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Imad Wasim, the Islamabad allrounder, has been named captain of the Pakistan U-19 team which will tour England in July and August. Shan Masood, the opening batsman, has been appointed vice-captain.Imad was born in Swansea in Glamorgan, Wales, but is settled in Islamabad with his family. He is a left-hand batsman and slow left-arm spin bowler.The 14-member squad included opening batsmen Ahmed Shahzad and Umar Amin and middle-order batsmen Adil Amin, Ali Asad, Usman Salahuddin and Taimur Ali. Shahzaib Ahmed Khan, a legspinner, was the lone specialist spinner in the team while Junaid Khan, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Rameez and Azhar Attari formed the pace attack.Gulraiz Sadaf was retained as the wicketkeeper, after he performed the same duty on the U-19 tour of Australia in April this year. Kamran Hussain, a right-hand batsman and offspinner, would join the team only for the ODIs.Apart from Ali Asad, Usman Salahuddin, Azhar Attari and Kamran Hussain, all the other players toured Australia, where Pakistan lost the five-match one-day series 3-2.Asad has not played any cricket for the last year, as he was banned for indiscipline. Salahuddin played in a one-dayer in September 2006 against the touring India U-19 team. Attari, a medium-pace bowler, and Kamran Hussain were both new faces on the international U-19 circuit.Mohammad Hussain, Rahatullah, Junaid Nadir, and Ahmed Iqbal were named as reserves. The Pakistan squad and reserve players will attend a training camp at Abbottabad from July 5 to 20. Mansoor Rana, the coach for the England trip, will supervise the training camp.The Pakistan Under-19 team will fly to London from Karachi on July 22. The team will have practice sessions and a couple of warm-up matches before playing two four-day matches and five one-dayers against the England U-19 side beginning on August 4.

Batsman Johannes Myburgh has joined the ever-growing band of South Africans plying their trade for Canterbury in New Zealand domestic cricket. Myburgh has been feeling constrained by the lack of opportunities with the Titans.He told CricInfo on Friday he was emigrating to New Zealand with the goal of playing for the Black Caps, for whom he will qualify in three years.The former Titans coach Dave Nosworthy and ex-Northerns wicketkeeper/batsman Kruger van Wyk are both in Canterbury and Myburgh will join them having failed to win a place in the Titans team that won the four-day SuperSport Series in emphatic style.Myburgh, 26, was a batting prodigy at school in Pretoria and he broke Graeme Pollock’s record for the youngest scorer of a double century in South African first-class cricket as a 17-year-old in 1997/98.But the attention probably didn’t do him any good and he has never really kicked on, although playing for a franchise with a host of young batting stars hasn’t helped.”I’ve played well in the limited-overs games over the last couple of years, but I haven’t got a chance in the four-day games, which has been my main frustration,” was Myburgh’s line of reasoning for his move.”Dave Nosworthy was a former coach of mine, he knows what sort of player I am and it was him who phoned me to ask how my cricket was going and he said there might be a possibility of me joining Canterbury.”Myburgh averages 41.77 in his 48 first-class matches, is an occasional off-spinner and a good fielder. A top-order batsman, he could be very useful for a Canterbury side that has lost Nathan Astle to retirement and could be without Craig McMillan and Michael Papps on international duty.”I’m always looking to gain experience, widen my base, both on and off the field, where I’m studying Commercial Science to try and become a journalist,” said Myburgh. “Canterbury have given me a good opportunity which I’m grateful for and hopefully I can do well for them and qualify for the New Zealand team.”Van Wyk, who has been a friend of Myburgh’s since their days of fierce competition in inter-school matches for Afrikaans Boys’ High (Van Wyk) and Pretoria Boys’ High (Myburgh), has proved to be a signing coup for Canterbury and was in particularly inspired form as a finisher in limited-overs cricket.”It will be easier to settle in having Dave Nosworthy there because I know his coaching style. And I’ve known Kruger for a long time. He’s done very well, superbly in the one-dayers, because he’s a good player and he works hard.”Myburgh and Van Wyk will leave Pretoria together on September 27 for New Zealand and following Van Wyk looks like a good idea for Myburgh because the move has certainly done no harm to the wicketkeeper’s career.

