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Pakistan today named a 15-man squad for the rescheduled one-day series against New Zealand, starting on November 29. The surprise inclusion was Junaid Zia, who was selected against Bangladesh and then named captain of the emerging team. Shoaib Akhtar has been picked, but will not be available for selection for the first two matches due to a ban.Aamer Sohail, chairman of selectors, said: “This is the best combination we can offer to the team management that was consulted before the squad was finalised.”On the inclusion of Junaid, Sohail said: “He was one of the star performers of the inter-departmental qualifying tournament taking 35 wickets and scoring over 150 runs. In addition to this, he was also adjudged Player of the Series in Sri Lanka, where the Pakistan Emerging team won the tournament. In addition to this, the team management also requested for his inclusion.”The first two matches of the series will be played at Lahore on November 29 and December 1 while Faisalabad will host the third match on December 3. The last two games will be played at Rawalpindi on December 5 and 7.Squad Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Imran Farhat, Saleem Elahi, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Moin Khan (wkt), Danish Kaneria, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Misbah-ul-Haq and Junaid Zia.

Vice-captain Adam Gilchrist has withdrawn from Australia’s team to play New Zealand in the day-night clash in Sydney on Thursday.Gilchrist has returned home to Perth today for personal reasons. His place in Australia’s 14-man VB Series squad will be assumed by fellow Western Australian Ryan Campbell.Campbell, 29, is an explosive right handed wicketkeeper-batsman. He made his debut at interstate level in 1994-95 and has played a total of 52 first-class and 46 interstate one-day games for his state in the seven years that have followed.Campbell lost his place in Western Australia’s first-class team to Mark Walsh last summer and received a lucrative offer to relocate to Victoria in the off-season. He also endured a disappointing limited-overs summer in 2000-01, scoring only 135 runs in ten matches at an average of 15.00 before Western Australia surrendered the domestic one-day title to New South Wales.But, after regaining his regular first-class spot as well as making an impressive 77 in a one-day encounter against Victoria in Melbourne late last month, Campbell was named as a surprise inclusion in the Australia ‘A’ team which recently defeated both New Zealand and South Africa. He batted and kept wickets impressively in each of those two matches.He now joins the senior Australian side as it attempts to mount a recovery following unexpected losses in each of the two opening matches of the three-cornered VB Series.The world champions lost by four wickets to South Africa in a tight contest in Melbourne yesterday, compounding the effects of a shock 23-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand two days earlier.Gilchrist is expected to rejoin the squad in Brisbane for its match against South Africa at the ‘Gabba on Sunday.

Jamie Cox – season’s best 171 for Somerset Photo © AllSport UK

Jamie Cox and Peter Bowler put Somerset in command of the County Championship first division match at Taunton. The pair dominated the second day’s action with a third wicket stand of 199 in 64 overs, as Somerset closed on 370-6 in repsonse to Lancashire’s 239.Somerset captain Cox struck a season’s best 171 before falling to Joe Scuderi, Lancashire’s most successful bowler, three overs from the finish.Bowler, in fine form this summer, had moved untroubled to 95 before he was caught by wicketkeeper Warren Hegg off Michael Smethurst.With the pitch playing perfectly for the batsmen, it will still be hard work for Somerset to conjure up their third championship success of the season. But Cox was pleased with his side’s efforts and by his best score of the season.”That’s probably as well as I’ve played this season,” said Cox, who had passed fifty just once in his previous ten championship innings.He added: “I remember vividly a cover drive for four off Glenn Chapple when I was in the 70s. From that moment, I felt the season had started for me. Until then it had been a bit of a battle.”It was important we batted big in our first innings, so that we’ve got some scoreboard pressure on Lancashire when they go in again.”Mark Lathwell gave Cox good support in an opening stand of 104 before he fell lbw to a delivery from Scuderi which kept low.Piran Holloway followed Lathwell back to the pavilion three overs later when he was unlucky run out at the non-striker’s end, after Gary Keedy had tipped a Cox drive onto the stumps.But from there on Cox and Bowler showed good shot selection and judgement to frustrate Lancashire for the next 64 overs.The tempo increased noticeably after tea, with Bowler severly punishing Michael Smethurst’s second over with the second new ball.Bowler pulled Smethurst for three successive fours to midwicket and then hooked the next delivery for six over long leg.Smethurst exacted revenge in his following over when, from around the wicket, he had Bowler caught behind.Cox took a straight six off Keedy’s left-arm spin, while many of his 19 fours were struck crisply through the covers.He had his best Somerset score of 216, achieved against Hampshire at Southampton last year, within his sights when he played across a straight delivery from Scuderi and was lbw.Scuderi also snapped up the wickets of Keith Parsons and Peter Trego, caught at slip and by the wicketkeeper respectively, in a late burst which left him with excellent figures of 4-31 from 17 overs.But there was little else to cheer Lancashire as their hopes of keeping up with Surrey and Yorkshire at the top of the table suffered a setback.

