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South Africa announced a packed international and domestic 2007-08 season, which includes as many as seven international tours for the national team, the inaugural World Twenty20 Championship as well as the regular domestic calendar.The season begins with South Africa’s first tour to Ireland, which begins this week, for a series of ODIs against the hosts and India. The squad, captained by Jacques Kallis, includes a number of new players.Subsequently, there are tours to Pakistan, Zimbabwe, India and Bangladesh, while New Zealand and West Indies are due to visit South Africa. In September, before the tour to Pakistan, they host the first Twenty20 championship.Gerald Majola, CEO Cricket South Africa, said, “This is going to be a bumper season for South African cricket, both domestically and internationally. The new season, which kicks off with the tour to Ireland this month, will include seven international tours and the hosting of the inaugural World Twenty20 South Africa in 2007.”We believe that the Twenty20 format is going to bring in a new audience for cricket, and we believe this interest will spread to other forms of the game. On the international front, we will be using this season to increase the pool of Proteas players so that we can meet the challenges of this busy 2007/8 season.”

‘Sometimes captaincy is about gut feeling’ © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid has hailed the efforts of his inexperienced fast-bowling attack, enabling India to get within a hairs-breadth of pulling off a historic win. He added that a “gut” feeling had made him choose Sreesanth for the final over, adding that India had a number of positives to take with them into the second Test at St Lucia, starting in four days’ time.One could sense how shattered Sreesanth was at the end of the final over, when he even forgot his wristband on the pitch, but Dravid thought he’d done a “great” job nevertheless. “I hope he is feeling good,” said Dravid at the end of the day. “I had four options, but I was always going for Sreesanth. Sometimes captaincy is about gut feeling. He bowled great today in just his third Test. He struggled in the first innings, but he has lot of ability and is a fast learner. He didn’t have a great day in the first innings. It was a tough day but we have to be patient with them and let them grow.”Today, the bowlers showed a lot of heart. They’re young seamers and they need to get their lengths right. Sometimes when we, in India, see young bowlers we label them fast and quick, but we must remember our strengths. We are not going to bowl 150-plus, dig it in short and bounce people; we are good at what we do, we must get away from hype that gets portrayed around these bowlers.”Dravid was impressed with the way his youngsters in the team handled the pressure, saying that he didn’t have to do much to calm the nerves. “They showed composure, all of them wanted to have a bowl even under pressure. My job was to just tell them to stick to basics. One of the reasons for standing at mid-off was that we had young quicks, but I prefer to not keep talking too many times and make them confused. They know what to do because they have bowled at this level, I just gave reinforcements.”Wasim Jaffer, who was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award, got his share of praise as well. “Jaffer was brilliant. Some of the shots he played were tough to play on this pitch. Earlier, he was loose and would throw his wicket away but hopefully he will emerge consistent, because he has all the tools to succeed at this level.”Despite falling short by the smallest of margins, Dravid said India would use this as a learning opportunity. “It was a great game of cricket. I was happy that my team was part of this Test, we learn a lot from the mach. We had no chance at the end of the second day and most had written us off. Nobody would have believed we could have done this. The pitch also held up brilliantly. There was not much spin, but it had a bit of bounce. You needed to pitch the ball up and get the batsmen to drive. I thought our young seamers bowled spells of high quality, real Test-class bowling. Kumble was fantastic, plugging away, so we created pressure. That helped.”