Tim Boon, Leicestershire’s senior coach and the latest name to be linked to the Indian coaching job, has said he views the option positively. “I’m in the middle of a contract here in Leicestershire but any county coach will aspire to be an international coach. I look at England, Australia and India as the top three jobs in the world. We all harbour thoughts to lead countries.”His time with England, in 2004 and 2005, was a memorable one, and he feels a well-equipped coaching staff makes a big difference in modern sport. “People tend to forget the role played by the back-room staff in that Ashes win. Little observations matter. It might be a 2% change, something related to down-swing, batsmen trying to hit the ball in the wrong areas. The relentless fielding drills, one-on-ones with players played a part in that Ashes win. It helped them develop clarity in their thinking.”I’m not advocating you have people with white coats but you have a management team that knows what your objective is. You need critical pathways for the players and work towards tiny-margin victories.”However, the Indian board chose not to reveal their cards. Both Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the Indian board, and Niranjan Shah, the secretary, refused to comment on the issue.Kepler Wessels, Queensland’s Terry Oliver, former Sri Lanka coach John Dyson, Dave Nosworthy of South Africa and former India wicketkeeper Chandrakant Pandit are the some of the names doing the rounds for the Indian coaching job.The Indian board has sought the help of the boards in England and Australia in the recruitment process. “If they have someone who matches what we need, they will recommend some names to us,” Sharad Pawar, president of the Indian board, had said on August 3. It is expected that the process could take a month.India have been without a coach since Greg Chappell’s resignation after the World Cup. Ravi Shastri took over temporarily as the cricket manager for the Bangladesh tour while Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh were appointed as specialist coaches. After Graham Ford, the former South African coach who is currently the director of cricket at Kent, rejected the board’s offer, Chandu Borde, the former Indian captain, was appointed manager for the tours of England and Ireland.

The only way is down
Everything started so well for Makhaya Ntini when he trappedNazimuddin lbw with his first ball, but the evening quickly took on aless rosy complexion. Aftab Ahmed cracked the last three deliveries ofhis first over for 6,6,4, charging down the pitch with utter disdain,then nonchalantly flicking him over square. When his second over wentfor 15, Ntini retired from the attack with two overs for 31 andshaking his head at this Twenty20 lark.Revenge is sweet
Between Ntini’s two overs, Shaun Pollock was also on the receiving endof some equally fierce shots. His second over was an extraordinaryaffair as he removed Tamim Iqbal with the first ball before being senthigh over deep square-leg by Mohammad Ashraful. Another boundaryfollowed and Ashraful couldn’t stop himself. Already with 10 off twoballs he tried to launch Pollock straight down the ground, only tofind Graeme Smith’s safe hands. Pollock let Ashraful know who’d wonthat little battle.Home-boy heroics
Cape Cobras batsman JP Duminy beat Gulam Bodi to the race to replaceHerschelle Gibbs in the starting line-up. He showed his worth to theside with two outstanding pieces of fielding as South African kepttheir heads amid Bangladesh’s flashing blades. He ran out Shakib AlHasan with a direct hit from mid-off, then held onto a stunning catch running backwards at extra cover to remove Mashrafe Mortaza. The huge crowd cheered on their hometown hero and a mass of South African flags waved around the ground, which continued with each graceful boundary he struck in his 36. He had a decent evening.Give a big wave
The crowd created a fantastic atmosphere as the locals, probably stillsavouring the previous night’s rugby result, roared on their side.Normally the sight of a Mexican wave at a ground is an indication thatproceedings have become a little dull, but on this occasion it wasjust evidence that everyone was fully into the spirit of the game andproved how much the country has taken hold of Twenty20.Captain’s innings
After taking a nasty blow on his hand against West Indies, Smith could have sat out this match if he wanted, with nothing atstake, but he was determined to lead from the front. He began bycatching well, then played a controlled 41 off 34 balls to puthis team on course for victory. Smith might not be everyone’s cup oftea, but there is no denying that he is a determined and gutsy player.

