game without all the fuss. That would be perfect, but it can’t work that way.”The Australian side has quite a few players in their mid to late 30s, including Matthew Hayden, Langer, Shane Warne, Damien Martyn and Stuart MacGill. With next year’s Test tour of Zimbabwe in doubt, Australia’s next Test series after the Ashes probably won’t be until 2007-08.”Most of us have already been on our last overseas Test tour together,” MacGill said. “I’m not saying it’s impossible to be playing the next Test series but, realistically, that’s a long way away. I wouldn’t count on myself being a definite starter and you’ll find a lot of players my age are in the same boat.”MacGill added that the Australian public ought to know if they were seeing the greats of the game for the last time. “It’s not just Australia versus England next summer and it’s not just Australia trying to get back the Ashes,” he said. “It’s the last time most Australian crowds are going to see a lot of these players.”

Ravi Rampaul, the Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and West Indies fast bowler, has been awarded a cricket scholarship by John Michell, Australia’s High Commissioner to T&T. The nomination for Rampaul, who has played seventeen one-day internationals for West Indies, follows consultation between the Australia High Commission and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).Rampaul, 21, will spend four weeks at Cricket Australia’s Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, and will be taught the intricate nuances of fast bowling under the guidance of Australia’s top cricket coaches.The scholarship is being funded by the Australian Sports Outreach Programme (ASOP), which Michell launched in the Caribbean on June 23. The Australian High Commission believes the awarding of a young Caribbean cricketers’ scholarship is an important step in building stronger relations between Australia and the Caribbean region. The ASOP is a five-year programme running from July 2006 to June 2011.Rampaul made his international debut against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 2003, and has taken 11 wickets at 49.45. He has not represented West Indies for two seasons.

In what has been a resoundingly bad week for Pakistan, the merest sliver of hope has emerged with the news that Mohammad Asif has started bowling again.Asif returned to Pakistan from England before the start of the first Test at Lord’s with an elbow injury and had his first session of bowling yesterday, emerging from it with no ill-effects. However, whether or not he makes it back in time for the fourth and final Test at The Oval beginning on August 17 is still uncertain.”I had a little spell of bowling yesterday and it went well,” Asif told Cricinfo. “There was no pain in the elbow.” He will now have another session today and tomorrow before taking part in a practice match at the National Academy in Lahore on Thursday. Only after that will there be a final fitness test to decide on whether he can take any part at all in the final Test.”I am desperate to start playing for Pakistan again and if I had my way I would start immediately. But it depends on what the doctors advise me to do and the third Test is obviously out of the question. I want to be fit for the final Test though,” he added.In Asif’s absence – and that of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Akhtar – Pakistan’s bowling attack has struggled in England. In three innings, they have failed to bowl England out, coming closest at Old Trafford where England declared with nine wickets down.Expectations from Asif in particular before the series began were high; not only had he been Pakistan’s most successful bowler over the last three Tests (24 wickets in three Tests, including a match-winning 11-wicket haul in Kandy), but his bounce, accuracy and ability to extract seam movement seemingly at will was expected to play a crucial role on English wickets. Over the last year, he has been, according to Bob Woolmer, the most improved bowler in Pakistan. That assessment has been borne out by results from his last three Tests, a far cry from the muted and unremarkable Test debut he made against Australia in January 2005.Though Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul have bowled well in patches, the attack has visibly lacked the cut and thrust that has served them so well over the last six months. This has exacerbated the pressure on Asif to return, a development he seems acutely aware of.”Already there is a lot of pressure on me to return and I am very aware of it,” he mused. “I am really keen to come back for the fourth Test but that depends on how the next few days go. It has been really frustrating to sit here and watch the series and not be able to do anything about it.”While Naved-ul-Hasan has been ruled out of the entire Test series, Pakistan retain hope that the final Test will see the return of both Asif and Shoaib. The latter has also resumed bowling and is currently in England with the team continuing his rehabilitation. With the Headingley Test beginning from Friday, and Pakistan still struggling with batting and bowling openers, whether or not Pakistan’s unbeaten record in England (they haven’t lost a series there since 1982) remains intact by the time both return for the final Test is another question altogether.

Division One

Day one
Sussex twice fought back from poor positions against title rivals Lancashire at Hove as the first day finished with both sides still neck and neck. Lancashire enjoyed the perfect start when Dominic Cork struck twice in his opening spell but was later forced to leave the field for stitches in a hand injury. Michael Yardy and Murray Goodwin began the rearguard with a stand of 99 but Sussex then stuttered again at 161 for 5. However, with Cork and with Simon Marshall struggling with cramp, Lancashire couldn’t ram home their advantage. Matt Prior produced a mature half-century – much more circumspect than some of his dashing displays – as he and Robin Martin-Jenkins put Sussex back on course for a decent total.Matt Walker and Tyron Henderson both made half-centuries to take Kent to 285 all out against Hampshire before bad light stopped play at Canterbury. Geraint Jones looked set for a fifty of his own, but couldn’t quite send a strong reply to the England selectors for dropping him; he made 39 before Shane Warne trapped him lbw, one of three wickets. Kent will be annoyed at wasting a number of promising starts but, Hampshire, trying to keep pace with Lancashire and Sussex at the top of the table will be aiming for a lead on the second day.Day two
There was no play at all on the second day between Durham and Nottinghamshire at Chester-le-Street, with rain washing out proceedings.

Division Two

Day one
Claude Henderson and Stuart Broad helped Leicestershire to work their way through Gloucestershire‘s line-up at Cheltenham. Alex Gidman and Stephen Adshead made fifties for the home side,while most of their batsmen made starts, but couldn’t capitalise. Henderson took 5 for 76, while Broad continued his dazzling streak, this time he took 4 for 47. Gloucestershire eventually made 282, but their bowlers struck early, removing Darren Robinson for 4.Half-centuries for Daryl Mitchell and Roger Sillence quietened Glamorgan as Worcestershire took charge at Colwyn Bay. Vikram Solanki just missed out on a century, he made 49 before he was run out. Still his knock, at least, will be a handy run-out in celebration of his recall to England’s one-day squad. Worcestershire’s batsmen played well in pairs and will be happy with making nearly 400 by stumps.Andrew Caddick took five wickets as Somerset ran the rule over Essex at Southend-on-Sea. However, another former England paceman hit back before the close as Darren Gough grabbed two wickets. Ronnie Irani played a captain’s innings to just about hold Essex together; he struck 80 to lift them from 126 for 6 to 252, sharing a seventh-wicket partnership of 102 with Tim Phillips. Phillips made 44. Grant Flower and Mark Pettini had got the home side off to a solid start, with a stand of 68, but Caddick did the damage, with 5 for 83 to leave Essex in trouble. Charl Willoughby was also in the wickets; he grabbed 3 for 46For a full report of Surrey‘s match against Northamptonshire click here.