Simon Katich: made full use of his promotion to No. 3© Getty Images

The Australians are currently weighing up their choice in the Federal election, and their top-order batsmen also looked confused as they decided between two parties’ policies. Under Steve Waugh an attack-first, worry-later campaign style developed, but in India, following a change in command and a caretaker captain, patience and crease-occupation have become the buzzwords.John Buchanan, the coach and senior campaign manager, told his players it was better to bat 130 overs in the first innings than push along at the standard 3.5 runs an over. But the idea appeared to act more as a shackle in the first two sessions, and Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Darren Lehmann failed to toe the party line. At 4 for 149 Australia were again under pressure in the subcontinent.Fortunately the new recruits Simon Katich, in his tenth match, and Michael Clarke, taking his first step into the Test cabinet, discovered a balanced remedy with a partnership that lifted the team out of danger. Replacing Ricky Ponting at No. 3, Katich knows how difficult it can be waiting for opportunities, and he grabbed his promotion with a calm display that set up a late onslaught.In the final session Michael Clarke skipped away with youthful strokeplay that sparkled like the ear-ring below his brand new baggy green. Instead of edging to the finish Clarke raced past fifty, belting two sixes and driving with impressive force. It was instinct batting the Australian way, and when Adam Gilchrist joined him they burst towards the close.Unlike his opening partner, Justin Langer has not forgotten how to graft, and played to the plan on a pitch that looked like the one-colour jigsaws you buy to frustrate relatives. Absorbing the early aggression of India’s opening bowlers, Langer fought for his half-century and was a fine example for Katich until Irfan Pathan cannoned a wicked reverse-swinging delivery into his pads and off stump.Despite the setbacks of the first two sessions the batsmen ultimately satisfied both parties: 316 runs at 3.51 per over and five wickets left to see off at least 40 more overs and reach Buchanan’s mark. Voters can only dream of such a result in Saturday’s election.Peter English is Australasian editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

Brian Lara and Michael Vaughan size up the Sabina Park wicket© Getty Images

It’s been six years since England last toured the West Indies. In today’s crammed international calendar, it feels like even more. Never mind that elusive Ashes urn, England still have to bury 36 fruitless years in the Caribbean, comprising six trips of bruises, bashings and beatings. The first round of the four Tests, at Sabina Park, promises to be an intriguing opening bout, with both corners sizing up evenly, but with players capable of packing a serious punch on their day.One local magazine billed the series as the “Clash of the Titans”. A bit over the top, you might say – yet with all the hype in Kingston ahead of Thursday, you wouldn’t think so. All the talk from the locals, and most of the tourists as well, is that it will be close, but that home advantage will be the key to West Indian success. “The public will demand us to win,” said Brian Lara, “and you’ll see a different outfit at home.”There’s no doubt West Indies are a better side on their own patch, duelargely to what Lara described as a “comfort zone”. However, this is aside that has lost recent home series against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and they can’t hide behind that piece of propaganda if things don’t go to plan early on.One thing that is true is that there is an obvious incentive for WestIndies. “England are our biggest rivals,” warned Lara. “They have donea lot for our sport. They are almost like a father figure.” But West Indies are not planning on showing any respect to their elders. “We still feel the disappointment of losing the Wisden Trophy in 2000, and we will fighting all the way to get it back.”One of the worries for England was whether two weeks will prove tohave been sufficient preparation time, but with a testing warm-up game against a Jamaica XI, and a not-so-testing one against the Vice-Chancellor’s XI, Michael Vaughan insisted they are ready and raring to go. “Only three of us have played in the Caribbean before, so we’ll have to get used to things quickly, but we can’t wait for Thursday now. Thirty-six years ago none of my players were born, so we’ve got no cobwebs of the past.”For the first time in a generation, England will not have to cope with a world-class fast bowler in West Indies’ ranks, but, then again, none of England’s bowlers are pushing that particular bracket yet. Simon Jones and Steve Harmison are near-certainties to play, considering their genuine pace, while Matthew Hoggard is expected to take the last fast-bowling slot ahead of James Anderson.Hoggard was the one bowler singled out by Lara as a threat to hisside. Whether he was bluffing or not is another question. However, ifHoggard does play, it will cap a dismal last six months for Anderson, who will have gone from England’s Brylcreem boy to baggage boy.The only question mark in England’s batting is Mark Butcher’s fitness,but after a couple of light net sessions, and a round of golf, he is likely to keep his place ahead of Paul Collingwood. West Indies’ plans, however, have been disrupted at the last minute by the withdrawal of Dwayne Smith with a dislocated finger on his right hand. “It was a most unfortunate development for the young man,” said Ricky Skerritt, the team manager. “But Dwayne has the right attitude towards situations like this and there is no doubt he’ll be back stronger than ever.” He is likely to be replaced by either Ricardo Powell or Ryan Hinds.The Sabina Park groundsman is the same one who concocted theinfamous terror track for England’s last Test here, in 1997-98. That match was abandoned after only 56 minutes before any English bonces were knocked off. This time is the groundsman’s turn to put his head on the block. He insisted England would have nothing to complain about, promising good pace and carry, with a little uneven bounce later in the game.As ever, the toss will play a big part, but an interesting fact to chewover is that only nine out of the 38 Tests played here have been won by the team batting first. And since Steve Waugh’s world-turning double-hundred here in 1994-95, no touring side has scored over 350. So perhaps we won’t have the predicted formula for success on this tour: bat first, post a daunting total, and bowl them out on the fifth day.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Ricardo Powell, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Corey Collymore, 9 Adam Sanford, 10 Tino Best, 11 Fidel Edwards.England (probable) 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 MarcusTrescothick, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Matthew Hoggard.Freddie Auld, Wisden Cricinfo’s assistant editor, will be following England’s fortunes in the Jamaica and Trinidad Tests.