Upul Chandana, the former Sri Lankan allrounder, has retired from international cricket. He played 147 one-day internationals and 16 Tests during his 13-year career.Chandana, 35, made known his intentions to retire to Duleep Mendis, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) chief executive, through a letter today. According to Mendis, Chandana did not state his reasons for quitting.Of late Chandana, who is contracted to SLC, failed to find a regular place in the Sri Lankan one-day side. His name has been linked to the recently-floated Indian Cricket League (ICL) and there is a possibility that he has retired to sign on with it. SLC issued a statement some weeks ago saying that any player joining the ICL would be banned from all levels of cricket connected with the board.Recently Marvan Atapattu asked SLC to release him from his contract. Although Atapattu’s name has often been mentioned with the ICL nothing permanent has materialised. There are even reports stating that he may play for a province in South Africa.Chandana, a right-arm leg-spinner, hard-hitting lower order batsman and brilliant fielder, played his international cricket under the shadow of Muttiah Muralitharan. His chances of becoming a permanent fixture in the national team were few and far between due to Muralitharan’s presence.Whenever he was given an opportunity in Muralitharan’s absence, Chandana was quick to display his talent. One of his finest one-day innings was against West Indies in Bridgetown in 2003 where he played a match-winning role. Chasing 313 for victory, he was promoted up the order to No. 5 and smashed 89 off just 71 deliveries with four sixes.When Muralitharan withdrew from the 2004 tour to Australia, Chandana came into the Test side as the main spin bowler. Despite being expensive, he took a ten-wicket haul in the second Test in Cairns. With the passage of time Chandana’s position in the national one-day team was challenged by two other leg-spinning allrounders, Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Malinga Bandara. Although retained in the national pool Chandana was hardly selected.A product of Galle, Chandana, who began his career playing for Tamil Union and lately for Nondescripts CC, also represented English county Gloucestershire. He is one of the few bowlers to capture five wickets on Test debut, taking 6 for 179 off 47.5 overs in the Asian Test Championship final against Pakistan at Dhaka in 1999.In Tests he scored 616 runs and took 37 wickets and in ODIs. where he got more opportunities, he made 1627 runs, with five fifties, and captured 151 wickets.

Chris Adams, who led Sussex to their third Championship title in five years at the weekend, has told BBC Sport that he is ready to sign a contract extension that will see him finish his playing career at the county.Adams, who almost moved to Yorkshire at the end of 2006, is expected to agree a two-year extension to his existing contract which will keep him at Hove until the end of 2009 by which time he will be 39.Reflecting on the Yorkshire episode – where he left Sussex to become director of cricket at Headingley only to do a complete about turn shortly afterwards – he admitted that it was “two hellish weeks of my life”.”Yorkshire offered me a very tempting position but I knew it would be horrendously difficult for me to play alongside other players in another team. I couldn’t do it … that’s the bottom line, ” Adams said. “I’m delighted Sussex were able to keep the door open and I’ve had a great year with the bat and enjoyed the contest more than any other. It’s been awesome.”As for his future, he said: “I’m just about complete the level four coaching certificate and it seems my future will be in a position of director of cricket at a club. When the right job comes along, I’ll put my name firmly in the hat. If that position is at this club, then that’s perfect.”If there was a wish-list, I’d have this job [the Sussex captaincy] forever, but I know that age means these things come to an end.”

Steve Harmison, the England fast bowler, has become the first of their current Test players to speak out in defence of Andrew Flintoff following last week’s revelations from the former coach, Duncan Fletcher, in his autobiography, .Harmison, Flintoff’s closest friend in the game, says Fletcher “might lose a few people he once called friend” and attacked him for not tackling Flintoff’s drinking in Australia himself.”As England cricketers, we are together on tour and at home, living with, eating and breathing the same air for weeks and sometimes months at a time,” Harmison said in an interview with the . “In order for that to work there are certain things you all depend on – honesty, loyalty, being able to rely on your team-mates and trust.”And the most important of these is trust; the confidence that you do not have to question the motives of the bloke next to you, the feeling that you are all in it together and the knowledge that whatever is said or done within the team environment stays there.”You have to be able to express yourself honestly and without restraint, without wondering whether someone is going to spill the beans or reveal all in a book. And the bloke with the greatest responsibility is the coach because he is privy to everything that goes on. I’m not disputing that some of the things Andrew did were wrong.”I will defend him to the hilt on many issues but he accepts that some of the things he did were not acceptable within a team environment. He definitely overstepped the line in the pedalo incident. He let himself and his team-mates down but took his punishment, was wheeled out to be ridiculed and resolved to learn from the experience.”How is Fletcher dragging up ancient history now helping Fred? Is it taking the argument forward? No.”He added: “If Fletcher had a big problem with Freddie’s drinking in Australia, why on earth didn’t he do something about it? As coach it was his decision. His call. He had the chance to act but he says he didn’t take action against Fred that day in Sydney because of how the press might have reacted.”Well some might ask if he wasn’t prepared to do something he clearly felt was right for the side because it might turn out to be unpopular, what was he doing in the job in the first place?”Harmison was particularly aggrieved at the revelations given that it was Fletcher who gave him so much support and guidance as a younger man.”The sadness is that Fletcher was a very good coach who did a lot for our game,” he said. “But the picture he paints of Freddie is unfair and one-sided. He’s said nothing about what a positive force Fred is within the dressing room, which to me, says it all.”For someone to be able to justify doing what Fletcher has done they would have to have a very good reason. If not, it’s just telling tales out of school. Fletcher took me from a young player to someone who has won 50-odd Test caps. And l admit I’ve given him a lot of problems to deal with. So it’s disappointing that my relationship with him should end on such a sour note.”Fred’s pride will have been dented but no one in the England team will think any less of him because of what Fletcher has said. On the other hand, Fletcher might lose a few people he once called friend.”

