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South Africa captain Shaun Pollock acknowledged that what took place at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday was not Test cricket. And neither does he believe that it should be upgraded to full Test status at some future date."I don’t think that would be right," said Pollock "You need to know (that it is a Test match) before the start of the game."The fact that the match would not be recognised as a Test by the ICC "took the edge off", said Pollock. "You know that it’s not a fully-fledged Test. We were probably a little more relaxed than we would be before a real Test."On a measure of one to 10, Pollock said that the current contest was "just under where a Test should be". It was. Nevertheless, "good practice. We’ve got a tough tour of Australia coming up and I would think it would be good practice for India before they play England".He said that the Indian side clearly felt more strongly about the events of the past few days than the South Africans, but said that "from the South African public’s point of view, it’s good to have a game".

Andrew Fitch-Holland, the co-defendant in Chris Cairns’ perjury trial, has denied ever asking Lou Vincent to provide a false witness statement and said that the only thing Cairns was guilty of was “not keeping his trousers zipped”.Fitch-Holland, a barrister who previously represented Cairns, is charged with perverting the course of justice over his role in the 2012 libel case against Lalit Modi. The jury at Southwark Crown Court was told last month by former New Zealand international Chris Harris that Fitch-Holland had admitted Cairns was guilty of match-fixing.Although he could not remember the conversation at an exhibition match due to drinking alcohol, Fitch-Holland said he would have been referring to Cairns’ marital situation. Cairns left his wife Carin in 2008 for the woman he is now married to, Mel Cairns.”I would have said the only thing Chris Cairns is guilty of is not keeping his trousers zipped up,” Fitch-Holland told the court.Vincent, a former team-mate of Cairns in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), has given already evidence about his own involvement in match-fixing. This included a recording of Skype conversation in which Fitch-Holland allegedly accepted Cairns’ role, saying: “we all know some of what is being said is clearly true”.However, Fitch-Holland said he have never asked Vincent to lie on Cairns’ behalf and that his statement referred to the activities of other players at the ICL.”At the time of the Skype call, I had no idea that Lou Vincent had ever been involved in match fixing or spot fixing,” he said. “I had no reason to believe he was anything other than an honest, decent chap.”At the time of the Skype call, I had no reason, nor do I now, to believe that Chris Cairns had been involved in match-fixing or spot-fixing.”Fitch-Holland, who was involved with the management of Lashings Cricket Club, met Cairns in 2006 and subsequently advised him on contracts and business deals. He said that Cairns had described rumours that he was involved in fixing during the ICL as “pub talk and bullshit”.He added: “Not a single one of the many cricketers I know has ever suggested to me, by phone or to my face, that Chris Cairns has done anything corrupt.”He also described the moment when Cairns contacted him after Modi, the former IPL chairman, made claims on Twitter about his involvement in corruption.”My mobile phone rang and it was Chris, freaking out, saying ‘You won’t believe this, Modi’s f***ed me. I’m done, He’s tweeted I’m involved in match fixing’,” Fitch-Holland said.Fitch-Holland, who will be cross-examined by the prosecution next week, revealed that he advised Cairns to settle out of court with Modi, to avoid further damage to his reputation. However, the parties had been unable to agree on a sum, with Cairns’ mounting legal costs threatening to bankrupt him, Fitch-Holland said.The trial continues.