Rangers were left to rue a number of wasted chances in front of goal as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men dropped two points in the Premiership on Sunday.

The Gers were held to a 2-2 draw as they lost a two-goal lead at half-time before missing a host of big chances to win the game.

The Ibrox side made substitutes to seal the win but the introduction of Kemar Roofe failed to do the trick as the former Leeds man fired straight at the goalkeeper when presented with a good opening inside the box.

Forget Roofe

Instead of using Roofe as an impact player off the bench, the Dutch head coach could dip into his academy set-up to unleash young striker Juan Alegria next season.

The Colombian teenager has been impressing at youth level, scoring his sixth Lowlands League goal on Friday, and it could be worth giving the 19-year-old an opportunity to impress in the first team if he catches the eye out on loan after penning terms with Partick Thistle temporarily on Monday.

His complete statistics in the Lowland League are unavailable, but his record for the Gers in the Challenge Cup and FC Honka in their Europa Conference League qualifiers is impressive. He has scored three goals in five appearances across both competitions, only playing 123 minutes – averaging a goal every 41 minutes.

This has led to him being offered the chance to go out on loan where he can play regular senior football.

Former Gers defender Alan Hutton hyped up the youngster previously, saying: “I think we all know that the scouting system has worked well at Rangers so they obviously see a promising, big talent and he’s only 18 [now 19] so it’s going to be one to bring in and develop within the squad.

“He sounds a decent prospect and I trust the Rangers scouting team because they’ve done so well in the past. It’s not been bad so far so we’ll have to back them.”

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In order for Alegria to fulfil his potential he needs first-team exposure and this loan between now and the end of the campaign could give him exactly that.

If he is able to enjoy a successful spell at Thistle then he could come back in the summer and save Ross Wilson millions, as the Ibrox chief would not need to splash out cash to sign a new striker if van Bronckhorst can call upon the Colombian.

AND in other news, “I do expect” – Journo drops ominous Rangers transfer claim, Ibrox fans surely fuming…

	Hundred at last: Sachin Tendulkar gets a century after getting out seven times in the nineties last year © Getty Images

No more nervous nineties
Everything seemed routine with Sachin Tendulkar’s hundred until he took his helmet off and punched his fists in the air. Looking up to the skies, he let out a mighty whoop and held the gladiatorial pose for a few seconds. The standing ovation appeared to go forever, with Tendulkar acknowledging the various stands at what a banner called the “Sachin Cricket Ground”. He had endured seven nineties in 2007, including three innings of 99 in one-dayers, but the new year has brought more luck.Fire and frustration
Sourav Ganguly resembled an angry gardener when he was dismissed. Batting as if in a dream, he waltzed to 67 without worry when, against the run of play, he chipped to Michael Hussey at mid-off. Unable to control his frustration, he turned his back to the umpire, stood with his legs apart and smashed his bat against the ground as if digging a pit. He probably wanted to bury himself.Bhajji pulls one out of the hat
Just as it appeared that Tendulkar would need to shield the tail, with Harbhajan Singh starting a bit edgily, out came a sensational pull shot. Brett Lee dug one short and Harbhajan moved back and across before smacking it through midwicket for four. He even had his front leg in the air as he played it and a calypso in the background would have worked perfectly.Fabulous 400
A day after spilling two relatively simple catches, Adam Gilchrist finally brought up his 400th Test dismissal in the second session. Brett Lee’s offcutter forced Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s edge and Gilchrist accepted the comfortable take to become the second man after Mark Boucher to reach the milestone. No. 401 arrived two overs later when Anil Kumble fell the same way, but 402 was delayed when a top edge from Harbhajan bobbled from Gilchrist’s gloves after he leaped to intercept it.Tail turns the tale
Australian frustrations grew as India approached and then passed their 463. Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting had a lengthy chat with Harbhajan before uncharacteristic sloppiness in the field. Things grew worse when Ishant Sharma collected 23, which was 16 more than his previous highest first-class score, and the innings more than doubled his career haul of 15 in his first 17 matches.

