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.”

The junior selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the names of 21 probables for a tri-series tournament in Sri Lanka and the World Cup, to be held in Malaysia in February-March.A two-week training camp will be held at the National Cricket Academy from January 4, before the team departs for Sri Lanka for the tri-series – also involving the hosts and England.Pakistan will take their place in Malaysia subsequently as the defending champions, having won the Under-19 World Cup in 2006 and 2004.Probables: Shan Masood, Umer Ameen, Ahmad Shahzad, Usman Salahuddin, Umer Akmal, Hamza Zaheer, Muhammad Yaseen, Fawad Hussain, Imad Waseem, Jibran Khan, Ali Asad, Umair Mir, Muhammad Rameez, Adil Raza, Junaid Khan, Junaid Nadir, Abdul Ameer, Azhar Attari, Shahzeb Ahmad, Kamran Hussain, Ahsan Mirza

Scorecard
Right from the toss, it was Pakistan Under-19s day as they dismissed hosts Sri Lanka for 131 in 36 overs and proceeded to overhaul their target with eight wickets and more than 21 remaining.Sri Lanka started well after being put in to bat, with Dilshan Munaweera (39) and Dinesh Chandimal (21) added 58 inside ten overs. But Chandimal’s dismisssal, caught by wicketkeeper Ali Asad off right-arm medium-pacer Mohammad Rameez, cued the collapse. Imad Wasim, the slow left-arm spinner, and Umar Akmal, in his first bowling effort at this level, snared six wickets between and Sri Lanka slipped to 113 for 6 in 30 overs. A couple run outs later and Pakistan found themselves chasing 132 to lift the final.That they did, with little fuss, as Ahmed Shehzad (20 from 14 balls) and Akmal (47 from 20) set about with hurried shots. The duo were back in the pavilion in seven overs, but with 68 on the board Pakistan were on their way to victory. Umar Amin’s unbeaten 38 from 77 balls and Shan Masood’s handy 26 settled the affair well before the alloted 50 overs were complete.

The General Council of Cricket South Africa (Genco) has given a cautious vote of confidence to Norman Arendse, the CSA president, and Gerald Majola, the chief executive, in the wake of the quota controversy that has overshadowed South Africa’s current tour of Bangladesh.A series of meetings were held in Johannesburg to discuss the issues raised over recent weeks, starting with the squad selection for the tour of Bangladesh. Arendse and Majola will now hold another meeting to discuss a way of preventing similar situations in the future.”Genco expressed its displeasure in the manner in which the recent events had been handled,” said a statement. “The president and the CEO expressed their commitment and made an undertaking to work together for the good of cricket in South Africa and to follow processes laid down by CSA in dealing with such issues.”Therefore, Genco resolved that in dealing with the complaints made, the President and CEO will meet within seven days to define a plan for Genco’s approval that will lead South African cricket into the future.”Genco reiterated the council’s support for the transformation policy across all areas of the game. Currently, South African squads are meant to include seven players of colour in a 15-member team, but there are only five in the 14-man Test squad currently in Bangladesh.

England suffered an injury scare on the opening morning of the first Test at Hamilton when Ian Bell had to be sent to hospital for precautionary X-rays, after taking a sharp blow to the right wrist while fielding at short leg. Fortunately the scan revealed no broken bones, only heavy bruising, and Bell later returned to the ground with his arm in a sling.The injury occurred midway through the 11th over of the first day’s play. Ryan Sidebottom dropped short and New Zealand’s opener, Matthew Bell, climbed into a fierce pull shot. Bell, standing only yards from the bat, put his hands up in self-defence and the ball crashed into the fleshy area on the outer side of his wrist.Bell fell to the ground immediately and was in clear pain as he was led from the field, with his wrist visibly swollen. It was England’s second visit to the A&E department of Waikato Hospital in as many days, after Phil Mustard suffered a broken nose during net practice on Tuesday, and had a break been diagnosed it would almost certainly have spelled the end of Bell’s tour.Instead he was scheduled to take no further part in the day’s play, and a decision will be taken at a later date as to whether he will bat in England’s innings. “He’s been X-rayed and he’s been MRIed as a double-check,” said Peter Moores, England’s coach. “It’s deep bruising and he’s been icing it every half an hour. Hopefully by tomorrow morning we’ll be able to see where he can bat. At the moment the medical staff are hopeful that, if they treat it all night, he’ll be able to bat tomorrow.”Because the injury is an exterior one, and sustained during play, he will not be required to bat down the order to compensate for his time off the field, although it is likely that England will take as much time as possible to allow the swelling to go down. “It’s a lucky escape as it just missed the bony part of the wrist,” said Moores. “Lucky or unlucky, whichever way you look at it.”