Zimbabwe’s place in South Africa’s domestic one-day tournaments has been confirmed after meetings in Johannesburg. They will take part in the 50-over MTN domestic championship and the Pro20 series on a home and away basis.Cricket South Africa, the six franchises and the South Africa Cricketers’ Association agreed that Zimbabwe would play as a seventh franchise, but would not take part in the SuperSport series which has already begun. The initial proposal had included the first-class tournament in the plans, but it was opposed because it was felt their late inclusion would devalue the competition.However, Zimbabwe will play three first-class matches against a South Africa Composite XI, called the SuperSport Challenge, made up of six successful franchise players and the leading amateurs from the level below. The team will be chosen by the national selection panel.The first match begins at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom on Thursday and the other fixtures and venues will be announced shortly, but all three matches will take place in South Africa. The fixtures involving Zimbabwe for the limited overs competitions will also be announced shortly, but will not affect existing fixtures announced by CSA.Gerald Majola, the Cricket South Africa CEO, said: “Following a series of meetings between the CEOs of CSA’s Affiliates and the South African Cricketers’ Association, agreement was reached at assisting Zimbabwe players to participate in a more competitive level of cricket.”This is in terms of a request by the ICC to provide Zimbabwe players with an opportunity to play more competitive cricket in their bid to play Test cricket again,” he said. “The South African players, through SACA, also wish to assist Zimbabwe players in this regard and also for the participation to be beneficial to South African cricket.”The Zimbabwe Cricket Union has welcomed this initiative, and has agreed to field Zimbabwe’s strongest team for every match. This new set-up will be reviewed at the end of the 2007-8 season”.South African Composite XI Benji Hector (capt), Stephen Cook, Cliffie Deacon, Athenkosi Dyili (wk), Petrus Koortzen, Dumisa Makalima, Sinethemba Mjekula, Pepler Sandri, Blake Snijman, Jean Symes, Stiaan van Zyl, Timmy Gamade (12th man)

Makhaya Ntini has been named one of South Africa’s Five Cricketers of the Year for a record fifth time. Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher are the others rewarded for their efforts over the last 12 months by the SA Cricket Annual.The players collected their awards at the launch of the publication held at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg. 2005-06 wasn’t a season packed with success for South Africa, but Ntini always led the attack in typically wholehearted style. He took 10 wickets in two consecutive Tests, against Australia and New Zealand, the first time a South African has managed the feat.Steyn and Amla are included after promising returns to Test cricket following their stumbling debuts during the 2004-05 season, while Mark Boucher has been consistent with the bat and gloves. He hit the winning runs in one-day international against Australia and a South African record 44-ball century against Zimbabwe.Prince, meanwhile, became South Africa’s first black captain when he led them in the Test series against Sri Lanka following injury to Graeme Smith.

Australia’s dominance of the four-match Super Series has forced the ICC to abort a plan to stage it every four years. Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, downgraded the tournament from a regular event on the calendar following Australia’s 210-run Super Test victory at the SCG today.”For the concept to succeed it needs one team to stand out of the pack and be the best in the world,” Speed said. “We’ve seen that with Australia but it’s not something that we will put in on a regular basis or something we will play every two, four or six years. If a team emerges that justifies being called the best in the world we may take the opportunity to put the rest of the world together.”The move was a turnaround from the ICC’s public statements in the lead-up to the series. An ICC spokesman insisted the event was a trial and that no commitment had been made to play it on a regular basis in between World Cups and Champions Trophies.However, a press release on the ICC’s website said the organisation hoped the series would become a regular feature and was “planned to be played every four years”. “Every four years starting on 1 April 2005 the top team in the ICC Test Championship will qualify to play the Team of Champions in the ICC Super Series Test for a winner-takes-all prize,” the release said when the venues for the tournament were announced.Doubt over the future of the series was also shared with the issue of technology and Speed said the use of television replays for all decisions was still in the trial stage. “We will take a cautious approach with it and we’ve been quite careful with technology,” he said. “We will evaluate what happens here, just as we did after the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in 2002.”The World XI performances during the series were disappointing but Speed said there were no plans to recall the international status given to the Test and one-day games. “The board was happy with the decision and we’ve been criticised because some other matches 20 or 30 years ago weren’t given it,” he said. “We don’t go back to review decisions of administrators of the past and we don’t expect the ones in the future to review these decisions.”While the series is expected to be a commercial success because of the massive global audience, Speed was disappointed with the size of the crowds and said he wanted an extra 4000 spectators each day. “We also would have liked more runs from the World XI,” he said.