The West Indies must seek maximum points in the preliminaries to win the World Cup. This, says their coach Roger Harper, could be the difference between success and defeat.Noting that teams will carry forward points won in the preliminaries against other teams also advancing to the Super Six stage of competition, he stressed it was crucial therefore to treat each match with utmost seriousness – even if the West Indies earn a berth to the next phase with four early victories."It’s very important to win every match. I think victories in the preliminary round against teams that go through can help you to secure a place in the semifinals and just make it a touch easier," noted Harper, speaking from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where the West Indies face New Zealand today.The Caribbean team have four points from beating South Africa on Sunday and another win would put them in good stead as the Kiwis have already lost to Sri Lanka. These four sides are expected to battle for the three qualifying spots in Group B.Should the West Indies advance, and triumph against the other teams in their pool who also qualify, they would begin the Super Sixes with eight points."It (the points system) ensures that you take every game seriously and you try to see if you can win as many games as possible. They all count," declared Harper.Despite New Zealand’s dismal performance versus Sri Lanka, the coach warned that the West Indies could not afford complacency."Everyone knows New Zealand is a very competitive team; one that really works hard and plays well as a unit."We are not reading anything into that performance against Sri Lanka.`They came back very well towards the end of that game and we expect them to play tough cricket and we have to ensure we are ready," he said."We see this as a big opportunity for us to press even further ahead and try and cement a place in the Super Six stage."Harper described his players as being "in very good spirits" following their magnificent, three-run upset of the hosts.Reflecting on the positives of that huge team effort, he praised the batsmen, who withstood a poor start to post 278 for five in 50 overs."I thought that, from a batting perspective, our patience was really our strength."South Africa bowled very well in the first 20 overs of that game. We lost two early wickets but we stayed calm, showed tremendous composure and our patience saw us through in the end."We managed to put together a big partnership with Brian (Lara) and Shiv (Chanderpaul) and then capitalise on it," he said.Harper is optimistic that the West Indies can give an even better showing today."We are fully aware of what needs to be done. When we look at our game-plan for New Zealand we will discuss some of the errors we made against South Africa and we know we have to tighten up," he said.Having suffered through a stage where the team was searching for the right mix of batsmen, Harper acknowledged it was "comforting" to have so many of the top order firing on all cylinders now.