John Dyson, the West Indies coach, has called upon the organisers of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to ensure three of his key players – captain Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul – play in the upcoming Test series against Australia, which clashes with the IPL.”It was my understanding that the IPL chiefs have said that international cricket remains the priority, and now it is up to them to keep their promise,” Dyson told the . With contracts worth US$800,000, $US250,000 and $200,000 for the 44-day tournament, Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul stand to gain much more than from their annual earnings from their West Indies contracts, and Donald Peters, the West Indies board chief executive, had said he wouldn’t refuse the no objection certificates required by the players to feature in the league.”What [Peters] was saying was that, with the amounts of money currently involved, if an IPL franchise was to pressure our players into completing the tournament, they would be in a very difficult situation.”I assume the IPL bosses have sat down and thought about the long-term future of their tournament and have considered the question of where their next generation of players will come from,” Dyson said. “It’s important, then, that they don’t cannibalise international or domestic competitions as they stand, because they will presumably need players to come through in the future.”I expect the IPL to keep their promise, and I expect our players to be back here a week before the Australian series,” he said. “If they don’t, then it’s up to the [West Indies] board to decide what the appropriate action is.”The trio are among West Indies’ most experienced players, with a combined 244 Tests between them. “I think everyone here understands the dilemma our players will find themselves in if the pressure comes down from their IPL franchises,” Dyson said. “Gayle couldn’t make anywhere near that kind of money here.””Tino Best [ who has joined the Indian Cricket League] gave an interview here recently, and I think he said it best. He said when he goes down to his grocery store, it doesn’t matter that he plays for Barbados and bowls 90mph. The grocery, like everyone, want money, and not reputation. That is the reality of the situation for teams like ourselves, and I suppose New Zealand.”Peters, who accompanied Julian Hunte, the WICB president, to the latest ICC executive board meeting in Dubai, had claimed they would propose that a 30-day window be put in place for all the private cricket franchises to play their competitions. However, at the meeting it was decided that ICC’s Future Tours Programme will not be altered to accommodate the IPL.

The Israel Cricket Association has announced that India A will play three one-day matches in Israel as part of the country’s 60th anniversary celebrations.The ICA confirmed that the Indian board had agreed to the tour during which what was described as a “full-strength A side” will play against an Invitational XI featuring players from a number of countries, including Adam Bacher.Seven overseas cricketers are reported to have accepted the invitations and the squad will be supplemented by local players.

Brendon McCullum, Mike Hussey and Matthew Hayden, the stars of the IPL who have shone the brightest so far, will be missing in action soon. Players from Australia, West Indies and New Zealand won’t be available to play in the IPL for the entire duration as Australia and West Indies are involved in a bilateral series while New Zealand tour England. The Australians are expected to play till the end of April before heading for a pre-series training camp in Brisbane while the New Zealand IPL players were allowed to miss the tour games in England but will nonetheless have to join the squad by May 1. Cricinfo looks at the possible impact of the event on the various IPL teams