The Eagles won an exciting match over the Dolphins in their top-of-the-table clash in Durban. The win extended the Eagles’ lead at the top of the table.Having set the Eagles a target of 216 the reliable opening partnership of Morne van Wyk and Jonathan Beukus was broken early by the Dolphins, resulting in frequent wickets and a difficult position of 51 for 4 after 12 overs. Loots Bosman and Johannes van der Wath put on 74 when Bosman was caught behind for 37. The dangerous van der Wath took a liking to the Dolphins bowling and single handily turned the game back in the Eagles’ favour. With a willing partner in Craig Thyssen he two steered the Eagles closer with some power hitting. With four runs needed van der Wath tried to hit Andrew Tweedie over his head only to be well caught and bowled for an excellent run-a-ball 91. Thyssen ended the game with a lofted cover drive to finish on 33.Doug Watson and Imraan Khan once again got the Dolphins off to a good start, putting on 79 in 18 overs when Watson was run out for 29 by Deon Kruis. Khan followed on 112, bowled for 58 by Thandi Tshabalala who also picked up the wicket of Ashraf Mall for 12. Dale Benkenstein(2) for once failed with the bat while Jon Kent contributed 34.Wade Wingfield, who had come in at number three, batted long for 59 while Lance Klusener, once again coming in too late to be effective, only received eight balls for his nine as the Dolphins finished on 215 for 5.The bowling of Justin Kemp proved to be too good for the Warriors as they were bowled out for 167 in 43.1 overs. Kemp, who mixed up his pace well, was introduced in the 25th over with immediate success as he got rid of Mark Boucher with his first ball, bowled. He ended the innings off with the last four wickets for a 5 for 38 return in 8.1 overs.The Titans started well with both Alviro Petersen and AB de Villiers getting into the thirties before both needlessly giving away their wickets away. Gerald Dros and Kemp started slowly but with a bonus point up on offer they accelerated to finish the game in the 36th over to secure the extra point. Dros scored 66 while Kemp reached 35.

The Glamorgan team to play Kent at Maidstone in the NCL Division 1 match on Sunday, 6th July, will be drawn from the following squad:

JP Maher (6)RDB Croft * (10)MJ Powell (14)MP Maynard (25)DL Hemp (4)A Dale (11)MA Wallace (18)MS Kasprowicz (3)DS Harrison (20)AG Wharf (16)DA Cosker (23)SD Thomas (7)J Hughes (22)

The immediate and, quite possibly, long-term future of Mfuneko Ngam is once again under a cloud after the Eastern Province fast bowler was found to be suffering yet another stress fracture, this time of the right tibia, this week.According to South African team physiotherapist Craig Smith: “Ngam started feeling pain in his right lower leg and was sent for a bonescan in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday. The results confirm it is a bone injury -a stress fracture.”Ngam, seen as one of the most exciting prospects to emerge in South African cricket for several years and named recently as one of the Cricketers of the Year, has been attempting to regain fitness after suffering a stress fracture of his right thigh last season and undergoing a shoulder operation.He has already been subjected to a barrage of tests in an attempt to establish why his bones appear to be so brittle – it has been suggested that he may suffer from a genetic disorder or that the root cause lies in certain dietary deficiencies earlier in his life.Smith said that Ngam had suffered "four or five" stress fractures in various areas of his body over the past four years. The case will be referred to Professor Tim Noakes of the Sports ScienceInstitute in Cape Town. Bone specialists around the world will be consulted in an attempt to establish the root cause of the problem.For the moment Ngam is expected to be out of cricket for between four to six weeks and will miss the Test series against India next month. The real concern, however, is that Ngam’s susceptibility to this type of injury may prevent him realising his undoubted talent. If this is the case, it will be a tragedy for both Ngam and South African cricket.

by 133 runs
ScorecardFile photo – S Aravind displayed Karnataka’s fighting spirit•AFP