Darren Bicknell’s second Championship century of the season wasn’t enough to save Notts from losing to Sussex by 161 runs. Bicknell made 123 out of an all out total of 285 but when he was ninth man out the visitors quickly wrapped up their fourth win of the campaign.During the early part of the final day Notts had been reduced to 37–4 after just eleven overs with nightwatchman Gareth Clough, Australian Greg Blewett and Usman Afzaal all dismissed cheaply, Guy Welton having been run out on the third evening.Bicknell was joined by Paul Johnson who helped him add 44 for the fifth wicket but once he’d fallen to a catch at slip off Mark Robinson — and John Morris had followed cheaply — it looked all over for Notts.Chris Read though had other ideas and launched a terrific counter–attack which sped him to a half-century in just 61 balls. At tea Notts’ hopes of salvation looked good but shortly afterwards James Kirtley trapped Read lbw for an excellent 78.By now Bicknell had progressed to the 36th first-class century of his career (257 mins 183 balls 16x4s), although he’d had two lives, both on 72, when Matthew Prior and Murray Goodwin spilled routine efforts.Following the dismissal of Read, Sussex pressed for victory and three times were frustrated in their attempts to have AJ Harris given out — twice for lbw verdicts and also with a claimed catch at the wicket.Runs dried up alarmingly — Bicknell made just nine in 75 minutes after tea before he lost another partner. A fine nick by Harris was smartly taken by Prior who was standing up to Mark Robinson.Just under 14 overs remained when Sussex picked up the wicket they most cherished. Bicknell had gone on to 123 when he too fell to a smart piece of `keeping by Prior, again off Robinson. The Notts captain thoroughly deserved his standing ovation but his walk from the ground was accompanied by the almost certain knowledge that his efforts had been in vain.As in the first innings Richard Stemp lasted only a couple of balls before his off stump was knocked back, this time by Jason Lewry.As Sussex celebrated the home supporters were left to reflect on another poor performance by Notts, just two days away from their B & H semi-final.

A major Newcastle United injury boost has emerged over Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson’s respective injuries.

What’s the latest?

The Telegraph reporter Luke Edwards has revealed that both players will be back in action for the Magpies before the end of the campaign.

Trippier has been out of action since the 1-0 win over Aston Villa at St James’ Park in mid-February, while Wilson has not stepped foot on the pitch in the Premier League since December.

Newcastle have two weeks off to prepare for their next league outing due to the international break, which has given them an opportunity to get their injured players back fit and closer to making comebacks.

Edwards tweeted: “Trippier and Wilson both expected to return for #nufc before the end of April.”

Delight

This update will surely delight Eddie Howe as both players will provide a huge boost to Newcastle heading into the final weeks of the season.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Toon will be in relegation danger by the end of April, but they will still be competing to finish as high in the table as possible to give themselves a strong base to build upon ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Finishing well clear of the bottom three will be a confidence booster for the players and the fanbase and potentially help the club to attract a higher calibre of player in the summer, as they would not be seen as a candidate to go down next term. This is why having both players back next month will be a huge lift for the club.

Trippier enjoyed a sublime start to life at St James’ Park, and Howe will be buzzing to have him back and available. He averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.67 as he scored twice in four Premier League appearances and made six tackles and interceptions per game, showcasing his immense quality at both ends of the pitch.

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Meanwhile, Wilson is Newcastle’s leading scorer in the top flight this season with six strikes. He also topped the charts for the club last term as he found the back of the net 12 times, which highlights his importance to the team and why having him fit will delight the head coach, as the 30-year-old is a proven goalscorer in the Premier League.

Hopefully both players will be able to feature in the final few matches of the campaign and use their quality to fire the Magpies up the table in order to well and truly avoid relegation to the Championship.

AND in other news, Left for £0, now the next Sancho: Newcastle will have nightmares over 18 y/o “huge talent”…

	The DY Patil Stadium is in danger of losing out on hosting the Mumbai Indians’ home matches © Cricinfo Ltd.