Darrell Hair has defended his handling of the abandoned Test at The Oval between England and Pakistan in August 2006. The actions led to Hair being suspended from standing in Tests and resulted in him taking the ICC to an employment tribunal in London last month before he withdrew his claims of racial discrimination.Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove ruled Pakistan had forfeited the match when Inzamam-ul-Haq refused to play on after the umpires penalised his side for alleged ball tampering. It was the first Test in history to end in such fashion.Hair, who was later barred from officiating Test matches, has since finished a man management course he agreed to as part of a “rehabilitation” programme. He agreed to the course when he withdrew his racial discrimination during the second week of the hearing in London. The claim stemmed from an explosive confrontation with Inzamam during the Oval Test.”It’s easy to say, look, if I’d known how to deal with that sort of issue, the communication and management issues then, if I knew then what I know now I may have done things differently,” Hair said on a Sydney radio station where he was answering questions from presenters and callers.”But I don’t believe so because there’s a certain limit to what the umpire needs to do under those circumstances and I believe that both the umpires fulfilled those obligations both with the ball tampering and the refusal to play.”A lot of people have said to me you must be really annoyed with cricket and the fact is I’m not annoyed with cricket. It’s just a couple of people made a strange decision to remove me from umpiring.”The ICC will decide next March whether Hair can return to top-level umpiring. He is hopeful of being reinstated and said he would be ready to umpire in Pakistan if chosen to do so.”If that’s what my contract says and they want me to umpire any Test match well that’s what we’re there for.”However, Pakistan remains convinced that Hair is unfit to umpire at international level. “At the moment the PCB’s position is that Hair is unfit to officiate in the elite panel and it’s up to the ICC to revisit the stance on him,” PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said last month. “We do not have any dispute with Hair and there is no personal thing but on our judgement he failed at The Oval.”

Umar Gul is confident of making a comeback to bowling in the first week of January after injuring his back on the tour of India. Gul, who took part in the ODI series, complained of a back problem and was sent home before the Tests after being diagnosed with muscle spasm.”I have rested a lot and I feel OK now. But I have not bowled for a while and the board has asked me to appear for a fitness check-up before the PCB medical panel in Lahore,” Gul said. The check-up was due to be held sometime on Thursday.”I am looking forward to resuming bowling by the first week of next month, provided everything goes well. It is not a serious injury nor a recurrence of the back stress fracture I had two years ago.”Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB’s chief operating officer, said it was premature to comment on Gul’s fitness but he confirmed that the bowler had been told to take a week’s rest before his check-up.”We are confident it is nothing serious but we are prepared for any eventuality. We are facing frequent fitness problems with our main bowlers and we want to ensure they don’t suffer long-term injuries,” Naghmi said.Pakistan were struggling in the fast-bowling department during the Test series. While Gul missed the Tests, Mohammad Asif was forced to miss the entire tour of India and underwent keyhole surgery on his troubling elbow earlier this week. Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami were unable to deliver 100 percent due to illness.Gul blamed the current crammed international calender for niggling injuries to pace bowlers. “You can’t escape from them [injuries] despite the improved fitness programmes we follow these days and the training regimen we go through.”Pakistan now take on Zimbabwe for a five-match ODI series at home before hosting Australia in February and March 2008.

New Zealand Cricket has backed Dunedin’s University Oval to produce a Test-quality pitch within the next four weeks. The ground hosted a State Championship match that finished within two days last week as 34 wickets tumbled in quick time.Concerns were raised about whether a suitable pitch could be prepared for the New Zealand-Bangladesh Test that Dunedin is scheduled to host starting on January 4. However, NZC has completed a review following the domestic match and made recommendations on how the curators could ensure the ground was ready for the Test.”Tight control of moisture content and grass density were identified as key factors in producing a good Test surface,” Justin Vaughan, NZC’s chief executive, said. “NZC and the Otago Cricket Association will be working hard to produce the best possible wicket.”We are committed to the development of the University Oval as an international venue and are delighted with the ongoing support from the Dunedin City Council. We shall continue to work with the council to ensure that the pitch is up to international standard and will be closely monitoring its progress.”Auckland’s coach Mark O’Donnell pulled no punches in his assessment of the pitch after his side lost to Otago in the two-day game. O’Donnell said: “If you’d put a Test attack on that surface you’d probably have killed someone once the divots dried out.”