Karnataka have in the last two years as Ranji Trophy champions amply displayed the that has been the defining feature of Mumbai’s 40 title conquests. You could see that again in this game, in the fielders hurling themselves at the ball even when the going was tough, in the fast bowlers repeatedly flinging themselves at the crease despite little assistance from the surface.Take for example left-arm seamer S Aravind’s opening spell on the third morning. Accompanied by some hustling fielding, it was quite a demonstration of Karnataka’s version of cricket with flair and abundant mongrel. Aravind’s burst yielded figures of 5-4-1-3 which, despite Vidarbha captain S Badrinath’s (92 off 216 balls) stubborn resistance for five hours, set the tone for Karnataka’s 40-run first-innings advantage.Left-arm spinner J Suchith, in only his fourth first-class game, finished with a four-for, making two crucial strikes – including that of Badrinath – in an over to derail Vidarbha’s innings. Karnataka’s second innings seemed to serve as good batting practice for KL Rahul ahead of the South Africa series, as a drab draw appears inevitable save for a dramatic collapse.In the morning, Aravind took only two deliveries to dislodge a batsman Karnataka couldn’t remove for over five hours on Friday. Ganesh Satish, a member of the title-winning Karnataka side in 2013-14, poked at one that straightened after pitching. Four balls later, Aditya Shanware, who had made a century on debut two games ago, edged one behind where CM Gautam, who was taking blinders at practice before the start of play, dived low to his right and emerged with the ball.Six overs later, the Aravind-Gautam combine was in business again, after another delivery held its line and Gautam put in another dive to his right to send back Shalabh Shrivastava. This was looking way too easy; Aravind would just run in from round the stumps – his preferred angle of operation for the major part of the innings – and alternate between the one that cut back in sharply with the angle and the one that held its line.Badrinath, however, seemed to have worked out a way to quell Aravind’s threat. He decisively strode forward and across, away from the off stump, and stayed low to counter the movement either way. Runs were gathered from the other end, as neither Abhimanyu Mithun nor Vinay Kumar was as effective as Aravind. Badrinath also had good company from Jitesh Sharma, who, cast in the spunky wicketkeeper-batsman mould, attacked fearlessly. In fact, after the new ball was taken, Mithun was taken for 23 runs in his four overs.Their partnership had yielded 61 runs in quick time, and looked good for more when Jitesh’s back-foot punch off Suchith flew quickly to first slip, where Vinay took a fine reflex catch. Vinay was in action again just before lunch, as he made a one-handed grab to dismiss Shrikant Wagh after he edged legspinner Shreyas Gopal.Vidarbha, resuming after lunch still 82 runs in arrears, were still in the fight as Badrinath found another doughty ally in Akshay Wakhare. While Badrinath was bringing out some wristy drives and clever dabs, Wakhare managed to put the bad balls away, and a 40-run stand ensued. An hour after lunch, at 310 for 7 with Badrinath still there, Vidarbha looked threatening.However, Suchith had Badrinath caught behind, and four balls later trapped Swapnil Bandiwar in front before Aravind came back to induce an edge off Wakhare to give Gautam his fifth catch of the innings.

Vijay Mallya, the owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, has responded to the widespread criticism he received for his remark that his biggest mistake was to trust Rahul Dravid with team selection, by expressing support for his team.”I have read all the reports in the media over [the last] few days with considerable dismay. Matters are not only being blown extravagantly out of proportion but my initial comments in response to Charu Sharma have been twisted and turned in a bizarre manner,” Mallya said. “The Royal Challengers is my team and I have full confidence in them. Admittedly, there are issues on team composition and non-performance but I hope that I can enjoy the legitimate privacy of sorting out issues within my own squad.”He was confident the team would get over its performance in this IPL season and come back stronger in subsequent editions. “I continue to believe that I made the right choice in acquiring an IPL franchise which will create great value going forward,” Mallya said. “I like winning but losing round one doesn’t mean that I have lost the fight.”Mallya’s public statement came a day after Anil Kumble, India’s Test captain and a member of the Bangalore team, said it was time the “people who matter” understood what sport was all about. Mallya had publicly criticised the team leadership – Charu Sharma, the sacked chief executive, and captain, Dravid – for the selection of the squad, which has performed poorly in the IPL.