Two of Mumbai’s home IPL matches – on May 14 and 16 – are likely to be shifted from the DY Patil Stadium to the Wankhede Stadium, following speculation that the Mumbai Indians were unhappy with the commute from the team hotel to the venue in addition to the practice pitches at the new ground.The DY Patil Stadium, located in Navi Mumbai, involves a commute of roughly 40 km from the team hotel. The venue, allotted five of the seven home matches, hosted its first match on April 27. However, the franchise owners, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), fell short of confirming the move.”We cannot confirm or deny the move at the moment,” Kaushik Roy, president, branding, at RIL, told Cricinfo. The decision will be jointly made by the franchise and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).A Mumbai team official has also pointed out that the standard of the practice wicket at DY Patil ground was not similar to the actual wicket, something that the team was not happy with. It could’ve been one of the reasons why the team chose to practise at the Bandra Kurla Grounds on Saturday, instead of the actual venue.The DY Patil Stadium will, however, host the clash against Delhi Daredevils tommorow and the forthcoming match against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.This could be the second instance of a venue change in Mumbai, after the Cricket Club of India (CCI) backed out as hosts. The CCI, which houses the Brabourne Stadium, were apparently unhappy with an agreement between the IPL authorities and franchise owners that meant the franchise would acquire 80% of all seats, including those in the clubhouse. A bulk of the matches then had to be shifted to the DY Patil Stadium, with the Wankhede Stadium hosted the opening match. Since the Wankhede is currently under renovation for 2011 World Cup, the MCA said the stadium was not in a position to host ten matches along with the two semi-finals and the final.

England women came unstuck against a men’s team in a match to celebrate Hertfordshire club Hoddesdon’s 125th anniversary. The match, which raised money for breast cancer, was attended by Kate Hoey, the former sports minister, who was guest of honour.”I wish that in 125 years time Hoddesdon Cricket Club is still in the hands of good decent people who want to enjoy this wonderful game,” she said before the game, speaking in front of 250 guests. She had flown in from Belfast specially for the match.Hoddesdon batted first – by mutual consent – and made 234 for 6, with the opener Rob Miller scoring 118 before being stumped by Sophie Le Marchand off Holly Colvin. Colvin was the most successful bowler, with 3 for 63 from 8 overs. England women reached 185 for 5 in reply, Caroline Atkins – captaining in lieu of Charlotte Edwards – topscoring with 53. Lydia Greenway made 48, while Ebony Rainford-Brent reached 41 not out.Despite the defeat, the match will be useful practice for the girls in among their Super 4s games, and ahead of New Zealand’s visit in August.For Hoddesdon, their secretary Andy Byrne hopes this will be the catalyst for a women’s cricket section at the club. “We are planning to have a team,” he told Cricinfo. Three local girls’ football teams have been invited down to the club with the aim to form a girls’ section, and their response, so far, has been positive.A longer term aim is for England women to come back to the club next year. “Perhaps the match would not be on such a grand scale,” Byrne said, but the competition against the men is certainly valuable.

India A 311 for 4 (Dhawan 127, Uthappa 116) beat Netherlands A 109 by 202 runs
ScorecardRobin Uthappa and Shikhar Dhawan stamped their authority with a century each for a record opening wicket partnership of 264 as India A thrashed the Netherlands A by 202 runs in the EurAsia Cup in Abu Dhabi.Uthappa, who made an impressive India debut against England at Indore, once again proved himself by scoring 116 while Dhawan smashed 127, as India A posted a mammoth 311 for 4 before bundling the Netherlands A out for 109 with more than 20 overs remaining.Dhawan, who made 127, also became the highest scorer for India A, surpassing his Delhi team-mate Gautam Gambir’s record of 122 against Pakistan A in Nairobi two years ago. He smashed 17 boundaries in his 142-ball knock before he was run out to a ball that ricocheted off Ernst van Giesen’s own bowling, ending the partnership after 44.2 overs.Uthappa, who hit 13 fours in a 132-ball knock, also fell to van Giezen delivery when he was caught at short fine leg. Uthappa and Dhavan shared the Man-of-the-Match award.For the Dutch, Giesen took three wickets and was instrumental in the fourth, a run-out.Atse Buurman was the only batsman who looked at all at home, making 53, but an inexperienced side – six of the players were making their international debuts – were completely outclassed.Legspinner Piyush Chawla, who played a Test against England at Mohali, claimed a wicket with his first ball and finished with3 for 11 to share the bowling honours with Vikram Singh (4 for 43)