End of VVS Laxman’s one-day career? © Getty Images

VVS Laxman pulled out of the South Zone Ranji Trophy one-day tournament after being left out of India’s World Cup squad.Laxman, it was reported, sent a SMS message to the Hyderabad selectors informing them of his withdrawal from the final three matches. ”He did not give reasons,” Shivlal Yadav, secretary of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), told the .Laxman is apparently upset over his exclusion from the World Cup squad. This will be the third tournament he will be missing and it’s almost certain he won’t get another chance. His pull out here may work to his detriment, though, with the South Zone selectors in a dilemma over whether to pick him for the Deodhar Trophy tournament later this month. His absence certainly affected the Hyderabad team in their match against Andhra at Uppal, where they were routed by 92 runs.Laxman’s last one-day appearance for India was on their recent tour to South Africa, when he was out for a first-ball duck at Centurion Park. Before that, he last played an ODI in August 2005. He’s been involved in 86 ODIs overall and has managed six hundreds and ten fifties.

The future of the ICC Champions Trophy still hangs in the balance © Getty Images

India have said they would fulfill their commitment to host the Champions Trophy this year but were not in favour of the such a concept. “When the event began in 1998, it was a 12-day knockout tournament but it is getting bigger and bigger. The other point is that the event hurts the interests of India and Pakistan directly because it is held in October and November which is a cricket season for both the countries,” Niranjan Shah, the Indian board’s secretary, told PTI at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.”We have proposed that the ICC should only organise the Under-19 World Cup other than the World Cup. We have discussed this proposal with Cricket Australia, Pakistan and the Asian Cricket Council,” Shah, who represented the Indian board at the ICC meeting yesterday in Karachi, added.He said Australia and Pakistan had not yet confirmed if they were ready to support India, but vowed that he would raise the matter during the ICC meeting in March.On the India-Pakistan series, Shah said the two boards had mutually decided to have the bilateral series once in two years. “We have not signed any MoU or contract but it is a verbal understanding that while we cannot dilute the series, we cannot have it every year. It has to be on the same pattern as the Ashes that would keep the interest of the spectators alive and continue to attract major sponsors.”Shah also said when Pakistan tour India in 2008, he would like to see more matches being played. He said, “The tour is too far away but we would like to play more Tests and one-day internationals for two simple reasons: people want to see the two teams in action and India is a huge country and all the associations want to host Pakistan-India games.”

The first tentative steps to try to bring back the remaining rebel players came on Tuesday when some of them met with Zimbabwe Cricket officials in Harare.The two sides were reported to have had a cordial meeting, but one independent source said that the three unnamed committee members, who were backed by two lawyers, "were open-minded but very poorly informed by ZC on the basics of the dispute." They said they had not come to negotiate but merely to hear the players’ proposals and take them back to the board.Although ZC has made the right noises about its willingness to make peace with the rebels, it is widely believed that the presence of Ozias Bvute (ZC’s general manager) and Max Ebrahim (the chief selector) on the board remains the main, and substantial, stumbling block. Both are seen as being at the heart of the dispute.Another meeting has been planned for next week.