Deccan Chargers
For VVS Laxman’s Chargers, the coming weeks will see the departure of a big-ticket player in Andrew Symonds, who was priced No. 2 in the auction. Though he is yet to fire, it can be expected that he will show his class soon. While his departure, on May 1, means the Chargers will miss his allround skills, they do have Shahid Afridi and Scott Styris to fill that vacuum. Also, Herschelle Gibbs, in the bench currently, can, in theory, match up to Symonds’ hitting prowess. So the next ten days could add another punch to Deccan’s charge.Kolkata Knight Riders
Sourav Ganguly’s team will be the worst hit by the exodus. Ricky Ponting, McCullum and Chris Gayle, though he is yet to play due to injury, will be missing in action soon. Ponting will leave on May 1, McCullum on April 30 while the injured Gayle, even if he gets fit, will have to leave on May 15. These are big shoes to fill as Ponting is a proven commodity and McCullum became the first superstar of the IPL with a whirlwind record 158 on the opening night. They will look to the Pakistan opener Salman Butt and Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Taibu to try plugging the big hole but it remains to be seen how effective they will be. Butt averages only 15.42 at a strike-rate of 81.20 in eight Twenty20 internationals and 16.62 at a strike-rate of 95 from 17 domestic Twenty20 games. Taibu averages 15.70 from 10 domestic Twenty20 matches but the runs have come at a fair clip of 122.65. Perhaps, Mohammad Hafeez will be pushed up the order. There is some good news for Kolkata, as the Pakistani seamer Umar Gul, who has joined the squad, will beef up the bowling.Bangalore Royal Challengers
Shivnarine Chanderpaul is leaving on May 15 while Ashley Noffke and Ross Taylor leave on May 1 but the Royal Challengers won’t be hit too hard. Misbah-ul-Haq, who has made Twenty20 his calling card, arrived on April 23 and Dale Steyn, who had a triumphant Test series against India, will be coming on April 27. Both are better players than Taylor and Noffke respectively but Chanderpaul will be missed as an opener. Wasim Jaffer looked out of place in the first game and Bangalore might decide to open with Praveen Kumar, who has opened in domestic cricket in the limited-overs format. The management is hopeful that the injured Bracken will get fit in time to replace Noffke. Even without him, they have a decent bowling line-up in Praveen , Zaheer Khan, Steyn and Anil Kumble, who is expected to get fit soon.Chennai Super Kings
Hayden and Hussey leave on May 1 while Jacob Oram catches the flight on April 30 but they will be replaced by Stephen Fleming and the big-hitting South African allrounder Albie Morkel, who arrives on April 27. While Fleming, if he gets going, can make up for Hayden’s absence at the top of the order, Albie can be expected to more than adequately replace Oram. But they will miss Hussey, who hit the fastest ton in the tournament – a 50-ball effort in the first game- in the middle order. However, the bowling will get better as they will have Makhaya Ntini coming in on April 27. Chennai has an inexperienced bowling attack that includes Palani Amarnath and Manpreet Goni but they have stood up to be counted. With Albie and Ntini in, it will only get better. Delhi Daredevils
Daniel Vettori leaves on April 30 but Daredevils are going to get stronger with the inclusion of AB de Villiers, who joins the team on April 27. If the situation warrants an extra bowler or a batsman, de Villiers can don the wicketkeeping gloves as well. If they come across a wicket that aids spin, they might consider playing the legspinner Amit Mishra.Kings XI Punjab
Brett Lee, Simon Katich and Kyle Mills will leave India on April 28. Lee’s absence will really hit them hard, considering they don’t have a foreign player of such class in the squad. Either VRV Singh, the Indian Test bowler, or the Under-19 bowler Ajitesh Argal will have to step up unless Tom Moody, the coach, decides to pick an Australian domestic player. Mills is yet to play in a game, and though Katich did play the first match, he is not known for big hitting and his absence won’t leave a hole.Mumbai Indians
Only Dwayne Bravo will miss out as he is leaving on May 15 to play in the home series against Australia. The allrounder Dominic Thornely, who was hit on the forehead by a Zaheer Khan bouncer and didn’t play the second game against Chennai Super Kings, is expected to be fit for the third game. Mumbai will also have the services of the hard-hitting South African batsman Loots Bosman, who is set to join the squad on April 24.Rajasthan Royals
No one is leaving and instead they will be bolstered by the arrival of Graeme Smith, Younis Khan, Sohail Tanveer and Dimitri Mascarenhas. Smith will add some much-needed solidity to the fragile top order while Younis will bolster the middle order. Mohammad Kaif has struggled at the top and Darren Lehmann has looked out of touch, so Smith and Younis could well replace them. Mascarenhas, who will be available to play in the IPL from May 12 to 26, is a perfect fit for Twenty20 – he proved his big-hitting abilities when he struck Yuvraj for five consecutive sixes in a one-day match last year. Tanveer, a niggardly left-arm seamer, can bat as well and will add an extra dimension to the squad.

Canada emerged winners of the Americas Under-19 Championships with a five-run win over Bermuda in a rain-curtailed match at the Maple Leaf South-East Ground in King City. In a match reduced to 33 overs, Canada made 170 for 7, with Hiral Patel top scoring with 95. In the chase, Bermuda progressed to 111 for 4 in the 25th over before the dark storm clouds and howling winds forced the players indoors. At that stage, Canada were already ahead by five runs by the Duckworth-Lewis Method.With five straight wins, Canada have not only claimed the championship, but also a place in the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers in September. USA have also progressed to the qualifier, with four wins and one loss. Bermuda, who won the Americas U-19 title in 2007, finished third with three wins and two defeats. Bermuda’s Chris Douglas took 14 wickets to end the tournament as the leading bowler. Canada’s Rustum Bhatti was named best wicketkeeper.At the Maple Leaf North-East Ground, Bahamas U-19s beat Argentina U-19s by 57 runs, also by the Duckworth-Lewis Method. Bahamas made 187 for 7 in 31 overs while Argentina struggled to 88 for 7 in 22 overs before poor weather struck.Summary of scoresCanada 170 for 7 (33 overs) beat Bermuda 111 for 4 (24.2 overs) by 5 runs (D/L method)USA 226 for 8 (35 overs) beat Cayman Islands 65 (28 overs) by 161 runsBahamas 186 for 7 (31 overs) beat Argentina 88 for 7 (22 overs) by 57 runs (D/L method)