Close Mumbai 272 for 9 (Tendulkar 94, Bahutule 58; Zaheer 5-74)
Scorecard

Zaheer Khan on his way to 5 for 74

A resolute 149-run partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Sairaj Bahutule rescued Mumbai on the first day of the Irani Trophy. Asked to bat on an uncharacteristic Chennai greentop, Mumbai were tottering at 98 for 5 when Tendulkar and Bahutule came together. On a pitch with plenty of grass on it and uneven bounce, the two batsmen rebuilt the innings over the course of the entire second session and most of the third, before both batsmen were out towards the close of play. A mini-collapse at the end reduced Mumbai to 272 for 9, as Zaheer Khan finished with a superb 5 for 74.Mumbai had actually begun the day well, dominating the first hour of play, as Zaheer and L Balaji both struggled with their line and length. Zaheer, who had seemed rusty during the recent Challenger Series, struggled to settle into a rhythm, and Balaji alternated between being too wide and too full. Mane and Jaffer were content to let the wide ones go, while punishing anything overpitched.Mane was in particularly good touch, driving handsomely and hitting Balaji and Zaheer for two fours each in consecutive overs, before settling down to build his innings. He played the ball late and close to his body, and his compact technique was matched by the intent to punish any loose balls which came his way.Just when Mumbai were coasting, Bangar seized the momentum back. Bowling first-change, he bowled a superb spell, bowling wicket-to-wicket with great accuracy and getting a fair amount of movement and bounce off the pitch. He surprised Mane (26) with a good-length ball which reared up more than Mane expected, and flew to Anil Kumble at gully (42 for 1).Sourav Ganguly bowled an accurate spell of four overs for seven runs, but it was the reintroduction of Zaheer and Balaji into the attack that put Rest of India on top. Zaheer tempted Nishith Shetty (5) into driving a wide ball, which Shetty miscued straight to Virender Sehwag at cover (59 for 2). Jaffer’s patient stay at the wicket, marked by uncertain timing but solid defence, finally came to an end when he shouldered arms to an incoming ball from Balaji, which pitched on a good length, snaked in and hit the top of off stump, just as the textbooks would have it (91 for 3). Jaffer made 43.Zaheer, redeeming himself for his first spell with some fiery bowling, then picked up two wickets in quick succession. Vinod Kambli (2), making a much hyped comeback, was caught on his crease by an incoming ball and rightly adjudged lbw (98 for 4). Ajit Agarkar walked in and edged a ball angled across him to Parthiv Patel (98 for 5).Tendulkar and Bahutule applied themselves superbly after lunch, though Bahutule was lucky to get away with a couple of lbw appeals off Ganguly. In both cases the ball pitched on line and straightened. In the first case, where the ball had kept low, Bahutule was plumb; the second decision was less controversial only by the standards of the first. A couple of Bahutule’s fours were uppishly hit, but apart from that he was impeccably solid, a perfect foil to a patient Tendulkar.Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were brought on in the hour before tea, and bowled testing spells. Both of them were unafraid to give the ball a tweak, and the battle between Harbhajan and Tendulkar, in particular, was riveting. Tendulkar, after cover-driving him for four early on in his spell, swung Harbhajan thrice to the midwicket boundary, once from outside off. He continued attacking Harbhajan after tea, and Bahutule also played him with positive intent.The second new ball, and a change in approach from Tendulkar, brought about the end of the partnership. Tendulkar, perhaps in a hurry to get to his century, unleashed two gorgeous pulls to the boundary off Zaheer. But in the same over he flashed at a snorter outside off stump and Rahul Dravid, keeping wicket in place of the indisposed Parthiv Patel, caught the resultant edge easily (247 for 6). Tendulkar’s 94 had come off 197 balls, and showed a grim determination to play a big innings instead of the instinct to dominate that so many of his fans have come to expect from him.It was time for a legspinner to take the new ball, and Kumble came back into the attack and picked up two quick wickets. First, he deceived Bahutule (58 off 183) with his flight and got him to miscue a ball on leg stump to VVS Laxman at short midwicket (260 for 7). Then he speared in a yorker that bowled Ramesh Powar, Mumbai’s lower-order hero for much of the last Ranji Trophy season, for zero (260 for 8). Vinayak Samant was then trapped lbw by Zaheer who had, after his disappointing first spell, redeemed himself magnificently with a five-for. Would any of Mumbai’s bowlers be able to match him on day 2?

Australia’s VB One-Day International Series campaign has been thrown into disarray with Glenn McGrath banned for the home side’s next match and another fast bowler, Brad Williams, likely to be out of action for a month with a fractured right thumb.McGrath was found guilt of dissent after being last man out in New Zealand’s upset 23-run win against Australia in Melbourne on Friday. He will miss Sunday’s match against South Africa, also in Melbourne, as a result. ICC match referee Hanumant Singh also imposed a two-match suspended sentence on McGrath.Williams, McGrath’s partner at the crease when Friday’s game ended, was found to have a broken thumb after the game, the result of being struck on the hand by a lifting delivery from Shane Bond. Williams, who made 13 not out, was making his international debut, but is expected to take no further part in the series.Sunday’s match will be South Africa’s first outing in the tournament.